Welcome to chapter 18, in which Team Seven's return to Konoha is held. After defeating the nuke-nin Aoi Rokusho and retrieving his head and the Nidaime's Raijin Sword for a double bounty, the three genin returned along with their captive, the Angelus host Danielle Baptiste who was, up until now, working with the hebi-sannin Orochimaru. That's pretty much the gist of last chapter, so let's begin this one. Oh, and I get my GCSE Statistics results in seventeen days, so wish me luck. Without further adieu, let's get rockin'!

Chapter 18, Serve In Heaven Or Rule In Hell

"And that's pretty much what happened, baachan." Naruto finishedhis report to Tsunade as he and the rest of Team Seven sans Neru stood before her desk along with the captured Dani, her wrists shackled by a Demon Arm.

"I see. I didn't expect that mission to escalate as much as it did, nor did I expect you three to habdle it as well as you did. I assumed that Sakura and Neru were the more level-headed of you four, and Naruto and Sasuke were more 'attack first, ask questions later'. Still, You three did well, taking out a Konoha nuke-nin who would now be ranked A-rank and recovered the Raijin, along with capturing an associate of Orochimaru. You will all be paid the cost of an A-rank mission, and this will go on your record as one. Sakura, Sasuke, you two are dismissed. Naruto, I'd like to speak to you and your captive." Tsunade said, with Sakura and Sasuke nodding in confirmation before leaving the room, while Naruto gave a tug on the Demon Arm, bringing Dani forward.

"What did you want to say, baachan?" Naruto asked, making Dani raise an eyebrow.

'There's no way that woman's old enough to be a grandma, what's going on?' She thought, staring at the Hokage.

"Don't be fooled by her genjutsu, she's actually like 50 years old." Naruto said quietly, noticing her confusion. She looked back to the older woman to see her scowling at Naruto, obviously having heard what he had said.

"What I wanted to say, was that this isn't any normal captive, is it?" Tsunade asked, looking over at Dani. The captive host averted her gaze, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

"No, she's not. She's my opposite, the Angelus host. She was working with Orochimaru in order to get a chance to face me. She got her chance, and was unable to finish her mission, which is of course obvious, being that I'm right here."

"The Angelus, huh? So if your power is the embodiment of darkness, is hers the embodiment of light?"

"Yep, and with the wings and staff I've confiscated from her, she's a true angel."

"Wings?"

"Mechanical. I've kept them at my apartment for the time being, so she doesn't get any ideas about flying out of here, nor will any stupid ninja or villager or even the council think of taking them. I wouldn't try to defend them, you know they would, the council more than any other."

"I agree, your plan is probably best. And what of the girl?"

"First she should be interrogated for information on Orochimaru, then if she co-operates she may be able to become a Konoha-nin after a probation period has passed, same as Zabuza did." Naruto suggested, making Dani's eyes widen.

'The Demon of the Hidden Mist is here in Konoha, as a registered nin? Just what kind of place is this?' She thought, thinking of what Orochimaru had said about the nuke-nin, and more importantly, his student. Orochimaru had wanted to get the girl, Haku, for her Hyouton bloodline, but had gone against it when he had heard about the last Sharingan user in Konoha finally being a ninja and ripe for the taking.

"Agreed. Tora, Neko, take the girl to Ibiki for questioning." Tsunade said to an empty space, before two Anbu appeared in the space, one with short brown spiky hair wearing a tiger mask, the other with long purple hair and a cat mask.

"Ah, Tenzou, Yuugao. Good to see you again. How've you been?" Naruto asked the two who responded without moving their masks.

"It's good to see you too, Naruto. I hear you've been making quite the impact on the shinobi world." Tenzou said, with Yuugao nodding without a word.

"Well, I guess she's all yours, guys. Tell Ibiki not to go too hard on her, I want at least something more than a shivering wreck to come out of that place, especially if she's gonna be under my custody." Naruto said, looking back to Tsunade for confirmation, who nodded. Tenzou and Yuugao nodded as well, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, taking Dani with them. "Well, I guess I'd better be going. Can't think what Neru would do to me if she found out I'd been in the village and not gone to see her first."

"Ah, young love."

"Shut it."

At Naruto's apartment...

"Hello?" Naruto asked loudly as he entered his apartment, searching for any incoming tackles. Seeing that there was no-one in the apartment, Naruto relaxed, throwing his bag onto his bed while he placed his sword on a stand atop a dresser. He kicked off his sandals and removed his holster, placing it beside the sword stand. The blonde turned back to the living room and prepared himself to jump onto the couch, but was stopped when a dark haired girl swung down from the ceiling and kissed him upside-down. Naruto stepped back and looked up to find Neru attached to the ceiling with chakra via her feet.

"Welcome home, Naruto-kun! I'm so glad you're home!" Neru said cheerfully before dropping down to the ground and wrapping her arms around Naruto's waist, burying her head in his chest. Before Naruto could try to escape her grasp, another pair of arms circled his waist from behind, holding him tight. He looked behind him to find Haku burying her head into his back, a content smile on her face.

"Uh, not that I'm not enjoying this and all, but could you please let go? I'm kinda losing air." Naruto said, the two girls letting go of him, letting him collapse onto the couch.

"So, how was your mission, Naruto-kun?" asked Haku, a light blush present on her pale skin. Naruto closed his eyes and laid his head back on the armrest while Neru and Haku took seats in the two armchairs near the couch.

"It was pretty boring, all we had to do was protect this annoying brat called Idate while he ran a race. The only thing that made it interesting was the nuke-nin and the girl." Naruto told her, with both girls eyes twitching at the last part.

"Girl? What girl, Naruto-kun?" Neru asked in a sickeningly sweet tone that sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"Nothing like that, she was an enemy. Worked for Orochimaru. She's currently being interrogated by Ibiki."

"She'll be a mindless shell by morning, then." Neru said, with Haku nodding in agreement.

"So, who was the nuke-nin?" Haku asked, curious about the kind of battles Naruto had on his mission.

"Aoi Rokusho, supposedly a former Chuunin from Konoha turned Jounin from Ame. He would have been D-rank, maybe C at the time of his defection, but with the Nidaime's Raijin and the skills he obtained in Ame, he was upgraded to an A-rank. Despite that, he wasn't that much of a challenge, took me a couple of minutes at the most. Still, a bounty is a bounty."

"An A-rank? Not much of a challenge? Just how powerful are you, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked, shocked at her love interest's abilities.

"You doubt my Naruto-kun?" Neru asked as she glared at the ice-user. Haku recoiled at that, putting her hands up in her defence.

"No, no, that's not what I meant!"

"Enough. I just got back, and I'm tired from having to carry that girl all the way from Tea Country. I'm not in the mood for your arguments." Naruto said, with Neru and Haku quickly going quiet. "So, how was your time while I was gone? I remember Neru had a mission with Team Gai."

"That mission was boring, just a C-Rank. We had to protect a merchant convoy from bandits, but they didn't even get anywhere near us, what with Lee attacking everything in sight." Neru said with a bored expression, waving her hand in the air to prove her point.

"At least you actually had a mission. I just had to deal with civilians complaining about their various injuries and yelling at me to fix them up. Ungrateful bastards."

"Don't worry, they'll soon get what's coming to them." Naruto assured her. Before mor could be said, however, another Anbu appeared in the middle of the room wearing an otter mask, scaring the shit out of Neru and Haku while Naruto was too tired to care. "What now, Kawauso-san?" Naruto asked the Anbu, who bowed slightly.

"I am sorry for disturbing you, Namikaze-san. But there is a matter that begs your presence."

"Who wants to talk to me this time?"

"Morino-sempai, sir. Regarding the prisoner you sent to him earlier today."

"She won't talk, huh?"

"No. Since you have the most knowledge concerning her, you would be the best choice in coercing the information out of her."

"I understand. Let's go." Naruto said, disappearing in a swirl of leaves directly from his place on the couch without standing up. The Anbu blinked at the jinchuuriki's laid-back attitude, before vanishing in his own leaf-swirl.

"Dammit, why does he always leave just after he comes back?" Neru whined at the lack of the blonde boy.

"Stop complaining, he'll be back soon, he has to. He does live here, after all."

"But I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms!"

"Oh Kami, save me now..."

Konoha Torture & Interrogation Department...

Naruto appeared in the main lobby of the T&I Dept., with Kawauso disappearing just as fast as he had appeared. Ibiki came from within a side room and called to the blonde.

"Hey, gaki! Get over here!" He yelled, as NAruto walked over to him, a smirk on his face.

"So, couldn't break this one, eh Ibiki-san? You must be losing your touch."

"Just shut up and get in there." Ibiki said with a growl as he shoved Naruto into the room, which turned out to be a very large circular chamber, with Dani shackled to a chair in the centre. Several Anbu were stationed around the room, ready to act should the need arise.

"Well, it certainly is a big, round room."

"The girl's in the middle there, do your stuff. Just don't injure her. We've got orders to keep her unharmed."

"I know, I gave those orders." Naruto told him, making the scarred man raise an eyebrow. Naruto walked forward, circling the captured vessel. "So, what is it now? Why won't you tell us anything?"

"Why should I? My entire existence is to destroy, you, why would I help you?" Dani said in an exhausted tone, making it sound as if she had given up.

"Ah, so that's what it is. Well, Heaven probably isn't on best terms with you, seeing as you lost to Darkness, and are currently under his protection, and Hell doesn't like you because you've devoted your life to destroying it. Heaven hunts you, Hell hates you. All of creation cares not, whether you live or die. Join me, and together none shall stand in our way. Or continue to serve the justice of an entity that sends you into battle, knowing that you shall not return."

"That's not true!" Dani yelled, then went silent as she realised just how accurate it was.

"I offer you this choice, angel. Would you serve in Heaven, or rule in Hell?" Naruto asked, one of the most serious expressions he could muster present on his face. Dani stared at the ground as she thought of what Naruto had said. The Anbu around the room watched in silence, then their eyes narrowed and they drew their weapons as they saw Dani begin to struggle against her bonds.

"Release me, Darkness. Or is this how the Lord of Shadows treats its subordinates?" Dani asked, a small smirk on her face. Naruto's own smirk grew as he gestured to one of the Anbu standing by the wall. The elitie nin drew his sword and swung it at the chains, cutting them in two. The blonde girl stood up from the chair he had been bound to and began to massage her wrists. "Well then, what now?"

"You know, you're still technically being interrogated."

"Oh, well what did you want to know?"

"Orochimaru. Where is he?"

"It's hard to say. He changes his hideout every week, and nobody knows where all of the hideouts are except for Orochimaru and the late Yakushi Kabuto. A few are in the Hidden Sound, but there is at least one in every country on the continent."

"Wonderful. Guess the only chance we have is to wait for him to surface next. If we tried to find all of the hideouts and stake them out, our shinobi would be spread too thin to do anything to him. Still, the information about the hideout change is valuable. Thank you, Dani." Naruto said, before turning back to Ibiki. "Do you have what you wanted?"

"Not entirely, but it seems we've got all we can. It's not as if the girl would keep anything from you now, would she?"

"I wouldn't put it past her. Is that all?"

"Yeah, she's all yours now, kid."

"Good. But don't say that again, especially not in the presence of either Neru or Haku. I'd rather keep certain parts of my anatomy."

Naruto's Apartment...

"Naru-kun, is it really necessary to keep the girl you brought back chained to the wall?" Neru said as she looked down at Dani.

"Kinda, yeah. How do I know she's not gonna kill me in my sleep?" Naruto replied as he sat down, a bowl of instant ramen in his hands.

"I wouldn't. You've already established that you're stronger, and you keep growing stronger. I would be a fool to challenge you." Dani said as she sat cross-legged on the ground, seemingly meditating.

"Is that so? Well, maybe you should train if you want to grow stronger."

"Why? It's obvious that at the moment you're far above me, and if we go at the same pace, which is unlikely, you'll still be higher than me in terms of power."

"You're going to be working for me, so I need you to be as strong as you can be. I'm not gonna have a weakling living here."

"I would've thought you'd want me to be weak, so you can keep obedient, like a good little bitch."

"That's what the villagers and the council would want. Not me. The whole reason I wanted to take you into my custody is so you wouldn't be turned into breeding stock because of the Angelus, which would be considered a bloodline here. You'd most likely be given to the Uchiha, so I'm saving you from that. And I'd like it if from now on you didn't insult me further."

"Insult?"

"The thought of being anything like the villagers of Konoha...sickens me. Don't treat me like them, or you'll meet a swift end. You hear me?"

"I understand...Naruto-sama." Dani muttered, before falling silent. Naruto made a hand sign and the chain around her leg vanished. Naruto then held out a hand which Dani took, helping her up.

"Now, come on. We'd better get to the training grounds, ne? Neru, Haku, c'mon! We're leaving!" Naruto called, and the two girls appeared before him so fast he had to blink in confusion or his eyes would've probably exploded.

"Are you finally gonna teach me those elemental jutsu, Naru-kun?" Neru asked, a slight destructive gleam in her eyes.

"Why not? It's as good a time as any. And Haku, today we'll work on ice control without using jutsu. This way you should be able to form ice with a simple gesture, with little to no effort. Hopefully, you should be able to make an ice defence that will appear without your doing anything, similar to Gaara's sand."

"Seriously? Thank you, Naruto-kun!" Haku cried as she launched herself at Naruto, almost knocking him to the ground.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. Let's get going. We need to train, especially since I have a feeling shit is gonna hit the fan real soon." Naruto said, as all four disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

One Month Later... (unexpected, right?)

One month had passed since Dani had become a servant of Darkness, and the four had been training almost non-stop. Haku had almost succeeded in making the ice spring to her defence without command, but was not quite there. Neru had learnt her elemental affinities, fire and lightning, and learnt several jutsu in each of those elements. She still had a long way to go in order to master them, however. Dani had been working with Naruto personally almost the whole time, with only short periods when Naruto either trained himself or the other two girls. She had learnt several of Naruto's own Darkness techniques, but changed them to fit them with her Light powers. When Haku and Neru had finished training each day they would take to watching Naruto and Dani train, and several times had noticed Dani stealing glances at her blonde teacher.

"So, Naru-kun's got another girl after him?" Neru said, more of a statement than a question.

"We really should've expected that. Especially with her always calling him 'Naruto-sama'," Haku told her, to which Neru nodded.

"We'll confront her soon. We need to know if she really likes him, and what she's gonna do about it. And we need to tell her what we're gonna do to her if she hurts him."

"Agreed."

Meanwhile, in another training ground, Uchiha Sasuke was training with his Sharingan and Katon jutsu, battling against a training dummy so charred it was practically unrecognisable. He ran through seals and charged up a Chidori, piercing the dummy through where its heart would've been. He pulled back his lightning-clad arm and dispelled the electricity, growling in anger as he kicked the dummy's head off.

"Dammit...why is the dobe always stronger than me? I should be the stronger one, I'm an Uchiha! I should have everything that means anything in terms of power, I deserve it! But he's always the one with power!" He muttered as he repeatedly hit the dummy, slowly ripping it apart. The raven-haired avenger was about to hit it with another Chidori when another voice spoke, stopping him in his tracks.

"So, it's power you want, huh? You know Jiroubou, I think we can grant that." Said the voice, as if talking to someone else who wasn't there.

"Indeed, Kidoumaru. But he'll have to come with us and meet out master, won't he." Another, deeper voice said, answering the first.

"That's right. He needs to see Orochimaru-sama." The first voice said, but before he could say anything else or reveal himself, another voice cut him off.

"Would you two quit with the spooky voices shit? Just get down there and get the little fucker!" The third voice said, sounding like an irate female one, before a loud crash sounded as the owners of the first two voices fell out of a tree.

"Damn you, Tayuya...What is your problem?" The dark-skinned one with six arms shouted up into the tree as he crawled off of the larger one with orange hair, who was laying on the ground.

"You're my fucking problem, shitbrick! You're so fucking annoying, Orochimaru just HAD to add a little shithead like you to the fucking team!" The third voice's owner, a girl with long, messy red hair and a black bandana over it, said as she dropped down from the tree. The girl kicked the six-armed one in the head before shouting back up at the tree.

"Hey, fuckwits! Get the fuck down here before I pound you like a sack of shit!" She yelled before another figure dropped down from the tree, leaving Sasuke to wonder how they had all fit in the small tree, and if it was working on the same nonexistent principle as a clown car. The fourth person had short silver hair which covered one eye, and what seemed to be another head sprouting from the back of his neck.

"Well, there goes the stealthy approach. Nice going, Tayuya."

"Fuck you."

"Who are you? It's obvious by your hitai-ate, you're not from Konoha. What does Orochimaru want?"

"So many questions, you're an inquisitive one, aren't you?" The silver-haired one said, stepping forward. "We are the Sound Four, Orochimaru's elite bodyguard. My name is Sakon, and this is my brother, Ukon." The head on his back lifted, showing it to be an identical copy of Sakon except for the fact that his hair covered the other eye.

"How's it going?" Ukon said, before lowering his head again and going back to sleep.

"Hey, fucktard! I'm Tayuya, and you better fucking remember it!" The red-haired girl shouted, as the other three rolled their eyes.

"My name is Kidoumaru, it's a pleasure to meet you." The six-armed one said with a bow.

"And I am Jiroubou. We are here to offer you a very profitable proposition." The large one said, crossing his arms.

"And what would that be?" Sasuke said, pulling a kunai from his holster as he got into a battle stance.

"You can calm down. We won't attack. We simply want to offer you...power." Sakon said, making Sasuke relax slightly. "That curse seal of yours, we have the same. But ours are stronger. We have the second stage of the curse seal, the full transformation. We will give you this transformation, and in return, you will leave this place and serve Orochimaru. So, what do you choose, Uchiha Sasuke?"

'The second level...interesting, that power may be enough...to beat both Naruto and Itachi. And all I have to do is serve Orochimaru? Hn, that won't last long. I'll take it, but soon Orochimaru will die by my hand, and I will kill my brother.' Sasuke thought with his arms crossed over his chest. "Give me that power, and I'll follow you."

"Very well, I have a pill here which will give you the power you desire. But once you take it, you must be carried to the Hidden Sound in the coffin which Jiroubou is carrying. Being Orochimaru-sama's bodyguards, we are proficient enough to create a fuuinjutsu that will contain the rage and power you will exhibit during the transformation."

"And all I need to do is take the pill?"

"Yes." Sakon said, before handing Sasuke a small brown pill, which Sasuke swallowed quickly.

"Will it hurt?" Sasuke asked, to which Kidoumaru chuckled.

"No, it won't hurt...much." Kidoumaru said, just before pain racked the Uchiha's body. Jiroubou grabbed hold of him and placed him into the coffin before slamming the lid down on top of it. Kidoumaru rushed over and placed four paper tags on its edges, which glowed for a moment before returning to normal. Jiroubou tied the coffin to his back before nodding to Sakon, who also nodded along with Kidoumaru and Tayuya. The four Oto-nin jumped off into the trees, heading to the border between Leaf and Sound.

"Sakon." Kidoumaru said as he jumped up to tree-hop beside the team leader.

"Yes, Kidoumaru?" The silver-haired boy replied, not even turning to face the spider-nin.

"You know that Konoha-nin will come to stop us from taking their last Sharingan, don't you?"

"I know. And that's exactly what I'm hoping for."

"Why's that?"

"Because the other boy Orochimaru-sama marked is in that village, and is the most likely to come after him, being on the same team. If we can't convince him to come with us, we will capture him and force him to come with us. Orochimaru will have what he desires. And what he desires is Konoha's Sharingan and the power of the Darkness."

And that's that! I finally get onto the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, something I've been waiting to get to for a long time. I can have the ultimate battle between Sasuke and Naruto, then I can get onto Shippuden! Believe me, when I get onto Part 2, things are going to be an EXPLOSION OF YOUTH! ...Ahem, I'm sorry about that, I don't know what came over me. Anyway, that's all I have to say, so thank you and goodnight!

Next Time, on Naruto Estacado

Sasuke is being taken by the Sound Four to Orochimaru, and Naruto, ordered by Tsunade, must build a team of shinobi to take on this mission and retrieve him. But Sasuke's curse seal is strengthening, and the Sound Four are lying in wait ready to capture Naruto as well! What will happen when the Sasuke Retrieval Squad come to blows with the Sound Four? How will Naruto keep himself from their grasp? What will happen when Naruto and Sasuke finally battle to the death? Find out next time, on Naruto Estacado! (Rolls credits, with Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse by Dimmu Borgir in the background)