Hiruzen had never been apathetic to her smile. When she were young, it filled him with a fatherly instinct and a mentor's pride. Once matured, it lit the spark of desire within him but as their relationship dissolved the cruelty behind it left him cold, regretful and mourning the loss of the innocent student he once knew. Now, it fills him with a hatred hotter than any katon jutsu known to man. He wants nothing more than to strangle the very life from her and then send her soul to the Shinigama for a light snack.

"What do you want?" he asked, acid lacing every word.

"Kukuku, you seem to ask that a lot, Sensei." She replied and was not wrong. He needed to know what her plot was, what her endgame was so he could stop it. He'd protect Konoha from her even with his last breath.

"Well?" he bit back.

"Oh, nothing, just checking in. How's Asuma? He seemed really upset when we returned." Oh, she loved to twist the knife, Hiruzen thought. She was so very pleased with herself.

"Do you enjoy this? I've worked hard to mend my relationship with Asuma and you tear it down for your own amusement."

"Not just my amusement, that was a byproduct. Besides, you only have yourself to blame. I bet you used the same tired excuses you used on me. I have so many demands on my time. My shinobi need me, the civilians need me and while I love them even my family makes demands of me. I just need something for myself, just time to be Hiruzen." She said with a laugh. Hiruzen flinched as that had been exactly what he said to Asuma. He wanted his son to understand the pressures of being Hokage, of being subsumed by the responsibilities of the office. Asuma thought it was bullshit.

"You know it's a lie, right?" Apparently, so does she. "You could have just retired, any one of us were ready to take the mantle. You chose to hang on to power until after the Third Shinobi War. You were so in love with being the Hokage, the God of Shinobi that you couldn't make room for anyone else. That's the truth of the matter."

"I won't debate this with you. And if I have to suffer your vile presence it should be for a reason, now what do you want?"

"I heard you lost us the privilege to wear the Uzumaki symbol. Is that true?" Oh, she's just aiming for all the soft spots today.

"You know it is. He's your student."

"Hai, but he went to sleep instantly upon his return so we haven't had a chance to speak. Any ideas for a replacement? Maybe you could make it a contest, Village wide."

"To emphasize my blunder even more?"

"Yes! Now, you're getting it!" she said with genuine enthusiasm.

"What do you want? Where does this all end? I won't let you hurt Konoha."

"Kukuku, why would I want to hurt Konoha? I live here, I wouldn't burn my own house down just to spite you."

"I don't believe that for a second." Hiruzen said dryly.

"Ok, maybe I would but I'm not. That has to count for something, right, Sensei?"

"The poets will write epics about your magnanimity."

"Then I have truly lived a full and happy life."

"Once again, Orochimaru, what do you want?"

"To tell you my Oto nins have cleared the last of Danzo's known Root bases. Can't say they killed them all, but they got most of them."

"Good, if that is all you may leave." Hiruzen said and sighed when she complied. It took a great deal of his discipline not to strike down the woman when he laid eyes on her, to so casually up end all the work Asuma and he had done to fix their relationship and simply out of spite, to further hurt him. He knew she hated him and it was justified to an extent but when would enough be enough? He could contain her to the village, watch her every moment but until he had a firm idea of what she truly wanted he couldn't get ahead of her. He was stuck reacting to her moves and didn't know how to change the position.

Orochimaru left with a smile on her face, people underestimate the power of petty revenge. And with each slight she was confident the old monkey would continue to think she had some grand scheme with him in mind when truthfully, there was only one target of her machinations and it'd be a few years still before she could fully act on them. Thinking about him led her to considering the Rasa issue.

She could kill him in open combat no problem. It'd literally be no problem at all but assassinating him is something a little different. She couldn't just send a snake to poison him or sink her Kusanagi into his heart. She realized being an S ranked missing nin has left her assassination skills rusty, as far as the hiding all traces you were the culprit part. She hasn't cared if someone knew she killed a target in years. Funny that.

Time, was on her side and because she knew Rasa a little she could make some assumptions. The most obvious being he likely has the information set the release upon his death but wouldn't place the copies somewhere too far out of his control. He trusted no one and essentially only tolerated Baki because the man was powerful and could keep Gaara on the leash. That'd have to be accounted for but she'd task Jiraiya with it, he wouldn't keep his hands clean on this just in case he was trying to set her up. Granted, she had plans to implicate or outright kill him if he double crossed her but she was aware enough to realize the likelihood of needing these contingencies were slim.

Jiraiya wasn't the fool he let others believe him to be, he was as hardened as any other war Veteran but he'd play it straight when it came to Naruto. Him staying away from Naruto wasn't entirely of his choosing, her spies had sussed that out, not that she'd acknowledge it. Why give up some emotional blackmail just because it isn't true? That's absurd.

Clearing her mind of her digression she went back to the how. He had guards so she'd need to find out how loyal and diligent they were to his well being, that might be an in. She might be able to seduce him, even if she found it repugnant. Not seduction in general but Rasa struck her as crymaxer and she didn't need nor want to deal with that. Or he'd just be really bad because he thought too highly of himself and would need constant reassurance that he was good or big or something else. Not worth the effort or the nice pair of panties she'd waste on the night. She chuckled to herself as she continued home. She still had time so she'd think of something.


The trio looked on to their singular enemy with exasperation. They'd thrown everything they could at him and nothing has worked. Their best formations, their most practiced attacks all failed to even graze him. It was a level beyond frustrating and the feeling of fatigue they all shared only increased their negative emotions.

Taking a steadying breath, the leader charged forth with his quarterstaff. A sweep to the legs was avoided with a mere hop, the following swipe to the ribs was dodged with an easy rotation. Not satisfied with just being on defense, the opponent sent a kick to the staff wielder that pushed him off balance. The other two of the trio finally reengaged, having gained enough energy for a final onslaught. The smallest came with her sword, a textbook dual handed overhead strike meant for the shoulder caused the target of the attack to jump sideways to avoid it.

Said target then had to deflect a series of shuriken that was thrown by the third, the last member willing to play support. Not giving him any breathing room the kenjutsu user continued to press the attack, downward, upward and horizontal slashes all just missing. Each missed attack draining even more stamina, causing unsteady legs to shake under the strain. The bojutsu user returned to the fray with a desperation fueled furocity he hadn't shown.

The lone defender parried and dodged their attacks but never forgot about the third member lying in wait and his patience was soon reward as said member decided to join in on the attack. He decided it was time to end this. As soon as the third was within striking distance, he swiftly relieved the bojutsu user of his quarterstaff and downed him with a palm strike. Without an instance of hesitation he threw the staff toward the other two opponents, the support ninja making the mistake of catching it as it left him open for the aerial assault of his opponent. Two kicks, delivered with a spin felled the boy and he was down for the count. In an impressive display of acrobatics, the attacker landed on his back and immediately kicking up as to not give his final enemy even a hint of an opening.

Seeing she was alone, tired and outmatched she laid her sword down in defeat and was immediately greeted with a smile and him rubbing her head. She broke out into a blush but slapped his hand away.

"Don't do that!"

"Ahh, why not Moegi-chan? You did really well, you all did." Groans is all Naruto got in response.

"You're too good, Boss. We can't hit you." Konohamaru complained.

"It's not that, I'm moving just a bit beyond you guys' speed. You just have to get a little more creative with your tactics. A direct assault can be useful, especially when collectively you have the superior skills but when you're outmatched you have to find or create your own advantages and then exploit it." He said before looking to Udon.

"You abandoned the support role too fast, Udon. It's a good impulse to want to protect your team but protection can take many forms, Had you continued to pepper me with shuriken it might have created an opening for Kon or Moegi. You need to get familiar with how they fight so you can guide opponents to where they'd be most vulnerable." Naruto explained and saw Udon look down in shame or silent recrimination.

"However, you're on your way there. Early on, when they needed a break or some space, you made it for them and you're good at letting them know what you're thinking. Once you start picking up some tactics and strategy in the academy you'll be even better. And your shurikenjutsu is well trained for your age." Naruto finished and saw the boy smile brightly.

"Moegi-chan, what's the most important thing to a swordsman or woman as the case may be?"

"Breathing. If you can control your breathing, you can avoid tension in your muscles. Tension slows down reaction time and robs the strikes of speed and power."

"Good. What's the second?"

"Legs. They have to be strong and swift, steady and nimble."

"Exactly. Once you were getting tired your breathing control was shot and your legs were unsteady. When that happens you have to switch things up. It takes dedication to learn kenjutsu but you aren't a samurai, that isn't all you'll be using." He said and she nodded, taking the criticism a little better than Udon. "But you are improving and you'll be ready to learn a style outside of the basics soon."

"Kon, good staff work. Speed and control are all acceptable but you need to control your emotions. The moment you got frustrated you started telegraphing your moves. If the other two are following your lead then you'll make them predictable, too. Predictable is the one thing you don't want to be."

"Hai."

"With that being said, you guys are getting better now here-" Naruto unsealed some canteens of water and some orange slices "have a snack and some water. I have to meet my Shishou soon."

The trio did as told and chatted away about the academy and other events. Konohamaru begged Naruto to teach them some awesome jutsu and he promised to show them something next time, something small to get them started. He started to depart when he saw Ebisu arrive. He gave the man a nod in acknowledgment and departed, glad he got to spend some time with the brats as he hadn't seen them in awhile.

"Uzumaki-san was right in his review. You'd all do well to heed his advice." Ebisu said.

"Yea, Boss is cool! He's even a Chunin now!" Konohamaru said, excitedly and the other two nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, quite cool. Now, are you three too tired for more training?"

"No/No/No!" they responded.

"Good, then let's practice our chakra control." Ebisu said and fought back the urge to laugh at their facial reactions. "I know for a fact that Uzumaki-san practices his chakra control constantly and it's one of the reasons he's considered an up and coming ninjutsu specialist. The better control you have the more you can do with your chakra."

"Fine." Konohamaru huffed out in defeat.

"Good, grab some leaves."


While training with the Kon and the gang is always fun, Naruto had to get to his training and his Shishou didn't appear to be holding back today. His various pained grunts would be a clear sign of that. The goal was teaching him how to handle opponents faster than him by increasing his reaction time and sharpening his awareness.

"Ugh!" He was having mixed results.

"Get up, Naruto-kun, I barely tapped you."

"I think we both know that's not true." Naruto said, picking himself up off the ground.

"Kukuku, ok. But you're so durable. All my other training dummies break."

"I'm really feeling the love here, Shishou." Naruto replied, deadpan.

"That comes when you're older, I do have standards." Orochimaru shot back before going on the attack again. It was only the slimmest of margins that would allow him to avoid her strikes, a brief sound or the change in the wind. It wasn't a lot and sometimes he was doing little more than guessing. He ducked and felt her leg brush the top of his head. He rolled forward, making her leg sweep useless. Not thinking he performed a mule kick that connected with her arms but it made her pause for a moment, long enough for Naruto to go on the attack.

Using the surface walking technique, Naruto clung to her forearm, and immediately twisted, bring his other leg up for another kick. She blocked it with ease and pulsed her chakra to dislodge her student. Naruto didn't let the loss of leverage deter him as he sent a punch to her face but she evaded it without effort and tossed the red haired Uzumaki away as she still had ahold of his leg. Naruto righted himself midair but had to go into evasion mode again as she began to attack relentlessly.

Even with his enhanced stamina, being forced to fight above his level drained Naruto and he was getting slower but not sloppy, his time with the panthers teaching him how to hold himself even when fatigued. It didn't stop him from getting picked apart as she potshoted Naruto until he hit the ground, breathing heavily.

"Ok, that's enough of that."

"Good, I don't think there was anywhere left on my body for you to hit me."

"Better I do it than an enemy, Naruto-kun. Besides, you are improving. As expected." she said with a glint in her eyes. "Why?"

"Please don't make me say it."

"We had a deal and from my understanding Naruto Uzumaki doesn't go back on his word."

"Why couldn't my nindo be I'd eat as much ramen as I can? Stupid stupid me."

"Stop stalling."

"Fine. I'm improving because you, Shishou-sama, are the world's greatest kunoichi slash genius and the best of the Sannin."

"See, that wasn't so hard. Now, how is everything else coming along? You having your clones train with the Kiri swords?"

"Two of them. Samehada still won't accept me yet and I'm not going to be a meal for a sword. And the Kubichi… Kubikiri… Zabuza's sword is all wrong for my frame. Even the name is a mouthful."

"Kubikiribocho. Would you look at that, guess I can handle a mouthful. Kukuku, future reference." Orochimaru said with a wink, causing Naruto to blush slightly at her innuendo. "I'd recommend coming to an accord with Samehada, it's too useful not to. Now, how about your ninjutsu? Anything new?"

"Maybe a few developments. I wanted to have something definitive before I came to you. So, you know how we've been making plans for any pair of the Akatsuki that I may run into."

"Yes, you seemed confident you had workable plans for Kakuzu and Hidan but thought Sasori and Deidara would give you and your team problems."

"Yea. I may have the Sasori part figured out even if he's a nightmare for Kurenai-Sensei, Shino and Shika. But Deidara was the hardest for me to plan for, given he's a long distance threat and his natural counter is my worst element." Naruto said and saw her nod. "Making a long distance raiton jutsu is difficult and inefficient."

"That's the general consensus, are you about to show me something different?" she asked in excitement.

"Yep. Watch" Naruto said before performing a Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Running Jutsu and saw the standard looking raiton peter out at ten meters. Orochimaru didn't look confused nor disappointed as she knew her student wouldn't waste her time so she waited patiently for Naruto to continue his demonstration. Naruto then ran through the same hand signs and performed the jutsu again except this time the beast was red and didn't give out until it was twenty-five meters away.

"Red lightning? I wonder if it's similar to Kumo's black lightning."

"I don't know. From my understanding the black lightning is more powerful than standard raiton techniques. The red lightning isn't really more powerful but it can travel further distances and something else."

"What?"

In response Naruto through four kunai that were 15 meters apart and then performed another red lightning jutsu, aimed at the center kunai. To Orochimaru's surprise, the jutsu split off and hit the other kunai once it made contact.

"I called that my Chained Lightning Jutsu. Whereas a normal lightning technique is easy to avoid if you're not the intended target, the red lightning seeks other conductors. Best thing? Chakra sources fall into that category. Lost a lot of clones to that one."

"Could it be made to hone in on a specific target?"

"If I were more of a sensor? Possibly."

"Not having much luck with Karin-chan's technique?" she inquired

"No, there's a block. I feel like I'm right there but until it's resolved I won't make much progress with it."

"Keep at it, you'll figure something out but even now you continue to impress me. I'd suggest developing a focused piercing attack to go along with your wide area effect one." Orochimaru said after a moment of contemplation.

"I'll dedicated some clones to it, Shishou."

"Good, good. Any other new developments?"

"Some rough ideas. Once I get something more solid, I'll let you know."

"Excellent. Now, you've rested enough so unseal your sword so we can get your kenjutsu practice in."

"AWESOME. Let's get wild, Shishou!" Naruto exclaimed after unsealing his katana.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, so eager to penetrate me."

"Don't say things like that, 'tebayo!" Naruto yelled, fighting a full blush."


Kabuto was annoyed he had to stop his work to answer the door. He knew his Mistress would not interrupt her training session with the Uzumaki and with everyone else gone, it left it to him. He'd grumble if it weren't wholly beneath him. The Nara that was on the other side of the door didn't surprise him and he escorted him toward the Uzumaki. However when he heard a feminine giggle from the training grounds he lost his footing.

The White Snake didn't giggle. She laughed in such a way to state her superiority, the predator taunting the prey. She laughed and it sent shivers down one's spine as you awaited the lethal strike or had a sense of foreboding as she knew something you didn't. She laughed and shit got done.

She. Does. Not. Giggle.

And yet he knows what he heard and it was just one of the many distressing things about their time here. Or really, since her fascination with the Uzumaki became something more. They haven't tortured anyone together in two months. When they were killing Root nin, she didn't even try to break them mentally. Just stab, stab, stab, stab. No artistry or anything. She hasn't even forcibly experimented on someone in awhile. She was becoming something different and Kabuto didn't like that. He needed his Mistress back.

The Nara and the Uzumaki left but Kabuto was focused on Orochimaru as she stared at him, which was always unnerving but double so for someone that knew what she were truly capable of.

"Whatever has been bothering you lately, you need to deal with it, Kabuto-kun." she said simply and he only nodded. She was right, he simply needed to deal with his problem.


Itachi took his leave when Naruto made plans to go to the annual Ino-Shika-Cho picnic. He was due for a shift change but had to report to the Sandaime before he could call it a day. The Sandaime suspects Orochimaru is up to something and plans to turn Naruto against the village. It's an understandable fear but Itachi has yet to see any attempt to do so. Suggestive comments signaling a willingness to blur the lines between Master and student? Yes. And Itachi really didn't know if the Sandaime would actually prefer that to the alternative. As he arrived in the Hokage's office, he kneeled and awaited instruction.

"Report." the Hokage ordered his most loyal ANBU.

"Nothing to report today, Hokage-sama. She has stuck to the same training regimen as when she began his instruction."

"How is he progressing?"

"Well, Hokage-sama. Whatever limitations his body is presenting, they are finding ways to work around it and he takes well to her teachings on tactics."

"And his ninjutsu?"

"Innovative. He seems to demonstrate something new with frightening regularity. He may surpass the Nidaime as Konoha's greatest jutsu creator."

"A high bar, this I know from experience. So how would you rate him?"

"He would not fall under our understanding as a natural genius like Kakashi and myself were called. He is prodigious, his output has more than earned him the title but it's hard to classify."

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen asked in curiosity.

"If you judge him by existing standards he is talented but mostly gets by through his hard work. This isn't incorrect but misses the point. I believe to truly understand Naruto-kun you'll have to judge him against himself. His path won't be like anyone else's, convention won't have any relevance for him."

"A paradigm shift?" Hiruzen asked rhetorically as he understood it. There were people who could excel in the most magnificent ways in what was known, like a child that can get perfect scores on any test. But there were those, the select few whom thought so differently that they simply weren't meant to be understood by existing criteria. They broke the mold. Someone like that could be hard to train as finding out how to reach them would tax a Sensei that desired to utilize the tried and true.

It hurt Hiruzen to think this but Naruto's neglect might have been the best thing for him. Because there was no one to tell him he was wrong or wasting time, Naruto's development could chart a course none had attempted before. He didn't know what was possible or impossible and his natural Uzumaki stubbornness would insure the boy wouldn't deem something impossible until he was satisfied it was so.

His stunningly large chakra capacity, ever increasing according to the village's sensor corp, meant Naruto could do things at a much younger age than almost any before him. Throw in shadow clones and the boy's potential was bordering on infinite. Only hindered by time and imagination, it was a scary prospect.

"No way I could pry a specific jutsu out of you?"

"Sorry, Hokage-sama but it falls under clan jutsu until Naruto teaches another."

"No hints?"

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama."

"That's fine, Weasel. Is there anything else for you to report?" He asked and saw Itachi shake his head 'no'.

"So, nothing that would give me pause?" the Hokage asked.

"Nothing that is outwardly sinister, Hokage-sama."

"What do you mean by that, Itachi?"

"We've accepted she is interested in Naruto and potentially grooming him for something. The only question was what. I believe she may be shaping him into her ideal paramour." Itachi answered dryly and saw the disturbance in the Sandaime's face.

"A what?" he said in disbelief.

"Paramour. Her future lover, Hokage-sama."

"I know what a paramour is, child." Hiruzen said, dismissively. His mind now elsewhere as he wonder what his vile student had planned. Did she want a repeat of past events, a long term seduction of Naruto only to wound him so severely he too turns toward the darkness? Minato's son labeled a traitor and using all of his skill and power to attack the leaf? That would be bad, beyond bad. But it would be a fitting revenge for two of the men that denied her the dream of being Hokage. To twist the hidden Prince of the village so much he becomes its greatest enemy.

He had to get her away from him, that had always been clear. There were but so many ways to do that. With the upcoming assault on Ame, maybe he could arrange for her not to survive but if that failed he'd damn himself. Or if she were prepared and left word to Naruto he'd believe her without question. Once again, she was so far ahead of him, the game was half over before he realized he was playing. He wanted to admonish himself and his diminishing prowess but needed to focus.

She could not be allowed to break Naruto. The boy was meant for great things. He has the drive to become something special. Hiruzen knew that a lot of Naruto's loss of love for Konoha was because of him, the one person he'd trusted. He always assumed he could make the boy understand without being truthful, with kind words and ambiguous statements. That wasn't the case and he'd never mend the relationship, he had to accept that. But he did love and value Naruto, even if past actions would argue otherwise. He couldn't allow him to turn toward the darkness, her darkness.

That he helped cultivate. A seed having born fruit and looking to seed the earth again. A cycle of his own creation, built on selfishness and arrogance. He couldn't let that be his legacy, the coda to his long life. He was a flawed man but not an evil one. He'd sought peace when possible, lived to protect the King of the village. His positives were greater than his failings. He'd save Naruto from her.

"Thank you Weasel, you are dismissed." The ANBU wasted no time departing. Hiruzen then spoke to the ANBU still in his office. "Please retrieve Anko Mitarashi." he ordered. He didn't like what he was about to do, nor that he'd be playing on Anko's hatred but if he could get another woman to turn Naruto's head before Orochimaru could ever sink her fangs into him then her plan would be for naught. Naruto would only hate him more for the manipulation but it was for the best, the boy didn't understand how truly evil she was.


Ino was being troublesome. Almost everyone was today. He didn't care for this annual get together, a celebration of the long standing alliance between the three clans. It was too much, too many people, too much interaction. As the heir, it was expected of him but it was a mind numbing waste of time and yet he had little to no choice. He accepted it but couldn't people try to not be annoying? And what was with the sudden interest in his teammate anyway.

"Stop ignoring me, Shika!"

"Don't call me Shika, troublesome blonde."

"You let Naruto call you Shika!"

"And that would be between him and I."

"Fine, be that way. I was just trying to learn more about your teammate."

"Yea and I'm curious as to why. Why the sudden interest, Ino? What do you really want because if this is just about gossip then you should drop it."

"It isn't about that." 'Not anymore' she thought. "When we were at the academy I told Sakura not to be his friend because he was bad. We were only six and I was going off what everyone said. I didn't know if it was true but I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Why would I care about this?"

"Because he does. I tried to talk to the new girls in his clan and they knew me as the girl that chased his friend away and wouldn't even entertain talking to me beyond that."

"Ok, so then there's nothing to do." Shikamaru said. He knew Naruto likely didn't care, the anecdote more of a reference point than anything else but it wasn't his job to tell her that nor did he really see any benefit to helping her. Ino, frankly, was selfish, vain and self-centered. She wrote Naruto off without knowing him and hadn't become interested until he was acknowledged as a clan heir. Shikamaru knew Naruto had a low opinion of a lot of Konoha's residents and knew why. He couldn't blame his teammate but also wouldn't encourage it. Ino being nakedly two-faced would only be another example to add to the multitude.

"But I want to apologize, to start over."

Shikamaru sighed. He had to be direct, Ino wouldn't get subtle nor would she be led to a conclusion. It had to be blatant. "Why? You didn't care when we formed our teams, you believed he was a loser with practically no evidence. Even when I told you that was wrong you didn't believe me. But now that he's a clan heir and shown some skills you want to make up? Just leave him alone, Ino. There will be plenty of people here. No reason to bother someone you wanted nothing to do with up to five minutes ago."

"So, that's it? I can't change? Can't try to make things right?"

"No, because you haven't changed. Which is fine, no one cares but don't make this out to be something it isn't. That's just too troublesome."

"Wow, way to be a friend, Shikamaru." Ino said in a huff.

"We're friends?" Shikamaru asked, surprised Ino thought they were.

"Of course we are, we've known each other since forever."

"That doesn't make us friends. This is such a drag."

"Fine, then, Shikamaru. Since I'm so horrible I won't bother you, happy?" Ino responded, hands on her hips.

"Not really."

"Asshole."

"You'll get over it."

Ino wanted to respond but saw to figures approaching Shikamaru and her; his teammates. Shino was dressed like the stereotypical Aburame, large jacket, black pants and shades. Naruto was wearing a red, long sleeved, v-neck shirt with black pants and had his hair pulled back in a loose bun. She had to admit the oft maligned man bun worked on him.

"Hi, Shika!" Naruto said with a wave and then peered around him to see Ino there. "Hi, Ino-san!".

"Troublesome."

"H-hello, Naruto-san. Shino." she greeted, a little taken aback at his cheerfulness. "Naruto-san, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure." He responded and followed her away from his teammates. Seeing her look conflicted caused him to drop the formalities "What can I do for you, Ino?"

"I want to apologize, Naruto; for telling Sakura not to be your friend. It was cruel and I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm sorry."

"Oh, has that been bothering you? Of course I forgive you, we were little then."

"Really?"

"Yea. You don't think I'd hold a grudge from something a six year old did to me, didya?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"I wasn't sure." she said and felt much better. "Well, I'm going to let you get back to Shikamaru, thanks Naruto." Ino spoke, walking away.

"No problem." Naruto called back heading over to Shikamaru and Shino.

"Did you resolve your business with her?"

"Yea, but it was weird. Anyway, how are you guys?"

"I am well, Naruto-san. How was your mission to Suna?"

"Fine. Fought a little, ate a little, made some friends."

"Of course you did." Shikamaru muttered, causing Naruto to laugh. The trio prepared them some food and found a place away from the crowds, talking about their training, missions, and Shikamaru's long list of complaints.

"So, I have to get a new vest because of you, troublesome redhead."

"You could use a tighter fit anyway, you should fire your tailor, Shika."

"I know a guy." Shino offered helpfully, with Naruto giving him the thumbs up.

"See, Shino even knows a guy…" Naruto paused to digest Shino's words before exploding, "Why don't I know any guys? I won't let you get ahead of me, Aburame!"

"But I already am. Why? As you have already stated you have no guys. I have plenty and therefore will win."

"Are we really talking about this? Is this really happening?"

"I must request you be silent, Shikamaru-san as Naruto-san is on the cusp of admitting his defeat."

"I admit nothing. Just you wait, I'll have guys and they will be of a superior quality than your guys."

"This argument is stupid. You both have to realize this." Shikamaru said and saw that neither of them were paying attention. "Hey, you troublesome teammates, don't ignore me. You both always get into these weird competitions that don't matter."

"He started it/ It was started by him" they both said. Anyone else would form a sweatdrop but even Shikamaru's sweat thought it was too troublesome.

"Can we get back to the topic at hand?"

"No, Shikamaru-san, we cannot. Not until Naruto-san once again acknowledges his defeat."

"You cheated last time, 'tebayo."

"And the time before that?"

"The challenge was ambiguous!" Naruto said, animatedly, hair flying in all directions.

"Troublesome, you submitted the challenge. How could you confuse yourself?"

"Quite easily, I imagine." Shino answered with the barest hint of amusement.

"Aburame with the dagger."

"You're both bastards, you know that?"

"What's that, I can't hear you from down there." Shikamaru retorted through yawns.

"Shika, you're lying down! Height doesn't even matter when you're lying down."

"Shino, you hear something?"

"It sounds akin to a girlish shriek. Why? Because before a boy's balls drop they may have a high pitched voice."

"Oh, so that's how you want to play it? Fine. I'm throwing a water whip party and you're both invited!" Naruto said, eyes all white and hair formed into nine tail like formations. He instantly formed the water whips and gave chase to his teammates.

"May have pushed it too far this time, Shino. And running is so troublesome." Shikamaru observed while dodging Naruto's whips.

"Such is the price of victory, Shikamaru-san." Shino replied, narrowly avoiding a whip himself.

"Troublesome."


It was late and he wanted to go home. He'd had a full and stressful day. It was always at this time he wondered if he should just give Tsunade the seat and be done with it. He could still shepherd them through the Ame assault while ceding the day to day work to her. She might not like it, might fight tooth and nail but it'd be worth it to get out of that seat. He wanted to go home but fortune was not on his side.

"Have you lost the rest of that fool mind of yours, Hiruzen?"

"Koharu, ignoring that I'm still the Hokage, what would lead you to talk to me like this?"

"You assigning Anko a mission she, and I quote, "is guaranteed to leave me gutted and rotting in an unmarked grave."

"Anko was being a bit hyperbolic. Besides, I'm sure you both agree with me that we can't let Orochimaru taint Naruto-kun. She can't be allowed to foster darkness within Minato's boy."

"Oh, he's Minato's boy now? And we actually take that into account?"

"We don't need to have that argument to night, Koharu." Homura said, though he too disliked Hiruzen manipulated them. They didn't want to deny Naruto his heritage but were also concerned about his lack of protection and the wave of assassins that may come after Minato's legacy. To know that wasn't Hiruzen's only motivation offended both of them but they'd yet to address it. There seemed to always be something more important to handle.

"Fine, we won't do that tonight but Hiruzen you are making a mistake. And worst yet, you're being obvious and sexist." Seeing his confused face, Koharu continues, "Anko is one of our best kunoichi so you assign her a mission to fuck a child? You would never assign Kakashi to screw a 12 year old girl and we all know that."

"I didn't order her to have sex, seduction doesn't have to end in sex. Even if she just made him fall in love it'd be enough. Did she tell you why I wanted her to do it?"

"Yes, and you're being irrational. Even if she did have designs on Naruto, that's not illegal and we don't act against our shinobi without evidence of wrongdoing. We aren't Danzo." Homura answered.

"Besides, why are you so convinced that she must have ill intentions for Naruto? Why bother coming back here, giving us full access to her own hidden village if she has some dastardly plan? She may be arrogant, all of your students are but she's not stupid so why make this unnecessarily difficult. God knows, Naruto had more than enough incentive to leave the village. She wouldn't have had to try hard to induce him to do so."

"Because it would be her ultimate revenge against Minato and I and is just the sick kind of poetic she likes." Hiruzen defended but saw Koharu wasn't convinced but Homura understood the man's words. Koharu took notice of Homura's expression and realized she was out of the loop.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Hiruzen breathed in deeply before releasing it with a sigh. "For a brief period, Orochimaru and I were having an affair. I sent her to Danzo as a means of ending it, as an attempt to save my marriage and a way of dealing with the guilt of coercing her into getting an abortion." Hiruzen didn't have to wait long for the slap that greeted his confession.

"So, you're one of them? I thought better of you, Hiruzen. I thought you had more integrity and discipline than that."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you but nothing can change what happened and it can't be used as a reason to turn a blind eye to her actions."

"No, but it does add context. I watched that girl grow up, her and Tsunade both. While not a direct sensei, I was proud to have helped in molding them into the stellar kunoichi they became. It hurt me just as much as you when she turned bad. It never made complete sense. She had darkness, she could be sadistic but she always had control. Always. And then out of nowhere she becomes a monster? It never added up, until now. She and in turn the village paid for your wandering dick, HIruzen."

"Yes, it has and I want to rectify that. Don't you see why I need to limit her influence, all of her influence on him?"

"I see an old man overreacting. Or do you just not like Naruto potentially getting something that was once yours."

"I'm not that crass, Koharu. This isn't about some lingering possessiveness."

"Maybe not but we don't see the wisdom in assigning Anko this mission. If you had more evidence or even a better argument but her just being blindly spiteful won't do. And as one of the Daimyo's stipulations, you know we can overrule you if we both agree. We do, Hiruzen, this mission is cancelled." Homura voiced.

"You're both making a mistake."

"Only time will tell but Hiruzen did you ever stop to consider that maybe Naruto could be a good influence on her? Maybe bring back the loyal kunoichi she used to be?" Koharu asked.

"If he were older? Maybe but he's still a child in many respects."

"And that child rallied a nation to fight for itself. He might surprise you, they both may if you give them a chance." She said as both advisors left, leaving the longest serving Hokage to his own thoughts but try as he may, he simply couldn't picture a version of this where Naruto didn't turn out for the worst.