Chapter 8 - Lying for a Cause

Naruto rubbed his face tiredly, trying to keep alert. He'd gone without sleep for several days now, and it was starting to take a toll. After dragging Gaara, light as he was, all the way from Suna to the Fourth's hideout, he had still needed to travel for over an hour before the great Hokage Monument finally came into view. He hoped that his clones could hold the fort for a bit with Gaara, since he didn't have any easy to way of getting back there, especially if a C-Rank mission was coming up, as had been the case with the Mission to Wave in his original time. He adjusted the scrolls on his back, most of which he'd taken from the very base he'd just left. The library there hadn't contained much, but it was probably best to remove the volatile stuff from Gaara's reach, and perhaps he could do something with it. On the inside of this jacket he'd put one of his father's Hiraishin kunai; he never thought of himself as overly sentimental, but it felt right to carry a memento. He also wanted to figure out the seal, of course, that was just common sense.

It was strange, Naruto reflected, that the village would probably never know what he'd prevented with his ruse in Suna, that some people would never realize that they would have died if he hadn't stepped in. Without the Kazekage's forces, Orochimaru couldn't hope to successfully invade Konoha on his own. That left the Sannin with only a few options to his goals. An assassination attempt on the Hokage was not unreasonable, but with all the ANBU forces around the leader of any village, that would be quite difficult; it was probably due to the Kazekage's arrogance that Orochimaru ever got the drop on him. Of course, since the Hokage would soon know about the snake's plans, that scenario would get even more unlikely.

Setting it up so that both the Kazekage and Jiraiya were under the impression they'd been approached by the other had been risky, but they didn't see each other enough to see through it easily. Naruto knew that Jiraiya, at least, would talk his way out of the situation if he figured it out, especially if it was to the village's advantage. Naruto's letter had made it explicit that the Kazekage wished to stay out of the picture, which should help in ensuring that Jiraiya remained unaware of the full picture, at least for a while yet. After the Chūnin Exams it didn't matter as much, and the first time the Kazekage and the Toad Sage were liable to meet was during the last stage of the same event. Perfect.

Naruto still had some things to iron out in the coming days. His clone hadn't needed to travel very far to find Jiraiya, which meant he was nearby. The letter he delivered probably spurred him on to go faster, which meant the man could arrive at any moment. He''d need to remember to stick to town. Sending a new army of clones to Gaara's position would have to be it for the moment, so they could take over from the old ones. Returning personally would be a bit risky. (Still, his clones were him, so they wouldn't do anything too insane. Hopefully.

One thing he needed to take care of back here in Konoha would be to figure out what happened to Sasuke. He needed to know what cascade he had set off that let to that particular event. It was probably not related to what he'd gotten up to in Suna – that would have far-reaching consequences in time, but it was still too recent. Gatō? The old bastard didn't even really know about Sasuke until they met on the bridge, and never showed much interest, which ruled that out. Zabuza and Haku had equally little to do with the Uchiha. That really only left Mizuki, and that seemed even more unlikely. Naruto had considered Orochimaru before, but that man certainly hadn't had the time to come down from Oto and infiltrate the village, if he'd even learned of the Kazekage's defection yet. It didn't make any sense.

Naruto strode towards his apartment with a resigned sigh, leaving complex planning to a time when he could actually form coherent thoughts again; sleep deprivation wasn't helping him, and he was liable to do things he shouldn't when he was like this.

Naruto realized he'd almost dozed off on his feet when his path was blocked quite suddenly, something that hadn't happened to him in ages, not even in the young boy. He stumbled and blinked in surprise as he realized who it was. Kakashi-sensei stood before him with his hands in his pockets and an annoyed expression. "So, there you are."

Naruto stared worriedly as he realized that there were only a handful of reasons that could explain why Kakashi would be angry at him. Perhaps his clones had done some massive prank, in which case he'd need to buy them some ramen, or one of them had spilled the beans on being clones. Knowing his luck, it was the latter. He turned away, feeling suddenly ashamed; he supposed he was just thinking of Kakashi as Hokage again, and he did respect that position beyond any other, despite his rather light-hearted way of addressing anyone who held the position.

"Ho- Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, sighing. He really needed to sleep, damn it.

"You look terrible." Kakashi commented, worry creeping into his voice.

Naruto winced as he rubbed his tired muscles and forced himself to stay alert. "I feel like I've run back and forth to Suna," he muttered finally, gesturing ahead. "Can we do this in my apartment? I could use a soft chair or a bed, or anything."

Kakashi nodded mutely, keeping the same slow pace as Naruto as the two walked from street to street. The man kept sending glances at his student. Clearly the man had figured out about the clones. Naruto didn't remember being unmasked, which meant that this was a recent development. At least that gave him something to work with. It was a set-back more in gaining Kakashi's trust than in actually being prevented from changing things, but he considered that important anyway. Though, he supposed he shouldn't whine. He had essentially committed treason by conspiring with the Kazekage, and having Kakashi cross with him was a rather small repercussion, really.

Arriving at his apartment at last, Naruto didn't bother with the stairs, strolling up the wall and collapsing on his bench with a heartfelt sigh. The last clone waved at him tiredly and immediately popped. For a brief moment the real Naruto saw double, as if two different people were trying to use the same eyes. A week's worth of information slammed into his brain, much of it coloured by an increasingly annoying focus on irrelevant activities and ramen. Insane clones were not doing his psyche any favours, that much was clear, and he really needed to figure out a way to avoid this in the future. Well, at least his clones had mostly avoided doing embarrassing things.

This clone had spent an inordinate amount of time at the Hot Springs, he realized. Ostensibly to keep an eye out for Jiraiya, but not really. He smiled slightly as he recalled his travels with the Toad Sage, and the many, many baths the man used for his research. Kakashi entered and Naruto forced himself to concentrate on the now; he'd be able to see the old pervert again soon enough.

"So," Kakashi began as he took a chair across the room. "I take it you're the real you, then. Where have you been for the past few days? Skirting your ninja duties –"

"Didn't you already go over this with a clone?" Naruto whined, rubbing his face. "The Shadow Clone technique works like that, you know? I get all their memories, all their experiences. I know every D-Rank mission we've been to, everything I said to you, and so on. I also know I'm in trouble, no need to rub it in."

Kakashi shook his head. "What could be so important that you left your Genin team with a Shadow Clone and took off?"

Naruto frowned. He'd need a good excuse to satisfy Kakashi and inevitably the Hokage, and there weren't very many that would actually work. To the Kazekage he was a stranger, and much the same for Jiraiya. Though it was true that he'd changed since he was really this age, he had no doubt that an outrageous lie would be caught by the Hokage, no matter how convincingly he argued it was true. The man wasn't called the God of Shinobi for nothing.

Naruto had considered a few options on his way here, just in case, but now that it came down to it, he was unsure. Claiming he went out to train would just make Kakashi suspicious, considering he was supposed to be the one doing the teaching, and they hadn't really done much in the way of training. Sealing could work, but his clones hadn't gotten much further than a day or two of work, which wouldn't cut it. There was, however, another option, one that would probably cause a lot of trouble, but would definitely divert attention away from the specifics. He'd probably never have considered using that as an excuse, but why the hell not? He'd never avoided trouble before.

"Kakashi-sensei… you know the secret regarding me, right? Beyond just my father?"

Kakashi gazed with wide eyes at him, and then looked away, pained. "You know about that too, then."

"You're honestly surprised about that?" Naruto wondered. "I knew about dad, I work with seals constantly, and you think I couldn't put two and two together? Of course I know about it." He rubbed a hand over his stomach and grimaced. "The Kyūbi, the creature locked within me. Yes, I know about it, and I have for some time. I didn't want to deal with this whole issue in the village for obvious reasons, and it wasn't like anyone could help."

Kakashi froze. "You went out because of the… What did you do...?"

"I spoke with it," Naruto answered simply, and waited for the reprimand. He hadn't really spoken to Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Not because he didn't want to, but because the fox was presently still the vicious bastard he'd originally known him as, before the Fourth Shinobi World War. Yes, he could restate what he'd already promised to this new Kyūbi, but he didn't know if that would change much. It was doubtful he'd be taken seriously, and Madara wasn't around to convince him to lend power. Last time around he'd beaten up Kurama with the help of his mother to get its chakra, and it wasn't until later that he and the fox had come to some agreement. Naruto didn't have the power now to repeat that particular trick, not by a long way. He'd need the Toad Contract back, at least, so he could once more use Senjutsu effectively, and he'd need to get his nastier Rasengan-varieties back.

The Kyūbi was just a beast, as far as anyone knew, too. He could use that particular belief. He turned to Kakashi with a frown; he needed to get this across right. "Kakashi-sensei, I know what I'm doing. I'm the only one that it wouldn't hurt, since I am the one that keeps it alive. The seal that the Fourth made is not just a prison, you know. It's a tool. It's designed to allow the host to use the special chakra that the Bijū has, for whatever purpose they see fit. I can't do anything like that near the village, of course. The villagers would kill me if they found out it's even possible, and the shinobi…"

"How long have you been doing this? Using the creature's chakra?" Kakashi asked sharply. "Do you know how dangerous something like that is?"

Naruto frowned, trying to look sad, though he was annoyed more than anything. "Nobody even noticed, sensei. The only reason you did so now was because someone actually paid attention to where I was, so I had to send in clones." He sighed tiredly. "Whenever I do that kind of thing I surround myself with seals that will send me unconscious if I trip them. I can only disarm them when I'm sensible. The Kyūbi's chakra immediately dissipates if I pass those without doing so. I'm not stupid."

Kakashi shook his head, glaring. "How could you do this without even informing the Hokage?" Naruto realized that the man was on the verge of actually yelling at him, which was rather a rarity.

"It's not the Hokage's decision, I think." Naruto sighed as he noticed Kakashi's dumbstruck expression. Questioning the Hokage's power was rather a faux-pas. "The Fourth designed the seal this way for a reason. I'm certain of it. He put it on his own son, so he wouldn't leave me open to the creature's influence or vice versa if he didn't think it would be necessary. Important, even." He rubbed a hand over his seal and smiled. "The fox hates that I use its chakra, he's not the one who arranged it. No, there's something else that's allowing me to channel it. I think the Fourth left a little of himself behind, to guide me."

"We must take this to the Hokage," Kakashi said sharply, and Naruto wondered if he'd picked wrongly. The look in Kakashi's eyes - he couldn't remember seeing him like that.. "Immediately."

Naruto nodded tiredly. The Hokage doubtlessly already suspected that he knew about Kyūbi, so the revelation that he'd been trying out using its chakra wouldn't be a big surprise. Oh, the old man probably would be mad about him doing it without supervision, but the most likely outcome of this would be that there was supervision in future experiments, probably Tenzō, rather than being forbidden entirely from pursuing this skill. The Hokage was still the Hokage, and a jinchūriki capable of controlling their Bijū would be a major boon to the village. The Third was certainly clever enough to realize that banning the use of Kyūbi's chakra wouldn't be very effective anyway, as Naruto was quite capable of slipping away from most surveillance, if he really wanted to.

The second part of his little story was ingenious, he thought. With the chakra of both his parents still locked in the seal, the Hokage would come across it if he really researched it, and that observation would probably set his mind at ease. Granted, Naruto couldn't actually access that chakra without it exhausting shortly thereafter, but the Hokage didn't know about that. Only Jiraiya would probably realize the truth, and he was clever enough to ask him first, which would allow him to amend the misapprehensions that the Hokage had. He wouldn't be at fault for the mistake, after all. Naruto briefly mused about the possibility of prolonging the existence of the chakra-imprints of his parents, of finding a way to keep them around. He'd never had the chance to test that concept last time, since their chakra had been long-gone by the time he got any appreciable training, but if anything was going to allow that it'd be Fūinjutsu.

Naruto mused about how much nonsense he'd be spewing to excuse his recent behaviour. Yes, he'd probably end up with some heavy labour as punishment for his disappearance, and his use of nastily dangerous techniques without anyone knowing, but that was alright. He needed to get stronger anyway, and he didn't mind the hard way so much anymore. Not since he'd helped rebuild the town, after Nagato had blown it up, and his army of clones had worked themselves and him into exhaustion. Perhaps the physical exercises coupled with some serious chakra training would be enough to get him ready for things to come.

His mind strayed to the attack on Sasuke. Whoever did that... Well, perhaps Naruto would have a new target, soon. He couldn't wait.

The Naruto clones were remarkably silent, which was a small blessing, he supposed. They mostly wandered around reading scrolls, writing, playing silly games with each other. Gaara didn't know what to make of it, and just stared at them with a blank look.

He had spent the past two days trying to get free, with the little window high up in the room being his only way of determining the time that had passed since he'd been caught. In that period he'd been offered food several times, though he had refused out of fear of poison, of assassination. After the second day of refusing to even drink, one of the clones had gotten fed up and forcibly poured water down his throat; thus far, it didn't seem like that had contained any dangerous compounds, though Mother would doubtlessly take care of them. If she was still there.

Gaara didn't know what to do, what to say that he hadn't already said. It had taken only a few hours before his rage at being caught by the enemy turned into confusion and crazed terror. Not only was Mother silent, but the enemy's clones didn't show any signs of going away or letting up on watching him, and he'd been tied up quite effectively. Without his control of the sand, Gaara realized he didn't have any appreciable Ninja skills he could use. Even if he did escape, he probably couldn't keep all those clones off him for long. He remembered well that the white-haired shinobi that caught him, which had been this 'Naruto' in disguise, had evaded him quite effectively, and then managed to knock him out in one blow. He couldn't underestimate the boy.

Killing had been the way he'd lived for years now. Either you died or you made people dead, and there was no middle-ground. Something like this, capturing someone alive and keeping them tied up for no discernable purpose, wasn't something he had even considered a possibility. Kidnapped by another jinchūriki, a foreign ninja, and he didn't know why.

Gaara had never really thought of himself as being a jinchūriki. He'd heard the term, knew that it applied to him, but any talk of others that might exist was quickly glossed over or ignored. Until this 'Naruto' he'd never met another. Now, he finally had an idea about why that was the case. Jinchūriki were dangerous, as far above shinobi as shinobi were above villagers. Many people had tried to end his existence in the desert. Genin, Chūnin, Jōnin, they all died. It had taken another of his own kind to actually knock him unconscious, though.

"You look tired," One of the clones commented as he stepped closer. "You can sleep, you know. The seal keeps the Ichibi from interacting with you at all."

"I don't sleep." Gaara said simply, staring at the clone.

The clone shrugged. "Well, you're used to being awake, I suppose. Don't you want to rest a little, though? The Boss will probably be gone for a few days anyway, so it's not like you'll have an awful lot to do. Unless you want to play Go with one of us, I guess. Though, I must admit, we're all equally bad at it."

Gaara just glowered.

"Well, no need to be so moody," the clone said, squatting against the wall across from Gaara's position. "Gaara, you know we're not trying to hurt you, right? I know you hate being tied up and not having your sand to protect you, but I'd expect that you can deal with that. You don't have to listen to the Ichibi anymore, and you're not in danger of being killed." He yawned. "Besides, it's not as if you left much behind in Suna, aside from your siblings. I've already considered letting them visit, so relax."

For a few minutes it was perfectly silent. Then, Gaara spoke. "Am I a hostage?"

"Hardly." The clone raised an eyebrow. "Boss was actually truthful about that. Your dad agreed to let you spend some time in the Land of Fire as payment for a mistake he made. He knew the awful existence you had in Suna, so he wanted to help you out. In any case, you'll be allowed to go wherever you want, in time. You simply can't be seen in Konoha, right now. It'd make a lot of people very nervous."

Gaara glared at the clone. "You can't keep me like this."

"We don't intend to, we're just waiting for Boss to return. Now, want to play Go?" The clone smiled. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt. You're pretty clever, I'm sure you'll enjoy the distraction.

"Doubtful." He stared ahead blankly, his mind racing. He was going to get out of here... but how? The Shadow Clones would last for a while, and he'd need to eat at some point. Perhaps then he could get free. He rubbed his arms against the rope; it would take time before he could cut through the material, but slowly but surely he was doing it. He smiled darkly.

The Hokage slammed his fist down on his desk. "You have been doing what?"

Naruto almost flinched, but forced himself to keep still. This was hardly the time to get nervous; if he was going to keep living here, he had to make sure that everyone knew what he was like. Not the him that should have been here, the eleven-year old idealist, but the one that he'd become, the man who ended the Fourth Shinobi World War and was a hairsbreadth from the Hokage's hat on more than one occasion. Granted, he hadn't changed that much from his first genin days, not really, but being an experienced shinobi was certainly not something that would fit well with his younger self's reputation, so he'd need to make clear that he worked to get better. Only that would allow him to show prowess beyond his rank and not end up in Ibiki's tender mercies.

The Hokage was probably the person who knew him best in the village, at least as a kid, and even he only spent a fraction of his time paying attention to him; lying to his face was nigh impossible. He'd need to spin the truth. He'd speak about things that really happened, that he really did once upon a time, and let the surprise and shock of the relation to Kurama take care of the suspicion.

It was the best way to lie that he'd found; he'd never been good at making stuff up and making them sound convincing. Fortunately (or unfortunately) he'd lived through so much crap that he almost always had some experience he could use.

"I've been training with Kyūbi's chakra," he repeated. "Only experiments, of course, nothing big. You know who made the seal, so that should tell you something about why." Naruto said, frowning. "The Fourth Hokage didn't make this a seal by accident, and I'm sure you know that. He built it so that I could channel the fox's power, not just as a prison. I've been very careful in only trying little bits at a time- "

"Uzumaki Naruto," the Hokage said sharply, leaning forward. "You will not be channelling the creature's chakra again. Do you realize what could have happened if you foolishly went too far? What horrors you might've unleashed?"

Naruto nodded. "I could have blown up everything in my vicinity with the wild chakra, until I triggered one of my seals. Then I'd be knocked unconscious, and the chakra would dissipate. ANBU would be at the site long before I regained consciousness, and Konoha would have a new clearing." He sighed at the dangerous glint in the old man's eyes. "Hokage-sama," he continued, mindful to use the title, "I'm a jinchūriki, and you must have read the scrolls, just as I have. I'm a living weapon, whether I train to use the Kyūbi's chakra or not. If I do nothing but wait, sooner or later things will go wrong, horribly wrong, and I'll tap into it subconsciously. The chakra is powerful, seductive. I would kill everyone in the madness that followed."

"Using that power could break the seal," the Hokage responded. "Break the Kyūbi's seal, and release it back into the world. I cannot risk such a thing happening again, not as long as I am Hokage. Once was more than enough for any village to bear."

Naruto sighed tiredly. "The seal will hold at least until I reach several tails of power," he said. "At least six, I believe, if it is not reinforced. I can currently control only one, and that is how far I've gone." Naruto made sure to avoid mentioning that he could in principle go up to five, right now. He'd never tried, but he knew from his last life that with enough mental fortitude, it should be possible. Jiraiya hadn't tinkered with the seal yet, which prevented him from going beyond that entirely, but it was rare enough that anything could beat that kind of power. Unfortunately, telling that to the Hokage would reveal that he knew exactly how his seal worked, which was problematic, since Jiraiya had the key.

"You were disturbingly casual about multiple tails worth of a demon's energy, Naruto."

"It's my power now, old man," Naruto pointed out. "I can summon it at will, as a lethal secret weapon; few things could withstand the chakra, let alone the physical augmentations. The seal was made to be used, and I know there are others like me out there. There are other jinchūriki with their own seals and Bijū, treated like living weapons. Some of them have worse lives than I do, and I have gone through quite a bit." He shook his head. "I can sense them, you know."

He couldn't, not without Kurama's help, but who would dispute his claim? He was fully aware of where each other host was at this point in time, which effectively meant the same thing anyway. If he was not mistaken, his letter should have reached one of them by now. He wondered if Killer B would respond personally. He hoped so.

The Hokage seemed shell-shocked by his statement. "You can sense them?"

"I have the Kyūbi locked within me," Naruto said dryly. "When I use its chakra, the chakra of the others call out to it, as my demon is the strongest of them all. I know where the others are, and I know who are carrying them. Most of them know quite a bit more about channelling their inner beast than I do." He shook his head. "I appreciate that you want to protect me, but you should really think ahead. I've been training myself, readying myself. I've already shown Kakashi more than I'm strictly comfortable with, and I'd rather keep the nasty stuff away from the other genin, but you know that I'll need it. One of these days, one of the others is going to come here, or someone will come hunting. You'll want something to counter them with. A weapon of your own."

"Naruto…" the Third looked at him with a pain-filled gaze, the anger and panic making way for a deep-seated regret that sent shivers down Naruto's back. He knew the Third had cared – it had been many years, and the old man had become something of a warm childhood memory; seeing him like this, even causing this, it felt terrible. Still – he'd had a childhood like the Third wanted, and a great few years on the road with Jiraiya, and a lengthy and exciting Shinobi career without relying on his status as Kurama's host for most of it. This time around, he didn't need to repeat all that; he could cut right to the chase, and make the world better. He was a 'Chosen One' after all.

"It's my choice to make. I am serious about wanting to become Hokage, you know." He smirked widely. "The way I see it, this gives me an extra boost."

The Third sighed. "I sought to avoid giving you such a life. You don't know what you're suggesting; this way is filled with only pain. I wished to give you a life as a shinobi. You'd be considered a tool by some, perhaps, but one with freedom. I don't want to send you down the dark path that lies in being the channelled of that awful power. Jinchūriki are considered cursed beings for a reason."

"I believe this one will surprise you," Naruto said. "I am better than people assume, both in my ninja skills and otherwise. Yet, I'm just a genin, and beneath most people's notice. You know that having someone like me around can be of great use to the village, especially if I keep getting better." He glanced at the door uncertainly, but he sensed nobody nearby.

Well, now he was here, and he had the Hokage actually listening to him, for once. There was one thing he'd need to make sure happened before the Chūnin Exams: taking out Orochimaru's spies, including Kabuto, and make sure Sasuke was protected, if someone he didn't foresee was after his teammate. He'd need to do a bit of fibbing, but he knew that the Hokage took his word seriously. He had a reputation as a rabble-rouser and a thief, but not yet as a liar.

He glanced at the door uncertainly, but he sensed nobody nearby. "There is one thing that I have to report, and now is as good a time as any. Something I found out shortly before I came back here. There is an assassin after Sasuke."

The Hokage inhaled sharply, though Naruto wasn't fooled. The old man would hardly be surprised by someone gunning for the last Uchiha. "Do you know who?"

"Not by name, but... I came across a ninja, yesterday," Naruto responded. "He wore a mask with a musical symbol on it. He stopped near the location out in the woods that I use to train. I followed him with Shadow Clones, curious, and listened in on him. You know I'm pretty sneaky, I'm pretty sure he didn't notice me at all." He smiled thinly. "He and another man with light grey hair and glasses talked about someone I'd heard about before, so I was curious. They spoke about Sasuke's eyes and bringing them to Orochimaru of the Sannin. Seriously, his eyes. Disgusting."

The Third's gaze darkened. "I see. "What else did you hear, Naruto? This is very important, please be as accurate as you can." Naruto almost smiled. Gotcha. Granted, Orochimaru didn't want to kill as much as kidnap Sasuke, but this way he'd get better protection for his teammate than just a lookout.

Naruto thought about how he'd implicate Kabuto, and he only needed a second. "They talked about Sasuke's eyes, about the Sharingan, and about medical techniques to obtain those eyes and implant them. A few hours later one of my clones back in Konoha popped and I discovered that some person had attacked Sasuke, so I feared those ninja already succeeded and went back to the village as soon as I could. That's when Kakashi-sensei found me."

Any in-depth research into Kabuto's activity would probably reveal his contacts with the Snake Sannin, after which he'd swiftly be dealt with, but that did mean he'd possibly be sending the Hokage and investigators down the wrong path in researching what really happened to Sasuke. Well, he supposed he did have rather little information to go on, but with everyone so secretive about it that even his clones found nothing it did seem like they were grasping at straws. Clearly they hadn't caught the perpetrator yet, or this wouldn't even come up. Well – this just meant he'd have to deal with the attacker himself.

"Did these two ninja say when they meant to attack? Any specifics would help," the Hokage asked, and Naruto frowned.

"The unmasked man – I didn't hear a name, but I'm pretty sure he's from Konoha. He talked about the Exams, the Chūnin Exams. He said something about talking it many times already or something like that," Naruto said, thinking back to the first time he'd met that creep. "Is that what you mean?"

The Hokage had a glint in his eye that Naruto thought meant very bad news for Kabuto. Perhaps he'd just managed to remove his own shot at taking revenge on the man, but he was pretty sure that Ibiki would be a lot less direct about it. The Hokage frowned at Naruto, though much of the earlier tension was gone. Good.

The Third cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. "Don't think that coming across such information gets you out of the trouble you have worked yourself into, Naruto. You abandoned your ninja duties, even if they were D-Rank missions, and as such I'll have to stop paying you for at least two weeks, and you'll be serving community service. If there is a next time, the punishment will be more severe."

"That's good," Naruto said, shrugging. "I've been meaning to sell some of my seals, which should hold me over for a while."

"Naruto…" The man hesitated, and for a long moment Naruto wondered if he was just going to end it there. Then, he spoke again. "The next time you wish to go out of town for this… this training, come to me. If this is what you believe you have to do, then I will see to it that it is done as safely as possible. There is someone that might be able to help with this, though I don't know if…" He hesitated. "You are spreading yourself awfully thin, Naruto. Genin training, seals, this. You have so much time, yet. "

"Well, I always have my clones if there's not enough of me," Naruto said with a vague smile. "I have to become the best," he added. "I've got something to live up to, after all. You want to bet whether I'll beat my dad's age for getting that hat?"

The Hokage chuckled slightly, though his heart wasn't in it. "You truly are the most surprising ninja in the village." His face turned stern. "If you leave the village again without informing anyone, you will be suspended from the shinobi force. If the wrong people know about this before you've mastered it, you could be in serious trouble. Understood?"

Naruto nodded warily, and it was lucky that the Hokage didn't notice that the boy was only barely keeping in what could only be described as a cackle. That had gone better than perfect. The only way it could have been better was if Jiraiya walked in right – now.

Nobody.

Bummer.

He couldn't keep this up - lying to Kakashi, to the Hokage, he was bound to slip up. Granted, few would jump to the conclusion that he was from another time - that was pretty crazy - but perhaps they'd assume him a spy, or even under Kurama's influence, both of which could land him in prison with chakra-draining seals on every surface. He needed to figure out a way to combine his changes with his public activities, and soon. Jiraiya could help, he supposed.

Naruto shivered as he left the building, making his way towards the hospital. It'd gone perfect, hadn't it? Why then did he feel like he was balancing on the point of a kunai? Why did he feel like the whole world could fall to pieces?

"Are you insane?"

"Why do you ask?" Naruto wondered, hanging from the ceiling in Sasuke's room by his feet. "I just figured that since someone put a warning seal on the floor – probably a nurse – I'd use an alternative way of reaching you. Besides, ceiling-running is a great way to train your chakra and muscles simultaneously."

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, groaning. "Why are you here?"

"Honestly? I came to see how you were doing," Naruto answered, shrugging. "It isn't much more complicated than that, really. I'm extremely curious who finally managed to put the mighty Uchiha in a hospital bed, but if you don't want to tell…"

Sasuke scowled. "It's not important."

"Someone broke several bones and turned your chakra system into such a crazy mess that you aren't allowed to use jutsu for more than a week. I'd say that counts as pretty important. I don't care much for people who hurt others, especially teammates." He cocked his head to the side. "You're still that, at least."

"Whatever."

"Look, Sasuke," Naruto sat down on the ceiling, staring at the other boy. "You've already asked me for a seal, so I know you don't think I'm a total idiot. You've probably figured out that I'm better than I seemed back at the Academy. Sakura's got a lot more potential than you give her credit for, too. I bet you she'll be the next Tsunade of the Sannin."

Sasuke snorted. "As if."

"I believe it, and I'm not a bad judge of character," Naruto said pointedly. "I'm saying – someone attacked you, and took you out. You've got strength on your own, sure, but you're a genin; you can't beat the best. Not yet." He smiled. "Remember the fight against Kakashi? Granted, he wasn't going all-out, or he'd have flattened us, but we beat him. We managed to get the drop on a jōnin and fulfilled our task, and the only reason it worked was because we worked together."

"What are you saying?"

"Alone, I think you could become the next Kakashi." Naruto said, and he didn't miss Sasuke perking up. Being compared to one of the best shinobi of the Leaf did wonders, even if they knew the man was also a bit of a slob. "You could beat your enemies with the Sharingan and powerful jutsu that you copied. A worthwhile goal," Naruto allowed. "But together – you, me, Sakura – I think we could go beyond that. Be something better. I've already said Sakura could be the next Tsunade, and if I'm not too arrogant here, I'm getting lessons from Jiraiya soon in sealing – I'd like to be the next Toad Sage. There are three, however, in any team."

Sasuke shook his head, vaguely amused. "The traitor?"

"Details. Orochimaru might be a traitorous ass, but you can't deny he's a damn powerful shinobi. I wouldn't be surprised if he could take out the Hokage, if he really tried." He shook his head sadly. "Think about that, would you? I'd even help you with that ambition of yours. And find and kill whoever put you in the hospital, I suppose."

"You don't even know what happened."

"Eh, even if it was Kakashi himself, I'd kick their ass," Naruto retorted, smiling. "Get out of here soon. I'll have your personal seal ready when you do; I think you'll enjoy it, it's a modified fire one. After that, I'll try and convince Sakura that she can be better than she is now. I think your help would be useful, there."

"Hn." Sasuke rolled his eyes, but at least he hadn't sent him out yet. Having one-sided conversations was nothing new with the Uchiha.

"We'll storm the ranks so quickly that nobody will even believe it," Naruto swore. "After all, I'm going to be Hokage – and sooner, rather than later."

"Now you're just getting pretentious."

"Just watch me, bastard!" He smiled, waving as he left. The sensation that things were going to go very, very wrong hadn't left throughout the conversation. Naruto shivered as he stepped back out into the open air. There was something wrong - something in the air. He could sense it.

Or... perhaps not him, precisely.

Naruto glanced down at his stomach in consternation. He'd sensed negative emotions before, when he was using Kurama's power in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode; that wasn't anything new. What's new was feeling it without even using its chakra. A very worrying thought occurred to Naruto: Something had upset the Nine-Tails, had infuriated it, so much that even the host picked up on it.

He'd need to talk to his tenant, and soon. After all, what the hell would scare Kurama?

Author's Note: Obligatory chapter is obligatory. Yes, Naruto's little scheme of trying to keep all the balls in the air can't be maintained. Things go wrong - and badly. Next chapter Kurama, Jiraiya, and Sakura (hopefully not at the same time! :P)