Chapter 11

Congrats to Lucifer's Remnants, Shinnagami, and Smith456 for guessing who Chikyu is *gives them a cookie* (LoL I'm feeling random :P) in the anime/manga of Naruto Shippuden, she is Pain's 2nd Chikushoudou, or Animal, Path. But she will be human in this though she will get some piercings, just not in the face. Btw, sorry for the long wait, I got the worst nightmare to ever happen to authors… Writer's Block *insert random scream and/or shout of terror here* .o.

Disclaimers- I don't own the anime/manga Naruto in any way, shape, or form

On the way back to Konoha after completing the mission…

Naruto looked around and saw no one paying much attention and he walked into the woods the group had stopped in to rest. In the woods Naruto created a Shadow Clone and had it go back while he traveled to the clearing where he found the tomb of the Rikkudo Senin. When he got to the clearing he saw that Jiraiya's jutsu was perfectly preserved, meaning no one disturbed the grave, in fact, some grass had grown over the earth that plugged up the entrance. Naruto formed the Snake Hand sign and his skin turned dark brown, showing he had activated the Earth style: Earth Spear Jutsu. Naruto looked at the spot where he found the entrance and slammed his fist onto the exact spot he had collapsed into years before. The strength of the jutsu easily broke the earth barrier and shattered it. Naruto jumped down and walked to the tomb and opened it. He looked at the tomb and smirked, 'Time to begin.'

Meanwhile back with the clone…

Kakashi knew right away that it was a clone that Naruto sent back and was surprised that neither Sakura nor Sai knew it. Kakashi heard Naruto muttering plans to himself the day before and knew based on what he could make out, it seemed that he wanted to separate himself from the group. What for, Kakashi didn't know, but he knew Naruto would be safe and decided to let him do as he wanted. Sakura had punched Sai, sending him flying through the wall of the hotel they were staying at. Kakashi had unfortunately had to pay for the damages. However, he would happily take the pay right out of Sakura's and Sai's pay for the mission as compensation for having to pay for the damages from his own wallet. Anyways after a few hours of travel, Kakashi sensed the real Naruto catching up to them nearby and ordered the team to take a five minute break. During this time, the Naruto clone walked into the forest claiming it wanted to look around for a bit and when it was out of sight, Naruto landed in front of it smirking, 'Mission accomplished, thanks for being a decoy for me.'

The clone smiled and nodded, 'No problem, but honestly listening to the freaky guy and the banshee argue was so damn annoying.' Naruto nodded and put his hand on the clone's shoulder, 'Yea, it is a major pain in the ass being around them but luckily for you your job's done. Lucky clone' Naruto muttered the last part softly enough that the clone didn't hear him. The clone dispelled and Naruto came out of the forest looking around at the spot they stopped at and Kakashi looked at him, 'So, did you see anything interesting?' Naruto heard a light tone in his voice and he realized Kakashi probably knew about him leaving a clone in his place as he went to the tomb, but he calmed himself down and shook his head, 'No, not really Kakashi-sensei.' Kakashi shrugged, 'Well maybe next time you stop around here you'll see something interesting.' Sai and Sakura watched them and Sakura felt like she was missing something and thought, 'What's going on with those two? They're acting a bit weird… ok never mind, that's normal.' Sai probably wasn't thinking anything since he was just drawing… with his creepy smile. Kakashi called the group's attention, 'We're almost back in Konoha, and we did a great job on the mission, so let's celebrate after we get paid.' Sakura looked annoyed, 'You mean after you and Naruto get paid, you are taking our pay.' Naruto laughed and Kakashi nodded with an eye smile.

Back in Konoha…

Naruto and Kakashi walked ahead of a severely annoyed Sakura and Sai, who really didn't care about not being paid. Suddenly they heard, 'Naruto-kun!' and they turned and saw Chikyu run up and hug Naruto with Darian and Lexi walking up soon after with smirks on their faces and Kushina walk up as Chikyu kissed Naruto for a second and let go of him and step back smiling. Kakashi was stunned, so stunned he almost dropped his Icha Icha book (A/N: for those of you who don't know, if Kakashi drops his precious little orange book, then he is so shocked he's about to pass out LoL XD) Sakura was shocked that the girl had kissed Naruto yet again and wondered what made him so special. Naruto was blushing and when he saw Darian and Lexi he had a nervous smile and said, 'H-hey Darian, Lexi. Um, about what just happened was…' Chikyu put her finger on Naruto's lips and giggled while blushing and leaned to his ear while Kakashi sent chakra to his ears to sharpen his hearing, 'Its ok Naru-kun, they said they were willing to share with me and a few others as well.' Chikyu blushed and so did Kushina since she was one of the two who Chikyu talked about but the rest of the comment confused her and she wondered who else her son managed to charm, not knowing that Darian and Lexi knew about Mikoto falling for Naruto since when Sakura left they arrived and spied on Naruto and Mikoto. No one noticed Kushina's blush since everyone was focused on Naruto, who's blush was even deeper than and Kakashi was just barely holding on to his precious little orange book from what he overheard.

Chikyu, Darian, Lexi, and Kushina walked away and Sakura followed them because she wanted to find out why the first three mentioned all seemed so attached to Naruto. Sai vanished via Shunshin and Kakashi walked up to Naruto, putting his orange book in his pocket and putting his right hand on Naruto's shoulder with a single tear of pride in his eye which he wiped away with his free hand, 'I'm so proud of you Naruto, you're living every man's dream.' Naruto looked at Kakashi and vanished via Shunshin as well and Kakashi began giggling perversely and left via leaf Shunshin.

With the girls at a random restaurant…

Sakura sat beside Kushina as Darian sat at the end of the table while Darian and Lexi sat opposite of Kushina and her. She took a deep breath before asking what she wanted to know the whole time, 'Why do you three like him so much?' Darian, Lexi, and Chikyu stopped and looked at her confused and Sakura sighed, 'I'm asking why you three like Naruto so much?' The girls thought for a moment and all three said at the exact same time, 'He saved us, and he didn't ask for anything as a reward.' Sakura looked confused and tilted her head, 'Is that it? He saved you? Who cares if he saved you, he isn't cool. It was probably just a fluke that he saved you.' Sakura was too dense to notice the KI targeting her from everyone else at the table, which made a few people ask to be moved farther away because they found the air in that area uncomfortable for some reason they couldn't figure out while the Shinobi and Kunoichi in the restaurant all noticed the KI and while most immediately paid and left some stayed to watch with some amusement, not including some random Akimichi clan members since they wanted to finish their meals.

Sakura continued her rant, unaware of the danger she just put herself in, 'I mean, yea he saved you but I bet the guys he fought were either pathetically weak or he caught them off guard. However, if it was Sasuke, he would've beaten them in a heartbeat because he is so cool and so strong.' Darian and Lexi reached over and grabbed Sakura's shirt color and showed her their Kumo headbands with slashes through them and Darian then pulled Sakura close, 'Listen here pinky, Naruto isn't weak. He saved us when we were being chased by Kumo Anbu because some shinobi didn't like our new Raikage and they impersonated us to pin the blame on us. He beat them single handedly and it didn't even take him long. As for your precious Sasuke, from what Naruto told us, he betrayed his own village just to get power. To me, that is a sign of someone who makes those who abandon their comrades seem like they happily saved the world ten times over for no reward at all by their own choice.' Sakura widened her eyes and then narrowed her eyes and said, 'Please, Naruto's the deadlast of the academy, there's no way he'd beat Anbu, especially not from Kumo, why was he there anyways I'll bet he was telling the Raikage about the village's def- UGH!' Sakura was thrown by Darian and Lexi and Chikyu and Kushina landed on top of her with Kushina's sword at her throat and Sakura noticed their enraged faces. The shinobi, even the Akimichi, were wide eyed at this scene, as Kushina narrowed her eyes, 'Never talk about Naru-kun like that again, do you understand Haruno?' Sakura looked terrified but said as strongly as she could, 'But why are you defending him? He's the loser, the deadlast of the academy!' Kushina rolled her eyes and pressed the tip of the blade gently against Sakura's neck making the girl shut up since she was about to continue,

'Listen Haruno, who gives a shit if he barely passed the academy exam, he told me all about the academy and I figured out what even he couldn't. You see, Naruto has an enormous amount of chakra and had little to no control back then, which is why he couldn't preform a regular Clone Jutsu and yet he is able to use an A-ranked jutsu, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which is difficult even for Jonin to master!' Sakura was shocked that the jutsu Naruto was famous for was so advanced, 'But if He can use it then why doesn't Sasuke just use it?' Kushina sighed and looked at Chikyu, who looked ready to tear Sakura apart, 'Look Sakura, Sasuke can't use it because if he does, it'll probably kill him since he doesn't have as much chakra as Naruto.' Sakura looked angry, 'You liar, Sasuke is better than Naruto in every way! If Naruto can use that jutsu then so can Sasuke!' Kushina got off and Chikyu took her chance and punched Sakura, breaking her nose, as well as making a dent in the hardwood floor of the restaurant from the impact of Sakura's head on it. It was then that Kushina, Darian, Lexi, as well as all of the other shinobi, saw Chakra gathered into her fists and Kushina smirked, 'Looks like you have what it takes to be a Kunoichi young one.' Chikyu looked, confused, and then saw the chakra around her fists as it began to fade away and smiled brightly, 'That means I can be equal to Naru-kun now! Now I won't have to worry about him so much since I could be by his side, ready to fight with him!' Kushina, Darian, and Lexi giggled seeing that she was like a fangirl, but at the same time, like a true Kunoichi.

A few weeks later in the Hokage's office…

Tsunade was signing papers as usual and looked up sighing. Suddenly Shizune ran into the room carrying a scroll and said, 'Lady Tsunade, there's terrible news, The Kazekage has been kidnapped by two men in black cloaks with red clouds on them!' Tsunade stopped and looked shocked, 'The Akatsuki? Damn it! Send for Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura right away!' Shizune nodded and ran off to get them. A few minutes later Naruto rushed in followed by Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke who all walked in casually. 'What's wrong Lady Hokage?' Kakashi was looking at his book as he spoke until Tsunade explained what happened. Naruto was shocked and worried for his friend, who he considered a brother since they went through the same pain in their childhood. Naruto clenched his hands and growled softly, 'Who attacked him, was it the Akatsuki?' Tsunade frowned and nodded. Sasuke and Sakura were confused and the latter asked, 'Akatsuki? Who or what is that?' Tsunade looked at Sakura and back at Naruto raising an eyebrow. Naruto shrugged, showing he didn't care if she told them about Kyuubi or not and Tsunade sighed and looked at the other two, 'The Akatsuki are a group of ten S-ranked criminals from various nations. They have formed with a single purpose: To capture the nine Tailed Beasts.'

Sakura tilted her head, 'But there should only be eight since the Yondaime killed the Nine Tails.' Naruto sighed and Tsunade shook her head, 'Sakura, I know I taught you better than that. Tailed Beasts are just masses of chakra that took a physical form and gained a conscious. You can't kill them but you can seal them away, which is what the Yondaime did with the Kyuubi, he sealed it in a baby since a baby's chakra coils are still being developed and can handle the enormous amount of chakra that makes up a Tailed Beast.' Sakura nodded, but still looked confused while Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked at Naruto. Sakura was about to speak but Tsunade continued, 'When a child has a Tailed beast sealed within them they become what's known as "Jinchuuriki" which means "Power of the Human Sacrifice" However, despite being the heroes they should be seen as they are often mistreated, abused by the very villagers they are protecting.' Tsunade looked at Naruto sadly as he looked down with a solemn expression. Sasuke noticed this and put the pieces he had gathered together and spoke up, 'Naruto was that baby, wasn't he?' Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Tsunade all looked at him in surprise and Tsunade nodded and Sakura looked at Naruto with a surprised expression and he looked annoyed, 'Save your pity for some one else, I don't need it.'

Sakura narrowed her eyes and thought, 'No wonder Sasuke's better than him, he really is a demon.' Naruto looked at Sakura and narrowed his eyes as if he knew what she was thinking, 'Sakura, stop staring at me. I've had enough of you so leave me alone, got it?' Sasuke looked surprised, since Naruto used to have a crush on his pink haired, unwanted fangirl. Sakura was fuming right now, 'Naruto-baka, stop acting so cool or I'll spill that secret of yours!' Sasuke and Kakashi were intrigued, and Naruto and Tsunade's eyes widened, at what she was implying. Tsunade looked at Naruto in shock that Sakura knew about Mikoto. Before any questions could be asked, Naruto grabbed Sakura and slammed her against the wall, with his hand around her throat, 'Listen close Haruno, I told you that if you ever said a word, not even that whore of a mother could save you from being charged with treason.' Kakashi and Sasuke overheard this and wondered what he knew that he didn't want anyone finding out, and Sasuke was dying to know what the blonde was keeping from him. Sakura had fear in her eyes and Naruto let her go as she started turning purple from lack of oxygen. Naruto walked out to go prepare for the mission and the rest of the team did as well as Tsunade went back to work, sighing at what trouble Sakura caused.

At the Namikaze clan home…

Naruto walked in and saw Kushina, Darian, Lexi, and Chikyu sitting in the living room. Chikyu was reading a book on chakra control and manipulation. Darian and Lexi were whispering and giggling to each other and Kushina was reading a novel she bought from the store earlier that day. They all stopped and looked up as Naruto walked in and saw his annoyance. Naruto told them what had happened and afterwards, they all wanted to pound the girl into the ground. Chikyu hugged Naruto and whispered into his ear, 'When you get back, let's go out for some lunch or maybe dinner, I want to spend some quality time with my handsome Naru-kun.' Naruto blushed while Kushina, Darian, and Lexi giggled as they knew what Chikyu asked Naruto for, a date. Naruto nodded and left the room, heading to his room, but made a quick stop to see Mikoto, who had recovered enough by now to eat semi-solid foods. Mikoto looked at Naruto and saw his discomfort, when he finished telling her what happened, she hugged him and calmed him down, 'Please calm down Naruto, she doesn't know anything about you. I just want you to focus on the good things you have and save your friend, I know you will succeed.' Mikoto gave him a bright smile and Naruto returned it and Mikoto blushed. She leaned forward to his ear and whispered, 'To be honest, I've always admired your strength even before Itachi placed me in that coma.' Mikoto told Naruto that Itachi was assigned to kill the members of the Uchiha clan who were planning a coup against the Leaf Village in order to take control. However, since Mikoto and Sasuke weren't apart of the conspiracy, he thought he would be able to spare them, but the ones who assigned him the mission wanted everyone but Sasuke killed so that they would have at least one Uchiha left and continue to have the Sharingan in the village, but Itachi couldn't bring himself to kill Mikoto so he cast a Genjutsu on her, placing her in a coma, and on everyone else as well so they would think Sasuke was the only survivor.

Naruto hugged Mikoto, comforting her since she was sad because of Itachi's misfortune and she hugged him back, feeling warm in his arms and she looked at Naruto out of the corner of her eyes and smiled thinking to herself, 'He is so gentle, and yet can be so strong. He has the merits of an Uchiha while having a heart of gold rather than a heart that lusts for fame, money, and power.' Mikoto pulled back and kissed Naruto on his cheek and laid back down to rest some more, leaving a blushing Naruto. Naruto stood up and went to go pack for his mission. A few minutes later Naruto was packed and he saw the door leading to the basement, where the body of the Rikkudo Senin was held. He had already perfected the process of becoming an Outer Path and had turned the Rikkudo Senin's body into an almost complete Deva Path. He just needed to work on controlling the body, which he would do when he returned. It turns out that the Rikkudo Senin had long white hair that was just as spiky as Naruto's. However, when the process to turn the body into the Deva Path was finished, the hair on its head had, for some unknown reason, turned as blonde as Naruto's hair but was in the same style. Naruto decided to get a new outfit for himself and his paths, and chose a black cloak with dark Magenta trims and the inside was dark Magenta as well. (A/N: it looks like the Akatsuki's cloaks only a dark Magenta instead of red and no clouds on it just plain black on the outside)

A few days ago, Naruto had placed a special order for seven of these cloaks with Tenten's father, Dustin, who ran a weapons shop that was one of the few that actually supported Naruto as he grew up, and had received them the day before. Dustin was more than happy to make these cloaks since he saw Naruto for who he really was and not for what was sealed in him. Tenten also was nice to Naruto, sure she was annoyed at his 'Kill me' orange jumpsuit, but she treated his injuries when she found him after mob attacks when they were kids. Naruto shook his head, clearing it of all thoughts and ran to the village gates to wait for the team. Naruto arrived at the gates a few minutes early and waited for everyone else. Sasuke walked up and looked at Naruto with curiosity. A little while later, Sakura showed up and glared at Naruto before staring at Sasuke with hearts in her eyes. Kakashi arrived moments later and Naruto unsealed his cloak and put it on, making the rest of the team wonder what that was for and when and where he got it. Naruto ignored them as he put the cloak on covering his black and burnt orange shirt and his black which covered his mesh shirt(A/N: this shirt looks like Naruto's Shippuden jacket), comfort fitting cargo pants with his Kunai holsters strapped above the extra pockets. Kakashi shrugged, not really caring where and when Naruto got the cloak, but thought it looked cool on him. Naruto looked at Sakura and Sasuke, 'What? Do you two have a problem with what I'm wearing?' Sasuke simply grunted in annoyance and turned away brooding, while Sakura glared at Naruto and returned to fawning over the Uchiha. Kakashi sighed at Sasuke and Sakura and shrugged at Naruto before waving his hand and saying, 'Come on everyone, we've gotta move out, it's a three day trip from here to Suna, we should be moving so we aren't too late.' The team nodded at Kakashi and took off, leaping from tree branch to tree branch as fast as they could. Naruto had a focused expression on his face, which was hidden by his sunglasses and the cloak as he thought, 'I'm coming Gaara, I'll save you no matter what!'

End of Ch. 11

Again, sorry for the long wait, but here's the next chapter, hope you all like it ^_^