Author's Note: Hey all! There's a change of pace in this chapter, primarily because I made the decision of time-skipping in this one instead of the next (whispers this fic ends next chap). Nevertheless, I'm excited to put forth this one because it introduces most of the major things that'll be covered in the next fic.

Warning for this chapter: Mentions and descriptions of contained violence.

Anyway, read on!

The man before them sat with forced rigidity, pressing his back against the cool metal seat. As he was, with hands tied behind his back, he couldn't even squirm without hurting his shoulders.

Naruto stepped closer to the captive, eyes shining with a cold fury that rarely showed. Black markings climbed the ninja's seated form, scarring his tanned body from foot to neck. The dark tendrils came to a halt at the man's sternum and lingered there–threatening and warning him to not do anything out of line.

"Why?" The blond hissed the question he'd asked twice already.

The shadowed lines tightened around the man's neckline, lightly cutting off his air supply. The shinobi held Naruto's intense, questioning gaze before he looked downwards, struggling to breathe. He still could get some oxygen to his lungs, but just barely, and he was well aware it would only get worse the longer he refused to provide the information they were asking of him.

"Was p-paid," he forced out and was immediately rewarded some reprieve from the firm choking. He hungrily took in a few long inhales before another question was directed at him from the other person in the large, bare grey room.

"Who are you?"

"Daichi," he answered truthfully, his resolve to remain tight-lipped cracking under the all too real threat the two shinobi before him posed.

Shikamaru made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat, "Which village are you affiliated with?"

"I'm not," he lied. Instantly, his bicep was gripped by the blond and hot, burning chakra scorched his arm. He tried to pull away but to no avail. The heat stopped, and he understood this was just a taste of what he would have to withstand if this interrogation stretched on.

He gulped, "Iwa."

Naruto sighed through his nose, not at all surprised by this turn of events.

He glanced at Shikamaru whose eyes were locked with their mentor's who was observing the proceedings through the glass box located at the top right of this unit.

The Nara turned to him, considering something before his entwined hands detangled and the shadows retreated till they vanished completely. He nodded at him and silently headed for the door at the far end.

Naruto faced Daichi again, the relief was painfully drawn across his features even as his forehead creased with a sweaty frown.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he said blandly, a plain smile to go with it before he too swiftly walked out the door, locking it shut.

"That was intense," he announced the moment he met up with Shikamaru again, who was seated on one of the small, uncomfortable stools lining the dull corridor.

"Tell me about it," the Nara muttered, shifting so he could look at Naruto.

"We've got, like, two minutes before Inoichi comes looking for us. Wanna hide in the storage rooms again?"

Shikamaru gave him a wavering grin, still a bit shaken up with the torture he'd had to inflict -- despite the mildness of it, despite the necessity of it.

"Nah," he stayed seated, and Naruto joined him after a moment. "Let him mother us today. I think we deserve it."

The blond hummed, his shoulder pressed flush against the other boy's. "True. We did it, though. We passed."

"Well," Shikamaru responded, some of the dismay leaving his eyes as he looked forward to what this meant for them. "That is true. I'm napping the whole day tomorrow for celebration."

"Not a bad idea," Naruto said, one leg crossing over the other as he leaned back towards the wall. "But how about something more... frisky?"

Snorting, Shikamaru shut his eyes as he shook his head. "I don't associate myself with this adjective."

"Come on," Naruto insisted. "Besides, you promised to give me a tour of the Nara forest and it's still unfulfilled."

"I'll think about it," Shikamaru responded, a small smile tugging at his lips and the two lapsed into comfortable silence.

Naruto rolled around the information he'd received in the last hour. Daichi, though ultimately harmless, posed a threat to Konoha's internal security. The shinobi had managed to infiltrate Konoha's medical force and had acquired alot of information about the current political situation of their village. He didn't doubt that the man had successfully relayed most of that intel to the Tsuchikage–that nosy old man never knew when to stop poking around.

Suffice to say, Itachi's public re-enrollment into the shinobi corps must've reached Iwa and knowing how anal they were, Tsunade was sure to receive some strongly worded letters about accepting a previously rogue nin (that was monstrously powerful) into their forces again.

Another thing to consider was Iwa's awareness about the Akatsuki. Naruto knew the Tsuchikage had used the group's services quite a few times before and if his estimations were right, this was about the time the kage started gaining Akatsuki's attention. Which meant that if he were to receive any leads about Obito's movements, it was there–in Iwa.

"My boys!" Inoichi's enthusiastic yell drew their attention and Naruto immediately launched away from his stool lest Inoichi's arms wrap around him in a very paternal hug.

Shikamaru, though, wasn't as fortunate when it came to quick reactions and tolerated Inoichi's tough love with resigned amusement.

"That's it," the Nara said once he sensed the embrace getting too long and firmly pushed the T and I Head away who took it in stride, a smirk dancing on his lips.

"But I haven't even shown the full extent of my overflowing pride yet," Inoichi lamented. "How about some barbeque tonight. My treat?"

"Count me in," Naruto retook his seat. "I am already quite hungry."

"That's the spirit!" Inoichi clapped his hands. "Shikamaru?"

The Nara took an unnecessarily long pause before agreeing to the planned dinner.

"So," Inoichi's face grew severe, steel entering in his tone. "That was an interesting session. Quite the information we received, wouldn't you say?"

Briefly, they all acknowledged Ibiki who'd silently joined the small group before Shikamaru spoke up.

"We're gonna get alot of shit from the other villages if Iwa let's Itachi's reinstatement out. He was spotted several times, doing odd crimes around while he was undercover. Not to mention, he's considered an inter-village enemy."

"What's our coverstory?" Naruto inquired. "Are we gonna confess that konohan elders staged the massacre?"

Inoichi eyed the two of them for a bit before he decided to share a little of what he knew.

"Yes. Honesty would do us all some good. Besides, Danzo's dead. Hotaru and Koharu are kicked off their esteemed positions. Lord Third is, for all intent and purposes, forced into retirement–which works in our favour. He can no longer be scrutinized for his prior errors."

"Nice," Naruto commented before deciding to change the topic. "Jiraiya-san's coming back tomorrow, isn't he?"

It was Ibiki who nodded, handing a slip of paper to Naruto.

"Yes, he's due to return tomorrow," the man's voice was gruff as ever but months of familiarity had showed Naruto that there was more to Ibiki than unyielding indifference. "Read that. Apparently, the man wanted this to be a surprise. Hence, he didn't use his beloved toads."

Naruto accepted the parchment with some apprehension. Surprises, when they came to his idiot master, were rarely a good thing.

However, when his eyes scanned the words, a delighted grin overtook his face.

We're going to train you at Mt. Myoboku first.

It's time I passed on your father's legacy to his rightful successor.

He skimmed over the rest of unimportant catching up the Toad sage deemed to share with him in very tiny handwriting -- given the note was barely the size of his palm

His gaze landed on the scribble by the end, and he thanked his lucky stars for Jiraiya's impeccable judgement as a spy-master.

Gotta get you a new identity too. Afterall, there's no other way we can get into Iwa.

His mind wandered to Daichi and he thought it was only fair they do this. The notion coaxed another anticipatory smile on his face and that was when he finally noticed the conversation going on around him.

"--they're way too eager to get their hands on you," Inoichi expressed, waiting to see Shikamaru's reaction.

"I don't mind that," the boy said flippantly. "I've always wanted to join the Analysis Team, or did you forget why I joined TI in the first place?"

"Hang on," Ibiki advised, pulling two chairs by the corner so the two adults could sit on them. The whole passageway was secured by metal doors on both ends so they were assured this conversation wasn't going to be intruded upon. "You've not even heard what Inoichi has to say yet."

"Cool," Shikamaru shrugged, turning his attention towards their Head. "Carry on, what do you want from me?"

"Tell me..." Inoichi's gaze switched to Naruto then back to Shikamaru. "Do you think you were a good interrogator back there?"

"Yes," the Nara responded without hesitation. "I got the information out, didn't I?"

"We did," Naruto corrected with a roll of his eyes but Inoichi didn't seem to concerned about team spirit at the moment.

"Exactly," the Yamanaka said. "You know your jutsu has excellent potential in this department. You don't even have to cross that line towards gory torture. Intimidation and a taste of what those shadows can do–and I've no doubt the poor bastards are gonna spill their guts out. You saw it happening today yourself."

"Alright," Shikamaru replied. "I can agree my clan jutsu is effective here. But I still don't know where you're getting at."

"Stay here," Inoichi said simply. "Continue working at the T and I."

Shikamaru raised a surprised brow at that and Naruto voiced the thought the both were thinking at the moment.

"You wanna train him to be the next Head."

Inoichi shrugged, unrepentant that his motives were clear as day. He wasn't trying to be subtle about this anyway.

"Precisely," he responded. "You two are way too smart to for me to beat around the bush here. Ino's not even interested in T and I. She's going to be on a need-basis. Only to use the mind arts if we're short on Yamanakas. But she's chosen her specialization–genjutsu and I'm already out of candidates. So, you."

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his temples. It wasn't that he disliked the T and I. Quite the opposite, actually. He'd learned alot of useful things here and he knew he'd just scratched the surface. He liked the atmosphere of T and I as well. It wasn't a hustling force, most members had weekly assignment and limited hours of work beyond which they were only called in for rare emergencies. Everyone here sought information, knew the importance of knowledge and Shikamaru could relate with that very well.

But becoming this department's head wasn't what he'd dreamt for himself. That, however, didn't mean that the idea had no appeal to it.

"I'll consider it," he finally replied, shooting Inoichi a dry look when the man beamed at him as if he'd agreed already.

"We've got a way to sweeten the deal actually," Ibiki said, nudging Inoichi to stop smiling like a fool. "You can be an employee of both departments if you like. Hybrid worker. We've got a few of those around. Three days of work under each department, one day off. How's that sound?"

"Definitely sweet," Shikamaru replied, and it truly was. This was an arrangement that he could definitely see himself in -- best of both worlds, so to speak. He turned towards Naruto to see the boy's opinion of it and got an encouraging squeeze on his arm as a reply.

"Great," Inoichi chirped, getting up. "You think about. Get me your decision in two days time, alright? In the meanwhile, let's go have some food."

Naruto stood up, rolling his shoulders and pulling Shikamaru to his feet.

"How heavy is your wallet today?" he asked midly, as the four made their way towards the exit.

"Very," Inoichi looked dubiously at the blond. "Why?"

"Because I plan to make it very light by the end of this dinner."

Inoichi paled.

"You're focusing on thinking about it too much."

Sasuke paid half a mind to Itachi's gentle teachings and focused on the incoming kunais, predicting their trajectories.

His eyes blazed crimson under the sun, pupils moving rapidly to catch sight of any and all incoming projectiles.

He let his mind get blunt this time, following the instincts borne solely out of the input his bloodline provided and moved gracefully, weaving in and out of the line of fire as he caught each kunai. He suffered some minor cuts but he successfully caught and dropped every weapon thrown his way–if he had to hazard a guess, he did this for atleast a hundred and fifty kunais.

"You're getting better," Itachi praised, a small smile evident on his face.

Sasuke ducked his head, redoing the bandages along his right wrist that had come undone sometime during the exercise. He cut off the chakra pull towards his eyes and blinked to get settled with the dull vision again. He was getting more and more used to the constant changes in his level of perception.

"I know," he murmured. "Kakashi's been training me."

Itachi silently fell in step beside him as the two brothers walked back to their apartment.

"How's administration treating you?" Sasuke asked, side-glancing Itachi. "Got bored of it yet?"

"No. It's quite pleasant actually," Itachi answered in a quiet voice, thinking back to the peace, monotony and passivity of pushing papers around, drawing up schedules, listing and attending important meetings. He didn't mind the inaction of his job. On the contrary, he preferred it. "Besides, Shizune-san keeps me company and so do Izumo and Kotetsu. They're a lively bunch."

Sasuke regarded his brother with open curiosity. They hadn't had much time for idle conversation these last few months. He'd been pulled back into a cycle of training and missions and he wouldn't want it any other way but that meant he couldn't interact with Itachi often. They went for a few dinners whenever they were both home, and he'd sparred a handful of times with the other Uchiha too but they were few and far between.

"The ANBU approached me for recruitment," he said abruptly. He felt the need to share this with Itachi for some reason. "They want you back too, they said. You will never come back, though, will you?"

The lines on Itachi's face tightened and he halted their walk, breathing deeply.

"Never," he confirmed. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke waited for Itachi to articulate his thoughts and digested the fact that his brother wouldn't ever use his strength at the forefront again. Atleast not unless it was absolutely necessary and some part of him was happy for Itachi–glad that his brother was finally getting his break from violence that he'd always despised.

A tornado of subtle expressions breezed past Itachi's pale visage before the man locked eyes with Sasuke.

"Be careful, little brother."

That's all he said before he started walking again, assured that Sasuke would be right beside him sooner or later.

Sakura coiled her fist backwards, swinging it forward with as much momentum she could gather. She could see her opponent's foot twisting to her left and knew the Hyuga would dodge the hit if given an escape.

She brought her leg three steps forward, directly in line with Hinata's dodging movement. Instead of faltering, Hinata brought her palm down and struck on Sakura's thigh in one, clean motion.

Unfortunately, she still remained close enough for Sakura's attack to land and both kunoichi ended up on the ground, cradling their bruised parts.

Tsunade tutted from the sidelines, playful in her mockery.

"Seems like you two have a long way to go," she threw two bottles of water towards them which Sakura caught with minimal effort.

"True," she replied, unscrewing the lid. "But we've already come quite a ways too."

Tsunade sighed happily, "This confidence–this is why I love you two girls so much."

Hinata laughed softly, looking at her mentor with respect and fondness. It hadn't been easy–this banter and comfort between them but they'd gotten here after nights of bloodied fists and days of nausea after hours and hours of healing.

"Sensei," she called out. "When will Jiraiya-sama be returning, if you could please tell me?"

Tsunade sat directly on the dirt ground, leaning her elbows on her thighs, cross-legged and utterly content to let her tunic get spoiled.

"A couple days," she replied. "Why?"

Hinata let out a short breath. "Just... just wanted to talk about something."

Tsunade assessed her posture with one look–hunched shoulders, fingers fidgeting with her pants, eyes downturned. Hinata rarely got nervous around her now, so this was definitely unusual. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to force the girl to talk if she didn't want to.

"Alright," she said. "I'll let him know you wanna speak to him once he's back. Now, get up too. Let's start from the top!"

"Hi."

Ino took in the boy's appearance. Then, she turned to give Asuma a look that conveyed just how stupid she thought her teacher was being.

Chouji, bless his soul, stepped forward to accept the hand offered by the thin, oddly dressed guy.

"Hello," he greeted amiably and he was subjected to one of the most fake smiles Ino had ever seen from the boy.

"Why are you so pale?" she asked, shoving her face into the boy's personal bubble without remorse. He seemed completely unaffected by it, though, and blinked at her.

"Less melanin," he offered his response, politely stepping away from Ino's imposing figure.

"Ino," Asuma drawled with exasperation. "Play nice."

"I am," she replied moodily, once again turning here scrutiny-filled gaze towards the boy. "What is your name?"

"Sai," he said, smiling again. "I paint."

"That's nice," Chouji was unfazed by Sai's oddities. "Can I see your work?"

Sai gave him a nod and pulled out a worn sketchbook from his satchel, handing it over to the Akimichi.

"Are you always like this?" Ino asked, looking between Chouji and Sai.

"Like what?" Sai inquired.

"So... fake? "

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ino-san."

Ino huffed, crossing her arms. She didn't know who this Sai person was but her dad and Asuma sensei had informed her that he was once a member of Root. She knew he was a troubled boy most likely and her forceful attempts at getting a reaction out of him hadn't worked so far. She wasn't going to give up so easily though, she had a whole chunin exams to give side by side with Sai. She was sure she'd figure something out.

"Come," she said, turning on her heel. "Let's show you our training grounds."

Naruto laid on his bed, sighing as his muscles relaxed. There was a buzz behind his eyes, his chakra pulling his consciousness inside and he gave into the sensation–opening his eyes to see Kurama's stretched form, awake and alert already.

"Been a while," he said, relaxing in his headspace which looked increasingly pleasant the more time went by. "Got something important to tell me?"

"Hmm," Kurama yawned lazily before his eyes sharpened and he bent till his nose was inches from Naruto's face. "Kukuo and Chomei. They're gonna get targeted soon."

Naruto's eyes widened. He knew those two tailed-beasts were the first to get captured but he thought it happened after he'd returned from his training. This was much earlier than he'd expected.

"Shit," he cursed. "That's a problem."

Kurama made a considering sound deep in his throat before his tail flicked gently.

"I think not," he said. "You, Naruto, have caused ripples. Itachi and Kisame are out of the Akatsuki and Nagato is no doubt agitated about it. His plans must've been hindered–he needs new members. Maybe, he's found them already. Maybe not. But whatever the case, you've got the power to put an end to this all, preemptively, you realise?"

Naruto nodded, his characteristic determination burning brightly in his eyes.

"I know," he said, lips stretching into a grin. "But how about I take a nap before I go around saving the world again?"

The bijuu grinned back, wild and uncaring and so very approving.

"Of course."

Author's Note:

thanks for reading! the last chapter will be posted tomorrow. I appreciate all the comments and support! You guys are great! :))