A/N: Long time, eh? I got caught up in work that I haven't had a chance to write. Here's the next part. Hopefully you'll see another one sometimes tomorrow.

He awoke feeling warm and comfortable. He could here hushed murmurs whispering all around him and tried to open his eyes. But the effort was too much and he couldn't summon the strength to move his eyelids. Feeling a pang of regret, he drifted off into sleep again.

The next time Naruto woke, he was much more coherent. He blinked, transitioning from sleep into active almost instantly. He seemed to be lying down in a small tent and the sun was shining brightly through the small open flap. The sound of confident and relaxed laughs of men and women filled the air as Naruto observed his surroundings. He was lying in a cot, dressed in a hospital gown and covered with pure white blankets. The tent was empty and medical equipment and charts were stacked and pinned up all around him.

Somebody moved and Naruto watched as a man in scrubs entered the tent. He was carrying a clipboard and seemed genuinely surprised to see Naruto awake and observing him.

"Oh, hello!" the Medic said cheerfully. His black eyes regarded him in good humour. "Welcome back to the land of the living. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," came Naruto's automatic response. He paused and regarded the state of his body. "Actually, I'm…good. I'm really good."

"Excellent!" The man said excitedly. He jotted something down on his clipboard. "Upsilon Squad were happy with your progress. They did say you were more banged up than usual, though."

"Heh," Naruto scoffed, closing his eyes. "This isn't the first time I've had the ANBU medical corps treating me," he admitted.

"I see." The medic jotted something else down on his pad and looked up. "I suppose you have some questions for me."

"Where am I?" Naruto asked quietly.

"You're in Secured Zone Alpha," the medic answered. "You've been here before. We're at the edge of the Sea of Whirlpools, near the wreckage of the Sky Country naval fleet."

"Wreckage?" Naruto echoed. "Then the Hokage received my message?"

"He did," the medic confirmed with a nod. "Two ANBU platoons were sent to deal with the fleet. The counterattack was a complete success."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Only one thing remained. "Konoha… is it…" His question went unanswered.

"From what I've heard, there were a few casualties," the medic admitted. "However, they were nothing when you think of what would have happened if Konoha hadn't been warned. The aerial attack was surprisingly effective."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Konoha still stood.

The medic shot Naruto a side-along glance. "Rumour has it that you had a big part in defending Konoha," he said with no small amount of respect. "I guess it's to be expected of the Right Hand of God."

The right hand of what?

Naruto opened his mouth to say something when the opening to the tent flapped again and more people walked in. His eyes lit up and he grinned brightly as Komachi and Towa entered. Their masks were off, Komachi's head was covered in bandages and Towa was limping with a cane but they were alive!

"Hey, Boss!" Towa called cheerfully.

He waved exuberantly with the hand holding the walking stick. The stick blurred and something fragile and made of glass smashed. Towa winced, and then winced again when Komachi whacked him across the back of the head. He shot her a wounded look, to which she responded with a huff and turned back to the bed-ridden Naruto.

"Squad Captain," she greeted him formally with a respectful nod.

"Squad Captain," Naruto greeted back.

His face felt like it was going to split apart with joy. The happiness welling within him surged as the tent flapped opened again and the rest of his one-time squad appeared. A blur of blonde hair surged past the two wounded ANBU and slammed into Naruto. He groaned and something slammed into his chest. A hand came up to his hair and began messing it furiously while his face was pressed deep into somebody's chest. He flailed his arms, struggling to breath, and gasped in relief as the unidentified person was suddenly removed from his person.

Yuuka beamed down at him as Kage held her by the scruff of her clothes. She waved cheerfully. "Hey, cutie!" she squealed.

Kage looked at her blankly and, after giving Naruto a short nod, didn't say a word as he dragged the enthusiastic Yamanaka away to the other side of the tent. Towa was snickering and even Komachi was smiling as Naruto buried his face in his hands, trying to control his embarrassment. He looked up after a few moments and waved to Daichi. The Hyuuga grinned and gave him a thumbs-up before plonking himself on the chair next to Naruto's bed.

They were all here.

It wasn't until Daichi answered that Naruto realised he had verbalised his thoughts.

"Yep," he responded cheerfully. "All of Team Sigma has returned victorious! We're just awesome like that."

There was a flurry of movement as a squirming Yuuka escaped Kage's grip. She jumped on his bed and scuttled up to the bedhead, scooting over next to Naruto and staying out of range of Kage. Komachi and Towa walked forward on either side of his bed while Kage hovered in the background, lurking just in range of the 'team atmosphere'.

Naruto looked at his team fondly and enjoyed the camaraderie as Komachi and Towa began to bicker over something. This was the true strength of Konoha's Doctrine, the power of comradeship, and there were few bonds stronger than those forged in the hell of war. Yuuka muttered something to Naruto and pointed to her ring finger and Naruto snickered, watching as Towa spluttered and Komachi narrowed her eyes at the perky Yamanaka. Daichi mentioned something slyly and roared with laughter as Towa responded heatedly. Kage's face was blank but his lips twitched as a single word from him sent the entire team into hysterics.

Naruto closed his eyes and dozed off amidst the warmth of friendship.

He was only out of it for a short while and only woke when his instincts alerted him to more company. His eyes snapped open and he turned his head as the tent door flapped open and somebody walked in. A large, almost burly man strode in. His spiky-maned white hair trailed down his back and red lines dripped from his eyes. He had a wart on his nose, a large redcoat and a somewhat different headband wrapped around his forehead. The conversation from Team Sigma died instantly and Kage bowed his head.

"Jiraiya-sama," the enigmatic ANBU greeted quietly.

Officially, the Toad Sage had no power over the ANBU. They answered to the Hokage alone and Jiraiya, despite his reputation, was still classed as a rank-and-file Jonin.

Unofficially, there was an unspoken understanding that the Toad Sage, one of the twenty or so S-ranked shinobi in the Elemental Countries, might give orders during matters of Village security that the ANBU were encouraged to obey.

Naruto watched as Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin smirked at his team. The legend's arms were folded across his broad chest as his dark eyes scanned the room in an instant. Naruto almost thought the Sannin gave him a considering look but when he focussed his eyes Jiraiya was looking at something else- or rather, at a pair of something. The Toad Sage opened his mouth and Naruto instinctively straightened, not quite sure what to expect.

"Hey, Ladies," Jiraiya said lecherously. He gave an exaggerated wink. "How do you do, my fair ANBU babes?"

Naruto's mouth dropped. That was it from the man considered to be the second strongest in all of Konoha?

Yuuka rolled her eyes and jumped off Naruto's bed. "Still a sleazebag, Jiraiya-sama?" she said cutely, a sparkle in her eyes.

Jiraiya grinned. "Only for the beautiful ones, my dear," he murmured huskily.

Naruto saw Daichi roll his eyes and Towa slap a palm to his head. Komachi continued to stand straight but even her lips were twisting in a frown, while Kage looked just like he always did. Yuuka giggled flirtingly, putting a finger on her pouty lips.

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama," she said chirpily. "But I prefer them short, blonde and adorable."

Jiraiya's face crumpled. Naruto made a gurgling noise from the back of his throat, his cheeks flushing, while Towa coughed to hide a laugh. Daichi was chuckling and even Komachi looked amused. Naruto turned to Kage for support, who regarded him solemnly and without emotion. Slowly, the mysterious and enigmatic man raised his hand and… gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.

Naruto scowled, trying to hide his blushing cheeks. It was with some effort that he rebuilt his professionalism and wiped the emotion off of his face.

Jiraiya had a large grin on his face as he turned to the rest of the former Sigma Squad. "Alright," he started boisterously. "Out you get. Your captain and I need to have a chat. Make sure we're not disturbed."

The atmosphere of the room changed. Komachi and Towa bowed their heads and left, Kage stalking after them silently. Daichi left with an encouraging smile to Naruto, while Yuuka gave a cheery wave and disappeared past the tent flap. Other than Naruto and Jiraiya, the medical tent was empty. The silence was almost deafening and Naruto could hear the chatter and laughter of other Shinobi around the camp. Metal clanged on metal and he supposed some of them were sparring or training.

The first person to break the silence was Jiraiya, who gave a strange little chuckle as he leered at Naruto. "So, you and that Yamanaka, eh?" he chuckled with waggled eyebrows.

Naruto cocked his head. "I don't understand, Jiraiya-sama," he said quietly.

Jiraiya grinned and held out his pinkie. Naruto stared at it blankly and it was with a pout that Jiraiya lowered it, looking despondent.

"A professional," Jiraiya grumbled. "I hate professionals. They're always so…boring." He leaned down over Naruto, and the young ANBU unconsciously shrank back. "You're not the boring type, are you?"

Naruto hesitated and thought about his life. "Probably, sir," he admitted after a moment.

"Tch," Jiraiya made a noise of disgust and lowered himself on the chair that Daichi had previously been occupying. "We'll fix that, I suppose." He leant forward and suddenly his face became serious. "I've already been over this with the rest of your squad but I'd like to hear it from you. Debrief me- tell me exactly what happened after your squad left Konoha. Leave nothing out."

Naruto spoke and recounted the journey that had started with a simple border patrol and ended with an S-ranked mission to save the Village. His voice was even and his words were clinical, detached. As he spoke and described the burnt and ravaged villages Sigma squad had come across, he distantly recalled being so very angry at the time. Now though, it all seemed like a bad memory, as if it was something that had happened years ago, or something that he had read in a book. Throughout all of this, Jiraiya was mostly silent. He would interrupt every so often to ask for a specific detail or ask a seemingly random question. It probably took an hour, maybe more, but Naruto finally finished his tale and exhaled loudly.

The more he thought about it, the more exhausting it became.

"He claimed he was an Uzumaki?" Jiraiya pondered, rubbing his chin. His eyes were distant. "I wonder if that's true."

It was not a question so Naruto didn't give an answer.

"What do you think about that?" Jiraiya asked suddenly. He glanced down at Naruto, who had frozen in his spot. "An enemy of Konoha- perhaps one of the biggest ever- was a member of your clan. It raises questions, doesn't it?"

Naruto could hear the implication beneath Jiraiya statements. Shinno may have been Uzumaki. Naruto was Uzumaki. There was some profound insinuations in all of that that Naruto didn't like.

"What do I think about that?" Naruto echoed. He shrugged. "Nothing, sir."

"Nothing?" Jiraiya's good humour had gone. He leaned forward. "A man from your clan has attacked Konoha. Hundreds are dead. There hasn't been such a serious incident since the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. If the Uzumaki were to blame, then how do we know that you're not linked in all of this? After all, you're part of the Uzumaki Clan too."

"Uzumaki…" Naruto tested the name out on his tongue. "Uzumaki. Naruto. Ferret. ANBU. Shinobi. They're just names." He gazed at Jiraiya steadily. "I'm me, and I know where my loyalties lie."

Jiraiya stared at him seriously. Despite the look on his face, Naruto couldn't get a read on the Toad Sage. There was no killing intent, no foreboding pressure that accompanied the surging emotions of Shinobi with a high chakra capacity. In fact, if Naruto hadn't been looking at the man then he wouldn't have even known that he was in the room.

"Good answer!" Jiraiya suddenly said jauntily. He slapped Naruto on the shoulder- the blonde ANBU barely holding in a wince- and leaned back in his chair. "It's a bit wordy, but it'll do. Sorry about that, brat, but there's always protocols to follow and I'd be much happier doing it myself than letting some schmuck from T&I do it instead."

Naruto nodded. "Sir," he said neutrally.

"Speaking of names…" Jiraiya grinned. "Have you heard your new moniker? It's pretty good- Bingo Book good, actually."

"What is it, sir?"

Jiraiya spread out his hands. "The Right Hand of God!" he said dramatically. "The Apprentice of the God of Shinobi, the prodigious ANBU who's completed over a thousand missions!"

Suddenly what the medic was saying before made sense. "The Right Hand of God," Naruto murmured, feeling the words around his tongue. "The Right Hand of God…" he voice was a little firmer now and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "I like it." He paused. "Sir."

"It does have a good ring to it," Jiraiya said knowingly. "Much better than a lot of the other monikers I've heard. I once met a Iwa Nin who'd been dubbed 'Rock-Head'. The man was a bit thick. Of course, that's probably because he kept head-butting his way through battles. Effective, though- saw him smash a Samurai's plated armour in half- but it couldn't have been good for him."

"Yes, sir," Naruto struggled to keep his face straight. What do you say to that?

Jiraiya was looking grumpy. "Yes, sir, this. Yes, sir, that. You really are boring, aren't you?" He grinned. "Don't worry, kid. I pride myself on getting a reaction out of everybody. I bet a week's pay that I can make you cringe! Up for it?"

Naruto stared at him blankly.

"Great!" Jiraiya clapped. He cleared his throat and leant forward. Bending his head down, he whispered into Naruto's ear.

Naruto's eyes bulged and he jerked back away from Jiraiya, who guffawed at Naruto's incredulous expression. The young blonde ANBU felt extremely flustered and was certain that it showed on his exposed face as his mouth bobbed up and down like a goldfish.

"B-But…what?" Naruto exclaimed loudly. "I don't…what?" He shook his head. "Sir, that was….what? Really?"

"Yep!" Jiraiya grinned, looking extremely pleased.

"That happened?" Naruto asked with a strange sort of horrified fascination.

"Saw it happen myself," Jiraiya answered with a chuckle.

"How?" Naruto practically whispered in dread.

"It's not that hard," Jiraiya replied with a knowing glint. "See, you just need to make sure that it's asleep and…" he held out his hand. "You take three fingers and you twist them like that…"

"Stop!" Naruto barked.

Jiraiya stopped as Naruto's shoulders shook with supressed laughter. He chuckled and slapped the young ANBU on the back. That was all it took for Naruto to burst out in a round of uncontrollable laughter. The Toad Sage watched as Naruto continued to laugh, and his smile took on a more sympathetic tilt as the laughter became more and more hysteric. He rubbed the ANBU on the back comfortingly as Naruto struggled to keep his haphazard emotions under control.

"It's commendable to see professionalism in such a young Shinobi," Jiraiya said quietly as Naruto began to compose himself. "And if you keep it up, you'll go places. But don't hold it all in." He reached up and forced Naruto to look at him. "Trust me," the Toad Sage with deadly seriousness. "I've seen what happens when a shinobi of your calibre snaps. If we're lucky, we can usually put them down before they do too much damage. If we're not, well…"

Uchiha Itachi.

The unspoken name resounded throughout the room. Naruto took a deep breath as he regained control of himself and faced the Toad Sage again. There was a little more respect in his stance now as he looked underneath the underneath. Beneath the widely-known S-ranked Shinobi there was apparently a horrible flirt, and beneath that there was a man with a surprising amount of depth.

"Right! There's some more stuff I'm meant to go over," Jiraiya said airily. He lifted his hand and waved it off. "But I'll wait until we're back in Konoha. It'll be better if the Old Man's there to hear it as well- saves me from going over it twice. It's nothing to be concerned over, really. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid and it'll all be fine."

Naruto noticed the older man's eyes flicker to his stomach and received the implicit message with a silent nod. Jiraiya knew of the unleashing of the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and apparently everything was fine. Naruto knew that he wasn't meant to supress or clamp down everything but he would be more than happy to shove the horrible fragments recollections of his thoughts and actions under the influence of the Kyuubi in a dark corner at the back of his mind and never think of it again.

"Now, Konoha wants you back as soon as you can," Jiraiya said, standing up off of his seat. He gave Naruto a look. "The ANBU Commander asked for Team Sigma specifically, so they probably want you to go over everything again. We've got a shipment of Sky Nin Tech leaving in a few hours. Medics say that you should be fine for light travel, so make sure you're ready."

"Yes, sir," Naruto murmured quietly.

Jiraiya gave him a nod. "Good luck, Ferret," he said and then was out of the tent in an instant.

Secured Zone Alpha was the name given to the closed-off area between Fire Country and the Sea of Whirlpools where Sky Country had launched their attack on the Village Hidden in Leaves. While the immediate threat had been dealt with and the Land of Fire was safe, the repercussions of the attack would be felt for years. Sky Country had successfully demonstrated the viability of a naval and air military doctrine that had incredible potential and great implications for all of the Great Villages. The technology that remained needed to be safe-guarded until it could be destroyed or recovered and sent to Konoha.

Hundreds of tents had been set up and they stretched over the sandy dunes. Squads of shinobi milled around the camp while hundreds of others stood guard and kept a constant patrol around the perimeter. The black-cloaked ANBU kept a twenty-four hour guard around the wreckage as Konoha's Research and Development Division scurried through the once-flooded hulls of the fleet. They had been dragged to shore by whatever means- possibly through Jiraiya's summons, one of the few Class 5 summons in the known countries- and they were surrounded by an entire division- over one-thousand shinobi, led by Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Konoha was not taking any chances.

Well-guarded caravans entered and left the Secured Zone on a regular basis, stripping off and taking away as much of the foreign technology as possible. The sooner and quicker it was done, the less time the other nations had to plot. Naruto sat on one of the wagons in that caravan, leaning back and enjoying the warm sun on his face. The wagon jostled and bumped as the troop of horses pulled it across Konoha's highways. Animals were not commonly used for travel by Shinobi, especially since the average Chunin could meet and surpass even the fastest horse, but they had their uses when heavy cargo was being transported.

This particular caravan was surrounded by two platoons of Leaf Nin, dozens of Chunin being led by a Jonin Captain. Technically, Team Sigma was just hitching a ride with them and they were officially off-duty. However, that hadn't stopped the rest of the squad from running patrols and Kage and Yuuka patrolled the perimeter while Komachi and Towa had taken point. Daichi walked beside the caravan, keeping an eye on things with his Byakugan. There was another Hyuuga with them but the ANBU's eyes were far superior and it made it easier on both to share the workload.

Naruto got the feeling that the Jonin Captain wasn't too happy with having his authority usurped by the ANBU- but the woman was professional enough to keep her thoughts to herself. While the rest of his squad performed their duties, Naruto was happy enough to rest. He drifted off to sleep most of the time, his mind and body still recovering from the last battle with Shinno. When he was awake, he spoke to his team quietly. Kage would pass out the rations and they would sit together and eat. Komachi and Towa were always good for a laugh as the two of them bickered and fought like a pair of snappish dogs. Daichi always had a joke to say and Yuuka continued to tease Naruto mercilessly, egged on by Kage's infrequent but well-placed sardonic comments.

They helped ease the tension that Naruto felt when the other Shinobi around them continue to steal glances at him. He wasn't quite sure how far the rumours and gossip had gotten but apparently his new moniker was becoming well known. He wasn't used to the looks he was getting either. In his distant- and almost forgotten past- he recalled the looks he had received before he had joined ANBU. They had never been pleasant and while he couldn't remember what people had said he could definitely remember the tone. As a member of ANBU, he was subjected to curiosity and indifference- nobody was going to besmirch an ANBU member, no matter who it was. He had taken to his mask and his anonymity with gratefulness.

Now the shinobi eyed him differently. There was something there that Naruto had never received before. He couldn't tell if it was respect or fear. Either way, the focussed attention made him uncomfortable.

"Contact!" Daichi suddenly called out.

Naruto was jerked out of his brooding and jumped to his feet as the horses came to a halt. The shinobi around them formed a defensive line and Naruto felt a flash of chakra activate underneath him- the explosive seals embedded in the cargo activating. Should the contact prove hostile, the shinobi were under strict orders to destroy any cargo they might be carrying.

"Kage and Snake-5 are intercepting!" Daichi informed them.

Naruto stood on top of the wagon and waited patiently. After a few moments, Daichi raised a hand and made the 'all clear' sign. "Friendlies!" he called out. "Stand down!"

Naruto let out a rather deep grunt and sat back down on the wagon. He waited and watched as the shinobi around them relaxed and moved out of their defensive formations. As the caravans began to move again, the bushes rustled and the 'friendlies' came into view. Hatake Kakashi surveyed the caravan keenly, half of his face hidden behind his book. His Genin team followed behind him. Naruto's eyes flickered over the three genic, seeing the bandages wrapped around Uchiha Sasuke and Konohamaru. The sight of a bruised and bandaged Konohamaru caused a pang of concern to resonate within him.

"My, my." Kakashi's voice was light-hearted but he closed his book and tucked it away. "What's all this here, I wonder?"

There was a flicker of movement. "Captain!" Towa exclaimed as he jumped back to greet his former Squad Leader. Towa straightened, his face hidden behind his mask, while Naruto watched on, his previous burst of movement actually draining him quite noticeably.

"Ah, Towa," Kakashi greeted lazily. His genin watched curiously. "Still in Gamma Squad running border patrols?"

Towa's stance changed, something Naruto noted that Kakashi instantly picked up on.

"Ah, actually, I'm under Sigma Squad at the moment," he said somewhat quietly. It was only now after the rush of action and urgency of the mission had faded away that the true impact of what had happened had hit them all.

"Uh huh," uttered Kakashi. He sounded bored but Naruto could practically see the incredibly intelligent man process that little titbit of information knew that he was already making connections. He was proved correct a moment later. "So how bad was the attack?"

"What attack?" the girl, Sakura, asked from behind him. She sounded confused. The Uchiha was paying close attention, his hands in his pockets, but Konohamaru looked utterly confused.

"There's been an attack?" he echoed his teammate dumbly.

"Now, now, children, the grown-ups are talking," Kakashi admonished lazily.

Towa shook his head with something like awe. "You still have it, Captain," he praised respectfully. "What gave it away?"

"I looked underneath the underneath," Kakashi said lazily. He poked Konohamaru, who scowled. "Pay attention, kids. You see, we were intercepted by somebody who I know works in a reconnaissance team. When we came out, I could see you and Komachi but I don't see the rest of your team. Furthermore, we have two full-strength platoons escorting a small caravan- which is an indication of a sensitive or important mission, while we have Ferret lazing about up there looking about as banged up as the rest of you. What does that indicate, Sasuke?"

"There was a fight," Sasuke said quietly. He paused. "You've also implied that there were casualties."

Kakashi nodded, looking serious. "Sigma Team is an ANBU division directly underneath the Hokage. Essentially, Sigma Team enforces the Hokage's will both on and off the battlefield. For you to be working under Sigma Team means that you were drafted. That protocol is only used in cases of serious Village emergencies. Hence, an attack…"

There was a flicker of movement and Naruto appeared before them. "The enemy struck at the border patrols and at the village itself," Naruto told Kakashi quietly. "The final death toll is unknown at this point."

That said a lot to Kakashi, and his uncovered eye twitched. His genin looked stricken, even the Uchiha was affected- although he hid it well. Sakura gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth, and Konohamaru clenched his fists.

"There was significant damage to non-essential village infrastructure," Naruto continued, briefing the elite Jonin on all he knew. "Gamma Team's combat efficiency was cut in half. Tiger-2 is Acting Captain."

'Combat efficiency' could be affected in many ways. The most common was the incapacitation or death of members of the squad. In blunt terms, Naruto had just told Kakashi that half of Gamma Squad had been killed. Only two squads had come away unaffected, as they had been outside the engagement area. With the survival of Komachi, Towa and Captain Uzuki, only thirteen members of Gamma Team remained.

Sakura looked tearful Konohamaru thunderstricken. Sasuke didn't appear to show any emotion but Naruto saw his fists clench on his white shorts.

"Do...do we know anything about civilian casualties?" Sakura pleaded hesitantly.

"As far as I know, there were no civilian casualties," Naruto told her gently and Sakura sagged in relief.

"What about the Old Man?" Konohamaru demanded. He looked furious.

Naruto regarded him for a moment. Then, in a blur of movement, he reached out and walloped him across the head. Konohamaru let out a cry as the force of the blow sent stumbling back. He staggered and collapsed on his bum, clutching his head.

"Somebody like you is a hundred years too early to be worrying about someone like the Hokage!" He snapped. "Especially since you're covered in bandages! What did you do this time? If this was another firecracker incident…"

"Waah!" Konohamaru shrieked and dove out of the way as Naruto advanced, an aura of murder surrounding him. "No, no, no! A missing nin did this!"

Naruto paused and the aura grew thicker. Konohamaru gulped. "You can't even clean your room!" Naruto bellowed angrily. "What are you doing fighting a missing nin?"

As Konohamaru blubbered and stuttered, cringing in fear and utterly distracted from his previous question, Naruto watched him from behind his mask fondly. At that moment, he had this strange sense of a connection with the Third Hokage. Was this what picking on Naruto felt like to the Old Man?

"It was an interesting mission," Kakashi drawled. He yawned. "I tell you what, we may as well accompany you so we can tell you all about it. I could do with the company, too. After all," his eyes flickered to his Genin Team, "it's boring doing missions all by yourself."

His Genin team looked completely depressed by that and Naruto's lips twitched.

Hazing was awesome.

The rest of the journey back to Konoha was slow but uneventful. Naruto took the time to rest and regain his strength. He could already feel his strength coming back, his natural stamina and endurance restoring him in days where another shinobi might have taken weeks. During this time, he listened to Kakashi's mission debrief with interest. Apparently the client Naruto had assigned to them had lied about the mission parameters. It was fairly uncommon, as clients were usually screened on the way in, so somebody was going to pay. Kakashi, being Kakashi, had decided to continue on with the potentially B or A-ranked mission and had encountered an A-rank Missin Nin from the Village Hidden in Mist- one of the seven swordsmen, no less.

Naruto knew many who would have paid to have watched that fight- one of Konoha's top elite Jonin facing off against one of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen. According to Kakashi, it had been a close fight but the Zabuza's apprentice had disabled the genin and stalled Kakashi long enough for Zabuza to make his escape- just as a horde of mercenaries descended onto the bridge. A single water technique from the Missing Nin had swept them all away and Kakashi hadn't pursued. This Gato must have either been incredibly stupid- or had something up his sleeve- to double-cross an elite shinobi, especially one who had mastered the Art of Silent Killing. Unless he had a squad of A-ranked Shinobi in his pocket, or he had somehow convinced one of the rare S-rank Shinobi to help him, Naruto didn't think the self-made millionaire would live much longer.

After that, Team Kakashi fell into position and joined the caravan for the remainder of the trip. Naruto idly noticed how Uchiha Sasuke would watch him from the corner of his eye with an emotion that the Uzumaki couldn't quite decipher. He ignored him and focussed on his surroundings, catching glimpses of ANBU Squads flashing through the trees, his tattoo pulsing as coded messages were sent and received. The trees began to get thicker and taller and the patrols became more and more frequent as they approached Konoha until, two days later, they finally arrived.

Naruto had taken point with Daichi and eyed the village critically as they approached it. The enormous walls loomed over them, looking undamaged. On the outside, Konohagakure looked completely untouched. The biggest different he noticed immediately was at the gates. They were sealed, surrounded by lines of grim-faced shinobi as giant queues formed behind them. Everything was being searched thoroughly while a tall burly man with a bandanna wrapped around his head shouted instructions over the clamour.

"If you're here to ask about relatives, move to the left! If you're here as a client, move to the right! For your safety, all visitors to Konoha will be searched! If you are found to be in possession of any contraband, you will be detained and interrogated! Once you have been allowed into the Village, make sure you stay behind the tape! Several parts of the village are still unsafe! Stay behind the tape and follow the instructions of your guide!"

The caravan moved past the queues of civilians. There were the clients, some who looked incredibly rich and annoyed at how they were being treated as they were patted down and searched. Then there were the small, huddled group of friends and relatives that had arrived from outlying towns and settlements. Many of them looked miserable as patient Chunin moved through them, giving out dockets and checking thick scrolls. As Naruto moved past one group, he heard a woman burst out into tears as the Chunin patted her on the shoulder awkwardly.

That had been incentive to strengthen his resolve but, as the caravan passed through the great gates, his breath hitched and his eyes widened behind his mask as he looked over Konoha, the village he had sworn to serve.

Entire swathes of the village had been reduced to rubble. Buildings had collapsed, ripped apart by powerful concussive forces that had scattered debris all around the village. The ground was pockmarked, craters replacing roads, shops and homes. Several parts of the village looked flooded and many of the landmarks were gone. Much of it was fenced off with bright yellow tape and hundreds of shinobi crawled through the rubble, working diligently on their assigned missions. Naruto ignored the gasps he heard from the shinobi around him and forced his emotions down. He concentrated on the truly important targets. The Hokage's Tower rose in the distance and the Hokage's Monument loomed above it, untouched. The Hospital and the Ninja Academy also remained intact and Naruto exhaled quietly. The defence had been a success, then. As long as the civilian population had evacuated properly, the outer buildings could be rebuilt without too much fuss.

The long-term implications of having crucial services and locations destroyed would have been frightening. From what he could see in a purely objective viewpoint, any lasting damage to the village was minimal.

He glanced over at Kakashi and the genin, truly curious to see their reactions. Both Sakura and Konohamaru had tears in their eyes as they surveyed their bombed home. Sasuke looked furious, his hands clenching and a single Sharigan tomoe swirling in his eye. Kakashi looked relaxed and utterly bored, but the two exchanged glances and Naruto inclined his head.

"Look at the village," Kakashi commanded. He needn't have bothered- his genin couldn't take their eyes off of it. "Memorise it and then look at yourselves. Take what you're feeling and really look at it. That's the feeling of seeing the place that holds your heart stomped on, and knowing there's nothing you can do about it. Take in that frustration, that anger, that helplessness, that hatred…"

Kakashi eyed Sasuke for a moment.

"…and throw it away," he concluded grimly.

Sasuke jerked, and Konohamaru and Sakura gaped.

"Hatred will not help you here," he said quietly. He gestured around. "This war is already over. The enemy was found and killed. We've had our revenge. But, knowing that and seeing your home, do you feel any better? Konohamaru?"

"No!" Konohamaru hissed between clenched teeth, his eyes moist.

"It's hard," Kakashi concluded and placed a hand on Konohamaru's head. "It's human instinct to want revenge, to hurt those who hurt us, and in many ways it's warranted. But you always need to think 'what happens now?', because vengeance isn't going to help you here."

"Hatred is power," Sasuke muttered tightly. His hands were shaking.

"It's a type of power," Kakashi agreed. "But it's not something that can be used all of the time. Here, there is no enemy to attack, no battle to fight. Your hatred is worthless. However, your kindness is priceless."

All three genin seemed transfixed.

"When the battles are done and the fighting is over, shinobi go home and they begin to rebuild their homes and their lives," Kakashi continued sombrely. "They comfort comrades who have lost loved ones, they help clear the wreckage and rebuild their houses. They sacrifice sleep and food and money for the greater good of the village. Most importantly, they remember the ones who fought and died to protect this dream we call Konoha and they respect and honour them. These heroes join those on the monuments and become engrained in our Will of Fire, a memory and an ideal to uphold when the next war occurs."

He turned to them, no expression visible in his flat, grey eye.

"What will you do, shinobi of Konoha?" He asked his genin. "Will you hate or will you help?"

"I'll help!" Konohamaru shouted loudly. He clenched his fists, his cheeks flushed with emotion. "I'll help rebuild the Village!" His tears were gone and his face showed nothing but determination. He gave a reckless grin. "After all, it's going to be my village one day!"

Sakura swatted him, but she was smiling, and even Sasuke gave solemn nod as he stared at the devastation. Kakashi seemed to smile behind his mask and then turned his head to stare at Naruto. Naruto started, abruptly realising that he had been eavesdropping on a personal team moment, and bowed his head in apology. Kakashi shrugged and waved it off and, with one last wave, led his team away to begin assisting in the recovery efforts.

"He's a good man," Towa said quietly as he came up to join Naruto. The rest of Team Sigma joined him.

"He knows what he's talking about," Kage remarked quietly. "We've done our part- we've carried the hatred and vengeance of our village and delivered it to the enemy."

"I wonder what we can do now?" Yuuka mused quietly.

"You can rest."

Naruto jerked- and he wasn't the only one- and spun around to where the synthesised, genderless voice had originated from. He paused and joined the rest of his team in saluting the figure that had just appeared. A bright silver mask adorning his or her face, the ANBU Commander revealed absolutely nothing as he or she stared down at Team Sigma.

"Team Sigma, you have served your village well," the Commander said in a monotone, expressionless voice. It was heavily distorted- a mix of high and low pitch tones blending together that gave the impression of two people speaking at once. "You are hereby on official leave until declared otherwise. Ferret, stay. The rest, dismissed!"

"Sir!" Five puffs of smoke and scatterings of leave brushed past Naruto, who remained where he was.

"Come with me," the ANB U Commander ordered.

Naruto obeyed and disappeared in a flicker of movement as the two ANBU darted through the Village at quick speeds. Naruto had always thought he was fast but he struggled to keep up with the Commander, and he got the strangest feeling that the silver-faced figure was taking it easy on him. He followed behind the Commander silently as the enigmatic figure took him to the hospital, trying his best to ignore the slow pit of dread forming in the bottom of his stomach. There seemed to be two Platoons of ANBU on guard in and around the building and the guards got even more packed in as he traversed deeper and deeper through the hospital hallways.

When the ANBU Commander paused at a door and motioned for Naruto to take it, the young blonde knew exactly what he would see when he opened it. He steeled himself and gently opened the door. He walked in, ignoring the three ANBU hiding in the shadows as he stared down at the Third Hokage, who lay in his bed looking older and wearier than Naruto had ever seen him before.

"Come, Naruto," Sarutobi murmured and coughed. He sounded dazed. "We have much to discuss."

Directive #5: An ANBU must have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard work, training and the rigors of combat