Hey guys. Wow, it's really been a while, hasn't it? It took me two months, but now I'm back. I don't really have some kind of amazing excuse, I've just been busy with school (finals), family events, and have just taken some time to relax. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this story! Oh, and for future reference, it's fine for people to message me asking when I'm going to post my next chapter, but seriously, be polite. I don't appreciate messages from people who expect me to answer to them as if they're the ones setting my deadline. Honestly, if I think you're rude, I might just not answer you. Regardless, here is Chapter 11- enjoy.

'Thinking'

"Talking"

"Demon Talking" =can be heard by everyone

'Demon Talking' = can only be heard in Naruto's mind

LOUD SOUND / Jutsu

Men and women bustled through the streets of Konoha, going through their daily activities with the ease that only years of practice could bring. Children scurried underfoot, careless but happy, occasionally being scolded by their parents. For most of them, it was just everyday life. However, the noise level of the village suddenly dropped dramatically. Street by street, people quieted as if someone was turning down the volume with a remote. People stared.

An indifferent look was plastered onto Naruto's face. His eyes were cold and calculating as he observed the villagers. They stared at him. He started right back.

Even the bravest and toughest men flinched away from his glare and hastily dropped their eyes. The blonde man who had once called this place home scrutinized the crowd of people gathered on the sides of the street. They looked to have just frozen in place, baskets still in hand, babies in their arms, palms touching the knob of a door. The emotions in their eyes ranged from subdued anger, to insolence, to rage and even confusion and uncertainty. Yet there was one thing they all had in common: fear. Fear for themselves, fear for their families, fear of the sealed demon. And most of all, fear that Naruto would snap and take revenge for what they had done to him as a child.

And Naruto saw this. He was the wild card here. He could turn around and snap their necks in a split second, go on a killing spree throughout the village without a second thought. He could use some massive jutsu and slaughter them all, just like what had been done in Sound. 'Heh, if only they knew.…' Hell, they probably thought he would unleash the Kyuubi then and there. A snort came from within his mindscape. In the villager's minds, it was all up to him. Naruto smirked inwardly. He liked the smell of their fear. Kyuubi did too.

Beside him, his companions fidgeted nervously. Sakura just couldn't control her emerald eyes from darting back and forth from the villagers' mistrusting glowers to Naruto's blank stare. She pushed her pink hair out of her face and slowly hardened her features into a glare. 'The villagers… they wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything, would they? I'm not sure if Naruto would go through with his threat of killing anyone who mistreats him, but I just don't know him well enough to tell anymore.'

Kakashi's emotions were masked by the cloth on his face, though if you knew him well enough, you would be able to pinpoint subtle signs, such as the small crease in his brow, and the slightly glassy look in his eye, that hinted he was deep in thought. Ever since the silver- haired man had stepped foot into Konoha, he had been like this. He had seen the way his blonde ex-student had placed on a mask, not a visible or a literal one, but a mask just the same. Kakashi wondered if anyone truly knew the extent of the abuse Naruto had undergone here in his childhood. The ex-ANBU closed his one visible eye momentarily as he delved deeper into thought, using his trained senses and strong memory as a guide.

'There is also a matter of Naruto's true feelings towards Konoha. Surely, he doesn't really believe that Tsunade-sama actually initiated his banishment? How could he really believe that?' The Hatake trailed off in thought as he wondered what other crazy things Naruto had caused himself to believe.

Temari, his third and final companion, was walking the closest to Naruto. Kiba and Akamaru had taken both Hinata and Neji to the hospital as soon as they set foot into Konoha, seeing that there was no time to waste. Shikamaru had gone ahead to alert the Hokage of their arrival, probably preparing her for what was to come. So that just left Temari, walking alongside Naruto, and sending plenty of annoyed looks at the villagers. This was not her village, but even Suna had eventually accepted Gaara and welcomed him as Kazekage. The temperamental kunoichi glared angrily at a few of the more insolent civilians, obviously pissed off by their attitude. Like it or not, the villagers scrambled to make way for the Kazekage's sister, Kakashi's team, and the dangerous jinchuuriki who exuded a black aura and looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. They were practically falling over themselves to get out of the way. Kyuubi laughed at the sorry sight.

Once the road was clear, the group of nin picked up the pace to the Hokage's mansion. On the way there, Naruto's enhanced senses briefly noted black forms flickering in and out of existence across the rooftops as they kept pace beside his group. 'ANBU,' he thought to himself.

Taking advantage of the wide berth they were being given, the group of shinobi made it to the Godaime's tower in under a minute. Sakura and Temari panted slightly, and the visible portion of Kakashi's face looked to be tinged red with exertion. Naruto, however, appeared to be fine. The blonde stretched out his arms, appearing to get rid of any lingering stiffness, but was actually checking his gravity seals to make sure that they were fully functioning. After having been forcibly deactivated by the medic nins in Suna, the gravity seals had been rather difficult to restart, especially without anyone catching on.

The two ANBU guarding the front door of the building quickly snapped to attention as Kakashi came into sight. And when they saw Naruto accompanying him, they immediately stiffened, and then slightly inclined their heads in synchronization. Neither of them wanted to end up like the five of their ex-comrades who had been executed that night five years ago for mistreating the jinchuriki. Naruto had the sudden urge to raise an eyebrow at this unexpected show of respect, but refrained from actually doing so. As he passed, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed ninja could still feel their stares boring into the back of his head, even from behind their stoic masks.

'I wonder what's with those ANBU. They practically tiptoed around me,' Naruto muttered in his thoughts.

'Who knows? They probably just think you're going to snap like the rest of them. Elite ninja my ass….' Was Kyuubi's curt reply. The demon fox obviously didn't like being in the Leaf village any more than Naruto did.

Breaking out of their mental exchange, Naruto blinked as they all stepped inside. His eyes regained their cold and emotionless expression, and seemed to be fixed on a single point, either avoiding or ignoring everything else. Temari's eyes flicked to the blonde as the temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees. The tension that had begun to build up ever since they entered Konoha was only getting denser and more unbearable. The Sand kunoichi was really worried about her friend, easily noting the many differences in this Naruto and the younger version of him that always wore that goofy smile. Temari may not have been around him as much in those days, yet she could still see the sharp contrast in his personality. Now, his face was blank and impassive, and vaguely reminded her of Gaara's expression all those years ago. Repressing a shudder, she paused for a moment, just enough to drop a few steps behind, and then started to walk next to Sakura. The pink-haired Konoha nin didn't seem to have a visible reaction, but Temari did notice her eyes dart nervously to her, and then back.

Kakashi was now walking in front of the two kunoichi, and therefore next to Naruto, but the Copy-Nin also seemed stiffer than before, nervous. About six shinobi of the Hokage's staff passed them on their way to the Godaime's office, each avoiding eye contact and passing without a second glance. Naruto, however, could sense their eyes flashing towards him as soon as they had passed. So he had been a topic of conversation around here, apparently. Leave it to the Godaime's staff to gossip about his 'pitiful' life to everyone, and at the same time have the nerve to bring him back. The blonde stopped a growl in his throat before it even started. He had to remain unaffected. He couldn't afford to show emotion.

And then they stopped. Everyone glanced up. They were at the door to the Godaime's office… standing right in front of it actually. Nerves increased tenfold as they awaited the showdown of tempers that was most likely to come. Sakura stepped ahead of the group and cautiously raised a fist, and then knocked three times on the door. Her touch was timid, as if expecting the wood to explode at any moment. Kakashi noted this with sad eyes. This mission had taken a huge toll on all of them.

The door was opened by a brunette woman with chocolate brown eyes. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, though a few locks dangled carelessly into her face. "Shizune," Sakura greeted quietly. The woman Naruto now recognized as Shizune nodded solemly before moving aside so they could enter. Everyone stepped forward, but was stopped by Kakashi calmly holding out his arm. "I think that as team leader, I'll go in first. You can just wait outside for a few minutes while I brief the Godaime… privately."

Sakura nodded and stepped back into the hallway, but not before giving the silver-haired jounin a questioning look. Temari accepted this and did the same, then propped herself against the wall as she prepared to wait. Naruto slowly lifted his eyes to look at Kakashi, and then went to stand next to Temari.

Kakashi stepped into the Hokage's office and shut the door behind him. He could already sense three people in the room; Shizune, Shikamaru, and the Hokage herself. When he looked up, he could see the question in Tsunade's eyes. Sighing, Kakashi performed some handseals and activated a silencing jutsu around the room that would prevent others from eavesdropping.

"Tsunade-sama, let me start off by saying that the mission was a success." At this, the Godaime's hazel eyes sparkled with happiness. "But also…Tsunade-sama, I'm sorry."

The smile that had been threatening to take over Tsunade's face now vanished. "What do you mean?" she asked shakily, unsure of what he meant.

The silver-haired jounin took a deep breath before answering. "Naruto… well he's changed. When we encountered him in Suna, he looked fine. Five years of being of being on his own" at this Tsunade looked down, ashamed at her helplessness, "didn't seem to have affected him at all. Later, when we spoke to the Kazekage and his family, they all said that Naruto seemed happy and was good company. But then, when we came across him and told him the purpose of our mission, Naruto went berserk. When Kiba accidentally made a threatening movement, Naruto knocked him out with one hit, and then did the same with both Hinata and Neji before any of us could even see him move."

Tsunade's breath caught in her throat but she listened patiently to Kakashi's every word.

"Shikamaru, Sakura, and I all started to attack him, but I was getting nowhere. I'm not really sure how it happened, Naruto must have used some kind of original jutsu, but all I saw was a flash of red so quick that I wasn't sure if it had even been there in the first place, and then Shikamaru was flying backwards at an incredible speed." After this the Copy-Nin paused, but it was obvious the Nara had nothing to add.

"Sakura and I then formulated a plan to hold him down and knock him out, which, by some stroke of luck, actually worked. Though shortly after Naruto was knocked unconscious, we realized a crowd of people had been watching us, along with the Kazekage himself, who seemed quite frankly, pissed. Oh, and I do believe that you may have some…er- expenses to pay for the damages inflicted on the Kazekage's personal training grounds…..Regardless, the mission was still a success, but not an easy success by any means."

After letting the Hokage absorb all of this information, Kakashi finished up his verbal mission report by telling her about the threatening note from Akatsuki, and the events since, including the troubles they had with Deidara. He also explained how Hinata and Neji had been so severely injured and that they were in the hospital and being treated right now.

Tsunade bit her lip. This was definitely not how she'd hoped it would happen. Naruto's return was supposed to be a joyful reunion of friends, but now she could see just how naïve she'd been. Naruto was now bitter towards Konoha, and hated the place with a passion. 'Oh Kami, how could you be so cruel?'

Feeling that this was all a big mistake, the Hokage lifted her hand and beckoned to the door, which was immediately opened by Shizune. The silence jutsu was also dispelled as the Hokage's aid led Sakura, Temari, and Naruto into the room. Why was life so unfair? Tsunade quickly filed away her thoughts on an early retirement and stored them for later thought. Right now she had more important things to worry about.

The first thing Naruto noticed about the room was that there were three other people in it, though none of them a surprise. Standing next to Shizune, Shikamaru was leaning against the wall to the left, though his for once wide-open eyes gave away his true curiosity. The Nara's lazy posture was most likely forced, a thing of habit, the blonde deduced, blue eyes doing a quick scan of the Leaf nin. Most likely, Shikamaru was watching him just as closely. He could have smirked at the challenge. He didn't.

'Make the old hag sweat a bit, kit,' suggested a drawling growl from deep within his mindscape.

Ever so slowly, the jinchuuriki lethargically dragged his eyes to the right, purposefully skipping over the blonde woman sitting at the desk in the process. Looks like there hadn't been any new paintings added to the walls. Though there were more than a few fist-sized dents that probably hadn't been there before. Oh, looks like she had gotten a new desk… again. Ah, well. He should probably cut to the chase. Through frustrating his enemies was always fun, this was something he really had to get over with. Just being in this office made his skin crawl.

And for the first time in five years, Naruto looked at the Godaime Hokage. Really looked at her. The one who banished him from Konoha, a village he would have given up his life for. A village he now hated. This was the same woman who had helped him to build up his hopes and dreams, only to crush them herself with the help of the council. She had once been his motherly figure, someone to look up to, someone to keep him out of trouble. And he had loved her. Loved her like the mother he never had. But no, not anymore. Now, Tsunade of the Leaf, Godaime Hokage of Konoha, was his enemy. He stared her down with angry eyes.

Tsunade's hazel eyes stared at him, filled to the brim with too many emotions to count. Naruto could see the hope, relief, sadness, determination, fear, regret, and joy all conveyed through her gaze. To say the least, her myriad of emotions surprised him. Had his temporary return really triggered all of this?

Then, Naruto studied the Godaime, just as she was studying him. Due to that unique genjutsu, the woman looked the same for the most part. Her pale blonde hair was still tied down her back in two pigtails while the shorter locks framed her face. Her hazel eyes were still sharp and piercing, with an edge of steel to them that let people know she wasn't to be reckoned with. And then there was that small purple diamond on her forehead that Naruto knew stored chakra. All in all, she was the same. But she was also different.

There were lines on her face that hadn't been there before. A slight crease of her brow, shadows under her reddened eyes, and an exhausted air about her were definitely knew. There wasn't that same gleam in her eye, though she would definitely still swing a chakra-fueled punch at anyone who said the wrong thing. Naruto tilted his head slightly to the right, wondering what had happened since he had left the village to affect the Hokage this much. Little did he know that he was the main cause of her stress.

The Uzumaki's thoughts briefly drifted toward the word Hokage. Hah- he used to hold that title in such high regards, worship it even. It had been his dream to become the Hokage and protect Konoha with his whole being. But now it all seemed like a sick joke. A sick, drawn-out joke that should have ended a long time ago. Because now, he had new dreams and ambitions, none of which he would be able to achieve with Konoha tying him down and holding him back.

The other occupants of the room shifted uncomfortably. Shikamaru watched Tsunade and Naruto stare at each other, and couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside both of their heads. He had witnessed the Hokage's reaction when Kakashi told her about Naruto's refusing to believe that the council was behind it all. The blonde ninja truly still thought that Tsunade had ordered his banishment, for whatever reason. The Nara silently shook his head, wondering what they could possibly do to set him straight.

Temari also watched the two, but focused more on the Hokage. Suna and Konoha were still not on the best of terms, and she took this opportunity to observe the leader of the Leaf. If she seemed genuinely sorry, then Temari was considering telling Gaara. If it had truly been a huge misunderstanding, and Konoha's somewhat corrupt government had been solely to blame, then there might be something that could be done. Gaara, however, was extremely close to Naruto even after all these years, and still probably wouldn't take lightly the fact that the Leaf's government, Hokage or not, had chosen to banish his friend. Would it even be worth it to make amends?

"Naruto," Tsunade started, but then stopped. She was obviously struggling for the right words, the ones that would make it all better. Well, those would be impossible to find.

The Uzumaki visibly stiffened at the sound of his name, but remained silent. What did she expect him to do? Burst out in tears and beg her forgiveness? Get down on his knees and ask her to accept him back into Konoha? If so, then she had it all wrong, because that was never going to happen.

"Naruto, I sent out a six-person cell to locate and retrieve you, in order to bring you back to Konoha. Do you know why?" The blonde ninja in question remained silent. Tsunade figured he would talk when he wanted to, so she just continued on. "We received information that the Akatsuki has become more active than ever. After remaining inactive for years, the organization's activities have suddenly increased and sped up, though we still don't know why. Regardless, yet another jinchuuriki has been captured, and there wasn't anything we could do to stop it. That means the Akatsuki now has five of the nine tailed beasts. Naruto, we brought you here so that Konoha could protect you. If they got the Kyuubi, and learned to wield it's power, then all of our efforts against them would have been in vain."

She paused, letting everyone absorb her words. Naruto still didn't speak. So she did. "I, as well as the majority of the clan heads, have decided that it is in the best interest of the village to protect you. So, you will stay within Konoha's walls for an undetermined amount of time, until the threat of the Akatsuki is over. And during that time, you may do whatever you choose, though if what Kakashi tells me about you shinobi skills is accurate, then we may be able to reinstate you as an official shinobi of the Leaf-" "No."

The quiet reply cut her next words off abruptly. "No…?" Tsunade echoed dumbly.

"No. I will not become a shinobi of the Leaf ever again. I will stay in this village temporarily, but I will never serve you or anyone else ever again." Naruto's words were spoken clearly and with conviction. Tsunade didn't know what to say. At least she had gotten him to talk…her monologue had started to get a bit boring. And his voice was definitely much deeper than before…

"B-but why wouldn't you except, Naruto?" Sakura's question broke the stunned silence. "That is incredibly generous of Tsunade-sama to offer you a position within the Leaf, especially to someone who hasn't been here for five years, so how could you brush that off so lightly?"

The blonde answered without even taking his eyes off of Tsunade. "Let me ask you, Sakura. Would you sign up to give your life for a place that would kill you in an instant? A village that would rather not see your face every single day. Would you want to protect a place that cast you out just because they wanted to?"

The pink-haired medic nin was silenced by that. She didn't dare answer. She couldn't.

So this time it was Shizune that chimed in. "But Naruto, be reasonable! Forget what happened in the past, and just think of what is best for you now. You know how much safer Konoha would be for you. The life of a wandering shinobi is so incredibly dangerous… your decision is just ridiculous!"

This time Naruto's eyes hardened into a glare as they focused on the brunette woman. From what he remembered, Shizune was a nice woman. But what she said was stupid. "Forget...my past? Forget my past? How the hell could I possibly forget what this village has done to me? The villagers beat me when I was a child, a helpless innocent child. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they'd rather I'd be dead. And Shizune, I already know what is best for me now. And Konoha has nothing to do with it." His voice took on a bit of a growl at the end.

"But don't you think-" "No." Naruto immediately cut off Shizune's next words. "I know exactly how dangerous the life of a wandering ninja is, since this village forced me to be one for the last few years! And even so, I would say that I would have a better chance at surviving out in the world than in Konoha." The jinchuuriki spat the village's name as if it was some kind of poison.

The Hokage's aid bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything else. The boy- no, man, in front of her would think of a way to counter virtually every argument she could possibly come up with.

Tsunade stepped in. "The village has changed, Naruto! Now, everyone knows you won't take any disrespect, and no villagers would dare to harm you."

"You're wrong," he muttered, "someone will definitely try. But then again, what's another assassination attempt next to the thousands I've already endured?" Sakura and Temari cringed at this new piece of information, having no idea just how bad Naruto's childhood had been. "This time though, it's different. If anyone tries anything, I will kill them."

The certainty in the blonde shinobi's words was unsettling for the Godaime. 'What has happened to you, Naruto-kun?'

"What happened in the last five years to make you like this, Naruto?" came Kakashi's quiet question. "In the past, you wanted nothing more than to be respected in Konoha and to become the next Hokage." The Copy-Nin's mind filled with flashes of a young Naruto grinning goofily and shouting 'I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!.'

Naruto stiffened. What could he say? Definitely not the truth. He briefly wondered what their reactions would be if he came clean. 'That would definitely be something to see…'

"That, Hatake, is none of your business," his voice was cold, and his tone was final. Kakashi frowned at how Naruto addressed him. 'He didn't even call me Kakashi….'

"Naruto, you have to come back. Konoha is your home!" Tsunade frantically tried to search for the words that would bring him back.

"I was never accepted here, and I never will be. How could you forget something like that, Tsunade?" His cold words shook everyone in the room.

'A-and he called me Tsunade… no one calls me that. It's always Hokage-sama, or Tsunade-sama… never just Tsunade. Does this mean he has lost all respect for me?' The Godaime chose to ponder his words another time and refocused on trying to get him back.

"Look, if you won't come back to live in the village yourself, then I'll just have to do it for you. Naruto Uzumaki, as the Godaime Hokage of the Leaf, I order you to rejoin our hidden village." Her sharp words started the shinobi present.

It took a minute for Naruto to get over her ridiculous statement. But then he came back with a fury. "No way in hell. I am NOT under your control, and I no longer obey your orders. You would know, Hokage of the Leaf, because you're the one who banished me." Naruto's glare completed his statement.

Tsunade's patience was wearing thin. What had happened to Naruto? What was wrong with him? "How many times do you have to be told? I. Did. Not. Banish. You. It was the council's doing! Hiashi Hyuuga manipulated them while I was away on a business trip to Suna!"

Naruto's icy blue eyes seemed to pierce into her soul. "It's funny how one can come up with the right excuse when a decision from their past comes back to haunt them. Look, I don't care what you say, but know this: I don't believe you. Your lies are not going to get you anywhere."

Hearing this, Tsunade's patience evaporated. And she snapped. "IT WAS NOT ME. I TRIED TO SEND SHINOBI AFTER YOU, BUT IT COULDN'T BE AN OFFICIAL MISSION BECAUSE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES. You know this is the truth! WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?"

A growl came from deep within Naruto's throat. "Do you know what I've gone through because of this village? WHAT I'VE SUFFERED THROUGH, JUST TO GAIN RESPECT? Respect that I soon figured out I'd never get anyway? I would have given my life for this village, and they tossed me out like trash. Even though I hate you for doing that to me, whether you did it or not, it really doesn't matter, because if the ENTIRE FUCKING COUNCIL risked going behind your back for this, then what does it say? WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT ME? About their feelings towards me?" Those words cut right through the listeners' hearts. Tsunade stared at the blonde jinchuriki with tear-filled eyes. She couldn't answer him. "Exactly."

Gathering up the last of her courage and attempting to ignore the lump in her throat, Tsunade tried to speak. Her voice was much quieter now, her anger disappearing and sizzling out. "But you l-loved this village. You took all of that abuse j-just to accomplish your dream! H-have you forgotten about that? I know this isn't what you really want..."

What the Hokage was referring to was the fact that Naruto put up with everything the villagers threw at him because he put his dreams first. However, to Naruto this sounded like she was taunting him, mentioning his dream that will now never come true. 'How could she possibly think I had forgotten about that? That's been burned in my mind for the rest of my fucking life!'

This time, Tsunade had really stepped over the line. Unintentional or not, he glared at her full of hate and fury, blatanly showing his emotions. Red coloring began to seep into the irises of his eyes, alarming all of the occupants of the room. Sensing their alarm, the blonde bared his teeth. "You. Don't. Know. Anything," he spat, upper lip curling ferally in disgust.

'Kit, relax! You can't afford to harm them now. Just wait until your plan has been completed, and then you can have the revenge you deserve. Acting now would be far to easy.,' Kyuubi raced to calm his jailer.

A split second later, Naruto blinked, and when he opened his eyes, they were cerulean blue once again. All of the demon chakra had receded completely. But the glare was still intact. "If that's all…" he started, beginning to form a hand seal to teleport away.

Everyone stared at him, still shocked from his outburst. The killer intent he had been giving off was enormous, enough to shake them up. Tsunade's eyes were wide, frozen with fear. She began to shake slightly, staring vaguely at Naruto. 'What…what has our village done to him?'

"Wait." Sakura was the first to regain control of her mouth. "Where will you be staying?" She looked towards Tsunade, but the Hokage was still frozen with shock, unable to be of much help. Quickly swooping in to take over, Shizune shifted through a few files on the top of the wooden desk.

"U-uh, it l-looks like we've got a f-few places open. There's a v-variety of apartments and housing available, as well as some hotels that have available rooms." The brunette obviously was having trouble controlling her words, internally berating herself for tripping and stuttering over the words but still unable to help it.

Naruto's mind spun. Where could he stay? Not in any of the hotels or inns, that was for sure. He needed a place where he would be able to slip in and out easily, and at all hours of the night. And any old apartment or house would be too easy for someone to break into… he needed security and privacy. Anything that went on in his quarters needed to be hidden from prying eyes. 'Where could I go? What would be the best fit? Oh. I know.'

"No, I think I know where I'll be staying." Kakashi and Sakura's eyes darted towards his face.

Shizune spoke up. "But, you can't mean your old apartment? That building was demolished long ago-" "No. That's not where I meant." Naruto cut her off.

Sakura looked at him questioningly. "Then where?"

The Uzumaki took a deep breath and locked eyes with everyone in the room before replying. "I'll be staying in the empty Uchiha District."

With that, he crossed his hands in a sign that was too quick to follow and disappeared in a loud roar of flames. The fire rose in waves and washed over the room, but vanished just as soon as they'd appeared. Nine little black objects remained on the floor, still crackling and sizzling with heat.

Everyone stared in shocked silence. A few tears, held back for so long, ran down Tsunade's cheeks. Here was the famed Godaime Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade of the Leaf, practically a force of nature, reduced to tears.

It was a few minutes before anyone could get a grip on themselves. And then it was only Sakura who was able to take a few shaky steps forward to peer down at the small burning items. And then she paled.

They were nine leaves. Nine scorched, burning leaves.

I'm so glad this chapter is finally done. For some reason, I really wasn't looking forward to writing it which is partially why I chose to take a bit of a break. I can't wait to write Chapter 12, though, because that's when Naruto is going to really start with the next part of his plan, since he's finally in Konoha. By the way, I apologize for this chapter being a bit of slow and drawn-out, but it had to be done eventually. Oh, and if you're wondering why I made Naruto stay in the Uchiha mansion, that was kind of a spur of the moment thing. He's friends with Itachi, and was friends with Sasuke, so I just figured it would make sense. He isn't known as the #1 Most Unpredictable Ninja for nothing, you know.

Please, feel free to review! I love getting my readers' advice and input! And remember, I read every single one! :)