True to his word, and with a little begging to Akashi, Naruto got the three of them a couple of days off. Sakura was ecstatic because that meant that she got to go on a date or two with Ino. Kakashi was scarcely less eager and Naruto had the feeling that it had something to do with another certain teacher of his that he had been subtly pushing Kakashi towards whenever they were in Konoha instead of his claim to want to read his book. Sasuke, on the other hand, decided that he just wanted some time alone so the team all split up to their perspective homes with the promise of meeting each other again in a day or two.

Kyusuke was ecstatic when Naruto woke up and almost immediately asked that they go on a picnic with Irena. The little one had been particularly attached to Naruto ever since he rescued them and to Irena for even longer. It was nice to have someone like Kyusuke look up to him, but Naruto couldn't help but to feel sorry for what the child would have to go through for that very reason. The only thing he could do now was to make Kyusuke happy for as long as he was able.

"I suppose we can go on a picnic if it's okay with Irena," Naruto smiled as Kyusuke jumped up and down in excitement, "but we have to invite Amateratsu and Katsu to come with us." He probably would have invited the other occupants of his house to come along too, but he didn't think either Gaara or Zabuza would enjoy the outing and there was no way he was going to separate Haku from Zabuza for something so trivial as a picnic. "And then we can give them a tour of the town."

"Are they going to live with us too?" Kyusuke asked. He had already met them the day before, but when he asked where they were going to say, they said that they weren't actually sure so he decided to ask Naruto instead. He always seemed to know the answers anyway.

"Yep," Naruto nodded. "Is that okay with you?"

"Of course!" Kyusuke didn't exactly have difficulties making friends with the other kids, but he knew he was different so he didn't exactly try either. That didn't mean that he didn't enjoy making them, though, so he was always excited to meet anyone that any of his housemates brought home with them.

The picnic was relatively mundane and it was for that reason alone that Naruto found it fun. He very rarely allowed himself to just calm down and do nothing. Kyusuke spent most of the time showing off his ninja skills and he was only interrupted a couple of times by Yonbi when he made a mistake that could be dangerous for them. Sometimes he was even able to pull Amateratsu and Katsu in with him, but mostly they stayed with Naruto and Irena who Kyusuke knew he couldn't persuade them to join him.

When they picnic was over, Kyusuke was delighted to be the tour guide even though he still knew barely anything about Konoha. More than once either Irena or Naruto had to fill in when the little one forgot the name of some of the buildings, but it was fun nonetheless. Especially when Kyusuke got lost, but didn't want to admit it and wouldn't let Naruto show him the right way. Naruto had to figure out a way to point him in the right direction through other means. Eventually, though, just after the sun had sunken below the horizon and darkness had fallen, they finally came to the end of their tour at the front gate of Konoha.

"What's going on here?" Irena asked. There was a crowd formed near the gates and several ninjas were holding three people back from entering the gate.

"I don't know," Naruto said suspiciously. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He momentarily thought about calling Sasuke and Sakura to meet them, but then he recognized the chakra signatures of the three people outside the gate. They were the last three Jinchuriki. "Yonbi," Yonbi immediately stepped forward, "go and get the others. Irena, I'm going to need you to explain everything when I get those three."

"Are they…?" Irena asked.

"Yes," Naruto nodded. "Can you do this for me?"

"Do you want me to get your team members as well?" Yonbi asked.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I'd rather they didn't come here at all. Come back as soon as you can. I don't want to put this off any longer than is absolutely necessary." Yonbi nodded and disappeared.

Naruto then turned his attention to the front gates. "Those are my guests," he called out to the ninja who were keeping the Jinchuriki out. The ANBU said nothing, but they didn't move out of the way either. Apparently there was something that made them think the three were a threat. And that something became very clear when Naruto noticed one of them was wearing an Akatsuki cloak.

"Why do you have the Akatsuki as your guests?" one of the jounin asked in what Naruto was sure was supposed to be an intimidating voice.

"We already told you that we're not Akatsuki!" one of the three yelled. "We escaped from them. We heard that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was rescuing people like us and we came here to find him."

"If you won't let them in, then we'll just go out and talk to them," Naruto suggested. It wasn't really a suggestion, but he could pretend for the sake of a momentary peace that that was all it was. Irena, Amateratsu, and Katsu followed him out the front gate without a second thought, but the three new Jinchuriki still seemed wary of them.

"We just want to talk to the Kyuubi Jinchuriki," they said.

"My name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto introduced himself, "and I am the Kyuubi."

"Oh," the three of them gaped at him. "Will you help us?"

"Of course," Naruto nodded, "but it'll require your help as well."

"What do you need?" they asked. "We'll do anything."

"Where did you hear about me?" Naruto asked. The three jinchuriki looked at each other, but they didn't say anything. "It was while you were in captivity wasn't it?" They nodded. "And then you just happened to find the perfect time to escape?" Their nods were a bit more hesitant this time, but still sure.

There was only one thing left that Naruto had to test before his growing suspicion could be confirmed. He expanded his chakra field, which was much larger than any normal human due to his massive amounts of chakra, and he could feel an entire army waiting some ways off. That confirmed it then. This was all happening a lot sooner than it was supposed to, but he was ready for it. At least now he could end their mission. "That's what I thought. The Akatsuki followed you here. They intend to attack and capture us all at once."

"What do we do?" they gasped.

"Irena will explain everything," Naruto gestured to the woman behind him. "I have to go make the preparations. Take these," he handed enough ear buds to Irena for all of the people that his plan required and put one in his own ear, "Let me know when everyone is ready."

"We will," Irena nodded earnestly. "Be careful."

Naruto nodded before disappearing into the woods. He trusted Irena to take care of this and he had other things to worry about. He could only hope that no one else other than the people that he had gathered for his plan would have to see any of this. Especially not Sasuke and Sakura.