Everyone was anxiously watching as Mikoto Uchiha sunk her teeth deeply into Tayuya's left arm. The Uzumaki girl gritted her teeth at the pain. The operation had taken very long and the Uchiha had shown no good signs yet.

Naruto's shadow clone, codenamed Black, let out a sigh. "Lady Mikoto, we gotta stop and resume healing tomorrow. Please stop biting."

"WHY?" Sasuke asked aloud, almost pleading and voicing what every Uchiha was thinking. "Mum looks much healthier and she would be fine in a few more minutes. JUST A FEW MORE MINUTES AND THAT WILL BE IT PLEASE!" He and the rest of the Uchihas wished the operation would continue.

Honoka held them back with her arms. "I wish we could too, but we really have to stop it NOW."

The Uchihas watched dejectedly when Mikoto released her jaw from Tayuya's arm. Tsunade stepped in to begin her medical scan on the crippled Uchiha matriarch while Hinata passed a food pill to Tayuya.

Honoka looked at Sasuke and the other Uchihas. "Heal Bite is another Uzumaki bloodline limit, like Chain Release. However, it is a dangerous technique that greatly drains the user's energy. The longer it takes, the riskier and more dangerous- hence it must be used carefully. There are many fatalities from use of Heal Bite, the most glaring example is that most of the Uzushio medic deaths in the Last Stand came from chakra exhaustion: they sacrificed themselves by giving every last bit of their energy to heal their comrades. To be honest, I initially disliked this idea when Naruto suggested treating your mother with Heal Bite, even though she was Lady Kushina's best friend. But we accepted the suggestion after he told us the deal and the benefits to the Uzumaki clan when the Uchiha matriarch is healed."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Deal?"

He now noticed the two Uzumaki girls were now red-haired, not black colour when they had returned to Konoha yesterday. 'Are they originally red-haired like that genin teammate of mum's? Why did they change their hair colour?'

"We will have a meeting with your mother later. You should come along since you are the clan heir." Honoka said.

Hitomi asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "How is it going, sensei?"

Before the world's best medic could answer, the Uchiha matriarch got up from the makeshift medical table without her sensei's permission and tried to stand without her crutch. Everyone, Sasuke in particular, gasped as Mikoto slowly stood up, although she shook as she did so.

Everyone watched in anticipation as she tried to take a few steps forward, but the mood turned to disappointment when the matriarch's severely damaged left leg couldn't support her body. She would have fallen, but her sensei grabbed her arms just in time and chided her.

"Mikoto! What are you doing?! You shouldn't do this!"

"Sensei, I am sorry… I just wanted to try… And thank you." Mikoto said quietly while looking crestfallen.

The Uchiha stood up again after accepting her crutch from Hitomi, while listening to the world best medic's answer the Hyuuga's original question.

"As you have seen, Mikoto's leg and back aren't completely healed." Everyone sighed in defeat and tears came to many Uchihas' eyes, especially Sasuke's. "But the bone fragments in the spinal column are gone, I can't believe it! Heal Bite is truly amazing despite the risk that it brings…"

People's eyes widened at the realization that the main cause of Mikoto's disability was now gone. The healing had produced some result and the fire of hope had been reignited.

"Can I ask for a favour, Honoka, Tayuya? Please let me take it over from here. I can do it. I want to fix my mistake…" The Senju princess pleaded with determination in her eyes. "I know you want to ask a favour from Mikoto once you heal her, but please let me finish where I failed five years ago."

The kind Uchiha matriarch interjected on Tsunade's behalf. "Please let sensei do it. I will still listen to whatever favours you seek. Besides, sensei is an Uzumaki after all, isn't she?"

Black looked to Honoka and Tayuya, who both nodded in assent. "OK then, but Tayuya will be with you just in case."

Tsunade gave them a slight bow to show her appreciation. "Thank you. I will make sure that Shizune is with me this time."

"And don't fuck up this time, Lady Tsunade," an annoyed Tayuya added her point. Everyone in the chamber gasped while Black and Honoka facepalmed.

"D-Did she just say the F-word?" Miki whispered to Rei, Tekka Uchiha's daughter.

Everyone heard a sob and turned to find Sasuke crying quietly. That terrible night, the massacre… they had left a very terrible scar on all Uchiha survivors, him in particular. His father and many other Uchihas were murdered in cold blood, his mum crippled, those Uchiha children orphaned, and he was severely traumatized from that Tsukuyomi.

All of these were callously perpetrated by the man he idolized and used to call brother, merely to measure his capacity.

But little by little, that terrible wound would heal, as his mum started to recover; then she and he would protect their clan together. Wiping his tears away, Sasuke walked towards Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the former Kumo jonin and ANBU who defeated Itachi in Wave Country. To everyone's surprise, the proud Uchiha heir humbly bowed to the shadow clone.

According to Hinata Hyuuga, Sasuke recalled to himself, Konoha had less than ninety days to prepare for an angry Kumo and her two jinchuurikis returning with a vengeance. To prevent that vision from becoming a reality, he had to be strong for his mother and clansmen. A wound to his pride was a small price, one that he was willing to pay for his clan's sake.

"Thank you for healing my mother! And please take me as your student! Please help me protect my people!"

Black was flabbergasted. "I thought you wanted boss to train you to kill Itachi?" He froze in realization after blurting the name of that certain someone. The shadow clone turned and saw the Uchiha Corps. Every child was staring at him, some with tears gleaming in their eyes, others with pure, burning hatred. He now realized that the word "Itachi" was a forbidden one in this very compound, much like "Kyuubi," "Nanabi" and "jinchuuriki" in this village.

"Boss?" Sasuke asked.

"As a matter of fact, I'm a shadow clone and I can't decide this on boss' behalf." Black explained apologetically when Sasuke looked a little offended that the blond didn't come to heal his mother. "Boss was originally going to come here too, but there was a change of plan… Boss bumped into Neji, who is assigned for the inheritance recovery mission."

In the Hokage Tower, after getting documents done, Naruto had immediately created several shadow clones. He assigned Grey to the tomb location of a certain someone, Red to the Uzumaki Manor, Yellow to get some flowers with Inoichi, and White to get his parents' fortunes. To his surprise and delight, he then met Neji Hyuuga in the mission hall, as he and Anko were assigned to help him to recover his parents' fortunes. The Godaime pointed out that Anko had unique methods of persuasion for getting bank managers to cooperate.

The Hyuuga's attitude and talk of fate irked and confused the blond until he discovered the reason- the seal on his surrogate brother's forehead. Everyone in the mission hall, even Tsunade and the infamous Snake Mistress, took a step back when they saw how Naruto's eyes flashed like a thunderstorm. The blond immediately created and assigned Black to go with the Slug Sannin to heal Mikoto while he coldly declared that he had to personally handle a far more important matter in the Hyuuga compound. He told his busty aunty that he would meet them in the Konoha Cemetery before shunshined away.

"For your sake, best not to piss off Naruto." Tayuya advised Sasuke. Many people gasped again at the swear words.

Hinata stepped in. "I will pass your messages to him. A piece of advice: Naruto is not in a very good mood now. Don't bother him now or he will never agree to train you. But I think you will have a great opportunity to bring it up after he talks to Fu at the party tonight."

Tsunade, Mikoto and Hitomi raised their eyebrows at that name.

"Fu?" Sasuke asked. "The girl in Team 8? What does this have to do with her?"

"Like with the chakra cloak and chakra balls you have been asking about, I cannot answer regarding this either. Only Naruto and Fu can answer these questions for you."

XXXXXXXXX

Only Mikoto, Honoka, Tayuya, Hinata, Hitomi, Tsunade and Sasuke stayed in the guest room, as all other people, including all Uchiha seniors and a reluctant Hizashi, were requested to leave.

"The son of the Yellow Flash better trains Brother Sasuke to avenge our families!" Daisuke said to his fellow Uchiha Corps members, who all eagerly nodded in agreement. "I will give him my Tonton piggy bank and some of my inheritance from papa and mama."

"Me too! I'll use my inheritance too!" All the children said. They wanted to persuade Naruto Namikaze who defeated their parents' murderer.

Rei added her suggestion. "We should even offer him a Lieutenant General position in our Corps as a reward! If he still doesn't agree, then we will resort to our ultimate weapon!" Every Uchiha child nodded again, no one could resist the Uchiha Corps' Puppy Eye Jutsu!

"We should enlist those two beautiful red-haired ladies too!" Miki said. She and many other Uchiha girls had started to look up to Tayuya in particular, who had fixed their kind surrogate mother's injury with her bloodline limit. To the girls, the redhead looked badass and a model kunoichi.

XXXXXXXXX

When the last unnecessary person left, Honoka immediately set up Domain privacy seals in the room corners.

"Now we can talk freely," she told all the people present.

"Tayuya, Honoka, I can't thank you enough for healing my wounds," Mikoto gave a slight appreciative bow to them, and her son followed suit. "Now, may I know the favour that you seek?"

The girls sat straighter in their chairs, and Honoka started to speak. "We want the Uchiha clan's secret support for our Neo-Whirlpool endeavour."

Mikoto and Sasuke widened their eyes at the Uzumaki's request.

"Secret support?" The Uchiha clan heir asked.

"Yes, our country became part of Fire Country after its destruction. This endeavour has to be secret until the time is right, because there are many people, especially the Fire Court members and nobles, who don't want our country to regain its independence. The Land of Whirlpool has an abundance of precious ores and metal, and it is a strategic trade and transport hub. We don't believe the Court will easily give up a province that provides lucrative profits they enjoy so much. And we know many people here won't let Naruto go, due to his special status."

'Jinchuuriki status…' All three members of Team Tsunade thought.

"Special status? Being son of the Yellow Flash?" Sasuke asked again.

"Yeah, you can say that too. Konoha wants another Yellow Flash to suit her interests." Tayuya said cynically. "We know some pric-uh, some people in the Konoha Council won't let Naruto leave, but he is the key for Neo-Uzushio. Only he can use the Uzumaki Reclaimer ruby and rally the Uzushio survivors, because he is the last member of the ruling line beside Lady Tsunade. The two of us are from the branch line in the clan."

The Slug Sannin looked at the confused faces of her two genin students and Sasuke and decided to provide an explanation. "For your information, my grandmother Mito was the heiress to the Uzumaki clan, until she gave up that position to Naruto's great-grandfather and married Hashirama Senju. Only Naruto, as the only living ruling house member, can wield the Reclaimer stone to find the other Uzumakis scattered across the world."

Honoka continued her proposition. "In return for the Uchiha clan's support and connections, we are willing to teach or provide you Sanctuary territory seals in your compound, so you can protect your clan from Itachi trying to 'finish the job.' Also, the Uchiha clan will also enjoy special privileges in Neo-Whirlpool Country along with the Senju and the Hyuuga clans."

'WOW!' Sasuke found this proposition very tempting and it didn't take him long to make a decision. "Mum, you have to agree to this! This can restore our clan's glory and make us even more powerful!" He urged his mother on, before an idea came to his mind and he turned to Honoka and Tayuya. "One more condition, can you ask Naruto to train me for my clan's sake?"

"Quiet! You don't make a decision in haste! You don't make an important decision that quick. You have to judge its pros and cons!" Mikoto shot her son a glare, making him quiet. She turned to reply to the Uzumakis. "This proposition is very good, but too important for me to decide now. Please give me a few days to recover and think about it."

The two Uzumaki girls nodded, and Honoka turned to speak to Sasuke. "I will relay your request to Naruto, too."

"Naruto might bring up some smaller personal requests to you, but not until he confirms the existence of a certain someone." Tayuya added. "But we will talk about them later."

Tsunade was in deep thought. There was little information about Izuna Uchiha, except him being Madara's last living brother before mortally wounded by Tobirama Senju. Izuna lived long enough to see the birth of his daughter, who later became Mikoto's mother.

'When sensei told us that Minato was Tobirama's grandson and Naruto said that Madara was responsible for the Kyuubi's Attack 13 years ago. I can't help but wonder if Madara did it as a revenge on Tobirama for killing Izuna… How is Madara still alive? And how did he find out about Naruto's birth?'

XXXXXXXXX

Hyuuga Clan Head's House

At the same time Hiashi was sitting at his desk reading over an Uzushio history scroll concerning her relationship with her sister village Konoha, while Naruto silently sat across from him waiting patiently.

"Uzushio was the capital of Whirlpool Country, ruled by the Uzumaki clan. It was not a ninja village but was ruled by a ninja clan that was related to the Senju clan. The hidden whirlpool village was credited to the founding of the first ninja village – Konoha, along with the Senju and the Uchiha clans, through Mito Uzumaki. She was the Uzumaki clan heiress before marrying the Shodai Hokage. Then, Uzushio adopted Konoha's ninja system and became a ninja village afterwards in response to the potential threat from the newly established Kiri and Kumo."

The contribution of funds, resources and fuinjutsu made the Uzumaki clan the unofficial third Konoha founder clan. This part of the history was even taught to Kakashi's generation during their academy days, until the Kyuubi's Attack 13 years ago, Hiashi acknowledged. Of course, Hiashi knew that the Hyuuga and the Namikaze clans joined the Leaf village later, like the Sarutobi and the Shimura clans. The Hyuuga clan head continued to read the scroll.

"Lady Mito Uzumaki-Senju, the legendary Konoha Red Queen, had countless achievements in her lifetime; most noticeably being a Konoha founder beside Hashirama Senju, his brother Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha. Another bright spot was her helping secure her husband's decisive victory over Madara Uchiha by sealing the Kyuubi no Kitsune into herself thus becoming a jinchuuriki. Yet she had one great black mark on her legacy: the controversial introduction of the forbidden curse seal techniques for the Konoha prison system: the Caged Bird Seal… Caged Bird Seal?!" A shocked Hiashi asked aloud, eyes widened. "Is it from the Uzumaki clan?! How can it be possible?"

Naruto nodded quietly before he explained. "The Uzumaki clan had used the Caged Bird Seal at the start of the Warring States Era 200 years ago. The fuinjutsu was originally an Uzumaki clan's weapon of terror against clans with kekkei genkai, particularly those in the neighbouring Water Country like the Kaguya clan. Although it ceased military application at the end of the era, it still remained in the prison system. The Hyuuga clan somehow managed to gain the technique around that time; even the fox doesn't know how they did it. I assume it happened before the Battle of the Valley of the End and when Lady Mito sealed him into herself. Take a read at the Uzushio version of Konoha foundation history in that black scroll, Section 8."

Hiashi began to read it. "Hideyoshi Hyuuga, that's my great-grandfather. He was the Hyuuga clan head at that time and he demanded fuinjutsu learning as a condition to join Konoha. Using that opportunity, he learnt, or stole as many Uzumakis suspected, the bastardized version of the Caged Bird Seal technique. Bastardized version?"

Naruto smirked darkly. "The Hyuuga Caged Bird Seal seals Byakugan at death, and inflicts pain and death, and that's all. But the Uzumaki one, call it the Primal Caged Bird Seal… can do much more. You ever wonder why I did that fuinjutsu stunt on your elders yesterday, on their chests specifically? This Primal Caged Bird Seal can be used on torso. I wanted to send a message that your clan put that vile seal on your people's foreheads as an act of humiliation and enslavement! I can't believe it that you did it to Neji and his sister, HIASHI!"

Thanks to decades of Hyuuga and ninja training, the clan head barely managed to hide his shock and fear. This Naruto was completely different than the one he chased after yesterday. The blond's eyes were so murderous that the Hyuuga actually took a step back when the boy confronted him for his surrogate brother. Yesterday, Naruto started to call Hiashi and Hitomi "Father" and "Mother" respectively, after he proposed to their daughter, much to their happiness.

Now Naruto was simply calling the clan head "Hiashi." Thank Kami he was Hinata's father, otherwise the blond might have sent him to hospital.

"The elders carried out the task while I was away!" Hiashi defended. He and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were at Taki negotiating for a certain someone with the Waterfall leadership. "I was angry too when I learnt my elders performed the ritual on the unmarked Branch children and named Hanabi the heiress without my approval. They said the traditions must be followed, and there is nothing I can do about the seals!"

"So it isn't you who put that damn seal on Neji's forehead? Good. And I should have a talk with your elders, including those in the jail…" There was a sadistic and feral smile on the blond's face that sent shivers down Hiashi's spine.

"But why didn't I know this seal is from the Uzumaki clan? And what claim do you have about it?"

"The elders didn't want you to know it. My guess is due to your twin brother Hizashi and your code of honour that won't allow the use of this stolen technique. They fear you will abolish this tradition they enjoy so much. The fox can see what I see, just like he saw through Lady Mito and my mother."

Naruto began to tell Hiashi what Kurama had told the blond. The fox witnessed Mito's horror and disgust when she saw a Hyuuga branch member being "disciplined" in a street and she recognized the seal on that Hyuuga's forehead. It was too late. There was little she could do with clan affairs and her husband Hashirama and brother-in-law Tobirama had passed away. Using her influence, the Konoha prison ceased the Uzumaki practice and used a replacement binding seal. The Hyuuga clan continued this practice nevertheless, with the silent consent of the Leaf leadership due to the First and the Second Shinobi World Wars.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune hated Mito for sealing him, yet he held a begrudging respect for her, and he hated enslavement much more. Through Kushina, Kurama sadly watched the Red Queen passed away with regrets as she firmly believed she was responsible for the Hyuuga Branch members' suffering through the Caged Bird Seal that she introduced to Konoha. The tailed beast was not the only thing Mito passed to her successor Kushina Uzumaki: the task of ending the Hyuuga's use of the seal.

After hearing the story, Hiashi closed his eyes with heavy heart. "Lady Mito never realized that the Third Shinobi World War would soon follow the Second War, and it was the most brutal and bloodiest conflict in the ninja world history. Then your mother was pregnant, and your father took the mantle of Hokage to begin the reconstruction efforts. They both died on that horrible night…"

There was a knock on the office door, Hiashi said "Enter" and Naruto promptly turned off the privacy seals. The two were surprised to see the remaining six elders and many Main house members. The blond reckoned that they numbered thirty two in total, four-fifth of the adult Main house members. Yet why did they all look surprised too?

'Why is the Kyuubi brat here?! How the hell did he come here? We didn't see him coming into the compound!' The Hyuugas inwardly looked at Naruto in disgust as if he was a stain on the office tatamis, before they all bowed respectfully to their clan head.

"Why are you here?" Hiashi demanded the reason for this huge presence. The question put the elders in an awkward position; how could they tell their clan head the real reason in front of the Kyuubi brat without incurring his wrath?

However High Elder Hideo Hyuuga eased the situation as he stepped in and spoke politely. "Lord Hiashi, we are here to congratulate you on your eldest daughter's marriage to Lord Namikaze, hence we advise that you should rescind your order and let Lady Hanabi become the heiress."

"What are you trying to say?" Naruto asked dangerously, he stood up and glared at the elder. His right hand was close to reaching the hilt of his katana on his back, daring the Hyuugas to say anything foolish. If the elder suggested putting Hinata to the Branch house, then Naruto would personally teach him a lesson he would never forget for the rest of his life: never mess with an Uzumaki!

Hiashi put down his scroll and looked at his clansmen carefully, especially Hideo. The 68 years old man had become the High Elder, after Hiashi and Hizashi's father passed away before the Namikaze-Hyuuga Incident. This elder was jovial and that put people at ease. This ability made him a good negotiator and the real power in the Hyuuga Elder Council. He had often suggested a betrothal between his grandson and Hanabi.

But privately, both Hiashi and Hitomi felt this person was cold and calculating and reminded them of a certain bandaged Konoha elder. This man was definitely not the person to be trifled with.

"Hinata is my firstborn, it is her birthright after all. You named Hanabi my heiress without my approval in the first place." was Hiashi's firm reply to them.

Some of the Hyuugas were inwardly fuming, but Hideo calmly took a few seconds to continue his arguments. "No, I think you both misunderstood what I said, Lord Hiashi and Lord Namikaze." The elder placated them with a smile that put people at ease. "Lady Hinata is going to be the matriarch of both Namikaze and Uzumaki clans. The burden will be too much for Lady Hinata to be the matriarch of three clans. We have trained Lady Hanabi in every area for years and she is almost ready to be the Hyuuga clan head. Lord Hiashi, your two daughters will work well together to strengthen the alliance between the Namikaze-Uzumaki and the Hyuuga clans."

Naruto and Hiashi were surprised at his words but several Hyuugas present looked surprised too. The elder made a gesture to keep them silent when they wanted to interject.

"We are here to congratulate you both," Hideo looked at Naruto and smiled again. "And Lord Namikaze, I don't know what you have been saying to our clan leader. You are the head of the Namikaze and the Uzumaki clans, and you should know well that bad things will happen should you interfere with the internal affairs of other clans…"

The blond narrowed his eyes at the subtle warning.

"Now if you can excuse us," Hideo bowed to his clan head, the other Hyuugas followed suit and left.

In a flash, Naruto appeared in front of them and smiled sweetly, like a certain future Godaime Mizukage. "Thank you, honourable elder. I appreciate your blessing very much. I am sure you are sincere about it, because you know bad things will happen too if someone wants to harm Hinata..." Then he opened his red slitted eyes which made all the Hyuugas took a step back. "So leave me and Hinata alone and I will leave you alone. I didn't bring Hinata home just to be sealed and enslaved again after killing thousands of Kumo ninjas, kicking the Raikage's, Itachi Uchiha's and Kisame Hoshigaki's sorry asses!"

The words were full of killing intent and all the Hyuugas' unmarked foreheads were sweating and even Hiashi was affected, as his hands were slightly trembling. If someone touched his Hinata and Uzumaki clanswomen, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze would give them a war.

"He was lying about their intention coming here, probably because of your presence. They are up to something. I bet on my tails they won't leave Hinata alone." Kurama cautioned.

"Yeah, I know. It's gonna take more than your testimony to convince Father to abolish this ugly tradition and you don't even want to talk to him. The Konoha elders are untrustworthy for their role in Uzushio's Last Stand. I have to find evidence of the Hyuuga stealing the Caged Bird Seal technique, to finish mum's job."

"Why don't you just do it the hard way? Quick and easy. I don't mind you using my power to force the Hyuuga clan to abolish that vile seal."

"I don't want to always resort to violence and coercion, Kurama. And it's out of respect for Hiashi; he is Hinata's father and my father in law after all."

'Good,' Kurama smiled at his host's reasons.

"We have to tread damned carefully for the Branch family's sake."

XXXXXXXXX

The Hyuuga Main house group had just exited Hiashi's residence. Several Branch members hurried out of their way, as none of them wanted to be made a target by these curse-seal-happy Main house members. Hideo's eldest child Naoki spoke first.

"Father, why did you say that? Why did you give that brat your blessing? We were supposed to tell Hiashi he must follow the traditions, like his father had! No one marries outside the clan unmarked!"

"In front of the one who defeated Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki at the same time? I would have to have a death wish to suggest that in that Kyuubi brat's presence!" An annoyed Hideo retorted.

"But it's our clan affair. It's none of his business and there is nothing he can do!" Another young Main member named Eisaku interjected.

"Yeah!" All the other young members chorused together, while the elders all looked a bit apprehensive.

'Even the younger generation of the Main house doesn't know the secret of our tradition. But the fewer that know, the better, for the good of the clan.' Hideo thought. 'I hope the brat doesn't know it, or the clan will be torn apart…'

"What had the Kyuubi brat been talking about to Hiashi, by the way?" An elder asked.

"We don't know, but we will find out." Hideo answered. "And I think it's pointless to brand Hinata, because I fear the brat is capable of removing the Caged Bird Seal."

Everyone gasped. "Impossible!"

"I hope so, but after the stunt he pulled off yesterday… There is no doubt Hinata will request her 'husband' to remove the seals and abolish our traditions when she becomes the next clan head." The high elder stopped in his track and turned to face everyone and spoke. "We have to buy time, to find a way to prevent Hinata's marriage with the Kyuubi brat, or from becoming the next Hyuuga clan head. All of you go tell all the Branch people that they are forbidden to get close to the brat, and don't let Hiashi and his family learn about this."

"And what about Hizashi's family?" Naoki asked. "Neji is like a brother to the brat because they used to be together before the abduction. His family has been invited to the party and I've heard the brat and that false heiress have been assigned to Neji's unit by both Hokages."

"Then tell Hizashi and Neji if they step out of the line, their family and fellows will suffer the consequences. Something tells me the boy is up to something…" The High Elder said worriedly. "Perhaps we should have a talk with him. He might know what the brat is up to. He cannot be trusted, but he might be able to help us."

XXXXXXXXX

Kumogakure no Sato

In the council chamber the Raikage and the rest of the Kumo leadership were watching a huge TV that showed a classified remote location in Lightning Country, a place only they knew of. Thanks to the compartmentalization policy, Naruto didn't have any knowledge of this location and the project involved. The screen showed the director of Kumo Research and Development division who picked up his microphone.

"Gentlemen, we will start the 44th Hell Storm test in one hour," Professor E addressed to his viewers.

The large mountain gates behind the professor slowly opened. Local commander Toroi and more than a hundred Kumo ninjas marched out escorting a huge machine with three cannon muzzles to a railroad.

"We need to get it complete before the Chunin Exam Final in Konoha!" The scar-faced Raikage exclaimed in a feminine voice, courtesy of Naruto. Normally all the councillors would secretly laugh at their kage's girly voice, but the situation was too serious to do it now.

The weapon developer raised his grey eyebrows. "Why now? Isn't the weapon supposed to be used against Iwa four years later according to the plan?"

Dodai, the former chief drill instructor to the three jinchuurikis at their boot camp time, stepped in to explain. "With the disappearance of the two Kumo loyal jinchuurikis, B and Yugito, we have no choice but to rely on this. And we have also learnt that two of Naruto's girls are from Iwa leadership…"

Everyone's face turned grimmer. The Raikage had contemplated to kill H when he learned that Naruto seduced her with a date so he could take the two girls under his wing. The Kumo leader couldn't kill the director of the Slave and Breeding Program since he needed to conserve every ninja at hand.

"There is no doubt that traitor Naruto Namikaze will come back with a grand army that composes of Konoha, Iwa and Suna. The army will be even larger than the Combine that destroyed Uzushio. Fortunately, Leaf is busy hosting the Chunin Exam this time and we have some time to prepare." A Kumo councillor added.

E frowned. "Then Hell Storm must be ready before the Konoha Chunin Exam Final but that gives us less than seven weeks. I fear that is impossible…"

The Raikage roared and smashed his table apart. "I DON'T CARE! GET IT DONE OR I WILL HAVE YOU HEAD!"

The professor didn't even shiver though. "Killing me will only make things worse, Lord Raikage… Haven't you and your councillors all learnt the lesson when you didn't take my advice not to kidnap the son of the Yellow Flash and the Hyuuga heiress in the first place? This nearly cost our village and your lives. Your impatience shall not cost Hell Storm, our last trump card…"

The elderly ninja spoke in a dangerous low voice and calmly pushed up his glasses with his left middle finger. This blatant disrespect didn't go unnoticed by the viewers, but they said nothing for he had the power and intelligence to back it up.

Before the Raikage could roar again, C stepped in to ease the tension. "Sir, is it possible if we concentrate on developing one of the two modes?"

E thought for a moment and he smiled. "Yes."

"Which one?"

While the Kumo leadership was discussing about their crisis, unbeknownst to them something was approaching Lightning Country with an offer of solution to their crisis. A flying temple under the flags with a music note was quietly and quickly sailing through the clouds, straight towards its destination.

XXXXXXXXX

Author Notes:

Beta: Illuminated.

Proofread and consultation: Ookami88 and Lord Farsight.

1. We all make mistakes, but we learn and grow up. There is no bashing in my stories, even of Sasuke, my least favourite character. I write without forcing things in. And it was Kishimoto who once made the point that "a good Sasuke is a dead Sasuke." But in my opinion, Kishimoto's writing went downhill after the Pain Arc. He went too far many times; for example, Naruto called Obito, the murderer of his parents and Neji, and who released the Shinju onto the Alliance, "the coolest guy". Kishimoto seemed to have no clue of what he was doing and he ruined his manga. Had it not been for NaruHina, I wouldn't have bothered to read the manga to the end. I never re-read the manga unless for this story's sake and I have found many fanfiction stories much more sensible and more enjoyable.

2. There are many people requesting me to kill off Danzo ASAP. There are many stories on the site that kill Danzo off unreasonably early; however, I think he was a more difficult foe than the Raikage and Orochimaru. As I have said before, Kishimoto forced many things in his manga and I think it's Kishimoto who killed off the Uchiha clan rather than Danzo. It doesn't make sense a pragmatic leader would want to wipe out a powerful bloodline limit, especially children. To me, Danzo is a CIA-type person: ruthless and does controversial things in the name of their village/country. I also think Danzo being very similar to General Zod in movie Man of Steel that both are hardcore militarists who wouldn't stop to claim what they wanted; and in Danzo's case in this story: the Kyuubi and the Nanabi. But I won't spoil the story that when and what Danzo would do in this story and what would happen to him in the end. Keep enjoying this story, my friends.

3. Some readers asked about the slaves Naruto rescued. The Water citizens and Zabuza and Haku will make a return at one point. I didn't do much story about the other girls under Naruto's protection in the Third Kumo Jinchuuriki Arc, because I wanted to have the Homecoming Arc and then the escape as soon as possible. Hence there will be a flashback story about Naruto's relationship with the two Iwa girls, at some point.

4. Mikoto will eventually reveal the truth to Sasuke in another arc. This arc sets all the pieces on the board for the future arcs.

5. To avoid confusion between the two characters, Fu and Fuu, who both will have lots of presence in this story, I reiterate that Fu is the Nanabi jinchuuriki and Fuu is the ROOT Yamanaka.

Review please! Reviews make my writing feel rewarding and make me continue writing.