Author's Note: Well, time to the show started… School is also here, meaning I will update slow still, okay?
Also, might redo Chapter 1… just maybe, there had been slight complaints about Chapter 1, and personally I agree with them, but it's indefinite. Some things will change, some will not… probably most things will change though, so stay tuned, it might come out with another chapter at the same time depending on how I write it up. Same with chapter 2, way too short, I'm trying to get my word count a bit higher and quite frankly his skills there is a bit over compared to what I'm writing here.
Chapter 22: Tracking and Recovering
"Naruto?" Tsunade asked, "What do you want now?"
"I need to finish my training," Naruto replied simply as Tsunade looked concerned.
"Do I need Yamato to look over you again?" Tsunade asked as Naruto shook his head.
"I need him to do something else for me… something which might not be appreciated by the council, so I need to do this behind their backs," Naruto explained as Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She already had an inkling of what he might want to do.
"You want Yamato to train the Mizukage in Mokuton?" Tsunade said rather than asked as Naruto nodded.
"In case I ever go berserk, I need someone to restrain me. Yamato-taichou isn't going to be there every time… I need someone else who will," Naruto replied as Tsunade thought for a moment.
"You know this is going to break so many rules that if they find out they can execute both you and me, right?" Tsunade asked as Naruto smiled.
"Ah, but she was actually going to resign as the Godaime once the war was over," Naruto said, "And join Konoha."
"What?" Tsunade asked, very surprised, "Why?"
"I was one of her, surprisingly enough, few boyfriends. She has high expectations contrary to what most people believed; she never even slept with any of them before, too," Naruto replied, "Which actually makes it weird seeing as how she was actually desperate for a guy for the past few years."
"You mean how she was talking with Hinata all that time?" Tsunade asked as Naruto nodded.
"But it's not as easy as that. Had it been any other ninja she would ask them over to join Kiri, but I'm a special case since I'm also a jinchuriki, and since she was tired of not just her job but also her loneliness she acted a little… rashly. She hasn't announced it to anyone yet though, so I would appreciate it if you don't spread it around and cause mass panic or something like that. I just need you to have an ace if… well, when, the council finds out," Naruto said as Tsunade nodded before signaling for Yamato via a seal. Moments later, he appeared.
"Yamato, I have a mission for you," Tsunade said, "I need you to go with Naruto to oversee the final part of his training before he assassinates Yakushi Kabuto. The details are written in this scroll."
As she said that, she conjured up a scroll and wrote on it, before giving it to him. He caught it fluently.
"The mission command line lies with Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, heir of the Yondaime Hokage and the Uzumaki clan," Tsunade instructed as the two ninjas bowed before disappearing and reappearing in the training grounds.
"Mei-chan, Lina-chan, Jaina-chan," Naruto said quickly, "We're moving out."
"What?" Mei asked, surprised, "I thought you needed training?"
"Yeah, we're just going to be a little out of the village to train," Naruto said as they understood his meaning. Naruto then took off, "Meet you in a minute in front of the north gate."
The three women and Yamato looked at his rapidly retreating figure as Jaina looked around.
"Which one is the north gate?" Jaina wondered as Yamato showed the direction.
"Please follow me, Lady Proudmoore," Yamato said officially as he led the three through the village. Jaina and Lina grew uncomfortable at the stares coming from the crowd, especially those from the men who had a hungry look in their eyes. Mei, however, dispelled that illusion from them when she stepped back and started talking to them, letting them know that they were, in all technicality, Naruto's 'property'. All the villagers knew enough to leave it at that, though a few men casted last longing looks before turning back to their business.
"What was that all about?" Lina wondered as they approached the gate. They saw, to their surprise, Naruto ready at that gate.
"The villagers didn't give too much trouble did they?" Naruto asked as they shook their heads.
"They just stared at us, then stared some more," Jaina said as Naruto looked back.
"I'm not surprised," Naruto commented, "That happened to Hinata-chan… once I think, but they knew enough not to approach her since she was the heir to the Hyuga clan, and that happened to Mei-chan a lot of times until they realized she was the Mizukage."
"Then they started to bug me, which gets annoying, really fast," Mei replied. Naruto held both his hands out, then thought for a minute before retracting them.
"Shall we move then?" Naruto asked before the three women latched onto him. Yamato chuckled at the sight of Naruto under three women.
"You're whipped, Naruto," Yamato whispered quietly to himself, hoping Naruto didn't hear anything. To his relief, Naruto didn't as he was too busy handling the three women as they moved away from the village. Yamato looked at Naruto, having a question.
"Naruto, where exactly are we going to?" Yamato asked as Naruto looked back at bit, before moving on. There was a hint of melancholy in his voice.
"The former site of Uzushiogakure no Sato… my former homeland before the Third Shinobi War," Naruto replied as Yamato fell silent.
"Uzu…shi… what?" Lina tried to pronounce it to no avail. Mei, however, remembered it.
"In the history books… that was the home of the Uzumaki Clan, known for their abilities in the art of sealing, fuinjutsu, and their longevity," Mei recounted as Naruto nodded, "destroyed by Iwagakure during the third war because of their skills, current indications suggest that the clan… is extinct… except for one person – Namikaze, Uzumaki, Naruto."
"You're the last of your clan?" Jaina asked in surprise as Naruto nodded and Mei smiled slightly.
"That entitled me to the Clan Recreation Act, actually… but I didn't want it," Naruto replied, "Then they forced me into a Clan Creation Act which Hinata-chan and Hiashi-sama scared them away from… until recently when you two decided to share me… and Mei decides that it would be a good idea too. Did you have to pronounce my name so formally though, Mei-chan?"
"Yes," Mei replied with hesitation, "Since that was quoted from the books… well I added that last bit in, but it would be there in future editions of the studies anyways, just not in my own words."
"I guess so," Naruto replied as they went through the forest. There was silence everywhere before Naruto remembered yet something else.
"Wow… I am so stupid…" Naruto replied, "I guess I should be thankful for it though…"
"What?" Mei asked as Naruto turned, looking a bit sheepish.
"I had a Hiraishin seal painted in the place the last time I visited…" Naruto replied, "I could've come home at anytime I wanted…"
Jaina and Lina were glad at that. Mei… not so much, but she won't complain. Naruto created yet more clones as he took hold of Jaina himself, his clones holding onto Mei, Lina, and embarrassingly for Yamato, him as well. Then they disappeared in a giant yellow flash, and reappeared instantly in a desolate place. There were ruined structures everywhere, the place completely devastated. Blackened and charred bits showed the remnants of a giant fire which wreaked havoc across the once powerful village. In the center, however, lay a perfectly fine structure, which Naruto appeared with his entourage on the front steps. Naruto moved up a bit.
"Don't come along just yet, I need to disable the seals," Naruto said as he neared, and flared his chakra a bit. The first seal reacted, flowing back into another seal which Naruto, after biting through his thumb, swiped. The seal, too, flared as a large array of seal, covering the ground, appeared, and retracted into yet another seal which finally blinked and faded, and an invisible glow suddenly flared and died away. Naruto turned.
"It's okay now," Naruto called as they entered the house, "This is where we'll be staying for about… a week, maybe two?"
"This place is huge…" Mei said in wonder as she looked around. Naruto laughed.
"It's the central building of Uzushiogakure, of course it's big," Naruto informed her, "It's where all administrative work was done when this was still a village; I merely… renovated it and added seals to keep it safe, though most people never know of this place anyways. I found it on an old map which still depicted this place before it was integrated into Hi no Kuni. Now… what to start off with…"
"Can we summon our awesome fire-breathing giant minions of doom now?" Lina asked excitedly as Naruto stared. And stared some more.
"That… surprisingly enough and disturbingly enough as well… made some sense…" Naruto muttered under his breath, "Reminds me of me when I summoned Gamabunta for the first time…"
Clearing his throat, Naruto replied, "Well… that could work, but please take note that the first you summon, according to Hikaru and Ryusei, will be your personal summon. That means they will follow you the whole time unless you specifically summon another dragon or phoenix for combat or other purposes. Dragons and Phoenixes are very different, though. Jaina-chan, dragons are known for their mastery of futon and suiton ninjutsu, though that's more a myth than anything but I'm pretty sure that's the case. That said, they're also sometimes referred to as the master of the elements. I know Ryusei could also breathe fire though whether the others could, I'm not sure. Lina-chan, Phoenixes are the noblest of animals and creatures you will likely ever find short of a divine being, and they're close enough. Phoenixes have incredibly powerful fire attacks that will incinerate everything and anything in its path short of your own allies, meaning you could essentially fire on a mix of humans and undead, but the flames will only injure the undead. Hikaru, on the other hand, has mastered Phoenix flames to such a degree that he can choose to heal by breathing fire on said person or being. That came in really helpful when we were training.
Now that the introduction's finished, you know the seals," Naruto clarified as they nodded, "Choose the amount of chakra… uhh, mana, that you think is adequate, or just feels natural for you, then flow it through as you summon the phoenix of dragon."
"Why don't you have one?" Jaina asked as Naruto laughed, before a cloud of smoke exploded beside him. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu popped up.
"I got two," Naruto said simply, "You know Gamakichi, and this is Gamatatsu. They're twins, and the first toads which I summoned. Don't underestimate them compared to Phoenix and Dragons though. Toads are still extremely powerful in combat."
"Got that right bro!" Gamakichi responded, "Got any candy?"
"Um… no, sorry Kichi, Tatsu, I'll bring some the next time I summon you," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head. Gamakichi tilted his head to the side in partial confusion after a moment.
"Bro…" Gamakichi asked after a few moments, "How come Ichigo isn't your personal summon as well?"
"In all technicality, he could be counted as such, but you're already my closest summons, no point choosing another, is there?" Naruto asked as Kichi looked even more confused.
"If that's what you want, bro," Kichi said as he waved, "Well, we're off, see ya!"
After that, they promptly disappeared in twin plumes of smoke as Jaina and Lina both bit through their thumbs, wincing as they did so. Then, they swiped some blood like how they had seen Naruto done it, before slamming their hands onto the ground. A seal rune etched and spread from the two points, and smoke erupted, before a bright flash came from Lina's cloud, and a wind blew through Jaina's cloud. When it disappeared, a baby Phoenix floated a few feet off Lina's face, while a baby dragon nestled around Jaina's neck.
"Aww…" Lina cooed as she held the baby phoenix which simply looked at her, "It's so cute…"
"Looks like you've got the best summons to hope for," Naruto commented as the two looked confused. Naruto decided to clarify again.
"Sure, a bigger summon and a more powerful summon is good, but being able to build up a relationship with your personal summon from a young age means they will trust you, a lot more, than they would otherwise be had they been older. I met Kichi and Tatsu when they were barely considered kids in Toad culture, and now they're amongst the most well known of toads for their combination fighting style along with combinations from me," Naruto explained, "And that, was due to the fact that I know them the longest, so I can synchronize my ability with them the best. My suggestion right now is to care for your summons until they can talk, and from what I know they should already understand you."
"Okay," Jaina replied as they left, each looking at their summons who looked back curiously. Naruto turned to Mei.
"Mei-chan, here, we won't have to worry about problems faced by the council… I really would like to say if but most likely it would be when they find out about you learning it," Naruto said, "But in any case, Yamato-taichou here can teach you how to use Mokuton ninjutsu, and how to synchronize the chakra in the first place, though I doubt that it will be too hard for you, being a kage and all…"
"Arigatou, Naruto-kun," Mei smiled as she kissed Naruto, before walking away with Yamato. Naruto was left, alone on the steps as he stretched. Then, without any indication, he was gone, not even a flutter in the wind or a flash of yellow. It just seemed as he had never been there at all.
Naruto travelled to a deep underground cave that once belonged to the first of Kyubi's jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito, wife of the Shodai Hokage. She was here once to tame the chakra of the Kyubi, but no one had ever known if she succeeded, until Naruto had discovered this cave, and saw the scrolls which she left behind. On the top, it had written, in bold, "Only those with the Kyubi's essence may open this scroll, you have been warned."
Yet, despite that warning, many tried to open the scroll to peer into the depths of what Uzumaki Mito had detailed during her fight to control the Kyubi. None survived except for two, both names written on the scroll: Uzumaki Kushina, and Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. It was this that allowed Naruto to begin the assimilation of Kyubi's chakra, though he needed to refine it to the point which Uzumaki Mito had described – the cloak which Kyubi had mentioned resembled that of the frame of the Rikudo Sennin. It was with this thought in mind, that Naruto sat down and began to meditate to enter his mind. He felt the tugging sensation as his mind began to synchronize with his breathing, and entered his mindscape, to finally refine Kyubi's chakra. As he entered, he saw the familiar sewers which had not been seen for almost a year, and as he walked forward, the feel of the chakra began to overwhelm his senses, though he kept on moving. He saw the seal which had been imprisoning the Kyubi for the past three years, and beyond that the fox itself.
"So, you have come to visit me again…" Kyubi rumbled from inside the cage as Naruto stared right back up.
"I need to finish the task given, Kyubi, whether you like it or not," Naruto said as the seal began to slowly unravel, and the power began leaking through again. Kyubi knew better by now than to attack Naruto, and simply stood by.
"I'll be waiting for the results…" Kyubi grumbled out from the crack as Naruto strained.
"Not now…" Naruto muttered out as he recalled what the first jinchuriki had written: Accept, not fight; Flow, not control; Guide, not force, Allow, not resist; Free, not pressured.
Naruto had always wondered what it had meant, as the first sequence to taking Kyubi's chakra and make it his own, per say. It made sense now that what she had said referred to the way the chakra was transferred and formed. With a loud sigh, he began to ease his own flow of chakra as he guided it around in a loop, surrounding the chakra he had last obtained three years ago during the half-assed trial. A river of red chakra flowed as well as Naruto felt its malevolence, and felt the hatred at Kisame flow up. He felt the hatred for the village which had never disappeared, the anger at his uselessness when he failed to win against Sasuke, the disappointment that his father had been the one to make his life miserable, everything…
Yet, he felt nothing at the same time, as if he was free. He was in a strange limbo state where he can feel, yet he is free of emotions. He simply let the emotions flow through his body, uncaring, as it joined the now torrent of chakra flowing with his chakra, and let go of control, rather, focusing on guidance. He patiently guided the chakra over to the ever expanding pool as Kyubi watched, astounded at its container's ability.
Guidance is the key. Never force the Kyubi to submit, for it will turn it against you and be free. Use its powers with care, but at the same time exist with it in harmony. Accept it for what it is, not as chakra, but as something more.
Naruto left his thoughts drifting as he sensed the taints and potency of Kyubi's chakra, and, rather than force it away like his instincts tell him, allowed it to submerge him, letting him feel the malevolence and power. He allowed it to wash over him as it flowed on its way, the chakra blasting through his chakra, though they were but energy. He watched, as the kept up the circulation, as Kyubi's chakra and his own divided and twisted, eventually forming into a purple strand before separating at the end source where the two turned from each other. With each breath Naruto took, more chakra from the Kyubi was transferred.
Outside of his body, however, a different scenario appeared. A cloak of chakra appeared around him, though rather than red, it seemed almost white, though it still had the resemblance to a fox. It warped this way and that, as if turning and twisting with an inner battle. The color constantly shifted to a pale pink, to red, to a deep blood-red, to a perfect white as Naruto synchronized with the Bijuu and learnt to use the power. I will not fail this, Naruto though determinedly as he relaxed and concentrated at the same time. The battle, and the flow, continued, through the day.
Er'ryl, being Naruto's companion, stayed by Naruto's side all the time, never tearing his gaze away. He stood, as tall as he could, watching Naruto as he battled the chakra.
Lina and Jaina
The two women were walking down, gently stroking the body of their respective summons, as the baby phoenix floated playfully around Lina's outsretched hand, while the small dragon simply nestled around Jaina's neck.
"What got you so… well, sad, Jaina?" Lina asked as they kept moving forward.
"Its… complicated," Jaina replied, "It involved personal thoughts, and leave it at that."
"A loyalty test?" Lina asked as Jaina shook her head.
"More like an acceptance test," Jaina said, "Literally, too."
"Doesn't sound that hard," Lina commented with a raised eyebrow, not comprehending her situation. Jaina shook her head.
"You don't understand, I had to face my inner darkness… and it said some pretty nasty things about who I am… and what I am," Jaina clarified, "God… I still feel like an idiot every time it's been brought up."
"Sorry," Lina replied as Jaina shook her head.
"It's not your fault, don't blame yourself," Jaina replied as she looked at the small dragon acting like a scarf, "I wonder what this little guy can do?"
"Hmm?" the dragon suddenly breathed out, slightly startling the two, "Are you my new summoner?"
"Um, yes," Jaina said, at a lost for word, "What's your name?"
"It's given by you," the dragon replied calmly as Jaina looked at Lina, who looked back with equal confusion.
"As I am your personal summon, you have the right to name me whatever you wish, and that will be the name I will be known as until the day I die," the dragon clarified as Jaina looked in wonder.
"But, what did they call you before that then?" Jaina asked as the dragon shook its head.
"It is of no consequence as the name would be abandoned," the dragon replied as Jaina thought for a moment. The phoenix, also, chose that time to speak.
"Hi!" the phoenix chirped out happily as Lina looked at the excited bird flying in circles around her hand as she brought them both closer.
"Is your rules the same?" Lina asked as the phoenix nodded its head.
"I was called Hikari before I was summoned though, if you want to know," the phoenix replied, "Of course, you could always give me a new name."
"Nah," Lina said after a little while, "I think I like the name Hikari, reminds me of Hikaru."
"The two mean essentially the same thing," Hikari replied, "I was named after our leader, in fact."
"I see…" Lina replied after a few moments, "So, what do we do to get acquainted more?"
"Nothing, it will come later on," Hikari shrugged as the group reached an intersection.
"Bye Jaina, I'll see you later," Lina called as she took the left path, wanting to explore the land. She wandered around with Hikari as she took a note of the landmarks. Hikari looked around curiously as she seemed to recognize some of the prints.
"Hey! I know these spirals! They're from the Uzumaki and Uzushiogakure!" Hikari exclaimed, "Hikaru-sama came here before!"
"He did?" Lina asked, surprised, "When?"
"When our um… third to last summoner summoned him to this realm," Hikari replied.
"So… it's relatively recent?" Lina asked, "Who is he?"
"He called himself…um…" Hikari said as she struggled to remember, but Lina saved her.
"Its okay, let's just explore this land as you try to remember the name, okay?" Lina asked as Hikari nodded.
"His personal summon died when he died as well," Hikari replied, "But for now that's all I remember. I'm still too young to recall things easily."
That gave Lina a startle. That was the first time she heard something like that.
"You mean, the bond caused them to die together?" Lina asked as Hikari nodded.
"In a way, I guess. I think it was the emotional distress caused by the companion to die that caused him to perish as well. He was never reborn in his ashes, and instead another came into his stead," Hikari replied, "Such is the life of a personal companion summons."
"But… isn't that cruel?" Lina asked.
"In a way, we consider it an honor to die with those we consider our closest friend, our family, in a sense. Right now, we are but friends, but over time I do hope we become family," Hikari said, "But… yes, to you it might be cruel, but we do, in a sense, get reborn. He was an exception, but that was also what made him revered by some of us, for his dedication to his companion."
"Wow…" Lina commented, astounded, she felt a flare of chakra. She recognized Naruto's signature as she moved over, "Should we check it out?"
"I don't know…" Hikari replied hesitantly, "I felt that signature… it felt demonic…"
Now, Lina was worried, "Hikari… maybe we should check it out… maybe we can control Naruto before it gets out of hand…"
"I'm not powerful enough for that yet though…" Hikari said, "I think you should summon… who have you met?"
"You, Ichigo, and Hikaru… well Al'ar doesn't count since he's somewhere else and not part of the summoning," Lina listed off as Hikari listened, "Oh, Kisuki or a phoenix by that name as well."
"I would suggest summoning Ichigo at the very least then," Hikari said as Lina nodded, before channeling her mana.
"Do I need to call out the name?" Lina asked as she bit through her thumb. Hikari shook her head.
"Nope, just better focus," Hikari said as Lina nodded and channeled mana into her hand. A seal flared up as the blood mixed and flowed, before forming a seal and a torrent of fire blasted out. Lina saw the flames conjure up onto her palms, and guessed the rest. She placed it against the ground as the seal formed, before flames stretched out and lit up the seal. In a cloud of fire, similar to her light array, Ichigo appeared.
"We need to go, now," Lina urged as she ran forward towards the source as Ichigo, confused, decided to follow.
"What is going on here?" Ichigo asked as Hikari relayed the information. Ichigo took a sample of the air through a flaring of his flames. A moment later, Ichigo slowed a bit before speeding up to follow Lina, realizing he fell a bit behind.
"He is fine, Lina. That was the residue of the malevolence resultant in Kyubi's chakra. Naruto has the seal controlled and regulated, though it will blast out demonic energy once every while until he's completely taken in the chakra," Ichigo replied as Lina sighed in relief and slowed down from her sprint as well.
"That's good," Lina panted out, sweat beading her brows as she wiped it off. Jaina was there as well, though looking a bit more out of shape than she was.
"What… was… that?" Jaina asked as she saw Ichigo.
"It's nothing much, according to Ichigo. Should we visit him then?" Lina asked as Jaina thought for a moment.
"Why not, sure," Jaina agreed as Ichigo excused himself and vanished in a torrent of flame. Lina, having more control, was able to pinpoint Naruto's location as they headed over. However, they met a barrier which blocked the rest of the way. The dragon around Jaina's neck moved suddenly, however, as it headed over and soared around a bit.
"Hang on…" the dragon said uncertainly as he blasted a thin jet of air at the barrier. The barrier held for a moment, before a bright flare appeared, and seals etched along the side, though barely flashing. After a while, however, the seal brightened, before receding and the barrier disappeared.
"Wha…?" Lina asked as Naruto came out, tired.
"Ohayo, Jaina-chan, Lina-chan," Naruto greeted, "Something the matter?"
"What just happened?" Lina was the first to ask as Naruto laughed.
"A little invention of mine," Naruto said, "A barrier seal that prevents anything from accessing inside or outside, but I can sense it being attacked and whoever's outside. That dragon is one smart dude when he attacked. He let me know that you're outside, so I deactivated it."
"I just guessed," the dragon said, embarrassed.
"What's going on then?" Jaina asked as Naruto stretched a bit.
"Done," Naruto said as a white cloak covered him, with what seemed to be horns on the top of the cloak, "Wow… This looks nice… I wonder if I could still use the Imari attacks…?"
"This is the complete control?" Jaina asked curiously as she prodded at the cloak, but it stretched and caught her hand, "Um…"
"Right, sorry," Naruto said as the tendril of energy dispersed, "It's an automatic defense mechanism, so it will block anything unless I consciously tell it to stop."
"This will be handy against whoever you're tasked to… assassinate," Lina said carefully, not sure who exactly Kabuto is, and not exactly comfortable with the idea of assassination. Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit.
"That reminded me, something's still not right… Gai-sensei mentioned Kabuto having been contacted by Madara, but Madara was still in your world last time, so unless after the summoning he came here… but, why?" Naruto said to himself as Jaina and Lina looked confused.
"Who is this Kabuto, first of all?" Jaina asked, trying to help.
"A former right hand man to one of our worst nuke-nin in history, Orochimaru," Naruto replied, deep in thought, "Specializes in medical techniques and combats using said techniques. Knows Edo Tensei and various other kinjutsus. Expert on manipulating dead bodies… wait…"
Jaina and Lina had paled at that point, "Dead bodies?"
"…" Naruto said nothing as they came to the same conclusion, "We need to head back."
"Not until after Mei-chan's training is done," Naruto replied, "She's there to control if I ever do lose control of the cloak."
"I thought you mastered it?" Jaina asked fearfully.
"No, just that I can use it more effectively, making it more destructive. Over a certain limit my body can't handle and I fly off into dreamland and bloodlust takes over. Bad," Naruto summarized.
"So… what do we do?" Lina asked next. Naruto thought for a moment, before a wicked smile came onto his face. He made a few seals before his Rinnegan activated for a while.
"Familiarize yourself with your summons, Jaina-chan, Lina-chan," Naruto said, "I'm going to have a good talk with Kakashi-sensei."
"Talk…?" Jaina asked, completely confused. Naruto smirked.
"Paths. If you find Yamato-taichou tell him to come around, I'll finish my Mokuton training too so that we can cut time short," was all he said before he sat down. Er'ryl suddenly came out and saw the other people as he moved closer and sat down on Naruto's lap, curling up. Naruto absentmindedly stroked Er'ryl's head as the two women left to find Yamato.
Meanwhile, in Konoha…
Kakashi was, once again, standing in front of the memorial stone, thinking about his past. His face, though hidden within the book by Jiraiya, showed sadness openly, as he talked, seemingly, to himself, or to the stone. He was about to walk away when he spotted a shadow by the morgue, as it moved around inside. Kakashi, being cautious, moved towards the entrance carefully, as the shadow stilled, before moving deeper into the morgue. Kakashi followed, kunai in hand, as he entered. He saw the shadow standing right by the tomb of the Yondaime Hokage – the coffin of which was open. Kakashi instantly had his Sharingan exposed as he demanded.
"Where is the body?" Kakashi asked heatedly as the figure chuckled before standing out into the light. It was Namikaze Minato. Kakashi froze for a moment, before falling over. Minato chuckled, or rather, Naruto chuckled as he kneeled by the downed Jonin and prodded him with a stick.
"Damn, I think I overdid it," Naruto smirked as Kakashi came to.
"Minato… sensei?" Kakashi asked uncertainly as Minato stood up straight.
"Well… no," Naruto replied, "I'm Naruto."
"You're… you're hair's too long to be Naruto's," Kakashi pointed out as Naruto sighed.
"What was the technique I used before I engaged the undead?" Naruto asked as Kakashi thought back.
"The six paths technique? Oh… right, gomen nasai," Kakashi replied, embarrassed as he laughed weakly, "So, what brings you to activate him?"
"To send you, and by extension, baa-chan, a message. Hold on?" Naruto offered as he grabbed onto Kakashi's hand. Kakashi had a bad feeling as the world blurred. An instant later, they reappeared in the Hokage Office where Tsunade was taking a nap. Naruto cleared his throat as Tsunade woke up groggily. The first thing she saw was Minato's body and Kakashi, and she looked at the Sake bottle, before looking back. That action was repeated many times.
"I'm staying off Sake for a while," Tsunade replied as they burst out in laughter over her predicament.
"Hi baa-chan," Naruto offered up as Tsunade looked at him incredulously.
"You've met your son too…?" Tsunade asked fearfully as Naruto laughed.
"Six paths technique, ask Homura or Kotaru about it," Naruto replied, "I'm still in Uzushio, so can we get started please? It's an awfully long way for me to send my chakra…"
"Oh, right. What is it?" Tsunade asked impatiently as Naruto steeled himself.
"I've got almost concrete proof that Kabuto isn't here anymore," Naruto said as Kakashi paled.
"You mean… he's with… them?" Kakashi asked as Naruto nodded.
"Gai-sensei said something about Kabuto being contacted by Madara. From what I can think of it can only for usage by the undead… which is worse then him being associated with Akatsuki," Naruto replied.
"How so?" Tsunade asked as Naruto outlined exactly what the undead was and can do. After that Tsunade had a grim face.
"So… we might be facing war on two frontiers?" Tsunade asked as Naruto nodded.
"It's worse for Jaina-chan and Lina-chan – they never fought shinobi before, they won't be able to handle it," Naruto explained, "They aren't used to expecting the unexpected."
"So what now?" Tsunade asked as Naruto shrugged.
"We wait until Mei-chan finishes her training before we head back to kill that son of a bitch," Naruto growled out, but he stopped for a moment.
"The bodies that I use… they're mine to keep right?" Naruto asked as Tsunade raised her eyebrow.
"Sure…?" Tsunade asked, unsure.
"Thanks," Naruto said before a bright flash was seen, and the body disappeared. Kakashi turned to Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama… do you know exactly which bodies Naruto used?" Kakashi asked as Tsunade sighed.
"I have a few clues – sensei, jii-san, oji-san, Minato, and who else?" Tsunade replied as Kakashi looked surprised.
"You guessed that?" Kakashi asked as Tsunade nodded.
"The fact that they're former Hokage is probably the most important to Naruto. Their powers didn't help either," Tsunade sighed as she waved Kakashi away, "Let me think this through."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi replied as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Tsunade sighed as she leaned back on the chair, before calling for an ANBU.
"Get me Homura and Kotaru, I need to ask them something," Tsunade ordered tiredly, "And get me another bottle of sake."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," the ANBU replied before disappearing in a burst of speed. Of course, he wouldn't get her the sake, that's a given for any ANBU if they didn't want to get punished by Shizune. Tsunade looked at the various picures on her desk as she sighed deeply once more.
"What would you have done then, sensei?" Tsunade asked as she leaned back on the chair, before going back to her work. The picture of her sensei, hanging by the wall, did not respond.
Aaaaaaand… cut!
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