If there was a single thing that I could say that you would take to heart would be this, Don't trust anyone, not friends not family not co-workers not even your lover because if there is one thing I have learnt in my entire life is that Trust leads to betrayal, people will betray you without thought or conscience, people will act like your friend to your face but as soon as your back is turned they become like Judas and sell you up the river

This isn't just some emo angst ridden 'woe is me' comment made by some whiny depressed teenager with too much time on their hands and no sense in the real world, this is a fact and you have to be pretty damn paranoid to make sure you don't end up with nothing because no matter how nice someone is to you they 'always' have ulterior motives

-Rant-

Someone commented on if Naruto's changes would be permanent and the answer is yes, I tend to be a firm believer of 'Power at a price' if you want something of great value then you must give up something of equal or greater value

This is true for almost everything in life as there really is no such thing as a 'quick buck' if you want something you have to earn it and Naruto's physical appearance repulsive as it may seem is the price paid for survival, treat it like scar tissue a wound will heal but a mark will be left from where the healing had taken place

It has also been a slight peeve with me that the 'good guys' in Naruto get all this wondrous power without any actual cost to themselves while the 'bad guys' have to screw themselves over just to pick at scraps

Lets take blowing fire out of our mouths for example i.e. Sasuke's fire attacks, if you have ever seen at a circus a man who either eats fire or breathes fire you'll notice something about them if you look hard enough, the thing you're looking for is the fact his lips are like a fishes covered in burns that have healed over and hardened and their always bald, this is because even in training they screw up and usually make themselves irreversibly bald from their scalp, beard and even eyebrows

Also they have almost no tastebuds or sense of smell for the same reason, now I'm not sure if you've noticed but Sasuke has none of these qualities and he's been blowing fire out of his mouth since he was seven and it's been my experience that hair burns rather easily and goes up as quickly as petrol soaked paper

-End rant-

Disclaimer- Objection, me no speak'in any funny lawyer gibberish although I do own a dog named Syndrome, down, Down syndrome.

---

Sarutobi smiled as he left the room his aged eyes glancing over but not noticing the book on Naruto's bedside desk as its subtle yet powerful Genjutsu made him simply no acknowledge its existence as his mind was telling him 'its only a book, its hardly important, its not like its a danger to anyone nor is it interesting'

"Hokage-sama, a word with you in private if I may?" a man equally as old as Sandaime spoke hobbling along on a thick walking stick as both his left leg and arm were quite lame, a testament to the damage Sarutobi was willing to incur to another leaf nin to get to his position as Hokage

"What is this about Danzo-san, if it is about your ANBU unit then I'm not in the mood to hear it" Sandaime spoke in a tired drawn out sigh idly wondering if Naruto was really alright

"No, no I haven't come her for that I just came to pay my respects to our resident Jinchuriki" Danzo spoke in an almost jovial tone but Sarutobi could see the underlying intent in the bandaged man's words

"Is that so, and what of needing to speak with me Danzo-san surely you did not want to garner my permission to simply pay respects to an academy student" his voice was equally jovial to Danzo's own, each held respect for each other but were both engaged in a heated battle, not one of swords and ninja magic but politics and word games and like always neither would let up

"As perceptive as ever Hokage-sama, my speaking to you is more about a council meeting that is taking place today without your permission, I simply thought it best that you were informed so one of your potential shinobi don't get sentenced to death for suddenly having 'more power then his station allowed'"

It was no secret that Sarutobi distrusted the council as most were the greedy and noble who could buy their way into the seat and only a few were proper elected members like clan heads and while being part of the council Danzo had a fond distaste for most of the members as he saw them as a rotting corruption of the great tree

"Thank you Danzo-san, it is good to know that there are still those who look out for Konoha citizens and by the way I heard there was going to be a wonderful festival in Grass country this year, I'm sure your 'nephew' and his close friends would love to go as I heard they were getting time off around that time"

Sarutobi's words made Danzo smile in response, while the Hokage would never openly support Danzo or his 'disbanded' Anbu unit the old man knew that Danzo was still keeping its members active and had just given him a juicy piece of information that would protect the roots of Konoha

---

Naruto sat up and looked around his eyes being drawn to his bedside dresser where lay a book, plain black with a simple binding of thick leather as to protect it from the elements and a strong metal clasp to keep it closed and secure

'Odd, did Oji-san leave the book here, maybe it was one of the nurses or something'

figuring it was someone else's Naruto turned away and idly began playing with one of his stitches unravelling it and picking at it slightly with a dry hardened nail which had dyed a pale white and thickened slightly small hairline cracks along its surface

'I'm bored'

He thought idly playing with a tendril strand that mimicked his hair letting itself be spiked up before drooping and curling as if to convey his boredom

'I want my old hair back'

Thoughts of why he had died flashed through his mind and only one word summed up what he felt

'Weak'

The mental voice didn't sound like his own, more like the school children and teachers who constantly put him even though they could never do half what he did as they only put one third the effort he put into any task while receiving little to no help as most of his 'help' came from abuse and thoughtful insight

'Pathetic'

He wasn't, he couldn't be, he would never admit weakness even when his hands became bloody and torn from exertion and his muscles ached from rips and tears, he put in three hours of training where others put in one, when other people had families and teachers they could rely on to give them pointers and techniques he was forced to make do with less then adequate supplies and knowledge and if knowledge was power then in comparison most toddlers had more power then him

'Scum, demon, get out of here, you're worthless, you'll never amount to anything, why do you even bother you're better off dead, maybe the maggots will find use for you but then again I doubt even they would come near something like you'

He scowled tightening his hands into knuckles a small glint of red entering his eyes and the sound of something cracking entered his ears making him blink away the rage, looking around he noticed his hand gripped around the metal bedpost of the hospital bed, bent at an almost right angle and gingerly released his hold on the frame

He found it slightly disturbing how he had suddenly lost his temper, he had 'never' lost his temper mainly because he always knew if he did then things would only get worse for him and damn was he bored, he really needed something to take his mind off his crappy life, but what?

His eyes drifted to the book on the dresser again before he looked away, it wasn't right to read it, its not like he owned it and he'd probably get yelled at if he went through the persons things without asking, then he'd probably get yelled at anyway as he normally got accused of things he didn't do

'Man I'm really bored'

It wasn't long before his eyes drifted back across the book barely minutes latter having nothing else to do and nothing interesting in the plain cream coloured room

"Ahh why the fuck not, it's better to live then to let die or some shit"

Having no one to tell him right from wrong made it easier to learn cuss words and knowing it pissed off people who hated him when he said them made him feel a bit better about himself, a guilty pleasure

Picking up the book he looked it over, it was thick and quite heavy with well over five hundred pages with a black leather binding and coarse bindings for its spine, it was heavier then it looked and an experimental knock on its cover revealed that under the leather were solid supposedly metal plates, definitely a book designed for lasting

Flipping the cover over Naruto watched a small folded piece of paper fall out of the book and into his lap picking it up he opened it to read its contents

To the kid who owes me his life

'You mean this is that creepy guy's book'

This book contains all the important facts and knowledge needed to survive as a ninja, it also contains several theories on ninjutsu application as well as both my biography and silent musing's that I have written down in my extremely long life

p.s. Don't go round waving this book in peoples faces and try to keep it hidden, especially from ninja's and don't go round showing off your skills needlessly either otherwise you won't survive to regret it.

'So he's giving me this book, so he's kinda my first real sensei. Heh those idiots at the academy won't see this coming and with this book I'll easily out do all those bastards'

Hearing a knock at the door and remembering what the book reminded him Naruto smoothly slipped the book under the lumpy hospital pillow

"Doors unlocked"

Expecting a nurse or doctor Naruto was surprised when a wizened old man with a cane walked through the door, one of his arms was in a sling and a good half of his face was wrapped loosely in bandages with a few small burn marks showing where a bandage had slipped or wasn't dressed properly

Not knowing who the person in front of him was Naruto decided speaking the first thing that popped up into his head seemed the best idea, it after all usually worked in the past and considering his luck with gambling taking random bets based off hunches also seemed a good idea

"Ehh I think you got the wrong room oji-san, the old people's home is at the 'other' end of the hall, you know the that smells of pee pee and has all the geezers talking about back in the day"

The man blinked, then coughed and straightened himself up as best he could while still needing to support himself with his cane

"I'm not lo-"

"-Oh I get it you're looking for a nurse or something to get yourself checked out, yeah that's it I suppose those bandages do look a bit dirty and you're probably out of medication I hear all the kids at school when they talk about their grandparents and stuff that they complain about having ta spoon feed their med's"

Naruto folded his arms and nodded his head enthusiastically thinking he hit the nail on the head with that one

"Ehh that's no why I'm he-"

"Ohh I know you were told that your grand kid was in the hospital and were given the wrong room number don't worry I'm sure your kid is in the other room you should go check on him"

"Child I'm not here to see any of my family, I came here to speak with 'You'"

Finally getting an entire sentence out unobstructed Danzo spoke with unwavering determination pointing directly at Naruto staring unflinchingly with his single good eye

"Huh me what for, if it was the itching powder I placed on the public documents then it was nothing personal and I'm sorry ok"

'So it was the Jinchuriki that caused the anthrax scare a week ago I'll remember to inform the ROOT squad to stand down on that then'

"No don't be silly child I'm not here for some trivial and thoughtless revenge and besides I'm quite pleased with your terrorism antics as they not only keep Konoha's ninja on their toes but also help improve security measures within the village"

Naruto almost collapsed from shock, not once but twice in a single day he had found a person who held some conceited grudge against him but also praised him for what he was doing

"So then why are you here then?"

"Ahh straight to the point I like that in ninja hopefuls, my purpose for this most unexpected visit was to give you a proposal of sorts"

"Proposal"

"I know of your troubles at the academy and some of the reasons for why people hate you, what I am proposing is that I become a sponsor 'of sorts'"

"Of sorts"

"The reason you seem to be getting no where at the academy is not because of lack of effort or natural skill, it is more because you have less then others don't you agree?"

"Well yeah kind'a but if I had that kind'a help from the start then I might not have tried so hard"

"Maybe child but given the right support and your current drive couldn't you advance even quicker then say a rookie of the year Hyuuga Neji"

Naruto opened his eyes wide when Danzo said this, he knew of Neji, almost everyone in the year below Neji had heard of him and how he had scored the highest ever test results for a gennin since some guy named Itachi that there was no records of

"But wait, what do you want in return for helping me I know people don't do things out of the kindness in their hearts for me, no one ever has so what's the catch"

'Perceptive child, people don't give you enough credit where due but I guess that's a given with his unique situation'

"You're partially right child, you know one of the things I hate most about people... their wasteful lifestyle, humans take far too much for granted where others have nothing or even less as given in your situation, most would consider their luxuries as a necessity or needs but what would happen to someone who had managed to get as far the person with the luxuries while having nothing to help him get there suddenly given help so they could advance"

"The answer is simple, the person who had faced hardship would suddenly move at an astonishing pace and could easily rise in power and power is what Konoha needs at this time, unknown to most many of the Shinobi countries are close to war, this should surprise you as it isn't talked openly in front of civilians and even gennin aren't told this"

Danzo sighed and rubbed his forehead wearily before continuing at a more sedate pace

"You Naruto, You are a person who has faced many hardship and with myself backing you I can help you rise in both fame and power and you're right this isn't some selfless act of kindness, I'm old and crippled and need help from others for anything beyond simply walking and I find my own political power waning in favour of younger and more brash council members who have their own heads filled with illusions of their supposed superiority"

"While I cannot publicly oppose any of them I know that they are short minded and greedy in their aims, they corrupt the very roots of Konoha's great tree and the one thing to wash away the degradation of their whimsical goals, Konoha needs powerful figure head, an idol if you will I can help you become powerful as long as you help me remain influential"

Naruto understood the gist of what the old man was saying and it rung bells in his ears listening to him talk, he could tell he wasn't lying as he had become an almost master of noticing such things in a persons talk an mannerisms and the constant reminder of the time he nearly lost his tongue from a kindly lady who had given him a cupcake with a razor in it made him cautious of anyone who 'gave' away free things

"So you want me to become famous so I can become a walking billboard for you is that it"

"Essentially yes but you must remember that you can only get so far on your own but with a personal trainer and a stable financial backing you could end up the head of ANBU in five years"

"I don't know what to say" Naruto muttered lost for words

"You don't have to answer me straight away, rash the decisions are always the cause for injury in a ninja career but if you decide to take my offer ask for Danzo of north district"

Moving over to Naruto Danzo laid a wrapped package on his lap and moved towards the door and then turned

"That package is just a sample of what I can offer you if you take my offer but please, think of it as a get well present..."

Danzo paused mid sentence then looked over towards Naruto's bedside dresser

"A pity none of your classmates or teachers took the time to give you a get well card… oh well I'll be off"

Naruto could only stare as the man walked out the door his entire body having gone numb from shock.

---

End chapter-

Ohh a sorta cliff-hanger, what's in the package I wonder well if you want to know you'll have to wait and see hu hu hu.

Kakuzu's book- I based it off this story of this wizard who bonded a magical sword to himself to become immortal and making it so the sword would never be parted from him, the way in which the sword never left him wasn't something like teleportation or anything fancy but instead it influenced perception and after travelling for a while as time passed magic became scarce and magical items became things that wars were fought over

Lets take for example of how the bonding affected an army, the army wanting to study the magical sword would in most cases confiscate the sword and send the wizard on his way, the wizard let them because he knew his sword would be back to him a day or so and he also held no desire to hack apart an entire army, while the scientist concentrated and remained focused the sword would be there and they would handle it just as anyone would normally handle the sword

But when their concentration lapsed they would simply 'forget' that the sword existed, one of the personal merely tossing it aside where a soldier would pick it up look at it then give it to someone else who would then give it to another person who would end up dropping it into a river where it would float away and then get lodged into the jaw of a bear who would get killed by a hunter who would pick up the sword, and so on and so forth until it made its way back into the wizards possession

The book works on much the same principal as the Genjutsu makes people only acknowledge the book so it can get transported back into Naruto's possession where the person will forget all about it

You may be wondering why the Hokage or any other ninja for that matter wouldn't of picked up on the book's existence, well the answers simple, Ninja are trained to detect threats and dangerous Genjutsu that means to harm them or others, the Genjutsu on the book is the exact opposite and looking for it would be like trying to learn a completely different language, as in not impossible just friggin hard

Danzo- Danzo for being such a minor character is incredibly complex and in many stories is badly characterised as some small minded bigot when in reality he's not, a fanatic yes but a bigot no

His protection and ideal of keeping Konoha safe could be considered an obsession as he in my opinion represents a much more realistic side to the ninja and in many ways is exactly like Sarutobi, both are burdened with the past Danzo's being of physical nature while Sarutobi's are more wounds of the mind each dealt with their hardships differently and ergo turned out differently