Hokage On The Run

by Blood Brandy

My answer to Perfectlionheart's "Missing Hokage Challange" Larger Summary inside. NaruHarem, NaruHina centric. rated T for possible future violence and language.

2. Chapter 2

If you think I own Naruto, or any major series of manga or anime then, guess what, I have some magic beans I am willing to part with for a few grand.

Chapter 2

Beep

Beep

Beep

Kakashi groaned as he opened his eye, he could still feel the phantom pain despite the floating feeling from the pain killers. I feel like sensei dropped Gamabunta on me.

"Oh, you're awake, Hatake-san," a neutral sounding voice said. Kakashi rolled his eye to the right of his bed, where a female doctor stood, "I had expected you to be out for a few days. How do you feel?"

"Like the Hokage Monument was dropped on me," the Cyclops said as he tried to test his own mobility.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Hatake-san, you were very banged up. Now I am afraid I have some good news and some bad news, the good news is that you have a fractured humerus, 4 broken ribs, minor internal bleeding, and a fractured pelvis, but you will eventually make an almost complete recovery, which is not bad considering who it was who beat you like this."

"What do you mean 'almost'?"

The doctor, Ryouko, kept her neutral emotionless expression, but on the inside she was laughing her ass off. She had idolized Tsunade since she was a little girl, but didn't quite have the physical drive to be a ninja, so instead she became a doctor to follow in her heroine's medical footsteps. And she knew if Kakashi had driven Tsunade to do something like this, then he deserved it, but she also couldn't turn the Cyclops away when he showed up at the hospital, damn Hippocratic Oath. But just because she couldn't ignore him, didn't mean she couldn't be happy he was hurt, she just couldn't let it show she was happy, which was pretty hard.

"Well, that is the bad news. You see, one of your injuries was much too severe for us to heal." At this point, Kakashi had grown very pale, and she had to really work to hide her grin, "Your testicles were damaged beyond repair, so we were forced to…amputate."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^------------------

Back in Naruto's room, after Ino closed the door, a few seconds passed before they all heard a very high pitched voice scream, "NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

When the voice passed, they were all looking for the source, "What in the world was that?" Kurenai wondered aloud.

Pakkun seemed to almost grin when he answered, "I think Kakashi just found out that Tsunade got him fixed."

Anko grinned madly at this, even Kurenai allowed herself a smirk at the new, but Naruto, never having had a pet, was still confused, "If obaa-chan healed him, then why is he screaming?"

Pakkun sighed, "No, Naruto, she didn't fix him up, she got him fixed."

Naruto still wasn't getting it, so Anko decided to help, "Naruto, what he's trying to say is that she crushed his danglies like grapes," the statement causing Naruto to unconsciously cross his legs, and also getting a giggle from someone else.

That giggle shook Kurenai to her soul. She knew that kind of giggle, a dark, soul chilling giggle, the kind Anko had after a rich, full day torturing prisoners. But it was worse, because she could even see Anko shiver a bit at the sound.

And it was coming from Hinata.

Hinata stopped giggling after a moment, and came out of her own little world of inflicting pain on a certain pair of Sharingan users to notice everyone staring at her, "G-gomen, I w-was j-just thinking of s-s-something funny, " she stuttered out as she pulled her head into her jacket.

Anko smiled, now THIS is a kunoichi with some promise, but she's already Nai-chan's student, "You're right, it is pretty funny. Mind you, though, he probably didn't use them anyway, I'd bet those books of his are the closest he's gotten to a real woman in years."

Naruto, getting a bit uncomfortable with this conversation, decided to address the elephant in the room, "Pakkun, who's your friend?"

Pakkun was about to speak, but the other dog cut him off in a distinctly feminine voice, "My name is Katsumi, servant and assistant to Fenrir-sama, over boss of the canine contracts and head councilman of the 7 Tsu No Idai Na Ookami no Zoku (7 great wolf tribes)."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "So what are you doing here?"

"I have been sent to ascertain the situation with Hatake, and to make sure he is deserving of a full and permanent expulsion and banishment."

Pakkun explained, "You see, Naruto, our contract is a bit different than most other contracts. We do have a master contract that would allow someone to summon any of us, but that hasn't been signed in a very long time, and we also have pack contracts, that allow someone to summon any canine from one of the seven specific tribes, these aren't signed very often, what people like Hatake sign are called personal contracts, that allow a ninja to summon only a set few canines and, at times, a contract writer if they feel someone is worth getting one of their own."

Katsumi continued, "However, as I am sure you learned with the toads, signing a contract doesn't mean those you summon will be automatically obedient pets, one must prove themselves to earn a summons respect and assistance."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, the first time I managed to summon an actual toad, it was Gamabunta, and I ended up having to stay on his head while he jumped all over the place to prove myself, and I passed out from exhaustion when it was over."

The Doberman nodded, "Yes, well in the case of a personal contract like Hatake signed, one must simply prove themselves to the canines of the contract, for a pack contract, you have to do so for that whole tribe, and to sign the master contract, you would have to prove yourself worthy before Fenrir-sama himself. However," she continued, "what I am here for is not the signing of contracts, but their nullification. It is simple enough to void a personal contract; all that is needed is for the canines involved in it must simply agree to do so. But what Pakkun seeks is not just the nullification, but banishment and expulsion, which is a very serious request among our kind that requires a meeting of the council. What Pakkun wants is for Hatake and his apparently now non-existent descendants to be forever unable to sign any sort of contract with any of the tribes, and to do such a thing is a very grave undertaking, so I was sent on Fenrir-sama's behalf to see you, Uzumaki Naruto, both for the reasons of Hatake's banishment and because, after Pukkun's descriptions of you, he has taken somewhat of an interest in you, and wishes me to verify a few things about you."

"What sort of things," Naruto asked cautiously, hoping that the sword carrying canine wouldn't ask about the fox in front of Hinata.

"Is it true that you are the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Damn, no such luck.

Naruto's eyes shot to Hinata, who looked confused, "A-ano, Katsumi-san, what is a Jinchuuriki? And I-I thought that K-K-Kyuubi was killed by the Y-Yondaime."

Kurenai and Anko looked to Naruto, who nodded solemnly, before Kurenai kneeled to be eye level with her student, "Hinata, what you are about to learn is an S-Class secret, telling people who don't already know it without Naruto's permission is punishable by either life imprisonment or death, do you understand this?" Hinata was shaken, but nodded slowly. Kurenai looked to Naruto again, who simply started petting Tonton again, before she continued, "What you were taught in the academy was a lie, when Yondaime-sama confronted Kyuubi, he was unable to win. So, instead, he used a combination of Fuuin jutsu to seal the fox inside a newborn baby, born that day of October tenth. You and the rest of your generation weren't told this because when the village learned of it, most called for the baby's execution, despite the fact he was barely a day old. After that, Sandaime-sama made a law that anyone who spoke of the child's condition would be punished severely, hoping that it would allow the child to have a normal life with those his own age…"
"But that plan was shot to hell," Anko picked up, "Old man Sandaime was way too trusting with those bastards, the adults hated the kid, called him names, beat him within an inch of his life, starved him, poisoned him, overcharged him for the most basic necessities, and their hatred tended to rub off on their brats, and the kid was unable to make any friends. The poor kid's life was hell, but he never let it show when others were around, he always smiled and took it, even though he didn't know why it was happening."

Hinata was on the verge of tears when she looked at Naruto, "I-i-it w-was, I m-mean, N-N-Naruto-k-kun, were y-y-you?" Naruto waited a minute before nodding slowly. Before anyone knew it, she had run across the room, jumped in his bed and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his bandaged chest and crying. Tonton was barely able to jump out f the way of being crushed between the teens.

Hinata sobbed incoherently into the blonde's chest. Naruto, not knowing what else to do, returned her embrace, softly rubbing her back, "It's okay, Hinata," he whispered.

Katsumi bowed her head, "I apologize, Uzumaki-san, I was unaware it was a secret."

"I understand, Katsumi," Naruto said, still holding Hinata. Tonton had jumped back onto the bed, and started nuzzling against the crying girl, trying to help comfort her.

"Was what she said about your treatment true?"

Hinata's sobs picked up a bit when he nodded.

"Then why do you stay? If you are treated so poorly, why do you put up with them?"

Naruto smiled sadly, looking to the older women, then to Hinata, "Because this is my home, and I have people here who are precious to me, people I want to protect, like Tsunade-baa-chan, Sakura-chan, Shizune-nee-chan, Ayame-nee-chan, Iruka-sensei, and Teuchi-ojii-san. And some new ones like Tsume-san, Anko-nee-chan, Ino and Hinata-chan." He didn't notice that along with her slowing sobs, she turned red at the suffix he had used.

The Doberman seemed surprised, "So to help a handful of loved ones, you'd subject yourself to hell like that?"

Naruto didn't even need to think about it, "Of course, they're important to me, and I would do anything to keep them safe."

To endure such torture simply to protect a few, this is indeed an interesting kit, Fenrir-sama, Katsumi smiled, "Thank you, Uzumaki-san, I think that's all I need to know." And she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Pakkun turned to the boy, "I had better get going too, take care Naruto," and he disappeared the same way.

With the dogs gone, Naruto turned his attention to the young woman who was hugging him, "Are you feeling better, Hinata-chan?" Hinata didn't answer, she was had stopped crying and was enjoying the embrace she was sharing with the blonde, "Hinata-chan?"

She shook herself from her fantasies, turning bright red, "H-hai, Naruto-kun."

"Hey, are you alright, you look like you're running a fever," he placed his hand on her forehead, at which point steam almost seemed to shoot from her ears as she fainted, "HINATA-CHAN! Hinata, are you okay?"

Anko had to fight back a laugh, "She's fine she just fainted."

Naruto sighed with relief, "Maybe she should wait until baa-chan gets back so she can get a check up, whatever's wrong with her, I'd hate for Hinata to pass out on a mission and get hurt."

Anko just stared in astonishment, He can't possibly be THAT dense, can he? "Naruto, can I ask you a question," he looked up from the unconscious girl, "do you know if she passes out around anybody else?" Naruto shook his head, "Does she Nai-chan?"

I was hoping Hinata would come out with this herself, oh well, Kurenai sighed, "No, she only faints around Naruto."

They saw Naruto begin to think, he looked to Hinata, then to Anko, then Kurenai, then back to Hinata.

Come on, kid, figure it out, Anko thought

After a moment, Naruto spoke in an almost fearful tone, "Kurenai-sensei is Hinata… afraid of me?"

Both jonin face planted.

Anko snapped, "DAMNIT GAKI, SHE LOVES YOU!"

Naruto seemed to think for a few seconds.

Then he passed out.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^--------------------

Tsunade arrived in the council chamber just in time to start the meeting. In attendance were the advisors, Danzo, clan heads of the Sarutobi, Inuzuka, Hyuga, Yaminaka, Nara, Akimichi, Aburame and Kurama clans, as well as representatives of a couple lesser clans, the civilian part of the council, which was made up of a few well-off merchants and finally Tsunade in her capacity as both Hokage and last member of the Senju clan.

"Thank you all for coming today," Koharu said, "we have convened the council today for the purpose of determining the punishment to be handed down to Uchiha Sasuke. For those of you who do not know, a few days ago, genin Haruno Sakura saw Uchiha Sasuke as he left to defect to Otogakure, with the assistance of 4 jonin level Oto-nin, and she was rendered unconscious by Uchiha, a few hours later, when this news was reported, a retrieval team was sent out, headed by chunin Nara Shikamaru. As the retrieval team attempted to close in on the target, the enemy was engaged by tokubetsu jonin Raido Namiashi and Genma Shiranui, both of whom were defeated, but survived. Shortly afterwards, as the enemy rested from the battle, the retrieval team caught up with the target, but were captured by a chakra-draining earth jutsu. The Oto-nin who enacted this jutsu stayed to finish the job as the others continued. The retrieval team was able to escape the jutsu, and continued ahead as genin Akimichi Choji chose to continue fighting the opponent. Genin Akimichi won, but was left in critical condition from use of his family food pills." Choza Akimichi looked to the ground, thankful his son was able to survive what should have been a death sentence.

"The rest of the team caught up with the target, and used a henge of the fallen Oto-nin to attempt to fool the others, but were found out due to an unknown personality quirk of the fallen Nin. Again, one Oto-nin stayed behind to fight as the others continued, this one specialized in the use of a chakra based spider thread and a spider summon. This enemy was fought by Genin Hyuga Neji, whose gentle fist style was thought to be best to combat this enemy. Genin Hyuga was also victorious, but left in critical condition from a projectile hole in his torso, his injuries were thought to be second most severe among the retrieval team."

"Again the remains of the team caught up with the enemy, Genin Inuzuka Kiba was engaged in battle against one of the Oto-nin after the two of them fell into a ravine, Genin Inuzuka was assisted in his victory by Subaku no Kankuro. Nara Shikamaru was likewise helped to victory by Subaku no Temari, their opponent survived, with severe injuries to the lower half of her body, but was collected by ANBU and has been interrogated, and is currently recovering until she can be imprisoned, but she poses a minimal flight risk due to her injuries. Genin Uzumaki Naruto continued the pursuit of another Oto-nin who had just arrived, when genin Uzumaki engaged the final Oto-nin, Uchiha Sasuke continued towards the border. Genin Uzumaki's opponent was then engaged in combat by genin Rock Lee, who had just arrived, as Uzumaki went after Uchiha. Genin Rock lee was helped to victory by Subaku no Gaara. We have no official report on the battle between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, as the former was so egregiously injured that he has been unconscious since, and the latter has been kept unconscious to await punishment for his crimes, but both were found unconscious in the valley of the end, and were returned to the village." The aged Kunoichi waved a hand to an ANBU, who began to pass out papers, "What you are being given is a copy of the full report, minus the statement of genin Uzumaki, for the aforementioned reasons."

"Pardon, Koharu-san," a civilian member spoke after a quick glance at the documents, "there's a mention of a barrel of some sort that contained Uchiha Sasuke, I see no reason we should punish him if he was kidnapped like that."

Inoichi answered with a small scowl, "I was the one who interrogated the captured sound kunoichi, and according to her memories, the container is part of a ritual used to allow a curse mark to advance to a second stage. The curse seals administered by Orochimaru, apparently, have a second form the increases the power of the afflicted, but it warps their form into some sort of monstrosity, and the side effects when it recedes are painful. Aside from that, the ritual is needed because when the mark grows to the next stage, it tends to kill the ninja."

Another civilian spoke up, "Then Sasuke's life was at risk. Can we really blame a child like him for fearing for his life?"

"Would you bastards read the damn report before you ask stupid questions!" Tsume growled, "Besides the fact that the seal only reaches the next stage by taking a specific drug, when the ritual was over, the little bastard still tried to run to the snake traitor. And don't refer to him like he's some helpless baby, he's a leaf ninja and should be ready to die rather than betray the village! But he still left just to get power, I say we burn the punk to ashes, scatter them in some a septic tank and be done with his bastard clan."

"Please, Tsume-san, that is much too extreme," Homura said, trying to calm the feral woman, "these are extenuating circumstances. The Sharingan is a valuable asset to the village, and we need Sasuke, he was simply misguided, and did something rash. I believe that if we show him that he can get strong here, Sasuke can become a strong and loyal leaf ninja."

"Until there is no more you can give him," the monotone voice of Shibi Aburame came, "Uchiha-san's purpose is to kill his elder brother, as he has stated many times. He pursues that goal with no other care in mind, and is willing to do anything, including betray this village and kill his own teammate, to achieve it. You suggest we let this betrayal pass like nothing, and give him whatever he wants without punishment?" His bugs beginning to buzz as he finished speaking.

"Of course not, Aburame-san, I simply mean that we should take certain things into account. I move that Uchiha Sasuke Be put on probation, he will not be allowed to leave the village for a year, he will be constantly monitored, and financial restitutions will be paid to the injured nin from the Uchiha family accounts, will all those in favor please raise your hands."

The entire civilian council, Danzo, Homura and three of the lower clan representatives raised their hand. Homura nodded, "It is decided at a vote of 17 to 11, Uchiha Sasuke is now on probation."

"YOU BASTARDS ARE REALLY GONNA LET THE TRAITOROUS BASTARD OFF WITH A SLAP ON THE WRISTS LIKE THAT!?" Tsume roared.

"Calm yourself, Inuzuka," Danzo said in a tone that seemed to add 'before I make you, bitch', "we still have one more piece of business to attend to, the fate of gennin Uzumaki Naruto."

"To my knowledge, Uzumaki-san completed his mission quite well, considering the fact he and his team were against such overwhelming odds," Shibi stated, "what is there to discuss?"

"The medic teams searching the area reported sensing the chakra of the Kyuubi as they closed in on the valley of the end, and the residue of the chakra could be found there as well." Homura stated, "I fear that the seal is weakening, and the boy will become a threat to the village, and move for the execution of Uzumaki Naruto."

The shinobi on the council erupted in screams against the very idea as the civilians just smirked. Tsunade was yelling the loudest, "ARE YOU FUCKING SENILE!?" This outburst silenced the room, "You want to reward him for a successful mission by killing him?"

One of the civilians made the mistake of answering, "He's a threat to our village and is nothing but trouble, and it's high time we did away with the de…" The man was unable to finish the sentence as he was pinned to the ground by an angry Kuromaru.

"If you call that pup a demon again," the dog growled, "I will tear out your throat and show it to your children." The man nodded and the hound returned to his partner's side.

"I believe an execution may be a bit…overzealous." Danzo said, after all, what good is a dead weapon, "I move that Genin Uzumaki Naruto be banished from Konohagakure until such a time that it can be shown that he is not a threat." In reality, Danzo planned to have the boy abducted by ROOT members once he was a safe distance from the village. "All those in favor please raise your hands." The results were nearly the same as before, except two of the lesser known clan representatives were against it, "Then it is decided, at a vote of 15 to 13, Uzumaki Naruto is to be banished from this village until he can prove he is no longer a threat to our village's security. He has the usual seven days to get his affairs in order"

Before anyone could react, Koharu stood, "I am ashamed of you," she said to everyone surprise, especially Danzo and Homura, "That you would continue to pamper a spoiled and traitorous brat as you throw that poor boy out of the village he loves, and away from the few who care about him. My former sensei and teammate must be spinning in their graves." The aged kunoichi rose and left the now silent room, an almost to tears hokage, and several clan heads trying to think of how they could help the child who would, in a week's time, be thrown from the only life he ever knew.

No one even noticed a small, black Chihuahua hiding in the shadows, as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^----------------------

Far, far away, in a very, very large tipi, a group was meeting. Gathered around a small central fire, several dogs, wolves, jackals, even a couple raccoon dogs and foxes, were separated into seven groups, sitting on large pillows and blankets, the colors of which were different for each of the seven groups. The flap of the tipi opened as Katsumi entered, walked across the tent, and sat down in front of an enormous, grey furred and battle scarred wolf with armor strapped on his shoulders and a large sword on each side, who was lying opposite of the entrance. Katsumi bowed and whispered a few things that not even the others canine's incredible hearing could detect before moving to the large wolfs side.

The large wolf stood and spoke in a booming voice, "I thank you, those of the council of seven, for answering my call so quickly. My purpose in calling you here is to deal with one of the most severe things we can do in respect to the humans we deal with, the permanent expulsion and banishment of a summoner, specifically one Hatake Kakashi. This request was made by Pakkun of the Plains tribe, and investigated by my personal assistant, Katsumi, originally of the Plains tribe. Before the reasons behind Pakkun's request can be discussed, some background is needed." The large wolf nodded to the Doberman, who stepped to the center of the tent, next to the small fire.

"Thank you, Fenrir-sama, and to you council members and your retainers, and I apologize if this seems long, but proper information is needed. I am here to tell you two stories of two very different young humans. This is needed to inform you of why Hatake's actions have put him in such poor graces with those of his personal contract that they would ask for such an extreme action."

"The first story begins nearly thirteen years ago at the human village of Konohagakure, when the Bijuu, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, attacked. The leader of the village at the time, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, rode atop the boss toad Gamabunta to combat the fox, and used a combination of seals, at the cost of his own life, to lock the great beast away within a newborn human pup, one Uzumaki Naruto. Namikaze's wish, apparently, was for the child to be seen as a hero for restraining the fox from destroying the village, but that did not come to be. As soon as those of the village learned what had happened, many called for the pups death, and a few attempted to perform the deed themselves, but were stopped by ninja at the command of Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had retaken his place as Hokage at the death of his successor. Sarutobi put in place a law that none were allowed, on pain of death, to speak of the boys burden, apparently in hopes that those who did not know of it, more specifically those of the boys age, would be good to him, but that did not happen. As the pup grew, he was pushed towards death many times, though poisonings, beatings, failed assassinations and malnutrition, and was mentally abused with insults, abandonment and hateful treatment by the adults. And, as we know with humans, "monkey see, monkey do". The children began to mistreat the boy as their parents had, and with none of the repercussions they would have with another child. Uzumaki-san grew up most of his life alone, with no pack to truly call his own, and any attempt to adopt him was thwarted by those who hated him. Even though he was so hated, the boy pushed through and never let them see the hate get to him."

The leader of the Tundra tribe, a Saint Bernard named Morana, whose maternal instincts were flaring to life with a vengeance, spoke, "Where were Uzumaki-kun's parents for all this? Did they abandon their own pup because of such stupidity?"

Katsumi shook her head, "As far as I was able to find from searching the records, the only other Uzumaki to have lived in the village, one Uzumaki Kushina, passed away during the attack, I suspect it could have been complication from childbirth. As for the father, I was unable to find the official copy of the birth certificate, only redacted copies with the paternal name blocked out, and do not know who the father is. I would guess that this means that the father was a ninja of high standing, who is either dead or on a long lasting, undercover mission. But if I may offer a my opinion," she asked to her boss, who nodded, "I hope this man is dead, or I will kill him myself for abandoning his son to those beasts, even if it cost me my position in the tribe, or even my own life." This statement shocked all those in attendance, with the exception of Fenrir, who was proud of his right hands words, since he had been told her thoughts on the human boy, "I met Uzumaki-san, and believe him to be one of the kindest and purest hearts I have met, canine, human or otherwise."

"What kept the boy in the village, then?" inquired the Savannah tribe leader. He was a large Black-backed Jackal who was named of Guafi, "If he was treated so poorly, then surely at some point in thirteen years, he must have had a chance to get away."

"It might have been possible," Katsumi admitted, "and I asked him myself why he stayed loyal to the village. He said it was because that village is his home, and he wishes to protect the few who do care for him, no matter what he has to go through to do so." Surprise was evident on many muzzled faces across the room, such an answer from a human youth, and loyalty to a village that itself had all but abandoned him, many of the tribal leaders and their retainers where not sure they would be able to give that answer after that sort of life.

"I think we can admire the Uzumaki pups loyalty later," Fenrir said, "I believe you have another story to tell, Katsumi."

"Yes, Fenrir-sama, this story is likely to be shorter, a few years ago, there was a clan known as the Uchiha, within Konoha, the leader of that clan, Uchiha Fugaku, had two sons. The elder son, Uchiha Itachi, was considered a prodigy; he became a chunin at the age of ten and an ANBU captain at the age of thirteen. The younger son, Uchiha Sasuke, lived in his brother's shadow, and wanted to surpass him. Then, about five years ago, Uchiha Itachi attacked and killed his entire clan, save for his younger brother, before leaving the village. Over the following years, Uchiha Sasuke was spoiled to keep him happy and loyal to the village, as the last true Uchiha, the village wanted to keep him there for the power they felt the Sharingan represented, but he simply sought the power needed to kill his older brother and nothing else, no matter the cost. And this brings us to the reason behind Pakkun-san's request, which has been backed by Fenrir-sama," she turned to a darker part of the tent, from which the pug stepped into the firelight, "I think it would be best for him to explain."

Pakkun took his place in the center of the council, "A few days ago, Uchiha Sasuke attempted to defect from the village to join a known enemy known as Orochimaru, in order to gain the power needed to kill Itachi." A few in the room growled, if there was any constant between the tribes, it was a fierce belief in loyalty above all things, "He was assisted by four enemy nin. A retrieval team, which included Naruto, was sent out to return Sasuke to the village, I won't bore you with the extensive details on the mission, but it ended with Naruto and Sasuke fighting at a place called the valley of the end. Hatake summoned me and the others when he found out and had us fan out to find to find them. I was with Hatake when we found the boys, both were unconscious, but I saw a much larger amount of blood coming out of Naruto, and found he had a large hole in his gut, one that the Kyuubi didn't even seem able to heal. When I tried to get Hatake to help the kid, he was already getting ready to leave with the Uchiha, not even glancing to check on Naruto, he left him to die." The room suddenly got noticeably colder, the center fire even started to visibly die down, pure hatred rolling off nearly everyone in the room, only those more in control of themselves were able to reign in their emotion, but just barely.

Guafi had another question, "Uzumaki had the power of the fox behind him; is the Uchiha really that strong."

Pakkun shook his head, "Although I wasn't there as they fought I believe he used a curse seal given to him by Orochimaru that allowed him to draw on an unnatural power."

"But still the snake is able to make someone strong enough to combat the Kyuubi's power?"

A bat-eared fox behind Fenrir stepped forward, "If I may, Fenrir-sama," the wolf nodded, "To answer your question, Guafi-sama, besides the fact that I believe the boy's body can't yet handle the full power of the Kyuubi, I was asked by Katsumi-taichou to keep guard outside of Uzumaki-san's window, and I heard him tell his guard that he had held back to keep from killing the Uchiha, because of a promise he made to someone called Sakura to bring the traitor back to the village."

Pakkun nodded, "That sounds possible, Naruto cares about Sakura, and he even fought against the fully manifested Ichibi no Tanuki and won to save her life in the invasion a few months ago."

Morana seemed to be the angriest at that moment, she had never even met the pup, but after what she had heard of the boy, she felt the strong need to tear out the Uchiha's throat, and let her tribe loose on any others who threatened him, "Fenrir-sama, I would like to ask to be allowed permission to find this Uchiha and…show him the err of his ways," she said that in a voice so calm that it sent a shiver up even the old wolfs spine, he had seen her like this only once before, when a lone bear had wondered onto her tribes land and attacked a pup. The pup lived, but had lost a hind leg, the bear was not so lucky. Morana had found him first, and by the time the others in her party had caught up, all that was left of the bear was a bit of fur, a few bones and a bloody smear in the snow. Morana was found shortly after washing off in a nearby hot spring.

"As interesting as that would be, Morana, I am afraid that I won't allow that for now. As much as I want to do the same, such an act would probably result in a war with that village, I don't mind the thought of tearing out a few of those dumb animals hearts, I think it would put us against Uzumaki, and I don't think you want to have to hurt him, do you?"

"Unfortunately, sir, that won't be a problem," a small pitch black Chihuahua entered the room.

Katsumi turned to the small dog, "Usha, report."

The dog bowed, "Katsumi-taichou, as you requested, I hid away in the Konoha village council room. The civilian council, a few of the shinobi and two of the elders, were able to overrule the hokage and the majority of the clan heads. The fools have put the Uchiha on probation, he is not allowed to leave the village for a year and has to pay monetary restitutions to the families of those injured by his treason, but they still plan on training him to keep him happy, on the other hand," she sighed, "They have decided that, after a week to get his affairs in order, Uzumaki Naruto is to be banished from the village."

Everyone in attendance felt a sudden extreme pressure on their chest as the elder wolf's anger finally got the better of him, several retainers passed out from it but Morana seemed to match it with her own. When he got back to himself, the old wolf growled to the miniature pooch, "On what grounds do they banish such a pup?"

Usha took a moment to recover before answering, "They claim his use of the Kyuubi's power is a sign of the seal weakening, and he is becoming a danger to the village. They were going to execute him, but one elder advised against it, I suspect he has plans for his own benefit."

Fenrir was deep in thought for a few moments, "Even with this new development, we will not attack Konoha yet, I think we will wait until Uzumaki is banished, and get his opinion. If the pup has no problem with the attack, then I will allow your tribe its pound of flesh, Morana, but if he asks us not to, we will not. Now before we adjourn this meeting, are there any against the permanent expulsion and banishment of Hatake Kakashi and his line?"

There was none.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^-----

As the rest of the council left, Morana approached her leader. "Fenrir-sama, I would like to request to be with the group that will meet with Uzumaki-kun."

"I know you have always been a protective mother, Morana, but you seem awfully protective of this human pup you have never met."

"I know, Fenrir-sama," she bowed her head a bit, "I don't know what it is, but I feel a strange pull to him, I feel like… I feel like I need to protect him like my own pup."

The large wolf chuckled, "I understand, Morana, I admit I am rather interested in this kit as well. I will allow it if you promise not to attack anyone without my permission. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Fenrir-sama."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^---------

"So," Ino said, "Your dad is the boss of all the toad summons." They had been walking, or hopping for Gamakichi, for a while, the girl had explained what she knew for certain about the retrieval mission, and that had left Gamakichi quietly fuming, but Ino felt the need to make some conversation when she started to notice that the neighborhood they were moving into wasn't the kind she wouldn't like to be in after dark.

"Yup, pretty much. But he still listens to Ma and Pa."

"He listens to himself?"

"No, no, Ma and Pa toad are the elders of the mountain, everyone calls the that, and even pops listens to them." The orange toad explained as he led the girl up some stairs and to a door.

Ino realized something, "Oh crap, we don't have the key."

"No worries, sis," Gamakichi looked like he was focusing for a moment, then extended his tongue out of his mouth, a key stuck to the end of it, "here ya go."

Ino gingerly picked the key off the tongue and looked at it for a moment, "Why did you swallow a key to Naruto's apartment?" she asked as she opened the door, looking for the window box.

"I didn't exactly swallow it, some of us toads can use a time/space type of jutsu to use our bodies as a sort of pocket world to store stuff. I know this guy who is smaller than me, but he could probably fit a small house in him. And Aniki gave all of us copies of the key so we would feel welcome in his home."

"What do you mean 'all of us'?" the blonde asked when she finally found the plants. It was a small assortment, nothing exotic, but they seemed well taken care of.

"Me, my brother and the other toads my age, sometimes when he got bored, aniki would summon me and Tatsu, sometimes to train, sometimes to play, and although he probably won't admit it, sometimes when he got lonely we would just hang out. One day, when the three of us were messing around, I asked him to try summoning some more toads, some of my friends back home heard me and Tatsu talking with pops about aniki, and they wanted to meet him. Naruto is friends with almost every toad my age back home, but he has to be careful around Pakwa." He said with a snicker as he leapt on a counter and grabbed a couple bags of chips.

Ino was confused, "Why, who's Pakwa?"

The toad started laughing a bit before explaining, "Pakwa is this girl back home who has a crush on Naruto."

Ino had a bit of a laugh as she left and locked the door before tossing the key to the toad, who snapped it out of the air like a fly. They continued on their way back in silence for a while, but when she saw where they would have to split for her to head home and he to the hospital, Ino asked, "He means a lot to you toads, doesn't he?"

"Of course, he is like family to me, Tatsu and pops, and most everyone else back home; I've even heard Ma and Pa tellin pops that they want to meet him too. He seems a bit sad sometimes, but he's a lot of fun too."

"Sad? Anytime I see him, he's yelling and smiling like an idiot, without a care in the world."

The orange toad stopped, and Ino after, "Let me ask you somethin, sis, have you ever noticed some of the older people in your village act strange around aniki? Some who seem like they don't like him for any good reason?"

"Not really, I didn't really spend much time with him when we were younger. Did Naruto do something? His pranks didn't seem THAT serious."

The toad shook his head, then continued on his way, "No, he didn't do anything, they dislike him for something he didn't do and had no control over. Try going around as him someday and you'll see what I mean. It took me a while to notice the way people looked at him, but when I asked pops, he told me after swearing me to secrecy; he said it is Naruto's secret to share, so I can't tell you if you don't know. But I can say this, many hate him for things that happened when he was born, but," he said with a sigh, "anywhere else, aniki would be a hero for some of the things he has done in the last year, he always seems to pull a victory out of nowhere at the last minute, like when he helped save my butt from that sand freak."

Sand Freak? "You mean Gaara, the red head with the gourd on his back?" he nodded in mid-hop, "I always thought Sasuke did that."

Kichi snorted, "When aniki summoned me, that guy was almost down for the count, it was Naruto, with some help from pops, who kicked sand-boys ass."

"Well, I better get these home before my parents wonder where I am. Thanks for your help, Gamakichi."

"No prob, sis," Ino started to walk away when he added, "you know, aniki is lucky to have a girlfriend like you," then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ino was stunned for a moment, and then she yelled, "NARUTO ISN'T MY BOYFREIND!" but the entire way home her mind was plagued by the possibilities, and images of a blonde wedding. She couldn't help but think, It feels weird…but it feels right.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^--------------------------

Naruto started to come to, and found he was staring into a pair of black eyes.

"Oink?"

"AHH!" Naruto bolted up, almost catapulting the small pig out of the bed, but she was caught by Kurenai, who was standing at the foot of the bed with a grinning Anko and a bright red Hinata.

"You alright, gaki? You were out for almost fifteen minutes."

"Agh, what happened? I remember Hinata-chan fainted, and then Anko-chan…said…" Naruto then he turned red enough to match his admirer as her turned to face her, "Do…do you really love me Hinata?"

Hinata gulped and took a deep breath, "H-hai, Naruto-kun, I have for a while now. When I was little, after my mother p-passed, my father started to become cold and distant, he started to push me hard to be strong, but I kept falling short of his e-expectations, and he became more distant, and I was almost ready to give up, but whenever I was, I w-would always seem to find you. You were always pushing yourself, always trying and never giving up, no matter what happened to you. I wanted to be like you, to ch-chase after you, then, I just wanted to walk with you, to b-be with you. Your smile, your spirit, they changed my life, they saved me." She walked to his side and took his hand in hers, "I love you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes watered up a bit, "I really don't know what to say, Hinata-chan. Nobody ever said anything like that before, no one has ever said they love me, I'm not even entirely sure it means, or what love is. I am not sure I can give you an honest response, I know I care about you like I do Sakura-chan and Anko-chan, but I don't know if I feel love." he looked up to see a sad look on the girls face and panicked a bit, seeing her like that made him hurt as well, "I'm not saying I don't, Hinata-chan, I just need some time to think. Please, this is all new to me."

The heiress's expression brightened a little, "I thi-think I understand, N-Naruto-kun, take y-your time. I n-need to get home before d-dark, w-would you m-mind if I come back tomorrow?"

Naruto cracked a smile, "Please, we can talk some more, I just realized," he took up a thoughtful expression, "you seem to know a lot about me, but I don't know much about you, it's like you've followed me around or something, but I don't think you would do something like that."

Hinata inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I w-will be back tomorrow afternoon. S-sleep well, Naruto-kun." And she left with her sensei.

Naruto looked outside to see the sun almost completely below the horizon. Letting out a small yawn, he laid back and prepared for sleep when he felt a rustle in the bed, and the mattress sink a bit beside him, he opened his eyes to find Anko had crawled in with him and laid down as well, her eyes closed, "Anko-chan, what are you doing?"

"I still have to guard you through the night, and I ain't sleeping in a chair, or I'll wake up stiff as a board. Besides," she wrapped her arms around him, "it is easier to protect you like this. Now before you say anything, I am NOT moving, so just go to sleep before I inject you with a sedative."

The threat standing, Naruto shut his mouth, but noted as he fell asleep, This is kinda nice.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^--------------------

Tenten was picking up and re-sealing her weapons as night closed in. Normally she would have stopped training long ago, but with both of her teammates in the hospital, she wasn't worn out as quickly.

"Tenten-senpai!"

Tenten looked up to see the Haruno girl. The brunette wasn't sure how to feel about Sakura, one of her teammates was the reason Tenten's were in the hospital, on the other hand, the girl's blonde teammate was not only the reason the retrieval succeeded, but the reason that Lee could be a ninja at all since he brought Tenten's idol, Tsunade, back to the village. And, apparently, the Godaime was close to the cute blonde. Wait, Cute!? Where the hell did that come from?

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" Tenten knew something was up, it looked like the pinkette had been crying, and there was some blood drying on her hand.

Sakura shook her head, "No, I'm fine, I just wanted to ask you something. I know with Lee and Neji in the hospital, you won't really have any missions for a little while, right?" the bun-haired girl nodded, "Well…I've been thinking a bit, and I am not as strong as I should have been. If I was stronger, Naruto might not have gotten hurt, and I might have been able to stop Sasuke. I just wanted to ask for your help, would you help me with weapons training?"

Tenten surveyed the other kunoichi for a few moments, she always supported a kunoichi who wanted to get stronger, and the pink-haired girl seemed more worried about the blonde teammate than the traitor, "Have you thought of what weapon?" Sakura looked at her quizzically, "Even I know you can't rely on shuriken and kunai for everything." She pulled out a blank scroll and wrote for a few minutes, before rolling it up and handing it to Sakura, "this is a list of melee weapons I am at least proficient with. Look it over tonight and decide which you want to start with. Be here at six in the morning, and don't be late. If you are, I WILL use you for target practice, understood?"

Sakura nodded vigorously, "Thank you, Tenten-senpai." A kunai whizzed by her head, taking off a few hairs before hitting a tree behind her.

"That will be sensei from now on, okay?" Sakura nodded, "Now go home and get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow." And the pair parted ways, Tenten excited to have her first student, and Sakura glad to have someone who might actually teach her something seriously.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^-----------------------

Inoichi returned home to find his daughter quietly tending to a planter he hadn't seen before, a distant look on her face.

Ino looked up to her father, "Hey, daddy, rough day?"

"More than you know, princess. What are you doing?"

"Hm, oh, this is Naruto's, apparently he likes gardening too, and when I saw him in the hospital, he asked me to take care of them for him." She saw her father flinch a bit at Naruto's mention, "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"Princess, is Naruto a friend of yours?"

Ino was a bit confused by the question, "Well, I never really cared much about him before, but after all that's happened, I kinda want to get to know him better, he seems like a nice guy, and Choji and Shikamaru might have died on that mission without him. I hear he almost did die to make the mission succeed. I guess I never noticed it when I was chasing Sasuke, but he's not as bad as a lot of people seem to think, just loud and annoying sometimes, and I know I can be as loud as he can." Ino had realized since splitting off from Gamakichi, a lot of people had treated Naruto like something was wrong, and she decided to try the toad's suggestion on the way home. She was surprised at the treatment she received as Naruto, she could feel the glares of hate, she could hear whispers of 'monster' and 'demon' under peoples breath, she had even had a couple of drunks start chasing her, throwing empty sake bottles at her until she got away. Does he go through that every day? "Why do you ask, Daddy?"

The elder Yaminaka sighed and sat down, "I am afraid I have bad news then, in seven days, Uzumaki Naruto is to be officially banished from the village."

Ino exploded, "WHAT!!! HIS MISSION WAS A SUCCESS, WHY THE HELL ARE THEY GIVING HIM THE BOOT? WHAT IN THE NAME OF KAMI WOULD HAVE THEM KICK HIM OUT AFTER ALL HE'S DONE? HE BEAT GAARA, HE BEAT SASUKE-TEME, HE BEAT THE HYUGA PRODIGY, HE BROUGHT TSUNADE-SAMA BACK, AND NOW THEY WANT TO KICK HIM TO THE CURB!?"

"Yes, I understand your anger, and most of the clan heads, myself included, were against it, but the civilian council and a couple clan heads outnumbered us, they wouldn't even properly punish the Uchiha." He realized too late what effect this last slip might have on his daughter.

Ino didn't yell, she didn't even raise her voice at this, she spoke in a deathly calm voice, one that seemed to suck the heat out of the room, "What do you mean 'properly punish'? What did or didn't they do?"

Inoichi sighed, there was now no way to stop the coming storm, "Two of the elders, as well as the civilian council and a few clan heads, in their infinite wisdom, decided to preserve the Sharingan in the village, they want to keep the Uchiha happy and will put him on probation, he won't be able to leave the village for a year, and during that time they plan to train him to keep him happy."

Ino's explosion was so great that the house seemed to shake before she even opened her mouth, "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THEM, THEY BOOT OUT POSSIBLY THE MOST LOYAL NINJA EVER, BUT THEY LET A TRAITOR GET AWAY WITH A SLAP ON THE WRISTS AND A 'DON'T DO IT AGAIN' BEFORE THEY CONTINUE TO SPOIL THE BASTARD ROTTEN!?"

"INO, CALM DOWN!" Ino was quieted by her father, "Yes, I know it's wrong, yes, I know Naruto is a good kid, but because of…certain events, not everyone sees him in that light."

Ino thought back to what the orange toad had said and what she had gone though earlier, "Daddy, why do they hate Naruto so much? On my way home, I used a henge to look like him, and the people, they were," tears welled up in her eyes, "does he really have to live through that every day? Why, how does he keep smiling like that? Why is he even here if that is how they treat him?"

Inoichi hugged his daughter, "Princess…I can't tell you why they hate him, because that is not my secret to share, so you have to ask Naruto before he leaves. And yes, he does go through things like that almost every day, but I can only guess why he has stayed so loyal, and smiled so much. Naruto hasn't had many friends in his life, so he is very protective of those he does have, he wouldn't want them to worry about him, so he smiles, and he wouldn't want them to get hurt, so he stays here to protect them," he pulled away and looked in his daughters eyes, "do you think you are one of those he wants to protect?"

Ino thought for a moment, "I don't know, daddy, I was mean to him a lot when we were little, but…I want to be. I want to help him, to protect him, to…to be his friend," and...maybe more.

"Then use this week well, try to be his friend. There is nothing we can do about his banishment at the moment, but he has the backing of almost every clan head, one of the elders, and the Hokage herself, we will find a way to help him. And the hokage is close to him, she won't just abandon him, I wouldn't be surprised if she was thinking of a way to get him out of this right now."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^------------------------

Tsunade was in a bad way, a seriously bad way. One could tell it was bad because Shizune was actually giving her sake. Tsunade didn't know what emotion to feel anymore, anger at the council for banishing one of the few people she had left, or at the 'last Uchiha' for starting all this, or sorrow at the idea of what the village would be like without the little ball of energy or how the boy would feel when he found out.

Shizune wasn't much better; she was actually contemplating using her poison gases on the civilian council when a knock came to the office door. Koharu entered.

"I am sorry to disturb you on such a sad occasion, Tsunade."

Tsunade looked red faced at the elder, "What do you want and what are you up to?" Tsunade had been confused at this elder's actions in the meeting.

"I came to ask if you have had a chance to inform Uzumaki of his fate."

The bottle in the Sannin's hand shattered, "He just woke up before I left for the council meeting, His mission a success, a new friend keeping an eye on him and keeping him company, and the knowledge that he has more than he thought, I figured I would let him have at least one night of peaceful sleep before I have to destroy his world around him."

Koharu nodded, "I understand, I would like to come with you tomorrow when you do."

"Once again, why? According to sensei's diary, you usually went against Naruto, what are you up to you old hag?"

"I can fully understand your disbelief, you will understand tomorrow, but…he did something just before the chunin exams, he saved something of mine, something more precious to me than my own life, even at the risk of his own. I will be at the hospital at about 10 tomorrow morning." She moved towards the door and opened it to reveal Tsume about to knock, before she turned to face her hokage, "For what it is worth, Tsunade, I am truly sorry, for everything that has happened, "and the aged kunoichi left, thinking in the hall, I guess I will have to tell her tonight, the old woman sighed, I just know she's going to cry her little heart out.

Back in the office, Tsunade turned to the Inuzuka head, "What can I do for you, Tsume?"

"I know you said you want Naruto-kun to rest for a few days, but I would like to request he be brought to the Inuzuka compound tomorrow afternoon," The woman said with a respectful bow.

"May I ask what this visit is for; you aren't actually planning on having Naruto marry your daughter so soon, are you?" The blonde asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, Tsunade-sama, I wish to give him a gift, I don't wish to speak of it outside of the compound, but it is something my clan does not give out lightly, and he is free to turn it down, but it will be explained when you arrive with him."

The Hokage studied the feral woman for a moment, "I will try to bring him by, but I will send a message if he is unable to come."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." And with that, Tsume left, and Tsunade looked out over the village under the moonlight.

"How are we going to tell him, Tsunade-sama?" the assistant asked, knowing this could very well break the boy.

"I don't know, Shizune, but I can't just leave him to wander alone out there, at least when I was travelling, I had you with me, but those bastards think they can just push me into forcing him out, they forget, if it weren't for him…I wouldn't be here…" the blonde thought for a minute then suddenly had a grin on her face that scared her assistant a little, "Shizune, get me some blank scrolls, some more ink, the village financial statements, and coffee, lots of coffee, I have work to do. And find Jiraiya and tell him to get his ass down here, NOW."

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^--------------------------

Hinata was in her room, about ready for bed. This had turned out to be a good day, she had finally told Naruto how she felt, even though his response wasn't exactly what she would have wished for, he didn't turn her down. And, given what she just learned about him, it was an answer she could understand, she was also glad that he had not only wanted to see her tomorrow, but he hadn't realized anything about her little 'Naruto watching' trips.

A knock came from her door, "Hinata-sama, your father requests your presence in his study."

"Th-thank you," Hinata put on a kimono and made her way to her father's study and knocked lightly on the door, "Tou-sama, you asked to see me?"

"Yes, Hinata, come in." Hinata walked in and sat herself on a cushion in front of her father's desk as he poured a cup of tea before passing it to her, "Drink, I am afraid we have much to talk about." Hinata accepted the glass, and took a sip as her father spoke again, "I understand you have taken a liking to this Uzumaki Naruto."

Hinata almost inhaled some of the tea and started sputtering and coughing before she was able to answer, "W-w-what do y-you mean T-T-Tou-sama?"

Hiashi almost smirked at his daughter's reaction, which was answer enough for him, "Do not worry, my daughter, I have no issue with young Uzumaki. I will admit until a few months ago I had showed no favor towards him. But I heard that he had motivated you to fight your cousin, and saw personally how he fought your cousin, the last piece of my late brother I have left, and changed him for the better. I have never truly met the boy, but he has already helped change my life. He… reminds me of someone I knew who died several years ago, because he keeps becoming stronger, and those around him become stronger in some way as well. So I would fully support any relationship you pursue with him, and believe such a relationship would eventually bring nothing but honor to our clan." His expression soured, "But these facts make it even more difficult to tell you this, it was decided earlier today by majority vote of the Council, that he be banished after a one week suspension of the sentence for him to get his affairs in order."

Hinata was shocked by the news, and dropped he glass, which shattered spilling tea all over. The poor girl was in tears, she finally tells him and his is about to be banished, "I-it's because of K-Kyuubi, isn't it father."

Hiashi was shocked, but visibly he just cocked an eyebrow, "How do you know of the fox?"

"N-Naruto-kun told me about it t-today when a summon dog mentioned it without knowing it was a secret."

A summon dog? "You mean Hatake's dog?" he asked, fully aware of the jonin's actions and where they landed him in respect to the Inuzuka clan, the hokage, and many other clans when they found out.

His daughter shook her head, and explained about the canines' arrival, "and w-when Katsumi-san asked about the K-Kyuubi in front of me, Anko-san and K-Kurenai-sensei told me the truth, with N-Naruto-kun's permission. Father, is there n-nothing we can do to help him?"

"At the moment, I am afraid not, at least not to keep him in the village. But, I suspect Lady Hokage is coming up with something, and from her expression, Inuzuka-san is up to something as well. I have been trying to think of how I could help the boy without worrying about the Hyuga council's interference. Go, rest Hinata, and I am sorry."

Hinata nodded and returned to her room, and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^------------------------

Authors notes- In respect to my take on the canine contract, Foxes, jakals and raccoon dogs all fall within the genetic family Canidae. And I came up with the whole tribes idea from a thought I had when it came to the problems another author was having with writing what to summon for the neck country contract, with such a broad term like canine or lizard, how do you separate them, so I came up with the tribes.

As for the tribes themselves, the seven are: Lead Tribe, Tundra, Plains, Forest, Mountain, Tropic, and Savannah. Each tribe has special uses for the summoner, and some in each tribe are capable of jutsu, the elements of which depend on the tribe. These differences will be better explained later, but I do have most of it planned out, aside from actual members that I haven't mentioned. Kakashi's dogs are all of the plains tribe.

One last note on summons, some writers have summons off in another world (sort of a different plain of existence) and some have them from a different part of Naruto's planet, I am of the former, simply because it makes some things easier, and some harder. That's all.

What is Tsume Planning for Naruto? What about Tsunade's plans? What did Naruto do to change Koharu's opinion of him? How will Naruto take the news of his sentence? Find out next time on Hokage on the Run.