The office was quiet when the window creaked open from the outside. Jiraiya slipped into the office with practised ease.
Tsunade was sat behind her desk; a dish of sake sat half finished on her desk as she read a report. She looked up as he entered, smiling a little at the sight of her old team-mate and friend.
"What's the word? Although I get the feeling this isn't going to be good news."
"There's good and bad. Although I'm not sure about the good. I'm not even sure which is which."
She put down the report she was reading and sighed.
"Hit me with it Jiraiya."
"Suna is...in pieces. The vast majority of its forces no longer exist, and its Daimyo is resisting making a call for aid and an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds."
She slammed her fist gently on the desk. It shook violently. Gentle for her was the equivalent of a hammer blow.
"Idiot. He would cling to power whilst his people suffer."
"Sadly so. The Hidden Village suffered severe damage at the hands of the One-Tails. But the beast has been stopped and captured."
His face indicated this wasn't good news.
"How?"
"Akatsuki. The same group that was encountered looking for Naruto before you arrived. Apparently they came in and defeated the best for Suna, but nobody knows the details. Looks like nobody witnessed the battle, or if they did, they were killed."
"Tell me more about them."
"They don't talk to Konoha. My spies tell me they are a powerful group of shinobi doing missions for the money. Any mission. Possibly missing nin in a group. I did give you this information."
Her eyes briefly lingered on the huge pile of unread documents in her in-tray. Even so, the story beggared belief.
"They just took a tailed beast?"
"Yes."
"And nobody in Suna thought to ask where they were taking it?"
"They had no choice. Currently they have no elite shinobi to speak of. It was hand it over or die."
She couldn't really blame them. Short term survival instincts tended to act over long term questions about intentions.
"Dire indeed. Find out more about this group. If they want the tailed beasts, that means Konoha will be in danger in the future."
"Hai."
"Oh, and come back safely. Goodness knows who would take your place."
"Someone would have to continue my books I guess."
She laughed quietly.
"Get going Jiraiya-kun."
"Hai Hokage-sama."
He left. Tsunade thought back to Naruto. He was in danger. She would have to talk to him when he returned from the border. From the messenger birds sent back to her, he was apparently being forced back at a controlled pace by Hare, who didn't want him overexerting himself.
The next morning she found him and Anko in front of her desk, giving a report of the mission. It was a bit of a headache. She knew that Anko could be impetuous but hadn't expected it from Naruto. He was a thinker, a method shinobi. He wasn't supposed to do this.
"So when it started reforming you both just jumped at the chance to enact your plan?"
She rubbed her head in her hands as she tried to fathom the story she had just heard. It had to be a story; it was just so totally out of regulation for Konoha shinobi. Anko didn't look the least perturbed.
"Well, yes. But it worked, and Suna is now..."
"Destroyed. Its shinobi forces shattered, it's civilians either dead or scattered in refuge in the borderlands between itself and Iwa. How many dead do you think Anko?"
She looked away from Tsunade's gaze.
"You were far too effective. The saving grace is that Konoha cannot be connected to the near destruction of Suna. But even so, if I'd known this would have happened, I would not have sent you. I did not wish to end up killing so many."
Naruto spoke.
"We were at war, death is a given during war."
"Really Naruto? Did we need to be at war? Could we not have just tried to negotiate with them, secured promises from them? There was a precarious balance between the five nations, and now one of the them is gone. The consequences will take some time to pan out."
"Then we will be ready when the time comes."
"We will. Now, I've got both your written reports. One is neatly written, standard and is pretty normal, aside from some whining about lack of dango. One of these gives an altogether more exciting read, and plenty of detailed description."
Anko stared at Naruto.
"I didn't know you could write."
"I can, I just like the details."
"Can I see it?"
Tsunade passed the report sheets over to her. Anko began to read aloud.
"My crossbow kicked into my shoulder with the assurity that comes from knowing the bolt is going to fly true. Sure enough, the seal artist, engaged in holding the beast in its chains, fell as the impact smashed into his skull and the sand ran red briefly before being absorbed into the swirling mass.
The earth shook with great magnitude, my body shaking with it. I rolled into the sand as the stormy pillar expanded and took the bodies in a death grip, dragging them into the turning melee of sand. I can only anticipated their mass was added to that of the beast, speeding up its reformation, their chakra added to its own.
I had to move, taking up from the cover I lay in I began to run, skidding through the sand..."
"That's enough Anko, I read it as well."
There was a disappointed noise from the doorway of the office, and Shizune poked her head round the door.
"Sorry, can...can I read it when you're done with it?"
Tsunade sighed. This was going to become a problem no matter what she did. Shizune began walking away.
"If only my stupid teammate had as much literary sense, I'd have married him and gambled his fortunes away."
Shizune's head reappeared in the doorway.
"What?"
"Nothing Shizune."
The woman withdrew her head from the doorway. Tsunade drummed her fingers together, clearly deep in thought.
"Hmm, I need an assumed name."
Anko considered for a moment. Was her boss about to do what she thought she was going to do?
"Why?"
"For him. I'm going to start publishing his stuff, with a subtle delay."
"Sounds like a money making scheme that is extremely morally grey Hokage-sama."
The grin on Anko's face showed she did not care about any moral issues associated with this action. Tsunade smiled back.
"20% cut?"
"30% and a note thanking me for being an inspiration in each. Oh, and executive decision over the colour of the books."
"Obvious an assumed name for you as well, but otherwise I agree. Provided it isn't orange like my pervert team-mate's books."
"Fine. Deal."
Naruto watched the exchange, somewhat unable to grip the situation.
"So you intend to publish my mission reports, sell them, and make a profit out of them? Isn't that against regulations?"
"I make the regulations kid. I think your reports could make you a lot of money, considering you get a 35% cut."
"Money means nothing to me. Find a better use for it."
Tsunade's surprise was clear to all. She dropped the report onto her desk. She looked at him to see if he was joking despite knowing he probably wasn't.
"Hospitals? Academy? Anything else that needs improvement?"
"The food at the orphanages is terrible; at least it was from my experience. Otherwise I'm sure you can find proper uses. Can I go now?"
"Yes."
He left, and Anko started rubbing her hands, thoughts of dango deep in her head.
"Now Anko, we need a name for you and him. And a title for the stories."
They smiled wide grins.
"I think I have just the name in mind."
Naruto sat in meditation in his room.
The darkness, slightly lit by the few cracks of light that could get in from the door was comforting to him.
His slow breathing was the only quiet noise in the room as he reflected and regathered his thoughts.
He was in control. That was what was important. No more of the chakra in his system, no more visions of the darkness and her face. He was feeling free.
He ran his hand over the cover of the book which had been sent to him, and left as a package on the doorstep. He hadn't bothered to read the title, or look at the colour. He just knew what it was already.
He idly wondered whether anyone would ever read the books. Why would people want to read about his missions anyway? There was nothing special about them. His reports were merely written in such a style because it was less dull than writing the blunt facts.
When had he ever cared about dull? When had he started caring?
He ruffled his brow as he concentrated and came to his conclusion.
It had been when he had woken up at the Root barracks. He remembered the cell, the single cell with bare walls and characterlessness. He looked around his apartment. It was barely visible, yet he knew it. He had changed it in the dead of night. It was his. He'd modified the roof to shift under weight and he had installed the traps in the lock mechanism.
He'd never had this in Root. He'd never wanted it. But it was good. There was so much that being in Root had never offered and he'd never had. It was confusing. He was better than others his age, he could have been something very different, he was happy with who he was.
Happy?
When had he ever been happy?
Since he had come into the light. He felt like standing and shouting it. He didn't. It would be stupid of him. He felt it though.
He walked towards the window and let a sliver of moonlight into his apartment.
The bed was revealed to have faded orange covers, and he found it ironic that he'd perceived the colour to be useless. He saw the sofa was a battered chocolate brown. He ran a hand over it, experiencing the comfort of it. He'd never felt it before like this.
Suddenly he felt he was experiencing vision and touch for the first time. Sensation flooded his body like a jolt and kept going. He felt like bouncing up and down and shouting a lot. He wanted to meet people and tell them about how awesome everything was.
That scared him a little.
He decided a trip to the rooftops was in order to calm himself down more.
He slid the window open, making sure to carefully shut the curtains to their full blackout extent and took to the night.
He found true peace only when he was doing something. He leapt freely from rooftop to rooftop, using chakra to stick onto surfaces and climb in a manner that a civilian could only dream about.
He landed on another rooftop and ducked as the blade swung at him. His own was in his hands in seconds, and he circled the figure warily. They were also dressed in black, and they hid their face as well. This wasn't normal. The last person to have tracked him successfully was the Hokage. He had an inkling as to who this was.
He leapt off the roof backwards onto another roof and began to run. The sound of feet landing softly behind him told him his assailant wasn't giving up too easily.
He increased his pace, jinking and making clones to peel off as he went. The person was following him unerringly. He realised they were as skilled at this as he was. The feeling like he was staring down the One-Tails came back to him in a flash. The feeling he'd got when he'd entered combat with the Suna jonin back during the invasion. He was outmatched and had to find a way to even the odds.
He landed then spun, sending his sword out in an arc before him. The figure, already in flight was forced to twist awkwardly, using a wind burst to push themselves upwards. Naruto leapt back across and spun again.
His opponent didn't move. Then they lowered their own hood.
"Naruto."
"Danzo-sama."
He jumped back across the rooftop to greet his old master.
"Your skills remain sharp, indeed, you have gained new ones. Such improvisation is a welcome sight. It is like training you once again."
"Thank you my Lord."
"Yet you were slow to run, and I sense you enjoyed the chase too much. You're changing into something different to what I created."
"I...understand what he meant about having things I didn't have. Root trained me to become the best at what I do. Yet...since I came into the light those months ago, I have learned of new things. People are so...complex. Inaccurate. Unpredictable yet predictable. They are a mystery that I only slightly understand. Their interactions, their emotions. They are all different and yet somewhat the same. They are a puzzle. They are...interesting."
"Understanding people is a useful skill, I would encourage it."
"Yet...friendship? What of friendship?"
His old masters face hardened with a faraway look.
"It can lead to pain, and yet it can drive you. Perhaps my relationship with the late Hokage was friendship, perhaps it was not. It was not something I ever had. It clouds the mind. I was comfortable with him and trusted him, but now I know that that was weakness."
"I believe it could have other effects, beneficial ones."
"Be cautious. Just as with Lady Tsunade. She does not understand the darkness. Trust nobody."
"I understand."
"Be careful Naruto. Be cautious. You are the shadow in the light, and you must remain that way. You are the ghost that hides in the night,"
"Hai."
Danzo turned and began to walk slowly away. He turned back briefly.
"I almost wish that I had never given you away."
Danzo leapt down into the streets and made his way away, presumably to a Root base somewhere.
Naruto pondered his words. There was a new feeling in his head about the encounter. He had been told to trust nobody. Did that include Danzo-sama himself?
He realised he didn't understand the instruction properly.