"Orochimaru's...dead?"

I stare in shock, the words falling from my mouth as a sense of freedom comes over me.

"I don't get it! If Orochimaru's dead, why isn't Sasuke returning to the village?" Naruto shouts, confusion filling his eyes.

"He's obsessed with revenge, Naruto. And he's gone this far... would he really turn back now?" I ask, sadness clear in my gaze.

"In order to kill Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke must get closer to the Akatsuki," Jiraiya explains.

"That bastard..." Naruto says through gritted teeth, "Still? Damn! Then we have to get moving too! The mission to hunt down the Akatsuki is still on, right?"

"Yeah," Tsunade admits.

"So, our chances of meeting Sasuke are much higher if we look for that member of the Akatsuki," Naruto reasons, "In other words, our aim is... Uchiha Itachi!"

"Going after the Akatsuki member who's most likely to run into Sasuke...It makes sense, but..." Tsunade hesitated, casually sitting on her desk, "What to do with Itachi Uchiha, then?"

"If we were to capture even one member of the Akatsuki, I think we could get Ibiki to get intel on Itachi from them," Sakura theorized.

"It's true that there's an order to capture any Akatsuki member whenever possible..." Tsunade sighed.

"But that'll be extremely difficult, yeah?" I ask.

"Just what I was going to say, Keira."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura turned.

"Getting info out of them won't be that easy," Kakashi continued, "Even the ones that we've seen so far are far too dangerous."

"We didn't even have a chance to consider capturing them," I nod, "We were fighting for our lives."

"So what do we do?!" Naruto questions, frustrated.

"Until we happen to find Itachi, all we can do is remain calm and search," Kakashi shrugs. 

"Tch," Naruto grits his teeth, glancing away.

"So, let's say we find Itachi. Then what?" Jiraiya asks.

"About that... I have an idea," Kakashi announces.

"Of course you do," I grin, "Let's hear it."

"Actually, could you give me some time?" He asks dryly.

We all blink in surprise before Tsunade nods. "Dismissed!" She orders.

***

"Hey, Naruto! Wait up!" I call out, waving. He and Jiraiya turn, then Naruto grins.

"Keira!" he waves back, "Join us at Ichiraku! It's Pervy Sage's treat!"

"Eh? What?!" Jiraiya questioned incredulously.

"Oh, well, if it's Jiraiya-san's treat, sure!" I agree.

"The girl has some respect, Naruto, you could take a leaf out of her book," Jiraiya reprimends, "Though she's short, and rather... lacking, in other compartments," He observes. An irk mark grows on my head and I silently glare.

"Nah, Keira, there's no need to be respectfuly to Pervy Sage here," Naruto tells me.

"I can see that," I reply, the glare not leaving my face as Jiraiya inched away warily. "Ah, whatever. You were saying something about ramen?"

We all order, and once we have our orders Naruto begins to complain.

"Geez, what's going on with Kakashi sensei?" Naruto grumbles, "And here we are, all ready to leave now."

"Looks to me like your stuffing your face, not ready to leave on a moments notice," I tease.

Naruto chokes down his large mouthful. "Hey, hey, I could get up and leave right now if I wanted to, believe it!" He shouts, the old speech impediment making its way back into his words.

"I believe you, I believe you," I calm him, taking a bite of my ramen.

"Anyways, it can't be helped," Jiraiya said, "There are many things you have to prepare for."

"Prepare?"

"This can't be done with one squad," Jiraiya explains.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto pauses.

"The Akatsuki are an extremely formidable opponent, Naruto. Not like any other ninja out there, as you know," I say.

"That's true, Keira, but not the full story. Now, both of you, pay attention. If Itachi is defeated, Sasuke will have no reason to come here. In other words, the only option we have is to capture Itachi, and that requires a plan, and many ninja," Jiraiya says in between bites of ramen.

"Ohhh. So right now, Kakashi's getting this all organized?" I ask.

"Hm," Jiraiya nods in affirmation.

"So that's it," Naruto smiles gently, turning back to his ramen.

"Still, this is Itachi we're dealing with, so normal strategies won't work," Jiraiya muses.

"He's one of the best ninja of this generation," I mumble.

"Still, we can't just let him be, either," Naruto declares.

"Just to bring Sasuke back, huh?" Jiraiya asks casually, "I'm sure you get it already, but Sasuke's already become more powerful than Orochimaru."

"But Oro...Orochimaru must have been extremelly weakened, no? It had been two and half years since his invasion of Konoha... he must have desperately needed to take over Sasuke's body. He would have been dying," I theorize.

"This could be true," Jiraiya nods.

"But all the same..." Naruto says, "I made a promise to Sakura a while back... that I'd definitely bring Sasuke back, no matter what. And I can't fail to fulfill my promise."

Naruto... I think, smiling sadly at him as he slurps at his ramen.

"To never give up! Determination!" Naruto exclaims, "That's my ninja way."

"Heh," Jiraiya laughs, "You're as much of an idiot as ever."

"It's not my fault!" Naruto protests, "I'm the student of Pervy Sage,  after all."

"Ooh, he got you," I chuckle under my breath.

"Man, what a brat of an apprentice I ended up with," Jiraiya complained.

"Did you just call me a brat!? What are you talking about!?"

"It's exactly what I said. You're a brat, idiot."

"You're one to talk, you old, perverted loser!"

I laugh lightly at Naruto as he splutters.

"Ne, Keira, it's not nice to laugh at your teammates," Naruto whined.

"Here, have this," Jiraiya offers, handing him a piece of his food as a peace offering. Naruto grins and gladly accepts, gulping it down.

"Ichiraku is the best, after all," Naruto says, content.

"Hm," Jiraiya smiles as he watched Naruto's happy face.

"If you say so," I finish my ramen.

"I do! I do say so! And I've travelled all over for two years! I would know!" Naruto argues.

All I can do is smile. It was great being back in Konoha.

***

We gathered by the gate, white cloaks shielding us from the light rain. We were all here; the rookie ten... minus one. I clench my fists. Soon, I promise myself, Soon we would be complete once more.

"I see. You thought this out well," Tsunade compliments.

"Hey, shouldn't we have more people than this?" Naruto asks Kakashi.

"It's not a matter of manpower," Kakashi replies, "In this case, we shouldn't have more than one team of two platoons. While assuming that our target is a squad of two people, having more than three squads would make us easily detectable, make giving orders hard, and lower mobility."

"You really thought through this all, didn't you?" I ask admiringly. Kakashi flashes me a quick smile.

"There are techniques designed for capturing, rather than killing. As for coordinating the squads, it's better to pick people who are used to working together," Jiraiya explains.

"Well, for now this is the best we have," Tsunade smirks.

"You have my thanks," Kakashi nods. "Though, I'd like better weather than this, now that we're moving out."

"Well, you can't get everything," I tease, "And we can't make this too easy, now, can we?"

Naruto laughs slightly. "Alright!" He shouts, "Let's get going!"

"The rain is perfect for cooling down those who are getting too fired up," Kiba mocks with a smirk.

"Always over eager," I join in, holding back a laugh.

"Then, I hereby assign you the mission of locating and capturing Itachi Uchiha!" Tsunade declares, "Be careful, and watch each other's backs out there!"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" We shout in unison.

Let's go.

_______________________________________________________________

Sorry for short updates! But at least  there IS an update XD

I skipped the three tails arc because I feel like nothing that really matters happens then >.<

Enjoy the update!

Comment! Vote!

Bye!

gaara119