???'s POV (Traversing Fire Country)

  Two men silently flew through the forest of the Fire Country. The duo was one that the one of the two would plainly admit was an odd duo. He was Obito Uchiha, a man long thought dead by friends and family. The other was one Itachi Uchiha, the latest genius of the late clan, one believed to have been crushed with the other traitorous Uchiha. Obito supposed their similar situations was what made Hiruzen assemble the two. Both were undyingly loyal to their home, both had poor relations with their own clan. And both seeked to hide from their loved ones. Obito supposed misery truly did enjoy company.

  Obito however as they moved today felt concerned. Their mission today was important, and whenever they were called it was high stakes behind the scenes work. Even being spotted by an untrusted person would be disastrous. But after meeting with Kushina by chance that day they had been needed. Someone had recently infiltrated the village and attempted to assassinate their jinchuriki. After they had investigated it became clear this was the same person who had infiltrated the Uzumaki Shrine. Making off with several of their more dangerous aspects. It was the signs of a dangerous new force making divisive moves.

  Before he could ponder this further, Itachi held up a hand, a signal they were close. Due to the combined efforts of the science corps and Kushina, they managed to create a seal that would glow when facing the direction of the trace amounts of chakra of the individual in the air. Which would allow them to track who had shattered the seals in the temple, and took the mask.

  Obito sighed as he prepared himself. While the two of them had tracked the man down there was no certainty what they faced. Their suspect could be aware of them and had placed a trap. They could be in pursuit of nothing. They could be facing a damn S-Rank shinobi for all they knew.

  "Ironic, we, particularly Uchiha, are sent, and we end up here?" Obito asks jovially. He preferred to keep things light, even if he didn't have much of a life. He still felt every bit the goofy idiot he had been in the past. It was mostly an act now, but it always felt more comfortable than being grim.

  "Most certainly, I must admit to feeling upset at their choice of residency." Itachi agreed calmly. Like always his partner was a man of few words and seemingly fewer emotions. However with a brief glance Obito could ascertain that Itachi was furious. While the two of them had betrayed their clan, Itachi had always seemed proud of his origins despite it. The guy was a contradiction, but also one of the most reliable men he had ever met.

  "Ya, now that you mention it, these bastards are rude. Time to show them how we new Uchiha boys do it, aye?" Obito asked with a giant smile.

  "It would only be fair," Itachi said with a small smile. Obito swirled away into nothing as he finished while Itachi dispersed into crows. The two immediately appeared atop the building, scanning the surrounding area with Sharingan active.

  "I'm not seeing anything, Tachi."

  "Do not call me that."

  "Why not Tachi?"

  "I will strike you down, Obi."

  "Ya, that doesn't feel great, touche," Obito said, rubbing his head. An instant later, a blue arc cut through the man and Itachi, seemingly bisecting both. Itachi faded into crows, showing genjutsu, while Obito stood where he was seemingly unaffected. "Hey, my buddy and I were talking; show yourselves and be polite!"

  Itachi flew onto the roof, two men held in his hands by the throat. As always, Itachi moved quickly and efficiently. "It seems we have rogue samurai about," Itachi said plainly.

  "Stop being cool! We talked about this!" Obito complained as Itachi choked them both out and dropped them. It was like working with a damn ghost, and he was the one who could become intangible! Itachi never seemed caught off guard, and rarely seemed even bothered by the efforts of their foes. Was a blow to Obito's pride each time.

  "I thought you taking that attack was pretty cool, Obi."

  "I said we're dropping that!"

  "You two shinobi, my name is Sanada. I and my comrades are former samurai of the Land of Iron. We were shamed for our sins, and we are now here. I am ashamed to admit it, but now we are nothing more than mercenaries. Mercenaries who have been hired to kill any shinobi who show up here. I am sorry to announce your death. May you find peace in your next life." The samurai offered. Obito and Itachi turned to see a dozen heavily armored samurai now standing with them on the roof. Each of their blades were glowing brightly with chakra in the night air.

  "That was very polite," Itachi replied evenly, smiling at them.

  "You realize they are saying they will kill us," Obito said, annoyed.

  "I assumed they were joking. They cannot kill us, so it's humorous, " Itachi said.

  "STOP BEING SO DAMN COOL!"

  X-X

  Ikam's POV (Nearby)

  Ikam sighed heavily as he watched the two make short work of the samurai he had hired. Ikam had been certain the Leaf would respond to his actions. He hadn't expect them to find him so soon, but had planned a back up plan long ago. He had found and hired a squadron of banished samurai to patrol this old Uchiha Hideout he used as his Fire Country Base. Even gifted them some powerful weapons via the Tsukumogami Mask, he had killed several Leaf Patrols and infused their souls within high grade katanas he had gifted them. He hadn't expected the Samurai to do much. But with their numbers and powerful weapons they were a considerable threat. Ikam had hoped to see the capabilities of whatever team the Hokage had sent to investigate his recent theft of the mask. He had been prepared for an anbu squad, but seeing what seemed to be two Jounins was surprising. He had almost hoped the goons he had hired would manage to stop the two. Or at the least expose some critical weakness he could exploit.

  But the one named Itachi had almost immediately caught half of them in genjutsu. Worse yet, the other one, Obito, seemed to avoid attacks absurdly quickly or was entirely unaffected by them. He watched as the two finished them off. Itachi merely finished off men trapped in various genjutsu. Mercilessly slitting throats and piercing hearts. And Obito merely counter-attacking the remaining few. The two moved efficiently and mercilessly, slaying each samurai and taking proof of identity from each.

  Ikam hated to admit it, but the Leaf was formidable. Either of these men on their own may prove his match. The Hokage himself was even more potent supposedly. They even held the power of two of the Sannins. Since his goals would likely align against the Leaf, he had started working with Orochimaru. Now, all because of the threat leveled against him, he may need to maintain this foul alliance. Whatever it took, indeed, would be of no consequence. Ikam would finish what he had started years ago. "Anyone with the blood of the Uzumaki must die." He said quietly to himself. "Whatever it takes…

  Naruto's POV (Traversing the Streets of the Leaf Village)

  Naruto walked with Ino and Neji happily through the streets of Konoha. His team went from a confusing mess to surprisingly easy friends. It had been a week since he and Neji had beat the shit out of each other. Naruto knew Neji had been strong, Perhaps even stronger than Naruto had been going in. But Naruto had not expected just how good the Hyuga was. The blonde had expected to eat some abuse, perhaps even come close to losing. What he hadn't expected Neji to stand toe to toe with him in a slug fest, worse yet the prissy bastard was kind of tough!

  Naruto had decided he respected the man. Even better, the Hyuga was making an active effort to not be the worst! He still sniped constantly, but they lacked the venom they had before. Hell, Naruto kinda enjoyed arguing with the guy now. It felt more like good natured teasing than outright attacks. Things were slightly awkward still, but Naruto liked to believe he had gained the mans respect.

  Ino was more manageable, though. From the start, she had been relatively kind to him. But from the united front, they assembled due to awful Neji. They had grown closer, and even more so now that the team was in sync. Often when Naruto felt the need to chat, which even Naruto would admit was fairly often. He did so with Ino first. During this time, he had often said things to set her off accidentally. But now, enjoying her reaction, he did so purposely. He found her fun to be around when she got that spark in her. It mostly was there when she was angry, but sometimes, it would come through passion. Sometimes, though, he failed to balance it properly, and Ino was unafraid of getting on him when he did. Though now they could chat about most things seemingly effortlessly. Though she felt a bit different from Neji. The blonde wasn't sure what that meant but would figure it out as he went. Women have always been a little confusing to Naruto.

  Though as excellent as that was, Naruto was excited primarily due to the bar visit finally happening. With the Genin all having various schedules and injuries, planning a big event for all of them had been difficult. But with Ino's desperate desire for a party and a chance to gossip, Shikamaru wanting to unite his old group, and Choji screening each option discussed to find a bar with; Naruto quotes "DAMN GOOD BOOZE AND FOOD!". They had eventually landed a spot and time. And most could even come! Though Sasuke declined, preferring to be on his own. And Kabuto merely didn't seem interested in drinking. So, in the end, all teams, minus Team Six, agreed to go out of the bar. Hinata decided to sit out and join Kabuto for his studies. Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba seemed ecstatic to drink. Naruto himself was unsure but saw no reason to avoid it. Sake hadn't seemed significant to him, but tonight, he would have seen what was so enamoring about liquor. Even that small taste with his mother hadn't really seemed all that worth it to him.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  His team finally arrived at the bar in question. A small bar that seemed mostly empty but well-maintained. The building is made of brown concrete and is one story, with windows facing the outside on all sides, allowing for natural lighting. They could already see the large group residing within a huge booth. They sat filling most of the booth but still allowing space for the last team. They sat left from right; Shino, Kiba, Lee, Choji, Shikamaru, Tenten, Sai, Sakura, and Yuno.

  They walked into the establishment, the owner nodding politely to the group's cheers, who saw them quickly. Naruto chuckled happily as he slid into the booth next to the beckoning Yuno. But Ino grabbed him and shoved Neji, where he tried to sit before shoving Naruto in and taking the outside seat.

  "Still marking your territory?" Yuno asked with a mock ponder.

  "Shut it," Ino replied, simply glaring at her. Yuno raised both her hands in mock surrender. "Good. And no, I just don't like you drooling over him. So, I simply can't approve of you." Yuno merely smiled at this.

  "Hahaha! You poor blonde bastard! You're being bossed around by Ino now? Guess you always were pretty weak!" Kiba laughed seemingly at their antics. Naruto glared for a moment but let it go, Kiba meant no harm-

  "I have no doubt Naruto would defeat you, Kiba. You were never able to contest me during the academy. While Naruto just recently defeated me; therefore, we both would be out of your league." Neji interjected snidely. Naruto decided he liked having friends defend him.

  "I also have defeated you in spars, Kiba," Shino said. "You may just be at the bottom of the pecking order." The man patted the back of Kiba seemingly kindly.

  "I won at least two of those spars!" Kiba yelled, embarrassed. "Besides that was years ago!"

  "Two out of five, a loser's mentality," Shino replied. "And the past is important."

  "Now, comrades, disparaging each other's strength is most unyouthful." Lee reminded. Naruto rolled his eyes having enjoyed the back and forth. But Lee simply was not the kind of man to engage in, nor suffer poor behavior.

  "Not to mention childish." Sakura chimed in.

  "Ya, the alpha male social thing is outdated," Ino informed.

  "Tch, outdated, my ass," Kiba muttered.

  "It is," Tenten stated plainly. "But as much as listening to men being bullheaded is entertaining, can we do what we came here for?"

  "Couldn't have said it better myself. At least one of you isn't troublesome. Excuse me, sir! Can you bring us three bottles of sake and nine cups!" Shikamaru called out.

  "I see headbands. It's good to see shinobi from the next generation. Especially for their first drink. This is the house's sake; it is quite good and smooth but stronger than it seems." The owner of the establishment stated. He was a retired shinobi and had opened the establishment for shinobi to have a clean, safe place to relax. Luckily, he had heard of Shikamaru looking for a spot for their get-together and offered it to him at a more than fair price. He quickly brought out a tray with the bottles and small saucers for the booze. The group thanked him as he walked away.

  "Anyway, as shinobi, we are now considered legal adults. Well more so I should say. With this in mind, we can now be sent on C-rank missions and are more liable to die than ever. While I see this as the net negative this is, we are supposed to celebrate it. So Ino, Kiba, and I decided we not only needed to celebrate together but to truly embrace the good and bad of being adults, we needed to get shit-faced. A proper send off for the rest of our lives. Now, doing a speech like that is a real drag, so no disagreeing, ya?" The group roared their approval at this.

  "This is gonna be an awesome night!" Naruto called out. Throwing his arms around Ino and Neji.

  Ino did it as well, happily cheering with Naruto. "Yes! Let's play a drinking game." Neji looked displeased to be touched but noticeably reigned himself in, allowing the blondes to shake him.

  "There are games for drinking?" Sai asked curiously. "Are there ones for the food as well?"

  "I'll invite you to my family's next eating competition, haha!" Choji laughed merrily. Sai stared at him, confused, before nodding his head yes.

  Tenten's face palmed at this interaction. "Lemme guess, truth or dare?" She asked miserably. The last thing she or Sai needed was for Shikamaru to be able to ask them questions.

  "Nooo," Ino chirped happily. "Truth or Drink."

  "Not this again, Ino, Shikamaru matched Tenten with his palm covering his face. "Fine, but no psychoanalyzing."

  Ino frowned at that but shrugged, seeming to concede. The saucers were spread out and filled for each shinobi, except for Lee, known for his drunken rampages for even a tiny sip of liquor.

  "Isn't this game a bit meh?" Kiba asked as he sniffed his cup. "We're all trained shinobi, literally trained to lie."

  "That is true, as unyouthful as it is," Lee said as he sipped his juice bottle.

  "We could try just being truthful." Sakura offered sarcastically.

  "Actually~" Ino sang. "My daddy let me borrow a little something special. It's a seal specifically designed to glow whenever a lie is said in its presence. Give the game a bit of a stakes, no?" The group cheered at this, except for Shikamaru, Shino, Sai, Sakura, and Tenten.

  "They don't realize the danger of having a lie detector and booze, do they?" Tenten said to the only other sane Genin.

  "No, " the rest said while deadpan. But with Naruto, Ino, Kiba, Choji, and even Shikamaru behind the idea, it was a moot point.

  "Alrighty, it's my turn since it was my idea," Ino said, smiling.

  "Course it is Ino-pig," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes.

  "Ohhh, a volunteer? Alrighty, then, billboard brow. What is your cup size?" Ino said with a knowing smile. Sakura's face blushed red violently.

  "I'm not answering that!" Sakura roared. The other woman in attendance nodded their heads sympathetically.

  "Then you know the price~," Ino said with an evil smile.

  "You're lucky I can't get immediate revenge. Just know it is coming." Sakura muttered, annoyed, before downing her saucer. Refilling it as she pondered who to ask, her eyes landed on Kiba. He was always a bit bossy and pushy. A bit of revenge is just what the doctor ordered. "Kiba, you always had a crush on Yuno, didn't you?"

  Kiba flinched mentally but, with a smile, simply emptied his saucer. His face was straight, and his smile was easy. He was proud of himself for not giving anything away.

  "What a drag; if you're gonna be obvious, you might as well just tell the truth," Shikamaru remarked.

  "Oh, how cute; unfortunately, you are too wild for my taste," Yuno said simply. Kiba seemed to shrink at this before pouring himself another one. Lee patted his back kindly. Naruto offered the kindness of holding in his snicker.

  "Fine, brainiac, your turn!" Kiba called vengefully. Ino, Sakura, Tenten, Naruto, and Choji chuckled at the dialogue.

  "Go ahead." Shikamaru said simply.

  "Do you like any of the women here!" Kiba said teasingly.

  "Nope."

  There was silence as everyone looked at the seal, which remained inert.

  "The women here are way too much work for my taste," Shikamaru said plainly. Ino, Sakura, Yuno, and Tenten all seemed annoyed by this. While the rest of the guys roared at the casual dismissal.

  "My turn," Shikamaru said. His eyes lazily glided over the others. He had several questions he could ask. As much as this visit was a social event. He would be a fool to ignore the chance given here. Even if they lied or refused to answer, that was an answer in itself. There were several people here he had theories on. He couldn't help but ponder the opportunity of clearing his mind of the thoughts. Each of them had something that bothered the Nara. Naruto seemed to be hiding something big. He got awkward whenever people asked questions about his home life. Ino had gotten very close to the blonde; he'd admit that was just him being curious. Sai was an odd man; anything he could find on him would be nice. And Tenten, as much as he had taken a liking to her, was strange in general. His eyes shifted to her as he made up his mind. "Tenten, why are you so supportive of Sai's oddities? You seem oddly defensive of him…" Shikamaru asked.

  Tenten seemed to think for a moment. "I see something in him. I guess it's something similar to myself. I know how hard it can be to be different. How hard it is to let someone in. I guess I'm projecting in a sense." Shikamaru looked at this and smirked, nodding once. Tenten was surprised by how much of it she meant. She had only pondered for a second. Danzo was expecting a report from her of this event. But Tenten decided she would refrain as Hiruzen would prefer. Besides, Sai had been drinking the entire time. He seemed confused about the rules and drank on each turn. She supposed she should've stopped him, but a drunk Sai could not report to Danzo accurately. This would allow her to edit the events to keep Danzo from learning anything too damaging. She could not ask Shikamaru anything; Sai would be a waste. The blondes were both a land field at the moment, so she decided to go for one of the ones untested so far. "Shino, why does your clan wear such heavy and covering clothing?" Shino looked at her with his sunglasses, hiding his thoughts before lifting his glass to drink.

  Naruto chuckled at Shino's private nature, and unflappable attitude. "I'm selecting Neji. Were you holding back against Naruto?" Shino asked simply. While the blonde was a friend. And he had seen his strength himself. He still struggled to see any of them defeating the Hyuga one-on-one. Choji and he had won primarily due to home-field advantage, numbers, and strategy. But if he had either of them solo, he would've dispatched them shortly. To hear Naruto was somehow at this level or possibly higher was shocking to him.

  "No, I had intended to crush him to prove a point. My strikes were hard and savage. My movements were precise and efficient. I had an ultimate defense the Hyuga had used for years effectively. Somehow, he had matched it several times. Even bypassing it. He was shockingly powerful. Even more surprising was how quickly his mind had grown. I had prepared for him to fully assault me with hundreds of clones attempting to overwhelm me. Instead, he used creative tactics and surprising power to keep me back. I still landed my best techniques with no mercy. Yet he stood and then blew me away all the same. I feel no shame in losing to Naruto. I was wrong about his ability and am honored to be his comrade." Neji lectured oddly, drinking as he did so. Ino checked the seal, but it said it was truthful. "Though he still is a low-class moron." Naruto cursed as the seal didn't glow, the bastard meant that!

  There was silence for a moment. Before Naruto attempted to strangle the Hyuga, Ino pulled him back desperately. Meanwhile, Yuno hugged Neji, whispering about her little "tsundere." Ino peeled with laughter at that. Naruto joined in, his rage already forgotten. Neji frowned; it was time for Ino to suffer a bit of her own pressure. "Do you find Naruto attractive?" Neji asked Ino with what almost seemed to be innocent curiosity.

  Ino felt her blush come on. They were all shinobi, for crying out loud! They were all fit as hell! Naruto, for as short as he had killer abs. They all did except for Choji! Naruto also had great eyes. And a nice smile. Damnit! She briefly considered lying but knew how reliable her tool was. Instead, she slammed her glass.

  Things from there had quickly gone downhill. They all, after the first round, viciously pursued each other. Lee and Sai are spared due to Lee not drinking and Sai being drunk already. Simply passed out on the table. The rest, after grilling each other for an hour, were fairly drunk too. Most of them were first-timers and thus the night had come to a close early. Sai had been grabbed by Shikamaru to be taken home. Tenten and Sakura had agreed to get a catatonic Shino and dancing Kiba home.

  Leaving Naruto, Ino, Neji, Yuno, Choji, Lee, and Sakura left. Things had broken down, though Naruto seemed to be giving himself a speech about friendship for some odd reason. Ino now sat in his lap, laughing occasionally at the speech. When she did so, Naruto would laugh and restart. Sakura was attempting to pick a fight with the owner, seemingly thinking he had called her flat-chested for some reason, with Lee convincing her not to do so. She reacted to this with either genuine appreciation or true fury. Switching between the two with alarming casualness. Yuno was cuddled up to Neji, whispering into his ear. The Hyuga merely laughed at the whisper, looking more relaxed than the others had seen from him before. Choji merely watched it all, chuckling merrily, seemingly being the only one not full-on drunk. But the owner let Choji know they needed to clear out as things died. Choji had gotten some water and snacks for his friends, too. They weren't sober by any means but good enough to send home. As they all went their separate ways, Ino glomped on Naruto. Demanding a ride home. The blonde growled but allowed this. Feeling pretty damn good still. Getting home may be difficult, but it was a great night.

  AN

  Remastered: I like this chapter but geez it was a giant mess. Sorry for taking so long again, but like I said this will be occasionally infrequent. Hope you enjoy all the same.