And we're back! The foundation has been laid, so we're about ready to start gaining some speed. Special thanks for this chapter goes to DragonPony022 for their dance scene idea [Though it's probably quite a bit different than what they had in mind] and, as usual, ncpfan who looks over all my work before I post.

As of last chapter, this has become my longest posted story, so we seem to be doing well. This would also have to be my most constantly updated story, as the others were really just as I felt like it which, trust me, really isn't a good system.

Well, I've just about run out of things to say, so on with the show!

Slowly it clinked through the grass, twisting and writhing in serpentine patterns as it approached its target. It emerged from the field of green, contrasting easily in glowing blue and striking like a serpent of lightning.

Naruto allowed a small smirk to grace his face as his chakra chain went through the hole of a kunai and wrapped itself around tightly. With a mental command it returned, its prize in tow. He placed the Kunai within his bag before moving the chain to wait behind him.

'How was that, Mito?'

"You're improving." Admitted the voice that only he could hear. "But you still need a lot of practice, your chains react slowly and you have trouble controlling more than two individually."

'Yeah, I suppose you're right, I've got a long ways to go.'

Over the past year he had found himself growing rather fond of his ward, something only helped when she began teaching him the techniques of her original jailer Uzumaki Mito. It was amazing to hear what the woman had been capable of with those chains and his respect for the woman had grown immensely despite never having met her.

More important than her teachings, however, had been her simple companionship. She was always there. Always able to offer advice. Always able to listen to his troubles. Always there to let him know that in this world he didn't have to be alone.

That was not to say he was always alone, but it was still a rather rare occurrence to run into those he knew, and for good reason-

He was trying not to be seen by the inhabitants of Konohagakure.

It wasn't that he had anything against them, but rather his own form of training. After all, if you could live as a ghost within the greatest shinobi village in the world, you were miles above the rest. He really wasn't much of a ghost when it came to the village's upper echelons, but he might have well been when it came to civilians and fresh Chuunin.

He was rather proud of that.

Of course, there was one civilian who always seemed to be able to find him, and she took every opportunity she could find to pester him. He really didn't mind all that much, though. Spending time with Tatsuki always seemed to lift his spirits. There was just something about the way she acted that never failed to bring a smile to his face.

For the most part, those he encountered were shinobi. He often ran into Inu, who seemed to be keeping an eye on him, and various other ANBU, usually sent by the Hokage himself. The great monkey had been giving him plenty of space, but liked to check up on him from time to time. At first, Naruto had suspected that it had something to do with the Sarutobi head's closeness to his mother and sister, but these days it seemed more like curiosity than anything else.

Naruto saw Iruka almost every day for class, but interacted with the man perhaps once a week for exams. His classmates seemed to have gotten used to his odd behavior and constant absence and were no longer surprised when he slipped into a seat from the window. That had actually taken three months, which was rather irritating. They were going to be ninja for fuck's sake, why were you startled when the same person came through the same window to enter the same seat for the same reason each time? If anything, they should have taken advantage of it and used it to try to prank him. Fortunately for him and even more fortunately for any wannabe prankster, no one had tried anything yet.

There was one other person he encountered rather regularly, and that was Kato Shizune, apprentice to Senju Tsunade. He didn't know what to think of her, honestly. She seemed an okay person, though one who didn't have much experience with people. Considering she had been following Tsunade around fire country, never staying in the same place for long, it was understandable. Other than her master, she probably didn't speak to many of the people she met more than once. She also seemed pretty restless, probably more so than normal. Before she had been traveling around, now she was just wasting time here in Konohagakure.

If he had to guess, she probably joined Tsunade for the chance to see the world and experience all that she could, she just seemed like that kind of person. It must have been terribly disappointing to then spend the next decade of her life learning medical techniques in between running from debt collectors and watching the last Senju get drunk off her ass.

He actually felt a great bit of pity for the poor girl.

Then there was the matter of the girl's master.

Apparently, she claimed to be his godmother, according to Sarutobi Hiruzen. The Old Monkey would neither confirm nor deny it, claiming to want to stay out of this, and Naruto was rather appreciative of that. He'd been living on his own thus far; he could make his own decisions.

Hiruzen had admitted that Kushina and Tsunade had known each other, so it was a possibility, especially considering Tsunade's sudden return so close to Kushina's departure, but he also said that Kushina had been rather secretive about any and all arrangements involving her family ever since the Kyuubi incident nine years ago.

When Hiruzen had then asked if he would like to meet the woman who was looking for him, Naruto had quite politely declined. After hearing a drunk Shizune air all her grievances about the woman, he had no desire to meet her, godmother or no. Perhaps, if she came to him, he would be polite and make conversation, maybe even over a nice meal somewhere, but so far all she'd done was ask the Hokage to keep an eye out and send him her way. Obviously, she really didn't want to meet with him. This felt far too much like someone doing the absolute minimum to be able to say they did something, and he wouldn't be having any of that.

He didn't know what obligations she might be trying to fulfil, but for all he cared she could choke on them. He had his own problems to worry about and some lazy old drunk sure as hell wasn't going to be one of them.

Speaking of searching for him, though, Kurenai seemed to be trying to locate him. She, he could understand. She had always acted oddly around him, but there was always this sense of guilt that came afterwards, as if she was aware of her actions and regretted them despite not being able to change. There must have been something bigger going on, but whatever it was he did not know and probably never would.

Avoiding her, then, was in her best interest. If she did meet with him she'd continue with her strange behavior and become guilty once more. It really was a vicious cycle, and seeing that he really didn't want to have to deal with her odd actions, it was something he was more than willing to help her with by staying as far away as he could.

"Nonsense, I only had a basic understanding of how these chains were supposed to work, the fact that you managed to use them at all is still impressive. You just need more practice still. It's easy to use a million chains in the same way, but controlling multiple chains in different ways is like suddenly finding yourself with new limbs, it's going to take some time to get used to." He could hear her giggle deep within the recesses of his mind. "Just think," She teased. "You still need to learn how to use them as you move. That should be fun."

Naruto groaned at the thought. That was not something he was looking forward to.

"That's the spirit!" Cheered the fox.

'I'm glad you find this funny.'

"Oh, I most certainly do. So, while we both admit you need more practice, perhaps you should stop trying to use them while you try to earn a living. I'm all for you getting good, but this is cutting into your productivity."

He gave a sigh. She was right, as usual. He had hoped that by using the chains to help him clear the training grounds he would both get practice and gather enough to pay this month's rent, but so far he'd gathered only a dozen kunai, which would maybe cover today's meals. He had a lot more to do if he wanted to get that rent out of the way so he could focus on other things.

'Yeah, you're right; I need to stop messing around. There's work to be done.'

As his chain dissipated into blue light, he set about maintaining the great forest, or whatever bullshit he had told Hiruzen. Those old clans were full of shit, always trying to insult each other with compliments. It was like a competition to see who could jerk the other off better, but even if you won you still just gave someone you didn't like a hand job.

Honestly, she should have known how shit of a plan that was. It had been a year, an entire freaking year, and Naruto was still out there doing who knows what to survive. Every search was fruitless, none of the ANBU would tell her anything, and the Hokage was less than helpful, telling her something about giving the boy some space. He didn't need space, he needed help.

More importantly, she needed to help him, to make up for all those years of being unable to bring herself to have any sort of positive relationship with him despite being so close to the rest of his family.

Giving a sigh, Kurenai fell back onto her couch.

This whole thing was just a giant mess. First Tsunade arrived a day late, then Naruto ends up in the hospital, the compound has Naruto homeless, Kushina decides to continue her trip, and now neither she nor Tsunade could find the boy.

'How hard is it to find the one person within all of Konoha with bright red hair?'

Something needed to be done to find him, but what? How could she possibly find the boy who seemed so intent to stay hidden. She really couldn't blame him, though. The world was scary, no wonder he was hiding.

'Maybe I could draw him out somehow?'

No, that wouldn't work. She hardly knew him, much less what would make him feel safe enough to emerge from wherever he was taking shelter. She could try to henge into Kushina and pretend she had come back, but that was already a horrible idea that could only go terribly wrong in a multitude of ways.

There had to be somewhere he frequented. A store, or a friend's house, or….

She slapped a hand to her head.

He was going to the academy, for fuck's sake. Here she had been over the last year, wandering the streets of Konoha for signs of the boy, but he would have been in the academy learning to be a shinobi while she was out looking for him. No wonder all her searches had come out empty handed.

Never before had she felt like such a moron.

'If Anko ever learned.' Just the thought made her shudder. She'd never hear the end of it from the snake mistress. Considering she had recruited the woman for a few searches, she'd probably be at the end of the woman's ire too.

'I'd rather not be at the other end of her hidden snake hands, thank you very much.'

Well, at least now she knew where to find him, the only problem left was making contact. She could wait out in front of the building like some of the parents, but he might not be to appreciative of that. He'd be even less pleased if she tried to draw him from classes. Naruto never seemed to want attention and that would be an excellent way of bombarding him with it.

'Maybe he could miss a day, or at least an hour or two. I could wait for him there in the morning.'

It was better, but that still didn't feel quite right. Maybe she could ask Iruka about him. Everyone knew how close she was to his family, it would make sense for her to check up on his academis from time to time with his mother away.

'Yeah, check up on him once a year, that's perfectly normal.' Well, it wasn't as if she had any better options, and if that didn't work she could resort to ambushing him before class. Better yet, if he walked in while she was speaking to Iruka then she could pull him away, at least for a few minutes, to tell him about the arrangement she and Tsunade had come up with. Surely he'd appreciate being told that he had a room in the Senju compound ready for him.

It was settled then, she'd stop by the academy first thing in the morning.

Everything was going to be just fine.

"Again!" She called, watching as the young blonde girl continued to train under the glaring sun. It was hard work, and she was proud of her, but it wasn't enough. The past year had been hard on Kushina, thoughts and doubts about the wellbeing of her son had haunted her without end, but she couldn't go back, couldn't make sure he was okay, couldn't wrap her arms around him and tell him it was all right.

But she wanted to.

Gods she was tempted, but she stayed strong. They couldn't go back, not yet. And so, she made good use of the trip.

"Once more!"

Naruko would be trained to insane levels for a girl her age and would return ready to protect their home of Konoha as the new head of the Uzumaki. And then Kushina could devote all of her time and attention to Naruto, the next head of the Namikaze. And by the gods she would train her son until he surpassed his father. She would make damn sure that she made up for leaving him behind, as necessary as it was.

Until then, however, she would focus on Naruko and her training. Her basic shinobi skills were coming about wonderfully, but compared to what would need to be taken care of soon, this was nothing.

It was not easy to control the chakra of the Kyuubi, but as its Jinchuriki Naruko would need to learn how. That and that alone would take up the majority of this training trip, but once it was done she could be confidant in the safety of both Naruko and her brother.

"Alright, that's enough. Come take a seat and get some rest." The young girl didn't bother coming over, instead choosing to collapse right where she stood in the field of grass they had been training in.

"Or just stay over there." Sighed Kushina as she walked over and dragged her daughter back to their little base camp.

As Kushina looked down at her daughter, she couldn't help but smirk. She had fallen asleep, completely exhausted from the training.

'Just like a true Uzumaki' Thought Kushina. 'Training until they collapse.'

Words may not have been able to express the pride she felt for her daughter, but her thoughts still lingered on her son.

'I haven't heard anything from Tsunade, but she really didn't want to do much in the first place. I suppose expecting regular updates was a bit much.'

It was a bit disappointing that she hadn't been told anything about her son's wellbeing, but at the same time no news was good news and she was confident she would be notified if anything bad happened.

'I still wish I knew how his health was, Tsunade hasn't given me her opinion on the matter.'

That was rather important, a key factor in ensuring his safety. But, until Tsunade told her otherwise, she'd have to trust the rather alarming theory given to her by the young medic she had met at the hospital.

'Chakra maturity happens around twelve, which is why academy graduation is so young, so I have at least three years before I can be sure its developed properly away from the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra.'

One year had been far too long to wait; another three was going to be an unbearable torture, but she'd make it through, if not for herself, then for the sake of her children.

As much as she wanted the family to be together, she had to do what was best for them all.

No matter how much it hurt.

The familiar sense of comfort and belonging filled his being as he took his first step on the black marble flooring of his world. It was not really his world, not truly, but with his control over it, it might have well been.

The pale flickering light bathed him in its green glow as his footsteps echoed down the walkway. There was a scent in the air, like pine trees and spice, but there was something else that lingered in the air, an aroma he couldn't put his finger on, which was odd. This world became what he wanted, so why didn't he know that smell?

With quick steps he continued into the main dining hall, only to raise a single brow at the fact that it was bigger than he remembered, grander. Instead of a room with just a long table, he had walked into an entire ballroom. The table, he idly noticed, had been moved along one of the walls.

"Like it?" His attention was drawn towards Mito as she descended the stairs, her red dress trailing behind her.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit confused. I was unaware that you could change anything in this place."

The woman giggled as she reached him, looping one arm through his own and leading him to the table. "You've been giving me a lot of leeway recently, even if you don't realize it, so as long as my changes don't go against your own desires, they'll stay until you take the time to change them.

He looked around, noting the brightness of the room. It was rather out of place in this world, so it was the first thing to go. As the lights dimmed and white and gold color scheme turned to red and black, Mito pouted.

"So I guess you don't like it. You could have just said something, you know."

"Say something about what?" He questioned, gesturing around the room. "I love what you did to the place." She hit him on the arm rather hard for that one, but he only grinned and turned them away from the table.

"What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously, looking back to the table they were leaving behind.

"What we are doing is dancing." He answered with a grin. A piano replaced the table, filling the room with soft melodies. "You went through all this trouble to make this lovely room, I thought it would be a pity not to put it to good use."

"And we can't eat first?"

"We could, but I'm still trying to think of something to serve, this is mostly to buy me some time."

She raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Were you lying to me about putting my hard work to good use?"

He scoffed. "Absolutely not." He denied. "I'm putting it to good use in buying myself some time."

"I see." Mito laughed. "In that case, let's buy you some time, hm?" She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Instantly the two were reminded of their height difference.

"Perhaps," Naruto began. "This was not the best thought out plan. Maybe we should go back to dinner."

"Oh no you're not, mister." Frowned Mito. "You promised a girl a dance and by the gods you're going to give it to her."

"As much as I'd like to, I don't think this is going to work. Unless you have a plan of some sort, I'm not really comfortable dancing with my head between your breasts."

"Aw, trying to take away all my fun? Fine, I suppose if it makes you feel better, I can change. Just remember, I'm changing just for you." With a grin, her features melted away, leaving her as a twelve year old girl. Naruto, being rather tall for his age, was just barely taller than her. At his inquisitive stare, she grinned again and gave his cheek a quick kiss.

"Just because this seal keeps me in a human form doesn't mean I can't change the appearance."

"And you didn't think to mention this earlier?"

"You're far more easily flustered when I'm in my usual form, why would I ever give that up? Now, enough talk, let's dance." Moving her arms over his shoulders and around his neck again, she was immensely pleased when he didn't hesitate to place his own hands on her hips.

She gave him a smirk. "You know, you seem far more comfortable and straightforward when I'm younger, maybe I should have used this form from the beginning."

"If you had," Naruto admitted as they began swaying to the music. "I would have believed it to be your true form and would have assumed the older you was made exclusively for the sake of making me uncomfortable."

"And you don't think I can make you uncomfortable in this form too?" She leaned in closer, placing her head right next to his ear and gave it a quick lick. As he recoiled in shock she gave him a smug grin.

"I think I would have been more comfortable with your other form doing that, despite the fact you would have seemed like a pedophile." She gave a pout.

"Come on, don't say things like that, Naruto, you're only a pedophile if you like children. I don't like children, I like you."

"Still makes you a pedophile."

She gave a quick giggle, one that he noticed fit far better with this form then when she was an adult. "I'm a child right now, silly, that makes everything okay."

"You take entirely too much enjoyment from doing this."

"What can I say?" She asked. "I like to see you flustered."

"You and Tatsuki both, it would seem." At his mention of the Yamanaka prostitute her countenance seemed to darken for a moment, but it quickly cheered back up before he could notice.

"What can I say? It's a lot of fun, and you just look so adorable when you're all red."

Frowning, he took a quick glance about the room. "I wonder if it would feel the same in a more public space."

She shot him a questioning glance.

"I'll admit, I tend to get a bit nervous and uncomfortable when I'm alone with a beautiful woman. Maybe some company would make it easier to enjoy this."

As soon as he had spoken they appeared, two dozen spectral figures that shimmered silver like the moonlight. They all gave a quick bow to the two true occupants of the seal before partnering up and beginning dances of their own. Mito could only stand there in amazement.

"How?"

"You should know by now, Mito. I'm the master of this manor, whatever I say goes."

"So you said you needed guests?" he gave her a smirk of his own, one remarkably similar to her own smirks.

"Indeed. Now, let us dance." Moving one hand from her hip to take hold of her own slender fingers, he began dancing properly with his partner in this court of spirits. The already dim lights vanished, leaving only the faint silver glow that came from his conjured guests as if he had created dancing candles to surround him for the evening.

"I didn't even know you could dance." Admitted Mito sometime later. He gave her a grin.

"I didn't know you could either. Truly this is a night that should have happened long ago. I'm actually a bit surprised we didn't think of it earlier." Mito raised a delicate eyebrow.

"And who's to say we didn't? Maybe this has all been an elaborate scheme I put into place to give me the chance to dance with a young gentleman for an evening."

"Then I would have to apologize that instead you received a young boy."

"You're a gentleman enough for me." She rested her head on his shoulder as he held her tighter, the music slowing.

"Then I'm glad your scheme has come into fruition." He smiled. "I'm more glad that I was the one you caught. Life just wouldn't be the same without you, Mito, I'm happy to be able to spend time with you like this.

"And I'm glad I received such a wonderful warden."

As the guests faded away to give the two some privacy, leaving them bathed in the soft glow of a nonexistent moon, a single tear made its way down her cheek unseen.

'Such a wonderful warden.'

Candles flickered within the room, dancing to the echoing screams that filled the darkness, but he paid the screams no mind. They were a constant here, deep beneath the earth. Here, in his den, in this land he ruled, he was not bothered by anything, because everything that happened was by his will.

Truly this was as close to godhood has one could achieve.

For now.

That would change, in time, but for now he was content with his realm and his control. It was a refreshing change from his past, where everything he wished to do had restrictions and laws and ethics to stop him. There was none of that here, no, here there was only success, only progress. Hundreds of people worked as one towards a common set of goals.

His goals.

Just as it should be.

Another scream tore itself from the throat of its unfortunate creator, the cost of knowledge, the price of power. He was more than willing to pay for it with the lives of others. After all, what other use did they have? Was he expected to leave them to live mundane lives that brought forth nothing when they could instead be used to advance himself and his people even further within this cruel world? He would scoff at such a foolish notion.

Here in his world of darkness, only his continued survival mattered. Everything else was expendable. The world itself was expendable. But there was one thing, one single being upon this world other than himself, who was not expendable. Someone protected by oaths and promises made years ago, long before he had left his village to create his own.

Yellow eyes moved to gaze at the picture hanging upon the wall, flanked on either side by small candles that assured the painting was always visible. Bright purple eyes shone back at him, wisdom and maturity within that betrayed their age. Pale skin, like the full moon, was contrasted by the crown of crimson that framed a face that had to be of noble blood. The upper body was covered in a black robe tied shut with a red sash, a large dip revealing that the pale skin continued down past the sternum.

The brows were thin and relaxed as pale lips were set into a disinterested frown. The entire image spoke of a royal figure and indeed it was. A soft smile came to his lips as he looked at it, this painting he often referred to as the 'Blood Prince'.

Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto stared back at him.

"I've heard some interesting things." He told the painting. It remained silent.

"They say you've been locked out of your home, that the queen and princess ran off on some grand adventure and left you to fend for yourself." He paused, as if to let the picture have a chance to speak. It chose not to take it.

"You know what else I've heard? That it's been an entire year already since it happened. Imagine that." He seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"Though I suppose you seem to be doing alright for yourself. It's amazing how fast they grow. First they're nothing but a defenseless baby, then they're living on their own in a blink of an eye."

"I don't think I've ever sent you any birthday gifts, have I? Your mother never would have let you keep them, I suppose, but she'd not there anymore, is she? No, she's not, and unless I'm mistaken, you had your ninth birthday recently. Such a big boy you're becoming, little prince, I'm sure your father would have been proud, if the fox hadn't killed him."

"Yes, I quite agree, it was a tragic loss, he was a good man. Very powerful too. Then there were his looks- you'll probably inherit those. I'm sure you'll be a real lady killer when you've grown a bit."

"You know, you would make an excellent prince here in my den, I'm almost tempted to invite you to live here. Though I don't suppose many would take kindly to that, at least not before you claim your father's name at least. After that it's your choice, but they probably wouldn't like it any better. In fact, they'd probably hate me more because of it."

"What an interesting thought, them hating me more. I'm not entirely sure that's even possible. Time will tell, however, my little blood prince, but for now, I should see to getting you a gift to make up for all those I've missed."

"Now, what might you like? Weapons? Money? Power? Women? Slaves? A palace of bones? Perhaps, before I get you this gift, I should first get to know you. I have enough people in Konoha, it wouldn't hurt to have one or two of them turn their attention to you."

"Just be a bit more patient, Naruto-kun, I'll have a gift for you soon enough."

'Yes,' He mused. 'Soon enough.'

Deep within his den echoed the laughter of Orochimaru-

The godfather of one Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

Act VII will be showing on Friday, January fifteenth. I hope you can all make it to the show.