Chapter 16:

Mission: The Search

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Important: Revised all the parts a little bit you don't have to reread if you don't want to. Added some more to the end of the last chapter so take a look at that.

Naruto sighed as he left the place they were staying at to find somewhere to get food. He hated seeing Sakura so defeated and sad it made him feel incapable.

Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets as his mind replayed the look on her face when she told him to get Jiraiya. He had never seen her look so distraught.

Without even realizing it his feet took him back to the ramen shop they were just at yesterday. He sighed when he smelt the delicious smell of ramen broth. This was what he needed. Lifting the flap he walked in and noticed how crowded it was. It must be the lunch rush. He thought to himself.

Naruto sat at the bar waiting to be served all while ignoring his growling stomach. His thoughts wandered to their new roommate. He wasn't sure how to feel about the woman. According to Sakura, she had no friends and nowhere to stay which was strange. He'd thought she'd have at least one friend assuming she's been in this village for quite a while.

"What can I get you?" He snapped out of his thoughts and noticed the lady who gave them some information yesterday taking his order. "Hey, it's you where's your kid and wife?"

"My kid is sick so I'm just grabbing lunch for them. By the way, you wouldn't know where a dango shop is would you?" He nervously chuckled awaiting her response.

"Sorry no dango in the village." She said apologetically.

"It's ok can I get four large bowls of beef ramen to go." He grinned when she nodded and went in the back to make his orders. Naruto looked around at the people around him eating and talking. There was something off about them even if they were laughing and talking with friends he could sense something. Perhaps disguised fear that at any moment their tormentors would walk right in.

He felt bad for them. To live in constant fear for not only your life but the lives of people close to you. He was going to put an end to it no matter what. Naruto sighed and turned back around as soon as he did he could feel someone's eyes on him. He tensed when he sensed movement coming closer to him. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if the person was possibly dangerous. He didn't have much time to think about it because a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Hey, you're the guy who tried to help Aimi yesterday." The man whispered taking the seat beside Naruto who was currently calming his racing heart. It took everything in Naruto to not let his instinct take over.

"Uh yeah, you know Aimi?" The Guy was pretty average looking with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and dark brown eyes that he noticed sparked with an emotion Naruto couldn't discern. He looked about Aimi's age.

The stranger nodded quickly before elaborating. "We're childhood friends although she is a year older than me. Have you seen her around I went to the hospital to visit her but she was already released."

Sakura-chan said that she didn't have anyone.

"She's currently staying with me...and my wife." He blushed still not quite used to calling Sakura his wife.

The guy nodded. Naruto waited a moment as silence settled over them. If he was being honest he was expecting the guy to well...go away. Naruto's fingers drummed against the table top as he waited patiently for his food to come. He could be a very patient person if the villager just sat there quietly but unfortunately, he didn't instead he started whistling and Naruto's patience snapped. "Can I help you with something?"

"Hm? Oh yes, I would like to see Aimi." He grinned catching Naruto off guard.

"Sorry, no can do. No offense but I don't exactly trust you and Aimi has not mentioned you at all."

"What? Come on I just want to see her." The guy whined.

"I don't even know your name." Naruto snapped.

"Oh yeah, it's Haisuke." He said seriously as if he wasn't just whining like a child.

"Nice." He sarcastically replied back. Usually, Naruto wasn't so easy to rile up but with Shinachiku the way he was and the mission his patience was at an all-time low.

"It's common courtesy to also give a name."

"Would it get you to leave me alone?" Naruto said with a spark of hope in his voice.

"Not a chance," Haisuke said with a grin on his face.

"Thought so. The name's Kazu."

"So any favorite foods?"

.x.

The forest was least to say dense as the large group of Konoha ninja traveled through it. It was like a wild goose chase with hardly any leads as to where Orochimaru was. That was exactly how the majority of the group felt after their first day of traveling through villages asking people if they've seen anything suspicious.

"I'm starting to regret wanting a mission," Ino said from beside the fire thinking about how they were added only after Ino complained about having nothing to do.

"Listen up," Kakashi spoke up catching the attention of everyone who soon gathered around the campfire. "We'll stay in the land of fire for a little longer before moving on to the land of wind. We're a pretty large group so we'll be splitting up and meeting back up a couple of days later. If you don't show up after a few days we'll come after you." He waited before speaking again to give everyone a chance to process it.

"Team Gai will be heading towards the west and team 10 will be heading towards the east. Since Kurenai isn't here I'll be with team 8 scouting ahead of us towards the north."

"Wonderful idea my eternal rival!" Gai shouted giving Kakashi a thumbs up. That was the right thinking he would expect from his rival.

"let's get to a town in the morning and that'll be where we split from." With those final words, everyone went back to what they were doing.

Ino sighed as she stared into the fire and added small sticks that were lying beside her. She remembered Tsunade telling them exactly what their mission was and how nervous she became.

Flashback

Tsunade lifted a brow when she realized there were more people then she called for. Just as she was going to ask them about it Ino quickly interjected.

"I know you didn't ask for us but please consider us for this mission." She begged.

Tsunade eyed team 10 one by one before making a decision. She sighed knowing her plan for them would be ruined. Originally she wanted to have them on standby to help out with team 7 but she supposed they could be more useful on the mission.

"Very well. Your mission is to locate Orochimaru. I know that what I'm asking you all to do is a damn near impossible task but this is very important. Once and if you do find him do not engage you're to immediately send a messenger bird back letting me know and await further orders. You have a month to find Orochimaru and then you're to return here whether you completed the mission or not. You'll leave as soon as possible. Do you understand?" She watched as everyone in the room nodded before she dismissed everybody except for the senior Jonin.

"Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai what I'm about to give you must be burned immediately after you three have read it. Once your team is out of the village and a safe distance away from the watchful eyes of Root you will read what's in this scroll." She handed the scroll to Kakashi trusting the three to not only keep the information a secret but to do everything they can to find Orochimaru. "The scroll will tell you everything you need to know about this mission and why it's so important."

"Now get on out of here." The three bowed and quickly took their leave.

Flashback end

Ino spent a lot of time with her Sensei and could read that something was wrong with him. His body posture wasn't usually so tense he looked like he's constantly in deep thought. She didn't know how Kakashi and Gai-sensei acted so she couldn't gauge what was wrong.

Asuma didn't even look that tense when he found out that Kurenai was pregnant.

"It's getting late so everyone should get to bed Gai, Asuma, and I will keep watch," Kakashi ordered as everyone went into their designated tent or sleeping bag. The Jonin sat around the fire silently for a little while waiting long enough for everyone to fall asleep.

"How do you want to do this?" Asura asked flicking his finished cigarette into the fire. The silence was heavy as the men braced for whatever information was in the scroll.

"We should individually read it then burn it. You should start my eternal rival." Kakashi shook his head but nonetheless did what Gai said. He opened the scroll and saw the scribbles of the fifth Hokage. The handwriting looked kind of rushed he noticed. Perhaps she made the scroll shortly before she summoned them.

Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma,

You three are hopefully a safe distance from the village and are reading this in secret. I'm sure that you guys are suspicious of my motives lately regarding Naruto and Sakura. Everything I do, I do it for them so I'll need some help to protect them and other things of course. As you all know I assigned Naruto and Sakura a mission to look after a baby that randomly showed up in front of my door until I could either figure out where he came from or get him settled into an orphanage.

It wasn't my brightest decision but I didn't think so much trouble would come from such a small child. It wouldn't have happened if not for the fact that the child looked so much like the two that it was inevitable that rumors would start going around. The rumors, unfortunately, reached the council who couldn't allow the idea of Shinachiku being Naruto's exist. No matter what I told them about how Shinachiku came to be they didn't believe me so they ordered me to take a DNA test. Everything should have been easy but it wasn't, with my luck the DNA test came out positive that the child was both Naruto and Sakura's. Once I found out myself I couldn't let that information get out, no one but Jiraiya and now you three know this not even Naruto and Sakura know. I had to lie because I knew that they would freak out if they knew the truth.

The fact that Shinachiku was somehow Naruto and Sakura's wasn't the only problem I had to face. Confirmed by Jiraiya himself Shinachiku somehow has Kyuubi chakra in him. With the information getting out somehow Orochimaru knows about the child and now he wants him along with Danzo. I sent Sakura and Naruto on that mission to try and clear things up without them being around, but it, unfortunately, didn't work. I've told the council the lie about Shinachiku and I have a feeling they know. When Naruto and Sakura get back they'll be forced to do another DNA test by someone they choose. The only way that I can currently think of to get out of this situation is to find where Shinachiku came from which leads me to your mission of finding Orochimaru.

I sent the kids with you guys to help spread out your search but your mission is different from theirs. Your mission is to find the base sneak into the base and try to find out any information you can on what he knows about Shinachiku. I know this mission isn't an easy task but I have faith in you three to find that information. He isn't that strong right now so hopefully, it'll be a quick task but I wouldn't be too hopeful. I'm counting on you three and please keep this information to yourselves no one else can know.

-Tsunade

Kakashi absentmindedly passed the scroll to Asuma who started reading it immediately. He knew something was up the moment Tsunade had him and Asuma knock the two out but didn't think it was something to that magnitude. It was ridiculous how a baby could be so much trouble but it wasn't the child's fault it was the fault of corrupted people wanting his power.

Kakashi saw out of the corner of his eye Asuma pass the scroll and pull out a cigarette. He would be smoking too after reading the shitstorm they just read. Asuma took a long drag before exhaling through a deep chuckle.

"Of course." He shook his head in disbelief. "What a great world we live in where children are wanted to be experiments." He sarcastically said. It was a sickening world they lived in and Kakashi couldn't agree with Asuma more.

Gai finished the scroll and tossed it into the fire the three were gathered around. Gai was disgusted with what he had read the lies were adding up and he feared the outcome of them. But nonetheless, he would do whatever he had to do to help Naruto, Sakura, and Shinachiku.

"There's no time to waste tomorrow we'll work twice as hard to find Orochimaru," Gai said before standing up with a bright grin on his face. Asuma and Kakashi looked at each other and shrugged. They've known Gai since they were kids and have never seen the man upset or unmotivated. It was amazing and annoying sometimes.

"Let's just keep watch and leave at the crack of dawn."

.x.

A/N: More of a filler chapter.