I don't have anything to really say about this except. ENJOY, READ, REVIEW!
If anyone wants to write Catalina's story, just message me.
"talking"
"thinking"
"demon/dark talking"
"ATTACKS"
Scene change (Soundtrack Notifications)
flashbacks
Lyrics
BEGIN
Minato Namikaze surveyed the scene before him with sad eyes and a heavy heart. He was currently in the Konoha council chambers, preceding over a trial. He idly wondered if Hiruzen would have let things come to this if he hadn't taken Minato's place when sealing the Kyuubi over fifteen years prior. The Kyuubi being the reason for this trial in the first place due to the civilians fear and hatred for the beast.
Back those fifteen years ago on the night of October tenth, Minato was in a secured location with Hiruzen's wife Biwako and his own wife Kushina while Kushina was giving birth. The reason they were in a secure location was due to the fact that Kushina was the current Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi and the seal holding the beast was weakest for female Jinchuuriki during child birth. The joy he should have felt that night from being a father to not just one child but twins was forgotten as a strange masked man took one of his children hostage and during the ensuing rescue attempt the masked man was able to free the beast and set it to attack Konoha. Minato though was able to not only break the man's control of the Kyuubi and get his wife medical attention, he actually succeeded in killing the masked assailant. Although thinking back on it, finding the man's identity was one of the worst moments of his life, the masked man's identity being his thought dead student Obito. Even with that issue over, Minato still had to deal with the bijuu and knew the only way to defeat it was to seal it into a new Jinchuuriki since Kushina could never handle having the beast sealed into her again. He was also aware that only one with Uzumaki blood could effectively hold the beast and that he would need to use his own children for the process and that the only seal strong enough to contain the beast in Konoha's library could only be used at the cost of the castor's life. His Hokage predecessor also knew of these facts and managed to talk him into letting him take his place, as he didn't wish to live without his wife by his side and felt he was too old to effectively lead the village any more. Hiruzen then (with assistance from Minato and his summons) proceeded to seal the beast's chakra into Minato's newborn daughter Natsume and the soul into her older twin brother Naruto. Minato then made the biggest mistake of his life that night by revealing the children' status to the populace, hoping that they would see the children as heroes. While the village gladly accepted Natsume without a problem, once they found out Naruto's burden they were calling for his blood and the Hokage in all his infinite wisdom cut all ties to the boy including his surname and left him in the care of a local orphanage. That idea alone led to countless assassination attempts and mob beatings until Naruto managed to start effectively hiding from the people and fighting back when they caught him. This of course led to Naruto's many visits into the court system of Konoha. Of course they were never able to give him very long in the prisons of Konoha due to the small natures of his crimes, if he ever spent time behind bars at all due to his young age. This train of thought leading us to the present situation.
The entire council had been called for this particular trial. The charge of high treason was to be delivered to a certain blue eyed blonde after he struck out and injured the current Hokage's daughter. Yes, this incredibly slow trial was called because Naruto attacked and injured Natsume who (unknown to him and the majority of Konoha but not to her, Kushina, Minato, Jiraiya and Kakashi) is his sister. The charge of high treason being delivered due to the 'victim' of the case being a member of the Hokage's immediate family. Of course said trial hadn't been able to proceed past the opening due to a certain issue.
"My name isn't Naruto, dammit!" Yeah, that.
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH DEMON FILTH! YOU'RE LUCKY HOKAGE-SAMA'S EVEN DEEMED YOU WORTHY OF HIS PRESENCE!" Oh god her voice is annoying. Sasha Haruno everybody, the current head of the Haruno clan after her husband mysteriously disappeared and current floor person for the civilian council.
"Councilwoman Haruno. Shut up and let Naruto speak for himself." Minato spoke in a low voice that was miraculously heard by the entire room.
"I keep telling you people my name isn't Naruto. So I'd appreciate if you didn't keep confusing me for him."
"Yes it is." This coming from the supposed victim Natsume who was forced to be here when the civilian council filed the charges against Naruto, on her behalf of course.
"Listen lady, I don't know who this Naruto guy is supposed to be but he definitely ain't me. We wouldn't even be in this situation if you had just left me alone." Minato looks to the ninja council on his left to judge their opinions.
A feral looking woman in a standard flak vest and jounin pants with two red triangles on her face allowed something other than annoyance to show on her face for the first time this whole ordeal. Tsume Inuzuka, the head on the Inuzuka clan shared a look with Minato before he moved to the next member of the ninja council.
A pale eyed man with long brown hair dressed in a formal kimono gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Minato had Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan's, support.
Minato casts a glance at the Aburame clan head Shibi. You couldn't see much behind the man's sunglasses and high collared coat, but Minato had been friends with the man long enough to know he had his approval.
Minato takes a moment to observe the last three members of the ninja council. Those three members being the heads of the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan respectively. The Akimichi head Chouza took a quick pause before once more digging in to the potato chips he had brought to the meeting. It was a sign to those who knew the clan well that the shaggy haired brunette was troubled. The Yamanaka head Inoichi cocked an eyebrow at Naruto's statement, telling everyone he was confused since such information wasn't in the summons to gather. Even the ever lazy Nara head Shikaku was awake for this, although he was still pretending to sleep. Unfortunately the Uchiha clan head Fugaku merely looked like he wanted to go home. It was almost as if he could see how this was going to turn out yet couldn't care less about the result.
"How could I leave you laying in a pool of your own blood!" There it was. Natsume's outburst now had the full attention of the ninja council.
"Take a page outta the pink haired harpy's book and laugh it off."
"HOW DARE YOU SLANDER ME WITH FALSE ALLEGATIONS YOU MONGREL!"
"I was talking about your daughter. Now why don't you shut up before I file assault charges for the damage you're doing to my eardrums." A light snickering from various members of council followed Naruto's joke.
"I agree with Naruto on this councilwoman. If you're going to talk do it at a more acceptable decibel." Minato's statement getting full laughter from the snickering council.
"How many times do I have to say it? My name isn't Naruto."
"Well then Not Naruto, what is your name."
"Don't have one."
"What?" This question came from both Minato and Natsume.
"Well, when ever I asked the ever so nice Matron she kindly reminded me that demons don't deserve names like humans. And by remind I mean back handing me to the ground before having her employees beat the shit out of me and toss me into the basement. And if they were feeling extra nice they'd shackle me up so I wouldn't bother all the good kids." Minato leveled a glare at the civilian council, who sweated under his gaze, especially a certain pink haired woman who was in charge of that particular orphanage. Of course the Haruno woman was saved from the Hokage's scrutinizing gaze by an obese merchant.
"You can't really believe this demon freak! Don't fall for Kyuubi's lies GACK..." The fat man was silenced by the Hokage's kunai.
"I will not have my authority questioned by a corrupt politician."
That sent sweat down almost every member of the civilian council as one thought passed through their heads. "How did he know?"
"Back to the issue at hand. What do you suppose we call you?"
"I suppose if you have to use something, you can call me Kid."
"Kid?" The various clan heads asked at the same time.
"It's one of the few things that hasn't been hurled at me as an insult." He replied with a shrug.
"Okay Kid. Do you know why you were summoned here today?" Shikaku asked.
"Because some dumb ass ANBU confused me for that Naruto guy." 'Kid' stated ignoring Natsume's 'but you are Naruto'
Minato chuckled to himself before speaking. "Well actually, you've been brought here for attacking Natsume there." He point to the red haired girl. Minato takes Naruto's (Kid's) silence to observe his children both legally known and abandoned.
Natsume looked like a teenage Kushina with her long red hair and green eyes. She also had the standard mesh armor on her torso covered by an orange T-shirt and special gray jacket made by Kushina herself containing ingrained seals for weapon and item storage. Finishing her ensemble were standard blue ninja pants and sandals with a kunai pouch strapped to her leg and a supply pouch tied to her belt.
Naruto on the other hand was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a strange foot wear Minato recognized from that new foreign goods shop 'Beyond The Veil'. Stranger still was the dark gray jacket Naruto was wearing, also from said shop. Minato faintly recalling them as sneakers and a hoodie. One of the things that caught Minato's eye however was that Naruto had shaved his head and was sporting more than a few scars along his arms and neck, especially that nasty jagged line from his left ear to his right cheek going right under his eyes and across his nose. Another set of worries came from the harness that Naruto was wearing holding four spray cans along with a paint roller from his belt and the back pack carrying even more items. (Meant to be dressed like Trane from Mark Ecko's Getting Up but with a back pack and scars) And where Natsume's eyes had a happy glow behind them, Naruto's were colder than any ninja Minato had ever seen. Minato was to caught up in those eyes he barely heard Naruto's next sentence.
"I knew you were the reason for this." Naruto leveled a glare at Natsume.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Her Uzumaki temper getting the best of her.
"Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone?"
"You needed a hospital!"
"What I needed was for you to go away and leave me alone. I would've managed the same as I always do when idiots think they can take me on. I kick their asses, wrap up the serious stuff and go home to sleep."
"Oh yeah, that was working so well considering YOU were the one on the ground getting the shit beat out of you."
"Those bastards just got lucky with that SHADOW BIND!" The offhand mention of a Hidden Nara technique bringing another question to Natsume's head.
"There were ninja in that mob!" The shock was shared through the non civilians in the room.
"Ninja are the only ones with the guts to round up mobs against me anymore." The calm cool answer accompanied another shrug.
"DAMN YOU BRAT! THERE ARE IMPORTANT MATTERS AT HAND!" Another idiot civilian bringing everyone's attention back to said matter.
"Right. As councilman Akihiro so vocally reminded, we are here for a trial. So Kid, did you attack my daughter with intent to end her life?"
"I'll admit I took a swing at her but trying to kill her was the last thing on my mind."
"HE'S LYING! HE MUST BE PUT DOWN FOR THE GOOD OF KONOHA!" Once again the pink banshee steps forward.
"Ignoring that outburst for now." The Hokage levels another glare at the councilwoman, letting her know she will be visiting the T&I department later. "Natsume what do you have to say about these events?"
"Well, I was coming home from training with Kakashi-sensei and my team and I got hungry so I stopped for some ramen at Ichiraku's. When I was done eating I decided to take to the rooftops so I wouldn't be late and I heard angry shouts coming from one of the alleys. When I went to investigate I found Naruto..." "Not Naruto" "FINE! I found 'Kid' on the ground getting beaten by a mob. I made my presence known but the mob scattered before I could get anyone's identification, so I jumped down to asses the damage. I found Kid bleeding from multiple cuts and attempted to assist him to the hospital. Every time I got close to him, he pushed me away saying that he didn't need help and the hospital wouldn't help him even if you ordered them to Tou-san. And then I got upset and yelled at him and tried to force him to come with me. Then he yelled and swung at me, telling me I should mind my own business. I was shocked that he managed to hit me so I didn't see him walk away so I went home. Then I was called here by the ANBU and now I'm here and we're doing this trial." The civilians were really sweating now.
"Natsume are you telling this court that you did not file assault charges against Kid?" Inoichi asked the question on everyone's mind.
"That's what I said and I don't go back on my word, dattebayo!"
"Well it seems that this whole farce was nothing but a waste of time. And under false pretenses no less. Kid you are free to go." Minato announced in his best Hokage voice.
"Finally." Kid (Naruto) turned to leave before Minato claimed his attention once again.
"Actually I have one last thing to say." The Hokage strolled up to the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I don't want you to lose faith in our government. If you ever feel like someone is biased against you in any legal matter you are welcome to speak with me. Hell, even if you don't have any problems you can always seek me out if you want to talk. Matter of fact why don't you come over to the Namikaze compound for dinner tomorrow?" That caught everyone's attention as Minato NEVER invites a single person over without an ulterior motive. Sure he throws parties with the other clans openly invited but to extend a simple dinner invite was too nice even for him.
"First, I'll have to decline your invitation. Second, if you don't remove your hand from my person I'll take it as an assault unto myself and be forced to act in self defense." Naruto accompanied this with a small glare. Minato responded to the glare by closing his eyes and smiling. The result of the look was something that made Natsume shudder since it was the same look he wore whenever he decided to make her training 'fun'.
"Oh but I must insist. My wife makes a mean ramen." True enough, Kushina is able to make anyone into a ramen addict with her cooking.
"I prefer eating Lasagna. Alone" Minato's face gaining a look of shock at that, mainly due to the fact that he doesn't know what Lasagna is. Of course the rest of the room also became shocked when Minato suddenly fell backwards as he was dazed from Naruto's fist. Naruto then left the room as one thought rested in everyone's minds. "He just cold-cocked the Hokage!"
(With Kid/Naruto)
He quickly made his way out of the Hokage Tower and into a nearby alley before shifting into a run. Showing off his parkour skills as he came upon various obstacles. Anyone following his movements would soon be thrown off as he returned to the main street and expertly blended into the crowd despite his odd clothing, though to be on the safe side he had ditched his jacket in the alley just in case the Hokage had placed a HIRAISHIN seal on it. Oh well, he had copies of the jacket back at his warehouse hangout and it's not like anyone knows what his now revealed black shirt said anyway.
A few more alleys and he reached his destination. A designated meeting point for someone seeking his counsel. His gaze turned to a large wall dominating the area as a smirk appeared on his face. "Well I know what I'm gonna do for the next couple hours." He retrieves a can from his harness and sets his back pack on the ground as he begins to lay down his newest mural. Fast forwarding two hours ahead we find the right part of the 20 foot long and 7 foot high wall now containing the seven remaining members on the civilian council as wooden puppets with each one bearing a name of one of the Seven Deadly Sins upon their fronts. Their strings trailing to the currently blank side of the wall. Naruto backed away to survey what he'd done so far, shaking the can in his hand before looking to the ones currently sitting on the ground in front of him. He noticed a single presence on the roof behind him. He noted the person's lack of chakra as he continued painting. His work soon displaying a man with bandages wrapped around one of his arms and covering one of his eyes. The man's non-bandaged arm controlling the strings of the council puppets. Filling the void between the bandaged man and council were even more puppets all hanging from an unseen ceiling. These puppets appearing as blank masked ANBU with the kanji for ROOT on their chests. The presence on the roof stirred as it understood Naruto's message before leaping to the street.
"That is an interesting view." Naruto turned to face the now announced presence. He recognized the one he was to meet from the figures white attire with hood over their head. The figure also holding regular ninja pouches for shuriken and kunai with two bracers that Naruto knew held hidden blades (and possibly a few other surprises) and a crossbow slung on their back.
"You said it sister." The figure briefly shifted their stance as Naruto spoke.
"How did you know I'm a woman?"
"You're bound yourself too tight, meaning you have enough pressure on your chest to cause breathing difficulties. Add to the fact you were trying way too hard to sound like a man made it obvious." The assassin was caught off guard as Naruto suddenly shifted his voice into a scholarly tone.
"Women don't usually receive the same respect in my business." She could feel his disapproval of her as she spoke. Was he one of those idiots who refuse to believe that women can be as good as a man in battle? She bristled at that thought.
"Calm yourself assassin. You wished to speak with me?"
"Yes. What can you tell me of a man named Danzo?"
"I can tell you are outmatched. You've been watching but you haven't been seeing." Naruto gestures to the mural with a wave of his arm. "Everything that is known but impossible to prove lies in this paint. You should surrender your task to one more experienced in such matters, young assassin. Claiming his head is beyond your skill."
"I do this for myself and my family. I will not leave this another who wouldn't know my pain for what he has done. If I cannot face him with my current skill then I will improve myself. And if you won't help me you better get out of my way."
"I am helping you. You just aren't listening." He points to the mural. "Now tell me what you see."
The assassin gives a quick glance before staring into Naruto's eyes. "I see a possibly crippled man stringing along this city's politicians. The masked puppets seem to be a private army which he no doubt wants to remain hidden. The fact that the politicians have those sins on them means that is either their biggest vice or what they deal in. The bandaged man is a coward yet will most likely face one who foils his plan enough if only to watch them die."
"Very good. I honestly didn't expect you to see that much. The council members you see here are the foundation of his public campaign. Though it may not look it, this country is at war with itself. The current leader in power being the Hokage and the ninja who follow him. The other being lead by Danzo in his pursuit to conquer the entirety of the Elemental Nations and beyond. Danzo uses the civilians to secure his power base whilst weakening the Hokage's position in the village and beyond. Many of the smaller countries are already feeling the effects of Danzo's tactics and the cruelty of his puppet councilmen." He directs her attention to a brown haired puppet with Lust on his chest. "This man is Toshiro Akihiro. He runs the 'recruitment' drive for new soldiers while destroying small settlements. This disgusting filth extracts his payment from the female 'recruits' and not all have hit puberty and none of them are willing. He'll be departing for Sun Country under guise of a vacation in two days time. As long as he lives the others will be out of your reach."
"So I am to follow him and strike when the time is right?"
"It is when he will be least protected. Danzo may have numbers but he won't spare his guards for one he deems a useless pawn. Spill his blood without being discovered and I'll give you your next target to cripple Danzo."
"I understand. When we meet again I will have proof of his death."
"I wish you luck on your endeavor. Safety and Peace Sister. Perhaps next we meet, I might learn your name." Naruto gives the girl a light bow.
"It's Catalina. Safety and Peace to you as well Messenger." A group of shadows pass overhead, forcing the two to hide in the shadows as ANBU take a quick glance around the area. As the ANBU leave Naruto ushers Catalina down a nearby alley.
"It would appear the Hokage is adamant in seeing me. Head to the Red Light district and seek out the local thieves guild. Pass them the message 'The Sun shall burn away Sin.' and they will assist you through the city walls." Another set of shadows pass over them. He clasps her on the shoulder. "Go, I'll draw them away. Remember the message." Releasing at her nod, Naruto bolts through the empty street into an adjacent alleyway. The ANBU notice and give pursuit, allowing Catalina the chance she needed to sneak away.
Naruto leaped over a few beams blocking the alley just as the hair at the back of his neck started to stand. He launches off a crate to his right to avoid three kunai aimed for his back. " Either they belong to Danzo or I really pissed the Hokage." His run is stopped at the next street when the squad leader lands in front of him.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you will come with us to see the Hokage now."
"Guess he really is pissed." "And if I refuse your oh so generous offer?" The ANBU makes a show of cracking his knuckles as his squad surrounds Naruto.
"We don't need you conscious or in one piece." With that he charges at Naruto, who shocks his opponent by spinning his backpack off and smashing it into the ANBU's face. The end result sending the ANBU a few feet away. The ANBU took notice of the help his squad had yet to give. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GET HIM!" The ANBU to Naruto's left acted first and also charged in like an idiot. Naruto expertly deflected the mans strikes with a spray can before taking the man down by slamming the bottom of said can into the ANBU's groin. Naruto spins to face the next attacker as he draws a lighter from his pocket. He dodges around the strikes before thrusting the can into the ANBU's face. This ANBU however was smart enough to lean back and avoid the blow. Unfortunately he didn't expect Naruto to place the flame of the lighter directly in front of the cans nozzle. If he hadn't been wearing a mask, he probably would've had more than just burnt hair.
Naruto was too focused on making his flame to notice the last ANBU sneak up on him. This ANBU, and the only female of the group, struck into the nerves on Naruto's shoulders, making him drop his items. The female ANBU then grabbed Naruto into a full nelson as the third ANBU recovered from his fiery kiss and slammed his fist into Naruto's gut. Naruto wasn't finished yet as they were about to learn. He quickly figured out the female ANBU was a few inches shorter and slipped his right foot out of its sneaker as the ANBU with the flame roasted mask (who will hereby be referred to as Sparky) continued to beat the crap out of him. Naruto quickly bent his right knee while pointing his thigh straight down and hoped his plan would work. A pained female gasp and the loosening of her grip gave Naruto the confidence to continue. In one swift motion Naruto slipped his sneaker back on and sent his foot into Sparky's gut. Sparky stumbled enough for Naruto to use his body to vault over the female ANBU. He then sent a kick into the middle of her back, sending her crashing into Sparky and forcing them to the ground in a heap.
Once again Naruto's inattention would cost him as the ANBU leader struck. Naruto hissed in pain when the kunai pierced his left side. The ANBU quickly jumped back before Naruto could retaliate. He pulled the kunai from his flesh and tossed it away, not noticing the ANBU that got to intimately know his spray can (I'm gonna call him Nut Shot) send a chakra enhanced punch to his still bleeding side. Hi s yelp was silenced as the leader hit his face and sent him reeling. The ANBU leader and Nut Shot each grabbed one of Naruto's arms and sent him over to the now recovered female ANBU and Sparky. The squad knew what their leader planned so Sparky grabbed the back of Naruto shirt and hoisted over his head as the female ANBU bound his hands. They then forced him up against the wall with his back to the ANBU leader, who drew two larges whips from a storage seal and passed one to Nut Shot. The sadistic ANBU then took turns whipping Naruto's bare back, enjoying his screams of pain when they hit his stab wound.
Of course the sounds of Naruto's screams and the cracking of the whips covered the running footsteps of a familiar white-clothed assassin as she ran up behind the whippers. She sent her hidden blades into the whippers skulls without breaking her run. She pulled the crossbow out with her left hand and points her right gauntlet at Sparky, firing a bolt into the female ANBU's head before a quick jerk of her wrist sends a bullet into Sparky's. Catalina replaces the crossbow on her back and catches Naruto before he can hit the ground and aggravate his wounds. She gently sits him down and frees his hands before checking on his wounds.
"Didn't expect to see you so soon Sister." Catalina gazes into his half dazed eyes. His small smile causing a pink tint on her cheeks. "Thanks for the save." His attempt to stand thwarted by gravity.
"You're too injured to go anywhere." Catalina fussed over as she pulled a roll of bandages from her pouch. She quickly wrapped them over his wounds. "That should do until we can get you some decent medical attention."
"Good, because I don't want to be here when the rest of those ANBU find their comrades dead." He successfully stands this time though still forced to lean against the wall as Catalina gathers his things and slings them over her back. "Thanks. I know a place we can hide but I'm gonna need some help walking."
Catalina throws his arm over his shoulder to support his weight as her other hand grabs onto his belt. "Where do we go?"
"Warehouse District. I'll try to guide you when we get there." Catalina nods and they begin there relatively short journey since that was where Naruto was trying to escape to when the ANBU were after him anyway. Of course Catalina had to set Naruto down a few times to knockout a few of the chunin that decided to hinder their progress but they finally managed to reach the Warehouse District. Catalina noticed at this point that her charge was nearly dead weight that had to focus to keep from passing out from blood loss. The good news was the bandages were still holding so they weren't leaving a trail of blood in their wake.
"Shit. Where do I go?" Catalina scanning the surroundings as much as the situation allowed, taking notice of a large graffiti mural above her. "SAnctuary is found by those with the eagles eyes." "Eagles eyes? Where have I heard that before? And why is that A capitalized?" Catalina felt a pull on her instincts as she stared at the mural. Her vision suddenly covered in a dark blue mist yet everything was still visible. She saw the A in Sanctuary become the symbol of the Assassin's and a large arrow below the message pointing down the street where she could clearly make out another arrow. She trusted her now unlocked Eagle Vision and followed the arrows through even more arrows until she came across a dead end with skull switch. She remembered reading about them in the adventures of Grand Master Ezio. She deposited Naruto next to the switch before sticking her fingers into the skull's eye sockets and pulling. The activation of the switch revealed a hidden door in the wall which she entered after gathering Naruto up again.
The sight on the other side of the door was most welcome. As soon as Catalina entered, she realized she was in a lounge room with a single occupant, though she could hear others throughout the hidden base. The single occupant was a girl in blue jeans and velvet hoodie who was curled up with a book. When the girl heard the hidden door open she lifted her eyes slightly to see who it was and dropped her book. She ran to the doorway connecting to the rest of the base and screamed. "WE NEED A MEDIC! THE MESSENGER IS HURT!" The effect was immediate as more people in hoodies came and took Naruto to the medical bay before guiding Catalina there as well. The medics went to work, giving Naruto a blood pill so he wouldn't bleed out as they cut away the bandages and patched up his wounds. Catalina allowed a smile to form on her face as the medics finished with and decided to see if she needed help as well, though she insisted she was fine. Despite her insistence one of the medics demanded her to at least get some sleep. That was one thing she wouldn't argue with. She'd been running around for a half a day before she found Naruto the first time. Add the strain of finally activating her Eagle Vision for the first time and she was pooped, so she took up the cot next to Naruto and promptly passed out.
Naruto watched the rise and fall of Catalina's now unbound chest. Naruto actually woke up to the girls of the medical team stripping of Catalina's clothes when they noticed her labored breathing. They'd come to the conclusion that she'd broken or bruised ribs and while happy they were wrong they were also pissed that she would endanger her own life with something so stupid. As a related side note, none of the girls in Naruto's group use support for their chests due to the restricting feelings they give. And since none of them noticed that Naruto had awoken during their work, he got quite a free show. Although he didn't know that Catalina also got a free show when they were working on him earlier. It wasn't until after they had redressed her that they noticed Naruto was awake. The first words out of his mouth being "Will she be alright?" Let it be known that this Naruto never learned what perversion was so he never knew why other guys got nose bleeds when they saw a naked woman.
As Catalina began to stir, Naruto sat up and moved in his cot so the wall supported his back. "You stirred up quite a hornet's nest Sister." Catalina opened her eyes and slowing sat up, dangling her legs over the edge of the bed. "A few of the medic girls removed your chest bindings since you weren't breathing properly."
"Why didn't I wake up when they did it?" There was a slight tone of annoyance in her voice.
"They are VERY gentle." Naruto's answer only further annoyed her so she decided to change the subject.
"What happened while I slept?"
"The Hokage put the city on Lock down to try and find the one who killed his ANBU, so I wouldn't recommend going out for a few hours. Other than that my people are still looking for info." That was good to know. Catalina certainly didn't want to meet the man under these circumstances.
She still didn't feel completely comfortable with her current situation so she asked the final question on her chest. "What is this place anyway?"
"This is Sanctuary. The place where anyone forced to live on the streets can etch out a living. We're also known as the Spies Guild."
"Spies Guild?" Catalina voiced her confusion.
"We're the ones collecting information for all the Assassins operations in the Elemental Nations."
"Your Guild does all that?" The shear disbelief in her voice pasting a smile on Naruto's face. Oh how he loved people's naivety.
"We have bases in every major village and various others spread throughout the lands. If anyone has a dirty little secret they think no-one knows, we know about it." Further conversation halted as the girl from the lounge entered the medical bay and enveloped Naruto into a hug.
"I'm glad you're alright Master."
"Like you could get rid of me that easily." He ruffled the girls hair causing her to pout.
"Quit treating me like a kid! You're only three years older than me."
"Maybe you should quit acting like one then? And aren't you forgetting something?"
"Oh right!" The girl walks around Naruto's cot to stand before Catalina. She bows as she speaks. "Thank you for saving my Master." The girl then runs out of the medical bay
"She seems like a nice girl." The Assassin attempted to keep the conversation going.
"Ay, Velvet is quite a charmer. I feel sorry for whoever falls for her in the future." Again their talk is interrupted, this time by a frantic man holding a notepad and pen. He quickly writes out a message to show to Naruto. "Fuck!"
"What is it?"
"Your target's been spooked. Akihiro's moving out tonight. Lucky for us though. Cain, send word to the thieves. We're going to need the distraction. And make sure that fan wielding idiot knows it's important." The mute man nodded before dashing off to complete his assignment. Naruto grabs a cane near his cot before hoisting himself to his feet. He swiftly leaves the room despite his limp.
"Distraction for what? What are you going to do?" Catalina questioned as she rose to follow him. They soon ascend a round-a-bout staircase leading to the bases back door.
"What I'm doing is giving you a window. Once we get the signal from the thieves, you'll have a clear window to head to the west side and infiltrate Akihiro's servant quarters. Once inside you'll head to the guard captain's room and steal the map with their travel route on it. Since Akihiro decided to leave early his property will be understaffed which will let you slip in unnoticed. Oh if you can, try to take out the guard captain. If it seems like someone is after Akihiro, then Danzo will most likely send a few of his own guards with him so you can take them out during your assignment and leave Danzo that much weaker in the long run." He opens door to his left, revealing a small roof overshadowed by a large balcony. This roof was twenty feet higher then the door they entered the base from and on the opposite side of the building to boot. They silently waited for some sign before a ninja landed on a nearby roof. The ninja wore a dark blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back and tan pants with the standard shinobi sandals. He also had a duck style haircut and a cocky smirk on his face as he sent a two-fingered salute to the hidden roof before he shot off like a rocket. "There's the signal. You should be able to use the roofs to get there no problem. Two words of advice though. Stick to the alleys on your return."
"And the other?" Catalina sends him a look.
"There may be fake maps in the room, so trust your eyes."
"Right." She drops to the roof below before taking off across Konoha. He didn't give her a specific location for the Akihiro Compound but he knew her eyes would lead her to her goal. After all, Eagle Vision is the main reason Ezio never got lost in a new city.
Naruto sighed before reentering his home. "Stay safe Catalina. The Grand Master would have my head if something were to befall his adopted granddaughter." He was also concerned wondering what Sasuke had done to distract the Hokage's forces. Oh well, he was going to lay down. "I think I pulled my stitches." He was a little surprised to find a certain Snake Sannin in his study. "Uncle Orochimaru? Has something happened?" If something big enough to drag Orochimaru out of his research then it was in his best interest to find out, just in case it came back to bite him in the ass later.
"No no, I just finished up on my new soldier pill formula. Kabuto and I are still working out the kinks though." Naruto had to smirk at that last part.
"Kinks?" Orochimaru failed to bite back a sigh as he knew Naruto wouldn't let him leave without explaining and the teen is very persuasive if not down right cunning. He could take Ibiki Morino out to tea and get his entire life story and a complete list of his techniques.
"Unfortunately the formula leaves it user with severe thirst due to it burning through the users liquid to supplement their abilities. I still can't find out why it burns out so much despite the differences in chakra level and skill of the user."
"You actually tested it on yourself didn't you."
"It's not like I can endorse something if I'm not completely sure of its success. I refuse to play with peoples lives just to make something that could kill them in the end. I already went too far with the curse seal when I placed it on Anko." There was a pained look in his eye when he spoke of his former apprentice.
"You know she'll forgive you if you ask for it. She's just waiting for you to come to her."
"I know she would but I can't forgive myself. I crossed a line that I should never have approached and broke the trust she had in me as her teacher." Orochimaru didn't need to ask about Naruto's current condition. Kabuto informed him of the ANBU's fate when he was asked to do the autopsy.
"Is that all you wished to speak with me about? Or was there another reason you came to see me?"
"I was hoping to meet this alleged assassin."
"The assassin is...sightseeing." Orochimaru wasn't buying that poor excuse but decided against forcing the issue. If Naruto wasn't going to tell him now, then he would divulge the information later. "Did you happen to see my latest work? I would think the old mummy appreciates his face all over the city since he hopes to rule it one day." The Snake Sannin laughed at this. He could only imagine the tantrum that bastard was throwing.
"Aw, that makes this visit completely worth it. I'll get of your hair now. I'm sure you have better things to do than entertain an old man like me." They both knew it was code that another was listening to them.
"Possibly but I like to fun too." Orochimaru laughs lighter at this as he heads for the exit, sending a final wave over his shoulder as he leaves.
"Now, why would a Master Assassin need to speak with me?" Naruto spoke as a man in much fancier white robes stepped into his view. Drawing back his hood revealed the man to be in his early thirties with short brown hair and clean shaven face. The man drew a long cloth bundle from his cape and placed it on the nearby desk.
"My apprentice has a habit of breaking swords so I procured one that wont. Make sure she gets it." Naruto could see a storm of emotions behind the elder assassin's eyes and could tell the man was lost in his thoughts as he left the hidden base without any explanation, passing another of Naruto's guild as the spy entered and placed a report on Naruto's desk. Naruto dismisses him before sitting behind the desk and reading said report.
"Catalina does good work. I'll have to keep the Inuzuka off of this. Good thing Hana extended an open invitation for me to visit the last time we 'got together'." He'll have to wait until the female Assassin returned before making any plans.
AN: I want this to be a duel perspective story but I really don't want to write out Catalina's stuff. I will if I have to but I'd appreciate if someone else would help me. You know, two separate stories by two separate authors but linked together through common scenes. Actually now that I think about it it's more like four stories cause you got Naruto/Kid/Messenger the Assassin's helper and his guild, Catalina the Assassin and the Assassin Order, Minato the Hokage and his ninja forces, and then you got Danzo the main villain and his evil alliance. If I could get people to take over those parts it could be an awesome collaboration between fanfiction authors. As you can tell this is Naruto's side so if something includes him directly it gets detailed but if the focus is on another character it will be a short summary and/or end result/s of what they've done. Like the Hokage Lock Down thing and blurring over Catalina's escort battles to defend Naruto. And yes Sasuke is kinda good and the Uchiha never planned to rebel because Konoha has a strong leader. To be clear only ROOT ninja work with Danzo. All other ninja are under the Hokage's command. There may be side stories to this if I get enough reviews asking for it. They would tell the other nations reactions to the main story, like the Liminality series is for the original Dot Hack games.