Naruto the REAL Fifth Hokage Chapter 12: Reaction Attraction, Part 1, a naruto fanfic

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and the first Omake.

Side Note: To all those waiting for the next chapter of "Perfect Little Mistake", I'll be honest with you guys; I have not even started it. I had tried to so many times, but I couldn't do it. I just couldn't find a way to make the episode Granddad's Fight any different than it already was. If you have any suggestions, or anything then please send me a PM, because I'm at a lost here.

Disclaimer: The song mentioned (or alluded to if you want to be technical) in this chapter is the property of CanadianJutsu and is called NSTAS: Music Video – "I Killed My Clan". It can be found on YouTube and is on my favorites

Summary: Naruto tells Sasuke the truth, but can Sasuke handle it without going over the edge? Naruto and Kakashi have a talk as well, but can Kakashi get the truth out before it's too late? The other great villages find out about Naruto becoming Hokage, but what will they do when they have other problems to deal with? Can Naruto and Ino get their past with each other cleared away so he and she can start anew? And what will happen once Sasori and Deidara arrive in the village?

Chapter 12: Reaction Attraction, Part 1

Naruto banged his head into his desk as Sasuke stood in front of him with a slight smirk on his face. Now why was this, you might be asking. It was because the Uchiha was but the first of the many meetings he was having today. After that meeting yesterday everyone had bombarded him on his way to his office, and he kindly told each and everyone one of them that he'd meet with them all individual today. What he didn't think was that they'd all be camped outside his office when he got out of his room in the mansion.

While his office was on one side of the top floor, his bedroom was hidden away within a secret underground palace. No seriously, the freaking place was a palace and it was all his since he didn't have any family to live with him. Well it was only him until Jiraiya moved in, but the white haired man wasn't really around much. Tsunade and Shizune had moved into the Senju clan compound, which was on the completely opposite end of the Uchiha clan. His palace of a home may have been underground, but it looked like it was at the top of the world by just how spacious it was. Jiraiya said it was made to house the Hokage's family in times of war, so since all the previous Hokages had clans for family it was made to be something of a clan compound. Naruto really didn't care as the first question to leave his mouth about the place was, "Got any Ramen?"

Well there was no ramen, but back to the matter at hand. So, they were camped outside of his office, literally camped. Sasuke must not have left, because he was the only one sleeping without a blanket over sleeping bag when Naruto had got there. He tried so hard to get into his office quietly and not have to deal with them, but that damn Ino and her "Sexy Man Senses" had to ruin it. Oh well… kill Ino later, deal with Sasuke's crap now.

"So what do you want?" Naruto said as he sat back and gave Sasuke an irritated look while the Uchiha only smirked as the door closed on the faces Kakashi and Ino, who had been directly behind him.

"Not much really just to say that you may be our Hokage now, but you'll always be our dope and deadlast." Sasuke said as Naruto's eyebrow twitched. He sighed though as he had long since known that was Sasuke talk for congrats and "I'm so proud of you!"… Yeah, he knew the Uchiha bastard would die of sudden loss of ego if he said anything along those lines.

"So anything I can help you with?" Naruto asked, but immediately regretted his chose of words as Sasuke actually grinned and got a really weird and dark gleam in his eye.

"Yes, yes you can. Now that your rule of this village we can finally do what the Sandaime wouldn't; take down Itachi." Sasuke said as he placed his hands on the edge of Naruto's desk. Naruto sighed as he sank into his seat. How was he c going to tell Sasuke about Itachi without snapping what little sanity the bastard had left?

"Listen Sasuke-" Naruto started off calmly, as Sasuke interrupted.

"Wait, I know it's a stretch and that you have an entire village to run, but if you could just get me some training-" Sasuke said quickly so he could persuade Naruto into giving him the training. He could take anything Naruto had to offer, even if it was… A-Anko… Man did that name send a shiver down his spine worse than Itachi.

"Sasuke, you have to understand-"

"Okay, I get it. Maybe you could just throw a few Jonin my way and have them train me on their off-time. Plus if I were to say bring Itachi's mutilated corpse back to the village, it'd boast morale, and-"

"Sasuke, Itachi isn't-"

"I know, he's not the main priority right now, but if he keeps roaming around as insane as he is then he's bound to come back like he did already. He kicked Kakashi-sensei's ass, and now he's traveling around in a black cloak with red clouds on it. That just screams insane psycho-killer. He'll probably come back to slaughter another clan because he's bored-"

"Sasuke, he's not even-"

"I know he's not even a real problem, but you've gotta let me have this, Naruto. He killed our entire clan for no reason. None at all! No rhythm or rhyme! He just went completely bat-shit on them! Do you even know what he's put me through? The last time I saw him he attacked me with a duck and then made me listen to him sing inside his Tsukuyomi about how he killed our clan! I can still remember the words to his damn song! It was so horrifying!" Sasuke said as he reached across the desk and grabbed Naruto by his robes and held him at least two inches from his face with Naruto giving him a blank look as the ANBU in his office already had blades in position to strike or stab Sasuke's major organs. Naruto waved them off back into the shadows as Sasuke still held him.

"Are you going to let me go and tell me the damn song?" Naruto said deadpanned as Sasuke blinked twice and let him go with a muttered apology.

"So, the song?" Naruto asked as Sasuke shivered a bit.

"It was about how he killed our clan and he liked it. He said they were ever so gullible; soft skin, red eyes, so cut-able. He said that he didn't even know their names, and that they were just experiments for his Mangekyo! He said he got so brave, sword in hand that he lost his digression! He sang about how he had been planning it for months! He's a psychotic family murder with a catchy beat to his madness! He must be stopped, Naruto!" Sasuke said as he paced the floor of Naruto's office while Naruto only stared at him with a look.

"Okay… Listen Sasuke, there's something I need to tell you." Naruto said, leaning forward as Sasuke turned to him.

"Hold on a second, because that wasn't even the worst part of it all. He lied and said he was ordered by Anbu. Then he said that he was so confused about it all and that he hoped that I didn't mind it. Oh, and then he said he did it to fuel a plot device! A plot device, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted as he knew no one outside of Naruto's office could hear them. That, however, didn't mean they couldn't hear the ANBU chuckling in the shadows at his outburst.

Damn the ANBU for seeing him have a nervous breakdown…

"Yeah… well I don't know about the whole plot device thing, but I need to tell you something." Naruto said as a chair made of wooden molded from the floor and was in front of his desk. Sasuke only stared at it as Naruto motioned for him to sit in it.

"How the…? How did you…?" Sasuke asked as he looked at the chair with wide-eyes.

"Umm… it's the Senju in me…?" Naruto said as he quickly came up with something Sasuke would believe. After all the Elders did reveal that he was a distant Senju. Sasuke simply nodded as he sat down. Plot Itachi's death first, question Naruto's abilities later…

"First I want to tell you about what you'll become if you allow Itachi's actions that day to drive you." Naruto said as Sasuke had to blink to be sure it was Naruto; hell he even muttered a "Kai" and activated his Sharingan to be sure to cool, calm, and collected person that was leaned forward with hands clasped together was really Naruto.

"Okay… what is it?" Sasuke asked hesitantly as he mentally slapped himself. This was Naruto, but even so how had Naruto gotten so… mellow? Was he secretly working with Itachi? No, of course not, but what if Itachi was controlling Naruto's actions with the Sharingan? That would be… impossible, yet and still extremely easy…

"Hey, bastard! I'm talking to you!" Naruto shouted as Sasuke jumped slightly. Okay, he was the real and un-Itachi-controlled Naruto alright…

"Now as I was saying, yesterday I had, for lack of a better word; vision." Naruto began as Sasuke leaned forward, intent on hearing every word.

Flashback: Yesterday, Sometime After the Council Meeting:

Naruto was walking through the streets as the people bowed to him or gave kind greetings of "Good Evening, Hokage-sama" or "How are you, Lord Hokage?" He wasn't really sure what to say because he had never been treated so warmly by the same people that, just two months ago would have called him so many variations of the phrase "demon brat". He settled for waving back with a kind smile and greeting them as well. As he walked down the street he felt more as if he was in a festival the way his people were clamoring to him. He chuckled slightly at the thought while two children ran past him playing some form of game.

"You won't win this time, big brother! I'll destroy you! Ha, ha, ha!" The younger kid said as he chased after his brother.

"You can't beat me! I'll have your… eyes! Yeah, those! Ha, ha!" the older brother said as Naruto suddenly stopped, frozen in his spot as his eyes went from their mirthful cerulean blue to the distinctive light purple that was his Kami-Daiougan.

Unknown Area:

Naruto wasn't sure where he was, but it was clearly a forest of some kind. The trees seemed to be that of Fire Country, but he wasn't sure where. Just then he saw someone, but his eyes widened at who he saw; it was himself.

Okay, well not exactly himself, but he knew it was him. He was the only ninja to go out in orange after all. Though this him was taller and hand on orange and black, it was still him.

"Damn I look good… But, do I really look like that in orange? I mean, it works for me, but I think I'll get a wardrobe change when this is over with. And to think, I was actually gonna get my Kage robes in orange or at least an orange haori." Naruto said as he walked up to himself, only for the guy not to notice him.

"Oh well, it had to be an illusion. After all I was just I the middle of my village. Though the other Naruto took off, and fast too. Naruto had blinked and the other him was already a good distance away, on normal speed; no Flash Step.

"I guess I better follow…" Naruto pondered as he jumped to a tree and saw himself stick; that meant only people in this illusion couldn't be touched then.

The other Naruto jumped down from a tree branch, landing steadily on his feet as he gazed around. Naruto had landed beside him just as he quickly hid himself behind a tree trunk while peering past the bark. Naruto didn't even bother to hide as he stepped out and looked. There was a pair of Sharingan eyes that stared out from the brush just a few meters away as Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sasuke!" Naruto gasped as Itachi Uchiha stepped out into the clearing of the area they were in.

Naruto's breathing caught in his chest as he thought Itachi had really heard him, but it seemed that wasn't the case as Itachi was staring at the tree instead of him.

"Come on out, Naruto Uzumaki." Itachi said in a sort of lazy monotone as the illusion Naruto gulped, and stepped out from behind the tree.

"Let me guess; you're here to capture me, right?" Naruto asked as Naruto didn't even bother hiding his surprise. He could easily tell this was some sort of future, but did that mean Itachi would betray him in the future?

"No… I just want to talk with you." Itachi said with a face that screamed calm, cool, and composed.

The real Naruto actually snarled as he gazed at Itachi, "Really, 'cause it's never that simple?" Naruto said, but then thought about things and calmed down.

"Actually, you never know in this world of shinobi…" Naruto said with a slight chuckle at his own joke.

Two Naruto clones leapt down from the branches, kunai poised and ready to stab as they speeded toward the bored looking Uchiha.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed as he gazed at the two clones now rushing Itachi, "I didn't even notice them! When did he- umm- I make them?"

Yet, with a small flash of movement, Itachi had flung two kunai, dispelling them both like it was nothing but a warm-up.

"Apparently, Itachi did though…" Naruto deadpanned as he knew the Uchiha would have been on to such a plan.

"Yeah, right!" Naruto snarled defiantly as he glared at Itachi, "Like I'd ever trust you!"

Okay now Naruto knew this was either a distant future or a parallel version of a distant future, because he was pretty sure he could trust Itachi to do just about anything for him. Hell the guy killed his family in the name of peace and the village, Naruto was pretty sure Itachi would do anything to have just a sliver of Naruto's kindness. Though Naruto hated to admit it, he found out that he needed to manipulate most people to motivate them to do things and of the people Itachi was no exception. Naruto really hated to force people to do things they didn't want to, but he figured: why not give an incentive to make them think they were the ones who really wanted it done. His way of manipulating Itachi; promises of his return to the village and reuniting him with Sasuke, along with killing Madara Uchiha and revealing the true of what was really going on during that time.

"Oh? Didn't Chiyo-baa-sama teach you anything about fighting the Sharingan? You're all alone here, Naruto. You're supposed to run…" Itachi said as he eyed Naruto with an extreme amount of disinterest while he slowly raised his hand, making his Akatsuki ring visible.

Now Naruto was sure that it was the future, because he had never in his life met anyone named Chiyo, especially an Elder Lady Chiyo, though he resigned to simply watching this confrontation before he killed the real Itachi for this; if it were to happen.

"Whatever!" Naruto cut in as his expression grew fierce and feral, "I can become a number anywhere from one to a thousand!" he yelled as Naruto simply rolled his eyes.

"Am I really that arrogant, or was that just the old me talking…" Naruto muttered as he gazed at Naruto, "Yup this guy is definitely what I would have turned out to be had my life taken a different path, though what diverges the two I have yet to know…" Naruto said as he stroked his chin and began thinking.

Itachi simply observed him for a moment before speaking, "You're obsessed with my brother."

Naruto shuddered as he looked like someone had just smacked him, "Okay… when you put it that way, it sounds a little weird, creepy, and stalker-ish…" Naruto said as he was sure that if Sasuke were watching this with him the Uchiha would have been edging away until he could run like hell, though if Kiba were here he'd probably burst out laughing.

Itachi simply ignored the look Naruto was giving him in favor of continuing, "Why? He's gone rogue, abandoned his village and friends, and has even resolved to kill you."

Naruto gritted his teeth as he gave Itachi a look, while whispering, "To hell he will…"

Naruto's face tightened and his voice filled with conviction as he spoke, "We may not be blood, but he's more of a brother to me than you ever were to him!" he said as he charged Itachi with a roar.

Naruto frowned as he thought this version of himself was a bit much. Really, just charge Itachi Killed-His-Whole-Clan-in-One-Night-by-Himself Uchiha? That was the plan this version of himself came up with? Really? Though when he saw Itachi actually smile he had a feeling it was a mixture of Naruto's words and a bit of that "I'm about to make a fool out of you" Uchiha spirit they all seemed to have. Hell, even Kakashi had it in him!

With a flick of his cloak, innumerable crows sprang into being, surrounding Naruto in fluttering wings.

"Why is it always birds with him anyways?" Naruto muttered as Itachi'sSharingan spun.

"You are already within my genjutsu." Itachi's disembodied voice said from every direction as his body reformed within the mass of crows seconds later.

"I'll say it again. I just want to talk." Itachi said as Naruto's eyes rolled. Then in a flash of speed a crow separated itself from the flock and flew into Naruto's mouth, and down his throat.

Naruto's eyes widened a second as he had seen the whole thing "What the hell? It looks like he… he stored something. I saw a brief flash of chakra there… but what was that…?" Naruto questioned as Narutocollapsed, and Itachi dissolved into a cloud of black crow feathers which slowly disappeared.

There was a bright light that engulfed everything within Naruto's vision and then everything went dark.

Another Unknown Area:

Naruto blinked his eyes at finally having light again. He looked around and saw Itachi, face down on the ground. Sasuke; battered and tired just a few meters away, grunted slowly drawing himself up from the ground as his Sharingan faded back into onyx black eyes.

Naruto could easily tell this guy was Sasuke, because no one else had that hair, the kind they all secretly made fun of behind his back; the kind that looked like a duck was sitting atop his actually bald head. Though the clothes were different, and he felt evil and cold, Naruto knew that was Sasuke's duck-ass hair a mile away.

"It's… done…It's finally over!" Sasuke said as realization finally dawned on him.

Naruto had no clue what the crazy-eyed Sasuke, because of the evil and mad gleam in his eye, was talking about. That was at least until he took a look around; the completely vaporized building, the destroyed land around the area, the Plant-guy watching from a safe distance while half-sunken into the ground. Naruto sighed as he jumped and landed right next to the freaky plant-dude. Yup, this place just screamed "Uchiha Battle Royal!"… Naruto looked to see that Itachi was as good as dead, which meant that Sasuke had finally succeeded in killing Itachi.

"So why does he look so empty, evil, and cold?" Naruto mused as he watched Sasuke.

"Is this the death you had imagined for me?" came a voice as all three watchers turned to see Itachi standing up.

"What? No way!" Naruto shouted as he could practically feel the power of some kind of mega-jutsu still in the air. It was like a God-level Chidori had been done, and if Itachi was hit by it and it caused all the damage around them, then just what had allowed Itachi to survive?

Or maybe the stories of super bad-ass Itachi were true…?

Sasuke whirled around as Itachi coughed up blood while standing up unsteadily.

Sasuke changed, the curse mark transforming him into something Naruto didn't know what to call except, "monster…"

"How dare you live!" Sasuke shouted out as a mirage of bones surrounded Itachi.

The elder Uchiha brother smiled as he gazed at Sasuke, "If I hadn't had this, I would be dead. You really have gotten stronger, Sasuke." Itachi said proudly as he stood tall, "This time… I shall show you my final trump card… the Susanoo."

"The God of Storms…" Naruto heard the plant-guy whisper, or at least half of him, the black half.

Naruto wasn't sure what Sasuke would do as he had paused… and then screamed while eight titanic snakes erupted from his body where the Curse Mark was. They were all hissing excitedly toward Itachi and his divine protector.

"What the hell?" Naruto demanded as he gazed up at the thing, jumping in front of it to get a better look at the two giant bodies. Was this a battle or a freaking magic show the way they were pulling out transformations and Gods?

"Judging by the feel of it, that's Orochimaru's Eight Headed Serpent Jutsu…" Itachi murmured as the snakes attacked… and Itachi had Susanoo decapitate all of them. It was so fast Naruto was sure that if he had blinked at that exact second, he'd have missed it. Though, one of the heads, the main one if Naruto had to guess, slowly regenerated while opening its mouth wide, revealing… a top naked Orochimaru. Naruto was sure that that would be the stuff of his nightmares for a while…

"Finally," Itachi said triumphantly, yet still in monotone, "It emerges."

Naruto raised a brow at the statement, "He had wanted to draw Orochimaru out? But why? And why was Orochimaru inside of Sasuke's Curse Mark anyway?"

Orochimaru simply laughed manically from inside the white snake's mouth as he pulled out his sword, Kusanagi, from his own mouth.

"This is it! This is what I've been waiting for! Thanks to you, Sasuke's repressing chakra is GONE! Now I can take over this child's body and-" Orochimaru said, sounding as insane as he looked to Naruto as he stared down at Itachi with a maddening gleam in his snake-like eyes.

A stream of power struck Orochimaru through the chest.

"…Eh, huh?" Orochimaru said as the blade of Susanoo was impaling him.

"Well, Sasuke; what next?" Itachi asked, almost in a bored monotone as the blade of the Susanoo sucked in Orochimaru and his snake body, sealing him for all eternity.

There was silence for a moment just from the pure shock of what had just happened, but Naruto had gotten over it quickly.

"Well…" Naruto said slowly as he blinked, "That was anti-climactic. Seriously so…"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto he felt the world speed up around him. He understood and remembered every single word that had been spoken, and action that was taken while in the state of "fast-forwarding". He was just about to question if he was secretly do drugs in his sleep the world went back to normal.

Another Unknown Area:

Naruto looked around to see that he was inside some sort of secret room. Sasuke was on the bed just waking up from whatever had happened, though Naruto surmised that it was probably his battle with Itachi that he was healing from. Naruto had to admit, though that if he fought Itachi like that, then he'd need to heal as well.

Sasuke's eyes slowly opened as a voice behind Naruto spoke. "I treated your wounds." It said as Naruto turned quickly to where it was coming from.

Sasuke bolted upright into a sitting position as his hand had already gone through hand-signs.

"You won." The voice, clearly male said as a man stepped out of the shadows wearing an orange spiral mask over his face and an Akatsuki cloak.

"Who's this we have here?" Naruto said with narrowed eyes as he was sure it was the plant-guy from earlier.

"I brought you here in order to tell you something." The man said as Sasuke looked away from him.

"Not interested, huh. What if I told you… that it's about Itachi Uchiha?" The man said as Sasuke's eyes drifted over to the figure.

"That's right" the man said, "You think you know everything about your brother, but you actually don't." He spoke as he reached up to touch his mask, "Oh, all right. Let me start with a self-intro. I am, like you, an Uchiha survivor…"

Naruto froze as his eyes narrowed, turning slightly red before he subsided his anger at knowing he could kick the guy's ass. "Madara Uchiha" Naruto spat out venomously, but was surprised that he couldn't feel hate for the man, only anger and a small, yet heavy, amount of pity.

The man's, Madara's, mask came halfway off, revealing a Sharingan eye.

"…And the one who knows the truth about Itachi Uchiha." Madara said, almost smugly as Naruto rolled his eyes.

Sasuke's Sharingan spun into existence creating black flames that leapt onto Madara's arm, setting him aflame while Sasuke gasped and clutched at his eye as it cried tears of blood.

"Holy crap!" Naruto blurted out, not having expected that, "Where did that come from?"

Madara dashed into the darkness, panting heavily as Sasuke's Sharingan faded back to his normal eye.

"What…what was that?" Sasuke rasped out as Madara was still in the shadows.

"The Amaterasu, which Itachi seems to have implanted in you…" Madara said, almost as if pondering something while Sasuke's eyes went wide.

Madara's hand reached down, grasping the mask as he re-emerged into the light a second later, reaffixing the mask to his face, "Leave it to Itachi to set a post-mortem trap. I can't believe how well he plans ahead."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he gazed up at Madara, "What… are you talking about?"

Naruto however chose to frown as he couldn't see where this was going…

"In order to kill me, Itachi placed a jutsu on you, or at least to keep me away from you. He probably set it so that the Amaterasu would automatically activate when you saw my Sharingan." Madara said as he glanced up at the rocky ceiling, "So that was Itachi's last trick, huh? Too bad it didn't work."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke retorted as Naruto too was curious.

"Itachi must have done something to you before he died." Madara said Sasuke's eyes widened.

"At the very end, he transferred his own ocular powers to you." Madara explained as Sasuke stared at him in shock.

"What are you saying?" Sasuke asked as his mouth was going dry from his fear of the answer, "What exactly is your point?"

"Don't you get it?" Madara demanded as he gazed at Sasuke, "Itachi did it…to protect you."

Naruto remained silent, but did remember that it was always Itachi's intention to protect Sasuke, so he'd wait and see how all of this played out.

"I repeat" the masked man that was Madara said, "You do not know everything about your brother."

"You're lying" Sasuke said coldly, "I'll kill you."

"You're not gonna making this easy, are you?" Madara quipped dryly as he held up his hands, "Understandable; you don't trust me, you don't know me, but what I am about to tell you is the truth. Itachi did mention it, no? He was not alone that night." Madara said as he gave a graceful bow.

"I am Madara Uchiha." Madara said, revealing his identity as Sasuke froze and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I know everything about Itachi- even Itachi himself did not know so much!" Madara said, smugly Naruto noticed as the man walked up to Sasuke.

Naruto also noticed Sasuke's hands clenched over the blankets while an enraged expression took over his face. "SHUT UP! None of that matters! Get out of here!"

Naruto was about to roll his eyes, but he felt the world speed up around him again. He didn't know or care why, but he was sure there was a reason to it, though he was quickly getting tired of it.

Unknown Cliff Area:

Now Naruto found that he was standing on a cliff with Sasuke, Madara, and three other people who Naruto couldn't place.

Sasuke stood up on the rocks, watching the sunrise and the waves as they crashed upon the shore.

He was alone.

Naruto's head whipped around as he heard a disembodied voice-over. He wondered where it was coming from.

Because he had to fight you… and die in front of you.

Naruto turned to Madara since that was the man's voice that he heard over him.

That was what he truly needed.

For the peace of Konoha, and most of all, for you, Sasuke, he desired to die a criminal, and a traitor.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Accepting disgrace in place of honor, and hate in place of love…and Itachi still died with a smile on his face.

We can change it.

He bequeathed to you the Uchiha name, still fooling you to the very end.

"I'm not fooled any longer." Naruto heard from Sasuke, yet he knew Sasuke wasn't speaking, because the voice had come from over them and not Sasuke.

Was that Sasuke's thought being broadcast to him?

Sorry, Sasuke.

Was that just Itachi's voice? Wasn't he supposed to be dead in this vision?

This is it.

Tears ran down Sasuke's face like a river as he stared at the sun with no emotion in his gaze.

"So" Madara started quietly as he gazed up at Sasuke, "Now what?"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, but answered, not even bothering to look to anyone as he continued staring at the sun, "No longer are we Hebi, the snake. From now on…we are the Hawk.We are Taka." Sasuke said with conviction.

Naruto smiled a bit, sure that Sasuke would be returning to Konoha a hero like Itachi wanted…

The wind blew, cold and biting with Sasuke not even flinching as he stared aimlessly into the sun. Naruto was kind of hoping the bastards eyes burned out with the way he was just staring like that.

"Taka shall have but one motive. We exist…" Sasuke started as Naruto was sure it was something to aid Konoha, "to destroy Konoha."

Naruto froze. Where the hell did that option even come from? Itachi wanted him to be a hero to the village, not go and destroy the damn thing!

The Mangekyo Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes spun rapidly as he, Madara, and the three behind them leapt off the cliff.

Naruto went pale white, while the world went dark.

Suddenly he found himself back in Konoha; children racing down the street, adults and teens greeting him kindly, and old people yelling at the youth of the village. Just as normal as could be, except they all were in the same places they were when he had frozen to his spot. Did all of that really just happen?

He needed a drink…

End of Long-Ass Flashback:

Sasuke, after hearing everything Naruto had said, slumped into his chair; eyes wide, glassy, and devoid of any form of emotion other than shock. Was it all true; from start to finish? Naruto wasn't one to lie to him, and even if he did Naruto was one of the worst liars in the history of the word. So Naruto was telling the truth, but…

"Is it true, Itachi killed my clan… because they were going to revolt against Konoha and Fire country?" Sasuke asked as his throat dried from fear of the answer.

Naruto only nodded slowly as he kept a soft gaze on Sasuke. He was sure that just like he was when Hiashi and Jiraiya had told him of his father, Sasuke was being thrown out of whack and that everything he knew he was now questioning. Sasuke for the most part was trying to handle the information as calmly and coolly as possible. He was trying to wrap his head around all of it; from his supposed epic battle with Itachi, to his declaring war on Konoha. He went pale at thinking about how dark and cold Naruto had described him. It just couldn't be true, and yet… it all made some semblance of sense and logic. Had he really been that blind to Itachi's real true?

Naruto watched as Sasuke paled and clasped his head. He wanted to help the poor bastard, but decided that Sasuke had to come to his own conclusions about what he had been told.

"Sasuke…" Naruto said as the boy slowly lifted his gaze to Naruto.

"I want him here. I don't care how it gets done, or who does it, but I want him here standing opposite of me so I can ask him myself. If what you say is true, then I want him back, if only to beat the hell out of him, but I want him back. Afterward I want the village to know, but for now… I need some time to… Some time to think." Sasuke said as Naruto only nodded absent-mindedly. How the hell could Sasuke formulate all that while he felt the way he looked, which wasn't too good?

"Tora" Naruto called as the Tora ANBU jumped from the ceiling in a kneeling position aside Sasuke, "take Sasuke home. He's had a… rough day." Naruto said as he leaned back in his seat. Sasuke and Tora nodded as they disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Boar" Naruto called as the Boar ANBU appeared from the corner shadow of his office, "watch Sasuke. He was… unstable as it was, but now he's even more so. Be sure to inform Tora and Ox that they are to take this mission as well. Do not allow him to know you're watching him, understood?" Naruto said as she bowed.

"Of course, Hokage-sama" she replied as he gave her a look as stern as steel and cold as ice. She had planned to have the Uchiha "find them due to his genius", but now that was not an option the way his look promised pain unknown to the world yet. She teleported away before he could convey a threat to match his expression, much to his mirth.

"I'll have to deal with her defiance one of these days, but not today…" Naruto said as he got from behind his desk and opened his door, "Next please." Naruto said as Kakashi gave an eye-smile to Ino, who had crossed her arms and pouted. Kakashi entered Naruto's office and sat in the wooden chair with a slightly shocked expression.

"Now as for you…" Naruto began as Kakashi gulped quietly at the look that promised a word-lashing for the Copy ninja that was he.

In Iwagakure or the Village Hidden in the Rocks:

The Sandaime Tsuchikage paced his office, barely listening as the ANBU gave their reports. His mind was on the file and photo he had received mysterious.

"And that's how it went, Tsuchikage-sama," The Boar ANBU explained, trying with no great success to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"We uh...we tried our best to capture him, sir" The Goat ANBU continued for his partner, "He just kind of slipped through our fingers."

"That's right" his partner added, "It's actually pretty amazing that he could get into this place like that."

"And with no one stopping him." the woman next to them muttered, causing them both to tense.

Luckily for them, the Tsuchikage didn't seem to have heard, being so lost in thought. After several painfully silent seconds, he turned his attention to the woman.

"Kurotsuchi-chan, you've met Zetsu of the Akatsuki in person before, can you say with absolute certainty that it was him?" The Tsuchikage asked as the woman shook her head.

"Unfortunately, Tsuchikage-sama, he disappeared before I could get a good look at him. Although I know that the Venus Fly-Trap around his head was the same, and he did disappear into the ground, of that I can be certain." The girl, Kurotsuchi, replied as she put her hand on her chin in a thinking manner.

The Tsuchikage sighed as he collapsed heavily into his chair and placed his head in his hands. He'd been waiting for this day every day for the last fifteen-odd years. The pleasure of knowing that he alone had been right all along was only outweighed by the even greater pleasure of getting to see the looks on the faces of his village council. Senile, they had called him. Ha! Senile like a fox, perhaps!

Of course, the fact that his most hated of enemies was not alive, but instead had a child that grew up to become a Kage at thirteen years-old did a fine job of dampening his mood.

"And you, you bastard Minato" The Tsuchikage mused as he, "Thinking that you could pull a fast one on me and my village; being dead for all these years, while you actually had a son that became Hokage after you. Well guess what? I just beat you at your own game, you little brat! You just couldn't keep your precious child hidden away, couldn't stand going so long without antagonizing me. Well now you have nothing to hide behind. If it wasn't for that agreement between our villages, I'd beat your snot-nosed brat upside the head for all the headaches you gave me, you irrepressible little bit-

"Umm, Onoki-jii-sama?"

The elderly man blinked out of his mental rant as he looked up, "What was that, Kurotsuchi?" He asked as he gazed up at her.

"I said, before he vanished I swore I heard him mention something about a ramen shop and then going to Mist." She said as he jumped up from his seat and over his desk.

Now that he was from behind his desk we find that Onoki is an old man being roughly the size of one and half times his Kage hat. His facial features include a triangular beard and a moustache with angular corners. He has a big red nose and thick rectangular-shaped eyebrows. The top of his head is completely bald, although, he has some white hair at the back and sides of his head, the back of which is tied with a yellow ribbon into a topknot. Onoki wears a unique green and yellow coat with a red collar. Underneath he wears an Iwagakure flak jacket.

The Tsuchikage blinked as he yelled, "A ramen shop?"

Kurotsuchi shrugged, "That's what it sounded like to me."

Though it was odd, Onoki wouldn't have found it so odd. He had studied Minato well and in his study of him, and constant spying on the man, he found that the Yellow Flash brat had gone married to Kushina Uzumaki, who loved ramen; salt ramen to be precise if he remembered correctly. What if the boy had picked up on the love for ramen as his mother had? He still remembered why most of the village had needed repair. Damn Kushina and her violent nature over ramen!

"Sir" The Goat ANBU spoke up, "Is it at all possible that one of our men may have done something that would warrant the Akatsuki to bring this to our attention?"

The Sandaime hummed, having not thought of that possibility. It was true that before and after Minato's death he had issued several assassination attempts on him, and it was actually around the time this brat of a new Hokage was to be born. Maybe it was like one of those "Look here, you've failed to kill my father. Now here I stand as Hokage before you and what are you going to do about it?"

Goddamnit, how he hated that cocky bastard Minato, and his destructive and cocky family!

"I think that's a question for the interrogators to be asking" Onoki said after a brief pause to rant to himself, "I want them in my office in thirty minutes or less. After that, you're to round up the rest of the Anbu. Tell them I want positions taken up at all corners of the village at all times. If this Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki tries anything against our village, you are all to attack with extreme prejudice."

"Ye-yes sir" the two ANBU men replied, hoping against all hope that neither of them ever saw the Yellow Flash's son now or ever.

"And you, Kurotsuchi" he continued, turning his full attention to his only granddaughter, "I want the members of the council notified at once. If they give you any grief over it, tell them it's an S-class situation."

Kurotsuchi bowed her head as she grinned lightly, "Understood, Grandfather."

As the three turned for the door, an afterthought came to Onoki, "And send out an official edict: From this day forward, ramen is banned from Iwagakure until further notice."

The three froze in place as they slowly turned to the Sandaime Tsuchikage with hope in their eyes.

"Does this mean we can finally reopen all of our yakitori and dango stands, Sir?" The Boar ANBU asked hopefully as his fellow two nodded.

"Absolutely not! That's exactly what he wants us to do! Having a child who loves ramen, so we'll bring back his precious dango and yakitori! I'm not falling for that!" Onoki said as he sat back behind his desk and chuckled evilly. He wouldn't fall for any of that Minato-brat's traps and plans like the others were…

The two ANBU and Kurotsuchi hid their disappointment as they marched out of the office of their Tsuchikage. Their village was slowly running out of places to eat at, and if the Hokage ever came around with a sudden craving for sushi or okonomiyaki, the village might just starve to death…

In Kirigakure or the Village Hidden in the Mist:

"Is this true?" Mei Terumi questioned as the Shark masked ANBU in front of her nodded.

Mei is a slender woman in her thirties. She has ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her chest, just below her chin. Her eyes are light green. She dresses in a long-sleeved dark blue dress that falls just below the knees. It seems to be closed at the front with a zip, and is kept open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covers up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath, she wears a mesh shirt that covers more of her upper body than her dress, but stops short of covering her shoulders and still leaves a sizeable cleavage. She also wears shorts in the same color as her dress and, underneath those, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. Around her waist, she wears a belt with a pouch attached to the back on the left. Furthermore, she wears high-heeled sandals and shin-guards reaching up over her knees. She also wears dark blue polish on her fingers and toes, and is usually shown with dark blue lipstick

"Yes, it was verified by a member of Akatsuki, though we could not capture and question him." He said as Mei merely nodded as she flipped through the file.

Apparently a thirteen year-old kid, Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, had become Hokage of Konoha just a month after the death of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. This was a true testament to the power of Konoha, to have such a young teen as their most powerful ninja. He had to be stronger than that Itachi-boy was years ago.

"He must be something special to have been made a Kage so young…" Mei mused as she shut the file, "But, his ascension to that title must be contributed to him being from both the Uzumaki and Namikaze. Oh well… we need to plan our next move, and do it carefully. I think that whoever is controlling Yagura-sama is suspicious of us, Sukhumi-kun." Mei said as she stored the file away.

"Yes, I do to, but how long can we keep this up? We will need help, and maybe this new Hokage-boy can be just that." Sukhumi, the Shark-masked ANBU, said as Mei sent him a strong look.

"No! No matter what happens or how long it takes, this is our problem and we shall settle it ourselves. Yagura-sama has finally stopped the Bloodline Extermination War, but he's still… lost. We, the ninja and people of Kiri must be the ones to help him, not anyone else! We will not use outside help!" Mei said as Sukhumi remembered her saying the same thing to the Akatsuki leader when he offered them help.

"Right, Mei-sama" Sukhumi said as he smiled under his mask and went to see if he could break whatever was controlling their Yondaime Mizukage. If not, then in a little under four years' time they'd have to take measures into their own hands.

"I hope it doesn't come to that… Yagura-sama, Mei-sama…" The Shark-masked man said as he disappeared in a swirl of mist.

In Kumogakure or the Village Hidden in the Clouds:

The council of Kumo was in a deep silence as they had read the file that so suddenly dropped from the ceiling. After having ANBU check everywhere and everything, including the file itself, they read it. To say they were shocked was an understatement.

Konoha, a village known for its teaching of teamwork and the Will of Fire, had chosen to be ruled over by a teenager. Oh, but not just any teenager, oh no, it was a thirteen year-old named Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki. They knew exactly what that meant; that the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, and Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, Kushina Uzumaki had conceived a child before their deaths. They could only imagine what the boy was capable of given his parents and their abilities. The kid had to be some sort of Orange Hokage by being their kid!

Yet they had their own problems to deal with before even thinking of Konoha…

"We must choose our own Raikage! We've been at this for months, and yet Konoha picked one by the end of the same month their Sandaime Hokage died in!" A shinobi councilman shouted as he stood up.

"And we'll stay at it until we find the perfect choice for the position! Konoha were fools for picking so hastily! The kid may be powerful given his lineage, but he'll have them in ruins before they even know it!" A civilian councilwoman countered as she stood as well.

"Now, now, let's not have these arguments now. We still must take care of our own village, so let's get back to that." Another ninja, the Head Cloud Ninja to be exact, said as he waved his hands in a friendly manner. Both councilors glared at one another as they sat back down.

"Now we must discuss the ANBU…"

In Sunagakure or the Village Hidden in the Sand:

The Suna council was not pleased. In fact they were almost the complete opposite, because they were scared crap-less. The very boy who had defeated Gaara had become Hokage, and while some of them were less scared than others, they were all pretty sure this was an omen.

"He defeated Gaara, who right now is one of our most powerful ninja. Also, we have yet to give Konoha any sort of compensation for their mercy of not attacking us and allowing the alliance to stand." Baki, Gaara's sensei, said as the other councilors nodded.

"Then we must think of something. If this Uzumaki defeated Gaara, while the latter was in full Shukaku Mode, then I'm sure he'll be most displeased to discover we were not trying to find a way of compensating his village. You all remember how the Yondaime Hokage got when our Yondaime Kazekage insulted his wife, Kushina, for being a Jinchuriki." An Elder councilman said as they all shivered at the very thought of remembering. Kushina was scary, but with Minato right behind her and supporting her violent tendencies… it was all hell and every man, woman, and child for themselves that day in Suna.

"Wait!" A female civilian councilwoman shouted in realization, "isn't he the last of his clans? I know for a fact that the Yellow Flash was the last of his. So, I have a plan." She said with a smirk as Baki felt his head and body shiver. Whatever she was planning was bad for his living health.

"We're all ears."

Back in Naruto's Office:

Kakashi was right; this was a tongue lacing worse than Minato-sensei had given him about the dangers of the Rasengan. Naruto had been going on for about… an hour now, and only now was he calming down.

"And if I ever hear about you questioning anything I say, do, or even look at you'll be do the "Catch Tora" mission until your grandchildren beg me, or my successor, to stop! Do you understand me?" Naruto said as he was leaned over his desk and in Kakashi's face, even though Kakashi had tried to retreat backward into his chair.

"Yes, I understand, Hokage-sama. Now, can we actually talk?" Kakashi said as Naruto gave him an un-amused look, yet sighed and settled back into his chair.

"What is it that you want to talk about, Kakashi?" Naruto said as Kakashi almost flinched at not hearing Naruto say –sensei after his name.

"I just wanted to clear the air of any misunderstandings that may have been conveyed to you, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as Naruto gave him an irritated look.

"You know, I may be really angry with you right now, but you can still call me Naruto." Naruto said as Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief silently. This was good; Naruto was actually open to what he had to say.

"Okay, Naruto. I'm sure that someone from our conversation reported it by now, but I'd like to clear the air of what was said. You see in my weaken state I was a bit… out of it. I said some things that might have been taken the wrong way." Kakashi said as Naruto nodded as he narrowed his eyes.

"Kakashi, I would hope you're not lying to me now. That's been happening to me since the day I was born, and now that I'm starting to get the truth, I'd hate to be lied to by my former sensei." Naruto said as Kakashi's heart sank at the word "former".

"Of course not, Naruto, I have and always will tell you the true." Kakashi said as Naruto gave him a searching look.

"Okay then… what do you think of me in these Kage robes and hat?" Naruto said as Kakashi blinked his one visible eye. Well that was… unexpected.

"Umm… to be honest they do you well, but if I may ask; why are you always wearing them now? Minato-sensei didn't wear his." Kakashi said as Naruto sighed.

"My Elderly Advisors said that the Hokage should be distinguishable from his people. That was why the first two Hokages wore their armor from the Clan Wars always, why the Old Man wore the robes, and why my dad wore that coat-thing of his. Plus, I've been waiting nearly nine years to put these on and sit behind this desk; do you really think I'm giving it up so easily?" Naruto said as Kakashi chuckled.

"I suppose not. Look Naruto, I may have said some things, but they were either misinterpreted or my thoughts on them were far deeper than my words." Kakashi said as Naruto nodded.

"I understand, but you know what, Kakashi? You hurt me. When I was told that you thought I was unfit to be Hokage and that you thought Sasuke deserved it more than me, I was devastated. I thought you really did like Sasuke more than me. I mean, you can't really blame me for thinking along those lines with all the secret and special training, the lack of respect I got, and the fact that you never really trained me. Hell, you even trained Sakura in traps and First-Aid while I got nothing." Naruto said as Kakashi hung his head in shame.

"Naruto… I'm sorry if you felt that way, but it wasn't true, in fact if I did have a favorite student it would be you. You're the best student a sensei could ask for. You're always cheerful, ready to learn anything, always trying to do your best, and taking my teaching to heart and memory. The reason I trained Sasuke for that month was so he wouldn't die in his fight against Gaara, but also to keep him far out of Orochimaru's way. The reason I trained Sakura in First-Aid was to boost her confidence as a member of our team, and so she wouldn't feel like a burden on you and Sasuke." Kakashi explained as Naruto leaned forward and listened.

"The reason I didn't train you was because Jiraiya-sama said to train Sasuke and that he'd train and look after you. I felt so proud the day he told me that; one of my students becoming the apprentice to Jiraiya of the Sannin, and I do believe he's done a great job in training you. Also, the reason I never trained you specifically was because you never had a need for the things I was trying to teach you three. You understood every lesson on teamwork and love for your comrade. You understood what the Will of Fire was, and for that I was satisfied. I thought that, even before Jiraiya-sama, that you would make a name for yourself without my help. That was the way my sensei had taught me; that it doesn't matter how many jutsu you teach your student, it only matters what life lessons they learn." Kakashi said as Naruto smiled from the praise.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you Naruto, but just look at where you are now without my help; you're the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure. You did this, without a single jutsu from me. You made it here, using your own hard work and the life lessons I installed in you, and I'm proud to say that I'm proud of you, Naruto- I mean, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as he got out of his chair and bowed. Naruto smiled even more as he heard that Kakashi was proud of him. That was all he really wanted; for his precious people to be proud of him, to acknowledge him.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a smile as Kakashi smiled back. He didn't know until then how much he liked hearing Naruto call him sensei.

"But…" Naruto started as he gave Kakashi a stern look, "if you ever, and I mean ever, do something like that again, or if you're even late when I call you for whatever reason; I'll have you clean the Akimichi clan toilets until even the Hyuga clan can't see a spot of uncleanliness, do you understand me, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said sternly as Kakashi paled. He had known someone the Sandaime had punished like that before. It was not pretty, or smelled well either.

"Of c-course, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as he scrambled to his feet and saluted Naruto.

"Now get out of my office." Naruto said pointing at the door. Kakashi literally ran from the office faster than even Might Guy knew possible.

The people outside Naruto's office watched the dust cloud that was Kakashi in the distance with wide eyes as their eyes slowly trailed back to a now smirking Naruto in the doorway.

"Next please." Naruto said as his smirk turned into a grin as Ino gulped and walked in nervously. Oh how pay back was a bitch…

"Ino you look nervous, please take a seat." Naruto said kindly, yet with a smirk, as Ino looked around his office. Her eyes landed on the wooden chair that was, for lack of better words, molded with the wooden floor boards.

"Naruto is that…? Did you…? You can use… it?" Ino said as she just stared at the chair and Naruto as he nodded.

"Yes, now can you have a seat please, Ino." Naruto said as he sat behind his desk and gestured to the wooden chair. Ino sat down in the chair as if it was fragile glass, which caused Naruto to quirk an eyebrow at the action.

"Ino, that chair isn't going to break anytime soon. Kakashi-sensei sat in it just a moment ago, so please; make yourself comfortable." Naruto said as he leaned back in his chair. Ino sighed as she did just that. She had to admit that the chair was quite comfy, warm, and soft despite it only being made of solid wood. She wondered if it was the wood or Naruto's doing that made her want to stay in the chair forever.

"Right, so now that you're relaxed, what is it you wanted to see me about?" Naruto said as he turned slightly to the right in his chair. Oh how he had grown to love his chair; it had wheels and the seat could spin, so he had spent a bit of time on his first day simply enjoying those features while his Elderly Advisors shook their heads at his childishness.

"Nothing much, except to point out the fact that you're sexy." Ino said with a grin as Naruto groaned. It was happening again…

"Ino, please…" Naruto groaned out as she grinned wider at him and his exhausted expression.

"What, Momma knows sexy, and you, my smexy man, are the very definition of the word." Ino said as she got out of her chair and leaned across his desk seductively.

"Thanks Ino, but… I think we need to talk about that." Naruto said as she pouted.

"Talk about what, Sexy-kun?" Ino said innocently as she reached across the desk and played with his golden blond hair that had been sticking out from under his Kage hat.

"That! This! That Momma thing too! What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Naruto said as he gently batted her hand away.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Ino said as she bit her lip with a worried expression while she turned her back to him. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he got up from his own chair and got in front of her face, gazing deeply into her eyes. Ino almost flinched back at the emotions that were plainly visible in them.

"Yes, yes you do! What happened to the Ino that wouldn't speak in my direction unless Sasuke was present? What happened to the Ino that would fawn over Sasuke like some star-crazed groupie? What happened to the Ino that wouldn't even look my way?" Naruto demanded as she looked away from his eyes with tears welling up in her own. Naruto's gaze didn't waver a bit as she dropped to her knees and began to cry.

He had long since learned how to keep a poker face. He wanted nothing more than to console her, since it was his fault she was crying. Wait no, it wasn't his fault, because all he did was push what she was already feeling. Besides, she needed this, and he would be the one to see it through that she got it all out.

"She died, okay? I hated that side of me! I gave him everything! I would have been there for him in a split-second! But what did I get in return? Nothing! He wouldn't even look at me or the other girls without it being a bored stare or annoyed glare! We all wanted to be Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha, and we understood that if he got more than one wife we'd have to share him, but he was never interested in any of us! We all blindly followed him, and got nothing for it!" Ino screamed and sobbed out through her tears as Naruto stood over her with his arms crossed.

"Then when the Genin Exams came we did our best to prove to him that we were worthy of his attention. Did you know that I had the best overall grades in the Academy? For the girls I had the highest grade in ninjutsu and assertiveness, and the second-highest grade in taijutsu, genjutsu, cooperation, and class attitude. Although Sasuke had the highest grade in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu for the boys, he had the lowest grade in cooperation and the second-lowest grade in assertiveness, next to yours, bringing down his average. When I found out I purposely let my grades drop so he would have the highest average, though that meant I had to drop below Sakura." Ino said sadly as she wiped away her tears while Naruto had only quirked a brow at the confession. He had wondered why Sakura had been the top kunoichi when Ino had held it for so long.

"After the Exam I was placed with Shikamaru and Choji on Asuma-sensei's team. I was mad and jealous for a while, but Asuma-sensei pulled me to the side one day and said that I could always make Sasuke mine later on. I was happy that he encouraged me and as our team bonded, went on missions, and spent more time together my focus slowly drifted from Sasuke to being a better kunoichi. It wasn't until the Chunin Exams that I started actually thinking about him again, and even then it wasn't that much. When Sakura and I fought I knew she'd be doing it over Sasuke, so I, even though I meant it, did it as well half-heartedly. Even though Sasuke wasn't there I knew that had he been he would have looked at us like two crazies straight from the clinic, ya know? When the finals came around I and Sakura watched you be the under-dog the entire battle, but even though only a few of us, mainly Shikamaru and Hinata, had believed in you, you still never gave up and kept fighting the good fight until you pulled out on top. It was like watching one of those cheesy movies about the kid who beats all odds, even when they're stacked so high against him." Ino said, with a slight laugh at the end as Naruto groaned and shook his head. His life wasn't like that… right? He didn't get much thought on it as Ino pressed on.

"But even though it was like that, seeing it happen for real made me smile and my heart light-up. It made me think of you in a whole new way, and even though I never gave you much thought to begin with, I found myself wanting to get to know you; the real you, instead of what bad comments and acts you put on. I talked to Shikamaru during Sasuke's fight and he had so many great things to say about you. He even said that he'd follow your lead until the very end, and I was a little shocked that the lazy moron had so much belief in you and your way that it had actually moved him to… well move! Then the invasion started and after it Shikamaru and I talked more, though this time Shino had joined us with Choji and Kiba. They all had such good things to say, but also a few bad." Ino said as Naruto listened while he nodded his head a few times. She was getting it all out, but did she have to be such a… motor-mouth? He knew he had heard that word somewhere, but where?

"Shikamaru said that you were the most determined person he had ever known. In his own words Shika called you, "A troublesome blond who makes me fell a shamed for being a coward when it comes to giving up." Shika, Shino, Choji, and even Kiba, have a lot of respect for you, so I think, that was when I began to have feeling for you." She said as she finally stopped gazing at the floor and looked up at Naruto, who in his shock dropped his arms and gaped. She really had feelings for him? But what kind was the real question.

"They all made me believe in you with each word they said. I felt like I had really known you for years the way they went on about you. They had so many stories to tell about you guys and your days in the Academy, and I found myself wanting to hear all of them. It was like I was seeing you in a whole new light! Instead of the constant annoyance that we girls saw you as, I got to see the side of you that was the loveable goof-ball." She said as she began to tear up again, but Naruto noticed that these tears were accompanied with a smile.

"When you left Kiba saw you and told us. I had tried to think of other things, but you kept coming to mind. Then Sakura started talking about you and something inside me cracked. I got mad, and that was when I realized I had those feeling for you. I knew I couldn't act on them though, because Hinata had been after you for so long now that I'd have been buried under the guilt of taking you from her." Ino said as Naruto chuckled a bit and snorted; like she was that damn good a catch that he would just be with her. She heard him snort and slapped his knee as she glared up at him.

"I'm trying to be emotional here, dammit. Can you please?" Ino said in irritation as Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes, but nodded all the same. Ino got back into her character as she exhaled; a tear in the corner of her eye while Naruto raised an eyebrow at the scene before him.

"I resolved to talk to Hinata over the idea of you seeing if you could be with both of us, or at the least giving both of us a chance to win you over. When I finally did talk to her she said her father told her that you had two clans to rebuild and that you'd need multiple wives. She also scared the crap outta me, but I don't even wanna think about that right now." Ino said as she shuttered. Naruto was almost afraid to ask about it, but still decided against it.

"Actually Ino, I only really have one clan to revive; the Uzumaki. I want to keep the Namikaze around as well, but the Uzumaki was an actual clan while the Namikaze was more of an over-average sized family. It was a clan, but not a big one or even a really notable one. The only two people who had made names for themselves in the world were my ancestor, Lelouch Namikaze and my father, Minato Namikaze." Naruto said as Ino shrugged uncaringly as she went back to looking at the floor with sorrowful gaze.

"Anyways, I was really excited that you'd be able to love both me and Hinata, but Hinata said we needed to find more people, since apparently her little sister and we two weren't enough. After we found Tenten and I found Moegi, I think that's her name, I put serious thought into. I didn't realize it before, but being able to actually have a shot at being with a person I have strong feelings for was more frightening than I ever thought. I thought long and hard about it all and I almost backed out, but a talk with my dad made me feel better about it. He said that I shouldn't be a fan-girl to you and that I should ease into things… but I don't know how." Ino said as tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Naruto knelt down beside her had offered her a pocket tissue as she nodded while accepting it.

"Can you please stop with the crying already? I hate when girls cry, especially over me; it's like a weakness or something." Naruto said deadpanned as Ino glared at him through her tears.

"What's wrong with you? I'm a girl, and therefore I retain the right to be as emotional as I want. Besides, where'd the attitude come from, I liked your old cheerful and childish one better." Ino said as she crossed her arms while still on the floor as Naruto stood to full height.

"It came with the boost in intellect, I suppose. Sensei said that I would have turned out like this if I hadn't been… isolated." Naruto said as he then grinned when she looked up at him, "But, that doesn't mean I've changed completely. I'm still me, just smarter and calmer. Believe it!" He finished as she rolled her crying eyes.

"You really could stand to lose that." Ino remarked as he hung his head. He sighed as she went back to her performance, and he was seriously considering having her teach theatre or children in the Academy.

"Like I was saying, I don't know how to be… me. I don't know who I am! I'm not meek, yet courageous like Hinata, or strong-willed, yet gentle like Tenten. Hell, I'm not even smart and feisty like Sakura! I don't know who I am in this world! I just want someone to be there for me, tell me, and remind me of who it is that stares at me when look in the mirror! I'm so damn confused!" Ino shouted as she cried with Naruto staring at her blankly. After a few moments of her sobbing Naruto said the one thing that was sure to get him killed.

"You're loud-ass motor-mouth, that's one thing." He said blankly as she turned to him with a look locked between shock, hurt, and anger.

"You're kinda like what I heard about my mom, and I like that. Ino, you may not have watched me, but I did watch you and the others in the Academy back then. You're confident, kind, outspoken, and not afraid to speak your mind at all. You're also bossy, rude, and a little weird, like with that Momma-stuff." Naruto said as she blushed and laughed nervously, "But, you're Ino and you're one of a kind. I wouldn't change you for anything in the world. My mom was said to be a lot like me, but from what I've heard about her I'd say you two were more alike. You're both talkative and quick to anger, but both of you have kind hearts and love the people around you; unconditional." Naruto said with a softer face as he knelt down next to Ino once more.

"Ino, I'm not perfect. Hell anyone who knows me can write an entire scroll on my faults, but that doesn't mean I give up trying to better myself. I don't know who I'm supposed to be either, but that doesn't mean I try to be everything that I'm not. Who knows, maybe you do have a personality like a fan-girl, but that doesn't make you one. I think- no I know you'll find yourself, but as for now, why don't we get to know each other more before we tie any knots or light any candles." Naruto said softly as she looked up at him and before he could react she was crying into his robes while hugging him with all her might. He didn't really know what to do, so he settled for stroking her hair gently and occasionally giving her some more reassuring words.

After a few minutes of the scene Ino had stopped crying and said she'd be alright. Naruto didn't look too convinced as she was she sniffling with her eyes being red and puffy.

"I'm fine, I promise, and thank you for… everything." Ino said as Naruto looked confused.

"But I didn't do anything.' He said as she sighed and shook her head.

"You just don't know what you do to people, Naruto… You're a better guy than you'll ever know…" She said softly as he sat behind his desk.

"You say something?" He asked as he was sure she had muttered something to herself, but he wasn't quite paying attention.

"No, nothing… I'll get out of your hair now. See ya, Naruto-kun" Ino said as she bowed and walked toward the door. Naruto snapped his fingers as an ANBU dropped from the ceiling.

"Please take Ino here to her home please. She's had a… emotional day, and I think it best that she get home without any hassle." Naruto said as the ANBU bowed and grabbed Ino's shoulder.

"See ya later… Ino-chan" Naruto said as she smiled. The ANBU took her away via a swirl of leaves as Naruto leaned back and sighed. Today was becoming a long ass day, but it wasn't even noon yet.

Oh well, the work of a Kage is never done…

Outside Konoha:

Just barely fifty meters away from the village were Sasori and Deidara. Sasori, inside his Hiruko puppet had stopped as Deidara looked at him questioningly.

"Sasori, why have we stopped, hmm? The village is almost within sight, yeah." Deidara said as Sasori gazed up at something through the puppet.

"Deidara, use your scope to check out any defenses Konoha might have. Itachi didn't give us any information on it, so we may be walking into a trap." Sasori said through Hiruko's gruff voice as Deidara moved his hair-bang out of the way to use his scope. As he gazed toward the village Sasori saw his face go from shock to a large grin as he allowed his hair to fall back into place.

"Nice going, Sasori, my man. Had we kept walking we would have walked right into a detection-type barrier that would have alerted the village to our arrival, yeah. It runs underground to, so I don't know how Itachi or Zetsu infiltrated the village, hmm. Though I must say, yeah, that this will be the trickiest of things for us to get past without them knowing, yeah." Deidara said as Sasori hummed in thought.

"Zetsu becomes one with the earth as he moves around, so they wouldn't have sensed him, and Itachi is from this village so he had to know some way to sneak himself and Kisame in. We, however, we use a more… artistic approach at getting in." Sasori said as he continued to drag his puppet body toward the village.

"How so, Sasori, my man? That thing can probably sense animals to inanimate objects." Deidara said as Sasori didn't even turn back to talk to him.

"You better get to chewing clay, Deidara. We'll need you're brand of art for this kind of spy mission." Sasori said as Deidara smiled, yet grinned as he dug his hands into the bags on his belt.

Oh yes… Konoha wouldn't know what hit them…

Omake:

Why Naruto Gave Up on Sakura and Went After Hinata:

Some Time Before Naruto Became Hokage:

Naruto and Jiraiya had been walking down the street for a while, but then they stopped as Naruto saw that Jiraiya was gawking at something.

Pervy Sage, what 'cha lookin' at?" Naruto said as he gazed in the direction Jiraiya was ogling.

There was a woman on the street, standing there praying in front of a statue as she wore almost nothing. The dress she had on might as well have been dental floss, and Naruto loved it just as much as Jiraiya, but he wanted whatever the proclaimed super perv was giving him as a surprise before woo-ing the woman.

"Naruto why don't you go and walk around for a bit? I have work to do." Jiraiya said as Naruto looked over to him, taking his eyes off the woman's ass reluctantly.

"Oh yeah! Wha- What are you wearing?" Naruto said as he turned to Jiraiya, who he was shocked to see had changed clothes. He was wearing the robes and beads of a monk as he held his hands in a prayer gesture.

"I need to help this poor soul on the road of life. I must fulfill my destiny! She needs guidance!" Jiraiya said as he clasped his hands together three times.

"What?" Naruto asked as he was only more confused by Jiraiya's tomfoolery.

"I must cleanse her of her sins, young Naruto. For she is a sin! She's so bad, but I'm gonna feel so good doing this." Jiraiya said as he walked toward the woman, leaving a confused Naruto in his wake.

"What?" Naruto shouted after the sage, but it was ignored in favor of talking with the woman.

Suddenly two pair of hands grabbed Naruto, one by his mouth and the other by his arms and pulled him into an alleyway. Naruto tried in vain to scream and get away as the hands didn't relent. He lost his sight for a moment as everything in the alley was dark. He really hoped it was some dude tying to… have their way with him. He already had problems with the fact that his pervert of a master wanted him to be a girl 24/7.

Just then everything was bright again and the hands that had captured him were gone. Naruto scrambled to his feet as he reached into his kunai pouch and got out… nothing. Dammit! He knew he had forgotten something in his haste to get ramen!

"Dude, you got saliva on my hands! Gross!" Naruto heard the whine of one of his friends, Kiba. He looked around and saw that all the male Genin were gathered in… a circle street. It was empty and seemed to only be lit by the lanterns around them.

"Aww man! Why'd it have to be you guys? If you guys rape me, I'll never forgive any of you! And then it's gonna be super awkward when we have missions together! I hope you all at least have a condom, and even then I'm not going down, or uke, without a fight!" Naruto said as he settled into a taijutsu stance. Thank god Sasuke wasn't there, or else they would have been, without a doubt, taking his… innocence.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kiba asked as he was slightly green from the mental images he was thinking of. Naruto was so not his type… because he liked girls!

Damn fans and their dirty minds…

"Okay, then why am I out here?" Naruto asked as he put his hands on his hips. Shikamaru and Neji snickered a bit at the pose Naruto was in. And he said he wasn't gonna be an uke…

"It's an intervention." Neji stated calmly as Shino nodded.

"A what? I don't need an intervention! I don't have a ramen problem anymore! We cleared that up remember? I'm good, I only eat ramen every seven days for every meal now! You have a problem!" Naruto shouted as he looked around at their faces.

"Umm… okay. It's actually about your 'love' for Sakura this time." Shikamaru said as Naruto blushed in embarrassment.

"Okay, but I don't have a problem loving Sakura-chan." Naruto said as Neji walked up to him.

"Yes, you do, and we're here to help you out with it. Hit it, Shino!" Neji said as Shino nodded a placed a disk in the radio. The thing began to play some form of music, but Naruto had never heard it before.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" They all shouted cheerfully as they began popping up in random places around him while wearing suits.

"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life: never make a pretty woman your wife. Go for my personal point of view; get an ugly girl to marry you." They sang as they surrounded him. He had no clue what was going on, but he guessed he was expected to listen to whatever message they were trying to get to him.

"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life: Never make a pretty woman your wife. Go for my personal point of view; get an ugly girl to marry you." They sang again as Shikamaru slung an arm over his shoulder.

"A pretty women makes her husband look small, it very often causes a system fall. As soon as he marries her then she starts, looking for things that will break his heart. But if you make an ugly woman your wife you'll be happy for the rest of your life. An ugly woman will put peals on that, and she'll always give you a piece of that." Shikamaru sang as Naruto raised an eyebrow. What did that even mean?

"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life: Never make a pretty woman your wife. Go for my personal point of view; get an ugly girl to marry you." They chorused as Naruto grabbed at his own hair. What did marrying ugly girls have to do with anything? Kiba grabbed him and spun him around to face him before he could think on it with his limited brain power.

"Don't let your friends tell you "you have no taste", go ahead and marry anyway. Her face is ugly her eyes don't match, take it from me she's a better catch." Kiba sang with a cheeky grin as he elbowed Naruto playfully. Naruto was about to cry. This was all so confusing.

"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life: Never make a pretty woman your wife. Go for my personal point of view; get an ugly girl to marry you." They chorused again as Naruto stroked his chin in semi-thought. So he was supposed to marry an ugly, but not a pretty one? Hmm…

It was then Shino and Neji turn Naruto toward them as they began speaking to each other in song.

"Say man" Neji sang.

"Hey man" Shino replied in song as Neji smirked at him.

"I saw your wife the other day." Neji sang as Naruto gaped. Shino was married, and he didn't tell him?

"Yeah" Shino sung with a shrug.

"Yeah and she's ugly" Neji sung as Naruto had to shrug to that. Shino was creepy after all…

"Yeah she's ugly but she sure can cook baby." Shino replied singingly as Naruto could feel the grin under Shino's coat.

"Yeah!" Neji sang as he slapped Shino a high-five.

Naruto thought it over a little, and he knew for a fact that Sakura couldn't cook.

"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life: Never make a pretty woman your wife. Go for my personal point of view; get an ugly girl to marry you." They sang as Naruto thought it over. The more and more they sung it, the more and more it made sense to him.

It was then Rock Lee grabbed him by his shoulder, spun him around, and then started dancing with him. Naruto realized that the others had stopped singing and were now passing him around as their personal dance partner while the radio sung the chorus over and over.

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life: Never make a pretty woman your wife! Go for my personal point of view; get an ugly girl to marry you!

Naruto realized that the music was slowly fading as he finished his joyful dance with the final person, who had been Shikamaru Naruto was really surprised the lazy genius was actually a good dancer. Who knew? When the music had been completely gone Shikamaru had let him go and everyone one of his buddies turned to him as he looked back at the sheepishly. He really hoped they weren't reconsidering raping him after all this.

"So Naruto, do you understand now? Do you get it?" Shikamaru asked as Naruto nodded back vigorously.

"You bet! I've got give up on Sakura!" Naruto said energetically as they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"And once I find the Pervy Sage, and he gives me my surprise, I'm gonna go find that weird girl Hinata and ask her out! There's no way it can fail!" Naruto shouted cheerfully as they all gaped in shock.

Well… that was one way of getting him off his Sakura addiction. Neji also noted that Hinata would be overjoyed to know that Naruto was finally after her like she had been after him for the past six to eight years. Though… it might put a damper on things, or get them all killed, if Naruto mentioned that he was after her because she was… yeah…

"Okay Naruto… but be sure that you don't mention anything that happened here. EVER!" Shikamaru said as Naruto nodded with a large smile on his face.

"Promise I won't!" Naruto said as he turned and jumped to a rooftop, "See you guys later!" Naruto shouted as he jumped from roof to roof with happy thoughts of making Hinata his wife so he and she could live a happy life. She wasn't ugly, but weird was just as good, right?