It was a little after a year when the pervy sage had announced the big news to him.

He had a mission.

And he was going to leave Naruto behind.

"What?!" Naruto cried as the sage told him. "You're gonna leave me alone for over a year?!"

"Just a year! And I'm not leaving you alone! You'll be living in a dorm with students. Oh, and you'll also attend a civilian middle school while living there."

That was the bomb. The pervy sage was leaving him alone for about a year. And he had a middle school to attend. He was going out of the Elemental Countries.

A scream of "NOOOO!" could be heard from the forest the two were camping in.

…

Naruto and Jiraya entered a building marked outside as 'Kirijo Enterprises'. Naruto waited on a chair as his teacher proceeded to flirt with the secretary, who was ignoring him completely until he held out a card to her. She then suddenly became very, very helpful to them, leading them to the top floor, and to a door with the nameplate bearing the words 'Takeharu Kirijo'

"Wait here," Jiraya said as he motioned to a chair in a waiting area.

…

Jiraya sighed as he entered the room. He didn't really want to leave Naruto anywhere in the Elemental countries alone since the Akatsuki could find him while Jiraya was absent. So, he decided to come to the only man who could help him at that moment. Takeharu Kirijo. He had been Minato's friend, if he recalled right.

"Well hello, Jiraya," Takeharu said pleasantly as he saw the white-haired sage. "What brings you here?"

"A favor," Jiraya got down to the point, while Takeharu raised an eyebrow, interested in what the sage had to say.

…

Mitsuru Kirijo was on her way to see her father. She strode into the tower that was Kirijo Enterprises' main office and went straight to the elevator to the top office. She was in a hurry and everyone knew it. Nobody in their right mind would stop her in her path. She was about to enter her father's office when a voice beckoned her.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked as he saw the redheaded girl march towards the office. She looked like she was in a hurry, but the pervy sage was in there and he might try to flirt with her. He had to save her while he could!

"What?!" Mitsuru snapped, impatient to get to her father the important news. The boy who was stopped her from going into the office looked like he didn't belong there. He looked like he was about thirteen, and was wearing a strange, orange jumpsuit with blue accents along with a leg pouch and a back pouch. He was wearing a strange headband with a metal plate engraved with an uncommon pattern. He looked very out of place as he sat on a chair in the waiting area.

"You don't want to go there right now, pervy sage's in there," Naruto warned her.

"Really? Might I ask who you are?" Mitsuru asked, wanting to know where the blonde had come from.

"Name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I…see. Well, Uzumaki-san, may I ask where you came from?"

"Konoha! Erm…what's your name, Nee-chan?"

"Mitsuru Kirijo. Now tell me, what are you doing here?"

Before Naruto could answer, the door swung open and a man with a mane of long white hair wearing a suit appeared, followed by her father.

"Ah, Mitsuru. You mentioned that you had something to tell me."

"Yes, father, but not now," she said as she slyly motioned towards the two strangers with her eyes, only being caught by her father and the old man. Said old man smiled and called out for Naruto and left promptly, but not before turning back and saying :

"Smart daughter you got there, Takeharu,"

Mitsuru watched them leave in a stupor, only to be snapped out of it by her father.

"You wanted to tell me something, Mitsuru?"

"Oh, yes. Of course. I've got a new recruit"

"Her name?"

"Yukari Takeba"

"Takeba…where have I heard that name before?"

"Her father used to work here. As a scientist."

"On that project?"

"Yes. Could you please prepare an evoker?"

"Of course. I have a feeling you'll have another recruit as well,"

"Does it have anything to do with the old man who entered your office?"

"Smart girl. And now, I have something to tell you."

"Yes?"

"Expect guests tonight."

"What?"

The rest of the conversation was carried out back in his office and at the end of it, Mitsuru simply bade her father goodbye.

And with that, she left her father to his business and went to deal with pressing matters. The news he had told her did not startle her as much as he had thought. Then again, she had heard stranger things before.

…

"Pervy sage, what do we do now?" Naruto asked as they left the building.

"Getting new clothes. Let's see if we can find something good. And don't call me that!"

And with that, they went to the Iwatodai Strip Mall and Paulowina Mall for the rest of the day.

…

It was about midnight and Naruto was still awake, as per the sage's orders. Naruto stayed awake although he was dead tired from shopping all day. He had finally gotten some clothes that were fit for Iwatodai.

"Oy, brat, pay attention!" Jiraya called from the chair he was sitting on as he looked at his watch and smirked. The brat was going to get the shock of his life.

"I AM paying attention!" Naruto would have cried if it were not for the arrival of the dark hour.

Everything became green, water became blood and the moon was strangely yellow and ominous. Naruto had never seen anything like this before.

"Surprised?" Jiraya asked Naruto as his student gaped like a fish while taking in his surroundings. Inside, he was pleased that Naruto had the potential.

"Let's take a walk, Naruto," Jiraya said, getting off the chair. The blonde followed his teacher as he explained the dark hour to him.

Walking down the street, Jiraya explained, "The Dark Hour is a special time between midnight and a second after midnight. The reason for appearing is unknown, and it only happens in this place," Jiraya next motioned to a tall tower where a school used to be. Jiraya had been strangely insistent on showing the school to him during the day.

"This is Tartarus, or so we call it. I was called here to investigate the tower but I couldn't find out anything about it!"

Jiraya led the way to the Iwatodai dorm and on the way, they encountered an upright coffin. "The coffin was a normal person outside the dark hour," he explained. "Normal people don't experience the dark hour, so don't mention it to them," He finished.

At the door of the Iwatodai dorm, Jiraya gave one final warning to Naruto. "You can't use chakra here, and don't mention it to anyone here, got that?" he asked. Naruto slowly nodded and Jiraya knocked on the door.

To Naruto's surprise, the one who opened the door was the nee-chan Naruto had seen that morning.

Mitsuru, however, simply smiled and opened the door, already expecting them and saying one phrase.

"So you had the potential after all."