Path Of The Broken Fox

Chapter Two: The Broken Fox

By Arthur Seishi Boido

Summary: What happens when Naruto breaks down at the Valley of the End and tries to commit suicide as a result? What happens when Sakura is the only one who can save him from an asylum and set him back onto greatness? What if the only way to accomplish that is to marry Naruto and strike a deal with Kyuubi? Warning: dark and violent beginning!

Arthur Note: I had remade my story from my old account, Fox Anbu Assassin. I had medical issues and other personal things that kept me from writing for the last four to eight years. I still have medical issues though, anyway I will be reworking on old and new stories. Furthermore, I had also improved my grammar, spelling, as well as making my stories longer. Every chapter after the first chapter, I will be answering questions. If you have any ideas or want to give me your advice about the story, I will accept it and maybe add it to the story. Also Naruto will not have the toad summon contract, instead he will have different ones.

Arthur Note number two: I also want to recommend a story. Broken Fox by Triforce Guardian. He had permitted me on my old account to write my version of his story, He did say I can use the First Chapter and half Of his Second Chapter. If you need proof, let me know and I will give you a link to see the screen shots of our conversation. I will also be adding things and changing some things to these chapters. Kurama is a boy and doesn't have a human form in this story. Orochimarua, Danzo, Kabuto, Sasuke, Council and Akatsuki will have bigger roles. The Five Great Villages and The Sound Village will have a bigger role.

Arthur Note number three: Konoha Twelve will be 18 and older. Everyone is older in this story.

Arthur Note Four: WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A DESCRIPTION OF A PERSON TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE! I WILL PUT A WARNING RIGHT BEFORE IT'S HAPPENS, AND LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S DONE. IF YOU ARE UNDER-AGE OR SQUEAMISH ABOUT SUCH THINGS, PLEASE SKIP THAT PART.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: IF YOU WANT PROOF THAT HE GAVE ME PERMISSION TO DO HIS CHALLENGE AND NEED PROOF THAT HE HAS GIVEN ME PERMISSION TO USE THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS OF HIS STORY, WRITE ME THREW FANFICTION APP, SINCE THAT'S ONLY WAY I CAN SEND PICTURES OF THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN TRIFORCE GUARDIAN AND ME.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Naruto. What I do own the rights are my original characters, Justus, and other things I made up for the story.

Sakura felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at the teammate who was once so gung-ho and devil-may-care be reduced to what she was looking at, her hand clamped over her horror-dropped jaw.

'How could anyone do this to a child, especially one as sunny and bright as Naruto? I mean, yeah I would hit him every now and again when he needed to calm down, but it's not like I hated him or anything! It's not like every single time I saw him, I'd greet him by knocking out his teeth! Naruto, what's happened to you?' Sakura thought as she stared at the crowd before staring back at Naruto.

Naruto let out another cackle and looked around again before yelling, "Hey! We need more people, don't we? We can't form any angry mobs with just a few people, after all! I guess we need to get to the village center then! There will be tons of people to piss off!"

He jumped into the air towards the rooftops, and Sakura managed to come back to her senses long enough to rush to her feet and jump after him, screaming, "NARUTO! WAIT!"

He just laughed an empty laugh and kept bounding away, forming his signature jutsu and sending a hundred of his clones in random directions. She didn't know what he was doing, but she knew it wouldn't be anything good. Hopefully, she could reach him before he did anything drastic.

Naruto finally landed in the village square, and Sakura landed near him, on her knees trying to catch her breath before standing straight and saying, "Naruto, please! You need to calm down! Listen, we can go to Tsunade-sama! She can make everything-"

Naruto just laughed bitterly and cut in. "Make everything what? Better? Nicer? Back to normal? Like any of the Hokages, past or present, really care about what happens to some no name orphan whose future was sacrificed so some ass-wipes can have their damn comforts! After all, if the Yondaime worried about me, then maybe he wouldn't have been so quick to use me for his insane plan!'

Naruto then looked at Sakura before he continued, "If the Sandaime had really cared about me, then maybe he wouldn't have been so quick to tell every asshole of the last generation what I held and just kept a god-damn secret! Or at the very least, he could have told me sooner about the damn fuzzball instead of when he had absolutely no choice except to! But, NOOOOOOO! I'm evidently not deserving of happiness or a future because I guess my pain and suffering is meant to be some sort of mana from the gods for this forsaken speck of dirt! And the Godaime? You really think some damn Council is just going to let her have all her power just because she says so? Face it. She's just a general who's been buried in so much red tape, she can't see anything that's three feet in front of her."

The clones had evidently done their job because nearly everyone in the village had converged on this location, some confused, some angry, and all curious about what was so urgent. Naruto's crazed smile seemed to grow even further, and he spread his arms out to gesture to all of them.

"No! These people right here are the true rulers of this godforsaken village! Everything here is just a matter of public opinion, and if the public doesn't like it, then it must be changed to their benefit! And if it pleases the village to have a scapegoat for their anger, then by Kami, they're going to get it! What do they care if some boy is sacrificed! Actually, that's what makes it so much fun, hurting someone who can't even defend themselves!" Naruto yelled.

He then turned to the stunned crowd and kept on yelling. "That's what you all came to see! The Kyuubi brat evidently wants to show everyone something, so you might as well come and see it! Well, guess what? I FUCKING DON'T CARE ANYMORE BECAUSE YOU ASSHOLES TOOK EVERYTHING OF MEANING FROM ME, SINCE I OBVIOUSLY DON'T DESERVE IT! YOU WON! YOU ALL GOD-DAMN WON!"

Naruto started to laugh again like back in the Valley, and the whole of Konoha shivered in fright, from the most hardened Shinobi to the smallest of children, as the sounds of broken pain washed over them. Sakura could only stand there, tears falling freely down her face, as she wished to do something — anything — to just make this pain in her teammate stop.

He then looked towards his stomach and yelled, "Hey, Fuzzball! Wake up! Everyone's come here to see you! It's impolite to keep them waiting!" When the stomach obviously didn't answer, he punched it a couple of times and screamed, "WAKEY WAKEY, FUZZBUTT! YOU WANT TO AVOID MISSING THIS!"

But Naruto wasn't done just yet, as he lifted his head towards the sky and screamed, "Hey, are all you gods up there watching this? Because if not, then you're about ready to miss the final punchline of your little joke down here! HOPE YOU ENJOY IT."

~This A SUICIDAL TEMP PLEASE SKIP IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THIS KIND OF STUFF OR YOU'RE UNDER 18, YOU HAVE BEEN WARN.~

Everyone's eyes widened when the boy snatched a kunai from his pouch and raised it into the air pointing towards himself, and Sakura heard screaming, only to realize that it was herself doing it.

The kunai swung down, and Sakura froze as blood sprayed in her face.

'No. Please no!' Sakura thought as she was hoping it was rain that hit her face.

Naruto just laughed as he looked at the kunai now in his stomach, dark blood that was almost black gushing out as he ripped it out. He kept laughing insanely as he stabbed himself once more, twice, three times in the same area. He then stabbed his stomach again before slicing open the stomach and then turning the blade upwards. After taking the blade out, he then sliced both wrists then stabbed near his heart, a couple inches away from it.

~SUICIDAl MAIN PART IS DONE~

Even as blood began to flow out of his mouth, he didn't stop laughing. Still, he proved he was only mortal as he began to sway slightly as he grew weaker and weaker from the blood draining out of him.

With the last of his strength, he managed to throw the kunai into the air randomly towards the crowd, saying, "Here! A souvenir to remember the day you watched the Kyuubi container die! Remember to cherish it."

He cackled again as he started to fall, but he then felt something crash into him and lower him gently to the ground. When he looked at the person's face, he saw Sakura kneeling over him, tears running freely and choking out terrified sobs as her hands glowed green with what little healing techniques she knew.

She kept on saying things between sobs, like "I'm sorry, Naruto!", "Please, don't leave me!" and even "I need you! I need you so much, Naruto!"

Sakura kept trying to close the wounds, but her skill was barely holding back the bleeding.

She raised her head to the crowd and pleaded, "Please! Someone! Anyone. Please help him."

But no one moved, so stunned about the boy's actions that they might as well has been statues.

Sakura was about to scream at them again, until a red mist began to rise from the wounds and form into an orange fur with red eyes that had black slits. It looked like a fox above the dying boy. The fox had nine tails that were waving all over the place as it was glaring at Naruto.

It continued to glare at him for a few seconds before saying in an angry tone, "So, this is what you finally boil down to. After all that posturing and bravado, you're just a child who just can't deal with his problems and tries to run away through death! If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just let you die when the old pervert threw you off that cliff several months ago! At least then, you would have died on impact instead of prolonging your suffering."

Naruto just chuckled and looked at the fox, before he spoke, "What are you…complaining…about, Kyuubi? At least now,…you can go free…from your prison. Why…do you think..? I stabbed myself there?"

Kyuubi snarled and raised its paws in exasperation, before speaking up, "Oh please! If I had wanted to escape that badly, then I just would have let you die the first chance I got, you dumbass! No, I wanted to see what you could become. You had potential, Naruto! More than both of those Uchiha brats and Orochimaru combined, and you choose to willingly throw it away by trying to kill yourself!"

By now, Tsunade, Kakashi, Anko and Jiriaya had landed in the middle of the square. Tsunade managed to get one look at Naruto before her eyes widened in terror, and she screamed, "Naruto."

Kyyubi snorted and turned to them before the Kyuubi spoke up, "Oh yes, and now the idiot brigade arrived,and rather late I might add. Come to see the result of your hard workup close instead of through that little orb? After all, this is what the village wanted, right? To see the so-called Kyuubi die for its sins of attacking the village and killing your precious Yondaime? Fools, you are. I was controlled by an Uchiha and another person, to attack a village, and kill your Yondaime?

Kyuubi continued to speak as he turned its head at the crowd with a glare, "The man chose to sacrifice himself to seal me. I didn't make him do jack shit. In fact, I'm more of a victim here than the rest of you, and the reward for my troubles is to be sealed away. Besides, I am immortal, and as such, I can't be killed in any way. Even if I were to be dragged to the afterlife, I would still just come right back. So really, if you managed to kill him, the most you would have accomplished is killing one boy."

As the surrounding villagers widened their eyes and paled at what this meant, the Kyuubi turned his glare back at the boy and said, "You think you can just run away from your problems? Tough. I was hoping that by withholding my chakra, you would snap out of it and seek my help to achieve your goals, but your self-righteous stubbornness is about to get you killed. So, guess what, buddy boy? You're living, and that's final!"

The Kyuubi collapsed again into red mist and flowed back into Naruto's body. He spasmed a little as the red chakra began to envelop his body completely, his wounds healing at an extraordinary rate.

Sakura could just sit there, amazed at what she just saw, but her gaze snapped back to the boy as, too weak to do anything else thanks to blood loss, he whispered out, "Please…no, Kyuubi. I feel it would be better not to live anymore. Please, I'm begging you."

Her heart stopped as he said, "Please let me die."

New sobs threatened to come out, but she choked them back and reached down to the boy. The red chakra began to recede, allowing her to pull him closer as she wrapped her arms around his chest. She rested his head against her chest, her knees propping his back-up to allow her to hold him.

As Tsunade rushed over to check on the blond boy, tears spilling out of her own brown eyes, Sakura gently stroked Naruto's hair and hummed softly to him as he began to finally go to sleep, still murmuring, "Let me die. Let me die. Let me die…"

In the crowd is Danzo, a Council member who has been wanting Naruto as a weapon for the Village.

'I told them all, but they didn't listen. Now our weapon is broken. This could have been prevented if they had given me the boy or at least helped train him. This might play in my favor.' Danzo thought with a smirk as he watched Kyuubi start healing Naruto.

Danzo left the crowd and headed to his office, to write a letter.

A man with greenish hair and a blue snake is on a rooftop watching the whole thing.

"Asuka, go tell Lord Orochimaru, I think this information will help him a lot. Maybe it will help. The Uchiha brat makes his eyes stronger for Lord Orlchimaru." the man said with a smirk.

The blue snake known as Asuka began to speak before it disappeared, "I agreed with you Ren, keep your eyes out for the item, Lord Orochimaru wants."

Ren then body flickers away as he goes to finish his mission.

Kakashi could only sit there in the Hokage's office, his head in his hands, as he tried to figure out where everything went wrong with this team. A traitor to the village, a broken boy who attempted suicide, and a former fan girl who would no doubt now suffer her own emotional issues from watching aforementioned second teammate try to kill himself.

Yeah, he was definitely not going to be winning any awards for (Best Sensei) any time soon.

He finally lifted his head to survey the other occupants in the room.

The Kyuubi had been right, Naruto would have gone far in the Shinobi ranks, possibly even have become Hokage eventually, but now he was strapped down to a bed in the psych ward with no fewer than six ANBU keeping watch over him to make sure either he himself or some uppity villager didn't decide to finish the job.

"No doubt, the Council was going to try to justify Naruto's attempt as reason enough to have him removed from Konoha's forces. After all, you can't have some of your Shinobi breaking down just because life gets a little hard." Kakashi said as he pinched the upper part of his nose.

Anko, who is near the door, snorted at the thought before she had spoken, "Yeah, it must really look that easy from their high perches, especially when they're the ones making things hard."

Jiriaiya was standing near one of the windows, scowling down at the village both his sensei and student had died for. Most of the people were in shock after seeing Naruto's little display, and not even his most die-hard opponent could deny that they had done more than just a little in helping to break the boy.

All of his plans on a training trip to get him away from Konoha and hide him from Akatsuki now lay shattered at his feet, and all just because some dumb-ass villagers couldn't keep their hypocritical traps silent for two minutes to really see the boy for who he was.

What was even worse was the fact that he realized that Jiraiya, himself, hadn't helped any by ignoring the boy's training for his research. By acting like he didn't care, he wound up shattering the boy's trust in authority figures, and it was going to take a while for Naruto to trust anyone in a position of authority for quite a while.

Finally, Sakura was just sitting there on the couch, staring at her hands while her eyes seemed so far away. The girl was going to need some major counseling before she could be let back on to the forces as well, though at least Kakashi could be thankful that she probably wouldn't try to commit suicide as well. Still, he would need to keep an eye on her just in case.

Meanwhile, in the Sound Village...

Orochimaru is checking on Sasuke and Kabuto.

"Lord Orochimaru, Sasuke has some nerve damage in his broken arm, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with some surgery." Kabuto said as he finished checking on Sasuke's arm.

"I want you to do the surgery as soon as possible. Then he can start his training once he has healed enough." Orochimaru said before, a blue snake that is known as Asuka had appeared before the smoke disappeared.

"Have you found what I sent you to, go fine?" Orochimaru asked as he looked at Asuka.

"No, but Ren is still looking, he sent me to tell you what happened at the Leaf Village. The Uzumaki brat tried to commit suicide in the middle of the village in front of a crowd." Asuka said, which caused Orochimaru a smirk that only Asuka and Kabuto could see.

"Wait, You're telling Naruto tried to kill himself. Is he okay?" Sasuke asked with a worried look.

"Yes, he is okay. Kyuubi prevented him from dying." Asuka said as she looked at Sasuke.

"I doubt the council will let him be a Shinobi anymore." Kabuto said he grabbed something to get ready to do some surgery on Sasuke's arm.

"It's a shame, you could have tested your skill on him the next time you two would have fought. I guess you can always test your skills on Kakashi." Orochimaru said with a smirk.

"I want to destroy the Leaf Village for the problems that they had caused Naruto." Sasuke said he looked at Orochimaru.

"To do that, you need to be stronger than what you're planning to be. Let's get your surgery done, then we can do some experiments. Is that all Asuka?" Orochimaru asked as he looked at the blue snake.

The snake shook its head no before it disappeared in smoke. Orochimaru then left the room with a smirk on his face.

'Soon the Leaf village will be destroyed, and soon I will have those eyes.' Orochimaru thought.

Back With Kakashi and Others …

Kakashi sighed and turned back to the Hokage. "You're sure you can't just head them off and declare Naruto under some sort of medial emergency?"

Tsunade shook her head before she responded, "When you brought him in after the mission, the doctors checked him out and there was nothing else wrong with him aside from the cuts and stab wounds. Maybe if I could have confined him to the hospital in time, we could have avoided this somehow, but it's too late now. When the Council convenes tomorrow, he'll be removed from the rosters permanently."

Anko was next to speak, "The aewonly way to save him now would be to make him seem like he's too valuable to go to waste, and their prejudices against the Kyuubi will work against him in that regard. Until now, they believed that Kyuubi would die if Naruto did, and I don't think they're going to be willing to listen to the Kyuubi, regardless of what it says."

There was more silence at this revelation, until Jiraiya cautiously said, "Well, there is…one way to help him keep his Shinobi status, and probably give him diplomatic immunity as well."

Tsunade's eyes snapped over to her perverted teammate, and she said, "Jiraiya, no! We all swore it would be too risky until he was a Chunin. He's not ready to know this, especially not now when he's so vulnerable! The knowledge would crush him."

Jiraiya snorted and turned to look at her. "Come on, Hime. You know as well as I do that the kid would have made Chunin during the last exams if the Council hadn't been so biased against him. Hell, it probably would have taken him killing Orochimaru himself for them to give him the rank, and that's still grudgingly! And as for the knowledge breaking him? Seriously, Hime? I don't think he could become any more broken than he is now. If we want to keep him as a Konoha Shinobi, this will probably be the only way, and you know it!"

Tsunade scowled before turning away. "Of course I do. I just don't have to like it. There are too many unknown variables to risk, and the kid's luck looks like it's running out. If we do this, not only do we run the chance of it backfiring, everything that is supposed to be his to inherit could wind up filling the Council's coffers."

"What are you all talking about?" Sakura asked, which caused the adults in the room to jump, as they had forgotten the fifth member in the room who was currently staring at them in curiosity.

Tsunade managed a soft smile for the girl and said, "I-It's nothing, Sakura. After all, even if we wanted to implement the plan."

Tsunade spared a glare for Jiraiya before smiling back at the girl and continued, "We would still need a few more certain circumstances to happen to make it ironclad."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the woman, and Tsunade couldn't help but wonder, 'Damn, this girl will be formidable one day if she gets the right training. I wonder if she would be interested in an apprenticeship with me. Shizune is nearing her mastery after all.'

The girl just kept staring at the aged Hokage before saying icily, "What do you mean, and if it helps Naruto, then why aren't you trying it?"

The four adults glanced at each other and then sighed at their carelessness before Kakashi said, "Listen carefully, Sakura. What you're about to learn in this room cannot leave it unless the Hokage decides it can be shared. The information told could be more of a danger to Naruto than he already knows. If the wrong people in this village find out about it, Naruto losing his rank will be the least of our worries."

Sakura nodded her head in acceptance, and Jiraiya pulled out a scroll and unsealed several items, mostly official documents.

Taunade motioned the girl forward, she slid a piece towards Sakura and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Sakura glanced at the paper and answered, "It's a birth certificate. Why?"

"Look at the baby's name." Tsunade said with a smile.

She glanced down at the page, and she blanched at the name. "It's Naruto's certificate."

"Good. Now look at his parents' names." Jiraiya said before Sakura started looking at the certificate.

Sakura's skin started to turn even paler, and she leaned back into her chair. "Kushina Uzumaki and…Minato Namikaze. The Yondaime Hokage and The Red Death were Naruto's parents."

Meanwhile at the Sound Village…..

Sasuke has his arm in a sling, following Kabuto down a hallway, as they pass rooms that look like they are for prisoners, he has seen kids and adults in them, as they continue to walk down the hallway. They enter a room where there is a tank with a boy that has white hair and purple eyes.

"When can I get out, Kabuto and who is this?" The boy asked as he looked at Sasuke.

"Lord Orochimaru, wants to do a couple more tests before he lets you out to train. This is Sasuke." Kabuto said as he went to look as he went to open a door to another room.

"Ahh, the Uchiha that everyone is talking about." The boy said with a smirk.

"Since You know I am, who are you?" Sasuke asked as he had given the boy a glare.

"My name is Suigetsu Hozuki, I was once part of the Mist Village. Just like you, I seek revenge." Said the boy, who is now known as Suigetsu.

"You two can talk later. I need you to follow me, Sasuke." Kabuto said as he entered another room.

Sasuke begins to follow Kabuto into another room that has another door that leads him into another hallway.

"Since your arm will take a few months to fully heal, you are going to need to take these every day until your arm is fully healed. This is your room, it has a bathroom as well." Kabuto said as he opened the door for Sasuke and gave him a bottle of painkillers, then Kabuto left Sasuke, so he can go relax.

Back in The Leaf Village…..

Tsunade nodded her head and said, "Exactly. Naruto is related to four Hokages by blood — his father directly, and then the Shodaime, Nidaime, and Godaime — me — through his mother's lineage. That alone is enough to get the Council howling after him. If they managed to sink their claws into him, they could have cared less about the 'last Uchiha' and would have kissed up to Naruto instead."

Kakashi was next to speak, "If they were to find this out now, when Naruto is not in a right mental state, they would use this as an opportunity to access everything that is his and steal it for themselves."

Jiraiya pulled out a separate stack of papers from the pile and said, "These right here are clan documents signifying the validity of a clan's status in Konoha. Since both the Namikaze and Uzumaki lines had been legally recognized as clans, that would make Naruto the dual head of these families. Hell, he could even probably try to obtain the Senju name for himself if Tsunade were to pass on unexpectedly or if she named him her heir."

Anko looked at Sakura before she begins to speak, "In any case, this creates another problem, as being the head of even one nearly extinct clan puts him automatically in the Clan Restoration Act when he turns fifteen. At which point, if he doesn't already have a wife by then, the Council could see fit to select their candidates for the position. Add in to his other titles, actual or potential, and we're looking at no less than six women, all handpicked by those bastards."

Sakura rubbed her forehead as her eyes almost seemed to pop out of her head in shock, then she began to speak, "Which means that Naruto could have a large group of wives whose only motivations would be to steal from him and keep him on a short leash. Once a few heirs are born, then Naruto would probably be killed in some sort of arranged 'accident' or 'unfortunate incident' to get rid of him."

Jiraiya smirked and said, "Smart girl. Now you're beginning to see our dilemma. If we were to introduce this tomorrow as a way to save Naruto's Shinobi career, then chances are he'll be dead by sixteen, at best. At worst, well, let's just say he'll survive long enough to impregnate a few of them."

Sakura frowned as she recalled some of Jiraiya's earlier words before she began to speak, "But that would only be if he wasn't married before twenty four, right? If he was married, then he would be able to hold off the Council and decide whether he wants more wives or just the one, correct?"

Tsunade sighed before she began to speak, "Yes. That is correct. Shinobi's law allows marriages as early as twelve, due to the number of premature deaths in our line of work. And while it is understood a child between the couple shouldn't be born until eighteen, many dying clans choose to overlook that unspoken rule and allow children to be born when the mother is fourteen. An archaic and somewhat barbaric practice, but also one we've never really had to worry about for a while now. In any case, the main problem is: We don't have any girl who would be interested in-"

Sakura's whispered voice cut through Tsunade's words. "Yes, you do."

Four pairs of eyes snapped to the girl, who had lowered her head to avoid their gaze. Kakashi's mouth could be seen moving wordlessly behind his mask before he turned to the other three adults. Jiraiya looked shocked as he did, Anko had a smile, but Tsunade just looked suspicious.

The elder woman stared at the younger for a few minutes before asking, "Why? Why would you be willing to go so far for Naruto when up until now you only had eyes for Sasuke?"

Sakura sniffled a little before raising her teary eyes towards Tsunade. The Hokage searched the girl's eyes and body movements for any deceit or play-acting, but she was either completely genuine or a better liar than anyone thought her capable.

She listened as Sakura said, "What else have I got? I don't know if I'm capable of being a Shinobi, and even if I were, my team has either turned traitor or attempted suicide. At the very least, I can help keep my other teammate's dream alive, even if it means I'll have to give up my future. Sure, you could ask Ino or Hinata or Tenten-san or even Temari-san to do it, but it wouldn't be fair for them to have to give up their Shinobi careers to take care of a broken man, not to also mention their families probably wouldn't approve of the match no matter what. Aside from marrying Naruto, how else am I really of use?"

Tsunade had to admit, she was impressed with the girl's conviction. No doubt, seeing her only remaining teammate lose it like that and try to kill himself caused her to latch on to him any way she could so that she could have some sort of stability left in her life.

Sakura had gotten too deep into the Shinobi lifestyle to just walk away from it, and at least this way, by marrying into a Shinobi clan, she could still train being a ninja if she desired. If not, then she would be plenty busy with other clan matters such as managing the books and tending to the estate to keep her active. Something she is right about regarding the other girls, who were expected to stay as Shinobi due to their particular skills.

Finally, a soft smile graced Tsunade's lips, and she leaned forward to stroke the girl's cheek. She then gently asked, "Are you sure about this? Because once you do this, you can't ever go back. Divorce is not legal when it comes to clans. When you're in, you're in for life. So, even if Naruto were to turn out to be an abuser — not that he ever would — you would have to grit your teeth and bear it until you die. So, I ask again, are you sure of this?"

Sakura's eyes seemed to steel themselves, and Tsunade could feel the girl firm up and strengthen herself underneath the older woman's touch.

When Sakura nodded her head, Tsunade pulled the girl close to her and kissed her forehead before hugging her tightly, whispering, "Thank you, Sakura. Thank you for saving him."

Sakura smiled a little and returned the hug. When Jiraiya then hollered, "Come on, everyone. GROUP HUG!" and proceeded to encase the two of them into a large embrace, she couldn't help but laugh at his antics, especially when Tsunade kept playfully hitting him while grinning and yelling for the pervert to put them down.

When Shizune came in, making sure to close the door behind her, to see what was going on, Kakashi decided to rush to her and wrap his arms around her before swinging her around and around, confusing the poor girl and causing Sakura to laugh again.

When they had finally calmed down, Tsunade then began to feverishly rifle through her desk, as she was saying, "Okay, first things first. We need a blank marriage certificate. Kakashi! You, Anko, and Shizune go find one of the time stamps. There should be some from the last few days in the storage room."

Kakashi nodded and nearly left before Sakura said, "Sensei, make sure the date is for two nights ago."

The man nodded and followed Shizune through the door. When Tsunade finally found the paper needed, she looked at the girl strangely. "Why two days ago, Sakura?"

Sakura grinned a little. "First off, it will make the document seem like it has had time to go through proper channels. If the Council were to go looking for it tomorrow when this all happens, they would find a marriage certificate that they can't refute since it went through the forty-eight-hour wait period for appeals. Second, it will give us a better edge because Naruto's breakdown occurred today."

Sakura then turned to Tsuande as. Began to speak again, "If we signed the marriage license two days ago, when he was considered to be in fit mental health, they can't claim that Naruto signed this with his judgment impaired. This then ties in with my third point, which is, on that night, Naruto and I were seen by various witnesses together before Sasuke even left the village, which would further solidify our case against the Council."

Sakura stopped to take a drink of water before she finished, "For all they know, Naruto had just convinced me that he was the one for me, and I insisted that it be made legitimate. We could even spin some kind of story about how we were going to announce our upcoming wedding ceremony for the public to attend when Naruto came back from the mission. How my tearful plea was for a dear friend rather than a crush gone wrong."

Everyone stared at the girl in shock, before Tsunade's lips formed into a sadistic grin. She barked out an amused laugh and said, "Oh, Sakura. You're going to be formidable for the Council to deal with, indeed."

Sakura's grin widened a little further before she continued. "Actually, it gets even better, Tsunade-sama. I also know of a way we can undercut the Council entirely and get the Fire Daimyo involved to dissolve the Council permanently, that had caused damage to Naruto. This will allow us some more breathing room in the future, and then we don't have to worry about them breathing down Naruto's neck to marry more women."

This got both Jiraiya and Tsunade's attentions, and Jiraiya said with a slow grin, "Go ooon."

Sakura got up from her chair and grabbed a book of the Konoha laws before flipping through the pages rapidly. When she finally got to the law she was looking for, she laid the book down and pointed out the text.

"Alright. It says in Law 26, subsection D, regarding all clan matters in Konoha, that, 'once a person has been named to be part of a clan by the Council, under no circumstances may the Council prevent said individual from attaining their rightful positions." Sakura said before she took a breath.

"When the Council named Naruto as an Uzumaki but declared him an orphan of common status, they inadvertently denied him as being a part of the clan, meaning that the Council was involving itself in clan affairs they had no right being involved in. They wouldn't even be able to claim ignorance of the matter because the Uzumaki clan was still well-known enough to have some pull in political circles in the Land Of Fire" Sakura finished saying with a smile.

As the two older Shinobi' grins grew wider, Sakura raised a halting finger and sing-songed, "But waaaaait, there's even mo-ooore. Since it is unlawful to name a person who is not of clan blood to be part of a clan, as listed in subsection F, they all but admitted directly that Naruto is Kushina-sama's child, since she was the only possible Uzumaki living in the village at the time who could be his mother. Henceforth, by wrongfully denying that Naruto was Kushina's, they also wrongfully denied his right to the Namikaze clan, since it was proven that Kushina and Minato were married."

"If anyone were to try to deny this, like by saying that Kushina-sama could have slept with another man, then they would have to subject their claims to a blood test – which would be performed by an independent party and would test positive anyway since we know Naruto is Minato-sama's son. In other words, Naruto was not only wrongfully denied his heritage by the Council, they prevented a dual-head of two clans from doing his duties for his family." Jiraiya said as he looked at Tsunade.

"Right Jiraiya-Sama, The Fire Daimyo would then have no choice but to remove every council member from office, since they were all present the day he was declared an orphan, and give full powers once more to you. You can then, in turn, use those powers to declare the Council dissolved permanently, bringing Konoha back under military dictatorship like it was meant to be and allowing you to rewrite the laws so that it stays as such." Sakura said with a smile.

By now, Jiraiya had started cackling with delight before saying, "By Kami, girl, you are the most devious individual I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I'll get started on this and send a missive to the Daimyo now. If we plead urgency, he'll get here right on time tomorrow for the Council meeting. With the independent third party already there, the Council is as good as gone!"

The two women were now alone in the room, and Tsunade leaned back from her desk and rested her head on her arm, then she began to speak, "You do realize that the little plan you just told us would probably work without having to get married, right? If the Council can be dissolved-"

Sakura shook her head, stopping whatever the woman was going to say. "No, Tsunade-sama. If we try to do this without the marriage in place, the chances of it succeeding drop drastically. I will admit it would still be possible, but you would have to introduce the issue in a delicate manner — which will require time you don't have. This will be the quickest and easiest way."

Tsunade wanted to ask more, but the resolve in the girl's eyes prevented her from doing so.

'Oh well, so be it then. Let's see just how far that resolve goes in fixing Naruto and making him happy. If anything, this will give me enough time to find someone else before revealing the documents as 'falsified'. The punishments from that will teach her if she decides to utilize this to her advantage. I truly hope I know what I'm doing.' Tsunade thought as she glanced down at the certificate and sighed a little.

"Alright then, Sakura. Go ahead and sign here," Tsunade said as she pointed to a line on the page.

"In the first line, sign your new name as Uzumaki-Namikaze. The line next to it is reserved for your maiden name, Haruno." Tsunade said with a smile.

Sakura did so, signing her full name with a small flourish, and smiled a little as she thought 'Sakura Uzumaki-Namikaze… I will admit, it does have a nice little ring to it.'

She looked up at Tsunade and began to speak, "Tsunade-sama, how are we going to get Naruto to agree to this? With the state he is in now, he might be suspicious of our motivations, and we need his actual signature to make this work."

Tsunade shook her head a little.

"We'll worry about that on our way to the hospital." Tsunade said before they both left.