Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but I do not revoke claim to the Kuroihi or the Enkou Syndicates.

Author's Notes: It's that day again. The day where Oyabun is updated. I would like to say thank you for all the reviews you guys left. Again, this chapter might not have such good quality since it's another last minute throw together. I apologize deeply since my time has been very tight lately. Thanks to all the readers and anyone kind enough to leave a review. You guys are what makes this story great. Now, as is my custom, I would like to respond to all the reviews I have been left:

Akina no Akumaz: Thanks for the compliment. I must be honest when I say that I throw a lot of these chapters together very last minute, so words like that are just so kind. Thank you.

AnsemMesna: You have asked and you have received. The next chapter has arrived, but sadly I cannot kill Sasuke for two reasons: 1) It would break the canonity of Kishimoto's universe and 2) the last time I attempted to kill of a major character, a fan-girl/boy harassed my email for several days. Thanks for your thoughts though. (Between you and me, I feel the same way: Sasuke needs to die)

Akira Stridder: Mr. H makes all the problems go away.

Peter Kim: Let me say that your speculations become increasingly enjoyable. I respect that. Although, I must say one of those speculations is getting dangerous close to the truth. If your figure out which one, please keep it to yourself. I look forward to your future speculations.

Avatarofrage: I love your insight into the story, its unique yet subtle. Respect.Naruto doesn't actually want to kill Sasuke. I worded it wrong and I meant to say Naruto was upset that he wasn't the one that got to beat Sasuke senseless. Keitaro and Naruto's reputation might come under scrutiny in the future. I see you finally picked up on Hinata's increasingly peculiar behavior. Kudos to you. You hit the nail on the head with that one: She knows as a kunoichi of Konoha, she knows she has to kill Naruto, but she still holds feelings for him. She also feels betrayed since he broke his nindo (I never go back on my word) when he left the village, thus giving up his dream to be Hokage. I look forward to seeing how you interpret this chapter.

shadowiscool28: Thanks. You've stuck with the story for some time and for that I commend you.

bbiscool323: Thanks and I have. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

And now I present to you the continuation of Oyabun:

Oyabun

(An Older Brother)

Chapter 10: The Birth of A Gangster

Naruto sat quietly in his room, still amazed at the effects of Keitaro's plan. A week passed since the successful assassination of Gatou and Naruto's faked suicide. Keitaro reasoned that Konoha would repeal Naruto's S-Rank status if they believed him to be dead. To that end, he was to stay in hiding until the Konoha nin leaved. The Konoha nin were able to successfully dispatch the bandits, along with the help of Zabuza and Haku. Zabuza had been killed in the ensuing fray, a result of the mortal wound Kakashi inflicted on Zabuza before Gatou's arrival. In his weakened condition, he was in no state to take on so many opponents at once. His death was quick and painless.

Haku, without master and without further purpose, went to the only ones he knew he could rely on: Naruto and Keitaro. Although the two of them were never on good terms with Haku, hardly knowing the boy on a personal level, Keitaro seemed more than happy to welcome the boy to their safehouse. Naruto found Haku's company enjoyable, compared to the staggering loneliness of being locked inside the safehouse. Through his conversations with Haku, Naruto learned of the boy's tragic past. A past which reminded Naruto of his own lonely life in Konoha.

Haku revealed to Naruto and Keitaro several other details about the battle on the bridge. The bandits Gatou had brought along were all killed: either from fighting or drowning. Sasuke was alive and well, much to Naruto's disheartenment. Haku explained he had no intention of killing anyone that day, especially a child. Instead of killing Sasuke, Haku used a mix of precision reflexes and Zabuza's training to hit Sasuke's pressure points, thus rendering the young Uchiha unconscious.

However, there were several unforeseen details. The result of poor calculation and a misfortunate turn of events.

Construction on the bridge came to an abrupt halt that day on the bridge. Although there was no more threat on the bridge builder's life, there was concern for his daughter and grandson. The two of them were kidnapped by two of Gatou's hired goons and had been missing since. From what was understood, the bridge builder was informed no harm would come to them as long as construction on the bridge did not continue. This was bad for Naruto since it meant the Konoha nin would not be leaving for some time.

To add to the chaos, Gatou Corporation had come under a string of public scrutiny and inner turmoil. With Gatou dead, and no one in line to take his place, many of the company's assets went missing. Further, the feudal lord of the Land of Waves had become aware of the crimes committed by the corporation and set a large fine on the company as well as seized most of its property. Gatou Corporation was forced to declare bankruptcy shortly afterwards and nearly 2 billion ryou went missing.

To make matter's worse, the remnants of Gatou's regime had entered a state of civil war. His subordinates had split into their own separate gangs, each trying to fulfill their own agenda. Although each of these gangs claimed to be their own legitimate syndicate, their function did not reflect on the principal of the Ninkyo Dantai. Many of these gangs went around killing and stealing for their own personal pleasures. They acted like and were bosuzoku. (Author's Note: Bosuzoku literally means Violence Group)

Although it troubled Naruto to say it, the Land of Waves was probably in better shape when Gatou was in control.

Upstairs, Naruto heard Keitaro walk through the front door, followed by hastened footsteps. Seconds later, there was a knock at his door, "Naruto. Dinner time."

"Okay," Naruto answered. He rose from his bed and went upstairs to the main floor. Keitaro had already laid out three plates and bowls, along with some rice balls, egg rolls, fried fish, shrimp, and red bean soup. Haku was also there, wearing a peculiar pink kimono. Haku caught Naruto's eye and kindly said, "Hello, Naruto."

Naruto acknowledged the greeting with a quiet nod, because he was too surprised by the kimono to say anything. Although Naruto would never openly say it, Haku had the most peculiar taste in clothing. He took his seat with a quick, "Itadakimasu."

Naruto started digging into the soup, just as Keitaro took his seat at the other side of the table. He sighed heavily and started eating some of the egg rolls. He didn't seem himself today.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. Keitaro shook his head, "No."

"Mind if I ask why?" Naruto pressed.

"You're going to either way," Keitaro responded quickly, "I spent all day trying to keep this village under control. Ever since Gatou's subordinates went off and made their own gangs, they've gone around fighting each other to claim the spot as number one gang in the country. To make matters worse, some other Syndicates learned about Gatou's death and are taking this chance to stake their claim."

"Other syndicates?" Naruto's eyes shot up. Naruto was aware there were other syndicates besides the Kuroihi, but he did not expect their involvement. He looked at Haku, hoping for an explanation but was met with a blank stare. Naruto never could get over how Haku always seemed to take the most serious of situations so light heartedly. This was especially true when Zabuza died, a fact that Haku had taken almost forgetfully. It was creepy. About as creepy as his love of wearing women's clothes.

"We might lose the Land of Waves, Naruto…" Keitaro sighed, bringing Naruto out of his train of thought. Naruto saw the horror in Keitaro's eyes. It was obvious he was none to pleased with the turn of events, "It's probably for the better."

Naruto slammed his fist on the table, which caught both Keitaro and Haku's attention. He didn't like the sound of resignation in Keitaro's voice. It was so unlike Keitaro. Naruto stood up and said, "You're just going to give in like that and let those guys take over the entire country!? What about all these people? Don't they mean anything?"

Keitaro shook his head, "It's politics Naruto…it's out of my hands."

"Out of your hands?" Naruto retorted, "It's not that hard to just go out there and stop them!"

"It's more complicated than that. Just because we look like we do whatever we want, doesn't me we aren't without law," Keitaro explained, "There's more to this life style than flashy clothes and weapons. Trust me, what you think you know about us is just the tip of the iceberg."

"What are you saying?" Naruto never felt so angry, "You're going to let them take over the country because you want to listen to some stupid law?"

"DROP IT!" Keitaro shouted at Naruto. Keitaro picked up his plate and walked into the kitchen. He dropped the plate into the sink and walked downstairs, "Clean up when you're done."

Naruto grumbled and sank down into his chair. Keitaro was being evasive again, but was it for the same reason or a different one? Now that Naruto thought about it, Keitaro always seemed to be restricted by politics. But that was only because Keitaro was a member of the Kuroihi Syndicate. Naruto, on the other hand, was not a Kuroihi. There were no politics holding Naruto back.

…

It was then that Naruto conceived what could be called his greatest idea to date. It wasn't as classy as Keitaro's plan, or as suave. Truthfully, it was blunt and completely dangerous. But wasn't that the same reason it could be considered fun? Still, Naruto would need some help. He turned to Haku and said, "Hey Haku, do you still have your ninja gear?"

Haku was surprised by Naruto's sudden question but answered with a curt nod. Naruto smiled approvingly, "Okay. When you're done eating can you go get your stuff together."

"Do you have something in mind?" Haku asked. Naruto expected Haku's response and calmly answered, "We're going hunting."

Haku seemed to understand what Naruto had in mind and went downstairs immediately. Naruto took the dishes and brought them into the sink to wash them. After cleaning the plates and wiping the table, Naruto ran downstairs into his bedroom. In his room, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and pulled out his blue cloak and rice hat.

Naruto donned the clothes quickly and picked up Kitsune, which lay on his bed. Naruto raced out of the room quickly and ran upstairs to find Haku waiting for his patiently. Haku adorned his kimono and mask as before, even tying his hair into a knot at the back of his head. Oddly, Haku's newest addition to his armament was Zabuza's large sword.

"Ready to go?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

Naruto nodded and led the way out of the safe house. It was already dark out. It was quiet outside. There were no lights or people. It made sense since the village was caught in a crippling state of anarchy. The fact that the anarchy was his fault only encouraged Naruto to carry out his plan. Without a word, he raced down the street and into the night.

……………

Hinata flew from rooftop to rooftop. Ever since Tsunami and Inari were kidnapped, Kakashi-sensei had ordered Sakura and Hinata to scan the village for any sign of the two. A week's search turned up nothing, however. Truthfully, Tazuna was slowly losing hope that the two of them were alive. Hinata had done her best to keep the old man's hopes alive, but couldn't keep him out of his sorrow.

She could only imagine his suffering, first losing his son-in-law to Gatou and then losing his daughter and only grandson. It must have been heart breaking. Hinata however, swore to the old man she wouldn't let anything happen to them and that she would keep her word. It was her nindo, her ninja way: I will never go back on my word.

She stopped at the edge of town and activated her clan's special kekkei genkai, the byakugan, hoping to find some trace of Tsunami and Inari. A quick scan of the area was fruitless, showing nothing except sleeping villagers. She was a little jealous of their sound sleep, dreaming comfortably in their beds. Her eyes drooped, longing to close. But she couldn't sleep now! Not when Inari and Tsunami were missing. Maybe a small break wouldn't hurt?

She lied down on the roof and let her eyelids sink down. Two fast moving figures entered her byakugan's field of vision which she dismissed as two kids out looking for trouble. One of them wore a rice and a dark blue cloak, the other in a blue kimono and a mask marked with the symbol of Kirigakure

…

Kirigakure?

Her eyes shot open and she jumped to her feet. The second figure was undoubtedly Haku, but Hinata couldn't place a name to the first. He was too short to be Zabuza and didn't move nearly as fast. But the blue cloak and rice hat were disturbingly familiar. Who could it be?

She needed to alert Kakashi-sensei, in case they were too strong for her. At the same time she couldn't afford to let them get away, since they might lead her to Inari and Tsunami. Hinata groaned at her predicament and went with the only logical option: follow them. As quietly as she could, Hinata leaped down into the street below and shadowed the duo.

……………

Naruto and Haku had not gone too far before he found what he was looking for. A small group of hoodlums, ones he recognized from Gatou's compound, were gathered in an alley smoking what appeared to be cigarettes and drinking beer. There were seven of them in total, all drunk from the alcohol consumption. A small moan escaped the end of the alley. To Naruto's amazement, a little boy in a sun hat and overalls was among them. He was tied up in ropes and left by some of the trashcans.

Approaching them with a head-on attack wouldn't work in their favor, especially since they outnumbered Naruto and Haku. He couldn't talk them down since they probably held a grudge against him for killing Gatou. He could leave and go find other another gang of Gatou's former subordinates, but they couldn't just leave the kid there.

With that in mind, Naruto quietly whispered to Haku, "Follow my lead."

Haku nodded in understanding, silently accepting the order. The Naruto entered the alley and lowered the rice hat to hide his face, Haku following close behind. He had only gone two paces into the alley before one of the grunts caught sight of the duo. With the alcohol coursing through his veins and impairing his judgment, the drunkard stupidly said, "What do you want?"

The boy at the end of the alley propped his head up at the words, a hopeful look on his face. His gaze lingered on Naruto before sinking back down. There was something peculiar about the boy. He reminded Naruto of someone he knew, but who was it?

"Which one of you is in charge?" Naruto asked, his hand reaching for his katana. The drunk burped loudly and wiped his mouth, "Who wants to know?"

The drunk wore a nice black suit which was unkempt for some odd reason and covered in a thin layer of dirt. His tie was undone and his white dress shirt was untucked. His slacks hung from his waist with his belt buckled loosely around his waist. The man's hair was also a mess, resembling a bird's nest rather than hair.

"I do," Naruto answered. The drunkard laughed, and the others soon joined him, "YOU? A brat?"

He fell backwards, howling loudly with laughter. Naruto's face contorted at the shrewdness of the man's mockery and turned to look at Haku. Haku shook his head quietly. Naruto waited silently as the laughter died down. He opened his mouth to talk, but was stopped by the drunkard, "Tell you what kiddies, I'm in a good mood so I'm willing to let you go. Just turn around and walk away."

"Not without the boy," Naruto answered hastily. The man looked back at the boy and drew his katana, "No can do. See, this kid is the bridge builder's grandson. As long as we have this kid, we have the bridge builder. Now why don't you go run along."

The man was clearly too drunk to think clearly, otherwise he would not have told Naruto that information. The kid was the grandchild, so where was the mother? Naruto would have to concern his mind with that later since the band of hoods were slowly surrounding Naruto

Naruto's hand tightened around the hilt of his katana, itching to draw it and cut the hoodlums where they stood. But Naruto knew better, he loosened his hold on the katana and calmly said, "There's no honor in holding a little kid hostage."

Naruto didn't care if that was true; it made a lot of sense. The man didn't take it to kindly though. Naruto must have touched a nerve with that comment because in a matter of seconds the man had drawn a knife and dived at Naruto. Grabbing Kitsune in his hand, Naruto drew the weapon and thrust it forward into the man's stomach.

"GRAAHHH!" he howled in pain. Naruto pulled the katana out of the man's gut and pushed him to the ground. It was then and there that Naruto had done the opposite of his trademark smile. It was a cold, heartless glare that Naruto had never used before. To Naruto's surprise, the hoods actually started backing away from him.

"Get…him…you…" their wounded companion choked, blood oozing out of his mouth.

"Shut up," Naruto ordered dangerously. He raised Kitsune and stabbed the man's temple. The blade ran cleanly through to the other side of his head. The other hoodlums grabbed their weapons and rushed forward. Haku responded immediately by raising a menagerie of ice-like mirrors that surrounded the gangsters. Each mirror held the reflection of Haku, who toyed with senbon needles between his fingers.

Realizing what he had just done, Naruto released his hold of Kitsune. What was he thinking? Was he thinking? Naruto tried his best to hide his surprise, lowering his hat to hide the guilty look on his face. What was he going to do? Maybe he should have thought his plan out better. His mind reeled. His heart raced. This was the point of no return. If he backed down now, then they would kill him. If these hoods didn't do it, the Konoha shinobi clearly would.

He had no choice. He had to go ahead with his plan. He tried to relax himself by thinking about ramen and its alluring aroma. He could actually begin to taste the broth in his mouth, the luscious smell filling his lungs, the texture of the noodles on his mouth. It was sumptuous.

Perfectly relaxed, Naruto calmly said, "I'll say this again: Who's in charge here?"

The hoods exchanged worried glances. None of them dared to speak for one reason or another. He rolled his eyes at their silence. Clearly, they would rather die than answer his question. Donning the most aggressive face he could create, Naruto slid Kitsune out of the dead man's skull and wiped it on his cloak, "This can work two ways: tell me who's in charge or I can have my friend here kill all of you."

"He was in charge," one of them finally spat out, pointing at the dead man. This hood was adorned in a white hooded shirt and dark blue pants. Naruto smiled nervously, "Is that a fact?"

The man nodded. Naruto smiled dangerously, "Good."

Naruto walked into the heart of the alley and calmly proclaimed, "I'm taking over this group. Are there any problems with that?"

"Why should we listen to you?" another said threateningly. Naruto motioned to Haku. Almost immediately, Haku buried the man in a hail of senbon needles.

"That is why you should listen to me," Naruto warned.

There was a quick shift in their attitudes. These men were clearly not the most loyal group, nor the most courageous. Without uttering a word, they all fell to their knees and bowed to Naruto. Even though Naruto knew he couldn't show emotion, he couldn't help but smile at his victory apparent. There was, however, one difference in this smile. Although Naruto thought he was using his trademark smile, what the hoodlums saw was menacing and terrifying.

The silence held for a few moments before one of the hoods asked, "Would I be wrong to ask our new master's name?"

Naruto almost hit his head at his stupidity, formalities and all, but was now faced with a new dilemma. He needed a name. He couldn't give his name because he was technically dead. He needed a name that fit him, but gave no clue to his identity. Then it struck him. Slowly, he said, "You may call me Kitsune."

"Boss Kitsune," the subordinates said in unison, disdainfully instead of respectfully, "We pledge our allegiance to you."

Naruto's face remained impassive. They weren't loyal, pledging their allegiance to Naruto only because he proved he was stronger than their leader. He would need to find a way to truly win their loyalty; otherwise he would have to kill them. Hopefully he could do the former before the latter became necessary.

……………

Hinata gasped in horror, unable to believe what had just happened. Although she had finally caught up with Haku and his accomplice, she quickly regretted following them. To her dismay, Haku's accomplice was one Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata's faith in Naruto had never staggered until now. That day Naruto was branded a Yakuza, Hinata was the only person in the whole village who refused to accept it. Even Iruka-sensei, Naruto's favorite teacher and vice versa, believed Naruto chose a life as a criminal over a noble life as a shinobi. Hinata never accepted that.

But her eyes did not deceive her. They could not deceive her. She wanted so desperately to believe it was a cruel genjutsu. But it wasn't. No genjutsu could fool the byakugan. Hinata covered her mouth and wiped her eyes to hide her tears. Naruto, with the help of Haku, had killed another man and taken control of his gang. Why? How?

No one could know about this. If someone found out that Naruto was still alive…and was a gangster…

She couldn't let it happen. She…

Without another second's hesitation, Hinata ran. She ran far away, hot tears streaming down her cheeks, and into the night.

……………

Author's Notes: Poor Hinata. How is she going to cope with this sudden revelation? What will Naruto do with his new gang of underlings? Can he handle the pressures of a gang boss? Find out on Friday March 7, with the next update to Oyabun. If you loved the story leave a comment in the reviews section. I am also open to speculation and constructive criticism. Until next time, this is leonardo1123581321 signing out!