-1Chapter 2

Enter the cloud shinobi!

Akatsuki appears once more!

-Kino Takana

-Kayko Kazaki

-Takashi Hinta

Naruto stood, completely recovered, waiting for his chance to find Sasuke. The threat of Akatsuki loomed as dangerous as ever in the back of his mind. His blond hair had tamed in the time he had been with Jyiria, training. He was also the tallest of the rookie nine, well what's left of the rookie nine anyways.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, as he turned to face her.

"Sakura-Chan!" he also yelled. He waited till she got up to him.

"I haven't seen you in forever Naruto-kun." she stated hugging him, and then pulling away, her cheeks tinged a light pink. He grinned; his feelings for her had disappeared. He now looked at her like a sister. She grinned back, light pink hair pulled back under her headband. They turned, walking down the path towards the village. Naruto stopped, looked behind him and frowned. 'Are rocks bright pink?' he asked himself before turning around again. 'Yep, that rock is definitely bright pink, and I think it just moved.' He thought, turning and propping his foot onto the 'rock'.

"Hello Konohamaru kun..." Naruto said sighing as a plume of smoke appeared, followed by coughing, and moegi's voice piping up

"To much gun powder again." she said before standing up and dusting her clothing off.

"Where have you been Naruto Kun?" Konohamaru yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Training, what else." Naruto replied, his new outfit catching the kids eyes. The four of them began walking, moving through the village at a slow pace. Three sets of eyes followed their long trek from the forest.

"This is such a drag."

"Shut it."

"Who made you boss Kino?"

"I did."

"So, why can't Takashi be the leader, hell why can't I?"

"Cause I turned it down, and you're too stupid, remember Kayko."

"Oh yeah, I remember now... what did you say?' It's too troublesome to stay in front...'…"

"Leave me alone."

"Nope."

"Stop bickering you idiots." Kino stated sighing.

"Why are we taking the chuunin exam again? It keeps slipping my mind..." Takashi stated, shading his eyes from the sun, looking over at his team-mates, Kayko, and Kino.

"I'll tell you later." Kino stated sighing, her bluish black hair falling in front of her eyes. 'Out of all the nin's in the village I get stuck with these two... this sux.' She jumped down, following the road to the village entrance. The sentry checked their ID's and they went into the village unchallenged. On the other side of the village, Kisame and Itachi stood, watching, waiting for their chance to retrieve the Kyuubi.

"It seems the Kyuubi is always surrounded by people." kisame said, heaving a fake sigh.

"Our orders were to retrieve him no matter what. We have three of the bjiu; we need the others as well." Itachi stated, his Sharingan eyes watching the movements of the intended target. He sighed as well, not because he was worried, just because he felt like letting the air out. Kisame looked over at him.

"So when do we strike?" he asked, his arm unconsciously moving to the hilt of his sword. The ring on his finger caught the light as he looked back down to the village. A large plume of smoke followed by a load smash was all they heard. "We have to deal with that?" Kisame asked. "Damn."

"At least he'll be easy to capture." Itachi stated, trying to shed some light on the situation. The two of them turned, fading into the cover of the forest.

!
"Damn it Naruto!" Tsunade yelled, her voice rising as she spoke. "What the hell were you thinking summoning a toad in the middle of the village? Especially of that size?" She yelled, annoyed at his blatant loss of self control and stupidity. "Answer me damn it!" she yelled again, reaching over the desk slapping him hard across the face.

"I… never mind." he huffed, turning his back on her and walking out of the room. 'As soon as I get back, I'm already getting into trouble.' he thought walking out of the village into the surrounding forest. Sighing he stopped and jumped into a tree, sitting propped up against it on a branch. He looked up at the star strewn sky and laughed. 'I know why, I'm 'The Troublemaker.' He thought, laughing as he remembered all the times he'd snuck out of Iruka-sensei's class to do whatever was on his mind at the time. Memories of his days in the academy flooded back. Also memories of before that, when he was younger. All the people who had treated him with dislike and contempt. He scowled, unable to get back into the peaceful mood he had been in a few minutes ago. All the faces turning away from him in fear? No... Hatred. "Damn it." he said, punching the branch he was on, his knuckles cracking in the process. He winced, but continued to leave his hand on the rough bark. The leaves rustled as he sat, waiting till he had calmed enough to move his hand again. When he did, he felt the sting of his bruised knuckles and grinned. 'This is what I know best.' he thought, settling back against the trunk again. He ran a hand through his air and sighed again, trying to get the memories to recede.

"I don't know hwy you'd want to be Hokage in a village that hates you." Itachi mused, jumping on the branch in front of him.

"Shit." Naruto swore for letting his guard down, he jumped to the ground below, followed closely by Itachi. Kisame stepped out of the trees behind him. "Ah damn." he said, moving a little closer to Itachi, away from Kisame's wicked looking sword, memories of the day in the hot springs village coming back. Sasuke lying unconscious on the floor, Itachi standing behind Kisame, who was being held off by a samurai toad. The two of them fleeing, and the huge hole, outlined in black flames." Can't we make a deal or somethin?" Naruto asked, dreading the answer.

"Ok, now that you ask, yes. You come nice and quietly, or we'll break every bone in your pathetic body. "Kisame said, throwing the sword over his shoulder and looking at Itachi.

"I don't think I like those odds..." Naruto mumbled, forming the hand signs for Mass shadow clones.

"You're no fun at all..." Kisame stated, throwing dirty looks at Naruto. But Naruto had disappeared. "Where'd he go?" Kisame yelped, looking around, Itachi all the while stood, waiting for Naruto to reappear.

"Rasengan? Naruto yelled, picking up speed, and thrusting the swirling ball into Kisame's stomach. It began rotating even faster, and a few moments later, Kisame learned the art of face implanting. Naruto stood, breathing heavily, his left hand bruised, his knuckles bleeding slightly. He looked up, his eyes locking with Itachi's. The sharingan froze him, fear filled Naruto' eyes, he saw the village in ruins, and himself standing with Orochimaru and Sasuke. Naruto fell to his knees, bruised knuckles hitting the ground. The scene in the Sharingan changed; Naruto was tied to a cross, his arms along the sides, and his legs together on the bottom. Itachi appeared in front of him, a Kusanagi in his hand. He stabbed Naruto in the arm. He screamed, blue eyes filled with tears. Itachi held another sword, this time he stabbed him in the leg. Naruto let his head hang, in to much pain to do anything. The Kyubi's chakra locked inside the recesses of his mind.

"Pain, it hurts doesn't it my little friend." The Kyubi's sinister voice echoed through Naruto's mind. He stood in front of a gate, the face of the Kyuubi visible through the bars on the other side. "Is the pain unbearable? As unbearable as seeing hated by almost the entire village?" The Kyuubi chuckled, his eyes glowing in the darkness. Naruto felt another sword pierce his other arm, he cried out, falling to the ground. His physical body almost at its limits. The illusion around him disappeared, the forest came back into focus. Itachi stood in front of him, looking into his blue eyes with nothing more than a sense of distaste. He fell forward, only to be caught by a pair of arms, they lifted him off the ground with ease, and he was thrown over a shoulder, reality fading into absolute darkness. The sun rose in the distance, and the birds began singing in joy to the new day.