This story has been remastered and heavily edited.

Hero or Monster

Chapter Two – Welcome to the Zoo

A deity is supposedly something divine, and as such should be judged by their ability to create and heal. Yet, we mortals judge the potency of a God's strength by their power to destroy and end.

It's silly, really, if you think about it. The more a god is monster-like, the more people pay attention to it. Such absurdity is favorable to a person like me though.

I don't yet have the power to heal, or create, but something I do have is the power to destroy.

The power to end anything as I see fit…

The only difference between me and a deity is simple:

I know what I am.

I am a monster.

So the zoo was nothing like what Naruto thought it would be.

Most of the people were of the silent type, which was something he was okay with, having people ignore him for most of his life – which, in hindsight, was only six years so he didn't really have all that much experience.

After the little chat he and the Hokage had after he terminated the Kumo shinobi, the old Sarutobi had decided that it would be best if Naruto put his abilities to good use. That came in the form of joining the zoo, or what he now knew to be the ANBU Black Ops. They were the Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai: the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad.

That night was the best thing that ever happened to the blond. Until the last word spoken by his now senpai…

Flashback

Naruto could feel what the Hokage was feeling; anxiety.

He had seen a boy of only six years annihilate with extreme prejudice the Head Ninja of Kumo. The man was the ambassador of peace for the Cloud, and he was a strong jonin in his own right. The fact that Naruto had done away with him with what looked like ease made him very uneasy.

"Jiji, I can feel what you're thinking, just ask. I'll tell you the truth, honest." Naruto finally broke the awkward silence in the Hokage's Office. The poor man was pacing the very moment they appeared in the small room.

"I- how can you feel what I'm thinking?" Hiruzen asked, baffled that the boy was claiming to have the ability to read minds. Were his thoughts not safe now?

When the Uzumaki laughed, the Lord Third felt like he was the child. "I can't exactly hear your thoughts, Jiji, that's impossible." Naruto admitted. "It's kind of hard to explain. Hmm…" the blond trailed off, rubbing his chin with his right hand. "It's like I'm connected to… well, everything. That's the only way I can describe it."

At his grandfather figure's confused expression, Naruto explained a little better. "When people are upset, I can tell." Naruto elaborated. "And not just tell, but tell why." He continued, trying his best to describe what he could do.

"And how long have you been able to do such a thing? And why did you say everything instead of just people?" The Sarutobi asked, wanting more.

"For how long, it's been since I could remember," he said, still rubbing his chin. "For why I said what I did, that's because it's not just with people. Animals and plants, really anything – as long as it's living. I guess I could say I'm connected with life." Here, Sarutobi noticed Naruto's eyes widen.

"What, what is it Naruto-kun?" His voice was riddled with fear.

Naruto gave him a sheepish look. "Ah, it's nothing Jiji, I've just never thought about it that way is all. Maybe that's the best way to describe it." His closed hand met his opened palm. "Yeah, I'm connected with life!"

The Lord Third sighed. The boy was going to give him a heart attack. "So how can you tell what others are feeling?"

"Hmm, I'm not really sure," Naruto admitted, "but I can do it!" He finished with a wide smile.

The Hokage nodded, trying to process what he was hearing. "And the golden matter you used on the Kumo-nin?" That was what Hiruzen wanted to know the most about. If he had to guess, that was an A-rank technique. Most grown adults didn't have the ability to even use such high ranked techniques, never mind create new ones. The last time an A-rank technique was developed it made its creator a legend.

The Copy-nin was a man known far and wide.

Yet, here he was, only six and already so far ahead of all those before him. It was unnerving to think that such raw talent and power was in the hands of such a young child.

"Oh, that," Naruto's smile grew, if that was even possible. "I made it up!" Hiruzen couldn't help but smile at Naruto's enthusiasm.

"What exactly was it?" He needed to be the Hokage right now, not the boy's surrogate grandfather.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "I, ah, don't really know that either." Sarutobi sighed. Did the boy know anything about his own abilities? The way he could use them said he did, but that, surprisingly, was not the truth.

"Can you tell me anything about it? Anything at all?" He asked, wanting - needing! - to know what the boy knew.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I can describe how I do it." When Hiruzen nodded the boy continued. "There's this kind of feeling in the air, like a constant energy that's always around me. I don't know why others can't feel it and I can, but I do know that it's there."

'He can't mean natural energy.' The Hokage thought to himself. 'There's no way someone could be born able to feel it… right?'

When his Jiji didn't reply he continued. "When I need it I can pull the energy into myself. When I do, a lot of stuff happens." He held up one finger. "My body becomes tougher." Two fingers, "I get a whole lot stronger! Like yesterday, I lifted an entire tree out of the ground." Three fingers, "I get faster! I think I can outrun anyone in this whole village!"

Sarutobi highly doubted that, there were a lot of fast ninja in Konoha, but he didn't voice his thoughts.

Four fingers. "I can feel others more, and farther away, too!" Hiruzen's eyebrows climbed up into his hairline. This kept sounding more and more like natural energy by the minute. Five fingers. "And I can control and shape the energy around me; that's the gold dust stuff you saw forming the arm."

Now that did not sound like something any Sage the Hokage ever heard of being able to do.

"Naruto-kun, I believe you were born with the amazing ability to use natural energy, something only a Sage is capable of doing." Hiruzen informed with a smile on his face. "There is only one other person in this world that can use the sage arts, and that's my pupil, Jiraiya."

Naruto shot up out of his seat. "You mean I can use the same power as one of your students?" He half asked half yelled, excitement evident in his voice.

Hiruzen nodded. "It would seem so. But whereas he had to be taught the sage arts, you were born able to use them." Another smile ghosted the elderly man's lips. "It's truly remarkable."

Naruto nodded, a thousand watt smile plastered to his face. "So what now, Jiji?" He asked, eager to learn more.

Hiruzen thought on it for a moment. What was he going to do with the boy? He definitely needed to contact Jiraiya and have him come home. He needed to know of this mind blowing discovery.

He also wanted to train the boy, he knew he would become someone more powerful than even his father; having a hand in teaching such a person would be a gift in and of itself. Throwing him into the academy would be a shame; his talents would be wasted in that environment. What could he do?

An idea began to form. With a snap of his fingers, a man dressed in black clothing, grey armor, and a white face mask – a member of the zoo – appeared from within the shadows. It wasn't a surprise to Naruto, having felt the man's presence the moment he arrived shortly after them. He knew the man as the 'Lazy One,' his favorite zoo member. The shock of gravity defying silver hair just confirmed this.

"Inu, do you think you have room in your cell for one more." It was worded as a question, but it wasn't intended as one. When the God of Shinobi spoke, you listened, no matter what you were asked of. "Discreetly of course, no one besides you will know his true identity, and only your team will know that he's even in ANBU." He added, never taking his eyes off of the Uzumaki.

Naruto could feel the man's reluctance, and was intrigued that it didn't come in his dislike of either his age nor his 'burden', but something else, something personal.

Why did the Lazy One care for him?

After the split second hesitation, the dog-styled masked-nin saluted his Hokage, giving the aged warrior an affirmative, "yes, sir," before turning his gaze to the blond.

"It won't be easy…" Inu began in a hard and firm voice. He then gave off the feeling of warmth and protectiveness, "…kohai."

Naruto gave a warm smile and nodded as fast as he could. "I'll do my best, Inu-senpai!" And with that said, Naruto could already feel the great things he was going to do with Inu.

"It will be tough Naruto-kun, but I believe you can do it. I think you will be able to protect Konoha better than anyone else." The Hokage said warmly, his smile showing his pride for his successor's child.

This was it.

"Welcome to the ANBU Black Ops…"

He would finally be able to do what he wanted the most; protect Konoha.

"…Nezumi-kohai."

Wait. What?!

End Flashback

Apparently, ANBU operatives were given their codename by their captain, and Inu just happened to be Nar- Nezumi's captain. Well, he was going to be Nezumi's captain once he received all of the required training. Couldn't have someone out in the field that didn't know what they were doing.

When he asked why he was dubbed Nezumi, Kakashi replied with, "because you're tiny…" a tick mark appeared on the blond's forehead, "…like a mouse…" he added, and was met with silence, "…small."

Nezumi sighed.

That was okay with Nar- Nezumi, he was only six; he had time. All he had to do now was survive Inu's "Hell School", whatever that meant. It shouldn't be too hard.

He was happy, and nothing could change that.

Nezumi was miserable.

If there was such a place as Hell, Nezumi thought that it sounded like a nice place to vacation to. Hell School was painful and exhausting, physically, emotionally and spiritually. What the hell was wrong with his captain? Was he a sadist?

That would actually explain a lot.

Nezumi was currently sprawled out on his rock hard bed, having moved into the ANBU Headquarters the day after he talked to the Hokage and Inu-senpai about joining the zoo, which just happened to coincide with his seventh birthday. It was required of all agents to live within the Black Ops building. At first, Nezumi wasn't all that thrilled about the idea, but now, after six months of the place, he didn't even notice anymore.

He chalked it up as just another thing he had to do for his village.

Today had been a particularly painful day. His ability to manipulate natural energy was incredibly advanced, and the only person that could help him further his prowess with that was still not available. The Toad Sage was the kind of person who was very hard to find if he didn't want to be found.

Apparently he didn't want to be found at the moment.

Month one and two

His training consisted of the usual required ANBU material, which included a whole lot of studying. ANBU had to have a certain level of knowledge in both foreign and domestic affairs. Nezumi found that he wasn't the biggest fan of books. But he did as he was told nonetheless, accomplishing everything Inu threw his way.

The second month he had been personally trained by the Hokage in the ways of running a village. There was a lot of politics and other boring stuff involved, but Nezumi soaked it all up; he planned on becoming the greatest Hokage the likes of which Konoha has never seen.

He really wanted to feel free and awake again. The only way he could do that was if he was protecting his village, his people.

Month three

Another huge section of his training consisted of learning other shinobi skills. Inu had told him that he needed to be more versatile. A one trick pony – whatever the hell that meant – was something he didn't want to be. Inu, who was now more of his sensei than anything, first taught him how to climb trees. Without his hands! That was something he actually enjoyed doing.

And it only took ten minutes.

Inu-senpai – after a long and detailed lesson on chakra and chakra control – explained to him that it seemed that he had abnormally amazing chakra control. Such a level of precision was something apparently only Tsunade – who happened to be another Sannin he shared something with – could accomplish. Senju Tsunade was a- the Medical-nin, and he was up to par with her when it came to control… he put that in the back of his head for later; versatility, versatility, versatility.

After the tree walking exercise, Inu-senpai taught him to do the same thing, but on water. That, too, was incredibly fun.

It also only took ten minutes.

Deciding that he needed to throw more difficult things at the boy, he began teaching him the Shunshin (Body Flicker), which took a little longer for the boy to learn.

This time it took fifteen minutes.

This was starting to intrigue Inu. The boy had said that he could understand everything so long as it was alive. That made Inu start to question; were Jutsu alive?

Because if so, Nezumi was capable of understanding any and all techniques, as long as they were performed within his sensory area. That was impossible though, the only technique he heard of that could understand Jutsu like that was implanted in his left eye; the Sharingan.

If it was true… just what were the boy's limits?

Did he have any?

The thought began to make more and more sense. Nezumi was incredibly mature, far, far from anything a now seven year old should be. He was able to speak like an adult, see things from an adult's point of view, and understand the adult world. So, how did he do it?

Inu had never been one to believe that age brought wisdom. He had known a lot of unwise, elderly people. He personally thought that experience brought wisdom, which was not the same thing.

You could live your entire life ignorant if you were sheltered or reclusive. Obviously though, a seven year old, no matter how hard their life may be, did not have the required experience to be so wise in the ways of the world.

Something else allowed him to be so mature. That something had to be his empathy ability. If he could truly understand others, then he had to have started understanding their feelings.

Learning about love, hate, jealousy, greed, lust, joy, sorrow and everything in between must have been the strangest thing for someone so young.

That was the only explanation Inu could come up with on how a mere child could comprehend the emotions that he was able to feel. It was impossible but that just made it even more special.

The rest of the month he had used to come up with a name for the tangible natural energy he used.

Month four

Nezumi was then taught shurikenjutsu. That took up a lot of his time. It was hard for him to throw the kunai at first because his hands were so small. After Inu taught him a trick that he used to do when he was young – apparently he was a young prodigy as well – that involved his chakra he caught on fast enough.

Month five

The next thing Nezumi had to learn was stealth. He was a little nervous about it at first, but after a couple of weeks he got the hang of it. Then it was kenjutsu training. After the first day Inu thought he had finally found something the kid wasn't good at. He realized how wrong he was a week later. The cut on his back still stung from that.

Month six

As of late, Nezumi learned a lot of ninjutsu, finding it to be his favorite. With his perfect chakra control learning genjutsu was too easy, and his taijutsu was still developing. With the natural energy flowing in his body he didn't even need to actually land his strikes on his target.

Ninjutsu, however, interested Nezumi the most. With his Sage Dust Techniques – which he now called the gold natural energy he could manipulate – he was already ahead of most jonin when it came to power. But he couldn't solely rely on it, one trick pony and everything.

So the Hokage and Inu began to teach him Elemental Ninjutsu. The blond's affinities were Wind and Fire, which also was special. He didn't have a Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit), not really, so the fact that he already had two affinities, affinities that complemented each other, was amazing.

That's why the Uzumaki was so exhausted at the moment. Inu-senpai knew a lot of ninjutsu, as did the Lord Third, and they was making sure to drill as many into Nezumi as possible. His body was sore and limp, and he loved every moment of it. It reminded him that he was gaining the strength to do what was needed to be done. Things were going to change when he got out of these walls.

Konoha's enemies would think twice before striking.

Her people would know peace.

Nezumi would be a hero.

Even better, Nezumi would be a monster.

It had been a whole year since he joined the zoo, and Nezumi had finally been cleared 'field ready.' He was nearing eight now, and he was a certified member of the ANBU.

He was nervous now though. Today was the day he met the rest of Captain Inu'steam. He understood Inu's words when he said it would take the team a while to warm up to him. He was the youngest ANBU agent the Elemental Nations had ever seen. The others just needed to be positive that they could rely on him to watch their backs.

They could.

Inu had been extremely happy that he and the blond were the same, patriots to the core, but still cared about the lives of their fellow citizen above all else. When Kakashi told him that those who abandon the mission were considered trash, but those who abandon their friends were worse than trash, Nezumi loved the saying so much that he asked if he could live by it as well. Kakashi, of course, said yes, he didn't even have to ask.

The rate at which the blond was able to learn and process, well, anything, was amazing. Inu didn't know of anything the boy couldn't do.

He thought Nezumi was strong at first, but after Jiraiya had finally shown up… Inu prayed he never defected. Having to fight that would be bad for anyone's health.

They'd die, plain and simple.

He wasn't invincible though, and Inu was happy that the blond realized that. Anyone could fall when arrogant or outnumbered.

Nezumi took a deep breath. "Here we go." He whispered, pushing through the double doors of Team Ro's designated lounging area. He was immediately met with stares.

There was a small boy in a standard ANBU uniform and they didn't like where this was going.

The Uzumaki agent took in his surroundings for a moment. The room was of medium size and Spartan. All there was were grey walls and three very large black couches. The couches were set up so that they were connected, and a long glass table was centered in the middle of them.

"Ah, Nezumi-kohai, you made it." Inu called out over the palpable silence. "Come here, I'll introduce you to everyone."

Nezumi gulped, but obeyed nonetheless. "Yes, sir."

When the blond made it to his captain, Inu put a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Nezumi. He's going to be assigned to Team Ro for a while."

No one said anything, but they didn't have to. Nezumi could feel what they thought of him.

Great, we're stuck with some brat.

What is the Hokage thinking?

Hey… isn't that… no, it couldn't be…

That last one almost made Nezumi flinch, but he stayed composed. "I hope we can work well together." The blond bowed.

Inu cleared his throat. "Right, well, let's report to Hokage-sama. I think it's about time for the newbie to take on his first mission."

Nezumi gulped.

Two months. It had been two months since he joined Team Ro and they still treated him like trash.

He was officially the team's sensor and not a front-liner, which is what he wanted to be, and the missions they carried out had little use for his abilities. He did spot an enemy ambush two weeks ago, but apparently that wasn't something that warranted much respect.

He had been training for so long and he still couldn't wake up. It was somewhat annoying.

Nezumi was currently sprinting through the forests that occupied the border of Hi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni with Tora and Usagi, two of the people who disliked him the most. Inu-taicho said that if he worked with them more that they would have to warm up to him sooner or later. Nezumi highly doubted that but followed orders all the same.

The three of them were doing a simple border patrol, making sure everyone stayed in their own countries. Simple enough, right?

Nothing was ever simple.

Nezumi signaled to the two, stopping their fast paced travel. "What is it, kid?" Tora asked, annoyed that the blonde was holding them up.

Two people are headed right for us. He signed in ANBU code. They aren't friendly either. He took another second to analyze the incoming shinobi, trying to understand what it was he was feeling.

His eyes widened. "Shit." He whispered, causing his comrades to take defensive stances. What they heard in his voice made them wary. What was going on?

'They must have felt me as well…' the blond thought to himself. 'If Tora and Usagi die because of me…'

"Get out of here you two," Nezumi whispered. His tone was serious.

The only female of the group, Usagi, spoke up. "Look kid, no matter how special you think you are, you can't just order your senpai's around." She was giving off an annoyed emotion, Nezumi could tell. "You're still just a brat."

The blond sighed. Were these people ever going to show him respect? So far Inu was the only person to welcome him into the fold.

"Usagi-senpai, there are two Jinchuuriki on their way from the direction of Tsuchi no Kuni." He informed them. "They have probably felt my Bijuu's presence and decided to investigate."

He could feel their fear.

"Don't worry; they're here for me, not you." He tried to calm them. "Go. If I don't return, then Konoha will know where they stand with Iwa."

He felt their disbelieving minds. "You're going to sacrifice yourself for us?" Tora asked, astounded. It was no secret that both he and Usagi hated Nezumi, so why the hell was he doing this? "Why?"

The two ANBU's hearts almost broke when he took his mask off and smiled at them, of all things. "Because we're comrades. You'd do the same for me if it was the other way around."

Nezumi sometimes wished he couldn't feel peoples hearts.

No we wouldn't…

Nezumi steeled himself, ANBU didn't cry. "Now go," he repeated, "this is my fight." And with that, he turned around and took off in the direction of the fast approaching Iwa-nin. It was a warm and sunny day, the complete opposite of what it should have been. He was sacrificing himself for people who didn't even see him as a person. He just couldn't bring himself to care though. This was it.

Time to wake up.

It had taken hours to regroup with Inu-taicho and the rest of the squad, but when Usagi and Tora explained what had transpired earlier in their border patrol, they regretted it.

"You're worse than trash now." Inu's cold voice hit Tora and Usagi like an enraged Tsunade. "How could you just leave him to die like that?" The worst part about it was that he wasn't even yelling at them. He was speaking in a soft and very scary voice.

"But he…" Usagi tried to defend herself but couldn't think of anything to say. They had abandoned someone who truly cared for them. They knew of his abilities to feel almost what others thought. He must have known what their response was to his attempt to establish a bond.

The two ANBU's hearts almost broke when he took his mask off and smiled at them of all things. "Because we're comrades, you'd do the same for me if it was the other way around."

Nezumi sometimes wished he couldn't feel people's hearts.

No we wouldn't…

They didn't get the chance to speak again; Inu was gone, out to look for his wayward kohai.

Minutes after Usagi and Tora left

Nezumi, no, he was Naruto now – he was awake – was face to face with two S-class Jinchuuriki. They had taken countless lives; Konoha-nin included, and had years to tame the beasts within. Naruto was eight, and the only time he had interacted with his charge they didn't even speak.

Unfortunately for them, that was enough.

Flashback

When the old pervert finally made it to Konoha, Naruto was put to work right away, and not just in Senjutsu.

Jiraiya-sensei had been adamant that Naruto try and establish a link between him and the Kyuubi. Naruto didn't mind so much as he just didn't know how.

"Just relax," the Toad Sage told him, "calm yourself and visualize what you want."

Naruto sighed, what exactly was it that he wanted? Jiraiya had said that he was Konoha's Jinchuuriki, and even though he didn't like it personally, his fellow Sennin told him that he needed to learn how to harness the Bijuu's power. Of course Naruto wanted to protect Konoha, but he felt guilty just taking what was not his. Didn't he kill a Kumo-nin for that?

So what did he want?

Deciding to just wing it and come up with an answer later, Naruto dived into his own mind. It was a wet, dark, and broken place. So nothing unusual. A long corridor, what looked like an underground sewer of sorts, stretched out from both behind and in front of him. Water dripped from the ceiling and the walls were cracked. Did he mention that he was knee high in something he hoped was water, because he was? He chose to walk forward – might as well – and he began to regret his choice. It felt like hours had passed since he arrived and everything seemed to be the same, never changing, dingy hallways.

That's when he came upon the large room that doubled as a cell on the far side, a very, very large cell. The metal bars, adorning a large tag the read 'seal' reached into the darkness that was above them, lost in the expanse that was his mind.

For a long drawn out moment, everything was still. He began to think nothing was beyond those figurative bars, until a single, red-slitted eye peered through the darkness, capturing the small boy in its gaze.

Before, when Naruto tried to feel the mass in his gut, he only ever felt hatred or malice, and at times, loneliness.

Now, standing so close to the famed monster, he seemed almost…calm. Naruto smiled. Was his soothing natural energy relaxing the all-powerful Bijuu?

Whatever the case may be, Naruto was certain that the Kyuubi could feel him as well, like he too had the ability to read emotions. Naruto never felt so close to another in all his life. They were the same, in more ways than one.

They were both scorned by the world. They were both the definition of strong. They were both forced upon each other. They were both too different than what people were comfortable with. And by far the most important and startling similarity was that they were both…

…monsters.

Standing proud and tall, not against the misunderstood Bijuu, but beside him, was thrilling. There was no need for words. Everything was being said through their eyes.

I'm sorry for what's happened to you.

I know.

I'm going to save you.

I know.

I'll need your help.

The visage that was the Kyuubi morphed into the terrifyingly wicked grin that stalked the nightmares of so many.

I know.

End Flashback

Naruto wasn't sure why Team Ro felt so awe struck when he returned to the village the next morning. He's in tattered and scorched rags, a sure sign of battle. Even Usagi and Tora felt like they were relieved and… happy? His face mask is nowhere to be seen and he's covered head to toe in soot. That was strange, but Naruto was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. What happened to you out there? Still he was disappointed in himself.

One got away.

Kakashi stored his observations away for after what was to come.

Before he could think more on that line of thought, Tora and Usagi approached Nar- no, he wasn't awake anymore – he was Nezumi now. The two approached Nezumi with a small bit of trepidation in their step.

No, he didn't want them to fear him!

That's when he realized it. "We apologize for being worse than trash, Nezumi-kohai!" They both shouted simultaneously, their heads lowered in a deep bow. They weren't afraid of him; they were upset with themselves for abandoning a teammate. They… accepted him?

Nezumi's heart jumped. Was it finally that time? Was he now noticed as important?

"If you have it in you to forgive us, we promise to treat you with the respect you deserve." Usagi begged.

"I would be proud to work alongside such an amazing comrade." Tora added.

That was it, the word he was waiting, craving to hear. It was that time after all. He was finally a part of Konoha, small as it may be. He was being recognized as a comrade and not someone not even worth the oxygen he consumed.

Nezumi chuckled. "You guys look silly bowing your heads to an eight year old." Usagi and Tora raised their heads. "Of course I'd like to work with you," here he spread his arm out, motioning to the rest of the members, "all of you, if that's okay." The smile on his soot covered face was all the gathered members of Team Ro needed to break into cheers of approval. The kid was alright in their book.

Naruto could feel it, all of the accepting hearts and minds of his team. It was almost too much to handle.

Almost.

"Nezumi, you need to be debriefed." Inu-taicho spoke above the yelling. "The Hokage needs to know what happened during the time you were MIA."

The cheers died down, but the emotions still filled the air, and that was enough. Nodding to his captain, Nezumi headed for the exit, intent on following the silver-haired man. Before he could make it out of the door though, Usagi called out his name, causing him to stop and turn to the woman.

"Yes, Usagi-senpai?" He asked, a gentle smile stuck to his face. Damn, he really needed to work on his poker face.

"I forgot to say this before but…" she paused, looking back at Tora who nodded at her. "… Thank you, and welcome to the ANBU." She crooked her mask to the side slightly so that only he could see what lay underneath – dark onyx eyes that complimented her long dark hair, a small nose, luscious lips, and an altogether pretty face – and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

The room lit up in ohhhh's and Nezumi's face went a deep scarlet. He was also pretty sure he had an incredibly stupid grin plastered to his face too, but he didn't care. That was awesome!

He did it. He was now officially a member of the zoo.

Having heard the happening's that his newest operative explained, in great detail, about the death match he had with two people he was unfortunately familiar with, had the Lord Third Hokage nervous.

Seeing the subsequent head of Yoton no Roshi laid out on his desk, unsealed from the scroll said operative put it in after he managed to defeat and kill the powerful man scared him further. What couldn't this boy accomplish?

"Jiji…about the Yonbi…" The soot covered blond even looked nervous here, "we… we need to talk." His eyes dragged over to where he could feel the ever present ANBU watching their leader closely. "In private," his voice was riddled with concern.

Great, what now?

I feel like the change in age fits really well. While still young, giving it that awesome factor (because a little kid being a badass is always cool), it also feels a bit less… unbelievable.

Special thanks to Dreaming of the Phoenix for all the help.

hyvnn.

Yeah, yeah, what would you do without me? Lol, let's face it people, our dear friend here wouldn't be quite lost, but this story wouldn't look quite as good either. Granted, my own days would be all the more boring without all of this as well, so… se la vie. And to you darling flamers out there, thanks for the extra reviews!

~Dreaming of the Phoenix