Naruto lay in his bed that night, numb. Hokage-jiji, his adopted grandfather was dead. He wouldn't even get to say his farewells, since Team 7 was not allowed to go back to the elemental countries until they were recalled.

Who the hell was Orochimaru, anyway? Kakashi had called him the Snake Sannin. Somehow, that seemed familiar. Unfortunately, he spent his academy career practicing his stealth techniques. Still, if the title was familiar to him, than Sakura would definitely know who he was.

The real question was why the bastard was after Sasuke. Did the Uchiha clan do something to the man? Or was he one of those bloodthirsty monsters that caused chaos just because he could?

He groaned, sitting up. Naruto suddenly didn't think that he would be getting much sleep tonight. "Tatty!" He called, standing up.

"Master needs Tatty?" The little elf popped in, glancing pointedly at the bedside clock.

The blond smirked slightly. For a race that considered themselves servants, there was no doubt about who actually ruled the manor. "Just some warm milk, please. And maybe some of those sugar cookies you made for dessert?" He blinked at the elf, using puppy-dog no jutsu.

Tatty rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers. "Master eat, then sleep! You going to Alley tomorrow for new clothes!"

"Thanks, lil guy!" The blond sat in the chair, balancing the cookies and milk. "Hey, Tatty?" He asked, just before the elf left. "Is there a book in the manor on veela? I um… think I need to know what I am, exactly, right?"
With another snap of his fingers, a pile of books landed on the bed. "Your Great-grandmother's diary is on top!" Then, the little elf popped out.

"Great-grandmother?" Naruto mumbled, "Is that were I get this from?" He placed his milk on the end table, and reached over to grab the red leather bound book. "One way to find out…"

A few pages into the book, the blonde's face began to heat up. "I didn't even know that was possible…" It was embarrassing to read, yet he couldn't put it down. "I think this makes Kakashi's porn look tame… wow…" Naruto suddenly pinched his nose shut, throwing the book to the opposite side of the room. "I need a shower…" He mumbled, "An icy one…"

The next morning, he woke up with the sun in his eyes. His Sensei stood over by the window, his normal eye glued to diary. The usual porn-induced giggles bounced off of his ears, making the young wizard groan and bury his head under his pillow.

"Do you MIND, Kakashi? That's my Great-grandmothers DIARY! Have some respect!"

"Oh, trust me, Naruto-kun… I have a lot of respect for anyone who can do that!"

"PERVERT! Put that down!" Naruto jumped out of bed, aiming to grab the book. Unfortunately, Kakashi easily evaded the boy with a kawimari.

"Nuh huh, Naruto. You are obviously too young to read this, and I need to know what I'll be dealing with in a few years." Turning the page, his eyes never leaving the paper, he added, "Go get dressed. We leave in an hour." With that, he shunshined out of the room, his giggles following him throughout the manor.

In an undisclosed location, somewhere in the elemental countries, a group of nine S-ranked criminals gathered in a very dark, very large cave.

"Itachi, you have a report?" The man known only as Leader asked.

Uchiha Itachi, Ex-leaf nin stood up, his face blank. "The Kyuubi vessel is missing, as well as his entire team. My younger brother is part of his team, and spoiled by the council, yet there are no orders to search. My sources tell me that they disappeared before the second part of the Chunnin exam, long enough for a retrieval team to be sent out. Therefore, the council must know where they are."

"Are you sure that they live?" Leader-sama asked.

"The village would have been in mourning if the 'last loyal Uchiha' was dead." He smirked at the title. "It has also been released by the council that the Kyuubi brat is the only son and heir to the Yondaime Hokage. One of my spies in the tower itself wonders if the two are undergoing specialized training."

Leader nodded, adding his own thoughts. "After the invasion of Sound, the news that two of Konoha's legacies training to take their father's places would encourage the villages morale. Itachi, Kisame, I wish you to keep close to Konoha. Let me know if any of team 7 are spotted in the village. As for the rest of you, you all have your assignments."

"Hai, Leader-sama!" The members of Akatsuki answered, disappearing as one.

In the land once known as Whirlpool, a buxom blonde walked down the derelict streets, looking for a specific house number. A more modest looking brunette followed the woman, carrying a small pet pig. Both looked tired and bedraggled, drenched by the light rain that had fallen for the better part of the past hour.

"Tsunade-sama, why are we here?" The brunette asked, trudging through the muddy street.

"We are here to lay low for awhile. Uzumaki Kushina came from this village. A long time ago, when I first began to travel away from Konoha, she gave me a key to her clan compound. She said, 'at least I will know that you have a roof over your head when you are far from home.' Kushina was a nice girl. She understood why I had to leave."

"She trusted you with the keys to her compound?" Mentally, Shizune began to wonder how her teacher managed to steal them.

"The compound is empty. Kushina sealed everything important, and brought it with her to Konoha. All of her clan's records have been added to the Namikaze records. The compound is now just an out of the way place to lay low, and get out of the rain." She paused at the corner of the road, then walked to a gate about halfway down the street. "Alright, now I just have to remember the jutsu…"

Shizune caught up in time to hear her. "Jutsu? I thought you have a key."

"Hmmm… The key is only half the solution to get inside. There is a special jutsu that will unlock all of the traps.. Alright, I remember now." She placed the key in the door, then turned it. A moment later, her nimble fingers danced as she went through seals. Then, finally, she lay her chakra saturated hand on the uzumaki seal. "Release!" She said, then cursed as something happened that shouldn't have. "Uh oh…"

Shizune backed up, looking at the ground. "Tsunade-sama!" A pitch black vortex formed at their feet. "What is happening!"

"I think, that I triggered something else… I knew it was the other jutsu!"

"What!" They didn't have the time to say anything else. A moment later, they fell through the ground, tumbling through darkness. It seemed like hours later, that they hit the ground hard.

Looking up, Tsunade blinked. "Olivander's wands? Where the hell are we?"