They went back to the others, Aceso saw that a cabin of some sort was built, with the village symbol on it.

"Reinforcements?" Aceso repeated. 

"Here?" Naruto asked.

"Who?" Aceso asked.

"Just you wait and see," Sakura said. They opened the door, Aceso saw Pakkun was laying flat on the ground.

"Pakkun," Aceso gasped kneeling beside him. 

"That's it, I can't run another step," Pakkun said as Aceso took him into her arms. 

"This is what you meant by reinforcements," Naruto said.

"So, Naruto," Ino's voice rang. "I hear you messed up again."

"And you took part as well Aceso," Tenten's voice rang, they looked up to see Ino, Tenten, Shizune, and Lee. Aceso didn't know whether to feel happy, flushed (from when they almost kissed like two days ago) or angry to see Lee. 

"It is all right," Lee smiled at the both of them. "Recklessness is a sign of youth."

"Shut up, Lee!" Tenten groaned. "Stop encouraging them!"

"Hey, hey!" Naruto greeted happily pointing at Lee. "Look who's here!" They put lights on so everyone could see better. " Am I glad to see you, Bushy brow!" They ran up to each other, high diving. 

"That is right!" Lee cheered. "Now that I am here, you all have nothing to fear."

"Hold on," Tenten said rushing up to the three. "You're not alone here, pal. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"I'm happy to see you Tenten," Aceso smiled. Pakkun had fallen asleep in Aceso's arms, he was quite exhausted from all the running he had been doing. 

"Really!?" Tenten lit up. Everyone gathered up and talked with each other, Aceso against the same wall as Naruto. He stood up and went into another room, Aceso followed. They stepped outside, taking a small walk.

"Do you really think, that kid belongs with them?" Naruto asked.

"Not with them," Aceso denied. "But with her." They stopped at a tree. 

"Out of all the people, why her?" Naruto asked.

"Cause he makes her feel like he belongs," Aceso answered. "Guren is his home."

" A person is his home," Naruto repeated.

"I would go anywhere that Kakashi and Gai go," Aceso said. 

"What makes you think that woman is attached to him?" Naruto asked.

"Cause the same happened with me and Kakashi when I was younger," Aceso answered. "When I was just about 5, a family wanted to take me away from Kakashi, but I choose to stay with him and Gai and Kakashi didn't to be away from him. The same thing is how Iruka-sensei protected you from Mizuki all those years ago."

****Flashback****

Aceso was five years old, she was standing in the Hokage's office with Gai, Kakashi, and a family, there was a mother, a father, a boy, and a girl, both seemed older than her.

"Aceso, I want to you say hello to a family from the Senju clan," Lord Third said. "They will be taking you in for now."

"I don't want to go with them," Aceso denied. 

"Don't be rude," Kakashi said putting a hand on her head. "Go say hello."

"You should feel honored," Lord Third said. "The Senju clan is one of the founding clans of our village."

"But I don't want to go with them," Aceso denied shaking her head, tears were in her eyes.

"No, need to be afraid," the woman said kneeling down. "You will fit right in. My name is Asui, this is my husband Katsuki, my oldest boy Eren and my daughter Haruhi."

"I don't want to be part of your clan," Aceso denied as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Aceso, don't you want a family?" Lord Third asked.

"Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei are my family," Aceso said. Aceso turned around and held onto Kakashi's leg crying. " You said I would never be taken away from you and Gai."

"Aceso," Gai squatted down to her level. "Don't you want a real family?"

"We are a real family," Aceso said looking at him. Tears formed in Gai's eyes and snot ran down his nose. 

******

"Yeah," Naruto smiled. "I think I'm starting to understand."

"A home isn't particularly a place," Aceso said scratching behind Pakkun's ear. "It's a person, it's people. When I was out, all I could think about was returning home to the people I care about and seeing you again. You are home to me as well, Naruto."

"I yelled at you earlier," Naruto said looking away. " I had no right to do so."

"Nonsense," Aceso laughed. "We are brother and sister, after all, siblings get into arguments all the time, it's what makes them family." Naruto raised his hand, Aceso started to coward away from it. Then he put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a hug. "This is nice."

"Thank you," Naruto said as tears slipped out of his eyes. Aceso heard a sound, she looked over to see Kakashi walking over to them.

"I'll see you inside," Aceso said.

"Ok," Naruto said pulling away and wiping her eyes. Aceso went back inside as Kakashi took his turn to talk to Naruto. She arrived back at the cabin, as soon as Aceso sat down, Lee sat beside her.

"Where did you go?" Lee asked.

"Talking to Naruto," Aceso answered, she looked down to see Pakkun was completely passed out. "He's very concerned about the kid."

"He's being used," Lee said.

"Not by everyone," Aceso answered. "The crystal and the kid seemed to have become attached to each other."

"He could still betray her," Lee said.

"There is always the possibility," Aceso agreed. "Kakashi-sensei said that earlier."

"Do you think she'll betray Yukimaru?" Lee asked.

"No," Aceso answered. "In the same way, Gai-sensei wouldn't betray you."

"There is so much youth between this crystal-style user and this child," Lee said with a smile. "What exactly did Naruto say to the kid?"

"That where ever someone is thinking of you, that's where you belong, it's somewhere we can return to," Aceso answered. "Honestly, that's some wholesome words, so much meaning to it."

"Does it have to be a place?" Lee asked taking her hand into his.

"No, in all honesty, it's the people, not the place," Aceso answered looking at him. Everyone that was still in the cabin, stood on the second floor staring at the two. 

"You seemed angry earlier," Lee brought up.

"Oh, it was nothing," Aceso answered. "You came because Lady Tsunade asked, right?"

"Yes," Lee answered. "You think I came just in case Sasuke showed up?"

"Possibly," Aceso answered.

"You said you would be able to stand your ground if he showed his face again and I trust that you can," Lee said with a bigger smile. "As long as you keep that hot-blooded energy. We are waiting for the others to return." His eyes flickered down to her lips, then locked onto her eyes. " So as we wait, maybe this will help?" Lee started to lean closer. Pakkun woke up, he looked up to see Lee getting close to Aceso, a little too close. 

"How about a belly rub? Both hands?" Pakkun asked rolling onto his back.

"Of course," Aceso said looking at Pakkun, everyone on the second floor fell backward with their feet in the air. Soon everyone returned and they were ready to go over the plan. 

"Everyone listen," Shizune ordered. "I'm going to go over Lady Tsunade's plan of attack and review the new team formations. First of all, the search and rescue mission to Orchimaru's secret hideout is now complete. Aceso, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino, from now on you'll be under my command.

"Yes," those three responded. 

"As for the rest of you, you'll be forming a new unit that'll be under the direction of Kakashi."

" All right," Kakashi nodded, taking his cue. "Our team's new assignment is to locate the Three-Tailed beast and seal it b whatever means necessary. What's more, as that child seemed to be connected to this, we must protect him at all costs." Naruto and Aceso both lit up with smiles, protecting the child was a huge goal. "It's not the Akatsuki alone that covet the tailed beast. If it becomes known that a tailed beast exists with no jinchuriki the other nations are bound to hunt for it. 

"So the young boy was brought here to be transformed into a jinchuriki," Sai said. "Is that correct!"

"Sai!" Sakura scolded. 

"Ohhh," Sai breathed, he looked at Naruto. " I guess I forgot you're a jinchuriki." Everyone stared at Naruto and Sai.

"You dummy," Naruto playfully whacked Sai. "You always say stuff without thinking, don't you? But still, I bet you're right about that. Sealing the Three-tails and protecting that kid, that's so he doesn't end up just like Gaara and me, isn't it? Right, Shizune?"

"Yes, that's our intention," Shizune nodded. "But the plan is not to capture the tailed beast. If we manage to seal the beast, we're going to send it to another dimension. That's Lady Tsunade's--the Hokage's will."

"All right?" Naruto cheered breaking the line. " What are we  waiting for?"

"One thing," Kiba said crossing his arm. "The tails beast has a huge reservoir of chakra, right? I don't see how we can put a seal on it."

"Yes, it was will be extremely difficult," Shizune confirmed. "Requiring amazing amounts of chakra control and concentration. Aceso, and Ino, you've trained in medical ninjutsu. Your experience will be very useful. As well, Hinata's."

"Um, but I don't have any training in medical ninjutsu, ma'am, Hinata brought up. 

"Actually, I was speaking of your ability to control chakra," Shizune said. "You may not be a medical ninja, but your Byakugan can see the flow of chakra. That and your mastery of the gentle fist will come in handy. You'll be very important. "

"Yeah, Hinata, you're amazing!" Naruto complimented. 

"No, I'm not," Hinata denied looking at the floor, she was blushing a little. She looked up, Shizune was staring down at her, she shook her head. "Mm, I'll do my best."

"What will I be doing?" Sakura asked.

"You will be on guard just in case one of us doesn't have enough chakra to pull it off," Shizune said. 

"Yeah, I guess the girls might be a little better at delicate chakra control than us guys," Naruto grumbled crossing his arms as he stared at Hinata. "Mhm--mm." He closed his eyes, a few seconds later he opened them. "Hey! what about Tenten? How come you didn't pick her? All the other girls are on the sealing team."

"Well, I guess its 'cause my chakra control is rough, right?" Tenten asked in irritation. She pulled out a gavel whipping it around. "Rrrrngh!"

"No, I--I didn't mean it like that at all," Naruto panicked backing up.

"The rest of you will work under Captain Yamato and myself to provide protection," Kakashi said. "I'm sure I don't need to point this out to any of you, but the people who are after the Three-Tails won't wait around for us to finish sealing the beast. They'll hit hard."

"The Crystal Style user and the rest," Kiba said.

" I say bring them on," Lee declared. 

"But how will our team be structured?" Tenten asked. 

"Yeah, about that--I have an idea," Kakashi brought up. Shino nodded.

"Well?" Naruto asked holding out his arms. "Come on, don't hold back. Tell us already."

"As I see it, the most critical part of this battle will be to stop the Crystal Style user. However, if all of us fight her, the sealing team will be left without protection, which is why I'm thinking of splitting this team in two, with one half concentrating on her," Kakashi answered. "Naruto, Sai, Shino."

"Sir," Sai nodded.

"All right!" Naruto cheered. 

"You three will operate under my command to confront the Crystal Style user," Kakashi said. "And all the others--Yamato, you know what to do."

"Yes, understood," Yamato said. "Ok, those of you whose names weren't called before, gather around."

"He makes us sound like we're the rejects," Tenten pouted as everyone split up into their packs. 

"Do not pout," Lee said. "Where is your youthful spirit and vigor?"

"Lee's right," Kiba agreed, Akamaru barked in agreement. They all got into their groups and discussed what they needed to do.

"Everyone, have you all memorized the plan of action?" Shizune asked. They all nodded. "And remember, if that child is discovered during our operation, we must do anything to protect him." She walked over to Yamato's team. " Ok then, let's begin. Tenten, show us what you have." 

"Right away," Tenten said taking the scroll off her back. "Lady Tsunade specially prepared this giant scroll for the moment when we seal the Three-Tails. Naruto, here." She threw it at him, he caught it with great difficulty.

"Whoaa!" Naruto sweated. "wait, we're really going to use this humongous scroll?"

"Exactly," Shizune said. "After all, we'll need to suppress a massive amount of chakra energy." She stepped up to Kakashi. "Kakashi, we're counting on you."

"No, problem," Kakashi gave a thumbs up. "Both teams, fall into formation."

"yes, sir!" they all cheered happily. 

"Naruto, guess we're going our separate ways," Sakura said. "Good luck out there."

"Leave it to me!" Naruto pumped his fist. " I won't need luck!"

"I'll be taking my leave," Pakkun said.

"Get some rest," Aceso said. "You deserve it." Smoke puffed and he was no longer in her arms. They all headed out to the lake, they stood at the age, noticing that the mist had finally cleared. 

" All right, let's get this started," Kakashi declared. "Everyone to your positions. Now!" Aceso felt someone kiss her cheek right before they left. 

"Well, it's time we got to work," Shizune said facing the girls. They all nodded, each of them wore a wireless mic. They went over the hand signs and looked at the scroll, it was on the ground open. 

" All right then," Shizune said. "We will proceed with the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier. First, we located the Three-Tails, then move on to the sealing Jutsu. I've already shown you the hand signs. Ready?" They all took out a smaller scroll besides Sakura. They put it on the ground, rolling them open. Shizune did a few hand signs. "Four-Corner Sealing Barrier. Search!" She bit her thumb, they all did the same. They wiped their blood across the scroll. They held up a hand sign, lines connected all four of them, and then met in the middle. A blue light shined as they all concentrated on their chakra control. "Ok, quickly go right into the sealing Jutsu. Hyah!" They went into the sealing Jutsu, with one hand, they all slowly rose up the giant pink seal out of the scroll. They stood up raising the Jutsu in the air. "Well, that should do for now. We'll maintain this chakra balance and slowly expand the diameter of the opening." Aceso looked over to see that Ino was struggling a bit. She looked at Sakura, they nodded. "When the Three-Tails is below the barrier, we'll get a reaction. Ready?"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Sakura said. "What happens if the enemy attacks while we're painting this chakra balance? We won't be able to maintain ourselves." 

"Sakura, there's a reason we have a protection team," Aceso brought up. "If any fighting were to target us, they are to leap into action."

"Just focus on your chakra control and don't worry about your enemy," Shizune said. "Aceso's right, we have a protection squad. Trust your comrades to take care of them."

"Yes, ma'am understood," Sakura nodded. Ino then collapsed onto her knees.

"Ino!" Aceso exclaimed. "You all right?" She put her hand back up, reconnecting with the sealing Jutsu."

"You'll be fine, Ino," Sakura said standing behind her. " I know that you can do it, and if anything, I'm right here to help. This chakra control, it's a piece of cake for us. You know it."

"Don't patronize me," Ino smiled lightly. She got back onto her feet. "Of course, I can do it. Sure I can, no sweat."

"Sakura, be ready with chakra patches just in case," Aceso instructed.

"Of course," Sakura nodded. They began their walk to the middle of the lake, which they took slow and steady. A fish flopped up, causing Ino to lose some focus. 

  "Hold it," Aceso urged as the sealing Jutsu wobbled. 

"Ino, focus your chakra on the barrier," Shizune ordered. 

 "Right," Ino said as Sakura placed a chakra patch on Ino's back. The middle of the sealing formula soon started to turn a different color.

"See that?" Sakura gasped as they looked up.

"Yes, I know," Shizune said. "It's closer."

"It's directly below us," Hinata informed. 

" I sense it," Ino said. 

"We're moving past the search mode of the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier," Shizune said. "Keep your breathing steady. Here we go!"

"Four-Corner Sealing Barrier!" Ino, Shizune, Aceseo, and Hinata all exclaimed. "Bind!" The sealing barrier middle changed shape and then grew larger in height.

"We'll lower the net into the water very quietly," Shizune said. "We can't let the Three-Tails detect us."

"Enemy!" Hinata exclaimed looking at the man running towards them.

"Keep concentrating," Aceso instructed. 

"But--" Sakura protested. Rinji smirked as he got closer.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted he kicked Rinju away from them.

"Lee! Tenten!" Aceso smiled seeing that they had arrived. 

"We took care of the enemy on the other side, so we hurried over here," Lee reported. " I am glad we did. And now, that I am here I will not allow you to lay a finger on these five!"

"The others should have stopped you in your tracks," Rinji said. 

"You mean, your friends?" Lee asked. "They were no match for us!" Lee got into his fighting stance. " I am your opponent now." Rinji did a few hand signs, he disappeared in a whirl of fire.

"What?" Tenten asked. "He's running away?" They sealing slowly began to lower the net, Aceso looked down to see the Three-Tails putting out its legs and getting trapped just as planned. They now stood farther apart from each other, Lee and Tenten stood by Aceso.

"Tenten," Lee said. "Stay alert. We don't know when the enemy will be appearing again."