Duty, Honor, and Truth

by Tyrchon

Young Naruto believes himself alone with no family, he is wrong. Learning the ways of his mother the young boy will embark on a mysterious adventure that could destroy both him and Konoha. What will he do when confronted by his clan's legacy? Slight AU.

6. Chapter 5: Down by the Wayside

Disclaimer: Naruto, Bleach, and all other intellectual properties are the rightful property of their respected owners and creators. I am thankful to them as I play with the elements and realms that they have labored to provide us with.

This work contains elements that warrant a mature rating of 'M'. Discretion is advised to all potential readers. You have been forewarned.

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Duty, Honor, and Truth

Chapter 5 – Down by the Wayside

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The rain had started to fall in a slow drizzle once again as Naruto pulled his black cloak closer to ward off the wet and cold that came with the dismal weather. Having just finished meeting with the last of the business contacts provided by Danzou the young blond was now making his way through the village streets towards the Shugorei ruins.

As he walked Naruto's mind was frantically going over the deals he had just made and the supplies that had been ordered. Many of the owners had personally met with him and taken his orders, even going so far as to cut down prices to the point where barely a profit would be made, this turn around in attitude didn't fool the whiskered Shugorei even the slightest.

"None recognized me as a Shugorei and a few almost let their tongues slip by calling me a demon, so that means they are just lackeys for Danzou," Naruto mentally noted. "From the way most of them acted he must have made it clear that a favorable attitude towards me will be rewarded, though that doesn't seem to have any real impact upon their preconceived prejudices."

A small frown pulled at Naruto's lips as he thought how surprised some of the merchants had been when he had produced his list of necessary items and the small pouch containing a large roll of money. The men and women that he visited to procure the parts and materials had practically fallen over themselves to help him in his purchases, most likely expecting even greater orders and commissions to come from him in the future. This had stood in stark contrast to how many hadn't even wanted to give him the time of day before his little meeting earlier.

"Fucking bigoted simpletons," the young Kyuubi container thought bitterly. "If I didn't need some of those components right away I could afford to be pickier, but until I do a thorough search of Konoha I guess I'll have to keep dealing with them."

Lost in his grumblings Naruto made a mental list of businesses he would need to look into for the future. It would take a lot to rebuild the compound and he required that the builders have a great deal of discretion when it came time. Not a single person on Danzou's list fit that requirement and Naruto would be damned if he gave any of them the contract to begin the construction of the new buildings and grounds.

"They're all in Danzou's pocket so anything that I have them do will get back to him easily. I should probably ask Hokage-jiisan who he could recommend seeing as when the compound was built it was the Shugorei themselves who did all of the work," with that thought a small smirk replaced the frown on Naruto's face. "If it really came down to it I could try doing it all by myself using Kage Bunshin for my workforce, but while I have confidence in my chakra reserves I can't say the same about my engineering knowledge."

Letting a small laugh escape his mouth Naruto looked around to see if anyone was close enough to have heard him. Noticing that the road that he was currently on was completely deserted, Naruto let out a sigh at being alone.

"Hijiji said that I am never alone, but other than the Fox in my gut and the unresponsive Zanpakuto soul within my own I can't see why he would say such a thing," the thought of those last few words put Naruto into a poor mood.

Walking to the next intersection Naruto was suddenly pulled from his melancholy thoughts of what the old Shugorei had meant. At the intersection Naruto realized that he was on the side of the village opposite the Shugorei ruins. This discovery started to turn Naruto from being glum to angry when a small thought wormed its way past his dark feelings as he recognized a familiar park just beyond the intersection.

"That's the park Hokage-jiji used to take me to when I was still at the orphanage," the small revelation bringing Naruto an even more important memory.

"If the park is here then that must mean that the orphanage can't be that far away. I haven't seen the matron since I left Konoha with hijiji," reflected Naruto as a smile began to grow and his previous worries were pushed to the side.

Letting chakra flow to his legs Naruto leapt to the top of a nearby building. Vaguely remembering the way to get from the park back to the orphanage the blond looked around until he spied the familiar outline of the old building where he had spent most of his life in Konoha. Having found his destination Naruto began to cross the rooftops until he dropped down into the front courtyard of his old home.

Moving forward to the large, wooden doors Naruto let his hand rise and take the knocker to signal his presence to those within. Waiting patiently Naruto felt himself becoming nervous about having returned to the halls that had once been his home. However, before he could contemplate leaving one of the doors before him was opened and a young female worker of the orphanage greeted him.

"Good evening sir, how can I help you?" the brunette woman asked with a pleasant smile.

Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts Naruto began to answer hesitantly, "I was hoping to meet with the matron if that's not a problem."

"She is in her office right now so it shouldn't be too much of a problem," the worker responded as she led Naruto into the main hallway of the orphanage. "Whom should I tell her is here?"

Naruto was taken aback for a moment as he would have thought he was easily recognizable. Even though the young woman had only started working at the orphanage a few months before he had left, Naruto easily remembered her as she had helped him draw a picture of ducks for the matron. Realizing that the confusion over his identity was because the hood of his cloak was still covering his head and his voice was muffled by the cloth he had pulled up to protect his face from the elements Naruto decided that it would be best for the moment not to reveal exactly who he was.

"I am simply someone who benefited from her kindness and wish to say hello as I have been away from the village for awhile," replied Naruto as he kept up the ruse that he was in fact someone much older, though he did question why the female worker didn't find it suspicious that a person standing well under five feet was wishing to visit the matron.

"She better not be thinking I'm a midget," Naruto thought furiously.

Smiling the young woman led Naruto to a familiar door before leaving him to wait as she checked to see if the matron would desire to speak to a visitor. Coming back into the narrow corridor outside of the office the brown haired woman motioned for him to enter before shutting the door and going back to her duties.

Standing in the office that he had been a frequent visitor to back when he had lived within the orphanage Naruto looked to the occupant of the office who was busily finishing a memo. From what little he could see of the wording on the form Naruto thought he recognized it as one of the standard request forms for funding that the Hokage and council often reviewed. As the old woman behind the desk finished writing Naruto silently examined the changes that had occurred to the kindly matron since he had left nearly seven years ago.

The matrons' hair was a bit longer and had been gathered into a thick braid tied off with a light blue ribbon. The hair had started to move from gray to white, but from the determination evident in how the old woman moved her pen one would not be able to cite it as evidence that she had become senile. The spectacles on the bridge of her nose were different from those she had used when she had needed to read or write, Naruto would surmise that they were bifocals and were now required for any daily activity. A sturdy looking cane leaned against the desk and Naruto noted that the grip on the handle had yet to take on a worn look, indicating it was a relatively new addition and possibly only needed in certain situations. However, despite these observations Naruto could see little that would tell him that the old woman in front of him was any different from the one he had last seen bidding him farewell at Konoha's gates.

Seeming to have finished writing the kindly, old matron looked up from her efforts to regard him for the first time since he had entered the office. Glancing back at the form she had finished the matron put the piece of paper together with several others in a small folder before tying a small binding string that would keep the folder snugly closed.

Setting the folder off to the side the old woman spoke for the first time since Naruto had entered the office, "You told one of my workers that you wished to meet with me and so here you are. Would you mind telling me exactly who you are as I have helped many children and people over the years and sadly some of those memories are starting to blur together."

Letting a small laugh escape Naruto pulled his hood back and the cloth obscuring his face down as he spoke, "I would hope that I was somewhat unique when it came to the years I spent in your care matron-baba."

Hearing a small gasp as his sun kissed blond hair was revealed and his bright smile filled his whiskered face Naruto knew that the kind matron had recognized him. Before he could say anything more he was swept into a warm hug that took him back to memories of when he had just been little Uzumaki Naruto. Letting the hug break on its own accord Naruto felt himself being held in a firm grip as the matron looked him over with a careful eye, as if inspecting for every little change that had occurred since he had last been seen by her.

"Look how much you've grown Naru-chan," the matron cooed as Naruto felt his eye twitch slightly at being referred to by the cute little name the matron and several other female workers had coined for him.

Hearing the small giggle in her voice Naruto responded with his foxy grin, "Only you can get away with that name matron-baba."

Moving to sit back at her desk the matron giggled some more as Naruto moved to sit in the chair that was just in front of the large desk. It was the same one that he remembered sitting in many a time, but now his feet no longer dangled as he let himself get comfortable.

"While it does bring back fond memories I think Naruto-kun is far more appropriate now," the old woman spoke. "I hadn't heard anything of how you were doing with Jinjiro-sama so I am a bit surprised to see you here, are you in Konoha for long or is this just a short visit?"

Shifting uncomfortably in his chair as the question was put to him, Naruto answered quietly, "Hijiji passed away a few days ago."

"I am so sorry to hear that," the matron began as she started to rise to move around to comfort the young blond sitting before her.

"Thank you for your condolences," replied Naruto as he waved off the need for the matron to comfort him. "It has been difficult, but I am starting to accept it and move on as prescribed by clan tradition."

The slight lie in those words caught Naruto as he doubted he would ever be beyond the small amount of grief that still remained with him after the small funeral that had been held only the other day. One could also see that the matron wasn't convinced by the statement, but pressing the issue would hardly be helpful.

"What will you do now then Naruto-kun," the kind matron asked with the silent hope that Naruto was going to be alright.

Letting a small smile mask his warring emotions Naruto began to give a brief outline of the plan that had been concocted with the help and approval of the Sandaime. As he told his plan to the matron Naruto noticed that the old woman's eyes had widened in surprise at how much he had truly grown since leaving Konoha.

"And so I'll use my old name to enter the Academy so I can become a genin," Naruto finished as the matron took on a thoughtful posture.

"You've always been a cunning boy, even when you were only five, with how you constantly escaped to go exploring. But this plan borders on being reckless Naruto," voiced a concerned matron. "I'm surprised that Hokage-sama has even agreed to it."

Shrugging in a slight dismissive manner Naruto began answered, "I didn't really give him a choice as if he had pressed the issue I could have used the clause in the Shugorei charter to leave Konoha completely, though I think he knows I have no other place to go and is just humoring me for the moment."

Seeing the small cocksure grin that was forming on Naruto's face the matron easily recognized that the boy in front of her was planning to push the limit of the agreement he had made with the Sandaime. Naruto had always shown that foxy little smirk whenever he thought he could get away with something.

"I know that look Naruto-kun," the matron guardedly spoke. "Be careful, you have grown and have learned much, but you still like to leap before you look. The world you are going to be entering will be very unforgiving if you should make a mistake, it's not a game."

Naruto nodded as he understood this point better than she knew as it had been reinforced with his little meeting with Danzou. He had debated telling the Hokage about it so the old man could counter any threat posed by Danzou, but the fact that Danzou seemed to be able to operate without the Hokage's knowledge told Naruto that right now he had best keep the information to himself for the time being. Until he could be sure of how Danzou operated and got his information Naruto couldn't risk going to the Hokage unless things got incredibly bad. Telling the matron would also be far too dangerous as the old woman had no real protection from any threat Danzou or his allies could pose.

Deciding to try and steer the conversation away from this topic Naruto asked, "How have things been doing here at the orphanage since I've been gone? Too quiet for you?"

"Hardly," the elderly woman chuckled lightly. "While you were a challenge unto yourself the other children can be just as rambunctious, though they don't get into as many difficult spots or cause as many events as you did."

"That incident with the flowers was simply because I wanted to make you some cookies. How was I supposed to know that it was flour that you used and not flowers," defended Naruto as a spot of mirth entered his voice. "And many of those events were not my fault entirely; there were circumstances beyond my control."

Laughing at the attempt by the young blond to defend many of the hilarious accidents that he had taken part in when he was younger the matron felt a twinge as she recalled how at the time she had been terrified for Naruto's sake. The boy had acted like any other child at that age, but there were many who would have used the events to try and take him from the orphanage.

"It's good to hear you are doing well, but I can tell you're trying to hide something from me," Naruto quietly stated. "Does it have to do with you filling out that funding request form? The council decides budgetary matters at the start of the new year and it's a bit early for you to be putting in your planned spending for the next year."

Wearing a false smile the matron responded, "I don't know what you are talking about. I was just doing a preliminary tally of funds needed for…."

The solid gaze Naruto leveled at the kind matron and his calm, but firm tone cut her attempt at lying short as he said, "Jinjiro-hijiji taught me well so that I would be prepared for things when the time came for me to take over the clan. Now what's going on?"

Slumping slightly in her chair the matron looked like a defeated woman as she explained, "Even though the village is experiencing great prosperity right now we haven't seen an increase in our budget for the orphanage, much of it is being diverted to help the merchants and business owners expand so that more goods and services may be offered. I've tried to lobby the council for more funds as the building is old and many things are simply falling apart. On top of that we still have to care for all of the children who live here. The Sandaime has tried to help by moving emergency funds to us and letting many of the orphans attend the academy or the schools for free through subsidies. The large donation Jinjiro-sama made before you left has been rationed to keep things functioning for the time being, but its almost completely gone. Everyday things get a little worse, many of the staff and I are using our own pay to get some of the things the children need, but it isn't enough.

Seeing the kind old woman who had been like a grandmother to him nearly in tears Naruto moved quickly to take her hands to try and comfort her.

"Several members on the council have been advocating plans to deal with the situation, but few of them are in the best interest of the orphanage and the children," the matron nearly whispered as despair seemed to take hold of her. "One of the plans even calls for the best and brightest of the children to be taken and put into some type of secret shinobi training course. Hokage-sama has been able to use his influence and his coalition on the council to stop the measure, but I'm afraid if things don't get better soon the bill may pass and the council will eventually override the veto power of the Hokage."

"Secret shinobi training program, that sounds too familiar to the 'Ne' program," Naruto thought angrily. "It seems Danzou has been busy trying to get his little shadow organization to be legitimate once again. I'd bet my life that this is one of the matters he wants Shugorei support on, especially since hijiji helped form 'Ne' all those years ago."

Naruto sat for a moment not entirely listening to the kind matron as she explained several other plans that had been proposed within the council that would divert some funding and others that were calling for the orphanage to be broken up into smaller facilities. Only hearing bits and pieces of the plans Naruto's mind was frantically searching for what he could do.

"Hmm, I need to research why Jinjiro-hijiji helped to form the 'Ne' program if I want to try and halt Danzou on this, but breaking with the man could have some serious repercussions," contemplated Naruto. "I need to make sure that I have my back covered as Danzou is sure to come calling to find out why I am not supporting a renewed 'Ne' program. The next council meeting is in a few days so I need to work fast, but first I need to do something to slow down the vultures from picking away at the orphanage so quickly."

"It's a good thing you have friends in high places then," Naruto said with a large grin as he rubbed the weathered hands of the woman who had taken care of him and many other children. "I can use the Shugorei seat on the council to try and get you the funding you need as well as to try and stop any plans that are detrimental to the orphanage. As for the financial situation right now I think hijiji can make another donation to the orphanage that should at least keep it afloat long enough for the political battle to be won."

"You can't do that Naruto," the old woman began to protest. "The Shugorei assets are…."

"Mine to do with as I wish," interrupted Naruto with a reassuring smile. "I am making this donation not just because you need it, but because you and this place took care of me and others when we would have been left in the gutter with nothing. You and this facility put me into a position where I can help, so let me do this. I'm not going to squander all that you did for me by ignoring a problem that I can clearly make a difference in."

"But if you get caught you could face charges of fraud," the old matron argued anyways despite Naruto's resolute facial expression. "With the way that many on the council view you things could turn out very badly if they can get even that little charge against you."

Giving the matron another smile Naruto began to rummage in his cloak as he spoke, "Let me worry about that, besides I plan on making a lot more friends on the council besides the Sandaime."

Pulling forth a small black book Naruto grabbed a pen from the matron's desk and began to write as the matron sighed and said, "There's no way I can talk you out of this you're still as stubborn as you were when I would tell you it was time for bed and you wanted to stay up to hear stories with the older children."

"Just like old times," Naruto laughed as he ran through a few handseals before putting his fingers to the page he had been writing frantically on.

Letting chakra flow through his fingers Naruto affixed the Shugorei seal upon an official clan voucher that would allow the matron to have the funds that he had outlined on the paper. Finishing his work the young blond tore the page out and presented it to the matron.

"Thank you Naruto-kun you don't know how grateful we…," the kind, old woman began before stuttering to a halt as she looked at the check that had been presented to her.

"I hope that will be enough to keep things going until I can get the council to divert funds to you," the whiskered Shugorei Lord smiled as he stood up.

Staring at the young boy she had changed diapers for the matron suddenly exclaimed, "This is too much Naruto, this is almost equal to a quarter of what the entire yearly budget is! You can't give us this much it would bankrupt…."

"It will not even dent the Shugorei fortunes so don't worry about me," interrupted Naruto once again with a smile.

Moving around her desk the matron wrapped Naruto in a hug as she let small tears of joy fall down her cheeks and began to thank him. At that point the old woman had no doubt in her mind that the little boy she had helped raise would shake up Konoha the way no one else ever had.

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The dismal weather that had been plaguing Konohagakure for just over a week was finally beginning to break. The day wasn't perfect as the temperature was still lower than normal due to the cooling effect of all the rain that had fallen, but at least the sun was out now and wispy, white clouds had replaced the gray overcast sky that had blanketed Konoha. Despite the change in weather one person in particular was not enjoying the day as much as others.

"Yeeow!" one Uzumaki Naruto yelled out as he was hit by a backlash of chakra. "Son of a bitch!"

"Statement: You should try and be more careful when you work master. I do not think randomly hurting yourself is productive," HK-47 said as Naruto shook his numb hands while clenching and unclenching them to make sure they still worked.

Naruto glared at the rust colored guardian as he continued to examine his hands to make sure he hadn't actually damaged them permanently. He had received the parts and materials that had been ordered yesterday, though of course they had not been delivered directly to the ruins as that would've been a foolish breach of security. Instead Naruto had picked up his orders through the liberal usage of his clones and had already installed the parts to replace his cobbled together repairs. With many spares to make sure he wouldn't have to deal with the situation for quite a number of years Naruto had gotten the subterranean facility running at full capacity. While the generators whirred and filled the many reserve batteries Naruto had created a number of Kage Bunshin to begin the tedious process of cleaning the entire complex and exploring every inch of space. During this time the original whiskered blond had decided to start repairing the security functions of the ruined compound.

Moving through the ruined buildings and overgrown landscape Naruto had found many ruined seals that were limiting the range and capacity of HK-47 to function and carryout his security duties. Repairing the seals had become a priority when Naruto realized that having HK at full power would mean he could easily defend the compound should Danzou or anyone else come about uninvited. However, the process of redoing the security seals was both a long and painful process as this was the ninth time he had hurt himself after having already redone nearly twenty seals with close to thirty more to redo. He had been working since mid-morning and would clearly be working into the evening as it was already mid-afternoon, hopefully he would be able to speed up the process as he became more adept at the repairs. Focusing back on the seal he had been working on Naruto began to channel chakra and work the seal to connect it back to the established network of over a hundred security seals.

"Oww!" Naruto yelped once again in pain as he finished the seal and got a small shock as a confirmation that it had connected fully to the security network.

"Adamant Plea: Please master, I need these seals master. Do not destroy them out of frustration," the rust colored HK implored as he watched Naruto furiously kick the large, cracked boulder that this particular seal had been placed on.

Letting another glare blaze at the reddish-orange guardian Naruto grumbled to himself. The slightly psychotic guardian of the Shugorei compound had been less than helpful as Naruto had repaired the security seals. Once too often HK had let a few sarcastic remarks slip out for a frustrated and humorless Naruto to hear. Needless to say the lone Shugorei was becoming quite fed up with the sentinel and had contemplated finding the main seal buried within the underground facility and destroying it just to have a few moments of peace as he tried to affect his repairs. Only knowing that repairing the ungodly complex seal would be nearly impossible and consume far too much time and effort, not to mention he would probably hurt himself numerous times during the process, had stayed Naruto from carrying out the idea every time he thought of it. However, that didn't mean he couldn't punish the rust colored sentry a bit as Naruto pushed a concentrated beam of chakra into part of the seal.

"Aaugh! What are you doing master? Please stop, remove the chakra! Remove the chakra! Medic!" HK wailed slightly as Naruto's chakra weaved through the seal in a way that caused a large disruption in HK's form.

"If I didn't need you so much I would dismantle you," growled Naruto as he cut the small Shugorei technique regarding the workings of the seals that he had read about in the archive earlier.

Almost panting as he reformed HK responded, "Observation: You are a very harsh master, master…I like you."

Letting his head droop as he sighed Naruto thought, "I try to discipline him and he takes it like I am rewarding him, he's not only psychotic but also masochistic."

While silently bemoaning the situation he now found himself Naruto picked up the small scroll that he had written notes on repairing the security seals in. Pocketing the scroll he began to move into the forest that surrounded the Shugorei compound to find the next seal that he had mentally mapped out earlier while exploring. Moving between the large trees and through the brush Naruto was followed by HK who needed this particular seal so as to be able to monitor this section of the perimeter.

Finding the seal within the stump of a fallen oak Naruto sat down and began to run a diagnostic to see what was exactly wrong with this particular seal. One of the greatest problems that Naruto had encountered was that not every seal was damaged in the same way. Some were partially disrupted, others were just turned off because of the override command that had shut the seal down to avoid damage when it had been hit by the demonic chakra of the Kyuubi no Youko, and a few seals had simply been destroyed and needed to be rebuilt completely. That last category was by far the easiest to deal with for Naruto as rebuilding a few of the seals had shown that he was less likely to be hurt by fluctuations from the seal network connecting to the new seal, though it did mean he had to spend a greater amount of time working on it when compared to the others.

Finishing his diagnostic Naruto found that this particular seal was the second easiest category of the seal, simply being turned off and only requiring that the override command be reset. Grinning, Naruto knew that this meant he wouldn't have to spend a great deal of time on this seal, though there was a chance that he would get a shock when he pushed his chakra into the seal to reset it. Preparing to do so Naruto began to run through a few handseals before suddenly cutting his chakra and raising his head to glance about the wooded area he now sat in.

"Cautionary: It would appear we are being observed by a small group of meatbags that have surrounded us," HK stated quietly before letting a hint of glee filter into his voice. "Statement: Charging weaponry and awaiting your command master."

Standing up and deciding that just allowing HK to kill whoever was observing would probably cause more problems than it was worth Naruto called out, "I know you're out there so why not do us all a favor and show yourself before things get nasty!"

Highly expecting to get a kunai or jutsu in response Naruto was surprised when he heard the rustling of the underbrush around him. Standing ready to attack or defend Naruto was preparing to let HK loose upon the intruders when suddenly a small form came out from underneath a bush just in front of the young Lord Shugorei.

Staring at the intruder Naruto was shocked to see an orange fox with black markings on its feet and the tips of its tail and ears emerge to sit before him. Even odder was the way that the animal had moved. The moderately sized fox had approached holding itself in a way that showed it was nervous and looked to be almost acting in deference to Naruto.

Moving his hand from the pommel of the katana on his back to scratch his head Naruto wondered out loud, "A fox? Well this is a bit odd and here I was expecting assassins or at least an angry villager."

"Observation: The furry meatbag is not alone master, I count a number of similar presences still surrounding us," HK informed Naruto before almost cheerfully asking, "Query: May I terminate them master?"

"They're just foxes HK, other than the one that's currently jailed within me I don't think we have much to worry about," Naruto answered calmly as he tried to ignore the psychotic sentry. "Seeing as they're just regular foxes, no you may not terminate them."

"Resignation: Very well master, but promise me I will get to terminate a meatbag sometime soon," a sullen HK-47 responded hopefully.

"Maybe in the future but for right now I need to figure out why this little guy and his buddies are here," a slightly disturbed Naruto responded hesitantly while looking at the fox that had yet to move from where it had stopped in front of him.

Cocking his head slightly Naruto wondered out loud, "It's not like I can just ask this fox what it wants or anything, so what do I do now?"

"Statement: I could always destroy…," HK began to speak before stopping as Naruto launched a hard glare in the direction of the orangey-red protector.

"What did I just say?" Naruto growled irritably. "I need an idea that doesn't involve termination of any sort right now."

Waiting to see if the rust colored sentinel would actually come up with anything, as HK's eyes were glowing and he had tilted his head to indicate he was thinking, Naruto was stunned to suddenly hear a series of barks and yips originate from in front of him. Turning his attention back to the fox Naruto looked at it again with curiosity as the fox let out another stream of yips, growls, whines, and barks.

Raising an eyebrow Naruto asked confusedly, "Did the fox just try talking to me, because for a few moments there I thought I recognized words coming from it."

"Statement: My audio sensors detected the furry meatbag's noises, but I do not detect anything close to words master," noted HK as it moved closer to Naruto. "I do recognize a pattern within the noises, but that is the extent to which I can detect any sign of language and I have access to the entire language index of the Shugorei archives master."

Naruto nodded in response knowing from his lessons with Jinjiro that the Shugorei had devoted a vast space in the archives to classifying and recording any and all languages that had been encountered throughout the clan's history. Having only glanced at the section Naruto still knew that the information within was extensive and included several languages that were considered dead.

"This is insane," thought Naruto as he actually contemplated trying to speak to the woodland creature.

Looking back to the small forest creature Naruto cocked an eyebrow and hesitantly asked, "Are you trying to talk to me?"

A single yip came in reply and strangely Naruto thought he registered a small 'hai' being assigned to the noise. Feeling slightly weird as it wasn't everyday that someone thought they could understand animals, unless they were going crazy and he silently prayed that wasn't the case for him, Naruto took a few deep breathes to try and calm himself.

"Okay, I think you are trying to communicate with me, but I am having difficulty understanding you," Naruto began to explain, feeling slightly odd that he was talking to the fox and even stranger when the small vulpine cocked its head as it seemed to listen to him. "Maybe if we could take this a little slower we can figure out what's going on."

Watching the fox almost nod Naruto felt himself wondering, "Am I going nuts or something? Who would I even go to see about something like this, any mention of me talking to foxes would immediately bring up the fact that I am the vessel for…."

Naruto's train of thought was interrupted as realization hit him, "The Kyuubi no Youko, that has to be why I can almost understand this fox."

Focusing on that for a moment Naruto internally debated, "It's not like I can simply go to the furball and ask him for help, he'd make some snide remark and then threaten to eat me like he did last time."

Hearing a new series of barks and yips Naruto was drawn from any further thoughts on the matter of how the Kyuubi could be impacting him in such a way. Listening carefully the whiskered blond noted that the chain of noises was coming a bit slower and he was able to understand a few things. Naruto clearly picked up on 'help', 'refuge', 'food', and 'Tono'.

As his mind tried to put things together Naruto became slightly worried at the word 'Tono' as he had clearly heard a tone of almost pious respect being associated with it when the fox had barked.

"I've go a bad feeling that 'Tono' might be in reference to me as this fox seems to almost be acting subservient to me," Naruto thought worriedly.

Swallowing slightly as his throat felt dry all of a sudden Naruto turned to HK and relayed what he had thought he had understood, hoping the guardian may have some insight into the matter.

"Statement: It would appear that the furry meatbag is mistaking you for the Kyuubi no Youko master. Most likely this is due to your chakra signature having a preeminent marking of the demon's chakra," supplied HK.

"But what would the local foxes want with me?" Naruto asked hoping that it wouldn't be anything sinister.

"Supposition: There is a ninety-eight percent probability that the miniature meatbag is part of the local fox population that is ruthlessly hunted by many within Konoha, doubtless he is requesting your assistance in some manner," offered the orange eyed guardian.

"And the other two percent?" Naruto questioned before thinking.

"Explanation: Two percent probability that the furry meatbag is simply looking for trouble and needs to be terminated, but that may be wishful thinking on my part master," HK answered promptly.

"Yeah…I'm going to go with the idea that he's asking for help," answered a slightly perturbed Naruto. "How bad is the hunting?"

Hearing a number of growls and yips from the fox Naruto concentrated to try and understand more of the feral language than he had before. Letting his mind focus Naruto thought he heard a broken sentence this time.

"They come…yip, yip, bark,…take…growl, whine…kits…whine…poison…bark, bark, yip…fur stripped…howl!"

Shaking his head slightly as the words were broken and confusing Naruto tried to piece together the meaning of the fox's statement.

"So the villagers, they hunt you and attack your young when they are vulnerable. They use poisons in your food supply and when they catch you they strip off your pelts. Is that what you are trying to tell me?" inquired Naruto in an attempt to understand the fox further.

Another short yip which Naruto had identified as a yes resounded from the orange and black fox as the creature seemed to eye him longingly.

"You want me to help you…um, protect you and stop the villagers, right?" Naruto questioned hesitantly as he wanted to make sure there were no mistakes in understanding each other.

"Hai!" yipped the fox almost joyfully as Naruto seemed to be gaining an understanding of the situation.

"I can understand the villagers being afraid because of Kyuubi, but to let it go for this long they must be insane," worried a frustrated Naruto. "Killing off the fox population would have serious consequences on the environment not to mention it would piss off Inari as foxes are his favored creatures."

Slumping back onto the stump with the seal he had planned on working upon Naruto found himself with a new problem to deal with, one he wasn't sure he really wanted as it could add to his own. Thinking hard Naruto tried to weigh the pros and cons of helping the fox.

"If I help him it could be very questionable and problematic when my heritage and status as Lord Shugorei are revealed," Naruto reflected. "On the other hand this fox really has no one else to go to and hijiji always said Shugorei have to be honorable, so I can't just ignore the problem and hope it goes away."

Feeling himself torn between wanting to look out for his own interests and wanting to do the right thing Naruto spotted the orange and black fox staring at him expectantly. Examining the creature Naruto noticed that the poor thing was thinner than he had initially suspected and its fur wasn't as full or as colorful as it should be for this time of year.

Sighing with his mind made up Naruto asked, "Are there others like you that need help?"

The fox let out a sharp bark and suddenly a rustling was heard about the underbrush as foxes appeared to surround Naruto.

Turning to regard all of them Naruto did a quick head count and examination of the creatures. In total there were probably ten or so adult foxes with maybe half as many juveniles and only a handful of kits. All of them had a lean look to them like the first fox did, though each had its own markings and distinct coloration to blend in with the surrounding forest.

"Bark, yip…this all…growl, yip, yip…left…whine, whine…forest." the fox that had first approached Naruto let out, breaking Naruto from his visual inspection of the small group.

"This is it?" questioned Naruto in surprise, as he had thought there would be more needing his help, until he realized what the fox had meant. "You mean this is the entire fox population in the forests of Konoha right now?"

"Hai," the fox let out a sullen yip that revealed its sorrow and fear, as well as the needs of its kind.

"This is insane, this is absolutely insane!" Naruto yelled as he began to curse the village. "The people of Konoha have almost been waging genocide against you and your kind!"

Cursing some more before calming down slightly, as it seemed to have startled the poor animals, Naruto began to regard the foxes again saying, "Alright here is what is going to happen. I will try and stop the hunting and until then you can live in the area of my compound."

Seeing the foxes didn't understand what he meant when he had mentioned his compound Naruto stood up before pointing to the stump and saying, "Do you see the markings on this stump? Similar markings are throughout this area, so long as you stay within the perimeter or close enough to it that you can escape here if needed you will fall under my protection."

Hearing a number of barks and yips in response Naruto got the feeling that he had been understood, though his ability to hear the foxes' feral language was being taxed as so many of them were clamoring loudly now. Trying to focus to understand Naruto's concentration was broken by HK.

"Cautionary: Doing this will put you in jeopardy of being revealed to the general populace master, something you have explained is detrimental at this point in time," HK warned with a faint hint of protest tainting his voice. "How can you offer to protect these tiny, furry meatbags and still hope to remain secretive?"

"Oh that's simple HK, I have you to do the protecting for me," grinned Naruto as he had finally found a solid use for the psychotic sentinel.

"Protest: I am meant to guard the Shugorei property and secrets master, not diminutive meatbags such as these," stated HK with a touch of venom.

"But if you don't protect them then Shugorei property will be damaged and secrets will be revealed," countered Naruto with a smirk. "Besides doing this will allow you to terminate and injure more meatbags and you want that don't you?"

Seeing the rust colored guardian having a moment of frustration as it seemed to internally debate the extra duty with its love of killing, Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit happy at having gotten a little revenge on the entity that had been annoying him throughout the day.

Having reached a conclusion HK spoke, "Statement: I have decided master that this duty will be a great opportunity for me to further demonstrate my skills to you."

Chuckling lightly as his argument had worked perfectly Naruto replied, "Just so long as none of these foxes are harmed on Shugorei lands you are allowed to deal with violators as you wish."

"Appreciation: Oh thank you for giving me the opportunity to waste some meatbags in your honor master," HK responded. "I will try to refrain from using tactics and methods that are illegal, though I can't make any promises master."

Feeling doubt and worry rising up within himself once again Naruto quickly asked, "What do you mean by illegal, you're simply fulfilling your directives as the guardian of the compound."

"Explanation: I was once warned by the Sandaime when he came to visit that terminating meatbags belonging to Konoha, given the circumstances of the termination and the method, could be termed 'very illegal' or 'slightly illegal'," HK supplied as he looked at Naruto.

"What's the difference?" asked Naruto as he regarded the psychotic sentry.

"About twenty years master," HK deadpanned.

Blinking a few times as he got the meaning of what HK had said, Naruto chuckled a little bit before responding, "Let's just make sure we're not at fault when the time comes."

"Observation: Of course master, I am a law-abiding guardian. Yes indeed, law abiding. That's me!" HK stated as his eyes seemed to pulse with mirth.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind the next time you request permission to terminate someone or something," Naruto stated with a small laugh at the rust colored guard's antics. "Alright then I need to get back to work or I'll be out here all night fixing these damn seals."

Giving a nod to the small group of foxes Naruto set back to work repairing the security seals with HK looking on and providing color commentary when the disturbed sentinel thought it was needed.

"Statement: That is not it master. No, that is not it either," HK stated smartly as Naruto let his chakra work within the seal.

As the foxes began to disperse to inspect and explore their new refuge they heard a small yelp and then curses coming from the area that they had left Naruto in.

"Gods damn it!" came a furious yell as a small chakra pulse was felt.

"Sigh: That is the power circuit master."

---

It had been only a day since Naruto had agreed to help the foxes of Konoha and two days since he had promised to make sure the Konoha Orphanage was preserved according to the matron's wishes. Currently the young Shugorei, under the name of Uzumaki Naruto was walking down the street to meet up with the Sandaime at the entrance to the Konoha Ninja Academy.

He hadn't even seen the building or met anyone who went there and already Naruto was beginning to loath the place despite the beautiful weather the day seemed to promise as the morning sun began to warm the day.

"There're so many other important things to do right now, but if I don't meet up with jiisan he's going to come looking for me and then there'll be hell to pay," Naruto silently bemoaned. "Why did I have to agree to actually attend, I'd rather be going to the council meeting that's scheduled to start later this morning than sit around with some stupid shinobi wannabees."

As he walked Naruto pulled at the new and uncomfortable clothes that he now wore. Naruto had taken Danzou's advice and had ditched his traditional, black Shugorei kimono in favor of some clothes he had ordered. However, having lived in kimonos and training robes for nearly the past seven years had made the transition back to regular clothes difficult.

On his feet Naruto wore the standard blue leather sandals that many of the villagers seemed to wear, though he grumbled about them not being as good as his wicker sandals and the split toed socks that he normally wore. Moving up from his feet a pair of orange pants caught the attention of nearly everyone that saw him. Naruto had decided that orange was his color as he had seen it in so many instances since having returned to Konoha. The color was loud and noticeable; Naruto thought it was the perfect way to thumb his nose at what the Academy represented as shinobi training.

Naruto's torso was an even more interesting sight. Predominantly Naruto wore a royal blue vest that had been zipped up so the collar touched just below his chin. The vest had been custom ordered as it had a durable steel mesh layered inside its cloth layers to give some protection should Naruto need it. Under the vest and poking out on his arms Naruto wore an orange shirt that had sleeves running down to stop and just about his elbows, though the material had been bunched slightly there because of the way the joint moved. Once again Naruto thought it was a perfect way to raise notice of himself and mock the standards that the Sandaime wanted him to conform to.

Hurrying his pace slightly so as not to be late Naruto's final accessories were also noticeable. Around his right leg he had strapped a kunai pouch which was fully loaded and at the small of his back he had a small supply pouch that held some shuriken as well as a few scrolls that had some necessities sealed into them. Naruto knew that almost none of the kids who would be attending classes would be carrying the standard shinobi weapons, but wearing them made him feel more comfortable as he hoped it would denote that he wasn't like these wannabees.

Two other items were being worn by Naruto and these were more important to him than anything else on his person. The first was the katana that he had been training with since Jinjiro had started his lessons in the Shugorei styles of fighting. The sword was in its customary position on his back with the handle peaking over his right shoulder for easy draw and use should the need arise. The other item that Naruto wore was a pair of bluish-green goggles on his forehead and these were considered even more important to him then his sword.

When Naruto had turned nine years old he and Jinjiro had been trekking through the wastelands of Wind Country and had to deal with the constant flying dust and sandstorms. Even though they had wrapped their cloaks about themselves to ward of the annoying and sometimes dangerous grit Naruto had been getting the stuff in his eyes constantly. Stopping in one of the trade centers stretched out across the various trade routes crossing Wind Country and connecting the Elemental Countries to the far off Western Lands, Jinjiro had purchased the pair of goggles as a present for Naruto. Considering that the old Shugorei often only got him presents that would further his training, such as scrolls or new weapons, Naruto had been ecstatic to receive the gift.

When the pair had returned to their home in Tea Country Naruto had carefully preserved the goggles in a sealing scroll until he had come to Konoha and move into the Shugorei compound. Even now the goggles fit and worked perfectly, but were far more valuable to Naruto for the memories they held then any other function they could perform. Wearing them now was a way for Naruto to keep his Shugorei heritage in mind while still following the Hokage's orders of hiding his abilities.

Finally reaching the small courtyard of the Konoha Ninja Academy Naruto spotted the Sandaime waiting next to a large tree that had a small swing hanging from its branches.

"Good morning jiisan," Naruto greeted with a smile as he tried to hide his annoyance for being forced to come to the place.

"Good morning Naruto," the old man returned as he glanced to the young Shugorei turned Uzumaki.

Looking over the whiskered boy's choice in attire the Hokage coughed slightly before saying, "Don't you think orange is a bit too noticeable Naruto? Not to mention that you won't require those weapons here as the Academy provides what you require for training purposes."

Giving a deceptive smile Naruto answered, "I like orange, besides you want me to hide who I am and there is no better way to do so than hiding in plain sight as hijiji always said. As for the weaponry, its mine and unless you don't want me attending I won't give it up."

Catching the small hint of steel in the voice of the young blond the Hokage argued, "While I can applaud you for using your brain to think of a clever solution to hide who you truly are I must insist that you seal away your weapons if you are going to enter this place."

"But why should I be forced to do that Hokage-jiji," inquired Naruto with a fake look of confusion to humor the man. "Many of the other students have access to jutsus and techniques that can be just as deadly, surely my wanting to use my own weapons follows the rules that allow them to learn skills that are outside the purview of the Academy?"

Seeing as this was one argument that he wasn't going to be able to win and that Naruto was playing for time to avoid having to actually enter the place the old Sandaime harrumphed before speaking, "Very well, but if one of your teachers takes them away don't come crying to me about it."

Watching a small predatory grin quickly form and then fade from Naruto's face the Hokage nervously thought, "Bad decision there Sarutobi, the boy is just like his parents and Jinjiro. Naruto's now simply waiting for an opportunity to create a little havoc and you just let him have circumstantial permission."

Fighting down his worry at what may occur the aging Hokage motioned for Naruto to join him as they entered the doorway and proceeded down the hallways of the Academy.

"Things are going to be interesting today," Naruto neutrally stated breaking the silence that had formed as the two walked together.

"And why would that be?" Sarutobi asked hesitantly as he hoped the boy wouldn't be planning on destroying the building simply to avoid continuing to come to classes. "I thought you didn't want to attend the Academy?"

"Oh I wasn't referring to that, I think you'll find a few things that are…different when you attend the Village Council meeting later," supplied Naruto enigmatically. "I've sent some orders to Ayeka and she should have received them this morning, just in time to make the Shugorei's position clear regarding a few things."

Stopping well short of the desired classroom that Naruto would be entering the Sandaime eyed the young boy at his side while sternly asking, "What have you done Naruto?"

"Smiling at his grandfather figure Naruto replied calmly, "I visited the matron the other day and needless to say I am a bit pissed about the funding issue that has arisen. The orphanage is receiving another donation from the Shugorei to keep it safe and secure while the political battles are waged, but I am not going to let the place be taken over by those who wish to only further their own desires."

Knowing that Shugorei support on the issue would help get things back to where they needed to be Sarutobi nodded firmly in understanding. Right now he was quite proud of Naruto for proving to be a good person besides trying to prove to be a good shinobi.

"You do know there are some people who aren't going to like what your support will cause?" 'The Professor' cautioned to see if Naruto would fold under the threat of strong opposition and repercussions.

Looking the old man in the eye Naruto answered without hesitation, "I may be young and playing from the shadows, but I will not back down on any issue that I feel needs to be addressed unless a better solution is presented that will satisfy my interests."

Smiling at the young boy Sarutobi commented, "You're a good boy Naruto; promise me you'll never lose that."

Blushing slightly in embarrassment from the praise Naruto hurried to catch up to the old Hokage, who had used the moment to make his way down the corridor to the doorway of the classroom that would be Naruto's for the year.

"There's no way to talk you out of this right now is there?" Naruto questioned hopefully. "I could be far more useful elsewhere than reviewing basics."

"Not a chance," the Hokage answered curtly as he rapped his left hand on the sliding door before pulling the door open and walking in.

Following behind somewhat dejectedly Naruto was greeted with the sight of a large amphitheater style classroom. Many young preteens like himself sat in the rows of connected desks that tiered one side of the room, though Naruto didn't pay them much heed as he was more interested in what was going on between the Hokage and two young chunin. Both were male and stood attentively before the Hokage as they exchanged pleasantries and a few small quips while Naruto noted their features.

The first one had a fully tanned skin and brown hair tied into a small, bushy topknot at the back of his head. The man wore his forehead protector proudly in the traditional spot and the blue cloth that held it complimented his light green chunin vest and blue shirt and pants. The man seemed to be getting along well with the Hokage and Naruto noticed that the man also had a large scar crossing the bridge of his nose when the man laughed at a joke made by the old man.

Shifting his gaze to the other instructor Naruto began to note the man's features. Just as tall as the first man this one had shoulder length silver colored hair that was left to hang loosely in a way that framed his face. The man had similar attire on as the first with a matching chunin vest and dark blue clothing, though he lacked the forehead protector that the first wore. Naruto assumed that the man probably had it customized in order to be worn distinctly at times that were far more important than simply teaching children.

While he examined the two instructors Naruto distinctly noticed that many of the wannabees that were seated in the classroom had stopped paying any attention to the situation. Many were conversing loudly amidst themselves about things that were far removed from what would normally be discussed in the classroom by the teachers and students. Others were leafing through books and magazines that ranged in topic from heroic tales of great shinobi to what Naruto thought he recognized as a small hentai manga that he had seen perverts reading during his travels. One boy was munching happily on potato chips while his neighbor looked as if he had put his pineapple head down to sleep. One loud boy was conversing with a small white puppy that sat on his head indicating to Naruto that the individual could possibly be of Clan Inuzuka. Next to the possible Inuzuka Naruto noted another boy who looked to be sitting quite still as if trying to ignore his loud neighbor. Looking more towards the stoic boy Naruto felt a sudden chill when he locked his gaze with the sunglasses that hid the eyes of the boy.

"It seems there are a few people actually paying attention right now," Naruto silently noted as he hardened his gaze and allowed his eyes to take in a few more students. "Besides the stoic mute, there's also a girl up in the third row. Hmm, from her eyes I would say she's a Hyuuga and since I don't see a seal or any bandages on her head I would guess she's from the Main Family as well…interesting. In addition to those two I also see that boy over to the side with the black hair in the shape of…wait is that a duck-butt?"

Before he could contemplate the odd hairdo on the boy who seemed to be sizing him up Naruto had his thoughts broken as the Hokage turned and began speaking to him.

"Naruto I would like you to meet your new chunin instructors," the old man began as he indicated the two men standing with him.

"Umino Iruka, but you can call me Iruka-sensei," the scarred instructor said with a smile.

"Touji Mizuki or Mizuki-sensei as that's what most of the other kids call me," said the silver haired instructor in a manner that was a failed attempt at acting cool.

Looking at both men Naruto lied with a small grin, "Uzumaki Naruto, a pleasure to meet you."

As his name hit the two chunin Naruto noticed that both men seemed to tense for a few moments. Iruka seemed to take things better as the man at least offered the normal pleasantries despite the small twitches that were noticeably running through him. However, it was Mizuki who ruined the pleasant introduction.

"Pardon me Naruto," the man nearly growled in a sickly sweet tone. "But you can't wear weapons in the class room I'll have to confiscate them from…."

As the man stretched out a hand to grab Naruto's sword, Naruto grinned slightly as his left hand shot out to grasp Mizuki's arm while his right hand grabbed his sword's hilt and loosened the blade from its scabbard.

"Warning, touch my sword and I'll remove your arm meatbag!" Naruto spoke loudly in an unforgiving voice as his eyes took on a predatory look promising to carry through on the threat.

That one little statement brought the entire classroom to a smashing halt as the students became silent and focused solely on the incident that was unfolding out before them. Iruka looked stunned by what was occurring, while Mizuki looked like he was ready to have kittens. The Hokage had one of the best reactions as the old man let his left hand come up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he mumbled out a small curse.

Smirking Naruto inwardly chuckled, "I can't believe I just said that…I've been hanging around HK a bit too much lately, though using meatbag seems to have really pissed Mizuki off. Oh look it seems he may actually try me right now."

Just as Naruto thought Mizuki attempted to pull back on his arm and reach with the other one towards the sword being grasped by the young blond. Letting his smirk grow Naruto was fully prepared to take away one of the arms when his fun was interrupted by the stern voice of the Hokage.

"Naruto let go of Mizuki and stop threatening people," the Hokage spoke as he let a hard glare hit Naruto. "And Mizuki, I have already given Naruto permission to carry his weapons, the boy has spent the last few years traveling away from Konoha and those weapons have become part of his life."

Seeing that the Hokage wasn't in a mood to be questioned Naruto did as he was ordered and watched Mizuki recompose himself and move to the other side of Iruka and the Hokage.

Iruka must have noticed that the students were intently watching the incident as he suddenly decided to take charge of the situation and redirect it so that class could proceed.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," the scarred man said. "Now would you like to introduce yourself a bit more properly to the class young man or should I do it?"

Catching the hint of mirthful annoyance in the man's voice Naruto turned to face the class and simply said, "Uzumaki Naruto."

Iruka seemed to blink for a few moments at Naruto's plain statement before continuing, "Do you have anything to add to that? Perhaps tell the class a bit about yourself?"

Controlling the twitch that would normally strike his eye when he became annoyed Naruto sighed as he knew with the Hokage present he wasn't going to get away with refusing to say anything further. Deciding to humor the situation Naruto thought for a moment before coming up with what he thought was a better introduction.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I have been traveling throughout the Elemental Countries these last few years and have returned to Konoha to register as one of its shinobi," stated Naruto with a small smile to hide his feelings of frustration and irritation. "I enjoy training, traveling, ramen, the color orange, and having fun."

Looking back to Iruka and the Hokage the young blond hoped that this introduction would be more sufficient to them and he would be allowed to end this silly little joke. Catching a nod from the old Hokage and a small smile Naruto focused on Iruka to see what would be required of him next.

"That's better Naruto, I hope you will enjoy your year here at the Academy and make many friends amongst your classmates," the scarred instructor stated before pointing to an empty seat amongst the students. "You can sit up there for today as I don't actually have the students sit in a particular order."

Giving an almost unnoticeable nod of acceptance Naruto moved to take the seat which he saw was next to the young female Hyuuga that he had noticed earlier.

As Naruto moved to take his seat the Hokage addressed the Iruka, "Well I am glad that everything is settled here as I have a council meeting to be getting to."

With a small poof the old man exited the room and Naruto was left to listen as Iruka turned to begin the day's lessons.

Listening half-heartedly Naruto caught the man talking about the basic jutsu of Kawarimi and sighed as he began to think in despair, "I can't believe I'm going to have to put up with this crap for the rest of the year. I'd rather be doing something even if it was simply getting shocked by those damn security seals again!"

---

The Konoha Village Council was, as most legislative bodies are, a hive of scum and villainy known by the moniker of politicians. Many knowledgeable individuals tried hard to stay as far away as humanly possible from the large building that housed the legislative branch of Konoha's government. However, many were required to attend the meetings of this body and almost to the person they cursed their luck for having to be there.

"Just another wonderful fucking meeting," an older woman clad in a ceremonial robe thought miserably as she took her seat before the day's meeting commenced.

The woman was old, in her early sixties, but she still had her auburn hair done up into a small bun held at the back of her head by two simple white sticks. She had aged very gracefully and only a few wrinkles and lines showed on her lightly tanned skin. No makeup was worn as the woman had never been a fan of the stuff and had let her natural beauty always speak for her when she was a young kunoichi; why stop a trend that worked was her thinking. Her robes were plain in design and cut, as they were colored in simple shades of red and black. However, here position on the council was easily conveyed by the fact that the robes had been tailored from fine silks.

Yes, Ayeka formed a fine picture as the steward for Clan Shugorei, though if she had been asked several years ago if she ever thought she would be placed in such a position she would have simply laughed it off and gone to enjoy herself and spend time with her grandchildren. However, she had been the wife to Oda, a devoted servant of Clan Shugorei and when Shugorei Jinjiro had appeared in person on her doorstep just under seven years ago she had found herself placed into this position of power and prestige.

Her husband had been a good shinobi and quite loyal to Clan Shugorei, particularly to Jinjiro as he had followed the man into battle on several occasions. When the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha, Oda, herself, and the rest of their family had been living on the other side of the village from the Shugorei compound and had survived the slaughter that had occurred. Ayeka never understood why Oda had relocated the entire family only a year and a half beforehand as he had only told her that he had been commanded to by Lord Tesshin himself. Part of Ayeka thought that it might have had to do with the fact that Oda had joined Shugorei Jinjiro on the unsanctioned mission that had turned into one of the greatest atrocities committed by Konoha ninja, but she had never been able to prove so despite the fact that Oda and his family were to be held blameless in the deal struck by Jinjiro and Tesshin. When she had opened her door several years ago and seen Shugorei Jinjiro before her Ayeka had immediately been filled with dread as the man was known for being vengeful and her family was one of the few links that Konoha still held to the fallen clan. All of the other surviving former servants had left Konoha after the Shugorei had been destroyed, but her family had stayed mainly because Oda had commanded it and the fact that they had too many ties to the village to simply up and leave.

Her fears had been mistaken when the reinstated Lord Shugorei had made her an offer to become the steward for the clan while he was away from Konoha on business. Truthfully she had wanted to say no, but part of her knew that the Shugorei Lord wouldn't take kindly to the rejection. Another part of her had accepted in the hope that Jinjiro would finally fulfill the old contract that Oda had bargained before he entered into the services of the Shugorei. Said contract extended to her and all of Oda's descendents the promise of one day being incorporated into Clan Shugorei as official members instead of as servants. While some of her children felt that the contract was a sham and were working hard to live their own lives, Ayeka faithfully carried out her duties as Lord Jinjiro's voice on the council.

Sitting quietly Ayeka thought about the new orders she had received from Jinjiro earlier that morning. Like all of his orders Jinjiro was straight to the point and had outlined his position in a way that left no room for any misinterpretation to occur.

"I'm not too surprised by his stance on the orphanage as he did make a large donation to them before he left after visiting me and from his explanation he has made another," Ayeka thought quietly as she watched the other members of the Village Council move about before taking their seats. "However, I'm not to sure on his other orders, but he is my Lord and I must do my duty in carrying out his commands."

Letting her thoughts drift away Ayeka refocused on the real world as the council session was called to order by the Sandaime Hokage. Listening to the small role call being taken the Shugorei Steward thought about the seat she now occupied.

Many people were not aware of exactly how complex the Konoha system of government truly was as it was probably the most democratic of any of the hidden village governments. While the Hokage was selected to rule for life, or until he appointed a successor that was approved by the council, and had nearly complete control over military matters he was still limited in his actions by the will of the village as expressed through the council. The legislative body could override any veto made by the Hokage by a two-thirds vote, yet on the flipside could vote the office emergency powers during a time of crisis so as to circumvent the representative institution.

Such events had occurred during all of the major conflicts Konoha had participated in as well as during and after the Kyuubi no Youko attacked. It was after the latter event that the Sandaime had used those extra powers to enact a law protecting one Uzumaki Naruto by limiting knowledge of the sealing of the demon and making any breach have severe consequences.

As the role got to her Ayeka silently raised her hand to indicate her presence as she looked at her fellow council members and thought about how the legislative body was organized as the entire branch was located in a building separate from the better known Hokage Tower.

The room that she now sat in was the main council chamber and was organized like a large circular amphitheater. Curving around one side of the room was a set of eight large tiers where the main council body sat. Each tier was organized differently as it represented a different group within Konoha and the lands that it controlled.

The first tier was the smallest, yet the most powerful of all eight. It was here that Ayeka herself sat as the tier was exclusively reserved for the powerful shinobi clans of Konoha. Sitting alongside her were Clan Heads and the representative stewards of the great clans. In this tier sat the Hyuuga Head, the Aburame Head, and the Uchiha Steward as well as others.

Moving up to the second tier one would find a slightly larger group made up of the Fire Daimyo's local vassal lords and their representatives along with people that Konoha deemed to be VIP's. The local lords controlled some of the lands surrounding Konoha, but were mainly there to act as the eyes and ears of the Daimyo who resided in the capital of the Fire Country. The VIP's were people who had earned the respect of Konoha and were either civilians or low ranked shinobi that had been granted special privileges.

The next group of the council actually occupied the third and fourth tiers. This group was far larger than the first two and was made up of the jounin, special jounin, ANBU Captains, and elected shinobi representatives. It was this group that voted for and primarily represented the entire military forces of Konohagakure.

Even larger than the shinobi group was the civilian representative group that occupied the fifth through sixth tiers. Made up completely of civilians the group represented the interests of the civilian populace both within Konoha and in the surrounding territory that fell under Konoha's jurisdiction. Some of the civilian representatives were elected to their positions following the districts that Konoha had divided itself and its territory into so as to adequately represent the civilians who provided goods and services such as trade, agriculture, and other fundamentals. Along with these elected civilians a group of appointed civilians sat. These men and women represented the seats reserved to the many different guilds that aided Konoha's economy.

The final two tiers, seven and eight, were considered to be open seats. These rows were setup so that any shinobi or civilian of Konoha could attend and voice his or her opinion on an issue. Unlike the other tiers these last two did not possess voting powers and were merely for the purpose of allowing issues and opinions be voiced from people who would normally not be heard in other governments.

Across the polished wood floor that had the large leaf symbol of Konohagakure inlaid in its surface was a set of pulpits that sat facing the tiered council. The center and largest pulpit was designated for the Hokage and his assistants. To the left was a more ornate pulpit that was vacant as it was only used when the Fire Daimyo actually came to Konoha and visited the council chambers. On the right of the Hokage's pulpit was a smaller pulpit that was also vacant as it had traditionally been the seat for the ANBU Commander which Konoha had still not replaced since the last one was lost to the Kyuubi. The final set of pulpits sat directly in front of the others in a long bench arrangement and was lower so as to not be a blockage. These pulpits were occupied by the senior most council members such as Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Danzou the former 'Ne' leader.

Breaking from her thoughts Ayeka heard the strong hammering of the gavel held by Homura as he called the meeting to order.

Waiting until the floor was opened Ayeka rose up from her seat as she was recognized by Koharu who was keeping track of the representatives and the rules of order.

"Fellow representatives," the Shugorei Steward began in a firm voice. "I bring you greetings from Lord Shugorei. He expresses his dismay at not being here in person once again, but has learned of several issues that face Konoha that he can't stay silent upon."

Seeing the Hokage eyeing her critically and hearing the other representatives remaining silent out of respect she continued, "It has come to his attention that this council has repeatedly squandered funds that would be best spent elsewhere for Konoha's benefit, he specifically cites the lack of funding that has been provided for the Konoha Orphanage which serves the village well in taking care of the children whom have suffered the tragedy of losing their families."

"This institution has long been a pillar of our village and provides more than just shelter, food, clothing, and basic services," Ayeka argued as her voice took on a hard tone to better convey her point. "The children who live within the orphanage are provided an even greater gift than these. The matron and her workers have striven to provide each child that enters and leaves their care with a sense of love and belonging which is desperately needed to ensure a healthy development for these young ones."

"Lord Shugorei implores the council to no longer turn a blind eye to the needs of this venerable institute," the Shugorei steward continued as she turned her gaze upon many of those who were seated behind her. "This council was designed with the sole purpose of governing Konoha by representing not only its majority, but by also protecting its minorities. While the children of this village may not yet be a constituency to many of you they are a group that we can not ignore without imperiling the village's future."

As she finished the plea she had been instructed to deliver by her lord and began to sit down, Ayeka heard the rustle of cloth and scrape of wood from behind her that signaled that another representative was rising to speak. Turning to face whomever it was she noted that the man standing up in the center of the fifth tier was a rotund individual that she knew quite well as he represented the construction and buildings guild of Konoha.

The large man's jowls quivered as he spoke, "While I respect your lord and applaud his concern over the needs of the orphans, I must remind you that there is no surplus in the budget to divert to the orphanage at this time. All funds are currently being used to support our economic growth and provide incentives for businesses to expand their operations. Such things are far more important than…."

"I doubt any of the orphans eat as well as you do guild master Bunzei, one may think that it is not simply the businesses that are expanding, but those who own them," Yamanaka Inoichi stated coming to Ayeka's aid. "You and others say that there are no funds to be had, but I and others have reviewed the budget and believe the economic stimulus package that you and the other merchants have implemented could be trimmed to provide the adequate funding needed."

Seeing Bunzei turning red as he took the first insult about his weight and then the second that he and his fellow merchants were stingy and greedy made Ayeka and a few other representatives chuckle lightly.

Before Bunzei could utter a response the attention was diverted to one of the vassal lords by the name of Daichi. Ayeka noted that the man looked like a rat dressed up in ornately designed robes.

"There is already a proposal before this council to settle the issue regarding the orphanage," Daichi began in a somewhat whiny tone. "Many of you agree with me that Konoha would be best served by having many of the children taken into the protective custody of a new shinobi training program. This would provide the orphanage with fewer children to take care of as well as a base for future manpower and…."

"Your proposed training program is a farce!" Ayeka angrily interrupted the rodent like man. "We all know that while you were the one who proposed it the program is really the product of Elder Danzou who already knows that he is disallowed by both mandates from the Hokage and this council to recreate his 'Ne' program."

This statement set the council ablaze as representatives leapt to their feet and began to argue over the issue of the orphanage, Danzou's involvement, and the 'Ne' program. Ayeka even detected a few voices calling her and her lord fools as Homura called for order and the council recomposed itself.

As the order returned Hyuuga Hiashi stood and was recognized to speak. This worried Ayeka as the Hyuuga Lord was a major power broker and could torpedo the entire argument and her lord's wishes. At the same time Hiashi was somewhat of an enigma as he often used the quiet resolve of the Hyuuga to avoid the major arguments that erupted in the council chambers.

"While you bring up a good argument to support the orphanage further Ayeka-san," the Hyuuga Head calmly spoke. "I do wonder why Lord Shugorei would instruct you to argue against a program that echoes one he helped to create decades ago. Perhaps you would be kind enough to enlighten us to his thinking?"

As Ayeka rose to address the Hyuuga she inwardly seethed. The man had worded himself in a way that did not display whether he was for or against her as well as putting it in a way that was forcing her to distinguish that it was in fact her lord and not herself that was decrying the attempt at recreating 'Ne'. Admitting so was treacherous as Jinjiro had never publicly denounced the organization after he left it to be run solely by Danzou.

"Jinjiro-sama has instructed me to reveal his reasons Hyuuga-sama," began Ayeka as she heard several gasps. "My lord believes that at the time of its creation and for some of the time it was active 'Ne' fulfilled its role as a clandestine group acting in Konoha's best interests. However, he believes that the induction of orphans, both from shinobi and civilian families, can no longer be morally justified as Konoha is not in the state of emergency that it was when 'Ne' was first created. That being said he has instructed me to inform you that he still supports the idea of a new 'Ne' program with a different base to draw candidates from."

"And what base does he suggest these candidates come from?" Tsubasa, the current steward of the fallen Uchiha Clan, asked snidely.

Giving the man a hard stare as she personally detested the man, who gave all stewards a bad name as he seemed to work for his own interests rather than fulfilling his duties, Ayeka responded smartly, "Jinjiro-sama suggests using the Academy graduates who pass the academy examination, but fail to earn a spot on a jounin led team."

As murmurs began to erupt from many council members, the ANBU Captain representing the Division of Counterintelligence and Clandestine Affairs rose to speak.

"And what is his logic regarding such a choice?" asked Usohakkenki Takara as she stood without the normal ANBU uniform hiding her features as she was too well known to care about remaining secretive.

Staring at her one time teammate Ayeka addressed the other old woman, "His logic is that these potential genin have already demonstrated skill enough to get through the Academy and simply require further refinement to become acceptable shinobi of Konoha. Jinjiro-sama regards sending them back to the Academy or dismissing them to civilian life as a waste of a potentially valuable resource. If placed into an adequate training program these young trainees could easily become a base for the ANBU to expand its manpower and operating abilities."

Sitting back down Ayeka heard a number of other representatives stand to debate the issue. The Shugorei Steward wasn't concerned with them really as the real clincher would be Danzou. Jinjiro had warned her that the man was clearly behind the attempt to reform 'Ne', something she already suspected, and that the second part of the Shugorei proposal to help the orphanage was to satisfy the powerful elder who had been a political ally at times for the clan. Watching said scarred man carefully Ayeka noted that he was keeping his features schooled in a calm mask of disinterest, that was until he decided to stand and be recognized to speak.

"While the debate here today has been a true testimony to the great governing process that we hold so dear," the deformed Elder began in a tone to placate the arguing membership. "I must agree with Lord Shugorei and his representative. While it is no secret that I hope to keep Konoha strong and prosperous, I agree that inducting orphans would be a morally ambiguous proposition. It is a far better solution to support the Konoha Orphanage fully and consider Shugorei-sama's proposal for failed genin."

As Danzou finished his statement and sat back down, Ayeka glanced to the various people in the council chambers. Most of the opposition that had occurred earlier seemed to have dissipated with Danzou's support thrown behind the Shugorei proposal. It seemed a majority of the council was ready to support the idea as well as the proposition for training failed genin. Only the Hokage seemed to be perturbed as the man had a frown on his face as he smoked his pipe.

Tabling a vote for the two propositions for a time after they had been fully developed into workable legislation Homura directed the council to examine several other bills and proposals.

Ayeka listened intently as members put forward plans. She voted for the expansion of the irrigation network for the farmers in Konoha's southern district that had been proposed by the local representative. When the vote came for a bill that would direct funding towards the redevelopment of the defunct Uchiha district she voted nay as she and many others knew that the Tsubasa was trying to buy up the land for himself by using his position inappropriately as the proposal was a clear conflict of interest.

"I should talk to a few other people and see if we can't get a proposal to replace him with someone who will actually force young Sasuke to take a hand in learning how to manage his assets," contemplated Ayeka as it was clear the young Uchiha was ignoring the actions of his current, greedy steward.

The meeting ran throughout the end of the morning and into the afternoon as the council members only broke from debate for a few short times of conferral and a single lunch hour. Finally a call came for any final proposals before the council would break for the day as it was already moving into the mid-afternoon and the membership had only had a few breaks for conferrals and lunch.

Preparing to rise to her feet to address the last order her lord had sent her Ayeka was halted as another member was given leave to speak.

"Fellow representatives," a young and newly elected civilian representative began. "It has come to my attention that a problem once thought gone from Konoha has made its return over the past few days. It has wormed its way back into our midst like a parasite and is now seeking to endanger our young shinobi."

Ayeka listened to the young man whom she didn't recognize as he had only been elected a month or two prior during the spring elections. However, she did hear many representatives mumbling the confusion she also felt as the man continued to vaguely describe an potential threat to Konoha.

Finally having enough of the riddles Akimichi Chouza stood asking in his deep voice, "Be clear, what exactly are you talking about?

The young representative faced turned to regard his fellows as he loudly said, "I speak of that blight upon our village known as Uzumaki Naruto!"

Many of the gathered council members began to growl and curse the young demon vessel as the representative began to rail against the boy.

"I discovered during one of our recesses today that he is actually being allowed to attend the Konoha Ninja Academy and is in the class preparing to graduate in the spring!" the new representative stated with repugnance in his voice. "We must stop the Fox from…."

The man was cut off as representatives began to yell and Homura banged the gavel in an effort to restore order to the chaotic room. Ayeka even noted that the Hokage had risen to his feet and was trading barbs with some of the older representatives in the fourth and fifth tiers.

Ayeka herself was sitting and thinking about the whole situation. Personally she had nothing against the boy and hadn't ever actually met him or even seen him. From what she understood he had disappeared from Konoha under the protective orders of the Sandaime who had refused to inform the council to the boy's whereabouts, even going so far as to risk being censured by the council for his uncooperative stance. Her lord had also not provided her with any orders regarding the boy and seemed to be letting her make her own decisions regarding the matter. However, before she could think further on the young, whiskered blond Ayeka was brought violently from her ruminations as a loud bang silenced the room.

Looking to see the source of the noise Ayeka saw that Danzou had stood and fired off a small burst of chakra into the space between the pulpits and the tiers. The burst had acted like a large firecracker and gained everyone's attention to the scarred Elder.

Using his good eye the stony faced man sent a harsh glare at the young representative that had broached the topic of Uzumaki Naruto.

"You would do well to remember that there is a law that prohibits the mentioning of certain aspects of Uzumaki's condition," Danzou growled as he let a bit of killing intent slip to show his resolve. "The boy wishes to serve Konoha as a shinobi and it is my understanding that Hokage-sama sent him traveling to learn some skills that he would have been barred from learning within Konoha do to some of you being prejudiced against the boy."

Standing tall from his own pulpit the Hokage followed up Danzou's remarks with a threatening, "Be very careful what you say next young one as it could seal your fate."

Ayeka watched as the young representative seemed to quake in his place as he drew the ire of two of the most powerful and respected shinobi present. She almost burst out laughing as the man stuttered out a withdrawal of his previous statements before sitting down while silently shaking.

As calm began to return to the room Homura once again called for any other issues to be presented and Ayeka quickly caught the eye of Koharu who recognized her right to speak.

Foregoing the pleasantries she had used to open up debate last time Ayeka began to speak, "It has come to the attention of the Shugorei that several farmers and granary officials have reported an increase in rodent populations and detrimental animal predation upon crops and stored food. They have reported an that there has been a marked increase in pests such as rats, mice, rabbits, and even gophers which have been causing them to lose a substantial amount of produce from both their fields and storage areas."

Hearing a few concerned whispers Ayeka readied herself to drop the bombshell that she had been commanded to introduce and do something about.

"It would appear that this increase in the pest population has come with the decrease of one of their most adaptive predators and I have confirmed this with a biologist from the University in the capital that the agricultural guild hired to investigate the problem," the Shugorei Steward announced as she pointed back to a bald, yet fit looking man sitting in the seventh tier with a large stack of notes and assorted documentation. "I would like to invite him to come down to the main floor so as to present his findings if it pleases the council."

"By all means," Koharu stated simply as she indicated that the man should stand before the council.

As the man descended the stairs that cut through the tiers to the floor Ayeka thanked whatever gods had been watching, especially Inari. When she had gotten her orders earlier she had little evidence and support to use to argue the order that had followed that of the orphanage dilemma. Honestly she was going to wait to raise the issue at the next proposal meeting next week, but during her lunch break she had gotten lucky.

While she had sat having lunch at one of the nearby cafes she had overheard a meeting being held at a table crowded by representatives of several of Konoha's farming districts, the local agricultural representative, and the Konoha's master of granaries. They had been arguing over the issue of presenting the findings of the biologist they had hired, worried that they would be dismissed for not having a member with the clout necessary to gain the attention of the more powerful representatives. Ayeka had interrupted their arguing and had offered to help if they could present her with the data and proof necessary so she didn't appear like a fool.

The small coalition had agreed as it wasn't everyday a powerful person such as the Shugorei Steward offered to help you out without demanding something substantial in return. Ayeka had listened intently to them and their specialist throughout lunch and had even picked up the bill much to the small groups' surprise. She had considered it the least she could do as she had almost been divinely given the tools needed to fulfill Lord Shugorei's orders.

Focusing back to the present Ayeka noted that the biologist had completed setting up his presentation and began to listen as he explained the situation.

"As Ayeka-sama was so kind to point out there has been a dramatic increase in rodent and pest populations over the last few years," the professor began as he shifted through a few tables to show how the populations had been holding stable only to explode over the last decade. "These little critters are having an incredibly detrimental effect on the agricultural production of several key farming districts, so much so that if the trend continues Konoha will face the need to buy excess grains, fruits, and vegetables from elsewhere in Fire Country or even from other countries as the trend looks to potentially hit other areas of the Land of Fire."

"So what is causing this?" an unknown councilwoman asked. "Ayeka-sama mentioned that it is because of the lack of a predator correct?

"That is correct," addressed the biologist. "The cause is the loss of a natural predator and that loss is occurring due to the near genocidal hunting that many Konoha shinobi and civilians have been carrying out against this predator."

Ayeka smiled slightly as the man explained while avoiding the word fox. She had warned him that if he didn't wait for the opportune moment to drop that bombshell he would be dismissed as many of the representatives would curse him out of the chamber.

"Which predator are you talking about?" a merchant representative asked.

Looking to the gathered representatives the specialist answered firmly, "I am referring to family Canidae tribe Vulpini, otherwise known as the fox."

As that last word escaped his mouth the chamber erupted as members began to yell and shout obscenities at the biologist and the representatives of the districts that had hired him. Thankfully order was restored by the Hokage who cracked down his hand to snap attention to himself.

"You must forgive many of those present," the Sandaime attempted to apologize to the bald man who seemed to suddenly be afraid for his life. "Foxes are generally a taboo subject here in Konoha."

"It is understandable given certain events, but your taboo is causing the destruction of the balance in the local environment," the professor of biology responded in an unyielding, yet hesitant tone.

Before another outburst could occur Aburame Shibi was recognized and began to speak, "Just how far out of balance is the system?"

Sighing, the biologist seemed thankful that someone was actually asking an intelligent question, "From my zoological survey I can honestly say that the local fox population is bordering upon extinction."

A few cheers tried to rise up but Homura's gavel quickly put an end to any celebration.

"Because of this extremely low level I am required by law to inform the Fire Daimyo of this case and recommend that he use his powers to enforce the animal conservation and protection laws that govern endangered species within the jurisdiction of the Land of Fire," the biologist stated resolutely.

"It has actually reached that point?" Shibi continued to question in surprise, as the Aburame were well known to be attuned to the natural world, valuing balance, logic, and order.

"Yes," the naturalist answered calmly. "I estimate that it reached that level a few years ago and the local population will barely be able to hold on for another few years unless action is taken."

As the man finished a number of representatives began to protest and applaud the hunting that had been carried out to try and exterminate any and all foxes. Once again it took Homura banging his gavel and the intervention of the Hokage to restore order. Rising to her feet once again Ayeka addressed the gathered council as order was restored.

"I have a strict decree from my Lord Shugorei regarding this matter," she strongly asserted. "Regardless of any actions taken by this council to stop the slaughter or to condone it, the Shugorei position will be condemnation of any further practices aimed at harming the local fox population until such a time that an independent zoological survey is presented confirming the populace has been stabilized at numbers that are acceptable by conservation and preservation law."

Ignoring the jeers and heckles coming from the gallery and some of the other representatives she continued, "Shugorei-sama has further decreed that any and all foxes residing within Shugorei lands are hereby protected as Shugorei property. Any and all attempts to damage or destroy said property will be seen as an attack upon Clan Shugorei itself and will be met with force of arms."

The room once again erupted into protests as many wondered how the elderly Shugorei Lord could make such a threat. Shugorei Jinjiro was now known for staying away from Konoha since his exile and had only returned once when he had been reinstated. While the man had been seen as a powerful shinobi and politician many of the younger council members did not respect or fear him do to his absence and advancing age.

As Koharu and Homura attempted to restore order Ayeka yelled out gaining everyone's attention, "I am to inform you that the automated security systems that protect the Shugorei compound and the Shugorei lands are once again fully functional and will automatically deal with anyone who attempts to test the resolve of Clan Shugorei."

As she sat back down Ayeka heard insults and even a few threats aimed towards her and her lord as many of the gathered people began to launch into shouts of outrage. Thankfully she had grown accustom to such verbal barbs and ignored them to see what the actual political players on the council would do.

Banging his fist back down to gain everyone's attention again the Hokage asked with a sour look to his face, "Ayeka-san, do you mean to say that the guardian of the Shugorei compound has been reactivated and is functioning under its primary protocols?"

Knowing that the Hokage was vaguely referring to one HK-47, whom Ayeka had always found to be an interesting creation while she had still lived and worked directly in the Shugorei compound, she answered without hesitation, "Yes Hokage-sama, Lord Shugorei has led me to believe just that."

"That's insane!" protested an angry Inuzuka Tsume. "How can you justify killing trespassers who simply want to put down a few mangy beasts?"

"Lord Shugorei believes these animals to be vital to the well being of the environment of Konoha and the country," remarked Ayeka coldly as she glared at Tsume. "If you or any of your flea bitten dogs decide to test the Shugorei security system you will end up just another meatbag that will need to be carted away after it is through with its task."

Intervening to avoid a potential fight between the Inuzuka matriarch and the Shugorei Steward the old Sandaime interrupted with, "While I do not approve of Jinjiro's methods or reasoning I can not find any fault with him or the Shugorei Clan as they are protected under their charter with Konohagakure, just as every clan is, in regards to defending their lands and property."

Staring at the irate Inuzuka and many other angry council members Sarutobi continued his speech, "Seeing as the Daimyo will be forced to enforce the mandatory requirements prescribed by law, I believe it is unnecessary to remind you and your constituents that as citizens of this country any violators of the protection act will be met with the full brunt of the prescribed punishment."

While many representatives were still grumbling and silently complaining, not a one dared to openly challenge the issue further. It was one thing to test the resolve of the Hokage, but to openly challenge the Fire Lord was tantamount to committing an act of treason.

The current ruler of the Land of Fire was an old samurai at heart and that explained much of his logic. While he had ruled for many years in peace not a single person could forget their history lessons which described in detail the terrible ruthlessness the man was known to exact upon those who were traitorous. Never had the Daimyo ever shown the smallest bit of leniency towards anyone who openly defied the laws of his country.

With the issue finally closed by the fact that any further debate would only lead to someone saying something almost treasonous, Koharu called the session to an end without making another call for new business. Ayeka actually smiled as she left the chamber because in truth she had never had as much fun representing Clan Shugorei as she just had during this last council session. The issues that she had been ordered to present had been heard and now it seemed that the Konoha Orphanage would get its funding while remaining protected just as the local fox population would be helped by the mandatory laws of the Fire Country.

"Yes, definitely far more fun than I've had since I took up this position," Ayeka thought with a proud smile.

---

As the afternoon moved to early evening one Uzumaki Naruto was found making his way along a forested path that led to the back end of the Shugorei compound. Having just left the Academy only a half hour ago he had decided to take the roundabout way as it would allow him to avoid meeting up with the villagers who undoubtedly had finally heard of his return. Currently the young blond was thanking his lucky stars for allowing him to finally get out of the Academy and avoid having to deal with any of the other students today.

After taking his seat in class Naruto had found himself nearly bored to tears as he listened to the two instructors ramble on about the three basic jutsus, Konoha's history, shinobi theory, and chakra makeup. It had taken an extreme amount of willpower not to fall asleep or try and knock himself unconscious to avoid the droning lectures that were being passed off as education.

One of the few high points for Naruto had been when he had skipped lunch to fill out a few forms that had been left by the Hokage regarding his attendance at the Academy. The task had been a welcome relief from the boring morning lectures and the lunch period where Naruto knew he would be mobbed with questions from the other students if he had stayed in the classroom to eat. Thankfully Iruka had allowed him to use the small office reserved for the scarred chunin to fill out the forms in peace. Naruto had been needlessly meticulous in his task, mainly to avoid finishing to quickly and being forced to return to interact with the other students.

"Foolish wannabees," Naruto thought in annoyance as he regarded his classmates poorly due to his witnessing what their shinobi education consisted of as well as their few actual skills.

After squandering his lunch hour Naruto, along with the rest of the class had been led by Iruka and Mizuki to a small training are to cover some basic skills. Once again Naruto had to force himself from screaming in frustration as he watched the other students try in vain to demonstrate the simple art of throwing kunai and shuriken.

Many of the students were just plain terrible at the skills as they hit on average three or four times out of ten. To hit anything below eighty percent when the targets were stationary, only thirty yards away, and not actually trying to kill you was to Naruto's mind an example of just how pitiful the Konoha Ninja Academy was in training students. During his own turns he had aced the entire thing and had earned surprised praise from many of those in attendance.

Despite his frustrated observation Naruto had noted that there were just over a dozen or so students that hit seventy percent or higher in both the kunai and shuriken throwing. These students, Naruto noted, were mainly members of well established ninja families and clans. A few exceptions seemed to exist as one pink haired girl had hit sixty percent of her shuriken and seventy percent of her kunai almost every time she got up to the throwing line and a lazy boy who had been identified as a Nara only hit fifty percent with both as if the act was too much trouble to be concerned with.

After the basic throwing skills had been practiced Naruto and the others had been tested on their usage of Henge and Kawarimi. Once again it had been almost painful to watch for Naruto, though he did note that the same set of students who had done well in the previous skill clearly dominated the basic jutsu tests.

The boy that Naruto had noted earlier with the black hair in an awkward shape that had made him think of water fowl had been at the top of every test and demonstration. Naruto had found out quite quickly from the roster sheet and the small group of girls that cheered the boy that he was none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

Personally Naruto had found the boy to be somewhat more interesting than what he had expected having read only a small brief on the sole Uchiha member. The other boy had shown a quiet aloofness that bordered on coldness as he rarely talked and tried hard to avoid his fans. Naruto respected that as he himself was trying to avoid interacting with others too much. However, what had set the hidden Shugorei member off about Sasuke was the fact that while the boy attempted to give the 'cold-shoulder' to everyone, he seemed to drink in the praise that was being heaped upon him as the apparent best in the class. These observations made Naruto consider the other boy to be what Jinjiro-hijiji had always termed as 'a prick'.

After class had broken up for the day when mid-afternoon rolled around Naruto had found himself still tied to the place. While he had been attempting to depart quickly and quietly to avoid the other students, who were starting to gather in their cliques and circles, Naruto had once again been snagged by Iruka to fill out more forms in the chunin's office.

While this had given Naruto an excuse to avoid the other students, who were preparing to go off together in their usual after-school rituals, it had meant another few hours spent confined to the building in order to properly register. However, as he had been finishing the last few forms Naruto had received an unexpected visit from an ANBU member who dropped off a small scroll from the Hokage.

Just thinking about the contents of that scroll caused Naruto to laugh a bit as he made his way down the path to his home.

The Hokage had sent him a brief message that had conveyed the old man's mixed feelings of what had occurred at the day's council meeting due to the prompting of the Shugorei Steward who was unknowingly following Naruto's orders. The words had shown the old man's pride in Naruto for apparently convincing the council to support the orphanage fully. However, the scroll had also displayed the Hokage's annoyance at the provisions that had been included about the local fox population, though Naruto suspected from the wording that the Sandaime was more miffed about the decrees that had been made about the Shugorei security system. The message had been ended with a small promise that the two would meet sometime later to have a small chat about things.

Continuing to laugh lightly as he neared the perimeter of the Shugorei compound Naruto amusingly thought, "If Hokage-jiji wants to display his annoyance at my political meddling I'll be sure to let him know my annoyance at being forced to be included with those idiotic shinobi wannabees."

Finding the idea of causing further annoyance to the old man and Konoha in general to alleviate his boredom interesting, Naruto almost missed the four shadows that were moving independent of those produced by the surrounding forest.

Falling into a defensive position incase the shadows proved to be hostile Naruto glanced over his shoulder to spy one of the security seals that dotted the perimeter. As the shadows moved to surround him a small pulse of orangey chakra announced the arrival of HK just as the system was designed.

"Warning: You have entered the grounds of Clan Shugorei. Remove yourself swiftly or I will terminate your pathetic meatbag selves," the rust colored guardian threatened as it moved to cover Naruto and protect the young Shugorei from harm. "Gleeful Request: Please make a wrong move meatbags so that I may indulge in ceasing your illogical existence."

Swiveling his head HK's eyes seemed to pulse like tiny fires as he prepared to terminate the intruders by lifting his arms and charging them with chakra. Naruto let a smirk cross his face as he had previously seen a demonstration of HK's abilities shortly after having moved into the hidden facility of the compound.

HK was a unique security system for many reasons. Primarily this was because he was sentient and could make decisions on his own in reference to his base orders. On top of that was the fact that as a solid chakra construct HK could attack targets using both physical and chakra based attacks. HK's primary mode of termination was to use the chakra based weapon systems in his arms that could launch several Shugorei jutsus as well as streams of fire, freezing ice, and a bolt of electricity. If those skills didn't work or were too noticeable for the task at hand HK would use his brute strength and sturdy metallic limbs to bash, snap, break, twist, and/or stomp his opponents in the effort to terminate them. Naruto had also noted in one of the scrolls describing HK that before their destruction the Shugorei had been attempting to develop accessory weapons for the compound guardian that would actually shoot bolts of pure chakra, unfortunately all of the attempts had failed for varying reasons.

Readying himself next to the slightly psychotic HK, Naruto prepared to draw his katana or shoot off a few jutsu if the intruding shadows decided to test HK's resolve. Shifting his weight Naruto noticed his metallic guardian preparing to attack when a familiar figure appeared before the duo.

"Do you always greet friends in such a way Naruto-kun," Danzou stated glibly as he hobbled towards the young Shugorei under the guise of Uzumaki.

Sending a hard stare at the crippled man Naruto replied calmly, "When they come with armed shinobi unexpectedly I do."

Smiling towards the boy as he stopped a few yards away Danzou neutrally said, "These men are simply acting as my bodyguards, one needs to be careful considering your rusty companion there."

"Statement: One word from my master and I will terminate you and all of your fellow meatbags, so tread carefully scarred one," HK interjected as he had yet to move from his preparations for combat.

"If I knew you wouldn't rely upon such a security system as that monstrosity I wouldn't have felt the need to bring my men," spoke a clearly annoyed Danzou as the former 'Ne' leader eyed HK with disdain. "One could argue that your use of him is cheating when compared to the flesh and blood guardians the rest of us are forced to use."

"Statement: Cheating is a relevant term foolish meatbag as it only applies when one is caught," the rusty orange sentinel said as he traded barbs with the scarred man. "Otherwise it would be viewed as intelligence, no?"

"He does have a point there, as shinobi the concept of cheating is a gray area to us," Naruto interrupted Danzou as the young Shugorei wanted to stop the verbal sparring before it escalated further. "Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain to me why you are here Danzou-san."

Focusing back onto Naruto, the Konoha Elder answered, "I came to congratulate you on your political successes this morning Naruto-kun."

"You were able to save your little orphans while still providing me with the support I need to reconstitute 'Ne'," Danzou stated as a small grin appeared on his scarred face. "Your little maneuver of suggesting the failed genin nominees was a stroke of genius as Konoha loses time, money, and resources by letting them return to the Academy or simply become civilians."

"I'm glad that you approve Danzou-san," said Naruto plainly. "However, it will still be difficult to get the proposition passed as the Hokage will be against the idea."

"There are ways around that problem Naruto-kun," the old man replied darkly. "Hokage-sama isn't as strong on the issue as he thinks and I can assure you that when the time comes he will find it hard to stop the implementation of your suggestion."

Naruto nodded while keeping his face neutral in response to the scarred man's boast. Personally the young Shugorei was unsure about if he actually supported the idea. Originally he had come up with it in the hopes of not only placating Danzou, who seemed to have been behind the idea of taking some of the orphans to recreate 'Ne', but also as an alternative for himself should he decide to simply skip the academy, but still pass the final exam to become a genin. Now that he saw the degree to which his suggestion had pleased the former 'Ne' leader, Naruto wasn't sure if he liked the idea of helping Danzou undermine the Hokage, who had always acted as his surrogate grandfather figure.

"While your first proposal was brilliant I will admit that your second left even me confused," Danzou plainly stated in regards to the issue of Konoha's foxes.

"What can I say, I'm a friend to the environment," sarcastically replied Naruto. "Not to mention that my steward won the Shugorei a great deal of political clout and support from the agricultural lobby and the environmentalists. I'm sure that will makeup for any inconvenience that may occur for you when dealing with the issue."

Chuckling Danzou used his good eye to examine Naruto while saying, "Oh you have earned more than just points with those groups. You probably haven't heard yet but it seems that your little political stunt coincided nicely with the research of a specialist brought in on the behalf of several key farming districts. The man found that population levels put the local foxes well into the endangered and near extinct categories, which means the Daimyo himself is going to get involved."

Caught slightly by surprise by that revelation Naruto hesitantly asked, "The Daimyo? Why would he need to get involved?"

Making a small clucking sound with his tongue Danzou explained, "Tsk, tsk Naruto-kun. The Daimyo is bound by law to intervene whenever a species of plant or animal native to the Land of Fire is threatened with extinction. His will on the matter is absolute and few of the fools on the council or in the capital would dare challenge him even on such a trivial matter as the local fox population."

Seeing Naruto slowly realizing the impact that this would have the disfigured man continued with a wicked chuckle, "That's right, because of your actions the Shugorei will most likely fall into the spotlight of the royal court. The Daimyo is always looking to thank people who work in his and the country's best interest. I doubt he will take kindly to Jinjiro's absence when the time comes, of course I am always available to render assistance to you…."

With that Danzou trailed off as he moved back into the shadows of the forest to leave Naruto to ponder the implications. The shadowed ninja that had accompanied him also disappearing and leaving the disguised Lord Shugorei and his clan's guardian to stand alone.

Worrying slightly Naruto knew he would definitely have to meet with the Sandaime now to avoid a disaster for as it stood he alone couldn't see a way out of this without paying whatever price Danzou would demand for assistance.

"If worse comes to worse I could always let HK run wild while I slit open my belly," Naruto thought with a macabre humor to deflect his anxiety.

"I highly doubt it will go that far young one."

Surprised by the gruff voice Naruto quickly refocused himself and spun to take in his surroundings to see who had addressed him. Seeing HK still on guard in case Danzou had left anyone behind to try something, Naruto felt odd that the rust colored guardian hadn't made a comment about the new intruder.

"Oh I'm no intruder boy…you should be grateful for that at least."

Suddenly feeling a new sense of worry grab hold of him Naruto furiously thought, "Whoever that is they're highly adept at remaining hidden, not even HK seems to be detecting them."

"Better than you could ever know…I wonder if you have what it takes to find me?"

"Show yourself coward!" Naruto yelled as he drew his katana to face his mysterious antagonist.

"I see you have a temper there, good you're going to need it."

Spinning to look in every direction as he grew frustrated with the owner of the voice Naruto became angrier when he heard nothing but the normal woodland sounds, his own anxious breathing, and HK who was moving next to him.

"Query: Is something wrong master?" HK asked in a puzzled tone. "Is there some meatbag you wish to be terminated?"

Angrily glaring at the reddish-orange sentry, Naruto growled, "I want whoever was mocking me just now found and brought back here so I can remove their head."

"Observation: I am confused master, are you referring to the scarred meatbag and his group…I would gladly tear them apart slowly for you master," HK gruesomely avowed.

"Not them, the person who was talking after they left," stated an angry Naruto who couldn't understand why HK didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Resignation: I am sorry master, but I have detected neither the presence of nor the audio signs of anyone else in the area since the crippled meatbag left," answered HK as he tilted his head to regard his master with what would have been an odd look had the guardian been human.

Growing worried that someone had been able to contact him without HK becoming aware, Naruto grew even more frustrated as he stood there and heard a soft, mocking laughter reminiscent of the voice slowly dieing away to leave him alone with the Shugorei guardian.

"Just you wait whoever you are. When I get a hold of you you'll know damn well the wrath my temper holds," Naruto silently vowed as he stomped his way home with HK following closely behind as to provide security should the voice reveal itself.

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AN: One more chapter done and countless more left to go. I had originally planned that his story would only take thirty chapters plus the prologue, but as I finish Chapter 5 I can now say that such a plan was overly optimistic. Each chapter is slightly different from my original outline as I have added details and development to make the story better and help it to progress. As it stands now I have no idea how many chapters this thing is actually going to be in length, which both excites and worries me. I have said it before that I will not abandon this fic until I have finished it so even if all of you out there stop reading I will continue to produce chapters, even if it's simply for my own enjoyment. I hope you enjoy this and the rest of the story.

Thanks,

Tyrchon
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