OMGOMGGMO! FINALLY! It's been like 3 month since my last update. Thanks for waiting my faithful (and youthful) readers. Found a new job and things were hectic lately and writing wasn't at the top of my priorities.

Thanks for all the faves, follws and reviews I got! You're wonderful! Hopefully you will be happy with this chapter, even if I had to cut it short (I wrote the chapter in the span of 3 months. Wanted to finish it ASAP and start a new, fresh one.)

Without further ado, Team 7's adventures continues!

Previously

Kurenai approached Hinata, who was slowly waking up. Besides some broken ribs, bloody lips, a deep cut on her right side and being unconscious, Hinata looked much better than her other two teammates.

"Hinata," Kurenai called gently as she pulled a strand of Hinata's hair away from the girl's slowly opening eyes. "How do you feel?"

"M-My head h-hurts..." Hinata whispered quietly. "It's l-like someone s-smashed my head against the wall."

"I wish I had a flying summon," Naruto thought as he set up his own tent. "It would make things easier."

"Life isn't easy, kit," Kyuubi replied.

"How right you are," Naruto answered, as he laid down in his tent. "Once it'smy watch, I will send a bunch of Kage Bunshins to scout the area. Maybe they'll find some hidden boat or something else thatmay be useful."

"Don't forget about training - you still need to finish that gravity jutsu. And make some of your clones practice that flower growing technique of the Nature Path. You haven't used the Kage Bunshin lately despite it being your favorite jutsu." Kyuubi said.

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "This is no natural mist. It is slowly dissipating, but it is certainly filled with chakra. Stay on your guard."

The three teens of team 7 tensed up, but otherwise remained and seemed quite calm. After 15 minutes of silent walking along the road, deeper into the forest, they came across a clearing near a river.

The mist was almost gone, so team 7 stopped and surveyed the area.

"Looks like some kind of battle was fought here," Sakura commented.

That was when Kiba regained his composure. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE?"

"They are your back-up. At least they said so," Tsunami answered.

"Back-up? Some fresh genins, just like us, back-up? Are you kidding me?"

"Be logical, Kiba," Shino said calmly, though he doubted Kiba has ever been logical. He doubted Kiba even knew how to be logical in the first place. "If Hokage-sama sent them, then there's a reason for his choice."

"I don't care!" Kiba continued his shouting. "We were expecting a team of chuunin at least, given the situation we are in. And what do we get? A deadlast idiot, a pink haired fan-girl, and some emo prick who doesn't talk much!"

"Kakashi," Sasuke called out to his team leader. Kiba and Shino noticed that Sasuke didn't call him sensei and no one said anything about it. "What about if we-" He stopped abruptly, and looked at Kurenai. He then asked, "Kurenai-san. How serious are your injuries?"

Kurenai frowned but answered nonetheless. "Nothing serious. I'll be alright by tomorrow or day after tomorrow. Why?"

"Kakashi, what do you think about a sparring match? You and Kurenai-san versus me, Naruto and Sakura? Full strength."

Chapter 11

Calm before the storm

"Ugh, I'm finally here," Alicia thought bitterly when she saw a large village in the distance. It was early in the morning, the sun was shining, birds were chirping and other happy things happening. But none of it could impress Alicia. Why? Because she hadn't showered for few days now, her usual dress was a mess and she was a bit hungry. "Bloody few hours?!" Alicia whined loudly to herself, remembering what Kakashi said her. According to Kakashi, Alicia should've been in Konoha in some hours, but it was already a day and a half since team 7 and the young Valkyrie separated. "When I see Kakashi again, I'm gonna cut his arms off with his own kunai and beat the crap out of that one eyed cyclops with his own bloody, stupid arms until he can no longer get his ass from the ground or even open his eyes to read that smut; Then I'm gonna kick and punch him into the next century and I won't care about him begging to spare him; I gonna..."

This un-lady like sentiment continued for another two hours and when she finally reached Konoha's huge gates, she calmed down. It wouldn't do any good if she cursed one of Konoha's best ninja loudly.

Alicia calmly approached the gate guards who were sitting behind a large table filled with papers. There were only two guards, Alicia noticed, one with a bandana over his head and one with a bandage over his nose and both of them in standard ninja outfits with a chuunin/jounin flack jacket.. Both were suspiciously observing her as she came closer.

"State your name and business in the village," the one with the bandana demanded.

Ignoring the tone, Alicia calmly answered. "I believe I have an appointment with Hokage-sama." If she were to believe Kakashi - curse that cyclops - then the Hokage should already be waiting for her.

"A meeting with Hokage-sama?" the other ninja, the one with the bandage over nose, skeptically asked. "You know, girl, many say that, and only few indeed have a meeting with our leader. Can you prove that you indeed have a meeting with him?"

Alicia narrowed her eyes slightly. She was hungry, angry and dirty, and it was hard to control her temper. If the guards won't let her through soon, various body parts will start flying around. "I have only my ID with me. Can you call your ANBU and inform Hokage-sama that Alicia Tsukiko has arrived?"

"Listen here, girly," the one with the bandana said as he stood up. "Don't order us around. Why should we call ANBU just because you asked? In my opinion, Hokage-sama doesn't have time to meet with kids."

Alicia balled her fists and through clenched teeth said, "I didn't order you around – I politely asked you to call your ANBU and confirm what I say. If you don't or can't call ANBU, then for Kami's sake, check your papers. You should find my name in one of them." She was really tired and hungry. If these gate guards won't let her pass...

"What Alicia-san says is true," said a voice behind Alicia.

Acting on pure instinct, Alicia turned around on her heels and threw a punch at the person standing behind her. After it was easily blocked, Alicia jumped back and was ready to summon her bow. Fortunately for her, Alicia's mind registered what the person said. He, or she, was agreeing with Alicia.

The girl looked at the unknown person's face and gasped. It was ANBU with a tiger mask.

She lowered her stance at once and bowed slightly "S-Sorry. I didn't want to attack."

The ANBU shook his hand "No worries. I can see that you're tired, hungry and will barely controlling your temper," He then turned to the two guards "Izumo, Kotetsu. Next time, don't argue, but check if what the person is saying is true." He then turned to Alicia "From what I've heard, you're Alicia Tsukiko, right?"

Alicia nodded "Hai."

"Good. Follow me then. Hokage-sama is waiting for you."

Alicia nodded, and both the girl and the ANBU headed for the Hokage tower in complete silence, leaving the two gate guards behind.

Alicia looked around. She finally noticed the pleasant atmosphere and scene in the village. It was much better than in Iwa or Kumo. Iwa was cold, full of rocks and simple houses built in scales; Kumo, on the other hand, had a more complex, yet still simple, design. It was also very hot in Kumo.

But Konoha... Alicia already liked the village. It was lively and green, for lack of better words. Various trees grew around the village, filling in the awkward, empty gaps and alleys between the houses. Most homes and shops had a garden full of colorful flowers which attracted some passersby and which filled the air with their pleasant scent. Unlike other villages Alicia had been to, Konoha's houses were of various designs and structures. Some were very large, whereas others were smaller; some had balconies and flat roofs, while others had spiky, round roofs. Some houses were circular, and some were rectangular. Alicia noticed that the most common and popular color in Konoha so far is red, green and light-brown. There was also a river running though the center of the village. The weather, at the moment, was balanced – it was neither hot nor cold, but... pleasant, with a warm breeze.

"Lively place," Alicia thought as she and ANBU entered the tall Hokage tower. After 5 more minutes of climbing stairs and walking down the corridor, they approached large oak doors.

The ANBU knocked lightly on the door twice and after an elderly voice said, "Enter," he opened the door and let Alicia in. The ANBU remained outside the Hokage's office, guarding the doors.

Alicia went in the office and was impressed at what she saw. It was a huge circular room with wide windows at the back from which you could see the entire village. Large bookcases flanked the spacious, beige walls, each filled with various books, tomes and scrolls. Two large, red couches were positioned at the right-hand side wall between the bookcases so that they faced the Hokage. Three full grown, healthy men could easily fit in each couch.

The girl finally approached the beautiful wooden desk behind which an old man in white robes, with a pipe in his mouth and with furrowed brows was furiously writing something on a piece of parchment. Alicia decided to remain silent and wait unitil the old Hokage finished.

After another minute, the Hokage suddenly took a stamp from his desk, and with lightning fast speed slammed it on the piece of parchment he was writing on. It was so sudden that Alicia jumped back with a quiet squeak. The girl could swear she heard faint snickering from somewhere in the room.

"I apologize," Hokage said in a polite voice as he set the parchment aside. "Sorry for the long wait. If I'm not mistaken, you're Alicia Tsukiko, right?"

Alicia stepped forward and nodded "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Mhmm... Tell me, child, why exactly are you here?" Exactly to the point.

Alicia was stunned, she hadn't expected such a question. Alicia then narrowed her eyes slightly; Didn't Kakashi warn Hokage about it?

Seeing Alicia's facial expression, Hokage chuckled "Kakashi informed me of your situation, if that's what you're thinking right now," the old man interlaced his fingers in front of him and puffed out a cloud of smoke from his ever present pipe "However, I want to hear it personally from you."

Alicia nodded "I wish to join Konoha, Hokage-sama."

"Ah, it pleases me to hear that young, unregistered traveling ninjas like yourself seek a home in our village," the Hokage replied kindly, but again, turned serious "But why? If I was to believe Kakashi, you have been traveling around the elemental nations for the last couple of years. You've been, if I'm not mistaken, in three large hidden ninja villages, yet you wish to join Konoha. How can I know that you don't have any ulterior motives? That you're not a spy for any other nation? Can you prove that you're trustworthy?"

By now Alicia was sweating bullets and cursing herself over and over in her thoughts. Of course the Hokage won't trust her. No sane Kage would. If she hadn't been so angry at Kakashi earlier today, then she might've come up with an idea on how to gain the Hokage's trust. Now she had to think of something right here and now. Alicia now tried to remember everything she knew about Konoha and what would help her.

Meanwhile the Hokage secretly smirked at Alicia's expression. He could almost feel her worry. He let himself relax. The Hokage would've been more worried if the girl had immediately answered with a calm facial expression. At least, she genuinely wanted to join Konoha.

After some seconds of tense silence, Alicia cleared her throat and finally answered "Well, Hokage-sama, I honestly don't know how I can prove that I'm trustworthy. However, you could call one of your best Yamanaka to check my mind; to check if I speak the truth or not. That's the only way I can think of. As to why I decided to join Konoha and not any other village, it's mainly because of Naruto."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, interesting. I will indeed call a Yamanaka to check your mind. And I remember Kakashi mentioned some kind connection between you and Naruto. Care to explain that one?"

Alicia shifted on her feet uncomfortably. If she is going to stay in this village, she might as well start co-operating with its' leader and answer the question. After all, she had to gain his trust and one of the best ways to do so is to give information. "I am from a Tsukiko clan and each member of my clan who gets the bloodline has to help one person to achieve his/her goal. Those who get the bloodline are called Valkyrie, even men. A Valkyrie is born once in about 400 years; they are born when the world needs it the most. It can either be a war, political catastrophe or natural disaster. Arcania, the energy of the world, feels and decides when a new Valkyrie is needed. When the Valkyrie finds the person they need to accompany, both of them strive to help the people." But there are always exceptions...

"Interesting," Hokage commented "So, from what I understand, you're a Valkyrie, right?" Alicia nodded "And you think that Naruto is the person you need to accompany?" Another nod. "Tell me, Alicia-san, why do you think Naruto is the one?"

Alicia sighed. She knew that eventually the Hokage will ask that question. "The last Valkyrie was born 1500 ago and she had seers' powers. Before she passed on, she made a prophecy:

It will be harsh in the world,
Whoredom runs rife
An axe age, a sword age
Shields are riven
Before the world goes headlong.
No man will have mercy on another.
And then,
The last Valkyrie will be born.
Her pure soul will help the man
With sacred power and eyes to heal the land."

Alicia continued. "As sad as it sounds, I'm the last member of the Tsukiko clan. My grandfather died some years ago and that's when I awakened my bloodline. As to why I think Naruto is the one... Well, it's not my place to tell his secrets." Alicia still remembered when Naruto told that her he wants to keep his Rinnegan a secret for a while longer. "And also, something happened when I met him for the first time. Once again, it is not my place to tell what exactly happened. You'll have to ask Naruto and Kakashi-san. I have a feeling, though, that you know what I mean by 'sacred eyes'."

The Hokage nodded. and he couldn't help but be happy and relieved that Alicia can keep secrets, even in front of a Kage.

"It's good that you can keep friends' secrets, I value that. It's one of the principles of the Will of Fire. And I will definitely investigate more into that prophecy and what happened in the Glass village," The Hokage sighed and murmured, "So much rests on Naruto's shoulders; Such burdens shouldn't be placed on a young kid."

"If I may, Hokage-sama," Alicia boldly called. The Hokage nodded and she continued. "It may sound strange, but Naruto is not a kid. Yes, he is not an adult as well, but but he is not a child either. I don't know how I know it, but I'm always right about these things. He just can't remain a kid after what happened in Glass village." And what he lived through in childhood...

The Hokage sighed and, for a second, he looked much older than he actually was. "Naruto had to grow up quickly, I'm sure you know why. Alicia, what happened in Glass village, though?"

For a moment, Alicia's eyes got that far away look. She shook her head and slightly stuttered "I-It... It was a massacre, Hokage-sama. If you wish, I can tell you in detail what happened from my point of view."

The Hokage waved his hand. "There's no need. When Kakashi's team gets back, I expect you to be with them. Then you can tell your side of story with them."

Alicia's eyes twinkled with hope in the bright sunlight, her moodiness almost vanishing with no trace. "Does this mean I can join Konoha?"

The Hokage chuckled. "Usually this case would be presented to the council and would take much longer to decide, but seeing as you have Kakashi's and Naruto's support, I will allow you to stay in the village as a civilian," Then the Hokage regained his serious composure, and looked directly into Alice's eyes with a stern glare, which released a bit of KI. A bead of sweat formed on girl's brow, which slowly went down her cheek and stayed there. That glare held a lot of power and pressure, Sandaime Hokage was not called Shinobi no Kami for nothing.

"However," The Hokage said, "As you suggested, one of my most trusted Yamanaka's will check your mind for any ulterior motives or lying. If we will find that you were lying and untrustworthy, I will deal with you myself. Understood?"

"H-Hai," Alice couldn't help but stutter a bit. Damn, where is all my confidence when I need it?

"Secondly, if you wish to join our ninja corps and later on as one of the teams, you will need to pass the ninja Academy test. In order to become genin of this village, you need to take this test. After the test, one of my jounin will fight a sparring match with you and will assess your abilities. In this match, you will have to show all your abilities, including any bloodline you may possess. If you successfully finish your test and the jounin deems your abilities to be worthy, you will become an official genin of Konoha. You will be genin even if your abilities exceed that of a genin level. You will be allowed to take next chuunin exam, though.

Thirdly, you will be on a probation period for one month. If you become ninja, you will be watched even more closely. You will have your own flat here, your own limited privacy, but every step outside of your flat will be watched. If there are no problems during this probation month, then you will officially become a Konohagakure ninja, with the privileges and benefits that come with the status and such. And one more thing, while on the probation period, 70% of the income from the missions you undertake will go to the village's vault. All those rules will work if you're not in the bingo book. If you are, then, unfortunately, I will have to present this case to the council and the rules will be stricter. Do you accept these terms?"

The more the Hokage talked, the wider Alicia's eyes became. A test? Then another test with a jounin? Showing all her abilities? Every step watched? Only 30% of income from missions?

Well, I shouldn't be surprised. It is a hidden ninja village after all. If there weren't those rules, then all hidden villages would be full of untrustworthy, backstabbing shinobi in their ranks.

After some moments of tense silence, Alicia finally regained her composure and asked, "May I ask a question, Hokage-sama?"

"Of course. I'll try to answer it as honestly as I can."

"If I will get only 30% of income, and I'm sure I would not be allowed to do missions higher than mid-C-rank, how will I pay for the apartment?"

"Don't worry about that. While you're on probation period, we will pay for your apartment. You will only need money for food. And I already have a place in mind where you can stay."

Alicia nodded. "I see. Well, I don't have any objections then. Everything seems legit and fair."

The Hokage smiled "I knew you would agree. If Naruto and Kakashi trusts you, then you really have to be a good, trustworthy person."

The Hokage snapped his fingers and immediately an ANBU appeared in front of him in bowing position. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" the ninja called.

"Cat, tell Iruka Umino to be here tomorrow 10.00 a.m sharp."

With a "Yes, Hokage-sama," the Cat ANBU disappeared from sight.

"We're done for today, Alicia, but be here tomorrow by 9.30a.m. To be an official ninja, you need first to be an official civilian. If you're lucky and skilled enough, by tomorrow evening you will be genin on probation. Understood?"

Alicia bowed and said "Yes, Hokage-sama. I'm very grateful that you're giving me this chance. I won't disappoint you."

The Hokage chuckled "Of course you won't," it was both a silent threat and a reassurance. "Tiger," Hokage called and the ANBU who was showed Alicia the way, entered the room.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Please show Alicia the way to the 126 Kain apartment. If you could, answer some question for her as well. That is, if she has any."

Tiger raised an eyebrow when Hiruzen mentioned the apartment, but he didn't ask any questions. "Hai, Hokage-sama," he answered and then turned to Alicia "Shall we go?"

Alicia bowed for the last time to the Hokage, turned around and together with Tiger made her way outside. Before Alicia could step out from the office, though, old Sarutobi suddenly called her, or rather shouted her name, "ALICIA!"

Alicia immediately turned on her heel and saw that something was quickly approaching her face. Her reflexes working like mad, her arm automatically shot forward and at the last second, mere inches from her face, caught the item that was thrown at her. It felt like wood and metal...

The girl looked at her palm and saw a key with wooden trinket. '126 Kain' was engraved on the ticket.

Alicia heard the Hokage chuckle. The girl looked at the old Hokage and he said "Good. At least your reflexes are not bad for a genin," he then added "You didn't think that ANBU will have the key from the apartment?"

Alicia blushed from embarrassment and put the key in her pocket. "Actually I thought just that." Totally barmy...

The Hokage chuckled again "Now that you have your key, you may go. I have to deal with this blasted paperwork and make some arrangements for tomorrow."

"Thank you again, Hokage-sama."

"Think nothing of it. Thank me after a month."

-One of Orochimaru's bases-

"Orochimaru-sama, do you really think it is going to work?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru glared at his young medic-nin from his throne and answered "Do you doubt me?"

Kabuto calmly answered "No, Orochimaru-sama. I'm just curious. You are going to pose as the Kazekage for an entire month. Surely one of the elders or some of the stronger and senior shinobi will notice it?"

"Kukuku, don't worry about it, Kabuto. The jutsu I will use will completely copy Kazekage's chakra signature. The only thing they will feel is higher and stronger chakra."

Kabuto nodded, happy with the answer. He then asked "What about Sasori? What should I do with his body?"

Orochimaru scowled. "We were quite lucky that Sasori dealt with the Kazekage so quickly. And we were also quite lucky that Sasori was tired after the fight. And we were quite lucky again that no one saw the body of the Kazekage. I hate when luck determines the outcome of my plans." After a brief silence, he continued. "As to what to do with his body... To be honest – I don't know. He was a living puppet and I have no use for wood."

He furrowed his brows in deep thought and after a minute of thinking, answered, "The only living organ in his 'body' was his heart. Study his heart, Kabuto. Maybe you can find something interesting. After all, how can a human survive with only a heart and nothing else?"

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said and was leaving the room.

When Kabuto reached the doors, Orochimaru suddenly called, "What about Itachi Uchiha, Kabuto? Is he still in Hi no Kuni?"

Kabuto turned around and raised an eyebrow "Itachi?" after brief silence he continued "He spent some days in of the smaller villages in Hi no Kuni, not far from Yu no Kuni border. Yesterday afternoon, he left the village and crossed the border and went towards the Kaminari no Kuni."

Orochimaru slowly nodded "Did you noticeanything suspicious?"

"No. Nothing at all, he was behaving like a wanted criminal – used a disguise, lived in cheap hotels and did some dirty missions."

Orochimaru nodded again, deep in thought.

"Why are you so concerned about Itachi, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto cautiously asked. He didn't want to anger the Snake Sannin after all.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, but he trusted Kabuto enough to answer that question "I have a bad feeling about him. A feeling that I need to include him in my plans, but I don't know why and I don't know where."

Silence overtook the small room, both master and his right hand man deep in thought. After a moment, Kabuto broke the silence. "Orochimaru-sama, while I don't know for sure, I think Itachi is not with Konoha. When I was spying on him, he was avoiding Konoha's shinobi as much as he could. I think he is interested in something else..."

"Something else, you say?" Orochimaru asked, clearly interested in this subject. "Do tell me what you think, Kabuto-kun."

"Sasuke Uchiha," Kabuto simply stated as he shrugged his shoulders "He is, after all, his brother and the last surviving Uchiha. I'm quite positive that Itachi would want to keep tabs on him. Perhaps we should keep tabs on young Sasuke-kun as well?"

Orochimaru nodded. "While what you say may be true, Itachi can also have different goals to be so close to Konoha. You never know what's going on in his head." He then looked at Kabuto "And if you're hinting to resume our previous plan, then forget it. As I said before – based on your reports and my own spying, Sasuke-kun does not hate his brother or the village. He has friends with whom he wants to protect Konoha," he spat the last word with as much venom and disdain as he could.

Kabuto nodded. "It would've been fun to participate in the Chuunin exams, though. By the way, were you able to identify his two friends?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "That blonde brat must be a very strong sensor ninja. I could barely hear them from afar, but whenever I get closer in order to hear more, the blonde boy always glares directly into my eyes and stops talking. I couldn't even hear all the names."

Kabuto nodded. "Same here. Why not just ambush and kill them? Sasuke-kun won't have friends then and it would be easier to lure him to our side."

Orochimaru mused a bit about this idea and then answered. "As much as I like the idea, it wouldn't work. Although I couldn't hear much, their passion to protect the village was very clear. If I killed his friends, the pink haired girl and the blonde brat, Sasuke-kun's passion for the village would only rise," the snake sannin scowled in disdain. "Something about 'we had the same dream and now that you're dead I will carry on your dreams, because your dreams were my dreams'. Or some crap like that. Reminds me of Jiraiya."

Kabuto chuckled. "Indeed. I've seen cases like that. Then why not just kill all three of them? Sasuke will be a powerful ninja in the future and if he loves the village, then he will be a problem to your plans."

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, he will be a problem indeed. But if I kill the last, loyal Uchiha in the village, then it will only complicate everything – the defenses of Konoha will be raised to new levels, and a lot of resources will be wasted to find and kill me. If they do it now, then it will be only a matter of time until they find my new Oto and destroy everything I've built so far," Orochimaru shook his head. "No, killing Sasuke now is not the wisest course of action. Maybe in a few years, when the situation is more stable, I will find and kill him myself and then get his eyes."

"Wouldn't he be too powerful after few years?" Kabuto asked carefully.

"Kukuku, from what I've seen he is not as talented as Itachi, so don't worry about me, Kabuto-kun. Knowing Konoha's standards, he will be high chuunin or low jounin by then. I don't think he should be a problem for one of the Sannins," He then glared at Kabuto "Enough of this discussion. I think you have some work to do."

Kabuto bowed lightly and with "As you say, Orochimaru-sama," he left the room.

-Nami no Kuni-

"I'll go and do some light training, Kakashi," Naruto called from the hallway of Tazuna's house.

"Sure," Kakashi answered from the kitchen. "It's pretty dark outside, so don't stay too long."

"Do you want me and Sasuke to come with you, Naruto?" Sakura asked, as she and Sasuke entered the hallway where Naruto was putting on his shoes.

"If you want to," Naruto answered "We can do a Kage Bunshin sparring match for an hour, but then I'll need to practice one of my 'special' abilities."

"We'll go with you for the first hour then," Sasuke said. Naruto merely nodded.

Kiba, who was coming down from the second floor, heard what Naruto said (after all, he had better senses) He entered the hallway too and asked while looking at Naruto "Special abilities? What abilities?"

Naruto waved his hand in dismissal "You'll see tomorrow,"

Kiba then tried a different approach. "Can I go and train with you guys then? Or at least watch?"

"No," Naruto simply answered. To tell the truth, Naruto felt a bit uncomfortable each time Kiba was around or looked at him. Why? He didn't know. Maybe it was something in the air?...

"Team 7 business," Sasuke said, and three genin of team 7 left the house.

"Ugh, fine." Kiba mumbled and went to the kitchen to grab some food.

It was the next day's evening after team 7's arrival to Nami no Kuni. A cold, yet comfortable and pleasant breeze caressed the teens' exposed skin and cooled their bodies, which were tense with anticipation. Deep, dark clouds hovered in the sky and covered the moon behind them, obscuring any light, and made the evening even more depressed and darker.

A rare beam of moonlight escaped the dark clouds, hitting random buildings and, together with some torches around the town, made the shadows dance in delight.

Three young ninjas made their way across the poor town towards the forest where they had already found a clearing for their training earlier that day. The comfortable silence was broken with Sakura's question.

"What's his problem?" After noticing the looks she was receiving from her teammates and friends, she elaborated. "I mean Kiba. Ever since we arrived here, he's been acting so weird. He wasn't like that in the academy."

"People change, Sakura." Naruto answered. "Though I don't know what you mean by 'weird'. He was hotheaded in the academy as well."

Sakura scoffed. "People don't change overnight or in one week. And yes, he was hotheaded in the academy, but he was more collected, if you know what I mean. He didn't get angry or frustrated so fast and for simple things."

Sasuke nodded "I noticed it as well."

"Well maybe he is... erm... growing up?" Naruto sheepishly suggested.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow "Growing up?"

"You mean like puberty?" Sakura asked.

Naruto blushed a bit and nodded his head "Yeah. I remember how easily I got distracted or angry. And I remember perfectly Sakura's mood swings."

Sasuke couldn't help but shudder "Yes, those mood swings were dangerous. And scary."

Sakura scowled, and both Naruto and Sasuke stifled a laugh, remembering how dangerous it was to bother Sakura.

"Anyway," Naruto said when he calmed down "If it's indeed puberty then why is it so late?"

Sakura sighed "How many times have I told both of you?"

Sasuke and Naruto shared a look and Sakura couldn't help but sigh once more.

She explained, which sounded like a millionth time, "We started training from the age of 8 and did some heavy chakra exercises. Thanks to these exercises, our chakra reserves are much higher than for an ordinary 13 year old. Chakra can't just exist in our bodies – it has to do something. For example, you know why Hokage-sama is still so strong? It's because he has enormous chakra reserves which keeps his bones strong and his organs healthy. Although he is 70 something, he can easily fight against ninjas who are younger than he is. And he still trains his body.

We, on the other hand, were still kids – our organs were healthy, our bones strong and still growing, and we didn't have any physical handicaps. To use chakra efficiently, it has to be in harmony with our physical energy, which actually is our body. You just can't use your chakra properly if you have enormous chakra reserves but a frail body – your chakra control would be poor at best. And if you're a mass of muscles but your chakra reserves are that of an ordinary 8 year old, you can forget about jutsus altogether. You follow so far?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes. But what does it have to do with our and Kiba's difference in puberty time?"

Sakura sighed, again. "We were training very hard, daily and the excess chakra which we gained had to go somewhere in order to properly function. So, I think, somewhere about 40% of all the chakra we gained in our first year of training went into our body. Didn't you notice the sudden and quite large growth spurt at the end of our first year? Then the following year, the same amount went into our organs, muscles and brains. At the end of our second year, we noticed how childish our classmates were, right? Both of you, I am sure, noticed that your muscles were more defined than our other classmates and that your baby fat slowly disappeared. Around the Christmas of our third year, when we were 11, our puberty started. It's still not finished, mind you, but unlike other ninjas, whose puberty starts at around 13 and finishes at around 18 or 19,our puberty will finish when we are about 15 or 16. And that's thanks for our heavy chakra exercises."

"Wow, Sakura," Naruto whispered in clear awe. "You said all of that in less than 15 seconds!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched as well as her hand, but thankfully, Sasuke came to Naruto's rescue. "So basically we're more grown up than our dear classmates because of the all chakra and physical exercises we did. Well, good for us then. It's not surprising that Kiba behaves like... well. Like us when we were 11," Sasuke finished and chuckled.

"While we are on this subject," Sakura said. "If my calculations are accurate, then Naruto's puberty will finish when he is 14 or early 15 and he will fully finish growing at 16."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "Really? Why?"

"Because aside from the extra chakra exercises, which increases your chakra reserves, you must not forget that each day, a bit of Kyuubi's chakra mixes with your own especially during those exercises. Bijuu chakra is much stronger than simple chakra. Your chakra reserves, Naruto, are growing beyond simple, or even special, human speeds. Your body adjusts to your chakra much faster because of that. At the age of 16, Naruto, your control of your chakra will be perfect. One handseal for all jutsus, medical jutsu and so much more. And let's not forget about the godly amount of chakra you will have."

Naruto flinched, and furrowed his brows and muttered. "You say it like I will be the strongest ninja alive without doing any work. Imagine how much I will have to train to get even near of what you just said..."

"Yes, but imagine how many girls will throw themselves at your feet in order to get at least a look from you," Sasuke said and smirked.

Naruto flinched again. "Ugh. Fangirls... It was bad at the academy, I don't want to see them after academy as well."

"Back to the topic of Kiba, though," Sasuke continued as if he didn't hear what Naruto said. "Did you notice the way Kiba looks at Naruto sometimes? Or that he gets frustrated quickly only around Naruto?"

Hearing that, Sakura's eyes widened, as if she was struck with realization, and she wanted to say something, but she was cut off by Naruto. "Finally, we're here. It's seems further away from the town than it was in the morning... I didn't even notice when we entered the forest with all the talking. Anyway, let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Right. I gonna kick your clones' asses until they puff out from existence," Sasuke said as he smirked and took his taijutsu stance.

Naruto rolled his eyes "Always the same, Sasuke," he made a cross seal and shouted "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" White smoke overtook the entire forest's clearing. After a moment, the smoke disappeared and where Naruto stood, now stood 200 of his clones.

"Same as usual, guys. But this time without our bloodlines," Naruto said to his teammates.

"Right!" they answered, and all three young genins rushed into the swarm of yellow haired ninjas.

Hi no Kuni. Unknown location.

"What did Hokage-sama want?" Itachi asked his companion.

Itachi Uchiha and his companion, a man by the name Nufu, were seated in the darkest corner of the pub 'Lavender's grove' in a small nameless town.

"Are you sure you weren't followed?" Nufu asked in a suspicious and annoyed voice which clearly said that he didn't want to be here, of all places.

Itachi stared at the man for a long moment before answering in an indifferent tone. "Yes, I am sure. Someone was following and watching me some days ago, but now that person is gone. Nothing suspicious for some time now."

"Fine," Nufu answered. After a brief silence, where both Itachi and Nufu sipped some sake, the man (who, if you didn't guess, is a Hokage's secret agent) sighed and muttered "I'm surprised I found you at all and so fast. I thought it will take more time..."

"A storm is coming... I can feel it," Itachi calmly answered. "There's tension in Hi nu Kuni, and some shadowy movements in Suna for several months now, and I knew that Hokage-sama will want to contact me one of these days. I stayed as close to Konoha as I could without raising suspicion and without being recognized. So I'm not surprised that you found me so fast. Hokage-sama has good agents."

Nufu huffed. "Yeah, well, anyway," He reached into his pocked and took out a scroll with Konoha's insignia on it, placed it on the table and slid it across the surface of the table until the scroll was next to Itachi. "This is the information Hokage-sama wanted to give you. He says it's very important and that you read it as soon as you get it,"

Itachi nodded and took the scroll. He recognized the blood recognition seal on the scroll, so Itachi bit his thumb and smeared some blood on the seal. There was a small 'crack' as the Konoha's insignia cracked in half, allowing him to open the scroll.

Itachi skimmed through the text and his eyebrows disappeared behind his hairline, clearly showing his surprise. He quickly composed himself, rolled the scroll and put it in his cloak's inside pocket.

"It's some sensitive information," Itachi commented. "Do you know how Hokage-sama managed to get it?"

"I know something," Nufu smiled "From what Hokage-sama told me, a genin team was sent to a B-rank turned S-ranked mission. The mission was successfully completed, which resulted in this information. I'm sure there's more than that to this mission, but Hokage-sama won't say a thing until the team debriefs."

Itachi's eyebrows disappeared behind his hairline once more at hearing that. "Genin team? B-rank turned S-rank? Sorry for doubting Hokage-sama, but it's quite hard to believe. It's unheard of."

Nufu chuckled. "I know, right. I didn't believe it, either. It took Hokage-sama 5 minutes to convince me though."

"Do you know what team it was?"

"Yeah, how can I forget? Hokage-sama showed me the official mission scroll. It was Team 7, led by none other than Kakashi Hatake. The members are Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Must be some incredible team if they managed to complete an S-ranked mission and then immediately go to another B-ranked. Or it was just very easy S-rank, if its' even possible."

"Hmm. Interesting... You say they immediately went for another mission? Do you know something about it?"

Nufu furrowed his brows. "I think Hokage-sama mention Nami no Kuni, but I don't know the details."

"I see. It's not that far from here..." Itachi mused. "Anyway, here's the information I wanted to pass along to Hokage-sama," Itachi said as he pulled a simple scroll from his pocket and handed it to Nufu.

"Thank you. I'll make sure it gets to Hokage-sama safely. I understand that the information in the scroll was written in the code?"

"Yes," Itachi simple answered.

Nufu pocketed the scroll in his flack jacket "Well, my business here is finished. Good luck, Itachi-san."

Itachi nodded curtly as Nufu stood up, drank the rest of his sake in one go and left the 'Lavender's grove'.

After a moment of pondering about what he should do, Itachi finally muttered, "It's not that far from here... Maybe I should pay a visit to my foolish little brother?" Itachi chuckled, a rare display of his emotions, as he stood up and left the building. "Or maybe not..."

Nami no Kuni.

Next day after the sparring match.

'Crack!'

Naruto's eyes shot open and in a blink of an eye, he drew a kunai and threw it in the sound's direction. His vision was still blurry from being woken up so suddenly, but he could still see a figure in front of him yelp and fall to the ground.

Naruto rubbed his eyes and flinched when the bright, morning sunlight entered his eyes. He put a hand in front of his face to shield from the sudden light and blinked several times to adjust. When his eyes finally adjusted, he looked at the figure on the ground.

The figure was actually a pretty girl who tried to get to her feet.

Naruto blinked in surprise (after all, he thought he was being attacked) and rushed to help the girl. "Oh Kami, I hope I didn't hurt you!"

The girl waved his apology away. "Don't worry. I should've warned you that I was approaching. I was lucky I managed to dodge that weapon."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly as the girl in front of him cleaned her robes from the dirt. He noticed that she had long black hair which reached a bit past her shoulder blades, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes and a slender frame.

When she was done correcting her dress, she addressed Naruto. "Why were you sleeping here? You could catch a cold sleeping in a place like this."

"I got a bit too carried away in my training," Naruto replied in a matter of fact tone. "I was too tired to walk back to the house." Naruto then checked the time and raised an eyebrow. "And what are you doing in a place like this at this time of the morning?"

The girl chuckled. "I was collecting some medicine herbs for my friend. He is quite ill."

"Really? Let me help you then!" Naruto offered.

"Thank you," the girl replied "By the way, my name is Haku."

Haku didn't know why she introduced herself to Naruto, but she somehow knew that she could trust him. Why? She will never know, but she felt safe just by being near him.

Safer than she felt around Zabuza lately.

"Nice to meet you, Haku. And my name's Naruto."

"Nice to meet you too, Naruto," Haku chuckled.

"So which herbs do you need?"

Haku pointed at a simple looking herb and said, "If you can collect the most basic medicine herbs, I will collect the rest I need."

"Sure,"

After some minutes of working in silence, Haku asked. "Earlier today you said you're training," Naruto nodded so Haku continued, "And judging by your hitai-ate, you're ninja, right?"

"Yeah, I'm a ninja from Konoha."

"Why were you training, though?"

Naruto looked up and looked at Haku as if she had grown another head. What kind of question was that? Because he was shinobi! And all shinobi train to hone their skills. Well, she looked like a civilian, and maybe civilians didn't know about that.

After a moment of silence, Naruto simply answered "To become stronger."

"But you already look plenty strong," Haku said. And she meant it literally – Haku didn't know how old Naruto was, but she was sure he was about 15 or 16 with quite the muscular and lean build. If those well toned, muscled arms were any indication, she wondered what is under his shirt.

Haku blushed furiously at this line of thought and ducked her head to hide her blush. She was staring intensely at the herb in her hands, suddenly finding it very fascinating and interesting. Hey! I've never noticed those lines on the leaves!

Either Naruto didn't notice or decided to ignore it, he answered as if nothing happened (and really, nothing happened. Except for Haku's naughty imagination, maybe) "No. I need to become even stronger. I have a huge task in front of me and I need to become as strong as I can. And just because I look or seem strong, it doesn't mean that there's no place for improvement. Good shinobi never cease to hone their skills."

"Indeed, there's always place for improvement. I know that better than others..." Haku muttered quietly so that only she could hear it, but unfortunately she didn't know about Naruto's enchanced hearing and Naruto heard what she just said, despite the distance between them.

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, but visibly remained calm. Before he could say something though, Haku spoke again.

"Do you have someone who is important to you?"

Why would she want to know that? Naruto thought and answered the girl's question "Yes, I have some important people in my life."

Sasuke, Sakura, Jiji (as in Hokage-sama), Ichiraku family, even Iruka.

"Why do you ask?" Naruto asked.

Haku looked into Naruto's ocean blue eyes and answered sincerely, "When a person has something important to protect, that's when they can truly become strong."

So true. Naruto immediately remembered that fateful day 5 years ago when he awakened his Rinnegan and protected his classmates.

Naruto decided to change the topic and also check one of his theories.

"Haku-san, have you seen any other ninja around here?"

Thanks to his improved eyesight, Naruto picked up the most obvious details – a slight pause in her current action (which was picking herbs) before returning to normal, stiffening of the body which meant it's on high alert now, eyes darting from left to right, seeking the quickest escape, the twitch of her hand as if it had a weapon in it.

To anyone else, it might seem as if she was thinking of the answer, but Naruto knew what it was – Haku had become worried, alerted and fearful, which in turn might mean that she had some connection with the ninjas who could be associated with Gato or Zabuza.

Maybe he was not professional at reading body language and perfectly understanding it, but years of experience with Konoha taught him how to see and understand the most basic body language and the meaning behind them. That's mainly how he kept out of trouble.

"No," Haku answered stiffly with forced politeness.

Ahh, Naruto thought, that hit the final nail in her coffin. Naruto was so accustomed to forced politeness from hateful civilians that it's so easy to recognize, even though the civilians had warmed up to him a lot through the last 5 years. And then there was the short answer. Haku had been so talkative, polite and had spoken in long sentences the last couple of minutes. Her normal answer would've been 'I haven't, sorry'. Her short, sudden, impolite answer meant she wanted to be anywhere else but here.

"I see. Shame, I had hoped to get more information... I'll have to ask around town then."

Naruto stood up and took the basket with herbs he collected and walked over to Haku. Said girl visibly tensed, but didn't say anything.

"Here are the herbs I collected," Naruto said and offered the herbs to Haku, who accepted it.

"Thank you for your help, Naruto-san. I shall take my leave then and prepare some medicine for my friend," Haku said as she stood up and got ready to leave.

Ahh, Naruto thought again, an urge to leave as quickly as possible. It certainly is suspicious.

It's good that people tend to forget things when they are worried and afraid. Who turns their back to a potential enemy? Haku did, and now she paid for it.

In a blink of an eye, Naruto crossed the distance between him and Haku and jumped on her. He pushed her down on the ground with his arms, and she cried out in pain as her head hit a root sticking out from the ground.

Before she could react, though, Naruto was already on her back, pinning her arms so that she couldn't fight back.

"You know, Haku-san, you're a pretty good liar. It didn't work on me though, I know when something's wrong with people or when they are lying to me," Naruto said calmly as if he was discussing the weather.

Although Naruto knew that he would never had known if he hadn't heard her muttering about how 'she knew better than others that there's place for improvement.'"

The girl remained surprisingly calm and quiet, which further proved that she had some association with ninjas. Normal civilian girls would have screamed their lungs out if someone had attacked them in the middle of a forest. It seemed that Haku was trained on how to respond in those situations and Naruto got very curious.

"So tell me, Haku-san, truthfully, have you seen any ninjas around lately?"

Naruto now knew for sure that she HAD seen them and even interacted with them, but he wouldn't push the real questions he wants answered, for now. It's easier to start with simple questions, even if you knew answers to them, to ease victim's fear a bit, to show them that you won't push the issue. It's easier to get answers from someone who is cooperative than getting answers from someone who isn't.

If Naruto could show that he won't hurt her, despite what answer he gets, then hopefully he won't need to use other means to get the information he wanted. If he didn't get the truth... Well. I'm sure Kakashi could think of something.

"How did you know?" she asked in anger, though a bit of wariness was present in her tone.

"Well, Haku-san, a shinobi never reveals his secrets, right?" Naruto answered simply. "Answer my questions and you will be unharmed."

Besides, he just couldn't hurt pretty girl like her. But she didn't know it.

Haku sighed. "How do I know you won't hurt me? After all, you're a shinobi. There's always violence when one seeks an answer."

That again... "I promise, Haku-san, and I never go back on my word."

"Even if it means hurting your precious ones?"

"I never promised to hurt them. I promised not to hurt you," Naruto parried "But now – answers. Do you know Zabuza Momoichi?"

Haku sighed, and considered her choices. She could tell him what he asked and then be captured and maybe subjected to aneven more intense interrogation. Oh don't doubt her - she was pretty sure that Naruto wouldn't just let her go after he gets what he wants. Or she could remain silent and then be subjected to an intense interrogation for sure.

Besides, she really wanted talk to someone about it. She had a sixth sense about people since that fateful night and this Naruto, for some reason, made her feel safe.

So she made a choice.

"Can you... Can you at least release me? This position is not quite comfortable." Haku said and in the corner of her eyes she saw Naruto's skeptic look "I promise I won't run."

After a quick inner debate, Naruto said, "Okay. But don't do anything funny – I will sense if you think of running or anything else."

Haku nodded, and Naruto released her though he still pointed a kunai at her.

Haku didn't stand up, she just merely adjusted her position and sat on the ground and leaned against a tree.

"I don't know where to start, Naruto-san. I know Zabuza Momoichi, I know him very well. At least I did in the past. One side of me is terrified at what I'm about to do, but for some reason I feel like I could tell you everything. I feel safe," Haku started, getting quieter with each word until they were nothing but a whisper. She tried to avoid Naruto's eyes.

Naruto sighed inwardly. It's not the first time someone said these words to him. It meant that a sad and depressing life story was about to be told.

And he was never mistaken.

END! I know I promised that big fight, but it will come in next chapter. As I said at the beginning, I really didn't feel like continuing this chapter. The new chapter will have all the bits I've skipped here and then some!

If you spotted any mistakes, please feel free to PM me. ^^

Stay faithful and maybe someday you will find out the mystery of peace.

Next chapter - Behind those Eyes, Behind those Petals, Behind that Gaze and Behind those Tails

Until next time! KYAH!