The Power to Heal and Destroy by Phoenixsun

Chapter 33: Alternate Routes

A loud groan was heard in the room as a young, pink haired woman angrily paced back and forth.

"Would you stop it already... You're giving me a headache with all the pacing..." Her teammate complained from his seat at the table.

"What? Are you telling me that you're not angry?" She questioned, glaring at the larger ninja. "This is supposed to be our mission." The kunoichi complained.

A sigh escaped the teammate. "What are you talking about? It still is."

Slamming both hands on the table, the pinkette's glare intensified. "Then why the hell are we being replaced?!" She asked.

"Kazehana-sama knows what he is doing..." A third voice now joined in. This one was far more serious and carried more weight in the room. "We are at a disadvantage in this terrain... Especially if Konohagakure is getting involve. Kazehana-sama realized this and that's why he decided to hire them." Roga Nadare stated before his eyes looked to the room across the hall.

Three other shinobi were in that room with the door flung wide open. The first one was tan and impossibly big and fat, wearing clothes that were far too small for his frame. He was happily sitting on the table gobbling up five people's worth of food. The second was bald and his body was as lean and pale as the first one's was fat and tan; he did not wore a shirt, but most of his chest and arms were covered in bandages. He stood leaning against the wall with a serious, almost angry, look on his face. The third was actually quite an unremarkable individual, with mid-length black hair tied in a ponytail, an angular nose, and an ever present smile on his face. Yet he usually did the talking for their group, and always with a jovial disposition.

"Look at their headbands..." Nadara instructed the two other Yuki shinobi. "Note that X carved over their village insignia... I've only heard rumors about where these guys come from, but if half of them are true, it's a sign that Kazehana-sama is pulling out all the stops to make sure his vision comes to fruition." The lilac haired man commented.

Another groan escaped Fubuki. "I still don't like it..." She complained, causing Mizore to sigh.

"You don't have to..." Nadare replied while, in the other room, the third man look back at the three Snow ninja and wave amicably. "You just have to be ready to act... When our time finally comes." He stated.

"I swear that I didn't do anything to her!" Naruto repeated for the umpteenth time, making a case for his defense to the two angry kunoichi that stood towering over him, glaring daggers.

"Well, you must have!" Tenten stated. "Because not only did she run away from you, but she was almost crushed by part of the movie sets, and then she fainted!" The older girl pointed out. "People don't faint because you didn't do anything to them!" She stated accusingly.

Naruto grumbled under his breath. After saving the Demon Country Priestess from the falling rubble, the girl suddenly shoved him with surprising force and ran off yet again. The blond was barely able to reach her in time to catch her before she hit the ground as she inexplicably fainted. With help of her attendant, Taruho, they carried Shion back to her room at the hotel. As far as the spiky haired boy knew, she still had not regained consciousness, which left Naruto at the mercy of the Konoha kunoichi inquisition.

Now, the Leaf team was in the boys' room as Sakura and Tenten took turns grilling the Uzumaki, trying to get him to confess to something he never did, though perhaps could have wanted to. "Did you try to scare her off with a Jutsu?" Sakura asked. "Or did you try one of your old perverted Jutsus on her?"

The blond took offense at the last question. "Hey! I haven't used one of those in a while!" He exclaimed. "Besides, she's the one that has something against me! Just ask Lee." He pointed at the spandex wearing boy sitting cross-legged in one of the beds. "Just today she kicked me in the shin because I wouldn't get her a soda and then pushed me after I saved her! That girl is crazy!" Naruto shouted.