Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This is fanfiction, after all.

Hokage's Office, Konoha – March 1, AK 22

"Kakashi-sensei, am I on your shit list or something?"

Kakashi found himself sighing in exasperation for what had to be the millionth time since becoming the Sixth. He was irritated whenever Naruto was involved because he never found the time to read Icha Icha.

The series had gone on even after Lord Jiraiya's death. The editors had been given the mountains of notes that Jiraiya had written and had more than enough notes to continue the stories. It was a good thing, too. Otherwise, Kakashi might have thrown himself off the Hokage monument in despair.

"Naruto! Language!" Naruto merely rolled his eyes at Shizune.

Shizune had continued to work as the Hokage's aid after having done the job for so long under Tsunade. Kakashi had been too lazy to find a new assistant and Shizune had wanted to remain as the Hokage's assistant to eventually help Naruto better when he became Hokage.

That was the official excuse, at least.

Kakashi smiled as he looked at the woman fondly. Neither of them would reveal the true reason.

Kakashi turned his attention back to the situation at hand. Naruto was dramatically waving his hands in the air in an exaggerated attempt to be polite.

"I suppose this would be better then," Kakashi rolled his single visible eye at the sarcastic tone. His student was going to do something childish. Again. Sure enough, Naruto took a quick bow. "My liege, your humble servant begs to be killed. It is better for this sinner to perish than to suffer the wrath of my lord."

Kakashi sighed yet again while Shizune—the traitor—giggled.

Naruto always had been difficult to handle because of his energy and stubbornness, but had been easy to manipulate in the past. Offering techniques or information about his parents went a long way in getting Naruto to behave. Lately, however, it was getting much harder to trick Naruto into falling in line.

Perhaps the direct and honest approach was the best.

"Naruto, I am merely trying to do what is best for you and for the village. Contrary to what you might believe, I am not trying to hurt you. While Konoha's economic and military strength is at an all time high, that's only in terms of numbers. The quality of our ninja is at its all-time low. During Lord Hashirama's time, we had over fifty A-ranks and seven S-ranks. We only have half those numbers with only twenty-five A-ranks and three S-ranks even when we've been out of war for six years."

Naruto crossed his arms. "I understand. You're telling me that I should teach a bunch of brats because it would help me mature and that Konoha can benefit from having another team like the Sannin, especially after our team fell apart. I am the youngest ninja to reach S-ranked status since Itachi and you believe that I can impart that knowledge and drive to these kids."

Kakashi almost let out a sigh of relief. Naruto was still loud and obnoxious at times, but he could be insightful and dedicated when he chose to be. Now all he needed to do was stamp the damn document and then find a secret closet where no one could find him so he could read his Icha Icha.

"Very good. I'm glad you und—"

"The answer's still no, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi suppressed an urge to bang his head on his table. This day just wouldn't end. "Look, I know you think I'm being unreasonable, but try to look at things from my perspective. You had me running almost forty consecutive S-ranked missions—most of them solo—over the last two years. That's more S-ranked missions than what some of our strongest elite jounin do in a lifetime. You still had me going on these missions even after my ex-girlfriend died. I never got to mourn properly. Then on top of that, you always make sure to do your best to time my mission so that I'm always in the village to suffer through that monthly hell called council meetings. And now you're telling me that you want to shove a bunch of brats onto me."

Kakashi wanted to break something. Perhaps that was why Lady Tsunade always started and ended the day with some sort of property-damaging move. This job was just too annoying. People complained, people demanded, people never listened and never ever praised. Kakashi would cackle with glee the day Naruto took this damn job away from him.

"If it makes you feel any better, Lady Tsunade had me going on consecutive S-ranked missions after the Sand-Sound Invasion. That was when I was still teaching the three of you. So it's not like I've been asking you to do something I wouldn't. You, more than anyone else, understand that sacrifices need to be made. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"The old man used to love saying that." Kakashi noted the glazed look in blonde's eyes. It was clear that he was reminiscing about the old days. "He was probably the most compassionate of all the Hokages, with a heart for the poor."

It was true. The Third was often unable to make hard choices or often made the wrong choices because he was too compassionate. Naruto's early life was the consequence of one such choice. But at the same time, that compassion for the poor was why Konoha was economically the healthiest of all the nations. Cleaning up the streets and educating and empowering the poor made for a more skilled and less violent population.

"Naruto, for the last six plus years, I've had to allocate resources where they were needed the most. That's why I was held off from giving you students; you were needed for other critical missions. Our numbers were ridiculously low after the last war and despite the era of peace that followed, there were lots of missions to be done. You were the only one who could complete these missions at the insanely fast pace that you set. And that bought us a ton of breathing room. Now, even in the wake of recent attacks on our border, we have the luxury of assigning you students and building up the future generation. I'm trying to give you a break here."

Naruto glared at him. "A break?" Naruto asked incredulously. "How is being responsible for three lives a break? At least on solo S-ranks I don't have to worry about protecting other people."

Kakashi groaned. He could just never win with Naruto no matter how he tried to phrase things. Once Naruto decided that something was a certain way, there was no convincing him otherwise. "How about a compromise? I'll let you choose your own students."

"Don't care," Naruto folded his arms. "It's like asking me to pick which poison I want to be fed. It's like me asking you which of your Icha Icha books you're willing to let me burn. How about I teach the kids and I burn your Icha Icha books?"

Kakashi twitched. It almost seemed like his student was being difficult on purpose. That, and the damn boy had the gall to threaten his precious. No one threatened Kami's gift to man and got away with it.

Shizune jumped in at this point. Kakashi gave her a quick nod of thanks. He was one second away from driving a Raikiri through the cheeky brat's chest. It might be best if someone else tried to talk reason into the boy.

Kakashi watched as Shizune walked over and gave Naruto a hug. It was always like this with Naruto. He would play bad cop and then she would play good cop. Naruto usually was more agreeable when Shizune delivered the bad news.

"Naruto, is there anything we can do for you to do this?"

"Shizune, shouldn't you be on my side? The masked bastard has been overworking me and now he wants to control my life! Kakashi-sensei, don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're worried because you think I don't have any more ties to the village. Most of the people close to me are dead or out of the village. So you're trying to use this opportunity to get me to make more bonds so you can be assured of my loyalty."

Kakashi winced. Naruto didn't mince any words. It was true. Kakashi was worried that Naruto had no ties to the village anymore. But…at the same time, Kakashi didn't doubt Naruto's loyalty. Kakashi was trying to ease Naruto's loneliness by giving him students.

"Look," Kakashi said, "I was like this as well after all my close friends died. I joined ANBU to isolate myself as much as possible. And remember that I didn't pass any team before yours? Well it's because I didn't want to pass any teams. I know what you're going through and I'm trying to help. I do not doubt your loyalty at all," Kakashi looked mournfully at his student, "I'm sad that you think so little of me."

Naruto sighed. "Okay. I'll do it. But I want something in return. I only want to take missions that I approve of. No more of these pointless political assassinations or preemptive strikes in the name of protecting Konoha. You're tired of making hard decisions, but Kakashi-sensei, I'm tired of executing your hard decisions out on the field. I'm really tired."

Kakashi nodded. It was the least he could do. The casualty rates would skyrocket, but it seemed like Kakashi had pushed Naruto a bit too hard. Anymore and they would lose him. That would be disastrous. Not just for Konoha, but for him as well. He had a responsibility to take care of his sensei's only son and his best friend's legacy. Within Naruto lived Obito's true feelings. Kakashi would do anything to ensure those feelings never died.

"Alright, we have a deal. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I made you do over the years."

Outskirts of the Land of Rice Fields, Land of Rice Fields – March 1, AK 22

Ranmaru activated his eyes and set up illusions in case anyone was following. The illusions were only visual and would fade upon touch, but it would buy him some time. Time he needed to talk to his sensei.

"You are late, my minion," he heard as he approached the meeting ground. His sensei was dressed in a completely black cloak with a mask that only Ranmaru's eyes could see past.

He panted. "Not all of us can just pop up anywhere we want like you do, Sensei! If you really cared about the time, you could have teleported to me and brought me here with you. It would have taken what…two seconds of your time? And damn it," he said angrily, "I'm not your minion!"

His sensei tapped him on the forehead hard. "Think of it as your training. Stealth training. Minion."

Ranmaru glared at his teacher with his bright red eyes. To anyone else, his red glare might have been terrifying. But to someone like his teacher, it was probably only amusing.

"I hate you so much, Sensei," he spat out. "Speaking of which, I heard the name you gave yourself."

"What of it? Kabuto asked for a name and I provided one."

"But Taiyou no Kuroi Kokuten? That has to be the most ridiculous name I ever heard! Besides, it sounds like a play on—"

"Ranmaru, I did not come here to hear you crack jokes. I need your report now. You do not have much time to waste either."

"Alright," Ranmaru grumbled. His teacher was right after all. Ranmaru's illusions were good, but they were still just illusions. Someone would eventually discover that he was missing. "Kabuto is getting bolder with the seals you provided him."

"How so? Is he altering them?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Ranmaru replied. "But he's challenging you. He directly defied your orders and placed the seals on warriors marked with the Cursed Seals of Heaven and Earth to increase his battle strength. He hasn't made any direct movements against the great villages, but he has intentionally used his spy network to trace missing ninjas and eliminate them for bounties. I believe he's hard pressed for some money."

"It's not surprising. After all, he is paying us quite a large sum of money for the Dispersion Seals."

Ranmaru frowned. His sensei didn't seem too worried that Kabuto was straying from the plan. Did his teacher expect this? Or was the money so important that his sensei was willing to compromise?

"Just what are you doing with all the money you're getting from Kabuto anyway?"

"Foolish apprentice, did you think the weapon that you're carrying on your back was made free of cost?" Ranmaru put his hand back to touch his staff. "That weapon is the result of over a hundred failures. I must remind you, apprentice, that even failures cost money. The amount I have left from my clan funds is impressive, but it is still not infinite." There was a slight pause. "It would also appear strange to the banks if I kept burning through money at the rate that I do."

Ranmaru lowered his head in shame at that. He hadn't known that his teacher had labored so much to produce the gift. Ranmaru had always had some difficulty molding chakra properly. He would become too fatigued too quickly and many of his techniques would dissipate midway. While he had excellent chakra control, it was almost as if he just didn't have enough chakra to do anything. His initial fighting style had involved using illusions and tricks with his ocular powers while his teacher sought out a viable solution to his problems.

The solution had been his fifteenth birthday gift. The Star Staff was made of chakra metal and multicolored opal and embedded with a ruby (fire), sapphire (water), emerald (earth), yellow topaz (lightning), and diamond (wind), each special self-sustaining seals that produced its respective chakra. His teacher had been the energy source for three while Ranmaru's own chakra somehow was the base for another two. His teacher said something about how he was able to amplify Ranmaru's chakra to make the fusion work, but most of that went above Ranmaru's head.

In any case, with that, the Star Staff, a staff that only allowed Ranmaru to wield it, had been made. The staff took no chakra to use and acted according to his will.

"Sorry for my impertinence, Sensei," Ranmaru said in an apologetic tone. It was difficult to stay too serious because his teacher wasn't even a decade older than he was and because his teacher didn't mind the jokes most of the time. So Ranmaru had to constantly remind himself that he owed his life to his teacher.

Ranmaru had been working at the curry shop for several years when war broke out across the land. Ranmaru didn't have any marketable skills and was on the verge of starving when his sensei had found him almost five years ago.

Ranmaru didn't show it too often, but he was truly grateful to have a dedicated mentor and direction in life.

"It's fine," the man replied. "After all, you're not the only person I spend my money on. Little Yuna requires quite a lot of attention as well."

"That's true." Ranmaru laughed at that. Yuna was a little girl that his teacher found a few years ago. His teacher left her in the care of another one of his associates but visited her often. Ranmaru also visited whenever he could and from what he knew, the girl was a handful.

"In any case, that is irrelevant. Is there anything else?"

"Ah, that reminds me. Were you the one who killed Sakura Haruno?"

"How is that relevant to what Kabuto is doing?" Ranmaru could hear a small growl.

Ranmaru put up his hands defensively. "Don't worry! I'm not trying to waste your time. Kabuto recently heard from his spies in Konoha that she was assassinated. I thought it might be you but you don't like unnecessary bloodshed."

There was a long pause. "Essentially yes, although she isn't dead. The seal on her will eventually break and she will wake up. I just needed her out of the way. Konoha either killed her themselves once they found her a waste of space or covered her death up in an attempt to lure me out."

"Didn't the original plan involve her support? Didn't you want to draw her to our side because of her mastery in medical ninjutsu?"

"I revealed myself to her and presented to her the option of joining us. But, she seemed determined to stop my plans so I had to remove her from the picture."

"But Sensei, then who will take her spot? You know some medical ninjutsu, but you can't take the role of leader, fighter, spy, sealing master, and medic all at once. You're strong, but even you can't completely take over the world by yourself!"

Ranmaru didn't know the extent of his sensei's plans, but he did know that his teacher wanted to unify the Elemental Nations.

"We can't force someone unwilling to join us," his master said curtly. "We will have to manage without her. I will begin training Yuna in medical ninjutsu instead. Yuna's chakra control rivals Sakura's and is beyond that of anyone else so Yuna may end up taking that role in the future. In the meantime, keep spying on Kabuto while pretending to be a loyal Oto ninja for about another month. I shall call upon you once again fairly soon."

"Wait," Ranmaru looked at his teacher curiously. "What about Kabuto?"

"What about him?"

Ranmaru looked at his sensei disbelievingly. "Are you just going to let Kabuto get away with disobeying your orders? He's attacking ninjas now!"

"I will look to the side for now as long as he's not attacking civilians. And besides, he's only attacking missing ninjas who deserve to be killed anyway. It will be a good chance for us to see the results of the seals being tested in real combat against real ninjas. Do you have any reports on how effective they are on the field?"

Ranmaru frowned. "Given that Kabuto has taken missing ninjas out without a single casualty, I think that those seals of yours are too effective. Aren't you worried that he might betray you?"

His sensei chuckled at that. "Oh, he most certainly will. It is the reason those Dispersion Seals are so inefficient and have a time limit. He has a limited supply."

"I think he's found a way to create your seals for himself, Sensei. It would explain why he has gotten so bold as to defy your orders on multiple fronts."

"Keep an eye out just in case, but it should be impossible to reverse-engineer the Dispersion Seal without perfectly understanding the branch of fuinjutsu I personally invented. For its ultimate purpose, it requires a special type of energy not known to most ninjas. I will admit, however, that it is possible for Kabuto to have found a way to extend the life of those seals so that he could use them over and over again. But don't let that bother you. I have a failsafe implanted in the formula in case he's found a way to reuse them."

"Mind sharing what that is?" Ranmaru asked, after realizing that his sensei had purposely left that unclear.

"Why spoil the fun?" Ranmaru shivered at the cold, deadly tone. It was one of those rare moments when he realized that his sensei was one of the deadliest fighters in the world.

Palace Hall, Gelel Continent across the seas north of the Land of Wind – March 1, AK 22

It had been six years since Karin Uchiha had decided to forgive and then follow Sasuke. It had been the three of them, three former member of Team Hawk. Sasuke had wanted to find truth through exploration and reflection. She and Juugo were absolutely loyal to Sasuke of they followed him. Suigetsu, on the other hand, left them and had decided to rejoin Kiri.

She thought back to the past. In end, Orochimaru had never given up his interest in finding the truth of the world through acquiring and experiencing as many techniques as possible and had eventually attacked Sasuke. From Sasuke's account, the mental battle had been even more pathetic than the time when Orochimaru made his first attempt. Sasuke once again absorbed Orochimaru and the power of the white snake, but this time in less than a minute and this time permanently annihilating Orochimaru's spirit.

That had been five years ago.

After that, for a year, they had traveled throughout the Elemental Nations, saving villages from bandit attacks and searching for whatever it was that Sasuke was looking for. Sasuke even took up a couple part-time students along the way to impart some of his techniques, although he never let any of them follow. Karin wondered if Sasuke was trying to leave his mark on the world in some way in case he couldn't revive his clan.

They now lived in an unnamed land across the seas from the Elemental Nations. Initially, there had been some opposition to them living in the strange land, but Sasuke personally had crushed any resistance with ease without even killing a single person. It was a show of power and a psychological attack to show that he was far above any of them. Sasuke was sending them a message that he could afford to leave them alive because they were of no concern.

It was how Sasuke swiftly became the ruler of the new land.

Since then, Sasuke only continued to train daily and become stronger. He trained with such manic obsession that Karin doubted even her distant cousin, Naruto, would be a match for Sasuke.

In the Elemental Countries, the S-ranks were heralded as near invincible fighters. There were maybe twenty or so S-ranked ninjas in the Elemental Nations at any one time. Each could completely change the atmosphere on a battlefield.

Karin snorted. In her opinion, none of them met the requirements of a true S-rank. A true S-rank is one who has S-ranked capabilities—meaning the ability to easily take down elites—across multiple disciplines. None of the known S-ranks were true S-ranks.

Without his lightning armor, which gave him speed, defense, and power, the Fourth Raikage was nothing. The Sixth Hokage, from what she had heard, severely lacked the endurance to support his S-rank power. The Fifth Hokage had only been feared for her physical strength and medical ninjutsu. The Fifth Kazekage was also one dimensional, using only sand as the basis of his fighting style. Even Naruto, the renowned "Golden Sun" of Konoha, was nothing without his endurance and immense chakra reserves.

Sasuke, however, was a master of ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and weaponry all at the same time, even without his Sharingan. He even had branched into fuinjutsu. He was the first true S-rank since Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, with no true weaknesses.

"Karin," she heard Sasuke's voice call out.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

She turned to see her cloaked husband standing a few meters away from her, having just arrived using a space-time ninjutsu.

She was annoyed that he kept using his space-time ninjutsu to ignore doors and walls, but she wasn't going to tell him not to. In this land, Sasuke was king and he ruled with an iron fist. While he cared little for formality or verbal respect, he did not accept disobedience.

"It is time."

She gasped. "But, isn't it too soon? So many projects haven't been completely yet! To start now would be reckless."

Karin knew that Sasuke was itching to fight against the Elemental Nations, but this was madness! They didn't have enough firepower to take down the five great villages and the dozens of smaller villages. And that wasn't even counting the conventional forces and legions of samurais they would have to fight against.

"No, it might already be too late," Sasuke said in a low tone. "I have just come back from the main continent and seen evidence that the countries are amassing power. Konoha especially is amassing power at a faster rate than we predicted. The low casualty rates they had in the last few years are almost unbelievable. Their quick rise may threaten all our plans. To ease your worries, for now, we will move slowly, using our influence from afar rather than using direct confrontation."

Karin frowned. "What power could threaten the power of the Gelel Stone? The stone itself is powered by spirit of nature itself. It'll take time, but we'll even be able to perfect the fuinjutsu we created to prevent the usage of chakra within a certain radius. You know as well as I do that chakra is the lifeblood of any ninja. Even the bijuu would be powerless facing this."

Numbers meant nothing if they could perfect their seals. Their seals would render any ninja helpless.

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm not certain, but I can feel it in my blood. The Uchiha blood is borne for battle and I felt it roar in anticipation while on the main continent. I know at least Naruto Uzumaki will not have sat around for over six years doing nothing. He will have found a way to fight even if we drain every bit of chakra from his body. I would never underestimate him."

"You always used to call him a blockhead, so why the fear now?" Karin asked curiously.

She knew that Naruto was strong, but Sasuke never had seemed to respect him. She suspected that it had something to do with their animosity during their genin days, but she was slightly taken aback by the open praise he was giving to his old teammate.

"Karin," she turned to see Juugo, who had just walked into the hall. "This is something only someone who has had a rival would understand. The two of them are incredibly alike, working for the same goal but for different reasons and by using different approaches. Sasuke knows better than anyone that Naruto seeks power."

"Power?" Sasuke repeated in a low tone. "Juugo, you're wrong. We both seek justice. He continues to fight to protect the helpless, the poor, and those he loves. I, on the other hand, seek justice for those who have unjustly been killed and forgotten. For us, power is merely a means to an end. If there were a way to achieve what we seek without power, we would have done it. But this world…this world only fears power."

Karin nodded. "Yeah. So that's why we've been trying to tap into the power of the Gelel Stone for the past year or so."

Sasuke inclined his head slightly in agreement. "The power of the Gelel Stone's strength lies in the fact that it takes away power from the enemy while leaving me with mine. It is about crushing the opposition with a force they cannot fathom."

"Why not just get stronger?" Juugo interrupted. "With more power, you'll just crush everyone in your way. Why specifically search out a way to limit other people's power?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Eventually, a human will hit his limit. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu. I have hit the physical limits in all of the ninja arts. There is only so much chakra a human body can hold and only so much skill, speed, and strength a person can have. One solution is to seek a new type of power. The other is to take away the power of others to raise your relative power. We are doing both by using the Gelel Stone. By stripping away chakra, we are removing the lifeblood of the ninjas who will oppose us while we ourselves are using a foreign power unknown to them."

"I see. That is why you're learning how to fight without chakra," Juugo muttered. "And also why you're having us do the same."

Another nod. "It will take a fantastical amount of power to take on the world. The Gelel Stone will be something that none of the great villages expect and will allow us to swiftly run through them."

"Wouldn't that be the case for Naruto Uzumaki as well? What makes him so special?"

"I'm not sure, but I can feel my blood warning me that Naruto Uzumaki will be a threat to my plans. If he does get in the way, this time," Karin stepped back, startled at the sudden appearance of the red Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan in her husband's eyes, "I will crush him once and for all. For the sake of my justice. For the sake of my family…for the sake of the dead who cry out to me from the other side."

AN: How did you like my characterization of Kakashi? Even if this is an anti-Konoha story, I'm trying not to portray anything in black and white. Or what about Sasuke? One thing I noticed with a lot of stories on this site is that, with the exception of a few writers, most make their characters one-dimensional: Sasuke is often a selfish and arrogant prick; Sakura is almost always a screaming banshee; Danzo might as well be the devil; Hinata is a pure and sweet girl with no flaws aside from her stuttering; Naruto can do no wrong. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but since it's so common on this site, I've elected to try to make many of my characters as complicated as possible. It's just more fun that way. I can't let you love or hate any of them too easily.

That reminds me of something else. Someone PM'ed me just to ask me why I ruined my story already by making it Naruto X Hanabi. Well, that's precisely because of that reason I made it Naruto X Hanabi. I don't want my story to become just one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of great Naruto X Hinata stories or even one of the dozens of decent Naruto X Sakura stories. In comparison, there are only two or three Naruto X Hanabi stories of considerable length...which means more than 100,000 words. I have a chance to do something different here!