Naruto: Mokuzaimusha

by JackOfBladesX

What if Naruto is an indirect relative of the first Hokage. What if his spirit broke a long time ago. What if he hated Konaha. What if he learned a move other than Kage Bunshin. I hope it's better than it sounds...Terminated and adopted.

18. Return of the Jinchuuriki

Disclaimor: don't own Naruto.

A/N: I AM SO SORRY, that it took me this long to bring you all an update...i'm even more sorry that this chapter is basically one long filler. I'm even more sorry that the title of this chapter is so damn lame.

Ok...before i get one with the story, i have a few things to say.

1. this chapter isn't as...well dark as all the others. It's kinda unavoidable for what i have planned.

2. The truth is finally known about the real names of the Fourth Hokage and his wife!!! However do to my laziness and short attention span I will NOT be changing it in this story. If i take the time to do that you can go ahead and add another few months to the update time, (and that's IF i use 'WORDS' 'Replace' function...you don't want to know the update time if i didn't use it...wooh.)

3. We've also heard the truth about Tobi. I've planned to go a completely separate way with Tobi. Anyone who was familiar with the whole theory behind Tobi will automatically know what i'm talking about...anyone who doesn't, well this will just be one big surprise. As for Madara...there's very little chance that he will appear in my story.

4. Pein...he won't be canon. Rinnengan or whatever the hell it's called doesn't fit in with my story ideas and i don't plan to change it because Kishomoto finally decided to bring in the top dog of the Akatsuki. He'll be completely different (if i decide to keep him alive -looks off suspiciously from side to side). Konan...i actually kinda like her abilities so i'll probably keep her canon...more or less. But will these two have any relation with Jiraiya? Probably not.

5. There is no number 5, it doesn't exist.

6. Will Naruto discover the truth of this about his parents? Will he ever get along with Yukina? Will he destroy Konaha? All you're answers will be answered...before this WHOLE story ends -grins- somewhere between ten and twenty chapters.

7. Against my better judgement, I've decided to add in a little preview to another story I'm writing, in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy that.

Anyway...on with the show.

---

Chapter 18: Return of the Jinchuuriki

---A few miles outside of Sunagakure---

The next morning was simple enough, considering the people that consisted in the group. The group had a quick breakfast, before they took off in the direction of Suna. Out of habit alone, the group was moving at a rather fast pace and kept there guard up…but in reality the chances of them getting attacked were as close to zero percent as they could be. There were multiple reasons this little fact was true, for instance they were in Wind Country, though in reality that wasn't much of a reason for them not to be attacked. Secondly, Kakashi and Gaara were both recognizable when they weren't trying to hide and let's just say that no one would enjoy confronting either one of them, much less both of them at the same time. Akatsuki, after losing Deidara, would be much more cautious in the future…they wouldn't be attacking for a long time now. However, just in case some brainless sap did get the courage to do something so moronic, they decided to keep their senses heightened, and remained on lookout to the area around them. Though you wouldn't believe that they were, from the look of the group.

Naruto and Gaara were in the front of the group, surprising everyone by holding a conversation. Kakashi was right behind the two, partially reading his new Icha Icha: Makeout Tactics and partially listening in on Naruto's and Gaara's conversation. Temari was a few steps behind Kakashi, smiling at the sight of Gaara and Naruto talking. Rin and Yukina were behind them. The former sending dark glares at Kakashi, whilst muttering about his bad habits, and the latter was sending looks towards Naruto, staying silent. Neji was behind the two of them, his Byakkugan making him the main look out amongst the party. Chiyo and Haku were standing behind him, both had looks on their faces that only illustrated that they were most likely in deep thought. The final three members Lee, Sakura, and Rei were brining up the rear, and though it looked like they were just idly talking, they were more than prepared, just in case they were attacked.

Naruto sent Gaara a sly smirk, "So you managed to overcome the bastard huh?"

The Kazekage just nodded, keeping a passive look on his face, "In some sense. Though he seems much more relaxed at this point, and exponentially much less aggressive. I even dozed off for a few moments last night, and he didn't even try to attack me."

The blonde just shook his head, "That's both a good thing and a bad thing. If he's anything like the retarded fox in my head-"

"Hey!" growled the Nine-tails.

"-you'll probably end up regretting the fact that he's helping you…in one way or another."

Gaara blinked a few times.

"Harem, Bitch!" Squealed the demon raccoon-dog.

Resisting the urge to attack his naval with the nearest rock, the Kazekage just nodded, "I'll take your word for it." Then red-head then gave the blonde a passive look…which, in Gaara's facial-language 101, was the equivalent of a smirk, "Out of my own personal curiosity, how is…that jutsu coming along?"

Naruto grinned at the comment. On one of the rare times that the two Jinchuurikis were alone, they talked somewhat… One of the subjects was some jutsus that the two were trying to create, through their own unique nature manipulation. The particular jutsu that Gaara was referring to was one that intrigued Sand-nin to no end. Mostly because Gaara has a similar jutsu and is increasingly anxious to test Naruto's version against his own.

The Blonde just gave him a smirk, "Haven't had much time to develop it further…but don't worry I'll get it done."

Gaara nodded as he turned his head, "It appears that we have almost arrived."

Following his gaze, Naruto turned to see the Village Hidden in the Sand, in the distance. It was a sight to see… To the east of the village…sand.

To the west…sand.

Beyond the village, more likely than not,…sand. However, the village itself was quite lovely, for a village surrounded by…sand.

The rest of the trip to the hidden village was made in silence. At a more relaxed pace, it took the group a little over ten minutes to make it. They were immediately greeted by Kankuro, Baki, and a few older people that composed the council of Suna.

Gaara turned to Naruto, "It appears that this is where our groups must part, unless I am able to convince your party to stay here and recuperate for the night?"

"Unfortunately we are hard pressed for time, Kazekage-sama." Explained Kakashi, with Rin nodding behind him.

Gaara nodded and then turned back to Naruto. The two shook hands. "Thanks for helping me back there, Gaara."

The redhead just shook his head, "If you weren't there to aid me in the initial battle with the traitor Sasori and the stone-nin Deidara, I might have been the one captured. In this respect, let's call us…even."

Naruto nodded back, as both of them withdrew their hands. Temari and Chiyo passed Naruto, the former giving the boy a pat on the shoulder, "Try not to get your ass kicked again, blondie."

Naruto turned around, seeing that Kakashi and Rin had disappeared, "Take care Sandman!" he called out before he disappeared as well. Everyone belonging to the Leaf group gave their own farewells as well, before disappearing as well.

Gaara just shook his head in amusement before turning towards his group and home. He would be sure to pay Naruto back for that 'Sandman' crack. He looked towards Kankuro and Baki, who smiled back at him, before walking back towards the Gates. That's when he paused. At that point he started sweating bullets and shaking somewhat. This reaction immediately caused Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and the rest of the council to become alert, never having seen their brother/charge/leader act this way.

The boy blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. When he realized that this wasn't a mirage, he prayed that it wasn't a Genjutsu. That hoped turned to despair the moment he remembered that his sand would usually fluctuate whenever there was a Genjutsu placed on him.

So…with all these likely options out of the way, he was forced to conclude that this was real.

The sight before him was one that he would normally show disinterest in, though at this moment, thanks to a certain perverted demon inside of his head, it filled him with horror.

Temari raised an eyebrow at the scene, "What's with all the girls?"

Gaara flinched at the sentence as he looked upon the horde of girls before him. He paled considerably, as the demon started sending him mental images that he really would have preferred not seeing.

"HAREM BITCH!"

---Outside of Wind Country---

A few days after Deidara's death…

Sasori, the puppet master, appeared next to a small forest of thorned plants. He just stared at them for a few moments. "Deidara, your remains…will forever linger among these plants…which have the ability to remain on this world for an eternity." Suddenly his faced twisted into a cruel smirk, "Just like all true art."

"You couldn't resist getting that last jab in…could you Sasori-kun?" Sasori actually grinned as he saw Zetsu literally just appear from the plants. "Though let's face it, the fool probably had it coming." Though the words came out of Zetsus mouth, the voice seemed much colder than before.

In an almost childish way, not accustomed to Sasori's passive nature, he merely responded, "He's dead, I'm not, and that means I win."

Zetsu sweat dropped. If Deidara were still alive, that would be the equivalent of slapping him with a glove and declaring war. That is actually something he could see Deidara doing, but not Sasori. 'Must've gotten hit, one too many times in the head.'

"And because of your idiotic attitude, we lost our chance to absorb the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Sasori and Zetsu turned to see two new figures walking into the clearing. The first was a white-haired man with a muscular build. He wore his Hitai-ate around his neck. Like most members of the organization Akatsuki, he wore a long black cloak, which was decorated by red clouds. The most unusual thing about this one was that held a large three bladed scythe in his hands. The second man was completely covered from head too toe. The only thing that he revealed was his eerie green eyes. He also wore the cloak, which labeled him as an Akatsuki member. He wore his Hitai-ate around his forehead. The oddest things about him were the four masks sewn into his body, hidden by his cloak.

Sasori sent the white-haired one a glare. "Watch yourself newguy, otherwise I'll have myself a brand new scythe wielding puppet."

The man glared at Sasori with contempt.

Zetsu got in the way of the two, naturally being one of the main mediators in the organization. "That's enough Sasori", he turned to the other man, "From you as well Hidan-kun. We will not fight amongst each other. Leader won't accept it."

"The hell with the leader!" snapped Hidan, still glaring at Sasori.

Sasori glared right back at Hidan before turning to the other man, "How do you deal with this one Kakuzu?"

The green-eyed man shrugged, "Give the bastard a few people to mutilate, that usually puts a smile on his face. Keeps him calm for at least a few days."

Though he would never admit it to his partner, that small thought calmed Hidan down somewhat. It almost put a smile on his face.

"ENOUGH!" Everyone turned towards a fuming Zetsu. He turned towards Hidan and Kakuzu, "Did you locate your target?"

Kakuzu, not trusting Hidan to speak, decided to do so, "The rumors seem to be true. Kumo has a two-tailed Biju, sealed inside of a kunoichi."

"And…why haven't you hunted this person down then?". Zetsu seemed to glare at Kakuzu. "Don't tell me you were off doing more useless shit…"

Kakuzu shrugged, "Remind me, would you rank turning in my bounties as useless shit?" The glare Zetsu gave him was an obvious affirmative answer. "Then I was ummm…laying around and basking in the sunlight, or whatever the hell it is you dandelions do." Kakuzu replied calmly.

Zetsu glared at Kakuzu, choosing to ignore the insult, "You have much more important things to do than collecting bounties!"

Kakuzu just waved off his glare, "Relax, I'll get to the damn mission."

Thetwo-faced member of Akatsuki glared at the man.

Sasori himself was getting rather annoyed at the display, "I thought you said you were bringing me a new partner?"

Zetsu turned to Sasori and nodded, "That is still being taken into consideration, though the boy is rather skilled…""I have my doubts as to whether he has what it takes."

Sasori resisted the urge to glare at Zetsu. In truth, the man's…bipolar nature was getting on his nerves. At times he wasn't sure if Zetsu actually had two personalities, was crazy, or was just trying to fuck with him. Either way, the very act was getting irritating. "Where is he?"

Zetsu looked up towards the sky, "He should have arrived by now…where could he be?"

---In a village at the outskirts of Wind Country---

A few hours earlier…

The streets were busy and incredibly dangerous in the rather large village. Multiple people were wandering the streets, a few carrying large wagons. Unfortunately this left the elderly in a very awkward position. One old woman in particular was having a difficult time. She was on the side of the road, contemplating whether to attempt to cross or not. She was leaning on a cane, having great difficulty in her age trying to walk very quickly. In this heat, someone was liable to simply knock her out of the way, instead of waiting for her to move herself. She was already late as it were, she thought as she wiped away sweat that was collecting on her brow. She sighed to herself for the hundredth time, whether to cross or try waiting to see if the roads would clear up a bit. After a moment, her resolve of the road clearing dropped considerably and she decided to try her luck. She moved her cane on the dirt road, as she stepped down from the sidewalk. The moment her foot touched the ground, she heard it.

"STOOOOP!"

She, and everyone else on the road stopped when she heard the deafening scream. She wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the village heard it. She turned towards the voice to see the oddest of men standing on a rooftop. He wore a long blue cloak around his body, covering most of it and an orange mask with a spiral pattern on his face, with what looked like a hole around where his right eye should be. He was doing a very odd pose; his hands were on his hips with his feet being shoulder length apart in some sort of super hero pose. After a moment he jumped off the building, going unnecessarily high into the air, before landing right next to the old woman. Everyone was still staring at him in shock.

He looked straight at the old woman before holding his hand out for the woman, "Oba-chan, please allow me to guide you across this treacherous street."

The old woman, too shock to register most of this simply gave him her hand, and allowed him to help her cross.

They came upon a man who was just standing in the way, as was everyone else in the vicinity…still in to much shock to do anything else. With superhuman strength, he grabbed the man with one hand and tossed him over his shoulder, before muttering, "Excuse me", as the man crashed into a nearby building.

Ignoring the fact that he probably just killed someone, the old woman just smiled at him, "Well aren't you the sweet one! The world would be better if it were filled with more young men like YOU!"

"Naahh…" he replied waving off her compliment. Everyone who was now in their way was quickly – frantically – getting out of it.

"Nooo…really." She said beaming, as the two reached the sidewalk, not noticing that everyone was currently keeping their distance. "You're such a good boy."

"Naah…"

"Grandma!"

Tobi and the old woman turned towards the sound of the new voice, it was a young woman no older than nineteen. Tobi watched the woman. Brown hair, blue eyes, hourglass figure…then he mentally slapped himself, 'If I don't leave now I'll be late.' "I really must be going now…"

Not hearing the man, the old woman smiled at her Granddaughter, who was at the moment trying to analyze why her grandmother was with this weird man. "Kiyone, this person is a very nice young man. He helped me across that very busy street when no one else would."

Kiyone turned towards Tobi, repressing a blush. 'I wonder what he looks like under that mask…I wonder if he's a shinobi.' This time she did blush, "Thank you for helping my grandmother…"

Tobi smiled, though you couldn't see it through his mask, "My lady, it was a pleasure to help your grandmother!" he declared. What he didn't notice was that the man he had thrown over his shoulder a few seconds ago was coming up behind him.

"YOU ASSHOLE! WHAT WAS THAT-" he was cut off as a fist, from Tobi, sent him flying backwards and into a conveniently placed dumpster.

Tobi gave the ladies a good-guy pose before saying, "Now my ladies…I'm afraid I must take my leave!" He quickly flashed them a thumbs up, before pumping his fist into the air, "TOBI! AWAY!" With that Tobi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Kiyone gave the position, where Tobi just disappeared from, a blank look.

The old woman just sighed, "Now why can't you meet a nice young man like that?"

Kiyone just sighed as she led her grandmother home.

---Outside of Wind Country---

"He should have arrived by now…where could he be?"

POOF

They all turned towards the sound of a small explosion of smoke. When it cleared they found Tobi staring back at them. "YO! Sorry I'm late…you see I was helping this little old lady cross the street."

Everyone sweat dropped, glaring at the masked figure.

Zetsu's eye, in the black side of his face, twitched. 'Wellyou do call him a good boy.''Mind your own business dumb ass.' Not questioning the fact that he called half of his personality a dumbass, he glared at Tobi, before sighing and tossing him something."Just take that Tobi-kun. It's your initiation into our ranks."

Tobi looked at the object in his hand. A ring with the Kanji for Seiryū, the Azure Dragon. "Sweet! When do I get my cloak and hat!"

Zetsu simply tossed him a folded cloak, tied by a thin string. "No hat I'm afraid."

Tobi's eye widened, though you couldn't see it behind his mask, "B-b-b-ut. I thought it was part of the costume!"

Zetsu glared at him, "For the last time, it is not a costume so stop calling it such. And only Itachi and Kisame wear those ridiculous things. If you want one, then buy one."

Tobi nodded, resolving to do just that, before wrapping the cloak around his body, "So what's the first order of business."

Sasori turned around, regretting that he ever asked about this idiot, "The first order of business for me is to stock up on more puppets. I've only got about another 89 left and they are all weak."

Tobi nearly face faulted at the number, 'Only?'

Zetsu nodded, "Sasori-kun is your new partner Tobi-kun." "When you're done with your job, go hunt down the three-tails. We already gave Sasori the location." He then turned towards Kakuzu and Hidan, "And you two find the two-tails."

Kakuzu nodded in boredom. Hidan glared at Zetsu, "What about reclaiming the Nine-tails and grabbing the One-tail?"

Sasori turned towards Hidan, "The Container of the One-tail seems to be able to draw upon much more power than ever before. His chakra signature was massive, and he seems to have the ability to gather a lot more of the One-tail's chakra. With him being inside of Suna and surrounded by desert, he will be close too impossible to obtain. The Nine-tails is in Konaha, he will also be much more difficult to obtain as well." He then turned towards Zetsu, "Besides, Zetsu…why don't you go hunt down Uzumaki? He seems to be stepping on your territory."

The two faces of Zetsu grinned at this. It was true; Uzumaki was walking inside of his territory. He would need to be taught a lesson soon enough.

Sasori then started turning away before disappearing in a swirl of sand. Tobi flashed everyone a Good-Guy pose, before an explosion of smoke engulfed him.

…

…

Unfortunately he didn't get far. When the smoke cleared, it revealed Tobi, still in his Good-Guy pose, standing in the same position. Tobi looked around in confusion, "Damn, this always happens at the worst possible moments." Another explosion of smoke engulfed him. It took a few moments to clear and to reveal that he was in fact…still there "Damn it!" he muttered as multiple explosions of smoke covered him.

POOF

POOF

POOF

POOF

Kakuzu just stared on in amusement while Hidan's eye was seriously twitching, and Zetsu was cradling his head in his hands. Smoke kept exploding from Tobi's position, a new burst of it coming out every half a second or so. Hidan's hand kept getting dangerously close to the scythe that was strapped to his back, but immediately halted when he realized that killing/maiming/decapitating/eviscerating this…idiot would in fact probably be an insult to the great Janshin-sama.

POOF

POOF

POOF

It was a full twenty seconds, from the time that this little show started, before they heard Tobi scream, "HEY I GOT IT!", screamed the masked man in joy. When all the smoke finally cleared, he was indeed gone.

'Perhaps Tobi was not the best choice…' 'For once we agree…'

---Hokage Tower---

The eight Konaha-nins and one Konaha sennin (hermit) walked into the Council Room of Konaha. The ninjas of Suna already left the company a few days ago. All members of the Konaha council were there already…and half of them were pissed! But not at the rescue party who went to save the demon of Konahagakure, they had made their peace with that. No…they were enraged by the actions of a certain heiress and the assistance of the Hokage. The woman in question flashed the group a sly smile, not even caring for the fact that she was being cast a few glares on the side.

The group of nine walked in front of the Council and stopped, all except the ninth member of the group all took a few extra steps forward. He flashed all of them his famous smile, the one that had the power to freak out even the toughest of shinobi. In reality, his mood was anything but happy. After the Gaara left the group, his mood had immediately dropped. He didn't know why, but being around the other Jinchuuriki was just so much easier than being around regular people…though frankly, one look at Kakashi or Lee should make one reconsider what his definition of…regular is exactly. Though he did enjoy Rei's and Kakashi's company, everyone else was just awkward or annoying…once again he took a quick glance at Lee. Ignoring all of this, he figured he might as well see why the hell he was dragged all the way here instead of being able to rest up after three days of constant torture, a battle against an, albeit severely weakened, S-class missing-nin, and a two day sprint to the village. He raised his hand up, "Yo!"

Tsunade smiled at him, 'It's nice to see you again.' That is what she wanted to say. But since she was currently in front of the Council, she felt it wise to save that for a later time. She would also be beating him severely for letting himself get captured, but that could also be saved for later. "Uzumaki Naruto! You are here for a debriefing on what happened, from the time you were captured…to the time you were rescued. Please proceed to explain what happened."

He momentarily considered fliping the Council off, but felt it wiser to give the older bastards what they wanted…for now…"Sure Oba-chan!" He beamed, making Tsunade glare at him. "First I woke up in a similar setting too Chapter 14 of Icha Icha Paradise…", at that point he received a glare from most of the Council and a blush from a few of them, "…unfortunately instead of the ten woman, their was only Uchiha Itachi…it was really a bummer to be honest with you, gonna have to speak with that old Perv about this, I feel cheated-"

"Just the facts, Naruto…" Tsunade said, glaring at him dangerously.

At that point, he realized that the Homura, Koharu, and Danzo of the Council were all glaring at him as well. "Oh yea, sorry. Well anyway, a few days later they started the extraction process. It looked like I was going to die, but then I was saved by Gaara at the last minute. Afterwards Whiskers, along with all his chakra, went back into the seal and I guess to try to save itself, Whiskers-"

"Excuse me Naruto…" Tsunade interrupted, a look of confusion etched one her face, "…But who the hell is Whiskers?"

Naruto shrugged, "The fox…", he said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, which made everyone go wide eye. "Well you see, I don't respect the idiot enough to call him by his real name…and I'm tired of calling him furball and fox bastard and asshole and moron and retard, so I figured Whiskers would suffice", he paused for a moment to catch his breath, "At the time I threw out Mr. Fluffy-wuffle-sins." At this point everyone was blinking at him. Naruto mentally patted himself on the back, he loved leaving people in a state of utter confusion…there was a odd sort of pleasure within it. He was just glad that the fox was currently sleeping. He wasn't in the mood for the bitching out he would have received otherwise. "Anyway, I woke up, felt like burning off some steam, so I asked Gaara to allow me to take care of the Akatsuki member who preformed the extraction process, I think his name was Kimblee or something. Anyway I defeated him easily enough and then returned here with these guys." He said pointing towards the group that came to rescue him.

Homura nodded, "Anything else…unusual happened?"

Naruto shrugged, "You mean besides ninjas that can grow trees on a whim, manipulate exploding clay, and control puppets made out of real people? No can't think of a thing." He commented. 'What? Want me to say something more about Kyuubi…tough luck baka!'

Koharu glared at him, "Besides things like that, anything…out of the ordinary?"

Naruto shrugged again, "I saw an odd cloud that looked like the old man Hokage stabbing a bunch of old retards that I've never liked…", he said with amusement in his voice

At that point one of the Council members released a miniscule amount of Killer intent…felt by everyone in the room. Naruto didn't look like he even cared, which infuriated the man even more. "You know what I mean you…Uzumaki, anything happen with your demonic chakra?"

He resisted the urge to flip him off, on the inside thinking, 'I received two tails of the Kyuubi's chakra supply. However since it has been purified, it doesn't seem grant me any increases in strength or speed, which really pisses me off and takes almost all the fun out of using it, however I have a larger chakra supply than all of you bastards combined, four times over, HAZZAH!' "Nope…can't really think of a thing."

Koharu seemed to stare at Naruto for a few moments, before nodding and waving him off.

Naruto mentally patted himself on the back again, one good thing about using 'masks', was that it made him a great liar. He'd give Kakashi, and maybe Tsunade, the heads up later…

Danzo turned to the Hokage, "He gave his report, I believe that we are done with this one…"

The blonde resisted the urge to flick him off as well, 'What am I a fucking dog?'

Tsunade nodded, "Naruto…until I say otherwise, you are to stay inside of the village. No leaving for whatever reason. Until then, you are dismissed."

Naruto nodded as he walked out of the room, 'should've known this would happen. Oh well, it really won't make much of a difference for now.' The two ANBU who were guarding the door, closed it behind him.

K "Wait close to the door."

'Why?'

K "You have to wait for the Pervert either way, and I want to hear what's going on."

'Whatever…Hey! Wait, when did you wake up?'

K "Just as the big-breasted blonde dismissed you, now shut up!" he snapped as he started concentrating demonic chakra to Naruto's ears.

---Council Room---

"Hatake, Report!"

Kakashi mentally wanted to scream out loud and tell them they were all fools. One rule in interrogations, was that you should always split up the party being interrogated and asked them questions individually, just in case they were trying to hide something, they'd most likely get there stories mixed up. This was something that was drilled into his head from his days in ANBU, and was shocked by the fact that these people would forget such a crucial rule, especially someone like Danzou. But perhaps they just didn't think that far ahead, or Tsunade overruled the idea, or maybe they just didn't care. Kakashi took a quick glance around the room, half of these people looked bored out of their minds, the other half were probably too angry to think straight. Though not Danzou…these traits didn't personify him… Kakashi shrugged with boredom, opting to think about this more later, "It basically happened how Naruto mentioned it did."

Homura raised an eyebrow, "Exactly?"

He shrugged once more, "One thing he failed to mention was that when the Extraction process was interrupted, there was an explosion of Demonic Chakra." Most of the Councils' eyes widened at this. "He probably didn't notice because, almost immediately, the seal on his naval reabsorbed the chakra and the soul of Whiskers-"

"Hatake-san, stop playing along with the allusions of that…child…and henceforth refer to the demon as the Kyuubi." Spat Homura.

Kakashi sighed, 'I really liked the name Whiskers…'

---Outside the Council room---

K "You called me Whiskers?" growled the fox.

'Yes, now shut up! I'm trying to listen…' he scolded, though in his head he was laughing.

K "The fates are sick bastards for putting me in this position…Kami, I wish I could kill you." the fox continued muttering curse words.

---Council Room---

"Anyway, the demon was absorbed into the seal almost immediately, so I guess he just never noticed."

Koharu's eyes narrowed, "How can you be so sure? Did you see this occur?

Kakashi shook his head, "I was attempting to apprehend the Rogue Ninja, Uchiha Itachi, while all this occurred. The Kazekage was the one who filled me in on all the details."

Everyone nodded at this. Though some wondered if the Kazekage himself could be trusted…being a Jinchuuriki himself.

"And did you notice anything odd?"

He shook his head again, "Well…I did see the same cloud he mentioned earlier…"

"Odd with Uzumaki!" the same Council member as before practically screeched causing most of the younger ninja to flinch.

Tsunade glared at him, releasing a small amount of killer intent, causing the man to settle down a bit.

Kakashi mentally grinned. The Council was already used to his lazy, 'whatever' attitude when it came to the all 'important' questions from the 'mighty' Konaha Council. However it seems that they weren't used to another ninja having the same attitude, a.k.a. Naruto. This small fact was illustrated by the Koharu's outburst. He mentally patted himself on the back, it wasn't like they would ever discharge him. He was one of the village's strongest ninja, not too mention he knew over a thousand jutsu. They couldn't discharge Naruto either…they weren't allowed to execute him, thanks to a certain grandfather and frankly having a demon container stuck in the village wasn't in there best interest… "Hmmmm, nothing odd at all, in my opinion. Though the kid's pretty weird in general, so you can't really gage when something is wrong with him."

Tsunade nodded, "I believe that will be all Kakashi-san, you are dismissed, as are the rest of you."

Kakashi nodded as he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, followed by the rest by the rest of the group that went to help Naruto. In truth he really didn't know what happened to Naruto, neither did the rest of the group, save perhaps Gaara who chose not to reveal anything. He would be questioning Naruto about it later and give aprivate report to Tsunade.

---Outside the Council Room---

"Son of bitch!"

'Stop whining.' He smiled as he noticed the two ANBU at the door were glaring at them. 'Wonder if they'll be as fun to fight as Deidara was…hmmmm' Just as he was musing with these thoughts, the door to the room opened ushering Kakashi's group out. He turned to Kakashi, and waited for him. 'At least the old bastards aren't trying to find a way to punish me for some bullshit reason.'

The fox grinned at that…

In his mind, Naruto quickly found himself back inside of the Council Room.

Koharu stood up and pointed at him, "Uzumaki Naruto, for your crimes as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, we the council of Konaha hereby Banish you from the village!"

Naruto blinked, 'Are you high? How would that be a punishment?'

"Hmmmm…."

Naruto quickly found himself back inside of the Council Room, once again.

Koharu stood up and pointed at him, "Uzumaki Naruto, for your crimes as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, we the council of Konaha hereby order that you be burned at the stake, dismembered, and stabbed by kunai."

Naruto shrugged, 'That's worse…but it still wouldn't be as bad as having to spend my entire life here…'

Naruto quickly found himself back inside of the Council Room, yet again.

Koharu stood up and pointed at him,"Uzumaki Naruto, for your crimes as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, we the council of Konaha hereby order that you be promoted to Jounin and take on a Genin team!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the door behind him open. He turned to see the Konahamaru Corps standing behind him. "HEY BOSS! YOU'RE GOING TO BE OUR JOUNIN-SENSEI!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It was at this point that he realized that he was actually screaming out loud. He opened his eyes to see Sakura and Rei standing in front of him.

Sakura was glaring at him and Rei was looking at him with indignation. Sakura started poking him in the chest, "If you didn't want to go with us to Ichiraku, a simple 'no thank you' would have sufficed." She said as she walked passed him, Rei following close behind muttering something about ni-san…

"Asshole…", Sakura muttered before they were out of earshot.

Haku just walked pass him with a smile of amusement playing on her features, Rin was behind her. Neji just shook his head and walked off as well. Rock Lee gave him the 'good guy' pose before running off after his old teammate. Yukina walked up to Naruto, but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulders. It was an ANBU, "Yukina-hime, Koharu-sama and Homura-sama have asked that you remain behind. They wish to speak with you."

Yukina nodded, knowing that this would be coming up.

Naruto didn't seem to listen as he just walked off with Kakashi.

---Council Room---

"That boy is much too dangerous! You must allow me to place him inside of ROOT! That way I can control it!"

Tsunade gave him a look that said, Are you kidding?

Koharu glared at the woman, "You must allow Danzo to keep the boy in check, otherwise his power will be the death of us all!"

Tsume snarled at both of them, "And whose fault is that? If things had been different, the boy could have become the guardian of Konaha with the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

Inoichi sighed sadly to himself, "The psychological term for this situation is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The villagers have treated him like a demon his entire life, and in fact that may be what he will become. Perhaps it would be best for us too keep him in check."

Shikaku stared at his old teammate incredulously, "What are you saying trying to say Inoichi?"

The blonde sighed, rubbing his head, "As much as I dislike the idea, perhaps we should consider exiling him from Konaha, keeping him as far away from the village as possible."

The Hokage stiffened slightly as she heard this. In truth Naruto himself would probably enjoy that. However she was still hoping beyond all doubts that Naruto would stay in Konaha. In truth, there were only two things that kept her in Konaha. Those two things were her 'children', Naruto and Yukina. Though with Naruto on the road all the time, hell she only spent a few weeks with the boy as they were journeying back to Konaha, that just left her with Yukina, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but she would prefer it if Naruto were with her as well.

"Absolutely not!", screamed Homura as he glared at Inoichi. "That would be far to much freedom for him. He already fought and defeated an S-class missing-nin. He'll become even more powerful and come back to destroy our village. We must keep him in check!"

This argument continued on in this direction, Tsunade listening to everything intently. This was going to be a long meeting.

Danzo however, smirked from his position. More likely than not, he wouldn't win this 'battle'. However, he would be winning the war. He was determined to take control of Uzumaki. 'Sarutobi was a fool! He stopped me from claiming Uzumaki once already, but he cannot defend him anymore. I have everything I need to take control of the demon container. Tsunade's and Sarutobi's foolishness have put them against a wall. I will have the demon container or it will meet it's untimely demise…'

---In Konaha---

Kakashi and Naruto were both standing outside of a rather large house. The trip here was rather uneventful. Like old times, Naruto was glared at by multiple people, and like old times, he gave them his patented smile, which angered/scared them even more. Kakashi was reading his new book, which Naruto presented to him. Every now and then he would giggle out, muttering genius or absolute art!

The blonde sighed as Kakashi opened the house and entered, Naruto following close behind him. Naruto walked into Kakashi's living room and plopped down on the large couch. It was a nice house, from what he could see. A huge living room, with a large couch, a loveseat, and a Lay-Z-Boy adorning it. The walls were decorated with multiple paintings, and the there were many potted plants around. In the corner he could see a small doorway, which seemed to lead into the kitchen. And then there was another, on the other side of the room, which led into a hallway, probably towards the bedrooms.

Kakashi went to one of the paintings, before moving it to the side slightly. He did a quick handseal, which made an intricate seal glow in the previously blank wall. Kakashi quickly replaced the picture back to its original position, effectively hiding the seal. He then turned towards Naruto…taking a good look at the young man….

Even though the boy was sure to resent it, he really did look like a mirror image of his father. The major differences being Naruto's whiskermarks and his hair, whilst the Fourth's hair was spiked up, as was Naruto's when he was younger, his now seemed to fall down around his head. It was weird…it was as if Naruto's hair finally decided to obey the laws of gravity. The older man blinked, realizing that the boy was currently eyeing him in boredom, "Ok, now we can speak freely. I have a few questions I need to ask you."

Naruto nodded, letting his smile fall, "Ok, shoot."

The Jounin smiled, under his masked, at his old student, "So you've started reading Icha Icha Paradise huh?"

The blonde face-faulted from his position, which was quite a task considering that he was sitting down, but quickly regained his composure, as he glared at his former teacher. 'All the fucking questions to ask me and he starts with the perverted ones.' His eye started twitching dangerously, "Yea…so…"

If possible, Kakashi's features became even more amused, "What got you started on the series."

The blonde clenched his eyes shut, and started breathing out heavily, before opening them again. 'Kami I want to beat him', but shrugged it off knowing that his teacher wouldn't leave him alone otherwise, "When I left Konaha, I discovered something about myself."

"Really? What?"

"Leaving Konaha didn't help." He declared simply. "I still wanted to come back here and tear people apart with my bare hands." Ignoring the fact that Kakashi was still smiling, which actually started to freak him out, he opted to continue, "Anyway, a few weeks after I left, I walked into a book store to find some novel to read, casually. That's when I found one Ero-sennins perverted books near the front of the shop. I decided, 'what the hell' and bought it. Though the book was the epitome of all things perverted, it did serve the use of calming me down. Don't ask me why, but reading those stories actually helped me alleviate some stress that I've been carrying throughout my life." Sighed the blonde. "I honestly believe that if I hadn't picked up that novel that day…I probably would have killed everyone in this village by now, or at least died trying to."

Kakashi nodded, ignoring the boy's homicidal intentions, "Yea, it's been pretty therapeutic for me as well."

Naruto stared at him skeptically, "And that's the only reason you read it, right?"

"You'd be surprised how many times reading this simple, yet extremely perverted novel, stopped me from doing something that I'd probably regret the next day."

The blonde shrugged, "It's apparently helped Uchiha Itachi."

"What?"

---On the corner of Earth Country---

"Achoo!" sneezed the elder Uchiha, as he continued reading the book that heborrowed from the Kitsune-container. He turned back to his Shark-like friend, who was currently fighting six Iwa Jounins. Due to the fact that the two HAD to remain as inconspicuous as possible, leaving Kisame without his high-powered jutsu, and the fact that they were in the middle of a thick forest, leaving Kisame little to no room to use his Samehada, the Mist-nin was actually breaking a sweat, trying to use nothing but Taijutsu and a kunai. He actually felt bad for his teammate. Kisame fighting like mad, using methods he hadn't used in years and Itachi sitting on a tree branch, concealing his presence and reading the latest volume in the Icha Icha series. He had told Kisame to fight them off and that he would wait until he saw an opening to kill them all in one swipe…

…and the dumb ass had actually fallen for it.

He looked back at his book. Then he looked over at Kisame. Then over at his book. Then over at Kisame. Then over at his book. The Uchiha shrugged before muttering, "He'll be ok…" With that he continued reading his book

---Kakashi's house---

"Itachi reads Icha Icha Paradise?"

Naruto closed his eyes and crossed his arms, "I have reason to believe that the bastard stole a copy from me when they captured me."

Kakashi blinked, before his face showed utter amusement, "And you think it's been therapeutic for him as well?"

"Has he massacred any other clans recently?"

"Point made."

Naruto stared straight at the silver-haired Jounin, "Anyway…" he started trying to emphasize the word as much as possible, "Were there any real questions that you wanted to ask me?"

Kakashi nodded, looking at the blonde seriously, "Why did you come back with us so easily?"

The blonde looked up at the ceiling, looking like he was trying to find a way to phrase his answer, "Multiple reasons. Some say I may miss Konaha and the people in it. Some say I may be trying to find more info on my estranged parents. Others may say that I want to spend time with my sister and friends." He turned towards Kakashi smirking, "And they're all full of shit!" Kakashi sweat dropped at that simple comment. "There are multiple reasons, but the two are these. First, I'm out of Tsuki Leaves. I've been needing to replenish my supply for a while now, and unfortunately Konaha is the best place to do that in. They are almost none existent anywhere else." Kakashi nodded, accepting this answer. "Second reason is that I need a stable, or at least a more stable, environment to train. Not to mention that you promised me more scrolls and Shizune promised me another book on genetics-"

Kakashi's eyes widened, "You are reading up on genetics?" It didn't make any sense. Genetics was Medic-nin stuff, wasn't it? Naruto just didn't seem like the type to care enough to become a Medic-nin.

Naruto nodded, "It's how I've been creating new forms of plants." Kakashi stared at him in surprise before nodding.

However the man immediately raised an eyebrow, "Ok…but why do you need to be in Konaha to train?"

"Contrary to what may or may not be popular belief, I've been trying to lay low for a long time. Developing my Mokuton Hijutsu: Rasen Shikyo Shushi was a really dangerous thing for me to do, because it uses so much chakra. However, with a decent amount of control and the fact that when I was developing it I was in a pretty remote region, I was able to do so without drawing too much attention. The jutsus I've been trying to develop at this point are in no way shape or form, stealthy. The fact is they'll probably be screaming out to every shinobi, and their mother, within a mile, 'Here's Naruto! Just follow the trail of chakra!'. Though I did attempt the techniques on a few occasions, I pretty much had to immediately move to a new spot afterwards. The old perv told me to keep a low profile or I'd be caught, such a bother." Scoffed the blonde. "Anyway, I figured that since you would want to bring me back to Konaha, and would most likely not be taking no for an answer, that I might as well take advantage of the situation and use some of these assholes, who reside in the village, as guards while I do a little experimenting with these techniques." Kakashi sweat dropped at the small explanation. "Anyway with the few times I attempted to create them, I haven't had much luck. I'm hoping that with further mastering my Water and Earth chakra, that I would be able to pull it off." He looked up, checking the time by the position of the sun in the sky. "My chakra control could also use a little training as well, most of my jutsus use far to much chakra at the moment." 'Though that really shouldn't be a problem anymore…' mused the blonde, referring to the fact that he had two full tails of chakra stored away in his chakra coils.

Kakashi nodded.

Kakashi stared at Naruto intently, "That night when we camped out, I felt a large amount of chakra coming from you, was that one of your techniques?"

Naruto nodded, "I was bored and decided to give it a try. I knew those retards wouldn't try to attack us again so soon, not after what I did to the blonde freak, so I didn't see any point in really hiding myself…not to mention the fact that Gaara and I were so close together."

Kakashi nodded. Though it was an exceedingly dangerous move on Naruto's part, it was true that Akatsuki would not try to apprehend him again for a while. And any ninja, aside from a few Konaha-nin who knew better, after feeling such a strong and evil chakra would most likely steer clear of it. "Anything else?"

Naruto grinned, "A few reasons that I prefer to keep to myself, for now at least."

The copy-nin glared at Naruto, before nodding, opting to leave him be…for now, "So tell me about these jutsu."

The blonde shrugged, "How about I show you one of them?"

Kakashi nodded at this, "Ok…but I have one more question first. What really happened between you and the Kyuubi?" Naruto's facial expression shifted to one of utter amusement. "I noticed that your chakra level seems to have risen exponentially. What really happened?"

The blonde smirked at the man. "To save my life, the Fox was forced to give me two full tails worth of his chakra."

Kakashi's eye widened at that proclamation, but it quickly narrowed, "Was the chakra purified first or is it still demonic?"

This time Naruto's eyes widened, "How did you know that the seal purified the demon's chakra?"

Not changing his facial expression, not that you could really see it in the first place, Kakashi just said, "The Fourth…" 'Probably best to refer to him by title for now on.' "…was my sensei. I know how the seal works."

The blonde nodded, "Then you'll probably be happy to know that it's been purified." Kakashi released a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. "However there seems to be some side effects."

Kakashi's eye narrowed again, "Side effects? Like?"

Naruto nodded, "Not quite sure yet. I'll have to figure that out through training, though I honestly don't think that he has any malevolent intentions."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Malevolent? I see that you've also been training your vocabulary as well." He thought back to earlier in the conversation…Naruto's vocabulary had indeed been changing.

"Bite me!" Kakashi smiled as he gestured for Naruto to get back up, "Oh, and I hope you remembered to get me those scrolls."

Kakashi nodded as they both headed outside.

---A few blocks away---

Haku sighed as she sat down on the large sofa, finally resting her screaming muscles.

Rin smiled at the girl as she handed the much younger kunoichi a drink, "You've gotten rather strong Haku", Haku smiled at the older ninja, "I may have been able to heal all of your exterior wounds and many of you other injuries, but you suffered a few bone fractures and muscle tears that neither Sakura nor I were able to heal." Rin closed her eyes for a moment, "Which reminds me, you need to go to the hospital soon…with the proper tools I should be able to fully get you fixed up."

The younger girl just sighed, "Honestly it isn't too bad, I'll probably be alright after a few mores hours of rest."

"Better not take any chances," said Rin as she shook her head. "I'll make an appointment for you for tomorrow." The older woman sighed as she sat down next to the younger girl. "It seems that Hoshigaki did a number on you", the woman said with a frown. "I should have stayed and fought alongside you, instead I wasted my time fighting some…" the woman growled as she thought of that Tobi person, "…instead I wasted my time fighting that fool, and you ended up getting hurt."

Haku shook her head. "You shouldn't blame yourself, we all had our roles in that last mission. Besides I had Neji-san with me."

Rin nodded at that, though she wasn't nearly as confident in Neji's abilities. 'The boy is indeed very powerful, but the fact that he's only allowed to learned the fighting style and jutsus of the Hyuuga Clan are seriously holding him back.' "Neji…he told me that you and Hoshigaki seemed to have a grudge match going on."

Haku clenched her eyes shut upon hearing those words, "I've already told you about this…about my history with that man."

The older jounin nodded in remembrance, "Yes…I remember now. You mentioned that Kisame, the leader of the Seven Swordsmen, was the one who convinced the other swordsman to turn against the Mizukage."

The girl nodded, "That day two of the swordsman lost their lives, as well as many of our allies. I was only seven back then and couldn't even fight." She clenched her fist shut, "So many lives lost…and in the end that man was the first to run away."

Rin just shook her head. "It's funny, from the reports I've read of him, he never seemed like the coward-type."

The ice-maiden narrowed her eyes, "He isn't! He's just a sadistic bastard, that doesn't care about anything but himself. He started that coup out of boredom, and nothing else. And when he realized that either way, it would severely crush Kirigakure's power, he decided to just leave!"

"And I thought Kakashi had a short attention span", the woman mocked. "So he realized either way he wouldn't have the power he desired. Either he would die during the coup, or he would gain control of a Ninja Village that would no longer be able to call itself one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations." The woman sighed at the ridiculous attitude, though saw she did see the logic behinds his actions…though the very little logic it was. Rin's eyes widened for a split second as she heard something outside…it was a hawk. "Seems I have to leave."

Haku immediately rose to her feet, but just as quickly froze as she clutched the side of her hip, freezing up in slight pain. Within seconds Rin was beside her, checking her out. "I'm surprised that this injury didn't give you trouble during our tip back…" the woman stated calmly. With a sigh she turned, and prepared to leave, "Go to the hotsprings for a few hours, they'll help you recuperate."

"But-"

"That's an order Haku." She said sternly, though the smile on her face masked that, "I'll let you know what happened during the meeting…now go!"

The girl nodded, knowing it was futile to argue with the older woman. She just turned and decided to grab a change of clothes. As the girl was entering her room, her sensei called out to her, "Haku!"

Haku immediately paused and looked back at the older woman.

Rin looked at her with steady eyes, "You desire to make Kisame pay for what he did to the Seven Swordsman?"

Without thinking, Haku immediately nodded. She did want to make Kisame pay for his actions. Hell, she was hell bent on proving that old saying,'Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn!'

The older woman winked at her, "You should consider doing it as a swordswoman, not just an ice-jutsu user." With that said, Rin exited the room, leaving Haku with a blank expression on her face.

'She wants me to become a swordswoman? She wants me to gain enough experience with a sword to use it in combat against a man who's been fighting with one for at least thirty years? Is she seriously expecting me to beat him in a sword fight? It'll be easier to wait until he dies of old age!' Haku thought to herself. Her sword training was almost non-existent. She used to hold Zabuza's sword and swing it around quite often, and the man did try to teach her how to use an old worn out Jian he found once. But that was it! That accumulated to probably five or six hours of sword handling…against Kisame's thirty years. "Zabuza-sama…what should I do?"

---Training Field---

Naruto and Kakashi arrived at the rather obscured training field. Kakashi nodded towards the blonde, asking him to begin.

Naruto grinned as he did a few hand seals. A plant erupted from the ground. It was basically like Naruto's man-eating plants, except for a few minor details. The 'stem' towered above the ground at about fifteen feet, though it slouched a bit to Naruto and Kakashi's height. The head was in an irregular shape, almost as if it were some kind of weird hand. The basketball sized, bulb split near the end for about half a foot. Four pointy 'teeth' protruded out the top of the 'mouth' and another four from the bottom. It looked like some kind of weird, saber tooth…plant.

Kakashi turned towards Naruto with a bored lookk, "It's slight variation, but I have seen it before Naruto."

Naruto waved him off and he placed his hands into the 'Dragon' seal. "Use your Sharingan", ordered Naruto. Kakashi shrugged and did as he was told. At that point the plant's mouth opened wide. Kakashi waited for a while, not seeing any changes. Suddenly his eyes snapped open widely. Chakra began forming at the center of the plant's mouth!

Kakashi watched as a marble-size amount of chakra gathered in the plant's maw. It began to slowly get bigger, but that wasn't what surprised him the most. The chakra was spinning. Spiraling.Within seconds the plant held in it's mouth a fully formed Rasengan. Kakashi analyzed the plant with his Sharingan. It was indeed a perfect Rasengan. He blinked a few times upon seeing it.

"Crap…" muttered the blonde as the sphere began to destabilize. It only took a few seconds before he lost complete control and the Rasengan blew up, blowing up the mouth of the plant with it. The two nins jumped back, easily dodging the flying remains of the entity. Naruto turned to Kakashi with a smirk, "Imagine that, but with about fifty plants, all of them surrounding an enemy nin."

Kakashi nodded, "I'd hate to be the one you test that on." He said with his eyes turning into an upside down smile.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of people that I would prefer to test it on."

The Jounin, seemingly ignoring the comment, "You really are getting powerful Naruto." He then looked momentarily serious, "However, you seemed to be stepping into the Ninjutsu-specialist field. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but from the little I saw in your fight, I noticed that your physical strength was lacking and your Taijutsu just plain bites. The only thing you really have going for you is your speed."

The blonde nodded, ignoring the impulse to curse out the Jounin, "Yea I know. I've been mostly working on creating new techniques for myMokuton. I DO work on my speed, though it's usually when I'm sparring with multiple Moku Bunshins. I have been trying to work on both my running speed and my sealing speed. I've also worked on my Kenjutsu, though it could be a lot better. Unfortunately my Taijutsu has taken a back seat." The blonde finished explaining, before asking, "I hate to sound like a broken record, but did you get those scrolls for me."

"It'll take me a while to gather the scrolls that you will need, I'll try to get them to you by tonight." Naruto nodded, "Oh and before I forget…"

Kakashi threw him something. Naruto caught it and looked at the object, "A key?"

He nodded, "Your apartment building was condemned. Everyone who lived there moved away, including Haku whom I believe is sharing an apartment with Rin. Anyway, I have an empty room, so I thought I'd help you avoid the headache of trying to find a place to live."

Naruto nodded as he pocketed the key.

Kakashi then stared at Naruto deeply. "After that, I do have an idea. I can teach you a certain Jutsu that can speed up your training."

The blonde was instantly interested, "I'm listening…"

"The technique is called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It's a clone technique, which creates solid clones, much like theMizu Bunshin and the Moku Bunshin. However, every time you use this technique, your chakra is divided equally among the clones, it's because of this that makes the technique a Kenjutsu. However they do have a special ability, which makes them useful for training. Everything a clone learns during its existence is instantly learned by the user of the jutsu when the clone is dispelled or destroyed." He was about to continue, but was interrupted.

"Is that it?"

Kakashi's eye widened somewhat before looking at the blonde in annoyance. 'He probably doesn't understand…' Before he could try to explain it to the blonde again, Naruto held up a hand.

"Moku Bunshin no Jutsu possesses a similar ability."

Kakashi eye widened a bit, he gave the blonde a questioning gaze.

"I have some kind of mental link with all my clones. Kind of like, being connected with telepathy, which is why I can communicate with my clones so effectively. So anytime a clone of mine learns something, that clone automatically sends me the information through our link, which I in turn send through the same link to the other Wood Clones." Naruto finished his explanation.

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Let me guess, you used this same training method to create your altered version of the Rasengan?" Seeing the boy nod, he decided to continue, "And you haven't been able to use this training method on your other jutsus, for fear of gathering to much attention?" Naruto again nodded. Kakashi smiled at that, 'Naruto really is beginning to think more intelligently.' "Hmmm, it seems that the Moku Bunshin can be a really useful technique. Too bad I can't copy it, it seems much more useful than Kage Bunshin."

Naruto shrugged, "Depends…how much chakra does it take to make a Shadow Clone?"

The Jounin shrugged, "That depends directly upon your chakra control…but it would be miniscule at worst. However, as I stated earlier, using the Kage Bunshin, causes all your chakra to be divided evenly among the clones."

Naruto nodded at this, "I see. Wood Clones require a decent size amount of chakra, just to use. Probably about the size of a B-rank Katon jutsu, afterwards you have to decide how much chakra the clone will receive, or they'll be limited to Taijutsu."

"I see…Shadow Clones a destroyed after one hit, how many hits can Wood Clones take?"

"A few, though they can use chakra to regenerate themselves, though that uses up a hell of a lot of chakra. However if they catch on fire, they are basically all but destroyed."

Kakashi nodded, "Your technique seems to have the potential to waste a lot more chakra, though at the same time it can save a lot of chakra…" He paused when he looked up at the sky. There was a hawk in the air, which was flying in circles. 'ANBU meeting…hmmm…' "As much as I would like to continue comparing techniques, I have somewhere to be."

Naruto nodded as well, "Works for me…perfect time to start on that training."

Kakashi paused a few steps away. He turned back to his blonde charge. "Naruto…why do you train so hard? What's your purpose?"

Naruto grinned at that. "To fight all these bastards that seem to want me dead for whatever reason at all. You said that there were ten of them, I killed one so there should be nine left."

The cycloptic ninja just stared at him. "To defeat the Akatsuki." He muttered with a nod, "What next?"

The third mokuzaimusha cocked his head to the side, "Are you trying to ask me if I'm going to destroy Konahagakure?"

The jounin just looked at his charge with an impassive look. "What are your ambitions…dreams of the future?"

Naruto smiled as he shut his eyes, before opening them again. "I won't destroy this village…like I said before I honestly don't care enough to bother. I'll only attack those who attack me first. As for dreams of the future." Naruto once again shut his eyes, "Back then, when we first became a team, I didn't actually have one. Now I know what I want to do…"

Kakashi raised a visible eyebrow. The blonde was actually opening up about something rather personal. He revealed that he liked a pornographic novel, normal. Revealed things that happened with his inner demon, normal. Revealed his intentions to basically fuck up anyone who attacked him…a little crazy, but normal. But this was his actual dream. Kakashi was actually curious as to what the boy had planned. Did Naruto desire to become the strongest ninja in the world? Did he intend to become a wanderer for the rest of his life, and stay away from Konaha forever? Would he settle down somewhere, start a family in a country and village where no one knew him? What did he want? What were his dreams? His desires?

"I…want…to…" Kakashi leaned in to listen to Naruto's desire. "…open up a chain of Hotels."

Kakashi immediately face-faulted.

Naruto just grinned at the man's reaction. "Come on, Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu, is perfect for that. I'll open up a bunch of Hotels throughout the Elemental Nations, and hire some people to deal with the hard part…like maintaining it and collecting rent. I can make large inn-sized houses out of pure chakra, fully stocked with furniture. I'll just come by every now and then to collect my share of the profits. I'll make money, without spending a dime. Then, after a few years, I'll retire to some beautiful island, with fifty hot maids, dressed in Ame(A/N: I didn't want to use the 'word French', but that's what I was going for)maid uniforms! HAHAHAAHA!"

K "HELL YEA!"

Mid through Naruto's rant, Kakashi found the strength to lift himself off the ground. He threw a grin at the boy, "Using a jutsu to make a profit, Yamato is going to be so jealous that he didn't come up with that idea first." Though that wasn't completely true. What many people don't know is that the Yamanaka flower shop, as well as flower shops all over Hi no Kuni, receive all their rarest plants from one source and one source alone. That source happens to be a good friend of Yamato, or Tenzo as his closest friends know him as. Yamato grows the plants and his friend acts as the middleman, both of them carrying out a 70-30 percent split respectively. Kakashi turned to walk away, but before getting out of earshot, he called over his shoulder, "Make sure to save me a room, I'm considering early retirement."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Getting lazy on me already?"

Kakashi just shook his head as he walked away, "I am twenty-nine years old…but between you, Sakura, and Sasuke…I feel like I'm eighty." And with that, Kakashi disappeared through the trees. Naruto nodded and walked of himself.

The blonde shrugged at the man's response. "Always something…Oh well." Naruto stretched his arms out. This was a perfect opportunity to carry out some of that extra training he's been wanting to do. He grinned to himself...there would be no need for him to hold back.

---Kazama Estate---

Yukina calmly and elegantly walked into her father's former mansion, giving a small nod to multiple maids and butlers that greeted her. Although she ahd been able to keep up the noble image that had been engraved into her head, she was currently feeling anything but benevolent. The…discouraging words given to her by…oh fuck etiquette, the bitching out she received from Koharu and Homura had been mentally and emotionally draining on her. It wasn't until Tsunade had called them back for a private meeting that she had been allowed to leave.

She didn't even care for the fact that she was still sweaty and in her combat gear. She just plopped down on her bed and intent on sleeping through the rest of the day.

"Yukina-hime."

The Heiress' eyes fluttered open and immediately caught sight of one the maids that worked for her. "Hello Ryoko…how are you today?" Out of all the maids in the mansion, Ryoko was definitely her favorite. Probably because she was the only person there that was under the age of forty. The twenty year old woman was the closet thing Yukina had to an older sister and mentor, that didn't involve any political instruction or decapitating an opponent with a blunt kunai.

The older woman gave the girl a kind smile, "I'm fine, thank you for asking. You look tired…"

The girl nodded from her position, "Long mission." Was her simple reply, not wanting to say anything regarding the Council.

Ryoko merely nodded, obviously accepting her answer. "Anyway, I just wanted to quickly tell you that you're grandparents have been in town for the last two days."

Yukina's eyes widened slightly at the proclamation. "Are they?" This would be a perfect time for them to have some kind of interaction with Naruto. Sure…she herself had a few moments talk with the boy…in which he insulted her intelligence more than once and proclaimed his hatred of her multiple times. 'But he did thank me for coming to help him…that counts for something right?' She immediately snapped out of her musings when she realized that Ryoko was still in front of her. "Thank you Ryoko", the girl yawned, rather obviously.

Ryoko, taking the hint, bid her mistress a farewell before walking out of the room.

The heiress sighed, before she lying back down. Perhaps if her grandparents were to become close to Naruto, it would make it easier for her to become closer to him as well. Maybe…

---With Naruto---

The rest of the night was uneventful for the Jinchuuriki of Konaha. He continued training alone in the forest. Thankfully no one bugged him, until Kakashi came back. Kakashi just sat off to the side, watching the boy train himself. Kakashi did help him by putting multiple seals around the area that would make it harder to feel demonic chakra that was inside of the seal. Naruto really didn't care, but Kakashi was greatful that he didn't have to deal with people complaining about feeling the Kyuubi's chakra.

Unfortunately he didn't get anywhere in his training. He would have to continue experimenting with handseals and his chakra manipulation. Maybe after he received the scrolls from Kakashi and the book from Shizune, he'd be able to get somewhere in his training. After he became tired out, he and Kakashi returned to the latter's home, for a long rest.

He would need to find a way to overcome his current limitations if he had any hope of fighting of the Akatsuki.

---The next morning---

"Naruto!"

The boy's eyes immediately snapped open when he heard someone calling his name. Lifting his head off of the surprisingly comfortable pillow, he called out, "What!", he snapped at Kakashi's loud noise.

"Tsunade-sama wants to see you immediately…after you get out of bed, go to her office immediately."

The boy sighed, resisting the urge to curse out both Kakashi and the old hag. He just sighed and immediately lifted himself off of the bed.

---The next morning, Hokage's Officel---

The blonde calmly walked into the Hokage's office, though on the inside he was anything but calm. 'Why the hell does she want to see me so soon?' She couldn't possibly be expecting him to do a mission, so soon after having been back in the village, could she? 'That wouldn't make any sense, with the Akatsuki still lurking around…she must just want to talk or ask me something.' Naruto nodded, though was still curious…though only for a moment. Kakashi must have informed her of the fact that he absorbed two tails of the demon fox's chakra. She's probably just going to question him for a bit in an attempt to make sure he's still completely himself. He nodded to himself, completely satisfied with his conclusion. He'd figured he'd just flip her off a few times, call her an old hag, bring up mid-life crisis, and make an off comment about 'sagging'. That ought to prove to her and anyone beyond a reasonable doubt that it was indeed him, so he could get back to his training

He immediately saw Tsunade behind her desk, and Jiraiya off to the side. He was slightly surprised to see neither Shizune nor Sakura, whom he had heard were Tsunade's personal aides. Feeling his innate impatience rising, he desired to voice his confusion in the most regal matter he could, "What the hell do you want, ya old hag?"

Jiraiya held his breath as Tsunade's eye began to twitch dangerously. Though lucky for Naruto, he would be spared Tsunade's wrath...this time at least.

The older woman, for her part, just flashed the boy a sickening sweet smile which actually started to make him uncomfortable. "Naruto I have a very important mission for you-"

Naruto's eyes widened momentarily… 'A mission! You've got to be shitting me!'

"I need you to protect a pair of very important people."

"What!" it was more of an outburst, than an actual question. Normally he would out right refuse such a mission, but his senses told him that Tsunade would make a big protest about that, so he decided to try and actually reason with the woman, using logic. "Why the hell would you want me of all people on a mission to protect people? You do know who is after me right? Come on you old bat, you're not that old!"

Jiraiya grinned at Naruto's outburst…this was just to amusing and they hadn't even gotten to the best part yet.

Tsunade just continued grinning, "No need to worry, according to Jiraiya's spy network, two other Jinchuuriki have been found and as well as one of the Bijuu. They'll have most of their forces split up to capture those targets and they won't attempt to come after you as long as Jiraiya and the samurai are with you."

Naruto just stared at her in confusion, "Samurai?"

The woman nodded, "The VIP's elite bodyguards…even though we do provide the man with his own shinobi bodyguards, he does have a set of body guards known as the Samurai…" the woman started scratching her chin, "Though hell, considering they always wear robes into battle and carry around Sansetsukons instead of katanas, they are more like monks in my opinion…but that's neither here nor there. Anyway the group are strong, many able to fight off trained Jounin."

Something started bugging Naruto at this point. Personal guards…Private Shinobi guards…and Sansetsukons… He immediately pushed it to the back of his head though. "If this big shot has his own army and this annoying overcompensating pervert-" he said pointing at Jiraiya, the man in question glaring at the boy, "-then why in the hell are you sending me!"

Tsunade shrugged, "Well the man asked for you specifically."

At this point a red light started shooting off in Naruto's head. Someone specifically asked for him. That didn't sound right… 1. he didn't know many rich people who were important enough to have personal guards, 2. any that he may have met either hated him for being the container of the Kyuubi or he pissed off by being the little bastard that he enjoyed being…the latter being a passion of his. So who the hell could this asshole be…

'Ok…so who the hell do I know. There were the aristocrats in the council, though none of them would want my protection and none of those bastards are important enough to have there own shinobi guards...no matter what they want to tell themselves. There are the clan heads, though I don't know them personally and they never would hire me to protect them…some may have their own personal guards, though none of the clans I know of use three-piece staffs as weapons…hell as far as I know, no one uses Sansetsukons in Konaha besides-' Naruto's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

Tsunade and Jiraiya started snickering, wishing that they had a camera to capture Naruto's expression.

'…Yukina…and her grandparents are important enough to have that kinda entourage…' Sensing the fact that he was about to be screwed over, he immediately glared at the woman "NO WAY IN FUCKING HELL!"

Tsunade's grin widened, which seemed impossible at the time, "Sorry brat, ya got no choice in the matter."

"What the hell do you mean I have no choice in the matter! Fucking send someone else!"

The woman shook her head, "Like I said, your participation was a direct request from the Lord of Hi no Kuni…and to be frank kid we have a simple policy when dealing with this man, and that policy is, 'What ever he wants, he gets.' Keeps everyone happy." 'Well, except several representatives from the council, but that's moot.'

"But you don't want the Lord of Hi no Kuni to get attacked by the Akatsuki do you?" the boy pleaded.

Tsunade waved off his concerns, "The Akatsuki actually seem to avoid the Lords of various countries for whatever reason. Besides, with Jiraiya and the Samurai around, the Lord will be perfectly fine. It's only a plus that you and Yukina will be accompanying him."

Naruto's eyes widened, 'YUKINA! Oh hell no!' He decided to try the pleading bit once more. "And what if he is taken hostage?"

The woman nodded, "A possibility, but its one that he's willing to take…though like I said, with Jiraiya around it shouldn't be a problem."

"I refuse…"

Tsunade glanced at the boy in boredom, "I'm not giving you a choice."

"I don't care what you say, I'm not going on the 'mission'!" stated the boy flatly.

"Let me put it this way brat, you only have three choices. The first is follow my order and go on the mission."

Naruto nodded, giving the woman a dirty look. He wasn't going to go through with option one.

"The second is for me to assign you non-stop D-rank missions for a whole year!"

"What!"

"You refusing to go on this mission is going to give Konaha hell, and more importantly me! So to reciprocate these feelings, I'm going to assign you non-stop D-ranked missions for a whole year...what's not to get about it."

Naruto's eyes narrowed…that was not an option.

"The third option is that the Council begins seeing you as a disobedient little bastard and decide that you need to be put in jail until you become more compliant to the duties you agreed to carry out the moment you accepted that hitai-ate."

Naruto continued giving her a dirty look. This was not something that he needed to deal with. Three choices, each another screw over. Unfortunately he had to say that the lesser of the three evils was spending a few weeks with the grandparents and sister that he desperately didn't want to get to know. Of course there was option number four…He could always become a missing-nin…but then he'd have to deal with Konaha hunter-nin and, because of there alliance, Suna hunter-nin as well. Though he didn't doubt he could avoid or defeat the hunter-nin, he didn't want to have to deal with Jiraiya or his thrice damned spy network… 'Stupid bastard could probably find me in a village full of a million Jinchuuriki, but when its time to find a group of missing-nin causing trouble across the Elemental Nations, he can't do a damn thing!' Speaking of which, the Akatsuki and any other punks that wanted to give him trouble were still around, he honestly didn't know why he had to deal with so much crap…but he was bugged a lot during his little training excursion, luckily not by the Akatsuki, but by a whole bunch of punks that just seem to bother him for no reason at all…but that's neither here nor there.

So his options were, an undetermined amount of time with some old guy, and his sister, who would probably try to bond with him; useless missions for a whole year (which probably included more than one a day); imprisonment for an undetermined period of time, which considering the people he was dealing with, could be anywhere between a week to the rest of his life; and leaving the village and having no protection (meat shields) from the Akatsuki.

In other words…Naruto was shit out of luck…

"Fine, I'll do the fucking mission…but I'm only guarding this guy and that's it!"

Tsunade nodded, "Him AND his wife."

The boy nodded, immediately exiting the room to go back to Kakashi's place and…pack his things… He didn't even know how long he was going to be away, but knowing how shitty his luck had been lately, he naturally assumed that it would be for a couple weeks, minimum.

Tsunade and Jiraiya watched the boy leaving the room, mumbling a bunch of things to himself and though they were unsure, they thought he said something about…'sagging'.

Jiraiya snicked slightly, "Wow…he's really pissed off."

The woman shrugged, "It's to be expected! I'm just surprised he took it as well as he did."

The man nodded, as he left to do some last minute research before going on this mission that he too was forced to go on. He paused for a moment at the door. "And what do we do about the Uchiha."

"Which one?" was Tsunade's lazy reply.

"The younger one."

The woman sighed, "If he has deserted Orochimaru, then were should consider it a blessing. We'll deal with him if it comes to it."

Jiraiya nodded, "I think your apprentice wants him to return to the village."

The woman nodded, "As do I. Konaha could really use the Sharingan in the years to come. If it comes down to that, he can return...after a serious punishment."

Jiraiya smirked, "Just try not to castrate him...we kinda need his bits and pieces as much as he does."

Tsunade nodded, as Jiraiya walked out the door.

---Kazama Manor---

It had been a few hours since the girl had heard the news. Yukina smiled as she finished packing her bag. She supposed that the 'lady-like' thing to do would be to have her servants pack them for her…but you really couldn't be careful with ninja supplies. Not to mention that none of them had the knowledge to seal items into scrolls, which really saved space and made things easier to carry.

Looking over her supplies, she was satisfied with what she had. She just wanted to make one quick stop. Walking out of her room, she quickly entered her father's private study. This mansion was her and Naruto's inheritance…though it was obvious that Naruto probably wanted nothing to do with it. This estate was perhaps one of the most expensive pieces of land in all of Konaha, rivaling the Hokage's mansion and the Hyuuga Compound…yet its worth was nothing compared to what was held within the safe in her father's study.

She sighed as she went to one of the various book cases in the study and pulled out a dusty brown book. Immediately some unseen mechanism activated and a panel on one of the walls immediately slid open, revealing an iron safe. Unbeknownst the any potential thieves, the safe contain multiple seals to protect the contents that were inside and, in one case, destroy it if it should ever be tampered with by anyone other than a blood relative of Kazama Arashi. Yukina smiled as she bit her thumb, drawing blood, and wiped some of it on the black knob, which acted as its combination lock. A red seal immediately glowed on the knob. Immediately, Yukina immediately began entering the long sequence of combinations. Twenty-five numbers total, between 0 and 100. It took her a little under a minute to get it completely done. She opened it and looked inside at the contents. Two scrolls and two kunai. She reached for the kunai, marveling at the special three-pronged blade. She began fingering it for a moment, thinking, but after a moment, placed the kunai back where it belonged. It would be safer to give her brother his inheritance while he was here, safe in Konaha where he could learn the legendary technique safely. She closed the safe and sighed, taking a moment to wipe the blood of the knob with a hankerchief, and quickly walked over to the book and placed it back in it's proper place, closing the panel hiding the safe...it was about time she attempted to learn the technique as well...though she still believed she needed more training in the art of Seals. She turned and walked out of the room quietly…and right pass a figure cloaked in the shadows.

The figured grinned as she held a vial with a red liquid inside of it.

---At the village gates---

Naruto sighed as he appeared by the gates. He saw a large carriage, one he assumed his grandparents were in…that was fortified by the fact that multiple 'samurai' were surrounding the carriage.

Seeing Jiraiya off to the side, he decided to go stand next to him.

Jiraiya looked at the boy with amusement, "You don't seem happy to be here."

"Go to hell…"

Jiraiya continued looking at the boy in amusement. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yukina walking towards the group, or more precisely towards the carriage. One of the guards opened the door to the carriage, allowing the girl to elegantly slide in.

Before the door could close, Takeru waved Naruto over. "Naruto, please come sit with us."

Before he could answer, Naruto suddenly was aware of multiple sets of eyes on him. The bodyguards, his grandfather, his grandmother, Yukina, Jiraiya.

Naruto just flashed the man a fake smile, the fact that the man was acting so casual with him seriously bugged him. "If you don't mind…I really would prefer to walk."

Takeru gave a small nod, before sitting back in the carriage, his face somewhat disappointed.

The Jinchuuriki sighed to himself as he saw the carriage begin to move, Jiraiya ushering him on…this was going to be a long few weeks.

---In the darkness---

Danzou smiled at the four objects he had in front of him. Two were Kazama Arashi's very special Kunais, and the other two were the scrolls depicting the technique the Kunais were used for. Aside from him, there were two others in the room, a man and a woman each dressed in ANBU armor.

He reached for one of the scrolls and immediately began reading the contents.

It only took him a few moments before he shut the scroll in frustration. He grabbed the second scroll and hobbled over to the nearby fireplace.

The two ROOT member's eyes widened as he tossed both scrolls in the roaring fire.

The male quickly got up, "Danzou-taichou!"

The man immediately glared at his subordinate for forgetting his place. The younger man quickly went back down in a kneeling position.

Danzou quickly went back to his seat and carefully sat down. "Tenchi…" he began addressing the young man, "…were you aware of the fact that our beloved Fourth Hokage had attempted to teach both of his living students, Hatake Kakashi and Hayabusa Rin, his Hiraishin technique?"

"Ummm…no sir I wasn't aware of that…"

"Oh yes…it happened after his third student died during the war. Unfortunately, they ultimately failed in achieving even the tiniest bit of progress. Hayabusa perhaps would be excusable…but Hatake was and still is a genius ninja. For him to not be able to learn a technique is…unbelievable."

Tenchi nodded, "But what does this mean sir?"

"As I just confirmed with the scroll, Arashi made the seal required in the Hiraishin no Jutsu out of samples of his own blood. He of course tried to get Hayabusa and Hatake to use there own blood as well in making there own seals, but they still failed. Back then, I knew that Arashi had attempted to teach Hayabusa and Hatake how to perform the Hiraishin and that they failed…back then I assumed that it was something in Arashi's blood that allowed him to make such a seal, and the scroll confirmed my assumptions about the blood."

"Do you mean like a bloodlimit sir?"

"Indeed…it is something in his blood, something tiny that will probably never manifest itself into anything that will be corporal. But it stands to reason that Arashi was able to create and master the Hiraishin because it was in his blood. It is very likely that his children inherited this ability, which is why it was dire that I burned the scrolls."

The woman looked up, "But…"

"Uzumaki is far to wild to control, for now. The girl has become disobedient…if Homura and Koharu weren't watching her so closely, who knows what her soft heart would make her do", spat the elderly man. "What a weak child."

"But aren't you planning on taking control of Uzumaki?"

"Even if I control Uzumaki, it would be very stressful if he were to have access to THAT Jutsu. If he were to break free of his leash, I would be forced to kill him, which would become exponentially more irritating with Kazama's technique."

Both the woman and the man nodded at there leaders reasoning.

Danzou grinned, 'Besides, with my photographic memory, its not like the technique is completely lost forever.' He chuckled to himself before looking over at the woman. "Ryoko, did you plant the evidence?"

Yukina's 'maid' nodded, "Yes sir, if all goes according to plan, then Sound will get blamed for the robbery and Yukina-hime will be blamed for her carelessness."

Danzou nodded, "For security purposes you are to report to our base of operations at the edge of Kaze no Kuni. You are not to return here until I tell you otherwise."

The woman nodded, "Yes sir!" She then disappeared

The elder man then turned to the younger one, "Leave me!"

Tenchi nodded before disappearing as well.

Danzou looked over at his desk before opening a folder.

Uzumaki Naruto (A picture of Naruto was at the top

Rank: Chunin. Jinchuuriki

Status: Wanderer (the word Wanderer was scratched out and next to it was written) Active.

Bloodlimit: Mokuton.

Known Techniques: Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan…

And the list went on and on. Danzou picked up a pen and began jotting something down, under "Known Techniques".

Ability to Hide Offensive Aura?

Greater Chakra Supply?

Combining Form and Nature Manipulation?

How useful spies were…

He smiled at the picture of the blonde ninja. It was odd. These thoughts…it suddenly reminded him of a time when he was but a child. They reminded him of times when he used to want certain toys and beg his parents to go get them for him.

Danzou smiled at those memories. If only it was that easy to get his toys now.

---Somewhere far away---

Zetsu sighed as he leaned against a tree. He was beginning to curse Pein for gathering this specific group of ninja for their plans. Konan he could deal with, she was easily the simplest person to get along with. Both Itachi and Kisame were alright as well, though they had there moments. He absolutely hated Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara. They were all walking time-bombs in his opinion, ready to blow at any moment, and to top it off they all had there own annoying quirks and habits…like Kakzu with his un-satable love for money, Sasori and Deidara for there annoying arguments about art, and Hidan for his sadistic nature, and his cursing, his constant spouting of Jashin this and Jashin that…ok so maybe Hidan was slightly worse than the others. At least Deidara did something to help the situation…he died. Now, through some lapse of judgment, he decided to recommend Tobi…Kami only knows what annoying quirks Tobi would have.

It was at that moment that Zetsu finally understood the cause of all his migraines over the past few years. His allies…his brothers (and sister)…the people he has bled with…he has fought with…the ones he put his life on the line with…all of them…his teammates…

…they are all assholes.

Zetsu cradled his forehead in his hands. It was for these reasons and more than Zetsu was thankful for the fact that the group of them rarely met. Hell, his meeting with Sasori, Tobi, Hidan, and Kakuzu may have been the first time he himself met with so many of his comrades in many years. Lucky for him that Pein usually dealt with his annoying recruits.

It was times like these that he wondered why he ever joined an organization like Akatsuki…

…but earlier today he had remembered. It was a rather simple statement by one of the assholes he worked with.

"…why don't you go hunt down Uzumaki? He seems to be stepping on your territory."

Zetsu grinned.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were two very different men, though they shared a similar profession.

One was an outlaw, who was wanted for murders and all kinds of charges around the Elemental Nations.

The other was an old man, a high-ranking Council member for what is revered as the Greatest of the Ninja villages.

But at that very moment…for only a second, they both had the same thoughts in mind.

"Uzumaki will be mine!"

---

A/N: i hope this chapter was to everyone's satisfaction.

Let's see, I'm praticing my Jedi Mind trick...let me see if it works.

YOU WILL REVIEW!