Sorry it took so long but hey, I'm only 14. It takes a lot to get me motivated. I know it's not much but I hope you enjoy.

Naruto smiled at the fight which had broken out between Akemi and Konohamaru. She had brought the both of them to a training ground to teach them the basics of the Rasengan. The fight had broken out when Konohamaru had let his chakra spin out of control and the backlash caused the both of them to hit the ground hard.

Naruto had returned to Konoha to ensure Akemi's safety. She would not make the same mistake twice. She now understood what it was that made the superiors of the village so edgy to let her leave the village, but that doesn't mean she was going to stay because of their orders.

Naruto had escorted the Mizu no Kuni Daimyo's daughter and all was well. Now, all she was waiting for was for Kakashi-sensei to return with the team he wanted in order to retrieve Sasuke. She stiffened when she heard movement in the trees but relaxed when she noticed it was a genin. He handed her a letter.

I was wonderin' if you'd be a sport

And send me a report

Of where I can go

To relax and be mellow

I was thinking the Caribbean Sea

Where I can relax and just be me.

K

Naruto laughed and used Katon chakra to burn the letter. Kirabi somehow always knew when she was stressed and he always knew how to brighten her day. She nodded to the genin who left quickly. Having tired of Akemi's and Konohamaru's fight, she hit the both of them on the head. They held their heads as they squatted. They turned to Naruto with tears in their eyes.

"What did you do that for, Naruto-neechan?"

"Yeah, we weren't really doing anything wrong." Naruto was about to reprimand the two of them but was stopped when Sakura landed next to her. Sakura nodded at Naruto and promptly left.

"Konohamaru, Akemi, I expect this jutsu to be completed by the time that I return, got it?" They both nodded when they saw that Naruto was serious. Naruto shunshined to the front gate with her emerald green haori swirling around her as she appeared in front of her comrades.

Naruto looked at them and nodded at Jiraiya and Tsunade. Rain started falling as they led out of the village. Naruto created a large disc attached to a chain and held it up against the light drizzle. After a while, the rain ceased they slowed their pace. Reaching a town they'd heard Sasuke had passed through.

Leaping onto a tall building, which gave them a view of the surrounding terrain, they waited as Kakashi summoned his dogs.

"We will be maintaining a five kilometer radius. Each of you will be accompanied by at least one dog." Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Naruto, you can use your sensory ability but you will be traveling with Yamato and Hinata for added security measures."

"Kaka-sensei, five kilometers is a large distance though." Sakura said uncertainly.

"Sakura, don't worry. The dogs' nose and ears are extremely sensitive so we'll be able to maintain communication if we find something." Kakashi turned to his dogs. "Okay everybody, it's time to pair up." The dogs started sniffing the Konoha shinobi and threw some slight jabs at them. Naruto got big bark bull who was a fairly silent dog. They scattered when Kakashi gave them the signal.

Naruto activated her sensory abilities and immediately sensed Sasuke but she also sensed another sensor shinobi near Sakura. Naruto knew that the shinobi had already sensed her, but Naruto had already suppressed her chakra enough to seem that she was not a threat. She could have extinguished her chakra completely but then she wouldn't be able to activate her sensory abilities.

The unknown shinobi wasn't much of a threat to her but Naruto stiffened when she sensed the shinobi headed in Sasuke's direction.

Her group had reached a clearing but as she was about to pursue the unknown shinobi, she sensed Orochimaru's chakra. Immediately she sent a massive bludgeon in the direction of the chakra. She pulled it back when she saw a hooded figure appear at her team's side. The figure turned his head and everyone froze when they saw it was Kabuto.

"Hello Naruto-chan. I see you are doing rather well."

"Kabuto, where is Sasuke?!" As Naruto said that wood leapt out of the ground and ensnared Kabuto.

"You were Orochimaru's spy, there's no way we're letting you go now." Yamato said with his hands clasped together in a seal. They heard laughter as they saw Kabuto suddenly launched himself out of his wooden prison.

"I haven't come here to fight. I actually came here to give you a gift." Kabuto pulled a book out of his pouch and tossed it at the Konoha shinobi. They still couldn't get over the scales which covered the left side of his body. "The next time we meet, I will be a lot stronger and that is when I will fight you Naruto-chan. After all I made you a lot stronger, didn't I?" With a final chuckle he disappeared into hazy smoke.

Naruto clenched her fists when she felt her teammates' eyes on her. Shaking it off she picked the book up and opened it to reveal an Akatsuki bingo book. She handed it over to Yamato who placed into his pouch.

Naruto froze when she felt Sasuke's chakra elevate and almost screamed when she sensed that Deidara guy's chakra. He had not died after all. She dashed toward their battle at high speeds leaving Hinata and Yamato behind. She felt them follow her but she was pumping chakra into her legs allowing her to move at shunshin speeds.

This time, she would not lose Sasuke. She would save him from the dark place he was descending into. She had been running for some time and she sensed the other members of her team change direction and head toward her. Naruto stopped in a clearing when she sensed a chakra suddenly appear in front of her.

"Itachi, I know you're there." Naruto called out to the tree. She was itching to get to Sasuke but if she caught Itachi, Sasuke would have no choice but to come to them. Naruto formed a hand seal and three clones popped into existence, they took positions around Itachi. They activated their Mangekyou Sharingans and Itachi's eyes widened when he saw this. His eyes bled into their shruiken formation.

"I'm not here to fight; I am merely here to speak with you, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well that's too bad because you're my ticket to seeing Sasuke again." Naruto began making her formation tighter. Chains from her clones and her body interlocked above Itachi, preventing him from escaping.

"Why do you care so much for my brother? He is a missing-nin of Konoha."

"Unlike you, I care about him for being himself. I don't care about anything but his well being."

"You sound like you love my brother, Naruto-san."

"I-" Naruto fell silent as she contemplated Itachi's words. Did she really love Sasuke? Naruto paid attention to what she felt when she thought of Sasuke. It was love that much she could guess but it felt warm and a deeper care than that of attraction. Firm in her belief she met Itachi's eyes with determination.

"I think of him more as a brother than you ever would."

"You think of him more as a brother than I ever would." Itachi raised his brow. "But what would you do should Sasuke turn against Konoha?"

"There is no way that Sasuke would do that!" Naruto said firmly even though she had a sinking feeling in her chest.

"Don't be so naïve. We live in a world of shinobi. Sasuke is still young and impressionable. Again I ask, what would you do?"

Naruto examined Itachi's blank face before smirking. "For me, there is no choice. I will save Sasuke from his darkness whilst still protecting Konoha." At that Itachi developed a small smile on his face.

"Since you seem so adamant on protecting my brother, I will give you a bit of my power. I doubt you will even need it with those eyes of yours." A crow popped out of Itachi's mouth and flew into Naruto's mouth. Naruto gagged but recovered quickly after it was sealed within her.

"This will be the last time we will meet, Naruto-san. I hope you manage to save my otouto." With that, he disappeared in a haze. Naruto stared at the place he had disappeared before dispelling her shadow clones and deactivating her eyes as her teammates met up with her.

"Naruto! What were you thinking?!" Sakura said as she ran at Naruto with a cocked fist. Sakura leapt at Naruto but Naruto leapt over Sakura. Sakura's fist hit the ground splintering it. Sakura walked up to Naruto after calming down. "Well at least you haven't let your guard down." Stepping closer, Sakura hugged Naruto and whispered, "Don't ever do that again; I don't know what I would ever do if I lost you too."

Naruto hugged her back. "I'm sorry, when I felt his chakra I didn't think." Sakura pulled away and nodded but smiled as she saw Naruto's wide smile. Everyone froze when they saw a large light pierce an area not that far from them. Naruto tensed and was about to deliver news of Sasuke's demise but she sensed it again some distance away. Naruto blinked away the tears that had started forming. She had to remain strong for Sakura's sake.

"Sasuke was involved in that battle. He is fine but is surrounded with odd chakras. We can assume that they are dangerous if underestimated." Everybody nodded and they headed out again. After a bit more running they arrived at the place where Naruto had sensed Sasuke's chakra. There was nothing but a large purple snake.

"Manda?! What could have possibly killed him?" Naruto asked remembering the great snake when Orochimaru had faced off against the other Sannin.

"He was probably used as a shield in that explosion. Space-time ninjutsu perhaps?" Kakashi turned to Yamato.

"It seems like it Kakashi-senpai." Deciding to set up camp for a short while, they headed into the forest.

At night, Naruto found it hard to sleep. Her body seemed to have an inert keep moving and getting stronger. Naruto moved some distance from her teammates, noting that Kakashi and Yamato as well as Sai noticed her.

Naruto created some Moku bunshin and had them transform into a perfect Susano'o. The wraiths stood in silence before suddenly leaping at Naruto. Large pins shot out of Naruto and attempted to impale the wraiths. The pins bounced off of them and Naruto was forced to speedily dodge their attacks. They came at her in coordinated speed and strength. She was hit multiple times before she got used to their movements. She had activated her Sōzō Saisei to heal the damage the clones had inflicted because they were not stopping.

The terrain around her looked like a titan had wondered through. Naruto activated her Mangekyou allowing her Susano'o to reveal itself. Deciding that tonight was enough. Naruto coordinated her attacks causing her Susano'o to pull out its Amaterasu kunai and cut viciously through the clones.

When her chakra evaporated, she fell to one knee. Her chakra was fine but her body hurt. She would have to learn to get used to it. The Sōzō Saisei removed the pain quickly. She sealed it and wiped the sweat on her brow. Naruto walked to a small deep river she'd heard running. She took off her haori, sandals, body suit with headband and gloves putting them on the bank behind her.

Naruto stepped into the cool water and shivered slightly but it felt good on her warm skin. Having cooled down she stepped out and got dressed. Reaching their camp site, Naruto jumped onto a tree branch then fell asleep after putting her back against the trunk.

The team had been running very quickly in Sasuke's direction. Naruto flared her chakra dangerously high causing a tower of chakra to reach into the sky. This caused the other sensor to immediately extinguish her chakra. Naruto smirked. Deciding to stall them, Naruto ran ahead of her team and attempted to catch up with Sasuke's team.

Naruto circled around them at high speeds and stood in a branch ahead of them. Since their sensor was currently out of commission, she could surprise them from her vantage point. To their credit, they noticed her before stopping a short distance away.

"Sasuke, I'm here to take you home. Please come quietly."Sasuke remained impassive as his teammates tensed. Naruto guessed that the sensor had already informed them of her.

"I don't know who you are but Sasuke is the reincarnation of Kimimaru, and that means I won't let you get in the way of his goals." The orange haired male of the group said determinedly.

"Yeah, who are you to order Sasuke around." The red haired individual shouted at her.

"Juugo, Karin, don't take her lightly. She beat Sasuke relatively easily when we were still searching for the Kubikiri Houcho." Naruto scrutinised every member then her eyes widened on the red haired individual.

"You there, are you an Uzumaki?"

"What is it to you?"

"It's just that I will regret fighting against a relative of mine." Karin's eyes widened at this before turning to look at Sasuke then huffing haughtily.

"Enough talk, we're going to charge our way through if we have to." Suigetsu shouted before launching himself quickly at Naruto. Naruto quickly released a blade before channelling condensed Fuuton chakra into it. Her blade met Suigetsu's before cutting through it like butter. Naruto launched out a strong kick forcing Suigetsu back and making him splatter on a tree trunk.

Naruto jumped back before placing her hand hard on Juugo's, forcing him through the tree branch and down into the ground below. Naruto noticed that Sasuke had already gotten past her. She was about to chase him when a warp in the air appeared. The orange masked individual that appeared out of it told Suigetsu and Juugo to go on ahead. The two promptly leapt into action.

Naruto and the orange masked individual were left alone. Naruto's eyes immediately bled into red with slits. She had lost control of her emotions before red chakra began bubbling out of her.

"You! You took my parents from me!" Naruto's claws lengthened as she crouched and her canines lengthened. Naruto sensed that her teammates would take some time to get to her. She launched herself at the masked man and had a fist in front of his face in less than a second. Naruto slipped right through him. She hit a tree and pulled herself out of the rubble to see him rubbing the back of his head.

"Now now, there's no need to fight. Tobi is a good boy."

"Don't screw with me!" Naruto clenched her fist. "You attacked Konoha sixteen years ago and at first I thought you were Madara, but that can't be true seeing as Kabuto had recently discovered Madara's real body before Orochimaru's demise. Why he didn't reveal this to Orochimaru, I don't know. So, who are you?"

The man's voice deepened. "Well, I guess there's no point in me beating around the bush. I want Sasuke and you've shown some interesting abilities yourself but it's a pity you will have to become a sacrifice. I want to achieve peace but now I can't tell you anymore of my plans because I know you would do anything to try and stop me."

Naruto ran at him and passed through him again. Landing some distance from him, Naruto felt herself freeze as she was being sucked into a type of vortex. Naruto threw a chakra kunai and immediately teleported to it.

"It seems that you have learned the Yondaime's jutsu. He's still a troublesome man, even in death." The masked man ran at Naruto, causing her to throw a punch but he phased right through it. He turned around to grab Naruto but suddenly he was hit with a crippling blow from behind. The masked man analyzed the battle field and saw indiscreet markings all around the area. He landed in a tree before causing it to topple.

Naruto saw 'Tobi' get up with the side of his cloak torn. His right arm seemed to melt as it fell. Naruto could identify a Sharingan from the cracked side of his mask. Naruto activated her own Mangekyou. Naruto attempted to subdue the individual in Tsukuyomi. He seemed subconsciously to be able to fight against it. Naruto grit her teeth in frustration before launching Amaterasu at him. He started burning and Naruto smiled but frowned when she saw the black flames absorbed into his right eye.

Naruto's teammates reached her as a Venus-fly trap looking individual appeared out of the tree next to Tobi. Naruto now knew where the foul chakra corrupting the earth came from. All those times before, it was him!

"Uchiha Itachi is dead, Sasuke has won."

"Thank you Zetsu." Tobi turned to the Konoha shinobi. "It's been fun, but I have to be going." He disappeared along with Zetsu. Naruto sensed Tobi reach Sasuke almost instantaneously. The Konoha shinobi were about to chase them down.

"There's no point, they've already reached Sasuke. We're going to have to try another time." Naruto turned and began walking in the direction of Konoha with tears in her eyes. "My students are waiting for me."

Everyone was quiet as they watched her go. They received a messenger bird for another mission, before they released the bird; they tied a note explaining Naruto's return.

Naruto watched Akemi and Konohamaru spar. Konohamaru had summoned a staff where as Akemi had taken to large wooden sword. Naruto knew herself not to be a quitter, but she realized how futile it was to chase Sasuke whilst he was in the custody of that madman. He probably would have used Sasuke against her to get to the Kyuubi.

"Aim for an area parallel to his staff Akemi. Konohamaru your swings are too wide; you're wasting energy." Naruto looked at them fondly as they corrected their mistakes. They had quickly formed a rivalry but Naruto could see it was laced with a strong friendship. Akemi had quickly befriended Ebisu's other students.

"When I come back, I expect you too to perform your techniques flawlessly, am I understood?" The two nodded quickly before twin smiles formed on their faces.

Naruto teleported to her compound where she viewed the empty buildings that orphanage had been located. The young fresh-out-of-the-academy genin that used to be a part of the orphanage had paid off a large piece of land where the caretakers could move to because they felt they were being a hindrance. Naruto had tried to protest this but their minds had been made up. She smiled fondly at the memories of young laughter.

Naruto walked into her home and she still walked past Santo's room, almost expecting him to be there. He hadn't returned from liaising with Jiraiya. She thought that he would have returned by now but she guessed being around somebody like Jiraiya often made somebody forget about the world around them. She wouldn't admit this out loud to anybody but she had come to care deeply for Santo, seeing as he was one of the only links to her mother's home country.

Her teammates had still to return but she didn't worry that much about them. As long as they were together they would be fine. Shaking off her heavy thoughts she exited her home and began tending her garden. Naruto periodically injected her Mokuton chakra into her plants; strengthening them against whatever ailed them.

Feeling a cold shiver; Naruto frowned at the foreboding feeling which had entered her body and she knew it had something to do with Sasuke.

Please Review. I feel kind of sad about the lack of feedback. Do you like it or hate it? Please, feel free to leave your comments by clicking on the box at the bottom of the page. And if you think I made Naruto powerful, please bare with me. She's got the fourth hokage's jutsu for crying out loud and she's been taught by two Sannin but if you feel she's still too powerful drop a comment and if you want me to add something, DROP A COMMENT! PLEASE !