Hyoton no Naruto

by sinisteruto

What if Haku bestowed his bloodline to the person he felt the closest connection to? What if the side effect of the transfer caused Haku to awaken inside Naruto's mindscape? How would the child of prophesy's destiny be affected by this turn of events. Pairings undecided, possible Naru/Shizune/Hana/Mei

2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other series I might use for inspiration.

Securing The Future and Honoring a Promise

"Choujuro of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen , Ao of the Undertaker Unit, and Terumi Mei of the boil and lava release. I've heard great things about you three but I've never met any of you in person up until now. The honour is mine." Naruto said with a respectful bow of the head, totally confusing Ranmaru and even moreso, Inuzuka Hana.

To her, Naruto's current behaviour was totally un-alpha like. When he'd been sent to save her, when he'd managed to effortessly get Kamiko-chan, Kazuko-chan, and Kimiko-chan to respect and even submit to him, when he'd almost effortessly struck the fear of God into Raiga during the short but fruitful interogation, when he confidently declared his intention to run the village as Hokage, and even his taking lead of the situation and his Kyubi related status, all of these traits had quickly endeared the blonde Uzumaki to the Inuzuka heiress, after all, what sane Inuzuka woman wouldn't be attracted to a goal driven, strong, domineering and yet caring, loving, and understanding alpha.

With all of these thoughts going through her mind, perhaps it wasn't much of a surprise that Hana was left speechless and confused by the uncharacteristic submissiveness on display, although it was entirely possible that her reading of the situation was a tad bit off, after all, submissiveness is more of a mental state, temporal or permant, it isn't something that can be judged by actions alone because as far as Naruto was concerned, there was nothing submissive about his actions. He was merely giving credit and respect where it's due, and also setting the foundations for the possibly harsh negotiations that were without a doubt set to proceed shortly.

"And you're Konoha's Redfox, the mysterious ANBU and Hunternin operative who seems to have appeared out of nowhere and taken the shinobi world by storm. I never imagined that you were a jinchuuriki, though this does explain alot of things about you." Ao said with a neutral tone and expression, giving nothing away about his emotional state right then there, which was a good thing Mei thought greatfully. She is an extremely sexy and beautiful woman with a powerful aura, spotting a provocative blue outfit and long red hair styled in a herringbone pattern with a top knot and green eyes with one bang covering her right eye.

'I hope there is a way for us to resolve this without the need for violence. Redfox is said to be arguably the most powerful ANBU operative in Konoha according to our sources, but we never knew that he was a jinchuuriki. We'll lose alot of men if he's even half as good at controlling his bijuu as Yagura is, and these are all my strongest men and women too.' Mei thought with trepidition, fully aware of the fact that the bloodline faction would most likely have absolutely no chance of winning against Yagura without her, Choujuro, Ao, and the sixteen strong comrades that she had brought with her.

"I made sure to eliminate or capture all of my targets and I've gone to great lengths to keep a low profile, so forgive me for being surprised that you know about me Ao-san, but I suppose I shouldn't underestimate the former leader of Kiri's undetaker unit." Naruto retorted, slightly surprised by the fact that he apparently had a reputation to speak off outside Konoha's ANBU unit.

"Information and it's accuracy is very important for us shinobi, especially when you're in our shoes." Mei replied with an angelic and yet powerful and authorative voice, which made Naruto even more certain now that she indeed was the leader of the Bloodline Rebellion Forces.

"I suppose you're right. Tell you what, lets forget about that for now, you and I have some business to discuss, that is ofcourse, if I'm correct in assuming that you are the leader of the bloodline faction of Kiri's civil war?" Naruto said with a questioning undertone.

"There's nothing to discuss. You're tresspassing on our territory and you will leave Water Country immediately if you know what's good for you. That's all there is to it, nothing more and nothing less." Mei ordered without even a blink of an eye, resolved to fight Redfox and his entourage to the death if neccessary, after all, she'd come here prepared to face a jinchuuriki when their barrier squad had detected the Konoha ANBU's chakra, although this was a difficult jinchuuriki to the one that she'd come prepared to do battle against, the barrier squad seemingly confusing Naruto's chakra with Yagura's, though in fairness they did warn her that there was some discrepancies regarding what their barrier was detecting.

"Let me first kindly but respectfully correct you Terumi-san, this is not your territory." Naruto said matter of factly, much to everyone's confusion and anger too on the part of Terumi Mei.

"Excuse me?" Mei inquired with a deadly tone.

"Water Country is the Water Daimyo and Mizukage's territory, and it belongs to their people. However, you aren't their people now are you? No, you guys are by international and local law, a terrorist organisation with an S class criminal ranking, not to mention that both the daimyo and the mizukage expressly and in writting revoked all of your rights and obligations to this land. You don't own anything inside Water Country, you're just as much a tresspasser as I and my comrades are right now." Naruto declared with devastating effect.

"You better watch your words Mr. Redfox, don't think for one second that your bijuu will protect you from my wrath. Don't think for one second...that you get to insult our intergrity and dignity and then get to walk away with your head on your shoulders." Mei said ferociously, though if Naruto was scared or intimidated, he certainly did well not to show any signs of it, not that it was easy to tell with that menacing mask covering his entire face.

"Stop bluffing Terumi-san. I'm Konoha's ultimate military weapon and Hana-san over here is the heiress of the Inuzuka clan. What makes you think that Konoha won't take action against you if anything happens to us?" Naruto asked rhetorically, causing Mei to grit her teeth in anger and frustration.

"We have survived everything that has been thrown against us, we've been through hell and back and we are still alive and intact, stronger than ever. We do not fear anything under the sun and the moon." Terumi Mei declared with conviction.

"You're a smooth talker, and a passionate woman. I can respect that, but lets be honest here Terumi-san, you already have your hands full with Yagura, there is no way that you could survive an onslaught from both Kiri and Konoha. You have no leverage or higher position here." Redfox declared.

"You're right, I have no leverage against you, except for the lives of your comrades." Mei countered fiercely.

"But I too have the lives of your comrades within my grasp. You, Choujuro and Ao-san need no introduction, but based on their chakra levels and the potency of said chakra, I'm quite confident that the other sixteen of your comrades are the strongest of your army after you three. How many do you think the kyubi jinchuuriki can kill before he is taken down? And how much of a blow will that be to your military strength?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

'So he's also a sensor type, I guess Ao was right after all, not that I really doubted him.' Mei confirmed to herself. Ao had told her that the jinchuuriki in the enemy ranks was also a sensor type, that was because sensor's couldn't hide their sensor abilities from each other as long as they were moulding chakra, thus a sensor can immediately tell when another sensor type has detected his or her position.

"This isn't going anywhere. Was this your grand plan Redfox? You're just going to trade insults and threats with her until everyone dies of boredom and starvation? Doesn't seem like such a genius plan to me." Hana said mockingly, causing Naruto to strain himself just to hold back a chuckle at Hana's brash, straight to the point, and blunt honest attitude, a quality that he found stangely endearing.

"That wasn't my plan. I just want us to negotiate on equal terms. It will be easier for her to take advantage of my generosity if she stops trying to strangehold me." Naruto replied for all to hear, including their potential enemy, sixteen of which were still hiding behind the mist despite the fact that Naruto had already revealed his knowledge of their existence and whereabouts.

'Remember Naruto-kun, a hidden mist user can sacrifice the chakra sensing function of the mist in exchange for a signature disruption function. You won't be able to determine their location by chakra alone anymore because they will almost certainly activate this aspect of the jutsu before they attack now that they know for sure that you're a sensor.' Haku said with a warning undertone.

'I know. But they'll have to rely on other means to track us if they do that, they'll problably use scent or sound, most likely sound. Ranmaru has his doujutsu to aid him, his sight won't be disrupted by the mist, Hana has scent sensing and I have my air resistance sensing. We'll be just fine.' Naruto replied confidently, vowing to Haku that he wouldn't leave anything to chance, shortly after broken from his thoughts by the beautiful godess Terumi Mei.

"Alright, I'll bite Redfox-kun, what is it that you want to negotiate about so badly?" Mei asked, her curiousity finally getting the better of her.

"I want you to surrender Ao-san's byakugan over to me..."

"Not gonna happen." Mei cut in smoothly, not even waiting to hear the rest of the blonde Uzumaki's story as she already knew the answer to his proposal.

"You haven't even heard my offer."

"Yes I didn't. But I also know that this is our only byakugan and it is therefore our most precious and important asset. We won't trade it for anything." Mei declared with finality.

"Even for a doujutsu with powers reminiscent of both the sharingan and byakugan?" Naruto asked with a knowing smirk, though no one could see it under his mask.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Mei asked incredulously.

"Show them, Ranmaru." Naruto ordered, the young and newly uncrippled 10 year old boy immediately activating his doujutsu, his eyes glowing a menacing red as a result.

"This is Ranmaru's doujutsu, the fuingan." Naruto explained.

"N-no way!" Ao exclaimed in surprise.

"What is it Ao? Do you know something about this boy's eyes?" Mei asked hastily.

"Not much, but I do know that there once was a clan in Kiri that had a legendary doujutsu, a doujutsu that was Kiri's answer to Konoha's sharingan and byakugan in the past. The clan was hunted down and eliminated for it's doujutsu, however, the clan had a secret jutsu that incinerated the eyes upon death, it was a jutsu placed on each newborn child at birth in order to prevent the enemy from harnessing the eyes for themselves. The clan was hunted down to extinction long before even I was born. I never thought that...that someone from that clan had survived." Ao explained much to both Mei and Choujuro's surprise, even his own surprise really as he honestly never expected to ever get the priviledge to witness these eyes in person.

"Well I must admit that I had no idea that Ranmaru's clan had such a bloody history, but all the better because he will reform the clan and make it an even greater force of nature. I initially intended to take Ranmaru back to Konoha with me, but maybe he could be of more use to you than I wouldn't you say Terumi-san? Ofcourse, I want you to be his mentor and I would like Choujuro-san to train him as well..."

"Wait just a minute. I never said that we had a deal, and more importantly, what makes you think you could make those demands even if we were to make a deal with you?" Mei retorted.

"Those were not demands but requests. You see this headless corpse behind me?" Naruto asked.

"Yes and?" Mei inquired with a confused expression, unable to understand what said corpse had anything to do with what they were currently discussing.

"That is Kurosuki Raiga's body, and these are the lightning fangs that we confiscated from him." Naruto said, crouching down on one knee and spreading out the scroll that contained the swords before unsealing the swords for Terumi Mei and her entourage to see.

"Ao?" Mei ordered authoratively, Ao immediately recognising the command for what it was, that his boss wanted him to verify the legitimacy of the sword using the power of the byakugan in his left eye socket.

"Hai, they're the real deal. Those are the lightning fangs." Ao replied.

"You're sure?" Mei asked again.

"One hundred percent Terumi-sama." Ao replied respectfully.

"I see..." Mei trailed off thoughtfully.

"Ranmaru is ten years old but the strength, reserve size, and control that he has over his chakra is jonin level. His doujutsu affords him x-ray vision, telescopic vision, three sixtee degree vision, chakra sensing, genjutsu casting and disection, chakra perception and disection, and even temporal doujutsu and sensory disruption." Naruto said in order to sway Mei to his point of view as he noticed that she had just adopted a stance that showed that she was in deep thought.

"He was formerly Raiga's partner, Raiga hid Ranmaru's small body in a bag that he carried on his back and never went anywhere without him. Ranmaru was Raiga's eyes and ears and therefore knows everything there is to know about the lightnining fangs and Raiga's sword style. He is without a shadow of doubt the best candidate to wield the dual swords as he has both the talent and battle experience with the swords." Naruto carried on.

"..."

"If you hand over the byakugan in exhange for these two gifts, you will most definitely be in a better position than you are now. You only have one byakugan that cannot be passed on, but now you will have instead two fuingan that will be passed on and multiplied through Ranmaru's descendants. You will also have retrieved a powerful asset in the lightning fangs and a skilled wielder for said weapon. Last but not least, I will give you two other gifts after the trade has taken place. One is a gift of knowledge and one is another military asset that will help you in your war against Yagura. Having heard all of that Terumi-san, can you still say that you won't surrender the byakugan to me?" Naruto pressed on, fairly confident now that it was only a matter of time before she gave in to him, after all, Mei was in a greatly unfavorable situation against the might of Kiri, she could use any bit of help that she could get, and both Naruto and Mei knew that very well.

"I will accept your terms only if you tell me what the price is for your unhealthy generosity." Mei declared, causing Redfox to chuckle at the phrase she used to describe his behaviour, not that he could blame her for being suspiscious of him.

"Ranmaru's dream is to become the Mizukage. I'm aware that you will probably take the seat when you take control of Kirigakure, but at some point in the future you will have to name a successor..."

"I don't like where this is going..." Mei trailed off with a fierce tone.

"Rest assured Terumi-dono, I only request that you give Ranmaru a fair chance just like everyone else. I'm not saying you are obligated to choose him and I'm not saying you will make an enemy of me if you don't, all I ask for is fairness." Naruto said re-assuringly.

"Why do you care so much what happens to the boy?" Ao asked suspisciously.

"Ranmaru's and I are good friends now, what kind of friend woud I be if I didn't look out for him?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Is that really all there is to it? You don't have any other demands..."

"I'm not making any de..."

"Yes yes, requests...are there any more requests, Redfox-san?" Mei bit out testily.

"As a matter of fact..." Naruto trailed off, causing Mei to have to resist the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation.

"What is it now?" Mei demanded impatiently.

"I would like to negotiate an alliance treaty with you when I become Hokage and you are the Mizukage. The request is simple, that you only hear me out and give my offer fair consideration. The offer will be that of a two part alliance treaty, a treaty with Kiri as a whole, and a treaty with the bloodline faction to ensure that Konoha will be able to legally aid the bloodline faction should another bloodline genocide take place in the future." Naruto explained much to the factions' surprise, Mei, Choujuro, Ao, and even the other sixteen elite all unable to understand what this young man's true motives were.

"I can see that everything I say and do is being treated with extreme caution and more accurately, extreme distrust and suspission. So I'll tell you why a Konoha ANBU operative is so determined to help your cause."

"Please do..." Mei bit out hastily, really needing a clear and concise explanation for something that is by all intents and purposes, too good to be true and completely illogical, her inability to accurately read her perceived nemesis thereby frustrating her to no end as this was a character trait and ability she took pride on as leader of the bloodline faction of Kiri's civil war.

On the other hand, having received permission to speak, Naruto went on a long speech as he explained his motivations, all the way back to his first meeting with Zabuza and his apprentice and up to the present time and moment. It wasn't that he enjoyed talking so much, in fact, he really didn't enjoy having to talk this much, hence why he took the occupation of a lone hunternin, however, he did realise the importance of transparency in a situation like this. He would never earn Terumi Mei's full confidence, or even partial trust thereto if he wasn't completely, or at least as honest as he could be. If she understood who he was, where he came from, and where he was going, if she understood that he was doing this partly to honour Zabuza and Haku's memory, understood what kind of impact they had on his life, why he could sympathise with the faction's plight because of his own history, and finally, why he and Ranmaru were able to become such close friends in such a short time, then it would be much easier for her to accept his generosity.

"I t-thought t-that Uchiha Sasuke was the one who d-defeated Zabuza-san." Choujuro stuttered, speaking for the first time since he arrived Naruto realised, the blonde Uzumaki also surprised by the fact that not only did it seem like he was only interested in Zabuza out of everything that was said, but also because, or rather, especially because he thought Sasuke defeated Zabuza, something that Naruto found to be completely peposterous.

"I don't know where you got your information from Choujuro-san, but Kakashi-sensei was the one who defeated Zabuza, and I was the one who defeated Haku, though I couldn't have done it without Sasuke's help I have to admit that much at least." Naruto replied.

"I...I see. Thank you very much, Redfox-san." Choujuro replied meekly, Naruto wondering how on earth such a timid guy could be a member of the seven ninja swordsmen, but then again, as he recalled, Hinata was also someone with a similar personality yet she had proven herself to be a brave and capable kunoichi when it really mattered, so maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all.

"No problem. Anyway, Terumi-san, I've told you everything. Now it's your turn, have you come to a decision yet?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Yes I have. I will accept your offer and the terms and conditions that come with it, but first you have to tell me something, having been part of the team that defeated Zabuza, you should have a good idea of the whereabouts of the Kubikibocho. Am I wrong?" Mei asked rhetorically.

"Indeed. Remember that I said I had two other gifts apart from Ranmaru and the lightning fangs, the Kubikiribocho is one of those gifts." Naruto explained.

"Okay that settles it , we will now make the trade. I don't need to hear anymore. You understand right, Ao?" Mei said with a strange combination of sympathy, compassion, and authority, subtly ordering Ao to disable the barrier protecting his byakugan so that she can literally rip it out of it's socket with her bare hands, though she would try to be as gentle as she could be about it.

"Hai Terumi-sama!" Ao saluted respectfully.

"Do you have any objections regarding my decision?" Mei asked, not that she was giving him a choice anyway.

"I have neither objections nor regrets. The benefits of this agreement by far outweigh the loss of my byakugan." Ao replied.

"Very well..." Mei replied as she prepared herself to strike as soon as Ao finished the hand seals that would deactivate the barrier. She didn't want him to know when she would strike, because if he did, there was a chance that he might flinch away and cause major damage to himself. She also didn't want to give him a chance to think about it too much, nor did she especially want to give herself a chance to think about it too much, in case either one of them changed their minds.

'It would be better to allow a medical expert to perform a proper operation, but that would take too long. Even if we didn't change our minds, there's a chance Redfox could change his mind if he realises just what a big loss he'd be making from this transaction.' Mei reasoned, trying to justify her actions to herself and therefore soothe her own conscience about what she was about to do to her comrade.

0000000000000

"The trade has been made successfully, you have your byakugan, and we have Ranmaru-kun and the lightning fangs. I trust that you will not go back on your word and attempt to get either one of them back, Redfox-san." Ao said, now spotting heavy bandaging around his left eye.

"I will not go back on my word, but you too must not go back on yours. Ranmaru is to become Terumi-dono and Choujuro-san's apprentice, and he is to become the wielder of the..."

"Yes yes we get it Redfox-san, you do not need to keep repeating yourself. We will hold our end of the bargain and I will await the day that you reveal your face to me." Mei cut in smoothly.

"The day I reveal my face to you?" Naruto asked with a confused frown, though once again it has to be said that no one could see it behind his mask.

"Surely you don't intend to wear that mask even when you become Hokage do you? That is, if you actually can become the Hokage." Mei replied tauntingly.

"No I will remove the mask ofcourse. Becoming Hokage is my calling, rest assured that I will become the Hokage, just as I am confident that you will become the Mizukage, and so will Ranmaru after you." Naruto retorted in turn.

"You have alot of faith in us don't you?" Mei said with a small smile, a smile that Naruto was seeing for the first time on her beautiful face since she arrived, the blonde Uzumaki asking himself why a person with such a beautiful smile didn't smile more often.

"You should smile more often Terumi-dono, it makes you look even more beautiful than you already are." Redfox replied.

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm afraid I don't have a fetish for masked men. Come back when you're just a little older and you no longer feel insecure about your appearance." Mei replied, causing Naruto to sweatdrop inside his mask, mainly because he had no idea whether she was joking or not, because she kind of seemed serious judging by her tone of voice and facial expression.

"Ummm...yeah, I'll think about it."Naruto replied, concluding that the best response was one that matched her own tone and demeanor so as not to offend her, also because he didn't want to tarnish his image by saying something stupid.

"Anyway, give me my two other gifts that you promised me and get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you again until you visit my office for the alliance treaty negotiations." Mei demanded authoratively, the blonde Uzumaki once again unrolling a scroll on the ground and releasing another item from the scroll.

"Is that...the kubikiribocho?" Choujuro asked in both astonishment and excitement, having never actually seen the blade in person as Zabuza defected long before Choujuro joined the ninja ranks.

"Yes it is." Naruto replied.

"Initially, we left this sword in Wave Country and used it as a grave marker for Zabuza and Haku. However, a mere bandit found it and started going around claiming that he had defeated Zabuza, displaying the blade as proof of his victory. When I heard news of this, I immediately went back to Wave Country and re-claimed the sword. The bandit is dead now, I found him chasing down a 14 year old girl and attempting to rape her, so I mutilated him and took the sword for safe keeping. Nobody outside of this forest knows that I had this sword, I hope it stays that way." Naruto explained as he tossed the executioner's blade towards the bespectacled swordsmen, subtly ordering that there should be no mentioning of what he had just told them.

The ease with which Choujuro caught and held the kubikiribocho didn't come as much of a surprise to Naruto, not only because Choujuro wielded a ridiculously huge sword himself, but by mere virtue of the fact that he was a member of the seven ninja swordmen and the fact that the guy had quite a strong chakra for someone of his age. Naruto was around the same age as Choujuro too, but he thought of himself as an exception because of his jinchuuriki status and Uzumaki heritage. These were the thoughts going through the blonde jinchuuriki's mind as Mei's angelic voice once again broke him from his musings.

"You're too kind Redfox-san. Giving away so much power to the enemy, this is not how a shinobi should behave. Your compassion and trust in us could be your downfall in the future. You do realise that don't you?" Mei asked, showing concern for the blonde Uzumaki, perhaps her true nature easily able to come to the fore now that the trade was practically completed, after all, she was already better off than she was before even if Redfox rescinded his decision to give unto them the fourth and final gift that he promised them.

"I know that my behaviour is unbefitting of a shinobi, but the truth is, I'm not aiming to be the best shinobi in my generation, or the best shinobi ever for that matter. I'm aiming for something higher, something beyond a shinobi." Naruto retorted.

"And what prey tell is beyond a shinobi?" Mei asked condescendingly.

"I don't know, but I'll tell you all about it when I find out." Naruto replied with a bit of mirth, causing Mei's face to split up into another one of those angelic smiles of hers.

"You're really something else you know that Redfox-san. I bet you'd make a wonderful husband, though I guess it's too early to tell with certainty, especially with that mask in my way." Mei said not so subtly, acting in a manner that was way too forward for Hana's tastes, though she herself failed to understand why that bothered her so much.

"Stop flirting with the enemy and lets get out of here. Isn't my safe return supposed to be your top priorety?" Hana spat out with disgust, not liking one bit of what was taking place in front of her at all.

"Okay, we'll leave anytime now Hana-san. There's just one more thing okay?" Naruto replied hastily.

"Tche! Whatever, just hurry up." Hana said frostily.

"I wonder why she's so cross with me. Do you have any idea Haku?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I have a few ideas, but I'll let you figure this one out on your own." Haku replied with a tone that was dripping with amusment, much to Naruto's ire, as he knew very well that further inquiry was pointless when Haku was acting like this. He'd just have to figure this one out himself, though he'd have to save that for later, Mei's hypnotic voice once again breaking him out of his musings.

"So Redfox-san...the other gift you promised to me. I believe you have some important information for me no?" Mei asked with more than a little curiosity, in fact practically demanding the information with almost a sense of entitlement.

"I did make that promise didn't I..." Naruto trailed of thoughtfully.

"Yes you did, and now it's time for you to deliver." Mei said forcefully.

"Okay then. First allow me to explain to you the nature of the information I'm about to pass on to you. Everything I'm about to tell you is merely theoretical and speculative, but if it works, it has the potential to transform you as a shinobi and take you to a level where you can match a jinchuuriki like Yagura pound for pound in all of his jinchuuriki states with the exception of a full bijuu transformation. If you can't defeat him before he makes the full transformation, then I'm afraid I don't have any further advise for you." Naruto explained clearly and concisely, leaving everyone's eyes wide in surprise, more especially those of Inuzuka Hana, who couldn't help but seriously question where Redfox, or rather, Naruto's loyalties truly lie right now.

However, even she knew better than to cause a scene right now, because if Redfox truly intended to betray Konoha for Kiri, then Terumi Mei and her henchmen would likely eliminate her if they thought that she might compromise one of their spies. However, perhaps if Hana wasn't so mentally and emotionally exhausted from the Raiga ordeal, she might have realised that Terumi Mei and her henchmen would more likely allow her to live then kill her if they thought that she would expose Redfox. That is because Redfox would have no choice but to defect in such a scenario and who else would he run to if such a thing happened other than the people that he seemed to care for so much, so much so that he was willing to go to such great extremes to ensure their victory against Yagura, seemingly at the expense of even his own credibility as a loyal Konoha shinobi.

"After everything you've already done for us, I'd have to be a fool not to listen to what you have to say at the very least, even if it is only theoretical or speculative. But before you carry on, would you please explain to us what you mean when you say jinchuuriki states?" Mei asked, causing Naruto's eyes to widen suddenly inside his mask.

"You...you guys have yet to fight Yagura or even see him in action have you?" Naruto asked in surprise, Mei, Ao, and Choujuro all surprised that Naruto was able to come to such an accurate conclusion.

To say Mei was embarassed would amount to an incredible understatement, but she knew better than anyone that honesty was the best policy in this situation. You simply don't lie to a doctor about your sickness if you truly want treatment for your ailment. The only way to be cured is to tell the doctor the absolute and complete truth, do otherwise at your own peril. That was her policy, and she firmly believed in it and would stick to it even when she was in such a vulnerable position, or rather, especially because she was in such a vulnerable position.

"You're right. We haven't fought Yagura nor have we seen Yagura in action. He picks and chooses his battles carefully. He never appears on a battlefield with me, Choujuro, and/or Ao in it. I only venture to guess, but to me, it seems like his intention is to force us, the ring leaders, to watch all of our comrades die until we are the very last one alive. And then finally finish us off. He is saving us for last." Mei explained.

"But what about survivors? Weren't they able to give you any information?" Naruto inquired.

"No, there were never any survivors in any battle that Yagura took part in." Mei replied.

"Wow. Yagura really is one hell of a monster tactician huh, but really I'm more impressed by you." Naruto replied.

"Me?" Mei asked with a confused frown.

"Yes you silly. I'm not much of a psychologist, but I'm one hundred percent convinced that you have an incredibly strong mental fortitude to have such a confident and stable aura and flow of chakra despite what you must be going through in your life right now. You're an incredible leader Terumi-san. I have no doubts now about choosing you as Ranmaru's mentor." Naruto replied sincerely, though Choujuro seemed to take offense to those words, said man all of a sudden glaring daggers at the masked Uzumaki, causing Naruto to wonder what he could have possibly done or said to offend the young swordsman.

"Thank you Redfox-san, but your charms unfortunately won't work on me today. As I said earlier, suspiscious masked men aren't exactly my cup of tea, after all, I'm looking for a husband, not a wild fling or one night stand." Mei replied flirtatiously, causing Choujuro to visibly relax, the intense aura around him disappearing all of a sudden, causing Naruto to wonder if he hadn't imagined it to begin with.

"Hn, you're one hell of a woman Terumi-san, but you're right, that's not why we're here." Naruto replied.

"Yes, we're here because you have some information for me, don't make me repeat myself again Redfox-kun, out with it." Mei urged on, this time both Hana and Choujuro narrowing their eyes at the 'kun' suffix and not to mention the more than considerable change in attitude and tone between the two individuals.

"Okay okay. Here goes. First of all,do you realise that you have the highest chakra vibration frequency out of everyone that travelled with you today?" Naruto asked cryptically.

"I mean no offense in anyway whatsoever, but isn't that a rather obvious statement Naruto-san, after all, Terumi-sama is the strongest member of the faction. The molecules of a strong person's chakra tend to vibrate at a higher frequency than normal." Ao replied.

"Higher vibration frequencies doesn't always mean that the opponent is strong though, it could be that the opponent is just fast, or just physically strong, or has strong ninjutsu but is physically weak and slow." Naruto retorted.

"I'm well aware of that, but what does that have to do with anything?" Ao retorted.

"He means to say that I am the one whose high chakra vibration frequency denotes only to the strength of my ninjutsu and not my physical brawn and speed." Mei stated matter of factly.

"I wasn't entirely sure of that, but now that you've confirmed it, I'm even more convinced that you need my information." Naruto declared confidently.

"Okay, so let me get this straight, to sensor type shinobi, chakra vibration denotes to a person's skill with their chakra. A high chakra vibration could mean that the person has either a high level of skill in ninjutsu, or has a high level of strength or speed. But it can't be that straight forward now can it? What if a person has two of these? Better yet, what if a person has all three in equal abundance?" Terumi Mei asked curiously.

"That requires an insane amount of chakra. Chakra Vibration is only a yardstick to measure a person's skill with chakra, in other words, the speed with which the person's chakra flows. To simplify it further, you could say that chakra vibration is a simply a measure of person's chakra control. Now one can use chakra control to augment his body so as to improve his speed, explosive strength, or ninjutsu, but very few are equally good in all three. Some prefer taijutsu and therefore focus on augmenting their speed and strength, and some like ninjutsu and hence focus on that. Naturall talent also plays a part, if you have a natural talent for taijutsu, you'll most likely find it alot easier to enhance either your speed, strength, or on rare occasions, both with you chakra control." Naruto explained patiently.

"But this is something we already know isn't it? You may have used big words and made it sound more complicated than it is, but everyone knows what you just told us. How does this help me?" Mei asked irritably.

"You use your high chakra reserves and control to augment your ninjutsu right?"

"Yes and...?" Mei drawled out with a bored tone and expression.

"Well, have you considered using your ninjutsu in turn to augment your speed and strength? In other words, using your talent for ninjutsu to supplement and compliment your taijutsu." Naruto suggested.

"You mean like the Raikage's nin-taijutsu? Don't you think Terumi-sama would have done that already if there was a way to do it with her elemental affinities?" Ao retorted, really starting to get irritated now as he felt that both their intellect and knowledge was being underestimated.

"I'm not sure I follow Ao-san, what are you insinuating exactly?" Redfox asked curiously.

"The raikage uses his raiton affinity to increase the speed of his neural synapses to a level beyond human comprehension, that's how he gains such a vast increase in speed. In what manner can Terumi-sama's affinities do the same for her?" Ao asked almost condescendingly.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Terumi-dono not immune to her own lava and boil release? Because if you weren't, wouldn't the lava burn a hole through your stomach and throat when you spit it out? Wouldn't your boil or steam release melt your body when you release it from your body?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Yes but, what does that have to do with anything? What do you have in mind?" Mei asked curiously.

"If you're immune to boil and lava release, does that not mean that your body can handle extreme levels of heat? And if that's the case, then does that not in turn mean that you can use boil and/or lava release to increase the temperature of your body and by extention, the temperature of your chakra? Better yet, could you not just directly increase the temperature of your chakra?" Naruto asked in quick succession.

"Increase the temperature of her chakra? For what good reason would she..." Ao trailed off, Mei cutting him off mid-sentence as she came to a sudden realisation.

"Extreme levels of heat cause molecules to vibrate at a higher frequency Ao. Do you get it now? If I were to accomplish what Redfox-kun is suggesting, I could exponentially increase the vibration frequencies of my chakra and therefore potentially gain an exponential increase in speed and strength. Actually, now that I think about it, no one else that I know of would be able to survive such a jutsu but me." Mei said excitedly, causing both Choujuro and Ao's eyes to widen in surprise and realisation.

"Exactly! It's worth a shot don't you think? If you get this right, I can almost guarentee that you will be able to match Yagura pound for pound up to version two jinchuuriki state." Naruto said almost excitedly.

"Redfox-kun..." Mei trailed off, a dark aura surrounding her finger and a black shadow cast over her yes, causing a feeling of fear and trepidition to rush all over Naruto's body.

"Whaa...huh...!" Naruto trailed off in surprise, Terumi Mei all of a sudden jumping him and snaking him into a tight embrace before he could even react, squeezing so tight that he almost suspected that she was maybe trying to suffocate him to death.

"Mei-san, what are you..."

"Oh so we're on first name basis now are we?" Mei asked teasingly.

"Hey don't joke around here, that was dangerous, I could have killed you." Naruto said with a serious tone.

"But you didn't did you? Could be a big mistake on your part though, because I could literally melt you in the blink of an eye in this position." Mei whispered into Naruto's ear, her hot breath against his ear causing a shiver to run up and down his spine.

"Then you should probably be made aware that I could literally slice you into a million microscopic pieces of flesh from this position...in an instant." Naruto retorted.

"A wind style user huh? How interesting, it's no wonder you weren't too reserved about handing over the lightning fangs, after all, wind is indeed strong against lightning." Mei replied, causing Naruto to tense slightly, just now realising that he had revealed something important about himself that he didn't want to reveal, although he was quick to get over it, after all, it wasn't going to be possible for him to hide basic facts like that for too long anyway, otherwise no one would have known about Hashirama's mokuton or the Yellow Flash's Flying Raijin if it were possible to hide such things indefinitely.

"Ahem, anyway, I've already wasted too much time with you, I should probably re-focus my attentions on the completion of my mission." Naruto said.

"So you're leaving already...?" Mei asked with a surprising tenderness and even, dare he say, vulnerability, Mei, as far as Naruto could tell, clearly unhappy about them going their seperate ways so soon.

"You seemed so eager to get rid of me earlier, even saying that you didn't want to see me until I became Hokage. What could have changed in such a short time?" Naruto asked curiously, he and Mei still holding each other in each other's arms, Naruto surprised at how natural this felt considering that they were technically still enemies.

"Oh I don't know Redfox-kun, maybe I don't know how to express my gratitude, or maybe I just want to get to know our saviour a little more...intimately." Mei said with a sultry tone.

"As a healthy member of the male species, believe me when I say that I would like nothing more than to get ummm...close to you, but I've been trained vigorously to deal with seduction techniques. Not even a woman of your godess like beauty could seduce me unless I want to be seduced. I might take you if neither of us are taken by the time we become official allies though." Naruto replied

"Hey wait a minute, I thought you didn't have a fetish for masked men?" Naruto asked, causing Mei to giggle at the expression she imagined was on the blonde Uzumaki's face right now.

"Well you know sometimes I say alot of things I don't mean Redfox-kun, though I did in fact mean that one. Don't take everything so seriously though, I was just teasing. Though now that you've mentioned it, I will consider your offer when we meet again. If I like what I see, then who knows..." Mei trailed off as she broke her embrace with the blonde Uzumaki, an accomplished smirk plastered onto her facial features.

"Ummm...okay." Naruto replied with a confused tone, unable to help but feel like he had just lost a battle somehow.

"That's because you did. You've just been had badly." Haku said inside Naruto's mind.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked defensively, causing Haku to laugh out loud at the blonde Uzumaki's expense.

"Can't you see, she made a move on you but when she untangled herself from you, she'd turned the situation around and got you to make a move on her. Now it looks like you're the one that wants to hit it off with her if the situation is right in the future." Haku explained.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't really get it." Naruto retorted with a mental frown, causing Haku to sigh in exasperation.

"You're not even half as bad as you were about a year ago, but you still have a long way to go when it comes to women. I guess this just doesn't come as easy as ninjutsu does to you. Anyway it doesn't matter, I'll explain everyhing properly when we get home. Right now you should probably focus on your mission. We're done here, and ummm...Naruto..." Haku trailed off with a nostalgic expression.

"What is it bro?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Naruto asked with a confused expression, well, as far as mental expressions go anyway.

"For keeping your promise to help end the bloodline purges in Kiri, and for honouring mine and Zabuza-sama's memory." Haku replied ernestly.

"Oh...well ummm, I'm sure you would have done the same for me right?" Naruto retorted with a mental smile and thumbs up.

"Yeah...that goes without saying." Haku replied with a serene smile.

"Isn't it about time we leave now? I'm not as comfortable as you seem to be around our enemies." Hana said feistily, breaking Naruto out of his short trance in the process.

"Yes, it is just about time we get going." Naruto said as he shunshined behind Hana, pulling her into a tight embrace from behind, almost as if holding on to a lover.

"W-what the hell are you doing!" Hana stuttered, a flustered expression adorning her facial features. Naruto however did not respond immediately, instead the blonde Uzumaki creating three more shadow clones, each shadow clone picking up and carrying one of the ninken in their arms.

"We're going to use the skies to make our way. It will be easier to pass the border without detection if we use this method and it will also be quicker." Naruto explained calmly.

"Y-you can't be serious? You mean to tell me that you can fl..." Hana trailed off in shock, a surge of chakra surrounding the duo as they levitated towards the sky, not only Hana but everyone, including the ninken, unable to believe what they were seeing and experiencing respectively.

'S-sugoi! What is this aura that's surrounding us? Is it Naruto-kun's wind style or something else?" Hana pondered with an astonished but also impressed expression.

"This is my wind style: air subjucation technique, and as you can see, it is an ability that enables me to conquer the skies. We'll arrive in Konoha in no time at all if we travel in this manner." Naruto explained.

"I...I see..." Hana trailed off, still completely stunned by the sudden turn of events and not to mention flustered the close and borderline intimate contact that she and Naruto were making at that moment, even though it was unintentional.

'Why the hell do I feel like this, like I could easily submit to him! He's just a kid for kami-sama's sake, and he's Kiba's friend too!' Hana thought irritably.

"A shinobi that can fly, this is unbelievable!" Ao thought out loud.

"Indeed. The only other shinobi I know of that can pull something like that off is the Sandaime Tsuchikage Ohnoki." Mei retorted, also spotting an awed expression as was everyone of he comrades.

"Until we meet again Mei-san, Ranmaru..." Naruto trailed off with a genuine smile, not that it could be seen behind the fox mask he was spotting.

"Goodbye, Redfox nii-san! I hope to see you again soon and I promise to make you proud!" Ranmaru exclaimed elatedly, waving his arms excitedly at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Until we meet again." Mei replied, also waving goodbye at the blonde Uzumaki.

Having said his goodbyes, Naruto decided it was time for them to depart, the fox masked hunternin and his clones literally jetting off in the direction of Konoha at such a speed that a mini whirlwind formed in their wake, causing Mei and the others to cover their eyes with their arms to protect themselves from the wind.

"Sugoi! Naruto nii-san is such a powerful and amazing shinobi, I'm going to become just like him. When does my training start Terumi-sama, Choujuro-sensei?" Ranmaru asked enthusiatically.

"As soon as we're done interogating you." Mei replied with a sinister smirk.

"W-what...?" A shocked Ranmaru stuttered, his mind immediately taking back to the brutal interogation that Naruto had put Raiga through, unable to quite imagine himself going through the same thing.

"Oh come on now Ranmaru-chan don't look at me like that, I don't want to do this to you, I really don't. But! I carry the weight of thousands of lives on my shoulders, I can't afford to slack off, I have to make sure that yours and Redfox's intentions are pure. You understand right?" Mei asked with a smile and tone that was way too friendly given the dangerous aura that was coming from her, Ranmaru swallowing a huge gulp as he mentally cursed Naruto for leaving him at the mercy of this crazy woman.

000000000000000

"What is this place, I thought you said you were taking me back to Konoha?" Hana asked suspiciously.

"I was given ten days to bring you back. Six days of travelling, in other words three days to go to Kiri, and three days to go back to Konoha, and then four days to find you and Raiga, defeat Raiga, and rescue you. However, it's only been six days now since I departed from Konoha. I figured we could use the remaining four days to just relax and enjoy ourselves, plus, we both need a bath and a change of clothes, and we need to talk about what happened in Kiri before we go back to Konoha." Naruto explained patiently.

"So that's why you took me to this...holiday resort?" Hana asked.

"It's a new place, they only opened about two weeks ago. No one will disturb us here, not many shinobi come to new places like this for a while, most shinobi prefer environments and routes that they are already familiar with." Naruto further explained.

"I see, so ummm...are you planning to kill me?" Hana asked bluntly.

"W-what? No way! You're Kiba's sister, and I promised your mother I'd bring you back safely, why would I kill you?" Naruto asked in surprise, caught completely offguard by Hana's question.

"Then why did you take me to an isolated place that has no shinobi, and why do you want to talk about what happened to Kiri? It makes me think that you don't want me to tell Godaime-sama what you did in Kiri, and that you'll kill me if I don't agree to keep your secret." Hana pressed on.

"You're very perceptive Hana-san."

"So it's true, you want to kill me?" Hana asked with a dangerous tone.

"Hell no!" Naruto exclaimed uncharacteristically.

"I mean...no, I have no intention of killing you Hana-san. It's true that I want you to leave out some stuff about what happened in Kiri, but if you don't want to keep my secret then I'll just have to face the consequences. I'd never kill you over something silly like that." Naruto retorted, Hana giving him an intense searching look before finally relaxing.

"Okay, I believe you."

"You do?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Yes I do, but I still don't get why you wanted such a secluded area." Hana argued stubbornly.

"To minimise threat levels and also because I don't want to run into other shinobi from the village, I'm supposed to be on a long term mission in Demon Country you know." Naruto replied.

"That doesn't make sense, you have a mask that is x-ray vision proof and you don't have a scent. How would anyone know that they ran into you?"

"A chakra sensor who knows my chakra signature would know, and even a byakugan user who understands a jinchuuriki's chakra network might be able to know it's me even without seeing my face. I'm still working on a seal that will cloak my chakra signature but I haven't completed it yet." Naruto explained.

"Okay but don't you already have an x-ray proof seal, why can't you just place it on your ANBU cloak and that way even a Hyuga won't be able to tell that you're a jinchuuriki."

"Hmmmm...you know, that's actually a good idea, why didn't I think of that..." Naruto trailed off with a thoughtfull expression.

"Because you're an idiot. I mean it's so obvious." Hana retorted irritably.

"Not really, I didn't know that the byakugan could differentiate between jinchuuriki and normal people until we encountered Ao, so I couldn't have thought of that until recently. Anyway all of that is irrelevant because I don't want to wear my ANBU outfit here, I want to be just me, Uzumaki Naruto for the next four days, so I won't be wearing my x-ray proof mask out here. That's the main reason why I chose this place."

"Why don't you want to wear your uniform?" Hana asked with a confused expression.

"Because I want you to get to know Uzumaki Naruto, not Redfox. If I'm going to be asking such a big favor from you, then I believe that I have to show you the real me so that you can judge for yourself if I am worth the risk or not. Having said however, I don't want you to feel pressured into anything, I won't hold it against you if you refuse, I'll still respect you and care about you regardless, as long as you are honest and true to yourself." Naruto replied sincerely.

"You...you care about me?" Hana asked with a light blush.

"Well, yeah I mean, you're my friend's sister, and a fellow Konoha shinobi. Ofcourse I care about you, what kind of Hokage would I be if I didn't?" Naruto replied ignorantly, Haku slamming his head against his forehead at Naruto's response as he saw the disappointed look that appeared briefly on Hana's face, something that Naruto also didn't fail to notice, though unlike Haku, he wasn't exactly sure why it had appeared.

'Why do I feel this way, do I actually wish that I meant more to him than just a sister of his friend and a fellow Konoha shinobi?' Hana pondered, confused by her own feelings as even she couldn't come up with an answer to her predicament.

'No, there's no way I have romantic feelings for him. He's four years younger than me for Kami-sama's sake. Maybe I just wish that he considered me as a friend after everything we've gone through, or maybe I'm just feeling vulnerable because of what that bastard Raiga put me through. I'm sure I'll get over it in no time at all.' Hana thought, trying to master some conviction though not really able to fully convince herself.

"Ahem anyway, maybe we should check in...?" Naruto suggested, breaking Hana out of her trance like state in the process.

"Yeah maybe we sh...what the...!" Hana trailed off in surprise, her eyes catching something completely different from what she had become accustomed to recently. No longer was Naruto wearing a long white cloak and no longer was he wearing a fox mask or ANBU armour. He was now wearing the standard Konoha jonin outfit complete with a green flak jacket, black metal plated gloves and a gigantic sword on his back wrapped with a large white bandage, a large black seal visible on the black bandages too.

"W-when did you change into that, and where did the sword come from?" Hana stuttered, still completely shocked by the fact that Naruto had managed to change his outfit without her noticing even though he was standing right in front of her.

"You kinda zoned out for a while there so I figured you must have been thinking deeply about something important. I decided not to disturb you and use the time to change into something more comfortable. It happened in an instant, all I did was unsummon the clothing I was wearing and then I summoned this new set of gear. It's a very useful fuinjutsu, I could teach it to you if you'd like." Naruto replied with a kind hearted smile.

"Ummm...thanks Naruto-kun, but I'm tired right now, I just need some rest. Maybe later, tommorrow perhaps?" Hana replied, unable to take her eyes off of the blonde Uzumaki's handsome features.

"Sure no problem, lets check in, get a bath, and then call it day. It's almost dark anyway." Naruto ordered, the blonde Uzumaki not waiting for a response as he walked ahead of Hana, Kamiko however quickly catching up and walking next to the young hunternin, her tail wagging left to right excitedly.

"Hey Naruto!" Hana called out as she, Kazuko, and Kimiko quickly caught up.

"Yes Hana-san?" Naruto asked.

"How the hell is carrying that gigantic thing on your back more comfortable to you compared to your ANBU gear?" Hana asked incredulously, Naruto chuckling amusedly at her hardcore tone and accent, something he thought he could never get tired of hearing.

"This sword doesn'weigh even a quarter of the weight you're probably imagining." Naruto explained.

"Naruto that's...that's bullshit." Hana said matter of factly, causing Naruto to try but fail to hold back his laughter.

"W-what's so funny?" Hana asked irritably.

"Nah it's nothing, hehehe, I just like you alot that's all. You and I could be good friends you know, well, at least I wouldn't mind if we were to becomes friends." Naruto replied with complete honesty and sincerity.

"Y-you mean, you want to be friends with me? Hey wait a minute, you're not just saying that because you want me to keep some secrets for you about what happened in Kiri are you?" Hana asked with a suspiscious glare.

"I understand your concerns, but as I said before, your decision will not change how I feel about you, I won't hold anything against someone who stands by their convictions and is true to themselves. The only people I dislike are those who lie to themselves." Naruto replied with a serious expression, Hana realising in that moment there were no lies or deception coming from the blonde Uzumaki, that he truly meant and believed in what he was saying.

"Hn, I bet Kiba will be pissed off at me for stealing his friend from him. I can't wait to see the expression on his face when he finds out." Hana laughed mischieviously, showing a side that Naruto had yet to see from her, but one that he absolutely adored as a former trickster and prankstar himself.

"So ummm...does that mean that you and I are friends now?" Naruto asked nervously, wondering in his mind just what the hell he was nervous about to begin with, it wasn't like he was asking her out or anything like that.

"Yes, I accept you as my friend Naruto-kun, but only after you tell me more about that mysterious sword on your back." Hana retorted with a playful smirk.

"Hehehe! I guess I have no choice then. There's not much to tell though, this is basically the Raijin no Ken that used to belong to the Nidaime Hokage." Naruto explained, causing Hana's eyes to widen in surprise.

"N-No way. There's no doubt that the hilt looks exactly the same, but as far as I'm aware, that sword has no blade, it is just that, a hilt. A blade made of pure lightning appears only when you cannel chakra into the hilt, and it requires alot of chakra to manifest a Kitana sized blade much less gigantic cleaver like yours seems to have." Hana argued vehemently.

"You're well informed Hana-san..."

"Just Hana or Hana-chan thank you, we're friends now aren't we?" Hana asked rhetorically, causing a small smile to appear on Naruto's facial features.

"Ofcourse, Hana-chan it is then" Naruto replied, causing Hana to smile back at him, a smile that had Naruto literally weak in the knees, barely able to catch himself before he could hit the dirt and embarrass himself.

"Ahem! To answer your question, nothing that you said was incorrect. However, you have to understand that a weapon is only as strong as it's wielder. This sword was damaged beyond repair almost two years ago by Sasuke's chidori and my Rasengan. An Ame missing nin known as Aoi had somehow gotten his hands on the sword and was our enemy during one of our missions. He thought that simply owning the sword made him invincible, and that was his mistake, a mistake that lead to his defeat." Naruto explained, taking a short pause to allow the info to sink in before carrying on from where he left off.

"When we returned from the mission, Godaime-sama tried to get the sword fixed, but no one could pull it off, including Jiraiya-sensei and Godaime-sama herself. So she gave it to me as a trophy or keepsake for defeating a user of the sword, she said I had earned it. I vowed to myself from that moment on that I would one day fix the sword and rule the world with it, hehehe, I remember how foolish she thought I was and how much both she and sensei laughed at me. In the end I wasn't only able to fix it, I was also able to modify it and make it an exponentially more powerful weapon. That's why it looks different from what you remember." Naruto explained.

"W-wow, you're so different from what I remember of you, I mean, you're still Naruto I guess, but so much more. I know we've never been close before but I'd like to think I knew you better than most shinobi in the village, you were my brother's friend after all, and there's that time we visited you in the hospital and I sowed your pants." Hana said with a nostalgic expression.

"Do you prefer the old Naruto or this one?" Naruto asked curiously.

"No offense to the old Naruto, but this Naruto is mature, handsome, and reliable, not to mention that he totally saved my life. Yeah, I definitely prefer this Naruto." Hana retorted with a lovely smile, Naruto's heart slowly but surely melting the more time he spent with her, and he didn't like that all, despite how good it felt.

"Hehehe! Well, I also prefer the current Naruto just so you know." Naruto retorted, the two laughing together as they finally reached the large gates of the resort, a strong comaradie and sense of trust developing between the two young ninjas.

Four days later: ANBU Headquarters...

"So let me get this straight, you had in your possession a healthy young boy with a bloodline limit that emulates both the Hyuga and Uchiha's visual prowess and you thought it was okay to just hand him over to a potential enemy?" Boar asked incredulously, unable to believe what he had just heard from the person he thought of as his most skilled and professional subordinate, he would definitely have to re-evaluate his opinion after what he'd just heard though.

He was seated on his office desk with his hands locked together in front of him, The Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade standing beside him on his left hand side along with Shizune, who was carrying Tonton in her arms as usual. On his right hand side stood Inuzuka Tsume, who didn't seem to give a damn about anything else besides the fact that her daughter had been safely returned to her, the result being a weak attempt at looking displeased at the two pups standing in front of them side by side across the desk, Hana's ninken almost acting as bodyguards the way the they stood around the duo.

"I mean no disrespect Boar-taichou, but need I remind you of our shinobi code? The mission takes priorety over anything and everything else, and my mission was ensuring Inuzuka Hana's safe return to the village. I couldn't afford to do anything that would jeopardise that." Redfox replied robotically.

"It's good to know that you have memorised your shinobi code Redfox, but simply memorizing the code and applying it are two different things. Yes it's true that the mission takes priority, but is it also not true to our code that the life of one comrade is not worth the lives of many? What if this boy becomes a threat to us in the future? What if he kills many of our comrades? Can you gaurantee that he won't do that given the fact that you killed his only precious person? Can you guarentee he won't succumb to his hate just as Uchiha Sasuke did?" Tsunade asked rhetorically.

It pained her greatly to have to say those words to the blonde Uzumaki, though she did well not to show any of those feelings, as a real shinobi should by law and code. She honestly missed the bright, naive, and happy go lucky spark that he used to be, the spark that always brightened her day and could make her smile even in the worst of days. However, he had made this decision himself and she would be damned if she showed him any favoritism whatsoever, if he wanted to be a member of the ANBU, then he had to be treated like one.

That was all fair and good under normal circumstances, and perhaps it would teach him that every decision a person makes has consequences and that one has to take responsibility for those decisions. The problem however was that Tsunade was unaware of the fact that she harbored a great deal of resentment for the young Uzumaki. She felt betrayed by Naruto because to her, what he'd done was the same as abandoning her. It was the same as if he had just packed his clothes and left the village because he barely spent anytime inside the village anyway, always somewhere else in the world on some man hunt, as if he wasn't the one that had convinved her to come back to the village in the first place, as if she hadn't come back here just for him.

"I believe that the two of you have a misunderstanding. Wouldn't it be more dangerous to bring him back to Konoha if he really harbored feelings of hate and retribution? Even if you disagree on that part, have you considered the impact such a bloodline limit would have on the Uchiha and The Hyuga clans respectively? Would those clans feel as important, needed, and respected as they are now if we were to welcome such a clan in Konoha?" Naruto argued.

"..."

"..."

"Do remember that we were surrounded by nineteen of the bloodline faction's strongest in their own terrotory. I'd say we negotiated well to be able to come out of that not only with our lives and our health intact, but also with the stolen byakugan that we retrieved. I'm sure the Hyuga clan will be pleased." Naruto said, directing everyone's gaze back to the glass jar that was standing on Boar's desk, a pupil-less eye floating in the middle of the liquid filled jar.

"I still think you should have at least eliminated the boy if you couldn't bring him back, but be that as it may, congratulations on a job well done. You completed your mission in time and you retrieved an important treasure and asset at the same time. You did well, Redfox. I'll deposit your reward into your account as soon as possible." Boar replied, still holding a few reservations about Redfox's conduct but reluctantly deciding to let it slide anyway, Redfox had accomplished alot for the ANBU in the short time that he joined and despite everything, Boar could honestly say he himself wasn't entirely convinced that he could have done better if he had been the one in Redfox's shoes.

"Thank you Boar-taichou, Godaime-sama." Redfox replied with a respectful bow.

"Are you fit for another mission? Or do you need a medical check-up?" Boar asked.

"I sustained no injuries in this mission, and as stated in my report, Hana-chan and I spent three days at the new resort in the deep forests of the country. My energy levels are at an all time high as a result." Redfox replied.

"Why did you feel the need to go there anyway Redfox-kun? I also couldn't help but notice the affectionate honorific you used with my daughter, is there something I should know? Hmmm?" Tsume asked with a mischievious smirk.

"Mother!" Hana exclaimed in surprise, a full blown blush adorning her facial features, her mind going back to the conversation that she'd had with Kamiko-chan, Kamiko-chan passing on the message that had actually come directly from her mother.

It was quite a vague message in general, but to Hana, just as Tsume had expected, it had been anything but vague. Tsume had ordered Kamiko to remind Hana of the conversation that they had when she turned sixteen, a conversation about how to choose the best mate possible. One of the most important factors an Inuzuka woman had to take into account was the reaction of her ninken to the potential suitor. If your ninken didn't get along or didn't like the potential suiter, it was most likely that you and said suiter were not compatable. And if they got along very well, chances were that the two of you were perfect for each other, as was the case with Naruto and Hana's ninken, to the point that a stranger looking in could have easily mistaken Naruto to be the master and partner of the triplets rather than Hana, that's how much they liked him.

In all honesty Hana herself couldn't help but to develop a crush on the blonde Uzumaki, especially after the last three days that they spent at the Burning Forest Resort. She had no idea that the new Naruto still had such a fun and exciting side to him, and it also helped that he was part fox too, because he didn't find any of her typical Inuzuka behaviour weird at all and actually liked those things about her, at least that's how it seemed to her. What probably made their bond so much stronger than it would have been in such a short time was the fact that she was keeping such a big secret for him.

'Now that I think about it, how much trouble would Naruto-kun have gotten into had I decided not to keep his secret? They were so mad about him handing Ranmaru and the Lightning Fangs over I can't even imagine how they would have reacted if they knew about the Kubikiribocho and Naruto helping their leader get stronger, or the promise of an alliance treaty for that matter.' Hana thought wearily.

'I...I must never allow any of this to leave my lips. I promised Naruto-kun and...I don't want anything bad to happen to him.' Hana re-affirmed to herself with conviction.

"Hana-chan and I have become close friends you could say, and I trust her very much both as a fellow shinobi and as a friend. As for taking her to the resort, well, you did ask me to bring her back safely and in good condition, to me, that doesn't only mean that she has to be physically intact, it also means that she should be both mentally and emotionally intact as well. That's why I felt it was a good idea for us to go to the Burnning Forest Resort." Naruto replied with the typica ANBU robotic and emotionless tone, Tsume smirking unashamedly at the blonde Uzumaki.

"So ummm...Redfox-kun, did my Hana-chan get to see what you're hiding behind your cover?" Tsume asked lecherously.

"M-Mother!" Hana exclaimed once again with embarrassment, her extreme reaction totally confusing Naruto as he thought that that was a simple and straight forward question. Ofcourse it wasn't in fact a simple and straight forward question as what Tsume was actually asking was if there had been any intimacy between the two during their stay at the resort, to be more blunt, whether they had sex or not.

"Yes mam, I was able to show her what is under my mask, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it when the two of you get home." Naruto replied, leaving everyone's jaw on the ground in shock, embarassment, and even disbelief, Tsume and Hana included, Hana unable to believe that Naruto wasn't able to read between the lines of what her mother was actually asking. Though to be fair, Naruto never would have expected someone's mother to be so blunt about something like that, especially when you consider that he didn't have a mother of his own to compare with.

"Ummm...did I say something wrong?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Ummm...no, it's just that ummm...do you love my..."

"Mother now is hardly the time and place for such a conversation, perhaps we can continue later? I'm sure Godaime-sama and Boar-san have things that they want to say to Redfox-kun." Hana cut in swiftly.

"Hmmm...I guess you're right Hana-chan, this is not over Redfox." Tsume said with a serious tone and expression, a tone and expression that made Naruto extremely nervous all of a sudden, the blonde Uzumaki finally able to put two and two together and realise what was happening, though it was too little too late to do anything about it, at least not immediately.

"Ahem! Since you've had time to relax and regain your strength already, not that you've ever needed it, but anyway, here's your next mission. You'll find all the instructions and additional information inside." Boar said as he handed a scroll to the blonde Uzumaki across the desk.

"Thank you Boar-taichou. I guess this will be my cue then." Naruto said as he prepared to leave the building and the village with haste, vowing not to put a step back into the village for another year. He'd even go as far as sending Gamakichi to collect and deliver scrolls for him if he had to, just as long as he didn't have to face Inuzuka Tsume. If she really thought that he had banged her daughter, then he didn't even want to imagine what she might do to him.

"You're leaving already Redfox-kun?" Hana asked hastily.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Redfox asked curiously.

"Ah...well, I don't know I jus...I just thought that maybe we could hang out a little before you leave." Hana muttered under her breathe, unable to remember a time before that she had been so nervous in her life.

"Didn't we just hang out for four straight days at the resort?" Naruto asked with a bit of mirth in his voice.

"Well...yes, I guess you're right. Just forget about it then, I'll see you when I see you. Goodbye." Hana said, her head cast down in disapointment, struggling to understand why she felt so sad about Naruto leaving, they hadn't even known each other that long, well, she'd known about him since he was born, but she hadn't known him personally until just a few days ago, so it didn't really make sense to her.

"Goodbye Hana-chan, and..."

"What is it?" Hana asked with bated breathe.

"It would have been nice to hang out a little more. I really enjoyed your compan..." Naruto trailed with a startle, broken from his words by a loud squeel coming from Tonton.

"Is everything okay Shizune nee-chan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"What's going on Shizune!" Tsunade demanded aggressively.

"Ah...I'm sorry! I ah...I think I squeezed Tonton a little too hard! Please forgive me Tonton!" Shizune exclaimed, a look of pain and distraught written all over her facial expression, almost as if Tonton was the one that had hurt her instead.

"Nee-chan, are you sure you're okay?" Naruto asked suspisciously.

"I'm sure. And you should stop calling me that when you're on duty, it might give away your true identity." Shizune retorted with haste.

"That's not an issue, everyone in this room with the exception of Tsume-sama already knows my true identity, and I promised her I'd let her know my identity when I've brought her daughter back. That's why I instructed Hana-chan to let her know about my identity..." Naruto trailed off, taking a small breathe before continuing where he left off.

"But I'm more concerned about you. You're so overprotective of Tonton that I can't believe you'd ever hurt her, even by accident. There must be something serious that's bothering you." Naruto said matter of factly.

"I'm sorry Redfox-kun but you're wrong. And even if you were not wrong, my personal issues would still be none of your concern." Shizune said defensively, a fierce expression appearing on her face in that moment, one that Naruto had never seen on her before, especially not directed at him.

The tension in the air was so fierce in that moment that no one, not even Tsunade herself would even dare to interfere. Tsunade herself had never seen Shizune looking that fierce before, not even when Shizune was pissed off with her for something she had done or said. She was definitely going to grill Shizune about this when she had calmed down, but right now she couldn't even master a single word because Shizune looked scary even to her right now.

Hana didn't know Shizune anywhere near as well as Tsunade and Naruto did, so ofcourse she had no idea whether Shizune was acting out of character or not. However, her insticts told her to beware of Shizune, almost in the same manner her insticts warned her when a potential enemy was close by. Her ninken also seemed to be on guard when it came to this woman, she could clearly see it in their stance and behaviour, though that could easily have just been caused by the intense emotion the two surrogate siblings were exhibiting right now. Still, Hana didn't want to take anything for granted right now, because her mother and Kuromaru didn't seem to be getting the same reaction as her and her ninken, which meant one of only two things. One, that she and her ninken were just paranoid or overprotective of Naruto, or two, that Shizune was a potential threat to her in particular, which begged the question, why? Why would Shizune want to make an enemy of her. What even connected th...

'Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun is the only thing that connects Shizune and I. He has a strong bond with her no doubt, and so do I. If he considers her as a surrogate older sister, then she must consider him to be a little brother too. So is she being the overprotective older sister right now? Does she think I'm not good enough for him, or is it something else...' Hana thought, her brain running a million miles per second trying to sort out the puzzle.

'Naruto-kun was telling me how much he enjoyed my company when Tonton cried out. So my relationship with Naruto must really bother her, I can't write that off now, it seems an almost certainty. But...why do I get the feeling that there's something more to it, could Shizune's love for Naruto possibly be something more than a sibling bond. No that's just crazy, how old is Shizune anyway, 23? But then, I'm also four years older than Naruto. Wait a minute, do I...does that mean that I also like Naruto as more than a friend?' Hana came to a shocking realisation.

"Fair enough, it's possibly none of my business, but you do know that I'd do anything for you right? If you need my help with anything, I'll always be there to help you." Naruto said with so much honesty and sincerity that no one in the room was left with even a tiny bit of doubt as to how much Shizune meant to Naruto.

"Thanks Redfox-kun, I'd do anything for you too, I hope you also know that." Shizune said with a heart warming smile, the tension suddenly disappearing altogether, almost as if someone had turned a switch off.

"I know." Naruto replied simply.

"Tche, you don't have to be so cocky about it." Shizune replied with an adorable pout.

"Hn, at least I got you to smile again." Naruto retorted with a warm smile.

"Whatever. Just get the hell out of here, you have a mission to complete." Shizune said playfully.

"Alright alright. I'll see you guys around, you take care of yourself now Shizu nee-chan, you too Hana-chan, Godaime-sama, Boar-taichou, and Tsume-sama." Naruto declared, everyone with the exception of Hana saying their farewells to the blonde Uzumaki, Naruto turning around to leave only to be halted on his tracks by a hand on his forearm.

"Might I have a word with you in private Redfox-kun, if it's okay with you?" Hana asked, her body still facing forward when she strecthed her arm to catch the blonde, the effect being that she and Shizune making eye contact with each other, Hana struggling to hold back a smirk as she saw the mixture of distraught and fury in Shizune's eyes.

'This confirms everything, Shizune-san definitely wants more from Naruto than what she has right now. She wants to be his lover. The problem is that she has known him longer than I have, and is therefore probably more sure of her feelings than I am of mine. I still have to confirm whether this is just a teenage crush or if I have real feelings for him, but if I take too long...I might possibly lose my greatest chance of happiness.' Hana thought wearily.

'This is bad. I've never felt such envy for Sakura, but that's because I always knew that she only had eyes for Sasuke, and I knew that Naruto would outgrow his childish crush on her. But this is different, Hana is a grown and mature woman, and unlike Hinata, she doesn't seem to be afraid to get what she wants. If I don't act soon, this woman will steal Naruto-kun from me. But Naruto-kun is still too young, I'll be seen as a molester if I go after him now. I was planning to wait a little longer but it seems like I have no choice but to speed things up. Maybe Naruto-kun and I can have a secret affair until he is old enough? Kuso, but what if someone catches on, Hana will definitely catch on, she already has, even before anything could happen between us. This is bad, I need to get some kind of dirt on her to prevent her from blackmailing me or even worse, exposing me.' Shizune thought frantically.

00000000000000

"So what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked now that he and Hana were a good distance away from ANBU Headquarters.

"I just...I just wanted to thank you for everything you know, before you leave again." Hana said nervously, a small blush adorning her cheeks as she pondered whether to tell the blonde Uzumaki about her true feelings or not.

"There's no need to thank me. It was just a mission that I had to complete, if anything, you have Godaime-sama's benovelance to be thankful off. She took a big risk by authorising that mission." Naruto retorted.

"Then tell me, were the days we spent at the Burning Leaf Resort also just part of your mission?" Hana asked with a knowing smile.

"The days we spent at the resort were part of mission, a very important part of the mission might I add." Naruto replied, deciding to further elaborate when he saw the confused expression on her face.

"I was ordered to bring you back alive and healthy, and I was given ten days to do so. To me, alive and healthy isn't just about your physical state of being, it is also about your mental, emotional, and even spiritual wellbeing. That's what the resort was all about." Naruto explained with devastating effect, realisation, embarrassment, and heartache at the forefront of Hana's current emotional and mental state, ironically negating everything that Naruto had set out to do with the Burning Leaf Resort idea.

"So...you're telling me that you would have done everything in exactly the same manner no matter which Konoha ninja you were sent to save?" Hana stuttered, mentally cursing herself for her presumed stupidity in assuming that there was something special brewing between the two of them.

"Not just Konoha ninjas, it's something I would do for any of my clie...nts." Naruto stuttered, having received a powerful mental slap to the face from within his mindscape, Haku uncharacteristically screaming obsenities at the blonde Uzumaki for his stupidity when it comes to women.

"You're not acting like your usual self Haku, do you like this woman that much?'"Naruto asked curiously.

"Yes I do, and she's absolutely a perfect match for you. But that's not what really makes me angry with you right now, what infuriates me is the fact that I know for a fact that you have feelings for her, yet you're just ruined everything in a matter of seconds." Haku ranted.

"I've never seen you this angry before, you must really like her just as much as I do. But I believe you're missing the point. Firstly, I just saved her life and entrusted a big secret to her, so there is a strong possibility that a large part of what she feels is just the knight in shining armour syndrom..."

"What's the knight in shining armour syndrom?" Haku cut in.

"It's when a person thinks they are in love with a person simply because that person saved their life. To the victim, the person cannot be anything but perfect because he saved her life, and she mistakens the strong feeling of gratitude for true love. It's a real and existing psychological issue." Naruto explained much to Haku's shock and astonishment.

"I can't believe I didn't know about that..." Haku trailed off.

"That's not all. There's also the matter of Akatsuki. Getting a lover right now would make me an easy target, and more importantly, it would put her life an even more danger than I am in from those guys. I don't want something bad to happen to her." Naruto explained.

"So that's why you're pushing her away? You're killing two birds with one stone, destroying her illusionary knight in shining armour image of you and at the same time protecting her from Akatsuki. Wow Naruto-kun, it appears as though the student might have become the master after all. I have alot to learn from you it seems..."

"Now you're just exaggerating." Naruto cut in with a mental roll of the eyes.

"Redfox...Redfox...Naruto!" Hana shouted worriedly.

"Oh sorry about that, I tend to space out from time to time." Naruto apologised sincerely.

"I've noticed that. Is it...is it because of..."

"The Kyubi?"

"Ummm...yes." Hana asked with concern.

"Yes it is, but it's nothing to worry yourself about, it doesn't happen when I'm in any sort of danger, only when the environment is relatively safe." Naruto explained.

"Do you...communicate with it?" Hana asked curiously.

"..."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."

"No it's okay." Naruto cut in.

"I do communicate with the Kyubi, and yes, it speaks human language. But don't tell anyone, not even Jiraiya-sensei knows about that." Naruto replied.

"I finally understand now." Hana said with a mischievious smirk.

"Understand what?" Naruto asked with confusion.

"You do have feelings for me, and you trust me." Hana said matter of factly.

"I don't know what you're ta..."

"It's okay, you don't have to admit it verbally, but just know that actions speak louder than words." Hana said with a knowing smirk.

"Is this some kind of female reverse psychology thing?"

"I'm afraid not Naruto-kun, it seems like she really has figured you out. That's why she's a perfect match for you." Haku said jovially.

"I think you're enjoying this a little too much, but whatever." Naruto retorted irritably.

"Hana, I think you..."

"No! No more lies Naruto-kun!"

"..."

"Look, I'm not desperate or anything like that. But you can't just make me like you like you did and then not take responsibility for these feelings. You don't have to marry me, you don't even have to date me, but I think we should at least keep in communication with each other, you know, get to know each other better." Hana suggested.

"I understand that your job requires confidentiality regarding your whereabouts and stuff like that, so here's my suggestion. We'll use your toad summons for communication, you'll have to have one of them hide somewhere inside Konoha, somewhere that only I know about. I'll send letters to you through that toad and vice versa. H...how does that sound?" Hana asked with a slight stutter at the end, a sign of just how difficult it was for her to express her feelings so openly to a man, after all, she didn't really have much experience when it came to stuff like this, she wasn't even sure if what she'd just done was inaproppriate or not.

"I think..." Naruto trailed off dramatically.

"W-what?" Hana asked nervously.

"Well the thing is...I think it's an awesome idea." Naruto replied with a playful smirk.

"How dare you!" Hana exclaimed, playfully punching the blonde Uzumaki on the shoulder, a mixture of frustration and amusing morphing onto her facial features.

"Hehehehe! I'm sorry but I just couldn't resist, you left yourself so open there, I couldn't in my right mind waste such an easy opportunity." Naruto taunted with a small chuckle.

"You're such a ninja you know that." Hana said with an exasperated roll of the eyes.

"Tche, so are you."

"Yeah whatever, so do we have deal? You'll keep me updated about your whereabouts and stuff?" Hana asked for confirmation.

"You're really concerned about me that much?" Naruto asked, not being used to having a girl doting over him in this manner, well, there was Shizune and Tsunade on occassion, but they were more in the bracket of surrogate family, this was something else entirely, or so Naruto thought.

"Ofcourse I am. You're always out there somewhere on your own. What if Akatsuki find you and capture you? I need to know that you're okay at all times, and the only way for that to happen is to hear from you directly from time to time. You can even send shadow clones if it won't be too much to ask." Hana replied with a tone and expression that was so sincere that Naruto had to literally hold back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, the Inuzuka heiress touching a special spot in the aspiring Hokage's heart.

"You have such a kind and caring heart Hana-chan. I'm glad I was the one asigned to this mission, I've never wanted to protect Konoha and create a world of peace more than I do right now, you've ren-engineered and strengthened my resolve." Naruto replied, gently holding Hana's right cheek in the palm of his right hand.

"I'm glad you feel that way Naruto-kun, but ummm..."

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked with a worried frown on his face.

"No no there's nothing wrong, I'm like the happiest woman in the world right now. It's just that well...I don't think that the word re-engineered should be anywhere near a romantic moment like this." Hana said, finally breaking out into a full blown laughter at the blonde Uzumaki's expense.

"You do know that I'm going to get you for this right?" Naruto asked irritably.

"Get me back? Haha!You don't get to get me back silly, this is me paying you back for earlier." Hana retorted.

"Tche, what on earth am I going to do with you." Naruto shook his head in dismay, the bond between the two young shinobi growing stronger every second that the two spent teasing and laughing at each other.

Sometime late: A few miles outside of Konoha...

"Okay that's enough now. You three have been following me since I left the village, what's the big idea?" Naruto said seemingly to nothing but thin air, the blonde haired Uzumaki standing perfectly still in the middle of a clearing in the forest.

It wasn't just by coincidence either, Naruto had carefully chosen the spot from which to make known his awareness of the potential enemy's presence. It was a clearing situated in a route less travelled by shinobi or civilian alike, and far away enough from Konoha and popular routes that even most sensor types wouldn't be able to detect their chakra if a battle broke out. And finally, the clearing itself was so big that stealth and deception had a very low chance of succeeding against him, thus the only way to take him out was a head on and straight forward battle.

"..."

"I know there are three of you following me, if you don't come out within three seconds, I will treat you as my enemy." Naruto said, before starting the countdown, adding that being labelled as his enemy meant that he would hunt them down and kill them without asking questions.

"..."

"Three...two...one..."

"Wait!" A voice said from behind a tree on Naruto's right hand side.

"Just in the nick of time, a split second later and you might have been dead right now. Now hurry up and show yourselves, all three of you." Naruto demanded authoratively, two more guys coming out from behind a tree that was behind him and one that was on his left hand side, along with the owner of the young male voice that had spoken earlier.

"You guys are from R.O.O.T, and one of you is a member of the Yamanaka clan it seems..." Naruto trailed off as he turned his head to look at the guy behind him.

"And another from the Aburame clan." Naruto said.

Ofcourse, Naruto didn't really need to turn around and look at the guy behind him to make that confirmation as he had the ability to decipher a person's clan and even nationality by virtue of their chakra signature alone, however, that was something he wanted to keep close to himself for as long as possible because it would most certainly raise a few akward questions from Tsunade if she ever found out, and besides, he was quite a secretive person by nature.

"We mean you no harm Redfox-san, we are only here to deliver a message." The youngest of the three man said diplomatically, a young man no older than Naruto himself if one were to judge by appearance alone. He had relatively short black hair and equally black eyes and pale skin, also wearing a black outfit with a tanto on his back.

'What's with this guy dressing up like a male prostitute, I can see his belly button even. Is this guy sexually confused or something?' Naruto thought with a quirked eyebrow.

"Ahem, in case you don't remember, I was dressed in a...ahem...less than musculine outfit when we met for the second time in Wave Country. Did you think I was sexually confused as well?" Haku asked with a reprimanding tone.

"That's totally different. That was your disguise, you simply used your beauty as a stealth weapon like a top class shinobi should do. What's this guy's story?" Naruto asked, only for his internal conversation to be interupted by the smooth and emotionless voice of what appeared to be the spokesperson of this team, the other two remaining completely silent.

"Are you interested in hearing the message Redfox-san?" The spokesperson guy asked curiously.

"Yes, but only after you introduce yourselves and not a second before then." Naruto demanded, the three not liking the, in their view, non-existent authority that Naruto was excercizing over them but ultimately deciding that it would be less troublesome to just obey him for now.

"My name is Sai, the man on the opposite side of me is Yamanaka Fuu, and the man behind you is Aburame Torune. Can we continue now?" Sai spoke with that ice cold and emotion deficient voice of his.

"You may continue. What does Danzo want with me?" Naruto asked with more curiousity than weariness.

"That's Danzo-sama to you." Torune said testily.

"You sound agitated. I was under the impression that R.O.O.T shinobi had no emotions to speak off. I guess that was just a myth after all." Naruto retorted, causing Torune's eyes to widen slightly before shutting that doorway immediately, so fast that one would even wonder if it had ever been there to begin with.

"You're very good at riling people up it seems, but Torune-san is an elite in our ranks, you won't be able to outwit him with weak and underhanded tactics like that." Sai retorted.

"I suppose not. Anyway, I've got a mission to complete, why don't we get to the point of all this already. What does Danzo want with me?" Naruto asked, more lile demanded actually.

"Word of your exploits have spread like a wild fire throughout our ranks, and consequently, Danzo-sama has developed an interest you. He, like everyone else in the village is also aware of your interest in the Hokage position and shares your love and devotion to the great tree that is Konoha.. As a result of all of this, Danzo-sama wishes to discuss the wellbeing and future of the great tree with you." Sai explained calmly.

"So they already knew who you are under the mask..." Haku thought out loud.

"To be fair, the fox mask kind of gives it away, not to mention that they have a sensor type in their ranks. Danzo would have familiarised all of his sensors to mine and the fox's chakra from the moment that the fox was sealed inside of me." Naruto retorted.

"I'm the one that told you NOT to choose that mask remember, you're the one that didn't listen to me. And we really need to complete that chakra cloaking seal soon, otherwise we can't go back and forth from the village without alerting skilled sensor's in the village. What's worse is that Neji, Hinata, and Ino all have the potential to be great sensor types, they're probably getting better and better as we speak. Your scent and x-ray vision cloaking mechanisms will be rendered useless if you don't figure out this new seal soon."

"Okay okay I get it geez, now's not the time, you can lecture me later dad." Naruto taunted, causing Haku's temperature to boil in anger, which was saying something given the fact that he was practically a living err...dead ice machine.

"I see...I guess I shouldn't be entirely surprised by this turn of events, though I must say that I didn't expect him to make his move so soon. I've been literally brainwashed to believe that Danzo is the big bad wolf that everyone should be weary of in the village, some even go as far as to paint him as a considerably less reckless and harder to expose version of Orochimaru. Needless to say, I'm not too optimistic about Danzo and I finding any common ground, however, I am a fair man and I do not like to make baseless conclusions and assumptions..." Naruto trailed off suggestively.

"Does that mean that you will hear him out?" Sai asked robotically.

"Yes I will, but just for interest sake, what would have happened had I refused?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We would have subdued you and made you listen anyway." Sai replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world to say.

"I see." Naruto replied simply, also speaking as if he and Sai were merely discussing today's weather forecast.

"..."

"One more question, why did you wait a whole forty miles to reveal yourselves when you knew we'd have to head back to the village anyway if I agreed to meet with your master?" Naruto asked, something clearly not adding up as far is he was concerned, causing him an even more weary feeling than he already had about this whole situation.

"This is why." Fuu replied, Naruto turning his head to his left hand side to see the Yamanaka clansman holding a scroll of some sort.

"A summoning scroll, I should have figured." Naruto drawled out, watching intently as Fuu chanelled his chakra into the seal on the scroll before throwing it away to his left hand side, a poofing sound resounding in the clearing as the area where the scroll landed become covered in a huge puff of smoke. However, Danzo, eager to find out whether his underlings Naruto had willingly agreed to meet him or had been forcefully subdued, blew the smoke away with a small, chakra enhanced gust of wind.

"I've noticed that there is no detailed profile about you in any of Konoha's archives, consequently, I didn't know anything about your abilities until now. At least I know you're a wind style user now." Naruto said with his personal ANBU tone of voice and demeanor, one that he had practised to such an extent that it eventually just became part of who he was now.

"Hn, that was just a minor wind style. Any person, whether having a wind element or not would be able to pull that technique off with a little practise." Danzo commented, doing well to hold back the extent of his satisfaction from showing, the old war hawk truly pleased to find that Naruto was willingly co-operating. It wasn't anything world changing ofcourse, but it meant there was a small chance that he wouldn't need to take drastic measures in order to get his way, a small chance that he and the village's jinchuuriki would be able to see eye to eye regarding matters that concern the great tree.

"Fair enough, but why don't we just skip the formalities and get to the root of the problem." Naruto said, none of the root shinobi missing the definite emphasis on the word 'root'.

"That Fuu guy intentionally threw the scroll to his left hand side, in other words, in front of me. What do you make of this, Haku?" Naruto asked wearily.

"While it makes sense that Danzo would be required to stand in your direct line of site for the two of you to communicate properly, I still can't shake off the bad feeling at the pit of my stomach, like something awful is about to happen. It also doesn't help that you're completely surrounded from all four directions at ninety degree angles, as if they're preparing to perform some kind of barrier technique or something." Haku retorted.

"Hmmm, that's an interesting analysis Haku. Take a back seat for now and watch out for anything genjutsu or mind transfer related, as always, I'll handle the tangible stuff." Naruto ordered.

"Roger that." Haku replied just as Danzo began to speak.

"Okay, that's fine by me. I prefer to do things that way myself, another thing we have in common next to our mutual elemental affinity and ofcourse, love and devotion to the great tree." Danzo replied.

"If you're beginning your proposal by drawing parallels between us, then does that mean that you want me to join your organisation?" Naruto asked, his right side eyebrow quiked upwards under that sinister looking mask of his.

"You are indeed correct in your analysis, and let me add, I do admire your powers of perception." Danzo said with an uncomfortbale sincerity, at least as far as Naruto was concerned.

"Okay okay enough sucking up, what exactly do you want from me? And why are your underlings not wearing their masks? Is it because you're going to try and kill me if I refuse to follow your lead, or is it because you actually believe that I'll join you?" Naruto asked with a dangerous tone of voice.

"First let me say this, I don't just want you to join me, I actually want you to be my successor." Danzo declared, causing not just Naruto, but also Fuu, Torune, and Sai's eyes to widen in surprise, shock visibly clear on all of their expressions despite they're so called emotionless status.

"I...I'm surprised, but more than that, I'm even more suspicious."

"That's not an unexpected reaction, nor is it a wrong one. You are right to be suspicious of what is currently taking place. Things like this don't happen very often, and when they do, they warrant thorough meditation and investigation, that is what any human should do, even more so a shinobi. However, you have to try and see things from my perspective, here is a young and incredibly talented kid, he has the love and will of fire reminiscent of the past four Hokage, but also the dark and rational mindset of an ANBU operative, he also has the ability to switch off his emotions completely just like a ROOT operative and has been through trials and tribulation as a child that would have broken a veteran shinobi. But here he is, intact, alive, strong, smart, efficient, and with unparalleled talent for ninjutsu. Looking at it from that point of view, is our meeting here today really out of character, or out of the blue, or out of context?" Danzo asked rhetorically.

"I...I guess not. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to join you, in fact, I can't afford to join you. My goal is to become the Hokage, in other words, my goal is to become your boss. I therefore cannot be your underling." Naruto said with finality.

"That is also my dream, my long time goal, to become the Hokage. That is also why you should join me, you and I are so much alike, no, actually, you're even more. You're also Konoha's ultimate weapon and as I said before, you have both the qualities of ROOT commander and a Hokage within you. You're a rare breed, I've only met one other person like you before, actually, make that two." Danzo retorted.

"And who might those people be if I may ask?"

"My sensei, the second hokage, Senju Tobirama, and the other...I might tell you about him one day, but not right now. Matters concerning him are an S class secret." Danzo explained patiently.

"I see. Well, I'm honoured by your interest, praise, and your generous offer, however, if your dream really is to become the Hokage, then that makes you my rival. I can't be your underling if I ever want to become the Hokage. I'm sorry, but the answer is no." Naruto stated.

"Your devotion to your dream is one of the things that draw me towards you, that's why you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that you cannot be the Hokage if you are working for me. Everything happens in cycles, and everything has to be taken one step at a time. With the Akatsuki coming after all the bijuu and the tensions between the villages heightening, it is not much of a stretch to say that a war is coming. And, sad as it may be, Hokages tend to die during these wars. Hashirama-sama, Tobirama-sama, and Saru all died in war. The fourth died during an attack on the village by the nine tails. It happens, a great sacrifice always has to be paid for the nourishment and protection of the great tree." Danzo lectured, taking a small breathe before continuing where he left off.

"What point am I trying to make here you might ask? Well, my point is, Tsunade will die either from an Akatsuki attack or from the wounds she sustains in the next war. She might even have to directly sacrifice herself much like the fourth did. I will then assume the Hokage position and you will take over my position in R.O.O.T. Then, in the future, I too will die or retire, and you will take over my position as Hokage, someone else, perhaps someone that you've chosen and mentored yourself will become the new R.O.O.T commander. One step at time...cycles. That's how life works. You don't have to sacrifice your dream in order to work for me, and we don't have to be rivals just because we have the same dream. I'm a wind style user, an esteemed elder in the village and advisor to the Hokage, I was the Second Hokage's apprentice and the Third's friend and rival. I have alot of experience myself too and I am skilled and powerful myself in my own right. My word carries alot of weight in the village and I have alot of contacts both from within and outside the village. There's alot you can gain by joining my organisation Naruto-kun, as my apprentice." Danzo said convincingly.

"Apprentice? But I already have a mentor..."

"There's no rule against having more than one mentor, just as there isn't against having more than one apprentice, although you will have to keep our association a secret from everyone else, and you'll have to allow me to place a gag seal on your tongue, it's just a precautionary measure in case you are captured and interogated by the enemy." Danzo explained.

"I gag seal huh? I can see how that could come in handy. I'd hate to be the guy that gave away secrets and cause problems for the village. Hmmm...okay, I'll join your cause, everything you said makes perfect sense, I have no counters against it." Naruto replied.

"I'm pleased to hear that Naruto-kun. You've made me the happiest man in the world right now." Danzo said with a small smirk.

"Now, come over here and allow me to administer the gag seal." Danzo ordered.

"Hai hai captain. I'm on my way." Naruto said sarcastically, but nevertheless walking slowly towards the seemingly crippled old man.

"Hehehehe! Are you watching Saru? Your efforts to deny me access to Minato and Kushina's heir along with the kyubi were futile. Konoha is now in the grasp of my hand, next up is the rest of the elemental nations. This world will be united under one banner and one leader. I will bring peace to elemental nations, I will succeed where all the previous Hokage have failed before." Danzo thought triumphantly.

"I wonder how strong old man Danzo really is, you think he's stronger than the third was?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I don't know, but I'm confident that he's a better genjutsu master than the third could ever be." Haku replied.

"Yeah totally...wait what! How would you know that?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Hmmm let me think, oh yes, it might have something to do with the sharingan he's hiding behind that bandaged eye, and the genjutsu that he is controlling you with."

Chapter End