Yo, I'm back and after some careful review I've decided to continue this story. Now in the area of ideas I'm kind looking for long term ideas, such as plot and subplot directions. Any idea you think is worth throwing at me is something I will take into consideration! Well thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Standard Disclaimer)

Chapter 2: Shadow of Grey

It had taken time but Tsunade's tears had been quelled, it was just a matter letting her get everything out. So much sorrow, covered by her professional veneer. So much pain, backed up behind her Hokage mask. The sorrow was quickly fleeting, the pain was ebbing away. The Uzumaki's were back and she hoped they were here to stay.

"Obaa-chan?" Arashi questioned as Tsunade's tears were down to sniffles. "Why are you crying?" little Tsunade questioned, her light violet eyes looking up at her namesake questioningly. Tsunade backed her form from the little kits a small smile breaking through the tear stained face as she spoke, "I'm very happy I could see you that's all."

The two little kits smiled and jumped Tsunade again, hugging her tightly as they said, "we're happy too Obaa-chan!" Tsunade couldn't help the last of her tears as they fell; it was just too much not to cry. She never noticed when the rest of the Uzumaki clan left; they just faded from her mind as she hugged her two smallest grandchildren.

It wasn't until they were pulled from her arms that she realized that she was on the floor, her eyes red and puffy from the tears she shed. The only Uzumaki's around were Arashi, little Tsunade…and Naruto.

Naruto smiled lightly as he put the two kits down, "you two run along with your Okaa-chan, Obaa-chan and I have to talk." The two kits looked sad but instantly cheered up and scurried away, leaving Naruto and Tsunade to speak alone.

Naruto smiled with his trademark grin as he held out his right hand to Tsunade, "long time no see Obaa-chan."

Hinata smiled to her eldest son and daughter, both of them confused beyond belief but happy none the less. Kyuubi's smile reached his pale blue eyes, it had been so long since he had seen his Obaa-chan it was a surprise that he didn't take the two kits off and hug her himself.

Hitomi was silent, a small smile present on her face as she stood patiently watching the goings on with a curious tint to her pastel violet pearls. Hinata's fox ears jumped and she heard the familiar whoosh of air and her nose caught the scent she had grown to love.

She smiled at the uninjured Naruto as he stood in the hole his body had created; he was smiling at the scene before him. Tsunade, weeping quiet tears with a bright smile on her face as his two youngest were being held to her tightly. Both of them with an equally wide smile as they hugged their Obaa-chan.

Naruto's smile turned from them to his wife, a loving sparkle flashed in his eye as he caught sight of her. They didn't need words; the eye contact was all that was needed between them. Their bond carrying the words and thoughts through an invisible link. Hinata nodded lightly and turned to her two kits, giving them both a look which held the secret message.

Silently they snuck out of the room, opening the door without so much as a squeak surprising the silver haired ninja on the other side. Zaiaku back away from the door as the two younger Kitsune exited. He wasn't surprised in the least at the two young ones but the second Hinata made her way through the door Zaiaku was stunned.

His golden eyes were open wide as he stared at Hinata; to him it was like a ghost had just floated its way out of the Hokage's office. In a way it was, according to all official records Hinata was classified as being dead. "Hinata-san?" Zaiaku whispered in confusion and surprise earning a small smile from Hinata, "hello Zaiaku-san."

"How?" Zaiaku began to ask but Hinata shook her head, "another time. My kits are hungry." Just like that Arashi and little Tsunade exited the room with the same stealthy skill that the elder Kitsune's had exhibited. "Otou-san's talking to Obaa-chan," they said in tandem, no surprise there.

"Can we go eat now?" Arashi asked with little Tsunade's agreement, "can we please?" Hinata smiled and nodded, "where to?" Hitomi chose this moment to speak up, "I promised to take them for ramen earlier." Hinata giggled lightly, "I suppose we should go to Ichiraku's if it's still here."

"It might not be for much longer," Zaiaku commented offhandedly, "last time I went it was slowly going down hill. I think the old man lost passion in his work since Naruto left…" Hinata's smile faded a bit but was back instantly as she put her hands on her Arashi and little Tsunade's golden haired heads. "Well then it's our job to fix that," Hinata said which was met with grins from the twin Kitsune.

"Naruto," Tsunade said clenching her fist angrily. Naruto smiled, "I guess I owe you an explanation." Tsunade lunged at Naruto, her fist drawn back ready to hit him with a full force punch while all he did was stand there and watch. At the last second he sidestepped her, grabbing her arm and tripping her so she fell face first to the ground.

"You sure are getting on in years Obaa-chan," Naruto commented as he scratched the aging bandages wrapping around the right side of his head. Tsunade didn't reply as she leapt up and attempted another attack resulting in the same situation as before, her on the ground and Naruto standing by calmly.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me Obaa-chan," Naruto said with crossed arms, a playful smile on his lips. If one doesn't learn from the past one is doomed to repeat it, Tsunade wasn't paying to much attention to what had happened the last two times so once again she went for a strike but this time Naruto had enough.

Naruto's right hand shot out and gripped her fist tightly, pulling her along until she ended up on the ground with her arm behind her back and Naruto with his knee on her spine. "I don't want to fight Tsunade," Naruto said with a deadly calm tone, "I just want to talk."

Tsunade struggled but in the end she found it was impossible to break his one handed grip. She glared at the floor before her, "fine Naturo-baka. You have my attention." Naruto smiled and said, "good. Can I let you up without you killing me?" Tsunade smirked, "I'm not making promises."

Naruto shrugged, "then you're not getting up." "Fine, fine, I won't kill you. Maybe maim you horribly but not kill you," Tsunade said to which Naruto just sighed. "It's the best I'll ever get," he muttered as he vanished in a blur and reappeared on the other side of the room.

Tsunade stood and dusted herself off, straightening her robes and clothing in an attempt to regain that official air she had lost when she had attacked. "So how has Konoha been?" Naruto asked, attempting to start the conversation off with a good note. Sensing the dangerous aura that rose up around Tsunade he figured that that probably wasn't the best subject to bring up. He just hoped that at the end of this he was still alive and sane.

Hinata held the hands of the two practically bouncing kits that were walking beside her, both of them prattling on and on about ramen. "I still don't understand what the big deal about ramen is," Kyuubi muttered as he followed his mother and the two kits. He was lucky he was quiet enough so the two kits didn't hear him, both of them too absorbed in their praises about ramen to care.

"It makes them happy," Hitomi said as she walked beside her brother, "does it matter?" Kyuubi shrugged, "guess not. I just never developed a taste for the stuff." Hitomi nodded, "me neither but Otou-san, Otouto, and Imouto love it." Kyuubi smirked, "that's because their hair grows into their brains."

Hitomi giggled, "your hair is just like Otou-san, Onii-san." Kyuubi thought for a second then grinned, "thank god I still have a few years of sanity left." Hitomi smiled, it was good to hear her brother was back in good spirits after his little fight a few days ago, he had been a little hot headed for a while. Case in point the Zaimaru incident, then again Zaimaru sort of provoked him.

Her smile soon faded as she thought about his recent behavior, "Onii-san, why were you so quiet in Obaa-chama's office?" Kyuubi craned his neck up to look at the sky, "it's been a long time since I've been here…just a little shocked that's all."

Hitomi nodded with understanding; while her littler siblings and herself were born after their mother became what she is today Kyuubi had been born when Hinata was a human. He was a half blood Kitsune and he was born in Konoha, he lived here for a long time until…Hitomi didn't like the stories she was told.

"Ramen!" was the shout knocking Hitomi out of her thoughts and into the real world finding the two kits had indeed discovered Ichiraku's ramen stand. It had definitely seen some better days. The flaps proclaiming it Ichiraku were old and tattered; none of them looked like they had been replaced in ages. The wood holding the old place together was falling apart at the grain, the place looked nothing like the haven Naruto had visited almost every day in the past.

Hinata frowned and entered the establishment, noticing that only three of the seats could accommodate anyone. "Hello?" her melodious voice rang out, hoping for an answer, any kind of answer. Kyuubi and Hitomi entered soon after, both of them confused seeing as this place was far different than the stories their father told them.

"We're closed," came a saddened voice from behind the counter, old man Teuchi sat with his back to the counter on an old decaying chair. His arm was propped up against the table he once used to chop the ingredients to make ramen. It was as clean as a whistle but nothing resided upon it except for his still gleaming tools. It was a pitiful scene, the once great ramen chef sitting in the haze of his bygone days, thinking of times forgotten.

"Come on Ojii-san!" Arashi said completely breaking the silence. His partner in crime rose up too, "we want three bowls of everything!"

Teuchi's head shot up and he turned around slowly, his ears almost not believing what he had just heard. When he came face to face with the Uzumaki's his head felt light and he looked upon the family of Kitsune that had entered his establishment. His memories came back to haunt him, illusions of the past clouding his mind. "What the…Naruto?" Teuchi asked which caused a sweat drop from all.

"Eh, not quite," Kyuubi said with a smile hoping to calm the old man. Teuchi stared in amazement; he had no response to this. This…it couldn't be happening. Kitsune were a thing of the past, it was his old mind playing tricks on him again. Naruto left taking the last of the Kitsune blood from Konoha. Ayame left seeing her father sink into his depressed slump; he was alone with his decaying stand.

Simple as that...

The twins had enough waiting, "Okaa-san can we go somewhere else? This old guy is taking to long and he probably makes bad ramen!" Teuchi twitched the second that was spoken. His stunned look was lost and his memories gone as he spoke, "listen here you runt, I served the best ninja in this village a long time ago and his words were I made it the best!"

Tsunade scoffed, "no one ninja is better than our dad!" Arashi nodded, "yeah and he has better taste than this old guy too!" Teuchi was turning red with rage, "don't you speak ill of Uzumaki Naruto!" The twins blinked and looked at each other…then to Teuchi, "you know our dad?" Teuchi's eyes widened in realization, the past was the past but this was completely different, "Naruto is…then you are."

Hinata smiled and nodded, "Naruto-kun is back." Kyuubi smirked, "until he gets here you think you can keep up with the munchkins?" Teuchi was gone in a flash and in moments he came back with a fresh bowl of ramen, "three of everything coming up!"

"I…I didn't know it was that bad," Naruto whispered, hearing every word Tsunade spoke and having it drilled into his skull with guilt and pain. "Naruto," Tsunade began again, "everything's becoming grey. Nothing in this village carries much meaning any more. Now we are getting into another war, the fire drowning out the grey…but I know that once it's over that grey will return."

"It will bury this entire village in monotony, make every ninja question what their loyalty is to this village," Tsunade said as she turned to Naruto. Naruto closed his eye as he spoke, "you want me to rally the troops and what not. Get them on our side and provide color to this dieing village?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, his eye still closed.

Tsunade nodded, "it was your specialty after all." Naruto frowned and his eye snapped open, "how can I get people on my side after I've been labeled a traitor and deserter? You said it yourself; my face on Hokage Mountain had been painted so many times there is a place in the budget to get it cleaned!"

For a moment there was silence, it was a cold and acute silence, cutting into the bones of those present. Naruto shifted a bit, not sure of what to say or do after his outburst. "Naruto," Tsunade spoke lightly, "I trust you." Naruto shook his head, not expecting those words. "I trust you to make up for what you did. I understand that you had good reason but you left a scar on this village's faith, left a pain in their hearts and disbelief in this minds."

Tsunade turned, her eyes burning brightly as she spoke, "I trust you to make up for it by becoming the Hokage. I trust you to earn back your position in this coming war." Tsunade sighed and said, "Most of all I trust you to heal everyone's hearts, to show them there is something in this village worth holding faith in. To stop them from getting up and leaving, turning this village into a hollowed out shell of what it was."

Naruto stared for a few moments with a contemplative look on his face. Slowly he began to grin, nothing tremendous but it was a grin none the less. It had almost taken his life the last time to earn the title of Hokage, he was curious and excited to find out what it would take this time. "I think I can do that," Naruto said with a smirk as he shifted his shoulders under his massive black cloak.

Tsunade gained a relived smile, she thanked the gods above that he agreed but in a way she knew he would. Her trust in the Kitsune was a bit jangled but she still held faith that Naruto would get the job done. "I'm guessing you want to hear what I've been up to," Naruto said calmly, his single blue eye staring out the window to the changing sky. The pure blue slowly becoming overcome by the steel grey clouds, it would rain soon.

"Naturally," Tsunade said with crossed arms, her voice and face exuding the agitation she felt. Naruto said nothing as he pushed himself from the desk he had been half sitting on, "tomorrow call everyone I know here. You'll get the information then."

Tsunade watched as Naruto breezed past her, an unreadable emotion engraved upon his features, "right now I have a ramen stand to be invading." He didn't turn around as he bid farewell over his shoulder, his gloved left hand waving a solemn goodbye he vanished in a blur of gold. Tsunade stared for a moment before Zaiaku appeared in the doorway, "I'll send the invita…orders."

Tsunade sat down with an exhausted sigh, "thank you Zaiaku." Zaiaku disappeared, that left Tsunade to stare out in space, the paper work on her desk forgotten.

End Chapter

Well how was that? Remember I like your reviews! Q and A?

Q: Kyuubi's Attitude?

A: Well...first of all he was still kind of ticked from his fight with Suzume. The second reason will be explained in later chapters.

Q: When will you explain the seven year dissaperence.

A: The main question comes soon obviously but it will be scattered bits and pieces here and there.

Well that's all, thanks for your time and I hope you enjoyed everything! Later!