Greetings all to my fifth fanfiction.

The elements taken from 'Akame ga Kill' will be from both the Anime AND the Manga, as well as my own creativity (of which there is a lot of in the beginning), while the elements from the Naruto side are mostly AU.

Like always it will be a set of 3-chapter uploads…Prolog and Epilog not included in the counting.

The speech-thought-jutsu name Font styles are the same as in my previous story, 'Lord Marksman and Vanadis'…which is pretty much the same as most of my stories thus far…However I'd like to add a new addition for this story:

"Shut up, brat!" Biju/Naruto-Kurama talk

Prolog

Elemental Nations, 1 year post beginning of the 4th shinobi world war

The white haired man stood atop the large boulder, looking out across the devastated landscape.

A year ago the 5 elemental nations united to fight against a common threat and to prevent the resurrection of the ancient entity known as the 10-Tails. At first the fighting went well for the Allied forces…until a surprise attack on Iwagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the stone, led by a number of powerful reanimated shinobi, effectively defeated the Iwa-Shinobi, who withdrew from the other battlefields to retake their home…only to walk right into a trap.

The ensuing fight was long and brutal, with the Iwa shinobi fighting to their last and almost even defeating the enemy forces…had there not been any reanimated shinobi amongst the enemy ranks.

Shortly afterwards Sunagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the sand, as well as Kumogakure no Sato, the village hidden in the clouds, were both attacked, though both Villages were eventually retaken…at very heavy cost. Both the Cloud and the Sand were forced to end hostilities, especially since their respective leaders both died during their respective assaults to retake their homes.

The shinobi from Kirigakure no Sato, the village hidden in the mist, withdrew in anticipation of an assault on their village and arrived in time to defeat said assault with minimal casualties…only to be bogged down as a large force began besieging their nation.

Hatake Kakashi, 6th Hokage of Konohagekure no Sato, the village hidden in the leaf, sighed.

His shinobi remained on the battlefield for as long as they could…mostly thanks to the aid of the last remaining Jinchuriki in the elemental nations. With the aid of that persons shadow clones and immensely powerful jutsu, the Leaf shinobi continued fighting on their own for the past 9 months. However without the support of the other nations they had slowly been pushed back to the borders of Hi no Kuni, the land of fire, where they held out for a while. Eventually their losses forced the shinobi to withdraw to Konoha, which was unfortunately overrun after three months of constant assaults by the enemy. By this time it had become clear that the enemy troops only actively attacked shinobi.

Eventually, to ensure the continued survival of the Civilian population, Kakashi had to make the most difficult decision of his life: he decided to leave Konoha and draw the enemy force away from the village.

The plan would have ended in failure had an old, and believed dead, friend of Kakashi's hadn't had a change of heart and returned to Konoha.

Uchiha Obito used the power of his Sharingan to safely teleport the Leaf Shinobi to a different location…an Island where a very, very powerful clan had once lived and made their last stand over 20 years earlier. Immediately upon arriving, the leaf shinobi began preparing for their own last stand, making the bridge leading to the ruins of the former shinobi village of Uzushiogakure, the village hidden in the whirlpool. Some of the surviving Shinobi from Kumo and Suna also came to help, choosing to die fighting rather than surrendering.

"Kakashi." Someone called out. The man turned and looked at his old friend, Obito, who was approaching.

"Obito." He acknowledged, not in a disrespectful tone…the long war had tired everyone to the bone…except for a certain hyperactive, knuckleheaded, unpredictable, formerly loud and mischievous Shinobi, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, Jinchuriki of the 9-Tailed Fox, Kurama. If the war had affected him in any way, it was only to make his resolve even stronger…as well as his powers…at great cost.

"One of Naruto's clones has found something in the ruins that you have to see." Obito told Kakashi.

"What has he found this time?" he asked.

"Well…" Obito scratched his head, "It would be better if you went and saw it for yourself."

Kakashi sighed before following his friend across the bridge.

Shortly afterwards

"What…is…this?" Kakashi stammered as he stood before a large sealing array. He had expected Naruto to have found a weapon or some secret chamber…and he wasn't wrong on the second guess. It was what was IN the secret chamber that brought him into the current state.

"From what I can tell from the short time studying this seal, it is a class 6 Uzumaki space-time sealing array." Naruto said, not looking up from where he was studying the array.

"In other words?" Obito asked. Whilst he himself was a level 4 seal master, he was unsure why Naruto mentioned his clan…or why he used the term 'class' instead of 'level'.

"If I were to compare it to the standard Seal grading, it is about a level 18." Naruto shrugged. Since the war started he had been using his clones to learn Fuinjutsu…something that he picked up with surprising ease thanks to his Uzumaki blood.

"And Jiraya-sama reached the 5th class in Uzumaki Fuinjutsu." Kakashi muttered, remembering the white haired perverted Sage.

"And I am currently only a class 4…this thing's way out of my league." Naruto stated.

"Pity that your new eyes are unable to help you here." Obito said, causing Naruto to close his eyes as a number of VERY painful memories flashed through his mind. "Sorry." Obito quickly apologized, seeing his reaction.

That topic was taboo with him.

"Can you at least tell what it does?" Kakashi asked.

"This seal is supposed to open a portal to another dimension…" Naruto said in a voice that sounded like he was quoting from a text.

"Will it work?" Obito asked.

"According to the scroll I found in this chamber, the Seal did successfully activate, but didn't function properly." Naruto told him, before bending down to study a very small section of the seal that was very fine in detail. "The Vortex was too unstable and completely disintegrated everything that came in contact with it."

"You think I could use my Sharingan to help?" Obito asked, pointing at his two Sharingan. Kakashi had returned his own Sharingan to Obito and in exchange received another implanted eye that successfully bonded with him.

"Probably." Naruto said. Just then the alarm went off again, signaling another attack.

"Naruto! Obito! Get this thing working. I will hold the enemy off for as long as I can." Kakashi said as he walked out of the chamber.

15 minutes later the seal activated and Obito used his Kamui to create a stable rift in time and space.

Ok…just to make some things clear for now:

Yes, the 'Uzumaki 'and the 'Universal' Fuinjutsu difficulty ratings are different:

There are 6 'classes' of difficulty in the Uzumaki difficulty system while there are 10 'levels' in the universal system…officially…and just to give you an example on the difference, a class 3 Uzumaki seal is a level 9 universal seal…and the difficulties/complexities are exponentially more so the higher the number…

…

And Yes, Obito didn't die as there was technically no fight with Kaguya…or Madara

Anyway…

Chapter 1, New beginnings

Akame ga Kill universe

Far to the south of the Imperial Capital, deep in the mountains, in a large cave, the very air shattered and 250-ish men, woman and children (mainly children and 'fresh Genin' though) literally flew through the rift, which closed itself behind them.

"Where the hell are we?" one of the oldest males shouted. He had messy brown hair and had red fang like markings on his cheeks. Next to him lay the unconscious form of a large white dog, whose left forelimb was bent at an unnatural angle. "Oh Shit…Sakura…We need your help here!" the man shouted out. A pink haired female ran over. Soon a green glow surrounded her hands as she began healing the dog's forelimb.

"I have to agree with Kiba's question." a girl with long Platinum blonde hair and green eyes said. "And where are the others?"

Those who weren't knocked unconscious looked around, finding that she was right…there should have been a lot more of them there…as in, thrice the number of people as were here…

The sound of stone shattering echoed through the cave.

Everyone's attention was drawn to a blonde male who had just slammed his fist into the floor near the entrance of the cave they were all in, forming a small crater. In his other hand was an opened scroll and those near him could see him shaking slightly and heard his sobs. Soon he began to cry, which turned into crying into the shoulder of a dark-blue haired female who ran up to him and embraced him.

"Naruto-kun…what is wrong…" she asked before seeing the writing on the scroll, "…It can't be…" she gasped as she felt tears coming to her own eyes.

Sakura, who had finished with Akamaru, the dog whose forelimb was broken, took the scroll from Naruto's hand and began reading it out loud.

"Naruto,

If you are reading this it must mean that you have safely arrived on the other side and you are wondering why we aren't with you.

I know that I said that this scroll held a seal that would bring us together is case we got separated during the travel through the rift , but that was a lie, and I swear on my soul that I didn't want to do that to any of you.

The truth is that most of the adults and I chose to remain here in the elemental nations and destroy the seal array after you made it through in order to protect you and our legacy.

…"

Everyone, male, female and non-human, was absolutely silent aside from the sobbing Naruto and the occasional sobs from a few in the group. Sakura opened up the scroll further to reveal more of the message. Naruto had clearly not read all of it.

"…

At the bottom of this scroll there is a seal containing Items I thought would be best if I hand them over to you now before it is too late.

I hope that you will forgive me for lying to you and for breaking my promise, but this is the only way I could think of to ensure that the 'Will of Fire' would continue.

I have one last request and that is for you to ensure that you continue being you: A Human…a Shinobi…a Friend!

Your friend and teacher,

Kakashi."

By now everyone was sobbing or crying silently as Sakura unsealed the contents of the storage seal at the bottom of the scroll, revealing a green flak jacket and a certificate for Naruto's promotion to Jonin rank. There was another pile of items, though this one contained two items: a long sword and a white cloak.

Sakura and a red eyed Naruto immediately recognized the sword as the one that belonged to Sasuke, their late teammate and best friend.

Only Naruto recognized the white cloak for what it was.

The others watched in awe as he put on the flak jacket and the cloak, their grief being relieved somewhat and replaced by surprise when they saw the word on the back: 'Hope'.

With shaking hands Naruto took the sword from Sakura's hands. He buckled it onto his back, the same way that his late friend had always done.

To everyone's surprise he then removed his forehead protector. Their eyebrows rose in alarm when he took out a kunai and began cutting into the metal.

"Naruto…" several of them near shouted, only to stop when they realized that he hadn't cut a scar through the leaf symbol, but instead had added 4 other symbols, two on either side of the leaf.

"We are not just the survivors of the Hidden leaf." Naruto said. "We are the survivors of the 5 nations as well." With that he tied the forehead protector back on his head. At first nobody moved, until moments later the dark haired girl who gave Naruto a shoulder to cry on took her own forehead protector and did the same. Soon everyone was busy carving the symbols of Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure and Kirigakure onto their forehead protectors as well.

Soon everyone began being overcome by tiredness and began laying out their bedrolls. There were several people who were sharing theirs, primarily those who were in a relationship, but also some who were very close friends (though the latter consisted only of young children).

Naruto was one of the former…

"Thanks, Hinata-chan." Naruto told the dark-blue haired girl who laid out their bedroll.

Although they were not officially dating (With the war and all they didn't have the time for that), Naruto and the now known as Hinata had been in a relationship for about half a year, after she had (once again) confessed to Naruto…whilst a large battle was raging around them (once again)…where she had nearly died (once again)…after unveiling a new technique (once again)…and ignoring Naruto's shouts for her to run (once again)…(anyone see a pattern or have a sense of Déjà vu here?)

People had playfully teased her for a short time afterwards because of her tendency to confess things during battles, going so far as suggesting that they should go into battle more often so she could confess more often to Naruto…only during the last month did she start not going atomic and fainting and instead laughed with the others.

All around them the others were going quiet as sleep overtook them. They didn't need to set up sentries, considering that when they walked to the cave mouth they found themselves half way up a mountain with no way up or down, just a sheer drop.

Just in case though, Naruto put up a low level barrier to at least notify them of any unwanted guests.

Starting tomorrow, he knew that things were about to become very hectic indeed.

The following few days were spent exploring the surrounding area and discovery. On the very first day one of the patrols had a run in with an odd looking creature that attacked them immediately, though the shinobi were able to defeat it without major problems. Since then the patrols did their best to avoid the new fauna.

On the 5th day they came across what appeared to be a battlefield. Broken spears and arrows were scattered across the area, but what was absolutely revolting to the shinobi were the few piles of bones near the remains of camp fires…human bones…smashed to pieces and showed signs of having been gnawed upon…

Following that bit of news, it was almost unanimously decided to secretly eliminate all the cannibalistic tribes in the immediate area and create a new hidden village on the mountain.

The only people who were against this plan were Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru, though all three had to agree that there was nothing else they could do. Naruto only gave his consent if those who would do the attacking would swear that they'd both make the peoples' ends quick and painless and to make it appear as though rival factions had attacked the tribes.

Out of the 258 survivors, he allowed only 40 on this task. He originally only said 30, but was talked into raising that number. The rest would begin building the village and looking for possible food sources.

One of the first things those who could use Doton jutsu did was to create and reinforce a relatively large tunnel running through the mountain, connecting the location they had chosen with a suitable spot where they would eventually build a bridge that spanned across the valley. Meanwhile, Naruto used his clones to gather wood from the trees inside the valley…well…until said clones discovered that the valley was pretty much one huge death trap with huge creatures roaming the forest floor…each powerful enough to be labeled as an high B-rank/low A-rank Beast.

They had their very own Training Area 44, known as the Forest of Death…and they were all overjoyed (Read with dripping sarcasm…) that they were right in the middle of it.

The food problem was resolved when it was discovered that the weird looking creatures outside of the 'Area 44 remake' were discovered to be edible…and tasted surprisingly good…if cooked properly, as in not cooked by Sakura…

And so, over the next month the survivors built their new village and cleared the neighboring hostile tribes, the latter being done successfully except for one thing…they burned the bones, leaving no traces whatsoever. This would eventually lead to certain powers in the north to become curious and investigate…

Far to the north, near the imperial capital

At a secret base located in the wilderness several miles away from the imperial capital, a group of 7 people were assembled around an 8th person with a mechanized arm and an eye-patch.

"I have a mission for all of us in the south." She said. The others started at that.

"The south?" a short, pink haired girl said/shouted out. "That is not where we should be!"

"I have to agree with Mine on that." A brown haired boy, the most recent to join the group, said. "We have to take care of the corruption in the capital…" he and any future complaints were silenced when the initial speaker raised her still biological arm.

"Tatsumi, I agree with you that our job is here, but HQ has sent word that we need to investigate the sudden disappearances of numerous tribes in the southern territories." She sighed. "According to the news, over a dozen tribes have completely disappeared in the span of a single month. At first it was assumed that the culprits were other tribes…"

"That in itself isn't unusual, though the number of tribes is indeed unusual." A large man with a weird looking hair style said. "Most of the southern tribes deep in the mountains are known to be cannibals."

"True, except there was no trace of cannibalism in any of the scouted village remains." The female sighed. "Normally there would have been piles of bones, but even those are missing…"

"What does that mean?" a very pretty, purple haired girls with glasses asked.

"Sheele, you really are an idiot." Mine said. "It means that something else is roaming around the area…wait…" she and everyone slowly turned to look at their leader as realization set in.

"My thoughts exactly. The affected areas are located near the border between the empire and the southern territories, so the investigation shouldn't take too long." The leader said.

"When do we leave?" a green haired male asked.

"At first light. Prepare for a lengthy expedition, the investigation may be easy, but we have a lot of ground to cover."

Back in the new shinobi village

"Naruto." Sakura called out as she and her exploration party returned. She and three others had gone to explore the territory to the north.

"Sakura." Naruto got up from where he was sitting in meditation and hugged his teammate. "What did you find?"

"Well, to the north there is a huge army camped just inside the mountain range." Sakura told him.

"Anything else?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. There are three tribes near that army that are completely different to the others…they are not cannibals." Naruto looked at her.

"Well, that is the best news since we found a new food source…" Naruto said, half joking.

Sakura cracked a smile at that. Her friend had been in a depressed state ever since the culling began and the slight joking symbolized his return to normal, albeit slowly.

"Anything about the camp that I need to know?" Naruto asked.

"Other than that, it is at least a quarter of the size of Konoha had been before Pain's assault and was heavily defended, there are at least 8,000 people living there." Sakura said.

Naruto looked at her.

"Summon Ino and every Yamanaka capable of transferring memories/information between people's heads." Naruto told her. "Also summon Hinata, Sai, Tenten, Kiba, Shikamaru and Temari."

"Will do." Sakura said, before walking away to summon those mentioned.

Naruto meanwhile sighed, painfully aware of the hole left behind by the absence of an old mountain sized fur-ball friend of his with a Bad Attitude, as well as that left behind by his former friend and rival. The only light in his current life was Hinata and to a lesser extent, the handful of Genin he had taken under his wing and his friends.

If it weren't for them, he doubted that he would have remained sane for as long as he did.

Some 15 minutes later

Naruto looked at the 12 Shinobi…and one dog… standing before him

"Alright, I called you all here because we need more information about this new world of ours besides that of the area around us." Naruto looked at Sakura.

"Team Sakura had recently returned from a recon mission to the north and found a large army encamped there." He turned to the Yamanaka shinobi.

"I need you from the Yamanaka clan to head north to use your mind jutsu to gain access to firstly the most common language spoken in this world and secondly to find any information regarding whether or not the army will be a threat to us in the future." Naruto told them.

"Sakura, Sai, Kiba, Akamaru, Tenten, Hinata and I will come with you for protection in case the unforeseen happens. Shikamaru, I'll leave you in charge of things here in my absence. Temari…if he slacks off, feel free to be…what's the word again?...oh right…'troublesome' for him." He finished.

Naruto ignored the 'Nara glare' the Shikamaru was giving him. (1) The blonde ex-Suna Kunoichi brightened slightly as she was being ordered to spend time with her boyfriend.

"Uhm…Naruto, why do you then need the 6 of us to gather the information?" one of the Yamanaka asked.

"I want this mission to take as little time as possible and afterwards we need to be able to quickly distribute the language amongst our surviving shinobi. If we find little in the way of information, some of us may need to infiltrate the camp." Naruto said. "If it comes to that, I'll need Ino, Sai, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata to accompany me."

"And me?" Sakura asked.

"IF it comes to that, I'll need you to escort the remaining Yamanaka back to the Village." Naruto told her. He turned to look out over the Valley, now officially dubbed 'Valley 44: Valley of Death', though that name had started out as a joke…

"My chakra coils haven't yet completely recovered from the strain that seal placed on me and Kurama has yet to awaken." Naruto sighed. "If my coils were healed, I would be able to safely enter my Sage Mode."

"And what of Lee?" Kiba asked.

The others looked at him as though he had a second head. Akamaru just shook his head.

"You really want to take him and his loud mouth with us on this mission?" Naruto asked. "A mission that, I remind you, requires stealth and a quick mind?"

"Point." Kiba admitted.

"His monstrosity of a dress-code will also most likely make anyone attack us just because of…" Naruto stopped there. "…you know what…I am not finishing that sentence." The others sighed in relief.

"Besides, he is training his 'youthfulness' by hauling the masonry and lumber needed for the Village." Hinata added.

As if on cue, they heard a familiar shout of 'flames of youth' from somewhere in the construction area.

"I think he will be fine here…" Temari murmured loud enough for everyone there to hear her.

1 day later

Squad Naruto arrived at a hidden location near the large military camp and decided to set up camp there for the time being.

'Hidden' was the operative word…they had just climbed up a nearby cliff until they found a small cave, large enough for all of them, yet inconspicuous enough not to make people want to check it out.

"How do you intend to do this?" Ino asked.

"To be honest, I haven't thought this far ahead…" Naruto chuckled whilst scratching the back of his head. The others sweat dropped at that but weren't really surprised…Naruto never really thought that far ahead.

"Hinata-chan, can you use your eyes to find any of the cannibal tribes nearby?" Naruto asked.

"Byakugan" Hinata said, activating her Bloodline. "6 miles to the South West there is a small band of tribal warriors coming, masks, spears and shields."

"Why do you need to know that?" Ino asked.

"I think I have a plan…" Naruto said, and began to outline his idea to the others.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are not a member of the Nara clan…" Kiba asked.

"Meh…Shikamaru would have pulled at least 6 plans out of his lazy ass by now and at least another 10 by the time he finished explaining the first." Naruto said, making the others smirk. "And if he were really trying, he'd probably have more than 5 times that number…"

Even back in the elemental nations Shikamaru was known for being as smart as he was lazy, if not more so…something about his IQ being over 200 and his LQ (Laziness Quota) being around the same level…

Let it be known though that he wasn't the only one with high 'Q' values…

Naruto had an UQ (Unpredictability Quota) of at least 300 and had the energy of over 200 standard Chunin. Let's not forget his PQ (Powerhouse Quota) of immeasurable heights…and his rather low IQ of 101…(that sometimes decides to nearly double…if the situation is right…*coughprankscough*)

Sakura had a TQ (Terror…ahem…Temper Quota) of 250, meaning that if one presses her berserk button…well things go FUBAR…big time…extremely fast…with little to no warning.

And then there is Lee…with an YQ (Youthful Quota) and LMQ (Loud Mouth Quota), both of around 450…and a IQ lower than Naruto's normal one.

And just to give a comparison…the average 'Q' is at 100…

But enough of the numerous Q's…

"Let's get some rest before we begin." Naruto suggested. The others agreed.

As he and Hinata were snuggling into each other, Naruto thought he heard one of the Yamanaka females mutter something about girls with big breasts getting all the good guys…

If Hinata heard her, she didn't show it though, but a small smile formed on her face.

Something that seems to happen mostly when she is together with Naruto…

'He's mine, bitch. Get your own!' she thought smugly to herself. If Ino had used one of her mind probing jutsu on Hinata at that moment she'd see some things Hinata wouldn't want her to see…

Let's just say that Hinata's status as a non-pervert would be shattered…forever.

(1): a death stare mixed with the usual bored expression usually seen on a Nara clan member. Pretty funny to see if it isn't directed at you…

Chapter 2, Infiltration

Naruto's plan was simple at first glance but had a complicated second layer to it.

It was simple in that they use the cannibalistic tribe to make some noise, thus making the army send a patrol to investigate.

That is where the complicated stuff starts…

This Patrol would then need to be captured and brain-walked for information, after which they'd need to be disposed of somehow. Shikamaru proposed leaving most of them to the mercy of the tribesmen. They would tamper with the memory of one of them and send him back to the camp. They'd let this army do the rest whilst they got the hell out of dodge and back to the Village.

And like most of Shikamaru's plans, this is almost exactly what they did…with one exception:

Naruto spontaneously decided that he'd let himself be 'captured' by the tribesmen shortly before the army assaulted the tribesmen camp. Hinata, not wanting to leave him again, used her own version of the Puppy Eyes Jutsu, as well as a long luxurious kiss that left Naruto quiet (and pretty much all of the females jealous) to convince him to let her accompany him.

Now, Naruto and Hinata were trapped in wooden cages, waiting for their 'salvation'.

"How long do you think we'll be in here?" Hinata asked. Naruto looked at her, black eyes (1) meeting lavender. 'Unsubs hidden nearby.' She signed.

"Don't know love." He said. 'Copy. Remember, no chakra.' He signed back.

To everyone except those with sharp eyes, the slight movements of their hands would have seemed insignificant.

Suddenly a small group of soldiers appeared next to their cages and began cutting the roped that held the cages tied together.

"Who are you?" Hinata asked. One of the males made the shushing sign.

"We are from the revolutionary army." The man said. Meanwhile a female was freeing Naruto.

"Follow us. We'll lead you back to our camp." She said silently and huskily.

"Oi!" Hinata hissed, catching the attention of the revolutionist. "That is my Boyfriend you are flirting with!"

The female looked from Hinata to Naruto and back, then grumbled about the hot ones always being taken…Hinata blushed when she heard the female referring to Naruto as 'Stud'…

Because in her mind he really was one…

Shortly after they made it to the tree line they heard dozens of small explosions going off, but neither Naruto nor Hinata heard or saw any fireballs that usually accompany an explosion.

"What are those noises?" Naruto asked one of the revolutionists.

"You mean you don't know what a gun is?" the man asked, incredulous.

"The two of us are from a…disconnected Village." Hinata explained. "We left the village to find out more about the world because of our isolation."

The revolutionists looked at each other.

"So…you don't know about the empire?" one of them asked.

"Not…really…our village is pretty far to the south of here." Naruto paused as if to gather his thoughts, but secretly communicating with Sakura, who was hiding out of sight of the revolutionists. "Our Village had been surrounded by cannibalistic Tribes since its founding, but thanks to the location of our Village, we could easily defend ourselves against them."

"Oh really? And do tell how you managed this?" a new revolutionist asked. This one was scarred from battle and carried himself like a seasoned veteran.

"Back before we left, our village was only accessible by walking through a narrow ravine." Hinata explained. "Before the Fall, that is…" she muttered.

'Nice acting, Hinata-chan.' Naruto signed. She barely nodded in acknowledgment.

"The Fall?" the newcomer asked.

"The earth shook and the cliffs that formed the ravine as well as the wall that defended our village came crashing down. We didn't have enough warriors to defend all around our village." Hinata said, before breaking down crying.

"We both lost people precious to our hearts that day." Naruto said, hugging Hinata. 'Damn, Hinata…since when are you this good at acting?' he whispered.

"Oh…I am sorry to hear that." The newcomer (Let's call him Scars for now) said. "Anyway, are the two of you the only survivors?"

Naruto shook his head. "There are roughly 250 of us left, all of us being younger than 20." He let go of Hinata, who had 'calmed down'. "I don't think that we have introduced ourselves yet. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, leader of the survivors of our Village." He said, holding out his hand. "And this here is my girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga. You have my thanks for saving us earlier tonight."

Scars smirked, shaking Naruto's hand and introducing himself.

"Wait…you are the leader? Then why the hell are you all the way out here?" he asked.

"I am new to the role of leadership, but one of my late Grandfather's words to me were: 'A good leader leads by example and never gives an order he/she is unwilling to complete himself/herself'." Naruto quickly explained. It wasn't really a lie, but not really the truth either.

"A wise man. Would have liked to have met him." Scars said. "Now, mind explaining to me why you are really here with a blind girl…" only to have Hinata walk up to him and glaring at him.

"I HATE it when people think that because my eyes are pale like this, that I am blind." She growled.

"Easy there, Hinata-chan." Naruto said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I meant no disrespect, Miss." Scars said.

At that moment the rest of the Revolutionist force arrived and the two shinobi left together with the force. Before leaving though, Naruto signaled Sakura one last message…

'Complete the bridge, then have someone fetch us.'

He thought he saw her sign 'Good Luck' before she disappeared.

Two days later, Shinobi Village

The group minus Naruto and Hinata returned to the village under construction and immediately began dishing out order to have the bridge completed. The design was simple and based of the one that she had seen Tazuna construct during their mission to Wave Country…only this one was being constructed far faster than that one had been thanks to the fact that it was shinobi building them. And of course, they had a green loud-mouthed beast hauling all the masonry from the quarry by the ton.

Shikamaru had taken temporary control of the village as Naruto had technically not relieved him of his duty yet…which he found troublesome.

Due to the amount of chakra being used, even the academy-level kids were slowly but surely becoming chakra powerhouses compared to the peace time standards back in their old world…and each and every one of them was by now able to do the tree climbing exercise with ease…something that Naruto and Sakura were envious about as they only learnt that skill on their first C-rank mission…

Another thing that came as a surprise was that the language in this world was very similar to their own as far as the spoken language was concerned…however unlike them there was only one written alphabet, whereas they had a few of them.

To the North of the Revolutionary Army Base

"How much further?" Tatsumi asked. His groin was aching from the constant horse-riding, a feeling shared by his green-haired comrade, Lubbock.

"We should arrive there by evening, unless anything happens." Najenda called over to him.

"You just came from a journey from your own village…how are you not used to this?" Mine screeched at him. "And Lubb…this is just pathetic."

"Shut Up, Pinky. I WALKED the damn distance from my village to the Capital." Tatsumi growled at the pink haired sniper.

"Will the two of you knock it off?" Najenda shouted, making the two of them go stiff at the tone of her voice. "Thank you."

For most of the journey from then onwards there was silence between the two.

With Naruto and Hinata

Naruto and Hinata looked around in wonder as they walked through the Revolutionist Base.

"This place is huge…" Naruto said in wonder. Behind him Scars chuckled at his words. He was now convinced that these two had really been living quite Isolated up until now…as was every other soldier under his command.

"I know right. But this base is only the size of a small city." Naruto and Hinata turned on him instantly, before fainting.

"Imagination overload?" Scars' second in command asked, making the entire troop laugh before they got hold of a pair of stretchers and carried Naruto and Hinata to the command tent where they would get debriefed by their superiors. Nobody noticed the small smirks on the pair of 'unconscious' youth's faces.

15 minutes later

Naruto 'awoke' with a groan, before looking around. He jumped to his feat when he found himself in an unknown tent. Moments later though he relaxed when he saw Hinata sleeping a few feet away from him.

"Ah…you are awake earlier than expected." A voice caught his attention. He turned to look at an elderly man with a long beard that held a fair amount of grey in it.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Naruto asked.

"My apologies, but my name is classified information as I am one of the highest-ranking individuals in the Revolutionary Army. I hope you will understand." He said sadly. Naruto nodded slowly as though accepting that. "As for where you are, right now you are in my command tent. A temporary solution until we are able to find proper housing for a leader of a village and his girlfriend."

"Not much of a village at the moment…" Naruto mumbled.

"What do you mean, not much of a village?" the old man asked.

"The correct term would be 'leader of our village's refugees'." Naruto said. "We have moved to one of our abandoned Outposts in the meantime and are probably going to settle down there, now that something had started wiping out the local Tribe in the area."

"Do you know what happened to them?" the old man asked.

Naruto shook his head. "All that we have at the moment ourselves are speculations. I am unwilling to talk about it at this moment due to this uncertainty. I hope you understand."

The old man nodded but felt as though Naruto knew more than he let on.

A groan from the side made both of them turn their head to see Hinata waking up.

"Hinata." Naruto said, walking over to her.

"Morning, Naruto-kun." She answered. The old man chuckled. He could tell that these two loved each other dearly.

That evening, Revolutionist command tent

"Ah, Najenda. Good to see you." The old man greeted the leader of Night Raid.

"General. It has been a while." Najenda returned the greeting. "Anything new about what happened in the south?"

"All in good time, but yes. We may have something literally walk into out camp just earlier today." The old man said. "But that can wait for tomorrow. I am sure that you and the other Assassins are tired from your journey."

A pair of agreeing moans were all the answers he needed.

3 days later

"Sir, there is a pink haired female outside claiming she is from the refugee group that some guy weirdo called Naruto leads." A man called out as he entered the command tent, where Naruto, Hinata and the members from Night Raid were sitting in conversation. "Uhm…where is the general?"

"Right there." Naruto said, pointing at Najenda.

"General Najenda…Sorry, I didn't see you." The man said. Najenda got a tick mark on her head, which Naru noticed.

"Did she give a name?" Najenda asked.

"Sakuga…no, Saguro…Sako-something Haru…something…forgive me, I am not good with names." The man apologized.

"Sakura Haruno." Naruto and Hinata said at the same time.

"Yes, that is it…wait…how do you know?" the man asked incredulously.

"She is a friend of ours. And I am the Naruto of which she speaks." Naruto said, getting up. "Well, General, it seems like my escort back home has arrived." He held out a hand. "It was nice meeting you. With Luck, we may see each other again."

"Same to you, Naruto. We will in the meantime wait for that old guy to return from this emergency he went to." Najenda said. "He said that he had something for us to help with our mission down south."

Naruto and Hinata exchanged a look.

"This…mission…wouldn't have anything to do with the disappearances of the tribes, would it?" he asked, surprising the Night Raid members. "Our home just so happens to be in the area where it happened."

"Really?" Najenda asked with closed eyes.

"We arrived in the area shortly after whatever it was happened…judging by how fresh the signs were." Hinata said.

"Now, now, guys, let's not keep this Sakura fellow waiting." Bulat said, getting up and fetching his gear.

"She'll kick your ass for calling her that." Naruto said with a smirk. Even Hinata giggled a bit.

Shortly afterwards, Revolutionary base gate

"Hey Naruto. Been a while." Sakura said, hugging her former Teammate as well as Hinata.

"Meh, only a few weeks. How things back at the Outpost…or should I call it the new Village?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we just finished renovations on the bridge as you asked. The houses themselves…well, you know." Sakura said. "Now, who are these guys?"

"Ah, Sakura, Kiba, Akamaru, Sai, Ino, meet the members of Night Raid. They are some sort of Special Forces Unit from what I gathered." Naruto told her and the others who came to act as his 'escort'. "Apparently they are like the ANBU from the Village back in the day, though I am not entirely sure on what their main role is…something between warriors and infiltrators…"

"Is it just me or is that another Sakura there?" Kiba asked, pointing at Mine. "She seems to be a lot quieter."

"Nah…Sakura is bigger." Ino said.

"And taller." Sai said.

"What are you talking about?" Mine asked.

Kiba and Akamaru winced. "I take that back…she may just be worse than Sakura in the Academy."

"In other words, I don't hold the title of Banshee any longer?" Sakura asked, mock pouting.

Leone, Tatsumi and Lubb by now were trying to hold in their laughter…and failing at it.

Mine was wondering what they were talking about.

Two days later

"Now that is an amazing bridge." Bulat said, looking over the recently finished bridge.

"Thanks. We finished repairing it just a few days ago." Sakura said. "We have started on the housing for the others, but I am afraid that It may take a few weeks, if not months, until we have enough for everyone."

"That is ok. Most of us can stay in the cave until then." Naruto looked around. "Where's Lee?"

His answer was a loud shout of "YOUTH!" as a green blur approached the group at high speed.

"NARUTO-KUN! HINATA-SAN! YOU ARE FINALLY BACK!" a male in a green spandex one-piece suit with orange leg warmers gave Naruto an audibly bone crushing hug.

Needless to say, the males were all sickened at the sight…whilst the females wanted to throw up. The only ones immune to this were Bulat, who applauded the sight, Akame, who had seen worse, and Naruto, who was turning blue due to lack of air.

"Lee…give him some Air!" Hinata screamed.

Lee, realizing that she was right, immediately let go of Naruto, who drew in a breath so powerful that Akame, Mine and Hinata felt the draft flowing through their hair.

"Troublesome. You have finally returned?" a tall male with black hair tied back in a messy pony-tail said.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Shikamaru. Anyway, how are things progressing here?" Naruto asked, shaking hands with his friend and advisor.

"We are a bit short on supplies, mainly metals with which to make tools and such. We have found a possible Ore vein nearby, but it appears to be down in the valley. Also, we are running short on lumber." He said.

"Lee, why don't you go get an axe and solve that last issue?" Naruto turned to Lee.

"YOOSH! IF I AM UNABLE TO DO THAT, I'LL RUN 20 TIMES AROUND THE VALLEY…" Lee bellowed.

"Lee, shut up and get to it…the sooner we finish the houses, the sooner we can start on the training fields." Naruto said. Lee was gone before he finished.

"Finally some peace and quiet." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Is this guy really that bad?" Najenda asked.

"In terms of pure physical strength and hand to hand combat, he is the strongest of us. But he is seriously lacking in any common sense and intelligence. Don't get me wrong, when he fights he can hold his own against most opponents, but outside of fighting he is…well you can guess that, can't you?" Naruto explained.

Night raid could only nod in agreement.

"Hinata, can you show them around whilst Shikamaru fills me in on everything that had happened whilst I was gone?" Naruto asked. 'Can't risk using any ninjutsu with them around.' He signaled behind his back, letting Shikamaru see it. Hidden in the shadows several other shinobi Genin saw the signs as well and retreated to spread the word: No ninjutsu for the foreseeable future.

Whilst Hinata was busy showing Night Raid around, Naruto went with Shikamaru to the small cave that served as the temporary Office.

"So, tell me, what has happened in my absence?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing much, to be honest." Shikamaru reported. "Since we cleared out the Tribes in the area, we had sightings of other tribes along our borders. We haven't done any investigation as the main effort is to get this place up and running, but I believe that we should be at combat readiness at all times." Shikamaru said. Naruto nodded, thinking about it.

"Think we could construct some heavy doors to close the main tunnel?" Naruto suggested.

"Possibly, though you could also crate a barrier with those Seals you learnt." Shikamaru said. "Troublesome. On second thought that won't work. An invisible barrier will attract too much attention." Shikamaru added.

"We'll come up with something soon. For now, is there anything else you want to tell me?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. I still don't know what you learnt during your stay in this 'Camp'." Shikamaru said.

"Later, when Hinata is back and Night Raid is settled in or out on their investigation mission, I'll explain everything." Naruto whispered, before pointing to the entrance, where Hinata had just arrived with said group.

"…and this is where Naruto keeps his office for the time being." She said. "Any questions?"

Tatsumi spoke up.

"Earlier, Mr. Shikamaru was it, said that you lack metal for tools, but you have found an ore vein. I get the feeling that the location you speak of is inaccessible?" he asked.

"Because the Valley surrounding this mountain is filled with powerful danger beasts that also act as a deterrent to any future Tribes that may want to attack us." Hinata said. "That being said, the bridge is our only way in or out, which leaves us vulnerable to a siege, but I don't think that there are many tribes who can pull one of."

"True, most Tribes are not patient enough for something like that." Najenda said.

"Anyway, now that Naruto is back, we may be able to hold the Danger beasts off long enough to get a sample of the rock to determine whether or not it is worth it to mine there." Hinata continued.

"Is he strong?" Bulat asked. The others leaning in interested.

"If he weren't recovering from an injury at the moment, he could probably take on everyone here minus myself, Shikamaru, Lee, and Temari and come out the victor. However, as he is currently, he can still hold his own in a straight up fight." Hinata told them.

"He didn't seem injured." Mine said.

"His injuries…aren't the external type…" Hinata said sadly. "When our old Village fell…he lost more than most of us…a lot more."

"And do tell what was it that he lost?" Mine asked. A presence appeared behind and she didn't notice it. "He couldn't have lost that much important stuff…"

"It would be easier to tell you what I have left following the attack." Naruto growled, picking her up by the collar of her dress, lifting her into the air. "I lost most of my friends, including my best friend, all of my Family, my home. All I have left are those that survived with me, my remaining friends and Hinata, and the clothes I wear on my body. Everything else is gone, lost forever."

The amount of KI he was releasing was seriously scaring the shit out of Mine. Hinata wasn't kidding when she said that he could when healed take on an army. He'd scare most of the soldiers away just by flaring his KI…

(1): Different coloration will be revealed in a later chapter.

Chapter 3, New Journey begins

Next Day

"Alright. The closest abandoned Tribal Village we know of lies about 4 leagues east of here." Naruto said, indicating a location on a rough map they had drawn on a leather hide taken from a danger beast during the first week. "We found 6 other Villages scattered around the area as well." Naruto marked off a few more locations scattered across the map. "We found piles of bones in one Village here." Naruto pointed to a Village to the south of their location.

"Anything about the Danger beasts in the area?" Akame asked.

Naruto chuckled hearing her stomach growling. "Most seem edible if that is what you are asking. But since we arrived, the number of Danger Beasts seem to have increased slightly. Most don't pose a serious threat to us, but I fear that one day we will have a harder fight on our hands."

"Thanks for the help." Najenda said.

"I just hope that whatever took out all those tribes doesn't come back and turns on us." Naruto told her. "Good luck. Till we meet again."

The members of Night Raid nodded and left, running across the bridge.

Naruto meanwhile turned back and walked into the Village. "Alright, let's get back to work and finish this Village." Night Raid heard him shout.

"Shouldn't we send someone to shadow them?" Shikamaru asked quietly.

"Shino already placed a tracking Bug on the brunette male and the blond." Naruto whispered back. Shikamaru nodded.

"Hey, Lee. That is enough wood for now." Naruto shouted, seeing Lee throw another log onto a huge pile of logs. "Can you go and help out at the quarry?" Naruto asked.

"WILL DO!" Lee shouted and sped off.

"Remind me to put a Volume reduction seal on him someday…" Naruto told Shikamaru.

"Troublesome." He just said. "How are you feeling?"

"My chakra network seems almost back to normal, but I still am getting no answer from Kurama." Naruto told him. "Give it about 3 more days and I'll be able to fully utilize my chakra again."

"About time. Soon we can have a look at that Ore vein." Shikamaru said. "Unless something else happens during those 3 days."

They continued their discussion until Sakura entered and began a checkup on Naruto.

Timeskip, next day, Night Raid

"Well, it seems as though whoever killed of the tribes did a very good job at hiding the evidence." Najenda said.

"True. But I can't shake the feeling that this Naruto fellow knows more than he let on." Bulat said.

"I have the same feeling. But you've seen the people he leads…there weren't any weapons on them…neither on him. I highly doubt that any of them could have done this.

"Could it be that the Tribesmen left the area?" Tatsumi asked.

"Unlikely. See, this?" Lubb said, pointing to a burnt log sticking out of the ground. "This place was set aflame…no this village was razed."

"Anything?" Najenda called out to the second team, consisting of Akame, Sheele and Mine.

Leone was out in the forest surrounding the destroyed village, trying to catch a scent.

"Nothing. All we found was a bunch of broken weapons. It looked as though they've been cut through by a sword or something." Mine answered.

"Boss…didn't that Naruto guy carry a sword?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yes he did, however he did say that he was still recovering…" Bulat said, slowing down towards the end.

"One man alone couldn't have done this." Najenda said. "Besides, he said that his injury stems from the assault on his former Village."

Bulat grudgingly admitted her point.

"I still think that he knows more than he lets on." He said. Najenda nodded. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she silently agreed with Bulat.

"Boss, whoever did all this covered their tracks well. There are no scents in the area, though that may be due to the weather here as much as them covering their tracks." Leone reported.

"I get the feeling that we are missing something." Tatsumi muttered. The others nodded in agreement.

They decided to check all of the other tribal ruins…there had to be a clue somewhere as to who did this…

Back in the Village, 2 days later

Naruto stood facing the forest, listening for any possible danger beast that could attack them.

"I don't sense anything Tenten. Get your sample will ya?" Naruto called up. His bun haired friend jumped down next to him, accompanied by a small group of Doton users, who used their Doton justu to remove a large segment of ore from the rock. Lee then, under pretext that it was a training exercise, carried the large chunk of ore all the way to the village, where Tenten and her group had managed to MacGyver a small working furnace and forge.

"I'll be able to tell you in a few days if this is any good." She said, getting to work.

"And we don't have anything worth trading for Ingots with the revolutionary army." Naruto murmured.

Few days later

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" echoed across the Village, causing all activity to stop and look towards Office Cave, as Konohamaru jokingly dubbed it.

"We may not have much of a choice." Shikamaru told Naruto. "According to Tenten, the metal vein produces metal so strong that it will take a long while to forge it into anything usable…she says that without the proper equipment, it'll take a week until she even finishes a hatchet. The furnace isn't hot enough, and none of our Katon users are able to produce flames hot enough to bring the metal up to proper forging temperature."

He sighed as Naruto digested the information. "Troublesome. I am sorry Naruto, but some of us will need to go into the mercenary business again, and out of all of us, you are the best candidate."

"But what about everyone here? I could be gone for years." Naruto said.

"Don't worry about that. I doubt that we'll need a kage in this village for quite some time. This is only until we become fully self-sustaining, so you may not be gone that long. At most I think you'll be gone for a few months." Shikamaru told him.

"If he's going, then I am going as well." Sakura said, walking in. she was followed by the other members of the former Rookie 9. "And I get the feeling that the others share the sentiment."

"I didn't even agree to this yet." Naruto said. "And even if we did, can we really afford to send the best of our group? I mean, we havn't fully explored the area fully yet, have we?"

"True, but someone has to keep you out of trouble." Sakura said.

"And I nearly lost you several times during the War, and even before that." Hinata said, giving Naruto a Hyuuga glare when he opened his mouth to complain, shutting him up.

"We can't have you getting all of the fun, now can we?" Kiba asked.

"Perhaps we should consider both sides?" Shino said.

"What the hell, Shino. Whose side are you on?" Kiba shouted. Everyone turned to Shino.

"Both sides are right in this conflict. We cannot hope to make it here without outside help, so we have to let ourselves be hired in order to get supplies. On the other hand, we cannot send every one of us as the others look up to us for guidance." Shino said.

"Troublesome…at most we can only spare 3 of us…that means it is Naruto and 2 others who are going to go." Shikamaru said, sighing.

"What do you guys suggest?" Naruto sighed, giving in.

"How about a assault-medic-tracking team?" Sakura proposed. "That means me and Naruto and either Shino, Kiba or Hinata. Naruto can hold his own against most enemies again and easily overwhelm pretty much anything. I will be there to heal his injuries if gets in over his head and the tracker to find the target." Sakura said.

"That sounds like a good Idea, but whom from Team 8 should we choose?" Temari asked.

Everyone looked amongst themselves, then at the three mentioned shinobi. But before anyone could make any suggestion, Moegi ran through the mouth of the cave.

"Guys…those Night Raid people…they have returned." She panted.

"We'll finish this later." Naruto said. Everyone nodded and followed Naruto to the bridge, except for Shikamaru, who turned to Temari for some quality time.

It didn't take long for the group to meet up with Night Raid.

"You guys are back. Found anything?" Naruto asked.

"Only things that confirm what you told us." Najenda said.

"Sorry for not being of much help." Naruto said, bowing. "What are you planning to do now?"

"We're planning to stay the night here, then return home tomorrow." Najenda said, pulling on her cigarette.

"About that…there is something we'd like to discuss with you…" Naruto said, indicating for Najenda to follow him. The others of his group he sent to help out wherever they could.

A short time later, the two of them were seated on logs around one of the communal fires.

"What is it that you'd like to talk about?" Najenda asked.

"Well, just before you returned, we decided to offer our services to the revolutionary army…at least a few of us will, myself included." Naruto told her. "It is all we have to offer in return for equipment and supplies." Naruto added.

Najenda nodded, understanding where Naruto was coming from.

"Would it not look bad for the village if their leader is not there?" she asked.

"And it is also the duty for the leader to take care for his people." Naruto said. "As much as it pains me to say it, Shikamaru is right. I need to do this. And besides, we intend to remain hidden from both the Revolutionary Army and the Imperials, and I won't be needed here for a while."

"Just how many people are going to join you on this endeavor?" Najenda asked, leaning forward.

"Myself, our chief medic, Sakura and one other, whom we have yet to choose." Naruto said. "There will be a few who will regularly come and bring me updates on the situation here as well as getting orders from me, unless you have a pigeon service going on."

"I'll see what can be done, though I suggest that you join Night Raid rather than the Revolutionary Army." Najenda asked, not aware of the hidden shinobi. Naruto however was. "That is for the reason that the higher ups of the army will want to know where this village is and such."

"Well, the supplies can be picked up by some of the warriors who will be remaining here." Naruto said.

The two spent about an hour discussing terms and locations, before Najenda got up and left the Cave.

Naruto remained behind in thought, before looking up and saying out loud, "Hinata, you can come out now." Naruto said.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, embracing him from behind. "Assassination has always been at the bottom of your list."

"And it always will be." Naruto turned his head, looking into her pale lavender eyes.

"Well, at least your contact lenses are still there." Hinata said. "But I prefer the real eyes, not some mask." She gently removed Naruto's contact lenses, revealing his black Irises. "Even if they are not the original eyes."

"Let me come with you. You know that Kiba and Akamaru stand out too much and Shino will scare the crap out of everyone with his bugs." She pleaded.

"And you are someone so beautiful that some corrupt noble would hand over a ton of cash to get in his bed." Naruto said.

"Not going to happen." Hinata said. "You are the only one for me."

"And you're the only one for me." Naruto said, pecking her on the lips. "Alright…but only if you manage to convince Kiba, Akamaru and Shino about letting you go."

"Oh, don't worry. They know that I want to go, and they are alright with it." Hinata said.

Suddenly she activated her Byakugan, then motioned for Naruto to return the contact lenses to her eyes.

Seconds after he did so, Najenda entered the Cave with Akame and Sakura.

"I have spoken with the others and they are willing to accept your help." Najenda said. "So, welcome to Night Raid, Naruto, Sakura. We can leave when you choose the third person."

"Actually, Hinata just managed to convince me to let her come with." Naruto said, leaning into Hinata who was still standing behind him. She smiled and began playing with his hair.

"…t…" Naruto's eyes snapped open hearing a noise in his mind. "…at…"

"Uhm…excuse me for a while please." He suddenly said, kneeling on the ground and becoming still. Sakura and Hinata's eyes widened as they could guess what was happening.

Najenda and Akame were confused until 10 seconds later Naruto opened his eyes.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, before telling them not to mind him, saying that it was a habit he picked up from his late godfather…in reality it was something different.

Flashback

Naruto entered his mindscape to find it no longer the sewer he remembered it to be. It was now a large open grassland with a forest to one side and a lake to the other. It was very serene.

And standing before him stood none other than Kurama in all of his glory.

"Kurama…you are alright!" Naruto shouted in joy.

"Never thought I'd say this, but damn I am glad to see you, brat." Kurama said.

"Where have you been all this time?" Naruto asked.

"Asleep. You drained me of all my chakra using that portal thing." Kurama told him.

"I understand. I'll let you look through my memories so you can catch up to current events." Naruto told him. Kurama nodded before lying down and began sifting through Naruto's memories.

Naruto smiled, happy to have his friend back and disappeared from his mindscape.

Flashback end

The next day, Village bridge.

"Take care of yourselves, Naruto! Sakura! Hinata!" Everyone was shouting their farewells to Naruto, Sakura and Hinata.

"Likewise. Make our ancestors proud, and build a village they'd be proud of." Naruto shouted back. He had his camping gear on his back, as had Hinata and Sakura. Also on his back was Sasuke's sword, which he had begun learning how to use ever since he received it, and since he was fully healed and had a certain pink (ex-)banshee at his disposal, he could train himself to the ground again. However whom he chose to teach him Kenjutsu was a little…extreme…

Tenten was an outright drillmaster from the lowest circle of Hell if she wants to be…

Probably did not help when Naruto asked her if she was going to start spewing all that "FLAMES OF YOUTH" BS that Lee and Guy were well known for…

Timeskip

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were looking a bit pale at the horses they'd been issued. (1)

"Are we supposed to…travel on those?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. They are the fastest means of transportation available to us at the moment." Najenda said.

Naruto looked at her.

"No offence, but these things look more like Ball Busters…mind If I run alongside?" Naruto asked. The Night Raiders looked at him as though he was crazy.

"As deep in the mountains as our former village as in, we didn't ride horses." Sakura explained.

"We used them in the fields to pull carts carrying food and equipment." Hinata added.

"I guess that makes sense, but trust me, riding a horse is not all that bad. Just ask Bulat." Najenda said, pointing at the huge man.

"She's right. Riding is pretty fun actually." He agreed.

"Ok then, let me get a second and third opinion." Naruto said. Before Najenda could react, he turned to Tatsumi and Lubbock. "What is riding really like?"

"Hell." The two of them answered.

"But like Boss said, it is the fastest way to travel." Tatsumi added.

Naruto did not sound convinced…and 20 minutes later wished he had chosen to run instead when he felt his groin getting bruised by the unfamiliar feeling of having a horse jumping over obstacles…

He later learned that Hinata and Sakura were using their chakra to basically glue themselves to the saddle…and subsequently played pranks on both of them for not telling him about that idea.

Sakura would forever remember waking up with green hair and covered in Mayonnaise…

Hinata on the other hand thought that her voice box would stop working after all the tickling Naruto sent her through after somehow attaching a tickling seal to her stomach, armpits and the soles of her feet.

(1) I don't recall Naruto ever riding a horse in the manga or anime…

…

AND DONE!

It has been a while since I last did triple Chapter Uploads…and I have seriously gotten rusty.

Now, I know that there are going to be questions about Naruto's eye-color, but please don't nag me about that. There is a reason for it that will be revealed at a later stage.

#Edited due to wrong spelling of a name 8 times