Person talking, "It could be."

Person thinking, "I don't like this idea."

Demon speaking / Invocation talking, "No doubt you are someone to be reckoned with."

Demon thinking / Invocation thinking, "His heart is dark."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Chapter 13

"Tell me, what's your name?" Asked the squad leader, hearing a voice behind him.

"You can call me Kitsune." The squad leader turned at the voice.

He could see a 175 centimeters tall man; dark brown skin; long brown hair. He wore a fox ANBU mask and a light blue kimono.

Kitsune then proceeded to give a stab at the back of the ANBU leader, but before he could do it, the other two ANBU—who were at his sides—blocked his attack with their Tantō. After that, they jumped back to get away from the attacker.

Kitsune meanwhile grabbed a confused Tsunami, to take her behind.

Tsunami was about to say something, but Kitsune spoke first, "Excuse me, Tsunami-san. But I must stay here. I don't want you to suffer any damage, and Kyōfu-sama takes retaliation with me. Please, return to your home," Kitsune stated, putting Tsunami on the ground and freeing her from her bonds.

Tsunami rubbed her wrists and looked at the strange man while asking, "Who are you?"

Kitsune shook his head and replied, "Like I said, you can call me Kitsune, but only Kyōfu-sama is worthy to know my name; nobody else."

Tsunami sighed in frustration and asked, "Who is that 'Kyōfu' guy? Is he your relative?"

Kitsune shook his head again and answered, "No. We call him that for another reason. But I repeat you, Tsunami-san, for your own safety; return to your home."

Tsunami sighed; she was grateful to him for rescuing her, but she couldn't deny that she was curious to know who he was and who sent him.

She then shook her red kimono. She was using it—after several years of keeping it in her closet—because Naruto recommended it.

She took a half turn to try to get back at her home, but out of nowhere, one of those ANBU appeared before her. He gave her a nasty blow to the stomach, causing her to lose consciousness.

Kitsune cursed himself for letting his guard down and allowing them to harm the woman of his boss. He then realized that the ANBU picked her up and left the area at full speed.

He quickly made several hand seals and shouted, "I won't let you do it! Shokuton: Kōgō (Plant Release: Grab)!" Kitsune put the palm of his hand on the ground, causing a small tremor.

Further ahead, the man was surprised to hear the name of the technique, but he kept running. He knew the others would take care of that annoyance; he only had to complete the mission successfully. Nothing was more important than that.

However, he realized that several plants began to grow around him and approached him at great speed.

He tried to dodge them, but he couldn't because he still had Tsunami in hands.

The plants caught and wrapped him; he quickly pulled a kunai out from his sleeves to cut those stems; they didn't look strong, but they were squeezing a lot.

Nonetheless, before he could cut them, Kitsune had appeared behind him, thrusting his kunai against the spine of the ANBU, who was shocked when seeing his speed.

Kitsune then pulled his kunai out and freed the already dead ANBU. He looked at Tsunami and took her vital signs; he sighed in relief behind his mask as he realized that she was just unconscious.

He picked her up and put her against a tree so she could rest quietly there.

In the distance, the rest of Danzō's men were shocked.

Kitsune had been near them, and when they were about to attack him, they saw Kitsune immersing underground, and he instantly appeared behind their teammate, killing him immediately.

"What the hell was that?" Asked one of the ANBU.

"I don't know. What should we do, Taicho?" Asked the other one.

The leader then pulled a Ninjato out and stated, "You know how the protocol is. It seems that this person has some relation to the Senju; we must capture him alive and then bring him to our base. Danzō-sama will know what to do with him. But if that isn't possible, we'll just kill him."

They all nodded and ran towards Kitsune, who had disappeared again.

The leader was about to order them to stay alert, but it was too late, since Kitsune had appeared behind them, killing his subordinates with an overwhelming ease.

The leader growled and looked at the person who was already in front of him, "Tell me, do you have some relation to the Senju? How are you able to do that?"

Kitsune shook his head and replied, "I shouldn't be saying this, but you're about to die, so it doesn't matter. No, I have no connection with Hashirama-sama or his clan. I'm just a man, blessed with Suiton and Doton. My dream always was to master the Mokuton, and for years, I trained hard to combine my elements. But the most I could get was the Shokuton. It's not very powerful, but it's very effective, and being able to make something like that, leaves me satisfied." Kitsune finished as he stood in a battle stance.

The last ANBU did the same and stated. "Well, that's a shame. I thought you would be useful. But as I could understand, you don't own a Kekkei Genkai; you just have luck."

Kitsune said nothing and just stayed in the same stance, hearing the ANBU continuing. "My name is Araki; take that to your grave."

Araki instantly made hand seals. "Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)!" Araki shouted sending a large number of rays to Kitsune; he realized that he wouldn't have time to dodge it.

Therefore, he made a few hand seals and shouted as he put his hands on the ground, "Doton Doryūheki!" Instantly a small wall appeared in front of him; it was not very big, and he only used it to have time to dodge the attack.

Once he was away, the Jutsu destroyed his wall. "You won't escape, Raiton: Jibashi (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder)!" Araki shouted, throwing the same Jutsu at Kitsune, who got tired of playing. He dodged the attack and yelled after finishing some hand seals. "Shokuton: Bakuhatsu Hosoku Shīdo (Element Plant: Seed Explosive Trap)!" Kitsune then spat a few things out of his mouth.

Araki saw that tiny seeds were coming towards him, and if the name of the technique said was true; he wouldn't like to receive that attack. Hence, he thought of a way to counter the attack.

Due to what Kitsune had said, the Shokuton was much weaker compared to the Mokuton. Therefore, a Fire Jutsu should be able to destroy those plants quickly.

He quickly made hand seals, inflated his chest as much as he could and mentally shouted, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)!"

Kitsune mentally cursed when seeing Araki's fireball, which burned the seeds before they reached their goal, but not before causing a massive explosion.

Both of them stepped back to avoid the impact. When the smoke began to settle down, both fighters were visible again.

Kitsune smiled behind his mask. "Well. There's no doubt that you're someone strong. Not for nothing, you're an ANBU, and you've managed to survive more than your friends."

Araki also smiled slightly. "Don't doubt it, we're the best ANBU of Konoha, you just attacked my subordinates with their guards down, but that won't happen to me."

After that, Araki moved into a battle stance. However, he felt something. It was like a pang; he wasn't sure.

He looked down and saw a Ninjato going through his chest. He turned his head slightly, but he couldn't see his assailant.

It was because that man grabbed him strongly by his head and then crashed him hard against the ground.

Kitsune clenched his fists, grunted and shouted, "What do you think you're doing, Genji?! This is my fight, not yours!" Kitsune stated.

The now identified as Genji was a man of around 196 centimeters tall, tanned skin and an athletic body.

He wore gray ANBU pants, with a dark blue vest and a gray shirt underneath, fingerless gloves. He carried knives on his right leg, multiple scars on his face.

Genji dusted his hands and replied, "Shut up, you stupid. Did you think that I would just stay away like an idiot while you had all the fun? Hahaha, don't make me laugh."

Kitsune growled again, "That's not the point! I was having a battle with him; I had everything under control! You had no reason to interfere!"

Genji made a sign, a sign that said that Kitsune was talking too much, and when he saw this, he got angrier.

However, Kitsune started breathing slowly; fighting wouldn't reach to anything. He looked at Araki's body and realized that he was dead; any normal person would be after being pierced with a sword.

Genji also looked at Araki's body before giving it a kick, "I can't believe that these pieces of trash have made you use your three attempts of 'Escape by Land.' You'll need more training."

Kitsune just sighed as he walked over to where Tsunami was, followed by Genji, who heard Kitsune replying, "I wanted to finish this quickly; I'll recharge my power in two days, so there's no problem."

Genji snorted and replied, "Admit it; you were forced to use that ability. Anyway, where are we going?"

Kitsune didn't respond. Instead, he approached Tsunami and then stated, "We must return her to her home; remember that she is under the protection of Kyōfu-sama."

Genji nodded, "Okay, let's do it before something bad happens to her. Besides, that brat could get angry if that were the case."

"Don't call Kyōfu-sama that," Kitsune answered.

Genji chuckled and stated, "It's been for years since the last time we saw him; I doubt that brat is on my level. You know very well why I agreed to join him."

Kitsune to hear this man's stubbornness could only sigh and add, "You have said it, four years have passed, but remember that his level was impressive for someone of his age back then. It's obvious he'll be someone much more powerful now."

Genji smiled one last time, "Come on, come on; come on. Don't be so serious; I was just kidding."

"Well, I hope so. Kyofu-sama is someone who deserves respect in all circumstances."

He saw Genji cleaning his ear, which made him shake his head, "Genji, take care of these bodies. You know what to do; check their bodies and see if you find something important. I know where and who sent these guys, you just look if they have anything else with them. Then return to the base. We'll be here longer than I had planned it. I won't be able to use my Escape by Land until the next two days, so we'll stay here until then."

Genji smiled but then frowned. "Damn it! Why can't I go with you?" Genji asked depressed.

Kitsune rolled his eyes behind his mask and replied, "First, because you're colossal. You'll scare everyone in this village, remember that just a few weeks ago they were saved by Kyōfu-sama. If they see you, they'll think that you're here to do something bad."

Genji smiled at that and puffed out his chest with pride. Ha! He was really scary.

But then Kitsune continued. "And secondly, because someone must get rid of those bodies and said say that your beloved pets love eating human flesh, so there you have it. Now, I'm leaving." With that said, Kitsune disappeared from the area along with Tsunami in a puff of smoke.

Genji shrugged as he bit his thumb and made some hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!" Genji shouted putting his hand on the ground.

Instantly a cloud of smoke appeared along with some strange creatures. "Hey, I brought you some food. But you'll have to wait until I finish checking their bodies, then you can do whatever you want with them."

The strange creatures—which turned out to be salamanders—nodded while they passed their tongues over their lips. "Hehehe, hurry up; we don't have all day."

Genji nodded and performed his task.

Konohagakure no Sato – Unknown Location

Danzō Shimura had returned to his base after leaving the Hokage tower; he was very thoughtful, he had a lot to do. There were just a few months left for the Chunin exams and what it entailed.

Besides, there was the thing about Naruto.

He couldn't let him die or stay in that state forever; that was why he had sent his best trackers in search of Tsunade; they had to find her no matter what, or they would regret it.

Danzō strolled through the corridors of the base until reaching his office; he opened the door and turned the light switch on. However, he saw something that displeased him a lot; the Yondaime Hokage was sitting on his chair, with his elbows on the table and folded hands, plus a quite serious face.

"What's the reason for your pleasant visit, Hokage-sama?" Danzō asked feigning politeness.

"Cut the crap; I'll be straightforward with you, and I want you to answer me with the truth, or I swear that you'll regret it. Where did Naruto go? And what happened to him? I'm sure you're aware of this." Minato stated; he was not here for games; he had to know what had happened to his son; maybe that would help the doctors to find a solution for his state.

Danzō approached his desk and sat down in a chair in front of it. He did this under the watchful gaze of Minato. "Hokage-sama, why do you think that I know something like that? Trust me; it saddens me what happened to him. After all, I consider him as my own son; I had to raise him for three years, Hokage-sama." Danzō replied with a blank look.

Minato growled and exclaimed, "Bullshit! I know exactly how you operate in Root; you can't fool me. Now I'll ask you one last time, where did Naruto go?" Minato finished and released some of his killing intent.

Danzō didn't flinch one bit; he kept the same expression.

He didn't have to say anything; he couldn't prove anything, plus he was sure that Naruto wouldn't say anything about his mission. He had been an ANBU of Root after all.

Naruto knew what he would have to do once he woke up. "Hokage-sama, I give you my sincerest apologies, but I don't know what you mean. Naruto-kun and I hadn't seen each other since that day when you removed him from Root. Let me say that if I had the opportunity to speak with him; I would. After all, he was one of my best subordinates, and I can say one of the few people I've grown fond of." Danzō stated quietly.

Behind the desk, Minato clenched his fists, rose up from his seat and stated, "Then so be it, Danzō. I have given you many opportunities, and I have endured you enough. You have one week to dismantle all this, from this day on; Root will cease providing services to the village."

Danzō squeezed his cane and replied, "Hokage-sama, I think you're being extreme. Root has provided innumerable services to the village. Besides, we're a significant force in it. You can't make this decision so hastily, and all because of a misunderstanding. I believe that you're just paranoid, Hokage-sama. What makes you think that I would talk to Naruto-kun? Moreover, what makes you think that he would talk to me? You shouldn't rush this decision. Wait until Naruto-kun wakes up. When he does, you can ask him. I'm quite sure that he'll deny these accusations."

"I don't care. The decision has been made since the days of Sandaime-sama. I repeat, you have one week. If you don't do it, you'll be executed." Minato replied in front of Danzō, who was cursing him in his mind.

"Okay, Hokage-sama. I will do as you say," Danzō replied, looking straight into Minato's eyes.

They fought with their eyes until Minato spoke. "Okay, I hope you do it. Now I'm leaving."

Danzō nodded and saw Minato walking around the room, but he stopped and said, "Oh, I almost forgot..."

"What's troubling you, Hokage-sama?" Danzō asked.

Minato turned around and answered, "I want you to remember this. I'm Naruto's father, and I don't want you to say in front of me or in front of anyone that you took care of him. We both know that it was quite the opposite."

Danzō smiled slightly and replied, "Oh yes, you're absolutely right, Hokage-sama. Maybe I shouldn't have brought him to Root, to the place where he grew up, was formed and where he could have a more peaceful life. Perhaps I should have let him continue being that malnourished, dirty and weak child that he was before coming to Root. Maybe the villagers would have done a better job."

Minato narrowed his eyes. "Be careful, Danzō, don't try to be a smartass with me. But I'll repeat it; I am his father." After that, Minato disappeared in a yellow flash.

Danzō had hit his table and shouted, "Torune! Fu!"

Instantly, both of them appeared kneeling before Danzō. "I want you to have everything ready for tomorrow. We'll change our base's location. We'll go to the one that it's outside the village."

Both nodded and disappeared from there without speaking a word.

Meanwhile, Danzō could not help cursing Minato; once again he was trying mess up his plans, "Damn you, Minato. This is the last time you'll try something to ruin my plans. Enjoy what's left of your life; these months will be your last."

After that, he left the room. He had to prepare everything to move his base to another location, so he had to do it as quickly as possible.

He did not want to raise any more suspicion, but in the end, everything went well.

He knew it would have been even worse if he told Minato the truth; he just had to sacrifice a base, which would be very easy to replace.

Somewhere in Hi no Kuni - Two Months Later

Jiraiya was entering a city within Hi no Kuni. This city was called Onsen; it was known for having the best hot springs of the Elemental Nations, although it wasn't always like this.

Before it was nothing more than a small city that went unnoticed in Hi no Kuni, but it had grown by leaps and bounds until becoming one of the most visited places in Hi no Kuni. Although the place didn't have volcanoes, the city had changed its name to Onsen due to its famous thermal baths.

The reason Jiraiya was here was that his spy network had informed him that Tsunade had been seen around this area.

Jiraiya had looked in every corner in these two months, but it was hard to find Tsunade since all her debts had mysteriously disappeared, and he had also learned that she was no longer taking money from moneylenders.

He didn't know the reason for this, but it was very strange that Tsunade had raised money, or that she had won something. Not for nothing, she was known as "The Legendary Sucker." Maybe she had been lucky after all these years.

Jiraiya just hoped that she was here, he didn't know how much longer his godson would resist. Two months had passed since he left the village, and as he knew the more time a person was in a coma, it was less likely that they would recover. And if they did, they would have consequences in the future; that's why he had made his best effort to find Tsunade.

He owed it to Minato; the poor man had suffered much, but especially Naruto. He didn't have to continue suffering; he had never done anything wrong in the eyes of Jiraiya; he just wanted his godson to have a peaceful life.

Jiraiya marveled after seeing the city's structure. At the entrance was a big Japanese pillar of red color, with a sign saying 'Onsen', and around it were walls of the same color that surrounded the whole city, but much smaller than the pillar.

The streets were immaculate, and the buildings of the site would make Konoha look like an outdated village. "The Fire Daimyo definitely invested a lot of money in this place," Jiraiya thought.

He walked towards the entrance, but when being there, two men of high stature with strange black uniforms cut him off the pace. "Who are you and what are you doing here in Onsen?" Asked one of the men.

Jiraiya realized he was huge, several centimeters taller than he was.

"I have no time to do my presentation, so I'll say it quickly. My name is Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin. Now get out of the way; I need to find someone." Jiraiya replied and then he prepared to enter, but the man blocked his way again while he looked at his partner, who shook his head.

"I'm sorry. You're not on the list, so you can't enter this city; here we only receive people who have made a prior appointment. As you can see, we are very strict with the security in this place. We receive many leaders and influential merchants, so we can't allow just any person to enter this place," stated the man who was in front of Jiraiya.

"But what kind of nonsense is that? I'm a Shinobi of Konoha, and this city is part of Hi no Kuni. You can't deny me entry. Get out of my way; I have things to do." Jiraiya demanded, trying to enter once again.

However, this time, many people, all dressed in the same way that the guards at the entrance, appeared on the scene.

Jiraiya growled; he didn't want to cause problems; he just wanted to see if Tsunade was there and then leave if that wasn't the case.

Nevertheless, these people didn't seem to understand, so he stood in a fighting stance. That alerted all the people who were there, who also did the same.

Nonetheless, before it ended in a disaster, the other guard at the gate continued, "I'm sorry, but if you don't agree with this, you can read this letter." The guard then handed Jiraiya a letter with a strange stamp.

He took it reluctantly, and when he saw the stamp of it, he got surprised; it was the stamp of the royal family, the Fire Daimyo's stamp.

He opened the letter and began to read it; the letter said that no one could enter this place without reservation. Not without provoking an international conflict or cause the loss of their status as a ninja, if this person was a ninja of Hi no Kuni.

Jiraiya couldn't believe it; this was the first time something like this happened to him. No one had ever denied him entry into a city, and he thought that it was strange that they did this here.

Jiraiya didn't know why the Daimyo gave an authorization like that; everything was strange to him.

"*Sigh*, could you at least tell me if you saw this woman?" Jiraiya asked showing a photo to the guards.

The biggest one shook his head and answered, "Sorry, we can't give information of the people who enters this place. Now do me a favor and leave, or if you want, you can go in that direction and buy a pass." The big man pointed to a cottage.

"Are you telling me that I could have bought a pass all this time? Why didn't you say that from the beginning?" Jiraiya asked a little annoyed.

The man shrugged and replied," You didn't ask."

Jiraiya almost fell backward.

But he quickly regained his posture and asked, "And how much would it cost me to enter here?" He had not brought much money with him, so he was hoping that it wasn't much.

The man looked at his partner, who put a finger on his chin as he thought. After a few seconds, he replied, "If I recall correctly, entering is around five hundred thousand Ryō, and if you spend the night here it's one million Ryō."

Jiraiya turned blue at that amount of money; he couldn't pay that. He didn't have that amount of money with him right now.

After a few seconds, he recovered and exclaimed incredulously, "O-O-On-One mi-million Ryo?! Are you crazy? Who the hell would pay that?"

The taller man answered, "I already told you; only the most influential people of the Elemental Nations can enter here. If you can't afford it, I recommend you to leave."

Jiraiya just growled like a child, and when he wanted to argue, he heard someone clapping.

He looked there, seeing that the people who had arrived were giving way to someone. "Come on, come on. Do not treat the great Jiraiya-sama like that; remember that he is one of the greatest Shinobi's in the Elemental Nations," stated a man.

Jiraiya then saw that the men knelt down, and he could see a young man, about 25 years old. Short hair with bangs covering his right eye slightly. He wore a black tuxedo, a white shirt, and black shoes, with his respective tie and gloves to match.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Jiraiya-sama; my name is Daisuke by the way. I am the man in charge of this place," Daisuke spoke with elegance, putting his right hand on his chest as he made a slight bow.

Jiraiya smiled at this, "Heh, it seems that here are people who know the Great and Only, Jiraiyaaaa!" Jiraiya shouted scandalously, many seeing this couldn't help sweatdropping.

Daisuke smiled and gave more claps. "You are hilarious, Jiraiya-sama. Regardless, what is the reason for your visit? If we had known that someone like you would come to our humble city, we would have prepared a welcome. Though let me tell you that those clothes are very outdated. I think that you need to see an image consultant."

Jiraiya was smiling all the time, but he couldn't help feeling offended at the last comment, "What's wrong with my clothes? They are made of the highest quality. Besides, no one has ever seen anything wrong with my clothes." Jiraiya said.

Who did he think he was? Hum, people were rude nowadays.

Daisuke covered his mouth to hide a giggle, which angered Jiraiya even more. "Excuse me, Jiraiya-sama; what I tried to say was that people could confuse you with a peasant. Besides, those sandals, tch, tch, tch. Do not get me wrong," Daisuke expressed, offending Jiraiya once again.

Jiraiya turned red due to anger, but before he could say anything, Daisuke spoke again, "Anyway, Jiraiya-sama, as you can see, we are busy men. Could you tell me the reason for your visit?"

Jiraiya regained his composure, he swallowed his anger and gave the photo to Daisuke, who looked it over carefully.

After a few minutes, he handed it back and said as he gave a smile, which was starting to piss Jiraiya off, "Oh yeah, Tsunade-sama. She left a few hours ago, Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya dropped his jaw, but then he closed it and asked, "Was she here? Tell me in which direction she went." Then Jiraiya put his hands on Daisuke's shoulders.

Daisuke chuckled again and replied, "Jiraiya-sama, I will recommend you to stop looking for Tsunade-sama. Did you not find it strange that you could not find her in all this time? I advise you to stop wasting your time."

Jiraiya released Daisuke and asked, "And why do you think I would do that? I need to find Tsunade! It's for something crucial!"

Daisuke stopped smiling; he put a stern face that also made Jiraiya get serious. "I recommend you to stop looking for her. Tsunade-sama has made it clear that she does not want to know anything about Konoha. That is why Kyōfu-sama is hiding her from you. Did you not find it strange that she no longer have debts or that she no longer ask for money from lenders? I recommend that you stop searching for her, you do not want to have an enemy as Kyōfu-sama."

Jiraiya cracked his knuckles and stated, "It seems that I'll have to take that information by force. I've heard about that guy called Kyōfu and of the great organization that he has, but he doesn't scare me at all. I hope you know how to fight, brat, because I need that information; it's of vital importance."

Daisuke adjusted his gloves, making the men move aside. "Oh no, Daisuke will fight, we must get away from this place." Said one of the men, all they nodded and turned away from there.

"Jiraiya-sama, I know very well that I cannot beat you, but do not think that this battle will be easy. Not for nothing, I got the privilege of being in charge of this city. I am aware of your skills and qualities as a Shinobi. But before you start this nonsense, let me tell you something," Daisuke said as he stood in a fighting stance.

"And what would that be?" Jiraiya asked doing the same.

"You do not want Konoha entering into an economic crisis, do you? Let me tell you that Kyōfu-sama provides many things to Konoha, besides to owning most of the business of your village; he controls much of the means to transport supplies. I recommend you to reconsider this before Konoha is isolated. Besides, Kyōfu-sama can offer his services to other villages, which will be more than happy to receive the investments of a man as successful as him," Daisuke replied.

Jiraiya growled and replied. "And do you think I'll believe something like that? I can't believe that one person can do that to one of the biggest Shinobi Villages."

Daisuke laughed and replied, "Do you not understand it, Jiraiya-sama? Why do you think the Fire Daimyo granted such permission to Kyōfu-sama? He has many contacts, even more, I am sure that Kyōfu-sama can convince the Fire Daimyo to stop providing missions to Konoha."

Jiraiya then began to sweat nervously, "Damn it, he's right. But I can't believe it. Arrgh! Damn it! I'll have to return to the village and inform Minato about this." Jiraiya thought.

He turned around and said, "Okay, but don't think that this will stay like this, I'll take care to find that Kyōfu, and once I do it, I'll have a few words with him."

Daisuke stood well too; he brought his fingers to his mouth and laughed again. "Hehehe. Good luck with that, Jiraiya-sama. The identity of Kyōfu-sama is unknown even to us. Only people of his highest confidence know him. Anyway, I am glad that we could resolve this as the gentlemen that we are. Though again I recommend you to get an image consultant. Oooh, I cannot believe that someone is dressing with so little class," Daisuke stated dramatically, putting a hand on his forehead.

Jiraiya began to grumble while saying things like, "Damn brats." And "The Great Jiraiya-sama doesn't need a consultant."

Jiraiya then turned around to leave the city, heading to Konoha.

Meanwhile, Daisuke looked towards the direction. The truth was that he didn't want to fight against him, not because he would lose, but because they would have damaged much of the city and that wouldn't have pleased his boss.

He then began walked around the city, listening to one of the men talking. "Daisuke-sama, are you sure that that was the most appropriate decision? I'm sure that he'll tell the Hokage about all this, and then he'll ask for an explanation from Daimyo-sama."

Daisuke replied, "Come on, do not worry. Konoha trash cannot do anything; remember that this is the city of Kyōfu-sama; we also have the order of the Daimyo," Daisuke finished with a smirk.

He kept walking, just to hear someone speaking, "Did the pervert leave?"

Daisuke recognized the voice of the woman. He turned around and saw a blonde lady. Another woman—who looked much younger, with black hair and a pig in her arms—accompanied her.

Daisuke exclaimed, "Oh, Tsunade-sama! I did not know that you had woken up," Daisuke spoke with a strange smile on his face, in addition to clapping a few times.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and said, "Could you stop doing that? You look so stupid when you smile and clap at every moment."

Daisuke again put his fingers to his mouth as he laughed. "Hehe, excuse me, Tsunade-sama, but I cannot help but be happy. It seems that Kyōfu-sama is getting better."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and continued, "Hmm, that guy again. I wonder when I will meet him. "

Daisuke smiled even more and answered, "Aaah; that will not be possible for now, Tsunade-sama. Remember that he is in a very delicate state of health." Daisuke clapped, which caused Tsunade to roll her eyes again. "But do not worry; I am sure that you will have the privilege to meet him someday. I only saw him once, and that was when he left me in charge of this city. It was the happiest day of my life."

Tsunade smiled slightly and stated with amusement, "Wow, it seems that you are in love with him, hahaha."

Daisuke blushed a little at her words as he averted his eyes. "I-I do not k-know what are you talking about, Tsunade-sama. Do not say s-such things."

Tsunade opened her eyes in shock, but after a while, she began to laugh. "Hahaha, so, is that the case? I had already thought that your attitude was strange; you never stop talking about that man. But if you fell in love with someone like him, then I don't know what to think."

Daisuke, who was still blushing, replied, "Hmph, well, yes, I am. But you have not seen him." Then stars appeared in his eyes, as he clasped his hands. "Although I could not see his face, I could feel the power that he emitted; it was something inexplicable. Besides, he is someone very polite, and he is so exquisite. I cannot believe that someone like him exists."

His speech caused everyone to look at him with big sweatdrops.

But then Shizune, the woman next to Tsunade, spoke, "That's fascinating, Daisuke. But changing the subject. Tsunade-sama." Shizune called, attracting the attention of Tsunade, who just now had stopped looking at Daisuke, to look at Shizune.

"What is it Shizune?" Tsunade asked.

Shizune got a little nervous and answered, "I- I think we should have seen what Jiraiya-sama wanted, maybe it was something important."

Tsunade stared at Shizune, which made her feel tiny. "Never, I've told you a million times; we'll never return to Konoha, no matter what the reasons are. Konoha isn't a place I would like to return."

Shizune bent her head slightly at this remark. "But maybe..."

But she couldn't finish because Tsunade interrupted her abruptly. "Enough! I don't care what the reasons are; I'll never return to that place, do you understand?"

Shizune nodded forcibly, and then Tsunade added. "Very well. Hey, Daisuke, show me that casino that you were talking about; I want to earn some money."

Daisuke came out of his fantasy; he regained his composure and asked, "Again, Tsunade-sama? Try to win something this time. Remember that money does not grow on trees."

Tsunade put her hands on her hips and replied, "Ha! You should have thought about that before promising me to cover all my expenses. Shizune, follow me; time to make some money." Tsunade made a sign as she walked towards the casino's direction.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shouted, following her from behind.

However, Daisuke cleared his throat and said, "*Ahem* That is not the right direction, Tsunade-sama. Remember that I am going to show you the casino. Now do me a favor and follow me."

Tsunade scratched her head with embarrassment and nodded.

She returned to where Daisuke was and then they walked towards the biggest casino of the city.

Konohagakure no Sato - Several Hours Later

Minato was reading several requests, most of them were to engage Naruto in marriage. Many civilians, clan leaders, and traders were sending several requests to have Naruto marry with their daughters.

However, Naruto hadn't even woken up, and Minato hadn't talked with Naruto yet. Therefore, he couldn't take that decision. Also, he had learned that his son had, at least, four girlfriends.

He couldn't believe it at first. He visited Naruto every day during those two months, and there, he had found them all.

Minato had been in shock when they told him that; he just couldn't believe it. Nonetheless, he said nothing about it since he didn't want that his son had more reasons to hate him.

But then the requests started coming, including from people outside the village~they had offered lands and money.

Minato couldn't accept; it wasn't his call.

He already did something like that to one of his sons, but he seemed to agree with that idea. However, Minato didn't know how Naruto would react if he made a decision like that, so the best decision was to reject them all.

He continued denying the requests until he said as he signed the papers. "Did you find something, Sensei?" He asked without looking up.

Jiraiya came in from the office's window; he sighed and replied as he shook his head. "No, I couldn't find any trace of Tsunade."

Minato stopped, crossed his hands and looked at his sensei. "Due to the tone of your voice, I can feel that you found out something important. What is it?" Minato asked.

Jiraiya nodded and told him the events in Onsen. In the end, Jiraiya said, "And that's what happened."

Minato processed the information until he snapped his fingers; an ANBU instantly appeared kneeling before him. "Inu, I want you to send a letter to Daimyo-sama. I want to ask him if this is true, I want his answer as soon as possible!" Minato yelled, starting to lose his patience.

The ANBU nodded and disappeared from his office in a puff of smoke.

"Calm down, Minato. If that's a lie, I'll return to that place. But if it's true, I'm afraid there's little we can do."

Minato just growled because someone had knocked on the door. He calmed down a little bit and said, "Come in."

"Hokage-sama," Minato's secretary spoke.

"What's going on?" Minato asked.

"It's Kitō-san, he says that he has news about Naruto-sama's condition; he wants to know if you can receive him," Megumi stated.

Minato quickly nodded and said, "Bring him in; I want to hear news about my son."

Megumi nodded and quickly left to bring Kitō.

They waited a few seconds until the doctor entered the room with a smile that gave him hope. "Hokage-sama, I have good news," Kitō stated after greeting Minato and Jiraiya.

Minato couldn't help asking excited, "What do you have?"

Kitō smiled again and replied, "Well, Naruto-sama has begun to react to the Medical Ninjutsu, and now he no longer needs the ventilator; he can do it on his own. We believe that he could wake up at any moment."

Both Minato and Jiraiya smiled, and Jiraiya spoke. "It seems that we won't need Tsunade-hime after all, hehe."

Minato nodded and added, "It seems." And then he smiled too.

Kitō then cleared his throat and continued, "*Ahem* However, we have discovered something amazing."

Minato and Jiraiya stopped smiling, and Jiraiya asked, "And what would that be?"

Kitō replied the following, "As you know, Naruto-sama is under constant care, and one of the doctors who is responsible for his grooming discovered that his hair began to turn blonde."

Minato and Jiraiya looked at each other, and the Yondaime spoke next. "What does that mean? Could it be that the seal is regaining its strength?" Minato asked to no one in particular.

Jiraiya replied, "Maybe, or maybe not. We can't be sure; we just have to pray that my godson gets well."

Minato smiled and nodded, "Kitō, thank you very much. I'll tell Menma about this; I'm sure that he'll be happy to hear the news. Oh yeah, and sensei. You don't need to look for Tsunade anymore, due to what Kitō said, now they will be able to treat my son. You do what you have to do."

Jiraiya couldn't help smiling pervertedly.

Nevertheless, Minato quickly added, "And try not to cause problems. I have enough paperwork as it is before you give me more. Now, I'll leave, and please Kitō-san, if you have new news, please let me know."

Kitō nodded and saw his Hokage disappearing in a yellow flash.

Jiraiya stretched out a little bit and said, "Well then, go and take care of my godson. What are you waiting for?"

Kitō quickly replied, "Hai, Jiraiya-sama!" And he ran outside the room, heading to the hospital.

Jiraiya then smiled pervertedly again and muttered, "Time to do some research." Then he left the Hokage Tower toward the hot springs.

Meanwhile, a female ANBU couldn't help smiling. Naruto was finally recovering, and she didn't need to be worried anymore.

That ANBU was Yugao, who in these two months had been unable to visit Naruto since she had been quite busy with missions.

However, she was now relieved and hoped to see Naruto again.

Hospital - Two Months Later

Kurama was quietly resting in Naruto's mindscape. He was still worried, but not as much as two months ago because now he could provide his chakra to Naruto. Even though it healed him slowly, it seemed to be working.

He had seen much of what had happened on the outside, the Hokage and his son came to visit Naruto every day.

Kurama saw this as a thoroughly unpleasant action, and he couldn't wait for him to wake up and send them to hell.

The women had also come to visit him every day; he realized that these women seemed to be happier every day.

He didn't understand much about human feelings, but what he did understand was that these girls were happy because they found out that Naruto could awaken at any moment. He could also feel the characteristic smell that they gave off, although it was very slight, he could notice it.

Hehe, he would definitely be happy to see Naruto catching up with them.

It also worried him the fact that Naruto's hair was almost completely blonde, but it seemed that several sides were still red, and those sides didn't seem to be changing anytime soon.

He then looked at Naruto's body; he was in a simple house, sleeping on a bed, and Kurama was sleeping above him as an average sized fox.

Kurama snuggled a little more on Naruto just to feel some movements coming from him.

Kurama quickly got up and looked carefully at Naruto, who slowly began to open his eyes.

Kurama was surprised to see his Rinnegan, but he didn't worry about that since he heard some moans. "Naruto!" Kurama shouted, jumping on the bed again.

Naruto then looked at the blurry image that was to his front, and he was barely able to identify something of orange color.

But slowly, his eyes began to focus and could identify who was in front of him, "Ku...ra...ma, i-is that...you?" Naruto asked with tiredness in his voice.

Then he looked around; he couldn't identify where he was. "Wh-where... are we?"

Kurama when hearing Naruto speaking couldn't help smiling and licking Naruto's face, who, realizing this, smiled as he could, "D-Did you miss me...? P-perverted...Fox."

Kurama instantly stopped licking him as he looked away. "Uh, that? Fool! As if I, the King of all Beasts, would be happy to see a pathetic human! I was just transferring you my chakra so you can recover faster! Yeah, I did that..." Kurama stated, trying to believe his own words.

Naruto smiled slightly and then asked, "W-What happened? Where am I?"

Kurama raised an eyebrow and replied, "You are in your mental landscape, idiot. About the other, you should know it; I can only say that you were in a coma for four months."

Naruto opened his eyes a little bit, but he opened them widely after recalling everything he had seen before and during his coma. In those four months, the events of Uzushiogakure repeated in his mind; not only the tragedy but he had also seen how his ancestors had lived.

Naruto's face turned dark, so dark that even Kurama believed it was strange. "Hmmm, who was the idiot that made him angry?" Kurama asked himself.

But then he saw something that surprised him; Naruto got up from the bed as if he had never been sick.

Kurama fell and was about to yell at Naruto when he saw the expression on his face, "Oh, oh." Kurama said.

"All...all of them. I can't forgive them...I can't forgive them. How they dared?!" Naruto shouted beginning to surround himself with red chakra as he put his hands on his head; it still hurt him, but it wasn't as much as before.

Kurama got worried and shouted, "Hey! Calm down, Naruto; tell me what the hell is going on. Remember that if you start releasing my chakra in this place, you'll do it outside too. Stop it!" Kurama shouted trying to talk sense into Naruto.

And indeed, he did it. Naruto had fallen to his knees, had put his hands on the ground and had hit it with his fists. "Why did they do that? They never harmed anyone; they didn't deserve that," Naruto whispered, but Kurama was able to hear him. He walked to him, just to see Naruto shedding several tears on the ground.

Kurama licked his face again. "Come on, Naruto. Tell me what happened; what made you cry? It's not normal to see you like this."

Naruto ignored those words; he rose up and tried something. He thought of a particular object and channeled chakra in the palm of his hand.

Nothing happened for several minutes, but Naruto wouldn't give up. If what the representation said was true, then he could summon the Apple whenever he wanted.

Kurama observed in silence until he got tired and asked, "What are you doing?"

However, he saw that something began to appear in Naruto's hand; a golden ball with strange inscriptions, which began to glow when it had contact with Naruto.

Kurama asked in confusion, "What the hell is that?"

Naruto smiled darkly and replied, "Our trump card."

Kurama didn't understand what Naruto meant, but before he could say anything, Naruto spoke again. "Kurama, change of plans, our goal is no longer to destroy Konoha. Our new objective and goal are..." And then Naruto started telling all his new plans to Kurama. After that, he told the story of what he witnessed in Uzushiogakure.

"Besides, I can feel that I have a lot of information stacked in my brain, but they're so many that I can't keep them in order. Besides, when I try to concentrate on a particular seal that is stored in my brain, another seal appears. Arrgh! Until now, I assimilated a few ones, but they're still complicated. I'll need someone to show me how to use these seals. But who?" Naruto asked after telling his whole story to Kurama.

Kurama then shrugged, "Revive your mother," he stated as if it were nothing.

"What do you mean? How do you want me to revive my Kaa-chan? Are you crazy?" Naruto replied.

"No, I'm not; you know you can do that. You only have to learn that Jutsu, and you'll be able to do it. You always said that you wanted to meet her, now you have a reason to. Revive her and she'll help you out with the information that you have in your head. Remember that your mother was quite talented in that art; she taught your shitty father everything that he knows,"

Naruto thought about it, and after a while, he asked, "Don't you think that it would be wrong to revive my Kaa-chan for something like that?"

Kurama answered as he laid down. "Why? I'm sure that your mom would love to see you. You just have to learn that jutsu and bring her back for a while so she can help you to order all the seals and your new memories."

Naruto thought about it again. "I don't know, maybe I could, but you know how I appreciate my mother. I don't want to do something that I may regret in the future."

"And I'm saying that your mother would like to see you. Stop making pathetic excuses; your new plans will be more complicated than before; we'll need all the help that we can to get to accomplish your new goal," Kurama indicated.

Naruto then nodded and acknowledged, "You're right, I must get all possible help. If my mother comes to hate me for what I'll do, I'll live with that pain. But she'll have to help me, even if she doesn't like it. Besides, I'm sure that she won't like what Konoha did to our village."

Kurama nodded, just to see Naruto disappearing from his mindscape.

The Biju and added, "Good luck out there, Naruto. Hehehe."

Naruto didn't understand this and asked, "What do you mean?"

Kurama smiled and answered, "You'll find out."

And then Naruto completely disappeared from his mindscape.

Outside, some people were murmuring, "Hey, get off," someone spoke.

"Don't push me," said another one.

"Hey, you two be quiet. Look, look, he's opening his eyes. Shhhh."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, which had returned to normal.

However, now they were purple instead of red.

He felt completely exhausted; it was entirely different from when he was in his mindscape. Besides, the headache was much worse.

He spoke wearily. "Wa...Water."

Naruto could hear some people arguing, and after a few minutes, he could feel something against his lips; he noticed that it was a glass of water.

After finishing drinking, Naruto could identify the person, and he greeted with a shaky smile. "Haku-chan...I'm g-glad to see you."

Haku hearing Naruto's voice after a long time felt tearful eyes as she lunged above Naruto—being careful not to hurt him—as she put her arms around his neck. "I missed you so much, Naruto-kun; I thought that you would never wake up again."

Naruto smiled slightly and tried to hug Haku, but he still felt fragile. "Ha, don't...even...think it... Remember that we have…not done it yet."

Haku blushed but couldn't anything because someone else had spoken. "*Ahem* Yeah very nice but...Naruto-kun, we're also here."

Naruto looked towards that direction, and he smiled. "Anko-chan. I believe that you're even more beautiful than before."

Anko puffed out her chest with pride. "Of course, that's a fact," She replied quite happily; she would definitely need to catch up with Naruto.

She was thinking about making pleasant visits to his room once he left the hospital.

Naruto smiled at that; then he looked to the other two. "Ino-chan, Tenten-chan...I'm glad you're here too," Naruto said starting to sound better, but he was still feeling tired.

When Ino and Tenten heard Naruto talking after several months, they quickly ran to hug him, "Naruto-kun!" Both of them exclaimed, shedding a few tears.

Ino sobbed. "We're happy that you've finally awakened; all of us have missed you."

Naruto moved a little from his place, causing the girls to move away slightly. "Naruto-kun, you must stay still; you just woke up. Don't try so hard," Haku spoke with concern.

Naruto smiled painfully and answered, "I wouldn't if you weren't above me."

They instantly turned away from him, but not before apologizing.

Naruto moved a little again; he put his hands where his pants should be, and in doing so, he felt embarrassment. "D-Do I have a diaper?" He finally blushed.

The girls couldn't help laughing, and Naruto couldn't help sighing. This would be one of his worst experiences without a doubt.

They continued talking for several minutes until someone knocked on the door.

Haku went to open it, and in doing so, everyone could see that Menma and Minato walked in.

Everyone greeted the Hokage, but they did it forcedly.

Minato noticed that some machines were still connected to Naruto, but his eyes were open. That mere detail made him smile.

He approached a little more and spoke, "Naruto..."

Naruto stared at him for a moment and then at Menma before looking at the girls, "Girls, please leave us alone for a few minutes. It seems that Hokage-sama wants to tell me something important."

The women looked at each other; they didn't want to do as he ordered.

They wanted to be there with Naruto; they knew that this conversation wouldn't be easy for him.

However, Naruto noticed that and asked again, "Please."

The girls had no other choice and ended up leaving the room.

Naruto then saw that Menma sat to his left and Minato to his right.

He was already guessing what was going on, and he could only think, "Here we go."

At that moment, he heard his father speaking, "Naruto, we need to talk..."

Notes:

DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEEE. xDDD I'm sorry. But I couldn't help it.

I don't know what I have to clarify; I think there isn't much.

I'll just say the thing about Naruto; I never had thought that Tsunade would heal him; I had always thought that it would be natural since if the Medical Ninjutsu didn't work with him, then not even Tsunade would have been able to help him.

Oh yes, Daisuke is a man, and he's in love with Naruto, hehe. But don't think that Naruto will love him back; there won't be Yaoi; don't worry.

Daisuke looks like "Sebastian Michaelis." Look it up on Google, but it's not him. I didn't even see that anime, I just had luck, and I found somebody who looked like him.

Okay until the next time.

(The OC's on this chapter weren't mine)