A/N - Alrighty, here it is! This is the start of a challenge fic presented to me by a friend of mine on Midnight Lost's discord server. This will be a dark Naruto story, so look out for that. A lot of different things happen in this chapter, and I tried to stick to the guidelines presented in the challenge.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy the beginning of this story!

Chapter 1 – A Key of Hope

Naruto frowned as he looked over the information available to him within the famed Scroll of Seals. Earlier in the day he had failed to pass the graduation exam for the third damn time, and he was resigned to never becoming a shinobi. Then one of his dual Chunin instructors approached him with an offer that he couldn't resist. So now here he was, having stolen the Scroll of Seals right out from under the Hokage's nose.

As he read over the instructions for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he couldn't help but think about his current circumstances. He knew he housed the Kyuubi no Yoko within himself. He also knew that the Hokage knew who his parents were AND why he couldn't perform the Clone Jutsu. In fact, he was damn sure Iruka and Mizuki knew the reason behind it as well. It was easy to tell that he had far too much chakra and too little control to be able to make just a few clones. No, he needed an alternative to the Clone Jutsu, and this Shadow Clone Jutsu would work nicely.

It didn't take long for him to make a solid clone using the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He had read the risks alongside the instructions for the jutsu and knew that if he created too many, he ran the risk of sensory and memory overload, or a kind of whiplash, if you will. However, if he dispelled them little by little or they weren't in existence for long periods of time, he'd be okay. So he created about thirty clones and had half of them transform into an exact likeness of the Scroll of Seals. Having them spread out, moving in different directions to throw off anyone that might come after him, Naruto continued reading over the jutsu in the scroll. Hey, never know when something might come in handy!

As he unrolled the scroll further, he frowned upon seeing a strange seal near the bottom. It resembled a spiral, something he had seen before numerous times on the various flak jackets the shinobi of the village wore. Something was strange about it though. It felt like the seal, or rather what was inside of it, was calling out to him. So, putting his right index and middle fingers against the seal, he was caught off guard when it suddenly began siphoning his chakra. The more it drew upon his chakra, the more images began to flood his brain. And if he wasn't mistaken, the seal was glowing brighter and brighter, at least in his eyes. When he looked around, he saw that it hadn't lit up the surrounding area at all, so he figured it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

When it was finally over, Naruto felt that at least half of his chakra was gone. Then the scroll made a popping noise and a strange weapon landed in his lap. It looked like a giant key of sorts with sharpened edges. It was almost a pure black in color, and it appeared to have wings on its sides. The base of the blade had an etching of a goat, or appears that way. The teeth of the blade were formed in the shape of a black angel's wing. Finally, hanging from the handle of the blade was a small keychain made of small, grey links while the token was an entangled grey talisman with an eye of sorts.

Lifting the keyblade into his hand, he felt a sudden surge of power wash over him. He felt strong! However, something unexpected happened the moment he lifted the weapon into his hand. He began to see the memories of whomever it was that once wielded this particular keyblade, as he learned the weapon was called. He learned that the keyblade didn't really have a name in particular, usually being called No Name or the Gazing Eye. Personally, he would just call it the No Name keyblade. But that's not what was important to him in this moment. No, he was seeing so many memories belonging to the man named Xehanort, or Master Xehanort as he was called.

It would seem that this Xehanort fellow wielded some incredible dark powers. Many considered him to be an evil son of a bitch, and the things he did were absolutely horrible. He saw memories of an organization that was called Organization XIII. This organization was interesting in the fact that it housed numerous beings called Nobodies. He also learned about beings known as Heartless. The Keyblade War. Terra and what Xehanort had done to him. Ventus. Aqua. Damn Aqua was beautiful! Wait, that wasn't important right now! A mouse by the name of Mickey. There was so much revealed to him, but something else caught his attention.

Xehanort was the progenitor of the Uzumaki clan! Not only that, but Naruto had a direct relation to the man. What infuriated him is that the Uzumaki clan were allies of Konohagakure. He saw so many images, so many memories that were not his own. Descendants of Xehanort, wielders of the mighty No Name keyblade. Konoha had betrayed the Uzumaki clan! He learned so much and it was all thanks to this keyblade.

Taking some time to get used to the feeling of his new powers that had awakened inside of him, he clenched his fists tight before saying, "They'll all pay. No more forgiveness. No more second chances."

Taking a few deep breaths and releasing them slowly both times, he felt a strange sensation in his head. When memories flooded in, he saw that Mizuki had killed one of his clones and taken one of the false Scrolls of Seals. He was well on his way out of the village, not even realizing that he was carrying the instrument of his own demise. Sending a mental order to his clone to kill Mizuki, he refocused his attention on the No Name keyblade.

Clenching his fist tight, he soon opened it and let an orb of dark energy float over the palm of his hand. Clenching his fist again, he dispelled the magic and said, "Good." was all he said before rising to his feet and smirking sinisterly. Xehanort, I think I'm going to make very good use of these powers you have bestowed upon me.

When he got the memories of one of his clones, he smirked at the fact that Mizuki was literally torn apart limb from limb, leaving him as nothing more than a worthless corpse. After a moment, he dispelled the rest of his clones, getting their memories and seeing that Iruka was currently looking for him. How he loathed the man. Iruka knew of his problems and refused to help him in any way. He didn't care for Naruto one way or another, treating him with indifference. However, Naruto knew the truth. Iruka blamed Naruto for what had happened to his family.

Iruka landed in front of him a moment later and began trying to lecture Naruto for what he had done. Naruto listened for a while as he contemplated what he wanted to do. After a while, he got so tired of Iruka's voice and proceeded to thrust his keyblade through Iruka's chest before dispelling it, watching as the Chunin teacher collapsed to the ground, the life rapidly leaving his eyes.

Staring apathetically down at Iruka's body, Naruto pointed his palm towards the body and casted a Fira spell powerful enough to burn the body to ashes that blew away in the wind. "Good riddance, filth. Now, how do I want to deal with the old bastard? Decisions, decisions…"

When Anbu landed around him, Naruto held up the Scroll of Seals and said, "I assume you'd like this back? Sorry about taking it. I was tricked by that bastard Mizuki. I managed to save it, though. Now, let's go see Hokage-sama, shall we?"

The Anbu collected the Scroll of Seals from Naruto before vanishing with him to see the Hokage. I do believe I have an idea…

Hokage's Office

Naruto stared blankly at the Hokage, neither a frown or a smile on his face. Instead, he said, "When were you going to tell me about the Kyuubi? Or did you think you could get away with not revealing such information to me? I think I deserved to know why I'm so hated by the people of the village. I trusted you."

Hiruzen frowned sadly at the 16 year-old across from him. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I wanted you to have a normal childhood, free of the knowledge of your burden. Sadly, the people refused to treat you like a normal person. They made your life a living hell, and for that you have my apologies."

Naruto raised a brow and asked, "You do realize somebody spread the news of what I am pretty much the moment I was born, don't you? I had zero chance of living a normal life the moment those assholes let it slip that I'm the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. I don't have friends, I don't have loved ones, I'm alone and you didn't do a damn thing to correct that problem. Do you have any idea how very pissed I am right now?"

The Third sighed and nodded his head. "I'm sure I've got an idea. For what it's worth, I am sorry. And I strictly forbade anyone from revealing such information, but someone let it slip anyways. Unfortunately, you see how that worked out."

The blonde shrugged and said, "I assume you made it so that anyone who broke that law you put into place would be punishable by death? If so, you didn't exactly follow through with that part of the law, did you? You let people hurt me. You let them hate me. And you wanted me to forgive them for their transgressions. How can I possibly forgive those monsters?! How can you reasonably expect me to want to protect those monsters? I don't think I can do it Hokage-sama. I want to be a shinobi, but you knew that I was having problems and still did nothing to help me. I should have been taught an alternative to the Clone Jutsu. I have way too much chakra to form just three or fewer clones. I needed something better, more suited to someone with my chakra levels!"

Hiruzen frowned deeply at what Naruto had said. This isn't good. I tried to instill in him a sense of loyalty to myself and the village. I need to remedy this situation before he begins lashing out against the villagers…

"Naruto-kun, if you knew about the problem, why didn't you come and tell me about it? Maybe even talk to Iruka or Mizuki and see if they could help you. If we had known about your problem, we could have done something about it." Hiruzen said, only to flinch at the horrible look being directed at him.

"Mizuki was actively sabotaging me. He was a traitor to the village and you expect him to take any interest in actually helping me? Iruka didn't give a shit about me and therefore didn't care if I passed or failed. He had no interest in helping me either. You knew my problem, and you ignored it. You're damn lucky I learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals. At least with that, I should be allowed to become a shinobi, right? Or are you going to deny me the chance to become a shinobi like I want?" Naruto questioned, feeling absolutely furious at the moment.

Hiruzen sighed, but nodded his head regardless. "Yes, you've more than earned the right to join the shinobi corps." He said before tossing Naruto a forehead protector. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun. Make sure to be at the academy a week from now for team placements. I should have it figured out by then. Again, I am sorry for my negligence and the hate you received from your teachers."

Naruto sighed and said, "I'll be there. And thanks. But sorry won't cut it. Before I say anything else though, do you think you can dismiss the Anbu for a moment? I have something private to discuss with you."

Hiruzen frowned in confusion, but did as Naruto requested. Once the Anbu were gone, he put up silencing seals and asked, "What's on your mind Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smirked sinisterly and said, "Thanks old man. You've made this so much easier." Summoning the No Name keyblade into his hand, he teleported in front of the Hokage and thrust his weapon into the man's chest, right where his heart was located. However, unlike with Iruka, this was not a killing blow. No, he was ripping out the darkness in Hiruzen's heart. Once he had a hold of the darkness, he turned his hand over and held the palm facing upwards.

As the heart of darkness floated over the palm of his hand, he smirked and clenched his fist tight, sending the darkness away to be used at a later point. Looking into Hiruzen's eyes, he smirked and said, "A man such as you will spawn a powerful Heartless, and an even more powerful Nobody. I'll be sure to make use of the both of them. And that heart of yours? It's mine now, and I'll make damn good use of it. Now, what to do with you?"

Tapping his finger against his chin for a time, Naruto thought over all of his options. After a moment, he smirked evilly at Hiruzen and said, "From now on, you do as I command. I want you to behave as if your mind and heart are your own, but you'll listen to my 'suggestions' and accept my words for what they are. My first order is to alter the teams somewhat. I don't want to be paired with Sasuke. I'll come to you later in the week to tell you how I want the teams to be set up. For now, make sure that I'm not stuck with Sasuke or a sensei that will neglect me in favor of my other teammates. Now, get back to work and act as if nothing has happened." By the time Hiruzen came to and seemed to register his surroundings, Naruto had already disappeared, almost as if he had never been there to start with.

Two days later

Naruto frowned at the sight before him. He had been walking around the village, trying to formulate some kind of plan for the future and what he'd need to do. So far, he had decided that he would need to recreate Organization XIII with people he could trust. The problem was, he didn't know anyone that he would be able to trust. So he had taken to patrolling the village and taking in the sights, or more importantly, the people. He needed to study them and learn more about them. Then he could draw in his targets and bestow upon them the powers and weapons that once belonged to the Nobodies of Organization XIII.

How would he go about doing this? Naruto had used the memories granted to him and ventured into an Uzumaki temple that rested on the outskirts of the village. There, he found a whole collection of weapons, as well as some interesting masks that each had a different purpose, such as summoning the Shinigami. He had no interest in calling forth such a god, however. No, he would make use of the Uzumaki Temple to restore the organization in his own way.

Right now, however, he was watching as Sakura practically begged Sasuke for one simple date. When he turned her down immediately, that should have been it. However, Sakura stood up and asked, "Why do you always turn us down? You've said it before that you want to restore your clan! You can't do that if you don't go on dates and get a girlfriend! I've tried to be patient with you. I've tried to understand you. I've done everything I could possibly think of to make you like me, and yet you continue to be an abrasive asshole! I started dieting because I wanted to make myself pretty enough to earn your affections. And it's not just me either. You have all these girls willing to help you, willing to bear your children and make everything right again. But you treat ALL of us like shit! I'm sick of it! For once, accept a fucking date and be happy for a change! Don't you ever get tired of scowling all the time and carrying all this hatred inside of you?!"

Sasuke scowled more than usual and proceeded to punch Sakura hard in the eye, knocking her to the ground. Afterwards, he proceeded to kneel over her and land punch after punch after punch to her face, listening as she screamed out in pain and panic. She was begging somebody to help her while Sasuke continued to beat her. When he suddenly stopped, she stared through bleary eyes at the person that had saved her. All she could make out was blonde hair before she lost consciousness.

Naruto scowled hatefully at Sasuke as he held his arm tightly in his hand. "Let me go dobe before I kill you!"

"Pathetic." Naruto said before slamming a fist into Sasuke's eye, just as he had done to Sakura. Afterwards, the blonde proceeded to knock Sasuke on his ass before kicking him hard in the side repeatedly. When somebody grabbed him from behind and yanked him away from Sasuke, Naruto turned his head to see a cycloptic Jonin standing there with a one-eyed glare aimed at him. "Who the hell are you and why are you stopping me from teaching this punk a lesson?"

The one-eyed man scowled and said, "You're attacking a fellow shinobi of Konohagakure. It doesn't matter what he did or did not do to apparently 'deserve' such a beating. You're out of line, Naruto Uzumaki."

Quirking a brow, Naruto nodded as if in understanding. "I see. You're one of the Uchiha's cocksuckers, aren't you? How pathetic. I suppose it doesn't matter then that he was assaulting a kunoichi of Konohagakure? Don't answer that, you're a bigot and would only speak Sasuke's praises. Get lost Cyclops. I'll take care of Sakura."

Kakashi frowned and went to say something, only to see Naruto seemingly teleport beside Sakura's prone form and then disappear with her a second later. Blinking a few times, he shrugged it off and proceeded to lift Sasuke into his arms so he could take him to the hospital. Hokage-sama needs to reel you in before you kill someone!

Later

Naruto frowned as he looked at Sakura. She was lying on his bed, thankfully still unconscious. Raising his hand over her face, he proceeded to cast a Cura spell to heal her wounds. As if by magic, which in this case it was, her wounds all healed quickly, leaving her looking as perfect as he had always seen her as. I didn't think even he'd go that far. I'll have to ensure that she isn't placed on a team with that asshole.

When Sakura began coming to, Naruto smiled kindly at her and said, "Welcome back. You've been unconscious for a while."

The pinkette blinked a few times before she took in her surroundings. She appeared to be in a bedroom of some kind, though it looked like a pretty rundown place. Paint on the wall was peeling, the mattress was a bit lumpy, and it was generally a dirty room to be in, even if Naruto kept it clean as possible, given his circumstances. Speaking of Naruto, she found herself looking into his blue eyes, frowning slightly in confusion. "Naruto? Where am I? What happened to me?"

Naruto frowned as he walked to his bed and sat down beside her. Gently running his fingers through her beautiful pink hair, he said, "I'm not sure if you remember or not, but you blew up at Sasuke. You said some things that I'm sure you've been holding in for quite a while. I'm fairly certain some of his other fangirls feel the exact same way. Well, Sasuke didn't take it too well and proceeded to attack you. He beat you pretty badly before I threw him off of you. I did what I could to heal your wounds. How do you feel now?"

Sakura blushed a bit at the affectionate gesture Naruto was performing. Shaking it off, she said, "I see. Thank you Naruto. But why help me? I haven't been very nice to you."

The blonde smiled at her and said, "Because I care about you Sakura-chan. You may not remember this, but I saved you from some bullies years ago. They were picking on you because of your forehead. Personally, I think you've got a lovely forehead. It's very kissable. Anyways, after that, it was like you forgot about me. You were treating me like shit, hitting me for trying to talk to you…it hasn't been fun. But I still care about you, regardless of all that."

Sakura frowned sadly and said, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. My parents…"

Naruto nodded and said, "I figured as much. It's okay. I forgive you, Sakura-chan." Taking a moment to think on it, Naruto soon smiled and asked, "Sakura-chan? How would you feel if I offered you power unlike anything you've ever imagined? I recently gained access to my ancestor's powers and I'm looking for people I can trust to join me in the creation of a new organization. I'm calling it Organization XIII. If you join me, I promise that you'll be more than capable of protecting yourself and getting revenge should you wish it. I'm willing to trust you with this knowledge and this power. If you refuse, it's okay. I won't try to force it on you. I only want you to be safe and happy."

Sakura took some time to think on what she had just been told. On the one hand, this was the guy her parents had told her to either avoid or hurt when given the chance. On the other, he said such sweet things to her and just offered her the ability to protect herself and those close to her. It didn't really take her long to make her decision. "Naruto-kun? If I join you, what exactly do you want in return? Nothing is ever really for free."

"You're right, I do want something from you. I want your friendship and your loyalty. I'm planning to get revenge on Konoha for their hand in destroying the Uzumaki clan. And for what they've done to me. I plan to bring peace to the Elemental Nations in my own, unique way. And I will revive the Uzumaki clan. I've already made a move towards improving things. And I'm going to trust you with a little more information. I killed Iruka and Mizuki for their crimes against me." Naruto explained.

Sakura's eyes widened and she went silent for a good while. After some time, she said, "I'll join you. I'll help you however I can. But I want to be stronger. I want the power to make sure nobody can ever hurt me again. And…I want a friend."

Naruto smiled at her and said, "I'm glad to hear it. And of course I'll be your friend. I'll never leave you, I'll never betray you, and I'll make sure you never want for anything. You deserve happiness, Sakura-chan. As for power…" Holding out his hand, he summoned forth the spirit, powers, and weapons of the Nobody known as Xemnas. "Are you ready?"

Sakura nodded as she looked at the weapons floating before her. "I'm ready. Give me the strength I desire."

Nodding once, Naruto thrusted the objects into Sakura's body. He watched as her eyes went blank and she went temporarily catatonic. When her eyes finally gained light in them once again, she found herself smirking evilly. Summoning forth Xemnas' weapons, now hers, she admired them for a time. "Oh, this is going to be fun." she said.

Naruto nodded and said, "Welcome to the organization, Sakura-chan. You may feel powerful right now, but I suggest you stop dieting right now. You need to eat healthily. Train often, train hard, and eat bigger meals. Doing this will make you so much stronger than you feel now. Actually, speaking of which, I need to start eating healthier as well. All that ramen isn't good for me."

Sakura giggled to herself and said, "Sounds good to me, Naruto-kun. I have another request I'd like to make."

"Oh? What would that be?"

Smirking at him, she said, "I want to be your second in command. I don't want to be replaced by anyone."

Chuckling softly, Naruto said, "Of course Sakura-chan. You'll never be replaced. Nobody could ever replace you anyways."

Sakura said, "Good. And Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"You need to move into someplace nicer than this. Especially if we're going to live together from now on." Sakura said, smirking at him again.

Naruto chuckled softly and nodded his head in understanding. "I'll get that old bastard to give me the inheritance I know he's hiding from me. I've already found out who my parents are."

Sakura raised a brow and asked, "Oh? Who were your parents?"

"You and everyone else know my father pretty well. Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. My mother was Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto explained.

The pinkette's eyes widened for a moment before she said, "That explains so much. You look just like your father, only with whiskers. I hope your parents left you a house of some kind. It might be nice to live in such a home together."

"That it would be. All right, let's go see him right now. I'm sure I'll need to answer for attacking the great and mighty Uchiha too, but I've got the Hokage under my control now. He'll do everything I say from now on. In fact, what would you say to being put on the same team together? We'll need an appropriate teammate and a capable Jonin sensei. I say we do some scouting and see what we can do." Naruto said.

"Sounds good to me Naruto-kun. Or would you prefer I call you Naruto-sama now?" she teased with a giggle.

Naruto chuckled as well and said, "That's really up to you Sakura-chan. I'd prefer the former, but again, it's your choice."

Giggling again, she said, "I think I'll stick to the -kun suffix for when it's just us. But in front of our other members, it will be -sama. Sound good?"

"Works for me." He said, smirking at her. Afterwards, he led her outside of his apartment and took her hand in his. Sadly, before they could begin making their way to the Hokage Tower, an Anbu appeared before them and said, "You two have been summoned. I'll take you before the council."

Naruto sighed and said, "Yeah, go ahead. I kinda figured you'd be coming to pick us up sooner or later."

Sakura scowled, but said nothing as the Anbu placed his hands on their shoulders and vanished with them.

Council Chambers

Upon arriving, Naruto and Sakura saw both Sasuke and Kakashi standing there glaring at them. Looking from them up at the Hokage, Naruto found himself smirking. He may be acting normal, but he was very much under Naruto's control. Choosing to look around at everyone else, he couldn't help but notice the glares the civilian council members were shooting him. Looking from them to the clan heads, he knew that they would likely be on his side, so they weren't a worry for him. It was then that his eyes fell on Danzo and his fellow elders. Leaning in close to Sakura, he whispered, "Something's off about the old cripple. Be careful, and if need be, we'll destroy him." Sakura simply nodded before looking towards the Hokage.

Hiruzen smiled down at Naruto and asked, "Do you know why you have been brought before the council, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shrugged and pointed at Sasuke. "Yep. It's because those two went crying to the council because I beat up the big and strong Uchiha. I doubt they told the truth of the situation though. After all, it's best to spin things in the Uchiha's favor while slandering me. So let us tell you what really happened."

Sakura looked hard into the Hokage's eyes and said, "I tried to ask Sasuke on a date. When he turned me down, I got fed up with his attitude and proceeded to tear into him verbally. Sasuke didn't take too kindly to me snapping at him and proceeded to assault me until I lost consciousness."

Naruto nodded and said, "After she lost consciousness, I proceeded to beat Sasuke until that asshole right there stopped me. It was obvious he's another Uchiha cocksucker, as I told him before. I knew that he would spin the tale in favor of Sasuke."

"You're lying! Sasuke-kun would never do such a thing! I bet you made all that up just to make yourself look better! And look at her, she doesn't have a scratch on her. It's obvious you're lying to us!" one of the civilian council members exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Naruto sighed and held up a finger. "Wait a moment." he said before taking a kunai and cutting deeply into his own arm. Afterwards, he proceeded to hold his other hand over the wound and muttered, "Cura." They watched as his wound healed rapidly until it had completely closed. "See that? I've learned a few new tricks, let's say."

"Obviously that's demon magic at work! There's no way you could do something like that otherwise!" another of the civilians exclaimed.

Naruto facepalmed and said, "You people really are that stupid, aren't you? I didn't think it was possible to be that damn moronic. How about you? What do you think, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen frowned in thought for a time before saying, "It's obvious you've learned a healing technique of some kind. I don't see a problem with it. However, you did assault a fellow shinobi. Though Sasuke did the same. So I cannot fault you, Naruto-kun. All I ask is that you don't make a habit out of it. As for you, Sakura, I am glad you're all right. Would you like to press charges against Sasuke for his actions against you?"

The civilian council roared in anger at this and shouted, "Sasuke-sama did nothing wrong! That monster attacked him without provocation! You have to do something!"

Shibi Aburame shook his head and said, "You are willing to pardon Sasuke Uchiha for all of his crimes? No matter what he does, you'd defend him, correct? Sasuke is not the perfect person you view him as. He has flaws and many of them. You would do well to remember that not even he is above reproach."

The civilians scoffed, but said nothing in response. Instead, Danzo stepped forward and said, "It seems obvious to me that our village's primary weapon is getting out of control. I call for a suitable punishment. I…"

Hiruzen, getting a mental signal from Naruto, said, "Absolutely not! You will leave Naruto-kun alone! Naruto-kun, Sakura, you are free to go. I want you to meet me in my office in a couple of hours. Sasuke will be punished for his actions, I promise you that."

Naruto smiled and nodded his head in thanks. Flipping Danzo off, he turned and walked out of the council chambers with Sakura at his side. As soon as they left the room, Hiruzen scowled at the civilian council and the elders. However, rather than tear into them for their behavior, he asked, "What punishment should Sasuke receive? I am open to suggestions. And no, he will not be pardoned!"

The civilians scoffed at this and folded their arms petulantly in anger. Danzo scowled as he looked into Hiruzen's eyes. What is wrong with you Hiruzen? Normally you'd have no problem punishing that rotten little bastard. Now suddenly you're defending him? Something's off here…

Inoichi Yamanaka looked down at Sasuke and said, "Sadly, there's no real proof of an attack of any kind on Sakura Haruno besides their word for it. If she still had her wounds, it would be easier to confirm their side of the story. However, because Naruto healed her, there's no evidence to support their claim. Still…"

Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "You're right. I hate to say it, but you're right. Sasuke Uchiha, I am giving you this one warning: assault a fellow shinobi or citizen of this village again and I'll have your headband. You'll never get to avenge your clan. Do you understand me?"

Sasuke simply smirked and said, "I knew you'd see things my way. Nobody wants to upset their 'precious' Uchiha, after all."

Glaring down at him, the Third Hokage slammed Sasuke with his killing intent and said, "I'd watch your attitude with me boy. I can still punish you for your transgressions. Now get lost before I lose my temper with you."

Kakashi helped Sasuke up and quickly fled the room with him. There was no point in pissing the Hokage off any further, after all.

Once they were gone, Hiruzen shook his head and called the meeting to an end. Afterwards, he got up and left the room, heading straight for his office.

Upon arriving in his office, he took his seat behind his desk and looked straight into Naruto's eyes. "You want your inheritance, correct? I already had it prepared for you, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks Hokage-sama." Naruto said before accepting the inheritance his parents had left for him. Looking at the key that had been presented to him, he proceeded to ask, "Can you show us the way? I'm afraid I'm not sure where their home is."

Hiruzen nodded and said, "Very well. Follow me."

As the Hokage led them out of his office and the tower as a whole, Naruto and Sakura smirked at each other and fist bumped. As they walked, the two of them took notice of the people glaring at Naruto and whispering to each other about what else but Sasuke. "Looks like word has already spread about what I did to Sasuke. How wonderful."

Sakura giggled a bit and said, "Ignore them. They're idiots, all of them."

Soon enough they arrived at the Uzumaki compound. Swiping some blood across the seal and keying Sakura into the barrier around the house, he gave temporary permission for Hiruzen to enter as well. Proceeding inside, Sakura and Naruto looked around and grinned. "This is perfect. Thank you Hiruzen."

The aged Hokage bowed his head and said, "Of course, Naruto-sama. I'm glad you approve."

"Of course. You're free to leave. Remember, I'll come by later to instruct you on who you should put on which team. All I know for now is that I want you to put that asshole and Sasuke on the same team. I also want you to assign Sakura-chan and me to the same team. Other than that, I still need to figure out who we can trust." Naruto said.

Hiruzen nodded before he bade them goodbye and left. Now that they were alone together, Naruto began to gently run his fingers through Sakura's long, pink hair. "You really are beautiful, Sakura-chan. I promise you here and now, we're going to be just fine. We're going to take this world by storm and become stronger than anyone else alive."

Sakura grinned at him and said, "Good. Now, we should choose our rooms and then go grocery shopping. We're in need of food and drink, not to mention other necessities."

"True. What about your parents?" Naruto questioned.

"Screw them. They tried to take away my one, true friend. I'll pack up some of my things and move in here with you. They can kiss my ass for all I care." Sakura said, shrugging afterwards.

"Glad to hear it." Naruto said before he and Sakura went to pick out their rooms. "Do you have any ideas as to who we should get to join Organization XIII?"

Sakura shook her head no. "Not at the moment. Wait, actually…" Thinking on it for a time, she soon said, "Ino and Hinata. Hinata's crazy about you and would most likely join us easily if it meant she could be closer to you. Ino, on the other hand, used to be my friend. I think that, if we can break her out of her fangirlism, we can convince her to join us. I'm not sure who else we could talk to…"

Naruto took some time to think on it before saying, "Shikamaru would be a good addition. It might seem 'troublesome' for him at first, but he'd be a valuable asset. In fact, I've got the perfect Nobody's power in mind for him. Convincing him to join us might be a bit of a challenge, however. As for Hinata, I've got the perfect Nobody in mind for her as well: Marluxia. Then there's Ino. I do believe Larxene's powers would be absolutely perfect for her."

It was at this point that the two of them found the rooms they'd be staying in. Naturally, Naruto took the master bedroom. Sakura took a bedroom right next to it. Once they were done looking around their chosen rooms, they met up in the living room once more. "So that's three. I'll need your help convincing Ino to join us. Like I said before, Hinata will gladly join us if it means she gets to be closer to you. As for Shikamaru? If we manage to recruit Ino, she could likely help us recruit him to our cause."

"Then we have a plan. We'll start with Hinata. She's timid, though. We'll need to break her down and build her back up again from scratch. She'll be one of our most powerful members, though, so it will be more than worth it." Naruto said.

"Sounds good to me Naruto-kun. Now come on, I want to go out and get something to eat before we do some grocery shopping." Sakura said, smiling at him.

"That works for me. If we're lucky, we might even run into Hinata while we're out. I have noticed that she follows me around from time to time. Shouldn't be too hard to catch her." Naruto said before he and Sakura left the house. Watch out world, here we come.

A/N - Okay, that's the end of the chapter. As you can see, a lot happened and a bunch of things were discussed. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter.

Anywho, the members of the new Organization XIII have already been decided after a lengthy discussion with my friends. So please don't offer suggestions for who should be in the organization. As for the harem, Sakura is in for sure. Part of the challenge says that she should be the main girl in the harem, so I'm sticking to that guideline.

Anyways, I have absolutely no idea what I'll work on next. Could be another new story or it could be an existing fic or something. I dunno. lol. We shall seeeeee.

See you fine folks later!