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Here's the next installment of The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto!

"An alliance, huh?"

Benedictus was pleased to hear that the woman's tone was inquisitive; she was not completely against it. But he could also detect reservation in her tone—she was not completely convinced, either. He had just finished explaining the details of the alliance, and how it had come into fruition entirely because of Naruto's actions; because of the many battles he had fought, and the many people he had touched. She did not look or sound surprised when he told her all of that. She was well enough aware of the boy's abilities to make friends with any sort of person (little did he know that she was one of these people). Yet, she did not sound entirely convinced that there was a benefit in allying with those from an entire other world—one which had no business in their affairs.

Of course, he had to convince her otherwise. It was looking to be quite the task; which was in stark contrast to the impression Naruto had given him when they had first discussed the matter. 'Baa-chan will do it, I know she will,' he had said, leaving no room for argument. Benedictus had believed him, merely because he had been in no position to contest. Now he was, and had the boy been there, he would have contested quite a bit. Had he been fond of proverbs, he would have believed this task to be likened to making a mountain crumble with a gust of wind.

But, while wind could not immediately break a mountain—it could gradually wear it away, and that's what he hoped to do.

"Yes," he said, leaning forwards and smiling at the middle-aged woman under the guise of youth. "An alliance between two different worlds entirely—an alliance which will no doubt benefit both of us greatly."

"Is that so?" Tsunade said, her honey-brown eyes affixing themselves to his shining gold ones. He was disheartened for a moment; the woman's eyes were like gemstones, durable and pretty, yet allowing one to see almost straight through. She was making her skepticism no secret to him. "So you keep saying, yet I still fail to see how."

"We have the powers of eight countries allied to us at the moment, including our own," he said, leaning back slightly, and gripping the arms of his chair. "That is a phenomenal feat, by any standards, and each country possesses its own resources, its own armies, and its own trade system. Each can be governed independently, and each is essentially self-sustaining; yet if a link was forged, we could create something far greater than eight separate countries. As it stands, there is an enormous potential that we must seize and cultivate."

"Precisely," said Tsunade. "So what does that have to do with this village?"

"Simple. It is due to the connection that each of these eight countries has to this village, through one simple factor—Naruto. Because of this factor, which essentially formed the basis for our alliance, I believe we can forge an inter-dimensional alliance, the first of its kind. How would this benefit you, you ask? Quite simply really—I am told you have enemies."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes a bit. No doubt Naruto had told him a few things about their past troubles, then.

"Yes," she said.

"I am well aware that as a village, you are one of the most powerful and have already many alliances in your own world. But I am told that your enemies are quite strong, and even more elusive. While I'm certain you could handle it on your own, would it not be simpler to accept the power of eight other countries in order to aid you? There are many things already that we have to offer you—technologies yet to be discovered, arts of battle that have yet to be tapped, resources that have not been discovered or do not exist here, warriors ready and willing to aid at any point—what is there to lose?"

"Quite a bit," said Tsunade, her voice harsh and stark as a winter-kissed tree. "True, there are many enemies that pose a threat to the Leaf—and also true, we have many alliances here already. But what you don't seem to realize is the impracticality of such an alliance, as well as the long-term effects. Up until this point, I wasn't aware that there were other humanoids, or even other worlds out there. Introducing such a shock to our world is a bit much, wouldn't you say? It would, and I have no doubt about this, cause problems in the future. Not everybody is tolerant, you must realize. Also, opening trade between two worlds seems pointless and far too much trouble for what its worth. Not only that, but this poses another problem—if we were to ally with you, that would require us to aid you in battle, would it not?"

Benedictus nodded slowly.

"You're asking me to send shinobi—loyal, hard-working shinobi, with families here who have lived their entire lives in this village, dealing in their own ways with its own wars and matters—to a world that none of them have heard of, and thus know nothing about; who have no idea of the prejudices of that world, the meanings behind the wars and battles, the terrain, the people—essentially everything. You're asking me to send them there­­––for I assume that you're making this proposition because you're in need of as much help as you can get––to die for causes, for people and for things that will never have an impact on them or their lives here? Don't you think that's selfish? The people of this village have dealt with many things in the past few years, and we already live in a harsh and unforgiving world. There is hardly a time when we aren't at war with some village or another, and more and more of the shinobi of this village lose their lives because of it. They do it happily, because they want to protect this village with their lives—but asking them to fight for something that really doesn't have anything to do with this village—how the hell do you think that's fair?"

"We would reciprocate the actions, as I said…" Benedictus started, but was suddenly cut off, as Tsunade stood.

"I could care less. As you have also said, we have plenty of alliances––powerful alliances—that have and could continue to help us against our own enemies. As for trade, we don't particularly need a better economy, as it is—the shinobi village system functions on a mission-based system—it exists to take the requests of others and make them happen, whether it be as simple walking the family dog or assassinating a high-class aristocrat in some city somewhere. We function fine like that, and adding any more to it seems pointless and silly—like giving more sake to an already drunk person."

Benedictus nodded calmly, speaking no words. Tsunade continued on, hardly noticing the gesture.

"What you're asking is for us to involve yourself in your politics—for your reasons alone. You're asking us to fight in your wars—and even bring upon us the wrath of your enemies. That hardly seems fair, now does it?"

Benedictus sighed, and nodded. He had considered all of this, but had been hinging on the knowledge that Naruto had absolute faith in this woman. He waited for her to continue her denouncements, but she did not. Instead, she sat down again, rested her chin upon her laced hands and looked at him squarely. Something had changed in her eyes—as if the dead tree before had once again began to blossom and with it, so did his hopes.

"But Naruto seems to think differently of all this," she said, slowly.

Benedictus waited.

"Perhaps it's because he went there, and fought in your battles and helped create this alliance of yours, but he seems to think that an alliance is completely worthwhile. I doubt, highly, that he put any consideration into everything I just said. He rarely does such things, and that's something he needs to work on in the future, if he wants to take my position." She shook her head, smiling ruefully, as if remembering a joke told long ago. "He's an idiot when it comes to things like politics, but that's not his style, now is it? He doesn't do things as I do, or even any of the past Hokages. His talents have always shown themselves in his ability to make loyal friends of nearly everyone he meets. That's why I'm not completely chucking this whole idea out the window, old man. He clearly made friends and allies in all of you guys, and knows instinctively the benefits that would come with this alliance. Naruto's not a complete moron; he might have known that I'd be this reserved to it, at first." This made Benedictus stifle a snort, wondering if she truly knew the boy as well as she thought she did.

"But in the end," she continued. "He still supports it, and believes I should as well. I see both the benefits and the costs, and at the moment, I cannot decide which outweighs the other. Aside from this, it isn't my decision alone to make—the Konoha Council of Elders has to hear this proposition as well, and I guarantee that they will have the same reservations as I did—hell, they'd hardly consider it, if I weren't here."

"I see," said Benedictus, nodding, the weathered smile on his face once more, with his eyes shining brightly again. He smoothed out the folds in his robes and leaned forwards again. "So I have you intrigued?"

"A mite," she said. She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Though I'm surprised you haven't caught on to the second option—one I'm sure would be in your best interests to make."

"Oh?" said Benedictus, blinking a few times. "A second option you say?" He sat and frowned for a moment, thinking hard on her words, past and present. Then the solution struck him, in the midst of this revision. A smile, quite conspiratorial, appeared on his face, and he leaned in, lifting a hand to stroke his beard.

"That option, then?"

"Yes," said Tsunade, giving him a nod and an almost serpentine smirk. "But it'll cost you, I'll have you know."

"Oh indeed…" said Benedictus. "But as you said—this would indeed be in our best interests. Has it been done before?"

"No, but that doesn't mean it can't be done."

"You're quite the agreeable woman, Lady Tsunade."

"So I'm not a snake in human form?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Team Seven is officially reformed," said Kakashi.

A week had passed since Kakashi's test of their abilities, and the three remaining members of Team Seven now sat upon the stools at Ichiraku's. Naruto was inhaling his ramen with the force of a black hole, as if to make up for the years of it he had missed. Kakashi sat in front of a completely empty bowl, having somehow eaten his food in the span of three seconds, without Naruto or Sakura catching sight of his masked face. Sakura was making her way slowly through her own ramen, as a normal person might.

"Almost," Naruto said, without looking up from his ramen.

Kakashi paused, rethought his words, and then nodded in agreement. "You're right, almost," he amended. "I just heard it from Tsunade-sama this morning."

"When do we begin missions again?" said Sakura, who had heard nothing from her master regarding their team (not that she'd had much chance—Tsunade-sama seemed extra busy, and Shizune had taken to overseeing her training sessions for the past week).

"Soon, I would imagine," said Kakashi, his voice carrying the slight weight of mystery. Both Naruto and Sakura noticed it, and turned to look at him oddly. He wasn't looking at them, however.

"Naruto," Sakura suddenly said, glancing at her teammate. "Have you seen that old man of yours, Benedictus, yet? I haven't heard anything about him since he arrived."

Naruto nodded. "I've seen him a few times. He met with Baa-chan last week, and since then he's been wandering around doing whatever the hell he feels like. I don't see him much, but he says he has some good news that he needs to tell Kira-chan, so he'll be going back soon."

"He hasn't told you the news?"

"Nope," Naruto said, with a frown of irritation. "He hasn't told me Baa-chan's answer yet. It's annoying!"

"Answer to what?" Sakura asked, giving Naruto a pointed glare. "You've been saying that he's been here for a reason, yet you haven't told us that reason." She crossed her arms for added effect, something that made Kakashi inwardly chuckle. The look that Sakura was now giving Naruto was enough to make most men break (given that they new of her strength), but it would be twice as effective on Naruto, who cared quite a bit for Sakura, and also had first hand experience to what could happen if he said the wrong thing. A moment later, predictably, Naruto spilt it all.

"That makes sense, now that I think about it," muttered Sakura, bothered by her shortsightedness. "Do you think Tsunade-sama accepted? That could be the good news, couldn't it?"

Naruto nodded, crossing his arms. "It could be, but that doesn't explain why neither of them will tell me. I'm a part of it too, you know!"

Sakura nodded. She had not heard much of her master in the past week. The woman was never in her office, and whenever they did meet, Tsunade was always rushing from one place to another like a frantic rat trapped in a maze. It could be that she was busy trying to get this alliance that Benedictus had proposed to be accepted by the Council of Konoha. That would make sense—though the Hokage was the ruler of the village, and had command over its shinobi and much of its political and economical dealings, the Council of Konoha played a role as well. Whenever a decision had to be made that was great enough to affect the entire village, the Council was always involved in some way or another. They were often at odds with Tsunade, from what Sakura had experienced. Whenever a member of the Council came to speak with Tsunade, it would usually end up in a heated argument, which would end with the Council member hobbling off or Tsunade hitting something to make them leave. Tsunade could not stand the Council, whom she regarded as a group of elitist old fools whose brains had rotted away along with their bodies. Indeed, the Council held entirely outdated and traditionalist views that many disagreed with nowadays. They still held the belief that the Hidden Stone was their enemy, when indeed they had not been at war with that village for many years, and had made piece since. They still believed that the Fire daimyo principally held the power in the Fire Country, when in fact many now regarded that the position of daimyo as outdated. It was a figurehead position that in the past had controlled the economy and status of the entire country, while the shinobi village within dealt entirely with its own affairs and only aided the daimyo when the capital city was threatened. In recent times, however, the Fire Country was governed principally by the Hidden Leaf, and hence the Hokage. The current daimyo seemed to accept this, and spent much of his time traveling the countryside or holding festivals around his castle; he left the affairs of the country entirely to Tsunade, something that didn't bother her or anybody else. Nor did the Council see anything wrong with marriages below the age of sixteen, which was the current age limit for both sexes. They believed it practical, as the life of a shinobi was a dangerous and unpredictable one, but more so that the age had been younger for almost the entirety of the Hidden Leaf's history. Lately many held the belief that anything below sixteen was far too young, even when it concerned clan politics (Hyuuga Hiashi was among these, surprisingly, and didn't intend to marry off either of his daughters until they were of the appropriate age). They saw anything that differed from the traditions of the Leaf, no matter how barbaric, as wrong.

Or, in Tsunade's belief, they feared change.

If this alliance was being put to the Council, then it was no wonder Tsunade was working so hard. She would need to do everything possible in order to get the Council to accept it, for such a change was immense and unheard of. An alliance with another world? It sounded preposterous, singularly because Sakura hadn't been aware of another world for the entirety of her life until Naruto had been dragged there. She had been prepared for it—but nobody else, aside from Naruto's friends and allies, knew that this was so. Once everyone found out, it would spread throughout the world. Sakura herself would find no matter in it, for she knew of that world's existence already. But the situation would not be without its problems; that much she knew. In fact, in her eyes, it would pose a great many problems in the future.

It would be quite the change.

Naruto suddenly hopped off his stool, pulling Sakura from her many thoughts. He had finished his ramen.

"Well, I'm off to see Iruka-sensei. He told me to come by the Academy today. See you!"

"Bye, Naruto," Kakashi said, with a lazy wave.

"See you later," Sakura called after him.

"I'd best leave as well. I have a prior engagement," said Kakashi, suddenly vanishing in a whirl of white smoke. Sakura was then alone, with the sudden realization that neither Naruto nor Kakashi had paid.

"I'll put it on their tabs," said Ayame, with a wink and a smile to the pink-haired girl. "So much for chivalry, huh?"

"Yes," said Sakura, rubbing her temples in exasperation. "So much."

The past week for Naruto had been memorable.

The Monday following his return, after the bell test with Kakashi, Naruto had spent the majority of it at Ichiraku's, gorging himself on ramen and talking with Ayame, Teuchi and Sakura. Kakashi had vanished, saying that he had things to do (being as vague as always), but not before giving Naruto some money to pay for their food, calling it a reward for their good work. So Naruto didn't plan to leave until all of that money was gone, and he was sufficiently satiated. There was still a lot to talk about, too, with Teuchi and Ayame, who had hired two part-time workers that only filled in when Ayame or Teuchi was away. His talks with Sakura's generally consisted of her work with Tsunade, which while Naruto didn't understand too well was interested in nonetheless. After seeing Kira on multiple occasions use medical jutsu to better the lives of others, Naruto had become fascinated by it.

They had spent so long there that it was no surprise when Iruka suddenly showed up, deciding to pop in for a quick bite to eat after his classes.

"My gosh! is that really you, Naruto?" he had cried, upon sighting the blonde and all his changes. The two had immediately fallen back into their previous relationship, when he and Naruto had gone out almost every day for ramen at some point. Sakura had smiled and watched as Iruka and Naruto talked—Naruto blabbering on about some experience or another in the other world of Azeroth, vastly exaggerating in the most obvious way on some points, while Iruka watched and laughed and occasionally chastised. Sakura thought it more like a relationship between siblings than friends—Iruka the concerned elder, Naruto the impetuous younger. But it was a relationship that Naruto nonetheless deserved—having gone through his life without a family or guidance; Iruka was a perfect match for him. To see them in such a state was heartwarming, and Sakura had noticed that Iruka was looking happier than he had in months. The man had missed Naruto as much as Naruto had missed him.

It was not long before Iruka moved on, telling Naruto to keep in touch and visit him sometime at the Academy. By the time they had finished talking, it had been late, and so Naruto had eaten another bowl and then parted ways with Sakura, returning to his apartment.

There he had met his landlady and her husband once again, and had been forced into having tea with the two of them. Their quirks—the husband, Kentai and his amazing laziness and perverted sense of humor; and the wife—Maga, with her severe countenance and strong will, had immediately tried to resituate themselves in Naruto's life. They had never done so much before, but Naruto found it a pleasant experience and promised that he would talk with them more often. He did remember their kindnesses in the past.

The next day had begun well; Naruto had planned to seek out and surprise some of his old friends, other members of the Rookie Nine—a task that had turned out to be quite difficult. Indeed, he had spent the majority of the morning trying to find any trace of them; he went to all of the barbecue restaurants he knew of to seek out Chouji; he visited the Nara residence, where Shikamaru's kind mother had told him that Shikamaru was not there at the moment; he had gone near the Inuzuka's residence only to be driven away by a pack of guard dogs who didn't seem to like his scent; he had visited some of the training grounds in search of Lee or Gai, but found no trace; he had visited a weapons shop in search of Tenten, despite not knowing her very well; he had dared attempting to approach the Aburame residence, but quickly retreated when he was greeted by a hulking man dressed in so much clothing that he could only see parts of skin around his eyes; and he had even gone so far as to check the Hyuuga Clan residence––he had been forced out immediately for his "uncouth appearance", and had been ordered not to return. So grumbling, he had returned to Ichiraku's to rest and recharge; and there he was pleasantly surprised to find two of the friends he sought.

"Shikamaru! Chouji!" he had called.

Shikamaru hadn't changed much, to Naruto's eyes—he still had the lazy frown, the slouching posture, and the same pineapple-shaped hairdo that signified him as Shikamaru. But he had grown taller, now wore the more official-looking outfit of a typical chuunin, and gave Naruto the impression that he had gotten stronger.

Chouji, on the other hand, had changed quite a bit. Aside from the bright smile and kind eyes of before, he now stood several inches higher than Naruto and had grown even bigger in the other direction. But aside from the beanbag impression he had given Naruto before, the boy now seemed as solid and strong as a small mountain. He wore deep red armor and had hair that flowed down past his shoulders.

"What the hell…Naruto? This was the surprise Ino was talking about?" Shikamaru had said, in that bored drawling voice.

"Whoa! It is you, Naruto! It's been forever, hasn't it?" Chouji had said; his voice had change a little as well, becoming deeper and more resounding.

"Geez, you guys have definitely changed!" Naruto had said, looking over the two in great surprise and detail. "I almost didn't recognize you Chouji, in that armor! And Shikamaru's starting to look like a hard worker…" he sniggered.

"It's something my dad made," grinned Chouji.

"Shut up," said Shikamaru, sighing irritably, as if insulted.

Naruto took a seat, and at once they began to converse. Naruto teased Shikamaru for his position as Academy teacher and how he was probably going to single-handedly annihilate the future shinobi of Konoha by telling them how boring and lame it is to be a shinobi, and that it's much better to watch clouds and complain. Shikamaru had rolled his eyes, muttered something rude under his breath, while Chouji had laughed himself hoarse ("It's funny because its true," he later said). Naruto, of course, nearly made the mistake of calling Chouji even fatter than before, but caught himself in the last moment—having been away from Konoha for so long, yet having his friends nearly always on his mind, had taught him to be more careful with their respective sensitivities. But he also learned something rather annoying and depressing.

"They're not here?" Naruto had muttered, slumping in his seat. "Where the hell are they?"

"On missions, moron," said Shikamaru, after a yawn. "Hinata, Shino and Kiba's group are on a mission with Kurenai-sensei, somewhere in the Water Country, while Lee, Neji and Tenten's group are somewhere near the Swamp Country. They probably won't be back for a couple of days, at the earliest, as those lands are pretty far away. Neji's group will probably return a little earlier, as they started their mission two weeks ago."

Naruto sighed, annoyed that he wouldn't get to see his other friends for another few weeks. He had been so looking forwards to seeing (and perhaps fighting) Kiba and Neji, especially now that the latter was jounin. But, realizing that nothing would change that fact, he accepted it; what were a few more days, anyways?

After eating a few helpings of ramen, the group of three left the restaurant and took a long walk. Shikamaru and Chouji (though Shikamaru attempted to hide it) listened in rapt awe to Naruto's descriptions of the places he had been, and the things he had seen. Chouji sounded particularly interested in the various foods Naruto had tasted in Azeroth, while Shikamaru asked a few questions about the similarities between several of the cities Naruto had been to that shared beliefs, social structures, and even economics in the Leaf and other villages in their world. Naruto didn't take much interest such things, so Shikamaru got few answers; he did however, find interest in many of the things Naruto said nonetheless. The lands Naruto had visited sounded so vast and so different that what imagination Shikamaru had went wild, and some part of him suddenly wanted to see these places, in all the glory Naruto spoke of.

In turn, Naruto learned a lot about their training and schedules since he had left. He learned that both Ino and Chouji had become chuunin at the previous Exam, several months prior to Naruto's return—the very same that Sakura had been promoted at. Since then, he learned that Shikamaru had been busy with teaching, and Chouji with training. Ino had begun practicing medical jutsu, even going so far as to learn a few things from Sakura.

That day ended with their parting, and Chouji's suggestion that he should join them in training one day. Naruto readily accepted, not wanting to miss a chance to show off the cool techniques he had learned in Azeroth. Shikamaru had simply said that he'd have to play a game of shogi with him one day, before both had left and Naruto had returned to his apartment, and to sleep.

The rest of the week passed quickly. Naruto spent his time with Sakura and Kakashi, sometimes training in teamwork with both of them (for now Kakashi doubled as both teacher and comrade), sometimes just enjoying their company. It was almost like old times—Sakura berating Naruto for some stupid comment or lewd remark and shaking her fist at Kakashi for reading Icha Icha Paradise in their presence, but also laughing at Naruto's jokes and learning about his travels (and growing more and more interested, in that female sense of the word, by this girl he had met—Kira, though she did not know why), and simply being there with him; Naruto would train hard, eat lots of ramen, and occasionally irritate Sakura with his words or actions, without meaning to; Kakashi would smile at both of them, be as cryptic as he could about his own affairs, and seemed to read the same volume of Icha Icha Paradise that he always had. In the end, Naruto couldn't have asked for a better week—it seemed almost too perfect, for he had never enjoyed himself as much as he had in a long time.

In that time, too, he met with Benedictus, finding out that he and Tsunade had reached a conclusion, yet refused to tell him a word of it.

"It's a surprise, my boy, one that you will find out soon enough, I daresay. Do not worry; it's something quite good. So good, in fact, that I must return with haste to Stormwind to bring this news to Kira. Perhaps you and your friends might accompany me, when the time comes?"

Naruto's frown broke at the news. "Definitely! They will probably want to see everything, now that I've told them about it." It then repaired itself. "But why the hell can't you tell me!"

"Because that would be like telling you what's in your Winter Veil present, now wouldn't it?"

"What the hell is Winter Veil?"

While it irritated him that Benedictus would not tell him the full news, he had settled simply to wait. As it was good news, he knew that Tsunade had accepted on some level, and so that gave him comfort.

But in hearing this, he began to wonder, with each passing day, what was happening back in Stormwind. He began to wonder what Kira was doing at points, or where Kylia was, or were the rest of his friends were and the actions they were taking to build support for the alliance.

He also wondered about the problems they faced, for he knew that there would be many.

"Is it more bad news, Captain?"

Kira stood at the edge of a young man's bed, with one hand hovering over his forehead. A blue light flowed from it, and the man's features—before twisted into a hedge of pain and delirium—now soothed and peaceful, and fast asleep. The man had been nearly killed by a gnoll outside the city, on his way back from one of the villages tucked away inside Elwynn Forest.

He had been brought to her by a pair of orcs.

Captain Eric Schneider gave her a quick bow, and then followed it by a small nod and a distressed look. Kira sighed, and moved her hand away. The man was as peaceful as needed for him to rest, and so she could do nothing else. She turned away, and walked past Schneider. "We'll find somewhere else to discuss it, Captain."

Captain Eric nodded. Kira rarely called him by that title, preferring instead to call him Sir Eric or simply Eric. Yet, over the past few days, things had been happening that was testing the young girl's nerves at every point; she had become less open and friendly as a result, and had begun acting more like a queen. Eric was not sure if he liked the change—while it was proper for someone of her status to call him by his title and his title only, he had gotten rather used to her friendly greetings.

They were not huge problems, thankfully. A fight had broken out in one of the smaller inns near the perimeter of the city, between a troll and two humans. It had culminated in the troll using one of his tusks to stab one of the humans, nearly killing him, before the rest of the pub (mostly consisting of humans) had leapt upon the troll and beaten him to the point of near death. The Stormwind Guard had rushed in at that point and quelled the fight, which had still been raging between the humans and the other former Horde occupants of the room. Nobody was killed, but when Kira had heard the report she had grown both angry and distressed. It had taken Kylia and Eric himself to calm her down, and convince her that such events occurred all the time between members of the same race, and it didn't matter if it had occurred between a troll and some humans. But Eric knew that she had grown angry more because an illusion of bliss had been shattered, and she now knew that not everything was idyllic and peaceful within her city.

There had been a few other such events—two orcs getting drunk and vandalizing a gnome's house; a tauren getting into a fist fight with a dwarf; some night elves taunting a group of trolls with racial slurs and threats of violence; each event, while small scale, was a blow to Kira's perfectly sculpted dream of the future, and yet she knew she could do nothing about any of them. Though she had indeed been convinced that such things were bound to happen, she had grown harder and more queenly of late, as if the friendliness everyone had become so accustomed to was being bled from her, from many tiny, invisible wounds.

They found an empty room—the very same empty room that Benedictus had occupied a while ago—and Kira sat down with a great sigh. Her shoulders sagged under an immense weight, and when she looked up at Sir Eric, he was surprised (but almost relieved) to find that she had tears in her eyes.

"Milady?" he asked, stepping forwards. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said, suddenly blushing and wiping away her unshed tears. "Forgive me, Sir Eric, but these past few days have been getting to me…" She looked so alone, sitting there.

"You must be strong, milady," he said, falling to one knee. "But I will do whatever I can to ease whatever burden you are carrying."

She smiled at him, and once again he was relieved. "You could make this bad news you about to tell me good news, if possible."

Sir Eric looked away. "If only I could, milady."

"Then speak it," she said, sitting up straight, and adopting the cultured, passive and regal look of before.

Sir Eric nodded, and removed a scroll tucked away in the back of his belt. He stood, unfurling it, and took a deep breath, that shuddered slightly as he exhaled.

"Yesterday, the citizens of Tarren Mill and Southshore became aware of plumes of smoke in the distance, high in the mountains. A party was dispatched from each town, and climbed the mountains that the smoke was appearing from. At midday, they reached the entrance to the hidden headquarters of the Ravenholdt Assassin's League, Ravenholdt Manor, and upon entering found it to be utterly destroyed."

With this, Kira's pretty eyes grew wide. She knew enough about the Ravenholdt assassins to know that they were among the most powerful and skilled of hired mercenaries, and accepted only the most difficult and high-paying jobs. Her father and her grandfather had used their services on many occasions—if you wanted something stolen, killed, or spied upon, it was them that was called, for they always made absolutely sure the job got done.

"Upon close inspection of the ruined manor, they found nearly every member slain in a most brutal manner. Even the leader of the League, Lord Jorach Ravenholdt, lay dead in the ruins of his manor. There was only one survivor, who lay on the grounds of the manor, unconscious and unable to be roused, but still breathing—an orc called Master Kang, who trained many of the new League members but rarely took jobs himself, according to several honorary members of the League. Though the entire area was searched, no trace was found of the perpetrators. It was at first believed to be members of the Syndicate, who have a long-standing rivalry with Ravenholdt, but their normally occupied headquarters of Durnholde Keep was found to be empty, and had been so for some time. None of the Forsaken could find a smell trail, and thus the pursuit was abandoned, and Master Kang was taken to Tarren Mill. He now rests there, but has yet to wake, and thus no information can be gotten from him."

Sir Eric finished reading, lowered the scroll, and fell to one knee. He did not meet her eyes.

But Kira, though distressed, felt little pain over the news, and far more did she feel great confusion. It did not make sense. Why was the Syndicate, if indeed it was they who had committed this crime, acting up of late? And what of the Defias Brotherhood? What linked these two organizations, and was causing them to make such frequent raids, and even now making them attack and successfully eliminate a rival faction, one that had existed perhaps as long as they and had never been attacked before? What also was giving them the power to do such a thing? It had always been widely regarded that the Syndicate was inferior in strength and skill to the Ravenholdt Assassin's League, and even if they were to make an attack, they would likely not succeed. And if they had, they would not be able to do it without cost—and she saw no way they could have dragged every one of their comrade's bodies and put them in a place where no Forsaken could smell them, and do it before the two parties had arrived.

"Sir Eric," she said, softly. "What do you think of this?"

Sir Eric lifted his head, to meet her eyes. Filled with regal strength that shined like diamonds, like her father's had once had, Sir Eric felt his heart lift in seeing them.

"I don't know, milady," he said. "There are many things that seem wrong about this entire event, and it makes me wonder what type of enemy has the power to successfully defeat nearly every one of the Ravenholdt members and not suffer any losses themselves. It suggests that they are either so numerous and so skilled that they overwhelmed the Assassin's League, and because of their numbers were able to take what members had perished and flee as quickly as they had come; or that they were very few, and those few possessed such monstrous strength that not even the Lord of the Assassin's League could match their powers."

"What do we do about it?" Kira then asked.

"I cannot say, at this moment, milady. The best recourse would be to wait for Master Kang to awaken, and hear what he has to say. There is nothing more we can do at this moment."

Kira gave a solemn nod. "Thank you, Sir Eric." She gave him a smile then. "I look forwards to the day when all of this bad news is exhausted, and I can finally listen to some good news."

He smiled back at her, though he kept his head low to hide it. He then looked up, drawing forth another scroll from his belt.

"Today's bad news is exhausted, milady, and it just so happens that I have some other news to give you. I cannot say if it is bad or good, so I will let milady decide."

He unfurled it, coughed, and read, in the style of a telegram, printed neatly and mechanically by one of the gnome's machines: "From High Tinker Mekkatorque (stop), to Lady Kira Wrynn (stop). Lady Kira, (stop), going to be making a trip (stop), across the portal (stop), to greet leader (stop), of village we are closest to (stop). Naruto (stop), asked me to (stop), he knows someone (stop) from village (stop), who is friend (stop). He believes (stop), that agreement (stop) can be made to (stop) build protection (stop) for portal and bring more allies (stop), into New Alliance (stop). More portals (stop) may follow (stop)."

It was as if he stood at the edge of the horizon; for he saw and felt the warmest smile rise onto Kira's face, like a sun rising to meet the day.

"Thank you, Sir Eric."

"Rise and shine, Naruto."

"GAH!"

It took Naruto a moment after uttering the short exclamation and falling to the floor, to realize that his heart was still beating, despite the absolute terror that he had just felt. For upon opening his eyes he had seen Kakashi's face, mere inches from his own, while the rest of the jounin crouched upon his bed like some creepy pervert in the process of doing something quite against the law. Naruto had then fallen out of bed from the sudden shock, and was now curled into a ball against the wall, staring at Kakashi with wide and frightened eyes.

"D-don't do that again, asshole!" the blonde cried, clutching his chest and gasping a few times.

"Did I frighten you?" Kakashi asked, smiling behind his mask and giving a small chortle.

"Yes!" the blonde snapped. "I never want to wake up with you're creepy masked face right next to mine! That's weird, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi nodded. "Duly noted. Hurry up and get dressed, we needed to be at the training fields half an hour ago."

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled, leaping to his feet and rushing to pull on the clothes that he had left in a heap upon the floor. Kakashi waited patiently, gazing around Naruto's bedroom for a moment, as he had not had a chance to earlier. It was a small room, covered in a layer of fine dust likely from its disuse, with white walls, a small bed in one corner, a small bedside table, and a dresser in another corner. There was a window just above Naruto's bed, where several potted plants lay, perfectly healthy and drinking in the light of the morning sun. No doubt Naruto's landlady had come in to water them several times, or else they wouldn't have survived his absence.

He turned back to Naruto, just as the blonde tugged on the black jacket that he had worn since he had returned. It went down to the middle of his thighs, and had long flaring sleeves and a collar that barely reached his chin. It appeared to be made of leather or something similar, but looked of much higher quality than Naruto could afford. Within there were many pockets to keep weapons or supplies.

"That's a nice jacket," Kakashi commented, peering at it closely as Naruto pulled on his toeless boots. "Where'd you get it?"

Naruto grinned at him. "It was a gift from some of my friends. It's made out of dragon hide."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Does that make it special?"

Naruto nodded. "Very. It's a lot more durable than most stuff. It blocks a kunai pretty easily, and it's very fire resistant, too. Besides, doesn't it look awesome?"

"Very," Kakashi agreed, smiling. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Naruto lifted his kodachi and nodded.

The two of them exited Naruto's apartment, with Naruto speeding hurriedly in front of Kakashi, while the jounin walked leisurely along. At many points during their trip Naruto needed to stop and glare at the man until he caught up. Kakashi was unbothered by Naruto's constant attention, and took his time. Thus they were over an hour late by the time they reached a large expanse near the edge of the village, where there were few trees and no sign of civilization. Kakashi had booked the training area for the next few weeks, seeing as how it would be needed for Naruto's extensive training.

Yesterday Tsunade had told Kakashi that Naruto's training with Tenzo would begin the following morning. It would last until Naruto had a sufficient grasp of the Kyuubi's chakra, which would allow him to use it functionally during battle. From there, he could simply do it himself. So Kakashi had agreed and contacted Tenzo, telling him that they'd meet him at the training area at exactly seven o' clock on Monday morning. They arrived at quarter past eight, to find Tenzo standing alone, in the middle of the field, looking quite displeased with his senpai and new student's tardiness.

"You're late, Kakashi-senpai; you too Naruto-kun. That's not the way to make a good impression on your new teacher, now is it?" His face had darkened considerably, transforming once more into the strange corpse-like, wide-eyed glaring demon that Naruto had seen before at his house. The blonde backed away, shivering from the glare, while Kakashi just rolled his eye.

"Sorry, Tenzo, but we had…"

"Actually, Kakashi-senpai, it's Yamato now. From now on, please refer to me as Yamato." The glare melted away, replaced by a stern, serious face that suggested the matter of his name was of the utmost importance.

"Yamato?" said Kakashi, frowning. "Why's that?"

"The mission I was given has two parts," said Yamato. "The first part is training Naruto-kun, and the second part begins once the first part is over. I'm afraid I can't tell either of you more details at this moment, so forgive me." He gave a bow to both of them to suggest his apologies.

Naruto shrugged, a little curious about the mission, but not curious enough to further prod the man and risk getting the creepy glare again. Kakashi gave a nod, understanding Yamato's position perfectly. He then turned back to Naruto.

"Before I leave the training to Tenzo here," he said, ignoring Yamato's twitch of annoyance, "you must know that the training you are about to go through might be difficult or easy, depending on how you take it. However, once you have gained a sufficient grasp on it, I might have a way to make it go exponentially faster. I won't tell you now, because at this point in time it wouldn't be of much use, and it'd be far more dangerous to your and Tenzo's health. Learn how to use the Kyuubi's chakra to the best of your abilities, and when you've done that, I'll be back to show you something else—a way of training that only you'll be able to use."

Naruto blinked. "That only I can use?"

"Yes," said Kakashi. He turned back to Yamato. "I leave it to you." He spun and walked over to one of the few trees that populated the area, a large oak, and sat beneath it. At once the book came out, and Kakashi was lost in his perverted fantasy world.

Naruto immediately turned to Yamato. "Then let's get going!"

Yamato nodded, taking a final look in Kakashi's direction. 'He certainly knows how to motivate.'

"Okay Naruto. The first thing you need to do is begin to draw the Kyuubi's chakra from beneath the training seal. Draw as much as you can manage without it hurting you."

Naruto nodded, and wove his hands into a basic seal before his chest. He took a deep breath, and began to draw the insidious red chakra from deep within its prison. It came out as easily as a boulder surrounded by hard earth, at first; and Naruto soon began to sweat. The chakra began to flow throughout his body, then, alongside his own chakra, but moving faster and more fluidly. He felt his body growing stronger, in the form of a slight heat that began to build up in his stomach and limbs. But continuing to draw it out was like tensing a muscle, and before long he didn't believe he could do it any longer.

That is when Yamato began.

The ANBU sat cross-legged on the ground, and made a seal. Around him, four large wooden posts erupted, shaped like the heads of dogs. Atop the heads of these wooden dogs burned a bright yellow flame, as Yamato thrust out his palm, where a single word in kanji had been written.

And suddenly, it became easier.

The chakra, once before like squeezing honey from a hole as big as a needlepoint, which once through became as runny as water, now flowed as easily as from a tap and was as pliable as dough. It was marvelous, and for a moment, Naruto reveled in this feeling until Yamato shouted to him, "Mould it! You need to perform chakra control exercises, or else it won't do anything. Go, now!" His voice sounded tense and urgent, so Naruto did what he was told so immediately. He pooled the chakra into his feet and attempted to jump with it—but he had gathered too much, and instead of pushing off the ground, he stuck fast to it, and fell with a crash.

Yamato shook his head. "I'm only controlling the bare minimum. It might feel likes its easy, but it isn't. You need to focus more, and relearn everything from the basics. And don't use too much of it at once! It's taking all I have to control it right now."

Naruto stood up, panting, and nodded. He would not goof off. He walked towards the tree Kakashi was sitting beneath, and upon reaching it, took a breath and began gathering chakra once again into his feet.

Kakashi did not look up from his book, but had listened to everything. That was exactly the reason he could not show Naruto his trick right now. The strain that it would put both parties under would be immense, and such a strain would be unnecessary if Naruto could control part of the chakra before he learned the trick. When the time came to teach it to him, he could also use it to teach Naruto one necessary skill that he had yet to fully understand, yet seemed to have a grasp of already. And at the moment, there was no pressing need for Naruto to learn things as swiftly as he could. They could afford to be patient, and do things the right way.

Or so he hoped.

For indeed, it would not be long before a pressing need would present itself.

For hundreds of miles, the desert was perfectly uniform; one could walk its entire length and see nothing of interest or difference. They would see dunes of sand as high as mountains in some places; but these dunes were much the same as the dunes in other places, for they were the same color, and made of the same substance, and only differed slightly in height and slope. Of course, after walking in the desert for many hours, most men wouldn't notice this, and everything would simply blend into an endless sea of sun-baked sand as hot as a skillet, so bright that it was almost blinding and so disgustingly bland that what difference they saw next they would welcome with open arms, even if it was but a cactus or the carcass of some long dead animal.

But today, two very different things could be seen, walking this endless sea of fire, towards a massive pair of cliffs bleached bone white by the sun. They were in complete contrast to the bright sand around them, for they wore cloaks made of blood moon night, which sucked in this sunny light, seeming to darken the places they walked. They shuffled along through the desert, walking at an almost languid pace across it, as if they did not feel the heat beneath their heavy cloaks and large wicker hats.

The first of these figures stood tall and walked quickly and lightly, like a spectre. It seemed to dance with each step, as if it could hardly contain some excitement. The high collar of its cloak obscured its face, leaving visible only one eye that was clear blue. A slight tune was hummed from beneath the large hat, deep and manly yet containing the qualities of cheer found only in young schoolgirls.

The second of the figure was squat and grotesquely fat. It shuffled along like an old beggar, yet the first impression one got from seeing him was that of a fat old toad. The high collar of its cloak shrouded its face, like that of its companion's, as well as the large, low-hanging hat it wore; it was completely silent.

"We're almost there, Sasori-danna…yeah," the first figure said.

"Yes. Do be quick about it, Deidara. I don't want this taking any longer than it has to. This place disgusts me," the second responded.

"Don't worry; I do, after all, have to make a name for myself. I'll show them the beauty of my fleeting art, and as a tribute to you, Sasori-danna, make sure they don't forget it for a long time…"

Done, again. Shorter chapter, but it had everything I needed in it.

I hope its okay. But know that even though I'm starting the Akatsuki arc in the same fashion as the manga, it will be different, and the main story will diverge from this point considerably. It's happening a bit earlier because Naruto returned a bit earlier…it's a stupid reason, but why not? Akatsuki is a bit different in this story, anyways, not in its members, but in its organization—something you'll find out later.

Hope it's enjoyable. The next chapter is obvious for those who have read the manga. Next up—Gaara versus Deidara!

Seeya next week!

General Grievous