The journey from Kumo to Suna, was a very long one. No doubt about it whatsoever. So there was no point in rushing the trip at all. Naruto was casually walking along the road towards his destination, however he wasn't stupid. He had his guard up the whole time, he wasn't going to let himself get ambushed by him making a foolish mistake.

"So what's your plan? You can't just waltz into the village and request an audience with the council. With the Kazekage recently dying, there's no doubt in my mind that Suna is on a extreme guard to any deceit or lies. Especially with them knowing about you already, that's what your former teammate and sensei was there for after all." The Kyuubi said suddenly.

Naruto cursed as he realized the fox was right. It would be extremely foolish to expect them to believe him that easily, he'd need some proof. He knew it wouldn't be easy though.

"This time your on your own, you have to learn to do things like this on your own. Think of it as your next lesson. You need to get them to believe your the son of the Yondaime Hokage." He said suddenly.

Naruto went wide eyed, then chuckled, but nonetheless he nodded. It was a challenge to him, and he'd gladly accept it.

Bring it on.

However, that left him with the question of how he would do that. It was obvious they would need a push. So that left him with a few options, one, he could use the tailed forms and easily show them he was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. However, that left him wondering how would they take it. It could have a good effect or a bad one.

That left him with his other option, it wasn't as risky as the first one. However, it was something personal and it could prove risky in the future.

It was washing out the hair dye and returning to his natural hair color. If he did that, he would no doubt look like a younger Minato and the resemblance would be easy enough to see.

Also it left him open to being recognized a lot easier.

However, there was another part of him that said fuck it and let them come. They'd see later that he wasn't someone to be messed with. So he quickly got up and walked into a nearby forest and walked towards the sound of rushing water.

He soon came upon a river, and sat down by it.

If anyone were around the area, they would see him dunk his head underwater as the river rushed through his hair as it washed it out and carried it downstream.

Slowly, but surely, the black hair dye faded and Naruto's original blonde hair came into view as he whipped his head back out of the river. However as he pulled himself on the bank, he noticed something that alarmed him.

His spiky blonde hair had red tips. He quickly blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

"Kyuubi, what is this?" He asked quickly

Naruto took a piece of the of hair and pulled it down to eye level. Sure enough the tips where red.

"Due to your use of my chakra as much as we have been using, it's influence will have some effects on your appearance. This is the beginning, however this is something to be expected, and it doesn't have any negative effects either." He heard the Kyuubi explain.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he heard him.

"What can I expect?" He asked quickly.

The Kyuubi was silent for a good bit before replying.

"More pronounced features, such as sharper canines and nails, nothing too crazy. Some changes will take longer to happen, the more you use the chakra and the tailed forms, the stronger the influence it gives. Which in turn drives the changes to happen alot quicker." The Kyuubi said.

Naruto wondered for a second of what else could happen.

"I'm not going to suddenly grow a tail or two am I?" He asked quickly.

The Kyuubi chuckled and spoke.

"No, nothing like that. That would only happen if we decided to merge." The Kyuubi said quickly.

Naruto looked confused after hearing that.

"Merge? What do you mean?" He asked suddenly.

The Kyuubi was silent again for a bit.

"In dire situations, in order to save a host's life. The bijuu can preform a process, that would merge the two's souls together. Resulting in the host becoming the bijuu themselves afterwards. It is cases like this, that require such a cautioned amount of thinking to them, due to the fact that the process cannot be reversed." He explained.

Naruto shook his head and stood up, there was nothing he could do about it. It was pointless to try to avoid something he had no control over, he learned that the hard way already.

Now it was time for more important matters.

Getting to Suna.

That was a very long distance to travel from where he was.

"What's your plan?" The Kyuubi asked suddenly.

He knew something was going off in Naruto's mind.

"I know for a fact it's going to be a long journey to go, I'm not even a quarter away from Kumo. I'm not about to do this the same way, I not as stupid to know now that word would start to travel. It will soon come full circle, people will eventually find me, and I'll most likely have to fight them off, everyone will want me for ulterior plots." He quickly thought.

The Kyuubi snorted, but it had a sort of amusement behind it.

"You need to find somewhere you can rest upon in the wilderness, you have no idea how long you many days you will be stretching in these journeys. Make it a safe house of sorts. It would be wise to say that you cannot rely on Kumo to provide you with a sudden need of a place to stay, this way you'd have a hideout you could lie low, heck make a few more across the elemental nations." The Kyuubi said suddenly.

Naruto looked up at that thought, it was pretty good idea too. He also had something else he wanted to do, he got a big grin on his face as he started to think about it. If he did it right, and got away successfully. Which he had good faith that he could do it easily, it was something to him to test his stealth.

The Kyuubi was silent as it picked up on his thoughts. He wondered what he was up to.

"What are you thinking of boy? You've clearly got something plotted in that head of yours, I can tell by that devious grin you have on your face." The Kyuubi said suddenly.

Naruto stopped for a second and chuckled.

{Scene Break} {Konoha}

Tsunade waited for Jiraiya to come, she received word that he just arrived at the gate. Before she knew it, the Sannin had quickly arrived and opened the door and stepped in. He didn't really feel like making any grand entrance, he knew what this meeting was about.

He did have a lot to tell as well, so it was better to get it over with.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with an expectant face. She definitely wanted news, she hoped it was good too.

"So what did you learn?" She asked quickly.

Jiraiya smiled and sat down.

"I learned quite a bit, I will say the boy's personality has changed quite a bit." He started off.

That made Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she was confused.

"Changed? How so?" She asked quickly.

Jiraiya sighed and began to explain.

"He has made a complete 180 change. You wouldn't even recognize him if you saw him, his whole appearance is changed, the only reason I was able to know it was him was the fact I could sense the fox's chakra. He's observant, cunning and clever." He started.

That took Tsunade for a loop.

"Explain." Was all she said.

Jiraiya took a serious expression now.

"The boy has been training hard, I can tell he's leagues above what most people would assume. For starters, he has Samehada. He also has been learning senjutsu on his own, he's learned quite a bit. He managed to make a deal with the Raikage to train him, in exchange for his service as a freelance mercenary." He explained.

That shocked Tsunade completely, being a freelance mercenary was very risky. If Naruto could successfully pull it off, he would change everything. Judging by the look of Jiraiya's face, there was something else.

"What else is there?" She asked quickly.

Jiraiya looked solemn for a moment.

"He said he'd return eventually. Something about needing to take care of something." He said.

That shocked Tsunade again as she digested his words.

"Are you sure?" She asked suddenly.

Jiraiya nodded as Tsunade sighed and had a sad smile on her face, she knew it would be a good bit before she saw him again.

Jiraiya had a serious expression as he started to speak.

"What of the council? How are things going on? There has to be some kind of backlash as the secret finally reached the public." He said quickly.

Tsunade sighed and looked at him.

"The council is demanding I try everything I can to bring him back, however, I know it is best to leave him be. We can't risk antagonizing him, if he was smart enough to defeat Asuma's and Kurenai's teams with an ambush, imagine what he will be able to do that a few weeks ago. Imagine a few months or a year, he surely wouldn't hesitate anymore." She said softly.

Jiraiya put his hand to his chin as he thought about it.

"Any of the conniving little bastards try anything?" He asked suddenly.

Jiraiya knew how the people viewed Naruto, his image among the populace wasn't good.

"There is one I might have a problem with, Danzo, he would be the most likely to act on his own. Knowing his moniker of Shinobi of Darkness." She said suddenly.

Jiraiya scowled at the mention of the man, he knew all too well what the ex-commander was like. No man or woman in their right mind should trust the bastard, if he would try something in an attempt to get Naruto, how would the boy react? That is what he was thinking.

"That bastard would be the one to do something fishy, my question is would he underestimate the boy like everyone else?" He suggested quickly.

Tsunade was silent after hearing that.

"If Danzo does let arrogance and pride blind him of the situation, he will most likely regret it." She said quickly.

Jiraiya nodded and knew it was true, Danzo wasn't someone to act without hesitation or rushed thoughts. He was decisive and cunning, he probably heard about the two teams failures and realized Naruto was suddenly growing stronger. Soon enough, that he would be able to stand against him, if the need arose.

Boy would that be a sight to see, Naruto was surely growing beyond anyone's perceptions of his strength. That fact was proved alone with his change. There was no doubt in his mind, that they would soon be seeing the rebirth of the yellow flash.

He had no idea, just how true that statement really was.

"Is root still active?" Jiraiya asked suddenly.

Tsunade was silent after hearing that, any shinobi with a single brain cell regarding Konoha's history knew that name.

"It was officially disbanded by Hiruzen during his position as Third Hokage, however there are some reports and questions stating it continues to operate hidden, Danzo is still most likely the leader of it." She said softly.

Jiraiya groaned as he heard her statement, it was most likely true. He knew how conniving and shady the man was, after all he wasn't known as the Shinobi of Darkness for nothing. That was a fact, simple as that.

He decided, he would need to keep a closer eye on him with his spy network to see what was going on.

"Well, I'll keep an eye on him with my spy network, you should do the same. I'll let you know if I find anything, or if Naruto does something new." He said suddenly.

Tsunade nodded with a sigh and watched as the Sannin vanished with a shunshin, she then leaned back in her chair as she sighed with contempt. Her day wasn't over yet.

No, not by a long shot at all.

She still had to meet with the council, and she knew it wasn't going to be pretty. It was time, to show them who really held the power in the village.

Before anyone knew it, she had left the Hokage tower and started on her way towards the meeting place. She mentally prepared herself for what this meeting would entail.

She knew without a shred of doubt, that it would definitely get heated at one point.

She soon found herself pushing open the doors to the meeting room, inside the room was a small table with four chairs.

The meeting with the civilian council was about to begin. Danzo, Homura and Koharu were all waiting for her to arrive.

"Welcome Lady Tsunade." Koharu said in a snide tone.

It was obvious to Tsuande, that the woman didn't like her very much and disagreed with her actions towards Naruto, it was a well known fact that most of the elders in the village still didn't like Naruto and saw him as the demon brat.

She knew now with his heritage revealed, things were going to be very different. However, she knew they wouldn't get anywhere.

"I assume we all know what this meeting is about, so let's get straight to the point." Tsunade said quickly.

The rest of them just huffed or scoffed at her statement.

"Why'd you hide the boy's lineage?" Homura asked quickly.

Tsunade scoffed and spoke up.

"This whole village hated Naruto for being the jinchuriki for most of his life. I wasn't going to jeopardize his situation anymore by revealing his true parentage. You seem to forget the fact Minato sealed the Kyuubi in his son, it would only be more harmful than good." She said swiftly.

Danzo scoffed then chuckled.

"Yet, he had acted on his own will many times. What did that prove? We know the brat was able to survive on his own." He said loudly.

Tsunade glared at him, Koharu decided to speak up.

"Let's get past the trivial stuff. We must get him back to the village. What have you done to try to get him to return?" She asked quickly.

Tsunade laughed loudly.

"Oh your mistaken, I'm not going to do anything." She said in a mocking tone.

Homura glared and shouted out.

"Why not! You know the power the boy has! Combined with his heritage he will only grow further!" He slammed his fist on the table as he raged.

Tsunade shook her head and glared at him.

"He left on his own accord, and you seem to forget the fact the village despised him for the longest time, you really think he'd return? I'm not going to strain any relationship I currently have with him, by trying to force him to return. That would be foolish and would only push him further away." She said loudly.

Their eyes widened as they heard her tone. It was one of finality. Nothing more to be said about the matter, or there would be consequences. However, Tsunade knew they would still push her.

"You say this, yet you know the gravity of the situation. Word spreads fast throughout the elemental nations, he's technically up for grabs for anyone!" Danzo said quickly.

Tsunade smirked and spoke up.

"We both know what you want Danzo, you want a weapon that is effective without question. You are right when you say I know of the gravity of the situation, however, I know more than you. Word does spread fast, and I can personally assure you that Naruto situation is out of our hands. Nothing we do can bring him back." She said loudly.

The three of them narrowed their eyes.

"What do you mean?" Koharu asked quickly.

Tsunade chuckled and began to prepare to drop the bomb on them, she knew however that she needed to be careful. Danzo was more likely now to try something, so she had to be careful and not give him anything to go on.

"I had Jiraiya travel recently to Kumo, where we know Naruto was currently. His mission was a personal one, to gather info and report back to me." She started.

They all widened their eyes, Danzo seemed to have a hungry look in his eyes.

"Damn bastard, your foolish to think you'll be able to do anything." Tsunade thought quickly.

"What did he learn?" Homaru asked quickly.

She chuckled and began to speak again.

"He told me, that the boy has changed considerably. He had forgone his personality and adapted to a new one. This one is very dangerous and conniving, the first thing Jiraya said to me was it was a 180 change and you wouldn't recognize him. The fact of the matter is he is no longer the Naruto Uzumaki you people think you knew." She continued.

They all started to chuckle and laughed.

"Please? You really believe that the demon brat, who was the dead last of the academy, who also failed the exam more than once. That this boy is completely different?" Koharu asked in a snide tone.

They all chuckled even more.

"You must realize that the statement is made up right? Surely Jiraiya said that to cover up for his failure of a student." Homura added in a arrogant tone.

Tsunade eyebrows started to twitch as her anger rose, she was going to be nice and lay it on them easily and smooth. Not anymore though.

It was time to drop the whole fucking bomb on them at once.

"Really you are all stuck in the past, you seem to forget that he not only proved this village wrong on multiple occasions. I remember the report of the two teams that failed to bring him back, the ambush he devised was something to be remembered for sure. To take both of the teams strengths and weaknesses and use them against them to completely send them home with 4 people unconscious is a feat alone. I remember them saying he had Samehada, the legendary sword of Kisame Hoshigaki, who evidently made a mistake and payed the ultimate price. Not to mention, that "failure of a student" you guys seemed to believe him as, happened to make a deal with the Raikage. In which he got many things out of it, all for his support as a freelance mercenary. Training with one of the Raikage's personal shinobi and asylum there. It's obvious the boy has grown beyond anyone's imagination." She spat out.

She took some sadistic pleasure in seeing the utter shock and stupefied expressions that their faces took. She got the message through, however she wasn't done yet.

"I will not force him back! He will return only if he wants to." She said with authority.

None of them had any words, they all looked up suddenly as Tsunade got up.

"This meeting is over, there will be no more discussions on this matter. That is final." She said.

She swiftly turned around and stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked council in her wake.

However, she knew there was always going to be problems.

That was inevitable, but she'd be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to stop them.

She owed him that much.