She sat in her room and thought. She thought and she thought until she came to a conclusion, then she thought about it some more. She finally took out a pencil and some paper to get all of her thoughts organized.
She had it down to mathematics. Good was all positive integers, evil was all negative integers. Naruto was good, +. Jinchuuriki were evil, as proven by Gaara and his bloodthirstiness, -. Naruto was a Jinchuuriki, but Naruto was not evil. This threw the whole equation out. A=B, B=C, but A≠C.
So she went to the Jinchuuriki. Naruto, a positive, times Kyuubi, a negative, equals a Jinchuuriki, a negative. But, a negative times a negative equals a positive, so negative Naruto times negative Kyuubi equals a positive Jinchuuriki. This could mean that Naruto would have been evil to begin with, and Kyuubi, trying to hurt Naruto out of hatred, forced him to do good.
That was feeble at best.
She leaned back in her chair, maybe she was thinking about this too hard. So she looked at her equations for awhile before changing something. Naruto, a positive, plus Kyuubi, a negative equals a negative. Or does it? If Naruto were a stronger positive, then he could still come out positive through the equation. This would even work for Gaara. Gaara, a weak positive, plus his Biju, Shukaku if she remembered right, a strong negative, equals a negative Jinchuuriki.
Then, take Naruto, a strong positive, plus Gaara, a weak negative, equals a positive, symbolizing Gaara's change of heart.
Hinata smiled as she thought about this. This meant that Jinchuuriki's alignment on the number scale of good and evil depends on the Jinchuuriki's own good, not the evil of the Biju. So if the Biju only affected the personality by a set "number," then the Jinchuuriki's character should only be judged by the person himself, not the Biju.
So, Naruto should only be judged by his own character, and all of her experience has proven his character to be good.
"But what if Naruto is Kyuubi?" She looked down at the paper, before coming to the conclusion that he wasn't. A negative, Kyuubi, plus zero, the lack of Naruto's baby form's conscious, equals the same negative. Naruto couldn't be Kyuubi.
She smiled as she leaned back. Naruto was Naruto. Kyuubi was Kyuubi. They did not equal. She quickly drew a cartoon version of Naruto's face and a small fox with nine tails and a big 'does not equal' sign between them.
She suddenly felt much safer that the Haven housed all nine Jinchuuriki.
Tsunade's headaches have been getting worse and worse. She may eventually start having to take migraine medication. And her problems never seemed to let up, it was always Raikage this, Tsuchikage that, Kazekage this, it never stopped.
The only thing she didn't have to worry about was an invasion. The Outcast had Fire territory locked up tight, and the Tsunchikage had reassured her that anything less than the nine Biju would hit Iwa like a bucket of water on a rock.
She made a note to thank them.
Then there was Naruto. Any free time she had she spent looking out the window, wondering, always wondering, what had happened to that blond enigma. And no matter how hard she tried, she could not forget the boy that had brought her back to Konoha.
She sighed as she wrapped up the Nostalgia moment, and returned to the paperwork. She quickly signed a few papers before putting the stack into her neatly organized "Out" box, and pulling another stack onto her desk from the equally organized "In" box.
A mental image of Naruto's smiling face flashed against her memory.
Tsunade stopped what she was doing, took a deep breath, and struggled against the tears that began flowing out of her eyes. "Oh, Naruto, Naruto, Naruto." She whispered to herself, "Wherever you are, I hope that you are happy."
As the day went by, she decided to have a gift sent to both the Tsuchikage and the Outcast, to thank both of them for their help. She had already sent a convoy of wood supplies to Iwa and was about to send some weapons to the Outcast when she hit a small hitch in the plan.
She had no clue where the Outcast was.
She instantly called in Jiraiya, thinking his spy network would know where he was.
The Toad Sanin was clueless.
She called in all of her reconnaissance teams. They had no idea either.
She called in every ninja who had contact with the Exiles for the last month. They all had the same story, the Exiles came to them; they had no idea where the Exiles came from.
All except Hinata. "Yes, Hokage-sama, I know where the Haven is."
"The Haven?"
"The Haven of the Exiles." Hinata explained.
"So you could get to the Haven and then get everyone back?"
"Depends." Hinata shrugged.
"On what?"
"Well, some of the Exiles have something against the 'Insiders' so really it depends on whether or not the Outcast gives them the 'seal of approval' if you will."
Tsunade began to think. "Is there any way we could get that 'seal?'"
Hinata thought about it, and a plan began to form in her mind. "It's possible, but it could get very complicated."
"How so?"
"Well, the only way I can think of is too get an Exile representative in Konoha, but the problem to that is that we can't reach the Outcast to send an ambassador. So really the only thing we can do is to send someone to the Haven, gain their trust, and have that person become the ambassador, but the only person who knows the location of the Haven is…" She put on a face that looked like she didn't like where this was going.
Tsunade looked at her, "Hinata."
"I-I-I…"
"What?"
She hung her head in defeat. She sighed. "Do you have a mission for me, Hokage-sama?"
"I do. I want you to become our first ambassador to the Haven of the Exiles."
Hinata sighed, "Yes, Hokage-sama." She said, while in her head she rejoiced as her plan came together perfectly.
Hinata stood at the gate, a backpack slung over one shoulder. She read her assignment scroll again. She was to spend one moth gaining the Exile's trust before coming back and giving monthly reports.
She could do that.
She could come back to this rat hole once a month. That way, she'd see her friends and her family.
She looked sadly back at the village, knowing people were watching. She sighed before stepping out of the empty shell that was once the village of Konoha.
She took her first steps to freedom.
Sasuke walked into the black throne room. The dark man sat on his dark throne. "Report." The dark man said, the shadows of the room matching the color of his black heart.
"The Jinchuuriki seemed to have disappeared."
"What?!" The dark man said, standing.
"There is no trace of them, not even the dobe that holds Kyuubi."
"How can the nine most powerful creatures in the world simply disappear!?" The Dark man said, the room shaking with his fury.
Sasuke stood unfazed. "So what are your orders?"
The dark man watched the boy for a moment. "I know what you want, Sasuke." He said. "But I forbid you to find Itachi until you have found at least one Biju."
"Whatever." Sasuke said, turning to the door.
The dark man spoke, "Watch yourself, Sasuke. I could have killed Itachi easily, you would be no less difficult."
Sasuke just turned his head to look back. "I'm sure." He said, before walking away.
Hinata stood, five miles north of Konoha. She activated her Byakugan, and checked the area.
She couldn't see him, but that didn't mean anything.
After making sure no one was in the area, she began calling him. "Naruto…Naruto…I need to see you."
There was silence for a bit.
Suddenly, he appeared. The white coat and green armor were unmistakable. "Hey, Hinata." He said, "Whatcha doing out here?"
She held the scroll out to him. "Assignment from the Hokage to me." She handed him the scroll.
Naruto read it over. When he finished he gave her back the scroll. "So, an ambassador?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, then let's go, you've got a month to start fitting in, we can't waste a day."
He grabbed her hand and began leading her eastward. Hinata's face was a deep shade of red the whole way. He led her through thick trees and bushes that Hinata didn't remember seeing. Then they came upon another marker, like the one at the forest's border she saw a year and a half ago.
"Okay, here's a trick." He said, "Whenever you're returning from Konoha, and you come to this point, make the Kai seal and then touch the skull. Underneath it is a seal that puts people in a Genjutsu that makes them go in huge circles."
"Why do you have it here?"
"To keep the Haven safe." Naruto said, "Once people know where the Haven is, they can send ninjas after all of the Exiles." He turned to her, "That's why I started the Haven, to give protection to those who need it." He turned back to the marker, "Now, let's go." He out his hands in the Kai seal, "Kai." He said, touching the skull.
He then took Hinata by the hand, and led her forward.
They continued through thick trees and bush, making their way eastward.
After an hour or so, they came upon a wall of fog. "Here's the other trick." Naruto said. He pulled his mask down, "Check this out." He said, letting go of Hinata's hand. He whistled three high notes and then five low notes in quick succession.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the wall of fog began to move. Before her eyes, the fog began to roll out of the way, revealing the lake and the island.
"Now you've got to admit that's cool." Naruto said.
Naruto led Hinata to an empty tree house, let her unpack and everything, before he took her down to the streets. He explained to her the ins and outs of the Haven, everything from the indoor plumbing system to the Haven's council. "The council, made up of the Jinchuuriki and myself, is only called on when a member of questionable background wants to join, discussing battle plans, or if we are being invaded. Luckily, we only have had to worry about Kumo's invasion of Konoha so far." He told her as he led her past a playground that was filled with kids.
Hinata found the Haven to be a peaceful place. There seemed to be no problems, no worries, and no enemies. She would love to live here.
"Oh, hey." Naruto said, "I'd like to introduce you to a couple of people. Ondu! Niligol!" He said, waving across the street.
Two men, about 5"8', with dark auburn hair and vivid blue eyes turned. When they saw Naruto they both smiled. "Outcast-san." One of them said.
Hinata quickly looked both of them over. The one that had spoken had a baldric that was covered with knives. At his sides hung two trench knives, with a red circle embedded into the black steel.
The other one was just as well armed, if not better. In his belt sat three single-bit axes, and a large sledgehammer hung on his back. He also had a long scar that traced his cheek.
"Hinata," Naruto told her, "This is Ondu and Niligol." He motioned to the knife wielder and the axe man respectively. "Ondu, Niligol, this is Hyuuga Hinata, she's Konoha representative in the Haven."
The two of them got a little uneasy. "Uh, sir. She's…she's an insider." Niligol said.
"Yes she is." Naruto said. "But she is going to be living here and then going to Konoha once a month to report to the Hokage, so get used to it." He said the last five words with a threatening undertone.
"Yes sir." The said.
"Now, spread the word. If anyone as much as looks at her the wrong way, I'll hand them over to Killer Bee to use for sword practice."
"Yes sir." They said, before taking off in opposite directions.
Naruto sighed. "Prejudice sucks."
"Sorry," Hinata said.
"No, don't apologize for someone else's stupidity. But anyway, do you have any questions?"
"Um, yes, actually. What would happen if one of the Jinchuuriki went out of control?"
Naruto smiled, "I'm glad you asked. The thing is, we all keep each other in check. If one of us went out of control, then the other nine would do their best to stop the one. Now, Killer Bee, and Bachiatari, the Eight and Seven tail Jinchuuriki are both in a state where the Biju doesn't try to turn them into mindless killing machines. If worse came to worse, these two would be the biggest help, they are a perfect mix of control and strength, which helps them the most. Now another fact for you, all of the Biju that are five tails and under, except Shukaku, are easily controlled. This means that only three of the Jinchuuriki are actually in danger of losing control, the Ichibi, the Rokubi, and…"
"And you." Hinata said.
"…Yeah." He said, deflating his chest and bending over in shame.
It hurt Hinata to see him like that. "Hey, don't worry about it, ok? You are Naruto, the Fox is the Fox, and whatever the Fox did to mess his life up is his fault. You have your own slate, and so far, it's clean."
Naruto looked up at her and smiled. Then his eyebrows furrowed. "Hm." He said, pointing the Headband Hinata wore around her neck. "Were going to have to do something about this." He said.
"Naruto, I'm only supposed to be an ambassador, my loyalties are to Konoha first." Hinata said.
"I know, which is what brought this question up." He said, suddenly taking it off her neck, and leaving Hinata wondering how he did that.
"How did you…?"
"What?"
"How did you untie the knot without me notcing?"
Naruto smiled with a foxy grin. "You pick up a few things." He said, before beginning to walk down the street, "Come on."
He led her down the street to a small shop where the banging of metal could be heard. The shop sigh read, "Tekkou's(Iron and Steel) Blacksmith."
"Hey, Touken (Cold steel)!" Naruto said as he went through the door.
"One second!" a deep voice from the back room said. In a about ten seconds, a man with brown hair, nearly back eyes, and well muscled arms came up to the desk, his hands and face were almost back with soot, except for where the beads of sweat washed it off, leaving long trails across the contours of his face. "Outcast-sama," He said, bowing slightly, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, first off, you should introduce yourself to this lovely young lady next to me," Hinata blushed, "and then you'll get to show off."
"Cool, I like showing off. Anyway," Touken said, holding out his soot covered hand, "My name is Tekkou Touken, blacksmith extraordinaire."
Hinata took his hand and shook it, "I'm Hyuuga Hinata, and it's good to meet you."
"Oh, a Hyuuga," Touken said, letting go of her hand and having his face twisit into a remembering expression, "now let's see, my last fight with a Hyuuga, he left me laying on the ground, bleeding, and half-unconscious. Excellent fight."
"Yeah, yeah, 'one of the greatest fights I ever had.'" Naruto said. "Just put the Mark on both sides of the leaf on this this." He said, putting her Hedaband on the counter.
"Why on both sides of it?" Touken asked.
"Because she is Konoha's ambassador to us, and we are going to use her to stay in contact with Konoha."
"Oh, so she's not a 'real' Exile."
"Exactly."
"Alright, I can do that." He said, as he put his thumbs and forefingers on the edge of the steel.
"Hinata, come over here and watch, this is as cool as it gets." Naruto said, pulling her close to the bench.
Suddenly, Touken's chakra flared. You could almost see the blue aura's Around his hands as he began to focus it into the headband.
Slowly, two perfect circles began to appear, being cut out of the headband by chakra.
The chakra slowly began to fade. "Whew." Touken said, as he held up the finshed product. "That takes a bit of work."
Hinata looked down at her headband, and the newly cut circles in it. She looked up at Touken, "How?"
Touken smiled, "We Tekkou have something like a bloodline ability that allows us to use charka to mold metal. There is a legend that we made the first chakra saber, but I doubt that's true."
"And you're an Exile? With a bloodline like that how could you not be in your own village?"
"I was born in Kiri, most of my family died in their bloodline war." He said, seriously.
"…Oh…" suddenly feeling that the moment was awkward.
He then smiled, "But it's good to know that some Villages would kill for my bloodline, no pun intended."
Hinata sighed, glad the awkward moment was gone. "Thank you very much." Hinata said, reaching into her pocket for some money. She put two thousand ryo on the table and was about to head out.
"Hey, come back here." Touken said.
Hinata turned around.
Touken gave her money back. "No one pays for the Mark." He said.
"Well, thanks, Touken." Naruto said, "But we've got to get going. We have the whole Haven to look at."
"Alright you get to that, oh by the, your sword's modifications are almost complete."
"Thanks, Touken." Naruto said, "Just have it sent to my office when it's done."
"Will do!" Touken said as the Outcast and Konoha's ambassador left the shop.
"When did you get a sword?" she asked.
"Tenten gave it to me before I left." Naruto told her. "Remember?"
"No."
"Well, she did, and I've become quite adept at sword play. Some people will even tell you I'm a master." He said, his head swelling with pride.
Hinata had the sudden urge to knock him down a peg. "So you've gotten past the accidently cutting yourself stage?"
Naruto's ego deflated, and he gave Hinata a look. Hinata laughed.
"I'm kidding." She said.
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said.
Suddenly, a large man with a white headband with the Kumo symbol and the Mark of the Exile on it appeared. He had light blond hair, and well-muscled arms. On his shoulder was a tattoo with the Kanji for 'iron' and he had what looked like two bull horns tattooed under his left eye, which was hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses. On his back was a special sheath that held seven swords. His belt had two long, braided strands hanging from it, which reminded Hinata of squid tentacles.
"Outcast-san." He said, a slightly worried tone in his voice.
"Killer Bee, good to see ya." Naruto said, turning to Hinata, "This is Killer bee, the Hachibi container. Killer Bee this is Hyuuga Hinata."
Killer Bee seemed to flinch at the name Hyuuga, but he shrugged it off. "Outcast-san, we've got ourselves a bit of a fix."
"So you've called me to get in the mix?" Naruto said a slight smile on his face.
Killer Bee suddenly looked like he was resisting something. "There's someone at the shore, he wants to see you."
"Well, I hope the wait won't make him blue."
"Please stop."
"Sure, pop."
"Why are you doing this to me!?" Killer Bee said, falling to his knees in a pathetic way.
Hinata looked at them both, wondering what was going on. Naruto saw the look and began to explain, "His girlfriend won't date him until he can prove he can go two weeks without rapping."
"How long has it been?" Hinata asked, wondering how long he has tortured himself.
"Less than three hours."
He stood at the shore. It took him days to find. Each day was followed by a sleepless night, but he had finally found it. Now he stood on the shore, where a large crowd had gathered, some carried an almost literal arsenal of weapons on them while others simply stood there and tried to look imposing.
But the one he was looking for wasn't there.
Suddenly, a man in a white coat appeared, beneath the coat was a suit of green armor.
"So we meet again, Naruto."
Next chapter, Council Meeting and the Untold Truth.