The Fox & The Tiger

by MosesOchoa8

When the Head Jonin comes for the peace treaty, his partner notices a boy and is intrigued. The two go after the boy who is oddly alienated rather than the Hyuga Heiress.

23. Bonds

The Fox And The Tiger

Bonds

---

After being dragged through the gates, Naruto looked amongst a large crowd that was gathered for their arrival. They were told that there would be a festival but this was a surprise. Naruto walked in slowly and stood beside Omoi and Rin. "Huh, guess they all wanted to see the Raikage's return eh?"

Omoi looked over at Naruto and shook his head. "They wouldn't be holding that banner if that was the case." He said pointing ahead.

Naruto looked and was shocked. In massive letters he saw "Congratulations Naruto!". He was dumbfounded and blinked a few times. "Can't be."

Omoi only smiled and so did everyone else. The crowd then began to cheer and clap as Naruto got pushed to the front by Samui and Karui. Seeing everyone clap and call his name, his heart began to race and he glanced rapidly among them. He tried to take a step back but bumped into something. Turning to look, he saw A and B behind him, blocking him from backing away.

"Yo, Naruto! These people here for you, fool, ya fool!" B said pushing him back ahead and they all began walking as Naruto led the group now.

As they made their way through, they split apart, forming a path for the group, and continued cheering. Naruto began to smile slightly and as the final few began to split away, he saw Kira and Trey standing at the end with a smile. It all seemed impossible to be real and yet, it was. No one had fear for him or anything. Instead, they celebrated his arrival when before it would have been different.

Walking up to the two, Kira hugged him tightly and rocked him side to side as she did so. "Good job, Naruto. You did amazing!"

"Sure did, Kiddo. You're gonna have to come down by the shop soon." Trey also held a box but didn't say anything of it yet.

Giving a nod to Trey, Naruto turned around and saw that A was smirking. "I guess now is good time as any, every competitor has received a promotion!" Allowing an applause to begin he waited a minute before looking to Naruto. "However, Naruto, you are hereby promoted to Jonin!"

Every single person clapped but Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked at A. "You're kidding right? We were being tested to be Chunin..."

Laughing A walked to him and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Doesn't mean you didn't show enough to be promoted as such! Besides, there's ninja who've made Jonin even younger than you."

Naruto didn't argue and was gestured to look back to Trey. Receiving the box, he opened it and noticed something white, taking it out, it was the single strapped vest of Kumo that had golden trim. Looking up at Trey, he noticed the proud smile he wore and same with Kira. In fact, as he looked around some more, everybody seemed to be proud of this and of him. It made a stirring in his stomach and chest that he wasn't used to and it felt weird...but good.

"Thank you." He finally managed to say.

Noticing the mood being stagnant A chuckled and brought his arms up. "ISN'T THERE A FESTIVAL YOU ALL SHOULD BE GOING TOO?"

Immediately everybody got out of their stupor and cheered as they ran to the district that got decorated and set up for the festival. After giving Naruto a nod, both A and B left in a puff of smoke, Darui shook his hand with a smile before also leaving in smoke. Now the newly made Chunin remained along with Kira and Trey being behind him.

"So you're a Jonin now, Naruto." Rin said with a smirk.

"Appears that way." Running a hand through his hair he sighed. "A lot has happened lately."

"Sure has." Omoi said as they all had to nod in agreement.

"But hey...you all have been made Chunin too so..."

"Will you ever not deflect attention or praise?" Samui said as she tilt her head slightly.

"Seriously. Just accept it for once." Yugito said shaking her head at him. "Or I'll beat you up."

Naruto chuckled. "Regardless, I just never felt deserving. Still don't."

"Well, maybe if you stop being such a stubborn ass and fight from the jump, the mess we all get into at your amusement would be unnecessary." Rin said laughing but it was obvious he held some seriousness in his statement.

"You talk to me about holding back? You two never even used the new Jutsu you guys learned with Darui-sensei before the finals!" Naruto said as he crossed his arms, vest still held in his right hand and closing his eyes. It made him look rather dignified.

Seeing that made them all laugh a bit before looking at Rin and Yugito. "What new Jutsu?" Karui said.

Naruto smirked and turned quietly to begin to sneak off before Kira grabbed him by the hood and yanked him to her. "Not so fast, Naruto. You won't get away that easily haha!"

"And I would have gotten away with it too..." Naruto said with narrowed eyes and a frown. "Anyways, how about we get to this festival?"

"Ah ah, you're forgetting something." Yugito said before pointing to his vest in hand.

"Come on, do I have to? We're just trying to relax...the reality of being a Jonin can wait until later."

"Not this time. You're the first out of us to be Jonin, and the only one at the time." She cracked her knuckles and popped her neck.

"You guys were serious? I thought you were all joking with the 'ritual' for making Jonin."

"Nope, now come on. Get over here." Samui said smirking.

"Kira...how about you use that special lightning body flicker that I like so much and get us out of here?"

"Looks to me that you and your friends have made a pact. So, no can do." Kira said as she had a smirk.

"Guys, when I came up with this stupid pact, it was a joke and I never expected to be..."

"First?" Omoi said laughing. "We all agreed."

"I thought you were joking too!" Naruto said waving his hands.

"Well, as creator of the pact, you must follow through." Samui said.

Naruto immediately put his arms down and sighed. "Very well..." Walking over to them he sealed the vest away for a moment. "Let's get this first part over with."

They all encircled him and proceeded to send strikes towards him. Ducking and stepping away from the first, then spinning around behind Yugito, he pushed his hips back and bumped her butt with his, knocking her off balance and jumped over Samui's low kick. Immediately, catching Omoi's fist with his right hand, he leaned his head back to dodge Rin's head kick and began to swing Omoi to the side making him collide with Karui.

Resetting, he got kicked in the middle of the back by Yugito sending him forward where Rin clotheslined him, making him hit the ground hard on his back. Taking advantage, everyone began to kick at him and he grunted in pain before there was a poof of smoke, revealing empty space.

"Woo wee, that was close." Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

Omoi then placed a kunai at Naruto's neck. "You lost me it seems."

"Never, my friend." Naruto said with a kunai pressed against Omoi's back. The Naruto in front of him poofed in smoke.

"We still couldn't beat you, even with their help." Rin said annoyed.

"What did you expect? To attack a single target with so many, it is difficult to do anything. You all haven't fought together so you get in each other's ways. Brief moments where you worked with your usual team, things went better, like Yugito and Rin's combo, but otherwise, it is easy for me to exploit the unfamiliarity that you guys hold with fighting together." Naruto said as he put away the kunai he had been twirling to that point.

"You will lose one day." Karui said.

"It's only natural. No one can always win." Said Naruto with a chuckle. Despite being a true statement, his chuckle made it seem that he himself didn't even believe in what he was saying about himself. A touch of arrogance one could say.

"Well, get the vest on already. We're waiting." Yugito said with a smile.

Extending his arm out, the vest appeared in his hand and he held it before looking over to Kira who nodded. Taking a breath, he put it on and rubbed the vest, touched where it connected over his left shoulder and sighed. "Trey, I'm going to need you to do some stuff to this vest for me."

Laughing Trey nodded. "I already expected such, so come by tomorrow when you're free."

Naruto nodded and stepped forward as he said "Really, getting attacked by everyone at once is a stupid thing."

Yugito laughed and slapped his back before bringing her arm over his shoulders and lowering him slightly to her. "Then what does that make you, being the one who made it?"

Naruto looked over at her and narrowed his eyes. Poking between her ribs making her jump away, he shook his head. "Let's just go."

During the festival, Naruto walked amongst the people for the first time feeling like a regular civilian, regular shinobi, he felt as though he truly belonged. No longer was he trying to create isolation, but amongst his friends, he tried branching out and being an actual part of the village. Not just trying to be in service to the place but now, feeling home. From starting off with two friends in Kira and Trey, to Omoi, then leading to Rin, Karui, Samui, eventually now Yugito. With the support and beliefs from A, B and Darui, he finally looked around and felt whole.

The broken, shattered pieces of himself that were slowly being brought together, now are whole. Being proved time and time again, that his beliefs in himself were wrong and the stubbornness no longer being capable of keeping him weighed down...Naruto now truly could be free and have access to his full potential. The skills and training now can come out to the fullest because it's no longer about just everyone else at the cost of him, but, for everyone with him.

"I really want to be Raikage..." Naruto said quietly to himself. "I...really...enjoy this feeling and...I want more...they believe I can, I'll prove them right." Gripping at where his heart was, he looked to the sky and smiled.

"Everything okay, Naruto?" Yugito said as she noticed him. "What were you saying? Sorry... Omoi was telling the story of your fight with the Hyuga for the thousandth time. He really does fan boy over you a lot!" She said with a laugh.

Looking down from the sky, and smiling at her so wide that all his teeth showed and even closing his eyes, she could see the true happiness in him. The smile not having that lingering sadness nor forced nature as it once had before. It radiated a peaceful and warm aura that made her smile naturally in return.

"Yes. Everything is fine."

She grabbed onto his hand and began pulling him into a run. "Good! Because there's a stand that is selling tempura dragon rolls and you're buying me a couple!"

"Wait. What?" She only laughed and continued pulling him along. "Whatever...being around her, I'm happy..."

"So when are you asking her to a date?"

"Kurama? Now you talk?"

"Remember when I said sleep was great and how you should try it way back then? Yeah, I've still been enjoying its greatness!"

Naruto said nothing and just followed along as Yugito dragged him wherever. The entire festival was fun for them all and it let the stresses of being a ninja fade away. Letting them relish in just joy and entertainment. It made a feeling that things could always be this way, that they'd always be on top of the world in a sense.

That thought alone brought Naruto out of the moment. "I can't let anything happen..."

The next day came and Naruto awoke with an aching stomach. Groaning as he rolled out of bed, he looked up to the mirror and saw how ragged he looked. Standing up and walking over to the mirror, he picked out some rice from his hair. Shaking his head, he went to shower and came out. As he was getting dressed, he sighed, "I need a change of clothes. The hoodie is annoying with the vest."

Yawning and looking at the time he noticed that it was four in the morning, meaning he'd slept for only three hours. Leaving the room, he went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of tea and made a slice of toast before heading down the steps to his library. The Raikage's office wouldn't be open for three more hours, so there was time to kill. Biting the toast and walking around the library, he stopped and took out a scroll that was on the early history of the clan.

"Kurama, if the Uzumaki had knowledge on the Shinigami, is it likely they may have something on the others?"

"Unlikely anything useful. The seal they use for bringing about that bastard is of trade. Other than that, they hold nothing else."

Placing the scroll back, he sighed and sat down with a different one on a seal he hadn't looked at yet. "I still never understood how they crossed planes."

"Simple really. I told you and have shown you how my power is unmatched on 'this' plane. I'm king, I have mentioned that there once was far more than just us nine, and we each had many kin. Matatabi, and Gyuki had many alike them. Varying amounts of strength and ability. These now 'godly' beings came from gathering as many as they possibly could within themselves, gaining more and more power that eventually, being of the physical world was no longer possible without consequence. They left this plane, and entered the ancestral plane. This is a different realm than that of the Pure World or that of Hell, of course, but exists the same way."

"Then there really is a limit to how much power one can have. Well, if that's the case then why place portions of their power within this world?"

"So as to maintain some level of influence in the world."

Looking away from the scroll and to a clock on the far wall, he sighed. "Talking to you really makes time so damn slow..."

"Don't act like your own thoughts slow perception. That's the true reason why you can break things down as you do. Thinking faster than everything around you..."

"Eh, pot, kettle. It's all the same." Rolling up the scroll and setting it in its place, he started walking around the place and into his closet. "Hmmm, jacket, you had your time." He laughed at himself for acting like it was such a big deal and just grabbed a gray t-shirt to put on. Looking at his left arm, he rubbed the dragons before grabbing bandages and wrapping it up.

Tying the headband on, he went to make a real breakfast and left the house. Walking down the steps along the mountain he looked to the rising sun and the empty streets. It was extremely quiet. Yeah it was early and not many people were up, but, many were probably very hungover from the night prior so...that played part.

Walking up to the tallest peak, he really wished someone would teach him the shunshin already. It would make going to these meetings quicker. Making the trek up, he knocked and was allowed entry.

"Ah, Naruto! You sure came early, then again I shouldn't be surprised."

"Yeah, rather get things over with sooner rather than later."

"Oh, I assure you it is nothing bad. You'll be quite pleased, I can promise you that!" A said with a smile.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, please, take a seat, Naruto. This will be a while."

Taking a seat, Naruto wondered just how he would be pleased when asked to be seated. It just makes things seem like he's in some sort of trouble. Then he noticed A bring out a scroll and box. The scroll was about a foot long and was pretty thick. Being tossed the scroll and box, he caught both.

"What is this?"

"Open the box." A said with a smirk.

Sighing, he grabbed the lid and pulled it off, he raised an eyebrow to what he saw. "Now this is one weird shaped kunai...but, it looks like it would be great to fight with...why are you giving me this?" Taking it out, he spun the kunai from the ring at the bottom of the handle with his index finger.

A could only smirk, Naruto looked so much like that man now with that kunai in hand. "That is one of your father's kunai."

Catching the kunai at the handle to stop its spinning, he held it in the ice pick grip and froze for a moment. Looking at the kunai more, he noticed the Kanji on the handle and recognized it as a seal. "My...father's?"

"Yes, I took that from thr one time I fought against him."

Naruto nodded slowly and rubbed the blade. "Tell me about it."

-Flashback Start-

"We're coming up on them, Lord A!" A kumo Jonin said to the man leading the group.

Running into a small clearing, they finally came up on the squad of Konoha ninja that were fleeing from a recent attack. They were looking to take them out before the attackers could flee and make them gain nothing for their efforts. Then appearing out of nowhere, a man with golden blonde hair and blue eyes arrived with them.

"The blonde hair and the teleportation jutsu? That's gotta be the leaf's Yellow Flash! We gotta retreat right now! Don't you think?" A whiteskinned chubby Chunin said.

"So that's him? The one who singlehandedly stopped our recovery of the nine tails." Said A, calm as could be.

"And I know you. You're the son of the hidden cloud's third Raikage, Unruly A. I've heard that you're quite fast yourself." Minato said as he held a tri-pronged kunai in front of him. Ready for anything.

A, only grunted at that and stared into Minato's eyes. "We could take him, the two of us bro! Fool, ya fool!" B said, also calm and relaxed like A was.

"Everyone, stay out of this! I'll take them!" Minato said and threw kunai all over the clearing and along the trees.

Immediately, A, said nothing and only narrowed his eyes slightly. Powering up into his version two lightning cloak, he ran and blitzed towards Minato. The only thing you could see was a big ball of lightning and lightning trailing behind as he charged. To Minato however, he saw A clear as day. As A came in for a punch, Minato flicked one of his tri-pronged kunai into the air, flipping as it left his hand and worked its way behind the charging A.

Minato disappeared just before the punch could land and was against a tree, looking over his shoulder at A. Then in the next moment before A even finished his punching motion, he appeared at A's back in midair and caught the twirling kunai.

"He countered me at my top speed?" Thought A as he glanced back to see Minato's positioning at his back.

Going for the stab to A's back, Minato missed, cutting half way into a tentacle instead. Noticing that A got pushed out of a potentially fatal blow. Minato went wide-eyed as he looked at it. "That's!"

A, immediately ran back beside B and was in front of the other two with him. "Forgive me, B. You doing alright?"

"Woah, no way." One of the Akimichi Chunin said.

"That is he, the eight tails Jinchuriki. Not good!" An Inuzuka Jonin said. Off in the distance, there was a high-pitched whistle that was heard. "That's the signal! Minato we need to retreat!"

They all disappeared via a Shunshin. Minato though, only slowly turned around and began walking. "That fool's nothing! At least for the eight tails, that be me, the rapping Killer B!"

Minato stopped walking and looked back over his left shoulder. "You really are quite brave. You overcame being eight tails Jinchuriki. Becoming your own ninja. You have something very powerful."

"Ha! He's more talented than even I am!" A said with pride and pointing over to his right, where B stood.

Now turning a quarter of the way to the enemy, Minato looked over at A. "No. It's more than that. He already has something even more important." That got A to be confused and surprised a bit as he grunted. "A, you have a very fine family. As do I. I suspect the next time we meet, we'll be fighting as one Kage against another. But if you don't figure out soon, what your little brother considers the most precious to him. He will neither be Jinchuriki, nor human."

"Ha, don't try to fool me with that nonsense. You're not getting away!" Looking amongst every kunai on the battlefield, A readied himself. "The teleportation jutsu takes him to one of the kunai marked with jutsu formulas. I've memorized just about all of their locations. If I can figure out which one he'll pop up at, I can get him with my top speed." A then surrounded himself with his lightning cloak and began running at Minato.

"Anyway, I have my own responsibilities." Minato said, watching as A ran at him.

A appeared at Minato, ready to strike. "Now, go fly!" Looking around at the kunai locations, he began to stop running. "Now, which kunai will it be?"

Minato held one of his tri-pronged kunai above the head of B from behind. "I cannot fail now."

A, turned around and had his teeth clenched. "Huh?"

One of the Chunin that was skinny and had white skin was sweating as he looked at Minato now being behind B. "Oh, oh no. A teleportation jutsu formula on the eight tails' tentacle?"

"Errg, back when B defended me, is that when he did it?" A, thought as he looked at the positioning of Minato and the potential killing blow he could land on his brother.

B held a small straight sword pointed at Minato's gut. "I'm prepared for a mutual strike! So shall we stab eachother with these spikes?" He said, no fear being laced in his voice.

"You're my enemy, I'm starting to like you. You've got the moves of a shinobi killer."

-Flashback End-

"So when you had your fight with that Sand Jinchuriki, it brought back that memory." A said to Naruto who was listening intently at the story.

"So...what happened next? Obviously you guys are still alive, and he had to live through that since he wasn't Hokage yet."

Waving his hand, A shook it off. "That's not important. Point is, that's the one time I got to face against your father and that man was faster than my top speed with that jutsu."

"I see...that's still crazy to think about. Things could have ended so differently...if he had that power and ability, why not just kill you guys? You were his enemies."

A leaned back in his seat and sighed. "That man, was an honorable fighter. If it wasn't necessary, he didn't kill. He was kind and upfront, but that kindness wasn't weakness nor something you could walk on. He followed through on anything he said, if you crossed him, you paid for it."

Closing his eyes to think, Naruto wondered just how strong Minato was. But then there was the thought that somebody was stronger than him...or at least was strong enough to force him into a sacrificial act. It became troubling the more he thought on that. Reopening his eyes, he began to open the scroll. The first thing he saw was a drawn orb that was supposed to be of chakra. Then the more he went, he saw the writings for the sealing formula of the teleportation jutsu called Hiraishin.

"These are-"

"His jutsus. One should be something you're familiar with as its similar to your own Spacetime jutsu. The other two, are what made him so dangerous."

Looking up at A, Naruto rolled the scroll up. "Did you look at this?"

"No, and neither will anyone else. I will have it so that they remain as a clan technique, only those you allow or of your clan in the future may see these jutsu."

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I just have one more question though. I understand how you have the kunai, but this scroll, where did you get this?"

"Ah, that old man third of course! It was why me and him were last to the arena grounds. He mentioned something about the council never allowing you to get all that's rightfully yours so he handed me that."

"I see. Well, I will master these three jutsu, I promise you that."

"I have no doubts that you will." A, smiled and leaned on the desk. "If he does, the teleportation jutsu alone would make him a threat that not many could take on. He'd easily be undoubtedly a Kage candidate that couldn't be argued against...well aside from age." Nodding to himself A was happy with the future of Kumo. "Well Naruto, you take care. I will be calling you in for a mission once the week is up."

"Understood." Naruto bowed as he stood and left the office.

"The Future is bright indeed." A, thought before sighing. "Mabui! Bring in my next appointment!"

Naruto jumped down the steps and made it to the village level quickly. Now being the time Trey opened up the shop, he decided now would be a good time to stop by. A girl blocked his path though and he met her gaze as they were the same height.

"Can I help you?"

"You don't remember me?" She said.

Naruto tilt his head. "Not sure...should I?"

"After that night, did it mean nothing to you?" She said hysterically. "Was it not good enough? I gave myself to you and still! You act as though you don't know me!"

Naruto took one step back. "Yo, say what now?" She proceeded to slap him in the face and storm off. "What the hell was that all about?" Walking on and turning the corner, he noticed her again but dressed entirely different. "What in the..."

"Hey babe. Where we going?"

"Look, I really don't know you. You have the wrong guy."

"Haha very funny babe! You don't need to always act like you forgot about my birthday!"

"It's your birthday now?"

She smiled. "Yes it is. Now where are we going?"

"Uh...are you messed up in the head or something?" Naruto turned to walk away but was grabbed and pulled into her embrace. "Ok, you're getting on my nerves."

She giggled and let him go. "Sorry, I'm just trying to practice. My name is Nya."

Naruto looked her up and down, and sighed. "I'm-"

"Naruto Uzumaki...or is it Namikaze now? Doesn't matter, I know you, and you should know me. We went to school together."

"Eh, which ever, it doesn't matter. However I really don't know you at all. Didn't exactly have much friends there."

"I know, neither did I. So that's why when I saw you, I took an opportunity!"

"Opportunity to be labeled psychotic?"

"No! I said I was practicing!"

At this point, Naruto really wondered why he was still in this conversation. "For what..."

"Espionage!" Nya said with a massive smile.

"By acting like you were some one night stand, or my girlfriend...both of which would be clearly a failed attempt as I have had neither." He said shaking his head. "Be less flamboyant, more subtle. Just be some random person, like how I don't know you, reinvent yourself and just introduce yourself to me as said identity. Then go from there." He began to walk away.

"You know...you've really changed a lot."

Stopping he looked over his shoulder at her slightly. "Have I now? How so?"

"You've taken the time to help me. I'm sure back then, you'd have thrown me away. But you didn't. I think I like you now, Naruto Namikaze. Be seeing you around!" She was gone in a blur.

"I certainly hope not...damn...she knows the damned shunshin." Sighing, he went back on his path and arrived at Trey's. "Hey, Trey, I'm here!"

"Ah Naruto, I'll be right up!" He said from the back.

The first to come out was Kira and she smiled at Naruto. "So how does the Jonin feel?"

"Weird honestly. Seems sudden."

"Maybe. But don't get too wrapped up in that, I was eight when I first entered bolt." She watched as he nod and noticed the necklace. "You still wear it?"

"Of course. Everyday. You and Trey were the first people to gift me anything so I'll always carry these with me." He said with a small smile.

"You've sure grown."

"Think so?"

Nodding, she gave him a smile and ran her hand through his hair. "You're no longer that same boy I met when you first came, and not like your academy days."

"Wait a minute, you were a fresh bolt member when we met?"

"Yeah...why?"

Shaking his head, he chuckled. "Huh, wow. Can't believe I never realized it then...then again I was three. You acted and seemed as though you were very experienced to that point. Even seeming older."

"I am and was experienced. Outsmarted you, remember." She said laughing.

"Alright, let's end this discussion before you two end up taking it outside." Trey said as he entered. "Now, Naruto. What kind of changes are we looking to do?"

"Straight to business I see." Naruto said getting a nod from Trey. "Well, first off I'm going to need a new sheath for that black kunai you made. I want it within the vest, that way I don't need a belt of some sort, and I need you to make three more of the kunai. The strap, I want you to remove most of the inner material, it just makes it bulkier for no reason."

"Is that it? If so, the only worry is in regard to the kunai. I'd need your chakra again, but breaking it down is difficult and will take time. Why do you want three more?"

Nodding, Naruto brought his hand up and had the palm facing up. "Don't worry about the difficulty of last time. This time, it'll be powered differently." The muscles tensed and his hand shook slightly before in the palm, a dark purplish aura was being emanated until slowly becoming a bubbly sphere.

"What is it?" Trey said and Kira was very confused at what she was looking at.

"A chakra type that I was messing around with for a long time now. Once I get it into physical form, it's far easier to break up as it's more of a corrosive acid rather than strength."

"Won't that mess with the metals?"

Shaking his head, Naruto smirked. "It's not corrosive to anything but chakra. It's the opposite to the normal chakra we all use, and as such, will be the power source to the kunai's sealing metal."

"Fascinating...when did you start developing this chakra?" Kira said as she looked at the bubbling sphere of chakra. It wasn't maintaining its form as it constantly shift and deformed.

"Back in the academy. I don't exactly know how well someone else could use it, but thanks to the special chakra of the Uzumaki, being able to form physical chakra, I can combine that with this form of chakra, being Negative Chakra, and create this, or even kunai."

"Wow! That's crazy! What happens if I touch it?"

Looking at Kira he thought for a moment. "You wouldn't want to. It would disrupt all your chakra wherever it made contact. So if in your hand, the hand would lose any and all chakra, it would also corrode any new chakra that comes, so pretty much your hand can no longer use chakra."

"Is that permanent?" Trey said as he had his hand to his chin.

"No. But the side effect would linger for a while. If you were too exposed, retreat would be the only survival as you'll become powerless. And if your central chakra network is what is hit, then all chakra in your body will be cut off since new chakra can't spread." Naruto then grabbed a metal plate and set the bubbling ball onto it. "Trey, don't touch it with your bare hands."

"Understood. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Actually, there is." Brining a box out of nowhere he placed it on the counter. "Could you make me six batches like this? Just have the handle be white."

Opening the box, Trey gasped before nodding. "Can do. I'll get right to work, Naruto."

"Thank you. So how has things been Kira?"

"Good, just busy. I've had so many missions lately, these exams make it less busy though since the other nations have a period of inactivity during and after the exam." Getting a nod from Naruto, she looked back to the store before looking back at him. "So what makes you want more of those kunai that crumble?"

"I'm a Jonin now. I'll be taking more missions and have higher threats. It won't be like how it has been for me as a Genin where I've only taken one mission."

Understanding, she stood up and began to stretch, planning on leaving she looked to him one last time. "Well, I hope to see you some more, soon. Until then, you take care of yourself."

Smirking, Naruto gave a nod. "I always do."

With one last sigh, he stepped away from the counter and looked over at the clothing section. "Oh, Naruto, I have a new set of clothes behind the counter for you!"

"Really? Thank you!" Walking behind the counter, he picked up the long sleeve white shirt and felt it be thicker than any other he's had. Definitely had more support and durability, but seemed to make it so that the net armor was no longer necessary. The pants were made with a few extra pockets but also were far more durable and meant for heavy duty work. The knees were slightly padded as well. "This solved my proboem." He thought and turned to the back room. "Thank you, so much!"

"Don't mention it, Kiddo. I'll have more sets taken to your place if you like it."

"Sure thing. Can you-"

"Yes, I'll do some extra vests for you!" Trey said laughing. "Now get the hell out so I can work!"

"Yes sir!" With a chuckle, he left the shop. Looking up ahead, he noticed Yugito begin the trek up the steps to his house. "Yo! Yugito!"

She turned and noticed Naruto down below. "Naruto? What are you doing out already?"

She went over to him and Naruto shrugged. "Had things to do."

"Are you done?" Thinking for a moment, he then gave a nod. "Hey, you're not wearing your vest."

Looking down at himself, he gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm having Trey do some stuff to it." Then he realized that she was wearing her Chunin vest, the difference being that it had red trim rather than gold. There was also the fact that the strap went over the right shoulder instead. "The vest suits you."

She shrugged and punched his shoulder. "That's the best compliment you can come up with? It suits you? Come on, you could do better than that!" She said laughing.

"Uh..."

"Don't worry about it. You'll get better...or you'll learn to regret not getting better."

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto tilt his head slightly. "How's that?"

Smirking, she eyed him and held a certain confidence and aura that made a shiver go down his spine. "I've got my ways, dear Naruto." She said and tapped on his chest.

"So...did you need something? Or is this more of a social thing?"

"Call it both. Can we go to your training chamber? Where it can contain chakra."

Nodding, he led her up the mountain and into the place. Getting a few drinks, he then led her down to the level she was looking to go into and activated the seals in the room. "So why did you want to come here?"

Yawning, he looked lazily at her but noticed she wasn't where she was prior. Just barely in the nick of time, he brought his left hand up, and blocked a punch that would have hit his temple. However it was a diversion and she brought her left leg up fast and kicked him in the face, sending him five feet back and to the ground. Grabbing his nose and rubbing his face a bit, he stood slowly. Eying her, he took a breath and began to undue his belt.

This action caused her to raise an eyebrow before noticing that he was tightening the belt. A small blush formed as she realized just what she was thinking he was about to do. Shaking that aside, she did not wait and charged into a spinning kick to his head. Naruto caught her ankle and prepared for a takedown. As he changed levels, she sprawled and wrapped her right arm around his throat, and her right hand reached to her left shoulder, as her left arm applied pressure to his shoulders to force him lower and into the ground.

"Your takedowns are still so very sloppy when your opponent doesn't give you the advantage of using momentum."

He grunted in response, clawing at her arm, trying to get any possible room but failing. Closing his eyes to think clearly and calm himself, so that he stopped the instinct of panic, he released her arm and reached out and up. Hooking his hands at the back of her thighs, he pulled as hard as he could in order to draw them in. It would have been far more effective if he'd been able to reach the inner knees instead as that is a bend point but he had to make due.

Slowly, it was working but she smirked and just laughed before swinging her right knee into his head and releasing her hold. Bringing her right arm to the right side of his face, while she hooked her left arm with his right, she did a cross face which jerked his head to the left. Continuing the upward motion caused not only for her to fully wrap around his neck to reach her mid chest, it forced Naruto to flip over onto his back where she had her upper back against his chest.

Still holding his arm, she had a great position of control as she had control over the head, his arm, and had weight over his chest. Any bridge attempts by Naruto would be futile since his arm was locked in her grasp. She rolled over to have her chest against his and looked at him with a smile.

"You still have a lot to improve on with your wrestling." She then released him and he said nothing to her. She frowned a bit but knew it wasn't about the little attack that she did. There was a lot on his mind. "Want to talk about it?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes. She remained on his chest, waiting for something to be said or done. He began to move his right arm up but seemed to hesitate before just leaving it limp on the ground. It amused her that he seemed to really not know what to do, or how to act. Deciding to help out a bit, she brought her right arm up and sent it behind his neck in a sort of hug that also served to give his head a better resting spot.

Slowly, he brought his right arm up and had his hand on her back as he held her very lightly. Again, she had to hold in her laughter while shaking her head. If she said something right now, he'd only end this little moment and who knows when the next time he'd get like this again would be.

For about ten minutes it was silent until Naruto took a breath and opened his eyes to look at Yugito. "Do you...would you...like...I don't know...maybe? Want to um...get dinner or something?"

She smiled and pressed her cheek against his chest. "Like a date?" His eyes shift away and he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'd like that. Who knows, if you do good, maybe you'll get a surprise after." She said with a giggle.

"Surprise? What could that be?"

"My God...you suck at this! It hurts to watch! But it's just too damn funny not to!" Kurama said within Naruto's mind with a laugh.

Naruto refrained from talking back and instead focused on the fact that there was another presence nearby. It worried him because it seemed like that presence had been there for a while, and only now did he notice. Glancing over to where he was feeling the person, he noticed that they immediately vanished.

Closing his eyes and focusing, he took a breath. "Elemental Sight." As he thought of the Jutsu, he had a new vision that stemmed from his position, the world was built of dark shadows but image came into form based on the chakra meeting an object. Similar to a bat's echolocation however the chakra never needed to return since he felt the chakra as it went, using the five chakra elements it offered insight into what he was sensing which created the images.

Pushing it out farther and farther, he finally caught up to the fleeing person. The image wasn't completely crisp but he could notice metal gauntlets on the forearms. The more he focused he began to make out a general idea on the clothing to be a large jacket that had fur over his back and neck. Other than that, there wasn't anything else he could see before the person was able to get away from his sight.

Sighing, he opened his eyes and noticed Yugito looking at him strangely. "What happened? I noticed your chakra spread like it did in the forest."

"Someone was here." She sat up while he stood and looked in the direction the person left. "He was able to hide himself from me for a while...I don't like what this could be."

She nodded and understood. "How did he even get in here?"

"He wasn't. It seems as though he's made a hole...but even that, that shouldn't be possible."

"Hmmm, well this room was meant to contain the chakra of a tailed beast. Not anything of conventional means...at least thats what I understand about the mountain."

He could only nod in frustration. "I've been to complacent in the mistaken idea that this place would be impenetrable. I should have tested more. Created something."

Standing up and coming behind Naruto, she rest her cheek on his left shoulder and shook her head. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself. You can't predict everything. You can't see the future."

"Yugito, someone was watching. They know of you now and I have no doubts that they are up to no good. Had I been smarter, I'd have been able to prevent this. Now they have Intel, and apparently have a means of infiltrating not only the village but this place. What happens when even more come?" He stepped away and shook his head. "I can't let this go."

She understood his worries but also felt that he was greatly underestimating everyone else. "You'll figure it out, but don't think you've got to do it all alone."

He turned to look at her. "I'm going to create a seal, a barrier that will always tell me if someone or something has come. Not just for my home, but for the village. Nobody will ever infiltrate this village without my knowing."

Yugito smiled, it was nice to see how much he cared about the village and everything. "Just don't forget to ask for some help when someone does be stupid enough to try infiltrating the village you call home."

A bell rang throughout the house and Naruto looked up towards the upper main level. "Who could be here now?" The two then made their way up and Naruto opened the door. A Genin was running down the steps but a box was at the door, squatting down, he opened it to see his modified Jonin vests with a note.

The note said that a few more modifications were made. Some like better ventilation, to, places that acted as sealing compartments. That way he didn't have to use the scroll or a timed release seal that he'd been using thus far. Now he could tap a certain spot and whatever was within came out instantly, where prior he'd need a little setup and have it be delayed. Naruto only made it look immediate by extending his arm to reach into space but in reality he just knew the timer ended and he had just acted.

There were a few other changes but those were the main things. It made him smile as he took a vest out and carried the box in. "Are you going to put it on?"

"Think I should?" He said without looking at her since he was headed to his room. Planning on hanging the vests in his wardrobe.

"I think so. You aren't proud of your title as Jonin of Kumo?"

Naruto released a large exhale as she turned the corner to stand in his doorway. He was sat on the edge of the bed, box and vest beside him. "I am...it's just, I don't want people to respect me or treat me higher than others just because of the vest."

"Naruto, they all have began to admire you and your ability once again...back then, it was only because they were scared you'd rampage again...then you made them think that you did. They never hated you though, they just didn't know how to be. Now you've shown your control, and your own strength. You beat Gaara of your own abilities, not by rampaging, you regained control, beat out the animalistic side to be the you we all trust and look up to."

Naruto glanced over at her. "It's just so different..."

"Different, and change aren't all bad, Naruto. That's your problem, you always stick to the past and what you're used to...with me, that will change, I promise that! I also guarantee that the more you open up to change, the better your life will become."

Smiling he could only shake his head. "These little talks are becoming more and more common."

A laugh came out of her as she sat beside him. "Well somebody has to correct your mindset." The two sat silent for a few moments before Naruto slid the vest on over his t-shirt. "Looks good, fits you." She said with a smile.

He looked down and then placed a black kunai into the sheath. "This isn't what I'd wear normally though. Trey's made me some clothes."

"Gonna model for me?" She clasped her hands together and held them by her right ear while tilting her head to the right.

Naruto smirked and shook his head. "Don't really feel like changing right now. Besides...you're in here."

She looked away for a moment and set her hands on her lap. "Not like I haven't seen you shirtless before..."

Pausing for just a moment, and questioning if that meant he was supposed to change or not, he looked at her. Then a thought came. "True. But I haven't seen you shirtless."

A smirk came to his face when she sputtered but then had to run when she chased after him with a kunai. After she finally relaxed, she'd laid down on his bed and had her back to him. His gaze had constantly drift and he had to stop as he felt something happening. Clearing his throat, she looked over her shoulder.

"What?"

He met her eyes and placed his hands in his pockets. "What was the actual reason you'd wanted to enter that room earlier?"

"Oh! Right! I wanted to show you something!" She rolled over and flipped out of his bed before running past him and down the steps.

"What the hell..." following after her, he noticed her in a meditative position.

After a few moments a red chakra surrounded her and one tail appeared. Then two. Then she herself began to change into a black and red figure that looked just like her tailed beast, only still her size. Then finally she began to change to blue and black with the colored green and yellow eyes, growing in size before stopping and dispersing the chakra.

"What you think?" She said smirking.

"You have that much control? To fully transform?"

"Yup! Guess that makes me stronger than you!" She then jumped into his arms, as he held her bridal style.

Looking down at her, he shook his head. " I wouldn't go that far. I'm sure I'd figure something out."

"Not before I beat you. Now, about this date. Where we going?"

"Ummmm..." he began carrying her up the steps to head out. "We'll figure it out."

"I told you before a while ago, you're supposed to plan this out."

"I know, I know. Didn't expect you to agree honestly."

"I already told you I wanted to be your girlfriend."

"You did?"

She stared blankly at him. "Naruto, what do you think more than friends is?" He shrugged and she shook her head. "I swear, for someone so smart, you really are stupid."

"Look, I only ever studied what interested me. Ignored everything else. So, to be sure...we are like, a thing thing?"

"Yes dummy. You're mine and I'm yours."

"Weird...I thought this would go different."

"Well I'm not surprised. Your stupid a lot. I always kind of suspected that it would need to be spelled out for you."

He looked at her and sighed. "Thanks..."

She laughed at him and just curled into his hold. Then turned to where a few voices were heard, mostly groaning and one cheering. Noticing that it was Omoi, Rin, Samui, and Karui, she raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"I just won a bet!" Omoi said with a smile and was handed money by the reluctant others. "That's 300 for your boy!"

"Bet...on what?" Naruto said unamused.

"On you two." Rin said.

"We made guesses on when you two would get together." Karui said and shook her head with a sigh.

"Omoi got it right...we each lost a hundred bucks." Samui said frowning with her arms crossed.

"Thank you so very much, Naruto, Yugito! Now I'm headed to the store!" Omoi said as he jumped and clicked his heels together before running off. The others only groaned and slowly walked away.

"Well..." Naruto said, not knowing how to react.

"That was something." Yugito said shaking her head. Looking up at Naruto she motioned for him to set her down. Now standing she held his left hand and arm. "So where do you want to go?"

He thought for a moment. "I've heard that the new place, 'Silver Saddle' is good."

"And who told you that? Mister antisocial."

"May have overheard it from somebody last night." He said with a nod. As they continued walking down the roads, he then realized that he had no idea where he was supposed to be going. Having never been to the place, and it being rather new, they weren't in the village when it opened up.

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?"

"Uh...I will."

Shaking her head at him, she could only sigh. "You plan a billion steps ahead in a fight like it's nothing, and yet you can't even plan a single step for this...unbelievable."

"Eh, I mean...I don't know. This is all just complicated."

"And since when was that a problem for you?" She released him and started talking to an adult that was nearby.

Naruto watched the interaction and was starting to really believe what Kurama had said. About him being terrible at this sort of thing. Then again, it's not like anybody taught him what he's supposed to do. There were no books, no classes, no scrolls. At least...none he knew of. Perhaps, he should study something about this, so that he could improve?

Shaking his head, feeling it to be a stupid idea, he just waited. There were some kids nearby that ran past and he wondered just what they would grow to become. It was then that Yugito had returned and began guiding them to the direction they needed to go.

"Next time, have this all figured out."

He looked over at her and sighed. "Keep nagging on me about this, and there won't be one."

She laughed nervously, unsure of if he was joking or being serious. Mainly because a lot of the time he meant what he said, but he also had a humor that would come out as such. Instead of taking the risk, she just quieted down on that and continued walking on.

The restaurant was a nice building that was entirely new. It wasn't like a new owner bought the already existing property. Upon entering, there was a nice wooden floor with lantern styled lighting. It gave a very warm and cozy ambience. The hostess stood at the entrance with a stand that had a list.

"Your reservation?" The woman said smiling.

Yugito looked up a bit towards Naruto a little nervously. He didn't seem to have anything planned and now it seemed they needed reservations. But then she saw his smirk, and immediately she began getting frustrated.

"Namikaze." He said relaxed. The hostess looked on the list and nodded with a smile.

"Right this way, mister Namikaze."

"You bastard..." Yugito said pinching Naruto's arm.

"Hey, it's Naruto!" One of the other people said recognizing him.

"Yooo! It's actually him!" A little boy had said.

Naruto smiled a little at them, trying not to seem like a jerk or mean to them. The problem though was just that he was unsure of what to do so he settled with a slight wave. The others only smiled at him as he and Yugito were guided to their spot. It was an isolated booth, nobody was nearby and offered them privacy.

Once seated, a waitor came and got the order of drinks as well as handing over the menu. "Still don't like the praise or admiration?"

"It's one thing to toy with people. It's another to be the center of attention."

"Better find some level of comfort. You'll only continue to get stronger and more well known. What would you do when you become Raikage? Hide away all the time? No, you can't do that."

He looked at her seriously. "I appreciate the belief you have in me, but it's not even guaranteed that I become Raikage."

"Hmph, say what you want. I think it's only a matter of time."

Looking at her, it was obvious that she truly believed what she'd said. It amazed him, the level of belief she had in him, but it only continued to add to the pressure he felt to live up to those beliefs. He's never been one to back down from a challenge but, it would be nice if she didn't express it to this amount. Mainly because he didn't want to let her down.

Deciding to shift away from those thoughts, he looked at the menu. It would be a rather crap date if the whole time he'd had negative thoughts. That thought though also brought on another dilemma. What even made a good date? Was this something everyone struggled with, or was it just a him problem?

"You've really gotta just chill out. Stop thinking so much and just talk to her." Kurama said yawning.

"So...the weather...pretty nice right?" Naruto said with a nod.

"Are you a retard for real?"

Yugito looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I suppose it has...it hasn't gotten quite as cold this time of year yet."

"True, hey, going back to your control over your transformation, can you utilize any other aspects?"

"Yes. I can use the blue flames." Naruto nodded and put a hand to his chin before taking out a scroll and a pen. He began writing and she looked at him curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking of counters as well as potential enhancers."

She stared at him with a blank face. "Naruto Namikaze, you will not be planning any type of fight or jutsu while we are on a date."

He glanced up at her the went back to writing. She balled a fist and he smirked. "Don't worry I will oblige this request."

"Hmph, more like a demand." Yugito crossed her arms and turned her head away with her eyes closed.

Naruto only shook his head with a smirk. "You really are..." She looked over at him as he paused to see the smirk. "...the most amusing."

-Next Day, Konoha-

A crowd had been gathered all around the Hokage Tower. Just about every civilian, and most ninja were present. On the roof, Hiruzen stood overlooking the gathering. He had a smile and waved as now was the time for which everyone was gathered. He took the hat off and turned around. He held the hat out in front of him.

Kakashi stood with his visible eye closed. For a moment he did nothing until he slowly opened the eye to look at the smiling Hiruzen. "Just like Minato-sensei before me...Lord Third is passing the title and duty of Hokage to me. I won't let him down." He turned back to the monument of the Hokage heads and looked at Minato's. "I'll make you proud...sensei." a smile appeared under his mask. "I've been made Hokage, Obito, Rin. I know it was your dream...but hopefully you can still see this through me."

Turning to Hiruzen, Kakashi brought his left hand up and pressed it against his covered eye. After a brief pause, he took a breath and lift the headband, revealing the three tomoed Sharingan. The white robes of the ceremonial garb for this was something he'd need to get used to. It was a question on how Hiruzen liked it...then again the man was really old and this would be more comfortable for a man trying to be relaxed, not a fighter. That reminded him, he was a fighter, and now Hokage, he wasn't just a diplomat, but the village's shield. Hiruzen was still strong but it was obvious that the longer he's Hokage, the less of a fighter he can be and more of diplomat. That was the reason for this change.

He'd need to be better. The next fight isn't hoped to be the last anymore. Not one for giving up through suicide like his father...he was planning on dying in combat. That was the reason he took on so many missions back in the anbu...why Ro became so notorious under his leadership. He couldn't be that same man anymore, not as Hokage. Aspects needed to come back, that's for sure, but not all of it.

Now arriving at Hiruzen, Kakashi gave a nod and received the hat. He placed it on before looking over the rail to be seen. In dramatic perfect timing, the wind blew to cause the robes and flaps of the hat to wave. He took off the hat to show his face but really you didn't see his face because of the mask. Still, he waved and acted as though they could, like always.

"I WILL NOT BE REMAINING AT THIS CURRENT LEVEL MY RIVAL! I WILL DO TWENTY THOUSAND PUSHUPS, TWENTY THOUSAND SITUPS, AND TWO THOUSAND LAPS!!!" Gai pumped his fists and Lee cheered him on.

Kakashi sighed as he looked down at Gai. "Some things never change."

Once it was all done, Kakashi and Hiruzen had gone into the office where Kakashi now took his seat. Being behind the desk, he felt odd and out of place. "This, is going to take some time to get used to."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. If you ever need anything, you can always contact me." Hiruzen said with a smile. "Now, I'm going to head home and do some much needed relaxing."

Kakashi nodded and watched as he left. "Are you pleased, Cat?"

Appearing out of nowhere, a cat masked anbu stood in front of the desk. "You don't look too bad. The hat looks weird on you but I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"If it is only the hat that is weird then I'm worried. My discomfort comes from the robes mostly. I hate this clothing."

Cat crossed her arms with a chuckle. "Then don't wear it. You're Hokage, no one can say a thing about it."

"You're right...thank you for reminding me."

"Of course, Lord Hokage." She said with a chuckle.

Kakashi waved his hand at her. "No no, please just call me Kakashi."

"That's not possible. You know this."

Sighing, Kakashi could only nod. "I know. Let's get to business then."

-Border Of Fire Country-

"Is it true? The old man has stepped down?"

"Yes. Hiruzen has made Kakashi Hatake the fifth Hokage...the fuedal lord had supported this decision when Hiruzen made his intentions clear."

"Must be infuriating, isn't it Danzo?"

"This effects you too. Everything changes now. Kakashi isn't that big an issue, but if underestimated he'll make you pay."

Orochimaru laughed at that and shook his head. "Kakashi Hatake has a long ways to go before ever becoming a threat to me."

"Hm, be that as it may. A new kage brings in a shift in things. We cannot touch Konoha for now as it's being shifted from the change. We'd be easily found out."

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes. This is true, so for now...we turn our sights on another potential problem."

"The kyubi brat." Danzo nodded, "Got a plan? Kumo is not easy to infiltrate."

Orochimaru laughed and smiled a wide and wicked smile. "Not impossible though. I've already gotten an agent in. I know someone the boy cares about, as well as his home."

Danzo smirked and began to think. "I also have a request."

Raising an eyebrow, he already knew where it was going. "I can see about my experiments that have a higher success rate, and see what we can do for you. Afterall you are getting very old and if you are to be of use during the future, I'm sure...some modifications are necessary."

"If you need my root for any attempt, just say the word."

"I'll keep in touch. That boy with those creatures, is interesting, he'll be of use for how we get this under way."

Danzo nodded. "Yes, Sai is a rather unique operative."

-Four Days Later-

Kakashi panted heavily as he stood in a secluded training ground that no one went to. The reason for this was because it was one of the many areas reserved for the Hokage and his or her family. His Sharingan was showing and he was drenched in sweat. Dropping to a knee, having trouble to regain his breath he looked to the sky.

"I can only have my Sharingan out for three hours of strenuous fighting...I either need to really get my ass into gear to where I can withstand at least a day, which will also build my chakra...or I need to find a way to fully complete my Chidori...so that the Sharingan isn't necessary all the time."

"Well, why not both, Lord Hokage!"

Turning around to the newcomer, Kakashi stood up. He caught a bottle of water and eye-smiled. "Not that easy, Gai. If I try working on a better Chidori variant, which would be a new jutsu all together I'd need to put all the time into that."

"Kakashi my friend, nothing is easy for us. We work hard for a reason, you and I! Use your Sharingan while working on your new jutsu, I'll even help you."

Kakashi was about to refute but began to think. "You might be right...I'd expend a lot of chakra making the training not be so long, but the insight this eye gives me can lead to more progress since I'd see how it is being made and correct it. Over time, my reserves will build."

"Exactly, my rival! The future is bright for you and your flames of youth!"

"Hm? Say something Gai?"

Gai balled a fist in front of his face. "DAMN YOU AND YOUR COOL ATTITUDE!"

Kakashi chuckled and placed a hand on Gai's shoulder. "I am glad that despite everything you've been through...despite how I treated you before when we were younger...you've remained the same and been a very good friend to me. One I didn't deserve at the time."

"Nonsense, Kakashi. You went through a lot and no one can relate. I understand one thing with you, but the rest...you had to endure alone. I always kept trying because...even if I never said it, nor if you knew it, but it's because of you that I was able to get past my own father's death." Gai smiled at him and then shook his head. "Enough of this depressing stuff, what's first?"

Kakashi looked him in the eye and nodded. "This is going to be difficult, but if the third Raikage was able to make a different lightning, I could too."

"Whatever you need, Kakashi, I'm with you!"

-Kumogakure-

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he sat up and yawned. Getting out of bed and preparing for the day, he got dressed in the new clothes that Trey made him. With the white long sleeve, white and gold vest, dark grey pants, his headband matched the pants and his sandals were white as well. Once he felt ready, he left the room and noticed the door to one of the guest rooms were cracked open.

Finding that odd, he went and took a look. He was pretty shocked as he saw Yugito with her back to the door, no shirt and no pants. He gulped and blushed at the sight of her near naked form and backed away slowly. However, his eyes definitely couldn't leave her as he left, wanting to keep looking despite the rest of his body leaving.

"You should've just gone in." Kurama said with a smirk.

"And what? Get attacked for walking in on her?"

"Walking in would have been better than just having peeped."

"That's not what happened!"

"Kid...I see what you see...I saw you not look away and especially the attention you put into looking at her a-"

"Ok ok OK shut up!" Kurama only laughed as Naruto went to kitchen.

He debated if he should cook her breakfast knowing that she was here, or not and act as though he didn't know. Since he genuinely didn't know prior, it would make sense not to make something...but the problem was that now he did. On top of that, he'd peeped on her without entirely meaning to but did so. It was becoming a problem as he looked at the carton of eggs and was debating how many to take out.

"Good morning, Naruto." Yugito said from behind him.

"Oh, Yugito! You're here? Good morning to you too." He turned around to face her. She wore a grey long-sleeve shirt with her white and red vest, with grey pants, black sandals and a black headband. Her hair went an inch below her shoulders.

"Yeah, my apartment had some flooding and couldn't be there during the repairs." Naruto nodded. "I hope it's not a problem..."

"No, of course not. Just caught me by surprise...anyways, want some breakfast?"

"Sure I'll take some. Plans for today?"

Naruto turned and began preparing the food. "Mmm, I'm pretty sure I've only got a mission to do."

"Oh let me know how it goes."

"Will do."

Yugito smiled as she rest her head on her arms whilst leaning on the table. She watched him cook and how he made sure everything remained spotless. That seemed to be a difference between them that she noticed. When he cooked, he was meticulous and made zero mess, kept it all clean as he went. Where if it were her, it was chaos...not bad but things were not so perfect in terms of everything being clean. There might be some spills, some drops, dishes remaining dirty until later...not with Naruto though.

"Hey...since I have nothing going on today, want to do something?"

Naruto thought for a moment but sighed. "I'd like to, but-"

"It's ok..."

Naruto knew that it wasn't exactly ok but he really didn't know what to say to remedy it. Aside from that, anytime he tried to speak, the words just wouldn't come out. It wasn't something he did a lot, talk...he got better but, it wasn't to the point as everyone else. Serving her plate, he sat across from her on the table.

"Hope you like it."

She smiled and thanked him for the food but, for some reason he felt a sinking feeling. It was a feeling that he hated. "Damn it, she thinks that you just don't want to be with her because you foolishly said only a mission was being done before her invitation."

Yugito finished her food, washed her plate and left without saying a thing. "I messed up." He said to himself before finishing his own food and washing his plate.

When he arrived at the Raikage's office, he noticed a man he'd never seen before in there. Not saying anything about it, he turned to the Raikage and bowed slightly.

"Naruto, your mission today is an A ranked one."

"Understood. What is my mission?"

"This man is named Tazuna. He's been unpleased by his prior hired help and is seeking a new aid. I'm sure he can get further into specifics with you once you depart."

"Very well. Are you ready, Mister Tazuna?"

"You want to leave now? You don't need any time or anything?" Tazuna said very surprised.

"Yeah, I'm good to go. Did you need time?"

"N-no, just the other help I had needed a couple days..."

Naruto nodded. "Not me. Let's get going."

Tazuna nodded and thanked the Raikage before following Naruto out of the office. The two made their way down the peak to the village level. Tazuna noticed the smiles and waves Naruto was receiving. Once making it out of the gates, it was a long trek down the tall mountains.

"They seem to really like you."

Naruto nodded without turning to the man. "Yeah, it's something that will always baffle me. I don't think I've really done anything to win their admiration or praise."

"You're a rather humble guy. Not many like that, especially when you put on quite a show at that tournament."

Shrugging, Naruto didn't exactly know what to say. If the man wanted to just say he was humble, then so be it. It really didn't matter to him if that was what somebody thought, nor if someone thought him cocky. None of that really bothered him. Still he knew it best not to be totally silent so began to think about a few things.

"Tell me, why weren't you pleased with the previous employed?"

"For one, they didn't stay for the completion, only halfway through the job."

Naruto raised an eyebrow to that. "You paid them expecting a certain amount of time, correct? So why didn't they follow through?"

"It's a long story kid. I'm honestly skeptical of how well you'll be able to help...but I did see you in the tournament and I've heard of that name you have, both. So I was willing to bring you when your Raikage mentioned you as available, as well as being a Jonin."

"In the grand scheme of things, age really doesn't always matter. It offers more experience for sure, but not always connected to power or skill."

"I sure hope so...for both our sakes."

"Care to explain? My life is in your hands, just as much as yours is in mine."

Tazuna looked down at Naruto and was surprised. He was being very different than the other guys. "We have a tyrant over my land. We were a prosperous fishing and agricultural village. This was years ago though...ever since a man came along with money that bought any mercenary, any property, he's gotten a monopoly over the docks and shipping. No export or import comes in without his approval or payment. We get taxed so much, it is near impossible to export any goods. To buy, prices are so steep that we barely can have anything. We've become economically crippled and can't get out of it...at least, not yet. I'm a master builder, and I'm working on making a bridge to connect to the mainland, so that the monopoly is broken, and we can get trade going once again."

Naruto nodded. "And this mogul obviously doesn't want this to be completed. You can't buy rights to a bridge, so there's no control. Even if you do this, your problem isn't solved."

"What do you mean? Sure it will!"

Shaking his head with a sigh, Naruto looked up at the man as he turned around and stopped walking. "It wouldn't. At first things may seem so, but it wouldn't last. I'm not trying to dishearten you by any means. I think it's great that you've got the courage to do something like this, to still try and not give up. Problem is, you've told me already, this man has the money to hire mercenaries, potentially quality ones if he's got a monopoly over your land. There's nothing stopping him from ensuring nothing or no one goes in and out without being harassed, robbed, or raped by these hired men or women."

Tazuna frowned and understood. "So we're really stuck under his foot then? There's no way?"

Naruto turned back around and began walking. "Didn't say that. I'm sure I can think of something. First, let's worry about getting you back, and working on this bridge of yours."

Tazuna nodded and smiled slightly. The kid was smart, and had seemed like he cared, truly. "You seem really wise, the way you are...I can see why your village likes you."

"Ha, it only seems like that to you. I'm not very good at...saying the things that are important."

Tazuna smiled and had a feeling where there was a problem. He had a daughter so it was different but with Naruto, he could see where there was a problem easily having lived it himself at one point. "A problem with a girl?"

Naruto smiled for a moment, not that Tazuna could see and sighed. "Something like that. I'm good at this type of thing, solving issues whether it be a fight, jutsu, or working around an obstacle. People though, I only really know how to get a reaction. Those I care about, I don't think they truly realize how much I care."

"Not good with your feelings, eh? I'll tell you what kid, that's something that you'll get better at over time. Even so, there's something that means way more to someone than just words. That will always be your actions. This girl of yours, or any friend, you may say something that isn't what you intend, or come out as though you don't care for any number of reasons. At the end of the day, you just have to put in effort for that person and they'll see it."

"I hope so. I appreciate the advice, Tazuna. I have a question though, with your village's financial situation, how are you paying for an A ranked mission?"

"Honestly, I've spent every last penny I've got. After the costs of material, and getting enough food for the family, this took what was left. I tried before, acting like the mission was lower ranked so that I could afford it...it is partly why they left so soon but, it was like they didn't even care about what was going on. They only wanted their money, and when I told them I couldn't, not until this bridge was completed at least, it didn't matter and they left."

"I see. You seem to have been dealt a rough hand." Naruto closed his eyes and began thinking.

They traveled on for the entire day and night was approaching. Deciding to set up a campfire and having killed some squirrels, Naruto had began cooking the meat. He and Tazuna sat on opposite sides of the fire on logs that he'd cut earlier on. The orange glow of the flames made Naruto's face seem to be one of longing and sadness in Tazuna's eyes. The light and happiness seemed to be gone from what he saw earlier that morning. He wondered what had the kid had on his mind to bring him down so much.

Tazuna took a bite of the meat on a stick and hummed in delight. "Pretty good kid."

"Thanks. I've found it's often better when eating with another, rather than alone."

He couldn't help but agree. Sharing hot meals with others was always better than not. Any meal was good, but it seemed to be missing something all the time. "If I may, what are you upset about?"

Naruto looked of up from the flames and at Tazuna. "Just thinking about some things. You should get some rest. We have a lot of ground to cover before reaching the coast."

Not planning on arguing, Tazuna listened and went into the tent that Naruto set up. While looking at the fire, he went through some hand signs, before placing his hands on the ground. Seals spread outwards and formed a ring that was twenty feet in diameter, it activated a barrier. With a different set of signs he made sound suppression within the barrier and created the same type of invisibility as he'd used prior to hide from B's squad. The finishing touch was a lightning trap that would incapacitate anyone that crossed the barrier line, at least it should. Someone strong enough or aware could avoid it.

"You aren't actually thinking about doing that are you?"

"I'm considering it. This could work out."

"These aren't your decisions to make though."

"In a way, it will be. Trust me, I'm sure it will work out."

"I will always trust you. I just want to make sure that you know of the potential consequences to this plan of yours."

"Even greater rewards though."

Naruto looked at the fire again and smiled. Things could work out if done right. The next morning came quickly, so he had began cooking up a rabbit and woke Tazuna just before the sun came up.

"Why are you waking me so early?"

"Eat, I'll pack this all up." He said motioning to the fire. Once Tazuna was seated and grabbed some meat Naruto had sealed away the tent. "We start this early because everyone else still sleeps. This gives us more time to move, to get work done. It's how I train, why I grow in skill."

"This early though? Does it matter?"

Naruto looked at him with a smirk. "Say a normal person wakes up at 6, trains for two hours so...7 to 11. Then rest a couple hours, get back at it 1 to 3, rest then train one last time 5 to 7. I get up at 3 to 4, train either from 5 or 6 to 7 or 8. Rest then go back at 10 or 11 to 12 or 1, rest, train 2 or 3 to 4 or 5, train again 6 or 7 to 8 or 9. Granted I don't always rest and might do something else or study a seal."

"Hmm...I don't entirely get it."

Naruto sighed. "A lot of numbers I get it. Basically, by waking up and starting earlier, I get an extra four hours of training or in your case, work done. Everyday. Now at first, doesn't seem like much but, over the course of a year, to three years, or more? You'll never catch up because too much time has been lost.

"Oh...you have a point. What made you start this? Someone tell you this?"

Naruto smirked and shook his head. "Not really, to me it was just common sense. If you seek improvement, seek to be the best, then why wouldn't you put in more work than everyone around you? See, I know I put more in than my fellow ninja because I know their training schedules. At first it won't make a difference, but look at it long-term...then you quickly see how I gain the advantage."

"Where did this mindset come from?"

"Hmmm, well, in part, I wasn't originally from Kumo. So I don't have a clan or family there. I chose to isolate myself because it was what I was used to and found a 'comfort' in remaining how I was prior. I knew though, that I'd need to train, so I studied aspects of the shinobi that hardly any use so that I was always the outlier. The wildcard. No one uses Fuinjutsu in a fight, I do. They don't understand how to fight that, so despite their better training or whatever, I could have things in my favor. I know every single weapon style and mastered them, normally they only use one maybe two...again I've got a separation there."

"Damn...you would be good for my grandson...if he were around you, maybe he'd start believing again." Tazuna said with a somber expression.

Naruto was about to speak but stopped. He just stood up and put out the fire by covering it with dirt and stepping onto it. Tazuna also stood as he realized that they were leaving. Glancing over at the older man, he noticed the guy was trying to hold back his shivers. Reaching to a pocket within the vest, he pulled out a scroll that unsealed it self before going through it and unsealing a blanket.

"Here, wrap yourself in this. Looks like the usual cold's gotten here."

"Thank you. You're not going to need a blanket or something?"

"No. Let's just say, I don't get cold..." Naruto then continued walking. For the most part, everything was quiet. It was extremely easy thus far until they got to wave country. There was a single path to follow from every dock, to the village. This made ambushes easy. Normally no one veered off the marked path.

"Say, Naruto, you can stay with me and my family at the house."

Naruto gave a nod, "If it is what you want then I'll do it. I appreciate the hospitality." Tazuna was about to speak when Naruto raised his hand up, making a fist to signal his stop.

Two people charged fast out of the bushes and Naruto watched them come. A chain launched from one man, to the other as he attached it to his own gauntlet. It was an odd strategy in Naruto's mind but it made him wonder what their plan was. It was then that the two quickly burst in front of him and started wrapping the sharp chain around him. A tight, rough pull in opposite directions and Naruto was shred to pieces...or rather, he burst in smoke.

"That's your big attack? I'm disappointed...oh well." Naruto said from a tree and hopped down. Going through handsigns, he blew a stream of fire at the chain, and watched it glow. At that point, he threw a kunai and it broke through.

"Ha! We've got another chain!" One said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You boast about something that I've shown won't work on me?" Deciding to end it, he blitzed the one that talked and easily stabbed him in the throat, the guy collapsed to his knees holding his throat where blood gushed out like a geyser.

"Meizu! No!"

"Now, who are you? Who sent you?"

"Errr!" The person looked away. "Gozu...I work under Zabuza, and he works for Gato...now let me go and give my brother a burial..."

"You're not trying to retaliate?"

Gozu clenched his fists. "I want to, oh I so very want to!"

Naruto smirked and cracked his neck. "Well, I never once said I'd let you go...you'll only become a hindrance in the future, and I can't let that happen." Gozu only saw a blur before his chest had a searing pain, looking down, he noticed Naruto stabbed a kunai into his heart.

Tazuna finally puked after that and had reached for a napkin in his pocket to clean off his mouth. "Damn, kid...was that necessary?"

"Very much so. He'd only come after you later. This Zabuza...could it be Momochi?"

"Who's that?"

Naruto looked over to Tazuna after sealing the two bodies away. Their lives had bounties on them. "These guys were Mist rogues, he mentioned Zabuza, that name holds a great deal within that land."

"Why?" He began following Naruto again and watched the kid be silent for a moment.

"Because, for one he's extremely dangerous. Not many live after facing him. If he's after you because of this Gato, then this will only get harder. The man's formerly of the seven swordsmen. They each held a special and legendary sword. In my opinion, of the seven, Zabuza would be the most skilled swordsmen of the group. The others have a sword with...unique qualities. His is more or less just a massive, heavy blade, so his fighting is true swordsmanship, not some strange...how to put it...gimmick. in all honesty, I'd rather face one of the other six...maybe just not one."

"I understand the not wanting to face the Zabuza guy, sort of...you said you've mastered every weapon so I don't see your worry...why not the other?

Naruto sighed, "Let's just say that his sword's quality gives him ridiculous amounts of chakra. The reason to worry about Zabuza is because it's said that the guy has always been a full on killer, not even in the Ninja Academy and he killed that year's entire graduating class...then on, he leaves trails of blood everywhere he goes. They call him a Demon, ironic really...let's get to your house before someone else makes an appearance."

Tazuna gulped and agreed. He told Naruto where to go as they made their way to a secluded house in the middle of a forest. The property sat at the side of a lake and was completely isolated from the village. Letting Tazuna get ahead so as to be the first one through the door, Naruto paused for a brief moment as he was mentally making a decision.

"Tsunami, I'm home!" Tazuna called out.

"Father! Thank goodness, you're ok! Did you get help?" A very pretty woman who was about thirty said. She had dark hair that had a blue hue to it, pink shirt that had a red collar and was red at the cuff of the short sleeve shirt, a navy blue skirt and both of which showed her very pleasant figure without ever having to show skin.

"Yes, Kumogakure has given us a Jonin. He's a pretty smart youngster." Tazuna motioned for Naruto to enter.

Taking a breath, Naruto entered the man's home. "Hello ma'am, Naruto Namikaze at your service."

"He's just a boy father...are you sure? Not just for your sake but, he could be hurt..."

"I appreciate the concerns, but I promise you, I'm very much capable of helping keep you, and your father safe." He said in a calm, confident tone that seemed to help ease her worries.

"Are you sure? It's dangerous...you heard right? You're so very young still..."

Naruto nodded, and smiled to her. "Which makes it even more important that I stay. I can't turn my back on those in need, besides, if there's danger then you can't just cower away otherwise someone else can be hurt because you lacked the will to act."

"OH SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW? HUH?" a high pitched squeaker said.

Naruto looked over to the stairs and noticed a young boy. "Got a problem there?"

"YEAH! IT'S YOU! YOU'RE THE PROBLEM!"

Shaking his head with a sigh, Naruto closed his eyes. "Now why is that?"

"You damned ninja are cowards! The first group high tailed it, what's to say you won't? You people don't know suffering!"

"First off, don't loop me in with whoever your first group was. Alright? I'm a different person. Second, what are you doing? From what I see only Tazuna is out trying to make a difference and miss Tsunami is here trying to hold everything together. So what of you? You're an able body, you could help, and yet you don't. That's pitiful. So I can only assume you're a son and grandson respectively, don't act to know true suffering, many have had it worse. You've got a roof over your head, food to eat, and a loving family. Things that not everyone have, things some of these people in your village don't even have. You've got a lot of luxuries kid, so chill out." Naruto said completely and totally calm.

Tsunami was rather surprised that Naruto had not at all showed any anger and remained rather passive. Stern, but passive. Showed her a great deal in his professionalism and character. Then she had to exhale deeply at her son's outburst.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"Inari, stop. He didn't have to accept the mission requested by your grandfather but he did."

"HE'S BEING PAID! IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT, HE WOULDN'T CARE OR EVEN LIFT A FINGER TO HELP!"

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed quietly to himself. Tsunami though was getting mad at her son's disrespectful attitude. "That's enough Inari! Go to your room, NOW!" Inari ran off up to his room and she turned to Naruto. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. Would you like some freshly made lemon tea?"

Smiling slightly he gave a nod. "Yes I'd like that. Its quite alright though. He's just...hurting...granted it doesn't excuse his laziness or outburst. He's a mere child though so, guess it can't be helped."

"You're really young yourself. What, 12?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but I'll be 13 soon."

"Huh...that Raikage never said you were only 12...now I'm feeling pretty bad about this." Tazuna said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it. I accepted it, and I'm a Jonin remember? Have some faith. Besides, I've got a plan that I was thinking about from before."

"What plan?" Tazuna said.

Glancing over at the man, Naruto thought. "We'll discuss it another time. We've traveled a lot. Get some rest, Tazuna."

"And you?"

Smirking, Naruto shook his head. "Let's just say, I don't really need much sleep."

-A Few Days Later, Kumogakure-

Yugito was walking down the streets to a training ground that she hadn't been to in quite a long time. The last time she was there, was probably during Naruto's trip when she fought the team as a training session. At least, that was the only time she could remember. Being well known from her always being close to A and B, she got waves and greetings along her walk.

Obviously, she took the attention far better than Naruto did. Coming up to the location though, she noticed the person she came to see. "Omoi!"

Placing his katana into its sheath, he took a breath and turned to her. "Hey, what's going on, Yugito?"

"Seen Naruto anywhere? Haven't seen him in a quite a while."

"So you come to me, why?"

She placed a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. "He always tells you stuff. So figured he'd either be with you, or you knew."

Omoi sighed. "What happened? He in trouble or something? Did you guys already break up...would that mean I no longer won the bet? Would I need to return the money to them...but I spent it all already!"

"Focus, Omoi! He's sort of in trouble. He was only supposed to have a mission he said a few days back. So, I tried to see if he wanted to do anything that evening but he ducked out. Suddenly he had other things to do so I left it be. Now he's been gone and I'm getting annoyed."

"Oh...well he did have the mission. In fact he's been on mission. It's a long-term one, there isn't an estimated end date. He could be gone days, a week, month...you know, the usual A rank long-term type of mission."

Yugito froze for a moment as realization dawned on her. "Wait...you mean...he really wasn't going to be free, that he had a long-term mission from the start? He wasn't just ducking out on me?"

"Nope! Naruto had been given his mission the night prior, sort of...more like he knew a long-term mission was to be expected, what rank or details, he hadn't known."

"So that morning...was his only chance to see me, for me to be able to say bye or wish him well..." She brought her hands to her mouth and her breath shuddered. "And I just stormed out, jumping to the wrong conclusions as always!" Her eyes teared up slightly. "He must have really been hurt...I didn't know! He tried to be nice and, and, and I just assumed the worst."

Omoi frowned, he understood her fears and also felt frustrated at her actions. He sighed and shook his head. "Take it easy. We both know he'll be alright."

"He already always has problems with his emotions...he was opening up to me and then I do this! It'll crush him! You know how he is, he'll take it to heart and blame himself entirely."

Nodding, he definitely could see that side. "He probably will. His communication isn't the greatest so...he'll see it as his error. Just relax, he'll still care for you. He's a different guy with you." Omoi began to laugh. "He's always been different with you."

"You think so?"

He laughed again. "Apparently he makes you different too!"

"What?"

"You two are like complete opposites really. It becomes obvious in your styles and approaches of fighting. Still, I guess that only makes it true in what they say, opposites attract."

-Land Of Waves-

After having been given a tour of the village when entering, and a more in depth one the day prior, Naruto had came to a complete decision. Work was being done to the bridge that Tazuna was working on, and it impressed Naruto. He wasn't expecting the scale to which the bridge was going to be. On top of that, it gave him more to learn.

It was early in the morning, as always for Naruto and now Tazuna. The man was very much unaccustomed and had been yawning while rubbing his right eye with his right hand. Upon exiting the house, Naruto narrowed his eyes and immediately went down the steps of the porch.

"Tazuna, hang back for a moment."

"Huh? What why?"

A light mist came flowing along the ground into the area and Naruto took a breath. In a few instances, a few men came into the yard. "Get inside now!" Tazuna groaned but looked and noticed the people at the yard. Agreeing, he entered the house quickly, leaving Naruto to the unwelcomed guests.

"Are they with Gato? Or..."

"So you're the one who took out those brothers. A mere boy...given your vest, you're a Jonin of Kumo. So you're rather skilled, guess that's a similarity we both hold. Only...I never was of the academy first." A deep voice that held quite a bit of humor as he spoke said from within the darkness of the trees.

"Zabuza Momochi..." Naruto said, a frown present on his face. "Damn it...this is bad! OK, think. Zabuza is the problem, these other guys seem to just be hired help, most likely under Gato's pay." Taking a breath he cracked his neck and sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Listen, you're in my way right now. Hand over the bridge builder, and you can live. I'll let you walk. Hell, the kid and woman can live as well. The bridge builder is the only target."

"It appears that we are at an impasse. My orders are to protect the man."

"Apparently so...I will warn you, fight now, you, the builder and that family will die."

Naruto nodded before smirking. "I understand that, tell me though. Do you like taking orders from some schmuck?"

Zabuza stepped into visibility, his sword was on his back. Seeing the tall man finally come into view, Naruto clenched a fist. Forcing down the worry and focusing entirely on devising a plan. "Come again?"

"You're supposed to be a legendary swordsman, now you're just someone's lap dog."

Zabuza growled and clenched his fists. "I am no one's lap dog, brat! You're nobody! Who are you to talk? You have no idea how the world works! A mere child as you never could. I tried to give you an out, a chance to live on and grow, maybe even find yourself on my radar someday...Apparently, that won't be the case if you wish to be so arrogant. I'll show you just how much it will cost you..."

"Well, that didn't exactly go to plan. Immediately it just got him to get fired up, rather than just let me in his head...however..." Naruto shrugged and brought his arms up to his side. "What can I say? From my perspective, you've taken many steps down. How the legendary demon has fallen so, so very far."

"Rrr, you better watch it brat."

Naruto looked around at the other four guys. They all held varying weapons and all rather sloppy. "They have no true idea of what their doing. Only facing untrained men or women...they're dangerous, us ninja though, they are mere nuisances." Looking back at Zabuza, he grit his teeth. "Still, to face him isn't easy."

"Let's just kill him already!" One said.

"Yeah! Then we can kill the old man! Even have some fun with that woman in there!" Someone said from Zabuza's left. Naruto narrowed his eyes at that man. He would kill him first...or he would have...

Zabuza glanced over at the guy and reached out his left arm. His hand was bigger than the smaller man's face as he grabbed hold of his head. As he squeezed the person's head, palm facing the face, the man screamed in agony until a squish and pop was seen. Blood spurt everywhere and the arms fell limp to the sides. Tossing the limp body away, Zabuza looked back to Naruto.

"So he still has some sort of morals."

"Do you still wish to stand in my way?" Zabuza said. He watched as Naruto only reached out in front of him, suddenly a sword appeared and he grabbed onto the handle, blade pointed straight at him. "Very well, haha, this should be interesting."

Naruto's breath hitched and he closed his eyes. Slowly opening them, his eyes here a cloudy black and seemed smoky as it pulsed around within. The blade glowed white and the aura spread over his body.

"Remember, concentrate on your actions, be focused. If you let your mind slip into anything else but your movement and strikes, you'll lose control."

Naruto mentally confirmed his understanding to Kurama before taking another breath to calm himself. With swift motion, so fast only a white blur was seen, he cut down the three remaining bandits but his strike at Zabuza was blocked. They held their ground, trying to force the other into submission. Knowing he couldn't last in this type of situation, he blurred away and held his sword towards Zabuza.

"You're fast, I give you that...but far from the fastest I've faced." Zabuza said then ran and jumped into a twirling slash. It made him resemble a tornado in its motion, only instead of winds that moved, it was a massive heavy blade that became practically unblockable unless you wish to die.

Naruto ducked and watched Zabuza complete the spin, however he went into a downwards chop. Rolling to the right, he watched as the blade went straight through the ground like butter. Hoping it would be stuck in some way, he went for a stab but only hit the wide sword.

"So tell me brat, what does this sword of yours do since I've never seen that type of effect. Like that of a man possessed."

Naruto chuckled before backing up and holding the sword parallel to the ground. He brought his left hand to the handle and slowly ran it along the dull side. The glow intensified where his hand left until the entire blade had a bigger glow.

"Similar look to that one Uchiha style technique, only white. Will it be the same?" Zabuza thought before Naruto lowered slightly and vanished. Eyes going wide, Zabuza felt a tingle in his neck before turning around and watching as Naruto appeared out of nowhere like a smokey ghost and blocked the attack, or tried really. He phased through the sword and felt a burn in his arm before jumping away. "What the hell?"

Naruto appeared back where he was as though he never moved. He had sweat roll down the side of his head before twirling it into the air. The sword spun like a fan and Zabuza stood perplexed. He'd never seen a sword like this. It then came at him really fast, he jumped over it and watched Naruto reach out towards him. Glancing back, he noticed the sword coming straight to his back and dove away, Naruto caught it and blurred to be in front of him, blade pointed at the throat.

"What are you?"

Naruto breathed slowly, and stabbed through the moans throat. He narrowed his eyes at watching Zabuza turn into water before ducking a slash that would have cut him in two. "So you were a clone..."

Zabuza chuckled. "That's an interesting sword you've got there."

Sighing, Naruto released the aura and it receded back to the blade before fading away. Going through some hand signs and taking in a deep breath, Naruto brought his hand to his mouth. "Fire Style: Fire Breath Jutsu." He said and a stream of fire made its way to Zabuza.

Running through his own small sequence of signs, Zabuza brought his hand to the his mouth. "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu." He said and a high pressured stream of water was spit out, clashing with the fire and overpowering it.

Naruto noticed and spun away to the left to dodge and noticed Zabuza hadn't released his Jutsu. Thinking it an opportunity, he charged in and slashed with a kunai only for it to burst in water. "Another clone..."

Zabuza threw some shuriken at Naruto and then began a long series of hand signs. 43 signs to be exact and it was in a rather fast pace. Being pretty curious as to what was going to come, Naruto just watched. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

As soon as he saw the dragon forming out of the water, he reached into his pouch and grabbed five kunai. They were in each gap of his fingers, where his index and middle finger gap had two that crisscrossed. Attached to each kunai was a small tag with a seal, a red line bordered the tag and he flung them at the dragon. Two in the mouth, the rest along the body. The tags blew up, destroying the Jutsu and he dodged the sword that came flying in at him through the smoke.

"Naruto, you need to work on ending this fight. You aren't his target, he's honoring the fight now-"

"But it can always change, I know."

"On top of that, the more this fight has gone on, there's been more and more water for him to draw from. He won't need to resort to taking this to that lake for his upper level Jutsu. That dragon is only the beginning."

He understood very well that the battlefield was becoming more advantageous for Zabuza as this went on but he was getting excited in a way. Not in the sense that he craved the fight, but he wanted to see more of what Zabuza was capable of. What an A ranked opponent that wasn't holding back could do was an interesting prospect to behold. Darui was extremely skilled, but he'd never go all out, they never would need to against eachother. Life wasn't at risk...this had stakes. They'd need to fight for real otherwise one of them could die.

Naruto took out a closed scroll and threw it towards Zabuza. The man was confused and watched it travel in the air. "Could be a distraction...or something for real. Normally though, it would need to be activated by the person to do anything, he couldn't do that from a distance...right?" Not risking it, Zabuza threw a kunai into it and it landed on the ground, never opened.

Naruto exhaled a disappointed breath. "What was I thinking? You're not a stupid Genin..."

"You mean...that bullshit worked on someone?"

Naruto nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah, got a Hyuga twice with the scroll in the Chunin exams."

Zabuza shook his head. "A clan with a bloodline like theirs...you wonder how that would ever work."

"I know right! Ridiculous...anyways..."

With a nod, Zabuza was gone in a blur and appeared with a kick to Naruto's chest. Grabbing his sword from the ground, he went for a slash the Naruto blocked but sent him into a tree. "Damn, for that ridiculous size, he really moves that thing!"

Rolling right, Naruto dodged another slash, but it cut the tree down. It gave him an idea as he began to dodge and move more into the woods. It wasn't as dense as Fire Country's especially in comparison to when you got closer to Konoha, but it restricted Zabuza's movements a bit. Since his more devastating, unblockable moves would require more energy since he'd need to deal with the trees that would get in the way.

On top of that, throughout this fight, Zabuza only showed prowess with water ninjutsu. After passing a tree, he placed a tag on the trunk, he heard Zabuza making his way to him, so he quickly got four kunai and placed different tags on them. They each held different borders varying from blue, to gray, to brown, and purple. A red one was placed on the trunk before grabbing the kunai. Looking around, he quickly noted four other trees that had the same radius to a central point he'd chosen. He waited in that central point as he threw those kunai to those chosen trees.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and held his sword at his side. "This will hurt, but, it will lead to the success in this plan."

Opening his eyes, Zabuza was midair, mid swing coming at him. Taking a breath for the inevitable, he brought his sword up and blocked. The momentum and strength behind Zabuza and his sword easily broke Naruto's grounding as he was sent flying through a tree. He got up with a groan to see an amused looking Zabuza. Clutching his ribs with his left hand, blood spread from his left shoulder as a massive gash was made from a shard of the wood from the tree having cut through him.

"I've got you, Zabuza." Naruto said with a pant. His left eye closed, trying to contain the pain he was feeling. Normally his high pain tolerance let him get by without feeling much but that was a rough blow.

"You, got me? How so?" He said with a laugh.

Naruto brought his right and up into the half ram seal and smirked. "Look around..." as Zabuza did, he noticed tags begin to glow, each one having a different element within the seal. Water, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Lightning. "This is checkmate."

While Zabuza tried to figure out just what was about to happen so that he could either counter or stop it, he noticed that the main other problem was that he was surrounded by whatever this was. That was also when he felt pain shoot from the right side of his neck as he dropped to the ground.

"What the?" Naruto said and noticed that senbon were lodged into Zabuza's neck.

"Thank you for that. You have no idea how long I've been tracking him." A soft voice said within a tree.

Looking up at the new arrival, Naruto noticed the battle wear of the person. Green and brown, a mask with the symbol of Kiri on it and very narrow, horizontal eye slits with a red curve up the right cheek. "Who are you?"

"Hunter Ninja from Kirigakure. We've had trouble with Zabuza Momochi due to his affiliation with his employer. We don't know who it is, but whoever they are, have done well at masking his presence or actions. You gave me the opportunity while I was scanning the area for signs."

"I see...well, you're welcome...I guess. Anything you need from me?"

The masked ninja flickered over to Zabuza and picked him up slightly, slinging an arm over their shoulders. "No, nothing at all. I must rendezvous with my team so that we can take care of this. Again, thank you for your help." With that, the person was gone.

"Well...that was a buzz kill. I almost actually got to use the trap! Oh well, more important things to do." Shaking his head, he left the area and went back to Tazuna's house.

As he walked back to the house, red chakra was going through his wounds and body. It bubbled out but also had the look of lightning shooting around, mainly around the more damaged parts of his body. In just moments, he was good as new, however his eyes and right arm burned a lot. The use of that power was not something enjoyed at all, and had yet to fully grow accustomed to.

Still, it held its perks. To be able to attack without needing to do so himself could come in handy. On top of that, the short bursts of great speed that it allowed, made handling the situation at the start easier. There of course was a limit to his range and the apparition he'd made was another unique quality, in fact it was one of the sole abilities granted when tapping into the power that was gifted to him. The thing was, he could also combine his alternate chakra to it that allowed him to have the corrosive aspect should it make contact with an opponent. Otherwise, it didn't do a whole lot but distract or throw them off. During such time the apparition is out, he became invisible.

Right now, due to inexperience, he couldn't move without it disrupting the technique. Over time though, the expectation was that he'd have free reign. Since the apparition takes all the attention and also his "place", no longer could someone sense him, only sense the placeholder pretty much. To his knowledge, there was one last ability, but one he'd not figured out yet. So aside from those things, the problem with why he hated using it came into more or less what Zabuza said.

It's not that he just looked possessed, he very well could become possessed. Once that happened from his loss of concentration, he no longer was in control of himself. The thirst and hunger for blood takes over, like it did before. In order to be free of those worries, he'd need to keep getting experienced in using the power, to do that though was always risky.

It was rather stupid to use it in the fight, but he needed to get rid of the other attackers as soon as possible. Yeah, he was fast, but Zabuza had countered him even in that mode. So his normal full speed may have not been as successful, leading to needing to fight the others while dealing with Zabuza. It always seemed to come back to bite him in the end. Where studying so much into the few aspects he had, it did give him advantage over his peers, but against a truly strong opponent, someone like Zabuza who didn't bite on everything so much, he needed to be more physical rather than mental.

Sighing, he shook his head. "It can't be helped. Maybe things need to change. I'm just glad he's gone...even if I wasn't the one to have killed him, it's over."

When he got to the porch and prepared to open the door, it had swung open on its own. Tazuna stood there with Tsunami who were glad he was alright. "You ok?"

"Yes ma'am." He said with a small smile. "I'm going to get changed, then we can head to the bridge." The two both tried to look out the doorway when he coughed to gain their attention. "Don't worry about that now, everything's been handled."

Once they got to the bridge, Tazuna got straight to work. A couple hours later, and the rest of his crew had arrived as well. Progress was steady, and the timetable was expecting the project to be done in three to four weeks. So long as nothing happened to really delay things.

"Say, Naruto. What was your plan from before?"

"Hm?" Looking at Tazuna he then nod. Now was good time as any. "Right, well let's talk about a potential deal."

"What do you mean?"

"You have a money problem. And as I've said before, this bridge doesn't fully solve your issues."

"Ok...and?"

"I'll work free. Payment was going to be upon completion, I won't be paid. Sure you paid a portion up front, but the main fee came at the end, that money is given to me, so I'll void that payment and handle the source to your problem."

Tazuna narrowed his eyes and was confused. "This sounds too good to be true. You're going to do this job for free, and take care of Gato? I don't believe you."

"There is of course a catch."

Tazuna nodded as he was expecting such. "What is it?"

Naruto smirked and tilt his head in amusement. "For me doing this protection job for free, and for the handling of Gato, you will make an agreement of sole employment of Kumo forces. Therefore, any business you seek from shinobi, is dealt solely with us. You're to be a contractor for our village should we call upon you, we are expected to be of top priority. Aside from that, when you begin exporting goods once more, any goods headed to Lightning Country is to have a 5% import reduction cost which means we pretty much get a 5% discount. This will work vice-versa, so should you guys buy goods, you'll also get a 5% import reduction. Tax on item shall be at its usual rates, but I can make sure that it doesn't fluctuate at all, as of right now, it's a 9% tax, if you agree, the tax will never change, even if it goes up higher for any reason, Wave will continue to only have the 9% tax per item."

Tazuna was nodding slowly throughout. "What about protection of ships? Travelers? How would we be sure that nothing happens on the way?"

"We take care of our imports. If you follow and give us a schedule, we'll ensure that it always arrives to destination...within Lightning Country of course. If you buy, we deliver. If you're sending to another land and want to ensure the goods make it, then you'll have to hire shinobi help. Generally that would be C ranked, depending on the goods can be B ranked, however keep in mind, any help from shinobi must be through Kumo."

"If we ever break that agreement?"

Naruto smirked again and sighed. "Then all agreements that have been made are off the table."

"So, for a free job now, and handling of Gato so that we can prosper once more, all you mainly want is all of our requests for jobs to be through your village? As well as opening trade with us?"

Nodding Naruto crossed his arms as he leaned against the rail that blocked the edge of the bridge. "Yup, don't forget that you're our contractor too. It will give you a legitimate business, but you're always to prioritize Kumo's jobs over any other's."

"Naruto...are you serious?"

"Very."

"How can I believe you? You're only a Jonin."

A smile spread from the smirk and Naruto closed his eyes as he turned to the sky. "I'll send a message to Lord Raikage. I can guarantee you he will agree."

Tazuna nodded and extended his hand to Naruto. "If he agrees to what you've said, then the clear choice is to go along with it. You've done and will do a lot, it's because of Kumo that I believe we will finish this project and get Wave back on its feet. I will gladly have a sole partnership with Kumo and its land."

Shaking his hand, Naruto looked out at the water and smiled. "Glad to hear." Leaning on the rail as Tazuna went back to work he sighed, contempt with how it went. He'd expected more back and forth, more terms to be said by Tazuna but no. The man had faith in them, in him to follow through and keep them taken care of. After writing the message detailing everything to A, he had to begin thinking about how to seal the last end of the task.

-Next Day-

"Grrrah! Damn it, Haku! You're cruel!"

"I'm sorry Zabuza-sama, if I hadn't done that, you'd surely be dead for real right now." The now unmasked hunter ninja said. Having long dark brown hair that framed their face, and brown eyes with a feminine face.

"I'm sure I would have figured something out." Zabuza said with a groan.

"Not this time."

"Anything you can tell me from what you saw?"

Haku paused for a moment. "Believe it or not, he's not shown all that he's capable of."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "How can that be? I had him rather defensive throughout the fight. His attempts to attack were unsuccessful."

"I've been keeping tabs on upcoming threats, he isn't a complete problem yet...at least I didn't think so, so I never mentioned him before. This kid won these previous Chunin Exams."

Zabuza rolled his eyes. "Big deal."

"In dominating fashion. It was like a man amongst boys. His fighting is rather weird in my opinion. He's got a habit of taking stupid risks but then ends up taking away the best strengths of his enemy."

"He didn't exactly do that this fight, Haku. I'm having trouble seeing your view on this."

"It is true, you were winning. At the end though, he took you into the woods. That was no mistake, you lost mobility, and your water advantage. He gained the confined space up to where he set his trap. He gained all advantage, while you lost all of yours at once. I can't predict how the fight would have gone had I let it continue."

Zabuza growled slightly at that. "You really have no idea where the fight would have gone?"

"No. I know what you can do, I know some of his ability...based on the Exams, he has a knack for breaking down an opponent but, I'm unsure how that goes for you. When you fight again, I'll be there, but...we should make sure that it's as open a battleground as possible. He loses a great deal in what he could set up."

With a nod he sighed. "Very well, you've never been wrong before. Now tell me everything you know about this Naruto."

-Four Days Later-

"Good news, Tazuna. Got word back from Kumo. They've agreed to the terms I've made and that you already agreed to. They'll even send relief aid once I've completed my mission."

"Oh wow! I can't believe it! You're serious?" Tazuna said, aa he has a massive smile and had stood from the table.

"Oh my, everything seems to be looking up now! It's all thanks to you, Naruto." Tsunami said from the sink.

"It's nothing. I told you, I can't stand by when I know someone needs help. Plus, this gives both parties benefit. It's a win win."

Inari said nothing as he just looked down at his food. He wanted to start believing and trusting Naruto but...if he did...then he would only be let down again.

"I truly appreciate everything, Naruto. I hope to one day find a way to repay your kindness."

"No worries. No debt to be repaid...now, we have a bridge to get to, don't we?" Tazuna nodded and the two left the house. As they left, Tsunami called out, wishing them well.

When they got to the bridge, Naruto was immediately on alert. Everything was pretty foggy and that didn't make much sense. There shouldn't have been any fog or anything. Clear perfect day, and yet here this was. It was just like when Zabuza had first shown up, only this time was thicker. The only one capable from who he'd seen was Zabuza, the others were also dead, so that eliminated them. It wasn't a very difficult Jutsu, so any ninja with knowledge of it could do it, so there was that as well to take into account.

If that was the case, then who would be the threat today? As on cue, Naruto noticed two figures stepping into view. One was that hunter ninja from before, the other was Zabuza. "You're supposed to be dead..."

With a chuckle, Zabuza tilt his head. "You didn't really think it would be that easy...did you?"

"So he's not dead, the other ninja obviously is his accomplice. How strong are they? How do I ensure Tazuna's protection if I fight them both. He can't just get to the house, he'd never make it...I guess the only way is a barrier, to do that though, one to be strong enough would need constant chakra to be fed, I can't do that and fight at the same time..."

"Use those shadow clones. It will cost a bit of chakra since they'd need enough to keep the barrier active throughout this, but there's no way around it."

"I would but...it takes too much concentration to use them for that. Attacking is simple, to maintain the barrier and not be wasteful or disrupt it, as well as my own fighting is too much right now. I've never used them for that purpose."

Kurama thought for a moment then smirked. "I'll take control of the clones. Just channel some of my chakra when forming them, once you've put up the barrier, I'll maintain it."

"Alright, thanks for the help. Now, onto the problem at hand."

Forming three clones, they entered a triangular formation around Tazuna and put up a golden, transparent barrier. It wasn't the strongest barrier out there, but it would not be easily broken. So long as the chakra maintained its steady flow. The eyes of the clones all became red with a black slit and the whisker marks darkened.

"Plan to die in front of the bridge builder? Very well then. It won't be as it was last time, Naruto Namikaze. You'll be dying today."

Naruto gave him a nod and crossed his arms across his chest. "You are right, this won't be the same. You now know who I am? Can I assume that your accomplice over there was the one to inform you? Does that make them the brains of your operation? Does this mean you know some things about me now as well?"

"Brat...why do you ask so many questions?"

Naruto closed his eyes and slowly opened them. No longer maintaining the circular pupil, they reverted back to being the slit. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at that but said nothing. "It often leads to careless divulgence of intel, and frankly...buys time."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes and grabbed his sword. "Zabuza-sama, let me. He's seen you fight, I want to see what his breakdown process is like first hand."

"Fine, go ahead."

Naruto looked at the hunter ninja who held three senbon. In a flick, they came flying at him at ridiculous speed. Bringing up a kunai, he reacted just fast enough to block them. "He's doing just enough. Is it being arrogant or is he trying to practice self control? Why does he not go at 100% from the jump?"

Naruto looked at the enemy with a passive gaze. This person lied to him, and they made him think that Zabuza was dead. He watched as they took out a single senbon and held it like a kunai, he grabbed his own kunai, going with a reverse grip. "Interesting choice. If this person really intends to fight with that, they must have serious grip strength and experience to trust in that."

The two were gone in a blur and reappeared in the middle with a clang. The two of them were fighting to over power the other. It was pretty surprising to Naruto to see that despite some wobble every now and then, the Ninja held strong. That was when Naruto did something the person never thought he'd do, he let go of the kunai, stepped to the left as the nin's weight carried them forward. The kunai twirled as it was about to drop, reaching out with his left, Naruto caught the kunai and went to stab the enemy in the back of the head.

With victory being inches away, he saw an obstruction, then a loud clang. In the path, Naruto hit Zabuza's sword. "Rrr of course he helps at the last moment..."

"Hurry up and get away, Haku!" Zabuza said to his shaken up partner.

Haku had been wide-eyed. He couldn't believe that he already almost lost. That was a stupid maneuver in his eyes and yet, it nearly got him killed. Who just let's go of their weapon in that type of situation? It made no sense to him. Hearing Zabuza call for him to move, he glanced back to see the sword be between the kunai and him. Further back, Zabuza was there where he was at the start.

"Was he attempting to kill me until I flipped this around, becoming an inadvertent block? Or did he really throw this huge ass sword that fast? What are their connection? If it was just two mercenaries, they really wouldn't protect one another. More money if less are on payroll...so they've been together since before then, maybe since back in Kiri..." Naruto thought before watching Haku blur away to Zabuza's side.

"What kind of move was that? You just get lucky?" Haku said as he regained his bearing.

With a smirk and a tilt to his head he laughed a bit. "Not luck. However you're the second person I've done it to. So tell me, why Gato? You killed that bandit because he planned to rape Tazuna's daughter. Many if not all of Gato's men, hell even Gato himself rapes and traffics women and children! So why work for that piece of shit?"

"Do you really think the world's so black and white? Think you know everything? The good, the bad, the right from wrong, why it is people do what they do? Why there are shinobi? We are tools, brat. Expendable to the village, tossed out when no longer of use! That's the reality of what we are. As for why I am doing this...you'd never understand."

"Enough of this. Let's just get it over with." Naruto said and looked to the sword behind him. Touching it with his hand a seal spread over it before it was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Hey! What'd you do with my sword, brat?" Zabuza growled.

"Should have done something else to protect your partner. It's gone, for now." Looking between the two, he sighed. "Even getting rid of the sword doesn't simplify this too much. Just takes away some of his range. The bridge being their choice of attack wasn't by mistake. Still, him being a water user...actually doesn't matter so long as nothing gets on the bridge. We're too high up for him to draw from the ocean."

Haku and Zabuza both blurred away. Naruto grabbed a second kunai in his left hand and brought his arms up. From both sides, he blocked and was holding his ground at their two attacks. Zabuza was far harder to hold back than Haku, so he pushed his left arm forward while stepping back, to not hit Haku, Zabuza spun to his left.

Blocking Zabuza's kick, Naruto ducked below three senbon and side stepped a spinning kick. Haku appeared in front of him next, trying to stab him with a senbon. With swaying side to side while walking backwards, he dodged the repeated attempts before bumping into the railing. With his last stab attempt, Naruto caught his wrist and began to squeeze until the senbon was forced out of Haku's grasp.

Continuing to add force, in an instant red chakra bubbled from his hand and his wrist snapped. Zabuza came with a kick to Naruto's head which was ducked, in order to be more efficient in avoiding the incoming attacks, he threw Haku towards Zabuza. Haku groaned and clutched his wrist.

Running through his hand signs, Zabuza began to unleash his torrent of water. "We need to start getting Haku's jutsu involved...This brat is becoming a problem."

Naruto countered with his own fire and the two fought to see who'd outlast the other. As they were going through this test of chakra pretty much, Naruto noticed a glint of light and cursed mentally. He jumped to the side and watched the senbon fly past where he was.

"Haku, now!"

Haku gave a nod and began doing one handed signs. "He can do one handed signs? Interesting..." Naruto watched as Haku did the signs and was pretty confused on where this was going. Once the signs were done, and the mumbling of something he couldn't hear, the water rose up and formed massive slabs of ice that were not transparent, and seemed to reflect. They surrounded him and kept him closed in.

"Look at that...the Ice Release bloodline lives on..." Kurama said with an amused chuckle. "I'll finally prove to them my power surpasses this bastardized technique."

"Have you lost before to this?"

"Once...I was...unprepared. The wood style is the universal counter to us Biju due to the chakra absorption qualities. Well, the ice slows us a great deal and makes it easier to seal us. Back when we were plentiful, this was their plan of attack, but the bloodline has ran thin from being wiped out, similarly, only nine of my kind remain."

"Interesting. Well then let's end this?"

"Yes, let's shall."

Naruto cracked his neck as he watched Haku step into a wall of ice. Once that happened, Haku appeared in every block of ice. "This is the end, Naruto. No one has ever escaped this jutsu. Surrender now...and I'll spare you."

With a chuckle that turned into full blown laughter, Naruto shook his head. "As curious as I truly am to see how this jutsu works, despite how badly I want to create counters to your trump card and watch you stand astonished at how I could so easily take away your strongest techniques...there is something else I must do."

"What would that be...as I said, no one has ever escaped my ice prison."

"No one has ever been me, and no one...has ever had the power of the nine tails!" Naruto smirked as the red chakra surrounded his body and the nine tails bubbled out. Lowering down on all fours, he stretched out each tail and burst through every mirror that had Haku on it.

They each burst and the tail that struck the mirror with the actual Haku, wrapped and held him in place before he could flee. "W-what is this? How?"

"You're an interesting opponent. I'm sure I would have definitely had to figure out a lot in regards to you...sadly though, we won't be able to see that. I can't let you or Zabuza win." Naruto said in a deeper voice that seemed to have an echo. The tail brought Haku to him, and he quickly delivered a stab to his heart.

Turning to Zabuza, Naruto noticed the look on the man's face. A mixture of anger, sadness, frustration, and disappointment. Without wasting time, Naruto vanished and appeared behind Zabuza about to stab him in the back. Zabuza though, moved away in time and only suffered a deep gash to his side, which otherwise would have been a fatal blow.

Naruto spun and as he came around Zabuza noticed a poof of smoke as he saw his sword coming at him. "Killed by my own blade...ironic..." trying to move, Zabuza stumbled as he gripped his side. Naruto was far more agile and faster than before. "Damn Jinchuriki, they're such nuisances...I wish you well, Haku."

After finishing the attack, Naruto sighed as he looked at the fallen enemies. A brief pause and silence was given before he let the chakra fade away. The clones dispersed and the barrier came down. Sealing the bodies away, Naruto sat down with a heavy sigh.

"I'm getting to old for this."

"Hahaha! Shut up brat! You've only just begun!" Tazuna said and frowned. He knew that Naruto probably wasn't in the greatest of moods, killing surely wasn't easy to do. But he knew well enough, he couldn't understand, so it wasn't his place to speak.

"Hmmm, they've failed. I must thank you though, you've saved me some money now that they're no longer on pay roll." A short man said, he wore an expensive suit and held a cane.

"Gato..." Naruto said with distaste. "You're meeting the same fate as them."

"What is some snot nosed brat going to do?"

Naruto smirked and tilt his head. "This brat killed a man called the demon...want to see a demon?" His eyes went red with the black slit as his whisker marks darkened. The man paled for a moment and began to back up. In a blur he appeared in front of the man. "Oh? Leaving so soon?" He punched his hand through the man's chest and ripped his heart out. "Anyone else want to die? Or will you just leave?"

All the mercenaries that were with Gato fled and left the scene. Naruto sat down again and sighed. "Alright, Tazuna, I'm going to take a small nap."

"Sure thing, kid."

Once the day of work had finished, the news of Gato's death and the ending to his reign of tyranny with it had spread rapidly. The village began to have smiles and were even beginning to show more support for the bridge. This meant more people were working and the progress was rapidly increasing.

With Gato being dead, there were no constant threats for the people of Wave. Bandits did linger, but the more higher ranked threats had moved on to other places, seeking pay. Money gained from robbing could be nice, but was inconsistent, plus you were more likely to reach shinobi radar. If you're employed under somebody like Gato, you were given good and steady income, as well as remaining off shinobi radar. It would be received as "fair game" or simply swept under the rug since it was easily covered up.

These factors made the next month really easy. This didn't mean Naruto had gotten complacent, since he was still under mission, and anything could always happen. During the time though, he continued to use shadow clones to further his understanding and ability with them. They could come in handy, if he knew how to fight alongside them better. On top of that, it seemed as good as time as any to try figuring out the workings of the orb he'd seen in the scroll.

"What was it called again? Ah! Rasengan...the ball of spiraling chakra...an interesting jutsu."

"It's a powerful one too."

"Seems like it. The Yondaime was said to be of the best of the Hokage. A Jutsu made by such a person would no doubt be powerful."

"Doesn't hurt that he got the idea from our Biju Dama."

"That too."

"By the way, you did well with that power. I must say though, you did lose out on what you could truly do with it when you had it transferred to the sword."

"Not surprised by that. It was needed though, I couldn't control it otherwise...it had controlled me. A power one can't control, is one that you can't trust."

"Just know, if you meet someone who hasn't done as you have...they'll show you powers you wouldn't understand. It will be best not to break them down, and just go for the kill as soon as you possibly can."

"Worried, Kurama?"

"Not me, but if you're smart, you would be. There's a bigger consequence than just potential death."

"We'll cross the bridge when it comes. For now, let's just focus on the now. I suspect this mission will end in a few days."

When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw Inari standing at the door way to the room that he'd been staying in during the duration of the mission. The kid had his gaze towards the ground and held his hands together. For a little while, Naruto didn't say anything but was slowly getting tired of this.

"Something wrong, Inari?" He said after not being able to just sit there anymore.

"Y-you came through afterall..."

"I told you I would." Naruto said while crossing his arms. "You'll learn not to doubt me when I say something."

"Just...I stopped believing in heroes."

With a sigh he looked to the ceiling. "You know something about the world that's rather cruel, Inari? In some ways, there are no such things as heroes...at least not in the way everyone sees a hero. A true hero, never sees that happy ending, sees if what they did worked. All true heroes, are dead..."

"What?"

Meeting eyes with Inari, he continued. "A 'hero' sacrifices themself for the well being of another. Or to help pave the way for things to get better...that's whats so messed up. A 'hero' never gets to know if it mattered. If their sacrifice ultimately worked out or not...that's why it annoys me to look at you."

Inari looked at him with wide, tear filled eyes. "W-what do y-you mean?"

A slight narrowing of Naruto's eyes showed Inari the disappointment and anger he held. It made his breath hitch with fear as he unconsciously took a step back.

"I've heard about Kaiza from Tazuna. You're selfish to think your life is yours alone. He's saved you once when you were younger, at that point, you owed him your life. Then he saved you and your family, leaving them behind to keep you guys safe, to give fight and hope to your people. From then on, you are entrusted with his wishes to keep your family safe and together. Yet you wallow away and cry all damn day. You piss all over his memory and sacrifice! That is why being a hero is so cruel. In the end, it could have been pointless and you wouldn't know either way."

"B-but I-I didn't mean t-to..."

"May not have been what you wanted, but that's the way it is. From the moment someone saves you, your life is indebted to them. No longer is your life your own, you can't just simply kill yourself, it isn't your own to make that choice. You no longer live for you, but you live for that person too."

Inari looked down and began to cry. "Why are you so mean? I-I-I ha-"

"I don't care if you hate me. It's the truth. I tell you this, because I understand. However we go about things very much differently. My life is as it is now because of the Raikage, and the village taking me in. I will not die until I've fulfilled the debt to them."

"What is it that you have to do?"

"Don't worry about my tasks. You need to figure out what you're going to do. Keep in mind, you live for him too, and his hopes, wishes, and dreams. He wanted your mother, grandfather, and you safe. To live, be happy, so figure out what needs to be done."

Inari stood there for a few moments and wiped his eyes of the tears. "I think I understand...you're still a jerk."

"Whatever. Shut the door on your way out. Thanks." Naruto then fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. Unconsciousness slowly came over him.

"You could have been a little nicer about that."

Opening his eyes, he was in the mindscape and sighed as it seemed that normal sleep wouldn't be coming again. It wasn't often that he had a normal night's rest. It didn't impede on his goals, so it never bothered him. But the dumb little dreams that were rare to get, were often something he sought to have.

"Wasn't the point. Besides, he needs to hear it. He's being coddled and that's no way for him to become a man."

"He's not your child. Even then...are you saying that this is how you'd be to your own children?"

Looking up at the fox he thought before nodding. "The world isn't some safe wonderland. If it's necessary, I wouldn't hesitate to be stern or tell it how it is. If I had kids, I couldn't risk them being weak, in skill, body or mind."

"You say that now, but I've seen first hand how becoming a parent changes people."

With a laugh he shook his head at Kurama. "You know me and change aren't one in the same. I'm telling you now, this is how it will go. My duty isn't to be their little friends."

"Guess we'll see when that time comes."

With the opening of his eyes and the new day that followed, he sat up and got dressed. Going downstairs it was a walk that felt different. Maybe it was because there was no doubt that Inari may have told them about what had been said. Or it would be because this was the last time he'd make this walk. There was no longer any need to stay, his mission was completed. The only thing left for the bridge was making the sign for each side that had the name to the bridge. A name just had yet to be chosen.

That wasn't reason enough to stay. So he would be leaving very soon. Plus, as much as he appreciated the hospitality and the cooking that Tsunami made, he knew they were going to be running out of food faster with him there. That made him remember a few things, especially since the aid from Kumo wouldn't start heading here until Naruto returned. Naruto set up the entire workings of their deal, so he had to be the one to see it come together.

As he got to the bottom of the steps, and the kitchen came to view, he noticed all three seated already. Food was still steaming, and had yet to be served from the platters on the table. There was far more than the usual breakfast. Tsunami, Tazuna and even Inari had a smile as he looked at them. Inari's was smaller but the gratitude it held was visible.

"What is this?"

"I know you plan to leave today. So Tsunami decided to make this breakfast special."

"It is your last time eating with us, afterall. And I'm grateful for all that you've done." She said with a smile full of warmth and he nodded slowly.

Looking over at Inari, the kid shrunk under his gaze but mouthed a "Thank you" out. Naruto gave him a nod and sat down at the table. They ate in relative silence for a while before Naruto cleared his throat to get their attention.

"I understand that money may be an issue, food isn't cheap and even less so right now for you. So here, take these two scrolls."

"What's this?" Tazuna said as he caught the two scrolls that were tossed to him.

"Take those to any bounty collection agency. Those contain the bodies of those two Chunin brothers. You should get 5000 each on them. Should help you out." Naruto said and took another bite.

"N-Naruto! You seriously are giving us money!" Inari said and was so very confused. It made no sense, Naruto was such a jerk...how was he showing this kind of kindness? With nothing more than a nod and continuing of eating, Inari was left lost. His mouth gaped open and total confusion evident. "Why?" He finally managed to get out.

Looking over at the boy, Naruto smirked. "I'm not only a jerk, I have more to me than just that you know." Inari still was very confused since that hadn't answered anything. "Your family has given me a place to stay and food during the duration of this mission. The least I could do is help give back something."

"B-but isn't that only because you were hired to protect my grandfather? T-the debt should be to y-you right?"

"Not necessarily. Could have been told to stay outside or something. There are no rules saying I must be provided lodging or food."

Inari looked down. "So...we're getting money and everything you've done extra...just because my mom cooked for you? And grandpa invited you in?"

With a shrug he gave a nod. "Sure, if that's easiest for you to understand. On top of that, your country here is technically allied with my village now. Upon my return, it's set in stone. You'll gain aid, and support."

"I don't get it. You're a jerk!"

"Will you stop saying that? I said what I said to you because you were really aggravating. On top of that...know what? Nevermind. My explaining only defeats it's purpose...man this was all easier when I was just silent and observed."

"No no, you've made progress, don't go taking ten steps back. You just suck ass at communicating."

"I don't need to be hearing this from you. You mostly sleep!"

"Anyways, Naruto, thank you for this." Tazuna said with a respectful bow from his seated position.

-Four Hours Later-

Naruto had his hands in his pockets as he turned around and saw the whole village gathered. Now to his back was the bridge that connected to the main land. He sighed as he looked at all of them. "You didn't have to gather everyone here for me to leave..."

"Nonsense! You have done so much for us!" Tazuna said getting a chorus of agreements from the rest of the village.

"In any case...you still need the name for your great bridge here."

"Great huh...hmmm...aha! I got it! For all you've done for us, I want to name this bridge that symbolizes our strength, hope, and future...The Great Naruto Bridge!" Everyone cheered, even Inari had a smile. Naruto though only frowned.

"No no...you shouldn't. I couldn't take that from you. You people built it, it's your work."

"Only possible because you protected grandpa...and got rid of Gato and his men." Inari said without looking at Naruto.

"Yeah! You freed us from that man!"

"It's all because of you!"

"You got Kumo to ally with us!"

They all began to say their own reasonings and Naruto looked away from them for a moment. "You see, Naruto? They all want to name it after you too." Tazuna said and pat Naruto's shoulder. "You're, our beacon of hope now."

"Your beacon of hope?" He said slowly. "Like how Yugito has been Kumo's all this time..." he thought and looked at Tazuna. "If it is what you wish."

"Thank you. Now, get home safe." Tazuna said with a smile.

Naruto waved to everyone and looked at Inari one last time. "It's ok to be sad, depressed, angry...to be negative. It's not ok however, to become crippled to these emotions. Take care of your family."

Without saying anything more nor giving a chance for anything to be said, he turned away and began walking away. They watched him as he went across their bridge for a while before slowly leaving the area. Naruto smirked as things went better than he originally expected this mission to be. Everything went well and the benefits that will soon come were going to be nice.

-Three Days Later-

Ay heard a knock and looked up from the papers he was reading through. "Enter."

Naruto opened the door and bowed. "Mission completed, Lord Raikage."

"Ah, Naruto! How did the mission go? I noticed your little side objective and was surprised. Bringing a nation under our umbrella! That's something I never expected."

"Yes, well I noticed the opportunity early on. It just needed some setting up. The terms were easy to create, if there was anything I missed, I knew you would be able to flush it out."

Ay smiled and nodded. "To create these types of alliances are generally difficult. On top of that, no Jonin or anyone will ever try it alone. It's something only the Raikage does."

Naruto kneeled and bowed his head. "If I've overstepped my bounds, I surrender myself to disciplinary action."

Ay laughed and shook his head. "That's normally. I'm merely saying that you were thinking a lot like the Raikage! Seeking better opportunity for this village, as well as giving mutual benefit to that of the other."

Naruto looked up slowly and raised an eyebrow slightly. "I am not in trouble?"

Ay was very much amused. "He's making the arguments against his consideration nullified...funnily enough, he doesn't even realize it!" With a shake of his head, he gestured for Naruto to sit on the chair. "Now, tell me, what else happened."

Naruto sat in the chair and took out two scrolls. "I killed an A ranked missing nin, as well as his accomplice. The bodies are in here. I'm sure you will find interest in the accomplice."

"I want to know who the A ranked ninja is."

"Zabuza Momochi."

Ay leaned back in his seat, pausing for a moment. "And the other?"

"Zabuza called him Haku. He had the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai."

"Huh...so there was a living Yuki member. Well, I'll have the money from the bounties sent to you. Good work."

"Thank you, I eliminated Gato, the demon brothers, and allowed Tazuna to have those bounties from the Chunins. Other than that, there wasn't much else." Ay gave a nod and was about to speak. "I'd like to request another mission."

"You just got back. You don't want to wait? After A ranks, you're offered a two day rest."

"I understand, but I'm good to go. I need to start working for the village. Being given that time I had to find Uzu, and then the arrival of the Chunin exams, I haven't done much for the village itself."

-Four Hours Later-

Ay looked up again from the paperwork and sighed since another knock was heard. Letting them in, he saw Yugito. "Something wrong?"

"No...just thought Naruto was supposed to be back today..."

"He's left on another mission four hours ago."

"What? He was gone a month! He shouldn't have already been sent out."

Ay slouched with a sigh. "He turned down his off time. Taking on a B rank. That is something that the ninja are allowed to do, just not done often." With a slight nod she turned around and began to leave. "He'll be fine, Yugito. The boy isn't some fragile piece of glass, I didn't make him Jonin for no reason."

Turning back she shook her head. "It isn't that. I just wanted the chance to apologize..."

-Six Days Later-

Naruto exhaled deeply as his eyes had darkened around the borders. Staggering steps, swaying side to side as he forced each leg to move forward as he walked up to his house. His shoulders were slouched and his breath was labored.

"You may have superhuman stamina and chakra, but that doesn't mean you should take thirty straight missions with no rest."

"Yeah, yeah chakra...stuff...and sleep."

"What? Do you hear yourself right now? That Raikage was right to force you to have a minimum day of rest."

Naruto said nothing. He had no energy to argue. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, he'd gotten to the door and struggled to bring his arms up to unlock it. When he stumbled his way in and locked up as he did so, he looked up to see Yugito slowly getting up from the couch. It seemed as though she was just waking up, most likely due to his entry.

"N-Naruto? That you?" She said rubbing her eyes.

"Mmm...y...hmm.."

Looking at him, she saw his exhaustion and was sort of surprised. Never once has he been one to really look tired at all. If he was, he was really good at hiding it. To see him standing there like this was very different and odd to her. Immediately she went to him and hit him in the shoulder while also pulling him into a hug.

"You're such a moron! And I'm sorry..."

Naruto breathed slowly. "It...k..." his voice was drowning as he slowly struggled to bring his arms up and weakly held her. She felt as he seemed to be losing his strength before inevitably passing out in her arms. It forced her to tighten her hold or else he fall.

"Wow...I'll never stop being shocked at how light he really is..." thinking that it would be best to get him to his room, she started pulling him. His legs weren't moving so she practically dragged him, she just kept him in that same hugged position so he didn't face plant.

"You should probably get him out of those clothes."

"W-what?"

"You know, so he doesn't have to rest in those old, dirty, even torn clothes. At least get him down to that compression shirt he wears. You can leave his pants on..."

"O-oh...right...yeah I can do that. It's the nice thing to do...right?"

"Are you ok, Yugito?"

"Mhmm! Never better!" She lay Naruto onto his bed and frowned, wondering how she should start. Undoing the shoulder, and the velcro flaps to the side, she pulled his vest off. Then brought her hands to the bottom of his shirt and started lifting up towards his head to remove it. Now in his compression sleeveless shirt, and pants, she removed the sandals and tape.

Sighing to herself, she closed her eyes and paused before slowly reaching at his stomach. The shirt was tucked into his pants so she tugged to get it out and began to take it off of him. Having to look away to force off the blush that would come from seeing his torso again she got it off him and positioned his arms at his sides so they weren't thrown around his head. Then she exhaled deeply, biting her lower lip and looking at his sleeping face, she shakily made her way to his belt. Undoing it and the button, as well as the lowering of his zipper, she closed her eyes and quickly pulled his pants off while grabbing the blanket and covering him up.

Yugito had her right hand resting on his chest and could feel as his heartbeat was slowing down as he was becoming more relaxed, entering further into sleep. It made her smile to see him back and resting, as well as how peaceful he looked while asleep. Not knowing exactly what came of her, she leaned over and kissed his forehead before making her exit.

"Sooooo...what was all that about, Kitten?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't act like I didn't see that parting kiss. Nor your lingering touch on his arms as you moved them."

"It's not like that!"

"You also got him pretty undressed. I'm pretty sure I said you could leave his pants and that shirt on. Yet you went and took it all off for him."

"It was merely because I'm sure he'd be more comfortable that way...nothing else!"

After sleeping for three hours, Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Seeing his ceiling be in view, brought some confusion. Then there was the feeling of his lack of clothing.

"I'm pretty sure I was still fully dressed when I passed out...did...Yugito undress me?"

"Is that a problem?"

"I don't know. I mean...she'd have seen me undressed..."

"She'd already seen you shirtless. And you've seen her down to the undergarments, granted only from behind and I know you li-"

"Ok ok ok! I get the point. Just surprised she would undress me is all. You didn't have to say all that."

Sitting up, he put on some sweats, a new sleeveless compression shirt and his sandals. Walking out of the room, he noticed Yugito reading through a scroll on some fire jutsu from the library he had. "Hey...thanks for getting me to my room. I was pretty tired." He said with a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Of course. I couldn't just let you fall to the ground!" She laughed and looked at his left arm. "I'm still not used to that."

Following her gaze, he looked at the two tattooed dragons that wrapped around his arm. "Yeah, probably doesn't help that I've always got it covered. Just kind of helps in hiding my ties to the leviathan. It's one of my only true trump cards."

Yugito nodded slowly in understanding. Having a trump card to that level was rare. Most times people's last ditch wasn't guaranteed to work, Naruto's was and if an enemy knew of it, they'd probably seek to destroy it by any means. It made her wonder, if he lost his arm, would he still have the ability to call forth the leviathan?

"Naruto, you need to stop this."

"What?"

She got a stern look and stood up. Setting the scroll down, she went to him and shook her head. "Don't play dumb with me. We're past that, you know very well what I'm talking about."

Looking away from her, he was about to walk away but she reached up with her left hand and pushed on his right cheek to look back at her. "I need to do more, Yugito. I've gained a lot from this village...I need to start paying it back."

"You don't need to be killing yourself to do that though. Doing all these missions...that's great but, thirty in six days? That's not safe. You could barely stand and move your arms earlier! You'll just get yourself killed this way! What good to the village are you then?"

Frowning Naruto could only nod his head. There wasn't an argument he could think of to that. "Look...Yugito...I can't stop taking these missions."

"Thirty A ranks straight isn't the smart thing to do."

"It was only thirteen...the rest were B..."

Slapping him with her left and and rubbing the same cheek with the thumb of said hand, she glared at him. "That's not the point! You're such a dummy that it's aggravating. Just spread them out more. If you're hell-bent to take a lot missions, then just take three at most a day. So that you can have an actual recovery period in-between."

He closed his eyes and said nothing about that. After a moment he nod and she smiled slightly. Bringing his right hand up, he over lapped her left and held it. Bringing it down to where he held her hand below and and rubbed the back of hers with his thumb. "I...wanted to apologize about before...I should have made it clear that my mission was going-"

He went wide-eyed as she had quickly rose up on her toes and was kissing him on the lips. He was stiff as stone as he he didn't expect it nor knew what to do. When she backed off and stood normally she smiled. "It was my fault. I should have been more patient rather than just storm off thinking one thing."

"Uh..."

"Want to go get something to eat?"

"So...we're not going to talk about what just happened?"

She walked off towards the door and looked back at him over her shoulder. "Talk about what?" She winked and then giggled while heading back to the door.

-A week Later-

Naruto was thrown back and hit the wall of his training room with a resounding bang. Yugito laughed as he slowly got up. "Is that what your new jutsu is supposed to do?"

Looking at her with narrowed eyes, he shook his head and continued working on trying to contain the chakra in his hand. "Just focus on your dumb fire."

"Won't be calling it dumb when a dragon comes flying at you." She said with a smirk.

Glancing at her, he thought then looked back to his now overlapped hands that were about a foot apart, palms facing one another. A blur sphere of his chanra formed, within it was an unquantifiable amount of spiraling streams of chakra that made the orb. He chuckled a bit to himself as he held it in his hands.

"I got it!" Moving his left hand away, he held his right out and showed off his jutsu to Yugito.

"Woah...that's the thing that's been throwing you around? What made it work this time?"

With a shrug he thought for a moment and understood. "I was able to better control the chakra with the help of my off hand."

"Hmm, you may have finished before me, but my dragon will still kick your ass."

Rolling his eyes he mumbled to himself. "If it can keep up..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" He waved her off and formed another Rasengan, still needing his two hands.

"You'll need to keep practicing. I saw the creator do it instantly and with only one hand."

"Right. I know the notes said it was an incomplete jutsu, but left it at that...I don't exactly see what makes it incomplete."

"Beats me. Anyways, about your little girl over there, when do you plan to actually kiss her. She's kissed you, but you just stood there."

"I was shocked ok. I don't know though. Is that something you're supposed to just do randomly? Or is there a set up or process?"

"Kid, relax. This isn't a fight, not a jutsu. You don't need to be over thinking this."

"Yo! Naruto! You listening?"

"Hmm? Sorry what?"

Yugito sighed. "I said we should get going. The others are expecting us in thirty minutes."

"Right. I'm going to get changed then."

Being in his now normal outfit for being a Jonin, Naruto walked out with Yugito. The two made their way down and through the village. During the walk a light snow began to drift down and it made Yugito smile. The snow was always nice to her and it was always a pleasant and welcome arrival. Naruto couldn't care less, so he just walked on as if it were nothing.

They arrived at the meeting place, a restaurant called Genji. It was picked by Samui and everyone just agreed. They all took turns on deciding where to go, the thing was, Naruto had been absent lately. Being on the five week mission, then the week straight of missions upon coming back.

Entering, the restaurant was empty. Tables were pushed together to accommodate the group of six. "Sheesh, Samui really went all out."

"Yup...I feel bad for you. You need to follow up after this."

"Come again?"

Smiling, Yugito looked over at Naruto with a laugh. "It's your turn next to set up the get together. Samui reserved the entire restaurant. What will you do?"

Naruto said nothing and shook his head. Walking to the four others that were already seated, he gave a nod to say his greeting. The group smiled seeing Naruto arrive this time and were pretty glad. They thought he'd be a no show again. Samui gave a menu to the two of them.

"Order whatever you'd like. It's already been taken care of."

"My my, are you sure? How could you afford this?" Yugito said however she was already scrolling through the menu.

"Yes I'm sure. Naruto, please, choose something." Samui had noticed Naruto never even looked towards the menu and instead seemed to be thinking of something.

Naruto looked over at Samui and nodded. "Right."

"Something wrong, Naruto?" Omoi said as he noticed Naruto's demeanor.

Everyone now looked at Naruto as he shook his head with a slight smile. "No, no...its just...this is nice. Seeing you all."

"Well if you'd take it easy on your missions, you'd see more of us!" Karui said laughing.

"Yeah, about that. Why have you taken so much? It's not like it was that week you got back but, your numbers are high. Already, you've done more than all of us, and we'd been doing missions since we graduated." Rin said after taking a sip from his cup.

Yugito sighed as she looked over at him. "Bastard thinks he owes the village."

"I heard rumors that you set up an alliance with another land on your own, that's something unheard of. Is that not enough?" Samui said raising an eyebrow.

"Wait, that's serious? I thought it was just a rumor." Karui said leaning on the table. Omoi sighed and pulled her back onto her seat. "Hey, you watch it, Idiot!"

"Easy, easy. I'm just trying to stop you from breaking the table." Omoi said raising his hands.

"Calling me fat?"

"N-no not at all! Just that the table could...like...they're old."

As much as Naruto was enjoying the show he decided that ending it now would be a good idea. Clearing his throat, he regained their attention and closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. "I did set things up, but Lord Raikage did all the touching up and making it work. I just set an idea."

"There he goes, deflecting credit again."

Glancing at Yugito, he shook his head and continued. "Anyways, I owe everything to this village. It took me a long time but...this is my home, I will do everything in my power to protect it and make it prosper."

Before anyone could say anything, Omoi smiled. "Then do what you think is right. Just make sure that you make it back. It would really suck if you died."

"Omoi! Don't encourage this!"

"Yugito, we all know that there's no stopping him when he's made up his mind. The least we can do as his friends is support him. Plus, he knows what he's doing. If it was anyone else, then it'd be a different story. But it's not anyone else, this is Naruto." Omoi said and pushed his lollipop to the right side of his mouth.

-The Next Day-

"Say, Yugito."

Looking over to Naruto, his hair was blowing in the wind as the golden glow seemed more apparent from the sun rising. Sitting on the edge of the cliff face as he overlooked the valley below, until he looked over at her.

"Yes?"

"Want to take a mission with me? I've gone on nothing but solo-"

"When do we leave?"

He blinked a few times before standing up and stretching. "Now."

"Really? Wow...no time to get into it, just straight to doing the mission. Great..."

Looking down at her with a chuckle, he shrugged. "I've already delayed my schedule for you."

"Make it seem like a hassle, why don't you."

"It's not...I-"

"I know Naruto. Just messing with you." She said laughing.

Shaking his head, he began walking down the mountain peak until she grabbed his shoulder. Immediately, they appeared outside the office. "I swear, I will kick your ass if you keep flaunting the jutsu."

"Oh shut up. Someone as skilled as you are in jutsu, should be able to figure out this simple one."

Entering the office, they noticed Mabui handing a stack of papers to A, and his sigh at it. "Naruto, you cause so much paperwork. He is in a bad mood." She said as she left the office.

With a shrug he just continued entering with Yugito not far behind. Standing in front of the Raikage he waited a moment before he had finally looked up at them. "We're here for a mission."

"You've finally decided to have someone join you. Be sure to make sure he doesn't go overboard, he apparently loves to cause destruction!" He said with a glare at Naruto.

"Hey not my fault these people always go the hard way."

Yugito raised her eyebrows at Naruto and shook her head at his laid back nature in front of their leader. For her it was normal, she was like family but even then in situations like this, she would be serious and professional. Apparently Naruto was only that way in public.

"I'll do my best." She said getting a nod from him.

"I sure hope you do..." he said glaring at Naruto again who was just looking around the room. "Anyways, I have a B rank mission for you two today. There's been reports of three ninja causing problems outside the small town of Sela."

"Alright, ready Yugito?"

With a confirmation, the two left and began making their way to the mission area. The town they were headed to was in a rather hilly region of the country. The town was on and around two hills. Sela was the town that was always crying...called that because it was always raining, whether it be a heavy fall or light sprinkle, it always had rain. Odd thing was, if never snowed. No matter how cold it got during the winters, it never snowed nor hailed. So maintaining the types of plant life they grow is relatively easy.

Most of the crops they maintain were at the peaks or just around the tops of the hills, rather than the valleys so as to not drown the plants. The locals had turned the valleys into lakes and introduced fish into it, creating their own way of gaining more food that way. Of course they could only get a certain amount so as to not destroy the ecosystem they created there. Still, it offered a good source of their food.

"Naruto, whats the plan here?"

Glancing over to her, he was a little surprised by the fact she still looked to him for the plan. "We have no idea what the enemy is like. When we come into the area we will engage quickly so as to gain the advantage of our surprise arrival. There is no objective of capture, so go straight for the kill."

She nodded and looked forward as they ran. The first thing she noticed when they reached a peak was a campsite of the targets they were coming for. The odd thing was that it didn't seem to have any typical protection or patrolling. It was just out in the open as if they were common travelers. It could work as a means to try to blend in...but for what was already reported, blending in wasn't much of what they were doing at all.

About to raise her suspicions to Naruto, she stopped when he gave her a nod. Telling her that he too felt it was off. Still they had a mission to carry out and he took off in a streak at the camp. She blurred away and was on an outskirt while he was centered. Naruto noticed the first ninja and stabbed him but the person made a small yelp which notified the others. Everyone jumped out of the tents and surrounded him.

"And there goes the surprise." Naruto said with a sigh.

Looking up he noticed that someone had jumped into the air and threw five shuriken at him but was also doing handsigns. Before dodging, he realized that in a burst of smoke, the five multiplied to over forty that were raining down at him.

His eyes widened at the unexpected sight until a torrent of flames blew them away. Glancing, he noticed it was Yugito and smirked. Taking out a kunai, he lowered into a stance and took a breath. Moving as fast as he could he began running around taking out as many as he could, not trying to begin a fight but slash and move. Focusing on one for too long could lead to being attacked from another. With Yugito attacking from the outside and raining jutsu down on them, Naruto attacking from within, the two had gotten it all taken care of.

From the nonstop running and fighting as fast as he could, Naruto was panting and looked to Yugito. "Well, that was that."

"You got sloppy, I'm sure there was a better way to go about that."

With a shrug be laughed. "Where's the fun in that? You're here."

"No excuse to be sloppy."

He shook his head but was brought out of the moment when he heard a chuckle from behind him. Looking over at the top of a hill that was behind him, and across from where Yugito stood. "My my, Naruto. You really are an interesting ninja. I understand my master's thoughts on you, still it also is unwarranted in my opinion."

Narrowing his eyes Naruto began to get suspicious. Of the thirty new enemies, ten had a sound note as their village insignia. The others all hade a white, blank mask that he didn't recognize. "You're Kabuto, right? Weren't you from Konoha? Some kind of traitor now?" Kabuto had a sound note on his headband now rather than the leaf.

"You could say that. You've made my job easy. You see I'm a bit of a great medic, and as such I can do a great many manipulations to the body. I'm saying this because it allows me to turn a body into a bomb of sorts."

Naruto was trying to think and figure out what was happening. He heard Yugito begin to take a few steps so he outstretched his hand and spoke without taking his eyes off of Kabuto. "Stay back. I don't know what he's got planned yet."

Yugito nodded and stepped away as told. Part of her wanted to refute but right now he was the superior and she'd have to follow his command. She too was trying to figure out what was going on. One thing she really was hung up on, surely just like Naruto no doubt was, was the fact that Kabuto mentioned turning a body into a bomb. From her understanding and from Naruto's seals, if something was supposed to blow up, it glowed, that wasn't the case here so what was it?

"You taking out these ninja the way you have, has only sealed the deal. The presence of the other Jinchuriki was unexpected, but not detrimental." Naruto glanced around, all of the dead ninja had a sound note on the metal plate for the insignia. "It should happen now."

"What?" Naruto's eyes widened and a thick cloud of purple and black surrounded him. Looking back, he noticed Yugito was far enough away and looked all around him, the cloud surrounded and engulfed him as he noticed flashes within it. It was very odd, despite not breathing it, he noticed that it didn't matter. It was just being absorbed into his body as he looked at his hands. It gave an odd tingle and burn that was a constant annoyance that seemed to grow in intensity.

"This is bad."

"I think I can see that. Is this a poison? Can you get rid of it?"

Before Kurama could answer, Kabuto cleared his throat. "It has taken a long time to get this set up. Your...aid won't be of use. My master developed this formula solely to combat the Kyubi. Or rather, exploit it."

"Exploit the Kyubi? You can't exploit the Kyubi through a poison."

Kabuto shook his head. "You think you know everything...you have no idea. My master is even greater with seals and jutsu than you. It would be an impossible task on someone like the eight tails, or even the two tails over there. Can you guess why?" Naruto's mind was running on overdrive trying to figure out what could possibly be the problem. "Your chakras. You're the only one of the three to still have the chakras in two different entities. They've managed to merge the chakras as one, yet you, have not. My master figured that out during the Chunin Exams. It is why your tailed beast can't help you, or at least not right away. By the time it can, it'll be too late for you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, the cloud had fully been absorbed into him and everything felt off. Nothing seemed right. His vision blurred and a few blinks would get it back, not for long though as it would blur once more. "So, why go to this length? Why create whatever formula this is?"

"My master and his associate view you as a potential threat. As such, they wish to remove the possibility of you becoming that threat. Understanding now? Oh, I should warn you, if you try to utilize that fox's chakra, you'll make the poison work faster...far faster. Then you'll enter a coma-like state and your death ensured."

"Naruto, we need to leave now!" He completely understood and very much agreed yet...he couldn't. His steps were heavy, it felt clumsy and caused him to stumble. "Naruto!"

Kabuto gave a signal and the first masked ninja jumped down and went to stab Naruto. Struggling to move, he managed to get a kunai up in time and blocked the stab, his hand wobbled and his hold was weakening. Pushing his arm out to the right, it directed the attacker in that direction and he swung his arm, slitting the person's throat. The more finite and technical movements that he had no longer were present, just the wide massive swing was all he could manage at the moment.

With a cough he looked back up at them. "Defiant I see. No matter, we are prepared." With a wave of his hand, everyone began to run through handsigns.

Eyes flashing around he grumbled as he struggled to make signs, trying to reach to his vest wasn't going well. "Damn...this really sucks." There was a blur beside him and the smallest smile appeared. In another blur the two were at the top of the hill Yugito had been on. A mixture of fire and lighting jutsu and been launched where he previously stood and he exhaled a breath.

She began running while helping him along and he shook his head at her which got her attention. "Running away won't work. Not unless you left me behind."

"What? No!"

"I'm just telling you, running like this won't work. They'll catch up."

"You are like absolutely terrible at fighting right now."

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "I could still use my chakra...I'll set up a barrier that will amplify the gravitational force."

"Wait...won't that affect us?"

"Yes. You'll be fine though. You're going to use Matatabi's chakra. Don't try throwing weapons though, once it leaves your hand it will just drop."

Yugito nodded and set him down. Shakily bringing his hands together he went through the signs and placed his hands on the ground. A seal array spread out and sweat formed as he spread it by channeling more chakra. It normally wouldn't be an issue, however now everything was more difficult. After getting a fifty foot radius, the seals all glowed and a golden dome appeared. The dome disappeared and with it, the seals. She felt the effects as moving became near impossible. She saw his discomfort and frowned.

"Begin channeling the chakra once they get in. If you do it before, I have no doubt that one of them will sense it and think something is up."

"What about you?"

Smirking he sighed. "I'll enjoy the show."

She shook her head at him and turned over her shoulder to see the ninja all jump in. The reaction was instantaneous, they couldn't move anymore. Well not as freely, it was stiff and very slow. Kabuto appeared but had stopped just in time. He noticed the predicament the forces were in and frowned.

"What a surprise...you still had enough control to will yourself a barrier. You are quite interesting, Naruto. Well, this may not have worked now, but the next time...you won't be so lucky." He blurred away and was gone the next moment.

Naruto gave Yugito a nod and she closed her eyes. A red chakra began to surround her and a single tail came out. Opening her eyes, she moved to the trapped enemies and slit each of their throats. Coming back to Naruto, she placed a hand on his shoulder and he smiled slightly at her.

"I'm going to take this barrier down, but this poison has spread fully. Kurama said the only way to get it out efficiently would be to eliminate most of my chakra's presence and allow his chakra to be predominant in my system."

"So...you have to do what he said not to as a threat. You'll be put into a coma-like state."

"Coma-like, Yugito. Not an actual coma. It will be fine in due time. It just makes me rather useless...how far can you get with the shunshin?"

Thinking for a moment she bit her lip. "I can make jumps of up to one thousand meters."

Nodding, Naruto sighed. "So twenty jumps. Can you do it?" Looking at him, she gave a nod and it was good enough for him to close his eyes. As he did so, his breath slowed and was no longer conscious from the complete rapid drain of his chakra.

When Yugito arrived at the village, she was panting and some Chunin in the area noticed. Naruto was unconscious, arm slung over her shoulders and she held his side. They came to the two and were immediately directed to take him to the hospital.

She went to the Raikage and when allowed in, she didn't bow or anything. "Naruto's in the hospital. I'm not sure how bad it really is since he may not have been completely divulgent but he was targeted."

"Targeted? By who?"

"The person's name is Kabuto. We know him from the Chunin exams however he no longer wore the konoha symbol, instead it was a sound note. He had ten others with that same symbol and then twenty masked ninja but were blank."

"The sound...that's a new village. No one knows who the leader of it is, and nothing much is even known on them to begin with. We're getting to the bottom of this, no one will just target one of my ninja and get away with it!"

"What will we do?"

"First we'll meet up with Naruto." Yugito followed as he broke through the wall and jumped off. Mabui sighed when she walked in, shaking her head.

They noticed a nurse over Naruto and waited at the door. "Ok now, you're going to need to take it real easy for a couple days. There's still traces of it in your system and over exertion may get it active again."

"Yes ma'am. Nothing higher than a B rank mission."

The nurse shook her head at him. "No missions at all. I'm making sure Lord Raikage knows."

"He already does." Yugito spoke up from the doorway. The nurse turned and immediately bowed upon seeing the Raikage.

"Naruto you'll do as told." Ay said.

Naruto rolled his eyes and laid back on the bed. "We'll see. Thanks nurse."

"What happened, that they reduced you to this state?"

Looking at the Raikage, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Kabuto has some master that is trouble. I was the only target, and they weren't expecting Yugito's presence. Apparently this master of his was capable of creating a poison that managed to be problematic. Kurama couldn't just get rid of it like any other. Apparently that person could manipulate the fact that Kurama's and my chakra are separate rather than one like that of Yugito or Lord B."

"Hm. What are the effects you felt?"

Opening his eyes he looked at Yugito then back to the Raikage. "Aside from being blocked off from Kurama's chakra otherwise the poison would spread and take a stronger hold faster, it made my mobility very limited and chakra was harder to manipulate."

Ay nodded and crossed his arms. "That's not good. If I hadn't been there, you'd have died. There was nothing you could do."

He furrowed his brows and turned to Yugito with a confused look. "How is this my fault?"

"Surely you could have known something. You couldn't have been that clueless, you're normally on top of things that could be threatening."

"Are you serious right now? Yugito, we had eliminated the threat. We were done with the mission. Only thing is, the mission was a set up. We completed the objective and then it turned into something we weren't expecting."

"Stop that crap! Naruto you don't slip up with that. So what was it? You get curious again? Being an idiot and arrogant as always?"

"Alright that's it! Look, the mission was supposed to be over. Want to know why I stopped being observant over everything? You were there! Ok, normally I'd have already left the area, this time I hung around. So back off!" He exhaled deeply and looked away. "Sorry, just stop pestering me like this. It's annoying."

"Are you doing ok? You're not one to normally lose your composure." Ay said while Yugito looked down a bit.

"You're not used to being caught so off guard and vulnerable." She said and looked up at Naruto who still was looking away, towards the window. "You hate that, don't you?"

Naruto said nothing and stared out the window. "You rest up, until there's no signs of the toxin in your system." Ay then left and began talking with some of the doctors about the data on the poison.

Yugito sighed and moved to sit on the bed on the side he wasn't facing. "You're not perfect...nobody is. Why is taking these losses so hard for you?"

"Why aren't you mad? You should be leaving. I just-"

"Tried to deceive me. You hoped I'd just leave you be, to take it at face value and not realize that the one you're really mad at, is yourself."

He growled slightly and continued to look away. "What? You were accusing me of being arrogant just a moment ago."

A laugh escaped her and she shook her head. "Well you're absolutely terrible at being honest about what you feel or whatever is on your mind. So I have to find how to read it. Despite how much you hide things, your anger is easiest to find, mainly because you have less of a barrier there and because you have an obvious tell. Just like with credit, you shift it elsewhere only it's not pretty when you do."

He slowly turned to face her and released a tired sigh. "You're aggravating."

"Naruto. I'm at least the one person who you need to be truly honest with. You can try to mislead everybody else about how you really are but not me. Got that?"

"Now why is that?"

Yugito laughed, only there was no amusement. She stood and walked towards the door. "If you don't realize that, then you really are an idiot."

"Ooooo..."

"Man shut up!"

Ay was standing against the wall while Yugito came out. Once the door shut, she looked at him. "How was he on mission?"

There was genuine curiosity since Naruto always took solo missions. Even when recommended to have others, he'd turn it down. There was a 100% success rate, but no one to report how he did. Not much said about what he was like on mission.

"Can't say anything about his other missions, but he used no ninjutsu. His method was sheer speed and a kunai alone. The only time he deviated was after he was poisoned. Even still, that was only when we had no other choices, before that, he still used his taijutsu which was still rather effective. It just wouldn't have been enough once they all came into effect."

Ay nodded. "No jutsu huh? I wonder why that is. He's shown use of all the natures, someone with his chakra levels would no doubt throw jutsu around!"

Yugito nodded. "It's odd. But...about his chakra, we need to-"

"Don't worry. I've already contacted B. Naruto's ready for the next step."

The two began to walk down the halls and she looked up at him. "Will he succeed this time?"

"I'm unsure. I have no doubts he will get stronger...the nine tails is different from the others. I know it means Naruto no harm, that's not the problem. It's more that there's so much that we don't know about it, while the other eight, there's nothing we don't know."

"I can try asking Matatabi-"

"B's already spoken with his. The eight oddly don't know all about the Kyubi. Apparently it's never needed to use the full scope of its power on any of them."

-Konoha-

The village hidden in the leaves had been rather silent. After the inauguration of its fifth Hokage, not much else has been going on. Things went back to business as usual, for the civilians at least. Many changes were being made throughout the shinobi with the shift of power going to Kakashi. With that, new movements in the hierarchy have been coming along. For the most part, things were relatively normal until you got closer to the Hokage himself.

Shikaku Nara remained the Jonin Commander however he now was a direct advisor to the Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi, third Hokage was also made a direct advisor to the Hokage. The two former advisors now were only council elders, no longer advisors to the Hokage. The guards for the Hokage also had a change, being that they were nonexistent. Kakashi wished for none of the sort, and would only decide on such personnel should the time be needed. The position was normally of an honor status for those chosen but it would be waved at the moment.

With the change of Hokage also brought a great number of things that Kakashi sadly had been dealing with as he wondered just what the hell he thought being Hokage would be like. It was nothing at all what anyone dreamt of, and despite having been close to Minato, it still wasn't as expected. Adjusting hadn't been fun.

"Lord Hokage, your first meeting of the day will be in an hour." A woman said from outside the door.

"Thank you..." he sighed and shook his head. He wore the hat but not the traditional robes. Still wearing his normal Jonin attire, the headband covering his left eye as always was no longer doing so. Instead it was the flaps from the hat that hung down.

"Look at that. Kakashi the Hokage, had to come see it to believe it!"

Looking up, Kakashi noticed a tall man with white long hair. "Ah, master Jiraiya. I was planning on sending for you."

"Why's that?"

"Several matters. I'm sure you know that with the change, the village must look stronger than ever. We don't want anyone to think the leaf could he vulnerable."

Jiraiya smirked. "So you want the great, magnificent Jiraiya the gallant to show his strength!"

"Uuh...something like that. Part of it is yes, to show that you're still one of our top assets, but I also sought your help in recovering another...asset."

Jiraiya stood and lost the smile. "You want me to bring Tsunade back to the village."

"Yes. So what do you say?"

Jiraiya brought a hand to his chin and sighed. "She still resents the village. Bringing her back will be no easy task. What has brought this thought to you?"

"Times have changed. This village isn't the same as when you or even I were younger. This generation has potential but..."

"It's lacking."

Kakashi closed his visible eye and nodded. "I have no interest in bringing Tsunade back as a fighter. If she wishes it then I welcome it. I'm more interested in some of the proposals she'd put in back when she was an active shinobi. I believe that with how everything has changed, we need to adapt. For the survival of our shinobi I think her ideas for medical ninja would be of great help. I'd like her to be head of the hospital and development of medicine."

"Something like that will cost money. It's why it was turned down before."

"We are not in war...yet. If we get ahead on this, then it is no problem. That's why you need to hurry. The sooner she's back, the more that can be done."

With a sigh, Jiraiya gave him a nod and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll see what I can do...anyways, I have a question of my own."

"What's that?"

"Naruto...what are your plans?"

"I have none. He's a ninja of Kumo. Nothing we can do about it."

"Hm, I see."

"Jiraiya, please just don't do anything reckless. I know you're powerful and can handle yourself but...the village isn't ready. We aren't as strong as we once were."

-Outskirts Of The Village-

A figure stood within a tall tree overlooking a secluded section of the village. The section was a district with many banners that had the iconic and famous, once feared clan symbol of the Uchiha. Now down to two members, one of them brought fear at the sight of, the other was not so much. A boy was slowly making his way through this district as he always did, like clockwork.

The figure in the trees watched and did not care for any of the wind that pushed at his hair or cloak. The branches that at times obscured his vision, it didn't matter. It wasn't until another person appeared in the tree with him that he finally looked away.

"Looking over Sasuke?"

"Just wanted to check up on him."

The old man nodded and took a puff on his pipe. "Yes, I'm surprised that only now you've come by. I'd told you that you could check on him at any time." Itachi nodded and continued looking ahead. "Do you still hold the same wishes as you did before?"

"Not quite."

Hiruzen glanced over to Itachi and sighed. "You're still not much of a talker. I'll get straight to the point then. Naruto. How do you know him?"

"He's one special kid, we happened to run into eachother. At first I didn't realize it was him until further inspection, at that point I was curious as to what the Yondaime's legacy was doing so far away from here."

Looking down, Hiruzen closed his eyes. "Yes, I failed again in that regard...so is it safe to assume he was the one traveling with you back when you were first spotted?"

"No. I, was traveling with him." Itachi looked over at Hiruzen. "Things have changed because of Naruto. That kid...did something I never thought possible. At least, I was told as such. Then managed to create more time out of something that could only be fixed by one method alone, yet he did it. Lord Third, the more he grows, the stronger he'll become. The village will not want to make an enemy of him or Kumo."

"What side would you stand on?"

"We both know I could never return here. It would be your fight alone. But if I happen to see agents of that man sent to Naruto, let's just say they won't be making it."

Hiruzen looked Itachi in the eye and noticed the seriousness he held. "Naruto has really left an impression on you. Consider him an ally?"

"He trusts in me, it is only fair that I trust him. Afterall, he's given me a great deal and we'd only met. He's a lot like Shisui."

"Shisui Uchiha...yes, he was a great ninja, even better man. From what I saw, Naruto is nothing like him. The talent, maybe, but not much else."

Itachi looked away but he had the smallest of smiles as his lips barely quirked up. "He views the village as enemy territory. Sure he has a bond with Kakashi, but not much else here. You think someone who feels as though their in enemy territory would be as they truly are?"

"What did he give you?"

"In simple terms, power and opportunity."

Hiruzen began wondering just what Naruto could have given. What could the boy have even done? Itachi wasn't going to say, so there was no point asking. He could try forcing information out but it would only push away someone that really has a bad relationship with the village.

"I will trust you with Naruto. Apparently you've taken him under your wing, given how he has your Jutsu."

Itachi looked up towards the sky, Sasuke was within his house. Closing his eyes he inhaled a deep breath that held no pain as it would have before meeting Naruto. "Are you more worried of my involvement with Naruto. Or are you worried of Naruto?"

With a sigh and a serious expression on Hiruzen's face he looked over ahead. "I guess I'm wondering about what kind of a threat level he may be. The best hope would be that as he is someone close to you, that he wouldn't be a threat, but that's hopeful thinking and-"

"Respectfully, Lord Third. I may have some love for the village still, but it in no means is something that I would preach to Naruto. As of right now, there is no threat. Could that change, potentially. I will not get in-between and play both sides. The only way Naruto becomes a threat, is if Konoha makes him one. At such point, I will not get in his way."

"How can you be so sure?"

Itachi looked at him before looking ahead. "He was already here. If he wished harm to the village, you don't think he'd have actually done something?"

"If you feel that I'm interrogating you, it is not my intention. I only wished to know the relationship between you two."

"No, you were hoping I'd be able to bring back the power you lost. I will not."

"And if Sasuke became-"

Itachi's Sharingan spun to life as he glared at Hiruzen. "Anything happens to Sasuke and I feel that you or the council had anything to with it, even in the slightest...I've already made Danzo a promise, why don't you go ask your old friend about that? Consider it now over you as well." He then burst into crows and was gone.

-Kumo Three Days Later-

Finally being checked out of the hospital, Naruto walked out of his room and sighed. It had been the most boring three days ever. Doing absolutely nothing but stare at the white ceiling. Heading out, immediately someone appeared in smoke, revealing themself to be Darui.

"Good to see you up."

"Hey, Darui-sensei. Something the matter?"

"That's dull. Think somethings wrong already? No. But the boss wanted to see you once you were out."

Naruto nodded and Darui placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The two vanished and were immediately in the Raikage's office. B stood there, as well as Mabui. "You wanted to see me?"

"Ah yes! How do you feel?"

"Normal."

"Good! Now, this recent event has brought up the need for you to get stronger but more importantly, it's time to complete your training."

Naruto looked at B, then back to A. "I'm going to that island?"

"Yes. Its time you finish your training with the tailed beast chakra. We have no doubts that you'll be successful this time around."

With a nod, Naruto agreed and looked at B. "There's something else I will be doing as well. I'd like your help."

"Whatever it be, just know that I the mighty killer bee can give ya what ya need. Yeah!"

"When do I leave?"

Ay smirked. "In a hurry as always." Looking over some documents he looked up at Naruto. "End of the week." With a bow, Naruto turned and began walking away. "I'll need you refreshed for this, so you'll have no missions."

He wasn't pleased but nodded nonetheless. It wasn't like he could just defy the Raikage and take missions anyways. In the meantime, he'd train. As he walked around the village and was taking everything in, he noticed Omoi walking across the street.

"Yo, Omoi!"

Turning, Omoi noticed Naruto and smiled. "Hey, Naruto!" The two met up in the middle and began walking. "How you doing?"

"Alright. I'm going to be leaving again."

"You are?"

Nodding he looked over at Omoi. "Yeah, it's been a long time coming really."

"You're going to become stronger...do you know by how much?"

"Wish I could say. I guess it all depends on how well I can master the chakra."

"What about jutsu?"

Naruto smirked and looked towards the sky. It was cloudy and most likely going to rain soon. "I have one in mind. Aside from that, haven't decided."

"That's a surprise. I would normally expect you to have a full plan already."

"It can't be helped. I don't know how long it will take to master the first part of the training. Then the jutsu I have in mind can take quite a while potentially."

Omoi smiled and looked at Naruto. "Well, you won't be the only one getting stronger. We'll all get stronger. So don't expect to be at the mountain top alone forever."

"We'll see about that." He said with a chuckle.

Turning away to the right, Omoi began to walk away. "Well this is my stop, see you around!"

Naruto waved and continued walking. His hands were in his pockets as he made his way. Every now and then he gave a slight nod to people that waved as he went by. There was a lot to think about, especially with what was to come. Upon getting back to his place, he entered and grabbed a tea. Then looked to a scroll he'd been looking at for a while.

"I still don't understand why there isn't much said about placing seals mid air. Any ideas, Kurama?"

"Humans never really placed seals mid air. I've only ever seen it placed on a surface."

"That's not helpful."

"There was one time it was different. However I was being controlled at the time so I don't exactly know what happened. But that fourth Hokage blocked my attack and I know for sure he didn't place the seal on any surface."

"Interesting. Then how's it done? Its frustrating."

The door bell rang and forced him to put his thoughts on pause. Setting the scroll away, he kicked off the counter and walked to the door. Opening it he saw Yugito looking tired. "Man! That was a rough mission! It suuuucked!" She walked past him into the house and he just raised his eyebrow while closing the door.

"Ooookay...what's going on?"

She plopped down on his couch, arms spread out and her legs stretched out. "This mission was ridiculous."

"Uh huh. And your response was to come here?"

Turning to him she frowned and slouched into the couch. "At least act like you care. This is frustrating, it was a crap mission."

"Eh whatever. I hold no interest in your boring C rank."

"Well I'm not a Jonin like you who can just take whatever mission I so choose!"

A smirk spread on Naruto's face as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Then become a Jonin and you can."

"If only it were that easy!" She exhaled deeply and looked over at him. "Some boyfriend you are! You should try comforting me." Crossing her arms she got slumped over and laid so that she was on her side, head on the armrest, however her legs weren't on the couch, just remaining as if seated.

"Uh..." he looked at her and wondered if he was supposed to do something. Walking to stand in front of her, he kneeled down and placed a hand on her right shoulder. "You'll make it?"

"Are you saying I will, or questioning if I will?"

"Umm...which do you think is better?"

"You're helpless."

Naruto rolled his eyes and moved his left hand from the shoulder to her cheek. "Well, this isn't my kind of thing."

"Oh? And what is?"

A smirk appeared on his face. "Kicking your ass is one."

"Shut up, bastard."

A frown then replaced the smirk and Naruto took a breath. "I'm going to have to leave soon."

"I know."

"You do?"

She nodded and sighed. "I was talking to A about it after you had woken up in the hospital."

"Oh. Very well then."

"Just don't take too long. Got it?"

"We'll have to see." Rubbing her cheek with his thumb, he smiled a bit. For a moment, he stared into her eyes, doing nothing until slowly lowering himself. Yugito couldn't believe what he was actually going to do and stared at him intently as he slowly came closer and the eventual closing of his eyes. Her eyes remained opened until the touching of their lips finally were felt. Slowly closing her eyes, she brought her right arm around his neck and moved her left hand to his cheek. The two remained that way for a few minutes before Naruto pulled away.

Yugito held him though and smiled. "Not so fast. You're not getting away just yet." Brining him back into a kiss, she started to sit up and pull him. She stood and spun, setting him on the couch while sitting on his lap. His hands moved to her hips, she smirked as she continued to kiss him and grabbed at his vest. Undoing it from the shoulder and the corresponding side, she pulled it off of him and tossed it aside.

"Y-Yugito..."

"Shhh..." She placed her finger against his lips and moved to his neck.

"Seriously...Yugito we-"

She went back to kissing his lips and had shut him up again. Her hands moved to his stomach and began to pull his shirt up. As she did so, she brushed her fingers on his abs. After a few seconds, she tore apart his shirt from the front and ran her hands on his exposed skin. There was a knock on the door and he moved to try to get up but she pushed him back down.

"Ignore it. It doesn't matter."

The bell began to ring and he got annoyed by it so grabbing her by the butt, she jumped slightly at his grasp. Using the movement she did, he lift her up and laid her back on the couch. Kissing her deeply, he ran his hands up her hips up to her shoulders and held her down.

"I'll be right back."

Jumping back he licked his lips and she groaned at him. As he turned around he sighed at his appearance but there was nothing he could do. Going to the door he opened it to see Samui. "Yes?"

"Oh...are...are you busy or something?" She blushed at seeing his abs and chest. Due to the front of his shirt being torn open it looked like it was trying to be a very old jacket but emphasis on the trying.

"Define busy."

"Mmm, I don't know I could come later."

Naruto glanced back and noticed Yugito getting impatient. "Is something wrong or?"

"Well Omoi told Karui and I that you're leaving at the end of the week or so, and I just wanted to wish you well."

Naruto chuckled. "I'm coming back."

"Last time you went on a trip like this, you were gone over a month. We are all expecting you to be gone quite a while."

"I see. Well we won't know until it comes. No point fussing over it now."

Samui nodded. "I suppose you have a point. Will you meet with us all before you leave?"

"Sure. I'm barred from missions anyways so I have time."

"Alright. I'll let them know. Hey...have you seen Yugito?"

Naruto gulped a bit and looked around. Biting his lower lip he contemplated how to answer. On one hand, if he said she was there, then their little activity gets exposed. If he lied then...well there didn't seem to be a downside. Unless it was important but if it were she'd have led with that, right?

"Eh...not in a little while...why?"

"Just wondering if she'd known. Probably does. Well see you around!" She waved and left.

Naruto sighed and stepped back while closing the door. Turning slowly, he was shocked when Yugito jumped on him. "Look, as much as I enjoy this-"

"Ha I knew it!" She leaned down and kissed him. For a moment he returned the kiss and held her against him but slowly pulled away.

"We should stop. I'm leaving soon..."

"Then why avoid me?"

Naruto sighed. "It will make leaving harder if we build a habit of this. I can't become addicted to you just yet."

"Oh come on, it's just some kissing Naruto."

He licked his lips slightly and sighed. Looking away, he ran his hands on her back. "Yes, but its you that I'm kissing. You throw my emotions off, makes it hard to keep controlled."

"Buried. You mean buried."

"Whatever. I need to be focused. I can't do this training without focus." Yugito was about to speak when he covered her mouth. "I already like being around you as it is...start doing this more and...well I won't be able to stay away. But for this training I have to. If we did this everyday until I left, I wouldn't be able to go a moment without having you on my mind. It will make the process take longer and...well that'll be agonizing."

"You really are weird." Unwrapping her legs from his waist and being lowered to stand she sighed. "But fine, we can kiss like normal people...the boring way."

"Say what?"

"Like this." She gave him a quick kiss and backed up but still held him around the neck. "See. Boring...but still..." She licked her lips slowly. "Nice."

"I know what a normal kiss is. I'm not stupid. I'm surprised by you calling it the boring way."

"It is. Tell me truthfully. Did you like that more, or the way we kissed before?"

"Mmm don't do that to me. That's just dirty. Look, I promise you, once I return we can enjoy this...the timing for everything seems to be always off...I'm always having to go away once we have something going."

"You're so very lucky that despite your idiocy, I really am crazy about you. Otherwise I'd have cut you out long ago."

"You're not the only one crazy...only I can control it."

"Bury. Bury it."

"Not you. I don't bury anything when it pertains to you."

She smiled and pressed her head in his chest. "You can be quite flattering...sometimes. But, you had better not bury your feelings for me. I really will cut you, and don't forget, I don't need a kunai."

-End Of The Week-

"Well bud, we're gonna miss you."

"Stop being so dramatic, Omoi. I'll be back before you know it." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Lies!" Yugito said and Naruto sighed as he shook his head.

"Don't be surprised when we all make Jonin by the tune you get back." Rin said with a smirk.

"Ok, how long do you all really expect me to be gone for?"

"7 years." Samui said.

"9 years." Karui said.

"5 years." Omoi said.

"4 years." Rin said.

"25 years." Yugito said and Naruto glared at her.

"Wow...no faith. Well, I'll be back before all of your terrible guesses. At such point, I'll make you guys wish you had some better guesses. Oh, and for those that do make Jonin, I'll be looking forward to returning the favor."

"Too bad. Your own rules made it so that anyone who already made Jonin can't participate in the jumping." Karui said laughing.

"Who said anything about using anyone else? Nothing stops me from destroying you."

"Ok ok ok, Naruto it is time for you and B to get going." Ay said as he walked up to them.

"Very well." He turned to Yugito and placed his right hand on her shoulder. Holding it before slowly bringing it up to cup her face, the two kissed and he smiled at her. "See you soon."

"Smoochy smoochy, somebody's in love!" Rin said before being kicked in the face by Yugito.

"See you, Naruto." She said as he and B left the village.

---

So new job, I work nights now so I'm just getting used to that. See ya'll in the next one. hope you enjoyed.