Other than thanking ncpfan for his help, I can't think of anything else that needs to be said this chapter.

On with the show!

She was surrounded by darkness, cloaked in it, covered in it-

Drowning in it.

Gone were the pale green flames that flickered upon the cold stone walls or the candelabra that had sat elegantly upon the center of the table. Now there was only darkness, darkness and silence. The world he had created around them was reduced to a pile of rubble slowly sinking into the murky waters that covered the floors.

The table, once the center of what had been the dining hall in which they shared countless meals, was no more than large slabs of jagged wood, covered by the tattered red cloth that had graced it as they ate. Stairs which had led to a luxurious bedroom and a bathroom fit for a goddess had crumbled to the floor in small mountains of rubble. The doors that had granted access to her rooms had vanished as soon as the stairs had collapsed, leaving no escape for her.

Trapped in this horrid prison, she could do but one thing, the one thing she wished more than anything not to do-

Remember.

'You don't deserve me in your life.' Even now the words were acid to her ears. 'You don't deserve anyone.'

Her stomach twisted and knotted as her words played back to her over and over again, each one bringing a wrenching pain to her chest that she had never felt before. She had no words to describe the pain that tore at her soul, nothing to compare it to. Never before had she suffered a wound that was not physical. She longed to be able to claim such still.

But this torture, brought on by her vicious, heated words, were nothing in comparison with what her eyes still saw.

Were she to live for another ten thousand years, she would never be able to unsee the face of her precious warden, twisted with hopeless despair as she left him. The pain in his eyes as he lost one of the few he had close to her, despite the fact that he was angered by her hand in taking away his first friend, would haunt her every waking moment.

It was still preferable to the dreams.

While she was awake things were easy, memories were relived, thoughts of getting back to him circled her head, and a deep emptiness burned in her chest, but as she slumbered everything changed.

No longer did she suffer memories, but possibilities, a million scenarios running through her mind.

Not one of them ever ended well.

From him having been the one to cast her aside to sneers and violent reactions when she attempted to reenter his life, her horrors played out before her in vivid detail every time she closed her eyes.

And yet not a single torture she endured in those dreams was as crushing as seeing his face, perfectly calm, as he looked down upon her. He was not happy to see her, he was not angered by what she had done, he simply looked down at her as if she was just another person. There was no recognition in his eyes, no memories, and he didn't even bother speaking.

She would cower before that gaze, the look he gave to everyone who he was not close to, and she would be nothing to those beautiful purple eyes.

It was fitting as here, trembling in the darkness without any hope of seeing him, she was just that-

Nothing.

Burying her face in her hands, she wept for the loss of her warden as emotions she did not know pulled her deep into pools of misery.

There would be nothing to ease her sorrows in the darkness of her prison.

It had been sitting there for almost two years now, that sheet of paper, and even now it stared at her from across the room, blank space filled with accusation. It was just paper, it had no awareness, but she could have sworn it judged her for every second she did not write on it.

It was a letter- was supposed to be a letter.

And yet here it sat, unwritten.

But what was there to write?

She had come back to Konoha at the behest of Kushina and still had yet to see the woman's son. He was the entire reason she was here and not enjoying herself gambling throughout Hi no Kuni and yet he couldn't be bothered to show up.

Then again, the boy had never met her and probably didn't even know she was supposed to take a look at his chakra coils to ensure they had not and would not be damaged by the Kyuubi's chakra. Hiruzen had been less than helpful finding him, too. Yes, she understood that the boy might want his privacy, but at the very least he could have sent him here.

She was Tsunade of the Sannin, for fuck's sake. Who wouldn't want to meet her, even if it was only to stare in wonder at the size of her rack? Wasn't he around the start of puberty? Such an opportunity should have drawn him like a moth to a flame.

Perhaps, then, he was not a moth. That or she wasn't a-

No. She wasn't even going to finish that thought. As…experienced…as she was in the world, she still looked damn fine. She wasn't going to let anyone-including herself- tell her otherwise.

He was probably just intimidated by her beauty.

Moving past those thoughts, her apprentice had been acting kind of strange as of late. Before she had spent her time around the compound reading or out taking walks in one of Konoha's many parks, but now she had been spending almost all her free time training.

Tsunade couldn't remember the last time Shizune had trained.

When asked about it, her apprentice had simply made a comment about removing the rust that left the Sannin puzzled. Surely the girl didn't think she'd be going on missions any time soon, did she? If Tsunade was stuck here in Konoha looking for the ever-elusive red furred ghost, you could bet your ass her apprentice was staying here too.

At the same time, however, perhaps a mission or two would be good for her. Let her stretch her legs a bit, interact with new teammates, and get a change of scenery. Trees were nice and all, but they got boring pretty quickly.

Hmm, maybe when they were done in Konoha they could go on a vacation and visit a beach or something. It certainly sounded nice.

Sparing one last look at the paper that still sat untouched on her desk, Tsunade left the room, escaping its judgmental glare.

Kushina was waiting desperately for word on her son, but for now, the paper would remain as it was-

Covered in as little as she had done for Naruto.

Those eyes still haunted him, pools of ethereal purple that glowed deep in the blackness of that stormy afternoon. Shadows had clung to that figure like the arms of lovers begging him back to bed, but his arm had been left unclaimed by the grasp of night's daughters, burning an angry red as if it were attempting to burst into flame.

And he knew who it had been.

By the gods, he had known. There could be no other.

The simple fact that he had been present gave it away, but those eyes belonged to only one person within the walls of Konoha.

Uzumaki Naruto.

He had been there to witness her funeral, but why? What could have driven the young man to watch as the woman he had lashed out against in retribution was put to rest? Was it guilt, respect, or was there something more, something that Inoichi could not see?

He looked down into his hands and the bottle held carefully in them. He knew this wine, all the clan heads did. To think that the boy not only managed to get his hands on it, but would waste it all on a dead woman left the Yamanaka with a strange feeling.

Something wasn't right.

But he didn't have time to figure out what it was.

Even now his clan was seething in rage, demanding the head of the Uzumaki prince. To them it was a message, a threat, and despite them not knowing what part he may have played in the young man's ire, they knew the body had been brought to him.

It was enough.

It was also foolish.

Were anyone to attempt to harm the boy they were likely to end up like the unfortunate Tatsuki, with a large hole torn through them. He knew from experience that any attempt to use family techniques would probably end up backfiring as they drowned forever in his mind. And politically- Inoichi shivered at the thought- attacking him would be disastrous. The Uzumaki had always had friends in high places and it was rumored that the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni himself favored their clan.

As its prince, Naruto could probably turn many of their allies against the Yamanaka clan. That was something Inoichi would rather not risk.

And there was still something that didn't sit right with the man. If Naruto was upset enough to kill, why go after a clanmate who had distanced herself from the Shinobi clan? Was it in an effort to somehow avoid backlash, claiming that while they were of blood they were not of his clan?

But those eyes had burned with such hatred.

Did he still harbor a grudge? Was he angered by her death? Did the boy somehow blame Inoichi himself for her death? It sounded preposterous, but Inoichi dealt in the mind, it was entirely possible for the boy to feel that way.

And it scared him.

If anger drove him to act in a way that only brought about more anger, where would this vicious cycle end? He was only a boy, but he had already proved himself dangerous.

Dangerous and unpredictable.

For a clan that prided themselves on reading opponents, unpredictability was every Yamanaka's worst nightmare.

He did not want this boy as an enemy to his clan.

His clan seemed to have different ideas.

Inoichi could only pray that no one would be stupid enough to anger the prince.

It was too soon for another funeral-

He had only just buried his sister.

The silence was only broken by soft breaths from beside her as her daughter slept peacefully through the night. Such rest would not find Kushina.

She sat upright in the hotel bed she shared with her daughter, gazing out through the window at the night life of the town they were currently staying in. Crimson sheets matched her hair and splayed over her lap, leaving her bare torso exposed to the cool breeze that slithered in through the barely open window.

Plagued, as every day, were her thoughts, filled with worry and anticipation in equal measures, hope and worry leaving her constantly on edge as she waited.

Days had passed, turned to weeks and then months. It had been two years.

Something was wrong.

Her letter to Kurenai had gotten lost in delivery or her former student was refusing to respond to her inquiry to her son. Her daughter's words about the two not getting along seemed more plausible with every day her letter went unanswered.

Hiruzen had been sent a dozen letters, but he had not sent another after he initially suggested she return from her trip. He knew she couldn't do that, and he knew why. Couldn't he see that she just wanted to hear how her son was doing in her absence? How were his grades? Did he make any friends yet? Meet any girls? She couldn't stand this, being completely cut off from his life. She needed something, anything, desperately to show that he was still doing okay despite her missing presence.

And then there was Tsunade, the person she needed to hear from more than anyone else.

It had proven difficult enough to convince the woman to return to Konoha to look after her son's health, but after hearing that the Kyuubi's chakra might be irreparably harming her son Kushina made sure to get the best. Now all there was to do was wait.

Tsunade would come through, eventually. She had faith in the woman despite her silence concerning her son. Either the Sannin would inform her that the young medic had been wrong and it was safe for her to return or she would be informed that the medic was right and his coils had been damaged.

If he was wrong then the trip would be cancelled immediately and she'd return to Konoha at once.

If he was right then she'd be forced to continue waiting, either until Tsunade had fixed any damage, her son's coils were strong enough to resist any effects of the Kyuubi's chakra, or he reached chakra maturity and his coils were done forming. If his coils were done then his Uzumaki healing could make up for any damages the Kyuubi's chakra might cause, but if the coils were damaged before chakra maturity his healing factor would work against any attempt to fix the damage his chakra network had taken.

Whatever the case, she would not know it, not until someone sent word she was desperate to receive.

She was worried sick, but there was nothing she could do.

Nothing but wait.

Sliding gracefully out of bed, she took up residence on a chair by the window.

Sleep would escape her this night, as it had many before.

And it would for countless more.

Once again, there was something beneath his tree.

This time, it wore a pretty little bow.

Two chains cautiously retrieved the small box and two more opened it. There was a pastry inside, a roll covered in icing, and a small note that had only a picture.

Chibi Hinata smiled up at him.

When he turned to the window of the classroom, Hinata smiled and waved.

She was a strange girl. While she was still as shy and timid as she had always been, she seemed to interact with him whenever she could. It was almost as if she didn't have anyone else. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed true. It was somewhat saddening, but it also reminded him that he was not the only one in this world who suffered. And still there were those whose suffering made all that he had experienced and all that he had ever heard aout seem as paradise.

There was no time to bemoan one's own troubles, it did nothing to help.

No, you just had to keep moving on, always taking another step forward, never looking back.

For if you looked back you faltered and you fell, deep into a sea of misery and despair from which there was no escape.

To hesitate was to die.

To stagnate was to die.

Uzumaki Naruto did not plan on dying anytime soon.

He had been hurt, yes, but he'd be hurt again. He just needed to be more careful.

Watching as Hinata took her seat, he couldn't help but recall the feeling he had felt when first meeting Mito.

'Mine.'

Having freed this lamb from the dead pasture of its clan, was it not now his responsibility to watch over it? He gave a slight chuckle. He had heard people calling him a wolf before, so why was he feeling so protective of this lamb? Was it because he had once again found himself with no one? Was he so desperate to have someone- anyone- near him that he'd even accept such a timid creature as company?

No, not company, she was his duty.

Her clan had no doubt noticed that the seal, while present did not work, or, he assumed that it operated as he had planned. Hinata seemed to cheerful for it to not have worked. Then again, this was a village of Shinobi and as Dog once said "Look underneath the underneath". He would have to confirm that she was okay and not being forced to act like this to not raise suspicion. In a Shinobi village however, not raising suspicion also raised suspicion. That's just how it went.

But, assuming they had noticed that the seal did not work despite being present, anything that happened to her because of such was his fault. Were she to be hurt because of his actions the blame would fall upon him. Were she to be exiled from the clan, it would be he who would be expected to take her in. She was his now, his duty, his responsibility, his lamb.

He'd make sure she was taken care of.

Retuning to earlier suspicion, as much as he'd like to trust her and whoever it was who made this gift, without Mito's chakra to exponentially increase his healing factor he could not risk eating food he had not prepared himself.

Perhaps one day, when he had a way to check for poisons or some way to nullify them, he could enjoy something like this. Until then, however, he could not accept such a gift. Stashing it in a hole in the trunk of the tree for whatever animal might fancy it, Naruto turned his attention to the classroom. Iruka was about to start his lecture.

Hidden as it was behind her books and behind her long blonde hair, she seethed. Every time she saw the girl she was interacting in some manner with HIM. Did she not know who he was, what he had done? This was not someone you tried to make your friend, this was someone you dragged off to prison or, better, the headman's block.

Not only had this bastard murdered her aunt, but he had the gall to drag her corpse to her father.

Her dad had mentioned to her mother and herself something about having entered the boy's mind on orders of the Hokage and that made it quite obvious even to her why he had done such a monstrous thing.

It was revenge, retribution, a message, warning, and threat all in one.

She wasn't going to stand for it, and most of her clan felt the same.

So for this girl to be friendly to him, for her to want to be close to him, it sickened her. It needed to stop, now, and if no one else would do it then it fell to her.

That thing didn't deserve to have any attachments, it didn't deserve anyone.

It was for the girl's own good that she be taken away.

As class was dismissed for lunch, Naruto made for the roof. Rent was due soon and he needed to collect the last of it. His plans to make a quick visit to the training grounds were interrupted, however, when he spotted one Yamanaka Ino making her way to Hinata with quick steps.

Crouching down upon the edge of the roof, he watched carefully.

Hinata was halfway to his tree when the blonde caught up, grabbing her shoulder and throwing her to the ground. Naruto tensed, ready. Behind him a handful of chains swayed dangerously, waiting impatiently to be used.

"I-Ino?" Stammered the lamb as she tried pushing herself up. The blonde sneered down at her.

"And where do you think you're going, Hyuuga?" She spat.

"I'm g-going to see a f-friend."

"No, you were about to go see a monster."

"H-he's not a monster!" The timid girl responded. Naruto was slightly surprised she was standing up to someone, let alone for his sake. Then again, were their lives switched he'd probably do the same. She had found someone who didn't treat her like her clan, he was probably pretty important to the young girl.

Ino, on the other hand, didn't seem as surprised.

"You wouldn't know what he's done, would you? He's a monster and I'm not going to let him sink his claws further into you."

That was enough.

Not only would he rather she not inform the others, but for her to think she could come and force Hinata to follow what she said was unacceptable. He had already removed her clan's ability to control her, who was this Yamanaka to think she would be allowed to? It was insulting. He had taken upon himself the wellbeing of Hinata by defying the biggest clan left within Konoha's walls, a mindwalker wasn't about to undo his work.

In a flash one of his chains sped forward only to stop growing, firing off a small length of dissipating chains. The black mist streaked past the face of the Yamanaka heiress. He had yet to manage to keep them solid once he disconnected them and so they wouldn't travel more than a foot or too before they began breaking down. Even had he aimed at the young blonde no damage would have come to her.

But she didn't know that, and neither did any watching students.

"W-what?!" Shouted the girl in indignant disbelief. It wasn't long before her gaze found his crouched form on the roof and the eyes of her fellow students followed quickly after. Many quickly shied away.

The gifts of his godfather were worn proudly today, his hunched body covered by the fur cloak as chains swayed behind him like the tails of a demon. Purple eyes looked down coldly from a face of pale skin and his red hair served only to add further contrast.

To any Shinobi this might be found as an odd sight.

To a group of academy students it was terrifying.

Mōryō's tooth, which rested across the small of his back, was not normally visible. Grasping the blade as he was now, however, brought eyes to it. More than a few were intimidated by the classmate they so rarely saw. He was not like them, he was something else. If Ino was to be believed, he was a monster. Despite her tendency to gossip, right now it seemed she very well may have been right.

"That is enough, Yamanaka." He did not speak as a child. It was like listening to their parent's voices spill across his lips. One day, they might come to learn that it was not a student that was before them, but a shinobi. He was a child, yes, but a shinobi still. And while he had a ways to go before being considered a true shinobi, he was far above them.

Naruto leapt from the academy roof, rolling into a crouch next to Hinata. Helping her up, he rose to a stand, looking down at the shorter heiress before him.

If anything, she only seemed more angered by his presence.

"You!" She hissed.

"I." He confirmed, releasing his blade and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What do you think you're doing here? You have no place amongst people."

"And you have no place trying to tell Hinata who she may and may not associate with." He spared the girl beside him a quick look before turning back to the angry blonde. "She is under my protection."

"So the Uzumaki ally themselves with the Hyuuga?"

"Hinata is under my protection, the clans are as they have been. This does not concern them."

"It concerns them when you murder a Yamanaka!"

He frowned. He had not intended for such to be known throughout Konoha but children had a tendency to talk and parents were even worse. This would probably be throughout the village by week's end.

"That's not true!" Hinata was quick to his defense. He crushed that immediately.

"It is." He admitted, ignoring the young Hyuuga's horrified gasp.

"He's a monster, he probably enjoyed every damn second of it to." Ino accused. Naruto's eyes hardened.

"Do not speak so lightly of that which you know nothing. What happened on that day is between Tatsuki, myself, and your father."

"You think I don't know, you think the entire Yamanaka clan doesn't know that you killed my aunt to get back at my father?"

Naruto was momentarily surprised. Tatsuki had been the clan head's sister? That he had not known. That certainly made things more complicated. His surprise, however, was taken by Ino as a sign that he hadn't expected people to know why he had torn through her aunt.

"That's right, we all know, and now everyone here knows it too. She may have left the clan, but she was blood, you're not going to get away with it."

Biting down his anger at her accusations and restraining himself from replying with 'I already have.', Naruto responded calmly as if these details were unimportant.

"Nevertheless, Yamanaka, Hinata is under my protection. You will leave her be."

"If she's under your protection then she's against the entirety of the Yamanaka clan." Naruto raised a brow. Those were some rather big words. He had to wonder if she realized exactly what she was saying. Disregarding the part about himself, she was very nearly claiming the Hyuuga themselves as enemies to the Yamanaka. That was a very foolish thing to do, especially in Konoha. She probably didn't mean it that way, but that's why it was so crucial to choose one's words carefully.

Instead, he focused on what that implied about himself.

"Then your clan has proclaimed me as foe?"

"W-well, no, not yet." She admitted.

"Then you proclaim me an enemy of the Yamanaka?" Ino froze. Her father had been going over the basics of clan law with her and she knew that it was well within her abilities to proclaim him as a foe to the clan, but that also involved the Uzumaki clan as a whole. While plenty of her clanmembers would be pleased should she do so, she also knew it was a bad idea to do anything of the sort without first consulting her father.

"No? You tell me that those under my protection are your enemy, and yet cannot proclaim me as foe?" He spat on the ground. She first insults him by trying to take control over Hinata and now she insults him by refusing to follow up her words.

Uzumaki Naruto was a proud young man.

He did not take insults lightly.

"Fine, if you are too cowardly I'll do it myself." He looked about those gathered, noting several clan heirs. It wasn't perfect, but it would suffice. "I, Uzumaki Naruto," He began, looking straight into the Yamanaka heiresses eyes. "of the Uzumaki clan, do renounce the Uzumaki name." The multitude of gasps were ignored.

"I, Naruto of Hi no Kuni, do swear, before this gathering of heirs and the people of Konohagakure, Yamanaka Ino, heiress of the Yamanaka, as my enemy for as long as I should hold grudge. As I swear myself foe to the heiress, so too do I proclaim myself enemy to the Yamanaka. By my word this is spoken, by my will let this be."

Spinning on his heel, he left with one piece of advice.

"You'd best inform your clan, Yamanaka, lest I meet them first."

And then he was gone.

As her best friend Sakura approached her Ino knew, without a doubt, that she had just fucked up.

Her father was going to kill her.

If Naruto didn't first.

The piece clicked into place as he tried not to notice the stern, disapproving gaze aimed at him by the man across the table. When the man made no move to continue the game, he was forced to meet his uncovered eye.

"That was stupid. Incredibly, incredibly stupid."

Naruto hung his head in shame.

"Yeah," He admitted, his pride throbbing in pain. "It was."

"And what was it, then, that prompted such a thoughtless decision?"

"My pride." Answered Naruto. "I acted out of pride without taking the time to fully think about what I was doing."

The man across from him gave a gruff grunt. "Indeed. But, you said 'fully think'. We both know what you didn't think of, what was it you did?"

"The pride of my clan. This was my problem, my actions, I didn't want the clan associated with them."

"Then be glad you at least thought of that much. Had you not renounced your clan you would still have resources and political sway, but you would have dragged its name through the mud over a petty squabble. She may have died and you may have been the cause but it happened, we must move on."

"Regret is a waste of time."

The man nodded. "And the dead have no need of pride, remember this."

"I will, but I do not expect to be able to humble myself."

A snort of amusement answered his statement. "I did not think you would, you just need to be more careful about where that pride of yours takes you. It's okay to have pride, it's okay to have a lot of pride, but it is unacceptable for a Shinobi to lose control. Restrain yourself, even if you have to use your pride to do so."

"I understand, thank you for the advice, Danzou-Sama."

Danzou just smiled.

The streets were rather crowded today, far more so than they usual were. Despite the numbers, he easily made his way through the sea of flesh. After his game with Danzou had ended the man gave him a parting word of advice, telling him to be seen within Konoha. He had just declared himself the enemy of the Yamanaka, if he were to not be seen he would look cowardly.

While it was good to remain in the shadows, it was equally important to back up your words.

No promise broken, no threat idle, and everything spoken said with absolute confidence.

Anything less would damage your reputation and reputation was rather important when it came to influence and dealing with the clans.

Naruto was most definitely dealing with the clans; he would need every bit of reputation and influence he could get, especially having revoked his Uzumaki name.

Confident enough people had seen him for now, he ducked quickly into the sanctuary of a local shop for a break from the masses of people.

Paintings covered every inch of the walls, even more stored safely in stacks of frames. It was rather evident that whoever did these did them out of passion rather than to simply make money. Anything sold was likely used to fund the creation of more. One had to admire that in any form of craftsman or artist.

Naruto allowed his eyes to wander over the multitude of canvases, each one a sea of color. For almost an hour he lost himself within the shop, taking time to examine everything. It was as someone appeared behind the counter, however, that his amethyst eyes found themselves drawn to a single piece of artwork on the wall.

It was simple, not in effort, but in design. The blank canvas opened into a mouth and a grey tongue emerged from behind perfectly white teeth. It was what was on the tongue that happened to catch his attention.

The design was odd, but there was no mistaking the fact that it was a seal of some sort. And, while his arm didn't react as it would with a seal such as Hinata's, it did feel a sort of pull to the image. Turning to the pale young man behind the counter who watched him curiously, a boy that couldn't be any older than himself, he inquired;

"Are you the painter?"

The boy nodded.

"I am, my name is Sai. A pleasure to meet you." The smile given seemed fake, unbelievably so, as eyes squinted under a head of short black hair.

"Then tell me, Sai, where did you see this seal?" The change was instantaneous. Eyes snapped open with a seriousness Naruto had not expected to see in another his age.

"Mai!" Called the boy. Within five seconds a young woman with skin just as pale as Sai's emerged from a room behind the counter, long black hair flowing down her back and a disinterested frown gracing her face.

"Watch the counter," He instructed her. "This gentleman was interested in 'The Root of Silence'; I'm taking him to see our special selection."

Just as the boy's had done, her eyes hardened as they looked over him carefully. She gave a silent nod as Sai motioned Naruto to the stairway.

Following up the pale young man, Naruto was brought to a small, empty room. As soon as he had closed the door behind him he had to block the tanto that went for his neck as Sai lunged at him. His chains wrapped around the blade when it made it within a foot and Sai was quick to surrender it to put some space between the two of them. Considering Naruto's chains had a good bit of range to them that was probably not a good idea. Then again, neither was staying close.

Taking hold of the tanto, he tossed it back to Sai's feet. The boy warily retrieved it, never taking his eyes off of Naruto's chains.

"I suppose I wasn't' supposed to ask about the seal then."

"There are only two types of people who know about it. Considering I don't know you it means you must be a new Rootagent."

"Root? Can't say I've heard of it, can't say I want to. What I want to hear about, however, is that seal and where I can find it."

"And why would you want to know that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Curiosity. I know it's a seal, but I don't have any knowledge on sealing. I have no idea what it might be capable of. I'd like to."

Sai stuck out his tongue, showing the same image that had been painted.

"Oh?" Naruto quirked a brow. "Now that's interesting. What does it do?"

"It keeps us silent."

A grin found its way to Naruto's face. He was certainly glad he had entered this store. "I'm sure there's more to it than that, but you couldn't tell me if you wanted to, could you?"

Sai shook his head in the negative.

"And if I could let you?"

The young man narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"You said you had no knowledge of seals."

"I don't." Naruto quickly removed his glove and unwrapped his arm to the elbow. "But with this-," He made a fist and showed Sai the seal that covered his right arm. "I don't need any."

He had been wanting to try this on another seal ever since he had changed Hinata's and this was probably the best opportunity he could get. Not only was there a seal, but secrets. In the Shinobi world, there was little more valuable than secrets.

These secrets were far more valuable than he could have ever hoped.

I hope you all found tonight's production satisfactory, I look forward to seeing you all back for part XIII.