Howdy y'all. This chapter here is short-ish because it is setting up for this next arc. There's also some things from the canon that i put in here. So please, enjoy.

~Shizake

Chapter 16

-Forthcoming

A month has passed and the change in weather could not be anymore welcome. Fresh flowers have begun blooming in the wake of golden sunlight. The heat of the sun has now replaced the cold air that once blanketed the land. This in turn has allowed everyone to dawn lighter clothing, ditching cloaks and jackets that kept them warm during the winter. A new sort of energetic vibrancy has graced the village along with the change in seasons and although the village shines during the warmer months, everyone is still hard at work, ninja and citizens alike.

Team Kari vigorously patrols the village, scouting around for anything suspicious. Their routine patrol seemingly yields no results, the village being in a peaceful mood. They come to rest on top of a fairly large building, each of them scanning around with their eyes.

Shozen stretches his arms high into the sky, groaning in pleasure from getting a chance to relax his muscles, "Ahhh! I love the spring! So much more energy and liveliness to the village!"

Toshi warmly grins at her comrade, looking around at all the flowers and trees thriving, "You can say that again, Shozen. Although... I'm not a fan of the heat but hey, it beats the cold."

"While the weather is now enjoyable, we still have to work harder than ever. No telling what's to come ahead for us," Shizake says.

"Sheesh, Kouen. Sometimes I think you were made to live in the winter," Toshi answers, scratching the back of her head.

"Heh, well, I was born in a winter month so that could play a role. Anyways lets finish up this patr-"

"I'M HOME EVERYONE! NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS RETURNED TO THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE!" A voice bellows out.

"What the hell was that?" Shītto asks, looking around for the culprit.

Shizake lifts up his mask, crossing his arms while his lips settle into a small grin, "Well I'll be damned."

"Only he would cause a ruckus like that," Shozen says with a chuckle.

"Who is that?" Toshi asks.

"If you didn't hear him scream it the first time, it's Naruto Uzumaki," Shozen replies.

"Naruto...? Uzumaki...? Wait! The nine tails jinchuriki?!"

"That's right..." Shītto trails off, "Didn't he leave for training or something?"

"Yeah. Seems like he and Jirayia just got back," Shizake answers.

The ANBU squad of four spot the yellow tuft of hair standing atop a tall electrical pole. Naruto hopefully stares out across the village, admiring the nostalgic feelings that flood his mind. He places his hands on his hips, looking across the Hokage stone face mountain and looking surprised to see that Tsunade's face has been added to the legendary group.

"I already know what you're thinking, Shizake, "Shozen says, "We'll finish up here."

Shizake smirks, "I just want to see how strong he's gotten."

The Uchiha begins unhooking all of his ANBU armor pieces, setting the dragon mask under his torso piece to hide it. After that, he pulls out the loose black sleeve from his pocket and slides it up his left arm to cover up the tattoo that barely peaks out under his black Uchiha t-shirt. From there he nods to his team before zipping across the rooftops to meet his comrade.

As the Uchiha comes to land on a rooftop he looks down to see Sakura yanking Naruto out of a crater and shaking the living hell out of him. Meanwhile three young genin clutch the white haired man known as Jiraiya in pure horror.

Not even five minutes back and he's already earned one of Sakura's signature beat downs. Heh, things haven't changed a bit, Shizake thinks to himself.

The Uchiha puts one foot forward, freefalling from the building and coming to land next to the two of them in a crouching position. Sakura curiously looks over to see whom it is and drops Naruto once she recognizes the spiky black hair that trails downwards on the boy. The Uzumaki rubs his head, shaking it before standing up and running over as well.

"Shizake! What're you doing here?" The pink haired girl asks.

"Who're you...?" Naruto asks.

"That hurts, Naruto," Shizake playfully says, "After all we've been through, you don't remember me?"

"Naruto you idiot! It's Shizake. Shizake Uchiha!" The girl screams.

"Shizake...! No way! You look totally different!" Naruto says, finally remembering.

The two of them clasp hands, their fingers wrapped around each other's thumbs in a brotherly manner while their teeth shine as they both smile.

"Well, to be fair, I did lop off a big chunk of hair after you left," Shizake says

"Yeah but your shirt is a dead give away..." Sakura says with both hands in the air, palms facing upwards towards the sky.

"You might be right about that one, Sakura. Anyways, I couldn't help but notice your loud entrance. Pretty sure everyone in the village heard it. Thought I would drop in and say what's up."

"Hey, well, I appreciate it, Shizake. We'll have to spar sometime so I can show you how strong I've gotten," Naruto says confidently.

"Likewise."

"And Shizake..." Naruto trails off.

The Uchiha crosses his arms, curious as to what has overcome the Uzumaki, "Hm?"

"With my new strength I promise I'll be able to get Sasuke back this time. I'm not giving up till I drag his body back through those gates."

Shizake settles into a more serious demeanor, as such every time the subject of his cousin is brought up. The only thing he answers Naruto with is a nod. Sakura cautiously gazes between the two of them, knowing that it's a touchy and dangerous subject to be brought up. Nevertheless, she feels at ease knowing that at least one of them still has a strong will to pursue Sasuke.

Jiraiya and the three genin approach the group, the white haired sensei crossing his arms, "Naruto, I'm sure that lady Tsunade would like to see you now that you're back. Shizake, was it? You're free to come along as well. You too Sakura."

"Sure, I'll come along!" Sakura cheerfully says.

"I appreciate the offer but I have some business I must finish up. We'll catch up later," Shizake says.

"No problem!" Naruto says with a thumb up, "Lets grab a bite to eat later. I've been craving Ichiraku Ramen for way too long!"

"Sounds good to me. Later."

Shizake disappears in a flicker, bounding off back to the rooftop where he stashed his armor pieces. After arriving there he puts his armor and mask back on. From there he goes to find his teammates that he left to complete the patrol. Soon enough he finds them gathered in front of the Hokage mansion awaiting his return.

"Yo. How did it go?" Nitatchi asks.

"He's changed a lot. More determined than ever to find Sasuke, that's for sure. We'll definitely be seeing him around more often," Shizake says.

"Enough reminiscing, can we report back to Lady Hokage so we can be done for the day? I'm exhausted," Toshi whines.

"Didn't get enough sleep last night?" Shītto quietly asks.

The strawberry blonde girl sighs heavily, "Not exactly. I kept waking up."

"Yes, lets go," Shizake says, stepping ahead of the group and walking up the stairs.

As the squad of four ascends the steps, they brush past three people. A blonde, a pinkette, and a man with his left eye covered up by his headband and a mask pulled up over his mouth. Nitatchi nudges Shizake who in return gives the Hyuga boy a quick look behind his mask. Kakashi steals a quick glance at the leader of the ANBU group, grinning behind his mask before pulling out his book and becoming lost in it.

With haste, they walk into the Hokage's office, bowing before reporting back from their patrol. Tsunade's assistant, Shizune jots down some notes on her clipboard while also petting the small pig she has beside her.

"We'll have to make this quick, I'm needed elsewhere," Tsunade says.

"Everything seems to be good around the village. We didn't even find one disturbance," Shizake explains.

"That's good to hear. Anyways, I have a mission for you four to be carried out tomorrow."

"Yes, lady Hokage?"

The blonde haired Hokage clears her throat, pulling out a scroll from a drawer in her desk, "An assassination to be precise. The scroll has the mission details as you know. You'll be travelling to a trading outpost in the land of fire. There, you'll find a man that goes by Jōran. He has been causing millions of ryo worth of damage to not only our trading caravans but caravans coming from all over the world. The other villages are becoming extremely upset and have demanded we take action against him. We might not be at peace with every single village at this moment but hurting out trade agreements hurts the already strained relationships we have with villages such as the Cloud and the Stone."

"So how did you track him to this outpost?" Shizake asks.

"We've had detectives deciphering the locations he has hit. By looking at the areas where he's caused damage, our detectives were able to triangulate his position. It makes sense that he chose to set up shop there. From that trading outpost he's able to watch every caravan come and go then from there he can send out his henchman to do the dirty work. This is almost become a syndicate of sorts, but it hasn't gained much traction...yet anyways. We want to stop this before it gets any bigger and we believe that if we cut the head of this...crime group... that the whole thing will just fall apart and we'll be able to resume regular trade."

"I understand, Lady Hokage. We will carry this mission out," The Uchiha answers.

"Good. Now, you're going to have to operate in civilian attire. We don't want to cause a panic by sending you dressed in ANBU garb. If the civilians of that outpost went into a panic it would alert Jōran, causing him to flee."

The Uchiha nods at the fifth Hokage, accepting the mission and the terms that come along with it. The ANBU squad bows and exits the room, done with today's trials and tribulations.

"Our first assassination mission..." Nitatchi trails off, "The Hokage is becoming more comfortable with our skills each and every day."

"That's what comes with carrying out successful missions like we have in the past. We've done some good work for the village and we can continue doing so. I truly believe in each of your abilities and I won't doubt them ever. I chose you three for a reason."

Toshi stretches her arms into the air, yawning loudly, "Thanks for the pep talk, Kouen, but I'm going to go catch some shut eye before we have to get to work tomorrow. See you tomorrow!"

The girl runs off towards her home, disappearing around a corner.

"I suggest we all do the same. No telling what will happen tomorrow. We meet at the village gates at eight sharp," Shizake says before heading back to his home as well.

On his way back home, Shizake feels a faint rumble in the ground. Curiosity creeps in his mind causing him to drop on his knees and place an ear to the ground. That's coming from the training grounds...could it be? Knowing that he should rest before the mission tomorrow, Shizake decides to go check out the training fields for a moment anyways.

The sun sets just as he arrives at the field, nighttime creeping in like a fog. In the immediate area he sees nothing except a shattered battlefield. Did Naruto cause this damage? The Uchiha hears more rumblings coming from deeper in the forest so he too runs further in. Just as he arrives he sees Naruto tearing through a tree with his rasengan, Kakashi popping out from behind it to dodge the attack. Sakura stands behind Naruto, observing Kakashi's movements. No... that must've been Sakura's doing back there. Only her strength could cause that.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei? Is there something you wanted to say? I'm not exactly sure I heard you clearly before," Sakura says.

Kakashi has his mask raised up, sharingan activated, Shizake observes. The silver haired sensei gives them a look of self disappointment, "Shinobi battle techniques part two: genjutsu."

It was so much easier to fool her back then, Kakashi thinks to himself.

"You'll have to come up with something better than that. If you think we'll fall for that old trick again, you're crazy," Sakura continues.

"We wouldn't be that stupid," Naruto cockily adds.

"Really? I wouldn't be too sure about that," Kakashi answers.

On the ground lies two bells, glistening in the moon light. Naruto perks his head before running out to grab them.

"Naruto, don't!" Sakura yells.

Just as the Uzumaki goes to reach for the bells, a rope springs out, catching his ankle and lifting him high into the sky.

"See? You still fall for the same old tricks."

The boy turns into a poof of smoke, disappearing from the trap. Kakashi looks up surprised to see Naruto gone.

"There's no way I'd fall for a trap like that! He yells, socking Kakashi in the cheek.

Kakashi too goes up in smoke, a log replacing him where he once stood.

"A substitution?" Sakura yells, looking around for her sensei.

The battle continues to rage on, each of them unleashing their own set of powers and tricks all so that they can grab the bells off of Kakashi. Soon enough Naruto and Sakura find their selves hiding behind a tree as they discuss a plan to get the bells from Kakashi. After a few moments of talking they formulate their plan and go into action.

The two of them find Kakashi with ease as they move according to the plan. Naruto leaps out of a tree which Kakashi easily spots.

"Now Naruto!" Sakura yells.

"Now listen to this Kakashi! I know the final plot twist of Make-Out tactics!" The Uzuamki hollers.

Kakashi's eyes go wide in horror, "Wh-what?! No! No!"

"Turns out the hero is none other than...!" Naruto continues.

"No! Shut up! I don't wanna hear!" Kakashi yells, covering up his ears. Since his Sharingan is still activated, the sensei closes his eyes as well so that he can't read Naruto's lip movements.

With that, Naruto and Sakura easily grab the bells off of Kakashi's waist.

Shizake grins to himself, leaving his hiding spot at that very moment of success. There's no doubt about it, they've definitely gotten stronger.