Tsume was down on all fours with her nose pressed to the ground. Jiraiya and the others were standing nearby along with a squad of Hunter nin. Nodding to herself she got up. "There's no doubt about it," she announced grimly. "The scent belongs to Orochimaru and four others. They met Naruto and Hinata and then departed together heading north."

"Damn it," Jiraiya muttered. "Though after what happened during the exams I suppose I should have expected something like this. He was never one to ever let go of anything he wanted."

Shikaku let out a deep sigh. "This is going to be even more troublesome isn't it?"

Chouza grunted and nodded his head.

"This changes nothing," Hiashi said announced imperiously. "Even if a Sannin is involved we have one as well, to say nothing of a small army. Naruto will be eliminated and my daughter rescued."

"Well it's not like we can turn back," Jiraiya agreed. "But this is going to be a hell of a lot more difficult now."

"Regardless of the difficulty there can be no doubt we will succeed!" Hiashi insisted.

Jiraiya didn't disagree with him though he thought Hiashi was seriously underestimating how much harder things would be. Still… even Orochimaru could only do so much and they had 200 of Konoha's finest with them. How could they face an entire ninja army?

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto picked up a lot of scents coming down wind. Even so he was caught off guard when their group halted. All at once masked ninja swarmed out of the nearby woods surrounding them. Still holding Hinata in his arms he felt her squeeze him as she looked around nervously.

He grinned at her reassuringly. "There's nothing to be worried about Hinata-chan." I hope.

The hundreds of ninja fell to one knee. "Lord Orochimaru! What are your orders?"

"Ku, ku, ku I expect we'll have visitors here tomorrow. We'll have to make them welcome. In the meantime see to the needs of my guests."

"What are all these foreign ninja doing in the middle of Fire country?" Naruto asked.

"They are the army of Sound and they belong to me," Orochimaru said proudly. "I had brought more than a thousand of them to launch a surprise attack in Konoha."

"What?" Hinata cried horrified. "You were going to attack the village?!"

Orochimaru looked at her curiously. "Does that bother you?"

Hinata looked back into his snake like eyes feeling dread.

Naruto put her down and stepped protectively in front of her. "We don't give a damn about the village. I'm sorry you didn't. What happened? You get cold feet at the last second?"

"Hardly," Orochimaru replied with a grin. "I decided to call off the attack for your sake Naruto-kun. I didn't want to risk your death before I could recruit you to join me." I also decided the risk was too great after seeing you butcher Gaara.

Naruto looked at him suspiciously. He was certain there was more to it than just that. "Gee thanks."

Orochimaru chuckled lightly; he was not used to such blatant sarcasm from his servants. Bringing him over to his way if thinking would certainly be an interesting challenge. In the meantime he would need to handle him with care. "I am sure the two of you are quite hungry and tired. We will have to leave again in a matter of hours so I suggest you eat and get as much rest as you can." He walked away followed closely by his bodyguards.

One of the nameless horde of sound ninja approached him. "We'll have food and a couple tents prepared."

"We only need one tent and one sleeping bag," Naruto told him.

"Eek!"

He turned around and saw Hinata blushing and pressing her fingers together furiously. "Something wrong Hinata-chan?"

"Na… Naruto-kun, you… you're no… not say… saying we should… sleep together, are you?"

Frowning at her he nodded. "Well sure. Didn't I say we'd be together from now on?"

Her blush got even redder. "Bu… but we're… we're only twelve!"

He took bother her hands before she sprained her fingers. "I'm not saying we're going to do that yet. I just want to be able to fall asleep next to you and be close to you that's all."

He really does want to share a sleeping bag with me! The thought excited and terrified her. "Bu… but we can't! What will people say?"

"What people?" Naruto asked. "Orochimaru? His bodyguards? Them?" he waved an arm at the mass of ninja still surrounding them. "Or are you afraid your dad will find out some how?"

She dropped her head.

Bingo, he thought. "Fuck your dad."

Her head snapped up with a gasp. "Naruto!"

"Fuck your dad!" He repeated. "You don't belong to Konoha or to your clan anymore Hinata-chan, you belong to me."

And as if to prove his point he grabbed her about the waist and pulled her close. Before she could make a sound or think of anything she was being kissed. In front of hundreds of strangers right out in the open he was kissing her.

Her mind blanked out as she realized what was happening. His kiss was a little rough, but it was passionate! It was nothing like the gentle little pecks she had fantasized about. And none of her fantasies had ever involved them being so, so shameless as to do this right out in front of a crowd. Even if this wasn't the way she'd imagined her heart was racing and her knees were about ready to give. She was only just able to keep from fainting.

When he ended the kiss he spoke to her in a heated whisper. "You're my girl now Hinata-chan and I don't care who knows it or what they think!"

It felt like he was taking possession of her.

She liked the feeling. She wanted to be only his. "O… okay Naruto-kun."

XXXXXXXXXX

It was late morning the next day when Tsume delivered more bad news.

"An army?" Jiraiya muttered. "I guess we were right to be worried about an invasion after all." He looked at the Inuzuka clan head. "How big? Since it looks like you swallowed a kunai I'm guessing it's not small."

"It's big," she said in an undertone. There were other Inuzuka among the Hunter nins so there would be no keeping this quiet. "There's no way to tell exactly, but I would guess at least three, maybe four or five times as big as us."

"That's impossible!" Hiashi snapped. "There's no way such a force could have gotten this deep into Fire country without our knowing."

Tsume sent him a pained expression. "Impossible or not they did."

"So what do we do about it?" Shikaku asked in an easy going tone.

"What do you mean?" Hiashi demanded. "This changes nothing! We press on obviously! An army that size won't be able to move faster than a smaller elite force. We will certainly catch them up before they can cross the border."

"Then what?" Shikaku asked. "We have an elite force, sure, but if we attack one that's expecting it and bigger… it'll be a lot more than just troublesome."

"It'll be a blood bath," Tsume said with a snarl. It was hard to tell if she thought that a good or bad thing.

"We could summon reinforcements from Konoha," Chouza suggested.

"By the time they could reach us Naruto and my daughter will be long gone," Hiashi argued. "With Orochimaru hiding them we may never find them again! We must catch them now."

"No matter what it costs?" Shikaku asked quietly.

Hiashi nodded.

"The Hokage's orders were clear," Jiraiya spoke. "Naruto's got to die, no matter what. And I know how good that snake is at hiding." He looked carefully at the four of them. "We'll split off from the rest of the force and let them attack the army. While their doing that we'll go on a fox hunt."

XXXXXXXXXX

There was no element of surprise for either side as the battle began. The pursuers and the pursued both knew they would have to fight and there was no hope of ambush. So the Konoha ninja attacked a Sound force that was five times their size, but nowhere near their equal in ability of training. As the second battle of the Valley of the End began five ninja skirted the edge of the fighting and raced for the waterfall that marked the valley's beginning.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ukon wiped his dirty hands; all the members of the sound four did the same. Tayuya was loudly cursing as she washed hers in the fast flowing river.

"They have all been placed Orochimaru-sama," he stated.

"Marvelous," he murmured. "You may withdraw now and take little Hinata as well."

"She stays with me," Naruto growled.

"Do you really want to put her in that sort of danger?" Orochimaru asked amused. "Jiraiya will certainly come here, he may decide to kill her right off the bat. Allow her to go; she will be quite safe I assure you."

He looked at her. He looked off to the valley a few miles away where dust and smoke were rising from the pitched battle. Looking unhappy he ultimately nodded. "If anything happens to her…"

"We'll take good care of her," Ukon promised with a laugh.

"Naruto-kun I don't want to go!" Hinata pleaded.

"It's all right Hinata-chan," he told her tenderly. "I'll definitely be fine and come see you as soon as I can."

There were a few more words of argument, but there was never a real doubt that she would do whatever he said. Orochimaru watched as they embraced before parting.

"Isn't love a marvelous thing?" He asked as soon as they were gone.

Naruto looked at him dangerously. "Don't ever hurt her or I swear you'll regret it."

"I wouldn't dream of hurting dear little Hinata-chan," he promised. She will be ever so much more useful to me as a tool for controlling you. "Now then let me show you a very special jutsu."

With a kunai he sliced open his palm and performed a summoning. Out of the ground a wooden casket arose.

On its sides was written, 'The Honored Yondaime Hokage.'

"No way," Naruto gasped.

As he watched the coffins lid slid open and a figure stepped out of it. He was dressed in a trench coat and a Jonin vest. The face was one he had never seen in person but was still recognized at once. He'd seen plenty of pictures, and the profile had been cut in stone above him for as long as he could remember. The man simply stood there looking out at the two huge statues and the valley below.

"The Valley of the End," he murmured. "Why am I here?"

"Hello again Minato-kun," Orochimaru greeted cheerfully. "It's been a long time."

The Yondaime turned to stare at Orochimaru. "You… you brought me here? Why?" He demanded.

"To have you fight for me of course," he answered. "Why else?"

The Yondaime shook his head. "Only you would try to perform this jutsu. You must know I would never serve you, alive or dead."

"You don't have a choice I fear; so long as you are here you belong to me."

"You really are the Yondaime," Naruto said softly. Despite his own personal grudges he couldn't keep a little awe from his voice. For a long time the Yondaime had been his hero and his role model.

Minato looked at him, noticing him for the first time. His eyes widened. "Naruto?"

"Huh? How would you know me?" Then comprehension struck. "Oh, yeah, we have met haven't we? Yeah, I'm Naruto, the poor unlucky bastard whose life you ruined."

"Ruined?" He sounded pained. "Don't the people of Konoha treat you as a hero?"

Naruto laughed. "A hero?! Are you serious? They treat me like I'm a demon, like I'm the scum of the earth. I'm twelve and until I was able to access the Kyuubi's power I spent my life alone and abused."

"Alone? Abused? But what about Jiraiya? Your godfather? Hasn't he been taking care of you?"

"Jiraiya my godfather?" Naruto stared at him as though he were crazy. "What are you talking about? I only met the guy a few weeks ago, and that was just so he could check on my seal. Now he's on his way to try and kill me."

"Kill you?" Minato whispered in horror. "That's not possible! He would never kill you."

"Oh, but he would," Orochimaru assured and approached him. "You see after a lifetime of abuse at the village's hands Naruto has abandoned Konoha and decided to join me. To prevent losing the Kyuubi's power dear old Sarutobi-sensei has sent Jiraiya out with a small army to exterminate him."

Minato looked stunned and sick. "It can't be."

"It is," Orochimaru said. "When Jiraiya arrives you can ask him yourself." He slid a kunai with a special seal into the back of the Yondaime's head. "There, now the seal is complete." What a shame I can only use it once. Oh well I still have the first and the second saved for another day.

Minato stared at Naruto. "I'm sorry; this was not what I wanted for you."

Naruto grinned back at him coldly. "Well what the hell did you expect to happen to me when you put the fox in my belly?"

"I wanted them to acknowledge you as a hero; I wanted my sensei, Jiraiya to care for you… my son."

"Son?" Naruto blinked.

"I am your father," Minato said and held out his arms.

"My father?"

Minato nodded with his arms still held out to him. "Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina, she was my beloved wife. She died shortly after you were born. For the good of the village I was forced to use you to complete the reaper death seal and save Konoha. But it was always my hope that you would have a good and happy life."

Naruto could only stare as the words sank in. He was the son of the Yondaime Hokage, one of the most beloved heroes in Konoha's history. All the time he'd been treated like dirt he'd actually been a hero's son, a Hokage's son. But that wasn't what hurt him most.

For the good of the village

Those were the very same words Shizuku's mother had used to justify sacrificing her.

"You… you put the Kyuubi into your own son?" he looked at the man as though he were the lowest form of life possible. "What kind of father would do that?! All my life I just figured I was unlucky, that I had a hard life, that I was alone all the time, that I couldn't make friends. I just always figured it was bad luck. Then when I found out the real reason for my suffering I just figured it was luck again. I mean you needed a baby and I was born that night, so it was just my bad timing. But now I find out that I was your own son and you sacrificed me on purpose! You chose to do this to me! A father's supposed to protect his children! You should have protected me! Instead you condemned me! What the hell sort of father are you?"

"I had no choice; it was to save the village."

"Were there any other children you could have used?" Naruto demanded. "Were there any other babies?"

"There were," Minato admitted and lowered his arms. "But as Hokage I felt it was my duty to sacrifice myself, and as my heir I felt it was yours to be the Kyuubi's container. I had faith you would do great things one day."

"That's great," Naruto said bitterly. "Do you expect me to thank you?! You knew I'd be an orphan, that no one would take care of me. Why didn't you let some other lucky baby, one with parents maybe, make the noble sacrifice? You could have done that! Then I'd still have been alone but at least I would have gotten to have some kind of life. You chose to make me suffer you bastard!"

"Son…"

"I'm not your son!" He screamed. "Go back to whatever hell you were roasting in!"

Orochimaru saw movement approaching. "Touching as this family reunion is, we will have to cut it short I'm afraid."

Despite desperately wanting to say more Minato was compelled to look away and look at the approaching ninja.

The squad led by Jiraiya halted before them. They of course all noticed the appearance of the Yondaime, but having not witnessed eh summoning assumed it to be some sort of cheap illusion.

"Is this what you're reduced to you bastard?' Jiraiya demanded. "Do you really think I'll take it easy on you just because you whistle up the image of my student?"

"Jiraiya-sensei," Minato spoke. "Is it true you abandoned my son? Is it true you're here to kill him?"

Despite believing it to be a genjutsu Jiraiya still found the words discomforting. "It's a good illusion I'll give you that much. I had more important work to do than raise a kid, and yes I'm here to kill him. I'm sorry about having to do that but after what he pulled there really is no choice now."

"How could you break my trust sensei?" Minato asked heartbroken. "You were his godfather."

Gasping he sent a startled look at Orochimaru. "How did you know that? Only Minato, Kushina, and the old man and I knew!"

"I didn't," Orochimaru said smugly. He glanced at Minato. "Show them your power Yellow Flash of Konoha."

At his feet Jiraiya noted a half buried kunai.

There was a formula carved into it and it had three blades.

"Crap! Run!" Jiraiya had just enough time to perform a shun shin and disappear. The others were still convinced this was only an illusion and hesitated before fleeing.

"Hirashin no Jutsu." There was a momentary flash of yellow light.

In the very next instant Minato was standing amid the four Konoha clan heads. Each of them had their throats cut and blood spraying. It took a moment for them to realize that they'd just been killed.

Laughing Orochimaru saw them each stumble and then topple over.

"I doubt Jiraiya will have the courage to come back knowing what he would be up against," Orochimaru said. He nodded to the distant battle on the other end of the valley. "Why don't you go and enjoy yourself Naruto-kun? Show all of them the power they threw away."

"Yeah!" He said savagely and let the Kyuubi's power fill him to overflowing. As five tails formed he looked at the Yondaime. "I will do great things! I'll be Hokage one day! But I won't do it your way! I'll make them fear me, that's how the Kyuubi will rule over them."

He gave Minato no chance to reply even if Orochimaru would have permitted it. He launched himself over the water fall and sped towards the battle.

Powerless to do anything else Minato could only shed a tear.