What if Naruto had a hidden power that came to be when he fought Mizuki, a bloodline he never knew of? Then he would be known as the Kaze no Arashi, the Wind Storm!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Those rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Kaze no Arashi
Chapter 30:
The Sad Welcome Turned Goodbye: The Plan of Departure!
Uchiha Sasuke felt conflicted as he walked toward Orochimaru's hideout. He had told Naruto the reason for his actions, the reason he acted like he did. The mission he had to take on, he had to make it realistic to the civilians and most of the shinobi in the village that didn't know exactly what went on between Naruto and himself. How much of a bond that they had made when they were teammates in the Hidden Leaf Village. How deep of a friendship that the Nine Tailed Fox's Jinchuriki and the Last Uchiha had. No one knew of that bond besides Sasuke and Naruto themselves.
That's why Sasuke just injured Naruto and had him on the ropes to use up most of his chakra, not kill him or attack him fatally like a Chidori to the chest.
Sasuke still cared about Naruto…
He just wanted people to believe he hated the village for leaving him in the dust, making him weaker while Orochimaru could make him stronger.
He wanted them to believe in the Sasuke everybody could have guessed on…
The Sasuke they thought they knew
But nobody knew Sasuke at all…
Beside Sasuke himself…
And Naruto as well…
XXX
Uzumaki Naruto could hear voices, but he didn't pay attention to them much. He was still trying to comprehend what Sasuke was telling to him earlier. He saw trees, moving around him… No… he was moving… Someone had him on their back and was moving… He looked to see a head of unmistakable spikey silverfish-gray hair and knew immediately who it was.
"Kakashi-sensei…"
This got the jonin's attention as well as Kisuke's. "So, you're up, Naruto…"
"Did Sasuke get away…?"
Kakashi just said nothing, keeping silent as all of a sudden, medical shinobi appeared near them.
"Kakashi-san, what's Uzumaki Naruto's condition?" One of them asked, probably the leader of the three.
"He's alright," Kakashi answered back. "Just one or two major injuries and a few minor injuries; he'll be in hospital for two hours or so since he is exhausted most of his chakra, but overall, he's fine."
"Where's Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke!" One of the other medics asked, but got his answer from the looks on the other shinobi's faces. One of the medical ninja looked sadly at Naruto, knowing it must be hard for the boy.
"What's the situation with the other genin and chunin on the Sasuke Retrieval Mission?" Kakashi asked, wanting to get away from the subject of Sasuke. It made him curse at how he was a failure as a teacher, but it still shocked him somewhat how the Uchiha had acted after he talked with Tsunade and was healed. Even if he thought Sasuke could possibly act like that, it still shocked him.
The leader looked seriously at Kakashi as they went toward Konohagakure. "Yes! By the orders of the Hokage, the first and second medical shinobi have been dispatched and have been recovered and taken for immediate medical attention. Nara Shikamaru has a minor injury on his hand. Inuzuka Kiba has a deep wound, but is in no danger of losing his life. Hyuga Neji and Akimichi Choji are in critical condition however… For the moment, their situation is uncertain."
Naruto began to think of everyone that was on the mission.
Everyone…
Naruto began to close his eyes, still weak from his fight.
XXX
Akimichi Choji was laying on a hospital bed as the doctor had a clipboard, looking over the very weak genin.
Tsunade looked at a book that had the effects listed on there so she was able to make something to heal Choji.
As I thought, the ingredients and effects of the pills are well documented and recorded… That's good.
She looked at one of the medical staff, "Bring me an antler!"
The medical shinobi replied a quick "Yes!" and went off to get the antler as Tsunade was grinding bits of ingredients into a powder, wanting to make sure Choji would be alright as well as the others, but hoped, most of all, Naruto would make it back alright.
Come back safe, brat…
XXX
A bandaged Kiba turned his head to look at his older sister, Hana. "How is he, sister?" He was worried about Akamaru's condition.
"For the moment he won't be able to walk. The muscles in his arms and legs were damaged." She said as Kiba looked at her.
"You're a vet, right, sis?" Kiba asked her.
"He's alright. No need to worry at all. After some rest, his condition will stabilize." She watched as Kiba finched and cursed in pain. "More importantly, the same goes for you as well."
Kiba lightly smiled at his caring sister's words. "…Yeah…, I got it…"
XXX
Shizune and other medical shinobi were surrounding the markings on the floor as they repaired Neji's wound with his hair.
"Although we're using this boy's hair as a medium," Shizune spoke to other shinobi, "please don't make a mistake in the cell ratio of the damaged part of his skin and the strands of hair! Every strand of hair must be affected by the chakra control!"
"Yes, Shizune!" the medical staff spoke as they focused on Neji, making sure he was fully healed.
XXX
Nara Shikamaru looked at his hands; one of his fingers had a splint on it, as he fidgeted with his working fingers.
"There's no use in fidgeting at all." Temari said, her legs crossed and hands on her thighs as she sat, looking at Shikamaru. "Sacrifice is almost a given on a mission… Didn't you go through any emotional training?"
Shikamaru stared at her. "Training and the actual mission, actual combat is totally different… You never know exactly how a mission is going to go… and I was the team leader for the first time on this mission… Because of this…, I know I'm not cut out to be a shinobi at all."
Temari scowled slightly at the depressed Shikamaru. "Unexpected fragility… Men are so strange…"
Shikamaru shifted upward and began to walk away from Temari, not wanting to hear her piercing words. "I shouldn't have been the team leader… All I did was trust everyone else. I was too laid-back, not strong enough… It's all my fault that this happened…"
Temari glared at him. "…Are you that afraid of being hurt?"
Shikamaru stopped, looked at the floor solemnly until he started to walk again, his father, Nara Shikaku, being right at the corner, having heard their entire conversation.
"Shikamaru…," he addressed his son, "you're being talked down to by a girl and you'll just run away?"
Shikamaru looked back over his shoulder at his father, "I don't want to go into a troublesome argument, because I'm not a girl."
"True…," Shikaku said, looking at his son, "but you are not a man either. You're just a coward." Temari looked over there, listening to the conversation. "Even if you quit being a shinobi, mission will still happen. Someone will have to carry them out. Your friends will just have to go with a new leader. So then, maybe they will die… but, if you're the leader at that time, your companions may live on… If you look at this time as an experience, and you learn from this experience, then maybe you can carry out missions with fewer problems… If your companions are that important to you, before running away, consider it an opportunity to become stronger for their sakes!
"That is what it means to be a real companion, a real comrade, you coward!" Shikamaru just stood there, taking in his father's words as Temari just stared, a slight frown on her face. The door to the room Choji was in opened, catching Temari's attention, as Tsunade appeared and went to the bench opposite Temari, sitting down.
"It's alright now…" When Tsunade said this, Shikamaru twitched. "The continuous destruction of Akimichi Choji's cells from the pills was stopped by an antidote I made myself. This time he was saved, it was a success." She looked at Shikaku. "I used a special drug-mixing manual from the Nara Clan. There was quite a bit of serious stuff in there. Was that the result of continuous research?"
Shukaku was about to answer Tsunade when Shizune came out of the doorway, sweaty and panting.
"Tsunade-sama, Hyuga Neji's… condition is stabilized. Also, I have more information on the mission. Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto have returned just now… Although, Naruto is injured; his life is not in any danger."
Tsunade looked at the ground with a frown. "Only the two of them, huh?" Although, inside, she seethed at Uchiha Sasuke's secret mission as she had been outvoted. She had to deal with the counsel and elders voting and not her. The Hokage was the tiebreaker vote, so she couldn't butt in and she was overpowered by them, even when she did "vote." Because by vote, she meant yelled at the bastards and was about to open a can of whoop ass as Tsunade was good at doing that, almost too good…
The Fifth Hokage looked at Shikamaru, "It looks like the mission was a failure, Shikamaru…" Shikamaru began shaking. "But… everyone's alive and well. That's more important than anything else."
Shikamaru had tears streaming down his face, feeling the pain of his failure, the weight of the mission on his shoulders. "Next time…, I swear that next time, this mission will be flawless, a true success story…!"
XXX
Uzumaki Naruto stared at the hospital walls that surrounded him, the barrier around him as he was clothed in bandages from his major and minor injuries that were almost all the way healed. At least he didn't have a gaping chest wound to deal with, right?
Naruto still cursed at his situation, not wanting to be contained in these wrappings as if his body would break down the moment he left them. The only thing people could really see is most of Naruto's face, the tips of his fingers, and his mountain range of blonde hair. He was covered in a simple black shirt and pants as he moved his head down to what rested in his lap, Sasuke's Konohagakure headband. He began to recall the fight between him and Sasuke, Sasuke's secret mission, the reality of Konoha's Shinobi Council and the Elders and Advisors. The political set-up had changed in Konohagakure since the Fourth Hokage left.
The Third Hokage was too weak to effectively set up some laws and regulations and take vote against issues so the Elders and Advisors went with some of the Council and made up secret missions and assignments to protect Konohagakure from the underground, in hiding even though they did help when they showed their faces as well like the one Sasuke was sent on.
Naruto couldn't help but feel angry at these people of Konohagakure, at least those Elders and Advisors, but they were previous retired shinobi for the most part. They were born from a different era than the generation Naruto is from. Different views on culture, politics, and society will cause them to choice a solution that Naruto would think is immoral and unjust, but Naruto couldn't stop it.
He felt helpless in this hospital room, without Sasuke…
He felt, for the first time, that he was truly a failure…
Even though Naruto knew the importance of this mission of Sasuke's, he still wanted to take Sasuke home, to piss off the advisors and elders, to tick Danzo, Homura and Koharu off.
He also wanted to show proof to the village, the remaining part of the village that still didn't believe in him and his abilities, the part that still mocked him, that he was stronger.
That he was no longer that brat, that demon kid…
That he was Uzumaki Naruto, shinobi of Konohagakure, the Future Sixth Hokage…
"Well, so you're awake…"
Naruto turned to see the source of that familiar voice and looked at the doorway to see a slightly smiling Shikamaru leaning against the door.
Naruto slightly smiled as he said, "Shikamaru!"
Shikamaru sat down and looked at Naruto, all bandaged up. Naruto noticed Shikamaru looking and decided to get Shikamaru to talk. "So, how is everybody else?"
Shikamaru flinched a little when Naruto spoke and looked at the blonde, "Sorry about that, Naruto… Well, everybody is fine now. Choji has been treated as with Neji and Kiba. They are should be doing alright as long as they rest like you."
Naruto let out a breath in relief. "Everybody's safe and well… Good…"
Shikamaru stared at Naruto's expression of failure. "And Sasuke…?"
"Yeah…," Naruto said disappointedly, looking at the headband on his lap. "He got away…"
Little did Naruto know about who was listening in on the other side of the door…
XXX
Haruno Sakura felt her hand slip from the door, slip from the handle of the door as she looked sadly at the one thing that separated her from Naruto, but all she could think about is what Naruto had just said as she was about to open door, having come there after Ino told her everyone was back from the mission.
Yeah… He got away…
It repeated in her mind, in her brain as if she couldn't believe that it was true. The image of Team 7, Sakura smiling in the middle while Naruto and Sasuke stood on either side, actually slightly smiling as Kakashi eye-smiled and ruffled the two boys' hair. She originally thought they would glare at each other because of their rivalry, but the two decided against it at the last minute, smiling a slightly small smile at the camera. It began to crack like glass in her mind like a mirror, a window broken by a baseball, as the baseball made shards move in all directions. Sakura was almost on the verge of tears, but held it back surprisingly.
She just stood there, not moving, just looking at the door in shock, disbelief and sadness as she heard footsteps approach her.
"Haruno Sakura, right?" Sakura looked at who asked her the question and saw that it was Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage. "It seems news travels fast…"
She opened the door and Sakura went inside when Tsunade gestured for her to go inside and Tsunade followed.
Sakura saw Naruto all bandaged and felt a pang in her chest, guilt consuming her for making Naruto go that far for her to have Sasuke. It really hurt her like being stabbed billions of times with Haku's senbon needles. She felt so bad that she wanted to run out of the room and cry at how she had hurt Naruto for making him go on this mission for her sake, but something made her just stand there still as she uttered Naruto's name, still shocked at his appearance of a mummy, almost covered head to toe in bandages.
Naruto turned to the familiar, almost heavenly voice that uttered his name as it gave him shivers with its cold, almost frightened and sad tone. He was shocked and wide eyed to see one Haruno Sakura standing with Tsunade behind her.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto uttered out of his mouth in shock at seeing her, saddened and guilty. He had never seen her look like this, sad yet not totally sad, almost in the middle.
"I heard that you were injured quite a bit, though you seem to be doing fine, better than they thought." Tsunade said as Naruto clenched his covers and tightened his eyes in failure and frustration.
"I'm sorry… Sakura-chan…"
Sakura pulled on a wide, fake smile, almost to reassure herself, not just Naruto. "Why're you apologizing?" Naruto could tell by her tone something was up, staring sadly at the headband as Sakura moved to the windows, letting sunlight look into the room. "You look just like a mummy, don't you?"
"I… I'm sorry…" Naruto repeated.
"Listen, the weather's so good today. See, I opened the curtains…" Sakura said, looking out the window as Shikamaru stared at her, frowning slightly at their interaction.
"…Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled at her, trying to try to stop her depression. "I'll definitely keep my promise! Afterall…, I said it was a lifelong promise!"
Sakura was looking out the window, "It's alright, Naruto…"
Shikamaru grew slightly angry, "Sakura! He's trying to…"
"Always…" Naruto's voice cut into the room and Shikamaru's voice. "Like I always say…" Everyone in the room was looking at the newly made chunin who now had a smile on his face. "I won't go back on my word! That's my nindo, my way of the ninja!"
Sakura looked sadly at Naruto as Tsunade and Shikamaru lightly smiled, knowing this was typical Naruto. Sakura looked at the bandages, the marked headband, and the smile, the forming grin on his face, childish and optimistic like he always was. Sakura slightly smiled as she spoke again.
"Naruto…" I'm still holding you back… Sakura began as she walked toward the door and opened it, sliding it on the floor. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I'll have to make you wait a little longer…"
Naruto was slightly confused, looking at his female teammate.
"Next time, I'll be joining you to return him home! We'll do it together!"
Tsunade smiled at the scene as Sakura left, closing the door. Sakura had one thing set in her mind that she would do later when the Hokage was at her desk, done meeting with Naruto and the other injured. Sakura had a determined look on her face as she went home, ready later to meet with Tsunade after she figured out exactly what she wanted, needed to do for Naruto and Sasuke.
XXX
Tsunade heard knocking on the door to her office. "Come in!"
She looked to see Haruno Sakura. "I have a request, Hokage-sama!"
Tsunade looked a little intrigued about what this request could be as her head rested on her hands, eyes looking at the pink-haired kunoichi. "What is it, Sakura?"
"I wish to be your apprentice, Hokage-sama!" Sakura said, looking seriously at her as Tsunade could see the look she had in her eyes was exactly the same look she had when she was younger, dealing with the loss of Dan and Nawaki and the departure of Orochimaru.
She certainly has the look, the feeling of loss, of being troubled…
Tsunade smiled at her. "Haruno Sakura, I've heard from your sensei, Hatake Kakashi, that you have a strong spirit and intelligence." She looked at Sakura's eyes and was certain she would train this girl. "Alright, you may be my apprentice, but I won't take it easy on you, okay?"
"…Okay!" Sakura replied, ready for anything and everything.
XXX
Naruto was lying on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, just thinking until he heard a crash. Startled, he looked out the window and shouted, "What the fuck was that?"
What he saw was Jiraiya on a toad's head as he looked at Naruto. "Hey, kid."
"Ero-sennin!"
Jiraiya sat on the window as he talked to Naruto. "I came to tell you something of great importance. I have accepted you as an apprentice, as such; I will be taking you on a journey for three years or so to train you one-on-one or maybe even more than one-on-one. When I researched Orochimaru's immortality technique, information about Akatsuki came to me suddenly." He turned his head slightly to look at Naruto. "They won't be after you for three or four years from today."
Naruto looked at Jiraiya. "Then, we'll have to just go out there and train as fast as we can! That way I can also retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru whenever I'm done training!"
"You make it sound like we don't have any time!" Jiraiya said to his apprentice. "We have three years before Orochimaru will try to transfer into Sasuke's body." He looked outside for a second. "However, forget about Sasuke. He went to Orochimaru on his own…"
"No he did-" Naruto stopped himself before stating that Sasuke was actually on a mission to kill Orochimaru from the inside.
Jiraiya looked at him, intrigued at what Naruto was about to say. "What is it, Naruto? Why did you say that Sasuke didn't go on his own accord?"
Naruto sighed, "I just found out from Sasuke that the elders and advisors and some of the Shinobi Council had assigned Sasuke a secret mission, a mission to destroy Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly, cursing at what kind of plans Danzo and the others could have made. "I see… I can't do anything against them unless we get proof from someone that they did this. Sadly, there's nothing I can do at all."
Naruto frowned, looking down at his bandaged hands. "But the way you talk about not wanting me to go after Sasuke makes me want to continue down this path. I would rather be a fool all my life than be wise at all!"
Jiraiya was shocked at what Naruto had said; it reminded him of himself as he smiled. "Well then, be prepared, you big 'fool.' Alright?" Jiraiya was standing on his toad, ready to go, slightly smiling.
Naruto grinned widely and did a salute, "Yes, sir!"
XXX
Bushido Kisuke sighed as he exited the office of the Fifth Hokage. This whole thing with Sasuke leaving really made him that much angrier with the greedy snake Sannin that leads the village of Otogakure as he walked toward Konohagakure Hospital. He wanted to see how everybody that went on the mission was doing. His hands were in the pockets of his black pants as he decided to see Uzumaki Naruto first.
As he went up there, he saw Nara Shikamaru exit from the room he heard that Naruto was located. Shikamaru was a little surprised to see the Iwa genin here to visit them, but figured he was sent to see how everything went like Temari and her siblings. He sighed and looked at the shinobi.
"'Ey," Shikamaru lazily said as Kisuke approached, "you here to see how everyone is doing?"
"Yeah, and I wanted to talk to Naruto for a moment." Kisuke said as he looked at the pineapple headed chunin.
"Well, we're all alright. Even though, I am the only one that is out of the hospital; we all will survive to live another day. Well, I'll be seeing you around since you're the ambassador for Iwa and Konohagakure, correct?" Kisuke nodded to Shikamaru, who turned and went on his way. "See ya…"
"Yeah, see you," Kisuke replied as the shinobi went over to Naruto's door, only to hear a conversation going on, but Kisuke didn't listen in. He didn't really want to listen in on a conversation that could be very private, choosing to just wait until he could no longer hear voices or the person left the room.
"Yes, sir!" Kisuke heard Naruto's voice as he decided that meant that person had left, either outside the window or a technique. He breathed out an unknown held breath and knocked on the hospital room door. "Come in!"
Kisuke opened the door and looked at the bandaged Naruto, knowing the extent of Naruto's injuries when he picked him up from the Valley of the End. "So, you seem to be doing better than I thought…"
"Ah, Kisuke!" Naruto said, smiling at the boy, who smiled back.
"Yeah, so who were you talking to just now?" Kisuke asked the chunin, sitting in the chair by Naruto's hospital bed.
"Ah, that was the Perverted Hermit!" Kisuke sweat dropped and chuckled a bit at who was here, Jiraiya of the Sannin. "He was just telling me information about the Akatsuki and Orochimaru… Oh, and how I will be going on a training trip with him for a few years! It's so I'll be prepared when the Akatsuki start to hunt me down."
Kisuke's eyes widened at this information. "So, the Akatsuki are going to move soon?"
"No," Naruto said, waving his hands, "they will start to move in a few years, probably by the time I'm done with my training. The same goes for Orochimaru taking Sasuke's body for himself."
Kisuke nodded, "I see…" He looked at Naruto. "I feel sorry about what happened to your friend, having left to a monster like Orochimaru…" Kisuke clenched his fists in anger. "I can't believe he accepted his offer of power… I thought he wouldn't give in…, that Uchiha… It seems I was wrong…" Kisuke rose from the chair. "I wish you the best in healing and your training… I'm going to be going back to Iwagakure now to tell the Tsuchikage the situation here and how the mission went…"
"Why can't you just send a letter there?" Naruto asked the shinobi, who looked back at him from where he stood.
"I will mail a letter on how the Retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke was a failure and the casualities of the mission, just people injured. I will have to tell him the other information further in person. Plus, he would want me back there anyway to discuss it further. My leader likes to hear things straight from my lips, so he knows I won't lie, even if I never will…" Kisuke went up to the door and gripped its handle. "Well, goodbye for now, Naruto… I'm sure we will meet again after your training."
Naruto smiled at the smiling Kisuke. "Yeah, see ya!"
Kisuke just replied the same thing back as he walked out the door, closed it and began to write the letter as he walked.
Dear Sandaime Tsuchikage,
I, Bushido Kisuke, have just found out the results of the mission to retrieve the Konohagakure shinobi, Uchiha Sasuke, from Orochimaru's force, the Sound Four. It seems that while everyone is alive, just injured and resting, the mission was a total failure. Orochimaru has Uchiha Sasuke, but it seems that he won't be able to transfer into the boy's body until three years' time. I have also found out about the organization known as Akatsuki. It seems it will take the organization two to three years to start to move in capturing jinchuriki and taking the biju from them. I will discuss more with you when I get back to Iwagakure. I am departing from Konohagakure right now.
Sincerely,
Bushido Kisuke
Kisuke put the written document into a little container when it was folded and wrapped up with a rubber band. He exited the hospital and sighed at the familiar presence near him.
"I know you two are here, so come out, Washimura, Hikari…" Kisuke spoke as his teammates appeared out of the bushes near the hospital. "So, you were sent here as well after I was sent?"
"Indeed, Kisuke," Washimura spoke as Hikari looked at Kisuke.
"So, what's the situation with the mission?" Hikari asked, her silver-frey eyes peering into Kisuke's cerulean ones.
"It seems that while no one was killed, most of them were injured bad enough to need rest in the hospital and Uchiha Sasuke was able to go away to Orochimaru." Kisuke said the Sannin's name with spite. Hikari looked solemnly at Kisuke, knowing how he felt and how she felt about what the snake did to their shinobi, their comrades. Washimura was stoic, but he gripped his hands tightly in hatred of the man. "I have also found out information about Orochimaru's 'immortality' and the Akatsuki that has to go to the Tsuchikage immediately. I will tell you guys as we go back to the village."
"Alright," Hikari said as she and Washimura saw the document in their teammate's hand. Washimura bit his finger and made hand signs until putting his hand on the sidewalk that is on the ground. A small eagle appeared and Washimura extended his arm toward the document.
"You need to send the document on one of my summons, correct? I believe he will be good, small enough to barely be seen by other shinobi and still almost as strong as my bigger eagle summons." Washimura said as Kisuke nodded and handed the document over. Washimura tied it tightly to the eagle's leg and told it in a whisper of what to do. The eagle nodded in reply and went on its way.
"Now, let's get going," Hikari said with a smile as the other two nodded and smiled back at her, ready to at least have this time to talk and cheer each other up.
XXX
Temari and her siblings were about to depart when Shikamaru was saying his farewells, but then, they saw the Iwagakure team, Kisuke, Hikari, and Washimura. Kankuro glared slightly at them, but Kisuke put his hand up, shocking everyone as Kankuro was about to lash at them, the people that were always enemies with.
"I know the past our villages have had, Kankuro, but right now, I have things of more importance than useless fighting. I don't hold any grudges with any of Sunagakure's shinobi or the village either. I believe if we release hostilities than we will be able to prosper together, but if you hate me or my village, I can understand why. I just don't wish to fight with you at this moment, or any moment honestly. I hope we can be friends instead of enemies, especially since both of our villages wound up being in an alliance with Konohagakure." Kisuke said to the puppet master, who began to relax but held a weak glare at them.
"So, you're heading off as well?" Shikamaru asked the Iwa shinobi, to which they nodded.
"Yes, Shikamaru," Kisuke said as he looked at the outside of the village gate. "I have to give this important information about what happened on the mission and other things to the Tsuchikage. He'll want to speak to me immediately after reading the letter I sent to him. That's just the way he is…" Kisuke sighed as he smiled at Shikamaru. "I'll be seeing you later hopefully, even though I won't know when. I'm very glad that your comrades, your friends came out okay even if the mission was a failed one. That's more important than anything…"
Kisuke moved out of the village, out of the gate with his teammates following behind him. He stopped and looked at Shikamaru and the Sand siblings. "I'm also glad that you guys turned out okay and your assistance, shinobi of the Sand." Kisuke chuckled and scratched the back of his head, a little ashamed of what happened with the mission. "I was sent out late with not getting information until later so I wasn't able to do much other than getting to Uzumaki Naruto late…" Kisuke lowered his eyes in sadness, anger and shame all at once, a mixing of emotion occurring inside him.
Temari decided to say something, lightly smiling. "That's alright… At least you were able to come out and give any help you could." Gaara nodded at what Temari said.
Kisuke smiled at small smile back at them. "Thanks for that… I'm really thankful that you are giving me a chance with me being an Iwagakure shinobi, but I can't change the past." He felt the wind blow a little stronger for a second as he spoke one last time before departing. "But I can change the future…" And his smile turned into a serious face. "And I will… I have to."
With that, he turned and went back to Iwagakure, ready to start the change that would make a better future. Because even if evil and darkness was on the horizon, there would always be a little light that they could make brighter at any moment.
XXX
Three Months Later
XXX
Uzumaki Naruto was eating ramen with his former sensei Umino Iruka, hearing all about everyone relaxing, training after the mission, moving on with their lives. Even Sakura had become an apprentice of Tsunade whenever the Hokage could train her. It surprised him as he finished his ramen and talked with Iruka about the trip he was about to take with Jiraiya.
Iruka had a melancholy smile on his face. "So, you'll be gone for a long time…"
Naruto was about to reply when he heard Jiraiya's voice. "Let's get going, Naruto!"
"Right! See ya, Iruka-sensei!" He raced off, yet turned back to his now standing former teacher, waving in his departure before turning forward, moving with Jiraiya.
Iruka smiled at his former student. Become stronger…, Naruto…
Naruto paused seeing the monument and looked at the Fourth Hokage's face, his father's face. He grinned at him and raised his open hand. "Just you see how stronger I become…" Naruto closed his hand and widened his grin, still looking at the face of his father. "… father…"
"Naruto, what are you doing? Come on, we have to go!" Jiraiya yelled at his apprentice, who replied, "Alright, alright!" As he ran to his teacher, Hinata smiled at his back, knowing that she should get stronger as well.
XXX
The members of Akatsuki appeared around each other like holograms as one started to laugh a little. "All of us meeting like this…"
"We haven't done this since Orochimaru left us seven years ago…" One said with a deep voice and looked to be short and big in his stature.
"Orochimaru has gained the Sharingan…," one said with the voice of the black side of the aloe vera looking dude.
"Itachi… your brother…" another member said as Itachi remained emotionless looking, even in the hologram form he was in.
"There's no need to be impatient, hmm. Someday, Orochimaru will be dead anyway, hmm. But more importantly, we have three years then. If we do it together, our success rate will be very high… hmm?" One spoke, standing on the ceiling.
"Yes… our ambition… If we retrieve them all, including the Kyuubi, everything will be in our hands!" The one that seemed to be the leader spoke, as he was ready to wait until they could set their plans in motion, until they could put their dream into reality.
XXX
Danzo grinned at his plan getting put into motion, the plan that would end with him at the top. But, he had to have a way to end Orochimaru's life, to ensure that the ex-Konohagkure shinobi wouldn't spill the beans on Danzo's true self, his true intentions. He had found a way though: a mission to send Uchiha Sasuke out to defeat and kill Orochimaru after he trained him. the only bad thing that could happen is Orochimaru taking over Sasuke's body, but Danzo had a feeling Sasuke wouldn't willingly give the Sannin his body.
Everything was going according to plan... Danzo chuckled. All was going according to my plan...
Danzo walked in the darkness, a root supporting the village he cared for, just as he always was...