Chapter 25: The Village Hidden in the Winter Leaves.
Naruto woke slowly, taking a deep breath to smell his surroundings before he opened his eyes. He raised a brow as he assumed he would be either in the hospital or some kind of resting place, but all he noticed was the thick wood surrounding him.
"Naruto? Can you hear me?" Shizune asked as she leant over him.
Naruto smiled up at her, "Hey Nee-chan, yes I can." He said as he sat up quickly, startling Shizune who took a step back.
The brunette smiled widely before placing a medical chart down, "Hold on, just stay in bed and I'll be right back." She said before turning and quickly jogging out of the only entrance into the room.
Naruto shivered from a sudden chill before taking the opportunity to glance around the room, 'It kinda looks like the Medical rooms in the Hokage tower, but It's all wood now…' he thought before his eyes turned to the window, 'What the heck?' he thought as he stood.
Taking the few steps necessary and looking out the window, Naruto's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he took in everything he could see.
Wherever he was, it was extremely high up in the air, overlooking the humongous trees that he had grown during the battle against Nagato, each of them even taller than the ones outside the village walls, not that he could even see them. The thing he found interesting though, was the light snow covering all of the trees.
"About time you woke up Naruto."
Naruto glanced to his side to see walking in alongside Shizune, "What is this place?" Naruto asked.
Shizune and Danzo shared a look before Shizune spoke up, "You mean, you don't know?" she asked.
Naruto slowly nodded until he spotted Danzo's smirk just before the old man began to explain, "You used two terrain changing Secret Technique enhanced by not only your own Sage chakra but of Nature's as well Naruto. These trees kept growing until just this morning as did the weather system's changes." Danzo said.
Naruto's eyes widened as he thought of the ramifications, "Wow! But wait, how many days have I been unconscious? I thought it'd only be like overnight or something?" Naruto asked.
Shizune giggled at the oblivious look on Naruto's face while Danzo sighed, "It's been ten days Naruto, I assume it took approximately 24 hours for each of your… 'Summons'?" Danzo enquired with a raised brow.
Naruto merely blinked before glancing back out the window, "I guess that makes sense, so, what have I missed?" he asked as he began stretching, only just realising he was in mostly plain clothes other than his pants.
Danzo glanced at Shizune, who caught herself glimpsing Naruto's abs, "Shizune, go notify the council of Lord Uzumaki's awoken status. He will be at today's council meeting, but we want his status kept quiet from the rest of the village for the moment." He ordered.
Shizune blushed before nodding and running out the door. Within a second the atmosphere changed to highly serious as Danzo glared at Naruto, "It was my belief that you were supposed to tell me all of the details of your experiments. That was part of the agreement was it not?" he said harshly.
Naruto raised a brow, "You mean just like how you told me of how you stole the secrets of Orochimaru's experiments with the curse mark so you could try and find a way to passively absorb nature chakra?" Naruto asked with a slight smirk.
Danzo's glare faltered slightly before he blew out a deep breath of air, "Fine, so we both know the other has some secrets. If you knew about that then how come you have let me continue my tests?" he asked.
Naruto grinned in a friendly manner, causing Danzo's intimidating aura to seriously fall, "Are you kidding? Can you imagine if every single ninja in the village learnt to do it? Konoha would really grow…" Naruto explained as his face began to go pale, "Wait a sec, I've been here for almost eleven days?" he asked.
Feeling a sudden nervousness from Naruto, Danzo just nodded, "Yes, what's the problem with that?" he asked.
Naruto swallowed deeply as he stood, "What time is the council meeting?" he asked.
Danzo scowled, not like having his questions go unanswered, "It's at midday, you have just over an hour to get ready. What is so important about your time being unconscious? There are much bigger matters to attend to now." Danzo said.
Naruto nodded as he looked around the room, seeing all of his things in a pile on a chair in the corner, "Try telling that to four wives who were just left to wait for their husband to come back from somewhere they don't even know. Now top that off with the fact that they don't actually know the exact honeymoon spot's position so they have no way to know how to get back here." Naruto said as he put his belt in place and picked up his cloak.
Danzo paled, "Ah, yes…you should hurry." He said as his stance relaxed.
Naruto chuckled at Danzo's reaction, "We'll be back ASAP, where is your office located now?" Naruto asked as he pulled his new shoes on.
Danzo rolled his eyes, "The temporary Kage building has been constructed on top of the Hokage Mountain. Sasuke already has written your Hirashin seals on the new wall as well as one in the Kage's office. But return to the kunai you gave me, I will go grab it and take it to where the meeting is going to be held." Danzo said before turning to leave, "Be ready for a surprise when you get back, there is another nickname given to you by the few survival rain ninjas, apparently word has spread." Danzo said as he walked out the door.
Naruto smirked before closing his eyes and feeling outward with his chakra, finding the correct kunai, he opened his eyes.
*FLASH*
##########
"That's officially everyone." The blue haired nurse said.
Ino nodded before smiling at her new friend, "Thanks Konan, now we'll just have the head doctor sign off on these and we are all good." She said as she shuffled the last paper into a large stack, 'I can't believe it took so long to check over everyone in the village, I clearly remember how dying felt, yet we all just got back up.' She thought before shaking her head.
Konan smiled as she sat down at the opposite side of the desk, "I know it's hard to believe, but Yahiko told the truth. The only reason he was fully revived was thanks to Nagato's life giving Ninjutsu, same as the rest of us." she said.
Ino smiled as she nodded, "Yeah, it's just crazy to imagine having that power y'know?" she said before stretching as she stood, "Let's go check on the construction okay?"
Konan nodded and the two left the large tent, throwing scarves around their necks for a little extra warmth as they walked around admiring the massive trees.
Many people still obviously had trust issues with Konan, evident by the wary looks they were giving her as the small amounts of snow fell through the tree tops. Ino sighed as she once more looked at one of the trees and tried to look up to the branches, "These trees are as thick as the old academy building once was, I reckon they could even rebuild most of the buildings inside or on the thick tree branched themselves." She thought out loud.
Konan's steps stopped as she looked at Ino, "Ino, that's a great idea!" she said with a soft smile.
Ino turned to her and raised a brow, "What is? Building everything inside the trees? Isn't that a little odd? No one would know that the village was even here." She said.
"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
The two of them turned to Gaara as his sand cloud scattered, letting him and his partner fall onto the ground next to Ino, who had smiled, "Gaara, Hanabi, how was the negotiations?" Ino asked.
Hanabi stepped forward to answer, "The sand village is sending out a small platoon of Shinobi to handle some of the missions while we focus on rebuilding. If the stone and lightning agree to then we should be good in a few months time, right Gaara-kun?" she said.
Gaara's mouth came up in a small smile, "Yes." He said simply.
A flurry of leaves swirled next to the group and from it appeared an ANBU, "Lord Danzo has requested you mission report. He is currently returning to the Hokage's office." The ANBU reported before disappearing in another shunshin.
Gaara sighed as Hanabi smiled apologetically to Ino, "Sorry, but I guess we're off."
Ino nodded but Konan took the chance to speak to Gaara, "Excuse me Gaara-san, may I please have a quick word with you?" she asked.
Gaara merely glanced at Konan before nodding as his gourd popped open. The sand lifted both him and Konan near ten meters into the air so they could talk quietly as Hanabi just sighed, "He'll catch up," she said with a wink towards Ino, "He always does." She said before the two laughed and went their separate ways.
Konan stood with a slight slouch. To many who don't know the woman personally, they probably wouldn't even notice, but Gaara was a master at reading the emotions of others, "Before you speak Konan, I would like to tell you that I hold no ill will towards you and your friend for killing me in the past." Gaara said quickly and quietly.
Konan's eyes widened a fraction, "What? How? We tore a part of your very being out of you for our own selfish reasons. Yahiko and I want to make it up to you in any way that we can." She said apologetically.
Gaara merely watched her for a moment before he unfolded his always folded arms, "My dream is to live a peaceful, happy, normal life with my wife. And I would do anything to see that dream fulfilled." He said before he seemed to smile lightly, "I understand what needs to be done to protect one's own dream."
Konan watched him for a few moments before bowing formally, "Thank you Gaara-san. We still want to make it up to you though." She said.
Gaara nodded, "And that is why I know I can trust the two of you. Instead of running after you were strong enough to, you directly approached Jiraiya-sama and wanted to help us." he said before the cloud began to lower, "Now it is my turn to apologise as I must be heading after Hanabi-chan."
Konan nodded as she rose from her bow, "I understand, thank you Gaara-san." she said again as the two of them landed next to Ino once more.
Gaara nodded as he refolded his arms. His sand swarmed around him and then suddenly he was gone.
Konan turned to Ino as she raised a brow, "What was that about?" Ino asked.
Konan smiled softly, "I just wanted to-"
*FLUMP*
Ino stepped back and began laughing at Konan as she was buried up to her knees in a sudden pile of snow that had fallen from above, "Hahahahahaha!" Ino continued laughing.
Konan wiped the excess snow from her hair before smiling at Ino's laughter, 'I hadn't realised, how long has it been since I've heard laughter?' she thought, feeling like laughing but not exactly knowing how.
##########
"I'm afraid so." Yahiko said to Jiraiya and Kakashi who sat across the branch from him.
Jiraiya sighed, "Naruto isn't going to be happy. You're certain? Absolutely?" Jiraiya asked.
Yahiko tilted his head, blinking his almost normal eyes, which were still tinged slightly violet with a single black ring around the sclera, "I can't contact anyone in the Akatsuki anymore. And since your team didn't make it to the cave in time to stop the sealing we can only assume that Killer B was in fact…killed." He said as he clenched the bottle of water he held in his hand tightly, "If I had just been a little stronger then I could've broken free earlier, I could've taken Nagato off of this path of destruction, I could've-"
"Stop that." Jiraiya said holding up a hand, "There is no point in 'Could haves' and 'What ifs', what's done is done. Let's look forward, not backward." Jiraiya said with a comforting smile.
Yahiko looked up at Jiraiya before smiling softly himself, "Sorry Jiraiya-sensei." He said before shifting his new shirt uncomfortably.
Kakashi eye smiled at Yahiko, "Not used to street threads? How long were you sustained in that state for?" he asked.
Yahiko shrugged, "Too long, y'know it's odd. I had a lot of time to think through all that time and at the end of it there is only a few things I realised I missed most about being alive." He said with a small smile while scratching his nose around the piercings.
Kakashi and Jiraiya both raised a brow, "Like what?" Kakashi asked.
Yahiko's smiled turned into a grin, "When I nearly died, I had an itchy nose. I was suspended with an itchy nose for soooo long, you wouldn't believe how frustrating it was, especially when he had me fighting in spring! I have hay fever attacks that were built up for years!" he exclaimed with a loud laugh, an odd look for a man with so many holes in his face.
Jiraiya laughed openly as well while Kakashi sweat dropped, 'Dear Log, Yahiko is just like a younger version of Jiraiya!' he realised with a sigh.
A swirl of leaves occurred on the branch they were sitting on, and from it the same ANBU from earlier appeared, "Excuse me, but all three of you have been asked to attend today's council meeting. It is at midday, taking place inside the cave behind the First Hokage's head." He said before disappearing in a shunshin.
Jiraiya stood, "In that case I better get going. I have some appointments I have to start early if I want to finish up in time." He said with a nod to Yahiko and Kakashi, "See you guys later." He said before stepping off the branch and falling down to street level.
Kakashi eye smiled, "Since I am still in charge of your care, I guess we can go find your girlfriend if you'd like?" he said cheerily.
Yahiko blushed as he choked on his water, "K-Konan? My girlfriend? Haha, where'd you get that idea from?" he said, embarrassment covering his face.
Kakashi merely blinked as he gave a straight forward answer, "The fact that you both just stare at each other with the same silly looks on your face that I have seen on two of my students." He said as he stood.
Yahiko raised a brow as he stood to, "What students?" he asked.
Kakashi pointed down to the street and Yahiko glanced down to see Sasuke and Sakura holding hands while walking back into the village from a short mission, "They don't ever stop. Ever." He said, causing Yahiko to laugh at Kakashi's defeated expression.
##########
Sakura glanced up at the new iron wall, "I can't believe it! When did Jirobo learn Iron Manipulation?" she asked rhetorically.
"About one month three weeks and five days ago." Sasuke said with a small smirk before he looked up.
Sakura stopped cold as she raised a brow at him, "Did you know he could do it?" She asked.
Sasuke nodded as he stepped slightly away from her, trying to pull her along, "Sakura I-"
She cut him off, "You did know? Did he tell you or something?"
"Sakura you-"
"Me? He didn't tell me about it, why would he tell me about it?"
"Sakura, just listen-"
Sakura raised her brow, "I am listening." She said with a slight pout.
Sasuke sighed and pointed up, "Move." He said simply.
*FLUMP*
Instead of moving like Sasuke told her to, she looked up just in time for a pile of snow to land on her just like it had on Konan, causing her to shiver and sigh, "Why didn't you say something sooner?" she groaned as she stepped out of the snow pile.
Sasuke sighed, "I did try t-"
"Oh shut up." Sakura complained as she walked ahead of him.
Sasuke sighed again before following after her, 'At least she just gets more accusative. Karin just starts hitting me when she has her period.' He thought to himself before shaking his head, 'Don't think about. They'll know, they always know.' He thought with another sigh.
##########
An hour later and Naruto was finally walking out of his bedroom, one chakra healing hand on his face as he limped into the kitchen and fell into an empty chair, 'I don't care what Ero-sensei says, angry sex with someone like Tayu-chan is definitely not as advertised.' He thought to himself before hearing the door open from the entryway.
""Naruto-kun!""
Naruto didn't even turn all the way around in time as he caught Hinata and Fuu in a tight hug, "Hey guys! I'm sorry I left so abruptly but there was kind of an emergency." He said apologetically.
Hinata leant back a bit to look at his face as Fuu stayed burying her face in his chest, "What happened Naruto-kun?" she asked.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Umm, I think it would be easier to just tell everyone at once. How did you guys join your extended stay?" he asked since they were originally meant to leave four days earlier.
Fuu moved around to sit on his lap as she didn't let go of her hug around his chest, "Nerve-racking, but not too bad." She said quietly.
Naruto kissed the top of her head before turning to look at Hinata again, wanting to kiss her as well. But he had to keep turning to see that Hinata had just placed a bag on the bench, "Hina-chan?" he asked.
The ex hyuuga smiled at him as she began to make a snack, "You're hungry." She said simply mere seconds before his stomach growled.
Fuu chuckled at Hinata's knowledge while Naruto shook his head in disbelief, "You know me more than I do myself." He said simply before breathing a sigh of relief.
Fuu looked up at Naruto, resting her head on his shoulder, "Did you see Tenten and Tayuya?" she asked.
Naruto blushed lightly, "Hehe, well…" he said, trailing off as he looked through the doorway to his right.
Fuu and Hinata's gazes followed his to the bedroom, seeing Tayuya walk out in nothing more than a sheet, causing Hinata to smile and giggle, "Well, it seems you two definitely made up for lost time." She said, causing Tayuya to look over to her and grin.
"Hey guys, how was shopping?" Tayuya asked as she tied her sheet around her like a dress.
Hinata replied as Tayuya walked up to her, kissing Naruto on the top of the head on her way over, they kept talking as Fuu looked up at Naruto, "Naruto-kun, your emergency had something to do with B-san didn't it?" she asked him sadly.
Naruto raised a brow, "I guess it sort of did…" he trailed off as his face took on a look of stunned realisation, "…Oh." He said softly before he felt numb to the world.
Fuu glanced over Naruto's shoulder at the other two who continued chatting, seeing they were not really paying attention to what was being said, Fuu just hugged Naruto closely, "I think I felt him go, didn't you?" she asked.
Naruto just nodded before hugging Fuu tighter, she held him tighter in return to try and satiate his pain….
##########
"Enter." Danzo said as he looked up from a sheet of paperwork.
Kimimaro and Kurayami walked into the room, and Kurayami smiled a little at Danzo, "Hey, we needed to get some help for the initial snow measurements but we managed to finish that up quickly after that, and the trees were easy." She said as she placed a folder on the desk in front of Danzo.
The bandaged man smiled softly, finding himself getting attached to Kurayami and Kimimaro once more, 'These two are just like me when I was younger…' he thought before he snapped back into focus again, "Right, overall conclusion?" he asked.
Kimimaro bowed slightly, "The trees are all at top condition and amazingly enough they still seem young. They will be around for a long time so it would in fact be better to implement them into the village's infrastructure." Kimimaro said, his half of the assignment being focussed on the potential strength of the trees.
Danzo nodded before glancing at Kurayami for her response, which he received quickly, "The majority of the falling snow is caught up in the canopy of the trees. And since they working like a natural insulator it's still relevantly warm the closer to the ground you get, the only time that should change is when we actually experience winter." She said.
Danzo raised a brow as he looked through the folder, "Interesting conclusion. So the trees are strong and healthy and the snow is far from harmful…that's all I needed to know." He said with a nod of thanks towards the two.
They nodded back before Kurayami took Kimimaro's hand and they both suddenly dropped into her shadow before the shadows dispersed.
Danzo nodded to himself before tucking the folder between his bandaged arm and his chest and reaching into a draw, pulling out another folder and a few scrolls, 'Alright then, this should be enough.' He thought before glancing outside, seeing through the leaves and clouds that the sun must be high in the air.
##########
*SLAP*
Naruto turned back to Tenten as his jaw cracked back into place, "Okay, I deserved that, but-"
*SLAP*
Naruto held his jaw as he once more turned back to Tenten, expecting another slap, but she caught him off guard by suddenly giving him a hug.
Naruto blinked before grinning, 'Well, I'm not complaining.' He said, placing his arms around her as well.
Tenten leaned up and kissed him on the lips as her hands cradled his face, "Take us home. Now." She practically ordered.
Naruto nodded, "Yes, of course Ten-chan, but don't you wanna pack your stuff first?" he asked.
Tenten nodded before grabbing his hand and pulling him back into and through the house, stopping as they got to the bedroom, she kissed his cheek once before hugging him, "Please don't run away like that again, at least tell us what you're going to do okay?" she asked.
Naruto nodded as he hugged her back, "Okay, sorry for worrying you Ten-chan." He said quietly.
Tenten nodded into his chest before pushing him out of her grasp, "Good, now gimme a clone to help pack?" she asked.
Naruto nodded before blinking, instantly forming the wood clone which grew out from his own chakra. Tenten took it's hand and pushed it towards her cupboard as Naruto left the room quietly.
He closed the door behind him before sighing and glancing across the room to the chairs which the girls were watching him from, "You guys ready to go then?" he asked.
Tayuya nodded, "Yep, we're all packed and ready to go." She said as she shuffled sideways on the loveseat, gesturing for Naruto to join her.
Which he did as Hinata began talking, "Naruto-kun, when are you going to tell us why you had to leave?" she asked with a smile.
Naruto scratched the back of his head as Tayuya turned sideways and lay down across his lap on her back, "As soon as we get back to wherever Danzo will be just before twelve o'clock." He said with a grin while glancing at the clock, "Which is in three minutes."
Fuu leaned forward from her place next to Hinata on the couch, "Well, was it something big? Will any of us be affected in any way?" she asked worriedly.
Naruto shook his head, "Not that I can think of, unfortunately the losses have already happened and nothing can be changed about that… I think." Naruto said as he leaned back and looked up in thought.
Tayuya rolled her eyes before nudging Naruto's torso, "Just tell us, it won't matter if we know a little bit earlier than everyone else." She said.
Naruto sighed, "Sorry, Hokage's orders." He replied.
It was this moment that Tenten walked out of the room, Naruto's clone carrying all of her bags and placing them on a clear space on the floor. Hinata smiled confidently, "So whatever it was, it happened in Konoha, right?" Hinata asked.
Naruto's stunned expression was enough to tell the others that she was right, "Done here guys!" Tenten said as she slammed her hands onto the back of a scroll she held facing her luggage.
*POOF*
Naruto pulsed a quick burst of wind chakra from his hand to blow the smoke away as Hinata and Fuu stood as well, Fuu stretching as Hinata picked up her own storage scroll and placed it in her ninja pouch. It was at this moment that he realised that all of the women were all in their ninja clothes.
Naruto lifted Tayuya onto her feet as he stood, "We should get going, considering we only have a minute or so until we're late." He said with a glance at the clock.
Naruto waved the girls around the center of the room, reaching out his arms so that all four of them would have somewhere to hold onto him. He looked around the room, "You guys sure that's everything?" he asked.
The girls nodded as Tenten spoke, "Let's get going now, I'm kind of excited just to see the village again." she said with a smile that the other women matched.
Naruto sighed as his chakra locked onto the kunai he had given Danzo, 'Well, this'll be a surprise for them then.' He thought before blinking.
*FLASH*
##########
*FLASH*
Danzo sighed in relief, "And here they are, be it barely on time." He said from his seat at the head of the round circle of chairs.
The girls looked around the cave confused as the clan heads watched the five newly arrived ninjas. It was this moment that Danzo took charge, "With Lord Uzumaki's arrival I ask that he may take his seat so that we shall begin this council meeting." Danzo declared as he tilted his head to the left.
The girls merely stood silently until Naruto ushered them over to the edge of the cave, sitting them down on the bench that was there before he jogged over to take the end seat next to Chouza Akamichi, "Sorry for the delay Hokage-sama." He said with a bright smile as he sat down at his council seat.
Danzo nodded, "No need for apologies." He said before glancing over to Jiraiya, who was sitting in one of the advisors seats, "Jiraiya, I believe you have to floor."
Jiraiya nodded as he stood from his seat, walking around to stand in the center of the semi circle as he began speaking, "I have here an abbreviated report on the village's current status and potential status. With everything I have learned about the people of this village and the new climate I have to say that we could truly become a 'hidden' village." He began as a Chunnin walked around handing out the same report Jiraiya held.
Hiashi stood and after receiving a nod from Jiraiya, he spoke, "I see that your reconstruction plan revolves highly around the manipulation of the trees themselves and as far as I know we have only two ninjas capable of using wood chakra. Don't you think we're becoming too dependent on this? It won't be around forever." Hiashi said seriously.
Many of the clan heads nodded in agreement as Hiashi sat down, but they went quiet as Naruto stood, waiting for permission to speak.
Jiraiya nodded to Naruto, hoping the boy had a good counter argument, "I can guarantee that wood chakra will be passed down to my children, but unfortunately not all of them." he said.
This seemed to be news to everyone except for Danzo, so Naruto continued, "You see, the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan have had a close relationship for a long time and as such a majority of the Uzumaki clan has a blood relationship with the Senju. It was this mix of blood that stimulated wood chakra coming to fruition in the First Hokage in the first place." Naruto began before pointing to himself, "Uzumaki who can control wood chakra," he clarified before pointing to Tayuya, "Uzumaki who has a strong Senju lineage in her blood." He said in summary.
Tsume, who obviously didn't give a damn about protocol, spoke up with her opinion, "That's not a guarantee, that's a probability." She said before taking a big sniff through her nose and looking at Tayuya, who was staring at Naruto with wide eyes, "Though by the smell of things you are already on your way to checking that possibility, his scent is all over yours." She said with a fanged grin.
Many people chuckled at Naruto's and Tayuya's matching blushes, luckily with Danzo's cough, he brought everyone back to attention, "Very good and all. But the topic is about the potential construction and if you'll get back to point Jiraiya?" Danzo said with a gesture of his hands.
Jiraiya nodded, "If you'll turn over to page three you'll see my proposal, I would like a unanimous vote because I honestly see this as only being beneficial to us." Jiraiya said before sitting in the chair in the center of the room as people began reading through the papers.
Naruto's eyes widened as he thought over what he was reading, 'The majority of the village on the ground, protected by Jirobo's Iron wall, and the ninja up in the trees above? And in the trees themselves?' he thought as he read to the end of Jiraiya's work.
He finished at the same moment many others did as Inoichi raised a brow, "The Village Hidden in the Winter Leaves?" he asked.
Jiraiya smirked, "I thought the new name would be fitting." He said.
Danzo took the moment of silence to talk, "I think the name is not what is important Jiraiya, what is your estimation for construction of this new setup to be completed?" he asked.
Jiraiya smiled, "Well, with everyone we have available working on it we should be done in just over a month with the civilian portion and I honestly think with Yamato and Naruto on the job the majority of the Canopy will be ready for use in a weeks." Jiraiya said.
With everyone nodding in silence, Naruto stood up once more, "Sorry, but I think I'll need more to go on then a few pointers, what buildings will need to be constructed up there?" he asked.
Jiraiya flicked through the pages, "Page seven please." He informed everyone before speaking, "First and foremost, a new Hokage tower and a new ninja academy, then we can have a separate building which will be the mission hall as well as the ninja library, the ANBU headquarters, really we can put any building that civilians don't need to access up there." Jiraiya informed.
Naruto nodded as he sat down, and to the shock of many, Shibi stood, "If this motion is passed, what is the likelihood of the Aburame clan taking up residence in one of the trees?" Shibi asked.
Jiraiya's brows furrowed, "In? As in you want to hollow out some of the tree?" he asked.
Naruto accidently spoke out of turn, "Oh, I thought that was what you wanted me to do?" he asked Jiraiya, earning himself a subtle glare from Danzo to stay quiet.
Shibi turned to Naruto, "Lord Uzumaki, if you are able to do it, I would like to propose a slight modification to Jiraiya's plans." He said as he walked to stand next to Jiraiya, his bugs flowing out of the bottom of his cloak along the way.
Everyone watched as Shibi's bugs formed as miniature version of the large trees, "If Uzumaki's chakra made normal trees grow to such a height, he should be able to make the trees themselves stronger and I correct?" he asked, earning a nod in return.
"In that case," Shibi said with a gesture of his hands, making his bugs form what appeared to be living quarters inside the tree, "I wish for the Aburame clan's new compound to be based in the trees themselves as this is where the nature chakra that has been enhancing our insects is at its strongest." Shibi informed the council.
Everyone looked over Shibi's design and finding no flaw in it, they began to become more intrigued with the idea of construction the Ninja village in the trees.
Jiraiya took this chance as he thought this was a prime moment for everyone to be agreeable, "All in favour for the creation of the Village Hidden in the Winter Leaves?" he asked as he rose a hand.
Almost the entire council raised their hands immediately, soon being followed by those who had hesitated. Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Danzo stood, "Motion carried. Jiraiya will be in charge of contacting and hiring the construction crews for the building of the lower half of the village. We will have Jirobo of 'Done By Lunch' construction draw up the plans for the upper half before Naruto and Yamato start on the construction. Are we agreeable?" he asked.
With the silence came agreement and thus the motion was carried and Jiraiya and Shibi returned to their seats. Then Danzo stood again, "Now send in the Rain Village refugees." He said to the ANBU near the cave's entrance.
Naruto raised a brow at that, 'Who?' he thought as he turned to see them come in.
Yahiko and Konan walked in side by side before bowing to the council, Danzo addressed them directly, "Yahiko and Konan, since Jiraiya has vouched for you to stay here we have accepted it. but as you may have noticed we've had an ANBU team following each of you for the past ten days and you both have held up your side of the bargain." Danzo began.
Yahiko raised a brow, "We had ANBU tailing us?" he asked.
The council went quiet as Shikaku chuckled, "You sure he was in the Akatsuki? Seems a bit thick to me." He said with a slight groan.
Naruto's eyes snapped open wide, "THEY'RE FROM AKATSUKI?!" he yelled.
The council went quiet at Naruto's outburst, making him quickly realise his mistake, "Right, sorry…" he said before standing and waiting.
The council sighed as a whole before Danzo waved for Naruto to continue, "Sorry for the outburst, but seriously, who are these two? How come I have never heard of them?" he asked.
Danzo sighed but before he or Jiraiya could explain, Shikaku's patience seemed to end, "They were the childhood teammates of the one you fought known as Nagato. Yahiko was quite literally a puppet and Konan has proven her loyalty was not to Akatsuki but to Yahiko and Nagato. With Nagato dead and Yahiko wanting to join us here, she followed his lead." Shikaku summed up.
Naruto practically flopped numbly into his seat, zoning out for the rest of the two ex rain ninja's time in the council session and trying to clear his brain.
The banging of Danzo's gavel against his desk brought Naruto back to reality, "Alright, that's two out of four things taken care of. You have the floor Mayoshi-dono." Danzo said with a nod to Mayoshi.
The man stayed in his wheelchair and spoke from his table, "Jiraiya asked me to look after the village's spy network while he's been busy and even though I'm nowhere near as good as he was there is one thing we have confirmed without a doubt." He said as he pulled a photo from the folder on his lap before holding it up, "Killer B of the Hidden Cloud Village has been killed by the Akatsuki and the Eight Tails is gone." Mayoshi said, passing the folder to the mediating Chunnin who gave it to Danzo.
Naruto and Fuu both looked down sadly at that. But Danzo moved on, "That is…unfortunate." He said before the whole council gave a moments silence as if honouring the deceased Jinchuuriki.
The silence finished as Danzo hit his table with his gavel, "Now, would you please come forward Naruto?" Danzo asked as.
The blonde nodded before floating to the center of the room, standing about four meters off of the ground but in attention none the less, "Yes Hokage-sama?" he asked.
Danzo spoke clearly as this was the peace of information everyone was dying to know, "From your point of view, report every detail pertaining to your fight against the Akatsuki members known as Pein." Danzo ordered, earning loud gasps from Naruto's wives as they had no idea.
Naruto stood at attention as he retold his story, holding nothing back from his descriptions including not only his Secret Techniques, but also him being a recipient of two more Legendary Swords. He told of Nagato, who in the end proved he was a good person at heart by bringing back everyone that had been killed by the attack.
"….Then after we landed on that tree, I remember a chakra fluctuation from my coils resizing from the Kyuubi's chakra before waking up this morning." Naruto said, finishing his recount of the entire battle.
Practically every single person in the cavern stared in absolute silence at Naruto's story for a solid minute before Jiraiya stood, "How long have you been deceiving us Naruto?" he asked with confusion in his eyes.
Naruto raised a brow, as did many others in the room, "Deceive?" Naruto asked for clarification.
Jiraiya watched Naruto carefully, "I trained you, I thought I knew all there was to know about you but over these last few weeks I've seen hard facts that you have been hiding things from me. The main thing being the fact that you are at least the strength of a Kage." Jiraiya said accusingly.
Naruto blinked as he glanced at Danzo, Naruto definitely didn't expect Jiraiya to make the connection from his recount of the battle, but it seemed that there was no other way to avoid suspicion other than Naruto betraying his partner in 'crime'. "What do you mean? Everything I've done or hidden has been from orders from the acting Hokage, Danzo." Naruto said, pointing at Danzo.
Everyone turned their heads to look at Danzo, who was barely holding back an enraged glare at Naruto who was smirking in return. Hiashi was the one who spoke first, "Why is it that you had Naruto hide his powers and abilities from us? He is quite obviously a vital part of our village's military strength along with his friends."
Danzo went to speak when Inoichi cut him off, "We should find a way to heal Tsunade as soon as possible." He murmured, earning himself nods of agreement throughout the cavern.
Danzo stood, making everyone quiet as he began talking, "Look here, I was misinformed of Naruto's exact strength myself! The only way to know it for certain is to have him take a few tests." Danzo said, regaining most of the control of the situation.
Not giving anyone the chance to continue, Danzo threw a bunch of scrolls to the mediating Chunnin, "Until next month then. These are the current plans for the village and the tasks I will need you to either handle yourself or delegate to someone you can trust," he said as the Chunnin passed the scrolls to the clan heads whose name was printed on its outside, "I call this meeting dismissed, thank you for your time." Danzo said before slamming the gavel once more before storming out of the cavern.
##########
"Guys!"
Naruto and the girls looked away from their corner in the cave to see Sakura jogging up to them, instantly hugging Naruto and Tayuya since they were the closest to her, "Your back! I can't believe it!" she said with tears in her eyes before kissing Naruto on the cheek, "Thank you Naruto, for saving us all." She said softly with a smile.
Naruto smiled back as she stepped away, "Actually, it was our sibling student, Nagato, who saved everyone. He brought them all back from the dead." Naruto said with a regretful smile.
Sakura's eyes widened, but before she could question anything Jiraiya had spoken up as he walked over to Naruto, "Naruto, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jiraiya practically ordered.
Naruto nodded as he stepped back from the girls, sharing a quick look with Hinata, who was the only one that seemed worried, 'Hinata-chan already has known something was up ever since we got back from training…. I guess this is it, I'll have to tell her everything soon, should I tell the others to?' Naruto thought before turning to Jiraiya as he led him away.
They stopped looking out of the cave, seeing through the hole that was the eye of the first Hokage as they looked out across the snowy treetops, "Naruto…will you tell me what exactly is going on?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto was about to blow off Jiraiya until he saw the man's face, it was covered in worry, that much was obvious, but along with the rest of his body language, Naruto noticed where Jiraiya's worry was aiming, 'Me? He's worried about me…would Jiraiya-sensei even understand?' Naruto thought to himself before he decided to be absolutely honest with Jiraiya.
"No, I won't tell you everything." Naruto said resolutely, causing Jiraiya to sigh.
Jiraiya rested against the wall of the cave, "Can you answer a few questions then? If you don't trust me with the truth of it all you could at least tell me some little things." Jiraiya nearly begged.
Naruto nodded straight away, "Yeah sensei, what do you need answering?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya watched Naruto, knowing that he could quite easily just lie, but with a sigh he relented what he thought as the most important question, "You have some kind of grand scheme?"
"Yes."
Jiraiya nodded, "Okay…Danzo was part of that scheme? Since you helped him get into office?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yes again, key word 'was'." Naruto said, making Jiraiya lift a brow in question.
"So now what? What will happen with him now that you apparently don't need him anymore?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto smirked, "Once Baa-chan wakes up he'll be shoved back into the shadows along with his access to my now complete tests. He thought there were a few more things that I needed him for but I just made him think that so that I still have a few secrets from him." Naruto said, feeling more open about ratting out details on Danzo.
Jiraiya raised a brow, "These tests, they're things like that Teleport you sent Sasuke and I through right?" he asked.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, nothing destructive…well, except one or two, but that's only destructive to anyone who attacks the village." Naruto explained.
Jiraiya nodded but before he could even ask the next question, Naruto cut him off, "Last question, we're about to have company." Naruto said with a glance down to the treetops, seeing a ROOT ANBU moving up the mountain.
Jiraiya grasped Naruto's shoulder, getting the blonde to look at his eyes, "Naruto, tell me honestly, are we safe?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto smirked, "You remember that mission you sent me on to get Fuu-chan?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod in reply, "I'd say it is about as dangerous as that turned out to be, except this time I won't be alone." Naruto said.
Jiraiya went quiet before nodding, "We'll talk again later, come see Tsunade when you can?" Jiraiya asked as the ROOT member 'stealthily' hid just underneath the lip of the First Hokage's eye.
Naruto nodded, "Sure, I'll be there soon." He said before Jiraiya walked away.
Naruto sighed as he turned to face away from the girls as they approached, "Be quick." Naruto whispered.
The ROOT ninja spoke quietly, "Danzo-sama will be expecting you in approximately ten minutes." The ninja said before getting ready to leave with a shunshin.
Naruto's reply caused him to pause though, "Tell the old mummy man that I don't give a damn. Tsunade is about to be up and you'll never guess what I'll 'find' in her system," Naruto whispered quickly before subtly flicking a small flask from his pocket out of the opening.
Seeing what was wanted of Naruto, the ROOT ninja leapt away from the mountain, catching the flask before disappearing in a shunshin just before the girls arrived.
Naruto turned to them as they all looked out over the village, Hinata glanced at Naruto, "Did you do this Naruto-kun?" she asked.
Naruto nodded, "During the battle against Pein, I used the Ninjutsu that created the forests of the Land of Fire as well as the one that created the snow in what was once the Land of Snow. The difference between the two was that for the both of them is that I used my only Nature chakra instead of infusing either of them with a person's chakra or regulated by a machine." Naruto explained before gesturing over the village, "Ladies, welcome to the Village Hidden in the Winter Leaves, just like the old village just a little bit colder." He said with a wide grin which let the girls know he was definitely proud of himself.
Tayuya whacked him on the head, "You moron, why'd you make eternal snow? What good could possibly come from this aye?" she asked with a frown.
Naruto rubbed his head, "Hey it's probably not going to snow during summer, and heaps of good! Do you know much easier it is to teach the water-walking exercise on snow then it is on actual water?" he said to defend himself.
Fuu went on her toes and kissed Naruto's cheek, "I like it." she said before creating her wings and flying out into the slowly falling snow, since it was light it had no effect on her flying at all.
Tenten grinned before pulling out a sealing capsule, "Hope it's not too dense!" she said before leaping out of the mountain, unsealing her parachute to sail safely down to the trees, Fuu following behind her with a laugh.
Naruto smiled out at the girls as he stood on the edge of the opening, he was taken completely by surprise as Tayuya leapt out after them, playing a tune on her flute as she suddenly began to slowly glide through the air after them.
Naruto blinked widely, seeing that Tayuya's levitation jutsu also let her glide apparently. He felt a hand in his own and turned to see Hinata, "Want to go Naruto-kun?" she asked.
Naruto grinned as he nodded, "Let's go Hinata-chan!" he yelled as the two of them leapt out side by side before Naruto began to fly after the others, having had Hinata move until she was on his back in a piggy back position as they fell.
Sakura watched from her spot as the group began to descend into the trees, watching their relationship before thinking about her own, 'I wonder where Sasuke-kun is anyway…' she thought as Scouter Sight materialized so that she could look for the Uchiha's chakra signature.
###########
One Month Later
###########
*Knock Knock*
Tsunade looked up from the paperwork covering her table, "Come in." she said as she put her pen down.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto walked into the room, causing Tsunade to frown, "You couldn't capture him? What happened?" she asked with open curiosity and a fair amount of shock.
Since he was the one chosen to lead the mission, Sasuke stepped forward, "We tracked Danzo and an unknown amount of ROOT ninjas from the southern border out into the Land of Water. But when we went to follow him to the first of the six main islands of the Land of Water, a squad of ROOT ninjas had laid multiple traps to trick us into taking to the air, right into an attack from a combination of Sound ninjas, Mist ninjas and ROOT ninjas. We lost the trail during the fight." Sasuke reported with a bow.
Tsunade looked at each of their faces before her gaze landed on Naruto's scowl, 'We knew there was the possibility that Orochimaru might help Danzo, but Kirigakure as well? Why?' she thought before nodding, "Alright, thank you all for your mission but unfortunately I'll have to mark it as a failure." She said.
Kakashi nodded, "Understood Hokage-sama." He said for the team.
Tsunade then waved them out as she addressed Naruto, "Naruto, can you stay for a moment please." She said.
As the others quickly left, Naruto walked over and sat in the chair opposite Tsunade, who once the door closed smiled at him, "I haven't really had the chance to thank you Naruto, for waking me up and getting rid of Danzo's poison. I could have died if not for you." she said warmly.
Naruto's anger dissipated as he smiled at Tsunade, "No need for thanks Baa-chan, I'm sorry I didn't realise Danzo was keeping me from seeing you earlier, but what are we going to do about Danzo and the Mist village?" he asked, truly not knowing what was going to happen.
Tsunade folded her fingers together, trying to think of a solution when Shizune charged in, "Tsunade-sama! Urgent message from the Raikage!" she announced as she held out the letter and closed the door behind her.
Shizune walked across the floor of the new Hokage's office, which was sitting on top of the Hokage monument overlooking the white forest that was the Hidden Winter Leaf. Construction had been finished on the upper half of the village within the first two weeks thanks to Yamato and Naruto. Soon after they had finished, Naruto was attacked by a small group of ROOT ninjas, proving to Naruto that Danzo had figured out what the serum finally was.
So, Naruto had quickly legged it to Jiraiya and Tsunade, healed her in less than half an hour in which another ROOT ninja had appeared to stop him, but was witnessed and killed by Jiraiya.
Less than a week later, Danzo could do nothing but run and once the real ANBU tried and failed to locate him, Tsunade sent Jonin squad 7 to investigate.
Naruto thought over the last few weeks as Shizune gave the letter to Tsunade, 'Will the Raikage still go through with it? If he's as predictable as I thought then he should…' Naruto thought before Tsunade's eyes widened as she read the letter, 'Yep, to the Land of Iron we go.' Naruto thought with a slight smirk.
Tsunade slammed the note down as she turned to Naruto, "The Raikage has called for a five Kage summit, we have until the day after tomorrow before he will make it to the Land of Iron so we better get going soon." She said as she stood, walking over to the shelf and pulling out a certain sheet.
Naruto nodded as he stood, "What do you need me to do Baa-chan? I can take you guys there with the Hirashin in you need?" Naruto offered.
Tsunade watched Naruto for a moment before smirking, "Yes, but you'll be one of my bodyguards on this trip." She said before going to fill out the sheet.
Naruto blinked widely, not expecting to be asked along for the meeting, "Really? Me?" he asked.
Tsunade nodded, "Yes you, every single village knows about the man who beat the Akatsuki, the only Rinnegan user alive," she said as she picked up the form, "And I think it's about time the world meet's the Elemental Devastator." She said with a smirk.
Naruto nodded, mirroring Tsunade's smirk as he walked with her to the door, receiving the letter from her, "Go get a good night's rest. Since we can get there instantly thanks to you we need not rush. Give that to…hm, Jiraiya or Sasuke or Kakashi?" she asked, looking at Naruto to seek his opinion.
Feeling like this was one of her tests, Naruto thought about it seriously, "I think…Jiraiya should stay here in charge of the village while we're gone, if the other villages see the technology that is his arm then they'll want in on it. And while Sasuke definitely has a reputation as the Last Uchiha, Kakashi's actually been through wars and many well known fights, so I think it'll be a greater show of power if Kakashi comes along." Naruto explained.
Tsunade nodded, "Good thinking. Only one small thing I would have taken into account as well. Sasuke is trained to watch over Jiraiya's spy network and we can't leave that unattended." She said, getting a nod from Naruto as she two of them put on their scarves and Tsunade pulled up the new hood on the Hokage cloak.
"So you, me and Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as they walked out the front door, overlooking the snow and trees.
Tsunade nodded, "Yep, meet at the new gate at eight in the morning in two days." She said with a smile before ruffling Naruto's hair, "See you later Naruto-kun." She said warmly.
Naruto grinned as he took the few steps to get to the edge of the mountain, "By Baa-chan!" he said before turning and leaping off the mountain safely landing on one of the monster trees about eight seconds later, a feat that most ninjas were capable of.
Naruto began flying through the lower canopy, watching as ninjas leapt from tree to tree on their errands or sat on the massive tree limbs watching the world go by. It was a natural transition that almost every ninja now had a scarf wrapped around their throats from the cold and snow, but for Naruto it still took some getting used to. He waved to the many ninjas that waved or called out to him, he couldn't help but smile as he could practically feel the appreciation for his heroics pouring from them.
The blonde slowed before landing on one of the thicker branches, which was about twenty meters across, he began walking towards the hollowed out tree that was the new ninja barracks/apartment tree. It had been nearly completely hollowed out but reinforced with Nature chakra thanks to Naruto. Nearly all non clan ninjas lived in the tree and that included Kakashi and Anko's semi-large place.
After leaving the note for Kakashi, Naruto left the tree and slowly flew over to the tree with a large Uzumaki clan symbol on it.
Naruto landed on the 'balcony', another large branch, and waved to Hinata through the window before walking inside.
Naruto glanced around the entrance room, seeing that no one was home other than Hinata. He quickly moved through to the kitchen where Hinata was and hugged her from behind, "Missed you." he said softly as he kissed the side of her neck.
Hinata sighed happily as she leaned into his hug, "I missed you too Naruto-kun. How was the mission?" she asked as the two stood in the other's embrace.
Naruto shook his head, "Danzo was craftier then I even thought. We lost him as he ran towards Kiri." Naruto explained.
Hinata frowned as she glanced up at Naruto, "But if he gets Kiri on his side then that's a whole other team fighting in this war." She said quietly.
Naruto silenced her with a kiss, "Hina-chaaaan, stop spouting my plans please? Who knows when someone is listening." Naruto thought as he moved one hand behind his back.
Hinata said something else, but Naruto was focussed on feeling disturbances in the wind, showing the hiding spot of Danzo's spy that was hidden in a Genjutsu in the corner of the room.
Naruto began to pay attention to what Hinata was saying as he saw her activate her Byakugan, "But I guess you're right," she said with an obvious inflection on the word, "You never know when someone could be hiding in your presence." She said with a smirk that Naruto mirrored.
Now knowing that he was found, the ninja went to flee, but Naruto's wind chakra moved, "FULL SUCTION!" Naruto announced, yanking that spy forward towards his back.
Hinata turned in their hug moved her hands into the right spot, sending a chakra shot through the ninja's brain and heart as they came to a stop on Naruto's outstretched palm.
Naruto smirked as he shook his head in disbelief, "Dear Log you're amazing," he said as the mouth on his hand opened up, "EXPLOSIVE WAVE!"
*BOOOOM*
The beam propelled the spy's corpse out through the window the spy had entered from, throwing him over to the hive that was the Aburame's nest of Kikaichu to be devoured with no questions asked.
Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and kissed him, "You know, the others won't be home for a few more hours and I'm feeling cold." She said as she nuzzled him.
Naruto smiled as his chakra sparked, "I know just the thing to warm us up." He said with a perverted chuckle.
*FLASH*
From the same vantage point, one would be able to see a golden flash from the main bedroom before lots of giggling and moaning began to emit from the room itself.
##########
Chapter End.
Village has changed completely, Naruto has turned Danzo into the bad guy, village construction is basically done, the outer wall (and thus the flats that Sasuke had constructed on the wall itself) is now made of unbreakable iron, each ninja clan has their own massive tree as a home, and the five Kage summit is coming up soon.
And now the ELEMENTAL DEVASTATOR (Naruto's new bingo book name) is viewed as a hero of the leaf. Kewl
Tell what ya'll are thinking, please R&R so that I don't combust into dust and fire.
Alky out