Well, there was a tie between Onigakure and Shinigakure, so if there are no complaints, I'll go for the middle ground. Keep reading to find out what that is. Oh, and I was asked how Sasuke was borrowing Naruto's power. He took one of the pills made of Naruto's demon chakra, remember?
"The Aka-what now?" Naruto asked Sasuke. The raven-haired shinobi massaged his aching temples before answering.
"The Akatsuki. Orochimaru told Himaru-sensei about them. Apparently they're a group of S-class missing ninja bent on capturing the Jinchuriki." Naruto's usually grinning face was plastered into a frown at this point. "Their members, as Orochimaru knows them, are Sasori of the Red Sands from Suna, Deidara from Iwa, Kisame from Kiri, who you managed to kill," Sasuke's eyes shot to the claimed Samehada, all wrapped up in protective cloth, "a pair named Hidan and Kakuzu, some sort of plant man named Zetsu, my…brother and an unknown leader."
"Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I caught Fish-face off guard, but I doubt I can pull that trick off again." Sasuke frowned at his friend's seriousness. He only admitted he wasn't invincible when things were really getting to him. "Well, you should head back to the village. I'm still recruiting people. Oh, and tell Himaru-sensei that Ero-sennin is teaching me a cool new jutsu called the Rasengan!" Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment before they were shut by a jolt of pain from his head.
"Damn I hate those pills…okay, don't die while I'm gone, dobe." Sasuke stood from his seat on the hotel bed before leaping out the window.
"Can I come in now?" Naruto's frown deepened.
"It's not like you haven't heard every word we've said, anyway." Jiraiya sighed. He'd been able to sense the kid's killing intent from ten feet away from the room.
"So, what's this about a village? Didn't the old man give you a 'vacation' while he dealt with the old farts on the council?" Naruto studied the right side of the room.
"Promise not to tell, E-Jiraiya-sensei?" The legendary pervert raised an eyebrow.
"You have my word."
"We're starting our own village."
"Not surprising." Naruto practically leapt out of the hotel room when he heard the new voice. He came face to face with a busty blonde and a black-haired young woman holding a pig.
"Eh? Are you two…with Ero-sennin?" Naruto didn't even have time to ask why the blonde's eye was twitching before a fist sent him slamming into the wall.
"Me? With that pervert! Why you little brat I'll-"
"Tsunade-sama, don't!"
"Let go, Shizune!" If it had been anyone other than Tsunade, Jiraiya would have loved to see two women wrestle. But it was Tsunade, so he was hiding in the corner next to Naruto.
"Naruto," he whispered, "that's my teammate, Tsunade!" The young blond wore a look of complete confusion as he finally peeled himself away from the wall.
"Huh? So you're old?" Naruto barely ducked in time to avoid another fist, this one nearly shattering the wall. "Eep!" Now he was behind Jiraiya. "She reminds me of Sakura-chan!" For some reason unknown to Jiraiya, Naruto was pretty close to shedding tears of fear.
"What the-Don't hide behind me, you brat!" Tsunade's eye started twitching as she watched the pair wrestle over who'd be behind the other.
"That ENOUGH!" Both of them froze, Naruto in mid-punch with Jiraiya pinching and pulling his cheeks. "You better explain why you brought me to see the brat. He's not exactly inspiring me to take the lousy Hokage job." Before she knew it, the other blond was in her face.
"What do you mean lousy!?" Tsunade didn't back down.
"What are you screeching about? You're leaving the damned village."
"Yeah, but I'm doing it to make a new one! Before that I wanted to be Hokage! They're heroes, and I'll never stop respecting them!" A sad smirk came to Tsunade's face.
"Heroes? Respect? Ha, they're just a bunch of idiot, giving up their lives for such a worthless village." Naruto's fist clenched.
"Why you-How can you ridicule them!? You were a shinobi of Konoha once, weren't you? Why'd you give up!?" Tsunade's smirk turned to a scowl.
"Watch it, punk." Naruto's expression of rage dimmed into a look of contempt, something that seemed unfitting on his face.
"I can see it in your eyes. You lost someone to the life of a ninja, so you quit. That's pathetic." Tsunade swung a wild punch, and Naruto simply sidestepped it. "If they were ninja, what do you think they'd want you to do? You're selfish."
"That's it, brat!" Tsunade's fist crashed into Naruto's chest, hurling him through the wall. Still enraged, she jumped down after him, sliding down the wall with chakra.
"Tsunade-sama, stop!" Shizune cried as both she and Jiraiya leapt out of the hotel to follow. As Naruto lay sprawled across the ground, he felt a strong grip lift him up by the collar.
"What do you think now, brat?" Tsunade said as she held him up with a clenched fist. Her smirk vanished when Naruto grinned at her.
"That you're selfish and stupid." Too late did she notice the chaotic, whirling ball of chakra in his limp hand. She tried to throw him away, but the malformed Rasengan exploded, sending them both dozens of feet in opposite directions. As Naruto struggled to fight off unconsciousness, he saw a dirtied Tsunade stand over him.
"I'll make you a bet: master the Rasengan in a week, and I'll not only be Hokage but I'll also give you this necklace. Fail, and you give up your dream of a new village." Naruto smirked slightly as his vision started to cloud.
"Deal."
"Good morning, Naruto-kun." The blond's eyes blinked open to see Shizune standing over him.
"Eh? You were with the old hag a couple of days ago." The black-haired girl smiled lightly.
"I'm Shizune, Tsunade-sama's assistant. I saw you black out again while you were training with the Rasengan. Look, Tsunade-sama wanted to-"
"Don't bother," Naruto shushed her with a grin, "I've already figured it out." Shizune couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in disbelief, but Naruto's grin just widened. "Like a shoe in a can, Shizune-neechan. Like a shoe in a can." Shizune opened her mouth as if to question him, but a loud boom rocked the building.
"What was that!?" Shizune cried as she calmed Ton-ton. Meanwhile, Naruto was on his feet and snarling.
"I smell a snake!" Dark blue chakra started to seep out of him as he leapt out the nearest window and landed on all fours. Sure enough, a giant, eight-headed snake filled the horizon with Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"So this is the demon that possessed Orochimaru." Tsunade was already in a fighting position, as was Jiraiya by her side.
"Yes, but don't worry. He may be big, but he hasn't gotten his full power back yet. Sarutobi-sensei, Orochimaru and I beat him last time pretty easily.
"Fools…" Orochi hissed as he began to twist and morph, finally finishing in a poof of smoke. Now he stood before them in the body of a certain white-haired Oto medic.
"Kabuto?" Naruto crashed in between the to Sannin. He'd heard from Himaru that the white-haired boy was a traitor, and now he looked to be possessed by Orochi. Without a word to any of them, Orochi pulled Kusanagi out of nowhere and slit his own arm. Tsunade gasped and froze, rooted to the spot.
"Tsunade?" Jiraiya turned to look at his old teammate for just a moment, but that was all Orochi needed to summon a giant snake to ram the Toad Sannin away from his hemophobic teammate, and charge the petrified busty kunoichi. Kusanagi met claws as Naruto intercepted, struggling to push the possessed Kabuto away. Orochi narrowed now slit eyes at the blond boy.
"Kyuubi…" A Curse Seal spread from underneath Kabuto's collar in a ring pattern. With enhanced strength, he shoved even one-tail Naruto out of the way and reared back to slash Tsunade.
"First Gate: Release!"A foot connected with Kabuto's jaw and sent him rocketing into the air. Naruto leapt up after him, pulling his bandages away wit his teeth. "Renge!" Bandages wrapped around Kabuto's body before Naruto aimed him and planted him like a turnip. Once Kabuto's possessed body was halfway in the ground, Naruto leapt away to reach Tsunade again, who was just looking at him in shock.
"What? I still have to win the bet." Naruto grinned with his long canines, and blood spilled out of his mouth. His eyes traveled downward in shock as the Kusanagi stuck out of his stomach.
"You really are just like Kyuubi, so arrogant, so foolish," Orochi said with Kabuto's voice as he pulled Kusanagi out of Naruto to let the boy fall to his knees. "Now die." Kabuto brought the legendary sword down, but onto Tsunade. "Wh-what?" Orochi hissed and pulled Kusanagi away to strike again, but once more Tsunade took the blow. "Why do you interfere?"
"Because she's the Godaime Hokage!" Naruto was up and beside Tsunade, a clone to his right and a perfect Rasengan in between their three hands. Naruto plunged the hanyou-enhanced jutsu into Orochi's stomach, sending him backward in a ferocious, but one-sided, explosion of chakra until he finally crashed into a nearby boulder. Orochi staggered to his feet, Kabuto's healing abilities coming into play, until he started hacking out blood from the internal effects of the Rasengan.
"Damn you…" Just as the snake demon spoke, the giant snake and several of its kin that had been summoned beforehand came crashing down around him before poofing out of existence.
"The Toad Mountain Sage is back!" Jiraiya cried triumphantly as he made his entrance, a battle-ready Shizune at his side. Orochi's eyes narrowed as he scanned his four opponents.
"I'll be back, humans." With that, the snake disappeared into the shadow of the boulder. Once all trace of his presence was gone, Naruto turned to Tsunade and grinned.
"I win, Tsunade-baachan."
"Oh, shut up, brat." Indeed, Naruto hadn't stopped bragging all day since the battle with Orochi.
"Why should I? I won the bet, and mastered the Rasengan in a week!" A vein throbbed on Tsunade's head, and Naruto just closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. Instead, she lifted up his hitai-ate and kissed his forehead before looping her necklace around Naruto's neck.
"I hope the necklace serves your village better than it has ours." Naruto grinned and bowed his head, a very unusual act for the fox boy.
"Thanks, Tsunade-baachan! See ya' later!"
"Stop calling me old!" Tsunade half-heartedly swung her fist, but Naruto was already gone, his laughter echoing through the city. Once his presence was gone as well, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya.
"Well come on, let's get back to Konoha. I need to sort out the council so I can smack the brat around."
"You have such a big mouth…" Himaru said before smacking Naruto upside his head. "If too many people find out about our little village too soon, the old farts on the Konoha council could push to have us all executed for treason!" Himaru emphasized with another punch.
"Ow! What's it matter? Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baachan won't tell!"
"Not sober, she won't…" Himaru mumbled and massaged his temples. "Oh well, at least you learned the Rasengan. That'll come in handy. Now come on, we have enough villagers for now, so I have a new assignment for you." Naruto grinned and had to resist bouncing up and down.
"Ooh, ooh, what is it?"
"You brought Samehada, right?" Naruto nodded and unconsciously rubbed one of his arms.
"Yeah, the crazy thing keeps trying to attack me unless I exert chakra."
"I want you to go undercover into Kirigakure. Bring Samehada, but disguise it. If my theory is correct, a certain boy will come to you." Naruto quirked an eyebrow.
"Who?" At this, a sly smile curved up Himaru's face.
"Samehada's true owner, of course. The Jinchuriki of the Sanbi no Same, the three-tailed shark!" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise for an instant before one of the biggest grins of all time spread across his face. He was going to meet another one of the people like him.
"No problem, Himaru-sensei!" Naruto rushed over to the spot where he had laid Samehada down and made sure it was firmly wrapped up and hidden from view.
'This was why you told me to bring the sword, huh Kyuubi?'
"Of course, kit. Now hurry up, Sanbi will make a powerful ally." Naruto only nodded before taking of his Konoha hitai-ate andburying it in the sand.
"Sorry, but I can't exactly wear you in another hidden village." Naruto patted the spot before heaving Samehada onto his back. "Don't worry, you'll be with your owner soon." To the blond's surprise, the sword stopped writhing, and almost emitted an air of…happiness. Naruto shook of his surprise and was off at full speed running across the waves.
"You're going to burn yourself out at this rate, kit."
'What else and am I supposed to do?'
"You can summon giant toads and you're asking me this?" Naruto stopped and just stood on top of the water.
'Eh…'
"You can be really stupid sometime, kit."
'Shut-up!' "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" With a giant puff of smoke, Gamabunta appeared underneath Naruto.
"What the-" The giant toad unleashed a giant wave as he fell into the water before spluttering to the surface. "Na-ru-to…"
"Don't toads like water?" Naruto asked in genuine confusion as he looked down at Gamabunta.
"This is SALT water, you nincompoop! I'm a toad, we live in FRESH water!" Naruto blinked and tilted his head to the side.
"Eh, what's the difference?" There was a brief pause before Gamabunta smacked himself and dragged his webbed hand down.
"Never mind, brat. Now what do you want?"
"How fast can you get me to Kiri?" Unfortunately for Naruto, he couldn't see the sadistic grin spread across Gamabunta's face.
"Just watch." Gamabunta shot off through the water to a small island, stopping on it for an instant before using it to leap through the air. He soared through the sky for miles before crashing into the waves just short of the shore, dunking Naruto in the salty sea. Naruto released a muffled scream as the salt stung his eyes and lips before Gamabunta rose and shot off again, stopping just as he hit the shore to send Naruto flying into some trees.
"Is that all you got?" Naruto taunted as he shakily rose from the fragmented trees and started wobbling from foot to foot. Gamabunta snorted in satisfaction.
"Just get back on, brat. Kirigakure's still a couple of hops away." Naruto nodded before slowly climbing his way back up the toad boss.
Said hops later…
Naruto slid off of Gamabunta before dismissing him just a few hundred yards away from Kirigakure's gates. Naruto readied himself to run, but stopped with his foot just an inch above the ground. "Damn, if I run, they'll know I'm a ninja." Not trusting himself to be able to run slowly, Naruto started the walk toward the gates.
"State your business," one of the Kiri chuunin guards said, moving to block off the gate. Naruto took a deep breath before answering.
"Family visit. I have a cousin here." The chuunin nodded before moving aside and letting Naruto through. As soon as the gate clanged close behind him, Samehada started the throb. Gently at first, then constant and hard, pulling him in one direction.
"Hey, hey, hold it!" Naruto said, trying not to shout lest he draw attention to himself. As discreetly as he could, Naruto tried to wrestle the wrapped up blade into submission.
"Samehada…" Naruto's eyes widened in fear for a moment. Had he been exposed? He whirled into a fighting stance, but the person in front of him wasn't a ninja. He looked to be around twelve or thirteen and of average height. His skin was pale, probably from being hidden in Kirigakure's constant fog, and he had scruffy, blue hair. His most noticeable features, however, were a set of sharp teeth, and piercing yellow eyes. Naruto couldn't help but smile as the realization of this person's identity hit him, and he released his hold on Samehada, who practically flew to the boy's side.
"What's up, cousin?"
"Who are you?" Naruto gave the boy a foxy grin.
"Holder of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and in a warped sort of way, your cousin."
"Why did you have Samehada?" Naruto's eye twitched and he sweat dropped.
"You're not very trusting are you?" Naruto's eyes ran over the boy's rags, er, clothes, and decided he couldn't really blame him. "I killed the guy who had it last, and I was told it was yours. Now I have a proposition for you: How would you like to come with me?" The blue-haired boy narrowed his eyes.
"To where?" Naruto resisted a smile when he heard the faint hope in the other boy's voice.
"To a new village. One where people like us can be accepted and live in peace. A village where we'll prove the whole world wrong!" A small smile crept up the other Jinchuriki's face before he stuck out his free hand.
"You have a deal…?"
"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."
"Ittou. Ittou Yuushi" Naruto grasped Ittou's hand and shook it.
"Nice to meet you, Ittou. Now, let's get you out of here."
"How? The guards know my face, and a Henge won't get past them." Naruto grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"If there's anything I'm good at, it's distractions."
As the pair soared through the air, riding another giant toad, not quite as big as Gamabunta, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Ittou was sitting beside him, red as a tomato. For their little escape, Naruto had conjured several dozen shadow clones, and unleashed his harem jutsu on the poor unsuspecting guards.
"Naruto-sama?"
"Don't call me 'sama', but what is it?"
"May I unwrap Samehada?"
"Eh? Of course, it's your sword." Ittou nodded and tore through the Samehada's bandages. First the one's laid by Naruto to hide its shape, and then the one's Kisame kept around it, revealing its scaly blade to the sunlight. Naruto whistled at the giant sword.
"Dang. That thing looks cool." There was a powerful bump as their steed hit the water, but he managed to stay afloat and begin swimming. "So, Ittou, are you a ninja?" The boy's face turned steely.
"No, they wouldn't let a monster join the academy." Naruto snorted and spit into the ocean.
"Bastards. Frankly, I've found Kyuubi to be better company than most humans." Ittou stared wide-eyed at him.
"Y-you can talk to your Bijuu?" Naruto nodded.
"Yep. Once we get to the village, Himaru-sensei can fix your seal a little bit so you can, too.
"Naruto-sama, what is this village of yours called?" Naruto ignored the suffix and thought for a moment.
"Makaigakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in Hell)!"
Well, what do you think? If there are enough complaints, I'll change it, but for now I think it fits. Anyway, please read and review!