Disclaimer: The manga and animation 'Naruto' belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I am only borrowing his concept. Don't sue me!

I do own this particular story.


Poof.

Sorry I'm late. I met this old lady who said she was lost. I decided to help her find her way back home. It turns out that we had to visit a few different countries before I found out she was from Antartica. After dropping her off, I had to wait a few weeks for my fingers to defrost before I could start writing again.

Well, now that is over with. I am genuinely sorry for making you guys wait for so long before updating.

This chapter may annoy some people, but I feel it is necessary to do some of this now. You will all thank me later.

Without further ado, here is your next installment of 'Leaf Warriors'.


'Normal Thoughts'

'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'

'summons thoughts'

"KYUUBI SPEAKS"

"Normal People Speak"

"Summons Speak"


Sannin.

It had been a long and enjoyable night of companionship between Naruto and Hinata. They had left the other rookies to deal with the perverted sage and gone to Ichiraku's to eat. Most of the talking and eating was done by Naruto, while Hinata just blushed and played with her food while sneaking glances at Naruto. Naruto remained blissfully unaware of her stares or just chose to ignore it for the time being.

After the meal, they both went on to tour the town together and enjoy the sights of the village before it closed for the night. Before it got too late for them to be seen together, Naruto took her to the hospital where the recovering Tazuna and Inari where currently housed in. They were extremely grateful to see him, and he left a clone with them before he left with Hinata. It was getting to that time of the night, and they were walking towards the Hyuuga compound when Naruto suddenly stopped and looked towards the Hokage mountain.

"Hinata-chan." Naruto said to get her attention. He needn't have bothered. He always had her attention. "Would you mind accompanying me to one more place before I take you home?"

Hinata merely blushed and shook her head to indicate she was fine with it, before bringing her index fingers together. Before they could touch each other, Naruto grabbed one of her hands and pulled her closer.

"Then hold on tight." Naruto said with a grin.

Using the Shunshin no jutsu, Naruto moved Hinata and himself to the Hokage mountain and as soon as he got there, he let go of Hinata and plopped down unto the mountain ground. Hinata who had been surprised by their sudden movement merely adjusted her hair and then gasped at the sight of the village.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Naruto said as he too looked out to the village with a small longing smile on his face. "I used to come here when I had a fight with Sasuke and needed to be alone and think. Sometimes, I just came here on my birthday to see the fireworks display. Sarutobi-sama showed me this place on my fourth birthday."

The wind started blowing and Hinata could have sworn she saw the wind carry a droplet of water off Naruto's face.

'Is Naruto-kun crying?' Hinata thought.

"I always looked at the old man as a kind of grandfather figure who couldn't possibly die. He was respected by everyone and yet, he was never arrogant. He saw the evil in the hearts of men and forgave them when others couldn't. A true Hokage, wouldn't you say Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Hai Naruto-kun." Hinata said after a few moments of hesitation. Naruto seemed stunned by her lack of stutters, but shook it off after only a moment. A serene smile coating his now visible facial features.

"Just the type of Hokage I want to be." Naruto said. After a while, he looked at Hinata and cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner. "What are your goals Hinata-chan?

"..."

"Ah, gomen. I didn't mean to intrude..." Naruto started but was interrupted by Hinata's meek voice.

"No, it's fine Naruto-kun. I want to tell you. I wish to become a dependable shinobi of the leaf village, a good clan head, and help the people I care about the most." Hinata said. "To that, I have to gain a strong standing within my clan by getting stronger."

"The people you care about?" Naruto asked wondering who she was talking about. Hinata blushed and Naruto almost believed that Hinata was turning into a fan girl before she filled him in.

"Neji-niisan, Hanabi-chan and the rest of the people in my clan. I want to abolish the caged bird seal and re-unite the two houses. A long time ago, I resigned myself to living in the branch house, because my sister had more talent than I in the Hyuuga clan techniques, but you taught me to fight for what I wanted and I can't help but hope every time I see you triumph at something. Maybe someday, I too can bring a positive change to the people around me." Hinata said so quietly that Naruto had to strain to hear her.

"I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" Naruto asked with a smile. Hinata giggled at his words. 'I like her laughter. She should laugh more often.'

Standing up, Naruto was about to start taking Hinata home when he heard her say something else.

"And what Hinata-chan?" Naruto said as he looked at her, but she quickly tried to avoid his gaze. Then slowly, she steeled her resolve and managed to look at his chest.

"...and I would like to help you achieve your dreams Naruto-kun." Hinata said. Naruto looked shocked, then smiled brightly at her. Naruto was further surprised when Hinata hugged him fiercely and cried into his shoulder. "Come back from your mission safe Naruto-kun. Please."

"..."

The silence stretched on for a few seconds before Naruto finally answered.

"I will Hinata-chan. I promise and I never go back on my word. That's my nindo.


Sasuke and Sakura trudged through the village looking for Kakashi. It was about time their jounin trained them in something decent. They had been working on teamwork together since Naruto had left, but Sasuke thought it prudent to actually get Kakashi to teach them something new.

Kakashi had agreed and promised to meet them at a certain tea shop in a secluded part of the town. It was a place shinobi rarely frequented but Kakashi found calming because it was one of the places the Yondaime took him to as a boy.

Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the spot a bit later than usual because they didn't actually believe Kakashi would be on time. Getting a table for themselves, they sat down and ordered some tea while they waited for Kakashi. They made small talk about missions and the past war, totally unaware of the events that were unfolding a few hundred yards away from them at the lake.


Kakashi stood next to Kurenai and Asuma and stared down his opponents. This was not a fight that he believed they could win except they somehow managed to separate their two opponents.

On the opposite side of Kakashi stood the child prodigy and the murderer of the Uchiha clan. Kakashi didn't believe it was possible for any one shinobi to kill out a whole clan. He had seen strange things in the shinobi world, but there was one thing that was usually constant. Superior numbers in addition to tactical knowledge or some basic level of skill usually won fights.

Skilled warriors like the Uchiha surely shouldn't be taken down by a single gifted thirteen year old whom they had personally trained. Kakashi decided to err on the side of caution. Itachi had shown extreme promise in the few months he was under him during his days in ANBU. Kakashi had never seen someone rise to ANBU captain so quick. Itachi just seemed to be all for breaking records, but Kakashi was just as gifted and had broken his fair share of records as well.

Kakashi paid attention to Itachi's next words carefully. "You are truly gifted to be able to wield the sharingan like you do Kakashi-san, but only a true Uchiha can break out of this technique."

Kakashi watched in sick fascination as Itachi's eyes swirled and the three tomoe joined to form a shuriken shaped star. Forcing chakra into his sharingan eye, Kakashi attempted to analyze and maybe even copy the technique. His surroundings soon faded to black and he found his voice to ask a question.

"What is this?" Kakashi asked as he looked around. He had only heard of such a technique in Sasuke's recollections of 'that fateful night', and the boy never seemed to remember the name of the technique.

"This is a technique that only true Uchiha's can achieve, and it's called Tsukiyomi of the Mangekyou Sharingan." Was Itachi's reply from all directions. Kakashi tightened his defense and kept a wary eye out. "Futile!! In this world, I have full control of everything and everybody and 72 hours here is only a second in the real world."

Kakashi's eye widened in understanding. If he didn't get out soon, he would be done for.

A plank of wood rose up behind him and he was pinned to it before he could even try to retaliate.

"For the next 72 hours, I will stab you continually with this kunai."

Kakashi screamed in pain as several kunai were embedded in his torso.

'Kuso, it looks like a genjutsu, feels like a genjutsu, but the pain is definitely real. How could a technique totally fool this eye?' Kakashi thought as he reeled from the pain.

"71 hours and 59 minutes left."

On the outside, Asuma looked at the stationary Kakashi's feet. "What's going on Kakashi?"

There was no reply for a second before Kakashi's hold on the chakra beneath his feet suddenly disappeared. Asuma reached down sharply and grabbed Kakashi's arm before he sunk to the bottom of the lake.

"Bah, let him go. I thought he would at least give Itachi-san a little more of a challenge." Kisame said as he started running towards Asuma and Kurenai, his Zanpaktou drawn and ready to deliver deadly strikes.

"Dynamic Entry" said a loud boisterous voice as Kisame was kicked back. The large man showed great agility as he landed on his feet and came to a stop. Kisame looked up to find a weird man wearing a green spandex suit, and sporting the bushiest eyebrows he had ever seen. An involuntary tick made its way to his face as he thought of new ways to kill this new comer.

"Come Kisame, we came here to find the Yondaime's legacy and not start a war. Maito Guy will be a difficult opponent to face without drawing more attention to ourselves. A retreat is in order." Itachi said as he turned around and started walking away.

Kisame looked like he might revolt against the clear order Itachi had given him but finally hefted his Zanpaktou over his shoulder and followed Itachi. Their bodies melted into water as soon as they were far enough.

"Kuso, we have to get Kakashi back to his apartment. After that, Gai please go after Jiraiya-sama and Naruto and warn them about this Akatsuki that Kakashi was talking about before Itachi did whatever he did." Asuma said as he pulled Kakashi out of the water and Gai threw him over his shoulder. Asuma then proceeded to help Kurenai up and they all disappeared into the afternoon air.


A few miles away from Konoha, Jiraiya and Naruto were walking in search of Tsunade. Jiraiya knew her general location because she had a gambling addiction and word got out on the whereabouts of the legendary sucker pretty fast. He was not overly concerned with finding her though. Thus, the reason why he had just handed Naruto a balloon, and was holding one in his hand as he explained the procedure to Naruto.

"So, to learn this technique, you need to continually add chakra until it bursts." Jiraiya said as he quickly demonstrated and burst his balloon. He looked down towards the boy and noticed the single star in each eye. "Baka, the Keigan does not memorize or copy jutsu."

"I take it you know the prior wielder of these eyes if you can speak so casually about knowing its functions." Naruto said with a raised eyebrow. Jiraiya looked at Naruto curiously before answering.

"So you really don't know." Jiraiya said. Seeing Naruto nod in the negative he decided the boy deserved the truth. "Hai, I know the person. Heck I trained him."

Naruto nodded as he started spinning his chakra through his hand as fast as he could. Jiraiya was impressed by the boy's focus and maturity.

"I am curious as to why you are not curious to know who it is?" Jiraiya said.

"It's unimportant to me. I am guessing he has no family left apart from me, so my knowing will not get me any further with my training." Naruto said, although Jiraiya could tell there was a hint of curiosity mixed with sadness in his voice. The boy just kept on walking and attempting to burst his balloon. Jiraiya frowned as they walked in silence for a few minutes, and then smiled as a plan formed in his head.

'This will definitely motivate him to train even harder.' "You know kid, your father was a genius unlike anyone seen in a hundred years, but he was the hardest worker you would have ever met. In fact, the technique I am teaching you now is one of his originals. His name was Kazama Arashi."

Naruto froze, turned and stared at his sensei curiously and Jiraiya could see the confusion on his face as he tried to remember where he had heard that name previously. Jiraiya decided he should drop the bomb now.

"The Yondaime Hokage."

Jiraiya watched in fascination as Naruto's balloon fell out of his hand and towards the floor. The boy who was still using his Keigan caught the action before it was too late but chose not to rectify it. The balloon fell onto the ground and bounced around in several directions while hitting several smooth rocks. Naruto's eye's followed the ball and his body followed almost lifelessly until he reached the still moving ball. As he reached down to scoop it back into his hand, the ball burst and Naruto stayed in that position for a moment. Jiraiya knew the silence wouldn't last very long though.

"Why?" Naruto asked as he straightened. His voice betraying the pain he was feeling.

"Well, as you must have noticed, the ball bounced in different directions thereby causing several different rotations which caused the balloon to burst….." Jiraiya said as he looked at the still boy.

"You know what I mean."

"Gaki, do not mistake his love for hatred. He loved you a lot, but he loved his village as well. Arashi was strong, but he was no sage. He looked for the good in everyone he watched over and could not have foreseen the hatred that would befall you. Here is a good question to ask yourself if you truly want to become the Hokage. What would you have done?" Jiraiya said as Naruto's eyes shakily rose from the ground to look at him. Anger and doubt were visible emotions clouding his eyes "Would you have the heart to fight after losing your wife to child-birth? Would you have gone out to face a rampaging demon when you knew there was little to no chance of you winning the battle? Would you have run away from the village you had sworn to protect, because you wanted to see your son grow up?"

Tears rolled off Naruto's cheeks and Jiraiya saddened considerably. Naruto looked lost in a world that was unyielding and unforgiving.

'Times like this that I wish I had come back and taken him out on my travels with me.' Jiraiya thought. "I can't tell you the amount of joy they both felt when they knew they were going to have you. You were possibly the single greatest thing to happen to both of them, and they were excited to be your parents. It's unfortunate the way things turned out, but you should know better than to blame the dead for what they had no control over. Think about it. I have reservations in a hotel in the town a little ways off from here. Tell them your with me, and they should let you in. I'll be back when you have had enough time to think."

Naruto didn't even bother to answer, and he just started walking away in the direction of the town. Better to get there and lie down to think for a while. Pulling out a balloon and filling it with water from his flask, Naruto continued on his way.

Jiraiya followed Naruto for a little way to make sure he was alright. It pained his heart to see the boy cry, but it was necessary if they wanted to progress in his training. If Naruto harboured any form of regret or anger towards the Yondaime, then he would probably reject to learn the man's techniques. That would be unacceptable. It was his and nothing should take that from him. His father would be disappointed if the boy didn't learn most of his prized techniques.

'I guess I was a bit harsh on him though. I should get him something nice before I go back to the hotel.' Jiraiya said as he disappeared.


Naruto sat cross legged on the gold floor in front of a huge cage, eyes closed and concentrating on whatever he was thinking about. In front of him was a large golden cage that had seals engraved on them. Inside the cage, the Kyuubi looked down at Naruto with an unreadable expression on it's face. The silence was agitating and starting to grate on the Kyuubi's nerves.

'THE BOY COMES ALL THE WAY HERE, WAKES ME UP FROM MY SLEEP INSISTING WE NEED TO TALK, AND THEN JUST SITS DOWN ON THE GROUND?' Kyuubi thought to himself. " YOU KNOW, I OUGHT TO KILL YOU FOR THIS BLATANT SHOW OF DISRESPECT."

Naruto looked up slowly and deliberately, a frown marring his face. "Why do you respect him so much? He imprisoned you, and sentenced you to death the moment I die."

The Kyuubi looked momentarily shocked, but soon schooled his features into a toothy, malicious grin. "SO YOU FINALLY FOUND OUT! KUKUKU. I AM A CENTURIES OLD DEMON, WHO CANNOT REMEMBER HOW EXACTLY LONG HE HAS BEEN ALIVE. YET, I CAN TELL YOU HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN TRULY FREE. FREEDOM IS OBJECTIVE BRAT, AND YOUR FATHER SOUGHT TO SAVE THAT FRAGILE FREEDOM HIS VILLAGE POSSESSED. HE DAMNED HIMSELF TO AN ETERNITY OF CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE JUST SO THAT HIS VILLAGE AND CHILD COULD SURVIVE. I RESPECT HIM BECAUSE HE FACED WHAT WE DEMONS FEAR WITHOUT SECOND GUESSING HIMSELF. KUKUKU, ARE YOU YOUR FATHERS SON, BRAT?"

"..." Naruto had never really expected the Kyuubi to talk so much. 'That's basically another way to look at it, but arriving at the same point. Jiraiya was right. The Yondai...no, tou-san was a great man. I would do well to become stronger than him, so I do not have to make such a decision when the time comes. If it's my only option though, I will definitely make that decision to save my precious people.'

"Yes fur ball, I am definitely my fathers son." Naruto said as he pushed himself out of his mind with a smile on his face.


Naruto came out of his meditative trance to see the room Jiraiya had purchased filled with his clones. Clones that he had made before going to talk to the Kyuubi. After all, there was no need to waste valuable training time. Even Keigan had not left his training to join in the discussion. Naruto guessed that he could hear, but chose not to make an appearance since it was not something he knew about.

Looking at the trash can at the end of the room, Naruto noticed several torn balloons thrown in it. He smiled as he watched the clones all around the room manipulate their chakra within the balloons and make them burst. Some were doing it with their left hands, and some were doing their right hands, and three fuuin clones were doing both hands.

'This will definitely surprise Ero-sennin. I should probably start dispersing them.' Naruto thought. Making a quick one handed seal, one more clone sprung to life. Naruto merely got back into his meditative position. The clone dispelled itself after Naruto had made himself comfortable. Then one by one, the clones started dispelling themselves, until only the seal clones remained. Opening his eyes, Naruto spoke. "You guys still have enough chakra to learn the other stages as well, and I might need you guys for reconnaissance. Go wherever you want and do whatever you like. I will send you guys the information about the stages via expelled kage bunshin. I expect you guys to do the same and keep me updated."

The fuuin bunshin nodded their accent and quickly exited through the window going off in different directions and leaving Naruto alone in the room. Naruto sighed contentedly and started daydreaming about how to improve some of his battle tactics. A knock at his door brought him out of his trance

Sauntering to the door, Naruto missed the tell-tale signs of a huge chakra presence being suppressed. Opening the door slightly, Naruto's eye's widened as he took in the size of one of the people standing in front of him. Calmly assessing the situation, Naruto finally noted the second man standing to the side of the first. Medium height, black hair, red swirling sharingan eyes.

'Sharingan? Sasuke...No. Oh shit. Itachi Uchiha.' Naruto thought in his mind as he took a mental stock of all the weapons he had on his person. "What do you want with me?"

"Please come with us Naruto-kun. I would rather we didn't have to bring you in forcefully." Itachi said in the coldest and most unemotional voice Naruto had ever heard.

'My chances of winning against Itachi are effectively nil. All I can do is stall for time and wait for Ero-sennin to get back.' Naruto thought. "I am sorry, I am waiting for someone here. He will be very disappointed if I leave without telling him."

"Oh, the boy has a smart mouth. Let me chop of his legs so that he can't run anywhere Itachi-san." The big man with the shark face said.

"No Kisame, he could lose enough blood to kill him that way. We need him alive. Right now, he is simply trying to stall for time. One of the legendary three will be back here soon. My genjutsu won't keep him busy for that long."

'Kuso. He already caught Ero-sennin in a genjutsu?' Naruto thought. Digging into his kunai pouch, Naruto threw two kunai at the men and they both evaded with minimal difficulty and retreated to a safer distance. Naruto merely jumped to the other side of the corridor they were standing in. 'I will have to fight smart because I don't even know their abilities.'

Pulling out his new twin katana, Naruto settled into the tightest defensive stance he knew.

"Do you really think you can take us on brat?" Kisame questioned lazily.

"No, I don't. As a loyal Konoha shinobi though, I will go down trying." Naruto replied.

"Big words from a small person." Kisame said as he reached Naruto who was shocked that someone so big could move so fast. With a mighty swing, Naruto was knocked backwards and hit the wall behind him.

Crumpling to the ground, Naruto was shocked to find out that he had lost a huge chunk of chakra without performing any techniques. 'Kuso, how did that happen? I need all the chakra I can get against these two and the big guy is already proving to be more of a problem than I thought he would be.'

"Naruto-kun. You are probably thinking that you stand a remote chance of holding my partner off before Jiraiya of the Sannin gets here. It's impossible. The difference in your level is too great and cannot be bridged with the weak techniques you possess." Itachi spoke calmly from his position across the room.

"Who are you to tell me about the level I am at?" Naruto said as he stabbed his twin katana into the ground. Forcing himself to a standing and putting one of his hands into a familiar seal, Naruto ignored the onrushing Kisame. When Kisame got close enough, two Naruto bunshin popped into existence. Both who attempted to hold Kisame's hand on it's downward swing to Naruto's head. One survived the onslaught as it was wise enough to hold unto Kisame's hand and not the sword, but the knowledge gained from the departed bunshin was just as useful in Naruto's mind. 'A chakra absorbing Zanpaktou? This is worse than I thought.' Naruto calculated as he forced Kisame back with a some katana swipes to the body.

Naruto and his bunshin stood stock still as they waited for the large man's next move. He didn't disappoint as he smiled a shark like grin while sizing Naruto up. "I can tell you are better than this boy! You should know that you can't hold back even in the slightest if you want to win this fight."

"This place is obviously too cramped to go all out, and I would rather leave here with minimal damage to the property. Aside from that, I think I am doing rather well against you." Naruto bluffed. 'I also don't want Itachi to copy my techniques. I don't know the ones he knows, and I won't part with my shadow and original techniques so easily.'

Kisame's grin just widened as he took a step towards Naruto. The bandages on the kage bunshin suddenly turned orange with several seals and Naruto was thankful that a good portion of his clothing covered the seals. Uchiha Itachi of the Uchiha massacre was standing in front of him. It wouldn't do to give away potential life saving techniques to someone who would probably use them more effectively than you.

The kage bunshin dashed forward and sent a kick towards Kisame's chest, totally bypassing the feeble defense that Kisame had put up. Kisame moved with the flow of the kick and landed on the ground surprised at the turn of events. 'This gaki isn't half bad, and he is very original. What is this technique?'

"Fuuin amplifiers for speed? It will be for naught against my eyes." Itachi said from the position behind the Naruto Kage bunshin. A quick chop to the back of the head, and the bunshin dispersed in a cloud of smoke. Itachi's job was not done as he quickly set to work demolishing all the bunshin that were coming at him. Kisame stood back and watched quietly.

'The only time Itachi-san fights, is when he feels that there is a point to be made. Best to leave him be.' Kisame thought as he watched.

The Naruto's were being cut down at an accelerated rate and there seemed to be no end to it. Soon, the clones stopped coming and Naruto silently regarded the two in front of him. Itachi was being surprisingly patient with him and Kisame had to wonder why they had both stopped.

"You can stop with the Kage bunshin games now Naruto-kun. You are clearly very proficient at it, but you will never master it." Itachi spoke as he stepped on the pebbles Naruto had thrown unto the ground earlier when Itachi had been occupied with fighting the other clones.

"Nani?" Naruto questioned as dread filled him, when he realized Itachi knew of the disguised Kage bunshin beneath his feet. 'How? I made sure I was clearly hidden before I made those bunshin and henge'd them into pebbles. It's a ploy I used against Sasuke a few times, and it worked then.'

"You have come far with the use of the technique, but only a true Uchiha can master this technique. I would show you what I mean, but I can tell that you already understand. Normal people like you use the technique to cause distractions, for espionage, and to get out of a tight spot or flee battle altogether. With me, I could restrain, torture, and even kill you should I want to." Itachi said in a monotone as he slowly approached Naruto who was kneeling on the ground, eyes focused clearly on the ground. Beads of sweat ran down Naruto's face as he tried to think of a plan that would ensure his escape. Itachi's footsteps soon stopped and he looked towards the outside of the building. Naruto's curiosity got the better of him, so he actually looked up enough to see the direction Itachi had turned to. Focusing in that direction, Naruto hoped beyond hope that Jiraiya had finally made it, but he decided that was not possible, because Jiraiya was basically in the next village when his fuuin bunshin had found him. Then he felt a very familiar chakra signature.

Kisame had been annoyed at the ease in which Itachi had beaten the kid into submission. It had ruined all his fun, but he was curious to what was going on when Itachi and Naruto looked in a certain direction. He got his answer when he sensed the rapidly approaching presence. Looking to Naruto, Kisame saw him smile, and then frown.

'Is he ready? Will he be more of a hindrance than a help?' Naruto asked himself as the presence got closer. 'Why didn't he just bring Kakashi-sensei with him? Or at least another jounin or pair of jounin. Crap! Too many variables. At the least the fuuin bunshin have gotten to Jiraiya, and he is on his way back. If I ever find Mizuki again, I'll have to thank him for helping me learn the kage bunshin. I wouldn't have lasted this long without it. I would rather keep my Keigan out of this fight. No telling what maniacs like this would do to get their hands on my eyes.'

"Itachi!" Sasuke hissed as he come into view.

Itachi merely turned away from Naruto and stalked closer to Sasuke. "Sasuke. It has been a long time, right otouto?"

"Don't call me that." Sasuke said as his sharingan flared to life and momentarily surprised Itachi. "I will kill you now and avenge our family."

Running through the seals for the chidori in a second, Sasuke started running at top speed toward his brother. He didn't heed Naruto's warning shouts to not attack blindly, and what happened next totally shocked him. Before he could even thrust the chidori into Itachi, Sasuke's wrist was caught and broken. Whimpering softly in pain, Sasuke let the chidori dissipate. Because of his forward momentum though, he had already passed Itachi but he doubled back and tried to kick Itachi in the head. Itachi ducked under the kick and quickly slammed Sasuke into the ground. A moment later, Itachi watched as Sasuke's body turned to mud.

"A move straight out of Orochimaru's repertoire. You have certainly grown if you were conscious for long enough to have seen him use that." Itachi commented offhandedly.

Sasuke glared at the man praising him with all his worth, but Itachi just smirked in return. In the background, Sasuke saw Naruto's face contort in a grimace before he tried to shout something at Sasuke. It was slightly too late though.

"I did missions with him for a few years before he left, and I know enough about him to know the strengths and weaknesses about all his jutsu." Itachi said from behind Sasuke, while there was still one Itachi in front of Sasuke.

The Itachi behind him then grabbed him by his face and broken arm, thereby slamming Sasuke into the wall behind him. The other Itachi walked forward as his eyes started changing into the mangekyou sharingan. "Kisame, secure the Jinchuuriki as my little brother relives the night I killed our family."

Kisame nodded and turned as he heard Sasuke's screams of pain. A blur shot towards him, this time a lot faster than before with the same orange seals showing as an after image. Grinning and blocking all Naruto's attacks, Kisame was confused as to why Naruto hadn't used this earlier. 'It doesn't matter now though. Now, I get to have some fun before I disable him.'

Kisame started his own counter attack when another blur came from his blindside and scored a direct hit to his face, thereby throwing him back to the area that Itachi was torturing Sasuke. Naruto stopped when he saw the huge hulking form of his new sensei in front of him.

"Well done for holding them off for so long Naruto. I'll take it from here." Jiraiya said as he eyed Kisame and Itachi who had both turned to face him. Jiraiya was already running through a set of seals. When he finished, he simply raised his foot and brought it back down on the ground. "Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari."

The steel underfoot of his geta not really making the clanking sound that all three conscious individuals had expected to hear. The walls and ground around them soon turned into what looked like one of the inside organs of a toad. "No one has ever escaped the esophagus of the great fire breathing toad. I can control the inside to suit my needs. It can expand or contract without me having to lift a finger. Surrender now, and I may go easy on you." Jiraiya said with conviction as Sasuke was swallowed up and the walls started closing in on Itachi and Kisame.

"It's time we leave here Kisame." Itachi said as he took off in the opposite direction and turned around the corner with Kisame hot on his heels.

"I won't let you get away." Jiraiya said as he made the walls move inwards faster while turning the corner as well. What he saw surprised him. There burning through the walls of a fire breathing toad, was a black flame. Jiraiya sighed to himself and performed a water jutsu to put out the fire, but the fire didn't let up at all. Jiraiya looked at the ground beside his feet to see Naruto drawing a seal on a scroll. When he was done, he handed the scroll to Jiraiya. Jiraiya walked forward and sealed the flames within the scroll. Tossing the scroll back to Naruto, Jiraiya walked over to where Sasuke was swallowed. "Keep it Gaki. You will need it more than I do."

After retrieving Sasuke's body, Jiraiya was kicked in the face by a green blur. "Dynamic Entry."

"Kuso... What was that for Gai?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at the man incredulously while rubbing his abused cheek.

"Ah, gomen Jiraiya-sama. I thought you were Itachi-kun." Gai replied obviously distraught at having kicked such a great man, that could kill him easily.

"How did you make that mistake?" Naruto asked snickering.

"I was using my forehead protector as a mirror because I didn't want to fall into one of Itachi's genjutsu." Gai replied sheepishly.

"Ah, I see." Jiraiya said thoughtfully. "It's great you came though, because it saves us chakra and time. Please take Uchiha Sasuke back to the village and give him to the medics. I doubt any of them will be competent enough to heal him, but that's why Naruto and I are going to get Tsunade." Jiraiya said.

"Hai, Jiraiya-sama." Gai said as he did a small salute to the older man. Jiraiya ignored it as he undid his jutsu and went into the rooms to get his and Naruto's stuff. "Bring back Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun. Not only do Lee and Sasuke need your help, but so does Kakashi. We are all counting on you." Gai said giving the nice guy pose with Sasuke slung over his shoulder. He turned around and left the building, no doubt going back to the village to get Sasuke some treatment.

Naruto's face was filled with resolve when Jiraiya came back and handed him his pack.

"Did you master the first stage?" He asked, expecting Naruto to nod in the negative. He was pleasantly shocked when Naruto took out two water filled balloons in both hands and made them burst together. 'This kid is truly amazing. I never expected he would have it down to such a level, especially not with all he had to think about.'

"Great. Then let's move on to the next stage." Jiraiya said handing Naruto a small bag containing rubber balls. "Try bursting this rubber ball. In this stage, you are looking to add more chakra to your rotations to burst the ball."

Jiraiya demonstrated and burst the ball without too much effort. Naruto tried but knew that it would take a lot more effort from him. "This stage is more difficult and will probably take you a significantly longer time to master. Maybe a few weeks or months. Don't get frustrated though. It will come eventually."

Naruto merely looked at Jiraiya and smiled. "The sooner I learn this, the easier it will be to protect myself and the people I love. I doubt a jutsu like this can be copied by Uchiha Itachi."

Jiraiya's eyes softened as he looked at the boy, then he watched curiously as Naruto threw the ball into the air for long enough to create a single Kage bunshin. The bunshin immediately saluted it's master and dispersed itself while Naruto started trying to burst the ball with more fervor. Jiraiya looked at Naruto and sighed. The boy was going to break every record imaginable for learning the rasengan. 'It's his father's technique after all. He would have probably learned it at an earlier age than this had his father been around, so I am not really complaining. Although he doesn't know it, Kage bunshin will be of very little use to him in this endeavor. Regardless of their usefulness in learning chakra related things, they wouldn't be able to handle the strain on the hands while learning the second stage. Sorry Naruto, but I still say a few weeks and maybe months.'

Naruto and Jiraiya continued walking into the sunset knowing that finding the next Hokage was top priority now.


Hyuuga Hiashi wondered what his eldest daughter needed to speak with him about. He had let up on the girl in the past few weeks since the invasion, and he was making an honest attempt at being a better father to her. She had only just finished recovering fully from the beating she had received from Neji. He was truly glad she had survived, but he couldn't see what she wanted to request now. It was no secret that she was extremely shy, but in the past few days, he had seen a resolve in her eyes that he had never expected of her. She still talked like a meek little girl, but her stutter was gone. Again, he would have to thank the person who had brought on this change. His eldest daughter was the only main house member who was liked by the branch house. She was most likely the only person who could bring about a change in the Hyuuga.

Hiashi smiled as his eldest daughter knocked at his door politely. Calmly deactivating his byakugan, he asked the person to come in. Hinata came in and smiled at her father while bowing in respect. "Hinata-chan." Hiashi said, silently trying to get himself used to adding the suffix to her name. He was trying to be a more caring father after all. "Please sit down."

Hinata found a tatami mat on the floor and sat down with such grace that Hiashi smiled with pride.

"What can I do for you Hinata-chan?" Hiashi asked as he watched Hinata start putting her fingers together, before she forcefully restrained herself. He could see her gathering all the courage she had to tell him what she wanted. 'Impressive. She is different from the Hinata I knew barely a month ago. Maybe a person can really change if they put their hearts into it.'

"Otou-sama. I mastered a technique and I would like to show you." Hinata said while looking at Hiashi's feet.

"Oh?" Hiashi said, surprise written all over his face. He calmly schooled his features and smiled at Hinata. "It is great that you have finally learned how to do the Kaiten Hinata-chan, but I can not leave my work every time someone learns it."

Hiashi didn't mean to demean Hinata's achievement, but his words did just that and he saw a little of the previous girl come back even more. He was about to apologize when he saw a small smile on her face. Knowing that this was actually his daughter from his observations before she entered his study quelled his fears that she might be an impostor.

"I already learned the Hakkeshō Kaiten Otou-sama. Neji-niisan says I am very close to completing the Hakke Rokujūyon Shō. But that isn't the reason why I came here. When I was having difficulties with those two techniques, I decided I would prove myself with a technique just as good. I created this."

Hiashi found himself shocked at her words. His own child was insinuating that she had done something that several generations of Hyuuga had not. The Hyuuga clan had been known for it's prodigies and effective fighting style. To think that a Hyuuga who had been looked down upon as the weakest ever had created a new technique was poetic in his opinion.

"Come Hinata-chan. Show me this technique." Hiashi said as he walked out the door. For the first time in his life, he realized Hinata wasn't walking that far behind him as he was accustomed to. No, she was walking slightly in step with him. Whether out of eagerness to get her fathers approval or out of pride in her own achievements, Hiashi wasn't sure. He couldn't read her face as easily as he usually could. 'She sure is growing rapidly, isn't she Hitome?'


Naruto slowly wrapped his hands in the bandages he had removed when he realized the second stage of the rasengan might ruin them. No need in redrawing all those seals if you can prevent the damage in the first place. He had finally mastered the second exercise after two days, and an obviously upset Jiraiya had told him to take a few hours to rest while he went to gather more information on Tsunade's whereabouts.

Naruto had questioned Jiraiya about the contacts he always seemed to have in the towns he had come across. Jiraiya had simply said that they were different kinds of people who he had met randomly in his travels that had taken a liking to his charming demeanor and his books. Naruto had scoffed at the 'charming' remark but Jiraiya had let it slide and asked Naruto if he was interested in meeting some of them. It would be an invaluable attribute to have if he was going to become Hokage and couldn't investigate things by himself. Naruto had politely declined saying that most of Jiraiya's contacts probably wouldn't survive very long to be very useful contacts to him. Jiraiya had merely laughed and walked away to gather information. He left with some parting advice though.

"Don't hold back if you get into another fix Gaki. I would hate to come and see you kidnapped, but I am no babysitter. Jutsu will be stolen regardless of what you do to prevent it. If you are dead because you held back, they may still get your jutsu and use it against your friends."

Naruto saw the reason in his words, and figured he wouldn't hold back again should the situation arise. There were also no civilians and innocents to get in the way like the last time. Some of his more destructive jutsu couldn't be used for fear of the casualties that may arise.

On the topic of morals, Naruto was proud of his fuuin bunshin, because they had not used the money they had on them to buy the numerous rubber balls they had used to train. Naruto and his bunshin knew that regardless of how long the money lasted after being separated from the fuuin bunshin, it would vanish the moment the bunshin ceased to exist. So the fuuin bunshin had gotten temporary jobs that allowed them to buy the balls in the different towns they were in. Using different stories and alias as well. It wouldn't do for a traveler to find out Naruto's secret because he went to the next town and found a different Naruto.

It had given Naruto a plan of epic proportions and he couldn't help but grin at it. He had already gotten out a new scroll along with his map. Creating two clones, he handed them the scroll and the map each. Standing up and putting his hands in his favorite seal, he concentrated his chakra and summoned exactly one hundred and twenty clones. Forty of them immediately fell into line while the other eighty stood on either side of them. Two bunshin to a soon-to-be fuuin bunshin.

The real Naruto stood in front of the group with a vial of blood. He passed the vial to the first set of bunshin who dipped their paint brushes into it before passing it on. Soon, the vial had been passed around and given back to the real Naruto. 'Thank goodness they didn't finish it. It took me almost a whole day to get this vial, and I only have three more and I would like to use those on bigger sealing projects. It's a painful experience, to cut and re-open an injury until you can get enough blood.'

"The rest of you cover me. I might be tired after all this sealing, so I need to make sure I am not blindsided. Eighty of you should be more than enough to hold off a team of jounin long enough for me to escape. Allow only Ero-sensei through." Naruto said and watched as eighty different Naruto's dashed into the trees. Naruto sighed and looked forward. "The rest of you, come forward one by one. Think of an inconspicuous alias to use. Once I have sealed you, change into the appearance that you wish to use. The bunshin behind me will take down the necessary information and the bunshin behind him will assign you a town to go to. You all will be my eyes outside of Konoha but within fire country. You are my spy network. Anything at all that needs my attention, you are to inform me via dispersed clone. You will be acting as normal civilians, but make sure you do not neglect to train either your mind or your body."

All the bunshin nodded in unison and bunshin who thought he was funny changed into an old man with a walking stick. The bunshin in the clearing all laughed, but were brought back to attention by Naruto.

"He raises an interesting point though. It would be very annoying to hold a Henge up for an entire day continually, so you guys should choose wisely. Choose an alias that you can fit into with some hair dye, make up, contacts and change of clothes. If you are up to the task of becoming a fully grown man or any other person, be my guest. Just make sure you maintain your cover at all times." Naruto said as he started sealing.


A few hours later, Jiraiya walked into a clearing that had Naruto meditating. He knew the boy was aware of his presence so he just sat down and placed the food he had gotten next to Naruto. Naruto slowly opened his eyes and whispered an appreciative thank you to Jiraiya. Jiraiya was honestly curious as to what Naruto had been doing all day. There were no tell tale signs of someone training hard in the clearing and Naruto seemed genuinely hungry, telling from the way he was finishing the food.

"So what did you do today?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto finally finished the food. Naruto explained to him the plan he had come up with and Jiraiya thought it was a really great plan if the Naruto's didn't blow their cover. He saw a few minor discrepancies though, but he was sure Naruto had already thought of them and sought a way to rectify them. One nagged at his mind more than others though. "You told me that my contacts wouldn't live long enough to be as much of a use to you because some of them are my age, but your fuuin bunshin won't even last a year out there."

Naruto simply unrolled a scroll that had forty three names and other information on them. It had information about the ones that had decided to use henge throughout and the one's who would go without wasting much chakra. "I figured giving each one a choice would change the circumstances of each. Some with have more chakra at their disposal, while some will undoubtedly get better at controlling it. When they run out of chakra, it will be a simple thing to create a new fuuin bunshin to replace that one."

Jiraiya nodded at the wisdom behind his newest apprentice's words. "Because it is unlikely that they will run out of chakra within the same period, you will have no problem replacing them. Ingenious for someone like you, but suicide for anyone else." Jiraiya said with a frown. Naruto produced an identical scroll and tossed it to the sannin.

"You once told me that information is power. I am sure you wouldn't mind having a few more contacts." Naruto said. Jiraiya just nodded in acceptance as he put the scroll in his pocket.

"Go to sleep brat. Tomorrow, you start training on the third stage. I'll teach it to you when I wake you up for your shift in five hours."

Naruto cursed silently as he lay down and got a blanket to keep him warm. 'I hate guard duty. At least I get to train.' Naruto thought.


It was a calm day. He was searching for someone in the forest. He had a small smile on his face. Soon he realized that he could not find that person. Running back home he was going to tell his mother and father that he could not find the person he was looking for. He got there to find an empty house and his heart felt like it was sinking to his feet. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Naruto. Hope filled his heart again.

"Naruto, I am glad you are here. I almost thought I was alone again for a second. I was searching through the forests for someone but I never found him." Young Sasuke said, almost rushing his words. Naruto merely pointed behind him and Sasuke looked to find a mirror. Within that mirror, he saw himself and Naruto grow up slowly. Change from the younger versions of themselves to the hardened warriors they were slowly becoming. Then all of a sudden, their friends started to appear. More and more came and acknowledged them. Sakura, Kakashi, Team 8, Kurenai, Team 10, Asuma, Gai, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Sarutobi-sama, the Ichiraku's and a few more. Sasuke could tell that the list would keep growing and more people would continue to show up until the day turned to night.

Sasuke ran to the window to see what happened. When he turned back, he saw all his friends sprawled out in different positions on the ground, either dead or dieing. Sakura struggling to reach out to him, but Sasuke was frozen in place. His eyes quickly darted around the place looking and searching for his missing best friend. A cold chilling voice brought chills to spine.

"You are still weak otouto. Your hatred is not enough to defeat me. Live recklessly and hate me with all your being. Then when you obtain the same eyes as I do, come and meet me. Those were my words. You are to blame for all their deaths."

"Sasuke. My brother." Naruto said as a tear slipped down his cheek. Sasuke watched Itachi's ANBU katana slice off Naruto's head. There was no coming back from that even if you had a demon sealed in your belly. Sasuke screamed into the air as he found himself being dragged outside into the rain. He screamed until he had no air in his lungs. Then he was promptly dropped unto his face in the mud below him.

"Pathetic. I never should have let you live." Itachi said as he started walking away. "Your capacity will never test mine. Your hatred is not enough. Weakling."

With that he was gone, and Sasuke was left to pick himself up. He was startled to see himself in another setting. He let out a groan as he realized that he couldn't dispel the technique. It seemed he would just have to endure all the torture. As Naruto came running into the clearing, Sasuke groaned again.


Sakura who had been sitting next to Sasuke's bed for the better part of the week heard him groan while gritting his teeth. It tore at her conscience that she was unable to help him when he needed her the most. "What is wrong with you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said as she continued studying the books that littered the floor. She had to be of some use now that Kakashi and Sasuke were suffering from the same thing. 'My teammates need me and I refuse to continue to be useless.'


Jiraiya was losing his mind slowly because of the rate at which Naruto learned things. It was surprising that he had been able to master the rasengan in less than a week with his accelerated training, but Jiraiya was sure that most of the work had been done by Naruto. Fuuin bunshin or regular Kage bunshin would not have survived the second and third stages so easily. The first was really no problem but the second and third should have at least kept him there for a few months. If this kept on, Naruto would be asking for his more advanced jutsu before long.

Looking at Naruto made him rethink his previous conclusion. Naruto was smart. Smarter than the average thirteen year old. He liked jutsu for the simple fact that having them meant a greater chance of surviving an encounter with a higher ranking shinobi, but he did not live off them. After he mastered the rasengan with both hands, he had proceeded to run around, do push ups, sit ups and practice sword and taijutsu kata every minute of the day. Jiraiya was sure he had learned Goken just from the amount of time Naruto had spent punching trees, kicking trees, and performing kata in the past one and a half weeks. Unfortunately, Tsunade had been relatively quiet for the duration that they had been roaming about fire country.

Jiraiya was just about to get up and leave for the the closest bath house to peep on girls when Naruto stopped doing his one handed push ups. Jiraiya turned to look at him as the clone that was standing on Naruto's feet burst in a cloud of smoke. Naruto performed an effortless push off the ground and ran towards his bag.

"I found her." Naruto said, and Jiraiya took that as his cue to pick up his own traveling pack.

"Where?" Jiraiya asked.

"Tanzaku-Gai." Naruto replied as the two started bounding from tree to tree as fast as Naruto could go. Naruto's face was contorted into a frown, and he was pushing more and more chakra into his limbs. "There is a slight problem though."

"What is it?" Jiraiya asked warily.

"Orochimaru-teme found her first. My fuuin bunshin sent a kage bunshin there to get information. It's under instructions to not interfere, so we will have to make it there soon." Naruto said. The trees were nothing more than a blur for the two now.

"Then it's a good thing we were just outside Tanzaku-Gai." Jiraiya said as the castle came into view. They both found themselves changing from trees to rooftops in a few seconds, but none stopped to remark about how beautiful the city looked.


Two sets of people stood opposite each other on the Castle Tanzaku grounds. Behind both parties were shattered walls.

"Orochimaru. I will give you to the count of five before I kill you." said a blond haired woman with a diamond shaped gem on her forehead. "5, 4."

"Ah, we came here to make a bargain Tsunade-sama. It's not a one-way affair." Kabuto said while not really fearing for his life.

"3, 2."

"Ah, don't be so irrational. This deal will benefit both of us." Kabuto spoke again.

"1."

"I can revive your brother and your lover with a seal that I just created." Orochimaru said. It was the first time he had spoken during this conversation. There was a silence that stretched on for a few minutes before Orochimaru continued. "Does the fact that I am still alive mean that you will accept my proposition?"

"..." Tsunade didn't say a word.

'Orochimaru-sama. You are truly a genius. To use her loved one's like that. I would really hate to ever get on your bad side.' Kabuto thought with a relieved sigh. He was unprepared to fight a Sannin, at least right now.

"Tsunade-sama, don't listen to them. Your brother and my uncle would not appreciate it, and don't forget about your goals. You can't help him, he killed Hokage-sama." Shizune said as she turned to reason with her master. "If you and I fight together Tsunade-sama, we will definitely be able to kill them..."

"Shut up Shizune." Tsunade said without looking at Shizune.

Orochimaru simply raised his bandaged hands to his face and bit one of his already tender fingers. Blood immediately started flowing out and Tsunade immediately froze and shrank into herself. "I may be weak right now Tsunade, but remember that I know your secrets. It's a pity your still have not managed to overcome your fear of blood. Think about it Tsunade. You have a week to give me your answer." Orochimaru said as he turned towards Kabuto. "Lets go."

With a chakra enhanced jump, both men where gone from the clearing.


"Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said as he stopped. Jiraiya stopped on the next building, but doubled back to listen to Naruto. "They have gone their separate ways, but something is going on that isn't good. I will explain in more detail when we finish talking to Tsunade."

Jiraiya nodded and Naruto jumped down into the street. Quickly walking towards a nearby bar, Naruto and Jiraiya saw a man in his early twenties standing in front of the bar. He was dressed in typical manual labor garb and watched the two carefully as they approached.

"Password." The man said as he straightened himself.

"There is always heaven and earth. If you lack heaven, then seek knowledge and wisdom. If you lack earth, then run in the fields." Naruto replied without missing a beat. The man nodded.

"They are inside resting. You know all the details of the encounter. I will be at my station if you need me. " The man said as he started walking away. Naruto nodded as Jiraiya walked into the bar and he followed.

"There she is." Jiraiya said merrily. Naruto looked at her again and wondered just how on earth she was Jiraiya's age. It wasn't his place to say, so he merely kept quiet and sat at the table after Jiraiya.

"Tsunade." Jiraiya said with a happy voice. "I see you haven't changed."

Jiraiya was leering at Tsunade's assets and pretty face and Tsunade was less than happy that she was having so many reunions today. "Jiraiya. You haven't changed as well. Still the pervert."

"Hahaha. Well yes. I guess I haven't." Jiraiya said as his face suddenly went from playful to serious. "I have come to make a request."

"Do you need something healed as well?" Tsunade asked dryly.

"No. This is a request from the village council of Konohagakure no Sato that you, Senju Tsunade of the legendary three Ninja become the Godaime Hokage." Jiraiya said without his usual mirth.

"I refuse." Tsunade said. She noticed the casual sigh that escaped Jiraiya's lips and the boy sitting down next to him tensed ever so slightly. He continued eating the food that had arrived for him a moment later, desperately trying to reign in his emotions. "Tell the council that I refuse, and I will not be setting foot back in Konohagakure again."

Again the tensing of shoulders. Tsunade was starting to question whether this boy was sick or not. Maybe nerve damage or something. Maybe she could get a little money from that wallet he had set down on the table that looked so huge. She wanted to go and gamble really soon.

"My I ask why you are declining the job?" Jiraiya said.

"Because it's a fools dream and a job that asks you to sentence yourself to death." Tsunade continued and actually smiled as the boy stopped eating but didn't make any other moves. Without even looking up, Tsunade could tell the boy's eyes held fury that should not be there in the eyes of a child his age.

"I take it you already heard about Sarutobi-sensei." Jiraiya said while also taking note of Naruto's stance. It was nothing too serious yet, but he could tell that they boy was close to breaking.

"Hai. Sarutobi-sensei was a fool for taking that job, because it only cost him his life. Your prized student took the job and look where he ended up. The same as my Grandfather and his brother. Anyone vying for Hokage should know that a horrible, and miserable death is inevitable. The first four were fools. I definitely will not be the fifth." Tsunade could tell that the boy was clenching his fists as hard as he could under the table.

'Tsunade-sama...' Shizune thought to herself as she watched Tsunade continually talk disrespectfully about the men she herself admired.

"I take it back Tsunade. You sure have changed a lot." Jiraiya said with a disappointed frown.

"I am just stating the facts Jiraiya. The title Hokage is a death sentence no matter who receives it and what they wish for. Whether it's peace, unity, understanding or whatever...It always ends the same. A painful death for a fool."

"Shut up."

"What did you just say to me Gaki?" Tsunade said, angry at the other blond's interruption. "You should respect..."

"Respect is earned. The Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime and Yondaime have my respect. With me, they are never truly dead, because I carry the fire that they fought hard to bring together and protect." Naruto said as he finally looked up and glared at the woman with an uncontrolled hatred. Most of the people in bar were instantly rooted to their seats and all conversations were stopped. Even Tsunade seemed taken aback by Naruto's aura. "Scum like you? I could care less if vultures fed on your decaying body."

Pushing his plate away, Naruto put his money down unto the table and started walking out the restaurant.

"What would a brat like you know about respect?" Tsunade said. Her anger was palpable.

"Obviously more than a has-been like you would like to remember." Naruto said.

"Let's take this outside Baka." Tsunade said as she pushed off the table as well.

"Hurry up then. I have better things to do than deal with childish has-beens like you." Naruto said as he walked out the door without a care in the world.


Out on the street, Naruto and Tsunade faced off. They both stood in relatively relaxed positions. To the side, Jiraiya was grinning as wide as he could while Shizune was fearing for the life of the blond in front of her.

"I will have you know Gaki, that I can kill you with only one finger." Tsunade said as she played with her forefinger. She noticed Naruto get into a stance that she recalled was the Goken. 'Interesting kid.'

"I could kill you too, but I would rather not bleed tonight. My skill as a shinobi should be more than adequate to prove that the Hokage's were great men who made the right choices in their sacrifice. That their people may live and rejoice in life. Not throw it away and go against everything they were taught." Naruto said as his bandages started glowing orange. He saw Tsunade's eyes widen because of her revealed secret but paid no attention to that. "As a future Hokage, I owe it to them and myself. The Hokage is a title worthy of the greatest respect and reverence, not ridicule."

"Where do you get these wannabes from Jiraiya." Tsunade asked as she snarled at Jiraiya. Jiraiya merely shrugged her off.

"Will he be alright Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune asked as she looked towards Naruto. 'He looks formidable for a gennin but that is about how far he will come against Tsunade-sama.'

"If there is one thing Naruto is good at, it's at proving that if you underestimate him, you will pay dearly." Jiraiya said. His smile still plastered on his face. 'I knew it was the right decision to bring Naruto along.'

"Are we going to stand here all day, or are you going to come at me?"

"Konoha Senpuu." Naruto said as he aimed a kick at Tsunade's head. Tsunade's eyes widened at the speed he had just displayed and she was barely able to bring up her hands in a feeble block attempt.

Naruto didn't give her much time to recover as he kept on the offensive. Tsunade for all her prowess and experience didn't get caught flat footed again, but was unable to return any of the blows Naruto had struck.

'The boy is actually good enough that he is looking for critical points to end this fight with. Enough!' Tsunade said as she raised her foot in the air and brought it down with a smash. Cracking the entire roadway. Naruto made a tactical retreat and took the time to survey the damage. He didn't get much time to plan out his next moves as Tsunade started charging him and he had seen what she was capable of with the tip of her shoe. The tip of her shoe probably didn't even let chakra through.

'If I get hit by her fist once, I would probably need to rearrange the bones in my face.' Naruto thought at he made several hand seals. "Fuuton: Migite no Kami."

Naruto seemed satisfied that his wind would hold her down for enough time that he could come up with a halfway decent plan. That didn't seem to be the case as Tsunade blew away his strongest wind technique with a punch to the center of the wind palm.

"Kuso." Naruto said as he jumped off the building he was standing on. It seemed that Tsunade was hot on his tail and she caught up to him in the air because he had deactivated his seals while thinking about his plan. She now had a significant advantage. She was naturally still faster, or just a lot better at using her chakra so it was no shock when Naruto was batted through several buildings.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama. You went too far." Shizune said looking in the direction that Naruto had landed. Tsunade merely looked at her and scoffed.

"Brat was the one who pushed me enough to use more than one finger. He is lucky I only used a fraction of my strength for that hit. He would have died if I had put any more power in that." Tsunade said as she looked towards Jiraiya. She had something she wanted to say to him before she left. "Stop picking up these losers from the streets of Konoha and putting these false dreams in their minds."

"I would rather be a loser than be like you any day." A voice said from behind her. Shizune's gasp was enough to confirm her suspicions. The brat had somehow managed to stay conscious after that hit. She turned to address him and saw him holding two complete rasengan in his hands. Tsunade's eyes narrowed as her mind processed what she was seeing, but she was slightly taken aback by the little blood trickling down Naruto's face. Most of the real blood was smudged off on his jacket, and the wounds were already closing. Looking towards Jiraiya, she glared before turning back to Naruto. She watched as he put the two together, into a much bigger ball. "Someone like you can't possibly go down easily. Your are too strong headed and stubborn."

Tsunade smirked. This boy had the nerve to talk about how strong headed she was? He had taken a hard hit and lived to create a bigger rasengan than she had ever seen before. She was sure Jiraiya and Arashi could create bigger, but they had never deemed it necessary. "Such a technique must be relatively hard to control, and it will be even harder to hit a moving target with. How about we make a wager?"

"Name it." Naruto said with conviction.

"If a loser like you is able to hit a moving target with that jutsu, I will never speak about the previous Hokage's like that again, I will become the Godaime, and I will give you this necklace." Tsunade said as she lifted the said necklace for all to see.

"Tsunade-sama, you can't." Shizune almost screamed.

"I accept."

"Let me finish. If you fail, you will have to give up your dream of ever becoming Hokage. You only have a week to complete your training though." Tsunade said. She blinked when she realized that Naruto wasn't in the place he was before. Looking behind her, she saw him in a wide thrust stance. Tsunade took a step back and hit the back of Naruto's hand causing him to fall towards the ground. The rasengan hit first and created widespread damage. Rocks and debris flying everywhere. 'Just as I thought, something that big will need a lot more control and concentration to keep it up. With his current control, he will need to concentrate a lot more and his speed suffers. A loser like him can't gain the needed control in a week.'

"I guess you were right. It is unstable. You're on about the bet. You will have to excuse me though. I have training to do." Naruto said as he started walking into the night to find somewhere suitable to train.

"Wait Naruto-kun. Let me heal your injuries first." Shizune said as she made to stop Naruto, but a simple wave of his hand stopped her. Shizune looked at Jiraiya and he sighed with a small proud smile on his face.

"Are you gaining an interest in little boys now you old pervert?" Tsunade said as she started walking away.

"No, I am just happy I brought that boy along. I haven't met anyone with a will quite as strong as Arashi's in a long while. He just made this trip so much easier." Jiraiya said as he started following Tsunade. He could hear Shizune and her pig following close behind. "He is going to win the bet you know."

"Why do you say that?" Tsunade said.

"Because he learned the whole rasengan in roughly about a week. The huge rasengan that he just produced was not something that I ever taught him. He is adding his own touches to it now." Jiraiya said with pride.

"Well, he must have had a few years to think about that since you taught him the rasengan." Tsunade said while smirking. That would bring him back to earth a little. 'Even though learning the rasengan in a week is a very impressive feat after all.'

"What are you talking about. He finished learning it about a week ago." Jiraiya said in a voice that said 'I know something you don't know.' Tsunade decided to oblige him.

'So not only is he already very strong and well grounded in the basics, but he has a sensei who is cramming him full of power and he is very willing to learn. His drive also reminds me so much about Nawaki and Dan. Tonight will be a very long night.' Tsunade thought forlornly. "Tell me everything Jiraiya. I need to know more about this boy if I am going to give him my necklace. That is in the event that he actually wins this bet."

"Alright." Jiraiya said solemnly as the attention of two ladies focused on him. He decided not to spoil the mood with a perverted joke. "Let me tell you about the hell that was Uzumaki Naruto's life."


Naruto sat in an empty clearing quietly observing the stars above his head. He was trying to recall all the fights he had been in the past few days. He had gone from having a relatively normal shinobi career with a few distinguishing wins to fighting Orochimaru of the Sannin, Gaara of the desert, The Uchiha Itachi, and now Tsunade of the Sannin.

'In my opinion, I survived most of those fights by luck and the only fight I won, I managed to lose my sight for almost two weeks after that. In all of those fights, I was most useless against Itachi. He saw through every ploy that I attempted and he knew I was holding back my more dangerous techniques because of the enclosed space we were in. I am very sure they were holding back too. Apart from kenjutsu that rivals Zabuza's and his chakra eating weapon, I know next to nothing on that shark guy. Itachi just showed an expert use of his sharingan and a deep understanding of the Kage bunshin. It's probably a good thing that my fuuin bunshin didn't try to come back. I am afraid that is a secret I may not have been able to keep from him. I need to get better. I need to perform my jutsu so much that they become instinctive, and maybe enough that I can use them without seals. For now though, I will have to work with what I have got.' Naruto thought as he stood up.

Performing the Tajuu kage bunshin, Naruto spoke to the clones. "You know what to do. Divide yourselves into groups. We know about thirty jutsu, so I want thirty people per group. One person is to take control of the group."

The Kage bunshin quickly complied, but they soon had trouble choosing a team leader for every group. Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs to get everyone's attention. "We don't have time to mess around. Whoever chooses to be the leader not only has the responsibility of choosing who practices which jutsu in his group, but he also has the job of completely mastering the bunshin no jutsu."

The silence in the clearing was deafening.

"I will do it."

Naruto was surprised as he looked at each and every group of clones. One from each group had raised his hand, and they had spoken in unison, with a tone of voice that sounded a half pitch deeper than his own. Naruto suspiciously looked at them but could not see any differences in the kage bunshin. They were all obviously him.

"Then get to work. Don't stop until you run out of chakra. Don't use a technique against another." Naruto said while creating another clone. This clone came into existence and dispersed itself immediately. "The other clones around fire country will be working as well. Group leaders you are in charge of dispersing. I would rather not be left vulnerable, so please see to it that no more that 30 disperse at the same time. I would prefer one every few minutes."

"What will you be doing Naruto-sama?" One clone asked as Naruto started walking away. Naruto turned sharply and looked at the clone that spoke.

"That voice, I have heard it before. I don't remember where, but I am sure I have heard it. Who are you?" Naruto asked, shocking all around him. They all immediately got into offensive stances at the blond the original had spoken to. "Stand down. It's still my voice, but it's different somehow. He is not an intruder. A better question would be why are you different?"

There was silence in the clearing before they all started putting their twin katana back in their scabbards. The real Naruto just grinned and shrugged.

"I am sure it's no big deal. You probably just lost your voice for a second. For your information though, I will be doing conditioning exercises while going through all the known hand seals as fast as I can." Naruto said as he waved to the clones who were already trying to organize themselves.

One group stood still though as the group leader assigned to them looked at his arm like it had suddenly just been attached. One word went through his mind as he went ahead and started organizing his group. 'Different?'


A week had passed since Naruto had gone off training, and even though he had sent a clone to inform Jiraiya of Tsunade's talk with Orochimaru, nothing could have prepared Jiraiya for this. He had been drugged by the one woman who he had known for the better part of fifty years.

He watched as Naruto shook his head and looked at him embarrassed. They were walking towards Tsunade's lodgings as Naruto had just come out of hiding/training, and he really wanted to show her the jutsu, and how he could use it in combat so they could leave. A fight with Orochimaru and Kabuto was not something he wanted to go into regardless of who was on his side. And Tsunade would never think of actually helping Orochimaru, right?

They walked into Tsunade's room to see Shizune on the ground. Obviously unconscious. Jiraiya cursed and Naruto had to agree with his curses. This was a bad situation to be in. Quickly unsealing some smelling salts from a scroll he kept out, Naruto proceeded to wake Shizune up. She got up with a start.

"Tsunade-sama." She shouted to no one in particular. When she saw who was in the room she stood up and grabbed them. "We have to go and save Tsunade-sama."

Naruto stopped her and looked toward Jiraiya. "Please heal him as best you can. We cannot go into this fight with Ero-sensei this messed up. We also need a plan. I don't know about you but fighting someone like Orochimaru needs more than a little luck even if he is injured. And with Jiraiya in this condition, I am not sure luck is on our side today."

Shizune blinked and Jiraiya sighed. 'He is smart. I thought he was just strong for a gennin, but he is also really smart too.' She thought. "Okay. Jiraiya-sama please lay down."

Jiraiya got a big smile on his face at that but Shizune slapped him before he made any rude comments. "I can't fully heal him, because Tsunade-sama obviously planned for something like this to happen, and used a toxin that only she can heal fully."

Naruto nodded and looked at Jiraiya. "What's your plan Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Ugh, that was one hell of a drug. Huh? Plan? I guess it's to make sure we all live beyond today." Jiraiya said as he finally straightened, with a smile on his face. "I'll leave the minor details to you. Consider this training for a Hokage."

Naruto smiled as he looked towards Shizune and Jiraiya. "Then I should tell you as we move. I have two plans, but one is more of an alternative."

"An alternative for what Naruto-kun?" Shizune said as she jumped out the window to follow Jiraiya and Naruto.

"An alternative in the event that Tsunade has betrayed the leaf village by helping Orochimaru." Naruto said with complete seriousness. Noticing Shizune about to object, Naruto continued. "I would rather not think like that as well, but this is reality. Please hear the plan before you complain though."

"Go ahead Naruto." Jiraiya said, while trying to channel chakra throughout his body and get his body functioning properly.

"Jiraiya-sensei knows Orochimaru-teme best, so regardless of his disability, he will be fighting him. Should Tsunade-sama still be on our side, then we will just have to keep as much blood of the battlefield as possible. Shizune and I will handle any other minions that may be there. Hopefully, it's only Kabuto. Even then, be on your guard Shizune. Kakashi-sensei told me that he tussled with Kabuto a while back and Kabuto is very close if not on equal standing with him. For an apprentice of a Sannin, I am sure you are no slouch but we will have to take him down as quickly as possible. Jiraiya-sensei you are on your own with how you handle Orochimaru."

"Don't worry about me Gaki. I have fought him enough times to know what he can and can't do." Jiraiya said and saw Naruto nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Then here is the plan for us Shizune." Naruto said as he brought out an empty scroll.


Tsunade watched in growing horror as Kabuto regained control of most his body. She had not even finished healing herself yet. 'What is it with this new generation and the amount of genius shinobi that they are producing. Thankfully, I still have a few tricks of my own though.'

"I believe it's time to end this now Tsunade-sama. I have regained about eighty percent use of my body again. Your abilities will cost me in the long run if I let you to live any longer. Orochimaru-sama has a way to gain use of his arms again, so you will not be needed anymore. You definately chose the wrong answer." Kabuto said in his most cocky voice while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You must not realize who you are talking to if you think you can defeat me so easily brat." Tsunade replied.

Kabuto started running straight at Tsunade, and he drew a kunai hoping to disable her as quickly as possible without using too much chakra. After all, he had seen the other people who were probably on their way. It would end up being a troublesome fight, if Tsunade wasn't dead by then.

Poof.

Several puffs of smoke appeared in front of Kabuto, and he couldn't help but think 'Too late.'

Stopping on a dime and changing directions, Kabuto watched as Naruto appeared in front of him. Naruto's twin katana were drawn and came dangerously close to claiming Kabuto's head. Amazing agility and acrobatics saved Kabuto as Naruto continued the unrelenting offense, until Kabuot got close to Orochimaru.

It seemed that even Naruto was not that suicidal. Naruto knew Orochimaru had obviously not fully forgiven him for the injuries he had inflicted when they last met and the man was too ruthless to let something like that slide. Naruto jumped back to the side his companions were situated, and Shizune was helping Tsunade with the healing. Tsunade seemed to take offense at the fact that a gennin had been able to push back an opponent that had injured her. She rushed forward blindly to end the fight and she saw Kabuto smile evilly. He stabbed his hand, and flicked the blood in Tsunade's direction. She didn't even move as the blood splashed on her.

"Dammit, she could have at least healed me before she did anything stupid." Jiraiya said, mirroring Naruto and Shizune's frustration.

Naruto jumped in the air and threw a single shuriken. Forming the necessary hand seals in the blink of an eye, thousands of shuriken were headed towards Orochimaru and Kabuto. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu." They both dodged by jumping in different directions. Before Naruto landed, he had his fingers in another seal "Kage bunshin no jutsu."

Two Naruto's appeared and latched onto the already shivering Tsunade. They took her back to the spot where Jiraiya and Shizune had just vacated to fight their different opponents. The real Naruto went along to join Shizune in the battle that would almost definitely decide the fate of Konoha and all that is in it.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. Are you not surprised that I am here with Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto said as Naruto landed close to Shizune.

"Should I be? It bothered me at first when Kakashi-sensei told me you fought him, and a week ago when I realized you were actually teamed up with Orochimaru but I say it's not that great of a loss." Naruto said conversationally.

"Haha, you are truly gifted Naruto-kun, to want to play psychological games with me." Kabuto said with a good natured smile. "Unfortunately, your witty responses and most of your strength come from being a teammate and friend with a true genius. Without him, you would be nothing but a run of the mill gennin with a demon in his gut. Still, when compared to Sasuke-kun, you are really nothing special. In front of the sannin, you are nothing but a dead last failure with a big unattainable dream."

"I could say the same about yourself Kabuto-chan. It surely can't be very easy to fail the chuunin exams eight times" Naruto replied seriously.

"Touche. It seems mind games will not work on you. Maybe it's time to get this fight underway." Kabuto said in a friendly voice.

"I was beginning to think Kakashi-sensei overrated you. I have a few things to prove in this fight, so I would prefer to get it underway as soon as possible."

"In a hurry to die I see." Kabuto spoke smugly. "Then you will be happy to know that I have made preparations for you."

Before Naruto or Shizune could question him as to what he meant, a katana plunged through Naruto's back and re-appeared on the other side piercing a few organs in the process. Naruto turned his head weakly to look his murderer in the face before he died.

Naruto's eyes widened as he got a glimpse of the face and everyone else stared on in horror or fascination. "You? It couldn't be!"


Jutsu List:

Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari- "Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind"

Type: A-rank offensive.

Users: Jiraiya, (Naruto eventually. In my story at least.)

This jutsu encloses the surrounding area with the esophagus of a great, fire-breathing toad from Mount Myoboku: Rock Lodging (妙木山・岩宿, Myōboku-san: Iwayado). Jiraiya can then control the stomach, causing it to expand, contract, or grow in whatever direction he wishes.


In the last chapter, it was brought to my attention that dai-katana was a large sword that Naruto cannot weild at his current hieght and weight. I am sorry for that misconception. I meant to say twin katana like I said in this chapter. When I say that, I mean two medium length swords attached to either side of his hip. A bit shorter than Sasuke's sword in cannon.

Also, I will use this opportunity to explain Naruto's bandage seals in greater depth. On the outside, they only appear from about halfway above his forearm to the tips of his fingers and the parts of his neck that are visible. His clothing covers the rest of the seals so most people would not be able to gleam the whole seal sequence without essentially seeing him without his clothes. The only person who would go so far would be Orochimaru, and I doubt he has any need for those particular seals.


So, that's it. The next update. Gasp! Is Naruto dead? lol. Horrible cliff hanger I know, but I could not be motivated to write anymore. Reviews will give me more motivation. Thanks to all the people who reviewed and helped me get up to over a hundred reviews. You will not be disappointed. Thanks to all the people who believe in my story, read it, and are eager for me to update. I won't give you guys another date for an update, but I will try and make it soon.

Ja ne.

The 6th fire shadow.