Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto Dragon Champion ❯ The Art of Acting Part 2 ( Chapter 34 )

Naruto The Twin Swords

Disclaimer: I do not own a single thing related to Naruto

Chapter 26

Part 2

The Art of Acting

( ): Thoughts

((“ “)): Holy Talon's voice

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`The avenues of learning are filled with many pathways and thus, a true warrior must learn to pick the right paths to learning.'

Words of a scholar of Dagern…

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In a well lit and furbished trailer…

Naruto was currently reading the script of the movie as he was being helped by Koyuki who was busy cleaning her face of the make up as the filming crew had taken a time off to get the actors and actresses the chance to rest and recover for the day. This was the time Naruto had in order to catch up with the script and be able to get into the situation.

Koyuki turned as soon as her makeup was out of the way and she walked over to Naruto and spoke to him in a very relaxed way.

“How is the script looking so far Naruto-kun?”

“Not too bad, I am still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of being an actor. Not that I don't like it that much, it's just….I don't want to make a fool out of myself in the camera.”

“I understand the feeling, after I, well, after I left Snow Country with Kakashi-san years before I was a bit conscious about being an actress, but it helped me face the pain of seeing my home in flames and my father dying….so I can understand some of the nervousness there.”

Naruto smiled a bit at the support and he couldn't help but notice how much Koyuki had changed and he couldn't help but think on how nice she looked even though she was not wearing any makeup on her face at the moment, she knew that many of the women he knew didn't always wear makeup and still looked very attractive and Koyuki looked very attractive to him. Not only on the outside, but inside as well as she smiled and laughed more.

Koyuki saw Naruto's keen look at her and she smiled a bit and spoke.

“You like what you see Naruto-kun?”

Naruto realized that he was looking at her intensely and recalling that she was still royalty and someone he had to guard, he blushed a bit and replied.

“Sorry about that, it's just...”

“What is it? You don't need to hide it from me of all people Naruto-kun, besides that, there's only you and me here in my trailer after all, and I promise you that I won't laugh.”

Naruto scratched his head and decided to be truthful about his thoughts before Koyuki.

“It's because you've become, well, a lot more attractive to the eye and even more so now that you've become the ruler of your country, it's kind of hard to imagine how you used to be before all the events that brought you back there.”

Koyuki smiled a bit at that and she had to admit that Naruto was right about that, she had changed from what and who she once was all those months before.

“True….remember how we first met?”

Naruto thought back on the time he and the others were watching the movie and to his disappointment, he was unable to finish the movie. He had been a fan ever since seeing the movies of Koyuki or rather Yukie Fujikaze as she was known back then. He was surprised to actually see her he had gone off to track down Koyuki when she tried to escape from the rest of the press, back then he had little to no idea as to why she would want to flee from the movie she was making and he had to pursue her through a town and spotted several other ninja after her. He would have taken them out but it was then that Holy Talon had told him that the people chasing her were only intent on capturing her and not harm her in any fashion.

After pursuing her, he had to try and talk to her to find out just what was the deal here. Koyuki remembered that scene well.

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Flashback…

She had been resting on the river, allowing the horse to drink it's fill and it was then that she heard Naruto's voice for the very first time.

“Are you all right Fuun-hime?'

She turned and was surprised to see a young man who wore some sort of armor on his body that resembled metal chains and links with curved metal plate, and a vest that was something a ninja would wear, he looked to be a young man and had silver in his blonde hair and to her surprise, even if she didn't show it, he had the same silver rims on his eyes. Naruto had spoken to her about a lot of things, and back then she was still emotionally scarred and tried to ignore them and she was still very much full of her inner turmoil back then.

He followed her and all the way through a nearby town as well.

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End of Flashback…

“You had to watch me lose my temper in front of some kids and then I got to deal with you chasing me all throughout the town, and of course, I was in a bar drinking when you lost, you must have been very unhappy since you were my greatest fan back then.”

Naruto knew that to be true, he was very disappointed but back then, Holy Talon had sensed something in Koyuki's mind that truly troubled her and something about going to Snow Country seemed to not sit well with her at the time and that was why Naruto did not react badly all that much.

“I guess I was disappointed, but that was before I knew the whole story….you've changed a lot since then.”

Koyuki nodded at that.

“I guess I have, seeing so much and being reminded of all that happened, and finally seeing my father's dreams come true with the generators.”

Koyuki smiled at the memory and Naruto could see it was a true and sincere smile, not like the ones he had seen before. It was not easy to make her genuinely smile no matter how many times he had to do at the time. He then thought about what had happened, he had managed to understand what would have happened had he not stopped that arrow in time when it had been fired at Koyuki. He thought of it less for the time being and focused the past meetings with Koyuki.

“I even recall the time you managed to trick me and got half a day's worth of wood on me in that moment.”

Koyuki was a bit confused and then recalled the time she had indeed tricked Naruto and headed off to the bar for a drink. But even though she was drunk she had to admit the young man did not give up that easily as he tracked her down.

“How did you manage to survive that anyway Naruto-kun?”

“Simple, the armor I wore helped a good deal.”

“I thought as much, you were always hard to get rid off, but you were honest and that's not something I saw every day when I acted with others. I remembered you and your team fighting with Nadare and his team before.”

Naruto nodded at the memory as well. Fighting the Snow ninja had been quite a surprise for him at the time, but he had to protect Koyuki with all he had at the time. That big bruiser of a ninja was his first foe and he had a hell of a time fighting him at first since this nut had a weapon that he had no idea about. He also recalled the battles afterwards and how harsh things had become and he recalled the anger he had towards Koyuki for her attitude at the time. He recalled how angry he was when she had made some comments about the fight being worthless.

Koyuki thought about that as well and touched her cheek as she remembered that incident.

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Flashback…

Naruto had enough and despite knowing that she was a real princess and the one he had to protect, he was tired of listening to her words of it being worthless and they should give it all up and stop dreaming useless dreams, this reminded him of the times Neji had spoken and how Tsunade was before she took the position of Hokage.

Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, the director , his assistant, and Sandayu Asama, as well as Koyuki herself was shocked as Naruto rose up and took out Holy Talon and jammed the blade through the table and he glared right at her.

“Stop spouting that crap about it being useless and they should just give up!!!!”

“It's the truth.”

“That's far from it! Sandayu-san is already risking everything to try and get you back to save your country, the very land your father cared for, and you expect him to just give up his hopes after ten years?!”

“Dreams mean nothing in reality.”

Naruto had it and before anyone would stop him, he moved and slapped Koyuki in the face and that surprised her as she struck back, however Naruto did not even flinch as she struck him on the cheek. He then spoke evenly.

“Dreams are what give people goals and the will to keep fighting no matter the odds, if you think that you can give up, then you are wrong. When you give up on your dreams, then everything you have ever gained with your own hands, everything you have ever fought, bled, and sweated for, all of it will mean nothing. And I refuse to let good dreams die!”

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Koyuki then spoke to Naruto.

“You know, I still feel the sting of that slap you gave me all those months ago.”

“Oh….I, uh…I'm sorry about that.”

Naruto gave a very much ashamed look, now that he thought about it, slapping Koyuki wasn't really called for back then and doing so would have been considered a very serious insult to royalty, how bad would things had been if people found out he slapped a princess. Tsunade would have been pissed at him and more. He just did it in the heat of the moment.

“Don't be, you had a right to be angry. I recall the time you managed to save me and that time you outran that train, I was shocked even then, I thought that armor you wore would have weighed you down.”

Naruto grinned at that and replied.

“Orchaelium armor is as light as cloth you know Koyuki-hime. No matter if I wear at least a foot thick of it I can move as if I weight like a feather.”

Koyuki smiled as well, she recalled the time Naruto had gone out looking for her and they had even outran the train that had come after them, she thought it was no longer possible to outrun a train even more so with the gear Naruto had on but he surprised her yet again and had outrun the train. She also thought of the power Naruto had that day, Sandayu and his forces were about to attack Doto and it would have been all for nothing, she felt that they would not survive the coming fight, but Naruto proved her wrong.

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Flashback…

Naruto was quick to sense that something terrible was going to happen as Sandayu and the other rebel forces began to close in on the train that Doto was riding on and Holy talon was quick on the situation as well.

((“They are heading into an ambush!!! We have to hurry!”))

(Right!)

Koyuki watched as Naruto ran to the train and then the sides opened to reveal volley guns that would unleash hundred of kunai in mere moments, these were the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of her uncle who she had seen on the train and this was going to be the end of the rebellion. Naruto however was not deterred and spoke in a very arcane tongue, catching her, Doto, and Nadare off guard and he jammed Holy Talon into the ground and shouted the spell.

“DRAGON SKIN SPHERE!!!!!”

As soon as Doto gave the order to unleash the weapons, the shield came online and Naruto turned around and shouted to the people behind him.

“Stay there!!!!”

The storms of kunai that were unleashed would have torn into the advancing forces led by Sandayu and killed all of them, but to the shocked eyes of everyone, even the director who was with them at the moment, the glowing hexagonal shield Naruto erected deflected all the kunai from the weapons, much to Koyuki's amazement and that of Sandayu and his fellow rebels. Doto was very much in rage as no matter how many kunai that his weapons unleashed, they were being deflected back easily by the young Genin's shield.

Koyuki was surprised by this and spoke to herself.

“How is he able to do that?”

Naruto then made the same moves and summoned his allies.

“WARRIORS OF DAGERN!!! RISE AND FIGHT FOR ME!!!!”

The rebels were awed by the sight as hundreds of orbs made of pure light came from the sword that Naruto held in hand and the orbs of light were now taking shape of men and women wielding a massive number of weapons and armor. The beings were silent and had deep glowing eyes of pure power and they way they were moving was in a crisp military fashion. The soldiers were quick to move quickly as those who were armed with shields of various designs took formation to block the possible attacks, while those armed with swords, spears and more were ready and supported by the ones armed with bow and arrows.

Naruto smiled as the Steel lancers, Sword Adepts, War Blades, Dragon Clerics, Zealots, Fire Heart Archers, Falcon Rangers, and Wild Forest Warriors were ready to strike as soon as the shield went down, and with them taking to the front, his forces would be able to handle the counter attack and allow Sandayu and his own forces to close the gap and attack Doto and his minions. As soon as the spell went down the soldiers were moving in crisp formation while Naruto turned to Sandayu and spoke.

“Stay behind the main assault force, just in case.”

Sandayu nodded and told his forces to follow the soldiers summoned by Naruto and he led the soon to come attack, it was also when Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi made their moves. Sakura tossed a kunai with an explosive tag and the weapon destroyed a fuel tank on a section of the train while Sasuke's explosive sent a massive wave of snow, ice and stone crashing down and it seemed that Doto would finally be caught as the man went back into his train and Nadare followed as well. The train tried to escape but half of it was sheered off while the other half got away.

Sandayu and his followers tried to pursue the train but were halted by both Naruto and Kakashi with the Jonin giving the order.

“No! Following them would be too dangerous, they might set up an ambush for you.”

Sandayu nodded and sheathed his sword in disappointment, had they been able to capture Doto here and now, they would have gotten rid of the tyrant and finally placed the princess in her rightful home and throne. But the sight of Naruto's power and that of his fellow Konoha ninja inspired him and he turned to Naruto.

“You were amazing Naruto-kun, and so was Kakashi-san, Sakura-san, and Sasuke-san, with your help, we might still overthrow Doto himself! We know where his stronghold is and we can reach it in a few days. As soon as we gather other forces, we can retake the land from him!”

“Are you insane? Do you really think that Doto won't be ready for another attack from you, you attack him now, he'll kill you all, your deaths will be for nothing, you are crazy to even think that you can win.”

The others turned to Koyuki who looked at them as if they had been made mad. She was not going to risk this mess getting larger, but Sandayu was serious as he walked over to her and took out a short tanto and spoke.

“Maybe we are, but as long as we knew you lived Koyuki-hime, we have never given up our hopes and our dreams that with you back to lead us as you rightly should, we could make Snow Country beautiful once more, for all of our people and of you. Doto`s abuses and crimes have to end and we have the chance to end it here and now. We all here have waited ten years and we have never stopped preparing for this moment. You are our princess then when you were young and you still are now. And now that we have this chance to return this land to the peaceful and prosperous land that it rightfully should be. We will fight for you and hope that once the land is under your ruler ship once more, your heart can heal again.”

Koyuki looked at the tanto and then her crystal and spoke as she turned her back.

“You're insane, I can't be a princess, I am an actress now, nothing more. My heart cannot be brought back for Snow Country's sake, it died ten years ago.”

Naruto however was not deterred and reached to her and grabbed her hand, she turned and was angry at him and he spoke.

“Do you really think that? If your heart is truly dead then why is it you still have that crystal?”

“What?”

“If your heart died ten years, then you should have tossed that thing and be done with it all, why keep it huh?!”

“It's none of your business if I keep it or not!”

“It's not actually, but I know for a fact that if one's heart is truly dead, then why does one hold onto something that reminds them of the past? Because no matter what they say, they can't let go of the past and hold it close to them at all times. That's why your heart is not dead, if it was, then why hold onto the past?”

Koyuki glared at Naruto and Naruto glared right back at her, not willing to back down.

“Why don't you just leave me alone?”

“I might not like you Koyuki, but I am going to protect you because I made a promise to do so, and I don't care on where you go, if you're in danger on the other side of this country, I'll find you anyway, besides, your smell will always guide me to where you are.”

Koyuki looked at Naruto and saw that he meant those words and was about to respond…

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End of Flashback…

Koyuki thought about that event very well, she had seen Naruto's power and his ability and she felt that it indeed would have been enough to tip the scales in the favor of the rebels as well as Sandayu but she still would not believe it was possible to defeat Doto, his uncle was too smart to be taken again by surprise and she still doubted that Naruto's power would be enough. His words also struck a part of her deeply and she was about to say to him to stop spewing nonsense when all of a sudden a dirigible came at them all and out of the ship came on of Nadare's minions and it was the one who fired the extending arm and it grabbed her while Senbon were launched with ice bombs on them.

Naruto and the others saw that and the blonde Genin ordered his summoned warriors to block the attack and they did so, shielding all the people below, despite their losses, Naruto was not very worried as his summoned allies could be revived well enough when needed, Sandayu shouted that they cannot lose the princess now after all they had gone through and the retainer of Koyuki gathered all those of his followers to plan an assault on the compound that Doto would no doubt be heading for..

Naruto had not given up and summoned Kael to the sky and flew to the zeppelin, startling her and everyone else inside, even her normally calm and cool headed uncle Doto was taken aback by the sight of the flying dragon and the blonde riding the creature as if they were very much one being. As soon as he was close enough, Naruto had used one of his kunai with a rope to ride on the zeppelin as he left Kael to rescue her on foot.

Naruto fought is way to the bridge and killed a number of other Snow ninja with frightening ease and Nadare and his cohorts were hard pressed in stopping him. It was when Doto threatened to kill her before his eyes as he was in the bridge ready to fight that Naruto halted his assault without batting an eyelash and he placed aside his sword.

The blonde Genin was quickly restrained by the other surviving ninja and Doto ordered Naruto's chakra to be restrained by one of their devices to limit his chakra, Doto even expressed interest in getting Naruto's sword to use in their own plans. Naruto however warned them that his sword would accept no other master but him, and if anyone of them who is the same as Doto would be burned alive by the sword's naturally imbued defensive enchantments.

Doto and his ninja followers laughed at the thought of the sword being that powerful but the laughter died when one of the underling ninja tried to take the sword from Naruto's back, but the very second the ninja touched the sword, a massive inferno of pure silver and golden flame that quickly incinerated the screaming man and they knew that the only chance they had was to restrain him and make sure he did not use his sword.

The two of them were taken to the fortress where he had been imprisoned and was chained to both the roof and the ceiling, he however played along for the time being in order to get themselves into an area of escape, he knew that his spells would not be that effective if he was chained and used his newly learned training plus a cutting tool to cut his way free. The chains were too thick but he refused to give up.

The two talked about dreams and when she said it was better to give up and disappear so one didn't have to feel pain. Naruto retorted and told him about how close he had fallen to them same feelings she did, but unlike her, he had never given up his dreams and when his friends and loved ones had dreams of their own, he would fight with every fiber of his being to make their dreams come true. His chakra restrainer managed to shock him despite Koyuki insistence for him to stop. However, Naruto bit back the pain and relied on another power if his chakra was still sealed by the restraining device…Dragon Fire.

He finally broke free and managed to free his legs by converting the metal into nothing but pure gas and then he was told by Holy talon that several guards were coming and there was an attack hitting the compound and the Dragon Sword told it's master that it seemed his team and Sandayu were already assaulting the fortress. The guards saw Naruto and they took down the seal on his prison bars and he quickly made short work of the guards and freed Koyuki.

She couldn't help but gave a slightly amused look at Naruto's actions as they were reunited with Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and Sandayu. She led them to Doto's throne room and with her true key in her hand, gave it to her uncle, making it seem that she was betraying them, much to the shock of Sandayu, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke. But Naruto and Holy Talon were not fooled as the sword sensed Koyuki's true reason to handing her uncle the amulet. She planned to get closer and then she would kill Doto.

However, the sword sensed that Doto was prepared and shouted a warning to Naruto and told him that the man was wearing some form of armor similar to the ones worn by his lackeys, but the armor he had on was a lot different than the ones worn by Nadare and his fellow Snow Ninja. Naruto tried to speak out but his actions were too late as her attempts to kill her uncle failed as his armor blocked the blow and she was being strangled by Doto, but she was not giving up and tried to end it, saying that Naruto was right, her heart was not dead and she was not cold hearted, and she was aware that she would die if she did this, but at least she would die fighting for the dreams of her father.

They fell off the high area and both Naruto and Sandayu tried to reach her when she moved and was alive, but both were hit by one of Doto's attacks, sending them flying and she saw the armor that her uncle had worn that had stopped her tanto.

Koyuki thought about the last time she had been with her uncle and what the true Kazahana treasure really was.

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Flashback…

Sandayu and Naruto got up, with the elderly warrior coughing out blood in anger and rage at what he had seen while Naruto was likewise angry as they both glared at Doto as he had Koyuki in his grasp.

“You bastard!!!”

“Get your filthy traitorous hands off Koyuki-hime!”

Doto glared at Sandayu and Naruto as both the samurai warrior and the ninja and Dragon Champion were already up and getting ready to fight once more. He was not going to be beaten easily, he had worked too long and had struggled to hard to let these annoying bugs stop him from using the Kazahana treasure to be the key to defeating the Five Shinobi Nations once and for all. Once the weapon was his, then his army of technologically superior ninja would defeat all before them.

“Your threats mean nothing to me. I will take the Princess and the key and soon, my dream will come to full circle and no matter how many of you there are, I will triumph!”

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke, as well as several of Sandayu's fellow warriors who arrived were suddenly hearing the sounds of the fortress' structure giving way and that told them quickly that the entire fortress was about to come down on top of them. That was the signal for Doto and his ninja to leave.

Naruto was not letting this happen twice as he took out a kunai and with a rope attached to it managed to hitch a ride once more as he followed Doto and Koyuki to the place where the hidden treasure was supposed to be.

Sandayu shouted to them all the evacuate and head to the next location where the treasure was, he was not going to lose this chance to save his princess and bring true peace to Snow Country once more. Naruto was unable to follow as Doto cut the line and he fell, but he got up and was ready to summon Kael to take to the sky but the director showed up with a small band of his crew and they were well on their way. It was also when Sandayu had caught up with them one horseback and both of them moved to save Koyuki while Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke dealt with the other ninja.

They arrived in time to see Doto rant about the generators actually unleashing warmth through the valley, Sandayu and Naruto moved in, and the samurai made his way to protect her while Naruto dealt with Doto. The two of them fought as Doto tried to use his own skill in Ice Jutsu and using his own armor to boost his attacks, Naruto was not easily defeated and then the chakra restrainer began to break and Doto attacked Naruto directly, much to her shock and worry, but Sandayu assured her that as long as she had faith in Naruto he would not be beaten easily.

She felt that need to give her faith and it was rewarded as Naruto broke the chakra restrainer and managed to slice apart her uncle's attempts at a counter attack and was able to stab Doto right in the stomach, his sword easily ripping through the armor like it was tin foil. Doto screamed that it was not over as he unleashed more chakra and managed to knock Naruto away but not before Naruto damaged the crystal powering it. The blast also injured Sandayu who blocked her from the blast, but the proud samurai would not give up as he still defended her.

Doto swore not to be defeated like this and this would not be the end. Naruto however got up despite the damage and shouted that this is the real ending of this story and created his Rasengan and then as the light of dawn came on the generators, they created the same seven colored light in the Rasengan as in the movies, startling Koyuki, Sandayu, and the director as well as the other warriors and Naruto's comrades. Naruto took it further and summoned his other power and the swirling light of seven colors took the form of Dragons and Doto could only shout and try attack Naruto, but he missed and Naruto hit him hard, shouting out the attack.

“SEVEN DRAGON RASENGAN!!!!”

The blast sent Doto flying and smashing into one of the mirrors and the result was amazing as the entire valley was covered in rainbow light and then to the amazement of everyone and herself most of all. The valley turned from snow covered land to a land covered with healthy green grass, beautiful flower fields, pristine lakes, streams, and rivers, gorgeous mountain peaks and a deep warmth that flowed all over the place.

It was like her father said, it was…Spring…

Sandayu was amazed and he felt tears flow down his eyes.

“We did it….we've freed our land, and the dream of Sousetsu-sama is realized!!!!”

Koyuki then saw an image of herself with her father when she was still young, learning once more that she had vowed to be a princess of who was kind, just, compassionate, and brave. She remembered her words to her father and seeing her father giving her the crystal key, entrusting his dream and her own dream of Spring to her. And for the first time in ten years she cried, but no longer were the tears those of sadness and pain, but of happiness and joy. She laughed as she recalled her plans to be an actress as well…and now she realized that one her dreams had finally come true and that of her father's as well. And now she could accomplish the other dream, to be the princess she had dreamed to be as a little girl girl…and she laughed happily, overjoyed at how good it felt.

The director was overwhelmed by it all and asked if they had entered an alternate world.

Naruto likewise sat down and said that this was the right ending and the best one yet.

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End of Flashback…

The battle ended and Koyuki was later crowned as leader of Snow Country and as the festival was underway in a beautiful sunlit courtyard, she was dressed in the official robes of her position of her office. She looked in the crowds and saw the members of Sandayu's allies who survived the assault and they were utterly happy to see her taking her place as rightful ruler, and she smiled at them as they cheered her on. She then looked to her left and there was Sandayu who was still dressed in samurai armor and he was fully healed from his wounds and like his fellow warriors, wore a warm and happy smile, making her smile back.

It made her happy to know that no matter how things were before, and despite her past behavior, Sandayu would never abandon her and she had every intention to have him as her advisor and confidant. She looked to see Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura also in high spirits and she looked at everything in her home, no longer covered by snow, but by the beauty of life and sunlight, the very spring her father had told her of so long ago as a little girl.

And when she looked to the lower right….for a brief moment, she gasped and saw her father smiling at her, showing his happiness, and pride that she was home and after a moment, the image faded and she smiled as she held the crystal in her hand, vowing silently to carry on her father's work.

The movie that was made by the director proved to be a smash hit and record sales were seen, and to the amazement of all her fans, `Yukie' became even better as an actress and was now a much more beloved person on and off the camera months after it's release. It was an amazing thing to the mind of all, even more so for the princess in question.

Koyuki then looked at Naruto who was back to reading the script and this allowed her to study him in peace. He was certainly attractive even though he was very young and she had to admit that back then even when she was still scarred he was good looking. She had met many handsome men in her time, but they didn't make her heart warm up. Naruto however not only challenged her in her past self but revived her heart and helped her become the person she had dreamed of being. He made the dreams of Sandayu, her father, and herself come true and she felt she owed him a lot, and it was the reason she sent a letter of recommendation to have him promoted to a higher rank and it made her happy that he had gotten that promotion.

As soon as he read the script Naruto and Koyuki did their lines and while Naruto did make mistakes, she accepted that as something that was present and did her best to help him. Naruto loved that and did his best to be a good actor for the movie while being a body guard for Koyuki, however it still bothered him on who would harm Koyuki. Doto was taken into custody by Sandayu and his men and placed in prison after he had been saved from death to stand trial. With the capture of all his allies and contacts, there was not much chance that the former ruler of Snow Country will have any allies. That meant that the person who sent the assassin would have been someone her uncle had worked with before.

Naruto then spoke to Koyuki about what he had learned about the assassin that went after her.

“Koyuki-hime, we need to talk about what's been happening back there in Snow Country, it might have something to do with the attempt on your life.”

Koyuki nodded and told Naruto as much as she could at the time on how things had turned out in Snow Country.

“After you and your team left we began to rebuild the country and also Kazahana Castle. Afterwards, we began to try and begin trade relations with other countries and parties as well. It went well for as long as I was there, however, there had been reports of people trying to acquire the same chakra enhancing armor that was used by Nadare and his ninja group. I had no idea as to what that was about and I had Sandayu-san begin to send the ninja who were loyal to my father and to me to try and find out just who would be interested in buying that armor, since it was during the time of Doto.”

“At the time, we needed to rebuild so we sent some of those armor units to make the ryo needed, though being an actress helped so I allowed it to still happen. It was only when Sandayu-san told me that a number of the prospective buyers of the chakra armor were arms dealers and people of ill repute that I forbade the sale of the armor. I didn't want those things to ever be used in conflicts ever again in the same way Doto had used them to conquer Snow Country. The measures I made helped, and I requested Sandayu-san to help make sure that no one would get their hands on the armor when I went here to shoot this new movie, one group however was determined to get their hands on it and more even when I was in power.”

“Who?”

“I don't know, they however were not just after the standard versions of the armor, but the one Doto had developed at the time when he was still in power, the very same armor you and Sasuke-kun destroyed to beat him back in the valley. I had no idea why they wanted that armor but I was not keen to let it happen no matter the odds….Do you think they are the ones who sent that assassin after me?”

Naruto nodded.

“It would make sense, but did you and Sandayu-san find out anything about who these people were?”

Koyuki shook her head at that.

“No, they were able to escape easily and they had been able to evade the ninja scouts and spies we sent, the only thing we knew for sure was that their head was a former associate of someone named Orochimaru.”

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention or Orochimaru's name and that was enough to tell him that this C character might have ties to the snake summoning bastard. This was something he knew he would have to tell Kakashi when the time was right, as he and Koyuki decided to focus on his part in the movie. Naruto had a feeling that sooner or later, the enemy were going to make their move and try once more to kill Koyuki, that much the blonde Chuunin knew for a fact.

Though just who these people are was something he had yet to determine.

--------

In a hidden location…

“He has failed.”

The speaker was a female who wore a dark black robe and she was there before a large desk in which a tall slender, but powerfully built man was sitting sown and reading a number of high end documents and as soon as the man placed them down, he seemed to consider the news and spoke.

“Are you sure of this?”

“Very much, I got the news no less than a day or so ago. It seems the Princess has got some real body guards than those hired idiots.”

“I see, then we'll just have to find another way in dealing with the Princess, and I think it's time we try to make sure the situation is made very clear to everyone that I will not be stopped, even by some new band of soldiers. Do we have anything one these new guards?”

“Yes, they appear to be Konoha ninja, and it seems to be the very same band that protected Koyuki when she went to Snow Country before, this could prove to be a challenge indeed as one of them was the same blonde Genin that apparently was the one who had dealt the blow that brought Doto down to the ground.”

The man was seemingly surprised and amused at the very same time.

“Really, interesting discovery indeed, this could be something of interest, tell me more.”

“The other is Sasuke Uchiha, the last of the Uchiha Clan.”

“Uchiha….the last of the Clan eh? He's the reason my former associate broke away from our partnership, all because of that boy with that Sharingan Kekkai Genkai of his. Well then, I want to see if this Kekkai Genkai is really all it's cracked up to be. Go ahead, deal with this mess in your own fashion.”

“With pleasure.”

As the woman left, another hidden figure appeared, carrying a massive pair of devices on his back. He then spoke to the one the woman had recently spoken to.

“You want her to do that mission with the ninja we have?”

“Yes, I think it's time she had her turn, or do you disagree?”

“Heh, not in the least, let her have some fun, this time we'll see just what sort of ninja this team from Konoha are.”

--------

Kakashi had thought it over as he looked at Naruto working with the crew and seeing him working with Koyuki. The Jonin knew that the blonde Chuunin had grown greatly over the months and had become something of a great ninja in the making. That and his accomplishments told the Jonin a lot and he decided that now was the right time for him to keep a promise to Naruto to teach him some important lessons as well as show him something that could prove very helpful in the soon to come battles ahead for him.

With that in mind, he decided to begin the training. As soon as the crew took a long break and shooting was to be put off to celebrate a special occasion, the Jonin made his move and walked over to Naruto and spoke to him.

“Naruto-kun, time to begin your training.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that Kakashi-sensei?”

“Remember that time I promised to train you? Well, the time is now.”

--------

In a nearby field, a short distance from the filming area…

Kakashi looked at the forest before them and knew that his time to keep his end of the promise he made to Naruto had come, and he turned to the eager Chuunin and spoke to him.

“Now Naruto, before I teach you, I need to review you on something important.”

“What would that be?”

“The five elemental chakras, since you've gone back to school and have gotten some good marks in your classes, I can bet you and Iruka-san have touched on this?”

Naruto recalled his classes and nodded.

“Yeah, Iruka-sensei told me that there are five elemental chakras, the first is Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth and Water.”

“Good, what else did he tell you?”

Naruto thought over the lessons and replied.

“He said that they are positioned the way they are on the table as they have strengths and weaknesses in relation to each other. Fire defeats Wind, Wind in turn defeats Lightning, Lightning then defeats Earth, Earth then defeats Water, and water defeats Fire.”

“Very good, now then the reason I brought this up is that I have heard you've learned the Rasengan from Jiraiya-sama, care to show me the technique?”

Naruto nodded and used his Kage Bushin No Jutsu to make his counter part and soon began to make a Rasengan, which Kakashi watched closely as he studied Naruto's way of doing the technique. He had to admit it was unorthodox to say the least as the Jonin knew that both Jiraiya and the Yondaime had done the technique with only one hand. However, he knew from Ebisu that with the chakra of the Kyuubi in his body, Naruto's chakra control would be spotty at best and he had to admit that Naruto's way of doing it was very effective to counteract his weakness in chakra control.

(He still has his creativity, that's a good thing to master.)

“Here it is Kakashi-sensei?”

Naruto displayed the Rasengan and was about to strike a tree when Kakashi stopped him.

“That's enough Naruto, you've mastered the basics well. Now I'll teach you what I promised to you months before.”

“Really?”

“Yes, before we do so, I want to explain some things about the elemental chakra. As you have learned back in the Academy there are five basic elemental chakras. Every ninja who is born as a particular affinity to a certain element and thus is well suited to using this chakra. Take Sasuke for example, since the Uchiha Clan are naturally gifted Fire Chakra users and thus are more adept at using Fire based Jutsu than other ninja and their Fire based Jutsus are much more effective due to the affinity of their chakra to Fire, this naturally works well with the Sharingan they possess.”

“Okay, but how can Sasuke use the Chidori, I mean I've seen the technique and I figured out after seeing it that it uses Lightning and therefore is best suited for those who have chakra tied to Lightning, so how come he can use it?”

“That is because ninja at a certain level such as Jonin or those with Kekkai Genkai can use more than one elemental chakra, In my case, while I can use all five elemental chakras well with my Sharingan, my true Elemental chakra type is Lightning. When one can use more than one element and fuse them together to create new jutsu, it is called a Kekkai Genkai. Take Haku for example.”

“Haku-san?”

Kakashi nodded.

“Haku is able to create Ice Element, by fusing Water and Wind Element, this is his clan's Kekkai Genkai. Sasuke has yet to use both Fire and Lightning in unison so he will use either separately at the moment, but for the moment, I think we need to focus on you and you can ask me about the other Clans and their Kekkai Genkai at a much better time. So for today, I want you to discover YOUR elemental chakra type.”

Kakashi then reached into his pocket and took out some paper pieces, Naruto studied them and was confused at what these slips of paper were. They seemed ordinary but Holy Talon sensed something about them and spoke to his master.

((“The paper does not feel ordinary, I sense a considerable amount of chakra in them.”))

(Are you sure?)

((“Positive, this could prove interesting Master Naruto, I suggest we listen well to this.”))

“What is that for Kakashi-sensei?”

“This paper is made from a special section of trees in Konoha that have been fed chakra for quite some time, and thus the paper reacts very differently when exposed to the chakra of ninjas. For the ninjas who are using the Fire Element, the paper is burned, for the ninja who are tied to the Elemental chakra type of Lighting, the paper crumples into itself, for the ninja who are Wind Chakra users, the paper is split in half, for ninja who use Water elemental chakra the paper will be soaked, and for ninja who use Earth based chakra, the paper will break apart. Take one and then use your chakra on it.”

Naruto nodded and took the piece of paper and then focused his chakra and both he and Kakashi watched the paper….to see it split in half before their eyes.

“Cool!!!”

“I see, that means you are a Wind Elemental chakra type Naruto-kun that gives you an advantage in terms of raw offensive power. This is one reason why you cannot use the Chidori, the Chidori requires that your elemental affinity be Lightning and the most important is the fact that the Chidori requires the user to have the Sharingan.”

“I guess, but why the Sharingan?”

“There are two flaws with the Chidori, the first is that it is extremely draining of chakra and is limited in use, due to the fact that it requires one to convert one's chakra into an element, for me, I can only use it four times before I'm out of chakra, even more so if I use the Sharingan. The reason for that is that since I am not a full blooded Uchiha, the Sharingan I have drains even more chakra from me, unlike Sasuke who is a Uchiha and thus his body is able to handle the strain. However, he can only use it at least two times when I taught him the technique, though he has improved since then. Using the Chidori too many times will drain all of the user's stamina and that means they…”

“They die right?”

Naruto's serious tone told Kakashi that Naruto's re-education in the ninja arts made him very aware of the dangers of exhausting one's chakra to the breaking point and he nodded. This was a very serious matter for both of them after all.

“Yes, the other flaw is the fact that in order to be accurate, the Chidori requires me to attack at a straight line, this allows other ninja to counter my attack when they can see it and that leaves me vulnerable, which is why I have the Sharingan to offset that weak point. Those two things were the reason that I did not teach the Chidori to you.”

“I see that now, but I have a good technique of my own with the Rasengan.”

“True, and I will say that the Rasengan is powerful. The Rasengan has the advantage as it does not require the user to change the chakra to an elemental form and is therefore less draining than the Chidori and has no limit to how many times it can be used until the user runs out of chakra, but there is a special feature that you can add when the time is right, for now we can focus on your elemental ability.”

Naruto looked at the still split paper in his hand and spoke to Kakashi.

“So does that mean you can teach me any Wind based Jutsu?”

Kakashi shook his head to Naruto surprise and he spoke to explain.

“Not entirely, as you know I am a Lightning Chakra user Naruto-kun so I cannot completely teach you any Wind based Jutsu or how to properly use it's full power. There is someone who can teach you however, and that is Asuma.”

“Asuma-sensei? He's a Wind User like me?”

“Correct, you see, in Konoha, Wind Chakra users are very rare and thus there are not that many of them in Konoha so you have a unique trait that gives you an advantage in combat as wind can toss aside and cut through almost anything. However we cannot train you full time in Wind manipulation not just due to the fact that we are on a mission, but it will take time. However, I can teach you a trick that will aid you well when you are in both training and in combat, and that is using the very same Kage Bushin you like using so much.”

“Huh? My Kage Bushin No Jutsu, why the heck can that be useful in training, I use them all the time.”

Kakashi sighed but decided that this would be a lot easier now that Naruto was a lot more mature.

“Make a Kage Bushin, and then send it to the other side of the field, namely into that forest over there. I'll make the same thing and both our Kage Bushin will play a game, say rock paper scissor. Once that is done, disperse your Kage Bushin and I will do the same.”

Naruto nodded and both of them made the Kage Bushin and so did Kakashi and the two Kage Bushin made their way into the forest. And since they were out of sight from the two original ninja, they had no idea about the outcome, a few moments later, Naruto gave a grin and turned to look at Kakashi.

“Looks like I win the game Kakashi-sensei! You get to be the one to pay for my next meal of ramen when we get back to Konoha!!!”

Kakashi shook his head at that and replied.

“Yeesh, oh well, I do have some money to burn and it is for a good cause, anyway, do you understand now why I said that Kage Bushin can be useful for you?”

Naruto nodded as he finally got the idea.

“So when I make a Kage Bushin, all that the Kage Bushin learns goes to me when I disperse it?”

Kakashi nodded and began to explain the details.

“Correct, the Kage Bushin was developed as a recon tool by many ninja, since the Kage Bushin were actual clones instead of just images, and they can be used to act as forward scouts when going in directly was a bad idea. During the Ninja Wars where I took part of when I was your age, all ninja used Kage Bushin to scout and gather information without risking our own safety in the process, and because of the Kage Bushin's ability to give it's knowledge to the ninja without placing the ninja in danger, it was and still is an excellent method to learn. In this case, a ninja could use a hand full of Kage Bushin to cut down one's training time. A dozen Kage Bushin can help a ninja learn a jutsu in days which would take weeks to learn, a hundred can be used by a ninja to learn a jutsu that would take months to learn normally, and a thousand Kage Bushin can learn in weeks what would normally take years.”

Naruto grinned at the implications of that and then turned to Kakashi.

“Is that the reason you're so strong Kakashi-sensei? Because you use the same training method you just told me?”

Kakashi shook his head which surprised Naruto greatly.

“Why?”

“Because Naruto-kun, a Kage Bushin being an actual clone requires an equal amount of chakra from the user to properly function. That is why Jonin and even Kage do not make a massive number of clones because doing so would limit their own chakra and drain them faster. In your case, with your current level of chakra, you have three times more than I do, even Sakura-san, and Sasuke-kun do not have the same level of chakra that you do. If you use the Kyuubi's chakra at any level, then you can have up to a hundred times more chakra then anyone in the whole village. That is why unlike many Jonin, you are able to use this training method, and that is what sets you apart from anyone in the village.”

Naruto was silent and in awe at this and Kakashi could tell that the blonde Chuunin was getting his head wrapped around the concept, he couldn't help but wonder how Naruto would have been like had he discovered the hidden use for Kage Bushin months before, either by accident or if he figured it out on his own. He would have been a true prodigy AND would have put even Sasuke to shame. However, he still had to teach Naruto the side effects of the training method.

“Before you go thinking of doing this training method now Naruto-kun, you have to know that it is a double edged sword.”

Naruto understood the phrase and asked.

“You mean there is a side effect to it?”

“Yes, when the Kage Bushin disperse, they not only give the knowledge back to the user, but also their mental and physical exhaustion to the user, which is the reason why Kage Bushin and it's advanced variant, the Tajuu Kage Bushin is in some cases considered a Kinjutsu. That is why you have to be prepared for this if you wish to pursue this training.”

Naruto thought it over and had to admit that it had both good and bad points, but then again, he recalled how hard it had been for him to master Rasengan before he finally could use it properly. If this could help him improve and fight those who threaten not just Konoha and the people he loved more than himself, then so be it.

“I accept the training Kakashi-sensei, no matter how long it takes, I will be stronger for the sake of everyone I care about.”

Kakashi could see the determination and conviction in Naruto's eyes and he couldn't help but smile beneath his mask.

(You have grown much Naruto-kun, I have a feeling that when you do accomplish your dream of being Hokage, you will be one of the finest there will be in Konoha, the Fourth would be proud of you as well as Jiraiya-sama.)

“Good, then let's get down to business, remember, this training method is usable in all facets as a ninja, in Ninjitsu and Taijutsu as well. I can even bet you can use the Kage Bushin training with your own training in the arts of a Dragon Champion. For this level of training, you will need to learn Nature Manipulation; this requires changing the base chakra you have to the elemental equivalent and using it. And the best way to start is to do the same thing that you did with the paper, with a leaf. This is the basic step and will help perfect it in the coming times of training.”

Naruto nodded and made his way to get a leaf from a nearby tree and he then spoke to Kakashi.

“How many leaves do I have to split?”

“All the leaves on the tree.”

Naruto's eyes bulged at that and he made his shock very obvious.

“Are you serious?!”

--------

Naruto found out later that Kakashi was very serious in the suggestion and he was spending as much time in training in the art of Nature Manipulation as well as learning the art of acting from Koyuki who proved to be a very good teacher, back then before the battles that allowed her to reclaim her home from her uncle, she would just act and have no emotion except those emotions required to act the part. But this time however, she acted with full emotion which made her all the more popular and her change in attitude from before was a refreshing change.

Koyuki was patient with Naruto and taught him as best she could as the film continued to play, Naruto himself was getting used to being front of the camera and since the two were both doing their best, the movie was going well and the director was enjoying the situation immensely at the moment. This was reminding him of the film they had done in Snow Country before and that movie proved to be a stellar hit.

Naruto was struggling in the art of acting for the first few days, but he was proving to be a quick study and due to his desire to succeed, was proving to be able to grasp the basics. The director wondered how good an actor Naruto would have been had he not been a ninja. However, he knew that Naruto's real duty was to protecting Koyuki from harm. The rest of the people who worked under him knew that Koyuki was the princess of Snow Country but they still referred to her as Yukie Fujikaze to be more secure. Naruto naturally preferred to call her by her real name when they were working together, but was able to say her screen name when they had to play their respective parts.

The director also saw that there was some deep affection between the two of them, though the affection was at a higher degree in the case of Koyuki and he could understand that as he knew that if it had not been for Naruto's help and his own words, Koyuki would not have only regained her heart, but also become a beloved leader of a nation and an actress at the very same time. In Naruto's case, he did act a lot more open with Koyuki, no doubt since he still held her as his favorite actress, but also no doubt had some deeper affection from the time when he had been given the picture of him being kissed by Koyuki while he was still resting from the titanic battle with Doto. The director knew that such a thing as a romance happening between two people would have added a serious element to the story, which was somewhat effective as in the movie, Koyuki character who was still Princess Fuun would develop an attraction to her new guardian which Naruto played after all.

It was one scene that bothered the director however, the one scene that they would have to work on in the coming days. His concerns were that Naruto would not dare do the scene due to the highly intimate and open nature of it all. Not to mention the fact that there was a chance Koyuki would not entirely agree with the idea. However, it was there in the script and it was soon to be placed into the film soon enough.

As Naruto continued to train with his Kage Bushin, Kakashi had to admit that Naruto would be able to use Kage Bushin better than any other ninja and would have put him in par with high ranking ninja. Naruto was already proving to be a cunning and very serious user of Kage Bushin and was using the jutsu in ways that not even he could do. Kakashi had a feeling Naruto would earn the title of Kage Bushin Master at this rate as Naruto continued to push the limits of his use of Kage Bushin in learning the art of Nature Manipulation as well as using it to learn how to be a Dragon Champion.

It was nearly two weeks since the first attack and the situation seemed a lot calmer than before, but that was to change very soon.

Naruto and the others were getting ready to enact another battle scene for the movie, though only in a much larger scale when a massive number of unknown people appeared on the scene and they were already heading towards the crew and it was then that Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke knew that a fight was underway. The attack was very quick however and some people were injured and the Konoha ninja were forced to fight the unknown ninja and move them back to prevent them from harming anyone else to reach their real target who was none other than Koyuki herself.

Naruto made sure to leave a pair of his Kage Bushin to protect Koyuki and he went ahead with his team mates. It was then that they saw the number of ninja and that meant a more serious attack was well underway and no doubt aimed at Koyuki.

The director however decided to improvise and aimed the camera right at the battle scene….this was going to be a good fight and he was now going to let this chance to get some really good footage get away from him. Koyuki looked on and hoped that Naruto and the others would be all right.

--------

Naruto and the others were fighting off the large force of ninja who were armed with the basic and advanced ninja assortment of weapons, but to the surprise of Team 7, they spotted a number of things that the ninja had on them.

They had no forehead protectors and that meant they had no affiliated villages, and the second thing was the awfully familiar chakra enhancing armor of Snow Country.

Naruto dodged a number of kunai and used his two katanas to fight off a pair of ninja who were attacking him with swords of their own, his Orchaelium crafted katanas were more than a match for the weapons possessed by the ninjas and he was able to defeat the pair with a few well aimed strokes. The battle was going well to their side at the moment and the Konoha ninja were doing fine in their attacks on these mercenary ninja. Naruto's training with the Kage Bushin and the advantages it gave him was proving to be worth it as he was dispatching ninja left and right with amazing speed and ease….much to Kakashi's approval and Sakura's amazement. Sasuke looked on and gritted his teeth a bit and focused on beating the ninja before him as Naruto was busy fighting in the front lines.

The rogue ninja pushed on with their attacks on the Konoha team, but Kakashi and his team were proving to be more than a match for them all despite their numbers and weaponry as well. Naruto used a number of spells and also his other weapons as he drew his Composite Bow and placed aside his swords for the moment and rained shot after shot on the rogue ninja forces.

However, just as several of the ninja were retreating, a new voice came to the scene.

“Spineless worms. To think we hired you for this line of work, and all to kill a simple woman who isn't even a ninja!”

Several of the ninja who were there were suddenly lifted into the air and were suddenly killed by flying kunai that was apparently guided by chakra strings. The other ninja tried to escape but there were traps there that finished them. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi moved back as the new arrival that was no doubt a woman came.

She wore a simple dark robe without any markings and wore some sort of mask and from the bulged on her left leg at the calf there appeared to some sort of device there, or a weapon of some sort. Naruto was quick to try and see anything that could tell them of just who this new arrival was. The female arrival spoke to them all.

“So a band of Konoha ninja? And the very same band that protected the princess months before….this is going to be good.”

Naruto glared at the new arrival and she removed her cloak, revealing that she wore a deep red vest with chest wrappings, red gloves, red short pants, red body armor with white wrappings on certain parts of her body as well as red armor shin guards, as well as boots, with a short sword strapped to her left leg. The woman had teal colored hair in a rather elegant hairstyle and had tattoos shaped like flowers on her body.

“Who the heck are you?”

Kakashi asked as he got his kunai ready to fight with while Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were getting ready for a fight as the other rogue ninja were still ready and willing to fight at the moment despite the fact that some of them had been killed by their own boss.

“Why should I introduce myself to my enemies, I am here to kill the princess and you are in my way. So if you value your lives, I suggest you leave and let me and my men do our mission.”

Naruto glared and then unleashed Holy Talon and the woman flipped back to avoid being cut down as Naruto used the same technique of attack he had used when he first faced Orochimaru in the forest of Death. the masked woman looked as Naruto leaped towards her and she got ready to fight. But she had to evade as Holy talon came back from behind and would have cut her in half had she not seen the sword coming. Naruto caught the sword and lunged with a slash at the woman who managed to evade the attack.

“Well now….you are proving to be living up to those rumors I heard about you….Naruto Uzumaki. Let's see what else you can do!!!”

The woman took out her sword and unleashed several strikes at Naruto which forced him to go on the defensive as he blocked with the flat part of Holy Talon and as soon as he knocked the woman's descending slash back, he unleashed his own barrage of attacks and as soon as he forced her back he summoned his choice jutsu.

“KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!”

The Kage Bushin charged and the female ninja defeated a number of them but her triumph was cut short as Naruto unleashed his vines to wrap her arms, and legs and he got ready to unleash his finishing strike and he summoned his Kage Bushin once more and then made the move to unleash his chosen strike.

“What the?!”

The female masked ninja looked as Naruto created his Rasengan and infused a portion of Dragon Fire and the Rasengan was now unleashing a fiery head of a dragon in a roar.

“FIRE DRAGON RASENGAN!!!”

The blonde Chuunin charged right at her and she was hit hard and was sent flying, much to the surprise of all the people there, even Sasuke was surprised at the sight of the Rasengan. Naruto however looked as the woman suddenly disperse to reveal a log.

(Replacement Jutsu!!!)

“Impressive young man, you are proving to be a good fighter, I wonder if your other team mates can do better?”

It was when Naruto looked at the arm of the female Kunoichi that attacked him that he saw something that totally caught him off guard.

To outsiders from Konoha, or anywhere else for that matter, it resembled a tattoo that was rarely seen, however, to the blonde Chuunin's eyes, this told him loads on just who the heck he was fighting at the moment. But it still shocked him to know that this masked Kunoichi who he was fight was…

A Konoha ANBU…

The Kunoichi looked at Naruto and spoke in a very calm and mocking voice.

“Naughty boy, are you trying to seduce me?”

“Heck no! What I want to know is why you have a Konoha ANBU tattoo on your arm!”

The rest of Team 7 were surprised and Kakashi looked at the Kunoichi and saw that Naruto's words were very true as he saw that the woman had an ANBU tattoo on her arm, in the very same place where female Konoha ANBU would have their tattoo to signify their status.

The woman smirked and replied.

“Good eye, but you are still going to be unable to get enough answers. But before I leave, I have to ask, is it really true that Tsunade-sama is the Hokage?”

Naruto could tell that there was a tone of hostility in the voice of the woman, meaning that she had ill will towards Tsunade and while he knew that Tsunade could take care of herself, he was not keen on letting anyone lay a hand on Tsunade and harm her while he was alive and around. He however decided to answer her question in order to find out just what this person had against Tsunade.

“She is, what of it?”

The woman seemed to be a bit tense and it seemed that Naruto's answer had struck a nerve, but before anything could be done, the female ANBU unleashed a wave of kunai and that forced the Team of Konoha ninja to back away as the kunai were filled with explosive tags. As the smoke cleared out of the way, the group turned and saw that the rogue Konoha ANBU was back on the tree and she spoke to the ninja.

“Tell Tsunade-sama that I have an old issue with her, and this time, I want some answers to it and this new one, I knew that she never wanted to be Hokage, so I want to know why she chose to do it now.”

Sakura spoke then as she did not like the way the rogue ANBU was talking towards her sensei.

“What is your deal with Tsunade-sensei?”

The ANBU turned and despite the fact she was wearing her mask she was not happy with the fact that Sakura called Tsunade her sensei.

“Are you an apprentice of the Hokage? I thought Shizune was the only one Tsunade-sama took as an apprentice.”

“I am her second apprentice lady, if you lay a hand on my sensei, I am going to beat the hell out of you!”

The former Konoha ANBU seemed to be looking and then she laughed and replied.

“You're words are fierce indeed little lady, but I doubt you can stand up to me, you may be Tsunade-sama's apprentice, but I am in a level beyond you since you ARE still a Genin. Tell Tsunade-sama that I have every intention of making her pay.”

Naruto glared and was about to make his move when she fired another kunai which was on another Chakra string and she left the scene. Naruto looked about as he moved to the tree line but was stopped by Kakashi.

“Hold on Naruto-kun, we need to check on Koyuki-hime and the others.”

Naruto knew that to be important and as such, he broke off his pursuit and as they headed back to the area where the crew had been able to relocate with the guards that were hired, Naruto turned to Kakashi and spoke.

“Kakashi-sensei, is there any ANBU from Konoha that you know of that have gone rogue?”

The Jonin and former ANBU captain thought it over and decided to think back on all the ANBU who he had known when he was still the Captain years before he left to be a Jonin and before he had met Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura and they became his Genin team.

“I know of only one ANBU that went rogue, and I think that the one we ran into is her.”

“Who is she?”

“Her name was Kagura, and as far as my memory serves me, she was a highly skilled ANBU that used chakra strings and kunai as well as her ANBU blade in combat, she was very skilled and talented and had even asked Tsunade at one point in the Hokage's life to take her as an apprentice and even wanted to be Hokage. However, she was refused by Tsunade because she was too cruel and cold towards anyone, among the female ninja of the village years before, Kagura was considered the second strongest and even was better at Genjutsu than even Kurenai. Naturally she didn't take Tsunade's rejection lightly and she went rogue.”

Sakura thought it over and had to admit that after seeing Kagura decimating the retreating members of her own forces without any hesitation or mercy, she would not have been chosen by Tsunade because of her lack of compassion and her cruelty towards others. It was then that she decided to venture a question

“Could she be the leader of the assassination attempts on Koyuki-hime?”

“That's a possibility that we have to take into account, but she would have allies, she would no doubt know how capable Tsunade-sama is at the moment and knows that attacking her directly would not be very effective, even if she is a former ANBU. Besides, there is a chance she would be working with others.”

“What do we do now?”

Kakashi thought of the answer quickly and replied.

“We'll think on that later, we need to tend to any of the injured first and as soon as things begin to settle down, we can make the plans we need to make, but chief of them is to inform Hokage-sama that we have an idea on one of the threats.”

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Later…

To the relief of everyone, the people were safe and Sakura had to use her medical training both in the use of Medical Jutsu and also with Dragon Fire, or Mystic Fire as Naruto also coined. Naruto had explained that while the key principles were the same as Medical Jutsu, healing with Dragon Fire required a greater degree of control.

Naruto had taught her the basic techniques and strategies to heal using Dragon Fire and also to cure poisons through the use of Life Magic and it proved to be very useful to her already growing Medical Jutsu skills. The wounded were not that many but some had taken a considerable number of hits and the combined knowledge of Life Magic and Medical Jutsu certainly helped a great deal in healing the wounded.

In the meantime, Sasuke and Naruto were on guard duty, Naruto naturally was with Koyuki to ensure her safety at the moment while Sasuke was doing his part, for now this new enemy was the one that got his attention. In the meantime, Kakashi was quick to gather all the important information that they had gathered to send to Tsunade for a counter to Kagura and whoever she was working with in this plot to kill Koyuki and take the chakra enhancing armor of the people of Snow Country.

The simple escort mission had turned into something else entirely and it was at this point that Kakashi wondered if his team was fated to always be thrown into such missions like this for the rest of their lives. The first was with the bridge builder Tazuna, and then the mission to protect Koyuki from before. Not that he disliked it, these missions actually were very helpful in improving the fighting abilities of his team and also was a good way for Naruto improve enough. He knew that it would still take a while before Naruto would develop the ability to properly master the basics of Nature Manipulation but his determination, drive, and more was already helping him gain some head way no matter how short it was to some people's point of view, but he knew that with Naruto's heavy stamina helping him and the Kage Bushin evening things up, had allowed him to improve at a better rate than normal, and it was actually somewhat entertaining to see Naruto train and he admired the fighting spirit of his blonde student.

As soon as the message was completed he summoned Pakkun and gave the order to his dog summon to deliver the message as quickly as possible to Tsunade. As soon as Pakkun left to do his work, the Jonin went to check on his team and also the people who were part of the movie crew.

This was probably going to be a mission that would prove to be a real interesting situation.

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In Konoha…days later

Tsunade read the incoming report and couldn't help but shake her head at the news before her at the moment, to think that she was facing this particular ANBU yet again.

“Kagura….so your still alive and causing trouble.”

The Hokage knew that Kagura would not be giving up easily and the idea that the former ANBU of Konoha was very skilled and driven, there were reasons why she would never take Kagura as her apprentice long ago. She lacked compassion for her comrades and sacrificed their lives needlessly. Tsunade was a very large idealist, and knew that as ninja, they all faced death at some point, but Kagura's lack of compassion and her cruelty in using Genjutsu made her unworthy of being a proper Medic Nin.

In truth she had to admit that with her skill, Kagura would have made good apprentice material but she never regretted her decision to choose Shizune as her apprentice. But this was a serious matter, Kagura was dangerous and she would no doubt be more than eager to fight her. Tsunade knew that since the information from Kakashi told her that Kagura had a number of ninja under employ, she would be working with someone and that someone had once worked for Orochimaru of all people, and this was something she couldn't ignore.

Orochimaru had been busy gathering all the jutsu he could, as she had learned from Jiraiya who had been keeping tabs on their former ally and friend, along with gathering jutsu, the snake Sannin also had been experimenting on forbidden jutsu and techniques from other parts of the world and it would not surprise her that in order to get the data, resources, facilities and tools he needed, he would have formed alliances with others of like mind like him. Kabuto was his right hand, and there was no doubts about Kabuto's abilities, but since they were dealing with a former associate, then it was no doubt someone else who Orochimaru had worked with before.

Shizune entered the room and Tsunade turned to her apprentice.

“We need to send out a backup team to Kakashi right away. It seems an old rogue of ours has been sighted.”

“Who?”

“Kagura herself.”

Shizune was surprised as she knew just who Kagura was.

“Kagura, but wasn't she considered a rogue ninja when she left ANBU?”

“Yes, Naruto-kun and the others encountered her and she seems to be the one who launched a more open attack on Koyuki and her film crew. And it seems she might have an employer, an old associate of Orochimaru.”

“Orochimaru?”

Tsunade filled Shizune in on all the details that Naruto had been able to gather when he had spoke to Koyuki about what had been happening with Snow/Spring Country after Koyuki took her position as the leader of the Country. It would make sense that the chakra enhancing armor of Snow/Spring Country could be used as a weapon of war. She had been told months before that the armor was able to improve one's' chakra abilities and render the user immune to Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. If this armor and it's designs were copied and handed to all rogue ninja forces, then they would have a good advantage in combat. The fact that a number of the chakra enhancing armor was now out of the hands of Koyuki's people was troubling, but so far, there had been no reports of the armor being used by any ninja force at the moment. The fact that this former associate of Orochimaru was after the one suit that

This associate might be among the buyers who had taken the armor that was sold before Koyuki put an end to that. And there was a chance that he might have either bought, bribed, or stole the armor from the other buyer. And if this associate had Kagura in his or her employ, then this would be a dangerous situation. ANBU security in the village had be tightened and a good number of the still present Jonin had to be on alert. Now she had to send a team to support Kakashi's team, and considering the fact that Naruto was getting some training in the basics of Nature Manipulation and his elemental chakra type was Wind she needed to choose someone to help him to master the first steps. And he already knew just who to send.

“Get Asuma and his team here ASAP.”

“Yes Tsunade-sama!”

It didn't take very long for Asuma, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru to arrive into the office and Tsunade quickly filled them in on the details of the mission, she knew that the team was going to be helpful for Kakashi, and since Asuma would be supporting Naruto in learning some new steps it would be helpful.

Asuma was not very happy with the news of Kagura being back as a Jonin, he too was well aware of who Kagura was and how dangerous she was at the moment. However he was rather curious as to why he and his team were requested by the Hokage to aid Kakashi, he understood that they would need help if things go wrong, but considering the talent in his team, Kakashi would be all right.

“I have another reason to be asking for your help Asuma, Kakashi recently discovered Naruto's chakra affinity, and it's the same as your own.”

Asuma was rather surprised by the news at that moment.

“Naruto-kun's a Wind chakra like me? Who'd thought that was the case? And you need my help to train him Hokage-sama?”

“Correct, you and Naruto are among the very few Wind Users born in Konoha, you are more advanced than Naruto so it would help him a great deal to be trained by you. He has already begun the basic training but it yet to master the part of cutting a leaf in half with his chakra.”

Asuma nodded, he himself was familiar with the technique and he was eager to get this going.

“All right, we're on our way Tsunade-sama.”

Tsunade nodded and as soon as Asuma's team left, she turned to Shizune and spoke.

“Have the ANBU on full alert status Shizune, and have them make double sure to check not just the village but all areas around Konoha for possible areas of weakness in the defense. If Kagura is going to make a move, I want to know about it.”

“Hai Tsunade-sama.”

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

Well, that wraps up this baby. I'll be taking a break from Naruto Dragon Champion and work on some of my other fics, including the soon to come lemons that I have in mind for the section I happen to be in. Expect a soon to come update for the lemon story section of Naruto Dragon Champion, as well as Deserted Island and hopefully my other fics.

I have a lot to do in real life so making new stories and material will not be easy with the time I have on my hands

I have added a character who is from a Naruto video game and if you are familiar with the Clash of Ninja 2 Revolution game, then you will have no problem recognizing her in this story. And since this is a different story from the original video game where she can be found, expect her fate to be somewhat different as well as her current agendas as well. Of course, the fact is that she wants to kill Tsunade and if killing Koyuki will make it a lot easier, then all the better for her in that regard.

We now have Naruto not only learning the basic of Nature Manipulation and also the secret of the Kage Bushin, and we have Asuma teaching him how to master the basics of the use of his Wind Chakra, what sort of result will come out now that Naruto is taking the first steps in this form of training?

Wait and see!

Also, what will happen when a certain scene has to be done in the movie with Naruto in it, and how will Ino and Sakura react and when the movie does come out, how will the women in Konoha react to seeing Naruto actually do the deed on film as he will put all of his lessons to use in the silver screen? Not to mention, how will the other Countries react to the soon to come movie that has Koyuki and Naruto together?

You can bet that things for Naruto are going to be wild and very interesting!!!