Authors Notes 1) I don't own Naruto or its characters.

2) Thank you to my friend Alex for his help.

3) Constructive criticism is welcomed, as are compliments.

4) The characters are 16 in the first chapter of the story. I have not seen if Sasuke's defection to Sound was successful or not. For the purposes of this story, I am assuming that it was.

O-O-O

"The security this village has is pathetic, Hokage-sama."

The voice, coming from the corner of her own office, surprised Tsunade. Crouching low, she spun to face the voice. She held a defensive posture, preparing for whatever the intruder had planned.

"Oh come now, all these theatrics. Can't we even exchange a simple greeting?" A cloaked figure came out of the shadows. Holding himself as non-threateningly as possible, Naruto bowed low. "Greetings, Tsunade-sama. It is indeed a pleasure to meet you. I hope you had a restful sleep last night."

They matched stares, face to mask. Tsunade held her defensive stance, making no move to return the greeting. It was once again Naruto who broke the silence. "You don't seem interested in saying hello to me. Should I interpret that as meaning that you don't know who I am?"

"Oh, I have a theory or two about that."

"And may I ask what they are, Hokage-sama?"

"You're a missing-nin; a mercenary who is currently wanted by almost every ninja village for committing some crime or another against them. The Sound village has offered a five million ryou reward to any person or ninja village who can offer conclusive proof of your death."

Tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, Naruto let out an amused sigh. "Yeah, I suppose that I've gone through quite a few of those guys. Free information if you want; my partner and I are the ones who took out Orochimaru and Kabuto."

This wasn't new information to Tsunade; it had long been suspected. Still, if this was who she thought it was, she needed to keep him talking as long as possible. This man had taken down Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sasuke, Itachi, and who knew how many other S-level ninja, apparently with ease. If she was able to stall, he might be discovered before the fight started. She would welcome the backup. "Is that so?" she asked, making it appear as though surprise were creeping into her voice. "I suppose I have heard of you. You must be the one they call The Masked Demon."

"Indeed I am. I must say, it's always nice to be recognized. I suppose you have something of a file on me, no?"

"I might. Is that what you're here for then? Trying to decipher what the various villages know about you?"

"No, no, not at all. I merely came to give you a little bit of information that you may find interesting. Your village is about to be attacked."

At this, the stalemate finally ended, with Tsunade bolting forwards. Naruto dodged to the side, tripping her feet out as Tsunade moved by. Rather than fight to stay upright, Tsunade went with the momentum; tucking herself into a ball and rolling back to her feet.

"I am not here to harm you!" Naruto was furious as he spoke "I have come here to warn you. But please by all means, continue attacking if you want to start something," his voice dropped into a menacing growl as he continued to speak. "I guarantee that I'll be the one to finish it."

Tsunade regarded him warily as he picked herself up from the ground. Slowly, slightly more relaxed than before, she stood to face him. "Alright then; my village, despite having heard nothing of the sort, is about to be attacked. Of course the only reason I know this, is because I've been told by a missing-nin who-"

"I'm not a missing-nin."

"Oh no? Then what village do you swear allegiance to?"

"None. And which village, might I ask, has reported me missing?"

Tsunade looked thoughtfully at Naruto for a moment, before finally nodding and conceding the point. "Fine, you're not a missing-nin, you're merely an S-level criminal. Now why in the world am I supposed to believe you?"

"Because I have proof." Reaching into his cloak, Naruto withdrew a scroll, and tossed it to the Hokage. Catching it with ease, Tsuande opened it, and began to examine the contents. At first she read slowly, spending more time focusing on the man in front of her, trying to keep her guard up. But then, as she continued to scan the scroll, she became more and more focused on it. Naruto, already intimate with the scroll's contents began to speak, summarizing what Tsunade was reading.

"The Hidden Villages of Stone and Rain have formed a secret alliance. Together, along with just about every missing-nin and criminal-nin that they've been able to find, they plan to attack your village. You'll need to prepare quickly if you hope to survive."

Tsunade looked up from the scroll, glaring at Naruto. "I don't believe this."

The masked figure shrugged, the action barely noticeable beneath his cloak. "I could care less as to whether or not you believe it. The fact of the matter remains that it's true. If you don't believe me, feel free not to prepare your defenses. I guarantee that sooner or later you'll decide that I was telling the truth."

"None of this makes any sense," as the Hokage spoke, she began holding up her fingers, marking the points she was making. "Why would the two villages decide to attack us? How does some random missing-nin know all of this? Why should I believe someone who broke into my office? Why the hell would you just come and tell me without demanding something in return? And where the fuck are my guards. How can those two damn ANBU outside the door not have got their asses in here yet!"

"First," Naruto raised a finger as he spoke, mimicking the Hokage. "The Hidden Villages of Stone and Rain have never got along with you all that well; that tends to happen when you're the strongest power. Traveling around the continent I learned that Orochimaru's war with you really damaged your aura of invincibility. Everyone figures that if they're ever going to take you down a peg, then now is the time to do it.

"Secondly, I know because they tried to hire me to lead the first wave of shock troops and canon fodder. I tortured everything that their emissary knew out of him, came here, gathered some information, and gave them to you.

"You should believe someone that broke into your office because, clearly, it was the only way the person could gain access to you, and finally, because it shows they are serious about warning you.

"Next up, I gave you the info without asking for anything, because… I owe some people in your village."

Tsunade turned her head, puzzled.

"A long time ago, a few of the ninja from your village helped me out. There are a couple old debts I need to repay. As far as I'm concerned… we're even now. As for your guards, I had a jutsu up to prevent any sound from escaping the room…

"It's gone now."

"Guards!" Naruto winced. His hypersensitive hearing had not appreciated the Hokage's shout one bit. He began inching towards the large window at the back of Tsunade's office. He crouched low, taking on a stance that allowed him to prepare for either fight or flight. He was a little disappointed that Tsunade had chosen to take this path, but it didn't bother him too much. Let the village get destroyed, as far as he was concerned, the majority of the villagers deserved it. Sure, he'd be a little disappointed about his old friends, but even there he felt some anger seething. There was too much of the Kyuubi in him to simply forget that they had turned their backs on him.

The two ANBU moved with caution; while one moved towards Naruto, the other crept between him and Tsunade, hoping to shield the Hokage should this intruder unleash some sort of sudden attack. As the tension in the room mounted, all three of the soon-to-have-been combatants found themselves surprised by Tsunade's next order.

"Both of you stand down! I said stand down! Now!" Her guards finally heeded her orders, both of them halting where they were, although they did not seem to relax any. "I want both of you to leave at once. You, find Nara Shikamaru at once, it isn't noon yet, so start by looking at his home. I don't care how much he complains, tell him if he isn't here in ten minutes, I'll have him pulling double shifts on guard duty for the next year. As for you, grab a few others, and start spreading the word. I want the emergency dispatch corps here as quick as possible. Now go!"

The ANBU vanished instantly. It wasn't that they trusted leaving the Hokage alone with this stranger, but by now all of the guards had learned that no matter what, you didn't want to incur the wrath of the Fifth. In a fraction of a second, only Naruto and Tsunade remained in her office. Once again, they stood facing each other, tense as they considered what the others next move may be. This time, it was the Hokage that was the first to break the silence.

"I trust you. Or at least, I believe that I cannot afford to ignore your warning. As far as trust goes, I'm willing to dismiss my guards while I'm here with you.

Naruto merely nodded. "I take it this Nara fellow is some sort of advisor or strategist. What the hell is an 'emergency dispatch corps' though?"

"Any Konoha genin or chuunin who are exceptionally talented in the fields of speed and stealth are placed into the E.D.C. In the event of an attack such as this, they can act as a messenger system, ensuring that we can get a more accurate picture of the overall battle."

"Pretty generous of you to just tell all of this to a potential enemy."

"If you were an enemy, I'd be dead or battling for my life, not setting up the opening stages of a defensive plan."

"Be that as it may, Hokage-sama, I would greatly appreciate it if you would stop giving away our secrets to someone who does not appear to belong to our ranks." Awake far earlier than was his norm, Shikamaru stood in the entryway to the office. His hair still bore evidence of a night's rest, and he had clearly dressed in a hurry; he was not even wearing a shirt beneath his crumpled vest. The jounin stifled a yawn. "What have we got here?"

"Apparently, we're going to war." That took care of the last of Shikamaru's drowsiness. Tsunade tossed Naruto's scroll over to her war advisor. Shikamaru pored over it, reading as quickly as possible.

"Where did we get this information from?"

"It's been supplied to us from this charitable soul. I'm sure you recognize his description from the bingo book of missing-nin."

Shikamaru almost winced as Tsunade's words confirmed his fears. So it was who he'd thought. This had the potential to get really ugly really fast. "And why, exactly, is a so-called demon helping us out, or is there some other reason he's here?"

"He claims he owes some of our shinobi some sort of debt."

"Is that so?" Shikamaru stared at Naruto, attempting to discern something from him. As usual, the mask and cloak Naruto was wearing made such an attempt useless. On the rare occasions the Nara genius put his mind towards something, it was very rare that he was unsuccessful at it; this, however, proved to be one of the few times. Accepting defeat, Shikamaru turned away, and strode to one of the shelves lining the office. He was just grabbing a map when one of the first genin arrived.

A young boy came bolting into the office, skidding to a stop and panting for breath. "Tamiko Yoshi reporting as ordered for the E.D.C., Hokage-sama."

"All civilians are to evacuate to the prepared positions at once." The order came from Shikamaru rather than Tsunade. He deliberately avoided naming the shelter behind the Hokage monument. He didn't trust this missing-nin, and wanted to avoid giving that secret away. "All ninja are to form into their squads at their assigned areas immediately. I want those orders broadcast now."

Shaking, the child nodded his acknowledgement. Turning, he ran out of the office again, barely avoiding two more of the messengers who were entering the office.

Unrolling the map onto Tsunade's desk, Shikamaru barely even glanced up. "Wait in the next room. No one is to enter unless we call for a runner. I do not want to be disturbed."

"Alright then." Looking up at Naruto, he gestured to the map of the village, spread out across the Hokage's desk. "If you're here to help us, then tell me what you know." With a nod, Naruto moved forwards, and, gesturing to the western wall began relaying his information.

"I gathered as much information as I could as I passed though their lines. The first attack will be directed here, against this portion of the western wall."

It continued for close to an hour; Naruto talking, and Shikamaru occasionally asking questions or dispatching one of the E.D.C. with a message. Tsunade looked on, listening. Every so often, she sent one of the runners off with instructions as well, but for the most part, she let Shikamaru call the shots. He was perhaps the greatest military strategist that the village of Konoha had ever produced, and she recognized it. In matters such as this, she had no problem allowing him to take control of the situation.

Shikamaru, for his part, had no trouble being given control either. He remained as lazy as ever, but he was a ninja of his village. Nodding as he listened, he moved little pieces across his map, his mind making plan after contingency plan. He nodded to himself. The troops were almost all into place, just a little longer and everything would be ready. "How much time do we have?"

Naruto simply shrugged. "No id-"

He was cut off by the sounds of explosions from the western edge of the village.

"None."

Nodding, Shikamaru wiped the sweat from his brow. Looking up at his leader, he smiled weakly. "We can survive this, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade wore one of her looks which spelled instant death for any who opposed her. She barely nodded at the Nara's remark, before speaking to Naruto. "What now, do you fight with us? I assure you, we will make certain you are rewarded handsomely."

"To hell with fighting for your village. As far as I'm concerned, I'd be happy seeing most of the people in this stupid town die. I've paid back my debt, and now I'm gone."

Tsunade glared at him. "And so we just let you leave? Sure you've warned us, but you have just heard our whole defensive plan. How can we know that you don't just run right for the enemy command post?"

Seething with anger, Naruto let the killer intent roll out of him. The stupid old hag. She dared to question him after what he had just done for her. He should tear out her throat to show her what happened to people that cross him. A growl began to build in his throat. No! He fought the anger down. This was O-baa-chan. In his mind he repeated his old nickname for her, reminding himself why he had come. She was one of the ones he had wanted to warn. He looked at Tsunade, who had been clearly shaken by the killer intent she had felt. In a low tone, he spoke.

"I will only say this once. You will just let me leave because I will kill anyone who tries to stop me. I will not reveal your plans because that was not what I came here for. Good luck defending your worthless village." And with that, Uzumaki Naruto, the Masked Demon - the missing-nin so feared that even enemy villages were wiling to share information on any rumor of weakness they hear, in the hopes someone would be able to bring him down - leapt through the window of the Fifth Hokage's office, and was gone.

O-O-O

Hisashi waited hidden in the trees near the memorial stone. He was getting nervous. He had detected no large amounts of chakra from Naruto, so he was not to attempt a rescue mission, he was merely to wait. He always hated waiting, especially when he could clearly hear the start of a war all around him.

The smell of smoke was beginning to drift up from the village. Closing his eyes, he began to shake. In his mind, it was dark. The dead of night. His clan was running through flames, heading for the main gate. The Hisoka clan had always prided itself on being ready to fight on a moments notice. Tonight, they were proving it. While almost every other ninja the Hidden Sun had to offer was still scrambling to prepare to defend the village, the entirety of Clan Hisoka was already mobilized. They were throwing themselves at the bulk of the enemy forces. The rest of the village had better arrive soon; they weren't going to able to fight alone for long.

A hand on his shoulder nearly gave him a heart attack. Naruto was crouched beside him. It was one of the rare times he had removed his mask for something other than eating or drinking. There was even concern, looking completely out of place, etched across his demonic face. "You alright, Hisashi?"

"I'm fine," the boy reassured him. "Really. So what now, do we join the battle?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. Not our fight. I'm not putting my life on the line for all the people that turned their backs on me."

"But they didn't. At least, not all of them did. I mean, look, I found this over here." In moments, Hisashi had led Naruto to the memorial for him. "Look at this, I remember some of these names from your stories."

Naruto ran a clawed hand over the script, his voice quiet as he read. "Missing for two years on this day… Sakura… Shino… Gaara." His hand paused over the last name.

"They took him back. Of course they did, he could never do anything wrong, could he? Of course they let him back, I'm not surprised. But, he, he carved…" The final name was carved roughly. Tenten's script was carved as well as any artisan could have done. The style of the three names Gaara had added clearly showed they had been carved by a second person, although his sand had done a job equal to Tenten's. But the final name. It looked as though it had been carved into the stone by someone who had never done such a thing before in their life. The job was so poor it was almost illegible.

"Sasuke."

"So, what do we do?" Hisashi's question shook him out of his shock. "Are we going to stay and fight then, Naruto?"

It took a moment of thought before the demonic ninja answered. When he did, his face held the playful look it had so often had as a child. "Nope. We're gonna do exactly what O-baa-chan was afraid I was gonna do." His grin turned predatory as his eyes narrowed into mere slits. "We're gonna run right for the enemy command post."

O-O-O

On a tree topped hill overlooking Konoha, stood three ninja. Staring down, they watched the unfolding carnage below.

"So, we've finally found the target. Should we try to apprehend him now?"

"Negative, there's a war going on down there. We don't need to get involved in that."

"It's probable the best chance of catching him without his friend, or guardian, or whatever you want to call him."

"It's also the best chance of two hundred random hostile ninja catching us. We wait. We've been tailing rumors of him, or rather his friend, for years. Now that we've caught up to them, we won't let them go."

"I can feel the other one's chakra. It looks like they're leaving. We should follow."

"Again, I say no. They won't get too far. We'll wait for this to quiet down before we pursue. I'm not going to risk getting caught by two armies just because we got overanxious at the last moment. We wait. Understood?"

"We wait." The words were spoken in unison. None of them had even bothered lowering their voices for the conversation. They knew no one was around. And besides, it wasn't as though anyone nearby would have been able to understand them.

O-O-O

NOTES

Another horribly late chapter. I'm sorry I always do this to you guys. As always, I'll promise to try and get the next one out quicker, but really, let's not kid ourselves. I always say that, and it never happens. But hey, who knows, maybe it really will for once.

Delais