YO! HAPPY NEW YEAR you guys! Hope 2012 brings you lots of happiness, gives you the strength to face the unavoidable difficulties and for me…lots of reviews and readers! Lol :D

So here's a chapter I'm sure which is gonna change your views of this fic, either for good….or bad. So let's get started-

Chapter-35-The Shocking Truth!...Or Lie?

"Are you sure Naruto?" Jiraiya asked with narrowed eyes making the blonde nod.

"Yeah, I saw it with my Rinnegan. Both of them were under extremely strong genjutsus, so I think both Sasuke and Roshi didn't attack of their own free will," he spoke seriously, trying to act as natural as he could while a deep frown settled on Kushina's face. She had a hunch that he was hiding something, but she also had no proof regarding the matter. Naruto was the only one who had confronted the Uchiha during the invasion.

"And earlier too, he never left the village willingly. While unconscious, he was kidnapped by Orochimaru. And this time too, he was taken by Kabuto….if what Kakashi-sensei said was true. So we have no exact evidence to mark him as a missing nin yet, all we know is that Orochimaru could be controlling him….or making someone else control him," the blonde uttered grimly.

'Bingo!' he exclaimed mentally with an internal smirk, knowing he had the perfect valid reasons to defend the 'teme'.

"Well, he does have a point Kushina. We can't mark him as such, he has showed no signs of leaving the village willingly yet," Hiruzen said making Kushina narrow her eyes at Naruto while the blonde acted to be deep in thought, whereas in reality he was just avoiding her accusing stare.

'I don't know what you're planning Naru-kun, but this had better be good,' she thought with her lips pursed in suspicion while a tense silence ensued in the Hokage's office.

"Kushina, so what do you plan on doing regarding the gaki?" A questioned with raised eyebrows, curious as to what the godaime's take on this would be. He knew how close Naruto was to her, it must have shaken her up pretty badly- even though she was doing a damn well job in composing herself.

"I don't know right now. I have to think this over," Kushina said in a drained tone, a sigh escaping her lips as she closed her eyes. Everyone seemed to be drowned in their own thoughts while Jiraiya too was uncharacteristically quiet as he stared outside through the window with a grim expression on his face.

Naruto however, was thankful that the matter over Sasuke had been changed by A. He didn't like to deceive Kushina like that, he didn't like lying to her; but for Mikoto, who had done so much for him in the past- he had to do this. Besides, there was still a chance for Sasuke. By seeing the Uchiha attack him during the invasion, it made the blonde pity the guy. He was slowly being engulfed by darkness, the thirst for revenge.

Bringing Mikoto back gave Naruto some hope that the idiot could still deviate from the path of 'avenger'. After all, that's what Itachi wanted too, for his brother to not follow the path of darkness and hunger for power that the Uchiha clan had 'worshipped' in the past.

"But until I reach a decision, you're not allowed to leave the village Uzumaki Naruto," Kushina spoke sternly with a sharp gaze making Naruto's eyes widen while the others nodded in agreement. He was not expecting her to declare such a thing, but oh well. The decision did made sense and without some missions, he would get more time to train and reflect on his previous fights.

"Got it," he said with a serious expression when Mei spoke.

"I think we should be leaving now Hokage-sama," she spoke with amusement in her voice at the 'Hokage-sama' part making Kushina glare at her. Mei however just smiled sweetly, ignoring her glare making a vein throb on Kushina's forehead while Hiruzen just shook his head at their antics.

Konoha's Nothern Gate

"Thanks for visiting the chunins exams and for assisting our village in time of need. Konoha is grateful to both of you, Raikage-dono….Mizukage-dono," Hiruzen expressed his gratitude with a smile while bowing to them a bit.

"No need to thank us sandaime-dono, I'm sure you would've done the same if it was you in our place," Mei spoke politely with a smile as all of them stood at the gate, saying their goodbyes to each other.

"I was itching to fight anyway, so it was nothing," A said with a grunt, a smirk on his face.

"Does it hurt to simply say, 'Your Welcome'?" Kushina deadpanned making a vein tick on his forehead with an audible pop.

"You wanna fight godaime?" A yelled with shark teeth, his face red with anger.

"Hm, you said something yondaime?" she asked innocently making his eyebrows twitch, there was just no use fighting verbally with his woman. Meanwhile, Omoi, Karui, Samui, Ao, Choujiro, Hiruzen and Naruto sweatdropped collectively at their antics.

'Two short tempered kages at one place, never a good thing,' Hiruzen pondered while shaking his head in exasperation.

"So Naruto-san, it was nice to meet you," Yugito spoke with a soft smile, this time no traces of blush on her face surprising the whiskered blonde.

"Yeah, it was nice to meet someone who's similar to me," he replied with a grin while rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't forget me, the Octo Bee!" turning his head, he laughed awkwardly before shaking hands with the hachibi jinchuriki.

"Yeah, nice to have met you too Bee. And thanks again for helping me back then, I owe you one," he spoke sincerely while tightening their grip on each other's hands, genuine smiles on both of their faces. Nodding to him finally, he shifted his gaze to Kirabi's team and immediately sweatdropped. Karui had Omoi in a tight headlock, a pissed expression on her face while Samui was…..well, just quietly standing there, staring at her two teammates with boredom reflecting in her sky blue orbs.

Walking upto them, he first greeted the blonde seeing as the other two were busy right now.

"Samui-san…." he called making her turn her head to look at him with those same cold, frosty blue orbs.

"Naruto-san," she acknowledged back with an expressionless face. Unsure of what to say, he scratched the back of his head while laughing at her nervously.

"Um….well I just wanted to say goodbye. It was nice to meet you," he spoke hesitantly, smiling warmly at her making her lips curl upwards ever so slightly.

"I'm glad to have met you Naruto-san," she spoke with an uplifted tone in her voice before extending her right hand forwards. Naruto's mouth opened a bit in surprise as he stared at her extended hand, not expecting any sort of response from her. Looking back into her eyes, he was again surprised to see the brightness in them-unlike a moment ago.

"O-Oh, yeah," he replied with a goofy grin on his face before shaking her hand gently.

'Soft,' was the only thing his mind registered upon feeling their skin rub against each other, her creamy hand completely fitting in his. A faint blush crept up his face as he continued to smile, shaking her hand. Samui too however continued to shake his hand, a smile on her face as she gazed at the 'closed eyes' bright smile on his face.

"Oi, how long are you planning to shake each other?" Karui appeared besides them with a bored look on her face making both of them jerk as they pulled their hands back lightning fast.

"A-Ahehehehe," Naruto laughed with a dark blush on his face while Samui just remained quiet, her gaze averted with her cheeks a cute shade of pink.

"They're blushing! This is bad! What if they have a crush on each other and then start dating each other! Then they will say-'Oh I love you', and-'Oh I never realized, I love you too!' Then they get married and have blonde kids yelling 'dattebayo' and 'cool'! And then those devils will demand my lolli-chan! Uncle Omoi can't-"

WHAM!

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

This time however, Karui had her jaw on the ground; along with Omoi of course while Naruto stood there panting, his face a dark shade of red as he shook his fists in anger. Samui however was standing on the same spot while facing the other way, her eyes were twitching dangerously while her cheeks were flushed a shade of red Yugito thought she would never see on her adopted sister.

An approving look took birth in Karui's eyes as she nodded to herself in satisfaction while Omoi groaned as he slowly stoop up, as if nothing had happened and continued to suck on his 'Lolli-chan'.

"Omoi….," he jerked a bit upon hearing the hoarfrost voice, the temperature around them suddenly dropping several degrees. Turning his head back slowly, in fear like a robot; he was met with the expressionless face of Samui. Her eyes were so cold that it seemed like hell had frozen over, he knew she was pissed!

'Uh oh, she's angry now,' Karui thought while taking stumbling steps back in fear. Usually Samui remained calm and collected. She ignored most of the jabs that Omoi had to throw at her breasts and shoulders. But an angry Samui was never a good thing.

"Once we reach the village, you and me…..kenjutsu," her voice sharp and chilly, each syllable like a senbon piercing his ass…..ouch.

"Uuuh…" Naruto found himself clueless as he stared at the quivering form of Omoi and the expression of pity on Karui's face.

"M-Matte Samui, I was only jok-"

"You and me, kenjutsu," she spoke again, calmly this time making Omoi sigh in defeat as his shoulders slumped while Naruto blinked owlishly.

'These guys sure are strange,' he thought before walking upto Karui.

"Oh Karui-san," he spoke making her look at him as he extended his hand. Smirking at the blonde, both of them shook hands while Omoi had a depressed expression on his face as he sucked on his popsicle.

"Oi Omoi," the blonde called awkwardly making the anxious shinobi look at him.

"Take care and try not to be so anxious the next time we meet," he spoke calmly with a comic expression making Omoi smile hesitantly.

"Yeah, goodbye Naruto," shaking their hands, both of them nodded to each other with a smile.

"Naruto-san, come here for a second," he shifted his gaze upon hearing Yugito's voice, confusion etched on his face upon noticing that she and Bee were calling him over to talk in private.

Walking upto them, he asked.

"So, what's up?" smirking at the whiskered blonde, Kirabi stepped forward.

"Naruto nine'o, whenever Akatsuki's trail on your ass is hot, you go four tails on the spot!" Yugito face palmed herself, muttering curses under her breath while Naruto just stared at the guy.

"Okaaay…."

"What he means Naruto-san is that whenever you are in whatsoever serious trouble, just use Kyuubi's chakra and ascend to the four tailed state. That way Nibi and Hachibi would be able to detect it and guide us to the location where it was last detected," she explained with a smile making Naruto's eyes widen.

"Y-You guys don't need to do that. I mean….Akatsuki's after you too, and it will only make things for them easier. Besides, I'm sure old man Raikage wouldn't permit you guys to do so," he reasoned with a frown.

"Bakamono! Don't quiver like a homo! We jinchuriki fight together, let's make those Akatsuke punks wither!" the rapper interrupted with a frown making Naruto lower his head as he smiled to himself.

'Jinchuriki…..we fight together huh?' he pondered, his heart warming up at the fact that they were ready to watch his back, even if it endangered them in the process.

"Besides, now or later-we would have to face them. Why not do it now when one of us is in trouble and needs us the most!" the nibi jinchuriki said with a smirk making Naruto nod.

"Hey Ayumi, I never knew you bijuu could sense each other's chakra from even miles away," Naruto spoke inwardly with genuine curiosity.

"Well yeah, I forgot to tell you that part. All of us are familiar with each other's chakra signatures and we can point out the location where we had sensed it the last time. This could come in pretty handy Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, I'm sure this can also help us in case of emergency situations."

Zooming out, he verbalized with a firm voice.

"Then promise me that you too would do the same in case Akatsuki comes after you. I don't trust them, it could also be a trap to lure us into believing that I'm the only one being targeted so that the other jinchuriki may loosen themselves up. Who knows, they may have had willingly leaked out this information to fool us? We have to be ready for anything."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. That's another possibility to catch us off guard. But the fact is Naruto-san, I can only go upto two tails for obvious reasons….so I don't think Kyuubi would be able to sense me," Yugito spoke with a somewhat disappointed look while Bee remained silent when Naruto intervened with a grin.

"Well, Ayum…..K-Kyuubi says that she has the strongest of the sensing ability among all the bijuu and CAN point me to your location, although not as precise, but still somewhat close," both Yugito's and Bee's mouths opened in an 'O' in realization.

"It's a deal then, we're gonna make those mothafucka's hide back in their stinkin' den!" the hachibi jinchuriki blabbered before extending his fist making both Yugito and Naruto chuckle.

"We fight together!" they spoke simultaneously, connecting their fists with each other-smiles of determination and courage on their faces.

"OI GAKI! We're leaving now!" snapping his head back, he saw Ao waving at him-standing alongside with Choujiro and the other kages.

Turning back, he grinned foxily, "See you later guys! Ja ne!"

Walking towards the Kiri group, he shook hands with Ao and Choujiro- the latter of whom reminded him of the old Hinata.

"Mei-chan…" he stopped in front of her with a smile while Kushina, Hiruzen and A seemed to be busy in their discussion whereas Ao and Choujiro had started to bicker with each other; more like Ao telling him of his 'Back in my days…' theory.

"Naruto-kun…" she greeted back with a sweet genuine smile on her face making him blush a bit.

"Well, I just wanted to say thanks for all that you did for me, and for encouraging me back then. It was a pleasure to have known you Mei-chan," he pronounced with a warm smile. Mei nodded to him before closing the distance between them to take him into a gentle hug.

"The pleasure was all mine foxy-kun," she uttered seductively into his ears making the blonde blush.

"You have gotten strong Naruto-kun, just as you said. I'm happy," she spoke in a low tone before lifting her hand to gaze at her palm. The symbol on it was glowing: a swirling sign surrounded by nine tails. Her smile got softer as she continued to observe her palm.

"Look at your right palm Naruto-kun," her hot breath was tickling his skin making him a bit dizzy but nevertheless, he managed to nod before looking at his palm. And to his shock, that symbol which had glowed quite a numerous times during the previous month; was again glowing red brighter than ever.

"W-Why is it glowing?" he asked in awe making her giggle before the red haired kage leaned back.

"This signifies the growing bond between the two of us, you and me," the way she spoke flushed his cheeks, a strange warm blanket covering his heart.

"Ah, it's a good thing then Mei-chan. I'm glad to be your friend!" the enthusiasm in his voice and the bright grin made her heart skip a beat. He just had this strange effect on those around him, it made them feel as if nothing could go wrong, as if they could do anything.

"Don't forget to visit Kirigakure whenever you get the chance Naruto-kun," she spoke with a light pink tint on her cheeks.

"You bet!" he exclaimed as a burst of laughter escaped his lips making her giggle too. Leaning down instinctively, she took a hold of his chin before kissing him on the cheek lovingly. Naruto stood there agape, his eyes widened as a scarlet red blush promptly covered his face.

"See you later foxy-kun," she said in amusement while ruffling his hair. Winking at the perplexed blonde, Mei started to walk out of the gates with Ao and Choujiro following her whilst shaking their heads at the antics of their Mizukage.

Kushina's eyebrows however were twitching dangerously for she had seen their interaction.

'How dare she flirt with my Naru-kun like that?' she thought with fire burning in her eyes before glaring at the Mizukage's back.

'I wouldn't let you charm him that easily Mei!' she inwardly declared while shaking her fist in front of her face to signify her point while A and Hiruzen sweatdropped at her antics.

"You sure you chose the right Hokage?" A whispered in the sandaime's ears after bending down making Hiruzen sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I hope so," he replied making A grunt in response…yeah right.

"Alright, it's time to go," he declared while walking towards the exit as Yugito, Bee and his team promptly followed him. They turned for the last time to wave at the trio standing at the gates as Naruto too waved back enthusiastically with a grin.

"TAKE CARE YOU GUYS!" he yelled ecstatically making Kushina stare at him with a smile while Hiruzen sighed at the blonde's endless energy. Even after just getting out of the hospital today, he didn't know the meaning of word 'exhaustion' and 'rest'.

"Kushina-chan, I'll be heading off then….I still need some rest. And remember not to slack off in your duties, you are the Hokage now and have to take the responsibility," he chided with authority making Kushina roll her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I understand. I don't need to be lectured by you," she muttered making his eyes twitch before he sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose yet again, he glanced at Naruto before shunshining out of the area.

Naruto however was lost in his own thoughts as he gazed at the silhouette of the retreating figures.

'So Akatsuki is after me huh? Well then, better get to training!' he mulled over as his smile faded to form a serious expression, gazing out into the greenery while his trench coat flew with the breeze.

"Naruto…." hearing his name, he snapped out of his trance before turning around to come face to face with Kushina.

"In my office….now," she ordered with authority in her voice, her tone serious before vanishing into a puff of smoke making him gulp audibly in nervousness.

'Could she know that I was lying to her earlier about Sasuke?' he thought with a blank expression when he caught the sight of two guards there.

"Yo Naruto!" Izumo waved at him making him wave back with a grin.

"Playing the hero eh? Boy you sure have gotten strong! And if you need help for some pranks in the future, count us in!" Kotetsu yelled with a smirk making the blonde scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sure! I'll see you guys later!" yelling back, he shunshined out in a burst of flames.

"Man I've gotta learn that Fire Shunshin. We live in the Land of Fire and yet can't do that, it's pitiful!" Kotetsu whined making Izumo nod in agreement.

Konoha: Hokage's Office: Several Minutes Later

Standing just outside the office, in front of the door-Naruto found himself nervous for what was about to come.

'Okay, I have to act calm and collective. I can't tell Kaa-san anything yet,' he mentally decided, clenching and unclenching his fists to shoot the nervousness away.

'Oh what the hell! I'll just be myself and face her head on!' he thought with determination, nodding to himself before kicking the door open with a loud bang, straining its hinges in the process.

"You called Hokage-sama?" he spoke loudly with a grin while the Hokage's assistant Akane shook her head at the blonde's antics.

Entering the office with high spirits, his grin faltered a bit upon noticing Kushina glaring at him, her eyes twitching dangerously.

"At what age do we learn to knock Naru-kun?" she asked making him scratch his whiskered cheek as he closed the door gently this time.

"Oh come on Kaa-san, you've become too uptight!" he exclaimed making her sigh in exasperation as she massaged her temples.

'Well, he's my son after all,' she mused before standing from her chair and went through some hand signs.

"Huh?" he tilted his head in confusion when she started to walk towards him, keeping a straight face-unnerving him a bit.

"Um Kaa-san, is something wrong?" he asked when she walked upto him before wrapping her arms around his torso, putting her head on his chest to sigh softly.

"Kaa-san…." he trailed in surprise before wrapping his arms around her as she closed her eyes.

"The Akatsuki is after you now Naru-kun, we have to up your training. It's gonna be even more difficult than before," she stated making him turn serious suddenly, his mood taking a one-eighty degree turn at hearing the tone in her voice.

"Don't worry Kushina-chan, I won't let them capture me. I won't let them take Ayumi-chan," he assured her, running his hands through her long silky hair gently. Kushina hugged him tighter, the sound of his heart beats being a melody to her ears as she snuggled into his chest making him smile. He used her name quite rarely, and each time it made her heart flutter- she always longed for him to call her like that.

"About Sasuke…." she started while miraculously, Naruto was able to keep himself calm. He was thankful that he had not given any outward signs of nervousness when she had called his name. Kushina however sighed, her eyes closed as she reveled in his warmth.

"I don't know if what you said was true or not, but I trust you. I hope whatever you're planning doesn't go against the village Naru-kun," she spoke softly making his lips curl upwards.

'"Got it Kaa-san. Make no mistake however that it wouldn't endanger Konoha in the process, I will protect this place," he declared making her nod gently while he played with the tresses of her hair with his finger. Burying his face in her hair, he inhaled the addictive scent of sweet peas. Taking a gentle hold of her chin, he lifted her face to make her look at him- glossy violet eyes meeting bright blue orbs.

Leaning forward, he gently captured her pink supple lips making both of their hearts skip a beat simultaneously, electric sparks flooding their tense systems-easing all their worries. Kushina wrapped her arms around his neck while he rubbed her back as they kept their lips locked for several seconds. Pulling back, Kushina opened her eyes slowly as he smiled warmly at her.

Noticing a tear slip down her cheek, he quickly leaned forward to kiss it before wiping the trail of moisture with his thumb while she leaned into his touch, her eyes closed in content.

"I'm worried for you koi," she muttered softly as he tightened his hold on her.

"Don't be, I promise I wouldn't leave you or this village," he tried to comfort her, his voice holding the determination she liked about him so much.

Konoha: Training Ground 7: Several Hours Later

"Man, I've gotta train seriously from now on! No slacking off this time!" Naruto exclaimed to himself loudly as he walked through the forest towards the training ground 7, team seven's training ground. He had just spent some time with Kushina these past hours, cuddling with her as they talked about their future plans. It seems Jiraiya, his 'Ero-sennin' had opted to train him for this- and he couldn't deny that he was pretty excited about it.

Despite his mind boggling improvements this past month, he knew that was upto a maximum of a mid-jounin's level-just bordering the high jounin one. He was no match for any of the higher names, so training under Jiraiya- who could wipe the floor with him anytime had him pumped up now.

"Darn that Ero-sennin! I couldn't find him anywhere, not even in any of the hot springs! Just where did he slip off to?" the blonde muttered to himself with a frown when he heard some noises.

"Huh? What's that sound? Is it Kakashi-sensei…..and Sakura-chan?" he questioned to himself before smiling at the prospect of meeting them. Putting chakra to his feet, he dashed towards the training ground.

Reaching the clearing, his eyes widened upon noticing Kakashi and Sakura sparring with each other. Around them, there were several craters on the ground, on large boulders as well as on some tree trunks. What have they been upto anyway?

"C'mon Sakura! You're not fast enough. You're punches have strength, but they're not fast enough!" Kakashi spoke loudly as he easily dodged Sakura's fist sideways when she went for another.

"I'm…..trying!" she exclaimed with what seemed to be frustration on her face. However, what surprised Naruto was the ferocity in her green eyes as blood dripped down her bandaged fists.

Crouching down, the copy ninja dodged another punch before she went for a roundhouse sliding kick making him jump into the air. She had several bruises covering her body, her hair a little undone when she took out two kunai from her pouch before flinging them one after another at Kakashi with accuracy and impressive speed.

Taking out a kunai while in midair, Kakashi prepared to deflect the incoming projectiles.

POOF!

His lone eye widened though when one of the kunai thrown by Sakura suddenly exploded into large amounts of smoke; engulfing his form. The other kunai behind the first one puffed into smoke too, but this time to reveal another Sakura, a look of brutal determination in her eyes with her fist reared when she yelled.

"Take THIS!" entering the smoke cloud with her momentum, her fist connected with where Kakashi's jaw was last seen.

POOF!

The real Sakura- who was standing on the ground- cursed loudly when her clone exited the smoke with her momentum before puffing back into smoke.

"Dammit! That was a clone too!" Naruto's mouth was now open like a dry fish as he continued to gaze at them.

'What the hell! When did she get this good?'

Meanwhile Sakura, who right now was panting heavily turned her head as she searched for the missing jounin.

'Where is he? Right….left….up….' she thought when her eyes widened as the ground beneath her began to rumble a bit. Reflexes kicking in, she jumped just in time when two hands burst forth the hard soil to catch thin air. This time however, not having using chakra to enhance her jump, she quickly reared her fist…..

WHAM!

…..to slam it on the ground, between from where the hands had blasted out. Naruto's eyes bulged out in astonishment when a few chunks of earth flew out in different directions while a medium sized crater formed on the ground as an impact.

Only the sounds of heavy panting now filled the area as she stared at the crater, having jumped away from the epicenter after the punch had connected.

"D-Did I…get him?" she asked to herself.

'Tchh, always using clones to save his ass. That's Kakashi-sensei for you,' Naruto thought before jumping on the branch just above him.

"Yo sensei" the blonde greeted quietly as he kept staring towards Sakura with Kakashi sitting beside him, reading his 'literature'.

"How are you Naruto? I can say that you haven't recovered completely yet, you look exhausted," he spoke calmly while reading his book making the blonde nod.

"Yeah, I'm definitely out of it right now. But I should recover fully in a day or two," he shrugged when the one eyed jounin closed his book.

"Impressive isn't she?" he asked, his eyes gazing in the direction of Sakura making Naruto nod.

"I don't know what to say, I'm practically speechless here sensei. How did she improve so much?"

"Let's go there first, she's losing her temper," Naruto chuckled before nodding as both of jumped down the tree to walk towards the pink haired genin.

"Oh where is he dammit!" Sakura yelled as she continued to pant, not caring that her hair was disheveled this time-or that she was covered in bruises and blood was dripping down her fists.

"Calm down Sakura, that's enough for today!" she snapped her head to find Kakashi along with Naruto walking towards her making her eyes widen upon noticing the blonde.

"N-Naruto?" she stuttered making the blonde grin at her while she found herself getting self-conscious now, trying to comb her hair with her hands while dusting her clothes and wiping the dirt off her face.

"Sakura-chan! How are you?" he asked full of enthusiasm making her smile a bit shyly at him.

"I'm f-fine thanks. I should be….the one a-asking you. S-Seeing your f-face, I d-don't think you've recovered yet," she spoke while panting making him sigh in exasperation.

"Oh come on! Whoever meets me is saying that! What's up with you guys? Can't you see I'm as good as new?"

"No" came the flat response of the duo immediately making him drop his head in defeat.

"So Sakura, you managed to take out three of my clones today; good work. Using transformation technique on the kunai, one of which was a smoke bomb and a shadow clone was a good combination. Keep up the good work," the jounin spoke calmly making Sakura nod seriously.

"Thanks sensei," she answered, wiping the sweat off her brow when Naruto interrupted.

"JUST WAIT A MINUTE!" making both of them stare at the blonde in bewilderment.

"Um….something wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked with raised eyebrow making the addressed blonde nod with a frown.

"How in the hell can you say-'Keep up the good work', when she's doing awesome! You're not giving her enough credit sensei!" he said while mimicking Kakashi in between comically making Sakura giggle, her cheeks getting flushed in embarrassment while the jounin just chuckled awkwardly.

"Never mind duh! Listen Sakura-chan! You're doing SO awesome! You've really become strong, and to use kage bunshin, whoa! I'd never imagined you using that technique considering your chakra reserves but I guess even your chakra levels have increased!" he spoke with a grin, complimenting her with conviction in his voice making Sakura look at her feet as she fidgeted in her place.

"But tell me one thing, that punch you just pulled and all these craters. Those are chakra enhanced aren't they? Kakashi-sensei, so you are teaching her Tsunade-the slug sanin's technique….you copied that with your Sharingan too?" the blonde asked in awe making the one eyed jounin shake his head in negative.

"No, I don't know how to do that. It requires absolutely precise chakra control and if try that, I usually end up with broken bones and a right arm fracture. However, I do know the basics of the technique in theory. Sakura here has amazing chakra control, and I believe she can master that," he explained with a serious 'eye' expression making Naruto nod with a smile while Sakura found herself here blushing up a storm.

"Sugoi! You sure are gonna become one hell of kunoichi Sakura-chan! I can't wait to have a spar with you, it will b-" Naruto abruptly stopped speaking making Kakashi and Sakura gaze at him with confusion etched on their faces.

'Why is he…..' following Naruto's eyes, who currently was staring upwards behind them with his eyes widened a bit, Kakashi's own lone eye widened too upon noticing a black crow sitting on a branch. The shocking thing was that it had a Sharingan in its left eye as it stared at them.

Naruto's widened eyes however slowly softened as his lips curled upwards, a smile replacing the surprised expression. The crow however suddenly flapped its wings before taking off in the opposite direction.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan….I'll talk to you guys later," the blonde spoke frantically before taking off in the direction of where the black crow had retreated to.

"Huh? What got into him so suddenly?" Sakura asked as Kakashi continued to stare at Naruto's withdrawing form.

With Naruto

'He's here!' the blonde thought with a grin, barely able to keep his excitement as he pumped chakra to his feet to keep up with the black crow. Although he was now panting, his muscles begging him to stop…the excitement, the adrenaline was too high for him to stop. Sweat poured down the side of his face in exhaustion, but he wasn't paying attention to anything but the crow.

'Here I come sensei!'

Konoha: Unknown Location (The same location as shown in anime/manga when Itachi and Kisame fought Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai in Konoha)

After following the damn crow for several minutes it finally stopped to land on a pole by a narrow river there when Naruto too landed on the ground besides the river, panting heavily but nevertheless a smile on his face.

"Huh…where is he?" he asked himself while looking here and there whereas the crow slowly disintegrated into nothing.

"Long time no see, Naruto-kun," he snapped his head back to see the familiar duo of Itachi and Kisame standing there on water, one having a serious expression on his face while the other was grinning as usual.

"Itachi-nii! Kisame! How are you guys?" the blonde asked with an ecstatic grin while Itachi's expression remained serious whereas Kisame seemed to be grinning more and more by the second.

"Itachi-nii? It seems he used us pretty well, right Kisame?" the Uchiha spoke in a monotone voice while staring at the blonde.

"Yeah, seems that the kid holds us in high regards. Wonder what we did to deserve that?" he spoke in a rough voice as the blonde's grin slowly faded.

"What are you guys talking about? You must have come to meet Mikoto-chan right? And you don't have to stare at me l-"

"Stop Naruto," the blonde was interrupted when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

"K-Kakashi-sensei?" he stuttered to notice the copy ninja standing beside him with a serious expression on his face.

"Naruto, stay on alert! Something's wrong," Kakashi whispered harshly making the blonde stare at him in bewilderment. During the month, the blonde had told him of what had happened in the forest of death. He had informed Kakashi about Itachi and Kisame working as spies for Konoha, the reason for Itachi killing his clan and how they had trained him. Then why was he standing on guard as if they were enemies?

"Hatake Kakashi," Itachi muttered softly when the jounin suddenly dashed towards Kisame at neck breaking speeds- water rifting violently as he took out a kunai to slash it at one of the seven swordsmen of the mist at blurry speeds.

CLANG!

"My my, aren't we feisty today?" Kisame said with a grin as both of them stood in a clash, sparks flying due to the hot friction as the kunai rubbed against the Samehada.

"Kakashi-sensei! What the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto yelled with a frown, still panting due to the exhaustion he was feeling currently.

"Naruto! Get out of here and get Hokage-sama! You're in no condition to fight and I sense something's wrong!" the jounin yelled seriously as he lifted his headband to reveal his Sharingan making Naruto's eyes widen in shock.

"W-What is he…." the blonde muttered as he stood there perplexed while Itachi was standing beside Kisame with a calm expression on his face. Not knowing what was going on, the blonde clenched his fists as anger began to flood him.

He knew that Itachi and Kisame were acting a bit strange, but that doesn't mean you can just charge in there and attack them. They could also be faking their behavior as an Akatsuki spy may be monitoring their movements, there were so many factors to be considered. He himself always preached about looking 'underneath the underneath'.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU SENSEI? STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" the blonde yelled, anger filling his system as he panted, his eyes half lidded-he could already feel himself losing consciousness. Ayumi too however was strangely quiet right now.

'What is happening to Kakashi-sensei? Is he under a genjutsu too? I have to check with-'

SQUELCH!

"NARUTO!"

"Arghh!" the blonde's thoughts were however interrupted when he was suddenly stabbed with a kunai in the gut, followed by Kakashi's scream.

"I can't let you run away Naruto-kun," blood streamed down the blonde's chin as he coughed some blood violently, gritting his teeth in immense pain.

"NARUTO-KUN!" came the scream of Ayumi while the blonde could feel his body getting numb as he continued to cough blood, the kunai now soaked with the hemoglobin as drops of blood fell on the dirt. Lifting his head slowly, Naruto's eyes widened in SHOCK upon seeing the expressionless face of Itachi, the Uchiha's onyx eyes coldly staring into his blue orbs.

SPULCH!

The kunai was pulled out roughly as some blood sprayed out, jerking Naruto's body in the process who slowly collapsed to his knees. The blonde stared wide eyed, his body frozen in shock as he continued to stare at Itachi's face; which now was covered with drops of his own blood.

"NARUTO! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Kakashi yelled as he stared at the blonde's kneeling form, blood gushing down his gut and mouth as he continued to stare wide eyed, as if he was in a trance.

"Don't turn your back on me Sharingan no Kakashi!" Kisame mocked as he pushed harder with his sword when Kakashi jumped back.

Turning his head towards Naruto, he dashed towards him when Kisame appeared in front of him, his grin predatory while Kakashi cursed under his breath.

"Let's give them some alone time shall we, what do you say we enjoy ourselves here?"

'This is not good! Although I trust Kyuubi in healing his injuries, Naruto's body hasn't recovered from the strain he put himself through during the invasion. I have to somehow call for help, though my chakra spike should've reached them by now. Just hang on for a little bit Naruto. I don't what's going on with these two, but keeping him safe is the first priority right now,' the copy ninja pondered to himself.

Meanwhile with Itachi and Naruto, both of them just stayed in their positions while the latter couldn't comprehend what was going on?

"I-Itachi….-nii, w-why?" he stuttered with a pained expression as he held his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding while he could feel his own chakra working overtime to heal his injury. The Uchiha however just stayed silent as he continued to gaze at the kneeling blonde.

"B-Back then..."

"There was nothing back then Naruto-kun. The fact is, it was not us back then," he said quietly making the blonde's eyes widen.

"W-What do you mean? It w-was you…" he managed to choke out, the pain was leaving him slowly but he was losing control of his body, it was getting numb.

"It was us, but…we were not in control of our actions back then," seeing the look of confusion, anger and pain in Naruto's eyes, he continued.

"I see you are not aware of that fact. I guess I have to explain it to you, that man really played us all," he spoke in a monotone voice before continuing.

"Back then, we were in a genjutsu," he spoke simply as the world around Naruto stopped, his pupils shrinking in shock. What did he mean? Genjutsu? Did he consider him an idiot to believe that?

"D-Don't…DON'T FUCK WITH ME! WHY….w-why are you doing this?" Naruto yelled before coughing violently as his voice got softer, eyes clenched in pain.

"Naruto! Don't push yourself! I'm trying to heal your injuries, pushing yourself will only make matters worse!'

Right now, it didn't matter to him. He had to know what was going on? Was Itachi doing this on purpose, was he forced this Akatsuki leader to do so? Did they come to know that Itachi and Kisame were leaking out their information? After all, Hiruzen did say that he hadn't heard from Itachi for almost a month now.

Bending down, Itachi spoke again," Why do you find so hard to believe that? If Roshi of the Lava Release, jinchuriki of the yonbi can be controlled by a genjutsu, then why can't I and Kisame be?"

Breathing deeply, the whiskered blonde lifted his head to speak.

"I…I don't believe you. You m-mean….the one w-who c-controlled Roshi, had p-put you under a g-genjutsu too?"

"Shimura Danzo," Naruto's eyes yet again widened in shock. That old war hawk? How could he do that?

Seeing the forming question in his eyes, Itachi spoke again.

"Didn't you ever wonder what was under all those bandages Naruto-kun? An old war hawk like him, do you think he's really crippled like that?" racking his mind, Naruto had heard of Danzo from Kushina. But he had never given the fact a thought, he presumed the old guy must have been crippled during the previous war.

"Heh, yeah. That old prune hides a bunch of Sharingans under all that bandage crap!" came the loud voice of Kisame as Kakashi dodged yet another of his sword swipes, his and Naruto's eyes widening at the fact.

"Danzo, has….Sharingans?" the copy ninja asked while Itachi stood up as he started walking back. Naruto was currently laying on the ground as he clutched his stomach in immeasurable pain, his whole body was going numb now. What was happening?

"Even if we believe what you've said, you possess the Mangekyou Sharingan Itachi. It's impossible to trap especially you in a genjutsu, and so strong so as to completely control both of your actions," Kakashi spoke as a water clone of him formed near Naruto, checking his condition.

"You don't know the true powers of the Sharingan Hatake. After all….you're not an Uchiha," Itachi said making the jounin narrow his eyes.

"Koto Amatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly Gods), have you heard of it Kakashi?" seeing the confusion on the jounin's face, he continued.

"It's the most powerful genjutsu of the Mangekyou Sharingan, in particular…..the Mangekyou Sharingan of Uchiha Shisui," now Kakashi felt his spine twist in shock.

"Uchiha Shisui? What do you mean? You were the one to kill him in the first place! Do you mean to say Danzo possesses Uchiha Shisui's eyes?" the jounin asked, a cold sweat running down his forehead making Itachi smirk a bit.

"As expected of Hatake Kakashi. However, he only possesses one eye in his bandaged right eye socket. The other one, I don't know."

"Why are you telling us all of this?" Kakashi asked in suspicion.

"Danzo has been a thorn in our plans from the beginning, it's only an advantage to us if Konoha gets rid of that man," he answered while Naruto seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness.

"And what's this Koto Amatsukami?"

"Hey Itachi, we don't have to answer all of his questions you know, let's just take the brat and get out of here!" Kisame spoke with a grin while Itachi just ignored him.

"Koto Amatsukami, a technique that allows the user to enter the opponent's mind and manipulate them by giving them false experiences, making it seem as if they were doing things of their own free will. It's a genjutsu of the highest class which can only be used after an interval of around ten years after it has been used," he spoke when Kakashi intervened quickly.

"If it can be used only after a time span of a decade, then how did Danzo control Roshi? It had only been a month since he had controlled you guys," Kakashi spoke making Itachi close his eyes.

"The Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju's DNA cells, which Orochimaru planted into Danzo before leaving the village, can reduce that period drastically," he said making the jounin's breathing hitch in shock.

'What is he saying? This is ridiculous! There's no way this is possible, he may just be bluffing to throw us off guard,' Kakashi thought as he clenched his kunai tightly, not knowing what to do. Was he supposed to believe such a preposterous theory?

"I….whatever y-you s-say. I d-don't believe you," the trio turned their heads to see Naruto lifting his head, his eyes fierce as he coughed some more blood.

"Oh, I'm impressed. Despite Sasori's poison numbing your body, you still managed to retain consciousness," Itachi spoke calmly while the blonde continued to cough.

"Naruto, don't push yourself. I know you're hurt, we'll solve this later. Just rest for now," the water clone of Kakashi said in concern.

"No….H-How could you? HOW COULD YOU? You forgot all the training you gave me! Those two months we spent in Tsukiyomi! All those things you taught me! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" he yelled, using up his remaining energy before panting heavily. Kakashi's eyes softened when he noticed a fear tears slipping down the blonde's cheek while Itachi's face remained emotionless.

'How could you do this Itachi-nii? I don't believe you, no matter what you say. The tears that I accidently noticed back then, the sorrowness I saw in your eyes at that time….was it, was it all a lie? Was Danzo playing with my emotions all the time? I…..don't believe this shit! I just…can't,' he thought as more tears glossed his vision.

Okay okay! I know what I'm doing and I'm not trying to ruin my fic, but all of this is happening for a reason. I don't want to listen you guys flaming about- 'First decide whether Itachi's a good guy or a bad guy'. I've already said I've planned the plot for this fic carefully, so sit back and just keep reading.

Oh, ALL of the things will be explained in the coming chapters about which you guys may be wondering about. If you want to ask questions however, they are welcome and I'll try to answer them if it doesn't reveal the future plot.

I know there will be some who wouldn't be happy by this, some who would by surprised and accept this. Well I can't satisfy everyone, but keep that everything will be for the better and this fic may be taking a dark turn, but….well just wait and see.

So flame or whatever you want, reviews are welcome and greatly desired by yours truly. Ah, and thanks to those who've been reviewing and PM'ing me, I appreciate and respect your views on this fic. So review, and until next time. Ja ne :)

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