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Chapter Five

A dense fog shrouded the Leaf Village, the warmth of the morning sun too weak to disperse it. Sitting in the guard house of the village main gate were the two shinobi that first greeted the merchant. Both stared blankly into space until the sound of hooves alerted them. Looking toward town, they spotted a Clydesdale pulling a wagon. None other than Silver Dollar, driving Rubric, and his daughter rode it.

"Hey Silver," called one of the shinobi, "where you going? I thought you were settling down."

Halting the Clydesdale in front of the guardhouse, the merchant said, "Don't get me wrong boys. This village is a fine place to be. But I'm a man that can only stay in one place so long before feeling the need for the road again. Besides, I need to restock on goods." Gesturing to Fu, he said, "I'm taking my daughter with me. Probably not the best idea since she's in school, but I can teach her as we travel."

"Plan on coming back?" asked the bandaged shinobi.

"In about a month or so," said Silver with a smile. Waving a hand, he said, "Until then, may the Creator give his blessing to this village." The shinobi nodded and the merchant was off. He traveled down the road for a mile to make sure he was out of sight of the village. A wide smile crossed his face as he brought the wagon to a stop. "Do you think they suspected anything?"

Snorting, Fu said with a giddy smile, "They didn't have a Hyuga on watch. How could they know?"

At once both the merchant and the vertette jumped off the wagon. Silver whipped out his cane and smacked it once against the wheel. Within a minute the wagon was open. Rubric glanced over his shoulder before munching on grass at the edge of the road. "Alright Naruto," Silver called out, "it's safe to come out now."

Sitting up, Naruto stretched his arms. "Man," said the hanyō as he stood up, "that thing is cramped when closed." His voice betrayed his excitement as he said, "We're really outside the village?"

"Yep," chirped Fu, "and all we had to do is walk out. I told you leaving a shinobi village was easy."

Naruto exited the wagon. Momentarily he stood there and examined the world around him. The trees outside the village were certainly bigger than the ones in it. A great grin covered his face as he dashed over and gave Silver a hug. "I'm out," said Naruto, "I'm really out of the village." His voice become more subtle as he said, "But won't Anko be worried about me."

"I already took care of that," said Silver. Looking to the forest, he shouted, "Hoshi." Immediately, the kistune in fox form appeared from the tree line. "You know the drill. Make sure that all annoyances leave us be." With a nod the kistune disappeared into the bush.

"So what's the plan?" asked Fu.

"Need to make one," said Silver as he whacked the wagon's wheel with his cane. Within a minute it was back to a standard box. "For now we better distance ourselves from the village." The trio jumped onto the wagon. "Alright Rubric," said Silver as he pulled on the reins. The Clydesdale snorted. "Time to get moving. Company."

Upon hearing those words the Clydesdale tensed up. A faint blue glow encircled its legs as it lowered its head. Fu laid down on her stomach and grabbed the wagon edge. To Naruto she said "Hang on." Before he could ask why Rubric bolted forward. Dust flew into the air as the wagon roared down the road. Wind whipped at their hair and threatened to take Silver's hat straight off.

Hitting a bump in the road, the wagon jerked into the air. The riders jumped several inches as well. Fu and Silver landed with ease while Naruto slammed onto his back. As the hanyō propped himself up a slight dip in the road tilted the wagon, nearly causing him to tumble off. In a panicking voice Nartuo said, "Can't we slow down for a bit?" Silver replied with a deep, roaring laugh.

Knocking on Silver's apartment door, Anko chewed on her tongue. An afternoon sun baked her back. "Hey Silver," said the snake mistress, "it's me. Are Naruto and Fu with you? Neither he nor your kid showed up in class today." No one replied. Frowning, Anko tried the door handle. It was locked. Most likely the merchant had left for work and the children had gone off to god knows where. As she moved to leave she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

A small spot on the wall beside the door looked odd. Placing her hand on that spot, Anko sweep it across the surface. Her hand caught on something and a thin piece of paper peeled off. Before it hit the ground she snatched it. One side was colored the same as the wall. The other had a message written on it. Her eyes widened as she read the short message.

"Wolf, Blue bird, Raccoon," Anko shouted. From out of nowhere three Anbu flickered in front of her. "When did Silver leave this morning?"

"He hasn't," said Raccoon. "Neither have the kids. They've been inside the building all day." Frowning, Anko turned toward the door and gave it a shift, powerful kick. The lock broke and the door slammed open.

Looking up from the table, a smiling Silver Dollar said, "Hey Anko. How you doing?" That smile never waned as a kunai went through his head with little resistance.

"Genjutsu," said Wolf as he shoved passed Anko.

"They knew you were watching," said Anko. "He must have deployed it when they left this morning." Wolf looked to Anko who just gave him a piece of paper. "I will report this to the Hokage at once." With that said Anko flickered out of the area.

Minutes later the snake mistress barged into the Hokage's office. The Hokage was staring out the office's large windows. It was a perfect place to view the village. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted the distorted expression. "Something wrong?" asked the old man.

"Silver Dollar has left the village with Naruto," exclaimed the snake mistress.

Eyes hardening, the Hokage turned around. From his pocket he took out his pipe. After lighting it with a match from another pocket, he placed it in his mouth. After a couple puffs, the Hokage ordered, "Explain."

"Hinata came to me today asking about Naruto and Fu. Neither had been seen in school. I assumed that they were with Silver. Upon arriving at the house I discovered a note."

"Where is it?"

That moment Wolf entered the room. He walked over to the Hokage and gave him the letter. While backing up the Anbu gave a bow. It didn't take long to read the letter. All it said was that the merchant was leaving town for a short while. Naruto was accompanying him to get a little world experience.

"This is not good," said the Hokage as he looked up. "We already have problems with the Uchiha. If word gets out about this…"

"Sir," said Wolf, "I request that we assemble a squad and send them to retrieve Naruto."

"I agree," said the Hokage.

"I also agree," said Anko, "but we need to be careful how we approach this. While Silver may have taken Naruto away he left behind a note. Hidden, yes, but his motives don't appear to be malicious."

"Are you certain about that?" said Wolf. Anko really hated the Anbu masks. They hid emotions all too well. Thinking back to the kistune, she knew that if the merchant wanted to he could have put on a clean act. While under that henge, if it was a henge, that woman could go undetected easily. Even when caught nobody would think much of it. Foxes wondered in from the forest from time to time. A great disguise for sabotaging the village.

Yet, if that was their goal why let her learn about Hoshi and live. Then there was the fact that they could have done damage a while ago and didn't. "I don't believe his intentions are to do harm," Anko said at last. "It's possible that he's purely ignorant of the reasons Naruto must stay in the village. In his defense he is an outsider. I think our best course of action is to send out a team for their retrieval, but try talking to the merchant."

"We have already seen some of his abilities," said Wolf. "While I'm certain that the squad to be assembled can handle him, engaging in any fight will prove difficult."

Nodding in agreement, the Hokage said, "The first priority is to recover Naruto. If it can be done peaceful than let it be. If he resists try not to kill him. I would like Silver to be interrogated."

Anko presented herself to the Hokage. In a calm voice, she said, "Hokage, I request to go on this mission. Being Naruto's legal guardian I have the right and out of anyone in the village I know the merchant best. If anyone should talk to him it should be me."

"Agreed," said the Hokage, "and you shall be squad leader for this mission. Take along two Abnu and an Inuzuka clan member with you. The later should be able to use their dogs to track Silver down." Looking to Dog, the Hokage said, "You will take part in the mission. Choose among your subordinates to accompany you." Dog nodded before flickering out of the room.

"Before I go Hokage," said Anko, "I would like to ask a question."

"Ask away."

"Who were Naruto's parents?" A frown tugged at the Hokage's lips. "Recently, I have heard that Naruto's unique conditions may not be due to his tenant. That maybe one of his parents happened to be other than human."

"Where did you hear this?" asked the Hokage.

"I happened upon it in a book I read." It wasn't a total lie. After last night's dinner she made a quick stop at the local library. There were plenty of tales about humans mating with kistune thousands of years ago. All of it was labeled as mythology but even mythology can hold a grain of truth. "As Naruto's legal guardian I have the right to know. And who better to know about this than the Hokage himself."

Shaking his head, the Third said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. As far as I know Naruto's parents were just another shinobi of the leaf."

"What were their names?"

"I didn't know them personally."

A tick mark grew upon the snake mistress's forehead. She thought of pushing some more, but decided against it. Death or jail would not help her or her kid. "I better get ready to leave," said Anko.

"Good luck," said the Hokage. In a gentler voice, he said, "And please return Naruto unharmed."

"I'll make certain of it," said Anko before dashing out of the room. Out of hearing range, she muttered, "I can't promise the same thing for Silver."

At the village gates Anko met up with her squad. Wolf was leaning against the door while an Anbu wearing a bear mask stood beside him. A feral looking woman with red triangular tattoos under her eyes and plenty of eye liner stood impatiently. Beside her was a wolf-looking dog with an eye patch over the left eye. "Tsume," said Anko. The feral woman looked her way. "Have you picked up on our target?"

"Of course," said Tsume. "But we've got a problem. I don't know how, but in a short amount of time they have covered a large distance."

Anko frowned. "I checked the stables," said Wolf, "and the horse and wagon are missing. They're most likely traveling by road."

"But how far can they get in a day?" asked Anko. "Damn horse can't run all day without being killed. And the weight of the wagon must be slowing them down."

"However they are doing it," said Tsume, "they are not getting any closer while we smack lips."

"True enough," said Anko. "Tsume, you take the front of the group. Wolf and Bear will provide support while I bring up the rear."

"Right," said the shinobi with a nod.

Before they could sprint off, a timid voice said, "E-excuse me." They turned around to see the Hyuga heiress standing behind the snake mistress, a look of concern tarnishing her pretty features. "Anko, h-has something h-happened?"

Kneeling, the snake mistress put on a smile. "Silver and my boy are doing something really stupid. My friends and I are going to get them and bring them back here."

"Oh," said Hinata. "When you see t-them can y-you tell t-them that I hope t-they return soon?"

"Can do kid." Getting to her feet, Anko said, "Now it's time to move out."

At speeds that no normal human could achieve they sprinted off. Tsume and her dog formed the spear point of the diamond. The sides were made up by the Anbu while Anko cover the rear. As they disappeared over the horizon Hinata prayed they would be successful. She did not want to lose the few friends she had managed to gain.

Rubric made his way down a road at a slow pace. Breath fell heavily from his lips and sweat ran down his sides, gleaming in the moonlight. With the assistance of a lantern the merchant read a map of the elemental nations. Behind him he could hear the quiet snoring of Naurto. Glancing over his back, he smiled at the sight. The two children slept in an upright position. Fu's head rested upon Naruto's shoulder while the blond's cheek lay upon her green hair. At moments like these the merchant wished he had a camera with him.

He wasn't sure how they got into that position. Earlier they were playing a game of spotting whatever interesting thing happened to pass by. "Hey Rubric?" asked the merchant as he returned his attention to the map. "See any good places to stop for the night?" The Clydesdale snorted. "Of course anywhere would work for you. And you should know why we ran so long."

To his right he heard the bushes rustling. "Hey there Hoshi." Jumping onto the wagon was the fox. Upon landing she stared to transform. Front legs stretched into arms while the back legs straightened and thickened. Fur retreated to the top of her head to form long hair that reached her back. Her face flattened out as her tails grew proportional to her body. A blue kimono edged with red flames covered her body, a katana strapped to her hip.

"I found a clearing within the forest," said the kistune as she sat down. "Southwest of here about a mile and half in. Someone would have to know where it is to find it."

"So it's easy to defend?"

"As easy as any other place in the woods," said Hoshi. "Do we have a plan yet? I'd rather not let Rubric decide for us." Putting the map in his lap, Silver reached over and patted the Clydesdale on the behind.

"He's smart enough to avoid danger," the merchant said with a small smile. "Any who, I'm split between visiting the Lands of Wind and Land of Lightning. Both are stable lands and are easy enough to get to. I'm debating whether I want to deal with sand in my shoes or lightning striking my head."

Chuckling, the kistune leaned forward to grab the reins. Once in hand she led the wagon off the road. Some maneuvering was required, but she managed to drive them to the spot she had discovered. It was just a small field sheltered by trees. No trace of human odors could be found and hopefully bandits wouldn't come this deep into the woods to search for prey.

As the wagon came to a stop, Silver got to his feet. Almost regretfully, he went over to the children and said, "Time to wake up guys. You can't sleep on the wagon all night." He had to shake them on the shoulders to wake them up. Both were a bit groggy so the merchant helped them down from the wagon.

In a short amount of time the kistune and the merchant set up camp. Rubric was tethered to a tree to graze. From the wagon a large tent was taken and erected. Inside the tent the three tucked themselves into sleeping bags. Now that the children were awake, however, they were bouncing in place. Letting them sleep for the past few hours may had not been the greatest idea.

"Tell us a story," Fu suddenly demanded.

"Silver tells stories?" asked Naruto.

"Yep," said Fu with a beaming smile. To the merchant, she said, "Tell the one about that city perched on top of the mountain. No, what about the one of the zombies and the floating cities of wood. Oh, how about…"

Chuckling, Silver said, "Good grief girl. Have I already told you all my tales?"

The vertette shrugged. "No, tell us about the great philosopher."

By now Naruto was giving the merchant an interested look. Rolling her eyes, the kistune said, "I'll go outside and set up a few illusions." With that said Hoshi left the tent.

"Oh well," said Silver with a small smile, "she'll have to miss out. Alright you two, I'm going to tell a true tale. It may sound silly, even crazy at times." To emphasize his point his voice became very low as he spread his arms out. The children just gazed at him in earnest. "The Land of Wind stretches on for miles, but its deserts reach further out than the country. Beyond the shinobi world one comes upon a mountain range simply known as the Wall. Its tallest peaks are said to extend to outer space. On the other side of the wall one comes upon the Saharri Emirates, home to the reptilian race the Sanvai. They are a fiercely independent people that can out run the fastest of shinobi." Naruto's eyes widened slightly. Smiling, the merchant said, "But that's a story for another time."

"After many weary miles of an endless sea of red sand one comes upon another mountain range. Not as grand as the first, but none the less great. Once past that obstacle you come upon the country known as the Confederacy. The Confederacy is a nation born from fire and steel. Within its current day borders many races of people live."

"Races?" questioned Naruto.

With a nod of his head, Silver proclaimed, "Believe or not boy, we little apes aren't alone on this world. Not by a long shot." Throwing his hands to the roof, Silver exclaimed, "The skies and highlands are claimed by angels and gargoyles. One is considered a beautiful humanoid with great wings and the other lords of the night. Within the forest elves and dwarfs work their crafts, one tall and elegant and the other short and stocky. Along the plains Centaurs, half man, half horse, thunder in massive herds. Demons, mighty giants with skin of stone, call the mountains and underworld their cradle. Darks elves, cousins of the earlier elves, stick to the shadows while our species, humans, are spread out evenly among the land. There are many more, but those are the major races."

"As you can imagine, all these creatures living among one another can be stressful. Various ways of life style clash and resources are believed best used by their own kind. For centuries the many races fought among one another. Wars ravaged the land yet no one race, despite their advantages, could gain control of the others."

"Now before this all took place the Wall I mentioned earlier didn't exist."

"What?" exclaimed Naruto. Fu hushed the blonde before returning her attention to her father.

"No," said Silver with a shake of his head, "those ranges were created to resist a threat bigger than any race of people can become. One day strange creatures suddenly flooded the western portions of the current day Confederacy. Creatures just like Hoshi."

"So Hoshi was related to those people" said Naruto. Silver nodded. "Why were they flooding the land?"

"Because a Goddess had declared war against the world," said Silver in a solemn tone. "Little is known of this Goddess, but it was said she could turn the sea into mountains and rain death from the sky. These relatives of Hoshi's were refugees fleeing from the Goddess. They brought to the many races of the people warnings, but the people did not take heed of them at first. They were after all strange creatures who suddenly arrived out of nowhere."

"Then the Emirates sent out a message to the divided land, begging anyone to halt the angry Goddess' wrath. The first to be worried by this were the demons for their lands were closest to the Emirates. So they sent out their great armies to check out the situation. Out of thousands only ten returned with terrible news. Slowly but surely a Goddess was making her way across the desert, forcing all to flee from her wrath."

"The demons and the Emirates begged the other races to help them. This startled the other races greatly for the demons were no light weights. So each race sent out their own armies to face the Goddess. Each one was smitten by the Goddess with little effort. By now the races were in a panic. How were they to defend themselves from something that might as well be a force of nature?"

"Surprisingly, the answer came from not a mighty warrior, but a humble philosopher known only as Faramis. Of what has been recorded of him Faramis was a demon fascinated by one question. What was the source of life? What made everything work as it does?"

"It wasn't clear if he ever found that answer, but one day while he was thinking he suddenly felt a rush of power, like nothing that he had ever felt before. At once he tried to control it and well…"

With a shrug, Silver said, "He became one of the first of what I considered to be my people to control mana or chakra as you would call it. After some time using this mystery power he found that he could perform feats that no normal demon, or other race, could dream of. He was so excited about it that he ran from his home to teach the world about this wonderful gift.

"The problem was that the Goddess was trying to enslave everyone at the time. So Faramis gathered the races together and told them that he would stop the Goddess. To say everyone was skeptical would be an understatement. The records say that kings would mock him by offering kingdoms to him if he would happen to survive the encounter."

"Despite the lack of support he crossed the desert sands and what used to be a mighty sea to meet the Goddess. Seven days and seven nights their battle endured. Mortal and goddess lashed out with every jutsu they had. Where a sea once sat the land rose up to claim it. Lightening roared and massive fires scorched the earth. Floods created rivers while wind beat the lands.

"Yet Faramis refused to fall. By the end of the battle both mortal and Goddess had worn each other out. With the last of his strength the philosopher called upon mother earth to help him. To build a border even a god would cower from climbing." Throwing up his arms, Silver proclaimed, "Up burst the stony rock from below the sands. It shot through the air to pierce the Goddess upon its newly formed peaks."

"Startled by this power, the Goddess summoned the last of her own to fight back. Yet she could not stop the rocks. All she could do was flee before being eaten by the newly formed mountains."

"Faramis was tired and wary yet in the end he stood proudly upon his creation. Upon returning home he was praised as a god. Throughout the kingdoms people settled their differences to celebrate the Goddess' defeat. Many called Faramis a god and many wished him to be their ruler.

"Yet Faramis was a wise man and knew that power did not equal good leadership. He himself denounced his godhood and told the people to work together. For the rest of his life he traveled the lands to teach all who would listen the power of mana, hoping to set the foundations for better things to come."

Yawing, the merchant said, "Well, that's all I've got to say."

"One more story," begged Fu. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"For another night," said the merchant with a sweet smile. "Now we rest."

Anko was a slave driver. That was simple fact. No matter what the situation she demanded one hundred and twenty percent from her subordinates. What Naruto hadn't known was that Silver and Hoshi could be just as bad if they put their minds to it. Deciding that sands in his shoes could wait for another day, the merchant charted their course for the Land of Lighting.

Every day the small party stopped at any settlement they came upon. The merchant would put on his little show for a couple of hours before feeling the need to pack up. To make sure that everyone in the area knew where they were he sent out Naruto and Fu to spread the word. When not doing that they performed whatever task was needed at hand, their least favorite being cleaning up Rubric's messes.

Despite the stops they covered many miles by traveling late into the night. During these trips Hoshi would paused from her guard duty to perform an equally important task. "Alright you two," said the kistune, "just because we're traveling doesn't mean slacking off from school work. So Silver thought it wise for me to teach you a few things. First off, can either of you do a transformation jutsu?"

"We were taught the hand signs," said Fu.

"Then show me what you can do. Transform into anything you can think of."

Jumping to his feet, Naruto proclaimed, "I'll go first!" He made the necessary hand signs and shouted, "Transform." A poof of smoke hid the blond. Waving a hand in front of her face, Hoshi waited for the smoke to settle. Fu broke out into giggles while the kistune stared in disbelief. Last she checked tree trunks were round not square. It didn't help that the leaves belonged to a child's drawing and Naruto's face stared at her.

"So?" asked the blond.

"Needs a lot of work kid," said Hoshi.

Naruto frowned and dispelled the jutsu. To Fu, he said, "Stop laughing. Not like you could do any better."

"Of course I can," said Fu as she made the hand signs. A poof of smoke engulfed her. Moments later a gangly stick figure of Silver emerged. Arms far too long moved about in jerky motions while his legs looked ready to break. Falling onto his back, Naruto's laughter rang throughout the forest. Silver glanced over his shoulder and stared at himself.

"Need more meat," the merchant commented off handily.

Jutsu dispelled, a frowning Fu glared at Naruto. "Okay than," said Hoshi as she clapped her hands. "You both need to work on transformation. During our time on the road you will work to perfect that jutsu. Work on it until your charka is exhausted. Depending on how much you have left we'll work on something else at the camp."

To Hoshi's surprise the children were able to work for hours on end. The jutsu was a minor and easy one to do, but these kids should have grown tired by the time they stopped. "Okay," Hoshi said to her impatient students, "next we're going to work on chakra control. Before I say anything more, watch me climb a tree."

That produced a couple of bored looks. With a small smile the kistune walked up to the nearest tree. She planted her foot on it and then the next one. She continued to do so until she was three quarters up the tree. "Cool," shouted the starry eye students.

"This is chakra control," said Hoshi. "By gathering chakra to the soles of your feet one can make them adhere to the wood. Despite what I'm doing this is harder than it looks. Emitting charka to the feet is difficult and it takes the right amount of charka to stay on the tree."

"Yeah, yeah," said Naruto, "can we just try it already?"

How much of that explanation did he listen to, thought the kistune. "You may start whenever you're ready."

"Right," said the students in union. Closing their eyes, both Fu and Naruto formed a hand sign. They focused charka to their feet, each trying to gauge how much he or she would need. With a nod of his head Naruto's eyes flickered open and he sprinted forward. Not enough, mumbled Kurma. Ignoring the voice, Naruto started up the tree. And fall flat on his back.

With a roll of her eyes Fu darted forward. Her feet connected with wood and she kept on going. A quarter of the way up the bark splintered under a foot. With a startled yelp she was pushed back. Arms flapped hopelessly in the air as the earth rushed to the meet her. "Ow," said Fu as she peeled herself off the earth.

"Work on it," stated Hoshi before walking off.

Between the constant travel, work, and training Fu was ready to slip into the world of dreams by the end of the day. Naruto, on the other hand, kept Silver up by demanding stories. The merchant was more than happy to tell, but even he got tired of the blonde's unlimited energy eventually.

Two weeks into their little adventure the small party crossed into the Land of Hot Water. Famous for its hot springs, the mountainous country was a popular place for vacations. The wagon drove down a mountain road. It was just wide enough for two wagons to pass one another.

Confident enough in his mount's intelligence, Silver left Rubric to drive while he read the map. That was until Fu noticed it. "Father!" she exclaimed as she grabbed for the reins.

"Not now Fu," said the merchant. "I'm trying to determine where the next village is. After all this traveling I could use a soak. Ah, here we go." Folding the up the map, Silver tucked it away in his shirt. "There should be a village up ahead with a small spring resort. Who would like to check it out?"

Dangling her legs over the wagon's edge, Hoshi raised a hand. "I could go for a real bed," said the kistune.

"I have never been to a hot spring," stated Naruto who sat in the middle of the wagon. "Whenever I go to the local springs the owner kicks me out."

"Naruto," said Silver with a sigh, "why do you put up with that village?"

"Hm?" said the confused hanyō.

"It just that those people treat you so poorly," said the merchant, sorrow tainting his voice. Silver glanced to Fu. The vertette gave the blonde a questioning look. "To be put down every day. Being treated as less than a person. I would had been gone ages ago."

A great grin cracked onto Naruto's face. "You're right, I would have left, but I can't leave." That got him a questioning look from the entire group. "They may hate me now and I don't know why. One day, however, I'm going to make them see me different, because one day,"- Naruto gave a thumbs up as he stared Silver right in the eyes- "one day I'm going to be Hokage. Believe!"

The merchant could only stare. Without warning a quiet chuckle left his lips. It quickly escalated into booming laughter that echoed off the mountain side. Glaring, Naruto shouted, "What's so funny?"

Wiping away a tear that snuck onto his cheek, the merchant forced himself to settle down. "Greed, power, riches, glory," said the merchant, "those are reasons why people want to be a leader. This the first time someone told me they wanted to be a leader for the respect." Shaking his head, he said, "Don't get me wrong, but if you truly want to lead your village"- glancing over his shoulder- "that attitude has to go."

A deep frown creased Naruto's face. "What?" said the fox boy.

"He's right Naruto," said Hoshi. "Why is the current Hokage the Hokage?"

"Because he's the most powerful ninja in the village," said Naruto as a matter of fact.

"Really," said Silver with a smile, "what about Hiashi? Or this Copy Cat Ninja I heard about? The Third is certainly strong, but I'm pretty certain there are other ninja that can match him."

"Well," said Naruto as he thought about it, "I guess there are other powerful ninja."

"And power doesn't always equal respect," noted Fu. "I once heard of a leader that was so paranoid that he alienated everyone around him. It got so bad that the people revolted and killed him without remorse."

Nodding, Silver said, "With that in mind, why else would the Third be chosen to be Hokage?"

"Well," said Naruto as he looked to the skies, "Grandpa is kind. No matter where he goes he tries to help people. He's also wise and always looks for the good in people."

"In other words," said Silver, "the Third is respected because of his character."

Upon seeing the blank stare, Fu stated, "People like him as Hokage because treats everyone with care and respect."

"Oh," said Naruto.

"And this respect can't be earned by a title," said Silver. "One must earn that respect from the people before the people can accept him as a leader."

Silence fell over the group as the blonde mulled over these new thoughts. Shrugging indifferently, Naruto proclaimed, "Than I will just have to earn the village's respect." Silver stared at the boy in confusion. "I will still become the Hokage, but I will show everyone that I deserve it." Thrusting an arm into the air, he shouted, "Believe it Silver, because it will happen."

"Crazy boy," said Silver with a wide smile, "keep that spirit and you might just do it. Fu, you could learn something from this kid."

Snorting, Fu said, "Naruto's nice and all, but he's kind of an idiot."

Getting up in Fu's face, Naruto shouted, "I am not!"

"Are to," proclaimed the vertette.

"Fu," said Silver with a little whimsy, "that's no way to treat the future Hokage."

"See," said Naruto with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes, Fu said, "He was being sarcastic."

A faint scent drifted into Hoshi's nose. Raising her head, she sniffed the air. A frown crossed her face. "Hey Naruto," said the kistune, "Do you smell fire?"

Pausing from his fight, Naruto sniffed the air. "I do," said the blonde.

Looking overhead, Silver's smile faded to annoyed grimace. Deep within the mountain side a huge stack of black smoke floated off. "That can't be good," said the merchant as he put the map down. Taking the reins from Fu, Silver whipped them to get Rubric into a fast trot.

Further down the road the group spotted the source of the smoke. Beyond a destroyed wall a village laid in ruin. Villagers scrambled about to put out the fire. Much of the smoke came from the effort of putting it out. Shrill screams of children filled the air while tired adults tried to bring order.

Bringing the wagon to a downed gate in the wall, Silver called out, "Excuse me, but what in heaven's name is going on around here?"

A man covered in soot shuffled toward them. Half of his body was covered in either burns or cuts marks. "Rouge ninja," said the villager. "A group of rouge ninja stopped by here and attacked the village. They took what wealth we had, leaving us to deal with a fire."

"Looks like they made a real mess around here," said Silver as he surveyed the damage. The man gave him a disgruntled expression. Looking over his wagon, he gave Naruto and Fu odd looks. He hardly noticed the black fox.

"If you're heading down the road," said the man, "I recommend turning back. Those ninja have set up camp within a valley passage. Anyone who goes there has to pay a fee to pass."

Silver nodded, but his eyes were on the dying flames. "You angry at those ninja?" asked the merchant.

"Of course I am," snapped the man.

"Would you like me to deal with them?"

"What?" said the bemused man.

"Father here can take care of any rouge ninja," Fu stated. "Just point him the way and he'll deal with it."

"We'll discuss my pay later," said Silver as he turned Rubric about. "Just have the village put out when I return."

After a few moments of staring at the merchant in stunned silence, the man shouted, "Wait! You're going to get yourself and your kids killed." At the top of his lungs Silver sang a merry tune. His companies soon joined in, leaving the villager a little baffled.

A little ways down the road the company suddenly faced an obstacle. Quite suddenly a wall of earth sprang up in front of them. Startled, the Clydesdale backed up. Silver dropped the reins as his hands went into his coat. "Hoshi," said the merchant in a low voice. With a nod the fox darted in front of the tense Naruto and took an aggressive stance. Teeth bared as she spread her feet out. Without being told Fu ran behind the merchant. Her own hand reaching for something in her shirt.

"Don't do anything hasty," called a familiar voice. Sliding down the mountain slide, a silver haired Anbu member and the snake mistress jumped on top of the wall. From behind another Anbu appeared with a feral woman and dog. Smiling, the merchant withdraw his hand as his companions relaxed. "Hey guys," said Silver with a smile, "how you doing?"

Looking down at Silver in annoyance, Anko drew a kunai and threw it at the merchant. With little effort the merchant stepped to the side and let the knife harmless fly by.

"Anko," said Wolf, "aren't we supposed to be peaceful?"

Ignoring the Anbu, the snake mistress thrust an accusing finger at the merchant. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Anko shouted at the top of her voice. "Coming into our village acting so kind just to kidnap one of our children."

"I wasn't kidnapped," said Naruto. That got a confused expression from Anko. "Silver asked me if I want to see a bit of the world and I agreed to follow him." Crossing his arms, he proclaimed, "School was getting boring and Silver promised to keep me in line with the other students."

"Didn't you receive my message?" asked Silver.

Wordlessly, the snake mistress jumped down onto the wagon. Before Silver could do anything his face was flattened by a fist. Fu stumbled out of the way as Silver staggered back. Grabbing the merchant by the collar, Anko pulled him to her face. To her surprise the merchant was only a few inches taller than herself.

"Try this trick again without permission," said Anko in a steely voice, "and you'll be begging to be dead after I'm done with you."

Silver rolled his eyes as his smile grew a little, even when blood flowed freely from his nose as he smiled. "Sorry dear," said the merchant, "I wasn't aware that I needed your permission to go where I please. Next time I'll come over and discuss it. I hate to cause my dear friend any stress."

"I was talking about Naruto," said Anko as she shoved him away. "We're turning back now."

Shaking his head, the merchant said, "No can do at the moment."

"Silver," said Anko, "the Hokage ordered us to bring you and the kids' home."

"Good grief," said Silver, "I know you ninja don't like your kind going missing but do you really need two fresh academy students that badly?" Getting a glare that promised pain, Silver waved it off. "Okay," he said, "I'll return to the village."

"But our orders are only to…" started Wolf. He quickly ducked out of the way of a kunai.

As Anko lowered her arm, the merchant said, "But I must finished a task first." Receiving a questioning stare, he said, "You must have passed that village a little ways back. I took it upon myself to hunt down the villains who did that. Last I heard they set up camp in a valley up a head. Allow me to deal with the bandits and then I'll return to the village at once."

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Anko shouted, "Wolf, take the rest of the squad and head back home. I'll remain with Silver and make sure he does what he said." With a nod of his head Wolf disappeared with his teammates trailing behind him. The wall fell back into the earth as their scents disappeared from the kistune's nose. "So what do we know of these bandits?" said Anko as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Not much," said Silver, "at the moment all I know that they have shinobi in their ranks. Once we get closer to them Hoshi should be able to fill in some of the details." That confused Anko a little, but she shrugged. As she looked to the fox she was transforming into humanoid form.

"I can already smell them," stated Hoshi. "In all, there are about twelve of them. A few are Chūnin level based on their charka scent, but the rest are normal bandits. About half a mile from here we should meet them."

"You're able to smell out people's charka level?" asked Anko.

Shrugging, the kistune said, "Anyone with a sensitive nose can be trained to. Even Naruto can if given the right training."

"That could be useful," noted Fu as she looked to Naruto.

Turning about and sitting down, Anko said, "Alright than. Let's go find these bandits."

As Hoshi stated they didn't have to go far to find the bandits' camp. Down in a valley next to a river a dozen or so tents had been set up. From a high cliff the group watched the bandits roam around camp. A couple seemed to be drunk and the rest were just standing around with no real purpose. Where the road entered the valley a couple of bandits stood guard, though it wouldn't surprise anyone if a boulder was on top of them before they noticed it.

"So that's them," said the merchant with a slight smile. "This should be simple enough. Anko, think you can get to the other side of the valley without the bandits noticing."

"Of course I can," said Anko.

"Good. Pick a hiding spot and wait for the right moment to strike. I'll leave that up to you." Turning to the kistune, Silver said, "Hoshi, you know what to do." With a nod of her head the kistune started weaving hand signs. To Anko they looked like random symbols, but when the kistune finished her body faded into the background.

"I'll go talk to the bandits," said Silver as he started off. "And see if willing to come quietly. Naruto, Fu, stay with Rubric and keep out of harm's way." As the adults moved into position the children walked over to the cliff edge. They laid on their stomachs to watch the event unfold.

At a leisurely pace the merchant made his way down the road. Humming a cheerful tune, he looked to the skies. Hardly a cloud in sight and the sun was shining down full force. Nice day overall. As he neared the guards he could hear them chatting with one another, talking about what they would do with their share of the loot. Grabbing his cane, Silver brought it to his side as he strolled up to the two.

The merchant was nearly on top of them when the bandits took notice. One held a spear with a rusted point while the other wielded a decent sword. Both pointed their weapons at the merchant. "Hold on there," said the bandit. "If you wish to pass you'll have to pay the fee."

"Are you the bandits that attacked the village down the road?" asked Silver.

One smirked while the other rolled his eyes. "We did and if you don't obey you'll be six feet under."

Leaning on the cane, Silver tilted forward slightly. "I'm going to say this once," said the merchant with a pleasing smile, "surrender now or prepare to go to the other side." The bandits glanced at each other with amused looks.

"Do we have a hero?" asked one of the guards.

"Nope," said Silver, his smile never waning. "A business man looking for a quick buck. So what will it be boys?" The guard with the spear leapt forward, stabbing the spearhead into the merchant's chest. Up on the cliff Naruto opened his mouth to shout, but Fu clasped a hand over his mouth. She gave him a stare that told him to be quite before returning her attention to the merchant.

Smirks nearly split the bandits' faces. Looking down at his chest, the merchant gave the bleeding wound an inquisitive stare. "Is that a no?" he asked nonchalantly. Smirks faded into confusion. They turned to shock when the merchant looked at them with dark red eyes. A foxy grin stretched from ear to ear. "Oh well."

Without warning strands of muscles shot out from the merchant's arms. The bloody meat wrapped around spear and limbs alike. Terrified shouts came from the bandits as they tried to pull away from the flesh. "It's no use," said Silver, his voice deepening greatly. His lower jaw unhinged from his upper, opening wide to reveal the many shark-like teeth in his mouth. His head grew ridiculously large to the point of being laughable if his eyes weren't looking at the bandits with pure hunger. The bandits screamed as the mouth descended on them. Their bodies were cleaved cleanly in two.

The bandits within the camp clearly heard their comrades' screams. They dashed over to find the merchant poking their intact comrades, laying on the ground, with his cane. "I think she broke them," said Silver with a small smile. Looking up, he quickly counted the eight bandits before him. Among them he spotted a woman wearing a leaf headband with the symbol scratched with a single cut. "Good evening ladies and gents," said the merchant. "I'll be arresting you now. If you can just make my life easier by surrendering…"

His answer was a hail of kunai and shuriken. Silver leapt away from the attack. In mid-air he brought his cane in front of him to bat away a kunai going for his throat. Silver smiled at the rouge kunoichi as she glared right back. Before her eyes the merchant's form wavered. All too quickly it faded away as he waved goodbye.

Heavy chains appeared around the kunochi, wrapping around her body. "What the," she said as she fell to the ground. Upon impact several swords fell upon her, pinning her frame to the ground. She gritted her teeth as the swords wiggled into place.

Yet none of these things existed outside of her reality. After a quick glance at the downed ninja Silver turned to the remaining group. None were ninja and all were slowly backing away from the merchant. Their weapons in front of them seemed more like comforting tools than dangerous objects. The merchant raised his hand and snapped his finger.

The bandits had no idea what he had done, but they had no desire to find out. Swirling around, they made a beeline for the river. Across from that was the road that lead out of here. Just as they reached the water line a figure burst through the surface. Bringing the tip of her index finger to her bottom lip, Anko took in a deep breath. Fire Style, she mentally shouted, Fire Ball Jutsu.

From her lips flames shot out. She swung her head from side to side, sweeping the flames across the field. Bandits cried out in pain as the flames consumed them. When Anko's feet touched land the last of the bandits fell. Flames died down leaving deep burns.

"That was boringly easy," commented Silver as he approached Anko.

Nodding in agreement, Anko said, "You served as a distraction while Hoshi placed them in a genjutsu."

"That's right," said the kistune's voice. Both humans looked to their right to see Hoshi sitting down, her feet dipped in the river. "Silver loves doing this. He gets to be lazy and clean and I get to do all the hard work."

"I entrusted you with my life," said Silver in mock offense. "Though I'll amount I hate getting blood on my clothes. It's impossible to remove the stains."

"Guys," said Anko as she looked at their quarry, "I count ten people here. Weren't there supposed to be two more?" Frowning, Hoshi sniffed the air, a panicked look coming over her face.

"Oh no," said the kistune as she darted to her feet, "We need to return to Naruto and Fu at once."

With a smug smile Fu sat up. "I told you that the three would be fine," said the vertette. "No way could a bunch of bandits take them out."

"It was kind of lame how Silver just walked in there," stated Naruto. "I mean, all he did was look at them and they keeled over. How is that entertaining?" Suddenly, the hanyō tensed up. Hearing the crunching of rock, Fu turned around. Her eyes widened as she and the blonde scrambled to their feet.

Two shinobi wearing leaf head bands, the symbol scratched with a single mark, stood between them and Rubric. The Clydesdale nervously pawed the ground. "What is going on here?" said the shinobi with a scar cutting across his face. Looking beyond the brats, he spotted his gang on the ground with a few people standing over them.

Grimacing a shinobi with an eye patch said, "Looks like we tried holding up the wrong people. And these two must be their kids." Naruto and Fu scooted toward one another, a deep frown on both their faces. Hand reaching toward her shirt, Fu looked between the bandits. "We should take these brats hostage. Could come in handy when dealing with their friends."

"Whiskers," Fu whispered under her breath, "get ready to run."

"You're not going anywhere," said the scarred shinobi as he slowly walked over to them. "Now why don't you be a good little boy and girl and…" Fu didn't allow the man to finish. Her hand snaked into her shirt and pulled out a cocked pistol. The shinobi tensed up, but upon seeing the firearm was slightly confused. What's with the metal stick? He got his answer when Fu pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.

Naruto's ears flatten to his head as his hands covered them. The loud crack of the pistol hurt his ears. Screaming in pain, the shinobi pulled his shoulder back, his hand going to the large flesh wound in his shoulder. Fu dropped the pistol as she performed a single hand sign. "Chakra release."

Where the bullet had landed a bright glow appeared. The rouge shinobi shouted in pain. It felt as if something was worming its way through his body. That wasn't far from the truth. What looked to branches snaked under his skin. Where the branches grew too big they slowly tore the flesh, revealing the bloodied wood underneath.

The scarred shinobi's comrade leapt away as vines lashed out from the bullet wound. Fu and Naruto took this chance to pump charka to their legs and bolt forward. They easily passed the shinobi and Rubric. They went straight for a solid wall of rock. With nothing more than charka to their feet they scaled the sheer ninety degree angle.

"Not bad," said the shinobi as he weaved a few hand signs, "for a couple of kids." Finishing he shouted, "Earth Style: Stone Column Spear."

Naruto and Fu weaved through the spears of earth that thrust out of the ground, their points grazing their skins a couple of times. Reaching the top of the cliff, they bolted into a large flat area with a small groove of trees. Grimacing, the shinobi looked to his comrade laying on the ground. Branches anchored his comrade in place. "I'll be right back," said the scarred shinobi as he sprinted forward and climbed the cliff side.

As the shinobi came to the top of the cliff he scanned the area over. It was just a small grove of trees lucky enough to find a large flat area. Not too many places to hide around here. At a trot he entered the groove. He was hardly a dozen feet within the grove when he spotted the most laughable transformation of all time. Laying all too conspicuously in the trees' shade was a blocky rock with blonde hair.

From his sleeve the shinbio drew a kunai. At a slow pace he approached the rock. "Cute trick kid," said the shinobi. "Where's your friend?" The lightest of rustles overhead made the man look up. There was nothing but several leaves floating down. With a shrug he walked up to the rock and gave it a good kick.

A poof of smoke engulfed him as Naruto flew into the nearby tree trunk. "Where's your friend?" said the shinobi. A fox like grin crossed the blonde's face as his eyes went upward. The shinobi followed the gaze to have his face kicked by the sole of a sandal. He stumbled back as Fu launched herself off the man. Upon landing the two kids darted away. "Damn brats," said the man as he pulled out a kunai and threw it.

With a shout Naruto fell to his knees. Skidding to a halt, Fu run to the blonde. After a quick examination she found the kunai sticking out the back of the blonde's calf. "It's going to take more than that party trick to beat me," said the rouge shinobi. The vertette yanked the knife out of Naruto's leg. Almost immediately the wound started to visibly heal. This was strange to Fu, but she had little time to think about it. She helped swing one of Naruto's arms over her shoulder. At a fast walk they headed away from the shinobi.

They knew if the shinobi wanted to he could easily over take them. Yet he didn't. He followed the children at a leisurely pace. "Naruto," Fu whispered so low that even the rouge shinobi couldn't quite make out the words. Naruto's ears could and he listened intently. This was the first time the vertette referred to him by name. "I'm going to do something that will seem real stupid, but whatever you do don't let go of me and don't stop me."

Nodding in agreement, the blonde picked up the pace as Fu trotted forward. Not far from them they could see a cliff edge. As fast as two people could run together the children ran straight at it. "What are they…" said the rouge shinobi as he picked up the pace. Only when the children were right at the cliff's edge and showed no sign of stopping did he realize their plan.

As one Naruto and Fu jumped over the ledge. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut as he yelled. Wind blew through his hair as they fell. With a jerk he came to a stop. A buzzing noise filled his ear. Opening his eyes, the hanyō dared to look down. They widened upon seeing the earth moving below them yet they didn't fall toward it. That loud buzzing noise came from Fu, but she seemed to fly by invisible forces.

"Damn it," said the shinobi as he drew a few kunai. Before he could throw them they turned into snakes. As they reared their heads at him the startled shinobi dropped the serpents. Something from his right connected hard with his head and he fell to the earth.

Slamming a foot into the shinobi's head, the merchant proclaimed, "Found them." Moments later Hoshi and Anko appeared at their side. Anko glared at the rouge shinobi before looking to the flying children.

Upon seeing their adults Fu flew right to them. Landing beside Silver, Fu said, "I had to do that. That man…"

"I understand Fu," said Silver with a small smile, "but I think our friends want an explanation."

"Ya," shouted Naruto as he invaded Fu's personal bubble, "what type of jutsu was that and how do I do it?"

Suddenly the vertette found her feet interesting. Digging a heel into the earth, Fu said, "That wasn't a jutsu. It's something that I can naturally do." Naruto and Anko stared at the girl in confusion. "Father," said Fu without looking up, "if I'm going to stay in the village they might as well see my true form."

Nodding in agreement, Silver looked to Hoshi. The kistune silently went up to the vertette. As she got to her knees she grabbed a shirt sleeve and pulled it back. Underneath was a seal shaped into a butterfly. Forming a hand seal, Hoshi said, "Release." As she stepped back the seal faded away.

From thin air a pair of folded orange insect wings trimmed green sprouted from Fu's lower back. Her eyes became a solid orange consisting of many small pentagons. Her nose curved upward into a horn while a forked horn spouted from her forehead.

Looking anywhere but her friend, Fu waited for an answer. She received nothing but silence. Without thinking about it she bit her lower lip. She tried her hardest not to think of the worst situation. Then she felt an annoying tug on one of her wings. An eyebrow twitched as she looked to Naruto tugging away at her right wing.

"Is this real?" asked Naruto.

"Of course it's real!" exclaimed Fu. Spinning out of Naruto's grip, she hopped into the air and flapped her wings. Hovering several feet in the air, she grinned at the awestruck expression.

"A genjutsu seal that hides Fu's true appearance," mused Anko as she watched her son run circles around Fu. "So she really is a bug girl."

"I do not know how she came to be this way," said Silver. "Whether it's natural or not. What I do know is that Fu's former home shunned her because of her appearance. Can you blame me for being cautious?"

Shaking her head, Anko said, "Well, it will certainly be interesting to see the villagers' reaction."

"That is what I'm afraid of," said the merchant with a shake of his head. "Keeping the Anbu from finding out was hard enough. I only allowed Fu to fly at night and under some form of cover. During training Hoshi put a genjutsu on the area."

"So what are the plans now?" asked the snake mistress.

At first Silver did not hear her. He was gazing at the two children with a warm smile. "Gather up the bandits and whatever loot they have stolen," Silver said at last. "We'll return what was stolen to the village and drop off the bandits. Whatever doesn't belong to the village I'll keep to make a profit on."

With a nod of agreement Anko said, "One of us should stay here to watch the children."

"Agreed," said Silver, "so Hoshi and I will pick up our mess. You keep watch over the kiddies." With that said Hoshi and Silver headed back to the valley. Anko's gaze lingered on the merchant for a moment. That man is something else, she thought to herself. Whether that was a good thing or not she hadn't decided yet.

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