Author's Note: As for last chapter, I was happy to see that most of those who commented enjoyed the direction I've been taking the story.

Also, those upset with how Naruto's training is coming along, remember that there is still roughly 18 months left before he returns to the village.

Thank you to everyone who left a review! Feel free to leave more! And to those who haven't, consider leaving one! I read them all and any answers you want may very well be answered in the next chapter's 'review answer section.'

Thanks, and I'll see you at the end of the chapter!

Story Stats:

Reviews - 78

Favorites - 175

Followers - 289

Views - 27,892

Chapter 12: My Way of the Ninja

Kakashi, once again, was out spending the majority of his day in front of the memorial stone. Besides going on dangerous missions, this took up the bulk of his life the past year. How the Copy Ninja missed the days when he was directing his cute little Genin squad around. Watching them pull weeds, catch the mischievous cat Tora, painting fences. Oh, how those were the good old days. Now, with all of his down time, the Copy Ninja was alone with his thoughts for most of the day. Somewhere he really did not want to be. From his own Genin team, to the Genin team he mentored... his life was really nothing but miserable failures, wasn't it?

Arriving late at the Valley of the End and not seeing Sasuke anywhere, praying that they had knocked each other out, and he was laying somewhere nearby. Yet, that wasn't to be true. The reality of it ate away at the Jonin every day. Maybe if he had gone a little bit faster, Team 7 would still be together. Though, even then that was probably a pipe dream. Had Sasuke been forced to return to the Leaf against his will, it wouldn't have been pretty for anyone involved. The kid wouldn't just be okay with being permanently confined to the village. The mouth on that boy, Kakashi could imagine him shouting every obscenity in the world, threatening the lives of his fellow ninja. That was how much killing Itachi meant to the raven-haired youth. Ah well, that isn't really something to dwell on.

He's gone.

So is the little blond squirt that always talked about being Hokage. Though, he was gone for many different reasons. Naruto's goal was to get strong enough to bring back his friend from the clutches of Orochimaru. Powerful enough to stand on equal terms with the rogue Uchiha to help him see reason. Still, Kakashi wished the hyperactive knucklehead was currently running through the streets of the Village. As much as his teacher hated to admit it, it made the day more enjoyable.

As for his third student…

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Said man turned his head, to see the little pink-haired girl running in his direction. "Sakura?" Slightly confused that the girl was here. "Don't you have training with Tsunade this day of the week?"

Sakura, whose breath was a tad labored from running across most of the village to find the Copy Ninja, nodded her head swiftly. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I switched my schedule around with Lady Tsunade. Today is your day off, right?"

The Jonin was now giving Sakura his full attention, something that had been reserved for the stone memorial. "Yes. Why, do you need something?" Always ready to help out his students.

"I want you to train me."

There was a sparkle in the young girl's eyes. A sparkle that resembled a certain blond-haired boy that they both knew very well.

"Oh?" This was a surprising development, a faint smile began to tug at the masked Jonin's lips. "Where is this coming from?"

Sakura smiled and reached into her kunai pouch to pull out a familiar orange book. Despite being released earlier that year, it appeared to be weathered, signaling frequent use. "Naruto isn't the only one who is going to get stronger. When he comes back, I'll make sure he knows that! He isn't in this alone!"

Kakashi smiled fully beneath his mask. He instinctively felt his own kunai pouch, a copy of Naruto's book was tucked away with him for similar reasons to Sakura. Normally a laid-back guy, reading that novel inspired him at times where he lacked motivation. Or even, when he lacked the will to continue moving forward. Though, there was only one question he had. "Isn't that why you're training with Lady Tsunade?"

Sakura frowned. "If you don't want to train me, you can just say so…" Her voice was full of dejection. She shouldn't be surprised, when they were Team 7, Naruto, but mostly Sasuke, got most of Kakashi's attention. Sakura always seemed to be the odd girl out.

However, Kakashi was quick to clarify. "No, no. That isn't what I was trying to get at. It's just, with one of the Sannin training you, I didn't think you would want to train with me." It was hard to tell, but there was actually a bit of sadness in the masked shinobi's voice.

Sakura, no longer seeming sad, gave the man a confused look. "Of course I would! I know you can teach me things that even Lady Tsunade can't!"

"Then why did you wait so long to ask me?" If he was being honest, he had been waiting for the kunoichi to ask him to train. Though, with one of the Sannin training her, he felt a little inferior in comparison.

"Well, at first, I asked Lady Tsunade to ramp up our training. Pretty much any time she was free from her Hokage duties, it was to instruct me. It helped a lot. Now that I've gotten it down, I wanted your help with something."

"It? What are you talking about?"

Sakura smirked, and in response, she began to gather chakra into her fist. Then, suddenly, she slammed her fist into the ground.

'CRACK."

The ground cracked and splintered from the overwhelming force, then exploded in a display of rock shards, dust, and dirt.

Kakashi's visible eye went wide, as he watched a tiny, little girl punch a crater into the ground. All the masked Jonin could think of was one person. 'L-Lady Tsunade, what have you done?!'

"So, what do you think?" She asked smugly. The look on the silver-haired Jonin's face was worth it.

"I think I'm going to have to tell the Hokage so she can get this fixed." Kakashi, doing his best to reign in his composure, replied as casually as he could muster. "After all, people are going to be upset that the area around the memorial is… well, you know."

Suddenly realizing where they had been, Sakura's face turned a bright shade of pink. "Oh no! I'm really sorry, Kakashi-sensei! I wasn't thinking!"

The masked teacher just waved it off. "It isn't a big deal. Any half-decent Earth user can have this fixed in no time."

Sakura calmed down, realizing that her sensei was right. She thought for a moment. "Wait, Sensei. You're an Earth Style user, can't you just fix it right now?"

Kakashi clapped his hands together, visible eye curved up which signaled the Jonin smiling beneath his mask. "I don't have time for that, we're going to go start our training right now!" For the first time in a long while, he was in good spirits.

"I think you're just lazy." Despite Sakura's words, she was grinning widely at the prospect of getting one on one training with her mentor.

Kakashi, ignoring those very true words, simply began walking towards one of the other training grounds. They'd caused enough damage here after all. Though, from that display of incredible strength, Sharingan Kakashi had a good idea on what to first teach Tsunade's apprentice.

"So, tell me, Sakura." He began, Sakura following at his side. "Do you know what your elemental affinity is?"

Ino Yamanaka was twirling her hair mindlessly while waiting for another customer to walk through the door. Team 10 had no missions scheduled for that day, so that meant the afternoon consisted of working at the Yamanaka flower shop while her parents were busy doing other things.

It was a slow day, to the point Ino wished more people would start to come in. Being busy was better than being bored from having nothing to do, at least, to her it was.

'Ding!'

Finally.

She looked over at the entrance, assuming that it was some desperate guy getting a last-minute anniversary gift for his girlfriend. But, instead, it was one of her former classmates, and current friends.

"Hinata?" As far as the blonde knew, Hinata didn't come into the shop very often, even when Naruto was still in the village. One could only wonder what the Hyuga heiress wanted.

"H-Hi, Ino." The shy girl greeted, stuttering slightly from embarrassment.

From Ino's perspective, there was nothing to be shy about. She had just walked in the door for crying out loud. What was embarrassing about that?

"What can I do for you, Hinata?" Usually her brash and outspoken self around friends, her parents had conditioned her to always be polite as possible when behind the register. Politeness keeps the customers coming back. Though, when she a little younger that rule was usually broken whenever Sakura came through the door. Forehead girl was the exception.

"Well… I was t-thinking that you could h-help me."

"Sure!" Ino confirmed, mistaking Hinata as a customer. "Who are you buying the flowers for? Naruto isn't here, so it can't be him." Ino was a gossiper first, and an employee second. If something juicy was going on, it was a top priority that she was the first to know about it.

"H-huh?" Hinata questioned.

"Does that mean you're finally over Naruto?!" Ino couldn't believe it, she was sure she'd never see the day that happened. "Is it Kiba?!" That was only one other person that made any sense. Shino was too creepy with all of his bugs for Hinata to be interested in him.

Hinata was starting to get dizzy. Her cheeks turned a flush shade of pink. The heiress has done her best to try and rehearse what she was going to say to the future clan head, but it still came out wrong.

"N-No! You have it all wrong!" She exclaimed. "I'm not here to buy flowers for anyone."

"Oh." Ino frowned slightly. She had been in the need for some good gossip to make the day more exciting. "Well, what did you want?"

Hinata began to twiddle her fingers together. "Well… I was wondering… if you could…" The words were right there at the tip of her tongue, it was saying them that was the problem.

"Spit it out, Hinata." Ino said in her straightforward, but not rude, way. "It's just us here, no need to be shy."

"T-That's what I want you to help me with."

Ino blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I w-want you to help me be more like you." Ino's lack of tact was actually helping the lavender-haired girl get more comfortable with the conversation.

"More like me?" She asked. "You're fine the way you are, Hinata. You don't need to be like me."

Hinata shook her head. "T-That's not what I meant." How could she explain it to her? "I j-just want to… be able to…"

"Talk?" Ino attempted to finish the sentence. Watching the timid Hyuga girl struggle to get out her words helped Ino realize what was being asked of her. "Did you want me to help you with your confidence?"

Hinata's eyes lit up and she began to vigorously nod her head. This was exactly why she needed Ino. The Yamanaka girl was her only friend who could possibly help her with this problem. If Hinata had even half of the blonde's confidence, Naruto wouldn't have been so alone growing up.

Ino smiled. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" She thought about what she said for a moment. "Oh, right. I know why." Chuckling at her realization.

"Can you please help?" Hinata was desperate. Every day, Naruto's return grew closer. Sure, there was still a year and a half left, but in the six months it's been since Hinata had decided to change, not much progress had been made. She tried asking Kurenai, reading books, and even meditating to ease her nerves. Nothing really helped. Ino was her only remaining chance.

"Sure!" Ino exclaimed happily. Not only will she be the center of attention, but she can also help out a friend at the same time. It was perfect.

"R-Really?" While Hinata hadn't expected her blonde friend to say no, hearing the confirmation still made her feel overjoyed.

"Yeah." Ino answered with a nod. The Yamanaka quickly looked over at the clock. It was 3 in the afternoon. "We can start today after I close the shop. Can you meet me back here at say, 5? I don't think my parents will mind if I close up a little early today."

Hinata nodded meekly, not expecting their sessions to start so soon. She hadn't mentally prepared herself for that!

"Great! I'll see you then!"

"Thank you so much." Hinata politely bowed and left, Ino waving happily as her friend left the store.

Ino smirked. The day might have been boring so far, but things were about to get very interesting…

Sage and student stepped off the boat, and onto a hard, wooden dock. Neither ninja wearing their headbands to help avoid being recognized. They took in deep breaths, the air was thick and dense with mist.

The mist was so heavy, that it was very difficult to see past a few dozen feet, the light from the sun hanging overhead did little to penetrate through. It reminded the blond of his team's battles with Zabuza and Haku. A soft smile appeared on his face. They were missed, even though they started out as enemies.

Interestingly enough, the normally vibrantly dressed Genin was wearing something a little different. Very similar to Kakashi, he was clad in standard Leaf Village infantry attire of dark blue pants and a dark blue long sleeve shirt, minus the green flak jacket. There was even a mask that could be pulled up to cover his face at a moment's notice to hide his trademark whiskers. Jiraiya had emphasized, that if they were operating stealthily, bright orange would get them both caught.

"Thank you so much for your help." Jiraiya said as he tossed a bag of coins at the commercial fisherman.

The man caught the bag and gave a swift nod. "No one can know I was here, got it?"

"Of course." The Sage said as he watched their driver get back into his vessel.

"Let's go." Naruto implored. As far as he was concerned, they were here to do one thing, nothing else mattered.

The boat ride had been torturous for the young Genin. After being told that one of the culprits behind what happened to his friends was identified, he didn't know what to truly think. Was anger the correct emotion to feel? He was angry, but was it at the Akatsuki, or this man? After thinking it over during the trip, it was clear that they were both worthy of his rage. Though, he did not currently possess enough power to exact revenge on the S-Class criminal organization. That would have to wait.

Then, there came another dilemma swirling in the boy's mind. Was revenge truly the right answer? His best friend, Sasuke, had lost himself to that overwhelming feeling of anger and hatred. How could he, the person that was trying to save the Uchiha from the desire for revenge, follow the same path? Wouldn't that be the definition of hypocrisy? Yet, it was more complicated than that. The blond just had no idea what he would do with all of this rage and despair he was feeling. It was eating away at him a little more every day.

'I think I finally understand you a little, Sasuke." Thoughts bitter from the realization that at their destructive battle at the Final Valley, he truly did not understand what the lone Uchiha was going through. Maybe if he had, the result would have been different. There was no way to tell. 'When I see this guy, I'll decide what I'm going to do.'

Jiraiya glanced over at his student. "I was thinking we should gather a little information before we do anything rash." The infiltration expert tried to reason with the young boy.

"What is there that we need to know? Besides, the things I want to know… I'm going to have him tell me himself."

"I get that you're angry, Naruto, but we have to think this through." The Sannin wasn't used to seeing his Godson like this. Whether or not it was warranted was irrelevant, it just wasn't like him.

Their eyes clashed, and Jiraiya was surprised by the fierceness of those blue orbs. "I've been thinking this through for months. Since that day… though, when I pictured it in my head, it was with those Akatsuki bastards."

The Sage felt uneasy, like a pit was forming in the bottom of his stomach. "Can we just go over everything we know so far?"

Naruto didn't reply, signaling he obliged with his master's request.

"After searching for months, my informant was able to locate the collection office that the one named Kakuzu went to. After interrogating the man who operated it, we were able to find the guy who placed the bounty on your friend Tazuna." Jiraiya paused, recalling what he had read on the scroll the messenger toad delivered. "Though, the man who actually put the hit out was a proxy. It looks like the real guy went to great lengths to hide his identity."

"He must be important." Naruto spat. Of course, people with power always want to keep those without it from prospering. He had seen enough of that in Wave.

"You're exactly right. My spy 'politely' convinced this proxy to tell us about his boss." Loyalty and a big paycheck go out the window when a person's life is on the line.

"And?"

"The guy's name appears to be Jaaku Monsuta, a high ranking government official here in the Land of Water."

"I don't get it." Naruto said. "Why would someone like that care about Tazuna and the Land of Waves?"

"I don't know if it's relevant, but from what I remember, Gato Company operated out of the Land of Water." Jiraiya stated.

"What? I thought it was out of the Land of Waves?" Naruto questioned.

His teacher shook his head in disagreement, long white hair flowing wildly behind him. "Waves was one of Gato's many… ventures. The actual company did most of its business out of the Land of Water. Gato Company did a lot of illegal drugs and weapons smuggling mostly, by sea. It would make sense to do business in the nation that holds the world's largest port system." The Land of Water, being an island, relies heavily on importation and exportation, making expansive ports and docks a necessity.

Naruto nodded, understanding the logic behind the man's words. "I don't know if it is relevant, but I'll make sure he tells me everything we need to know."

The Toad Sage eyed his Godson cautiously. The way the boy was talking, Jiraiya wondered if this was a good idea. Sure, the kid needs help moving past this, but was this the way to do it? Jiraiya saw what revenge did to the blond's former teammate, maybe exposing him to this was a bad idea?

"Kid, I was thinking that I should be the one to go in and do the talking. You can come along with me, but this is my specialty, after all."

No, this would not do. It had to be him; he was the one that lost everything. "Sensei, please. Let me go in alone. I can do this." His voice wasn't angry like the middle-age man was expecting. It was sad, pleading.

This decision was agonizing! What was the right choice? Looking into the boy's eyes, he no longer saw anger and hatred. Had he imagined that? All Jiraiya saw was a lost child who wanted answers. Maybe, then, letting the boy go in alone was the correct choice?

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" The Sannin asked slowly. "You don't have to do this alone, you know?"

They locked eyes and the Genin made it clear that he wanted this more than anything. In his mind, this was all his fault. The raid on Wave, the deaths of his friends, none of it would have happened if he hadn't to visit them. If anyone was going to make this right, it was going to be him.

Jiraiya let out a sigh. 'Great Lord Elder, I hope this is the right way.'

"Okay… I'll let you go in." As the words came out, he almost wished he could take them back.

Naruto let out a deep breath he didn't even realize was being held in. Thank goodness.

"Just know this, kid. I'll have clones right outside the windows, and on top of the building itself. And I won't be far behind, either. If things go sour, we leave immediately. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto agreed enthusiastically.

Now it was Jiraiya's turn to exhale, again. Had he made the right choice?

…

The spacious room appeared to be some kind of library. They were countless hardcover books being held up by expensive-looking mahogany shelves built into the walls. There were no windows, which was the perfect excuse he could give the guards so they wouldn't interrupt his personal time.

Jaaku Monsuta smiled as he sat in a very luxurious chair with a book in hand. This was a rare occurrence; he was a very busy man. After all, someone with the power he had usually had a full schedule. Sure, he wasn't a Feudal Lord or the Mizukage, but that wasn't the end all be all in this world. Monsuta governed the Land of Water's richest and most influential port town. Located on the western side of the nation, most of the goods that came from the Land of Fire and Land of Wind ended up there.

And just recently, things have been starting to get even better. The bounty he thought was never going to get cashed in was a smashing success. Though, having to deal with that scary man in the black and red robes was not something he would want to do again. Yet, sometimes you have to do undesirable things when working with the criminal underworld.

After Gato and dozens of hired thugs were driven back by the villagers, and by an alleged team of strong ninja, it seemed no one had been willing to take the bounty. Jaaku had thought about raising the price, but it would have had to come out of his own pocket. The Land of Water higher ups kept a tight watch over the town's budget, and if a large sum of money suddenly went missing, they would have been all over him.

Now that the pesky bridgebuilder was taken care of, hiring mercenaries to blow up that bridge would be no problem. Due to the wealth the small nation had gained in such a short amount of time, blowing up the bridge would yield little result as long as the master bridgebuilder was alive. They had the money to simply build a new one, along with the expertise of the master contractor. Though, the cost of that demolition job would have to come out of his own pocket, which would likely come at a much higher price than a bounty for an old man. Through taking bribes, and other illegal activities for these 6 long months, he almost had enough.

Then, things could go back to the way they were…

'Creak.'

That was odd. That sounded like it was coming from above his head?

Looking up, and before Jaaku knew what was happening, he was violently thrown to the ground.

"Oof!" He grunted out as his head forcibly bounced off of the spotless hardwood flooring.

Before the Government leader could fully recover, a knee was shoved into his gut with so much force he almost passed out from the shock. He sucked in air at a furious pace, face going red from the strain.

"Don't make too much noise." The person now leaning over him warned in a low whisper. "If any of your guards come in here, all they are going to find is a body."

The politician's blood ran cold at the chilling declaration. Regaining his breath, and sight now fully returning to the downed man, Jaaku laid eyes on the mysterious assailant.

Striking blue eyes, unusual blond spiky hair, and… a body the size of a child?

"Shh." The intruder held a finger up to his masked lips.

All Monsuta could do was nod his head in understanding. Quiet, he would be. This person was a child, but that knee strike told him a very important fact that appearances never could. This child was a shinobi.

"Y-you can take anything you want." The man whispered shaky words. "P-Please don't hurt me."

The masked shinobi didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached into his leg pouch and swiftly pulled out a sharp kunai, swirling in his hand for good measure. Before speaking, the blond brought the blade to his hostage's neck.

"Why did you do it?" Naruto asked.

Jaaku looked at his attacker, confused by the vagueness of the question. Though with a sharp blade pressed firmly against his neck, he was terrified of saying the incorrect thing. The man had done a lot of… questionable things in his career, there was no telling what this assassin was talking about. "D-Do what?" He asked for clarification.

"Tazuna! You had him killed!" He spat as the kunai was pressed even harder against the skin, drawing a slight amount of blood. Though the volume of his words wasn't loud, the Leaf shinobi said it with deathly venom.

The downed man's eyes widened. How did this child know about that? He was very careful to make sure it never got back to him. The official's mind was racing at the possibilities.

"Tell me why you did it. And a little bit of advice before you speak, don't lie." Those words, they promised pain if they were ignored.

Jaaku took in a deep breath to slow down his heart rate. Maybe if he told this boy everything, he would be allowed to live? That was the only way he saw himself getting out of this situation alive.

"The bridgebuilder?" The which the blond nodded stiffly. "It was to correct Gato's mistake."

"What do you mean? What does Gato have to do with any of this? He's dead."

"Gato and I, we had an agreement. I allowed him to operate through my ports, but at a cost. A little kickback my way, if you will." That's when the desperate politician got an idea. "H-Hey! I-I'm extremely wealthy! If you let me go, I'll give you so much money you can retire from being a ninja today! I promise!" The money that was supposed to be for the bridge demolition, he would gladly give it up in exchange for his life being spared.

Naruto was disgusted by this rat that was trying to scurry its way out of trouble. Taking a deep breath, the youth calmed himself. There was more information they needed. Right now, he was more valuable alive than dead.

"If you and Gato were so rich working together, why did you target the Land of Waves? It was a poor nation, I'm sure you didn't make much money off of exploiting its people." The Genin could easily just end this man's life. But something was eating away at him. Why? Why were people like this? What kind of twisted justification could a person have that would make them commit such horrible atrocities? Naruto had to know.

Seeing that the bribe had no effect, the greedy politician kept answering the questions. "T'That bridge. I feared that once that bridge was built, it would affect my trading ports. The Land of Waves was poor, yes, but once that bridge was constructed, trade began to prosper there. Merchants that would normally trade directly with us at the ports in the Land of Fire, traded with Wave first, instead. Wave would purchase all of their goods, and then sell them to us at our ports for a marked up price."

It was true, due to the geographical position of the Land of Waves, it being directly between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, it was in the perfect position to be the middle-man for the two countries. However, due to the Leaf Village's heroics in Wave, the two nations became allies, along with the Land of Wind by way of their allegiance with the Land of Fire. This offer did not extend to the Land of Water, meaning that this new way of trading benefited everyone except them. Jaaku saw this as a form of illegal collusion between sovereign nations, and decided to use force to break it up.

Naruto was seething with anger. He did his best to give this monster the benefit of the doubt, hoping that it was just some giant misunderstanding somehow. But no, it was what he thought. This was over something as superficial as money.

The politician saw the look in the assassin's eyes, and quickly tried to defend himself. "Y-You have to understand! I was thinking about the people of my Land! These people love and depend on the goods that come from the Land of Fire and Wind! Our nation, it's bound by water! Our resources are finite, we rely on trade with the other nations! What Wave was doing was unethical, and it raised the prices of imported goods for my nation's people."

This weasel was pushing the blond boy to his limit. "You're… going to play the victim card? You bled that poor nation dry, and then killed innocent people because it was hurting your bottom line! You act like it was for your nation, but that isn't the whole truth. You're a greedy little rat. You teamed up with Gato to line your own pockets, and once the Land of Waves starting growing, you felt threatened."

"Yes, t-that is true, but it helped out me and my nation's people!" "P-Please, I beg you! Let me live! I only wanted to serve my country!" The politician was now sobbing hysterically. Usually, he could talk his way out of any situation with his charm and charisma. But this situation was different, he could really die here! "I don't want to die!"

Naruto was surprised how genuine he sounded. Where his people so important that he would so easily damn the lives of others? "Your people wouldn't have starved. Instead of sharing the wealth so everyone can live happily, you tried to hog it all for yourselves." The boy spat.

Initially, he had come here to exact sweet revenge for Tazuna, Inari, Tsunami, and everyone in Wave. They deserved it. However, Sasuke and his yearning for revenge crossed his mind once again. Witnessing Sasuke abandon the village for a wanted criminal to gain enough power to exact revenge on his brother, it put this whole situation in a different perspective. Could he corrupt himself in the name of anger? Should he give into the rage and bloodlust he was feeling? Would that truly solve his problems? No. After meeting Monsuta, the boy had made up his mind. Naruto refused to kill this man out of anger and revenge.

Yet, watching this sniveling little weasel cry over his own pathetic life and his nation's people made something in Naruto snap. It was nearly impossible to explain, but it was almost as if another Naruto took control of his body and he was watching himself from inside his own mind. Then, all of a sudden, he was back in control. Despite that, something felt off; different. Strange. Everything was clear. His mind no longer had a thick fog hanging over it; something that he had been feeling for quite a long time now. It was like he could finally see.

Talking to this corrupt monster led the Genin down a different path than he was expecting. Jaaku talked about the national interests of his country and citizens. Yet, those interest caused innocent people to die. Why? Why must a nation only act in the best interests of its people, and forsake those who aren't? Every person should matter the same, regardless of national ties. And those who would willingly corrupt the entire world and kill innocents for the sake of themselves and their own nation must…

"Die."

Before Jaaku Monsuta was ever aware of what was going on, his throat was viciously slashed by the sharp blade of Naruto's kunai. Thick, red blood began spewing in every direction. Instinctively, he brought his hands up to attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was futile. The wound was far too severe, red liquid was flowly freely between the gaps of his fingers.

The politician attempted to let out a horrendous scream to alert his guards, or anyone to save him from this fate, but before he could the blond placed one of his hands tightly over the mouth of the victim.

"Shh." Holding a now bloody finger to his masked lips.

Eyes widened in utter horror, body erratically kicking in very direction, terrified that his death was drawing near, yet the only sound he could muster was a gargling, muffled cry for help. It was torturous to be completely at the mercy of another human being. There was nothing he could do.

Yet, the irony was that was how Jaaku and Gato made the Land of Waves feel everyday for years.

Naruto smiled eerily behind his dark-blue mask. "Your death will help purge the world, at least a little."

A moment after the slash was made, Jaaku Monsuta stopped moving. Eyes now rolled back into his head; body completely limp. It was clear, he was dead.

Naruto stared down at his first kill as a ninja with dead, emotionless eyes. There were stories that a shinobi's first kill was the most difficult. That when someone so young takes another's life, they can suffer from terrible nightmares for weeks, or months. Ninja may try their best to lose their humanity, but as Zabuza said it best, they always fail.

Yet, Naruto felt nothing staring at the man he deemed a parasite to the world. He searched his heart and came up empty handed. Did that make him a bad person? He didn't know. That determination doesn't really mean anything. It was what was best for the world, and that was all that mattered.

Standing up, the boy dropped the kunai with a loud 'clang'! Sure enough, seconds later there was a set of footsteps running in the direction of the library. Swiftly, he got behind where the door would be opening.

Just a moment later, the large oak door busted open to reveal one of the guards that were stationed down the hall. Naruto had passed him on the way in, he recognized the man. The sentinel gasped audibly as he laid eyes on the lifeless body of the Governor.

"H-how did this happen?!" The guard shouted as he dropped down to one knee in the middle of the room to check his boss' pulse.

From the look of it, this guy wasn't a ninja. 'Perfect.' Naruto thought to himself as he silently moved out from behind the door and, unbeknownst to the guard, slipped into the hallway that he came in through.

Just as he turned a corner at the end of the hall, the sentry burst from the room. "We have a security breach! Lord Monsuta has been murdered! Lockdown, no one leaves!"

Naruto shook his head. Coming this far, there was no way they were going catch him. With one leap, he crashed through a nearby third story window leading outside. Landing on a tall tree, he jumped onto a nearby roof and sped away.

Gone before any guards had any clue what had happened.

Update: Due to a few reviews I received, I thought I would clarify something. No, Naruto is not going to become an edge try not to jump to conclusions, as this is not the end of His character progression (not even close). I've written 30+ more chapters since this came out and can confirm he's not the murderer he looks like in this chapter. Thank you.

Author's Note: I have a request, hear me out. Please, if you were to only leave one review during the entirety of my story, let me know what you thought about this chapter and Naruto's decision.

I ask that because this was honestly a joy for me to write. Truly, I hoped you liked it as much as I did.

There was a lot of build-up to this, and a lot of things had to change for it to happen. This is such a big event, because Naruto has never killed anyone in the Naruto manga.

Sakura and Hinata. Using Naruto's book as a form of inspiration, these two are undergoing transformations of their own. They will not be OOC any time soon, but there will b some gradual stuff.

As for Jaaku, I won't be making OC's very often, but I believe this is a necessary one. Gato did not run a nation, and he was one of the richest men in the world well before taking over Wave, so it only makes sense that his company operated out of one of these nations. LoW probably has a massive port system, and he could've been dealing with someone high up in LoW. Thus, Jaaku Monsuta was born.

Thank you for reading, and I will hopefully see you back next time for Chapter 13: Change.

Radeisth - When you say 'all of that time on a single technique', this instance was a bit different than in canon. Naruto had stalled out in his training and was making no progress anywhere. If he had been working on multiple techniques at once, nothing would have changed. So far, his strength, speed, taijutsu, and Rasengan have all made huge improvements. He is also beginning the basics of learning seals (just some light reading so far). I would say that is already much better than his canon counterpart, and there are still 18 MONTHS left. There is plenty of time.

Also, I never said he no longer had any interest in writing, not sure where you got that idea from. If you're wondering why he didn't write in the time since he last did, he's been busy having a continuous mental breakdown for the better part of 6 months.

rswknight - I completely agree and I am so happy some people see it the same way as I do. I was worried that readers would be turned off by a story without constant action, but I decided to ignore those thoughts and write what I wanted to write.

As for pairings, I'm undecided.

ThelittleKing - Tell me, what did you think about what Naruto did? I am insanely interested, as it does directly conflict with the beliefs of canon Naruto. There is nothing wrong with an edgy character, as long as his actions and beliefs are justified and understandable. Edgy for the sake of being edgy is undesirable to me personally.

I felt it was necessary that he would have trouble getting stronger considering where his mind was at. Imagine trying to study for a test when you have a million things going through your mind and you only got a couple of hours of sleep the night before. Sounds impossible, right? That was how Naruto was for months.