Jeez, what a long wait! But I finally got back to the grindstone with college, so I haven't had much free time, and what time I have snagged was immediately occupied.

Your responses to the reader poll were very helpful; I was able to make my decision:

Haku is… neuter!

JK.

Oh, and the manga? Freakin' unbelievable. Looks like anyone who guessed Naruto was the Yondaime's son was right, but I'm still wondering where that "Arashi" bullshit came from. Oh well, it's probably from the Kakashi-gets-sharingan arc.

Oh, and one more thing: is it just me, or does "Tobi" sound too much like Obito? And why is "Tobi's" sharingan in the exact place where Obito's got crushed? Uchiha Madara is dead, but everyone and their grandma seems to think that Tobi is actually Uchiha Madara, despite the anagram similarity between Tobi and Obito.

Alright, as of the release of Manga episode 370, here follows my reasoning behind "Tobi is Obito":

Name similarity.

Lack of a left eye.

His body was never recovered after the rocks fell on him and covered him up. Further more, was the point of the Kakashi arc to simply point out the origin of Kakashi's sharingan? Isn't it more likely that that arc was setting up even more?

Finally, the latest manga chapter states that the first hokage defeated Uchiha Madara at the battle at the Valley of the End. Now, I know that sure, maybe he survived, but please. Consider the possibility: Obito is the direct inheritor of the genes of Uchiha Madara.

It brooks possibility, and I'm sticking to my claim, for my story AND for the manga.

Okay, I'm done!

Chapter 25 – Loss

Naruto led Haku back to their base camp in the woods in a daze, still not believing the images his Shirugan was sending him. The young ninja in front of him was indeed Haku, but the shinobi who once followed the rogue ninja Zabuza zealously was showing off an enourmous chakra signature.

"Haku, I have two questions that need answering immediately," Naruto said urgently as he passed Sakura to Sasuke, who, for some reason Naruto wasn't quite ready to decipher, blushed mildly and began to try to revitalize their pink-haired comrade.

"Sure Naruto-kun. Anything for you," Haku said seriously. Naruto nodded.

"Are you really a dude?" Naruto asked bluntly, and Haku laughed. Now that I think about it, he did get… manlier. Naruto thought.

"Of course. I know I was kind of… feminine when we first met, but I cut my hair and got rid of those kimonos. The truth is, that was the only non-shinobi outfit Zabuza and I could find in the area," Haku said sheepishly. "I didn't want to cut my hair for fear of anyone misinterpreting my, ah… preferences."

Naruto nodded, smiling in a very strained manner. "And my other question: what the hell is giving you that enormous chakra signature?"

Haku looked down. "When that white-haired jounin that was with you on the bridge hit me with that lightning, I immediately lost consciousness. I thought for sure I was dead. Then, something very strange happened. I began to wake up which, given my condition, shouldn't have been possible. I was only awake for a few seconds, but I remember seeing something."

Naruto nodded. "What did you see?"

"A large black form. I could only see half of the person, but I remember seeing one thing in particular: a red eye," Haku recalled.

"Did it have lines in the iris?" Naruto asked, shocked. Haku nodded, albeit hesitantly.

"Yeah, I think so. After that, I woke up for good. I realized immediately that whoever that black figure was, he sealed something inside of me. To put it bluntly, I am the jinchuuriki of the 6-tailed Osprey, and my ability is incredible speed." Haku said lightly, though his eyes conveyed the weight of his burden. "For this reason I distanced myself from the village and lived as well as I could using my skills as a shinobi; I also trained on the rogue ninja that were once in Gato's pay who, every now and then, would wander near the village to try their hand at a quick, illegal buck."

Naruto nodded. "The man who sealed the demon inside of you was the leader of Akatsuki, whose name we're not sure of yet. Though why he would do that, I have no idea; this happened years ago, before any members of Akatsuki were killed…." Naruto trailed off thoughtfully.

"Their leader is why were here," Sasuke said, who got up to stand next to Naruto. "We are facing a force of ninja who are just like you and Naruto. We have already garnered the support of one other jinchuuriki, but we need your help and the help of another to fight them. Will you come to Konoha and fight with us?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked at Sasuke with something akin to approval and pride.

Haku nodded. "Of course. I have nowhere else to go, and I might as well stick with people I know, even though we all tried to kill each other at one point. No hard feelings though, right!" Haku said, laughing.

Naruto laughed with him, while Sasuke allowed himself a small grin.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura asked groggily as she sat up.

"Haku the jinchuuriki is on our side now," Sasuke tossed over his shoulder as he turned to face Sakura, placing an arm around Haku's shoulder. "Oh, and he really is a guy."

"Hey. You must be Sakura; I never really got a chance to meet you, since I was too busy thrashing Sasuke," Haku said seriously.

"Don't even start that," Sasuke said sullenly as Sakura burst into laughter. Naruto laughed, seeing how Haku and Sasuke acted as though they knew each other for years.

Stranger things have happened, he thought happily as he undid the seals in the forest, unaware of the red eye that watched over them.

"So this is Konoha!" Haku said excitedly as they entered the city's gate facing Waterfall Country.

"Yeah, it's alright," replied Sasuke, earning a well-aimed punch from Naruto that had the Uchiha prodigy rubbing his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's go to Tsunade-baa-chan's office; I want to go to find the other… demon-carrier as soon as possible," Naruto said determinedly.

And so Team 7 with the addition of Hinata and Haku sped towards the Hokage mansion.

"Hey, we haven't really been introduced yet, since we were traveling so hard the past couple days. I'm Haku," Haku said in Hinata's general direction.

Hinata giggled. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I'm also Naruto-kun's girlfriend!" she said happily, causing Naruto to blush.

Haku snapped his fingers in mock anger. "Crap! I thought that when I saw you two kiss that it wasn't what I thought, but now I know I have no chance!" he said, smiling at Hinata, who laughed.

When they finally arrived at the Hokage's mansion, Naruto wasted no time and sprinted up the steps, ran inside to Tsunade's office, and slammed open the door.

Before his Shirugan was the most pathetic sight he had ever seen. Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was sitting in front of a desk that was bereft of paperwork. All that was on the desk was Tsunade's head, out of which emerged the sound of a broken woman sobbing at the horror of life and its inevitable culmination in death.

Naruto walked slowly into the room, possible situations running through his head. The council revoked their decision, and I can't be Hokage. Or maybe…

"Naruto-kun, is that you?" Tsunade said softly and clearly, causing Naruto to jump.

"Yes," he said cautiously. "and Hinata-chan, Sasuke, and Sakura-chan are here too, along with Haku. Tsunade, what's happened?"

Tsunade picked her head up off the desk and looked from Sasuke to Sakura, then back to Naruto. "Konoha is so lucky that the Legendary Sannin, even Orochimaru, passed their knowledge on before… before…"

And Naruto's heart and breathing stopped when he saw the piece of paper that Tsunade's head was covering. It was in a code that every ninja in Konoha knew:

"This is Kakashi. I rendezvoused with Jiraiya-sama a few days ago, and we commenced to investigate the situation in the Village of Rock in an effort to discern the location of the last jinchuuriki. Jiraiya's information on a viable entrance into the Village was a trap though, and we were attacked by two members of Akatsuki, one woman and one man. The woman had what appeared to be a rose tied into long black hair, while the man was… colored black and white with orange-ish eyes and a flytrap-like thing surrounding his body. Their jutsu and chakra were incredible.

Godaime-sama, though we both did everything within our power to escape with our lives… Jiraiya-sama was killed fighting the two Akatsuki in an effort to allow my escape. Before he died he gave me a scroll sealed with the blood of the Uzumaki clan, saying it should be presented to Naruto when it reached you.

Tsunade, I'm so sorry. I will return to Konoha immediately after-"

Naruto stopped reading, unable to continue. Hundreds of images began to flash through his head, memories pouring into his conscious mind like a torrent of water released from a dam. Memories of Jiraiya peeking into a bathhouse only to realize it was an all-male hut, Jiraiya teaching him how to dispel genjutsu, Jiraiya showing him all the capabilities of the rasengan… Jiraiya's dead body on the ground, covered in his own blood and matting his ridiculously white hair, surrounded by his black-cloaked killers…

It was too much. Naruto threw back his head and howled at the ceiling in rage, causing Sasuke and Sakura to leap back in shock while Hinata attempted to approach her boyfriend.

But when she got too close, Naruto spun around with such a look of grief and sadness on his face that she found herself unable to move. "Naruto-kun," she whispered.

Naruto turned back to Tsunade, who had resumed crying on the desk. He slowly walked to the desk, and with a measured kick, sent it flying into the wall, causing Tsunade to buck up suddenly and stand up.

Her honey-brown eyes stared straight ahead into Naruto's chest, which became larger and larger until Tsunade realized that the young man whom she had come to see as her own son had enveloped her in a hug and was crying gently onto her shoulder, yet at the same time trying to comfort her. She began to sob even harder into Naruto's chest, unable to speak.

Sasuke, Sakura, Haku, and Hinata looked on, though instead of feeling awkward they felt confusion. Sasuke spotted the paper lying on the floor and picked it up, holding it so that they could all see it. As they read it, they realized the seriousness of what had happened and bowed their heads in sadness, speechless.

After all, what do you say when one of the constants in your life disappears forever?

Kakashi arrived on the scene later in the day. As he stepped into the Hokage's office, he had to struggle with all his might to not cry at the scene before him. Naruto lay against one wall, Tsunade cradled in his arms. Hinata was by his side, wiping at his tear-stained face with a cloth, and Sasuke and Sakura stared at the letter Kakashi had sent ahead of him, as if it would suddenly change its words and refute what they had read.

Kakashi bowed and let out a small ahem. Tsunade immediately leapt to her feet and stood facing Kakashi. Naruto too stood up groggily and accepted the embrace of Hinata.

"Tsunade, I'm so-" Kakashi began, but Tsunade cut him off.

"Don't even think of saying you're sorry," she snapped. "I've known this day was coming for a long time. I'm not sure what makes me angrier: that Rock has now taken three people who were important to me, or that Jiraiya didn't send me a scroll too."

Not even Naruto laughed at the unintended jibe/joke, though Kakashi did clear his throat again.

"Um, Naruto… here is the scroll, by the way. A blood release is required," the white-haired jounin offered helplessly. Naruto nodded wordlessly and pocketed the scroll in his weapons pouch.

"Tsunade-baa-chan, I want to leave for the Village of Rock immediately." Naruto stated tiredly. "My original mission still stands, and I need to convince whoever is there to help us, be they… jinchuuriki or not. The death of… the death of Jiraiya will not go unnoticed by anyone, seeing as how through his travels almost everyone knows of him."

Tsunade nodded and sniffed. "Please don't destroy the Village of Rock if you can help it, Naruto. It was Akatsuki, remember."

"And you don't want to go for vengeance, trust me on that one," Sasuke remarked.

Naruto did chuckle at that.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered. Naruto turned to his girlfriend and gave her a hug.

"I'll be okay, Hinata-chan. I mean, I'm not now and won't be for awhile, but even Jiraiya joked about this every now and then. We are ninja, and he would come back from the dead and kill me if I spent too long moping around."

Tsunade nodded, then smiled sadly. "Naruto, why are you still in Konoha?"

"Osu," he replied, and signaled to his team to follow. Wordlessly, Sakura, Sasuke, and Hinata made to follow Naruto out, but Tsunade stopped them.

"Wait," she said in the type of tone that is obeyed without question. The three of them plus Naruto pulled an about-face.

"Only Naruto will go," she commanded.

The room exploded.

Literally. The windows in Tsunade's office blew outwards, only to be blown back into the room by the wind. Shards of glass flew about like a hailstorm of death, causing the shinobi to cover their faces while their bodies received numerous lacerations. When the dust settled, Tsunade was being stared down by four very angry ninja. She glared at them all.

"I will not tolerate insubordination at a time like this," she warned. "You all better have well-thought out reasons as to why Naruto shouldn't go alone."

Kakashi, who's chakra-flare had caused the explosion, slumped. "Godaime-sama is right; Naruto has to go alone."

"But I thought he was going to a country where he had many enemies! Why the hell is he going without backup?" Sakura demanded loudly. Yeah, what the #$! Inner-Sakura demanded expletively.

"Because I'm not going to try and conquer the place. It will be strictly an espionage mission, and if I am discovered, no one can match me for speed with the Hiraishin no jutsu," Naruto explained. Sakura slumped.

Sasuke approached Naruto and pointed a finger in his face.

"You know what will happen if you don't come back," Sasuke said as a challenge. Naruto raised one eyebrow. "And just what will happen, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke gave a rare grin. "Sakura or I will have to become Hokage before you," he said triumphantly. Naruto blanched.

"Dammit," he swore. "That was good." As he said so, he was spun around and slugged in the stomach, then pulled into a bone-crunching hug.

"Oh, YEAH? You think THAT'S bad? Do you have ANY IDEA what I'LL do to you if you don't come back?" Hinata yelled vehemently as the rest of the friends gathered backed against the wall.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Gomen, Hinata-chan. But you don't have to worry; I'm definitely coming back."

"What should I do?" Haku chimed in, causing the rest of the room to jump.

"Hmmmm… Haku-san, I almost forgot you were there," Tsunade said thoughtfully.

"Haku! It's good to see you… um, well…" Kakashi stammered. Haku laughed.

"Don't worry about it," Haku said, staring into Kakashi's one visible eye. And that was that.

"Haku, go with Naruto. You're absolutely unknown in that area, and will probably be helpful in convincing the remaining demon-carrier to help us," Tsunade said finally. "And that's final! Now get out of my office before I throw you out of Konoha from this building! Kakashi, help me fix the desk. You three, escort Naruto to the gates, and then return to my office immediately." Tsunade took a breath. "And for Kami-sama's sake, brat, come back."

Naruto grinned. "You can count on it."

As Naruto, Haku, and the others left, Tsunade and Kakashi got the office situated.

"Tell me," Tsuande said suddenly after a long silent spell of work.

Kakashi was silent for a moment, knowing what she was asking. "Are you sure?" he said quietly. When he saw her nod, he began.

Naruto turned to his friends as he prepared to leave Konoha yet again. "I will come back in one piece, you guys. And that's a promise!" he said exultantly.

Hinata moved forward, and was surprised when Naruto wrapped her up in a hug and kissed her fiercely. "There's no way I could stay away," he whispered to her.

Even when Naruto was gone from sight from the gate, she was still blushing.

Well, even I'm not sure what to think about this chapter, though I hope you all will tell me!

Thanks for reading! REVIEW!

Probably won't be awhile until the next chapter, so until then, ja!