Here we are ladies, gents, and everyone else in between! Chapter 7! I don't really have much to talk about as far as pre-chapter stuff. I went to Disneyland for the first time in 20 years and got a lot of inspiration. That place really has a way of making your imagination expand with joy. Walt was truly an inspiration for many, myself included. Anyway, what say we answer some reviews before we get into the chapter?

SeaWolf90: Very bold of you to assume Kakashi is that good of an actor. Also thank you, I worked really hard to make Naruto's death scene heartfelt. I', also excited to see how the Konoha 12 grow due to his passing.

Sceffelman: I know you didn't leave a review, Scheffeweizen. But you are the only person to guess what Shiichigeki means and yes that is totally what he is.

Anyway... On with the show!

"Talking"
"Bijuu
"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Bijuu Thinking'
"Writing"

I do not own Naruto. Please support the official release.

Jinchuuriki Mercenary: Redux

Chapter 7: Unfinished Allegro

Kisaragi Village, 20 mi. South of Konohagakure

Naruto sat on the bed of the hotel room he was staying in with his new comrades. In his hands he held the bi colored mask he'd adopted as his new 'face'. He smiled somberly at the mask as the door to the bathroom opened up and Haku stepped out. Steam flowing out of the small room as he dried his long silky hair. The blonde smiled as his hair flashed memories of a shard of volcanic glass Anko had brought back from a mission out of the country. Haku adjusted the bandages wrapped around his chest and sat down beside his new companion.

"Zabuza-sama should be back soon with the bounty for Gato. Then you face the real problem of getting back into Konoha. I must ask, why are you going back if you've gone to all the trouble of faking your death? Wouldn't you want to get as far away from the village as you can?" Naruto looked at the ice user and stood up, placing the mask on a nearby table.

"Tazuna-san lied about the mission so I wasn't expecting to run into people like you and Zabuza-san. So I only brought with me a few essentials. My swords, the scrolls from my parents, my uniform, and 50,000 ryo which is now Zabuza's. As for wanting to stay away from Konoha… You remember what you asked me that day in the forest, Haku-kun?" The black haired boy nodded as he listened intently.

"I have several precious people back in Konoha. I'm doing all of this so that I can be strong enough to protect those I love. Hopefully one day they can forgive me." Haku smiled at his new companion's response. He had grown fond of the blonde since their first meeting. Haku had a natural insight into the nature of individuals and he could tell when he first met Naruto that he had the same eyes that Zabuza and himself. Eyes that had known a life of suffering and had grown strong. Yet there was also a great passion and exuberant kindness in his eyes that Haku had only seen a smolder of in his master's eyes. The ice user placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled warmly.

"If they care for you as much as you care for them, then I'm sure they will welcome you back with open arms." Naruto nodded and got changed into a set of common street clothes and a straw hat. He used a Henge to disguise himself as a brunette with green eyes before heading out of the room to give Haku some privacy. In the hall he passed a tall man in merchant garb who slipped a note and a small stack of bills into his pocket as they passed. As Naruto rounded the corner in the hallway toward the stairs he heard a feminine scream and a blast of cold air came down the hallway. The blonde let out a chuckle as he pulled out the note and read it as he stepped into the street.

"The bounty station was right where you said it was. The bounty master, Zangei gave me 50,000 for Gato's head. Apparently his competition wanted the little shit alive. Can't say I blame them. Pompous midget would make anybody wanna torture him first. You have three days and 1,000 ryo to yourself until we head out for Umi no Kuni. Be here or we leave without you, gaki." The blonde used some wind chakra to shred the note into tiny pieces that soon resembled confetti which blew into the night wind. The bits of paper sailed through the breeze and into the face of a tall, well-built man. He was dressed as if he were a kabuki performer, complete with long wild white hair and two red lines running down his cheeks. Naruto noticed he wore a horned hitai-ate with the kanji for 'Oil' inscribed on the plate. He grumbled as he brushed the paper out of his face as he looked down at the young man.

"Watch where you throw your trash, kid. Littering is a nasty habit to get into." The man looked over the boy before moving past him and walking into a large two story building with a sign above the door depicting a beautiful woman which read "The Velvet Lotus" with a broad grin and a perverse giggle. The jinchuuriki was quick dismiss the man before his tenant grabbed his attention.

'Naruto! That man just now! I would know him anywhere! 'Twas Jiraiya, the Toad Sage! He is one of the Sannin and was your father's teacher!' Naruto's eyes widened as he looked back at the man as he entered the obvious brothel. That man trained his father? It seemed an almost preposterous notion, however one of the first lessons that Naruto had been taught by his brother was that a shinobi hides their true strength until it is necessary. He slipped into an alleyway and got into a thinking pose.

'What should we do about him? He must be heading back to Konoha for a mission report. If we head there now, he'll see through our disguise. We don't need our cover blown so soon after we managed to leave.' Naruto pondered his situation deeply, paying little attention to anything else. However, strategizing how to out maneuver a sanin was proving a nearly herculean task. As soon as Naruto thought of a strategy, he almost immediately found an exploitable flaw. Kakashi had trained him to think tactically, yet he was nowhere near as good at formulating plans as his older brother. He heard a soft chuckling in the back of his mind and smirked.

'I assumed you have an idea, Kyuubi-sensei?'

'Indeed I do. As avoiding him t'would be nearly impossible if you left in the morning and, given his quite remarkable perception and insight, would notice you should you encounter each other within the village. Perhaps t'would be in your best interest if you imbalance his mental state.' The bijuu's sultry voice echoed through his mind as it teased at a brilliant a devilish plan.

'And how would you suggest we do that?' Naruto sat and stared at the wall as he listened to his tenant and teacher describe their plan. He was so intent that he barely noticed a few people leaving spare change beside him as they walked past the alley.

'Why 'tis quite simple, my dear student. By introducing him to the man who ended the life of his most prized student's son.' A smirk reminiscent of his tenant's grew across the jinchuuriki's face as he was shown flashes of images describing his sensei's plan. It was truly a plan worthy of a Kitsune. Naruto picked up the loose change and made his way into town for some late night shopping. Tomorrow was certainly going to be interesting, should his plans unfold right.

Shinobi Council Room, Hokage Tower, Midnight

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a breath he had been holding for some time as Kakashi finished his report. He looked around the room at the gathered assembly. In the corner of the dark councilroom was Ibiki and a few members of his interrogation crew, including his second in command, who the elderly Kage could see was futilely trying to keep her composure as tear fell from her eyes. They were there to oversee the report/testimony of Kakashi and restrain him in case something went awry. Beside him as always were his trio of advisors, his teammates and Danzo, who looked sternly at the silver haired jonin.

"And that is all? You did not pursue your enemies?" Homura inquired, an air of slight contempt in his voice. Kakashi looked up at the elder with a sullen expression as he knelt on the ground. He had been put in chakra cuffs in preparation for his 'report', thought everyone knew this was more of a court-martial than a detailed mission report. He shook his head as he looked back down at the ground.

"No. Without an employer, they no longer had a conflict with us and they became non-threats. We finished the mission as fast as possible and returned home after that with no delays or further encounters with enemies of any sort. Tazuna even received a drop package on his doorstep containing all of Gato's deeds to properties in his Sector." Danzo glared at the man with one visible eye as he clenched his fist. Several of his plans had gone down the drain with the death of the village's weapon and it was all due to the actions of another incompetent Hatake.

"A parting gift no doubt from this Shiichigeki. This man who calls himself the Death Stroke" Koharu replied derisively as she smirked at the young man shackled before them. Kakashi may have been a favorite of the Yondaime, and a valuable member of the ANBU after the Third War. But since he became a guardian of the jinchuuriki, he had become lazy and far too aloof for any of the elders' liking, Danzo especially. The bandaged councilman narrowed his gaze before he spoke up.

"It would seem that you inherited your father's ineptitude and lack of duty as well as his skill, Hatake. And you say these obviously dangerous and highly skilled shinobi as non-threats? After they humiliated one of this village's elite jonin and destroyed potentially our greatest weapon? How disappointing." Before any of the elders could continue their scolding, an overwhelming presence enveloped the entire room. The jonin in the room all fell to their knees as it became difficult to breath, an enormous weight pressing down on all of them and even bits of masonry began to crack. The elders all looked over to their leader as an aura of chakra became visible and he seemed to have a blue glow about him. Flashes of Senju Tobirama came flooding into their minds as their former teammate slowly turned his head toward his bandaged rival with a vengeful glare.

"All of you will cease speaking for the remainder of this hearing… and Danzo… A sword was not destroyed during this mission, but a child was killed. The child of a dear friend and someone that I loved as much as my own family. Naruto-kun was a hero to this village since the day he was born and I would have gladly handed my hat to him when he reached the proper age. So if I ever hear you refer to him in such a disrespectful way again, I will personally see to it that you never speak again." Danzo and the other council members nodded in submission and sat back into their chairs wearily. In his mind however the old warhawk was seething with contemptuous ferocity at his rival.

'You show your power only to throw spite at your betters! I wouldn't have let our great weapon fall so easily. If I had been Hokage, the jinchuuriki would have been trained, disciplined and Konoha would be feared for our might. You truly are a weak old fool, Hiruzen.' After nearly a minute, the pressure in the room lessened. However some still where suffering residual side effects from the exposure to such a presence as Ibiki noted Izumo and Kotetsu both had collapsed into unconsciousness white other subordinates of his where throwing up in a nearby trash bin. The scarred interrogator was even sweating profusely. He stood at attention when he heard his name called by the village leader.

"Ibiki-san, come forward. Genma-kun, summon Team Ro. I want them here immediately." The head of interrogation watched as the Hokage bodyguard put the senbon needle he was chewing away and shunshining away. As Ibiki made it to Kakashi's side, six puffs of smoke appeared on the other side of the silver haired man and standing before the Hokage were Genma returned with the remaining members of Team Ro. The ANBU squad gasped at the sight of their former leader in shackles but mostly kept their composure. The shortest member of the team looked up to the Kage and spoke out first. She was a young woman with light brown hair in a high ponytail and a cat mask.

"Forgive my ignorance, Hokage-sama. But why did you summon us, and why is Kakashi-senpai in chains?" Koharu leaned forward to chastise the young girl for her impudence when Hiruzen lifted a finger and released a fraction of the presence he had earlier. This jolt of power put her back in her seat with a meek and downtrodden expression. Sarutobi let out a sigh and looked down at the group.

"Soku, as the newest member of Team Ro, your presence is not required. Though you are welcome to stay, if you could please refrain from any further outburst." The Kage lit his pipe and continued with his explanation. "Team Ro, as the comrades that have served alongside Hatake Kakashi the longest, you have been summoned here to serve as character witnesses to his court martial regarding the death of his subordinate, Uzumaki Naruto." Team Ro released a collective gasp at the reason for their summons. Soku froze in place at the news. She stared into the distance as she tried to process what she just heard. Under her mask a single tear rolled down her cheek. The Hokage motioned for the captain of the team, Tenzo stepped forward and gave his testimony, the Hokage listening intently to what the masked individual had to say.

The Velvet Lotus, Morning

A figure walked silently into one of the many rooms of the Velvet Lotus brothel and closed the door behind them before sitting down in a chair as light slowly began to filter into the room through a window. The intruder looked down on the futon at the sight of Jiraiya lying in a bed with two women, one with long black hair cut into a hime style and the other sporting a mint green bob, both visions with lithe figures and large breasts. All of them were nude, sleeping soundly with thin sheets barely covering their bodies.

After a minute, the man reached behind him and with a strong motion, wretched the curtain off of the window and onto the bed. Light flooded the room and the three in bed were startled awake. The two courtesans yelped as they saw the silhouetted figure sitting before them and clutched onto the nude sage as he glared at the intruder. The man simply sat back in a relaxed posture and spoke in a smooth, husky tone that sent a tingle up the women's spines.

"Thank you ladies. Your services here will no longer be required. Won't you be so kind to leave Jiraiya-sama and I in peace?" The two women simply nodded and wrapped themselves in the curtain before leaving the room in a hurry. The two men stared at each other in silence. Jiraiya squinting to try and see the man, though his eyesight was obscured by the bright morning sun. The toad sage tensed as he prepared himself for anything that may come, eyeing his clothes which were bundle beside the figure's chair.

"At ease Jiraiya-san. If I were here to kill you, I would have done so while you slept. No, I'm merely here to talk." the white haired sanin stared at the man as he sat up on the mattress, little concern for his state of undress. When faced with an unknown and potentially hostile presence, one has little concern for things like modesty. Jiraiya scoffed as he adjusted himself.

"Look buddy. If you wanted an autograph that badly, you just could have asked me on the street." A snicker came from the mysterious man as he continued to sit in his chair. Although he couldn't see the man's face, Jiraiya could feel the man was not smiling despite his chuckle and was instead glaring at him unnervingly.

"Always the joker, Jiraiya-san. 'Tis refreshing to see you haven't lost your sense of humor. But no, I'm not here to speak to you about anything pleasant. In fact, my purpose here today is one of great sorrow. I've come to speak to you about the child of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, Naruto-kun." The toad sage's eyes widened at the mention of his student and his godson. He stood up and glared back at the man who seemed to have knowledge he shouldn't have.

"How do you know about that? It's an S-Class secret." The intruder moved slightly giving the sanin a glimpse at the man's hair and realizing it was in fact snow white and not simply the glare of the rising sun.

"A terribly kept one. Hokage-sama didn't even bother to hide his parentage well. Uzumaki Naruto? Anyone who fought in the Third War would remember Konoha's Red Death, and the spiky blonde hair? There was no denying his resemblance Namikaze Minato. Even one as boorish as Zabuza-kun put the pieces together." Jiraiya clenched his fist as he heard the man speak. His mind was reeling from the information. Gritting his teeth, he mentally chastised his sensei for not protecting the boy's identity properly. But who was this mysterious stranger and how did he know all of this information. His familiar attitude towards one of the Seven Swordsmen was also unnerving.

"What is your interest in the boy?" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at the mysterious man. The figure seemed to deflate slightly at the subject of his visit.

"My interest in the boy is great. However I regret to inform you that Uzumaki Naruto is dead." The white haired sage punched the wall of the room. His eyes burned with fury as the man before him so casually revealed to him his reason for coming.

"You're lying!" It was the man's turn to stand up indignantly as he returned the glare back at the sanin. His own presence pushing back against the sanin's.

"I would not lie about something so grievous, Jiraiya-san! If you don't believe me, why don't we ask Hokage-sama together?" Jiraiya smirked at the man as he relaxed and slowly began to step forward.

"We will and then we'll see how truthful you really are. But first I'd like to know the name and face of my travelling companion."

Hokage's Office

The elderly Kage walked into the office as the sun rose over the horizon. As he watched the sunrise on his balcony, he felt a presence behind him. He didn't need to turn as an ANBU wearing a Dragon mask and a white cloak walked up beside him. Dragon stared out over the village with Hiruzen as he awaited his orders.

"Dragon, bring Team 7 to my office. Then have Teams Ro and Shu assemble the rest of the rookie teams and the owners of Ichiraku Ramen assemble in the Council Room. It's time they learned the truth." Dragon nodded silently and disappeared in a smokeless Shunshin as Hiruzen placed his hat atop his balding head. He stepped into his office and waited at his desk. In half an hour, Sakura and Sasuke walked into his office. Sasuke looked to be his usual stoic self, however Sakura looked terrible. She had large bags under her eyes which had become red from crying. Both looked to be disheveled as if they had just been woken up or hadn't slept in the first place. They bowed respectfully to their leader before he spoke up.

"Hello, I know that the last mission dealt a heavy blow to you. It's dealt a heavy blow to us all, I assure you. However, we must move forward, as is the way of the shinobi. However a change must be made to Team 7. Kakashi proved himself incapable in your mission and thus has been removed from his position as your jonin sensei." The two genin looked shocked as they listened to the Hokage. Hiruzen motioned to the door behind them as it opened and in stepped a man with short brown hair and large dark almond shaped eyes. His face was framed by a happuri-style hitai-ate. He wore the standard jonin uniform and walked in, bowing respectfully.

"Hello, my name is Yamato. I'll be your jonin sensei from now on. I hope to get to know you well in the future." Sakura bowed respectfully as Sasuke gave a grunt of acknowledgement before turning back to the Hokage. He could see the question lingering the the young genin's eyes as he stood up.

"Kakashi has received a punishment for his inability to keep his comrades safe. However he will be present for your training, but merely on an advisory level at Yamato-san's discretion." Sakura let out a dejected sigh as she thought about how things had gone so wrong in the past several days. A single tear rolled down her pale cheek and fell to the ground.

'Why did I have to be so selfish? I should have woken up Naruto like Kakashi-sensei asked me to. He'd be with us then… If I had just… He wouldn't be… ' Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts as Hiruzen stood from his chair. He set his pipe down and moved out from behind the desk. He placed his hands on Sakura and Sasuke's shoulders as he smiled down at them solemnly.

"Come with me. We have only one more sad task ahead of us before we can move forward." The genin nodded as they and their new sensei followed the Kage out of his office.

Hyuuga Compound Dojo

Hyuuga Hiashi sat stoically with the rest of the Hyuuga Clan elders. All sat stone faced as they watched Hinata and Hanabi enter into the dojo. Both wearing the standard Hyuuga clan training gear. Hiashi stood up and walked toward the center of the fighting mat where his daughters got into their fighting stances, Byakugans activated. Hiashi closed his eyes and lifted his hand as he prepared to declare the match that would decide the appointment of the clan heiress. As he started to bring his hand down, signalling the start of the match, the door to the dojo opened and a woman from the Branch house rushed in. Hanabi recognized her as her caretaker, Natsu. She rushed onto her knees and bowed deeply with her head against the floor.

"A thousand pardons for the intrusion Hiashi-sama. But there is a visitor from the ANBU who demands an audience. I told him you were handling official clan business but he said it was urgent." The short haired Branch member looked up at the clan head pleadingly as he stared down expressionless and cold. He lowered his hand slowly and nodded, the Branch woman bowed once more before before leaving. Once the door closed behind her, it opened once more to reveal Dragon. He walked into the dojo and gave a small bow.

"Pardon the intrusion, Hyuuga-dono. But my business is quite urgent." The Hyuuga clan head's eye twitched slightly at being referred to in such a disrespectful manner. However he recognized the masked man immediately and thus let the slight go almost immediately.

"Commander Dragon. I'm quite busy at the moment. What urgent business do you have with me?" Hiashi always despised dealing with the ANBU, they all wore masks with special seals engraved on the inside that prevented even the Byakugan from discerning their identities. The ANBU Commander didn't even bother looking directly at Hiashi as he replied dryly.

"None." A vein bulged on the clan head's temple bulged as the ABNU continued to act elusive. Hiashi prided himself at being able to read his opponents with a glance, even the ANBU hand tells with their body language. But with Dragon, he could never get a thing.

"Then why, pray tell, have you interrupted imperative clan affairs if your reason for coming is not urgent?" Dragon stepped further into the room towards the two daughters who were watching the exchange in confusion. Both looked at the masked and cloaked figure with apprehension.

"You misunderstand Hiashi-dono. My business is indeed urgent. But my business is not with you, but with Hinata-chan." The bluenette girl's eyes widened as she heard her name called out. She looked to her father and back to the ANBU with a nervous look on her face as she pondered what she had done to warrant a member of the Black Ops to have business with her.

"What business do you have with my daughter?" Hiashi asked, getting frustrated by the ANBU's vagueness.

"Her presence is required at the Hokage Tower." Hiashi let out an indignant breath through his nose before turning his back to the Commander.

"Tsk… She will be along as soon as the affairs of our clan have concluded." Hiashi could feel the glare digging into the back of his head. He turned to stare at the man who simply stared back at him through pitch black eye holes.

"By order of the Hokage, Hyuuga Hinata is to come to the Hokage Tower… immediately. Should you wish to accompany her, I will not stop you, however my orders were absolute." His tone had grown cold and demanded no argument. Hiashi closed his eyes and stood tall. He couldn't contend with orders directly from the Hokage. To do so would bring shame upon the entire Hyuuga Clan and then they would be no better than the Uchiha before their demise. Mistrusted and always given a sideways glance.

"Come Hinata, let us see what Hokage-sama needs of you." The Genin nodded and followed her father as he moved out of the dojo and towards the Tower.

Shinobi Council Room

Hiashi and Hinata walked through the halls of the Hokage Tower before coming to the Council Room where there was a significant amount of people gathered outside the double doors. Hinata saw her sensei, Kiba and his family, Shino and his father, Team 10 with their fathers and sensei, as well as Teuchi and Ayame from Ichiraku Ramen. All of them were talking in confusion as to their collective summons from the Hokage. Several theories bounced around the adults and the elder Ino-Shika-Cho Trio mentioned something called the Chunin Exams.

The mood changed as the doors opened and they were greeted by the sight of the Hokage talking to Team 7. However Naruto seemed to be nowhere in sight, there was an odd man in a jonin uniform and Kakashi was wearing a chunin vest. The adults gasped in dismay as Kakashi turned to the group, revealing a large eyepathe over his left eye with a red kanji for 'Seal' stamped on it. The Hokage looked at the group and motioned them in as Kiba made a motion to speak, Hiruzen held up his hand, silencing the boy.

"My apologies for summoning you all so early. But I believed you deserve to know the news before I announce it to the rest of the village. But before I tell you I must say something before hand. What do you know of the events that took place the night of October 10th fifteen years ago?" The genin watched as their parent's eyes widened in a mix of shock, confusion and apprehension. He was really going to reveal to a bunch of genin an S-Class secret that he himself implemented. Something must have happened and the adults were nervous to find out. Hinata was shocked to see her own father, who was usually cold and stone faced, show genuine signs of unease. Ino raised her hand to speak.

"That was the night that the Kyuubi attacked the village. A large number of people died to fight the beast, but the Yondaime managed to kill it at the cost of his life. He saved us all that night." Ino felt her father's hand on her shoulder and looked up to see hims smiled down at her with a slightly sad look on her face. The Hokage smiled back and everyone could feel the tension in the air as he began to speak once more.

"You listened to your history lessons well in the Academy, Ino-chan. However what you have been taught was only mostly true. Many lost their lives that night, many lost those they loved, and the Yondaime did save our lives at the expense of his own in order to defeat the Kyuubi. However, a bijuu cannot be killed. It is simply an impossible task as they are creatures of pure chakra. Should a bijuu's body be destroyed their chakra will simply recoalesce in a few years time. The Yondaime knew this and did the only thing he could to save the village he called home. He used a forbidden fuinjutsu to seal the beast into a newborn infant." The genin all gasped at the revelation that not only had they been lied to their entire lives, but that the great beast that nearly destroyed the village wasn't dead.

"You may wonder why no one ever told this to you. The Yondaime had wished that the child be seen as a hero. However the hatred that the villagers held toward the bijuu was far too great and many wished for the baby, not a day after taking its first breaths, be put to death. So to help them have a somewhat normal life, I made it a law, that no one was to speak of the true events of that night to any of the younger generation." The genin all looked at each other somberly as they thought of what kind of life it must be like to have a village want you dead from the day you were born. It was after a few moments that Shikamaru looked up at the Hokage.

"It was Naruto wasn't it? The baby that the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi into." The other genin and Ayame looked at the young genius in shock as they heard his statement. They thought of their experiences with the blonde prankster and began putting the pieces together and realizing he was right. Hiruzen nodded and smiled at the young boy's keen mind.

"You're quite astute Shikamaru-kun. There's another secret to tell you all. However before I continue, I have to ask you. Knowing what you now know… Has your opinion of Naruto changed after learning about the Kyuubi?" The Hokage looked around the room as the group pondered the question. However Kiba growled in annoyance at everyone's silence before raising his fist toward the old man.

"What are you talking about?! Naruto is a knucklehead and a loudmouth! He's one of us!" Akamaru yipped in agreement, the other's began to smile as they thought about their blonde friend and began to join in with their own words of acknowledgement.

"He's a great kid. I've been serving him ramen since he was little."

"N-Naruto-kun's not a demon! He's our friend!" Hiashi looked down and gave his daughter a smile. He may have had a cold and aggressive exterior. But he truly cared for his family, and it warmed his heart to see Hinata defend her crush and inspiration with such passion.

"I'm happy to hear that. Now there's one more secret I must tell you before I explain why I summoned you all here, this secret is one I have kept from everyone in the village save for a select few. Even your parents have not been told. The Yondaime didn't just choose a random baby to suffer this cruel fate. It is the duty of the Hokage to make incredibly difficult decisions, sometimes making the greatest of sacrifices. And so Minato-kun sealed the demon into the baby of Uzumaki Kushina, one of Konoha's elite jonin, and his beloved wife." Everyone, with the exception of Kakashi, Teuchi,and Shikaku gasped in shock. The revelation was almost too much to process to many of them. Naruto was the son of the Yondaime and one of Konoha's most famous kunoichi's and yet most of the village treated him as if he didn't even exist. It made many of the group sick to their stomachs at the thought. However the two Nara's were the first to recover as their minds went elsewhere before their thoughts were vocalized together.

"Hokage-sama… Why are you telling us all of this? What's happened to Naruto?" A silence consumed the room. The only thing that anyone could hear was the beating of their hearts, which boomed in their ears like timpani drums. Dread filled their hearts as they looked over to Team 7 and saw them all holding back tears. Hiruzen broke the silence after what felt to everyone like an eternity.

"Team 7 was sent on a routine C-Rank escort and protection mission. However the client withheld information due to lack of finances. It was soon discovered that the mission should have been classified as a much higher rank when the team encountered Momochi Zabuza, an A-Rank nuke-nin from Kirigakure and former member of the Seven Swordsmen. Kakashi was able to defeat him in their initial encounter, however he was rescued and recovered from his injuries faster than Kakashi. Naruto… did not survive the second encounter with Zabuza and his comrades." Hinata's eyes became wide in utter shock as a profound pain pierced through her chest. Without warning the young Hyuuga collapsed onto the ground sobbing. Her father and sensei rushing to her. Hiashi held the his daughter tightly in as arms as tears flowed freely from her lavender eyes. A new voice echoed in the empty chamber taking several away from their grieving.

"You bastard, sensei! I trusted you to keep him safe!" Standing in the double doorway was Jiraiya. He had eyes filled with tears of rage and heartache as he stared down his sensei, who seemed shocked that he was even there.

"Jiraiya-kun? I wanted to tell you myself. I was just about to send for you. When did you get back?" The toad sage's knuckles were white as he wiped the tears from his eyes and turned to show everyone that he was not in fact alone as a figure walked in behind him.

"He told me…" The figure stepped into the light of the room and revealed themselves. He was a tall, athletically built man in a black suit with a charcoal grey shirt. He han a tanned, handsome face with chiselled features and deep liknes that ran under his eyes. His short, spiked hair was snowy white and he sported a goatee similar to the Hokage's. Though the most striking feature of the mystery man was the eyepatch he wore over his right eye. Kakashi looked at the man through cloudy eyes and spoke the first word that came to his mind.

"T-Tou-san?!" The gathered adults couldn't help but mentally remark on the man's great resemblance to Hatake Sakumo now that it was stated. The new arrival let out an amused chuckle as he walked up beside the sanin.

"I'm deeply honored by the comparison Kakashi-kun, especially coming from you. However, no, I am not the White Fang." As the gruff baritone voice of the eyepatched man reached the recently demoted chunin's ears, his eyes grew to the size of tea saucers before filling with absolute fury. The jonin and Hokage all gasped as Kakashi performed the Ox, Rabit, and Monkey seals before charging forward towards the eye patched man.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU COME HERE! I'LL KILL YOU YOU BASTARD!" As Kakashi ran forward at high speed, his right hand glowing and sparkling with immense chakra which surrounded his hand and crackled to life as lightning encased it and a sound like a thousand chirping birds filled the council room. Yamato's hands moved at blinding speed before he ended in the Snake seal

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Wood Smothering Binding) Kakashi-senpai, what on earth are you doing?!" As he held the hand seal in place, several beams of wood began to grow out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Kakashi who struggled with all his might and was making progress in cutting through the wood with his lightning before his chakra began to be suppressed by the wood user. Kakashi continued to thrash as he stared down the one eyed man.

"LET ME GO, YAMATO! I RECOGNIZE THAT VOICE ANYWHERE! IT'S SHIICHIGEKI! THAT'S THE SON OF A BITCH WHO KILLED NARUTO!"

Whoo! Yeah! Cliffhanger no Jutsu! This chapter was super interesting to write and I actually am currently writing the next chapter while I'm publishing this one as I was meaning to get to pack everything into one chapter, however I like to keep my chapters relatively at 5,000 words minus the Author's Notes to keep things concise... and this one broke 6,00 before I realized it. So it's definitely going to be a two-parter. So next chapter may come out sooner than expected.

That being said, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review letting me know what you thought, I love getting feedback and I do try to get back to everyone that I can respond to. Also if you just discovered this story and are binging it, be sure to Follow the story so you can keep up with it. I look forward to seeing you all next chapter.

~ Ninja