Danzo put down his pen without looking up. He could feel the change in the air, that slight turbulence that another person caused. He could sense the chakra, suppressed and hidden like any of his shinobi would. He could tell, even in the darkness of his office, where the only light was directed to the documents on his desk.

"Naruto. Welcome back."

"Lord Danzo."

He knelt before the desk. He had felt compelled to come back. To understand what was wrong.

"How are things in the light?"

"Confusing."

Danzo kept his face in the dark.

"How so?"

"I keep remember my third mission."

"The third? Ah yes. I recall that you encountered difficulties in that mission. I recall you overcame them and were successful."

"It is one of those difficulties I continue to remember."

Danzo kept his face impassive, but he felt older than he had ever felt.

He himself was remembering the first of the dark days when he had run the Root. His first recruits expanding into his small but elite cadre of soldiers. Of the losses incurred and the rebuilding that he had had to do after one particular disaster with an ally he'd never work with again.

He knew that dark deeds haunted ninja. Too many had to retire because they simply could not deal with what they had done. Depression was as much a killer as good enemy work.

It was usually best if a ninja stopped before it took too strong a hold. If they did, there was a chance of them being able to work in the future, or to train, or to find a purpose beyond running missions.

If they kept going like some did, accepting the symptoms, the consequences were dire. At best, they got injured when they weren't paying full attention, or performed badly enough that team leaders were able to see it in time and intervene.

At worst, they actively sought death, or brought it upon themselves.

He remembered the fate of the White Fang, and its effect on those who had known him. The loss of his skills after one failed mission had been dramatic, and spurred him on to remove such emotional deficiencies.

He looked at Naruto, a boy of thirteen. Not so much a boy as a man now, a mature adult who weighed up decisions through the eyes of someone with world experience.

Root shinobi were special because they kept emotion in check, or in some cases, entirely repressed. His way of raising them did that.

Naruto had been a little different. Hiruzen had given him to be trained, and Danzo had done just that. Except Naruto had never had to kill a comrade who wasn't a threat, never had to go through what the other Root had gone through.

His emotions were suppressed, but he could see the cracks in the barriers beginning to form.

"You must remember the mantras of control Naruto. You must keep your emotion in check if you are to succeed. Squash the memories, and trust in yourself."

Naruto nodded.

"You always have the seal Naruto. It can lock away anything you want to lock away."

Naruto shook his head subconsciously.

The seal that adorned his stomach was something he kept hidden at all times. The seals surrounding it had been added when he had been young, and had uses beyond those that the original had. They were something which he never wanted to have or to use.

Not that he hadn't considered using it. If all else failed he'd use it. But to just lock things away?

He had tried before, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. A sense of revulsion gripped him when he tried. He knew how but...

"You never want to use it do you?"

"No Lord Danzo."

"This is why you were never truly a full Root shinobi. Do not misunderstand me, you are amongst the finest I have trained, and you are one of my best operatives. But you do not use this one advantage that you have to become a full Root shinobi. It is why Hiruzen took you from the dark."

'I think of you as a son Naruto, but one I knew could never be me.'

"I just feel that using it is wrong. It is the only dislogic I allow myself. The use of the seal would be logical, and I would be able to become a true Root shinobi. I just believe it to be...wrong. I feel..."

Danzo knelt down and put a hand on the boys shoulder.

"You feel. That is not the Root way. Tell me, what is the logic behind your statement? Examine your assumptions and test your theories. You know the answer yet you deny it on a feeling. That is what makes you something different. It could make you greater."

Naruto nodded.

"Now go, I can see in your eye that you haven't slept in days. Go. Sleep."

He nodded and left.

He made the journey home by rooftop, shadow to shadow and cover to cover on instinct. He slid through the window and shrugged off the cloak before collapsing onto the bed.

Sleep came quickly, and was blissfully scream free.

He jolted awake when he heard the slight rustle from inside his apartment. That was unexpected. That meant somebody really clever was in the apartment. In fact they were in his bathroom.

After Baka's attempts at getting in, he had decided to modify various things about his apartment.

The door hinges had been intentionally roughened and de-oiled, such that they squeaked at the slightest movement. It had been a change from his original specifications, which had them make no noise whatsoever. He had realised he would never use the door anyway, so might as well trap the thing.

The roof tiles had been subtly modified as well to make noise. As had the window. As had the floor in various places only he would remember.

There was very little chance of anyone being able to make it in, let alone be able to move inside his veritable fortress of an apartment.

But someone was, no doubt, picking their way very, very gingerly through the apartment.

He reached out and threw up his favourite shadow enhancing genjutsu, tossed his cloak over his shoulders, grabbed his tanto and slithered silently to the door, and waited.

The figure was definitely clever. They knew they had made a noise and had deliberately waited several minutes. He knew because he was now watching the figure through the wall. His eye had some advantages.

They were definitely skilled. He could barely see the chakra they were suppressing as well as he compressed his. They were armed with a short katana blade and a variety of other equipment, but that only confirmed the obvious.

The black armour plates and mask meant this was an ANBU. It also meant that it was Talon.

Why was Talon breaking into his apartment in the dead of night. He swiftly checked outside. There were two more figures in the trees. He strongly suspected that they were Pig and Hare.

So, either this was them playing a prank or he had a new test. Or a new mission.

Well then, best to make a good impression.

He waited for Talon to move.

When he did, it was beautifully done. Talon opened the door noiselessly, then moved through the door with his hands already going through the signs for a jutsu. They stopped when he felt the flat of Naruto's tanto against his back.

Naruto got the impression from his body language the man was laughing silently.

"Nicely done. What jutsu was I about to use?"

"None, even if my blade isn't made for it, it would gut you before your jutsu happened."

"What if it had already been done?"

He vanished and pressed his sword into Naruto's neck. His voice was a satisfied whisper.

"You didn't see that coming did you? I hit the genjutsu when I came through the door, you let off a little bit of chakra before I did. That gave me your location. You'll have to do better to outdo an ANBU captain."

The Naruto he held captive vanished in smoke and there was the click of a crossbow being aimed in a deliberate fashion.

"You talk too much. I saw through the genjutsu, and the chakra you saw was for my clone."

Talon whistled.

"Well, that is impressive. What jutsu am I about to use now?"

"None, because the crossbow bolt will remove your higher brain functions."

"Try."

Naruto's hand punched the trigger, sending the bolt slamming into a chair that was suddenly there instead of the man's head.

He felt the tip of the katana pressed against his back. This time his actual back.

"Wrong again, even though I didn't actually think you would pull the trigger on me. The extra signs, although unnecessary for me to use the Karawimi jutsu normally, make it much easier to use at speed. At my whim. Now then, any other tricks?"

Talon heard the rustle as Naruto raised an explosive tag. That struck him as a little extreme, and as Naruto has been willing to shoot him to prove a point, so he decided to back down.

The sword tip was withdrawn and the tag quickly stowed.

"You would really kill us both?"

"Better than just me dying."

"Go out with a bang. You have a crazy streak right there. I like it."

"It would be the right decision."

"What if you could stall until a teammate came to save you?"

"Oh...didn't consider that. I'm usually alone on missions. In which case I'd see how close they were and make a judgement."

"Atta boy, you're learning. Now, I'm not just here for shits and giggles, you're coming on a mission. Put on this mask."

The man tossed him an ANBU mask. He checked the animal on the front.

It was adorned with the features of a lion. He felt oddly cheated.

"Put it on Lion, you roll with the ANBU, you damn well look like one."

He snapped the mask in place and pulled up his hood over it. In the dark of his apartment, you couldn't actually tell the mask was on in the first place.

"Now let's get outside, I assume you're already packed for the mission?"

"Yes."

"Ahh, good to know I was right. I'm sure your house will look after itself. What with the roof modifications, the fact the door is probably booby trapped and don't think I don't know about the little modification you made to the lock. That is going to get someone hurt if they're not careful."

Naruto couldn't help but find himself feeling at ease with the man. His demeanour, his body language. It was that of a professional. Shame he was as eccentric as the rest of the shinobi forces seemed to be. Somewhere there had to be a remotely normal shinobi in the regular forces.

They landed outside where Hare and Pig were waiting, he pulled them into an awkward bearhug by their necks.

"Ah, the team is back together."

Pig snorted as he escaped the hug.

"We were only apart for twenty minutes Talon. What took so bloody long about getting the kid?"

"I wanted to test him. He's a lively one."

"Looks quiet to me. You sure he's lion-hearted?"

"Don't make a meal of it pig, or it'll end up in chops for you."

Hare just sighed.

"Enough of the terrible wordplay. Get to the damn briefing."

Talon elbowed him gently.

"You love it really Hare, don't lose any hair over it."

The sigh got deeper. Naruto realised this man was the most eccentric he'd ever seen. Even Anko was a little more sane. He wondered if this was the worst he would come across. He couldn't help but feel it wouldn't be.

"Right then, we'll brief on the move, we are elite."

They moved to the rooftops and began to make haste.

Naruto realised that, despite their appearances, they were all quick. And good. Very good. He forced himself onwards to keep up with their pace.

As they went, Talon spoke into the radio-piece the team was linked by. Despite the distortion from the radio as they swept out into the forests surrounding Konoha, his voice kept the same odd enthusiasm in it.

"Right, turns out the chunin exams, remember them lads? Our year was piss wasn't it? Right. Turns out there's been a spot of bother with..."

Naruto got the feeling his channel cut out at that moment for less than coincidental reasons,

"...aru. Of course, the old dog, Dog, called it in so we know he's in the area. Our job is to find him and track him, hopefully to his base of operations. If we're lucky, he won't spot us, very lucky, he'll wear a target on his head and let us kill him. However, there's a good chance that if found, we're gonna have to fight our way out of it in what we know as a tactical retreat. The information is vital, so let's get it right. So track, mark and return. Any questions?"

Pig's tone cut through into his ear.

"What if we encounter resistance that isn't in the form of..."

It cut out again. That was annoying. He did not like being kept in the dark. If he wanted to be in the dark he would stay there.

"...nake bitch?"

"Anko is not on this mission."

"You know damn well who I mean Talon."

"Ohhh, you need to be clear about these things Pig. In that case, kill only if you can hide it. No alarms, no shock and awe. If you can capture someone who won't be missed that would be handy, but makes our exit a lot more difficult. Which I won't appreciate because of the fucking paperwork it'll mean I do."

"Then Gibbon can have more fun."

He was sure he heard Hare sigh again.

"Never let him near me again when I'm doing paperwork. That mission, and the number of 516 forms I had to fill in after it because he kept intercepting them from my reliable messenger."

Pig's voice was indignant.

"He was very distracting!"

"No. The food was. You're just a pig Pig."

"Hey, don't insult the weight. My clan needs it to fight."

So that meant Pig was an Akimichi. He was a brute force user. Naruto factored it in. He wasn't used to planning for multiple people, but the more he knew about what they might do, the better he could work around his teammates. He knew that he should work with them, but working around gave him more freedom.

Hare cut it out again.

"When you two are quite done I have a question?"

"Shoot."

"Does Anko know about this?"

"She is currently in hospital because she found him during the exam's first. You know what happens to her then."

"Ouch."

Naruto was curious.

"What happens to Anko-chan?"

The radio went silent. Talon's voice was serious on the other end.

"Personal secret of hers kid. Ask her yourself if you dare."

There was more silence before Pig was heard once again.

"Wait...did you call her Anko-chan?"

"She said that was what I should call her."

There was a tiny moment of silence then laughter from all three of them. Hare actually turned to look at him as they leapt through the trees.

"Oh you lucky little kid, most of us only call her that if we want to die."

"Why would you want to die?"

"It's an expression Lion. I ain't lyin'."

Hare stared daggers, as much as you could tell with the masks on, at Talon. But the feeling was there.

"One more bad pun and I won't heal you next time you break your arm sparring."

So Hare was a doctor. A leader, a brute, and a doctor. And him. An assassin specialising in stealth, genjutsu, range and silence. An interesting balance.

"Oh Hare you wouldn't."

"Want to bet on that?"

"Touché."

The ANBU's playful, if sometimes extraordinarily dirty, banter continued the entire way towards the area where his appearance had been marked. Naruto heard words he'd never heard used before in contexts he'd never heard used before, and tried to work out what exactly certain words were meant to mean.

The trees began to thin, and a rockier landscape near the border with the minor villages began to emerge.

He heard Pig's voice through his earphones.

"Kakashi takes him to train out here? This Uchiha kid is very high maintenance."

Talon's voice sounded jovial, but Naruto thought there was something more to it.

"You're telling me? I've seen the records. He's kept a couple of ANBU busy over the years watching, and recently eight of my men guarding him were killed. Eight. And we don't know who or why. We assume it's our quarry, but even so. It is bad."

"Eight, you serious?"

"Very much so."

"Damn. This kid is definitely more trouble than he's worth. Why do we keep him around?"

"Because he's the last of his clan, we're humanitarian bastards like that. His clan has a dojutsu that is considered ridiculously valuable, and he's considered a prodigy."

"Oh. That."

The voices tailed off as they reached the area. Night was beginning to fall, and Naruto activated his Byakugan to see more clearly.

He saw a small dog a couple of hundred metres away.

"I can see Pakkun. Kakashi is Dog isn't he?"

"You're not meant to know that kid."

"It makes sense. Why do you give people masks associated with their personality? Or in my case, why not another animal."

"Hokage's orders. Now let's go say hello to Dog."

Kakashi didn't look in the greatest of states. He had a sleepless look to him, like he'd been watching the entrance. His dogs didn't look in a great state or rest either.

It transpired, after some of Talon's hidden supply of alcohol was borrowed by the man, that he and the dogs had been keeping watch since Orochimaru had made his appearance.

Sasuke was still unconscious in the back of the cave where Kakashi had been sealing him, so guard was all he had been able to do.

Right now, Talon was helping to relax him.

"So, how long left until the finals?"

"Two weeks...I think. I'm sure it won't matter if we're a bit late."

"You haven't changed Dog."

"Speak for yourself Talon, look at you, big captain now. How does it feel?"

"Great."

"The paperwork?"

"How did you live? I have a team of genin on continuous D-rank helping sort it with the backroom staff and I swear it comes in faster than it goes out."

"Ah. I'm not telling you my secret."

"Definitely haven't changed have you Dog."

"Well, I've had to mature now that I have a team to look after. As Lion will tell you I am a wonderful sensei. Aren't I Lion?"

Naruto wasn't entirely surprised the man had recognised him. Then again, he was still wearing the same cloak as before, in fact, he looked exactly the same. He wasn't used to this many people meeting him more than once.

He marked that as an observation he would reflect on later.

"Yes."

Talon chuckled.

"Is that a 'Yes, you are indeed you magnificent son of a bitch', or a 'Yes, but basically no.'"

"The latter."

Kakashi sighed as Talon laughed again.

"Alright Dog, look after yourself you hear? I will get the secret of your paper working skills out of you yet."

"Ha, in the next life."

The clapped hands before the ANBU team moved out in the direction Kakashi had given them.

Kakashi turned back to the cave to find Naruto standing there once again.

"Your secret was shadow clones wasn't it?"

"Yep."

Kakashi smiled as Naruto's clone disappeared from view. The boy was exceptional. He found himself once again wishing that he was Naruto's sensei and not Sasuke's. They were both oddly similar.

Both could rightly be considered geniuses. Both had dark pasts, at least you had to assume that with Naruto, but no child became an assassin without some sort of dark past. Especially one that didn't show up on the official records. Both were orphans, both were perfectly happy to kill.

Yet in every way there were different. Naruto was a soulless machine, who did the job and nothing more. He got the kill, he was professional. He was polite. He knew his skills and his place and stayed there.

Sasuke was...Sasuke was entirely different in that regard. He was arrogant, brought about by his own skills being greater than those of everyone around him. He was driven, so, so driven by hatred. But he was effective, and creative.

They weren't light and dark. No, one of his other genin was the light.

Naruto was the blend of the two. The grey. The ghost.

He heard a groan as Sasuke regained consciousness. Time to keep training then.