Naruto's Journey to Hokage

by CannonBaller9Pin

A month after rescuing Gaara, Naruto is told to undergo a week of intense training with Sakura under Kakashi sensei. From there on, his story continues towards his path to being Hokage. First story, so don't expect greatness. NaruIno. First few chapters are rough at best, but don't judge from there itself.

38. Chapter 38:Trouble in the Leaf

Author's Note: Huff, huff... Whew! *wipes brow* I finally made it! I wasn't sure whether I would be able to, but I have and I'm ready to rock and roll! Got a new chapter for you guys today, and I really hope you like it, after all this time. I am working on a couple of projects now, so I have lesser time to write, but I'm taking time out of my sleep for this, so really hope you guys enjoy reading. Again, I couldn't have done this without you guys, all the inputs that you give me really have held this story up. Won't waste too much of your time, so Happy Reading!

Chapter 38: Trouble in the Leaf

"Welcome, Uchiha Sasuke."

Pein's voice rang out clearly in the silence of the building. Sasuke turned around, trying to gauge where the voice was coming from, but he couldn't find the source. However, Pein appeared in front of him a second later, so suddenly that he might have just popped out of the ground.

Sasuke said, "So, why have you called me here?"

Pein said, "Wait here until the rest of the Akatsuki are here. I have an announcement to make."

Sasuke nodded and went over to sit, leaning a wall. Pein began walking out of the room and Sasuke looked up, watching him through the Sharingan. Pein looked around and said, "You won't find anything about me with those eyes. So I would suggest that you stop wasting your chakra. You're going to need it later." He walked out of the room.

A few minutes later, Deidara and Tobi walked in, arguing hotly. Tobi said, "Did it occur to you that you're missing the big picture, Deidara?" The blonde shinobi said, "I don't freakin' care! Quite wasting your time or I'll kill you!"

Just then, the two of them noticed Sasuke sitting against a wall, looking at the ceiling. Deidara said, "What are you doing here?" Sasuke ignored him. The rogue ninja from the Stone walked up to him and said, "Hey, you. I asked you a question."

Sasuke said, "I'm afraid I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your question."

Deidara stared at Sasuke, dumbfounded. The boy continued smoothly, "That means, I don't need to answer your stupid ass questions." Deidara's face slowly turned red. Tobi started walking backwards slowly, sensing trouble. Deidara had meanwhile turned purple in colour and roared, "You insolent little brat! I'll crush YOU!"

He brought his fist back to punch Sasuke in the head, but when he reared forward, Sasuke was no longer sitting against the wall. Instead, he was standing on the ceiling, using chakra to cling to it. He stared at Deidara with red eyes. The blonde shinobi was suddenly unsettled by Sasuke's speed.

Just then, Pein walked in again, this time with Konan, and said, "What is going on here?" Tobi said nervously, "Deidara tried to punch Sasuke." Pein looked at Deidara, and said, "This is no time for squabbling, Deidara. We are here for one reason only, to gather the Tailed Beasts. Fight all you want after that is done."

Deidara looked away, cheeks puffed out. Tobi laughed nervously, and Konan said, "We should get things going soon, Pein." The orange haired ninja nodded and said, "Alright. I have called all of you here for a reason. I intend to…wait, where is Zetsu?"

Zetsu sprouted out of the ground and said, "I'm right here." Pein nodded and continued, "As I was saying, I intend to go to the Leaf village and capture the Nine Tails, along with its Jinchuuriki." Everyone stared at him in wonder. He said, "Sasuke will be coming along with me, as will Konan."

Deidara said, "Do you really think that this kid can do a good job?" Pein said, "Don't question my decisions, Deidara. I have taken this decision for a reason. This leaves you and Tobi to take care of the Three Tails."

Deidara said, "Still, isn't this all happening a little too fast?" Pein said, "We have been reduced to a fraction of our strength. We must act quickly, before the other villages are able to join their forces and take us out." Deidara scoffed, "As if the villages would ever align with one another."

Pein's eyes glowed and he said angrily, "Do you really still think that? Maybe your village, and the Cloud, but the Leaf, Sand and the Mist villages have already aligned with each other. They might be sharing intel about us right now."

Deidara looked at him with sudden realization, and nodded. Pein said, "Sasuke, we will be leaving tomorrow morning. Do you have all the things you need to go? If not, Tobi will transport you back to your safe house." Sasuke shook his head and said, "I have everything I need."

Pein said, "Very well. Deidara and Tobi, you can start off right away if you want, or take a rest, and start tomorrow, along with us. The Three Tails will not be tough to capture, I'm told, since it is quite slow. But the problem is that it lives under water. So you will have to figure out how to deal with it." Deidara nodded, saying, "Not a problem. We'll leave tomorrow, that way we'll be at full strength." The leader of the Akatsuki said, "Very well. Then you are dismissed for now. Come, Konan. Sasuke, walk with me. Zetsu, watch the perimeter."

Everyone nodded. Deidara and Tobi walked off, probably to one of the rooms in the building to rest. Zetsu vanished into the ground. Sasuke took a look at Konan. She walked behind Pein and he followed. The three of them entered a room where there were six beds, which were oddly shaped. They had capsule like shapes. One of the six was open. Pein pressed a button near a console nearby, and all the capsules opened up with a hissing noise.

Sasuke said, "What is this?"

Pein said, "These are the other Paths of Pein, my other bodies. I thought you should know about them, since you're going to see them in battle tomorrow." Sasuke looked at him, confused and said, "They are your other bodies? What is that supposed to mean?"

Pein said, "I am but one part of six. These other five bodies make up one Pein. I am the face of the Six Paths, the Deva Path. The other five paths are the Asura Path, the Naraka Path, the Animal Path, the Human Path and the Preta Path. Let me show you each of them."

He looked around, and all of a sudden, a shadowy figure stood up from each capsule. They climbed out of the capsules in sync and walked up to the Deva Path. As they came closer, their faces became more apparent.

The five of them stood in a line in front of Sasuke and the Deva Path said, "These are the Paths of Pein. Our vision is shared with each other, so that we can all fight alongside everyone else while blocking each other's blind spots. From the left to the right, they are the Animal Path, the Human Path, the Asura Path, the Naraka Path, and the Preta Path. Take a good look at them, you might need their individual abilities later on. I'll talk you through all of them; pay attention."

Sasuke nodded, and Pein continued, "The Animal Path, as can be told by the name itself, is able to summon a wide variety of animals to be used in combat. All the animals are also linked with the Rinnegan, allowing us to view the world from their view as well. It is useful because the Animal Path can summon a bird to give us a top view of the world as well, showing where enemies might be hiding."

Sasuke looked at the Animal Path, a slim looking shinobi in the Akatsuki robes. His hair was dyed orange, and was long and thick, parted to his right side. He also had two chakra receivers on either side of his nose, with a thin rod connecting them through the nose. Another chakra receiver was between his eyes, and two more on the lower part of each cheek.

Pein continued, "The Human Path is able to read the mind of any target, by pulling the soul out of their body. It is useful in providing intel as well as infiltrating any place."

The human path resembled the Animal Path a little, although his hair was longer and flowed straight down. He also had two chakra receivers on either cheek. However, he had a single chakra receiver through his nose, which was tilted diagonally.

Once Sasuke was facing the third ninja, Pein said, "This is the Asura Path, whose ability is to convert its own body into mechanized armour, and different styles of ballistic machinery. It is also strong enough to tear of a person's limbs with almost no effort."

The Asura path was a pale white in colour, with no hair to speak of. He had five chakra receivers sticking out of his head, looking like horns. There were two receivers on either cheek, although they were placed as one above the cheekbone, and the other below. There was also one flat receiver on the chin, and the nose looked like it was made out of a receiver.

Pein said, "The Naraka Path is used for interrogation. It is also our go to Path in case any of us get injured. It uses the King of Hell for these purposes."

The Naraka Path had short spiky hair, very similar to the Deva Path. He also had seven chakra receivers on his face, three on either side of his nose diagonally. The seventh receiver was on the bridge of the nose. He also had three spike shaped receivers passing through each ear.

As Sasuke looked at the final Path, Pein continued, "The Preta Path has the ability to absorb chakra from the enemy or the enemy's Jutsu. It can also from a barrier of chakra, protecting itself from any attack."

The Preta Path was round faced, with orange hair slicked back. He had two chakra receivers on the nose, and two spiky receivers, on through each ear. He also had a chakra receiver underneath the lips, fashioned as though to look like serrated teeth.

Sasuke turned to look at the Deva Path of Pein, and folded his hands. Pein said, "What?" Sasuke said, "What are your abilities?" Pein smiled slightly and said, "I am able to manipulate the centre of gravity of people and objects. I can pull and push them according to my will. However, there is a short recharge time between every time I use the Jutsu. Also, the stronger the push or pull, the more time I need to recuperate."

Sasuke nodded, and said, "Alright. What about her? She's coming with us, so I should know about her abilities as well."

Konan said, "I am able to use paper to fight. I can infuse chakra into paper to turn it into whatever shape I want. I can also turn my entire body into paper, thus allowing me to control how much paper I want, to fight."

Sasuke said, "Very well. Is that all?" Pein nodded and Sasuke said, "Then I shall take my leave for now. Is there any place for me to rest?" Pein again nodded, saying, "Go down two floors, and take the first room to the right. It has all the basic commodities that a ninja should require. Get some rest, we have a long battle in front of us."

Sasuke exited the room, and walked down the stairs, thinking, 'So, my intuition was right after. Naruto, my old friend, we are going to meet after all. I wonder how strong you've become by now. Well, I guess I'll soon find out.'

Jiraiya and Naruto walked along the road towards the Ninja Ops, talking. Naruto said, "It's been a long time since we met, Pervy Sage. Where have you been all this time?" Jiraiya said, "I've been travelling around, gathering information for my novels, Naruto."

Naruto shot him a disapproving look, saying, "So, just some stupid stuff. I thought you would be doing something more important, old man." Jiraiya gave him a look of mock anger. Naruto said, "So, what did you want from me today, anyway? And why are we headed to the Ninja Ops building?"

Jiraiya grew a little more serious and said, "I want to ask Tsunade something and as it involves you, I think it would be beneficial for you to hear it as well." Naruto said, "What is this sudden new thing that you've thought of? Something better than Sage Mode?"

Jiraiya said secretively, "Maybe."

The two of them reached Ninja Ops, Naruto badgering Jiraiya continuously about what he wanted to talk about. Genma was standing guard that day, and he said, "Good day to you, Jiraiya-san, Naruto." The two of them greeted him in return and Jiraiya said, "We want to meet Tsunade."

Genma said, "Lady Tsunade isn't in. She's gone off somewhere, without her guard." He walked up to Jiraiya and whispered in his ear, "I believe she's gone to visit the Root Foundation." Jiraiya whispered back, "You know about that?" He nodded, whispering, "The Jonin Council were informed about the changes."

Naruto grew impatient and said, "What's going on, Pervy Sage? What's with all the muttering and whispering?" Jiraiya said, "Looks like we aren't going to get our job done today, Naruto. Let's come back another time. Come on, you want some lunch?"

Naruto said, "But what happened? Where is Grandma Tsunade?"

Jiraiya said shortly, "No idea." He turned to walk off, and Naruto followed him, again trying to find out what secret Jiraiya was holding on to.

The two of them stopped at Ichiraku's to have some lunch. Jiraiya seemed to be in a world of his own, and Naruto said, "You're awfully quiet today, Pervy Sage." Jiraiya said absent-mindedly, "I told you not to call me that."

The blonde teen said, "What's wrong? Is there any problem?" Jiraiya shook his head. He took a slurp of ramen, and said, "I was just wondering, what if I'd become Hokage?"

Naruto stared at him. He finally found his tongue, and said, "Yeah, I kinda wondered about it once as well. But I realized that all the women in the village would revolt against you." Jiraiya laughed and said, "But seriously, I feel that I could have done it, if it hadn't been for the prophecy."

Naruto said, "What prophecy?" Jiraiya looked down into his bowl, thinking. Then he said, "The Elder Toad at Mount Myoboku is capable of seeing into the future. He has visions, and most of them have always turned out to be true."

The boy was now intrigued. He said, "What was this prophecy that made you rethink about being Hokage?" Jiraiya smiled and said, "You know, when I was young, I used to be just like you. I was impatient, and hot-headed, and always jealous of Orochimaru, just like you used to be jealous of Sasuke. Orochimaru was always the cool kid, while no one gave me a second glance."

Naruto listened carefully; he had never heard much about Jiraiya's past before. The old man continued, "One day, I saw Sarutobi sensei perform the Summoning Jutsu. I thought it was pretty cool and decided to give it a try when I was alone. However, I didn't know that Sarutobi sensei had caught me watching him train, and he came to stop me before I performed the Summoning. After all, you need to sign the contract along with the clan you want, before summoning them."

He smiled in remembrance, and said, "I didn't have a contract, but I still performed the Summoning. Imagine my surprise, when I was reverse summoned instead. I ended up in Mount Myoboku."

Naruto laughed out loud. He said, "Wow, I wonder what that would be like." Jiraiya said, "I was stunned for a moment. Then, I realized that I was in a strange different place, and got up from the ground, where I had fallen. But before I could do anything, I saw a toad in front of me, who was looking at a giant snake, like Manda, but smaller. Before the snake could do anything, I threw him away."

Naruto said, "Seriously? You just threw away a giant snake? Just like that?" Jiraiya said, "I wasn't as clumsy and weak as you were at that age. We were trained much harder in the olden times." Naruto stood up and said indignantly, "Hey! Say that again!" Jiraiya raised his hand, and Naruto sat down.

The old man continued, "Learn to stay calm. It was just a joke. Anyway, that toad spoke to me. I was really amazed, when he said, "It's a human child." That toad was none other than Gamabunta. At that time, he was only about my height. Not as large as he is now."

Naruto said, "What happened then? Are we ever going to get to the prophecy?" Jiraiya said, "Yeah, we're close. Anyway, Gamabunta took me to the oil fountain, where I met Lord Fukasaku. He told me that the toad clan had been expecting me, and that the Great Lord Elder Toad knew I would arrive."

He took a gulp of water, and said, "But they also said that I would not be able to meet the Elder until I was summoned, so Fukasaku took me under his wing, and trained me in the Sage Arts. I spent all my spare time in Mount Myoboku. Until one day, when I was atop a mountain, focusing on sitting still, and Gamabunta came over and told me that I had been summoned."

"I hastened over to the Elder Toad, who didn't even remember my name. I was really surprised by that, but I managed to keep myself calm." Naruto said, "Yeah, that geezer toad can really get on one's nerves sometimes." Jiraiya nodded, and said, "However, he remembered my prophecy well enough and told it to me."

Naruto said, "Well? What is it?"

Jiraiya quoted from memory, "You, who are singularly pervy, should become a great ninja, and once you do, you shall acquire an apprentice of your very own. That apprentice will become a ninja, who will bring about a great change in the Ninja World. Either great stability or great destruction, the likes of which the world has never seen. But which of these two, it is uncertain. You will be the one to guide this revolutionary change, and eventually there will come a day when you are forced to make a critical selection. And whatever choice you end up making, it will directly weigh the way this change is going to go."

Naruto said, "He called you singularly pervy?"

Jiraiya shouted, "THAT'S WHAT YOU TOOK FROM THAT?!"

Naruto said, "Alright, geez, I was just kidding. So, what choice did you make?"

The old man calmed down and said, "I asked the Elder what to do, and he said that in his dream, he saw me travelling the world, writing books. It would lead me to the fulfilment of my prophecy. That is why I left the Leaf village after some time, and decided to travel around, researching, and hoping to find out what choice to make and who to make it for, and what the outcome would be."

Naruto said, "That's deep. I hope you made the right choice, though."

Jiraiya said, "I always hope the same. But seeing as you're my apprentice, I have no doubt that I made the wrong choice." It was now Naruto's turn to shout. He yelled, "SAY WHAT?!"

Jiraiya laughed his deep laugh, and Naruto found himself joining in; and at that moment he realized how much Jiraiya meant to him. He said in his quiet husky voice, "Hey, Pervy Sage."

Jiraiya said, "What now?"

Naruto said, "Thanks a lot for being there for me." Jiraiya smiled gently and fondly rustled the boy's hair, saying, "I will always be there for you, no matter what, Naruto." Naruto quickly hugged him and said, "You better be."

After lunch, the two of them parted ways, and Jiraiya said, "I'll come over to your place in a couple of days. I'm heading outside the village right now, but I'll be back soon. Take care, Naruto." The boy nodded, and said, "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you! I infused the Rasengan with Lightning chakra. I made a new jutsu."

Jiraiya was stunned. He said, "Are you serious right now? And you didn't tell me till now?" Naruto smiled sheepishly and said, "I…uhh, kinda forgot."

He smiled his goofy grin, and Jiraiya face palmed. He smiled, though and said, "Alright, show it to me the next time we meet." Naruto gave him a thumbs up and said, "No problemo."

He watched the old man walk towards the village gates, and thought, 'I hope I'm the apprentice who will change the world, Pervy Sage.' He began to walk home.

Sasuke woke up, and began to prepare himself for the upcoming battle. He unsealed a couple of his scrolls, and began to restock on shurikens and kunai, storing them in different seals on his arms. He also took a few food pills and plasma pills with him, for the battle, should he need them.

Pein walked in, and said, "Are you done? We are preparing to leave in five minutes." Sasuke nodded curtly, and said, "I am ready. However, I do have one question. What is my role in this mission?" Pein replied, "You will fight alongside Konan to protect me against the regular villagers."

Sasuke said, "So, I won't be fighting Naruto, then?" The orange haired man replied, "Not until it is completely necessary. Should anything happen to me, or if I should fail, Konan will assume command, and you will follow whatever directions she gives you."

The boy nodded in response. He stood up, and walked with the Deva Path outside the building. Zetsu and Konan were standing there, but none of the other Paths were visible. Sasuke said, "Where are the rest?" Pein said, "They are waiting for us to reach the Leaf. After that, I will summon them into battle." The boy frowned, saying, "You can do that?"

Pein nodded and said, "The Deva Path and the Animal Path are the only ones able to summon every other Path of Pein."

Sasuke pondered over that, while Zetsu said, "What is my job, Pein-sama?"

Pein said, "I am leaving you in temporary command of the hideout. Make sure that nothing happens to it." Zetsu nodded and bowed, and Pein said, "Let us leave now. It will take some time to reach the Leaf, since we will need to conserve our strength." Sasuke and Konan both agreed, and the three of them began walking off towards the Leaf village.

Zetsu bid them goodbye and entered the building. He thought, 'How long will my clones be able to keep up the transformation?' He knocked on a wall, and a weak voice came, "Come in."

The plant like shinobi pressed a button in the wall and it opened up, showing the secret room within it, where Nagato was sitting, along with Konan at his side. Zetsu said, "My clones have begun their journey with Sasuke."

Nagato said, "Good. This will allow me time to prepare all my Paths for battle with some extra time. I hadn't thought that Sasuke would be fooled so easily. I guess your clones have better cloning ability than I thought."

Zetsu said, "So, when are the two of you going to leave?"

Konan said, "We need to move this infernal machine along with us, so it will take some time for us to detach all the connections. After that, Nagato will initialize all the Paths, and then we will head to the mountains behind the Leaf village."

Zetsu nodded and said, "Very well. I shall take my leave, then."

Nagato inclined his head and Zetsu left the room. Konan said, "Do you really think it was wise to let Zetsu see the real you?" Nagato replied weakly, "Yes, no doubt it was. He has been with us from the very beginning of our goal, and will never betray us. He is also good at keeping his mouth shut. At least, Black Zetsu is good at that. He can keep White Zetsu's mouth shut as well."

Konan sighed, and said, "Is it really necessary for you to go all out to capture the Nine Tails? You are so weak as it is right now, as it is." Nagato said, "You are forgetting, Konan, that this is the strongest of all Tailed Beasts. Also, according to the intel, Naruto has become very strong recently. I do not want to take any chances. Anyway, Sasuke is there for a specific reason too. I am hoping to use him in order to lower Naruto's defences." Konan said, "That is clever."

Nagato nodded, saying, "Let's get this machine portable." Konan began removing the cables that were attached to the machine which Nagato was using. After a couple of hours, they were ready. Nagato said, "I'll activate the rest of my Paths." He performed a few hand signs, and a sound came floating to them from above their heads.

The six Paths of Pein opened the door and came in. The Deva Path stood in front of the rest, and Nagato said, "It is time to head to the Leaf village. Come." Konan made a giant bird out of paper and hoisted Nagato and his machine atop it. She performed a couple of hand signs and the bird began to float in the air. The other Paths of Pein jumped on to the bird and the eight of them exited the building, heading out of the Land of Rain.

Tsunade looked down at the operating table, and asked, "Are you ready for this, Itachi?" The master spy nodded and said, "I have to do this. It is either this or death for me, anyway." The Sannin said, "I guess that's true. Well, then. Looks like we should go ahead with this. Why didn't you bring Katsumi with you?"

Itachi said, "I don't want her to be nervous. I haven't told her about the operation anyway." Tsunade frowned and said, "Why not?" The master spy replied, "She is not too keen on me having an ocular transplant. So I decided not to involve her in this."

Tsunade said, "Well, you certainly have to get the operation done, Itachi. You've become almost fully blind now. It's a wonder you've been able to get along with these eyes." Itachi smiled slightly and said, "It would not have been possible without Kisame. He has been a true friend to me and I would not be here without him."

Tsunade began running some diagnostics and prepared an anaesthetic for Itachi. The man closed his eyes and relaxed.

Sasuke ran down the road, along with Zetsu's clones, who were still pretending to be Pein and Konan. The boy thought, 'What are they playing at? Do they really think that I haven't noticed that they aren't the real Akatsuki members? Oh, well. As long as I reach my goal, I have no reason to question them.' He kept following the two, who seemed to ignore him completely. The clone resembling Pein said, "We will reach the border of the Land of Fire soon. Prepare yourselves, just in case."

The teenager shifted his stance to stealth rather than speed and continued to follow the two clones. As they reached the border of the Land of Fire, they were accosted by a couple of bandits who claimed to be Leaf shinobi. Sasuke quickly got rid of them and the clone resembling Konan said, "Why did you do that? We aren't supposed to draw attention to ourselves!"

Sasuke pointed his sword at the clone and said, "Look, you. I don't know what you two are playing at, but until the real Pein and Konan get here, I am not going to play by your rules."

The clones looked at each other in disbelief. Then one of them sighed and reverted back to normal, saying, "So, we didn't fool you at all, did we?" Sasuke shook his head and the clone said, "Well, Pein will be pleased. He is preparing to come here, and it will take some more time than he anticipated. That is why he made me and my clone take his and Konan's place. They will be here after some time."

Sasuke said, "So, what do we do until then?" Zetsu replied passively, "We need to scout around the Leaf and find out all the changes in security. It's been a while since I last came here, so there's bound to be different things now that the technology has grown to vastly in the last couple of year."

The teenager looked around the trees, half expecting to see cameras around. But there was nothing in sight, apart from a few birds and insects. The three of them began walking towards the village again, and Sasuke said, "How will we know if Pein has reached here?"

The other clone replied this time, "Our clones can talk to each other telepathically, over close ranges. As soon as Pein-sama is within range of us, he will have our original send us a message. Once we receive it, all we need to do is follow it."

Sasuke nodded, not quite sure whether everything would work out so smoothly, but decided not to say anything at the moment. Just then, a patrol of Leaf shinobi passed by, and the three of them were forced to hide, taking camouflage in the trees. However, the patrol seemed to be relaxed, and didn't notice them. Sasuke thought to himself, 'Looks like the Hokage isn't doing anything to protect the village. These guys are so lax, I could take them all out without breaking a sweat.'

The other Zetsu voiced his thoughts, saying, "I expected the security of the Land to be in better shape than it is." Sasuke nodded curtly, wondering what the Hokage had been doing in his absence.

The Paths of Pein, Nagato and Konan stood atop the bird as it flew out of the Land of Rain and into the Land of Fire, and Konan said, "Look, there's Sasuke and the other two clones. Wait a minute, why are they not disguised?" Nagato said, "Looks like Sasuke caught their trick after all."

Konan started to descend, but Nagato said, "Don't, Konan. I don't want Sasuke to know about me. It's best if we go to the hideout before we summon the two of them over there. It is way too early to let Sasuke know the truth about the Six Paths of Pein."

Konan simply nodded and adjusted the flight pattern of the bird. It began flying at a much faster rate, and Nagato said, "You seem to be in a hurry." Konan said, "I just want to get this thing over with so that you can get some rest." Nagato smiled, a weak and watery smile, but a smile nonetheless. Konan put her hand on his shoulder and said, "I am not going to let you do anything after this. Please listen to me, you need complete rest."

Nagato nodded and said, "After the Nine Tails is in our possession, I will take some time off. I will leave you in charge of the Akatsuki until then." Konan shook her head and said, "I am not a leader, Nagato. You would do better with Tobi or Deidara."

Nagato shook his head, to her surprise, and said, "You know as well as I do, that Deidara is a hot head. He would never be able to think rationally. Tobi's act allows him to look like a fool. Do you think that Deidara would let him be a leader of the Akatsuki? He doesn't know anything about Tobi, but that won't make him feel any different about it. And you are the only one apart from Zetsu that know about me. You can consult with me and we can take the decisions together. The only difference would be that you would tell everyone the decisions instead of me."

Konan said, "You seem to have given this a fair amount of thought." Nagato nodded again, then went off into a fit of coughing. Konan held him up before he could collapse onto his machine. He said, "I can feel myself growing weaker. I hope that Naruto Uzumaki won't be too much of a fuss to bother with."

Naruto panted as he thought about his options. He didn't seem to have many left, though. He weighed each option, and finally decided to go with the classic. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Ten clones burst forth and stood next to him, within the blink of an eye. Sakura faced the clones, determined not to let the real Naruto out of her sights. She signed quickly and said, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Five clones of Sakura popped into existence next to her.

Naruto grinned slightly and said, "Well done, Sakura. Five clones is a good amount for now." Sakura panted slightly from the effort, but managed a small proud grin, nevertheless. The five clones immediately charged in, but the ten clones of Naruto were already forming Rasengans in their right hands. As Sakura's clones met the Narutos, a loud roar of "RASENGAN!" occurred, and Sakura's clones were riddled with holes. They all vanished and so did the clones of Naruto, who was now facing Sakura warily. He shook out his left hand, which had still not completely recovered from the punch he took from her.

Sakura on the other hand, was nursing bruised ribs and thinking whether she could afford another hit there or not. It had been a moment of embarrassment for the two of them when Naruto's punch had landed on Sakura's chest, but the two of them had shaken it off and resumed their practice match.

Sakura thought, 'Naruto's sure become tough as nails. I can't even land a straight punch on him. My only option is to give him a surprise.' She decided to go with one of their new moves and charged in. Naruto smiled as he realized what she was about to do, and ducked underneath her punch, putting his arms out in front of him as he did so, in order to catch her leg, which had spun out as well, to kick him in the crotch.

He said, "Well, done, Sakura, but that is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Surely you can think of something better?" Sakura grinned and vanished. A log of wood lay in her place, and intuition got the better of Naruto, who turned around just in time to block a punch from Sakura. He took a step back, just in time to hear a popping sound, and then his legs were swept out from underneath him, as the Sakura in front of him vanished, and another one reappeared behind him.

He landed on the ground heavily, all the air knocked out of his lungs and said, "Pretty good substitution-transformation trick, Sakura." The girl said, "Thanks. I thought I wouldn't get you, but I did." Naruto said, "I always have the last laugh, though, Sakura." He vanished in a puff of smoke, and Sakura barely had time to blink before a kunai was pressed to her neck.

Naruto stood behind her, holding the kunai in a way that Kakashi used to do. Sakura said, "How?" Naruto said, "I have way more control over my clones than you do. You created a clone while you transformed yourself into a log, making me think that you substituted. But I realized the trick immediately, and I made a clone at that very moment, so while your clone was attacking me from behind, you were busy trapping up my clone. As a result, I was able to get out of there, and my clone took the fall."

Sakura gaped at him and said, "But how didn't I see you then?" Naruto winked and said, "It's a secret." Sakura said, "Alright, you got me." Naruto lowered his kunai and said, "That was pretty good. You did well with the clones. You were even able to produce five without exhausting yourself." Sakura said, "That really took a lot out of me, actually. I wasn't sure whether I would be able to transform or not."

Naruto said, "Your chakra reserves seem to have expanded with the Shadow Clone training." Sakura nodded and said, "Thanks a lot for teaching that Jutsu to me, Naruto. It is incredibly useful." Naruto shrugged and said, "Least I can do."

Sakura frowned and said, "What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto said, "Since I couldn't fulfil my promise to you about bringing Sasuke back, I figured that there could be something else I could do to make up for it." Sakura frowned and said, "Does this mean that you're giving up on bringing him back?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, and said, "I don't really know, Sakura. Sometimes I feel that I can do it, but other times I just feel that it's a fool's errand." Sakura said, "I know how you feel, Naruto. I keep feeling that maybe he's never going to come back."

Naruto smiled faintly and said, "I don't know, Sakura. Maybe he will come back, and maybe it will be sooner than you think." The pinkette smiled at the show of confidence and said, "Thanks for continuing to believe that, Naruto. I hope that what you said turns out to be true."

The two of them continued training until Sakura said, "Alright, I guess that's enough for now. I have to go to the hospital for my shift, and I can't afford to be out of chakra right now."

Naruto nodded and said, "Alright, we'll continue some other time. I guess I should get some GenJutsu training done now." Sakura said, "Who's teaching you GenJutsu?" Naruto replied, "Ino, of course." The pinkette nodded, remembering Ino's recent improvement in GenJutsu skills, and said, "Well, I'll see you later, Naruto." The blonde nodded and Sakura took off. Naruto began walking towards the Ninja Ops, hoping that Tsunade would have returned by now.

He thought, 'Grandma Tsunade has been going away quite a lot, lately. Where does she keep going that I don't know? I should find out.' He decided to ask Genma, and found the Jonin at the village Gates. Naruto said, "Hey, Genma. I wanted to ask you something."

Genma said warily, "What is it, Naruto?"

The boy replied, "I want to know where Grandma Tsunade keeps disappearing. Where is she?" Genma thought, 'Just what I was afraid of.' He maintained a neutral expression and replied, "I'm afraid I don't know, myself, Naruto. Lady Tsunade is an extremely important person, and has many businesses to attend to. I cannot keep track of them all. She may have gone to Tanzaku Town for the new police training regimen. She may have gone to the capital for business with the Daimyo."

Naruto thought about this and said, "She's been gone for quite some time, don't you think?" Genma nodded, thankful that Naruto hadn't caught his lie. He said, "She should be back by evening though, Naruto. You can meet her tomorrow if you want."

Naruto thanked Genma and walked off, thinking, 'Genma was definitely on edge today. I guess he knows where she's gone but it's some top secret thing and he doesn't want me to know. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to find out on my own.'

Tsunade said, "We're ready for the operation, Itachi. Time for you to go under." Itachi nodded. Just then, a shinobi burst in and the two of them blanched. Tsunade turned around and threw a scalpel at the shinobi, who blocked it and bowed immediately, in a gesture of submission. Tsunade saw the shinobi was wearing an ANBU mask and said, "Jesus, you had us worried for a second. What is it?"

The ANBU member said, "I was patrolling the border around the capital area when I saw Sasuke Uchiha and two others along with him. Based on the intel we have, they are clones of White Zetsu. They are heading to the Leaf Village." Tsunade said, "WHAT!"

Itachi sat up straight on his bed and said, "Sasuke is heading this way? This means trouble. Last I heard from my spies, he joined the Akatsuki in my place."

Tsunade nodded, saying, "I hope this doesn't mean that he's been sent here to capture Naruto." Itachi said, "That is my worst fear. I guess this operation will have to wait, Tsunade-sama. I need to get Sasuke out of here."

Tsunade said, "But you're very weak right now, Itachi. Your eyes..." Itachi cut in, "My eyes can wait. What is important now is to get Sasuke away from here. He'll go berserk when he sees me, and will forget about anything else, coming after me to try to kill me. I'll lure him away from the village."

Tsunade looked ready to argue, but Itachi said, "Please, Lady Tsunade. I have to do this. Just a request, please contact Kisame and tell him to meet me at the village gates immediately." Tsunade nodded and said to the ANBU member, "Not a word about this to anyone, or I'll have you executed. Understood?" The ANBU member nodded, and Tsunade said, "Go to the Uchiha estate and find Kisame Hoshigaki. Have him go to the village gates ASAP."

The ANBU member bowed again and vanished. Tsunade said, "This is something I didn't anticipate. How could I have been so blind?" Itachi said, "You couldn't have possibly anticipated something like this happening so quickly. Even I am surprised with this development. I guess I should leave quickly now, while I still can."

Tsunade nodded and said, "Best of luck, Itachi." The master spy nodded and pulled out a scroll from within his medical gown. He performed a couple of hand signs, and a black cloak with red clouds burst out. He quickly wore the cloak and exited. Tsunade wondered what would happen now. She decided to return to the Ninja Ops, and supervise the situation from there.

Sasuke and the two clones kept walking until they reached near the border of the village. Sasuke said, "We better stop here. There's bound to be tight security from here on. I don't think it is wise for us to go right in."

The clones nodded and one of them said, "We were told to head to a mountain nearby anyway. There's one to the right, maybe that's where we are supposed to go." They turned right and began to walk towards the mountain. Sasuke sighed and began to follow them.

Nagato and Konan flew over the capital city, and Nagato said, "I am surprised that we were able to come so far without encountering any resistance. Perhaps the Leaf village has become more complacent over time. Well, this will be a nice wake up call for them."

Konan nodded and said, "It is weird. I had also expected that we would be noticed by now." Nagato said, "We could crush the capital city in minutes right now, if we wanted. Unfortunately, that is not our goal right now."

They continued forward, towards the mountain which they had told the clones to head to. Nagato said, "Are you sure about this, Konan? That I will be able to control my Paths from that mountain?" Konan nodded and said, "I have no doubt you will. I am going to camouflage us with a tree made out of my paper. Don't worry, Nagato. Everything will go according to the plan."

Itachi ran as fast as he could without bumping into anyone or anything else. He reached the village gates and saw an ANBU member standing atop the village gates. He jumped up and said, "Good, you're here Kisame."

Kisame said, "What's the matter, Itachi? One moment you're getting a surgery and the next, you're running around? Was the transplant successful?" Itachi shook his head and said, "I didn't do it, yet. Sasuke is headed this way, presumably to help the Akatsuki capture the Nine Tails. We need to head him off into another direction. I can't do it by myself, not in this condition." Kisame nodded, without hesitation, and said, "What is the plan?"

Itachi said, "I'll trap Sasuke in a minor GenJutsu, which he should break easily enough. He'll realize that I'm around somewhere and will most probably give up going after Naruto and will follow me instead. I need you to support me, I am not strong enough to survive a battle against him. Most probably, I will need a quick exit if I am caught."

Kisame said, "Fair enough. Let's go."

Naruto was walking off towards Ichiraku's, thinking about what to do now. Just then, he saw a couple of Jonin running over towards the direction of the Ninja Ops. He thought, 'That's weird.' As he walked further ahead, he saw a horde of other ninjas running over there, and thought, 'Something is up.' He decided to go there as well and see what happened.

As he reached the Ninja Ops, he saw all the ninjas heading over to the roof. He went after them, but was stopped by Raido, who was supervising. Raido said, "Sorry, Naruto, only Jonin are allowed in." Naruto said, "What's going on?"

The older ninja said, "I don't really know, but Lady Tsunade just returned from wherever she had gone, and is really tense." Naruto said, "Well, whatever it is, I need to find out. And I'm as good as a Jonin anyway."

Raido said, "Be that as it may, Lady Tsunade has given me strict orders not to allow anyone below the rank of Jonin in, not even you." Naruto fumed silently, but maintained his composure and said, "Fine. I'll wait here until the meeting is done."

Raido nodded and then said, "Perhaps you can tell me about the new Jutsu you invented. It's making headlines all over town." Naruto froze; he hadn't expected something like this. Blushing a little in embarrassment, he said, "It's not a big deal, really."

He began to tell Raido all about the jutsu, all the time carefully listening for a sound from the roof. But he couldn't hear a thing, which made him wonder whether there was some sort of GenJutsu at play.

Tsunade said, "Listen up, everyone. We have received information that the Akatsuki might be trying to capture Naruto Uzumaki to extract his tailed beast. I want every one of you on patrol and make sure that you have a Hyuga along with you. I have already sent a message to their clan. If you see anything out of the ordinary, report it at once. Set all of your cellulars to emergency mode. The enemy is highly skilled and can attack out of nowhere. Be on guard, I don't want to have to deal with death over everything else. Is that clear?"

All the Jonins replied, "HAI!" and Tsunade said, "SCATTER!" All the Jonins vanished, except for Kakashi, who remained behind and said, "Where is Naruto right now?" Tsunade said, "I have no clue, but it's good that you waited back. I want you to protect him at all costs."

Kakashi nodded and said, "Any other orders?" Tsunade said, "Give the Akatsuki hell from me." Kakashi's mask twitched, indicating a smile. He vanished from there, and was on the roof of the opposite building, when he saw Naruto talking to Raido outside Ninja Ops. He quickly made his way there and said, "Hey, Naruto. What are you doing here?"

Naruto said, "I saw many Jonin running over here so I came to find out what was going on." Kakashi said, "Nothing much, just a drill. You know, Jonin Council stuff." Naruto nodded, and Kakashi said, "Want to get some training done? I want to see your Rasenbolt in action."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. Kakashi said, "Let's go, then." The two of them nodded to Raido, who waved them goodbye as they ran off. Raido heaved a sigh of relief, and went up to Tsunade's office. He entered and she said, "Good you came, I think I'm going to need the Flying Raijin soon. Get ready." Raido nodded and rushed out of the room to talk to Genma.

Kakashi and Naruto stood in training ground 7, and Naruto said, "Are you sure you want it at full strength?" Kakashi nodded and said, "I want to see what the full potential of the Rasenbolt can be, now that it is thrown rather than thrust at the opponent."

Naruto nodded and a shadow clone burst out of thin air behind him. He quickly gathered a Rasengan in his right hand and the clone began pouring lightning chakra into it. As Naruto bent the Rasengan into the proper shape, it expanded, and the lightning bolt which was created became huge. Kakashi monitored the flow of chakra closely with his Sharingan, noting everything that Naruto was doing.

As the Rasenbolt achieved maximum capacity, Naruto's clone dispelled and Naruto threw the Rasenbolt towards some trees in the field, away from them. For a second, nothing happened, and then a giant explosion shook the ground. Kakashi managed to maintain his balance somehow, and said, "Holy crap, Naruto. That is some jutsu!"

Naruto nodded and said, "I even managed to throw it further this time." The two of them went over to see the damage, and Kakashi whistled. He said, "Look at the size of the crater! And everything is burnt down to the ground! Incredible!"

Naruto said, "It's really an awesome jutsu, Kakashi sensei." The white haired Jonin said, "That it is. Alright, now we need to find out some way for you to do this in a battle, extremely quickly." Naruto said, "Why?"

Kakashi face palmed and said, "Do you honestly think that your enemy will just allow you to gather chakra like this, taking so much time? They are sure to attack you while you're preparing the chakra. You need some kind of distraction that will help you create the jutsu without being accosted."

Naruto said, "I have my Shadow Clones for that, don't I, Kakashi sensei?" Kakashi said, "Sometimes, Shadow Clones are not enough. I think you should begin using the FuinJutsu skills that Master Jiraiya taught you."

Naruto scratched his head and said, "What do you mean?" Kakashi said, "You can store many things in scrolls, Naruto. Didn't you ever think about storing clones in scrolls, or even seals?" Naruto stared at Kakashi, dumbfounded. He said, "That's brilliant, Kakashi sensei!" Kakashi said, "It's actually a well-known technique, Naruto. And considering where you're coming from, you should be well aware of it."

Naruto said, "Well, I didn't have time to learn everything now, did I?" Kakashi said, "Maybe not, but there's time now. Make sure you learn how to do it, because it will save you valuable time in a fight."

The blonde nodded and said, "Thanks a lot for the tip, Kakashi sensei." The Jonin said, "Come on, let's go have some ramen. I'll pay." Naruto was ecstatic. "YOSH!"

The two of them headed over to Ichiraku's, Naruto chattering about what rules he would set for ramen shops when he became Hokage. Kakashi only half listened, keeping his ears cocked and eyes alert for any sort of activity. Suddenly a loud explosion outside the village caught their attention. Kakashi narrowed his eyes with suspicion, and Naruto said, "What the heck was that?"

Kakashi said, "Probably some sort of drill, Naruto. Let's get going, I have to go out afterwards." He noticed Naruto staring at him and began getting uncomfortable. Naruto said, "Why are you sweating all of a sudden, Kakashi sensei?"

Kakashi touched his forehead, which had become clammy, and said, "I dunno, Naruto. Maybe a little fever, or something." Naruto said, "I have an interrogator for a girlfriend now, sensei. I've picked up a few tricks from her. What are you hiding?"

Kakashi said nervously, "Well, there's no keeping anything from you, Naruto. Unfortunately, I am bound by orders from Lady Hokage, not to tell anyone below Jonin level anything about it. So, I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you." He expected an outburst from the blonde but the reply was quite astonishing.

Naruto said calmly, "Alright, sensei. It's no big deal, I was just wondering if I could do anything to help." Kakashi thought, 'Is this really the same stubborn and immature Naruto that I used to mentor?' He said, "I'm glad you understand, Naruto. And given your current status, I'm pretty sure that if there was anything you could do, Lady Tsunade would recommend you for it first. Unfortunately, this is something which she wants to steer you away from, and I certainly must follow her orders."

Naruto nodded and said, "Let's go on, then." The two of them continued walking, towards Ichiraku. Suddenly, Kakashi sensed a presence nearby, and looked up just in time to see a dark figure jumping down on top of them…