~Episode 18~

~Konohamaru's Dare: Udon's New Standpoint~

Naruto and the boys came to a stop at the entrance of the building after Naruto had sent a clone to take the box to her hidden office. Kabuto was holding Konohamaru upside down by his feet as Konohamaru struggled in his hold. Itachi could almost see the steam coming off Naruto when her anger at Kabuto came up.

"I've always wondered if there were people in the world who were tired of breathing," Naruto said descending the stairs as she caught the agent's attention and Konohamaru's.

"Sis, you have to help me, I was minding my own business when this guy attacked me," Konohamaru said in hurry to Naruto who had made it in front of Kabuto whose eyes widened at the sight of Naruto. Kankuro who was standing there with Gaara was gaping at the kid's lie, he was about to say something when Gaara touched his shoulder to tell him to stay out of it.

"Is that so?" Naruto asked looking at Kabuto who was frozen, she bent down to push on Konohamaru's forehead with her index finger. "He attacked you without provocation?" Naruto asked tilting her head.

"Yeah, I was just walking around, and he went nuts," he said with Naruto nodding as she got up to her feet.

"Put him down," Naruto said to Kabuto who put Konohamaru on the ground at her stare. As soon as he got up from the ground Konohamaru took off running away from the scene. Naruto picked up a rock from the ground, she tossed at Konohamaru's legs to send him tumbling and rolling around the courtyard, he came to a stop at the bottom of a random tree; after he got up, Naruto beckoned him forward. He walked to her unwillingly and slowly as he tried to think of something to get him out of the situation since lying didn't help, in fact, his lie probably made Naruto angrier.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Naruto asked, watching him shift around trying to find a way to get out of this with minimal damage, when he spotted his uncle he tried to ask for help but he knew his uncle wouldn't go against Naruto for him when he's in the wrong, especially since his grandfather left him in Naruto's care before he died.

"Uhm, I was just going home to do something," he said vaguely trying not to lie again.

Naruto nodded. "That had the ring of truth to it since you left it vague enough, but the entire situation with Kabuto is confusing, I'm still unsure why Kabuto went crazy only after seeing you, what was it about you that made him go nuts?" Naruto asked staring down at him with a frown.

"Uhm, you know Sis I don't really know," he said shifting around a bit under her stare.

"I suppose that makes sense, you're not a doctor. However, there's this ringing in my ear that happens every time you lie to me, and my ears are ringing again, you're not lying to me, are you Konohamaru?" Naruto asked catching his chin in her hand to make him look at her.

"Why would I lie to you, sis?" he asked looking around instead of at her.

"I don't know, because this entire situation has this funky smell, like one of your idiot friends dared you or made a bet with you; I'm wrong, right?" Naruto asked letting him go when his knees started shaking when Naruto guessed what happened.

"Uhm, I…I…I don't know if you're wrong or not," he stuttered out.

"Oh, so then it's not a bet or dare, that's a relief; because if I thought you attacked a Jounin on a dare or bet, I might hang you upside down on that power line," Naruto said smiling at him, making his knees shake even more.

"You sure have one heck of a sense of humor, sis," Konohamaru said as he tried to calm down enough to stop shaking. The boys were smiling when they saw that Konohamaru couldn't stop shaking after Naruto probably guessed what this entire situation was about.

"Yeah, people often tell me I should go into comedy; although..." Naruto said bending down once again to look at Konohamaru, "Why you're lying to my face without fear is beyond comprehension right now," Naruto said dropping the smile to turn her face stone cold.

Konohamaru opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. "Was it a dare or a bet?" Naruto asked him after she got up.

"A dare," he said in a small voice.

"You lied to me," Naruto said.

Konohamaru nodded.

"So, you almost got hurt on a dare?" Naruto asked between her teeth as she tried to contain her anger at Konohamaru for lying and for risking his life to please his friends.

"I couldn't get out of it without looking like a punk," he said with his head down.

Naruto cracked her knuckles when she realized that the situation was much worse than she thought, it's one thing to do it for fun, but it's another thing if someone bullied him into doing it. "So, you're that much of an idiot that you were willing to attack a Jounin because some idiot dared you?" Naruto said knocking him on the head, making him hold the spot she hit.

"Kakashi, hang Konohamaru on that power line for me, will you?" Naruto said watching as Kakashi grabbed the kid who was shaking his head no, but still he jumped up there to hang him upside down by his leg.

"Sis, this is insane, I could really get hurt if I fall from here," Konohamaru said trying not to move much.

"Yeah, and you would have been had you attacked a Jounin on a dare," Naruto said crossing her arms. "Who was it?" Naruto asked.

"I can't tell you, or I'm going to look like a snitch," he shouted at her.

Naruto picked up a rock from the ground, tossed it up and down in her hand as she looked at Konohamaru who was growing before her eyes, he was already a Genin. "You can either be a snitch or be knocked out until next week by me after I let you fall from the power line," Naruto said.

"You wouldn't let me fall," Konohamaru said.

"You obviously don't know how much I hate liars," Naruto said before she tossed the rock at Konohamaru's foot, dropping him instantly from the line.

"I'll talk," Konohamaru shouted as he fell. Naruto flashed to him to grab him before he hit the ground. Everyone who was in the courtyard had stopped whatever they were doing to look at the scene the boy was making as he stood there in front of Naruto who was just waiting for him to speak with her hands in her pockets. Konohamaru stood there with his eyes closed as he tried to find the courage to tell Naruto the truth.

"I lied," he said finally looking up at Naruto who had a brow raised.

"No duh," Naruto said, walking around him as she took him in, she hadn't seen him in a while. "It's been a minute or two since I looked in on you, seemed like your body isn't the only thing about you that's growing, Konohamaru, you're getting bolder…" Naruto said finally, stopping next to the banister by the stairs at the last step to lean against it.

Konohamaru said nothing because he knew any wrong move could land him in hot water with Naruto, more than he was already in. "You actually dared to lie to me, you've lost your fear, Konohamaru; should you and I revisit the idea of you being in a medically induce coma until you're thirty?" Naruto asked. Konohamaru hiccuped when he heard Naruto's promise to incapacitate him if he didn't get his act right.

"I didn't want to do it, I..." he started but stopped when he saw Naruto pushed off the banister to come to him. "You're not stupid enough to let someone bully you without telling me, right?" Naruto said, lifting his chin to have him look at her so she could study him, her eyes softening when she saw that he was struggling with it.

"Her teaching style resembles jiraiya's so much so that I'm scared to think about what would happen to this if he ever think about going against Naruto when he gets older." Kakashi thought to himself as he looked at the kid who was scared for his life as he heard of Naruto's promise to put him in a coma.

"He can't bully me…" he started again but still he stopped before he could tell Naruto what was going on without Naruto going nuclear. "He's just different…after we became Genin," he said dropping his head again, but he had stopped talking to look at the power line he dropped from.

"Name," Naruto said, leaving no room for discussion.

"Udon," he said, with a small voice.

"As in Udon Ise?" Naruto asked with a frown, "The snot-nose brat who can't even look me in the eye without peeing his pants?" Naruto asked still frowning because it made no sense for that kid to have changed that easily unless there was a catalyst.

"Yeah, he has changed a lot. He's the number one ninja of our class now, and it has gone to his head. He's doing things that he's never done before." Konohamaru said.

"Like what?" Naruto said, keying in on the way Konohamaru said that last sentence.

Konohamaru said nothing.

"Konohamaru," Naruto said in a warning voice.

Still, he said nothing.

"I'll give you five minutes to get him here. If you're not here in five minutes; I will beat him within an inch of his life, even if he's your friend," Naruto said before turning around to let Konohamaru go.

"Naruto, you're not really going to hit a kid, are you?" Jiraiya said coming out of the door.

Naruto smiled. "Since when did my targets have gender or age?" Naruto asked, repeating the words he said to her when she entered the Anbu.

"Not without cause, walk on the line this time," he said giving her no choice.

"We'll see," she said. "As you know, I'm not a psycho who's gently crazy," Naruto added as she watched a group of kids running toward the gate.

"This should be interesting," Shisui said looking at a brown-haired kid wearing square-frame glasses walking toward the gate with angry strides.

Udon walked up to where Naruto was, to see that the one who had called him was none other than Konohamaru's mean and scary older sister. He knew he could take her, but he had been afraid of her since he was little, and he was having trouble losing the slight nervous bug in his stomach that was turning into a swarm as she looked at him quietly.

"I know you're Konohamaru's sister; no matter, you shouldn't have called someone like me to come to you. If you knew better, you'd come to me out of respect." Udon said despite his anxiety. Konohamaru pulled back from the group when he saw Naruto smiling at Udon.

Naruto tilted her head at the kid. "Interesting," she said lifting a foot behind her to put it on the banister balancing on one leg as she leaned on it with her hands in her pocket. "Never thought the snot-nosed kid who pied his pants whenever he saw me would grow up to have a death wish," Naruto said still with a smile on her face.

Udon pulled back when he saw that the smile on Naruto's face wasn't a smile at all. He cleared his throat when he felt the need to run every time he looked into her eyes. "As if a kunoichi can kill a shinobi, especially one like myself," he said crossing his arms to make himself seem bigger.

Naruto laughed, shocking the people around her as they watched her advanced toward the kid who had inched back a bit when he saw her coming to him. "Udon, you've become even more interesting since the last time I saw you, "A kunoichi can't kill a shinobi," strong ideals you have there," Naruto said stopping in front of him to whack him on the head before he could even see it coming, shocking the other kids around him. "I wonder where a snot-nose brat like you came up with such an absurd claim like that," Naruto added for good measure as she studied the kid with a raised brow.

"If you don't lose to the attitude and start showing proper respect to your superior, I'll prove you wrong," Naruto said again whacking him on the back of his head this time.

Kakashi couldn't hold his laugh when he saw the kid was shocked that Naruto had hit him, twice in a span of two minutes. "This kid might not go home today if he doesn't start acting right." He mumbled to Itachi who was next to him.

"Watch your hands, I'm a shinobi now, you can't just touch me like that, especially a kunoichi; I don't know why they even let your kind in the academy," he said frowning at Naruto, earning him another whack, but this time it sent him flying into his friends who pulled away to let him fall as if to say they weren't in it with him.

Naruto motioned for him to come to her after he got up. He reluctantly walked toward her with small steps until he got close to her. Naruto grabbed his ear, earning a scream from him. "Last summer you had snot coming out of your nose, and now you're talking like an idiot who's been living under a rock. Kid, you don't know how thin the ice you're walking on really is, do you? Now, what's all this about you daring Konohamaru to attack a Jounin?" Naruto asked, letting go of his ear so he could explain it to her.

"I knew that punk would snitch on me," he said looking back at Konohamaru who was standing to the side of his group.

Naruto whacked him upside his head again, making him turn back to her to see that her eyes were telling him he only had a small amount of time to tell her what she wanted to know or else. He knew Naruto couldn't really take him on a fight, just because she was bigger than him; she thought she could hit him as she wanted. He shrugged before answering. "I was bored, he had bad timing to walk in the classroom then, so I dare him to attack the first ninja that I land on when I flipped open the ninja book. Honestly, I was hoping it was an Uchiha so that he could be beaten to a pulp, but he was lucky it was just a low-level Jounin like Kabuto." He said smirking, looking back at Konohamaru who was frowning as he listened to someone, he used to consider a close friend.

Jiraiya and all the others who knew what the kid sounded like frowned, this kid was heading down the wrong path, and he was going down it fast.

Naruto smirked as her eyes landed on a kid holding a ninja book. She smirked. "You know Udon, ask and you shall receive," Naruto said bringing his attention to her, he looked as she walked to Moegi who was holding a ninja book. Naruto took it from her with a smile. "Nothing has been going right all day, and I'm kind of bored, I guess you lucked out when you stepped in this courtyard today," Naruto said walking back to the banister.

"You were hoping for an Uchiha, whereas I know that the Uchiha clan members can't inflict the kind of pain that the number one ninja in that book can inflict. So, I'm hoping it lands on her," Naruto said tossing the book in front of her to watched as it opened on the right page she bookmarked, when she folded the book in half earlier as she walked back to the banister.

Udon picked up the book, "It's not the number one ninja, it's just you," Udon said smiling. Naruto laughed at his words with a few others snickering as well.

"Well, you said a kunoichi can't beat a shinobi. If you back out of this fight Udon, I'll paint the fact that you're a punk on the doors of the academy and pay someone to continue painting it daily until it becomes a monument," Naruto said smiling as she crossed her arms.

"By the way, the facts in that book are wrong; they've never tested me like they tested all the other agents," Naruto said getting his attention as she read through her stats. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Naruto asked smiling.

"That's cheating," he said looking at his fingers. He had forgotten to wear the rings today. "I need time to prepare." He said looking at her.

"Oh, isn't the number rule of being a shinobi is to always be prepared, what else does someone like you need?" Naruto asked as she studied him.

"You're a Jounin, I'm Genin; If I don't have time to prepare then it's cheating." He said panicking.

Naruto nodded. "Now, you know your place; it's too late though. What's about to happen will happen, but it sounds to me like time to prepare is code for "I'm going to run away"," Naruto mocked as she watched him.

"Tomorrow, nine o'clock in training ground one," he said running toward the gate. The rest of his group ran after him asking him questions leaving Konohamaru standing there awkwardly looking at Naruto.

"When did he get like this?" Naruto asked him.

"His parents separated, and he went to live with his mom before he came back to take the Genin test, but I didn't notice this much change until recently." He told her before turning to leave.

"Konohamaru," Naruto said, stopping him in his tracks. "You have three months to clean up your act, because the next time you lie to me, I will drop you off Hokage mountain and let you fend for your life, got it?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru's knees buckled under him when the image of Naruto dropping him came to mind. He nodded to her without turning around as he walked toward the gate.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said trying to get her attention, she made no indication of hearing him. "Naruto," he said again coming to stand next to her.

"I heard you the first time, " she said looking at her phone that buzzed with a notification. "What is it?" she asked him.

"That kid's eyes," he said.

"I know, he looked like Mizuki Sensei," Naruto said putting her phone away after she answered Sai and Karin's texts.

"If you…" he started but stopped knowing that he was asking for the impossible.

"I'm going to beat that kid until sense finally come back to him, if I still see those eyes, then you can say we have a problem. As of now, he just needs to know what pain really is," Naruto said putting her hands in her pockets before she started walking toward the gate to leave Jiraiya with his thoughts.

~Group Meeting~

It was around eleven when Naruto finally looked up from the box Sai had given to her after he came from Tsunade's office. She was right about the files in the safe under her desk, the amount of information she found in them is enough to put Tsunade away, but she knew that whoever was controlling the council was protecting Tsunade, which means she had to sever that relationship before she could put Tsunade away permanently. There's only one way, and that's to flip Tsunade, but she knew flipping Tsunade was going to take everything she had and then some. She needed the information Neji's father had, she needed Itachi's brain, she needed Kakashi's ability to connect large amounts of information to find patterns, she needed Shisui's ability to blend in wherever he went to get her more information, she needed Jiraiya's credentials, she needed Sai's forthcoming ability when it came to confronting the council, she needed Ino at her tiptop shape so that she could be ready to read Tsunade's mind, and she needed everything Madara has been collecting all these years.

"Anyone up for a midnight meeting?" Naruto texted in the chatroom.

"What did you have in mind?" Kakashi responded before the others, he was contemplating texting her when his phone buzzed with a new notification.

"How fast can you guys get here?" Naruto asked receiving no answer, besides a notification telling her that they exited out of the chatroom.

Twenty-five minutes later, the boys went up Naruto's fire escape to come to the patio door that she left open for them. All of her lights were off, except the lone light in the hallway leading them down the stairs to the open office under the stairs where Naruto was waiting for them.

"Faster than I thought," Naruto said turning from her monitors to find them standing behind her with the bookcase back in place and the door to her hidden office closed.

"I couldn't sleep," Kakashi said taking a seat on the couch with the others following him to sit down as well. Naruto's hidden office was surprisingly large. Under the stairs is only the entrance, there's an open connecting room that made up the office. She has a large set of a supercomputer hooked up to multiple monitors that had different things on them running.

"Yeah, I thought so, after the day we had today, I'd be shocked if either one of us could sleep without first getting to the bottom of this," Naruto said handing them each a tablet. "I'll try to explain the best that I can," she said sitting in the chair in front of the computer, turning the chair around to face them on the couch.

"What's all this about?" Shisui asked going through the open file in the tablet she had given him.

"I've been investigating Tsunade since I entered the Anbu sector nine years ago."

"What tipped you off about her?" Itachi asked flipping through the pages.

"It was a cryptic conversation I overheard when I was three, the days she took me from the orphanage was also the day she was sworn into office. She had a phone call that spooked her that day, she had bought me a bag of candy to distract me while she was on the phone, but I overheard things that sounded sketchy. I mainly put it out of my head since it didn't really make sense to me at the time, but when I was nine I meat Red wolf, his voice, something he said, or it could have been the way he said it, but that triggered the memory of that phone call, and I started digging. When I was nine I was digging blindly, mainly to satisfy my curiosity, although everything I found then made no sense, I till kept them because I thought that later on, I would find the one thing that connected all of the information I collected." Naruto started explaining.

"The Akatsuki," Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded. "When I learned of that organization, suddenly everything made sense, all of my notes were connecting, the people on the list I was compiling, every piece of evidence I collected started connecting one way or another. When I turned twelve, I became the highest agent in the Anbu, I gained more access and dug deeper into her activities."

"Lady Tsunade is corrupted," Shisui said.

Naruto shook her head. "Not quite, I don't believe she knows enough to be corrupted, I still think she's a pawn they can get rid of at any given moment, the only reason she's still around is that she hasn't outlived her usefulness yet," Naruto explained.

"She's in deep though," Itachi said with his eyes still glued to the tablet as he read Naruto's information.

"That's true, but also not true; you see I think that she's still at the bottom of the totem pole. She too low level to worry about her, yet she's high enough to surveil, that Kage seat is not a permanent seat for her, I'm not sure what services she's providing them for her to still be there even after five years, what I am sure of is that they can get rid of her easily if they wanted." Naruto said.

"Is she dirty or what?" Kakashi asked finally looking at the tablet.

"As dirty as they come, but I don't think she knows enough to be categorized as corrupted," Naruto answered.

"Putting her under a formal investigation, what was the reason?" Itachi asked putting the tablet on the coffee table in front of him after he read through it all.

"I want to meet her handler, I thought it was Mizuki, but he wasn't assigned to her, she picked him herself," Naruto said.

"So, the one assigned to keep her in line is who you are after," Itachi summed up what Naruto said with her nodding in confirmation.

"How will you know who it is? It's not like they are going to broadcast it," Itachi said.

"True, but if I create a situation that could potentially put her out of office, whoever it is will show up to fix it, that's who I'm after right now," Naruto said.

"What's your end game?" Itachi asked. "Why are you targeting the Akatsuki?" Itachi added.

"Saratobi asked me to finish the investigation he started before he died, he wanted me to find the real power behind the Kage seat, if I can return the power to the Kage, then it's good, if I can't he wanted me to destroy it," Naruto said turning back to the computer when it beeped.

"That a lot to ask a nine-year-old to take on," Kakashi said to himself. Thinking about the attack on the village that lead to Saratobi's death.

"It was, at the time; but now it's not heavy anymore, because I have a stake in this too." Naruto said. "They want the tail spirits for a reason, after I find out that reason, I'm going to send the tail beasts back wherever they came from, and then I'm going to dismantle the entire organization," Naruto said typing away on the keyboard.

"That's why you're putting together a team," Itachi said looking at the back of her head. He heard her laughed under her breath.

"Figured you'd be the one to put it together, I'll be doing the heavy lifting. I just know it will be better to divide the jobs amongst other people than to carry it all. I'll end up crashing into the beast if I go at it head-on, but if multiple people attack it at once in different areas…" Naruto said leaving the thought hanging for them figure it out.

"Not a bad strategy, overwhelm the beast on all sides instead of one side at a time, not giving it time to recover." Itachi said, nodding in approval. "For someone who has never been part of a team, you have the basic principle of why a team is better than fighting alone most of the time."

I may have never been part of a team, but I've led multiple teams for years. I know the benefit of a team, especially running a team of elite soldiers who can infiltrate and destroy from the inside out." Naruto said turning around after putting a picture on the screen.

"Konan, our first target," Naruto said. "She just made contact with Tsunade, and Jiraiya put her application on pending mode," Naruto said.

"Tsunade didn't pick her," Kakashi said.

"No, someone else did," Naruto responded.

"We'll keep watch on her," Kakashi said.

"She dropped out of the academy, reason unknown, and she took an apprenticeship out of the village a month after she dropped out. She returned a month before the tournament was announced, skipped the tournament to apply to SAD directly under special circumstances." Naruto read the information she had found.

"Her skill set is similar to yours," Shisui said reading over her stats from the tablet after Naruto sent the information to their tablets.

"Not quite," Itachi said reading it as well. "Not even close, it looked similar, but if you look deeper you can spot the difference; she's Jounin level at best," Itachi added, looking up to find Naruto looking back at the screen with her back to them.

"I'm looking at your analysis, why is there a question mark next to Jiraiya's name in relation to Konan?" Kakashi asked looking Naruto who was still staring at the screen in front of her.

"Jiraiya was their Sensei, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko. I'm not sure how objective he can be when it comes to them. So, for now, I'm leaving the question mark until I can figure out if Jiraiya has what it takes to be objective when it comes to them." Naruto said.

"Surely you don't think Jiraiya would protect them if they are a threat," Shisui said looking at Naruto whose response startled him a bit.

"You don't know how sentimental Jiraiya can be when it comes to the people he cares about, I've seen him duck and hide whenever the possibility of Tsunade being dirty is mentioned, I'm not sure if he can separate his feelings from…" Naruto said leaving the thought open as she turned around to look at them.

"What do you guys say? I know it's more work on top of our regular missions that we get," Naruto said effectively changing the subject.

"I'm in," Itachi answered, with the others nodding.

"You don't even have to ask me, we've been on hiatus too long, I need more work," Kakashi said, with Shisui nodding in agreement to what they said.

"Good, keep the tablets, I'll forward any new information to it, to keep you guys updated at all times," Naruto said. "I'm still going through the box of stuff Sai took out of Tsunade's safe, and if he finds anything else relevant from the investigation, I'll keep you in the loop," Naruto said.

"It's two in the morning," Shisui said looking at his phone as they get up to leave the office.

"I have to ask, what's your fascination with the lost children in Konoha?" Kakashi asked, shocked when Naruto laughed as she handed them a beer with her water in hand after they took a seat on her couch in the living room.

"I was a lost cause, had it not been for Neji's father keeping me sane with those absurd novels, who knows where I would be right now. He used to tell me about all sorts of things he experienced out on the battlefield, sometimes he would ramble on and on until I fall asleep. I remember asking him one day, why he would ramble so much about things that didn't interest me," Naruto said putting the water on the coffee table before leaning back on the couch next to Itachi. "He would just laugh at me, and then pinch my cheek with a weird look. He'd just smile after that, then he'd tell me that I didn't behave like a two-year-old toddler, so he didn't treat me like one." Naruto said smiling at the memory.

"The times I had with him at the orphanage were some of the best time I had there, he always made sure I was fed, he made sure my clothes and sheet were cleaned just like the other kids, he made sure I was the most comfortable little girl at that place," Naruto said lost in her memory, not realizing that Jiraiya had come in through the door to join them in the living room.

"There was one time I sent one of the kids at the orphanage flying into the small pond that was behind the building where we all used to hang out, I don't know why but he liked to pull on my pigtails, so one day when he was pulling on my hair, I pulled my hair out of his hand and kicked him in the chest to send him flying in the pond. The head counselor who didn't like me was hell-bent on kicking me out for using violence, never once did she threatened to do that when the other kids would bully me, Hizashi came out of nowhere with this I was too small to have been the one to kick the boy in the pond, the boy was too shocked by what happened to contradict the defense. So, the counselor had to let go, to this day every time he sees me around the village he avoids me, it was until recently that I learned he was too afraid of me to speak, that was the real reason he stayed quiet." Naruto said smiling still at the memory.

"I thought you didn't like talking about your time at the orphanage," Jiraiya said, Naruto smiled at him before she told him that her time with Hizashi were some of the best time she had at that place, so she didn't mind reliving those times.

"Best Hyuga clan member who ever lived," Naruto said to herself as she looked at the bottled water on the coffee table that was sweating off the cold. "Good people are rare from that clan, I see why Hiashi was jealous of him his entire life; Hizashi was good at everything, he had an amazing personality, his wife and child loved him as much as he loved them, and the council members never had a problem with him, even though he was from the third line of the clan," Naruto said.

"People like that attract too much attention," Kakashi said out of nowhere.

"Yeah, kind of remind you of the feud between Itachi and Sasuke, doesn't it?" Naruto said with her eyes closed as she leaned back once more.

"My parents never liked me," Itachi said finishing off his beer.

Naruto laughed. "You're wrong, they liked you too much was the problem. You were good at everything; you had the logical mind your father wished he had and the temperament of your mother. You were the only person that could have led that revolt to succession, but you wanted no part of it. Instead of killing you for going against the clan like custom dictated, he disowned you. Your parents liking you too much was the problem, hoped too much in you, and wanted too much from you. That's why your brother hates you, because he realized that your parents never held such hope in him, jealousy overtook him." Naruto summarized.

"How do you know?" Itachi asked out loud when everything she said begin to connect dots he never thought were connected.

"Its's history repeating itself. Madara and Hashirama, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Hiashi and Hizashi, you and Sasuke, Obito and Kakashi, Choji, and Shikamaru, and even Sakura and me. The one who's blessed enough is always on the losing side because no one can sympathize with us, people tend to be on the side of the loser because the majority of the population can relate to the loser because their lives are identical to that of the loser. People tend to commiserate better with someone whose life mirrors their own; people like us are hard to understand because we were born to be set apart. To us much was given, so much is required from us. It's our burden to bear because we were blessed with a life that not everyone can relate to." Naruto said with her eyes still closed.

"Between Madara and Hashirama, who was the loser?" Shisui asked as he tried to figure it out.

"Which one received more love?" Naruto asked.

"Ah," he said finally understand.

"Hokage Hashirama was good at everything," Jiraiya said.

"Yes, but Madara was better," Naruto said. "Which is why till this day he's still angry," Naruto said. "No one ever sympathizes with him because no one could, and there were other factors involve in the mix as well, so it's not to say that all the pairings mirrored each other; but at the core of it all, it's the same issue being repeated," Naruto said.

"Could this have anything to do with the reason Madara is fixated on you?" Jiraiya asked Naruto. "Your ability to analyze things this clearly," he added.

"Not quite, I'm not doing anything that Madara can't do if he truly wanted to," Naruto said leaving it at that, but she could feel the stares from around the room. "I think it has more to deal with the fact that even though I'm related to his rival he can't hate me, because I'm also related to the woman he loved," Naruto said.

"…"

The silence went around the room; everyone was shocked to know that Naruto had such a relation to Madara. "Mito Uzumaki was in love with Hashirama, but it was obvious to all that she liked Madara more. Because unlike most people around the village, she could relate to Madara because they both shared the dislike of their clan. With how proficient she was at everything, it was bound to happen." Naruto said.

"How can you possibly know that?" Jiraiya asked.

"As I said, I make it my mission to know everything there is to know about every Uchiha, and I have the journals of all the Uzumaki Jinjuriki. Mito Uzumaki loved her husband for who he was, but she never understood him or could relate to him because she wasn't like him. She had to hide most of her thoughts from him for fear that he would learn of how similar they were to Madara's. Hashirama Senju was a vain man deep down underneath the Kage hat, he and Shikamaru are similar in that aspect. They never could fully give themselves to anyone they can't predict or figure out. Whereas I can't commit myself to someone like that, Mito could because she wanted Hashirama with flaws and all, even though she had to hide most of herself from him. We are different in that aspect, I could never bring myself to think of Shikamaru that way because he was so flawed, he likes to put people in groups and if you don't fit in a group, he dismisses you too easily. I don't fit in all boxes, I'm sure no box can contain me, and he would never be able to understand that. Mito was willing to shut a part of herself for the man she loved so she could fit in his box, and I don't believe I should have to for anyone. If he can't accept all that I am, then being celibate for the rest of my life is a much better choice than being with him." Naruto said with her eyes still closed, she was leaning on the armrest now with her feet pulled up on the space between her and Itachi.

"I think you're more like your grand-uncle Tobirama than Hashirama because he was impassive as a rock like that when it came to anything that required him to change who he was for a woman," Jiraiya said. "In fact, he remained single until he died instead of marrying someone who wanted to change him." Jiraiya said.

Naruto shrugged as if to say she had no rebuttal to refute it.

"Speaking of being single for the rest of your life, that kid Udon will die alone if you can't knock some sense into him, Naruto what are your plans for that?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know, but I've always been one to believe that a little pain goes a long way," she said smiling as she stood up to head to bed. "Lock the door behind you when you leave." She said before she disappeared up the stairs.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading!