Chapter Ten: Ghosts of the past.

In a dark cavern, somewhere beneath the village of Konoha, the form of Danzo Shimura could be seen sitting at his desk, quietly gloating to himself since everything was going according to the plan. The governing body of the village was in disarray, Hiruzen has essentially locked himself inside of his office as he awaited Jiraiya's arrival, and the village was slowly descending into fear and paranoia as the people were now panicking over an invisible enemy.

"So, you convinced Tsunade to return to Konoha?" Danzo spoke as he looked down at a small device on his desk which displayed the face of a woman whose face was shrouded in shadows. Her entire identity was a mystery save for the moniker of 'mastermind'.

"Yeaaaaah, in a manner of speaking. LOL. I may have tipped her off about the circumstances behind her fiance's death. Once she gets a good look at that autopsy report… you might wanna run for cover. LMAO." The mastermind replied while casually filing her nails.

"Understood and perfectly acceptable. She'll be the perfect instrument to remove one of the only viable candidates to replace Hiruzen, and even better is the fact that she has no desire to take the Hokage mantle for herself, which will allow me to take the title once the seat is emptied." Danzo mused aloud with a small smirk of satisfaction.

This girl may be insane, but she was shrewd, and she had plentiful resources and cash making her a valuable ally. However, her aid came at a pretty large price since she demanded that she take the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki but it was still worth it in the long run of things since it meant that he would ascend to power and have control over the village. Word had it that the Yonbi and the Gobi Jinchuuriki had left their villages, if he could locate them and force them into servitude then the Kyuubi wouldn't be necessary.

"I have fulfilled my end of the bargain. I gave you free access to the village itself, personnel files and everything else you needed. Now when will I become Hokage? When will Hiruzen die?" The Warhawk asked impatiently, he had waited many years for an opportunity like this to come and he had become tired of waiting and bending the knee to his longtime rival. He wanted to become Hokagr NOW.

The mastermind demeanor then changed from sweet and bubbly to annoyed and aggressive in an instant as she snapped "Shut the fuck up you twisted old clump of shit! You become Hokage when I fucking say you become the fucking Hokage! All you have to do is sit back, wait like a good and whipped little dog, and then watch as I fucking rip Konoha's intestines out, use them to tie its penis in a cute bow tie and then cut it off with a rusty butter knife! You got that, or do I need to scream my lungs out to the whole fucking world about the modifications you made to your own body?"

At that, Danzo fell silent and brought his hand up to his 'injured' side of his body knowing that she was referring to his transplanted eye and mutated arm. While he had carefully concealed his many crimes… that was one crime he couldn't so easily hide if exposed. He really wanted to use Shisui's hypnotic technique on her, the Kotoamatsuki but decided against it since he wanted to save that as an absolute last resort. Besides, so long as he continued cooperating with her, then they would both get what they wanted. It was a win-win.

What irked him most however… was the fact he couldn't find any information on this Mastermind. He had searched and searched for any clues or dirt to give him an edge against her, but not even his vast information network and contacts could find any information on her. It was almost as if she didn't even exist. It also irked him deeply to allow her to injure and stomp on his pride, though given the stakes and the rewards to come, he'd swallow his pride for the time being.

"Anyways~ It won't be too much longer until the fun begins. LULZ. Once Naruto-kun returns to Konoha, the dominoes will start falling and the rest will take care of itself. After everything he's learned, there's no way in hell he'll want anything to do with Konoha. ROFL." The mastermind spoke with a large smile, showing off a set of pearly white teeth.

"I can't understand half of what you're saying. Can you not speak like a normal person?" Danzo asked with annoyance, causing the mysterious woman to start cackling madly as she slapped a palm to her forehead. She laughed so hard that a tear fell from her eye that she wiped away and then straightened up… and for the first time since Danzo had been contacted by her, she seemed almost normal.

"I've been called a lot of things. Crazy, evil, demented, insane, a monster, a witch, a maniac, a sociopath, the list is endless. The only thing that you can call me that would truly insult me is 'normal'. I don't know about you… but I'm okay with being a monster. Monsters don't have to care about what others think. Monsters just do what they do without a care." The mastermind spoke in an uncharacteristically calm voice… it was actually rather scary since the Warhawk now felt a chill go down his spine.

Then, her expression and demeanor changed again as she clapped her hands and spoke cheerfully "Just be patient for a little longer~ everyone will get their just rewards and desserts in due course. TTFN, Ta-ta for now~" After having said that, she cut off the line of communication and the screen in front of Danzo became blank, allowing the aged Warhawk to let out a sigh of relief. The sooner this business with that she-devil was concluded, the better. So far though, she had been good for her word.

Now then, it was time for him to draw up a good and proper speech for when he becomes Hokage. He was definitely going to enjoy this when his time finally came to take the reins of the village and steer it towards the right path.

Meanwhile, aboard the Uzu Express.

"Good morning class~ welcome to another day of learning and education! I see we have another face joining us today." Spoke the form of the class' teacher-bot in its usually annoying cheerful voice as it gestured towards the form of Haku who was currently shackled to his seat.

"Umm… why am I here?" Asked the Ice user in clear confusion, from the first moment that he woke up, he was practically dragged out of bed by some robots, dressed by them and then led to the classroom where they were forced to watch that weird introduction video.

"Yeah. I'm kinda curious too, I had thought this was only for women so that they would be conditioned into loving Naruto-kun." Sakura spoke with a small shrug, causing the others to nod their heads in agreement since that seemed a bit strange. Was Haku supposed to be a part of Naruto's love cult too? He didn't seem like he was into guys, but Haku… well… Haku would definitely be attractive to a great many people to say the least.

The Teacher-bot ignored their questioning and instead announced "I would like to announce that both Anko Mitarashi, and Asagi Igawa have both been labeled as Graduates by our beloved friend Glados. As such, they are no longer required to attend our class. Regardless, they shall always be a part of our happy family~" At that, the shackles that kept both Anko and Asagi strapped to their desks were released with a click.

"Huh? They both graduated? Why? What did they do to earn that?" Ino demanded, wondering why they were suddenly given a free pass out of class. The two Kunoichi in question exchanged glances as they wondered the same thing… but quickly came to the only logical reason that set them apart from everyone else… they had both slept with and had sex with Naruto.

Their faces blushed a bit which didn't go unnoticed by the others, with Ino quickly connecting the dots as she muttered "Oh. That's how." She blushed profusely at the obvious implications, a large part of her wished that she was more proficient in her clan's Mental techniques, maybe then she could do something about this damn brainwashing, but without a full understanding of the process and due to her inexperience she would likely end up doing more harm than good.

While it was extremely debatable if whatever they may feel for him was real or manufactured, it was a certainty that Naruto wasn't the type to take advantage of them for any reason. For now, she had to endure this until she got home.

For a brief moment, both Anko and Asagi seemed uncertain of what to do with themselves at the present moment since they weren't expecting this… for now, a drink seemed like a nice start since it would allow them to collect their thoughts. Without a word, they silently filed out of the classroom, leaving the three present 'students' inside since they knew it'd be worthless to fight against the machinery. Any attempts at trying to get them out would undoubtedly lead to consequences for them.

Sakura sighed as she saw the headset descend from the ceiling and the breathing mask approached her face with a bored expression as she muttered 'Business as usual', in the background Ino reluctantly allowed the machines to perform their intended purpose since there was no point in fighting it, while Haku was still wondering why he was being forced into this. For now, he had little choice but to follow the lead of the others and see how this would play out for him.

He wasn't sure how to feel about loving someone. Sure, he cared for Zabuza who was his teacher, master, and at times even a reluctant paternal figure. However, because of his service towards Zabuza, Haku had never had the time or the opportunity to form sexual or even romantic relationships… this would definitely be a learning experience for him, and his master did say to make Naruto happy… so that's what he would do.

The scent of cherries filled Haku's nostrils and his vision was obscured as colors filled his vision as the process had begun. As their 'class' started the door to the classroom opened, revealing Naruto who sighed to himself at seeing both Ino and Sakura undergoing the conditioning process, the poor things. He was surprised that both Anko and Asagi weren't present and that Haku was there.

For now, the blonde decided not to question it, believing that this was a part of either Glados' or the mastermind's sick games. He hummed to himself and decided to wet his whistle with something to drink.

He entered the dining car where he found his two lovers who were already sitting and having a drink. They immediately took notice of his presence and waved to him with large smiles on their faces. He waved back and spoke "Morning. You two cutting class somehow?" He asked the last part out of curiosity.

Asagi slipped over onto the next barstool, opening up a spot for him so that he may sit between them. He took his seat and then ordered a drink while Anko replied to his question "Seems like we graduated after having sex with you. Meaning we don't have to attend anymore."

At that, the blonde gave a small 'oh' since that was the only response that he could give at that time. His lovers couldn't help but take notice of his reaction, they were unsure if it would be wise to say anything or try and offer words of comfort, but they weren't sure what to say. Additionally, he seemed kind of distracted by something. Anko grinned and poked at his cheeks while speaking "Hey. Naruto-kun. What's on your mind? Thinking about nailing us both at the same time?" She teased with a heart chuckle, hoping to get a reaction out of him.

Surprisingly, he didn't even blush as he took a sip of his booze and then replied "Nah. Not thinking about that right now. I was just thinking… the mastermind might be insane but a lot of what she showed and told me makes a lot of sense. The only thing she didn't openly answer was about the exact circumstances behind my birth, largely because she didn't know herself. However, there is one being who might have some answers…"

He left the sentence hanging, the two women glanced at each other… before Anko realized what he was getting at "Wait, you can't be serious. The Kyuubi? You seriously want to ask it for answers? How do you know it won't lie or try to trick you?"

At this, the Uzumaki shrugged and replied "I don't, but it's my only shot. I doubt the old man or Jiraiya know, and even if they did, they likely wouldn't tell me. So the Kyuubi is the only shot I have at learning more. Hopefully it'll at least be reasonable."

"Have you… ever actually spoken to the Kyuubi before? Would it not be hostile?" Asagi asked in a worried tone, even in her homelands, the tales of the Bijuu's destructive capabilities were known to her and her fellow Taimanin.

In response, Naruto answered "Most likely. I am the Bijuu's prison. However, I am hoping that it'll either agree to share what it knows, or maybe we can come to some kind of a trade. Also, I've never actually made contact with it… but I guess I would've had to at some point or other in my Shinobi career. May as well be now. Wish me luck." With that said, he finished his drink and decided to head to the botanical garden and meditate for a while in the hopes of establishing contact with the beast.

Both Anko and Asagi nodded, silently wishing and praying for his success. They weren't sure what he was hoping to find, or what the beast may reveal, but hopefully it may help bring some needed closure for the poor boy.

Inside the botanical garden, Naruto was now sitting in the lotus position, his eyes closed as he focused on the sound of the nearby waterfall as he tried to will himself into speaking with the Kyuubi. 'Hey… Kyuubi. I'm not sure if you can hear me or not, but we need to talk. There's something I wanna ask you about. If you can hear me, please say something.' Naruto mentally spoke within his mind, hoping that the beast could hear him.

After a few seconds of waiting, he hadn't received any reply, suggesting either the fox was ignoring him or hadn't heard him. He repeated his mental request a second time, hoping to reach the Bijuu, still no reply. A third time, a fourth time, a fifth time, all had the same results, no reply.

Finally, on the sixth try… he felt something. It almost felt like he was being 'pulled' somewhere and everything around him felt cold and damp. When he opened his eyes he found himself standing in some kind of sewer, with a massive gate before him and from behind said gate, was a pair of massive ruby red eyes with a black slit pupil.

"So… you're my host. We meet at last. I was wondering when you'd appear. Sorry for not replying, I tried. This seal is keeping us from actively communicating, though I was able to pull you into your mindscape so that we can talk, which was made significantly easier for me since you actually wanted to talk. Now then… what can I do for you?" The Kyuubi replied in a surprisingly polite tone, though there was also a slight undertone of irritation. Seemed like the Kitsune didn't like people.

Naruto thought it to be best not to waste the Kyuubi's time and said "Before anything else, and to avoid potential confusion… are you aware of what's been going on lately?"

The fox let out a chuckle that made the entire chamber rumble before answering "Ah. I am. Normally I don't pay much attention to your boring and monotonous life, but things have been getting interesting lately. A train, autonomous machines, brainwashing classes, and a mysterious and clearly mad mastermind. Quite an amusing show for me… and now you have finally come to ask me about the night of your birth… heh… if you had the brains to come to me sooner, maybe your entire life would have changed, perhaps for the better."

Naruto grimaced at the obvious mocking tone in the Kyuubi's voice, however the Uzumaki couldn't argue against it since the fox made a valid point. The whiskered teen sighed and said "Better late than never I guess. Now come on! Spill already! Tell me about my parents, tell me what happened that night, tell me why you attacked Konoha, tell me why the seal that kept you in my mom failed. Tell me everything."

The Bijuu made a deep huff sound and inspected its claws for a few moments, a sharp row of teeth appearing from the dark confines of the beast's cage as it spoke in an even tone "So demanding, though given your present circumstances, I guess I can't really blame you. I probably should have known that she would have gone the extra mile for you."

At that, the Uzumaki raised an eyebrow and tilted his head before asking "She? She who? Do… do you mean to say you know who the mastermind is? How?" At his questioning, the Kyuubi had a slightly amused glint in its eye as it tapped a claw against the cage.

"Poor Naruto-kun. So lost. So confused. Like a lost lamb on the plains. If it weren't for 'her' you would have stayed a dumb little lamb that would have happily walked off the edge of a cliff and into a meat grinder if your shepherds said so." The Kitsune spoke, while there were hints of mockery… there also seemed to be facts mixed in as well.

"Jiraiya and the old man." Naruto spoke, guessing that those two were the 'shepherds' that the fox was referring to.

"Got it in one. I'll tell you what, you can either ask me about the night of your birth and your family, or you can ask about the mastermind and her connection to you. You can only choose one or the other." The Kitsune spoke as it slowly dragged a claw along the metal bars that separated it from the whiskered teen, making some sparks appear along with a horrible screeching noise that made the blonde teen wince in discomfort.

"Why only one? Why tell me at all? I was expecting some resistance from you, so why are you cooperating?" He asked cautiously, which earned a slight glare from the beast before it relaxed and grinned broadly from within the darkness.

"Why only one? Because it'd be boring if I spilled all the beans. Why tell you? Call it an 'apology' of sorts, or perhaps a 'debt' since you're my host. Also, what were you expecting? A cantankerous old grouch or something? I'm not that petty. You certainly didn't ask to be my host.

Though I think I should make mention of the fact that you aren't the only one suffering from loneliness. How do you think you would feel after being crammed into one cage after another, trapped, all alone, with no one to talk to save yourself while stewing in your thoughts and memories, all because of some self-righteous man-child's idea of 'peace'?" After the Kitsune finished it's rant, the Uzumaki shrank a little bit as he pondered over its words.

"... I guess you're right. That is awful." He freely admitted since that sounded like a fate worse than death in his opinion, plus it would definitely be a strong and valid reason for the Bijuu hating humans. Despite her mockery, she showed no real hostility to him… hopefully they could at least cooperate.

The Uzumaki then cleared his throat and spoke "Please, tell me about the night of my birth and my family. If you do…. I can try and make this place more comfortable for you. This sewer setting is pretty depressing."

At his offer, the beast smiled warmly and replied "Extending an olive branch, eh? Now was that so hard? You be good to me, and I'll be good to you. Now then, I guess I'll start off and say that the mastermind was telling the truth. Your parents are the Yondaime and your mother was your predecessor."

The whiskered teen nodded as he sat down on the floor while hugging his knees to his chest as he replied "I kinda figured that was the case. It just… made so much sense. If my mom was the previous host, I'd obviously be the one to replace her, also… I kinda find it hard to imagine the Hokage asking someone else's kid to bear such a burden. Now, what about Jiraiya?"

"Trust me when I say, that you weren't 'chosen' there was literally nobody else that could contain me. Your father chose his sensei, Jiraiya to be your godfather… because he made a book some years ago from which you got your name from." The Kitsune explained as it inspected its claws again.

After an awkward silence, Naruto asked "And that translates into 'Godfather' material how?"

"Hell if I know. Your dad was a good fighter, and not much else. In fact, he was an idiot when it came to everything not Shinobi related." The Kyuubi explained in a dismissive tone, obviously not caring much for the Yondaime… not surprising since he was responsible for sealing the beast.

"How'd my mom feel about him then? Any idea why Jiraiya was so interested in me to the point he'd sabotage my education?" The whiskered teen asked, wondering what would drive the Sannin to do something so cruel.

"Your mom, Kushina, never liked that old perv. In fact, he tried to hit on her a few times, even while she was pregnant with you… then she beat him up. Anyways… Jiraiya seemed obsessed with some kind of prophecy he heard from the Grand Elder Toad. Something, something about a Child of Prophecy revolutionizing or destroying the Shinobi Nations and all of that other vague Prophecy stuff." The fox answered… and at the end of its explanation, Naruto was understandably livid.

"THAT'S THE REASON?! SOME GODDAMN PROPHECY HE HEARD FROM SOME OLD FROG?!" Naruto angrily shouted as he hopped to his feet and began pacing about, all the while the fox seemed to find the situation amusing.

"Yeah. I never had much interest in that Prophecy business. Too open for interpretation, far too vague. While not to be entirely ignored, it's not worth scratching your head over until it bleeds. At any rate, we haven't even gotten to the juicy bits yet. And I mean the mouth-watering bits." The Kyuubi spoke, breaking the blonde out of his anger as he looked at the beast questioningly.

He then pursed his lips, pushing any thought of Jiraiya to the side for the moment before speaking "Yeah… The mastermind mentioned this, she said that a Female Jinchuuriki's seal weakens when she's giving birth. The Yondaime was a world-renowned Seal-Master, so what went wrong?" Instead of answering straight-away, the Kitsune was still staring at its claws, almost as if it wanted to deliberately leave him in suspense.

Finally, the beast answered "Outside Interference is what went wrong. While your dad held the seal together, not even a minute after you were born, a man in a mask appeared and kidnapped you, taking you hostage. While your father was distracted trying to save you, Mask-san performed a little bait-and-switch trick to kidnap your mother… and later on forcibly ripped me out by destroying the seal."

"Who is he? What do you know about the Masked man?" Naruto asked, his hands balling into fists, for most people, one may wonder whether or not the Kyuubi was being truthful, however… the blonde Uzumaki had a strong feeling that the Kitsune wasn't being deceitful, which was further reinforced as he noticed that the topic of the masked man was making the fox bristle in anger and hate.

"Don't know. I'd happily tell you who he is and how to find him if I did. Unfortunately, I don't possess that critical bit of knowledge. What I do know is that he has a Sharingan eye of an unusually advanced level that grants him special abilities not commonly found amongst the Uchiha's, one of which was some sort of technique that enabled him to teleport and become intangible. Furthermore, his Sharingan was powerful enough to put me in a Genjutsu, hence my rampage in Konoha." The Kyuubi explained which made the Uzumaki cross his arms and think over the Bijuu's words.

"Only person who's known to successfully control you… is Madara Uchiha. He supposedly died in the Valley of the End, either he didn't actually die, or someone discovered some of the secrets of his powers. Either way… the one truly responsible for the deaths of my parents and my suffering… is still out there somewhere. Though… there's still the matter of why he did it." Naruto mused aloud… now everything was starting to fall in place.

The masked man was responsible for the Kyuubi attack and indirectly responsible for the people of Konoha mistreating him, Jiraiya hired Iruka to keep him a prisoner in the Academy… and Hiruzen deliberately withheld vital information about his parents and his inheritance… jeez, it seemed like the universe just wanted to screw him over.

The Kyuubi chuckled as it spoke in an amused voice "Does the 'why' truly matter? He still did the deed. End of story. You just have to make sure that Mask-san's story comes to a violent end. I recommend gouging out his eyes and taking his scalp as a trophy, something to remember him by."

Naruto didn't pay much attention to the Kitsune at that point, but it was right… the 'why' was irrelevant. The whiskered teen then sighed and focused his mind, attempting to change his mindscape to something more appealing. The Fox held up its end of the bargain, now he had to keep his. After a few moments, the area changed from a depressing sewer to a large field with rolling hills and lush green grass.

The gate that caged the Kitsune changed and became a large collar that wrapped around the fox's neck. The Kyuubi stretched its limbs and admired the new surroundings and spoke "Definitely an improvement. Much better than that sewer." The fox commented in a pleased voice as it scratched at its neck for a brief moment.

"I'll add more stuff later for you. Also… are you male or female? I know you're called a Kitsune, but I can't tell." Naruto asked out of curiosity, to which the Kitsune chuckled.

"In truth, neither. Don't forget that we are constructs of pure Chakra. Although we can alter our forms if we so desire, depending on our preferences. You can refer to me as 'she' since I strongly lean towards a more feminine identity." The Kitsune replied, earning a nod from the Uzumaki since that made sense to him.

"One more thing… do you have a name?" He asked since he didn't want to constantly refer to the fox as 'Kyuubi' the beast had to have a name that she gave to herself or was given one at some point in her existence.

"Whoa now. Slow it down boy. We aren't at that stage yet. A Bijuu doesn't give their name to just anyone. For now, our business is concluded. I suggest you leave and relay what you learned to the others. Also… I'm curious about who you're going to mate with next. That thick tomboy? Your cute blonde classmate? Or maybe you'll breed that adorable girly-boy?" The Kitsune spoke in a lewd tone, which threw off the blonde as he blushed a bit.

The whiskered teen then frowned as he spoke "I don't think that's any of your business you pervert, also… I'm not into guys." At his words, the fox only chuckled more as a glint appeared in her eyes, showing some amusement to his denial.

"Maybe, maybe not. Doesn't matter. He's still a pretty little thing, and good ass is still good ass. Also… what can I say? I have to get some entertainment somehow or other, your time in the Academy certainly wasn't very interesting." The Kitsune explained with a shrug, which caused Naruto to roll his eyes and sigh. Yeah. His business was done here.

The Jinchuuriki willed himself to leave his mindscape, and after a few moments he found himself back in the train's botanical garden. He slowly got up as his joints made some popping noises, after a few seconds of stretching out his limbs, he proceeded to the dining car where he last left Anko and Asagi.

When he entered the dining car, he found that everyone was gathered there with Haku nursing a headache as evidenced by a small bag of ice that was pressed against his forehead, undoubtedly to numb the pain in his head while everyone else were munching on some snacks.

The Snake mistress was the first to take notice of his presence and asked "Yo. Naruto-kun! How'd it go with the old fox?"

The Jinchuuriki pulled a seat away from a table and sat himself in it, using the backrest to hold up his arms while resting his chin on them as he replied "Much better than I thought it would. In fact, the Kyuubi offered me a lot of insight."

Gaining the attention of everyone, he began to explain that the Kyuubi confirmed his parentage, hinted at knowing who the mastermind was, and perhaps most importantly, stated that someone else was behind the events of that tragic night.

"Eeeeeeeh?! For real?! Someone was actually behind the Kyuubi attack? The damned fox also knew who the mastermind is? Why didn't you force it to tell you? How can you trust anything that monster says?!" Ino yelled out as she slammed her palms on the counter, which made Haku wince and groan from the loud noise of the impact and Ino's yelling.

"Inside voice, if you please. Otherwise? Just hand me a noose already." Haku asked while pinching the bridge of his nose, earning an apologetic look from the blonde heiress who also muttered 'sorry' to the ice user. First time on that brainwashing machine was like a kick to the head by a horse.

Naruto cleared his throat then answered "I probably could have forced the Kyuubi. I probably could have manipulated my own mindscape to help with that, but I think it'd be better to cooperate with the fox if she can be reasoned with. Yes, She. She prefers to be referred to as female, but that's beside the point. Anyways, we can learn more about the mastermind later. The Kyuubi has information few others do.

Plus, I didn't get the sense that she was lying. She doesn't seem like she enjoys being caged or manipulated, so I doubt she would have lied about the masked man."

At his words, Anko piped in "Makes perfect sense to me. The Uchiha's never had a shortage of power hungry crackpots. I bet Madara had some kind of secret apprentice or something before he finally croaked, and that apprentice is trying to destroy Konoha in his sensei's name or something."

"Not implausible. Though for now, we don't know who he is or where he is. We should focus on those we can deal with. Jiraiya and the old man." Naruto spoke, causing a stiff silence to fall on them.

He was right, Jiraiya was clearly in the wrong and Hiruzen's conduct was definitely questionable to say the least. For now, all they could do was wait, silently digest this new information and… who knows what may come after? "Still… this means that… not even the Kyuubi was at fault for that night. It was all the masked man. He's the real bad guy here." Ino chimed in thoughtfully, though it seemed more like she was thinking to herself.

Naruto wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or addressing everyone but all the same he replied "Yeah. Only question now is, who the hell is the masked guy? Most of the Uchiha clan is gone. Only two we know with certainty to be alive are Sasuke and Itachi. I could see Itachi having the ability to pull off controlling the Kyuubi, but I don't see why."

Anko then chimed in "Nah. It isn't Itachi. He and I worked together evacuating Civilians away from the battle that night. The masked guy has to be someone else." Huh… that was an interesting bit of info. Itachi has an alibi for the Kyuubi attack. Still, it sets them back to square one… the unknown identity of the masked man.

"Anko, do you know if ALL of the Uchiha's were accounted for after the Uchiha Massacre? Or were there any that couldn't be identified?" Naruto asked, wondering if perhaps someone faked their death during the Massacre. He had always believed that Itachi worked with someone that night.

No matter how skilled and/or talented a person was, the whiskered teen refused to believe that one guy could cover an entire village district on their own, without leaving survivors or raising an alarm. Not even Itachi could be that good.

"Yup. The entirety of the T&I division were dispatched to investigate everything and process the bodies. Most of them died pretty cleanly, I guess Itachi wanted to kill them quickly and quietly. A professional as always, but I digress. We confirmed that all of the deceased were accounted for. We took fingerprints, dental, DNA, the works. Didn't find anything suspicious." The Snake Mistress answered, causing the Uzumaki to sigh in disappointment.

"Okay. So perhaps further back then… maybe during the Shinobi war?" The whiskered teen suggested, prompting Haku to raise a lone finger up, suggesting that he wanted to say something.

The Ice user set aside his bag of ice and began massaging his temples as he spoke "Zabuza-sama would sometimes tell me war stories. He said that the previous Shinobi War was pretty chaotic and violent. Sometimes Kiri Shinobi who wanted to escape the fighting would go 'missing'. Most who tried that ended up getting killed by a certain 'specialist' who made a living out of tracking down and killing Rogue Ninja. Though's who's to say other village Shinobi didn't try the same? Perhaps some of them managed to escape to parts unknown. Like your Mask-san for example."

Everyone hummed in thought at this information… and Uchiha that either was declared dead and/or missing during the previous Shinobi War. Had to be a lot of those out there. However… "Glados? Pull up a list of Uchiha's that either died or went missing." Naruto requested, and not a moment later, a tentacle-cable appeared with a screen that displayed all the names of said Uchihas… and there were still a lot of them.

"Filter out the names of those whose bodies were recovered or confirmed destroyed." Asagi requested, prompting the AI to silently agree as a vast majority of the names were crossed out. No surprise there since the Uchiha clan took great care in ensuring their Sharingan couldn't be stolen.

"Still too many names… we need more info… wait… I wonder… do any of the listed names have a connection to my parents?" Naruto asked with his arms crossed. From his perspective, the masked man seemed to have targeted his family specifically all those years ago… was it really the Kyuubi he wanted? Or was it a personal grudge?

Glados performed the necessary filter… and only one name was left on the list… Obito Uchiha. "Glados, give me information on this Obito. Who is he?" Naruto requested and then a picture of a teenager wearing goggles appeared, with the blonde briefly thinking that he saw something of a resemblance between himself and this Obito.

Glados then began to speak "Obito Uchiha, member of the previous carnation of Team 7 headed by Minato Namikaze. Teammates Rin Nohara, an accomplished and almost prodigal Medic Nin and Kakashi Hatake, well-known prodigy and skilled tracker, became a candidate for Anbu Captain at an early age.

Obito was killed during an attempt to rescue his teammate Rin and was buried alive in a rock-slide, before being completely buried, he requested that Rin transfer his eye to Kakashi who had recently lost his own. The transfer was a success, thus Kakashi gained his famous Sharingan eye. Obito's body was not recovered."

The group sat in silence as they slowly absorbed this information… could Obito have felt that he had been abandoned or something after nearly getting killed? "Anything else?" Naruto asked and after a few moments the AI responded.

"This may be of relevance. Rin Nohara was later forced to become the Jinchuuriki for the Sanbi by Kiri with the intent to turn her into an unwilling suicide bomber against her village. Unfortunately and tragically, Rin chose to do her duty to protect the village… by impaling herself on Kakashi's own original jutsu, the Lightning Blade. According to Minato's own reports… Obito seemed to have strong feelings for Rin." Glados reported, her voice carrying a certain… weight to it. It almost sounded like sadness or even empathy. Seemed a bit strange for her, but nobody questioned it for now… it was rather sad what happened to Rin.

The group exchanged looks with one another, if this information and their hunch was accurate… then the masked man should be Obito Uchiha. All that was left was to confirm it, unfortunately the masked man was still in the wind. Not that it mattered… they would undoubtedly cross paths again someday in the future. At the very least, they had a potential suspect.

For now… they would wait. They would arrive soon in Konoha… and then the rest would be up to fate. For his part, Naruto wanted to quietly absorb this information… all the while… strong emotions were welling up in his heart. He wasn't sure to describe it as being happy that he learned more about his past, or hatred resentment for the masked man who had indirectly ruined his life. Regardless of the case… he had some old scores to settle once and for all.

Meanwhile. Konoha General Hospital.

At the receptionist's desk, a lone nurse could be seen scribbling away at some paperwork… until a shadow loomed over her head. She looked up and saw a familiar face that hadn't shown itself in Konoha for years, but was unmistakably recognizable "Ehhhh?! Tsunade-sama? Here? Wha… wha…." The nurse blurted out, her words dying in her throat as the Sannin stared at her blankly.

Tsunade for her part, was trying her best to keep calm… hell, she hadn't even touched a drop of booze since that crazy girl had dropped some major hints about Dan's death… and now she was here to get some answers "Stop blubbering. I want access to the files on Dan Kato, sharpish." The Slug Sannin demanded impatiently, her ever-loyal assistant and pet pig standing just behind her while giving pleading looks that said 'Give her what she wants'

"I… uhh.. am not sure if that information is…" The nurse spoke, obviously trying to come up with some kind of excuse. Tsunade rolled her eyes, not having the time or patience to deal with this, and delivered a swift karate chop to the nurse's neck, instantly knocking her out as she slumped in her chair, allowing Tsunade to hop the desk and gain free access to the computer. Back during her time in Konoha, computers were far less common, she actually hated the damn things.

She preferred good old-fashioned paper and a filing cabinet over a computer, however they still had their occasional uses. Fortunately, her account and login password were all still valid, she supposed that since she is still considered an active Kunoichi by her Sensei, the hospital never bothered to delete it. Probably in the hopes that she'd return someday.

Tsunade accessed the archives and pulled up Dan's file and took note that his cause of death was labeled as 'Exsanguination via severe lacerations' raising an eyebrow, she noted that there was something strange about the file… "This file… appears to have been altered." She spoke out loud with her apprentice now looking over her shoulder… and agreed with her sensei.

"I think you're right… but on whose authority?" Shizune questioned… all the while feeling a pit form in her stomach since it felt like they were on the cusp of opening Pandora's box.

Tsunade tapped a few keys, and noted that the original file was still archived in the system, she pulled it up and found numerous pictures of Dan's lifeless body and the wounds he had suffered, just looking at them made her feel ill, but she swallowed back her feelings and was determined to see this through for his sake as well as her own and Shizune's.

She zoomed in on several pictures, noting that his wounds were… nothing short of horrific. His insides might as well have been jelly… and such wounds were obviously consistent with the Rasengan technique that had slain many Iwa Shinobi. Just as the strange woman had earlier stated… There were only two men that knew this technique, one was dead… and the other had a lot to answer for.

"Jiraiya… you fucking didn't…" Tsunade growled out, her face turning red and her eyes blazing with fury as she spoke through gritted teeth "Shizune, let's go. We're gonna pay a visit to the old man to find out where my old 'teammate' is… even if I have to strangle him. Consequences be fucking damned." The slug Sannin muttered as she and her companions immediately marched towards the Hokage tower.

The countdown to a major confrontation between multiple factions and individuals, each with their own agendas… was about to come to a head.

Meanwhile. Location, unknown.

"Good news… Tsunade has accessed Dan Kato's file as you predicted. According to Glados, the train shall be arriving in Konoha shortly, and Jiraiya himself is on his way there now. By the time he arrives… well… he won't be able to do anything anyway. Furthermore, the doppelganger units of Anko Mitarashi and Ino Yamanaka have remained undetected and are preparing for their final operations. Also, as per your instructions Naruto-sama's doppelganger has finished his own duties." Spoke a feminine voice, which belonged to the woman who went by the alias of 'Soldat'

On a large monitor, the image of the fake Naruto could be seen waving at the camera… while standing between the two large statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. A pair of symbols from a bygone era.

The mastermind had her back to Soldat, drinking from a glass filled with booze as she spoke in an unusually calm manner "Just look at those two, a pair of old farts that tried to build something great, then they just fucked it all up for everyone else. Hashirama Senju, gave away the Bijuu and their Jinchuuriki like candy to the undeserving. Madara Uchiha, even as a ghost of the past, his legacy lives on in those diseased piggies that belong to his clan. Eh… doesn't matter really. They're dead and their legacies… meaningless. It's time for a hard reset, a clean slate. And Naruto-kun will be the progenitor of the new era."

With that said, the mastermind pushed a large red button… and a large explosion appeared on screen causing the feed to turn to static. By now, the Valley of the End would be completely unrecognizable, and the statues of Konoha's founders would be nothing but unidentifiable chunks of rubble. "All according to plan… it's time to erase the old era, and begin anew." The mastermind mused and then pushed another button, causing music to play overhead.

(Play 'Five to One' by the Doors.)

Five to one, baby

One in five

No one here gets out alive, now

You get yours, baby

I'll get mine

Gonna make it, baby, if we try

The old get old

And the young get stronger

May take a week

And it may take longer

They got the guns

But we got the numbers

Gonna win, yeah, we're takin' over

Come on!

Your ballroom days are over, baby

Night is drawing near

Shadows of the evening

Crawl across the years

Ya walk across the floor with a flower in your hand

Trying to tell me no one understands

Trade in your hours for a handful of dimes

Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime

As the song continued to play, the mastermind was mentally picturing Konoha in flames… for years the village had been hell for her Naruto-kun. Now… Konoha would become the villagers' own variant of hell in the coming days, it was time for the younger generation to rise up and stomp out the legacy and mistakes of the old generation, and to do better than they ever could… even if others had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a better day, and the one to reap all the rewards… would be her beloved Naruto-kun.

End chapter ten.