The blast hit them and they all managed to survive it, not hiding in the bushes on the other side of a newly formed crater.

" Byakugan!" Neji said. " There's no question this time. I can see them, a pair, 52 degrees to the southwest. 12 degrees southeast, another three. Eight degrees to the southeast, one. And 24 degrees to the northwest, 11." They left the bushes and began to take out the opponents. Aceso slashed at her opponent, but nothing happened, turned out to be a stump.

" Somebody help me, please?" Rock Lee called out in a panic.

" Huh?" Aceso asked as she looked, his foot was caught in a strap as he hung upside down. " The-the enemy has disappeared!" Then lightning spread throughout the ground and electrocuted all of them.

" Ah!" Aceso breathed as she flew back and went unconscious. A few minutes later, Aceso finally began to ship, she opened her eyes, and she looked up to see a man fighting with Lee, he was holding a stick with his hands, another with his feet, and he was in a weird position. She heard someone yelp. she looked to the side to see Naruto falling onto his face. She looked back forward at the two fighters, she squinted to see that Lee was still unconscious. 

" You guys, where are you?" Naruto called out.

" Right here," Aceso breathed as she pushed herself up on her elbows. Naruto crawled over to her fast as quickly as possible.

" Do-do you think he knows Zabuza?" Aceso asked as they gained back some of their strength.

" Only one way to find out," Naruto answered. " I will do the fighting, you do the healing."

" On it," Aceso agreed. As they started to get back on their feet.

" Raiga, shift position," a little boy (Ranmaru) called out as Neji stood up. The voice sounded young.

" That voice, where is it coming from?" Neji asked. The man jumped over Lee, and he went forward and sent a kick.

" Raiga!" a voice cried out as a pouch went flying out.

" Ranmaru!" Raiga cried out.

" Neji," Tenten breathed as she ran over and stood next to him.

" Ranmaru," Raiga breathed as he began to walk over as Lee fell on him. " Get off!" He shoved Lee onto the ground.

" That is so bizarre," Lee stated as he opened his eyes. " I was just dreaming that I was in battle." He pushed himself up. " Ah!" He fell back down in pain.

" Ranmaru?" Raiga asked as he looked around. He looked back at Lee angrily. " You little-" He went to go strike but Naruto kicked him out of the way and Aceso went to Lee's side. 

" All right, Pal, now you're dealing with me," Naruto warned as Aceso took out ointment.

" Naruto," Lee breathed weakly. 

" You filthy little brat," Raiga growled as he stood up with his weapons.

" Hey, I've got something I wanna ask you," Naruto brought up. " Word is you're one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from the Hidden Mist."

" So what if I was?" Raiga asked.

" You know Zabuza, right?" Naruto asked as Aceso did what she needed to do. " And a big guy by the name of Kisame?"

" Look, I have nothing but loathing for those two," Raiga informed. " You'll have to forgive me if I don't feel like reminiscing." He launched forward. " And I'm not too hot on you!"

" And then I'll just have to beat the answers out of you!" Naruto insisted as he went head to head with Raiga. They jumped in the air, their knives and weapons clung a couple of times, before Naruto puffed out.

" A clone?" Raiga asked before he landed.

" What's wrong?" Naruto asked from behind as he put a knife to Raiga's throat. " Losing your edge already?" Raiga laughed and he put the metals together, lighting sparked up and Raiga blasted Naruto off of him. " Wh-what the?"

" Lightning Ball!" Raige shouted as he pointed his weapons to the sky. A big of lightning formed before shooting it at Naruto.

" Ah!" Naruto cried out as he flew back.

" You lousy-" Naruto growled as he tried to get back up. 

" Well, you're tougher than you look," Raiga complimented as he prepared another attack. " Lightning ball!" Naruto screamed as he got electrocuted more. Raiga went to attack once more, he threw the ball, and Aceso got in front. Her eyes glowed green, she did a Jutsu and a green wall appeared, it absorbed into the wall, sucking up the electricity.

" Huh?" Raiga asked.

" Sorry, buddy, it's going to take more than that," Naruto warned as he got back onto his feet.

" I'm not even going to remember that smile or that hair,"  Raiga said as Naruto laughed. " Now die!" He shot another ball at them, it went through the wall and electrocuted them both. They both cried out.

'Damnit!' Aceso thought to herself. 'I wasn't strong enough to block it."

" Ranmaru!" Raiga cried out. " Where are you?"  

" Naruto, use the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Neji ordered as Naruto and Aceso struggled to get back on their feet.

" But my clones were useless before," Naruto reminded him.  

" Don't worry, his eyes are over here at the moment," Neji explained.

" Ranmaru, I'll be right over, as soon as I finish up," Raiga assured.

" Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed. Many of Naruto's popped up. One Naruto picked up Aceso and put her by Neji, Tenten, and the Ranmaru before going back to the circle. " Bring it on, chump."

" Lightning Ball!" Raige shouted as he attacked.

" Your aim is terrible," Naruto mocked as one Naruto was taken out. " You just get lucky before?"

" Laugh it up, kid," Raiga mocked.  " I'll just take all of you out."

" Let's go, pal!" Naruto shouted as Raiga attacked and the clones launched to attack.

" Oh, please," Raiga growled as the Naruto attacked altogether. The mist began to fade away. Raiga's lightning some of the clones disappear. 

"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto shouted as Raiga blasted more clones and ran up the wall behind him. " You can run! But you can't hide!" Boulders started to trample down, hitting the clones.

" Naruto!" Aceso gasped.

" I have to help," Lee groaned as he got on his feet.

" Ha, did you see that?" Raiga asked once he got to the top and looked down.

" Yeah, I saw it," Naruto answered from above. He looked up to see two Naruto's coming at him with Rasengan. " Hope you're ready, pal!

" Stop!" Ranmaru cried out.

" Too late now!" Naruto informed after his clone disappeared.  He slammed the attack onto Raiga's chest and he screamed. He flew back and over into the valley between two sections of the mountain. " Yokes, I guess that takes care of that then, huh?" He jumped down to where they all gathered where the small bag with the human inside. " So, Raiga's eyes are inside that thing?" They all looked down at it. " They must be pretty big eyeballs."

" Huh?" Tenten asked.

" You idiot, it's a person," Neji scowled. 

" From the sounds of it, it's a child," Aceso stated as Neji knelt down and unzipped the bag.

" How could you tell?" Naruto asked in shock as a young boy with purple hair and brownish-red eyes were revealed. He then looked at his sister with wide eyes. 

" The pitch of his voice," Aceso answered.

" Huh?" Naruto asked in total confusion.

" So wait a minute," Lee said as he knelt down beside the boy. " When I was sleepwalking before then, was it you I thought?"

" No, it wasn't," Ranmaru denied. " It was Raiga and I together."

" Together?" Lee asked. 

" Always, ever since he found me," Ranmaru answered. He then explained how he and Raiga met. " That was the day I became Raiga's eyes and ears. And Raiga became my hands and feet. The outside world that we dashed into was filled with things that I saw and heard for the first time in my life. It was so much fun. Wherever and whenever I was with Raiga, nothing else mattered. We were never apart. We were trying to find the meaning in our lives by living for each other. We were convinced that we found the answer." They all stared down at him. " That's why if Raiga is gone, I have no reason to live. Without him, I have no purpose in this world, no cause to exist." Naruto gasped. There's no need for me to be here any longer."

" Look, don't be ridiculous," Naruto said as he shook his head. " You can't talk like that."

" Go on," Ranmaru urged. " Why do you hesitate? My arms and legs are crippled. I'm powerless to resist you." Naruto gasped and his eyes grew small. " You have a mission to carry out, don't you? Well, hurry up and finish it."

" The mission entrusted to us was to drive the Kurosuke family out of here," Aceso informed.

" And with Raiga out of the way now, he no longer poses a threat to the village," Neji reported. They all nodded as Neji stood up and walked away. " The question at hand is what to do about the Kurosuke family now that they have no leadership. Take the head off a beast, and it's hard to predict what it will do." He stood at the edge of the cliff staring down at the opening of the mine. " Once that's done, the mission will be completed."

" Hm, but, uh, what are we supposed to do about him?" Naruto asked as he looked down at Ranmaru. Neji led them to a small building, he requested Aceso to tie the boy to a pole. She was highly against it. Neji took two of the ropes around her body and tied the boy up himself.

" Do you really think he is dangerous enough to tie up?" Lee asked.

" No, I don't believe so," Neji denied.

" Then why?" Aceso asked.

 " Dangerous to himself though, maybe," Tenten answered sadly. 

" Once our mission is over, we'll come back for you, OK? " Naruto assured. He closed the door and put up a sealing tag.

" A chakra sealing tag as well?" Aceso asked sadly. 

" Look, we don't have a choice, Aceso," Tenten informed as she turned to her. " He's still our enemy, isn't he?"

" He's just a child," Aceso breathed.

" We have to assume that he still possesses other Jutsu just to be safe," Neji explained. 

Aceso felt someone touch her shoulder, she looked back to see Lee. " Let's go." Aceso nodded, and they all left to go back to where the villagers waited. " It appears the villagers have come out to welcome us. "They walked towards the edge of the cliff.

" Everyone down there looks safe," Tenten added.

" Then I guess the Kurosuke Family just ran away with their tails between their legs," Naruto laughed. Neji looked on either side to see nobody. He then smirked. They ran towards them. " Hey, guys!"

" Naruto, don't come!" Rokusuke protested as he stood up. Karashi put a hand over his mouth. Big boulders then rolled down the mountain, slamming into them.

" Hey, what are you looking for anyway?" Naruto asked.

" What do you think we're looking for?" a guy asked. " Those stinking brats.

" Are you referring to us?" Neji asked, the guy gasped and looked to see Neji and in front of him and Naruto sitting on a boulder laughing.

"You crushed the wrong brats," Naruto taunted as the other three appeared on the boulders. " Those were just our Shadow Clone and Transformation Jutsu."

" Take formation!" The guy ordered as they jumped back. " Ninja art. Black Tornado!" They got on top of each other, in two separate lines, all pulling out sharp claws. They began spinning creating two tornadoes. They ran away, their clones got sucked into the tornadoes.

" Sorry man," Naruto laughed. " Those guys were also made with our Jutsu." The real ones jumped down and they all began to attack.

" We saw right through your ambush," Neji informed.

" Now it's my turn!" Tenten declared. She pulled out two scrolls, and bit her thumb, her weapons disappeared and she went straight at one of the tornadoes. 

" Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted before he kicked the tornado.

" Disperse!" a guy shouted, the tornadoes disappeared, and the men all separated. Neji's team all took on the Kurosuke family easily. Aceso sat on a rock, waiting for the fight to be over. Tenten assured her that it would be over quick, and that her team could handle it.

" Spinning ax kick!" Naruto shouted as he spun, he looked down to see them all defeated.

"The fights already over," Aceso informed as Naruto landed on the ground.

" Man, that hurt," Naruto grunted as he got up. " Huh?" He looked around. " What the heck? That's not fair. You could have saved some for me! And right when I was finally gonna get to try out my new Jutsu!"

" Next time Naruto," Aceso breathed as the others looked ready to leave him behind. They then went over to Karashi and the other villagers. 

" What were you thinking back there?" Naruto demanded. " I mean, haven't you learned your lesson by now?"

" Well, Karashi?" Rokusuke demanded. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

" It was just a joke," Karashi laughed nervously.

" You think we'll believe this is just a joke?" the old man asked. " You have tormented this whole village."

" But I didn't have any other choice," Karashi said. " If I didn't do as they told me, I would have been killed by the Kurusukes."

" Well, instead of the Kurosukse, I'll do the job with a blow from my hammer!" a village roared angrily.

" That's right!" another agreed as he held up a knife.

" Come on! Give him here!" the villagers ordered as Karashi tried to get away.

" I'm so sorry!" Karashi cried as he curled up trying to cover his body. Lee got in front of him and held out his arms.

" Please, Lee, out of our way!" Rokusuke ordered.

" You should strike me instead until you're satisfied," Lee insisted as he got on the ground and bowed his head.

" Why would we punish you?" the old man asked.

" At one time, Karashi was a kind-hearted innocent young man. And I am partly responsible for him joining a gang of thugs like he did " Lee explained.

" Hm? You're to blame?" the old man asked.

" It was because of my words he came to think that power is everything," Lee explained.

" Right," Karashi agreed. " That's what it was. I knew it was wrong, but I had to do it anyway."

" Keep quiet Karashi!" Rokusuke snapped.

" It is true," Lee insisted. " But even so, he has a rare ability to make life-saving curry. Let him make curry! And also, if Karashi ever goes astray again, there will be consequences. I swear I will punish him with my two fists!" He put a fist up real close to Karashi's face, and he gulped.

" Hey, listen up," Rokusuke spoke. " What does everybody think about letting Lee and Grandma Sancho handle this situation?"

" This is so strange," A man said as the villagers murmured among each other.

" Well, I suppose he was just an underling of the Kurosuke Family," the old man said. " It's not like he attacked our village himself. Maybe it would be best to have Rock Lee take Karashi under his wing and see."

" Well, in that case," a guy said as the villagers all looked at each other. Lee grabbed Karashi and pulled him down next to him.

" Thank you all very much," Lee thanked them.

" Uh--yeah," Karashi agreed. " Thank you."

" And with that, our mission is pretty much complete," Naruto smiled as he dusted off his hands.

" No," Aceso denied. " Not just yet." They went back up to where they left Ranmaru. They took off the tag and opened the door to find Ranmaru now sitting down as he was tied to the pole. They walked over to him and Aceso knelt next to the boy. " You all right?"

" What does it matter if I'm not feeling all right or not?" Ranmaru answered as he opened his eyes and looked up. " I can't go on living alone like I am."

" Hey, come on, don't say that," Naruto insisted.

" Why don't we just leave this weakling here?" Tenten asked. " Everyone ought to be able to live by themselves. "

" But he's just a child," Aceso protested.

" And don't you need some good friends in your life who you can count on in a pinch?" Naruto asked.

" I'm talking the basics here," Tenten said. " Child or no, I can't stand weak, indecisive people.'

" Since the day I was born, I've always been frail," Ranmaru explained. " And most of my life, a shabby cabin was my entire world. I have no memory of my parents. I survived only because the villagers took pity on me and brought me small amounts of food from time to time. But even as fragile as I was, I had a special power no one else did. As time went on, everyone feared me. Because without leaving my room, I could see what was happening outside. From then on, I had no more visitors bringing me food. All I could do is wait to die. If it weren't for Raiga, I wouldn't be alive."

" His past is so tragic," Lee noted. " I had no idea."

" Yes," Neji breathed. " I agree."

" Raiga took me out beyond those walls, showing me a world I had never experienced before," Ranmaru explained. " If Raige isn't here to care for me, it's the same as losing my own body."

" I think I see," Neji admitted. " Raiga was able to become one of the famous Seven Swordsmen because he was able to power from Ranmaru."

" So the two of you helped each other survive, didn't you?" Tenten asked.

" Yeah," Ranmaru answered with a small sad smile.

" That's not true!" Naruto grunted getting in the boy's face. " Raiga was using you, so he could do all those terrible things!"

" Yes, he might have been using me," Ranmaru agreed. " It's possible." He turned his head away. " But whether good or bad, either way, it doesn't matter to me. Because I'm just a tool to sense things out anyway."

" Well, if that's what you believe, then you're not really alive, are you?" Naruto asked as he stood up straighter." Ranmaru looked at Naruto. " Look, if you're gonna survive on your own, you're going to give it your all. And you could start by eating the curry of life. That's sure to cheer you up!"

" Yes, that is right," Lee agreed. " It will surely nourish you."

" It would be better than medicine," Aceso agreed. " Sometimes curry or ramen is a better form than medicine than the stuff a doctor can give you."

" Wait, a second," Tenten began to protest in uneasement. " Won't spicy curry hurt his body?"

" Naruto, you shouldn't have any either," Neji denied.

" What are you talking about?" Naruto asked with a smile. "  As a matter of fact, the more I eat of that slop, the more I feel rejuvenated!"

" And it was the very curry that saved my life," Lee added happily. " It really works!" Aceso untied Ranmaru and put her on her back and stood up.

" Until the day can walk on your own, I'll be your body for you," Aceso insisted. " Well?"

" All right," Ranmaru agreed. " But I have one favor to ask."

" Huh?" Naruto asked. They took Ranmaru over to where they could see where Raiga was buried under a bunch of rubble. Twi arms were sticking out, holding out the rods.

" Byakugan," Neji activated his eyes to look more. " Nothing. I sense no life in Raiga."

" Can you see down there, Ranmaru?" Naruto asked. He sat up more on Aceso's back to get a better look. 

" Yes," Ranmaru answered. His eyes glowed red, he smiled and he stopped when Naruto looked at him.

" Is everything OK?" Naruto asked.

" Yeah," Ranmaru breathed.

"Let's go, we're done here," Neji announced. They then began their journey on the way back to the curry shop.