My Precious People

by xWinorLose

Many years have passed since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. Now twenty-six, Naruto has returned to Konoha to help someone precious to him. He finds some unexpected changes, among them the son of Hinata whom no one knows who the father is, and a new danger looms on the horizon. Rated M for language and lemons.

21. Ch 20: I Have Seen The Face of My Enemy

20. I Have Seen The Face Of The Enemy

Wheel of morality, turn turn turn…Show us the lesson we should learn…It's Chapter 20!

Chapter 20 is finally here. I apologize to my readers for the delay, but there were several parts of this story that I wanted to make sure were done JUST RIGHT based on reviews that I received. It'll be explained here in the beginning, but everyone will know what I'm talking about. Plus, my job kinda dropped a lot of paperwork on me in the last month, so it's been slow going.

As always, I'd like to give the standard thanks and shout-outs to various people for helping me with my story. As I mention every chapter, reader interaction is very important to me and although this is MY story, great ideas can come from anywhere.

As I do every chapter, I give thanks to fellow author Titokhan for helping me out, as well as my anonymous beta for his continued efforts and support. You guys help make my job so much easier, and it's appreciated.

With that out of the way, let's get to shout-outs and credit where credit is due:

First of all, I would like to give thanks to the reader who sent me a PM letting me know two things – first of all, Sakura always referred to Sasuke as Sasuke-kun, and everyone should refer to the Hokage as Hokage-sama, not Lord Hokage. I went back and made these changes and kept your name anonymous, as you requested. But thank you.

JohnXgambit/Arcana37210/AIM-64C/Odinson91: You all guessed my movie reference in the last chapter, which was from "Armageddon". Kudos to you for noticing!

Titokhan: Gets credit for the idea of naming the baby Mikomi, as well as giving her pink hair. That idea was one of many, and I'll be giving full credit on the rest when I use them. The pink hair idea was pure evil genius, though.

Raja-Ulat: Gets credit for part of the conversation between Tsunade and Sakura.

Hektols: Thank you SO MUCH for your help with the Toad scene in this chapter!

Troutman30: After your review, I worked really hard on making the conversation between Tsunade and Sakura in this chapter very detailed and specific. It addresses your concerns about the baby but also gives quite a bit of insight as to the 'why' of Sakura acting like she is. I hope this clears things up, and allays your fears.

MattWilson83: Yes, THE MattWilson83 who is also responsible for the phenomenal graphic novel NaruHina Chronicles on DeviantArt left me a review and was gracious enough to banter some ideas back and forth with me. Tweaks were made to the Sakura/Tsunade conversation based on his input, and I will be making some adjustments in the story going forward because of it. The destination won't change, but the journey getting there will. I appreciate him taking time to offer some ideas and perspective. And if you haven't looked at his work, you seriously need to check it out. ESPECIALLY his new one called "Attracting Naruto", which is for Pervy-Sage lovers everywhere and inspired me to add a piece to chapter 21 when it comes out.

GlassesGuest: Believe it or not, I read every review I get – even one as lengthy as yours. If people have a question or reference something specific, I respond personally but I couldn't in your case because you're a GUEST. All I can say is that I try to write as best as possible and I'm working on getting better. I know many of my readers have seen improvement since chapter one. And as far as the characters being OOC, well you have to remember that this story takes place eight or so years AFTER the fourth shinobi war. Everyone is at least twenty-six years old, so they're bound to be different than the teenagers that everyone reads about in the manga. People change, and that's what I wanted to portray. And I didn't take your review negatively; I count each one as a way to learn to be better.

NovaKing2832: Okay, this one needed some explanation, so here goes…I LOVE THE CLASSICS. That's classic television, movies, you name it. Saturday morning cartoons and a bowl of Crunch Berries? Best friggin' times of my life. It all got ruined by Pokemon and Power Rangers…Give me Animaniacs, Bugs Bunny or even The Tick anytime and I'm a happy camper.

It's also the reason why I put my disclaimer in the format that I do. There are certain movies that just make you laugh no matter how many times you watch them – that's how it becomes a classic. Monty Python and the Holy Grail…Airplane…Anchorman…you guys know the list. And there's one of my top three movies in the disclaimer for this week.

The reference before the lemon scene in my last chapter "Danger, Will Robinson!" is from a VERY old TV show called Lost In Space. The robot used to say it to the young boy (Will) on the show whenever there's...you know, danger. Someday I'll throw in a Carol Burnett Show reference and see if you guys get that one. Ever want to laugh your ass off over and over? Go to YouTube and search for "Tim Conway Dentist Sketch". Classic stuff.

Once again, this chapter is dedicated to the following authors who made mention of my story in their own works. If you haven't checked their stories out, you have NO idea what you're missing! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!

Arcana37210 – Rise of Ryujin

Ayrmed – Love's Never Easy

So without further ado, here's this month's disclaimer. And if you haven't seen this movie, you haven't lived. It's easily one of my top three comedies of all time.

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. But Mongo, perhaps you know why a high roller like Masashi Kishimoto is interested in the town of Rock Ridge.

Mongo – Don't know. Has to do with where choo-choo go.

Disclaimer – Mongo, why would Masashi Kishimoto care about where the choo-choo goes?

Mongo – Don't know. Mongo only pawn…in game of life. (+1 if you get the reference.)

---

Chapter 20 – I Have Seen The Face Of The Enemy

As Naruto walked through the halls of the academy, he couldn't help but feel a little bit nostalgic. After all, this was the place where his life had begun to change, moving beyond the dreadful moments of his childhood to a place where he'd started to forge true friendships with his classmates, as well as establishing a lifelong rivalry with his teammate – and now brother – Sasuke Uchiha.

Of course, there were other memories he wished to forget…those being his mindless pursuit of Sakura and his obliviousness towards Hinata and her feelings. But as Kurama had told him many months ago – and Saladin had forced him to come face to face with this during his recent training mission as well – you can't change the past. Better to accept what happened and move on, than to wallow in self-pity and dream about what might have been if things had been different.

He was happier now than he'd ever been, with a wife who loved him and a son he adored. And in the grand scheme of things, that was all that really mattered to him.

As he turned the corner down the final hallway, he heard Iruka giving a lecture to his students and it brought back another wave of memories…of him sleeping in class because the subject matter was so incredibly boring. Wondering if this discussion was anything like those had been, he stopped several feet outside the door and listened in…

Inside the classroom…

"So in order for someone to be able to perform an animal summons, they first have to sign the contract that creates a partnership between that individual and the respective species. However, don't be fooled into thinking it's merely that simple. The summons still must accept you as their vassal, and the more powerful summons require you to complete an extremely difficult challenge in order to prove your worthiness. Now, can anyone name for me one of the known summoning contracts?"

A girl in the back raised her hand. "Are bees one of them?"

Iruka nodded. "Very good, Kiyomi. Bees are one of the summoning contracts, although they are minor at best." He looked around the room. "Anyone else?"

This time a boy answered. "Doesn't the Hokage have the dog summoning contract?"

"Actually Takamu, they prefer to be called Ninken but technically that's also correct." Iruka answered. "But as impressive as those two are, they still fall into the category of a lesser summons. Can anyone here name one of the major summoning contracts?"

Another boy's voice said, "Our clan has the Wolf summoning contract; is that one?"

"Sorry Shiga, but no. The Wolf contract that the Inuzuka clan holds IS one of the more powerful ones, but it's still not a major summoning contract." Iruka said. "Anyone else?"

"Didn't Hanzō have the Salamander contract?" A girl answered from the back.

"Very good, Mitsu. Even though no one currently holds it, the Salamander contract is one of the major ones. Can someone name one for me that's still active?"

"How about the Toad summoning contract?"

Everyone turned in the direction of the voice, and saw Naruto leaning against the door frame, with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a lopsided smirk on his face.

Startled for a brief moment, Iruka quickly composed himself as he watched his former student walk into the classroom. "Naruto! This is an unexpected surprise."

"Dad! You're back!" An excited voice called out.

Naruto watched as Hikaru bounded down the stairs; a huge smile plastered across his face as he rushed over to hug him unabashedly. The boy obviously wasn't worried about the ribbing he would get from the rest of his male classmates. As he hugged Hikaru back, Naruto was very glad that he wasn't embarrassed about it, since he'd missed out on a lot of this when his son was younger.

"So what brings you to my classroom today?" Iruka asked curiously.

"Well, I just got back in town and thought it would be nice to spend the afternoon with my family, so I'm here to get Hikaru. After today, I'm probably not going to have much time to do that, since apparently I start my new job tomorrow."

Iruka nodded knowingly. "Ah, yes. Sorry, I forgot about that. I guess I should start calling you Hokage-sama now."

Naruto chuckled. "In front of your students, I'd say the answer is yes, Iruka-sensei. But all things considered, I think you're entitled to a little bit of leeway when we're off the clock." He knelt down in front of Hikaru. "Well young man, Kakashi-sensei tells me that you've made quite a bit of progress while I've been gone."

Hikaru nodded enthusiastically and exclaimed, "You bet, Dad!"

Naruto lifted his right hand and created a Rasengan. Eyes blazing, he looked at Hikaru and said, "Show me."

Mirroring his father's action, Hikaru raised his right hand and stared intensely at his palm, furrowing his brow in concentration. After a few seconds a Rasengan appeared in his hand, albeit one about half the size that Naruto produced.

Iruka was staring in awe at Hikaru. "Your…Your father taught you the Rasengan?" He asked incredulously.

Hikaru held up the swirling mass and stated, "Nah, Dad just showed me the basics. Hokage-sensei has been training me every afternoon for the last couple of months to learn how to do it."

Iruka didn't think it was possible, but his eyes opened even wider. "Hokage…You mean Kakashi? You…You've been training with Kakashi Hatake for two whole months?"

Hikaru dispersed the Rasengan and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, pretty much. Dad asked him to do it while he was gone."

"Why didn't you say anything about that?"

"Because you didn't ask, Iruka-sensei." He said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I figured since my dad asked him to do it while he was away on his super-secret mission that the training with Hokage-sensei was probably a secret as well."

Stunned and at a loss for words, Iruka could only stare at Hikaru until he was broken out of his trance by one of his students waiving their arm in the air.

"Yes, Yukiyo?"

"Iruka-sensei…" She pointed at Hikaru. "…what was that thing Hikaru just did?"

Iruka sighed. Trust Hikaru and Naruto to completely disrupt his lesson plan. "It's called the Rasengan, and it's a high-level A-ranked ninjutsu. It's the ultimate form of chakra shape manipulation, and its destructive capabilities are quite large. And if you add elemental chakra to it…well, let's just say you don't want to be anywhere near it when it goes off."

Yukiyo still looked skeptical. "It didn't look all that powerful, Iruka-sensei."

"You haven't seen it in action. I have. Trust me on this." He said firmly.

Another arm went up; it appeared to be a boy from the Inuzuka clan. Iruka asked, "Yes, Shiga?"

"Can I ask our new Hokage a question?"

Iruka looked at Naruto, who shrugged. "I guess. What did you want to ask me…Shiga, is it?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, sir. You just said that one of the major summoning contracts was the Toads. How is that even possible? Toads are small!"

An image of Gamabunta popped into his mind, and Naruto chuckled outwardly at the ridiculousness of the statement. "Well…Let's just say that the Toads I'm talking about are bigger than those you're used to seeing."

Shiga narrowed his eyes as he digested the answer. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "That still doesn't make any sense, Hokage-sama. I mean, even if they were WAY bigger than normal – like maybe the size of a cow or something – there's no way that's better than our Wolf contract. Wolves have teeth and claws. They'd tear that sucker to pieces!"

Naruto sighed in frustration. He could tell this class was full of doubters…not that he was surprised by it in the least, since he used to be exactly the same way. At their age, there were very few absolutes in life but there was one thing Naruto remembered quite clearly, which was seeing is believing. And then suddenly, an idea came to mind.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei." He said, grinning broadly. "You appear to have some students that are having a hard time believing us. Since today's lesson deals with summoning contracts, how about we take a little field trip and I give them a demonstration?"

"As long as you can finish up before their parents get here, I don't think it'll be a problem." Iruka said warily. "And that's only if they want to go, of course."

"Hey, everyone! Who wants the Hokage to show them some really cool jutsu?" Naruto asked the students enthusiastically.

The class started to shout excitedly in agreement. The decision it seemed, had already been made before Naruto even asked the question. And from the look on his face, Iruka could see that Naruto was eating up the attention like ramen from Ichiraku's.

---

In a flash of yellow light, twenty-one children and two adults appeared in the middle of training ground twenty-six, their hands interlocked. The formation didn't last long, as a few of the students fell to the ground soon after, woozy from the sudden lurch in their surroundings.

"You weren't kidding when you said that might be a bit…disorienting." Iruka commented, while rubbing his temples.

"Yeah, the Hiraishin no Jutsu can have that effect if you're not used to it." Naruto said sympathetically, as he helped some of the children stand back up. "Don't worry; it'll wear off in about a minute."

Once everyone made a full recovery, Naruto addressed the class. "Listen up, everyone. The first thing I'm going to show you is how a summons is done. The one I'll be summoning is Gamabunta, who happens to be the Chief Toad from Mount Myōboku, and there are two things you need to remember when he appears."

"First is that even though Gamabunta is a very imposing and intimidating, don't go running off in fright when you see him. He's not really dangerous unless you make him mad, and that brings me to the second item. You all need to remember that Gamabunta is a TOAD. Do NOT – under any circumstances – call him a frog."

A boy raised his hand. "What's the difference?" He asked curiously.

Naruto tilted his head in thought, and then chuckled. "You know, I've never really bothered to find that out. But his name begins with 'Gama' which means toad, and not 'Kaeru' which means frog. So that should tell you it's a very sensitive subject for him. Does everyone understand?"

The entire class nodded in agreement. Naruto adopted a serious look and crooked his finger at Hikaru. "While the rest of your class stays here, you're coming with me."

"Um, sure Dad." He said a bit reluctantly. "Can you tell me why, though?"

"Because you're my son, and I'm positive Gamabunta is going to want to meet you personally." Naruto smirked and asked, "You're not afraid, are you?"

The effect was immediate. "Me? Afraid? No way!" Hikaru shouted defiantly, walking swiftly out onto the field.

Naruto laughed inwardly at the sight as he followed his son. Despite the fact that he'd only been around the boy for only a few months, he found it uncanny how much Hikaru reminded Naruto of himself at that age.

Reaching the spot where Hikaru was standing, Naruto looked at him and inquired, "Are you ready?" After receiving a nod, Naruto bit his thumb and flashed through a few hands signs before slamming it into the ground and exclaiming, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A giant cloud of smoke appeared, and as it dissipated Gamabunta was revealed. All eighty two feet of him.

Having seen Gamabunta before, Naruto and Iruka knew what to expect. However, the entire class – including Hikaru – was stunned speechless at the sight, leaving Naruto to wonder which student was going to crack first.

"Holy cow!" A girl's voice exclaimed in shock. "He's HUGE!"

"Yeah! That's totally awesome!" A boy shouted back.

Gamabunta looked around before spying Naruto standing in front of him. "Oi! Minion!"

Naruto smiled. "Hey Gamabunta, long time no see."

Gamabunta let out a large puff of smoke from his pipe. "It has been quite a while, hasn't it?"

Slightly embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah, sorry about that. I know I should have contacted one of you guys sooner than this, but a lot's been going on in my life over the last several years."

Gamabunta looked around. "You don't appear to be in any trouble. You know how I hate being summoned when there isn't anyone for me to fight, so why'd you do it?"

"For a couple reasons, actually. I wanted to you meet my son, Hikaru." Naruto gestured and said, "Hikaru this is Gamabunta, the Chief Toad of Mount Myōboku."

Looking up, Hikaru nervously waived at him and said, "Uh…Hi, Chief Toad."

The same girl from before exclaimed, "And it talks too!"

This was followed once again by the same boy from before. "Yeah! That's totally awesome!"

"Shut up, Taysuke!" The girl hissed quietly. "Frogs aren't supposed to be able to talk! And why do you always think everything is awesome?"

"Not everything is awesome Nishi, but in this case it is! So there! Thwppp!" Taysuke retorted, sticking out his tongue and giving her the raspberry.

Gamabunta lowered his face to within a few feet of Hikaru in order to study him. "The tadpole doesn't appear to have any of your physical characteristics. Are you sure he's yours, and not some waif you picked up off the streets?"

"Hey! I resent that!" Hikaru shouted, offended at the comment. "My dad is the greatest ninja ever, and he wouldn't lie about who I am to anyone! You take that back!" He shouted, shaking his fist menacingly at the toad.

Gamabunta laughed at Hikaru's antics. "My mistake." He said dryly. "It's apparent to me now that he's your son, since his mannerisms are very much like yours used to be. Although based on his appearance I would guess he's around eight of your human years in age, which makes me wonder why Ma and Pa haven't seen the boy, or been told of this before now."

"That's because I only recently found out about him being by son. There were…complications surrounding the truth of the matter, but that's all been straightened out. When I bring my family to visit everyone at Mount Myōboku, I can explain everything in more detail."

"I'm sure Ma and Pa would like that, since they wonder how 'Naruto-boy' is doing quite often, you know." He spied Iruka and the other students standing about thirty feet in front of him, the looks on their faces ranging from curiosity, to shock and fear. "And now I'm guessing that this group has something to do with me being summoned as well."

Naruto shrugged noncommittally. "You guessed right. This is the rest of Hikaru's class at the academy. Today's lesson dealt with summoning contracts, and when I told them that the Toad contract was one of the most powerful they didn't believe me. They were also firmly convinced that you guys were quite small, and not nearly as powerful as the Wolf contract."

"Is that right?" Gamabunta asked sharply, lowering his face to within several feet of the group. "Which one of you said that?"

"IT WAS HIM! IT WAS HIM!" Nishi blurted out; her eyes wide with fright and pointing at Shiga.

"SQUEALER!" Shiga countered. He pointed back at Nishi and declared, "SHE CALLED YOU A FROG!"

Gamabunta swiveled his gaze around and stared Nishi down, blowing out a long puff of smoke as he did so. "Is this true?"

It took all of two seconds before her eyes rolled up in her head and Nishi fainted.

Naruto saw this, and was immediately reminded of Hinata from when they were kids…although she would faint for an entirely different reason. He was sure Gamabunta had enjoyed watching the girl pass out under his intimidating gaze, and before another child followed suit he decided to intervene.

"I think that's enough for today, Gamabunta. If you could, please tell Fukasaku and Shima that I'll contact them sometime soon for a visit, and I'll make sure to have a barrel of sake as payment for you showing up today."

Gamabunta nodded and said, "I'll do that. And make sure the sake is some of the best." He turned his head to stare at Hikaru. "I'll be seeing you again, brat. I guarantee it." And with that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"That was so cool, Dad!" Hikaru shouted with glee. "What's next?"

Naruto smirked at his son, who appeared to be enjoying showing him off to his classmates far too much. "YOU are going to stand with everyone else for this next part. It's very dangerous and I don't want you, or anyone else getting hurt. Okay?"

As Hikaru rejoined his class, he saw Iruka doing his best to wake up Nishi. "Naruto…I mean, Hokage-sama…Why am I not surprised that something like this happened?"

"According to what Shiga said, Nishi called Gamabunta a frog. I warned everyone not to do that." He stared accusingly at the boy. "Although we could have done without you pointing it out. Rather loudly, I might add."

Shiga suddenly found his feet very interesting. "She ratted me out first, Hokage-sama. I wasn't gonna let her get away with that."

Naruto fought the urge to laugh at the statement. Fortunately enough he didn't have to struggle long, since Nishi woke up a few seconds after that.

"Okay, for this next part it's important that everyone maintain a safe distance. First I'm going to demonstrate what the Rasengan can do, and then I'm going to show you what happens when you add wind element to it."

He held up his right hand and everyone saw the swirling mass of chakra appear. "This is the same technique everyone saw Hikaru and me create in the classroom earlier. Right?"

There were grunts and nods of agreement from most of them, while Hikaru stood to the side with his hands crossed in front of his chest, grinning smugly. Naruto walked out into the clearing, stopping in front of a large boulder. "Everybody watching?" He heard a chorus of 'yes' answers to his question. Grinning roguishly, he lifted his arm and shouted, "Check this out!"

Naruto drove his arm forward into the boulder, and they all watched as the Rasengan bored a hole through the middle of it like a drill. Once his arm was almost elbow deep, the rock seemed to shudder – like it was hoping to stand firm against the technique – but barely a moment later it exploded, showering Naruto with dust and debris.

Impressed by the display, the class turned to stare wide eyed at Hikaru, who hadn't moved an inch during the entire thing.

"Your jutsu can do that?" Taysuke asked. "That's totally awesome!"

"Yeah, I haven't had a chance to test it out on anything yet, but after seeing what Dad just did with it I gotta agree. It is totally awesome." Hikaru said.

Naruto walked back over to stand in front of the class. He held up a finger and said, "Now THIS time I'm going to add wind element to it, which greatly increases its destructive capabilities. But the only way to make sure I don't suffer any backlash from using it is to enter sage mode, which is what I'm going to show you right now."

He sat on the ground and closed his eyes, assuming the lotus position as he began to meditate. Everyone in the class wondered what he was doing until they saw the area around his eyes turn reddish-orange, and when he opened them up they all noticed his irises became yellow with black horizontal pupils.

Naruto stood back up and pointed at his eyes. "THIS is what happens when you become a master of the Sage Arts, and have the ability to harness nature energy. It dramatically increases your strength, speed and sensory awareness, and it's the only way I can perform this technique safely." He placed his hands behind his back and began to pace in front of the students. "Now before we go any further, there are a few items that need to be stressed, especially to one individual in particular."

"I'm not sure if Iruka-sensei went over this yet in class, but the element I'm about to combine the Rasengan with – wind – is the rarest of affinities. It consists of mostly short to mid-range techniques, combining precision with brute force and the offensive capabilities of it are quite deadly." He stopped and motioned his head toward Hikaru. "Now it's come to my attention that Hikaru had his chakra affinity secretly tested while I was gone and apparently its wind, just like mine. And that's why I'm directing this next comment solely at him."

Naruto lowered his face to within inches of Hikaru's and stared ominously at his son. "You are never – EVER – under any circumstances to try what I'm about to do next unless you've been schooled in the Sage Arts. I'm telling you this as your friend, your father and last of all as your Hokage. Because if you're ever stupid enough to ignore me and attempt to do it anyway, you should know that you'll cause irreparable damage to your arm, and more than likely lose full use of it permanently. Your career as a ninja for all intents and purposes will effectively be over. But as bad as all that sounds, it will pale in comparison to the punishment your mother and I will inflict upon you afterwards. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

Hikaru swallowed heavily. As unnerving as it normally would have been to be stared down by his father, the effect was magnified significantly because his eyes looked exactly like that gigantic toad his father had summoned before. Add to that the horrifying images of what his mother would do to him if he ever tried to copy what he was about to see, and Hikaru decided to live with an unsatisfied curiosity for once. He nodded vigorously to let his father know he understood the implied threat completely.

"Good!" Naruto exclaimed, his mood shifting suddenly back to positive. He walked out about thirty feet in front of the class and created a single clone, somehow without using hand signs which Hikaru found very interesting. Then he raised his right hand and created a Rasengan, holding it high for everyone to see.

"Once again, this is the same technique everyone saw me use on the boulder a few minutes ago. Correct?"

This time, instead of grunts he received a much more enthusiastic chorus of agreements. It appeared that the class was far more eager to see this demonstration than the last one, probably because they knew Hikaru was forbidden to do it.

Naruto held the Rasengan out, and the clone started to apply wind element to it. Everyone watched, transfixed as four large chakra blades appeared around it and began to spin, creating a screeching noise that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. What's worse is that as the blades grew larger the screeching sound became louder and more grating, sending a shiver down their collective spines.

Chuckling fiendishly, Naruto lifted the sphere into the air and declared, "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken." And then he turned, hurling the swirling vortex towards the forest at the far end of the clearing.

Everyone that watching expected it to blow up once it hit the trees, but it didn't. Instead it sliced through them, mowing them down with almost surgical precision – along with anything else that might be unfortunate enough to get in the way.

Once it reached about five hundred yards out, Naruto cut off his connection with it and caused it to explode. A dome of rapidly spinning chakra appeared and it expanded, taking only a few seconds to get as big as Gamabunta was. When it hit them, the resulting shockwave was impressive enough that everyone struggled to remain standing, and it carved a significant chunk out of the forest, as the technique shredded everything within its blast radius.

As the dome of spinning chakra slowly receded, Naruto released his sage mode and walked back over to where Iruka and his class were standing dumbfounded at the sheer display of power they just witnessed. He asked them all to join hands once again and they did so, allowing Naruto to transport them once again back to the classroom where he'd drawn the Hiraishin seal on the chalkboard before they left.

Once they reappeared, Naruto walked over to Hikaru and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked around the room and with an air of finality said, "I hope everyone enjoyed today's demonstration by your newest Hokage. And with that, I believe class is dismissed for the day." Then the two of them disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

The class stood silent for a while and Iruka decided to remain quiet, letting his students absorb everything they'd seen until someone decided to speak up. Unsurprisingly, it was a voice they'd heard several times already.

"I know I said this a lot today…" Taysuke reiterated. "…but THAT…WAS…AWESOME!"

And for once, no one disagreed with him.

---

Knock, knock, knock.

From his seat in the hospital room Sasuke turned around and spotted Kakashi standing in the doorway.

"Yo." Kakashi said in greeting, waiving his hand. "Thought I'd come by and see the newest member of the Uchiha clan."

As he mouthed the words, he quickly took in the demeanor of the room. Sakura was lying motionless in the bed, her eyes faraway as she stared out the window. Her face was a blank slate and held no emotion…not even a smile graced her lips, which was odd considering she was now the mother of the child she always wanted.

However, the small smile that Sasuke wore could be equated to an ear splitting grin on almost anyone else. His eyes shone with joy as he looked at his index finger, which was clutched in the tiny hand of the baby lying in the bassinet right next to his chair.

If it had been any other situation, Kakashi would have laughed at how odd the scene was. Less than a year ago, the roles of the two members of the Uchiha clan would have been reversed. Sasuke would have been the impassive one, caring only that the rebuilding of his clan had finally begun while Sakura on the other hand, would have been fawning all over their newborn child.

"Who am I to say no to a request like that?" Sasuke motioned for him to come over and he gently peeled the blanket back. A pair of half-lidded jet black eyes stared back at them, the cheeks slightly rosy. The hand that wasn't holding Sasuke's finger was curled up underneath the chin, and the lips smacked a little bit, as if tasting the air or searching for the first meal. The finishing touch was the fine, soft pink hair that covered the top of her head.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Mikomi Uchiha." Sasuke said, his eyes beaming with pride.

Daughter? Kakashi thought. This might be a problem. Sakura's been going on and on for the last two months telling anyone who'd listen that she was carrying a MALE Uchiha heir.

He eye smiled as he looked at the baby and said, "Hello, Mikomi. It's very nice to meet you." Then he shifted his gaze to Sakura. "Congratulations, Sakura. She's absolutely adorable. You must be very proud."

Sakura slowly turned her head in his direction, blinking a few times before continuing on to stare at her daughter lying in the bassinet. A ghost of a smile played across her lips as she softly answered, "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Then as cryptic as it appeared the smile vanished, and Sakura went back to staring out of the window.

Okay, that was extremely off kilter. I should ask Sasuke what's going on, but I can't do it in front of Sakura.

"Is there something on your mind, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke said curiously. "You look very deep in thought."

"You're observant as always, Sasuke. There are questions I wanted to ask you privately at our meeting earlier, but I didn't have a chance to do so because you were needed here. Can you spare a few minutes to talk?"

Sasuke nodded and disengaged his finger from Mikomi's grip. He then turned and placed a hand on Sakura's forehead, brushing the hair away from her eyes lovingly. "Will you be alright for a few minutes, Sakura?"

She nodded absently. "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke followed Kakashi out into the hall, closing the door tightly behind him. "It's only been a couple of hours since I left your office. What could you possibly need to ask me about that was so private that you'd come here to do it?" He raised one of his eyebrows as a notion popped into his head. "Unless…"

Kakashi interrupted him. "Yes Sasuke, they're about Naruto. But before I get to that, tell me…what the hell's going on in there?" He motioned his head towards the hospital room. "Your wife just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, the first Uchiha in almost twenty years and she's acting like her life is over. I've got ANBU agents that display more emotion than she is right now."

Sasuke rubbed his forehead, feeling as confused as Kakashi was. "I have no clue whatsoever. She's been like this ever since the baby was born. I'd chalk it up to post-partum depression, but according to the books I've read that shouldn't start for a couple more weeks." He narrowed his eyes accusingly. "Unless while I've been out of the village, something's been going on that I should know about."

Kakashi realized he'd just done the very thing he wanted to avoid today, which is tell Sasuke about what's been going on with Sakura. Sighing in resignation, Kakashi stared sympathetically at Sasuke, suddenly feeling like he'd aged ten years in an instant.

"Look, I didn't want to mention any of this to you today, what with it being your first day back and then coming to the hospital unexpectedly, but the last two months around here have been…intense, to say the least. Word spread about the conversation the four of you had in the hospital the day Anubis attacked, and the villagers have pretty much made it known that they're not pleased with what Sakura did. The ANBU I've assigned to her for assistance have been keeping me informed, and they tell me that she hasn't apologized to anyone or done one selfless act to try and make amends during the entire time you've been gone. The entire ordeal has been trying my patience on a number of levels, especially with the villagers and the rest of your classmates."

Sasuke took a moment for everything to sink in, before he frowned disapprovingly. "It appears that my wife didn't take to heart the advice I gave her in the letter I left, which shouldn't come as a surprise, considering both of us are well acquainted with her stubborn nature. At this point, I'm open to suggestions if you have any, since I believe a lecture from me is the last thing she needs. Perhaps it should be someone who has more experience in these matters and can use a…gentle touch with Sakura."

Kakashi grunted. "Agreed, and I think I have an idea. I'll have Tsunade come by here tomorrow, since not only does she have experience in handling delicate situations like this, but the two of them DO share a common bond as teacher and student. Besides, I think it's about time they talked anyway. There's a lot of unresolved tension between them."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "So all that aside, what exactly did you have to ask me about Naruto? Like I said, I can't be very specific about what happened. Telling you my name was pushing it."

Kakashi eye smiled at him. "I know, but after tomorrow I don't think generalities are going to be that much of an issue anymore. While you two were gone, someone from your organization and her daughter showed up in the village looking for Naruto. I told her where the two of you went and why, and she decided to wait until Naruto got back since she won't reveal why she's here to anyone else but him. However, I'm positive that will extend to you since you're now a member. So, rather than have the two of them languish in isolation until your return, I've had them staying at the house with Hinata since she's the only other person in the village who even knows about your organization. And as my last official act as Hokage, I'm calling for a meeting between the four of us tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."

Sasuke looked at him quizzically. "Let me get this straight. You've had someone from our organization – a female member and her daughter – staying with Hinata since they showed up in the village? When was that?"

"About a month or so ago. Why?"

Sasuke ignored him. "Is THAT the reason why you were intentionally vague earlier? Did Naruto know the two of them were there before you sent him home?"

"Of course not. I figured he might like the surprise. Besides, it's much more entertaining and fun for me this way."

Sasuke groaned. "You know, you're only making things worse for yourself, Kakashi-sensei. Besides being our new Hokage, Naruto is the king of pranks. I'm sure whatever revenge he's been plotting against you since this morning has already gone up several notches."

"Like I said a few hours ago, I can worry about that all I want while I'm retired. Now, what I really wanted to ask you about Naruto is an answer I've been trying to get out of him for months." Kakashi leaned forward and asked inquisitively, "Just how strong is he?"

Sasuke blanched. "You know, it's ironic that you should ask that, because on this trip I came to the realization that if the two of us ever got into a fight again, the dobe would beat me hands down. Not to mention the amount of damage we'd do to the surrounding landscape."

"I find that a bit hard to believe, Sasuke. The one time I saw Naruto in action was against Anubis, and even though it was pretty impressive – especially that Unstable Resonance jutsu he did – I didn't see anything that would scare someone like you that much."

"That's because you're forgetting your own rule, Kakashi-sensei. You need to look underneath the underneath."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in bafflement. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well, think of it like this. If you were tasked with killing an ant – one small, insignificant creature about a half an inch long – would you go out of your way to drop a large rock on it, or just use the tip of your finger?"

Kakashi shrugged. "The tip of my finger, I guess. Why waste the effort if I don't need to?"

"And that's exactly my point." Sasuke said smugly. "You and I both know that it's a ninja's job to be cunning. To use deceit and trickery if we have to, in order to complete the mission and return home alive. To always hide your true abilities, so that you can catch the enemy off guard. Naruto hasn't shown you his real power because he hasn't had a need to, and he wanted to make sure no one else was injured or hurt because of it."

Kakashi deadpanned. "So you're telling me his techniques are really that dangerous?"

Sasuke nodded. "I had a chance to see most of them during the training. You're lucky he didn't use any when he fought Anubis, otherwise he'd have taken out a chunk of the village along with killing that pathetic excuse of a human being. Naruto only used taijutsu and the Unstable Resonance jutsu because it was the best way to take him out while causing the least amount of damage."

"I will say this, Kakashi-sensei. If you ever…EVER…see him truly pissed off – enough so that he uses Kurama's chakra – just start running as fast as you can and hope whatever distance you put between the two of you will be enough. The dobe's true maximum – not that shell of it you've seen so far – is without a doubt a frightening thing to behold."

---

Early the next morning, Naruto and Freyja found themselves walking through the streets of the village. Kakashi had summoned them for a nine o'clock meeting to discuss what Freyja had come to the village about, and afterwards Naruto would begin his duties as the Hokage of Konoha. Hikaru had just left for his classes at the academy, and they'd asked Hinata to watch over Reira until Freyja got back to the house.

Even though the streets were sparsely populated with people, those that saw Naruto smiled and waved, offering him their congratulations. Any children that happened to be around ran up to meet him, awestruck at being able to meet the man who had done so much, not only for the village but the elemental nations as well. Being Hokage only made the moment that much more special.

All the attention he was getting also made the walk to the Hokage Tower slow going. Naruto had briefly thought about using the shunshin to get there, but decided against it since it was his first day on the job, and he wanted thank the villagers personally by showing himself in public.

"You know, we could have avoided all of this by either leaving earlier or using a henge to disguise ourselves." Freyja commented.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Naruto said, smiling at the sight of a little girl running to tell her parents that she had just met the new Hokage. "But I worked my ass off to get this job, and have everyone in the village see me as something other than a monster. A little meet and greet isn't going to hurt any, and frankly it's a small price to pay for everything I've gained in the last few months."

Freyja glanced sideways at him. "Monster? Why the hell would these people see you as a monster?"

"Umm…That's a conversation we can have some other time." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Let's just get to the office so everyone can hear what you have to say."

Freyja snorted. "I'm still wondering why the hell we're having our meeting there. You know the rules, Gabriel. The Cyclops isn't part of our group, so why are you even letting him listen in?"

"For a variety of reasons, but the most important one is that when I'm out of the village, Kakashi-sensei is going to be in charge and if that's the case, it's important for him to have some basic knowledge about us to deal with potential threats and defend the village. And for your information Freyja, he's not a Cyclops. Kakashi-sensei has two working eyes; he just covers one of them up most of the time."

"Really?" Freyja asked, her curiosity peaked. "He keeps his other eye hidden, along with the rest of his face? Why? Is he horribly disfigured or something?"

He shook his head. "What's actually underneath his mask is one of the biggest secrets in the village, and I don't know of anyone alive that's actually seen him without it. He's dressed in that outfit since before I was born. I guess because it's the same outfit his dad used to wear before he died. Rumor has it that he's actually quite handsome, even though no one has any proof of it."

"Right. Let's just say I'll believe it when I see it."

Naruto smirked. "You and everyone else in the village."

A few minutes later, the two of them arrived at the Hokage Tower and walked into the office. Sasuke was already there, sitting on the couch and looking very tired, but also contented.

"Welcome, you two." Kakashi greeted them. As soon as the door closed he raised the privacy seals, and then eye smiled at Naruto and said teasingly, "So I'm guessing you figured out what I was alluding to yesterday about having another conversation regarding the Mienai Segi."

"Yeah. Real nice, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said scathingly. "You know how much of a shock it was when I walked in the door and saw Freyja and Reira? Not to mention the fact that Hinata thought Reira was my daughter?"

"Wait…Did I just hear you say that Hinata thought Reira was yours?" Freyja asked incredulously. "Why didn't you mention this before now? And where the hell did she get a ridiculous idea like that?"

"I didn't mention it because it wasn't worth mentioning. And as far as where she got the ridiculous idea, it's because Reira has blonde hair and blue eyes, like me."

"A lot of people have blond hair and blue eyes, Gabriel."

"My wife jumps to conclusions sometimes. I've tried breaking her of the habit, but so far I haven't had very much success."

"Hn." She motioned her head towards Sasuke. "What's the reason for him being here?"

"Oh, sorry. Freyja, this is Sasuke Uchiha. During my mission to talk with Saladin, I brought him along as a possible candidate. He passed the initial training and is now a member of the Mienai Segi. He's my friend, my rival and my brother in everything but blood."

Freyja eyed Sasuke warily. After a few seconds, she cocked an eyebrow and asked, "What name did Saladin give you?"

"Thanatos." Sasuke said curtly.

This time both eyebrows went up. "Thanatos? The demon of death? Not bad. You must have really impressed Saladin to get that name. It's not every day he gives out an alias that's so…blunt."

"Thanks…I think." He said blandly. "While we're at it, what does your name mean?"

Freyja sported a wicked grin. "She's the Queen of the Valkyries, who are pretty much a bad ass warrior race of women. She's got a wicked broadsword and isn't afraid to use it."

Now who's being blunt about their alias? Kakashi thought. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "All of this is very fascinating, but let's try to remember why we're here in the first place. When Freyja showed up here a little over a month ago, I told her that you and Sasuke went to see Saladin because Anubis attacked the village. Her response to that was 'he's already started to move' and refused to say anything else until you got back." He gestured towards Naruto. "Now that he's here, how about you fill us in as to what's going on?"

Freyja stared at Kakashi for a moment and then sighed, before collapsing into one of the chairs in front of his desk. "I know who ordered Anubis to attack your village, and it's the same person who's leading the renegade faction of the Mienai Segi." She gave Naruto a haunted look and said, "It's Gideon."

As soon as he heard the name, Naruto froze. Not from surprise, shock or even fear…but because he was angry. It was his first day on the job, and Freyja had just dropped this tremendous pile of shit in his lap.

"Fuck." Since he couldn't go to training ground twenty-six right now and vent some frustrations out on the landscape, he decided to settle for cursing instead. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." He walked over to the window, so he could look out over the village he'd sworn to protect. He raised his hands over his head and screamed, "FUCK!"

Kakashi watched the display with mild interest. "Not that I'm trying to interrupt your – well, whatever it is you're doing – but who exactly is Gideon?"

"Fuck."

"And thank you for that informative description." Kakashi said sarcastically, turning to Sasuke. "Can you tell me who Gideon is?"

Sasuke shook his head. "It's obvious that he's one of the Mienai Segi, but other than that I have no idea. We never talked about the other members of the organization, and meetings between them and Saladin were done while Naruto and I were off somewhere training."

"He's the second strongest member after Saladin." Naruto said, deciding to offer something other than a constant stream of vulgarity. "Roughly translated, his name means 'the destroyer'. You guys can fill in the blanks on the rest. And if he's involved, there's no telling how deep this goes or how bad things could possibly get." He stared hard at Freyja. "What caused him to go rogue?"

"I'm not really sure. But he's twisting the meanings behind what Saladin taught us. He's got it in his head that the only way to achieve happiness and enlightenment is through overwhelming strength and oppressive power. He believes it's his destiny to rule."

Naruto rubbed his forehead in frustration, as he digested what he just heard. "You just said he's the one in charge of the renegade faction. So who else is working for him?"

Freyja shrugged. "Other than Anubis, I've got no idea – and the only reason I know about him is because Hokage-sama here spilled the beans about your fight when I showed up in the village. As to how many, there should be about six left since you offed Anubis and his private army."

Naruto began to pace around the room, clearly agitated. "That's far too much support for this to be a recent development. And that tells me he's been plotting behind the scenes for quite some time. So then how the hell is he getting around Saladin's Mind Submission jutsu?"

She grunted. "He's learned how to shield himself from it, obviously. Don't ask me how he does it, because I didn't ask and he never told me. But I'll bet Hokage-sama's mask that everyone working for him knows how to do it too."

He stopped pacing. "Does Saladin know about any of this?"

She shook her head sadly. "No. As much as I wanted to tell him, Reira's safety is my first priority. When I found out what was going on, I smuggled Reira out in the middle of the night as soon as I could. You told me once that you were originally from Konoha, so I came here in secret, looking for you."

Kakashi narrowed his eye accusingly as he looked at Freyja. "That doesn't make any sense to me. If Saladin is the strongest one of the Mienai Segi, then why wouldn't you go to him first?"

Freyja glared at him. "Other than going to see Saladin first is exactly what Gideon would expect me to do? It's because several years ago when I offered myself to Gabriel and he turned me down, he promised instead that he'd be there for me if I ever needed help – and as much as it galls me to admit it, that's exactly what I need right now. There's no way I'm going up against Gideon alone, and Gabriel is stronger than I am. So I'm formally requesting sanctuary in this village for both Reira and myself."

Kakashi and Sasuke slowly turned their heads to stare incredulously at Naruto.

He sighed awkwardly. "Fine. Since you're both going to ask, it was a few years after I joined the Mienai Segi and I was still looking for ways to end my life. I was asking Saladin specifically for suicide missions and challenged anyone I could to a fight, hoping someone would be strong enough to take me out permanently. Freyja accepted my challenge, we fought and I beat her. She showed up at my room later that night and offered herself to me unconditionally. I politely declined her offer."

The other two men in the room scrutinized Freyja for a moment before turning their gaze back to Naruto.

"Okay, I'll bite." Sasuke said, baffled. "Considering what she looks like, why the hell would you do something as stupid as that?"

"If you must know, I was still having Sakura issues at the time." Naruto said brusquely. "The offer was still very tempting, though."

Kakashi's lone eye went wide, and he snapped his fingers as a sudden realization hit him. "Okay, wait a minute. The day you showed up in the village, I asked you where your tattoos were and you said that only two people other than Saladin have seen them. You practically just admitted that Naruto has seen you – err, naked is really the nicest way to say it – which tells me that's the only way someone can see your tattoos. And if that's the case, then I'm willing to bet that the other person who's seen them would be Reira's father."

A pall of silence came over the room, as Freyja said nothing to refute the claim Kakashi had just made.

"It's Gideon, isn't it?" Sasuke said almost accusingly. "That's the reason why you know so much about him, and it's the reason why you're asking for sanctuary in Konoha. Which begs the question…does he know Reira is his daughter?"

Her demeanor suddenly changed as Freyja growled menacingly. "Absolutely not. You two are the only members of the Mienai Segi that know about Reira's existence, and other than our name, Reira doesn't know anything about who we are or what we do. I've gone through a hell of a lot of trouble to keep each side ignorant of the other, and it's gonna stay that way."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and asked, "So what happens now? We all know that Saladin has to be informed about this as soon as possible. You're the Hokage now so that means you're staying put. So between me and Freyja, who are you going to send?"

Naruto began to pace again, as he considered all the options available. One thing he'd learned during his Hokage training was that no decision – no matter how small – should be taken lightly, and this one was significantly larger and more important than the rest.

"Neither one of you." He finally said. "Freyja asked me to protect her and Reira, so she's staying in the village, point blank. A trip for you to where Saladin is will be a two week round trip at best since you can't use the Hiraishin no Jutsu, and you're a brand new father as well. I'm not heartless enough to pull a stunt like that and send you away again after being gone for two months. Besides, I'm going to need you around for something I've got planned with the village council."

"I know it's breaking the rules, but I'm going to send an ANBU to deliver the message to Saladin. Freyja, I'll honor my word and give you sanctuary but you're going to give me concessions in return. I'll discuss what those are later, along with what you asked me this morning. Sasuke, go back to the hospital and spend some time with Sakura and the baby. I'll see you tomorrow to discuss the idea I need your help with in regards to the council." Freyja and Sasuke nodded, acknowledging his instructions before he lowered the privacy seals, allowing them to leave the office.

Kakashi looked at him sympathetically and said, "Not the kind of thing you were expecting your first day on the job, but I think you did just fine. Even if you weren't Hokage, I would have had you here anyway because you're the most qualified person to make a decision about this particular subject."

Naruto gave him an icy stare. "Yeah, right. Compliments aren't going to work this time, Kakashi-sensei. I'm still plotting my revenge against you for a variety of things. This little talk today just made it worse. And don't even think about leaving this office, because you're sticking around for at least the next week to help me with the transition."

"That's fair enough. But as my last official act as Rokudaime Hokage, I'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."

Naruto shrugged. "I don't see why not. Go ahead."

Kakashi fidgeted a bit, before looking at Naruto sheepishly. "Umm…I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Freyja. What's her specialty?"

Naruto gave Kakashi a blank stare, clearly shocked. He'd expected his former sensei to ask something far different than this. "She's a kenjutsu expert – probably the best I've ever seen, but she uses a broadsword instead of a katana. Basically, she's as fast and strong as Might Guy, but her skills make Tenten – who's pretty damn good – look like an amateur. She also has an earth affinity to boot."

"A broadsword? She didn't have any weapons on her when she arrived in the village, and I'm positive she wouldn't have left something like that behind before she fled wherever she was."

"She keeps it here." Naruto said, pointing to a spot on his back. "As a favor, I tattooed a storage seal at the top of her spine a few weeks after we met. It's far more practical that way, since a four foot long broadsword would stick out like a sore thumb during covert missions, which the organization does quite often. I won't tell you what the sword is capable of, but I will tell you it has a name. She calls it SuchīRushadou."

Kakashi mulled that over for a moment, before nodding in understanding. "Okay, last question. Where exactly are her tattoos? And why does someone have to defeat her in battle in order to see them?"

Naruto blinked a few times, and then he grinned lecherously as he finally understood where Kakashi was going with this. "Why Kakashi-sensei…You wouldn't happen to actually LIKE Freyja, would you?"

Kakashi's eye went wide with shock. "What? No! No, I'm just asking for…uh, a friend…who, you know…was just curious. And thought she was interesting. That's all."

Naruto thought that was the most pathetic lie he'd ever heard in his life, and it was clear that his former sensei was embarrassed at being caught asking something so obvious.

"The mentality of the Valkyries – which of course is where Freyja derives her name - is that they will offer their mind, body and soul only to someone who has proven themselves worthy by defeating them in battle. With Freyja that's a pretty short list of people. As for her tattoos, they're on the front of her hips which means that her underwear pretty much has to be off in order to see them, and that's not happening unless you beat her in a fight."

Kakashi stared at a spot on his desk for a minute. He knew Naruto was well aware of why he was asking, which is why Naruto gave him the answer that he did. If he was truly interested, he was going to have to earn the right to be with Freyja because she wouldn't accept him any other way. And with what Naruto said about her skills it was going to be pretty fucking hard, even with him being an elite jōnin, for Kami's sake.

He looked up at Naruto and eye smiled. "So…Want to try out the seat?"

Naruto nodded and his eyes lit up, as he watched Kakashi vacate the spot he'd always dreamed of occupying since he was young. He sat down and caressed the top of the desk with his hands, as a grin of pure joy appeared on his face.

The sight reminded Kakashi of a child who'd received the best birthday gift in their life. He chuckled as he sat down on the couch and asked, "What are you going to do first?"

Naruto hesitated for a second, and then opened the top right drawer to press a button. Within moments, an ANBU wearing a Hawk mask was kneeling in front of him.

When Hawk saw who was sitting at the desk, he turned to look at Kakashi who then nodded and gestured towards Naruto. Hawk turned back and said, "My apologies, Hokage-sama. How may I be of assistance?"

"Do you know if Temari Sabaku and Shikamaru Nara in the village?"

Hawk nodded. "Yes. They arrived two days ago from Suna."

"Bring them to my office as soon as possible."

The ANBU nodded and disappeared in cloud of smoke.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Are you planning on having them head back to Suna and tell Gaara you finally made Hokage?"

Naruto bared his teeth in an unnerving grin. "You know it. But before I do that, I'm going to make Shikamaru an offer he can't refuse."

---

*** One Hour Earlier***

Tsunade had just arrived at the hospital, but rather than head straight to her office she had a different destination in mind. Kakashi came to see her last night, concerned about the visit he'd had with Sasuke and Sakura the previous day.

She hadn't seen her former apprentice in over two months, and the reason for that had been…well, a combination of things. She'd spent the first month so completely shit-faced that she barely remembered anything at all. Memory blackouts because of excessive alcohol wasn't something that normally happened with her because of the tolerance she'd built up over the years, but apparently she'd made a concerted effort to make it happen anyways. Embarrassingly enough, she succeeded.

The second month she'd avoided Sakura because of anger issues with her former apprentice. After she'd sobered up – or rather, Hinata had forced her to – she'd sought out Neji, who according to rumor (or Ino, which was basically the same thing) had been eavesdropping outside the hospital room the night Naruto had confronted Hinata and Sakura over the Nadeshiko mission file.

Neji told her everything Sakura had said. Tsunade knew that wasn't the entire story, but it had been enough. Her anger at Sakura had grown exponentially, along with the guilt over how she'd treated her adopted grandson.

But as angry as she was, today she was going to take a different approach and subtly play the role of a psychologist. Yesterday, Kakashi had done two things – first of all, he'd pleaded with her to GENTLY find out what was wrong with Sakura. And second, he'd given his final command as Rokudaime Hokage to report her findings to Naruto, who would be the Shichidaime Hokage as of today.

In all honesty, both tasks scared the living shit out of her. Being gentle with anyone was never her strong suit, and Naruto – well, facing him would be one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do in her life.

She walked down the hall and rounded the corner towards the private wing of the maternity ward. As it always had with Sakura and herself, being one of the top medics in the village came with its share of benefits. The door to Sakura's room was open, and when Tsunade entered she saw that Sakura was awake and sitting up in bed, barely eating her food as she picked at her breakfast. Her new baby was laying a bassinet next to the bed, eyes curiously looking around the room.

"You and I both know that childbirth takes a lot out of you, Sakura. You should be eating far more than that."

Sakura 's head slowly came up as she looked in the direction of the voice. "Shishou. It's…good to see you." A small smile appeared on her face and she asked, "Are you here to see the baby?"

Tsunade nodded. "You know I'll never pass up an opportunity like that." She reached towards the bassinet and asked, "May I?"

Sakura nodded slightly. "Go ahead."

Tsunade picked up the baby, cradling it in her arms as she peeled back the blanket, revealing a pink head of hair. Tsunade knew right away that the baby was a girl, and that everyone who saw her would have no doubt that Sakura was her mother.

"She's beautiful, Sakura." Tsunade said, caressing the baby's cheek. "What did you name her?"

"I didn't. Sasuke-kun did. He named her Mikomi."

Tsunade smiled. "The name means hope. That's actually kind of prophetic."

"Yes." She said dully. "Sasuke-kun said it meant hope for our daughter. Hope for the clan. Hope for the future."

"Sakura, is something wrong?" Tsunade said, concerned. "I've helped several hundred women give birth over the years, and other than very extreme cases I have yet to see someone as…discorded as you are right now."

Sakura gave a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry Shishou, it's just that…this wasn't part of the plan."

"Plan? What plan? I'm a bit confused, Sakura. Wasn't having a baby and helping your husband restore the Uchiha clan what you've always wanted?" She held out Mikomi. "What about her? Don't you love your daughter?"

Sakura gazed at her daughter, and a full-fledged smile graced her face as she reached out and lovingly stroked Mikomi's head with her fingers. "Please don't misunderstand me, Lady Tsunade. I love my daughter very much; it's just that…she isn't what I was expecting. For the last few months, the doctors told me that I was having a MALE Uchiha heir. After Mikomi came out, I challenged them on it and they basically told me that between her hand being in the wrong place and the umbilical cord superimposed on top of that, they made a mistake reading the ultrasound." She stopped caressing the baby's head and turned back towards the window, her eyes faraway. "It's just another unexpected change that's happened recently in my life. I just wish that I could have been the one to inspire it for once."

Tsunade placed Mikomi back in the bassinet. "The way you worded that answer, you make it sound like there's more than one. Perhaps you could be a bit more specific."

Sakura turned back to stare at Tsunade, but the look in her eyes still seemed lost. "The…plan…my dream…since I was young has always been to marry Sasuke-kun and help him restore the Uchiha clan to greatness. I wanted to be the catalyst for that change, but instead it's been…Naruto."

Tsunade decided to play dumb for a bit, hoping that it would keep Sakura talking. "Umm...I'm still wondering what you're talking about, Sakura. What's Naruto got to do with this?"

"He has everything to do with this, Lady Tsunade. It's only been over the last few months that I've really had the chance to think about it, though. Naruto is the center. The source. Things have always revolved around him. It was bad enough when we were young, but over the last six months those changes have been…accelerated."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit, Sakura. A lot of what happened when you two were younger was centered around the Kyuubi, and the plans the Akatsuki had to create the Juubi and draw everyone into the Infinite Tsukuyomi. That's the fault of circumstance, not necessarily Naruto."

"Do you know what actually happened when I finally convinced Naruto to go after Sasuke-kun all those years ago?" Sakura said fervently, completely ignoring Tsunade. "Sasuke-kun told me that Naruto followed him around for two weeks, pleading with him to come back not only to Konoha, but to me as well. Naruto even wrote letters to all of the other Kage, cashing in several personal favors to make it possible." She turned to stare fiercely at Tsunade. "Apparently, how Sasuke-kun felt about me never entered into the picture. He came back because Naruto pestered him into doing it."

Tsunade barely kept her temper in check. According to Neji, there had been no 'convincing' – Sakura had ripped his heart out and drove him out of the village. Tsunade remembered vividly from her conversation with Naruto that he'd tried ardently – without success – to end his life since that happened, because he didn't want to live with the pain anymore.

"For the five years we've been married, I've tried everything I could think of to change Sasuke-kun. I wanted to make him less broody and open up emotionally. I wanted him to express his feelings outwardly, so that everyone could finally see the love he has for me." She slowly blinked, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye and ran down the side of her head. "We tried so many times to get pregnant. Whenever it didn't happen, all we'd do is argue back and forth over the reasons why. In five years…nothing changed. But I could live with it, because for once I was the center of attention. I was the focus of Sasuke's world. And that's the way I've always wanted it."

Her tone turned sullen. "And then Kakashi-sensei brought Naruto back to Konoha…and it's almost like he never left. Things are revolving around him, just like before. It galls me that after only six months of being back in the village, he's inspired more change in my husband than I ever have. Sasuke-kun has become more outgoing and expressive. He's less angry. His entire philosophy on life has changed. He told me that without intending to do so, Naruto showed him that protecting everyone who is precious to him is the true path to strength, and that's the path he wants to walk."

"He even asked Naruto to be his brother, considering him to be family as much as me. And the dobe accepted." Sakura said in a dead tone.

"And now Naruto is Hokage. He's beloved by the villagers. He has the family he always wanted. He's gotten everything while my world has crumbled around me, mainly because my so-called friends blabbed to everyone about the conversation Neji overheard that night at the hospital. The villagers hate me because I tried to give up Hikaru to an orphanage in Suna. Most businesses won't sell anything to me because of what I supposedly allowed to happen to Hinata."

There's no supposedly about it. Tsunade thought. At any time you could have revealed the truth, but you allowed Hinata to suffer at the hands of the villagers. And the worst part is that I let it take place, making me just as guilty as you.

Sakura turned to look at the bassinet by her bed; her melancholy look suddenly replaced by one that was warm and sunny. "The baby was going to be my salvation from the hell I've been living through these past few months. The villagers would fixate less on me, and more on the first MALE Uchiha heir born in almost twenty years." She extended a hand to stroke her daughter's cheek. "I just hope Mikomi can still make that happen."

To anyone who might be watching the scene, Tsunade appeared calm and composed as she sat in her chair, but on the inside her mind was racing. Sakura had basically just spilled her guts as to the reasons behind her current…lethargic state. The fact that a mistake was made about the baby being a boy seemed to be a rather minor reason; Tsunade could plainly see that Sakura loved her daughter a great deal.

As to the rest, those reasons had a face – and it was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, current Hokage of Konoha. She blamed him for everything that had happened in her life recently, which was far from being reality. She was slipping mentally, and something needed to be done about it.

"Well, by the looks of things your daughter appears to be hungry." Tsunade said, smiling innocently. "Why don't I give you some privacy so you can feed her, while I see if anything can be done to make your situation a bit less…stressful going forward. Okay?"

Sakura smiled back, pleased at the offer for help. At least there was ONE person in the entire village that didn't treat her like a pariah. "That would be wonderful, Shishou. Thank you very much."

Tsunade rose and quickly left, closing the door behind her. Once she was out of Sakura's sight, the look on her face changed to one of extreme concern because she was worried about the ramifications of what she'd just heard.

She had no reason to believe that Sakura was a danger to her daughter. But it was plain to see that her views on who's to blame for her current situation were…skewed. Naruto was clearly the person she'd tagged as the main reason why her life was now so difficult. The rest of her classmates had been included to a lesser extent because they spread the story of the hospital conversation to everyone in the village.

As much as she was dreading it, she needed to see Naruto sometime today and tell him how unbalanced Sakura was acting. Hopefully he wouldn't hold too much of a grudge against either Sakura or herself – even though she wouldn't blame him if he did.

---

"Are you sure you didn't do anything wrong?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "For the last time troublesome woman, I'm positive. We've only been back in Konoha two days and you've been with me the entire time. Kakashi-sensei probably wants to send us back to Suna early for some reason."

Temari sighed. "Yeah, maybe you're right. It would be nice to get back home early for a change. Besides, right now with Matsuri pregnant I'm the only person who can handle her mood swings. Gaara has been trying to be understanding, but let's face it…emotions are not his strong suit."

Shikamaru grunted. "You'll get no argument from me about that."

They entered the Hokage's office only to find Kakashi sitting on the couch, reading one of his Icha Icha novels. He glanced up and eye smiled at them, as they stared back at him in confusion.

"Hokage-sama, is there a reason why you're just relaxing on your couch?" Temari asked curiously. "Every time we come to your office, you're always sitting…"

"Temari." Shikamaru interrupted her. "It's because he's not the Hokage anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about, Shika?" She asked, glaring at her boyfriend. "Who else…"

Her voice trailed off as the two of them looked at each other in abject horror before turning around to stare at the desk. Slowly, the chair rotated around to reveal Naruto, his fingers steepled in front of him and a wicked grin plastered across his face. As a finishing touch, he was wearing the Hokage hat.

"Kami help us. It's the end of the world as we know it." Shikamaru said cynically.

Temari nodded reluctantly. "I never thought I'd say this, but this meeting just became…troublesome."

"Nice to see you both as well." Naruto said comically. He activated the privacy seals before gesturing to the chairs in front of him. "Please…Have a seat."

The long standing couple gingerly sat down, still staring at their newest Hokage. Naruto briefly thought about toying with his two friends, but decided instead to be professional and get right to the point.

"So…" He said, placing his arms on the desk and leaning towards them. "You're probably wondering why I called the two of you here today."

Temari nodded hesitantly, but Shikamaru smirked and said, "I'm guessing that you want us to head back to Suna to let Gaara know that you finally made Hokage, and that they should prepare for a visit from you within the week so you can brag all about it."

Naruto laughed heartily. "As usual, you hit the nail on the head Shikamaru. However, this time you're only half right." He grinned broadly at his classmate. "I'd like to offer you a job."

"I already have a job, Naruto. I'm the Ambassador to Suna."

"I'm talking about a better job. One you can't refuse. One more suited to your talents."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"

"Your official title will be Advisor to the Hokage, but in reality the job will be much more than that." Naruto gave a long sigh. "It's no secret that for years, politicians with tiny brains and massive egos have made decisions not necessarily in the best interests of the village, but rather based on greed and petty revenge."

His gaze hardened as he stared intently at Shikamaru. "That's not going to happen on my watch. As of now, I'm taking this village back and it's going to be about the people living here, not about those who are fortunate enough to have a seat on the council. You'll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. In essence, you'll be running a spy network within the borders of Konoha, and you'll both answer and report only to me. If this works out and you do a good enough job, I'll be expanding your network to include the one outside of Konoha as well."

"To be honest Naruto, that sounds an awful lot like what Danzō used to do." Shikamaru said cautiously. "And I'm not interested in becoming a carbon copy of him."

"And neither am I, Shikamaru. You're not being given the authority to amass your own personal army in the shadows of Konoha. Quite a bit of the job you'll be undertaking will require you to make decisions on the fly, but there will still be checks and balances in place, because I'm not going to allow to you act with complete autonomy either. And besides the fact that you're the smartest person I know, another reason why I'm offering you this position is because I trust you not only with my life, but with the lives of every one of the villagers."

"This will be the greatest game of Shogi you will ever play. The pieces will be real, as will the results. You'll see firsthand the reality of your successes and failures, as well as the consequences of your actions, both good and bad. It's the ultimate test for your intelligence, no matter how you look at it."

"So…" Naruto said inquisitively. "Does the job intrigue you enough to want it?"

Temari was listening to the conversation with more than a little trepidation. What Naruto was proposing for Shikamaru was certainly one of the most important jobs a person could ever have, and she knew it played right up to the one thing her boyfriend wouldn't be consistently lazy about or find too troublesome to do.

But that also meant that he wouldn't be the Ambassador to Suna anymore. They might not see each other for weeks, maybe months on end. It wouldn't just put a strain on their relationship; it could possibly end it altogether.

She would never admit it publically, but she loved the lazy bum. She didn't want to lose him…but she also knew that turning down a request like this from the Hokage was practically impossible to do.

"Will I get my own office?" Shikamaru inquired.

Naruto gave him a lopsided grin and said, "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Shikamaru returned the grin and said, "Then I'm in."

"Glad to hear it." He lowered the privacy seals. "Tomorrow, you two will head to Suna and let Gaara know I'm coming for a visit. You'll start your new job once you get back." He reached into the pouch strapped to his leg and pulled out one of his three-pronged kunai. "Take this with you and leave it at their front gate. I'll use the Hirashin no Jutsu to transport myself there on Friday at nine o'clock in the morning."

He took out a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note on it. "In the meantime, why don't you two spend some quality time together, since it'll be your last night in the village for a while? Head over to that really nice spa on the east side of town…get a room, order food, schedule a massage…whatever you want." He folded up the paper and handed it to Temari. "It's on me. Give this to the front desk and they'll send my office the bill."

Temari accepted the note numbly. She thanked Naruto for his generosity, as did Shikamaru before the two of them got up and walked out of the office.

Kakashi watched them go, feeling very sympathetic to their plight. He turned to Naruto and said, "You realize of course, that you just sentenced a long standing relationship between two of your closest friends essentially to death."

"Sometimes sacrifices are necessary, Kakashi-sensei. But in this case I'd say you should have more faith in your student. And yes, I'm talking about me."

"Oh, really? Then I'm guessing you have some sort of a plan in mind?"

Naruto grinned diabolically. "Of course I do, Kakashi-sensei. I'm not the same oblivious teenager who left here all those years ago. There's a method to my madness, and believe it or not…the idea for this plan came from YOUR twisted little mind. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is."

---

Hiashi wearily opened the door to his office. He'd just finished a three-hour long meeting with the Hyūga council of elders, and as it had so many times recently, it left him feeling far more tired than it used to.

Perhaps it's time to think about handing this job over to someone else and retiring, He thought to himself. It would be nice not to have to deal with idiots like that on a daily basis anymore.

As he sat down at his desk, he happened to notice that something had been inscribed on the top. Curious, he reached out to touch it…and once he did, it began to glow a bright blue. Hiashi immediately recognized the pattern as a storage seal, although slightly modified.

Half a second later three explosions went off, similar to small firecrackers. Hiashi instinctively closed his eyes and flinched, covering his face with his arms. After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes back up and looked down at himself.

With the exception of where he'd been covering his face, the upper portion of his body was now covered in bright yellow, green and pink paint. A scowl appeared on his face as he realized the mysterious naked prankster had struck once again.

However, just as he was about to scream for Kō another explosion went off. However, this one appeared to be red glitter in the shape of little hearts and flowers…and it stuck like glue to the paint.

.

.

Kō was sitting in one of the private gardens in the Hyūga estate, enjoying the peace and serenity of his surroundings. It was nice to come here every once in a while and take a break from…well, everything that went on in the compound. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the tranquil surroundings to…

"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH! WHY THE HELL IS SHE STILL TORTURING ME LIKE THIS? AND HOW DOES SHE KEEP GETTING IN MY OFFICE? THIS STUFF WON'T COME OUT OF MY HAIR!"

Kō smiled. Apparently, another prank had been left for Hiashi last night by the mysterious naked woman – which he still had a pretty good idea of who it really was – and this time, no one had spotted 'her'. Kō realized that 'she' was improving, and was impressed with 'her' progress. Hiashi being the prime target only made the pranks all the more enjoyable.

He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, enjoying the sounds coming from his surroundings mixed with the discomfort of his clan head.

"I've probably said this a good dozen times already, but it bears repeating that this is still the BEST…MONTH…EVER."

---

A/N: So…I hope this cleared up some issues for people regarding why Sakura is acting like she is. And the baby isn't going to be neglected at all, so there should be no worries about that going forward. As to what's going to happen to Sakura? Well, like I said I'm going to make some tweaks based on input from MattWilson83 in the next few chapters but as to the destination of where she will end up, that's going to be the same.

And yeah, Kakashi is interested in Freyja. Like you guys didn't know that was going to happen. And his inner pervert was running wild thinking about those tattoos…the image will surely keep him up at night.

And now we know who's behind the Mienai Segi group of renegades. Yeah, I got more names to go through. Stick around to find out who's working with Gideon.

So what's coming next? Well, we find out what Naruto has planned for Shikamaru and Temari and believe me when I say the Nara clan member not only gets outsmarted, but also gets what's coming to him for dating Temari all this time and not proposing. There will be a couple of small plot advancements…Naruto talks to his classmates about Sakura…a piece inspired by MattWilson83's new story…and an update on the ANBU Naruto is sending to give the message to Saladin.

Recommendation time! This chapter I'm recommending something that takes a look at the dark side of things. If anyone knows of someone who's been in the military that came back from war, then you know that mentally it's never the same for them – there's a name for it called PTSD. The same holds true for people dealing with depression issues, but finding a story on FanFiction that tells this side of the human condition – while being interesting from a number of viewpoints – is rather hard to do. But I happened to find one.

The author has two great stories, but I'm only going to recommend one to my loyal NaruHina readers. The other is a NejiTen story that's great, and if you want to check it out you should. The author is writing both stories from both a cathartic and therapeutic standpoint, and she updates every Friday for the NejiTen story and every Saturday for her NaruHina story.

So please check out Breaking Point by cherryxbutterfly. It deals with Hinata blaming herself for what happened to Neji in the war (he died, of course) and a voice in her head that's torturing her relentlessly because of it (reminds me somewhat of what I'm doing with Sakura in mine). It's not a warm and sunny story, but I'm really caught up in how real she's making it turn out. There's some NaruHina fluff and our hero Naruto is trying to save her soul. And if you like it, add her to your favorites/following and leave a review. I know she'd appreciate the support, especially when I know she's got four new stories coming out.

Here's the link, as usual remove the spaces and you know what to replace the stars with:

www . fanfiction . *** / s / 9934175

REVIEWS! So, I'm THIS close to hitting one of my personal goals of 1,000 reviews for this story…I'm only twenty five away as of the release of this chapter. As I mentioned, I read and appreciate each and every one, and if you have a question or thought I always try to respond personally. I like to push these chapters out as fast as possible, but I can only do this with your continued support.

So take some time and leave me a review, because there's no better way to say 'thank you, I appreciate the time you take out of your life to write this interesting piece of work' like seeing those words of encouragement fill my email inbox. And as I mention every chapter, the more reviews you leave the faster the next chapter gets out.

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

Serious Sam