Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 60: Sad news and Odd news

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Naruto)

He waited in silence, sitting on the couch in the house. He had changed into a black outfit. Hearing the door to the bedroom close, he looked behind to see Azula striding towards him in clothes similar to his, only in white. Silently, he stood up and together, they walked out of the house. The day outside was partly cloudy, casting shadows around them.

The rest of their team stood at the base of the tree. With the exception of Jiraiya, they all wore the same white outfit that Azula wore (Jiraiya, like Naruto, wore it in the color of black instead). Both Nyla and Akela had left behind since they weren't exactly needed for what was going to happen. In silence, they walked through the streets of Konoha.

Despite of what they were going to, the day and the people didn't look any different. Children still ran around and played. Adults still walked the streets, going somewhere that was important to them. Ship-owners still took care of their stores and sold their wares. It was a normal day for them, although some of them would probably not feel that way when they heard what had happened later.

They kept on walking in silence, the ground crunching beneath their heels. As they walked, members of the Konoha Eleven quietly joined them. No greetings were exchanged, they just kept walking. The people in the street gave way to them, stepping aside as they walked past. When they finally came to a stop, they stood outside the Konoha cemetery.

They saw Kurenai standing nearby the gate leading into the cemetery, the black outfit hiding the bump she was carrying. "Do you guys want some time alone with her?" Sokka quietly asked Shikamaru and his teammates.

Ino shook her head quietly. "Thank you, but there's no need for that." She told him.

"You're sure?" Suki asked.

"There isn't anything to say that she hasn't already heard." Chōji said to them. He and his teammates walked up to her. Together, they headed into the cemetery. The other Konoha members followed them and so did Team Paragon. As they passed through the gate, they couldn't help but remember the day they had gotten the news.

(Flashback)

It was the day after the hot springs incident. The newspapers were everyone and the guys couldn't help but laugh every time they saw one. "It's not funny!" Ino all but shouted at them after they saw one guy pass them with the newspaper in hand and kept looking at women in surprise.

"Yes, it is." Sokka said from where he and Naruto leaned against a fence, Akela at his feet. "It's incredibly funny."

"How?" asked Tenten. "How is this incredibly funny?" Her teammates kept their mouths shut. They both knew if they gave a bad answer and made her mad, she was liable to start throwing things and she rarely missed.

"What a drag." Shikamaru said to himself. "It's funny because for all your accusations of us peeking on you, you've been doing it to us and for a long time. It's just nice to see the tables turned." He told the girls.

"Yes. From now on, men will be calling women perverts." Sasuke said with a smirk. Even though both he and Sakura were there, Naruto was doing his best to ignore them. Even though the three of them didn't know it, there was now a pool on how long it would take before things would come to a head.

"It'll be nice to be able to accuse the girls instead of them accusing us." Kiba noted with a grin.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves, this won't last long." Ino promised them. "Things will be back to the way they were."

"What you mean where women would pick on guys and accuse them of doing it instead?" Azula asked with barely-concealed sarcasm. "Forgive me if I have a hard time believing you on that."

"All we have to do now is find the female version of F.S.-sensei and this will be permanent." Naruto remarked as he pulled out a cigarette. He held it between his lips as he fished around his pockets for his lighter.

"Do you want some help?" His girlfriend asked him.

He shook his head. "You're my girlfriend, Azula, not my personal lighter." When he finally found the lighter, he gave a pleased sound at his small triumph. Just as he was about to use it, they heard the sound of a shinobi landing on the ground. Looking over at where the sound came from, he saw Jiraiya coming towards them. "Hey, we were just talking about you." He said in greeting as he tried to get a light.

Jiraiya didn't say anything in reply, his face uncharacteristically grim and solemn. "I've been looking for you three." He told Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino. "We've received from some bad news from Yukigakure."

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked him, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

His face grew more solemn. "I'm sorry, but Asuma Sarutobi has been killed." Everyone stared at him in shock and disbelief. Naruto's arm fell to his side, the lighter cold in his hand.

(End Flashback)

As the funeral bells rang in the distance, they stood around the new headstone that told of them of where Asuma now rested. Resting on top of the headstone was a picture of the man, smiling confidently. Even though tears were shed freely, no one said a word. It was still hard to believe that it had happen. All they knew was that the shinobi who were dispatched to Yukigakure was finishing up their mission when Asuma was attacked and killed. All the evidence they needed was a piece of paper that was on the ground next to Asuma. On it was a single red cloud. Now the shinobi in Yukigakure were staying longer, in order to find out who was responsible and to ensure that there was no one else.

It had been a week since the news came to them, but it didn't really sink in until they received Asuma's body the day before. "I still can't believe that he's gone." Sokka said mostly to himself. During the time he had known the shinobi, he respected him as a warrior and a teacher, able to keep the peace between his students, knowing when he had to be firm and when not to.

Suki overheard her boyfriend and took hold of his hand, squeezing it lightly. "He was a good man." She told him. She hadn't really known Asuma before coming to Konoha, but she could tell that much about him.

"And now he's a dead man." June remarked, earning a few glares from those who heard her.

"We're at his funeral, June! Have some decency!" Sakura hissed at the bounty hunter.

"I'm just telling the truth." She replied. She did respect the dead shinobi, but she wasn't one to wallow in grief, especially about someone she didn't know all that well. "Besides, I'm the kind of person who'll mourn someone I lost with a drink and a toast."

"I…see." It was obvious that she didn't, but she wasn't going to push the subject. If June had a different way of mourning someone, that was fine by her. She then took a quick look over at Naruto. Ever since that morning, the blonde wore one expression on his face. All one could see on it was that of strict neutrality.

"We are here to remember and honor the life of Asuma Sarutobi." Tsunade said from where she stood in the front of the crowd. "He was a fine shinobi who had served three of the Hokages, including me. He had also served the Fire Daimyo as one of his Guardians. He was a good man who will be missed, especially by those who were close to him." It was a short speech, but she was acting as a leader speaking of a subordinate, not a friend. "Does anyone wish to share anything about him one last time?" She asked the crowd.

"I do." Kurenai said, stepping forward. "I remember the first time the two of us actually went out. Everyone kept assuming that we were together when we weren't. We kept trying to people that we weren't, but they didn't believe us. Finally, when I was about to suggest that we stay away from each other, he asked me if I wanted to try and see if what they were talking about made any sense." She smiled sadly as her hand drifted down to her stomach. "I guess they were right after all."

"I remember one time in the Academy." Genma said, speaking up. "A fight had started up when the teacher was out of the room. Things were about to get ugly when Asuma stepped in between the two groups. He patiently listened to the two sides and then figured out the problem. In the end, he managed to diffuse the tension in the room by cracking a joke that made everyone laugh." He smiled at the memory. "He always managed to do that. Until he had told us otherwise, we all believed that he would end up Hokage someday."

This continued on for a good bit of time. People would step forward and tell a tale of Asuma before stepping back. Some of the stories made the crowd chuckle, and some made them smile. Finally, the last story was for his students to give. When all the eyes fell on them, Ino stepped forward. "The memory of Asuma-sensei that stands out the most to me was when we first met him." She told them.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about that." Chōji agreed, stepping forward as well. He took a quick look at Shikamaru, who stayed behind and stayed silent. Deciding not to ask him to tell the tale as well, the Akimichi clan heir continued. "He took us out of the Academy and sat us down on a nearby bench. With a cigarette in his mouth, he introduced himself and told us that he wasn't going to go easy on us now that we were shinobi."

"When he saw that we had started to cry, he said that there wasn't any need for us to do that, saying all he had done at that point was barely threatening. Shikamaru immediately told him off, telling him it was the smoke from his cigarette. It was stinging our eyes." The story made everyone there laugh. It was typical of Asuma to do that. He had often forgotten that the smoke from his cigarettes would sting the eyes of people who weren't use to them.

The laughs died as both Chōji and Ino stepped back into the crowd. Silently, one by one, they stepped up to the headstone, bowed their heads, and placed the flowers they carried on and around it. Soon, the grave would be covered in them, but would be removed within a few hours. If people saw that, it would be heart-rending. That was why it was done during the night.

The crowd began to trickle away from the cemetery as the funeral ended, leaving through the gate and then spreading out through the streets. The only people who stayed at the grave were Kurenai and Asuma's students. No one begrudged them that last quiet moment. As Team Paragon walked out onto the street, they saw someone that made Naruto inwardly cringe. Danzō stood in the street, looking straight at them. When he began to walk forward towards them, they stopped. "How are you holding up, Naruto?" He asked the blonde, stopping just in front of him.

"Shouldn't you be asking that question to Kurenai, Shikamaru, Chōji, and Ino?" Naruto asked, avoiding direct eye contact with him. In the back of his mind, a small voice was telling him to run, to hide away from the man in front of him. It was taking everything he had not to obey that voice.

"It is you I am concerned for, not them. You are a lot more important in the long run than they are." He said bluntly. The people around him scowled at him for saying such a thing (at the tail end of a funeral of all things), but he ignored them.

"You make it sound like I'm coming back once this is all done. I'm not." The blonde said firmly, glaring at him.

"That has yet to be decided. I don't believe that you would turn your back so easily on the place that raised you, gave you clothes to wear on your back, food to eat, and a bed to sleep in. It is not easy to betray the village that trained you to be a shinobi."

"Funny, I found it quite easy the first time, considering the village didn't exactly do a very good job of training me." He retorted, clenching his hands into fists, making them shake slightly. Somehow, the man's words echoed in his mind, casting a small seed of doubt in his beliefs.

Danzō took notice of the shaking fists and smiled slightly. Without saying anything, he turned around and walked away from them. He kept on walking, moving away from the funeral. If he was sad about anything, it was that Konoha had lost a fine shinobi. Asuma may have been Hiruzen's son, but he saw him as a shinobi first and the child of his former friend second. Once he was a good distance away from the cemetery, he turned around to face those who had been following hm. "Is there something you require?" He asked his Hokage and her teammate.

"Danzō, you were told to stay away from Naruto." Jiraiya said to him, anger clearly showing on his face.

"I remember." He replied calmly. "But can I not be worried about how a former charge of mine is feeling when someone he knows has died?"

"Naruto was never your charge. You were training him to be your tool." Tsunade accused him. It looked like she was restraining herself from throwing a punch at him.

"I was training him to be a shinobi. It was obvious that he was going to need careful guidance from the moment he was born."

"By beating him and telling him how worthless he was every time he read or wrote something wrong? Do you have any idea what that is like to a child!? We're lucky that he didn't kill himself!" Her voice rose, but she wasn't shouting yet.

"It wouldn't have gone to that." He told her calmly. If there was one thing he learned in all his years as a shinobi, it was never good to lose your temper. A loss of temper led to rash things. "I would not have let the village's Jinchūriki kill himself over a petty reason such as that."

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade snarled at his words but didn't move attack him. "He's not your tool, Danzō." Jiraiya repeated.

"Neither is he yours. If I remember correctly, he left you two behind as well when he betrayed the village." While Tsunade flinched at his words, Jiraiya remained confident.

"If that was true, he wouldn't have accepted me as his sensei again, would he?" The Toad Sage asked. "Stay away from him, Danzō." He ordered before turning around and leaving with Tsunade.

He would've walked away as well, had he not seen the girl who was apparently the Jinchūriki's girlfriend. "And what do you want?" He asked. He wasn't sure if she had arrived with Tsunade and Jiraiya or not. But that was not important.

"I think it would be best for your health if you stayed away from Naruto like they suggested." She told him, walking closer to him.

"And why should I do that?" He asked her, not showing any emotion.

"Because the next time you come anywhere near him, I will burn you to ashes." She threatened him, bending a small ball of fire into her hand to emphasize her point.

"How interesting," He remarked with a small smirk appearing on his mouth. "You seemed to be under the impression that you will succeed in that endeavor."

"If I can't, I'll just get some of my friends to help me. Maybe they'll hold you down as I put a bolt of lightning through your heart." She replied, still holding the ball of fire in her hand.

"If that's supposed to scare me, you will have to try harder than that." He told her, never losing his cool. "I have faced enemies that would've terrified you just by being in the same room. There's nothing you could say that would scare me."

"I was not trying to scare you, I was making a promise." She extinguished the ball of fire. "Stay away from Naruto and I'll let you live. The next time you feel like getting close to him, please think about how it would feel being slowly burn alive or having a lightning bolt pass through your heart, killing you in one stroke." She walked away from him.

As he watched her disappear from his sight, he smiled slightly. He had to give her credit. Many would've blustered more or even falter when looking at his dispassionate eyes. But she didn't. She held her ground and told him what would happen if he continued. In a way, it reminded him of the day Hiruzen confronted him.

(Flashback)

"DANZŌ!" roared Hiruzen as he stormed into the room, Jiraiya close behind him. Both had looks of anger upon their faces but it was the one on Hiruzen's face that unnerved him.

"What is it?" He asked from where he sat. He could see that both of them were furious just by their stances and how they seem to fill the small room that was his office.

"We've managed to locate Naruto." Jiraiya told him, his teeth clenched.

"Oh, that is good. Where was he?"

"Out on the streets, where he had been living for a week, after he ran away from the orphanage that you own." Hiruzen answered. "This is odd, considering that wasn't the orphanage I had originally put him in." There was an accusatory tone in each of his words. It was clear that he knew what that meant.

Even if it did, Danzō tried to play it cool. "Are you sure about that, Hiruzen? It's possible that you mixed up the orphanages and gave him to mine. It does happen, even with—"

"DON'T FUCK WITH US!" Jiraiya roared, cutting him off. "WE KNOW THE TRUTH!"

"Jiraiya!" Hiruzen barked, making the Toad Sage stop. He didn't look at back his student. Instead, he focused on who he thought was his friend. "Naruto told me of what you were doing to him."

"I was teaching him how to read and write." Danzō replied.

"And beating him with your cane and telling him he was worthless when he got something wrong." He said in return. "You don't think I wouldn't tell what you were trying to do to him?"

"I was trying him to be a shinobi."

"You were training him to be one of your ROOT shinobi." He countered. "Have you forgotten what Minato asked of us? He wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero!"

"And I am doing exactly that. I am training him to be the ideal shinobi, by having his emotions removed." The next thing he knew, he was struck in the face by an iron pole. He landed face-down on the floor. Before he could even try to move, he was flipped over and he saw the end of a staff directly over his face. He also felt a kunai at his throat

"Not anymore, you aren't." Hiruzen told him, holding the staff while Jiraiya held the kunai. "For the sake of our supposed friendship, I'm going to give you only one warning, Danzō: if you ever come near Naruto again, you are dead. Are we clear?"

He could only stifle a gulp as he looked into Hiruzen's eyes. This was the Hokage who protected the village. This was the man who stood for everyone in Konoha, even from those inside it. "Yes, we are." He answered. It was the only thing he could say.

(End Flashback)

"They are quite protective of him." He mused quietly to himself as he walked away. He probably would've been like that too, if he was a friend to the blonde and was made of less sterner stuff. But he wasn't, his first loyalty was to the village and that was all that mattered. "And in the end, they'll thank me for what I've done. He doesn't even know it, but I've secured his loyalty." He thought in triumph as he walked down an alleyway, disappearing into its shadows.

(Location: Tobi)

He stood at a nearby window, watching as the rain poured down from the sky and hammered against the window pane. He was remembering Kisame and his life. In a way, the blue-skinned shinobi had been his closest confident (one might even say friend). While the loss was not as great as ones he had suffered in his past, it was still a hard one.

But still, despite Kisame's death, he was overly concerned with it. It didn't matter in the long run. Once the plan was completed, he would be able to see him again, along with Asuma and all those that had to die or had died because it was necessary. The memories of what occurred in Yukigakure were still fresh in his mind.

(Flashback)

The side of a wall burst open as Asuma flew through it. He crashed into the ground, rolling for a brief second before stopping. Blood seeped out from a wound in his side and he was fairly certain that one of his ankles was twisted. One of his trench-knives lay nearby. If he could get to it, he would better off against his attacker.

"Don't even think about it." A snarling voice told him as the duel-colored form of Zetsu followed him out of the ruined wall. "You won't make it to it."

"Besides, what good would it do you?" Another voice from Zetsu asked. When this voice, he could see the mouth on the white side of the creature move.

"You don't know that." Asuma told him as he mentally calculated both the distance to the trench-knife and the time it would take to get to it.

"He may not, but I do." Tobi said as he came out of the wall as well. "Don't try to reach for the trench-knife, Asuma. You won't make it." He wasn't playing the idiot he usually played. Instead, he was the serious and cold leader of the Akatsuki.

He considered it for another moment, but then dropped his shoulders in defeat. "I guess I won't." He looked up at the two who had caught him by surprise and fought him. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, I am." The masked Akatsuki member answered.

"Why?" He could feel himself getting woozy from the loss of blood but he wanted to know why the man and creature standing over him decided to do this.

"Because the playing field has to be leveled," He told him in complete seriousness.

"That doesn't make any sense." He protested.

"Only because you don't know the scale of what has happened," The snarling voice of Zetsu told him. "Your lot took one of ours, so we take one of yours with interest." The hate coming from his voice was almost palpable.

"Enough, Zetsu," Tobi ordered him, his tone never changing. "He will soon be dead; there is no need to tell him such things. They will make no sense to him anyway"

"Just who are you anyway?" Asuma demanded as he tried to move, making more blood seep out of his wound. "Why are you so afraid that you would hide behind a mask?" If there was one thing he wanted to know, it was who was behind that mask.

He looked at the Konoha shinobi for what seemed to be a long moment before turning to face Zetsu. "Leave us." He ordered. The creature didn't protest, he simply turned and walked away, disappearing into the ground as he went. When he was sure Zetsu was gone, the masked shinobi faced Asuma once again. He reached up and took off his mask, lifting it gently over his head.

When he saw who it was, Asuma's eyes went wide in shock and disbelief. "That's impossible, you were dead." He protested. "They said you were dead."

"They didn't know I lived." The now unmasked Akatsuki member answered simply.

"But why would you do this? Why would you betray us?"

"I had originally planned to come back, but on the way, I came across something that made me lose faith in this reality."

When those words were spoken, he somehow knew what he meant. "Oh Kami, you saw her die, didn't you?"

"With my own two eyes," He confirmed as he put the mask back on and pulled out a kunai, knelling down so they were almost face-to-face. "Goodbye, Asuma Sarutobi." He said before plunging the kunai into the Konoha shinobi's heart. Asuma only gave a small grunt in recognition of what happened. Then his eyes fell dead and he slumped forward.

Tobi left the kunai in his heart and rose back up. Out of his sleeve, he pulled out a single piece of paper and let it fall to the ground. He then leapt to the top of a nearby building and waited in silence. He stayed like through the rest of the night, almost like he was waiting in vigil. When the morning came and Asuma's body was found, he disappeared.

(End Flashback)

"What are you thinking of?" The white part of Zetsu asked as he came into the room.

"Nothing that concerns you, Zetsu," He said without turning to face him. "Has it been sent?"

"Yeah, he should be getting it anytime now." The black part of Zetsu answered. "But was it really necessary to send it to him?" The white part asked.

"Even though he did exactly as I wanted, he and his little team damaged us by doing more than that. For that, I must both congratulate and punish them." He had them where he wanted them and he would not allow any misstep to happen.

"Was really necessary to kill the others as well?" The white part asked him.

"Is that doubt I hear from you, Zetsu?" He asked in return. While his tone was only questioning, those who knew him would've been able to hear the dangerous undercurrent in it. They now had to tread lightly and be careful with their answers.

"It's curiosity." The black part told him. "It's not like you to kill those who weren't in your way, Tobi."

"Do you not realize how much of a setback we know have because of Kisame's loss? It'll now take longer for us to seal away the remaining Bijū. Kakuzu was an acceptable loss, Kisame wasn't." He explained. "By taking out the others, we not only pay them back, we also harm them emotionally as well."

"Oh, I see now." The white part said in realization. "You truly are devious, Tobi." The black part told the masked shinobi.

He didn't say anything for a moment. He just looked out at the rain, falling from the sky. "What I do, I do to rid ourselves of this useless reality." He said quietly. If Zetsu had heard him, he didn't say anything.

(Location: Konoha cemetery)

Shikamaru still stood in front of Asuma's grave. Kurenai, Ino, and Chōji had already left but he stayed. It had been well over two hours since the funeral's end and yet, it didn't feel like that to him. He still couldn't believe that Asuma was dead. It felt like a bad dream that he couldn't wake up from. He heard footsteps walking up behind him, but he didn't do anything to acknowledge it. "I thought you would still be here." Naruto remarked as he walked up beside Shikamaru. The blonde had change out of the morning clothes he had been given and back into his normal ones. There was a stark contrast between the two of them and yet, they said nothing about it.

"Hey, Naruto," He greeted quietly, still focused on the grave. "Is there something you need?"

"No. I don't need anything right now. You on the other hand, you definitely need to stop moping around here." He pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "You want one?" He asked, holding out the pack.

"Why are you here, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked him again, being blunt with him as he ignored the pack of cigarettes.

"I'm here to help you get past this." He replied, being just as blunt. "You can't stay here. You're likely to get dragged away from here when night falls."

"What would you want me to do? I couldn't protect my own sensei."

"You weren't there, Shikamaru." The blonde told him. His tone was firm, but it didn't look the heir to the Nara clan heard it.

"I should've been. He offered a place on the mission for me and I refused, saying it was too troublesome." His voice was filled with bitterness when he remembered those words.

"Let me guess, he just laughed, said that was just like you, and didn't bring the subject up again?" It sounded like the man when it came to him and Shikamaru.

"Yeah, he did just that. He said he understood and then we went back to our game." It was their last game of Shogi and he thought nothing of it at the time.

"Still, the fact remains that you weren't there and so, there was nothing you could've done." Naruto reminded him. The cigarette still hung in his mouth, still unlit.

"I could've been there!"

"But you weren't, standing here wishing that you were there and that you could've saved isn't going to do anything. Odds are that either you would've died in his place or you both would be dead."

He looked at the blonde with anger and rage in his eyes. "What the hell would you know, Naruto? What would you know about the pain of losing someone? What would know of the feeling that you won't ever see them again? You don't know anything! You don't the right to say anything!" He shouted.

As he listened to the tirade, Naruto's eye went flat and hard. When it was over, he took the still unlit cigarette from his mouth and held it in his hand. "Tell me, Shikamaru." He began. "How many people have you lost in combat since you became a shinobi? Oh, that's right." He cut off the clan heir before he could even speak. "You've lost just the one. Do you know how many people I've lost since I left and fought in the Hundred Year War? How many who were living one moment and dead the next? How many I probably sent to their deaths? How many I killed myself so they wouldn't have to suffer?" He took a step forward, getting into Shikamaru's personal space. "I've lost count. If there is anyone who doesn't know anything or have the right to say anything, it's you!" The last part of the sentence seemed to echo throughout the cemetery.

Taking a step back, he put the cigarette back in his mouth and took out his lighter. Lighting the cigarette and taking a drag, he felt himself calm down. After a minute of silence between the two, Shikamaru finally spoke. "Sorry, Naruto, I was out of line." He apologized. He had honestly forgotten the fact that Naruto fought in a war in his rage. It was obvious that the blonde would've lost people in the war.

"Yeah, not one of your brightest moments," He remarked as he took another drag. After another moment of silence, he held out the pack again. "You sure you don't want one?"

"…You know what? I will take one." He took one of the cigarettes and put it in his mouth. Naruto held up his lighter and lit it, offering the light to him. He took it, lighting the end of his cigarette and took a drag. Almost immediately, he began to cough. "How do you people do this?" He demanded.

"How nostalgic," The blonde mused silently to himself. "It takes a little practice. Try going slower on the next drag." He suggested, repeating the words that Jiraiya had told him. Shikamaru did as he was told. They stood in silence as he figured it out. "Asuma was a good man." The blonde finally said.

"And a good sensei," Shikamaru agreed. "How do you move past this kind of pain?" If there was someone who could answer that question and give him a good, straight answer, it was Naruto.

"I'm not sure you can move past it, I never could." He admitted honestly. "But there are ways to deal with it. You could share the grief with other people."

"Like Kurenai-sensei, Ino, and Chōji?" He asked for clarification.

"Yeah, like them. Personally, I always found when that doesn't work; the simplest approach does, at least for me."

"What's that?"

"Just find a quiet spot and scream."

He could only stare at the blonde. "Are you serious?"

Naruto nodded. "You'd be amazed at how helpful it is. And if I remember correctly, we're not that far from the forest, right?" He turned around and walked away from the grave. About halfway to the gate, he stopped and turned back around. "One more thing, Shikamaru," He said.

"What?"

"You may think that as your life goes on, you'll forget about him. But he won't be." He smiled and tapped the back of his head. "He'll always be there, in the back of your mind. He'll be there, in the form of your memories of him, the good times, the bad, each and every single one of them. Sometimes it's a blessing, sometimes it's a curse. But he's still there. Don't ever forget that." He turned back around and walked out of the cemetery.

Shikamaru stood there for a few more minutes. Then he turned around and walked over to the edge of the cemetery and leapt for the trees. He sprinted through the branches, going deeper and deeper into the forest surrounding Konoha. The cigarette fell from his mouth at some point, but he didn't care, it was already done anyway. He landed in a small, quiet clearing, a good distance away from the village. He sank to his knees as his emotions began to rise up from where he held them down. He tried to force them down but his memories of Asuma kept making them come back up. Finally, he took Naruto's advice. He lifted his head and screamed.

Naruto had finished his cigarette just after he had left the cemetery. He wasn't a chain-smoker by any means, but today's events warranted another round. He was in the midst of pulling out the pack when a young boy ran up to him. "Mr. Naruto?" He asked.

"Yeah," He answered shortly, putting away the pack.

"Letter for you, sir," The boy said, holding the letter out for him to take.

He was hesitant to take it. The letter itself was plain and uninteresting. That made it all the more suspicious to him. "Who's it from?" He asked as he finally took the letter, holding it gingerly.

"Don't know, sir," The boy answered honestly. "I was just told to get it to you as quick as I could." He held out his hand, like he was expecting something.

Naruto knew what he wanted. He reached into his pocket, pulled out some money and slapped it into the boy's hand. He closed his hand and took off, not bothering to look at the money he had been given (he would later realized that Naruto had given him twice the usual tipping amount), leaving the blonde alone with the letter. He walked over to a nearby wall and leaned against. Opening the letter, he began to silently read it. By the time he was done, his face held a furious gaze and began to openly swear. It was an empty he was swearing to, so no one heard him.

Ironically enough, it was the swearing that led Jiraiya to him. "There you are." The Toad Sage said as he came around the corner. He was about to say more when he noticed both the letter and the swearing. "What is it?" He asked, immediately concerned.

Naruto stopped swearing to look at him. "Read this." He practically ordered, shoving the letter into his hands.

He took the letter and began to read.

To the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi

I must congratulate you and your team on a job well done. You must be quite skilled to be able to take out Kakuzu. But then again, I was hoping you would do just that.

Now, there's no need to look surprised. Did you think I wouldn't know about it? I was the one who convinced Kakuzu to start going to the Underground Auction. I knew it would pay off in the long run. And so it did. You've ridded me of a person who could've been most troublesome if he had lived to see the endgame. And please, don't let his self-conceived title let you believe things. He was by no means our Treasurer.

However, you have caused me a slight hindrance by killing Kisame. He was not supposed to be there. Normally, I wouldn't care if he was there or not. But there's the small issue of you killing him and allowing the Kiri team you were working with to take Samehada. You have stepped out of line and for that, I am forced to punish you.

I assume that by the time you are reading this letter, Asuma Sarutobi has arrived in Konoha. I would've loved to have been at the funeral, but I had pressing matters elsewhere. Now normally, that would've been all I would do to you. However, since you have disrupted my plan, I am forced to be a bit more through in punishing you. I'm afraid the life of Jiraiya's old fishing friend had to be taken also, as well as the owner of that club you used to find out where the Underground Auction was. You will be probably confused by what I did, but Jiraiya knows and he can tell you.

But there is a way for you all to see them again. All you would have to do is surrender yourself to the Akatsuki. You would help us free the world from the reality it lives. If you will not, then so be it. Just remember this: you have been dancing to my tune ever since you accepted the first mission after coming back. The fact that you killed Kisame is a misstep, and looked what it cost you.

Sincerely

Tobi of the Akatsuki

By the time he was done reading the letter, his hands were dangerously close to ripping the thing to shreds. "Damn him." He snarled. "Damn him! Those two had nothing to do with this!"

"They helped us, I guess that makes them fair game in his eyes." Naruto replied, just as angry. "Jiraiya, I know that Ryōshi was a close friend of yours, but I need to know: who was the owner of that club to you?"

He fell silent for a brief moment before finally speaking. "She was my daughter. The bastard killed my daughter." He didn't bother to look over and see the look of horror dawn on Naruto's face, replacing the anger.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Jiraiya." He said. It was the only thing he felt he could say at that point. While he may have lost people he knew, he had never lost his own child. "Kami take that man to an early grave." He swore. "It's like he knows Lesson number 9 and is using it to taunt us!"

"What is Lesson number 9?" The Toad Sage asked him. He had heard the blonde say it many times before, along with the other eight lessons, almost like they were a mantra. But he never actually asked what the ninth lesson was (mostly because it either slipped his mind or something interrupted them).

"Lesson number 9: there is always someone better." He recited. That was the lesson which also served as a warning and only an idiot would ignore it.

"I see." It made sense to Jiraiya, seeing as he had several years of experience to back the lesson up. "In any case, I didn't come here so we could rage over a letter. Our team has been called into a meeting with Tsunade. We're needed there, ASAP."

"I understand." A mission would help them ignore what the letter had told them. Especially the parts about how they were duped and what it cost them for going the extra step. "But what do we do about this?" He held up the letter.

"Burn it. Nobody, except for the two of us and Tsunade, needs to know about what this latter contains."

The blonde nodded in agreement. Pulling out his lighter, he held it under the paper and lit it. Waiting carefully, the letter soon caught fire. He flung it into the air. They watched as the letter floated down to the ground, burning to ashes as it fell. Once it was fully burned, Naruto scattered the ashes with a few swift kicks. "There." He said with a tone of finality as he looked at Jiraiya. "Let's go."

As they walked into the office of the Hokage, they both noticed that the rest of the team (with the exception of Nyla) was already there. "What took you so long?" Tsunade demanded as they fell in.

"I was talking to Shikamaru. He needed it." Naruto answered shortly. "What's this all about?"

"We just received a messenger hawk from Kumo. The Raikage wants us to send a group of Konoha shinobi there to talk about possible trade agreements."

"Let me guess, he wants a Hyūga to come as well?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Actually, no, he doesn't. The message was coded. What it really said that is the Raikage, at the request of his brother, has asked for you personally to come to Kumo."

That raised questioning eyebrows from everyone on the team (except for Jiraiya, who already guessed the reason). "What for?" asked the blonde.

"To train you," She told him.

"Why would the Raikage's brother want to train me?" Something was a little fishy about the whole thing. He just wasn't sure what it was.

"It's because the Raikage's brother is like you, Naruto." Jiraiya told him, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The only difference is that he has full control over his Bijū."

"And there's what it is." He thought to himself. "But why does he want to train me? We're not even from the same village." And while he would like to consider the other Jinchūriki to be his family, he didn't know the guy.

"Perhaps he recognized the danger the Akatsuki present and wants to make sure that you survive it as well?" Azula suggested.

"Maybe he feels a certain kinship with you and wants to actually meet you." Sokka suggested. It kinda made sense to the Tribesman, considering that they carried the same burden.

"It doesn't matter in the end. You're leaving in an hour." Tsunade told them. "This is a top secret mission. No one outside of this office is to know what you have heard."

Naruto stifled a sigh. "I'm guessing that I have no choice in the matter?" He asked, already knowing the answer. He and his team were supposed to only have missions concerning the Akatsuki. The last time he checked, going to train in a different village did not qualify as that kind mission. But he could also see why they wanted him to go.

"None," She said her tone final. "All of you pack for an extended leave away from the village." She told all of them. "You are dismissed." They acknowledge the dismissal by giving her brief nods. As they left the office, she noticed a small piece of paper on the edge of her desk. As the door closed behind them, she opened the piece of paper and read what it held.

When she was done, her face was set in an angry scowl. She crumpled the paper up, tore it to shreds, and then threw them into a nearby trashcan. Pulling out one of the desk's drawers, she took out a small bottle of sake and a cup. Wordlessly, she poured the drink into the cup and drained it in one shot. It was just the first of several she had that night before she called it quits.

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Thus ends the previous arc and begins the new one. I wouldn't call this chapter a filler chapter. I would call it a transition between the two arcs.

Can any of you imagine what a female Super Pervert would be like (and I'm not talking about a female Jiraiya here)? No man would be safe from her. On the other hand, you wouldn't have to worry about the Fanboys, she'd scare them off!

Yes, Asuma is dead. Were you expecting him to stay alive just because it's my story? Sorry, not happening. Just look at it as a way for Naruto to bond slightly with one of the Konoha Eleven. It might make things complicated later (and we all love it when things get complicated).

Sorry if this isn't the usual length I give you in a chapter. Let's face it, there's only so much you can cram into a chapter that's centered on a funeral. Put any more in there then needed and the chapter kinda loses its point.

For those of you who are going to say that since Naruto is going to Kumo and learn from Killer Bee, he'll be able to handle the Kyūbi's chakra and use it to enter the Nine-Tailed Charka Mode; I have just this to say to you. Wait until I'm done with the arc before you start complaining about he's becoming a Mary Sue.

I'll see you all next chapter!