"His father is the fourth Hokage; that's crazy!" Ino gasped.
"It is just as he says, Ino-pig; Naruto's father was the Yellow Flash of Konoha," Sakura said with a proud smile.
The pinkette looked at her parents and saw the shock on their faces. They looked at her, and she winked at them slyly. They understood she had already known about this before now. She caught her mother's eye, and Sakura saw the last of her mother's doubt about Naruto disappear.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I can't believe I didn't see it before. That blockhead looks exactly like the fourth Hokage," Shikamaru groaned with a shake of his head.
Temari was about to responde when Gaara cut her off.
"No one in Konoha wanted to look at Naruto as anything more than a container for a demon; that's all he was to people. When all people think about is fear and hatred, they limit themselves to what can truly be seen. Both Naruto and I understand this. I am fortunate that my own people have seen past me being the container for Shukaku, but it is time that Konoha see Naruto for who he really is."
Both the sand-nin and leaf-nin around him stared at the Kazekage; he rarely if ever spoke so many words and with such strength of conviction. Temari gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze and looked down at the battlefield.
'Alright blondie, you've got everyone's attention; now, show them what you can do.'
XXXXXXXXXX
"What's the matter, Sasuke? Can't handle the truth when it's staring you straight in the face?" Naruto growled.
The Uchiha glared at his opponent and decided that he didn't care who Naruto was; he was still going to beat him. Not only would he defeat the dobe, he would defeat the son of a Hokage, and his standing in the village would be that much higher. A smirk crossing his face, Sasuke unleashed his greatest weapon and opened the cursed seal which Orochimaru had put on him so many years ago.
Naruto saw the black blotches appear on Sasuke's left side and knew what he was doing.
"Teme, don't do it! You'll cause yourself more harm," the blonde stated.
"Shut up, dobe, I'm going to beat you the same way I did last time."
The dark marks continued to cover the young man's body. His skin turned gray, and his eyes turned to solid black with golden pupils in the middle. Two large grotesque wings erupted from his back, and he could hear the gasp from the onlookers as they saw his transformed state. Not giving a damn what they thought about how he looked, Sasuke looked at Naruto with an aura of pride about him.
"You have improved, dobe, but I'm not the same as I was the last time we fought either. Let me show you some of my new tricks."
Sasuke drew out his long sword and jumped into the air. He soared up into the sky until he was at least several hundred feet above Naruto's head. Smirking slightly, he focused his chakra into his sword, and the steel crackled with electricity. Chidori was his deadliest technique, and he was focusing his attack by transferring it into his sword. This way, he could be far away from his target and still hit him with the attack.
Naruto stared up at his opponent and recognized the Chidori's light coming from Sasuke's sword.
"Alright teme, you wanna put do it all out there; then, let's do this. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Two shadow clones appeared at Naruto's side, and all three of them stared up at Sasuke.
"I've seen this before, dobe. Is that all you've got?" the Uchiha shouted.
Smirking widely, the real Naruto looked at the clones, and they all nodded their heads. Thrusting out his upturned palm, the blonde began channeling chakra, and the two clones moved closer to do their part as well.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I wonder what Naruto is going to attack with," Sakura wondered.
"Forehead, you mean you don't know?" Ino gasped. Both and Chouji were sweating slightly; they had seen this formation of clones from Naruto before and knew what it meant.
"No, I don't. What is it?" the pinkette replied.
"That's right. I forgot you never saw him battle that Akatsuki freak. If Naruto is doing what I think he's doing, it's a good thing you put that barrier up, or we'd all be annihilated by that attack. Chouji and I have only seen it once before, but it was the devastating attack we've ever seen."
"What did he use?" Sakura asked now very interested.
"Rasen-shuriken," Chouji answered for his girlfriend.
"How does it work?"
"Just shut-up, forehead, and watch. You'll see soon enough," Ino said with a slightly worried look on her face.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Dammit Naruto, you know you're not supposed to use that technique," Tsunade shouted as she slammed her first into the railing nearly shattering the wood banister.
"I've never seen him use this move before, but I would think that Naruto knows the risks when using it, hime," Jiraiya stated.
"That's not the point, you old pervert; he could rip his own arm to shreds by using it!"
"I say we trust Naruto to see this through to the end," a voice came from behind them.
The two Sannin turned to see Kakashi Hatake walking towards them.
"Hey Kakashi, how ya doing? I hear my apprentice gave you a serious beating earlier today," Jiraiya said with a wide grin.
"Indeed he did; I've never been hit like that in my entire life. I thought my organs were going to be blown clear out of my body by Naruto's attack. He could've killed me easily but had the control to only render me unconscious."
"What are you saying, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked with narrowed eyes.
"My point, Lady Hokage, is that if Naruto has attained that kind of control over his wind chakra Sasuke won't be able to touch him. I saw how the knucklehead cancelled out his first jutsu earlier. As you know, wind element should not able to defeat fire element. Naruto has discovered how to take the shape manipulation mastery he gained from learning the Rasengan and mold it into increasing the speed of his wind chakra to the point where it can cut through anything. If that's the case, it won't matter what element is thrown at him; he'll be able to cut threw it."
"That's sound impossible, Kakashi, but I can't deny what you're saying," Tsunade replied.
Jiraiya stared laughing, and the two shinobi looked at him with confusion.
"Why are you laughing, you old pervert?" the Hokage growled.
"I thought you two would've learned this by now. No matter what obstacle Naruto faces, he always finds a way to make the impossible possible; that's who he is. What I'm waiting to see if he learned to master his father's signature technique?"
"You don't mean…" Kakashi trailed off with a shocked look on his face.
"The Hiraishin!" Jiraiya said with a wicked gleam in his eye.
XXXXXXXXXX
Back down on the battefield, Naruto continued focusing his chakra. A familiar screech was heard as his wind chakra was compressed and molded to what he wanted.
Sasuke stared down at him from above and wondered what the hell he was doing. It didn't matter what tricks the dobe tried to pull; he would still lose. His chakra fully gathered in his sword, Sasuke prepared to unleash his attack when he felt himself caught in what felt like a tornado. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror at what Naruto was holding in his hand.
"Wind element…RASEN-SHURIKEN!" the blonde shouted as the mighty blades swirled in his hand.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I'm still not clear why Naruto is using that technique since Sasuke is airborne," Kakashi said with a shake of his head.
"Why is that?" Tsunade asked.
"Because…Naruto has to make physical contact with his target to launch the attack; he can't reach Sasuke from on the ground."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Let's do this!" Naruto roared as he flung the deadly shuriken up into the sky.
"He threw it!" could be heard from virtually everyone in the stadium.
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he saw the attack heading straight for him, however, he saw one major flaw with Naruto's plan, and he was about to exploit it.
"Nice try, dobe, but you need to do better than this to outsmart me," he shouted and used his speed to dodge the swirling blades as they flew past him.
"It's my turn now, and you don't have a whole lot of space to dodge my attack," Sasuke growled and raised his sword to deliver his massive Chidori.
"Who said anything about dodging your attack, dobe?" Naruto shouted up at him. The blonde raised his hand to the sky and concentrated.
'Take him down, kit!' Kyuubi growled happily.
"Rasen-shuriken…break!"
The attack that had passed Sasuke up in the sky exploded violently and out of its epicenter sprung thousands of tiny, blue blades. They looked like small toothpicks, but they rained down from above Sasuke's head. He didn't turn his head until it was too late, and hundreds of them impacted on his back and wings. He screamed in pain as they sliced into his flesh, and the chakra in his sword dissappated as he lost concentration and dropped the kitana. The rest of the blades flew around Sasuke, but they dissipated just before reaching the height of the stadium.
Naruto was very pleased with himself. He had trained hard to gain mastery of his deadliest technique. He knew that Sasuke would avoid it; he wasn't planning to finish the Uchiha with that attack. He waited until he knew that no one in the stadium or around it would be harmed by the shockwave of blades before he broke the shuriken. Since Sasuke was several hundred feet above him, he was well within the target zone for the shower of wind blades.
Sasuke was trying to keep himself airborne, but the writhing pain in his body was preventing it, and he was dropping to the ground like a rock.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Okay…that was just fucking awesome!" Ino shouted in wonder.
"I second that one," Sakura said with her eyes as wide as plates.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Now, that's what I call unpredictable; Naruto never fails to live up to his reputation," Jiraiya said with a laugh.
"I wonder what his next move will be now that he has disabled Sasuke's attack," Kakashi stated.
XXXXXXXXXX
Indeed, Naruto was ready to deliver his finishing blow or better yet…blows.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted and twenty-five Narutos appeared on the ground.
The original and clones paired up and soon there was a flurry of Rasengans swirling in their hands. Sasuke was continuing to fall rapidly, but he was starting to shut out the pain of his injuries. Naruto wasn't going to give him the chance to recover his wits though.
"Alright everyone, let's show them what a Namikaze can do!"
"Yeah!" all the clones shouted as one and readied their individual Rasengans.
"NA…MI…KA…ZE……RASENGAN BARRAGE!!!!"
Fourteen of the Narutos – including the original disappeared out of thin air. They reappeared high in the sky exactly where Sasuke was, and they carried out their tasks. The Uchiha's eyes widened with fear as he saw the Narutos appear out of nowhere holding Rasengans aimed at him. One after the other, each Naruto slammed their Rasengan into Sasuke's body. He looked like a human pinball as he bounced back and forth between each one.
Just before they reached the ground, the last Naruto above his head – which was the real Naruto – readied the final attack.
"It's over Sasuke…Rasengan!" and he smashed it into the Uchiha's abdomen just as they hit the ground.
The explosion shook the entire stadium, but the barrier Sakura set up earlier protected the crowd from harm. The walls around the battleground began to crack under the strain of the immense attack. A dust cloud covered the entire area making it impossible for anyone to see what happened to the combatants.
XXXXXXXXXX
After several minutes had passed, the dust began to settle down, and the crowd saw a single figure emerge from the cloud. It was Naruto. As the battleground became clear once again, everyone gasped as they saw a forty-foot wide crater and in the center was the body of Sasuke Uchiha. His body had reverted back to its normal state and appeared badly bruised along with numerous gashes on his back and shoulders. But, he was still alive.
Naruto calmly walked toward where the proctor was standing in stunned silence next to the barricade on the first row of seats.
"This match is finished, sir; you may now call it," the young shinobi said quietly.
The jounin had to be elbowed by one of the crowd before his brain began to work enough to realize Naruto was talking to him. Raising his hand into the air, he gave a decision of which he knew there was no doubt.
"The winner of this match…Naruto Namikaze!"
XXXXXXXXXX
The crowd made no movement as they were all too stunned to move. A few loud whistles and cheers could be heard coming from Sakura and the others, but that was it. Naruto hopped over the barrier and was nearly run over as Sakura collided with him nearly hugging the life out of him. He wrapped is powerful arms around her and kissed her hair. His battle senses flared up again as he felt danger surrounding them, and he saw about twenty shinobi appear on the walls of the stadium. Snapping his gaze up to quickly locate Danzo, he saw the old man glaring at him, and he directed his Root-nin towards the couple.
"Sakura-chan…I want you to let go and quietly moved back towards your parents," he said softly, and his mate didn't move as he spoke to her.
"Naruto…I want to stay here with you," she nearly whispered.
"I want to make sure your parents aren't harmed by this; please, go to them."
"Alright, but you better come back to me in one piece, fox," and she squeezed him again.
Naruto kissed her forehead, and Sakura leapt out of his arms. Turning his attention to shinobi who were quietly making their way towards him, Naruto readied himself when the crowd finally broke out of their stupor. Applause erupted from the stadium, and the shinobi approaching him froze. The blonde smirked; this gave just the opportunity he was looking for.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I can't believe Naruto did that; he is definitely my student," Jiraiya said happily while dancing around like a lunatic.
"You mean despite it," Tsunade groaned as she watched his idiotic display.
"Tsunade-sama, what about those shinobi approaching Naruto," Kakashi broke in.
The two sannin immediately became serious and followed the copy nin's line of sight. The shinobi were dressed differently than any Jounin or Anbu member.
"Danzo…he's trying to go after Naruto," Tsunade growled. She moved towards the door when Jiraiya grabbed her arm.
"Hold it, hime, the crowd just started applauding Naruto's fight, and those shinobi have stopped. The kid looks like he's about to say something so hold off on going after Danzo for a moment."
XXXXXXXXXX
Naruto smiled as he sawing the people cheering. Not of all of the council members were happy about the showcase of his talent, and a few looked rather angry at his defeat of Sasuke.
"Everyone…please calm!" he shouted over the cheers. Jumping back out on the battlefield, he shouted his order again, and the crowd began to calm down.
"I appreciate everyone's kindness and appreciation, but there is another reason why I am here today. I see that our entire village council is present today; I thank you for coming. I also wish to thank the heads of our clans for attending today; this is a most important occasion."
"Naruto…is it true what you said earlier?" the head of the Inazuka clan asked.
"I assume you are referring to what I said about my father, sir?"
At the man's nod, Naruto prepared to give his answer, but he was immediately stopped.
"Be silent, boy, do not speak another word?" Homura and Sotaru ordered at the same time.
"Why shouldn't I answer his question? Or are you afraid of the truth coming out?" Naruto replied with a look of raw determination. When no response came from the elders, he returned his gaze to the clan elder.
"Yes sir, my father was the Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze."
Gasps and murmurs went up around the audience again, and all of them waited to see what the young shinobi would say next.
"Why have you not told anyone about this?" the Inazuka elder asked again.
"Sir, I have only found about this recently. However, there are several others here today who have known about this since I was born, and they have kept it hidden from the general public."
"Why would they do that?"
Naruto turned to see who had asked that question as he saw Gai, Lee, Tenten, and Neji all standing together. Gai was the one who asked the question.
"My lineage was originally kept a secret because my father had many enemies – both here in Konoha and abroad. However, that is not the only thing that I wish to speak about. The time has come for the past of this village to be revealed; the lies stop here and now."
Naruto stared directly at Homura, Sotaru, and Danzo while he said this; they were trying to figure out what he was about to do.
"I believe it is time that everyone here know exactly what happened during the supposed Kyuubi attack eighteen years ago."
More gasps and murmurs circulated through the crowd, and the members of the council immediately stood to their feet.
"What are you implying, young man? Everyone here knows what happened back then and has no need to be reminded of what that monster did to this village," one of the civilian members shouted.
Naruto shook his head and murmured a silent apology to Kyuubi who was starting to seethe inside him.
"No sir, very few people know exactly what happened back then. In fact, before today, there are only three people in this audience who actually know the truth."
"Shut your mouth now, you brat!" Danzo shouted, but Naruto ignored him.
"Everyone in Konoha believes that Kyuubi destroyed our village back then, but…has anyone ever answered the question about how the Kyuubi suddenly appeared here that night. Has anyone ever asked that question?"
"What are you implying, Naruto?" this time it was Asuma who asked the question. He smiled at the older Jounin.
"Kyuubi did not randomly appear that night; he was summoned to Konoha!"
"Be silent!" Danzo roared and clenched his fists angrily.
"NO! THESE PEOPLE DESERVE TO KNOW WHO THE REAL MONSTER IS!" Naruto roared right back. When he saw no further opposition, he continued.
"No normal shinobi could summon Kyuubi; in fact, there is only one clan leader that had the chakra and control to summon the Kyuubi no Kitsune – Madara Uchiha. Now, many of you believe that he died in the battle with the First Hokage at the Valley of the End, but…was his body ever found at the battlefield? No, it wasn't. This leads toward why the Uchiha clan was slaughtered the night the Kyuubi attacked Konoha."
"Enough boy, you will shut your mouth right now, or I will have you arrested for treason!" Homura shouted.
"It's not treason to let people know the truth, and the truth is that the entire Kyuubi incident was orchestrated by a group of individuals who wanted total control of Konoha – and eventually the entire Fire Country. Madara Uchiha hated the rest of his clan because they diposed him as leader of their clan when he opposed the head of the Senju clan being named the First Hokage; he wanted his revenge against his clan. Plus, he wanted to prove that the views of the First Hokage and the Hokage who came after him were weak and unable to protect this village. That is where the second culprit of this madness came from."
"I have heard enough of your lies, brat," Danzo hissed and gestured to the shinobi on the walls.
They immediately surrounded Naruto and drew their weapons. Tsunade shouted at them to stand down, but they did not listen to her. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Root-nin surrounding him and readied himself.
"I suggest you all back off unless you want to die today."
They did not respond – just charged at him.
"I gave you a chance," Naruto said sadly, and his power erupted.
Nine, red tails of chakra shot out of his body and impaled the advancing shinobi one by one. Within seconds, all twenty lay dead on the ground.
"What have you done?" Danzo growled, and Naruto stared calmly up at his true enemy.
"You want the Kyuubi's power so badly, old man – take a look at it."
A mighty roar sounded throughout the stadium as red chakra exploded from Naruto's body. A pillar of chakra at least ten feet across surrounded the young shinobi, and it shot straight up into the sky for several hundred feet.
The crowd was terrified as they saw the display of power, and the council began shaking in their sandals. Homura and Sotaru began sweating profusely, and even Danzo felt a chill go down his spine. Tsunade felt nervous as well as she saw the raw power on display before them.
XXXXXXXXXX
"That's an insane amout of chakra!" Shikamaru gasped in horror.
"Let's see what he does now," Temari said with a grin.
XXXXXXXXXX
Sakura stared at her mate with astonishment on her face; she'd never seen him use this much power before.
'Kyoko, is that really Kyuubi's true power? I've never felt anything like it.'
'Sakura, you haven't seen anything yet; they're both just warming up.'
XXXXXXXXXX
The red chakra slowly dimmed down until it was just Naruto's body that was surrounded by it, but the nine tails were still flapping behind him violently.
"You don't deserve this kind of power, Danzo. You are one of the ones responsible for destroying our village back then!"
"How dare you speak to me like that?" the old man said with a slight tremor in his voice.
"You hate to hear the truth. To all of you who believed that Kyuubi was destroyed; he was not as I have shown you all here today. However, the architects of this entire plot are Madara Uchiha, Danzo, and the elders of this village."
The civilian council members immediately looked at Sotaru and Homura for an answer, but they gave none.
"Allow me to answer the question that everyone is thinking about. You all blame the Kyuubi for that attack, however, he is not responsible for it. The Kyuubi no Kitsune has as much honor as any true shinobi; he does not attack unless he is provoked. Now, how does this all tie together you ask? Danzo was upset at the first Hokage because he put several members of the Uchiha into prominent positions in Konoha; positions that they had earned and were qualified for. Since Madara hated his clan for their betrayal of him, it gave them both an opportunity to gain what they wanted. Danzo wanted the Uchiha gone, and Madara wanted revenge on his clan. But…they both needed a way to wipe out the clan without causing anyone to suspect. What better way to wipe the blame from themselves than have the Kyuubi attack the village to distract everyone. So…Madara Uchiha summoned the Kyuubi to Konoha that night, Danzo had one of his Root-nin secretly attack the Kyuubi so it would head straight here and reek havoc trying to defend itself, and Itachi Uchiha would slaughter his own clan during the chaos."
Naruto took a breather to let his words sink in, and he saw shock on almost everyone's faces. Homura and Sotaru were sweating bullets as he mentioned Itachi's name, and Danzo had tried to sneak out only to be surrounded by Anbu members at Tsunade's command.
"Itachi Uchiha was used by Danzo and the elders. He was blackmailed into murdering his clan. He was told by Madara that the Kyuubi would be sent back to its world once the Uchiha clan was dead, but Madara lied to him. Even he could not send the Kyuubi away once it had been summoned; he did not have the power to do it; but he made Itachi believe that. The young man had to choose between his clan or the village, and you all know what option he chose. When the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to stop him, but he could not destroy the kitsune. Instead, he sealed the nine tail fox inside a newborn baby; that baby was me. It cost my father his life, but he stopped the Kyuubi from wiping out the inhabitants of Konoha. Madara Uchiha disappeared after the incident, and Danzo allowed himself to be injured so there would no doubt of his innocence."
"This is utterly proposterous, boy, you have no proof of any of this!" Homura shouted angrily.
"Oh…but I do," and Naruto pulled out two scrolls from his jacket.
"These are reports by both the Third and Fourth Hokage confirming what I have just said."
Naruto disappeared and suddenly reappeared next to the head of the Hyuuga clan.
"Sir, I apologize for my abrupt appearance, but I would like you to verify these documents."
Hinata's father took the scrolls from Naruto and immediately recognized the seals of the Third and Fourth Hokage. Their seals could not be faked because they were deliberately infused with their owner's chakra. He even used his Byakugan to confirm this.
"This young man is telling the truth; these are from the Third and Fourth Hokage. I am proofreading through these, and everything Naruto has said is true."
"I've heard enough!" Danzo hissed and suddenly a hundred Root-nin appeared around the stadium. They took out the Anbu guarding him and took positions to stop anyone from leaving.
"You cannot hold us here, Danzo!" the elder Hyuuga said angrily.
"Oh…but I can, you pearl-eyed bastard. This information will never leave here."
"It already has, Danzo," Naruto stated, and everyone turned back to face him.
"Prior to coming here this morning, I sent out about five hundred clones throughout Konoha to deliver copies of these reports to every home in the village. The entire inhabitants of Konoha know exactly what happened here eighteen years ago, and the lies they were led to believe."
"Are you insane? You'll cause a mass riot!" Homura said angrily.
"No, I won't. I included a letter which asked everyone who believes these reports to be true to gather outside the Hokage tower after the Chuunin exams were completed."
"Do you really think that the people would do something so stupid? Their anger will make them behave like wild animals; they'll kill each other."
"You've never believed in the people of this village – have you, Homura…or you Sotaru. You two and Danzo just believe that the people here are sheep for you to herd wherever you please, but I won't allow it anymore. This ends today!"
"I applaud your thinking, brat, but all I have to do is make sure none of the council or clan elders leave here. The people will be so desperate for leadership that they will gladly follow me," Danzo said with a sinister smile.
"Over my dead body!" Naruto growled.
"That was my intention. Kill them all!"
A half a second later, the tip of a kunai was pressed against Danzo's throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Naruto growled and pushed the tip into the old man's throat enough to draw blood. Danzo turned his head and stared into the shinobi's burning red eyes.
"You have no intention of killing me, brat. Even if you did, my Root-nin would still kill everyone here, and their blood would be on your hands," his enemy said with a sadistic grin.
"No innocent will die today…"
As Naruto's voice trailed off, a blast of wind rushed through the stadium. A shadow clone appeared next to each Root-nin, and they fell to the ground dead. Danzo's eyes widened in shock at what just happened, and Naruto smirked evilly at the old man.
"Never underestimate me, you bastard, or you'll live to regret it. If you see Madara in hell, tell him I said hello," and Naruto's kunai flashed in a single strike. He returned it to his weapons' pouch and walked away from his opponent.
"What are you talking abou-"
Danzo's question was interrupted as his head came off his neck, and he fell to the ground – dead. Naruto did not look back at what he had done; instead, he walked towards Homura and Sotaru. The two elders were practically pissing in their pants as they watched the angry jinchuuriki stalk toward them.
"You two deserve the same fate as that monster, but I think I'd rather see what Ibiki-san will have planned once he gets a hold of you. There are fates worse than death, and you two deserve to experience all of them!" Naruto hissed.
By now, reinforcements had arrived at the stadium, and a dozen Anbu members appeared next to Naruto. Shooting a quick glance up at the Hokage, she nodded her head, and the blonde proceeded.
"Get these traitors out of here," he growled.
The two elders didn't even protest as they were led away; they were just happy to get away from Naruto's menacing eyes. Once the two elders were gone, the shinobi was mobbed by the audience. They all wanted to hug and thank him for saving their lives. The council was trying to shake his hand, but Naruto really only wanted to see one person.
"Alright everyone…please…that's enough!" he ordered and everyone quieted down.
"I merely did my job as any shinobi would. Our job is to protect our home from darkness and evil; I merely followed that rule. I am no different from any of the other honorable shinobi here today; I only wanted to protect the people important to me."
With that, Naruto flashed out of the middle of the crowd and appeared next to the person he wanted to see more than anyone else. He wrapped his arms around his mate from behind, and she pressed herself back against him.
"Sakura-chan…" he sighed and buried his face in her hair.
The pinkette smiled as she snuggled into his embrace, and her parents grinned at the couple's affection for each other.
"Mom…Dad…if you'll excuse us for a little while, Naruto and I have a date tonight."
"We do!" the blonde gasped and looked down at her confused.
"Yes, don't you remember?"
"Uh…no. Did I ask you?"
"No," Sakura replied.
"Did you ask me?" Naruto asked even more confused now.
"Yes, I'm asking you right now," Sakura teased.
"So Naruto…do we have a date tonight or what?"
"Who am I to pass up a date with the most beautiful kunoichi in the world?"
"Good answer. Now…before you get mobbed again, why don't you get us out of here?" she advised.
"Go on, you two, go have fun," Mrs. Haruno said with a smile on her face.
With her parents' approval, Sakura felt Naruto's arms tighten around her, and the two of them disappared right out of the stadium.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Well Tsunade, looks like Naruto took care of Danzo for you," Jiraiya said with a proud smile.
"The bastard got off easy. He should've been tortured for a few years first before dying," she growled.
"Well…Naruto did leave you Homura and Sotaru; I'm sure Ibiki will be more than happy to take care of them for you."
"I still can't believe that Naruto learned his father's Hiraishin technique," Kakashi said in astonishment.
"He didn't just learn it, Hatake; he's mastered it even more than his father did."
"How so?" the copy-nin prodded.
"Do you forget how the Hiraishin works? Normally, there has to be a seal or marker to where you want to travel, but Naruto merely used it to go wherever he wanted. He's expanded the technique to take him wherever he wants or needs to be. That's invaluable during battle to surprise your opponents."
"If Naruto can truly do that, he's clearly one of the most powerful and dangerous shinobi alive," Kakashi said with awe in his voice.
"Yes, he is. But you must remember, Kakashi…" Jiraiya said with a grin.
"Remember what?"
"…Naruto is only dangerous to those who threaten or hurt the people he cares about. He'll be your best friend, but if you hurt someone important to him, he'll hunt you to the ends of the earth."
"I'm glad that I'm on his good side then," Kakashi said with a laugh.
"We all are, Hatake," Tsunade added with a smile.
"Well then…we better get going, hime," Jiraiya said with a slight groan.
"Where are we going?"
"The Hokage tower. There's probably a lot of people there who are going to want an explanation."
"Dammit…this is gonna be a long day," Tsunade groaned as she jugged down the last of her sake.
XXXXXXXXXX
Naruto and Sakura appeared in her apartment, and he reluctantly let her go.
"So Sakura-chan…what would like to do on our date?"
"First things first, baka. You are going to take a very long shower right now!"
"But I took one this morning?" Naruto replied.
"You smell beyond ripe right now, and I sure as hell am not going on date with a man who stinks of blood and sweat."
"Ouch. Sakura-chan…that was mean," he pouted.
"Go on, Naruto. The sooner you clean up; the sooner we can go on our date. In fact, I have something very special planned for it."
"Really…what is it?"
"I'm not gonna tell you. Now…march!" Sakura ordered and pointed to her bathroom.
"Okay…but it better be good," Naruto muttered and headed for the shower.
Sakura grinned as she heard the water turn on.
'Oh yes, it will be good. I'm gonna give you a night you'll never forget.'
XXXXXXXXXX
Author's Notes: Well, I hope you guys liked the end of the fight. I was considering doing something with summons, but I realized that it wouldn't work in the middle of Konoha. I'm not sure yet whether I'm going to have Sasuke show up anymore in this since it is drawing close to an end, but we'll see. Thanks for all the support.