XX Start XX

Chapter 8: Returning to the Mission

After going through all of the files on the computer as well as the inventory of the cave, our favorite blonde hero only took one thing he found with him. He actually found it in a chest that was secure with the most highly-complicated seals as well as chains that seemed to be made of chakra and was being powered by a self-regulating source of chakra that was coming from underneath the island.

So, after making sure the chakra source wasn't powering anything else important, which it wasn't, making Naruto's interest in the chest reach its peak to know that all of that chakra was only being used to power the security to the chains, he went ahead and drained the chakra source dry before unlocking the seals.

What was inside however, was quite disappointing. All that was inside was a white kitsune mask with red fillings for the ears, a red curved line for the mouth, and red ovals around the eye holes as well as around a black circle on the forehead (Menma's mask from Road to Ninja), and a piece of paper that probably explained the contents of the chest.

Opening the paper first, Naruto saw that his assumptions were correct.

Dear reader,

If you are reading this than you have been chosen by the Uzukage to be then next to wield these legendary items. Use these items well and bring terror to those who oppose you as well as bring calm to your loved ones. Grow strong and bring Uzugakure back to its full glory.

The only item within this chest, the Tenko Fox Mask, has been in this chest since the very first Uzumaki. This mask has the ability to let all who look through it to see into another life. The reason this is locked away is because all who look through this mask are given whatever other life they witness's power. The only downside is that the wearer is not able to choose the life they view. This mask can only be used once per person.

Now, this letter also has instructions on how to preform one of our signature jutsu. The instructions are within a seal on the back of this paper.

Use this item and jutsu to fulfil your every desire and grow strong. We do not care what you do with your new power, as we have lost any and all allies we had (which I admit was only Konohagakure and Sunagakure) when Konoha decided not to send any reinforcements. Though, please spare Sunagakure as they were actively helping us, though they could not at this time due to being held back by a group of soldiers tasked with keeping us without any help, and we are all good friends with the 3rd Kazekage.

Goodbye, I wish you good luck in your ventures.

With love, Asuka Uzumaki

Naruto, choosing to save the jutsu for later, sealed it into a seal on his wrist before fixing the ceiling with a minor earth jutsu.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Naruto placed the mask onto his face and looked through the eye holes, only to be immediately bombarded with memories that weren't his own.

Memories of someone who looked like him, named Menma Uzumaki, living his life before, near the age of 16, he left his Konoha and started capturing people with special abilities. Menma was able to release his version of Kurama in his full form as well as his Nine Masked Beasts as well as coming up with his version of a Rasengan called the Spiralling Ring which was much stronger than a normal Rasengan.

He saw how Menma eventually claimed that world as his own and ruled as a ruthless tyrant over the people who rebelled and a powerful monarch to those who were content. How he even combined the biju into one, creating the Juubi once again, and making him its Jinchuuriki.

What made him mad was that, while their relationship wasn't as good as Naruto's and Kurama's was, Menma completely betrayed his version of Kurama and took away the only thing that truly embodies the concept of living: a consciousness. He stripped his Kurama and the other biju of their consciousness before morphing them into the Juubi.

After organizing the techniques and discarding any memories he didn't need or want, Naruto opened his eyes to see the mask in his hand slightly pulled away from his face. Relaxing his frame for a second, he concluded that only about a minute has passed.

"You see all that Kurama?" Naruto asked his tenant.

"Yeah, strange to think of a world where I wasn't a god and could be dominated so easily by a normal human. Granted, that human had great techniques, but it wouldn't have any effect on me personally. And to think that he took away my consciousness after all I'd done for him." Kurama gave his two cents while playing some of the memories back in his mind.

"Yeah, strange is one way to put it. Anyway, let's leave already. I've still got a mission to complete." He said before sealing the mask into his wrist seal.

Naruto left the cave with a smile on his face. Not only did he gain some more power, he also got some information on this Pain person and also got some information from their computer system.

As he walked back through the village, Naruto created more clones to fix up the town square and some of the other buildings. He then left through the same gate that he came in to before water running back to the mainland.

It took a couple of hours of casual running but he eventually made his way back to Tazuna's house. When he arrived, he saw that there were sword slashes across trees and even a boar.

Speeding up now, he saw a couple of thugs dragging Tsunami out of her house before Inari ran out of the house, yelling at the thugs to let his mother go.

Seeing this, one thug ran at the child ready to cut the brat up.

Naruto, seeing as the thug wasn't aware of anyone else around, created a clone to take down the one holding Tsunami while the original intercepted the one charging Inari.

"You're gonna die brat!" the thug said, completely confident that the kid would be dead in a couple of seconds.

"I don't think so." A voice said from his side.

He looked to his right to see a fist coming straight at his face.

Seeing as the threat was out of the way for now, Naruto turned to Inari and said, "Good job, kid. You did good work, distracting that thug. It gave me the chance to save your mother and you."

Now of course, it was a small lie as he could have just stopped time or used his incredible speed to incapacitate them, but the kid was brave and that was worth the praise.

"Naruto…thank you." He said as he cried lightly.

"It's ok to cry if you're happy. Now, I need to go to the bridge to make sure your grandfather is alright." Naruto said with a smile.

Naruto heard a grunt from his left as he looked and saw the thug getting back up, albeit very slowly.

Just as the thug finished getting up, he did the last thing any enemy of Naruto Uzumaki should do. He looked him in the eyes. And the only thing he saw was red before he curled up into the fetal position and rocked back and forth while murmuring something about a demonic mother-in-law.

Seeing as how his job was done, he started running towards the direction of the bridge after leaving the clone there for protection.

When he arrived, the sight he came upon was one that he probably should've been expecting.

There was his supposed team, minus Yuki, fighting Zabuza and Haku while the workers were standing at the entrance to the bridge with Yuki guarding them.

Apparently Kakashi thought he could take on Zabuza alone while leaving Sasuke to Haku.

Clenching his hand into a fist at the blatant act of disrespect by his so called team, again minus Yuki, Naruto walked ominously through the fog towards Zabuza's fight.

5 minutes earlier

He couldn't believe this shit. First of all, he couldn't kill Gato and had to act all chummy with the tyrant. Secondly, he was being attacked by his…ally?… his ally's teammates after swearing on his word that he would be a spy. Maybe the worst thing about all of this would be that he doubted Naruto even knew about this betrayal.

"What the hell are you thinking?! We are on the same side now, you dumbass! Or did you forget the little deal we made with Naruto?!" Zabuza said/asked the deranged jonin.

"Any deal that brat made is null and void as he has no power to make such deal. And do you really expect me to believe that an A-ranked missing-nin, known for killing his entire graduating class, would respect any deal made with a lowly genin?" Kakashi countered, with a haughty smirk.

"I made that deal with my word on the line. I wouldn't dare break that deal, if only for the conservation of my reputation. Plus, I respect anyone that can beat me easily, especially if that person is as young as Naruto is and only a genin. You're a well-respected jonin and you're having trouble against me. What does that say to you?" Zabuza said, taunting the jonin at the end.

"He got lucky and he was probably using his demonic chakra to best you. Kami knows very few can best a biju." Kakashi replied, letting loose that Naruto was a jinchuuriki.

"No, he didn't use any of his biju's chakra, or else we would've sensed the maliciousness in the air. He beat me fair and square and as much as I loath to admit, he is more powerful than both of us, maybe even combined." Zabuza said as he hid in the fog, trying to avoid injuring the jonin, lest he change the story to make it sound like the missing-nin attacked first.

"That demon is only stronger because of his biju. And even then, the biju can be controlled with a simple Sharingan. Just goes to show you that not even an almighty demon can stand the power of the Sharingan." Kakashi smirked as he uncovered his stolen Sharingan.

"You know, you were an asshole before, but now… you've crossed the line. Assaulting my allies like that? You've just made a very big mistake." A voice said from behind him.

Not getting a chance to turn around, Kakashi was suddenly sent flying forward into the side of the bridge before being embedded into the concrete.

"Thanks for the assist, gaki. Didn't want to injure the prick just in case he tried to spin the story." Zabuza said with a sigh as he lifted the fog.

"No problem, now let's go deal with the Uchiha." Naruto said with a glare at the knocked out jonin.

Just then, the two shinobi felt a cold chill run across their skin, to which Zabuza gained a curious expression.

"I wonder why Haku would use that technique. Seems a bit overkill to use her Kekkei Genkai on a genin, even if he is an Uchiha." Zabuza thought out loud with a hum.

"What technique is she using? I can't have Sasuke dying just yet. I still need him for the Chunin Exams. Though I could do it on my own, I doubt anyone with power would "let" me participate by myself. And while I don't particularly care for the rank or proving my worth to insects like the people in Konoha, it would be funny to destroy Sasuke in the finals in front of all of his fan-base." He asked, not picking up his pace in the slightest.

"It's called, Demonic Ice Mirrors. It allows Haku to transport herself through these crystal mirrors at near instantaneous speeds while hurling senbon at her target. Against someone like Sasuke, it's lucky that she doesn't enjoy killing because he would be dead in an instant." Zabuza finished explaining as they came upon the "fight".

What they saw was pretty much what they expected, Sasuke, laying on the ground unconscious, looking like a human pin cushion while Haku stood over him, looking as if she hadn't been touched.

"Did he at least give you a minor training session?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Not even close. Even though he had the Sharingan, he lacked the speed required to put it to its full use." Haku's soft voice carried over to the two men.

"Yeah, he finds that the Sharingan is all he needs to win. Anyway, let's get these two tied up and then take them back to the house. We wouldn't want them to think that this little act of betrayal would go unpunished, would we?" Naruto said, finishing with a small demonic smile that caused Haku to blush, though it was hidden by her faux hunter-nin mask.

"Looky, looky men, the big bad demon has betrayed us. I guess this means that I won't have to pay you then." Said a voice from the other side of the bridge.

The small group turned to see a short man with a business suit, cane, and sunglasses leading what looked like a large group of thugs and mercenaries, all carrying what they thought looked intimidating.

"You must be the little shit named Gato. Wow, bringing all of these thugs for little ole me. I think I should feel flattered. Though, all I'm feeling is disappointment at the lack of skill your men exude. They look like you just picked them up off the side of the street, gave them some weapons, promised them money, and sent them on their merry way without giving a damn about if they could use said weapon." Naruto insulted with a bored expression.

"Why you little shit! Alright men, first one to bring me his head will double their pay! Anyone who brings me the women of this little group can have one of them, after I break them in first." Gato leered with a pompous stance.

"You just signed your death warrant bud. While I'm sure the women of this group can handle themselves, you leering at them like a piece of meat is seriously pissing me off. So, how about a little deal? You sign over your money and rights to all of your companies to me and I won't kill you. Whada'ya say?" Naruto asked with a smirk, knowing he wasn't going to take his deal.

"You must not know how to count, little boy. You don't stand a chance against this many thugs. You might be able to kill one fourth of them all with help from your group, but you will soon be overrun. So no, I won't take your deal, as tempting as it was. Get 'em boys." The short little bastard smirked as his minions charged forward.

"Oh well, guess we'll just have to surrender and hope for a swift death." Naruto pretend conceded before a large sadistic smirk snaked its way across his face as his eyes gained a small glint in them. "Nah! I'll rip your 'boys' to shreds with one move before slicing your head from your shoulders with a rusty spoon!"

While Naruto's group was smiling for most of that, they gained confused expressions at the random method of decapitation Naruto chose. Before they could question him on it however, they saw that he had already moved to where he was in-between his group and the mass of thugs.

He then raised his hand before wind started to spiral in front of his palm, creating a dark purple orb with what looked like planetary rings spinning around it before coming to a stop as they all aligned themselves.

"I've wanted to try this one out since I saw it first used. Be glad I'm wasting even this much chakra on you and thanks for being the guinea pigs for this. Spiralling Ring!" Naruto shouted with glee as he brought his arm back before launching it forward, releasing the jutsu towards the "army".

The thugs could do nothing as the orb of death sped towards them, slicing them apart with its rings as it journeyed to the middle of the group. Once it had reached its destination, the ball exploded outward destroying everyone in its vicinity, stopping just after consuming the last of the thugs.

Once the smoke cleared, Gato looked on in disbelief as he just witnessed his entire army of thugs get decimated with only one jutsu. Seeing the bo-… no, monster walking towards him, Gato started to shake as he begged his feet to take him somewhere, anywhere that wasn't in the path of this demon.

"So, you wanna make that deal now?" Naruto said with a smirk.

"Yes! Please, I will do anything. Just let me live!" Gato pleaded.

"Ok, sign here and I won't kill you." He said, holding out a piece of paper on a clipboard while pointing at a signature line at the bottom with a pen.

Quickly grabbing the offered pen, Gato wrote his signature down as fast as possible before stepping back and sighing in relief.

Smirking, Naruto grabbed Gato's shirt and lifted him up to his eye level.

"Wha- I thought you said you weren't going to kill me!" Gato accused frantically.

"And I am a man of my word. Though I never said I would protect you if someone else were to kill you." And with that response, Naruto tossed the short bastard over his shoulder, right into the path of Zabuza's sword slash.

Seeing as how that little squirt was dealt with, Naruto and Zabuza walked back to the group. On the way, Zabuza turned to Naruto to see him reading the contract.

"So, what're you gonna do with all that money and influence?" the former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen asked.

"Nothing as its not mine to use." Naruto replied, eliciting a confused look from Zabuza, before Naruto held the contract out towards the missing-nin.

"Wha-" he asked as he read. Apparently Naruto had Gato sign all of his money and financial influence directly into an account under Zabuza's name.

"Yep, you now have all of your former employer's money and influence. What you do with it is none of my concern, but I do hope that you stay in my employment, even if you're not in the village." Naruto said as they reached Haku, Yuki, and Tazuna as the workers went home, being dismissed for the day.

"I do appreciate all you've done for me and Haku, so I would be happy to join you. Although, the decision is ultimately up to Haku." Zabuza said with a smile.

"What's up to me?" Haku asked as she caught the end of that conversation.

"I was offering Zabuza here a job in my employment. You both would act as spies and travel around, gathering information and even allies if they come around. So, what do you say?" he explained.

"I don't mind. But, if I may, why didn't you offer us asylum in Konoha? I mean, we probably wouldn't take it as we've heard of the way they obsess over bloodline limits, but it still strikes me as odd." Haku asked, showing her intellect and deductive skills.

"Very astute of you, Haku-chan. To answer your question, I don't give a rats ass about Konoha. They are corrupted beyond belief and will do anything for power, and while they would have no real power over you as you would be under my protection, it is just easier this way. Also, I will send word to Kiri and tell them that you are no longer a missing-nin." Naruto explained with a bored tone as he tied up Sasuke and Kakashi before creating a clone to take them to Tazuna's house.

"Ah, I see. But yeah, I'm fine with this plan of action. It would be fun travelling the world, you know, while not being a fugitive. But you know, they're in the middle of a civil war right now. There's a division of power so I'm not sure who's going to get your message." Zabuza explained.

"Oh, that's true, The Bloodline Purges. I will deal with it. In the meantime, stay in Wave and train your hardest, I will not be represented by weak people. Your reputation will only get you so far. I will also be leaving you a training schedule with some jutsu and techniques that will increase your power." The blonde genin said sagely.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you, Naruto-sama." Zabuza and Haku bowed in respect.

"No need for that, I was never one for honorifics." Naruto replied with a large smile.

"Oh, thank Kami. No offense, but calling someone so much younger than me sama is just weird." Zabuza said with a shudder that caused everyone else to laugh.

"Well, Tazuna, lets get this bridge built!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Tazuna and the rest of the workers replied, mirroring his enthusiasm.

With the abuse of Shadow Clones and an occasional time-stop, the bridge was finished in record time. They decided to stay an extra night to party the next day then leave that night back home.

While this was happening, Kakashi and Sasuke had been under house arrest until they got back to Konoha. This was done by Naruto placing chakra lock seals on both of them and forced them to do manual labor around the house for Tsunami under the supervision of some Naruto clones.

At the party

Naruto was walking around in his usual attire, seeing as how it was formal in itself, with a cup of cola in his left hand and his right in his pocket.

He was about to walk around some more before someone tapped him on his shoulder. Turning around, Naruto was met with the sight of a small girl covered in rags, looking at him with a blush while twiddling her fingers.

"Umm, sir… I was wondering if you would maybe… wanna dance with me?" she asked while looking down like she had done something wrong.

Curious, Naruto looked around and saw a group of girls, about her age but with a bit nicer clothing, all pointing and laughing at the little girl.

Smirking, Naruto turned back to the girl in front of him and held out his hand. "It would be an honor."

She looked up suddenly in surprise before smiling a megawatt smile and taking his outstretched hand.

Looking over to the hired band, Naruto gave them a nod and motioned to the girl. Understanding what he wanted, the lead guitarist motioned to his band members with a smile.

As Naruto and the girl reached the dance floor, the band started playing a slow, romantic song. Naruto, positioning the girl onto his feet, started slowly dancing while holding the girl in a hug.

The girl then looked over to where the group of girls were standing to see them looking on in jealously. Thinking quickly, the girl stuck her tongue out the group before going back to dancing with the hero of Wave.

They spent the next couple of hours just dancing and talking. Naruto bought her all the food and clothes she wanted and even introduced her to Inari, who was speechless when he saw her, something Naruto took as teasing material.

After the first couple of minutes, she officially introduced herself as Asano (not based off of anyone from any show) and she admitted that he was her idol and that she wanted to be just like him someday. Someone who could instill hope in so many people with a smile never leaving their face.

That made him smile. This is what he wanted with all of his heart. To be able to be someone people can look up to and be someone his parents could look up to.

The day was ending fast as the sun was descending into the western horizon. When the party had ended and the citizens were all asleep, team 7 left the village of Wave (after Naruto disabled the chakra locking seals so they could travel at ninja speeds) on a direct route back to Konoha.

Naruto smiled, thinking of all of the friends he's made.

"Naruto, we need to talk." Kurama spoke in a serious tone.

XX End XX

Thank you all for reading this chapter. Review and tell me what you thought of it. I figured I would add in a little spice for your boy Inari. Also, Naruto's attitude when fighting Gato and his goons will be explained next chapter. Ok then, see you all in the next one. Seeya!