Chapter 1

Naruto stared. The old man with sharp eyes and an X on his chin slowly, calmly, closed the door behind him and walked in the same manner up to Tsunade's desk, his cane thunking lightly with each step.

"Tsunade," he said, in a voice so dry Naruto could hear sand. He also heard familiarity. This guy…was a friend of Baa-chan's?

"Danzō." No, not a friend, Naruto quickly concluded. Even when he annoyed her, Baa-chan never sounded like she seriously wanted to punch him, repeatedly, into the rock faces of the past Hokage. "Why are you here?" Danzō did not reply. Tsunade scowled. "I knew you were listening outside the door. I was waiting for you to come in and disrupt –"

"I am a member of the council and as such have the right to speak of my disagreements, if I feel I must."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, but before she could reply, Sakura intervened, pointing a shaking finger at him.

"You," she said, her eyes wide in what Naruto had come to dub as Sakura Rage Level 2, with the highest being 1. "You," scratch that, it was Sakura Rage Level 1.5 … 1.4 … "You're Shimura Danzō, Sai's shishou –"

"I prefer sensei, though that is also a misnomer," was the languid interruption. Sakura went on, either ignoring or not hearing.

"You're the one who ordered Sai to assassinate Sasuke-kun," she said with a voice as quiet as death.

Danzō regarded her for a moment before nodding silently. "I am."

There was movement, the sound of a fist connecting with flesh, and the wind from the rapid displacement of air.

Naruto's eyes were crimson, the thickened whisker marks on his cheeks accentuating his elongated canines. His lips were twisted into a snarl, and he growled – the sound of an animal – as he stared up into the stern face of Jiraiya. His fist was caught in both of his sensei's hands.

"Calm down, Naruto," he said quietly, standing between his student and Danzō, who stared blandly at the scene as though unperturbed by it.

When Naruto spoke, his voice was the growl of an enraged fox. "But Ero-sennin –"

"Calm. Down." Naruto stared up at him, his breathing heavy, his teeth gnashing with the urge to rip into Danzō's neck. But, slowly, keeping his eyes on Jiraiya's face, he calmed down, and his breathing evened. He blinked, and his eyes returned to their natural blue.

Feeling suddenly tired, he lowered his fist with a mumbled apology. Jiraiya excused him with a warm pat on the head, which Naruto brushed off with a pout.

Sakura released a small breath, feeling strangely calmed by watching the exchange.

Tsunade threw a small smirk Jiraiya's way, to which the Toad Sage squared his shoulders with just a bit of his kabuki-inspired pomp.

Danzō cleared his throat.

The warming atmosphere was cold once again.

"Haruno Sakura, was it?" The girl stiffened at being addressed, her green eyes wary. "You refer to him affectionately, but Uchiha Sasuke was, at the time, a defected Konoha ninja who joined Orochimaru of his own volition. Therefore, I did what I thought was necessary.

"However," he said quickly as she opened her mouth, a flash of danger in her eyes, "It is different, now that he has killed one of Konoha's greatest enemies. I applaud him." That simple statement left everyone's jaws on the floor. Tsunade physically reeled back, her eyes widening.

"What?" she whispered.

"I applaud him. And I wish to see him brought back to Konoha and fighting on our side."

Tsunade stared, her honey-brown eyes quivering slightly. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Hell, she had half a mind to have Jiraiya hold the man down while she took blood samples to prove he was not an imposter.

"What are you up to?" she asked bluntly, staring so hard one thought she might actually activate the Byakugan through willpower alone.

Danzō maintained a perfectly bland expression. "I told you," he said with an equally unremarkable tone. "I wish to voice a disagreement."

"What do you mean?" It was Naruto this time. He peered at Danzō, his eyes squinting in confusion. "You just said you want to bring Sasuke back." Unlike the more cunning of his peers, Naruto had neither aptitude nor understanding of duplicity.

Danzō turned slowly to look him in the eyes. "I do. But here is my disagreement. I do not think you should go on the mission to retrieve him."

The room fell into shocked silence once again. Naruto, after his recent episode with the Kyuubi's chakra, quickly found himself rising to those levels of anger again.

"What?" his shoulders were shaking; Jiraiya rested his large hands there, effectively keeping Naruto's anger under Kyūbi levels. "Why?!" He blinked, as a sudden thought came to him. "Who are you anyway? Who the hell do you think you are, you old bastard?"

Ignoring the disrespect, Danzō responded calmly. "I am a member of Konoha's council. A subsidiary advisor to the Hokage, if you will." Naruto didn't understand any of that. Danzō knew it.

"A subordinate," Sakura whispered helpfully into his ear.

"Oh," said Naruto, blinking plainly. "Then it's only your opinion. Baa-chan already said I'm going, you can't –"

"It's not that simple," Danzō said, some of his patience leaving with a sigh.

"But –"

"Naruto."

"But Baa-chan –"

"Naruto, shut up for a minute." It was not said unkindly, and Naruto closed his mouth, looking curiously at Tsunade as she leaned forward, elbows on her desk, fingers laced beneath her chin.

"Talk Danzō. Why do you think Naruto shouldn't go?"

"With all respect, Hokage-sama (it was the first time since he had entered that he used her proper title. Tsunade dreaded what was coming) I would like to hear the reasons why you think he should go, so I can see if any of my arguments are invalid."

It was always like this with him, Tsunade thought as she clipped her teeth together. To seem so willing, so helpful, only to come in later and devastate every word she spoke, every idea she put forward. She had no doubt it was his plan again today. But, as focused as he seemed on her, she was not his target.

"Jiraiya, take Naruto and Sakura out –"

"I would have them stay, Tsunade, if that is all right with you."

"Danzō –"

"The boy wants to become Hokage, yes? It is a bad sign that he knows next to nothing about the council. About our roles…"

"As if you actually believe he'll become Hokage!" Tsunade laughed.

"I scrutinize him, but then, I do so with all candidates. I did so with you."

"And you're still doing it," Tsunade said between teeth pressed together in a dangerous smile. Danzō stayed silent. The two teenagers looked on with interest – and with their feet rooted to the floor. They would not go anywhere, Tsunade knew. Not without a long bout of arguing that she just did not have the patience for.

"Very well," she said, leaning back in her chair. "Naruto was one of the group sent out to retrieve Sasuke 3 years ago."

"A mission that ended in failure."

Tsunade grit her teeth for a moment before moving on. "Since that failure he has vowed to improve, and spent three years training vigorously to that effect. He has recently created a brand new jutsu with dare I say Kage level power and effects that have never before been seen by the shinobi world." Her voice rose with each word, as Naruto's eyes widened, the blues sparkling. Jiraiya gave his shoulders a little squeeze out of his own pride.

"With this jutsu," Tsunade continued, "he took down an S-ranked missing nin with one shot. He does not lack in power and his strategies, though a bit reckless at times, are unique, creative and bold. He has more than enough qualifications, but above that," she leaned forward, her eyes alight with fire, "this is HIS mission. For all he has been through, for all the blood, sweat and tears he has shed, he is the one with all the right to go after Sasuke. And no one, not you, not even me, has any claim, or any right, to tell him not to go!"

"Baa-chan…" Naruto whispered.

Danzō nodded. "Quite emotional, Tsunade. I expected nothing less," he said so smoothly, his voice like the silkiest cream. Naruto shuddered. Guys who spoke like that usually did not have good things to say. "I see now that there is no flaw in my argument."

"What?" Tsunade demanded.

"Like I said before. The retrieval mission three years ago ended in failure. Since then, Naruto (Naruto grit his teeth – Danzō had said his name as though it was something to be thrown away – a waste of his time) has trained for three years with Lord Jiraiya, Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku. He returned, and went after Sasuke again. Tell me Tsunade, since you left that part out, what were the results of that mission?"

She should have fought. Even if Naruto did not want to go, she should have fought and thrown him out with her own hands if she had to. She could not look at him, as she gave her answer.

"A failure."

Danzō nodded silently. Solemnly. Tsunade hated him. "He defeated an S-ranked missing nin. I hope that Kakashi this time would answer this, seeing as he has faced both in battle. Was that missing nin, Kakuzu, anywhere on par with Itachi's level?"

The room turned as Kakashi suddenly appeared, crouched in the window behind the Hokage's chair, the lazy expression that was usually on his face nowhere in sight. He silently handed over a sheet of paper to Tsunade, who read while he gave his answer.

"Nowhere on par." And it was the truth. He had landed some good hits on Kakuzu. He had been knocked into a coma only a few seconds after looking Itachi in the eye.

"Of course. There are different levels to the members of Akatsuki after all. They are not all a bunch of Itachis."

"What are you getting at Danzō?" Tsunade clipped.

"Let me say it like this. Jiraiya himself had an encounter with Itachi and his partner Kisame three years ago. There was no battle to speak of. Why? I cannot imagine Lord Jiraiya backing down, so I imagine Itachi was the one to retreat. Uchiha Itachi retreated. Meaning he at least found Lord Jiraiya to be his equal." Naruto barely felt Jiraiya's hands on his shoulders. He was starting to become lightheaded, and was sweating in strange places. This man…his words…

Danzō nodded to the paper Tsunade had in her hands. "Tell me, are the entire group of shinobi on that paper capable of capturing Lord Jiraiya? And if they are, will they still have enough energy left to successfully confront Sasuke? After all, I doubt Itachi will be complacent. And I'm sure you have not forgotten that Sasuke is now more powerful than Orochimaru."

"That's not fair!" Sakura finally spoke, her knuckles turning white from the way she had been clenching her fists for the past few minutes. "That comparison isn't – if we work together we can –!"

"Then would you like to try it?" Danzō responded coolly. It took Sakura only one glance at the Toad Sage to send a small tremor through her body. She had fought Sasori. And she was almost killed a shameful number of times. She had to give all of herself and more, and even then she had to rely so heavily on Chiyo Baa-sama.

Danzō glared at the paper in Tsunade's tightening fingers. "You send four Chūnin, two Jōnin, one Anbu and one Genin on this mission, Tsunade, and you will have a repeat of the failure of three years ago," Danzō finished with a decisive thunk of his cane.

A horrible silence followed his speech. Naruto looked to Tsunade, who was glaring at the paper in her hands, not seeing it.

Finally, she turned her eyes sharply to the old man. "What do you suggest then?"

"Baa-chan!"

"Myself." Once again, Tsunade stared in speechless silence. "Myself, in place of the Jinchūriki."

Tsunade finally stood like a swelling tide, her chair wheeling back and hitting one of Kakashi's knees with a soft thud.

"Are you mad?" she asked, softly and plainly, her eyes seeming to truly search for signs of dementia.

"No," was the levelly returned response, "I have taken part in the First and Third Great Ninja Wars. I have decades of experience in retrieval and capture type missions, with a success record that would put any combination of Jōnin in this village to shame. And as to my skills in combat, I am sure you and Lord Jiraiya have not forgotten that spar between myself and Hiruzen?"

Naruto felt Ero-sennin's hands tighten on his shoulders. His stomach was slowly filling with a cold, heavy feeling, something that was foreign to him. The room disappeared for a moment; he and Sasuke were children again, Sasuke's back reaching farther and farther away, and Naruto stumbling, tripping, screaming…crying…all in an effort to reach him. A vain effort…

Danzō stepped forward, thunking his cane authoritatively. "Excluding Lord Jiraiya and yourself, I am the very best shinobi this village has to offer at the moment. I should think you would be grateful to have me offer my services, Tsunade. As you rightly said, I have not been on a mission in quite a while."

He bowed his head deferentially as he said this, though his shoulders stiffened in the slightest when he heard Tsunade's knuckles cracking.

"You … are right, Danzō," she said at last, and Danzō looked up, only decades of war-hardened experience enabling him to hide his surprise. "I did not expect this, from you of all people, but if you wish to go I would have to be a fool to stop you. Your skills would be a valuable asset."

"Thank you, Tsunada-sama –"

"You and Naruto together would be more than enough."

"Baa-chan!" the coldness and heaviness lifted from Naruto's stomach, as he turned new eyes on his Hokage.

"Tsunade-shishou," Sakura whispered in relief.

"Tsunade, I must reject –"

"What?" said Tsunade with a hint of such beguiling innocence that the whole of Konoha's male population would have swooned. "You are both powerful shinobi. You will be the brains, Naruto will be the heart. The perfect combination to go up against the Uchihas."

"Tsunade-sama –!" Danzō thunked his cane, "The Jinchūriki –"

"Naruto," the reply came through gritted teeth. "His name is Naruto."

Danzō, knowing it left no room for discussion, quickly dropped the argument. A strategic surrender to make room for an overwhelming victory. He still had a final trump card to play.

"I would keep the rest of Kakashi's team," Danzō began, "Team 8 are powerful trackers, but also quite adept at capture methods. The Hyūga to cut off all use of chakra and jutsus, the Inuzuka with strong and fast incapacitating taijutsu, and the Aburame with chakravorous insects and a special immunity to all genjutsu. The two Jōnin do not need me to boast their skills. Lastly, a powerful medic-nin and taijutsu user, and a member of the Anbu."

You mean Anbu Root you bastard, Tsunade hissed in her mind. Your own personal Division that the Third Hokage disbanded.

"I will happily go with this team." Tsunade waited for the bomb. "The Jinchū – Naruto, however, will just make things overcrowded, slow, and most of all dangerous."

While the others angered her, Danzō's last word caught Tsunade's attention. "Why dangerous? What claim do you have for –?" She realized her mistake too late. Danzō smiled then, a crooked, victorious smile that made Tsunade wish she had never asked.

"The Kyūbi," was the short, simple reply.

Though her prudence came too late last time, Tsunade was quick with a remedy to her foul.

"Naruto has not had a Kyūbi related rampage since –"

"The last time he went after Sasuke Uchiha," Danzō stated flatly.

Tsunade did not dare wince, though the same could not be said for her favourite jinchūriki. She would not let Danzō win on this. Not on this. She had already made her gamble when Danzō walked through that door, had placed her bets when she allowed Naruto and Sakura to stay. She could not lose this.

Naruto's life was on the line.

"That was in the past, Danzō," she said, struggling to keep her voice level, struggling to keep her palms from denting the polished hard oak of her desk – ah, well, too late for that.

"Naruto has grown. He created the Rasenshuriken, an unprecedented technique, the completed form of a jutsu that even the Fourth Hokage could not finish, all so that he would not have to rely on the Kyūbi's power."

"True," Danzō lightly agreed. "However, simply because he refuses to rely on it, does not mean he can control it. Did he not, after all, release just a bit of it in this office today?"

"For this mission –"

"Tsunade." Danzō sighed, having the audacity to sound tired of Tsunade's words. "This mission is precisely the reason I am bringing this up. The boy may be fine on other missions. But for all missions involving Uchiha Sasuke after his defection, the Kyūbi's chakra has been let loose far beyond Naruto's ability to control. We almost lost Lord Jiraiya to this – weakness – of his, and in the most recent incident, we almost lost one of our finest growing kunoichi."

Tsunade was speechless, her mind buzzing. How did he know all this? Jiraiya had always told her to be wary of Danzō, but this level of espionage was…stunning to say the least. How much did this old man really know? And could she really trust him to this mission?

No. She could not. She had no concrete evidence to his duplicity, nothing that he would not and could not simply brush off as 'doing what was best for Konoha'. But she was not stupid. Danzō willingly volunteering himself for a mission under her authority? Impossible. And even if he wanted to go purely for the sake of (Tsunade stifled a laugh) 'helping out', why was he only coming out now? Why not earlier, when she had dispatched the Nijū Shōtai? Or even before that, when Sabaku no Gaara was kidnapped?

And why so determined not to let Naruto participate? Was it really all because of the Kyūbi?

"I realise," Danzō was saying, not aware of Tsunade's introspection, "You intend to use (here he swallowed just a bit more excess saliva than he should have. Tsunade raised an eyebrow) Captain Yamato's Mokuton for the very purpose of controlling Naruto should he enter into an uncontrolled state. You might have…other measures in place as well." His eyes flickered briefly to Tsunade's un-necklaced neck before continuing. "But all these measures take time, and in the heat of battle, or in this case of capture, time is not a friend. The distraction a Kyūbi outburst would create to those members of our own team unfamiliar with the effects. The time it would take for Yamato's Mokuton to restrain him. Do you think Itachi is above using such things to his advantage? Better yet," and he threw a cursory glance to Naruto, whose face was of unhealthy pallor, "instigating those conditions himself to aid his own escape? Or perhaps even reversing the situation. After all, Itachi's target as a member of Akatsuki has always been Naruto." He drew out the name, tasting it, savouring the slow, systematic defeat of its owner.

"Naruto," he tasted the name again, "after all, hates the man almost as much as Sasuke, and him being the reason Sasuke left, well, it would take almost nothing at all on Itachi's part to rile him."

Danzō stopped there. He had made all his points, logically laid out all of his arguments. Despite the bitterness of his private thoughts, he knew Tsunade was not a fool. And soft-hearted though she was, by the way her head was slightly bowed and her eyes glared at him yet through him; he knew that she could follow logic. She trusted logic. She knew, as Hokage, that logic ultimately had to win out against emotion.

"I will voice my proposition one last time," Danzō did not need to. Tsunade remembered perfectly. "I will take Naruto's place on this mission, and submit myself and my skills fully to the Hokage and this village in the capture of the two Uchiha brothers. In exchange, Naruto will stay in the village. He will not participate. Those are my terms, Tsunade –"

"I know already!" she finally snapped. Danzō's eyebrows rose a little at the outburst, but he only nodded and fell silent.

Tsunade stared at her desk, covered with papers, documents unsigned, mission forms unstamped, records and files unread, all her paperwork just waiting for her to get back to it.

In that moment, she could have burned all of it. In that moment, she could have thrown out the entire desk, destroyed the four walls of her office, and finished the renovation with a giant skylight. Then she would lock herself in her room in the dark, with her pictures of Dan and Nawaki and about two dozen bottles of sake and snacks, and sleep for a week.

She reached her decision. Her only decision. The desk snapped in half, piles of papers wobbling dangerously before losing the battle and fluttering to the floor. Tsunade's back straightened slowly; she opened her eyes, trying not to show the slightest hint of emotion, and then trying to ignore the fact that the broken desk pretty much gave her away.

"Naruto –" she started.

"No."

Damn.

"Naruto –" she tried again.

"No!" He ran up to the desk, his blue eyes wide – horrified. "Don't listen to him Baa-chan. Don't listen!"

"Naruto –"

"I am good enough to go after Sasuke! I can do it this time! I can control the Kyūbi!"

"Both you and I know that's a lie," she whispered, her eyes itching, her fists clenching. Why did Danzō have to come here today? Why did he have to care about this? Why couldn't he have left it alone?! "Naruto –"

"No! No, no, no, no, no! What about all that stuff you said! You said you couldn't stop me! That you didn't have the right! You can't do this to me Baa-chan!"

"Naruto!" He stopped, his eyes huge, quivering in terror. He was shaking. Just a little. It broke Tsunade's heart.

She continued before she lost the ability to speak. "I don't have the right." 'Stop shaking!' she yelled silently to her own voice. "But I do have the authority. Danzō will take your place in this retrieval mission. You will stay here in Konoha." She knew the cruelty of her words. She knew, as she watched Naruto's expression crumple and deteriorate like a dilapidated wall before her, that she was breaking his heart, his very spirit.

Sakura said nothing. What could she say? She looked like she was about to cry. Tears of rage, though it did not matter all the same.

"It…" he whispered, the feeling in his stomach returning. Cold. Dark. So heavy. So unfamiliar, this particular feeling. It engulfed him. Swallowed him. "It means nothing, then?" What was this feeling? "All my training…completing the Fourth Hokage's technique…it means nothing to you, Baa-chan?"

Tsunade suddenly moved. She wanted to hug him, and her body moved before her status could hold her back. A voice cold as the entire Land of Snow stopped her.

"You are the Jinchūriki of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto," said Danzō gravely. "Inside the walls of this village is the only place you truly belong."

Aah, he finally knew what this feeling was.

All light fled from his eyes, all lines, save for his definitive whisker marks, smoothed from his face. Naruto looked up, with an expression that shocked everyone in the room. It was the last thing they ever thought they would see from Naruto. They expected anger, or shock, or even sorrow. But not this.

Blankness.

Naruto did not do blankness. He could not. It was impossible for him. But there he was, standing perfectly still, with no expression whatsoever on his face. Blank. His eyes had even darkened a few shades, but held nothing in them.

This was Uchiha Sasuke's look. Not Naruto's. Never Naruto's. It was wrong. As wrong as an orange sky.

Naruto nodded once, shrugged slightly to get Jiraiya's hands off his shoulders, and walked slowly, so slowly, to the door.

Tsunade called his name, a slightly choked exclamation, but it did nothing to stop him.

That unique feeling, despair, had long since swallowed him whole.

It was raining by the time he left Tsunade's office. He took a very long, very slow walk in the rain to his apartment, where he flopped down on his bed soaking wet. Everything was as messy as he had left it that morning; the green-and-brown sleep shirt he had thrown to the floor still lay there, next to the table atop of which sat a half-eaten cup of instant ramen.

He glanced at it, contemplated reheating and eating it, surprisingly decided against it, and slept.

When he woke, the skies were dark, and still pouring. He went to scratch his stomach, which for some reason sometimes itched when he awoke. His hand found a piece of paper, folded in half and laid on his torso.

It was Sakura's handwriting, neat, yet with thick lines. Naruto smiled just a little. She always did have the habit of pressing too hard with her pen.

We'll find them. Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke-kun. We'll bring them back. Wait for us.

A pause, or space in this instance.

Now it's your turn to watch my back. Shannaro!

Naruto smiled a full smile this time, and even let out a small laugh. He sat up and propped up Sakura's note next to his picture of Team 7. He stared at it, both note and picture, for a moment. Then he fell back, back onto his bed and threw an arm over his eyes, ignoring the sound of thunder outside the window and pretending he did not feel the singular drops of wetness roll from his eyes.

Pathetic.

His eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. Closing his eyes, he could see it. He was not there completely; he always disliked going there, and now…he just did not have the strength.

Pathetic.

He's repeating himself? Does he think I'll answer him? Naruto asked with unfamiliar disdain, even for the fox. And something else. A wrongful kind of loftiness; superiority.

Yes, he could see it, curled up behind the bars of its prison, head rested on its paws, lips curled back at the new brand of disrespect – this snootiness – coming from its cage.

Knowing it was beyond its cage's control was only a small bit of comfort.

The Kyūbi growled, and Naruto descended, entering the space completely. He stood before the fox, his snootiness gone, weak and despairing once more, the hot tears in his eyes threatening to leak over.

One massive eye opened, its crimson gaze turned downwards, just a little, to meet Naruto's eyes. It opened its mouth, separating the two rows of massive teeth just enough to make out the slickness of a tongue, to speak.

The Kyūbi never really used its mouth to form words. The words simply came out, flowed out like a river, a clear audio of the beast's thoughts given form long before, and completely without the need for the working of his jaws, teeth or tongue.

Danzō was right. You really are so weak.

He looked at Naruto, who turned from him, throwing his arm over his eyes once more as new tears fell.

The beast sighed, a single breath that rattled the pipes of the sewer around it, and rippled the water flooding the floor.

Too weak. Kai!

And Naruto stopped crying. And Naruto sat up, with wide eyes, and stared around his room wondering what the hell he was doing.

The cold, dark despair in his stomach was gone, his entire body felt lighter. His brain felt as though it had been misted over, and someone had come and wiped the mist away.

He knew this feeling. He had felt it only a few months ago, when he had faced Itachi's shadow clone.

"Genjutsu. I was in a genjutsu?" The fox did not answer. "When? How?" Still no answer. Naruto grew infuriated, and in an instant, he was standing in front of the massive steel bars of the cage, pounding on them with chakra-strengthened fists.

"Tell me!" he roared above the steady clanging of the bars, the noise giving even him a headache. He did not care. "Tell me you damn fox! Who put me under genjutsu! When did it happen?!"

The Kyūbi regarded him. A single moment passed when they locked eyes. Naruto saw something. Something less than hatred. Something different.

The fox spoke a single word.

"Danzō."

Naruto screamed. He screamed and he pounded the bars in a rage that impressed the fox; that was, for once, neither induced nor enhanced by him. Naruto screamed, and raged, and pulled his hair to exhaustion.

He finally slid, panting, to the flooded floor, unsurprisingly not feeling the slightest bit of wetness.

"What did he do to me?" he asked hoarsely, remembering that awful heaviness in his stomach. The fox confirmed his suspicions.

"He made you lose hope. He messed with your mind and made you give up."

"How?! A genjutsu can't do that! It's an illusion! I woulda seen weird things! I woulda known! Or someone – Ero-sennin or Tsunade no Baa-chan or Kakashi-sensei or Sakura-chan or –!"

"Shut up!" Naruto froze. "Not all genjutsu are the same. Some can go deeper into your mind and destroy your will. The ones that can do that aren't detected so easily."

Naruto, for once, was silent. He was thinking. And he realised that the fox was right. Why had he ever listened to Danzō? He had heard worse things from better people.

In fact, why did anyone –?

"The others!" he shot to the fox. "Did he put them under genjutsu too?" He received no answer. Naruto did not stop long enough to care. His mind was running ahead. Why didn't he fight? Why didn't he punch that old man? Curse him? Challenge him and show him how strong he really was?

Except for a desperate plea to Baa-chan, he had done nothing. Said nothing. He had agreed with Danzo's words in the end, and had walked away. He had given up, had turned his back on his friends, on his nindō. On Sasuke.

That must have been a powerful genjutsu.

"Why?" he growled to the fox. "Why did you wait until now? Why didn't you do something back then?!" The fox roared then; the entire space shook and quickly filled with something hot and bubbling.

Hatred.

Naruto slowly rose from his knees, staring at the fox, or rather the bloodshot eye - its pupil as tall as he was - that was glaring directly into his own.

He realized then, that he had focused on the wrong thing.

"Kyūbi," he said in a serious tone that, again, should have been impossible for him. "Why did you release me from the genjutsu at all? You hate me."

Slowly, the heat dissipated, leaving Naruto's skin feeling raw, though he knew it was not his real skin. There was no such thing as skin and flesh and bone in the space the Kyūbi inhabited.

Naruto thought he would not get an answer. He prepared to leave.

"I do hate you." He froze in mid-turn. "But I hate the Sharingan even more."

Naruto, with eyes that aspired to be as wide as plates, turned around slowly.

"You told me…" he began, his voice deep with questions, "…that Danzō put me under the genjutsu. He doesn't have –"

"It is hidden under the bandages on his face. His right eye holds the Sharingan that cast the genjutsu on you." If Naruto picked up on the answer hidden in the last word of the Kyūbi's statement, he did not show it. "And along his right arm, there are ten more Sharingan."

Naruto had stopped breathing at some point. It was…horror. Not horrible, too weak a word. Just horror. Ten Sharingan in his arm? Where had he gotten –?

"How do you know?" You must be lying. If you're not…my friends are… You have to be lying! "How do you know?!" his scream echoed through the space.

And then, the space shrunk, or rather squeezed in on itself before it expanded all at once and pushed. Naruto blinked and he was back on his bed, in his messy room, in his tiny apartment.

There was a black cat on his table, with its back turned to him, drenched from the rain and poking at his half-empty cup of ramen. How did it get in?

Why the hell was he thinking about it now?! His friends were in danger. Or were they? After all, the Kyūbi never answered –

"I can feel it," the demon's voice echoed in his mind, an almost tired lilt to it. Was the Kyūbi … going to sleep? Did the Kyūbi sleep? "The hatred in those eyes…"

Then its voice vanished completely, and Naruto was alone. For some reason, his eyes returned to the black cat. It was sniffing the ramen. Suddenly, it recoiled, a shudder running through its body.

Yep, he definitely made the right choice not to eat it. He sniffed in humour at the cat for a moment; then got up and started packing his things at lightning speed.

If he left now, then despite the rain, he could still catch up to them. And when he did, before anything else, he would rip the bandages right off of Danzō's face.

Just as he was adjusting his leg holster and counting the kunai and shuriken within (he never used senbon, though he had seen a few in Sakura and Sai's holsters. Maybe he should start getting into them … nah…) he heard a tiny, shivering sob coming from his kitchen.

He looked. There was only the cat. Who was (Naruto saw the flicker of a tongue) licking at the ramen. And sobbing. Naruto stared.

Lick. Lick. Tremor. Sob. Lick.

Naruto never felt so much pity in his life. But, he had to leave. He couldn't tend to this cat, no matter how pitiful it looked. So hungry that it would force itself to eat rotten ramen… And all that shivering could not be from disgust alone…

Really? Was he really going to delay getting to his friends – for a cat? He didn't even like cats. And it was intruding for goodness sake!

It was then that Naruto realized that standing stock still, having an internal debate with himself was not helping matters.

So, as quick as a ninja could move in his own tiny and dark apartment without breaking anything, he grabbed the ramen from the cat, dumped it in the garbage, got a bowl, looked at said bowl, cleaned off the unidentified scum stuck to said bowl, went in the fridge, took out milk, poured it in the bowl, dumped the clumps of curdled milk into the garbage, rewashed the bowl, opened a new carton of milk from the fridge, sniffed it first, then poured the fresh milk into the bowl and set it before the cat. All in the space of ten seconds.

He would summon a shadow clone to pat himself on the back later. As an afterthought, since he did not have any usable towels right then, he picked up the sleeping shirt that he had thrown to the floor that morning and wrapped it around the cat.

"It's not clean, but it's dry," he scolded as the cat seemed to stiffen at the shirt's smell. Then, without a glance back, he was gone out of the window and into the rain.

The cat stared out after him, tilted its head, then shrugged and lapped eagerly at its milk.

"Turn back."

Naruto decided that thunderstorms officially hated him. Not even a full ten meters out of the village gates and there was Tsunade, as strong and immovable as a giant in his path. It was not surprising. Naruto was always especially slow in the rain – it was a weakness he was never quite able to shake.

He hated the rain. It made the way ahead of him hard to see, made the ground or tree limbs under him as slippery as ice, and made him unable to leave less than a half inch deep track of prints whenever he ran on 'solid' ground. Not to mention the thunder and lightning were…distracting to say the least.

That slip on that last rooftop that happened when a burst of lightning flashed right in his eyes, followed by a heart-shaking roar of thunder was proof of how distracting (not terrifying, and certainly not enough to make the great Naruto Uzumaki stumble) they were.

Oh, but thunderstorms loved Tsunade. They even rumbled and roared to add just that little extra oomph to her already thunderous voice. And the lightning struck at just the right angle to illuminate and shadow the fierce expression on her beautiful face, making her look, quite frankly, like Hell's gatekeeper.

"Turn back," she repeated.

"I can't," Naruto shook the water from his hair in the vigour of his expression, only to have it replaced in a millisecond. "I have to go. Danzō's evil. Or insane!"

Tsunade closed her eyes, a gesture to show her quickly draining patience. "Naruto, I know you hate Danzō right now. In all honesty, I do too. But what's done is done."

"No, you don't get it Baa-chan! He put me under genjutsu to make me give up on Sasuke!"

Lightning flashed again, dramatically illuminating Tsunade's stunned features in a way that would make the best movie directors jealous.

"What are you talking about? If you were under genjutsu we would have –"

"It was really strong genjutsu," Naruto countered seamlessly. "The type that goes inside your head and messes with it and makes you do things you wouldn't do normally!"

Tsunade studied his face for a while. Not to tell if he was lying, no, even someone who was not a ninja would be able to tell that right away. Naruto just had that kind of face. No, she was thinking. She was replaying every part of that awful conversation that had occurred not a few hours prior.

Suddenly, she made a single-handed seal in front of her lips and said, "Kai!" She waited. Naruto waited. The rain poured.

"Nothing. Tell me Naruto, who released this genjutsu for you? I would like to speak to them."

Here, Naruto flushed. But he did not hesitate. There was no time. "It was the Kyūbi. He said I was weak and then he released it."

Tsunade's voice was surprisingly level. "What else did he tell you?"

Naruto took the bait, as she knew he would. "He said that Danzō used the Sharingan. That he has a Sharingan under those bandages on his face. And he has more. Ten. On his right arm. I asked him how he knows, and he said he can feel the hatred in those eyes."

"Why would the Kyūbi tell you this?"

"I don't know. But, Baa-chan, you see now that I have to go! Danzo's not a good guy, and my friends are –!"

Tsunade moved. Naruto gasped and his stomach clenched. He doubled over, and saw Tsuande's hand on his bare stomach and the black spiral pattern of the Kyūbi's seal prominent on his skin. Tsunade's fingers, pressed deep into his flesh, glowed with chakra and the kanji of the five Chinese elements.

She caught Naruto as he fell against her, barely conscious.

"Why?" he whispered.

"I'm sorry, but we can't trust that fox," she said in the gentle voice that Naruto only heard once from her. "You know that, Naruto. Besides, I've already ordered surveillance on Danzō. And I won't forget what you've told me, but you need to stay in the village."

"Baa…chan…"

"I'll undo that seal at a later time. I'm sorry kiddo." But Naruto was already asleep. Tsunade's breasts were just too warm.

When Naruto awoke, it was to a blanket pressing gently over his body, and something warm, small and furry snuggled up next to him. A small puff of air that smelled like milk blew across his face every few seconds.

He was home. Dry, warm and in his bed. With his cat. Yes, Naruto had enough sense to know that if you feed an animal and it crawls into bed with you, it's basically yours for life.

Naruto did not even look at the thing. Who in the heavens even decided that it was a good idea to give Naruto a black cat? As if the boy did not have enough troubles already. The cat purred. It sounded so cute that Naruto hated it. He did not want to get attached to this thing, dammit!

It was distracting. He had to find a way to convince Baa-chan to let him go. She said she had it under control, but Danzō – and Naruto felt he could admit this silently in his head and in the confines of his own house – Danzō scared him.

The man had hid eleven Sharingan right under the noses of two Hokage for how many years? Eleven Sharingan. Even Itachi only had two, and he was the stuff of men's nightmares.

Naruto thought about Sai. Danzō was responsible for that too, wasn't he? He was the reason Sai was so awkward and so emotionally retarded that even Naruto couldn't help but hate him at first. Who else? How many Anbu Root were there? How many Sais?

I know you hate Danzō right now.

Damn straight.

I'm sorry, but we can't trust that fox.

But, as much as he hated that damned fox, Naruto did not think the Kyūbi was lying. He had no way to prove it to Baa-chan, though. If he thought about it, he didn't even have a way to prove it to himself.

He glanced out the window. The storm had stopped at last, and the skies lightened to grey as the sun weakly rose. Not one of the best days, but better than the rain.

There was movement beside his head. He released a small sigh as he felt his cat snuggle up to his face, purring softly. He was stuck with this thing, might as well accept it. He moved a hand, and stroked its head and ears. It had warm, big ears. Naruto bent one downwards, gently of course, and found that the tip reached just below its shoulders.

And its head was…oddly shaped. Not like a cat's head at all. It was bigger. And rounder? Before he could turn his head to look properly in the growing light, his fingers drifted sideways. And touched skin.

Skin.

It wasn't his skin. It was soft, warm and the flesh beneath it was plump. Skin. That was not his. That had no business being on a cat.

All of Naruto froze except his fingers, which drifted lightly all over the new face. The human face. Eyes, nose, mouth, all human. Sharp little teeth. A giggle. Oh, it giggled because I touched its teeth, thought Naruto. That's cute. That's really cute.

…If it's cute, it can't be evil, right? Right?

It can't be one of those cat spirits that visit you in the middle of the night and suck out your soul while you're sleeping right? Right?

Slowly (and so mechanically one could hear cogs turning), Naruto turned his head to face his new pet. A human face, flanked by two soft pointed ears and a shag of black hair, looked back at him.

Naruto almost screamed. Almost cried. Almost passed out again.

He was staring into the face of Sasuke Uchiha.

A/N: In case it was too vague, the hidden answer that the Kyuubi gave to Naruto is that he was the only one Danzo cast a genjutsu on.

So the kitty finally makes an appearance. More in the next chapter.

To all who read, and to the single guest review I have so far, thank you all. I hope this was worth the wait.

See you guys next time!