Disclaimer: Don't Own Naruto. All jutsus and characters are from the manga/anime.

*Tick*Tock*Tick*Tock*

The man lay there staring at the ceiling; another day, another morning, another resounding sense of loss and sorrow. To his left he found an empty bottle of sake, which when unmercifully downed allowed him to flail in his own misery last night. He wasn't an alcoholic, but at times the pain just got to be a little too much to bear. Sometimes…he had to forget it all, forget what this village did to him, forget what this village represented, and forgot what his teammate had done. He looked out the window and faced the Hokage Mountain. It was the mountain that he so desperately wanted to become a part of, and the mountain that ultimately represented his only failure in life. He should have known since coming back to Konoha after his training trip that something was off about everyone. He saw the small signs of nervousness and the slight twitches that betrayed them whenever he would repeat his dream. There was the face of his first friend, the face of his rival, the face of the traitor. Uzumaki Naruto stared out at the face of the Rokudaime Hokage, Uchiha Sasuke, in all his glory.

Two years ago

Three years. A training trip was taken all over the shinobi world; from wild rain forests to desolate deserts and everything in between. It granted them a glimpse of the life before the villages, when the clans would migrate from land to land searching for food and shelter. They reverted back to the old days, roaming the lands and searching for hidden truths and mysteries. It was a time to learn everything and experience anything. The days were harsh and unyielding, while the nights were shadowed by an ever present sense of danger. Deadly animals roamed the lands not native to their home, lurking on all fours, camouflaging their gossamer white stripped bodies in the snow of the mountains; a sight barely able to be seen. Small slithery reptiles would roam the forest floors, attacking within a split second, their fangs full and ready to expel poison capable of killing a man in minutes. Caution and paranoia were a man's best friends in this wilderness. The forest canopy would sometimes block out the sun completely, even during the day, and allow darkness to creep in from every corner, slowly encasing the two men who methodically proceeded in their journey. Desert storms would rip around their bodies, each one leaving behind deep welts and vicious cuts that served as a steady reminder of the trials that teacher and student took to achieve their respective levels of power. Soon, over time their bodies became impervious to the harsh factors that would have crippled any weaker ninja; it was a testament to their will.

Walking through the forest, the two men set out to return home, a place they had not seen in three long and demanding years. As the forest began to clear, the thickness of the wilderness subsided and the welcome glow of sunlight crept in, streaming across their backs and throughout the canopy above their heads, lighting their way. The man to the left was a tall and imposing figure with long white hair reaching his lower back, held back by his "Oil" ninja headband, which more resembled half a crown. His attire seemingly the same as it was three years ago, with his red and green haori and black mesh shirt. On his back was the same legendary toad summoning contract, the one that held the names of the past great toad summoners.

Accompanying him was his travelling partner and student of three years, Uzumaki Naruto. The changes that befell the young teen were tremendous. Where once stood an undersized 13 year old genin now stood a significantly taller 16 year old teenager. He wasn't quite the same height as Jiraiya but he hasn't quite stopped growing yet. Where Jiraiya stood at an impressive 6'2", Naruto was a still growing 5'10". However, his height wasn't the only thing that changed. His face was lean and chiseled with pronounced cheek bones appearing after losing all his baby fat. His blonde spiky hair was held back by a black bandana and then tied into a ponytail going down to his upper shoulders. Muscles being prominent through his dark blue shirt with the sleeves coming halfway down his biceps. There was still a slight orange trim to his shirt, showing that he still hasn't lost his high sense of fashion. Over the shirt was a black vest that seemed to add protection as it looked to be made of a type of material that may stop a couple of kunis in their tracks (AN: lol so alright I gave Naruto a bullet-proof vest because you know anyone who wears that definitely looks a little badass). Both his arms seemed to be taped up from his wrist to where his shirt stopped covering his arms. Standard black shinobi pants with a characteristic dark orange seam running down the sides ended in black shinobi sandals.

"So gaki you excited?"

"Obviously ero-sensei….I haven't been back in three years!"

"Hahaha right right. Let's try and get your rank set up first though alright Naruto? I'm pretty sure you're the only genin left from your graduating class hahahaha."

"Hah you're probably right about that one.."

Naruto suddenly started becoming contemplative once Jiraiya mentioned his friends and fellow graduates; everyone must be much stronger than they were three years ago. His thoughts drifted to Sasuke and what he had done the past three years. He imagined that he had a fully mature sharingan and that Kakashi-sensei was slowly making him into a legendary ninja. His heart raced as he thought about all his strong friends and couldn't wait to spar with each and every one of them.

"KONOHAAA HERE I COME!"

"GAKI SLOW DOWN!"

The village was about to be shaken to its very core.

Konoha

The Will of Fire wavered in the wind under countless attacks from enemy ninjas; attacked from people who believed they had the strength to carry out the ultimate take over. However, no matter how many times a building was collapsed or a shinobi lost, hundreds more took their place. This was what preserved the sacred village from invaders and traitors within. The strong survived and the root of their unflappable strength was this "will of fire" that every Hokage has preached.

Hokage

The rule of thumb was the Hokage had to have the best of the village in mind and always be willing to do things for the greater good of the village, not to mention be the strongest in the village as well. Usually the current Hokage would appoint his successor and when he or she felt it was time, he or she would step down to let the successor take his or her place as leader. However, the council and Daimyo always, unanimously, had agreed with the Hokage's appointee until now. Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, had her pick set three years ago when she first came to the village; it was up to him to prove his worth. Uzumaki Naruto was supposed to be the Rokudaime Hokage. He was supposed to have the approval of the ninjas and civilians. He was to be the greatest hero the village has ever seen, even greater than his father, Namikazi Minato. However, for the first time in history, the council and Daimyo were in disagreement with her appointment of Naruto being the new Hokage in training. Some still had prejudice against the boy, which mostly consisted of the civilian portion of the Grand Council. Others hesitated in supporting the boy because of the popular opinion against him; some of the weaker and more stubborn ninjas still did not accept him into their ranks and this was the majority of the soldiers. His friends were told of his Jinchuriki status and that led to more respect being given towards the boy. Even though some of the leaders of tomorrow held the boy in great respect and light, they were still far from leading the village. Currently the argument was making no headway and people on both sides stayed stubborn to their choices.

"Uzumaki Naruto has done nothing but show power and loyalty to a village that has forsaken and scorned him from birth!"

"Tsunade, that being said, we cannot let him lead a village that would not listen to his commands. His childish demeanor and unusual antics does not help his case," Koharu, the Sandaime's teammate intoned.

"If that's the case then we should hold off with the appointing till he comes back to the village and is allowed to go on missions to show his prowess." Nara Shikaku was one of the clan heads that was accepting of the Hokage's decision but understood the obvious problems that his appointment would cause.

"No we cannot have that. When the Sandaime died we were almost forced into a state of shock because of our lack of leadership. We need a leader appointed quickly, one who is accepted by the village and can be seen a guiding post towards the future," Danzo was probably one of the most shrewd and political savvy ninjas on the council.

"That is understandable but do we have a ninja with the same sort of power and strength as the Uzumaki seems to have and yet holds the favor of the people?"

"Hai Daimyo-sama there is one such candidate. Uchiha Sasuke."

This shocked the entire council as no one believed Danzo would be capable of supporting another to take the place of Hokage other than himself. Understanding, however, dawned on Tsunade. That bastard...this is why he took Sasuke to become one of his Ne members. He must have fed him some bullshit about being able to reach revenge faster with being the Hokage. And Danzo knows that no one would ever let him become Hokage, he's already too old. The point of this is to pick a more permanent Hokage. There's no way the Daimyo will allow this to happen. Sasuke is selfish...arrogant...hot headed. There's no way.

"Hmm interesting decision Danzo. What do my advisors think?"

"Sir, I do understand the importance of a ninja to be accepted by the village but Sasuke is known to have the curse seal on him from that traitor Orochimaru, there is no way he can be thought of to be stable enough to lead a village!"

"Actually my lord, he may have the necessary attributes. I have recently understood that he has had a great change of heart and is now teaching the new Ne members."

"I concur my lord. We should allow a small test run and if he is able to lead without any clouded thoughts then he should assume the position of Hokage. Plus, Kakashi-sama himself has placed a containment seal on the curse. We should trust the student of the Yondaime."

The advisors shocked the local shinobi, seeing as how they believed the idea of Sasuke leading the village to be preposterous. However, now with a plan set out the Daimyo ended the meeting. Tsunade was shocked…she had just failed Naruto.

A figure with a cane in one hand and another hand bandaged up to his right eye was making his way down an unidentifiable hallway. Danzo slowly approached the light at the end which opened up to a vast amount of space, enough to be considered a prominent training area. There in the middle stood a teenager staring at six armed opponents. His back was to Danzo while he surveyed his opponents. The enemy showed no emotion while the teenager in the middle slowly reached for his pouch on the left side of his body attached to his belt. He was wearing what was a dark purple hakama with a rope for a belt. His ninja headband was attached to his forehead as he slowly set his feet a foot apart, the left leading the right. The strange thing about this setting was that the teenager seemingly had his eyes closed. One opponent quickly attacked with a kuni set to slice open the teenager's jugular vein. Suddenly a pair of eyelids flicked open revealing a pair of red eyes with three tomoes in each eye spinning wildly. Uchiha Sasuke's fully matured sharingan was a sight to behold. The three tomoes in each eye represented a power that many would dream about; it was one of the greatest weapons a ninja could ever wish for. Each set of sharingan eyes held power that could instantly tell the defeat of an opponent; they had the power, in a sense, to tell the future. That's why before the enemy even approached Sasuke had a plan set out. He knew the man would leap across the gap, be 3 feet above the ground when right in front of him, and that his right arm would come across in a sweeping motion to attempt and strike down the teenager's throat. Sasuke already had a counterattack that begun before the ninja even took the leap. He threw two kunai with ninja wire attached to them in parallel directions ten feet apart causing the man who leaped and the ninja directly adjacent to him to be caught in the wire. Once that was the case he quickly dispensed with the rest. After launching the kuni he turned around with impressive footwork and withdrew his kodachi from his left side and quickly slashed his third opponent across his legs, effectively lowering his opponents to three. The last three simultaneously attacked ready to finally take down their opponent with one powerful jutsu.

"Katon Hosenka no Jutsu"

"Who do you think you're facing huh, how dare you even consider throwing a fire jutsu at me!"

"Katon Karyu Endan!"

Sasuke's one fire dragon quickly enveloped the smaller fireballs completely overwhelming the smaller, feeble ones. However, the dragon didn't stop there; it continued to go toward the targets and burned them as they screamed from the scorching heat. Quickly, medic nins came running out from another door and set the six opponents on stretchers so that they could quickly heal from their wounds. Sasuke stood where he started, hands on his knees, and huffing while he regained some energy.

"Excellent Sasuke. Excellent work on that jutsu. You turned a B rank fire jutsu into a monstrous attack, a true testament to your fire affinity."

"Tch…why are you here Danzo-sensei?"

"I have good news. The council has agreed to test you for the Hokage position. Just pass the test and soon you can be the head of Konoha and we can bring actual peace to this godforsaken land."

"I'll do what you say Danzo, but remember my primary objective. I will kill Itachi."