Naruto Shippuden: The Legendary Team

It was nearly evening by the time Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the river. The forest was a little compacted, but the sound of the stream of water proved to be relaxing as Sakura immediately ran over to the edge and took out a couple of canteens from her knapsack.

Sasuke kneeled over the water, squinting at the fishes swimming below. There weren't too few of them, so it would do.

Without further ado, Sasuke took out two kunais from his pouch, assessing the rate at which the fishes swam by. He studied their pattern for a bit before deciding on an ideal spot on where he could toss his weapons.

Thunk! Thunk!

The kunais hit the fishes dead right at the middle, causing a bit of blood to leak into the waters. Sakura watched in awe, not noticing that her canteen was already overflowing.

Sasuke inadvertently glanced at her, and she jolted, immediately averting her gaze and going back to her business.

Sasuke took out his kunais and threw the fishes towards the land, their movements already ceased. Sasuke turned back to the river and poised his kunais for a next strike.

Sakura finished with the canteens and placed them back inside her knapsack, zipping it up closed. She wore it around her back once more and tried not to look at Sasuke, waiting for him to finish. Normally, she'd offer to help him out, but he already seemed to be having an easy time of it on his own and she would probably only be a hindrance, anyway.

Sakura's brows knitted together in thought. Since when had she become this bold, anyway? It seemed like just yesterday, now that she thought about it, when she was a shy girl trying to adjust into the Academy. She was still severely lacking in the taijutsu department, and she had little to no ninjutsu skills. Her stomach still held some pain, albeit much better now compared to that day. She just couldn't move as fast as she wanted to.

"Let's go back." Sasuke's voice streamed into her ears.

Sakura stood up, still trying her best not to look at him. It suddenly felt awkward being alone with him now. She felt like she had gone through several different personalities before settling on one that fit her the most.

Besides, she was still a little afraid of Sasuke, especially because he seemed to be a bit too quiet and she couldn't read his closed-off expression. Her hand was still throbbing slightly, and she doubted if she could use it to defend herself during these three days.

The walk back to camp was silent. It wasn't even a comfortable silence, either. This kind of quietness was stifling; Sakura felt like she didn't have enough air to breathe in. She didn't want to strike up a conversation, but it felt wrong to not say anything.

"Sakura."

She snapped to attention at the sound of her name, turning towards Sasuke. He had an unreadable expression on his face, but it seemed like he had an internal conflict going on inside his head.

"…Sasuke-kun?" she said softly, tentatively.

Sasuke stopped walking, facing her. Sakura stopped as well, still confused.

"Um, what's the matter?" she asked.

"…I'm sorry," he told her quietly, looking straight into her eyes, making her heart skip a beat. "For being inconsiderate earlier."

Sakura stared at him. It wasn't easy for him to say those words; she could tell by the subtle way he was struggling with himself. And it was not even because of mere arrogance. It was more like… he wasn't used to it. Like he wasn't accustomed to being…

Vulnerable? Empathetic…?

Or maybe it was out of regret… of repentance…

"I'm sorry, too," she told him, sending him a message through her eyes. A warm message. "For keeping it from you. I… really thought that you didn't need to know. I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked startled, a surprisingly pleasant transition from his usual level expressions. Sakura found herself blushing slightly and fought to keep it down, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable.

"About your hand," he said. "How… is it?"

"Oh, this?" She held up her bandaged hand, noticing the way her fingers were still stiff. It wasn't yet fully healed, after all. She hoped that it would become good as new after the recovery process. "It doesn't hurt as much as it used to. It'll heal in no time."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Naruto's loud voice approaching them.

'That idiot…' Sasuke thought to himself, twitching at the reverberating loud tones. 'He never is the stealthy type…'

"Naruto," Sakura admonished. "You shouldn't yell. The bandits will catch us here if they hear you."

Naruto cheerfully ignored her remark, opting to stare at her bandaged hand instead. "Does it still hurt, Sakura-chan?" he asked worriedly. Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes, one that Sakura did not like. "Want me to kiss it better? I'm sure it'll heal instan — OUCH!"

Sakura had promptly karate-chopped him on the head. "That one is out of the question," she said in a deadly voice, sending him a definite death glare.

Naruto gulped. Future Sakura or not, Sakura was still Sakura, and Sakura was very, very scary.

Before Naruto could sputter out an apology, an explosion sounded not too far away from them.

Bits of earth flew towards them from the impressive impact, as if someone threw a giant grenade onto the land. The trees bended along with the momentum, and the three genins covered their faces to keep from getting hit.

"That's—" Naruto started to say.

"—the direction of our camp!" Sakura realized, fear pooling itself in her stomach. "Kakashi-sensei and Konno-san are there! We have to save them—"

"Stop." Sasuke's hand gripped her shoulder. "We can't go over there just yet."

Sakura's eyes were wide as she faced him. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto protested indignantly. "What's with you, bastard? You saying that we shouldn't help Kakashi-sensei and Konno?"

"The enemies will be expecting us to run over there," Sasuke said calmly, his voice taking on a reasonable tone. The line holding the dead fishes was already dropped to the ground. "Kakashi can take care of himself. He is an elite jōnin. We, on the other hand, are still mere genin. We'll have to find a way to sneak into the area and find out what's happening without getting caught."

"But…" Sakura looked uncertain. "How can we do that? Kakashi-sensei didn't teach us how to mask our chakra…"

"Naruto and I know how," Sasuke said, sending a glance towards Naruto. "Sakura. You, on the other hand… if you don't know how, stick with us. We can mask you along."

Sakura blushed, but it wasn't the pleasant kind, Sasuke noticed. It was more as if… she felt a little humiliated at her inability.

But there was no time to reassure her. They had to move.

Concealing their chakra, Naruto held Sakura by the arm, with Sasuke holding her other one. Together, they slipped into the bushes and made their way slowly towards the site of the explosion. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and conjured a basic genjutsu to soundproof their movements. Naruto attempted to sense for presences around the area. Sakura, on the other hand, stayed fairly quiet, although she became a little alert.

"Kakashi-sensei and Konno are safe," Naruto reported, having detected Kakashi's tiny, almost imperceptible chakra signature with a little help from Kurama. "Kakashi-sensei's concealing himself and Konno by a foliage not too far away from our position."

Sakura, curious, was about to ask how he knew when Sasuke smoothly saved Naruto from being found out.

"All right, let's go towards them."

They sneaked through some more bushes and hid behind the trees, with Naruto and Sasuke keeping themselves alert. So far, there weren't any enemies in the vicinity. Perhaps they were either concealing themselves well, or they safely stayed out of the range of the explosion within a five-kilometer radius.

When they arrived by a forest near a small clearing, Sasuke gestured for them to stop. Then, he allowed a small slip of his chakra towards a tiny range 360 degrees. It was at that moment when a rustle beneath a large foliage caught their attention.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura watched as their teacher poofed into existence, his henge dropped. Beside him was Konno, looking terrified but relatively unscathed.

"You guys are just in time," Kakashi said nonchalantly. "Let's leave this place immediately and continue for Suna. You three protect Konno-san with all your might and I'll keep watch from the rear. There will be no breaks until tomorrow night. Full speed ahead."

"Got it!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura nodded, then flanked Konno by the sides. Naruto offered to carry Konno onto his back, seeing that the older man was tired. The latter was hesitant since Naruto was much smaller compared to him, but after being given words of reassurance, he relented, giving into his fatigue. Kakashi, who was overseeing their activities, raised an eyebrow at Naruto's offer but didn't bother to prevent an amused smile from forming on his face. Sasuke, on the other hand, took out a scroll and sealed the cart inside, giving a brief explanation to his wide-eyed team that it was Itachi who taught him this trick in order to minimize load for missions. The scrolls he had and the fūinjutsu he knew could only hold things weighing not more than 30 kilograms. It was a good thing that the cart didn't hold many heavy things aside from some medium-sized relics.

They set out as soon as possible, Sasuke still not deactivating his Sharingan. He was still cloaking them with a soundproof genjutsu.

Hours passed, and Kakashi still seemed calm enough, meaning there wasn't anyone pursuing them at the moment. Konno was already asleep, and Naruto looked like he was going to complain loudly about the heavy weight on his back. Konno was not a thin man, after all.

It was at that moment when Sakura approached them, holding out a napkin in her hands. The material seemed to be holding something inside.

"Please take one of these, Sasuke-kun," she said, her eyes imploring. "They're… soldier pills which a medic from the Konoha hospital at the time where we had our third D-Rank mission gave to me as thanks for helping her out. She said that I might need it someday, and she's right."

Sasuke stared at the dark-violet balls of nourishment. Soldier pills usually increased the strength of ninjas, and at times also replenished their chakra. There was no reason to refuse one; they weren't going to be resting for a long while, after all.

"Thanks," he told her, popping one into his mouth. Not long after, he could feel the effects like a warm pool in his stomach, and then a pleasant surge of energy pumping through his veins. A little like caffeine, but certainly more nutritious.

Naruto said his thanks, as well as Kakashi. Sakura took one as well, and then the five of them continued on their journey. Kakashi still hadn't told them what he knew about their mysterious enemy, but hopefully, they'd be able to take care of it as soon as possible before they arrived at Suna.

Naruto still couldn't understand why they were running away; was their opponent really skilled, or was it because he disappeared into thin air?

Then, as if someone heard his thoughts, a kunai whizzed past Sasuke's ear, narrowly missing him by inches. The group immediately ceased in their tracks, falling into a defensive position. Naruto placed a now-panicked Konno near him, and Sakura rushed toward him with shurikens in hand. Sasuke, who had deactivated his Sharingan a little more than two hours ago, activated them again and prepared for battle.

In an instant, a figure appeared out of the cl.u.s.ter of trees, brandishing a giant axe in hand. Sasuke disappeared in a whirl and flickered behind the man, knocking him out with one blow and sending the large weapon flying until it came to a rest below Sakura's feet. The girl squeaked a little in surprise, but held her ground, her eyes darting around the surroundings for impending offenses.

Naruto used his kunai to defend against a sudden attack from two men, making him occupied. Kakashi then found himself battling against two as well. Sakura inched closer to Konno, who was shaking in fear and muttering, "It's them, it's them…"

Sakura did a headcount in her mind, her brain spinning in trepidation and determination. 'One… three… five…' Konno had told them earlier back in Konoha that there were six of them.

Sakura's eyes widened. 'Where's the other one —'

No sooner after she thought about it, a large broadsword came careening against her small kunai, causing her to fall to the ground while still trying to defend herself. Sasuke, who noticed this, tried to come to her aid, but was interrupted by one of Naruto's attackers. She was alone, and she and Konno were going to die if she didn't do something —

Her kunai broke from the sheer force, and Sakura's pupils dilated. This was it — she didn't have anything to defend —

Wait. She felt something hard under her, and she instantly grabbed it without even looking, desperate to ward herself from the danger.

The giant axe collided with the broadsword, creating a massive clanking sound. Sakura's arms shook terribly at the heaviness of the weapon, but she forced herself to continue gripping it. She even went so far as to channel chakra through her fingertips without any idea of what she was doing, anything just to reduce the harsh pain. Her desperate tactic worked a little, seemingly reducing the massive weight and lightening a bit of the burden from her arms, but she still couldn't hold on much longer.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried out, finally defeating his opponent and rushing over to his female teammate. "Hang on! I'll save you!"

A small frisson of hope and relief bubbled up in Sakura's c.h.e.s.t at Naruto's reassurance. Finding newfound determination within herself, she gathered all of her strength and attempted to stand up, forcing the enemy's broadsword back.

"SHANNAROOO!" Inner Sakura roared, the yell spilling out of Sakura's own lips.

The man's eyes widened in shock when she finally managed to push him back, thereby making him come into Naruto's range of attack. Naruto snarled, a rasengan summoned in his hand. With one swift move, he slammed the jutsu on the man's back, sending him flying three yards into the trees.

Kakashi, who had his back to them and fighting off his own opponents, conjured streaks of lightning in his hand. The electricity cackled in the air, and it was the last thing the two men saw before Kakashi swooped them both with the deadly technique.

Sasuke finished off his opponent by lashing out fluidly with a few aggressive taijutsu moves until the man was promptly knocked out on the ground with serious bruises on his body.

"You're okay now, Konno-san," Sakura tried to calm the frightened man, forcing a reassuring expression. "They're gone. We—"

Her words were cut off when sudden, hasty footsteps resounded in the forest. Sasuke whipped his head towards his team, his Sharingan eyes widening.

"Brace yourselves!" he shouted. "There are more than a thousand bandits coming this way!"

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Damn… These six sure had a backup plan!"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Guess there's no choice," he muttered, gripping his forehead protector. "You three, protect Konno-san from all sides!"

"Hai!"

Naruto took his place at Konno's right. Sasuke went into a defensive stance at the center while Sakura grasped the hilt of the axe uneasily, its blade already starting to slope on the ground. It was far too heavy for her to wield, and she was completely spent. She felt so useless as she stared at Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi's confident postures. She couldn't even stop her hands from shaking.

What could she do in this situation? A thousand bandits… This was overkill!

Why so many bandits for a frightened, middle-class merchant?

Sakura popped another soldier pill into her mouth. It was a bit counter-productive to take too many of it in the span of one day, but she had no choice. She needed her energy.

Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, revealing a familiar crimson which dyed his irises. Sakura stared in shock. That eye… was similar to Sasuke's clan's trademark dōjutsu!

What was going on? She sneaked a glance towards Naruto and Sasuke and saw that they didn't look as much surprised as she did.

Did they know?! What… Why did she always feel like she was out of the loop? Everyone seemed to synchronize for some reason… except for her.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, from which direction are they coming from?"

Sasuke's eyes darted around. "They're trapping us from all sides," he said, gritting his teeth.

Kakashi cursed, making rapid hand seals. His movements were so fast that Sakura's eyes couldn't keep up.

"Suiton: Hahonryū!"

In response, torrential waves of water amassed from the ground, splashing towards north of the forest. Naruto could hear a few shrieks and screams coming from that direction.

If that was the case… "Kakashi-sensei!" he said, determination pooling in his blue eyes. "I'll take care of the ones on the left."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "I'll hold the ones on the right."

Kakashi nodded, turning to Sakura. "Sakura, keep Konno-san safe. Naruto and Sasuke will try to back you up in case anything happens. After I perform another technique, I need you to hold off some enemies coming after Konno-san until I quickly finish this up. Can you do that?"

Sakura swallowed, fear and pure uncertainty filling her gut. Could she do it? She could barely even wield the axe, let alone fight with it! She'd have to make do with her kunais and shurikens in the meantime.

"I—I can do it, Kakashi-sensei," she promised, dropping the axe and taking out two kunais from her pouch.

Kakashi paused for a moment, glancing at his female student. It was obvious that she was terrified, but there was something in her eyes. Trust. She trusted him and her teammates to have her back.

Kakashi smiled. He was proud of them. He would always be proud of them.

"You're smart, Sakura. Don't worry about it. You'll find a way." Kakashi then faced the southern part of the forest, taking a deep breath before focusing his Sharingan eye on the wave of opponents coming his way.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Sasuke blew a great fireball from his mouth, incinerating more than a few number of bandits coming his way. The bandits were armed with various weapons: maces, swords, tonfas, kunais, axes… It made Sasuke wonder why their numbers were so massive. There didn't even seem to be at least one shadow clone. They'd just become exhausted in fighting them off at this rate. He and Naruto couldn't even use their best techniques because Kakashi and Sakura were there, and also because there were some techniques that needed a lot more chakra than what they currently had now.

Unless Naruto…

Meanwhile, Naruto clenched his hands into fists, charging at the numerous amount of bandits heading his way.

On the way, he chanted, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In an instant, hundreds of Naruto clones materialized, all of them rushing towards the bandits with vigour. The men squeaked in shock at the sudden numbers, but continued to fight. Naruto punched and kicked and beat up anyone who got in his way until only a few were left, and all of his clones disappeared with a poof because they were defeated.

"What're you guys waiting for?" He gave a triumphant, slightly c.o.c.ky. Three-hundred clones might be his limit in his small body, but he still had far more tricks up his sleeve. "Come at me!"

The bandits that were left jolted and gladly dropped their weapons, running away in fear.

"Ha! They're scared of me!" Naruto pumped up victoriously. "Yeah, that's it! Run away, you cowards! Heh heh heh!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi hollered from his position, fending off a few large-muscled men. "Help Sakura!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed, rushing over to his female teammate's direction. "Hold on!"

On Sakura's end, she struggled against a group of bandits. She wasn't ambidextrous; her left hand which was holding a kunai was sloppy in delivering attacks. Her right hand was faring better, but her injury throbbed from overexertion. It had been aching horribly ever since she gripped the heavy axe in order to defend herself, but she had no choice but to ignore the pain in favour of her life.

Was this the danger of a C-Rank mission? Just what the hell did Konno do to piss off these many people?!

Sakura squeaked in fear as one of the heavyset bandits gleefully caught her kunai and threw it away. Overcome with horror, she immediately buried her hand into her pouch, but faltered a little when she remembered her backup plan.

'Is it… really necessary…?' she thought to herself, swallowing.

The man, taking advantage of her scruple, used his strength to shove her forcefully, sending her whirling until her back hit the trunk of a tree.

Sakura gasped at the impact; she could feel the bile rising up her throat and the unbearable throes of agony coming from both her back and her stomach, the latter in which was acting up again. She could practically see blurry, black spots in her vision, but she shook them away, not wanting to fall unconscious in the middle of battle.

'The pain will have to come later,' she chanted to herself, trying to keep from crying. Refusing to think about her next action further, she took out three explosive tags from her pouch. Focusing on where the enemies were, she saw that they were rushing towards her direction, intent on finishing her off. Sakura shut her eyes, then threw the tags.

An explosion sounded, and screams filled the air. Sakura could not help a tear that escaped from her eye. However, she forced herself to stand up, her eyes darting around for any more enemies.

Inner Sakura took that moment to speak in her mind, echoing her words. Her tone was unusually solemn.

"The pain comes later."

Sakura gave a sharp nod, then took out three more exploding tags and threw them at the directions where groups of bandits were angrily approaching her. Explosion after explosion occurred, until she had no more explosive tags left. She slumped to the ground, waiting for the others to finish their fights. She hoped that they would come in time to help her if ever there'd be someone left —

"YAARGH!" an enraged cry sounded from behind her, and Sakura could only hear a massive weapon swooping through the air right at her head —

"EAT THIS, BASTARD!" a familiar voice yelled, and Sakura heard the man's surprised shout before a body fell to the ground, seemingly knocked out.

Sakura trembled. She had had so many near death experiences lately that it wasn't even funny.

'This… is the life of a ninja…'

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed worriedly, his eyes raking over her form. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I'm late!"

"I—I'm fine, Naruto," Sakura assured shakily. "What about Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm finished with my side," Sasuke's deep voice sounded, and he appeared through the bushes, looking almost completely unscathed. Kakashi slipped through a cl.u.s.ter of trees, his forehead protector back in its usual place. He looked a little tired.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said.

Kakashi sighed. "I'll explain it to you three later. Where's Konno-san?"

Sakura stood up and walked towards a rather thick part of the forest. "I made him hide here earlier as fast as I could without anyone seeing," she explained, pointing towards a large foliage. "And I used a concealment tag to hide his presence."

"Where did you get a concealment tag?" asked Kakashi, impressed.

"From me!" Naruto said proudly. "Mom's a master at fūinjutsu, so she gave me some of her cool stuff! I gave the tag to Sakura-chan so Konno won't get in the way."

"All right. Great job, you three," Kakashi praised sincerely. "You've shown a lot of promise. Not many genin are able to fend off a thousand bandits like that. Naruto, good work. Although I don't want to know how exactly you learned that forbidden technique…"

Naruto turned red in embarrassment and realization. "Uh… Yeah! Ehehehe… It's kinda a long story…"

Kakashi sighed again. "Sasuke, you displayed exceptional abilities. You defeated them all with mere speed and taijutsu. And you, Sakura," he said gently, turning to the girl who looked more weary than anyone else, "I commend you for holding your own. Naruto and Sasuke have trained themselves a lot and have garnered quite a few techniques, while you have your intelligence, raw potential strength, and bravery. You may think of yourself as ordinary, but you're getting closer to becoming an exceptional kunoichi. I want you to instill that in your mind, all right?"

Sakura nodded slowly, dazed at the praise. It gave her a lot more confidence, and she stood up a little straighter now. However, her wounds were now starting to get the better of her and she swayed in place.

Naruto ran towards her and supported her back, his expression greatly concerned. "Sakura-chan! What's wrong?"

Sasuke, who had been observing her, immediately took out an ointment from his pouch. "She's sore and injured. Let me place this on her wounds."

Naruto nodded, taking out some spare bandages. "Sakura-chan, we're gonna replace the bandages on your right hand, okay?"

"Okay…" Sakura said tiredly. The throbbing from her wounds felt dull now, and she couldn't think about anything other than sleeping for a whole week without ever waking up.

Kakashi watched his students for a brief moment before getting a scared Konno out of his hiding place.

"A—Are they gone?" the frightened man stammered.

"They're gone," Kakashi assured. "Now, Konno-san… Would you mind telling me why there are so many men after you?"

"I—I don'tknow!" Konno said defensively, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I had never seen them before in my life! They've attacked me so many times now and I don't know the reason why!"

Kakashi peered into his eyes. "You do know," he drawled, "that if you lied and this is actually more of a B-Rank rather than a C-Rank, you will pay for the consequences?"

Konno gulped, perspiring profusely. "Y—Y—Yes, b—but I—"

At that moment, a loud voice reverberated in the surroundings.

"Doton: Kengan no Jutsu!"

An arm encased in heavy rock narrowly missed Konno's head by inches. He would have been brain-dead, literally, if Kakashi hadn't swiftly gotten him out of the way.

"What?!" Kakashi gritted his teeth. He hadn't sensed any presence nearby, only the weak auras of the defeated bandits on the ground. Also, this opponent seemed good at masking his movements before he made an action.

Sasuke, who was in the middle of re-dressing Sakura's right hand, immediately shoved her gently behind him, going into a defensive stance. Naruto mimicked him, narrowing his eyes.

One of the six bandits who had been unconscious earlier was staggering on his feet, his hand shaking as the hardened earth covering it began to crumble to the ground. His eyes held pure, una.d.u.l.terated hatred as he glared at Konno.

"You… pathetic little worm!" he thundered. "Why you're still alive and hiring these stupid shinobi goes beyond reason! For what you did… I will never, ever forgive you!"

"B—B—But I haven't done a—anything!" Konno cried in terror.

"Liar!" the man growled, swinging his fist threateningly towards Konno. "How dare you simply forget about your slave business five years ago?! You piece of sc.u.m! You killed my daughter and my best friend! I will never forgive you!" The man rolled up his sleeve, revealing an intricate silver tattoo. "Our organization is named 'Steel'. We are people who had gone through great hardship looking to seek revenge from the painful experiences you put us all through! Everyone here wants you dead!"

"Wait, wait," Naruto said in shock. "Slave business?! So you're all — ?!"

The man looked at him. "You're correct, young shinobi boy. I am Kiji. All of us bandits formed this group in order to get revenge on that man!" He pointed at Konno, who squeaked in shock. "All of us were his former slaves… slaves whom he tortured every day and starved! We always had little to no food, he gave us at least two grueling orders every day, and if someone defied him, he'd have them killed in a second!" Kiji's eyes misted over. "That's why he killed my daughter and my best friend. Because they defied him!"

"Konno-san," Kakashi said, his voice only loud enough for Konno to hear, "is this true?"

Konno hung his head, ashamed. "I—I… It's…"

"Him?!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief, pointing at Konno. "That scaredy cat did all that? He can't even hurt a fly!"

Sasuke stayed silent, analyzing the conversation.

Kiji growled. "I am no liar! I remember it vividly as if it were yesterday. He may have aged a little, but there is no mistake! He's Tanshi Kino, the ruthless trader of Suna!"

"Tanshi… Kino…?" Naruto said slowly, confused. "Oi, oi, you've got the wrong guy! His name's Konno, not Kino! Right?!" He turned to Konno, who was still hanging his head low.

"…"

Naruto frowned. "Hey—"

"Naruto." It was Sakura's gentle voice that stopped him from saying any more. Naruto shut his mouth, but kept staring at Konno.

It wasn't until a few seconds that Konno finally spoke.

"You're not wrong."

Kakashi tensed. Naruto exploded into a "WHAT!". Sakura gasped. Sasuke gripped his kunai even tighter, narrowing his eyes.

Konno continued on as if there weren't any reactions. "…However, you are mistaken about one thing. I am not Tanshi Kino. I am his twin brother."

Silence permeated the surroundings at this revelation. A gust of wind passed, blowing Kiji's long strands from his face as he stared disbelievingly at Konno.

"You…" he gritted out. "You're lying."

Konno lifted his head. His eyes were obviously terrified, but he kept his expression carefully neutral.

"I—I'm not lying!" he defended. "Kino… He—He died four years ago because of a mysterious illness. The Kazekage found out about his callous, widespread slave business and warned me about following Kino's footsteps. The news about my brother's treachery spread across Suna, and my family's reputation was tarnished." Konno's voice was now steady, and even held an underlying bitterness to his tone. "I worked hard and became a successful merchant in order to gain back respect from the people. Right now, my wife is working at the hospital and my two sons have just enrolled at the Academy." Konno stared at Kiji almost defiantly. "My family and I have no connection to Kino anymore! We didn't even know that he conducted a slavery business… When I found out about it, I felt betrayed. He and I had always trusted each other, and he helped me when my eldest son almost died from a contraction of pneumonia. I always wondered where he got lots of money from… a—and when I knew…"

Team 7 was silent as they heard the whole truth. Konno may have been a bit of a coward, but his perseverance was admirable. His devotion to his family was even more so. Naruto deeply felt for him, and as did Sasuke. Kakashi was still silent in his position beside Konno, but there was no doubt that he was paying attention.

At least Konno didn't lie to them.

"That's… that's not true…" Kiji slumped to the ground, his anger slowly fading. "We hated Kino so much… When we first saw you trekking in the woods, you looked so much like that man that we attacked you instantly. We even stole some of your goods just to get back at Kino. We didn't kill you yet, because we wanted you to suffer. To suffer like we did back when we were but mere, useless slaves." Tears leaked out of Kiji's eyes as he cried. "…A—And now you're telling me… that we've gotten the wrong guy all along…?"

Team 7 looked away as Konno approached Kiji, both of them talking quietly. Sasuke, it seemed, had gone back to kneeling before Sakura, dressing her hand gently. Naruto joined him, carefully dabbing at her small wounds with the ointment. He wasn't good at it, but Sakura was guiding him all the way patiently. The three of them were understandably conflicted and troubled by this sudden turn of events, but they gave the two some privacy of their own. Kakashi approached his students, his hands in his pockets, and looked up at the sky.

'It looks like everything has been resolved… and if we're lucky, we can make it to Suna in just a day before the incoming sandstorm hits.'

end of volume 03