Opening one eye, Naruto realized that Kurama must have finished reinforcing his body, because he was awake… Ish. His body felt heavy, though, like he had just gotten done with a twenty-hour workout routine with Lee. What caught his attention first was the silence… Absolute silence. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto reached out subtly with Kurama's chakra, reaching out for his team, as well as Tsunami and Inari. It wasn't hard to find the later two, but the two others who were with them woke him up completely. Cursing under his breath for allowing himself to rest for so long, Naruto slid off the couch, blinking when the heaviness dissipated almost the moment his feat touched the ground. Kurama had done what he had promised, that was certain. Now for the important test… In a blur of orange with a small, yellow streak, and a surprised shout and the breaking of glass and the two samurai were out of the house, their weapons now resting on the table as Naruto turned to Inari with a grin.
"Still don't believe in heroes? Let me ask you something… Have you ever met one?" Inari shook his head, suddenly glaring at the blonde.
"Heroes don't exist!" With a scowl, Naruto retorted.
"Then what was your father?" Inari and Tsunami froze, staring at him. "If you keep thinking and talking like that you're just spitting on his grave with every breath you take. Keep it up and I'll punch him for you." He reached out, grabbing the two swords. Right now, they were a little too big… But what he noticed was how high quality the blades were. Gato had either paid for these or had stolen them, but that didn't matter. They were Naruto's now, though he probably wouldn't be using them for a few years. Strapping the swords onto his back, both hilts were over his left shoulder. Turning to look at Inari once more, he gave the boy a wide grin and a thumbs up, jumping out of the broken window just in time to place a kick into the chest of the taller, eyepatched samurai, sending him into the water. The shorter, bandana wearing samurai scrambled away, wanting nothing to do with this kid, or Gato for that matter anymore. Naruto shook his head as the man scrambled out of sight, the blonde doing several small stretches to test himself, and was not disappointed. Kurama had done exactly as he had said. Several parts of his body felt heavier than they had, but as he moved them, they felt fluid and flexible. Yep, this would do, at least until the chunin exams. He'd have to deal with Orochimaru eventually.
On the bridge things were… Oh who was he thinking? They were the same, nearly. Haku's mirrors looked a little worse than they had the first time around, and Sakura was standing behind Kakashi rather than by Tazuna… Who was hiding behind an earthen dome? When did… Judging from the appearance, it was Sakura's handy work, it was rough and unrefined looking, so it was done without experience. He had to admit, Sakura was surprising him. From his position in a tree at the end of the bridge, Naruto couldn't see through the mist, but with Kurama's help he could see their chakra outlines. Cracking his knuckles, Naruto dropped out of the tree and rushed along the bridge, jumping as he neared the ice mirrors. As he entered the dome, he reached out and grabbed Haku as he moved from mirror to mirror. Haku instantly began twisting, trying to escape Naruto's grasp before the blonde slammed him into the ground, his knee against the boy's stomach, one hand on his chest and the other pushing Haku's head down.
"Hey there. Didn't expect me, did'ya?" Naruto then frowned, looking down, then up, down, then back up. Oh…. Wait, what? Naruto removed his hand from 'her' chest rather quickly. THIS VERSION WAS A GIRL?! A soft pinkness was on Naruto's cheeks as Haku stopped resisting.
"Just kill me." Naruto scoffed loudly at Haku's demand.
"Why? Because you think you failed? No. You were bested. Failure doesn't count to me if you're against someone who is clearly your better. How you holding up, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking over at the boy who was on his back, breathing heavily, but gave the blonde a thumbs up. "Good to know. Now, Haku, I think those two idiots called you that, stay put, eh? I'm going to go talk to Zabuza and get him to round on Gato. Idiot is sending a couple hundred of his goons to off you two, and I don't think tall dark and murderous will like that too much." Haku was blinking in surprise as Naruto released her, and took the mask with him, tossing it off the side of the bridge as he stuck his hands into his pocket and began walking towards Kakashi, Sakura and Zabuza, whistling as he went. Then she saw it… The mist melting away around him. A visible orange glow was manifested around him… But she couldn't tell what it was.
"Haiyo!" Naruto called, causing the three combatants to blink as the mist around them faded, and all eyes were quickly locked on Naruto. "Hey, Zabuza. Might want to prep yourself. Gato sent a bunch of goons to kill whoever was supposed to win this little engagement." Zabuza was almost instantly pissed off by this news albeit on a slight delay, a vein appearing across his forehead and a few choice words being uttered as Naruto gave him a smile before turning to Kakashi. He reached up and undid the sash around him and tossed the black colored katana to the one eyed, well, two eyed man, Naruto noting that Kakashi did have his Sharingan exposed. Kakashi looked over the katana several times, somewhat impressed of the quality of the blade.
"Couple of Gato's goons had these. Didn't think they needed them. Kinda nice, too, thought I'd keep them. You can have that one." Naruto then turned to Zabuza, thumbing his nose as he looked up at the man. "Well? How about this… Split Gato's fortune with you and Haku, huh?" Zabuza looked down at the blonde with his eyebrows perked up.
"Oh? And you think the Copy-cat over there will just let us go?" Naruto nodded, making Kakashi add his arched eyebrows to the bunch now looking at the blonde.
"You see, if you and Haku vow to return to Kirigakure and pledge yourself to the resistance leader and add in an offer of part of Gato's fortune, I'm sure they'll welcome you back." Despite who Yagura was… Naruto had to let him die. There was nothing for it. He had to admit, even during their conversation with all the beast and their hosts, Yagura's bloodlust and the blood he was drenched in permeated even into the realm of their minds, even if Yagura was a good guy, what Obito and Madara did to him broke him. Inwardly Naruto cursed this, knowing that, even by now, Obito was already whispering into Yagura's ear. Back to reality, though. Naruto turned towards the far end of the bridge, clicking his tongue as he did.
"Hey, look who it is." Everyone on the bridge, Sasuke and Haku now on their feet, looked towards where Naruto was looking and frowned. Gato stood there, grinning ear to ear with nearly three hundred of his goons. Zabuza went to take a step forward, but Naruto raised his hand, halting him for the moment.
"Hey, Gato, question for you." Gato frowned at the blonde kid daring to address him.
"And what's that, pipsqueak?" Naruto sighed at his retort, the man was actually shorter than him.
"One, I'm a little over your height, shortshit, and I'm only thirteen. Second, what happens when one of the most elite of Kirigakure and Konohagakure team up against a load of untrained goons that are only there for a paycheck?" Gato visibly went white as Naruto's words sank in. "Yep. Have fun, you two. Don't get any stains on your clothes." Naruto said, sniggering as Kakashi and Zabuza shook their heads at Naruto before both vanished, Zabuza in a puff of mist, Kakashi in a flurry of leaves. Before Sasuke and Sakura knew what was happening, there was shouting and screaming, the goons beginning to run for their lives. Naruto took a seat on the bridge, removing a shoe and examining his right foot before pulling it back on and getting back to his feet. It was already over in that short amount of time. Kakashi and Zaubza stood next to a kneeling Gato, Zabuza holding the Executioner's Blade under his neck while Kakashi held the gifted katana against the back of the kingpin's neck.
"Thanks for not killing him." Naruto called as he hurried down to where they were standing, the blonde crouching in front of Gato. "Now. Here's what's going to happen… We're gonna go to the bank… And empty out your accounts, savvy? Then, we're going to go to your home, empty it of anything valuable, give it to the people of Wave for them to sell… And then… I forget. Oh yeah, these two are going to have a field day with you. Alright?" Gato could only squeak in response as the two Jonin hauled Gato to his feet and began leading him into town. The comical thing was the kingpin's feet weren't even touching the ground. Kakashi and Zaubza were tall enough that, with the two of them holding him up under his arms, Gato had to choose but to go where they wanted him to. Naruto turned and waved over the other four companions. Sakura was attending to Sasuke and Haku while Tazuna approached Naruto.
"Kid. How the hell..." Naruto just shrugged as he turned to follow the three men.
"I'm just that awesome." He replied as he started to walk away, the three shinobi hurrying to catch up. Haku was the first to talk, and it wasn't the question he was expecting.
"Do… You think they'll accept me at Konoha." The three genin stopped and stared at Haku. "I mean… I've never felt welcomed in Kiri, even when I was spying on the resistance for Zabuza… So I really don't think our time together will be much longer." This… This was different, Naruto was slightly put off by this little turn of events, minus the surprise that this timeline's Haku was female by nature.
"Eh, I'm sure we can work something old with the old man." This time it was Haku's turn to be confused, mainly at Sasuke and Sakura's groans.
"Old.. Man?" Naruto gave Haku and smirking grin as he nodded.
"Yeah, the old man Hokage, I usually call him jiji, but that's a different story. Just so ya know, he's been like a grandfather to me my whole life. Anyways, let's cheer to a brighter future, eh?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow while Sakura and Haku nodded. Kakashi eye smiled while Zabuza just sighed. Gato, however, only whimpered as Zabuza dug his fingers into the man's shoulder.
After a week's time, Gato had effectively been cleaned out of nearly all of, well, anything of profit, including his mansion in the Land of Waves. Kakashi and Zabuza, with the assistance of several ANBU sent by the Hokage, even managed to clean out Gato's foreign accounts. Afterwards, well, the ANBU and Gato vanished, potentially to be a 'council' for Konoha's economic future, though Naruto had to wonder if that was a good idea or not. Needless to say, if Gato did try anything in Konoha… There were several thousand shinobi to end his life, so it was probably a good thing. Zabuza had taken his leave from them several days earlier, and Naruto had to admit, he didn't think Haku was going to let go of the man who had been a father to her over the past… Ten years? He couldn't remember rightly. Zabuza did give Haku a promise, though; if she finds a good man… She had better make him put a ring before thinking of kids, or he'd come to Konoha personally and rip his nuts off. Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi all paled, knowing Zabuza wasn't joking, the man was far too serious for that kind of threat. Sakura, though, smirked, a bit jealous that Haku had such a protective 'father' looking out for her.
"Have a good life, though, kid. I'm sure we'll meet again." Zabuza said, giving Haku a real hug, makin Naruto smile slightly before heading off, roughly in the direction of Kiri. He planned to run into a patrol rather than going straight to Mei, he didn't want to get melted on the spot. As the group of four waved to the man's retreating back, they looked forward to a smooth trek ahead of them. Along the way the four informed Haku what Konoha was like, and Kakashi in particular caught Haku up on what to expect on the integration process into the village. Naruto had to admit, he had done it several times while he was Hokage but hearing it now from a different angle made it seem incredibly intimidating, but Haku was only nodding, trembling slightly in anticipation. After several days, Kakashi in no rush, their mission had gone two hundred percent better than he had ever dreamed of, and he had even knocked some of the rust out of his arms while fighting with and alongside Zabuza. Sakura had shown great progress, well beyond what had had expected, Sasuke's progress was even greater, being able to stand against a roughly Jounin-level kunoichi for as long as he had. And then there was Naruto. He had gotten his first blood and seemed perfectly fine, had shown incredible insight and foresight into the events going on around him, had shown a charismatic side that hadn't been reported… And had used the Kyuubi's chakra to melt Zabuza's Hidden Mist technique without a second thought. Naruto was becoming an enigma beyond his file content… He had to talk to the Hokage about this.
The rest of their journey went without a hitch, they even stopped a robbery at a small store in one of the outlying villages in the Land of Fire, Sakura being the one doing all of the work. She had encased the men up to their necks in a 'Mud Trapping' technique. Naruto didn't know where she learned that, it wasn't in any of the scrolls he had given her. Needless to say, he was excited for the future. With Sasuke and Sakura's progress, the war potentially wasn't going to happen, either of them. What was worrying him and Kurama, though, was Kakashi. The cyclops was keeping a close watch on him, making it hard to get any private training or meditation done, which was putting off his acclimation to Natural Chakra further and further. By the time they reached Konoha's gates, Naruto was on the verge of throw chili pepper into Kakashi's eye just to get away for some private time. Once in the village, though, they were able to go their separate ways, Naruto heading home, stating a need for a nice shower, as did Sasuke and Sakura, while Kakashi guided Haku around, showing her a bit of the village before taking her to the Hokage's office to begin the integration process.
Naruto cleaned quickly before slipping out of his apartment, a large meal at Ichiraku's satisfied the hole in his gut, although his wallet didn't appreciate the action. After leaving the ramen stand, Naruto took a stroll around the village, wondering if he could run into Haku, or even Sasuke or Sakura. The later he did find, the pinkette practicing jutsus in one of the empty training grounds, so he left her to it. Kurama had been silent for several days, so Naruto, knowing better than to disturb him, left him be.
'Naruto.' Naruto almost jumped when Kurama spoke. 'You've got company.' Pausing in his stride, he discovered that Kurama was right. There were several ANBU around him, and one of them dropped down about ten feet in front of him. Her purple hair was a dead giveaway to Naruto who it was. As she stepped forward to speak, Naruto raised a hand in a half wave as he smiled at her.
"Hey there, Yugao!" The ANBU around looked at each other in alarm, while Yugao in the meantime sighed at Naruto's antics.
"Naruto… While ANBU are in uniform you do not state their name aloud, even if you believe to know them… Lord Hokage has sent for you, he has several questions about this 'Haku' your team returned with." Naruto, though, frowned, an orange aura flaring around him, causing all the ANBU, even Yugao, to grip their weapons.
"Don't try to lie to me, Yugao. And release your swords. None of you could touch me, before I broke your sword arms." Yugao slowly released her sword's hilt, the tone of Naruto's voice betrayed no sign of arrogance… Something happened to the blonde boy she had looked over while he was growing up while he was on his mission, and to give him enough strength to take on a ANBU squad… No, he couldn't have… Had he embraced the heritage of a Jinchuuriki becoming a weapon? She held back a tear that threatened to drop from her eyes. Despite being loyal to Konoha, she had a place in her heart for the blonde boy, seeing him grow up gave her a sense of pride in what he had become. And now that she believed that he had done exactly what Danzo the War Hawk had wanted so long ago, it was threatening to break her heart to see his innocent self be broken like this. With a soft wind, Naruto dispersed the aura, looking at each ANBU in turn before turning back to Yugao.
"None of you have a threat from me. My power is only for our enemies. But I will use it how I want, not how the village wants. I am Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of the Leaf Village and I will destroy anyone who dares to threaten me, my friends, or my family.." Pausing, Naruto thought for a moment. "Hey, Yugao, do you have a mission to Grass Country anytime soon?" Without thinking, Yugao nodded, slapping her masked face as she realized what she had done, two of the ANBU above her laughing, they couldn't help it. Yugao often spoke fondly about the blonde, and to see a kid trip up their captain like this was hilarious.
"Well, there's a red haired family, can't miss them… It's the same shade as my mother's." the entire squad froze. He knew his parents? That was impossible, not even the Hokage had told him!
"Uzumaki red, you can't mistake it for anything else… One of the merchants said I reminded him of a younger version of their daughter, but he said the last time he was there she seemed… Like the walking dead. If they are Uzumaki… As the technical heir to the clan head Kushina Uzumaki, I want to impose with my rights as the technical clan head to implore the ANBU for a search and rescue of that family." The ANBU above and to his right spoke up, his wolf mask moving slightly, betraying a strong jaw on the man. While he spoke, the rest of them wondered what merchant had even spoken to Naruto, due to his disposition. Nontheless, if Grass country was hiding any potential Uzumaki from Konoha, it would spell disaster if Hiruzen found out. The God of Shinobi would no doubt bring down righteous fury upon their supposed ally.
"Kid... You do know there's a lot of paperwork required for that?" Naruto's eyes snapped to him, flashing red for a brief moment.
"As a nearly extinct clan, this overrides any need for paperwork, and you know it. Thanks to the arrogance of Konoha, my clan was nearly wiped off the face of the earth, and I will hold it above their heads to the day I become Hokage." He felt a soft hand on his left shoulder, causing him to look up to Yugao.
"We'll see to it, Naruto. He does have a point, Wolf. With the potential numbers of the Uzumaki at less than twenty in the entire world, it's the same for the Uchiha. If there's even a rumor of their presence, we are required to take more than enough time to go out of our way to confirm of that existence." Wolf thought for a moment before nodding, as did the rest of the squad, but each of them wondered when the 'dunce' of that year's genin class became this well versed in the Clan Rebuilding act of the Second Hokage. With a few parting words, Yugao and her squad left, leaving Naruto to head to the Hokage's tower by himself. He didn't mind, though… Although he did reach it quicker than he intended. He had absently taken shortcuts and alleys that lead him to the tower in around five minutes from the training grounds. The sight at the entry, though, made him want to walk away. Sarutobi stood at the entry, conversing with Danzo the War Hawk and his two other councils, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Crap. This night wasn't going to end well. Sarutobi was the first to spot Naruto, lifting his pipe to the boy, who nodded in response before approaching the group. Homura and Koharu looked down at Naruto in disdain, which was quickly returned with a flashing red glare, causing the two to step back. Sarutobi extended a hand outwards, halting any further action.
"Now, now, Naruto, they are friends, not enemies."
"Maybe to you." Naruto replied, glaring now, not at the two elders, but at Danzo, who seemed to begin sweating as he turned away, entering the tower. All three noticed this, wondering what exactly Naruto was doing glaring at Danzo, a man he had reportedly never met. Clearing his throat, Homura was the one to speak.
"Yes... Young Uzumaki… You were summoned for a meeting... please follow us." Narrowing his eyes, Naruto fell in behind the trio as they led him, not to Sarutobi's office, but to the clan village meeting chamber, and the sight was not a welcoming one. All of the clan heads were present, including several rather important civilian council, who were glaring death at Naruto, who ignored them much to their chagrin. Without warning, several ANBU appeared around Naruto, each of them holding a hand seal before placing a hand on Naruto as several chains erupted around him, locking his arms in place as he was forced to sit in a chair. Looking to his right, he saw Kakashi standing off to the side, looking away in clear shame of himself, from the emotions he could sense, Kakashi clearly did not wish for this to happen.
"Alright… You have five minutes to explain." Silence filled the council room at Naruto's words.
"Was that a threat, young Uzumaki?" Came the voice of one Hiashi Hyuuga.
"A promise, Bird Cage man." Hiashi's eyes nearly bulged form their sockets at the obvious jab, one of the ANBU, from his emotions Naruto could tell he was a Hyuuga himself, swung at Naruto, Sarutobi shouting for him to be restrained. Too late. Naruto kicked off the ground, hard, leaving two indentations in the floor as his legs came up, wrapping around the man's arm, one of his feet pressing against his throat as Naruto used their momentum to twist them around, the chair tipping over as they fell to the ground, the Hyuuga ANBU's face slamming into the ground first followed by a crack as Naruto twisted, hard. The man could only whimper in pain as blood trickled from under his cracked mask while Naruto released him, rolling backwards and kicking himself up onto his feet. The chains slowly fell away, causing the three remaining ANBU to stare in shock, relaizing that, during that entire tussel, he had countered their sealing technique without them noticing.
"What? My godfather is Jiraiya of the Sannin, did you think I wouldn't pick up Fuuinjutsu?" Naruto hissed, venom and blood lust so thick in his voice that the ANBU didn't attend to their fallen comrade right away, but instead grabbed him and pulled him out of the room and away from the boy. Said boy rounded on the council, an orange aura glowing around him, his eyes flickering red.
"Now. Both of us will now only give you thirty seconds to explain this crap." Sarutobi quickly cleared his throat to speak, but Danzo spoke first, causing the old man to close his eyes in horror.
"You see, you were brought here to answer why you brought a Kiri spy to Konoha." Naruto scoffed loudly.
"Kiri spy? Haku? I think you're thinking of your own connections, Root, not mine." Danzo's neck could have broken with how quickly his head snapped around to stare at Naruto. The clan heads, those who liked Naruto, though, turned to look at Danzo's reaction. Before anyone else could speak, Naruto started chuckling softly.
"Danzo. I hold no respect for you, and clearly you hold none for me, but do you really think that I would willingly bring harm to a village that I have sworn to protect, and sworn to become the Hokage? Are you going senile, or are you just that stupid?" Danzo slowly sat down, staring at the boy. Nobody had dared speak to him like this, save for Hiruzen, but here was a twelve year old boy talking down to him like he was a misbehaving child. What held Danzo's tongue at this moment was the sheer hidden power the boy obviously had. From taking down a well trained ANBU in seconds to the removal of a four-way seal.
"Now, Danzo, before you speak again, I will tell you why Haku is important; she is of the Yuki clan…. And if the Kyuubi even senses that you've approached her, I swear here and now, upon the blood of the First Hokage, I will tear down every wall that separates me from you. Nothing will prevent me from tearing out your throat and hanging your carcass form the very gates you think you protect. That goes for all of you. Haku is under my protection, and I will take any attempt at her life, or to coerce her into a unfavorable situation as an insult to my honor, and I will not hold back… That and her adoptive father is the Demon of the Bloody Mist." Naruto could only smirk as every single face in the room drained of all color. Elite or not, clan heads or not, everyone knew the havoc and power that the man known as Zabuza Momochi possessed. Hiruzen was the first to recover his composure, coughing as he straightened himself in his chair.
"Ahem... Now, are you all satisfied?" A small, collective nod was his response as he nodded towards Naruto, who turned and exited the chambers, a small scowl on his face, Kakashi hurrying afterwards. After a distance seperated them form the council chambers, Naruto rounded on the silver haired man, glaring at him.
"If you ever do that again, I swear to the Sage, I will gut you, Kakashi-sensei. I know it was you, don't try to lie. Good night." Before Kakashi could even utter a word, Naruto was gone so fast that Kakashi wondered if he had only been a shadow clone. The man stood rooted in place, running a hand through his hair, wondering if raising his concerns about Haku had actually been the right thing to do… Naruto had shown even more power than he could have even imagined, and he wondered if anyone in the village apart from the Hokage could actually stop the boy if he really did follow through with those promises he made in the council chambers.
Naruto, in the meanwhile, had taken off across the village, his mind turned inwards.
"Kurama…" The fox turned his head to look at him, huffing as he did.
"You went a bit overboard, brat, but they deserved to know their place. Hiruzen is the only one that could really stop the two of us, minus the time limit." Naruto tilted his head in confusion.
"Time limit?... So we're nowhere close to one hundred percent?" Kurama shook his head.
"Not even close. Right now your bones can hold, they are up to par with what you were before coming back. Your muscles are probably only around twenty percent, I don't think I can get those up to par until around the time of the Suna-Sound invasion… Your chakra system, though, I'm not doing anything, it's actually adjusting on it's one, although, again, not until the Suna-Sound invasion. We could speed up the process, but it would more than likely draw attention to us." A thought occurred.
"Hey, what about Sage Mode?" Naruto asked, hopeful. The scowl he earned, though, dashed the idea.
"Naruto. Your adult body was well accustomed to using Sage Mode and Natural Chakra. You child form hasn't experienced it at all. You would need to train all over again, though it would be much faster this time around, I'm sure." Kurama replied, closing his eyes as he rolled onto his side, Naruto leaning against his furry underbelly.
"So... Time is all we need... And privacy... Shadow clones and.. Uhm... Crap, I can't think of any secluded location that could even... Forst of Death." Naruto suddenly stated aloud.
"Bingo. That snake mistress frequents there so often that nobody will question chakra spikes. In addition, even if she were to find you, dispelling a shadow clone is an easy thing to do, especially with yours. Now, get some rest, sleeping still helps with the process."