Finals are over! Yay =D

Okay, here's the next installment.

Chapter 2

Naruto slept like a baby that night – for the first time he could remember, actually. Historically, he was a light sleeper. Not naturally, but out of evolution. Fear that a villager would sneak into his apartment to do something. Fear that he'd never wake up again.

But that night was different. He felt safe. The bed itself was amazing. Lush, soft, and warm. Filled with the knowledge and contentment that he finally was in a place he belonged, Naruto closed his eyes and buried himself underneath a mound of fleecy blankets.

Before he knew it, morning had struck. He remembered Danou's warning that last night.

"Here at Ne, we train hard. We respect only strength. If you want to remain a member, you must work just like the rest of us."

He was determined to stay. From his understanding, everyone at Ne spoke in sign. Most people could speak, but it was just something that was habitually enforced by Danzou. He felt that any risk of people discovering another's identity had to be minimized. Plus, many, like Naruto, had the Hatsudenken placed on them from early on, and it was simply polite to speak in sign. So, overall, the compound was extremely quiet.

Not that Naruto minded. It may have been quieter than outer Konoha, but people actually paid attention to him here. Last night he played games with other children and learned the crude basics of sign. It was the most fun he'd ever had... Well, maybe except for saving Ino-chan.

'Ino-chan...' It was the first time he'd thought about her since moving in. With all the excitement of meeting his new senseis, his pod (clusters of children who lived together,) and getting oriented to the Ne compound, he simply hadn't had time.

Remembering her words, "I won't forget you..." a slight tingly sensation came in his stomach. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it wasn't comfortable. Thinking of how she kissed him on his cheek, the feeling only got worse. He shook his head. He needed to focus on other things, before he got any dizzier.

…

Hatake Kakashi sighed. The Sandaime Hokage was getting older, and with old age came several benefits – wisdom, more level-headed temperament, the ability to distance emotions form rationality. Usually, these were core characteristics of the older Sarutobi. But today was a big, whopping exception.

He avoided the Hokage Tower at all costs. Why? Some ANBU screwed up last night. Huge. Uzumaki Naruto, heir to the Yondaime Hokage and carrier of the Kyuubi no Kitsune was missing. Vanished, like thin air. After being neglected, beaten, and scolded numerous times, Kakashi couldn't help but feel a certain degree of sympathy for the child.

Perhaps it was better this way? The poor child wouldn't have to endure a hellish life. He shook his head once more, sighing. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Where the hell were the ANBU that were supposed to be watching over him? How do you lose a four-year old? Unacceptable. Simply unacceptable.

'Fuck it.' He changed his mind. Once the kid was found, he'd demand to be his caretaker. It wouldn't matter what anyone, the Sandaime included, said. Naruto was his sensei's son, and he'd be damned if he was about to let that child rot away in some cell.

…

Darkness, Naruto learned, was wonderful. He typically loathed it during his childhood, if only because that was when the majority of the assaults would take place. Time after time, come nightfall, Naruto was certain he would get a beating.

But Ne had disproved that, like many other prejudices he previously held. With the entire compound being underground, Naruto often found himself in darkness. After all, it was fairly inefficient to keep the entire complex lit all the time. Most of the places were actually dark a fair bit of the time, and it wasn't difficult to find areas that were never lit.

More of than not, he would cozy up in these areas and just find some time to think. Ponder things about life. The absolutely insane way his trainers made him work. And, when he felt particularly lonely, Ino. He hadn't forgotten her. Not for a single day. Whenever he felt himself slipping, or close to the edge of giving up, he'd think of her.

Not because of some fanciful dream of reuniting with her. He smiled at that thought. What a wispy dream, completely intangible for all intents and purposes. Most likely, he would never see her again. Most likely, he'd become a part of Ne's upper echelon shinobi, and she would pursue a more normal route. Most likely, their paths would forever separate, remaining a part of his past that he'd long let gone of.

But fate, little to Naruto's knowing, had different plans. And somewhere in a flower shop, a blonde sneezed.

…

The child was a fuinjutsu prodigy. It was unparalleled the way he simply soaked up knowledge of the nearly extinct art, and his creativity emboldened him further. Danzou now had an entire division researching possibilities based on Naruto's creations. It had come to the point where he had long exhausted his own, and his staff's, personal knowledge of sealing. No, what he needed were scrolls.

Scrolls that only the Yondaime or Jiraiya had access to. Perhaps he'd even be ready for Orochimaru's intermediate seals and some of the early experiments he had started with the Sannin. Somewhere deep inside, he hoped for the possibility of making even further advancements in that field. The miracles that would be possible...

Over the past couple months Uzumaki Naruto had progressed from a fledgling with some promise to a formidable opponent. He did as was instructed, no more, no less. As Danzou suspected when he first met Naruto, taijutsu came to him naturally. After growing up on the street, he understood the fundamentals extremely well. He was well versed in a multitude of styles, but the time was coming to mould Naruto's own personalized style.

Perhaps the older Izuna styles, fused with the Uzumaki traditionals, Danzou mused. The Izuna styles, initially developed by an old nomadic tribe that worshipped the Kyuubi as their God, focused on extreme offensive maneuvers combined with unpredictability. It was rumored to be the inspiration for the Shodai's own taijutsu style – one that was supposedly untraceable, not even by the Sharingan.

But that was a concern for a later day.

Genjutsu was not progressing as well, but Danzou had guessed so much. Naruto was his father's child, after all, which meant that genjutsu was not something his body was meant for, nor something he would like. His main goals were getting Naruto accustomed the feeling of getting trapped in genjutsu, and more importantly, how to break it should he get caught.

His progress in that area was moderate, and that was all Danzou wanted. The real problem, unfortunately, was ninjutsu. To date, Naruto had yet to perform a single ninjutsu. Not one. He shook his head. Oh, he knew many, certainly. Had studied their weaknesses, strengths, and when to use them. It was the combined problem of the Kyuubi's interference, the inability to say incantation, plus Danzou's own requirements of abandoning hand seals that proved too much for the young boy.

Even worse, his chakra control was miserable. Sure, he had gotten tree-walking down, and, on a good day, could walk on water for a couple minutes. But when performing jutsu, the boy was far off his base. But Danzou's thoughts were interrupted.

A man with a plain mask stepped forward. "Proceed." Danzou allowed.

"Permission to speak, Danzou-sama."

"Granted."

"He's ready for the sotsugyoushiken." (AN: graduation exercises)

Danzou remained silent for some time. Then, after a long pause, he smiled. "So the time has come for Naruto-kun's first kill. Excellent."

For sometime, Danzou had been worried about his emotional conditioning. The boy would pretend to hide his emotions, sure enough, but deep inside, he could still sense the boiling tempers. The passionate determination, the focus inside of him... It wasn't able to be stamped out like the rest of them. Regardless of how many hours he spent in training, something deep inside Naruto just wouldn't budge. Wouldn't fold.

He grinned. But perhaps the graduation exercises would change all that.

…

Ino had just turned seven, and long given up her obsession with ANBU. Well, perhaps not given up entirely. Every once in a while, she'd see an ANBU and, in the back of her mind, a small voice would pique with interest. But she'd shove it away as soon as it came. It was a silly little childhood story her father liked to make fun of her about; no reason to keep thinking about it.

For years she'd roam outside, with just the intent of finding that masked ANBU. But it was all to no avail. And eventually, the hopeful, burning desire to find her savior turned into wishful thinking. And soon enough, the wishful thinking turned into just a little hobby, to keep her occupied.

Besides, in a couple months she'd be joining the academy! Soon, she'd become a kunoichi. She sighed, dreamily. Still, maybe one day, when she was strong enough to join the ANBU, she'd discover who the identity of that man was? In the mean time, she turned to face a certain raven-haired, pale boy wearing a blue shirt.

He was gorgeous... He was also supposed to be joining the academy in a few months. The back of Ino's neck shivered with excitement. Soon enough, she'd be on the path to adulthood.

…

The Sandaime stared at the Hokage Monument, looking intensely at a particular face. What would Minato think of him? Having lost his only child? The options were wearing thin now... Of all the possibilities that his anxious mind scanned, three seemed to stand out.

The worst, of course, being the child was dead. It was certainly possible; an adept shinobi could have kidnapped him and killed him, disposing of his remains in a proper method. But it seemed unlikely. The hokage had been careful to place him within proximity of the hokage tower at all times.

His crystal ball would have alerted him if any foreigner approached Naruto. But in the back of his mind, a sinister thought voiced itself. 'It doesn't have to be a foreigner... There are plenty in Konoha who want him dead...'

He shook his head. He refused to believe that someone had killed the child. Not on his watch. Which left two more, equally troubling, options. The first was that he'd fled Konoha. With all the abuse he'd taken, he could have attempted to leave. This didn't seem likely either. A young child trying to survive on his own in the surrounding forests? Hardly likely. A related query also seemed silly: that he was hiding within Konoha.

His crystal ball would certainly have caught that much. Which really only left on option.

He frowned. This whole thing stunk to high hell of Danzou…

…

It was almost time. Graduation was approaching, and Naruto had never been happier. Everyone at Ne was fluent in sign, and he was a fast learner. His adopted family was wonderful, in every way possible. Over the past couple years, they had bonded like any family he wished. Sure, it was rather strange insofar as no one knew each other's real name, but in days, it stopped mattering.

Most in Ne were eager to get rid of their awful past histories. His father, who went by Yamamura, was strict, but kind. Naruto early on would certainly get himself in trouble on purpose, if only because he would receive some sort of attention. It was such a novel experience to him. But Yamamura was patient and understanding enough, carefully guiding Naruto.

His mother, Ishida, an extremely talented Genjutsu user, was very loving. Rumor had it that the two were a real couple, and Yamamura was infertile. But Naruto could hardly care less. It was his own small, quirky, wonderful family and he cherished them. They taught him sign slowly, and although they could speak, they would often exclusively use sign just to make him feel accepted.

He paused before a giant door. Who knew what this test would be.

…

Picking Naruto's opponent had been difficult. Often, students learned more during graduation than all their training combined. It was a time when they were forced to adapt, learn their weaknesses, and be pushed into a corner. It was a time of growth.

As a budding Fuuinjutsu prodigy, Danzou had only one choice as an opponent for Naruto. Someone whose specialty was speed. Someone who showed Naruto the reason why nobody used seals for fighting anymore. Not because of it's difficulty, no. Because of its vulnerability.

As the doors opened, Naruto stepped into the stadium. It was a small, square arena with rising walls on either side. The arena was well lit, and perhaps there were people in the stands, but his attention didn't focus on that. His entire being was directed at a single, focused spot.

30 meters in front of him. Directly ahead. A man with a shinobi's forehead protector. An Iwa nin. He was smirking.

…

In all his years, Danzou had never seen a more elegant first kill. It was partially accidental, he was sure of that. Danzou had taken a prisoner from Tsuchikage, a low level Chuunin, and freed him. It was a death match. The foreigner had been promised freedom if he managed to defeat Naruto.

Needless to say, that didn't exactly happen. Two fundamental, wondrous breakthroughs occurred on that fight. One, Naruto proved he was ready for the trials that every ninja faced. And second, he performed his first jutsu. The simultaneous advances made the old former-Hokage contender smile with a sadistic pleasure. Finally, after months of stalled progress, things were moving onward.

For Naruto, however, all went still. Even though he couldn't talk, his mind was constantly filled with utterances. Thoughts swirling, blazing by at lightning speeds. He could hardly shut his mind up! If thoughts could be loud, Naruto's mind was a whirlwind of a storm. Always.

But now, his brain froze. He couldn't do a thing. He stared at his hands, which were stained a deep crimson. Next to his feet was the heart of the shinobi he had forcefully ripped out. Honestly, it was accidental. Naruto felt confident enough in that particular fight that he could try performing jutsu again... Only this time, something clicked. Something primal. An animal feeling deep inside.

Something that begged him to perform a particular jutsu correctly. And Naruto ceded to its wishes. Without hand seals, he quietly moulded the chakra and performed the wind claw technique – an assassination jutsu often used by Suna ninja; surrounding each finger with a high-torpedo wind circulation, it created artificial claws for a short period of time.

He swallowed, his parched throat desperate for any drops of saliva that may fall down. Still, nothing could compute in his mind. And all of a sudden it happened. He was very, very angry. Angry that he had listened to the voice in his mind. Angry at Danzou, who had purposefully arranged this. Angry that it had to be in this way that discovered how to perform jutsu. Angry that his tactic had been so ruthlessly efficient.

A single clap echoed through the underground cavern, breaking Naruto's train of thoughts.

Then another. Slow, but steady, in a syncopated pattern.

A third, louder now.

Then, thundering applause. Only then Naruto had been made aware that most of the compound was watching, if not all of them. They were all smiles. Naruto had passed. Danzou came down now, and whispered in his ear.

"You are now ready for the way of the shinobi. Do not be angry, for it is something we must all do. It is a part of our very existence. The true strength of a shinobi is determined by your ability to shove these feelings away; bury them deep inside. Do not be bothered by it. Relish what you have just done, Naruto-kun. It was one of the most beautiful kills I have seen in a long time."

And Naruto sobered up. It was meant to be difficult, after all. He had told himself this was a long time coming, and he knew it. But no amount of mental preparation could make him ready for what had happened. Naruto had, knowingly or otherwise, ripped a man's heart out of his chest cavity. Without mercy.

He did the only thing he could. He buried away part of his humanity, and calmly put on his Ne mask. Perhaps, if Uzumaki Naruto couldn't handle it, Kitsune could. 'Besides,' the boy thought as he walked back to his bed that night, 'Uzumaki Naruto is long gone... Nobody wanted him anway.'

…

"How do you deal with it?"

"With what?"

"... Killing. How do you deal with killing, Sai?" Fierce azure eyes stared into nonchalant obsidian ones.

"A true shinobi doesn't care about killing. A true shinobi has no feelings. I am a true shinobi."

Naruto snorted. He didn't want that. He didn't want to become that. But he could feel the slow and steady slide into darkness. He could feel the apathy engulfing him slowly. The vices that plagued every ninja – be it booze, perverted novels, or sex – he understood it now. People wanted to forget. Not address those ugly feelings deep inside. Because without distractions, you have to face yourself.

And sometimes, when you face yourself, you find the demons that haunt your mind.

So they escaped reality in whatever trivial games they could. In the simple pursuits of life, enjoying the little things while they could.

He hated it. The whole fucking, perverted system. He wanted to pound his fists against the wall. He wanted to destroy the whole goddamn complex. He wanted to scream, and just – and then the idea struck. He wanted to scream. It was time to put his knowledge of sealing to use. Naruto thought about it. He had grown dramatically these past three years. And in another year or two, his rudimentary training would become complete... He was beginning to outgrow this place. Perhaps it was time to start thinking of life outside of Ne.

It was time he learned to speak once more. A single bell rang. 'Well... Back to training.'

…

Danzou was fairly content. Happy would be too... well, happy to describe Danzou. He altered between two moods: serious, and content. As a major ninja leader, he found that all other emotions either dulled his edge or clouded his judgement. Currently, the Kitsune Project was progressing.

Over the past couple months, Naruto's progress had resumed. Whatever happened during his graduation exams, it helped. Tremendously. Mental conditioning was going excellently. The hesitation to not kill was thoroughly drowned out. During battles, he had impeccable killing intent.

Fuuinjutsu, needless to say, was going wonderfully. Many thought seals were a nifty and useful tool for missions and other aspects of ninja life, but not for battle. In fact, it had been decades since there was a successful fuuinjutsu battler. The Fourth, with his teleportation jutsu had gotten close, with incorporating some aspects. But even that paled to the potential of the art.

A potential that Naruto was rapidly re-discovering. His sheer creativity alone allowed him two or three new functional seals every half-month! The progress was unheard of. And with each advancement, he continued to make modifications on his old seals, improving them as he went along.

But Danzou's thoughts were interrupted by two blazing crimson eyes.

"Faster, Danzou."

"His progress is remarkable. I need another year or two."

"You have ten months before the operation. He'd better be ready by then."

"Ten months? This is – "

"Your final warning. If you can't do it, please let me know. I have no qualms about training him myself. But then again, I don't need him. Just his eyes."

"He's only lacking in one area. And I have a plan to get him back on track."

But the shadow was already gone, refusing to listen to Danzou's pathetic excuses.

Ninjutsu was back on its way, now that he finally was able to perform jutsus. Still, his chakra control was miserable. Not just bad, but truly miserable. Often, jutsus would come out at just a fraction of their potential. Danzou was getting desparate... Naruto had still only once managed to use the raw powers of the Rinnegan, which meant that he had to once again go back to its source.

…

Yamamura looked at Naruto blandly. The kid who was usually a ball of impossible energy was dead today. He wasn't mentally there at all. Shaking his head at another half-hearted katon jutsu, the older Ne assistant decided perhaps today would be better spent getting to the heart of the problem.

Chuckling, he threw water at the small fire, dousing it effectively. He motioned Naruto to come with him. They moved to a quieter room, far away from all the madness. Sitting next to his student, he quietly pulled out a storage scroll and activated it. Out popped a canvas and some paints.

"Why don't we paint today, hm?"

Naruto stared at the man in shock. He wad deviating from the training regimen. His father never deviated from any regimen – even a stupid schedule written on a post-it. He was a man of order. And yet... painting? He had heard of rich people taking it up as a hobby.

"I... I don't know how."

Yamamura shook his head. "There is no how."

Naruto stared at him wildly. "What do you mean – why aren't we training?"

"This is training." The older man said. "Perhaps the most important kind of training. Now, come here. That's right, let's get you situated..."

Naruto had a brush in his hand, a palette acrylic paints in the other, and stared at what it is he should do. And for a while, that's all that happened. He stared. Why was he even doing this? He should be training. "But I'll get behind on trai – " but his signing was interrupted.

"Kitsune." His father said in a more stern voice. "Let's paint."

And Naruto continued to stare. He didn't know what to do. What to paint. How to even put the brush to the canvas! For Kami's sake he didn't know how to paint! He sighed, frustrated at the options given to him. Giving up, he acquiesced to his father's demands.

He stared at the colors before him... Orange was his favorite color after all...

…

Painting wasn't so bad, once he got over the initial hump of not tearing down every painting he made instantly. Once he no longer really cared about how beautiful it was, or stopped comparing it to his father's work. After that, painting became quite enjoyable, actually.

They spent the next few hours working on several simple pieces, and Yamamura helped Naruto with several techniques. They worked on some pretty basic paintings together, mostly abstract art that combined colors in pretty unique methods.

Naruto had a hunch that his paintings probably stunk to high hell, but there was no way Yamamura would admit that. He was a caring and wonderful father who, honestly, treated Naruto as if he were his real child. And Naruto realized how grateful he was to the man. To both of them. To Ne.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strangely dressed man entering the room.

"Yamamura-san, may I inquire as to why Kitsune-san is exempt from training today?"

"He most certainly is not. It's just, we've completed the regimen rather quickly today, and I chose to give him a break."

Naruto blinked. His father was lying. He supposed he had to go along with the lie.

The strange man, however, most certainly wasn't amused. "Really?" He asked incredulously. "Please, show me."

Naruto didn't know who this man was. Perhaps if he knew, he'd be intimidated. Part of his brain told him that, even if he did know, he wouldn't have been. This man clearly didn't respect his father or him. And he had dealt with people like that for long enough. His eyes furrowed in determination. The man wanted a fucking fireball? Fine.

He was going to light him on fire.

Before Yamamura could even say anything, Naruto opened his mouth and a roaring fireball that took up half of the giant room was hurtling at the stranger.

His father smiled. The style had its merits. No give away – well, other than the giant chakra build-up. No one could have missed that. Still, Danzou had managed to accomplish what he wanted. A shinobi who could perform jutsu routinely without hand signs or voiced commands. 'At what price, Danzou-sama?'

He chuckled at Naruto's exuberance in defending him. It was clear he didn't like Suzuki, and he didn't blame him. Not many people did. A recently promoted Ne whose arrogance made him take it upon himself to oversee all training programs ruthlessly. But his lack of experience meant that he didn't understand the psychological side effects shinobi underwent.

He didn't understand, nor could he, Naruto's emotional scars. Why painting was necessary. Why detours sometimes were shorter than mindlessly droning yourself into oblivion.

"I think it's clear, Suzuki-san, that my son has completed training today."

Without another word, Naruto and Yamamura walked back home, leaving behind a stunned Ne Jounin.

…

When the reached home, his mother had prepared a special dinner. Both of them had been absent during the graduation exam on an extended week-long assignment. Some assassination of high importance; Naruto, naturally, was not privy on the details, but he understood well enough.

Still, he had missed them dearly afterwards. He wanted – needed – someone to talk to about the exams. But they were both here today. And they were pulling out all the stops.

His mother ran up and embraced him in a giant hug, swirling him around. "My boy graduated! Congratulations, Kitsune-kun." She didn't bother signing this; her voice was strained with choked tears as it were. Kissing him on the forehead, she motioned to the table. "Come sit."

On the table was an elegant dinner prepared, composed of far more sweets than his mother would normally allow, but everyone understood this was a rather special occasion. A rain drop fell on the painting he was carrying.

'That's odd... we're indoors – how can it be raining?' It was at that point he realized it wasn't rain... he was crying.

"I-I love you." He signed, wiping away tears.

…

His parents assured him that night that there was certainly no reason to become a mindless droid. Naruto didn't know this, but Danzou didn't want him to become one. That was the only reason he wasn't already. He was on a... different track than most other Ne shinobi.

He described to them in detail about the battle. How his opponent was ridiculously fast, and that despite all his best attempts, he didn't have the time for a single fuuinjutsu. It was the time that required the preparation of each seal that made him so vulnerable. If only he had another copy of himself that could keep the enemy occupied while he could prepare the seals... Even in addition to that, he'd need a way to speed up his sealing.

Then, he finally got to the moment of the kill. His parents recognized immediately the difficulty he was having describing it, but despite their attempts at telling him to tell a different part, he didn't budge. He needed to have a conversation about it with someone... He needed their presence there.

"I had this... feeling... deep down, that begged me to kill him. And then it happened – honestly I don't even remember it all; it just happened so fast. I... I ripped out his heart." Naruto finally said. "It wasn't even a clean kill... Just a brutal one."

His mother stroked his hair gently. "Whatever happened, nothing changes about you. You're still our son. And we will always love you."

"Death is one of the things that, despite however long we live, humanity has not dealt with in a clean manner. There is no solution to heal your feelings. Some live by burying their feelings and never addressing them. That works for some. Others busy themselves in their own hobbies, and that's their only way of expressing themselves." His father offered kindly.

"It all depends on the person. But always know this – death is a mandate of our profession, and you should come to terms with it. In your own way." That was the part Danzou mandated him to say. Whenever Naruto brought up that subject, he was ordered to tell him this.

He spent the night in their bed, cuddled between their warm, comforting presences.

…

Chakra was a wonderful, beautiful thing. And even better was chakra control. For the first time in his life, Naruto realized just how much chakra he had. He flashed a foxy grin as he stuck, upside down, to the ceilings of the room.

And every day he was getting better at chakra control. Sure, the new training regimen with his parents was brutal, but it was paying off. Everyday he'd wake up sore. Everyday he'd go to bed thinking he'd be more sore in the morning.

If the taijutsu training wasn't bad enough, chakra control never seemed to end. He didn't really understand why, but the explanation his father gave suggested that he was special because, although he had a lot of chakra, his control was really bad. So if he got better, then it would mean he could use his already vast supply with even more prudence.

Fuuinjutsu had taken quite a detour at this point. The thing he loved most about seals was the amazing way they expressed creativity. He could come up with anything he wanted – anything at all – and he already had. But his new training focused purely on speed. Getting the time of each seal/un-seal down. Making it battle ready. Incorporating it with fight strategies... Things that, frankly, bored Naruto.

Jutsus, however, were taking their place in terms of providing excitement. He gobbled them up one after another with an unquenchable thirst. The more he learned, the more ways he could improve and augment his styles – and more importantly, his sealing.

Walking back to his room, he sighed. 'Not this again...' His legs appeared to be severed. Evidently, he was caught in some form of genjutsu. He guessed it was most likely his mother. She wanted him to always be on high alert. But it was easily his greatest weakness, and despite everything she taught, he simply didn't know how to break it.

He quietly waited for it.

SMACK.

Right across the face.

"Why didn't you even try to break that?" She scolded.

"Sorry okaa-san." He said dully, scrubbing the back of his head in pain. "I just don't get it!"

…

Danzou needed a way to speed up Naruto's training... and fast. The boy needed to fend off some devastatingly strong enemies already. In ten months, he needed to accomplish two nearly impossible tasks.

Honestly, this wasn't in Danzou's style at all. He didn't engage in high-stakes, rapid-fire bets. He was slow, patient, and calculating. Impeccable, but slow. It would be much better if a certain Uchiha just left Konoha forever... He smirked.

With his resources? That could certainly be arranged. He just needed one of Uchiha Shisui's eyes... As a plan began to develop in Danzou's mind, another point of conflict caught his attention.

A certain Yamanaka would be joining the Academy soon. A Yamanaka who, to date, had been the only stimulus to positively provoke Naruto into using the Rinnegan's powers... A certain Yamanaka who held the key to his becoming Hokage.

Yes... this was more like it. Itachi would be framed and forced to leave Konoha. His plan to bait Akatsuki and infiltrate would be twisted into his actually joining Akatsuki. And the Uchihas? Well, there'd be no more of them, leaving his little Kitsune being the only hope of the shinobi universe ever had of laying hands on another Rinnegan.

…

"Today, you will have some... unorthodox training."

Naruto perked up. They never had unorthodox training. Every day was the same. For the past three years.

"You are going into Konoha to keep tabs on a target. This is both an opportunity to grow – i.e. training – as well as your first mission. Here is the target. We have information that Iwa wants her dead, or at least get her as a hostage. The scrolls of this family are extremely vital, and the only heiress is a valuable negotiation tool. Use any means necessary to protect her." Danzou handed him a folder.

Naruto bowed, smiling internally. Danzou never gave him freedom, on any assignment. He could tell this wasn't just because he graduated. Naruto thought back to his latest pet project: voice control... In a couple months he'd have a way to get around the Hatsudenken.

Bowing, he left to his room to pick up the necessary items. When he was sure he was alone, he stopped to open the folder for the first time.

'Protection detail... dangerous assassins... kill on sight... yada yada... Wait a minute... Is this...'

And in big bold letters, with a photograph attached on the side, was the target.

A young, blonde girl adorned in purple was shown, smiling brightly. Yamanaka Ino. Naruto dropped his mask on the floor.

I know, some of you may be upset that I didn't include a full fight scene, but I want that to be kind of a bad-ass Naruto enters the fray kind of scene that's going to happen in a later chapter =) So I kinda want his fighting style to be left a wee bit of a mystery for now. Well, I hope you enjoyed that. I sort of cut Naruto's time in Root isolation short a bit, but that honestly was some of the less eventful chapters, and it's no fun writing Naruto just being alone in Root without any interaction with some of the other characters we all love. =) So! I decided to end it in one chapter. He's obviously going to keep living underground in the Root complex, but I'd like him to interact more with the regular Naruto characters we all know and love.