This follows the main story to a point. It's during the timeskip, in which Gaara has yet to become Kazekage, and Naruto and Jiraiya have returned to Konoha temporarily on Tsunade's orders.

Chapter 1: Accusations

Naruto slurped up is noodles dejectedly. He swallowed, then turned to Iruka next to him.

"It's no fair, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto whined. "They only ever give me low-ranked missions anymore!" he gave his ramen and angry stab. "And Tsunade-baa-chan is hiding something from me, I know it!"

Iruka sighed, unable to look his old student in the eyes. He knew why Naruto was being kept back, and was, and wasn't, surprised that Naruto himself didn't get it.

"You don't think…" Naruto set his chopsticks down, face sombre. "You don't think it's 'cuz of what's inside me?"

Okay. Naruto wasn't as dense as Iruka thought he was. Change of plan.

"No, no, Naruto!" Iruka smiled. "By now, both the council and Tsunade-sama know they can count on you!"

"Then why do they only give me C and D ranked missions?!" Naruto slammed his fist onto the counter, causing old man Teuchi and Ayame to jump. Iruka looked away, silent.

Furious, Naruto flung his money on the counter and ran off before Iruka could say a word.

Iruka didn't move, just stared off after Naruto. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

'Naruto must really be angry if he paid his own bill.' He thought sarcastically. '…There's no way this situation could get worse…'

Naruto blocked an uppercut, then used the momentum to send a roundhouse kick to his opponents head. They ducked, then grabbed his outstretched arm and swung him into a tree. Upon impact, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto nodded to himself, proud that he had been able to catch his shadow clone off-guard. Glancing at the sun, he realized how late it was. He had spent the whole day training against his clones, since he had come back on too short a notice to recruit his friends, and Jiraiya had been sent on an obscure mission by Tsunade. Naruto knew that they liked to try and keep him in the dark, but the only thing that Tsunade would only send Jiraiya out for was for something to do with Orochimaru, and in turn, Sasuke. He snorted as he picked up his pack; people really underestimate his powers of deduction.

Halfway through his mental rant to Tsunade (which he would never say to her face), and only a few minutes from Konoha's main gate, he flinched. His nose's capabilities were a far cry from Kiba's abilities, but he was picking up something distinct off to the right. Without missing a beat, he jumped away from his original path and headed out toward the heavy scent.

Naruto didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this.

A group of Konoha-nin, from Genin to Special Jounins, were sprawled across the training field. From the look of their blunted weapons, they had been playing in a mock-battle. However, the kunai that were sprouting from their fresh-dead bodies could put scalpels to shame.

Taking cautious steps, Naruto wove through the dead bodies, looking for any survivors. His hopes had risen when a Chunins' hand had fallen from her lap, but it was for naught. A quick glance at her slit jugular proved otherwise.

Having checked for survivors and making sure not to touch any evidence, Naruto got a good distance away before letting his stomach rebel. He cowered there, shivering, for a few minutes, then stumbled off as fast as he could to Konoha to report the murders.

Sakura watched as her blond friend paced back and forth in front of Tsunade's office. Once she had heard the news, she had immediately wished someone else, even herself, had found it. Even though he wasn't responsible for their deaths, he felt guilty, as if the killer had left the guilt behind for whoever found them. She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts; she had to cheer him up.

"It's alright, Naruto." She smiled. "I'm sure the autopsy squad will be able to figure out who did this, and they can get what they deserve!" She made a fist, then used a toned-down version of Lee's 'Nice Guy Pose.'

Anything Naruto may have said back was drowned out by chatter coming from the direction of the meeting room. A moment later, Tsunade appeared, chasing after the two head councilors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, and several ANBU in tow. It didn't look pretty; Tsunade was yelling at the top of her lungs about something, and both Homura and Koharu were ignoring her.

"Baa-chan…" Naruto took a step towards them, fist curled. "Hey, Baa-chan! Who was it?! Who was it who did that?!"

Tsunade turned to him, a look of devastation on her face. The councilors just glanced at one another, then Homura spoke.

"We aren't sure who did it. Yet." He glanced at Koharu and Tsunade.

"Then, who's the prime suspect?!" Naruto yelled.

Koharu cleared her throat, gaining Naruto's attention.

"Our only suspect right now… is you."