Medicinal Lullaby Chapter 25: The Lucky Stumble, a naruto fanfic

Chapter 25

"I...I want you to train me!"

"You...what?"

Keiji remained in his bow, hoping, perhaps, that by not having to look Naruto in the eye he would find his words easier.

"You're the best wind-type ninja in the world! Please!" The boy begged.

He wasn't present for what the majority of the village witnessed; Tsunade-sama had him and Hitomi out of the village nearly the second Hitomi's father ordered it. But Keiji would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to know what happened. It was all anyone talked about these days—the kids at school, the civilians, the older ninja—the Uchiha's unstoppable Amaterasu, thwarted by wind of all things.

"Yes. It's true that each element has strengths and weaknesses against each other, but wind...wind has the potential to overpower any other element. If you know what you're doing."

Keiji thought the man was just full of hot air; everyone believed the elements they had an affinity toward were the best.

"Even fire?"

But this guy could actually walk the talk.

"Especially fire."

He proved even Shikamaru wrong.

"You're the only one in the village who can teach me!" Keiji finished in a near shout, clamping his eyes shut and hoping for the best.

Naruto stared at the kid, baffled. He'd said it before and he'd say it again: this generation was insane.

"Do you even know if you have an affinity for wind?"

Keiji tilted his head up from his bow, "Oh, er, well..."

"No, you don't," Naruto answered for him. "You're not even out of the academy yet."

The man looked at the wall clock.

"And aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

Keiji straightened slowly and shrugged.

"Does your mom know you're here?" Naruto asked.

"Um, not exactly."

"So you decided to play hooky so you could come and ask me if I could do something I probably can't even do?"

Keiji's shoulders slumped, "I guess."

"Why are you so adamant about it anyway?" pressed Naruto. Keiji had the same cool, silent ambition that he once saw in Sasuke. Fortunately, the boy didn't have a mass murder to screw with his mind or a preceding reputation to live up to. Keiji did take the time to play with friends, he could laugh and be as silly as any other seven year old; he was the sort of boy Sasuke might have been had he not lost his family.

"Well, my father had a wind element," the child explained with some diffidence. In coming to the hospital and making a personal request for training, Keiji banked on receiving either a straight rejection or a bit of negotiating before gaining a tutor. He never expected a thorough questioning.

"He did," Naruto conceded. "He taught me the basics—from which I developed pretty much everything I can do now. I owe him a lot."

"Then train me!" Keiji burst out. "If he was that good then I'm probably one too!"

Naruto shook his head, "I don't think it's a genetic thing. Neither of my parents were wind...that I know of. Besides, Shikamaru won't be happy; he's been looking out for you since before you were born. He's always wanted to train you."

"He will—I mean, he can. But he can't teach me wind-chakra like you can! It's so rare in Fire Country, and I just know I can do it! Please!"

The older male smiled ruefully and rubbed the side of his head. "I already have a genin team who I haven't even begun to train yet. Maybe in a few years I could try...and only if you are wind natured. I think you should at least graduate first, right?"

Words such as 'maybe' and 'if' didn't even register in the youngest Sarutobi's mind.

"And then you'll train me?" he beamed expectantly.

"I'm not promising you anything..." Naruto paused and cocked his head to the side, sensing a familiar and awaited aura. He grinned, quickly throwing the covers off his body, shinnying out of the bed and saddling up along Keiji's side just as the door was thrown open.

"Alright brat, you can—," Tsunade stopped speaking and gave Naruto a flat stare when she realized he was already dressed. "Wasting no time, I see. Well, you're all good to go. Blood work's good, no brain damage—amazingly—and good vitals. Just start your re-training a little slowly, please; lay off the heroic battles for a while if you can. And—Sarutobi Keiji? What are you doing here?"

"Career cultivation," Naruto answered for the poor child who had suddenly become tongue tied at a second authoritative figure scrutinizing him. Tsunade peered at the boy a moment longer before shrugging.

"Ambitious. But I think you'd best get back to class, young man."

"Oh! Uh, yes, Tsunade-sama!" Keiji piped out with a quick bow before scurrying out the door.

"Odd," Tsunade hummed. "Neither of his parents were that...skittish."

"It's the kids at school. There's something in the water. Bad influences everywhere...like the music," Naruto was nodding harmoniously as he padded to the door, step by sideways step. He just realized, at that very moment, that he never actually learned the standard shunshin—something usually taught to new jounin. Not that he needed to—he had developed his own version by observing other ninja and utilizing wind-chakra as a pushing force—but still...it was the principle of the matter. He was, quite possibly, the lamest ninja ever.

The medic rolled her eyes. "Bad role models, more like. Alright, off with you then—go fetch your daughter and do whatever it is you do."

Naruto's face, still pale and drawn from the past week, broke out into a wide smile. He looked ten years younger—and for him, that put him with the rest of his age group.

"See ya Baa-chan!" he saluted before disappearing from sight in a comical whirl.

"Naruto—wait—! Grrr..."

Tsunade blinked several times at the scowling carrot-top who had just appeared rather suddenly; the arrival timed perfectly with Naruto's exit.

Moegi huffed and sent the other woman a disgruntled pout.

"Ya' couldn't have waited two more minutes before you let him go?"

Tsunade shrugged.

"You know how he is: can't sit in the hospital bed unless he's unconscious or incapacitated."

The girl knew she was right and fell back against the wall. "He's different these days. He seems more..."

"Lively?" Tsunade offered and Moegi nodded. "He is noticeably less calm... or more disconnected... however one wishes to view it."

The red-head grinned, "I'm a glass-half-full kind of girl. I'd say he's more disconnected."

"Well, in any case, you'll get to pick apart his seal later," Tsunade said. "I doubt the battle did much to it, despite the huge amount of chakra he expelled, but he did say he required youki for some sway over the Amaterasu, so something of that caliber could have altered it..."

Tsunade trailed off when she noticed Moegi staring at the ground.

"I—It wasn't the seal," Moegi mumbled. "I wanted to see him."

"Oh."

The former hokage stared blankly for a moment, unsure of how to approach the heavy implication. Fortunately, Moegi spoke first.

"He's chosen her, hasn't he? I heard it floating around...I didn't know if it was true..."

Tsunade placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed.

"They've both decided to give it a try."

Moegi swore, completely unmindful of the legendary status the woman next to her held. Tsunade chuckled.

"You remind me of Sakura when she was younger; she was quite the spitfire," at Moegi's humorless mien Tsunade had to laugh again. "She's calmed down a lot, of course. I suppose being a medic-nin brought out the nurturer in her. Around the time Jiraiya died she suddenly had this compulsion to take care of Naruto and it's only seemed to grow since. Unfortunately, it was also around the same time Naruto found out he was a father..."

The platinum-blonde wasn't one who believed very easily in fate, but maybe Sakura and Naruto weren't meant to be together until later in life. Tsunade recalled Naruto being so sure that Sakura was the girl for him back when she first met the boy, despite Sakura's obsession with Sasuke. He continued to adore her throughout the years, through his training and back, and just when Sakura started to look his way their lives got shaken up again.

The first length of time they spent apart it was Naruto thinking of her. The second length of time it was Sakura thinking of him. Now, having experienced the same yearning, they both could understand each other a little better.

"If complications kept coming up you'd think they'd give up on each other," Moegi muttered under her breath, not bothering to hide her disdain.

"Distance and time are strange factors when it comes to love. It's both a stressor and enforcer on relationships. Naruto was always attracted to her...I can see why, through it all, he can still think of her as a romantic interest."

"She's not the same girl he had a crush on," Moegi said with what she knew was pettiness. She couldn't help but feel a bit sore after trying to slowly bring herself up in his eyes only to realize it was a wasted effort. And no one could blame her for trying—Naruto was her role model since before he was known as anything but an unwanted jinchuuriki. She saw the potential that the rest of the world had to have shoved in their face before they acknowledged it—including his own teammates. What started as a childish, hero-worshiping crush developed into real attraction once she grew to see him closer to an equal.

"He's not the same boy who had a crush on her." Tsunade countered. "Who they were as children are probably far less compatible compared to who they are now. Right now, Naruto needs someone to take care of him, probably more than Hitomi needs him to take care of her. He's drowning, and he's just recently managed to pull his head above the water to see that there is a lifesaver still waiting for him to grab hold.

"Naruto sincerely trusts you, Moegi. And that's not something he gives out lightly. He especially trusts you with Hitomi. It's not like you'll be cut out of his life if he starts dating another woman."

The girl sighed. "Yeah, I suppose."

Naruto had been pretty exclusive with those that he hung out with and she was fortunate enough to be one of them. Aside from his daughter, Tsunade-sama, Hokage-sama and Sakura, she was probably one of the people he accepted the most. In fact, she saw more of Naruto than Konohamaru did.

That particular pair didn't see much of each other as of late; while Naruto was split between hanging around the village's forests and gathering information abroad, Konohamaru was set on making a name for himself by taking the most dangerous missions he was allowed. Her teammate was already a jounin ANBU and it was rumored he was up for a promotion to captain.

Naruto expressed his dislike at such reckless behavior, stating that, as one of the last renowned Sarutobis, he should take heed in protecting what he still had. Konohamaru thought Naruto had become more of a wimp for opting out of missions when he had such power at his disposal. The younger still couldn't believe Naruto had passed up on the Hokage position multiple times.

It was Moegi's hunch that, in some way, Konohamaru felt betrayed Naruto strayed from their shared dream and moved on into a more complicated life.

Konohamaru wasn't there when she accidently stumbled upon Naruto in that store in Bassai so many years ago. He didn't see what she did: a tired, lonely, scared boy who was trying to be so selfless it was self-destructive. He didn't understand that Naruto's plans in life had to be altered, with or without his approval.

But she did. Moegi understood Naruto and would continue to understand him for as long as she was able. As much as she was annoyed with Sakura at the moment, that woman had the right idea. To be with Naruto wouldn't be about taking, or even sharing. It would have to be about giving.

She would do everything in her power to help Naruto, even with the smallest of tasks, because he mattered that much to her.

0o0o0o

Naruto shuffled some ash around with his foot, frowning at the fragile, charred hulls of former tree branches that crumbled at the slightest touch. This was worse than before.

Mounds of black stretched for miles; the once sprightly scenery, flush with fauna, had been transformed into a wasteland with an unfading darkened sky and rank air. He didn't dare connect to the Earth; not while he was standing in his own demolition.

"It'll re-grow," he told himself resolutely. They were the same words used by others who tried to console him, the same words he used to assure himself four years ago after defeating Pein, and, like last time, it did little to help him feel any better.

Yamato had already been enlisted in reestablishing the immediate surrounding forest for the purpose of concealing the west wall of Konoha. The man was currently bedridden due to chakra depletion after managing to resurrect several acres of woodland.

It was far more windy without the the trees to filter the gust. Ash blew all around him, sliding against his face and leaving light, black smudges. It was such a similar picture to that of the Border that it gave him chills.

He really needed to stop going up against fire-affiliated opponents.

"At least Stick is okay," he sighed. The preservation seals would have saved it from any other fire, but Amaterasu would have demolished the seals right along with his favorite weapon.

His hand went to his pocket, gripping the thick ring that he took from Sasuke's cold finger...

He felt fairly sick with himself for making his first stop the morgue and plundering Sasuke's corpse for such an artifact. But it was a necessary evil in his mind; those rings would come in handy for keeping track of the Akatsuki and—hopefully—their ultimate defeat.

Giving his surroundings one last scan, Naruto began his slow walk back to the village. Even though it hurt him to face more carnage by his own hand, he felt the self-abuse was necessary. The clearer he could remember what he was capable of, the more incentive he would have to gain control of himself. It didn't matter to him that he did the impossible, that he used wind against the most powerful type of fire known to man; what happened to the land was unforgivable. He probably killed over a thousand cute, baby animals.

His slow trek was halted when the ground broke open just beneath where he was about to put his foot.

"Naruto-san!"

It was a mole, around the size of a bread loaf, wearing a grey, tasseled scarf and black shades that could have belonged to an Aburame.

Naruto stared in momentary shock at the little critter he nearly stepped on before he gathered his wits.

"Mogura!" he exclaimed. He hadn't seen the summon in months. "What's up? Is Kirabi alright?"

"Yes," the mole answered in its oddly low voice. "Kirabi-nii-chan is fine. It's about Akatsuki. Nii-chan found some camouflaged site, he wants you to check it out with him. He thinks it's the Sealing Statue."

Again, Naruto found himself dumbfounded as he was caught unawares by the news. Slowly, a long forgotten—and oddly missed—excitement began to build within him; the giddiness of the hunt afresh as he realized what that meant.

"Wait...you mean he found the place where the Sealing Statue is stationed when it's not summoned? It's holding spot?" he asked. His breathing picked up pace without his realizing.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Naruto's grin was uncontrollable. "Whereabout?"

"Far, man. Around the coast where Kaze and Taiga meet."

"I—I—Shit...alright," he was shifting his weight from foot to foot. He desperately wanted to race off to said location. Aside from Sasuke snapping and coming to Konoha, Akatsuki had been lying low—low enough for the lack of reports of their movements to become disconcerting for the blond. But at the same time he wanted—needed—to see his daughter again.

And it would probably be prudent to tell Kakashi what was going on.

His mind raced through several different scenarios, quickly compiling the the best route to cover all bases.

"Okay, you tell him that I'm sending a specialized clone immediately. I just got out of the hospital and I have some things to do. But I'll be following as soon as I finish up here. Tell him not to do anything stupid until I get there. He can sit on a rock and rhyme about it for all I care."

The fur where the mole's eyebrows would have been moved in a way that would suggest it was rolling its eyes. "He knows that. Thanks Naruto—sayonara!"

"Bye Mogura," he returned as the mole, its message delivered, submerged itself back into the ground.

Naruto's heart was still pounding from the report and a raw charge fueled his blood. A clone was summoned and enhanced in the next few seconds, one every bit as adrenalized as his creator.

"You know what to do."

"Yep," the clone saluted before shooting off to the southwest.

Naruto took a moment to watch it go before drawing a deep breath—and then immediately began hacking as ash filled his lungs.

"Alright," he wheezed to himself. "Go through Konoha, find Kakashi, down to Bassai, find Hitomi, then off to happy hour."

The next moment he was moving faster than he had in a long time, with nothing left to betray his path other than the billowing, sable cloud of unsettled cinders.

0o0o0o

"Hey! Baby girl! I'm home!"

Technically, he wasn't home—he was at Juhi's bar. But the message was clear enough. He had managed to conduct his business with the Hokage in less than twenty minutes and spared no second in following his provisional plans. He had Kakashi's permission to run amuck with his fellow Jinchuuriki...more or less. He asked him to pass on a message apologizing to Sakura about not taking her along, but this wasn't a 'team 7' mission. All things Akatsuki had now become his personal project—there was no need to involve humans any longer.

Instantly after voicing his arrival, a flying ball of blue and blonde bounced its way face-first into his navel.

"Daddy!!!" Hitomi cried, her face already wet with tears. Naruto, bemused, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pressing her further into his midriff.

"Hey, hey...what's this? I was only gone a week. I've been on longer missions before."

Hitomi pulled her face out of his stomach to glare up at him.

"I'm not stupid, dad! I know what happened! You almost died!"

Her accusatory words hit hard as the onerous memory of what he was willing to let happen resurfaced. That moment when he chose death over his daughter—that single, deplorable moment—would haunt him forever.

"I'm not dead," he said softly. "I would never leave you."

Another stab through the chest—one of searing guilt. Unconsciously, he held her tighter, wanting more than ever to protect her because he loved her so much. She felt remarkably tiny—perhaps it was because she had such a big presence, but sometimes he forgot how fragile she really was. She was only seven; she was far too young to be an orphan.

"And don't say 'stupid'," he added as an afterthought. Hitomi just took a breath into his shirt, tears still leaking down her cheeks.

"Don't leave ever again," she whimpered piteously. "Never ever...I was so scared..."

Naruto couldn't bring himself to say anything in that moment; the shame he felt was too saturated. Instead he began to run the back of a hand up and down her round, downy cheek, lulling the stimulants in her whiskers.

It wasn't long before Naruto could make out the high-pitched motor of a demon-child's purr. His daughter's distress noticeably dropped, her aura evening out with the reassurance of his presence and the relaxant of her stroked whiskers.

"This is almost over," he murmured. "Soon it will just be the two of us. And maybe Sakura."

Hitomi sighed into his shirt and said nothing. She was just glad she had her father back in her sight.

"Alive, are you?" Juhi asked as she walked out of the kitchen while wiping her hands on a dishrag. Her voice shattered the trance Hitomi had begun to fall in, ceasing the purring. Naruto smiled anyway and held out one arm. The woman took the hint and soon he was being hugged at two angles.

"I just thought I'd let you know I've made a full recovery," Naruto quipped.

Juhi pulled away and smiled.

"Thank heavens you're back. This one's been a wreck since that woman dropped her off. What on Earth happened? There was this great black fire in the sky and now people are talking left and right about an Uchiha and you!"

Naruto kept an arm around Hitomi as she continued to cling to the bottom of his shirt.

"Yeah...I was involved. Don't worry, it's all over and done with."

"He's not coming back?" asked his daughter. Naruto looked down at her.

"No," he answered gently. "Never again."

Juhi was a smart enough woman to understand that her surrogate son had killed somebody. She knew he was a ninja, but she never liked to entertain the thought of such a sweet, young man having to take life. Sometimes, when she tried to look at him as the ruthless killer he was trained to be, all she could see was the scared, dirty boy who stumbled his way into her inn over seven years ago.

"I also came to tell you that I'm going on another mission," Naruto added.

"Daddy, no!" Hitomi shouted, startling both Juhi and her father. She looked ready to cry again.

"It's not a bad mission," Naruto assured her. "I probably won't even have to fight."

She pulled away a bit so she could show him her displeased scowl. It was adorable how stern she was trying to look.

"Then why do you have Stick?" Hitomi demanded.

Naruto raised his eyebrows, impressed that she noticed the weapon resting upright against the bar through their brief, albeit distressed, reunion.

"That's just a precaution. I'm going to see Killer Bee, isn't that cool?"

Hitomi pursed her lips. She did like Killer Bee-ojichan...but she liked having her daddy around even better.

"If it's safe, then can I come too?" she tried to bargain.

Naruto laughed. "It's not that safe, but, hey, I'll get you an autograph."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"And you'll be back soon?"

"Tomorrow at the latest."

She heaved her little shoulders in an exaggerated sigh.

"Alright," she conceded. "But remember—autograph."

"Oh no—is she talking about that nasty rap music?" Juhi grunted as she twisted her face into one of distaste. "Horrible stuff. Yasei plays it all the time in here."

Naruto threw up his hands to stave off being lumped into the same group.

"Hey, you're preaching to the choir. Anyway, I gotta head out—this is a lead I've been waiting for for a long time."

He bent down a bit and planted a light kiss on the top of Hitomi's head.

"You be good, okay? I love you."

Hitomi nodded, but when Naruto went to step away she held fast to his vest.

"Tomi..."

She bit her lip, knowing her father would have little patience for delays on following leads, and reluctantly let go. She didn't feel bad about the tiny holes her claws left. That's what he got for leaving her again.

"It will be fast," he reminded her, hating that he was only upsetting her more. "It will be like I never left."

Teary-eyed, she nodded and rubbed her knuckles into the corner of her eyes.

"I love you too, daddy," she mumbled. Juhi wrapped a strong arm around the thin shoulders of the girl and gave them a comforting squeeze.

"You better come back with zero injuries," Juhi warned. "Because I will not hold this one back if you break your promise to her."

That got a giggle out of the girl and Naruto smiled gratefully.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in time to pull the night-shift tomorrow," he told Juhi before nodding to two of his favorite ladies and taking off at a speed Juhi wouldn't have been able to follow even if she was a trained ninja.

"Autograph!" he heard Hitomi holler through the open window. "Don't forget the autograph!"

0o0o0o

It took nearly eight hours of straight traveling before the Naruto-clone reached his place of destination: a grassy flatland caught in a limestone outcrop that separated the forest and the ocean. The ocean itself wasn't visible, but it must have been very close because the air smelt briny and the roar of crashing waves was more than audible.

It looked to be the sort of place that wasn't disturbed by humans very often, and the only sign of such contact were a few, small tents set up around a smoldering campfire—all stationed in a dirt circle that had the dry grass cleared out.

"Yo! Bee!"

Four individuals who had previously been leaning against boulders or, in the case of one man, doodling in the dirt, looked up as a fifth joined their party. The largest of the original four stepped forward with a jagged grin.

"Naruto!" Kirabi greeted just as enthusiastically. Being the two last Jinchuuriki alive forged a strange, but strong fellowship between the two. "That was fast. You remember my favorite, little students, right?"

He jerked his head toward the three other dark-skinned adults, all of which looked annoyed at being addressed so.

"Master...we are not little genin anymore..." Karui muttered. She narrowed her eyes at Naruto, whom she had met only once, briefly in Taki. He looked to be no older than she was and yet her master seemed to hold him in a higher regard than their own Raikage. As a punk who hopped around barefoot swinging a stick, she couldn't see what was so special about him.

"Oh yeah," Naruto acknowledged. "Omoi, Samui, and...Karui, right?"

He nodded his head towards the three, gaining back a wave, a nod and a 'harrumph'. He held in a smile, for he knew it would only annoy the slim woman further.

"So where is this place?" he asked with barely concealed excitement. He may have been a clone, but he felt the very same adrenaline rush the original did.

"That's it," Kirabi said in his rumbling voice. He pointed to a rather ordinary looking rock face several yards from where they were stationed.

"I still don't see what's so special about it," Omoi said with brazen flippancy, switching his lollipop to the other side of his mouth.

Naruto took a few cautious steps forward and focused all his attention on the exact spot where Kirabi was pointing. He whistled, causing the three others present to look at him curiously.

"It's not something you see," he explained under his breath. "There's a lot of negative energy coming outta that...and it's not human."

"Definitely youki," Kirabi agreed.

"So this is where he summons it from," Naruto continued to speak in the same low, awed voice. "It's like some...some...independent plane of existence...encased in a barrier..?"

Kirabi grinned, feral and caustic, "A little piece of Hell in our world—how sweet."

"Maybe it is a portal to Hell," suggested Naruto. "I mean...I've never quite felt anything so...sinister. Not as concentrated as this, anyway."

The big man nodded, "It's gotta be all those bijuu trapped in there. Power like this can't exist anywhere else in the world. Akatsuki has been keeping tabs on every Jinchuuriki in the last couple of decades; they'd know the best place to store this thing without the chance of it being discovered."

"Not without knowing to actively seek it out," Naruto corrected. "And the fact that the humans can't sense it can only support that theory."

"We're standing right here," Omoi deadpanned. His complaint wasn't processed by either man.

"We couldn't have found this a moment later, either," Kirabi said. "There was talk of going in for the kill—you know, that Pein had just figured out how to alter the runic make-up of the seals to add you in. Man...I thought you were joking when you said they were actually planning on sealing you into it. You really don't have Kyuubi in you anymore?"

Naruto grinned ruefully.

"Oh, he's in me. I mean, he's dead alright, but his youki still exists more or less. I kind of stole it—"

"HE'S THE KYUUBI JINCHUURIKI!" Karui suddenly shrieked. Both Jinchuuriki winced from the audio assault.

Omoi was struck with the same astonishment as Karui.

"Wait-a-minute...this can't be the same Naruto as the Border one...can it?" But already he knew the answer. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki from Konoha was the one who defeated the powerful terrorist that wielded the Rinnegan.

"It's gotta be..." Karui mumbled, feeling dazed. "How many 'Narutos' can there be in the world...?"

The guy standing just feet away from her was a legend inside and out...but the rumors she heard would have never led her to believe they were the same person. Her sensei didn't talk of this Naruto like he went around destroying first-class criminals single-handedly. He seemed so young and ordinary...and a little strange.

"That explains much," said Samui softly with nothing else to add. She had already drawn her own conclusions long before, but it helped to receive solid confirmation.

"How about you? Finish re-growing your tails yet?" Naruto asked, realizing that they didn't get much into pleasantries in light of such a discovery. Not that he was ever the sort of guy for such a thing.

Naruto received a blinding smile from the large man, who was suddenly in an odd pose involving two back-handed peace signs.

"Yep, back up to eight and feelin' great. Gotta celebrate—"

"Shut up."

Kirabi laughed.

"One day, you'll appreciate the true art in my words," he said, still smiling. Naruto was momentarily struck at how much they resounded Jiraiya's playful claims. "Anyway, now that I'm back at full power I'll spend more time kicking Akatsuki ass and less time rapping. I'd like to see that little punk try and drag me back there this time."

"Sasuke won't be hunting you anymore," Naruto said frankly. His face was unreadable, neither upset nor interested in the topic.

"You don't say?" Kirabi muttered but said nothing more. They didn't need words to finish that particular conversation.

"Can we please get back to why we're here?" Karui butted in. "Sensei, you haven't even explained to us what's so important about this thing."

"I didn't? Alright then. In that barrier—"

"—that you can't sense—" Naruto threw in, earning a scowl from the woman.

"—is some sort of statue that has seven of the nine bijuu sealed inside of it. It's Akatsuki's tool to world domination. All that power compressed into a single item."

"Sounds dangerous." Omoi commented.

"And they want to seal you inside it," Samui directed to Naruto, "because you've absorbed your bijuu?"

Naruto gave her one, resolute nod.

"Yeah, and it looks like they've managed to work in the alterations."

"Even now, it's hard to say how much I can confirm on that front," Kirabi spoke ruefully. "With so few Akatsuki left it's hard to catch wind of their movements these days."

"No, no, I appreciate this," Naruto said. "If we do this right we can delay them for years again...maybe even take out our problems altogether."

Kirabi turned to stare at the fractured slate of rock that held, possibly, the most powerful weapon in the world.

"The problem is figuring out what to do," said the Hachibi jinchuuriki.

Naruto bit his lip, inwardly sharing the sentiments. He took a few steps forward, feeling a strong pull once he was within ten feet of the cliff.

"Careful!" Kirabi warned. "I tried to do the same but—"

Naruto took another step and the pull transformed into a frighteningly powerful wrench; he felt something in the center of his body jerk out of place. He stumbled backwards, not realizing that he hadn't been able to breathe until his entire diaphragm began heaving with great gasps of air.

"What the hell happened?" Omoi exclaimed. Samui had her nodachi in her hand, prepared to attack at the slightest disturbance.

"It tried to suck the youki right out of me!" Naruto hissed, holding a hand to his chest. He could feel his heart hammering at the close call.

"I tried to warn you," Kirabi chuckled. Naruto scowled at him.

"It's not funny."

He could have died! One more step forward and it would have all been over...

Kirabi was still snickering, "It was sort of funny."

"Tch. So we can't get close to that—," Naruto gestured to the rock-face, "—but what about you guys?"

He looked to the three humans present.

"We were ordered not to go near it," Samui stated. Naruto turned towards Kirabi.

"Didn't want to take any chances at the time," Kirabi said. "Not after finding out what happens to us."

"I'll go," Omoi volunteered. "If I approach it slowly, I'm sure nothing too bad can happen. I mean, we can't even sense it—"

Oddly enough, with the decision to advance firm in his mind, Omoi faltered in his very first step.

"Oh...uh...wow," he muttered. "I never realized how much I didn't want to be near that thing until I decided to get closer."

"You don't have to do it," Karui said, softly. She too was making the same discovery. It was so easy to overlook at first because they had no plans on touching it. But now the resistance was palpable, a negative drive against her instincts that she knew her teammate was feeling at that moment.

"No, it's not that big of a deal," Omoi insisted. He slowly began to walk closer in a similar gait to what Naruto approached with. But there was a hesitance in his step that Naruto had lacked, a weariness from witnessing someone else experience it's unseen power. What was once an inkling in the back of his mind ballooned into a screaming force that demanded he turn around and run for the sake of his immortal soul. The fine layer of hair on his body rose and his blood vessels constricted as epinephrine instinctively released into his system. Still, he walked on.

"Feel anything?" Naruto asked. Omoi was now closer to the stone wall than either Naruto or Kirabi managed to get.

"I-I'm fine," sweat broke out across the man's forehead as he pushed foreword. "It's trying to r-repel me...but I...I can..."

His foot was raised, his hand outstretched, reaching towards the rocks that were only feet away, when Omoi gasped and staggered backwards, throwing himself to the side as he retched into the tall grass.

"Omoi!" Karui shrieked and Samui had leapt to his side, dragging him away from the hazardous zone.

"M'fine—just—" he coughed some and moaned. Samui put a hand to his forehead.

"He'll be all right," she said. "He was just too close to such a condensed amount of demonic chakra."

"Well..." Kirabi began slowly. "Now we know it repels humans. Sure you're alright, Omoi?"

Omoi waved a hand over his head, signaling his vitality, before accepting a canteen of water from Karui.

"At least he wasn't exposed to straight up youki," Naruto said. "No burns or physical, lasting damage. But for a human to react so strongly is concerning. There's gotta be a lot in there."

"Do ya' think that's a property of the barrier, or is the statue itself just that powerful that it's leaking through?" Kirabi asked.

"Hard to say. Shit...and even from here I feel compelled to go closer. That scares me," Naruto admitted. Because, clearly, he had enough self-control issues to deal with.

Kirabi was nodding.

"I feel it too," he said. "That's one of the reasons I wanted you here. You're way better at seals than me. Think you can figure anything out?"

"I have some theories..." Naruto conceded. "I think such a high concentration of youki is pulling our own towards it. I don't know this for certain but...if we get too close to it..."

"It can rip our demons out," Kirabi finished, looking grim.

"The demonic power radiating from it allows no human to get close to it...but those with a bijuu inside them could have the demon ripped out...this...it's...it's almost like it's magnetic. It's too dangerous for anyone here to get near enough to dissect the barrier."

"Goddamn it," Kirabi swore. It would be just their luck to stumble upon this gem only to learn that none of them could get near enough to do anything about it.

"However..."

Kirabi turned to see Naruto grinning in spite of their revelation, watching the whiskers twitch.

"...I think I know who can help us."

0o0o0o

"So...he's gone. Again."

Kakashi exhaled deeply and pinned his once student with a look of tedium.

"He said it would be a short trip. But it was very important and could give us a huge advantage over Akatsuki."

To be honest, the Hokage found himself quite annoyed at Naruto. The blond knew Sakura would be upset with him for leaving without warning and he knew Sakura would gripe at Kakashi for letting him go.

"But this is Akatsuki," Sakura stressed. "Anything is dangerous with those guys. How could you let him go alone? And after he just got out of the hospital!"

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose, having already gone through this conversation a dozen times in his head before Sakura had predictably barged in.

"Sakura, Naruto is exponentially more powerful than just about anyone I could have sent with him. He handles himself just fine against Akatsuki. Besides, he doesn't expect to be fighting this time around. It's just a bit of recon."

"This is all happening too fast," the pink-haired woman groaned, settling herself on the edge of Kakashi's desk. She pushed her palm against her forehead as the tips of her fingers buried themselves into her hair. "First Sasuke shows up and Naruto has that fall-out with nature...and now he jumps right back into Akatsuki business after getting out of the hospital."

Kakashi nodded, admittedly in complete agreement.

Discovering that Sasuke had been only miles away from throwing his village into utter ruin, and knowing what Sasuke was capable of—the Amaterasu—was terrifying for the normally composed man. It was a hard situation to deal with; ordering his ninja around, knowing all the while that it could have been a fruitless fight. Watching Naruto go after Sasuke, and then Sakura go after Naruto, had been even harder. But there had been no other way—even looking back on it he couldn't think of a better course of action. Naruto was Konoha's Jinchuuriki and Sage. He was government property, the village's ultimate tool, an overall powerhouse used to prevent collateral damage.

It was easier for Kakashi to ignore such a notion when he was just a jounin wanting to protect his students. He could look the other way on certain colossal matters and focus on what was best for Naruto, not their village. Whereas now, being the Hokage, Naruto promptly transformed into an asset. An annoyingly independent, quirky asset that could only be directed at best—never controlled.

Naruto was difficult to deal with because he wasn't the average shinobi, and he both knew it and took advantage of it. He often made his own rules, assigned himself his own missions, all the while only informing Kakashi of what his plans were at the last minute—just as he did only a few hours earlier. And all Kakashi was able to do was nod, knowing that Naruto had the information and power he did not concerning such a matter.

Somedays Kakashi felt like he was having his power usurped. Other days he felt like he shouldn't have had this position in the first place, so it didn't matter. Fortunately, for both him and Konoha's reputation, the rest of the world was under the assumption that Naruto was only following orders when it came to fighting Akatsuki, and Kakashi was more than willing to let them think that. He trusted Naruto wouldn't do anything to make him look foolish.

"I really doubt he'll be getting up to anything too dangerous," Kakashi spoke aloud. "He promised it was relatively harmless."

Sakura didn't look as assured.

"Relatively? He doesn't have his sage-goggles on anymore," she pointed out. "I mean—I'm happy that he's paying attention to m—to everything now," she blushed at her fumble, "but his senses have been dulled down to a more human level. He doesn't have his wide scope of surveillance with sage mode. He's that much more easy to be caught unawares!"

"I wouldn't call any of his senses "human"," Kakashi remedied. Sakura growled.

"I'm serious sensei! I mean, come on, he was delirious just two days ago! How can you possibly trust his judgement?"

"What else can I do?" asked Kakashi in frankness. "Should I have said 'no' to him over something that could be a huge boon for Konoha? Would he have listened? Who would have stopped him?"

"I would have," Sakura muttered in contempt. Kakashi graced her with a dull stare and she knew as well that she couldn't stop Naruto from doing much of anything nowadays. She huffed loudly. "I just wish you'd sent me with him. I feel like I should be keeping an eye on him now more than ever."

"He seemed in a hurry; he's probably halfway across Fire Country now. And he only gave me a general idea of where he was going, so sending someone now would be futile. Especially if it's going to be as quick as he made it sound. This could very well just be a fleeting opportunity."

Sakura was silent for a very long while. Her arms were crossed as she looked over Kakashi's head to the wide window that surveyed the village. She knew, if she wanted to be with Naruto, she would have to accept that this was the sort of work he would do all the time. It only made her anticipate the day he settled down and became Hokage; he'd be so much easier to look after.

"You're sure this is as simple and safe as he made it sound?"

"Yes," Kakashi reassured her. "Like I said: I doubt he'll get up to much."

0o0o0o

Famous last words.

Yosh! I am stealing wifi at an EconoLodge. In a Burger King parking lot. Badassity abound.

So at this camp I work at, they have the British version of the first Harry Potter book, and I would skim through it whenever I found it laying around. Besides learning that the British spell Halloween with an apostrophe in the middle of it, something else came to my attention:

"Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around bouncing off the back of his turban." – p 143, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone UK version.

Fred and George Weasley pelted Voldemort in the face. With snowballs. As thirteen year olds.

Epic win.

Anyway, thank you all for reviewing! I'm glad so many people are responding well to the direction I have this story going in. Things are obviously picking up a bit, there'll be a little timeskip in a couple chapters and then some major Akatsuki action.

So review! Eat, drink and be thankful you can wake up in your own bed! I'm great friends with the spiders hanging over my head but I am starting to miss it.