A/N:
Another chapter down. The chapter turned will be longer than the last one, also the flashback at the beginning was just something I came up with last minute, and so let me know how it was...
Kaisha, thanks for reviewing. You have helped me make the decision of who to place in the team. I will not be placing Kiba as Sasuke's cats are excellent trackers, Hinata because I'm not thinking of revealing their true identity to the whole village until Danzo is dead, and Kakashi as he just returned from a mission.
Monfe7, thanks for reviewing. Due to your review, I just thought of an epic twist that will be revealed in the further chapters. I will keep the fact that Naruto and Sasuke cannot defeat Orochimaru in mind while writing the next chapter and find a way to weaken him a bit. To be honest even I did not like Kabuto's role in the Great Ninja War. And because of your review, I also had a great idea for the Pein Arc but you will have to wait for it.
, thanks for reviewing. You will surely see a Jiraiya vs. Orochimaru fight. Not now, but later on in the story. Jiraiya is present for comic-relief in the chapter so enjoy. The point that you made about Sasuke not being able to resurrect Orochimaru was right, so I'll find a way to keep him alive. And about the council, I plan on getting rid of it along with Danzo soon.
Also please let me know how Tsunade's emotional moment was as it was my first time writing such an intense moment. I hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks to everyone reviewing the chapter, I really appreciate it as it not only helps me write the next chapter but also gives me ideas for future chapters. Also, I think that the chapters are going to get a little longer so I hope you don't mind that. That's all for now. On to the chapter...
Chapter-12
-Flashback
A nine-year old Naruto is seen to be dragging along a nine-year old Ino.
"Whiskers, where are we going?" Ino asked him, slightly panting.
"It's a surprise, Ino-chan! Here, climb on my back." He said after noticing Ino's tiredness. Ino blushed slightly before jumping on his back."Hold on tight!" Naruto said carrying Ino piggyback style. Ino tightened her arms around him, before he jumped from building to building heading towards the Hokage stone faces. He stopped on the top of the head of the Fourth Hokage. He gently placed Ino down."We're here."
"This is beautiful." Ino said looking down, while Naruto was busy spreading one of his sheets. The village looked so tiny and peaceful. The view was absolutely breathtaking.
"Ino-chan, come on, lie down." He said, patting next to him. He was lying on the sheet with one of his hands under his head for support. Ino silently lied down next to him."I brought you out here today for stargazing. I hope you like it."
"I already like it, Whiskers." She said with a smile on her face. She was really happy that Naruto had planned all of this for her.
"Hey Ino-chan, why do you call me Whiskers?"He asked, tilting his head sideways in a questioning gaze.
"Because you have cute Whiskers on your cheek and I like calling you Whiskers." Ino said without thinking.
"I should have a nick name for you too, ya know." Ino hummed in response."What about flower- girl? Because you like flowers a lot." He said with a thoughtful expression.
Ino giggled at the nickname." Yeah, that suits me." She said. "The stars are really beautiful tonight but, I don't know the names of any of them." She said slightly embarrassed.
"I don't know any either, but I'd like to think that those two stars are names Ino and Naruto." he said, pointing towards the two brightest ones in the sky."Because no matter how far they actually are, whenever I'll look at them, they will always be right by each others' side." He said. Ino could see the sincerity in his blue orbs and couldn't help but blush.
"You're a dork, you know" She said with a wide smile.
"I know, but I am your dork." He replied and heard Ino chuckling in response.
"That you are." She said turning her gaze from the stars to him."I'd like to believe those stars are us too, Whiskers." She said intertwining her fingers with his."So, which is Ino?"
Flashback end.
-The Gates Of The Hidden Leaf Village.
"It's been a while since we've been here, huh Neko?" Kitsune asked looking at the Konoha gates.
"Hn. They still have Izumo and Kotetsu as the gatekeepers." Neko whispered back, looking at the 'Eternal Guards'.
They had finally reached Konoha. The five then entered the gates and were escorted to The Hokage Tower and the five, except Kitsune, were now inside Tsunade's office. Kitsune jumped inside the office using the window, and immediately, four anbu guards appear around him with their swords at his neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kitsune says, smirking under his mask.
"Anbu, stand down." Tsunade shouts from her desk. The four Anbu shun shin away. "Ino, congratulations on completing your first S-rank mission. You must be tired, so take some rest and tell me more about it, tomorrow."
"Hai, Shishou!" Ino says, bowing slightly and leaving the room.
"Kakashi, I expect the whole written report of the mission on my desk at the end of this week. Dismissed."
"Actually, Hokage-sama, would it okay if Kakashi stays during our meeting." Kitsune says.
"Alright."Tsunade, says narrowing her gaze.
"Neko, show Suzume-chan around the village and seal seventy five bowls of Miso Ramen from Ichiraku's."
"Hn." He said before leaving with Suzume. He was a bit happy on the inside that he did not have to sit through another meeting.
"Didn't think that you were actually here, Kitsune." Jiraiya said hopping into Tsunade's office. He had arrived in the hidden leaf a few days ago and had heard that Kitsune was going to be in the hidden leaf, so decided to stay for a little while and meet his student."You know, Amegakure raised the bounty on your head by a hundred million."
"Eh, I've stopped looking at the bingo book so don't really know the last bounty on my head." He replied."Hokage-sama, could you ask your anbu to leave us four alone? I have pretty serious matters to discuss." He said, looking at Tsunade. Tsunade gave a signal and all of her Anbu left. "Have all of your Anbu left?" Tsunade nodded in agreement. He then threw Senbon at five hidden root ninjas. Neko had taught him how to use Senbon to temporarily paralyse ninjas and render them unconscious. He cursed Danzo under his breath and threw the unconscious Anbu into another room, while Tsunade was watching in awe and Kakashi was talking to Jiraiya about his new book."Well, I am putting up my barrier, so none of Danzo's clowns can hear us, hope that's okay with you Hokage-sama." Tsunade just gave a small nod of agreement and Kitsune put up his barrier.
"Well, now is as good a time as any." He murmured taking off his mask. "Surprise!"
As soon as Tsunade saw Naruto's face, her posture stiffened, there was a whirlwind of emotions going on inside of her. A small gasp escaped her lips and tears of happiness welled up in her eyes after seeing the face of Naruto, who she thought of as her son. "Na-Naruto?" She whispered softly. She had never felt so torn between punching someone and hugging them instead.
"Hai. Baa-chan." He said, coming closer to her. He could see a lot of emotions in her eyes, happiness and hurt being the two main. He saw her curling her hand into a fist. 'Oh no, here it comes. Kurama save me.' he thought. He knew that he was going to get punched, he knew that was going to be her reaction, what he didn't expect was to be pulled into a hug. She hugged him tightly."I'm sorry, Baa-chan." Tsunade pinned him to the wall behind him. "YOU DISAPPEAR FOR THREE FUCKING YEARS, LETTING ALL OF US THINK THAT YOU ARE DEAD AND THEN SHOW UP, A SORRY ISNT GOING TO CUT IT!" She said, raising the fist of her free hand inches away from Naruto. "DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HIDE THIS FROM ME FOR THREE YEARS?" She threatened him. Naruto was scared shitless, he could go against one of the most elite ninja fearlessly, but he was still extremely scared of Tsunade."I thought Pervy Sage told you."He hastily said. His eyes widened after he finally registered what he had said. Tsunade turned to Jiraiya, with a terrifying glare."YOU KNEW?" Jiraiya started sweating bullets while Tsunade headed towards him. 'Kami save me!' He thought closing his eyes and bracing for impact, he knew that he could not escape Naruto's barrier. Kakashi was just enjoying the show.
"Baa-chan, I told him not to tell you. I am sorry, but if I had contacted you, then the council and Danzo would have locked me up and would have stripped you off your position of Hokage. Just let me explain the whole story and who my teammates are. You too listen closely, Kakashi-Sensei." with that Naruto starts explaining everything from the time he got the memories of his shadow clone.
- The Uchiha District (The Hidden Leaf Village.)
"This used to be my house." Sasuke pointed to the biggest house in the district. They had come here after buying Naruto's ramen. He knew that he could say anything here and no one would hear them. No one even visited this place after that night. But he did not use any names, just in case anyone was to hear them."My father was the head of the Uchiha Police Force and Uchiha Clan at that time; he was a very strict man. He always compared me to my brother. All I wanted to do when I was young was to make him proud by surpassing Nii-san, but it seems as if I can never surpass him." He said. Suzume understood that Neko wasn't talking about power or skill. "My mother, she was one of the strongest Kunoichi of the Uchiha clan, but retired after marrying my father. She always had a smile on her face and had the kindest heart. She would train me whenever Nii-san was too busy on missions and cheer me up whenever I couldn't do a new jutsu that Otousan taught me." Neko said with a sad smile on his face, he did not know why he was telling Suzume things that he had never told other people, but somehow telling her just felt right.
"She sounds really nice; I wish I could meet her."Suzume said. She had never seen this side of Neko before and she definitely liked it.
"Hm, I wish that she could've met you too, she would have really liked you." Neko said with one of his rare genuine smiles under his mask. Suzume was so busy thinking that she did not notice Neko walking away."Oi, hurry up!" Neko said, snapping Suzume out of trance. she jogged up to Neko, walking alongside him. They stopped at a lake with a dock.
"This is the Uchiha dock, Otousan taught me the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu here." He said, walking towards the end of the dock."I bet that I can make a bigger fireball than you." He said slightly teasing the younger redhead.
"I'll make you eat those words, Uchiha!"
"Is that so, Uzumaki, watch this!" He said slightly lifting up his mask only revealing his lips." Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He said making a tiger hand-sign; the three had reduced the number of hand signs for each jutsu. He blew out a massive fireball, almost covering the whole lake. Suzume was in awe after seeing the size of his fireball."I remember someone saying that she would make me eat my words." Neko smirked at the gaping Suzume, before lowering his mask...
"I still think that I can beat you." She said, lifting her mask." Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" She said making a tiger hand sign and gathering a large amount of chakra in her lungs. She took a few seconds before blowing an even bigger fireball. "Seems like I won, Uchiha." She said before lowering her mask.
"Not quite, you just won one round. There are two more rounds left, Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu and Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation round. loser treats winner to a snack." Neko said.
"You're on, Uchiha!" there was no way Suzume was going to let him beat her.
-The Hokage's Office (The Hidden Leaf Village.)
"Fucking council!" Tsunade said, smashing her fist through her desk, breaking it instantly. She was never the one to cuss this much, but with all that was going on, she couldn't contain herself.
"Well, the good news is that you can entirely prohibit the civilian council from taking part in the village matters." Naruto said walking towards where Tsunade's broken desk was. He made a hand sign and wood started growing out of his hand, shaping itself into the shape of another bigger desk. Tsunade and Kakashi watched this with wide eyes."This won't break easily." He said. he had told Tsunade who Neko and Suzume really were, along with his efforts to attain peace by signing peace treaties with other villages, leaving out some parts that he did not want to tell her."Ohh, I forgot to tell you, I have the wood style. Just found out about it recently. This means I can officially call you baa-chan, after all I am a Senju." He added after looking at their shocked faces.
"I need a cup of sake. This is too much to take in." She said, sighing slightly."Anyway, what were you saying about the civilian council?"
"Oh yeah. I officially got the permission from the Fire Daimyo to ban the civilian council from taking part in Shinobi affairs. Here!" He said throwing a scroll at Tsunade, who caught it without even looking. She opened and read the scroll while Naruto started spinning one of his kunai in his hand. Tsunade's eyes widened after reading the scroll."Th-This also gives me full permission to execute any of the village elders if they go against my wish or work behind my back." She said; she was fed up of the village elders controlling her and making decisions without asking her.
"Hai, baa-chan. Just announce this in the next meeting after we leave for the Sasori mission." Naruto said. "But, now I have to ask you an important question, Baa-chan, Jiraiya-sensei." Both of them knew he was serious as he called Jiraiya sensei instead of 'Pervy Sage' "According to my intel Orochimaru is currently in a state to change his body again and I want to ask if it would be okay if we killed Orochimaru if we ran into him? You two were his teammates so just wanted to ask for your permission." He finished off.
-One of Konoha's Best restaurants
"Onigiri and Okaka."Neko said to the waiter, the smug smirk was evident in his voice.
"Wipe that annoying smirk off your face."Suzume said in an annoyed voice. She could've won if she'd not slipped off the dock and fallen into the water while doing the 'Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation ', she knew that Neko had something to do with her falling in the water.
"Hey, no need to be a sore loser." Neko said with a chuckle.
"I am not a sore loser. I swear if I would not have fallen into the water, I would have won! But you know, luck was on your side so you won."
"Sure" Neko said sarcastically.
"Your order is ready, sir!"The waiter said snapping them out of their argument.
"Ah, yes. The bill will be paid by the lady." Neko said cheerfully, accepting the takeout Onigiri and Okaka, while Suzume handed the money to the waiter, leaving a generous tip.
"Eat that later; now let's go to the Hokage tower. Anija might need help." Suzume said softly, smiling after seeing Neko in a happy.
Neko simply nodded happily, sealing his precious Onigiri and Okaka.
- The Hokage Office (The hidden leaf village)
"Alright."Kitsune said. Tsunade was fine with him killing Orochimaru but Jiraiya was a bit skeptical, but deep down even he knew that Orochimaru was too lost and couldn't be saved so in the end he agreed. Kitsune's posture stiffened after sensing a chakra signature."Okay, my time is up. Danzo is approaching us so I am taking down the barrier. Please just don't tell anyone that I'm alive and call me Kitsune as soon as we are outside the barrier." He said putting his mask back on again.
"We understand, Naruto and I swear that none of us will tell anyone anything." Tsunade said sincerely. She turned her gaze to Kakashi who also nodded in agreement with a serious look on his face.
"Thank-you, baa-chan, Kakashi-sensei." He said, before dropping the barrier. According to his senses Danzo would take a few minutes to reach the Hokage tower.
"Kakashi, you are dismissed." Tsunade said, giving him an opportunity to leave before Danzo arrived.
"Ja ne." He waved his hand before disappearing in a shunshin. Just as Neko and Suzume appeared in a shunshin.
"I hope you have told Hokage-sama all that she needs to know."Neko said.
Kitsune replied with a simple 'yes', waiting for the old war hawk to arrive. The door to the Hokage office opened revealing a man with one of his arms in a sling and his left eye was covered up with bandages. He was using a cane as support to walk and had a weird 'X' scar on his chin. Neko's jaw tightened and he was fuming at the sight of the man who killed off his clan. Suzume seemed to notice this and slowly held his hand as if to say that she was here for him, to calm him down. Neko seemed to calm down but his mind was filled with ways to torture and kill Danzo.
"Kitsune-sama, Neko-sama and Suzume-sama. I am Danzo, one of the Village elders. I think I know the reason for your arrival" Danzo spoke in an authoritative tone.
"Didn't come here to meet you, that's for sure." Kitsune replied bluntly. His words did not please Danzo at all, but Danzo decided to continue anyways.
"I know about the mission concerning Sasori's spy and I want one of my ninjas, Torune to accompany you." He ordered.
"Not happening."Kitsune said in a sing song voice. Jiraiya and Tsunade were stifling their laughter with coughs.
"You dare come into my village and mock me? I tried to approach you politely, but now I think that I have to use force. You will take off that mask and reveal your true identities along with your intentions, if you do not agree, I have an army of ninja at my command and we will capture you by force and force the information out of you." Danzo said , tired of playing around.
Kitsune started chuckling at the man."First off, this is not your village, you are not the Hokage. And secondly, haven't you heard that we took down two Akatsuki members, even so I don't think our allies will appreciate you capturing us. You will be declaring war over two of the five great nations along with a bunch of small villages." Kitsune walked towards Danzo and stopped a few inches away from him."And I don't think that you would want the world to know about the dirty work that you are doing. Do you want everyone to know about the incident that took place a few months ago at the hidden waterfall village?" Danzo winced at this. "You may be the one sending spies but we are the ones that have dirt on you. Tell me one thing, have any of those spies returned? Know your place Danzo, especially when you know nothing about your enemy. " Danzo scowled at this. He knew that Kitsune had got him there."As much as I would love to fight and bicker with you, I have more important things to do. I am on a tight schedule and I actually came to talk to Hokage-sama." He said moving away from Danzo and walking towards Tsunade. Neko just smirked under his mask, his best friend sure had a special way to embarrass and insult someone. Danzo left the room, shaking with rage and slamming the door on his way out.
Tsunade could not hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing."You sure have a way with your words, brat- Kitsune. I don't remember the last time someone had shut Danzo up." She corrected herself.
"How'd I do, Sensei?" He asked Jiraiya, not calling him 'Pervy Sage' purposely.
"You did good, brat. You handled him just as he used to." Jiraiya said, with a smile on his face. Kitsune understood that he was talking about his dad and was happy at the compliment.
"Anyway, what kind of team would you like?" Tsunade said, getting back to business.
"Neko, what kind of team do we want?" Kitsune asked, he had no idea as to what kind of people he wanted. As far as he was concerned, Team Uzu was already an all rounded team.
"Hn. Give us two strong ninja that can hold their own in one on one combat but are very good information gathers." Neko said nonchalantly.
"Yeah that'll do." Kitsune said nodding his head.
"Okay, where will you be staying for the time being?" Tsunade asked.
"We have a hideout close to the village so will be staying there. We will come back in a day to meet the team and leave for the mission." Kitsune said, he wanted to live here in the leaf village, but being here while Danzo was still the head of the root was very risky.
"Okay, Jiraiya and I will see you off at the gates of the village." Tsunade said with a smile, she knew his reasons for not staying in the leaf. They bid Tsunade and Jiraiya goodbye at the gates of the village before leaving the hidden leaf.
-Root Headquarters
"Fuu, I want you to send five teams of three people after Team Uzu and the Konoha ninjas when they leave for the mission." Danzo said from his stone throne to his most trusted Root ninja. He wanted to gain the upper hand against Kitsune. He was still outraged at Kitsune for insulting him. "Also, tell them not to attack the group until they are sure that the group is weak and observe from a distance. If they fight Team Uzu however, tell them to try and capture Kitsune's little sister. She will be the easiest to capture and I can blackmail Kitsune to give me all the information he has and fully control him if I have his sister."
"Hai, Danzo-sama." Fuu said bowing and leaving Danzo alone
'I will get you back for belittling me, Kitsune.' He thought sadistically.
