Blade in the Shadows

Chapter Three: The Tenets of the Creed

(A/N: Okey dokey then, first thing I want to say is; congratulations go to Prototype7 for being the first person to correctly identify the quote made in the last chapter. The correct answer was that the quote came from Halo 2, specifically the end of the Cairo Station mission, when Master Chief is pulling the Covenant's antimatter bomb towards the hangar. It is said by Cortana in the elevator. *gives Prototype dark chocolate chip cookies, as requested* Anyway, let's get on with the chapter!)

(A/N: Oh yeah. It seems that your confusion as to when this takes place was with good reason as I neglected to tell you some important facts. I will therefore start with the main reason people thought this took place after Asssassin's Creed II; the hidden blade add-ons. Altaïr did indeed write about the firearm, poison blade, etc in his Codex, but for the sake of this story, they will have been invented long before the events of Assassin's Creed I. Altaïr will have simply rediscovered them in that huge library in Masyaf after they fell out of use and put them in his Codex for future generations to utilize (i.e. Ezio). What I'm trying to accomplish here is weaving all the events of this Naruto AU so that they fit, if not perfectly, at least as damn close to Assassin's Creed canon as I can get. So please tell me what I've got wrong, tell me what I've got right, and tell me where I really fucked up. I value your feedback and opinions as much as I value your "dis chapter is sooo l33t!" reviews. So if you spot something that doesn't agree, drop me a review and tell me what's wrong. If you can't be bothered to do that much, I can't make this story better to read in the long run. Anyway, on with the story!)

(A/N: P.S. I really hope you actually read these things. If I were to spend ages writing these damn things and then find out that you don't actually read them, that'd really piss me off. And you won't like me when I'm pissed off. I guarantee it. *evil smile*)

Four weeks later.

"Where other men blindly seek the truth, remember…" said a man's quiet voice in the shadowy chamber.

"Nothing is true," replied four female voices as one.

"Where other men are limited, by morality or law, remember…" The man's voice spoke again.

"Everything is permitted," the women's voices chorused once more.

"Nani mo shin no subete ga yurusa rete iru. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

The four women standing before the ornate throne imitated him, "Nani mo shin no subete ga yurusa rete iru. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

The figure standing in front of the throne took a step forwards and held up the three fingers on his left hand, "The first tenet of our Creed: Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Those who must die; must die. Those who do not need to die; do not need to die."

He lowered his little finger, "The second tenet of our Creed: Always be discreet. You must be one with the crowd and one with the shadows. Appear from nowhere, slay your target and disappear."

He lowered his middle finger, "The third tenet of our Creed: Never compromise the Brotherhood. The actions of one must never bring harm to all. If you are captured, if you fail in your mission or you are being chased by your enemy, you must never say or do anything that could bring harm to another Assassin."

The four women standing in front of the throne nodded, and the man standing before the throne stepped sideways, "Anko, you may approach."

The tallest figure stepped up to the table. "Set your hand on the table, your ring finger extended."

Anko did so, and the figure raised the long blade in his other hand. A flash of metal and a soft snick sound, and the woman gave a soft grunt of pain into the leather belt she had clenched between her teeth.

A figure standing off to one side of the room approached at that moment, her very buxom profile outlined in the dim light filtering into the chamber as she began to heal Anko's hand, "You do realize, Naruto; that the Assassins are going to have problems with hand seals after this?"

The male shrugged, "I was thinking of learning how to do one-handed seals or just activate jutsu with a single seal, maybe we could all learn to do that."

The woman nodded as she finished healing Anko's hand and stepped away as Naruto picked up the woman's new weapons and handed them to her, waiting for her to buckle her new hidden blade to her left forearm, slide her new crossbow into the holster on her back and otherwise array her new equipment across her person, "That will take a lot of practice, Naruto."

Naruto shrugged again, "We have a while before we're completely ready to start taking missions, learning to do one-handed seals shouldn't take that long."

The woman chuckled as she shifted her position slightly; revealing herself to be Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, "You'd be surprised. You might not need them anyway; there are only a couple of seals that require all of your fingers."

Naruto shrugged a third time before returning his attention to the task at hand, "Sasame, you may approach."

A second girl, this one with long orange bangs hanging from underneath her hood, walked out of line and set her hand on the slab after putting the belt she was offered in her mouth and biting down.

Another flash of the knife, and Tsunade was once again healing.

Naruto handed her new hidden blade over, followed by her other new equipment. Once she had stepped back into line, Naruto spoke for a third time, "Tenten, you may approach."

A third girl, whose hood peaked on either side of her head to accommodate the buns her hair was pulled up into, stepped forwards and put her hand on the table.

The knife flashed and Naruto gestured for Tsunade to heal Tenten's hand. As soon as she had finished, Naruto handed Tenten her new hidden blade and other equipment. The bun-haired brunette looked like a child in a candy store as she fingered her new friend (A/N: I mean the crossbow, you perverts).

Once she was back in line, Naruto smiled, "And last but not least, Hinata."

Hinata stepped forwards and put her hand on the table. Naruto raised the knife and swung it down. A single whimper broke free from Hinata's lips before Naruto caught her wrist and set down the knife, gesturing to Tsunade to heal the indigo-haired girl. Using a basic fire jutsu to incinerate the removed fingers, he turned to the four newly-promoted Assassins and said, "Nani mo shin no subete ga yurusa rete iru. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

"Nani mo shin no subete ga yurusa rete iru. Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

Naruto smiled, "Let's go."

-BitS-

"INTRUDERS! INTRU- urk."

The guard staggered as a crossbow bolt embedded itself through his spine. As he turned to see where it had come from, he caught a glimpse of a white hooded figure before he saw a flash of polished metal and felt something ease through the flesh of his neck and sever his windpipe.

Tenten lowered the guard's body to the ground and spoke into her earpiece, "Naruto-kun, we've been caught, it's time to pull out the big guns!"

Naruto's voice crackled through her earpiece, "Understood. Everybody, you can cut loose. I'll take down the target. Remember our plan if we get separated!"

Three affirmations came back as Naruto drew his dagger and slashed his way through a gang of the enemy, making his way closer to the target.

Anko had her combat knife in her right hand and her hidden blade extended from under her left wrist, cutting her way through the guards that were attacking her.

Hinata was ducking and dodging, using her Jyūken to its best effect.

Sasame had her crossbow out and was crouched on a rooftop, picking off individual guards as they sprinted past her.

-BitS-

The missing-nin they were hunting sprinted down the hallway followed by three of his guards. There was a loud twang and an even louder bang and two of them dropped.

As the missing-nin reached the end of the corridor and found himself trapped, he turned just in time to see his guard drop to his knees and fall to one side, revealing a figure clad in a black robe. The hood and mask concealed most of his pursuer's face, leaving only a pair of cerulean eyes glittering back at him.

The missing-nin stumbled backwards, reaching for the sword on his back. "Kibako Hakai," said his attacker in a deep voice, "You stand accused of crimes against Konohagakure no Sato, for which the punishment is death."

"No… NO! STAY BACK, DEMON!" Hakai screamed, yanking his blade out of its sheath and slashing frantically at the hooded foe, who dodged in one fluid motion before reaching for a short blade sheathed at his waist.

Hakai slashed again as the mysterious person stepped over the guard's body and advanced, blocking Hakai's swipes with the knife he held in his right hand.

Hakai frantically let go of his sword a second later and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A dragon of earth rose from the floor and surged towards the hooded enemy, who simply drew back his left hand.

Hakai noticed that his left hand was missing his ring finger before a ball of spinning chakra formed and he suddenly snapped his hand forwards, driving the ball into the earth dragon's head and blasting it to smithereens.

Hakai backed up against the wall as the figure moved slowly towards him, the hand that had held the ball curling into a fist as the other hand came up and clamped onto Hakai's shirt, shoving him against the wall and holding him there as a long blade projected from under the stranger's left wrist and began to move towards his throat. Then it suddenly surged forwards, and everything went black.

-BitS-

Naruto watched emotionlessly as the Konoha missing-nin they had been tracking collapsed onto the floor. He tugged down his mask, exposing his whiskered cheeks to the open air before his hands flashed through seals, "Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique!"

Fire spewed from his mouth, reducing the target's body to ashes. Turning away, he raised a hand to his earpiece, "The target is dead, we're moving out."

Four confirmations came back, before Naruto began to walk back down the corridor. So intent was he in getting out that he didn't notice the pressure plate he had missed on entry.

The only sign he had that not all was well with the present situation was the soft click before the floor swung out from underneath him.

He just had enough time to mutter, "Shit!" before gravity reasserted itself and he plunged down into a pit of some kind.

Anko heard him curse over her earpiece. Swiftly decapitating her opponent with her hidden blade, she pressed her right hand to the talk button on her earpiece, "Naruto! Naruto, can you hear me?"

There was silence.

Sighing, Anko took charge, "Guys, Naruto is out of action but he managed to complete the objective first! Let's move out!"

Three confirmations came back and Anko activated her shunshin, carrying herself out of range.

They all landed on a hilltop above the missing-nin's hideout. Hinata activated her Byakugan to look down at the building again, "I see some kind of trap in the hallway near a pile of ashes. I think that might be where Naruto-kun was."

Anko nodded, "Standard procedure for the Kiri hunter-nins is to incinerate the body on the spot where the person died. I imagine that pile of ashes is all that remains of our target by now. That trap might be what got Naruto."

Sasame looked scared, "So what do we do?"

Tenten spoke up, "Go back to Konoha. Naruto-kun will find us when he manages to get out."

Hinata turned worried eyes on the bun-haired girl, her Byakugan deactivating as she spoke, "But what if he can't?"

Anko spoke up, "If he can't, we'll get a rescue team and come get him out. The kid's a survivor, he'll manage. Now come on, let's move out."

"She's right," Naruto's voice crackled into all their earpieces, "Go. I'll get myself out of here."

"Naruto-kun?" Tenten was worried, "Where are you?"

"Hit the bottom of the pit and knocked myself out. I'll be fine, relax. Just get yourselves back to Konoha, I'll…" there was a loud crack and silence.

Anko took charge again, "His earpiece must've broken, let's go."

The other three Assassins nodded, casting concerned looks back towards the building as they followed Anko south-west out of the Land of Lightning towards Konoha.

-BitS-

Naruto cursed as, the slight night-vision he had picked up from the Kyūbi allowing him to see in the dull light of the pit, the remains of his cracked and broken earpiece fell from his ear. Evidently it had survived the impact with a lot of damage, but had only endured long enough for him to send one last message before it broke completely.

A loud rumbling explosion in the distance drew Naruto's attention. Deciding to see what it was, he took off down a corridor.

-BitS-

Yugito Nii felt the hope dying in her heart. There was no help coming. Her sister was unconscious, her team-mates incapacitated or fighting opponents they couldn't hope to match.

She herself was wounded, unable to do anything against the opponent who stood in the middle of his circle of blood, his three-bladed scythe in one hand and a foot-long spike in the other, which he then drove into his stomach.

Yugito doubled over, coughing blood as she felt the agony of the strike in her own body.

Naruto, standing ten feet away as he watched a dark-skinned male attacking a huge bulky figure in an Akatsuki robe and another Akatsuki member standing in the middle of a circle of blood, stabbing himself over and over with a long spike while the blonde woman in front of him convulsed with pain, knew he had to do something. Forming his favourite hand seal, he surveyed the six figures in front of him (having just noticed another blonde woman lying on the ground beside a redhead in a similar state) and took off.

Omoi was cursing his opponent as he tried to cleave off his arm when he suddenly heard a loud whoosh and felt somebody seize him around the waist, dragging him away from the enemy he was fighting. He saw two more grabbing Karui and Samui from the floor at the same time, while a fourth seemed to be heading for Yugito.

Twisting sharply in his saviour's grip, he glimpsed a face beneath the black hood but could discern no features.

Hidan startled when something suddenly hit him in the chest, knocking him sideways out of his circle. Before he could react, he saw a length of shining metal suspended above him before it slashed downwards and he felt horrible pain in his neck. Then he was moving at high speed through the air, and could tell by the feeling of knuckles rubbing against his scalp that somebody was holding him by the hair.

Kakuzu watched in shock as his partner was beheaded and carried off by a mysterious foe, while at the same time their target and her team-mates were gathered up and carried off by more people. Sighing at the loss of his partner, his target, maybe even his bounty for the day, Kakuzu set off in hot pursuit.

-BitS-

Naruto collapsed onto the ground, his clones dispelling after they had put down their cargo. The head of the Akatsuki member he had attacked rolled slightly on the ground, as Naruto lay there, staring up at the sky with his heart pounding and lungs burning. He and his cloned had been forced to shunshin like crazy in order to escape from the second Akatsuki member, and finally had managed to escape from him.

"You…" croaked the shinobi he had rescued, the sword he was somehow still clutching dropping from limp fingers as he pushed himself upright from where the clone had deposited him, "You saved us?"

Naruto took a few seconds to draw breath to respond, but finally nodded, "Yeah, it was me."

"Why?"

Naruto looked over at him, "Those guys were Akatsuki. They're after the bijuu for some purpose or another. This is only the second encounter with them I've ever had."

The boy pulled a sucker from somewhere and put it into his mouth, "After the bijuu? That must be why they attacked us…"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched upwards slightly, "You have a bijuu?"

The boy shook his head, "Not me."

Naruto looked around at the blonde girl he had rescued from the self-harming psychopath. She was lying on the ground looking barely conscious, her breathing weak. "Her?"

The boy's jaw dropped and his sucker almost fell out, "How did you…?"

Naruto shrugged, "It was kinda obvious. You say you aren't the one with the bijuu, and she was the only one still conscious other than you. What reason would you have to lie, given that I also know for a fact that no jinchūriki is easy to put down?"

The boy sighed, "Very well. She is indeed a jinchūriki."

Naruto smiled, "Nice to meet one of my own. And you are?"

"Omoi Yotsuki, son of the Yondaime Raikage, and you are?"

"Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure no Sato. Who are they?"

"My sister Karui Yotsuki, our team-mate Samui Nii and her sister Yugito Nii."

Naruto held out a hand, "Nice to meet you."

Omoi shook it, "Likewise."

Naruto looked around, "So, can you tell me which way Kumo is? I'd like to drop you four off there and then head back to Konoha after my team."

Omoi pointed, "That way to Kumo. Konoha is in that direction," he pointed in the other direction.

Naruto looked in that direction, "Thanks."

Omoi suddenly frowned, "I notice you haven't yet explained how you happened across us."

Naruto shrugged, pushing his hood back as he looked up at the sky, "Me and my team were tracking a missing-nin of Konoha, a man named Kibako Hakai. I'd just killed him and was leaving to meet up with my team when I activated a trap and fell into a pit. Did you four cause any kind of explosions down there?"

Omoi nodded, "Yugito blew up the way we came in to trap the Akatsuki members. After that, they knocked out Karui and Samui quite quickly before engaging Yugito and me in open combat. Yugito took on the smaller one while I took the larger. My thinking was that she could finish him off quickly and then join me in fighting mine. Guess that didn't exactly work…"

Naruto chuckled, "I'll say. I'll help you get back to Kumo, and then I'm going home."

He created two shadow clones and walked over to the kunoichi with them.

"Er," said Omoi as the original Naruto picked up Yugito, "You do realize that if she wakes up and realizes she's on the back on an unfamiliar male while her sister and her sister's team-mate are on other unfamiliar males' backs she's going to try to kill you, right?"

Naruto looked at the kunoichi in his arms for a minute before holding her out and saying, "Would you like to carry her?"

Omoi jumped backwards with his hands behind his back, "Hell no! Last time she passed out on a mission and those two got me to carry her, she beat the crap out of me when she woke up before I could say a word! It took half an hour for Karui and Samui to get her to stop!"

Naruto sighed, "Oh well. My bijuu gives me fast healing, so whatever she does to me will fix."

Omoi shook his head, "Trust me, you don't have any idea of the kind of evil damage Yugito can wreak upon your body. Let me give you an example; she got really cross with our uncle and sensei Killer Bee a couple of years ago, and it took the medic-nins hours to fix the testicular damage."

Naruto shuddered before creating another clone and passing Yugito to him. The clone tried to pass her back, shaking his head, "No way boss, I'm not having that happen to me!"

Naruto shoved the unconscious female back, "You're a clone, stop whimpering! You'll just dispel after one hit, I've got more to worry about than you, I don't dispel! She can kick me repeatedly!"

The pair continued to quarrel for a long minute before Omoi, who had been sweat-dropping at the argument, noticed that Yugito was stirring.

"Naruto," he said, raising his voice over the argument, "She's…" but he was interrupted as his fellow Kumo-nin's hands came up and clamped onto the two Narutos' necks.

The first sign that Naruto received that not all was well for him was when a hand wrapped around his neck and his head was dragged down to Yugito's level and forced to look into her eyes, "Put… me… down…"

Naruto and the clone obeyed. Yugito didn't let go of their necks, if anything her grip tightened. The clone looked over at his creator, "Hey boss? I don't think it's right for both of us to die because you're a moron, so I'm going to say bye now!" and dispelled himself.

Naruto scowled, "Even my clones are traitors, urk!"

His voice was choked out as Yugito's grip became even tighter. She pulled him close, "What the hell do you think you were doing with me, tree-hugger?"

Naruto winced at the derogatory nickname before he grunted back, "Hey… I just saved your ass from Akatsuki so the last you can do… is a little… gratitude!"

Omoi cowered as Yugito's gaze flew to him and flayed him alive, "Is this true?"

Omoi nodded, "Y-Yes… he beheaded the Akatsuki member attacking you and… can anybody hear cursing?"

Yugito, now holding Naruto off the throat by his throat, looked around.

The clones still holding Samui and Karui gasped as they dropped their charges and pointed at the head on the ground, which was now moving.

Omoi moved over to it and nudged it with his toe.

"Oh you fucking bastards!"

Yugito dropped Naruto as the disembodied head on the floor started cussing them all out. The blond landed on the ground with a loud thud and rolled away from her.

Yugito stalked over to Hidan's head and lifted him up by his hair, "You arsehole! Why did you and your freak friend attack me? For that matter, how the fuck are you still alive?"

Hidan spat at her, "I'm immortal, jinchūriki bitch! In other words, you can't kill me you stupid bint!"

Yugito wiped the loogie off her cheek with her sleeve, "Shut your mouth you pathetic little freak of nature!"

Hidan screamed back, "I'LL COME BACK! I'LL DESTROY EVERY LAST FUCKING ONE OF YOU AND YOU ESPECIALLY WILL BEG FOR MERCY BEFORE YOU DIE, TWO-TAILED WHORE!"

Yugito's eyes flashed and she smashed her fist into Hidan's face.

"You think we should tell her she's just wailing on a head?" Naruto had sidled over to Omoi and was now standing next to him as they watched Yugito pound the Akatsuki member's head into the ground repeadly.

Omoi shook his head, "Last time somebody interrupted her while she was venting her frustration, she put Killer Bee-sensei in hospital for a week."

Naruto winced, "Yikes. Looks like she's winding down a bit now."

Yugito was indeed flagging. The surge of adrenaline she had received from finding herself in the grip of two people who were arguing over her and then seeing the still living head of the person who'd given her so much trouble was failing and she was starting to flag.

After a minute she let go of the head and allowed it to fall to the ground before bending and putting her hands on her knees and breathing hard. Before she could do anything more, her knees buckled and she collapsed backwards.

Omoi didn't see Naruto move, but before Yugito hit the ground she was intercepted in the air and found herself held in his strong arms and being lowered gently to the ground. She looked up into his face and realized he was the person she had attacked, "Who are you?"

Naruto didn't respond at first, simply set her down on the ground and allowed her to relax. It was only once he had rummaged in his belt pouch for a medical pouch that he replied, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki; I'm from Konoha."

Yugito scowled before snapping, "I got that much!"

"Yugito," said Omoi quietly, prompting the blonde to look over at him, "He's the one who rescued us from those guys."

Yugito turned back to Naruto who was now looking through the medical pack for some bandages to bandage her various wounds, "You rescued us?"

Naruto didn't respond other than to nod.

"Why?"

Naruto sat back before responding, "You aren't the only one holding back one of those. There are eight others, you know."

"I know that!" she said irritably as he caught her wrist and pulled her arm towards him so that he could push up her sleeve and get at her upper arm, "But why did you…"

"I already told you," he replied, in a tone that conveyed no emotions but still carried as much weight as a shout, "There are eight more beside you. How do you think I know that?"

She scowled again, "Stop talking riddles!"

Naruto looked her directly in the eyes, "Then I will be blunt. Number two?"

Yugito opened her mouth again, but something in his eyes stopped her from snarling at him again, so she simply nodded. She was surprised to see a broad smile on his face, "Nice to meet you. Number nine, at your service!"

Yugito blinked for a second before it dawned on her and her jaw dropped, "Number nine? But I thought your Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyūbi nearly fifteen years ago!"

"Has it really been that long already? Hmm," Naruto responded in an interested tone.

Yugito spluttered, "You… you can't just brush it off like that! That's a really big deal!"

"Is it?" Naruto's tone was conversational as he finished bandaging her arm and moved down a little to check her ribs for any breaks or fractures, "Kami damn it, this would be so much easier if Hinata were here! Her Byakugan would be able to pick this stuff up really quickly!"

He noticed both the conscious Kumo nins going rigid, "Now what's the damn problem?"

Omoi stammered, "You… you're friends with the Hyūga?"

Naruto shrugged, "Just Hinata, what of it?" Unbidden, the memory of Neji explaining the Hyūga Affair to him came back to him, "Oh yeah… that."

"Yeah… when the Sandaime Raikage sent out a "diplomatic" party to try and abduct one of your Hyūga."

Naruto didn't miss the subtle emphasis Omoi put on the title, "Hey, relax. That's all water under the bridge now, right? The only one who really bore a grudge was Hinata's cousin Neji and I kicked that shit out of him about two years ago."

Omoi licked his lips nervously, "Is… Is Konoha still angry about that?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know. As I said, Neji was the only one still touchy about it and I beat him up years ago."

Omoi relaxed, "Good, so they're not going to declare war just because they think we abducted you, right?"

Naruto shrugged again, "The Leaf's always been peaceful. Some may say we started the Second Great Shinobi World War, but hey, that's all water under the bridge now."

Omoi nodded, "Indeed it is."

Naruto returned to tending Yugito's wounds. He ran a hand up her side, causing her to flinch, "What the hell are you doing, pervert?"

Naruto glared at her, "Do you want me to heal your injuries or not? Because if you do then shut up and stop calling me names. I'm not being a pervert, I'm checking for broken ribs. Now does this hurt?" He jabbed her hard in the side with one finger.

There was an explosion of swearing and cursing that didn't come from the detached head on the ground. Naruto simply watched as Yugito curled into a ball, "I'll take that as a yes. Stop whining, I need to bandage you."

He moved forwards and began working on his fellow jinchūriki once more.

-BitS-

They progressed north-east towards Kumo slowly. Samui and Karui woke up the day after Naruto's rescue of the four of them, and Naruto quickly dispatched clones to check their injuries and sort them out.

This led to an even larger number of clones being dispelled since Karui was just as difficult and abrasive (read: bitchy) as Yugito had shown herself to be. Samui wasn't much better; she was cold and standoffish whenever Naruto spoke to her, but at least she spoke to him in a manner that didn't insult him on principle.

"So," said Naruto one night, when the five of them were gathered around a fire and Naruto was cooking some fish his clones had caught in a nearby river, "If you don't mind me asking, what was your mission that got you in range of Akatsuki?"

Yugito hunched up with difficulty due to the thick bandages wrapped around her middle and wrapped her arms around her knees, "They were the mission. Our border scouts reported that two mysterious strangers had slipped into the Land of Lightning. We weren't willing to allow such people to wander in our lands without supervision, so the four of us were dispatched to track them down and bring them in for questioning."

Naruto stared at her in shock for a minute, "They sent your four to do that? A jinchūriki and three standard shinobi?"

"Yes…" said Yugito.

Naruto shook his head, "Sorry about this, but… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The four Kumo-nin stared at him as Naruto rolled on his back, howling with laughter. Karui finally punched him in the side, "What's so funny, you jerk?"

Naruto shook his head, recovering, "These people are S-class missing-nins. And considering how immortal that guy seems to be," he gestured at the sealing scroll he was carrying with the Akatsuki member's head in it, "They're a lot more dangerous than you give them credit for."

"And you would know this how?" said Karui derisively.

Naruto turned to face her, scowling, "I know this because I've been chased by them before for the same reason she is," he jabbed a finger at Yugito sitting across from him, "I know because I'm a damn jinchūriki as well."

Karui turned disbelieving eyes on Yugito, who nodded, "Nibi says it's true. She can smell the fox on him."

Karui frowned, "The fox?"

Naruto folded his arms, "I bear the Kyūbi no Kitsune. And I've already met Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, a missing-nin of Konoha. It was only the arrival of Jiraiya of the Sannin that stopped them getting me the first time around. So think on that for a second, if these people won't leave unless there is a Sannin-level shinobi in the vicinity, what hope do you four think you had? I only managed to get your guys out of that sewer because I had the element of surprise."

Karui scowled, "Don't think you're better than us just because you have a more powerful bijuu!"

Naruto stared back at her, "I don't think I'm better than any of you. Tell me Yugito, how many of your bijuu's tails can you control?"

Yugito raised an eyebrow at him for a second before she said, "I'm fully synchronized with it. I can call on both tails and maintain my sense of self."

Naruto nodded, "That's a whole lot better than I can do. I can't control more than three of the Kyūbi's tails without going insane from bloodlust. One, I'm fine. Two, I'm alright. Three, I start to lose control. Four is when I lose it completely." He looked around at the four of them before his eyes locked onto Yugito, "What's your home life been like in Kumo?"

She gave him a wry look, "Thinking of deserting?"

Naruto shook his head, "No. I have clans back in Konoha that depend on me. Just looking for comparison so Miss Queen-Bitch here doesn't have any more reason to cuss me out."

Yugito looked at the ground, "Samui-nee-san and I are the grand-daughters of the Sandaime Raikage and the daughters of the Yondaime Raikage from his first marriage to the Sandaime's daughter."

Naruto blinked, "So you and Samui are Omoi's and her's half-sisters?" He didn't even bother calling Karui by her name.

Samui nodded and spoke up for the first time, "After the Hyūga Affair, the people of Kumo revolted against the Sandaime. They wanted a leader who didn't try and invoke war against other countries by stealing their secrets, which if I recall correctly from our history lessons he did twice with Konoha."

Naruto glanced over at her, "What was the first one?"

Samui shrugged, "You'll have to ask our father."

Yugito continued with Samui's explanation, "After the Sandaime was forced to step down and our father took his place, he intended to return the Hyūga's body to Konoha, but it was destroyed after we found that we had been cheated. He still intends to find a way of making peace with Konoha."

Naruto gave her a small smile, "Maybe we can work up a treaty while I'm there. That is, if you guys let me borrow a messenger bird so I can tell the Hokage that I'm fine."

Samui nodded, "Of course."

-BitS-

They arrived at the gates of Kumo three days later, Naruto being escorted to the Raikage's office at the business ends of several katanas despite his companions' protests that he had saved them.

The Raikage was lifting weights when they entered, and immediately dropped them in shock when he saw the four of them, "My children! Where've you been all this time?"

Yugito spoke up, "We ran into difficulties when we faced down the intruders, Raikage-sama."

"Yugito…" he growled, "What have I told you about that?"

The Nibi jinchūriki sighed, "Very well, tou-san. We ran into difficulties when we engaged the intruders in open combat. One managed to incapacitate Samui-nee-san and Karui-nee-san before taking on Omoi-nii-san. I took on the other, intending to kill him quickly and then assist Omoi with his foe. It didn't work; he managed to get some of my blood on his weapon and licked it, activating some form of jutsu which allowed him to harm himself and make me feel the pain of it. It was at that point when Naruto Uzumaki," she gestured to where Naruto stood surrounded by what the blond boy had guessed to be Kumo's equivalent of the ANBU, "came on the scene and rescued all four of us, managing to behead one of the attackers in the process and bring his head along with us."

The Raikage turned to Naruto and inspected him for a second before saying, "BOLT, stand down." The masked shinobi behind Naruto sheathed their weapons. "I am A, the Yondaime Raikage. It is nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san." He held out a hand.

Naruto took it and shook, "Likewise."

A sat down behind his desk again, "So what drove you to assist four of my shinobi?"

Naruto drew himself up a little, constantly aware of the BOLT members behind him ready to kill him if he showed any sign of hostility, "The intruders your shinobi engaged are part of an organization known as the Akatsuki. They are intent on collecting all of the bijuu for some purpose. Guessing that one of your shinobi must be a jinchūriki for them to be under attack from Akatsuki, I immediately stepped in and carried all of them out of the sewers they were in, decapitating one of the Akatsuki members on the way out."

"Why would you step in to help four shinobi from a foreign village, and how did you come to believe that one of the shinobi you rescued was a jinchūriki?"

Naruto sighed, "I'm the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Kitsune. My father is the Yondaime Hokage."

A leaned forwards, the desk creaking slightly as he set the heavy bracelets he was wearing (which Naruto only now realized were in fact weights like those that Gai and Lee wore) on its polished wooden surface, "And why are you telling me all of this? You of course know that as our villages are not allies we could quite possibly take you prisoner and demand a ransom?"

Naruto folded his arms, "You could try. But you're not going to try, because I know you actually want peace with Konoha after your predecessor tried stealing our secrets!"

Every shinobi in the room stiffened sharply as the Leaf-nin began bluffing with the Raikage.

The two shinobi stared each other in the eye for a long moment before A sat back with a satisfied air about him, "You are of course, correct. I do want peace."

Naruto smiled, "Then we have no problem. I might not be supposed to be here, but that shouldn't stop us trying to hash out some kind of peace treaty or at least some kind of non-aggression pact before I head back to my own village."

A smiled at the boy before him, "You know, Uzumaki, I like your outlook. I would certainly consider a treaty with the Leaf."

Naruto nodded before looking around, "Might I be permitted to borrow one of your messenger birds? I need to write to the Hokage and tell her that I'm alright. My team should have returned to Konoha by now."

A leaned forwards again, "Your team?"

Naruto nodded, "Yes. We were on a mission to eliminate a Leaf missing-nin hiding out within your borders. On my way out of the complex where he was hiding I activated a trap and fell into the sewers below the complex. That is how I discovered the fight between your shinobi and the Akatsuki."

A sat back again, evidently satisfied again, "Very well. You may borrow one of our messenger birds to send your Hokage a message. Raiko!"

A tall woman entered. She had ebony skin, light-grey hair and a striking resemblance to Karui and Omoi. Evidently this was their mother. "Yes, Raikage-sama?"

A ground his teeth, "Why do people keep calling me that? Family don't need to do that, dammit!"

Naruto had to resist the urge to laugh, feeling that might not be wise in this situation. The woman frowned, "Fine, my husband. What do you require of me?"

A pointed to Naruto, "Would you mind taking Uzumaki-san here to the communications tower so that he can write a message to his Hokage?"

The woman bowed, "Of course, my husband." She beckoned to Naruto and they left the room.

-BitS-

Five minutes later, Naruto was seated at a table inside the communications tower writing his message.

Dear baa-chan…

(A/N: Well, well, what a to-do! Naruto is not only separated from the team, but he's in a foreign village and being forced to play the diplomat! What will he do? Find out next time on Blade in the Shadows!)