I don't own Naruto and if I did you would be reading this in manga format...really you would...

New Memories: Equilibrium

{Author Release: Flashback no Jutsu!}
"Ahem, a message for Lady Hokage from the Fire lord."

The elders flinched as he handed the scroll to Tsunade, who merely nodded as she lowered her hands and raised her head. She was being dramatic simply because she could, and because she was laughing maniacally inside her head as Shikamaru enacted his part of the plan she formulated after the last council meeting. Opening the scroll which had the Fire lord's stamp on it, she began to read it as she thought. Don't cross Momma.

{Kai!}

and now...

Reading the scroll, Tsunade tried to put on her best face, putting said face through a number of emotions just to make the elders flinch.

"Hiashi, just so there is no question about the validity of the document, read this scroll for me?" Tsunade asked, to which Hiashi nodded in response as stood and made his way to the front of the table and received the scroll from the Hokage.

Checking it over with his special eyes he proceeded to read"Ahem, By decr-"

"You can skip the formal speak, Hiashi. We were all pulled from our daily routines and we would all like to get back to them, so just the facts." Tsunade said as she stopped the Hyuga clan head from reading every word.

"Very well, Hokage. A conspirator was caught sending a false decree of the Fire Lord, using a stolen, older version of the Fire Lord's seal. After the Conspirator was arrested and interrogated, he revealed that the decree was sent to here." Hiashi said, then raised his eyebrows for a moment and continued. "More specifically, the decree was sent to the Leaf Council, which stated that Naruto Uzumaki, due to being a danger to the village at large, was to be either banished or executed. The false decree also stated that Uchiha Sasuke was to be pardoned for all crimes against Hidden Leaf, and reinstated into the ninja corps." upon finishing his statement Hiashi as well as the entire shinobi portion, excluding Danzo, directed their attention towards scroll in Koharu's hands.

Tsunade looked upon the entire council and for the first time since she had taken the hat, the civilians, village elders and Danzo, to a certain degree, were completely lost on how to proceed, and were completely helpless.

"Well, isn't this a strange turn of events. By trying to circumvent my authority and probably throw this village into a civil war because of it, you instead exposed yourselves as traitors to your Kage and your village." Tsunade said with a hint of smile on the outside, but on the inside she was laughing maniacally once again, since the plan she came up with the Fire Lord was perfect.

Was their really a conspirator? Nope. Was the decree in Koharu's hands real? Maybe.

The caught conspirator was a scenario that she and Fire Lord Ozai came up with to purge some of the more corrupt members of the village from positions of power.

"Cat, Boar, Tiger." she called out and almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the ANBU appeared around her as she continued "Please arrest the Honorable Elders, and take them directly to Ibiki." Tsunade said as ANBU placed handcuffs on the treacherous elders and took them away via Leaf Shunshin.

Which left only the civilian and shinobi council members.

Tsunade actually cracked a smile -which got flinches from civilians and an mental one from Danzo- as she looked toward Hiashi and motioned for the clan head to continue.

"Using this example of the council going beyond the original capacity the the First Hokage created them for, Fire Lord Ozai disbands this council." Hiashi said, causing the council, well the civilian council members, exploded over the news, at least until Tsunade spoke.

"SILENCE! Or have all forgotten the power the Fire Lord wields?" Tsunade said which instantly shut them up as they were reminded of the power that the Fire Lord wielded, or rather, the power he could take away.

While the Hidden Villages are somewhat independent from the Lord and the country they represent, they rely on the money from clients to fund the village while the merchants and civilians that live in the village also contributed, the money from the Elemental Lords accounted for more than 50% of a Hidden Village's income, as well as sustained the economy of the village. Contributing that much money to any venture grants the investor certain privileges, such as absolute say on any matters pertaining to the village.

Hiashi clears his throat as the shinobi regress to that of siblings laughing at the scolding of one of their younger brothers/sisters and continues to read "Though the council is disbanded, Lady Tsunade is to form a new council that follows her grandfather's original vision of the idea." Hiashi concluded while rolling up the scroll again and handing it back to the Hokage.

He bowed before taking his place next to Tsume as Tsunade stood and placed her hands on the table.

"As decreed by the Fire Lord this council is hereby disbanded." she said.

As the council began to move from their chairs Tsunade held her hand up for a moment, stopping them all in her tracks. "And by the power invested in me by the same Fire Lord, I reinstate the Shinobi council. So please, Shinobi Council members re-take your seats." Earning slightly amused chuckles from the shinobi as they retook their seats and glares from the civilian as they attempted to re-take theirs. Key word: attempted. "However, the civilian council members will be replaced with new merchants and others who will be more beneficial to the growth of Hidden Leaf." she finished.

"What do you mean, Tsunade? What reason would you not allow us to retake our seats but let the shinobi council take theirs" the portly former council member nearly yelled as Tsunade looked at him for a moment, debating where or not to send the annoyance to the Hospital or the Morgue.

"I believe that Lady Hokage was quite clear in her statement. Since myself and my fellow shinobi have been on this council, none of us have ever seen the 'civilian' council actually deal with any civilian matters, and yet the pile of paperwork the Hokage receives on a daily basis increases. A majority of them are on civilian matters." Shibi offered for the first time today, and as usually was the case, his words were valued more since he hardly spoke.

"How can you say such things?" Another council member, a woman this time, spoke up.

It was Tsunade who answered her."Very simple, all the merchant disputes, the trade route agreements, and civilian crimes have all been handled by the shinobi. Add to the fact that when the Uchiha were massacred, taking away our police force, you civilians simply said that the shinobi would handle it. That is only one of many examples of how your greed for power and status has weakened this village, and it is also one of many things I intend to fix." Tsunade said, noticing the looks of realization on the former councilors faces as well as the scowl on Danzo's face out of her peripheral vision, which made her smile on the inside. Before the councilors could leave and plot on how to get their positions back or find a decent enough shill for them to use Tsunade stopped them one more time.

"Ah, but before you all leave I must also inform you that since you are no longer councilors, I will be recalling all of your shinobi bodyguards." Seeing them already trying to protest, she cut them off. "As long as you reside within these walls, you will be protected by all of The Leaf's shinobi, just like everyone else. Furthermore, I will be launching an investigation as well as a audit, on all of your accounts, just to make sure there aren't any mistakes in your books." she finished, making some of the former council members put on a look of defeat as they realized they no longer had the power to stop the Hokage.

Seeing those looks, the majority of the council share a look of victory as Tsunade laid down the law. All except for one. Danzo was seething on the inside he couldn't believe how everything has changed because of Tsunade's plotting, he was not a fool, he knew in his gut that the so-called conspirator was something that Tsunade made up. The only question in his mind was whether or not the Fire Lord was actually involved. This set some of his plans back a great deal. But these events had not deterred him it only a minor setback in his mind.

Watching the former councilors depart from the room, Tsunade smirked. Her plan had nearly been flawless thanks to the involvement of the Fire Lord and the promise of teaching of her more devastating techniques, including her medical jutsus. Tsunade now had all she needed to change The Leaf for the better, and with the added bonus of pissing off Danzo. Letting a smile grace her face for a moment to let them all know she also enjoyed that, she turned towards the assembled shinobi.

"Now that the entertainment has been handled, let us speak on the issue that was raised for this meeting, since we are all here anyway."

Seeing no objections she continued

"Now, I know that you have all read the reports that Shizune and Councilor Yamanaka submitted after the examinations of the mental and physical states of both Uzumaki and Uchiha, yes? Then are there any objections on the validity of the reports?"

Looking at Danzo as she spoke Tsunade noticed that he wanted to say something, but because no one else had an objection, he couldn't.

Dammit, without Koharu and Homura or any of the civilians here to agree, I can't question the report and get Uzumaki out of here. Whether or not she knows my plans, she is still tampering with them.

"Very well then. Since there are no objections, the sentence decided on at the last council meeting will be enacted upon the Uchiha's release from the Hospital." seeing Tsume raise her hand Tsunade gestured for her to speak.

"Where exactly is Naruto recuperating, Hokage?" she asked, which caused Tsunade to quirk an eyebrow.

"Why do you ask?" seeing the knowing looks on the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, she was even more curious.

"Well, I'm sure you've seen where he lives and since the civilians are no longer involved and blocking my attempts..." she paused for a moment, as if to steady her nerves a little, which let Tsunade see what was coming. "I wish to adopt Naruto as my son." she said, slightly shocking Tsunade with the statement.

Tsunade was taken aback by the statement, since she could see that the woman was serious about this."I appreciate the sentiment." Tsunade paused for a moment as she thought about it Tsume wants to adopt Naruto, and has been trying to do so since the beginning. she thought to herself before she mentally shook herself. "We will discuss this matter in my office later, Tsume. There are things at work that you are not aware of, concerning Naruto." she finished which seemed to satisfy her for the moment. "Now that the most pressing business has been concluded, I have some new business to propose."

xXxXx

(Unknown Location)

Several figures assembled inside of a room that was located in a manor of an unknown valley, in a dark corner of the elemental nations. Standing at the front of the head of the table where the figures assembled, the leader sat down, signaling for the rest of his followers to also take a seat. All of them were wearing black coats with red clouds and white outlines in various styles. The Leader sat for a moment, before looking over the members of his organization and clearing his throat before speaking.

"Zetsu, report."

Upon hearing the name, a man who looked like the offspring of a Venus fly-trap with a two-toned face stood to his feet. "The first eight containers have been located, Leader." the man said, seemingly coming from just the white side of his face.

Upon hearing this information, the group began to chatter amongst themselves while a woman with blue hair with a paper rose in it consulted with the aforementioned Leader for a moment, before he waved her off.

"I'm assuming that the one you can't find is Nine Tails, Zetsu?" he asked.

Said man nodded his head.

"I've checked the entirety of Hidden Leaf, as well overheard many conversations. There seems to be no mention or trace of Nine Tails." the white side responded, it was at this moment that Itachi Uchiha, the Hidden Leaf nuke-nin responsible for the Uchiha Massacre, spoke up.

"If Naruto was inside the village, there would be some sign of him. Either a prank or a declaration of his dreams. If Zetsu says he is not there, then most likely he is traveling with Jiraiya. Since the boy is the legacy of Yondaime and Jiraiya knows of us, that means he is training the boy to harness the power of Kyuubi." Itachi said, which slightly shocked everyone there since that was the most the Uchiha had ever said since joining the organization.

"Damn, Itachi." Kisame said as he looked at his partner. Most of the others had the same thought, but they didn't say it since, as usually is the case, Kisame stated the obvious.

Going over the information provided, the Leader closed his multi-ringed eyes for a moment, either because of the strain of using his dojutsu for so long or to think no one but the woman always seen at his side knew and she wasn't telling. Opening his eyes and showing the six rings that surrounded his pupils he spoke again.

"It doesn't matter at this point. We will continue our plans as scheduled. When the time comes, we will hunt down the Nine tails like the others."

xXxXx

(Otokage's Office)

Orochimaru sat at the desk in his office, looking over his assistants going through the paperwork of missions being ordered and deeming rank for them. Unlike the way he portrayed himself in Hidden Leaf, he was actually a decent Kage to the people he rescued from the calamity that befell them, not knowing that he was the one who caused it as a means of recruiting them. That is, until he took them away to experiment on, but up until that point, the people of Sound considered Orochimaru a decent man.

"These have potential. They'll need training,especially after the curse seal. But other than that."he whispered to himself as he looked over the bingo books of the other hidden villages. Unlike the other hidden villages, Sound was made up completely of recruits and some clansmen from the Rice clans. There really wasn't an academy to begin with.

That was the main reason why Sound sprang up out of nowhere like it had. The sound five and the sound Genin that appeared in the Chunin Exams were the only ones Orochimaru or Kabuto had ever trained at that point.

The thought of the mission to deliver Sasuke Uchiha angered the Otokage, as the plan was simple, at least it should have been with the way Hidden Leaf was still reeling from the failed invasion, and with the state of the Jonin and the ANBU, it should have been days before The Leaf Village even realized the child was gone. Yet somehow Leaf had gotten wind of Sasuke's defection, and sent a retrieval team to get him, which lead to the demise of the entire Sound Five, as well the retrieval of Sasuke.

He didn't know the details, but he would know them soon. Kabuto had left for The Leaf Village days ago to confer with their spy within the village. He would have his answers soon enough, as well as another window to get the last Uchiha and those eyes he desired so much. He wasn't worried about The Leaf Village killing him, the village was so in love with kekkei genkai that they wouldn't dare execute the boy and lose their only reliable route to keeping the greatest dojutsu in The Leaf Village.

"I have returned, Lord Orochimaru."

Upon hearing those words Orochimaru herded his assistants out of the room and sealed the doors with a silencing jutsu.

"Report, Kabuto."

"It seems that the retrieval team that defeated the Sound Five were just a group of Genin, more specifically, the same group of rookie Leaf Genin that participated in the Chunin Exams this year." He ducked his eyes in order to avoid those of his master, as he knew his master was indeed seething at that information.

"Continue, Kabuto."

Noting his master's clenched teeth, Kabuto just found a spot on the floor to focus on, since his master's KI was leaking from him as he sat there.

"Hai. Sasuke himself was retrieved by Naruto Uzumaki. As you said Lord Orochimaru, Sasuke will not be executed, but his actual punishment is still unknown. I also found out that Leaf has retrieved the bodies of the Sound Five." He finished while holding his knees, as the level of Killer Intent that leaked from his master was enormous. If he were a lesser shinobi, he would have sliced his own throat just to escape the feeling that filled the room. But Kabuto was not any other shinobi and he knew that the wrath was not directed at him...right now.

"Thank you, Kabuto. That is all."

Kabuto waited for a moment for Orochimaru to release the Silencing jutsu, which he did, then he wisely disappeared from the room so that his master could have his release. And he made sure to send in a couple of no name Chunin and started to look for some nin to replace those soon to be open positions.

xXxXx

{Author Release: Flash Forward no Jutsu} Tsunade stood in front of her ninja with a smile on her face. It had been several days since the last shinobi council meeting, during which they had enacted several laws, which she was going to address to the current roster of ninja in front of her. The only ones not present at this meeting were the rookie Genins, since some were still healing from the retrieval mission, and she had something else planned for them. She cleared her throat to bring order to the gathered ninja, as most if not all were commenting on The Fifth's new look.

"Thank you all for joining me today. For some of you, this is your Kami-given day off, which I will let you have after a few announcements." She began, clasping her hands behind her as she scanned the crowd.

"First off, there will be a changing of academy standards. The Shinobi Council and I have raised the mandatory graduation age to 16, it is time traditions change and I will not have any dead children during my reign. As such, the current academy class will adhere to this rule. Also, during the extended stay in the academy the students will be put in groups and will handle what used to be considered D-rank missions, which will free up C ranks for Genin and B-rank and above for Chunin, Jonin and ANBU."Taking a moment to let her ninja absorb the news, she smirked a little as she heard some encouraging words from the gathered ninja.

"There will also be a slight pay increase for the shinobi who have been bearing the burden of several missions back to back with no breaks in-between. Also, those nin who have been doing those missions will be getting a slight vacation while some of the higher ranked missions will be handled by others."

Hearing several sighs of relief come from the crowd, she smiled at them, which made some ninja smile back, happy to see their Hokage happy.

"Although these changes are taking place, I want you all to be vigilant and stay sharp. With the invasion at the last Chunin Exams, we have been severely weakened in strength and although you have all done an exemplary job so far, we have to remember several things. Rock and Lighting are still very sore with us over the Third Shinobi War and even though the bastard Orochi" Several snickers, as well as some full-out laughter from the gathering caused Tsunade to pause for a moment, before slipping on a look of a Kage readying her ninja for troubled times.

"Even though my old teammate succeeded in killing the Sandaime, his initial goal was to destroy The Leaf Village, and if I know him, he will not let a failed invasion stop him from trying again. Only this time, he might get Lighting, or Rock, or even Mist involved, and I don't need to tell you what that means."

Several of the shinobi paled at the thought of another full-scale war, while other who had not participated in the last one also paled as they'd heard the stories and seen the scars.

"The intention of this meeting was not to scare you all, merely to inform you of what could happen and suggest that those of you who have been a little lax lately in training pick it up again, and even try to learn some new things. Also, due to the current unstable climate of the Elemental Nations, I will be instituting a new medic-nin program, requiring all away-mission teams to have a medic-nin as a member. There are several other changes taking place within the village that will affect how the village is run as well as freeing even more of you to take on missions, so please keep your ears and eyes open at all times. Dismissed!" She finished,causing the shinobi to leave the meeting room in typical ninja fashion. Walking out the front door.

xXxXx

After the meeting with the Chunin, Jonin and Special Jonin, Tsunade walked towards her office, stopping at the door to chat with her Chunin assistant for a moment before her assistant let her know that Jiraiya, Naruto, Shizune and Anko were waiting in her office.

Stepping into her office, she nodded to all but then stopped and gave Naruto a kiss on the forehead, which had Anko raising an eyebrow which Tsunade noticed.

"Since the brat brought me back and I've seen how's he been treated, I decided I'd look out for him. What can I say, he's grown on me." she explained which seemed to appease Anko for the moment.

Anko knew there was more to it, but it was too much trouble to pry at this point. Besides, if the brat had straightened out this much from just a couple of months, then he'd be just perfect in a couple of years. Especially if he stays this yummy. she thought to herself as she crossed her legs from her seat on the couch, giving the pervert Sannin a show.

"But that's not why we are here. Shizune." Tsunade said as Shizune moved forward to speak.

"Anko, after reviewing your file and examining your own curse mark and studying the effect of the former Sound Five's curse marks I believe I may have found a way to either free you of it, or with Jiraiya's help rewrite the purpose of the seal."

Anko sat there for a couple of moments smirking, the same smirk she had in the forest of death during the Chunin Exams which Naruto was now getting the memories of. That same crazed smirk sat on her face for a little longer before her eyes watered from the thought of being freed of the curse mark.

"What are the risks?" She asked simply.

Shizune looked grim for a moment before speaking "Death."

Hearing this, Anko scoffed at her, as if to say 'That's the risk?'

"In order to rid you of the curse mark, we would have to technically kill you. By lowering your body temperature past the human -shinobi or otherwise- threshold, we should be able to fool the curse mark into releasing itself. Once that takes place, we will simply revive you by raising your temperature and using Medical jutsu."

Hearing this, Anko looked towards Jiraiya and Naruto. "What about the second option?"

Shizune nodded her head and began to explain.

"The second option is with the help of Jiraiya would be rewrite the curse seal, at least how it works." Shizune said, then motioned for Jiraiya to take over.

"You may not know this Anko, but I've been looking for a way to either erase or change the curse mark on you for a while now." he said, then noticed the harsh glare from Anko, non verbally asking him. 'You're just now telling me this?' then he also noticed the glares from Tsunade and Shizune, once again reminding him how much he and Hiruzen had screwed up with their actions.

"Well, with time to study the seal, as well using the bodies of other curse mark recipients, I have a way to rewrite the syntax of the intention of the seal" stopping for a moment as he noticed the somewhat blank looks on everyone's faces he scratches his chin for a moment

"How to explain the inner workings on seals...hmm...ha! Diverting a river or creating a stream, you can't just punch a hole in the middle of the river and hope for the best, you have follow the path, you have to guide it." Jiraiya explained and seeing the looks of understanding he continued

"Seals are nothing but paths for chakra to flow, and the symbols on seals are nothing but instructions on what the chakra should be doing as it's flowing. Anko your seal has only really two instructions on it, to infect and prepare, the only reason your seal doesn't work really is because the bastard sucked at wording his instructions." Jiraiya further explained as Anko took it all in, smirking at the fact that her former master, the great genius Orochimaru was not so smart at seals.

"Now I can't remove it but hopefully I can rework the instructions of the seal so that it could not inhibit you. Of course, there are some risks involved, and then there is the trace of Orochimaru's tainted chakra in the seal itself, which unfortunately, I can't get out of you, but there is a possibility of replacing the chakra with another source to power the seal." he explained, which had everyone wondering what exactly he meant by his last statement.

"Spit it out Pervy Sage!" Anko said excitedly, not noticing who she just impersonated at that point.

"The only way to replace the tainted chakra is with something more pure. And the only thing available at this point that is pure enough to replace it is Demonic chakra or the chakra of a tailed beast."

...To Be Continued...

There we go chap. 7 redone...enjoy