Chapter 8: Origins

Chapter 8: Origins

Haku sighed as he looked down at the three genin training in the clearing while he remained hidden in the forests of Konoha. This past week provided little contact between Haku and his partner Naruto as he was still on his 'personal' mission, so in the mean time, Haku spent his time either disabling Oto shinobi and leaving them for Konoha trackers to find, or information gathering around Konoha – a shinobi can never be too well informed.

As he lazily watched the three genins train, he let his mind wonder to the aforementioned shinobi. He has been traveling with Naruto for several months now and he can honestly say that it has been interesting to say the least. He doesn't hold any illusions that they are friends, yet their relationship wouldn't be considered 'bad' either. Haku just didn't know enough about Naruto to consider him friend while Naruto knows a fair bit about his life, yet Naruto always seems to know too much for his own good.

Not that he wasn't grateful to the blonde; on the contrary, he supplied him with several technique scrolls and helped him master control over his bloodline to a degree that he was sure was never heard of before, allowing him to create several new techniques to use in conjunction with it. Not that being strong was of any importance to him, however, ever since Zabuza died, he made a point of getting stronger so that he could better protect his precious people – even if Naruto disapproves of him referring to Zabuza as such. The man essentially saved him from his own darkness and for that, Haku would be forever grateful, much like how he was grateful to Naruto for giving him a second chance at life, to do something that he wanted to do.

With Zabuza, it was always 'do as I say' or 'do as you're told', however, with Naruto, his opinion is valued and his actions are never restricted. Haku knew that his abilities made himself useful to Naruto, but he also knew that even if he didn't have his assistance, Naruto didn't really need him around. Perhaps the boy was lonely traveling on his own and decided that a traveling partner would save him from depression, or perhaps his enemies are powerful enough to warrant constant backup. Either way, it didn't much matter. Naruto was powerful, eerily so, which was proven on several occasion when he watched the boy at work. Sure, he had a monstrous chakra capacity, excellent control over it and superb skills to go with it, but what made him deadly is his strategically superior mind that is always ten to twenty steps ahead of his opponent's, not to mention the large amount of experience under his belt for someone so young. In a rare moment of bonding, Naruto acknowledged that he has been killing Jounin level missing-nin for years under the instruction of his previous sensei – the thought sent shivers down his spine.

"Mother wants your blood"

Haku turned his head slowly to see who exactly had snuck up on him with enough stealth to have gone unnoticed and utter such an obscure and cold statement to him. The boy had red hair and thick black rings around his eyebrow less eyes. He also had a tattoo over his left eye that was the Kanji for 'love' as well as an extremely heavy looking gourd strapped to his back.

Idly glancing back over his shoulder, Haku spotted the same figure standing motionless in the clearing with his two teammates who were still training, unaware of his presence or their teammate's absence.

"Is that so?" countered Haku, brushing off the massive amount of killer intent rolling off the genin. Sure, it was large, even when compared to most jounin level ninja, but Haku had grown up with a shinobi who practically leaked large amount of killer intent wherever he went as well as Naruto who when he unleashed his own, was terrifying, dwarfing his old sensei – which was no minor feat.

Without another word of warning, sand covered Haku's body as the genin raised his hand in a closed fist. In response, Haku quickly switched with a Mizu Bunshin he had created not too far from his location without the use of hand seals – something he had learned from Naruto – in case he found himself in a situation such as this.

"Sabaku Soso" he hissed in a deadly calm voice that sent shivers down his spine. What Haku observed next though made him raise both eyebrows in surprise; the sand that had ensnared his clone compressed instantly, crushing his clone in an impressive display of power that resulted in water dripping out from the bottom of the sand cocoon.

By this point, they had attracted the attention of the boy's teammates who heard the technique being uttered by the red haired sociopath. One of the two genin that arrived on the scene in a defensive position was a teenager who looked to be Haku's own age, if not slightly younger, with his face covered in battle paint to look like a Kabuki mask while the other was a female with sandy blonde hair tied in four scruffy pigtails with emerald green eyes. Haku visibly grimaced at the fashion sense of the older boy, Naruto, he knew, would have a field day if he saw him.

"What do you want with Gaara?" the female asked with a frown marring her features while the newly dubbed Gaara grabbed his head in pain and fell to the floor, muttering to himself as something seemed to be attacking his mind.

"I want nothing from him" replied Haku in, what he hoped was, a non threatening tone. He really didn't want to fight these three, especially someone as good looking as this girl was "he was the one who attacked me without provocation…" he replied before continuing "though judging by your reactions, or lack there of, to my statement, this seems to be a common occurrence…" he commented, trailing off at the end while patting himself on the back for a job well done as the two older shinobi's eyes widened ever so slightly.

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"We apologize…he can be difficult at the best of times…" the girl said, apparently trying to avoid the boy hearing her declaration who was now trying to stand now that his head seemed to no longer be bothering him.

The boy in question, once standing once again, raised his arm in Haku's direction "Sabaku Kyu" he hissed.

Haku had to dodge another wave of sand as it attempted to swallow him while following his every move. With a frown, Haku used Shunshin to get behind the boy and press a pressure point in the space between his neck and shoulder, however, he gasped in surprise when instead of dropping in a faint, like most would, he shrugged it off and sent the wave of sand back in his direction.

Haku leapt back to avoid the sand yet again before frowning. This boy seemed to control sand and was also impervious to his pressure points being used against him – either he was able to use his chakra to block his pressure points being used against him, which he doubted as only experienced medic-nin could perform such a feat, or, he uses his sand to do more then just attack.

Haku looked to the boy's teammates before nodding "It seems your teammate is set on killing me, and I cannot let that happen…" he commented, dodging another wave of sand in the process, he just didn't think it wise to fight an opponent he knew nothing about, perhaps he should ask Naruto "perhaps we can meet again under more civil circumstances" he concluded, before seemingly sinking into the ground and disappearing from the Sand nin's eyes in a pool of water, which also evaporated once he had disappeared.

The two older genin gawked at the place where the masked boy disappeared from before turning in the direction of Gaara who grunted in annoyance "mother will have his blood…" he muttered under his breath, sending a shiver down his teammate's spines with the amount of killer intent he was leaking.

Gekko Hayate, while on his nightly walk, stumbled upon something that shocked him to his very core. The supposed invasion that was supposed to take place during the third phase of the Chunin exams has been bumped up ahead of schedule while Konoha's security was supposedly 'lax' due to the absence of three of their most powerful Shinobi; Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin and Tsunade the Slug Sannin.

He had just finished up a wonderful night with his beautiful girlfriend and ANBU commander Uzuki Yugao which, as per normal, results in a late night, when he happened upon two shinobi, one with a Suna forehead protector and one with an Oto forehead protector stealthily making their way out of Konoha's walls to meet in secret. While they were conversing, Hayate decided to eavesdrop to see what exactly the two shinobi were meeting in secret and what he discovered had him so shocked that he didn't think twice about making his way to the Hokage tower at full speed.

As soon as he arrived, he was let into the Hokage's office by his secretary to find the Hokage already in a meeting with the head of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Hiashi. The man, always proper and noble, looked miffed to say the least when Hayate happened upon their meeting, however, his high and mighty attitude could wait for now for all he cared.

"Hokage-sama" he began panting heavily as he spoke, all the while coughing between every few words as he was famous for doing "I overheard two shinobi conversing outside the walls of Konoha. I had trailed them thinking they seemed suspect, especially since one was a Suna shinobi and the other an Oto shinobi" he explained, easily grabbing the two powerful men's attention at the mention of the two invading nations "while making sure I wasn't spotted, I overheard the Oto shinobi telling the Suna shinobi to mobilize their forces tonight for the Oto shinobi were ready to begin the invasion. Apparently, they realized that their planned invasion had been discovered and wanted to surprise us when we were weakened as we are missing three of our strongest shinobi at this current time" he finished, while coughing severely for a few moments after the recent exertion on his lungs.

Without waiting, the Hokage pulled out a crystal ball and placed his hand over it before gazing into it – it seemed that Hiashi had expected this as he too peered into the ball. Frowning, Hayate took a look himself and he had to use all of his shinobi control to not gasp outright – for in the crystal ball he spied what seemed to be hundreds of Suna and Oto shinobi not a mile outside of Konoha's walls, all prepared to begin their invasion. The Hokage frowned slightly before leaping into action and mobilizing his forces.

Twenty minutes later, a thoroughly confused and annoyed Hokage stood at the main entrance to the village with both hands behind his back. To anyone who knew the old man, they would be able to tell that he was in deep thought. The reason for such actions were simple, the entire force of 'enemy shinobi' were simply a mixture of Kage Bunshin and regular Bunshin, harmless and useless. So, what was the purpose of this? Did Orochimaru want to unsettle the Konoha shinobi? Did he derive some sort of sick pleasure in seeing Konoha squirm and begin the evacuation procedures for no reason?

"A Diversion" was Nara Shikaku's input from beside him. The head of the Nara clan had long served as one of the Hokage's most trusted advisers, especially in combat situations. He may be referred to as 'The professor', but it always helped to have another mind aiding in such situation.

"What makes you say that Shikaku-kun?" asked the old Sarutobi, no joy or anger in his voice, mere neutrality.

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"What Hayate-san saw earlier was probably another trick designed to make us believe the invasion was to begin earlier then expected. The culprit was likely expecting someone to suspect two shinobi from different nations sneaking off into the night and used that suspicion and our current state of nervousness to their advantage…though I don't know why…it's just so troublesome…" finished the lazy genius.

Sarutobi frowned in thought. What possible purpose would a diversion serve? The entire ANBU force were split in two, half within the city at strategically placed points, remaining hidden while the other lay in wait outside the walls, ready to counter-attack against any aggressors. Also, virtually every Chunin and Jounin was assigned to defense at every known entrance to the city…unless…

Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock, suddenly realizing what had just happened "Shikaku-kun, please recall every Chunin and Jounin and let them know that this was a false alarm, I will leave the ANBU to patrol where they are for a few hours yet just in case…I believe I know what is going on" he said, ignoring the annoyed sigh coming from the elder Nara man.

'Most clever Naruto…but what are your intentions? Have you sided with my foolish ex-student?'

Sarutobi arrived in his office as quickly as he could, alone, to see a sight that he did not expect to be seeing when he woke up this morning, for sitting in his very own chair was none other then Uzumaki Naruto, his unmistakable blonde hair poking out of a portfolio that was open as he read it, the folder serving to hide his face as he leaned back comfortably in his chair with his feet resting on his desk.

Getting in a slightly defensive stance by tensing all of his muscles, ready to move at any moment's notice, he was surprised when all Naruto did was speak in a calm and emotionless voice.

"Namikaze Minato, also known as the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, Konoha's Yellow Flash, Greatest Shinobi to ever be produced by Konoha, or, my father" he said, still seemingly reading from the portfolio, acting as if he didn't care at all that the most powerful Kage in the shinobi world was standing before him.

"Uzumaki Kushina, retired shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, ex-ANBU captain, Jounin level shinobi and wife of Namikaze Minato. Upon learning of the circumstances of her husband's death and son's sacrifice, took her remaining daughter after handing in her resignation and left the village. She too, coincidently enough, is my mother" spoke Naruto, reading directly off the report.

It was at that moment that Naruto lowered the portfolio, gazing at the Hokage with indifference, which was weird in the old Sarutobi's opinion considering the boy had just learned his mother had virtually abandoned him and fled the village with his twin sister. Sarutobi had to exercise every bit of control over his emotions though to not flinch at the gaze that was leveled on him, those ruby red eyes of the Kyuubi peering at him, though they did not hold the malice of the originals.

"Odd how I grew up not knowing who my parents were while I was virtually the village's scapegoat for something I had no control over" he commented, dropping the folder on the desk and looking out the window to see several dozen shinobi scurrying about, no doubt because of his actions "Also odd how my…mother" he began, seemingly forcing the word out of his mouth "abandoned me, without a care of my wellbeing, and took a sibling I never knew I had away from me, my twin no less" he continued, while Sarutobi relaxed only slightly, sure that Naruto wouldn't attack him and confident enough in his abilities that even if he did, he would be fine.

"Do you know what it's like to feel like a part of you is missing? To feel as if you are incomplete while suffering from the pains of loneliness and despair?" he asked, his voice still as calm and indifferent as ever, no signs of any emotion, good or bad in his voice "No…I don't suppose you do"

"Were you the one that created that little show for us out there tonight Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, hoping to divert the situation. In response, all he got was a shrug of his shoulders as Naruto took the portfolio and sealed it into a random scroll on his belt, which was now in view now that he was not wearing his cloak. Once sealed, Naruto replaced the storage scroll in one of his scroll pouches above his behind.

"I honestly didn't expect for it to work as well as it did" he conceded "though I must admit, I was quite convincing was I not?" he answered, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the desk that Sarutobi stood before. In response, Sarutobi just nodded with a slight amount of annoyance.

"Well?"

"Well what? You do realize you have committed a very serious crime by breaking into my office and stealing top secret documents, do you not?"

Naruto smirked, showing the first sign of emotion he had shown at all during the whole meeting, which unnerved Sarutobi slightly.

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"Three things Sarutobi-san" he said, holding up three fingers to stress his point "Firstly, I have already switched myself with a clone and by now am already most likely out of the Village's walls" he said, still smirking and it was now that Sarutobi understood that Naruto was smirking – it was notoriously known that clones were said to have less control over their emotions and brain functions then their creators "two, I already am a criminal, or did you forget?" he asked, with indifference, yet the smirk was still in place "and third, the information in that scroll is mine by right anyway, and if you come up with some reason why it isn't, I really don't care – it's mine now" he said, shrugging and dropping the smirk.

Sarutobi winced slightly at the mention of Naruto's current status with Konoha, and also at the points he made, for they were all valid in their own way.

"Might I inquire as to why you are wearing the symbol of a Konoha shinobi? I do not recall you passing to become a genin of the leaf to warrant such a symbol" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh this?" Naruto asked, pointing to the slashed forehead protector with a shrug "my hair is quite long, I need something to keep it out of my eyes" he said with a shrug "and I was most certainly not going to let people think I was some foolish Konoha shinobi" he said, grinning slightly at Sarutobi's annoyed expression.

"That and I wanted to see your village's reaction when I was 'discovered' – what? You thought I would let Hatake-san discover my features because I was careless? Tut, tut, you shouldn't underestimate your enemies Sarutobi-san, especially 'S' class criminals such as myself" he said with sarcasm while replying to the old man's confused look.

"What do you intend to do with that information now that you have it?" asked Sarutobi, cautiously, relaxing completely, there was no point in keeping his guard up, especially if the real Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"You mean to ask if I want to kill her, do you not?" he asked, indifferently "I will have to find her first, won't I? The file is conveniently blank in regards to her current location, and as the Hokage at the time of her retirement, I know you know of her location at all times – you wouldn't let a powerful shinobi go without keeping tabs on her" he said, not showing any sign of annoyance in the slightest, however, Sarutobi was still worried for the Uzumaki woman.

"You should know" Sarutobi began "it was not my decision to make you an 'S' class criminal, to be honest, I had a hand time believing you were capable of the things Kakashi-kun informed me about – it was Anko-chan's description of your fight with Orochimaru that led to the majority of the council supporting the original's motion" he said, watching to see if he could spot any reaction, and he wasn't disappointed as Naruto just snorted in amusement.

"Yes, thank you for that by the way, letting my enemies know of my techniques" he said, not sounding like he cared at all for that matter "I'm sure Orochimaru will be most cautious next time we meet about my Genjutsu capabilities – for that, I thank you" he said.

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his temples "For what it's worth Naruto-kun…" he began, sounding every bit as old as he was "I apologize" he admitted, sounding defeated.

"Why?" was Naruto's surprising remark "you did nothing wrong, in fact, by your inaction, I was able to leave this pathetic village" he said, motioning to Konoha through the window "and become strong under my late sensei, for that, I should probably thank you instead of you apologizing, however, I'd rather not argue over semantics" he admitted with a shrug.

Before dispelling himself, Naruto locked gazes with the Hokage one last time and nodded "Good luck with the invasion Sarutobi-san" and just like that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

After Naruto left, Sarutobi sat down in his chair heavily with a sigh. Naruto was indeed smart and most likely dangerous to anyone who makes him their enemy. Deciding to do what he normally did when trying to relax; he walked over to the portrait of the Yondaime and swiped some blood over a special seal hidden in the picture which revealed a safe. Opening the safe, he was shocked to see it completely empty, which cause the old Hokage to pale considerably.

'Why, that no good, thieving, son of a bitch, mother fucking smart-ass, piece of shit…' Sarutobi ranted in his mind at the blonde youth, for Naruto had not only taken a top secret document about his origins, but he had swiped his entire 'Icha Icha' stash. If there was one thing Sarutobi was sure of now, it was that Naruto had to be evil.

Anko currently sat in one of Konoha's most popular bars doing what she normally does when she has something on her mind that is troubling her; drink until she got absolutely shit faced.

Ever since being showed up by that Uzumaki brat when fighting Orochimaru so easily she had gained a sudden extreme dislike for the boy and ever since then, the twenty five year old had spent several nights dreaming wonderful dreams of torture involving the maiming and killing of said brat. Indeed, Mitarashi Anko was a sadist and she was ­

damn proud of it, it kept the less savory villagers off of her back when they decided they wanted to vent their anger on the resident 'snake whore'.

Just as she was about to polish off the next bottle of sake, she was interrupted from enjoying the heavenly substance when her friend, Yuhi Kurenai, sat down beside her and motioned for the bartender to get her a shot of Kumo's famous alcoholic beverage 'Bolt' as per usual.

"What's up Kurenai-chan?" Anko asked in a slurred tone letting it be known that she was quite far gone already.

"Nothing much Anko, I just got done with training my genin team for the day, I swear, ever since Kiba went on a date with this 'mystery babe' he keeps gloating about he has become even more intolerable – if that's even possible" she said with a sigh as Anko giggled drunkenly at her best friend's predicament.

"You should do what I told you to do" Anko began, taking another sip of her saki before continuing "neuter the dog-boy now so he doesn't cause any of us sexy kunoichi any problems when his balls drop" she said crudely making Kurenai snort in amusement. She may not approve of her friend's crude humor or sadistic ways, but sometimes she imagined giving in to the 'dark side' and doing exactly as she suggests – it was a wonderful dream if anything.

"I swear Anko, if he keeps going the way he is I just might – the way he's been talking about her body and what he's apparently seen, I can tell he'll become a grade 'A' pervert" she said with a sigh "if I have to listen to him talking about her 'perfect ass' or her 'gorgeous jugs' I'll just have to let it slip to his mother and sister just how much of a pervert he's becoming" she said, with a sadistic smirk that looked out of place on the 'ice-queen's' normally stoic features.

Anko let out a loud snort of amusement when the mental picture ran through her mind before turning a smirk on her friend "You really are becoming more and more like me Kurenai-chan" she said, as the images of Kiba's mother Tsume and sister Hana chasing him around with a pair of scissors while throwing kunai at his privates flashed through her mind's eye.

"So, how're things with you?" asked Kurenai, now that she had sufficiently ranted enough to calm down sufficiently.

"Oh, just peachy" she replies, with another 'un-lady' like snort before taking another sip "just the usual, dreaming about the torture I intend on giving to a certain Uzumaki brat the next time I see him, that prick" she said wit ha sneer as she continued to drink "he thinks he's so cool, what, with his Pocky and straw hat, I swear, the first thing I'll do is shove a few pocky sticks up his ass and make him eat them afterwards, Kukuku" she ranted, as Kurenai listened patiently, already used to her friend's usually grotesque torture methods that she had no idea how she could derive pleasure from.

"Ohayo Kurenai-chan, Anko-chan" greeted another voice before plopping down on the seat beside Kurenai and ordering a bottle of sake. Anko watched with a raised eyebrow as the newcomer went to lean in as if to kiss Kurenai before checking himself and pulling back after seemingly noticing his surroundings. She also had to stifle a laugh when Kurenai did the same before blushing slightly and looking away from the newcomer, hoping to save her 'reputation' just in case someone noticed.

"Smooth Monkey-boy, real smooth" commented Anko as the cigarette in Sarutobi Asuma's mouth dropped from his mouth onto the bench and Kurenai flushed with embarrassment.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Anko-chan" Kurenai stated firmly, after making sure she was no longer blushing from embarrassment. Asuma just replaced the cigarette in his mouth before chuckling nervously "Yeah, what the lady said".

"Right" Anko replied with a snort "if it was any more obvious, I would probably have to start sending out wedding invitations" she said with amusement, enjoying how uncomfortable her best friend and her not-so-secret boyfriend were getting.

"At least we talk about something other then the topic of each other twenty four hours of the day" replied Kurenai with a small smirk "I mean, at least we don't dream about our object of interest every night either" Kurenai finished with a large smirk as Asuma coughed loudly to try and clear his throat of…something.

Anko put down her sake and glared back at Kurenai "I hope you're not implying what I think you're implying" she said in a dangerous tone that usually promised pain to anyone who continued to speak after it was administered, luckily for Kurenai, she was exempt from most of the dangerous tortures her friend would dish out on her.

"Well, that all depends on what you think I'm implying Anko-chan" shot back Kurenai, her smirk only getting larger. It felt good to make someone else uncomfortable, especially if that someone else was none other then Mitarashi Anko.

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"That's it teme, you're going down" Anko snarled, jumping up from her stool and threatening to clobber Kurenai however she was aptly defeated by gravity and fell head first into the ground, most likely a result of her being well on her way to being shit faced.

While Anko was groaning and kissing the hard wood of the bar floor, she saw Kurenai about to open her mouth to comment and stopped it by throwing a kunai in her direction and nicking her cheek "Make one stupid joke about me being 'head over heals' and I swear to Kami, the next time you and Asu-chan are getting freaky, I'll personally stick as many snakes as I can into each of your bodily orifices – trust me, it will hurt and I will enjoy it" Anko said, glaring with fury at the two people who must have been responsible for her making a fool of herself.

"Hey, what the hell did I do?!" asked Asuma with indignation while Kurenai just slapped her forehead and moaned in despair, Asuma should know better then to question a pissed off Anko.

"What did you say teme?" Anko asked from behind Asuma, still sober enough to Shunshin behind the bearded jounin and aim a kunai right at his crotch.

Knowing that the next few words he says will determine whether or not he'll ever had kids again, Asuma stuttered out a response "N-nothing a-at all, A-Anko-sama. I was wrong to question you" he finished, hoping to god that was enough to placate the dangerous woman.

Anko grinned with approval at his response. She had felt that she didn't have it in her to be fearsome anymore when a brat that was barely in his teens could stand up to her and not show an ounce of fear – it was good to know that she still instilled fear thought she vowed to get the Uzumaki brat to beg her for mercy the next time they met.

Orochimaru sat in his 'throne room' at Otogakure no Sato stewing over his recent encounter with the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Out of all the abilities he was expecting when the child inevitably sought him out, he did not expect to encounter bugs similar to the kind of an Aburame clan member who have a symbiotic relationship with insects so they can use them in combat.

Imagine his surprise when one of his loyal followers brings him the new version of the Bingo book which always is re-released monthly with the newest info on bounties to be claimed on missing-nin and other criminals, only to find information about this new enemy. Uzumaki Naruto, the boy was apparently capable of performing Genjutsu of the highest caliber without the use of hand seals, add to that the ability he no doubt inherited from his ex-sensei, he would be a strong opponent indeed.

When he first read about the ability the boy possessed, he immediately thought of the Sharingan, but he stopped considering that possibility when he remembered who the child's parents were, neither of whom were Uchiha. Nevertheless, the ability he possesses is no doubt a by-product of his tenant, a Kitsune and by nature, a master of illusions. This piqued his interests as if he could get someone of such caliber to work for him, he would become even more deadly and not even his old associates at the Akatsuki would attack him without thinking twice.

As he thought about the Akatsuki, he glanced sideways to a jar with an old wrinkled hand in it with the Akatsuki ring still attached to it before the images of how that incident happened flashed through his mind – Uchiha Itachi slicing off his arm when Orochimaru first left Akatsuki, no doubt ordered to by their esteemed leader.

As Orochimaru continued to brood about his past and his plans for the not too distant future, he was interrupted when there was a knock at the door of his chambers.

"Enter" he hissed out dangerously, he always welcomed people like this so they immediately knew not to test his patience.

Yakushi Kabuto, his trusty spy in Konoha walked through the door and bowed low. It was the fact that he valued the youth's abilities that saved him from the treatment the rest of his followers received.

"Orochimaru-sama" greeted Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses by pushing them up the bridge of his nose with two fingers, causing the lenses to shine. This caused Orochimaru to chuckle, that had become a trademark of Kabuto's to cause his glasses to shine like that, it was a way they unofficially signaled each other so that if ever Kabuto was compromised, Orochimaru would know immediately.

"What is it Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked, he may value his skills, but no one was safe from his wrath when he was in a bad mood and the boy could pretty much heal any of the injuries he sustains nearly instantly anyway.

"There was an incident last night in Konoha, one that I thought should be brought to your attention" he supplied, now standing and leaning against the wall while addressing his superior.

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"Do go on" Orochimaru urged, knowing that Kabuto never left his post unless it was important so by product, this would indeed interest him.

"Last night, somebody created a diversion for all of Konoha's shinobi to be distracted by with the use of hundreds of Bunshin disguised as Suna and Oto shinobi" he said simply and Orochimaru immediately knew the importance of this. Not only would Konoha be prepared for a possible alliance between the two nations, they would be prepared for an attack, but what bothered him was the purpose behind such a diversion, was somebody under his command trying to gain favor by jump starting his carefully thought out operations? That person will pay dearly indeed.

As Kabuto watched his master stew on that information, he decided he had waited long enough in silence and continued "Orochimaru-sama, they were done with the use of mainly several dozen Kage Bunshin disguised to look like our shinobi" he supplied before continuing "which means that it was more then one person or…"

"Someone who has enough chakra and stamina to summon such a large number of Kage Bunshin" he finished, his eyes flashing dangerously and Kabuto instantly knew he had to watch what he said now, his master was angry and whenever he was angry, bad things happened "How is it that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki knows of our plans?" he hissed out menacingly.

"If I were to hazard a guess Orochimaru-sama" he began, getting a nod from his master to continue "His previous sensei" he began with a smirk that was mirrored by Orochimaru, both enjoying having done away with the troublesome puppet master "was always well informed about the happenings of all the shinobi nations, perhaps Naruto-kun has his own spy network, or maybe he has something similar to what your old partner had with me in various important and high up shinobi, either way, I think it is safe to say that he knows and now, we can be certain Konoha knows too" he supplied, hoping Orochimaru wouldn't deem it necessary to throttle him, even if he saw no reason to be punished, Orochimaru usually found one.

"Kukukuku" Orochimaru began, chuckling evilly before breaking out in maniacal laughter that sent shivers down his spine, it was just creepy "Naruto-kun is indeed impressive" he said with a wide grin before his overly large snake like tongue came out of his mouth and licked at the side of his face "I will have him and the powers of the Kyuubi under my control soon" he finished, all traces of humor gone while Kabuto smirked along with his master.

Author's Note:

This came later then expected and I have a few reasons:

I was having trouble thinking how I was going to play out the invasion part of the Chunin exams, mainly where Gaara and the Suna sibs are involved. I have an idea of what I want to happen now and I only hope that it is fresh and believable, as with the rest of my story.

Also, I suddenly had a spastic urge that I had to force down to write a new story. I don't know if it happens often but as I was writing this chapter, as well as watching certain movies, I had ideas for two new stories, one Harry Potter and the other another Naruto story. I'm probably going to write the Harry Potter one as I'm just as disappointed, more so then with Naruto fanfiction, at the lack of quality in recent stories in that category. That story will be mega long going from his birth to beyond seventh year.

Lastly, I got a new keyboard because my old one broke down and I threw it out the window – I might have overreacted slightly, yes – and I needed to get used to writing with the new keyboard. I don't know if this happens with other people, but I just can't write as well with different keyboards, so I had to get used to it. I used my leet ninja skills to get my writing up to the same speed as before and there shouldn't be a problem with that again.

Reviews and what not. Adios.