Journey To The True Martial World

"How are we going to make it through Suna and avoid the Iwa following us." Choji asked

"I now the way, I've seen it on a map. We can do it." Seiichi replied. Team Ten road for a while, they arrived at the border of the land of wind

After a 2 days of traveling , Seiichi senses a group of people on his tail. No matter how fast they went, Seiichi knew there was no escaping. Tapping Ino, she searched Taka's soul for whatever message that Hokage needed to receive. Stopping the wagon. Ino continued her soul search on taka and Seiichi got ready for battle.

"Choji, you and I will engage. Shikamaru as soon as they come in range, bind them."

"I need more shadows to do that, or it won't work" Shikamaru replied

Seiichi proceed to form hand seals "Shadow clone Jutsu!" Five shadow clones appeared, and Seiichi summoned wooden posts and clothes from the Myriad realm.

"Make some shadows" Seiichi's shadow clone began to set up canopies to create shadows by the time they were finished. Seven Iwa shinobi appeared

"Those are Jonin, how are we going to beat them" Choji asked

Seiichi smirked "Shikamaru, trap whatever gets past me, Choji, kill whatever he traps" Seiichi shot off like a right afterwards to engage the Iwa shinobi. With nothing but Taijutsu Seiichi battled them though a few made it past.

With the Iwa shinobi in attack mode, Shikamaru patiently waited. Once they were in range , the Iwa shinobi suddenly stopped confusing their teammates engaged with Seiichi.

"Now Choji!" Shikamaru grunted, struggling to maintain his hold on the experienced shinobi. Choji held the kunai in shaking hands. Trembling from fright. Choji was warm soul and killing was bitter pill that refused to swallow.

In his lapse of hesitation shinobi broke free and sprang in Shikamaru direction.

Like a flash, Ino dropped her gravity seals and intercepted the shinobi. Driving her kunai through his throat and sent three shuriken to end his teammates before Shikamaru ran out of chakra. Her actions left Choji and Shikamaru speechless. They knew Ino had changed over the years. But to see her kill without the least bit of hesitation, showed them just how much she actually changed.

Seeing them Iwa shinobi die, Seiichi knew the test was over. Exhaling slowly, Seiichi took a universal basic Taijutsu stance. Utterly unassuming, it made the Iwa shinobi smirk in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Come..." before the Iwa could finish their taunts. Seiichi flashed stepped through their formation, when the step was completed, bodies dropped. Seiichi had projected chakra from his hands and elbows. With every blow, he had snapped brain stems and ruptured hearts. In that moment, Seiichi had felt the reason the land of stone was up in arms.

In gust of wind, Itachi Uchiha appeared with a knife to Seiichi's throat. "Is that anyway to treat an old friend Itachi? If I would have accepted your father's offer, you'd be the one dead right now and not your clan"

"Seiichi!" Team Ten shouted in unison, before the could step off, a shark faced man intercepted. Stepping to the sides. Ino grabbed Choji and Shikamaru before leaping backwards to create distance.

"Kisame Hoshigaki…" Ino muttered, she had recognized his face from the bingo book. Forming hand seals, and prepared her trump card

"No!" Seiichi shouted, causing to stop her Jutsu. Looking back at Itachi, Seiichi raised an eyebrow and Itachi put his Kunai away

"What are you doing her Seiichi?" Itachi asked

"Im on a mission, to escort that guy," Seiichi gestured toward the cowering Diamond "Back to the hidden leaf. Asuma was the team leader but, he had to go ahead for undisclosed reasons"

"Hmm, how about that shinobi, there" Itachi motioned to the injured Taka

"You know, and you can't have him. Face it you picked the wrong lead or Asuma is that good, that he didn't leave a trace for you to follow. Let us go, I'm sure whatever the item is, is already in the Hokage's hands." Seiichi didn't fear Itachi but, he knew those damn eyes of his were fatal.

Seiichi and Itachi had a staring contest for a moment, they weren't friends, they weren't enemies, they were shinobi with different interest. And their interests in that moment didn't conflict

"Let's go Kisame, maybe we can find Asuma before he reaches the hidden leaf" Itachi and Kisame soon vanished, leaving only the Iwa Shinobi corpse and Team Ten in a sea of sand. Grabbing the bodies, Seiichi placed them in a storage scroll and walked back to join his team.

"Why are you taking the bodies?" Shikamaru asked

Seiichi looked at them for a moment, "chakra types, herbs eaten, ninjutsu, special medicine, and Kekkei Genkai. All of these are village secrets and traces of these secrets are left in a shinobi's body. The right Shinobi, given to Lady Tsunade, could possibly bring down an entire hidden village. At the very least, declaw the tiger."

Shikamaru's face contorted, he knew exactly what lady Tsunade was going to doing to the corpse. The Shinobi world had once again proved its brutality, no respect, not even for the dead. Everything was in preparation of the next kill.

"Seiichi, we should really go. Suna isn't the place for leaf shinobi." Ino spoke, nodding his head Team Ten continued their journey back to the hidden leaf village in silence.

2 more days passed, Team Ten had finally made it to the Land of Rivers. Renting a room Team Ten decided to take a beat and get some rest. In Seiichi's room, Ino laid back on the bed with her eyes closed, while Seiichi got his things together to head to the bath house.

"You know, you never asked me about what I found in Taka's head" In softly spoke as she relaxed.

" you would have told me eventually, so why ask" he replied nonchalantly as he grabbed his towel,

"Iwa is employing a group called the Akatsuki. Itachi Uchiha is part of their group. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if Iwa wasn't paying them to work against our interest." Ino explained, causing Seiichi to turn around.

Seiichi didn't face her because he was shocked by the news, " Our interest? Or Konoha's interest?"

"Konoha's interest" she replied, just like the Uzu and Uzumaki. Seiichi had been molding Ino and Hinata to favor his interest to further his endgame.

"Then you know what to do, if Asuma never makes it back to the village?"

"I destroy Taka's mind" Ino replied without a second thought. She admired the boy in front of her. He was always there for her in ways that made him seem unparalleled. When her body gave out and her mind betrayed her, she would wake up to his caring touch and gentle smile.

"Good, I knew I could count on you" Seiichi, placed a soft kiss on Ino's cheek before leaving the room the room

The next day, Team Ten resumed their travel. Arriving in the hidden leaf village at dawn the morning after.

"everyone should go get some rest. Report to the Hokage's office by noon" Everyone nodded their head in agreement and went their separate ways.