The Romance of Hi no Kuni

by EddyxMarvoloxRiddle

"Your warning is indeed greatly appreciated, as is your concern for me. However, when that time comes, I will be long go-" The blonde cut him off completely, by saying four words that shook the man's bones, "The Senju have fallen." Not much of a summary I know. Enjoy the story. Read the A/N's. This is my first Naruto FF as well. R&R. ENJOY! FYI: It's AU.

2. Chapter 2

Warnings: Completely AU, OLDer!Naruto, BelieveablyStrong!Naruto, Bad!Transliterations(google translate is a bitch...), Alcohol, sex themes and suggestions, blood, violence, ALIVE!Uchiha

Rating: T+/Young Adult...may go up if I feel too paranoid later on...

Enjoy!

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Chapter I

"Get him!"

CRASH! BAM!

"He's over there!"

BOOM!

"Uwahh!"

A body sailed through the air before it landed upon a pile of other unconscious drunkards. To the many residents of Hana-dori, a red light district in one of the many cities of the new dynasty that now ruled Hi no Kuni, this was a regular occurrence, and it had been for quite some time now, ever since the arrival of two outsiders. One of whom was now in a drunken frenzy laughing and brawling it out with the many other customers inside Akaryu, a popular hotspot within the small community of geisha, pimps, pickpockets, and all around outcast of society.

The man was dressed in old, raggedy, baggy, brown pants with patches on them, while over it he wore a gray, sleeveless gi that was just as worn out as the pants, and on top of that, he wore a beige orange tunic that only had a right sleeve, while the left side of the torso was completely exposed, the tunic went down to his knees with slits at the sides, and finally around his waist he wore an orange sash with a green swirl in the middle. He had short, red spiky hair, electric blue eyes, and a stubble on his tan face. He had a shit eating grin stretched on his face as he looked around the room in a drunken haze while he swayed about from the liquor in his system.

"C'mon ya fuckers! I ain't through wit' teachin' ya yer daily lesson!" He said, before tilting his head back and downing a full bottle of Name no Kuni Classic Saki; golden edition, and throwing the bottle away as he got in a sloppy stance, one of his hands out in front of him with his fingers in the shape of someone who'd be holding a saucer. He swayed about again, looking at the men before him, before a vein came upon his forehead and he yelled, "Alright! If ya ain't comin' ta me, I'mma comin' ta yo!"

He spread his legs apart before twisting his upper body and flying off in a twisted like movement, hitting the closest man in the solar plexus with a head butt. As he fell down, he stuck his hands out in front of him and twisted them while spreading his legs and began to kick any and all that were in his hitting distance before shoving himself off the ground and getting back on his feet clumsily, back into his original stance, "C'mon! If ya jus' lemme smack y'aroun', th'r's no fun in it!"

The opposition all looked at one another, sweat pouring from their brows, they all nodded in perfect sync, as stepped back a good five feet, before they hauled ass out of the fine establishment. All the while the redhead was shouting after them insults and profanities and many other colorful words that seemed to make even the residents of Hana-dori flush red, while he waved his hand in the air threateningly.

Back in the bar, a man was seated at the bar stand, fanning himself lazily with a beautifully made white crane feathered fan. He wore nicer clothing compared to the other man, who'd come back and sat next to him, before ordering even more alcohol—as if he wasn't already drunk enough. The man in question, however, wore a long white robe, that did indeed seem worn out some, most likely due to traveling, with red hems and golden lining, on the back of the robe there was a red circle, while inside it bloomed a white lotus flower. Underneath his robe he wore a white, long sleeved gi, as well as beige baggy pants that were wrapped in tape from his calves down towards his ankles. At his waist, there was a long, red, silk-made sash, and on his feet he wore black cotton shoes.

He had an angular face, with a strong chin, high cheek bones that showed his regal masculine beauty. His eyes were slanted and hazel colored, giving him a shrewd and cunning expression, he too had tan skin, though not as much as his compatriot who was now downing drink after drink. He had long, flowing black hair, some of which he'd tied into a bun on his head, with a phoenix designed hair pin as the rest of his hair was loose down to mid back, with some strands covering his face. He also had a thin mustache that connected with a thick, pointy goatee, which he was currently stroking whilst he fanned himself with his crane feathered fan as he shook his head exasperatedly at his redheaded companion.

"Yare yare…you sure like to cause those men trouble every day, Huǒyǐng-san…"

"Bah! They deserve it, always causing trouble at Taro-jiji's bar!"

The raven chuckled before he spoke, "I thought that monks did not go looking for trouble?"

"I was excom'inat'd! Not m' faul' tr'ble seems ta find me e'rywher' I go!"

"I see…Taro-san, I would like to have a bottle Ta no Kuni wine; Southern flavored if you please."

The old bartender just nodded, while chuckling at the youngsters before him, more so at the redheaded ex-monk, whom people around these parts had taken to calling Yotta Sōryo, due to his monk-like apparel as well as him always being in a sake frenzy, "I see you'll be having your usual as always, Kongming-sama."

"Yare yare, no "sama" suffix please. I do not allow my head to be filled with arrogance like this baka next to me," responded an abashed, now identified, Kongming as he rubbed the back of his head, smiling embarrassedly at the old man. However, that got him a smack from said baka.

"Oi! That'll be Baka-SAMA ta you!"

Both Taro and Kongming gave the ex-monk deadpanned stares, however said ex-monk was currently downing his unknown number of round of sake. Kongming shook his head in disbelief at all the saucers, shot glasses, and bottles laying around his companion. Sighing he reached over with his free hand and pinched the redhead's neck, and the man soon dropped like a sack of potatoes, his head slamming down on the bar stand, fast asleep, snoring up a storm. Soon, Taro had returned with his requested beverage and noticed the redhead drooling away on his counter top before chuckling, already knowing what had happened.

The man set the drink in front of Kongming, who bowed his head in gratitude, before he slowly strode over to the door, turning the "Open" sign over, closing down the bar, and turning the lights off except the one that lit his counter, the old man was soon in front of Kongming and they both began to share the drink, as they'd been doing for these past two years.

"So, Ji-chan, what have the girls learned?"

Taro took a sip of his saucer, before he ran his wrinkled hand up and down on his long, white beard, stroking it thoughtfully, before opening his half lidded slanted eyes, revealing pale white pupils, "Nothing much, my boy. Suzu-chan has not received a client from the palace or military for quite some time. However, earlier in the week, I overheard some officials going on about some brothers and how they'd been eradicated…"

"So…the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi have fallen…or so it seems…" Said a voice from their right, both turned and saw the redhead awake—although his cheeks were still flushed, though it seemed that he was forcing the alcohol's effect out of his system with his chakra.

Taro brought his blind gaze at the redhead, nodding slowly, before responding in his old sage-like voice, "Indeed. The last shimmer of resistance has been broken…although…"

Kongming fanned himself calmly, taking his fifth sip of wine, before pouring another round for himself and Taro, and now Huǒyǐng, who'd been impatiently and annoyingly nudging at him with his saucer, "Although?"

The old man gratefully accepted the liquor, before responding, "It would not surprise me if he kept the heirs alive."

Huǒyǐng nodded and looked at Kongming, "It would make sense, even though the heirs are a bit younger than us, they are still malleable to brainwash on Danzo's part…and I have heard that the Nara heir is almost a match for Orochimaru and Shibai's minds, and maybe yours as well, Kongming. Should Danzo succeed, he'd have three of the greatest minds on the land…and given enough training; an excellent mind reader, capable of predicting movements at the same pace of an Uchiha, as well as a tank, capable of reducing even the greatest numbers to barely anything."

The raven hair nodded, downing another round, before he went back to fanning himself, a thoughtful expression upon his visage, however, his, as well as the other two's attention turned towards the left, where there stood two more silhouettes in the shadows. Taro sighed before he hopped off his bench and rubbed his back, "Yare yare…such honored guests have arrived…it seems that Hi no Kuni Classic no. 5 Special Edition will be required, two of it at that."

As he went out of the room, Huǒyǐng and Kongming kept their gazes on the two other figures, before Kongming spoke, "Itachi-sama, Hatake-san. Please, sit."

Uchiha Itachi, twenty-two years old, heir to the Noble Uchiha Clan, and one of Danzo's personal Generals, behind him was his shadow; Sharingaon no Kakashi, an elite ANBU operative within the Shinobi Corps of Hi no Kuni, twenty-six years old, stepped out into the dim light provided by the lights above the bar stand.

Itachi wore a variation of what Kongming wore, minus the hair style and hairpin as well as the fan. His clothes were black and red, while on the back of his robe was the Uchiha Clan's symbol, a red and white fan. His eyes were as black as coal, and seemed emotionless to all, though if one truly knew him, they'd see his true nature reflected behind them, one of righteousness, justice, loyalty, and camaraderie.

Hatake Kakashi on the other hand, whore skin tight black shoulder length gloves, though his right shoulder was uncovered, revealing the ANBU tattoo to the world, upon his chest, he wore a dark gray, padded and filled with many pouches, standard ANBU style armor, while he also wore black baggy pants with a pouch upon his left thigh, and another at the small of his back, on his hands and forearms, he wore two dark gray chakra metal gauntlets. On his back was also a small sheath for his father's famous Hakkō Chakura Tō, his calves down were wrapped in bandages and he wore standard black ninja sandals. His most distinguishable features would have to be his eye patch, which covered his left eye, a dog style ANBU mask slanted on the right side of his head, and his gravity defying silver hair, as well as his black face mask.

Both new arrivals sat opposite of the men before them just as Taro came out with two extra saucers and three bottles of his aforementioned alcohol beverage choice. The old man sat down on his old stool and put the items in the center, for all to use. Kongming nodded his head at the man and poured each of them a round. Although every person in the room knew that Kakashi would most likely not drink alcohol, as he never showed his face, one could still hope. Even the ever stoic Itachi's gaze had fallen on the ANBU as they all had grabbed their respective saucers and tilted their heads back a bit in order to drink it.

However, they were all stumped when Kakashi sat his empty saucer down on the bar stand, his mask clinging onto his face still. Kongming couldn't help but sigh internally in disappointment at his, admittedly ridiculous idea. Huǒyǐng grit his teeth in annoyance, before he nudged his saucer out yet again, and Itachi's reaction was an unnoticeable microscopic eye twitch. Taro chuckled at the youngsters before him, before he poured them all another round.

"So, what brings you all here, Itachi-sama?"

Itachi looked at the drink before him intently, before his black gaze fell upon Kongming's own, "You have both been spotted by the Uchiha Police Force."

Kongming chortled a bit, before jokingly replying, "Oro? Really now? It seems that your seals have slipped up again Huǒyǐng-san."

"Eh?! No way. I've learned better in the last two years! Ero-sensei beat me senselessly if I ever blew anything up!"

Kakashi chuckled behind his mask, setting his saucer down, empty yet again, causing Huǒyǐng to gape at the man's speed, before speaking, "It was not that your seals fell. In reality, we are not sure how the Uchiha Police Force even managed to spot you both. All we know is that they have taken credit for it."

Itachi nodded, he himself downing his second round, "Kakashi speaks true. My family is taking credit for it. Although, we all know that it was no accident or coincidence, was it Shokatsuryou-san?"

Kongming—or rather, Shokatsuryou chuckled, before he replied, "No, no accident, I had Naruto-san here take down his seals for a split second one we saw some Uchiha around. I knew that they would report it to your father, who in turn would report it to Danzo—"

Itachi cut him off, "Who in turn would have made me and Kakashi, two S-ranked individuals in his army, as well as the country, in order to bring you both in."

Taro then spoke, "Hoho! Seems that Danzo-san still has his impulsive moments, despite being a military genius. Sending you two down here to face these two would have caused more damage than good…does he not understand that the many "outcasts" in his kingdom are very easily…aggravated?"

"No, he does, and he was counting on it…I believe that some on the council are still against his usurpation to the throne…even if it has been two years, there is still much…doubts within other parts of Hi no Kuni, except Konoha, he's secured them very easily. I believe his plan was to provoke a revolt, where he'd crush it in a single blitzkrieg and "calm" any doubts the council had off him, once he made this little plan of his," said Kakasi, in his lazy tone as he'd brought out a little orange book that was titled "Icha Icha Tactics!" he giggled in a high pitch as he flipped through the pages, reading them.

Shokatsuryou then spoke, "Or perhaps it was to…weed out the traitors, so to speak."

Itachi nodded, "Perhaps…"

Huǒyǐng—or rather, Naruto had a lazy expression upon his face as he'd already felt the presences earlier on thanks to his seals, he then looked at the others with half lidded eyes and spoke, "Arara…should we welcome them?"

Shokatsuryou chuckled and replied, "It seems that there is no way to…alleviate Itachi-sama and Hatake-san's status…"

"Hmmm…" Kakashi silently agreed, nodding lazily as he flipped another page in his book, looking extremely uninterested at the fact that him and his lord had been found out.

"It was bound to come out sooner or later," Itachi's dull voice replied, as he took yet another sip of his drink.

Taro sighed sadly, "Such a shame too…we really needed spies at the position you two were in…"

Shokatsuryou nodded his head, before he sighed and fanned himself, "Not much that can be done now, however. Taro-jiji, you know what to do…"

Taro's beard and mustache parted to make way for white teeth that were in the shape of a grin, as the old man replied, "Already been done Kongming-san." He then stomped on the wooden tile on the floor by his left foot, and a gigantic three to four foot long scroll came out of it. Naruto grabbed it and strapped it onto his back as Taro was already in a crouched position, as were Itachi and Kakashi, while Shokatsuryou was hitching a ride on Naruto's back, all jumped upwards as they felt the chakra sources close in on them, and once out through the roof, Taro made a single hand sign and shouted, "Katsu!"

Boom!

The place went up in flames, with the only thing remaining being the red rain that was falling from the sky and the gigantic mushroom cloud where the Akaryu used to be. Landing on a random rooftop, four of the five men turned around in order to intercept whatever danger they had sensed. Soon, Kakashi, Itachi, Naruto, and Taro found their weapons being pressed down against by none other than Orochimaru, Uchiha Shisui, Kaguya Kimimaro, and Yakushi Kabuto, while their fifth member, Shibai, calmly landed behind them.

Naruto grit his teeth as he pressed on against the bone swords that protruded from the pale skinned, maro look-alike, white haired individual before him, Kaguya Kimimaro, who had an expressionless face as he pressed his weapons onto the redhead's adamantine staff. Naruto the glanced at Shokutsuryou meaningfully, and the man nodded, before he hopped off the redhead's back with the scroll and began to race off.

Kimimaro moved to intercept, however Naruto appeared before him and managed to shove his Bo's tip into the Kaguya's solar plexus, making the man skid back into a halt. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes as he gripped his surprisingly aching plexus, before he turned his gaze back at the redhead, only to be met with a forearm as he was flung back through a tree, deep into the forest. He turned back to say something to the others only to have to block an onslaught of slashes coming at him from the Kaguya.

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Orochimaru chuckled as he looked down at Itachi and gave him a snake-like smile, "Now, Itachi-kun, what do you say we tale those eyes of yours and give them to me as a present? Kukukukuku…"

Itachi narrowed his eyes at his determined opponent, before he shoved the snake back with his tanto. Going through one handed seals before he shot a fast fire ball at the man, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" The gigantic swirling ball of fire sped through the air and hit Orochimaru dead on, causing the man to scream out in pain. Once the fire dissipated, there was nothing let of the man but ashes. Itachi narrowed his eyes, before he unsheathed his right tanto that was hidden within his sleeve and thrut it behind him, clashing with Orochimaru's Kusanagi. Both fighters glared at each other, although Orochimaru's smile widened. Both fighters broke off and began to clash with one another as they moved at high speed throughout the roof tops.

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Kakashi found himself paired up with Kabuto, who looked at him with a friendly smile upon his face, "Kakashi-kun, perhaps it is time we run another medical exam on you."

Kakashi eye smiled at the man and replied cheerfully, "No thanks, I'm sure that I am perfectly healthy as is, he then broke off with Kabuto's Chakura no Meisu and charged the man, embedding his kunai with lightning chakra as he did so and vanishing from Kabuto's field of vision, only to reappear directly behind him, slashing down at his opponent, who in turn dodged it, having sensed Kakashi's presence.

"Yare yare Kakashi-kun, it seems you're not in tip top shape if you couldn't hide your chakra from me…"

Kakashi eye smiled at the man before replying, "Nah. I'm sure it's just that you're competent enough to sense me."

Kabuto smiled at him, before pulling his glasses up, making them glint against the moonlight, before his entire visage and demeanor changed completely. Gone was the happy façade, and in place was the real face; the demon within. Kakashi narrowed his eye at him, becoming serious himself as he gripped his kunai and unsheathed his tanto, before both men disappeared and reappeared in the air, trading blow for blow, even though none of them hit the other as they dodged it at the last moment, no movements wasted at all.

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Uchiha Shisui as at a stalemate with Taro, who had intercepted the young lad's tanto with his cane. The Uchiha found himself staring at the old man's blind gaze, before smirking and tauntingly saying, "Hey, Jiji, you wouldn't happen to be Mōmoku no Sen'in, Taro, would ya?"

The bald and bearded old man chuckled, before he effortlessly broke the stalemate and stroke his beard, while leaning on his cane, "And what makes you come to that, youngster?"

Shisui grinned before saying, "He was always mentioned to have an old oak cane with the kanji for Shinpai Amarisen carved on the cane." Taro smiled a grandfatherly smile, before he gripped his cane and vanished with a burst of speed, causing Shisui's eyes to widen before he parried a black to his head with the blunt of his blade, turning around he smiled at the old man and cheekily said, "Eh…if ya didn't want anyone to know then maybe you should get a new cane…"

The man brought his cane in a basic iaido stance, he then stepped forth with his right foot and vanished yet again. This time Shisui's eyes widened ever more if possible as he had to block the onslaught that came at him, "Wairudomonkī no mai!" Just as the name stated, the old man was throwing out wild, unpredictable slashes with his cane that came from all angles. To shisui, it looked as if the cane had somehow become a whip, but he knew better than that, if anything it was that the old man was moving so fast that he was getting distorted visions. Finally deciding to stop fooling around, and just in time as the man had vanished without a trace, Shisui's sharingan flared to life as he ducked and blocked an aerial slash from the old man. Taro looked on with his grandfatherly face, "Hoho! So you finally decided to get serious…though I admit that you've disappointed me a bit, youngster…"

Shisui raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh? How so?"

"It's just that…Itachi-kun never brought out his sharingan in our spars…"

Shisui's brow ticked at that, "Spars?! Old man, you think this is a spar?!"

"Yare yare, what else would it be? You are some years too young for me to remove my seals youngster."

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Shibai looked around him as the eight fighters clashed it out among the roof tops of Hana-dori, fanning himself lazily with a black raven feathered fan. He was currently garbed in a Shinto priest-like robe, however on his shoulders and upon his breast, he had a golden upper body armor plate made of gold with designs of a raven on it. His robes were purple with gold hems and silver linings. He worse purple baggy pants as well as white socks and purple, slightly pointed, cotton shoes. On his head he wore a portion of his hair in a bun, with a raven styled hair pin in it. His face was angular, his skin pale white, and his eyes green. He wore dark green eyeliner. Upon his waist was a black silk sash with the symbol for Sōjū. He fanned himself before speaking in a soft voice that was with a cynical tone behind it, "Seeing as you are all currently…preoccupied, I should perhaps begin pursuit."

With that he jumped off the roof top and dashed on to another, taking the dubbed; Ninja Highway, outwards towards the border of the city. As he neared the gate, his bored expression left him ever so slightly, for he'd finally get a go at his most endeared rival. Gripping the handle of his fan excitedly, he jumped over the gates of the city with ease before the air in front of him distorted and he was forced to block a powerful wind slice with his own fan.

Landing on the edge of the city's wall, he looked up to see Shokatsuryou in the air, floating carelessly as he manipulated the wind around him whilst fanning himself. Shibai couldn't help but smile at him in an excited manner, he could feel his chakra rising and churning within him as he looked up at the man whom he most wanted to defeat.

Shokatsuryou, for his part, was also smiling excitedly, his eyes a bit wide, although he managed to hide it better behind his fan. Gripping the handle, he swung his fan repeatedly sending out a barrage of wind scythes at Shibai, who dodged them all before he himself charged his fan with lightning chakra and swung it at Shokatsuryou, who cut said lightning with his own wind.

Both looked at each other, eyes narrowing, and fingers twitching. Then, they vanished and met one another clashing their lightning and wind charged fans against another, causing the terrain around them to be changed with the force of it. Shokatsuryou did one handed signs before he opened his mouth, and from it came a stream of fire, which he swung his fan into, making it bigger and faster as it sped at Shibai.

For his part, Shibai gathered the water from the condensed air and manipulated it with his chakra as he did one handed signs before making a water dragon appear, he then had it cancel out Shokatsuyou's technique, before he was forced to dodge as he saw the man sent wind scythes at him yet again.

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Naruto's form was worn out, his robes had rips and tears on them as he panted while holding the Adamantine Bo staff behind his back, his feet spread apart and the palm of his right hand outwards, in a defensive stance. He had cuts and bruises, and from his lips he was bleeding some. However, his opponent, too was in a similar shape to him. The Kaguya was bruises, battered, and bleeding as he held his sides, hunched over in pain while glaring at the redhead before him.

Naruto was about to charge again when he felt them. They were all moving in fast. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he tore his right sleeve off, showing his arm covered in seal tags and prayer beads. He then brought his right hand up into a one handed Tori sign and his seals glowed, before the ink on them disappeared, and the prayer beads glowed as well, before they all seemed to crack and break off his right arm.

The effect was instant, his chakra flared to life, visible for all to see, a beacon of light. Naruto felt his body begin to heal, and he twirled his staff before he hit it on the ground, making it disappear in a cloud of smoke. His hands were a blur, before he disappeared in a flash of orange. All throughout their individual fights, Itachi, Kakashi, Taro, and Shokatsuryou, were picked up by an orange light and vanished before their opponent's eyes.

Danzo's two generals; Shibai and Orochimaru, as well as their officers all appeared on the same roof stop. Orochimaru and Shibai for their part were relatively unscathed, only their robes seemed tattered and were ripped in a few places. Kabuto had his glasses cracked, and a small line of blood coming down his forehead. Kimimaro and Shisui on the other hand were bruised, battered, and bleeding more than the others, although they still stood straight.

Kabuto raised his cracked glasses up on his face, doing so caused the glass to shatter and fall down without getting into his eyes, "Arara…Orochimaru-sama, should we let them go?"

"Kukuku…It doesn't matter if we gave chase, that brat's technique most likely already has them where they want to meet up…"

Shibai fanned himself lazily, "Yare yare…I had forgotten that Naruto-kun could use that…I do wonder, however, if he'll be able to seal it back up again…"

Orochimaru nodded, chuckling before replying, "Indeed…I admit that his technique is impressive, however—Oh, look; Oinins are in pursuit of them…how…dreadfully boring, let us go back. Kabuto, look over Kimimaro-kun when you have the chance."

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Landing safely in their camp at the border of Hi no Kuni and the Senju-occupied Hitomi Peninsula, the five warriors all looked at one another gravely. Kakashi, Itachi, and Shokatsuryou were in a similar state as their respective opponents, with little to no blood of bruises. Taro himself was also better than Shisui, as he had no signs of injury or a scuffle. Naruto on the other hand, his clothes were torn apart and shredded in places, while his body did look better, however that was most likely due to the chakra outburst of his. His chakra was still visible for all to see, causing the four others to begin the procedure.

Itachi and Kakashi held him down, while Taro tapped the redhead's forehead with the tip of his cane, forcing a seal to appear, making the redhead go paralyzed, Itachi and Kakashi stopped holding him and began to help Shokatsuryou, who had already gotten out new prayer beads and a brush as well as some ink. The three of them began drawing the limiter seals back on the papers in the redhead's arm.

It had to be precise, a wrong brush stroke and they could most likely set their partner in crime aflame, or worse. An hour passed and they had finally finished redoing the seals back on the redhead's seal tags, charging them with chakra, the seals glowed a brief moment. Shokatsuryou then spoke, "Taro-jiji, you can stop now."

Taro took his cane off Naruto's fore head and set it back on the ground as he leaned on it for support. Naruto's eyes flickered open and he looked around him as he saw the faces of his companions before getting up, taking the offered beads from Kakashi, he nodded in thanks and began wrapping the beads around his right arm, chanting lowly under his breath. Once done, he looked up and spoke, "Who was it…?"

Itachi then responded, "It may very well have been Danzo himself…he always knew that Kakashi and I were loyal to Sarutobi, and by extension the Senju…"

Shokatsuryou nodded, stroking his goatee before speaking, "Yes, he seems like that type of person…come, we must leave for the peninsula immediately…Shisui-san, did you do what had to be done?"

Stepping from the shadows came Uchiha Shisui, dressed in an ANBU uniform similar to Kakashi, however instead of gauntlets, he simply had the gloves. He pulled down the Karasu mask and bowed lightly at the others, who nodded back, "Hai…I managed to use Kotoamatsukami before I was called out to action by a messenger bird…the Sankyōdai heirs are being moved to Senju territory as we speak…"

Taro laughed jovially before roughly patting the ANBU on his back, "Lad, you sure can make fighting fun for an old man! I sense great potential in you m'boy!"

Shisui winced a bit, before his eyebrow twitched and he yelled at the man, "Oi! I'm still recoverin' here! Don't manhandle me!"

Taro just kept laughing as he dodged the wild swipes and swings that Shisui sent his way. The others just sighed exasperatedly at their antics. Naruto stood up and stretched, as did the others, before he spoke, "Alright, Taro-jiji, you head off to wherever those other three disciples of yours are and get them to meet with us in Name no Kuni, tell Kan'U to keep Chōhi in line, the last thing we need is that beard-teme doing something impulsive like pissing off Gato..."

Taro nodded and took off after having smacked Shisui with his cane one last time for good measure. Shisui growled but stayed where he was, Itachi then turned to Kakashi and said, "I need you to keep the princess safe…once we reach the peninsula and have secured the Sankyōdai heirs, I shall depart for Kaze, I am leaving you in Her Highness' command…"

Kakashi nodded and bowed at his lord, "Hai, Itachi-sama, I shall serve Her Highness to the best of my abilities."

Shokatsuryou, "Actually…Kakashi, do not expect to be there too long, you shall depart for Name as soon as we've calmed down the Sankyōdai heirs. Itachi-sama, I shall be accompanying you to Kaze, I have matters to attend to there, and I believe that Naruto shall be accompanying with us as well."

The redhead nodded before replying, "Aye…haven't been to Kaze in a while and I need to get in touch with our contacts up there, I already know that Danzo has reached out for an alliance to them, and I am wondering what Sakin-teme has done about it. That and I need to store up on Kaze no Kuni alcohol, I'm short on that…"

Shisui then stepped forward, "I shall head back to the capital…I shall try to gather information for us, however with my position not being the same as Itachi's or Hatake-senpai's, I may not be of much use." With that, he vanished with a burst of speed as he took to the tree branches.

Shokatsuryou then tossed his fan outwards after having charged it with chakra. The fan expanded and it floated above the ground, Shokatsuryou hopped on it and looked at the others, "I shall take the…faster route, I have much to do in such a short amount of time." With that, he took off towards the sky, southward as the remaining three took to the trees and followed, albeit at a slower pace than usual.

Hours later, at dawn, they arrived at the small camp that had been set out by a travelling merchant caravan that had been nice enough to allow Tsunade-hime to hide among them. As they landed, they were greeted by many who were still up and about or were just waking up. Naruto then nodded at the other two, who nodded back and he broke off from the group, going straight towards Tsunade's tent.

Once there, he opened the tent and stuck his head in yelling, "Yo minna—"

He was cut off by a fist to the face, as an angry female voice was heard, "Brat…!"

---

So there ya have it folks. I'm already working on Chapter II's notes as well as my own map of the world so as to not confuse myself later on...Hope you enjoyed it! As always, R&R~

Translations

Hana-dori: Flower street

Yotta Soryo: Drunk(en) Monk

Kongming: Zhuge Liang's stylized name in Chinese, also one of the aliases to Shokatsuryou in this story.

Shokatsuryou: Zhuge Liang

Huoying: Naruto in chinese...according to google translate

Hakko Chakura To: White Chakra Blade

Akaryu: Red Dragon...I know, not original, eh?

Shibai: Sima Yi (Well...If I got Zhuge Liang, why not add this guy?)

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Chakura no Meisu: Chakra Scalpel

Wairudomonkī no mai: Dance of the Wild Monkey

Sōjū: Control

Kan'U: Guan Yu (ehh...)

Chōhi: Zhang Fei (why not?)

Sankyōdai: The Three Brothers

Kotoamatsukami: Distinguished Heavenly Gods