Hey. Guest-questioner, for the first time he uses it, it will cost around 80% of his full reserves. Of course, the more he uses it, the lesser the cost will be. But since it takes that much, it will only be used as a last resort or a hissatsu technique, at least until Kirito grows strong enough.

Speaking of which, I have posted the poll, so please vote. The poll will end after the equivalent of the 'Sasuke retrieval' arc.

XXX

A week has passed after the failed invasion. The remaining Suna shinobi that were captured, including Gaara and his siblings were sent back to Sunagakure.

Of course, the Sand village had to provide compensation for betraying their alliance. It was only because of the fact that the Yondaime Kazekage was killed by Orochimaru, and the fact that Orochimaru had manipulated the whole village to attack Konoha, that the village didn't declare war upon Suna.

Most of the damage was being quickly repaired after that. The villagers were more than ready to rebuild their village after getting supplies from nearby villages, with many shinobi helping.

Hiruzen was still unconscious. Jiraiya and the shinobi council were clueless as to what to do. While Hiruzen was and still is a great Hokage, they knew he was nearing his end, and they needed a new Hokage.

Now, they were having a meeting again. Shikaku sighed, "So, what do we do now? Hokage-sama is still out, even if the village is being repaired nicely."

Danzo spoke neutrally, "Hiruzen's time is almost over, we need a new Hokage."

Most of the clan heads knew where he was going, after all, it wasn't a secret that Danzo had yearned for that position for decades. Tsume retorted, "Are you talking about yourself?"

Danzo eye-smiled, "I didn't say anything about that, but if need be I will take it. Regardless of my desire for the position, its the truth, Hiruzen can't protect the village as he is now, we need a new Hokage. Do you guys have any idea on who to choose?"

The 'Apart from myself' was unspoken, but they knew he was hinting at that. Then Jiraiya spoke, "Actually, there is someone."

Everyone looked at him and Hiashi asked, "Who would that be?"

Jiraiya smirked, "Tsunade."

Shikaku, Inoichi and Chouza nodded in understanding. Tsume also expressed her agreement while Hiashi just nodded neutrally. Danzo, Homura and especially Koharu, however, had different thoughts.

The war hawk frowned, "Tsunade? You would entrust the village to her?"

Koharu added, "She left the village. She might not even be loyal to the village anymore. We cannot risk a potential traitor as Hokage."

Homaru just nodded in agreement. Jiraiya just stared at them, "Tsunade, is a Senju, the last remaining Senju on the planet. Her clan, along with the Uchiha clan, and with help from the Uzumaki clan, built this very village you live in."

Everyone knew of the bad blood between Koharu and Tsunade. Hell, none of the elders had a good relationship with the last Senju. Tsunade was always pissed at them for their arrogance with their power, and it was because of them deciding power was more important, they overpowered Hiruzen and rejected her proposal for a medical team.

Shikaku spoke, "To be honest, our village isn't what it was. Konohagakaure was known to be strong due to our S-ranked ninja. Yondaime-sama and Sandaime-sama are gone. The only S-ranked ninja here is Jiraiya-sama. If we can get Tsunade-sama back, the other villages won't target us, when we are recovering."

The others all nodded in agreement. Danzo seethed. The shinobi council normally didn't do much, since the Hokage handled most of the stuff. The shinobi council would only act when there was a war or of the acting Hokage was unavailable.

The two other elders were also displeased. They had hoped, that the clan heads would just leave the decision to them. But it was just a wishful way of thinking.

Danzo then got an idea, maybe he could send his Ne Anbu and assassinate Tsunade then take the Hokage's position for himself. The warhawk spoke, "Very well, I will send some of my personal Anbu to find her."

Once again, Jiraiya didn't seem to let him do as he pleased, "That's alright, I was planning to go find her anyways. Besides, our medics can't do shit about Hokage-sama, so Tsunade will be needed. She wouldn't refuse helping him."

Hiashi nodded, "That would be for the best. We will need our best medic to be back here."

The other clan heads nodded in agreement while the three elders growled to themselves. Things just weren't going their way it seemed.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Hikari, Suguha, Asuna and Sinon were all sitting beside Kirito. The blacksmith had been unconscious after the invasion. According to the Anbu, he had displayed some sort of power that forced Orochimaru to retreat, then Kirito fell unconscious.

The four girls were worried sick. They knew he was strong, but what Kirito did was unusually reckless. The curse mark on his neck also didn't escape their eyes, and that worried them a lot.

As the girls cleaned him up, unknown to them, Kirito was having a dream.

In the dream, Kirito floated in darkness. He could feel pain coursing through his entire body.

Then, raspy voices spoke from all around him, "You couldn't protect them. You never had the power to do it. You are weak."

The darkness cleared, flames burned around him. Thousands of corpses laid in front of him. He looked around, Konoha was on his left, and a familiar village, one that he knew, but didn't, was on his right.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. In front of him, stood Hikari, Asuna, Suguha and Sinon, along with a blonde girl clad in golden armor and a young teen clad in light blue armor.

They were all bloodied and were literally standing on their last breath. Words failed to form in Kirito as he stared at them in shock.

Then, Hikari spoke, in the same raspy voice he heard, "You failed."

Suguha spoke in the raspy voice, "You never had the power. You were too weak."

Sinon continued in the raspy voice, "Because of you, everyone will die."

Kirito just stared in shock as the all repeated the same words over and over again. He grabbed his head in pain and screamed.

Then, everything changed. Now, Kirito was standing in front of a man with white hair, clad with armor. The man spoke coldly, "So, it has finally come to this."

Kirito glared at him, he didn't know why, but he felt an immense amount of anger towards the man, "I won't let you destroy the world."

The man laughed humouressly, "Still protecting the world, its not even our world, its a mere extension of ours, destroying it won't affect us."

Kirito was confused, he didn't know what the man was talking about. He could talk, but it was like his words were his, at the same time not his. Regardless, he replied, "Even so, there are still lives there. I can't let you kill them."

The man sighed, "Those two bitches really filled your head with bullshit. Whatever, I have come to far, to stop."

Kirito drew a black sword and a light blue sword. But they weren't the Elucidator or the Dark Repulsor. The black sword was similar to his own black sword, but it had a tree-like design on the guard of the hilt. The blue sword was also similar to his Dark Repulsor, but it had a blue rose on the guard of the hilt.

Then, he was broken out of his musings as both of them charged. His body moved, as if it was his own and not his own at the same time. Their swords clashed, and everything went white.

The glow died down soon after. This time, Kirito was standing in front of two women, well, one was a girl. The girl was short and had brown curly short hair. She wore a scholar kind of outfit. The young woman had silvery white long hair and wore something akin to a priestess' robe.

They didn't notice him as the shorter girl said, "The world is collapsing. If he doesn't win, we won't have a chance."

The silver haired woman sighed, "Right now the knights are fighting, if they can reach the altar and seal off our world, its our victory."

The shorter girl looked away, "Can they? Our world was already sealed off once, will Vector let it be sealed again?"

The silver haired girl shrugged. They then continued talking, but Kirito couldn't hear them anymore and everything blacked out.

Kirito's eyes snapped open. He glanced around and saw Hikari, Sinon, Suguha and Asuna sitting by his bed. He groaned, "Where am I?"

The girls all brightened up as they saw him awake. He groggily sat up as the four girls helped him up.

Hikari smiled, "We're in the hospital. You're finally awake. We were all worried, ya know?"

Kirito groaned, "How long have I been out?"

Asuna replied, "A week. The Anbu said you fell unconscious on the roof."

Kirito nodded as he remembered what happened. He got bitten by Orochimaru and got the curse mark. Then... what happened after that? For some reason, he couldn't recall anything after that. And then there was that dream earlier.

But before he could continue thinking, he felt four stern gazes on him. Kirito looked up and saw the four girls sternly staring at him. Asuna spoke, "Speaking of which, why did you fight someone like Orochimaru?"

Sinon nodded, "You could've died."

Kirito slumped back onto the bed and he thought, 'Why did I try, actually?'

Suguha asked in worry, "Kirito-kun?"

The blacksmith sat back up, "I don't remember why. I just did. So, how is the village now?"

Hikari replied, "The repairs are coming around nicely. Your shop is fine though. Everyone is working hard to rebuild the village."

Kirito nodded before he remembered, "By the way, how's Hokage-sama?"

The girls' faces all looked down. Suguha spoke, "He's still unconscious. No one knows when he'll wake up."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

The dream flashed in his mind as the cursed mark burned on his neck. Kirito winced slightly as he placed his hand over the mark.

His actions didn't escape the girls and they quickly went to his side. Kirito spoke, wincing in pain, "I'm fine. It just stings a bit."

The girls wanted to say something, but they were interrupted as the door opened. They all looked to the door to see Jiraiya standing there.

The Sannin spoke, "Hikari, pack up. We have a mission."

The Namikaze stared at her godfather, "A mission? Now?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah. We're gonna find Tsunade to get her back, to be the next Hokage and heal Sarutobi-sensei."

The Uzumaki looked at Kirito and the girls, "But..."

Kirito smiled, "I told you I'm fine. Go bring Tsunade back, Hokage-sama needs her."

Hikari nodded, "Fine."

She turned to Jiraiya, "When are we leaving?"

The Sannin replied, "Pack for a week and meet me at the gates in two hours."

Hikari nodded as her godfather left. Asuna spoke, "Well, I'll go get the doctor."

Suguha and Sinon nodded as the auburn haired girl left the room. Then after that, Hikari moved to Kirito's left side, "I'll seal it up, okay?"

The swordsman nodded, "Yeah, go ahead."

The girl unsealed her sealing equipment and positioned Kirito so the cursed seal was exposed. The Uzumaki, having learned more of her clan techniques, easily recognised some parts of the seal, and she frowned.

The seal was a badly made one. No wonder Orochimaru needed to bite someone to apply it. If it wasn't for the fact that it was secured by a blood seal and a chakra key, she would have removed it. It also meant they would have to either force Orochimaru to undo it or kill him to remove the seal.

The Uzumaki started to draw on the seal. In less than 2 minutes, she finished and placed her brush down. Suguha and Sinon watched in awe as Hikari gracefully drew the seals before swiftly placing her brush down. Then, Hikari focused her chakra into seal.

The seal glowed, and Kirito winced in pain as cursed mark burned in defiance. But Hikari's seal proved to be stronger as it soon died down.

Hikari nodded, "Done. I've applied a two point seal, it should be enough to keep it sealed."

Kirito smiled, "Thank you, Hikari-chan."

The Uzumaki nodded before she spoke, "Speaking of which, do you wanna learn seals? I mean you can use chakra to some extent, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, but can I? I mean, putting the fact that seals require quite some chakra aside, they are your family heirloom."

Hikari frowned and flicked his nose, "You are my family, idiot. I won't mind it if you two learn as well, Sinon-chan, Suguha-chan."

She said that last part as she looked at the two other girls. But the two girls shook their heads. Suguha replied, "Well, I don't think it'll suit me. I'm more of a swords person."

Sinon nodded, "Me too. I mean, for now, maybe not. I wanna focus on perfecting my archery skills."

Hikari nodded, "Okay, I'll ask Asuna-chan later. So, Kirito-kun, how about it? I mean since I'm gonna be out of the village for a week or so."

Kirito pondered a bit, learning wouldn't hurt, regardless if he could actually use them or not, "Fine. I'll read up on them."

Hikari smiled, "Good."

Then, Asuna came back with the doctor. After a quick check up, the doctor, who was a Hyuga, nodded, "There seems to be nothing wrong, aside from your enlarged chakra coils. You might experience a small change in your chakra control, but it will return to normal in a week or so. So yeah, you're good to go."

Kirito nodded while the four girls bowed their thanks as the doctor left the room.

Hikari then spoke, "Well, I have to go pack. I still need to meet Jiraiya at the gates in about two hours."

Suguha nodded, "Sure, Kirito just needs to go through the procedures to get discharged."

The blonde nodded and left the room. After a while, Kirito got dressed and they quickly finished the procedures. But before they left, Kirito spoke, "Hey, you girls go back first. I have something I need to do."

Sinon raised an eyebrow, "Now?"

Kirito nodded, "It just came up and I remembered."

Asuna nodded, "Okay then, we'll wait for you at home."

Kirito nodded as the three girls left for the compound. Kirito walked to the counter, "Excuse me, where is Hokage-sama's room?"

The receptionist replied, "He's on the third floor, room 4."

Kirito nodded his thanks and quickly went to the room. He entered to see Hiruzen unconscious, an oxygen mask over his face and several tubes attached to him.

Kirito also saw Jiraiya standing there. The sannin noticed him, "Oh, you're fine now."

Kirito nodded as he went to stand beside Jiraiya. The swordsman spoke, "Its my fault. If I didn't go in, if I was strong enough."

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, at least you tried to help. Hell, its because of you he is alive. I heard from the Anbu, you drove Orochimaru away."

Kirito frowned, "But I don't remember any of it."

Jiraiya glanced at him, "It may be because of the rush of the battle. Besides, I could have helped him, its my fault too."

Kirito stayed silent as he stared at the unconscious form of the Hokage. Jiraiya then spoke, "Speaking of which, he gave you a curse mark, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, something about being worthy. But Hikari-chan sealed it up."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see. Well, her skills are top notch for her age, especially as an Uzumaki. I wouldn't be surprised if she surpasses me in a year."

Kirito chuckled, "I see."

The Gamma Sennin then said, "Hikari may have sealed the mark, but it can still influence you if you let your guard down. Be careful."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, I have to protect them, I won't let a crappy seal stop me."

Jiraiya nodded, but he thought, 'That's what I feared. His drive to protect those girls might increase the seal's strength, or it can stop it. I hope its the latter.'

Jiraiya then spoke, "Well, I'll leave you alone with him, I have some research to do."

Kirito nodded as the sannin left the room, leaving him alone with the unconscious Hokage. As he stood there, he thought, 'If only I was stronger, if I had more power.'

At those thoughts, the mark on Kirito's neck glowed, and for a brief moment, his eyes turned yellow a bit. After staying there for a few more minutes, he left the hospital and went home.

The blacksmith didn't fail to notice the reconstruction of the village as he walked. At least the district he was in wasn't badly damaged, plus the compound was reinforced with multiple seals.

Kirito entered the compound safely and saw Hikari finish packing her equipment in the living room. Kirito asked, "You done packing, Hikari-chan?"

The girl nodded, having sensed his presence as soon as he entered the compound, "Yeah. I still have half an hour left."

Kirito nodded as he sat down, "I see. By the way, where are the others?"

Hikari replied as she sealed her stuff into a scroll, "Asuna-chan is in the onsen, Sinon-chan is in the training room and Suguha-chan is in the garden."

The swordsman nodded before Hikari suggested, "Well, since I have half an hour, let's get you started on the basics of seals."

Kirito blinked before Hikari dragged him towards the library. Soon, Kirito was sitting in front of a stack of scrolls as Hikari said, "So, we'll start with the basics of seals."

For the next 45 minutes, Kirito's mind was blown by the amount of stuff Hikari had taught him, with the basics of the Uzumaki clan seals.

After that, Kirito slumped on his chair, "My head hurts..."

Hikari pouted cutely, "Come on, this is simple stuff. I learned this in less than two hours. You can do it. I expect that you finish at least the third volume when I come back."

Kirito just groaned before Hikari stated at him sternly. He nodded as the girl spoke, "Good. I'll tell the others I'm leaving, now go read up on the scrolls."

Kirito sighed as he took up the scroll, "Okay okay, I'll study."

Hikari nodded as she left to tell the others she was leaving for her mission.

A while later, Hikari waited at the gates until Jiraiya arrived. The sannin grinned, "So, let's go."

Hikari nodded as they walked out of the gates. As they did, Hikari asked, "So, where are we going actually? I mean you just told me we're gonna find my godmother."

Jiraiya chuckled, "Ah, well, I've been keeping track of her for some time now. According to my spy network, Tsunade is heading for Tanzaku Gai this week. Hopefully we'll catch her when we reach there. But of course, we need to head to a nearby village first, I have a spy there that may have info on Tsunade. "

Hikari nodded as they started to head towards the village, which would take them three hours at civilian speed.

Meanwhile, two men in black cloaks with red clouds were having tea in a random cafe. They both had a straw hat and they were listening to some women gossiping.

One of the women carelessly spoke, "Who knew Hikari-san is the daughter of Yondaime-sama?"

Another woman nodded, "I feel so bad, I mean now I think about it, her attitude is very similar to Kushina-sama and she looks exactly like a combination of both of them."

One other woman spoke, "I hope my son has a chance with her..."

The first woman deadpanned at her, "From what you told me, she doesn't like your son very much. Besides, she already has a boyfriend if I remember correctly."

The second woman sighed, "And here I had hoped my son would have a chance."

The third woman nodded, "Maybe we can just ask her?"

The first woman shook her head, "Last I heard, she left on a mission with Jiraiya-sama."

The second woman was shocked, "With Jiraiya-sama?! I hope he doesn't do anything inappropriate..."

The two cloaked figures ignored the rest as the shorter one of them spoke, "Come on, we're leaving. She's not here."

The taller one chuckled, "Fine fine."

As they walked out of the cafe, they spotted Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai walking past them. As the three jounin walked, Kakashi remembered.

(Flash back... A few hours ago)

On a random roof, Jiraiya and Kakashi were talking. The sannin spoke, "The Akatsuki... they are moving soon. Right now, they will either start with the Ichibi, or the Kyuubi."

Kakashi nodded, "So, they might come for Hikari..."

Jiraiya nodded, "Among all five villages, as of now, we are the weakest since we're still recovering. Suna is fine, since the Ichibi has home ground advantage."

Kakashi nodded, "I see."

Jiraiya continued, "I'll be taking her out of the village for the time being. Stay on a lookout if they do come, they always wear a black cloak with red clouds."

Kakashi chuckled, "Black cloaks with red clouds. Got it, so looking for Tsunade is a cover?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Somewhat, and don't tell Kirito this."

Kakashi blinked, "Why? I mean he should know."

Jiraiya shook his head, "Right now he has the cursed mark. Its too... unknown for us. Even if Hikari did a good job sealing it, Kirito still blames himself for Hokage-sama's current condition. His mind is unstable."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, "I see. That makes sense. His drive is to protect those four girls. If he finds out a group of S-ranked nuke nin are out for her head..."

The sannin finished, "Kirito might do something that will kill him."

Kakashi pondered on that before Jiraiya spoke again, "One more thing, Itachi is among the Akatsuki. It's likely he'll be coming for her, if they do come."

(flashback end)

Right after they passed each other, Kakashi turned and spoke quietly, "Follow those two."

Asuma and Kurenai nodded before they slowly followed the two cloaked figures towards the forests, beside a river.

As they followed, the shorter figure spoke, "You three can stop, we're alone now, aren't we?"

Kakashi spoke, "You two, you're Akatsuki, right?"

The taller figure chuckled, "I guess we're found out, right, Itachi?"

Asuma and Kurenai were surprised. The former Guardian ninja spoke, "Itachi?"

The shorter figure turned and tipped his straw hat up, "Its been a while, Kakashi-senpai, Kurenai-san, Asuma."

The taller figure chuckled, "Ah, friends of yours, Itachi?"

The slayer of the Uchiha clan nodded, taking off his straw hat, "Yeah."

The taller figure nodded and took off his hat, "I guess I should introduce myself too, I'm Hoshigaki Kisame."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at him, "Why are you here? Is it Sasuke?"

Itachi knew Kakashi was bullshitting him, but he decided to play along, "I'm not here for him, yet. Sasuke still isn't strong enough. No, I'm here, for the Yondaime Hokage's legacy."

Kakashi glared at them, "You're after Hikari then?"

Kisame grinned, "Yeah, but now you know, we'll have to kill you."

Itachi spoke, "Kisame, we're not here to fight."

The copy ninja spoke, "But we won't just let you waltz in and out of the village."

Asuma nodded, "You two have some guts, to just walk in to our village."

Itachi let a small smirk appear on his face, "Hey, the security now is loose."

The Uchiha's smirk faded, "But, if you want to fight..."

He trailed off as Kisame drew the huge weapon off his back and slammed it onto the ground. The Kiri nuke nin grinned, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Itachi immediately drew a handful of shuriken and threw them at Kakashi. The copy ninja flashed through handseals, "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Water from the river flowed onto the ground and formed a wall, blocking the shuriken. Kakashi cursed, he couldn't even see the shuriken and it was by pure luck and instinct that he made the wall.

He was broken out of his musings as Kisame slammed the sword onto his shoulder. Luckily, the damage wasn't much as Kakashi was sent onto the river.

Asuma yelled in concern, "Kakashi!"

He was interrupted by Itachi, "You shouldn't be worrying about others."

Asuma's eyes widened as Itachi was already in front of him, his leg extended as the Uchiha kicked Asuma on to the water. Kurenai glared at the Uchiha and flashed through a set of seals, "Genjutsu: Jubaku Satsu!"

In Itachi's point of view, the woman disappeared and he was suddenly trapped in a tree with vines. Itachi chuckled, "Not bad, but a genjutsu of this level will do nothing."

In an instant, Kurenai found herself in her own genjutsu and she realized it, "Genjutsu Gaeshi."

Itachi nodded, "With my Sharingan, this is but child's play. Of course I can also do it without my eyes."

Kurenai vomited blood as Itachi stabbed a kunai into her gut. But Kurenai tch'd and released the genjutsu, just in time to block a kick from the Uchiha, sending her onto the water too.

Itachi walked onto the water as Kisame stood beside him. The Uchiha spoke, "Kisame, we need to end it quick, if this goes on, reinforcements may arrive, even if we are strong, it will be hard to leave here without a scratch."

Kisame smirked, "Then you'll use that?"

Itachi nodded as the shark man walked behind him. Itachi stared at the three Konoha ninja in front of him, his Sharingan spinning.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he yelled, "Close your eyes now!"

The two jounin followed suit while Kakashi shut his normal eye. Itachi smirked slightly, "Not a wrong choice, but, your normal Sharingan, more so since its a transplanted one, won't stand up to this. Tsukuyomi."

Immediately Kakashi fell to the ground panting. Kurenai asked, "What did he do?"

Kakashi glared at him, "He tortured me for 72 hours straight by stabbing me repeatedly. Fucking sadist."

Itachi chuckled, "Well, I suppose we should get going. You better take him to the hospital."

The two opened their eyes to see Itachi and Kisame gone.

An hour later, Kakashi was on the bed. Kirito, Kurenai, Asuma and Gai were in the room. The two Jounin were already there as they brought him to the hospital. Gai saw them on the way and followed them.

As for Kirito, he heard someone saw Kakashi headed to the office and decided to visit him, since he was having the day off.

Kirito asked, "So, what happened?"

Kakashi chuckled, "You wouldn't believe me if I said I got hurt in a spar, right?"

Kirito just deadpanned at him, "Just tell me."

Before they could continue, Asuma spoke, "Quiet."

The door opened as Sasuke entered. The Uchiha asked, "What happened? I was looking for Kakashi-sensei and someone told me he was hospitalised."

But before anyone could reply, a random Jounin barged in, "Is it true?! Itachi showed up in town and he's after Hikari in a nearby village?!"

In a flash of red and black, Kirito was gone, and Sasuke pushed the Jounin aside and charged out of the room.

Kurenai facepalmed, "Idiot..."

The Jounin was confused. Kakashi sighed, "Gai, go after them please."

The taijutsu specialist nodded and ran out of the room as they explained to him what he had done.

With Kirito and Sasuke, the swordsman was flying full speed with the Acceleration on while Sasuke was leaping through the trees like his life depended on it.

The both had similar thoughts, they knew where the nearest village was, and they hoped they would make it in time.

XXX

Done. So yeah. Please vote. Review please. Until next chapter.