AN: Hey to all my faithful readers out there I'm taking a stab at my Naruto Ruroni Kenshin Crossover story and if you are all wondering yes Kitsune Inu Youkai is still going on. This was another idea that was floating around in the old noggin that I said why not to, now for all those wondering yes there will be enemies from Ruroni Kenshin coming to battle Naruto in the Elemental Countries and they can and will be able to hold their own against any of the high level shinobi like the Akatsuki and Jiraiya. And no when any of these high ranked warriors clash it won't be one-sided. Also Naruto will keep his canon kindness but won't be forgiving to everyone, anything else well you just have to find out by reading. Still not sure if I want to keep the pairings or not but I'll leave that up to you guys with another poll. One more thing Naruto and Hana's age is going to be around 17 yes I lowered her by a few years so what, the other girls are their normal ages. Without further ado let's get this party started.
"Naruto"- Normal speech
"Naruto" - Normal Thoughts
"Naruto" - Demon speech
"Naruto" - Demon thoughts
Naruto- Locations
Naruto- Jutsu/ Ougi
Disclaimer: Yeah don't own Naruto or Ruroni Kenshin those right belong to the original owners.
Chapter1: Discovery of a successor
Forests of Hi no Kuni, October 9
7 year old Naruto knew that if he stopped he was dead if his pursuers caught up to him, thankfully it was only majority civilians with five of the villages who were chuunins that were so drunk on their own position in the ranks that they thought themselves gods among men. Didn't matter to Naruto who was stuffed into a sack and taken out of the village to be killed in secret, that was until he managed to free himself from the ropes his captors put him in and overpowered then killed one of the civilians with the tanto he carried.
It was a gift from some of the kinder homeless that he shared alley space with back in Konoha for his birthday last year, some of which were retired shinobi and kunoichi that taught him the basics as a way to protect himself having known of his status as the jinchuuriki for the Kitsune Kyuubi no Yoko. (Seriously what was Old man Sarutobi thinking when he told that to everyone.) They decided to inform him of this as well, when he asked the famous question of 'why and how come it had to be him?' his homeless caretakers explained in exact detail that without him being born that day nothing would be left of Konoha and that the so called 'grieving masses' were idiots to not see otherwise. They then told him that it didn't change their view of him in the slightest, they still saw him as family to protect and cherish.
Naruto took solace in this and promised to learn all that they could teach him so that he could become strong enough to live how he chose, they all had a good laugh and continued his sixth birthday in good spirits.
Tonight however things were different as the cilivians and the shinobi decided that he wasn't going to reach his eight birthday tomorrow when they brought him out here into the wilds of Hi no Kuni away from the village to execute him for his supposed high crimes against the village, that was before he managed to get free and take down one of his captors and now he was leading them on a chase through the forest.
"Get back here you bakemono-gaki(demon brat)!" One of the civilians yelled as they ran after Naruto in a wheezing fashion.
Naruto just kept running until he burst through a very think bush to dart out across a travel road and back into the dense brush with his all his pursuers right behind him, none of them noticed a figure who was traveling the road observe their spectacle.
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Hiko Seijuro was a man who had done and seen much in his lifetime, he's witnessed the changing of many feudal lords and the caused the fall of many human lives since the moment he picked up a sword. However there was one thing he hadn't even witness a sight such as the one that literally ran by him in a rush, a small child was being hunted after by at least seventeen full adults five of which were shinobi from the looks of the vests on their backs.
That was something that brought bile rising in Seijuro's stomach, grown men no matter their station in life should never stoop to such a level as such to try harming a child, even under orders from one's lord or employer. Such actions made a man lower than the very animals and creatures he professed to be above in intelligence. Looking at his pocket watch Seijuro realized that he was ahead of schedule before he had to be in Rai no Kuni to catch the next ship home, he made the choice to follow the kid and those chasing him and see if he should step in or not.
Taking off at a brisk jog, Seijuro found himself moving through the dense forest to search out the boy he saw earlier. Soon the sounds of voices reached his ears along with the sound of rushing water reached his ears, rushing forward Seijuro burst out of the tree line to see the boy trapped on both sides his pursuers in front of him and the raging rapids behind him. Deciding to wait as the men hadn't done anything yet Seijuro hung back and observed.
"All right brat, there's no where left you to run. Time to face justice!" One of the chuunin sneered as the rest of his group began brandishing weapons.
"You first shithead! I'd rather death than your brand of so called justice." Naruto spat at his attackers while using the foul curse words he always heard thrown his way.
"That could be arranged demon!" A civilian yelled as he ran forward with a meat cleaver and tried to cut Naruto into.
Said boy just timed the attack and sidestepped at the same moment he grabbed the civilian's wrist holding the cleaver, then he planted his tanto in the man's kidney before pulling the blade free with a tug and sweep kicking the man's feet out from under him. The man hit the ground with bone jarring force just as Naruto jumped on him and stabbed the man twice in the chest.
"Fucking brat!" Another civilian cried out as he hit Naruto with a back fist that sent the seven year old to the ground before he got to a knee with the bloodied tanto in his hand.
"Enough playing around I want that gaki dead in the next five minutes!" one of the chuunin said with a psychotic grin as he threw a kunai and then went through handsigns which caused the kunai to go from one to about seven as they headed right for Naruto's downed form.
Having been taught the most basic of the shinobi arts, Naruto quickly did as he was taught and gathered his chakra while performing the two handsigns needed for kawarimi and replaced himself with a piece of water logged driftwood on the shore bank, just in time as the knives impaled the wood with deadly precision. Of course because he was just taught about how to harness his chakra a little over a year ago and then given those to practice, the laws of physics still applied in which to say that the jutsu exhausted Naruto to use without the proper amount of time to practice such a thing especially since he was always having to be careful of anyone seeing him doing anything these days.
"What the how'd a brat like that learn how to use kawarimi?" One of the other shinobi in the group asked out loud.
"He's a demon incarnate, you expecting anything less from the likes of him?" A civilian remarked as he gazed at Naruto with absolute hatred in his eyes.
"Whatever let's just kill the kid and go home." said the chuunin who threw the kunai said as he pulled out another.
Seijuro had heard and seen enough just as he began moving against the boy's attackers. Naruto held firm to his tanto as he prepared to meet his end by going down fighting and hopefully taking one of those shinobi with him as he closed his eyes, above the sounds of movement a squelching sound reached his ears. Risking opening them in fear of what he might see done to his body Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of one of the five chuunin missing his head while his body was slumped over spurting out blood, all of his attackers had stopped in their tracks with fear and anger written clearly on their face from what Naruto had no clue until he brought his line of sight back some to see what appeared to be a white cap fluttering in a nonexistent breeze.
"Attacking a lone child at night,...you must all be so proud of yourselves." A strong and confident male's voice moved over the clearing with clarity.
"We are; what of it to you? Besides that isn't a kid, it's a demon in disguise and we're performing a service to our village by eliminating him!" Snapped a civilian as he puffed out his chest to sound important.
"Really? Because last time I checked, a demon wouldn't allow himself to be chased down weaklings such as you guys. Right kid?" The man stated before he turned to look at Naruto out the corner of his eye.
"What would you know about what we've suffered at the hands of that monster!" A chuunin snarled as he stepped forward threateningly
"Personally I don't really care, all I know is that watching attack this kid has pissed me off. So I'll give you all one chance to turn around and leave with your lives in tact." The man advised as he slid into a stance while holding a sword that Naruto was sure wasn't there a moment ago.
"You think we're afraid of you? Listen buddy I don't know where you came from but as shinobi from Konohagakure no Sato we don't run from battle especially when we've got one man outnumbered 10 to 1." The first chuunin who threw the kunai boasted as his comrades shared his sentiments before they all charged at the armed man.
"Fine then you can die like shinobi from Konoha." The man said as he waited until the five chuunin were in range before he moved.
As the shinobi threw their kunai at him which the man dodged as he ran forward, the man then called out something.
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu:Ryu-sou-sen (Double Dragon Flash)
Like the name of the move implied, in a flash it was all over, the man flicked his blade clean of any blood and then sheathed it in one fluid movement that ended with a click that rang out. Each of the chuunin bodies fell to the ground in a large explosion of blood from the wounds they each received from the sword as their lives came to an abrupt end.
"Five down, eleven to go." Seijuro counted as he turned his attention to the frozen civilian's that couldn't believe five of their own were bested like that in the blink of an eye.
"Please just let us go. Look we'll even apologize to the boy if you like." one of the civilians pleaded as he got on his knees hoping that the man would show mercy.
"Now why would I show you something that you weren't going to show this kid as long as you got what you wanted. No; the way I see it your lives are forfeit just like your friends over there." Seijuro replied as the civilians tried scrambling over one another to get away only to be cut down mercilessly.
Naruto watched the entire time with unblinking eyes as his tormentor met their own karmic end at the blade of the stranger who came to his hands, generally people would be going crazy about killing someone but when your use to having to battle for your life and ensuring that you see the next sunrise that other guy's life holds a bit less meaning in comparison to your own. The man turned around and started making his way towards Naruto in a calm fashion while sheathing his sword, this allowed Naruto to fully study his rescuer.
The man was about 6'1 ft even with about 225lbs of muscle which he used to easily end the lives of the civilians and the shinobi, beneath the shifting cloak Naruto could see a simple brown gi top that was tucked into a pair of sturdy pants. His face was one of sharp angles and even sharper eyes that didn't miss anything that fell in their brown gaze, when his brain finally caught up with that line of thought Naruto realized that the man was kneeling at his level so as not to intimidate him.
While the kid was assessing Seijuro, he was doing the same right back as he took in the blond hair that was covered in dirt, muck, and blood. The dirty shirt that was barely holding together against his slightly malnourished frame, or the pants that were a size too big on his waist and was held closed with a length of rope. Seijuro didn't miss the whisker marks that stood out on the boy's cheeks like birthmarks, and finally thanks to his highly analytica skill as a swordsman he could see that the minor cuts and scrapes on the boy's arms and legs were healing at an incredible pace.
"...Not that I'm not grateful to you taking care of those guys but who are you?" Naruto asked after a bout of silence fell over them both.
"Don't sweat it kid, those men were scum of the earth. Names Hiko Seijuro by the way." Seijuro said with a chuckle as he introduced himself.
"Uzumaki Naruto, and yes I'm aware that it means fishcake." Naruto replied with a bit of hesitation at letting a stranger know his name only to have his name poked at. Sure it wasn't the most extravagant name but in all of the world he was the only Naruto that he knew and he liked to think that it made him unique.
"Actually your name has another meaning to it, one that symbolizes motion in the form of a maelstrom." Seijuro pointed out as if it was the most plain thing in the world as he rose to his full height.
"What's a m-maelstrom Seijuro-san?" Naruto asked as his seven year old mind tried wrapping itself around the word.
"Don't worry about it; just know that your name has another meaning to it." Seijuro replied as he cut the line of questioning about that subject there.
"Oh, well thanks again." Naruto said as he slowly rose to his feet and was about to take off and see if he could find his way back to Konoha when Seijuro's voice stopped him.
"Where you going kid?" Seijuro asked knowing that there was no way the kid would be able to make it back to where ever he was trying to reach.
"I'm heading back to Konoha...which ever way it is." Naruto replied as he looked about to realize that he didn't know where he was other than in the forest due to being in a sack for most of the trip out here.
"Right well we both know you're stuck out here with no clear idea of where to go, now I could take you to the nearest town and let them sort out on how you get home or you could come with me." Seijuro said as he watched Naruto's head fall at the first half of his words then perk up at his proposal.
"If I go with you what would I do exactly?" Naruto asked while silently hoping it wouldn't be anything demeaning as other homeless would explain to him that some people could only get by in life be performing degrading acts just to get a bit of money or a bite to eat.
"Well since you've piqued my curiosity with the way you handled yourself against those guys so I've decided to take you on as my apprentice and hopeful successor to the sword style you saw me use earlier. I've been looking for someone to pass the art of my school onto for the last 10 years and so far none have managed to capture my interest as you have. So what's your choice kid?" Seijuro explained as Naruto turned around to face him fully.
Naruto weighted his options in his mind and found that although that the very small number of people in Konoha that actually cared for him would be upset, he realized that when he was older he could always travel back to his home village to see them. So with his mind made up Naruto walked over to Seijuro and looked up at his new teacher.
"I'd like to study under you Seijuro-san." Naruto said with the practiced manners that he learned as well.
"All right but since I'm taking you on as my apprentice you are to address me as either sensei or shishou(master) when we are training or out in public when we need to be. Is that clear?" Seijuro instructed as he looked down at his newly chosen disciple.
"Hai shishou." Naruto replied with a bow.
"Good then your first lesson under me shall be to remember that your weapon is an extension of yourself and should always be clean of any dirt or blood from it's surface. Here uses this cloth and the water over there to wipe you blade free of the grime from your kill." Seijuro said as he produced a cloth from within his cloak and handed it to Naruto who had pulled out his tanto and went off to do as instructed.
Five minutes later Naruto returned to Seijuro who had been watching the entire time to ensure the boy didn't fall into the current, he then turned his blade over to his master who deemed it clean before returning the tanto to him.
"Good now then, be sure to hold onto that tanto of yours until we officially begin your training."
"Hai Shishou." Naruto said as he carefully placed the tanto in it's carry spot.
"Come Naruto we're leaving now." Seijuro ordered as he took off for the main road once again with Naruto moving to catch up with him.
"Shishou if I may ask where are we going exactly?" Naruto inquired while trying to keep up with Seijuro's brisk stride.
"To a port town in the north so we can catch a boat back to Japan, now come along so we can reach a neighboring village to rest in for the remainder of the night." Seijuro answered while keeping his eyes firmly fixed ahead.
"Hai shishou." Naruto replied as both master and apprentice walked off into the dead of night.
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In Konohagakure no Sato
Sarutobi Hiruzen a man known far and wide for both his battle prowess and his keen insight and intellect as the Sandaime Hokage for Konoha, was nearly pulling his hair out over the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto. He knew that it had been sometime since he last checked on the boy but things were just getting back to normal after the hectic mess that resulted from the Kyuubi attack seven years ago. As of right now he had every available jounin and Anbu searching the village for the boy he considered a grandson, and so far they were unsuccessful.
A knock on his office door pulled the aging Hokage from his thoughts as he gave the call to come in, the door swung open to reveal two people: the first wore a high collar coat that obscured majority of his features from view along with a pair of rounded sunglasses and a circular container on his back. The second was a woman with wild looking with brown shaggy hair and a feral expression on her face. She had a hint of fanged canines poking out her mouth and eyes like a predator's, what really stood out about her was the two red triangles on each of her cheeks at her side was a large wolf like dog with an eyepatch over his right eye. These two were Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume, the clan head for the Aburame and Inuzuka clans respectively and they both had the air of curiosity about them at being called at such a late hour in the evening.
"You sent for us Hokage-sama?" Shibi asked as he looked at his leader with calculating eyes behind his shades.
"I did need the expert tracking abilities of your respective clans and who better suited for the task then the two clan heads." Sarutobi started as he reached for his pipe and took a much needed pull from it.
"Of course Hokage-sama, what is it you need us to find?" Tsume asked with a reaffirming nod from Shibi.
"It's not what but more along the lines of who Tsume, Uzumaki Naruto has gone missing since the festival started earlier. I want him found before anything happens to him." Sarutobi explained as he got to his feet and looked out into the night through his office window.
"The pup's in trouble? Why didn't you say so from the beginning, where should we start looking?" Tsume said with a growl at the knowledge of finding out Naruto was the one to go missing, she and Shibi unlike the rest of the council actually called for Naruto to be adopted into one of their clans but were blocked out at every turn claiming that someone as Naruto couldn't be allowed to reside with one clan within Konoha. And to this day it infuriated her at how closed minded the rest of Konoha was with the exception of few individuals.
"Before we go off on a hunt, it is logical to have something to use as a base to track young Naruto with." Shibi pointed out after he put a calming hand on Tsume's shoulder.
"Yes you are indeed right Shibi, I have the blanket from the day Naruto was born. I figure it's got enough of his scent for you both to use." Sarutobi said as he pulled a scroll from his desk and unsealed the baby blanket within before handing it over to the two clan heads.
"Kuromaru get a good whiff if you can." Tsume instructed of her ninken partner as she held the blanket low enough to reach his nose.
Kuromaru began sniffing the blanket while Shibi attached some of his kikaichu to the blanket so he could track the scent as well. After about a minute or so Kuromaru looked to Tsume with a nod that confirmed he was ready to get tracking.
"Kuromaru is ready to go Hokage-sama." Tsume said as she handed him the item back.
"As are my kikachu." Shibi replied as he insects flew back to their hive within his body.
"I shall join you with a group of my best Anbu." Sarutobi said as he pulled off his robes to reveal the battle armor he wore underneath, then he snapped his fingers and four figures appeared in a line in front of his desk each of them on one knee with their heads bowed.
"We are moving out so be prepare for a possible battle, now let's get going before we lose this chance." Sarutobi ordered of the six shinobi under his command.
"Hai Hokage-sama!" All six said before every person in the room vanished in a shunshin.
Tsume's partner lead them all the way across Konoha and out the west gate into the forest, soon as the gate disappeared from view Shibi's kikaichu began to pick up Naruto's chakra signature and that gave the group more to work with as they traveled five miles away from the village before stopping as Kuromaru changed directions and began running north with the group of shinobi's keeping pace. The entire time Sarutobi was praying for the young boy's safety and return to Konoha when talking brought him out of his thoughts.
"I don't like this Tsume, whoever took the pup out the village wasn't alone when they did so, we're looking at about twenty different others scents mixed with his." Kuromaru stated which caused Sarutobi's heart to drop at what it could mean.
"You haven't lost the trail have you?" Tsume asked just to be sure that wasn't the case.
"No I just though that fact should have been known, the scent still goes on a bit of ways." Kuromaru replied with a shake of his head.
"Then we shouldn't waste anymore time lead on Kuromaru." Sarutobi said as he was getting frustrated with the lack of results.
Kuromaru led them along the same route Naruto did through the forest and across the merchant path until he slowed as he neared the clearing.
"Kuromaru what is-...Blood." Tsume asked before her sense of smell answered her question for her .
"Yes and lots of it, the answer to the pup's disappearance lies up ahead." Kuromaru nodded at his partner's assessment.
The group walked into the clearing and the sight that greeted them would have turned a lesser person's stomach, the bodies of 12 civilians and 5 chuunins lay scattered along the ground with looks of surprise and horror etched on their faces. It was only their discipline and experiences with war and battles that allowed the group to move forward and investigate.
"A confrontation took place here and for some reason as illogically as it is for one so young never taught the shinobi arts, there is a concentrated burst of Naruto's chakra in the air." Shibi pointed out as he let his kikaichu out into the air.
"You think that his 'tenant' had anything to do with it?" Tsume asked as she watched the Anbu survey the bodies.
"No, neither I nor my kikaichu sense the presence of the Kyuubi. However we do sense the presence of another who was here." Shibi replied as he too looked on.
"Is there any idea of which village it might have been?" Sarutobi asked as this caught his ear.
"Unfortunately no Hokage-sama but, they had to be at least jounin level in strength that have bested 5 skilled chuunin and still have the energy to kill the civilians."
"The question becomes what reason was there for this many civilian's to be outside the village walls at one time barring times of evacuation?" Tsume pointed out as she watched Kuromaru repeatedly sniffing around the clearing.
"They were chasing him..." Sarutobi stated quietly after a minute.
"What was that Hokage-sama?" Tsume asked as even she didn't hear what it was he said clearly.
"The civilians and the chuunins most likely were chasing Naruto when the mystery person happened upon them. Whatever took place here has resulted in the loss of 17 people from out village, 5 of which came from our forces...Two of you Anbu, go search that river behind you as far as you are able." Sarutobi said as he looked at the river raging behind the scene with an epiphany.
"Hai Hokage-sama!" The Anbu replied before two of the four took off running down the bank of the river while the other two stayed behind to seal up the bodies of the dead.
"If it's even a remote chance that Naruto fell into the river and washed up stream I'm going to take it." Sarutobi said to no one in particular as he began pacing.
15 minutes later the two Anbu returned covered in dirt and leaves but, no blonde child in hand.
"Report!" Sarutobi ordered as soon as he saw them and stopped pacing but the look of worry didn't fade in the slightest.
"We have failed you Hokage-sama, we followed the river as far as we were able to but didn't see any sign of Uzumaki Naruto's body." The two anbu reported as they knelled in front of their leader how looked completely dejected.
"No...neither of you have failed me. It is I how failed the young boy I was entrusted to keep safe. I should have done right in the beginning but failed to do so and now it's cost Konoha it's greatest hero." Sarutobi said as he nearly broke down at that bit of news before ordering that the bodies be sealed up in scrolls and brought back to the village.
After getting back to the village and dismissing the Anbu to relieve the bodies to him for the time being, then Sarutobi then turned to Tsume and Shibi with a look in his eyes that caused them both to internally shiver. It was the look that inspired both fear and respect in enemies and allies alike when they witnessed those eyes on the battlefield during the first and second great shinobi wars, it was the look of the Kami no Shinobi a being that struck with such precision that you didn't even know that you were dead before your head hit the dirt.
"Tsume, Shibi...I know you both have done a lot in the last hour or so but I'm going to need the cooperation and presence of both of you once more." Sarutobi said calmly as he turned from Shibi to Tsume once each.
"Of course Hokage-sama, whatever you need." Tsume replied as uneasiness and curiosity warred inside her at what was possibly going to happen. Shibi just nodded in agreement.
"Good then I want the both of you to head for the council chambers and I will be along when I can, please relay this to any of the other council who ask." came from Sarutobi in the same calm manner as he got a silent nod from both clan heads before walking off.
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15 minutes later in the Council Meeting Chamber
The entire council of Konoha sat around waiting to see what the late night meeting was about, some of the council only had enough time to pull on a yakuta jacket before hurrying to the chamber while others actually took the extra two minutes to look presentable.
A lone dais where the Hokage sat was empty as Sarutobi had yet to show just yet, immediately below the Hokage sat three people, each from the same generation as Sarutobi himself. First was a man garb in robs similar to the Hokage with grey hair glasses and a scowl this was Mitokado Homura. To Homura's right sat a woman with her hair is pulled back in a twin bun locked by a traditional Japanese hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side, she also wore a simple long kimono, closed by an obi, a jacket, and a sash over it. This was Utatane Koharu and together with Homura they were the council advisers to the Hokage.
On Koharu's right sat one last figure, he was dressed in bandages that cover the right side of his face and arm. In his left hand sat a cane which he gripped with an unreadable expression, this man was Shimura Danzo a known war hawk. He was the commander of a secret branch of Anbu called 'Ne'(Root) and although the Hokage called for their disband years ago, the group still operated in secret behind the Hokage's back to perform the jobs that wouldn't be taken by normal shinobi although Sarutobi had yet to prove it.
Below where the three elders sat was the Captain of the Anbu, a kunoichi that only went by Usagi both as a codename and her chosen mask, the Current Head of Konoha's hospital staff Hidegawa Ishiro, the Head of the Interrogation and Torture department Morion Ibiki, The Directors of both the Civilian and Shinobi academies respectively.
To the right of Hokage sat the civilian portion of the council, they represented those of Konoha that were not shinobi and dealt with the financial and typical aspects of the village. Of course they weren't without corruption amongst their ranks as they used the chaos of the Kyuubi attack 7 years ago to entrench themselves into the military portion of the village, however that would change as of today if anything was to be said about it.
Lastly there were the various head of the clans of Konoha that sat on the Hokage's left side, there was the first generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho. First there was Yamanaka Inoichi who was head of his clan and the second in command of the I&T Division. Next came Nara Shikaku who was head of his clan and the Jounin Hancho(Jounin Commander) for all of Konoha's Forces. The last member of the trios was Akimichi Chouza who was known as a gentle giant outside of combat and owned a restaurant or two in the commercial district.
Next came Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan. He wore a simple yukata robe with a brown jacket over it and his clan's kekkei genkai was set in a scowl of confusion at being summoned during this late hour.. Lastly was Tsume and Shibi who were sitting side by side with unreadable and pensive looks on their faces.
"Now this is just plain unprofessional, how can the Hokage expect us to show up for a meeting in the middle of the night when he himself isn't present?" A civilian council member with brown hair pulled into a bun asked aloud of the council hoping to get an answer.
Tsume was about to speak up when the doors to the chamber slammed open with a loud bang before being closed behind the figure that entered. It was Sarutobi standing there with a folder tucked under his right arm and a fierce scowl on his face that caused many including the usual Danzo who was known for always being neutral in his expressions to shiver at the intensity that their hokage's eyes were portraying.
"If you must know councilwoman Haruno, unlike you who was sleeping comfortably in their bed. I was handling a matter of the utmost importance." Sarutobi replied as he made his way up to his position in the chamber and sat down and began to silently pack his pipe with tobacco.
"What was the matter Hiruzen?... Hiruzen?" Koharu asked only to receive silence as her answer so she tried again only to get the same result as Sarutobi continued his actions and calmly lit his pipe before taking a long pull on it and breathing out the smoke in a relaxing manner as the rest of the chamber looked on in silence.
"Let us be clear for a moment elder Utatane, in these chambers or at any time when you are in my office you are to use the proper term of respect in talking to me outside of a privacy setting. I've become too lax in how I've let you and Homura address me outside of the normal and that type of behavior has begun to trickle down through the council, it's an error I intend to correct as of right now among other things. Is that understood elder Utatane?" Sarutobi started off in such a sharp tone that had everyone on edge as they looked at their Hokage in a new light.
"Yes...Hokage-sama." Koharu replied with shock written clearly on her face as she gazed at her old teammate as she saw the fire truly rekindled in him.
"Good that goes for the rest of you as well." Sarutobi said as he pinned majority of the civilian council with a hard glare before taking another pull of his pipe.
"Now then the matter I was taking care of along with clan heads Inuzuka and Aburame was the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto from within the village." the aged hokage said as he resumed his train of thought on what he was revealing and did so only for the room to burst into a cacophony of shouting as he took another pull from his pipe to settle his nerves.
"SILENCE!" Sarutobi yelled as he spiked his chakra for order which was established in a few seconds seeing as none wanted to provoke the god of shinobi's ire.
"To stop you all before this escalates out of control, this meeting will be conducted like adults and not children on the playground. If you cannot conduct yourself in a proper manner you shall be removed from these chambers and we shall find someone capable to replace you." Sarutobi stated as his gaze swept over everyone in the council to make his point known.
"Hokage-sama, surely you wouldn't seriously do such a thing?" a council member on the civilian side asked as he got to his feet.
"Ah but I can and will councilman, if you all cannot behave in a manner according." Sarutobi said as he looked to the council member who spoke.
"If I may inquire Hokage-sama, what was the result of the kidnapping of the young Uzumaki?" Hiashi asked as he got to his feet to address the council while he had the moment to.
"He's dead Hiashi, plunged into a river about 10 miles north of the village to never know the light of day again." Sarutobi replied in such a blunt manner that it threw people off until Koharu got to her feet.
"What will that mean in terms of the other villages? If word of this got out we could be looking at our enemies knocking on our door by the end of the week!" She said which caused a murmur to go through the chamber.
"That's one of the things that disgusts me right there, an innocent child is dead and all you can think about how we could be affected publicly Koharu. And if any of you say that he deserved it I will kill you where you sit! That boy didn't ask to be made the jailer for the Kyuubi, hell he didn't even have a choice in the matter!" Sarutobi said as he looked at Koharu in disgust before his chakra began to spike along with his anger which made more than a few civilian council members very nervous as they were unused to such things.
"And if you must know that the reason that Naruto is even dead is because of the stupidity of our own people." Sarutobi admitted as he got to his feet.
"I find those claims to be absolute ludicrous, Hokage-sama. Our people are morally upstanding." Haruno said as she rose to her feet to challenge the claims.
"Really, so then tell me are these not the corpses of our own civilians and five of our chuunin then?" Sarutobi said as he tossed the scroll to an Anbu who was stationed in the corner before that shinobi unsealed the corpses in the middle of the room for all to see. Of course those of the civilian side went green in the face and some tried reaching the nearest trash can.
"What in kami's name is that?" Haruno nearly shrieked as she fought to keep her dinner down at the sight.
"Those were the people you were trying to defend, and isn't that one of your family councilwoman Haruno. One Haruno Genji if I'm not mistaken?" Sarutobi said as he pointed to a corpse in particular that had the symbol of the Haruno family crest on his jacket.
"I'm curious...Hokage-sama. Do you know what caused the deaths of these 17 citizens of Konoha?" Danzo suddenly spoke up with his usual carefully worded manner as he attempted to keep Hiruzen's anger from being directed at him.
"Tsume, Shibi?" Sarutobi said as he looked to both mentioned clan heads to give their response on the matter.
"We couldn't ascertain as to who could do such a thing to 5 highly skilled chuunin but we suspect whoever did kill them was at least jounin in rank and ability." Shibi announced before he let Tsume have the floor.
"According to our search of the area we found out that somehow, the pup managed to use chakra for what we don't know but it had to have happened before he was lost to the river that was nearby. He didn't even have a chance against it's current." Tsume said while suppressing a growl that found it's way into her throat as she took her seat again.
Silence met the chamber for the longest time as people composed themselves as the bodies were resealed and removed from the room to the morgue. Soon however one of the civilian council members spoke up breaking the din of quiet within the chamber. "So where does this leave us exactly with the boy no longer amongst the living?" This of course had their village's leader snap his head towards their one who spoke with a cool intensity.
"We shall move forward as we always have, you can expect there will be changes in how the leaf shall be run from now on. This meeting is adjourned and you all are dismissed until I call for you otherwise." Sarutobi said as he waved everyone off while he climbed to his feet slowly and made his way out the chamber without another word to anyone.
Silently the venerable fire shadow made his way to his office where he dismissed his Anbu escort for the night before heading inside and sitting behind his desk, Making sure that he was truly alone Sarutobi then reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a framed photo. It was a photo of when he took Naruto on a trip with him to the capital to meet with the Daimiyo, It held Sarutobi and a four year old Naruto sitting at a game booth with happy smiles on both their faces as they glanced at the camera together. It was one of the few and last times that Naruto held a genuine smile on his face, before this village robbed him of any chance at happiness and even his life.
"Naruto my boy,...I hope you could forgive this foolish old man for placing such a burden as the one you've had to carry for 7 years on you. I promise that I will do all that I can to right some of the wrongs I've allowed to go on since taking this accursed hat back. I..." Sarutobi nearly cried as tears fell slowly and splashed against Naruto's smiling face in the photo.
Sarutobi finally let go of the tears he was holding back as he looked to the portraits of his predecessors and each of them even his own younger portraits seemed to share the sorrow that was filling the office, as Hiruzen cried silently for a boy he considered family.
Four Days Later, in Kaminari no Kuni
After paying for a carriage to cut the amount of time in half, Seijuro and Naruto arrived in the port town of Tsujin with just enough time to spare as a ship was getting ready to depart back to Japan on a passenger and shipment run. So after purchasing two tickets Seijuro looked down at Naruto.
"Okay we have some time before the ship departs so we're going to get you some new clothing, no apprentice of my is going to be seen in rags." Seijuro said as he lead the way with Naruto walking at his side.
To say that traveling was a new experience to Naruto; was to say that Jiraiya peeked on women casually it was an understatement. The young seven year old was impressed with all the new sights and sounds he was witnessing but Naruto knew that straying too far fro Seijuro's side or vision wouldn't be the best idea. So while following his master into a nearby clothing store, Naruto took in as many sights as he could but then stopped knowing that there would be even more sights where they were heading.
"Welcome to my shop, how may I serve your needs for clothing today?" A man in his early forties asked with a gentle smile.
"I need something simplistic yet sturdy for my ward here." Seijuro said as he indicated Naruto whom he put a gesturing hand on to move in front of him.
"Of course sir, come young man step this way." The stork clerk said as he guided Naruto over to where he kept children clothes.
Fifteen minutes later Naruto came back to the front wearing a basic yukata top it was primarily a dark blue with a white outline on the ends there the top closed, his legs were covered by a pair of simple pants with a belt to hold the item in question up on his body and provide a place to securely place his tanto. The only thing left of Naruto's old ensemble was the blue sandals still on his feet. After paying for the new clothing and having the old outfit burned at the store clerk's leisure, Seijuro and Naruto had just made it to board the boat before it set out for Japan.
After getting set in a simple room fit for two people, Naruto and Seijuro went up to the top deck to enjoy some fresh air as well as to take one last look at the Elemental countries. Seijuro sat himself on the deck against the railing while Naruto stood up on a nearby crate and looked at the port town as the ship began to move away from it.
"Take your last looks at the Elemental countries kid, it will be a long time before you come back here. That is if you decide to anyway." Seijuro said as he took to drinking a bottle of sake he purchased just before boarding.
Naruto simply looked at the port town as it got further and further away until the landmass that was the Elemental countries couldn't be seen anymore. With that done Naruto then turned towards where the ship was heading Japan...his future.
AN: Okay here's the first chapter of Hitokiri Battosai Maelstrom, tell me what you guys think and remember to keep voting in the polls for the relationship options in the story if you haven't done so. Chapter 2 will see a brief look into Naruto's training and his return to the Elemental Countries. To keep people from asking this; Kenshin shall not be in the story as Naruto has effectively replaced him as Seijuro's successor.