A/N's will be at the bottom
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
"Please remove your Kage hats." Mifune's gruff voice echoed throughout the silent room. The insignia for Samurai was inscribed proudly on the wall for everyone to see. This was the home of the Samurai from the Land of Iron.
A large room a table in the form of a half circle sat at the center. Each of the five Kage were seated in their proper place. Slowly Mifune watched as each of the most powerful ninja in the world took off their Kage hats.
The first to set theirs down was the Mizukage, Mei Terumi. Following her came the Raikage A and the Tsuchikage Onoki. The Hokage Tsunade Senju and the Kazekage Gaara Sabaku were the last respectively to set their hats down.
The room was silent. A tension held them at their throats. No one knew exactly where to start. Mifune though with the room shadowed began.
"In response to Lord Raikage's request…" A light flashed in the dark room illuminating the Land of Lightning's representative. The Raikage sat glaring. In a similar manner one by one the Land of Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind countries went through the same process.
"…The Five Kage have assembled here." Mifune's voice held an air of authority and clarity. He sat directly In front of the Kage with two bodyguards at his side.
"I am Mifune your moderator. The Five Kage Summit Conference is called into order." With his speech finally over the elderly samurai quietly sat. it was now the Kage's turn to speak what they thought they must.
"I shall speak first. Hear me." Gaara said plainly. His hands laid underneath his chin as he stared down the other four kage. He opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by the Tsuchikage.
"There's such a difference in Kage these days." With his eyes narrowed Onoki glared at Gaara. "To be a Kage at your age is quite an accomplishment Lord Kazekage." He riddled his words with praise, but his voice betrayed him with a mocking arrogance.
Continuing Onoki said, "It seems your father trained you extremely well, except in the area of proper etiquette."
Behind the curtains of the meeting Kankuro sneered at the veiled insult. Temari laid a hand on her brother shaking her head. There was no reason to rise to the bait of a senile man.
It was behind this curtain though that all the bodyguards sat. The only ones that the siblings knew were the escorts for Konoha.
It was almost frustrating though how they were able to listen and watch the summit meeting, but never participate. They were only to step in if there Kage was threatened and even then that was rarely ever needed thanks to Mifune.
"You're probably right. It is the reason why I can be here as Kazekage." Gaara bit back with a small edge to his voice. Laughing Onoki took the comment in stride.
"You certainly are cocky." The old man's eyes held nothing but disdain for the impudence of the young Kazekage. He had never respected Gaara when he took the mantle of the Kage and Onoki didn't plan on starting now.
"It takes both age and wisdom to rule." He thought mercilessly.
Tired of their banter the Mizukage spoke next, "Lord Tsuchikage, there's no need to make fun of the young man." She turned towards Gaara. "Please continue, Lord Kazekage." Gaara nodded thanks his gratitude and began his turn once again.
"Over the years that the Kuro Kitsune had come to the Elemental Nations he had done nothing but to help Suna in capturing and killing some of our most dangerous missing-nin." Gaara paused letting his words sink in.
"Curious I am as to why he does this, but curious enough to stop and capture him I am not. He is benefitting my village and so long as he proves not to be a threat I will not stop him." The red head said finishing his piece on the subject.
"I admit this mysterious Kuro Kitsune has also supported Konoha indirectly as well." Tsunade the Hokage began, "Not only our orphanages were given a lot of money by this Kuro Kitsune, but also the missing-nins that would even give our top jonin trouble were brought in." She wasn't sure if she liked this Kuro Kitsune, but she could not deny the benefits of having him around.
"If we leave him alone for a while longer he might even clean up the rest of our problems as well." She mused silently.
"Maybe this just speaks volumes as to how for the great Konoha has fallen." The Tsuchikage remarked. "It seems to me that the Village Hidden in the Leaves can't take out their own trash anymore without some stranger doing it for them." Onoki boomed in laughter at his own insult.
Tsunade seethed in anger. "Watch your words Lord Tsuchikage, I might find a reason to use them against you later if you question are strength again." She spat with venom.
Bodyguards from both villages tensed uncomfortably. Each glared at the opposing Kage. After all they had their pride as well.
"Hokage! Tsuchikage!" Mifune said sharply from his seat. "This is a place for discussion not war threats." This effectively silenced both Kage, but did not stop the glares of disdain.
On the other side of the table the Raikage sat in uncontrolled anger. His fist tightened and he raised his hand before bringing it down to smash the portion of the table in front of him.
"Kumo does not need this Kuro Kitsune. He is a thief and a mercenary and the within the past five months he continues to ambush caravans with goods for my village." He spoke fervently. "This arrogant fool takes our goods and then gives it away. He makes a mockery of Kumo and if I catch him he will personally be executed by my hand." He finished loudly.
Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly and was about to retort when a slow clapping came from nowhere. Shock and silence permeated the room.
"Mah that was quite the speech Raikage-san." A voice spoke out. On the ceiling right above Mifune stood a cloaked stranger. He stood there only momentarily before jumping down to the side of Mifune.
"I am quite hurt that I didn't get an invitation to the meeting though, especially since we were going to talk about all my great feats! I do have some great stories you know?" The man chirped happily. The Kages seemed to come alive again when the man all but admitted to being the Kuro Kitsune.
Seething in anger at being mocked A rushed the man fist cocked. At the same time the bodyguards of all the Kage had appeared in front of their Kage weapons drawn. As the Raikage charged the masked man simply stood there.
"The fool will get decimated if he plans to just stand there." The Mizukage thought. After all this was an interesting development. She wasn't sure she wanted him to be squashed just yet. The other Kage thought along the same line except Gaara who had the tiniest of smiles on his face.
When the Raikage was within a foot of the Kuro Kitsune he raised his hand. Screaming a war cry the Raikage swung his fist with all his might intent on killing the man right there.
The sight afterwards shocked everyone. The man had just caught the Raikage's punch. The giant man flinched at the pressure in which the Kuro Kitsune was crushing his fist with. No one. No one had ever matched his strength so easily and with such disregard.
"What the hell?" A managed to growl.
"You know it's not nice to attack someone without a fair warning ya know?" Naruto replied scolding the older man cheerfully. Taking a quick glance at everyone else—who looked ready to attack at his next move—he raised his free hand placating. If he had a white flag he would have waved it.
"I just came to talk." Naruto spoke seriously for the first time.
"The hell if I care! I'm going to crush you like the annoying bug you really are!" The Raikage stated. He was effectively silenced though when the pressure on his hand increased tenfold. Anymore and the man would all but shatter his hand.
"I said…" Naruto said with irritation putting emphasis on his words, "I just came to speak. Now if you would take your seat Raikage-san I might just let you go with your hand intact." A glared at the man in silence as the rest of the room watched on.
Shikamaru who had popped out when the rest of the bodyguards had come out stared at the Kuro Kitsune in complete disbelief.
"It's him!" Shock was the first thing that had come to mind when he saw the masked man. After all, it was the same guy who had attacked him in the forest before disappearing. It couldn't have been a coincidence.
So then why Why had the Kuro Kitsune presented himself before Shikamaru earlier? Why had he called him an old friend? So many questions formed in his head. His mind was working in over time.
Speaking before the Raikage could anger the man, Gaara called out, "I would like to hear what he has to say." Surprise looks came from everyone except the Kuro Kitsune himself. Even his siblings didn't know where Gaara planned to go with this.
"I would also like to hear what the infamous Kuro Kitsune has to say. Surely if he does anything to our dissatisfaction we as the Five Kages should be able to hand him no?" The Mizukage said. Her soft charming voice spoke with logic even as her bodyguards Aoi and Choujiro still looked surprised.
The Raikage wanted to shout his own disapproval about the idea, but Mifune spoke first. "I believe the Kazekage and Mizukage are correct. As your moderator and being impartial to everyone I think it can only benefit to your discussion and put some of your questions about him to rest." He said eyeing the newcomer.
With this logic in place both Onoki and Tsunade slowly agreed to this new course of action. Now only A needed to agree.
"So will you sit down like a good Raikage, A-san or will I have to force you?" Naruto asked although anyone could hear the underlay of mocking behind his words. Bristling A began to nod very slowly while loosening the muscles within his arm.
"Thank you." Naruto said smiling beneath his mask. With A retaking his seat Mifune ordered that all the body guards go back to their designated places. Hesitantly the weapons were withdrawn and the crept back to their hidden spots behind the curtains.
As Shikamaru went back he couldn't help but feel that the Kuro Kitsune's eyes were following him. It was as if he suspected something of Shikamaru. This only proved to confuse the pineapple haired man even more. What could Shikamaru possibly know about this man?
Still glancing once more at the man he couldn't shake the familiarity of the man's voice when he spoke. It wasn't even just his voice either it was how he spoke. It was as if this encounter was just one big joke to him. As if his life wasn't on the line if he didn't please the kage.
With all the Kage finally sitting and their bodyguards back in their place Mifune motioned for Naruto to go forward and speak his piece.
Nodding his head in appreciation Naruto moved forwards into the middle of the room. The light shone directly on him and for the first time people noticed the crystalline blue eyes that were visible behind his mask.
"Ah well you see I cam-" Naruto had started only to be cut off.
"I don't prefer talking to someone who hides behind a mas and a hood." Onoki stated in a matter of fact tone.
"And it just so happens I don't prefer talking to pint-sized arrogant old men." Naruto bit back quickly. "Looks like neither of us get what we want so if you would kindly shut up I would much appreciate your great inconvenience." His voice was cold.
Onoki bristled as did the rest of the Iwa shinobi. "I am a Kage and your elder you will give me my respect boy!" He demanded furiously. Disappearing from view Naruto reappeared behind Onoki in a matter or seconds. A kunai pressed at his throat.
"My respect is not given old man it is earned!" The room dropped down ten degrees as Naruto's voice was ice.
Many in the room flinched at the harshness of his voice. Yet before anyone could act on the threat to the Tsuchikage's life the Kuro Kitsune once again dematerialized only to appear back in the middle of the room with his kunai away.
"I will not stand to be treated like a mere dog for you to kick old man so I suggest you do not try and test my patience." Naruto's voice had lost the edge it had once held and instead was more flippant.
The silence in the room was palpable. This man kept shocking them over and over. The kages for the most part had no idea what to think.
"Ah Kuro Kitsune is it?" The feminine voice of the Mizukage asked. Naruto turned to face her nodding his head in acknowledgement of her question.
"Is there nothing else we can call you by?" Mei asked all too sweetly. She didn't plan on trying to force information out of this man. Through both the efforts of the Tsuchikage and the Raikage it has been shown not to work.
"Now the charms of a woman…" She smiled brightly at the masked man. "Just might do the trick."
"If you would prefer you could call me Kitsune." Naruto said after pretending to put a serious thought into his answer. Mei's eyes twitched involuntarily and she smiled even brighter. The others in the room face palmed at the answer.
Shikamaru had to fight the urge not to slap himself at the man's answer. They had been calling him Kuro Kitsune and the only thing other thing they could possibly call him is Kitsune?
"So damn troublesome…" He thought.
The man in front of them was either very stupid or had a very dry sense of humor. He was going to guess the latter. Still, trying to put together what he had learned so far through the meeting Shikamaru felt even more strongly about the fact that he was supposed to know this man.
It seemed the man had a thing for a lack of formalities. Not many people had the balls not to call the Kages by their rightfully earned title and live.
With the way he held himself he also had to make the assumption that he was therefore a missing-nin himself. That meant he originally was probably a part of one of the five great villages.
From his interactions with both Iwa and Kumo he had to eliminate them from his pile. He was to brash and irritated with either of them to hold any previous relationship. He hadn't decided whether to eliminate Kiri yet. He seemed to be messing with the Mizukage, but there was no body language or verbal clues to hold a real familiarity with the village.
Shikamaru deduced that if he was from Kiri it would have been before Mei Terumi had been instated as Mizukage. That meant he had left sometime during the civil war, but again that had ended ages ago.
Whoever this man was would have had to be much older. Closer to someone around Asuma's or Kakashi's age and the man sounded far younger. That only left Konoha and Suna. From as far back as he could remember Shikamaru could not recall the last person to leave Konoha.
In fact he knew that Konoha hadn't had anyone leave and go missing-nin in more than a few years. Many people found living in Konoha easy and stayed there for as long as they could.
Shikamaru stared at the man though. His eyes. They were crystal blue and shone ridiculously bright. He was supposed to know this man. Of that Shikamaru was now positive.
Sighing he closed his eyes and brought his hands into a familiar position he had used many times when playing shogi with Asuma. Next to him Anko stared at the little brat wondering just what the hell he was doing.
"Oi gaki!" She whispered loudly, "If you fall asleep now you'll miss all the good parts." She chastised. Shikamaru ignored her though and she redirected her attention back to the Kages and the Kuro Kitsune.
This guy sure as hell made this meeting a lot more interesting than previously. And she had to admit she wanted to know what exactly the man was hiding behind his mask and cloak.
"I think I'll just stick to your title of Kuro Kitsune." Mei said slowly. The man in question simply shrugged his shoulders.
"That's fine." He replied as if he didn't really care with what she called him. Thinking to herself for a few seconds Mei wondered how she could get any information out of the man.
"Well, if you wouldn't mind maybe you could tell us something about yourself?" She asked a little more slyly. Everyone again with the exception of the Kazekage leaned in close to hear the man's response. Each was eager to find out a little more about the man.
Seeming to go into a thinking pose for a moment Naruto popped up seeming to know what he was going to say all of a sudden. "Oh!" He started, "You should definitely know that I am known as the Kuro Kitsune to all and I have ninja skills!"
Everyone once again face palmed at the man's answer. Mei who had asked the question seemed to be sulking in her chair. There was even a curious thudding noise that kept going in a steady rhythm. The thudding only stopped when a harsh voice sprang out, "Kankuro!"
Oblivious to everyone's reactions Naruto had been nodding to himself as if he had given the best answer in the world.
"Boy…" Onoki said very calmly. "I think it would be best if you explained what you really came here to talk about before Lord Raikage here loses his patience." The older man eyed the boy with some curiosity now. He had piqued his interest.
Glancing over at the Raikage the Raikage though the fence sitter saw that A looked as if he were about to explode right then and there.
"I agree with Lord Tsuchikage." Tsunade spoke out for the first time since the man had gotten there. "I would like to know the real reason you came to speak with us." Naruto hadn't meant it, but at Tsunade's voice he felt his body go stiff.
He felt trapped in the tiny room and Tsunade speaking was bringing back much unwanted memories. "Not right now" he pleaded softly. Doing his best to play off his mistake he nodded his head sagely.
"My apologies Raikage-san for making you wait. I shall get to the real reason I have come here today." He said speaking. A seeming to finally get what he wanted started to calm down. Naruto sighed in relief thinking that his slip up had gone unnoticed.
Little did he know that Shikamaru had caught it. He had caught the split second that the man seemed to stiffen as if remembering or seeing something unpleasant. Piece by piece it was coming together. He felt like he was only missing one more part of the puzzle and then he would have his answer.
"To my understanding you each want something from me. Whether it be answers or my head I honestly don't care." He said sparing a glance to the Raikage who just gave him a hard stare. "So I'm offering you a proposition for you to obtain that. I am officially inviting each of the Five Great Villages to meet me at the Valley of End in one week's time."
"To do what exactly?" Onoki asked carefully.
"To fight me" Naruto answered evenly. "There will be a total of three shinobi representing each of your villages. And I expect that one of the three ninja will be the Kages themselves."
"Are you stupid boy?" The Raikage fired at Naruto. "You couldn't beat a single Kage and now you're talking about taking on all us and then some?" A laughed. "You are a fool. Kumo will not mock ourselves with such a pointless meeting."
"For the village that beast me, I can be used however such village wants me to. If that means joining their ranks within the village I would do it…" The Mizukage and the Hokage were interested in this prospect. Having such a powerful shinobi in their ranks would do well. However the Raikage and Tsuchikage scoffed. The Kazekage just looked amused by the whole thing.
"…the deal would also include my death. If the village that wins would like me to be publicly executed then I would go through it without complaint." It was here that the two kages took interest.
A smiled. "Fine boy, you have signed your death warrant. Kumo will be coming to your little event." Naruto nodded at the Raikage's consent.
"Konoha will also be attending." Tsunade was the next to reply.
Onoki was a little more hesitant. Exploring both the pros and the cons of going through with this he wondered if this would even benefit him at all. The old man felt the cons were greater than the pros yet after the disrespect and humility he faced at the hand of the young man he ultimately came to the conclusion that he had beef to settle with the man.
"Iwa will also come to your funeral." Onoki finally said.
Naruto turned to the Mizukage and the Kazekage. Gaara hadn't spoken since he had arrived and he figured when he spoke it wasn't going to be fun, but he have thought the Mizukage would have been quicker to respond to his bargain.
"I have a question for you Kuro Kitsune." Mei stated bluntly.
"And I might just have an answer." Naruto replied.
"What do you have to gain from this?" She asked narrowing her eyes. Out of this entire proposal he spoke of there did not seem to be a thing he gained from this. She didn't peg him for the type just to do this for kicks either.
"Nothing" Naruto hadn't taken the Mizukage as one to think things through like this, but then again he should have known better. After all, he did work under her for an entire year.
"Bullshit." She sand out in a sing song voice. "Surely you have a better answer than that? She questioned further. Naruto sighed. She couldn't have just said yes could she?
"Maybe I do, but the answer has a story much longer than you probably care to hear."
"Try me." That was he simple two worded challenge. The smile on her face was striking. It reminded him of a kid who had just stolen a cookie from a cookie jar and didn't get caught. Unfortunately Naruto felt like the kid that tried to steal the cookie and got caught red handed.
"Let's just say I'm hoping to beat some since into you since talking never worked." Naruto said sheepishly. She was quick as a cat though and the Mizukage took her chance to question the hidden blonde.
"What exactly do you hope to beat into us Kage? And before this occasion I don't remember ever speaking to you." Her voice was filled with confusion. One minute she thought she had him and the next he was feeding her riddles once again.
"A sense of reason you could say." Naruto let his words play their game with the confused Kage. He didn't need to clarify too much now. "And you wouldn't remember me. You would remember a tall goofy spiky brown haired jonin who said he wanted to create peace throughout the Elemental Nations."
At this point everyone other than the Mizukage was thoroughly baffled. Yet it was if the Mizukage had frozen.
"He couldn't have meant it. There's just no way." She thought.
"Nawaki?" She called out hesitantly. She remembered the jonin dearly. He had only worked with Kiri for a year after he had come in as a traveler claiming he wanted to be a ninja. Taking pity on him originally she had let him stay and in the end they had gotten close. Then he had disappeared without a trace left behind.
Tsunade stiffened in her seat. Nawaki? That was her little brother's name. She didn't think there were many people named Nawaki to begin with. What were the odds that this man had some connection to her little brother?
"No." Naruto said regretfully. There had been hope in Mei's voice. He had heard it no matter how much she would try and deny it. "Just the creator…" He finished solemnly.
Mei tried to hide her anger at this. She had gotten close to that man. Closer than she probably should have, but not enough that she as a woman had wanted. "Why?" She demanded.
"There was a day I asked you if you would make peace with your smaller villages. Send them supplies, send them ninja, but most importantly send them help. You told me no. For reasons I will not say aloud you ultimately told me no." His words seemed faint as if he were remembering the moment it had taken place.
Mei didn't seem too far behind him as her eyes looked distant. Stepping back from the past Naruto faced the Kages. "My ultimate mission is peace. That is what it has always been. That is what it will always be." Naruto spoke.
Onoki lashed out, "So you snuck into Kiri boy. Now you think you have to beat all of us Kage? You are crazier than I thought." Naruto smiled beneath his mask. He didn't seem to understand. He had always been a little hard-headed.
"Tsuchikage-jiji I'm not crazy! I'm just insanely handsome and fun! But you know I'm going to be the greatest Iwa-nin!" Naruto's voice had taken a higher note making it sound more like a younger boy than a man. The point Naruto was trying to make got across though.
It was the Tsuchikage's turn to sit frozen. Even his granddaughter behind the curtain was speechless. They knew that voice. They knew that dream, that speech, they knew the words. Kurotsuchi tears were hidden behind the shadows of the curtains.
"Arashi?" She whispered hurt. The other escort next to her knowing of the boy she spoke of tried his best to comfort her. When that boy had disappeared she had been heartbroken. Even the Tsuchikage had been devastated even though he refused to admit it.
"I see." Onoki spoke slowly still gazing at the masked man in shock. "You saw each of us with a different face and name and asked us about your peace. After we gave you our answer you would then leave. Am I correct boy?"
"Almost. I didn't visit all of the villages. I was at most of them, but not all of them." Naruto looked towards the Raikage wanting to see the reaction. Realization dawned on the man's face. He didn't need a clue to know what little boy had visited his village.
"What villages didn't you visit?" The Raikage asked. He hadn't been all the way there though.
Instead he was seeing a little courageous boy with red eyes and straight blonde hair. He saw a boy that had reminded A so much of himself when he was a child. He saw the boy he said "No" to immediately when he asked that they send support to the smaller villages.
"The only one I didn't see directly was Suna." Naruto said glancing at Gaara. "He hadn't needed advice he was already heeding. Wind country is one of the harshest places to live in, but since Kazekage-sama's reign as Kage it is also one of the most peaceful places."
Sneaking in quietly as if still in a daze Mei chanted her words softly, "Kiri will be at the Valley of End in one week's time." Nodding at her Naruto turned toward Gaara only to be interrupted by Tsunade.
"What about Konoha? I don't remember anyone leaving or asking me a question of peace." Naruto for the first time faced her. He wasn't sure what to say. After he left he had never step foot near Konoha again.
"Konoha was a bit different for me. I stayed there for a long time." He hadn't meant to, but he could hear his own bitterness lacing his voice. He could hear the disdain and the hate.
"When I was there my dream for peace had been different. Following the words that my master taught me I searched for peace and found nothing but hate. I left your village after I couldn't take it anymore." He finished quickly before turning towards Gaara.
Shikamaru felt his brain going into overdrive. He could see it now. The pieces were finally fitting together. That had been the last piece of the puzzle he needed. There was someone he could see in his mind. His face was shadowed, but the attitude, the dream, and the voice they were all there. He knew this man. So why couldn't Shikamaru see his face?
"Kazekage-sama" Naruto said formally. The whole time he had been here Gaara had been burning a hole in the back of his head yet said nothing. For some reason he felt this wasn't going to end well for him. "You haven't given me an answer to my proposition yet."
Gaara felt a smile tug at the corners of his lip. Sand from his gourd began to rise. Fanning out around him it took on various shapes. "I thought I had told you you're not allowed to call me that?" Naruto flinched.
"Well shit." Naruto cursed. "I was so close to."
The sand behind Gaara started to take a more definite shape. It vaguely reminded Naruto of the Raikage's fist except it was about ten times bigger. Yeah, making things bigger is just so much fun.
Shikamaru was forgetting something important. What was he forgetting? He stared daggers at Kuro Kitsune trying to find what he had forgotten.
"His eyes…" Shikamaru did a double take. Placing the crystal blue eyes into the shadow of a person in his mind it was like seeing a picture for the first time. The whisker marks, the dream, the hate of the village he remembered! How could he have not seen it?
Anko looked at Shikamaru. The boy looked as if he was having an aneurism. He was shaking and kept muttering to himself like a crazy clown. What the hell was wrong with him?
Shikamaru burst from behind the curtains intent on telling Tsunade right away. "Tsunade-sama that's-"
Everyone looked surprised at his attempt at an outburst, but Gaara was on a role and would not be stopped. Naruto took a quick glance at Shikamaru though.
"So he finally figured it out huh?" He thought while grinning.
"It has been a long time…" Gaara started. His giant sand fist went flying straight towards Naruto. Everything seemed to slow down in that instant.
He could dodge the sand fist and not be discovered. He could stay hidden and run like Kurama had said. He still had time to dodge the bullet, but looking at the faces around him and knowing the upcoming future, the upcoming battle Naruto knew he had to stay.
He had to stay for all of them. He had to stay for his dream to finally become a reality. He had to stay in order to make sure they all stayed safe. Naruto had to stay and for that to happen he had to be known. Naruto looked on sadly at the giant ass fist coming at him.
"Gaara you are such an ass." Naruto thought. "This is going to hurt like a fucking bitch isn't it?" Naruto asked to himself only to be surprised with an answer from his tenant.
"I'd feel sorry for your face if it was going to be so funny for me." Kurama chuckled. It looked like he had finally woken up from his nap.
The large and audible crack that was heard echoed through the room. Shock filled the room that the Kuro Kitsune and been hit by Gaara's sand fist of justice.
They had all assumed he would have dodged it. The force of the punch had sent the Kuro Kitsune skidding across the floor and into the wall creating a human size dent.
The punch had landed a perfect hit and practically obliterated the lower half of his mask in seconds. The hood to his cloak was ripped off revealing the man's long blonde spiky hair that spiked out in every direction. It framed his face perfectly.
Pieces of the mask hit the ground with a resonating crash. Only a small piece of the mask remained on the man's face. A bright crystal blue eye stared out at Gaara while Tsunade looked on in morbid shock.
"…Uzumaki Naruto." Shikamaru and Gaara finished at the same time.
While the villages of Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa didn't recognize this man the escorts of Suna and Konoha did as did their kages. Temari and Kankuro looked on bewildered. This was the shrimp that saved their brother all those years ago?
Shikamaru stared at his long lost friend. They had searched to the ends of the earth to find him and now he was right here within reach. In the six years since he had seen him Naruto had changed so much. He looked like Naruto, he looked a hell of a lot like Naruto, but he didn't feel like Naruto. He had changed.
Picking himself of Naruto tore the last piece of his mask away. He felt blood in his mouth and promptly spit it out on the ground, only to receive a glare of irritation from Mifune a second later.
Staggering his way back over to the center he tried his best to ignore the looks of shock from Suna and Konoha as both their escorts had managed to hop out and stare at him. Even Anko was gaping like a fucking fish.
"The gaki is alive?" Anko stared on at the blonde Adonis standing in the room. She couldn't believe it. She remembered the last day she had seen him like it was yesterday. That had not been fun.
"It's Namikaze" Naruto said staring at Gaara. Gaara had simply quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "It's Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. I took on my father's last name."
At this the other three kages looked on with interest. The boy was the son of Konoha's beloved Yondaime? Now that was something.
"Naru-Naruto?" Tsunade asked disbelieving. Naruto turned to her and stared. Not sure of what to say he decided to say nothing.
"You know about your parents? You-you I mean I-I'm so sorry" Tsunade choked out.
The years of guilt of what she had done to the blond boy finally catching up with her. Feeling as though he might do something rash he turned back to Gaara.
"Yes or no?" Naruto questioned. Gaara in turn took to nodding his head.
"Suna will meet you in a week's time." Gaara affirmed.
"Good. Then I think I will take this as my cue to leave." Disappearing in a flash the only thing left was the broken mask that lay in pieces on the floor.
Tsunade was still staring at the spot Naruto had stood with tears streaming. Anko being the first one to recover called out to a dazed Shikamaru. Looking at her Hokage she knew she wouldn't be moving anywhere anytime soon.
"Gaki…" She said quickly to Shikamaru, "We got a blond gaki to catch. Let's go!" She disappeared in her own shunshin to follow Naruto.
Shikamaru finally snapped out of it and knew this is what Tsunade would want them to do so he followed quickly behind Anko. Silence reigned through the room. None of the Kages seemed to know what to do next. It was only Gaara who watched with mild interest before finally standing up.
"I believe that is my cue to take our leave as well." Gaara said beckoning his siblings Temari and Kankuro to follow. Both siblings watched their brother warily, eyeing the spot where the ex- leaf shinobi had been.
"Shouldn't we help Shikamaru? It'd be better if we caught Naruto now don't ya think?" Kankuro whispered to his older sister.
"Can't you tell Gaara knows something about all of this?" Temari asked, "We're just going to have to trust him on this one." Temari finished shoving her brother back behind her before walking up next to Gaara's side.
The Mizukage called out to the sand-nin before they could leave though. "You are not worried the two leaf shinobi will catch him?" Mei asked genuinely. She wasn't sure what to make of this situation, but she knew wanted to see it through.
"If you worked with him for a year- even if he was in disguise - you would know the answer to that question." Gaara riddled her.
Mei had immediately got it though. When this Naruto character had been her 'Nawaki' not even her fastest Anbu could catch him when he didn't want to be found.
Standing up she began to leave with her own escorts in tow. Soon after coming to the same conclusion that the Mizukage had the other Kages soon followed. Each awaited their shot at the blond enigma within a week's time.
It hadn't been until Shikamaru and Anko had returned an hour later that the shinobi from Konoha finally left. Anko had to more or less guide Tsunade out until she regained some form of reason.
"This is going to be a long week" Shikamaru thought bitterly. The image of his longtime friend burned into his mind. The genius wondered if somehow things could have been different.
A good distance away Naruto watched everything from afar in a tree top. Eventually he had been able to watch each of the Kage trudge out of the venue.
"One by one, two by two when the world falls down who will stand by you?" He murmured silently.
He looked to the sky as snow fell onto his face. Sticking out his tongue he caught one of the snowflakes letting it melt on his tongue. Closing his eyes he gathered his thoughts.
His message had been sent and the dominoes had started to fall once again. Naruto would only have a week to finish the things that needed to be done before he would battle the Five Great Villages and their shinobi.
He could only hope he did the right thing remembering the prophecy the Great Toad Sage had told him only a few years back.
Standing from his position he jumped gracefully from the tree. The snow crunched under his heavy feet. Walking deeper into the woods he knew what needed to be done next. He had one person in mind. It was time to go find Tobi once more. Or more likely, let Tobi find him.
A/N - Finally done! Holy shit that was long for me. Sorry bout the wait, but I finally got it out. It's a little rough, but hey its 2:30 in the fucking morning so cut me some slack. Otherwise though what did ya think? Good? Bad? Aight? Drop a review and let me know cause I would really appreciate it.
Umm other than that y'all should go check out my other story Konoha Underground. It kinda came to me randomly so I wrote it down and downloaded it. If you like this than I'm pretty sure you'll like my new story to. Give it a shot cause who knows you may just love it haha...
Thanks!
NoMan4u