Naruto: Densetsu no yonnin

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Divine being talking"

'Divine being thinking'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

AN/ I know many people will be annoyed that I skipped ahead so far but don't worry, the gaps will be filled in throughout the story.

AN2/ Sorry for the late update, my computer got hit with a load of viruses and I had to get it cleaned. Sometimes I think life hates me.

Chapter 14: We are a team, we won't lose.

A soft breeze swept across a grassy clearing that was surrounded by forest. There was nothing but a sense of calmness in the area. It was broken by a large fireball hitting the centre of the clearing and burning the grass. A young girl in her teens burst from the tree's followed by a young boy around the same age. Another fireball came from behind them, forcing both to separate. A boy in his late teens jumped out from the tree's and managed to get in front of the two younger teens. The sun could be seen as it started to rise above the mountains. The older teen made a hand sign and fired another, larger fireball at the two younger teens. They jumped out of the way, only to be caught by a sphere of water. The elder teen walked towards them and released them. "You two need more practice" the elder teen said. The sun was high enough to let light in the clearing. "But Naruto-nii" the girl complained. Naruto looked at her sternly. He was now standing at six foot four inches and his hair reached his shoulder blades. There was an obvious silver tint to his hair and it was tied into a small ponytail at the end. "No buts Rasu-chan, you and Katsuro-kun still have a lot of work to do to make Chūnin" Naruto said to the girl. Amaterasu was just under five foot and her purple hair went all the way down to her waist. She wore a headband with Konoha's symbol around her neck. Katsuro had died his hair to a jet black and kept it short. He was just a little taller than Amaterasu and he wore his headband on his head just like Naruto remembered Zabuza had.

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In truth what he said was wrong. Both were nearly good enough to make Jōnin, but he wasn't going to tell them that for fear that they started complaining. You'd be surprised at how much a thirteen year old could complain, but two would just drive him mad. Amaterasu pouted. "Now, we'll continue again next week" Naruto said. Katsuro left, leaving Naruto and Amaterasu alone. "I suppose I miraculously 'owe you a treat' to something" he asked the younger girl. Amaterasu's pout turned into a smile and Naruto sighed. When the girl wanted something, she got it. "Come on then" he said as he left the clearing, Amaterasu following him closely. "I'm too nice to you, you really are spoiled rotten" he said as they entered a dango bar. Naruto was sure that Anko only got her eyes from her father for two reasons. One she looked exactly like Amaterasu and two, she acted exactly like her as well, just more sadistic. The two even had a shared love for dango. There were some days when Naruto was tempted to punish her for something she done. However, just like a snake, she always managed to slip away, just like Anko. They ordered their food and sat down at a table outside the bar. Naruto watched as the village continued its daily life and frowned. Kiri, Kumo and Konoha itself had secretly been raising the standard for shinobi and the amount of shinobi, encouraging the civilians to join up. Just over seventy percent of the populous were shinobi and that was just in Konoha. They had two and a half million citizens while Kiri and Kumo each had around one and half million. The war was closing in on them fast and Naruto was dreading the events leading up to it. Hashirama was still alive but the man couldn't even be called a shell of his former self. He found it hard to walk even with a walking stick and he could no longer perform perfect hand signs.

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His age was showing and it was slowly crippling him. Still, he had to admit that the man's voice could still raise morale. It wasn't long before Naruto realized that him and his team would have to face Hanzo soon. He wasn't worried about not beating Hanzo, he was worried about what would happen a few days after it. Akira had told him that if Tsunade was going to fight like she needed to, Nawaki needed to die. He felt his heart seize up at the thought as he himself had grown to love the boy. He was exactly like Tsunade from his old time described him. She was going to give him her grandfathers 'cursed' necklace soon. He smiled as he remembered their first date. She had said her grandfather gave her his necklace and that she was going to give it to the boy when he was an official Genin. He was honestly glad when Tsunade had finally hit puberty. She was starting to feel a lot more comfortable in her body and could act more freely than before. And if what Hashirama said is true, she was going to marry him and the man quoted 'whether he likes it or not' with a smile. He nearly face-planted whenever he thought of that but he had to admit he felt the same way, just not so sadistic. He came out of his thoughts when he realized Amaterasu had nearly finished her dango. "Happy" he asked as the girl munched away at the last stick with a smile. Amaterasu nodded. "Come on then, Tsukiko will be looking for you" he said as he walked with the girl. He saw that through half the walk, Amaterasu was deep in thought. "Something on your mind Rasu-chan" he asked with concern. He had grown to love her and she had also grown to love him. Naruto might have tortured her with training but he still made sure she wanted for nothing when it came to spending time with him. He wanted the girl to have the happiest life a shinobi could.

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"I heard rumours about an approaching war" she said. Naruto sighed. He knew this was coming sooner or later. "And" he asked. "I don't want to lose any of you" she said as the tears started to flow. Naruto put his arm around her shoulder and held her close to him. "You don't have anything to worry about Rasu-chan, I'm not going to let anything happen to any of our people without a fight, I'm strong enough to protect the village in the founders' place" he said in an attempt to comfort the girl. He knew he might have sounded arrogant but he learned long ago, it's not arrogance if you can back it up. He doubted anyone would ever come close to his full strength, not even the Rikudou Sennin in his elder years, but he knew by the time someone did come to that strength, he'd be long dead. When he said full strength, that included Akira's ten tail chakra with his own ten tails worth of chakra. He had used his full strength in a more durable Tsukuyomi, suffice to say that there was nothing left to break before a day of the three days were finished. He kept the girl close to him as she hugged his torso. He then left her at Tsukiko's house and went to the Hokage tower. He was about half way there when he turned sharply to grab a small arm. "Still too loud Nawaki-kun" he said. He heard a laugh and looked up to see Tsunade. "That's not fair nii-san" Nawaki said. He had grown used to the boy calling nii-san since he spent so much time with Tsunade. "Come on Nawaki-kun, you need to get to the gate for your first mission" Tsunade said. Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He looked down and saw the Shodai's necklace around Nawaki's neck. 'Damn, it's sooner than I thought' Naruto thought in shock. Nawaki nodded and ran towards the direction of the front gate. Tsunade chuckled at her brothers eagerness. Naruto wrapped his arms around her. "And how are you Tsu-chan" Naruto said as he nuzzled her neck. Tsunade rested her head on his and embraced him. "Just fine Naru-kun" she whispered back.

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Naruto let her go and held her by the waist as they entered the Hokage's tower, by the window of course. The two saw Sarutobi, once again reading his 'novel'. The only difference was that it was icha-icha. 'Heh, looks like Jiraiya published his first book' he thought. Naruto slowly removed his hand from Tsunade's waist as her look of disgust and anger grew. She cleared her throat and Sarutobi's face almost made Naruto laugh. He looked downright terrified. "What have I said about reading that damned book" she said with a sickly sweet smile. Sarutobi gulped. It didn't matter to her that he thought her with his own teachers, she was like all other Uzumaki and was viscous when she wanted to be. "Come on Tsu-chan, you've already put him in hospital this week, it wouldn't look good if the Hokage was in hospital every other day" Naruto said with a small chuckle. Tsunade turned to him but he just whispered in her ear "You'll get what you want later, don't ruin my day with being forced to sign paperwork in his place". After Sarutobi had his fifth visit to a hospital, he said he couldn't handle the paperwork he had to come back to. So he put a load of high ranking names in a hat and Naruto's name came out with a few others. So whenever the Hokage was out of office for any reason, either he or any of the other people selected were to do his paperwork till he came back. And he knew for a fact that he was the only one selected that wasn't out on a mission. As soon as he whispered into Tsunade's ear, a shiver ran down her spine and a smile cracked at the corner of her mouth. He found it ironic that she hated perverts and yet she had adopted some of her grandfather's desires. That being what he wanted her to get in a man, a lot of which he got from being a closet pervert.

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Tsunade huffed her chest out. "Fine, I'll see you at the mountain in a few minutes" she whispered back. Tsunade then left and Sarutobi looked relieved. "I believe that this, means more paperwork for you" Naruto said as he took out a scroll that was titled S-rank report. Team seven have long since split up after becoming Jōnin. They still trained together and went on missions together whenever they got the chance but with Jiraiya setting up his spy network and Orochimaru experimenting Naruto's blood clones to see what he could give people with his blood type, that was a rare occurrence. Naruto still done a lot of missions with Tsunade though, mainly because of her infatuation with him but also because she was, as she said 'saving up for a special gift', and the money that S-ranks provided would easily get her there soon. Sarutobi's face looked even more horrified at the sight of the scroll than with Tsunade. S-rank mission reports took an hour to go through and he was already up to his ears with paperwork. "Well, I have somewhere to be" Naruto said as he Hiraishined out of the tower. "All this, just because I was relaxing" Sarutobi muttered. Naruto saw Tsunade sitting on her grandfather's head a few metres away. "Still this one place" he asked as he put his arm around her shoulder and sat next to her. "I can't believe that my otouto is going on his first C-rank already" she said as she put her on his shoulder. "Well, he does have a good teacher" Naruto said. Tsunade laughed. "Says the guy who managed to earn decades of experience in just a few short years and then find a way to improve the time differential so our minds don't age too fast" she answered. "And you've beaten every Nara at shogi" she continued. "Well, I have battle experience for that" Naruto answered. In truth, when he was preparing for the fourth great shinobi war, Shikamaru made him play shogi and while he couldn't beat him then, he figured out how the Nara clan worked. Achieve the highest kills and only lose the expendables.

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"Well we have the week to ourselves, how do you want to spend it" Naruto said as the sun started to set on the horizon. "I don't know, I can't help but think something bad is going to happen" Tsunade replied, making Naruto sweat slightly. Just then, an explosion just a few miles away from the village gate rose into the air. "That's the way Nawaki's team was meant to go" Tsunade cried in distress. The two ran off as fast as they could and the sight that they saw was a gruesome one. One boy was probably at the heart of the blast and only by his tattered body could you tell his gender. The Jōnin sensei was sitting at a tree with one leg gone. He had already bled out. The girl only seemed to have a mild concussion but the only one Tsunade was looking at was her brother's slowly dying form. Naruto could clearly hear the blood in his lungs and if the debris around the boy was any clue, he was hit by a shrapnel explosive tag. "Nee-chan" the boy said in between his coughing and spluttering of blood. Tsunade was desperately trying to heal him but Naruto could see that she knew it was hopeless. Naruto grabbed her hand as both turned a pale colour. She looked into his eyes and nodded with a gulp. She then pulled Nawaki's soul from his pain ridden body and the boy died, a smile still on his face. Tsunade fell onto Naruto as she wept her heart and soul out. Naruto could feel the ANBU approaching them quickly and sighed as he created a shadow clone to pick the younger, unconscious girl up. 'Don't worry Tsunade-chan, I won't let depression overcome you this time' Naruto thought as he picked her up and rushed to the hospital with his clone.

Two days later

Naruto sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Tsunade's mind was still stable thanks to him but the sheer exhaustion and grief put her into a chakra induced coma, she would be out cold for at least another week. He looked down at the necklace that was around Nawaki's neck, blood still covered its pristine surface as it stayed clutched in Tsunade's hand. He had yet to leave the hospital as every time he left for more than ten minutes, Tsunade would start to act up. Her heart rate and blood pressure would increase and her breathing would become bad. His presence is what kept her stable. He knew she would be fine and move on from his death eventually, but what troubled him were Nawaki's memories. It was a hit and run from Iwa and he wondered, were they going to start the attack soon. It was still six months away but they might start earlier. He felt Hashirama's presence as he entered the room. For a man nearly at the age of eighty, he was incredibly healthy. His deterioration had stopped and he managed to get healthy again. He still used a walking stick but it was more for show than necessity, which baffled doctors. After all, an old man doesn't just go from needing a walking stick to not needing one. Hashirama had shown yet again that the impossible was possible.

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"How is she" he said in his old and raspy voice. "She'll be fine, it'll just take a while to recover" Naruto replied. There was silence as Hashirama walked up to his granddaughter. "I believe you know what this is" he said as he took a scroll out of his silken robes. Naruto took the scroll and, without even opening it, knew its contents. "Hanzō is finally acting then" he said as he opened the scroll. Hashirama nodded. "You set out for Ame in six days with a squad of Jōnin, expendable ones just to be safe" he said. Naruto knew what the old man was saying. He was sending people he believed to be spies and those at risk of flight. "Have Jiraiya and Orochimaru been informed" he asked as Hashirama took his necklace from his granddaughters hand. "Yes, oh and Orochimaru has found a way to give Tsunade's Rinnegan a boost to its full potential, very hush hush about it though" Hashirama said as he inspected the necklace. He sighed as he put it around Tsunade's neck. "My time is coming Naruto, I might be the figure of health for my age but I know well myself that I have exactly five years left, ten years went by quick enough, the other five won't be long coming" he said. Naruto nodded as he took that into account. "Anyone I can trust on my team" Naruto said. "Uchiha Masaro" Hashirama replied. Naruto's eyebrow rose. "Doesn't he have a pregnant wife, not sure if it's a good idea to risk the Uchiha clan heads son" he said. Him and Masaro still had a few fights but they could put their feelings aside. That and his wife is as scary as Tsunade is. "Yes, I know it seems strange but he's been informed that this is, for you five, a secret mission to get rid of those who aren't loyal" Hashirama said as he pushed Tsunade's hair behind her ears. "She should be waking up in a few hours" he said. "By the way, about you dying, how do you know exactly how long you have left" Naruto asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

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"I was visited by the Shinigami last night" the elderly man answered, causing Naruto's face to turn grim. "I think you know what you need to do when that time comes, I'm not just going to die after all" he continued. Naruto's grim and saddened look towards Tsunade was as good an answer as any. "I wonder how long it is until she gives it to you" Hashirama said as he walked to the door. Naruto didn't answer but he didn't need to. Both men knew that Tsunade would give him the necklace like she did with Dan, it wasn't a question of if, it was a question of when. Hashirama then left and Naruto found himself growing drowsy. He looked at Tsunade one last time before he disappeared to the realm of Morpheus.

Six hours later, early in the morning

Tsunade's eye flickered open as she regained her consciousness. She looked around the room and realized she was in a hospital. Her confusion of that turned to grief as she recalled Nawaki's death. That grief turned to anger as she saw his killers face in the boys memories. She looked to her right to see that she had been unconscious for three days. She felt the necklace around her neck and gripped it as she cried angry sobs. She then looked to her left to see Naruto, asleep in a chair, bags hanging under his eyes. 'Has he been here this whole time' she thought. She saw a scroll on her bed and picked it up. She went to open it but stopped and put it back in its position as Naruto stirred. His eyes opened and a look of relief showed on his face. He didn't know why as he knew she was going to wake up anyway but it just felt right. "Hey" he said softly as he hugged her. She hugged him back and a couple of hot tears fell down her face and onto his shoulder. When she calmed down, Naruto gave her the scroll. "I know you don't want to have to do this but we have a mission" Naruto said as he watched her read its contents. She visibly gulped. "As in Hanzō the Salamander" she asked. Naruto nodded. With the memories of her brother's death at bay for at least few minutes, Naruto told her to get up. They came out of the hospital and almost immediately, people stared at her with looks of sympathy. Naruto cursed. 'Stupid idiots, they're only making her feel worse' he thought. He looked to see Tsunade's face becoming more saddened by the minute and she also started fidgeting. "Don't pay them any attention, they're trying to understand what they never will" he whispered to her as he held her hand. His uncanny ability to calm her down still amazed him to no end. Though she was still fidgeting from the stares, she no longer looked sad.

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When they eventually reached the tower, Hashirama was waiting with Sarutobi just outside the door. "Looks like we won't be jumping in the window" Naruto whispered to her. Tsunade snickered a bit. "Are you two ready" Sarutobi asked. Tsunade was confused but Naruto knew what was going on and nodded. They walked in and instead of going upstairs, they went to a blank wall. When Hashirama was sure no one was in sight, he placed his hand on the wall and channelled chakra through it. The wall parted to reveal a set of stairs. Tsunade looked on in shock as Naruto led her down. Hashirama came in last as he locked the door. They reached the end of the stairs and they saw Jiraiya and Orochimaru standing in the centre of the room. There was a table that held four scrolls and six chairs. "Have a seat" Hashirama said. Tsunade looked just as confused as Jiraiya and Orochimaru did. "In these four scrolls are special summoning animals, they are boss summons" Hashirama said. Boss summons were not only fighting summons, they were also often bigger, bulkier and stronger than normal summons. Sarutobi's summon, Enma, is a perfect example. He was a hell of a lot more muscular and stronger than other apes, even gorillas. Hashirama then handed the four one each. "If you want to summon them, you'll need to go to four different, wide open places away from Konoha, according to Enma most summons don't get along, let alone Boss summons and while there are a few that are allied, there's no way of telling which ones" Sarutobi said to them. Hashirama laid out a map in front of them. "These are the four safest places to go" he said, drawing circles around four fields in the four positions of a compass.

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"So we just go there, summon the animal, do its little test and get back here" Naruto said. The rest of team seven looked at him in confusion. "Most summons require a test to see if the summoner is worthy of using them, I know for a fact that dogs require loyalty" he explained. The four then stared at the map. "I'll go north" Naruto said. "I'll go east" Tsunade said. Naruto could practically see the gears in her mind turning as she stared at what looked to be a small hole in the land. Orochimaru went west so Jiraiya was left with south. "You have until your mission to complete this task" Hashirama said. Team seven nodded before leaving. Naruto and Tsunade said there goodbyes before going home to prepare.

Three hours later

Naruto was nearing the clearing that he was meant to summon his animal on. He already had pretty good guess at what it was though. He landed in the clearing and walked out to its centre before placing the scroll down. He then summoned the animal. His guess was right as a wolf at least the size of the Kyuubi, maybe a little bigger, appeared in a blast of smoke. The wolf looked down at Naruto, examining him. "Hm, tell me human, what makes you worthy of summoning my brethren and I" the wolf said. He sounded like he had seen a lot of things and he didn't sound like he was arrogant nor did he seem short tempered. "I am willing to put myself through whatever test you put me in to prove my worth" he answered humbly. He knew how he could talk to a wolf thanks to Akira's actions and reactions over the past decade. The wolf seemed to think as it studied Naruto with a cautious eye. "Alright human, you will show me your leadership skills by taking my children and helping them catch their first kill, they will do whatever you tell them, do you know the consequences of failure" the wolf said. Naruto nodded. Seven larger than normal wolves appeared and sat beside Naruto. "The kill must be an adult deer of some kind or a predator such as a bear, or even a bison, so long as it's large, you have three days to find a target and one to kill it and bring it back" the wolf spoke in a demanding tone. Naruto nodded before leading the wolves towards their hunting ground. It took him several hours to find a scent that was fresh but when he did, he led the pack at tremendous speeds that even a Jōnin would have trouble keeping up with. They reached a hill and just as they looked over it, a herd of caribou. 'Perfect, this is a wolves main target' he thought. He looked through the grazing herd and saw a large adult male that was limping.

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Naruto made sure the wolves knew which target they were going after before telling them where to flank the herd. Naruto took two wolves with him and they charged the herd while the other five flanked from two sides. The caribou were quick to react. Naruto couldn't help but laugh as he and the wolves ran towards the herd. 'Talk about running with the wolves' he thought. They caught up quickly but had to stay a metre back until the other wolves flanked. Two figures from each side jumped into the herd and a lot of caribou started screaming. The other three ran into the herd head on. Naruto could now see the injured caribou and it was still fighting. He ran in to kill it but it got away. The wolves were looking to him on whether they should give chase. "Follow it, let it bleed to death" he said. The wolves then looked back to the caribou and ran to catch up. Naruto sighed and ran. Two days later, the pack and Naruto can be seen stalking the caribou, which was now stumbling as it struggled to stay up. The wolves were impatiently looking towards him for the order to kill but Naruto knew that the caribou still had energy to kick one of their skulls in. The caribou collapsed and the wolves looked to him again. "Quietly, don't let it know you're near" he whispered. The wolves started stalking and Naruto stayed behind as he watched them. One wolf seemed cautious and continued looking around as he stalked. Naruto saw this and activated his Rinnegan. He could see another pack of wolves in the distance but they were heading in the opposite direction and were getting farther away. He looked to his rear and saw nothing. He looked to his right and left and still saw nothing. His eyes widened as he looked up. A flock of vultures and even a few eagles circled the caribou.

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He looked back at the wolves and saw them kill the caribou and his eyes widened. The vultures overhead were in enough numbers to take the wolves kill. He ran out to the wolves, his Jūbigan spinning at an incredible speed. He looked up the vultures as he shouted "Amaterasu". The birds separated as the centre of the flock burst into black flames. The screams of the birds caused the wolves to look up. Naruto saw they were circling and used Amaterasu again. This time when the birds were set aflame, the others flew away as fast as possible, finally realizing they were beat. Naruto made sure that the birds were gone before lifting the caribous meaty carcass on his shoulders. It was then that Naruto realized how little time he had to get back. He looked at the wolves and they understood. Sprint back and don't stop. Three hours later we can see six heavily panting wolves, one lightly panting wolf and Naruto with sweat rolling down his forehead. The giant wolf inspected the kill and started chuckling. "I must say that I'm impressed, that was the fastest time a first kill pack ever took" he said. Naruto's eye twitched as he realized what the wolf was saying. He was given what the giant wolf believed was impossible and proved him wrong. Over the next half hour, Naruto told the wolf of the events. "I must say, you are a true leader, you deserve to sign my packs contract, oh and my name is Tadao" he said. "A fitting name" Naruto said as he signed the contract. Naruto then took the scroll and left. As he jumped from tree to tree, his mind wandered to the upcoming war. Ever since they had gained Kiri and Kumo's help, things have been hectic in trying to raise as many shinobi as possible. Most graduated after three years, others were forced to stay behind because of their value.

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He came back to reality as he approached the gates of Konoha. He sighed before going to the Hokage's tower. To his annoyance, all his teammates were lying there, staring at him as he entered. "Where the hell have you been, we've been here for the last two days" Jiraiya said. "You're not the one who had to chase a herd of caribou" he grumbled as he sat down next to Tsunade. Tsunade chuckled while Jiraiya and Orochimaru stared at him. Hashirama cleared his throat, gaining their attention. "Due to some unfortunate events in Ame, it is too treacherous to cross the border for the next two days, so rest up" he said, finishing with a smirk towards Naruto. The four left the tower, Naruto and Tsunade heading in the direction of the monument. "I think we can both guess what our summons were foxy-chan" Naruto whispered into Tsunade's ear, causing her to shiver with pleasure. "Well then you're right, Ookami-kun" she whispered back. They got to the top of the monument and Naruto could feel something was wrong as he sat down. Tsunade was staring off in one direction. He looked towards it and frowned. 'She never got time to grieve' he thought as he turned back towards her. He pulled her head onto his shoulder and almost immediately, she let the floodgates open. She cried and cried until she was left with angry sighs and sobs. All the while Naruto hugged her and held her head to his shoulder. "It's okay Tsunade-chan" he said softly. She had eventually cried herself to sleep and knowing her tendency to cling, he walked back to his own home. He looked down at her face as she buried it into his chest. "Don't worry Tsunade-chan, I'm not going to leave you" he said softly as he entered his house. As he lay down on his bed, Tsunade still clinging to him for life, he smiled. "You don't have to fear my death, after all, I won't bleed out" he said as he fell to the realm of Morpheus.

THE END

Hope you enjoyed it, next chapter will be up around the middle of next month. Also if you have any questions, just pm me.