Mei stared at Naruto for a couple of minutes, trying to figure him out some more. What the Godaime Hokage had said about him and Temari had intrigued her. She had known that he was a meticulous person with a mean streak of plots. Nevertheless, Tsunade's words had given her the idea that Naruto only allowed things around him to happen if that was what he wanted. If he didn't want certain things, then he would make sure that it didn't happen.

This was a new twist to the plot. She already suspected he was manipulative in his ways. The Godaime Hokage had admitted as much. She had even gone as far to suggest that she had no control over what Naruto did.

Mei slightly shook her head as she gathered her thoughts. "Why did you cancel your marriage with Temari? I understand the background and the reason for the marriage."

Suna's participation in the invasion that led to the death of Hiruzen meant that its relationship with the Leaf would become tense if not damaged beyond repair. The marriage was supposed to smooth things over between the villages. Well, admittedly, things have progressed rather well between the Godaime Kazekage and the Hokage. Still, for the long-term future, the marriage would have dispelled any other doubts people had.

Yet, Naruto had cancelled the marriage. Why? There had to be a bigger reason on why he did it. Tsunade seemed to have the same thought, but wasn't worried or interested in knowing about it.

"You only understand the political side of things." Naruto said to Mei with a straight face. "An arrangement between Temari and I was made long ago by my mother and The Fourth Kazekage. Of course, the stipulation was different. We would only marry if we ended up liking each other. Things changed with the invasion.

"In any case, I cancelled it because it is no longer necessary. I don't need to have something over Gaara for him to think of Konoha with clear motives. Besides that, Temari does not love me. It is safe to say that these days her relationship with me is a bit tolerable.

"That isn't to say we have a problem. All is well; we just both understand that the marriage isn't necessary. When we were younger, there were a couple of things regarding life that I taught Temari. I'm sure she still retains those lessons."

Mei tilted her head to the side as she digested what the blond had just said. The Mizukage thought there was something that Naruto wasn't telling her. Sure, she could note that Tsunade had a good relationship with Gaara, but there had to be something else that made Naruto decide to cancel the marriage.

Was she perhaps just thinking too much? The Mizukage shook her head. She wasn't. There was no such thing as thinking too much when dealing with this kind of person.

"What are you not telling me?" Mei asked in a dead serious tone.

Naruto stared for a moment, a little surprised by the tone the Mizukage just used. He certainly didn't expect her to attempt to force the issue with him. It wasn't something he received with contempt; it just was a good surprise – if there is ever any.

"A couple of things." Naruto said with a shrug. He did not attempt to appear as if he was going to go into detail regarding his response. Mei didn't say anything; she waited for something that would please her curiosity.

Naruto sighed and looked up to the ceiling. How does he go about things here? He wasn't the most open person about his intensions. If anything, there was always a smoke hiding what he was really thinking. He wasn't about to say he had mastered the art of lying – there were just many things that he left unsaid.

The blond Uzumaki looked back at Mei; she was different from other people, but she was an earnest person who wanted peace over anything. She has seen many people die in the civil war that had grabbed Kiri by the throat. Could he trust her with his secrets?

Naruto couldn't help but laugh inwardly at that thought. Unfortunately, for him, he couldn't keep his amusement from his expression.

"Is there something I am missing?" The Godaime Mizukage asked, still in a serious tone.

Naruto shook his head. "I was just thinking about something." He did not say what and he wasn't going to say.

Humans were something else. They were creatures he had grown to dislike – that is by no way the feeling of resentment. But that isn't to say he didn't entertain the thought of wiping them out of this world. Truth be told, there were many of those creatures he could not stand. His faith them has flirted with the nonexistence for a little too long.

He still held onto something though.

Even so, to say he trusted people would be a massive exaggeration. He never really looked for trust in people. Trust was fragile and something that could end with him being stabbed in the back. He didn't think of it as paranoia getting the best of him… Naruto thought of it as being realistic and rational.

"I have an understanding with Gaara – a somewhat mutual understanding. Besides that, my family is rather fond of him. Although some times I pretend to forget, we had some good memories in the younger days." Naruto said with a smile. "Rasa tried by all means to get our families to become one. Of course, he had his intensions, but everything was laid to the open, so we were always honest with each other. My mother once even treated the Sand siblings as her children. The Invasion nearly ruined things and had it not been for those memories, I would have killed them all."

Mei blinked at the simple way in which he said it. Was there really no value to the life of a person before him? She didn't understand or know everything about him, but there was certainly a dark past there.

She chose not to think deeply about it. Instead, she focused on his relationship with the Sand siblings. "I'm surprised that someone like you – who has so much potential to be a menace had a past like that. It seems normal to me. If you were not a Jinchuriki, I'd really wonder where you got this frightening darkness that overshadows you."

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "I think I have control over my emotions that I cannot display such negative emotions."

"I didn't say you can't but once you have looked inside, you can't ignore it. I'm sure everyone who has spent enough time around you has sensed this creeping feeling that a bottomless pit of hell resides somewhere inside of you"

"You make it sound scary." Naruto said, but there was a tone of indifference about him. "But that is something I will have to confront. My life has taken a rather telling twist that I'd not hoped for… It gets in the way of the plans. I must tread carefully from now on. However, there are still territories that I must walk for the sake of peace."

"Which are?"

"First up is Iwagakure. I have been on the lookout for the Tsuchikage's granddaughter but things have not been looking up nicely as I would like. I'd like to force it now by trying to convince Tsunade to set up a meeting with the Sandaime Tsuchikage. They will attempt to forge relations… I would take the side-lines with his granddaughter.

"My problem is that it hardly seems possible as things stand. Onoki would refuse going to Konoha and I doubt he has an interest in trying to forge something special with the Leaf."

"I'd be interested in trying to negotiate something with him. I just have to force him out of Iwa, right?" Mei smiled before adding. "But of course, you'd have to tell me everything. I doubt you are going to leave my side any time soon. I won't allow myself to be blindsided into anything and if I'm getting involved in things, I will do it in my terms."

For a moment, Naruto thought of taking those words as a challenge. He could play along just to see if she would really do things on her terms. He prided himself in being able to get around things, if Mei was able to do things as she pleased even when he was breathing down her neck, then it would mean he wasn't as great as he thought.

There would be no benefit in doing something like though and Naruto didn't entertain the idea any further.

"Kiri isn't the most strongest and its influence in the Elemental Nations is nothing… it still retains its standing as one of the great five, but due to the past blood shed, it is way past its glory days. For anything to progress, Iwa or Kumo is needed." Naruto said. "I will send you a message and then we will talk. For now, there is a snake that I must kill."

"Why are so fixated on killing Orochimaru?" Mei asked.

She understood the Sannin was an evil existence that terrorized many innocent lives and was a wanted criminal from Konoha. He was involved in the Sound Invasion as well as the death of the Sandaime Hokage – they would want him dead or brought to face the execution for his actions. However, since Orochimaru was a Sannin, Hunter-nin wouldn't really go after him because he would just kill them. A Kage ranked shinobi was not the one people actively hunted.

Naruto's thoughts regarding the infamous Sannin were clear to her – it was nothing more than bloody murder. Why was the blond like that when it came to Orochimaru? Did the Sannin do something to him that he feels that he must revenge? She shook her head; there was nothing in Naruto's voice that spelled vengeance, it was just clear intensions to kill. She could not figure out the reason for it.

"He is just one of the two people I hate." Naruto said in a calm tone. "Besides, he 'killed' the Sandaime Hokage. Despite our often schemes to get one over the other, the old man was really someone I liked. If I tell you that he was perhaps the only other person I liked aside from my mother I would not be lying. Had it not been for his excessive tricks and plots, I would have shed a tear in his death. There are a couple of things he offered to my life and had it not been for him, I would have lost hope in humanity long time ago."

Naruto paused, retreating to his thoughts as he reminisced the good old days he had those sparring sessions with the professor. They were not pleasant because he always lost, but it was an experience that did help him grow majestically.

"There have also been developments in my life that makes it hard for me to tolerate his existence. Perhaps it is paranoia but continuing to allow such a piece of trash to continue causing the pain it does and the damage it does to this beautiful world does not bode well with me."

For the hundredth time, Mei stared at the blond Uzumaki, thinking. There were things she was really learning about this person in front of her. She was not curious about the second person he hated. Still, she was once more again, surprised that he had such a past that seemed to hold some significance in a good way. It was really something else.

"This issue with Iwagakure," Mei said, moving away from the murderous talk about Orochimaru. "Why can't we discuss it now? As you said, Kiri doesn't have much influence and because it has been closed off due to the civil war, it is starved of allies. I want to see if it would be possible to get economic opportunities with Iwagakure, if not, it would be good to consider it an ally or just know where we stand with the village."

"So, you want to move things as well." Naruto said. "That is to be expected from a Kage who is a sly woman." He added with a smile.

"Sly?" Mei smiled. "Where did that come from?"

"You didn't rise to the top by being stupid, did you?"

It wasn't a bad thing that Mei was more capable in terms of wits than his dear Hokage Tsunade. The Slug Princess might be older, but her thinking was still not in the same level as the Mizukage. That didn't mean that Tsunade was easy to deal with. The woman knew when she was being misled and could respond violently to it – that was what made the difference between her and the Mizukage. Perhaps experience counted more for the Hokage.

"I think you're giving me more credit than I deserve." Mei said. "But I must say it is something else if it is being said by you of all people."

"You say things like that." Naruto said, his eyes firmly on the Mizukage. "What exactly do you think of me, Mei? What exactly has Tsunade been telling you about me?"

The woman smiled slyly and responded. "A couple of things… you are an interesting person." That was all she said before switching the subject. "Shall we discuss the Iwagakure issue before you leave?"

Naruto stared for a moment before nodding.

Konohagakure

Hokage Office

Tsunade stared at the blank paper in front of her, thinking of what she would be writing. The other presence before her didn't make her thoughts all the clearer. Even though it was just a clone – the clone that brought her back – Naruto would always make sure that her mind wasn't free of any thoughts. Of course, these days she has stopped trying to figure out what he could be plotting and thinking – any thoughts were just a fruitless pursuit that gave her headaches.

The Godaime Hokage sighed as she stared away from the blank sheet before her and looked at Naruto. "You never told me why you remained in Kiri."

"A few things to settle." Naruto said. "Aside from that, I have come to here to get both Ino and Sasuke. As part of her training, she needs to follow when Orochimaru is paid a visit. Sai has been following a trail, trying to get a lock on Orochimaru."

He had told her that she would need to tag along and witness what the world is like out there. There were things that one needed to learn through experience. For her growth, she needed to learn those things. Maybe Orochimaru was a little too much for her and there was no guarantee that she could be safe, but those dangerous situations taught shinobi how to survive more than any training could.

"You can leave with Sasuke, but now with Ino." Tsunade said in a tone of finality. "I don't doubt that you and Sasuke can handle Orochimaru by yourselves, but Ino is no way in that level. Even if she is just going to be watching, there is the danger of her getting caught up. No matter what you say, I cannot justify putting her life in any danger."

Naruto raised an eye brow at this and considered giving reasons or perhaps doing things a little more forceful but he could not risk trying to infuriate the woman. He was building a fine relationship with the Godaime Hokage; there was no reason to screw that over something simple.

He could simply nod and accept that the woman was not allowing him to indulge himself this one time.

He would make it an issue if she continues to do so, but he could let this pass. "As you say."

The response caught the Slug Princess off-guard because she was definitely not expecting him to give in like that.

Seeing the Hokage's surprise, Naruto responded. "I'm not going to fight you over every little thing. I'm not the boss; just a shinobi with ambitions."

Tsunade simply shook her head. "Bring back Orochimaru's head… that shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"

"I'm not there will be anything left of him when we are done."

Two days later

It never occurred to Naruto that Obito would decide to show up before him. No, he had always thought that he would have to hunt the man before to bring him to his court for judgement. The Uchiha wasn't irrelevant by any means. He was a person that Naruto has had so much desire to strangle to death from the moment he knew what had transpired the night he was born into this world.

It was really a mystery why he never expected the man to appear before him though. Obito had been pushing Nagato to hunt down Jinchurikis, and he was also a container. The man would obviously have some interest in him. Not to mention, he did try to kill him the night of his birth.

If there was someone to resent, it had to be this man, right?

This fake Madara had not only tried to kill him, but he had caused his mother to go through excruciating pain by extracting the Kyubi for her. Not to mention, the man had been responsible for the death of his father. He was the one who caused the chain of events to unfold the way they did. Had it not been for this man, he would have had a normal childhood.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Obito started calmly. He was sitting on a tree branch, feet swinging slowly. "What did you say to Nagato? How did you and Jiraiya manage to turn Nagato against me?"

It was apparent that Nagato had betrayed him along with Konan, but for the moment, he wasn't doing anything because he wanted to understand what had truly happenned. He had never thought that Nagato would end up betraying him. But it has happened and from his last conversation with the man, there wasn't going to be any changes to the stance, especially when it seems that the man has become slightly alive.

He was wondering what the man was going to do from now on but there was nothing that was coming out of Nagato. He wasn't going to use force, not now at least. Even so, he still had the Bijuus with him, the only thing he did not have was control over the Gedo Mazo.

For that to happen, he had to take the Rinnegan from Nagato. It would not be simple but he would have to it soon because he could not wait any longer. The longer he waited, the more complicated it would become to make the plans come true.

Naruto took a single step forward, looking up at the man he hated. It was a little troubling to try to hold back his emotions when looking at the man. Naruto shook his head; he needed to calm himself before he did something unthinkable or unbecoming of him.

"Nothing that you need to know." Naruto stated calmly. "I'm a little surprised that you were able to use Nagato, despite all his power. Well, you're not completely helpless yourself."

Obito looked down for a moment, sizing up the blond Uzumaki. Naruto's strength was something that not even Zetsu could clearly say was this level. There were flashes of brilliance every now then, but even then, it has never looked as if the Uzumaki was giving his all in any fight. It was something that made Obito wary, because he could not judge Naruto's power; he could not determine that amount of effort he would need to deal with the blond Uzumaki.

"I didn't ever think that Nagato would betray me, which makes me curious in learning what you said to him." Obito stated calmly. "But it doesn't look as if you're going to tell me anything." The Uchiha paused for a moment before changing the subject. "At the moment, there is still time to do damage control. To subdue you, we don't have to fight. Nagato is the only opponent I will fight if he insists on following this traitorous path."

Naruto narrowed his eyes ever so slightly: now, those were some dangerous words coming from the man before him. If this person was saying that he didn't have to fight him to get what he wants, it meant that he had other means to get things done. This other way wasn't a way that Naruto knew and that made him uncomfortable.

"I know that you are cable of a lot of things and perhaps you even think that you can take me on, but you have one weakness…" Obito stated in a cold tone. "Your heart; it is perhaps true to say you tolerate other people living around you, people that aren't in your group. From what I have observed, you have no shed of care for the other people. However, you have devoted yourself to loving your mother, and now you are about to be a father. If you value them, you will stay away from Nagato."

When he finished speaking, the man swirled away in a black vortex.

About two hours later

Sasuke was sitting on a tree branch just within the borders of the River country. Both his feet were slowly moving along with the wind; there was a tone of impatience about him as he waited for Naruto to appear before him. The blond hadn't given a specific location but the Uchiha believed Naruto was sharp enough to track him down, especially when he wasn't making an attempt to hide his chakra signature.

He has been waiting for a couple of hours, waiting.

The last time the blond went out to Orochimaru, he had been alone and he hadn't achieved anything except confirm that there was an Uzumaki living with the Snake Sannin.

Sasuke sighed impatiently; his body was already itching to face someone strong as the snake Sannin. Naruto wasn't going to take all the fun away from him: when it came to fights the blond wasn't like that. At least that was a part he didn't dislike about Naruto.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes sensing a powerful movement of chakra. It took a couple of seconds for him to recognize Naruto's chakra signature; he didn't know Naruto allowed his chakra to ooze in such a way. The blond always hid his chakra. Only naturally born sensors could tell of the wealth of power Naruto has at his disposal. He had power, but he has never felt the need to reveal it to people.

When Naruto landed on a tree close to his; Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Naruto was exuding a malicious feeling that honestly made a part of him nervous. Naruto could be insulted and faced with dangerous situations but he wasn't the kind of person who allowed his killing Intent to leak. Even if it did leak, it would only be small dozes that many would not even notice.

There has been a general consensus amongst the elite in Konoha that Naruto was a dangerous person. Sasuke frowned at that thought: His mother never says something like that; she has always said that Naruto was a good person deep down. A few say there was a bottomless pit of evil deep inside of Naruto and really, Sasuke believed this over what his mother says.

"You're late…" The Uchiha said to Naruto. "But considering that you're leaking your killing Intent, I will assume something came up along the way."

But what could be that would get the blond worked up like this? If it had something to do with his mother's safety, then Sasuke could understand perfectly. Even so, Naruto rarely wore his emotions on his face.

"I met an intolerable cockroach along the way…" Naruto said. For the first time since appearing, his eyes met with Sasuke's. "You're in good condition. We are going to do battle, if you're not fully healed, you may turn back. I will be fine. Today, I wouldn't have a problem crushing a trash."

Sasuke stared at those cold blue eyes that reflected a murderous intent. "I'm in a good condition." The Uchiha said. "What happened? This is unlike you, Naruto."

Naruto didn't offer an immediate response. He calmed himself before breathing in. "There is usually a harmless mask that is sold to people." Naruto said to Sasuke. "I came across a certain Uchiha. I guess I have never told you about this, but you should know since you spent much time with your brother."

"The one who recruited my brother to the Akatsuki and responsible for the Kyubi's rampage?" Sasuke asked.

Sasuke knew about that; his brother had told him everything about the Uchiha massacre and all the players involved in it. Naruto's hatred for his fellow Uchiha shouldn't be surprising though. It wasn't that Naruto hated the Uchiha in general. That bad apple that ruined Naruto's chances of a happy life was perhaps the only person that Naruto knows how to hate.

However, it was apparent that the hatred was too deep. Sasuke didn't even know how deep it went but it was obvious that if was something frightening. If that leaking killing intent was anything to go by, then the blond had some murderous thoughts that would shatter the images of the good Naruto some people had.

In response to Sasuke, Naruto nodded. "But this isn't the matter we should focus on... Orochimaru is the person we must get rid of… Sai is currently on a mission to rescue Karin in one of Orochimaru's hideouts in the Sound. We are to rid of the snake." The blond said calmly.

Sasuke managed to smile – a somewhat wicked smile. He was looking forward to a bloody dance of death. Ever since his battle with Naruto he hasn't had anything challenging. Then again, Tsunade had refused to fully heal the wound on his knee. Perhaps it had been some sort of a punishment of starting a fight with Naruto. Regardless, his anger had to be understood and they had come to an understanding.

It was rather surprising learning that Tsunade was taking Naruto's side though. It wasn't a secret that the Godaime didn't fully trust Naruto. Well, if you were not in his circle, trusting the blond was a naïve mistake. Naruto could screw you over without even blinking an eye.

It was the sort of feeling that confirmed that even though Naruto had ended up using the Kyubi's power in their emotional battle; he hadn't fought with all his strength. There can be no doubt that the blond hadn't been in his right mind that day.

Sasuke jumped from the tree and landed down the ground. "What are we waiting for?" He asked as he began moving forward.

"You're going to the wrong direction." Naruto said to the Uchiha. "Orochimaru is within a hideout about an hour of travel from here, heading straight to your left. Sai says he has been conducting some experiments around this place. It is apparently much easier to kidnap people from a land that doesn't have a major shinobi village protecting it."

When he said those words, Naruto started taking the lead. For the moment, he cared not for the experiments and the poor humans who became victim of Orochimaru. It was a little sad considering that they may have been those good humans who were innocent of malice until the snake appeared. Now, they would have eternal scars that would remind them of the horrors they faced. Such pitiful people should be allowed to die than allowed to live a life of misery.

Naruto shook his head. Perhaps it was the hatred speaking. When he was being like this, those dark thoughts that sometimes made him fear for what he would become if he got pushed to the edges of the darkness that resided somewhere inside his heart.

"Well, Orochimaru would not want to work where there would be disturbances. I wonder what kind of horrors he is doing…' Sasuke then shrugged, realizing that he didn't care what the snake Sannin was doing. "Are you going to fight?"

"If I wasn't going to fight, I wouldn't be here…" Naruto said in a flat tone. "Besides, I feel like breaking a few bones today. Perhaps that will calm this bubbling killing intent."

"Oh, you are aware that you are leaking a killing intent." Sasuke said. "I have to say, it is frightening. There are intents that make you have that feeling of death, looking at you with these eyes of mine, all I see is eternal darkness."

Naruto chose to ignore those words from Sasuke. "How were things when you left the Hidden Leaf? I've been away for a week…" His clone hadn't spoken to anyone other than Sasuke and the Godaime Hokage.

Sasuke eyed Naruto for a moment before looking at the way ahead. He did not miss the fact that Naruto ignored his statement about the darkness he was hiding. It wasn't something Sasuke was willing to drop easily. Yet, there was something about Naruto's question that made him curious.

"No problems with our mothers'" Sasuke responded calmly. "You have certainly grown; being able to go away and not even ask about your mother. Well, children are supposed to grow."

It was quite laughable just thinking of how much of a mother's boy the blond Uzumaki had been when he was younger. Sasuke wasn't laughing but the thought was amusing. Things have changed now and the blond could move about the village and his business without turning back to see if his mother was still in one piece. Perhaps it was the paranoia that had been troubling him then. You couldn't take away that the villagers hadn't been fond of the Uzumakis then and he had heard that a couple of stones had been thrown into their house.

A miserable life mother and son had to go through. Well, this was the reason they have had to be together. He had to live in pain with his mother knowing that his dear brother had killed their father and many members of their clan. He was still beside the blond because he could not forget what he had done for his clan. Itachi had made it abundantly clear, so did his mother that had it not been for the blond's intervention, he would have been a very lonely person.

"There is nothing to worry about these days. Before then, I had to worry about the villagers…" Naruto said.

A trick from the fake Madara had troubled him but going back home wasn't going to solve anything. If anything, it didn't appear as if the man was going to do anything. Even so, he wasn't the least happy with what the man had said. Honestly, he had been incensed, still was.

Things have admittedly changed though; he still looked at his mother above all things, but there was the thing with Mikoto. Honestly, Naruto didn't know how he was going to handle that situation when the child is born. His affections would be split in many more ways than one. He still had Yugao to attend to. He was not used to having many people in his life. One or two was fine for him because his capacity to love wasn't that big.

The Uzumaki shook his head; he didn't have to think of such things now, he had to think about how he would remove Orochimaru from the face of this world and not leave a damn trace of him.

"I guess that is a thing of the past now; they have slightly changed… I have my own thoughts about that and still undecided on what I really want to do…" Sasuke said with a sigh. The clan was moving steadily and he would have to step up one day to lead it. His mother could still look after it without any problems. "Are you not going to comment about this darkness that creeps behind you?"

Naruto eyed Sasuke for a moment before asking. "Why do you want to know about it? It has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me; the moment you became friends with my brother, our lives became bound. If you're plotting something, I have to decide whether to back you up and kill you if it is necessary."

Naruto's lips curled up into an amused smile. "I wonder if you really can kill me, Sasuke. The perfect Susano'o is indeed a massive weapon of destruction, but I can still outlast you in any battle. Well, I'm not arrogant enough to think that I cannot be defeated, but I would really have to give up for you to kill me. I wouldn't mind using my lifespan to survive…"

IF it had been a couple of years ago, Sasuke would have lashed out at the blond for looking down at him like that but there was no way he could not spot the bitter tone in Naruto's voice. He was calmer now and thought before he acted, and so he didn't take Naruto's words to heart. Of course, he couldn't help but scoff – it was a reflex response.

"Well, you never want to reveal yourself, no matter what but I have seen your capabilities. It isn't just the raw power alone that makes you powerful but mental strength…"

"Have you considered that I have shown all my abilities but pretend to have more just for effect?" Naruto asked. "There is nothing more that the human mind fears than the unknown. Unless you're dealing with an extremist junky who prefers the rush of blood over straight battles." Naruto paused before taking up the trees – Sasuke followed and they started hopping through the way. "I never battle for entertainment but for purpose. Meaningless battles promote nothing more than violence."

Once more Sasuke scoffed; he really didn't buy a thing the Uzumaki had just said. "For someone who has always been violent, that is rather amusing coming from you. You just restrict yourself because of your fears… You're a cold hearted person who has no care for human life."

Naruto raised an eyebrow hearing those words. "You, accusing me of being cold-hearted? That is rather ironic." The Uzumaki said. "To say I have no care for human life is an exaggeration. I am here because of feelings, you can look at it in other way you want… Have you been talking to my mother or Yugao?"

"What makes you think I have?"

"My mother it is… You sitting with Yugao is unthinkable." Naruto said. "My mother understands me in ways nobody does. Of course, she tries to act ignorant at times, but we have been together, I have always tried to be honest with her. When I reveal the whole truth, she will know because she knows me and is my mother…" Naruto trailed off before halting his movements. "We are here…" His tone had changed drastically. "Perhaps it is my mind playing tricks on me, but I can sense the snake nearby."

Before Sasuke could respond, Orochimaru spoke. "That is because the snake is here…" the sannin said. "You're late; I have been waiting for you for a few days now." The snake was leaning against a tree's trunk, hands folded across his chest. He was standing as calmly as he could, an aura of confidence seeping out of him in abundance.

When Sasuke saw the sannin; his eyes narrowed dangerously as the Sharingan flared to life. With how good of a sensor he had become, he would have thought that Orochimaru wouldn't have been able to sneak up on them like that. He hadn't sensed a damn thing, not until the Sannin spoke. He wasn't concerned about whether the blond Uzumaki beside him had sensed the sannin or not but by the looks of things, he hadn't either. Well, Orochimaru was known for his ability to hide.

This was just perfect anyway; they didn't have to waste energy destroying the snake's hideout to draw him out. With him out in the open, they could just get this over with this. Had it been a couple of years ago, Sasuke would have charged at the Sannin without even thinking. He was a little excited and he didn't want Naruto to take up all the fun… but now he had grown. There was no need to act recklessly.

"There were a couple of things that had to be sorted out." Naruto responded calmly. "It appears that you were aware that Sai was watching you and did manage to get your message across."

Naruto would not suspect Sai of being a traitor; if he'd thought that, he would have killed the former Ne agent. Thoughts of doubts were dangerous and could lead to some disastrous actions. It just wasn't surprising that Orochimaru would know about this. Orochimaru could not be underestimated despite being an arrogant person – he was still dangerous and to take away that from him would just be playing a suicide game with the god of death.

"What did you expect? I can smell one of Danzo's toys from miles away…" Orochimaru said.

"Why did you let him go away?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "There was no fun in killing him and he had no value as a useful experiment." The Sannin stated. "Besides, I was waiting for you. I have been itching to meet you again, Naruto-kun. Last time, I had to leave the party a little early because I had other engagements. But I am now fully prepared to entertain you." The Sannin said with a wide and confident grin.

Naruto stared at the grin for a long moment before shaking his head; this was Orochimaru they were dealing with, he must have done something to be this confident. Last time he ran way, but now he was ready to have a dance? There was something and that was a warning to be extra careful. The snake was an arrogant person, no doubt, but that didn't mean he wasn't harmless. Far from it, if given the chance, Orochimaru could poison you to death and that was something he had to guard against.

The blond Uzumaki jumped from the tree before landing on the ground gracefully.

In taking his steps towards the snake sannin, Naruto suddenly disappeared in a blur, leaving nothing but small dust in his wake. He appeared right in front of Orochimaru in the blink of an eye; the Sannin didn't look surprised in seeing the Uzumaki travel so fast; he had a wide grin on his face, blood red eyes of the Sharingan in both eye sockets. Naruto showed no surprise in seeing those blood red eyes. It was understandable seeing them – it could only be the reason the snake felt so confident in facing both of them.

That wasn't the only thing Orochimaru displayed that was new; Naruto's index finger that had moved with speed, pointing towards the snake Sannin's chest was blocked by a small shield of pink crystal. This was the only thing that made Naruto tilt his head to the side in contemplation but there was no shock in his eyes.

"Interesting," Naruto said in a measured tone. "I never thought that you would implant such power in you Orochimaru. But then again, you are no longer qualified to be called a human." The blond Uzumaki said.

Orochimaru merely chuckled. He sounded way too happy for someone who was just told he was no longer a human. Of course, Orochimaru didn't care a bit what Naruto said about him? Who was the blond to him? Naruto was just a brat he wanted to use for a test run for his new power. He didn't care about anything else. Naturally, there was no lack of confidence in his part – he was sure he could these two just fine.

"I'm not surprised," he said of Naruto's lack of shock over his additions. "I am surprised about your killing intent though. I have never felt such a sinister feeling coming from you, Naruto-kun. You have always been a controlled brat who hardly displays his intensions. But now you're clearly showing that you want to murder me… do you hate me that much? Is it because I killed the Sandaime?"

Naruto stared at the snake Sannin for a long minute before shrugging indifferently. "At this stage, it doesn't matter. I can only answer a question in which you want to know if I think you will be dead by the end of the day." The blond's tone was cold and firm.

Orochimaru only found amusement in Naruto's response. He didn't get chance to respond to the blond as Sasuke finally appeared.

The Uchiha moved as fast as lightning. There was electricity flowing through the palm of his right hand as he appeared by Naruto's right side: he was slightly above the ground, a Chidori flashing towards Orochimaru's chest.

Orochimaru was quick to react to the attack. His Sharingan may be implanted, but it still worked like how any Sharingan works. The Sannin's response was to enlarge his crystal shield to block Sasuke's jutsu. He did have a plan in case the jutsu failed to block the attack. If it failed, it would still give him enough time to speed away from both teenagers who appeared ready to kill him.

He wasn't going to make it easy for them. He had no intensions of being defeated here today – he didn't even think it was a possibility. Both were impressive but still not enough, at least that is what he thought.

Naruto reacted to Sasuke's attack by activating his jutsu. His finger had still been on the Sannin's crystal shield. The extending blade did not fail him even this time around. It still managed to pierce through the crystal in blinding speed.

Seeing the attacks coming with his Sharingan, Orochimaru tried to move back a little. Although the extending blade managed to pierce through the crystal shield, it did not shatter it. Sasuke's Chidori did the trick when it collided with it.

Before the crystal even shattered, Naruto's jutsu had already hit Orochimaru on the right side of his chest. He may have sensed the attack, but he still could not do anything to avoid it. The speed of the attack was just a blur that even the damned Sharingan couldn't track down fast enough before it hit him.

The Sannin didn't make a pained sound or even twitch when Naruto's jutsu pierced through him: he just brushed it aside and turned his attention on Sasuke's lightning jutsu. The snake didn't wait for the jutsu to him, he simply crumbled into dust.

Sasuke didn't stop in his momentum but didn't hit the Tree that Orochimaru had been leaning against. He managed to control his movements splendidly before the jutsu dispersed as he landed gracefully by Naruto's side.

"I can't believe that even the likes of you has his hands on the Sharingan …" Sasuke said, turning around to face Orochimaru who materialized behind the two. There was nothing but disgust in the Uchiha's tone.

Orochimaru shrugged indifferently. "Naruto-kun has the Sharingan. It might not be implanted but he has them in his possession and I am not talking about Shisui's eyes. These are the eyes of someone very close to you, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "It seems that Kabuto is very effective in gathering Intelligence." The blond said. He then sighed, reigning down on his killing intent. He wasn't going to focus clearly with his little emotions boiling. It was best that he get rid of the negative emotions that were overflowing.

"Sasuke; this must not take long; You can go all out at any moment and don't worry about getting me in the crossfire. Just attack and I will watch my back." Naruto said those before running towards the snake sannin.

He didn't wish to spend all day fighting Orochimaru; there was no time to do that nor did he have the patience to do it. He just wanted to get rid of Orochimaru. It didn't have to be painful just death. Besides, the junky wasn't someone who would falter by simply being broken to pieces – just knowing that he was going to die would be enough. Orochimaru coveted his life about all things. His years of experiments have been influenced by the desire to live a longer life.

Orochimaru merely watched carefully as Naruto neared him within seconds; his Sharingan could see the movements clearly. Even though the blond had proved to be truly fast, he could see him this time around. Besides, this was the first time he was fighting with the Sharingan against such powerful shinobi. It would be a good test run to test his limits.

When Naruto reached the Sannin, both his feet touched down the ground just inches away from the Sannin before he blurred away from existence. Orochimaru didn't widen his eyes in shock over the speed the blond used when moving behind him but he had tried to move along as he tracked the movements with his Sharingan.

But before he could fully face the blond Uzumaki, he sensed something from behind; Sasuke was charging towards him at full speed, the Mangekyo Sharingan activated. He looked as if he was going to attack but then he suddenly jumped up into the air.

"Amaterasu!"

The jet black flames lit to life around the snake sannin's body. The flames covered his entire body, causing the sannin to let out a slight shriek of pain as the flames started to slowly consume his flesh. The pain, it was unlike anything he had experienced before after being hit by a fire jutsu. This was a jutsu above others and he knew he could not extinguish the flames.

The Sannin opened his mouth wide; hands started to pop from the mouth and the Sannin's head started to follow soon. It was a somewhat disgusting sight, if Naruto could say, but he didn't show his emotions on his expression as he watched on.

Sasuke didn't allow the Sannin to recover from his jutsu. He quickly formed hand seals before expelling a large ball of flames from his mouth. "Katon: Great Fire Ball no Jutsu!" The large ball sped towards the sannin – who was still busy trying to shed his skin. The flames hit the sannin before exploding into a column of intense flames. The flames stayed alive for about a minute before Naruto waved his right hand, released gusts of winds that blasted them away.

There was no sign of Orochimaru anywhere.

Naruto felt something and tried to twist around but his movements were halted when his feet were engulfed by crystal. Orochimaru flashed in front of him and delivered a brutal right punch to the gut. The punch slammed into Naruto with speed and power, causing the blond to slide back a little after spitting out a handful of saliva.

Orochimaru wasn't done with his assault on the blond; he twisted around, flashing his right foot into the air. He directed it towards Naruto's temple, but it did not reach the blond Uzumaki. Sasuke suddenly appeared and caught the kick with his right hand, just like that.

"You're not the only who can see future movements Orochimaru." The Uchiha spat out the name before lightning currents burst from his hand, with a cracking sound. Within a blink of an eye, Orochimaru's entire body was being electrified by the lightning. Sasuke didn't let up in his charge and Orochimaru felt his body numb. He could only bite his tongue as the pain shot through his body.

A testament of the amount of chakra Sasuke had put behind his jutsu became visible when Orochimaru's body started to release smoke as if it was being cooked.

Naruto held out his right hand quickly and summoned his blade; he swung it towards Orochimaru's head. The Sannin still managed to raise his left hand to try to block the fast swing from Naruto but it did nothing. The wind enhanced swing cut through Orochimaru's hand, before cutting cleanly through his neck, separating it from the shoulders.

"Katon: Dragon's Breath!" the second Naruto cut through Orochimaru's neck, Sasuke released his jutsu – only after letting of the sannin's foot go. The jutsu flashed through towards Orochimaru's body in point blank range causing both him and Naruto to jump away from the flames.

Naruto looked down at his feet; he frowned when he looked at the crystal. He suddenly shook his head before the crystal shattered and he turned his focus towards Orochimaru.

"You think we got him?" Sasuke asked.

The answer came quickly when crystal blades came blasting through the air, heading straight towards the two teenagers. Sasuke quickly summoned his Susanno to shield himself from the projectiles. Naruto just burst into a murder of crows; the crows flew into high ground to avoid the attack. The projectiles collided into the Susanoo but failed to break through the defence.

Orochimaru frowned looking at that ninjutsu; his experiments were not yet complete; he needed to experiment more in order to be able to use more of the Sharingan's power. Besides that, his current body though powerful still could not contain all his power. Guren was a good host but the addition of the Sharingan was putting a strain on the body. If he received more damaging hits, he may have to start looking for a new host soon.

"I underestimated you two." Orochimaru said. "Then again, I did not expect to be fighting both of you."

"Well, arrogance has always been your greatest weapon." Naruto said, charging towards the snake sannin with his blade in hand.

Once he arrived, he swung it in a downward slash, aimed at Orochimaru's right shoulder. The Sannin produced a shield of crystal to block the swing before raising his right hand towards Naruto's face. "Many Hidden Snakes!" Orochimaru shouted as multiple snakes burst toward Naruto's face.

It was such a close distance and a little unexpected. Yet, Naruto managed to take in some air before spitting bullets of wind towards the snakes whilst jumping back. A couple of the bullets collided with the snakes, making them burst into a shower of blood; some entered through the mouth's hung open and burst through around Orochimaru's hand.

The moment he landed, Naruto folded his hands across his head as he sensed movement from Orochimaru. Speedily, the sannin had cut the distance between them, having abandoned his attack. He appeared right above Naruto, flashing a right foot towards the blond's temple.

The kick connected head on with Naruto's defence, but the blond did not move a muscle, he held firmly forcing Orochimaru to jump back.

Before he could even touch the ground, Sasuke was right upon him, Chidori chirping on the palm of his right hand. The Uchiha didn't hide his grin when he drove the jutsu straight towards Orochimaru's gut but before he could celebrate another hit, Orochimaru crumbled into dust.

The Uchiha frowned before gracefully landing on the ground whilst his eyes were scanning his surrounding for the sannin. It was ridiculous; he couldn't sense the sannin nor could he see him from anywhere. He could not have run off, could he? If not, how could he hide from the two of them after all the damage he has taken?

Thoughts didn't go any further as a large snake burst into the scene in a large puff of smoke. "You brought me here to fight these brats?" Manda demanded from Orochimaru – who was standing at the top of the large snake, trying to recover some of his energy. This was proving to be a lot more troubling than he had expected.

"They are proving to be a troublesome bunch." Orochimaru said. "Just keep them company for a couple of minutes and I will reward you afterwards. You know I always do as I promise."

"That is because you know I will eat you if you don't." Manda snapped.

"Kukukukukukuku…" Orochimaru merely laughed at that.

Seeing the large snake, Naruto looked at Sasuke before he started walking. "Sasuke," he started. "Orochimaru wants to keep us busy with that thing; I don't have a general fondness of snakes and as I said, this should not take long. Release Amaterasu and I will finish it. For such a large target, even if it is able to sense the build-up of power, it should not be able to avoid the flames."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes towards Naruto at that little piece of information. "I didn't know you could sense it."

"I never said." Naruto said holding out his right hand.

Sasuke didn't respond, he focused on the giant snake that was now charging towards him. The giant snake looked as if it wanted to swallow him whole, but Sasuke jumped out of the way, avoiding its sharp fangs. The Uchiha charged to a distance and turning around. As he did, Manda was right on his tail.

He quickly activated his Susano'o as the snake neared him. The summon slammed into Sasuke's Susanno. There was so much power in the strike that Sasuke was pushed back quite a distance by the strike. But the Susanoo held on and the Uchiha didn't mind it one bit.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke put as much chakra as he could in the jutsu just so he could hit most of the snake's body. He didn't want to just hit a small part. The usage of the chakra left him feeling its effects but he did not let it show.

Orochimaru was nowhere near Manda as he shrieked, tossing and turning violently when the flames started to burn it slowly. The movements were so violent that it slammed some trees along the way.

Naruto did not worry, even though it was moving around a lot, he could still hit it with his next jutsu. It had enough speed to catch the snake. His next jutsu was already screeching loudly around his hand, spinning with frightening speed and power. The blond dashed towards the dancing snake to get some momentum before hurling the RasenShuriken. The jutsu flashed through the air and within seconds, it collided with Manda.

Boom!

The Wind style jutsu exploded in a fiery show of force the moment it collided with the snake. There were visible black flames around the column to flashing wind blades piercing through the snake. Manda didn't last for a minute before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, but it was too late.

Orochimaru was right behind the blond; the sword of Kusanagi was driven towards the blond's back. Naruto did just enough to shift to his right to avoid the blade piercing through his back, but it still managed to pierce through his left shoulder, drawing out blood.

"Kukukukuku!" Orochimaru burst out laughing, saying finally, he had landed a hit.

Naruto flashed away from Orochimaru, and landed beside Sasuke. He looked down at his bleeding right hand with an expressionless mask on his face. He considered using the Kyubi's chakra to heal the wound, but decided against it. The more he used the chakra for those purposes the more he reduced his life span. He would allow this one to heal naturally.

"That was rather careless of you." Sasuke said to Naruto in a cold tone.

"Yes," Naruto said, not denying it. "We should end it before he gets more confident in his abilities. I will give you an opening to hit. I don't need to remind you that you need to act in a second."

Sasuke didn't need Naruto to spell exactly what he must do to land a good on Naruto; he already knew what he needed to do and all he needed was Naruto to destruct Orochimaru long enough for him to hit. If Naruto was someone weaker, he would have doubts in the ability to hold back the Sannin knowing exactly that Orochimaru would figure that he was up to something.

But Naruto was capable of fighting Orochimaru on his own, if he got into the mood.

For a moment, Sasuke watched Naruto's giants steps as he walked towards Orochimaru. His blade was already held firmly on his right hand. The Uchiha could tell, the blond wasn't going to give Orochimaru a moment to rest. The Sannin would not have the time to search for him.

Without thinking about anything further, Sasuke disappeared a flash.

Orochimaru tilted his head to the side, the never-ending grin on his lips. "I could disrupt whatever Sasuke is planning to do by going after him instead of waiting here to be held up by you."

Still walking towards the sannin, Naruto responded calmly. "Try it." His voice was just deathly cold.

Orochimaru blinked, a little surprised by the coldness in Naruto's tone. There was undeniable confidence in the blond's tone. It made Orochimaru curious enough to crumble into dust in an attempt to chase after Sasuke and maybe see just what a serious Naruto could do.

The blond Uzumaki vanished along with gusts of winds – the movement was instant almost as he had just flashed away. He appeared a small distance away in front of a running Orochimaru. the sannin was speeding through the ground gracefully to avoid detention. His expression only showed a grin when Naruto flashed in front of him.

"Wind Style: Great Wind Breakthrough!" The Sannin released a blast of wind in an instant. It was as if he had expected the blond to appear in front of him. The wind jutsu blasted through the ground before slamming into the Uzumaki. The moment it did, Naruto burst into an explosion of flames. Coupled with the gusts of wind, the flames burnt wildly for a couple of seconds before dying down along with the gusts of wind.

Orochimaru twirled around when he sensed Naruto's presence coming from behind. The blond had his sword from the right in a horizontal flash. Orochimaru quickly turned and aligned his sword on the side to block Naruto's sword. The swords clashed, creating sparks.

Orochimaru's neck extended inhumanly before diving towards Naruto with his mouth wide open. If anything, it appeared as if he wanted to swallow the blond. Naruto bent backwards slightly whilst holding out his left hand, covered in wind chakra. His attacker's face slammed into Naruto's palm which was protected by a shield of wind.

The sannin retreated quickly; Naruto was on the attack when he did. The blond retreated his blade and twisted around along the wind. The movement was fast and swift. Orochimaru could only cross his hands just above him when his Sharingan predicated the attack. Naruto's right foot slammed into the defence, but there was much power than what the Sannin had anticipated, he ended up being sent flying backwards.

Orochimaru only flew for a second before twisting twice to regain his balance. Before he could even land on the ground, Naruto was already above him, Rasengan on the left hand, charging towards his head. Orochimaru countered by slashing sword towards the Jutsu, knowing that it was powerful enough to block the A-rank jutsu.

The jutsu never collided with the sword as it suddenly dispersed. Naruto's sword flashed through the space in blinding speed. It didn't take a second to reach the sannin, and when it did, it cut through him but Orochimaru suddenly turned into log.

The sannin next appeared just above Naruto, his sword extending amazingly towards Naruto's form. Naruto reacted by throwing his sword towards the snake Sannin. When Orochimaru's hit Naruto, the blond burst into a murder of crows before the blade retracted. Orochimaru avoided Naruto's blade, but as it passed him, the blond suddenly flashed just above him. The snake Sannin felt something cold at the back of his neck.

"Extending Blade"

The jutsu pierced through the back of Orochimaru's neck in a flash. Its extension had been big enough for to reach down the ground. Naruto disappeared away from Orochimaru – who allowed his body to hit the ground before slowly getting up. He held out his hand, his neck bleeding.

Before he could do anything, Naruto appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the face. He picked up the Sannin and lightning burst out, shocking him. Naruto then slammed Orochimaru into the ground.

When Naruto made the distance with Orochimaru, the snake got up from the ground, his throat still bleeding but he had a grin on his lips. The grin turned into a full-blown laughter.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Orochimaru laughed madly. "I never actually though that you'd catch me in an illusion, Naruto. Especially with the Sharingan." He grinned. "This isn't a normal illusion, is it? Yes, demonic illusion. The kind that the Nidaime created specifically for the Uchiha. What's the trigger?"

"Eye contact but my chakra must be directly inserted into your body to mess with all your senses." Naruto explained calmly. "I did that in the first attack when I pierced through you with my jutsu."

"Then, what can it do? You're not moving to atta-" Orochimaru was cut off when an arrow blasted through the side of his head, creating a huge hole in it. The arrow burst through but did not take Orochimaru along with it when it did so. The sannin blinked, but could not master any response.

What?

As Orochimaru started to fall down the ground, Naruto spoke. "Everything with shinobi hitches with the ability to think to be able to escape death. Uchiha don't need that nevertheless. As long as they program their Sharingans to rewrite reality, they can escape death. Orochimaru, you are not Uchiha."

"Amaterasu" Once more, Sasuke activated the black flames, engulfing Orochimaru.

Naruto turned to the Uchiha. "I was still talking."

Sasuke shrugged. "You never know with Orochimaru." When he was saying that, he stabbed a lightning kunai through the Sannin's chest. "You lied; Orochimaru wasn't in a genjutsu. Your chakra was moving inside his chakra system though."

"I didn't say he was; he just assumed he was." Naruto said indifferently. "What's with the Kunai?"

"If you don't make sure he stays down, he could suddenly burst into a large snake. At least this lightning ensures he doesn't move." The Uchiha looked down for a moment. "How do we kill him? He's still alive and could regenerate."

"Turn him to ash."

End of chapter

Happy New Year, ya all.

I've finally finished this chapter. Took me long to write but finally it has come. I had a struggle in writing the last scene. I did not have a clear image of the whole fight and writing it was truly difficult. Over the past four weeks, it had looked as if I would not be able to write it. But I was finally able to take a few notes.

I don't know how long we have until the story ends. It really can go a long way but I cannot tell at this stage given my lack of regular updates. It might even end at a point I feel I can no longer continue with it. But at the moment, I still feel I have ideas in me to keep going. There's still a lot to write about.

The Omnipresent Sage