The Price to be Paid

by Adventreader221

Based off of Freowin A Price for Peace, Naru/Fem.Sasuke/Karin pairing

2. Chapter 2-Plans within plans

Alright, Chapter 2 is up. I didn't get as many reviews as I had wanted, like a total of 10 people actually commented/messaged me (PM) so I was a bit let down. One person actually noted the small references that I used in my story and I would give that person a shout-out, cuz I used a lot of references in the fight, but not the full fights involving those references. I was actually glad that I managed to publish the chapter, and was hoping for a butt-load of comments on the chapter, but I was kinda let down with the small amount of reviews.

Anyways, I'm done for now, please enjoy.

*Warning, this chapter contains a 80-90% of freowin original excerpt from his story A Price for Peace, I do not own these large portions of excerpts as they belong to freowin alone. Whatever edits are made belong to me, but the chapter is majorly edited to fit this story plot, and I liked the original plot so I want to keep as much of it the same for as long as I can before I start writing chapters my way.*

Shout-out to several people from the 1st chapter

Thank you dlowe2651 for the supportive comment on the first chapter's release, I am glad you enjoyed it so much, there will be a much more detailed version of that fight that will be released at a later date and time I assure you, and yes, it will be much longer. So much in fact, I will have to cut the chapter into multiple chapter releases.

Thank you Guest for your review as well as putting out such a good inquiry on the story; (Review: Holy fuck. That's definitely gotta be one of the longest fight sequences I've read, props to you. If anything, please tell me this isn't a harem. I mean at most I would be okay with Naruto x Fem Sasuke and maybe a little bit of Karin) and to answer your question: No, this is NOT a harem story as I clearly stated this would be a Naruto/Fem Sasuke/Karin fanfiction. Yes, there will be instances where other women are going to hit on Naruto, but ultimately they won't succeed in gaining his affections for later on in the story. So this makes the story much easier to manage as well as helps with plot development.

Thank you NaruLemon Stories for the review. I realize that the first chapter was a major bum (to some people, I don't know what your honest opinion on it is) in regards to both length and composition. Now, that isn't to say there won't be a lemon coming up soon, cuz trust me; there is gonna be a lemon coming up soon, and I will require a bit of extra time in writing that one out. Though I won't try to make you guys wait for the release of that chapter.

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Naruto yawned as he walked into a village. He looked around expecting to see shop keepers and civilians running around but all that he was met with was silence. "What's going on here?" Naruto asked. His voice seemed to echo back accenting just how quiet the village was.

His feet splashed in a deep puddle as he walked further into the village evidence of how far the effects of the storm brought about by his fight with Madara had traveled. 'Shinobi were fighting a war, did you expect the villagers in nearby counties to just sit in their homes and wait for the war to come to them? They left probably to some shelter set up for refugees.' Kurama guessed.

Naruto looked at his reflection within a store window. Despite having his wounds healed from his fight with the last Uchiha he still looked like he had been through a war. "I need to get out of these clothes. Do you think they will mind if I just take some supplies and leave money behind?"

'Considering collateral damage in a ninja war is usually high I am sure the people of this village would be happy if they came home and their homes were still standing.' the fox chuckled.

"Do you think anyone would notice if I used a little chakra to create some clones to gather supplies?" the blond asked as he took out a small senbon to pick the lock on a door. This was one of the first lessons Jiraiya had taught him during their training trip although at the time Jiraiya just wanted to get in the back door of a women only bath house.

Kyuubi thought about it for a moment, he was torn between the risk of some joint shinobi scouting team picking up his chakra signature and wanting to move further away from possible detection. Naruto had stopped using chakra a few hours after leaving the dead bodies of Madara and his Zetsu clone. Since that time the trip had gone painfully slow. Civilians were slower than even an academy graduate Genin and that showed as it took almost twenty four hours just to reach this small village. 'Alright but be quick about it, and not more than three, one of you is enough to arouse suspicion.' the fox finally agreed.

Naruto nodded and created three seal less clones. "We need food, water and camping supplies as well as cold weather gear and clothes. Use every sealing scroll we have. Leave no room inside the seals in case the journey is longer than anticipated. If you find other scrolls take them and use them as well. When the scrolls are full, seal them all into a solitary scroll and bring it back to me. Make this fast and clean. We leave in one hour, no unnecessary items that'll weigh us down, it's a long trip and we don't need useless things like cigarettes or things like that weighing us down on the trip." Naruto said before handing some money from his trusty toad wallet to each of the clones before entering the store.

What instantly caught Naruto's attention was a dark orange and red armor plated top. Naruto stopped himself however. It was not something a civilian would wear after all, once he was out of the Elemental nations he could indulge in training and all the other activities that ninja so loved to do. "Do you think we will find people over those mountains Kurama?"

'It's hard to say Naruto, Old Man Six Paths never went over them. Maybe once the Juubi was gone he was afraid he wouldn't survive? But I doubt he cared about something like that. He probably thought that the elemental nations were large enough. The further you spread yourself the more difficult your job becomes. Then again he might not have cared either.' Kurama spoke wisely.

In the end Naruto picked a plain set of black pants and a white T-shirt that had some orange outlines sewn into the edges and collar. Grabbing a pack he stored some warm looking thermal jumpers and track pants. Kurama might stop him from dying in the cold but he could still feel it. Naruto left the money on the counter along with a hastily written apology note being extra careful to make his writing unrecognizable from his normal script.

Once outside he found his clones had already returned carrying enough scrolls filled with food and water to last several months and a very large yet compact tent. Naruto stored the supplies into a backpack and dispelled his clones. "Okay no more delays, I need to get moving." he said hoisting his new pack onto his back and casually set off with the only thing guiding him being a vague sense of direction and Kurama scolding him if he ever got turned around.

It wasn't totally hi fault he had a terrible sense of direction.

XxX-(Elsewhere)-XxX

The Joint Shinobi Headquarters had been a extra busy, shinobi were coming and going delivering reports and the field hospital was filled to the brim with the injured including several Kage among them. Despite all the casualties and injured there was a jovial spirit in the air. The war was over and the villages had never been closer, old wounds that had divided them seemed so petty now, and they all had a new hero, a young teen from Konoha who had ended the war. Those at headquarters eagerly awaited the blonds return so much so that the shinobi currently running each village asked for one volunteer to help retrieve him.

In what seemed like a cruel joke of fate two Konoha chunin sat on guard duty at the entrance to the headquarters. "Do you ever feel like we are being punished for something?" Kotetsu asked his head banging on the desk after letting yet another group of shinobi into the large camp.

"Maybe, but it could be worse, I mean sure it's boring but at least it's safe, look at the state that the Kage's came back in only Kazekage-sama was walking. Still it was cruel for Kakashi to put us on guard duty." Izumo replied.

"Maybe he just knows how good we are at it." Kotetsu suggested.

"No that can't be it. I could have walked right past you two and entered the camp unnoticed about twenty times by now." a Konoha jonin joked handing over some papers to get marked.

"That's cold Aoba." Izumo sighed.

The man laughed pocketing the papers he needed before turning to gaze out into the distance. "Still no sign of our local hero huh?" he asked.

"No not yet, it's been over a day now, I'm half expecting to see him running up shouting about how he will have to be the next Hokage now." Kotetsu joked causing the others to laugh remembering the loud mouthed little brat that was constantly boasting about how he would be the next Kage of Konoha.

"Heh well everyone is getting eager for his return, even the shinobi from other villages are planning a surprise party for him. Although I guess you two will be on guard duty." Aoba chuckled. As the Konoha jonin turned to leave he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Three figures slowly approaching. Then a second later another two.

"Hey it's them! Kazekage-sama and the retrieval team!" Kotetsu yelled standing up. He must have been louder than he thought because less than a second later shinobi were pouring out from every angle to get a better look. "Hey I don't see anyone that looks like the Hero of the elemental nations. I was told he had glorious golden hair and bright blue eyes." a young Kiri kunoichi said with a slight blush obviously she had been listening to stories told about Naruto by several more enamored Konoha Genin.

Regardless of the young girls obvious fangirl tendencies most of the others agreed. It was not until the retrieval team got closer did they realize that the group were surrounding a large hovering stretcher made of sand. Instantly two medics shot forward, one with pink hair wearing an all red outfit and the other a brunette that was followed closely by a small pig.

The group watched in wonder as Sakura landed beside the Kazekage. "I'm sorry Sakura we were too late." he said quietly while Shizune began scanning the two bodies for signs of life.

A worried murmur swept through the crowd and sadness followed after as Sakura fell to her knees already lost in sorrow. "He lost?" one shinobi asked. "Impossible Naruto-sama never loses." a Konoha Chunin replied. The group parted as Gaara walked through the gate and they saw both Naruto and Madara lying lifeless on a bed of sand. The Kazekage's face was a mask but inside he was crying just as heavily as Sakura.

The group followed Gaara as he walked getting larger by the second several shinobi openly wept at the sight of Naruto's corpse while others stayed stoic as a sign of respect for their fallen comrade. Finally Gaara came to the center of the camp, he had spoken here once before to inspire the troops before they went to war, this time he would address them that the war was over. He created a large pedestal and placed Naruto's body atop before moving Madara's out of the way. Anger towards the Uchiha clan was at an all time high and they didn't need a reminder of who killed Naruto staring them in the face while he spoke. "Today marks the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Although it was only two years, it was nevertheless brutal and we all suffered, many lost their lives and many more were injured. Yet when things seemed to be at there worst, we pulled together to come out victorious!"

There was a light smattering of cheering but it was subdued by the presence of Naruto's body lying on a platform made of sand. All the shinobi that fought remembered how Naruto's clones arrived at the various fronts and almost singlehandedly turned the tide of the war.

Gaara took a moment to compose himself before continuing. "Despite the joy that has come with defeating the Akatsuki and saving the elemental nations from almost certain destruction I cannot celebrate. Last week, a man I was honored to call a friend, fought and died to help bring this world some measure of peace. Naruto Uzumaki will be sorely missed and I will do everything in my power to make sure his death was not in vein." Gaara spoke. This time the applause was much louder and so was the crying that was spreading through the amassed shinobi.

"Naruto was not like other shinobi, he changed people, he changed me. He met me at a time when I was unsure of my purpose in life, I tried so hard to kill him when Suna attacked Konoha." he couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the stupid blond Genin that refused to give up, but then his laugh caught in his throat and he was forced to stifle a sob. "But then he did something that changed me. He defeated me, a boy everyone considered a loser defeated Suna's weapon, and then after all that, he called me his friend. Naruto would have fought from the very brink of death to ensure peace was won. So I want you, all of you, to do something. When you tell tales of this day, do not let this loss of life sully the Savoir of the World's name. None among us had as much courage, or held the very depth of his compassion for the world around him." the Kazekage choked out the last word as the sand armor around his eyes began to feel damp against his skin.

The shinobi below were staring at Gaara listening with rapt attention to his heart felt eulogy. For someone as cold and detached as the Kazekage to show any emotion was something else, and it showed what effect Naruto had on the young man from Suna. Pausing one last time to calm himself Gaara took in a deep breath he had never found it this difficult to control his emotions before. "Naruto was everything that I want to be as a leader and more, he was the best of us." he said before creating a flower made of sand and placing placing it on his friends chest. With that done Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand wanting to be alone.

At the very back of the army stood a pair of hooded figures stood in silence. The slightly taller of the duo prodded the other and led them away until they reached a dark alley where a small portal of purple and black opened where they passed through and stood in front of a house with a white and red emblem on it, "So, was it really him?" the first asked silently in a feminine voice as she opened the door to the house.

The second figure shook their head negatively, "Surprisingly no. When we came all the way out here to find him we expected him to be alive and well, and don't get me started on that strange chakra signature I felt. That body may have the same chakra signature as Naruto but it doesn't feel right. His chakra was so bright, almost like looking directly into the sun, this chakra is gray and flat, as lifeless as that body was." the second hooded figure stated in a feminine voice skeptically before stepping into the abode opened by her accomplice.

Removing their hoods it was revealed to be one Kiyomi Uchiha and one Karin Uzumaki who had been wearing cloaks. Kiyomi sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck, "That just means we have to start from the beginning, and go back to the battlefield like we originally planned before you sensed those ninja headed towards the fight. If it's as you say, then I have a feeling that we may have at least one last chance before we are found out." Kiyomi stated.

"Of course, I'll start planning a route to avoid all major roads on the map." Karin said pulling the map out to begin her work.

"Make it fast, I'm sure the sensory unit already knows we dropped by. We leave in five." the Uchiha stated.

"Got it." the redhead responded.

XxX

Back at the small memorial dedicated to Naruto, two more sets of eyes looked on bewildered by what they were seeing before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

XxX-(Several Hours Later)-XxX

Naruto's body still lay atop the pedestal that Gaara had created but now all around the base flowers and weapons were offered up as a tribute to the blond. Each village had a different custom and different ways of honoring a fallen comrade and while the Kumo and Konoha shinobi drank to celebrate the life of the lost one. Iwa shinobi would mourn in silence not a peep could be heard from their tents. The Kiri shinobi participated in mock battles that would have once been fights to the death to honor the fallen and Suna shinobi said prayers in hopes that Naruto's next life would be one of peace.

"How did he die?" Kakashi asked sitting in his chair staring out a window to his office.

Sakura's eyes were red from crying as she checked over his wounds. "It looks like Madara stabbed him in the heart. But we won't know for sure until we can do a proper autopsy" she sobbed out heavily.

"I see." Kakashi said his exposed eye drooping. "And Madara?"

"Severed chakra pathways resemble wounds caused by a Rasenshuriken. It held a mixture of wind, Lightning and Water, this was either a new Rasenshuriken variant or he hit Madara with three different attacks at the same time and managed to nullify his healing factor before he could recover. We also noticed several seals on his body that negate Tailed Beast Chakra as well as Sage Jutsu Chakra, so he may very well have killed the Ten Tails before he killed Madara." she cried again, yet no tears would come out to fall from her cheeks.

Kakashi nodded. 'Was this really the only way Naruto?' he asked thinking back to the talk they had before Naruto left.

(Flashback)

Naruto kneeled in front of Kakashi's desk, the Copycat had woken just a few hours earlier after sever chakra exhaustion and had to fill out paperwork for the day. "I finally managed to find Madara." Naruto said with a calm sense of determination in his voice.

"You did?" Kakashi asked in bewilderment.

"Well actually it was Kurama. I am going to sneak out at sundown and confront him." the blond replied.

"You don't have to do this Naruto. You told me what you saw would happen if you were to fight Madara seriously again." Kakashi said clearly concerned for his student.

"I know, but I'm okay with it. I have been thinking a lot lately about the quest Nagato and Ero-Sennin left for me. I think this is the answer." Naruto replied with a small smile.

"How can your death be the answer! don't be foolish Naruto. Do you know what everyone is saying about you? They call you the Hero of the Elemental Nations. You can bring peace another way. Not even Pakura would want you to do something like this." Kakashi whispered desperately trying to change his students mind.

Naruto smiled affectionately at his sensei but shook his head. "There are two things that will lead to peace. Understanding each other, and pain. With this war I think the shinobi of this world are starting to understand one another. But they need something to hold them together once the villages split back up. The memory of a joint loss. They call me the Hero of the Elemental Nations, so my death as a hero will do more good than living as a potential threat in Konoha. And... I'm sure Pakura-chan would understand my reasons for going on such a mission."

Kakashi could understand the boys reasoning and as much as he hated it, he was going to accept his choice. "What about becoming a ninja and Kage greater than all the Hokage before him?" he asked but already knew that Naruto had an answer.

Naruto sighed, he knew that leaving would mean that his dream to be Hokage never became a reality. "Ero-Sennin once told me that a ninja is not judged by how he lives, but by how he dies. I think if I can die and bring peace to this ninja world then I will have accomplished that dream." he said solemnly.

"You know as the Hokage I can stop you right." Kakashi chuckled knowing this was probably the last time he would be able to talk to the blond.

"I know, but you wont." Naruto laughed in return. He stopped as he made it to the entrance to Kakashi's tent. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For everything."

(End Flashback)

"Sakura, can you get me a new Forehead Protector?" Kakashi asked her slowly standing up from his chair.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked not sure what he sensei was planing.

"I want to give mine to Naruto." he said grabbing a crutch and hobbling out of his office.

XxX-(Two Days Later)-XxX

"Kami this is taking forever! Can't I just use a little chakra to go faster?" Naruto begged.

'No, you're still well inside the range of the shinobi scouts. Now stop complaining and keep moving.' Kurama scolded the boy.

"Oh come on it's not like anyone will find me if I use Sage Mode." Naruto replied.

The blond was waiting for the tongue lashing from the Bijuu, but what he wasn't expecting was to suddenly be knocked to the ground by a small toad with a rolling pin and frizzy purple hair. "Naruto-chan! What do you think you are doing!?" the small toad croaked loudly.

"Ma I'm sure Naruto-boy has his reasons. Though I fail to see what they are." a second toad spoke up this one with bushy gray hair and eyebrows to match.

"Fu-Fukusaku-sama? Shima-sama?" Naruto gasped wondering why the two elder Toad Sages were currently standing over him.

"Hai. Now ya got some explaining ta do ma boy." Fukusaku said crossing his arms.

"You can trick shinobi but you you can't trick us Naruto-chan, your name is still on our summoning wall." Shima added gripping her rolling pin threateningly.

Naruto sighed and began explaining everything that had happened in his fight with Madara up to the point he left the clearing. "I figured this way the Grand Geezer Toad would still be right. I died in my fight with Madara and I can bring peace to the ninja world." he finished as if trying to justify his actions.

"Stupid boy, who cares what that senile old coot says. You should be the next Hokage not on the run trying to avoid detection. Do you know how hard it was to find you!?" Shima yelled angrily raising the rolling pin over her heard ready to strike, causing Naruto to flinch and cower.

This brat was more difficult to find then some of the harder ingredients to dinner.

"Ma, enough, Naruto-boy has made the right decision. Where will you go?" Fukusaku asked.

"He could come live on Myoboku, if we ever get another summoner he could help teach them, only the strongest will do for the toads now after you, Jiraiya-chan, and Minato-chan." Shima said hopefully.

Naruto paled, not because the thought of living amongst the toads was unpleasant no he would be welcomed with open arms and live out his days in a virtual paradise. But he would never be able to stomach the... unique... local food that Shima always insisted on cooking. "Sorry Shima-sama but even there I could be discovered. I'm going over the insurmountable mountains north of Iwa, out of the Elemental Nations."

"Naruto-boy that's suicide, they are called the Insurmountable Mountains for a reason." Fukusaku said firmly.

"Nah I'll be fine, I have Kurama to watch my back." Naruto said with a smile that seemed to give off a warm sense of confidence.

"Who?" Shima asked.

"Oh right, the Kyuubi's name is Kurama, he's not a bad guy once you get to know him." the blond said with his fox like grin.

"Really? I guess if anyone can befriend the fox it would have to be you. Good luck Naruto-boy, and don't hesitate to call on us if you need something." Fukusaku declared to his summoner.

"Pa we can't let him do this. He should be being praised as a hero not going off to die on the side of some God forsaken mountain!" Shima yelled.

"Ma, Naruto-boy will not die. I believe in him, and so should you. Your secret is safe with us Naruto-boy but remember, no peace lasts forever. A change for the better today could become a noose around the neck tomorrow." with that final warning Fukusaku and Shima disappeared leaving Naruto once more alone.

"Ah I should have known the Toads would find me out." Naruto sighed turning his attention back onto the road.

'I am more surprised that they were able to find you, those little toads had more skill than I gave them credit for.' Kurama admitted.

"Yeah nothing gets past Fukusaku-sama. His mastery of Senjutsu is at such a high level that if he focuses, he can feel life force rather than just chakra." Naruto replied. The talk with the two elder toads had put Naruto in a good mood, it was comforting to know he still had some small part of his old life that he could take with him. He was the holder of the Toad Summoning Contract after all. Which meant that he could still summon and talk to all the toads he had worked with and come to know over the years. All of a sudden the laborious pace that he was setting no longer seemed to be such a chore.

XxX-(Meanwhile)-XxX

Karin and Kiyomi stood in a large open clearing. All around them, signs of battle being waged could be seen for miles at a time. A clash of gods couldn't even come close to describing the devastation brought on by the clash between monsters that happened a couple days ago. The earth was burnt and scarred to the point of being unsavable. 'Amazing, this was the result of Naruto and Madara's fight?' the redhead asked herself while scanning the area.

"Do you sense anything?" Kiyomi asked dragging Karin from her thoughts.

"Hold on, give me a second to concentrate. The sheer amount of chakra in the air is almost suffocating, more than anything that the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki could give off. It's like I'm standing under a planets worth of chakra right now so it'll take some time for me to find anything." Karin stated.

"Take your time, we only have a few hours before we have to leave and then start a search somewhere else." Kiyomi shrugged, not really caring.

A few minutes later Karin pointed, "That way, I sense something." she said.

Following the path of destruction led the two shinobi to the place the two bodies were found. "There has to be some sort of clue here. I don't know who that was back at that shinobi camp but it wasn't Naruto. I have felt Naruto's chakra and it was completely different."

"Are you addicted to his chakra?" Kiyomi asked with a raised brow.

"Not even close, but it was a very vast difference to what I know and have felt from him." Karin stated before walking away. She spent hours on end searching high and low for any sign of a chakra trail or life only to come up empty. But just as they were giving up hope a feint chakra signature so dull it more than likely only residual chakra left within a dying body. That was not what made the redhead excited however. It was how the chakra felt. 'Gray and lifeless, just like the body of Naruto that the Kazekage had.' the girl thought before she told Kiyomi of it and then taking off at full pace in the direction of the chakra signature.

The duo jumped from tree to tree before they came to an area that looked as though it had been disturbed recently. Fallen trees scattered across the ground and the soil was uneven and loose like rubble.

"It was around here I am sure of it." Karin said to herself quietly before scanning once more for chakra signatures before she gasped in shock, "It's underground!" she exclaimed as she felt anticipation building.

"Well, let's get started." Kiyomi said as she begun to form handseals to dig through the stone, only to stop as Karin put a hand on her arms.

"You don't want to do that. You might alert the sensory unit that placed seals around this place." she said pointing a finger to a seal, "And if we disturbed that seal with chakra, we get caught. That means we have to do this the old fashioned way." she said as Kiyomi grumbled to herself about hating manual labor.

So, for the next couple hours, the duo dug into the stone using their hands. Every time they removed a stone the prospect of discovering the truth seemed a little closer. The problem was even for a shinobi unless they have a Doton affinity digging half a mile underground is going to take a considerable amount of time.

Hours past like minutes as the two women just continued to dig deeper into the earth. But finally the persistence paid off. A pale white arm came limply into view. The two young women were so tired from digging it took a few minutes to fully realize what they had found. "It can't be" Karin said pulling back some strands of deep red hair that fell from her forehead before she continued to dig until the head that belonged to the arm was revealed.

Kiyomi felt herself give a light laugh, "Zetsu! So that's how you did it. You're alive Naruto, and I'm going to find you!" she whispered to herself, a bud of hope filling her chest.

XxX

Several weeks had passed since Naruto's supposed death at the hands of Madara Uchiha. His body had been moved after the first night so the medics could perform and autopsy and give a definitive cause of death. However in place of Naruto's body Gaara had constructed a sand statue of the blond and shinobi were still constantly coming up to pay their respects leaving forehead protectors following the lead of Kakashi Hatake, or other symbols of respect. Naruto had saved many lives with the help of Kurama and many wanted to show their appreciation, for them this was the least they could do.

Little did they know the same boy they were mourning as a fallen hero was currently not only alive but having a heated discussion with his inner beast. "I'm telling you everyone will be at the Headquarters trying to decide on what they should do next now that the fighting is done and over. We are far from anyone I should be able to use a little chakra to help me get to a populated village, I'm running out of food I only have four packets of ramen left!" the boy thought out loud, while there was nobody around Naruto didn't mind talking to his partner as if he was sitting beside him.

'I keep telling you that it will not only be the Alliance ninja on the lookout for stray shinobi. Lesser villages will see this as a chance to strengthen themselves, if your plan fails and the great shinobi villages do not come together as you hope then the world will descend into another war for power. No more jinchuuriki gives the smaller villages less to fear. It would not surprise me if they target one of the great nations in an attempt to seize power.' Kurama reasoned.

"But why does that matter? We can defeat anyone that we come across." Naruto whined in frustration, the last few weeks had been the hardest he'd had since before he was a Genin.

'Naruto don't be a fool! You might be strong but that doesn't mean you are invincible. Although with my help we are pretty damn close.' Kurama said finishing with a confident smirk. 'You agreed that this was the best way now stop acting like a broken record and keep walking, we can't be far from the Land of Earth now, once we're there we should be able to find a faster way to travel. And just think of what would happen if you drew on my chakra, a decent sensory ninja could still find us as we are if they were looking hard enough and drawing on my chakra would be like lighting a come and get me signal.' The fox continued.

"Gah I think I liked you better when you were tying to ruin all my plans." Naruto pouted knowing that the Bijuu was right. Deciding to once more give up on arguing to the ever present voice of reason in his head Naruto continued to run at what was the pace of an average civilian or a very slow Genin.

'You know, I enjoyed that too. Let's do it again some time.' Kyuubi chuckled, causing Naruto to fall over in shock that the great Kyuubi actually made a joke.

(Meanwhile)

Unknown to Kurama and Naruto there was indeed a very talented sensory tracker on his trail although for the last few weeks all leads they had followed had come up empty. "This is the last village in the area, if he didn't stop here then he would have run out of food." a hooded ninja spoke taking out a map that had several points marked with red pins indicating villages that had no signs of Naruto's presence.

"No doubt, he would have had to stop and resupply before moving on. He would leave behind any non-essentials and grab only the things he knew he would need to make a short trip to the next settlement before grabbing more provisions to make another journey." a second figure said in agreement, "So, what have you got?" the same figure asked.

"Still nothing!" the hooded ninja sighed in frustration as they moved through the village. "Maybe we should just give up." the figure said coming to a halt removing the hood to reveal a kunoichi with dark blood red hair that was well groomed on one side and rather messy on the other. She had a pair of glasses over ruby red eyes.

The other figure removed their hood to reveal dark hair and dark eyes with a glare in them, "No, we can't give up, if we give up then we're doomed!" she told her accomplice, "I'm the last member of the Akatsuki after all. If anyone finds me I'm dead, that's why I need your help to find Naruto. If I can convince him to forgive me then, he can tell everyone and I can live a normal life." she told the redhead with confidence.

Karin's burst of confidence from Kiyomi was short lived however as a new stumbling block occurred, "But he faked his own death, what am I supposed to tell people, Your hero forgave us and I never meant any harm in the first place, I was just led along by your ambition to kill your brother? Ah even I don't believe that one." she yelled in frustration rubbing a hand through the messy side of her hair in frustration.

Kiyomi huffed, "This is all ruining my plan, I wanted to find Naruto before he fought with Madara-teme to help him, then I would have been considered an ally rather than a prisoner of war!"

Little did the Kunoichi know there were several pairs of eyes watching her. And they were in for quite a shock when a young boy around six walked out from a dark alleyway. "You sure do talk a lot lady." the boy said, he was short and had messy brown hair that ran down to his shoulders as though it hadn't been cut in months and he wore dark blue shorts and a red top that had a Yin Yang symbol on the back.

Kiyomi jumped, drawing a sword and looked to Karin, completely astounded that she had let someone sneak up on her. At the sight of the blade, the kid yelped and a middle aged woman and man ran out from a different hiding location and covered their son, a look of terror on their faces. "We're sorry, please forgive our son Kunoichi-sama.' the woman begged. She had long brown hair the same color as her sons and dark green eyes that were almost black, her husband had black spiky hair and a scraggy beard to match, both parents wore brown tops and pants that helped them blend in with the buildings and remain hidden.

"Um I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm just not used to being startled like that. Please call me Kiyomi, and this is my friend, Karin." the dark haired kunoichi said breathing out a sigh of relief that they were only civilians.

"Well Kiyomi-san, Karin-san, I am Uzimo, and my wife's name is Kara, this is our son Uzika. We apologize for startling the both of you, please, forgive him, he likes to jump out randomly sometimes to prank others" the husband said slowly.

"It's alright, he is a child, it happens." Kiyomi stated.

"What bring's you out here if I may ask? Its been days since one of your ninja scouting teams came this way." Kara questioned still slightly shaken up at the sight of the kunoichi drawing her blade.

"We're looking for someone." Karin answered. "But I think the trails gone cold." she admitted.

"Ah that is always the risk in war, it's a horrible thing, that only takes lives long before their time. Who are you looking for? A loved one?" Uzimo asked.

"No nothing like that, Kiyomi's just searching for someone that can save our lives." Karin admitted.

"Save your lives? You don't look sick." the young boy said with a puzzled look on his face.

"And fortunately I am not, but you see awhile back we did some things for a man that I thought I respected. Looking back now I am not very proud of what I have done, and because of that should the wrong people find me I will be killed." Kiyomi admitted sadly.

Once more the parents became rather suspicious of the kunoichi but they took her remorse as genuine and knew that love made people do crazy things. "Love makes fools of us all dear, but how can finding this person help you?" Kara queried.

"Well the thing is, the person they we are looking for is considered a great hero now, one word from him and the two of us can be spared, the thing is neither of us have no idea where he is, this was our last hope." Karin sighed lowering her head.

"A few people have come through here, we stayed behind when the rest of the village fled so anyone who has come into town I have watched. I'm a great sneaker, so I have been watching them hoping to see some cool ninja stuff, most people have been really boring though." the small boy admitted.

A glimmer of hope, Kiyomi raised her head and looked at the boy expectantly. "I'm looking for a boy around my age with spiky blond hair, and blue eyes, he would have three thin whisker like marks on each cheek." she said as she begun to recall the blond she had known since she was four years old.

"Oh yeah I saw him! He talked to himself a lot as well, but he was even weirder. He kept asking questions then acting like he was given an answer. It was like he was talking to someone that wasn't even there. I wanted to yell at him for breaking into several of the stores but Kaa-san stopped me." Uzika replied with a smile.

"You did!? Did he say anything about where he was going?" Karin asked urgently. 'Please know something!'

"Um I think he said something about the Land of Earth and some mountains, I was distracted because he did this awesome thing where he created copies of himself and sent them around the village to collect equipment." the boy said eagerly happy that he was able to help.

The two young women felt their eyes widen as they finally had a lead, and a good one, if they could get close enough to him, Karin could locate him. And there was no hiding a chakra like Naruto's from her. "How long ago was he here?" the redhead asked wanting to gauge how far behind she was.

"He was here about two weeks ago give or take a day or two." Kara answered for her son who was busy trying to count the days on his hands.

Karin nodded. "Thank you we have to go. Please don't tell anyone that you saw us." she said and just like that the two young women were gone, hoods back up and sprinting at full speed through the village.

Kiyomi huffed in annoyance, 'Two weeks I am pretty far behind, but he can't be moving too fast otherwise I would have picked up on a trail. That said I need to hurry, this is my only hope of leading a normal life without looking over my shoulder constantly in fear.'

XxX-(Land of Lightning)-XxX

The joint shinobi task force headquarters had been growing steadily over the past few days more and more wounded were still arriving along with the dead, bodies were slowly being separated in order to be returned to their respective villages and all names were taken down in plans of a memorial that would be raised in the Land of Iron to commemorate the fallen. All of this meant that the medic ninja were still far more busy than all the others put together. Some more so than others. Shizune and Sakura who were left in charge of the field hospital as Tsunade's apprentices were constantly running from one bed to another helping out and instructing other medics of their duty.

Sakura had not slept in days. Every time she closed her eyes all she saw was the scene of Gaara leading the funeral procession and the lifeless corpses of Naruto and Madara. She had wanted to do the Autopsy personally but Shizune denied her request saying that they were both emotionally compromised which meant that mistakes could be made. In the end they left the Autopsy to medics from Suna and Kumo. The report was fairly straight forward, Madara was killed by a jutsu of high destructive power that severed the chakra network at a cellular level and ripped organs apart at the same time. For Sakura that only meant one thing, Rasenshuriken. And Naruto had been killed by a blade traveling through his heart and lungs causing almost instant death. 'They both said it, on the river that day when I failed to kill Kiyomi, if they fought, they would both die. This is my fault, why did I have to be so weak!' the pink haired medic thought as tears threatened to fall from her face once more.

"You know Naruto wouldn't want to see you crying." a lazy almost bored voice traveled across the tent. Sakura turned to see Shikamaru enter the tent a cigarette in his mouth but not lit.

"I can't help it, If I had been stronger than Naruto wouldn't have died." Sakura wept.

Shikamaru sighed folding his arms behind his head as he walked into the room. "Maybe, but then again if you had killed him then Naruto may have died in the war anyway or maybe when he was fighting Kyuubi for control of its chakra. It's to troublesome to say." Shikamaru sighed.

"So you're saying the fact they are both dead is a good thing?" Sakura spat.

"Hardly, Naruto was one of my best friends. But look at it this way, it was Naruto's choice to fight Madara alone, and he knew the most likely outcome was that they would both die. In spite of that he went out and did what he thought was right, and if that means that he died then I respect him all the more for it." Shikamaru said.

"If? What do you mean If he died? You have seen the body." Sakura said her eyes red from the tears.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It just seems rather weird that Naruto would be killed by a sword. From what I had seen there was no way Kyuubi would let Naruto die like that. But maybe I'm wrong, it's far too troublesome to argue with a dead body." he sighed pausing for a moment to light up his smoke.

"Well what's the alternative? Naruto has abandoned Konoha?" Sakura scoffed knowing Naruto far too well to ever think he would do something like that.

"It's possible, Naruto is not a dumb as most people tend to believe, he always had a way to win no matter the odds and then always seemed to bring people closer together. His death is no exception, representatives from each of the villages are coming together in hopes of extending the alliance in Naruto's honor. If he thought his death could bring happiness to the world he may have welcomed it, faking his death and going on the run. At least that is what I choose to believe, maybe I am just in denial." Shikamaru said before walking past Sakura who stood stunned and heading to check on Choji who was suffering from chakra exhaustion but was otherwise healthy in comparison to many occupants of Sakura's medical tent.

Sakura stood unmoving for a few moments, Shikamaru had always been the smartest person she knew but what he was saying was absurd, there were no signs of a trail leading away from the sight that Naruto and Madara had been found and only two bodies. Shaking off the lazy genius's theory she decided that she would go see the last person to talk to Naruto alive, her sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled to get the Copycat ninja's attention.

Kakashi turned giving his best eye smile at the same time. "Yo." he said with a small wave as Sakura came to a halt in front of the temporary Hokage. "Is there any news on Tsunade-sama's condition?" he asked becoming quite serious.

Sakura's face dropped and she shook her head. "No she's still in a coma, the length of time she needed to use her Creation Rebirth Seal for such a long time against Madara that we can't say for sure if she will ever wake up." she admitted sadly.

"I see, I was hoping she would be awake before the Daimyo from each country get here for official peace talks. The Kage's are all required to attend, which has some of the villages in a strife. Oonoki didn't survive the war and they need a new Tsuchikage." Kakashi sighed shaking his head. The three eldest Kage would not be available to take part in any peace talks and that would mean that Mei and Gaara were the longest serving Kage, fortunately Mifune from the Land of Iron was in perfect health and willing to oversee the discussions in hopes that the great nations could come to an agreement.

"I heard that A-sama was considering Darui-san as the Godaime Raikage." Sakura said.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Yes he was. He is a promising choice, he shares Naruto's desire to see peace in this world. I know for a fact Kitsuchi-san was nominated as the Yondaime Tsuchikage when his father passed on in the war, but it hasn't been made official as of yet as some of the elders on the council are debating one whether they want him or one of the more seasoned ninja from the Hidden Stone Village, but if I was a betting man I would say that Kitsuchi-san is the obvious choice, and he is already doing a good job filling in as a temporary Tsuchikage as it is." he said chuckling lightly at the end while hoping silently that Tsunade would wake up and save him from a life of responsibility that he did not want anymore.

"Actually Sensei I wanted to talk to you about Naruto. I was just talking to Shikamaru and he said some things that have me thinking." Sakura admitted looking at her feet to avoid the look of sadness she knew would have crossed her sensei's face.

"What did he say?" Kakashi asked calmly. He did not mind talking about Naruto, he was sad he had lost his pupil but he was also so proud of the boy for everything he achieved, against all the adversity he had come across. In Kakashi's eyes Naruto had accomplished more than he ever would, he finally understood why Jiraiya thought of himself as a failure. Both of their failures seemed so large when compared to successes.

"He said that Naruto's death didn't make any sense, Kyuubi would have stopped him dying from a sword wound. And then I thought about it, when Naruto fought Orochimaru he attempted to kill him with that sword of his, Kusanagi, but it couldn't pierce Kyuubi's chakra cloak." Sakura paused for a moment making sure she stayed strong. "Then he questioned if Naruto didn't let himself be killed, or even fake his death."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes Sakura that is possible." he admitted. He took a moment to gauge his last remaining pupil before continuing. "Naruto has always tried to keep every promise he has made. He has made some rather big ones, but always done his best to bring them about. He saved Konoha and my life when he was fighting Pe- I mean Nagato by promising to bring peace to the world. His death was the answer, he left to fight Madara not only knowing that he might die but ready to embrace it. If things did not go as planned, he could have found a way to fake his death, and flee." he reasoned although he did not believe it to be true.

"But then we should look for him!" Sakura shouted, startling some nearby Kiri shinobi.

Kakashi shook his head, "This was Naruto's choice, if he is dead then I am wiling to accept that. But if he is alive I will happily welcome him back should he ever decide to return. He thought this was how he could bring peace to the world and if he is right then who am I to mess with his plan." he said calmly.

Sakura found this rather hard to accept. For her it sounded as though Kakashi was giving up on Naruto and letting him get away. "And what if that Baka is wrong?"

"Then it is up to us to make sure he isn't." it was not Kakashi's voice that answered the pink haired kunoichi, but that of Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama! I didn't see you there." Sakura admitted with a small bow.

"That is an interesting theory you have, one that I would welcome. However just like Kakashi I agree that Naruto should be left alone, alive or dead he has done his duty for the Elemental Nations and now deserves a rest." Gaara said.

"Kazekage-sama it is good to see you again." Kakashi said, happy that Gaara had come to his aid.

"I believe if I am not mistaken you are Hokage now, we share a rank of equal importance. Also please call me Gaara." the Kazekage said kindly, yet in his constant monotone. "Anyway if you would excuse us Sakura I have things to discuss with the acting Hokage." he finished.

Sakura nodded and turned to leave still not sure about what to think. She had seen Naruto's body with her own eyes, but then again she had seen many things over the last few weeks that defied logic. 'Naruto if you are alive I am going to kill you myself for this!'

XxX-(Two Days Later)-XxX

Naruto had officially run out of food the night before, fortunately he had the skills to set a trap and caught himself some food. Still the wild rabbit he had captured did not have a lot of meat on its bones. "Kami I would sell a tail worth of your chakra for a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen." the blond wailed as he followed an abandoned road, he had entered the Land of Earth earlier that day but had yet to come across even a small town.

'That's Ironic because I would sell a tail worth of my chakra for you to stop complaining all the time.' Kyuubi replied.

"Sure, but that would only solve your problem, if I had ramen we would both be happy." Naruto pouted before laughing along with his Bijuu. They walked a bit further in quiet before something caught his eye, a tall red tower poking up above the trees in the distance. After another minute a second could be seen. "Sweet Kami it's a village." Naruto practically shouted picking up the pace as much as he could without giving away any ninja training.

The blond jinchuuriki arrived at a small closed gate, outside two village guards stood in battle armor. Slowing down to a walk Naruto began to wonder if this wasn't a bad idea, he had no identification papers. "Hold it." one of the guards said forcing Naruto to come to a halt. "State your business here, the Land of Earth is currently at war."

Naruto had to think quickly, not his best trait. 'Tell them you're a refugee from one of the countries effected by the war.' Kurama quickly suggested, knowing Naruto's weakness for coming up with a lie on the spot.

"I'm a refugee from the border of the Land of Sound, I have been coming to the Land of Earth to stay with some relatives until I can get back on my feet." Naruto declared.

One of the other guards leaned in and whispered something to the man that Naruto guessed was in charge. "Very will as a refugee I'll allow you to enter, but you need to enter your name down on this form and pay one thousand Ryo." the leader of the guards declared.

'This is a scam. I bet I don't need to pay anything, you can see it painted all over their faces.' Naruto thought angrily.

'I know, but perhaps you should simply pay them, if you need more money later you can summon one of the toads to help you out.' Kurama interjected to prevent Naruto from giving himself away.

"That almost cleans me out, but I need to get in to find passage north to my relatives." Naruto lied handing the money over to the man in charge. He then picked up a pen and scribbled a fake name before entering into the village.

The fist thing Naruto noticed was that the people seemed to be few and far between and the ones that were out and about moved about as quickly as they could manage. 'They must be afraid that the war will come this way.' Naruto reasoned.

'Maybe. I am sure that most of the countries involved have been given word that the war is over. But it is possible that a small village such as this one would not have received any news from the war as of yet.' Kurama suggested.

'So what's the plan then?' Naruto asked.

'In and out as quickly as we can. Go buy some supplies just in case we have to walk. Then check out all the local caravans, and pay one for transport north.' the fox answered calmly.

Naruto nodded and went to work determined to get as much supplies as he could realistically carry without drawing attention to himself. The prices were very expensive, but Naruto didn't complain, he had just guessed that they were doing their best in a time of uncertainty and knew that being a village close to the border of the Land of Earth had a high likelihood of being attacked should the war have come this way. Wasting no time Naruto found a large general store to resupply his food. Much to the ire of Kurama Naruto insisted on a large quantity of ramen the large fox would have tried to force Naruto to buy some more food that would have been substantially better for the blond but figured that once they made it over the mountains at the top of the Land of Earth he may never eat his precious noodle broth again.

Once the food was collected Naruto was ready to leave, the longer he stayed in one spot the more likely it would be that he was discovered by some Iwa ninja, maybe returning home from the war. It was quite fortunate that the people were more than helpful in this regard an elderly woman directed Naruto towards an area of the town where she knew a group of traveling business men heading north were gathered. "Excuse me, I was wondering how far north this caravan is traveling?" Naruto asked a tall bald man once he arrived at the place he had been directed.

The bald man turned around and cast a doubtful eye over the blond. "We travel as far north as we feel is necessary to sell our wears." he said firmly.

Naruto nodded. "In that case, could I barter passage north on your caravan? I am willing to both pay for the ride and work if needed. I'm far stronger than I look believe it."

"Why do you want to go north anyway?" the balm man asked contemplating Naruto's request.

"I'm heading north to stay with some relatives, my home was destroyed in the war." Naruto lied quite convincingly.

"Show me the money, five hundred Ryo and I will take you as far as I go." the caravan owner said.

Naruto pulled out half and handed it to the man. "Half now and Half when we part ways." the blond said not wanting to be tricked by the man.

The bald man laughed a hearty laugh and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "You're a businessman I see, I like that. The names Asahi."

"Uh Ruto Ikaze" Naruto replied using the fake name he placed on the gate guards form.

"Well then Ruto, get to work and help me pack, the sooner we leave the sooner you get to where your going and I get payed." Asahi declared clapping Naruto on the back with surprising strength.

XxX

In the Land of lightning the ninja of the great nations had begun returning to their respective villages. The injured were the first to go taken back along with medical officers. Of those that remained were the generals, Kage and top ranking shinobi of each division. For the last few days these shinobi had been in almost constant meetings discussing a possible permanent alliance. These talks had been stalled by by several key reasons. Most notably Iwa's failure to appoint a new Tsuchikage after the loss of Oonoki in the war. Because of this Iwa had been sending several candidates to these meetings each with varying levels of cooperativeness.

If Kakashi and the other Kage had the choice they would have picked Oonoki's son, Kitsuchi for the next Tsuchikage. He was a general during the war in charge of one of the close range divisions of shinobi. He was also rather supportive of the idea that a permanent alliance was possible.

Several of the other candidates were firmly against the idea with one particular taking the information the Naruto Uzumaki, the boy the people from Iwa were still calling a hero, was in fact the son of Minato Namikaze, quite poorly. Many were of the opinion that Naruto's actions in the war more than justified his status as a hero, whether they were saying this in an attempt to sure up votes from Iwa's jonin, or if they truly believed this Kakashi and the other Kage didn't know.

"If we put Iwa out of the discussions for the time being I think it would be wise to discuss how a potential alliance would work. A loose standing association will only work to a certain degree. Cooperation and interaction between villages will be necessary to maintain close bonds and assure old wounds do not reopen." Mei spoke at the start of their latest meeting.

"We have the chunin exams, over the past years very few, if any shinobi from rival villages would compete in the other nations exams with only Suna and Konoha regularly competing against each other. This promotes competition and friendship between villages." Gaara suggested.

"I agree that it's a good starting point but to make a alliance stronger we each should be able to contribute in some way in terms of aiding the other villages shinobi. Konoha has the best medics, we could offer training to the other villages." Kakashi added.

"On this, Kumo agrees, we can train other shinobi, just like my brother did with Uzumaki." the Raikage added.

"Suna's use of chakra strings and puppetry is unmatched." Gaara offered.

"As is Kiri's Kenjutsu, our swordsmen are legendary after all." Mei finished with a smug smile.

Mifune the leader of the Samurai from the Land of Iron was an ever present at these meetings and assured the ninja that should they be able to come to an agreement then his country would join the others in the alliance. "Our weapon and armor forging would be an asset. And if Iwa consents, the rare minerals from the Land of Earth would be perfect to keep all of our soldiers supplied with the highest quality equipment." Mifune suggested. Once again the Iwa delegation struggled to come to an agreement on whether they should agree to the request.

"Who will be in charge of this so called alliance, our authority as Kage should not be reduced at all." a tall bearded man who stood almost twice as tall as Gaara asked.

Once more Mifune decided to act as a voice of reason, greed had been a major player in the relationships between the great nations in the past and he did not want this to become the point that prevented a lasting peace to occur. "I propose all Kage retain absolute power within their village with a rotation of a alliance commander that will change between the villages after a set period of time." for once not a single person could find a issue with the Samurai leaders compromise.

XxX-(Land of Earth)-XxX

Naruto let out a low sigh as he looked off into the distance back along the road he was traveling. Asahi's caravan was drawn by two spotted white horses and had a tall arching roof off blue canvas for shelter from rain. 'This isn't much faster than I was traveling before.' he thought in reluctant acceptance of is fate. Being a dead man was far more difficult than he had expected. Naruto attention turned to the rocky mountain ridges that scattered the landscape of the Land of Earth. Like Konoha's forests Naruto assumed that the mountains were great assets to the ninja from Iwa. Konoha ninja were in their element hiding in the trees and he was sure Iwa shinobi would be quite formidable in this terrain.

"You seem a little distracted Ruto, is something wrong?" Asahi asked from the front of the caravan.

Naruto was startled, he didn't expect the middle aged man to have picked up on his frustration. "Oh it's nothing really." he protested.

"I guess this way of travel is a little slow when you're a ninja isn't it." Asahi replied eyeing the blond.

'Busted, but how!?' Naruto thought startled before looking around as if hoping that there was some other passenger that the middle aged man may have been talking to. "I... Uh"

"I may not look it, but I was a shinobi once as well. I can tell when I have a trained ninja in my cart. Although I would say you have not done much undercover work, you can suppress your chakra well enough. But the way you hold your body, and are constantly checking your blind spots are dead giveaways." The caravan owner interrupted.

"When did you find out?" Naruto asked a defeated expression passing across his face.

"When? The moment I saw you I knew you were trained. So what rank? I'm guessing Black ops or even a Anbu sub-commander from how you hold yourself with a strict discipline and air of authority. And I'm also guessing you went rogue?" Asahi assumed.

"Anbu Captain. And yes I guess you could say I'm a missing ninja now. I faked my death because I'm of more use to everyone dead than alive. As long as everyone thinks I'm dead my village has a chance for some real peace." Naruto admitted.

"That's quite a lot of responsibility to put on a Anbu Captain. Are you sure you're not over stating things?" Asahi asked calmly.

"Maybe, but either way you look at it losing one Anbu isn't the end of the world." Naruto replied. He may not be able to hide the fact he was a shinobi from the caravan owner but he sure wouldn't be giving up the fact that he was a jinchuuriki.

"I guess that's true, anyway boy your secret is safe with me, I opted out at the end of the third great shinobi war, who am I to give up someone who chose the same path as I did." Asahi replied.

"You faked your death?" Naruto asked becoming more interested in the bald man.

"No need, I was Anbu as well, any Anbu ninja from Iwa that doesn't return is considered dead unless confirmed otherwise. At the time I was one of the best Iwa had to offer." Asahi said confidently his chest puffing out almost gloatingly as he talked about himself.

"Then what happened?" Naruto asked.

Asahi laughed a hollow laugh and shook his head. "The war happened. I was given a mission that in the end I just couldn't do. So I opted out."

Naruto was confused, Anbu were considered the most loyal ninja in their respective villages, each one was expected to be able to kill on command and accept any mission without question no matter how difficult or suicidal it may be. "You chickened out?" Naruto asked.

"You could say that. I would say, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself had I gone through with it." Asahi replied.

"What was the mission?" Naruto had to ask, his interest had been peaked.

"Iwa wanted a distraction that would keep a large group of Konoha shinobi occupied long enough for a team to slip past and the attack a key structure being held close to the northern border of the Land of Fire. I accepted without hesitation of course but when I arrived at my destination I found a small civilian village. No shinobi these people couldn't even defend themselves from bandits let alone a fully trained ninja. But my orders were clear, destroy target leaving no survivors. This was the distraction they wanted, I kill a bunch of civilians luring the enemy away from their posts." Asahi explained suddenly looking far older than he had just moments earlier.

"But you couldn't do it?" Naruto finished for him.

"I was faced with a dilemma. If I didn't follow my orders I would have been executed for defying orders in a time of war. But if I did I would have been committing a crime far worse than anything I had seen done before. I broke down, froze unable to move, I don't know how long a stayed just staring at the village it could have been days for all I know. Eventually a young girl from the village found me and brought me into her home. I then made up my mind, I couldn't kill these people so like the coward I am, I fled, vowing to never again bring harm to anyone." Asahi finished.

"What about the attack on the Konoha ninja?" Naruto asked.

"It never went ahead. the war had all but ended the day before without my knowledge when the future Yondaime Hokage destroyed the main supply bridge and singlehandedly routed a battalion of Iwa's army.

Naruto sighed, on the one hand he was glad that the man had disobeyed his orders but on the other he was saddened that he had been forced to give up his life and disappear. Naruto was doing it out of choice but Asahi was forced to choose between two horrible outcomes. However Naruto looked at it the situation the caravan owner had been in had no happy endings. 'Compared to this guy I have it easy, all I had to give up was becoming Hokage.' Naruto realized.

'What about all of your friends? The life you had in Konoha? You are underselling what you are losing by taking this course of action.' Kurama interjected.

'Well maybe, but should I choose to I can return to Konoha, Asahi can never go back to Iwa.' Naruto replied.

'That may be, but by the sounds of it he has chosen a new life. He seems rather content to me, I sense no negative emotions coming from him.' the fox assured the blond.

'Yeah, guess this guy is proof that there is life after being a ninja, who knows maybe I'll get over the mountains find a girl settle down and be able to raise a family of my own, that sounds like a nice life to me, what was it Shikamaru always said? 'Find a nice girl who's not too pretty yet not hard on the eyes have two children an boy and a girl?' Hell if I'm really lucky I'll find someone strong like Kaa-san. if that was Shikamaru's plan it has to be a good one.' Naruto smiled.

'You have to get a kiss before you can even think about any of that. So far your only experience is with Kiba back in the academy'(1) Kurama chuckled causing Naruto to face palm.

'Why do you have to keep bringing that up?' Naruto whined.

'I don't have a lot going on.' the fox said with a rather large grin.

'I've let you out of the cage, so you can roam around my mind. Hell, you can even change the mindscape to your liking now so you have alo-' Naruto stopped mid thought when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "Where being followed." Naruto whispered so only he could here.

'Are you sure? I cannot sense anything.' Kurama asked.

'Positive. I saw the corner of a black cloak disappear behind one of the larger rocks.' Naruto answered in a businesslike manner.

'Then the question is why? Your chakra is completely suppressed through those seals you put on yourself after your fight with that bastard only that, I'm even restricting my chakra flow.' Kurama mused.

'Maybe they are not after us but Asahi? He will be a wanted man in this country, maybe it's someone that recognizes him?' Naruto thought solemnly. 'Either way we can't let whoever it is report our location.' he decided.

'That is true, I cannot sense any ninja in the area, or at least I cannot feel any negative emotions. It may be safe to use some chakra. After fighting Madara and his little pet Uchiha who ever if following us should be no problem.' Kurama smirked.

"Alright! Hey Asahi how far are we from the next town?" Naruto asked preparing to stop suppressing his chakra as long as he was far enough away from possible detection.

"It will be close to dusk before we reach another settlement." The caravan owner answered.

"In that case, I'll catch up to you in a little while. There is something I need to do." Naruto spoke not wanting to scare the man into thinking that his secret may have been discovered. Standing up in the back of the covered wagon Naruto hopped out onto the road and waited for Asahi to be a fair distance away. "Come out, I know you have been following the old mans wagon, what do you want!?" the blond asked loudly as he allowed his chakra to once more flow freely.

The two young women couldn't help but gasp as Naruto's chakra came bubbling to the surface as he undid his seals. 'Amazing it's so bright. Far brighter than I ever remembered, even when it was suppressed his chakra was like a beacon in the dark but now it's more like the sun shining brightly, spreading it's light over hundreds of miles.' Karin thought in awe, trying to gather her composure. They had spent so long now searching for the blond that was now standing before them in the middle of a large winding road wrapping around the side of a mountain. But now that they found him, she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Hell, even Kiyomi looked unsure of herself right now.

"You're not fooling me, I may not be able to sense your chakra but I know you're out there!" Naruto yelled assertively.

Slowly Kiyomi nodded her head and begun to stand, and the duo appeared from behind a row of tall rocks that had lined the side of the road. Their hood was up to hide her face, she had no idea how Naruto would react to seeing her. "Okay you got us." Karin said using a small amount of chakra to disguise her voice, hoping to assure Naruto that she meant him no harm before revealing herself.

"Why are you following the old mans caravan?" Naruto asked calmly.

"We're looking for a Konoha ninja." Kiyomi admitted, using the same technique Karin was using to hide herself.

"You're a long way from the Land of Fire, you will have more luck going back in the other direction. What's this ninja's name?" the blond shinobi replied already knowing the answer.

"I'm looking for Naruto Uzumaki." Karin answered.

"I heard he died, maybe you should go ask at Konoha. Why are you looking for him anyway?" Naruto pressed he was already sure that his cover was blown but on the off chance that this person sis not know that he was Naruto he was not going to make it easy for them.

"I know for a fact that Naruto is not dead, and he is the only person that can give me my life back." Kiyomi said removing her hood while Karin followed shortly after.

Naruto's eyes widened and Kurama released a small growl in Naruto's mind. This just became a lot worse than either of them thought. Whether she was a threat or not, this was a pair of ninja who worked with the Akatsuki and therefore were not to be trusted. "Kiyomi! You were locked up in Konoha before the start of the war. Hell, both of you were, and not only that you nearly died and then fled shortly after Madara wiped out the Village of Kusa!"

Kiyomi snorted, "Well, it's good to see you too Naruto. I would have expected a more happy exclamation, but this works too." she said.

Karin sighed as she pointed to the Uchiha, "Yea, I was her sensor and medic, nothing more! And you can drop the act, I know who you are Naruto."

"Kiyomi I can understand, but you were something I didn't see coming. Well that explains why you were able to find me now that I think about it. Now, all I need to know is how, so I can prevent being found again in the future." Naruto said dismissing why the two young women were there completely.

"How? I can see your chakra from miles away, it was like a flashing light. I could sense your chakra from fifty miles away" Karin scoffed.

"Impossible I had my chakra suppressed." Naruto said.

"Well she's not a normal sensory ninja, why else would Orochimaru and Madara keep her around?" Kiyomi snorted, "She's literally got a sensory power that rivals your Sage Mode, and you say that even with suppressed chakra it should have been impossible. You need to try and come up with better excuses Dobe." Kiyomi tutted towards Naruto.

Naruto ignored the insults aimed at him, "Hm, I guess that makes sense, she does seem to be less uh, experimented on than most of Orochimaru's subjects I met." Naruto agreed.

'Fool, do you not remember what happened six years ago, she literally drove a blade of lightning through your chest trying to kill you, just get rid of them already!' the fox retorted.

Naruto knew better than to argue with Kurama when it came to negative emotions so in the end he remained unmoved. "Get to the point, what do you want?"

"Fine Kiyomi wants you too forgive her for helping Madara back before the war." she admitted honestly.

Naruto was confused that anyone would go through all the effort to track him down just to say that but just shrugged it off. "Yeah okay I forgive you, if you went through all that just to track me down just to say that you must be telling the truth, so why not." Naruto replied nonchalantly.

"You do? Oh thank God." Kiyomi said with a smile, tears brimming in her eyes, "I thought you would have hated me after what happened between me and you old lover. And... And I know I have no right to bring this up, but I am honestly grateful for you saving my life, even when you had no right to. You chose me, me, over the one woman whom you loved more than the entire world. I'm sorry for your loss, but I just want you to know I am thankful for you saving my life.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh, ignoring the memories of him and Pakura being together, "Yeah you're forgiven, now if you will excuse me I have places to be." and with that Naruto turned to leave.

"Wait you can't go! I need you to tell everyone that you forgive me." Kiyomi said urgently with shock written on her face.

"Well, you see now we have a problem. If you're not aware, I'm supposed to be dead. It wouldn't be good for maintaining my reputation as being dead if I go around telling people that I forgive a member of the very same organization that killed me. Sorry I couldn't help." Naruto said waving farewell to the kunoichi.

"Stop!" Kiyomi ordered. Naruto ignored her and kept walking, this did not go down well with the dark eyed kunoichi, "Naruto Uzumaki, I said stop! You can't do this. Unless you help me then we're both as good as dead!" she yelled angrily frustration mixing with desperation as she and her companion chased after the former Konoha ninja.

"Being dead isn't so bad, personally I find that I have lots of time to think now." Naruto finally spoke not stopping as he continued to walk away from the two young women.

"So that's it is it? I give you everything. My heart, my soul, my virginity, and this is how you treat me? You're just gonna sentence me to death!" Kiyomi yelled several real tears falling from her eyes as the realization that she would never have a normal life and she was doomed to die, eventually someone would discover her, by now her face will have been posted all over the elemental nations with bounty a living ninja that worked with the Akatsuki would have quite a large bounty at that.

Naruto came to a stop and glanced over his shoulder, a cold look setting in his eyes, "Actions have consequences Kiyomi, you better than anyone should know this. I had to watch as the first person I had ever truly loved died, while I saved the only person who could help me stand up to Madara. I watched as she bled out while I pumped my own blood into your veins. I could have let you die on that field, but I didn't. I chose you over the one person who meant something to me. Maybe back when we were kids you held a place in my heart, but the day you tried running a lightning blade through my chest was the day you lost my love for you. We got out of the academy when we were sixteen, and we went through so much together before you decided killing your brother meant more to you than any moment we shared together as a couple. So yes, Kiyomi Uchiha, I am sentencing you to die." he said to her before he continued to walk away, "I need to leave in order to bring peace, I'm sorry but I cannot help you. Your fate is in your own hands." Naruto replied.

Naruto took a few more steps when he heard Kiyomi collapse on hands and knees. Tears were falling from her eyes like a constant stream that she couldn't stop despite trying so hard. She was sure from the moment she had seen Naruto for the first time that he had a kind, forgiving soul like when they were younger, but now that same person had just told her he was leaving her to die. "Please!" she begged. "I need your help, I'll do anything!" Naruto's heart was breaking as he continued to walk "Please... help me!" she echoed weakly.

Naruto stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to ignore the desperate kunoichi's plea, "I can't, if I help you, then everything I have worked for is ruined. I need to stay dead. I'm sorry." Naruto spoke sadly his heat truly went out to his former lover. He held no great sympathy for her as she had put herself in this situation but at the same time he couldn't help but feel bad knowing he was leaving her to be captured and killed as a member of the Akatsuki.

"Then... take us with you?" Karin asked stepping forward past Kiyomi, knowing it was their last hope, stopping the blond in his tracks.

"It's too dangerous, where I'm going is not somewhere an ordinary shinobi can survive." Naruto said.

"We'll survive, I heal fast and I'm not easy to kill. And Kiyomi survived Madara's attack on that bridge in the Land of Iron after all. We can help you. I'm the best sensor that there is. And my blood heals others wounds in an instant." Karin said her mind already made up.

"You don't even know where I'm going." Naruto reasoned.

"I don't care, if we stay the we'll both be found and killed eventually. I can't wear a hood for my entire life no matter how good I am at suppressing my chakra. Going with you is my only hope." Kiyomi replied seeing that Naruto was starting to soften.

"I can't guarantee your safety." Naruto warned, his resistance fading.

'This is a risk Naruto.' Kurama spoke.

'I know but if I leave Kiyomi or Karin they could tell everyone that I am still alive, that would be very bad for me. Even if nobody believed them, it's still a voice that could tell others..' Naruto sighed.

'Do you forget, your Uchiha lover once worked with the Akatsuki. That alone should be enough to ignore her, or even better kill her. But I guess you wouldn't be you unless you forgave the girl.' Kurama sighed in mild disappointment.

"I can take care of myself... so can I come?" Kiyomi asked rubbing the tears from her eyes.

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes you can come. Now hurry up and I hope you have money to pay for your passage on the old mans supply caravan." he sighed, turning away from the duo. He was not happy with himself, if he was honest he knew he shouldn't have agreed to let either of them come, three people were easier to find than one. Because of this he held some resentment for the young women, but he just couldn't leave them to die.

A smile of joy broke across Kiyomi's face, "Thank you, Naruto. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you." she chanted getting to her feet slowly.

"Save it, you can follow me until we are safe. But if you try anything, or I so much as think you are trying to contact anyone, giving away my location, I will move on without you." Naruto warned. His confrontation with the Uchiha made Naruto realize that he had matured quite a lot recently, then again fighting in a war will change someone Naruto just hoped that it was a change for the better.

Kiyomi and Karin both nodded and fell into step behind the blond as they followed the road after Asahi's wagon. 'It's not ideal and I'm stuck with, him, but it's far better than the alternative.' Kiyomi resigned.

'Well well. I would never have guessed that they had that kind of history. I knew they were once a couple, but yeesh, that was more than anything I could have bothered myself with knowing. Though... I guess Kiyomi does have a decent taste in men. He isn't that bad on the eyes.' Karin thought to herself.

It didn't take long for Naruto to catch up to the caravan when he was moving like a shinobi should. "Hey old man we have a couple new passengers so I'll triple the fee." Naruto said as he landed at the back of Asahi's wagon.

The bald former Iwa shinobi turned just as the two young women pulled themselves onto the the moving wagon. "A girlfriend and a mistress, well you sure know how to go on the run." Asahi laughed.

"She's not a girlfriend, hell she's not even a friend. More like a potential assassin trying to kill me in my sleep." Naruto said flatly as he glanced at Kiyomi while ignoring Karin's stuttering blush.

Asahi chuckled at the Naruto's rather annoyed expression it was clear he was not that keen on having the two young women tagging along, "Odd choice of travel companions then kid, but who am I too judge. Good to have you aboard girls?"

"I'm Karin, this is Kiyomi." the redhead kunoichi spoke quietly not sure how she should react around the blond, if she over stretched her boundary's she could find herself on the side of the road or tied to a tree.

"Just Karin? You don't have a family name?" Asahi asked.

Karin shook her head. "I didn't know my parents and nobody had ever seen fit to give me a clan name." she admitted slightly saddened by that thought. She had thought of Kusa as a home, but then she was never accepted there. Then she thought working with Orochimaru was where she belonged but the more she thought about it the more obvious it was that he just wanted her for her healing abilities. "I guess nobody has ever thought enough of me to give me one."

"That's stupid, Ero-Sennin never had a clan name but that didn't mean people didn't care for him. There was me, Baa-chan, the old sages, and his summons. Not having a family doesn't mean people don't care for you." Naruto said firmly.

Karin's eyes widened, she never expected Naruto to say something so kind when she had basically blackmailed him into taking her with him. "I... I, thank you." she said with a small smile.

"I didn't say it for you, I don't want anyone to say that just because he lacked a clan that Ero-Sennin was not loved or respected." Naruto said aggressively causing the kunoichi to look slightly crestfallen. Naruto's face softened, he never meant to hurt the girl. "But you're welcome, and I am sure the same can be said for you."

Karin smiled again and wanted to leave it at that but couldn't help but ask one last question. "Um who's Ero-Sennin? With a name like that it doesn't sound like they are someone I want to meet." she giggled while Kiyomi softly smiled at the memories she had of Jiraiya. Sure some of them were annoying, but what she had learned from him with Naruto was priceless.

"Ah... yeah quite a few people were not his biggest fans. He was a massive pervert, every day he would spend time writing those perverted books of his or go to spy on women in bath houses." Naruto said thinking about his godfather fondly. It still upset him to know that Jiraiya had died. He remembered wanting nothing more than to have Jiraiya see him becoming Hokage and surpass his father.

"What a pig!" Karin shouted angrily, like most kunoichi, and women in general she found the idea of someone watching them while they bath off putting to say the least. This of course caused Kiyomi to chuckle. She said that now, but wait til she learned that she just insulted her favorite writer.

"Yeah I guess he was, but he was also the man who taught me how to be a shinobi and more importantly how to be a man. I never had a father growing up but I wouldn't have asked for anyone better than Ero-Sennin." Naruto of course knew who his father was now but he still owed Jiraiya a debt that couldn't be repaid for making him into the person he was now.

Karin's rage subsided finding herself unable to continue hating the man that her and Kiyomi's traveling companion seemed to respect to so much. "You still haven't told me who he is, or why you call him Ero-Sennin if you respect him so much, although I think I can guess the last part." she said a twinge of annoyance remaining towards the lovable pervert.

"He was Naruto's master, Jiraiya. And yeah he called him Ero-Sennin, because he was a self proclaimed super pervert and he was a sage, ergo Ero-Sennin." Kiyomi explained before she laughed.

Asahi who had been listening to the two teens with mild interest almost fell off the wagon when he head this. 'Jiraiya! And a Sage... this kid was trained by the same man who trained the Yondaime Hokage, and one of the Legendary three ninja of Konoha. How the hell is this kid still a Genin? He's old enough to be at least a chunin and that chakra level he had when he stopped suppressing his chakra, it was so powerful no way this kid is normal.' he thought but he kept those thoughts to himself.

"I thought your sensei was that scarecrow guy... uh Kakashi was his name, right." Karin asked.

"Yeah Kakashi-sensei was my jonin sensei but Ero-Sennin was my master, well I guess you would say he took me as his apprentice, I had two teachers. I guess I'm pretty lucky." Naruto answered.

"What, you were trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake!?" Asahi said unable to keep in his surprise.

Naruto froze, he had refrained from talking about himself as much as possible but the distraction of Kiyomi and Karin's arrival made him forget all about the fact Asahi was a former ninja. 'Well this isn't good.' Naruto thought rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Dammit...

XxX

The sky was dark, no stars shone in the night sky. The sound of light rain hitting the canvas top of Asahi's caravan was the only sound that could be heard in the dark. Karin sat in a corner of the large wagon unable to see a foot ahead of her face. She closed her eyes to check the area for signs of chakra just to keep herself busy.

Immediately the world that had been so dark to her seemed to shine, she noticed Asahi at the front of the wagon's calm if not somewhat dull chakra however as always when she had used her unique technique of sensing others chakra over the past few days. Kiyomi's was a calm glass-like chakra as she slept nearby. But it was Naruto that quickly caught her attention. The first time she had done this at a close range she made a startling discovery. The darkness she had felt within him when they had first met in the Land of Iron was gone, she couldn't understand this, but at the same time she had no idea how to bring the subject up. After that she had taken to staring at his chakra sometimes close to an hour at a time as if expecting that crushing darkness to burst fourth and consume the brilliant light that she thought at times seemed almost blinding.

Due to her new found familiarity with Naruto's chakra it did not take her long to realize that something was off about the blond. His chakra may have been suppressed but at the same time the spikes in tension and excitement screamed of someone who was fighting for his life. 'Something is wrong with him!' she thought a little worried.

While Naruto was not in any danger he was in a sense in a fight. "Not good enough Naruto, if you can't even create a jutsu in your mind how are you supposed to do it for real?" Kurama lectured. Deep within Naruto's mindscape the blond jinchuuriki stood with his hands on his knees and slightly panting. Kurama stood a fair way away at the far side of a large open field that seemed to be floating with darkness surrounding it on all sides.

"It might be easier if I could train without you trying to impale me with those tails of yours!" Naruto whined.

"Nonsense, you have always been at your best when you are fighting for your life, how is this any different?" Kurama spoke with a slightly sadistic smile gracing his features.

"Well for one I was allowed to fight with my full strength on all other occasions and secondly... I really have no idea how I'm supposed to create a jutsu anyway! The Rasenshuriken is just pure manipulation, seals were easy enough to perform in my sleep. My Kekkei Tota was something I based off of storms, and even then were mostly shape manipulation while the chakra did the rest of the work. My biggest problem is that I was never any good at hand seals." Naruto complained..

"That sounds more like a Naruto problem than a Kurama problem." the fox teased.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"Yeah I thought I would give it a go... what do you think?" Kurama replied rubbing his chin with a tail.

Naruto just shook his head. He still struggled to believe just how much the once cold mass of hatred had lightened up, becoming a companion and friend. So much so that it had come to the point where the fox would even joke and laugh with him. "I'm not a fan."

"You do realize that will just give me more incentive to do it again right?" Kurama said with a small smirk.

"The thought had crossed my mind." Naruto replied with a deadpan expression. "Look can you just help me with creating a freaking jutsu rather than trying to kill me!?" he asked exasperatedly.

"What do you need another jutsu for anyway, you have the Bijuudama, you have the Sky Release. You have Senjutsu and other techniques. Like seriously, what more could you possibly want?" Kurama replied blowing his question off.

"Because, believe it or not, I don't want to kill or flatten everything I come across." Naruto sighed.

"From what I can remember, it's actually quite fun. You should at least give it a try." Kurama chuckled.

"Gah! I can't believe I am saying this, but why can't you be serious!?" Naruto yelled in frustration, however moments later the blond had a thought that made him chuckle. "Wait a minute, you don't know how to create a jutsu either do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I can do anything." the fox said in his most arrogant voice but for once seemed somehow unconvincing.

"So that's why you won't help me, you can't." Naruto laughed.

"Don't make me angry Naruto!" Kurama yelled firing a tiny Bijuudama at the ground beneath the blonds feet causing Naruto to flip away with ease.

"Aw what's the matter? Kurama doesn't like hearing the truth?" the blond laughed again.

"That's it! You die now." the giant fox fumed and began to raise his head to form a proper Bijuudama. "Wait Naruto, we can't play right now, you have to leave the seal immediately! The Uchiha's companion is up to something."

Outside of the seal Naruto's eyes snapped open to see Karin standing over him an arm reached out towards his chest. Acting on instinct Naruto grabbed her arm in the blink of an eye and flipped her to the ground. He was now kneeling over her with their legs tangled, a fist pulled back as he glared down at her. "What are you doing?" he asked anger and suspicion clear on his face even in the darkness.

Karin was cowering beneath the blonds gaze her arms crossed over her face, "I'm sorry I was searching the area for any ninja that might have been following us when I noticed your chakra was acting peculiarly, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." she said. It was not a lie she had come to check on him to see if he was alright. But saying she had been, searching for other ninja sounded less confusing than saying she was staring at his chakra trying to find where his darkness had gone. She didn't know how, or want to bring that topic up just yet. Things had began to improve between the pair after Naruto told her about Jiraiya, but they were still not what someone would call friends.

Naruto lowered his fist. "Oh I guess I'm sorry then... don't worry about me I was just training in my mind, my chakra is too recognizable to leave it exposed for long enough to get any actual training in so I have been training while I rest, I don't want to become rusty." Naruto said deciding to omit the part about having sparing matches with the bijuu in his seal. Asahi was no doubt listening even if he didn't care about Naruto's past there were some secrets that you just didn't let slip around a former Anbu ninja.

Karin let out a sigh of relief, her heart was still beating out of her chest from the fright she had been given, like it was trying to get a lifetimes worth of beats out in an instant. It wasn't until her heart finally began to slow down that she realized the compromising position the pair was in. she felt her face burn red with a blush that she was thankful of how dark it was in the caravan. Her reaction was somewhat predictable, pushing Naruto away with all the strength she could manage. "Get off me!" she squeaked with as much anger and authority as she could manage through her embarrassment.

Naruto for his part was also sporting a mild blush, that was the first time he had been in that sort of situation with a kunoichi that didn't terrify him, he still shuddered when thinking about Anko at the start of the second round of the Chunin exams. "Sorry, it won't happen again don't worry" Naruto said with a slightly hollow voice.

Karin didn't respond, she was in shock, much like Naruto that was her first time in a situation like that. She didn't even register the fact that her heart was now beating twice as fast as when she thought she was going die just moments earlier.

XxX-(Konoha)-XxX

Kakashi sighed as he looked down upon the new Konoha. The slowly being rebuilt Konoha, no painting had been done, all buildings were the same wooden color, and only two trading roads had been opened, intersecting at the middle of the village. The large crater the village now resided, was going to a constant reminder to the village of Naruto and the then Akatsuki leader Nagato's fight, that had already become the stuff of legend.

"Welcome back Kakashi-sama." two chunin guards greeted as Kakashi stepped into the village,"How did the meeting with the other leaders go?" one of the chunin asked.

"Not, bad. But not as well as I had hoped, we need to meet again in a few months once Iwa officially chooses their new Kage." Kakashi answered with a rather tired looking eye smile.

"I see, but that is at least better than a failure to agree that an alliance is possible." the other chunin said with a smile of his own.

"I guess that is true. Any news for me at this end?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes there is. The new village elders require your presence in the Hokage tower immediately." the first chunin to speak said.

Kakashi nodded but gave a eye smile. "No rest for a Hokage it seems." he sighed. He did not want to get on the bad side of the village elders, while the old Elders from the Third Hokage's reign on to Tsunade's reign had perished, that didn't mean they couldn't cause problems down the road. Civilians and shinobi alike greeted their new Kage as he passed making Kakashi glad that the war had not broken the spirit of the people.

The new Kage tower had not been completed yet, only the first two floors were open meaning Kakashi had to wait to get his office. The first thing Kakashi noted was the building was slightly larger than the previous Hokage tower even in its incomplete state. The moment Kakashi entered the door to the entrance hall he was greeted by the very two people that were awaiting his arrival. Hanami was an elderly woman who kept her light brown hair tied back in a tight bun held in place by two long pins that Kakashi had very little doubt had a secondary use as a weapon. Tezuna had spiky hair and also had a full beard. His only other distinguishing feature were the thin, green oval glasses he wore. "Oh Kakashi we have been awaiting your return, there are a few topics we must discuss." Tezuna said in a respectful tone.

"I guess it's my duty, let's find a room to talk in private shall we?" Kakashi suggested. The three soon found a small empty office and went inside. "So what do you want?" Kakashi asked.

"There are several things, the funeral for the young Uzumaki seems to be a popular event, we have received requests to attend from countries all over the elemental nations, so much so we could not hope to accommodate even half of them." Hanami informed the Rokudaime.

Kakashi sighed, this was why he didn't want to be Hokage, the red tape and laborious day to day running of a ninja village, he would rather be back fighting in a battle to the death rather than deciding who can and cannot attend Naruto's funeral, "All of Konoha should be allowed to attend should they wish. Then key dignitary's from the individual countries with emphasis on the five great nations and the Land of Iron... and as much as we hate to do it, for the rest of the places, we will need to charge people too attend, Konoha needs the revenue, we lost a large number of shinobi in the war." Kakashi sighed hoping he made the right choice.

"We can arrange that, I am also glad you brought up the fact we need to rebuild after the war, because the next subject is rather sensitive." Tezuna spoke calmly.

"Sensitive, in what way?" Kakashi questioned.

"It's about the possessions of Minato-sama and Jiraiya-sama. Their jutsu scrolls, and possessions were all left to be handed over to Naruto upon his eighteenth birthday. However with the Naruto's death, Konoha takes possession of all items as Naruto had no living relatives. Jiraiya-sama was a very wealthy man as was Minato-sama, and their individual jutsu could make Konoha once more the most powerful village in the elemental nations. With Jiraiya's money alone we could pay for the reconstruction of Konoha completely, and become debt free." Hanami pressed.

"You want me to take the life's work of both Jiraiya-sama and Minato-sensei and distribute them out through the village?" Kakashi asked not liking the idea.

"We do not like the thought of giving up Minato and Jiraiya's secrets anymore than you do Kakashi. But all of the great nations are severely weakened at the moment, if the alliance fails, then a power vacuum could open, and another war could start." Tezuna answered.

Kakashi sighed closing his eyes in deep thought. "Fine, do you know where Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama's possessions are?" he asked.

"We do, but there is a problem." Hanami sighed.

"That does sound like those two, they very rarely did anything easily. So what is it? A seal that only opens with Naruto's blood? A time release seal? I can have a look, but I am not in their league when it comes to sealing." Kakashi admitted.

"No it is nothing like that, although either would not surprise me. It seems that due to Jiraiya's life as a hermit and holding no property in his own name, Jiraiya left his possessions along with Minato and Kushina's in a secure location outside of the village for safekeeping." Hanami continued with a frown.

Kakashi had a fairly good idea where this was heading now. "Myoboku."

"Exactly." the elders said at the same time.

"Then send a message to the toads to receive the items." Kakashi answered, he knew Tsunade had contacted the toads on several occasions.

"We can't, all the toads from around Konoha seem to have disappeared, it's almost like they are in hiding." Homura said.

"Then we will have to look harder. I will put this as a priority mission tomorrow." the new Hokage declared. "Is there anything else that you need me for?" he asked.

"No I believe that will be all for now Kakashi." the elderly kunoichi spoke.

Kakashi nodded with an eye smile before exiting the room, resigned the the possibility of perhaps having to distribute Naruto's inheritance amongst the clans of Konoha. 'But why have the toads disappeared, they have been guardians of Konoha for close to fifty years. I guess without Jiraiya and Naruto the Toad clans affiliation with Konoha doesn't really exist anymore.' "Still you would expect them to at least stick around, Fukusaku-sama and Shima-sama would at least want to go to Naruto's funeral." he added as an afterthought.

The truth was that the toads had seen this coming, they left the forests around Konoha to avoid the topic of Naruto. They couldn't hand over their summoners belongings and inheritance, for the simple fact that Naruto was not dead. Naruto did not want anyone to know this fact, something that the elder toads agreed to keep hidden.

XxX-(Three Day's Later)-XxX

Naruto looked out the back of the caravan to see small stones falling from the sky like rain as they fell from the high peaks on the mountain range they were traveling along. "We must be pretty far north now huh?" Naruto asked looking up at the snow capped peaks that surrounded the group on each side.

"Yeah we're nearing the most northern civilian settlement in the country, after that the mountains get more and more treacherous and only a few ninja outposts, that haven't been manned since the second shinobi world war remain." Asahi answered.

"Really, how long until we arrive?" Naruto pressed, he had not expected to have been taken this far when he payed for the ride.

"A few days yet. You will know it when you see it. It's the village of Iwame, also known as 'The Raining Stone'." Asahi said with a smile.

"Well looks that that will be where we part ways then old man." Naruto informed the caravan owner.

Kiyomi for her part had been barely listening.

Karin wasn't paying all that much attention either as she had been observing Naruto's chakra searching for the darkness she had felt in the Land of Iron only to once more come up empty. Naruto's last comment broke her out of her daze however. "Hey, you never told me where we are going anyway?" she asked firmly, she still blamed the blond for the situation they were in three nights ago.

'Since when did she become so familiar with me?' Naruto frowned.

The blond was about to answer when Kurama cut in. 'Since the night she interrupted our training, seems like her timid quiet attitude was just an act. Probably didn't want to be abandoned, still I don't trust this girl. Though the Uchiha has kept to herself throughout the trip thus far, which given her past as a antisocial person makes sense for the most part' the fox informed his container.

"Well are you going to tell me where you plan on taking us or not?" Karin pressed.

"No, I'm not. You can always go your own way if you don't like it." Naruto replied far more aggressive than he had planned. "I mean, not right now. I'll tell you later, the less people that know where I'm going the better." he explained feeling bad about yelling at the Kunoichi.

"Ugh, fine." Karin said with a huff, folding her arms and turning to watch the country pass behind the wagon.

'Gah I can't figure her out, Kiyomi I can understand cuz she literally fell to her knees in tears as she begged to come with me. But this girl was silent throughout most the conversation and acts like I'm forcing her to follow me.' Naruto sighed.

'Why care? it's likely that she will die crossing the mountains anyway. The air will be thin and temperatures well below freezing. The Uchiha might survive due to her ability to use Fire Chakra which can be circulated through the body, but she has always been a survivor since she was young.' Kurama retorted.

'Well I don't want either of them to die. I know Kiyomi basically guilt tripped me into letting her tag along. Then there is the fact that both of them used to work for the Akatsuki. But that doesn't mean I want either of them dead.' Naruto replied.

'Well forgive me for not being ready to forgive someone who wanted you dead and to seal me away inside that statue. I don't trust the Uchiha due to her nearly killing you a uncountable number of times, and this girl might just want to slit your throat in your sleep. I'm not going to let my guard down just because they're acting all touchy and stuff with you, and neither should you.' the large fox scoffed.

'Either way for the time being I'm stuck with this chick, I did promise Kiyomi that her friend could come with me didn't I.' Naruto sighed still wondering if he made the right choice. 'Still I'm glad she has livened up a bit, but she's harder to figure out than Pakura-chan and Yugao-chan combined.' he added as an afterthought.

Kurama began laughing. 'It's typical with you isn't it. When you're faced with a dilemma that is not how to defeat some overly powerful adversary, you are about as useless as those bright orange and blue jumpsuits you used to wear, were for stealth. At least that old perverted toad made you tone them down a bit.'

'How can you talk, you're a five hundred foot tall fox, your idea of stealth would be to destroy everything leaving no evidence you were there at all, which would be fine if you didn't leave a massive path of destruction in your path everywhere you went.' Naruto laughed back.

'Big words, but I went unnoticed for hundreds of years before Madara summoned me to fight Hashirama Senju.' Kyuubi retorted.

Naruto couldn't help but admit that the giant fox had a point, how did the Bijuu remain undetected for so long, before the fight with Madara there was very little interactions with the Bijuu. Naruto was about to ask how that could have happened when he noticed Karin staring at him inquisitively. "Yes?" he asked puzzled as to why she was looking at him.

Karin blushed in embarrassment realizing you had been caught. "I uh, I'm trying to figure your chakra out." she admitted.

"Huh?" Naruto replied more confused than ever.

"Well I can see peoples chakra, but I also can get a feel of their personality and current mood. Well when ever you become unnaturally quiet your chakra seems to become overly active, sometimes annoyed, others angry or happy almost like you are laughing." Karin attempted to explain.

"Oh so you can feel the tiny fluctuations of my chakra and determine what I'm thinking?" Naruto guessed.

"No nothing that advanced, more along the lines of what you are feeling, certain emotions come across stronger than others while some don't come across at all, or I have just never seen them." Karin explained.

"Sounds useful, I can use a similar technique, although it only picks up on negative emotions, and I can't use it all the time." Naruto admitted.

'Interesting.' Kurama thought calmly to himself.

"Yes negative emotions come across very strongly." Karin agreed.

"So what does it look like?" Naruto asked.

"Um what?" Karin queried.

"Chakra, I can visualize it to use, like when I form a jutsu. I can sense it, but you said that you can see it and the emotions. I want to know what it looks like when it's not compressed into a jutsu, the way you see chakra." Naruto asked with a friendly smile. 'I really don't know why I never asked Neji or Hinata-chan this.'

Karin couldn't help but return the blonds smile but paused on how to answer the question. "It's sort of hard to explain. Everyone has different chakra that feels differently, for each individual."

"Oh. Then uh, what about mine?" Naruto pressed.

"Well, lets see. It's bright, almost blindingly so and very light and happy." Karin answered with a small smile. 'It's also the most overwhelmingly powerful chakra I have ever felt and not to mention the fact that his darkness has vanished makes him something I have never seen or felt before.' she added in thought too embarrassed to admit something like that to Naruto, who she still barely knew. It was not embarrassed in a romantic way, her interest was born out of curiosity. She had worked with Orochimaru long enough to gain a interest in the unusual.

"I see, and um... What about Madara, what was his chakra like?" the blond pressed.

"That's a little more complicated. When I first met Madara his chakra was very self assured and powerful but it slowly became darker, the last time I saw it his chakra was so dark and suffocating that it scared me. His negative emotions darkened his personality and chakra to the point he was unrecognizable." the kunoichi admitted with a shiver.

Naruto nodded his head slightly. "Well, that explains the constant attitude shifts when we were fighting our last fight a couple weeks ago before he died. More so now than when I was always getting my ass handed to me before I obtained my full power." he said calmly.

"Well I don't know if it helps but Madara chakra seemed more like it used to when they brought the bodies back to the headquarters." Karin replied.

"Is that how you knew I was alive?" the Kyuubi jinchuuriki pressed.

"Yes, that clone may have been able to match your chakra signature but not how the chakra looked or felt to me." the red head admitted.

'Very Interesting indeed. This girls abilities surpass those of my first container Mito. If that red hair wasn't enough to give it away, then this certainly did. That girl is an Uzumaki, there is no doubting it now. I don't really want to keep things from Naruto but I do not want him becoming attached to this girl, Uzumaki or not she is dangerous. From my best estimate she is only a genin level shinobi, not good enough to survive on her own, and a risk if Naruto has to protect her. To bad I won't be able to convince him to drop the Uchiha girl off a cliff with a weighted rock attached to her ankle as she falls into a lake with no chakra' Kurama thought with a huff to himself.

Meanwhile at the front of the caravan a certain former Anbu from Iwa was listening to the two teens with rapt attention. 'This kid, I know who he is now, how did I not see it earlier, blond spiky hair and blue eyes. The Yondaime Hokage's legacy... trained by Jiraiya or the Sannin, and Copycat Kakashi, no way you are Genin level, young Namikaze.' Asahi thought silently his mind racing at the realization of just who it was in the back of his caravan.

XxX-(Meanwhile)-XxX

"Not one, we couldn't find a single toad, summons or otherwise..." Neji sighed as he entered into Kakashi's temporary office while the Hokage tower was still being built. The Hyuuga was flanked by Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. Two days of searching had not turned up a single toad or even a frog for that matter.

Kakashi sighed and looked up onto the Hokage monument, more specifically onto the face of his sensei. "I had feared as much, without any summoners they probably cannot stay outside of Myoboku for an extended period of time. Jiraiya-sama had the toads watch over Naruto as a child to make sure he wasn't seriously harmed, and after that Naruto was a summoner so they watched over the village as guardians. They have no reason to stay here now."

"It makes sense, but you would have expected one of the summons to be in contact." Neji replied.

"It would be logical for the toads to be weary, the last time a successor was chosen for Tsunade-sama things did not turn out well. There is also the friendship between the Slug summons and the Toads, it could be that they do not wish to deal with anyone but Tsunade-sama." Shino added.

"I don't think we should call off the search. Kakashi-sama please allow me to go continue, I'll increase the search radius." Hinata said with a determined glint in her eye.

Kiba and Neji gave the kunoichi a worried glance, Shino was equally concerned but remained his stoic self. "Hinata you haven't stopped since we got back to Konoha, you need a rest." Kiba said as calmly as the Inuzuka could manage.

"I appreciate the concern Kiba-kun but Naruto-kun wouldn't give up just because things were not going his way, he would keep going regardless and that's what I plan on doing." Hinata said defiantly.

Kakashi closed his eyes in thought. Naruto's death had affected those close to him in different ways, some like Sakura grieved. Others seemed to have their own ideas about what happened to the blond jinchuuriki, Shikamaru was in this category, the lazy Nara firmly believed that Naruto was alive but it would be too troublesome to go after him. Then there was the final group, the majority of those that Naruto had been closest to fell into this group, that of the highly motivated. They all wanted to prove that they could live up to Naruto's name and help fill the void left by the energetic knucklehead turned first class shinobi. None fitted this description better than Hinata, everyone knew of the way she felt about Naruto and had all expected her to be stricken with grief, instead she seemed to take to Naruto's Nindo stronger than ever before.

"I'm sorry Hinata but that will not do any good. If the toads do not want to be found, then they will remain hidden. The only chance we have of contacting them is if Tsunade-sama wakes up from her coma. Besides there are more pressing matters that I have need of a tracking team for." Kakashi informed the group.

"Anything, we won't let you down." Hinata said before any of the others had a chance to answer.

"It's good to see you're eager but I can assure you this is no easy mission. Several Anbu Hunter squads have been working on it for close to a month but haven't found anything." Kakashi informed the group.

"A missing nin?" Neji guessed.

"Yes, set of high priorities." Kakashi said taking out a folder and placing it open on the desk. "As you know, Kiyomi killed her brother before the war and then went on to kill Danzo and the remaining Elders before she was captured. Well you also know she escaped during the war and tried to help Naruto take down Madara, only to nearly die at his hands. Well shockingly enough Naruto's own lover at the time, Pakura of the Scorch Release, was at the same fight and was critically injured. Rather than save his love, Naruto decided to help Kiyomi out as she was the only one who could provide proper backup against Madara and thus Pakura perished, he never really got over it. And when she recovered, she once again escaped and has avoided capture ever since. Her accomplice was captured at the bridge Danzo died at, but she escaped in the war to help Kiyomi and has avoided capture just as well."

"This is the redhead Kunoichi you captured working with Madara." Neji registered as he looked at the photograph. He didn't need one for Kiyomi, he had grown up with her after all.

"Exactly, Both of them are also a member of the Akatsuki and as such are considered an S-and SS ranked criminals with a kill on sight order for the both of them." Kakashi informed the group.

"S and SS ranked? Aren't they supposed to be the best of the best? Kiyomi we can understand as she was as powerful as Naruto, but this girl, she was just one of Madara's henchmen." Kiba scoffed.

"Kiba skill dose not determine the class, an S ranked criminal is a shinobi or a civilian wanted for crimes against a shinobi village, country or equivalent. Just because this redhead girl was not one of the main instigators of the Akatsuki does not make her crimes any less, this was compounded by her escape from Konoha and her affiliation with Kiyomi Uchiha who is wanted for the murder of not only a Hokage candidate, but two elders and the near assassination of Tsunade-sama herself." Shino said ever logically.

"Shino is right Kiba, I have already sent the information to the other countries, they will be the most wanted people in the elemental nations by now." Kakashi said agreeing with Shino. Although personally he did not see the harm in letting the two go.

"When do we leave?" Neji asked in a businesslike manner.

"Tomorrow morning, take the rest of the day off, and I mean it, no training, no helping with the reconstruction work. That's an order, do I make myself clear?" Kakashi said making sure to stare at Hinata directly.

"Yes Hokage-sama." the four Konoha shinobi declared in Unison before being dismissed.

'This job is such a pain in the ass, I can see why Tsunade-sama drank so much.' Kakashi thought while discreetly withdrawing his little orange book. 'Now I can finally focus on the main issue that is going to plague my time as Hokage... The fact that there will be no more new Icha Icha without Jiraiya-sama!' he cried silently as he neared the end of one of his favorite chapters.

XxX

Naruto leaned out in the back of Asahi's caravan, resting his head against a pillow that he propped up against the side of the wagons high walls. The warm midday sun shone down on them as they traveled along the road. It may not have been a fastest way to travel but Naruto had to admit it was nicer than walking.

"Hey we're almost at our destination. You can see the village from here." Asahi's voice rung out from the front of the wagon.

Naruto grunted in acknowledgment but didn't want to get up after just getting comfortable. Karin on the other hand seemed far more interested. "Really?" she asked asked exiting the back of the caravan to see for herself.

Kiyomi seemed mildly intrigued and poked a head out to see what the fuss was about.

"It's out there in that valley. It's a large village but it has a very small population due to it's isolation." Asahi said pointing towards a small speck on the horizon that could only be distinguished from the mountains by the difference in color. While the mountains were white with the color of the snow that blanketed the mountain, the village appeared jet black in stark contrast to its surroundings.

"Why did they make it stand out so much? wouldn't it be safer to match the surroundings?" Kiyomi asked.

"Well for one it's a civilian holiday destination, not a shinobi hidden village." Asahi laughed.

Kiyomi blushed in mild embarrassment. "I guess that would make sense. It's been so long since I have been anywhere so flashy I really need a break from being a ninja." the truth was the Uchiha had never been to any relaxation destinations ever. The first time she left Konoha was to go to a village under subjugation, and from there she was taken in by Orochimaru as his apprentice. From then on it was rare for the kunoichi to see the sun more than once a week until she left with the other members of Taka. She had all but forgotten that there was life outside of her work for Orochimaru, "Hey Naruto come check this out." she said looking back into the canvass topped wagon.

'So he was smart enough to give me a fake first name as well. Although Ruto Kaze is not that far from Naruto Namikaze, he just dropped the first part of each name.' Asahi thought calmly pretending to be completely focused on the road.

Naruto sighed and stuck slowly rose to his feet before moving to the front of the caravan. Naruto's interest was not in the village more the giant peaks that rose up behind it, almost vertical climbs it would take immense chakra supplies to even hope to scale them. 'Wow I've never seen anything like this.' he thought in awe.

'Well don't get too overwhelmed Naruto, we still need to navigate our way through them.' Kurama interjected.

'Yeah but it looks like we're going to need more equipment.' Naruto replied. He then realized that both kunoichi were looking at him expectantly waiting for his reaction. "Man this is really something, that must be the highest village in the Elemental Nations." he said finally.

"Yes it is. In the safer months of the year, with less rockfalls the village is a tourist destination, famous for skiing and mountain climbing. Although the rest of the year it is all but inaccessible only the most skilled shinobi can approach the village." Asahi answered.

"So it looks like we picked a good time of year then." Naruto said happily.

"Yeah I wouldn't be game to come up here otherwise, but with that said I always make a killing when I do get up this far." Asahi replied with a smile, he found Naruto's attitude rather contagious.

"So how long before we get there?" Karin asked eagerly.

"I would say a little over an hour, two if the mountains decided to give us a hard time." the caravan owner replied.

"I guess I owe you some money for taking us this far then." Naruto said taking out his trusty toad wallet. He withdrew the remaining funds he promised the man and gave the girls a look that told the both instantly that they had to repay him for their half of the fee in due time, though he still had more than enough cash for long trips.

"How do you fit so much money in that small wallet?" Karin asked shaking off the look the blond was giving her, as curiosity had taken over.

"Simple, Jiraiya placed a seal in here that only he can open." Kiyomi stated. Before mumbling something barely audible about a no good drunk pervert stealing all hers and Naruto's money.

"Clever an anti thieving seal. I wouldn't mind a few of those myself." Asahi said clearly impressed.

Karin on the other hand couldn't help but giggle at Naruto having his money stolen by his sensei. "Wasn't Jiraiya a S ranked ninja, one mission and he could have collected the yearly salary of a Genin like you." she chuckled.

Naruto sweat dropped, placing his hand over his face in embarrassment. "Don't remind me, then there was the fact he was making a fortune off his books."

"He was a writer as well? What did he write?" Karin asked.

Naruto sighed knowing how most women reacted to his masters choice in literature. "He writes smut... well he called them novels, and I really liked his fist book. But from what I have seen of the others, his Icha-Icha books are really nothing but porn." He admitted. Suddenly Naruto noticed a pink hew spread across both Karin's and Asahi's faces. "You both read them don't you?" The blond added with a deadpan expression.

"Of course not, I would never read that filth." Karin lied so unsuccessfully that not even Naruto, perhaps the most dense ninja Konoha had produced in a generation believed her.

"Well they're actually not bad, I carry a few around with me. They are sold under a different pen name in each nation so I guessed that a shinobi was writing them but I never knew it was one of the Legendary Three of Konoha." Asahi said honestly withdrawing the often coveted small orange book from an inside pocket in his jacket.

"So where do you hide yours Kiyomi? Or did you already read them all trying and find a way for me to notice you?" Naruto laughed.

"I told you back when we were both genin that I don't read them!" the Uchiha yelled angrily, she attempted to throw a punch at the blond, not a hard one mind you, more like an annoyed tap. Still Naruto leaned back to avoid the hit laughing all the while.

"You're going to need to be faster than that." The blond smirked before jumping back into the caravan.

Kiyomi was now trembling with embarrassed anger. "Get back here! Promise or not you're a dead man!" she roared before following after Naruto.

"Hey if you break anything back there you are paying for it!" Asahi called out with a smile caught up in the humor of the teens interactions. Laughter could be heard from Naruto as he avoided strike after strike from the angry kunoichi. "How can you have not hit him yet? It's not exactly a large area back there." the caravan owner laughed.

"She's upset, and that's what's throwing off her game." Naruto called out in response with a chuckle. Unfortunately for the blond, that was a large enough distraction for the embarrassed Uchiha's fist to make contact with the side of his face. "Ouch!"

Asahi laughed to himself while Naruto whined and Kiyomi began yelling at him for embarrassing her. 'What an odd couple. The Namikaze boy is like a puzzle. He supposedly only holds the rank of a genin, but those moves, despite the fact that Kiyomi was only playing around were more along the lines of a Jounin.'

XxX-(Meanwhile)-XxX

A team of shinobi moved through the Land of Fire jumping from tree to tree. "How far out is the team we are set to join up with?" Kiba asked sounding quite bored. His large ninja hound Akamaru barked voicing his agreement with the Inuzuka.

"We need to arrive at the northern border of the Land of Fire, the team as you call them is actually just Sai." Neji informed the group.

"They only have one person looking for them? Kiyomi is known to usually travel alone, but this girl escaped from a Konoha prison and is a member of the Akatsuki. Why has only Sai been looking for the two most wanted people this side of the world?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"It is logical, after the war the strength of the major hidden villages has never been lower, most shinobi have been recalled to prevent smaller countries attempting to seize power." Shino explained, stoic and calm as ever.

"Still a team of one, and it's only Sai, I thought we would have some awesome Anbu like that Yamato guy that helped Naruto train. At the very least I would have hoped for one of our sensei's." Kiba whined.

"Complaining will do us no good Kiba-kun. Besides Sai-san has been in Anbu all his life, I'm sure he is capable of the task Kakashi-sama has given him." Hinata said.

"Besides Kiba, it's like Shino said. The top level shinobi are still required in Konoha until the alliance is formed, or our shinobi numbers have increased." Neji replied.

"Gah fine, but why are we heading north? How do you know they went this way?" Kiba grunted.

"That is simple behavioral analysis. Our target is a dangerous individual, and her accomplice is a unknown. We know that Kiyomi was in the north as well as the Sound Village bases. Either would be their destinations upon escaping from Konoha." Shino informed the Inuzuka.

"It is not that simple, the truth is there has been no sign of a trail of any kind, Kiyomi's a master of evasion and her allies skill set was only that of a genin but her ability as a sensor and to suppress her chakra are off the scale, that is how they were able to avoid all the shinobi on their way out of the village. This Karin chick could tell that only a skeleton staff were left in the village and used that as an opportunity to escape. All they found in her cell was a map depicting battle locations and a picture of Madara pinned to the wall with several senbon thrown into it." Neji added.

The name of the notorious Uchiha made Akamaru growl menacingly. "Yeah I feel the same way buddy, I wish he was still alive so I could have the pleasure of killing him myself." Kiba said talking to the large white hound.

"If Naruto was unable to cleanly defeat Madara then there is little doubt that all of us would fail, although I can't help but admit that I feel somewhat similar." Shino admitted.

"Um Neji-kun if this kunoichi is so good at hiding then what chance do we have of finding her?" Hinata asked.

'Probably none, Kakashi-sama just gave us this mission to keep Hinata from pointlessly hurting herself training or searching for Naruto's toads.' "She won't be able to hide from our Byakugan and there were no Inuzuka or Aburame searching for her before. If we can find a trail then we have the best chance of finding her." Neji spoke evenly. It was not a lie more of a deflection from the real question.

XxX-(Land of Earth)-XxX

Asahi's caravan pulled up at the front of a massive wall, twice the size of the one that once surrounded Konoha before the Akatsuki attacked and three times as thick. "Wow whats with the massive walls?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Despite being located in a rather safe valley this village is still often bombarded by several deadly stone rain storms in the most dangerous parts of the year. With most of the village being built underground the walls prevent the village from caving in on itself and keep the paths open." Asahi answered.

"Wow if it's so dangerous why would anyone live here?" Karin asked in bewilderment.

"The simplest answer would be money. Half the year this place is the hottest tourist destination in the Land of Earth. It's basically a gold mine, half a year working here can make anyone a fortune, you'll see when we get in there, the place is filled with some of the richest people I have ever met." Asahi answered in a mater of fact tone.

"So there are lot's of things to do here then?" Kiyomi asked silently hoping Naruto wasn't hoping to move on quickly. She for the first time in her life wanted to relax and take enjoy life. It was partly Naruto's doing, and though she wouldn't admit it aloud, her own desire to see what this place could offer in terms of enjoyment. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing.

For Naruto's part he wanted to move on quickly although perhaps not too quickly that it aroused further suspicion from the former Anbu shinobi. 'Maybe it would be wise to stay in the village at least until Asahi leaves?' Naruto questioned.

'I would actually agree, this man has already discovered far too much, it would be unwise to move on while he is in the area. The last thing you need now is for him to discover where we are going. When it is quite possible that he has already discovered who your father was.' Kurama agreed in the back of Naruto's mind.

'How would he know that?' Naruto asked in response to his companion.

'It's simple isn't it? Trained by the Yondaime's student and sensei, yellow spiky hair, and blue eyes. It doesn't take a genius to put those together, and for a former Anbu from Iwa it would have been as easy as defeating you when you first graduated.' Kurama replied with a small chuckle at the end throwing a thinly veiled insult at the teen.

'Oh that's harsh Kurama, it's not like you helped things for me when I was young you know.' Naruto replied.

'I helped plenty, do you think you would have been able to do half the things you have done if it wasn't for the adversities you went through because of me. I made you mentally strong from a young age, although I have to add it at the time that was neither my choice or intent.' Kurama retorted in a mater of fact tone.

'I guess you're right, I would have never had the drive to be Hokage and be respected if I wasn't shunned, I never would have learned the Shadow Clone and passed my graduation exam if it hadn't been for Mizuki's distrust and hatred. I would have died on that bridge on my first mission if it hadn't been for you. I never thought of any of those things as reasons to be thankful but I guess in hindsight they are.' Naruto replied with a small smile.

'You become stronger by overcoming difficulties, and I was a rather large one so it's of little surprise that you became strong in your own right. I would still win in a proper fight though.' the fox declared a small smirk gracing his face at the end not wanting the blonds head to become swollen.

The caravan passed between a set of large gates and into the village. Each building was made of the same thick stones of the village walls and each was larger than the the Hokage tower had ever been. Despite this most of the main roads were covered with ceilings to prevent significant rockfalls blocking traffic and after the small area around the village walls the town seemed to extend into a large cave that lit up with bright lights of a small city that only had the entrance of the cave to supply natural light.

"This is the village of Iwame, if you are looking for a good time in the Land of Earth this is where people come. Skiing, Mountain climbing, basically any type of adventure holiday the rich civilians of the Elemental nations are looking for, this is the place to be." Asahi said with a small smile.

"You're really fond of this place aren't you?" Karin observed.

"You could say that. I was born here after all." the caravan owner answered.

"Really? But if you could make so much money here why did you leave?" Karin asked.

"I wanted to be a shinobi, ever since I was a little boy. Iwa would send teams out here for survival exercises. When it became apparent that I had a larger than normal chakra supply for a civilian family I was accepted into the Iwa academy. My parents were rather wealthy at that point so they came with me and I have only been back a few times since then." Asahi spoke fondly, he never regretted his decision to become an Iwa shinobi even if in the end things did not turn out as he had hoped.

"So how long do you plan on staying in the village old man?" Naruto asked.

"That really depends Gaki, I'll sell my stocks to local shops and then resupply on a few things. I would say a few days at most, besides there is" Asahi paused for a moment contemplating how to continue. "Something I want to check up on while I am here." he finished, 'I'll find out who you really are one way or another. Nothing about this kid makes sense. He said he left Konoha to bring peace yet at the same time said he is only a genin. Maybe if Iwa found out about a living relative of 'that man' it could lead to war? But that seems a rather simplistic view of things.' he added as an afterthought.

"Well just drop us off at a hotel, we need a place to stay for a few days until we can figure out our, uh, other arrangements." Kiyomi said not reading anything into what Asahi had said.

"There is a place that is not bad near the center of the village. You will find this town rather expensive so I hope you have money." Asahi said.

Naruto glared at the Uchiha and grimaced slightly... his poor Gama-chan had taken a pounding from paying for their trip here and he still needed to purchase enough supplies to last. He had no idea if he would ever see civilization again once he left Iwame. Then he needed to buy a tent large enough for the three of them as well as clothes warm enough to survive the freezing cold of the mountains.

Karin for her part also paled somewhat, she had the money to repay Naruto for the trip and maybe even enough for a week or so in a hotel but she had no idea how long the blond had planned to stay here and if she didn't know that then she wouldn't know what type of budget she needed. 'I wanted to go check out some of the attractions of the village, get away from Naruto and have some alone time.' she thought grumpily as the caravan continued to move through the streets into the large cave that held the vast majority of the village.

Kiyomi sighed to herself. She had more than enough money to do what she had to. She had taken all her clans money after all so there was no way she was flat out broke, but that didn't mean she didn't want to do other things as well.

The group traveled for a few more minutes the streets were all lit with bright lamps held high in the air that almost simulated daylight. Often the stores didn't need to have there shops lit up the streets were so well lit. Finally they came to a stop in front of a rather large and seemingly ancient building. The sign was faded and the bright sky blue paint was peeling off the stone walls. "It may not look like much but in this town you won't get better value for money." Asahi declared upon seeing the apprehensive looks on the faces of the three young ninja.

Naruto shrugged with his trademarked foxy grin and hopped down from the wagon. "I guess I can't really complain, this place is fine for me, are you coming guys or are you going to find someplace else?"

Karin didn't like the look of the place at all particularly when she compared it to some of the other building. All around them were hotels and bath houses that looked like mansions tall white sparkling buildings that seemed to be so inviting, 'No way I'm staying in there, who does he think I am, some penniless peasant?' she asked herself, unfortunately for the red haired Uzumaki the words she spoke were. "Yeah I'll come, it will be cheaper if we get a apartment with three rooms anyway."

"No, two. Naruto can get the couch." Kiyomi smirked.

"And you know as well as I do, I'll just get a single apartment for my stay." Naruto responded.

"Let's just get a single apartment with two rooms. Me and Kiyomi can take one and you get the other." Karin offered.

Naruto paused for a moment he never said anything about sharing a room but shook it off as she made sense. "Good idea. Well I guess this is good bye for now old man. I hope you make a killing on your remaining stock." he said waving to Asahi while the girls hopped down from the caravan.

"Yeah see ya around Gaki, good luck with your new life, you picked a good place to lie low that's for sure." Asahi replied returning Naruto's wave before his caravan began to move once again.

Once the wagon moved around the corner Naruto let out a sigh and turned back to the run down building that Asahi had recommended as a hotel. "Well shall we go get settled in?" Naruto asked.

Karin didn't say anything but nodded in agreement before following after the others of the group, 'This is a perfect village to lay low half the year it's inaccessible and the only shinobi that come out here are from Iwa during a small period of survival exercises, maybe I could stay here, I wouldn't need to follow Naruto or Kiyomi around for protection.' she thought before she was hit by a horrible realization. All she really knew how to do was be a shinobi or conduct rather questionable experiments on people, not exactly the right skill set for a civilian. 'But Asahi managed to make a life for himself, then again he was never high up on the list of most wanted criminals in the Elemental Nations.' she sighed at this thought and contented herself with feeling Naruto's chakra as the trio approached the entrance to the hotel.

If the outside of the hotel left much to be desired the interior blew their expectations out of the water and then continuously beat them with a very large stick. They stepped into a marble entrance hall lined with tall pillars that rose several floors up, several rather exotic plants scattered the walls and a raging fire was lit in a mantle at the far end of the room making the pair feel like they were in a tropical paradise. "Amazing." Naruto said, his eyes were wide in awe.

"If the interior looks like this then why does the outside look like it has lived through all of the shinobi wars?" Karin asked also in shock.

"Ya'know, I may just take back all those terrible thoughts I had about this place. It's not half bad now that you get inside and see what it really looks like. But, I have to agree with Karin, this place is beautiful inside." Kiyomi said.

The group was so stunned that they didn't notice the rather tall man with a thin black beard and matching hair who had come to greet them. Karin's question caused the man to chuckle quietly but still loud enough for two trained shinobi to hear. "The answer is quite simple miss, it is to chase away those that only see what is on the outside. Because of that we can offer quality rooms to the type of people who truly deserve them that cannot always afford it. We are looked down upon by our exterior appearance by the other hotels in the area so they never bother attempting to compete with our prices." the man said.

"But doesn't it chase away customers?" Kiyomi asked slightly confused by the mans explanation.

"Only of those people who's business I do not wish to have anyway. In any event how may I help you?" the man replied in a friendly tone.

"Uh we need a unit for a few nights, preferably one with two bedrooms if possible." Naruto said.

The man once more smiled and gave a curt bow before replying. "I believe we can facilitate your request. If you will come this way please."

"This guy is kinda weird." Naruto whispered into Karin's ear earning a small giggle in return.

"True but he does seem friendly and his chakra while only that of a civilians feels honest and trusting." Karin replied quietly.

"Do you check everyone's chakra like that?" Naruto asked.

The truth was that she very rarely did that, and the only reason she had was because she was still engrossing herself in Naruto's chakra. "I do when I find someone interesting." she lied convincingly. She had given up on discovering the blonds missing darkness a day ago but it did not take her long to go begin sensing his chakra again. She had convinced herself it was just to pass the time, but the truth was she enjoyed the warmth of his chakra it was like snuggling up with a warm blanket in front of a fire while snow fell outside.

The three shinobi were taken up several floors and then led them to a small apartment that was just as luxurious as the entrance had been. Naruto instantly realized that it was larger than his apartment had ever been. "Wow this is amazing. And there are two separate bedrooms?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed, they are at opposite sides of the room, you do have to share a bathroom I am afraid." the man said in a friendly tone.

"That's fine, thanks for the room." Kiyomi said with a polite bow.

The hotel worker nodded and exited the room with a curt bow, closing the door behind he had left Karin turned to look around, it was the nicest place she had ever been but she couldn't help but feel worried. "Are you sure we can afford this? I wasn't exactly paid well by Orochimaru." she admitted with some hesitation.

"It's fine, we'll only be here for a few days, after that it could be a very long time before we are able to relax like this again." Naruto replied.

This just made the girls more confused. "I still don't know where we are going from here, I need to know so I can prepare. I'll need some new clothes as well and I don't want to buy anything that will be inappropriate." Kiyomi said hoping to finally get some answers.

Naruto sighed and took a seat in a large comfy looking chair. "You want to know so bad, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and change your mind before I set off. I'm heading out of the Elemental Nations and over the insurmountable peaks." he admitted.

"What! That's... That's suicide nobody has ever survived that trip. We will be killed." Karin gasped the idea was terrifying.

"Well nobody has ever come back, that doesn't mean that they died. But I can't live in this world without being recognized. Like you said my chakra is rather distinguishable and quite frankly so am I. If I use a Transformation Jutsu someone is bound to recognize my chakra signature, and if I keep my chakra repressed they will be able to see who I am. This is my only option. But this place sounds perfect for you Karin-san, I bet you could start a life here, then you wouldn't need to follow me around anymore. I'll pay for the hotel while I'm still here, you can save your money and look for some work." Naruto suggested.

"No." Karin replied angrily.

"Huh whats wrong?" Naruto asked confused. Naruto thought this would be the best thing for Karin and for himself in the long run.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, If you're going then so am I." Karin said firmly. 'What the hell am I saying, this is suicide, I don't want to die because of some idiot that seems to have a death wish.' despite the thought she had reacted instinctively when she thought Naruto was trying to ditch her.

"She's pretty stubborn, but you already know you aren't getting rid of me that easily either Naruto. Though I will admit, the idea of crossing this spot does leave me a bit worried, I am not that afraid to back out." the Uchiha stated.

"It will be dangerous, I said so before." Naruto warned, although he did like the thought of having a companion or two other than Kurama.

Again the girls seemed to be torn by what to do, Karin felt that common sense told her to let Naruto go on his own and she would create a life for herself here, safely hidden away from the ninja world's prying eyes. But, a fresh start in a place where nobody would recognize her, or even hunt her down to kill her appealed to her better judgement and she decided that she would stick it out, "Yea, no way. I'm going and that's that. Sorry, you'll just have to deal with me until we get to the other side."

Kiyomi felt that her desire to survive seemed to rebel against the thought of staying here alone and being abandoned again like she had been by everyone she knew. "I don't care I'm coming. You promised I could! You said you always keep your promises even if they were impossible, you're not going to go back on that now are you?" she finally said making up her mind even if she didn't understand why.

Naruto smiled in a reserved defeat, he hadn't counted on Kiyomi bringing up his promise. "Alright, but there are some things we are going to need before we leave. We can start collecting them tomorrow, why don't you go enjoy what could be your last taste of civilization for the rest of the day." he said kindly.

"Right, uh thank you." Karin said and after placing what little possessions she had in her room she exited pausing for a moment at the door of the apartment. "Uh what are you going to do? You can come check out the village with me if you want." she said hesitantly.

"No that's fine I have some things to think about, like what we are going to need for our trip." Naruto decided.

"Okay... but you guys will be here when I get back right?" she asked suddenly feeling rather frightened that she would lose the blond.

"It's a promise." Naruto replied with a reassuring smile.

"Not like I have anywhere to be Karin. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll join you." Kiyomi shrugged as she followed the redhead.

Karin nodded returning a smile of her own before closing the door on her way out of the room as she followed Kiyomi.

'So what do you think Kurama? The both of them seem fairly determined to come with us.' Naruto thought once the kunoichi was gone.

'Seems to me like the redhead has some abandonment issues. I sensed several conflicting emotions in her when you asked if she wanted to stay behind. If that is the case, then she might actually prove to be useful. Still I'm not convinced she can hold her own. It is also highly likely that she will need your help to survive the trip, thin air and freezing temperatures will slow her down while thanks to me you will be largely unaffected. The Uchiha will probably do as I mentioned and transform her fire chakra into a sort of internal heater to keep her blood pumping safely through her veins much like I would use my chakra to heat you up to keep you warm. Keep a eye out, you may end up having to save one, maybe even both of them from death.' Kurama replied calmly.

'Will that lower my chances of survival?' Naruto asked.

'No not really, it will make travel slower but as long as the food and water lasts so will you. Once we are safely past this village it will be safe to draw on even my chakra without it being felt. So as long as we keep moving I have no doubts we will be fine.' the large fox answered with some confidence.

'So really the only problem with taking the girls with us is keeping them alive then.' Naruto surmised.

'Essentially yes, as of yet they have not done anything to make me feel they are a total danger to you.' Kurama admitted. 'Doesn't mean I like the idea though.' he added once more making his dislike for the two kunoichi known.

"Yeah but a promise is a promise." Naruto said out loud with a sigh. The blond slumped back in the chair before he started making a mental note of what they would need for their journey.

"You know, the girls can't be the only ones that go get what we need for the trip, right?"

"Yea yea, I know. I'm just gonna wait til they get back to go out and get them.

XxX

Surprisingly, the girls were quick to come back with their own supplies. Kiyomi had spent a large amount of money on filling up Ninja scrolls with food and water while filling several other scrolls with clothes and other equipment to transverse a mountain range. Naruto was quick to leave and gather his own stuff, but he was quickly followed by a strange girl named Leone. He didn't know what her issue was, but she creeped him out like no other. Almost like that one chick that tried to take his chakra with a kiss back when he was sixteen on a mission for Granny Tsunade.

And when he thought about it, even that chick wasn't as blatant about her desires as this girl was. Every time he left a store, she was close behind. Every time he entered a new building, she was right behind him. Of course Kurama couldn't feel anything from her, which set off a series of alarms in the blondes head instantly. He already knew her name was Leone thanks to her attempts to flirt with him and having him buy her stuff earlier, which didn't happen. Now he was done with his day of shopping, and had rushed back to the apartment the three of them had rented and waited for the girls to get back from their own shopping trip for other commodities that only a female could understand.

A knock to the door alerted him that someone had arrived. Opening the door he saw it was Kiyomi, "Hey, you sure came back early." he stated as he leaned against the door frame.

"Yeah, found everything I needed. Karin might be a little longer as she insists on getting thicker clothes to make the trip." the Uchiha said.

"Well, I don't blame her, but shouldn't you be getting thicker clothes if that's the case?" Naruto asked her.

"That it true but I didn't thi—

"Shhhhh." His head perked up at a familiar sound that had followed after him the entire day. Poking just his head out the door he looked both ways before grabbing the Uchiha's wrist gently and pulling her into his room and closing the door quickly. Somehow, someway, he doesn't know how she always finds out where he is, but she does. He thought getting a room at a hotel a few blocks away from the apartments they had originally booked would throw her off, apparently it didn't unless someone from the staff told her where he was at.

When her back hit the wall—trapped between Naruto's muscular arms Kiyomi let out a gasp. The sudden force almost knocked the air from her lungs and she glared up at the blonde while he rubbed her wrist. "What the fuck Naruto."

"Listen," He lowered his voice, "I know this may sound crazy but this crazy ass chick will not leave me alone and she's found me again. It's like she knows how to get past my security every single time but would you please—pretty please and i don't normally beg but would you please help me out here." He begged with desperation, "Please."

"Oh my god—why me—why now?" She groaned, thinking she was done with stupid men but it seems idiocy always finds her at the most shitty of times, "Fine." She whispers, "What should I do?"

Her answer took Naruto by surprise. He didn't think she would actually agree to something like this, most wouldn't or they want something in return like a baby or something along those lines but that was a story for another time, "I know it might sound crazy, and you might even hate me for it, but right now I need you to act like my girlfriend or fiancé, I don't care which one." He answered as she grabbed his hand and snatched the ring off his pinky finger, a ring that depicted a gold fox with nine tails wrapped around the red gem that had a black slit to depict the beasts eye, "Whatever you're going to do, just make it convincing." He pleaded, vowing to buy her anything she desired when they got to where they were going if this worked out.

"Alright." She slipped the ring on as the knock came from behind her, surprised that the ring fit perfectly on her ring finger seeing as this was on his pinky. She couldn't believe she was doing this but the desperation that she saw in his eyes pulled at her heart. He looked like a little lost puppy dog. She pushed him back out of view before pulling one of her straps from her dress down her shoulder and messed up her hair to give it that nice just fucked look. Taking a deep breath she opened the door.

"Can I help you?" her voice drenched in irritation.

"Oh!" the woman looks around her, trying to get a better view of the room behind the woman she didn't know. "U—um is Naruto here?"

"Yeah he is but he is still in bed," Kiyomi grinned as she ran her hand through her hair making sure the hallway light reflected off the ring, "Is there something you need from my fiancé, miss?" she asked the stuttering civilian

From the bathroom wall, Naruto tried not to laugh at the stutter from the other woman. Ever since he had the room to explore the village and see the sights, she had followed him literally around the entire perimeter of the place and has been at every building he went to, somehow appearing nearby just so he would notice her. In Naruto's personal opinion, she was worse than Hinata was. Don't get him wrong, Hinata was a stalker, but nowhere near this chicks level. At least Hinata was honest about being in love with him, he just didn't know what it was with this one. Getting a bright idea, Naruto took his shirt off and messed up his hair, even pulled his pants down his hips a little so his happy trail would be shown with the button undone.

Kiyomi chuckled when the girl's eyes went wide, the green of her pupil taking over from shock, "Fi—fiancé?! Since when?"

"Since the day he proposed to me, which is honestly none of your damn business actually." Kiyomi glared at her and felt Naruto wrap his arms around her from behind, his lips touching her neck playfully. Reaching back she moved her hair over her other shoulder, giving Naruto more room to kiss her neck in front of the other woman.

"We still have two hours before we have to be at the restaurant, come back to bed with daddy." Naruto mumbled into her neck and gave her flesh small open mouth kisses as he slid his hands down her waist and began bunching up her dress teasingly. In a small whisper so only she can hear, he whispered the woman's name and she nod's her head showing she heard him clearly.

Kiyomi doesn't know why but the attention the blonde is giving her is welcomed, she had forgotten what it was like to have goosebumps from one kiss to her neck. Where he was touching her hips felt like lava burning her skin and she couldn't push him away, she let him touch her and gave the woman in front of her a scowl. "As you can see we're pretty busy at the moment." She says, reaching out and touching the door knob, "Goodbye Leone." And with that she closed the door on her.

Once the door is closed, Naruto pulls away from kissing her neck when she gasped and inspected the dark kiss back he left on her throat. Satisfied with his work, he released her dress, stepping back to grab his shirt and redress himself.

"You didn't leave a mark on me did you?" She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Well..." He grinned nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Not a huge one."

"Great." She sighed and fixed her dress back the right way.

"It's small and you can barely see it." He mentions, "Though, I will admit, it looks good on you." he said with a smirk.

"Fuck you Uzumaki." Kiyomi snorts.

"Is that an offer?" Naruto asked.

"Hell no. The last time we had sex you got me pregnant, and we lost the baby." she said as she pushed past him, "And even if it was a of-FER-" she was unable to finish her statement as she cried out as she tripped over the bag that Naruto had set down next to his feet. Naruto moved without thinking as he reached out and wrapped her up in his arms and fell on his back with her landing on top of him. Naruto didn't let go of her. He kept their bodies pressed against each other nor did she remove his hand from where his hands landed on her ass either. They stared at each other in a daze as Naruto looked her in her eyes before he cupped her face and brought their lips together in a lust filled kiss.

"Naruto, stop, think about what you're doing. The last time you let things get this far with her, she nearly killed you. Don't go back to that place with her, you can't trust her." the fox warned, but was subtly ignored as Naruto allowed his hormones to guide him.

Her body melting into his touch, the kiss sending desire throughout her entire body as she gripped the back of his hair and tilted her head to the side to deepen the kiss. The world around them seems to evaporate as she opened her mouth and allowed Naruto's tongue to slide into her mouth. Their make-out lasted for nearly five minutes before Naruto released her, a small strand of saliva breaking when he pulled back. Her face was bright red and her lips were swollen which made him give her another small peck. He could feel Sasuke touch his chest for a brief second before it disappeared entirely as she got off of him to rush out the room, the blond was quick to follow.

Naruto caught up with Sasuke at the doorway of the stairs three doors down the hall, her face still flushed from falling on him and the kissing, "What's wrong?" He asked, his brows knitting together. "Did something happen? Was it something I did?"

"No—no it wasn't you." She answered, putting on a smile but he could tell it was something else by the way she was clutching her hand to her chest.

"Can you at least tell me?" he asked her.

"Naruto... we are literally about to embark on a trip that may or may not kill us. Not only that, but I promised that I would close my heart off to anyone and everyone around me. The mere fact that us reuniting after only a few months led to a make out session in the doorway to the apartment shows that I'm not over you like I had thought. I know that when we first broke up you were hurt and it's the reason you enlisted in Anbu, but I had thought that by making you dislike me to the point you hate me, the both of us could move on... and I hate to say it, but I haven't moved on, I never was able to. I'm not strong like you, cuz I still love you." she stuttered out before inhaling deeply.

Continuing she begun to pace, "I mean, I nearly killed you a hundred times, and you still forgave me before you got with that Pakura woman from the Sand, and it hurt me to see you with her, but I knew you were happy, cuz seeing you smile made me happy and I didn't want to tell you about the baby back then, but when Tsunade told you about my pregnancy; it hurt to reveal to you that the Curse Mark killed it and then I left and you chased me-" she said with tears in her eyes only to stop as Naruto pulled her into his body and smash his lips into her own to shut her up.

"Shut up will you." Naruto said as he pulled back, "I never stopped loving you despite being with Pakura. Pakura only wanted a fuck buddy, and I was hurting and she just needed help coming to terms with being betrayed by the sand. We helped each other, and the truth is, I was never over you." he admitted to the Uchiha.

"B-But, the war, you let her die." Kiyomi stated with tears in her eyes.

"She was already dying from cancer. She wouldn't have survived another fight, and she knew the risks of fighting against Madara and she accepted her death with a smile." Naruto shook his head, "She even told me that if it came down to the two of you that I should follow my own heart, and I did. I chose the one woman that I gave my heart fully too." he said, "And... Not only that, I never wanted to lose you, or our baby. The idea, the very thought of it, made me so happy. I wanted a family with you, I wanted to marry you, see you walk down the aisle and say our vows, but Orochimaru and our goals ripped us apart and then the war happened and everything else. I don't care if you're a wanted criminal or if I'm the hero of the nations. To me, you are Kiyomi Uchiha, the woman I want to be with for the remainder of my days." he said.

"D-Do you really mean that?" she asked him, tears brimming her eyes.

Rather than answer her verbally, Naruto pulled her close to him again just like when they were on the floor. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other cupped her cheek gently, his thumb sliding over her smooth skin as he tilted his head to kiss her. Her eyes closed slowly, the glide of Naruto's tongue along her bottom lip causing her to gasp and circle her arms around his neck while Kiyomi tilted her head the other way, deepening the kiss and Naruto's other hand dropped to her waist to grip her ass. When he did finally let go of her, he gave her lips one last peck with a smile on his face and she met his eyes, his sweat-drenched hyped look really doing it for her. He smiled as he looked down at her, "Does that answer your question?" he asked her back.

"I—I hope you don't do that to all your women because now i'm expecting you to take responsibility." Kiyomi stated as she rubbed her legs together.

Take respon—"Take responsibility for what?" Naruto realizes and lowers his voice so only she can hear him before she pulls him into a darkened corner behind the stairway floor, closes the door and pulls up her dress to her thighs. He isn't surprised when she puts his hand between her legs to feel how wet her panties have become, her cunt drenched the fabric of her black lace and he bites his lower lip. Now that is sexy, he touches her folds through her panties and looks into her eyes when he moves them to the side and touches her bare folds with his fingers.

"Oh shi—t." Her eyes close and she grabs Naruto's wrist as he glides a finger between her wetness and puts her panties back just to see her panties getting stuck between her pussy lips from what he could see in the dark corner and he grows intensely hard.

"Wanna come back to my room?" He whispers, fingers still pushing the fabric enough to give her a camel toe.

"As long as you finger me on the way to the bed." She gives out small moans and pushes her groin into his hand as he kisses her.

"I will definitely finger you on the trip to bed." He agrees, "As long as you moan in my ear the entire time." he tells her as Kiyomi bites her lip and nods. The warmth his hand was giving between her legs remained as they opened the door to the floor they were on and begun a make-out session while they made their way to the bed that was only a few feet away. The duo ignored the world around them as Naruto ushered her into the apartment first and then himself before closing the door, their lips practically glued together at this point.

Just as he promised, Naruto pulled her to his groin—her dress stretched and bunched at her thighs as he began petting her through her panties just as he was earlier. She leaned forward on him, her arms wrapped around his neck and face nuzzled into his neck moaning low enough just for him to hear. Halfway to the bed, Naruto moved her panties to the side and played with her bare folds, sliding his fingers through her sticky slit and barely touching her clit to hear her gasp against his ear. With eyes closed Kiyomi pulled back enough to where their noses were touching and when she panted her breath patted over Naruto's mouth as he rubbed around her clit in a circle.

"You ma—make me so~." She quivered and moved her hips in time with Naruto's rubs, "Wet~."

"Have you never been this wet before?" He asked, her pussy juice dripping down his fingers that were under her rim.

Kiyomi shook her head rolling her hips into his fingers that sat at her rim. "Slide them inside." She tilted her head and kissed him. Her tongue sliding into Naruto's mouth in a fit of play. She moans as only one of his fingers glides into her pressing along her wall. She slowly rolled her hips into Naruto's fingers, her eyes hooded with lust for the man in front of her. In all her life she had never felt this much lust, not since they had first made love, but this… this was something else entirely. She had never drenched her panties from front to back as if she had peed herself. She had never felt utter lust with just one touch of a hand. She could feel herself leaking down the length of Naruto's fingers and probably pooling into his palm.

"Oh fu—ck." She moaned into his mouth when his middle finger pushed against her g-spot, "Right the—there ple-ease." She begs and rolls her hips into his fingers so they pushed against the same spot a few times. With the combination of him rubbing inside her and thumbing her clit, she smashes their lips together as she squirts, a stream of clear liquid wetting Naruto's pants and the leather sofa while her body jerks from the aftershock.

"Come on." Naruto whispers as he pulls his fingers from between her legs to show her how wet his hand was, "I can make you do more than just this." He wiggled them and her eyes widened.

"I'v-I've never s-squirted be-before." Her voice quivered when a rush of emotion flooded her.

"I can make you do it a couple more times." Naruto grinned up at her. "Would you like that?"

"Yes…" She nodded her head and pecked his lips, "I want to drench your sheets." Her mouth opened as his tongue slid inside her own and he wrapped his arm around Kiyomis waist as he kissed her with a hidden ferocity he didn't even know head.

"Want me that bad do you?" Naruto teased as Kiyomi closed the door when he pulled her into his room.

"Yes I do." She answered in a huff, her back hitting the door when he captured her lips in a hot kiss, her chest automatically arches into his hand, squeezes her breast and she wraps her arms around his neck. "Oh my go~d." She moans when he begins to grind into her.

"God you are so beautiful." Naruto gently pulled at the straps to her dress so as not to break them until the top of her dress was under her breast and he stopped to view them. "You have amazing breasts Kiyomi." He traced the underside of her boobs on each side with his hands before gripping them both and kissing her again, her own body rocking against the bulge in his tight jeans.

Who knew a criminal could be so hot.

Her body ignited when he pinched her nipples, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as she grabbed at his jeans in an attempt to open them, unbuckling the button, but he stopped her, pushing her dress down her stomach and hips until it pooled at her feet. In her head she thinks this is the most reckless thing she had ever done since losing her virginity to the blond. "Oh fuck." She gasped when Naruto picked her up and his bulge rubbed against her bare folds that Naruto didn't cover with her panties from earlier. Taking a seat on the end of the bed, Naruto nuzzled his face between her supple breasts.

"Your breasts are really amazing Kiyomi." He mouthed to her nipple and took the nub into his mouth, sucking and teasing with his tongue while he looked up at her. When he bit down on her nipple, she arched against him and her hips grinned down to cause friction.

"Fu~ck." Her moan was drawn out until Naruto flipped them to her back in the middle of his king size bed and he kissed across her exposed breast to the other nub that was begging for his attention. She again arched off the bed into him, her head turned to the side as she tried to hide her moans but he removed her hands so he could hear her.

With a light sucking noise Naruto pulled back, watching her breast bounce back into place, "Don't hide your moans." He shook his head, "I like hearing you."

"Okay." She nodded and glanced down to his hips, irritated that he was still dressed. "Get naked."

Naruto smiled, reaching down to pull the zipper down before pushing his jeans down his hips and pool at his ankles. Throwing them across the room in one kick and fingered her panties to pull them off as well. Below him she spread her legs, admiring his thick cock and she licks her lips as she plays with her breast, enticing him. Between his legs his cock throbs while she plays with her breast, pinching her nipples between her fingers and moaning without restrictions but his eyes were locked on her sex, swollen and dripping with slick.

He knows no one slipped her anything to make her this horny and he knew Kurama removed any foreign chemicals from his system before they could affect him in any form. He wanted to cum deep inside her dripping pussy repeatedly until she was overfilled. Not giving her any time to back out, Naruto put her on her side with one of her legs pinned between his legs and the other resting on his shoulder. He slides his member against her thigh a few times before edging closer and rubs the tip between her folds until he feels the clench and pucker of her rim.

"It's been awhile for you, so this may hurt." He says turning his head and kisses her ankle when he slowly penetrates her.

Kiyomi grips the sheets in front of her, her pussy stinging a little as Naruto's cock expands her quim. He was much bigger than she remembered and she was grateful for being extremely wet for him. Her mind erased completely when he pushed all the way inside to the hilt. He was much longer than that dildo that she had bought at one point a couple years ago too and she felt the tip of his cock touch her cervix comfortably.

"Ah-ah oh fu~ck." She clenched her teeth, rolling her hips for a moment while he was still getting used to the feeling. Fuck he was huge.

"May I move?" Naruto panted, his hips still while she moved but when she pushed off the bed a little and his cock slid out halfway she nodded to him.

"Yeah-yeah you can move." She released her grip on the sheets by a hair.

Naruto gripped her thigh, pulling her down the bed when he thrusted forward into her deeply. He could feel her toes curling against calf the harder he went when she was used to it. At one point she reached down and gripped under her knee, pulling her leg towards her chest and opened herself up more for him, clenching around him to go harder than he was.

"Fuck your pussy is so ti—tight." He moans, leaning over a little to keep up his thrusting deep inside her and enjoying her wet walls against his bare cock. It had been forever since he's rawed someone, their excitement had made the idea of grabbing a rubber slip his mind when they first began this.

"Kiss me." Kiyomi moans loudly as he fucks her hard. With him leaning over, her knee is touching her shoulder and she mentally thanks herself for continuing her yoga glasses on a regular basis. "Fuck! Fuck yes!" She reaches up and cups his face, kissing him between thrusts and looks down to watch his cock disappear into her. She was filled with so much pleasure she had never felt before, the intensity much more than with anything she had felt before. "O-h shit!" She moved her hips against him roughly. "Nar-u-to harder!"

"You gon-na cum?" Naruto groans as he pounds into her at the same pace, keeping his own climax at bay to keep her pleasure at its highest. When she nods, he reaches down between her legs and rubs her pussy lips against her clit, listening to her pussy get wetter before slipping out completely and watching her squirt against his crotch and wet the bed. Her voice rings loudly in the room, screams of pleasure and her legs shaking as another smaller squirt drizzles down her folds to her thighs. Kiyomi's head slumps to the bed, lips trembling and her breathing is erratic as her pussy clenches around nothing.

"Sh—it." She says into the bed.

"You are sexy when you cum." Naruto says, letting her knee fall to his side as he cups her throat with one hand and brings their lips together once more while his fingers continue to rub her clit.

"Oh fuck, keep going." She curls her toes and moves her hips. She doesn't want to admit it but she's never squirted before—even when they were younger and had first had sex. Of course she's had many orgasms, but never have they ever had her legs trembling and given her an intense orgasm like that and now he was trying to do it again.

"Do you want to cum like that again?" Naruto teased her.

"Yes, please." She begged as he quickened his fingers on her still wet flower until the sudden pull had her releasing a hard stream once again onto the bed and his thighs. "Ahh—yes—oh god! Naruto!" She gripped at his arm that was next to her shoulder. The moans that erupted from her throat weren't recognized by her ears and she slumped onto the bed out of breath her arms spread out while she tried to catch her breath but Naruto didn't give her time to recover.

Instead he flipped her to her knees admiring her ass. The round curve making his still hard member throb as he kneeled down and gave her wet pussy a few sucks, his tongue licking from her clit upward towards her rim. Reaching behind, Kiyomi grips one of her cheeks and pulls to the side, giving Naruto more room to lick around and taste her. Giving her pussy one last lick, he stands up behind her and grips her hips. Sliding his erection between her crack before pulling back and thrusting back inside her.

"Oh shit." Naruto moans, her pussy even wetter than before as he begins to thrust evenly "Goddamn Kiyomi."

"Ah! Yes-fuck! Harder!" She gasps out, bracing with her forearms against the sheets and her ass pressed against Naruto's crotch as he starts to pound into her with abandon. Her breasts move with them and she feels the blonde's hand sneak underneath her chest to squeeze her left breast through his poundings. "Ohh Fuck—i'm cumming—"

"Yes baby, just like that." Naruto praises her, ramming hard and never letting up until he feels the boil of his own climax. Her slick and left over squirt splatter against his thighs and drips down on the bed when his crotch connects with her ass but he's too in the moment to care. By her breast he pulls her from the bed against his chest as he cums inside her, the tip of his cock pressed into her cervix and he buries his head into her neck, sucking a hickey in the same spot as earlier in claim.

Her mouth opens in shock and realization that he wasn't wearing protection but she finds herself letting out an erotic moan as her partners warm seed fills her canal. Together they pant, her hand grabs his hair while he squeezes both of her breasts when his hips jerk inside her. "Fuck… that was—wow." She turns her head and captures his lips in a kiss. When she pulled back, a string of saliva connected their lips and she smiled.

"I don't think I've ever came that hard before." He says while sucking on her bottom lip and breaking the string. Gently he trails his hand down from her breast to between her legs to rub her clit, "Or deep." His hips wiggle a little.

Kiyomi gasps into his lips, his touches still shocking to her sensitive body and he gently pulls from her, his cum leaking down her inner thighs before she lays down on her back. Rolling both of them over on their side he begins grinding against her ass before he reaches over, pulling her across the bed into his arms and giving her a few light kisses on her exposed shoulder. Moving her hair to the side Naruto continued along her shoulder to her neck, feeling her wiggle a little and her breath hitch when he nibbled on her earlobe. He feels her leg lift up enough for him to slide his erection between her thighs and both of them moan when his tip touches her clit.

"Naruto….fuck…" She moans, putting her hand on his forearm and her face sinking into the pillow.

"Yes baby." He whispered into her ear before licking the shell and a shiver of excitement ran through him each time he thrusted his hips forward. When she lifted her leg up enough to allow it, Naruto pushed his cock inside her to the hilt.

"Oh fuck." She moaned, draping her leg over his hip and rolled her hips back slowly against his cock. She took his hand covering her belly and placed it on her breast, both of their hands squeezing her tit while he kept kissing her neck. "Ahh… fuck…. It's so amazing." She moans out but her pussy becomes increasingly wet by the second with each thrust directly into her sweet spot. "Fuck…"

"I know it does baby." He whispered into her ear, keeping his thrust slow and deep into her wetness and even shifted her hips a little to grind into her sweet spot more. "We can do just this." He pulls his hips back, "Stay naked and order in." He pistons forward while pinching her nipples between his fingers gently, "Or do you have to wanna leave tonight?"

Kiyomi shakes her head, "No I don't." followed by a deep moan when his tip grinds into her g-spot. "Oh…yes—right there!"

Her soft and erotic noises escape her as Naruto fucks her, her climax very slowly building but when Naruto pulled from her and rolled her to her back—he spread her legs just to thrust back inside her. He kissed her and kept the same pace of thrusting into her pussy as before with her legs wrapped around him. Dark orbs stare up into ocean blue as she grabs at his hair. She would have never thought she would be fucked romantically in a missionary way by a sexy muscular blonde. When he rolls his hips just right, her clit grazes his crotch and she arches off the bed.

"Ahhhhh…Yesssss…" She widens her eyes, getting lost in those blue eyes before pulling him down into a passionate kiss and her legs spread further of his hips.

"Kiyomi." He moans, gripping the sheets next to her head and rolling his hips a certain way just for her. He doesn't care that he's still completely raw inside her. She's hotter—wetter and the way her walls mold his shape to her insides had the familiar tingle creeping up his spine. "Kiyomi—i'm gonna cum." He says pressing their lips together once more, tongue sliding into her mouth.

"Yes—" She accepts his tongue, moaning as she slides hers along his, "Cum inside me—Naruto." Her voice barely above a whisper and closes her eyes, "Ooohhhh god…" She focuses on his cock sliding in and out of her rim—but the sensation is overwhelming. The rubbing of his cock sends her over the edge at the same time he does with a small moan of her name into her neck. Her pussy pulsates around his cock, milking him when he cums deep and her mouth opens in a gasp at how his hot seed was filling her once again. After a few jerks of his hips, he pulls back and gives her a loving kiss as she moans against his lips. Her nails trail up and down his back, giving light scratches to his skin.

"Damn." He pants, body buzzing delightfully.

"Fuck…" She pants out and wiggles her hips a little, not understanding where the sudden liking of being filled with cum came from. "I love that…"

"You love the feeling of being filled with cum?" He whispered intimately. Not knowing when the atmosphere between them turned this way but he liked it and wanted more of it. "You love feeling my cock slide in and out of your tight pussy?" He kept his eyes closed and kissed down her cheek until he felt something wet touch his lips. "What—" He opened his eyes to see a few tears shed down her cheeks. "Why are you crying Kiyomi?" He wiped them away and kissed her again.

"It's ju—just…" Her voice quivers. She doesn't know where this rush of emotion came from or why the tears are thick that are streaming down her cheeks. She's never cried in front of someone before. "I—I know…what we have isn't permanent." She turned her head to the side to avoid his gaze, "But, I'm glad we have it." she said, wiping her eyes.

"It doesn't have to be like this, it can be a permanent thing." Naruto told her.

"Let's get over that bridge when we cross it. We can't just jump back into a sexual relationship like this as if nothing happened. We need to start over at the base and work our way up from there ok?" she asked and got a nod, only for the two of them to turn to the door as a knock was heard, "You can get that though." she said patting his chest.

"Why me?" Naruto asked.

"Well, for one, you're the one on top, and not only that, I can't feel my legs from the experience we just had." Kiyomi smirked at him as she pushed him up off her so he could get decent.

Pulling his pants back on, he used his shirt to mop up the sweat he had built up from his most recent... activity. Opening the door to the room he saw that it was Karin and he smiled, "Hey Karin, what's up?" he asked her.

"Not that the shirtless look isn't hot, but could you try to keep the noise down. I heard the two of you from down the hall." she said as she had a blush creep up her cheeks.

Naruto chuckled in his own embarrassment as he heard Kiyomi groan to herselffrom behind, "Yea, sorry bout that." he told the redhead, "So did you find what you needed?" he asked trying to change the subject as fast as he could.

"Yea, and I even got you some things for the trip as well." she said holding up a bag for the blond to take.

"Thanks, but you didn't need to do that. I had clones go out to get some gear for me. I appreciate it though." he told her as he accepted the bag of clothes.

"No problem, anything for the guy who's willing to save mine and Kiyomi's neck from the execution block." she responded.

Naruto nodded his head, "It's no problem, honest." Naruto told her before clearing his throat, "So, was there anything else you needed from me?" he asked.

"Not right now." she responded.

"Well, thanks. If these don't fit we can just go trade them in for better fitting clothes together if that's alright with you." the blond stated.

Karin nodded, more than happy to help Naruto out, "Uh yeah sure. But can you do something for me first?"

"Sure what is it?" he asked happily.

"Can you put your shirt back on? It's kinda... distracting." Karin admitted another small blush crossing her cheeks.

"Oh right sorry." Naruto replied.

"When you finish, can you help me sort through this stuff before we seal it away?" she asked.

"Yea sure, no problem." the blond said. And with that he closed the door as Karin walked away, he cheeks still tinged red from embarrassment.

---

And that is going to be a wrap, hopefully I managed to edit this section enough to be let off the hook. Again, most of this belongs to freowin and was used to keep my plot the same seeing as this story is based off of his original story A Price for Peace meaning I don't own it.

So yea, a bit more to the backstory between Naruto and Pakura as well as a major secret I hid for this (Well it was supposed to be chp 3) very chapter that led to a nice steamy lemon.

(1): Yes I know it was Sasuke in the original anime/manga that Naruto kissed, I have seen the damn thing a hundred times, but this is a Naruto/FEM Sasuke story and it needed to remain mostly unchanged.