Naruto stared absently out the window, biting his fingernails as his mind raced.

"How long do you intend to stare out into nothingness Naruto?"

Naruto turned around to see Matsu staring him down just inside the doorway.

"I have to be ready for when father returns. In case...in case there are injured."

Matsu slowly walked over to where Naruto was perched. Even though Matsu was taller than Naruto the boy always felt like he was just a shadow in his presence. These days it felt like Naruto was being ever more distant, ever more dark. The time was finally coming and everyone could feel the cold hand of death on one shoulder. Matsu ran his hand through his short wavy mass of dark hair. Matsu had always envied Naruto in that regard, his bright almost luminous color made him quite popular with the ladies. Not that Naruto ever noticed.

Matsu reached over and placed a reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder "If anyone is capable of keeping the team safe it's your father. Either way sitting here worrying yourself isn't going to help. You need to be strong for the others, you're the new generations symbol of hope and promise."

Naruto sighed, leaning back in his chair for a second, contemplating the wisdom of Matsu's words. " Yea yea I know. I just should be out there right now with my father and the team. Not trying to teach the new kids Kage Bunshins."

Naruto stood up, placing his hands on the window. It had been snowing now for fourteen days straight which while was depressing to Matsu, seemed to delight the elders. According to them it was harder to detect the village in the snow while letting them go on more recon missions than normal. It was all very logical to everyone but Matsu. He couldn't help but long for bright skies and a warm sun on his face, it had been so very long since he had seen that.

"Your teachings inspire the kids Naruto, hell it inspires me. The more they learn, the more we ALL learn, the sooner we can go back." Matsu slowly rolled up the left sleeve of his shirt and showed it to Naruto. "This scar aches Naruto. It aches for revenge, for vengeance, and for atonement. I can't reach those by myself. I'll do whatever it takes to make things right."

Naruto's gaze drifted from the snowy visage outside to Matsu's arm. Matsu's left forearm was still horribly scarred from the fire that had consumed his whole family. It was Naruto that had pulled the boy screaming from the burning house. They had offered numerous times to have his arm healed, to erase the scars, but Matsu had refused. To Matsu his scar was a reminder, a constant reminder, that the life he lived was not his own. That his life was a gift from Naruto and his clan, and that he would use this gift to fix the broken world they lived in. A reminder that he would find and kill the men who had stolen the life of his family and in someone ways his own life.

That had been four years ago, now he lived with the Senju clan in their Hidden Village of Sky. He didn't understand why they called there village sky, at least not until he had finally arrived at the village. The makeup of the village was in fact as vast as the sky, and only in a place like this could Matsu truly fit in. Matsu was tall and wiry with a unruly head of obsidian colored hair that framed a pair of pale yellow eyes. His deeply tanned skin displayed the years of manual labor he had spent on his parents farm, a task he had been forced to do. He had always hated the long and hot days in the fields as a child. He had dreamed of being somewhere, anywhere but there. And now all he longed for was to have those days back.

Naruto finally looked up from Matsu's arm, his eyes reflecting the seriousness of Matsu's. "I understand Matsu, I understand." he stated as he walked past Matsu. "Let's go" he yelled to Matsu as he reached the door. "I suppose if I'm going to mope somewhere it shouldn't be in the teacher's lounge."

As Naruto and Matsu walked down the hallway of the ninja academy, Matsu couldn't help but laugh at how much attention Naruto got. The boys constantly wanted to show off their jutsu's to him, and the girls, well the girls just wanted Naruto to notice them. Matsu couldn't blame the boys, Naruto aptitude for jutsu was second only to Hyuuga Neji, and that was no small feat. And for the girls, well Matsu could see the popularity in Naruto's kind but serious disposition. However as far as he knew Naruto never seemed interested in any of the girls. While obviously he wouldn't have a relationship with any of the students, even in the village it was well known that Naruto simply seemed too busy to be bothered.

When they had finally reached the classroom of Class B, Naruto stopped. His hand positioned over the door handle, Naruto took in a deep breath. Matsu watched as Naruto locked away his worry and anger, no easy task, and brought out the kind and playful side that the children loved.

Finally Naruto slid the door open, "Let's get class started!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto's class had 20 students that he taught ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu. His kids worked hard and gave him very little problems for the most part. But still he couldn't help but long to be out in battle, to feel his adrenaline pumping. He understood what Matsu meant but Naruto was a warrior at heart. Fighting for what he loved and believed in is what fuels him at night. He had decided that he would have a serious chat with his father when he returned. Being pulled from battle detail to teach was a direct slap in the face and he had to know why.

"Sensei I don't understand why we have to learn genjutsu, its soooo hard." pouted Kina.

"Yea sensei, wouldn't it just be easier to hit them first!" yelled out Sanzu.

Naruto was having his students pair up into teams to practice casting and dispelling genjutsu. Needless to say... it wasn't going very well.

" Come on didn't you guys pay attention at all in history class?" Naruto questioned. A brief survey of flushed and embarrassed faces revealed the answer. Naruto cupped his face in frustration and took a deep breath. How was he supposed to teach kids battle techniques when they didn't even understand why they were doing it?

"Umm sensei, I know..." came a sheepish voice from his right. Naruto looked up to see little Hanabi Hyuuga with her hand up. Naruto wasn't surprised to see that Hinabi knew the answer, the Hyuuga family did not believe in incompetence in any form.

"Okay Hanabi why is it so important to know genjutsu." Naruto asked, gesturing for Hanabi to speak louder for the class.

"Because the Uchiha are masters of genjutsu. Knowing how it works and how to stop it is key to fighting them." Hinabi blushed as Naruto clapped in response to her answer.

"Very good Hinabi, that is correct. The Uchiha control every hidden village in the Land of Fire, Earth,, Water and Wind. Their numbers alone mean that if you ever end up against a Jounin level squad there will be at least one Uchiha present. Genjutsu is at its core a silent and deadly killer. It's possible to be be in a genjutsu for minutes if not hours before you realize your trapped." The class fell silent as the weight of Naruto's words hit them.

Naruto looked around the room at the faces of his students. His class in particular was a key example of how diverse Sky had become. Several of his students were holders of rare bloodline abilities. There was Hinabi Hyuuga, one of the younger Hyuuga children, but very promising for her age. Her skills in taijutsu were among the top in her class. No doubt in large part from her teachings at the hand of her older sister, Hinata. Sanzu Kaguya was his most outspoken and outgoing student. Sanzu had a bad habit of rushing into battle, consequences be damned. This wasn't really his fault as it seemed to be a trait of his clan. Though if one looked at his brother Kimimaro it was a stark contrast. The Kaguya clan was relatively new to Sky, having only been acquired nine years ago. Hiruzen and his squad had saved them from genocide at the hands of the Uchiha. Hiruzen recognized their potential battle strength and the Kaguya recognized the Sky's potential ability to fight back against the Uchiha. And then there was Kina Sarutobi . That girl was the very embodiment of trouble. Wild and untamed like her family name would suggest, Kina would often skip class to do who knew what. When Naruto had first taken over this class from Neji he had tried the hard approach with Kina. He had yelled and threatened, but none of those seemed to work on her. He had nearly given up on getting her to come class when one day he had witnessed Kina getting into a fight. At first he wasn't going to stop it as he wanted to see what Kina was made of. But his better half got the best of him and he had stepped in. It turned out that two of the boys from a different class had been making fun of Kina and calling her a boy. So Kina, as was her style, beat them up. Severely. When Naruto had explained why she couldn't just beat up people she defiantly asked why not. Naruto had patted her on the hand and simply told her because she was too cute to be caught rough housing with some ugly boys. Apparently after that Kina took a liking to Naruto and now came class.

In the end even though they caused him endless grief they were his students and he had grown fond them. However he'd still rather be in battle side by side with his father.

"Don't just stand around slack jawed, get back to practicing kids!" chastised Naruto. This time out his father hadn't even bothered to tell Naruto what the mission was, probably in fear that Naruto would just follow. A fear that wasn't unjustified. Maybe they had found another clan to recruit. Lately there had been some talks about getting the Hidden village of cloud on board, though Naruto had no idea how much of that was rumor.

Suddenly the door slide open and out of breath Hyuuga Hinata rushed in. Naruto's spine shivered as he saw her worried face.

"What is it?" he yelled out.

Hinata looked up at Naruto with pale sad eyes. Eyes wrought with despair.

"Your father...he's back."

I should have gone, I should have been there. How could I have let them go without me? These are the thoughts that kept pounding through Naruto's head as he sprinted down the steps of the Ninja Academy. He could hear the faint sound of Hinata's voice behind him, she was calling to him, but the words couldn't reach his worried mind. The world was blindingly white, the sight of the snow covered village would have been a gorgeous sight any other time.

Wait, which way was he going? When Hinata uttered the words that his father was injured he had simply lost all reason and had propelled himself outside. The medical building, that's where he had to be he told himself. The wet ground crunched underneath him as he ran headlong into the distance.

He sprinted past shocked onlookers, they recognized the look on Naruto's face and knew better than to try and greet him. As the domed building of the medical center came into view his heart sank a little bit more. If the old man wasn't seriously hurt he would be after I'm done, Naruto bitterly thought to himself. Being stuck at home during a mission was the most agonizing experience he had ever had. One which he would never do again. The wait had filled his mind with nightmares of such horror they could barely be described.

The steel gray doors of the medical center burst open as Naruto flew in like a winged horror. The medical center interior was a drab mix of muted grays and bright clinical whites. Only a single blue strip down the center of the hallway brought color to the space. The attending nurse looked up with wide eyes as the orange haired fury named Naruto came barreling toward her.

"MY FATHER, WHERE IS HE?" Naruto yelled out, as he slapped the counter. The nurse clearly scared by his sudden appearance cringed back ever so slightly.

"Wh-wha-what?" she stuttered out.

"UZUMAKI MINATO! WHICH ROOM IS HE IN!" he repeated angrily, Naruto was clearly losing his patience at this point

"R-r-room 103 but...", the nurse whimpered. Before she could even fully finish her sentence Naruto was off and running again.

Only Naruto's strict ninja training kept him from crashing into innocent passerby's as he rushed down the hallway. Neither person nor object was in a position to stop him as he made a beeline toward his father's hospital room. Naruto knew he was approaching the right room when he saw the two samurai posted outside of the room. There at ease posture was truly a misnomer for the trained units known as samurai. Even though Naruto had grown up around the samurai he had always instinctually known to never trifle with them. The air around them was one of total and utter seriousness to the job. The samurai in there stark white armor was always an impressive yet intimidating sight. The full mask complete with filter gave them an almost inhuman look, the commanders who sported a pair of sharpened horns atop there head especially seemed like demons.

But this day Naruto heeded them no attention as he rushed past them and into the room. The two samurai looked at each with knowing eyes, eyes that seemed to sigh, oh... Naruto. Naruto stopped for a second as he took in his surroundings. To the left of him leaning against the wall was Sarutobi Hiruzen, one of the most respected ninja in the village. Hiruzen at one time had led the village and was largely responsible for the creation of the samurai of the Land of Iron. Next to him was his son Sarutobi Asuma. Asuma at first glance was the epitome of a non-threatening personality. His easy and laid back demeanor automatically put even the most guarded ninja at ease. Asuma was tall with a head of hair that always seemed to jut up and out, his face seemed to match his hair as his goatee was as sharply pointed. In his mouth was the ever present cigarette that Asuma seemed unable to quit. But Naruto knew all too well that at heart Asuma was as efficient of a killer as any ninja could hope to be. His weapon training under Asuma had been long and brutal, but thanks to him Naruto feared no other man.

As Naruto slowly walked across the shockingly large hospital room he grew more nervous with each foot step. Just ahead of him was the curtain that separated the two beds of the hospital room. What would he find on the other side? The range of the people in the room did nothing to ease his turmoiled heart. Holding onto Asuma's arm was his wife Kurenai. Naruto, like many of the boys in the village, grew up with a crush on the heart achingly beautiful Kurenai. Kurenai's wild and unique spiral eyes caused every man's heart to skip a beat. Her long and raven dark hair only caused her eyes to stand out that much more. Her beauty however was only matched by her unending kindness. She was the kind of person who couldn't see someone in trouble and not be compelled to help. It made her an exceptionally deceptive ninja though; perhaps it's why Asuma and Kurenai were destined for each other. But like Asuma, Kurenai's gentle nature ended at the point of her kunai. As Naruto looked over at the two of them Kurenai looked up and gave Naruto her trademark slow but tender smile.

Naruto stepped closer to the curtain. He could now see Shizune, the head of the medical nin division. It was rare to see Shizune out and about around the town. She normally reserved all her time to research, and study. Upon seeing her Naruto knew that what was behind the curtain would change things. He was finally at the curtain edge. The curtain seemed like an insurmountable cliff that was guarding him yet taunting him at the same time. Naruto stopped for a second and closed his eyes, and then stepped around the curtain.

"Naruto? What are you doing here, shouldn't you still be teaching class?"

Naruto stopped. He was staring face to face into the eyes of his father. A father that up till a second ago he feared gravely wounded, a father that was now disciplining him.

"I...I heard you were back and injured. I thought the worse and came running." he mumbled. Naruto took a second to look over his father. Minato and Naruto looked so much alike that it was impossible for anyone to not know they were father and son. It was because of their similar nature that Naruto always seemed to butt heads with his father. Minato's right arm was in a sling, and he had some scratches on his face. But besides that he seemed relatively uninjured.

"Dammit didn't Hinata properly deliver my message?" Minato sighed. He seemed particularly short today, Naruto knew something was wrong.

"Yea she said you were back"

"NA-NARUTO!"

Naruto turned around to a very irate Hinata.

"Hey my dad is alright Hi-"

"Dammit Naruto that's what I was trying to tell you! I came to tell you that he was alright, but you just ran off like a possessed man." she panted out. She stared angrily at Naruto and for a second he thought he was going to get a Gentle Fist to the face. But instead she just sighed.

"I'm sorry sir, he ran off before I could deliver the whole message"

"Eh its alright Hinata, I should have known better than to be believe that my boneheaded son would wait to hear a whole message."

Naruto stood for a second as now both of them were staring at him. Gentle fist AND Rasengan to the face. How the hell did he end up being the ass?

"So...what happened father? It's rare for you to come back injured. And where's Grandpa and Grandma?"

Silence descended upon the room. Naruto finally took a second to survey all the people in the room. Asuma, Hiruzen, Kurenai, Shizune and Hinata to his left. He realized for the first time that his mother, Kushina was standing at the window. To the right of his mother was Mitarashi Anko, head of sky's special forces unit, ANBU. Anko was famous for bad temper as she was her fun wild side. But today the look on her face was all business. Next to her was Hyuuga Hizashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan, Neji's father and the head of their Anti-Sharingan taskforce. Although Naruto had become close friends with Neji, he had only met Hizashi on few occasions. Hizashi was a man of few words but when he spoke people knew to listen. Next to him was Hizashi's twin brother, Hiashi. Hiashi was Hinata's father and the second in command of the Anti-Sharingan taskforce. And lastly leaning against the right wall was Kyuga Kizaki, the head of the Kaguya clan, Kimimaro's father and the head of the Sky's defense force.

Assembled in this room was the head of every major clan in Sky and the entirety of the ruling council. Naruto looked around for a second, all but two that is. Naruto stopped at looked at his mother who was doing her best to avoid Naruto's questioning look.

"Umm father, where is Grandpa and Grandma?

The silence persisted.

"DAD!"

"Naruto lower your tone this instant!" Kushina barked at Naruto.

Minato lifted his hand to gesture to Kushina that it was okay.

"Its fine Kushina, Naruto deserves to hear the truth. He's earned that respect"

Minato paused for a second and looked up at the ceiling, as if the white tiles would give him the explanation that he would soon deliver to Naruto.

"Your grandparents, Jiraiya and Tsunade, have been captured by the Uchiha."