Not Alone, Not Anymore

by Cyb0rg67

Shintaro has made his fair share of choices all having consequences and his most recent one will be one that will impact everyone's life both in past, present, and future. That choice is to prevent the death of Naruto Uzumaki. Follow Shintaro in his quest as he puts everything on the line for one boy that'll change the world. Mainly focuses on OC then alternates to Naruto later

11. The Clone's Catastrophe in the City

Chapter 11

The girl was resting on the rooftop of her house after the sparring match she had with her big brother/sensei. Her training outfit had mild cuts, and tears along with a few bruises around her body while the boy simply had his kimono dirtied up a bit. Oh sure he'd taken a few hits from his sister, but his body healed faster than others, he was really impressed with how far his sister had gone in a short amount of time. Both were admiring the quiet, and peaceful nature that surrounded their house admiring it's beauty like an oasis in a desert. However, he boy was currently deciding what to do after gaining knowledge that another riot broke out in the village known as Konohagakure.

"Things just keep getting worse." the boy said tiredly shaking his head

"Sens-"

"Hey, knock that off will ya? Remember what I said when we're like this? You've earned the right to loosen up around me, you've really come far with your training Sis. Right now I just want to talk to my sister." the boy said with an eye smile to his sister who nodded happily

"Thanks Niichan. So, how long before we...you know." the girl said nervously

"Leave this kami forsaken village?" the boy asked knowing her question

"Y-Yeah, Niichan...do you really have a way to get to my parents?"

"I do, and thank you for reminding me about that. Listen, the preparations are almost complete for us to get out of here without being hunted down like dogs. There's just a few things that need to be done." the boy said seriously

"What's left then Niichan? If there's anything I can do please I want to help." the girl said determined to help

"I'm glad you asked actually. There's something I'm gonna need you for, and it's something only you can do." the boy said

"What is it? I'll do anything Niichan, anything!"

"I'll tell ya, I'll tell ya. Calm down already alright?"

"S-Sorry, I'm just..."

"It's fine, I can hardly blame you. Now, listen closely ok?" the boy said as the girl did so

"I'm going to need you to come with me right now on my scouting trip." the boy said dead serious as the girls widen

"Niichan...you don't mean?"

"Yup, we're paying a visit to Konohagakure's hero, the seventh Hokage, the man who led the charge against my village...Sasuke Uchiha, head of the Uchiha clan, predecessor to the 6th Hokage Danzo Shimura...both who'd played a part in my parents death." the boy said angrily with venom in his voice clenching his fist

"We're going to make him get us to leave, and he'll do it gladly." the boy said with a bittersweet grin on his face though it was hard to tell with the mask on his face

"H-How?" the girl asked nervously

"Simple, I'm going to hand over the one thing he wants the most. The preservation of his clan along with the assurance that Konoha will survive."

"A-And how..."

"Just wait until we get there alright? It'll be a surprise." the boy said neutrally as he dropped down from the house followed by his sister

"W-We're leaving now?" the girl said

"Yeah, come on. We've got a Hokage to persuade, and a village to save after all don't we?" the boy said faking heroism chuckling evily to himself as his adopted sister looked at her brother nervously, and with sorrow

"Niichan...please don't change on me again. I spent too long working to see you back to normal, I just want things to go back to normal." the girl thought to herself as she walked closely with her brother

---

7:50

With Shintaro's clone (the one who went to take Naruto out for ramen) before the explosion.

"...and that's how I met Naruto most likely saving his life in the process." Shintaro's clone said while taking a bite of his miso ramen.

Shintaro's clone wasted no time finding Naruto to keep this promise to the ramen makers Teuchi, and his daughter Ayame in order to not pay for the outrageous amount of ramen Naruto consumed during Shintaro's talk with the Hokage.

However, when the clone did find Naruto he felt compelled to take Naruto's new friends since they haven't had breakfast yet which led to him taking Fu, Suigetsu, Karin, Hiromi, and even Ranmaru. Since a certain teme was nowhere to be found, and Ling, who is the only other person capable of handling Ranmaru, was already in the Forest of Death at that point the clone took it upon himself to look after the guy after another "accident" caused the second Kushina clone to dissipate much to her annoyance. When the clone arrived with the extra members Teuchi didn't mind so long as he gave a proper full story about them, and paid a small fee for every kid there.

Since there were so many kids there Teuchi had to bring some spare stools he had in the back with an old high chair he had for Ayame that he never had the heart to toss out for Ranmaru to sit down in. Ayame had been listening carefully as well as her old man while he was cooking the ramen, and needless to say they were both heartbroken and in awe of what these kids had to go through without anyone to even help them but themselves

"Oh my gosh! I had no idea there were that sort of people in Konoha! Are you sure you ok Naruto?" Ayame asked in concern

"Yup! Couldn't be better, and what's even better is that I have friends now, and what's even better is that I have a mom now!" Naruto shouted happily with his cheesy grin while gulping down more of his ramen only for Shintaro's clone to smack him on the head

"OW! Why'd you do that for?" Naruto asked almost choking on his ramen

"Don't gulp it down like you're going to die. Chew your food slowly, and keep your mouth shut. Those things I just mentioned they're called manners something you need to learn obviously." the clone said while going back to his own ramen

"Aww fine, but why do you have to teach?" Naruto complained

"Because someone has to, and unless you want your mom telling you the same thing in a more scary way I'd suggest you get this through your head." the clone chastised in a lecturing tone letting Fu and Suigetsu laugh at Naruto's treatment

"Something funny?" the clone said turning to the two snickering children who quickly went back to their meal

"No!" they said in unison while Karin and Hiromi were giggling themselves

"Something you two want to share?" the clone said to the two girls receiving an 'EEP!' from the both of them

"There's a time for talking, and there's a time for eating. Now is the time for you to eat. Because when you guys are done, were heading to the Hokage tower to register you as citizens of Konoha so you can enroll in the Academy. Since today is basically a new semester the time for school doesn't start until...9:30." the clone said neutrally letting the two girls go back to their meal

"But with everything that's bound to happen I'm sure it'll be postponed till tomorrow at the very least." the clone thought to himself

"Sorry Niichan." Hiromi said a little dejected only to get have her head being patted by the clone

"It's fine Hiromi. I'm not saying you can't enjoy your meals with small talk from time to time, but were on a schedule. When all of this is done, I'll take you out for some ice cream how does that sound?" the clone said giving Hiromi an eye smile

"Ice cream! Yay! Thank you Niichan!" Hiromi said giving her brother a grin that matched Naruto's

"Alright! Ice cream! Dibs on vanilla!" Suigetsu shouted

"I want peppermint!" Fu shouted happily

"Can I have strawberry please?" Karin asked meekly

"Me too I want strawberry!" Hiromi said happily

"Ice cweam, ice cweam!" a young Ranmaru said with noodles on his head

"I want orange sherbert!" Naruto said joining in getting looks from Fu and Suigetsu

"Seriously? Do you have to eat orange too? I swear you have an obsession with the color." Fu said looking at Naruto quizzically

"Says the girl with green hair wanting peppermint." Suigetsu said snickering to himself

"Whatever." Fu said going back to her meal

"Now hold on I-"

"Oh, I think that's wonderful that you're taking them out for ice cream like that. I also love that you're taking responsibility for them, taking measures for their education, and even teaching little Naruto about manners. You're like the ultimate big brother." Ayame said smiling at Shintaro who felt a mixture of feelings at once pride, hurt, even a small ping of sadness from that current statement Ayame made which was shown in his eyes that Teuchi caught.

"Hey boy, are you alright?" Teuchi asked snapping Shintaro out of it

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just….I used to have a twin brother….and a younger sister, a blood-related sister, before I adopted Hiromi. They uh….passed a long time ago 'All because of me' both at a young age….after my parents also….passed away before them." the clone said solemnly with his head down quietly finishing his meal upsetting Ayame

"Daddy!" she said slightly angry at her father who realized his mistake

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had-"

"It's fine, you didn't know. I've been trying to move on for years now, but it's proving more difficult than I thought." the clone said looking away

"Are you ok Niich-I mean Shintaro?" Hiromi asked trying not to act insensitive

"Hiromi, I've told you before I don't mind you calling me by my name or as your bigger brother. Even though Ai….my sister is gone, I still have you. You don't need to be blood-related to be my younger sister. Why? Because I love you like one that's why, and the fact that your smile reminds me of her so much." the clone said reassuring her by rubbing her head gently

"And I made a promise to return you to your parents once I find out a way to get you there. And I always do my best to keep my promises. After all, that's what a Niichan like me is for right?" the clone said giving Hiromi an eye smile

"sniff, that was….beautiful." a choked up voice said

"Oh, I'm sorry Aya-oh….Teuchi-san?" the clone said looking at the old ramen chef wiping away anime tears of his face

"Just like my stories." Teuchi said continuing to weep anime tears

"Daddy! Ugh! I'm sorry, he gets like this sometimes." Ayame said annoyed at her father's reaction

"It's fine, kinda releases the tension anyways. So is everybody done?" the clone asked the children who all nodded except a certain orange clad boy who kept his mouth shut as he silently finished his meal

"Naruto…." the clone said to the blonde boy who jerked

"Aww come on! I've only had 3 bowls, and they're not even the large ones." Naruto complained as he was about to order another bowl

"It's called budgeting, and last time I checked I not only had to pay for everyone's meal, but your past freebies as well. You need to learn a thing called moderation, which means not going to the extremes of what you need or want. That includes ramen." the clone said lecturing Naruto who begrudgingly agreed

"Fine, but you better keep your promise about the ice cream." Naruto said getting off his seat

"Fine, alright come here Ranm-aaand you're a mess….great. Sigh….you guys got any napkins I can borrow...and some spare clothes?" the clone asked looking at Ranmaru who was smiling not caring at the mess he made of himself despite the bowl that held ramen now on his head

"Sure, they're in the back. I'll go get them, just wait a minute ok?" Ayame asked while heading to the back of the store to get the napkins.

After properly cleaning off Ranmaru of his food, and changing him into a large purple shirt/short combo the gang thanked the two ramen chefs, and headed off to make at least the youngest of them citizens of Konoha.

On their way the group with Shintaro leading with Hiromi holding Ranmaru, and Karin beside her while Suigetsu was talking with Fu and Naruto in the back got multiple types of looks from murderous glares to confused stares from the villagers because of the fact the child that they despised was around normal children his age, and even talking to him like they were friends or something.

This brought the attention to Fu who dealt with this before

"Hey Naruto." Fu said getting his attention

"Yeah Fu, you need something?" Naruto said

"Can I ask you a question?" Fu asked

"Sure, what is it?" Naruto answered curiously

"I noticed that everyone, from the adults to the older kids anyways, seems to hate you. Or at least are trying to stare you to death. Did you do something to make them mad or something?" Fu asked Naruto

"No….at least not that I know of anyways. Ever since I was born everyone tried to ignore me like I didn't exist. I've pulled a couple of pranks to get them to notice me, but that hardly ever works or long. Even the kids don't like me for some reason, and I haven't even done anything to them. They called me names like Demon, Monster, Fox Child, and a whole other mean names." Naruto said sullen about how they treated me making Fu ask another question to confirm her suspicion

"Uh, Naruto? Did any type of huge monster attack your village at some point? Or do you guys fear like a giant bear, or dog or something?" Fu asked Naruto

"Yeah, the Kyuubi attacked the village 5 years ago on my birthday, which was yesterday, but the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi losing his life in the process. It's one of the most famous stories they talk about around the village." Naruto said thinking about it confirming Fu's suspicion

'He's just like me! No wonder everyone hates him, but why doesn't he know about his tailed beast?' Fu thought to herself

'Because Kurama is not one for small talk, and that seal containing him is really advanced even more so than the one keeping me in here. It also looks like they're not allowed to talk about or something otherwise they'd be executed at least that's what I think.' Choumei said to Fu

'Kurama? Which one is he?' Fu asked curiously

'He's the Nine Tailed Fox or Kyuubi for short, and he's the most powerful of us tailed beast. He's also the most crankiest, stubborn, and arrogant ass of a brother I've ever had.' Choumei said with annoyance

'Brother!? You guys are related? But how? You're a locust, and he's a fox….are you messing with me!?' Fu said skeptically with frustration

'Yes, were related child. We're just not your regular type of siblings you humans have. It's complicated, I'll explain it to you when you're older when you can handle complicated things.' Choumei said going silent frustrating Fu that her intelligence was insulted but ignored it for now

'Huh, I wonder if I should tell him...eh why not?' Fu thought to herself shrugging

"Hey Naruto, can I tell you a secret?" Fu asked Naruto

"Uh….I'm not sure, people tell me I have a big mouth, and I don't want you to be mad at me after I just met you. But if it's really important I'll do my best to keep quiet!" Naruto said loudly making Fu sweat drop

"It's not my secret I want to tell, actually I could care less if everyone knew my secret. It's your secret that I want to tell you about." Fu said confusing Naruto

"My secret? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked confused

"We're here." Shintaro said to everyone as they stood at the entrance of the Hokage Tower

"I'll tell you about it later." Fu whispered to Naruto who nodded curious to what she knew about him that he didn't.

---

7:55

Walking up the stairs to the Hokage's office Shintaro noticed that someone else was in there talking to the Hokage, and it seems they were in a heated discussion as well. Wanting to get out of here fast as possible Shintaro knocked loudly getting the attention of whoever was inside.

"Enter!" Hiruzen said loudly, and stressed through the door. Walking in with the rest to follow Shintaro, and the others saw who was the Hokage talking to not recognizing anyone in their other than the Hokage….except for Fu who saw someone that made her eyes wide in fear, and her knees shake barely holding her up.

There were two hunter nin from Takigakure, and a small boy around Shintaro's age if not older by a few years.

The young boy had black eyes, and long dark brown hair that was tied into a low ponytail, and was wearing simple clothing that consisted of a green shirt, and grey pants with simple ninja sandals. There were also 3 elderly people that seemed to not be happy about the situation, two old men and one elderly woman (you know who I'm talking about).

"That's the girl!" a hunter nin said rushing to grab Fu only to be kicked in the throat by Shintaro landing in front of Fu protecting her by throwing two kunai at him; one next to his throat making a small cut bleeding a bit, and the other went to his mask cracking in two falling from his face revealing an adolescent male around 17 years old that Shintaro recognized, but couldn't place his face.

"Touch the girl, and the next one goes in between your eyes." Shintaro said deadly serious standing in front Fu with kunai in both hands.

This prompted the two elderly men and woman to simply observe Shintaro while the visiting child to cower in fear behind the remaining hunter nin who then got into an attacking position only to be stopped by the Hokage's voice.

"Enough! I will not have fighting in my own office." Hiruzen said in his commanding Hokage voice making the hunter nin ease up from his attacking position, it helped that raised his killer intent just a tad. However Shintaro seemed hesitant only easing up slightly keeping the kunai in his hand.

"I said that was enough Shintaro." Hiruzen said directly into his eyes with Shintaro not being phased as usual

"Always keep your guard up in unfamiliar territory. Especially if there are known enemies nearby looking for your allies. Otherwise you might as well give up." Shintaro said staring back into his eyes

"A wise philosophy, don't you think Koharu?" one of the elderly men said

"Agreed Homura, he actually reminds me of him don't you think Danzo?" the elderly Koharu said to the elderly bandaged man who merely grunted in response

"That's enough you three. Shintaro what are you doing here?" Hiruzen said wanting an answer

"I was going to ask if you can make an appointment to arrange their citizenship for Konoha, but now I'm going to ask why are there Taki hunter nin in Konoha?" Shintaro asked crossing his arms aggravating the hunter nin Shintaro kicked away

"You already know the answer to that you little sh-" but he was interrupted by a kunai thrown at the other side of his neck shutting him up

"Watch your language. There are children present, and yeah I know what you were talking about idiot. I was just looking for an excuse to shut you up again. However, I don't give a damn because Fu's not going back to Taki….period." Shintaro said looking at the teenager with cold unforgiving eyes.

"Uh, c-can I say something please?" the boy asked nervously

"Speak then, and make it quick." Shintaro said turning his gaze to the boy

"Shintaro, this boy, as young as he is, is the current leader of Takigakure, and he has come all this way to talk to Fu. His name is Shibuki, and I would appreciate it if you didn't make it incredibly difficult for him to talk." Hiruzen said seriously only to receive a snicker from Suigetsu

"This chump is the leader of Moss Head's old village?" Suigetsu said with Shibuki nodding only for Suigetsu to burst out laughing on the floor

"Pfffft Hahahahaha! Oh, that's rich! Hehehehe-OW!" Suigetsu yelled from being hit on the head by Shintaro.

"That's enough Suigetsu. As unusual as it is to have a child lead a village, is it any less weird for a 10 year old to lead a large group of children his age or younger?" Shintaro said in a lecturing tone.

"No." Suigetsu answered getting up knowing the answer

"Then you need to be polite to him, that's the least you can do for him." Shintaro said chastising Suigetsu

"Hmpf, fine. So what village in their right mind would let a kid be leader anyways?" Suigetsu asked cynically

"Agreed, although I would have worded it differently, but yeah; why are you leader of Takigakure anyways?" Shintaro asked Shibuki

"M-my father passed away not too long ago, and with no one else to lead the position of leader was given to me." Shibuki said in a sad tone

"Oh, my condolences. However, just because you're old man passed doesn't give you the right to control the fate of a girl forced to be your guardian or weapon from the other villagers if you want to put it that like that. Even though they're hated for something the village chose for them, and are forced to live with a burden given by the village they trusted to live in; the village will do anything to keep themselves in power. I'm sure there are others who would agree with that statement." Shintaro said turning his cold hardened gaze to Hiruzen who remained calm, and the other 3 Elders in the room who held a neutral look then back to Shibuki.

"I'll admit that Fu has mentioned you, and how you were at least decent to her when she was in the village. However, she also mentioned the abuse, neglect, beatings, starvation, and other unmentionable things she had to endure while serving as your guardian to your village." Shintaro said staring down Shibuki who look ashamed hearing this.

"Tell me something Hokage-sama, even with Fu as their jinchuuriki what military power does Takigakure even have? Because it wasn't hard to find that village on my own, let alone sneaking Fu out of there. I swear you people should only be called a hidden village solely because its behind a waterfall. I swear I could've handled your entire "Shinobi" forces in about an hour or two. I knew their patrol route, I knew their weaknesses, their headquarters, I mean when your "guard", if you can call them that, is capable of being fooled by some booze you've seriously hit a new low. I'm seriously doubting you have any competent military power at all." Shintaro said face palming at the very poor condition of Takigakure military power

"They don't have any at all. In fact the only dangerous Shinobi they produced was a man named Kakuzu who went rogue to assassinate our First Hokage, and though a worthy opponent even he failed in the end." Danzo said dismissing Taki in every regard prompting the hunter nin that Shintaro kicked to rebel.

"Hey! We might not be powerful as one of the 5 great nations, but we still have our pride as shinobi." the hunter nin said angrily shaking his fist at Danzo with Shintaro snapping his finger remembering his face.

"I remember you! You were the idiot guard that let us through with Fu." Shintaro exclaimed while said idiot guard was trying to deny it

"N-no, you got the wrong guy. I'm sure you're mistaken." the hunter nin said shakily

"No, it was definitely you. I can never forget the face of an idiot. I thought it was gonna be a nightmare to get Fu out, but nope; all we needed was some booze, a henge, a little genjutsu, and boom free passage out of Taki." Shintaro said with the guard/ hunter nin quickly retreated his fist trying to hide his face in shame.

"See what I mean?" Danzo said unmercifully

"I-I know were not the strongest village, but that's why we need Fu to protect ourselves." Shibuki said

"That's what those old farts back at the village would always say! But they really just don't want to lose me as their precious weapon. Speaking of which where are they? Are they too scared to face me outside of their own village?" Fu said accusingly

"T-They wanted to come, b-but I convinced them to let me come alone. I-I thought I could convince you to come back on my own." Shibuki said nervously

"So you people can go back to treating me like I'm not even human!? I'm not going back to Taki Shibuki! I'm tired of being there just so you can pretend to be an actual village of Shinobi, the only real Shinobi I've seen are those we hire from the actual hidden villages, and even they think we're weak which we are. I'm not going back Shibuki, and that's final!" Fu yelled at Shibuki gaining back her confidence.

"But Fu-" but Shibuki was interrupted by the child jinchuuriki

"I said...NO!" Fu yelled louder with a huge burst of red chakra began overflowing through her body covering her completely as it started to change her facial features giving her hair a more wild look, her canines began growing sharper and longer and, her pupils were starting to change into something else, but were stopped once she felt hands on her shoulder that turned her around shaking her trying to snap out of it.

"Fu! Stop it, you need to calm down now!." Shintaro yelled at Fu making the blue chakra flow back into Fu the changes to her body now gone the only difference is being her shaking not from her being angry but her crying.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it I swear! I-I was just scared, angry, that I was going to be taken from you. I'm sorry I'm so, so sorry." Fu said crying now scared that she just messed everything up for her only to be hugged by Shintaro.

"It's ok, you're not going anywhere. I'm right here, everything is going to be ok. I'm not mad at you, I'm not mad all, but I told you it's not ok to use Choumei's chakra like that. Not until you're older, and have a better idea of how to use that." Shintaro said trying to comfort and lecture Fu at the same time

"Sniff, ok. You promise? You'll help me control Choumei's power?" Fu said wiping the tears off her face looking into Shintaro's eyes

"Promise." Shintaro said now with Fu hugging back.

While this was going on Hiruzen was about to send for his anbu who were about to act themselves, but stopped to see that Shintaro managed to keep Fu calm though they were still alert for the next time it would happen. However, Danzo and the other two elders were merely observing paying attention to every detail, every word they both said….especially the part when Fu mentioned Shintaro helping her control her jinchuuriki powers.

Meanwhile when Fu was having her little temper tantrum the other kids weren't so….calm, Ranmaru was crying with Hiromi trying to calm him down, Karin was whimpering in fear, and Suigetsu and Naruto hugging each other thinking the same thing.

'I really don't want to make her mad at me like that.'

"Uh….Fu, was that the secret you were talking about?" Naruto asked nervously with Fu snapping out of it grabbing the attention of the 3rd Hokage.

"Um….sigh, yeah that was the secret. Listen Naruto, I get it if you're scared and don't want to be my fr-"

"Are you kidding me!? Fu, I may not be smart, but I can figure out things if people explain it well enough. I don't know who Choumei is, and I don't know what the heck kind of power was that, but I'm not tossing a new friend I made just because they were forced into something they didn't want to do. You're my friend, and that's that!" Naruto said firmly

"Same here Moss head, when you told me about your….captive I'll admit I was a little freaked out, but I figured if she stays inside of you then I got nothing to worry about. We're friends, and friends don't back out on each other right Karin?" Suigetsu said to Karin who was trying to speak up

"A-are y-you ok Fu? O-or are you s-still mad?" Karin asked nervously

"I'm fine Karin, really. I'm sorry I scared you, really I am." Fu said earnestly

"I-it's ok, just p-please try to keep that scary c-chakra inside please." Karin said a little shaken up

"Sure, I'll do my best." Fu said nervously smiling with Karin returning it with her own smile that she tried to manage

"Ok, now that this drama done and over with can we settle on what to do with the fear induced Taki "ninja" over there cowering in the corner." the Shintaro clone said pointing to the said trio trying to regain their composure

"F-Fu? A-Are you ok?" Shibuki asked nervously

"I'm fine Shibuki, but that doesn't mean I'm coming back with you." Fu said annoyed

"That's enough, all of you be quiet!" Hiruzen commanded in his Hokage voice

"Now, Shintaro did you have knowledge of her being a jinchuuriki before you met her?" Hiruzen asked

"No, when we first met it was in a familiar fashion of when I met Naruto, and on the first day no less. When we brought Fu in we asked about her parents she told us that she didn't have any. Then we asked why were those people after, and then she got really quiet, and nervous not wanting to tell us anything. Then after a few minutes of silence Fu caved in, and told us about….Choumei, and how she's been treated in Taki."

"I didn't care about Fu being a jinchuuriki, what I did care about was how they were treating a 5 year old girl just because they can't tell the difference between a giant seven tailed locust made out of chakra, and a tiny helpless 5 year old girl. Some of us were hesitant to bring her because we knew they would send hunter nin after Fu, but I convinced them to bring her with us, and viola we're here now." the clone explained

"I see, Shibuki-san if we were to take Fu in return for sending some of our own ninja to train yours as well as compensate for your loss of your jinchuuriki. Would that be acceptable to you?" Hiruzen asked respectively

"Uh….how much will you be willing to pay for Fu?" Shibuki asked after thinking about it

"Shibuki-sama you can't be serious. The Jinchuuriki a major asset to us, you can't just sell her off for a few r-"

"8,500,000 ryo. From my own bank account funds as well." Danzo interrupted

'This is a wonderful opportunity to boost our power. Another jinchuuriki would put us among Iwa, and Kumo who have two jinchuuriki's. A few shinobi, and some, or rather a large amount of money is a small sacrifice in order to gain such power. Also, it seems the company this child has brought has bolstered our ranks considerably. Reviving a Sanin, our previous jinchuuriki, bringing members of the Kaguya, Yuki, Yama, Kesshō, Hozuki, and even Uzumaki clan….this child whoever he is has brought great power to Konoha whether he knows it or not.'

'That's not even considering his talents as well as his friends who come from "No village" all who seem to wear masks to hide their identity, but for what? Maybe it's time to put those two on their first infiltration mission.' Danzo thought to himself as he surprised Hiruzen with his interruption

"I did not expect you of all people to be so….generous with money, especially when it's your own Danzo." Hiruzen said looking straight at Danzo studying him

"Takigakure are our allies, it would be wrong to leave them completely defenseless against foreign invaders, and it would be militarily unwise to leave Taki out for other villages to exploit. Wouldn't you agree Homura, Koharu?" Danzo said to the other two elders

"Agreed, not to mention we would be able to intimidate Kumo, and Iwa from ever fighting us since we'll also have two tailed beasts which would discourage other villages from attacking yours when your ninja have been properly trained." Homura said

"We do not even have to enlist the girl as one of our own. If she stays in Konoha then chances are she'll be obligated to help us in an invasion scenario if she still wants a place to live." Koharu said neutrally with Fu already losing trust in the 3 elders

"Is that satisfactory Shibuki-san?" Hiruzen asked

"Y-yes that'll do, and thank you Danzo-sama for your generosity towards my village." Shibuki said while bowing his head

"Think nothing of it." Danzo said neutrally nodding his head

"Very well then, I'll arrange for Fu's citizenship papers as a member of Konoha, but to avoid any more confusion. Will Fu please state whether she wants to join Konoha as a citizen only or as a ninja in the future? So we'll know what education center to send you to." Hiruzen said

"I….if I choose to be a ninja are you going to tell everyone about Choumei, and me?" Fu asked Hiruzen

"Who's Choumei? Is she one of your friends?" Hiruzen asked Fu with genuine curiosity

"She's the….you know the tailed beast in me." Fu said trying to act respectful

"The Nanabi?" Hiruzen asked for clarification

"Her name is Choumei. I may not like her much, but she has a name, and her name is Choumei." Fu said defending her captive

"I see, I was not aware that the tailed beasts had names." Hiruzen said surprised about the Nanabi's name

'That's because you people only see them as mindless beasts of destruction.' Shintaro thought to himself

"We'll announce that we have the Nanabi, or Choumei, in our possession, but announce that the previous jinchuuriki, which would be you, has died. This way if anyone has any ideas of kidnapping you they would have to look or another person. It will be up to you whether or not you want to tell people about….Choumei." Hiruzen said carefully

"Hm….fine, I'll think about being a ninja then I guess, but I want Shintaro the only one to teach me about how to use Choumei's power, and if I become a ninja I want all of the teachers at the academy to know who I am in regards to being a jinchuuriki. Naruto told me about how his teachers ignore him at school for no reason, and how no one told him about the fact that he's-"

"Fu, from what I learned from observing the villagers, and how they react when they see Naruto; it seems that they're required to….avoid saying certain things about him. Am I wrong Hokage-sama?" Shintaro's clone said interrupting Fu

"Yes, there is a law that applies to a….certain subject regarding Naruto." Hiruzen said carefully

"Things like what old man? Is there something I should know?" Naruto asked out of nowhere startling Hiruzen suddenly remembering he was there.

"So you are keeping it a secret from him!" Fu said accusingly

"Fu, not every village works like the way you want it to. Sometimes they have stupid rules that "protect" others from whatever excuse they see fit. So even though you may not like it, you'll have to obey those stupid rules unless they say otherwise. Understand?" the Shintaro clone said in a lecturing tone

"Yes." Fu grumbled

"Yes, what?" Shintaro said egging her

"Yes, I understand." Fu groaned

"Thank you. Now, I'm sure you have a lot of other things to do Hokage-sama so I'll let you go back to whatever paperwork you have to do. Unless you have anything else you want to add?" the clone said to Hiruzen

"Yes, I do in matter of fact. What about your citizenship status Shintaro?" Hiruzen asked

"It's still no. Unless there is something that is absolutely necessary that I need for me to have citizenship, then I'll consider it." the clone said irritated

"Well, there is the issue of you being the "landlord" of Living District 14. Even though it is not identified a full district it is still property of Konoha, and if you want to own property that belongs to Konoha you need to be granted full citizenship, and be at least 16 years of age unless you have a guardian taking temporary ownership until you are of age. The only way you can own property and not be a citizen of Konoha is under the "Family Business" Act that allows children to undertake a business that their parents owned or someone else in their family, even though they'll need an adult or someone at least 16 years of age to help them. Or the "New Business" Act." Hiruzen explained

"For instance, right in Living District 4 there's a small family restaurant in the area that belongs to someone outside of Konoha that lives in a small village near Kumo. The owner is not a citizen of Konoha, but still pays rent to us so that he may continue his business. He does not have the same rights as a Konoha citizen, but is treated like a guest. Now for the New Business Act that is something else entirely, if you wish to start up anything like a restaurant or a company of your own you would have to send in a request to see if it would pass through regulations."

"Not to mention that the property you "own" belonged to spy's belonging to Iwa which should be under investigation for any secrets they left behind. You're lucky we haven't evicted you already." Danzo said neutrally

"Also, since you have blatantly exposed your….choice of not being a ninja, you need to find a stable income at the end of the month in order to pay for everything that comes with the property as well." Homura said

"There is also the matter of your friends, and whether you should or should not be even under interrogation considering you come from a variety of nations. There is also the fact that you are somehow capable of "controlling" a jinchuuriki's power, and how you plan to help the young girl with her tailed beast." Koharu said adding to what the others said

"New Business Act eh? That gives me an idea, but first..."

"I think you people ask too many questions….,but I see where you're coming from. I'll think about the citizenship." Shintaro lied

"However, if you want to know so badly of how I can help Fu with Choumei, one look in my eyes will tell you enough for now." the clone said taking something out of his eyes to look at the everyone in front of him making their eyes widen in fear, and worry.

"Those eyes...they're, they're..." Hiruzen thought to himself

Shintaro then lowered his head putting whatever he had in his eyes back in there returning to their blue like color.

"If you want to schedule me for a session of 20 questions for a later date fine, but right now I'm going with everyone for some ice cream. Besides I think you have other pressing matters to attend to that don't include me personally." the clone said pointing to huge cloud of smoke in the distance behind them confusing Hiruzen

"What are yo-"

"Hokage-sama! There's been an explosion in Training District 14. There's reason to believe that the explosion originated from Jiraiya-sama's seal around the original Unholy Nests containing Joōbachi. The Aburame clan has already been made aware of this sending me to let you about the current situation. Your orders?" a member of the Aburame Clan said kneeling down in front of Hiruzen making all 4 of the elders widen their eyes in concern, but Hiruzen calmed himself summoning two Anbu

"I want all Jonin, and Anbu present at the gates surrounding the entire area. I also want all Chunin, and Genin present to start a "practice drill" on evacuation. We need to contain the situation as quietly, and efficiently as possible if Joōbachi escapes her prison. We don't need the village panicking now when we can contain the situation. Where is Jiraiya? He was supposed to arrive here a week ago! I want someone to send me that summoning scroll should we need it." Hiruzen said in a commanding tone

"Hai! Hokage-sama!" the two Anbu said quickly before disappearing to carry out their orders

"What actions have the Aburame Clan taken?" Hiruzen asked

"We have sent our elite clansmen to patrol the outer areas of the Unholy Nests. Our Clan head has also taken it upon himself to enable a failsafe should this ever happen….the Konchū no pesuto (Plague of Insects)." the Aburame clan member said seriously

"I see….has he entered the Forest of Death yet?" Hiruzen asked

"He has just left the clan compound Hokage-sama." the Aburame clan member said

"Tell Shibi-san to wait at the gate until some Jonin bodyguards are there to escort him. I don't doubt his abilities nor your elite clansmen, I just would feel more assured if a Clan head would have proper protection." Hiruzen said stating his reasons

"Hai, Hokage-sama." the Aburame clan member said before taking off.

Rubbing his temples to ease the headache he was enduring Danzo decided to leave as well.

"It would seem that this boy has brought more trouble than I thought." Danzo said

"What makes you think he's part of this?" Hiruzen said

"What makes you think he isn't?" Danzo replied before he left with Homura, and Koharu behind him

"Uh….forgive me, but are still getting paid for Fu?" Shibuki asked quietly with Hiruzen sighing heavily planting his face in the piles of paperwork that covered his head.

---

8:09

Walking out of the Hokage tower, and through the streets of Konoha Naruto began to think about everything that happened in the Hokage's office. From the Taki hunter nin's to Shintaro surprising the old man with just literally a look in his eyes, Naruto kept thinking, and thinking….even though he never did a lot of it before

'What did Fu mean by keeping it a secret from me? Why did Shintaro stop her from mentioning something about why the teachers treat me like crap? Why did she ask about the Kyuubi attack? Is there something about me that I don't know about that everyone else knows? I gotta know, but it's like everyone doesn't want to tell me whatever secret I have that everyone else knows. I know! I'll just ask Mom about this. She'll tell me everything about me that I want to know. For now I'll just have to wait until I see mom again she'll tell me I'm sure!' Naruto thought to himself as he walked with the rest of the group towards the ice cream stand

"Alright, I'll take two strawberries, one chocolate, one peppermint, two vanilla's, and one orange sherbert." the clone said taking out his wallet to hand the female vendor the money

"Sure thing, that's 500 ryo each plus tax so that'll be a total of 3,250 ryo." the ice cream vendor said taking out the selected flavors smiling while handing them to the children until it was Naruto's turn who held his ice cream in front of him.

"I wasn't aware you had anyone willing to pay for food much less ice cream." she said giving Naruto a dirty look

"Yes, Naruto does have people willing to pay for things he needs. He also now has a mom who's an ex-jonin that was in a coma now awake, and wouldn't appreciate her son be treated this way." the clone said snatching the ice cream out of her hand giving it to Naruto while shoving the money to her chest walking off shooting her a glare that pierced straight through her soul

"Man is everyone such a hard-ass to you?" Suigetsu said as he was about to take a lick of his ice cream only to be smacked on the arm by Fu

"Don't be so mean to Naruto. I know what it's like to be hated by everyone, and it's not fun. You guys changed all that, but that doesn't mean it still bugs me when people look at others like they did with me for no reason." Fu said as she licked her ice cream

"Gah! Ok, ok calm down will ya? You almost spilled my ice cream damn Moss head." Suigetsu grumbled as licked his ice cream

"It's fine Fu. Sure, I mean everyone in the village may still hate me now, but I have you guys as my friends, I have a mom now, and I'm apparently part of this awesome clan even part as a old as time lineage of a hierarchy...whatever that means, Honoke-nee told me about it though I don't get it all. If anything life couldn't be better for me. But thanks for being concerned anyways." Naruto said smiling sincerely as he licked his ice cream away

"Hey you guys, I need you stay close to each other, and wait for me by that playground over there. Hiromi, and Karin need to go to the bathroom, and Ranmaru needs to clean his clothes again since they're covered in ice cream. I swear that kid needs to learn how to eat properly, its a good thing I got some spare clothes from Teuchi-san I'm taking them to a nearby bathroom close by, I should be back in 10-15 minutes. Stay close, play nice, and don't talk to strangers got it?" the clone said holding a dirty Ranmaru covered in chocolate smiling away to the three children

"Sure." Suigetsu said licking away

"No promises." Fu said playfully

"Fu." the clone chided

"Ok ok, I'll be careful. Gosh your no fun at all." Fu said sighing

"You got it Shintaro!" Naruto shouted in glee

"Alright, be back in a few. Behave!" the clone shouted as he carried a laughing Ranmaru to a bathroom not too far off from the playground.

---

8:16

As the three children finished their ice cream they wondered what they should do while they waited.

"I'm so bored." Fu groaned as she rolled on the grass

"It's only been 5 minutes since Shintaro left. How can you be bored?" Suigetsu asked

"Because I like to do stuff that's why." Fu answered annoyingly

"Hey, you guys want to see who can go higher on the swing?" Naruto asked the two bickering children looked at each other with a competitive look nodding

"Bet I can go higher than the both of you combined." Suigetsu said competitively

"Yeah right, I'm winning this." Fu said with determined certainty

"Nuh uh, I'll beat you all! Believe it!" Naruto said with a huge grin on his face

"Then let's get started already! Right?" Fu said putting her hand in between the two boys

"Right." the two boys said joining their hands together

"On three we'll race to the swings to see who can swing the highest." Fu said with the two nodding "1….2….3!" Fu said as all 3 children raced to the swings.

Fu got their first followed by Naruto then Suigetsu. They began to swing as high as they could laughing, and straining themselves at the same time trying to get higher and higher.

As they continued to swing up, and down Naruto thought he saw someone run past the playground from something or someone.

His suspicions were then confirmed when he heard the screams of a young girl over by the forest heard by all three children

"Hey guys! I think there's someone over there, and I think they're in trouble!" Naruto said as he got off the swing to investigate

"Naruto wait! Shintaro told us to wait here, and I don't you've seen him angry yet! Nor do I think you'd want to." Suigetsu said paling at the memory he saw Shintaro truly angry

"Oh come on you big baby, Shintaro's not gonna kill us for helping someone out." Fu said chasing after Naruto

"Aughhh! Fine, but don't blame me when we get in trouble." Suigetsu said as he ran after the two children.

As Naruto ran towards the screaming sounds of a young girl he had no idea why he was running in the first place. Every kid he'd tried to play with or help out in some way either turned him away or ran away to their parents, but something inside him was telling him to go help whoever screamed….even if it meant more trouble for him. But he couldn't just leave whoever called out alone, no he knew what it was like to be alone in times of need, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all.

Internal debates aside Naruto soon came across the source of the screaming which apparently came from a girl that he'd seen somewhere before, but couldn't quite place her. The reason for her screams were because of 3 older boy bullies messing with her trying to cover something up.

"You meanies leave us alone! Mmmm!" a new younger girl said peeking behind the scared girl sticking her tongue out at the three boys

"A-Aiko-chan, p-please d-don't do t-that. I-I'm s-sorry f-for w-what s-she said, p-please l-leave us alone." the young girl pleaded on the verge of tears

"Are you kidding me? What because you're the Hyuuga heiress you think can apologize, and be done with it? You think so highly of yourself that one little apology is gonna make up for what that little brat did?" one of the boys said angrily

"I-I d-don't t-think like t-that." the young girl said meekly

"Yeah! Hinata-nēchan doesn't think like that you big dummies!" Aiko said defending the girl known as Hinata

"That's it!" of the boys said pushing Hinata out of the way to grab the girl Aiko by her wrist with her resisting

"Aiko!" Hinata screamed worried for Aiko

"Leave her alone!" Naruto yelled jumping from behind the bushes while throwing a rock at the bully's hand that held Aiko

"Hey, isn't that the girl who always passes out when I try to talk to her? Let's see what was her name again?" Naruto thought to himself trying to remember

"I-Isn't t-that the b-boy that tries to talk to me? Y-yes, yes it is. He a-always pulls pranks on the t-teachers when he s-sneaks into class. I-I d-don't know his name though.

"Ow! Who the heck are you?" the boy, whose name on his shirt, Ai said

"The names Naruto Uzumaki of the Uzumaki Clan! Remember it because it'll be the last thing you'll hear, believe it!" Naruto said with his chest puffed up with pride

"Uzumaki Clan? Never heard of it." the boy said unconvinced. Seeing this as an opportunity Aiko bit hard on the boys hand releasing him of his grip letting her run to Hinata

"Ah! Dammit that hurt! I'm gonna get you for that you little brat!" the boy said caressing his hand

"Aiko-chan!" Hinata said grabbing Aiko in a hug

"That's it! Juro, Hiro get the girl! I'll deal with this nobody." Ai said his fellow bullies

"Nuh uh, you'll be dealing with all of us!" Fu said jumping out of nowhere with Suigetsu behind her

"So, you got friends eh? I guess even a nobody like you can other nobodies to hang out with each other." the boy said before being punched flat out in the jaw by Fu causing him to be launched a couple of feet away from where he stood.

"First you interrupt our swing competition, then pick on helpless girls, then call me, and my friends nobodies? Buddy, you are just asking for it." Fu said angrily cracking her knuckles

"Whoa! Where'd you learn how to do that Fu?" Naruto said amazed

"Shintaro taught me the basics, but I know how to take care of myself. Isn't that right Shark boy? Hehehe." Fu chuckles remembering the last sparring match they had

"You just got a lucky shot in!" Suigetsu said protesting with Fu unconvinced

"You just can't admit that you suck a-" but Fu was interrupted by the big jagged rock thrown at her head hard with precision instantly knocking her out by the boy Fu punched in the jaw where a little bit of blood leaked from his mouth.

"That...really...hurt." Ai said rubbing jaw that was filled with pain.

Suddenly as Naruto watched as one of his new friends who defended him fall unconscious with her head bleeding Naruto felt mad….really mad. He never felt this mad before, never felt this much….power, but his anger soon turned to fear once he felt this other anger that was even greater than is if that was even possible. That anger was coming from the same person who was just paying for his ice cream not too long ago, even though it was just a clone it had the same emotions of the original, and it was pissed. However, the original dealt with this kind of anger before, and did it's best to keep calm….well as calm as one could be in this situation.

"You have 3 seconds to leave with your pals before I take all three of you out with 3 kunai." the clone said with absolute seriousness glaring daggers at the frightened bullies.

"1…" he said pulling out one kunai in his hand

"2…" he said drawing another kunai out of nowhere in the same hand in a flash which prompted all 3 boys to run in fear of being killed.

After a few minutes of trying to calm down, and inspecting Fu at the same time the clone began to speak in an emotionless tone

"What happened?" the clone said checking Fu's head startling Naruto who hesitated to answer.

"What...happened?" the clone asked again irritated

"I-I heard screams, and went to check it out. Then I went to check it out to help, and I found those boys about to do something bad to those girls over there. Fu came in and punched one of them then he threw a rock at her, and then she fell down." Naruto said quickly

"What girls?" the clone said again in his emotionless tone

"I-I-I'm s-so s-sorry. S-she g-got h-hurt b-because of us." Hinata said nervously grabbing the clone's attention to look at her, and his eyes widen in pure shock.

His shock was not aimed at Hinata, no he'd prepared himself for the day when he met her; he wasn't however prepared to see the girl behind her alive. She may have been older, but he knew it was her. She looked like Hinata in almost every way, her face, her byakugan eyes, her nose, even her hairstyle was identical, but the only difference he saw between the two was her smile that kept him going throughout life. It was at that moment that the clone had no doubts about Aiko, the girl he saw die before his eyes defying all logic of being alive.

He knew that despite what he saw that day when he lost her she's still alive. He knew that the girl behind Hinata was Aiko Hyuuga, the second heiress to the Hyuuga clan, the girl he watched over since the day she was born, the girl who was taken from him, the girl he promised his mother to protect with his life, the girl he failed to protect as he watched her fall from the river in a basked, the girl who was his entire purpose, who he mourned over was alive.

However, even though this was a miracle by every means he couldn't do anything about the current situation.

"Shintaro, are you ok?" Naruto asked the clone who was doing his best to hold back his tears

"I'm fine, the girl behind her just reminded me of someone I used to know." the clone said turning his head away tending to Fu's injury

"Lady Hinata, Lady Aiko! Are you alright?" a man said coming out of the bushes

"Ko-kun!" Aiko shouted in glee

"Milady are you hurt?" Ko asked Aiko

"Nonono I'm fine, but she's hurt! Help her! She, and the other boys scared off the meanies by beating them up!" Aiko said tugging against Ko's pant leg

"Is this true Lady Hinata?" Ko asked looking at the situation

"Y-yes, t-they h-helped us, a-and the g-girl w-with g-green h-hair got h-hurt by a rock o-one of the b-boys threw." Hinata said doing her best to keep calm

"I see, you children have my thanks as well as the Hyuuga clan's thanks as w-"

"You're welcome, now take them home before any more trouble starts." the clone interrupted picking up Fu bridal style still unconscious with some torn cloth he had from Naruto's shirt wrapped around Fu's injury

"The girl's hurt. She should receive proper medical attention. Follow me, I'll make sure I'll lead you to some help." Ko said concerned

"We take care of our own, and we have medics of our own to heal her. Thanks for your concern, but we lasted 5 years on our own protecting ourselves from every obstacle head on that's come our way." the clone said neutrally

'Though we've have had our fair share of casualties.' the clone thought to himself

"Well, we can't just leave things the way they are. Lady Hiroko-sama will want to thank you for saving her children." Ko said

"Then we can meet up later, or she can come to us. If you want to find us we'll be at the unfinished Living District 14 at the abandoned hotel. Naruto, Suigetsu we're leaving, now." the clone said as he turned away

"Thank you from scaring the meanies away!" Aiko said waving goodbye

"No problem, anytime you need help just call." the clone said neutrally giving Aiko an eye smile

"W-wait, w-what was y-your n-name again? T-the b-boy in o-orange please." Hinata said blushing while fiddling with her fingers

"I-I can p-properly thank h-him, and l-learn his name at the same time."

"Me?" Naruto asked

"You're only one wearing orange idiot." Suigetsu said

"Oh, right hehehe. It's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan!" Naruto said grinning like an idiot giving Hinata a thumbs up

"T-thank y-you Naruto-kun." Hinata said quietly with her head down blushing crimson red

"No problem! Hey, wanna be friends?" Naruto asked

"We should get going Miladies, your parents are probably wondering where you are right now." Ko said as he grabbed the two hands of Aiko and Hinata

"I-I w-would l-like that Naruto-kun." Hinata said shyly with a small smile before she had to leave

"Alright, we need to leave now you guys. I left Hiromi with Karin, and Ranmaru back at the playground; and I don't feel comfortable leaving them there alone like that after what just happened." the clone said walking towards the playground

"Ok." Naruto said as he followed Shintaro

"Told you, when Shintaro's mad he's mad." Suigetsu whispered to Naruto

"I know, I almost peed my pants." Naruto said shivering at the recent memory.

Walking back to the playground the clone could already see Hiromi, and the others in range….with some other kids he didn't recognize that looked like they were talking to her. Not wanting a repeat with Fu, the clone set Fu down on a bench with Naruto, and Suigetsu telling them to wait by the bench in visual sight.

"And stay there." the clone said seriously to which the two boys nodded up and down quickly.

Walking faster now the clone was now in hearing range with Karin holding Ranmaru, and Hiromi who seemed to be already having trouble talking with the locals who were two young girls around Hiromi's age.

"So who's the little guy anyways? Is he your brother or something?" a young girl asked

"N-no, w-we found h-him a-abandoned in a h-house in a s-small village." Hiromi answered meekly

"What!? Who would leave such a cutie like him all alone?" the young girl said drastically

"I-Ino, I-I t-think someone's ccoming." another girl said shyly

"Hiromi, I thought I told you to wait by bench over there. What are you doing here? You had me worried there." the clone said as he finally caught up with Hiromi surprising her

"N-Niichan! I-I was, but Ranmaru-kun was getting restless wanting to go on the slide. T-then a couple of mean girls came by when they wanted to play on the slide, and when I said politely that Ranmaru-kun was playing on the slide they kept saying mean things about me." Hiromi said now starting to cry

"Like sniff my forehead, and how sniff it's too big sniff, and that my sniff bow was ugly." Hiromi said trying to hold in the tears

"Then I came in, and scared off those bullies with some good old fashion butt kicking!" a young blonde girl said punching the air

"I-Ino, you d-didn't have t-to be so mean to them." a young pink haired girl said

"Well, I wouldn't have to be if they weren't such big jerks Sakura." Ino said to her friend

"B-but s-still-"

"Dang it Sakura! We need to boost that confidence of yours same to you missy." Ino said mildly annoyed pointing to Hiromi

"What?" the two girls said

"Well, you have confidence, but apparently only when he's around….I'm sorry who're you again? I wasn't paying attention."

"Name's Shintaro, and I'm Hiromi's older brother. I appreciate you helping her when I went to get some of her friends over there." Shintaro said pointing to the three kids

"No problem, don-hey! Did you just say you're Hiromi's bigger brother?" Ino said in wonder

"Yeah, why?" Shintaro asked

"Well, I'm not sure if you know, but you're sister has some serious confidence issues about her appearance." Ino said pointing to Hiromi said

"Yeah, I noticed, but she only acts like that whenever I'm gone. I'm seriously considering….other methods to boost her confidence when I'm not around." the clone said remembering what he did to gain more confidence in himself

"N-Niichan y-you aren't thinking of p-putting me i-in life or death situations like that crazy lady did with you are you?" Hiromi asked worriedly

"Nononono, nothing so drastic like that….unless you don't improve in the next couple of months." the clone said rhetorically

"Niichan!" Hiromi yelled in concern

"Kidding, kidding." the clone said trying to cheer himself up

"Well, if you don't mind Shintaro can I steal your sister for the day, and show her how to better herself? I'm already working on this lost puppy, but I can handle another for I am the great Ino Yamanaka!" Ino shouted with pride

"Y-you think I'm a lost puppy?" Sakura asked being surrounded by a depressed aura

"Yeah, because you're cute, and you're helpless without me. Besides we still need to work on that stuttering of yours." Ino chided

"I-It's n-not that b-bad." Sakura said defending herself

"Riiight." Ino said obviously unconvinced

"Well, as much as I would love for my sister need to meet new people as well as gain more confidence in the process, we need to get home. I have just found out something very important that she, and the rest of our friends need to know. If you want I can set up a play date for you guys tomorrow. Is that ok?" Shintaro asked Ino

"Niichan, what's got you so worked up like this?" Hiromi asked curiously

"It has to with one of our old friends, it turns out that she's ok." Shintaro said while tapping Hiromi's back subtly 3 times in a sequence which she understood

"Oh, ok. Hey Ino, can we do this some other time? Niichan needs me to go home. Can I play with you guys later?" Hiromi asked politely

"Sure, after today consider us friends! That ok with you?" Ino asked as if she already knew the answer

"S-sure! Niichan?" Hiromi asked her brother looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh….Alright, Alright, but we need to leave Hiromi. Naruto! Suigetsu! Stop playing with Fu, and get over here." the clone said starting to lose his patience as the two boy carried Fu over to where Shintaro is

"Hey Hiromi, is there something up with your friend there? She's been quiet the entire time." Ino asked about Karin

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I'm not good with talking to other people, Hiromi's better than me." Karin said meekly

"Really? Because you stutter a lot less than these two." Ino said making Hiromi and Sakura feel a bit dejected

"Well, like I said we need to get going. Ok you two give me Fu before you make things worse for her." the clone said reaching out to pick up Fu from Naruto's and Suigetsu's hands

"I-Is s-she ok?" Sakura asked concerned

"She just hit her head. She's fine just a small bump that's it. Alright everyone, we need to go back now." the clone said

"Ok." they all said as they followed the clone

"H-hey! Sakura-chan! What're you doing here?" Naruto asked

"WE were helping out you're friend there bub. Who the heck are you anyways?" Ino asked

"I-I'm sorry, h-have we met b-before?" Sakura asked confused as to who this boy is that knew her name

"Oh, right. You're mom pulled you away from me before I got a chance to talk to you. Heh, Hi my name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki part of the Uzumaki clan. Nice to meet you." Naruto said blushing slightly trying to smile like he'd normally do

"I was the boy who got beaten up by those jerks who picked on you late last week." Naruto said jogging the memory of Sakura

"T-that was you!?" Sakura asked surprised

"Yeah, still got the bruises to prove it. Actually some of these are recent from a few days ago." Naruto said lifting up his shirt showing the bruises already fading away to almost nothing

'Guess that seal of his is still strong enough preventing the Kyuubi's healing factor helping him at all….maybe I can fix that.' the clone thought to himself

"Oh, they're healing already? Man these things were like super big, and dark purple last time I checked." Naruto said to himself looking at the purple spots on his torso

"Sakura! Sakura where are you?" a older male voice called out desperately

"Over here daddy!" Sakura called to her father waving to him

"There you are. Whew! Man, your mother would've killed me if I went back without you. Come on, the village is going through a practice evacuation drill. You too Ino, I'm sure your parents are looking for you as well." Sakura's father said as he grabbed hold of the two girls hands

"Daddy wait, what about Naruto, and his friends?" Sakura said

"Naruto? Who's that?" Sakura's father asked

"He's the boy who helped me a while ago, when those bullies were being mean to me." Sakura said

"Heh, yeah I got my butt handed to me." Naruto said sheepishly as he put his shirt down

"He's the boy? Well, you have my thanks then Naruto." Sakura's father said sincerely as he quickly bowed his head

"You're welcome sir, but I was only trying to help." Naruto said meekly

"Please the name's Kizashi, there's no reason to be formal. Well in any case, you kids need to get to your parents. The whole village is going through a practice evacuation drill." Kizashi said

"We'll get right on it. Won't we guys?" the Shintaro clone said

"Yeah!." they all said

"Good, I expect to see you kids over there soon. Now come on Sakura, let's go. I'm sure you'll see your friends there once get this over with; besides your mother is gonna tear me a new one if we don't find her soon." Kizashi said paling at the thought of facing the blunt end of his wife's frying pan or whatever she finds first in the kitchen to maim him with.

"Bye everyone! Hiromi, Karin where do you guys live? I want come over to your guy's place tomorrow." Ino said as she walked away

"We live in the unfinished Living District 14 at the abandoned hotel. Your parents should know where that is." Shintaro's clone said with Ino nodding in confirmation

"B-bye Naruto-kun! Hope to see you soon." Sakura said waving at Naruto

"Bye Sakura-chan!" Naruto said waving back at her with a cheesy grin.

"Naruto-kun? Aw, great. Just what I need, more girls falling over him to make his head bigger.

As Ino, and Sakura left with Kizashi Naruto began the origin of his terrible victory dance.

"Alright! First that Hinata girl, and now Sakura-chan likes me. This week just gets better, and better!" Naruto said with everyone looking at him like he's insane except for Shintaro's clone who was thinking to himself.

'But, at least he's cementing the fact that his life here is getting better every day, which is true, but it wouldn't happen like this if I hadn't intervene. If all goes well tomorrow Naruto won't have any reason to even think of abandoning Konoha now. Just you wait Naruto, if this village has that shrine with that mask….then not only you, but your mother we'll be happy as well. Then I can tell them everything….at least who I am at least. Thing is….how many years should I give him? sigh….I'll have to think about this later after Fu get's some rest.'

'Choumei is at least going to keep her alive so I don't have to worry about that. But what I do have to worry about is...no, you have information the rest needs to know, just get back and worry about it later.' the clone thought to himself as he kept his emotions in check

"Ok, let's get going you guys." the clone said walking towards the hotel

"Uh….didn't Sakura-chan go that way where we're supposed to?" Naruto asked confused

"She did, but we're going back to the hotel." the clone said continuing to walk

"What! Why?" Naruto asked

"Simple, it's safer, we have friends there, and the entire reason this "practice evacuation drill" is because of something stupid the original did in the Forest of Death. Besides Fu needs to rest, and being crowded with a bunch of people isn't going to do it." the clone said

"Wait, you're a shadow clone?" Suigetsu asked

"Yup, the original went to the Forest of death this morning for something important." the clone answered

"Niichan went there! Is he ok?" Hiromi asked worriedly

"He's fine." the clone said passively

'Despite the fact he nearly died from that explosion no doubt, but if I'm still here then at least he's still alive.'

"No need to worry about him." the clone said assuring her

"Hey quick question?" Suigetsu said

"Yeah? What is it?" the clone said

"If you paid that chick a while ago with money for our ice cream; doesn't that mean when you disappear the money will too?" Suigetsu asked while the clone thought about it

"Well obviou….actually, I don't know. In theory it should, but I truly have no idea. Makes for a good experiment though. Have to ask her later to see if it does." the clone said as they continued to walk to the hotel.

---

8:42

As the clone of Shintaro made his way with the rest of the kids inside the hotel he noticed that he wasn't the only clone there for some reason. He saw the clone holding Ayano setting her down on the lobby couch surrounded by every girl in the group save the one's he was with.

"Uh….someone want to explain why Ayano-chan is unconscious?" the first clone said grabbing everyone's attention

"You want the long or short story?" the second clone said

"You know what, never mind." the first clone said quickly throwing a kunai dispelling the clone he threw it at gaining the information he needed

"I see….Naruto, Suigetsu go with Fu to her room, and stay there. There's something I need to talk about with everyone here. Honoka, go with them, and make sure they don't make it worse for her." the clone said keeping his emotions from rising

"What happened to her?" Honoka asked taking Fu

"She was helping Naruto fight off some bullies that were going after some girls, and got a rock to her head in the process. I….handled the situation properly, and that's all I'll say on the matter." the clone said

"Oh, that was very brave of you Naruto-sama. I'm sure your mother would be very proud of you." Honoka said

"Thanks, I can't wait to tell her. Oh, and I made two new friends today!" Naruto said excited

"Yeah, and all you had to do was put yourself, and others in danger." the clone said a little peeved making Naruto flinch a bit

"Sorry." Naruto said feeling bad about Fu

"Just try to think before you jump into danger next time ok? I'm not mad at you at all I'm just….stressed about something." the clone said taking a deep breath now talking in a lighter tone

"What you did was commendable, and what any good hearted person would do in that situation. I'm sure if Fu, and Suigetsu didn't show you'd still do your best to fight them off, and for that you deserve a reward. Tell you what when the original me gets here he'll teach you how to properly defend yourself, and kick a little butt in the process. How does that sound?" the clone said with Naruto's face beaming with joy

"Cool! I'm gonna learn how to fight like a badass-ow!" Naruto said as the clone

"#1. Language, you don't get to talk like that until you're older, and that's if your mom will let you. #2. You're going to learn to defend yourself first above all else I'm not training you beat up anyone you'd like for whatever reason. Besides the part where you fight like a badass comes after. Got it?" the clone said

"Got it." Naruto responded rubbing his head

"Good, now go on like I said I need to talk to the girls over there. It's...really important." the clone said his emotions starting to show a bit

"Niichan, are you ok?" Hiromi asked

"I'm fine." the clone said fixing his tone

"Where's the teme, and the other originals? We need to have a meeting now." the clone said seriously changing the tone in the room

"Shusuke's training at one of the abandoned houses, and everyone else is actually having brunch in the dining hall." Momiji said quickly

"Misaka, go get him. Tell him I found a leaf in the wrong tree , and that we need to talk about what to do about it." the clone said calmly to Misaka who nodded understanding the seriousness of the situation. What proved it was that he didn't call her Misaka-chan, and that phrase he said sent chills down her spine

"Got it." Misaka said sprinting out the door

"Wake Ayano up, she needs to hear this." the clone said heading into the dining hall.

9:03

After about 20 or so minutes of waiting, and sending those who didn't need to be there away so they could talk freely; everyone was wondering what was it that this clone of Shintaro had him call such a meeting.

"Is everyone present?" the clone said neutrally, but loud enough for everyone to hear especially Shusuke who was annoyed about being interrupted during his training

"Yeah, we're here dobe now what's this about. I was in the mid-" but he was cut off by the huge amount of KI that Shintaro rarely ever showed in front of anyone

"Shusuke, now is not the time for you to act like a spoiled brat. I'm so not in the mood to deal with you right now. A simple yes would've sufficed." the clone said coldly while glaring directly at Shusuke with immense hatred

"Now is everyone here?" the clone said trying to calm himself down recieving a various of Yes's from everyone there

"Shintaro-kun, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Ayano asked concerned while the clone put his head down failing to keep his emotions in check. Proof of this were the tears that were starting to leak from his eyes.

"Niichan?" Hiromi asked seeing her brother, even if it was his clone, he started off crying then started to….laugh for some reason making everyone think he was losing it

"Shintaro-kun? Are you ok?" Ayano asked definitely concerned

"She's alive." the clone said in between in a laughing fit barely audible

"What did he say?" Katsumi asked

"I think Niichan said "she's alive" or something like that." Hiromi said

"She's alive, I can't believe it she's alive, and in Konoha no less! She's alive, she's fuckin alive." the clone said putting his hand to his face continuing to terrify everyone else with his laughing

"Did he lose it or something?" Katsumi asked

"It seems that the pressure's getting to him, I'm amazed it hasn't affected him like this already." Shinji said

"Great, our fearless leader's lost it, and just in time for the hard part too. Wonderful." Katsumi said

"Shintaro-san, what is it? Who's alive?" Shou said

"She's alive, she's alive, she's alive, she's alive!" the clone said laughing happily, and insanely

"Niichan! Stop it, please you're scaring me!" Hiromi yelled with tears in her eyes

"She's alive….Aiko's alive." the clone said just loud enough to hear widening everyone's eyes with pure shock of what they just heard

"It's official he's lost it." Katsumi said facepalming herself while Shou, and Momiji weren't so….unhelpful

"Shintaro-san, I understand that the loss on Lady Aiko was hard on you as it was on all of us, but she's gone. You need to move on like the rest of us." Shou said calmly

"The likelihood of her being alive is slim if at all." Shinji said neutrally

"Just because we never found her body doesn't mean she's alive." Sadao said trying to reason with him

"This isn't the time to lose it, not when we just got here Shintaro." Misaka said with actual concern in her voice

"Shintaro-kun, we all miss her, but it isn't healthy to think like that. I know it's hard, but Aiko-chan's death wasn't your fault. Like Shou-san said, you need to move on." Ayano said gently as she could.

But the clone only continued to laugh quietly to himself with his head down repeating "She's alive, Aiko's alive." over and over

"Niichan, please listen to them." Hiromi said almost desperately with tears in his eyes as the clone regained his composure to...debate his position on the matter.

"If she's dead then explain to me why is there a girl that looks like Aiko with Hinata Hyuuga who she called Aiko. And if you still don't believe me Naruto, Suigetsu, and Fu were witnesses to this. Not to mention if you're still doubting me then head right on over to the Hyuuga compound, and ask for Aiko Hyuuga." the clone said almost threateningly suddenly gaining everyone's attention

"You met Hinata-sama?" Shou asked

"I did, and if you don't believe me we can walk over to the Hyuuga compound together so I can rub it in your face." the clone said mockingly to Shou who gave him a dirty look

"Alright, for the sake of the argument we'll say she's alive, for now. Did she recognize you?" Sadao asked seriously with the clone talking also seriously

"No, she didn't. However, that was to be expected given the side effects of the jutsu I used to get all of us here. Unless we force her to remember the memories she's lost she won't recognize any of us until otherwise. The memories should come back on their own when she either comes close to her original age, some minor head trauma should also do it, or something significant that she remembers from before all this happens similarly in this world." the clone said explaining the situation

"So, what you're saying is if this is the real Lady Aiko she won't remember anything that happened with us? But we can get her to if we do something?" Momiji asked curiously

"Yes." the clone responded

"But if she's the real Aiko, then how come she's here in Konoha?" Misaka said skeptical

"That is something I would like to know as well. The only thing we found was the ruined clothing she was in by the time we got there." Shinji said while the clone thought about it

"I think I have the answer to that, but I never thought that would it would work." the clone said as the rest of the group listened intently

"What are you talking about dobe?" Shusuke asked

"It was a contingency plan...one that I hoped to never use, but in the long run I'm glad I did. There was a wristband I put on Aiko's wrist that secretly contained a scroll containing a message to hopefully convince whoever found her to take care of Aiko or find her a good home until we can find her. I guess whoever found her must've been from Konoha or thought it was Hinata trying to return her." the clone said trying to think of an explanation

"What did the message say exactly?" Sadao said

"Please, whoever you are take care of this girl. Her name is Aiko, and if you are reading this then that means we've been somehow separated from each other. For now I leave her in your care, and if we shall meet again you will know it is me with this pass phrase: The grateful fox has come to protect his kit. My name is Shintaro Senpū, and I do hope we meet again." the clone said repeating it word for word with the emotions as if he was talking to the person who found Aiko firsthand

"Niichan." Hiromi said quietly

"Senpū? That's the fake name you came up with?" Katsumi snickered

"Unless, you have a comment that's relatable to the current situation be quiet." the clone said darkly

"Fine." she grumbled

"Just trying to lighten the damn mood."

"Shintaro-kun, if this really is our Aiko-chan shouldn't we go after her?" Ayano asked

"No, out of the question. We need to keep this information to ourselves. As much as I want to we can't let anyone know that we're affiliated with Aiko especially since were in Konoha. We're already under watch the elders made that clear, and if they found out our true identities….then that'll just complicate things to a whole new level. Until her memories come on her own we can't do anything, but look after her until she's of age. Then we'll decide what to do when that time comes." the clone said regretfully

"Shintaro has a point it'll be a pain in the ass if we're found out." Sadao said lazily

"Nonsense, if Aiko-chan's in trouble it would be unyouthful of us to leave her like that." Ling said banging her fist on the table

"I agree with Ling….which is weird, but I'll make an exception. Can't we at least get her memories back instead of leaving her in the dark like that?" Momiji said

"If she does get her memories back don't you think that'll make things easier for her?" Misaka asked

"No, if anything it'll make things more difficult for her." the clone said

"Explain." Momiji said with her arms crossed

"Tell me, do any of you think Aiko is capable of keeping a secret while acting out two lives? Honestly, it was obvious back home or even now when she's still a hyperactive, irresponsible, reckless, immature four year old Aiko's….not up to this sort of thing." the clone said with everyone nodding remembering how Aiko can be, and how she's not the most….subtle of individual

"Lady Aiko was never a….calm individual." Shou said slowly

"Calm? That girl would be jumping all over the place if she got a chance to play outside." Misaka said chuckling a bit remembering the times she saw Aiko's caretakers run after her

"Those were better times, now were forced to live in the past in hopes our doctors can cure that damn plague. What a pain in the ass." Sadao said

"Better times? You're saying watching people die in the streets on a daily basis are better times? We lived in a time that affected normal people to shinobi above all else with that fucking plague that targeted people with enlarged chakra reserves. I had to watch my clansmen die! My father included!" Katsumi said enraged

"Your clan wasn't the only one to suffer Katsumi. We had highest casualty rate among all the clans in our village." Shou said irritated

"At least your clan had members to keep it going. I'm the only pure blood left in my clan." Shusuke brooded

"But our clan's weren't arrogant simpletons that was attempting to stage a coup." Shinji said emotionless

"Watch your mouth bug boy." Shusuke said darkly glaring intensely at Shinji

"Pointless debates about whose clan suffered the most aside. What happens if they can't cure the plague or die off completely when we get there? Do we just stay there, and die off or do we go back here?" Sadao asked everyone

"What are you saying that for Sadao-kun? We need to have faith in Shusuke's mother, she'll find a way to fix all this." Ayano said appalled at Sadao's point

"I'm being realistic here. Our village wasn't the only one hit with that disease. Every village on the continent, hell maybe the world by that point was hit with that plague, and if they find out that Shusuke's mom is probably the only one capable of developing a cure they'll go to war again in desperation of finding a cure. That'll only cause more bloodshed adding to the already high body count. What happens if we come back, and the only thing that'll be left is a disease ridden ghost town?" Sadao said pessimistically

"Then we'll rebuild! We cannot let the memory of our beloved village die out in such a unyouthful way!" Ling said emotionally stressed

"Well, what about the fact that the disease is still there?" Sadao replied

"We'll rebuild elsewhere then!"

"W-we could ask my parents if you guys can stay there." Hiromi suggested nervously

"Yeah, and what then? We don't have a clue as to who or where you're parents are. Not to mention that who's to say if we go back to our home what happens if we get the disease, and spread it to your village?" Katsumi said making Hiromi's eyes widen in fear of her village ending up like Sadao mentioned

"This matter is not only irrelevant to our current situation, but, despite how insensitive this is, I could care less what happens either way. Village is cured? Woopdee fuckin doo go get the sake. Village is desolated wasteland? Oh well, they only have themselves to blame." the clone said unsympathetically

"You bastard! Just because this isn't your home it doesn't give you the right to talk like that! You have no idea of what we're going through!" Shusuke yelled enraged causing the clone to finally snap

"I have no idea? None of you have any clue of what I've been forced to endure because of your damn village! I had to watch people I loved die in a war your village started! I lost my home to you people! The only thing left being a smoldering pile of ash! I had my friends taken from me to other villages with the likelihood of them being dead! I had to kill someone when I was 5 to prevent them from taking my friend scaring her for life! My parents never got a moment of peace, always fighting to keep me, and my siblings safe almost ruining their marriage! I was forced to kill my own Father, my Mother, my Twin Brother at different times if I wanted to keep both my sister and my friends safe, and to gain admission into your precious village. I was forced to watch them die slowly in my arms begging for forgiveness only to have each of them smile at me unable to speak or too weak to otherwise."

"Then as if that wasn't enough I was privileged with the honor to become your villages jinchuuriki because the last one was too dangerous. Meaning that I was focal point of your villages suffering giving them reason to hunt me down on a daily basis. I was alone, scared, weak, for years all because of your village. And when I find someone that wanted to help me survive what thanks do they get? Public Execution."

"So tell me after all of that including more that I don't want to get into what makes you think that I even have a speck of sympathy for your village? When it was your father that included himself in most if not all of those things I mentioned. Tell me after all of that why should I have mentioned this method to keep all of you alive to your father, the source of nearly everything that went wrong with my life, from that disease!"

"Then after finding out that my friends are still alive, and give them a chance to live only to watch all of them die just weeks in between of each other because you had to be an asshole not listening to a damn word I said to keep you alive. So don't you dare say I don't know what you're going through! When it was your village that caused my suffering, the deaths of everyone I ever cared about, the nightmares I go through every night to begin with! If anything I should've killed the lot of you when I had the chance! If I did my friends would still be here, and not dead because of your cowardice and arrogance!"

"Hey, here's a thought, you people constantly complain about how I keep you in the dark about my decisions, myself, my past, well now you know a bit more about me. How's that? You satisfied? Are you still curious about the oh so mysterious Shintaro, and his past? You wonder why I don't tell you guys anything well now you know. So, am I everything you imagined? Is there a pity party going to star me? Well don't bother. I don't care for the pity of those I'm required to protect, and I especially don't want to hear sorry. Because the last thing I want to hear is sorry from the reasons my family and friends are dead!" the clone yelled in pure rage standing up smashing the long dinner tables in half with his fist panting heavily out of breath from talking that long raising his KI level to a level that petrified everyone showing his eyes to be blood red with a vertical slit.

"Like I said I don't care what happens to your village. If there's a cure good for you. If not….then don't go to war just to take back what's yours at any cost. This subject matter won't be discussed again. I keep my promises, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure you get home safe wasteland or otherwise. I don't have a home to return to nor any loved ones to see again, but I'll leave the decision to you of what you want to do when you go back." the clone said coldly with venom as he walked away from the group of children recovering.

"I'm going to check on Fu, and see if her condition has improved. This doesn't change anything between my current relationships with each of you or how I think of you. I'll always despise the teme, I still think Ayano-chan as a close friend, I'll come to Sadao for strategic advice, Katsumi's still a cocky girl who doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut, Hiromi's still my loving sister adopted or not, Ling's the overly optimistic training fanatic, and the rest of you know how I see you. If this compels any of you to apologize or try to "understand me" don't." the clone said coldly

"I have lived this long without any empathy or sympathy from most of you (looks at Ayano), and I don't need it from people I only consider as my escorts, not my friends. There are only a few among you including Ayano, Hiromi, Ling, Sadao, Momiji, and Hideki have earned that right. However, just because they're my friends doesn't mean I'll throw the rest of you in the fire, I'll watch your backs in battle as much as I would with any other person here. Just to let you I'm a shadow clone, and I'm not dispelling myself until the original comes back from the Forest of Death."

"He doesn't need the distraction of what's happened, and Ayano-chan I'm sorry this had to happened today of all days. Don't worry about the original he'll back in about 2 hours, 3 at the most. I'll leave you to your thoughts about what to do with Aiko, but it's best to leave her be in my opinion." the clone said in an emotionless tone before walking in the dead silent room to the door of the exit closing it to the group of kids who now have a lot to think about, and have a new view of the person they knew next to nothing about.

The only sounds audible were the sob's of Hiromi crying in fear, and sorrow for her elder adopted brother learning of what he had to endure, and how he still loved her as his sister; and the silence of all the rest, save for Ayano (who was doing what she could to comfort Hiromi) and Shusuke (who was contemplating how to kill Shintaro for saying that his father would do such things), thinking of how lucky they were to even be here thanks to Shintaro despite what their village has done to him.

Truly, everyone there witnessed some of the pure rage Shintaro kept buried deep within himself from everyone else that he cared for or despised greatly to no end.

As the clone made his way towards Fu's room he'd encountered Naruto, and Honoka in the hallway who seemed to had trouble making eye contact with the clone.

"Is something wrong?" the clone asked curiously irritated

"Uh….I was-"

"Naruto-sama wanted to let you know about Fu's condition since she woke up, but came during your….uh, outburst….and I kinda listened in as well." Honoka said ridden with guilt

"Oh….(inhales and exhales) Naruto, I'm not mad at you or you Honoka. I'll admit my emotions got the better of me, but I'm ok now. You didn't do anything wrong so don't freak out. What's done is done, and that applies to what I said earlier….I've done terrible things in the past, and I'm sure I'll pay for it in hell where I belong, but in the meantime I'm going to keep the promises I made to their parents. Now how long has Fu been up?" the clone asked

"She woke up about a couple of minutes ago." Naruto said quietly

"Good, that means the hit wasn't that serious. I'm going to check on her just in case….you should go, and try to cheer Hiromi up. Kami knows I can't right now." the clone said as he walked past the two Uzumaki who watched the clone pass by them entering Fu's room without another word.