Authors Forenote – I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does.

.

Eight And Nine

It was the sound of a worn sandal touching down that woke the large shinobi from his sleep. Rolling silently off his bed, he grabbed and donned his flak-jacket with the ease of long practice, then silently checked that the five swords were all in their sheaths, ready to be drawn and used in an instant.

Sidling to the door, the shinobi prepared to leap out, only to freeze at the sound of a muffled thud and yelp. Leaning round, his eyes widened at the sight of a young blond boy sat on the floor, rubbing his head and glaring at the table that he had obviously just bumped into. Deciding that any threat was minimal, the shinobi stepped into the boy's line of sight.

"Hello little one, welcome to my home. I gotta know, didja come here alone?"

The boy stared at him, the lump on his head forgotten and the Shinobi blinked as another face seemed to superimpose itself over the boy's quizzical expression.

"Who you?"

"I'm a super warrior, I use disturbance style.
"If you fight me with kenjutsu, prepare for quite a trial.
"I'm a really really powerful, amazing shinobi,
"But you, my little friend, can call me Killer B!
"And now you know my name, I think it's only right
"That you tell me yours, little one with hair so bright.
"Word!"

The young boy stared at him, mouth stretched wide in a huge grin.

"'m Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

"Nice to meet you, little 'Ruto!" Killer Be laughed, then he paused. "Huh, well, well, well. Ain't that interesting? Gyuki says you hold the Kyuubi. You're a Jinchuuriki like me!"

Naruto stared at him in confusion and B used the pause to scoop Naruto up and perch him on the edge of the table, his feet dangling.

"So, little brother, where you from?"

"…konoha…"

"Ah, Konoha." B nodded as his guess was confirmed. "Old man Hiruzen still in charge there?"

"…Jiji?"

"He doin' well?"

Naruto frowned in thought, then nodded. "He old."

"Old but strong." B laughed as he moved to the stove and lit it, moving the kettle onto the flames. "So, since it's early, I think a good cup of coffee is called for. You want one?"

"…what coffee?"

"Hot drink." B said. "I don't think I've got much in the way of fruits for breakfast, though."

"I get!" Naruto chirped, then he vanished, leaving B staring in shock at the now-empty table.

"What the…?"

After almost a minute during which B simply stared in shock at the place that Naruto had been in, the kettle started to whistle and B quickly moved it off the stove, then he grabbed two mugs and a jar of coffee beans. Tipping the beans into a small grinder, he turned the handle several times, then poured the water into the mugs, stirring them to ensure a smooth consistancy.

"'M back!"

B jolted as Naruto blinked into existence in a manner incredibly reminiscent of the Yondaime Hokage, a bag filled with various fruits in his hands.

"That's great! Let me wash them clean and cut them up an' we can have ourselves a great fruit salad! If you have more, you could even sell it to get things like new clothes or other types of food." B smiled as he moved one of the chairs to by the sink. "Now you wash your hands, don't want you eaing dirt, it's not very good for you."

"'kay!" Naruto chirped and B accepted the bag of fruit, emptying it out onto the worktop. As Naruto scrubbed his hands with far more enthusiasm than actual progress, B used a knife to carve the fruits into small chunks after quickly rinsing them, dropping the pieces into two bowls, one larger than the other. Dropping a spoon into each bowl, he put them on the table, pulled a small carton of milk out of his fridge and then moved the coffee mugs to by the bowls.

"Okay, dry your hands and let's eat."

Naruto scrambled into the second chair and reached for his spoon eagerly, only to pause as Bee raised one hand.

"Itadakimasu." B prompted.

"Itsadankimatsu." Naruto stumbled over the long word and B chuckled.

"Close enough. Dig in."

As Naruto started shovelling the fruit into his mouth, B tasted one of the fruits he hadn't recognised.

"Mmmm, tasty."

"Mmmmhmm!" Naruto agreed, juice dribbling down his chin.

.

"So, little bro, does the old man know you're here?" B asked as he rinsed the bowls out and put them to drain.

Naruto looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "Dunno."

"Well, maybe you should check in on him." B suggested. "And any time you want to visit, you're welcome. Always good to meet another Jinchuuriki."

"Wassa Jinchuki?"

"We are." Be wiped his hands clean. "We hold in us beasts of great power. As we grow, we can use that power ourselves, it makes us strong. Those of us who are really good can talk to them, make friends with them, learn from them and when we're good friends, we can work together in battle."

"…really?" Naruto gasped and B nodded.

"Yep, Gyuki and I, we work together and sometimes, he lets me borrow a tail… like this!"

Naruto's eyes widened as a tentacle-like appendage appeared and took the towel B was using to dry his hands on, putting it back on the hook it had been hanging from before vanishing.

"Coooooool!"

"B! Who's that? What's going on?"

Naruto let out an eep of shock, then vanished just before a white-haired shinobi barrelled into the room, a large sword in his hands.

"Not cool, Darui." B sighed. "Not cool. Listen, I gotta talk to Big Bro. Konoha's Jinchuuriki just dropped by to say hi and I think he's the Yondaime's son."

Darui's jaw dropped in shock.

.

.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was a very worried man.

The child of his successor/predecessor had vanished and after he had confronted Shimura Danzo in what had turned into a fight to the death, it had come to light that Danzo truly hadn't been behind Naruto's sudden absence, although the old Warhawk had been behind many other secret operations that had threatened to destabilise the political landscape enough to trigger another Shinobi World War.

Tracker teams had scoured the area beyond the walls, with no sign of Naruto, yet his Crystal Ball had completely failed to find the boy, so he wasn't in Konoha, which left only kidnapping via Summons.

He had already sent a message to Jiraiya telling him to locate Orochimaru and check that he hadn't kidnapped…

"Sir!"

Hiruzen blinked as an ANBU seemed to materialise out of nowhere.

"Sir! Naruto was just spotted near Ichiraku's Ramen!"

Before the ANBU could continue, Hiruzen had vanished, showing a skill with the Shunshin that would have turned Shisui green with envy had he seen it.

.

"'Nother bowl, old man!" Naruto chirped and Teuchi laughed as he placed the bowl on the counter. "Itsadankimatsu."

To one side, Ayame was sorting through the large bag of strange fruits that Naruto had gathered, occasionally tasting one to check its flavour. At the end of the counter near her, a ninja was eating slices of fruit from a bowl, occasionally offering suggestions and opinions.

"Hokage-sama!" Teuchi said, noticing Hiruzen's arrival. "Naruto made a trade, a whole sack of fruits for five bowls of ramen."

"Really?" Hiruzen said, looking at where Ayame was working. "Where did you get those, Naruto?"

"From the island." Naruto smiled. "It has sandy beaches and fruit trees and a stream I could drink from and fruit trees and rocks to jump from and fruit trees a pool I can splash in and fruit bushes and a house with picture in it. I borrow picture, who this, Jiji?"

Hiruzen accepted the picture and his eyes widened. The photo was of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina on the day that they had moved into their new house together.

"Where did you find this?"

"On the Island." Naruto stated with the type of I'm-being-patient-with-the-stupid-adult tone that only young children can achieve. "Who they? They live on the Island? 'cause couldn't see them?"

"That's the Yondaime and the Habenero." Teuchi said with a raised eyebrow. "They both died a few years ago."

"That means island mine, yes?" Naruto asked. "I got island! Wahoo!"

"No, Naruto, you don't have an island. You're too young for…" Hiruzen began, looking round, then back…

…at the empty space.

"Where did he go?"

Teuchi shrugged as he picked up the empty bowl.

"Island…" Hiruzen mused. "I wonder… If he returns, please inform me. However, I have a message that I need to send."

As he ambled off, he failed to notice an elderly Hyuuga hurrying off as well.

.

"Hiashi-Dono? Hiashi-Dono?"

The leader of the Hyuuga Clan looked up from the never-ending stream of paperwork on his desk with a mild sense of relief. Whatever the issue was, it would undoubtedly be better than the ongoing mess he was still wading through.

"Hiashi-Dono." The Branch Member bowed deeply in the doorway. "I apologise for disturbing you, but I have seen something quite extraordinary today."

"Enter." Hiashi waved for the man to sit in front of his desk and the Branch Member did so, dropping into a perfect Sieza pose. "…What do you wish to report, Gosho?"

"The boy who holds the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Naruto, was at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand today. I witnessed the Hokage speak to him, then the boy vanished. I was watching with my Byakugan and I saw the shape of the chakra he used… it was the Hiraishin!"

Hiashi blinked. "Are you certain?"

"I fought alongside the Yondaime during the last Great Shinobi War, Hiashi-Dono. I witnessed its use on several occasions."

"Incredible." Hiashi mused. "To have mastered one of his father's two Jutsu before even turning four… I wonder who his teacher is?"

"Hiashi-Dono… the Hokage was highly relieved to see Naruto was still safe. I… I was wondering something. The seal which the Yondaime used to bind the beast… what else could he have put in it?"

"…knowledge of how to use the Hiraishin, perhaps?" Hiashi finished Gosho's thought. "A way to escape should he ever be in trouble… that would be just like him. How long do you think he has known it?"

"I would guess… just before the Kumo Incident, Lord Hiashi." Gosho mused. "It was his disappearance which led to the uncovering of the traitor Shimura's scheme to weaken us and bring us further under the control of the Hokage… a position he planned to claim for himself.

"Unusual timing, though." Hiashi frowned. "Why that specific number of days… one thousand, one hundred and…"

""Seventy-two, Hiashi-Dono." Gosho offered. "I do not know, it is not a number that lends itself well to being encoded… especially not quickly."

"It is certainly something to consider." Hiashi nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Gosho-san."

Gosho bowed deeply, then retreated from Hiashi's office.

.

The flashes of light from the whirling swords finally stopped as B ended his kata. Flexing his limbs, he threw three of his swords up into the air even as he sheathed the final two, then as the thrown swords descended, he caught each one and re-sheathed it with the ease of over a dexade of practice.

"Cool!"

B turned and bowed to Naruto, who was watching from the doorway of B's house.

"Hey little bro, I say hello again.
"Tis good to see ya, Ah's say it plain.
"Ah finished my practice and now wanna drink,
"Why don'tcha join me, watcha think?
"Yo!"

Naruto giggled as B posed dramatically at the end of his impromptu rap.

"You funny."

"That's me, funny and awesome!" B declaimed as he started strutting towards Naruto, then he paused, sniffing the air. "Wow, that's that heavenly smell?"

"Ramen!" Naruto cheered. "Swap fruits for it! Need to take bowls back after."

"Well, let me wash up first." B smiled down at his little friend. "After all, it wouldn't do to disrespect the Ramen with dirty hands."

Naruto laughed as he followed B into the house.

.

Teuchi handed the hammer to his daughter, then he carefully hung the picture on the hook he had fixed to the wall. From the picture frame, Teuchi and Ayame smiled out, flanking Naruto who was grinning hugely.

"That's done." Teuchi said with a firm nod and Ayame reached out to adjust the picture slightly. Teuchi's smile increased as he looked at the picture and the special tag concealed behind it, a tag which would let the son of his old friend visit whenever he wanted to.

A sudden noise behind him marked Naruto appearing with two empty bowls to be washed up.

.

B looked at the space where Naruto had been, then he moved to a bench underneath the window. Pulling the cushion off, he opened the revealed lid and looked down at the wrapped forms of ten lovingly-mantained tri-pronged Kunai that he had managed to acquire in memory of the men who had defeated him and his brother.

Picking on up, he looked at it for a long moment, then nodded firmly.

He had a plan.

It would take some time to put into practice, especially if he didn't want his brother to find out, but he would do it.

After all, he would hate to have to end up fighting his newest friend one day.