Pretty standard chapter here, not much to say. I would like to, however, make this as clear as possible for those who may still be wondering-

There is no set pairing.

I probably get asked that question more than any other. I'm not aiming to give Naruto a Harem and there's no girl I plan on him being with in the 'end'. [Kukukukukuku]

It's likely I'll still get asked by some but I hope this answers the question for the rest of you. I'm just following the story's flow as best I can. If that ends up with him in a relationship with someone one chapter and broken up the next, so be it.

Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.

Let's get started!

Naturally, the first thing they saw was the bridge as it stretched over the chopping waters and towards the village proper. The morning mist swirled upwards in serpentine tendrils that clung to the ground and cold concrete of the massive structure.

Four Wolves, two on each side, stood at attention before the bridge. A small building had been erected off to the right in which they could see two more. It was a checkpoint, obviously, but a small list of fees posted in clearly readable print on a sign near it also spoke of it being some sort of toll booth.

Of course, as they had been invited at the behest of Tsukiyomi she wasn't even going to worry about it. If he wanted them there he could foot the damn fee himself.

The Wolves seemed to be of the same opinion and made no move to approach the oncoming group.

Passing without issue the group of ten Inuzuka soon came to the apex of the bridge and were greeted by their first look at the village that was to be their home ranging from anywhere from a few weeks to possible decades.

It looked clean enough, most of the buildings in good repair and the few they could see in need of it were currently in the process of being fixed up. Set farther away from the village was a manmade clearing in which they could see piles of refuse being added to by workers and sorted through by scavengers. Set near the water as it was, a small group of villagers were seen at a small dock loading two separate boats. One seemed filled with salvageable items and the other with trash.

Obviously, this was still rather new and she remembered hearing about the recent change of ownership. Evidently that change was doing a lot of good. Idly, part of her mind made the connection that this was the village of Nami no Kuni, the same Nami no Kuni she was going to be managing on behalf of Tsukiyomi. It was an odd feeling but not unpleasant.

This, all of this, was her responsibility now, these people would look up to her to take care of them. It was a scary thought and she would not deny that she was somewhat intimidated, but she was also eager to be able to leave her own mark here, hopefully as the first of many leaders who would see this country prosper.

As she and her companions continued to take in the sight of the village from a distance they were approached by a Wolf with a red fur mantle.

"Governor Inuzuka," He greeted as he neared. "Welcome to Nami no Kuni. I do hope there was no incident on your journey."

Obviously addressing her, Hana replied.

"Governor?"

"It was suggested by Tsukiyomi-Sama. It could be Duchess, if you like, but anything else we'd have to run by him first."

"No, no, Governor is fine. Is there a reason he chose that?"

"He liked the way it sounded." She could feel the grin under his mask.

"I see. Our journey was uneventful…"

"Ah, my apologies." He held out his hand, which she took firmly. "I am Commander Sai, leader of the Wolves. We'll be working together a lot from now on."

"A pleasure, I'm sure. I thought Tsukiyomi-Dono was the leader of the Wolves."

"He was, he appointed me when it became apparent he didn't have enough time to personally oversee all his projects."

"And that's where Mai comes in?" She couldn't hide the slight annoyance in her voice at the mention of the young woman. Representing a shady organization was one thing but dating her mother was just weird.

"I see you've met her." It figured that the Wolf would pick up on her annoyance. "Yes, that's where she comes in. All project heads, as I'll refer to them for simplicity's sake, report to her so that Tsukiyomi-Sama can focus on our collective future."

"So you're one of these project heads?"

"Yes." He nodded. "As are you. Are you going to have problems reporting to and taking orders from Mai?"

"No, I'll manage."

"Very well. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly has she done to earn your ire?"

"Only if I can ask a question about her of you." At Sai's nod she continued. "She took my clan head out on a date."

"Your clan head being your mother, yes?"

"That's right."

"Your mother." He repeated quietly. "She took your mother on a date. That's- odd. Why on earth would she do that?"

"Is that not typical?"

"I know she can be quite…playful…around those she likes, but this is the first I've heard of her taking someone out on a date. The fact that it's an older woman just makes things more strange."

"Oh? How so? Something wrong with my mother?"

"Oh, no, not at all, it just doesn't match up with her previous interests." He was frowning in thought beneath his mask. "She seemed pretty fond of Naruto-San, who is a younger male, and she's around Tsukiyomi-Sama as much as possible. I'm almost certain those two are closer than friends at this point. That being said, her going for a woman seems pretty out of place and I thought I knew her better."

"Maybe things just weren't going well with Tsukiyomi-Dono and she needed a break?"

"Ah, yes, maybe that's it." He grinned beneath his mask. "If he were currently absent from her life it would certainly explain her behavior. She likes to cuddle you know and if your mother is even half as attractive as you are she would make an excellent choice."

Hana tried to get the thought of them eventually getting married out of her head. The girl was younger than she was, things would be infinitely awkward. Maybe it was some elaborate scheme to keep her here in wave. She shook her head with a faint snort, that was just ridiculous.

"Just so long as she doesn't end up my second mother."

"I wouldn't worry, I don't think Mai would be able to go through with such commitment- she's already to invested with Tsukiyomi-Sama and his plans."

"Well, that's one less worry, I guess."

"I suppose it is. You had a question about Mai, I believe?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why did he choose her, Tsukiyomi-Dono, I mean. She can't be older than me and yet he's given her control over you and your Wolves in addition to whoever else is aligned with him."

Sai thought briefly about it.

"She's competent." He finally admitted. "And she has proven so time and time again. I would think, however, that a more likely answer would be that he favors her. She's been his assistant since the beginning and he's probably taken a liking to her."

"As good a reason as any, I guess. If he trusts her, why wouldn't he, no?"

"Indeed. Now, shall I take you to your temporary lodging?"

"Temporary?"

He nodded even as he turned to lead them away.

"Oh, yes. We've begun constructing a suitable home and office for you and your companions but because Tsukiyomi-Sama only recently decided to extend this offer to you it's not quite ready yet. A few more weeks, I would suspect; he's paying handsomely for the local workers to focus on this project."

"Then where will we be staying?"

"Gato had a small mansion built that was surprisingly well defended, considering the fact that he's a civilian businessman, and we Wolves have been staying there. You'll be welcome to stay with us there which is quite fortunate. Considering the amount of Wolves who stay there, even off duty, it's the most well defended location in the country. Also, it's where Gato kept all his documents, which means it's where the two of us- meaning mostly you- would have to start as we continue to establish a firm hold on the country and start guiding it in the right direction."

"And what direction is that?"

"Honestly? Whichever way the people want to go. It will help them accept us and show them that they still have their own freedoms while giving us the resources needed for other projects. We give them the opportunity, they start to grow and expand, and then with our guidance we ensure everything runs smoothly."

"So you're really taking the role of guiding seriously, offering the advice and opportunities and letting the people decide whether to follow it or not."

Sai went silent for a moment, thinking of the best way to put it. "Well, no, not exactly. While the people decide how, we Wolves require that progress be made in order to support our own growth. There's also the matter of ensuring people don't do thing that may be detrimental. To that effect, they can do as they like so long as they're actually doing something but there are things we cannot accept. When they cross that line, we step it."

"Doesn't seem to be much ruling then. What's my job?"

"No, not much ruling, there's no need at the moment. Your job is to work with me and the Wolves to keep things running smoothly."

"Is that going to be difficult? I can't imagine too many problems arising."

"So far we haven't had any, the people are happy to work together in an effort to undo all the damage Gato caused. Unfortunately, we can't expect it to stay this way forever. Sooner or later conflicts will arise as everybody tries to rise above their neighbors. That's when the real work starts. Luckily, we get a head start and the better the foundation we can lay and the more growth we have to increase variety the better off everybody will be."

"Makes sense, I guess. When do we start?"

"Tsukiyomi-Sama is leaving in a few days, he'd like you and your companions to be settled and familiar with the country before he does. That said, I'll probably have you start as soon as he's out of sight. Like I said earlier, the sooner we get this done the less we'll have to fix in the long run."

"Alright, sounds good to me."

The Inuzuka clanmembers stayed silent as their heiress spoke with the Wolf and when the two stopped speaking the silence remained. It near the same time that buildings began to surround them.

"Ah, here we have the village proper." Commented Sai. "I'd ask that you all pay attention to your surroundings so they become familiar. This will be your home for a while, I'm sure, and it's allways a good idea to know your surroundings."

No one else spoke but that didn't seem to bother the commander of the Wolves any.

Though it was still pretty early in the morning the streets were filled with people, not all that surprising considering how much the village relied upon fishing, and it was obvious that the villagers were currently pleased with their situation.

Laughing children darted in between legs and excited chatter filled the air as gossip made its rounds. A few restaurant were already open and smells of spices that had for so long been out of reach to the people wafted out to draw in customers.

Of course, all that happiness was offset starkly by the imposing image of wolves perched upon rooftops in a manner as unfitting as gargoyles upon a farmhouse. And while the people of Wave seemed to take little notice of the silent watchers on their roofs they did notice those who patrolled the streets.

Very few of the adults that passed wandered closely to the Wolves or seemed to interact with them if they could at all help it. Unperturbed, the Wolves continued to inspect wares, catch the occasional would-be thief, and break up the fights of drunken dockworkers who had just got off their night shift.

The children, on the other hand, were much more welcoming.

In one alley Hana could see a Wolf crouched down by a fence, a group of young boys huddled around them all holding Kunai as the Shinobi instructed them on how to wield them. Broad smiles stretched the lips of each of them and they were eager and excited to learn.

Another two Wolves nearby tried their best to keep vigil as a troupe of giggling girls braided long hair and filled it with flowers. The only response they received was when the male Wolf removed the carefully woven flower circlet from his head and instead nestled it atop his female companion's. Naturally, a new circlet was placed on his head seconds after.

Neither of them seemed to mind.

Watching, Hana couldn't keep the grin off her face.

Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she had thought.

A generous amount of his drink made its way past his lips. It had been a long time since he had last sat across from his old rival and he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

Said rival, on the other hand, didn't seem to share his sentiment. Odd, that, he was usually considered the one lacking emotion.

"What did you want now, Danzou?" His rival had seem more and more worn lately, his age finally catching up to him. He supposed that was a good sign that he was getting to old for this as well. They would both need to find replacements or, if the gods smiled down upon them, they needed to find a single replacement that could take both their roles.

Hopefully, however, they would not keep them as long as the two rivals had, that kind of workload was simply too much. Idly, he had to wonder if Naruto would find himself with the same problem or if he had found a solution that worked for him. He knew very well the stress of running his own organization and even though he had done most of Naruto's work for him he also had a lot more experience than the young man.

Oh well, if nothing else it pointed him out as his prospective replacement. Even without asking he'd probably take up the role simply by nature. It was only right, he mused, that the dark side of Konohagakure be filled with yet another who understood the importance of shadows.

The darkness provided freedoms the light couldn't and restrictions that kept one bound to them, but maybe Naruto would manage to find some sort of middle ground, even if just to give him the necessary freedom to support his village.

"Just had some news I felt you might be interested in. I doubt Jiraiya's network has picked it up yet and even if it had you wouldn't be receiving the report until sometime next week unless he deemed it sufficiently urgent."

"If it's not urgent, why would you want to bring it to my attention yourself?" Hiruzen raised a single brow. "Even if you thought I might like to know a letter from you would have been sufficient."

"It's not necessarily important." Confessed Danzou. "I just found it interesting and wanted to be able to share it with you personally."

It didn't take long for the old Sarutobi to hazard a guess as to why.

"Naruto's somehow involved, isn't he?"

Danzou, the Yami no Shinobi, grinned in response. Hiruzen had to stile a groan, which only seemed to further amuse the retired Shinobi.

"Alright." Sighed the Sandaime. "What is it you wanted to bring to my attention?"

"You are familiar with the situation in Nami no Kuni, yes?" Questioned the leader of Root.

"I am, Hatake Kakashi made his report for team seven's recent C-rank turned A-rank that gave me a brief overview."

"How brief?"

"It was Kakashi." The Sandaime Hokage said that as if it alone was an explanation. He wasn't wrong, but he clarified without prompting regardless. "Very brief."

"What, exactly, did he tell you?"

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Hiruzen nonetheless answered.

"Team seven escorted the bridge builder Tazuna from Konoha to Wave. The mission was successful but complicated by the appearance of the demon brothers Gouzu and Meizu and then later by one Momochi Zabuza. In the end Gato, the tycoon who had been controlling Nami no Kuni with an iron fist, was dealt with and Zabuza was driven off after receiving grievous but not fatal damage."

Sarutobi paused briefly before shrugging.

"Also Kakashi liked to point out that all his Genin were horrible disappointments and he would have done better had they all been burnt logs. There was something about The Worm in his report, too, but I admit I have no idea what he was talking about or how it related in any way to the mission."

"And that was all?"

"He explained in great detail his conquest of the client's daughter. Apparently her ass alone had him briefly contemplating sending back his Genin team with his headband so he could stay there. "

"That is…troubling." Noted Danzou. "To think one of our best would be tempted to leave us for a civilian woman's body."

After a moment of silence Hiruzen quietly commented;

"Must have been a hell of an ass."

Danzou was nodding in agreement without so much as a second thought.

"Think we could convince her to join Konoha? A weapon like that would be more efficient than a Jinchuriki any day."

"And when we weren't at war?"

"Something administrative, maybe." Mused the Warhawk. "A position where she would walk around a lot. Would work wonders for morale."

"I can't believe you're actually considering this."

"I can't believe you're not." He countered.

"Can we please get back to the reason for your visit? I doubt you came here to talk about an ass Kakashi tapped."

To his credit, Danzou did look a bit embarrassed once he realized the direction their conversation was going.

"Ah, yes, got a bit sidetracked there. Now, while what Kakashi told you is not wrong and is, for the most part, complete. You should know him well enough to realize he left out details that while not directly pertaining to his mission of guarding the bridgebuilder are nonetheless important."

Hiruzen wasn't surprised but he had to wonder if that was just Kakashi and he shouldn't have given him a team or if Kakashi was doing things like this on purpose because he didn't want a team. Neither answer was good, but the second was preferable, if only because the blame wasn't on him.

"And what did he leave out?"

"That iron fist of Gato's he mentioned? It was enforced by a group of wild dogs we know of here in Konoha."

"The Wolves?"

"The very same." Danzou nodded. "Gato hired them a while ago and they've been acting as his enforcers since."

"And they just let team seven complete their mission?"

"I'd say it's more likely that team seven helped them complete theirs."

Pondering that, Hiruzen rubbed his chin lightly before the realization struck.

"They were lying in wait to betray Gato, weren't they?"

"Indeed. When Gato gathered is group in an effort to crush the remaining resistance in Wave the Wolves took the opportunity to slaughter him and his forces."

"There's more you're not telling me." The Sandaime accused.

"The Wolves have taken over the country, claiming it under the protection of their leader, someone by the name of Tsukiyomi."

The Professor snorted at the presumptuous name.

"So Wave is theirs, then. What of it? Cant' be much worse than while under Gato."

"Oh, no, Nami no Kuni is doing very well from what my spies have seen. Or, rather, what they're allowed to."

Hiruzen raised a single brow in question.

"So long as my men stay around the village the Wolves do nothing more than offer a Konoha salute when passing. Should they attempt to actually enter the village, however, they are quite forcefully removed."

"I see. And how does this relate at all to Naruto?"

"You know as well as I that Naruto is involved with the Wolves."

"I won't deny I've had my suspicions."

"There are no suspicions, he's involved. It's a fact. I've seen his Wolf guard, hell, I trained them."

That got Hiruzen's attention. Eyes narrowed he asked;

"What are the Wolves? You obviously know more than what I've been able to piece together."

"They were, at one point, Root agents undergoing training. These agents, unfortunately, could not be successfully conditioned and retained most of their emotions despite my best efforts." Danzou shrugged lightly. "It's a rare few that can be both trained effectively and conditioned to feel little to nothing, it's why my operation has so few." The rejects I allowed back into the Konoha populace to continue life as civilians. If nothing else, I figured, having Shinobi-trained civilians would prove to be a boon during a crisis where they could aid Konoha Shinobi in getting their fellow civilians to safety."

The Sandaime didn't like what he was hearing but he couldn't deny that it was a fairly sound idea. There were worse uses for the rejects of Danzou's illegal little pet project.

"Ignoring the fact that you've continued with Root despite it being disbanded and have apparently trained far more operatives than you have under your control, how did they become the Wolves?"

"Originally they still were under my control." Explained Danzou. "And then someone else, this Tsukiyomi, managed to take it from me. It is he who created the Wolves."

"So Tsukiyomi takes advantage of your trained operatives and creates himself a little army, how is Naruto involved? That's the one thing I can't quite puzzle out."

"Isn't it obvious? Naruto is Tsukiyomi."

Hiruzen looked at him skeptically.

"Before you explained it I would have believed you, but how could he have possibly managed to gain control over them? One of the reasons Root was disbanded was because you used seals too keep control over your operatives. I doubt you'd even attempt to train anyone without similar precautions."

"And yet Naruto has somehow managed to edit the seal. I don't know if it's still in effect or nullified completely, but he has their loyalty now."

"And a country."

Danzou smiled.

"Yes, and a country. This does, however, provide you with a good opportunity. Konoha is not all that well of financially after the past few wars and with the massive loss of Shinobi after the Uchiha massacre the effects will be felt before long. We're better off than Suna or Iwa but that won't last forever."

"So you propose I come to some sort of arrangement with Wave through Naruto."

"Exactly."

"And this isn't some attempt to get your own spies into better positions in Nami no Kuni?"

"Well, it would certainly help with that." Admitted the Yami no Shinobi. "But while I think it's important to watch him I don't have the feeling Konoha would suffer terribly were we not to do so. He's more likely to take up arms for us than against us."

"What brings you to that conclusion? As far as I can tell he doesn't have anyone left here in Konoha other than perhaps Uzuki Yugao, his temporary Sensei during the academy, or Mitarashi Anko who seems to have taken a liking to the boy and enjoys taking him out on missions."

"Because despite this, Konoha is his home and Wolves can be rather territorial."

"You're relying on him being possessive." Hiruzen paused. "And Tsukiyomi. Do you have proof of either?"

"He strikes me as territorial and I'm completely certain that he and Tsukiyomi are the same. You asked me what the Wolves were and here's your answer- the Wolves are Naruto's personal army."

A deep sigh left Hiruzen's lips.

"I was afraid of that, let's hope you're right."

'By the gods, let's hope you're right. Because Konoha is in no shape to weather an assault right now, especially from the inside.'

He would remain blissfully unaware of the troubles of the Hyuuga clan until it was too late for him to intervene.

The house was quiet, far more quiet than it should have ever been. Unfortunately, she found herself getting used to it these days. Long gone was the laughter and pounding of feet as she and her brother played, no longer did her mother's lullabies fill the air. Naruto, focusing more on his studies, no longer called out for her to come back in from the back garden for dinner.

No, dinner now was taken in silence at the table alone, the house empty around her. Her brother hadn't been here in over four years and her mother seemed to only stop by late at night to sleep after a quick shower. She was usually gone before breakfast.

The house was not what she remembered, not what she dreamed about returning to during the four years she received instruction in the Kunoichi arts from her mother as they traveled the world. Never before could she imagine their home being so cold, so lifeless.

But that's what it had become.

With her brother gone and her mother always away taking care of clan business for the Uzumaki and Yamanaka she had the home to herself- the dream of many her age.

Even with visits to the Yamanaka heiress, swamped in work and always appreciative of an excuse to take a quick break, Naruko had never before felt so alone.

Even Mito, sealed within her and more than capable of conversing at any moment, would not utter a whisper. She no doubt still held that mistake she had made during the spar against her and there was no hope or repairing their relationship until Mito had been returned to her brother.

Considering that her consciousness would reside primarily with her brother from then on, it made the chances of repairing the relationship at all rather slim. No, that bridge was thoroughly burned and she was trapped on the other side lost and alone.

This would all be so much easier if she still had her brother. She had always looked to him for guidance and would happily follow his lead. His path, however, had no room for her at the moment. She would only get in the way. The worst part about it was that her absence from his life is part of the reason he was on that path and every day it seemed he was farther and farther away, never to be recovered.

But she was an Uzumaki, and they never gave up.

Even if it was on her deathbed, she would gain his acceptance once more. It was for that reason that she decided on the first step to getting closer to him- keeping her mother from driving him further away.

It would be impossible to make any progress with her mother's attempts- no matter how well-meaning they might be- constantly undoing any work she might have been able to put towards her goal of having her family as complete as possible.

She didn't' have to step in, of course, her mother was doing enough to wear herself out and Naruko was confident that even without her Kushina would end up exhausting herself to the point where she would be able to think about what it was she was doing. So full of frantic desperation her mother never seemed to fully think out her plans and while her determination was admirable- perhaps not to the average person, but to an Uzumaki- it was doing more harm than good.

So while her mother would stop soon, it didn't necessarily mean she would stop soon enough. Every attempt chanced damaging their failing relations to Naruto far too much and the sooner she stopped the sooner damage control could be run.

That said, Naruko really wasn't a morning person and so getting up before her mother wasn't an option. Also, knowing that she had spent the day working with the Yamanaka in running the clan and managing Uzumaki properties that hadn't received attention in years stopping her from taking a shower and some well-deserved rest would just be inconsiderate.

With that in mind, Naruko had decided there was really only one option- she just stayed up all night.

The light from her mother's room shone through the bottom of the door as she got ready for the day and Naruko only looked away from the door long enough to check the time as if her mother might disappear if she weren't paying enough attention.

'Quarter to four? There's no way I could have woken up this early.'

Reassured that this was the best course of action- though her eyelids strongly disagreed (It should be noted that hard training during the day when you intended to stay awake all night was a rather poor idea)- she anxiously awaited her mother's emergence from her room.

Naturally, after having spent the entire night doing absolutely nothing, this was when she realized that she didn't actually know what she was going to tell her mother.

The creaking of the door and the light that spilled into the hallway, however, told her that she really didn't' have any time to worry about it.

"Naruko?" Kushina looked understandably puzzled to see her daughter waiting outside her room.

"Morning, Kaa-chan, it's been a while since I last saw you." Maybe a bit of guilt would help convince the woman to slow down and think about what she was doing. The guilt part itself seemed to be working and was evident on her face as she gazed down at her daughter.

"I'm sorry, my little sunflower, I've had a lot of stuff to take care of. Was there something you needed?" Despite having just woken up, Kushina looked rather haggard and exhaustion seemed to cling to her. Considering she had two clans to deal with at the moment and the stress of Naruto's absence piled atop it was easy to see why. The use of such an old nickname and the slight guilt on her features only served to make Naruko seem guilty about trying such a route. Her mother was already dealing with enough at the moment.

"I just think you've been doing too much." That was probably both a great understatement and a subtle hint at the fact that she was going too far. Subtlety, unfortunately, was a rather foreign concept to most Uzumaki. Honestly, it was only because of her Sensei's constant subtle jabs and insults that she herself had managed to pick up on it.

"I have to do a lot if we want your brother back." Her heart was certainly in the right place but the methods were all wrong. Pointing that out by itself probably would have worked fine, but Naruko made a rather grave mistake.

"I understand that, but I spoke with Ino and I think you might be going about this wrong."

And that was it. The conversation wasn't going to be going any further because she had brought up the Yamanaka- the current target of her mother's blame. Even though Naruto seemed to be on amicable enough terms with the Mindwalkers Kushina seemed to take out all her frustration on the clan.

"I see, so just because that little bitch spews more lies about my son- your brother- you think that I'm wrong?"

Naruko didn't get a chance to respond as her mother stormed off.

Giving a defeated sigh, she slumped to the ground.

Naruto was gone and they both wanted him back and yet the family was still falling apart.

There was no hope in them all being a happy family once more-

The Uzumaki clan was done for.

Perhaps it always had been, ever since that day four years ago when they abandoned a clanmate and forsook everything they had once stood for.

That thought did nothing to stop the tears.

Like most chapters, I had intended for there to be more scenes but, as usual, the scenes I did write went on far longer than I had expected. Naruto was supposed to be after this but considering the way I ended this chapter I now have another scene (at least) to include before it. Hopefully that scene (perhaps 'Character Focus' would be more apt?) doesn't stretch on for the full 5K.

I look forward to seeing you all next week for act XXXII