Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 26 here.

Sorry it's late. I had to fix my computer…then there were power failures…and upgrades to the cables to fibre optic or something like that…

Yeah, basically everything's been going against me recently. Anyway, here is the new chapter. Enjoy.

Read, Review and check out my other stories!

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, he is Kishimoto's.

"Dattebayo!" -normal speech

'Dobe' -Thoughts

'{Shannaro!}' -Inner Sakura

"Ningen"-Boss Summon/Tailed Beast Speech

'Brat' -Boss Summon/Tailed Beast Thoughts

"Kage Bunshin!" -Ninjutsu/Genjutsu/ Taijutsu move.

Chapter 26: Darkness, White Snakes and Politics

Unknown Location

The dimly lit room was filled with many esoteric and bizarre medical and scientific devices. Test tubes and pipes with glowing liquids sat alongside racks of sharp and gruesome surgical instruments, some of them still caked with the blood and flesh of the last person they were used to cut into.

Standing next to a table in the centre of the room was a tall man with long black hair. He had pallid white skin, yellow snake-like eyes with thin purple tattoos around them and a pair of purple magatama-shaped earrings that rattled as he worked. Clad in black shinobi sandals, grey trousers, a purple rope-belt and a tan robe, the man would have stood out in a crowd.

Why wouldn't he? For this man was one of the Three Great Traitors of Konohagakure, Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin.

Currently, he was dissecting a corpse that had been discovered in Kiba no Kuni, a ninja who had possessed a Kekkei Genkai Dōjutsu that had allowed him to manipulate earth in a similar fashion to the abilities of his own failed artificial Dōjutsu, the Higan.

A truly fascinating bloodline, and one he hoped would show him where he had went wrong with the Higan. Oh, there was nothing wrong with the chakra consumption or usage of the fire eyes, but the psychological side effects had been not up to his satisfaction. A minor god-complex and heightened contempt for life after protracted use might not sound like such a drawback when taken in the abstract, but the Snake Sannin knew all too well the advantage of caution on the battlefield, so he had regretfully tabled the experiment.

The sole surviving prototype, Hachidoro Kaen, had been eager to prove his worth to him…for the moment. Orochimaru had known that it would have been a matter of time before the fool tried to overthrow him, so had decided to use Kaen as an experiment for his latest creation at the time, the Shura no Juin.

If he died, Orochimaru knew he would have to tweak the seal a bit. If he lived, on to the next experiment…the level two seal. A win-win situation for him.

Much to the man's mild surprise, Kaen had survived both the initial implanting of the Shura no Juin and the advancement to a Level 2 Juinjutsu. It had not been without a long tirade of cursing on the man's part.

Deciding that as the man had survived, he should be put to work, Orochimaru had sent him out into the world to act as a Shōkin Kubigari Shinobi, gathering up Nuke-nin and claiming the bounties on their heads from their home villages, which would then be funnelled into Orochimaru's organisation via several cutouts and dummy corporations.

The irony of the Shinobi Villages funding his organisation made Orochimaru smirk whenever he thought about it.

"Orochimaru-sama." a voice said from behind him.

"Kabuto, is it?" the Snake Sannin said sibilantly, "I do recall stating that I was not to be disturbed while dissecting the latest specimen. Dare I hope you have sufficient reason to go against my commands?"

"Hai." the owner of the voice said as he moved into the light. The boy had dark grey hair and wore glasses. His clothes were purple and white, with a pair of fingerless gloves to complete the outfit. A Konoha Hitai-ate was worn almost mockingly on his forehead, "One of your Juinjutsu has vanished from the tracking board."

Orochimaru stiffened. He had an entire room dedicated to tracking the locations of every single person who bore one of his special Juinjutsu, via a complex map of the Elemental Nations and figurines. When the bearer of a Juinjutsu died, the figure was destroyed.

"Where was it?" he demanded.

"Nami no Kuni." Kabuto replied, "I believe that was where the Ashura no Shimen was operating this month."

With an angry growl, the Snake Sannin removed his hands from the corpse before him and turned to face Kabuto fully.

"Dispatch a team of Otogakure Shinobi to Nami and have them investigate. Subtly." he ordered, "Make certain they understand that failure will not be tolerated."

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto replied with a bow, "I find it curious that Kaen was defeated. His Higan combined with his Shura no Juin should have been unstoppable against any regular opponent…"

"Which means that it was no ordinary opponent then." his master hissed angrily, "Nami is closest to Hi no Kuni, so I'm willing to bet that one of the Elite Jonin have something to do with Kaen's defeat. Reinsert yourself into Konoha and investigate any mission reports that might indicate exactly what happened in that pissant nation. I want to know everything - names, ranks, numbers, the lot."

"As you wish." the silver-haired medic replied and headed off to do his lord's bidding.

Orochimaru turned back to the corpse and continued his work, although he was frowning in thought. What nobody but he knew was that each and every Juinjutsu he had created contained a part of his soul within it, an emergency back up in case, by some unforeseen mishap, his current body was killed.

Including Anko's proto-Ten no Juin, the Sound Ninja Four's Lesser Seals, Kaguya Kimimaro's Chi no Juin (Cursed Seal of Earth) and a host of other minor seals here and there, he had roughly thirty Juinjutsu standing ready to revive him in case of an emergency.

The fact that the bearer of one was killed was…disturbing. Almost all who bore even a lesser seal, such as the Sound Four, were at least the level of a Tokujō. Kimimaro's Juinjutsu was of equal strength to the completed Ten no Juin, with only his debilitating lung disease preventing the Snake Sannin from using his Furō Fushi no Jutsu (Eternal Youth and Immortality Jutsu) to transfer bodies to him.

'Whoever slew Kaen, the useless experiment that he was, must be dealt with.' Orochimaru thought darkly, 'Such a person is cannot be permitted to interfere in my plans.'

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Main Gates, Konohagakure no Sato

"Damn those are some big doors." Zabuza whistled as the former Nuke-nin gazed up at the super sized red gates in admiration. He stood next to Naruko and Haku a few meters away from the gateway into Konoha.

"Yeah, they're something else alright." Naruko said with a grin, "They were created by the Shodaime Hokage using his Mokuton Kekkei Genkai, then covered in multiple Fūinjutsu by his wife, Uzumaki Mito. You'd need the power of a Bijū to break through them once they're closed and the Fūinjutsu is activated, and even then it'd be a close call."

"Are the walls equally formidable?" Haku asked.

"Not so much." the Uzumaki Heiress sighed, "Shodaime-sama intended to create walls out of his Mokuton, but the craftsmen guilds demanded he not put them out of a job before they were on their feet. So we make do with reinforcing their -rather slipshod- work with basic Fūinjutsu. Not even very good Fūinjutsu either."

"Tch. Politics and civilians." Zabuza shook his head scornfully.

"Maa, they do cause problems, but they aren't all bad." Kakashi drawled as he strolled up to the trio, "Besides, Hashirama-sama slapped the crafting guilds down rather firmly after the walls were found to be poorly constructed and needed to be rebuilt from scratch. Civs can play games with shinobi…but only when we let them."

"You took your time catching up to us, Kakashi-sensei." Naruko commented.

"Meh. Sasuke keeps wanting to train his Sharingan." the silver-haired Jonin replied with a shrug.

"Make sure he keeps his eyes away from my jutsu or I'll rip them out and send them to Itachi-nii as a present." Naruko warned him, "My Taijutsu and Kenjutsu as well."

"Don't worry, I have every intent of beating morals into him, quite literally if gentle persuasion doesn't cut it." Kakashi assured her lazily, "That is, once he manages to tree climb for ten minutes straight."

"What's he up to now?" Naruko grinned.

"Five minutes…give or take thirty seconds." the Jonin replied, "Ah, here comes the rest of our merry band."

"Who are you calling merry, Cyclops?" Anko snapped as she led the rest of Team 7 and Team 8 down the road. The Tokujō was giving Kakashi the evil eye for some reason.

Behind her, Kurenai was escorting Shikiki Tomoe, the last living member of the Ashura no Shimen. She was wearing shackles and dressed in plain grey clothes. It was determined that her Iro Ninpō: Haima (Colour Ninja Art: Ash Devil) was the most useless of her repertoire, as it only allowed her to secrete a cloud of ash from her body, so all of her hippie clothes had been confiscated and these old prison duds had been found.

She was an issue that Naruko had not yet decided on how to resolve and she was fresh out of ideas on what to do. It was decided by the three Jonin that the Hokage would decide her fate.

The five remaining Genin were still a bit keyed up from their missions and were warily regarding the surrounding trees and other foliage for signs of enemies.

"Stand down already, brats." Anko snapped at them, "If an enemy got this close to Konoha, they would be so skilled that you'd be dead before you could react."

"Not the best thing to say to jumpy genin, Anko." Kurenai sighed.

"Sorry." the Snake Mistress said gruffly, "But…IT started this morning and you know what I'm like in the first two days."

The Genjutsu Mistress nodded sympathetically. Anko's periods were very rough early on and made her very cranky. It was hypothesised by the Med-nins that her Ten no Juin was the cause of this, but they were unsure.

"Geh. Let's get in and report already." Anko grumbled, "The sooner we report to Hokage-sama, the sooner I can start eating dango."

Naruko chuckled at the antics of her lover. "As Anko-chan-sensei says, let's get this show on the road."

Kakashi and Kurenai took the lead, with Naruko, Hinata and Ino arrayed in a triangle formation around Tomoe, Zabuza and Haku. Sasuke, Kiba and Sakura took up the rear alongside Anko.

The two chunin guarding the front gate observed the approaching party and immediately recognised Zabuza, prompting them to prepare for combat, just on the safe side.

"Kakashi, what's with the Nuke-nin?" Izumo called out warily.

"A souvenir of sorts." the silver-haired man replied easily, "Team 7, returning from the mission of escorting the Bridge Builder Tazuna to Nami no Kuni, three prisoners in tow."

"Team 8, returning from an investigation of Morimura Village and a reinforcement mission to Nami no Kuni." Kurenai added.

"Umm…right." his partner, Kōtetsu, said lamely, "Please sign in and report to Hokage-sama."

"Yo!" Naruko greeted the two jauntily.

"Great, the Prankster Queen is back in town." Izumo groaned, "Please tell me that you aren't going to cut loose on everyone now you're back?"

"Not everybody…just a few who need it." Naruko smirked evilly, making the paranoia alarms on the Konoha residents ring loudly. When Naruko selected her pranking targets, she usually had two criteria. One, they had to be able to handle whatever she threw at them. Two, they had to have either offended her or one of her friends.

The reason she had pranked the entire Hyūga Clan that one time was because the Elders had tried to have Hinata branded with the Caged Bird Seal. The only ones spared from having their underwear swapped out with pink thongs or t-backs were Hiashi, Hinata and Hanabi.

The two chunin decided to ask for an extended mission outside of Konoha ASAP. No way did they want to be in the line of sight of one of her pranks.

"Let's keep moving, cute little genin." Kakashi chided them.

"This coming from someone who wouldn't know how to be on time with a room full of clocks?" Naruko scoffed.

Anko cackled at this.

"She's got you there, scarecrow."

Being a mature adult, the Copy-Ninja did not blast them with his Raikiri.

Later

Hokage's office

"…and that is the end of my report, Hokage-sama." Kakashi concluded.

"I see." Sarutobi nodded as he re-lit his pipe, "Very well. Team 7 is to have this mission recorded as an A-Rank mission on their permanent records. In addition, the C-Rank portion is to be counted as a separate mission entirely. Congratulations."

"Th-thank you, Hokage-sama." Sakura said in stunned amazement. The combined amount from a C-Rank (plus ten percent for the mission being under-ranked) and an A-Rank would allow Team 7 to live at ease financially for a while.

"You all performed well for fresh genin, Sakura-chan." Sarutobi smiled at the girl, "Now, you are all hereby ordered to rest for the next week. You may either remaining your Team apartment or you can return to your homes. Dismissed."

Team 7 bowed to the Hokage and left, allowing the old man to turn his attention to Kurenai.

"Do you have anything relevant to add to Kakashi's report, Kurenai?"

"No, Hokage-sama." she replied, receiving the message that if it had nothing to do with the mission, he didn't want to hear about it yet.

"Very well. Now, Momochi Zabuza and Yuki Haku are known to me, but who is this young lady?" the Hokage gestured at a subdued Tomoe.

"She is Shikiki Tomoe, the only member of the bounty hunter group Ashura no Shimen to survive the battle." Kurenai supplied, "She surrendered to Zabuza during the battle and he passed custody of her to us afterwards."

"Look at me, Shikiki-san." Sarutobi said gently. The girl looked up shyly to see the infamous Kami no Shinobi smiling gently at her. "Would you care to tell me how you came to be mixed up in bounty hunting?"

Tomoe's story was a rather sad one. The small Shikiki Clan had once lived in Kusagakure and had been a key part of its shinobi forces since its founding eighty years previously. Sadly, they had no special skills or Kekkei Genkai that made them stand out from the rest of the clans, so they had languished in relative obscurity, until a member of the clan developed jutsu that merely needed differently coloured clothes in order to use, aside from a few that required handsigns.

That had been halfway through the Third Great Ninja War, over twenty years ago and shortly before Tomoe's birth. She had had a natural talent for the Iro Ninpō and had been lauded by her clan as the greatest prodigy in the art since its creation.

Sadly, all that had been lost when her clan had been wiped out by jealous rivals over five years ago, leaving herself and her mother as the only survivors. Terrified and alone, her mother had fled Kusagakure with her in tow.

Tomoe's mother had lived another year before succumbing to a deadly illness that she had contracted shortly after fleeing Kusa, leaving Tomoe, aged 16, alone in the world.

She had drifted from place to place, stealing food and clothes where she could until she had met Hachidoro Kaen and had been his first recruit of the Ashura no Shimen. She hated hurting and killing people, but she literally had nowhere to go, so she put on a 'happy-go-nuts' mask in order to hide her real feelings.

"I see." Sarutobi said with a sympathetic look at her, "You have led quite the sad life. Although this does put me into a bit of a quandary. Kusagakure did wipe out the Shikiki Clan and they had placed a bounty on the head of yourself and your mother. Not a substantial bounty, but a bounty nevertheless."

"Tomoe knows." the girl sighed, "Tomoe saw the poster in the Bounty Office last year. Tomoe is kind of insulted it's only as much as a C-Rank Shinobi when Tomoe can crush most chunin easily."

Sarutobi chuckled at that. "Yes, but it is an advantage as it means any of Kusagakure's Oinin Butai will underestimate your capabilities should they attack you. The question here is what to do with you. Should Kusa find out we have you here, they will demand you be handed over to them."

"What did the Shikiki Clan do to deserve being purged by their own village?" Anko asked through narrowed eyes.

"Nothing." the Hokage admitted with a frown, "The Shikiki merely supported one faction of the Jonin Council against a rival Clan, who supported another faction. That Clan led a revolt and took control of Kusagakure, purging all who stood against them."

"Typical small village politics, in other words." Anko concluded sourly.

"Sadly, yes." Sarutobi conceded, "Naruko, have you considered offering Tomoe here a similar solution to Haku-san?"

"I…haven't considered it." Naruko replied slowly, "I had clear jurisdiction over Zabuza and Haku-nee because of the crimes committed against the Uzumaki by Kirigakure. There was no excuse for me to butt into Tomoe's situation as she was put into Konohagakure custody."

"And now?"

"If the Hokage of Konohagakure wishes the Uzumaki Clan to take in a political hot potato, then, as Ambassador, I think I can see my way to accepting her as a Spoil." Naruko said formally, "That is, if there is no other alternatives that you can find."

"There are a few alternatives, but none of them are suitable." the Hokage replied with a scowl, "My advisors would urge me to hand her over for the bounty, despite the fact that the current regime in Kusa is predicted to only last six more months at the outside. I cannot enrol her in the Shinobi forces as she is a person wanted for crimes in an allied village and I cannot grant her asylum because of my advisors and their habit of going behind my back. Tomoe-san, what do you say?"

"Tomoe doesn't want to be a Spoil." she said with a pout, "Then again, Tomoe doesn't exactly want to be executed either, so Tomoe would rather be a Spoil than handed over to Kusa."

"Great, another Spoil collar to make." Naruko grumbled, "At least it'll be easier with metal than with leather."

"I'm sure it will be well made, Naruko." Sarutobi said with a small chuckle, "Now…Momochi Zabuza. According to Naruko's report, you agreed to bear the burden of the sins of the previous wielder of your blade and swore service to the Uzumaki Clan for life in repayment, as well as allowing your adopted daughter to become a Spoil as a guarantee on your part. Is that all correct?"

"Yes it is." Zabuza replied carefully, "You don't have a problem with me keeping my blade, do you?"

"You are the wielder of Kubikiribōchō; you are the only one fit to appoint a successor to that blade." Sarutobi replied seriously, "I have a lot of respect for masters of their craft and you certainly qualify. The council will certainly complain, but they would do that regardless of what I said. So, to put it bluntly, screw them."

"Heh…looks like this job might be more fun than I thought." Zabuza mused.

"Yuki Haku-san. You understand that in public, you will have to defer to Naruko like an actual Spoil." Sarutobi said as he turned his attention to the young woman, "Naruko doesn't consider you as such, but appearances must be kept up."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I understand." Haku replied softly, "Naruko-sama has assured me on multiple occasions that she intends to free me after a certain period of time has passed, so I rest easy that this is a mid-term arrangement."

"A remarkably level-headed attitude to take." the Hokage nodded approvingly, "Should you wish to enter the Shinobi Forces after being freed, I believe you shall do rather well. Kurenai, take Zabuza, Haku and Tomoe to the Uzumaki Compound and get them settled in. Naruko, what position are you giving Zabuza?"

"Captain of the Guard." Naruko replied, "It's a gross underutilisation of his skills with only two guards, but there you go. If necessary, I'll assign him enough duties that he might be challenged enough outside of training to not get bored."

"A sensible approach. I doubt anybody will be stupid enough to try and infiltrate the Compound with the Demon of the Bloody Mist on guard duty." Kurenai said with a smile, "Follow me if you please."

As Kurenai led the three out of the office, Naruko faintly saw a pair of shadows move to follow them. ANBU, she realised.

"Now then…Anko, kindly give me your report on the mission to Morimura." Sarutobi directed the purple-haired kunoichi.

As Anko started reeling off the details of the mission, Sarutobi was listening with one ear while making plans. The council would have to be called due to Naruko's 'acquisition' of Zabuza and Haku. Tomoe would be something of an afterthought by comparison. The hard-line civilian council members -and a few of the stupider ninja council members- would be salivating at the thought of acquiring one of the rare Elemental Kekkei Genkai for Konoha.

He had to admit that it was incredibly tempting prospect at face value, but getting on the bad side of someone with the reputation of Momochi Zabuza -not to mention his surrogate granddaughter, who had taken a shine to Haku- was A Bad Idea.

He just had to make those incompetent busybodies on the council see reason on that front, aided and abetted by one Uzumaki Naruko.

He brought himself out of his thoughts in time to hear Anko end her report. The details were even worse when spoken aloud than they were when written on paper. The disturbing fact that Naruko had used her tenant's chakra at least four times was something worthy of note and he resolved to have Tsunade examine Naruko thoroughly once Jiraya dragged her drunken gambling carcass back to Konoha.

"Very good." he said aloud, "The situation that you were put into was one that seasoned ANBU would have had trouble dealing with…and did have trouble dealing with when they joined you. Unfortunately, as the C-Rank portion was a complete falsehood, that part will be struck from the records. The S-Rank portion will go on your records, but you are not allowed to discuss the details with anyone without permission from either myself or whosoever replaces me. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Team 8 chorused in unison.

"Good." Sarutobi nodded, "Now, Ino, Hinata, your parents have been very worried about you, so I would ask that you head for your Clans to assure them that you are alright. I have to discuss Naruko's overuse of certain Kinjutsu with her, so you two are excused."

After a quick farewell, Naruko's teammates left the room to head to their families.

Once the door was closed, Sarutobi turned his full attention onto Naruko, who was looking decidedly nervous.

"Now then, Genin Uzumaki." he said softly, "Kindly detail your interactions with the Kyūbi no Kitsune."

"I was badly injured in battle against the Chief Retainer of the Yanagi Clan, Inaba Kogorō, and lost consciousness after dragging myself to safely." Naruko recited promptly, "I woke up inside my mindscape and encountered the Kyūbi. Over the course of the discussion we had, I learned that he bears a grudge against both the Uzumaki and Uchiha Clans. The Uzumaki for jailing him for the past century and the Uchiha for Uchiha Madara's mental manipulation.

The fox then offered me a challenge. If I passed three tests, he would cease interfering with my chakra control and cooperate with me."

"I see." Sarutobi said neutrally. Only Naruko could confront the most powerful being on the planet and argue him into giving her a chance to gain his power. "And how do you know that he will keep his word?"

"He's a Kitsune, so his word is his bond." Naruko replied, "He also said that I'm influenced by the nature of Kitsune as well."

'That does make sense.' the Hokage conceded to himself, 'The fact that Naruko is also influenced is somewhat troubling, but as it is the nature of Kitsune in general rather than the demon fox itself that is influencing her, it should be alright. Something else for Tsunade to check though.'

"After granting me access to a special Katon Jutsu that was specially designed to defeat being like the Akuryō no Moriki, I woke up to find my self with my team, whereupon he informed me of the claimed identity of the Masked Man who attacked my mother." Naruko continued, "We communicated with each other infrequently throughout the second battle with Inaba Kogorō, Yanagi Sae and the Akuryō no Moriki itself. During those battles, I drew on the Kyūbi's chakra to the extent that I was able to completely shroud myself in it, which I call the Yōkono Koromo."

"The Demon Fox's Cloak…an apt name." Sarutobi allowed.

"I thought so." Naruko smiled, "Anyway, the night after we arrived in Nami no Kuni, I sat down with the fox and thrashed out the restrictions of the three tasks."

"Ah, so you didn't simply trust him on the face of it." Anko smirked, "'Atta girl, Naru-chan."

"What was the result?" Sarutobi asked cautiously.

"First off, he can't set me an impossible task, like bench pressing the moon." Naruko replied, "Each task has to be physically within my capabilities. Next, no task can do anything that directly or indirectly harms my friends or Konoha. Finally, no task can be against my own moral code."

Sarutobi examined those conditions for a moment. Kitsune were very tricky creatures, and the Kyūbi, with nine tails, should have been able to set conditions that left plenty of scope for it to mess with Naruko, should it so desire, yet these conditions levelled the playing field. He had to wonder why the Kyūbi had allowed itself to be restricted by such harsh restrictions.

"Very well negotiated." he said aloud, "What then?"

"Once the fox discovered that we were going to fight that rat Gatō, he issued me his first challenge." Naruko said with a frown, "I had to get through the day without using any of his chakra, even the part that gives me enhanced healing. That sucked when that six-armed bastard broke my arms and legs. Fortunately, Kaa-san's mental clone accelerated my healing process as a kind of final gift."

Sarutobi smiled sadly. It must have been a bittersweet thing for her to have met a clone of her mother, only to have to part shortly afterwards.

"I take it you passed, then." he enquired.

"Barely. I reached for the fox's chakra but I was in so much pain after having my limbs broken at once that I couldn't reach it." Naruko grimaced at the memory, "Anyway, he was satisfied with what happened, but warned me not to use my chains on him or the deal was off."

"Considering your mother used them on him shortly before he was sealed into you, that doesn't surprise me." the Hokage remarked dryly, "Is that everything you have to report?"

"There is something else, actually." Naruko admitted, "My Henge is not a genjutsu, it's a solid, actual transformation."

Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Indeed?"

"Watch. Henge!"

In a puff of smoke, Naruko transformed into a katana. Anko grabbed the hilt of the katana and ran through a basic kata before placing it on the floor again.

When Naruko reappeared, it was all the old man could do to not drop his jaw in surprise. This wasn't just a shape change. Naruko had -somehow- managed to match the mass of whatever she transformed into as well, otherwise Anko wouldn't have been able to swing her transformed student around like that, not without the application of chakra to her muscles anyway.

How…ah.

"It would appear that the Kitsune bleed-over doesn't just apply to your mannerisms and morals, Naruko-chan." he spoke aloud, "According to legend, Kitsune are supposed to have the ability to transform into anything. I suspect this is what your solid Henge is."

"Huh…" Naruko said softly, "Who knew? Well, I can't keep calling a solid Henge, because that just sounds lame."

"How about Kage Henge (Shadow Transformation)?" Anko suggested.

"That sounds just as bad!" Naruko retorted with a wrinkled nose, "Not to mention generic!"

"Might I suggest a name?" Sarutobi interjected before the two lovers could get an argument brewing in his office.

"Sure Ji-chan." Naruko nodded.

"I would suggest Ninpō: Kohenkyo no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Fox Switch Deception Jutsu)." he said with a sneaky smile, "A famous female Kitsune took on the form of a beautiful woman to seduce an emperor, and neither his Samurai nor his Shinobi were able to detect anything other than a woman. That is true deception, which fits the name."

"And the switch part?" Anko asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How better to elude pursuit than to switch into a different form?" Sarutobi pointed out.

"I like it." Naruko said thoughtfully, "The civilians will hate the fox part, but…meh. Screw them."

"Very well. Now, we have to discuss how to handle the council tomorrow." the Hokage said seriously, "They won't call a meeting today, but definitely tomorrow, so we need all our ducks in a row so we can pull the rug out from underneath them."

"Pranking the council…you're speaking my language, Ji-chan." Naruko said dreamily.

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The Next Day

Council Chambers, Hokage Tower

Shimura Danzō gazed around the Council chamber with a careful eye. He had received news the previous day of the return of the Jinchūriki to Konoha, with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist -still carrying his Treasure Weapon- and the last in the line of the Yuki Clan of Mizu no Kuni in tow.

The Yuki Clan had never been a part of Kirigakure. Fiercely independent and as implacable as glacial ice, their Hyōton Kekkei Genkai had kept all those who attempted to sway them to joining Kirigakure or any other Hidden Village away when they didn't accept 'no' for an answer.

Oh, they had been loyal members of Mizu no Kuni, and paid their taxes on time, etc, etc, but they refused to join a larger group of Shinobi. It had been that isolation which had damned them when Yagura began the Bloodline Purges.

By the time Danzō had found out about the Purge and dispatched agents to 'acquire' a suitable male or female from the Clan before it became extinct, it had been too late. The Yuki Clan had been declared dead to the last man, woman and child, leaving the Shinobi of Darkness bitterly cursing lost opportunities.

Now though…now he could breed a new line of agents, all wielders of the powerful and deadly Ice Style, for the betterment of the Great Tree of Konoha…with him at its head, of course.

All he had to do was wrest her away from The Weapon and that bleeding heart Sarutobi.

The quiet conversation that filled the room trailed off as Sarutobi Hiruzen stalked through the door, obviously unhappy. He locked eyes with Danzō, knowing he was responsible for this.

'And there isn't a thing you can do about it, old monkey.' the crippled man sneered at his old teammate in his mind whilst maintaining a blank and neutral expression to the world.

"Come to order." Sarutobi said gruffly, "Now, would someone please tell me why this meeting was called…without my permission, might I add."

It was the Hokage's prerogative to call Council meetings, with one exception. Mitokado Homura leaned forwards, drawing the room's attention.

"True, Hiruzen, but the exception is when a Council member discovers something that might have significant impact on Konoha as a whole, they are permitted to call a meeting of the Council." he said gravely.

"And I take it you have discovered something of this magnitude?" his old teammate asked irritably.

"Indeed I have." Homura replied, "I received information that the last bearer of the Hyōton Kekkei Genkai, a girl, arrived in Konohagakure yesterday as a prisoner."

The civilians started whispering amongst each other at this, and even the Shinobi Clan Heads looked interested. Unsurprising really, considering the bloodline of the Yuki Clan had supposedly been wiped out a decade ago.

"I see." Sarutobi said neutrally, "And this is relevant because…why, exactly?"

A frown almost broke free of Danzō's control at this. There was absolutely no way that the old monkey didn't see the direction his patsy Homura was going with this. He knew Sarutobi better than almost any living person did and, while he despised the weakness that he showed the world rather than the strength that was needed, he knew that the Sandaime Kami no Shinobi was far from senility or stupidity.

So what's his game?

"Why, I should think it obvious, Hiruzen." Utatane Koharu said waspishly, "We should put the girl onto the Clan Restoration Act and recreate the Yuki Clan in Konoha. Not to mention remove the Kubikiribōchō from the hands of Momochi Zabuza, who was also captured and brought in yesterday. It would make a marvellous bargaining chip with the Mizukage, whether it's Yagura or whoever replaces him."

A loud smack on the table came from Tsume slamming her fist on it. "Are you seriously suggesting we subject a girl to what amounts to mass rape?!" she growled in a fury.

"It was always the intention of the CRA to be enacted in a situation such as this, Inuzuka." Homura sniffed snobbishly at the enraged Inuzuka Clan Head, "Tobirama-sensei was a far-sighted man, and knew this sort of situation would come up that we simply have to take advantage of. An elemental Kekkei Genkai would raise our prestige immensely."

Danzō ignored the rest of the room as the argument progressed, choosing instead to observe his old friend. Sarutobi was simply sitting back and watching the room descend into a shouting match, a neutral expression on his face.

To others, this would present a very good poker face, but Danzō had known the old monkey for most of his life and he could read him fairly well as a result.

The old fool was actually amused by all of this. He was like a child who had put a whoopee cushion under his friend's chair's cushion and was waiting for the friend in question to sit down.

A chill went up Danzō's spine. 'He knew this would happen. He knew and has a counter-plan to deal with it.'

Just at that moment, Sarutobi looked over at Danzō and cracked a small smile that said 'checkmate'.

"ENOUGH!" the Hokage bellowed, bringing the argument to an abrupt halt. He glared around the table for a moment, then sat back with a huff once he saw that the room was pacified.

"Good. Now that you have ceased acting like a roomful of rabid fangirls, we can actually address the issue." he said after a moment, "To answer the first question, yes, Yuki Haku and her adoptive father, Momochi Zabuza, have been brought in as prisoners. I'm afraid they were not prisoners of Konohagakure, however."

Before anyone could think to question what the Hokage meant by that, the double doors that were the only way in or out of the room swung open.

Through them stepped Naruko, although she was dressed in a way that only the oldest members recognised as being Uzumaki formal clothing from over twenty years ago. She wore a royal blue formal furisode kimono with red spirals as decorations, a black obi tied in an elaborate sash and carried her sheathed sword in one hand. Her blood red hair was done up in an elegant bun and she had some small application of makeup on her face. The hitai-ate over her forehead displayed the whirlpool symbol of Uzushiogakure.

'He isn't doing what I think he's doing…he cannot be serious…!' was repeating inside Danzō's head as he recognised exactly where this situation was headed.

"Hokage-sama." Naruko greeted Sarutobi with a formal bow.

"Ambassador Uzumaki." the Hokage nodded back.

"Hiruzen, what is the meaning of this nonsense?" blustered Homura.

"I would think my greeting of the Ambassador would make that perfectly clear, Elder Mitokado." Sarutobi replied softly, "Evidently, we need clarification for those of us who are yet to understand. Ambassador, if you would."

"Of course." Naruko said demurely. She tapped a seal on her left sleeve, which disgorged a scroll.

"This is the Uzushiogakure copy of the Treaty of Alliance with Konohagakure." she explained to the room at large as she unrolled it and looked for the section she was looking fore, "Ah! Here we go. And I quote: 'We, the Uzumaki Clan, do swear on our blood and honour that we shall come to the aid of our allies of Konohagakure upon request. We further swear that this treaty shall endure so long as at least one Uzumaki of the Main Branch lives. Signed, Uzumaki Rensa, Nidaime Uzukage.'"

The silence in the room was deafening. Even Nara Shikaku was sitting up and paying attention, which was cause for alarm in and of itself.

"So…what does that mean?" a rather stupid civilian asked.

"It means, you twit, that the treaty between Uzu and Konoha is still active because Uzumaki Naruko is still alive!" Haruno Mebuki snapped at the man impatiently.

"But...there's only one of her! She can't qualify for Clan status!" the man protested.

"There is also only one of the Uchiha Clan as well." Naruko pointed out dryly, "Are you willing to strip Uchiha Sasuke of his Clan status also?"

The man spluttered at this before falling silent under the weight of icy stares from the Shinobi side of the table.

"The important thing here is that Momochi Zabuza was a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who lead the attack on Uzushiogakure." Sarutobi continued once the idiot settled down, "As all who know of the Seven are aware, the debts accrued by one wielder are passed down to their successors."

"And that means what?" the same idiot asked. Sarutobi made a note to see if the man had brain damage.

"It means that Ikura Sekiryū, who wielded Kubikiribōchō during the attack on Uzushiogakure, and Momochi Zabuza, his chosen successor, are considered one and the same person when it comes to Blood Debts." Naruko replied stonily.

The intake of breath from the Shinobi side was audible. Debts of Blood were very serious matters to Shinobi Clans. They were only declared when a Clan, group or Hidden Village committed a serious sin against the Clan who declared the debt. Wars had been started over Blood Debts.

Inoichi cleared his throat. "Ahem…can I enquire what price you demanded from Zabuza then, Ambassador?"

"I demanded his life in service to the Uzumaki Clan." Naruko replied, "He shall serve the Clan until his death, either in battle or of old age."

"And you seriously think he'll go along with it?" scoffed Koharu, "He's a Nuke-nin!"

"I am not stupid, Elder Utatane." Naruko replied coldly, "As surety against his betrayal, I demanded his adopted daughter, Yuki Haku, as a Spoil of War. She now wears a Spoil Collar, Bracelets and Anklets."

The fury inside of Danzō threatened to overwhelm him. He had been completely outmanoeuvred by The Weapon. He had been outmanoeuvred by a twelve-year-old girl.

"We can just demand that you hand them over!" Homura growled, "You are treading a thin line here, Genin. Be careful you do not wind up on charges of insubordination!"

"No, you cannot." Sarutobi interjected, "If Zabuza and Haku served Uzumaki Naruko, Genin of Konohagakure, then you could. They actually serve the Uzumaki Clan -a Clan not of Konoha- as a whole, which puts them outside of our jurisdiction. In addition, Uzumaki Naruko occupies the position of Ambassador from Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan, which grants her and her residence diplomatic immunity, so you cannot arrest her for insubordination, Homura."

Taken aback by this, Homura slumped back into his seat. Koharu wasn't done, however.

"As I recall, any Ambassador from a Hidden has to hold Shinobi Rank in their home village to qualify." she stated coolly, "Uzumaki-san does not hold any rank in Uzushiogakure, so I am afraid you are incorrect about her status."

"Firstly, that amendment came in fifteen years ago and was never ratified by the Uzumaki Ambassador of the time, Uzumaki Kushina, so it is a moot point." Sarutobi stated, "In addition, there is a relevant section of the treaty that applies here. Ambassador?"

Naruko, who had been searching through the treaty, nodded. "Where is it…ah, here we go. And I quote: 'Article 7 {In Case of Village Destruction}, Subsection 3, Recognition of Ranks. In the event of the destruction of either Uzushiogakure or Konohagakure, any Uzumaki or Senju Clansman or Clanswoman will be recognised as holding the equivalent shinobi rank in both their destroyed village and their allied village, excepting for the rank of Kage.'"

This made the room utterly silent as several jaws dropped in stupefaction.

"Was there anything else, Hokage-sama?" Naruko asked politely, her blue eyes dancing with amusement as she resealed the treaty.

"I believe that is everything." Sarutobi replied, his own eyes showing how amused he was, "My thanks for your assistance."

"The Uzumaki Clan is glad to have been of service to our allies." Naruko replied with another bow before she turned and left the room.

As the meeting broke up, Danzō hobbled off with a dark aura of fury about him. 'This transgression will not go unpunished!' he swore to himself.

A Few Minutes Later

Hokage's Office

"That was very well done, Naruko-chan." Sarutobi complimented her.

"Hehehe…nah, that was just fun!" the redheaded bane of Danzō replied with a giggle, "The looks on their faces were reward enough!"

The Hokage chuckled in sync with his surrogate granddaughter. It had been very amusing to see Danzō, Koharu and Homura cut off at the knees like that.

Oh, Danzō hadn't said so much as a word during the meeting but the twitch of his only visible eyebrow and the glitter of fury in his sole remaining eye as the meeting turned against the old Warhawk told Hiruzen exactly who had set the Council meeting up, not that it had been hard to guess.

Out of the entirety of the council, the only ones with enough gumption to defy the Hokage in public were his former teammates, and even then, the ringleader was always Danzō.

"How are Zabuza and Haku settling in?" the Hokage enquired after a moment.

"Zabuza's impressed with the security, which is something." Naruko replied, "He did make a few suggestions on how make some of the traps more deadly, which I'll implement at some point. Haku-nee is settling in well, but she's insisting that I start treating her as a Spoil."

"You do have to treat her like a Spoil in public." Sarutobi pointed out.

"Yeah, but she wants me to do it all the time!" Naruko replied, slightly bewildered by this odd request, "What should I do here, Ji-chan?"

Sarutobi paused for a moment and thought over what he had been told about Yuki Haku before answering. "Naruko…you and she have a remarkably similar past, although hers was more traumatic in that she had been happy before despair overcame her. She devoted herself to Zabuza as a way to overcome that despair and abandoned the idea of being anything more than a tool. Now…she seems to have extended that same devotion to you."

A haunted look played over Naruko's face for a moment. Sarutobi knew that there were things she had gone through that even he didn't know about and he cursed himself for what had to be the millionth time for being such a useless Kage and a useless grandfather figure.

"I would suggest that you…oblige her requests, to a point." Sarutobi continued, "She knows you don't see her as a tool, so being slightly hesitant about the whole business will be expected. Ask her about boundaries and establish a point which you will both agree suit's the pair of you."

"It's just…weird." Naruko said with a frown.

"Rarely are there ever relationships in this world which do not have some degree of weirdness in them." Sarutobi chuckled, "Look at Kakashi and Gai. They have been acquaintances, rivals and friends for years and from the outside, it appears that all it that happens is Gai annoying Kakashi. Weird, is it not?"

That was not something Naruko could argue with. Hell, Maito Gai on his own counted as 'weird', so him and Mr I-read-porn-in-broad-daylight-and-don't-give-a-damn-about-it together definitely count as weird.

"That reminds me, I have what you asked for." Sarutobi stood and walked towards the safe.

"The Crow Contract?" Naruko asked sharply.

"Yes. It was in your mother's old apartment." Sarutobi replied, "She kept it there in a hidden safe, just in case. A surprisingly cautious move coming from Kushina."

He performed the sequence to open the safe and pulled out the black scroll of the Crow Contract. Hesitating for a moment, he then drew out an additional scroll before closing the door once more.

"This is the Family Summoning Scroll of the Uzumaki Clan, the Crow Contract." Sarutobi said as he passed the larger scroll to Naruko, who cradled it almost lovingly in her arms.

Sitting behind his desk again, Sarutobi coughed to draw Naruko's attention. "This, on the other hand, is research your mother conducted while carrying you…research on a way to break powerful Juinjutsu such as the Ten no Juin."

Naruko gasped. "Seriously?"

"She did help create the Fūja Hōinthat Anko currently bears." Sarutobi pointed out, "Although it must be said that it was only ever intended as a short term stopgap measure, so there is no telling how long it will hold. My student, Jiraya, wishes to study Kushina's research in hopes of completing her work and has asked me to ask your permission to have her notes."

Naruko looked torn, which Sarutobi understood completely. This was her mother's last work that they were talking about. She may have her Clan's history and a few journals from her mother, but this was something that had been created while Naruko had been in her mother's womb.

At the same time, Naruko wanted to help Anko. The Ten no Juin had made her life hell for over twelve years. It 'capped' her chakra, preventing her from gaining any degree of strength beyond a predetermined limit, drove her half mad with pain and visions and now it was revealed it prevented her from attacking Orochimaru because she refused to use it.

"The seals Kaa-san likely used will be Uzumaki seals requiring someone of Uzumaki blood to execute the technique." Naruko said at last, "He will be unable to test the seals without someone of Uzumaki blood to do so, and cousin Tsunade is only a quarter Uzumaki, so she is out."

"Why?" Sarutobi asked with a frown.

"I don't know." Naruko admitted, "I haven't read that far in my family's scrolls yet; I just know that the more powerful seals are…debilitating at the very least to someone who isn't at least half-Uzumaki."

"Noted." Sarutobi said, "And your answer to his request?"

Naruko sighed. "I agree on the condition he comes to me once he has reached the point where an Uzumaki is required, which it will, and that once the project is finished, my mother's research will be returned to the Uzumaki Clan to be stored in the Archive."

"That sounds like a fair pair of conditions." the Hokage nodded, "I'll let Jiraya-kun know and give him the scroll should he agree."

"By the way Ji-chan, have you ever heard of a group calling themselves the 'Clans of Darkness'?" Naruko asked with a frown.

"No, I can't say that I have." Sarutobi replied with a frown, "I take it that this has to do with that Wandering Ninja that you encountered in Nami?"

"Yeah. Whoever these Clans of Darkness are, they have some serious skill with Fūinjutsu and they really hate the Uzumaki Clan." Naruko replied, "I think he was after the Hakugin no Yari."

"Why would anyone go after it though." Sarutobi frowned. Naruko had told him of the Treasure Weapon the previous day and he had swiftly arranged for a large vault to be built in the Uzumaki Compound ASAP. "Only an Uzumaki can even touch it, let alone wield it."

"I don't know, but there is a reason it was so heavily guarded in Uzushiogakure, so I'll be adding several very powerful trap seals to the vault." the Uzumaki Heiress replied firmly, "That spear is far too dangerous to allow someone to get their hands on if the defensive mechanism on it is anything to go by."

This was common logic in the shinobi world. The more deadly and dangerous the defences on something were, the more powerful the item was.

"I can see your point." Sarutobi admitted, "I'll have a word with Jiraya-kun and have him put out feelers via his network to see if these people have been active anywhere."

After Naruko left, Sarutobi sighed tiredly. It was all getting a bit much for him. He was supposed to be retired for Kami's sake! Not forced to take up a job meant for someone young and vigorous when his body creaks and complains if he was too active for too long!

Tsunade was the only choice for his successor. Jiraya didn't want the job and would be hung on the second day for lecherous behaviour towards women anyway. Out of the rest of the elite shinobi of Konoha, the best candidate was Kakashi, but the man would drive everyone spare with his perpetual lateness and indolent perversity.

No, it had to be Tsunade. She would be able to take the reins as the Godaime Hokage for a few years, fifteen at the most, so Naruko could replace her as the Rokudaime Hokage once she had a bit of experience under her belt.

He had no doubt that Naruko would eventually become Hokage. She was too much her parent's daughter not to. The only fly in the ointment was convincing Tsunade to take up the hat. Her fear of blood and her contempt for Konoha had been caused by the same two things.

The death of her beloved younger brother, Nawaki, and the death of her lover, Katō Dan. Those two events had broken her Will of Fire and her spirit along with it. It wouldn't be easy to convince her, but Sarutobi was determined to do it.

Anything to get away from the paperwork, damn it!

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Next Chapter: Sarutobi Konohamaru!

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