Ninja of the Void

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it.

"Talking"

Thoughts

The Eyes that Lie

"Danzo" said Hiruzen giving his former teammate his respect.

"Hiruzen" he replied back. Then spotting the extra, "who is she?"

"No one of real consequence" Hiruzen assured. "She will not be partaking in this meeting in any form or way" stressing the last part causing Kushina to cringe a bit while giving a strained chuckle internally.

Looking to all the elders in the room, Kushina's eyes fell on the crippled looking man as her gaze narrowed a bit. This wasn't the first time she had met Danzo, but frankly she didn't really like him as something about the man reeked of an uncomfortable aura. Like her predecessor Mito who came before her, she shared the ability with the Kyubi to sense the emotional presence of the people around her. Just being around Danzo, he didn't feel anything like Hiruzen as something ominous and unpleasant surrounded him. Even now she sensed negative intent coming from him. "But if he tries anything I'll definitely stop him for sure" Kushina thought confidently.

"But before discussing the next hokage, there are a few affairs that first needs to be discussed" said Danzo.

"Agreed" said Koharu and Homura giving a nod to this.

"Starting first" Danzo continued, "concerning our recently filled prison wards, we should make an example to the sand and sound by executing all the prisoners in show to them that we will not tolerate such acts of aggression without consequences. With the Ichibi in our possession, it brings us a most grand opportunity to extract the beast to be used for our benefit".

"I cannot condone that" Hiruzen instantly rebutted. "It has already been made fact that Orochimaru orchestrated this travesty as Suna was caught up within his web of deceit. Killing prisoners is hardly a humane way to behave especially when our goal is to promote peace between the villages. Aside from that, we have recently come to learn that they have captured one of our own while he was investigating the suspicious activities that were going on. I believe it's in our interest not to do something so brash if we want to save his life".

"Hayate?" Danzo questioned. "Irrelevant, he is but one life in comparison to the hundreds we were able to capture. Are you possibly considering something as absurd as negotiating the life of one for the hundreds we have? You have grown far too soft Hiruzen" Danzo then said to which he looked to the two other elders.

"I agree" stated Homura. "They must be made an example of. They must all die to show all the villages that we should not be trifled with and that we will not show weakness in any form".

"There is no point to allowing them to live" said Koharu. "We have showed our humility long enough. It's time to bring this nonsense to a close".

The old hokage's eyes became shaded underneath his hat as he folded his hands in front of him. "I will take this under advisement".

"You will decide this now" then said Danzo in a sharper tone. "Be more reasonable. There is no need to have these prisoners. If they cannot be converted to our side then we have no use for them and should be put to death".

Hiruzen remained silent for a moment to absorb what was said to him. " . . . . I understand your point. There execution shall be scheduled if our top interrogator is unable to convince them to shift their allegiance to us. When possible, our top seal experts will begin to extract the Ichibi if their jinchuriki is unwilling to be converted to us".

Danzo gave simple nod to this. "On the subject of jinchurikis, I believe it to be wise to retract Naruto Uzumaki's promotion from chunin back to genin. With his chunin status, he will have more freedom on missions and more liberties outside the village. I believe this to be a mistake as the Kyubi that resides inside of him to be too much of an important asset to be allowed to leave the village beyond a certain point. He is far too great of a military power to be let out of our sight as the demon fox is the strongest of the nine bijuus and should remain within the safety of our custody".

"And what would you suggest?" Homura questioned sensing this was going somewhere.

"With the boys increasing proficiency in controlling the beast's powers, I believe he would better serve Konoha by being placed under Anbu care. But more specifically under my tutelage".

"If memory serves correctly" as Koharu thought carefully about this, "your 'Roots' program should no longer be in existence".

"With this recent invasion, all the more reason why you should bring 'Roots' back. If my special Anbu were around, this invasion would have never occurred as the threat would have been silenced even before reaching our door step".

"Your point is quite valid" said Hiruzen. "If Naruto is growing in power he needs a proper teacher and environment to help hone his skills. You are indeed a splendid choice Danzo, but your 'Roots' program will still continue to remain disbanded".

The old crippled grimace a bit as he narrowed his eye to this. "Very well, but onto others matters with so many of sand and sound ninjas in our custody based on overall demographics of their villages we have effectively taken away the majority of their military strength for both these villages. If we decide to invade sand and sound, there will be little to oppose us with no fewer than a handful of chunin and jonin level ninjas. With this in mind, if we muster our forces effectively we can take both villages claiming their territory as ours allowing us to expand Konoha's influence".

The two other elders gave a nod to this to which Hiruzen subsequently agreed as well. From there, other trivial matters were discussed which covered many of the dynamics of Konoha's functionality such as the usage of funding, allocation of resources, and prioritizing of duties.

But after a few hours or so of talking, "let us break for a moment and then reconvene when we are rested a bit as we shall then discuss who my next successor shall be". Giving an agreeing nod, the elders departed for a bit to stretch their legs to which Kushina followed as she began to wander around outside the hokage building to get some fresh air.

"This has proven to be a rather productive meeting. Even if I don't like his aura and the fact of how creepy he is he does raise a lot of valid points, and to think that my son is going to be trained by him. What an honor". But after saying all that . . . . "Why do I feel like something is . . . . Off. Ahh never mind, it's probably something stupid anyways".

"You are pretty stupid aren't you?"

Kushina's eyes twitched at this as her lips turned to a frown as she recognized that voice from anywhere. "So he wants to talk huh?"

~ Inner world ~

Walking within the infinite plain of her sub-consciousness, Kushina slowly walked along it until she arrived to the creature who called out to her. Standing before the imprisoned beast, the red head held her serious face as she was none too pleased with talking to the Kyubi. "What do you want?" she asked in a neutral tone. Ever since the time this monster was placed inside her soul, the word hate could not come to close to describing what she felt for it. However with the recent conversation she had with her son, she'd at least try to be more receptive to the bijuu. Albeit very hard, but she will try nonetheless.

"You really are stupid" the Kyubi grinned. "You haven't noticed it all at one bit have you".

"Are you here to waste my time? I don't have much patience to entertain you. So why don't you go away now".

The fox's grin then dropped as he looked seriously to Kushina. "This is very important that you need to listen now and get this through your thick skull as you were never one for learning quickly".

Her eye twitched a bit at the fact the Kyubi was insulting her. "Then speak you stupid fox. I don't want to spend any more time with you then I have too".

The demon fox growled a bit as he didn't like being insulted either by her. But settling back down trying to keep a level head, "that man Danzo . . . . You can't possibly trust him".

"Of course I don't. That guy gives everyone around him the willies. Not to mention the negative intent I keep sensing from him keeps nudging at me".

"Then don't you find it a bit strange that you're so easily giving your son to him without so much a thought of disapproval?"

"Yeah but . . . . Danzo will make a great teacher to Naruto".

"Fool!" the Kyubi roared blowing up Kushina's hair a bit. "Think about it! If you were of a right mind you would not be so compliant to whatever that man is saying! None of you would!"

"What are you talking about?" as Kushina eyed the fox carefully. "You're not suggesting he's brainwashing us somehow are you? How stupid do you think I am? I've been watching him the entire time. He hasn't since the time we entered the room and exited used any form of genjutsu. Even for the argument that I might have missed it, jiisan or the other elders would have easily noticed it if it were happening".

"It's not a genjutsu you can sense through normal methods. It's seems the only way to escape this genjutsu is by knowing it's being casted on you . . . ."

"What are you talking about?" as Kushina was getting more impatient. "Get to the point of what you're trying to say".

"That man . . . . He's used a sharingan eye and instantly casted a genjutsu on you all giving you the idea to be more accepting of what he says".

Upon hearing this, one of her eyebrows arched. "Are you saying he's like Kakashi and has an eye implanted in his head?" Then placing her hand to her chin, "but now that I think about it, he could easily hide it with those bandages on his head". But then she snapped back looking to the fox with scrutinizing eyes. "But then there is a hole in what you're saying! If what you say is true, then why aren't you affected? You share my senses, so you shouldn't be able to escape the genjutsu either".

The Kyubi then gave a low snarl at this. "I recognize the stink of an Uchiha's chakra or technique anywhere. Once that man entered the room, I made sure that anything he did wouldn't work on me".

"Aren't we touchy about the Uchiha's?" Kushina said a bit sarcastically which earned her a growl from the fox as she was somewhat aware of the twisted relationship it shared with the clan. But then switching back to her serious demeanor, ". . . . I do agree that something does seem off" as she placed a hand over her heart. "I know of the kinds of things Danzo is connected too as I would normally never allow Naruto to get involved with. This ache deep down is telling me that what he's saying is wrong even though by mind is saying the opposite. But even if what you said is true, I then ask why would you care? I know you care nothing for humans and even less so for the wellbeing of Konoha. So why help?"

The Kyubi remained silent to this as he looked down to his red-headed jinchuriki. Thinking about it, the thought of Naruto crossed his mind as well as the encounter he had with his future self. After what seemed like a decent amount of time, "I have my reasons . . . . Something you wouldn't understand".

". . . . Whatever" as Kushina soon returned back to the real world.

~ Konoha (Hokage's office) ~

After a brief recess, everyone reconvened to talk about who the fifth hokage would be.

"As of right now, I am considering my old students Jiraiya and Tsunade as possible candidates for the position of hokage. Is there any additions or objections to the choices I have made?"

"No" said Homura.

"No" said Koharu.

"I do have an addition I'd like to make" said Danzo.

"Oh? And who would you consider to replace me?"

The old crippled closed his eye for a moment in contemplation before reopening it. "I believe I should replace you as the next hokage" which earned him a surprised look from everyone in the room. "No disrespect to your former student's Hiruzen, but with your retirement Konoha needs an experienced and dependable leader after the travesty that had occurred. If I were to be placed in charge I can assure that the objective of keeping Konoha safe will be achieved with the highest proficiency as no threat will come here ever again".

"You bring a valid point" said Koharu. "In times like these, we need a strong military leader to guide us".

"With your splendid war record" Homura continued, "this village's safety could not be in better hands".

Hiruzen gave an approving nod to this. "Indeed, with my retirement I'm going to need an experienced leader to ensure the safety of Konoha and its citizens. Although I can reference you into candidacy, the final say of hokage will come from the fire daimyo".

"That will not be a problem" as Danzo gave a rare smile. "I believe I will have no problem convincing him to make me the next hokage".

"No . . . ."

The group of elders disturbed by the comment looked to the woman who said it. "I believe you're being rude" said Koharu. "You were not invited to be a part of this meeting as the only reason you're here is by the word of the hokage that you wouldn't be a disturbance".

"Your presence has now become unwelcomed" then said Danzo with a bit of a glare in his eye. "Leave".

"No" Kushina then said again standing up now. "This is all wrong. None of this is making sense".

"Sit down" said Hiruzen trying the calm her sudden irrationality. "Please recall that you promised not to interfere in this meeting".

"I can't stay silent anymore!" as the hot blooded habenero felt her anger rising. Initially she didn't want to pay it much mind, but what the Kyubi said was true. Walking back into this meeting she wanted to prove the Kyubi wrong as she could then rub it back in his face with a great level of satisfaction. But testing his theory, it became all too clear to her that she and more than likely that the others were under a genjutsu. Thinking about the course of the meeting, it was difficult to trace the genesis of her thoughts back to their point of origin. But the determining factor was Danzo. As he continued to speak, thoughts that were not her own began contradicting her normal flow of thinking as never in a million years would she ever consider such a thing. Granted, it wasn't much proof to go on. But there was one way to find out for certain as she dashed at him intent on ripping the bandages off his face.

Before anyone could react, anbu was on her like white on rice as they restrained her before she could make it another inch closer.

"It would appear your guest was trying to attack me Hiruzen" said Danzo calmly with a slight hint of smugness in his tone.

"My deepest apologies for her brashness, I shall have a word with her later after this meeting has been concluded".

"You don't understand!" Kushina exclaimed trying to struggle her way out of the anbu's hold. "This is wrong! Nothing here is what it seems!"

"You're getting out of line now. Anbu, please escort her out to give her time to cool her head".

"Yes Hokage-sama".

Kushina let out a low growl as she knew at this point she was defeated as the anbu began dragging her out. Of course she couldn't openly accuse without any proof of any sort let alone an elder of Konoha of such a crime. So all she could do now was resign herself as she relaxed following the anbu out. "Yeah right!" as a gleam shined in her eye to which flicking around, she only had one shot to get this right so she had to make this count before she was subdued by the anbu again. Choosing her point of materialization, one of her spiked chakra chains popped out hitting her target dead center as it ripped open the bandages covering his head. However that wasn't the only thing she ended up taking as she took a bit more then she intended with ripping off the bandages that covered his arm. Almost instantly the anbu were right on her. However it didn't stop her or anyone else in the room from seeing what she had uncovered. "What have you done?" as Kushina's eyes were stretched open in shock.

Now before everyone to see, the old crippled ninja was not as crippled as he seemed. But more so was his grotesque image as several sharingan eyes were implanted into his unnaturally discolored right arm with another sharingan in his right eye socket in its mangekyo state.

"That tomoe configuration . . . . That's Shusui's eye" said Hiruzen as all the pieces started to come together as realization not only dawned on him but his other two teammates as well.

Koharu and Homura now stood up in anger as they looked to him. "All this time you've had one of Shusui's eyes. You've been using kotoamatsukami on us haven't you . . . ." to which another pause then occurred. Thinking about the chronology of things, the Uchiha massacre took place seven years ago. It was around the same time Shusui died as forensics suggested his eyes were missing which was assumed destroyed upon his death. But knowing the power Shusui's eyes had and if they were implanted seven years ago, this then created some disturbing and terrifying imagery. If Danzo could really use kotoamatsuki so freely, then for seven years he could have very well been manipulating Konoha to his machinations as there is no telling if anything they've ever done was truly of their own free will and choice.

Sparing not even a second longer, "seize him immediately!" to which more anbu appeared following their orders to apprehend Danzo.

"Damn" he cursed. Of course he knew that doing such a thing to the other elders and the hokage himself could very well be considered treason. But by the way he saw it; he was the necessary evil that needed to exist to keep Konoha safe. If not for him, Konoha could very well have been a burning crater in the ground with how many potential enemies the leaf village had. Even so of knowing his wrong doings, he found it despicable that he was going to be imprisoned for doing what was necessary. If this was how it was going to be, he'll go underground to continue his work. One day they would be begging why they never listened to him as it would then be his time to take over.

Looking around, there were plenty of anbu standing in his way. But with the sharingan eyes he had, escape should have been effortless as there was no one in the room not even Hiruzen who could stop him from leaving.

But before he could even flinch, everyone's movements were paralyzed as several chakra chains shot out from the floor, ceiling, and walls entangling everyone in the room like a spiders web. But before long, chain by chain began to disappear as the mysterious woman from earlier walked through them forcing them to disperse as any other extra chains vanished leaving only a completely entangled Danzo slightly suspended above the floor.

"These chains . . . . It can't be" as Danzo was truly shocked at this completely impossible event.

"You should know very well what these chains are capable of. Once I've caught you there is no way you can escape without my permission as all your movements and abilities are sealed as I assure you that this has been tested against Uchiha abilities before. Just in the event you managed too, I've already set up a barrier around sealing us all in. So there is no way for you to get out". She then put her hands together as she began to weave some seals. Before long she slammed her finger tips around his right eye giving a twisting motion as sutras encircled around the sharingan compressing and shrinking until all that was left was a pupil less eye. She quickly proceeded in sealing the other eyes that were grafted in his arm.

"What have you done!" as Danzo was outraged as he was not only blind in his right eye but all the eyes on his right arm had become pupil less. "Do you realize what you have done?"

"Yes" Kushina said simply. "I took away your stolen power to manipulate". Then giving a soft exhale she looked him in the eye. "You still don't understand do you? I know what your ideals are, and I can understand the desire to protect your home. But you don't seem to understand something. Altruism is a fine quality to have in any shinobi or human for that matter. But to throw away life like that . . . . I don't think you ever understood that the village is nothing without its people. A home can be replaced, but never lives".

". . . . Who the hell are you?"

Kushina smirked at this as she got right in his face. "Wouldn't you like to know?" and with that the anbu soon carted him away as order was soon restored back to the office.

But before long, "you . . . . Who are you?" Koharu questioned.

"Me?" as Kushina pointed to herself trying to act dumbly. "I'm no one important really".

"Do not lie to me" she then said harshly. "That technique, I've only known one person in this village to ever use it and she is dead already with her soul sealed away with the other hokages. So who are you? And don't you try to lie to me".

Upon this accusation, she was starting to give off nervous sweat. Using her technique was purely out of impulse as she wanted to stop Danzo from scheming as she didn't take possible future repercussions into consideration. But looking to the glaring eyes around her, she knew she was in hot water now. As her husband explained, it was best that they kept a low profile until they could return back to their own time. If discovered by some unsavory people, there was no telling what kind of disaster could occur especially for their son. Seeing the impatient glaring eyes around her, Kushina bit her lip slightly as she knew she had to say something soon or else she might end up being shipped to the prison ward.

But quickly coming to her aid, "that is not important right now" Hiruzen interjected adamantly. "What started as a peaceful meeting has revealed a possible deceit that has been going on for almost seven years. I think it would be better to focus our attention in unraveling this mess that has occurred".

Homura gave a nod to this. "Agreed, there is much work that needs to be done to which the discussion of the next hokage can be postponed for now" as everyone excluding the sandaime and his guest left to start the clean up/investigation.

". . . . Thanks, you saved me back there and . . . . I'm sorry for the rude interruption jiisan" said Kushina as she then dropped her henge.

"On the contrary" Hiruzen smiled, "I should be thanking you as without you we would have never uncovered this treachery to which I'm certain you'll tell me how you did it".

Kushina gave a delighted nod to this, but then turned to a frown as she looked to the elder hokage. "Jiisan . . . . About those sharingan eyes . . . . What has happened to the Uchiha clan?" giving a saddened look. "During this entire week I haven't seen a single Uchiha besides Sasuke. Where is everyone? What happened to my friend Mikoto?"

Hiruzen gave a troubled look as he took a deep inhale of his smoking pipe before exhaling as he then took a seat at his desk. "What I tell you here . . . . Does not leave this office beyond Minato . . . . Do you understand?"

~ Fire Country ~ (evening time)

"I hope everything back home is OK" thought Naruto. "I wonder why mom wanted Hinata-chan to stay with her . . . ."

It had only been a few minutes since his father hiraishin to Mount Myoboku which was where the frog summons lived. Of course his father was invited there a long time ago as he knew the way there as at this time he was talking to the head toad about allowing him entrance.

But standing around waiting for his dad to return his mind began to wander. He thought about his dad's brief explanation. Minato wanted him to learn sage chakra under the masters of Myoboku. Accordingly, sage chakra was supposed to be like some sort of energy of nature which he would learn to absorb and utilize somehow. Although he didn't understand it, his dad made it quite clear that if he learned sage chakra it would be better than doing a million pushups in a day. Furthermore, Jiraiya had learned this ability long ago which contributed in making him one of the legendary ninjas Konoha has ever had.

"But learning sage chakra can't be that hard can it? I mean ero-sannin managed to do it. If a perv like him could do it then so can I!"

Then in the next instant, Minato appeared along with a familiar orange toad.

"Gamakichi! It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Great" the little frog replied. "So I hear that you want to have your shot in becoming a sage".

"I guess so" as Naruto rubbed the back of his head not really certain how to respond as he still wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.

"Anyways, I'm here to formally invite you to the homeland of the toads".

"Let us be off then" as Minato placed his hand on his son's head before teleporting them away.

~ Mount Myoboku ~

"Wow . . . ." was all Naruto could say upon arriving to these foreign lands. Looking around he was surrounded by giant plant life one would normally see at a pond. Essentially this place could have been considered a toad's paradise. Although he had to tug his jacket a bit as the environment around him was quite humid even at night.

"I'm sorry for the late hour" Minato apologized as he looked to a very small old looking frog. "But this is something that needs to be accomplished as soon as possible to which I apologize again Fukusaku-san for disturbing you and the great sage at this time".

"It's no problem" as Fukusaku waved him off while rubbing his beard. But then looking to Naruto, the old toad gave a smirk. "So you're Naruto then? I've heard much about you from little Jiraiya and your father".

"What? Ero-sannin talks about me?"

"Ero-sannin?" a bit confused to the name, but soon laughed upon understanding. "It's quite fitting indeed" Fukusaku hollered holding his stomach to how funny it was. But calming back down, he looked to Naruto with an absolutely serious expression. "Now I've heard that you want to learn the ways of the toad sage, am I correct?"

"Yes" Naruto answered with confidence even though he was still clouded with uncertainty.

"Then do you understand the risks entailed? For the path you have chosen will not be an easy one".

"Well what's the worst that could happen?"

"Failure to properly control senjutsu . . . . Will result in death" Minato answered to which Naruto looked to him bug eyed. "This is why I had great reservation in even considering this idea as out of all those who tried to attain the power of the sage, only Jiraiya-sensei was able to accomplish this. For the reward is only equal to that of the risk. But this is the only thing I can think of in such short notice. Even so, a week's worth of time is already asking for too much as Jiraiya-sensei needed more time to learn senjutsu. But if you decide not too, I'll try to think of a way to square things off with Tsunade-sama and try to convince her to come back to Konoha".

Naruto then gave a troubled look as his gaze then shifted to the ground. There were many things that he needed to take into consideration. It wasn't uncommon for him to take risks to attain greater abilities or skills as he's been doing it for years albeit sometimes not his choice, "ero-sannin . . . ." he thought sourly. However he had quite a bit riding on this. He needed to win as at the most Tsunade had to return back to Konoha to help heal the injured. Additionally, if he lost he'd be her slave for the rest of his natural life which left bitterness in his mouth as frankly serving a drunken lady day in and out would have been a nightmare. But on the upside if he succeeded, he'd be one step closer to becoming a ninja everyone knew and acknowledged. So the idea of dying would have to take a back seat as usual as there was no way in his mind that he was going to fail to which he was going to make the deadline. "No! I'm going to do it! I'm going to become a sage and beat that old lady! There is no way I'm going to fail!"

Fukusaku and Minato could only look on surprised to the young blond's overwhelming confidence. Even with the great possibility of failure, the high chance of death, and the unreasonable timeline, it didn't deter Naruto one bit. "Definitely a trait he had inherited from both his parents" thought Fukusaku admirably. "Very well, we'll begin first thing tomorrow morning" giving a small smile. "So follow me as I'll show you where you'll be staying for the time being".

Following from behind, something struck Naruto as odd as he looked up to his dad. "Umm earlier you said that ero-sannin was the only one who had ever learned senjutsu successfully. Did you never try to learn it?"

"No" Minato answered rather simply.

"Huh? If senjutsu is awesome why didn't you learn it? You're the legendary ninja of Konoha. Something like learning senjutsu ought to be child's play to someone like you dad".

"Well I was offered the chance to learn once by Jiraiya-sensei, but senjutsu doesn't quite work with the way I always done things. For you see Naruto, I've always been a speed type as my tactics are revolved around hitting them fast and hard before moving on to the next objective. It's kind of the habit that I've developed over the years of battle of not wanting to waste valuable time against any opponents".

"Is that why you developed the rasengan in order to shorten the time frame between attacks?"

"Yes, for just the time to mold your chakra to the technique you want could get you killed as that's valuable time you using up. With senjutsu, it requires time to charge up and balance the necessary energies in order to make it effective which is time consuming. Granted this problem has already been rectified through Jiraiya-sensei's method. But it's just something not for me".

Naruto gave a thoughtful nod as what his father said made perfect sense. But if senjutsu was really as awesome as everyone said it was, then he would find a way to make it work.

"But while we're here Naruto, I'm going to try my best to teach you everything I know in this short amount of time. So be prepared as this is going to be a rather grueling week".

The young blond smirked at this giving a nod feeling himself getting pumped up. "I'll give it my all".

To be continued . . . .

Author's notes: To one of the reviewers, no you're not imagining it as there are Doctor Who references in the story. I think one Back to the Future one somewhere, and a few more time traveling references that might appear in future chapters.

Anyways I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. This first arc is coming to a close as it's all winding down to one single event as everything was set up for this purpose. It's just a matter of time when everything is finally in place for Naruto to connect all the pieces. But as a spoiler . . . . It all began and ended seven years ago.

After this arc is finished, this is when canon (more or less) will be completely abandoned as Naruto is going to have one hell of a journey in front of him. But for those wondering where the NaruHina will take more of a priority, that will be in the next arc when they're finally old enough to do more mature things. Plus it'll have a guest appearance of someone . . . . Particularly interesting.

So I thank everyone for taking the time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.