Disclaimer: I can't afford anything right now, let alone the rights to Naruto! I need money and I need lots of it fast! That way I can afford it, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!

The sun began to rise over Konoha. The gates to the village opened. Naruto, Anko, and Ebisu stood by the open doors, with their genin teams by their side. Standing across from them was Jiraiya, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Kurenai.

"You all are going to undergo a great, arduous journey during this Chūnin Exams. Konoha thanks all of you for your bravery and, as far as I am concerned, all nine of you will make amazing chūnin." Jiraiya said, smiling as he eyed the genin. His expression hardened as his eyes moved to the jōnin. "For now, you three will be alone in Kumo. The rest of the group will join during the intermittent time between the second and third exam. I don't predict there should be anything other than generic 'Chūnin Exams' shenanigans that should affect your journey, but I trust you all to be careful, for your sakes and the sake of your students."

"We understand, Hokage-sama." Ebisu spoke-up, bowing his head. "

"We're going to be alright, y'know? You got a group of badass genin here and then there's us." Naruto said, grinning. "We'll be fine, Ero-sennin. And we'll be ready to meet with you when you all get there."

"Naruto-kun, be careful, alright?" Hinata said.

"More might be going on than we know. We only know about a planned invasion during the third exam; we don't know a ton more than just that." Shikamaru said. "You need to be careful."

Naruto nodded his head: "We will. I promise you both!"

Kurenai cleared her throat, drawing the attention of Anko and her team: "I trust you, Anko, to look after my students." A sweet smile developed on her lips. "Not a single scratch on any of their faces, okay? Or else you might wake-up one night with a kunai pressed at your throat."

"Heh. Maternal instincts kicking in already?" Anko said, smirking as she raised her hands in front of her face. "Relax, I'll keep them safe. You can trust me."

"That's assuming we even need to be 'kept safe'." Kazuo spoke-up, rolling his eyes. He turned his head to his original sensei. "We'll be fine, Kurenai-sensei. Promise."

"I know. I'm just saying, I suppose. I want you all to be cautious, okay?" Kurenai said, her smile becoming gentler.

The purple-haired genin looked away, frowning slightly: "You sound like Yūgao-nee right now."

"Anyway," Jiraiya spoke-up, drawing attention back to him, "I think you all need to start heading out. It'll be a long journey to Kumo." He reached into his robe and pulled out a scroll. He tossed it to Naruto. "Please, deliver this to the Raikage."

"Sure thing." The blond nodded his head.

"You all take care." Shikamaru said, waving. "Stay on your toes."

"Don't forget to take the exams seriously." Hinata told the genin. Her eyes then focused on Hanabi: "We'll see each other soon."

"We will." Hanabi said, smiling. "We promise; we'll be okay, Hinata-nee-san!"

"I love you, Hanabi." She said, smiling back. She then turned her head to her boyfriend. "Love you too, Naruto-kun."

"Love you too." Naruto grinned back.

After a few more seconds of goodbyes, the three jōnin teams started to walk off. A minute passed into their departure before they heard a shout.

"Please! Wait!"

Teams Six, Eight, and Nine all stopped moving as they saw a girl running towards them. She had tanned skin, long blonde hair that she had up in two ponytails and had green eyes. She wore a plain, khaki shirt and grey pants with a white apron that had chocolate stains on it. The girl also was holding onto a green bag. She rushed up to the group, panting heavily.

'Whose she?' Naruto questioned, his eyebrow raised slightly. He stared for a moment before an idea entered his head. 'I think she works at that one tea shop that Dosu and Shikamaru go to together. Isn't she-'

"Naomi, what are you doing out here?" Katsumi asked, looking at the blonde-haired girl in confusion. "Shouldn't you be helping your parents get the shop open?"

"Yeah… but that's… not important. You… didn't tell me… you were leaving… this early, you jerk!" The girl, Naomi, frowned as she spoke between her panting. "I… hate running…"

"Sorry." Katsumi said, chuckling. "But you didn't need to stop by this morning, you know? We said bye last night."

The civilian girl took a moment to finally catch her breath before she continued speaking: "Of course I had to say bye! You're going to be out of the village for over a month and you're gonna come back and have some super special ninja promotion, because I know you'll pass!" She then turned her head to the rest of the shinobi and smiled sheepishly. "Oh. Um. Hi, I'm Katsumi's best friend Eichū Naomi. And, um… good luck you all. I made cookies for you all."

Reaching for her bag, she gave it to Katsumi, who quickly opened them to see multiple bags of different cookies: chocolate chip, raisin, cinnamon, sugar, frosted, matcha, and other flavors. Bags were quickly passed out to the genin and the jōnin.

"Thanks a lot Naomi-san!" Udon spoke-up.

"It is appreciated." Tsunemasa said.

"That was very considerate of you." Ebisu noted as he opened his bag and took out a cookie.

"Don't think much of it." The civilian said, rubbing the back of her head. "Just wanted to give you all a little road snack, I guess. Don't eat them all at once so you have some! Kumogakure's a ways away, you know?"

"It is." Katsumi said, frowning. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Naomi replied.

Before Katsumi could respond, Naomi inched closer to the brunette and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Katsumi's eyes widened as her face started to redden exponentially.

"Um… N-N-Naomi, y-you… I… um…" She stuttered, trying to piece together an intelligible thought – a task she failed at.

"Heh." Naomi giggled in response, a small pink flush developing on her cheeks. "See you soon, okay? Be safe and kick ass!"

With those words, Naomi walked off, waving goodbye to her friend and the rest of the shinobi.

"Awh, that was sweet. Too sweet." Anko snickered as she walked over to the civilian-born kunoichi and placed her hand on her shoulder: "Got yourself a girlfriend, don't ya?"

"N-N-No." Katsumi shook her head, her blush becoming redder and redder: "Naomi is my best friend and-"

"Someone gives their 'best friend' a kiss on the cheek or something." Kanji spoke-up, a grin developing on his face. "A kiss on the lips, though… that's definitely-"

"You shut your fucking mouth, Kanji!" Katsumi shouted in response.

The three genin teams laughed for a moment at Katsumi's expense, causing her blush to continue getting redder-and-redder until the group continued on their journey towards Kumogakure, enjoying their brief moment of brevity.

Ten silhouettes of all members of the Akatsuki appeared, standing atop rock formations around a statue in the middle of a cave.

"Heh, it's been a bit since our last meeting." Kisame spoke-up, grinning. "I trust everyone's ready to take down Kumo? Itachi-san and I just arrived in Kaminari no Kuni a few nights ago."

"Sasori no Danna and I will be arriving in about a day or two, hmm." Deidara noted.

"When we arrive, I plan on activating the seals of my sleeper units in Kumo to report back to us." Sasori spoke.

"Ah, that's convenient." Kabuto spoke-up, rubbing the back of his head. "Perhaps I could borrow one when Hidan and I arrive?"

"Do you intend on more graverobbing?" Sasori questioned. Kabuto nodded his head, causing Sasori to sigh: "Very well; just make sure at least one of my spies lives to help us with the mission."

"We have more important things to discuss." Pain spoke-up, drawing attention to himself. "The first thing we need to discuss-"

"Before we begin, Pain-sama, can I make a quick announcement?" Tobi nearly sang as the masked man, grinning behind his mask. "I found us not one, but TWO new recruits!"

Both Pain and Konan turned their heads to the masked man with a mixture of confusion and suspicion on their faces:

"… Recruits?" Konan asked.

"Technically, I found them." 'Black Zetsu' spoke-up. "They're two missing ninja from Konoha who were seeking out Akatsuki to join."

"Missing Konoha ninja?" Kabuto's eyebrow rose slightly.

As if on cue, two new silhouettes appeared directly in front of Tobi's. Both men turned their heads to Pain.

"You must be Pain. My name is Shigaraki Tanuki." Tanuki spoke-up, bowing his head. "My comrade to my right is Tsumiki Kido."

Kido placed his hand over his chest: "We wish to join your organization."

"Whoa, new recruits? Really?" Hidan's eyebrow raised. "Thought we could only have as many members as we have rings. We don't have room for these fuckers."

"Well, we are about to invade Kumogakure. We do need all the extra help we can get." 'Black Zetsu' spoke.

"That is true, but that does not change the fact that we do not know who you two are, not if we can trust you." Pain spoke-up, his eyes narrowing on the two men. "Who are you both? And why do you wish to join Akatsuki?"

"They're ROOT." Itachi spoke.

The expressions on Pain's and Konan's faces did not change, but the two released an extensive amount of killing intent after Itachi's words.

"… Is Itachi correct? Are you two from ROOT?" Pain spoke quietly.

"We were." Tanuki said, scowling. "ROOT, however, is no more. Shimura Danzō is dead."

'He's dead?' Kabuto's eyes widened.

Emotions rushed through the mind of the former spy. From being taken from the orphanage to receiving strict physical and emotional training to getting displaced in different villages across the Elemental Nations… Kabuto could link the start of his identity – and lack thereof – directly to Danzō and his interference in world politics. Hearing that he was dead was a surreal feeling; something he could not fully process.

'He… really is dead…' Kabuto took his glasses off for a moment and rubbed his eyes. When he reopened them, he was almost half-expecting to see Danzō instead of the two former ROOT agents. He shook his head for a moment before a grin developed on his face. 'He's dead. He's finally fucking dead!'

"What exactly are you hoping for?" Konan asked, pulling Kabuto from his thoughts. "Danzō's dead so you both turn missing ninja? While I trust that man may not know an extensive amount about our organization, I am certain he knew enough to know he was no ally of ours and never would be."

"We are hoping to join and get revenge." Tanuki said, scowling. "Konoha turned its back on Danzō-sama. The Hokage betrayed him, despite all he's done for the village."

"'All he's done'. Real funny." Kisame snorted: "That man lives in so much deceit it makes me sick. If I ever had the opportunity, I would have shaved off every inch of skin from that asshole."

Tanuki's scowl deepened. He was about to reply, but Kido held his hand in front of his partner's face. Tanuki silently grit his teeth while Kido took a step forward.

"We are aware that we have differences in opinions in regards to Danzō. But that does not change the fact that we share a common enemy: Konoha. The village is going to be hunting us down now and we would like to combat that before it is too late. Likewise, you all may require some extra help with your invasion." Kido noted. "After all, both Konoha and Kumo are aware of your plans."

Silence filled the room for a moment. The members of Akatsuki were silent, processing the former ROOT agents' words.

"Shit was leaked then. Again." Hidan spoke-up, growling. "First Taki, and now this."

"The mission is compromised." Sasori said, shaking his head. "We should scrap this-"

"No." Pain spoke-up, crossing his arms. All eyes turned back to the leader. "We are behind schedule. We have zero jinchūriki acquired. We cannot afford to let this fall. Besides, if Konoha involves itself, then we have the capabilities to respond. And potentially, they will send the Kyūbi jinchūriki, which we could acquire as well." The leader then turned his head to face the two ROOT agents: "And as a result of this, we would benefit from having you two join us."

"Pain…" Konan frowned in response. "Don't you remember what-"

Pain turned to look at the blue-haired woman, silencing her: "I am aware, Konan. Of what ROOT has done. I will never forget the pain. However, I am not foolish to turn down assistance." He then turned his head back: "Shigaraki Tanuki and Tsumiki Kido; your help is appreciated."

"Of course." Tanuki bowed slightly. "You will not regret this decision."

"You really won't; especially when you hear what these two men are capable of doing!" Tobi said, chuckling.

"How much longer until we get there?" Moegi grumbled as the Konoha genin teams crossed over a bridge.

"Maybe two more days? Three?" Anko shrugged her shoulders. "We're near the Shimo no Kuni-Kaminari no Kuni border, so we're getting closer."

"Ugghh." She grumbled, crossing her arms. "I can't believe it's taking this long to get there!"

"Didn't we leave three days ago?" Katsumi asked, her head tilting slightly. "It took us a lot longer to get to Shimogakure when our team went as a mission. I think we're making great progress."

This only earned another whine from Moegi, which caused Naruto to chuckle. His eyes moved from the girl to her teammate, Konohamaru, who was slightly ahead of the group.

Sarutobi Konohamaru, the grandson of the Sandaime, was someone Naruto met right after graduating the academy. He was a bratty child who thought, because he was receiving specialized 'tutoring', he was ready to take on his grandfather for the title of Hokage. Naruto saw a bit of himself in the boy and tried to set the 'record' straight on what it means to be a shinobi. It worked, for the most part; Konohamaru started to take his own training a lot more seriously and had a better understanding of what it meant to be a ninja. And he started to look up to Naruto like a brother figure-teacher hybrid.

The two had sorta fallen out of contact due to busy schedules, but that did not change the fact that Konohamaru always grinned when he saw Naruto and would always greet his 'Naruto-nii-san' whenever he did. Until this journey to Kumogakure, where Konohamaru was silent the entire way, only talking occasionally to Moegi, Udon, or Ebisu whenever they spoke to him first.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in determination as he picked up his pace and walked up to Konohamaru. He placed his hands on his shoulder, which caused him to turn his head back to Naruto.

"Doing good, Konohamaru?" Naruto asked, smirking.

"Yeah. I'm fine." The boy replied, a grin developing on his face that did not quite reach his eyes. "Just want to get to Kumo already, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know." Naruto nodded his head. "You anxious at all for the exams?"

"A bit, but it's nothing I can't handle." Konohamaru said sharply, his hands tightening. "I got to prove myself to the village and to the rest of the world that the Sandaime's grandson is strong and is going to be the next Hokage!"

"Kinda cocky of you to say that." Kazuo spoke-up. Naruto and Konohamaru turned their heads back to see the purple-haired genin walking faster to keep up with them. "You're not the only trying to be Hokage, you know?"

"Yup." Katsumi added as she rushed up to them. "Because if anyone is going to become Hokage from our graduating class, it's going to be me!"

"No." Konohamaru shook his head, his eyes narrowing on his former classmates. "I will be Hokage. I am going to the Rokudaime, no matter what!"

"Well, if you're dead set on being the Rokudaime, let me remind all of you that you're competing against people not just in your age range." Naruto said, laughing slightly. "Because it's my goal to become Hokage too, y'know?"

"That's…" Katsumi's eyes focused on her sensei for a moment before she nodded her head in understanding, chuckling slightly. "That's true. That's why I want to be the Nanadaime; because you're going to end up as Rokudaime I think, Naruto-sensei."

"No." Konohamaru shook his head again, drawing attention back to him. "I will be the Rokudaime. It doesn't matter who I am up against; from you two to the other genin to anyone, I will beat them all!" His eyes then narrowed on the blond jōnin. "Even you, Naruto-nii-san."

"Huh." Naruto bit his lip in response: 'He's being more aggressive than I remember him ever being.' He shook his head as let a gentle smile develop on his lips: "Well, good luck then!"

He shook his head: "I don't need luck."

With those words, Konohamaru's pace increased and the boy started to move even faster, placing more distance between himself and the rest of the shinobi. Naruto, Kazuo, and Katsumi were silent for a moment as they watched him before the purple-haired genin shook his head.

"Having that kinda attitude going into a mission like this is going to get him killed." Kazuo shook his head as he slowed his pace down to join-up with his teammates.

Naruto bit his lip, resisting the urge to scowl. He did not like the dismissive tone that Kazuo spoke in with such a serious topic, but he also knew he was right.

"What is up with him?" Katsumi asked, frowning. "Konohamaru was always pretty chill back in the academy, if kinda annoying."

"Please, be patient with him. He's still troubled by Sandaime-sama's passing."

Both Naruto and Katsumi turned their heads around to see Ebisu approach them. The man adjusted his sunglasses before he looked up at his student, who was keeping a safe distance between him and the group.

"I was Konohamaru's private tutor before I was assigned as his jōnin-sensei, so I have seen this attitude surface; when he's hurt, he takes it out on the people around him. He says things he doesn't mean and gets a lot more aggressive than usual." He explained. "He's still grieving for Sandaime-sama, so this is how it is showing."

"I… yeah, I can imagine." Naruto looked downward. "I remember seeing him at the funeral. He looked like he was taking it badly."

"His current… 'emotional state' is lasting longer than usual, but that's understandable given how much his grandfather meant to him. Please, just be patient a little longer with him. Give him time and he will not be as dismissive to you all." Ebisu said

"We will." Katsumi said, shaking her head. "But hopefully he gets over that shit real soon."

With those words, Katsumi fell back, moving alongside Kanji and Hanabi.

"Ebisu, I understand giving him time, and trust me, I won't antagonize him." Naruto said, sighing. "But try talking to him soon; Kazuo's right that he could die if he keeps thinking like that." The jinchūriki's eyes narrowed slightly: "Being cocky and over-emotional can be life threatening if it causes him to do something stupid during this invasion."

The jōnin-sensei of Team Six nodded his head: "I'm aware. Konohamaru will have that beaten into him, I promise you that."

The moon was high in the sky above a forest clearing in Kaminari no Kuni, where Hidan and Kabuto set up camp for the night. Hidan was lying down by a tree trunk, snoring loudly with a little drool falling from his lips. Kabuto was awake, rummaging through his bag of scrolling seals and looking through all the DNA samples he possessed. By his side was an unconscious man – some traveler that he and Hidan crossed paths with that Kabuto easily incapacitated.

It took the former spy a while to find the specific sample he was looking for, but he finally found the blood samples; samples from Orochimaru's lab in Konoha, after he had done work on the specimen Kabuto was looking to summon.

Using the blood sample, Kabuto quickly ran through hand signs: "Summoning Jutsu: Edo Tensei!"

The incapacitated man regained consciousness as his body began to turn to dust. His eyes widened in horror, but before he could even scream out in pain and fear, he was gone, his body no more.

The dust of the body began to change shape and a coffin rose from the ground. The coffin quickly opened up and faded away, revealing Shimura Danzō. The bandage over his left eye was gone and the eye in his socket appeared to be permanently closed shut. Similarly, his left arm was torn off.

"Heh. How amusing." Kabuto snorted. "For the first time, you actually look like the cripple you always pretended to be."

With a snap of a finger, Kabuto restored consciousness to the 'Edo Tensei' summon in front of him. Danzō's eye widened and he fell to his knees. The man gasped for air as he looked around the area frantically.

"What… how… where am I… what is going on?" He stammered out his questions, breathing heavily. As he took in his surroundings, he finally turned to face Kabuto. His eye widened even further: "You?"

"It's been a while, Danzō-sama." Kabuto greeted, waving his hand at the man. "Enjoying your brief return to the land of the living?"

"You… used Edo Tensei on me." Danzō noted. The elder was silent for a moment as he pulled himself off the ground, his breathing calmed down and his expression settled into its usual calm, stoic demeanor. "What do you intend on gaining from bringing me back? I can see there is no enemies to fight."

"I don't intend on fighting anyone right now." Kabuto admitted, his eyes narrowing: "I have been waiting for this day for a long time, Danzō. Because I can now finally get answers to questions I've had."

Kabuto snapped his finger, causing Danzō to fall back to his knees. Danzō winced slightly on impact, but kept his calm expression on his face.

"Interesting fact about the Edo Tensei; it's probably one of the most versatile techniques in existence. I have complete control over the specific parameters of whoever I revive. I can control how much chakra they have, I can somewhat control their appearance when I choose what stage of life to revive someone, and I can control how much autonomy you have right now over your body." Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses. "So much possibility and so much potential for pretty much anything."

Danzō shook his head: "What are you getting at? That you have control of my body and my actions?"

"I'm not getting at anything; I'm just stating facts." Kabuto said, walking closer to Danzō's body. His eyes focused on the missing arm and a frown developed on his face: "I see you lost your arm in whatever combat you died in. It's unfortunate you were not more careful with one of Orochimaru-sama's precious gifts for you."

Danzō said nothing in response, causing Kabuto to frown. Kabuto snapped his finger again and Danzō's body jerked up, bringing him to his feet once again.

"Why did you try and kill me all those years ago?" Kabuto asked.

Danzō was silent, glaring at the man in front of him. Kabuto glared back. Immediately, Danzō's eye widened and he started to gasp slightly.

"You cannot refuse to answer anything to me. Remember that I have complete control over your existence in the state your in right now." Kabuto stated sharply. "You will answer my questions."

"You… were becoming a liability." Danzō answered with gritted teeth.

Kabuto's eyes narrowed: "I find that hard to believe. You and I both know that I was one of your top spies."

Danzō shook his head: "I said you were a liability; I made no comment about your abilities."

A scowl developed on the Akatsuki member's face: "Then tell me; what did you mean?"

"You were becoming too attached to your identity in Iwa." The Konoha elder answered, eyes narrowed back: "My other spies in Iwa observed that you were enjoying yourself too much, as if you were making yourself at home."

"I was adjusting to an environment the way any good spy does." Kabuto's scowl deepened: "Making myself seem and feel natural. How does that make me a liability?"

"The impression you gave us was that you would maybe 'stick' with Iwagakure and turncoat, giving away all the classified information you knew about Konoha and ROOT." Danzō answered, shaking his head. "The possibility was not zero percent, which is why I could not a take chance you would not do so."

"Heh. Hehehe. Hahahahahahaha." Kabuto started to snicker in response before he started to laugh loudly and maniacally. "AHAHAHAHAHAHA. You have GOT to be shitting me right now?" Danzō's face remained unresponsive, which caused Kabuto's laughter to finally die down for a moment as he glared at the man, releasing an increased amount of killing intent. "I gave everything for your organization. I made a sacrifice for the orphanage so that you wouldn't force any of the other kids or Nonō to go into working for ROOT. I did everything perfectly to make you not regret taking me. I gave my entire existence and you threw away it because you thought there was a chance that someone like me could be disloyal?"

Danzō shook his head: "Looking at you right now and taking your actions into consideration, I would say I had the right judgment. You were never loyal to Konoha."

A chakra scalpel developed on Kabuto's right hand. The Akatsuki member lunged forward at Danzō's body, cutting off his remaining arm. The 'Edo Tensei' summon screamed in pain as he started to drip 'dust particle' where his arm had been attached.

Kabuto looked-up at the man, his glare magnifying: "I am the most loyal shinobi you have ever seen. I always give everything to my master, no matter what. No matter what the ethics of the decision are, I do everything to make sure there will is accomplished. I was loyal to Konoha and I was loyal to you… until you ruined it. Until you took everything from me! My childhood, my identity, my freedom…and then you took away my mother!"

Danzō was quiet for a moment, breathing heavily. His silence only made Kabuto angrier as he snapped his left finger. Danzō's body fell to the ground with a loud thud. The Akatsuki member then bent down, getting his face directly in Danzō's.

"Answer me; why did Nonō not recognize me?" Kabuto asked.

"We… ugh…" Danzō gasped as a painful sensation rocketed through his body. "… I sent her… pictures… of another child who resembled you… gave her reports of this child… I wanted her to think… you were someone else…"

"Why?" Kabuto demanded

"She… Yakushi Nonō had only just… been forced back into her duties… I was concerned… she would not… be able to kill you… if she knew who you were…" Danzō answered.

"Why would you pick her then?" Kabuto asked, nearly growling. "Why. Did. You. Send. Her?"

"Because…" Danzō bit down on his lip. Kabuto snapped his left finger once again, forcing Danzō's mouth back open to keep speaking: "We… wanted insurance… in case you beat her. I figured… that if you killed her… once you realized it was Nonō… you would have killed yourself… out of guilt."

Kabuto's eyes widened. Memories rushed back to the silver-haired shinobi.

Of his time at the Konohagakure Orphanage, meeting Yakushi Nonō.

Of her kind, gentle smile as she nurtured and raised him.

Of how she gave him her glasses when she realized he could not see properly.

Of how she had fought with Danzō to try and prevent him from joining ROOT.

Of how he had killed her in cold blood in Iwa.

Of the blank expression on her face when she did not recognize him the slightest.

Of the complete, utter despair he felt upon seeing her body.

Of his desire to end his life then and there after accidentally killing his surrogate mother.

Kabuto was still for a moment as tears started to fall from his eyes. Memory by memory returned to him and before he knew it, his chakra scalpel fading away. He rubbed away his tears, but his crying did not appear to end in the slightest.

Minutes passed by before his sobbing finally came to a stop. He finally turned his attention back to Danzō. His eyes were still wet from his tears, but they managed to amplify the rage in them.

"You miscalculated." He said quietly.

"I did." Danzō nodded his head in confirmation. "Orochimaru was out there to make sure you did commit to killing yourself or to finish the job himself. I had no expected him to take you under his wing."

"You didn't expect it… but yes, that is what he did. Orochimaru-sama showed me compassion the way a good 'master' would." Kabuto said sharply. He snapped his finger, forcing Danzō back to his feet once again. A grin developed on Kabuto's face as he glared at the former ROOT head. "It's just another example of the perfect irony that summarizes your every action."

Danzō's eyes narrowed: "What do you mean by that?"

"It's because of you I met Orochimaru-sama the way that I did. It's because of you I joined forces with him. It's because of you that I am down the path that I am and that I have joined Akatsuki." Kabuto answered, his grin widening. "And it's because of you that Konoha will burn to the ground."

He shook his head: "Konoha will not fall to you-"

"By the way, did you ever wonder how I knew you passed away?" Kabuto interrupted. "I found out from two associates of yours: Shigaraki Tanuki and Tsumiki Kido. They shared that bit of information after they joined Akatsuki."

A look of shock developed on Danzō's face: "Tanuki and Kido joined Akatsuki? Why?"

"Well, technically, they're more like auxiliary members. But that doesn't matter; the only thing that does matter is that they believe Konoha turned their back on you and ROOT and they want revenge. Revenge on your behalf." A snort escaped Kabuto's lips as he adjusted his glasses. "They want to destroy Konoha in your name!"

Danzō's shock was replaced with horror. Kabuto took a detailed look at the man's face and he started to laugh: laugh harder than he ever had before in his life.

"I can promise you this 'Danzō-sama'; I will bring you back to life to watch when we get to doing that. Pain-sama's goal is to bring the world to its knees and unite the world in fear of the power of the Ten-Tails. One of the things we will have to do is systematically take down every major shinobi village. We will destroy Konoha and you will be there to witness it when we do." Kabuto's laughter grew louder-and-louder: "And hopefully by then, you'll understand the full extent of your many, many miscalculations."

Before Danzō could reply, Kabuto snapped his finger, causing a coffin to rise from the ground once again around Danzō's body. The Konoha elder was forced back inside and disappeared, returning to the land of the deceased.

Upon entering Kaminari no Kuni, the Konoha shinobi gradually made their way through the country's mountainside, slowly rising in elevation every couple of kilometers. After a day and a half of travel, the group finally reached their destination, high up in the mountains.

Kumogakure, the 'Village Hidden in the Clouds', was aptly named; built between the peaks of mountain ranges, the village itself was level with some clouds around them. The buildings throughout the village were tall, towering even above these clouds, giving the village a larger-than-life presence. Bridges were scattered, connecting the different sections of the village on different mountaintops to one another. Other than the grass and shrubbery on the ground, very little green could be seen. The village itself was colored mostly brown, white, and grey to match the rocky mountains and the clouds. The most colorful aspect of the village was the blue sky directly above the village, which felt closer than ever, and the bright yellow on the gates to the village.

As the Konoha genin teams took their first steps into the village after being allowed in, they all stared at the clouds around them in awe. The three jōnin were able to compose themselves while the nine genin were all breathing rather heavily.

"Wow… this… this is gorgeous…" Moegi noted between her breathing.

Udon nodded his head: "I've never… seen… anything like this…"

"You could… even say… it's breathtaking." Kanji tried to laugh at his own joke, but he ended up coughing loudly instead.

"I'm…" Tsunemasa's eyes focused on the jōnin. "… I'm surprised… you three… are unphased by this…"

"This is things you all have to get used to. All of us have probably been through worse things than some high elevation." Anko said, shrugging her shoulders. "All of your bodies should adapt to the elevation given just a bit more time."

"Hopefully." The Aburame nodded his head, frowning. "Otherwise… this Chūnin Exam… will go poorly…"

"Speaking of that, we need to get over to the Raikage's Office and check in." Naruto said, pointing to the tallest building in sight. "Which, if I know anything about that egotistical jerk, I bet it's over there."

As the Konoha shinobi began to move through the streets of the village, the people of Kumogakure turned their attention towards them. Many of them – shinobi and civilian alike – where openly glaring at them. A few shinobi studied them, appearing to be measuring their perceived strength, but most were content at giving them dirty looks upon seeing their forehead protectors.

"These people… got anything better to do… with their time?" Katsumi asked, scowling.

"I'm… guessing not." Kazuo mumbled, gritting his teeth.

"Yeah, you'll have to get used to this to." Anko said. "Shit like this always happens when foreign shinobi enter a village for the Chūnin Exams. Konoha does the same thing."

"It's also amplified since our villages are historically enemies." Ebisu mentioned. "I'm certain that the average Kumo citizen feels some degree of hostility towards us due to the last Shinobi World War."

"That's… rather ironic… given that Kumo was the aggressor… between our villages." Yūna mentioned.

"Yeah, but you should know that history is perceived differently by each group of people." Anko stated.

"Hmm." Hanabi hummed slightly, frowning as she made contact with a Kumogakure civilian boy. She quickly turned away, her frown deepening.

"Are you okay, Hanabi?" Hebihiro whispered into her ear.

She shook her head: "Not really, but I'll be fine."

Silence filled the group as the Konoha shinobi continued their walk through the streets.

After thirty minutes of walking, the Konoha genin teams arrived at their destination – the Raikage's Office.

Compared to the Hokage's Office, the Raikage's Office was a lot more 'casual' in design and almost did not appear to resemble an office. The room had blue carpeting and the walls at the end of the room was replaced with see-through windows that overlooked the entirety of Kumogakure. There was a punching back hanging from a chain on the ceiling and there were weights scattered around the room, including a large dumbbell laying atop a green mat. Above the door to the room was a painting with the kanji for 'muscle' printed on it.

At the end of the room, directly by the see-through windows was the Raikage, Ē, sitting down on a red chair that looked more like a couch and holding three sets of files. Directly in front of him was a desk that was surprisingly organized; paperwork and files were all stacked neatly in the corners and appeared as if they had all been completed.

"Cutting it close, Konoha shinobi." Ē noted, frowning as his eyes moved from each shinobi to the next. "The exams start tomorrow night. Didn't think you'd be cutting it this close."

"We're here by the start time, though. That's all that matters." Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmph." Ē scowled slightly, but nodded his head. He then glanced at the files once more. "So, just these three teams, correct?"

"Correct." Naruto nodded his head.

"Konoha Team Nine: Hyūga Hanabi, Inoue Katsumi, and Yamanaka Kanji. Konoha Team Eight: Uzuki Kazuo, Aburame Tsunemasa, and Rangaku Yūna. Konoha Team Six, Sarutobi Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi." The Raikage read off the names. His eyes then focused on Konohamaru. "You're the Sarutobi, right? You're Hiruzen's grandson?"

"I am." Konohamaru nodded his head.

"My apologies about his passing." Ē said, his eyes turning back to the files. "He lived a long life. You should be honored to call him grandfather."

Konohamaru's eyes widened for a moment before he nodded his head: "I am. He was great. And he should have lived a longer life."

The Raikage snorted: "Bah. All shinobi should 'live a longer life'. At least your old man made it past seventy. Many don't get that luxury."

'You'd know about that, wouldn't you?' Hanabi bit down on her lip, resisting the urge to speak.

After a minute of looking at the paperwork, Ē reached for a pen on his desk and signed off on the files and laid them on his desk.

"Mabui!" He shouted.

On cue, a Kumogakure shinobi walked into the room. She was a woman with terra-cotta brown skin tone, green eyes, and grey hair that she wore in a bun, with two bangs falling to the side of her face. She was dressed formally with a long, tight high-colored green dress and matching green skirt that both hugged her skin, accentuating her body. She also wore a pair of earrings.

Katsumi, Kazuo, and Udon all blushed slightly upon seeing her, turning away. Their reaction did not compare to Ebisu's, however, who openly gaped at the sight of the woman as his face turned scarlet.

"Yes, Raikage-sama?" The shinobi, Mabui, asked.

"Escort the genin to their residence while I speak to their jōnin-sensei alone. Then return so I can have you escort these three over there." He ordered.

"Understood." She bowed her head before turning her attention to the genin. "Please, follow me. I will show you to the residence we have prepared for you visiting shinobi."

"M-M-M-Mabui-san, is it?" Ebisu stuttered out, drawing her attention to the blue-clad jōnin. He bowed his head. "I, um… y-you… t-t-take care of our s-s-students, okay? Y-You are… um…"

"Yes?" Mabui's eyebrow raised slightly, a frown developing on her face. "Do you have something you wish to say?"

Ebisu's face darkened further: "W-Well, I j-just wanted t-t-t-to say-"

Konohamaru elbowed his jōnin-sensei, silencing him: "Quit embarrassing us, Ebisu-sensei!"

"… Okay." Mabui shrugged her shoulders, completely ignoring the Konoha jōnin. "Regardless, let's not waste time. Come with me."

The nine genin all followed behind the grey-haired kunoichi. As they walked out, Katsumi walked up to Udon and poked him, causing the glasses-wearing shinobi to turn to her.

"Is your sensei normally like that around hot girls? Cause that was… something… to watch." Katsumi mumbled, shaking her head.

"He's kinda bad around pretty women, yeah, but I've never seen him that bad." Udon admitted, frowning. "Konohamaru was right; that was embarrassing."

A few seconds passed by until the genin were shuffled out. Naruto looked at his fellow jōnin-sensei and shook his head.

'So he's not a jerk anymore, but I guess not everything about him has changed.' He sighed: "Glad to see you're consistent as always, closet pervert."

"I b-beg your pardon?" Ebisu turned to Naruto, scowling, as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"Ahem." The Raikage cleared his throat, drawing attention back to himself. The three Konoha jōnin turned their attention back to him. "I assume one of you has a report from Jiraiya to give me, yes?"

"I do." Naruto nodded his head as he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Ē.

The man immediately opened the scroll and began reading. After a few minutes of silent reading, he nodded his head and sat it down on his desk.

"The numbers Jiraiya plans on bringing is understandable. Suna, Kiri, and Iwa promised similar numbers when their shinobi arrived." He stated. "I have already set up planned outposts throughout the village for key shinobi to be present at. I am concerned about what numbers the Akatsuki is planning on bringing."

"The most likely guess is they are going to have more missing ninja and Amegakure shinobi, if Hokage-sama's theory that their leader is running Ame is true." Anko said.

"You read the warning about Yakushi Kabuto, right?" Naruto asked. Ē nodded his head. "His Edo Tensei makes him a priority threat that needs to be addressed immediately. And I think there's a chance he could already be in the village trying to grave rob, like he pulled off in Suna and Iwa."

"I would imagine." The Raikage brought his hand to his chin. "You are certain that his alias in this village is 'Yowai', correct?" Naruto nodded his head. "I do believe that I have a shinobi with that name in our registry that is currently on a long-term mission. If this 'Yowai' steps foot in this village, I'll know and I'll have him executed. And we'll be guarding our burial grounds with extra security."

"While that's a good idea, I would still be careful with that." Naruto said, frowning. "Kabuto had connections in Suna that got him past guards. I bet he could have some here in Kumo too."

"I'll be on the lookout for those too. Any 'moles' that get discovered will receive their due punishment." Ē said. His eyes then focused on Naruto. "You seem to know a lot about this Kabuto threat. If you wish, I will grant you access to our burial grounds or any areas you think are potential targets of his if you wish to try hunting him down if you believe there's a chance you'll find him, so long as you are able to alert Kumo shinobi to aid in taking him down."

"Of course." Naruto said, smiling. "You have my thanks, Ē."

"That's Raikage-sama to you, kid." The Raikage scowled: "And there's nothing to thank. All I'm doing is trying to keep my village my safe. So I'm trusting you to do your part in accomplishing that."

"We all will." Anko spoke-up.

"Good." Ē said, his eyes still focusing on Naruto. "When the Second Exam is finished, I will have Bee and Yugito escort you to Shimagame Island. I believe all the other jinchūriki should be arriving at that time as well."

"Great." Naruto grinned at the thought of his fellow jinchūriki: "Hey, where is Bee anyway? I wanted to say hi."

"Busy." Ē stated sharply, crossing his arms. "Don't bother him until he finds time in his schedule to see you."

Naruto's grin faded, turning into a scowl: "Fine."

Before Naruto could say anything else, the door to the office. Mabui walked back, bowing her head to the Raikage, before she turned her attention to the three Konoha jōnin. Ebisu immediately became red in the face once again.

"Are you three ready?" She asked.

"They are." Ē spoke on their behalf. "If I need any of you, I'll send someone to collect you."

"… Alright. Whatever you say, Ē." Naruto shook his head, as he forced a smile on his face. "Thanks for everything. We're here to do whatever we can to help out your village, Ē."

The Raikage scowled in response, but said nothing. With those words, the three Konoha jōnin left the room, following Mabui out.

"That brat has no respect for authority at all." Ē concluded, crossing his arms. 'Calling me, the Raikage, by name? No honorific? Even after I corrected him once? Bah.' His scowl deepened. 'He wouldn't last a day in Kumo as a shinobi here with that attitude.'

It did not take long for Mabui to escort the Konoha jōnin to their destination; a three-story apartment complex not far from the Raikage's Office. The complex was two identical buildings and appeared rather plain with walls painted white with minimal decorations, but they appeared to be recently built and in good condition.

"The other foreign shinobi already arrived, so we have limited access for what we can offer you all." Mabui said. "Your genin already in their rooms on the third floor. Allow me to show you all to your rooms."

"Thank you, Mabui-san." Anko said, bowing her head.

"Y-Y-Yes. Thank you." Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses once again, looking away.

As the trio approached the stairs up one of the buildings, they were stopped as two kunoichi came down the stairs, one from Sunagakure and one from Kirigakure. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Temari?" Naruto asked.

"Well, Naruto. Good to see you're here." Temari grinned at the sight of the jinchūriki. "I thought I saw your students here a moment ago. Good to see I wasn't seeing things."

"I wasn't aware you were a jōnin-sensei. That's cool. It's great seeing you here!" Naruto said, smiling.

He then turned his head to the other kunoichi. She was from Kirigakure and had straight brown hair that went down to her upper back, with bangs over her forehead. She wore her Kiri flak jacket unzipped and had on a dark blue t-shirt, with mesh armor underneath that. She also wore black pants with a strike going down the side of each pant leg. She also had the Kirigakure forehead protector tied around her neck. Attached to her back was a holster that had two scythes attached to it.

"Do you not recognize me?" The woman asked, chuckling. "I would assume not. I do not believe we ever talked much."

Naruto shook his head: "Yeah, you look familiar, but I don't-"

"Oh, it's you!" Anko nearly spat in realization. "Kawada Misora!"

Misora nodded her head: "Correct. A pleasure to see you, Anko-san."

Recollection dawned on Naruto's face: "Ah! Your Dosu's girlfriend!"

"Yes, Dosu-san and I are still seeing each other whenever we get the chance." Misora said.

"Yeah, not gonna lie, I don't know how I didn't recognize you immediately." Anko said sheepishly. "You look almost identical to how you were when saw you last. Only difference is that you cut your hair, you're a little taller, and your boobs are a little bigger."

"… Thanks for the observation." Misora scowled slightly before she shook her head. "If you'll excuse us. Temari-san and I just met and we were planning on sparring."

"We can catch up later." Temari said. "It's nice to see you again."

With those words, the two kunoichi continued on their way out of the apartment complex. Mabui then continued up the stairs, as if the meeting had never happened.

"So, Temari's definitely going to be helping with the fighting, and so will Misora." Anko noted, smirking. "Good. At least we know Suna and Kiri are sending quality shinobi!"

"Wonder what other shinobi the other villages sent?" Naruto rubbed his chin in thought.

On cue, the three Konoha shinobi were brought upstairs. Mabui promptly escorted them to their rooms and gave them keys before leaving. Ebisu and Anko proceeded to head into their rooms. As Naruto walked over to his door and prepared to unlock the door, the room next to his opened-up.

A kunoichi with red hair walked out. She had a brown-colored flak jacket over a lavender-colored long-sleeve shirt that went to her naval and a pair of black shorts with black stockings. Attached to the back of her jacket were four different sealing scrolls. The girl wore a Kusagakure forehead protector and she had on a pair of glasses over her crimson-colored eyes.

'No way!' Naruto's eyes widened as a grin developed on his face.

The kunoichi was staring directly at him as she grinned back: "I knew I recognized that familiar-feeling chakra source. It's been a long time, Naruto!"

"Karin!"

Naruto closed the distance between him and his cousin, giving her a tight hug that Karin quickly returned. The two Uzumaki were silent for a moment until they broke their embrace.

"Nice, tight hug. You've gotten strong, Naruto. And taller." She said, adjusting her glasses.

"A little bit. You've gotten taller yourself, Karin." He said, his grin widening. "How are you doing? It's been so long!"

"Too long. I haven't seen any of you since the damn Uzushio trip." Karin said, her grin fading slightly. "Kusa's been on my ass, though. I messed up immediately after getting back from Uzushiogakure by requesting to be an ambassador to Konoha. I was a bit too 'interested' in it so they not only denied the request, they also denied me clearance to visit Konoha at all in case I decided to defect to the village."

A scowl developed on Naruto's face: "That's dumb. They think you'd just abandon your village like that?"

"I know, right? It's insulting. I'm not that kinda person to just leave my village for no reason." Karin said, frowning. "Was hoping now that it's been three years later and I'm both a jōnin and a certified badass seal master, they'd let me off the hook and give me some more freedom back, but nope! They only got more interested in making sure I don't 'defect to Konoha'." A scoff escaped her lips. Her grin then returned back to her face: "But fuck all that; how are you doing? How's Tayuya? Masakado? I heard he was back in Konoha now."

Naruto nodded his head: "Masakado is back in Konoha, yeah. Everyone's doing great and there's even more Uzumaki! Tayuya-nee met three more-"

The door to Naruto's room opened and Hanabi poked her head out, her eyebrow raised slightly.

"Naruto-sensei?" She called out. "Who is this? We heard your voice outside and were kinda confused."

A grin developed on Naruto's face as he turned his attention to Karin: "Got a second to meet my team?"

She nodded her head: "Sure. I'll introduce you to mine after. They're currently wandering the streets of Kumo right now."

Naruto's grin seemed to widen as he brought Karin into his room, introducing his genin team to his cousin.

As the day came to a close, Naruto laid down in a sleeping bag on the floor of the room. Hanabi and Kanji had a bed to themselves while Katsumi laid down on a couch in the room. The lights were off the members of Team Nine all laid down, talking to one another.

"You all feeling good still, right?" Naruto asked.

"We've… kinda adjusted to the altitude? So we should be fine for tomorrow, I think." Katsumi said with a shrug.

"Well, the first exam in these things is usually some type of information gathering, intellectual type of test, right?" Kanji asked. "We should be fine even if we're still a little altitude sick."

"You all will be fine. I'm not worried about the exams overall for you three, especially not the first one." Naruto said, with a chuckle. "But I was just wanting to make sure; you all are good here in Kumo, right? Like… the atmosphere and everything?"

"… Kinda not." Hanabi admitted.

"Hmm?" Katsumi sat-up from the couch to look over towards her teammate better. "You okay Hanabi?"

"It's… weird being here." Hanabi said, eyes looking downward. "Considering all that happened with my clan here…"

"Ah." Naruto frowned in response. "I get it."

"I know that the Raikage isn't going to do anything, cause he's focused on keeping his village safe and he said it himself when he and Hinata-nee-san fought that he would never do something like that again. But like…" She sighed. "I get this weird feeling, I guess. Like I'm not wanted."

"… Nah, I know what you mean." Katsumi said, frowning as well. "The people here aren't that warm. It's like how the Shimo citizens ignored us, but kinda worse."

"

"I would like to be ignored, considering it's better than getting these weird, challenging glares." Kanji noted. "It's like they're saying 'Kumon over here so we can fight'." Hanabi sighed in response to his pun, which caused the Yamanaka to frown as well. "But in the end, it doesn't matter. We're here together and nothing's going to happen to us."

"That's the most important thing, yeah. You three are a team." Naruto said, his frown turning back into a smile. "And you all have each other's backs. Nothing at all's gonna happen and you three are gonna own this shit."

Hanabi glanced over at each of her team members. A small smile developed on her lips.

"I know. We'll be alright." She said.

The group was quiet for a couple of minutes. Naruto turned his attention to his three students, noticing that all three were still awake. With a sigh, Naruto pulled himself out of his sleeping bag and walked over to Kanji's and Hanabi's bed. Both stared at him in confusion.

"Well, you two don't seem to be sleeping, so we might as well hang out a bit longer and chat." He said, chuckling. He then turned to his third student. "Get over here Katsumi."

"Chat about what?" She asked as she pulled herself off the couch.

"Well, wanna hear shit from my Chūnin Exams?" Naruto asked. "Cause there's some shit that happened there that you all might funny, y'know?"

"Like what?" Kanji asked. "Wasn't your exams super serious with the Suna-Oto invasion?"

"Yeah, but even then, shit still happened." Naruto said, a grin developing. "Like this one time when we were waiting for the third exam, when my friend from Iwa, Kurotsuchi, purposefully sabotaged my teammate Shikamaru's sleep because she was mad at him!"

The three genin of Team Nine all listened as their jōnin-sensei began to recount his time in the Chūnin Exams, listening intently and laughing as Naruto explained the trials and shenanigans of his own Chūnin Exams and, in the process, helped calm any nerves that the three had.

"And, finally here."

Kabuto and Hidan set-up camp a few kilometers away from Kumogakure, in a nearby mountain cave. Hidan laid down their bags while Kabuto stood up near the cave entrance, looking out towards the direction of the village.

"We're planning on meeting up with everyone in two days, yes?" Kabuto asked.

Hidan shrugged his shoulders: "Think so. I don't give a fuck."

"Noted. Then we have tomorrow free." Kabuto smirked as he adjusted his glasses. "Then I have tomorrow night to try and acquire some DNA samples."

"You sure you want to go and do that shit?" The Jashinite asked. "If those two new recruits were being serious, then Kumo might have some higher security than Iwa did."

"They shouldn't have their security upped that fast yet. Which is why I need to strike now if I want to acquire any samples at all from here." Kabuto said. "I know of at least two kekkei genkai that I could acquire here – Storm Release and Swift Release. And I know if I got the chance to acquire the Shodai Raikage's body, I could get access to some really interesting techniques."

A chuckle escaped his lips as his eyes narrowed on the village in the distance: 'Tomorrow night, I'll begin. And I can't wait to see the benefits Kumo will provide to my research.'

Quick Notes:

1: Quick thing I want to point about this arc - it is a Chūnin Exams, after all. Therefore, I do have a couple of OCs that are planned/needed. I promise, I'm not going to bog the story down. I'm not actively saying 'ignore the genin OCs that are all going to be introduced', because I mean they are here for a reason. My point being is, don't be intimidated by them, as there is a lot more going on with this arc outside of the Chūnin Exams, so it's not the most essential thing ever to try and memorize characters that are going to be introduced to fill a need. I just wanted to give that little preface really quickly before I have to introduce a couple all at once.

2: Konohamaru... yeah, I kinda have him acting a little 'edgy' right now. I actually put some thought into this and I thought the reaction seemed natural, considering when and how Hiruzen died. I mean, Konohamaru in canon did try to lock out Tsunade from the Hokage's Office due to his refusal to accept his grandfather. A little older Konohamaru I could see being a little more aggressive than his younger counterpart.

On the topic of Konohamaru, I do feel a little bummed out that I really haven't had a good chance to use him much in the story and that I've sorta wrote his interactions with Naruto 'into' the story. I let the event happen as it did in canon, and therefore, sorta let the event just happen without having to write it. But it is kinda unfortunate because while I have some grievances with him, I do think his relationship with Naruto is sweet and I really like him. So, hopefully this arc will give him a chance to have some screentime and have a unique character arc that I don't think I've seen anyone give 'The Honorable Grandson'. :)

3: Speaking of 'characters that I haven't been able to use a lot' ... okay, I am aware that scene with Katsumi's friend, Naomi, might come across a little forced in, but I was getting so annoyed I haven't gotten to use Naomi in any scenes. I actually introduced her right before the Sunagakure Arc and I intended on her being more important, and she actively is important to Katsumi's backstory overall... but just circumstantially, I haven't had the chance to actually use her in story scenes, sadly. I know my chapters are usually long as it is anyway, but I have tried to trim at scenes and remove planned scenes that I feel like just 'lengthen' the story, and some of these extra side characters have suffered that.

Uh... I had a point with this, but I've kinda lost where I was fully going to it. I just basically wanted to make a mention of Naomi, I guess. And hopefully I'll get the chance to use her and Katsumi more together when I'm back in Konoha :)

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Chapter 102 is done AND OMFG I GOT IT OUT SO FAST!

I'm just so excited to get to Kumo cause I'M FINALLY HERE! And now things can start happening that I've been planning for a while! YAY

Quick shoutout to Paperman0 in his review this morning, who predicted that Karin would be making an appearance in the Kumo Exams... the day of my chapter update. Good, well-timed guess! Have a cookie (::) ... XD

But this chapter was sorta a set-up for more to the overall arc, so more action will be happening soon! I'm very excited to getting to work on it all soon and I'm really excited to see what you all end up thinking of things when it's all finished.

I can't promise Chapter 103 will be as fast as this one, but I promise I'll try and get out as quick as I can! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for reading and for all the support! See you when it's all finished, okay? Until then :)