Yo, how's it going? My name's DragonFan224 and welcome to THE TALE OF THE FIRE'S SHADOW.Not the most original title, but it'll have to do until I can think of something better. In case you haven't figured it out, this story is going to be far different from the events of the story that transpired after the epicness of the Pain Arc.

This story is going to be very heavily AU, as I'm going to be reworking around the clunkiness of Part II's latter half and reworking it from the groundup. In this story, you will see characters ignored or forgotten be brought back into the fold and getting a shine in the story once in awhile, villains who don't get redeemed by the 'Talk no Jutsu' or is killed by the heroes 'plot armor', and just a much more intense and heart-breaking war that DOESN'T LAST FOR TWO DAYS!

*ahem*

Anyways...

This story will have some pairings in it: Naruto/Hinata, Neji/Tenten, Shikamaru/Temari, and much more.

Rated M for explicit language and adult themes such as heavy violence, sexual innuendos, and several major character deaths. Reader discretion is advised. Also, I don't own NARUTO nor any of its story properties that come with it.

Enjoy.

THE TALE OF THE FIRE'S SHADOW

Chapter One

The air was tense inside the Fire Palace's council chambers, as a collection of the most influential beings of the Land of Fire were gathered here on this afternoon to discuss the recent events that rocked the Elemental Continent to its core; the Hidden Leaf Village was destroyed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, and has rendered Tsunade immobile to resume her duties of leading the village. Sitting at a long conference table made of the finest oak, the advisers and ministers of the Land of Fire sat on the right side of the table while the elders of the Tree Leaf Honored Opinion Watch, the commander of the ANBU Black Ops, and Shikaku Nara - the village's Jonin Commander - sat on the left. At the head of the table sat the Fire Daimyo, lazily waving his fan back-and-forth as he watched the meeting unfold with half-lidded eyes and puffed cheeks.

"Now, regarding the Akatsuki, we intend to keep pursuing them with assistance from all our allies." Homura Mitokado said, putting emphasis on 'all'.

Sitting across from the elder, the daimyo's financial minister pushed his glasses back up, as he read off from the transcript he held in his hands. "With everything that's happened to your village," he started off by saying. "Those of us from the Land of Fire shall provide full support in your rebuilding efforts." Waiting for a moment to see Homura's reaction - a pleased hum and nod of the head - the minister continued, "First, we'll put together a budget. Then, we'll ease tension between-"

"More importantly," a voice rudely cut off the minister, making all heads in the room turn and stare at the one who spoke; Danzo Shimura, the Shinobi of Darkness. "There is a more pressing matter at hand, I speak of the selection of the new Hokage."

Shikaku silently gritted his teeth, barely concealing a look of distrust towards the old war-hawk. 'Here it comes... I knew it.'

"Would it not be possible for us to simply bid our time, until Tsunade recovers?" The Fire Daimyo asked in a bored tone, fanning himself off from the room's stuffiness. Once he got out of this meeting, he was going to meet up with the palace's architect to tell the man to put in some air conditioning in this room, the heat was practically killing him!

Koharu Utatane said in a placated tone, "Respectfully, milord, that's impractical. Tsunade remains in a comatose state. The village is still in ruins, and we just don't know when Tsunade will awaken if she ever does. We are unable to steer the village forward as it currently stands." Her voice then hardened, as she coldly stated, "Besides, she is the one who allowed the Leaf Village to be destroyed!"

"I really hoped that Jiraiya would follow as the next Hokage," the Fire Daimyo sighed mournfully. "I liked him very much, and it saddens me that he's no longer among us." After taking a moment to reflect upon the Toad Sannin's demise, the Fire Daimyo continued, "So... who else is up for consideration, then?"

Danzo leaned forward, a determined gleam in his lone eye. "In that case, I-"

"I nominate Kakashi Hatake!" Shikaku declared, ignoring the dark glare that Danzo was giving him.

The Daimyo's attitude perked up, as he commented with a smile, "How interesting, the son of the White Fang? Yes, why not? Sounds good to me." He turned to his councilors with a smile. "And what do the rest of you think about that?"

"He's renowned, powerful, and virtuous. He'd do well."

"But perhaps he's just a bit too young for such a position."

"I believe that Minato, the Fourth Hokage, was even younger when he took the office."

The daimyo's financial minister frowned in thought. "I can't quite remember, who was Kakashi Hatake's master?"

Homura answered him, "The Fourth Hokage."

"Oh!" The Fire Daimyo hummed gleefully. "Is that so? If I'm not mistaken, Jiraiya was the Fourth Hokage's master, and the Third Hokage was Jiraiya's master. It would seem that the matter practically settles itself. All right then-"

"But the Third Hokage's teachings led to the village being virtually annihilated!" Danzo boomed in derision, causing the Fire Daimyo to recoil in shock and fright, yet he still paid attention to Danzo's speech. "The Akatsuki's leader, the one who flattened our village, he was a former student of Jiraiya's as well. This is what happens when one sympathizes with foreigners, and teaches them ninjutsu. They were too naive! Every single one of them! That naivete has continued for generations: It allowed our ally, the Sand, to betray us, sent Orochimaru on a campaign to destroy the Leaf, allowed the Akatsuki to rise up, and now Sasuke - the last surviving Uchiha - has become a rogue ninja, and is working underground!"

No one, not even Shikaku, could muster up the courage to speak against Danzo, who continued speaking with more confidence than his former teammates had seen from him in years. "What sort of Hokage do we need now? Someone able to clean up this entire mess, someone who can reform the shinobi world, and who will reinforce our shinobi laws!"

He stood up from his seat, causing the guards hidden in the shadows to tense up. "The answer is simple. That Hokage should be me."

However, the moment those words came from his mouth, the doors to the chambers burst open, and a loud voice blared out, "LIKE HELL YOU SHOULD!"

All participants in the room turned their attention to the new-comers in the room, and was shocked to see who they were. On the left was a man with spiky silver hair and a dark mask covering the lower half of his face, wearing the Leaf's standard infantry clothing and a headband covering his left eye, concealing most of his face save for his right eye. On the right was a man with short brown hair with the standard attire of a Leaf ninja, along with a happuri-style forehead protector that frames his face. And in the dead center of the group was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenager with a black-and-orange jumpsuit with a Leaf handband on his forehead. On the teen's left shoulder was a blue-white slug.

These men were Kakashi Hatake, Captain Yamato, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Shocked by the sudden intrusion, Homura stood up and yelled at the trio of ninja, "What in the name of the First Hokage are you three doing here? This area is off-limits to those not permitted to enter, and can be punished to the highest degree of the law per the Fire Daimyo's decree."

Naruto ignored the councilman, and turned his attention to Danzo with a face that one could say was carved from stone. "You sick bastard. First, you sat on your ass while Pain was busy burning the village to the ground, and now you have the balls to say that you, the old cripple, should be Hokage? Please. What's next, you'll say that Orochimaru wasn't that bad of a guy."

The Fire Daimyo waved off his guards, who were approaching the ninja with their weapons ready, and instead regarded them with a curious look in his eye. "Oh? And who might you be, young man? And why do you say that Danzo shouldn't be Hokage?"

Naruto turned his head, and upon seeing that it was the Daimyo who had spoken, bowed towards the Land of Fire's leader. "I'm sorry about bursting in unannounced, your Lordship, but that man," Naruto pointed towards a scowling Danzo. "Should not be Hokage. He is a disgrace to the good name of the Hidden Leaf Village, and has gone behind the backs of his superiors many times to fulfill ambitions of his own. Hell, if it wasn't for him, Pain wouldn't have attacked the village, and would be in the Rain right now."

Shikaku titled his head. "Do you mean Hanzo the Salamander? I thought he still ruled over the Hidden Rain Village."

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Hanzo's been dead for years, Pain only used the image of him as a shadow to keep out any foreigners out while he ruled over the village himself."

"Then... that means that the Rain is leaderless now, right?" Koharu asked.

"Again, no. After Pain died to bring back the villagers, his partner went back to take command, and vowed to never harm the Leaf or its people in any shape ever again. Hell, I'll bet that she'll be willing to help us rebuild the village as compensation for the damage that she helped cause."

While the ministers murmured to themselves over this, the ANBU commander spoke up for the first time in the meeting, "What did you mean when you said that Danzo has gone against the will of the Hokages in the past for his own goals?"

Naruto's face darkened. "When I went to confront him, Pain told me the whole story of what happened years ago with Hanzo and the original Akatsuki. Originally, he and the others went to discuss peace negotiations with Hanzo, but Danzo had went behind the Third's back, and made a deal with Hanzo to help him keep his supremacy in the Hidden Rain going, while in return, Hanzo helped him secure the Hokage's seat for himself. It ended with Nagato killing his friend, causing him to go mad with grief and create the Akatsuki we know today. A group dedicated to terror and chaos, not peace and harmony."

"I can confirm Naruto's story," the slug on Naruto's shoulder - Katsuyu, the personal summon of Tsunade - spoke up. "I was there for the entire time, and I could sense no lie from the man who called himself 'Pain'. He was telling the truth the whole time."

The Fire Daimyo gave Danzo an aghast look. "Danzo, you would go behind the back of the Third Hokage, your friend and teammate, just so you could secure his position for yourself? Have you any shame, or regret in your heart?" Similarly, Homura and Koharu gave their former teammate a look of horror, not knowing about this shady dealing.

Danzo said nothing in response. He merely kept quiet as all those around him threw looks of shock, fright, horror, anger, and even disgust his way, yet he took it all in stride. He cared little about the interests of what others thought of him, as a true shinobi would, and merely reflected upon what the jinchuriki had said. Hanzo had been dead for years. And now his involvement with the late shinobi was out in the open.

"Well, since we're all sharing secrets out loud, I figured that Yamato and I would gladly contribute," Kakashi lazily drolled, sliding a file towards the Fire Daimyo, who timidly grasped and opened the file with condiments inside that he wasn't looking forward to reading. For the next few minutes, no one said a word as the Daimyo read the file and saw the color drain from his face before returning in a red hue that left his ministers and guards stunned at the ugly look on their leader's face. Finally, the Daimyo had finished and laid the file back down on the table, and looked Danzo in the eye with a look of ice cold fury. What the ministers and ambassadors of the Leaf didn't know was that Kakashi had handed the Fire Daimyo the official documents of Danzo's plot to assassinate the Third Hokage in the wake of the Nine-Tails' attack.

"Guards, arrest Danzo Shimura for the crimes of sabotage, treason, colluding with rouge and foreign shinobi, attempted assassination, and undermining the Hokage's will." the Daimyo ordered in a no-nonsense type of voice, stunning all in the room, including Danzo. "He will be turned over to the Leaf's authorities so that they may conduct his execution."

"My lord," Koharu hastily interjected. "You're being far too-"

"I recommend you don't say anything in your teammate's defense, Councillor Koharu, lest you wish to suffer the same fate as him." the Daimyo coldly stated, watching as his guards approached the silent Danzo, who eyed the approaching guards with an apathetic look in his eye.

"If you think that I'll allow myself to ousted as a traitor to the village that I've fought to keep safe for decades, you're sadly mistaken." Danzo sneered at the daimyo. Before anyone could process this, Danzo lifted up his cane and slammed it down onto the floor, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"What the-?!"

"Damn!" Shikaku swore. "He's probably heading back to the Leaf so he can make a clean getaway. We can't let him escape."

Naruto grinned. "Not a problem, I'll disperse, and let the boss know about the old crow's escape." He turned to his two companions. "I'd recommend you try holding in your lunches, cause reverse-summoning's a bitch." And with that, 'Naruto' dispersed in a puff of smoke, leaving behind his companions.

Sighing, Kakashi bowed towards the Fire Daimyo. "Apologies for my student's hasty departure, my lord, he can act a little rash sometimes. Rest assured that we'll make sure that he apologizes personally to you after we've apprehended Danzo."

His temper dying down, the Fire Daimyo merely inclined his head politely to the esteemed Copy Ninja. "Not at all, Kakashi. In fact," he smiled widely. "I think I have an idea of who the next Hokage should be."

He said the candidate's name, and everyone's jaws dropped in astonishment in stark contrast to the confident grin adorned upon the Fire Daimyo's face. Little did any of them know just how far the ramifications that his decision would rock the Elemental Nations to its very core.

Back at the underground bunker of the Foundation, Danzo appeared in the center of the hideout in a puff of smoke and said aloud, "Assemble!"

At his command, dozens of Foundation ANBU appeared seemingly out of the shadows and kneeled before their master in respect and obedience. Danzo looked over them with a keen eye, and nodded to himself in approval. Eight rows of nine Foundation commanders laid out in front of him, their minds open to him and ready to be used like the proper tool that shinobi are. He took a moment to compose himself, still feeling the leftover residues of anger inside him, and then began to speak, "Our operation has been compromised."

Seeing no one speak up, Danzo continued, "Within the span of a few minutes, I have been ousted as a villain to the Fire Daimyo and his council by the village's jinchuriki and his mentors, the by-products of the Third Hokage's pacifistic beliefs. They spat upon our sacrifices and battle-scars by condemning me to death for trying to lead the village to a new age, yet they blindly praise Tsunade for her mistakes that has turned our home into an open crater. Even now, as she lies bed-ridden and surrounded by her servants, the armies of the Cloud and Stone mobilizes for war.

"We cannot let the integrity of the Hidden Leaf Village be squashed underfoot without a fight." Danzo slammed the tip of his cane down on the hard wooden floor in emphasis. "But we cannot linger here, for even now, our enemies moves against us."

"What would you have us do, Lord Danzo?" Torune Aburame, Danzo's second lieutenant, quietly asked.

Danzo's grip on his cane tightened. "Initiate Protocol: Burning Ash. Effective immediately. Dismissed."

"Yessir!" the group chanted off, before vanishing to the wind, leaving Danzo to stand alone in the dark.

'You've forced my hand, Naruto Uzumaki.' Danzo ruefully reflected back to the meeting that squandered any chance of him becoming Hokage of this village. 'And now, the village will pay the price for your reckless actions, and will beg for mercy as the legions of enemy shinobi march through the Land of Fire and tears down your precious ideologies of peace. But die knowing that I will be there to pick back up the pieces.'

Deep within the heart of the Akatsuki hideout, the man calling himself 'Madara' listened intently to the report given to him by Zetsu, while Kisame quietly listened in on the conversation and adding in his input with a statement or two.

"And that's it." Black Zetsu, the serious half of 'Zetsu', concluded the report.

Madara crossed his arms over his chest in a distasteful mood, scowling behind his orange-swirled mask, as he muttered, "I never imagined that Pain would be defeated."

Kisame, however, grinned darkly in the dimly-lit cave. "This is most unexpected."

"And Konan's not coming back either. What should we do?" White Zetsu, the other half of 'Zetsu', asked nervously. "So many of our members are gone."

Madara turned his lone eye to stare at the enormous statue that loomed over the three criminals like a beast ready to devour its prey. "We need more pawns to synchronize with the Gedo Statue," he said after a moment of silence. He turned to the wanted swordsman. "Kisame, you go track down the Eight Tails. With any luck, we can at least have it sealed within the statue before the Five Kage can gather at their little summit."

Kisame nodded in agreement. "And what about you? I don't suppose that our glorious leader will simply sit back, and calmly sit tea on the sidelines while the other Great Nations are busy mobilizing their forces for war."

Madara narrowed his eye. "I have some other business to attend to."

As Madara transported himself away, and Kisame left the cave, only Zetsu was left alone to stare up at the Gedo Statue, which was in actuality the contained husk of the legendary Ten Tails, and a crucial part in its plan in reviving its true master; Kaguya Otsutuski, the Rabbit Goddess.

"The time grows near. Mother longs to be free from her prison, and we're so close to accomplishing it too. If only that fool, Pain, had heeded to our words and allowed the others to go with him to the Hidden Leaf, we would've only needed to track down the Eight Tails. Poor Nagato always did have a tendency to be rash when the situation grew too intense for his feeble human brain to handle. No matter."

Zetsu walked forth, placing a hand of the statue's cold exterior. A flurry of emotions went through its being: longing, glee, lust, hate, frustration, and then settled on patience. As it had done for so many centuries. Soon, the second coming of Kaguya would come, and all will be right in the world again.

"Just wait a little longer, Mother."

Hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter. I'll have the second chapter up and running within two to three weeks from now. See ya later.