The crimson prince.

Chapter 2

Hiruzen was not having a good day, his troubles started a couple of weeks ago when someone started attacking bandit camps around konoha. He remembered the first incident like it was yesterday.

Flashback start

Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently enjoying a relaxing day in the Hokage Office since he was finished with his current batch of paperwork. He was brought out of his musings when a knock came from the door.

"Come in." said the Hokage as he settled himself behind his desk and put on his game face, so to speak. His secretary, Akiko, peeked in and informed him that there were three Jounin's looking for him. "Let them in please, Akiko-san."

Three Jounin's filed in with their respective Genin teams before standing in attention in front of his desk.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama." Greeted the three Jounins with a bow followed closely by their Genin charges.

"At ease. Weren't you three supposed to be on a mission from this morning?" Sarutobi asked, confused. These three Jounins took their respective missions of exterminating three different bandit camps that surrounded Konoha. In fact, this was a monthly mission considering that bandits tend to crop up to create problems with the local business community. After all, it was bad for business to let bandits roam the countryside unopposed and the village had a budget for it just in case the situation came up.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. My Genins and I encountered a bit of problem when we arrived at the bandit camp that we were supposed to exterminate." said the Jounin who immediately saw his comrades stiffen at hearing his report. "From the looks of it, the rest of you had the same problem as well." This got a nod from the two other Jounins.

The Hokage frowned at this. What problem could crop up from a simple extermination mission?

"What seems to be the problem?" the Sandaime asked the trio.

"When we reached the bandit camp, my Genin cell and I were prepared to take them out. However, when he scouted the camp, we found all the bandits unconscious and all their possessions stolen. I was able to wake one of them up but he couldn't tell me anything aside from the fact that someone knocked him unconscious without knowing who it was. From the other bandits, all they felt was a gust of wind and a sharp pain from the back of their necks before darkness claimed them." Reported the first Jounin.

"I also have the same problem, Hokage-sama." Said the second Jounin.

"Same here." The last quipped with amusement earning him a glare from the two.

"Hmmm." Was the reply of the Sandaime as he rubbed his goatee. "So let me get this straight, three bandit camps that you three were supposed to exterminate were all down for the count when you got there with all their loot gone?" He got a nod from all three. "Any idea what happened?"

The second Jounin coughed before speaking, making everyone's attention shift to him causing him to blush slightly.

"After making sure that they were secured to avoid runaways, I decided to check for signs of attacks. I found out that all of the bandits were hit behind the neck by a blunt object though the marks were clearly that of a sword, knocking them out. In fact, all of them were hit in the same place."

"I found the same thing, Hokage-sama." The third Jounin added his two cents in the report. "From the looks of it, all three bandit camps were hit by the same person. I know a bit of kenjutsu and I could safely say that whoever this person is, he or she knew what they were doing. They were hit strong enough to knock them out but not enough to kill them."

The Hokage nodded while processing the information he received.

"So we have a kenjutsu user somewhere around Konoha hitting bandit camps. From what you three said, it seemed that the aim of this…person…was to steal from them. How ironic…bandits getting robbed." said the Hokage in amusement.

"Are we going to do something about this, Hokage-sama?" asked the second Jounin, itching to find out who robbed them of a mission.

"Not at the moment. From your report, it seemed that this…person...only robbed bandits and no one else. Such is the case; it would be stupid of us to do something about it since that person is technically not causing any problems. In fact, that person is doing us a favor. However, if we receive similar reports of merchants being attacked then we are going to take action." declared the Hokage since a bandit robbing bandits wasn't really their concern. It was simple power play after all so it was nothing to worry about.

"Umm…does this mean that we won't get paid?" said the third Jounin causing the other two to look at him. "What? We did go to this mission after all and we rounded up the bandits even though we didn't do a thing aside from picking them up. Besides, I'm almost out of money and I need to pay this month's rent." He said defensively. This caused everyone to sweat drop at the admission.

"Fine." Said the Hokage, handing all three of them their respective envelopes containing the pay for the mission. They technically finished the mission after all even if all they did was to round them up. "Here is your payment for the mission. You're free to get another mission since all of you technically finished yours but if you're not then you have the rest of the day off. Dismissed."

The three Jounin's and their respective Genin teams left the office leaving a perplexed Hokage to ponder the event.

Flashback end

Naruto's self-imposed mission of earning money went without a hitch.

In the first night, he was lucky to hit three bandit camps and looted every valuable item he could find after knocking the occupants unconscious with a well-placed hit on the back of their necks. The items he liberated varied from bolts of cloth, jewelries, food stock, to money chests.

Fortunately for him, he had the foresight to 'acquire' a storage scroll from one of the shinobi stores in the village to help carry the items he liberated from the camps. If Naruto was honest with himself, the loot wasn't plenty but he would make do. Beggars can't be choosers after all.

He was thankful that Kurama taught him the chakra Pulse to scout the forested areas along the highway of Fire Country until he found the bandit camps that he planned to raid.

Considering that he didn't get enough money from the bandits, he decided to spend the rest of the week looking for others until he had enough money for his 'home' in the Forest of Death. The pickings were small but with all the bandit camps he raided, he had almost a million ryo to tide him over, as well as some jewels and items he might find useful in the future.

Using the Henge he learned from one of the scrolls he pilfered from the Konoha Academy, he disguised himself as a middle-aged man and purchased the necessary supplies for his construction project. He didn't do it all in one day since it would look conspicuous so he spread the purchases out, like nails and hammer for the first day, tiles for the roof on the next, and so on. Every items he purchased he deposited in one corner of 'his' clearing in the Forest of Death before delving into the chore of harvesting much-needed lumber from a sturdy tree he picked out a few hundred meters away from his clearing. He considered it physical training to cut through the tree using Benehime's bladed edge earning him a few grumbling comments from the spirit.

Kurama found the spirit's mortification of being used as a construction tool amusing.

It was two weeks later that Naruto finally finished his new home in the S-Class sector of Training Ground 44. All-in-all, he liked what he results.

Considering that he wasn't that picky with the design, he modeled it after Benehime's hut in his mindscape. It had two rooms and a kitchen, as well as living room. He had to take a trip to the Konoha Library for some books on construction and architecture to add mechanism of sorts that would allow water from the waterfall to enter a series of pipes to an indoor well by the kitchen. It had a system of pipes that would make sure that it won't overflow, letting the excess water flow out from another pipe to the river. Waste not, want not after all.

He used the leftover lumber to erect a fence around the clearing, high enough to discourage any of the denizens to stray into his beloved home. He wasn't worried about that since the time he spent in the clearing, none of the predators came. He was a bit puzzled about that but didn't investigate since it was of no use to find out the cause anyway.

To give himself some time-off from all the work, he decided to visit his precious people in the village.

First, he made his way to the Ichiraku's and enjoyed bowls after bowls of their delicious ramen. Even when he was training, he made a point to visit the quaint ramen stand and the company of Teuchi and Ayame who both he considered as family, aside from their delicious ramen of course.

It was two hours after lunch that he made his way to the Hokage Tower to visit his surrogate grandfather. It had been quite a while since he saw the Hokage and he missed the old man's company.

He entered the building after giving the Chuunins on guard a smile which they returned. Most of the shinobis in the village didn't hate him for what he carried in his gut. In fact, quite a few of them were sympathetic to his cause by chasing away the mobs that were after him, helping him buy food from the stores that refused him services, and so on.

He even made a few friends from the ANBU that guarded him while he was young, notably Dog, Cat, Bear, Snake, crow and Weasel.

Naruto entered the building and made his way to the top floor, totally ignoring the secretary who was glaring at him. Again, it seemed that the civilians were the only people in the village who hated him. He just shrugged it off since he didn't really care about them anymore. He knocked on the door to the Hokage's office and getting a grunt from the other side.

Amused, Naruto entered the office and closed the door behind him. He saw his surrogate grandfather busying himself with the piles of paperwork on his desk.

"Good afternoon, old man." greeted Naruto as he made his way to one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk.

The Hokage grunted before putting down the document he was reading to look at his surrogate grandson.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun. What brings you here? It's been quite a while since you visited and I was quite worried." said the Hokage while giving the whiskered blonde a smile.

"Just visiting, jiji. It's been a while since I've visited. I've been quite busy as of late." replied Naruto, returning the old man's smile. He looked at the piles of paperwork on the desk curiously. "I think you're paperwork grew, jiji."

"Tell me about it." said the Hokage while eyeing the innocent paper on his desk with disgust. "I don't know why I took this job when the Yondaime passed away. I forgot how annoying the paperwork was."

Naruto laughed at his surrogate grandfather's plight.

"What got you so annoyed anyway?" asked Naruto as he picked up one of the papers on the desk. He read it and discovered that it was an accounting report for the running of the village. He took another document and got the same thing. He turned to the Hokage who was giving him an amused look. "Budget huh?"

"Yes. It's the month for it. I swear the civilian council had it in for me. They were supposed to work on this since I am only supposed to work on the shinobi matters. If I didn't know any better, they're getting lazy."

"You could always give it back to them, I suppose. You're the Hokage for crying out loud. Konoha is a shinobi village so you should be the one in control. I say you get the council together, tell them the new rules or remind them of their responsibilities then leave them to stew about it." Said Naruto sagely, nodding at the idea since it was good. The aged leader looked at his grandson strangely before a happy grin stole its way into his wrinkled face.

"You know, Naruto-kun. That is a pretty good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that." The Hokage mused in thought while tapping his chin.

"I think it's because that you tend to think that you're responsible for everything in this village, jiji. I mean, sure, you're the leader but isn't that the reason why you have people working under you?" Naruto pointed out while raising one of his eyebrows.

"You're right." agreed the Hokage before giving the blonde a speculative look. "That was a smart way of putting things into perspective, Naruto-kun."

"I do read, jijij, and I have a lot of spare time on my hands before I attend the Academy in two years so I spend most of it reading anything I could get my hands on. Considering that the shinobi section of the library is out of my reach until I become a Genin, I spend most of my time reading history and politics in my spare time." Naruto deadpanned making the Hokage give him a sheepish grin.

"You're right. You are a smart kid after all." said the Hokage before giving Naruto a speculative look. "Naruto-kun, why don't you accompany me to Suna next week?"

This caught Naruto off-guard. The Hokage never asked him to accompany him anywhere outside the village before and he was surprised at being asked to join an expedition to another village.

"Really, jiji?" He got a nod in reply. "Sure! I would love to go with you, old man. What are we going to do in Suna anyway?" Naruto asked curiously.

The Hokage didn't say anything but simply handed Naruto a piece of paper from his desk. Naruto didn't know it but the Hokage was testing him. Sarutobi was shrewd and he knew intelligence when he saw it and the boy in front of him had that intelligent look in his blue eyes that spoke of a prodigious mind.

Curiously, Naruto took it and read its content before whistling at the information it contained.

"To talk about the treaty huh?" The blonde jinchuuriki said with a raised eyebrow. "From the looks of it, the Kazekage wanted to modify the treaty to stop the missions coming from the Wind Daimyo given to Konoha. Now that's weird, why in the world would their Daimyo not give them missions but instead give it to Konoha. That doesn't make sense. I mean, Konoha gets a steady supply of missions from the Fire Daimyo so why is the Wind Daimyo giving expensive missions to us?" exclaimed Naruto as he handed the document back to the Hokage who took it with a nod.

"How much do you know about the history of Sunagakure, Naruto-kun." asked the Hokage, further testing the blonde in front of him. He wanted to know the extent of the blonde's intelligence. Considering who the boy's parents was, it was only normal for the boy to be of same caliber as well, or maybe even better.

Naruto pondered the question a bit, recalling the history books he read from the library.

"Let me see, nothing major aside from the accomplishments of their Kage, as well as some of the notable missing-nins that they had, like Sasori of the Red Sands for example. Other than that, the only notable history concerning Suna was how they lost during the Third Great Shinobi War before finally going into a treaty with Konoha in order to preserve whatever dignity they had, as well as making sure that they had allies to call in once the other Hidden Villages decided to wage war on them."

The Hokage nodded, pride clearly shining in his eyes.

"You're correct, Naruto-kun. Ever since they lost and aligned themselves with the losing side during the Third Great Shinobi War, the Wind Daimyo lost his trust with them. This resulted in the Wind Daimyo giving a bulk of their high-ranked missions to Konoha and leaving the lower-paid ones to Suna. What do you think that Kazekage would want in this meeting?" he asked the blonde, an eyebrow raised as if challenging the boy in front of him to voice out his mind.

Naruto saw the challenge and accepted it. He mulled over his answers before voicing it out.

"I think that the Kazekage would go into a debate with you concerning this matter. If Konoha informs that Wind Daimyo to give back the missions to Suna then it would only be probable for him to do so considering our reputation as the strongest in the Elemental Nations being the victor of the Third Great Shinobi War. However, I think the Kazekage would have to convince you first to do that considering that high-paid mission is a great boon to our economy. If that is the case then I think the ruler of Suna would put some bargaining chips on the table…something that would entice you to sway the Wind Daimyo to give the missions back to them. What do you think, jiji?"

The Hokage clapped his hands in approval and gave Naruto look filled with pride which made the boy beam in happiness.

"You're correct in that regard, Naruto-kun. But what do you think this bargaining chip would be?" asked the Hokage, enjoying the intelligent conversation he was having with his surrogate grandson. If he knew that Naruto was this smart years ago then he would have spent more time with him in this very office to help come up with good ideas or tackle some problems with his paperwork. After all, a healthy view of current events would always outweigh the old ones in his head. Tradition had that problem sometimes.

"Hmm…I'm not really sure, jiji. But are we really going to bargain with them on this? I mean, we also need the money from the missions, right?" Naruto asked before seeing the Hokage rummage through the piles of paperwork on his desk. The old man seemed to have found what he was looking for before handing it over to him. Naruto looked through it and whistled.

"I see, from the looks of the budget report, the money coming in from the missions is huge and even if we do lose money by giving it back to Suna, we are still on the positive." This got a nod from the Hokage making Naruto think on the potential 'bargaining chip' that the Kazekage would be offering to Konoha to sway the Daimyo to their favor. "Considering that this is a shinobi village we are talking about, I don't think we are getting imports of supplies from them, right?"

The Hokage shook his head. "To be honest, Naruto-kun. We aren't really getting anything from Suna economically. Due to Konoha's location, everything we need is grown in Fire Country except for a few supplies coming from the minor villages within our borders. In fact, the only notable imports we have are healing herbs from Takigakure. That said, Konoha is self-sufficient unless there is need to import rare supplies from the outside." explained the Hokage, making Naruto nod.

"If that is the case then the Kazekage would offer shinobi techniques in payment for swaying the Daimyo's mind to their liking. What is Suna's specialty?" Naruto asked curiously. He was really enjoying learning a thing or two about politics from the old man. Learning it from the books during his night-time sojourn into the library was one thing, learning from the expert was simply better.

"Let me see, Suna is well-known for their Fuuton jutsus (Wind Techniques), poisons and antidotes, as well as their Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique)." Informed the Hokage after some thought.

"If that is the case, I would say Fuuton jutsus then, or even some knowledge on their poisons and antidotes. I doubt they would be willing to part with the secret of their puppet techniques since it is unique to them." Naruto mused before setting down the documents he was holding on the desk. "Do we have any Fuuton users in Konoha?"

"A few but these shinobis only had minor affinities with it. The only person who had a strong affinity to Fuuton is my son, Asuma, who is currently part of the Fire Guardians."

Naruto whistled. Fire Guardians were the Daimyo's personal guards and considered to be powerful shinobis in their own specific field. If the old man's son was a part of it then he was definitely strong.

"Nice." Naruto said with a nod. "So when are we going to Suna?"

"I need to meet with my advisers, as well as the council to discuss this matter though I would tell them what you told me to get the ball running. If things go as planned, we would be leaving in four days, more or less." The Hokage informed him. Naruto nodded with a grin. His excitement was leaking out of him in waves.

"Well, if that's the case then I better get ready." said Naruto before standing up from his seat, grin still plastered on his face. "Just send one of your ANBU guards to find me if it's time for us to go."

The Hokage nodded before giving his surrogate grandson a smile.

"I will, Naruto-kun. Enjoy your day."

The blonde jinchuuriki left with a grin and a spring on his step. He couldn't wait to get out of Konoha and check out other places that he hadn't been to, even if his destination was Suna and nowhere else. Unlike his one-week trip outside Konoha walls to raid the bandit camps, this trip was purely for sightseeing purposes and he couldn't wait to get out of the village and immerse himself in the experience.

It took four days for the Sandaime to finalize everything with the council before they started their trip to Suna. Naruto, being the excitable boy that he was despite his now cold persona; packed everything into a storage scroll he purchased using his alter-ego. While he was packing the stuff, his attention inadvertently settled on the seal on the scroll and his interest was piqued. Sealing was something that both Benehime and Kurama encouraged him to learn, and he found new and interresting wayw to use them, especially in combat.

Naruto also discovered that sealing was a very complicated and delicate art and very dangerous if not properly applied. After a day of study, he was able to properly recreate one of the storage seals that the Yondaime created that would allow him to directly create a storage seal on his skin through a tattoo. In truth, he was lucky to find the book in one of the dust-covered cabinets in the shinobi section devoted to this subject. From the amount of dust, not many shinobis were interested in the sealing arts so he took the book with him to add to his collection. He was quite sure that no one would miss it.

After practicing with the seal tattoo on paper until he perfected it, Naruto immediately applied it on the back of his left hand where he immediately stored Benehime inside. Despite how much he loved the Hokage, it wouldn't do for unwanted questions to be asked that he wasn't ready to answer. Besides, it was a great surprise tactic just in case they were attacked though he doubted it since the Hokage was more than enough to handle any threats, not to mention the bodyguards tagging along for the trip.

Naruto didn't know it but the event that would take place would cement his role in the Elemental Nation, a role that would strike fear in the hearts of many and a legend that would surpass even that of his parents.

Scene change

Naruto reached the Northern Gate of Konoha, wearing his usual attire, a dark coat, which sports a white diamond pattern along its bottom half with a red uzu symbol in the middle, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. Naruto carries a fan, which he occasionally uses to hide his face. He usually wears traditional Japanese wooden sandals (geta) and a striped dark green and white bucket hat (which usually shadows his eyes), only to see the Hokage and his two bodyguards standing in wait. Both bodyguards were familiar to him, one of them was Uchiha Itachi the other was Uchiha Shisui, Itachi had onyx eyes under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grew longer over the years. His overall appearance is very similar to his brother Sasuke's. When he was of duty, his casual clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, bandages around his ankles, and black sandals. He wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. When on duty, he would wear the standard Anbu uniform complete with arm guards, a flak jacket, and a porcelain mask which was fashioned to resemble a weasel with a red, triangular marking on top. As for Shisui also had short, unkempt, dark-coloured hair and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turns upwards at each end. He wore the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which includes a high-collared, dark-coloured outfit along with a tantō strapped to the right side of the back of his shoulder. He also wore what appeared to be a harness for his tantō which ran across his chest and fastened over both his shoulders. During his time in the regular forces, Shisui donned the standard Konoha-nin uniform. His curiosity, however, was piqued when he saw a merchant's caravan alongside the group.

"Good morning, old man. Hi guys!" greeted Naruto with a smile as he approached the Hokage and his group.

"Hello Naruto kun." answered Itachi stoically

"Hey chibi!" said Shisui enjoying the pout on Naruto's face.

"Good morning to you too, Naruto. From the looks of it, you're ready for the trip. The orange scarf is a nice touch considering that we would be traveling through a desert when we reach the Suna border." commented the Hokage as he appraised Naruto's outfit, especially the orange scarf wrapped around the blonde's neck. He had gotten used to the blonde's somewhat traditional outfit of kimono, hakama, and geta sandals. It was unique considering that such an outfit was mostly used by the Daimyo's court in the capital of Fire Country.

Naruto gave his surrogate grandfather a grin and pulled up the scarf to cover his mouth and nose to demonstrate its use.

"One of reasons I wear this, jiji. I know that Suna is well-known for its wind and sand storms so it's best to be prepared." explained Naruto before pulling down the scarf again since such facial protection wasn't needed as of yet.

"Where is your pack, Naruto-kun? Don't tell me you plan to wear only what you're wearing now from here to Suna and back. We will be gone for a month, after all." said the Hokage, noting the absence of any gears on the blonde's person.

"No problem, jiji. I got it covered." said Naruto before pulling out a green scroll from a hidden pocket in his right sleeve. "As you can see, I have everything I need here in this scroll. Storage scrolls are just so cool."

The Hokage chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair in amusement.

"Indeed it is, Naruto-kun." the aged leader agreed. "Now before we leave, we will be joining this merchant caravan to Suna since they are going the same way. They requested a team to protect them from bandits and since we are going the same way, we will be providing that protection."

"

The head of the merchant family approached the Hokage.

"And I thank you for such an offer, Hokage-sama." said the man with a respectful bow before turning to Naruto and gave the boy a smile which the blonde returned. "My name is Haruhi Kijo. My family and I are going on a business trip to Suna to peddle our goods, as well as making sure that some of our deals there are still in working order. It is a surprise on my part that the Hokage himself took our request for bodyguards for the trip."

Naruto chuckled and gave the aged leader a grin.

"I think it is more for his convenience that nothing else, Haruhi-san. I think the old man was getting tired of sitting in his office for too long so he needed the exercise. Besides, old people need to stretch their old bones once in a while to keep in shape." explained Naruto with a mischievous grin. This comment, however, earned him a bonk on the head from a twitching Hokage. "Ouch! What did you do that for, old man?"

"I may be old, Naruto-kun, but I still have some strength in these old bones to put young ones like you in place." said the Hokage in annoyance. Sure, he was old but he wasn't that old. He still had a few more years in his body before retiring.

"Fine fine. You don't have to damage my brain cells for it, you perverted old geezer." grumbled Naruto before dodging another fist to the head. He stuck his tongue out to the Hokage who was twitching in annoyance. The merchant caravan and the Hokage's bodyguards were snickering in amusement.

It didn't take long for the Hokage to sort out the travel papers with the Chuunins assigned on the gate. When all the signatures were in place, the caravan to Suna departed Konoha with much cheer and excitement, especially for a certain blonde jinchuuriki.

On the third day of their travel to Suna, Naruto could help but enjoy the trip. True, it was a bit boring to see nothing but trees as they traversed the road to Wind Country, but the company he was in made the journey enjoyable.

Naruto got to know Haruhi's family better, especially little Misao, their adorable 3-year old daughter. Considering that the blonde lacked social interaction with people his age or younger, having the girl take up his time was a welcome experience. They would spend the rest of the journey either talking or storytelling. It was a good thing that Naruto was well-read since the girl was always demanding new stories for him to tell. Naruto wasn't bothered by the demands; in fact, he dived into her requests with gusto. It was like having a sister, and by extension, a family he never had.

Naruto also found the Haruhi elders to be like a family who treated him as such. Haruhi Suki was very motherly to the two kids, especially to Naruto who he treated like a son and didn't spare any expense in mothering him with food and care. Haruhi Kijo, on the other hand, was like a father figure, talking about stuff that Naruto should have learned from a grown-up.

All-in-all, Naruto was happy and vowed to always spend time with the family once they return to Konoha. If Naruto was honest with himself, he treated the Haruhi family an extension of his own and became his precious people.

It was on the fourth day of their trip that disaster struck. The cart that Naruto and the Haruhi family was riding on exploded without any warning, throwing off its passengers to the ground and showering them with debris.

The Hokage immediately went into alert and ordered one of his body guards to check for survivors. However, they were cut off when twelve shinobis wearing Iwa headbands surrounded them, stopping them from leaving the area.

"Well, well, well….it seems that we finally caught you, Hokage-san." said one of the shinobis who was giving the group an evil grin.

"Who are you and what have you done?" the Hokage demanded, prepared to square off with the attackers. Inwardly, however, he was worried. Worried about his surrogate grandson who was riding the cart and wanted to know how he was faring. He was also worried about the attackers. It seemed that they were well-prepared considering their numbers. From the chakra signature, these were Jounin-level shinobis and it seemed that they have come prepared.

"The answer to your question is simple, old man. We are the Rock Biter Brigade and it seemed that our information was correct. It was stupid of you to leave the safety of your village without bringing along enough manpower to protect you in case of an attack. In fact, it was…fearless…of you to do so." the Jounin answered in a mocking tone.

The Hokage tensed, as well as his bodyguards when they heard the group introduced themselves. The Rock Biter Brigade was part of Iwa's elite. Their expertise as assassins was impeccable, and their teamwork was well-known throughout the Elemental Nation. Also, this group was a master of Doton (Earth) techniques. He could easily dispatch them but it would take time, time he didn't have if he wanted to check on Naruto.

The battle started in earnest, a group attacking the Hokage while the rest were taking care of the bodyguards. The trio didn't have time to check the ruined cart. They were in a fierce battle for their lives.

Scene change

Naruto, on the other hand, was unaware of the battle taking place. He groaned when a sudden pain made its way to his left arm as he shifted. He opened his eyes and saw the devastation in front of him. The cart was blown to bits and the area they were in was littered with debris. His memory kicked in and his eyes opened wide as he started looking around for any signs of the Haruhi family.

"Kurama, can you heal my arm please. I have to find the Haruhi's." asked Naruto as he gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain as he pushed himself off the ground.

"I'm working on it, Naruto. Give me a few more minutes and it would be good as new." answered Kurama.

Naruto felt his tenant's chakra already making its way into his arm and healing the damage. Oblivious to the battle taking place a few meters away from him, he made his way around the explosion site looking for survivors. His heart clenched when he saw the still forms of the Haruhis a few feet away from the small crater where the explosion took place. He immediately ran to the trio on the ground and couldn't help but gasp at what he saw.

Haruhi Kijo was sprawled on the ground with his neck broken, clearly dead. Suki was currently hugging Misao. Both were covered in burn marks and wounds from the sharpened wooden debris from the cart. His hearts clenched when he saw a piece of wood impaling Suki and Misao through their chest. It was clear that Suki was protecting her daughter but the force of the explosion made sure that the piece of wood pierced both of them, taking their life.

Both were dead.

The Haruhis were dead.

Naruto's heart clenched.

His blue eyes that showed warmth for the first time in years became colder.

He knelt on the ground and reached out with shaky hands and closed the eyes of the dead family in front of him. Tears made its ways down his cheeks, cold blue eyes, eyes that reflected the death of loved ones shed tears for the last time.

A cold detachment gripped Naruto's heart as he stood up and turned his head to see the intense battle happening in front of him.

They would pay.

They would pay dearly.

They would die.

He would make sure of it.

"Kurama," said Naruto whispered out loud in a detached voice, devoid of any emotion. "How's my arm?"

Kurama shivered at the mental voice of its container. It did not hold any emotion and brought chill down his spine.

"All healed, Naruto. I also made sure that the superficial damage was healed as well." Kurama answered, the bijuu's mental voice subdued, already knowing what Naruto was about to do.

"Thank you." whispered Naruto as he slowly made his way to the battle, his pace slow and measured. It wasn't the pace of a boy or any man. It was the pace of a killer stalking his prey. Blood will be flowing today and it wasn't his.

Scene change

Sarutobi was having a hard time getting rid of his attackers. If they were ordinary shinobis then he could have taken care of them easily. However, these were no pushovers. It seemed that these shinobis came prepared, countering all of his techniques with ease as if they prepared for this in advance. It seemed that Iwa was hell-bent in destroying him and deal a decisive blow to the leave.

He dodged a rock dragon that erupted from the ground in front of him but was unprepared when a second dragon came at him from behind it. He braced himself for impact since it was too close to dodge or counter. However, he was shocked when he heard a familiar voice speak from behind him, a voice that he was familiar with but devoid of any warmth.

It was like ice. No, it was colder than ice.

"Byakurai."

The Hokage was unprepared when a blast of white energy, like lightning, hit the rock dragon in the face causing it to explode. Shocked at this turn of events, he turned and saw something that made his heart grip in worry and fear. Naruto was slowly walking towards him with a smoking index finger pointing at where the dragon was. He didn't doubt it but whatever that attack was, it came from the boy that he considered a grandson.

Whatever that attack was, it saved his life.

Scene change

Naruto walked towards the battle as he watched the fighting without emotions. However, he had a brief flash of anger when he saw his surrogate grandfather getting attacked by a jutsu that produced a large dragon made of rocks which was dodged with ease but the second one that followed would surely hit.

"No, I will never lose a precious person ever again."

He slowly raised his right hand with index fingers pointed at the dragon.

"Byakurai (white lightning)." was all he said before white lightning burst out of his stretched finger and hit the rock dragon, blowing it to pieces.

He continued walking closer to the battle as he observed every single participant. Every single move didn't escape his notice. He saw one of the Iwa shinobis charge forward to blindside his surrogate grandfather. He corrected his aim and spoke his next attack.

"futon kuuki Yubi (wind release Air Finger)."

The attacker was hit in the head causing it to explode. Naruto focused wind chakra into his finger and fired it like a bullet towards the enemy. This is a very useful technique as Naruto can change the size and speed of the attack to whatever he desires.This time he made sure that the impact was powerful, powerful enough to blow one's head off.

"Naruto…" said the Hokage but he was cut off when the blonde looked at him. Cold blue eyes met wary brown.

"Jiji. Please stand back." whispered Naruto as he raised his left hand.

The Hokage was about to argue but shut up when a cane materialized in Naruto's left hand. He was further shocked when the boy drew a beige-colored shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) with a curved handle and silver base. As the blade resides in a cane, the cane's handle is still the hilt and the shaft is the sheath.

He finally discovered the identity of the person who was taking down the bandits. He was about to say something when Naruto disappeared and turned when a shout came from behind him. What he saw made his blood run cold.

Naruto was in front of an Iwa shinobi with both arms cut off from the shoulder. A cane wasn't capable of such a feat but he got his answer when he saw the bloody blade in the boy's hand. Instead of the wood casing of the cane, the bladed edge was now exposed. Not only that, Naruto moved faster than even his trained eye could follow. Also, the damage he dealt was powerful, powerful for an eight year old to produce. It wasn't possible but he couldn't deny the fact that everything that happened in front of him was real.

Sarutobi was shocked yet again when Naruto disappeared without a sound followed by a scream of pain. He followed it immediately to see an Iwa shinobi sprawled on the ground with his both legs cut off, He was astounded at the bloodshed that was happening in front him. Blood was flying through the air with each swing and it wasn't letting up.

The boy disappeared, an Iwa shinobi lost his head.

The boy disappeared again, an Iwa shinobi lost both arms before he was literally cut in two from the waist.

The boy disappeared again for an Iwa shinobi to have a hole blasted through his chest where his heart was by the same technique that the boy used earlier.

Sarutobi was mesmerized and afraid at the same time. His surrogate grandson was killing Iwa shinobis with such power and precision that it was like a dance, a dance of death. Where did Naruto learn such skills? Where did Naruto earn such mastery over the sword?

"Hokage-sama." said Itachi who appeared beside him, kunai at the ready in case of an attack. Shisui was a bit roughed up but he was fine overall. "What is happening?"

"I don't know what is happening but it seems that Naruto-kun is killing our enemies. What's worst, he is killing them as if he killed before." whispered Sarutobi as he watched the slaughter in front of him. He couldn't take his eyes away from it no matter how much he wanted to. His breath hitched, however, when the rest of the Iwa shinobis surrounded his grandson from all sides, readying to attack him all at once. He was about to help but he was rooted to the spot when Naruto's mouth opened to ask a single question.

"Did you do it?" whispered Naruto as he looked at the ground, his hair covering his eyes, his bloodied blade at his side, dripping lifeblood on the ground.

"Did what, brat?" snarled one of the Jounin who threw a kunai at Naruto.

Naruto raised his left hand, caught he kunai from the ring and tossed it back to the thrower, impaling him on the head, dead. "Did you cause the cart to explode and killing the Haruhis?"

One of the members of the group sneered at the boy in front of him before answering.

"So what if we did? Besides, it was supposed to be for the Hokage. All our preparation was wasted on some useless civilians. They got what they deserved."

"I see. Did you know that they were a family and that you killed a loving father and mother along with their 3-year old daughter?" whispered Naruto as he gripped Benehime tighter.

"So? It's not like they were shinobis or anything. They were just useless civilians. People die kid, live with it." sneered the shinobis who pulled a Tanto from his back.

"I understand. You're right. I'll live with it…forever. However…" said Naruto before he disappeared and reappeared in the air on top of the shinobi who answered him. "You'll never live with it since you're going to die right now. Fuinjutsu Zan (Zan)." He whispered but everyone could clearly hear him.

The Iwa shinobis wasn't prepared for what happened to their teammate. Naruto swung his sword and wrote "斬" (Zan), creating a giant air blade. The shinobi who answered Naruto's question was literally cut evenly in half as air blade sliced him from the head to his groin. Naruto disappeared again and started the massacre that would put others to shame.

After he was done with the small fry he turned and looked at the one who did not move since the beginning. He was a man with tan skin, a powerful build, and a ridge-lined cranium. He has brown eyes, black hair, long, bushy sideburns, and a thin ponytail reaching his upper-back. Aside from this, he is bald. He has orange eyebrows, and red markings under his eyes. He wears the standard Iwa jounin uniform. He had an air of confidence about him as he looked at the child in front of him, and why wouldn't he? He was ikari Yammy, the koton no Yammy (Yammy of the steel release) and he was one of Iwa's best jounin. He looked at the child in front of him and said

"kid you have some talent but don't think that because you killed some no name jounin trash that you can beat me." he said arrogantly.

"you are right, I don't think I can beat you, I know I can beat you. As my teacher always said to me 'Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate.'" answered Naruto quoting his teacher Benehime.

"your teacher sounds wise, but don't say I did not warn your ass. Balla (hollow bullet)" said the behemoth before singing his arm and a bullet of fire raced towards Naruto who did not expected and he was hit straight in his chest sending him flying towards a tree, but the assault did not end like that, as more bullets came flying towards the blonde.

"Naruto/ Naruto kun/ chibi!" screamed Hiruzen, Itachi and Shisui respectively.

"haha! How do you like that, my Balla (hollow bullet) by Chaneling Katon chakra in my arms and releasing it at the moment of the swing I can send a bullet towards my opponents. Packs quite a punch doesn't it?" sneered the giant.

"why yes It does, Unfortunately for you that was not me who took the attack head one but a Kage bunshin." came the answer from behind him and as Yammy turned around he saw the blonde standing behind him with a bored look on his eyes. Naruto then looked at his sword and said

"I will have to take this seriously, okiro (Awaken) Benehime" and his sword was no longer a shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) now it took the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword. The hilt's grip, which has a gentle black-decorative wrapping, bends forward at the end, with a pommel shaped overlap three times, and a crimson tassel dangling from its base. Instead of a tsuba, there is a U-shape guard covering three inches of blade, with a flower petal design. At the base of the guard is a red string wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on the back side and a folded paper decoration on the front side. The blades hamon is straight, colored black with a silver edge. It remains straight and slim with a somewhat short size, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of tapering to a point. After looking at his blade for an instant he smiled and said

"Now let's fight seriously shall we, Nake, Benihime (Sing, Crimson Princess)" and he swings his sword, This technique fires particularly strong and destructive crimson-colored energy blasts. The energy flows out of the blade and fires in the arc of the sword's swing. It was only Yammy's instincts that allowed him to survive the attack, he did one hand seal and his skin turned black. The attack hit him dead on and he was pushed a few feet back he than looked at his opponent and grined

"haha, good try brat but I have my koton mukankaku no yoroi (Steel Release: Impervious Armour) to thank, This technique allows me to turn my body into black steel, making that part invulnerable. Thanks to this jutsu I am invulnerable to blades, now die you little brat Balla (hollow bullet)!" screamed Yammy as he brought his fire covered arm on Naruto to finish him off while thinking 'what the hell is this kid, even with my koton mukankaku no yoroi (Steel Release: Impervious Armour), he still cut my skin, I have to finish this now!'. But Naruto just raised his sword and made a circle of red chakra before he said "Tsuppane, Benihime (Spurning, Crimson Princess)" and he stopped the attack dead in the tracks, he looked at his opponents bewildered face before he said

"you must be wondering what just happened. I won't get hit by any more of those. I'm a sensor and I've analyzed that technique's chakra composition and even the patterns in your muscle movements when you fire. If I know those two things, I can dodge it or by timing it right, I can cancel it out just like I did just now. But that's difficult in its own right. But once you figure out how to do it, I can dodge your attacks in my sleep now."

"bu...bullshit, there is no way a brat like you can dodge my attacks, Die!" roared Yammy while shooting Ballas (hollow bullets) right and left but Naruto side Stepped them easily while advancing towards his victim. When he got close he swings his sword an arc of chakra appeared and pushed the giant away, he landes on his feet and glared at his opponent before saying

"so we are at an impasse, I cannot hit you and your hits can't hurt me so why don't we call it a day huh."

"an impasse, is that you see, the way I see it all I have to do is swing my sword and you will be dead, but don't take my word for it, see for yourself, Fuinjutsu Zan (Zan)." He whispered but everyone could clearly hear him. The Iwa shinobi crossed his arms in preparation to the attack. Naruto swung his sword and wrote "斬" (Zan), creating a giant air blade. The defence that Yammy mounted did not even slow the attack as the Wind blade cut straight through him. The man died before he even hit the floor.

It was five minutes later that Naruto was standing in front of the shinobi whose arms he cut off. The Iwa Jounin was looking at the bloodied boy in front of him in fear as he struggled to get away from the vengeful blonde by using his feet to push himself back.

"Get away from me. Don't kill me, please!" the Iwa shinobi begged, tears streaming down his face.

"Why? Why should I not kill you? Did you ask the Haruhis if they wanted to die? Did you ask Kijo and Suki if they wanted to die? DID YOU ASK MISAO IF SHE WANTED TO DIE?" Naruto shouted the last part and raised Kenshin on top of him as he looked at the downed Jounin with a crazed look in his eyes. "DIE!"

Before Naruto could complete his swing, a hand gripped him on the wrist, stopping the blade before it could cleave the Iwa shinobi in two. The blonde boy turned his head to stare at the brown eyes of the Hokage.

"Jiji?"

"That's enough, Naruto-kun. You've done enough for today." said Sarutobi in a firm voice but it was laced with compassion and understanding.

"But, jiji. They killed Misao. They don't even regret it." screamed Naruto as he struggled against the Hokage's grip, tears of rage and sadness dribbled down his cheeks.

"I know, Naruto-kun. But if you kill this man then we will never be able to find out why they attacked in the first place. We need to know what Iwa is planning in order to avoid the same situation that happened to the Haruhis." explained the Hokage.

It seemed that whatever he said got through to the distraught blonde since he could no longer feel the strength behind the hand he was holding. He let go and saw Naruto flick the blade to the side to get rid of the blood before putting it back in its sheath with a detached grace.

"I understand, jiji. If you need me, I'll be with the Haruhis." whispered Naruto before he turned and disappeared without a sound.

Sarutobi saw Naruto appear before the dead family and kneeled beside them. He turned to the Iwa shinobi who was clearly looking at his surrogate grandson in fear.

"Now, let's see if you can provide me with the information I seek." said the Hokage with an evil glint in his eyes causing the survivor of the Rock Biter Brigade to gulp.