Hello FanFiction! This is pain17ification posting the next chapter of "The Secret Apprentice"!

Please note: pain17ification doesn't own anything except for the story idea

Okay, the final result of Naruto's 3-girl harem is: Shizune, Samui, and Ryūzetsu! All of the others girls on the list are important to the story, and also I plan to add three girls from a different series into this story; but I will not say who!

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Bijuu/Techniques"

[Scene Shift]

Chapter 3: Setting Motions

Tenten yawned loudly as she entered the forge under her flat apartment. She was dressed in nothing more than a very large shirt that reached her knees while her usual buns were left free and messy.

"Morning," she greeted while yawning as she saw Naruto still hard at work with Sasori's two puppet forms. She took a look from over his shoulder as he worked meticulously on placing seals on certain parts of the puppets, making her frown in confusion at their meaning. She soon shrugged it off and let her still waking mind focus on preparing her "wake-up elixir": coffee.

"I take it that you slept well?" asked the blonde as he set one part down and picked up another. He was dressed in nothing but worn out brown pants and boots while a rag was tied around his forehead for the sweat.

"Like a log," she answered as she finished making her coffee and sighed contently at the smell. She took a quick sip before she asked, "How much more do you have to do?"

"Not much," he replied as he began connecting pieces together. "I just need to fix the modification I placed on Shishō's puppet body and then I'll be done."

"Good… You're starting to stink like a week old sweat rag," she complained as she pinched her nose.

He mock laughed and gave her a pointed look. "You're hilarious, Tenten; a real comedian."

She merely stuck her tongue and gave him a victory sign before she went back up with a stretch of her arms. "I'll be back down in a bit."

He rolled his eyes at that and focused on his work. The chest cavity that held his old Master's "heart" was now replaced with a large barrel littered with fire element and wind element seals. He just needed a "key" seal to connect them all.

"I must admit, your Master taught you very well over the years," voiced the Kyuubi from within the seal.

'Of course… He was unrivaled in his skills with this intricate art.'

"Well, I'm just glad that he helped you become a container strong enough to keep the both of us alive; even if you had to act the fool for so many years."

'It was necessary, and you know it Kyuubi.'

"I know that, but that doesn't mean that I don't find the act sickening. Seeing you act all chummy with everyone made me want to hurl."

The blonde chuckled at that and finished with the seal before he connected the puppets back together and sealed them. 'Tell you what, fox; I'll be sure to never act like that for as long as I live so long as you stop complaining about it. Deal?'

"Deal!" immediately agreed the fox.

'Good; now I'm going to look for better clothes. That jumpsuit is just not tactical; although I still am a sucker for the orange.'

The fox scoffed at that and decided to go to sleep while Naruto quickly wiped off any dirt, sweat, or soot before putting on his orange pants and black shirt. Once he was relatively dressed, he made his way to the shinobi emporium.

Along the way, he took occasional glances at the village that he lived in and the citizens he shared space with. As usual, he saw many villagers giving him distasteful looks while others ignored him and very few smiled at him or nodded. He sighed and shook his head at their stubbornness as he entered the emporium and took a look around the clothes.

"Naruto? Is that you?" asked a female voice that made him want to groan while the fox snickered.

Sighing again – he'd have to remember to see someone for that – he turned and saw that it was Ino who noticed him. 'Great; just perfect… The fashionista kunoichi has spotted me in a clothing store.'

"I knew it was you when I saw those orange pants!" she grinned. "Finally getting a new wardrobe?"

"Well, this is a clothing store after all," he retorted with a dull tone.

"Geez, Forehead wasn't kidding when she said you changed."

"Not changed; stopped acting," he corrected.

"Yea yea, whatever," she said dismissively before she grabbed him by the arm and began her "mission" of getting the Uzumaki a new look. Said Uzumaki just sighed once again and let her do her thing.

'Seriously though, I really need to see someone about my sighing issue.'

After some time, she finally found him a decent outfit, but he had the seamstress make some additions to it. Starting from the feet up, he wore dark gray boots and black cargo pants that had their bottoms tucked into the boots, making them have a slight ballooning effect. He wore a midnight purple short sleeved shirt underneath a black short sleeved coat that reached the backs of his knees that was held closed by a gray belt that had two pouches on the left side. Over the shirt was the necklace that Tsunade gave him from their bet long ago. His additions for the seamstress were markings over the heart of his coat as well as the back of it. The first marking was the kanji for "Scorpion" in orange while the back of the coat had the Uzumaki Swirl on it. His headband had also been moved from his forehead to his neck. (1)

"Not bad, if I do say so myself," Ino praised with a grin. 'He actually looks kinda hot in that,' she added mentally.

Naruto merely nodded at the outfit, asked the seamstress to make a few more copies, and then paid her for her services. As he made his way out of the store, he called back, "Thanks for the help, Ino."

"No problem, Uzumaki!" she called back with a pleased smile.

Naruto put his hands in his coat pockets as he walked towards the Hokage Tower to let Tsunade know that he had finished preparing. The meeting at the Tenchi Bridge was in a few days and the latest he and the others could leave was the following morning.

When he made it to the office, he ignored everyone until he reached Tsunade's door. Across the floor from it was Shizune's work station and she looked up from her work to give the blonde a smile in greeting while hiding the small blush she had at seeing his new look.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun. I like your new clothes," she greeted while Tonton oinked in her own greeting.

"Thanks… Ino helped me pick them out; although she practically dragged me all around the store," he said with an annoyed look as he remembered the event.

Shizune chuckled behind her hand, and then erupted into a fit of giggles when she noticed the Uzumaki's brow twitch in annoyance. "I'm sure she only meant to help you. Now, Tsunade should be working on some more paperwork, so you can go in to see her."

He nodded and knocked on the Godaime's door, remembering how his foolish self would always burst in and get conked in the head by any random object as a result. "Come in," called out the blonde Senju, prompting the Uzumaki to open the door and step inside. "Naruto," she greeted before asking, "I take it you're finished?"

"Preparations are complete, Tsunade. I'm ready for the Tenchi Bridge."

She nodded, pleased at his timing. "Excellent… And just in time too; Kakashi and Sakura were told to meet at your old training grounds in about half an hour with your additional team members."

"I see… Then I will meet them there," stated the younger blonde before he made his way out the door. As he made his way past Shizune, she gave him a kind smile and a wave, which he returned with a faint smirk. Tsunade witnessed the whole thing, and she hid her own smirk at the sight of her first apprentice and her apparent closeness to the Uzumaki.

'Well well Shizune, I didn't know you liked them younger,' she mentally commented and her grin grew when Shizune looked at her.

The brunette grew slightly nervous at the grin and asked, "Is everything alright, Tsunade-sama?"

"Oh, everything is fine, Shizune," she answered with her grin still in place. "I'm just glad that you and the gaki seem to be so…close."

Shizune had a slight dusting of pink on her cheeks at her superior's wording before she cleared her throat and began to resume her paperwork in hopes of warding off the busty Kage. "I assure you, Naruto-kun and I are like siblings, Shishō. What you saw was just me saying goodbye."

"Uh-huh… Sure it was." She still had her grin as she went back to her own paperwork, but she still added, "Keep telling yourself that, Shizune."

The blush that Shizune had just fought down returned with a vengeance at those words.

[Training Field 7 (Half an Hour Later)]

Naruto couldn't help but raise a brow as he looked over the two newest members of Team Kakashi. The first was a pale looking teen wearing ANBU like clothes that exposed his abs and lower back areas. In his hand was an ink scroll while the smile he gave was beyond fake.

'Even my smiles weren't as obvious; and those were annoying to keep up.'

The other member was a man that was Kakashi's height with short brown hair and black pupil-less eyes. He wore the standard Jonin gear and his headband was similar in style to that of the Nidaime Hokage.

"So…we have a boy who clearly needs to get more sunlight and have a word with a sex councilor and a man who seems to admire Nidaime-sama… Interesting," commented the blonde as he leaned against a tree. "Well, now that we've met, what exactly do we do now?"

Kakashi eye smiled and said, "Well, I believe that we should have some teamwork drills to see how well you and Sakura will work with someone you don't know; not to mention how your true fighting style works with others."

Naruto hummed in agreement before he unsealed the Forsaken King and had it stand in front of him defensively. "Against you and Yamato-san, I assume?" he asked.

"Correct! Now, be sure to give Sai a chance to work with you both, or else he may get lost on what to do."

At this, the Uzumaki rolled his eyes and disappeared in a swirl of red leaves while his puppet stayed put. Sakura frowned at his tactic while Sai looked on with an analytic eye. Kakashi and Yamato took this time to hide in the foliage while Sakura and Sai moved closer together to lower the areas of vulnerability.

The pinkette looked at the puppet and frowned. "How exactly is leaving us with a wooden man helpful, Naruto?" she asked aloud.

She was thoroughly surprised when a seal with the kanji for "eyes", "mouth", and "ears" appeared on the blank "face" of the Forsaken King. Naruto's voice came forth from the puppet, "Just because I'm not there physically doesn't mean that I'm not there. While the King will stay with you, I'll search for our opponents."

Sakura still held her frown while Sai opened his scroll and painted four images of lions on it before he placed it flat on the ground and held up a handseal. "Chōjū Giga (Super Beast Imitation Drawing)!" he declared as the lions sprang from the scroll and became three dimensional. With nothing said, they split up and ran into the forest in search of the Jonin. "It'd be best for the sake of this exercise if we all helped in the search."

Sakura sighed and nodded as she and Sai leapt into the trees with the King directly behind them. They kept up their search for about five minutes before the puppet stiffened and it whipped its cape as Naruto's voice cried out, "Hari Jigoku (Needle Hell)!" The fur trim of the cape gained a metallic sheen as it hardened and released a wave of sharp senbon needles at one of the trees, forcing Yamato to jump out of the way.

However, the Jonin was caught unaware when Naruto suddenly jumped out of his own tree and dropkicked him in the chest, sending him toward Sakura who grinned and readied a chakra fist.

"Shannaro!" she yelled as she punched at the man who barely escaped thanks to a well timed Kawarimi (Replacement). "Damn!" she cursed before she felt her body get yanked back against her will just in time to avoid two hands hoping to ensnare her ankles from underground.

She looked behind her and saw Naruto pulling her body with some chakra strings, and she nodded in thanks. He nodded back as Sai's lions came out of the bushes and charged at the two Jonin. Kakashi erupted from the ground and kicked one, making it explode into ink while Yamato formed his right hand into a wooden mallet and smashed two in one swing.

The last lion leapt high into the air and made to pounce on the Jonin, and they both threw shuriken to dispel it. When they turned back to their students, they saw the King rushing at them with its battle axe at the ready.

Naruto meanwhile unsealed another puppet that stood between him and Sakura. This one took the form of a lion made of pure white wood that had fierce yellow eyes, a mane made of what Sakura saw as hundreds of senbon, and teeth and claws made of the blades of kunai knives.

"Shirajishi (White Lion), assist your forsaken ruler," he ordered as his chakra strings made the lions body tense and come to life. Commanding the beast puppet forward, it rushed toward the battle while Sakura and Sai took to the treetops.

Kakashi had just used a kunai enhanced with lightning chakra to block another swing of the King's axe, but he was forced to leap over Shirajishi's bounding charge lest he be torn into by its claws. This gave the King the chance to jump and strike the silverette Jonin with a roundhouse kick.

Kakashi grunted in pain as both the foot of the puppet and its sharp cape hit his chest. While Yamato made to help out his fellow Jonin, he was forced to jump to the side to avoid some ink snakes that almost struck him with their fangs. Sakura followed up with a dive bombing kick that left a small crater in the spot the Mokuton user quickly moved away from.

He made to retaliate, but his body froze in place and his eyes widened in surprise. "About time it worked," stated Naruto with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. "When I kicked you earlier, I had a senbon tipped with a paralyzing agent strapped to the edge of my boot. You barely felt it prick you since the blunt force of my kick proved more noticeable." He then turned to Kakashi and saw him shaking his head repeatedly as if trying to break out of a daze. "As for Kakashi, he was hit with a mind numbing poison that makes his vision and other senses weakened for a short time."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, never thinking that Naruto would ever plan so far ahead; but then her mind reminded her that this Naruto was not the orange wearing fool that she grew to enjoy the company of. This Naruto was a trained shinobi who wouldn't hesitate to get the job done.

"Well done, you three," Yamato complimented while Kakashi started to regain focus. "You all seem to work pretty well together."

The three nodded and the Mokuton user told them to get some rest and prepare for the journey tomorrow. Sakura then went home while Sai went back to his guardian for the majority of his life (Danzo) and the Jonin went to report to Tsunade.

As for Naruto, he made his way to the top of the Hokage monument and just sat there as the sun set for the day. He sighed at the orange glow, reminded of his birth parents due to the reds and yellows mixed in with the orange. "Kaa-chan…how would you feel about the life I've lived; about the path I walk? Would you accept me…or would you fear and despise me?"

"Idiot… Of course she'd accept you; the woman took a strike from my CLAW to save you! She and your birth father loved you so much that they literally died for you."

He sighed again – 'Seriously, I really need to see someone about that.' – and replied, 'I still can't help but think about the "what ifs" of my life."

"Still the fool… Don't you remember what Sasori told you about that?"

Naruto looked up to the sky and muttered, "People can waste their lives thinking about 'what' and 'how', but it would just be a wasted existence. Instead of focusing on what could've been, focus on what will happen and what is happening."

"Exactly! So stop your damn moping and focus on what you plan to do for tomorrow!"

Naruto mentally nodded and pulled out a white scroll that had the kanji for "Orange" on it. While at first confusing to someone who could've taken his possessions, the title was actually meant to mislead any would-be thieves to what really lied inside the scroll.

Opening it up, he looked at its contents which were revealed to be a long list of names with a small photo next to them all; save for one, but that was only because she wouldn't sit still for the damned thing.

"Who's first on your list?"

'Two people actually… Samui and Mabui,' answered the blonde. 'They're the first ones who will "wake up" and remember me.'

"I have to say, you truly took after your Master to go so far as using his tactics for spies. Those people have no idea they work for you until the serum you gave them wears off and they remember everything about you."

'And just as Sasori's spies stayed loyal to him, mine shall do the same,' he finished with a smirk as he rolled the scroll back up and sealed it away in a storage seal found behind his right ear. He then stood up and his smirk grew as he looked down at the village below him. 'It won't be long now…'

[Two Days Later (near the Tenchi Bridge)]

Naruto and the rest of Team Kakashi crouched behind some foliage as they saw a cloaked figure step up to the middle of the bridge from the other side. Naruto took a short breath to prepare before he unsealed Hiruko Mk. 2 and stepped inside. The puppet head turned to the others and asked in its normally gruff voice, "You all remember the plan, correct?"

They nodded and Kakashi stated, "Just make sure to get the information we need, Naruto; otherwise this mission will just be a wasted effort."

The puppet nodded before it made its way to the bridge. As it stopped before the cloaked figure, said figure greeted, "It's been a long time, Lord Sasori." They then removed their hood and revealed their identity as Kabuto. "About five years, correct?"

"Were you followed…?" asked Naruto from the puppet.

"It's just you and me; and I don't have much time, so please keep it brief."

"Very well then… I'll keep this short. I want information about Uchiha Sasuke, as well as the locations of Orochimaru's hideouts."

"That's not all that possible, seeing as we move to a different every week to avoid being discovered. However, Orochimaru is holed up north of here; as well as Sasuke."

"I see…"

Kabuto stared long and hard at the puppet before a barely noticeable smirk appeared on his face. "Now…I trust you brought the item you promised me? We should get this hand off over quickly; I've spent too much time here as it is. After all, Orochimaru wouldn't hesitate to kill me if he found me speaking to you like this."

"I'm aware of that, and I have what you want," Naruto said as he walked up to the Oto-Nin and barely opened the Akatsuki robe it wore, showing Kabuto his real face. The bespectacled ninja's eyes widened slightly.

"Naruto," he whispered out, making the blonde nod.

"Yes, it's me. Now, I'll make this quick; I'm taking control of Sasori-sama's old spy network and I need a way to leave the group I'm with."

"Why ask for my help when I no longer work for Sasori?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Because I trust you," Naruto answered. "I trusted you enough to allow you to nearly kill me three years ago, and I kept your secret for you as you kept mine. I'm only asking for one last favor, Kabuto, and then I promise never to bother you again."

Kabuto took a sidelong glance behind him and Naruto followed it, both noticing Orochimaru barely trying to "hide". The silver haired man sighed silently and replied, "Alright, but only because I believe you'll go farther than Sasori ever did."

"Thank you… Now, we need to make this believable and have me fall to the river below. From there, I'll ride the current to Kumo and meet my first contacts. I'll even give you a sample of the Raikage's DNA in exchange."

"Deal," Kabuto stated before he readied a Chakra Mesu (Chakra Scalpel) and sliced off the head of the puppet, revealing Naruto to the others. The blonde fell into the act and scowled at the man before he leapt out of the puppet and pulled out a kunai. Kabuto smirked and fixed his glasses while saying, "How nice to see you again, Naruto-kun?"

"How did you know it was me?" questioned the blonde.

"Oh, there were little things that only Sasori did when he was in his Hiruko puppet; things you never did." His smirk grew slightly as he asked, "Now, why don't you call out your friends over there?"

The blonde glared at him before he looked back and nodded, prompting the other four to land next to him in crouched positions. "So, we've been found out," Kakashi stated.

"Of course you were. You all should really work on suppressing your chakra better."

Kakashi would've said more, but he was interrupted by a cruel chuckle as Orochimaru stepped onto the bridge. "Well done, Kabuto. It happened just as you predicted."

"I'm pleased to hear your praise, Orochimaru-sama. Now then, shall we take out the trash?"

"Kukuku…" chuckled the snake-like man. "I suppose so…"

Naruto gave a faint nod to Kabuto and the second hand of Orochimaru charge forward while Naruto did the same with chakra strings grabbing the tail of Hiruko. He had them poise the tip of the tail to run the man through, but Kabuto "slipped" through the strike and into Naruto's guard. His eyes widened in mock surprise and Kabuto kicked him with a chakra enhanced roundhouse that sent the blonde over the edge of the bridge. Naruto, still playing the part, made to stretch chakra strings toward the bridge's edge, but Kabuto stopped him by hurling a kunai that dug itself into the blonde's shoulder, making him "lose focus" and fall into the water below, where the heavy current dragged him away.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled in fear as Naruto was swept away. The rest of Team Kakashi, save Sai, looked on in shock as the blonde Uzumaki faded from their view.

"Well, that's one down," Kabuto taunted with a smirk as he fixed his glasses again. On the inside, he thought, 'I kept up my end of the deal, Naruto. You better do the same.'

Kakashi readied his Sharingan as the other three got into battle stances while their two opponents smirked and held relaxed stances. "You'll pay for that, Kabuto!" roared Kakashi as he and the others charged.

[With Naruto (Ten Miles to Kumo)]

On a shore near a small forest sat Naruto as he dried off his soaked clothes with a small fire. Two fish were also cooking in the fire and he gazed toward the direction of Kumo. A smirk slowly formed on his face as his eyes gleamed dangerously. "Things are being set into motion perfectly," he commented as he held his scroll with the list of names and saw that the names of Samui and Mabui were almost burned away.

Within the seal, the Kyuubi grinned darkly and chuckled ominously. "Yes… Indeed they are…"

(End Chapter)

1~ His outfit is the same as Noctis Lucis Caelum, the future main character of Final Fantasy 15

There we are; chapter 3! Hopefully it came out well enough for you guys!

Now remember, the harem list is Shizune, Samui, and Ryūzetsu! Also remember that the other girls have roles; Mabui's being seen in this chapter!

Next Time: The successor of the Red Scorpion pays a visit to Kumo! What will happen?! Stay Tuned!

pain17ification