p class="MsoNormal"In the middle of a field of corpses a man dressed in ragged black clothes stood, panting, a bloody broken sword in his right style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man's eyes were red, with a pupil, with three em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"komoe/em teardrop marks surrounding it in a circle, his black beard came down to his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJust as with many who had come before, he had slaughtered the caravan passing through this style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHow long he had existed like this was a mystery to him, he scarcely thought of much other than fighting, and even his name had become lost to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe walked shakily toward the distant treeline, returning to the cave he dwelled in, tears slowly flowing from his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Unbeknownst to him, a man, also dressed in black but well kept, watched style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis right eye was the same as the man who had just slaughtered a caravan of merchants, but his left was a greyish purple, with a ripple pattern extending out from the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis black hair obscured his left eye, and he wore a black cloak over his clothes, hiding his one arm, and a sword hung from his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had chosen not to intervene, just to be sure about the savage looking man, but now his suspicions had been style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey were most assuredly related./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"***/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto snored at the desk in his office, he had been there all-night working, and finally had allowed himself a moment of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had blonde hair, which was cut short, and three whisker marks across each cheek, a puddle of drool was slowly forming on his desk underneath his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis cloak was draped on the back of his chair, and he had unzipped the orange jacket he wore on a regular basis./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA knock at the door roused him, and he looked around with bleary blue eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come in!" He finally said after taking a moment to orient himself./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA man opened the door, he was dressed in a tan short sleeved jacket, with a raised collar and long coat style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUnderneath his jacket, he wore a grey tank top and grey pants, he had a ring strung on a necklace around his neck and wore brown style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he had a half style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis name was Shikamaru, and he worked as the assistant to the Hokage./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shikamaru…" Naruto started, stopping himself when he noticed the hard look on Shikamaru's face./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I've got news from Sasuke that you might find interesting."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe said as he tossed a scroll toward Naruto./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto caught the scroll, and unrolled it, quickly scanning over its contents, he froze./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shikamaru, I'm going to need to leave the village for a little while…" He said, looking up at Shikamaru./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe was loathe to spend anytime away, what with the resumption of the Chunin exams coming style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey had been interrupted several months back when a trio of beings from another world arrived and kidnapped Naruto, intent on extracting an energy called em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em from style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNaruto was the human vessel of a creature known as a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em, a being of pure em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em, and thus they had been most interested in capturing him and had tried to kill everyone style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe being living inside him was a nine-tailed fox named em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Kurama/em, they had not always gotten along, but they had reconciled over a decade ago, and were now good friends./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShikamaru nodded his head, "I say you needed some time off."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll leave a shadow clone." Naruto told Shikamaru./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShikamaru shrugged, then left the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto formed the hand seal required of his most famous em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ninjutsu/em, and a clone of himself formed from hisem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" chakra/em appeared next to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe clone looked and felt like him for all intents and purposes and would allow him to leave the village relatively style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe was famous for being able to create thousands of these clones, and frequently had many helping around the village./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe walked out of his office and shut the door behind style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I should tell Hinata/em, he thought to himself, not wanting to worry his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis wife, the former heiress of the Hyuuga clan, was a powerful em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kunoichi/em, and had attempted to rescue him after he had been captured for his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe had been hurt in the attempt, but not style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis children would likely worry about him too, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ok, maybe not Boruto,/em he thought to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe let out a sigh and scratched his head, his relationship with his son had improved after the recent incident, but he knew that it wouldn't entirely mend it./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter Naruto had become Hokage, he hadn't had much time to spend with his family anymore, and while his wife Hinata, and his daughter Himawari accepted it, his son Boruto had taken it exceedingly style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe knew Boruto felt somewhat abandoned, and no number of apologies would change style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanStill, his son was growing into a skilled em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"shinobi/em, and Naruto was immensely proud of him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe exited the administrative building at the centre of his home village, which was only a village in name style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanKonohagakure had grown into a massive city, with new commercial complexes built behind the massive stone faces of the current and past style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAll the growth had only been possible because of the peace Naruto had brokered a decade style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe began walking toward his home, which wasn't far from his office, and thought about what Sasuke must've been going through./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"***/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke kneeled on a thick tree branch, monitoring the cave the savage man had gone style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUsing the power of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em in his right eye, he knew the man was still inside, and he also knew the man was under a form of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Genjutsu/em was the art of illusion, essentially the ability to hijack another's senses and make them experience whatever the caster style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke couldn't break the illusion from a distance, but he was confused about how the man ended up under it in the first place./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLike Sasuke, the man possessed the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em, a genetic trait known as a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kekkei genkai/em, it was a unique naturally occurring ability in Sasuke's clan, the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHowever, the eyes could be taken, and transplanted into people outside the Uchiha clan, which had happened numerous times over the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em when placed in a non-Uchiha would require a massive amount of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em to use, much more than an Uchiha needed to use it, and could not be style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis meant that while an Uchiha could return the eye to a normal, a non-Uchiha would be stuck with the red em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"komoe/em pattern and would constantly be using the eyes abilities./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em gave the user better kinetic vision, and hand eye coordination, allowing them to trace the path of flying projectiles, and the pattern of an opponent's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis same trait allowed them to read and copy the hand signs and jutsu cast by an opponent, allowing them to replicate style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe eye also gave the user the ability to see through em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em and cast powerful em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em in style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanFor one who bore a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan /emto be placed under a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em usually required another em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em user to cast the technique on style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHow this man had come under a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em was a mystery to Sasuke./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man was also definitely an Uchiha and had deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em after returning to the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis had confused Sasuke, since he had thought only himself and his daughter, Sarada, to be the only living style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had a lot of questions that needed to be answered./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto appeared next to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Took you long enough." He said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are we dealing with?" Naruto asked, ignoring Sasuke's remark./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He possesses the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em, and seems to be using a blood based em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ninjutsu/em, it's possible he possesses more than one em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kekkei genkai/em."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke replied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you really think he's a member of your clan?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke's expression as neutral as it always was, but Naruto, who was empathic could feel a pool of conflicted emotions within Sasuke./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He definitely has Uchiha blood in him." Sasuke said, keeping his reply short./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you sure it's not like Shin?" Naruto replied, he felt Sasuke tense at the remark./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He's moving." Sasuke said, jumping down from the branch, and standing in front of the cave./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto followed, and decided to drop the issue of the man's heritage for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe incident involving Uchiha Shin, a man who was able to implant several em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em into his body, had been hard on Sasuke, though he hadn't said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe incident had also restored his relationship with his daughter, who had left in the village while he was searching for answers regarding a potentially massive threat to the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe threat had come to a head when three beings arrived in their world and kidnapped Naruto in the middle of the Chunin style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe possibility of more coming was still fresh in Sasuke's mind, and he was worried about the peace his family and village enjoyed may be threatened again./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man emerged from the cave, his eyes looked normal, his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe quickly noticed Naruto and Sasuke, then roared at them, raising his broken sword, and activating his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke drew his sword, and Naruto allowed the power of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em to envelop him in a cloak of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man looked at them, his eyes darting around, assessing his Naruto and Sasuke's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe dropped the broken blade, then closed his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke saw a massive build up of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em in the man's eyes and knew immediately knew what was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhen the man opened his eyes, a new pattern had emerged, three spheres replaced the centre pupil, with tails extending out to the edges of his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe phenomenon was known as a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou Sharingan/em, Sasuke also possessed it, though the pattern of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou/em was different than the man before them, as it varied for each style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou /emenhanced all the abilities of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em and gave the user access to new forms of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"jutsu/em, though it exacted a heavy toll on the body, and eventually resulted in style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke activated his own em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou/em, and prepared for a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em battle, which was usually how a battle between em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em began./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDefying expectations, the man materialized the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo, /ema giant humanoid armour made of energy, that protected the user and allowed them to launch devesting style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke was already materializing his as the man rose into the air, still roaring at them, he acted like a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNaruto was also materializing a giant out of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em, only his was a silhouette of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBefore his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em was even complete, he lunged at Sasuke, attempting to rip Sasuke's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo /emoff with the armoured claws of his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke repelled him with a strong punch to the gut of the man's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, materializing a sword out of the energy of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, Sasuke prepared to counterattack./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto began moving to restrain the man in his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, to allow Sasuke to break the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe wrapped the tails of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em form around the man's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, the man seemed to realize immediately what was going on, and before he was even fully restrained, deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThen flipping around midair, launched the black flames of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Amaterasu /emat Naruto's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe flames would burn until whatever was touching them was destroyed, Naruto allowed the sections hit by the flames to detach and burn style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke quickly grabbed the man with his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em and restrained style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man began to reactivate his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, before he could, Sasuke made eye contact, and launched a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man froze for a moment, then lost style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em and caught the man has he style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNaruto deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em form and dropped to the ground./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man's breathing was ragged, and he looked like he had been fighting almost non-stop for a long time./p
p class="MsoNormal""Sasuke you can get him back to Konoha faster than I can." Naruto said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWithout a word, Sasuke activated the space time powers of his left eye, the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Rinnegan/em, and opened a portal back to Konoha, allowing the three of them to return in an instant./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"***/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""We found a record on this guy."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShikamaru said, entering the Hokage's office carrying a pile of papers./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""From where?" Sasuke asked./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Kirigakure."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Is he a shinobi with them?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, accepting the pile of paper./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""No, apparently he's a fugitive." Shikamaru answered./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Then why haven't we heard about him until now?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""I'm still trying to find that out." Shikamaru replied./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Find out immediately, tell them the Hokage is requesting the information." Naruto directed Shikamaru./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""I'll get right on it."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShikamaru left the room, closing the door behind him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Just who is this guy?" Naruto thought aloud./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Naruto, I'm concerned he may be an experiment from Kirigakure's dark days." Sasuke said to Naruto./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Sasuke was referring to the days when Kirigakure, the village hidden in the mist, was referred to as the 'bloody mist' style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAlthough those days had past a long time ago, repercussions from the era could still be felt in the Shinobi style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNumerous atrocities had been committed during that era, and shinobi with em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kekkei genkai/em had been style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhile there were no immediate records of human experimentation, it was not implausible./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""I don't think we should speculate until we have more information." Naruto replied, sifting through the pages on his desk, "Besides, he could be another experiment of Orochimaru's that he neglected to inform us about. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe know he's conducted cloning experiments in the past."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Sasuke style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJust then, the phone on Naruto's desk style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSetting aside the paper in his hands, Naruto picked it up./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Naruto speaking." He said into the phone./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Naruto, this is Chojuro, the Mizukage/em."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man on the other end of the line replied./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Chojuro was the current Mizukage, the leader of Kirigakure./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Chojuro, we need information, now."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I know, you must have a lot of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm sending a man who knows the one you have in custody, he'll be able to explain the situation to you better than I style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm also releasing all the records we have on him and his clan, you should get that shortly./em" Chojuro said./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Thank you Chojuro, we'll keep you updated on the situation."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Naruto hung up the phone./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""He doesn't know anything does he?" Sasuke asked, a hint of uncharacteristic anxiety in his voice./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""No, but he's sending over someone who does know style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith the thunder train, it shouldn't take long for him to reach Konoha." Naruto answered, "They're also sending us all the information regarding the man we captured."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Good, I'll start looking it over as soon as we have it." Sasuke said as he got up to leave the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Sasuke, you should go see style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNot only would it be the fastest way to get information, if he does prove to be an Uchiha, then you, Sakura, and Sarada are the only family he has."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""What about Shin?" Sasuke replied, with a bit of sarcasm./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Sasuke you know what I mean." Naruto replied, giving him a stern look./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"It was unusual for Naruto to be the stern one in the relationship they shared, but Sasuke had obviously been rattled by whatever it was he had seen in this style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke left the room, and Naruto let out a sigh, and leaned back in his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe needed answers for the questions the presence of this man posed to the history of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIf another Uchiha had survived, why hadn't they returned to Konoha?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhy was he a fugitive in Kirigakure?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAnd just who was this man?/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe walked shakily toward the distant treeline, returning to the cave he dwelled in, tears slowly flowing from his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Unbeknownst to him, a man, also dressed in black but well kept, watched style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis right eye was the same as the man who had just slaughtered a caravan of merchants, but his left was a greyish purple, with a ripple pattern extending out from the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis black hair obscured his left eye, and he wore a black cloak over his clothes, hiding his one arm, and a sword hung from his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had chosen not to intervene, just to be sure about the savage looking man, but now his suspicions had been style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey were most assuredly related./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"***/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto snored at the desk in his office, he had been there all-night working, and finally had allowed himself a moment of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had blonde hair, which was cut short, and three whisker marks across each cheek, a puddle of drool was slowly forming on his desk underneath his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis cloak was draped on the back of his chair, and he had unzipped the orange jacket he wore on a regular basis./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA knock at the door roused him, and he looked around with bleary blue eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come in!" He finally said after taking a moment to orient himself./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA man opened the door, he was dressed in a tan short sleeved jacket, with a raised collar and long coat style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUnderneath his jacket, he wore a grey tank top and grey pants, he had a ring strung on a necklace around his neck and wore brown style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he had a half style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis name was Shikamaru, and he worked as the assistant to the Hokage./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shikamaru…" Naruto started, stopping himself when he noticed the hard look on Shikamaru's face./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I've got news from Sasuke that you might find interesting."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe said as he tossed a scroll toward Naruto./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto caught the scroll, and unrolled it, quickly scanning over its contents, he froze./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shikamaru, I'm going to need to leave the village for a little while…" He said, looking up at Shikamaru./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe was loathe to spend anytime away, what with the resumption of the Chunin exams coming style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey had been interrupted several months back when a trio of beings from another world arrived and kidnapped Naruto, intent on extracting an energy called em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em from style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNaruto was the human vessel of a creature known as a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em, a being of pure em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em, and thus they had been most interested in capturing him and had tried to kill everyone style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe being living inside him was a nine-tailed fox named em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Kurama/em, they had not always gotten along, but they had reconciled over a decade ago, and were now good friends./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShikamaru nodded his head, "I say you needed some time off."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll leave a shadow clone." Naruto told Shikamaru./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShikamaru shrugged, then left the room./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto formed the hand seal required of his most famous em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ninjutsu/em, and a clone of himself formed from hisem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" chakra/em appeared next to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe clone looked and felt like him for all intents and purposes and would allow him to leave the village relatively style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe was famous for being able to create thousands of these clones, and frequently had many helping around the village./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe walked out of his office and shut the door behind style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I should tell Hinata/em, he thought to himself, not wanting to worry his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis wife, the former heiress of the Hyuuga clan, was a powerful em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kunoichi/em, and had attempted to rescue him after he had been captured for his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe had been hurt in the attempt, but not style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis children would likely worry about him too, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ok, maybe not Boruto,/em he thought to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe let out a sigh and scratched his head, his relationship with his son had improved after the recent incident, but he knew that it wouldn't entirely mend it./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter Naruto had become Hokage, he hadn't had much time to spend with his family anymore, and while his wife Hinata, and his daughter Himawari accepted it, his son Boruto had taken it exceedingly style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe knew Boruto felt somewhat abandoned, and no number of apologies would change style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanStill, his son was growing into a skilled em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"shinobi/em, and Naruto was immensely proud of him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe exited the administrative building at the centre of his home village, which was only a village in name style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanKonohagakure had grown into a massive city, with new commercial complexes built behind the massive stone faces of the current and past style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAll the growth had only been possible because of the peace Naruto had brokered a decade style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe began walking toward his home, which wasn't far from his office, and thought about what Sasuke must've been going through./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"***/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke kneeled on a thick tree branch, monitoring the cave the savage man had gone style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUsing the power of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em in his right eye, he knew the man was still inside, and he also knew the man was under a form of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Genjutsu/em was the art of illusion, essentially the ability to hijack another's senses and make them experience whatever the caster style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke couldn't break the illusion from a distance, but he was confused about how the man ended up under it in the first place./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLike Sasuke, the man possessed the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em, a genetic trait known as a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kekkei genkai/em, it was a unique naturally occurring ability in Sasuke's clan, the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHowever, the eyes could be taken, and transplanted into people outside the Uchiha clan, which had happened numerous times over the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em when placed in a non-Uchiha would require a massive amount of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em to use, much more than an Uchiha needed to use it, and could not be style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis meant that while an Uchiha could return the eye to a normal, a non-Uchiha would be stuck with the red em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"komoe/em pattern and would constantly be using the eyes abilities./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em gave the user better kinetic vision, and hand eye coordination, allowing them to trace the path of flying projectiles, and the pattern of an opponent's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis same trait allowed them to read and copy the hand signs and jutsu cast by an opponent, allowing them to replicate style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe eye also gave the user the ability to see through em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em and cast powerful em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em in style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanFor one who bore a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan /emto be placed under a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em usually required another em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em user to cast the technique on style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHow this man had come under a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em was a mystery to Sasuke./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man was also definitely an Uchiha and had deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em after returning to the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis had confused Sasuke, since he had thought only himself and his daughter, Sarada, to be the only living style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had a lot of questions that needed to be answered./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto appeared next to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Took you long enough." He said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are we dealing with?" Naruto asked, ignoring Sasuke's remark./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He possesses the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em, and seems to be using a blood based em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"ninjutsu/em, it's possible he possesses more than one em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kekkei genkai/em."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke replied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you really think he's a member of your clan?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke's expression as neutral as it always was, but Naruto, who was empathic could feel a pool of conflicted emotions within Sasuke./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He definitely has Uchiha blood in him." Sasuke said, keeping his reply short./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you sure it's not like Shin?" Naruto replied, he felt Sasuke tense at the remark./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He's moving." Sasuke said, jumping down from the branch, and standing in front of the cave./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto followed, and decided to drop the issue of the man's heritage for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe incident involving Uchiha Shin, a man who was able to implant several em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em into his body, had been hard on Sasuke, though he hadn't said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe incident had also restored his relationship with his daughter, who had left in the village while he was searching for answers regarding a potentially massive threat to the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe threat had come to a head when three beings arrived in their world and kidnapped Naruto in the middle of the Chunin style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe possibility of more coming was still fresh in Sasuke's mind, and he was worried about the peace his family and village enjoyed may be threatened again./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man emerged from the cave, his eyes looked normal, his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe quickly noticed Naruto and Sasuke, then roared at them, raising his broken sword, and activating his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke drew his sword, and Naruto allowed the power of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em to envelop him in a cloak of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man looked at them, his eyes darting around, assessing his Naruto and Sasuke's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe dropped the broken blade, then closed his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke saw a massive build up of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em in the man's eyes and knew immediately knew what was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhen the man opened his eyes, a new pattern had emerged, three spheres replaced the centre pupil, with tails extending out to the edges of his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe phenomenon was known as a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou Sharingan/em, Sasuke also possessed it, though the pattern of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou/em was different than the man before them, as it varied for each style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou /emenhanced all the abilities of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em and gave the user access to new forms of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"jutsu/em, though it exacted a heavy toll on the body, and eventually resulted in style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke activated his own em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Mangekyou/em, and prepared for a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"genjutsu/em battle, which was usually how a battle between em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Sharingan/em began./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDefying expectations, the man materialized the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo, /ema giant humanoid armour made of energy, that protected the user and allowed them to launch devesting style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke was already materializing his as the man rose into the air, still roaring at them, he acted like a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNaruto was also materializing a giant out of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"chakra/em, only his was a silhouette of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBefore his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em was even complete, he lunged at Sasuke, attempting to rip Sasuke's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo /emoff with the armoured claws of his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke repelled him with a strong punch to the gut of the man's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, materializing a sword out of the energy of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, Sasuke prepared to counterattack./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNaruto began moving to restrain the man in his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, to allow Sasuke to break the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe wrapped the tails of his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em form around the man's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, the man seemed to realize immediately what was going on, and before he was even fully restrained, deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThen flipping around midair, launched the black flames of the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Amaterasu /emat Naruto's em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe flames would burn until whatever was touching them was destroyed, Naruto allowed the sections hit by the flames to detach and burn style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSasuke quickly grabbed the man with his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em and restrained style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man began to reactivate his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em, before he could, Sasuke made eye contact, and launched a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man froze for a moment, then lost style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Susanoo/em and caught the man has he style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNaruto deactivated his em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"bijuu/em form and dropped to the ground./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man's breathing was ragged, and he looked like he had been fighting almost non-stop for a long time./p
p class="MsoNormal""Sasuke you can get him back to Konoha faster than I can." Naruto said./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWithout a word, Sasuke activated the space time powers of his left eye, the em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Rinnegan/em, and opened a portal back to Konoha, allowing the three of them to return in an instant./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"***/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""We found a record on this guy."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShikamaru said, entering the Hokage's office carrying a pile of papers./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""From where?" Sasuke asked./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Kirigakure."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Is he a shinobi with them?" Naruto asked Shikamaru, accepting the pile of paper./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""No, apparently he's a fugitive." Shikamaru answered./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Then why haven't we heard about him until now?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""I'm still trying to find that out." Shikamaru replied./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Find out immediately, tell them the Hokage is requesting the information." Naruto directed Shikamaru./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""I'll get right on it."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShikamaru left the room, closing the door behind him./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Just who is this guy?" Naruto thought aloud./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Naruto, I'm concerned he may be an experiment from Kirigakure's dark days." Sasuke said to Naruto./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Sasuke was referring to the days when Kirigakure, the village hidden in the mist, was referred to as the 'bloody mist' style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAlthough those days had past a long time ago, repercussions from the era could still be felt in the Shinobi style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNumerous atrocities had been committed during that era, and shinobi with em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"kekkei genkai/em had been style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhile there were no immediate records of human experimentation, it was not implausible./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""I don't think we should speculate until we have more information." Naruto replied, sifting through the pages on his desk, "Besides, he could be another experiment of Orochimaru's that he neglected to inform us about. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe know he's conducted cloning experiments in the past."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Sasuke style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJust then, the phone on Naruto's desk style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSetting aside the paper in his hands, Naruto picked it up./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Naruto speaking." He said into the phone./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Naruto, this is Chojuro, the Mizukage/em."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe man on the other end of the line replied./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Chojuro was the current Mizukage, the leader of Kirigakure./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Chojuro, we need information, now."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I know, you must have a lot of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm sending a man who knows the one you have in custody, he'll be able to explain the situation to you better than I style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm also releasing all the records we have on him and his clan, you should get that shortly./em" Chojuro said./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Thank you Chojuro, we'll keep you updated on the situation."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"Naruto hung up the phone./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""He doesn't know anything does he?" Sasuke asked, a hint of uncharacteristic anxiety in his voice./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""No, but he's sending over someone who does know style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith the thunder train, it shouldn't take long for him to reach Konoha." Naruto answered, "They're also sending us all the information regarding the man we captured."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Good, I'll start looking it over as soon as we have it." Sasuke said as he got up to leave the room./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Sasuke, you should go see style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNot only would it be the fastest way to get information, if he does prove to be an Uchiha, then you, Sakura, and Sarada are the only family he has."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""What about Shin?" Sasuke replied, with a bit of sarcasm./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;""Sasuke you know what I mean." Naruto replied, giving him a stern look./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"It was unusual for Naruto to be the stern one in the relationship they shared, but Sasuke had obviously been rattled by whatever it was he had seen in this style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSasuke left the room, and Naruto let out a sigh, and leaned back in his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe needed answers for the questions the presence of this man posed to the history of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIf another Uchiha had survived, why hadn't they returned to Konoha?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhy was he a fugitive in Kirigakure?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAnd just who was this man?/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p