A/N - Okay, after a reaaaaaaaaaaally long wait, here's chapter 2 of Konoha's l'Cie! Took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with this chapter, but I eventually figured it out! Yay! lol.

A lot of different things happen in this chapter, such as team placements and the aftermath of the Kumo attack and so on.

I'll be honest. I've been a depressed mess for months now and it's only getting worse. I've been having a REALLY hard time dealing with everything, and it doesn't help that I have to deal with cyber bullies as well. Pile all of that crap on top of what's going on in my personal life and let's just say it's not a good thing.

For now, just enjoy the chapter. Hopefully, anyways.

Chapter 2 – Attack

Naruto frowned deeply as he looked around at the various council members. He and his fellow l'Cie had been summoned a few hours after he got moved into his new home. However, he realized that he'd have to be careful, as the civilians weren't exactly happy with him moving into the Fourth's old home.

Deciding to ignore the pompous pricks for the time being, he looked squarely into Danzo's eye. There was definitely something suspicious about him, but Naruto couldn't quite figure out what it was. So when Hiruzen began to speak, Naruto interrupted him. "Hokage-sama, not to be rude, but that guy right there just screams baddie to me. He's clenching his fist on his cane pretty hard and he looks pissed off. I get a bad feeling just from looking at him. You sure you want him here? What if he's the one who let those Kumo ninja into the village?"

Danzo scoffed and said, "You have no proof of any of that, boy. If I were you, I wouldn't go throwing about such accusations. It could end badly for you."

Naruto shrugged and said, "True. If I had any proof of your wrongdoings, I'd gladly do something about it. However, you certainly do look rather irritated. That, and we do have somebody here that could testify on our behalf. She's a prisoner of sorts and has pledged herself to my service. You see, she's confirmed that you, Danzo, assisted the Raikage with this plan. The goal was to kill the fal'Cie and sow chaos in the village. Prove the Third incompetent and incapable of handling a potential war with another village. After all, such an occurrence would be your perfect opportunity to swoop in and take the mantle of Hokage for yourself. Right?"

Mabui and the other l'Cie were confused, but they didn't let it show. Instead, they waited to see what would happen. It seemed as if Naruto had some kind of plan, so they didn't say a word. Hiruzen, meanwhile, smirked just slightly as he realized what Naruto was doing. Clever, Naruto-kun. Very clever.

Danzo narrowed his eye and said, "So, one of his people turned traitor. I thought I warned him to be careful who he sent. No matter. There's nothing you can do to stop me. One way or another, I'll have what I want. The fal'Cie dead and the title of Hokage. Root, to me!" When nobody came to his aid, Danzo scowled and shouted, "Root! Come to me NOW!" Again, there was no response.

Naruto smirked and tapped the side of his head. "You see, I had a feeling you'd pull something like this the moment I got you to confess. I had my clones doing a little 'cleanup' so to speak. Now, be a good old man and answer for your crimes. Hokage-sama, I do believe he should pay a visit to Ibiki and Anko-chan in T&I. What do you think?"

Hiruzen nodded and motioned for his Anbu to detain Danzo. However, Danzo quickly removed his bandages, revealing his grotesque arm as well as the various Sharingan he now possessed. When he went to remove the seal that kept his powers in check, Naruto blasted him with a Fire spell. It wasn't the strongest spell in the world, but it was sadly all he knew at the moment. Well, that and the Blizzard and Thunder spells. It was enough to harm Danzo and distract him, however. This one action allowed Hiruzen to sever Danzo's horrific arm.

Danzo scowled and tried to leap away, but found himself unable to move. "Dammit!" Danzo shouted as he struggled against Shikaku Nara's shadow technique. "This isn't how it was supposed to be!"

Claire was there in an instant, her gunblade in gun form as she pressed it underneath his chin and pulled the trigger, splattering his brains all over the wall. Once he was finished off, Claire turned to look at Naruto and said, "I'm impressed. I didn't think you would manage to trick him into giving himself up like that. Good job."

"A most excellent job, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said, smiling brightly at the young man. "For helping to bring him down once and for all, I'll be giving you the pay for an A-rank mission. You've more than earned it."

Naruto blushed a bit at the praise and rubbed the back of his head from embarrassment. "T-Thanks. I just didn't want to leave a threat like that alone. He would have continued to work against us and the village in an attempt to get what he wanted. Something had to be done."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Agreed. I'm impressed that you managed to lie so convincingly. He fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Hell, I almost believed what you were saying."

The blonde chuckled and said, "I've got a LOT of experience in fooling people. You know that pretty well by now. Anyways, I'm sure you called us all here for a reason. What's on your mind?"

Retaking his seat, Hiruzen nodded and said, "Indeed." Looking around at the various council members, he said, "As you are all no doubt aware, our village was invaded by shinobi from Kumogakure. Their goal was to eliminate myself and Ifrit-sama. I would rather avoid a war if we can help it, but it depends on the Raikage and what he chooses to do next. I will try to get in contact with him and see if we can meet in neutral territory so we can speak as equals. However, I would like to hear your suggestions, just in case. Do we go to war? Or do we try to appease them in some way to avoid a war?"

Claire frowned and asked, "What exactly would you suggest we give them this time? Last time they pulled a stunt like this, we avoided a war by giving them Hizashi Hyuga. If you ask me, we need to make an example out of them this time so we can send a message to all the other nations that we will no longer tolerate such attacks on our people and our livelihoods."

Hiashi nodded and said, "I'm in complete agreement. We should have done something to send a message the last time, but instead we gave them my brother. I refuse to let them get away with yet another slight against our village. War is the only option this time, Hokage-sama. But unlike them, we won't assault their fal'Cie. I don't think we should punish all of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning. Instead we should strike key targets and assassinate the Raikage if we are able. Something has to be done!"

Hiruzen sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. Looking around at everyone in the room, he saw the serious gazes they were giving him. "Very well. We'll send a declaration of war and then determine how to proceed from there. I do not want our Genin to fight in this war, however. Our new Genin especially. They just aren't prepared for the terrors of war. Our Genin will instead take low rank missions outside of the village to continue pulling in business and money we'll definitely be needing to fund the war effort. When they're not on missions, they'll be training as hard as we can push them. Understood?"

Everyone nodded in understanding. Not one of them hesitated, though someone on the civilian council decided to be an idiot. "If they only take missions outside of the village, who will do the D-rank missions?"

Claire scowled at the moron and said, "Do your chores yourselves! Stop being such lazy bastards, get off your asses, and do some work yourselves for a change!"

"While I wouldn't have said it quite like that, Claire is right. You and everyone like you will start doing your own chores from this point forward. Is that understood?" Hiruzen asked, glaring at the civilian council members. Seeing them nod in understanding, he said, "Good. You're all dismissed. Prepare yourselves for war."

Without a word, everyone left the room until it was down to just the l'Cie and Hiruzen. "Naruto-kun, give me some time and I'll figure out a suitable team for you. For now, I want all of you to go home and rest. Naruto-kun, Vanille, be at the academy bright and early tomorrow morning for team placements. Claire, Fang, I'm making you two jonin senseis this time around. Do not argue with me about it." He said, glaring into Claire's eyes the moment she went to protest such a decision. "I still need to determine who will be with whom on which teams. For now, you are all dismissed."

As they left the room, Hiruzen buried his face in his hands and let out a groan. "Dammit. You just had to do this, didn't you Danzo? You got exactly what you wanted in the end. War with another country. Are we even ready for this?" He would not find an answer to this question easily.

The Next Morning

Vanille giggled as she skipped along the road on the way to the academy. Naruto was walking beside her, feeling rather amused at how energetic the girl was. She seemed to be in a pretty good mood, as compared to Naruto, who looked a bit glum. While Vanille seemed capable of ignoring the people of Konoha and their nasty comments and stares, Naruto couldn't help but hear every comment and he felt every glare penetrating his body.

Seeing the state her friend was in, Vanille stopped in front of him and poked his forehead. "Whatcha thinkin' about Naruto-kun?"

Naruto sighed and motioned with his arm towards the villagers watching them. "Them. They're behaving like me living in my parents' home is a crime against humanity. They're ignoring the truth, that I'm the son of their hero. All because they despise me for something that wasn't even my fault. They're going to disregard the fact that I'm a shinobi of the village now. They're going to try and attack me at some point, and I don't know what the hell to do when that time comes. If anyone's with me at the time…"

Vanille frowned and looked around at everybody. "Can't you leave him alone? He did nothing to any of you. Please just let go of your hatred and try to smile. Rather than hate Naruto-kun for whatever crimes you think he's committed, try to be happy and move on with your lives."

One of the villagers scoffed and said, "What the hell would you know girl? You're just one of the demon's whores. This village would be better off without that piece of shit and all those that choose to associate with him. It's probably his fault we were invaded like that!"

Naruto facepalmed and shook his head. "You'd blame me for anything and everything wouldn't you? Fuck you. And I swear, if any of you try to attack me again just for moving into my parents' home, I'll fight back and kill every last one of you. I won't take your abuse anymore!" he exclaimed before taking Vanille's hand and walking off with her towards the academy.

Sadly, they didn't get very far before a beer bottle shattered against the back of Naruto's head. Wincing in pain, he began to shake angrily. "You bastards! The hell is your goddamn problem?!" Naruto exclaimed angrily as he turned around, only to see a fireball flying his way. Quickly shoving Vanille out of the way, he screamed out as the fireball engulfed him.

As Naruto continued to scream, Vanille quickly tried to cast a Water spell to douse the flames, only for somebody to tackle her to the ground from behind. Turning her head, she glared at the person pinning her to the ground and growled out, "Let me go!"

The man chuckled darkly and said, "Not gonna happen missy. Now watch as your little boyfriend burns to death. It's what he deserves, after all."

"No. No it's not." The Hokage said as he appeared on the scene and doused the flames with a water jutsu. Looking at the state Naruto was in, he scowled and turned to the villagers before snapping his fingers. In an instant, 30 Anbu appeared and began killing everyone there. Looking at the one that had Vanille pinned, the Hokage said, "Release her this instant. If you refuse, I'll kill you where you stand."

The man quickly got off of Vanille and went to say something, only to scream out in agony as Vanille sucker punched him right in the penis. Afterwards, she hurried to Naruto's side and began to look him over. "Naruto-kun! Please speak to me!"

Hiruzen kneeled down beside them and began examining Naruto's injuries. "This is bad. Vanille, go ahead to the academy and let Iruka know what happened. Afterwards, I want you to inform the other l'Cie of what has transpired here. I'll take Naruto-kun to the hospital and get him some help. His healing factor should help with these wounds, but he'll be out of commission for a while, I'm afraid. I'm hoping the doctors can help speed up the healing process. We'll see."

Vanille nodded and said, "All right." Looking at Naruto, she said, "You'll be okay, Naruto-kun. I'm sure of it." And with that being said, she hurried off towards the academy. She was pissed off, something that very rarely happened with her. She was normally upbeat and happy, but this experience showed her just how evil the people of their village could be. They're monsters. All of them!

Meanwhile, Hiruzen hurried to the hospital and shouted for somebody to help him. The nurse at the reception desk frowned upon seeing Naruto, but quickly shook it off and hurried off to get some doctors that would actually work to help Naruto rather than attempt to murder him.

After being shown to a room, the doctors began a diagnostic scan and frowned at what they were seeing. "Dammit. He's suffering from third degree burns all over his body, and the fire shot down his throat and burned his insides something awful as well. He's barely able to breathe, and each breath he does take causes nothing but pain. On top of that, he's barely getting any oxygen to his brain. Whatever they did to him this time, it's bad, Hokage-sama. We need to speed up the recovery process, but it would certainly be easier if Tsunade-sama was here."

The Hokage scowled and said, "Then I'm recalling her. I'm stripping her of her travel rights and ordering her to return as fast as possible. If she refuses…"

The doctors nodded in understanding. "Of course, Hokage-sama. Do hurry. We'll do whatever we can here."

Hiruzen nodded before he vanished from the room, hurrying to get a message delivered to Tsunade via his monkey summons. I swear to Kami and Ifrit that if you try to refuse my command Tsunade, you'll regret the fact that you were ever born!

Vanille

When Vanille rushed into the classroom, Iruka frowned at her and said, "You're late Vanille. I was just about to announce the teams."

Vanille shook her head and said, "Naruto-kun and I were attacked on our way here. Naruto-kun's in really bad shape. Hokage-sama sent me here to tell you what happened. Please…" Hearing a scoff, Vanille looked to its source to see that it was none other than Sasuke. "And what's your problem?"

"If he's so weak that he lets some civilians beat him, then he has no place here. He doesn't belong as a shinobi. I say good riddance." Sasuke said.

When Iruka didn't reprimand the bastard for what he said, Vanille glared at him and asked, "Why won't you say anything? Naruto-kun deserves to be here just like the rest of us!"

Iruka frowned at her and shook his head. "Naruto was lucky that Hokage-sama took pity on him the way he did. Naruto isn't skilled at all and really has no place as a ninja. I'm sorry. If that is all, I ask that you sit down and wait for me to announce the teams."

Vanille scowled at him and said, "I'll be sure to inform Hokage-sama about this, Iruka." She said before she turned and left the room to go and get the rest of her fellow l'Cie. Screw Iruka and those assholes!

The first person Vanille came across was Claire. Rushing up to her, she said, "Claire! Naruto-kun's been hurt bad. Hokage-sama wants to gather all of us together. He's been rushed to the hospital, but I don't know how he's doing. Can you please help me find the others?"

The pink-haired kunoichi frowned and asked, "What the hell happened? Did somebody attack him again?"

"Again? They've done this before?!" Vanille questioned in shock.

Claire sighed and said, "Yes. Believe it or not, I actually saved him from a few of the mobs that were after him. I didn't go out of my way for him, but I did save him from a few. Now, what happened this time?"

Vanille frowned sadly and said, "We were walking to the academy together for team placements. Naruto-kun was having a hard time trying to deal with all the bigots in the village, so I tried to tell them to stop and leave him alone. They…they called me a 'demon's whore' and proceeded to attack us. Naruto-kun protected me from an attack. He was burned badly. I don't know how he's doing now."

"Tch." Claire said. "Burning him alive's a new one. All right, let's split up and find the others. Once we've found them, we meet up at the hospital. Get moving."

Vanille nodded before she and Claire set off in search of the other l'Cie. Please be okay Naruto-kun…

Naruto's Mindscape

"You do realize it was stupid of you to take that attack, don't you? You could have taken Vanille and escaped." Kurama said to Naruto, clearly displeased with his jailer's actions.

"I wasn't thinking. Doesn't help that I had a beer bottle smash against the back of my head. I was a bit stunned by everything that was going on at the time. Next thing I know, there's a fireball flying right at us and I acted to protect Vanille-chan. Have to admit, being roasted alive is a new one for me. Am I going to be okay Kurama?" Naruto asked.

Kurama shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, you took a lot of damage this time, Naruto. It'll take me a while to heal everything. You might end up suffering brain damage if you aren't healed in time. We'll need someone skilled, someone like that Tsunade woman. I can only do so much, after all, even with the seal removed. I'll do the best I can to speed up your recovery, but you'll need to take it easy until Tsunade returns to the village and finishes healing you. You can wake up whenever you want, but I wouldn't try to talk or move around too much. The fire shot down your throat while you were screaming and burned the inside of your throat and in your lungs. You're barely getting oxygen to your brain. So you'll definitely need to take it easy for a while. This means you'll be stuck on bedrest until Tsunade gets her ass back to the village. If she refuses, I hope that Hokage of yours does something, because I won't tolerate that bitch refusing to heal you for her own selfish reasons."

Naruto frowned and said, "Knowing what we do about Tsunade, I'd say she's gonna be a bitch and refuse to return of her own volition. They'll have to track her down and drag her ass back here, no doubt. Unless of course the Hokage does something drastic like revoking her travel rights and threatening to have her put in the bingo book for deserting the village or some such shit. We'll see. We might just need to rely on our combined healing factors and hope that works. I'd rather not suffer any kind of brain damage because of this crap. Still, knowing us, we'll be okay regardless. Just need to take it easy for a while."

Kurama huffed, but nodded in agreement. "You're a stubborn one, so I believe you when you say you'll be fine regardless. Still, I want you to take it easy and don't push yourself. Now, it looks like your teammates have arrived. Might want to let them know you're okay…for the most part."

Naruto leaned against one of the bars and said, "Or I could stay here with you and chat for a while. For instance, what do you think about this whole l'Cie thing? Is it possible to prevent crystallization or transforming into a Cie'th?"

Kurama frowned and said, "There's something I didn't tell you before, Naruto. Something that has to do with your mother."

Naruto frowned deeply and asked, "There's more you haven't told me? What have you been hiding from me this time?"

The Kyuubi sighed and said, "Your mother became a l'Cie when she was young. The fal'Cie of Uzushiogakure branded her when she was just a kid. On the night of your birth, I didn't kill her. She seemed to have served her purpose and crystallized right there. I'm afraid I don't know what became of her after that. She might still be there, just outside the village. Or somebody could have moved her, though I wouldn't know who or why they'd do such a thing."

"I see. So you lied about killing her, huh? There some reason for that?" Naruto wondered.

Kurama sighed and said, "I didn't want to get your hopes up. But now that you've become a l'Cie, you need to know that there honestly isn't much I can do to alter your destiny. Using my power, I can hopefully prevent you from becoming a Cie'th, at the very least. But crystallization? I don't know how to go about preventing that. The fal'Cie are the gods of this world, or at least some of them. Their power exceeds even mine. Then again, your father literally split me in half and took half of my very being with him to the grave. You'd need to convince the Shinigami to give me back my other half, and I don't see him relinquishing my other half so easily. You'd have to offer him quite the tasty snack if you wanted to make me whole again."

Naruto frowned deeply and said, "Well…shit. Okay then, guess I'll have to think of some way to get him to make you whole again. If you were whole…?"

Kurama shook his head. "Even if I was whole, I still don't know how to prevent crystallization. But we'll work together and try to find some way to save you and your new teammates from your fate. I'd suggest asking Ifrit-sama, but he's not really the talkative sort, now is he? None of the fal'Cie have talked with anyone before. I don't know if they ever will, either. For now though, you should probably wake up. Your teammates are in your room watching you."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound creepy at all." Naruto said with a chuckle. "Ah well. Talk to you later buddy." And with that, he faded from the mindscape.

Once Naruto was gone, Kurama sighed and muttered to himself, "I wonder how he'd feel if I told him he had a sister? No idea what became of her though…"

Naruto's Hospital Room

As Naruto's eyes slowly opened, he glanced around at what he could see. If it wasn't for the morphine drip, he knew he'd be in agony right now. Thanking Ifrit and Kami for small miracles, he looked over into the Hokage's eyes, but didn't try to say anything. After all, Kurama had warned him against trying to say anything for a while.

Seeing that Naruto was now awake, Hiruzen walked over to him and said, "I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. If I had known the people would take such offense to you moving into your parents' home, I'd have done something about it beforehand. As it stands, I'm going to make an official announcement and try to set things right. Your new sensei already knows about your current situation, so she knows that it'll be a little while before you can start taking missions. Isn't that right Claire?"

Claire grumbled and palmed her face. "I still don't see why you made me the sensei for Team 11. Don't get me wrong, I'll do it and I'll train them well, but I'm sure there were much better candidates."

Hiruzen chuckled and said, "I wanted you and Naruto-kun to bury the hatchet and try to become friends. I had to rearrange the teams to make everything work, but I think they turned out rather well. Speaking of, Fang, how do you feel about your team?"

Fang frowned and said, "Kiba's a pig. He's also arrogant and something of an asshole. Shino's quiet, but he's a good kid and should do just fine. Aerith's the one I'm worried about though. She's such a sweetheart, but she's also kind of innocent in a way. Kiba was trying to convince her to, erm…'spread her legs' for him, claiming he's some kind of alpha male and she'd make a 'top breeding bitch' and other such terms. Aerith kindly brushed off his advances, but unless she's a bit more forceful, I don't see him letting up anytime soon. Then again, he tends to think with the wrong head anyways, sooo…"

Hiruzen sighed and facepalmed hard. "Damn that boy. Fang, go talk to Tsume and tell her to beat that nonsense out of her son's head if that's what it takes. I won't tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone. Besides that, if he keeps up with that attitude, he's going to be more of a liability than anything." Fang nodded before she looked at Naruto. Offering him a smile, she waved goodbye before she left to go and do as the Hokage had commanded.

After she was gone, Naruto looked back into the Hokage's eyes and choked out, "M-My…team? W-Who…?"

The Third shook his head and said, "Don't force it, Naruto-kun. As for the members of your team, I've placed you with Vanille and Hinata Hyuga. Claire is your sensei. The other teams are: Team 7 led by Kakashi Hatake. Members are Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Yuffie Kisaragi. They originally wanted you placed on that team instead of Yuffie, but I protested that vehemently and got you placed on Team 11 instead."

"Anyways, Team 8, led by Oerba Yun Fang, consists of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Aerith Gainsborough. As mentioned before, I worry for Aerith, being on a team with that self-proclaimed 'alpha male'." Hiruzen said before facepalming again. Groaning from the agitation he was feeling, he said, "I'd recommend reaching out to Aerith at some point, Naruto-kun. She could use a good friend like you."

"You already know who the members of Team 9 are. Might Guy, Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee. I warn you now, make sure to keep Neji and Hinata as far away from each other as you can. Neji wants to kill Hinata for her part in his father's death. She's the one that Kumo tried to kidnap years ago. I went for the peaceful option and we sacrificed Hizashi Hyuga to prevent a war from breaking out. Rather than blaming Kumo or me for what happened, he'd rather blame Hinata. If he gets the chance to in an official setting, he will attempt to murder Hinata. I suggest you work hard to keep that from happening." Hiruzen explained.

Naruto nodded slightly to signify he understood. Afterwards, Hiruzen continued. "Team 10 is Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi led by Asuma Sarutobi. Finally, there's your team, Team 11. Jonin Claire with Genins Naruto Uzumaki, Oerba Dia Vanille, and Hinata Hyuga."

Naruto nodded again, but didn't say anything. Instead, he listened as Hiruzen began to speak again. "Naruto-kun, be wary of Kakashi and Sasuke. The council wanted you on that team so they'd have a means of controlling you. They both wield the Sharingan, and I'm sure you know quite well what that dojutsu is capable of. If they ever try anything, don't hesitate to fight back or come to me. I'll do what I can to set things right."

Sighing quietly, Naruto said, "B-Bastards…"

Hiruzen nodded. "I've got to go now, Naruto-kun. I need to deal with a few problems. Get some rest, okay?"

Naruto frowned and asked, "Tsunade?"

The aged Hokage nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I'm revoking her travel rights and recalling her to the village. If need be, I'll send your fellow l'Cie out to drag her ass back to the village. I'd say she's wallowed in self-pity for long enough, wouldn't you?"

Naruto quietly chuckled and said, "Good." And with that, Hiruzen left the hospital room so he could go and take care of a few important matters.

As soon as the Hokage was gone, Vanille stepped up to Naruto and asked, "Are you going to be okay, Naruto-kun? I'm so sorry! If I had just been paying attention, or…"

Naruto slowly reached up and patted her cheek gently. "D-Don't. Glad you're fine."

Vanille could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "You're sweet. But this should never have happened to either of us. I didn't think they'd react like that."

Claire walked up and patted her gently on the head. "Don't beat yourself up over it." Looking from Vanille to Naruto, she frowned and said, "You got lucky. You could have been killed this time. However, you should know that as soon as you're out of here and we're ready to train, I'm going to train you so hard you'll be begging me for mercy before it's done. We'll need to make up for lost time, after all."

Naruto chuckled quietly and said, "Good. Glad…to hear it."

Claire simply smirked at him before she looked around at the others. "Come. We should let him rest. We can talk more later."

Most of them agreed and left the room, but Serah remained behind for a moment. Walking up to Naruto, she looked him in the eyes and said, "Get better soon, okay Naruto-kun? It wouldn't feel right to go on missions without you being there with us." Patting him gently on the cheek, she smiled at him before leaving the room.

Once he was alone, Naruto closed his eyes and thought, At least I'm on a team with good people. Well, two teams, technically. Have to admit, some of the girls are pretty damn cute. Chuckling quietly to himself, he stared at the ceiling for a while, not quite sure what else he could do in this situation. I'm going to be bored as hell until Tsunade gets her ass back here and heals me. Wonderful.

Later that day

Hiruzen looked out over the village, taking in the sights and sounds for a time. Then, he looked down below at all the people that had been gathered together. Oh how he was tempted to just unleash the strongest fire jutsu he could and eliminate the assholes. But he refrained from doing so, considering he'd be wiping out a lot of innocent lives in the process. Sighing, he shook his head and mumbled, "I'm way too old for this."

Taking a deep breath in and releasing it slowly after a few seconds, he used a jutsu to amplify the sound of his voice. Glaring down at the villagers, he began to speak. "I have a few things I need to tell you. First, as I'm sure you're all more than aware, Kumogakure infiltrated our village and attempted to murder Ifrit-sama and myself. What you do not know is that Danzo Shimura assisted them in their attempts. Sadly, there can be no forgiveness this time for what Kumo has done. This time they went too far. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I declare war upon the village of Kumogakure! I would rather avoid war if at all possible, but we need to make an example of them, no matter what it takes. We cannot let our enemies view our inaction as a sign of weakness! We cannot and will not let another village attempt to do the same thing. We will strike hard against Kumogakure and we will crush them like they deserve!"

Letting that sink in for the moment, he thought over what he would say next. After a moment, he decided it would be best to be blunt and get right to the point. "Earlier today, some of you saw Naruto Uzumaki leaving the home of Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki. You accused him of defiling their home. Hell, some of you even blamed him for the attack on our village! Naruto Uzumaki has done NOTHING wrong! In fact, Naruto is the SON of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki! I'm the one that gave him his inheritance from them! I helped move him and his comrades into his new home! And you assholes DARED to go against my wishes and tried to kill him! Naruto-kun is in the hospital now with severe damage done to his body, both inside and out. All because you monsters can't accept that Naruto-kun is human, just like you and me."

Scowling fiercely at the crowd below, he shook his head and said, "For those of you not in the know, here's the truth. Minato, seeing no other way to save his family and his village, chose to seal the Kyuubi no Yoko within his newborn son. He made Naruto Uzumaki the third jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. He is NOT the beast, like so many of you think him to be! He is an innocent person that had a horrible burden thrust upon him by an idealistic fool. Minato TRUSTED you to treat his son with the respect he deserves! AND YOU'VE SPAT UPON HIS WISHES! Well I have had it! From now on, if you so much as look at him wrong or say something negative about him that isn't justified, I'll personally kill you where you stand. I won't tolerate it anymore! Do you understand me?!"

The stunned crowd quickly shouted out, "H-Hai! Yes, Hokage-sama! We're sorry!"

Hiruzen scowled more, but let it go for the time being. Instead, he looked around at everyone again before saying, "To make matters even worse for you, Naruto-kun and some of his companions were marked by Ifrit-sama. They have been given a mission of great importance by the god we worship. Thanks to your actions, Naruto-kun cannot work towards the completion of this goal. Our god CHOSE him to carry out his will! Would you really condemn someone to death after our god selected him to help do his bidding?! What if he's meant to save our world from some great catastrophe? Or fight against some great evil? Would you really risk angering our god for your petty revenge against an innocent boy?! Are you truly so evil?!"

Hearing this, a lot of the people began to murmur amongst themselves. It seemed a great many of them felt truly horrible about what they had done and/or allowed to happen to Naruto. However, there were a few that didn't believe a word of it. "You expect us to believe that that demon is the son of the Fourth?! And even worse, you'd spout such slander against Ifrit-sama?! You're wrong, Hokage-sama! If I have to go kill that demon just to prove my point, then…"

Before the man could continue, a kunai pierced his brain, silencing him. Twirling another one around his finger, Hiruzen asked, "Would anyone else like to try something? Because I'll kill every last one of you without feeling an ounce of regret over it. I've had it with all of you." He turned to return to his office, only to pause and turn back to the crowd. "Oh! Before I forget, you should know that an Uchiha unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha all those years ago. Figured that you should know the truth. After all, you've spent all this time sucking a certain Uchiha's dick and inflating his ego. Maybe this'll make you think twice about everything you thought you knew. Now leave. I'm tired of looking at you." He said before returning to his office.

After the revelations spoken to them, the people were stunned into silence. For a while, all was quiet. Then they heard someone speaking. "How dare that old bastard slander our good name?! The Uchiha are elites! We're better than everyone else! Hmph. If the Sharingan can control the bijuu, perhaps I should use them to control that weakling and make him do my bidding."

They weren't surprised to see who it was that spoke up. Sasuke Uchiha. Resident scumbag and arrogant asshole. Hearing this kind of talk from their beloved Uchiha, a lot of them weren't sure what to think. A specific jonin, however, placed a hand gently atop Sasuke's head and said, "You might want to be careful about saying such things in front of so many people. You're not exactly doing yourself any favors, Sasuke-kun. Do what you can to prove them wrong about you instead of exacerbating the problem."

"What the hell would you know Kakashi?! That old bastard was slandering my clan's good name! Am I supposed to just take that lying down?!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Just come with me. You need to calm down and think rationally about this. I'll try and help you however I can, but you're making yourself prime enemy number one here." Sasuke scoffed, but followed his sensei's lead.

Once they were gone, the crowd began to discuss what they had just learned. Serah and the other members of Team l'Cie listened to the various conversations taking place. "How quickly they change their tune. A few simple revelations and their whole demeanor changes. That's actually kind of aggravating." Serah said.

Claire nodded in agreement. "I swear, if they start trying to suck up to Naruto, I hope he gives them a taste of their own medicine." Grumbling slightly, she turned to look at the other members of Team l'Cie. "Are we all ready for the possibility of being sent on a mission to retrieve Tsunade-sama? Hokage-sama did say that if she doesn't return, he'll likely be sending us."

Vanille nodded and said, "I may be a newly minted Genin, but I'm ready to hunt her down if we have to. Naruto-kun needs her help, and I refuse to take no for an answer from that woman."

Fang smirked and said, "I'm definitely ready for it. I've heard Tsunade's got the strength to level mountains. Might be kind of fun to test myself against that kind of strength someday. But for now, I say we drag her ass back here no matter what it takes. I just wish we had some clue as to where she might be right now."

Sazh clenched his fist and said, "I may only be a civilian, but I'll do whatever it takes to get Naruto back on his feet. He's my best friend. If that means I've gotta fight some lady with power like that, then so be it. For now, I promise not to slow you ladies down."

"Glad to hear it." Anko said. "All I can say is she better get her ass back here fast. Naruto-kun's dear to me. Seeing him in such bad shape pisses me off. If the Anbu hadn't killed those bastards, you can bet your fine asses I'd have done it myself."

Serah and the others nodded in agreement with that sentiment. Don't you worry Naruto-kun. We'll bring Tsunade back somehow and get her to make you all better. That's a promise.

A/N - And that's the chapter! I know, not the longest and it's not the greatest chapter ever written, but it's something!

As I said before at the top of the chapter, I've been having a REALLY hard time lately. I've honestly been so depressed I've considered killing myself. I'm too afraid to do it though. But I have considered it.

Anyways, I worry that this state of mind is affecting my writing in some way. So I'm sorry if my writing's not at the quality you'd like it to be. I'm doing the best I can to push through everything and write chapters for you all to enjoy. But I don't know if I'm doing any good. x.x

I don't have much else to say. I'm really tired, I feel like crap, and I just want to curl up and sleep. Got stuff I need to take care of before I do go to sleep though. So we'll see.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!