setokayba2n: That will be discussed this arc. As for the Hellhounds I'm not going to give him the ability to transform into a weapon like Enma. I feel like that is what really makes the Monkey Contract more unique than any of the other ones, and Cerberus is already Gambunta-level, if not slightly stronger so. Remember, Cerberus only managed to deal with Shukaku briefly because of the fact that he had an elemental advantage. And even then Shukaku eventually won that fight. Danzo was speaking in hyperbole there. There was no way realistically either of them could play shogi forever.

SinisterofRAGE: Naruto is faster than Lee when he is not using his Gates. Do you remember the race Kakashi and Gai had in that one episode around Konoha? Naruto would beat Lee in that, if Lee didn't use the Gates. Using the Gates Lee makes Naruto look slow.

kurifu gari: I would doubt that was the case, considering Madara stated the EMS has it's own straight tomoi, or at least his and Sasuke's did (considering they're the only two to actually get the EMS that's not really much of a debate. Hagoromo skipped it and I don't believe Indra got it so) so I doubt it.

Wolvmbm: I mean you can't blame him for talking with Danzo. He doesn't know the guys a warmongering jackass who just wants to use him. Hinata will be a little shaken up when it comes to Naruto, but it won't be shown in this chapter really. However, when the war starts Hinata's fears will really start coming to life. And quite a few relate to Naruto.

Dynasty Blade Master: You ate my cookie. You ate MY COOKIE. Somebody better hold me earrings.

Guys I just want you all to know that I do like it when you send in OCs, I really do. Typically I can find a use for them, but...when they have a Sharingan and a Byakugan and like 5 different Kekkei Genkai...just...no. You don't have to have all these different bloodlines to be strong. You're character can be normal, and more so, most characters are not Kage-level. Please remember this.

Guest: I went back and personally read every single chapter up to that point to make sure, along with double check my notes. No I did not. Naruto did not know that.

Culture

The entire village had congregated to the village center, looking up at the Hokage Tower. ANBU and other shinobi shot around like bees, making sure everything was ready. Hiruzen smiled, looking down over all of his citizens, all of his shinobi. He was sad to be leaving his position, but he knew it was for the best. He frowned however when he failed to see his youngest son, Asuma.

"Asuma…"

The elderly man frowned, slightly disappointed. He knew the knowledge he passed on to him would be difficult to understand, especially considering the two's estranged relationship, but he didn't think he would disrespect the soon to be Godaime Hokage by not showing up. Admittedly they wouldn't care to much that he wasn't there though, hell they probably wouldn't notice. But Hiruzen did.

(-Flashback-)

"You called Hokage-sama," Asuma asked. Hiruzen frowned at Asuma's continuous use of his title, however he quickly adjusted his face, Asuma not having noticed the shift. It was far too late to repair their broken relationship. Hiruzen could only watch and enjoy what little time he had left with his son.

"Yes, I have a request for you."

Asuma frowned. "What do you mean?" Hiruzen sighed. "In the battle with Orochimaru the only reason I was capable of winning was because of a seal that Jiraiya placed on me before the battle began. It gave me the power of my youth."

Asuma frowned. "I fail to see how this relates to me Hokage-sama." Hiruzen glared at his son. "Be patient. As I was saying, the seal gave me the power of my youth; but at a cost. My chakra would burn out even faster than normal after the battle. Currently I am only a fragment of my old self. I won't be able to even use chakra for much longer. I will simply be an old man."

Asuma blinked. He had never imagined the Hokage like that. The Sandaime was always an immovable pillar of strength and solidarity, and even though he had seen him at his weakest it was never anything like this. He was always strong, and he always had the capability to lead, even in his old age. His mere presence as Hokage had stopped the other villages from declaring war on Konohagakure after the Kyuubi attack. The Yondaime's death proved a grave loss, especially when it came to their relationship with Kumogakure. Only the Yondaime had accurately managed too best both A and B in combat.

"Pay attention to what I'm saying Asuma. I might be old but I am far from senile. I can tell when someone isn't paying attention. This is important."

Asuma blinked again, embarrassment clear on his face. "I apologize Hokage-sama." Hiruzen nearly winced visibly that time. Asuma's voice was cold, not a warm one you would expect of a family member.

"When my chakra runs out I will no longer be capable of summoning the Monkey Contract, and that is something we cannot allow. However, it is unavoidable. I am the only signer of the contract still alive however, and with my death the monkeys will likely no longer dance with Konoha for a long time yet, if only due to the lack of a stable communication. Yet there is a way to solve the problem of the monkey contract."

Asuma's eyes widened as Hiruzen bit his hand before forming several handseals. Slamming his hand down on the desk, Enma appeared, holding a large scroll on his hands. A contract. The contract.

"I am begging you Asuma, if you do not do this for me then do it for your village. Do it for your nephew. Sign the monkey contract. Become the next Sage of the Monkeys."

(-Flashback-)

Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder where his son was now. He was likely debating what his new life would be like under the Monkey Contract, yet Hiruzen couldn't worry about him. Not yet. He wanted to offer his guidance, yet he knew Asuma would never accept it if he did not come to him himself. Hiruzen sighed.

He truly was distant from both of his sons. And nothing would end up fixing that.

Not that he truly wanted to fix his relationship with his eldest. He was a lost cause, Hiruzen had realized that years ago when he banished him. His obsession to Kushina and demented tactics, not to mention treason, was beyond sickening. Hiruzen shuddered. He just found it hard to believe that when he left he had taken half of the Monkeys with him.

XxX

The woman stepped into the dressing room, a smirk on her face. "Are you ready for your new dream job?"

The man frowned. "I don't think so. I was never ready for the position. I still am not. At least Naruto agreed to train under me when I finally get the position under wraps. I'll have to accelerate the time-table in which I planned on training him though."

The woman frowned. "I still don't know Naruto. I really should meet him sometime. Sensei said he had access to the Senju library. I don't know why he would give a brat such access, but I should make sure he doesn't start desecrating anything he can't handle."

The woman had a dangerous smirk on her face, giving her an ominous look. The man snorted. "That's because the kid has rights to some of the books in that library. He's an Uzumaki, you know this. Kushina was your favorite Genin ever remember? He's her son. Due to that…all of Mito's jutsu he has rights to. Wasn't Mito like Kushina's aunt or something? Great aunt?"

The woman frowned. "Great aunt yes. So that brat is related to me…somewhat closely." The man snorted. "That's not exactly a close relation, but it's a relation nonetheless. You still have family left out in the world."

The woman sighed. "I suppose I do. I will most definitely have to meet him sometime then. There is no way I could cope with being unable to see my blood." The man gave her a look, it was one of pity, but it was also one that was serious. He wouldn't acknowledge lying from a subordinate.

"We both know that's not true at all. You go your entire life without caring about seeing the kid." The woman smiled. "I suppose so. Have you accepted sensei's offer?" The man nodded. "Yeah, he's going to be my adviser. Sadly, due to the necessity to have two advisers at all times according to the Daimyo's law I also chose Danzo."

"Why Danzo? That traitorous bastard?" The man sighed. "Keep your friends close and enemies closer. At least I can monitor his ideas better with him as an advisor. Believe me I would have chosen you, but being the head of the new program at the Academy and the Head of the Hospital, well that's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders already. Plus, you're still a mentor to that disciple of yours, Shizune."

The woman nodded. "I suppose. Just be wary of him. He's dangerous, and he has the support of Koharu and Homura. Those three hold a lot of sway in the village. Remember that. They can be problems when banded together."

The man smirked, giving a thumbs up. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'll be extremely careful!"

Before the woman could respond an ANBU appeared in the room. "The inauguration is soon. Please be ready."

The man nodded, dismissing his subordinate. "Well then…it's time to get this show on the road huh?" The woman smirked. "Yeah…let's see how you do with that hat on your head."

XxX

The woman sat next to her apprentice, a smile on her face. She turned to her student, an amused smile on her face as she saw Shizune stare up at the Hokage Tower in wonder. "You've never seen an inauguration of Hokage have you?"

"No. It's quite thrilling. I can't believe I've never seen it before."

The woman sighed, looking at her friend stand above the people of Konoha, her sensei by his side. She frowned. The sheer joy her disciple had said struck something within her.

'It's my fault she's never seen anything like this before…'

XxX

Naruto sat with Hinata and his team, eagerly watching the future Hokage prepare to take his mantle. He couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Seriously! He's going to be the next Hokage? That is in no way fair! I wanted to take over from Sandaime-sama!"

Sasuke snorted. "You? Please? You're nowhere near gaining a power that they all have." Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Shut up! I am totally ready. I'll be running circles around you soon enough." Rolling his eyes, the Uchiha bit back, "Yes, because that's what we call you not making it to the finals of the Chunin Exams correct?"

Naruto winced but that did nothing to slow down his hasty response. "That's what we call me not losing my fight during the invasion."

Sasuke growled, about to bite back but Sakura hit him on the back of the head, doing the same to Naruto. "Enough arguing both of you! You're mature enough to leave this for later. If you want to have a pissing competition, then go fight each other after the Hokage inauguration."

Both boys seemed to be thinking about the idea, but Kakashi but in. "Nope. Remember you all have a training session tomorrow, and I have no intention of having you guys spar. You'll be getting more interesting things. This will probably be my last time to teach any of you anything as a group for some time, thus I'm going to really pass down to each of you a technique that I think would be excellent for your arsenals."

The three cheered, causing Kakashi to smile, though no one could see it. Hinata watched with a little bit of loneliness, however Naruto slung his arm around her, hugging her close. "Hey hime, after we're done with our training session you wanna spar?" Hinata smiled. "Sure."

Sakura watched the duo with a sad smile on her face, one that did not go unnoticed by one raven-haired Uchiha. Said Uchiha couldn't help but feel some sort of disappointment, but not with her, with himself.

XxX

Danzo Shimura looked up at the new Hokage with a smile on his face. He glanced at his ROOT operatives and nodded to them. His joint-plan with Orochimaru to assassinate Hiruzen had failed due to the man standing above him now, but Danzo was not worried. Hiruzen was an insignificant threat now. Danzo held no doubt that the man still held significant sway over the village, especially being a joint-adviser with him to the new Hokage, however his visible threat to stopping the growth of ROOT had greatly diminished. He would likely try and turn the boy against him, but Danzo already had plans to make sure that that would not happen. He would break the boy and make him his.

Danzo slowly touched his face, his hand resting above his bandages. Slowly a dark chakra leaked off his form before he quickly relied it in. Danzo frowned, he had lost control briefly there. He couldn't help but find the situation ironic. He had lost control, and yet he would make sure the man Hiruzen chose to be his successor would lose control of the village very soon. That man had the arrogance to make him his adviser. He thought he was keeping a watchful eye on him.

Danzo wanted to laugh.

If that man thought he could control him when his sensei, a far better leader and shinobi by comparison, failed he was more arrogant than Danzo believed.

XxX

Hiruzen watched the man arrive with a smile on his face, beckoning them over. "Are you ready? You look nervous."

The man snorted. "What do you think? Let's just get this started. I can't believe all the diplomatic bullshit I had to go through to get this position, especially with the Daimyo. And then for him to simply say he's not showing up, that damn old man."

Hiruzen laughed. "You're ranting about things that have nothing to do with the situation at hand again. You really are more nervous than I ever would have imagined."

The man snorted, a blush on his face. "Shut up sensei. This is extremely nerve-wracking. Plus, I haven't seen Naruto all week. He's been way to busy training and recovering from the invasion."

Hiruzen laughed, "Yes I suppose Naruto-kun has been fairly busy. Speaking of the invasion you know that while I am here to advise you the burden to rebuilding Konoha falls on your shoulders now correct?" The man sighed, "Yes I know. You put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders all at once ya know? Sometimes I feel like you're running away from it all."

Hiruzen deadpanned, yet he did not lie to his old student. "You would not be completely incorrect about that assumption." The man deadpanned back at his sensei's response, but the old man had merely laughed before walking up to the edge of the roof they stood upon.

"I would like to thank all of you for coming out today," Hiruzen began. "You all know why we come together today. It is the inauguration of a new Hokage. I have grown old in my two terms as Hokage, and have done my best. I have made mistakes, I have lost friends, many have died under my rule, and I was not the Hokage you needed."

The mood turned somber as Hiruzen pointed out his mistakes, at least those that were public knowledge. Certain secrets like the Uchiha had to be kept hidden after all. However, Hiruzen's words struck the hearts of shinobi and civilian alike. They all knew he had done his best, even the most warmongering amongst them couldn't deny that, despite their disagreement with his ideals.

"However, I have done my best and I feel like Konoha is better for it. I cannot be the perfect Hokage, no one can. However, I do believe that with each generation our chances of success grow better. And our chance of success has just grown better with the man who stands besides me."

The man walked over to stand besides Hiruzen. Hiruzen smiled, the Hokage hat appearing in his hands with a burst of smoke. The man before him looked slightly nervous. Hiruzen merely placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before he continued to speak.

"With open hearts and open minds I pass the torch down to the next generation. The new Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. Jiraiya Monogatari!"

Hiruzen stood behind Jiraiya, placing the hat on his head as Jiraiya kneeled before him. Slowly Jiraiya stood, turning to face the crowd, before an eruption of applause occurred. It was absolutely deafening as the civilians and shinobi roared and cheered, showcasing their support of Hiruzen's decision. They couldn't have asked for a more capable shinobi to lead them through these dark times.

As the crowd quieted Jiraiya began to speak. "I…I don't quite know what to say," he stuttered out, drawing a laugh from the crowd. A shout of, "Whatever you want to!" was elicited from the crowd, before what sounded like a mother silencing a child quickly silenced it. Jiraiya chuckled his thanks before nodding. "I would have to start off by saying that I don't think I'm the best candidate for this position." Hiruzen frowned. He had a feeling Jiraiya would be self-pitying in his speech, but he didn't expect it to be so early. Luckily no one but Jiraiya saw the frown, but Jiraiya paid it no heed. "I mean we have a descendant of the Shodai here in the village, a master of medical ninjutsu, and someone who is working to change the face of the shinobi world here in Konoha. She would be a much better candidate than I, at least, that was what I thought. But, over this week getting ready for the inauguration I came to a realization. I don't have the right to be self-pitying."

The crowd was silent, soaking up his words as if they were scripture itself.

"Shinobi give their life for this village, friends and family lose loved ones all for the sake of defending it. The woman I named herself has lost loved ones due to the cruel world that we live in. I don't deserve to be self-pitying when so many others have lost so much and refused to give up. They have stood for what they believed in always. Even if they went astray they always came back and strove to push themselves forwards. That's something that I can't say I have been capable of doing. I was constantly demoralized by my losses, that of my student, Minato Namikaze, and ones beforehand by the name of Nagato. I have constantly felt that I was to slow or too weak or to incapable of stopping the tragedies that befell my life and the sanctity of the village. I failed countless times."

Hiruzen was about to interject, finding this point of conversation demoralizing to the civilians and shinobi below. It was a brain dump, Jiraiya wasn't making coherent sense and he certainly didn't seem to be making any build up for some immaculate speech. He seemed to be fuddling around in the darkness.

And then he found his light.

"Yet that doesn't give me the right to give up," Jiraiya stated, conviction in his voice. "I have learned from my experiences, and I have grown as a shinobi, no, as a man. I recognize that I am not the best candidate. I'm not perfect. As my sensei said no one is. However, I promise you all that I will strive to be that ideal that your children can look up to and be proud. That you can look up to and be proud. I will be the one to bring Konoha out of the hard times it faces now into a time of prosperity. The brighests dawns are always after the darkest hours. And I promise you that our darkest hour has passed. We will rebuild and grow, just like the great forest that surrounds the village of Konoha! We are a tree, and we shall never be cut down, by foes outside or within. We stand united here, and I will show you that the unity of our people is all we need to survive. Our world is one plagued with war and destruction, and as your Hokage it is my duty to protect you from it. It is my duty to create peace in the world around you. I promise you here, on my creed, on my ninja way, on my own Will of Fire that I will not fail you. I refuse to! Konoha is a great tree, and I am humbled to be the one to help it grow!"

Silence. That was the first response of the crowd. Jiraiya began to worry, however slowly he heard clapping, followed by another, and another until it became a raucous applause that threatened to make all deaf under its noise. People were cheering and roaring. Some shinobi even shot a few plumes of fire into the air that exploded outwards like fireworks.

Jiraiya smiled bowing to the people he served as their leader.

"Let the celebration commence!"

XxX

Kiba sat in a dark room, taking advantage of the time his mother and the majority of the clan wasn't in the clan compound, celebrating the inauguration of the new Hokage. Kiba hadn't even gone to the inauguration, managing to sneak away from his mother and her enhanced senses. Instead he had been in her library the entire day, studying, reading over the scrolls and the powerful techniques that they contained.

Kiba looked up as he heard a bark, smiling as Akamaru padded over to him. He rubbed the small dogs head, gently scratching behind Akamaru's ear. "Hey buddy," he muttered. "Is anyone on their way?" Akamaru barked, causing Kiba to smile. "Good. Keep on watch okay? We'll train when we've finished copying down everything in the scroll okay?"

Akamaru barked and rushed off to keep watch, desire to protect his partner until he was done making the preparations to make them stronger. Kiba looked back at the scroll, a single thought in his mind.

'I'll show Naruto I'm stronger than he is! I'll show everyone! I won't let a single person die during the war!'

XxX

Tenten smirked, watching Neji and Lee continuously bicker about who was better at certain competitions. She smiled, her soft eyes soaking up the details of this night. She had to. She wanted this moment to remain with her forever. She knew what would be coming after this. A war, and war was not a place of sunshine and dandelions, it was a dark place. She might never see her teammates so happy and carefree again.

She might never see her teammates again.

Tenten had never experienced war, but if it was anything like the invasion she at least understood the reality of it. She could be killed at any time. She had gotten lucky that Kankuro respected her and his superior hadn't forced him to kill her, otherwise, well she wouldn't be around right now. She'd just be another name amongst the multiple that died during the invasion. She shuddered, remembering the saddening mass funeral that had occurred after the invasion. It wasn't even truly a funeral, but a bonfire. Dead shinobi's body were not lain to rest but burned, in an effort to make sure that no rival village would steal the body and use it to find out secrets of the village.

Shinobi villages could extract information even from a dead body.

Tenten sighed, her smile disappearing. She was worried. She was worried she wasn't strong enough. She couldn't defeat Kankuro, a Genin, and yet she was about to be part of a war. How would she hope to survive? She wasn't nearly strong enough. She had lost both of her battles, and nearly died in one of them. She was in a controlled environment in the first situation and got lucky during the second. Tenten sighed, fear flashing across her face.

Would she live? Woud she be capable of defeating the opponents that stood in her way? As she was now she was so weak, so incapable of doing anything. Kankuro had thoroughly dismantled her fighting style, and she had a gut feeling his sister with the freakish Futon jutsu could do the same due to the nature of her jutsu. She was a projectile-based fighter as she was now, that was why she had taken on the style of a puppeteer. To counter that weakness. But it wasn't enough, she needed something else to continue to grow, to fight at the level she would have to to survive. However, the only question was what.

As a leaf blew in the wind, Tenten imagined the leaf as her, constantly trying to finds her way to a stable foundation, yet the world around her kept blowing her around, leaving her incapable of standing on her own two feet. Even her so-called little brother was stronger than she was. How could she properly call herself his elder sister if she could be so easily defeated.

Tenten slowly backed away from the two boys, deciding not to play peace maker today as she turned and rushed off to her house's training grounds. She had to find a way to get stronger, to protect herself. She couldn't live another day in the constant fear that she felt now. Otherwise she'd break down, and shinobi that broke down were terminated.

She would not be terminated.

XxX

Sasuke watched as his friends enjoyed themselves, causing him to roll his eyes. The festival had started in the day and lasted well into the night. The trio of his friends, as Kakashi – although Sasuke would never admit to calling him a friend – had ran off not long after Jiraiya was named the Hokage, were constantly running around to games they could play and food stops. In general, they were just having a good time. Sasuke felt happy for them, to be capable of enjoying this before war came. They wouldn't be capable of staying that way for long. Not like he knew much about war, but if it was anything like the Uchiha Clan Massacre…no!

'I refuse to let anyone close to me die again! My family is dead but I still have friends I can protect!'

The image of blood filling black streets filled his mind, mirroring the red sky above him flashed into his mind. Then of his parents, headless and blood pouring from their bodies, his brother standing behind them with a blood-covered sword. The image of Inari's headless corpse was not far behind.

'I will not fail them like I did then!'

Sasuke's chakra spiked and unknown to Sasuke the seal on the back of his neck reacted. The sudden influx caused the seal to waver briefly before it faded, disappearing entirely. Sasuke briefly felt much stronger, but he couldn't describe why. However, before he could think on it to much he felt his hand grabbed. His mind snatched from his thoughts he looked upwards, to see Sakura grabbing his hand.

"Hey," she asked, worry on her face. "Are you alright? You seem unnerved." Sasuke shook his head. "I'm fine. Thank you though." Sakura frowned, noticing the oddness in Sasuke's words. Sure he was becoming a nicer person by the day, but he still struggled here and there to show gratitude. His sudden and quick response to her question only solidified her beliefs that something was wrong. She just needed to know what it was.

Deciding not to pry for now Sakura slowly pulled him forwards towards a game that had lots of stuffed animals. "Come on, have some fun. It's a celebration."

'Celebration…right,' Sasuke briefly played with the term in his mind before nodding, paying the worker the amount of money required to play. The game was simply, you had to throw kunai at targets, and the closer you were to the bullseye the better prize you won. Clearly it wasn't for shinobi, as they would make the game look like childsplay, yet Sasuke wasn't wearing his headband and this man was not from Konoha. With his clan symbol on his back unseen the man couldn't have known that Sasuke would easily win hit the bulls-eyes. And easily hit them he did, as all three of the kunai he was given easily pegged the target. The worker looked surprised before gesturing to some of the prizes.

"Which one do you want?"

Sasuke frowned. They were all stuffed animals, things he had no desire for, however he noticed Sakura eyeing a rather large, and rather feminine pink owl. Sasuke rolled his eyes, a smirk forming on his list.

"The pink owl please." The worker nodded, grabbing the large owl before handing it to Sasuke. He smirked as he glanced at Sakura briefly before looking back at Sasuke. He then wiggled his eyebrows. Sasuke snorted before looking at Sakura.

"You looked like you wanted it," he said, hhanding her the large stuffed animal. Sakura blushed, grabbing the stuffed animal. "T-thank you," she muttered out, embarrassed.

Before the duo could procede they were called.

"Hey Sasuke! Sakura!"

The duo turned to see Naruto and Hinata rushing over to them, smiles on their faces. "We found this kimono place that looked really cool. You guys wanna come with us?"

Sasuke looked ready to decline Naruto's offer, however a quick glance at Sakura told him that that was not an option, not if the killing intent being directed his way from her was anything inclination. Naruto seemed blissfully unaware of the killing intent while Hinata laughed lightly.

"Sure," Sasuke muttered out, fear lacing his voice. Naruto again didn't notice it.

'They'd be good together.' Hinata noticed, her giggles attracting a glare from Sasuke. Hinata immediately stopped giggling and pretended to look in a different direction. Naruto remained blissfully unaware of the situation as he led the four of them over to the shop, walking inside. There were two dressing rooms, one for women and one for men.

"Hello kids," they heard. They turned to see a rather old woman managing the cashier, a kind smile on her face. "Hello miss," Naruto stated, a smile on his face. The woman's smile deepened, becoming coy. "You four on a double date or something?" The four blushed immensely immediately trying to refute the statement, causing her to laugh. "I'm only joking dears, enjoy the store."

They nodded bashfully and immediately fanned out to find a kimono and went to the dressing rooms. Soon afterwards they emerged, and immediately began checking out one another.

Naruto wore a dark orange kimono, with large, intricate black flames weaved into the design. The flames had golden sputters of flame floating off of them. On the back of the kimono was an Uzumaki spiral design, only this time black with golden highlights at the curved edges. Above his heart was a red fox head that was so masterfully sewn that it stood out and seemed to be unnoticeable all at the same time. The fox's eyes were slit and fierce.

Hinata sported a light blue kimono that looked like the ocean on a calm day. The kimono draped over her body, managing to accentuate some of her curves. The kimono hid her legs due to the length of it. The end of the kimono ended far past Hinata's feet, dragging against the ground, yet through the design you could tell that that was the purpose. The kimono had tints of dark blue splattered around it, yet if you connected them you could see the image of a lion.

Sakura wore a crimson kimono that complimented her hair nicely. The kimono was rather modest, not clinging to tightly to Sakura's form, yet it didn't look baggy on her either. It's was very regal in design, with a white phoenix right above her breast. The sleeves were long, hiding Sakura's hands with their length. While it was fairly basic it drew the eye of a certain Uchiha.

Sasuke couldn't help but eye Sakura with a little bit of attraction. She had constantly been improving her skills, something he found admirable, and she put up a decent fight now. More so, she looked really good in that dress. Sasuke couldn't help the blush that appeared on his face, his eyes trailing over every inch of her body.

Sakura was much the same, drinking in Sasuke's appearance. He sported an outfit very similar to Naruto's in fact. The kimono was dark blue, and wrapped around him, revealing the upper portion of his rather lean chest. An eagle was sewn into his kimono, screeching into the heavens. Black wings were sewn on the back of kimono, giving Sasuke an angelic look. Towards the leg area chains were sewn in, and eerily enough the end of the kimono seemed to sway back and forth, even though Sasuke had stopped moving long ago.

"Wow," Sakura said, her eyes wide as the blush on her face deepened. Sasuke could only mimic her, stuttering in his words. "You look…really good," Sasuke said, his voice shaking. Sakura smiled. "Yeah…so do you."

Hinata smirked as she saw them, grabbing Naruto and dragging him off to the counter. The duo quickly payed for their kimonos before Hinata dragged Naruto out.

"Hey Hinata what's up? I thought we were gonna hang out with Sasuke and Sakura." Hinata rolled her eyes at Naruto's naivety instead walking forward. Naruto followed after her, confused. "Naruto-kun you really are so dense." Naruto blinked. "I dunno what you're talking about. How am I dense?" Hinata laughed.

"You really can't see the attraction those two have for each other?" Naruto blinked. "Attraction? I know Sakura likes the bastard…" Hinata shook her head, instead dragging Naruto away, the duo playing several games as they went along.

"Hey Naruto-kun," Hinata asked as they stopped walking in the middle of the street. Naruto looked at her. "Yeah?"

"What do you think war is like?"

Naruto frowned at the sudden question, looking at the Hyuga, worry etched all over his face. "I would imagine it's rather dark and scary. Death and destruction everywhere, why do you ask?" Hinata frowned. "It's just," Hinata sighed, looking down at the ground. In that moment Naruto couldn't help but notice how defenseless she looked. He knew she was strong, but she looked extremely weak at that moment. "I'm afraid of losing the people closest to me." The words shook Naruto, visibly. He took a step back, her words resonating within him. He had never thought of war as something that serious. He knew it was, but the reality of it had never set in with him. His cheery output on life had always remained resolute. He would go in, kick some ass, and come out the victor. Even losing to Gaara hadn't changed that perspective. But with a few choice words Hinata had shaken the very fabric of his reality. Hinata's words had brought the reality that he could die, that someone he cared about could die, that she could die, to the forefront of his mind, and now it would never leave.

Naruto didn't know what he felt at that one moment, but he hated it.

However, he didn't let that show. Quickly after he had taken his step backwards he rushed forwards and wrapped his arms around Hinata, her forehead in the crook of his neck.

"Shhh," he whispered, soothing her. Their form attracted eyes on the street, but Naruto didn't care, they could all go to hell. "I won't let anything happen to you Hinata," he whispered in her ear. "You'll be fine, I'll be fine, everyone will be fine. I'll protect everyone no matter what. You know I would never let anything happen to you. No one will die. I promise you that. I swear it on my life."

Naruto felt something wet dampen his kimono. He instantly knew that Hinata was crying. "That's a promise you can't keep," she muttered sadly. Naruto barely restrained a sigh. He had known it when he sworn the promise, but he had done it anyway to comfort her. Her kissed Hinata's forehead gently, hugging her tighter.

However, he never responded.

XxX

Jiraiya sat down at the bar, smiling as he got several pats on the back and congradulations. "You feel accustomed to the job yet," he heard. He turned, Tsunade standing behind him, a smirk on her face. The woman sat down next to him, ordering a drink. Jiraiya smiled, a lost look on his face. "No, it's only been a few hours. I am in not way used to running an entire village yet, and it hasn't even started."

Tsunade laughed, patting Jiraiya on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get used to it. I think it just takes a lot of experience." Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, a raised eyebrow on his face. "You're very optimistic about me running the village. I thought you hated Konoha. What changed that?"

Tsunade was silent for a moment, and Jiraiya began to believe he had pushed her slightly to far. Just as he was about to take back his words Tsunade responded.

"Sensei," she stated plainly. "He was right really…I have just been running away from my problems. I've ran away from my responsibilities. The Kyuubi attack and the Uchiha Massacre…those were incidents where I should have returned to support Konoha. To support Kushina's child. For me to so blatantly disregard my own student's son is something that is truly unacceptable. I…I failed then as a teacher, and Nawaki and Dan would be ashamed of those failures. It is time I did my repentance. I need to start making up for my wrongdoings. Part of that is trying to support Konoha in every way that I can. Part of that is running the hospital and attempting to get medical ninjutsu introduced into the Academic curriculum. The other part is being a guide mentor to the next generation."

Jiraiya smiled, an idea popping into his head. Tsunade frowned. "What is it? What happened?" Jiraiya smiled. "While he's technically my student, and I don't believe that he'd be necessarily interested in learning iyrojutsu I do know someone who you might be interested in meeting. He wants to learn more about his clan's history, and it just so happens that his clan's history is intertwined with yours."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Well I have to admit that you've got me curious," she muttered, "but I think all talk of business should wait until after the celebration. We can discuss this tomorrow. For now, we should just have a good time and relax Jiraiya okay? You're the new Hokage. That should be a cause for celebration, not a cause for the more work than is already required." Jiraiya laughed lifting up his glass.

"I'll toast to that." Tsunade laughed, and the two clinked their glasses before they drank.

XxX

Sasuke didn't even notice Naruto and Hinata disappear, instead staring at Sakura. "You look…amazing," he muttered, his eyes wide. Sakura blushed, "You look quite good yourself. You should buy it." Those words seemed to snap Sasuke out of his stupor and he walked over the the old woman, who was smiling coyly and paid for his kimono. He also payed for Sakura's, causing the girl to raise an eyebrow. He simply shrugged, before walking out the store. They barely heard the old woman call, "Have fun you to, but not too much fun."

They blushed, immediately exiting the story and walking down the street at an extremely fast pace. An awkward silence reigned between the two of them for several moments before Sakura broke it. "Hey Sasuke, what do you do when you're not training with us?"

"I train some more."

The duo had just finished playing a tag-team game and won with ease. Sakura chose a cute stuffed dog for her own toy. Sasuke let her choose his and she got him another cute animal, only this one was a cat. Sasuke rolled his eyes at her antics, but accepted the cat nonetheless.

"That's boring," Sakura muttered. "You don't do anything else. Watch movies? Go to the park? Read a book?" Sasuke shook his head, causing Sakura to shy. "What do you do? That must be so boring." Sasuke smirked. "Not in the slightest. I sleep, eat, and train. What else am I supposed to do?" Sakura rolled her eyes, "Have a life," she muttered. "That's dull. You can't center your life on one thing. It's not healthy. Becoming a better shinobi isn't everything you know. It's worthless without a dream."

Sasuke looked at her, his eyes cold. Sakura was slightly off put, but she stood still. "I have a dream."

Sasuke shot off. Sakura cursed, shooting after him. Sasuke noticed this and sped up, nearly dashing out of Sakura's sight before she could react. However, she caught up to him. The chase continued for several minutes until Sasuke finally stopped.

At the Uchiha District.

Sakura landed next to him. "You're angry." Sasuke whipped around, his Sharingan blazing crimson fury. "Of course I'm angry! Why wouldn't I be angry huh!"

Sakura frowned, slowly walking over to him. "Calm down." Sasuke snarled, his anger growing more heated. "Calm down! How the hell do you expect me to calm down huh!?" Sakura slowly kept walking towards him. "I'm just trying to understand."

"You can't," Sasuke said, his words whipping like venom. Yet Sakura shrugged it off as Sasuke accidentally using that tone due to his anger and didn't take it personally. "Then let me try at least." Sasuke looked ready to lash out again, but Sakura spoke first.

"Please."

Sasuke looked at her, really at her before he slowly nodded. His anger had been tamed, for now. He slowly sat down at the rooftop's edge, looking out over the now empty sector of the village. Sakura sat down next to him slowly, trying to agitate him as little as possible. Sasuke was silent for several minutes before he began to talk.

"It was a night like this," he muttered, his eyes unfocused. "The Uchiha were going to have a celebration. It didn't happen." Sakura blinked but Sasuke continued.

"I arrived home a little later than normal, expecting the celebration to have already started. Itachi was to be dubbed the official clan heir, and I couldn't have been happier for him. I was so excited, so happy to be his younger brother. But when I entered the district it wasn't so. All I saw was blood." Cold sweat began to slip down Sasuke's body and Sakura almost reached out to touch him, to tell him to stop, but he seemingly found his strength.

"Confused and scared I ran towards my parent's house, expecting them to be alive and defending our attackers. I expected them to protect me. Yet as I ran all I saw ere more and more dead bodies, more and more blood. Nothing changed. The buildings became a blur as I ran, focusing only on one thing. The dead around me. Every aspect of the corpses, how so many were torn open or beheaded. Adults, the elderly, even children. No one was spared. But then I made it to my parent's house." Sakura noticed Sasuke's voice rise, although she wondered if it was useless hope or if it was the little boy still inside of him who was terrified of what he saw.

"I thought they'd be fine. That they'd protect me," Sasuke muttered, his eyes burning, but not from use of the Sharingan. He had long ago deactivated that. "I was wrong," he muttered. Clenching his fists, he forged onward, the horror flashing through his mind clear as day. "My parents were still alive when I found them, but they weren't fighting. No, they sat, comfortable, as if they were drinking tea with my brother behind them. And they did nothing as he beheaded them." Sasuke's shaking had grown worse, and Sakura didn't stop herself this time, hugging him close. "He killed them. Blood went everywhere. The walls, the floor, the ceiling…me. And then Itachi just disappeared. I ran after him, and found him in the street, coated in blood. He glanced back at me…he glanced back at me with his Sharingan and told me to run! And then his Sharingan changed," Sasuke stated, his voice becoming eerily high towards the end, as if a deranged man was talking cheerily about murder. "His Sharingan changed and he used a genjutsu on me. And he showed me his entire process, over and over and over, for three days!" Full blown tears were falling from Sasuke's eyes at this point, and he was outright sobbing into Sakura's kimono. She would have to buy a new one. "For three days…" Sasuke muttered. "For three days I watched my family members die…as if I was the one doing it."

Sasuke then stopped talking, and instead just cried. Sakura simply held him, her eyes closed. She said nothing, for there was nothing she could say. There were no words to tell him after what he had experienced. Anything said would have felt allow and worthless. No words could resonate with the amount of emotional damage he must have felt. Nothing had the capability. Words simply couldn't describe it. So she sat there, and she showed her care, and she held him. Sasuke didn't stop crying for a very long time, and for that entire time, despite her entire body protesting in her uncomfortable position, she held him.

Eventually, Sasuke fell asleep.

Sakura held the Uchiha, looking up into the sky as she heard a loud explosion. She was worried, but immediately calmed down when she saw fireworks in the sky. Midnight. She looked down at Sasuke who was still sleeping calmly. She smiled softly.

"Don't worry Sasuke," she said, whispering softly in his ear as she picked him up and began to carry him towards her house. She didn't know where he slept very well, and it would feel wrong exploring the Uchiha District without his permission; and she couldn't very well leave him to sleep outside. Her family had a guest room. She just hoped her parents would understand. Sakura looked down at her teammate, a sweet smile on her face.

"None of us will ever leave you."

XxX

Naruto's eyes snapped open, his hand reaching for the kunai he kept hidden under his pillow. He slashed at the offending hand, a grim look on his face, yet his eyes widened as the figure grabbed his wrist, easily forcing him to let go of the kunai. Naruto snarled, his foot shooting towads the figure's head, only for it to be caught, yet Naruto twisted, forcing his entire body out of his bed. Naruto swung his free hand, coming downwards with a haymaker towards the attacker's head. Yet the figure pushed against Naruto's leg as he freed it, forcing him off center and allowing his punch to swish in front of his face. The figure then launched a palm thrust upwards, slamming it into Naruto's stomach and causing him to spit out spittle.

The figure then layed Naruto down, his white mask looking down on the small Uzumaki boy.

"Naruto Uzumaki while I do approve of your wariness's you must calm down. The Hokage has summoned you. That was all I wanted to tell you."

Naruto looked up at the Anbu member with purple hair, his eyes twitching. "Did you have to break into my house to do it you asshole?" The purple Anbu member blinked, although Naruto couldn't see it.

"I suppose that was rather indecent of me. I apologize."

"Rather indecent?!"

Naruto was about to go on a tirade about his own personal space but the Anbu member simply shrugged, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto's eye began to twitch as he imagined what he would do to that Anbu member the next time he saw them.

'I'll wring there little fucking throat,' Naruto lamented, opening his window. If Jiraiya had to summon him at two in the damn morning he was going in his pajamas, he didn't give a damn what the old man thought. As Naruto shot through the open air of a tumultuous Konohagakure he could only wonder what he could want with him, especially this early. Naruto eyed the Hokage tower from afar, pumping much more chakra into his legs than normal before he shot towards it. He looked to his side to see three Anbu member's midair with him, obviously annoyed he had used such a powerful amount of chakra withint he confines of the village, especially when he was shooting towards the Hokage Tower.

Rolling his eyes, and slightly pleased he had annoyed some of the higher-ups in the village Naruto's eyes widened as the window to the Tower suddenly opened and he shot inside with no resistance. Flipping midair he landed, skidding to a halt in front of Jiraiya.

"Fancy," Jiraiya stated, a smile on his face. "As expected of a student of mine." Naruto blinked. "Student? Last time I trained under you you started perving on girls." Jiraiya paled as Naruto said this, causing him to blink. That was when the other presence in the room made herself known, stomping forwards towards Jiraiya.

"You were what Jiraiya," Tsunade hissed, her eyes very narrow. Jiraiya glared at Naruto but the Uzumaki just shrugged. However, before Tsunade could tear him a new one Jiraiya raised his hands. "Okay look, before Tsunade-hime kills me can I at least tell you the mission?" Naruto blinked. "Mission? Is that why you summoned me, at TWO IN THE DAMN MORNING!"

"Yes it's rather important."

"It could have waited until the damn morning!"

"It's about the promise Hiruzen made you."

Naruto suddenly became quiet, his entire demeanor changing. Instead of the slightly joking attitude he was displaying beforehand now he was serious, looking at Jiraiya with a look the man never would have expected to see on his godson's face.

"Explain."

Tsunade smirked at the authoritative tone the kid used. She liked him already. He had balls, though she would have to make sure he knew who he was talking to when he spoke to her. Jiraiya was a pervert more than a shinobi, but she was Tsunade of the Sannin damn it. That kid would show her some damn respect.

"Hiruzen promised you a trip to Uzushiogakure to look at your ancestry. I'm making it a formal mission. You two are to reach Uzushiogakure and learn all you can from the ruins. Anything personal to either of you you do not have to share with me in the mission report. I trust you both to know what is vital information and what is not."

Naruto blinked. "Both of us? Is she related to me or something?" Jiraiya smiled. "This woman is Senju Tsunade. By blood she also is part Uzumaki."

Naruto looked at the woman, sizing her up. Tsunade, despite her overwhelming confidence, suddenly felt very self-concious. 'This kid…he didn't seem like much…but he's unnerving me. This amount of seriousness is unnatural.'

Naruto seemed to accept Tsunade before turning to Jiraiya. "When do we leave?" Jiraiya smirked. "Immediately. Grab the essentials and leave. I don't want you two to leave during the day, it'd cause to much panic. A member of the Sannin and the person who took down Sunagakure's Jinhcuriki…no…we have to have you two back faster than the news can spread effectively."

Tsunade and Naruto nodded. The grown Senju then looked at Naruto. "Meet me by the gate in fifteen minutes." Naruto nodded, dashing out of the Tower and back towards his house. Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, before he nodded.

"Remember…be careful. We'll need you at your top condition for what's to come. And non-lethal please." Tsunade snorted.

"I'll try to be. But what if he gets rowdy?"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "He won't, he's only going to secure information. That's it. You know the mission Tsunade." Tsunade sighed. "Fine. Just don't be mad at me when he comes back with a few broken bones." Jiraiya rolled his eyes.

"I can deal with broken bones. I can't deal with him dead."

XxX

Tsunade glanced at Naruto, nodding as she saw the blonde-haired child walk up to her with a serious look on his face. "You have a serious look on your face," Tsunade stated, a frown on her face. Naruto looked at her, his eyes hard but seemingly empathetic.

"This involves my family. Our family. You should be more serious than you are right now." Tsunade's eyebrow twitched, clearly irritated with Naruto's sass. "Care to repeat yourself their kid?" Naruto would have done so if Jiraiya hadn't appeared between the two, a frown on his face.

"I don't need you two fighting the entire damn trip," he stated, clearly annoyed. Naruto frowned but nodded, turning away from Tsunade. The blonde-haired Senju clenched her fists but managed to restrain herself from clocking the brat right there. Jiraiya sent her a pointed look before he tapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"What?"

"You never finished part two of the training for the jutsu I was gonna show you." Naruto blinked. "Yeah I did. I just never got the chance to show you because you were to busy perving on girls." Jiraiya glared at Naruto, rubbing his head violently. "I stopped you little shit! I was searching for you the remainder of the time to try and finish our training!" Naruto snorted. "Yeah I bet you stopped, after you had a little bit more fun huh ya nasty."

Jiraiya glared at his wayward pupil, growling. "Whatever. If you've finished the second part of the jutsu then the last step is to put it together. It should look like this."

Jiraiya then held out his hands, chakra slowly swirling around in his hands before forming a swirling blue sphere. "This is it," Jiraiya said. "The Yondaime Hokage's legacy his held here in the palm of my hand. The A-rank ninjutsu that requires no handseals. The Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)."

Naruto looked at it with amazement, his serious eyes being replaced by his ever constant desire to learn more jutsu. "And you think I can do that? That's so cool! I'm gonna be such a badass! It's an A-rank jutsu too! That means it's gotta be powerful!" Jiraiya smiled, letting the jutsu fade. "It is, but I can't exactly demonstrate it here in the village without causing collateral damage. However, Naruto I'm serious when I say this, do not use this move if you haven't mastered it. It's dangerous to the user and it's very difficult to learn. It's combining shape manipulation and chakra manipulation without using handseals. Even the Yondaime himself took a very long time to learn it. Remember, rotation and power create this technique, and a combination of your own skill."

Naruto stared at Jiraiya before he nodded. "This jutsu is the legacy of the Yondaime, the legacy of my favorite Hokage," Naruto muttered. "I won't let him down. By the time I come back from this mission I'll have the Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere) down pat." Tsunade looked at Naruto before she snorted. Naruto glanced at her, an annoyed look on his face. "What was that?" Tsunade laughed. "You? Learn the Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)? That jutsu takes ages to learn, I doubt you could do it in your entire lifetime."

Naruto glared at the Sannin. "Is that a bet? Because I promise you that when I shove this jutsu so far up your ass you'll believe I can use it."

Tsunade smirked. "You couldn't touch my ass kid. And yes, that is a bet." Jiraiya snorted. "Naruto don't even bother training, that's pretty much a guarantee that you'll have the jutsu down pat by the time you get back." Tsunade glared at the laughing Jiraiya, cocking her fist back. She launched a punch but Jiraiya managed to barely avoid it, causing Tsunade's anger to rise further. The angry blonde woman would have continued her assault had Naruto not started laughing.

"You think this is funny gaki," Tsunade asked. "How about I sweeten the deal for you. If you win I'll give you this necklace." Tsunade gestured to the necklace she wore, a beautiful stone with a swirling energy inside held up by a string. Naruto nodded. "And if I lose," Naruto muttered, "I'll give up on being Hokage." Tsunade flinched at the term, yet she nodded nonetheless. "Of course. I hope you didn't want that hat to much."

Naruto glared at the woman yet she simply shrugged and started walking, eager to get this mission over with so she could laugh at the Genin's misery. Jiraiya just shook his head as Naruto stomped on after her.

"Hey Naruto," Jiraiya called to his retreating form.

"What?"

"I think what you're doing would have made your clan proud."

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya, a wide look in his eyes before he nodded. He then turned on his heel, the determination in him burning brighter than ever.

XxX

Sasuke groaned as he awoke, raising his body as he looked around the room. This was not his room.

Where was he?

Sasuke immediately went on alert, standing quickly as he walked silently towards the window. He glanced outside. He was still in Konoha, that much was obvious. He could tell from his surroundings. His would be kidnappers really were arrogant to think he couldn't escape when he had an open window and was on his home turf. Just as he was about to burst out the window the door opened causing him to curse. He turned, his hands already weaving between handsigns. However, when he saw who it was he stopped.

"Sakura?"

"Sasuke? You're up already. You were out like a light when you got here." Sasuke frowned. "Here? Where am I?" Sakura set down the tray of food she brought in before sitting in a chair, looking at him curiously. "My place. You…you fell asleep in my arms last night and it didn't feel right to go through the Uchiha Complex without your permission so I brought you here. I couldn't just leave you outside in the cold so I brought you to my house."

"I see," Sasuke muttered, before he nodded, his memories from last night coming back to him. "Thank you Sakura…I mean it."

"Don't worry about it Sasuke, we're teammates. It's what we should do right?"

Sasuke looked at the pink haired girl and felt a strange feeling in his chest, one he had only felt a couple of times and each one related to Sakura. He frowned.

"What's wrong? Is everything alright Sasuke? I didn't bring you food you didn't like did I?"

Sasuke's frown deepened if that was possible. "Sakura the food is fine, I just…thank you. For everything." Sakura blinked but nodded nonetheless. "No problem. As I said, we're teammates. Now eat your food. You missed breakfast. You've gotta be starving."

Sasuke noticed his stomach growling at that exact moment and moved to eat the food. However, as he sat down he looked at Sakura's retreating form. "Sakura."

Sakura turned, looking at the raven-haired Uchiha.

"Yeah?"

Sasuke blinked and felt his heart throb before he held in what he was going to say beforehand. "Nevermind…it's nothing." Sakura blinked but nodded nonetheless. "Okay?" She then turned on her heel and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Sasuke slowly began to eat his food, meandering over his feelings. However, as he did so he turned back towards the bed. Sakura had brought him here, to her house, and her parents had to have agreed. That only left one question.

How had she gotten them to bring a boy that they did not know into their household into a room that they didn't supervise?

Sasuke shuddered at the thought, memories of the CRA coming back into his mind.

XxX

Tenten weaved through her father's attacks, carefully avoiding the blade that he swung. She jumped backwards, bringing her hands up and releasing her chakra strings once again. However, Stijin was quick, and swung his blade, cutting the cords that were trying to attach themselves to the now repaired Black Angel. He then shot forwards, fire covering his blade. He yelled as he swiped downwards, Tenten sidestepping before she drew a blade from the seal on her left wrist, slashing at her father. Stijin blocked the blade, a smirk on his face, before he pushed upwards, throwing Tenten off balance before lashing out with a kick.

The blow landed solidly on Tenten's stomach, sending her flying towards into a nearby tree. Stijin slashed at her, forcing her to roll away before she could quite recover herself, creating a shallow cut across her shoulder due to her sloppy dodge.

"Is that the best that you can do Tenten?"

Tenten growled, drawing a scroll from her kunai pouch and unsealing a kusarigama. Stijin smirked, rolling his eyes as Tenten swung a sickle at him. He rasied his blade, allowing the kusarigama to wrap around it. Tenten tugged, yanking the sword from Stijin's grasp, yet the man was weaving through handseals before she even had a chance to stop him.

"Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Style: Dragon's Flame)!"

Three massive dragons of flame shot from Stijin's mouth, spltting up as they surrounded Tenten. One attack from the front, and one for each side. Tenten's eyes widened at one of her father's more powerful jutsu, causing her to jump backwards. However, as the three dragons collided they merged, forming an even larger dragon of flame that shot towards her. Tenten frowned, thinking of every technique that she knew that could stop that attack, but she came up blank. However just as the jutsu was about to reach her, Stijin appeared, sword in hand as he reached out nonchalantly, the flames being sealed into his blade for future use.

Tenten collapsed as the last of the flames disappeared into her father's blade, her eyes wide. "I got beat again?" Stijin reached down, patting Tenten's back. "It's okay Tenten. I'm a Tokubetsu Jonin due to my skill with Katon jutsu, it's expected that someone who is only a Genin like you would lose. If you beat me there'd be a problem."

Tenten shook her head, her eyes hard. "I understand that. You're much stronger than me for a reason but, it's just the fact that well, no matter what I try everyone can beat me. Kankuro beat me because he was more skilled and because he was more intelligent, and then you can beat me simply by overpowering me. I feel like I just can't compare to any competent ninja anymore. Hell, even Naruto can probably beat me by now. There's just nothing that I can do to close this gap."

Stijin looked at Tenten, a frown on his face. "Nothing you can do to close this gap huh?" Tenten nodded. Stijin sighed. "Tenten I think it's time you learned under me, completely I mean." Tenten blinked. "What do you mean dad?" Stijin sighed. "I won't be a commander on the field for this war," Stijin began. "I will be deployed on missions more often and I'll likely be a front-line fighter to assist with the Daimyo's force's, however I do get recommendations towards shinobi I'd like to be by my side. I think this war is the perfect time to train you up. I can make you into a Katon-style expert and continue to train you in weapons. I can't much help you with your puppetry, however you're a bright girl and can likely learn that on your own. What do you say?"

Tenten couldn't believe her ears. "I thought I wasn't ready for the training regime that I would undergo?"

"You aren't," Stijin said blatantly, "But there's not much of another choice. You either learn or you die, and my little baby girl will not die on me you understand? I will personally go fight the Kazekage if he even thinks about touching a single hair on your head."

"Dad you can't beat the Kazekage," Tenten muttered. Stijin smiled. "You should not be thinking about whether or not it is possible for me to kill the Kazekage. That is irrelevant. What matters is that I am willing and ready to try, and that alone should scare the hell out of you for more the one reason."

Tenten blinked before she nodded, simply accepting her father's insanity. It was common knowledge that the man was clinically insane.

How in the world were they related?

She was so normal.

Tenten ignored the rant her father went on about how he would destroy the world and carve a flame insignia in each Kage's chest explaining why he was the strongest and how the world would be ruled by his sweet little girl and how everyone would die but him.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"How the hell are we related?"

Yup. This is a thing. And we're kicking off the next arc(s) simultaneously baby! Uzushiogakure is being caught up in the arc where the war starts. Anyways, I've actually changed a bit of things in relation to what the overall arcs of the entire story was, along with different powerups for different characters. I've also fleshed out a couple of ideas, like how I was going to make Tenten stronger. Originally she was just gonna train by herself, without a mentor, but I realized that what I wanted her to be capable of doing by Shippuden would be unrealistic by herself, so I made Stijin a shinobi. A Deus Ex Machina probably I know, so I'm gonna have to flesh Stijin's character out way more than I originally intended. Shouldn't be an issue though. More so, a lot of shit happens in this arc and the arc afterwards so I hope you all are paying attention; because I'm doing set up for final villains and some final powerups for characters already. More so, I think like a shit ton of the final villains are introduced in this arc. Not all by name and not all of them fight, but I think the majority of them at least make an appearance in planning. A very interesting OC appears too, and I think you'll all appreciate the backstory behind him.

By the way, he's already appeared.

I'll let that set tight with you to muddle over. I just haven't said his name yet because he hasn't called himself by name. When his name comes out the creator of the OC will also get a shootout, by the way.

He's revealed in two chapter anyways, so it's not like it's such a big surprise, but hey, I think it's cool.

P.S: Anyone who guesses the meaning behind Jiraiya's last name get's a cookie.