A/N - Holy crap! It's an update for this story! I know, I know, I've kept you all waiting years for this one. Well, here it is: chapter 4 of A World Changing Epiphany!

As usual with this story, a LOT happens in this chapter. And I can guarantee that the ending of this chapter is going to drive some people insane because of what I did. lol

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 4 - Confessions

Jiraiya sighed as he looked out the window of the Hokage's office at the villagers down below. It seemed that ¾ of the people believed what they heard and began to regret what they had done to the Yondaime's son. Naturally this pissed Jiraiya off, as they didn't care about Naruto as a person, they just saw him as the Yondaime's progeny, a boy without his own identity.

The other ¼ acted as if all they heard about Naruto was nothing but lies. They were rioting and calling for Tsunade to be replaced as Hokage for being a 'demon worshipper'. The things they were saying about the daimyo weren't very kind either. They insisted he was an impostor because the real Fire Daimyo would never defend the demon.

As he watched the rioters down below, he saw them setting fire to yet another building. They were trying to destroy everything belonging to those ¾ that believed the lies fed to them by Tsunade and the daimyo. After all, purification by fire was their chosen approach to dealing with everyone that sided with the demon.

"Tsunade-hime...if something isn't done about them soon, they're going to end up destroying the village." he said sadly. Noticing something down below, the white-haired Sannin scowled. "They're on their way here. Daimyo-sama, I'm going to need you to send your guardians to help me here." he said, turning to gaze at the daimyo.

"You have them. Go and put a stop to them before they set fire to this tower. Arrest them all if you can. But, if you have no other choice, kill them. I won't let this continue any longer if I can help it." the daimyo said with a scowl on his face.

Nodding once, Jiraiya vanished in a Body Flicker to go and deal with the rioters that dared to set their sights on the Hokage tower. Once he was gone, the fire daimyo turned to Tsunade with a scowl on his face. "While Jiraiya deals with that, we need to figure out a plan to deal with Danzo. He's a threat to not only this village, but to Naruto and the other nations as well. Do you have any idea where he might be hiding?"

The Godaime sighed and shook her head. "Not really, no. My best guess is that he's underground somewhere in the underbelly of Konoha. But I don't know where any of the entrances could be to get down there."

The daimyo nodded slowly as he thought about what they could do. "Do you know of anyone in the village that knows Earth Release techniques? Perhaps we could drill our way down there…"

Tsunade frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure if that's the best idea Sojiro-sama." she said, calling him by his given name. "Danzo might escape while we're drilling our way down. I think our best bet is finding one of the entrances that leads down there and sneaking our way in. Sadly, the ANBU are busy arresting as many of the rioters as possible and delivering them to Ibiki and the others in T&I for 'reeducation'. So I can't call on the ANBU to search for his base of operations."

The Fire Daimyo nodded slowly in understanding. "Understandable. I'll get my Guardians on it when they return then. We can't allow him to run free. There's no telling what else he may do."

"Thank you Sojiro-sama." she said.

They would have talked more, but Jiraiya reappeared in the office and sighed again. Shaking his head in exasperation, he looked at the both of them and offered an awkward smile. "Well...they've been dealt with." he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "We had to kill about half of them, unfortunately, but at least there's no more danger to the tower. Daimyo-sama, your men are 'escorting' them to T&I as we speak."

"Good." Sojiro said simply. "Jiraiya-kun, we were just discussing Danzo. Do you have any idea how to get into his underground base? Perhaps you know of an entrance?"

Shaking his head in the negative, the Toad Sage began to frown. "Unfortunately I've never been able to find an entrance. He's definitely down there, but sneaking in is going to be a pain in the ass if we can't find an entrance."

Sighing, the daimyo nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I'll get my Guardians on it when they return. They won't stop until they find an entrance." Looking into Jiraiya's eyes, Sojiro continued. "But you? I'm giving you a different mission."

"A mission sir? What do you need me to do?" Jiraiya questioned curiously.

"I want you to get in contact with young Naruto-kun. You can use the toads to keep in touch with him. Even better, you can have one of your toads reverse summon you to wherever Naruto-kun is now. I don't want you to bring him back to the village. It's not safe for him here. Instead, I want you to offer him a place in my home. He would be safe there if he chooses that option. I also want you to offer him whatever help you can give to him. He'll need training if he hopes to survive out there and I can think of no one better for the job than you. Finally, I want you to keep him safe. Keep a close eye on him and his movements and deal with any threats to his person that you may find."

Slowly nodding in response, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade. "Tsunade-hime, is there anything you want me to tell him?"

Tsunade frowned before she stood up and walked over to the Yondaime's picture. Removing it, she proceeded to unseal the contents of a storage seal that was hidden behind the portrait. Carrying the items over to her desk, she set them down and looked at Jiraiya. "These scrolls contain his inheritance from his parents. Make sure that he gets these Jiraiya." Pulling out a sheet of paper, she wrote a letter to Naruto and folded it before handing it to her friend. "And give him this. And tell him that I hope he stays safe. I want him to be careful."

Taking the items and sealing them in a storage scroll, he soon looked back into Tsunade's eyes and gave her a grin. "No worries. I'll make sure he's okay and do what I can for him. I'm actually curious about where he is and what he's been up to since he disappeared on us."

The busty blonde nodded slowly in agreement. "I am too. I just hope he's safe. Please hurry Jiraiya."

Nodding, the white-haired Sannin quickly bit his thumb to make it bleed before he performed the Summoning Technique. When the smoke cleared, a small green toad was standing there looking up at him. "Jiraiya-boy! What do you need?"

Jiraiya smiled at the toad and said, "Pa, I need your help. Naruto-kun has fled from the village and we currently have no idea where he could be. I need you to go to him and reverse summon me to his location."

Fukusaku furrowed his brows before frowning at everyone in the room. "What aren't you telling me Jiraiya-boy? Why would Naruto-kun flee like that?"

"Well…"

Tanzaku Quarters - Temari & Kankuro

Temari sighed as she and her brother left the restaurant they had gone to for lunch. They had asked around the large town to see if anyone had seen Naruto, but it turned out that the last time they had seen him was when he was here to get Tsunade about two months ago. "Well, he's definitely not here." she said to her brother. "I'm not surprised by that, but I had hoped, you know?"

Her black-clad brother nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know what you mean. You have any idea where he might have gone after killing that Uchiha kid?"

The blonde teen frowned and was about to shake her head to signify that she had no idea, but she stopped and took some time to really think about it. "Well, I know what I'd do if I were him. In order to shake off any pursuers, I'd go somewhere that they wouldn't expect. And based on his last mission and the fact the Uchiha was deserting to go to Orochimaru...hmm…"

Kankuro frowned in thought and folded his arms across his chest. "They fought at the Valley of the End. That's on the border between Hi no Kuni and Oto no Kuni. So...if Naruto did as you said and went where nobody would expect…"

Temari's eyes went wide in realization at the same time Kankuro's did. "He went into Oto no Kuni! But...that's dangerous! Naruto killed Sasuke! Orochimaru would be out for his blood."

The puppet user smiled at his sister and shook his head. "You have to remember that people think Naruto's an idiot. Orochimaru would never think to look for him there. Instead, he'd be searching everywhere else for him. And if I was Naruto, I'd make sure to deal as much damage to Orochimaru as I could. If we go there, we're bound to find some clues."

The wind specialist nodded with a bright smile on her face. "Let's get going then! The sooner we can find him, the sooner we can help him out."

As his sister began hurrying off to leave the town, Kankuro looked around him and sighed. Damn. I was hoping we could spend a little time here enjoying the sights and games… Sighing again, he chased after his sister. They did have a certain blonde Uzumaki to find.

Naruto

Naruto scowled as he began to dodge all the attacks from the masked individuals. He noticed something strange about their attacks as he continued to avoid them. They're not going for any killing blows. It's like they're trying to disable me for some reason.

"Hey! Why the hell are you attacking him?! He's done absolutely nothing to you!" Sasame shouted before she quickly performed a single hand seal and shouted out, "Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

Naruto quickly leapt away from the masked ninja and watched as three of them were impaled on spears made out of rock that had sprung up from the ground. The remaining four ROOT shinobi glanced at the orange-haired teenager. The leader motioned to the remaining three shinobi to deal with the women while he refocused his attention on the disguised Naruto.

Kagero narrowed her eyes at the three ninja that had rushed at them. Quickly flipping through hand seals, she called out her technique. "Fire Release: Mist Blaze Dance Technique!" Spitting out a large amount of flammable mist, she quickly produced a flint and tinder and created a spark that ignited the mist, catching her opponents in the blaze. "And that takes care of those three. Let's help Naruto with the last one." she said before she began making her way closer to Naruto and his enemy.

Naruto scowled as he dodged yet another attack. "That's it! Screw it, I'm getting serious now you bastard!" he declared as he dropped his transformation. The thirteen year-old quickly flipped through hand seals and shouted out, "Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!" When he focused his chakra and launched his attack, he realized he had overpowered his technique again. After all, he had yet to get some time to really train in the use of his techniques, nor had he been able to train his chakra control in any way. It didn't help matters any that as soon as he launched his technique, numerous lacerations appeared on his arms, causing him to grimace in pain.

The blonde watched as his opponent was bisected by one of the blades of wind he sent flying at him. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked down at his arms and watched as they began to heal. Thanks Kiyoko-chan. I really need to find some time to train soon or I'm just going to end up hurting myself every time I fight.

Kiyoko frowned to herself as she focused on healing his wounds. "It's not your fault Naruto-kun. It'll be hard to find time to train until you can settle down somewhere. In the meantime, try to minimize the use of techniques you're not familiar with. Stick to what you know best for now: Shadow Clones and the Rasengan. If you absolutely feel the need to use a different technique because you're caught in a bad situation, try to lower the amount of chakra you throw into your techniques. You're still overpowering them right now."

Naruto nodded slowly, but before he could reply back to her, he saw the Fuma clan women approaching him. "Hey! Glad to see you three are alright." he said happily. "They're all dead now, right? I wonder why they attacked me like that?"

Kotohime frowned as she looked at Naruto's deceased opponent. "No idea Naruto-kun. But I did notice something odd. They weren't aiming to kill you. I think they were meant to capture you, but what they intended to do with you if they had succeeded? I have no idea. I don't even know who they are."

Kagero went and removed the deceased man's mask and flipped it around so she could get a good look at it. "I've heard about an organization in Konoha run by a man named Danzo called the Foundation, or ROOT. They supposedly wore masks like this. But the Sandaime Hokage ordered the organization to be disbanded. Danzo's practices in regards to this group are extreme. He strips them of their emotions and uses them like weapons instead of treating them like people."

Frowning, the beautiful nineteen year-old woman turned to Naruto and handed him the mask. "Judging from what we've just seen, I'd say Danzo didn't disband ROOT like he was ordered to. He's continued to train them and use them to do his bidding no doubt. If he sent these men to capture you, then chances are that old bastard wants you in his clutches for some reason. From what I've heard about him, I'd say he plans to use you as a weapon. I highly doubt he sees you are a person."

Naruto looked down at the mask in his hand and sighed. "Great. This Danzo guy sounds like really bad news. I just cannot catch a break, can I?"

"It would certainly seem that way." they heard someone say. Turning to look at who it was, they saw that the group from Kirigakure had approached them. The man with the eyepatch spoke up again. "If you don't mind my asking, are you Naruto Uzumaki?"

With his hand hovering over his kunai pouch, Naruto said, "I am. Who are you and what do you want with me?"

Ao smiled at the young man and said, "My name is Ao. The Godaime Mizukage, Mei Terumi-sama, has tasked me with finding you and bringing you with me back to Kirigakure."

Frowning at this, Naruto looked Ao in the eye and asked, "What does she want with me? I'm not going anywhere if I'm just going to be held captive against my will."

Shaking his head in the negative, Ao decided to explain the situation to him. "It's nothing like that Naruto-san. Her clan was once good friends with yours. She doesn't want to see you hurt. Mei-sama would very much like to meet you, Naruto. I promise you that she does not intend to harm you in any way, nor does she plan to keep you there against your will. All I ask is that you come with me to meet with her so you can hear her out."

"He doesn't mean you any harm Naruto-kun. Believe it or not, he's telling the truth." Kiyoko said from within his mind. "I say go with him and meet this Mizukage of his. It might be a good idea to hear what she has to say. If you're lucky, you may even end up with a new ally."

Nodding slowly, Naruto said, "Alright Ao-san, I'll come with you." Turning to the Fuma clan members, he asked, "What about you three? Will you come with me? Or...do you want to head out on your own?"

Sasame grabbed onto his arm and hugged it close. Smirking when she saw him blush, she said, "I'm coming with you, of course! You're not going to leave me behind Naruto-kun."

Kotohime smirked at seeing Sasame act so bold with Naruto. Looking into his eyes, Kotohime said, "I'm coming along as well. You won't get rid of me that easily."

Kagero smiled at Naruto and said, "I will come as well. You promised to help restore the Fuma clan to glory, remember? You won't get out of that promise so easily. And besides, you interest me. I'm staying with you no matter where you go."

Smiling happily at them, Naruto soon turned back to Ao and said, "Well, you heard 'em. They're coming with me. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

The blue-haired man smiled and shook his head. "No problem at all. Now come, follow me. We'll take a boat from Nami no Kuni to Mizu no Kuni and head to Kirigakure from there."

Before they could leave, however, a small green toad with a white beard and bushy eyebrows appeared at Naruto's feet. Blinking at this, Naruto looked into the toad's eyes and asked, "Umm...hi there? Who are you?"

The toad smiled a big smile up at Naruto and said, "My name is Fukasaku Naruto-boy! I'm often referred to as Pa though, so feel free to call me that if you'd prefer that. Now, stay still for a sec. A certain someone wants to see you."

Naruto watched as Fukasaku summoned Jiraiya to his side. Looking up into the large man's eyes, the blonde's mouth twitched slightly. "Uhh...hi there Jiraiya… What brings you here?" he questioned nervously.

The white-haired Sannin looked around at Naruto's current company and frowned for a moment before he looked down at his blonde protege. "Naruto-kun, I'm glad you're alright. I've been worried sick about you ever since I heard what happened. Where have you been? What have you been up to?"

Smiling awkwardly, Naruto rubbed the back of his head with his free hand (as Sasame still had a tight hold on his other arm) and said, "Sorry for worrying you Jiraiya. After I killed Sasuke to keep him from reaching Orochimaru…" Pausing, Naruto looked up into Jiraiya's eyes and said, "I'm not sorry for that by the way. Sasuke was trying to kill me. Besides that, he was a traitor to Konoha. So yes, I killed him intentionally, but not out of some petty grudge or any stupid reason that the people of Konoha no doubt claimed after I left. I was doing my job and following mission parameters to the letter."

Sighing softly, the young blonde shook his head. "I knew that the people of Konoha would be calling for my death if I returned with Sasuke's body, regardless of whether I killed him or somebody else did. I also realized that they would never accept me enough for me to become Hokage. It was a stupid dream, one that would never have come true."

"That's…" Jiraiya started to say, only for Naruto to interrupt him.

"Not true? Jiraiya, tell me something. After I killed Sasuke, what happened in the village? I want to know if my theory was correct or not."

Jiraiya sighed and glanced away from him. "Kakashi brought Sasuke's body back to the village and claimed you killed him out of jealousy. The people...began calling for your death, just as you suspected they would. However…" Staring hard into his godson's eyes, Jiraiya continued on. "Tsunade-hime's been trying to run damage control. On top of that, you've got the Fire Daimyo on your side. He came to the village and began doing what needed to be done."

When Naruto looked at him quizzically, Jiraiya continued. "Kakashi was executed and his Sharingan was locked away for safekeeping. The Sandaime's old teammates, Koharu and Homura, were forced to reveal the truth about every horrible thing they've ever done or helped Danzo do. Afterwards, they were executed as well. The Daimyo also revealed your heritage to the people to try and make them see that they've been hurting the son of one of their heroes. Naruto…"

Jiraiya sighed heavily and looked Naruto square in the eyes. "Naruto...I've got some news for you that you're not going to like." Before Naruto could interrupt, the Sannin held up his hand to silence him. "Naruto, your parents were Kushina Uzumaki and...Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage. And I'm...well, I'm your godfather Naruto."

Hearing this stunned Naruto as well as everyone else there. As the others looked at him in shock, Naruto's mind was reeling from the blow it was just dealt. As the information slowly began to sink in, the young blonde clenched his fists tight before punching Jiraiya as hard as he could in the stomach, causing the man to grunt from the blow and double over. "I...deserved that." he said.

"Damn right you did! If you knew all this time, you should have told me! I wasn't some stupid kid that couldn't keep a secret Jiraiya! But more than that...I can't believe that my own father sealed the Kyuubi into me! He condemned me to a life of hell and for what?! For a village that couldn't be bothered to honor his sacrifice and treat his son like a human fucking being?! What about my mother? Did she go along with his fucking plan to seal the Kyuubi into me? And you! If you're my fucking godfather, where the fuck were you?! My parents obviously trusted you to look after me, but you were never there for me! What's your excuse Jiraiya?!"

Standing up again, Jiraiya rubbed his sore stomach for a moment. With another sigh, the Sannin looked into his godson's eyes as he answered. "You're right, I should have told you. The Sandaime forbade me from doing so, however. I should have ignored his orders and told you anyways, but I didn't. So you have every right to be angry with me. As for your mother? She never wanted to seal the Kyuubi into you. She loved you dearly and wanted so badly to raise you. But...well...they died on the night of your birth. Somehow the Kyuubi was extracted from your mother…" Seeing Naruto's eyes widen at that bit of information, Jiraiya nodded. "Yes Naruto, she was the Kyuubi jinchuriki before you were. Kushina was the second jinchuriki of the Kyuubi while Mito Uzumaki, wife of the Shodaime Hokage, was the first."

Sighing again, Jiraiya continued with his explanation. "Anyways, Kushina was already weakened and dying after having the Kyuubi extracted from her, but she still fought to keep you safe from the rampaging Kyuubi. In the end, the Kyuubi dealt the final, killing blow to both of your parents." Seeing Naruto scowling at hearing this, Jiraiya nodded. "And for your information, Minato wanted you to be seen as a hero. But Danzo…"

"Let me guess, Danzo was the one to reveal to everybody in the village that I was the Kyuubi jinchuriki? He's the one that ensured my life would be hell, wasn't he? Why haven't you, Tsunade, or somebody else killed that bastard yet?" Naruto questioned angrily as he clenched his fists at his side.

"Because we didn't have proof until now that Danzo was behind that. He's committed far more atrocious acts though, but I won't go into those. Instead, you should know that we haven't been able to find Danzo. He's escaped us for the time being. If we could catch that slippery bastard, we'd kill him, I guarantee it."

Naruto sighed and pointed at the dead ROOT agents scattered about. "Danzo's already sent his men after me. He's trying to do something horrible with me now. So I suggest you and Tsunade find that bastard, no matter what it takes, and end him. I don't want to keep dealing with these assholes."

Looking at the dead bodies, Jiraiya frowned and shook his head. "Tsunade-hime is not going to like this news." Sighing again, he looked Naruto in the eyes again. "Anyways...I wanted to take you out of the village with me and raise you on the road while I ran my spy network for the village. You would have been safe from them in that case. But they wanted to keep their jinchuriki in the village and wouldn't let me take you with me. As for why I wasn't around during your life? I have no excuse Naruto. None that would curb your hatred for me."

"I don't hate you Jiraiya. I'm just disappointed in you for not trying harder. You could have been there for me, raised me in the village. But you didn't. You chose to leave me there. That's not something you can just take back Jiraiya." Naruto said, sounding incredibly disappointed in his godfather.

"You're right. Nothing I can say or do will ever make up for abandoning you like I did." Jiraiya agreed. "But I'm not here to talk about the past and all of my mistakes. Naruto, back to my original questions: where have you been and what have you been up to?"

Naruto sighed and folded his arms across his chest as he looked hard into his godfather's eyes. "As you are already aware, I'm not as stupid as people think I am. I went someplace nobody would have expected me to go: Oto no Kuni. I helped Sasame-chan here and proceeded to infiltrate Otogakure with her. There, I met these two," he said, motioning towards Sasame first and then to Kotohime and Kagero. "Kotohime-chan and Kagero-chan. I managed to help them see that Orochimaru had never intended anything good for them. He was just using them for his own, sick purposes. But...I had to fight Sasame-chan's cousin, Arashi. Orochimaru had performed some sick experiments on him and he was transformed into something...grotesque. His mind had grown unstable as well as a result."

Sighing again, Naruto shook his head sadly. "When the hideout began to collapse around us, Arashi stayed behind. He couldn't come with us." Frowning as he looked at the still and quiet Sasame Fuma, Naruto sighed again. "After finishing up in Oto, we left and began making our way towards Umi no Kuni. We were going to take a boat from Cha no Kuni to get there. But, as you can see, when we got here, we came under attack from Danzo's ROOT. Now…"

Looking at Ao for a moment, Naruto looked back into Jiraiya's eyes. "I'm going with these good people to Kirigakure so I can meet the Godaime Mizukage, Mei Terumi. I'm going to see what she wants with me and hear her out."

Nodding slowly in understanding, Jiraiya looked down at Fukasaku for a moment before looking at Naruto again. "That's fine Naruto. But before you go, I have some things to give you." he said as he unsealed the scrolls that contain Naruto's inheritance as well as Tsunade's letter. Handing them to the young blonde, Jiraiya said, "Those scrolls contain your inheritance from your parents. The letter is from Tsunade-hime. I'd recommend waiting until you're someplace safe to begin your examination of those."

Nodding in agreement with him, Naruto asked, "Jiraiya, could I perhaps borrow some storage scrolls from you? I don't have any on me and I could really use some."

Jiraiya smiled at his godson and handed him a single scroll. "Here. I've sealed a dozen storage scrolls in there. I figured it makes them easier to carry that way."

"Thanks Jiraiya." Naruto said as he unsealed a single storage scroll and used it to seal away his inheritance. Slipping both scrolls away into one of his inner pockets, he took a glance at the letter. As he went to unfold the letter so he could read it, Jiraiya spoke up again.

"Naruto, before you read that, you should know that I'll have the toads keeping track of your movements. I'm going to keep you safe from anyone or anything that tries to harm you, but I can't be around all the time. However, when I can be with you, I'll train you as hard as you can handle so you can become strong enough to defend yourself from any threat." Looking down at Fukasaku, Jiraiya smiled at him before looking back at Naruto. "If you ever need to get in contact with me, have one of the toads deliver a message to me. If I'm able to at the time, I'll come to you Naruto. Pa here can easily reverse summon me to your current location at any time."

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto soon realized something. "It sounds like you're not going to be coming with us. Do you have somewhere else to be or something to do?"

Jiraiya sighed and nodded his head. "I'm returning to Konoha to help in the search for Danzo. He's one of the biggest threats to you right now and until he's dealt with, he's free to cause you and us no end of grief. So I'm going to hunt the bastard down and end his life so he can't bring you anymore harm."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding again and said, "Well, good luck then Jiraiya. I hope you find him sooner rather than later. I don't need his men hounding me all the time."

Nodding in agreement, Jiraiya gave Naruto a smirk before looking down at Fukasaku. "Okay, I'm ready to go. Think you can reverse summon me to Tsunade-hime's office?"

"Of course Jiraiya-boy! See you soon! And Naruto-boy, be safe. Remember that you can call on us if you ever need us." Fukasaku said before he vanished in a puff of smoke. A short time later, Jiraiya vanished as well.

Looking down at the letter in his hands, Naruto opened it and began to read its contents.

"Naruto-kun,

First, let me say that I am so, so sorry that you've had to suffer for so long in silence. Your life in the village was not kind, I know. The life of a jinchuriki is never easy, but having to go through what you did is just wrong.

If I had known about you, I would have taken you out of the village, damn whatever those bastards had to say about it, and raised you myself. I just wish I had returned to the village sooner so I could have met you earlier.

Naruto-kun, I should have told you about your parents earlier. I'm sure Jiraiya has already told you about them, but just in case, here it is: your father was Minato Namikaze and your mother was Kushina Uzumaki. They were amazing people and I'm sure you would have loved them dearly. It's a shame that they didn't get to raise you as they had hoped to.

Anyways, I want you to be safe Naruto-kun. Find allies and do what you can to protect yourself. After all, you have three different factions after you now: Orochimaru, Danzo, and the Akatsuki. Orochimaru will want you dead for depriving him of Sasuke Uchiha. Danzo wants you so he can use you as his own, personal weapon. And finally, the Akatsuki are after you for what you hold: the Kyuubi. If the Kyuubi is extracted from you...you will die, Naruto-kun. After a jinchuriki has their bijuu forcibly extracted like that, they die. There've been no exceptions to that.

You should know that I'm doing everything I can to wipe the village clean, so to speak. I'm attempting to make it safe for you to return. But...if you choose not to return even after I've set things right in the village, I will understand. I wouldn't hold it against you if you refused to return. I just wanted to let you know that the option is always available to you.

Naruto-kun, you have no idea how much I miss you. You mean the world to me. I love you Naruto-kun. Very, very much. You are my most precious person and I would do anything to protect you and keep you safe from harm. I wish I could be there to hold you in my arms and tell you everything will be okay. I would never let you go again. I'd kiss you senseless and tell you again and again how much I love you. But...I can't leave the village just yet to go looking for you.

Naruto-kun, I want to be with you so badly right now. When I think about how I might never see you again, my heart hurts and I can't help but cry. Just in case it wasn't clear already, I'm in love with you Naruto-kun. You're the one I'm meant to be with in life, but I waited too long to tell you how I feel.

I've rambled on enough. Please be safe Naruto-kun. If anything were to happen to you, I...I don't know what I'd do. I promise you now that I'll try to find some way for us to be together again. And when I see you again, I'm going to ask you a very important question. And I hope that when I do, you will say 'yes'.

~ Love you, Tsunade Senju"

After he finished reading the letter, Naruto stood there frozen for a good while. His entire face was a deep shade of red. After a few brief moments, he buried his face in his hands and began to laugh.

Sasame, who had let go of his arm while he was reading, placed her hand gently on his shoulder and began to shake him a bit. "Naruto-kun? What's the matter?"

Naruto stopped laughing after a short while and lowered his hands to his sides, the letter still clutched in his left hand. "I'm a blind fool is what's wrong. To think that she feels that way about me and I never noticed. I really can be such a moron sometimes."

Sasame motioned to the letter and asked, "Can I read it? You have me curious now." When her crush handed her the letter, the orange-haired lass read through it slowly. The more she read, the more her eyes widened. By the time she had finished reading it, her mouth was open in an 'O' and she couldn't help but blush. "Tsunade Senju? One of the three Sannin?" Seeing Naruto nod in the affirmative, she couldn't help but giggle. "Wow. To think you've got Tsunade in love with you. Aren't you the charmer?" she asked teasingly.

Kotohime went wide-eyed at hearing this and snatched the letter away from Sasame so she could read it for herself. After finishing it, she looked at Naruto with wide eyes and pouted. "Well that's no fair. You're already spoken for huh? That's a shame." she said.

Kagero sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "Kotohime, he's one of, if not the last Uzumaki in existence. He'll need to take multiple wives to restore his clan no matter where he goes. Kirigakure, Iwagakure, wherever, it doesn't matter. Naruto-kun's pretty much guaranteed to be put into the CRA. So he can have multiple lovers."

Sasame smiled brightly at this, happy that she would still have a chance with her crush. Kotohime, on the other hand, found herself smirking. "I see. Well, in that case…" Stepping up to Naruto, the black-haired woman ran her hand up and down his chest before leaning in close and nipping at his ear teasingly. "I suppose I'll have to stake my claim on you, won't I?" she asked before pressing her lips to Naruto's.

Blushing badly, Naruto froze up for a few brief moments before he slowly closed his eyes and returned her kiss. When she pulled away, Naruto opened his eyes again and looked at her curiously. "W-why? Why me? You're a beautiful person. You could have anyone you wanted. So...why me?"

After kissing him a second time, this kiss lasting a bit longer than the first, Kotohime smirked at him and said, "Because you're special Naruto-kun. I want you. It's as simple as that."

"I...I see. Wow. I...I don't know what to say." Naruto admitted as his blush began to die down. "Well, I'd be glad to have you as my girlfriend Kotohime-chan. But...we're on the road and on the run from people right now. Are you sure you want to be with me?"

Folding her arms underneath her bust, she pushed up her breasts a bit, smirking as his eyes strayed for a second before he looked her in the eyes again. "I'm more than certain that you're the one for me Naruto-kun. So face it, you're stuck with me."

Before Naruto could say anything in reply, Sasame grabbed his face and turned him so that he was looking at her. When he went to ask her what she was doing, the orange-haired girl kissed him passionately. Naruto slowly wrapped his arms around Sasame and hugged her close to his body. As he returned her kiss, Sasame felt like she was flying.

When they finally broke apart, the brown-eyed lass didn't even wait a second before kissing him passionately once again. Naruto returned this kiss as well, the both of them loving every second of this. When they broke apart again, the both of them were breathless. "I've been wanting to do that so bad for a while now." Sasame admitted.

Blushing again, Naruto asked, "So...you like me too then?"

"Yes! Of course I do! I was willing to wait until we settled down somewhere or something before I acted on my feelings, but then Kotohime kissed you and I couldn't wait anymore! I want to be your girlfriend Naru-kun." she explained.

"Wow. Well...I'll be honest Sasame-chan. I like you too. But like you, I was waiting until we settled down somewhere or had some time to ourselves or something before talking to you about my feelings. So...yeah, I'd be glad to have you as my girlfriend."

Smiling happily, Sasame kissed him again and didn't stop until the need for air became too great for them. Breaking apart again, Sasame rested her head in his neck and giggled happily. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of kissing you Naruto-kun."

"With kisses like that? I have to agree Sasame-chan. You really are amazing. I hope you know that." he said happily.

Hearing a cough, the group turned to see Ao tapping his foot impatiently. "If you're all set, we need to get going. Staying out in the open like this when you have people gunning for you isn't generally a good idea."

Naruto and his two new girlfriends blushed badly and each of them quickly offered Ao an apology. The blue-haired man waved it off and turned around. "It's fine. You're all still young yet, so young love is understandable. But we really do need to get going. So follow me." he said before he started walking across the rather large bridge.

As Naruto went to begin following after him, he heard Kagero's voice from behind him. "Like I said Naruto, I find you to be rather interesting. You are a special person. This likely isn't the first time a girl has fallen for you, what with how charming you can be." she said honestly. Afterwards, she walked past him and started across the bridge.

Naruto was blushing a bit at her words. Still, he couldn't help but smile. As he began to walk across the bridge as well, both Kotohime and Sasame each grabbed one of his arms and clung to him. Blushing worse, he kept his mouth closed, unable to think of anything to say. Instead, he just walked with them attached to him.

Konoha - Hokage's Office

When Jiraiya appeared before her, Tsunade immediately shot to her feet. "Did you see him? How is he?"

Quirking a brow at her behavior, the white-haired Sannin nodded slowly with a smile on his face. "Yeah, I saw him alright. Gave me a good punch to the gut after I told him about his parents and about me being his godfather. And he's fine by the way. But...you're not going to like this part…"

Sighing as he sat down in one of the chairs across from Tsunade, Jiraiya continued. "After killing Sasuke, he fled into Oto no Kuni and went to Otogakure. He destroyed one of Orochimaru's hideouts, which is only going to piss him off more when he finds out, if he hasn't already. When I saw him, he had three young women with him. One of them, this girl with orange hair, was clinging to him the entire time too."

At hearing this, Tsunade scowled. Some little hussy is taking my Naru-kun away from me?! Damn it! Fuck this job! First chance I get, I'm going in search of him! And when I find him again, I'm going to rock his world better than some little girl can.

Jiraiya snapped his fingers in front of Tsunade to get her attention again. "You alright there Tsunade-hime? You zoned out for a while there."

Blushing a bit, the blonde Senju nodded slightly. "I'm fine. Just...lost myself in thought for a moment there. Go on."

Nodding slowly, not quite certain what was wrong with his friend, Jiraiya said, "There was also a small team from Kirigakure there. Naruto said that he's going with them to Kirigakure, so at least we know where he's headed now. He was on his way to Umi no Kuni, but…"

"But what? What aren't you telling me Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya sighed and scratched at the back of his head. "There were seven dead ROOT members when I arrived. Naruto and the women with him had fallen under attack from them. Danzo...is trying to get his hands on Naruto, Tsunade."

Hands clenching into fists, the Godaime Hokage could barely contain her anger. "That rotten bastard! How dare he go after my Naruto-kun like that?!" she exclaimed angrily.

Jiraiya couldn't help but blink in stupefaction at what he had just heard. "Your Naruto-kun? Hime, are you…?"

Tsunade interrupted her fellow Sannin. "What about the letter? What was his reaction to it?"

Now he was really suspicious. "I left before he could read it. So...I don't know the answer to that question Hime."

Narrowing her eyes at this, Tsunade reached across the desk, grabbed Jiraiya by the scruff of his shirt, and yanked him forward so she could look him in the eyes. "I wanted to know what his reaction was Jiraiya. Why didn't you stay?"

Sweating nervously at this point, Jiraiya began trying to free himself from her grip. Upon realizing it was a useless endeavor, he sighed and shook his head. "I decided to return because I want to help find Danzo. We need to find him and deal with him before he can harm Naruto in any way. So if you'll let me go, I can begin hunting for that bastard."

Tsunade slowly released her hold on Jiraiya and proceeded to bury her face in her hands. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly to calm herself, she leaned back in her chair and looked Jiraiya in the eyes. "I understand Jiraiya. That is more important. You're welcome to go out there and search. Good luck."

Nodding slowly, still a bit wary of his old teammate, the white-haired sage used a Body Flicker to leave the room. Now alone in the room, Tsunade laid her head down on her desk and sighed heavily. "I just wanted to know if he feels the same way about me…"

"Who are you talking about Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked as she walked in with a stack of paperwork and set it on her desk. "Have you fallen in love with someone Tsunade-sama? Do I know the person?"

Lifting her head up to stare into her assistant's eyes, Tsunade sighed heavily before dropping her head back onto her desk. "I'm talking about Naruto-kun. And yes, I'm in love with him. I miss him so much it hurts. I just want to leave and go to him. I want to smother him in my love and never let him out of my sight again."

The black-haired woman's eyes widened considerably as she listened to her master speak. Stammering for a moment, Shizune did her best to recompose herself before she asked, "How long have you felt this way about him? Have you told him?"

Sitting up straight finally, Tsunade looked at her dear friend and said, "I figured out my feelings for him a couple of months ago. I just...never acted on them. I should have...but...I was afraid he'd reject me because of the age difference." Sighing softly, the busty blonde continued by saying, "And I told him in the letter I had Jiraiya deliver to him. I wanted to hear what his reaction was as he read it...but Jiraiya didn't stay long enough to see it. I just want to know if he feels the same way about me."

As she thought on it, Shizune could only come to one conclusion. "Knowing Naruto-kun, I'm sure his reaction was a cute one. As for how he feels about you? I have no idea. You could always ask him in your next letter."

Nodding at that idea, the beautiful blonde Hokage took out another sheet of paper and began writing another letter to Naruto. Once she had finished, she handed the letter to Shizune and said, "Send this via messenger bird. The bird should be able to find him, wherever he is."

Offering a quick nod of understanding, Shizune hurried out of the room and went to begin her trek to the aviary. However, as she was taking a step in that direction, a thought struck her.

Grinning to herself, Shizune sat down at her desk and began to write a letter of her own to her favorite blonde shinobi. Once she had finished, she took both letters and proceeded to the aviary, where she gave one of the messenger birds both letters before sending it flying off. Once it was gone, Shizune giggled to herself and thought, Sorry Tsunade-sama, but I'm gonna get him first.

Nami no Kuni - Tazuna's House

As per a suggestion made by Naruto, the party decided to visit the new mayor of the village: Tazuna. As a friend of Naruto's, this man would easily be able to help them secure a boat to Mizu no Kuni, and would probably offer up his house as a temporary residence for the group if need be.

Approaching the front door of Tazuna's house, Naruto took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. Reaching up his hand, he knocked on the door a few times and waited.

Soon enough, the door opened to reveal a beautiful woman with dark blue hair. When she looked at Naruto, her eyes widened and she quickly scooped him up into a tight hug. "Naruto-kun! I'm so glad to see you! Please, all of you, come in and allow me to whip up some dinner for everyone. I'm sure you're all starving!"

After Tsunami hurried inside, obviously rushing to make dinner for everyone, Naruto turned to the others and shrugged his shoulders. "We might as well, right?" he asked before entering the house after Tsunami. The Fuma clan women entered shortly after he did.

Ao sighed before he and his team entered Tazuna's humble abode. I was really hoping we'd be able to just get a boat and go on back to Mizu no Kuni. This darn kid and his insistence on seeing this family. He doesn't realize the kind of danger he's putting not just himself in by coming here, but he's putting this family in danger as well.

Once inside the house and seated at the dining table, Naruto looked to Tsunami and asked, "So Tsunami-chan, where's Tazuna? Is he here?"

Smiling at her young friend, Tsunami said, "Father is out with Inari right now picking up some groceries for me. He'll be back soon, I promise." After a short while, Tsunami finished cooking and began to serve her guests. "Anyways, what brings you here Naruto-kun? And who are all your friends?"

"Well, that's kind of a long story. I'll tell you about it when Tazuna and Inari return." he said.

Pouting at him, the blue-haired woman nodded slowly in understanding. "Fine then. I can wait."

As the group began digging into their dinner, they heard the front door open. Tsunami smiled and greeted her father and son when they entered the kitchen. "Hello Father, Inari. Look who stopped by for a visit!"

After depositing the groceries where they belonged, Tazuna and Inari turned to look at their guests. Upon spotting Naruto, they gained bright smiles while Inari rushed around the table to give the blonde ninja a big hug. "Naruto-nii! You're finally back!"

"Naruto? I'm glad to see you! How've you been? What brings you back here?" Tazuna questioned.

Naruto smiled at his friends and hugged Inari back. "Hey Inari. I'm glad to see you too. Both of you." After he said this, Naruto's face shifted into a sad frown. "Can we talk about that after dinner? It's a long story and I'd like to eat first." he requested.

Tsunami frowned at his sullen tone, but easily agreed to his request. Tazuna and Inari were eager to hear what brought Naruto to their home, but they agreed to wait as well.

After Dinner

Everyone was in the living room now, with the family of three waiting on Naruto to begin his explanation. Ao and his team were rather curious as well, so they were eager to hear Naruto's tale.

Sighing lightly, Naruto looked around at everyone before settling his eyes on Tazuna's family. "You remember Sasuke right?"

"You mean that broody kid with the bad attitude?" Tazuna questioned. When he received a nod in return, the old man shook his head. "I did not like that kid."

"Well…" Sighing again, Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. "Sasuke attempted to desert Konoha. He was running away from the village in an attempt to join Orochimaru of the Sannin. Five of us were sent out on a mission to retrieve him at any cost and drag him back to Konoha. I was on the retrieval team, and when I confronted Sasuke, he attempted to kill me. It was an intense fight and one of the hardest I've ever been in. At the end...I killed Sasuke to keep him from getting to Orochimaru."

Hearing a gasp, Naruto looked to see Tsunami with her hands covering her mouth. She was looking at him in shock, and he couldn't help but sigh. "I didn't enjoy it, but it was part of the job. He was a traitor that had to be stopped by any means necessary."

"Anyways, I knew that if I returned to the village, they'd have me executed because of what I did. They worshipped Sasuke and they loathe me. To make matters worse, I had robbed Orochimaru of his new body, Sasuke. So now I've got Orochimaru trying to find me so he can kill me." Rubbing the bridge of his nose to try and stem off a headache, he continued on. "So I fled into Oto no Kuni, the last place anyone would think to look for me. And...well...there I met Sasame-chan." he said, motioning towards the girl on his right. "We proceeded into Otogakure, which turned out to be just another of Orochimaru's hideouts, and kinda...destroyed it. But we met Kagero and Kotohime-chan in there as well."

"We then decided to make our way to Umi no Kuni. However, as we were passing the bridge that you built, Tazuna, we came under attack by a team of ROOT soldiers." Seeing their confusion, Naruto decided to explain. "They work for a man named Danzo. He's a corrupt bastard that wants to capture me so he can make me into the perfect weapon that he can use to do his bidding."

"You just can't win, can you Naruto?" Tazuna asked, a deep frown on his face.

Chuckling a bit, the young blonde shook his head. "That's not the worst of it. There's a group of S-rank missing nin that are after me so they can extract something from me. If they succeed, I'll die. Wonderful, huh?"

Tsunami walked up to Naruto and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry you have to go through all of this. Are you going to be okay?"

Naruto hugged Tsunami back and offered her a smile. "I'll be fine." he assured her. "Anyways, after dealing with the ROOT soldiers, we met this group of people." he said, motioning towards Ao and his team. "They're going to take me to Kirigakure so I can meet the Godaime Mizukage, a woman by the name of Mei Terumi. After that? I don't know."

Ao spoke up at this point. "Naruto here was hoping you could help secure us a boat back to Mizu no Kuni."

Tazuna nodded in understanding. "I see. I suppose I can secure you a ship that'll take you straight there. But are you sure you don't want to stay the night and leave in the morning? You're more than welcome to stay."

Naruto shook his head at this and said, "I'm putting you and your family in enough danger as it is just by being here. It's best if we set out right away. I'm sorry guys, but I can't stay."

Tsunami didn't like hearing this, but she understood. So, giving Naruto one last hug, she stepped away so Naruto could stand. "Please be safe Naruto-kun. Good luck in your travels."

The old bridge builder sighed and nodded his head again. "Alright, alright. Let's get going." he said as he left the house with everyone in Naruto's party following him.

On the Boat

Now that they were on a boat to Mizu, Naruto and his new girlfriends couldn't help but smile as they enjoyed the cool night breeze. However, they knew it was time for them to get some sleep. When they went to move inside, Kotohime spotted a bird flying towards them. "Hey Naruto-kun, look." she said before pointing the bird out to her boyfriend.

Looking up at the bird, Naruto stretched out his arm and waited for it to land on it. Once it had, he noticed that it was carrying a couple of letters. So, taking them from the bird, he waited for it to fly off before he slipped the letters away inside his shirt pocket. "I'll read them later. Right now we really need to get some sleep." he said before leading his two girlfriends inside.

Upon reaching Kotohime's room, Naruto bade her a good night and prepared to walk away. However, before he could leave, she grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him flush against her as she captured his lips with hers in a fiery kiss. When she pulled away, she winked at him before she went into her room to get some sleep.

Blushing badly, Naruto turned away and led Sasame to the room she was sharing with Kagero. However, rather than go inside, the orange-haired girl clung to his arm and shook her head. "Nope. I'm not sleeping in there tonight. I want to sleep with you Naru-kun. Let's cuddle!" she said with a giggle.

Naruto couldn't help but blush worse and stammer as he tried to think of a response to that. He wasn't able to, however, as Sasame led him by the hand to his room. Once inside, she pushed Naruto onto the bed before climbing on the bed herself. Snuggling up against him, she grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her before she pulled the blanket up over them. "Good night Naru-kun." she said before giving him a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Yeah...good night Sasame-chan." he said, his blush increasing quite a bit as he hugged her close to him. This is going to be awkward to explain if anyone catches us… he thought as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The Next Morning - Oto no Kuni

Temari and Kankuro were wandering the wilds of Oto no Kuni in search of any clues regarding Naruto's whereabouts. They had already fought and defeated a group of Oto shinobi that attacked them, and they were getting a little frustrated as their search was turning up no clues.

"Are we absolutely certain he came here?" Kankuro asked before releasing a heavy sigh. "So far we haven't had any damn luck."

The blonde teen sighed and looked around at their surroundings. "Hmm, we could always just ask someone?" she suggested, unsure about what else they could do.

Kankuro nodded in agreement. There were some rice fields nearby, and the people tending to them weren't that far away. Motioning for Temari to follow him, he made his way over to them and asked a rather rotund woman, "Hello ma'am. We're in need of some help. You see, we're looking for a friend of ours. He has blonde, spiky hair and whisker marks on his cheeks. Have you seen him by any chance?"

Looking at the two that approached her, the woman smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, I've seen him. He asked me some questions and I gave him a map. The last I saw of him, he was heading north. I warned him to stay away from Otogakure, but I can't help but wonder if he went there anyways."

Temari smiled at her brother before looking back at the woman. "Thank you." Pulling out a map of the Elemental Nations, Temari showed it to her and gestured to Oto no Kuni. "Can you point out where Otogakure is to us please?"

"I don't see why you young people insist on finding that place. But…" pointing to a small area on the map, she said, "I warned him to stay away from this area. Otogakure's somewhere in that area, I'm sure of it. I hope you two are able to find your friend, but if he went there...well, nothing good could have come from it. Do take care now!" she said before returning to her work.

Kankuro frowned and looked at his sister. "Why in the world would Naruto go to Otogakure? He does realize how dangerous that would be, right?" They thought on it for a while before Temari began to giggle. Unsure about what was so funny, Kankuro asked, "What? What's so funny?"

Temari looked into her brother's eyes and shook her head. "He went there to screw over Orochimaru some more. I guarantee that he went there to raise some hell."

Kankuro couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about it. "Yeah, that sounds like him alright. Come on, let's get going Sis." he said before the two of them began heading north in search of Otogakure.

Tazuna's House

Tsunami was busy tending to a few household chores when she heard a knock on the front door. Setting down her cleaning utensils, she walked to the door and opened it. Standing there was a silver-haired young man that had a pair of glasses on his face.

"Hello ma'am. You are Tsunami, correct?" he asked.

"Y-yes, I am. Why do you ask?" she questioned curiously.

The young man smirked as he replied with, "Good. Now, you're going to tell me everything I want to know about a certain blonde friend of ours. Lord Orochimaru is quite disappointed in him."

Tsunami's eyes widened and she quickly tried to slam her door in the young man's face, but he proceeded to break down her door and started stalking closer to her. "What do you want with him?!" she questioned.

"I'm afraid you should be more concerned about yourself Tsunami. Tell me what I want to know and I'll leave you and your family alone and, more importantly, alive. Refuse and...well, let's just say you don't want to refuse." Kabuto said as he reached her and slammed her up against the wall. "Now where is he?"

A/N - And that's the end of the chapter. As you can see, I left it off on another cliffhanger. You must hate me so much. lol.

Anyways, a lot happened in this chapter. I revealed the first few members of his harem, as you no doubt saw. On top of that, Kabuto's found Tsunami! Who knows what he'll do to her? Not anything good, that's for sure. Jiraiya's made contact with Naruto, but the Toad Sage has no idea that Tsunade confessed her love to Naruto via that letter! What will happen when he does find out I wonder?

Anywho, not sure what else to say. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to more! I have no idea what I'm going to update next, so just keep an eye out. lol