Oh hi. Had fun with the first part, not so much with the rest. Still was necessary. Anyway, would like to reiterate this will be Naruhina, but later I know I pretty much pushed her to the background, but I figured that's more or less how a shy wallflower like her would go. Just saying, because I could see if you'd think not. Anyway, enjoy and all that shit. Will reach 100 reviews this chapter, so that's a yay. Ohl and sorry for so short. Though it's about as short as usual. Meh. I can't do 10K word chapters :(


"Then, the stage is set. We shall begin hunting the tailed beasts immediately."

As soon as those words left his leader's lips, Itachi felt a panicked chill flow through his spine. He knew the organization would begin their tailed beast hunt eventually, but already? It was too soon! Regardless, he kept his composure, as he always did.

"Going after the Tailed Beasts? Bout damn time," Hidan grunted, lazily swinging his scythe around. "All this busy work… haven't been able to find any victims worth sacrificing to Jashin for a while, now."

"You idiot! We aren't supposed to kill the Jinchuriki." Hidan's partner, Kakazu snapped at his insufferable partner.

"What?" Hidan gawked at his partner. "Then why the fuck are we even going after them?"

"Because that's our job, you idiot, and we need to do it in order to get paid-"

"Gah! Fuck that! I need my fucking sacrifices! How the hell am I supposed to serve Lord Jashin if I can't even fucking kill anyone? Jesus, why don't I just fucking kill all of you. Yeah, that would- URGH!"

Hidan was distracted from his psychotic ramblings, only to find a pure black arm sticking straight through his chest. Gritting his teeth, he jerked his head around to find Black Zetsu's unblinking golden eye fixed firmly upon him.

"You best watch that mouth, unless you wish to ignite the wrath of beings a hell of a lot more powerful than you," the humanoid monstrosity hissed at the deranged cultist.

Hidan simply laughed. "Well, that better be a promise. Now, would you kindly remove your hand from my chest before I remove it from your body."

Black Zetsu narrowed his eye at the insane madman. However, when Pain declared, "... Let him go, Zetsu," the monstrous creature reluctantly obeyed.

"Oh, shit! Look at this fucking hole," Hidan groaned as he stared at the gaping wound Black Zetsu had left for him. but, aside from the hole, he seemed otherwise nonplussed.

"Hm, perhaps I could take a look at it for you?" Kabuto spoke up, a rarity for the bookish type.

Hidan, however, saw through what he perceived as the ruse. "Oh, fuck off! You just want to steal the ways of Lord Jashin!"

Kabuto simply chuckled at this, while Orochimaru stared at Hidan hungrily. Before either of the two snakes could respond, however, a groan came from Deidara. "For the love of… can we get back to the mission, eh?"

"For once, I agree with my partner," Sasori concurred. "I do hate to be kept waiting…"

Pain looked nonplussed, seemingly unphased by his group's antics. "The Leaf will pose a problem. Although the slaughter of the Uchiha clan will make things easier, they still have many loyal and skilled clans and ancillary ninjas who are loyal to their so called "Will of Fire." Even with the plants Itachi just made, I believe we should wait for the impending war with the Mist to whittle down their forces." At this, Itachi felt a slight sense of relief. After all, it would help Naruto be safe for a bit longer while he worked out his plan.

"Oh, I believe you give my home village too much credit," Orochimaru interrupted their dear leader. "Last I remember, they were trying to hinder dear Naruto's progress and keep him docile. Such a waste if you ask me…"

"... Things are different than when you were a member of the Leaf," Itachi interrupted, feeling an urge to defend his pupil despite everything.

"Oh? And how's that, Itachi?"

"The Nine Tails Jinchuriki is now a jounin, with a genin team of his own. I accidently fought him on my mission. He is now quite skilled, and is able to harness the power of the Nine Tails to an unknown degree."

"Oh! And he's got one of those swirly eyes too!" Tobi spoke up suddenly, sending a wave of discussion across the group. Itachi had to fight back a tinge of annoyance, which was rather easy for the usually cold and indifferent ninja to do. Orochimaru, however, had a delightful look in his eyes.

"Hm... A Nine Tails Jinchuriki with a sharingan. And, if I remember my intel, he's the son of the Yellow Flash, hm…" Deidara said with a scowl.

"Oh? Don't tell me you share in your villages irrational hatred, Deidara?" Sasori teased his partner, in a manner one might consider friendly if they did not know what the misshapen puppet monstrosity actually was like.

"Pfft! I may be a traitor, hm, but I'm still a Stone born," Deidara scowled.

Pain stood stoically, like a statue, as if his group's interruptions were not bothering him. "Even if he is a jounin, it is not him I am worried about so much, especially if he is unable to fully control the Nine Tails," he continued as if he had not been interrupted. "Even so, I still stand by my assertion we should allow the Leaf and Mist to war amongst themselves before we take their Tailed Beasts."

"So, that's the Three Tails, the Six Tails, and the Nine Tails that are currently off limits," Kakazu summarized. "Who should we go after first, then?"

Pain stared at Kakazu with a faint glimmer of humor in his soulless eyes, were one to look hard enough. "I believe somewhere very familiar to you, Kakazu…"


Naruto kept to the rooftops as he made his way through the Leaf.

It was just something he always did, ever since he became a full fledged ninja. After the kind of childhood he suffered through, he found soaring over the rooftops liberating. A rush of freedom, without having to deal with those glares he faced even to this day.

As he went about the village he soon found the girl he was looking for. Smiling to himself, he leaped down onto the street before him.

"Hey, Sakura," he greeted with a little wave.

Sakura obviously did not expect him, as she instinctively tensed at the sudden intruder, her hand reaching for her kunai. When she saw who it was, however, she flusteredly put her kunai away. "Uh… hey Naruto-Sensei. I thought we were off for the rest of the day?"

"Oh, what. You don't want to see me?" Naruto smirked at the pink haired girl.

"N-no, it's not that…" Sakura apologized awkwardly as her cheeks began to heat up. "It's just… well… Why are you here- I mean-"

"Don't sweat it," Naruto waved the topic off. "I just wanted to check in on you, after that last mission."

"I told you, I'm fi-"

"Don't lie to me, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened, before she closed them in recognition. "... Fine. Guess I couldn't hide it from you, anyway."

"You shouldn't have to," Naruto comforted her. "An experience like that, anyone would need to talk it out. "

Sakura looked down on the ground, and Naruto frowned as he saw the pained expression on her face as she remembered what she experienced. However, he soon took a look around and remembered that they were still in the middle of the street, dark looks pointed squarely in his direction.

"Come with me," he told Sakura, and before she had a chance to realize what was going on, he took her and body flickered away from there.

When Sakura had a firm grasp on her surroundings again, she found the two of them were alone in a training field. Without giving her much time, Naruto gestured for her to sit down, and so she did.

"So… What did you see?" Naruto said bluntly.

Sakura averted her gaze. "I… I saw my parents die. Right before my eyes… And… you guys… Sasuke… Ino-pig… Hinata… and… you… you were all dead… Each and every last one of you…" she croaked out, tears beginning to form in her eyes."

'Damn it, Itachi,' Naruto mentally cursed, even if he could now see what his sensei was thinking. 'Might as well talk to her about that… Still, how to approach that topic without arousing Sakura's suspecions...'

"... Seems to be his calling card," Naruto sighed, causing Sakura to stop her crying and look up at him in befuddlement. "Sakura… how much do you know about Sasuke?"

Sakura blinked up at him. Whatever she was expecting him to say, it wasn't that. "Well.. he's the last of the Uchiha clan… and…"

"And what does that mean to you?" Naruto pressed the point.

"Huh?" she asked, obviously confused.

"What does it mean to be the last of his clan?"

Slowly, Sakura came to realize what exactly her Sensei was saying. "It… it means his clan… his family… is…" she looked down, realization coming to her as she put all the pieces together. "... That man. He was…"

Naruto looked down. "... Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha. And the man who killed their entire family."

Sakura gasped in horror, as slowly all the pieces started to fit together in her mind. About Itachi, and Sasuke, and her nightmare. "But… why did he…?"

Naruto frowned. "There are some bad ninja in this world, Sakura. People who would use their powers to hurt, not help. To be frank, I don't know why Itachi slaughtered his own clan. Or even why he let Sasuke live. But, there's something I do know. That loneliness, that betrayal… it has consumed Sasuke, to the point where revenge was his sole purpose in life."

Sakura looked down as she absorbed this information. A few short months ago, this might have been more shocking to her, and she would have instinctively defended her crush. But now… after getting to know him better, and after Naruto helped dampen her crush on the brooding boy, it was a lot easier for her to accept. But that did not mean she had to like it.

She looked up to her Sensei, and saw him lost deep in his thought, as if this hit him harder than anything could. As she stared at him, she remembered the troublemaking boy with no friends, bullied day after day whom disappeared without a trace and without anyone to care about him. The gears in her head started to turn, and she felt a sudden pang of guilt in her heart.

Before she could say anything to her Sensei, he stood up all of a sudden. "Well, I better go check on Hinata," he said as he stretched, before looking down at his student. "Are you sure you'll be okay, Sakura?"

"Y-yeah, I just need a moment to think about all of this…" she replied truthfully.

Nodding as if he had expected that response, Naruto turned to leave. "Later," he said, before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.


Naruto soon found himself on another field just outside the borders of the Leaf. And there, just as he predicted, was Hinata. It would seem that a day off did not register to this girl, as she was practicing her Gentle Fist stance all on her own.

Naruto shook his head, a prideful smile on his lips as he watched her graceful movements. It would seem she had taken his training to heart, as her stance was different from the traditional stance of the Hyuga.

After Naruto had found out hinata's chakra type, he had tried to work out an individualized stance that better combined her Water Type nature in with the pin point accuracy of the Gentle Fist. While such a feat was practically unheard of, Hinata seemed to have been doing a rather good job as far as he could tell.

"What are you doing, Uzumaki?" he heard a low growl he had not heard for some kind from behind him.

With as big a grin as he could muster, Naruto turned around to face the newcomer. "Oh, hey there, Neji! What, can't a Sensei keep watch over his student?"

Neji gritted his teeth at that reminder. As much as he wanted to respond to that, Naruto was his superior. And he did not want to make a mess by insulting a higher ranking ninja.

The two boys were brought out of their own little world by Hinata's small, surprised voice. "Neji? Naruto-Sensei? What are you-"

Neji did not give Naruto any time to say whatever he needed to say. "Your father requires your presence, Hinata. He sent me to escort you." Without another word o waiting for a response, Neji turned around and began to walk back.

Hinata froze at the mention of her father, a fact that did not go unnoticed by her Sensei. Naruto looked at the interaction between his student and her cousin, a frown crossing his face as he put the pieces together himself.

"A-alright," Hinata said nervously, her previous determination gone in an instant before she hesitatingly began to follow her cousin, so lost in her own worry she forgot to say goodbye to her Sensei. Naruto forgot entirely about what he was going to ask Hinata about as she nervously followed her cousin, whose face was struggling to keep the contempt out of his eyes. Naruto knew there was something not right here.