Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise nor do I make any money off of my work. This is done entirely for fun.
I apologize about how long this chapter took to be posted. It was a chapter that existed in between two scenes that I had already mapped out and I wasn't quite sure how the transition would work. I also found out that writing ten thousand words a chapter is more difficult than I had previously thought. All that being said, I have a definite idea of where the next chapter is going so it will probably be out faster than this one.
I want to thank everyone who commented, liked or favorited this story. It is the first one I have written and it makes my day to know that people enjoy it.
Hopefully this chapter answered many of the questions and concerns I got from the reviews. I welcome more reviews and any input or constructive criticism that anyone wants to give me.
_A Kumo Ninja_
Naruto sat on Mabui's lap and tried to stare at the man who sat across the desk from him without being noticed. The man was unlike anyone Naruto had seen before and Naruto wanted to know more about him.
The man Naruto had been staring at was wearing a pair of black workout pants and a long, white trench coat that was completely unbuttoned. This was quite strange because the room they were in was actually incredibly cold, so much so that Naruto wished he had a coat of his own.
But that was not what fascinated Naruto. The man's clothing, however out of place they were, were nothing special to Naruto. Konohagakure was a large trading city and he had seen people dressed in all sorts of strange fashions.
What fascinated Naruto so much that he was staring at the man was the man himself. The man was by far the most muscular man Naruto had ever seen.
At first Naruto had been staring in disbelief, he had not thought any one could be more muscular than B but that had passed ten minutes ago.
Now Naruto was staring in admiration. To Naruto the man's muscles represented his dedication to becoming a strong shinobi and Naruto was wondering if he would ever be able to become like the man in front of him.
Finally the man shifted from his thinking pose. He quickly scanned the group, as if to see if anything had changed in the minutes he had been focused on his own mind. Finally he spoke.
"I honestly am not sure what to say. By all accounts you failed the original mission I sent you on. Not only did you fail to create a lasting peace treaty but you took a citizen of Konohagakure without permission. Wars have been started over lesser offenses."
The adults in the group began to sweat nervously. Mabui tightened her grip on Naruto as if afraid he would disappear.
The man continued his speech. "On the other hand you achieved the far more difficult mission of bringing a most likely powerful bloodline to Kumo. You also managed to get more long lasting intelligence than any intelligence gathering mission I have ever assigned."
Mabui relaxed her hold on Naruto a little. She had known the man who was giving this speech for a long time and she was confident that all would be well.
After another pause that seemed to stretch on forever the man spoke again. His words seemed to vindicate Mabui's feelings and caused the general tension in the room to drop severely.
"I guess I have to say good job. While everything could have gone horribly wrong, and still can, the information and possible bloodline you brought back will strengthen Kumo more than an alliance with Konoha ever could."
B decided that they were out of danger so he decided to speak.
"Hey, A, I'm not even sure that an alliance with Konoha is a good idea anymore."
A's face became expressionless. He motioned for B to continue with his reasons.
"I mean that while they do have the most money and shinobi of any hidden village, from what I saw while I was there, they are actually quite weak."
"Oh? What do you mean they're weak? From what you just said they sound fairly strong."
"Well, it's just that the Konoha shinobi I've seen are really weak. I'd say that the majority of their shinobi are actually genin and that our average genin would beat there average genin easily."
A nodded his head thoughtfully. "Hmm, and what brought you to this conclusion?"
"When we were walking around Konoha I had my team keep a running count of every shinobi we had seen, their jobs and an estimate of there power levels. While that is not the most accurate way of taking their measure I would say that there were five genin to every chunin we met. On terms of jonin, I would say there were four chunin to every jonin we saw."
A turned to C to ask his next question. "How were you measuring rank? I doubt they would just tell you the ranks of any shinobi you met."
C frowned for a moment before answering the question. "Each of us gathered as much information about those we met as we could get and at the end of the day we put the information together to get an idea of ranks based on the averages that we found."
"And you agree with B's assessment of Konoha?"
"If anything I would think that B's assessment is generous. From what I saw and the list we compiled, if we were to attack Konoha right now, we would win. We would take heavy losses but we would win."
A sat back in his chair. He was silent for a moment as he processed the information before turning to Mabui. "And you? What do you think?"
"I have to agree with the others. From what I could see their shinobi were not nearly as well disciplined, ready for combat or even as strong as ours are. If we were to attack I would say the majority of our losses would come from their sheer numbers, their kekkei genkai, and their occasional prodigy that Konoha seems to produce."
B jumped back into the conversation with more supporting information. "I mean, the watchers they sent after us were so easy to evade that I almost did it by accident when I got lost."
C jumped in with his own comments. "The shinobi they sent to make sure we left their territory got bored and left after two hours, while we were still in their borders."
Mabui also decided to throw in her two cents. "I also have to say that they are extremely negligent about security. All the scrolls that Naruto retrieved were taken from the trash. Clan secrets and fairly powerful jutsu scrolls were completely unguarded after they were disposed of."
A nodded his head in understanding. "Do you have the exact numbers and information that you used in estimating the strength of Konoha."
C nodded and silently handed over a bundle of scrolls. A quickly read through the scrolls before putting them to the side. He would have analyst double check the information later.
"Do you think that they were putting on a poor showing of power as a trap?"
The three adult fell silent as the reviewed their time in Konoha. Naruto frowned for a moment and picked through the scrolls that he still had in his bag.
A suppressed a smile at Naruto's antics, he still remembered how bored he was when his father made him sit in meetings like this one when he was Naruto's age.
Finally the silence was broken by an unexpected voice.
"There it is." Naruto exclaimed while pulling out a scroll from his bag. Mabui blushed in embarrassment at Naruto's behavior and tried to shush him but Naruto ignored her in favor of holding out the scroll to A.
A looked at the scroll and raised an eyebrow. After a moment he decided to humor the boy and took the scroll. Naruto, now free of his burden, explained why he wanted A to look at that particular scroll.
"I found that scroll in the Hokage Tower's garbage pile. You wanted to know about the strength of Konoha's shinobi and I think this has some information that will be useful."
A sat back in his chair and opened the scroll. He was completely silent as he read through the scroll. When he finished he put the scroll down and turned all his attention towards Naruto.
"Are you sure this is accurate? Can you say for certain that this was not left out as a trick?"
Naruto had become nervous when A's full attention had fallen on him. He took a deep breath to allow him to speak and gave his answer.
"I guess it is possible it was a trick but I found this scroll a month before anyone from Kumo arrived. If it is a trick, it has to be really elaborate because I have other scrolls saying the same thing."
A nodded his head thoughtfully and held out his hand. Naruto quickly figured out what he wanted and looked through his bag. He began pulling out scrolls and handing them to Mabui to give to A.
Finally Naruto stopped and looked up. Sitting on A's desk were ten scrolls including the one he had handed over earlier. A was glancing through them to confirm that the information he was looking for was there.
They waited for a minute, the silence broken only by the sound made by the scrolls as they opened and closed. Finally A put down the last scroll and called in his temporary secretary.
"Send a message to Kenji Nakada. Tell him to get here with his best analysts as soon as he can."
"Of course. Right away Raikage-sama."
A turned his full attention back to Naruto. "I thought that all you had was jutsu scrolls?"
Naruto sweated nervously, thinking he was in trouble. He hurried to explain.
"Not really. I have lots of scrolls, anything I could collect really. It's just that everyone was so excited about the jutsu scrolls I forgot about the rest."
A sent a quick disapproving look towards B, causing him to duck his head before turning his attention back to Naruto.
"Is there anything else like these scrolls that you have?"
Naruto nodded his head hesitantly, unsure of his answer.
"I have scrolls other than jutsu scrolls if that's what your asking."
A held out his hand again and looked at Naruto expectantly. Naruto got the message and began pulling out scrolls from his pack once again. Mabui looked on, curious at just how many scrolls he seemed to have.
B decided to ask just that question. "Yo, Naruto. How many scrolls did you fit in that bag?"
Naruto stopped for a moment and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "As many as I could find, I didn't really count. I just collected all the scrolls that I could and brought them with me in case they were important."
A cleared his thought causing Naruto to jump. He glanced up to see that A was reading some of the scrolls he was turning in. Naruto remembered what he was supposed to do so he went back to unloading scrolls on A's desk.
Ten minutes after Naruto pulled out the last non-jutsu scroll the door opened and a group of six men dressed in what he now saw was standard Kumo ninja attire entered the room. The man in the lead moved to stand in front of A.
"Kenji Nakada with analyst team A reporting as ordered, Raikage-sama."
A looked up from the scroll he was reading and addressed the new arrivals.
"You're here. Good. The team I sent to make a new treaty with Konoha returned with Naruto, a defector from Konoha, and valuable information for you to go over."
The man nodded and focused on the unfamiliar face in the room.
"You must be Naruto then. My name is Kenji Nakada and I'm head of Kumo's intelligence department. Once you get settled in we'll have a talk about your life in Konoha. It's standard practice with defectors, we want to see if we can get information about your previous village and anything you say can help."
A interrupted the conversation. "You'll have a second interview later but I think you'll want to do a quick one now."
"Why is that Raikage-sama?"
"Naruto brought along quite a few scrolls that have some valuable intelligence when he defected. It will take you a few weeks to read through most of it, and you can have a more in depth interview when you have, but I need you to analyze a few of these scrolls right now."
Kenji glanced at the massive pile of scrolls on the desk and nodded his head. A fished out the scrolls Naruto had originally given him and the assessment on the shinobi B's team had met.
Kenji looked at the information before passing it to his team. He turned and focused on Naruto.
"I have to ask, is he reliable as a source. He could be trying to feed us false information so we make a mistake."
C jumped to Naruto's defense immediately. "He is reliable. I personally checked his medical information and corroborated his story with over twenty random citizens and shinobi I met. Unless all of Konoha was in on putting a cover story together he's telling the truth."
Kenji nodded his head and addressed Naruto. "I'm sorry that I had to ask that but I have to be careful."
Naruto nodded his head. "I understand. Even in Konoha, the village's safety always came first."
Kenji smiled at Naruto, knowing that he would get more information if he was friendly and continued with the conversation.
"Thank you for being so understanding. Now then, why don't you tell me how you came across this information."
Naruto nodded and began his story once again. He knew that the more information he gave them the bigger an asset he would be and the more they would protect him.
He trusted Mabui's promise that they would let him join Kumo but figured that every little bit helped. He finished his explanation and waited for the next question.
"That's very interesting. Do you think that the information was planted? It seems extremely convenient that it was so unguarded."
This time B spoke up. "It is, of course, possible that the information was planted but it seems unlikely. From my own observations I would say that security in Konoha is really lax."
Naruto decided to contribute more information.
"I don't think someone left these out for me to find. I've been finding them for over a year before I left."
Kenji nodded thoughtfully. It wasn't likely that the scrolls were planted because of how long it had been happening but it wasn't impossible. The next question came from one of the analysts.
"Do you have the rest of the scrolls? They seem to be missing the months of February and June."
Naruto ducked his head in embarrassment.
"No. Those are the only ones I had. I probably had them but there is a good chance that I burned them."
The analyst looked so taken a back that Naruto hurried to explain.
"When I originally took them I was planning to use them to start fires so I would have warmth over the winter. I took all sorts of scrolls and burned anything that wasn't a jutsu scrolls because I had no need to keep them."
Mabui looked up and asked a question that had been bothering her.
"If you had been using scrolls to start fires why do you have so many left? Especially old ones?"
"Fires were really noticeable so I tried not to use them unless I really had to. Then it became warm again but I continued collecting them in case I couldn't find any in winter. When I started using them for fires again I would just grab a handful, I didn't go from oldest to newest or anything like that."
Mabui nodded and the analyst shook his head. After another moment the analyst that had come in last asked another question.
"Um, I'm really sorry but I'm used to analyzing battle reports. I fail to see how these contain useful information and what I should be analyzing them for."
A turned towards Kenji and glared at him. Kenji was quick to give an explanation.
"You said to bring my best analysts and he really is good with battle reports. He's just new to the rest of his job," Kenji turned to glare at the analyst who had spoken. "Something we will be fixing a soon as we can."
The analyst gulped, knowing that he had drawn the ire of his superiors. The analyst next to him decided to help out by explaining what they were looking for.
"These are reports of missions rejected by Konoha. What is really strange is that there are so many."
"I get that but I still don't get what I'm supposed to be looking for."
A could't believe that the man was one of his best analysts and made sure that everyone knew it.
"Kami help me, this is one of our best analysts? Naruto could figure it out and he's six!"
Naruto decided to keep quite about the fact that he had actually misunderstood what the scrolls were about. He had thought that the scrolls were showing the ranks of the shinobi who had completed each mission.
Kenji picked up the explanation so that A could calm down.
"Missions are the life blood of a hidden village. Any mission that is turned down weakens the village by losing clients, money and damaging the village's reputation. No village would turn down a mission unless it really had to."
The analyst nodded his head but his expression still showed his lack of understanding. Kenji sighed and questioned wether or not the analyst really should have the job he currently had. Finally he decided to just spell out what he should have seen for himself.
"If a village turns down a job it is because they are unable to take the job. This can mean that the job is to difficult for them to take or that they don't have enough shinobi to take the job."
The analyst finally began to understand what Kenji was talking about. He blushed in embarrassment and decided to show that he wasn't a complete idiot.
"Oh, I get it. The problem is that Konoha has the most shinobi of any hidden village so that means that they don't have enough skilled shinobi to fulfill all these jobs. The ranks are mostly A and B so that means they have a lack of chunin and jonin who normally do these jobs."
Kenji ignored A's muttered "Finally" and finished his explanation.
"Yes, exactly. Now we don't know how many mission were accepted and what rank they were but based on the average number of missions we get a month at each difficulty and action reports that mention Konoha shinobi I would say that that conclusion is accurate. I would also have to say that based on how many months this has been going on this is a problem thats not really being fixed. That lets us draw many more conclusions."
A different analyst decided to speak up.
"I will be able to draw a more complete conclusion when I can check the records and look at more data but I would say that that means the average Konoha shinobi is a genin, and from the C ranks in there, not very strong ones."
Kenji turned to Naruto and asked him an important question.
"Over the past two week, when B was in Konoha, was the amount of shinobi present different than what is normally there?"
Everyone in the room focused their attention on Naruto. He knew this was a very important question so he took his time thinking about his answer. Finally he nodded his head and responded.
"You know there were fewer shinobi around then there usually were. It made moving around easier because there weren't any shinobi hoping along the roof tops."
All the analysts in the room frowned at his response before one gave a tentative response.
"Could be they took in a lot of missions. Maybe they fixed whatever this problem was and decided to show they were still reliable."
Kenji shook his head and offered a counter response. "I don't think so, we would have noticed because our missions would have lowered. Maybe it was a show of force. Saying that they are so strong they don't need many shinobi to defend their village."
The analysts fell into a group and began to discuss the possibilities. After a moment Kenji turned to A.
"We'll need to analyze more information before we can have a definite theory. Give us a week to go over the other scrolls and our own information."
A nodded and motioned for the analysts to take the scrolls.
"Fine. I expect a full report in one week. I need to know if Konoha is actually weak or not. Kenji, stay for a moment, I need to ask you a few questions."
The analysts moved over to the table and took all the scrolls. They left the office as a group, still discussing their ideas. Finally A turned his attention back to Naruto.
"I want you to know that you did good work. You have great instincts to have brought that information. If you keep it up you'll go far as a shinobi."
Naruto beamed at the praise he received. He was glad that so many people believed that he could fulfill his dream.
"For your effort in gathering this information from a semi-hostile hidden village and returning it to Kumo safely I am awarding you with a successfully completed A-rank mission. That means you will receive a sum of five-hundred thousand ryō."
A paused for a moment to let this sink in. Naruto was shocked and excited, this was more than he had ever believed he would have. A continued when he saw that Naruto understood what he was saying.
"You will also receive citizenship in Kumogakure after the standard three month waiting period. As you are an orphan you will also get an apartment free of charge until you become a genin or reach the age of sixteen and a monthly stipend of two-thousand ryō."
Naruto was smiling widely. Part of him had believed that Kumo would be the exact same as Konoha and he was relieved that he was obviously mistaken. A smirked at Naruto's obvious joy and decided to give his last announcement.
"Also, because you were the one to retrieve those jutsu scrolls that will help the village I will have a copy of each scroll made for you to keep. You can start your own library with them. Just make sure that you have someone with you when you start learning them, for your safety if nothing else."
Naruto nodded his head happily. He this was beyond his wildest dreams. He was accepted in Kumo and was well on his way to becoming a shinobi.
"Thank you very must Raikage-sama. I will become a great Kumo shinobi, I won't let you down."
A smirked at his enthusiasm. "Now then, the apartment I am giving you is apartment 5D in Building number 10. I believe Mabui can help you find it as she lives in apartment 5A in the same building."
Naruto's eyes grew huge and he looked up at Mabui. She smiled and nodded her head, happy that Naruto was being accepted and that she would be able to keep and eye on him.
"I'll take you there later, after the Raikage dismisses us."
A addressed Mabui with his next comment. "Then you can take him now. The two of you can go for now, just remember to come back next week when the analysts are giving their reports. You can pick up the apartment key from my secretary on your way out."
Naruto smiled at A and jumped up. Mabui followed him up a moment later. At Mabui's prodding Naruto bowed to A and followed her out. The door closed and the four men remaining in the room waited for a moment.
After a minute of silence Kenji spoke.
"Are you sure that's a good idea Raikage-sama? Shouldn't we restrict his movements until we're sure of his loyalty."
A responded to his chief of intelligence gathering.
"I understand your concern but I am reasonably sure that we can trust his loyalty. It's possible that he's really a deep cover agent, especially because of that damned Yamanaka clan but its extremely unlikely."
C jumped in with supporting information.
"Like I said earlier, his medical history checked out and we verified his story from many different sources. I also gave him many cognitive tests that we have used to find Konoha sleeper agents before and he turned up clean. We will have to do a more in depth examination to be sure but I think it's safe to assume he's clean."
Kenji frowned for a moment but nodded.
"I'll want those tests done, we can have them as part of the physical we give him so he doesn't get suspicious. We should also check for seals, Konoha had some fuinjutsu masters that we need to watch for."
A nodded his head. "Agreed. I'll send over the order to the medical examiners."
C raised the next concern. "Are you sure it was wise to give him the jutsu scrolls. He is very young and he could cause a lot of damage with them."
A waved away that concern. "Not really. I looked through them and they were mostly E and D rank jutsu. Useful on the road but not very destructive. There are a couple of C rank and even one B rank jutsu but they require training and more chakra than a six year old can use."
C shook his head at that. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm a chakra sensor and I can definitely say that Naruto has more chakra than any six year old I have ever met. Hell, he has more chakra than some Jonin I know. I almost thought he was lying about his age but my medical scans confirmed it."
A frowned at this news. Finally he shook his head. "While that is highly unusual he still needs training to use any of those jutsu. Do you know why he has such high chakra reserves?"
"Not really. Part of it could be his kekkei genkai, the Uzumaki clan always did have larger chakra reserves than most people but that wouldn't account for all of it. The physical should give us more information to work with."
B decided that there was a much more important issue than wether or not Naruto was a sleeper agent.
"Are we going to war with Konoha? Because from your earlier statements it seems that you want to go to war with Konoha."
A was silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't think so. Even if all the information we got is true we would still be weakened enough that we might be attacked. I just want to know because I need to know how much of a threat everyone is and how much my efforts to make our village stronger are working."
B sighed in relief. "Good. If you had really wanted to I would have fought but I really want to avoid a war if I can."
A nodded his head thoughtfully and dismissed the shinobi gathered before him. He leaned out of the door and addressed his secretary.
"Clear my appointments for today, I don't want to be disturbed unless there is an emergency."
His secretary nodded her head.
"Of course Raikage-sama. No one shall disturb you."
He turned back to his office.
"Good," he muttered. "because I have a lot to think about."
_ Scene Break _
Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure
"Report!" snapped Sarutobi. The shinobi standing in front of his desk snapped to attention and began to speak quickly.
"We have confirmed that the boy has definitely left the village. From what we can tell he left from the south gate roughly a week ago. The guards on duty claimed that he attacked them by surprise and hurt them badly. He supposedly almost killed them but left when reinforcements arrived."
The Hokage shook his head angrily. "That is an obvious lie. No child completely untrained in any way could possibly take down two chunin, even from a surprise attack."
"Excuse me Hokage-sama, while I agree with you that no untrained child could have attacked and defeated two chunin we all know that that thing is no child. The Kyuubi..."
The shinobi was interrupted when the Hokage slammed his fist into the table.
"Enough! My laws are still in effect! Finish that sentence and I will not hesitate to fulfill the mandatory punishment."
The shinobi cowered away from the Hokage, suddenly remembering that the man in front of him was known as the Shinobi no Kami for a very good reason.
The Hokage calmed down a little and continued as if he had not been interrupted.
"Besides, any attack would have been reported and any medical attention that resulted from the attack would have generated paper work. There is absolutely no record of anything happening so it is an obvious lie. I want those men to spend some quality time with Ibiki-san. If they are not in his care within the next hour you will take their place."
The shinobi shuddered at the thought of spending time under Ibiki's care.
"Of course, Hokage-sama. It will be as you say."
The shinobi quickly sent a mental apology to the two chunin he was going to pick up before leaving in a plume of smoke. He knew that their story was to wild to believe and he hated to punish the two men but it was better them than him.
The Hokage turned to his ANBU bodyguards. "Leave me for now. No one disturbs me unless there is at least an A-class emergency."
The only response he got was a nod as his body guard left the room. Sarutobi activated a seal on his desk to make sure that no one could eavesdrop on his thoughts and turned to face the painting of the Yondaime Hokage hanging behind him.
"How did it come to this? You wanted your son to be treated as a hero but the villagers just drove him out. What would you do if you were still here?"
Sarutobi sighed to himself and shook his head. He knew exactly what his late successor would have thought. The Yondaime had loved the village with all his heart but he had loved his family even more.
"I must make things right again. When we find him I will make sure that he is cared for personally. I won't leave his well being to my ANBU or the civilian council." Sarutobi promised.
"But first, we have to find you." Sarutobi took a piece of paper and a pen and began writing order.
"Let's see, ANBU units sweeping the city in case he returns, all ninja squads ordered to look out for him and a return on sight order." He paused for a moment.
"That might not actually be the best idea. If he finds somewhere that treats him well he won't want to be taken back. Hmmm. Then just an information gathering side mission unless he is in danger when found. Maybe a money reward will make sure I actually get results and a punishment for any lies. Yes, that will work."
He put down his pen but hesitated to send the orders out. Finally he picked up his pen and started on a new sheet of paper. "Send a message to Jiraiya as well. He'll be a great help on the search."
Finally the Hokage put the orders in his out box and moved to call in his secretary.
'I'm sorry Naruto. I just hope that you are alright until we can find you.'
_ Scene Break _
A forgotten room in a forgotten base ,Konohagakure, At the same time
"Report!" snapped Danzo.
The Root agent began speaking in a dull monotone. "We have investigated as per your orders and know that the Kyuubi has definitely left Konoha. We are unsure why but believe it to be because of a meeting between the Kumo delegation and the boy."
"So they took out weapon?" Danzo growled.
"It is possible but not likely." The Root agent replied. "Root forces followed the Kumo delegation during there stay in Konoha and on their journey until they left Hi no Kuni. There was no contact except for the initial meeting between the delegation and the boy."
"Then why do you think the Kumo delegation is involved?"
"The boy left the same day that the delegation did. It is believed that he latched onto them when they showed him kindness and he decided to follow them when they left. Sources indicate that he left from the wrong gate, which we believe to be a misdirection, either on his part or on wrong information given to him by villagers."
Danzo frowned. "Do we know where the boy actually is at this time?"
The Root agent bowed his head. "No Danzo-sama. He had proven in the past to be quite adept at hiding and we never had a full time watch on him because he already had an ANBU guard and the risk of being found was to great. The best we can tell is he ran into some bandits out side of the city."
"Was he killed or just taken as a slave?"
"As far as we can tell neither. Their bodies destroyed by a Katon technique but that is standard operating procedure for any bodies found by patrols. Their camp was unused so we know that all the bandits were killed and the boys body was not found. He either escaped or was rescued but we have no other information."
Danzo was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "This may be a blessing in disguise. The boy was always to dangerous without proper training so it is better that he is outside until then. I want all Root agents with missions outside the village to look for him. If he is found, he is to be captured and brought back for training."
The Root agent bowed and left the room to relay the orders to the other Root agents.
Danzo sat back in his chair. After a moment he smiled as he finished thinking through the consequences of this occurrence.
"Yes, this will do nicely indeed. If I find him, I can train him without Sarutobi's interference. If I can't find him, he won't be a danger to the village, and if he is in another village I have grounds to demand a war. This will be perfect."
While Danzo had not expected Naruto to run away he knew that he could make the best out of this situation. Danzo silently thanked the villagers for making the boy's life so hard, it made indoctrinating him into Root that much easier. Then he turned back to the present and faces the Root agent across the desk from him.
"Report!"
_ Scene Break _
The Raikage's Tower, Kumogakure
"Well?" A asked.
C hesitated for a moments before replying. "Well, it's a lot more than we thought it would be."
"Oh?"
"I guess we should start with the physical. Naruto shows classic signs of malnutrition and starvation. The medics agree that it is quite bad but should have been a lot worse. Almost all the damage can be reversed because its still early but he may never reach his full height."
A nodded his head, the news was not unexpected. He motioned for C to continue.
"The tests also showed that the reason he is so well off is indeed because he has a Kekkei Genkai."
At this A perked up. Again this was not exactly unexpected but it was welcome news no the less. "This is confirmed?"
C nodded his head. "Indeed. He definitely has the Uzumaki Kekkei Genkai. We searched the records and found out that the kekkei genkai involves increased longevity, massive chakra reserves, increased healing, a strong water affinity and something called chakra chains."
A raised an eyebrow at this. "It sounds like an extremely powerful bloodline."
C nodded his head again. "It is, and Naruto has an extremely powerful form of the bloodline. Based on our projections Naruto, may have a lifespan of about four hundred years."
A lost his composure for the first time in the conversation. His eyes widened and he began spluttering. "F. Fou. FOUR HUNDRED YEARS!"
C nodded his head. He had been just as shocked when he had read the predictions. "Part of the Kekkei Genkai is the ability to quickly and efficiently heal injuries. This apparently included age to a large degree. Based on his healing factor four hundred years may actually be conservative."
A shook his head slowly in disbelief. "Four hundred years. That's ridiculous."
C smirked to himself. While the news was impressive it was not nearly as shocking as some of the other things they had found.
"What is really ridiculous is his healing factor. During testing we gave him a cut to the arm that would have taken a week to heal on its own. It was gone in under three hours."
A smiled at this news, longevity was a great power but only in the long term as the longevity brought experience. Advanced healing, however, was useful to any shinobi.
"As I mentioned before he also has extremely large chakra reserves, enough that he currently has more that some Jonin. Part of that is from his bloodline like I thought and part of that is from the surprise we found."
A frowned and motioned for C to elaborate but C just continued with his report.
"His water affinity is actually strong enough that he was able to learn a water jutsu in just one hour. It was only an E-rank jutsu and someone with no water affinity could learn it in well under a day but it is still impressive, especially with no prior training"
"And the chakra chains?"
C frowned but continued his report. "Unknown. Our records just state that part of the Kekkei Genkai is chakra chains but there is no explanation and Naruto has no idea what it could mean.
A nodded slowly before smiling. "While it is unfortunate that we don't know about the chakra chains it is still an impressive Kekkei Genkai. I think I will have to give your team a bonus for finding him."
"Thank you Raikage-sama, I know I won't turn down a bonus." Seeing the Raikage's smile fade away C continued with his report.
"We had the in depth tests Kenji wanted done and as far as we can tell Naruto is clean. No results showed anything that would indicate he is a sleeper agent. The most we found was the beginnings of a shadow personality that was forming to deal with the negativity he faced in Kumo."
"Shadow personality? Would it stop him from becoming a shinobi?"
"No. Even if the shadow personality was completely formed, he would still be able to be a shinobi. As it is, it is unformed and will most likely fade away with time and kindness."
A nodded his head. He really wanted Naruto as a shinobi and he was glad that nothing would prevent him form getting his wish.
C looked down at the report for a moment. As he looked up a wicked smirk formed on his face. When A saw the smirk he knew that he would finally learn what the surprise was and that it would be shocking.
"During the medical exam we checked for any seals as Kenji asked. At first we didn't find anything but later, when he channeled chakra to learn the water jutsu, a seal appeared on his stomach."
C was tempted to draw out the suspense but he saw that A was getting impatient. C decided against pushing his luck and skipped a lot of the build up he had planned to use.
"We had out fuinjutsu masters look over the seal. It is hopelessly complex and they can only barely begin to understand it but form what they can tell it is a Bijuu containment seal."
A blinked for a moment before that statement sunk in. When it did he stood up so suddenly that his desk went flying.
"WHAT!?"
C ducked his head to avoid the desk and quickly answered.
"The fuinjutsu masters think it is a highly advanced containment seal designed to hold a powerful Bijuu. It's even more powerful that B's seal. Based on the complexity of the seal, the area Naruto is from and the age of the seal, we believe that Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."
A fell back into the chair as if the strength had suddenly left his legs. After a moment he raised his hand and began rubbing his eyes tiredly. C remained silent, he had not expected the Raikage to react so badly to the news.
Finally A let out a sigh and dropped his hand.
"Is it possible that this is a mistake?"
"No Raikage-sama, at least not really. The seal is a containment seal designed to hold massive amounts of demonic chakra. Unless he contains another bijuu or demon that no one has heard of, he most likely contains the kyuubi."
A suddenly became more animated. He stood up again and began to pace around the room, muttering under his breath. C righted the desk that A had thrown earlier and began picking up the papers that had been on the desk.
The Raikage broke the silence so suddenly that C froze.
"Who else knows about this?"
C gave a quick shake of his head to get himself back in motion and answered the Raikage.
"Just the fuinjutsu master, the head doctor, B and myself."
"B?"
"Yes, when the fuinjutsu master discovered the seal he called in B to try to see if he could sense the bijuu inside. He ended up being unable to because the seal is so tight no recognizable chakra is being released."
A fixed his gaze on C with such intensity that C began to get uncomfortable.
"Does that mean Naruto will be unable to act as Jinchuriki?"
"The fuinjutsu masters think that the seal will loosen up when he is older and more able to handle demonic chakra. They are unsure if it will continue to loosen to the point that it will unravel or if it will stop at any point."
"Is this a risk to the village? Will I have to worry about the bijuu breaking free form the seal and going on a rampage?"
C quickly shook his head and waved his hands.
"No. No. Nothing like that. They said that even if it continues to unravel to the point the seal will fail it would take nearly eighty years to become a danger. There is plenty of time to figure out a solution if it is even a problem."
A nodded his head and let out a small sound of relief. He would not have liked to banish Naruto, especially with all the information he had given them, but he would have if Naruto was a danger to the village.
A smiled as he realized just what this news meant for Kumo.
"This is excellent news. With three jinchurikis, two of which hold the most power of the bijuus, Kumo will rise to be the strongest hidden village in no time at all."
After a moment his smile faded and he became a little more serious. "Does Naruto know about the bijuu he caries?"
C also let out a sigh of relief. He knew that A would have done anything to protect the village and he was glad that, at least in this case, nothing would happen.
"A little. He didn't know anything about it until the fuinjutsu master started poking around. He overheard a little about jinchurikis and bijuus before I moved the conversation to a different room and he can probably piece things together."
The Raikage nodded his head. "Alright. Here are my new orders. First, when you leave here I want you to bring Naruto and B to my office. It will be better if he knows about the bijuu inside of him now."
C nodded his head to show that he understood.
"Then, when you have got them, I want you to go to the doctor and the fuinjutsu master and tell them to keep Naruto's bijuu quite. If Konoha finds out we took their jinchuriki they might kick up a fuss and I don't want to start a war, at least until Naruto masters his bijuu's power."
"Hai, Raikage-sama. Your will be done." Exclaimed C before he disappeared, leaving only an fading after image in his place.
A shuffled his papers around, grateful that C had cleaned up after his outburst and waited for his orders to be carried out.
He didn't have to wait long, ten minutes after C departed Naruto and B walked into his office.
A took a deep breath and put on a smile. He wasn't quite sure how to tell a child that they had a demon sealed inside of them but he was fairly sure that being less intimidating would help.
B noticed the effort that A was putting into his smile and realized what the conversation would be about. He grimaced but nodded to his brother to tell him that he understood and would help.
A turned to Naruto. After a moment to gather his thoughts he began his explanation.
"I'm sure that you are wondering why I called you here."
Naruto thought for a moment before replying.
"I guess it has something to do with the tests the doctor did today."
A nodded his head. C was right, Naruto was quite intelligent.
"That's right. I want to start by saying that nothing is wrong. You can still stay in Kumo and you can still become a shinobi when you're old enough."
Naruto let out a sigh of relief. With his two biggest concerns out of the way he could relax.
"If nothing is wrong with me then it has to do with the seal that's on my stomach. Right?"
A blinked in surprise but nodded his head again.
"Correct. That seal is extremely special. In fact, there are only nine people with similar seals in the entire elemental nations."
Naruto's face scrunched up in thought. After a moment he asked a tentatice question.
"Does this have anything to do with the jinchuriki everyone was talking about?"
A frowned for a moment before replying.
"Yes. Yes it does. To understand what a jinchuriki is, you first need to know what a bijuu is. To put it simply, a bijuu is a massive construct made of pure chakra in the shape of an animal. These beings are enormously powerful and usually filled with rage."
B decided to cut in and add a few more details.
"Bijuu are ranked by the number of tails they have. The more tails the stronger they are. Despite that, even the weakest one, the Ichibi, is stronger than any shinobi. They are walking forces of nature."
A continued with his explanation.
"Bijuu are incredibly dangerous and can cause massive amounts of damage in very short periods of time. The bijuu were so powerful and dangerous that they couldn't be killed or even defeated with regular ninjutsu so instead people began to use fuinjutsu to make sure that they couldn't harm anyone."
Naruto' eyes widened and he looked at his stomach again.
"Fuinjutsu? Does that mean that there is a bijuu in my stomach?"
A paused for a moment in thought.
"It is a bit more complicated than that, but essentially yes. The more tails a bijuu has, the harder it is to seal. Bijuu with many tails are to strong to be stored in objects and instead must be stored in humans. Those humans are called jinchuriki."
Naruto stared at his stomach in fascination and awe. After a moment A realized that he would get no reply and continued with what he wanted to say.
"Jinchuriki often become extremely powerful shinobi. The bijuu inside them gives them advantages that other people do not. On top of that, if you are strong enough, you can eventually gain access to the bijuu's power and use it as your own."
Naruto started to bounce up and down but quickly stilled himself. He was excited but he knew that shinobi did not bounce up and down when they were excited.
"That's awesome! Which bijuu do I have!? What special powers do I get!?"
A laughed in relief. He had been worried that the kid would not take the news well but it seemed his fears were unfounded.
"You hold the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the last and most powerful of the bijuu. Unfortunately we don't know what powers you will get from your bijuu, we don't know any jinchuriki who have used the Kyuubi's power in the past. When you are older and can access the Kyuubi's chakra we can find out."
"That's so cool. I'll be a really powerful and unique shinobi. I'll even be able to make my own techniques."
A let Naruto celebrate for a few moments. Then he made a motion to tell Naruto to calm down. After a moment he did and the Raikage continued.
"I know that you're excited, and you have every right to be, but you have to keep your bijuu a secret."
"What? Why? Isn't being a jinchuriki a good thing?"
A paused for a moment before deciding to go on a small tangent.
"It is in Kumo."
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't it be elsewhere?"
"Most people don't understand fuinjutsu. They can't believe that a little ink can hold back powerful creatures like bijuu. That makes them nervous and scared. When people are scared they often do bad things and a jinchuriki's life can be difficult."
Naruto's eyes widened in understanding.
"You mean the villagers? They were so mean to me because I was a jinchuriki?"
A grimaced but nodded.
"Yes. I believe so. Happily though, here in Kumo we are more used to jinchuriki. People might be a little wary around you but they won't harm or belittle you."
"They might even end up honoring you if you can gain full control over your bijuu. A jinchuriki with full control over their bijuu is a powerful force for any hidden village." B added to the conversation."
Naruto's face had fallen when he heard that jinchuriki were treated badly but when he heard B's encouragement his head snapped up.
"Alright then! I will master my bijuu's power and become the most powerful shinobi in Kumogakure. I won't fail."
A smiled at that declaration. Naruto was so full of enthusiasm and confidence that it was hard to imagine him failing.
"I'm glad to heat that. Now then, I think we got a little off topic. The reason I want you to keep quite about your bijuu is not because of the villagers of Kumo, it's because of the other hidden villages."
"Huh? Why would they matter?"
A snorted in amusement before answering.
"Like I said before, jinchuriki are extremely powerful. I other villages knew that we had another jinchuriki they might decide to attack before you can learn to use your bijuu's power to defend the village. Even if they don't attack, they might send assassin's or people to capture you so you can't strengthen our village."
A let that sink in for a moment. He was glad to see that Naruto didn't look scared, instead he looked determined and a little angry.
'I will master my bijuu's power really quickly. No one is going to damage my new home'
"I have already sent orders to those who know that you are a jinchuriki to keep quite. You are not to tell anyone about it unless they already know or I give you permission to tell them. Do you understand?"
"Yes Raikage-sama, I can only talk about my bijuu with people you say I can and people who already know." Naruto paused for a moment, his face a picture of indecision. "Umm. Raikage-sama? Can I get permission to tell Mabui-Chan about my bijuu?"
The Raikage raised an eyebrow but nodded his head.
"I think that would be alright. I was planning to have Mabui-san become my secretary so I am confident she can keep a secret."
Naruto jumped up in excitement before catching himself and sitting again.
"That's great!"
The Raikage chuckled a little before continuing with his orders.
"There is one other new person who you can talk about your bijuu with. There is a girl named Yugito Nii. If you meet her you can tell her about you bijuu."
"Umm, why?"
"You can talk to Yugito because she is the same as you."
Naruto's face scrunched up in thought again. After a few moments his eyes widened and he gasped.
"Does that mean that Yugito...?"
A nodded his head again.
"Yes. Yugito is one of the Jinchuriki we have in Kumo. She holds the Nibi no Neko and can help answer questions you might have. I'm sure that Mabui or B will be happy to introduce you to her."
Naruto smiled at the possibility of making new friend. B decided to jump into the discussion again.
"You can also come to me if you have any questions about being a jinchuriki, I'm Kumo's other jinchuriki. I hold the Hachibi and have full control over his chakra."
Naruto looked up at B with hero worship in his eyes.
"Really? You have full control over your bijuu? That's amazing! Can you help me get control over the Kyuubi?"
B reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair.
"Of course I can. I'll help you master your bijuu when your old enough to handle its power. Of course that can take some time but until then I'll help you get stronger."
Naruto jumped up again in joy but this time didn't immediately force himself to sit down again.
"All right! That's awesome! I'll get super strong and master using the Kyuubi's power really fast now!"
A and B both chuckled at his enthusiasm. Finally the Raikage spoke again.
"Alright. I know that I gave you a lot to think about so I'll let you go. Just remember to keep your bijuu a secret."
Naruto tried to give the salute that he had seen other shinobi give when acknowledging orders.
"Right! No problem Raikage-sama. I won't let you down!"
A waved his hand and let the two leave his office. He was glad that Naruto had taken the news so well. Maybe he wasn't so bad with kids after all.
A glanced down at the stacks of papers on his desk. He grimaced because he realized that he was now behind schedule. Kami, he hated paperwork. He couldn't wait to make Mabui his secretary, then she would take care of this paperwork for him.
_ Scene Break _
Naruto ran home as fast as he could. He darted in between people, weaving through the crowd as fast as his legs could carry him. He was so excited about the fact that he was a jinchuriki that he felt that he needed to run or else he would explode.
When he had been called into the Raikage's office earlier, he had thought that his good luck had finally run out and that he would be sent back to Konoha. Instead he had been told that they knew why people hated him and that not only that they did not care, but that he was important because of it. He finally allowed himself to believe that this was not a dream or temporary vacation and that he actually had a new life.
Finally, Naruto broke free form the crowds and sprinted into his building. He ran up the steps, fumbled around in his pocket for his key and and opened his door. He walked into his apartment and allowed himself to relax.
The room he saw was empty and bare. To many, it would seem to be ugly or plain. To Naruto, the room seemed to be the greatest place on the planet because it was his home.
The room had plain white walls, an unpolished wooden floor and no furniture to be seen. He had not gotten anything for it yet because he just couldn't believe that he would actually live here permanently and he was used to worse.
Now, however, that he allowed himself to actually believe that this would be his home, he decided to change that. Naruto sped through his apartment, checking each room to make sure that he knew exactly what he needed and where it would go.
When he was done, he left the apartment and raced down the hall to Mabui's apartment. He paused in front of her door and took a moment to calm himself. He knew that Mabui could get annoyed when he was really hyper and he didn't want to annoy his first friend.
After a minute of deep breathing he allowed himself to knock on her door. Even with his newly calmed state Naruto fidgeted with excitement as he waited for Mabui to open her door.
After what felt like an eternity to Naruto, but was actually closer to two minutes, Mabui opened the door. She glanced down at Naruto and smiled at just how excited he looked.
"Hello Naruto-kun. What brings you here?"
"Hi Mabui-chan. I just got back from the Raikage's office and I have great news!"
Mabui allowed herself to have a small laugh at his enthusiasm.
"Oh? And just what is this great news?"
Naruto's face scrunched up in concentration for a moment.
"It's a secret. I'm only allowed to tell the people the Raikage lets me tell."
Mabui raised an eyebrow and Naruto hastened to reassure her.
"Don't worry though. I asked the Raikage and he let me tell you. We just have to go where no one can hear us."
At this Mabui raised her other eyebrow but invited Naruto in. She closed her door and activated a sealing array that was inset in the door jam. After a quick check to make sure it was working correctly she turned to Naruto again.
"Alright, we have complete privacy now. No one can over hear us so you can tell me your big secret." she said playfully.
Naruto nodded his head as seriously as he could. Unfortunately he was six and couldn't completely pull of a serious look.
"I had my medical exam today. The doctor said that I definitely have a kekkei genkai. They even taught me a water jutsu because my kekkei genkai is supposed to come with a affinity for water."
Mabui blinked in surprise. Learning an elemental jutsu was an incredible feat for a six year old with no prior training. His elemental affinity had to be ridiculously strong.
"Really? That's great! What did you learn?"
Naruto beamed at the praise Mabui gave him. "It was one of the ones that I brought with the jutsu scrolls. It's called Water release: Water Purification Jutsu and it's used to make dirty water clean to drink."
"That's amazing! You'll make a great shinobi for sure! And don't worry, i won't tell anyone about your secret." Mabui promised.
Naruto shook his head and quickly corrected her.
"Oh, no, that's not the secret. That's just something that happened that I thought was really cool. The secret was after that when the doctor was checking me out for seals they found something."
Mabui quickly became concerned but tried to hide it. Seals were always tricky and she knew that they could be quite dangerous.
"Really? What did they find?"
Naruto glanced around again, as if looking for spies in her living room. He leaned forward and whispered his next statement.
"They found I have the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in my stomach. Isn't it great!"
Mabui froze as she tried to process what he just said.
"What?"
Now that he had told his secret to Mabui, Naruto started becoming more excited.
"They found that I'm a Jinchuriki!"
"And how is that great news!?" she choked out.
Naruto looked at her strangely, his earlier enthusiasm dulled by her own lack of enthusiasm.
"It's great because that means when I gain control of my bijuu's power, I'll become a really powerful shinobi. Also, I found out that there are other Jinchuriki here. B promised to help me gain control of the Kyuubi's power when I get older and to introduce me to Yugito. I just know we will be great friends!"
Mabui was still quite shocked by the news that Naruto had just given her. She wanted to tell him that being a Jinchuriki was not easy or safe but as she looked at him she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
He looked so happy and excited that she couldn't bring herself to do anything that dim his enthusiasm. Finally she just smiled at him.
"That sounds great. I know you'll be a great shinobi, even without being a Jinchuriki. Just remember not to rely on any one power to much, to keep pushing yourself, especially when you think you've reached your limits and to take time to enjoy life."
Naruto looked at her, as solemn as a six year old boy can be.
"Alright, Mabui-chan, I will remember what you've told me. I'll become a great shinobi, I won't let you down!"
She smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair. He squirmed uncomfortably and she laughed.
"Alright, now that you've told me your secret, let's go out a do something."
Naruto stopped his squirming and brightened up.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I wanted to ask for your help getting somethings for my apartment. I have all the money the Raikage gave me and I need some furniture and stuff."
Mabui smiled at Naruto. "And what stuff do you need?"
Not knowing the suffering that his next words would cause, Naruto answered her question happily.
"Well, if I want to be the best shinobi ever I need to get started. So other than furniture and food I need to get things like kunai and shuriken. I guess I also need some new clothing..."
He trailed off as he saw Mabui smile. For some reason that smile made him more scared than he had been when he had fought the bandits.
"Clothing? I think ! can handle that." Mabui reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand.
He followed after her, a small part of him regretting asking her. After a moment he pushed that a part of him away. After all, Mabui-chan was fun, and how bad could shopping be anyway.