Hinata let out a long sigh of relief, as she submerged her body to her chin into the underground river they used as their bathing area. Though for the first time, the water wasn't freezing cold, it was hot. For the first time in two years she was taking a hot bath, along with almost every other woman in the mountain, and it was all thanks to Naruto – more specifically his training. Over in the men's side of the bath, he was currently practicing fire jutsu, currently testing his stamina by releasing a constant stream of fire into the river. He suggested that while he did it, everyone could enjoy a hot bath.

The girl smiled, Naruto was always thinking of others. Hinata rested her head against the smooth rock behind her, remembering the past day when her lover had started his training.

XXXX

Naruto sat upon the floor of the cavern that was reserved for a training room. It was far down in the mountain's network of tunnels, and it was also the largest, with an almost twenty foot high ceiling and about fifty feet wide from wall to wall in each direction. From what they could tell, the cavern was naturally formed, it had probably housed an underground lake at one point in time, but was drained by the miners when they dug into here.

Unfurling the scroll the Sandaime had given him, Naruto began looking through it immediately, noting that the Hokage had organized his writings into element types (or lack of) and rank of difficulty. He let out a low whistle when he saw the techniques varied from simple jutsu to massive ones that required a monster amount of chakra and control. He wasn't sure which to start with exactly. He didn't have much experience with ninjutsu beyond his clone technique and the two elemental jutsu he'd learned, not to mention his own created jutsu he'd formed from using the Kyuubi's chakra. As he was deciding to skip over water, lightning, and wind jutsu for the time, as he had no experience with either, he heard a sound behind him.

Looking over, he saw Hinata standing behind him leaning over his seated form to look at the scroll. She had a playful smile on her face, telling him she was trying to sneak up on him. "So, find anything interesting?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It's all so amazing I have no idea where to start. I'm thinking about picking an elemental type I'm familiar with though."

"Why not learning ones you have an affinity for?" At his confused look, she asked, "You know what your elemental affinity is, don't you Naruto-kun?"

Feeling a bit sheepish, as she asked the question as if it was the most natural thing, he scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I'm not sure what you mean. What's chakra affinity?"

Hinata looked thoughtful for a moment, putting a finger to her chin before replying. "Let me see if we have any chakra paper in the armory – I'll explain everything when I get back." She added at the end, seeing Naruto's confusion grow. She got up, but not before giving Naruto a peck on the cheek, and jogged towards the ladder that descended into the cavern.

Naruto watched her go with a small smile, and then tried to recall if he'd ever heard of anything like chakra affinity in the academy. By taking the name at first glance it sounded like it meant being more in tune to one type of elemental chakra than the other. Shrugging, he figured he'd learn all about it when Hinata came back.

About ten minutes passed, when Naruto heard the sound of someone coming down the ladder. Hinata appeared, but this time with two small rectangular sheets of paper held in her hand. "We're in luck, we had some that we acquired from a raid on one of the caravans leaving Konoha." She sat back down next to Naruto, facing him this time. Seeing she had his attention, she held up one of the chakra papers. "Chakra affinity is the term used to describe what type of elemental chakra is easiest for a ninja to utilize, it's something determined at birth and is usually genetic. The way we test it, is with these sheets of paper that are made from trees that are sensitive to chakra. You channel chakra into the paper, and depending on happens to it, will determine your type. For instance, my affinity is for water – watch." Hinata held the piece of paper between them and focused her chakra into it, before long, the paper sagged and fell limp in her hand, looking as if it had been drenched in water. Hearing Naruto's amazement made her laugh, but she continued, "If it becomes drenched, like mine did, your element is water. If it burns it's fire, if it slices in half it's wind, if it crinkles it's lightning and if it's earth the paper turns to dust." She grabbed another slip of paper and handed it to Naruto, "Give it a try."

Naruto carefully took the paper, as if the wrong touch would make it go off prematurely, much to Hinata's amusement. The blonde held the paper in one hand, and focused on it, curiosity eating away at him, this was something cool he'd never known about. Seconds passed, and as he thought he'd might have done it wrong, the paper split in half. "Wind!" Both exclaimed at the same time, but just as the paper was falling apart, both sides ignited in the black and red fire of the Kyuubi. Naruto dropped the paper quickly before the fire could burn his hands, and he looked at the fluttering papers that were quickly being devoured with some awe. "Did I do something wrong?"

Hinata quickly shook her head and clapped her hands together. "Not at all Naruto-kun! It's rare, but not unheard of for ninja to have affinity for two different chakra types! That's amazing!"

Naruto blushed and laughed, feeling his ego swell at getting praised by his love. "Well of course! It's me you're talking about after all!" In the back of his mind, he started to figure out that the reason he probably had two affinities was that the Kyuubi had some impact on him, thus why the fire that burned the paper looked the way it did. Punching his fist into his open palm he grinned at Hinata. "Alright! Wind Jutsu it is!"

XXXX

Hinata had been busy the rest of the day, working on her day to day obligations, so she hadn't been able to catch up with Naruto until that night. She didn't have to guess whether or not he'd been successful in his training however, as all day it had seemed like a raging gale had been blowing through the cramped tunnels, spawning from the training ground. She had expected complaints, but the wind had been welcome by many, as the stale air from the caves was finally blown out for a short while. When she had finally seen him again in their room, he was tired, but certainly not drained of all his energy. Hinata blushed, dropping lower into the water to just under her eyes, the hot water having a pleasing effect on her scar as she recalled the night.

To her side, Tenten was looking at Hinata with a grin, her hair out of their buns and pinned up on the back of her head. In a sing-song voice she spoke, "I know what you're thinking about ~!"

Hinata was snapped out of her thoughts, as she looked over at Tenten, who was inching closing to her with a predator-like smile. "E-Eh? What do you mean?" she scooted away reflexivly, looking at Tenten like a crazed murderer.

"Don't try to hide it." Kurenai chuckled out, who was currently standing over a seated Ino and washing her hair. "We all could hear it." She chuckled out with a tone that suggested she was wanting to say this for some time. Kurenai lived only a few feet from Hinata's room, and Tenten wasn't much further.

Ino grinned devilishly, as she spoke. "So what Anko was telling me was true!" she scooted forward some on the rock she was sitting on in the middle of the river, looking in Hinata's general direction. "You better spill it girl! We've all been wondering what the new and improved Naruto is like."

Hinata blushed even harder, feeling her stutter come back to her with a vengeance. "I-I-I don't know what y- Tenten?!" Hinata cried out as she was cut off by Tenten jumping behind her and grabbing onto her breasts, fondling them.

"I heard you loud and clear last night for sure!" Changing her voice to mimic Hinata's she continued, "Ahn! Naruto-kun, amazing!" She gave Hinata's large breasts another firm squeeze as she spoke, making the other girl cry out.

Hinata fought Tenten off and jumped a few feet over, looking at the laughing girls with a large blush as she covered herself. Memories of last night came to her, and she remembered Naruto telling her not to be so loud. It's not my fault, she groaned in her mind as she wanted to just disappear into the water, remembering how hard he was thrusting into her, it made her mind melt. The thought made her submerge herself fully into the water, leaving only bubbles to mark she was ever there.

XXXX

Over on the men's side of the bathing area, Naruto was sweating even after stripping down to just his pants. The heat from his fire jutsu and the steam filled cavern raising the temperature to a degree that many of the male ninja had already fled from. His lungs threatened to implode on him at any given moment, or at least that's how it felt. He had to focus with the utmost care or he'd lose his focus and possibly hurt himself. On the bright side, he didn't even feel like the constant stream of fire he was channeling was even putting a dent into his chakra.

"Ah! Now this is what I call a bath!" Naruto smiled as he glanced out of the corner of his eye to the six old men who were still in steaming water. Out of all the people that had fled, only the elderly ninja – including Sarutobi – had remained to enjoy the bath.

Sarutobi let out a content sigh of his own, as he looked towards the old ninja who now worked in the mess hall during the day."Indeed. These young kids don't have any fortitude." he chuckled out.

"Well, we do have this old thick skin of ours." Another of the old men spoke, slapping his arm. "Can't blame them too much now Hiruzen!" This one a retired ninja that followed his son when they fled Konoha, and also an old class mate of Sarutobi.

"Hell I think you're all too weak! This water is nothing!" Another old man spoke, and turned towards Naruto. "Hey, Menma! Turn it up!"

"You old coot, his name is Naruko! Get your facts straight!"

Sarutobi let out a loud laugh as he heard the two old men start to argue over what Naruto's name was. Looking over at Naruto, he smiled as he saw the concentration on the young ninja's face as he continued to maintain his jutsu. He was beyond impressed at his level of control to be able to maintain such a steady stream. It may have wavered from time to time, but he kept it steady and never took a break from it for the past fifteen minutes. Turning back towards his friends he knew he made the right choice in giving him the scroll.

XXXX

Later that day, Naruto was reclining in one of the old worn wooden chairs that surrounded the planning table, as Hinata spread out maps and information they had concerning the capital. They'd already gone over multiple entry paths they could use, but all of them were covered by Oni, and would he hard to sneak by. They'd already agreed that stealth would be of their top priority – at least until they could get to Hanabi.

"They can see through any number of genjutsu, and I wouldn't be surprised if henge didn't work. And I know they know all the faces of the surviving ninja." Hinata spoke, thinking about how to go about getting themselves into the capital.

Naruto grinned as he leaned in. "You're thinking too hard Hinata-chan. In this case the simplest answer is best. From what you told me, these things aren't normal humans. I'll bet you they don't think complex enough to go after regular civilians to check for ninja in disguise." "

Hinata glanced over to Naruto with some surprise, and feeling a bit abashed for not having thought of it herself. "That might just work. It's about the only chance we have of getting in quietly at any rate." The other thing on Hinata's mind was trying to find another person to come with them on what could be easily considered a suicide mission. While they could do what Naruto suggested and just go in alone – his reasoning being the less people the better for stealth – she would feel more secure with a third if they had to fight. "Naruto, about the third member, do you have any suggestions on who we should ask?"

Naruto gave it some thought. He still thought it would be better with just them, but he understood the merit of the three member team. He first thought of Shino, Kiba, Neji and Lee – all ninja he had been glad to hear survived – but from what Hinata had told him they would all be out on missions for days and he wasn't keen on waiting. As he started to consider some other Jonin, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice from his left.

"Oyabun! You gotta take me with you!" Naruto looked over and saw Konohamaru standing in the doorway, standing with his feet squared and his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"Konohamaru, You should be at your post – why did you leave?!" Hinata chastised, standing up, but was stopped by Naruto's raised hand. She looked down at the blonde who had a soft expression on his face.

Naruto guessed the kid had been listening in on them, knowing they were in here. He had a feeling that Konohamaru revealing himself with his outburst had more behind it than just wanting to go on a mission. And judging by his desperate eyes and shaking fist Naruto was right. "Konohamaru, you know this mission would be too dangerous." Naruto stated calmly.

Konohamaru sliced the air in front of him in a horizontal chop with his arm, "So what?! Hanabi is in danger and no one will let me go get her! Please Oyabun – you have to let me go with you! I have to – I –!" Konohamaru trailed off, his eyes almost watering as he looked down towards the ground.

Naruto observed him for a moment, waiting, then spoke, "Go on, what do you have to do?"

Hinata frowned, as she knew what the boy was going to say.

Konohamaru's shoulders sagged and his fists slowly unclenched. "The day Danzo attacked Konoha. . . I was going to go see Hanabi-chan. We were both on the same genin team, and we became friends you know?" His face softened some as he spoke, his tone reflecting the despair he had been feeling the past years. "So when I hadn't seen her for a while, I was worried, so I went to check on her and make sure she was okay. On my way there, was when the Oni started massacring everyone. I ran as fast as I could to the Hyuuga compound, to make sure she was going to be okay, but the Hyuuga guards wouldn't let me in – so I snuck in and searched for her. . .

Konohamaru let out a silent breath as he pressed himself against a dark corner, looking around to see if the way was clear. It was dead silent inside the Hyuuga Mansion, the only sounds being the echos of combat that were flooding in from outside. So far all the guards were outside the compound, he'd only managed to get in by jumping the wall when the guards were looking the other way for a split second. From the few times he'd been inside the Hyuuga mansion he could remember his way, and he knew he wasn't too far from Hanabi's room. Taking it slow from corner to corner, Konohamaru worked his way to the final corridor that would lead him to her private chambers.

Taking a slow peek around, he quickly drew his head back with a silent curse as he saw a Hyuuga guarding the door. Running a few plans through his head, Konohamaru knew he only had one real shot at getting past him. Walking a few steps back, he formed a seal.

The guard nervously shifted from one foot to the other. The sounds of fighting outside were growing and he was getting worried about his brother, he knew he was out in the village. Running footsteps broke him out of his thoughts, causing him to snap his attention to the left, already falling into the Jyuuken stance. Around the corner came another Hyuuga, skidding to a stop. He dropped his stance and let out a small gasp when he saw the blood coming down his face.

"It's bad! The enemy is at the gate – we need everyone able to fight outside!" the injured ninja yelled, falling to one knee.

The guard ran up to him, placing a hand on him gently, "Are you okay!?"

The injured Hyuuga shook his head quickly, "It's just a small wound I can patch it up easily, – now hurry up and get going I'll take your post!"

The guard nodded and stood, "I'll be back with some supplies when we've taken care of the enemy! Protect Hanabi-sama and don't let anyone into her room!" He stood and started sprinting down the hall.

The injured Hyuuga watched the guard go and as soon as he was out of sight Konohamaru broke his henge and ran to Hanabi's door, throwing it open. He smiled as soon as he saw the shocked Hanabi sitting on her bed, looking over at Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru – what are you doing here?!" she jumped from her bed, walking up to her teammate.

"I had to make sure you were okay, why won't they let anyone see you?" He asked quickly, keeping his voice low and urging her to do the same. To his surprise, she moved close to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Never mind that right now! We have to get out of here!" Hanabi sounded almost desperate, and the way she looked at him told the boy all he needed to know. His usual cool and calm teammate was in a state he'd never seen her in.

Konohamaru nodded and grabbed her hand, making them both blush for a second. "Alright! Come with me!" Pulling her, he started running with her towards the exit as fast as he could, it'd only be a matter of time before the guard found out his lie.

"W-Wait a sec! Idiot!" Hanabi exclaimed as Konohamaru led her out of her room. She stared down at his hand and felt her face burn up at the thought of this idiot touching her so casually. She decided she'd allow it for now though, not because she liked him or anything though!

Konohamaru felt his heart racing a mile as he skirted from one corner to the next, expecting to see a group of pissed off Hyuuga waiting for him, but some god must have been looking out for him, because he came to a slow stop just at the servant entrance he'd came in from at the side of the compound. Looking back towards Hanabi he gave her a smile, "We're almost out we -"

"Look out!"

Konohamaru turned just in time to see a chakra enhanced palm into his face, knocking him down to the ground. His world was spinning for a few seconds, but he could hear the distorted screams of Hanabi. He felt himself getting hauled up and restrained as his hearing slowly came back to him.

" -op, don't hurt him!"

"Shit, it's the Hokage's grandson. We can't do anything to him. Just throw him out."

Konohamaru felt his anger spike as he struggled in the strong grip of the two ninja who were holding onto his arms. "Let me go you bastards! Hanabi!"

"Stop struggling, brat!" One of the two that were holding onto him shouted. Looking over to the guard that was holding onto Hanabi he spoke, "Get her back to her room and padlock the damn door."

"Konohamaru!" Hanabi cried out as the guard grabbed her and hauled her back into the compound.

Konohamaru dug his heels into the dirt and grit his teeth as he felt his eyes start to prick with tears from his frustration. "Hanabi! I'm going to rescue you – just wait for me!" Then, as he tried in vain to throw his restrainer off him, the other let out a curse and hit the back of his neck with a chop, causing his world to go black. But as his consciousness faded, the last image he saw was Hanabi holding her hand out towards him, with a tear in her eye.

". . . and after that, I woke up in Konoha General. The bastard that knocked me out carried me to the nearest ninja and dropped me off." He looked back up to Naruto, who's expression was unreadable. "I knew she wasn't going to be safe with those bastards Oyabun! I. . ." a tear started to well up in his eye as he sucked in a small breath. "I promised her I'd come back for her – that I'd be the one to rescue her dammit!" He let out a small sob, and quickly wiped his tear away with the sleeve of his shirt.

Hinata felt her heart ache for Konohamaru. She knew the tale, as did many ninja who knew the boy. It was plain to see what her sister meant to the genin, and it had been almost everyday she had to deny his requests to go out and find her. When word had come in that she had been relocated to capital, he'd snuck out of the mountain to try and rescue her himself, but he was caught and dragged back. Taking a deep breath, she started to deny him, when she was stopped by Naruto speaking.

"You know it's dangerous. Where we're going there's going to be a lot of enemies who will kill you in an instant." Naruto spoke roughly, staring at Konohamaru.

Konohamaru viciously shook his head. "I'm way stronger than that! And besides I don't care – if dying means I can save Hanabi I will! A man never goes back on his word!"

Naruto let out a small smirk and nodded. "Well said. You can come with." It was hard for him to believe this was the same Konohamaru that would try to assassinate his grandfather every day.

"Naruto-kun?!" Hinata replied, looking down at her lover with disbelief. Was he trying to get him killed?

Konohamaru looked like he didn't hear Naruto, and looked as if he was about to argue when Naruto's reply sank in his head. His face was shocked for a moment, before a gigantic smile broke out over his face. "You're not gonna regret this Oyabun! I swear it!"

Naruto nodded. "Meet us here at seven tomorrow morning alright?"

Konohamaru enthusiastically nodded, and started to run for his room when Hinata's scary commander glare caught his eye and he let out a small yelp. "Sorry – I'll go back!" and turned tail to book it towards the entrance, barely avoiding Tenten, who appeared in the doorway. "Sorry!"

"Hey Konohamaru, watch it!" Tenten yelled after him. She had come to see what all the fuss was about that she had heard echoing up from the armory. Putting her hands on her hips she let out a sigh. "I swear that boy. . ." As she turned to talk to the other two ninja, she was stopped when she saw the look on Hinata's face.

"Naruto-kun! What were you thinking letting him come along it's way too dangerous!" She marched around the table to stand in front of him with her arms crossed. For the first time she was actually feeling angry towards her lover. "You need to go tell him he can't!"

Naruto shook his head once, looking up towards Hinata, noting that she somewhat scared him when she scowled like that. "I agree it's dangerous, but he can't be shielded from this forever. Besides, we're not going there for a full fight, we're getting in and out."

"And? He still might be more of a liability than an asset, he's not going to be as fast or strong as us – and besides weren't you the one saying we didn't need more people!? We –" She was cut off by Naruto standing up and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Hinata-chan. This is something he needs to do. If it had been me in his place I would have done the exact same. The fact that he hasn't ran out multiple times speaks to how seriously he takes it, he knows the danger just as well as we do." Seeing her face soften up some he smiled and moved his hands to her cheeks, gently cupping them. "I'm going to keep him out of danger. I promise." Hinata mover her hand to put it on top of his own, and gave him a small sigh, knowing she wasn't going to be able to talk him out of it.

"Ahem!" Tenten cleared her throat, looking at the two lovebirds that were clearly lost in each other. She suppressed a smile when she saw them break apart with a small cry, looking at her like they'd forgotten all about her. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think I heard something about a mission to get your sister?" Tenten asked.

Hinata quickly cleared her blush and nodded, "Yes, we're trying to find someone to volunteer for our third member. Do you –?" She trailed off, looking towards the smirking Tenten.

Tenten nodded, "I've been waiting for this mission! I want to get the little angry girl out of there as much as the rest of you." She remembered the times she'd visited the Hyuuga compound to see Neji, and Hanabi was always polite, but rather on the serious side for her tastes. Still, that didn't mean she didn't have a soft spot for the young Hyuuga, it broke her heart to see how Hinata and Neji had taken the news of their family member being out of their reach. She punched her fist into her palm. "Besides, it's been getting waaaaaay too boring in the armory. If I have to spend another day in there I'm gonna freak – I need some action!"

"Alright, that makes three then!" Naruto roared out in joy as he clenched his fist in front of him. "Come tomorrow we're gonna save Hanabi-chan!"

XXXX

After nine P.M, the generators were shut off that gave light to the residential areas, allowing for people to sleep in the dark. Anyone who would be up past that time would have to rely on candle or lamp light, which is what Naruto found himself using. After Hinata had fallen asleep cuddled up against him, he gently separated them and made his way over to the small dining table, where he had a small lamp lit that barely illuminated the table, but gave him enough light to work without disturbing Hinata.

Using the materials he had carefully laid out, he started making exploding tags. Normally it was a dangerous thing that would be only conducted in solitude, but he had it down to where he could preform it in his sleep and found it oddly relaxing. He turned to making these whenever he had problems falling asleep or had something weighing on his mind. Both of which assailed him this night. While he didn't think anything could bother him enough to pull him from the warm embrace of his beloved, his worries caught up with him.

He frowned, as he put the finishing touch on a tag and set it aside to make room for the next blank tag. He hated being nervous, or having any kind of self-doubt. His bravado was true, he had meant every single word and promise he'd made so far about taking down Danzo and retaking their home. But, could he actually do it? Every time he looked around and saw the faces of the ninja who have been fighting and having to watch friends and loved ones die, how could they believe he'd make any kind of a difference?

It was because of that, and that she was important to Hinata, he wanted to save Hanabi. If they could take her back out of the capital, it would have to inspire the others, to show that hope still remained. His thoughts drifted to Shikamaru, causing his heart to clench at the memory of his old friend in such a state. If anyone portrayed the suffering and despair the Konoha ninja had gone through, it would be him. If he could bring Shikamaru back to his old self, everyone else would too; he was sure of it. Letting out a small sigh, he leaned forward and rubbed his forehead with his hand. Talk was easy, thinking even more effortless, how was he going to –

His thoughts were cut short as he felt warm naked skin press into his back, and a pair of milky white arms encircled his neck. He couldn't suppress his blush when he realized what was resting against the back of his head, but managed to smoothly reach up with his free hand and grab onto Hinata's.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke sleepily, and gently squeezed Naruto's hand, "Can't sleep?" When her unconscious hands hadn't found Naruto's body in her sleep, she woke up, feeling like she was missing something. Seeing his dimly lit figure across the room, she figured out rather quickly that he was probably up because he was plagued by something or another.

Naruto nodded, leaning his head back into her body. "Kinda. I hope I didn't wake you up?"

"No," Hinata replied, "Are you thinking about tomorrow?"

"Is it that obvious?" He chuckled back in response, and started to gently trace a circle on her hand with his thumb. "I'm just a bit anxious is all."

She smiled, understanding that he wouldn't tell her his whole worry for the situation. She knew he was trying to shoulder all of the burden himself, to be fearless and hope he would lead by example. It was much what she had done for the past two years to try and inspire others. She had found herself at this very table many nights before, unable to shut her mind off from her fears and self-doubts and regrets. But that was when she was alone, with no one to talk to or help her through the long, cold nights. It wasn't so anymore.

Leaning down so that her mouth was right next to his ear, she smiled as she felt him shiver from feeling her hot breath on a sensitive spot. "Come back to bed, I'll help you forget about it." As she spoke she slowly trailed her free hand down his naked torso, feeling each and every individual muscle before letting her hand rest at the hem of his pants.

Naruto felt his blood rush, as he let out a soft moan from the feelings that were exploding inside him. He turned his head towards her, using his free hand to gently bring her head closer to his lips and gave her a deep kiss, as he felt her hand slip under the brim of his pants. Breaking away from their kiss, he looked into her eyes, and breathed out, "You convinced me."

XXXX

Three days after leaving for the capital . . .

Deep into the Land of Fire's territory, one could find it's capital. Nestled in a verdant valley, with a large river running by it's side, it was one of the largest cities in the world. With most of it's buildings comprised of tall, elegant structures, it was a true wonder to behold for any visiting guests and being the central trade hub of the country, there were plenty. Merchants from all over the country, and from out of country, came to hawk their wares in the massive merchants district of the city where one could find a large open air plaza, where once a week or during festivals traveling merchants could conduct business.

Which made being a gate guard that much harder, especially when the young daimyo's birthday was tomorrow. The gate guard, a middle aged man in his thirties, waved on another wagon in a long line of people waiting that stretched into the forest beyond. He let out an annoyed sigh, whenever an even such as this took place, everything from nobles to merchants to peasants and even foreign envoys seeking to curry favor with the young lord would scramble here. Which meant he had to personally inspect each and every single one of the bastards for any sort of contraband and make sure they had a good reason to be traveling into the capital on such an occasion. One never knew when assassins would try to sneak into the city and it was his duty to sniff them out – not that anything of the sort had ever happened. Besides, turning away the odd peasant here and there served to relieve him of his stress, especially when they would start to beg and he'd have to get them forcefully escorted from the line.

"Next." He called out, and looked over to the next faceless mass that would approach. The guard was mistaken however, he thought as he beheld the next group. His ear caught a distinct clanging of metal, but his focus was on a brunette beauty with her hair loosely pulled back into a folded hairstyle and wore a rather plain kimono. He couldn't help but stare greedily at her, letting his eyes run rampant over the kimono that barely concealed her slim yet gorgeous figure.

He managed to tear his gaze away however, at the sight of the large muscular male that towered over him, dressed in what looked like a monk's robe with a straw hat that was covering his face. He then noted the shakujo that he held, the source of the steel clinging sound he'd heard earlier. He couldn't help but feel a bit diminished standing next to such a figure and cleared his throat quickly, "State your business." He noticed there were two others with him, both dressed in large white robes that covered their bodies and heads, with what looked to be white cloth wrapped around the lower part of their faces.

The male was the first to speak. "Just passing through, we've been on the road for sometime and we're looking for a place to spend the night." His voice was calm and benign, as much one would expect from a priest.

The gate guard looked towards the two robed figures and felt a bad taste in his mouth, his guts way of telling him something was off. "Why are those two cloaked? Take them off." He demanded.

The priest was quick to answer, shaking his head. "I'm sorry but that isn't possible. These two were victims of a bandit raid on a village by the coast. Their village was burned to the ground and they were trapped in one of the burning structures, they're burnt beyond recognition. I would hope you'd allow them to keep their fragile esteem whole, they don't wish for their wounds to be seen."

The guard eyed the priest suspiciously, but to his credit he had seen an increase in refugees seeking asylum from the increasing bandit raids across the country. Taking a closer look now at the two, he could tell one was a woman and the other a young child. "A mother and her son?" the guard asked offhandedly.

"Yes, the husband died in the bandit raid, trying to protect them. I'm taking care of them until such time I can find them a new home."

The guard looked back to the priest with some respect, it was a goodly thing he was doing. Eyeing the beauty once more he motioned towards her. "And you?"

The brunette gave a smile and a bow. "An assistant to the good priest here. And. . " she trailed off for a moment, before surprising both himself and the priest as she grabbed onto his arm and nestled into between her breasts. "A source of constant temptation for him to break his vows and run away with me already."

The guard couldn't help but curse the priest in his head, he was a lucky bastard and apparently a strong willed one from how he shook off the beauty. He didn't notice the white robed woman shaking with strongly veiled rage. Looking towards the laughing brunette, he spoke. "Very well, you may enter. If you're lucky you can find vacancy at one of the inns further in the city. I'd fore go the first you see, with all the travelers coming in for the young lords birthday celebration they'll be full up."

The priest gave a slight tilt of his straw hat. "My thanks – let's go." he spoke, mentioning towards the others.

The gate guard allowed his eye to linger on the brunette's retreating posterior for a moment before turning towards the next group of mudslinging peasants, promising himself a trip to the brothel later, he was going to need it if he wanted to keep the girl out of his thoughts.

XXXX

"Tenten!" Hinata hoarsely whispered, glaring at the brazen girl from under her hood.

Tenten jumped a bit as she looked over at Hinata with her tongue stuck out. "Sorry, but I thought it'd be a good cover story." She lied.

Hinata grated her teeth, wanting to reach over and strangle the brunette. Ever since they left their hideout she'd been flirting with her Naruto-kun, saying she couldn't help herself. Hinata felt her jealously ignite as she recalled the words Tenten had spoken to her the first night they'd camped out.

"Sorry Hinata, but after all those sounds you make at night, it makes a girl curious to what you're hiding from the rest of us!"

Tenten hummed happily as she walked close to Naruto and couldn't help but giggle at their reactions. While she couldn't deny she was curious about the blonds 'prowess', she was mainly doing it to get back at the two for keeping her up ever since Naruto had returned. And it had been a while since Neji and her had spent a tender night together, so it made her a bit hot and bothered when she had to listen to them.

Naruto covered his face, shaking his head slowly as he tried to think what he was going to do about those two. He looked down when he felt a small jab in his side and saw Konohamaru looking up at him through his robes. "Hey Oyabun, gotta teach me your secret some day." The teen snickered out. Naruto shot him a glare, and then felt another jab from Tenten. Expecting another of her advances, he turned towards her cautiously, but saw her face was neutral.

"Do you see them?" She asked slowly, keeping her look straight ahead.

Naruto noticed the change in her behavior and understood what she was asking. Without making it noticeable he glanced around into the dark corners of the street. The street itself was jam packed full of people and carriages stuffed with goods and other supplies. Even through the bustle and the loud din of the city however, Naruto was able to tune them out as he searched. It wasn't long before he could spot them, but noticed that they were all clothed in brown robes, only their black hoods showing underneath with the dim red glow of the Sharingan being the only indicator of their eyes under their veil.

"Yeah." He replied slowly, making sure to choose his words carefully. If any of them happened to focus on them, they could easily read their lips and find out what they were talking about. "We're in luck with the daimyo's birthday celebration going on. The city is quite lively."

Hinata caught onto what Naruto was doing, but with her entire face being covered, save her eyes which were protected by the hood she spoke. "Let's find an inn quickly so we can talk in peace. These things are all over the place, as I feared."

Naruto nodded, and glanced down to Konohamaru. "You doing okay?" he asked.

Konohamaru gave a fierce nod. He was honestly terrified of the Oni, he'd seen what they could do and knew just how powerful they were. But they weren't going to stop him from getting Hanabi back!

Naruto smiled and looked back ahead towards the massive throng of people. "Alright, inn hopping time it is."

XXXX

Naruto let out a tired sigh as he plopped down on the small chair inside the inn room, with Konohamaru following suit next to him. They'd been running through the capital all day, and they had to stick to walking as to not draw any attention. The capital was huge, and just as the guard advised, all the inns were full up. They had to cross to the other end of the city just to find a suitable place and it wasn't excatly what any of them would call high class, in fact it was a bit too close to the red light district for any of their tastes – save Konohamaru as he had no idea what it was.

Tenten let out an irritated sigh as she fell onto the bed, the only one in the room. This inn only had one bed rooms, for reasons she could only guess. But they had been all to tired to care about it overly much. She reached up and for the tenth time that day rubbed at an itchy part of her chest. "Damn this thing, I knew when I bought it was made of crap threads. It freaking itches!"

Hinata bundled up the white robe she'd been sweltering in since they arrived and tossed it across the room, leaving her in a plain red t-shirt and black pants she'd bought from the previous village they were in. "That's the last time I ever wear something like that in this heat! I'm dying.. ." She collapsed next to Tenten, thoroughly enjoying the lukewarm blanket that felt like ice to her skin.

Konohamaru wasn't in much better spirits, though it was plan that the boy had his mind focused on something else entirely, even as he took of his robes and wiped his sweat off.

Naruto stood and walked over to the small AC unit that promised to chill down the room perfctly, and switched it on – only to be greeted by a couple of small mechanical cranks followed by a small plume of dust that shot out of the vent, before it died. "Of course." Naruto let out an irritated sigh and kicked the offending piece of crap before walking to the window that was currently covered by blinds. Taking two fingers, he split a row of blinds and looked out across the metropolis to the gigantic castle that loomed in the center of the city. It easily dwarfed the already tall buildings that surrounded it, and was probably wider that most villages, if not by a few. He clicked his tongue as he stared at it, while the celebration was only going to aid them for getting in, it was going to hinder any movement within the castle. It might be prudent to bide their time until after the party, so they could enter the castle a little easier or at least recon it.

Feeling someone move next to him, he glanced over at Hinata who was by his side, looking none too pleased about their broken AC unit inside the sweltering room. She looked through the cracked blinds, and saw what he was gazing at. Looking towards him, she asked, "You worried about the celebration?"

Naruto smirked and shook his head. "No, just thinking about how good the place will look like on fire." At her disapproving look he laughed. "Don't worry, I understand we can't exactly go in slaughtering everyone. They're not the enemies after all, they have no idea whats going on." It was easy to forget that as ninja they were privy to knowledge of the inner workings of the world at times, things that most of the people they passed on the street would ever know of. No, they would live their lives carefree and normal, probably only caring about where they might take their lover for dinner that night or what they were going to do for the weekend. He almost envied them.

Letting go of the blinds, he turned and crossed his arms. "At any rate, I think it'd be best if we lay low for now. Trying to sneak into the castle while all this is going on might prove difficult. I can only imagine they're hosting any number of guests." He noticed that both the kunoichi were agreeing with him, but Konohamaru didn't seemed pleased by it. Smiling towards the boy, he understood what was going through his mind. "Konohamaru," he started, getting his attention, "She's gonna be okay, you know? We'll resuce her, we just have to be careful about it."

Konohamaru pursed his lips, not liking it, but Naruto was right. He had to try and keep calm. But it was hard knowing that the girl he hadn't been able to stop thinking about until now was so close. He took a small breath and nodded, he knew that if he kept up like this he was only going to end up being a liability. Calm, gotta be calm and cool like Oyabun. "You're right. Besides, she's probably in some nice cool room while we're in here sweating our assess off." He smiled as he saw all of them chuckle, glad he could bring some humor to the room.

"Speaking of sweating," Tenten started, feeling a bit mischievous, "There's only one bed you know?" She looked towards Naruto and a wary Hinata who was borderline glaring at her. She suppressed a grin as she continued. "Oh don't look at me like that Hinata." She started as she stood and grabbed the girl, pulling her down to the bed with a small shout of shock from the Hyuuga. "We can share, can't we Naruto-kun?" She slyly winked at Naruto as she ran a hand up Hinata's side.

Hinata blushed at Tenten's suggestion and started yelling at the laughing girl who wouldn't let go of her.

Naruto covered his face with his hand, mostly to not let them see his blush. He knew she was just teasing, but he couldn't exactly say the wasn't appealing. Realizing what he was thinking, he shook his head quickly and started for the door. "No, you two are gonna have the bed, I'm going to sleep on the floor – scratch that the closet. With the door locked." He shot a look towards Tenten who gave him a false look of hurt. "But for now I'm going to go out and gather some info while it's still daylight out.

"Oyabun, let me come!" Konohamaru yelled out, wanting to get out of the room. Being a pubescent teen as he was, he was starting to feel weird around girls and didn't want to get stuck in room with two of the most beautiful women Konoha had to offer.

Naruto laughed and nodded. "Sure. But get your robe back on, can't have anyone possibly recognizing you as the Sandaime's grandson." Looking back towards the two girls he spoke, "I'll be back around nightfall, I'll bring back some food too."

"Bring back some oysters Naruto-kun!" Tenten joked, as the food was a well known aphrodisiac.

Naruto sighed, and hid his smile as he opened the door. At least this trip hadn't been boring.

XXXX

This one took a while, sorry bout that! Been busy the past week or so. Looks like we finally find ourself in the vipers den, and it's time to rescue Hanabi from the dire clutches of the evil Daimyo!

What do you mean that sounded corny? SHUT IT.

Look forward to the next installment all! It's gonna start kicking next chapter!

Till Next time,

Shinobi no Ryu