Disclaimer: you know the drill, i dont own this shizzle, Kishi is the man and owns Naruto.

Early A/N: This is completely unedited, 99% sure it contains inconsistencies since this chapter was written over nearly a year and a half in intervals, so please make me aware if something is out of place or doesn't make sense. Sorry for the wait, and enjoy!

Early Morning, Konoha streets...

Black and orange blazed past a rooftop, disturbing the dew hanging from a newly placed electrical line. To many he was the hero of the village, but at the moment he felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

"Just how do I say it? I have never talked about something like this before with anyone, not even Baa-chan. How do you tell someone..." and Naruto let the thought drift off into space as he pulled up on the Hyuga grounds. The two newly placed guards, at least going off their absence last night, eyed Naruto carefully as he walked up to greet them.

While Naruto was well respected by many, it seemed like he had a fair bit to go with the Hyuga family to gain their absolute trust. The guards activated their Byakugans and stiffened slightly as Naruto stopped a few feet in front of them.

"Oi, is Hinata around?" Naruto asked.

"Hinata-sama is currently unavailable Naruto-san, I think it would be for your benefit if you came back another time" the guard on the left said seriously.

"Hinata told me to meet her sometime this morning, and I really need to talk to her!" Naruto began to get a little warm under the collar. "It's really important!"

"I'm sorry, but if you don't leave Naruto-san we will be forc-" the guard on the right said before a reassuring hand on his shoulder brought his attention to the girl beside him without needing to look at her to know who it was. Both guards turned immediately and bowed to the Hyuga heiress before apologizing for not detecting her approach before that moment.

"No, it's ok" Hinata said with a hint of crimson in her cheeks, "you can let him on through, I will talk to my father about his arrival and intentions later"

"Hai, Hinata-sama" both guards replied in unison before permitting Naruto through the compound door. He looked around as he passed through and noticed that there was still a fair bit of construction going on.

"They still aren't done with building everything yet?" Naruto asked while gazing over the building being built.

"N-No, we still have a fair bit to go until we have everything back that was lost in the...attack" Hinata replied while looking down at the ground before beginning to retrace the day, for what must have been the upteenth time.

"Well don't worry, when I'm around I'll make sure to come over and help! I will just make a ton of clones!" Naruto exclaimed while presenting her with one of the big goofy grins he commonly wore.

She giggled and turned to her left where most of the construction had stopped and over the top of a wall he could make out a few smaller tree tops. Hinata pushed through the door and they emerged into a garden full of life. New trees had been planted and new flowers had been grown in various areas while some were still budding. But, in the middle stood a moderately sized kobushi magnolia tree in mid bloom. Underneath the tree were a few benches and places to sit, while a moat of fresh, clear water went in a semi-circle around the sitting area.

"Wow, this is amazing, I had no idea we even had this kind of stuff around here" Naruto said as he rambled on, observing the peaceful scenery as a trickle of water could be heard but not immediately seen.

Hinata made her way over to the area under the magnolia tree in the middle of the garden and sat down on the ground facing the tree. Naruto walked over to settle beside her and for perhaps the first time in his life, noticed how really beautiful Hinata was. The light pursued through the half grown, overhead tree and laid itself gently on her whole being. It radiated off her hair and bounced-

"Focus Naruto, you know it's not the time for these thoughts" Naruto thought to himself.

As he sat down he took a few moments to try and compose whatever thoughts to help convey what exactly he was going to try to say. It was a difficult feeling to describe, and he had no idea what it was. The only thing he could do right now was recognize that feeling as the one thing he knew, and that was the desire to protect.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling some of the anxiety leave. He turned to Hinata who had her head at an angle so she could see him out of one eye if she needed to, but her gaze indicated that she was probably off in thought. "Hinata..." Naruto spoke softly.

Hinata looked up and met his gaze, the ever-blue eyes that seemed to shimmer with hope and happiness. Only now, they weren't the same...why?

"You know what I came here to talk about, right?" he asked, Naruto's voice changing from the cheery tone of a few minutes ago to a more serious, almost melancholy tone.

Hinata shook her head yes, since she kind of picked up on what it may have been last night with the way that Naruto worded his request.

Naruto started to have second thoughts about this, but realized it was too important, and it had to be said...

"Hinata, when I fought Pain, I realized who I was. I mean...who I really was. The danger I pose to my friends and village, the target I represent as the Yondaime's son, and possibly one of the most sought after targets ever" Naruto quietly explained before pausing for a second. At the mention of being the Yondaime's son her eyes widened as Naruto shook his head as a second confirmation.

"I just...well...not sure that I can keep this up. I have what Madara is after, you know this right? It's the very thing that Pain sought, the thing you almost gave your life to protect" Naruto said before Hinata quickly responded.

"No, Naruto-kun, I know what they are after but that was not what I was protecting. I was protecting you" Hinata bravely announced as her resolve began to build, and for some reason her stuttering stopped. "What I told you, Naruto-kun, I meant it" she continued as she brought her gaze to look up at the newly blooming, white magnolia flowers.

"I know Hinata. I love the village, as a whole you know? I guess I just...don't really...know what...BAH! Why is this so difficult?" Naruto said throwing his hands behind his back and leaning back on them as he looked into the tree.

Naruto took a few deep breaths and looked over to Hinata but couldn't see her face since her bangs were in her eyes. He leaned back forward and looked into his lap as he rubbed his palm with one of his fingers.

"Hinata, I'm sorry, I guess I just don't know the kind of...love...that you have for me?" he stated but then ended while looking over to ask her for a kind of confirmation. She shook her head, but as she did, a tear dropped from her chin.

"I mean!? Gah, I just...Hinata I'm really sorry...but I just feel like...anyone who associates with me...that I would put them in danger" he said as his voice began to swell with sadness, and for some reason unknown to him his own eyes began to get bleary.

"Hinata what I did scares even me. While I feel like I have some control right now, I know that it is not enough. I don't ever want to put anyone in danger of anything like that ever again, especially...you. You were willing to give your life for me. I don't ever want anyone to ever have to throw away their life for me..." Naruto said, trailing off with words that just seemed to sting her very soul.

"Does he really not understand?" Hinata thought.

"N-N-Naruto-kun, I was not throwing away my life, I was choosing to fight for the one that I..." Hinata started to explain before she wasn't able to complete the sentence. The emotions just ran wild and took her, taking her into a place she didn't want to be. Tears rolled down her face and she began to hiccup, and she chanced a glance over to Naruto, but to find that he was now standing. He was rubbing his sleeve over his eyes before looking down at her. He offered her his hand. She debated on whether or not to stand since her body was shaking so bad, but she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

Naruto wrapped his arms around her and brought her close. She could feel the beat of his heart racing and wet splotches on his jacket. Reluctant at first, she slowly wrapped her hands around the inside of his cloak and around his waist.

"Hinata, I came to tell you I'm leaving for Kumo after I leave here. I'm going back to train with the other Jinchuriki so that I never have a repeat of what happened last time to our village, or to you. I will not have any of my precious people put in danger because of what I am, what I represent. I have to get strong enough to face Sasuke and Madara too, and if I am away from here they won't have any reason to come here" Naruto explained as he pulled away slightly from Hinata.

She was dumbstruck and frozen. "What do I do? Do I tell the Hokage his plans, or would I be betraying his trust in telling his plans to others? How do I convince him stay? What do i-"

"Goodbye Hinata" Naruto said as he turned around and moved away from her.

She watched frozen in horror as the man she loved began to move further and further away, and she had no idea what to do.

Happening at the same time, Hokage's office...

"So this is her yeah?" Z said as he leaned up against the bookcase while casting a lazy glance over the new arrivals.

The Tsuchikage and his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, had arrived late in the night as it was only the two of them so night was the preferred time of travel to avoid being sighted. The Tsuchikage had received a letter from Tsunade saying that she would like to invite him and his granddaughter to their village to talk over issues and see the new village as a sign of trust. Tsunade has sent other letters out, some concerning other matters, but the Tsuchikage was surprisingly the first to reply.

"Tsunade what is the meaning of this?" the Tsuchikage asked while throwing a quizzical glare Tsunade's way.

"Onoki, I would like to offer your granddaughter and the Village Hidden in the Rocks something as a token of friendship between our two villages" Tsunade replied, elbows bent on the desk and hands clasped in front of her mouth.

The Tsuchikage crossed his arms and turned to look from Z over to Tsunade. Tsunade stood and took his hard gaze as a sign to move on with it.

"Z is a very capable shinobi, and very expensive as well. He has agreed to train a select group of shinobi through a training program specifically designed fo-"

"Yeah, yeah, anyways your daughter would fit perfectly with the team by the description given to me and it would look good diplomatically I guess" Z said as he got an eye tick from Tsunade for cutting her off.

"Tsunade, whats the deal here? There is some sort of catch or you wouldn't offer something like this" the Tsuchikage bluntly said.

As her blood began to boil Tsunade had to keep herself as calm as possible. "This old fool, is he really so ignorant of the fact that alliances need to be made in order to beat Madara?"

"I assure you there is no catch, Onoki, but if you would just see this as an opport-"

"Tsunade, is the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki being trained by this man? If he can keep the Kyuubi's host in line then that assures me a little more this man could train Kurotsuchi efficiently. I know that boy..." Onoki rattled on quickly, Tsunade being cut off yet again as the Tsuchikage talked about security for his granddaughter in a foreign country.

A dramatic drop of temperature happened though, as soon as the Tsuchikage mentioned the Kyuubi. Tsunade slowly turned to face Z, the book in his hand down by his side and frozen solid. The Tsuchikage slowly stopped talking and turned to the source of the cold, as his granddaughter stared eyes wide at Z.

"Do you mean to tell me, Hokage-sama," Z said as his voice gained an edge as sharp as a kunai, "that Naruto is in fact the Kyuubi's host?"

Tsunade was frozen in place, almost literally as the cold bore down on her and the rest. She was waiting for an opportunity to bring it up in a way Z would accept it. She had also opened herself to the possibility of Naruto blurting it out in some way during training, but obviously that had yet to happen. As she opened her mouth to speak, Shizune came barreling into the room.

"Apologies Hokage-sama, but reports just came in from one of the side gates that Naruto is trying to leave the village!" Shizune exclaimed.

Tsunade went to run out of the room, worry and dread seizing her mind as she tried to think on why Naruto would leave the village, especially when they had just gotten back and situated again. Z moved to the front blocking the entrance and locked gazes with Tsunade. Tsunade could see a slight hint of a white or silver color coming from behind the dark glasses Z wore.

"I will take care of this, and when I get back, we talk with all the cards on the table" a slightly demanding tone creeping into his voice, but it sounded more like concern coming from Z.

"He just found out that he is training the Kyuubi's host after I kept it from him, doesn't know my reasons, yet it sounds like hes worried. Just who is this guy? And why does he seem like..."

Tsunade nodded and Z disappeared quickly as Kakashi joined him in the hall. Z didn't seem to take notice as they quickly made their way towards the gate the reports came from.

"Good one Tsunade, good one" the Tsuchikage commented as he took the seat in front of the Hokage desk and started dozing, while Tsunade blew out heavily, pushing her bangs away from her face as she balled her fists.

West gate, Konoha...

Naruto had tried to sneak past the guards, and he had managed to do so. Only, Inoichi, Ino's father, happened to be on duty managing the barrier when Naruto decided to step across. And everyone in the Barrier Squad knew Naruto's chakra signature thanks to Inochi who developed a way to detect other foreign chakras within a person's system.

Naruto was being restrained by several ANBU black ops when Kakashi and Z came up to the scene. Even with the mask on, Naruto knew who it obviously was as the ANBU commander motioned the other ANBU away from Naruto. Z remained still, but on guard as Naruto righted himself and huffed at the ANBU moving away from him.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Kakashi began as he moved to step in front of Naruto, "please explain why you were trying to leave the Konoha boarders."

Naruto put his hands behind his head and looked away, "Eh, Kak-", before he heard Kakashi clear his throat he started again.

"Well, sir, I wanted to take a training trip outside the walls of Konoha," as Naruto thought, wasn't really a lie, "before everyone dog piled me as if I was going to go fight Madara or something!"

Z stepped forward to stand beside Kakashi, "Oh really?", and at Naruto's nod of confirmation Z threw his head in a motion for others to look in the direction he was motioning to. Hinata was leaning against the giant wall partly hidden by lumber stacks and random materials. It was pretty evident by the tears streaming down her face even from this distance that something was up.

Naruto instantly changed expressions when he saw Hinata, and heard Z give an audible "hmph".

"How about you tell us whats really going on, Naruto?", Kakashi asked, moving up beside Naruto and putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto looked down at the ground for a few moments as if he was gathering his thoughts, but when he looked up he wore an expression of extreme sadness. Kakashi was taken aback at his former pupil's mood and motioned for the ANBU to disperse and for everyone else to move along. After most of the people had cleared the area Naruto sighed and looked out beyond the village walls.

"Kakashi-sensei, I have to get stronger, not just for my own sake but for others. I can't let people place themselves in danger over what I carry inside of me. I have to learn how to harness the power that Killer Bee helped me find, the same power that...my dad and mom died to..." Naruto choked before he could continue and felt a reassuring hand on his other shoulder. Looking over in complete shock, he realized it was Z.

"Naruto, do you honestly think your stubborn Hokage would hire just anybody to train you guys," Z said, still in the same tone as his usual speeches, but a little more upbeat, "I mean come on, am I really that bad?"

Naruto didn't respond, and was really only half listening. Z wasn't exactly someone he felt like trusting, just like how Z didn't really appear to trust anyone himself. Naruto risked a quick look at Hinata to see that she was still paying attention.

"Naruto take a look around," Kakashi said as he motioned with one arm their current view of the village, "you have the greatest support here, we can all help you in some way. You also need to think about just how much it may hurt the others if you were to leave again, especially so soon after you just returned"

Naruto thought about what he had said to Hinata before he left, and instantly regretted everything he had said. "What was I thinking? That had to have been the stupidest thing...well closest to the stupidest thing I have ever done. What will I say to her, will she talk to me again, will she even come close to me again? What was she really trying to tell me? Blehhhh...why is this all so hard to understand..."

"Yo, junior, run back to the Hokage and let her know that this thing was just a big misunderstanding, yeah?" Z said, "and wake your friends up while your at it and get them to the training field. I need to get in some nature affinity training in with ya'll before we hit the big stuff"

Both excited at the mention of nature training and a little nervous now at what he was going to tell the Hokage...and eventually Hinata...he set off while yelling out something concerning pervs.

Kakashi glimpsed Hinata who still had tears in her eyes and shook his head while thinking about Naruto.

"You know Kakashi-san, I don't think I'm really cut out for all this hormonal teenage stuff," Z said as he turned around to begin heading back to talk to Tsunade about everything he had previously mentioned. "I think I'll ask the Hokage about switching our roles around, whaddya say?"

Kakashi laughed and disappeared in a swirl of leaves while Z ventured off to get ready for the training session.

New Konoha training grounds, late morning...

"You gotta be kidding me..." Z said to the gathered bunch he was currently getting paid to instruct, "more then half of you have never done any sort of nature affinity training or even know your affinity?"

At most of the blank stares and lack of emotion save for frustration radiating of a few, Z took it that they were being serious. Naruto was kind of confused as to how most of his friends had no idea what their element could be, and now that he thought about it he never even saw Sakura use any elemental jutsu. He was unsure of the new girls Karen and Kurotsuchi, but all they really did was sit there with a emotionless stare while listening to Z rant. Everyone was kind of side tracked at the appearance of the new arrival from the Land of Rock.

"Oh yeah, this is Kurotsuchi. She's from some village hidden in something and all that," Z explained to the group while Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes at his disrespect for her village. "She will be your partner Rock Lee"

Rock Lee almost looked like he could have been frozen solid if it wasn't unbelievably hot outside.

"Noooooooo way! This can't be happening! JUST LOOK AT HER! That slender body! That short hair! Those serious eyes! YOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rock Lee thought to himself.

"Ahh...yeah...so lets get to it" Z commented as he slowly waved his hands in front of Lee's eyes.

Hinata on the other hand was extremely nervous. Elemental jutsu would be an entirely different style of jutsu then what she had been trained with since she was born, the Gentle Fist. A million and one things kept running through her mind but the number one reoccuring thought contained her father's disapproval of learning anything other then what was taught by the Hyugas. When she came back from her thoughts Z was passing out blank pieces of paper. "At least Naruto is staying here again...", she thought as she glanced over Naruto's way to find him staring off in another direction.

"Ok, everyone this is simple, just surge the paper with some chakra and depending on the reaction you can determine your chakra type. Hurry it up also, we are gonna be behind today since I have to run through basics" Z explained.

Shortly after, he finally had everyone organized with what element they had. Naruto and Ino were wind natured, Tenten and Kiba were fire natured, Choji and Neji with earth, Hinata and Sakura possessed water, leaving Karin with lightning. Z had been briefed by Tsunade on Kurotsuchi's Lava Release which everyone was in awe of, but what he couldn't understand was why Rock Lee's nature paper wouldn't do anything. After looking at Rock Lee try again and again to surge chakra into the paper, Neji ambled up.

"Z-san, Lee has never been able to use any type of ninjutsu. That's why he always uses taijutsu, since it is the only thing he has ever been able to use" Neji explained while looking at Lee.

"I see", Z said while walking over to Lee, "then I have something else"

While some of the rookies were discussing their elements and excitement Z clamped a hand onto Lee's shoulder and whispered something in his year that set the young chunin's eyes ablaze with the "flame of youth".

Naruto had no idea what was going on as he looked on at Z trying to calm Rock Lee down. The rest of rookies seemed to be in the same boat as their gazes shifted when Lee started going crazy. Finally Z managed to guide Lee back over to the main group and began to analyze everything. "Hmph, convenient to say the least...Kami must be smiling down on these kids today..."

"Ok, lets coast into some general principles of nature based chakra and then tomorrow we will get into jutsus" Z said as everyone paired off into their normal pairs to start practicing.

3 hours later...

The rookies were drenched, and it was only noonish. Sweat poured from their brows and over their eyes, and everyone was visibly wet on the exterior from the dampness of their clothes. Z had moved onto training with Lee after he had explained formulating nature chakra and exercises to help increase output and control of the affinity aligned to each of the group. Kurotsuchi paired up with Sakura since Z had been training with Lee, and the majority of the group had made progress. Lee was going to take some work, but in the end he would know it would be well worth it...if it worked.

"Ok everyone lets end it here. Before you leave you need to remember, your nature affinity needs to become second nature. Practice every time you get the chance and I promise you it will yield rewards" Z said as he got ready to leave. "And of course, something as silly as emotions would come into play and ruin my partner compositions. Oh Hokage-sama, dealing with hormonal teens is not my thing."

"Jeez, this guy," Naruto began a train of thought, "he doesn't really seem all that special save from that one jutsu he used. I still don't understand why baa-chan had to go and hire this guy". Naruto averted his gaze to catch Hinata sneaking a glance at him out of the corners of her eyes. Hinata blushed slightly and quickly brought her eyes back to Sakura who had been talking to her. Naruto frowned and looked at everyone packing up to move out. "And it's only noon..."

"Oh yeah, everyone remember to pair up and train, we need to get up to training in four person cells as quickly as possible. Last thing before you go, a week from today I want everyone to meet back here at dusk. Later" Z said as he jumped up into the trees to make his way back to Konoha.

Hinata frowned at the mention of the pairs. "Great...now to train with Kiba...how can the day get any worse?"

New Ichiruka Ramen Stand, noonish...

Naruto had changed clothes and went straight to the ramen stand. He knew he was going to need something to put him in a good mood for dealing with Ino later. He has just received his miso ramen when Z pulled out the chair next to him. "Greattttttttt..."

"One pork ramen please!" Z said quickly while pulling his gloves off. Teuchi gave Z a nod and got to work on the ramen. "I heard you come here all the time, I just don't see how you stomach this stuff every meal", Z casually carried on while he looked around the new restaurant.

"Really? Who does this guy think he is? He acts like we have been best friends since the start of time!" Naruto thought to himself as he began to slurp his ramen.

"I'm sure the Hokage told you about where I'll be staying and all that stuff right?" Z asked Naruto.

"Yeah, but if you think for one minute you can just pop up at any time with your freaky late night habits or whatever you've got going on you can just forget it!" Naruto exclaimed agitatedly.

"Oh yeah? Why? You got a girl friend that your bringing over in the middle of the night and don't want me checkin out? Huh?" Z teased Naruto as his ramen was brought to him and he bowed his head to Teuchi.

"SAY WHAT!? You really are a concealed perv!" Naruto yelled out while spewing ramen all over Z as he turned, "And what would you know about girls anyway!?"

The chill that swept past Naruto and Z was barely noticeable but Z spoke before Naruto could question him.

"Heh, you have a point there youngin" Z said in a sad tone while glancing back at his ramen, "Anyways whos the hot Hyuga babe sitting down over there?" Z commented while pointing away towards Naruto's other side.

"Where?" Naruto snapped his neck around to look but didn't see anyone. He slowly turned to Z about say something but noticed Z repositioning his face mask. Naruto looked down and went wide-eyed at the ramen-less bowl before Z.

"Thanks a lot jii-san, was great!" Z said as he tossed money onto the counter and walked away, "later on punk"

"Stop addressing me like im a kid you concealed perv! I'm almost as old as you!" Naruto yelled after Z as he watched him jump up and out of sight. Naruto turned back around to tend to his ramen before he realized what time it was. He gulped down his ramen as he thought about the possibilities of Ino's wrath and went to pull out money before Teuchi stopped him.

"Don't worry about it Naruto, seems like the masked guy that came in left enough for the both of you" Teuchi said as he grabbed the empty ramen bowls.

"Meh, hes not TOO bad I guess..."

Shimogakure (Village Hidden in the Frost), approaching nightfall...

A few ninja concealed in cloaks stepped over bodies as they made their way over to the strange outcropping in a nearby tree. As the walked, the moonlight danced off their forehead protectors, identifying them as Konoha and Kiri (Hidden Mist Village) ninja. Behind one of the trees stood a cowardly survivor of the massacre. His first intent was to run, but he knew that their country could be invaded, and his family could be harmed. So he turned and ran, and he knew he would run with everything he had in order to let his country know of this preemptive attack from Konoha and Kiri.

"It's done, go let him know!" the lead Konoha ninja exclaimed as the black shadow disappeared into the tree after mentioning to the rest of attacking ninja to clean up. As the moonlight shifted back through the trees though, the Konoha and Kiri ninja were gone, and in their place were white Zetsu formations. As they looked down at the bloodied corpses of ninja representing the Land of Frost, the Zetsu clones smiled and licked their lips.

Shimogakure, inside the Daimyo's guest quarters...

"It's done, as you requested" Black Zetsu stated as he rose his head above floor level to look at Madara. Madara was over at the window sill without his mask on, and it looked like he was holding something in his left hand, which he hastily put away.

"Very good" Madara replied, "and I am hoping that he let at least one of the shinobi live, right?"

"Yes, he left one. I give him around 10 minutes or so" Black Zetsu responded as he began to phase back into the ground.

"Excellent. Fetch Tomatsu. We will need to construct a little test of strength. Establish a route through Yugakure no sato (the Hidden Hot Springs Village) since the Land of Fire is locked down tight. We will make the move in a few days depending on how things go here tonight" Madara instructed to the disappearing Black Zetsu. Once Black Zetsu was gone, Madara clenched his right hand intensely.

"They will pay for what happened."

Konoha 1 week later, later afternoon, Hokage's office...

Tsunade was pacing back and forth near the window while occasionally grabbing a look out over reconstruction efforts. It seemed like Konoha was never destined to grab a break, always being targeted for some conflict. She knew she was getting ready to take a huge risk, especially with so many unknowns hanging about. "It has to be done though, if this goes unchecked, it will progress even further."

Shizune knocked and the Hokage told her to enter. While the space inside the office had been expanded slightly, it was about to be slammed. Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of the ninja being included in the new training program came through the door, and instead of standing in their squads they stood next to their partner, something that caught Tsunade slightly off guard.

Naruto had been at the ramen stand when Sakura stumbled by to let him know they were being summoned by the kage. He knew they were all suppose to meet tonight with Z, for what exactly he nor anybody else knew. He glanced around the room and realized the fox masked Anbu, who had to be Kakashi, was standing next to someone of slightly smaller stature with a plain mask with few markings randomly splashed over the surface.

As he recalled the past week to think of anything that may be the cause of the summons, he found himself going through his and Ino's training, as well as the training of those that practiced around the same time he did. Not sure if by coincidence or not, but Kiba and Hinata seemed to get to the new training grounds nearly at the same time as he and Ino. It was odd, because they were both extreme melee fighters with detection abilities, yet they didn't seem to interfere with each other and actually worked quite well with one another. He had to admit, he was jealous, either because he was watching Kiba train with Hinata or it was because his training with Ino had been going terribly. It just seemed impossible to help her with her nature training since all they seemed to be able to do while on the subject is fight. He really had to dial it back when training, and while he never would have thought about using his new Nine-Tailed Fox enhanced form, he couldn't even use Sage Mode or Ino simply could not keep up. Her ability to analyze a fight and carefully plan out a strategy though was certainly better than his, which was usually just take it to the enemy. Other than that though, they did "ok".

Tsunade stopped and faced them, and realized Z was nowhere to be seen. As she began to open her mouth, Sakura mentioned that he would be here shortly. "Well, lets get started anyways..."

"As you all know, the alliance between the 5 great nations is currently progressing but at a very slow pace. We need to do whatever is necessary to help move the trust and reliance of others along in a positive direction" Tsunade explained. At the end of the explanation Z landed on the roof outside the window and moved inside next to Kakashi. Tsunade had gotten so used to it from Naruto and Kakashi abusing it in the past that she never missed a beat and kept explaining.

"Reports came in 2 days ago that nearly a full recon squad of ninja from the Village Hidden in the Frost were murdered along the borders of the Hot Springs Country. There was only a single survivor of the group and he made it back to report to the Daimyou. He claims that ninja from Konoha and Kiri (Hidden Mist Village) were behind the killing, and that he has the proof to back that claim."

Outrage and confusion poured from the young shinobi, which was silenced by a heavy hand from the Hokage on her desk. She cleared her throat and glanced among the young shinobi. "This is going to hurt me sending him out there, but he isn't a kid anymore, and he has shown me that there is no reason to doubt him"

"The Daimyou was ready to declare war on the Leaf and Kiri, but thankfully we managed to get a messenger bird through to deliver the message that a peace liaison had been dispatched to get a detailed report of events" she carried on, and braced herself with a slight glance to Z's direction. She knew that he hadn't had much time to train the group, and that he may want to delay the trip.

"However for some reason, a group of ninja from Shimo (Hidden Frost Village) of unknown numbers have been reported crossing the Hot Springs Country border a day or so ago, with a bearing we can only guess is Kiri. We want to you all in to try to intercept and try to reason with the Shimo force and if that fails I want you all to help reinforce the Kiri border to display not only our good will to Kiri, but those that represent the other nations as well. That includes you Kurotsuchi" Tsunade explained and received a nod from the young Iwa (Hidden Rock Country) kunoichi.

Naruto was about to scream with joy at actually getting to do something else besides the lame training with Ino, but Z had already moved forward.

"Absolutely not. Send someone else's team. You hired me to train these ninja, and in order to do so they must be alive. They aren't ready to take on a mission like this on so little training time, and to top it off they will be facing off against ninja who will probably possess a full elemental advantage with the close proximity to water as well as ice ninjutsu. We also have no idea how many of them there are. This is totally ridiculous Hokage-same" Z rebutted in quick fashion.

Tsunade picked up on the defiance to the mission immediately, but it was the rookies that seemed the most...startled by the reaction that Z illustrated.

Naruto immediately lashed out, and began to talk about how Z doesn't ever trust them to do anything, to which Z began to argue that it wasn't just about Naruto, and more about how the group would function as a whole. The argument began to get extremely heated as more of the team became involved in the notion of continuing with the mission, particularly Rock Lee and Kiba. Tsunade noticed the temperature in the room began to drop and knew that this couldn't progress any further or she would risk the loss of their trainer. She began to reconsider who she could send but everyone else was needed in either the rebuilding of the village, out on missions, or needed for village security.

"Ano..."

Everything stopped, and the sounds of bugs of the night could be heard clearly as everyone turned to the voice that began to speak.

"Z-sensei, is it really true that you don't trust us enough to be able to complete the mission, or do you really think that its the lack of training?" Hinata asked very seriously. "Because while you may be new to the group, we have all been friends for a long time. I-I-I just think that you should trust in both us and your t-t-training, because even the little bit that you have given us will go a long way."

Z relaxed his posture somewhat and turned around to face out the window, and everyone stood dumbstruck at the serious question asked by one of their least confrontational shinobi in the village.

"Hokage-sama, you know this isn't what we agreed to. This is totally against wh-" Z began to reply till he heard the door latch closed at the front of the room. Everyone turned to identify who the new member to the meeting was, but the spikey, black ponytail and hint of cigarette smoke gave the identity away.

"Except, the reason is neither trust, nor training. Is it Z-san? Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear while I waited" came the familiar voice of one of the original Rookie 12.

"Shikamaru!" was exclaimed from most of the group, but before greetings were exchanged Shikamaru walked to to stand in front of the Hokage's desk. The other rookies were trying to figure out exactly what exactly Shikamaru may have meant, but before they could Z was already moving towards the window.

"I can tell that those things Hinata mentioned may be factors in your defiance to leave, but its obvious that something else is bothering you. Looking at you fidget and the fact that the cold aura I felt while waiting completely stopped hitting me, I would gue-"

"Not another word"

Everyone tensed, because no one had ever heard Z sound so serious. It almost sounded threatening, and even Kakashi had one finger through a loop of one of his kunai.

"We leave tonight at midnight. We do this my way or not at all." Z claimed as he stopped right beside the Hokage. As she nodded, he disappeared in a swirl of frost, and Naruto and a few others began to rejoice at the confirmation of the mission. As commotion arose concerning Shikamaru's arrival and the new mission, the Hokage shooed them out of the office. As the door closed, Kakashi and the other masked man came to stand in front of the desk.

"You know, that was extremely foolish. Z could have walked out completely. You just dropped Naruto being the Kyuubi's host on him not too long ago as well. If it wasn't for Shikamaru entering, your gamble may not have worked Hokage-sama" Kakashi claimed.

Tsunade sat down and leaned back, smiling softly as she recited the exact words she had told Jiraiya once upon a time, "Luck is not the only determinate in the gamble, and that sometimes fate will dictate the roll of the dice in its place"

Streets of Konoha...

Naruto and the team began to frantically gather everything they needed for the mission. Everyone had decided that they would all eat with Shikamaru at Chouji's new favorite BBQ pit to discuss everything that had transpired between Suna (Village of Wind) and Konoha.

But as he packed his bag, Naruto knew this was his big chance...

His big chance to show everyone that he didn't need a guard, or special treatment, or some new lousy sensei to train him. He thought about Hinata, and what she had told him while at the compound. Naruto knew that this mission may just be an opportunity for him to seek some clarification on just what exactly she was trying to tell him, and maybe to try and find out what exactly he may need to be trying to tell her...

Hyuuga Compound...

"I don't like this at all, Hinata" the head of the Hyuga clan said as he stood at the door way to Hinata's room. But Hinata was barely listening as she hastily put all of her gathered necessities in a backpack and zipped it up.

"It will be okay Otousan," Hinata replied, "we have a really strong team and a pretty strong teacher-"

"Who I really don't trust, Hinata," Hiashi quickly stated, "and to top it off we are sending ninja who aren't even Konoha shinobi along with you to serve as your 'teammates'. I'm going to head to the Hokage and talk to her about this little mission as well as this nonsensical training"

Hinata frowned, but her father did have a point. She really wanted to go and try to get back out into the world again, doing missions, and the like. But she knew the importance of this mission, and she knew that enough of her friends were there to make sure if anything out of place happened, they would have each others backs.

"Otousan, please, this is necessary. I really want to help and so does everyone else. We have to try and further the relations between the countries currently trying to establish an alliance. You should know this as well, since you have to h-h-help maintain the alliance with the other major clans" she managed to spill out, while surprising herself with minimal stuttering.

Hiashi looked up and quickly thought about the accuracy of that statement that his daughter brought to his attention, and admired her insight. He heaved a sigh of defeat and moved out of the middle of the walkway allowing Hinata to walk by. She bowed her head and said a quick farewell as she ran out of her room. He looked down the hall to see Neji looking directly at him.

Hiashi nodded and Neji understood, as he always did. They passed each other and without a second glance as Neji and Hinata quickly moved to the BBQ pit.

As they neared the restaurant, Hinata could see most of the people had already gathered. They walked in and she and Neji sat down at the end next to Ino and Shikamaru. Kurotsuchi and Karin were even there, but they looked only interested in Shikamaru's talks of Suna's village and how the current state of affairs was over in that part of the ninja world. They did occasionally look at Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji frantically fighting with their chopsticks over the pieces of meat on the grill, but just shook their heads or scowled.

"Anyways, I heard what's going on with your mission, sounds kinda bothersome" Shikamaru slouched back in his seat as he finished the last piece of bbq. Ino gritted her teeth at his usual lazy behavior but most of the laughed and smiled.

"It does hold great importance though," Shikamaru continued on, "Shimo obviously thinks that we helped Kiri kill that recon of Shimo shinobi. We may have halted them directly attacking us, but it's only a matter of time before they turn their attention on us for revenge. We have zero way to prove our innocence and if you all intercept them before they get to Kiri and you can't reason with them, things will go south quickly"

"What do you mean Shikamaru? We will be in position to help Kiri and will have more backup" Chouji commented.

"Well, that's not exactly what I mean. The Land of Frost isn't a big nation like the Land of Fire, but they possess a fair amount of ninja all the same, and it's rumoured they have a high population that are innately tuned to ice ninjutsu," Shikamaru explained.

"And if they are being attacked, the other smaller nations will see us as threat and may ally with the other smaller nations with the fear of invasion," Neji finished while looking over the table with his hands clasped together on the table.

"Pretty much. Anyways, I need to head back and get some sleep. Been traveling all day and dealing with that troublesome blonde haired gypsy in Suna is a major drag. Good luck," Shikamaru commented nonchalantly as Neji got up to let him out while the group chuckled at the Temari reference. He waved to the group and everyone chorused their goodbyes as he left the restaurant.

The group talked a little more before getting up to pay the bill and leave. They had around an hour before they needed to meet for the mission start.

To everyone's surprise, Chouji and Tenten said they were going ahead to the field for some light sparing. Hinata looked over to Neji and Rocklee, who both looked kind of down at the sight of their teammate leaving to go train without them. Neji lifted his head and looked over to Karin, who just threw her nose into the air and marched off in the direction opposite the training fields. Neji sighed and looked back to the group.

"You guys have no idea how lucky you are," Neji solemnly said as he began to trod off, "I'm going to go practice some earth ninj-"

SLAM!

Neji nearly flipped over from something colliding with his back. As he quickly turned around to Lee recoiling from hitting Neji across the back a little too roughly.

"I would train with you, my rival, but alas I must train with my dead Kurot-" Lee started to say.

"No, I'm leaving. Need to find Z to talk to him about something anyways," Kurotsuchi said as she walked off.

Lee's mouth dropped open and Neji chuckled while tugging on his shoulder to get Lee to go train.

Hinata had been hanging in the back of the group standing kind of close to Sakura and Ino as they started up a conversation and began to move off in the direction of Ino's house. She noticed Kiba had been intentionally hanging back while Naruto just stood off to the side still consumed in thought. She noticed Kiba approaching her but right before he could get in arm's reach Naruto shook himself out of his thoughts, and turned in her direction.

Their eyes met and she held his gaze for what seemed like an eternity, one in which she wouldn't mind if it stretched on forever. "...as if..." she thought.

"Hinata, uh...would you mind if we talked...er...I mean sparred for a little while before we head out for the mission?" Naruto stammered, changing his choice of words after catching Kiba's gaze.

"Ano...o-okay N-Naruto-kun" she barely managed to get out as a million and one thoughts raced through her mind.

She moved to stand beside Naruto. Together they walked off in the direction of the training fields, to Kiba's displeasure. Kiba exhaled and looked down at Akamaru.

"Looks like it's just us till midnight then Akamaru"

Akamaru replied with a loud howl as he and Kiba walked deeper into Konoha to stroll the streets and take a look at the reconstruction progress before the mission began.

Paths to the old training grounds...

They were walking pretty slow as they made their way through the paths to the old training grounds. Hinata had been looking down along the ground while Naruto looked like he was struggling with what to say exactly. They rounded the last little bend in the path before they caught sight off the old training posts that they would beat up on during training sessions. Naruto recalled memories form his past, like when he had been tied to the middle post while Sakura and Sasuke fed him when they had just turned Genin, the long nights beating the posts senseless, when Hinata was hiding behind the post before the Chunin Exams...

"Umm...when you cheered me on, I felt like I became stronger, and after the preliminary rounds I started to like myself a little bit more..." Hinata said quietly. "To other people It may not seem like I really changed, but I...felt like I was to change. It was thanks to you Naruto..."

"I may appear strong," Naruto replied sadly, "But that's all because I act tough since I'm so mad all the time from failing"

"That's not true Naruto, even when you always fail" Hinata responded with a little more confidence, "In my eyes you're a proud failure and when I look at you I get this really strong feeling in my heart because I realize that you're not perfect"

"Because you fail, you have the strength to get back up, and I believe that is what true strnegth really is. I-I think you are an incredibly strong person, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto came out of his thoughts, and as he took his eyes off the ground and looked forward, he realized he was standing right in front of the same post that Hinata told him those words so long ago. "What true strength really is...hmmm..."

He must have been standing there for a few minutes because when he moved forward the grass stayed depressed in the shape of his shoe. He put his hand up on the post and realized that Hinata was leaning with her back against the post looking out over the area that was now the new training area.

He walked around the post and sat down on the grass next to where Hinata was standing.

"True strength," Naruto said as he gathered his thoughts into what he wanted to say, "so long ago you told me what that was Hinata. I really think...I lost sight of what my true strength was"

Hinata was startled at the mention of their past meeting here and blushed a little. She bent her knees and moved down to sit on the grass with her back still up against the post. She could remember it like it was yesterday, she always could when it involved him...

"I'm so worried about making sure that I don't fall down again, that I lose sight of everything around me that allows me to become truly strong. My friends that help pull be back to my feet, the civilians that I want to protect, my senseis that teach me when I have done something wrong..." Naruto said.

"Even, Z-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"Hell no! All that concealed perv does is get on my nerves. Although I really hope he can teach us some more nature affinity training." Naruto exclaimed.

She giggled and looked over to see a contemplative look on his face. She brought her knees to her chest and looped her arms around her knees.

"But...what I really want to say Hinata...is I'm sorry for everything I told you earlier about wanting to leave the village to get stronger" Naruto said slowly in an apologetic tone.

She sat there quietly for a short while taking everything in, and while it was frustrating that he didn't exactly feel the same way about her, she realized even more why she admired him. She relaxed a little and took a deep breath.

"I-It hurt when you told me everything at the compound," Hinata said while noticing a small flinch from Naruto, "but I can understand your desire to become stronger, b-because I feel the same way Naruto-kun. You make me want to find that real strength, and sometimes it becomes a little hard to see what exactly you are becoming strong for when you dedicate yourself to it too much."

Naruto displayed a small, lopsided smile, and turned to look at her. It was hard for her, but Hinata managed to lock eyes very briefly with Naruto.

"What do you say, we start on a new page from here on out then? Well, if its ok with you I mean..." Naruto replied while looking to her for confirmation.

"Okay, N-Naruto-kun" she replied, with possibly the biggest grin that she ever worn since he left to train with Jiraiya years ago. "Lets find that true strength with everyone we have, Naruto-kun" She thought to herself silently. "I may get hurt again, but its a risk I'm willing to take..."

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed while standing up quickly and fist pumped the air, "What's that thing Bushy Brows says? Oh yeah! YOSHHH! On to a new start!"

As he yelled, a deathly silence filled the area, before a crashing of branches and what sounded like the cracking of trees filled the area to their left.

"ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!" could be heard as a green blur flashed from the top of a tree down a few minutes later to the ground where Naruto had just quickly sidestepped out of the way.

"I heard the call of youth echo to me from far away! Naruto does the burning desire to light your flames of youth call out to you?!" Lee said as he assumed his traditional taijutsu pose, ready to strike.

Neji suddenly appeared at the tree line, clearly dead out of breath from all the heavy heaving he was doing.

"Ehhh...Lee-san...*huff* ...lets just head to the mission area and wait for Z-san" Neji managed to get out.

"Yeah, what Neji said!" Naruto exclaimed while looking to get out of the area as soon as possible, "lets go everyone!"

New Training Grounds, Konoha, 1 minute till Midnight...

Everyone was there except Z. They had begun to talk amongst themselves and a few of them thought that Z may have bailed because he hadn't gotten his way back in the Hokage's office. But sure enough, as the tones of a clock back in Konoha rang out midnight, Z appeared from out a shadow of a nearby tree.

It really startled everyone, even Karin who was pretty aware of her surroundings and could detect nearly everyone's chakra from a long distance. As Z walked up, he clearly wasn't in the mood to talk and everyone quieted down as they readied themselves mentally for whatever could be coming. They were all in unfamiliar territory, with a completely new sensei, completely new fighting styles, and completely new techniques to try. This had the potential to go terribly wrong...

"Well lets go, everyone stay on me at all time, I'll explain traveling formation as we go and battle scenarios on the fly, since you all thought it was be a great idea to go into battle first and learn later," Z said bluntly. They rookies all looked disgruntled, but they followed Z out of the landing and up into the trees leading to the newly constructed main gate of Konoha.

As they all landed and walked through the gate, Z came to the edge of the forest outside the gate and stopped. He took a big breath, bit his thumb, and quickly rattled through seals for a summoning jutsu. At the completion, an owl appeared on his shoulder.

"What are they saying Kojo?" Z asked.

"You're behind. You will have to head north hard for four hours, then head east and catch the tailwind" the owl explained, "And why is it so hot here?"

"Tell the rest to monitor their activity and to keep you informed, we will catch them before they hit the Kiri border," Z said as the owl flew off his shoulder and into the night.

"You heard him, we are behind. Lets go" Z said as he instantly ascended into the trees and was quickly followed by the rest of the team. "Oh Kami, please oh please let this mission go as uneventful as possible"

A/N: Well, wow. Took me long enough for sure, and for that I apologize. I re-wrote the first 9 pages probably 3 times, not b/c I didn't like the direction of the content (I wanted reassure the audience he wouldn't be pulling a runaway to get back to Bee for training). Also, please keep in mind, they are in their teens. They are ninja who are laying their lives on the line to fight for their nation. I would imagine, everyone single one of them is socially awkward in some way or another, and they don't really have any idea what they are feeling. I tried to write the conversations and dialogue from their age perspectives (it really hasn't been all that long for myself since that age, but I'm surely not a ninja with a dream to become the leader of a nation :p). Anyways, classes have been hell, nursing school has to honestly be the biggest struggle of my life and it has consumed my time from sun up to sun down nearly every single day not named Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Summer Break. BUT, I have realized how much I enjoy writing and how big of a stress reliever it is to write this stuff (especially since my social life is non-existent). Anyways, let me know what ya'll think. Next Chapter, "Shimo Confrontation!"