Chapter 3 - New Objective.

Pairing: Naruto x Fem Haku.

A/N: I just want to make it clear that the one review that suggested Naruto x Fem Haku, came after that I had initially changed the pairing. I say this because a guest review thought I changed the pairing, due to that review alone. I didn't, and I want to apologize for deleting that review. It was a miss-click, though I'll still address it.

I can understand there have been a few complaints about the way I do things in this story, regarding why Naruto is with Orochimaru since they think it's counter against his reasons, to stay with Orochimaru. My view of Orochimaru may be different, but let me give a straight answer. My own personal opinion is that he isn't as bad as the show made him out to be. In my head, he is a very greedy and selfish Shinobi, but by the standards of the world they're in, and what others do in comparison, I don't think he's that bad.

I'm not saying he ISN'T bad, because he is to some degree, but so is everyone else. I honestly feel like there is worse stuff done, but that is well, anyone got their taste and opinion. I'll try and do Orochimaru some justice, not saying he'll be a model class figure to follow right off start, but I'll try and work him into one. And the other complaints, honestly, I feel like I've explained most of them. But I guess a lot can be missed in passing, when you only skim through the text.

Of course, this text; only applies to a few. So I thank all of you that generally support my story, and like the idea. Thank you. 3

Southern hideout in Hi no Kuni.

When night seemed to settle over the forests of Hi no Kuni yet again, Naruto and Guren made their way through the hideout with the large scroll strapped to the blond's back. His hands were buried in his pockets as he nodded his head to greet the large number of people that were starting to show up in their hideout.

Orochimaru really didn't waste any time.

It wasn't common knowledge, but Orochimaru had started constructing a village. Not just any ordinary village, but a village for his very own Shinobi force. Naruto hadn't seen the place yet, his sensei claiming that it'd be a surprise. It made him wonder, was it just another hideout beneath the ground that was maybe a bit bigger in size, or an actual village?

Only time would tell, knowing Orochimaru and his love for his hideouts, it may just be wishful thinking to have a home above ground. One thing that did make him happy was that the sannin did promise it to be a more permanent solution. It would be a hidden village like many, not near as grand as Konoha or its neighboring villages, but he could at least remain there for longer durations of time. Hiding in plain sight.

He had heard talk about it being placed in Ta no Kuni, though he hadn't gone there to check himself. Not only did he lack the time to do so, but why spoil a surprise. He'd figure it out eventually, but for now, he had a scroll to deliver. And he very much wished to read every last piece of text within it. Every secret, every jutsu, he wanted to know what could be so serious to be put in here, aside from the obvious techniques like Edo Tensei and Kage Bunshin.

There may even be some things within the contents that could help him with what he hoped to achieve…

Standing in front of the door he intended to go through, he gave a small wave to the woman that understood the silent message, "See you soon, we'll probably have a new task before we know it."

"We definitely will, knowing Orochimaru-sama, you'll be rushing out the door. That's the life of being his strongest asset."

Naruto snorted, "You shouldn't sell yourself short either, you're a good sparring partner."

He could almost see a pout on her lips, "If you didn't win all the time, I'd believe you."

"I'll see you later, Guren-san." He chuckled and grabbed the doorknob, letting the woman leave before opening the door.

Upon entering the room he had aimed for, he placed the scroll down against the wall, "Sensei." He acknowledged, staring at the back of the man who had been training and teaching him through the past five years, watching as he turned around to face him.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. I see that you managed to get the scroll, I trust you had no issues?" The man asked calmly as he walked over and looked down at the scroll, looking down at the thing that had been the keeper of Konoha's most valuable secrets and techniques throughout generations.

Naruto just shook his head and glanced down at the scroll with a minor smirk, "Mizuki was a weak-minded fool as anticipated, even had my fair share of mind games with him before I made him forcefully pass over."

"Forcefully making him pass over? My, my, so sadistic. Wonder where you got that from." Orochimaru chuckled a bit, knowing fairly well that he probably had to be responsible for that.

Shaking his head at his sensei, Naruto rolled his eyes with a light laugh. "So, when will we get into reading the contents? There is, without a doubt, a ton of stuff in there. I can barely wait."

"I guess taking a small peak now wouldn't hurt. After all, this scroll may contain the notes I need to correct the flaws I made while performing the Reanimation technique… The Nidaime was quite clever, such a wicked idea, and it's all ours now. To think one of the Senju thought of something like this, must be… Unsettling." Orochimaru snickered and lifted the heavy scroll up from the stone floor, slowly rolling the scroll open to reveal all kinds of forbidden seals and techniques from everywhere in Konoha's history.

Naruto slowly walked over and rested his palm against the table as he slowly started reading through the techniques listed. There were so many of them, everything between ninjutsu and medical jutsu, there was no end to the contents. How could Konoha have let this thing be so easy to steal for scum like the academy instructor?

"As suspected of Sarutobi-sensei, it's a fake," Orochimaru smirked slightly.

Naruto's brows rose to the top of his head, "Fake?"

Orochimaru then started slowly rolling the scroll up again, much to the blond's disappointment. "Why yes, I had my suspicions. Do you honestly believe that the most precious scroll to Konoha, would be that easily accessible to a mere academy instructor with no talent?"

"I suppose not…" Naruto pouted a bit. A step closer to his goal had been taken away from him.

He didn't like this.

"Now, now, it is to be expected. We managed to get rid of a noisy spy that was being too noisy for our own good, and you… managed to get some things off your mind. Didn't you?"

Naruto raised a brow at that, "You knew I'd go visit her."

Orochimaru chuckled with a mere shrug of his shoulders, "But of course, your entire presence here is because of her. Don't say that your sensei can't be charitable, I knew you wanted to go visit her."

"I guess I owe you a thank you then." Naruto snorted with closed eyes.

"That can wait until later, one 'thank you' will suffice, I have something else for you.. I found something that might interest you." Orochimaru mused and walked over to a chest inside the small little office-like room, opening the thing with a loud creaking.

"Hm? What exactly?"

Orochimaru smiled for once and brought out a box and a thing wrapped up in a piece of leather, "I have a gift for you. Or well, a tool I guess. I came across this while moving through Ta no Kuni, and considering I have my own, I thought this may well be useful to you.."

Now this peaked Naruto's interest, Orochimaru didn't seem like a person to be sentimental after all. "Now you've got me curious."

The sannin shook his head, "I had my Kusanagi forged by hand, and I feel quite attached to it. So, not feeling the need to replace it, I thought you could use this sword I found. Would be a waste to throw such craftsmanship away after all." Orochimaru snickered and placed a large rectangular wooden box on the table.

Naruto looked a bit confused, before slowly opening up the container and his eyes just widened slightly at the thing within it. It was a sword, more specifically a katana sheathed within a white scabbard with a purple piece of cloth tied around the top part. The exposed hilt of the sword was white, wrapped in dark purple all the way up to the square crossguard.

Lifting the sword out of the box, Naruto looked at the beautiful craftsmanship as he pulled the sword out of the scabbard, a ringing noise of the metal being drawn echoing in the small room as the shining metal blade reflected all of the room's candlelight, making it appear as if it was glowing.

Orochimaru looked on as his student inspected his new blade, "I seem to recall that you also finished your kenjutsu training not that long ago. Of course, one cannot ever stop practicing just because he managed to achieve complete mastery over basic and even intermediate sword fighting, so a brand new sword should help you, don't you agree?"

Naruto sheathed the blade again, hearing a small click as the scabbard hilted against the scabbard again, "It's a beautiful sword, thank you sensei. I promise to continue making you proud by using this. Such a shame though, it looks so beautiful, I can already tell it would pain me if it got scratches all over the craftsmanship."

"Its name is Senbonzakura, a thousand cherry blossoms. At least, that's what the note within the box says. And a sword is meant to be used in combat, Naruto-kun. You'd insult the blade by simply using it as a decoration. As I taught you, the blade is meant to be an extension of yourself, surely you wouldn't lay in bed all day just because you'd rather not get a scar." Orochimaru joked lightly.

Naruto laughed at that and placed the sword back within the box. "I suppose not. Senbonzakura, huh? Similar to the name of that technique you helped me create."

"It is, isn't it? All blades are different, my Kusanagi no Tsurugi and the blades of Kiri would surely agree. Each blade has a purpose and a special ability, it's up to you to give it, however. I thought that perhaps it would work well with your new style of techniques." Orochimaru noted.

The blond nodded with acknowledgement, and once again Naruto picked up the blade from the rectangular crate and held it up against him, a large grin on his face. "Perfectly balanced for my style. If they don't want to go down easy." Naruto smirked and pulled out his sword from its sheath, lifting his arm up to point the tip of the blade toward one of the candles in the room, letting it shine with the light once again in all its glory.

Orochimaru couldn't help but smirk with his student, as he placed a finger on the side of the Senbonzakura's blade, letting it glow up with blue light from the chakra injection he was giving it, "Senbonzakura seems to have been crafted from a metal that easily allows the flow of chakra through it."

"So with this sword, my chakra and perhaps even my element will be able to enhance the strength of the blade. That should make it stronger and more durable, right?" Naruto asked as Orochimaru lifted his finger away, where after Naruto tried channeling his own chakra through it.

Nodding his head, Orochimaru walked over and closed the wooden box, and put it away. "Quite correct indeed, my Kusanagi is also crafted from a similar metal. With the addition of a little extra work, my sword can extend the blade. Ever since you took an interest in learning poisons, and became immune to some, I decided to add a little extra within the scabbard. You can add your poison within, so every time you draw the sword in battle it will be freshly coated in a deadly toxin."

"You really did think of everything, didn't you, sensei?" Naruto thought out loud with amusement, sheathing his sword and placing it against his left hip so he'd be able to draw it with his right hand.

The man chose not to answer that, as he walked over to the desk again and picked up a scroll, "Why don't we put it to the test. There is a person that has come to my interest after… negotiations with Suna."

Naruto took the scroll and rolled it out to look at its content, noticing a supposed location within along with a picture of a person he wasn't all too familiar with. "Who is this?"

"Her name is Pakura, and she is a Shinobi of Suna, or, she'll cease to be within the next week's time."

Naruto looked on at the location of her, and details surrounding her as well, "Scorch Release? I can see why you're interested. You always were fascinated with rare bloodline limits. I, however, am confused. You say she's going to cease to be a Suna Shinobi, will she defect?"

"Not exactly, Suna has a plan in motion. They'll stab her in the back for a poor attempt at healing the wounds of the past. She'll be on a mission to Kiri for diplomatic reasons, and put her life up as a sacrificial lamb." Orochimaru snickered.

Naruto rolled the scroll up, "And what exactly do you want me to do about her? Capture her?"

"Oh no, not at all. I want you to try and convince her to join us. With her own village stabbing her in the back, her moment of weakness should tempt her to join our side. Unless she is a feisty one, then she may take it out on you." His sensei finished, with no hint of worry in his tone.

"And if things were to get… feisty… what do you expect of me?" Naruto mumbled, a slight narrowing of his eyes.

Orochimaru shrugged, "Whatever you deem fit, you may kill or capture her, though I'd prefer if you brought a body back so we could… discover its secret. If it's unavoidable, then it is what it is… no point in dwelling on it more than it needs to be."

Naruto gave a satisfied nod of his head, "I'll take Guren with me, I have no intel aside this scroll on her bloodline. It may be easier if I have someone to cover me."

"I suspected as much, and you're free to bring her along. Though, you against the Scorch Release… quite a battle it'd be."

"You seem intrigued?"

"I'd like to watch that battle myself, but I'm fairly busy with the preparations for our next base. Kabuto will be joining me in Ta no Kuni tomorrow afternoon. I'd like for you to join us there when you're done." Orochimaru finished, leaning in against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Naruto looked on with a slight bit of surprise, "I suppose that's why there were so many people here when I arrived, we're already moving our more valuable possessions there? I guess that means we're moving in soon."

"Preparations should be finished by the end of tomorrow, it'll be refreshing to have a more permanent place to carry out our experiments. A place where Konoha can't touch us for the time being, if you wish.""

Back within Konoha the next day, a purple-haired woman downed yet another cup of sake as she groaned, slamming the empty cup down to the table, before filling it yet again with the white bottle, containing even more of the alcohol she was so busy devouring till her cheeks had become pink, easily giving away that she was quite drunk already.

"Ever since you decided to give in to a chase, I've placed a very specific set of sealings tags all around the village. With a single hand seal, I can set them all off at once. Isn't it against the code of Konoha, to put civilians in danger?" She yelled out with mock laughter, repeating the exact words that her former blond teammate had spoken to her as he had outsmarted both her and the Sannin of all people.

Clicking her tongue with a deep scowl, she downed yet another cup and laid her head down to rest on top of her arms that she folded on top of the table, "You're definitely his student… That's for sure." She mumbled to herself as her lips fell into a sad frown.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

Lifting her head free of her arms, Anko lifted her head to stare at the newcomer, sighing audibly at the sight of the perverted man that was staring down at her, "What do you want, Jiraiya-sama?" Stressing the 'sama' through her teeth, still feeling slightly betrayed by the fact it felt like the old man hadn't even tried to capture their target.

Clicking his tongue, the long-haired man sat down across from her, letting his summoning scroll rest up against the wall as he folded his hands over his stomach, "I just wanted to see how you're doing, it's not every day you meet someone you say you hate more than anything."

Rolling her eyes, Anko leaned back in her seat, pulling her trenchcoat shut so the pervert wouldn't have any eye candy to ogle at, "I'm pissed that he got away, what more is there to say? I should have had my snakes inject paralyzing venom into him when I had the chance…"

'And here I thought she'd say she should've killed him. Interesting.' Jiraiya thought to himself, a serious look on his face for a change as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Listen, Anko…"

"What now?!" She slurred, the stench of her sake breath filling the small booth they were sitting in.

"Why do you hate him?"

Anko dropped her head in surprise before getting back up, "Are you drunk too, pervert? I got every reason in the elemental nation to hate that… blond bastard…"

"If your best insult is a blond bastard, then I'd love to hear why you hate him. What exactly did he do to you, I'm curious." Jiraiya shrugged, getting comfortable in his seat as he waved a waitress over to order a round of sake for himself.

Throwing her arms into the air, the purple-haired woman snorted so loudly that almost everyone in the room gazed her way, but a quick glare from the hot-tempered Mitarashi quickly sent their attention away, "He joined Orochimaru. Do I need more reason to be angry with him?"

"No, being angry with him is understandable. I'm confused too about his reasoning for leaving his home and his family behind, but if I recall correctly he never did anything to personally hurt you. Or am I mistaken?"

"...No you're not. It just makes me angry that he'd take his side over mine- ours." Anko slurred, resting her cheek in her palm as she stared a hole into the table.

Jiraiya at this time got his order of sake, and helped himself to a cup before taking a sip, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but could it be that you hate… that you can't hate him?"

Anko's eyes widened slowly as she lifted her eyes to stare at the Sannin for long enough to make him uncomfortable, and unconsciously cover his crotch, "Maybe... So what?! Why the sudden interest in who I hate? It's my own damn business, for what reason should you care?"

"Even if only for a brief time, you two were teammates. So I'll get right to the point, I want you to help me find him. You should have a vague idea at least about how his mind works, frankly, I'm coming up with dead ends. The closest I got to see him was by accident as you know." Jiraiya reasoned, putting his sake cup down as he stared at Anko with a serious gaze.

First, she chuckled, which soon turned into an out-of-control roar of laughter as she slammed her fist into the table, a lone tear falling from her eye, "Oh man! You can't be serious! How can you know that I won't neuter him the first chance I get?!"

Snorting, Jiraiya changed his gaze to look around them, "I'm quite serious. If I wasn't, then I'd be out doing research right now. Mito wants her brother back, she still has faith that he is a good guy. And so do I, I won't give up on him that easily. And if you two were as close as you used to be, and he hasn't done anything to you, then you wouldn't either." Upon finishing his sentence, Anko just stared at him.

Standing up from the table, Jiraiya reached down and flung his scroll over his back again, and started to walk toward the exit, "Just think about it at least. Orochimaru may not have turned him completely against us yet."

Sitting back with her thoughts, Anko flicked the cup away and settled for taking a big sip of the sake bottle with a click of her tongue afterward, 'He was the one that left me, why should I be the one to charge after him…'

Sighing to himself, Jiraiya cupped his forehead after exiting the bar. Talking with that Dango fanatic when she was drunk was like signing up for a headache on purpose. After waltzing through the village for a while, Jiraiya turned toward the inn he was staying at, only to spot a familiar mop of gravity-defying silver hair, sitting on a bench outside of it.

"I see that you're enjoying the newest addition to the series I brought you, Kakashi." He remarked, catching the attention of the masked individual that gazed up at him.

Eye-smiling with a chuckle, Kakashi clapped the book shut after putting in his bookmark, "What can I say, it's always a pleasure to read it."

"So what brings you here?" Jiraiya asked, sitting down on the bench next to Kakashi as the two gazed out over the passing civilians crossing the road.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi folded his fingers behind his head and rested against the building behind them, "Hokage-sama instructed me to inform you of something Sasuke told me, about Mito."

"The last Uchiha?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he was assigned to my new genin team along with Mito, and some civilian girl called Sakura. She got the book smarts, but her other skills need serious work. Sasuke and I aren't that close, but I think he felt obligated to tell me since we both know Mito fairly well."

The Sannin roared with laughter as he smirked over at the Jounin, "So you finally passed a team, eh? Took you long enough."

Sweatdropping at the remark, Kakashi grunted, "They were the first ones worthy of being passed, let me tell you that much. For once, somebody actually worked together. I guess it helped that Mito knew me beforehand and that she wasn't against working with Sasuke."

"What about the civilian girl?"

Kakashi shrugged at that, "She adapted, she is, by far, the weakest link, but she'll learn."

Jiraiya nodded after that, "So what was it that Sasuke said that you had to inform me about?"

Upon hearing that mentioned, Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "Before they were placed on teams, Mito told Sasuke about a dream. Not just any dream, but one of Naruto. Normally I wouldn't be too concerned, but what he said next made me bring it directly to Hokage-sama. She mentioned that he looked older, and sounded different… That he seemed real."

Slowly Jiraiya's eyes widened at that as he stared with disbelief, "He was here?! In the middle of the village? And no one knew about it?"

"It appears so… I didn't want to believe it at first, but then Hokage-sama mentioned that you ran into him not that far from here. And then the scroll went missing, it must have been a perfect chance for him to slip in when we were all out looking for it. And not only that, but Mizuki was killed, and the scroll was still gone. Sounds like too many coincidences at once." Kakashi whispered, to which Jiraiya quickly nodded.

"One thing is for sure Kakashi, you can't tell her about that. I don't know why he'd go in here and risk himself being caught. If she learns of this, then there'll be hell to pay, she'll charge right out into the world to look for him, and she isn't ready." He instructed sternly, not that Kakashi needed to hear it.

Sighing, the silver-haired man rubbed his scalp, "I don't know what exactly she dreamt of… but… If what Sasuke said is correct, then Naruto said he was proud of her. And he said some things she wished he would say to her."

Cupping his chin, the old Sannin hummed to himself for a couple of seconds, "This changes things drastically. If she was convinced he was part of her imagination, then there may be some truth to what he said. I'm now more confused than ever about why he left, but one thing is for sure, if he was truthful about what he said, then he is still good somewhere deep down."

"I have a selfish request."

Turning his head, Jiraiya blinked, "Which is?"

"If you manage to find him, I want to come. I want to speak with him myself…"

Jiraiya clapped him on the back, "You and me both, Kakashi. Now get out of here, if I have to find the lost kid, then I need my beauty sleep."

As night loomed over the village, Mito returned home to her apartment with a small sigh. She was dusted and dirty all over from today's training. Kakashi had told them that there was some big exercise tomorrow, so she had done everything she could to train and get ready for it.

And now she was dead tired. All she wanted was a shower, a hot cup of ramen, and some sleep. She doubted she'd get some though, not because of the exercise… but because of what she had dreamt last night.

After unlocking the door she slipped inside and slipped out of her sandals, flicked on the light as she went through with her routine. Making dinner, taking a shower, and then walking back into her bedroom.

She rubbed her eyes and turned on the lights, unzipping her jacket before she let it drop to the floor, discarded from her mind for the time being along with the clothes of yesterday.

She was alone there, so why bother with it?

Groggily she stared at her bed, staring at the place she had dreamt of her brother sitting at her side last night.

It brought a sad frown to her face, he had seemed so real, yet he had been fake.

A mere illusion of her mind, provoking the sadness she had to spend so long trying to bury away. It hurt to think about it, all those sweet things he said, yet he wasn't the one to say them.

It was just what she had hoped to hear in the end. A brother welcoming her home, congratulating her on passing, and saying he was proud of her. It was all she wanted, was that too much to ask for?

She scuffled aimlessly to a shelf and slumped down next to it crestfallen, picking up a small picture from five years ago.

A picture of her and her brother.

They looked happy, his arm swung around shoulders as he ruffled her hair fondly.

She looked so mad in that picture because he was messing with her hair. 'Baka-Nii…' She sighed.

After she stared at the picture for a few more minutes, tracing her fingers over the last real picture she had of him, she set the frame back down.

But then something hit the floor.

With a raised brow she kneeled down and took a small wooden figure into her hand, gazing at it within her palm.

Her eyes slowly widened as she lifted her gaze to stare at all the animals that were roughly carved out of wood on the shelf.

None of them looked as well done as this one…

And she had never seen a fox-like this one before, he had never made one like this…

Her eyes misted up as she dropped the figure to the floor and almost robotically turned her head to stare at her bed.

The small fox bounced off her feet and over the floor before it stopped at the feet of her bed.

The image of him returned as clear as she had dreamt it that night, him just sitting there and talking to her after so long.

Two lone tears fell from her eyes as her bottom lip quivered.

"H-He was… He was really… h-here?"

Done. Took a bit to write this chapter, lucky for you, you didn't have to wait that long for it since I wrote it ahead of time. It isn't as long as the former chapters, but I hope you'll forgive it this once.

Questions of the day:

Pakura… a usually forgotten character in fanfiction, what will become of her? Will Naruto manages to persuade her, or will they fight? Maybe a third option?

What will Konoha do with these new pieces of information?

Will Anko flip Jiraiya off, or give Naruto the benefit of the doubt?

What does Kakashi want to talk to Naruto about?