CHAPTER 5

A CHANGE OF HEART

Gai stands up and faces Naruto, "You of all people had to go rogue, and you're a hero to the leaf village Naruto!" Gai yelled with frustration, "Can't you see? Everyone is thinking that you have been kidnapped at the Village. People don't know what you're really up to, the story to cover Kakashi's incident was that he fell in the middle of the night and he fell down the stairs." Gai explained. "That doesn't matter to me anymore, Gai Sensei, if the leaf keeps interfering with my plans I will destroy it, pervy sage's will is what will make this world better Gai sensei, don't you know what his will is?" Naruto asked, as Lee came flying into a building behind Gai. "I don't know what Jiraya's will was but I'm sure he didn't want you to do this, Naruto." Gai replied.

He wanted world peace, and to achieve world peace the nations that represent threats to create another war are the ones that need to be eliminated, like the hidden rain village, I will be the new Shikage, I will lead this nation into peace." Naruto said.

I cannot allow that Naruto, this is where it ends." Gai crosses his arms in front of his head and he opens the 6th gate of joy. "Gate of Life, Open!" Gai rushed Naruto and gave him a hard punch to the face as two shadow clones had appeared from behind him, "Leaf Hurricane!" Both Shadow clones were defeated, Naruto gets up off the ground and summons another 5 shadow clones, two of them started to charge up a Planet Rasengan. 3 of them stand in front of the other 3, Gai takes them all down and just as the smoke clears the Planet Rasengan is finished and Naruto hits guy in the stomach with it. He flies into the wall, and the 8 gates mode wore off, Sasuke electrocuted Lee until he was unconscious. "Let's have Sakura heal them." Naruto said, "I don't want them to die" He said as he lifted Gai onto his shoulder and carried him back to the Shikage mansion, Sasuke followed him with Lee on his back. Meanwhile Ino and Tenten went back to the Hidden Leaf to make their report, once they did Kakashi had realized how long it was since they were dispatched, he thought of a number of possibilities, they could have defected to Naruto, they could have been captured… or they could have been killed.

Kakashi came to this realization, he then thought to himself "Is there any way we can even stop him?" He thought. "Would he come back on his own if we just let him be?" Kakashi, still bed ridden from his fight with Naruto, looked out onto the village, and watched all the happy little kids play outside… "I don't think I could stop him," He told himself as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. As the Rain village was being rebuilt, the first thing that the Akatsuki did was put Chakra seals on Lee and Gai and then tie them up, they also did the same with Shikamaru and Choji. They had them sitting up against the wall, they were still unconscious but should awake at any moment. "Sasuke, didn't you lose your curse mark when you fought Orochimaru?" Naruto asked. "Yeah, I did but when I was getting Jugo from the Northern Hideout, he stabbed me with the same formula Orochimaru used to give me this curse mark, now I have it back but Orochimaru isn't anywhere near us." Sasuke replied. "Sasuke, I'll need you to begin studying Orochimaru's reanimation Jutsu, we might need it someday, Sakura I need you to continue to develop your medical Ninjutsu skills. And I will continue to develop my Sage jutsu; the three of us shall become the next three legendary Sanin!" Naruto said. As he threw away his own headband, reached into his small pouch on his backside, and pulled out Jiraya's headband. Suigetsu, Jugo, Hinata, continue to run things here at the Hidden Rain, if you can persuade atleast Lee and Shikamaru to join us, but make sure you do it when Gai isn't in the room." Naruto added.

"I'm going to go to all of Orochimaru's hideouts and read everything he has, and then I'll have the reanimation jutsu ready to use." Sasuke said to Naruto. "I will study the medical Ninjutsu with a few books lade Tsunade gave me a while back." She told Naruto. "I will remain here, until we can get Shikamaru, or someone to join us. We are too small of a group for the main player to walk off the battlefield." Naruto explained, Sasuke left for the Hideout in the North because it was closest, Sakura went into the Shikage's study to read the medical Ninjutsu books. Shikamaru wakes up, "Ugh, where…where am I?" He asked himself as Naruto walked up to him. "I see…so we lost then." Shikamaru thought to himself as he looked to see Gai and Lee next to him unconscious and Choji on his other side. "Shikamaru, why don't you join me?" Naruto said. "Eventually I will return to the Hidden Leaf village, but I will return as a Sannin who has brought eternal peace to the Shinobi world." Naruto added, "You're going to become a Sannin?" Shikamaru asked, "And you're going to go back to the Hidden Leaf village after?" Shikamaru added. "Pretty much" Naruto said as he looked out the repaired window that was broken during the fight between him and the Shikage. "I realized that my place isn't here in the Rain village, this place is to dull for me." Naruto added, "So what you're going to do is become a Sannin, then go back to the Leaf Village, as if you never left?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, I am going to explain to everyone about my true plan, I came here to take down the Shikage because I got information from the boss toad at Mount Myoboku saying that the Shikage might declare war on the Hidden Leaf. To prevent that I had to stop it while I still could and the higher-ups at the Hidden Leaf wouldn't let me do that so that's why I went rogue ninja." Naruto explained. "Then why did you form this group Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, "You could have easily done this yourself," He added. "Well, you can never be too careful. I, Sakura, and Sasuke will become the next legendary sanin, I will become the Hokage and then I will make sure there is everlasting peace." Naruto replied, "Join me Shikamaru" Naruto said. "Only if you promise to go back to the leaf once you've obtained the title Sannin." Shikamaru said. "Everyone is worried about you." Shikamaru added, "I promise." Naruto answered as he cut Shikamaru loose and threw him an Akatsuki coat. "Scratch out your headband and join me on the path to eternal peace, Shikamaru." Naruto said as Shikamaru crossed out his headband and began putting on the Coat. "If you can persuade Choji and Lee when they wake up, Suigetsu take Gai Sensei to the forest near the Hidden Leaf, we'll leave him there." Naruto said as he walked out of the Shikage's office. Now Suigetsu, takes Gai and heads to the hidden leaf forest. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Jugo are watching Lee, and Choji waiting for them to wake up. Naruto goes to Mount Myoboku in order to seek the chief toad to learn the next form of Sage Jutsu. The Chief Toad tells him how to reach the limits of Sage Jutsu, Naruto goes off to train, since it's been a while since he's been to Mount Myoboku so he took some time to readjust to his surroundings. Meanwhile, at the Shikage's mansion, Lee has finally woke up.

"What? Where am I? Why can't I move?" He asked, "Because of me" Shikamaru answered with Lee in a shadow possession Jutsu. "Shikamaru! Have you joined Naruto too?" Lee asked, "Yes, but hear me out first, Lee." Shikamaru said, "Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke are all going to become Sannin, they will go back to the village and then use their power for eternal peace, but they will remain in the village and not do anything reckless." Shikamaru explained, "But how do you know that Naruto will keep his word to you?" Lee asked, "Because, that's Naruto's ninja way remember? He never goes back on his word, so I believe in him." Lee looks around the room, "Where is Gai sensei!?" He asked, "Lee, calm down, he was taken back to the leaf village." Shikamaru said just as Suigetsu came back. "I got him there safely." Suigetsu added, to help calm down Lee. "Fine then, I will help also." Lee said as Shikamaru cut him loose and he began to put on his Akatsuki robe and cross out his Hidden Leaf headband. They did the same thing for Choji, in the end Suigetsu, Jugo, Shikamaru, Lee, and Choji were all at the Shikage's mansion keeping guard and making sure things were moving smoothly. Sasuke was already half done studying Orochimaru's methods, Sakura learned 3 new medical Ninjutsu techniques as well as how to summon Slugs…Will Sakura and Sasuke be able to master the Sage Jutsu? Alternatively, will the Slug and the Snake consume them?

CHAPTER 5 END.