"Sasuke, is there something I can help you with?" Shizune asked calmly.
"I need to speak with the hokage immediately." Sasuke said. "Now I'm only going to ask you to step aside once."
"Sasuke, what are you talking about?" Shizune asked. "What's going on?"
"So the traitorous Uchiha returns, if Tsunade were smart she would have you locked up and your Sharingan sealed away." said a man with bandages over his eye and arm.
"Shizune, what's going on?" Tsunade asked opening the door to her office. "Danzo, what business do you have with me this time?"
"His business can wait, you're going to explain everything that led to the Uchiha massacre. I know it was a mission from the village to Itachi." Sasuke said revealing his Mangekyõ Sharingan. "I intend to find out exactly why the elders made that decision."
"The Uchiha clan were a danger to the village, and they were dealt with like any other threat would have been." Danzo said calmly. "By wiping it out at the source."
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"Kabuto, the time has come to destroy the leaf village." Orochimaru said calmly. "Thanks to Naruto's training I possess the fourth hokage's jutsu, along with every technique that he has developed, however limited in number they may be."
"Of course, I'll prepare our forces for the invasion to be ready to head out on your command lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said calmly. "Though we do owe them some thanks for eliminating so many of the akatsuki for us."
"You make a valid point, however there's something to be said about handling things personally, and that includes the elimination of the akatsuki." Orochimaru said calmly.
"Of course." Kabuto said calmly walking out of the room.
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"Naruto boy, do you think you're starting to get a sense for the world around you?" Fukasaku asked calmly.
"I think so, but how is this going to help me beat the leader of the akatsuki?" Naruto asked.
"Like I told you, this training is to master sage jutsu. No matter how strong a ninja might appear, they're limited to only their own physical and mental strength. ninjutsu draws on this power. Conversely sage jutsu adds natural energy to the mix, adding another level of strength to your techniques." Fukasaku explained. "Do you understand what I'm talking about Naruto boy?"
"I guess, but how do I know this is going to be enough to beat the akatsuki?" Naruto asked. "It wasn't enough for pervy sage was it?"
"Naruto think for a moment, Jiraiya had nowhere near your amount of chakra, your ninjutsu would be leagues of magnitude above what he would be capable of." Gamakichi said. "If you master sage jutsu, you'll be on a whole other level."
"Seriously, that's awesome." Naruto said in amazement. "So what do I need to do next to master Sage Jutsu?"
"The next step is to learn how to draw natural energy into your body, though I'll warn you that it's much harder than it sounds." Fukasaku said. "Are you sure you're up for it?"
"Of course he is, if there's one thing you need to know about Naruto it's that he's not the type to run when things get tough on him." Gamakichi said. "He'll master sage jutsu, you just wait and see."
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"Did anyone hear why Kabuto wanted all of us to gather in here?" asked a sound shinobi. "Last I heard none of us were getting any assignments for a while."
"You weren't told, lord Orochimaru is launching another attack on the leaf village." said a second sound ninja. "This time the rumor is we can't fail."
"Seriously, that's unbelievable. Lord Orochimaru is truly remarkable." the first sound ninja said.
As the sound ninja said that, Orochimaru and Kabuto appeared in a cloud of smoke.
"I'm glad all of you are here, the invasion of the hidden leaf village will begin in a matter of days." Kabuto said calmly. "I suggest you prepare yourselves."
"Of course, anything for lord Orochimaru." said a third sound ninja. "The leaf village won't know what hit them."
"I'll be holding you to that statement." Orochimaru said calmly. "Try not to disappoint me."
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"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked angrily. "There were other options you could have taken, so why exterminate the clan?"
"Every alternative was only a temporary solution at best, risking every person in the village merely to save one clan that already was untrustworthy was the only viable option." Danzo said. "Had you any sense as a shinobi of the leaf village you wouldn't be questioning our actions."
"That's enough Danzo, Sasuke deserves to know why his clan was killed. Especially after everything that's happened these past years." said an old man. "There was another option, however circumstances prevented us from being able to take it."
"That's enough, regardless of the reasoning why the fact remains that the Uchiha were a threat that was dealt with." Danzo said. "That's all that we should concern ourselves with at this point Homura, the past is something that can't be changed."
"No, he deserves to at least know what we attempted prior to the massacre of the Uchiha clan." Homura said calmly. "Sasuke Uchiha, come with me and I'll explain everything." (1)
With those words Sasuke and Hamura walked out of the room.
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"Ino behind you." Kiba said quickly.
"Right." Ino said before turning and throwing a shuriken towards Kakashi only for him to turn into a log.
"Not bad, but you guys still have a long way to go." Asuma said calmly. "Fire Style: Burning Ash."
"Shino, now." Choji said urgently.
The moment Choji said that, a group of insects formed a wall and intercepted the flaming ashes.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu." Shikamaru said quickly. "Neji, Hinata."
"Eight Trigrams Sky Palm." Hinata and Neji said simultaneously.
Suddenly Guy appeared in front of Neji and kicked him into the air. "Let's try my Primary Lotus."
"Leaf Hurricane." Lee said quickly.
"Not bad, then again we're just getting started." Kakashi said calmly.
(Orochimaru is preparing to launch an attack on the leaf village, the leaf shinobi are preparing for Pain's arrival, and Sasuke is about to learn the truth of the Uchiha clan massacre. Next chapter Naruto will begin to master sage jutsu. As always any reviews or critique is appreciated.)
(1) (While they don't trust Sasuke, Hamura and Koharu are willing to explain their actions. Instead of an S-rank criminal he's still a loyal leaf ninja and so they're willing to tell him what occurred but not necessarily show remorse for their decisions.)