Author's Note: Alright, let's get the party started! The Konoha arc ends this chapter, and the next… well I need a filler until reaching Frozen Throne. That's all I'm going to say.

By the way, sorry about not updating earlier, school's a bitch and with the upcoming end-of-term exams I gotta study, so chapters will come out slow – I'll try to update maybe once every one or two weeks depending on whether I get a. writers block and/or b. time. If I don't have the first but have the second, it might come out faster.

Chapter 24: Leaving without regrets

A day after the battle with Madara…

As of right now, Naruto stood by the room to his apartment, looking out from the balcony, as he recalled the battle with Madara. There was something amiss, though he couldn't tell what it was. It seemed as though Madara was not there, but at the same time he was, and was evident by the fact that he did use techniques exclusive to the Mangekyou Sharingan… or did he? Naruto felt a chill run down his spine. The Katon: Rasenshuriken was his ultimate last finisher, combining the cutting edge of the original Rasenshuriken with the firepower of the Katon: Rasengan. In essence, it was Katon: Rasengan enhanced with futon chakra, and was designed to obliterate all that stood there. Yet… he felt as if he had missed something, something important. Sensing a presence, he turned, and was met with the face of Mei.

"Mei-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he wrapped an arm around her.

"I felt your disturbance," she said quietly, "And I wanted to know if you're alright."

"I'm…" Naruto had wanted to say he was fine, but knew he was not. He wasn't sure if Madara had died at all anymore, and who best to ask than a kage?

"I'm not sure if Madara is dead or not," Naruto finally spoke up, "And I'm scared, Mei-chan. He knew about us, and now he knew about Jaina-chan and Lina-chan… I don't know what I can do to protect you all…"

"You don't have to worry, Naruto-kun," Mei said, "I am a kage, after all… and those two are powerful in their own rights."

"Against Madara, they might as well as be a pebble against a boulder. I might as well as be a pebble if I don't have any help defeating him, and I got three summons that I can use to kill him."

"Please don't underestimate us, Naruto-kun," Mei said softly as she turned and embraced her lover, "We can take care of ourselves."

"I know, it's just…" Naruto replied as he leaned into the embrace, feeling the warmth of her body against his, "sakura, huh?"

"I like the scent of sakura trees," Mei replied, "how did you know which scent was in the soap?"

"I can smell it… it's not good like that if you're against ninjas, you know," Naruto joked as he snuggled deeper into her hair, taking slow, deep breaths, "I like it though…"

"Where we're going now," Mei replied, "No one can track us by scent, isn't that right?"

"No clue," Naruto admitted, "I'm not there long enough to know if there's a tracker clan or individual."

"Don't change the topic, Naruto-kun," Mei continued, "And I know there's something else that got you worried. What is it?"

"I'm resigning my position as jonin of Konoha tomorrow morning," Naruto said as he looked out to the night Konoha, "And I'm not sure if this is… this can be unopposed. Most likely the council will still wreak havoc, and I can't leave right now since Jaina-chan and Lina-chan are tired…"

"Well…" Mei said, trailing off at a loss for words. Not knowing anything about politics here, she said nothing. Naruto continued.

"I mean, I tied up all loose ends with the exception of my blood…" Naruto said, "Apparently they only realized whose blood I have when I revealed to them I was the son of their late Yondaime Hokage, and it wasn't because of his blood that they want me… it was the blood of my mother."

"Uzumaki Kushina…" Mei said, "Her reputation precedes her in Kiri… when I heard your name in the summit for the first time I was genuinely shocked. To my knowledge nobody had survived the attack at Uzushio… or at least any Uzumaki. To know that one escaped was a surprise."

"She didn't escape…" Naruto replied, "She was here long before it happened."

They didn't talk for the next few minutes, content on staying simply by each other's side, until Mei decided to leave, knowing that Naruto needed at least some sleep.

"Good night, Naruto-kun… good luck in that tomorrow," Mei said as she disappeared in a swirl of water, leaving the balcony with only Naruto. He paused, looking at the night sky, before turning into the door, and to his own bedroom.

"Good night, Mei-chan…" he murmured as he fell onto his bed, and fell asleep at last.

As Naruto woke up, he felt a weight on his chest. Wait… not one weight… two weights…

He cracked an eye open, seeing fiery red hair strands in front of him, before realizing what the two weights were. Jaina and Lina were lying on top of him, snuggling in, and apparently very happy judging from their smiles. He smiled, before realizing a few problems. Once, they were lying on him, meaning he couldn't wiggle his way out without waking them up from their peaceful slumber. Two, and more importantly, they were pressing quite uncomfortably… or comfortably… into his… region. That… is so not good… he thought frantically as he tried to pry himself out without waking them up. How did they get here anyways?

Thinking quickly, he quickly flared some chakra, just enough that he could diffuse it throughout his apartment, before flashing out. The two fell onto the soft bed, still asleep. He sighed in relief as he quickly took a shower, coming back out five minutes later and prepared to jump out the window, before he sensed the two waking up. He quickly created a clone before he disappeared silently. As the two came out, they saw the Naruto-clone, who motioned for them to sit down.

"Wait a few moments, Jaina-chan, Lina-chan," Naruto said, "the original has a few things to deal with in the council. He should be back sometimes soon."

"The council again?" Jaina asked, exasperated, "This has been going on since we arrived…"

"Can't help it, shinobis are weapons of the village," Naruto shrugged helplessly, "The fact that I'm the jinchuriki of the most powerful demon in existence currently plus the fact that I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina makes me even more valuable… what pompous assholes…"

Lina giggled as she heard the last comment, "That wasn't nice, Naruto."

"So? Who cares what those old farts think?" Naruto snorted, "The only one there I truly respect is Hiashi, while baa-chan is the Hokage, so she doesn't count. And don't get me started on the civilian council – they suck shit. And fuck, there goes the plan again."

"What…?" Jaina asked, confused.

"Naruto's gonna have an all-out war agains the council now…" the clone mumbled before sitting in a lotus position, "Better gather senjutsu chakra first…"

"Clones have independent thoughts?" Jaina asked Lina as the clone cracked an eye open.

"Yeah, we do…" the clone replied before closing his eyes again. There was a sudden breeze as the window shattered. The clone, without even moving, whispered two words.

"Bad idea…" Naruto whispered before disappearing suddenly, behind the two masked ninja, "Who are you and why are you here?"

"Hand over those two," was the brusque reply that first gave as Naruto knocked him out. The second, however, responded with a powerful back kick which Naruto dodged, and proceeded to create seals.

"Iwa will not stand for this!" the ninja shouted before Naruto silenced him, permanently, with a kunai to his neck, as Lina and Jaina watched in shock at the brutality and winced as the blood sprayed out of the wound. Naruto paid it no mind, however, as he turned around.

"Stay back," Naruto warned as his Rinnegan activated, and a cloak of white surrounded him. Within seconds, he rushed out of the room in a streak of yellow, before returning with two more unconscious people in his arms.

"Konoha…" Naruto muttered, "Better inform the boss of this…"

"Wait, Konoha? What does this village have to do with this? I thought he said Iwa?" Jaina asked.

"No, I recognize this person," Naruto said, gesturing to the one he was holding with his right arm, "He's definitely Konoha. Wait here, and if anything comes by or this guy wakes up, flare your pendant."

With that said, the Naruto disappeared in a flash of yellow as the two women sat down, still in shock over what happened.

In the council room, as Naruto sat listening on what the council wanted, there was a sudden flash of yellow as his clone appeared, who dumped a body down onto the floor and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto paused, processing the information, before he glared at the council.

"What is the meaning of this?" both Naruto and the council asked, though Naruto growled more than asked as Naruto picked the body up and stripped the face mask off.

"This man, along with 3 others, were found attacking my apartment and trying to incapacitate or eliminate Jaina-chan and Lina-chan. I know this guy, he was on my team a year ago, and now I want to know: who ordered them to assassinate the two women?" Naruto asked calmly as he looked at the whole council. All the councilors sat still, unmoving, as some pondered on why, and others… not so much. Naruto narrowed his eyes at two of them, as he noted that their posture seemed different, as if they were nervous.

"Yes, councilor, what is it you wish to say?" Naruto asked as he stared at the two, who looked back while trying not to fidget. Tsunade had enough.

"Did I not tell you not to take action against those two?" Tsunade asked impatiently, "And yet you've gone behind my back and done this… Do I even want to know what else you've done?"

"It doesn't matter; the Namikaze blood must stay!" one of them suddenly shouted, "ANBU, take him down and put him away!"

ANBU did appear, though they didn't take any action. Naruto raised his eyebrow at the man.

"Right… you thought you could order ANBU around…" Naruto asked rhetorically, "And on top of that, you wanted to order them to arrest me, who one has done nothing wrong… I think, and two, was nominated for ANBU captain by not one, hell not two but three ANBU commanders, one of which was Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan, and the other Yamato, and yet you try to tell them to arrest me on the charge that my blood must not leave the village?

You disgust me. Everyone has a right to do whatever he wants as long as he does not break the law. You, however, have. ANBU, take him away."

There was no protests as the ANBU converged on the councilor, as promptly dragged him away as he pleaded for mercy. Naruto shook his head.

"Anyone else want to challenge my position on this matter? I'm always itching for a fight," Naruto started again as no one said anything anymore, as the man was the instigator of the meeting in the first place, "If you don't hold your silence forever, I need to get back to pack and write my resignation letter."

"I do not think there's any point in holding Naruto here," Shibi said as he looked at Tsunade, "Although he is currently ruled by emotion, I doubt he is as controlled by it as we think."

"I concur," Shikaku muttered, "Troublesome…"

"Is there no objections? Let the meeting be adjourned then," Tsunade asked, before turning to Naruto, "I was hoping you'd change your mind, but… I guess that'll never happen. Come here, there's something I want to show you, something that belonged to my grandmother. Your mother was a ninja of Konoha the whole time, but not my grandmother."

As she said this, they disappeared in swirls of leaves and wind, appearing where Tsunade had lived. They walked through the mansion in silence as they looked upon the statues of Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito. Tsunade reached down and placed her palm on a stone tablet, before pushing her chakra in. With a cloud of smoke, a hitai-ate appeared, old, but nonetheless shining, its symbol, alien to all but the ones remembering.

"This was the symbol of Uzushiogakure, once belonging to my grandmother. I don't think she'll mind you having it… and it might give you something to remember us by, and remembering your parents by…"

"…" Naruto said nothing as his eyes glistened with tears, before hugging Tsunade, "Arigatou, baa-chan, arigatou…."

"Cut it, brat," Tsunade said half-heartedly as she patted him on the back, "Now, get packing, I'm sure your girls are waiting for you."

"Hai… Tsunade-sama," Naruto said before turning, and walking away, "I'll try to keep in contact with the village."

That was the last she ever heard of him as he waved and disappeared in a flash of light. As Naruto reappeared in his apartment, he looked around, seeing no one there.

"Jaina-chan? Lina-chan?" Naruto asked as he walked around, before seeing a note on the table.

Gone out walking. Should be back in a moment.

Naruto relaxed when he saw the note, before taking it and walking back into his room. He had stuff to pack, and more importantly, he needed to plan a few things in advance. A few scrolls were taken out as he inspected each of them, checking if they had any contents. He paused as he looked at a single one, which had the kanji for 'Forbidden'. His own Forbidden Scroll which was mainly used to study a counter against Kabuto's Edo Tensei and other possible kinjutsus that Akatsuki might use. He considered destroying it, before shaking his head and sealing it away. He might need it again someday when there was more trouble. As he packed, he also took hold of the headband Tsunade gave him, and, pausing in the middle of his packing, and with scrolls strewn about, he placed it on where he once had the leaf insignia, and tied it around his head, letting the loose bit fall like his old one did. Sensing the door open, he paused his packing as he stood up and walked out of his room, meeting the two.

"Hi," he said casually as he walked even closer and, all of a sudden, swept both of them off their feet, eliciting yelps of surprise, "Miss me much?"

"Can you put me down please…?" Lina asked meekly, "As much I would like you holding me like this, it's making me dizzy…"

"Same…" Jaina replied as Naruto placed them down, looking a bit sheepish, "Sorry, I'll be more careful. How was the walk?"

"They were glaring at us for no reason…" Lina began but Jaina cut her off.

"Lina, I think it's because they're looking for a culprit to blame for Naruto's departure… since it's not Mei, it could only be us."

"Again with the prejudice…" Naruto sighed, "Never mind that, we're going to leave without them noticing. I've already put this apartment up to baa-chan for sell, all that's left is to get your keys back and our stuff packed. I don't need to bring a separate bed do I?"

"Well… it is quite comfortable… more comfortable than the beds we have anyways…" Lina said, "Can I have one too?"

"Well… you can have this one then," Naruto said, "I don't want to attract attention when we leave…"

"Speaking of that, how will we leave?" Jaina asked curiously as Naruto replied, walking back into his room.

"Hiraishin."

"Leaving so soon without a goodbye?" Kakashi's voice suddenly floated through the air as Naruto looked back. A shadow materialized itself out of the wall as Kakashi stood there, hands in his pockets and looking bored.

"Stealth is what we do, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, "Don't worry, I'll complete that last mission of assassinating Yakushi Kabuto, rest assured."

"That's not what I meant, Naruto," Kakashi said as he sighed, "But I doubt anything I say will persuade you to stay, so, Ja ne! Here's a present from me too, I see Tsunade-sama has given you a hitai-ate of Uzushio."

"Nani?" Naruto asked as Kakashi handed him a small packet, and as Naruto opened it, he saw a pendant.

"It was something your mother used to wear often. When she died, I took it before anyone could raid the bodies," Kakashi explained as Naruto opened it up. It was a picture of Kushina and Minato, together, smiling on their wedding day.

"I…" Naruto was at a loss for words, and Kakashi patted his head, causing Naruto to growl in annoyance as Kakashi laughed, remembering that from a long time ago.

"You know, growing tall must be in your genes," Kakashi smiled, "Your father had always been taller than me even at the end of my growth, and now you're taller than I am. Minato-sensei and Kushina-san must be proud of you."

"…Domo arigatou, Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto said as he stowed it away into a personal seal on his shoulder, "Demo… what will you have to remember them by?"

"The village, of course," Kakashi crinkled his eye, "They gave their life to protect this village and ensure that we live our life to the fullest. In sorts, I think they still reside here, in the heart of everyone. They will always be here, with us… with you. I'm sure they'll agree with what you're doing, Naruto. They always believed in following the heart and not the shinobi code, both of them."

"I see," Naruto said after a small silence, "Ano… I need to finish packing… then I might pay Hiashi-sama and Hinata-chan a final visit, before I leave…"

"I'll inform him of your eminent arrival then," Kakashi said as he waved, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto standing by the hallway, with the two women looking at him in concern, not hearing the conversation.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Jaina asked as Naruto showed her the pendant. She opened it, and saw the image.

"That's… that's your father and mother, right?" Jaina asked softly as Naruto nodded.

"The only picture I will have of them…" Naruto whispered, "Due to Iwa's hatred, they were never able to be officially married, though everyone knew they were together. They had very little picture, and to protect my safety they were forced to destroy what little remained… This is all I have to remind myself of them…"

Jaina knew that feeling, as the war started she was never able to see her father, when the war ended, she was sent off to Dalaaran, and as this war started he was away with the Kul Tiras, and now she wasn't even sure if he was still alive or not… hopefully he was, as not only did she want her father, she also wanted to introduce Naruto to him. Of course, that was provided he knew where she was. (hehehe…)

As she embraced him, she gently whispered, "You got something of them now, right? You got something to remember them by now, right?"

And as Naruto leaned into the embrace, he quietly whispered as well, "Yeah… I guess…"

They remained like that for a few moments, as Lina joined in, holding Naruto as he slid down onto the floor, eyes closed. Eventually, they separated, though Jaina and Lina were reluctant to let go of him, until he explained he needed to pack. They then let him go, but followed him into his room.

"Whoa…" Lina exclaimed, looking at the mess, "Did you blow a storm around here or something?"

"No…" Naruto said slowly, "I had to make sure I take everything I need with me in case. That reminds me… where is it…"

The two women watched in curiosity as Naruto pulled up a floorboard and took three scrolls out.

"Some of the more deadly stuff was stored here like my father's fuinjutsu scrolls, some of the more dangerous techniques, and of course, some of my own," Naruto explained, holding each of them up for identification. Jaina saw yet two more floorboards overturned, and turned to look at them.

"Those?" Naruto asked, gesturing to them, "One of them was designed for a specific scroll… I might show you later but it's sort of a village secret that I copied when they weren't looking. The other had scrolls that's filled with the blades and weapons I use and spare ones that I might need later on. I might as well as take them out anyways since I'll probably need it there."

"And each scroll can store how many…?" Jaina asked as Naruto stopped for a moment.

"Um… each scroll can hold twenty items… each item is a scroll which held twenty boxes of weapons… each box has around 10 kunai in it, 30 shurikens in it, 4 trench blades in it, or 1000 exploding tags… I have four scrolls of kunais, and ten scrolls of shurikens, eight scrolls of exploding tag, and a scroll of trench blades… so… whoa…"

"I don't like the sound of that…" Jaina commented as Naruto looked at her.

"I have in total 400 kunai, 6000 shuriken, 80 trench knives, and… let's call it enough explosives to level Mount Hyjal, shall we? Why do I even bother with making that many weapons is beyond me…" Naruto muttered, ignoring the looks of surprises from Jaina and Lina.

"Isn't that a bit… overkill?" Jaina asked hesitantly as Naruto shrugged.

"Tenten has around… oh no one knows anymore how much weapons she has on her at any time," Naruto sighed, "With the war going on, we needed as many weapons as possible, and I was lucky enough to be selected for weapon smithing."

Jaina could only raise her eyebrows at the strangeness of the world. Although she had been living with the one described as the "number one most unpredictable ninja", she was still surprised by their habits. Naruto finally packed the final scroll away as he stood up.

"Now to find baa-chan and tell her we're leaving… hope no one sees us on our way out…" Naruto said as he grabbed the two by their waist and teleported right into Tsunade's office.

"Baa-chan!" Naruto yelled, but it wasn't Tsunade there. It was Kakashi as he turned around.

"Ah, Naruto," Kakashi said as he smiled, "Tsunade-sama is away on the meeting with the other nations, and left me in charge here."

"Oh… Souka…" Naruto said as he looked at Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensei…"

"Maa, don't get down like that Naruto," Kakashi smiled, though everyone could see how his eyes betrayed his real emotions, "You're sort of weird when you look down. Wherever you are, I'm sure you'll be able to help them like you did with everyone here."

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied as he took out another headband, a old, tatty blue Konoha headband, "Give this to Iruka-sensei, will you?"

"Why don't you go see him yourself and say your final farewell?" Kakashi asked as Naruto looked away.

"The memorial stone is going to have a lot of people, Kakashi-sensei… I won't be able to leave like that without an explanation. Tell them I'm away on an S-ranked mission… and a few months later report me missing, Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto replied as Kakashi nodded.

"I'm sure he would've wanted to hear your farewells personally, Naruto… but I guess you have a point, he would've wanted you to be happy as well…" Kakashi said as he turned around, "Well… I guess this is it…"

"Hai, sensei," Naruto said as they took each others hands and shook, "Sayonara… Kakashi-sensei…"

Then, in a bright flash of yellow, the three were gone, leaving only Kakashi. No one saw the tears that crept out of Kakashi's single eye, as he turned and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving an echoing voice behind.

Sayonara… Naruto… my student…

Theramore Castle

Sylvanas was just finishing inspecting the arrows when a bright flash blinded her, even as she raised her arm to cover her eyes instinctively, while readying her bow. When the light died down, however, she saw the three.

"Jaina! Lina! Naruto!" Sylvanas exclaimed, "You're done with your trip?"

"Yeah… finally," Naruto said as he turned a bit, "I've severed the last remaining connections with the shinobi world now…"

"So…" Sylvanas trailed off as she saw the other two's looks at Naruto, "I guess it can't be helped then… what will you do here?"

"I can help with some of the work still you know," Naruto replied, "I'm just a little down from leaving, I'll be fine in a few days… once I get my bed up."

"Comfy bed…" Lina said dreamily as Jaina looked at her strangely.

"Right… she's obsessed with the bed…" she said carefully and slowly, "I think you should let her use the bed instead, Naruto…"

"I think so too…" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow, before shaking it off, "Once I'm over this, can I get the troops to assemble?"

"Why…?" Jaina asked as Naruto looked back.

"I noticed that the Scourge, the undead, uses troops en masse, and it's pretty much an observation that anyone can see," Naruto said, "But, your… um, our troops, uses brute force to attack them, which makes it rather… inefficient. I would suggest a hybrid with a focus more on speed and accuracy, as well as upgrading the armor."

"I don't see a lot of problems with the way they fight though…" Sylvanas remarked as Naruto shook his head.

"There isn't. It's just that if there's a more efficient way of doing something, why the hell not use it?" Naruto said as he hugged Jaina and Lina, "I'll bring your stuff to your rooms, Jaina-chan, Lina-chan. Is there a training ground built yet Sylvanas-chan?"

"Yes…" Sylvanas said slowly as she looked at Naruto warily, "Why?"

"Letting my emotions out," Naruto said cryptically as he disappeared in a whirlwind, appearing on the top floor in an instant, depositing their things, before once more disappearing in search of the place.

"Well… I should know better than to run amok next time…" Naruto mumbled, "I should've asked Sylvanas-chan for directions first… Hey!"

The soldier turned, unsure if the weird person was talking to him as Naruto hurried up, "You know where the training grounds are?"

"Oh, that?" the soldier asked as he pointed down a particular direction, "It's around 400 yards that way."

"Thanks," Naruto said as he disappeared in a swirl of wind, leaving the soldier gaping. Said soldier then snapped out of his shock, before heading back to the training grounds. He had a feeling everything's going to get real interesting, real soon.

As Naruto arrived, he took a look, and was amazed by what he saw at the grounds. Although it was essentially just a flat ground where soldiers could practice, Sylvanas had taken it a step further by having various landscapes by the entire region, such as mountainous, plains, and even a river and lake. As Naruto watched, two soldiers, looking at the strange person, decided to take things into their own hands.

"What the hell? This place ain't for wimps, kid," the leading soldier said. At 5ft 8, he was considerably tall and well built, "This is for soldiers, you ain't a soldier by your build."

"Not exactly…" Naruto said, trying to find an excuse fast, "I'm employed by Lady Proudmoore as one of her guards."

"A kid for security details? Has she gone mad?" the leading soldier barked a laugh, "Kid, no one's going to believe you."

"Unfortunately…" Naruto mumbled, before the soldier looked at him.

"Wait a minute… I know you… you're the so-called "new guy" that was kicking ass all over the place!"

"Wha…?" Naruto was at a complete lost as the soldier stood against him, glaring up. A soldier nudged him, hard, even as he stood his place against the shorter soldiers.

"You're the kid that made us look bad," the soldier replied, "Out of nowhere, you popped up, and began decimating the Scourge and Horde waves after waves… you're making us all look bad… what the hell is your problem having to do that?"

"Isn't it the job of a soldier to do whatever he can…?" Naruto said slowly, trying to reason with him. His first reaction was to retort hotly, though Kakashi had always taught him the importance of information, thus he withheld his comments until the next one came.

"How would you feel if someone popped out of nowhere and made us look bad like that?" the soldier said, "Hell, I bet it's only something the higher-ups cooked up to boost moral… tell you what, it ain't working! I bet I can take you down in a single punch! I bet you haven't even been through as much as any of us have!"

"That's it…? You're jealous that I'm killing more?" Naruto said incredulously, before glaring back full force. Being 6ft 5, he was a heck lot taller than the man, and as he glared back even the soldier had to stand back a bit, "Do you even know how it feels to take lives? Because if you don't, you're going to be saying those things…

I know their origins. They aren't reincarnated dead… they're literally living beings who lost their minds… and yet you think killing them is like slaughtering animals? This isn't a game of who can kill more, who can defeat more, or who can gain the greater glory…" Naruto said back, his rage now flaring up, as is his chakra, whipping around in strands of blue. Various people gasped at the power outage he was giving out.

"I've been through way worse than you have… but if you want humiliation that badly…" Naruto said darkly, with the attention of everyone gathered around the four now, "Then come at me with all you got."

"Your death, kid," the soldier said, ignoring the atmosphere, as he sent a powerful, but slow right hook at Naruto, who stood still and let the soldier punch him. To everyone's surprise, Naruto didn't even flinch as he looked back.

"That's it? That's what you call a punch?" Naruto laughed, "I've been punched harder by a girl my age! She sent my flying over three hundred feet, yet you can't even make me budge.

So now, it's my turn."

As soon as Naruto said that, he disappeared, slamming his fist into the man's stomach, sending him tumbling end over end. The man struggled to get back up as Naruto moved forward, his eyes bleeding red from the raw emotion and a hint of Kyubi's chakra. Despite his new control, the combination of extreme emotion plus the chakra still left it malevolent enough to make it red once more.

"Do not presume to know what lives are like when you take them, because you won't until the day you die," Naruto said solemnly, "If you think you know, you. Are. An. Idiot."

"You have no right to judge me…" the soldier gasped out, blood on his mouth, "Have you ever taken a soul?"

"Yeah, I have," Naruto replied, "I took my first life when I was twelve. Under orders."

"Wha…?" the soldier was the one astounded now, "That's…"

"That's the precise reason why Lady Proudmoore deigned me one of her guards; not just that my age is similar to hers but also the fact that I know these things. I came here to let out some steam, yet this happens…"

"What…?"

"Meet me here two days from now, tell your company to come too," Naruto said cryptically before turning around and disappearing into the forest, "I think I got Jaina's permission in any case…"

The group of soldiers were stunned by the seemingly random outburst except for two who had just entered the grounds, Jaina seeing the fields that Sylvanas mentioned along with said person, here to display the fields. As the soldiers looked back, they suddenly stiffened and bowed.

"Lady Proudmoore!" they chanted in unison as Jaina bowed back slightly, "We were not expecting you to be back so soon."

"It's fine…" Jaina said before the soldier that got hit asked.

"Lady Proudmoore… I think you saw the entire thing, correct?"

"Yes, I have, and I must say, I'm quite ashamed of your actions," Jaina replied sternly, "I did request him as a security detail, though he did more than that. He's my friend, and I know his history well enough that anything we've faced so far is comparatively nothing for him."

"Ma'am?" the soldier asked, confused, as Jaina shook her head.

"It is not my place to tell you his story, but do be here by the time he designated you. I have gotten approval from your commander for him to assist in your training."

"Ma'am… if I am to be so bold as to ask?" the soldier piped up as Jaina turned around, about to leave, "What will he be teaching us then?"

"Truthfully, I have no idea," Jaina was about to say more but a sudden gust of wind blasted over them. Overhead, a flock of birds left their perch even as a bright light flashed, and a blaze of bright (Note 1, see end of chapter) fire roared in the shape of a dragon. The soldiers stood still at the display of power.

"I faced a guy who could launch fire dragons hot enough to make it not just white but bright…?" the soldier muttered, "I'm never doing that again…"

Jaina sighed even as she saw Lina moving to the forest, concern evident on her face, as Jaina moved away to look at the administrative work that Sylvanas couldn't solve on her own. There was a lot, and she wanted it over with as soon as possible so life could be a bit easier.

Naruto

Naruto had just begun to leap through the forest when he felt a mental tug, similar to those when the Kyubi tried to talk to him. Without thinking much of it, he stopped, created two clones that served as lookout, and dove into his mind.

"Kyubi?" Naruto asked, "What did you want?"

It was not Kyubi's voice that answered him, nor was it from the cage.

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

Finally, I got this done. The next chapter will come out as soon as possible. And before you ask or comment, yes I know, this was made up of random ideas that just popped up until the very ending, or at least the meeting. Review if you wish, give me some constructive criticism is better. Can anyone guess who the person is? :D

Note 1: The bright fire dragon, in my statement, is the hottest possible fire the Karyuu Endan is capable of. For example, there's orange fire, where its just normal, yellow is hotter, blue is very hot, white is crazy, and bright means that it's so powerful it can't be described as a color anymore.