A.N. - Wow, 161 faves & 246 follows as at posting, with 105 reviews. i would like to say thank you to all o you for what for me is massive support. its more than i really expected and i am genuinely thrilled by the comments and PMS.

Also want to note the 486 follows & 416 faves of the original story; if you are in with this or know someone from there then a big shout out to all of you.

Thanks for making this a pleasure to write.

As always comments and critiques welcome, call me out when i'm getting sloppy.

One final thing, just a minor challenge i'm posting at the end of the chapter, for the well know char habit.

Onwards to Glory!


Konoha – The Roots of the Great Tree

A soft rhythmic tap echoed loudly across the stone floor.

"I underestimated the Slug Princess. She is more tenacious than I gave her credit for." Silence was the only answer.

"She has come perilously close to disrupting some of our operations. I do not enjoy leaving my fate in the hands of fortune; that Orochimaru's spies and others alike have been the only thing barring us from her grasping is as much a boon as it is a curse" the tapping stopped in the darkness, "Fortune may not always be with us."

With barely a sound two figures appeared beside him.

"No more loose ends. I will give no more warnings." Both figures nodded at the command.

"And what of the other matter?" A folder was brought to him. Even in the dark the contents were scanned and processed.

"This might be an unexpected benefit to us. See to it he does not return in the immediate future; for now one of our own will be beside him. From there we will monitor the situation and plan our next move.

The figures bowed and departed.

The tapping resume; Danzo's mind was a whirl of possibilities.


Danzo!

Tsunade felt the veins on her forehead pulse; her temper was frayed again. And again, two Chunins came in with a replacement table; she was going through them so quickly their suppliers were having to revise their profits for the next fiscal year.

"That one-eyed parasite!" She seethed as the Chunins left. The ANBU Commander sat in place unflinchingly, even as wood splinters had flown all about him.

"There is no clear evidence of his involvement." The withering glare sent his way did nothing to ruffle the Veteran Commander. "Wild accusations will not strengthen your position Hokage-Sama. More to the point it could very well tip what little hand we have, by then Danzo would shore up his defences and we will have nothing."

The angry air gave way to tense irritation; a vast improvement from before. Still the Commander felt the need to stress his point.

"We have lost this round Hokage-Sama. Let us move to the next battlefield."

Tsunade visibly calmed and sat at the newly replaced desk.

"Naruto reported shortly after his return that he was under surveillance. Aside from our own trace Danzo has him under observation, and it seems all the warnings Naruto sent has only made the old dragon more subtle in his actions."

The ANBU Commander nodded at the assessment.

"A number of our own have come under suspect, however few of them are very good agents, some of the best. Danzo is nothing if not thorough and to remove them now would potentially cripple the Corps. Not to mention for everyone we find, another has slipped the net."

"We know Uzumaki is one of his targets, the title of Hokage is another. Much of his efforts are tabled simply because of your rather aggressive stance; far removed from Sandaime's…preferred methods."

Tsunade snorted at the statement. Reviewing much of the work of her late sensei left a slightly off taste in her mouth. Her old sensei had let things slip, and people had grown accustom to working around him whenever possible.

The ANBU Commander cocked his head at her snort, despite his neutral stance there was some disquiet at her reaction.

"The Sandaime was old. It was impressive he kept things going as he did; and he had not anticipated retaking a position he had departed, after experiencing so many significant losses."

"He had minimal support from his teammates; both of which had become alienated to him. His cold war with his rival weighed on him. And his students were nowhere close by to draw strength and support from."

Tsunade narrowed her gaze at the soft rebuke, but said not a single word. Apart from Jiraiya and potentially the Elder Council, only the ANBU Commander had the uncontested right and capability to speak to her in such a fashion.

So far those times had been few and far between.

With the message clear the ANBU Commander resumed the original topic.

"Uzumaki is determined to cut the snake at the head, and from the data supplied he is the best asset for this mission. Danzo has ensured he has someone to fill the missing gap on the team; on this I believe a tentative concession would not go amiss."

Tsunade nodded, "Loathe as I am I agree. Shino has been attached to Uzumaki's squad, so we will allow Danzo to bring in one of his wind-up dolls."

A shark like grin appeared on Tsunade's face.

"I'm sure he is aware but accepts this as a calculated risk; Naruto is very good at twisting the mind, and pulling out information, especially when properly motivated."

The ANBU Commander nodded in agreement.

"And so we allow Danzo to provide that motivation; from there we will see what we can get." At that he stood, "I will task our agents abroad to keep abreast of the situation; we will ensure Jonin Uzumaki has a clear run on Orochimaru."


The value of a good rest is terribly underappreciated.

Naruto tested the mechanics of his right arm; flexing the muscle fibres and testing the full range of movement. A clone stood by, making minute adjustments and observations in a file.

"Try again" Naruto flexed, immediately noting the improved movement. The clone nodded in satisfaction and finished up its adjustments.

As soon as it pulled away another pair took its place; they held out Naruto's prosthetic arm and then over it they fitted armour casings, strategically placed over the forearm, biceps and triceps areas. The casings had several notches and grooves over them and the reason became clear as a third clone came up. Lightweight overlapping plates slotted into place, adding more defensive options to the prosthetic. Naruto brought the limb to eye view, testing to see if everything was in place. He focused on the fingers; immediately the fingertip casings slid open and downwards, revealing softly glowing razor sharp red talons.

All around the plates faint seal patterns emerged as chakra ran softly over the limb.

Naruto nodded his head in approval. He dropped the chakra output and the finger casing slid back into place. A passing clone handed him his shirt and wide sleeve coat.

With his coat in place Naruto raised his prosthetic limb again and took a slow deep breath. Around him his clones paused from their work and notes and looked at him with eager anticipation and caution.

Chakra rose gently from Naruto, and swirled around the prosthetic limb. Seal scripts lit up, travelling the length of the arm. Minor buffeting occurred as Naruto's chakra rewrote phenomena.

Space bent; the limb disappeared.

Around the shoulder weave of the coat, and the inside length, seal scripts hummed gently, faintly, with chakra. Naruto held his breath for several seconds. Then he gave a sigh of relief as the coat and shirt sleeve seemed to lose coherence and flopped down, the prosthetic no longer holding them upright.

"We did it" A clone to his left commented. Others nodded emphatically, with several resonating with more than usual chakra, as they sensed everything around Naruto. Chakra threads spanned the room, sending information to and fro at high speeds.

"We have had significant progress in bending and manipulation space" Naruto commented as he rolled his shoulder. It was a weird feeling and one he needed to quickly get used to, "But only for brief periods and actions. Folding space as I have, and for the length of time I'm considering is going to be a challenge. The principles are more or less the same, thank Kami; we'll just have to see how it pans out."

The clones nodded, however one bit its lip.

"And if the spatial fold fails? What then? I mean, it could cripple our chakra network, or turn us inside out. We could just use genjutsu to hide the arm if necessary, easier on our chakra and with fewer risks."

Naruto rolled the shoulder again, all eyes watched as the sleeve flopped around useless.

"Genjustu can't account for the missing limb, and skilled users will break through the deception making that avenue moot. No, for this level of deception to work, I have to fight while I'm visibly impaired. Movements and actions will change, and so too will the reactions of my opponents."

"Plus, this arm type is experimental, it's not fully battle tested yet. The levels of connections required are greater than the previous one we used against Sasori and Kisame. It's not something we can seal up and then unseal in place, ready for combat. Spatial folding is the only way to hide its presence, while ensuring it is in place."

Naruto turned around and pushed through several clones, to his work tables were his puppets sat in various stages of repair.

The Warmonger Class was in working order. The tuning fork swords and saw blade weapons had been replaced with arms that ended with talons; six inches of razor sharp blades, meant solely for rending enemies. The armoured carapace had been replaced, as well as all the damaged sections of the puppet.

"The wolf puppets and the flyers are all set. Valkyrie Class has been inspected, along with the others. Scorch, Frost and Goliath Classes are still not ready. You're going to have to run this mission without them."

Naruto nodded slightly, it was to be expected; as good as he was he could only work up to two miracles a day, even that was pushing it.

He pulled out a scroll and moved to the centre of the room. A concentric circle made up of seal markings stood out on the floor; Naruto placed the scroll over the seal markings and both lit up with chakra. The scroll sank in a few inches and remained, pulsing gently every sixty seconds.

"That chakra charge should be able to keep you all going for the next few days, maybe more if you are careful." Naruto informed the thirty clones in the workshop. He cocked his head to the side; maybe it was time to expand again. Some of his clones were literally hanging off the walls or the roof beams.

Thought for another day.


At the same moment Naruto was testing out with his clones, Sakura was in one of the more remote training grounds. Her body was tense with activity, her breathing controlled with effort. Her chakra sang through her veins and her mind worked in tandem with her instincts.

With every shift, with every move, her body seemed to melt and flow, patterns and shadows scattered and fractured around her; hiding her motions and creating a kaleidoscope of infinite colours. She continued to shift from one stance to the next; one kata after another.

Slowly she paused, cocked her head, and then waited.

A figure rushed towards her, intent clear.

Sakura's focus sharpened; she jerked her head to the side, her fist already moving to intercept. Her blow missed but she was in a favourable position to follow up. Her arm tensed; her opponent made to counter but instead her knee rose and made contact.

Rustling told her more opponents were on route. She quickly spun her current opponent, holding him in place. Behind her the earth rumbled, an outcrop shaped as a wedge rose sharply. Sakura smirked at the hisses and curses at her jutsu; pressing her limited advantage she kicked her prisoner into his allies and quickly melted into the earth behind her.

One of the figures pulsed hard with chakra and cocked his fist back; in a furious blow the makeshift barrier shattered.

More rumbling occurred; the second opponent only managed to step back in shock, just as a circular wall sprung up, blocking him from his teammates. A flash of pink appeared ready to strike. Instincts took over and he deflected the blow, only to stumble as he went through the strike.

After-image? Unreal!

Before he could plan his next move Sakura had him gripped in a vice lock; her legs wrapped firmly around him while her hands were around his neck and over his nose and mouth.

"Don't breathe deeply". Instinctively he did the exact opposite, before cursing himself. Large amounts of military grade chloroform filtered through him, designed to quickly incapacitate ninjas; had that been used on civilians chances were they would end up in a coma.

"You bitch" He managed to slur out before nirvana claimed him.

"Love you too, Ikada-Senpai" Sakura whispered dryly at her unconscious teammate. With him secured she moved swiftly unto phase two of her stratagem.

Chakra pulsed as she ran through several handseals. The wall rumbled again; outlines formed in the mass, breaking off into several segments and blocks.

With a roar Sakura pushed her arms outward. Immediately the earth blocks shot out in all directions, forcing her opponents to take evasive actions. A figure swayed passed the incoming blocks, from the movement pattern Sakura knew it to be Mogi. It was strange that the other female would rush into combat, especially seeing as she favoured engaging from a distance. As she turned her attention to Mogi the hairs on her neck stood out as another presence made itself known behind her.

Through it all however, her smirk never left her face.

The figure behind her started with a sweeping kick. Sakura let the blow carry her to the ground. Just before she could hit her left hand caught her fall; with a quick jerk she was moving into a spin. Meanwhile her right index and middle fingers pointed vaguely at Mogi and jerked upwards. An earth spike rose sharply from the ground, forcing Mogi to either abort her charge or redirect.

With her speed she redirected, just as Sakura hoped.

Sakura completed her spin, her right leg trailing for a heavy blow. Her new opponent jerked back a step avoiding the blow, before moving in for a strike. In his haste he missed her left leg trailing behind the right. The blow was a solid hit, sending him spinning, his back now towards Sakura.

Despite this his recovery was impressive. He shifted his stance with his momentum and came in for a sideways kick, just as Mogi crossed the distance for a heavy blow; classic pincer manoeuvre.

The earth underneath her palm rumble and rose up, carrying her into the air. Just as they made contact with the mass the earth softened, allowing their limbs to pass through, before immediately hardening trapping them in place.

Pushing off from her handstand she left the two trapped and sped off, in search for her next target.


"You have gotten better Sakura" Takada commented from his perch to his pink haired subordinate. Sakura lay on the ground, panting in exertion. She had managed to hold of six of them for the better part of ten minutes; that she even made it passed the seven minute mark was a testament to her skill and tenacity.

Ikada had grumbled considering he was the seventh member against her and had been taken out early. Sakura had been determined to blitz the team and disable as many as she could before they could mount a proper offensive.

The only problem was Takada had been her commander, and helped hone her skills; he knew everyone he commanded like he knew himself. So it had been easy enough to bait her approach before engaging her seriously.

Still she put up an impressive offense.

"You've come a long way with your earth jutsus, but try not to depend on them too much. Keep them guessing, you're tough it's true but that can only carry you so far. If it weren't for your ridiculous genjutsu and footwork we'd be singing a very different tune."

Sakura managed a nod as she slowly rose to a sitting position. Training with Thirteen-Black was always a gruelling exercise. Normally they split the numbers but on occasion it was a test to see how long one person could last against a concerted strike. Sakura had known their timetable and sent out a message, requesting a training session with her as the primary.

The last time she ran that gauntlet she had been thoroughly trounced, in less than three minutes and by only two members of the team. Takada had then taken her, Mogi and Koka to the side and explained where she had gone wrong, using her two other teammates to showcase and reinforce the facts. She then participated in a few more runs, but with others as primary and her part of the attack.

So, for her seventh run she was infinitely pleased with her performance.

Especially so, seeing as Ikada had been the one to take her out in the first practice; she was only too happy to finally return the favour.

"So, how long until you return back to us?" Sakura turned to Koka. In a team filled predominantly by men Koka was one of two female shinobi; Sakura had made the third. Koka was covered from head to toe in shinobi gear, nothing exposed or revealing. That said, Sakura could just about make out faint scars around her neck and tattoos she knew covered every square inch companion, barring her face.

Koka had minor problems, especially with attachments. It often took a while for her to warm up to people and then had trouble letting go. She was utterly devoted to Thirteen-Black and Takada; everyone was painfully aware that the day the squad fell apart, would be the day she died.

Still she had gotten better, less clingy.

"I never left" Sakura said, rolling her shoulder. Her hair shifted, just enough to reveal a tattoo marking.

The squad mark for Thirteen-Black.

Koka's eyes gleamed and her posture shifted, revealing her half concealed mark. Overhead Takada rolled his eyes but the camaraderie simply oozed off him. Soon the other available members of the squad gathered round, milling together.

Sharing the silence together.

"Sun's coming up; It's time we head back, you have mission to complete." Takada broke the silence. He glanced at his pink haired subordinate, resolve in his orbs.

"Give 'em hell kid."


At exactly zero-five-hundred, Sakura and Naruto appeared at the Hokage Tower; one in a sparkle of pink cherry blossoms, the other shattering into existence. The duty Nins barely gave them more than a cursory glance before letting them in.

Tsunade was nose deep in several files, constantly shifting from one report to the other.

As they walked in Naruto felt another presence, several thousands of them.

"Shino"

"Naruto-Kun, Sakura-San"

"Shino-Kun" Sakura replied with a small nod. Shino returned the gesture; the two Jonins and single Chunin stepped towards the Hokage's desk and waited to be acknowledged.

"As you are aware this mission will take you deep into enemy territory. Fortunately Jiraiya's Intel has helped narrow the field of search. ANBU reconnaissance has also cleared a path for you."

"Naruto, you have full operational control; we are short on time so you will-" Tsunade was cut off as the door opened.

"Danzo, so kind of you to join us"

The elderly council member nodded in greeting and slowly shuffled into the room. A figure trailed in behind him.

In an instance Naruto's senses sharpened. Something about the figure gave him pause; from the body structure and movements he could plainly tell the figure was above average in terms of skill.

What really stood out however were the feelings behind the chakra. It was familiar enough; he had picked up the strange tones around the village, observing him on and off, but he never had the opportunity for a detailed analysis. The owner seemed to have a rough estimate of his skill and stayed firmly out of range, or disappeared entirely before he could be fully read.

The person was a dead-zone; a black hole that absorbed all emotion into its depth, leaving, oddly enough sticking with astronomy terms, an accretion disk of its passing. The figure might as well be a lifeless doll, a toy.

A puppet….

Naruto flinched hard and pulled away from the sensation. He ignored the sharp glances and focused on Danzo and his companion, a slight curl developed on his lips; his eye narrowed a fraction in dislike.

Puppets were sterile, simply because of their very nature. They were not alive, hence could not be expected to follow the course of the living; this person was a living thing, and yet it felt dead inside. Not even Itachi, for all the Uchiha's calm and poise felt like a husk.

The very presence of Danzo's companion offended every fibre of Naruto's being.

"Is there something amiss, young Uzumaki?" Danzo's query brought him out of his haze. Naruto remained guarded but made a conscious effort to appear non-threatening.

"Not as such Honoured Elder, I just hadn't expected to match faces with one of my many shadows, this one much more persistent than the others." Danzo blinked at the rather blatant call-out.

"Naruto" a soft warning issued from Tsunade. Immediately his demeanour shifted; he become more deferential and gave a soft bow in apology.

Danzo nodded and the matter dropped, for a time.

"I have brought my candidate for Team Seven; his file should have been passed through your desk." Danzo stated as he slowly moved into the office.

"Greetings, I am Sai." The bland puppet spoke, offending Naruto even more. The smile that followed was very nearly the finale straw. "I look forward to working alongside you."

Sakura mumble out a greeting. Shino simply nodded. Naruto flicked his eye over the interloper and summarily dismissed him.

"The mission Hokage-Sama"

Tsunade nodded and tossed a scroll at him.

"All your pertinent orders are in there. If you haven't already I suggest each of you be fully prepped; I want you out of the village five."

"Find Orochimaru's base. Confirm priority target."

"Finish the mission."


A.N - Another chapter down, and finally we can move to Rice Country. After the heavy instance with Akatsuki and Sasori i thought everyone could use the break - that break is now over.

Also we have Sai on Team Seven - yay...

Speaking of the Sasuke knock-off; he has a habit of insulting nicknames for everyone - i cant think of one for Naruto. His original i feel does not apply so a new one is necessary

This is the challenge - can someone give me something, given both Sai's and Naruto's personalities, what do you see Sai calling him.

Also answers and comments to some reviews:

Guest Chapter 16 - You have a paranoid calculating individual who cares a lot about perception and reality - its not so much that Byakuya might be alive, but more how will everyone see him and how it will affect his chances at Hokage. He is predisposed to assuming the worst so he shies away from some issues while diving head first into others.

Scareace & RamenKnight - We shall see, soon enough.

Thanks again for your faves, follows, and comments.

Take Care and Fun Reads