Naruto Dragon Ascendant

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way, shape or form, so let's not call the lawyers for the law suits all right?

Chapter 10

Part 2

Social Party…

( ): Thoughts

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In the hall...

Naruto and the three women were currently sitting at a nearby table and they were currently eating their dinner, of course Naruto was being watched by all the other people there as well as Temari, Hana, and Hinata. The three women had undergone this stage before, but this was the first time that any of them had done this kind of event without being with family. However, they were doing all right for the time being while Fenrix and Kin were busy also taking in the sights before them.

This was not the first time Fenrix had done something like this before, having become and Ascendant and having travelled to other worlds, seeing various cultures and living several human lifetimes, the senior Dragon Ascendant was quite used to such things, not to mention meeting other Ascendants as well as Dragons and the other Dragon Kings.

For now however, he was focused on doing what he could in order to help Naruto adapt to this kind of life, he looked at his student and was happy that half his regular duties were already being taken care of.

Naruto was happy to see a good amount of food there in the party and his nose was quick to pick up the smell of ramen and due to his long association with the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, he was quick to pick up the smell of the food that the stand was known to cook very well here and there. Naruto was quick to home in on the food but it was both Hana and Temari who stopped him, and for a good reason, he was not supposed to act like this in public, especially in such an occasion like this one, the two women had experienced this before so they did their best to keep their husband from doing something that would get him into a bad light with the rest of the people there.

"Naruto-kun, try to keep your appetite under control."

Hana said as she guided Naruto to the table where the food was and both her and Temari as well as Hinata who was also in the mood to eat, they knew that Naruto was the kind of guy who had one massive appetite, Hana knew this as she had seen Naruto eat before and so had Hinata, as well as Temari so they knew that while they could help Naruto maintain some level of dignity when getting his food, they were going to have their work cut out for them when it was time to eat their food.

Hinata and the two women did their best to help guide Naruto how to conduct himself in eating his food as they knew about the dangers of his getting overeager for food. The three of them did it in different ways, which naturally befitted their personalities. Temari scolded Naruto to remind him not to inhale his food while Hana did the same though in a calmer manner, and Hinata did so as well, though in her case she was still very shy around Naruto so didn't show too much emotion. The three managed to succeed as Naruto was quick on the uptake and decided not inhale his food.

The women were also enjoying this and Hinata was more than happy to be with her husband to be as she hugged Naruto's arm as they were sitting there, and both Hana and Temari were not above showing their closeness to Naruto for the moment though they still gave Naruto some visual cues on what to do when talking to the Feudal Lords and to the people of high stature. Hana herself had ordered her canine summons to keep out of trouble for the time being while Temari was also helping Naruto by pointing out some of the high ranking people who were from the Land of Wind who she had met before in her younger years.

Naruto paid attention to all this as Temari was very serious about doing her best to acquaint her husband to be with the people there from the Land of her village an d who to avoid, Temari had met a number of people who were of high standing but had some dubious natures and considering that her husband to be was somewhat dense on several key matters, she wanted him to avoid associating with people who she knew were not that trustworthy. This showed that Temari was dedicated to making sure that the people who she knew were not that trustworthy were revealed to her husband to make sure that he was aware of them.

For that Naruto and Fenrix was happy as the blonde Genin spoke to his wife to be.

"Wow....I had no idea that there are people like Gato even in other lands."

Temari raised an eyebrow at that comment and wondered what that was about.

"Who's Gato?"

Naruto gave a sad and angry look and replied.

"He was the guy who tried to bring the Land of Waves to it's ruin when Kakashi-sensei, me, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke arrived there to escort Old Man Tazuna to build that bridge of his."

Temari nodded and then looked to see several other familiar faces....and she smiled warmly as she spotted none other than her brothers and Baki who apparently were guarding the Feudal Lord. She guided Naruto over and as soon as they met, Kankurou commented.

"Damn....Temari, you're wearing THAT dress?"

"What's so wrong with me wearing what I like anyway Kankurou?"

Kankurou shook his head and wished that his sister didn't pick that outfit since it might attract unneeded attention at times, however his worry was tempered by the fact that Temari was more than able to handle herself in a fight and could easily whack the hell out of the perverted man in question, and if they were not frightened by her skill as well as her strength, they were going to be sweating bucket-loads when they find out that she was their sister.

"It's not that I've got anything against it all that much, it's just surprising whenever you take that dress, it makes other guys think weird things."

Kankurou however grinned a bit as he looked at Naruto and replied.

"But at least you've got only one guy to show that dress off to."

Naruto blushed a bit more at that and Gaara amazingly enough began to smirk a little, surprising everyone in the group as he spoke.

"if Temari-san wants to dress like that, I doubt we'd have any say on the matter brother. Anyhow, it seems that things are going well for you both."

Temari nodded at that somewhat, and smiled to see that Gaara was showing some level of enjoying himself, despite the fact that he still wore his older clothes, he had gotten rid of his harsh looks and seemed to be relaxed considerably. The blonde sister of Gaara and Kankurou decided to talk to her brothers to see how things were back at Suna.

"How are things back home?"

Kankurou smiled and replied.

"Things are going well enough; the people in the village are getting used to the peace actually, and despite the losses, we're rebuilding. The Council is also taking some steps to keep the other ninja villages and nations from getting any bright ideas, not to mention the fact that the Council is working their butts off to make sure that the alliance between us and Konoha will remain fairly intact. But here's the real surprise."

Temari raised an eyebrow at that and spoke to her brother.

"What's the surprise?"

Kankurou shook his head and looked at Gaara and replied.

"You want to tell Temari about your plan Gaara?"

Gaara nodded and spoke as he spoke to big sister.

"I am planning to take the position father had before."

Temari's eyes widened at that and she was silent for a moment or two until she spoke.

"You....you want to be the new Kazekage?"

Gaara nodded and Kankruou grinned at that.

"Gaara came up with the idea of being Kazekage after the whole thing with you going back to Konoha and residing with Naruto here. Trust me, I kind of flipped at that idea and so did the rest of the Council, but if Gaara's serious about this, and we know he is, I guess we're probably going to have a Kazekage in the future, and one of the youngest too."

Naruto grinned at that as he spoke to Gaara.

"You want to be your village's Kage Gaara? That's great!!! I am really happy to hear that!"

Gaara smiled a bit at that and replied.

"You inspired me to take control of my life Naruto, so i figured I can reach for the chance to make people acknowledge me and I can learn to put aside my past soon."

Both Gaara and Naruto were happy and that was obvious to both Baki, and Gaara's brother and sister. It made Temari feel very happy for her brother and also a good deal more pride knowing that Naruto was the one who helped her brother change. It was then that both Hinata and Hana arrived on the scene. Hinata looked at Gaara with some surprise, she had seen Gaara before when he was still cold and having a dark aura about him, but now he seemed to be very relaxed and amazingly enough, seemed happy. Hana herself had heard from Akamaru about how brutal Gaara was in combat and was not very happy to hear about how he disposed of his foes using the sand in his gourd, not to mention hearing about how his powers were unleashed. But now it seemed that he was not the same anymore, he seemed to be calmer and a bit more relaxed, something that was rather surprising considering what she had heard about him.

Naruto then recalled that he should introduce both Hinata and Hana to his brothers in law as well, it was considered good manners for him to do so after all.

"By the way, I know you might know their names already, but I'll introduce you anyway to Temari's....ah....sister wives is the term I think, this is Hana Inuzuka of the Inuzuka Clan."

Hana extended her hands to Kankurou and Gaara as well as Baki and the two Sand siblings shook hands with Hana, and even though Baki had already known Hana, he still shook her hand as a need to show courtesy and recognition of the fact that she was now going to be Temari's sister wife. Gaara then spoke after shaking hands with Hana.

"I take it that Kiba Inuzuka is your brother?"

"Yes he is, he's here in the hall right now actually, alongside our mother Tsume. Do you want to meet them?"

Gaara shook his head and replied.

"You'll forgive me if I decline the invitation Lady Hana, I have a feeling that after....seeing me in action before, you're brother might be uncomfortable with the idea of me being close to him. Maybe once things are in better straits I will consider meeting him, along with your mother."

Hana nodded at that and decided to relax for the time being as she decided to talk to her mother and brother who were there at the moment. This left Hinata to meet Gaara. Baki, and Kankurou. The three were familiar with Hinata as they had read their reports on the Hyuuga Clan, though Kankurou had to admit that he could tell that Hinata was going to be a tough fighter when time passed and Gaara congratulated Hinata on being with Naruto. This was much to Hinata's embarrassment as she replied back to them in greeting and later decided to speak to her family as well as her cousin Neji who were there in the hall.

Temari also decided to take some time with her family as well as she spoke to her brothers with Naruto not minding at all that she was with her family for this day. It made him happy to see Temari happy to be with her family. With Hana, Hinata, and Temari with their families, this left Naruto alone for the moment until he was now face to face with none other than Kakashi who was still dressed in his regular clothes but there was a smile in his eyes as he spoke to Naruto.

"So Naruto, how is life treating you today?"

Naruto grinned and replied to the question.

"I'm doing all right, Hinata-chan's actually a great cook! Hana's really nice and does great work, and Temari's kind of strict but she's rather kind hearted and has a softer side too."

"I take it that means the idea of you having more than one wife is not so bad after all?"

"Not at all....has it only been two weeks though so I can't really know how it will turn out as soon as we are back in the teams."

Kakashi nodded, he was very eager to see how his newly expanded team would handle the missions that they will no doubt soon be getting, nevertheless, he was going to have to test them once they were all assembled so as to gauge the performance of his new team. This meant he was going to have to use something other than the bell test in order to do what he could to see the exact level of ability his team had at the time being. This was going to be a very interesting test in the Jonin's mind as he decided to get also some time to train Sasuke a bit more before taking the time to train the others further. Sakura's overall chakra control was perfect for various jutsu, but if she was going to take her skills as a Kunoichi to a higher level, then she needed to know her chakra type soon, there was not much doubt about Sasuke's own chakra types at the moment. Kakashi however was in the mood to see Naruto in action once more along with seeing how the three new Kunoichi in his team would be able to handle themselves in combat.

This was going to be something that he was going to be looking forward to, though he decided to keep a sharp eye on Sasuke, after hearing what Sasuke had been subjected to by Itachi and experiencing it himself when Itachi and Kisame came to Konoha while Naruto and Jiraiya were looking for Tsunade, he knew that this was going to be a serious matter, while he had no idea what Sasuke suffered since the young Uchiha had been as tight as a clam on the whole thing he had a feeling that it no doubt had something to do with the Uchiha Massacre. He had never seen it happen, but when the crime was reported, he was among the first on the scene so he had a very accurate idea of what exactly Sasuke had seen.

He shook his head mentally on the matter as he decided to speak further to Naruto, he wanted to make sure that his student was not too stressed out since despite the fact that a lot of young men would have loved to be in Naruto's shoes or sandals for that matter, the Jonin knew that this was not something one was ready for all the time and there was going to be some stress and more in the mix. However, knowing Naruto, Kakashi had no doubt that his student was going to be going into this whole thing without a care in the world. But knowing Naruto's desire and his drive, he might very well pull through this whole thing.

"Good thinking there, but knowing you Naruto, this is going to be a heck of a ride for everyone involved. Anyhow, you should enjoy the time you have and expect me to want to test you once more once you and your wives get to join us on missions. Considering the fact that the team is a lot bigger now, this might very well be a very interesting time."

Naruto grinned at that as Kakashi left and went back to his duties with both Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto looked at his team mates and saw that Sakura was serious about doing her best to make Sasuke feel better. He felt a twinge of pain there in his heart as he could see that Sakura's crush was turning into love, not the puppy kind of love, but real love. He was not happy as Sasuke seemed to ignore her, he wished he could do something about it, but he cared for Sakura still and wanted her to be happy, so if she was happy with Sasuke then he couldn't do much about it.

However, he then looked at Hinata, Hana, and Temari who were there with their families, and knowing that sooner or later, they were going to be sharing his last name soon made him feel something different in his heart. It was a warm feeling that made him smile, to know that Hinata loved him all her life was something that he found to be very endearing and it made him feel a good feeling that made the pain fade. Along with the fact that both Temari and Hana were there as well and showing their good sides to him, along with getting to know them at a much better scale was something that he was happy for. To see them talking with their families, looking happy and smiling as well and knowing that they were going to be his family was more than enough to make him smile even more.

However, he kept in mind that there was still a chance that several other women would join his clan and that was something that he was somewhat curious about as well since he was wondering just who else was going to join his clan. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to have to get ready for more women to join into the clan, the question was who those women were going to be. It was not that he was not looking forward to the whole thing actually as his perverted tendencies were picturing crazy thoughts in his head, but he knew that it was going to put him in the spotlight even more.

Naruto managed to wipe aside those thoughts for the moment and decided to move around for the moment and get used to this kind of gala event.

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Tsunade was busy chatting with some of the officials along with several of the high ranking people that she knew and respected, and as soon as she was done she decided to take a look at Naruto who was currently chatting with the other people and she couldn't help but smile a bit more when she spotted Naruto's wives were smiling at his direction. Kiba was wide eyed as Hana spoke of Naruto to him and their mother while Tsume grinned. Hinata was blushing bright red while talking to her father Hiashi and her sister Hanabi who was raising an eyebrow at the whole thing while Neji was listening as Hinata talked about her time with Naruto. The same could be said for Temari as she spoke to her brothers with a smile while Kankurou was trying not to apparently laugh as he listened and Gaara listened on while Baki coughed once in a while as he kept an eye on the Feudal Lord while allowing his charges to talk to one another.

Jiraiya then commented.

"He seems to be doing all right isn't he Tsunade?"

The blonde nodded as that as she looked at Naruto and his wives as they socialized in their own fashion.

"He is, but he's still got a long way to go, the other Feudal Lords will no doubt soon be moving in to make their moves and I can only hope that he can handle it."

Jiraiya grinned and replied.

"Knowing that little kid, he's going to do fine, anyhow, we are here to help him after all, plus Kakashi and Fenrix are nearby to back him up, and so are his wives so he's not deficient in the knowledge department. Speaking of which, he seems to be caught in another situation that might get interesting soon enough."

"Meaning what Jiraiya?"

"Well, it's kind of obvious that sooner or later, Temari, Hinata, and Hana are going to have to deal with the fact that he will soon have other women in the household, I've been hearing rumours that some women are beginning to show interest in the idea of being married to Naruto there and join his clan."

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with a raised eyebrow and spoke.

"Is there anyone in particular who I know of in that list?"

"Not at the moment, after all it's just rumours at this time. Anyhow, that's all going to be up to Naruto if he's going to be okay with the whole idea, personally I wish him the best of luck when it does happen, after all, his clan has to have a lot of heirs to grow larger, You and I know that for a fact after all, right Tsunade-chan?"

Tsunade nodded and glared a bit at Jiraiya in a gentle but serious fashion.

"I know that, and don't call me that out here for Kami's sake....that is to be a secret."

Jiraiya smiled but agreed, until things were straightened out and a formal decision between them was made, they couldn't be open about their new relationship. The situation reminded him of the way Kushina and Minato had kept their relationship a secret from everyone except those they were truly close to and trusted well with their lives and happiness, including him as well as Tsunade before she left Konoha. Both Naruto's parents had kept their relationship a secret since they knew that despite his reputation and his abilities, Minato had many foes and they would stop it nothing to harm him through his family if they ever found out about him having a family to begin with.

Now he was in the same boat as they were, only in this case, the woman he loved was the Hokage and he was the one who was her spy, advisor, and lover as well. It was not to so bad and besides, Tsunade did have a gentle and loving side to herself when they had privacy to be together, though she usually had her tough and serious side when they were in the office of the Hokage Tower, with that in mind he nodded and replied.

"Fair enough Hokage-sama....anyhow; it seems that young Naruto is going to be in for a bit of political manoeuvring."

Tsunade looked and spotted the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire come towards Naruto with his wife in tow along with a certain feline that was begging to escape once more from it's owner's clutches.

Shizune looked at Naruto and wondered just how Naruto was going to deal with this kind of situation before him along with Tsunade and Jiraiya as both Sannin were wondering just how the young clan head and son of Minato and Kushina would be able to handle this. They raised their eye brows when they saw Naruto give a groan as he looked at the cat in the woman's arms.

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In a hidden location....

"DAMN!!!!"

Orochimaru was still in great pain as he tried to move his arms once more to try and get some feeling apart from pain back to his arms, but the attack that Sarutobi had done to him was still placing him in great pain and after that failed attempt to gain help from Tsunade, he was still in pain. Kabuto had been able to come up with some new medicine to help him counter the pain to some extent, but it still enraged the Snake Sannin that he was beaten this way.

As he looked at his hands, he thought back on what he should do now, he could dispatch his Sound Five to recover Sasuke, but at this time, he needed them in him as there were reports of Konoha ANBU moving about to recon the locations to find the Sound Village, while he had no doubt his forces could handle or delay the ANBU, and Kabuto could deal with them well enough on his own power, he couldn't afford to let the ninja forces of Konoha to find him while he was in this current state.

Kabuto walked in and handed several pills to Orochimaru and after he drank them, Kabuto spoke to his master.

"Orochimaru-sama, I have been gaining reports that Konoha is still rebuilding at this moment and it seems that they are...."

"Hosting the gala of the Feudal lords, I have been there before Kabuto. That is not my concern at the moment, two things are of great importance to me."

"And what are those Orochimaru-sama?"

"I want to know how Naruto-kun had gained these powers, I want to know how he had gained this Kekkai Genkai that....that sensei said that was more powerful than the Sharingan."

"I see....and the other thing?"

"It's fairly obvious Kabuto, I want to take Sasuke-kun from the village soon, I will have the Sharingan, and as soon as I find out about Naruto-kun's Kekkai Genkai, I will be able to use both and become the ultimate being....a god."

Kabuto nodded as he checked the arms of his master and stood up.

"I will dispatch whatever agents we have left to keep in eye on Sasuke-kun, though we could send the Sound Five to collect him."

"Not yet, there will be time for that later, we need to rest and recover, have the rest of our ninja forces keep things under wraps for now, I will do what I have to in order to avoid the radar for the time being."

Kabuto nodded at that and decided to head off to do what Orochimaru asked of him, he then thought about how to best gather information about Naruto's new powers, he decided then to dispatch a small team of his own ninja to keep tabs on Naruto for the time being as they would help facilitate answers that he needed. He was very curious about this new power that Naruto had flowing in his veins, if it was as powerful as he had seen in the Chuunin exams experienced firsthand, it would make Naruto quite an interesting test subject, as well as a case study, something about him made the Medic Nin of Orochimaru very interested in him.

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Back in Konoha...

The blonde Genin sighed a bit as the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire and his wife finally left, seeing the cat again that tried to turn his face into confetti so long ago brought a number of bad memories to the young blonde Genin's mind, The cat glared at him briefly until Naruto returned the glare, silencing the cat. Apparently despite being a feline, Tora could sense that the blonde was not the same anymore and the cat got the message to behave.

As for the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire, he wasn't really sure how to take the man all that much, but he kept in mind that only time would tell how this might turn out in the long run. As soon as the feudal Lord of the Land of Fire and his wife left, the blonde Genin was approached by a number of people from several noble houses and was being asked a barrage of questions. I was only due to Fenrix's teachings and patient explanations that allowed him to answer those questions. It was far worse than dealing with hunger when not being able to eat any ramen, but he sucked it up as best he could manage.

After that session, Naruto was amazed that he was able to escape with his sanity intact, but then he spotted yet another person coming towards him at full speed though in a very dignified pace as well. The man seemed to be smiling very much towards Naruto but Naruto felt that there was no sign of bad intent in the man.

"Ah, the young man I wanted to meet for a very long time, it is a great honour to meet you face to face at last Naruto-san I have heard great things about you for some time now and to meet you is something I have been hoping for quite a while now.

Naruto looked at the smiling man in the Feudal Lord clothes and wondered what he wanted from him of all people.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, my apologizes Naruto-san for not saying who I am, but I am the Feudal Lord of the Land of Waves, I am well aware that it was your team that helped get rid of Gato and his men am I correct?"

Naruto recalled that mission and a sad expression came to his face as he recalled what happened to both Haku and Zabuza, at least they were able to die together and Haku was able to find a measure of peace in his life. He managed to put that aside for the moment as he recalled that he was facing a Feudal Lord and he had to be proper in his actions, his time with Fenrix in learning social manners was coming forward in this kind of situation.

"Yes we were, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke as well as me dealt with Gato and his men , what do you ask?"

The Feudal Lord smiled and replied.

"The results were more than we could have hoped for, the bridge that has your name on it as what was told to me by Tazuna has opened new avenues for trade for the Land there. New jobs as well as new resources came into the Land and it's helped the Land recover greatly, the trade coming in also allowed us to get news from the outside world as well. Your team's actions....as well as your own have made you all quite the heroes there in the Land Of Waves. If you want I would gladly offer you and your team, as well as your clan to visit the Land as guests. I have no doubt you will gain quite the welcome there."

Naruto smiled and replied.

"I'll see if I can do that."

The Feudal lord smiled and replied.

"Splendid! I will be most eager to gain news of your arrival when you decide to come to The Land of Waves and arrange as good a reception as I can manage. The economy of the Land of Waves is still somewhat recovering but it will be more than enough to help prepare for your arrival Naruto-san."

As the Feudal Lord left, Hinata and the others walked over to Naruto and Hana was the first to speak.

"That went very well, are you going to the Land of Waves Naruto-kun?"

The blonde smiled and replied.

"Of course I would! It's going to be the best chance I have to see Inari, Old Man Tazuna, and Tsunami-san again. Besides, there's a bridge there with my name on it, what's not to want to see there?'

Temari raised an eyebrow as she recalled reading the data on the mission that Naruto had been in with his team when they went to the Land of waves, in the report that they were able to get before the Suna Council decided on him becoming her husband, it mentioned that Naruto's team were responsible not only for the ouster of Gato's men with the merchant being slain by his former mercenary ally the Demon of the Hidden Mist, the missing nin and former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Zabuza, but also for the sudden growth of the Land's riches and economy, turning it into a vital shipping area due to it's location. However she was not the kind of person to limit herself to just reports, she was very curious exactly how this mission ended for Naruto and company.

Hana was also interested to hear about this, while she had never heard of the mission itself, the way the Feudal Lord went about it got her interested, along with the fact that there was supposed to be a bridge that had Naruto's name on it. This was going to be something that she was going to enjoy hearing about as soon as they were able to get all this squared away.

Hinata herself was also curious about it, this was supposed to be Naruto's first serious mission and learning about it was going to help her learn more about Naruto. She might have been able to learn a great deal about Naruto through their conversations with one another, but this was going to be a good way to learn how he was able to deal with things as a ninja, Naruto had not talked about the mission and now that he was more open about it all, she was eager to listen in.

Temari was naturally the very first to speak about that matter.

"So if you don't mind Naruto-kun, why don't you tell us all about it."

Naruto thought about it and nodded with a smile.

"Why not? Come on, we can do this on a nice menu of food too!"

Hana laughed at that and replied.

"You always think on your stomach Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled back at that and Hinata smiled at that as she knew firsthand how much Naruto loved to eat all he could get. She guided them to a nearby table as she and Temari got the food together and set it before them all, making Naruto smile in thanks as he began to tell them the results of his first ever mission.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune watched as Naruto was talking animatedly to his wives as they listened to him and they smiled at that, it was nice to see that Naruto was getting along with them well enough in the social setting and now they were eager to see how they operated as a team in a combat situation.

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As this was going on, Fenrix looked at everything with Kin as the two of them observed the whole situation and Fenrix smiled warmly at this while Kin was still looking about and seeing the whole thing play out before her. She smiled as she and her sensei ate their own food in peace. It was then that someone came to their table and it was easy enough to recognize the person in question. It was none other than Sasuke Uchiha who spoke to Fenrix.

"I want to talk to you now!"

Kin was not liking the tone being directed at her saviour and was about to speak in Fenrix's defence but the senior Dragon Ascendant shook his head politely to Kin and looked at Sasuke seriously and spoke.

"You can talk to me right here Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke shook his head and replied.

"Outside."

As soon as he said that, Sasuke left the hall and no doubt had evaded Sakura who was looking for him with a worried expression on her face. Fenrix could see that and decided to finish his meal quickly and effectively. As soon as he was able to finish his food, he turned to Kin.

"Kin, inform Naruto-sama that I will be coming in a bit late so if they want to head back home than they can go ahead."

'But...."

"I'll be all right, go on Kin; this will not take too long."

Kin could tell that nothing she would say would change Fenrix's mind so she nodded and wished him luck and went to inform the others. As soon as he was assured that she was telling Naruto about his request, he dusted off his remaining snacks, wiped his hands clean with a nearby cloth napkin and headed out to meet Sasuke and figure out just what was it that the Uchiha wanted, though he already had a very accurate idea as to what that might be.

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Outside…

As soon as he was outside, he blocked a kunai aimed at his head and turned to see Sasuke and the young man dared him to follow him and he did so, easily catching up with the young Uchiha until they were at the old Uchiha compound. It was here that Fenrix and Sasuke stopped moving and the young Uchiha turned to face him in combat and he activated his powers at that exact moment.

Fenrix looked at Sasuke with a serious eye and relaxed a bit more as he faced the young Uchiha who was dressed in his older outfit and his Sharingan activated and his Chidori aimed at him with the Sharingan active once more. The young Uchiha glared at the senior Dragon Ascendant and replied.

"Fight me and fight me seriously!"

"Hmph….why should I do that Sasuke Uchiha? What reason could I have to fight you?"

"You called my clan weak before….remember? Did you think I would ignore that forever, I want you take that lie back!"

Fenrix was not amused and replied as he closed his eyes.

"That was no lie…."

Sasuke then attacked the Ascendant but as he closed the gap, Fenrix opened his eyes and revealed his own glowing green Dragon Eye…much to Sasuke's shock as this was not the same as Naruto's more powerful and different. Fenrix's Dragon Eye had the same five tomoe as Naruto's but they were not alone as there were two larger ones there in the middle with them in either side of the iris and there was a rim of glowing golden light there around the two Tomoe in the middle with the slit between both tomoe.

The Uchiha barely had time to react when Fenrix's own arm was bathed in pure golden lightning in the shape of a roaring Dragon with it's maw open. This was enough to stop him cold as he looked at Fenrix who looked at him coldly.

"That is a fact…before you stands the TRUE majesty of the Dragon Eye, with this power I can crush any foe that does not match my power, and most of all, this is the ancestor of your Kekkai Genkai Sasuke Uchiha, do you dare fight me knowing that I wield the power that predates yours?"

Sasuke tried to will himself to fight but Fenrix closed in too fast for him to see and then…

Nothing, Sasuke looked and saw that Fenrix had deactivated the golden lightning dragon head from his arm and had a calmer look but without the Dragon Eye fading away from his face. The Uchiha wondered what was going on and Fenrix replied.

"Like I said I have no reason to fight you. There is nothing I can gain for that…."

"Shut up….leave me alone, go back to your student…."

Sasuke turned away, humiliated by this and wanted to leave but Fenrix spoke to him, though in a softer tone.

"Are you after Itachi Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned and glared at Fenrix as he shrugged and replied.

"Naruto didn't need to tell me, I have always known about it, I observed this village for a very long time you know, I watched everything, including the night your brother slaughtered your clan. Are you sure you really want to kill him so badly?"

Sasuke growled at that replied angrily.

"SHUT UP!!! YOU WRE NEVER THERE TO SEE WHAT HE SHOWED ME WHEN HE DID THAT SLAUGHTER!!! HE KILLED EVERYONE IN OUR OWN CLAN!!! OUR OWN FAMILY!!!! HE KILLED OUR COUSINS, OUR UNCLES, OUR AUNTS, AND OUR OWN PARENTS!!!! WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO KNOW THAT YOUR BROTHER….YOUR OWN BROTHER SLAUGHTERED EVERYONE JUST FOR POWER?!?!?!?!"

Sasuke was enraged by this and looked at Fenrix who looked calmly at him and he was sickened by it.

"Why should you care about it anyway huh?! You, a vaunted Ascendant…."

"You're forgetting, I was human once, like you and everyone here….and I have lived a long time to learn many things."

"I'm sure you have….so what are you going to say huh?! That I should let it go?! Should I forgive my brother?!"

"I didn't say that Sasuke Uchiha, in fact, I actually don't find any reason for me to change your mind, if you are so determined to kill your brother for killing your clan, then that is your right, but I wonder if you are aware of the price one pays when one is consumed with hatred?"

"I don't care! This is my duty as an avenger of my clan…."

Fenrix nodded at that and replied.

"I do not contest that, in my old home-world, our people believed that it is a son's duty to avenge his family when they are slain. But I have travelled much in my long years to many worlds and lands and I would like to mention that you are not the first person I met who had that same drive or desire as you did. But his case was radically different from your own situation. Would you like to hear it?"

Sasuke snorted and turned away and replied.

"I'm not interested…"

"Like you, he was bound to kill the murderer who wronged his family, namely in this case, the murderer of his father, and he did, he killed the murderer with his own hands, but there was a price….do you know who the murderer of his father was?"

Sasuke walked away but finally answered.

"Just say it and leave me alone. Who was it?"

Fenrix sighed a bit and answered back.

"The one who killed the man who gave him life in the world he lived in, the one the son had killed….was the woman who brought him into the world."

That was enough to freeze Sasuke in his tracks as the meaning of the statement hit him and he turned to face Fenrix who looked sad at this, something that struck the Uchiha as odd and somewhat shocking. He looked to see if there was a lie in this but could see that Fenrix meant it, there was no lie in his words at all. He walked over to Fenrix and looked the Ascendant in the eye and spoke to him.

"You mean….he…."

"Yes, the son had to avenge the crime of patricide, with the crime of matricide, and for that he was cursed for a very long time, until he pleaded his case and was acquitted. But do you know why his own mother killed his father and her husband? It was because the father killed their own daughter, all because of the desire to calm the winds and go to war for glory, honour, and the like. In anger the mother vowed to avenge her daughter and when the father came back from the war, she and her lover killed him and his war trophy slave woman."

"The young son escaped with his life after the deed was committed, but when he was old enough, he knew that he could never rest until his father's death was avenged, but he knew also for a fact that he would be cursed forever by the spirits when he would spill the blood of his own mother. He did it and was forever plagued by the sin of spilling his mother's blood."

Sasuke was stunned and Fenrix continued…

"I told you this is that there was more to what is going on, there was a lot more going on that night when your family was killed by your brother, there is a lot more going on and the truth of that night is a lot more complicated than what you saw and what you think."

Sasuke shook his head.

"What truth can there be?! My brother said he killed them to measure his power, to measure…."

Sasuke was silent at this, hoping not to reveal what he learned, but Fenrix already knew about it….after all he had observed it all that night.

"The power of the Sharingan in it's awakened form….the Magenkyo Sharingan, do not forget, I know all there is to know about your clan Sasuke. But I will not tell you truth, and why? Because you must find it out on your own and decide for yourself what is the truth and what is the poisoned truth."

"What do you mean?"

"Sasuke, if I told you truth, would you in your anger believed me? Would you have listened to me in your anger, or in your own beliefs? I do not think so; let me tell you something important about the truth. The truth is something that can be twisted….in one land I went to in my youth travelling with my Master Valen, there is a saying that they take seriously and that is this: Even the Devil can use the Truth."

Sasuke looked at Fenrix in confusion and the senior Ascendant replied.

"It means that there are those who can tell you the truth, but in that group as well, there are two kinds of people who tell you the truth. The first kind and the ones who tell you the truth without any hidden agenda, in turn they set you free. And the other kind who tell you the truth are the ones who tell you the truth to see things their way, or to guide you in a different direction. The ability to determine the real truth is up to you. Only be seeing the truth on all sides and deciding for yourself what the truth is, can you really understand what happened that night and why your brother did what he did."

Sasuke looked at Fenrix and spoke seriously.

"How can I know you're telling me the real truth then?! For all I know you can be using it to turn me around!!!"

"That is why YOU must learn the truth on your own, you must decide on your own terms what is the truth and how you will respond to it. Why do you think I am even telling you these things?"

Fenrix then looked at the Curse Mark and spoke seriously to Sasuke.

"Naruto did tell me that you have hated your brother for what he had done all those years before, he said for you to hate him and use that hatred to grow stronger. Here's something that you need to know about hatred Sasuke."

Fenrix created a snake life form from fire and spoke before the Uchiha.

"Hatred in this case is like a ravenous snake that feeds on anything it can catch, as it feeds it grows hungrier and hunts down and kills more to make it grow in power, as it does so, it grew and grew stronger, but as it did so, it's hunger grew until all life became it's food, it feeds on everything it can find, but in the end it ate everything and nothing was left, but it's hunger for more grew so great and drove it on to seek more food….until, driven to near madness by it's hunger, it ate it's own tail."

Fenrix' creation grew into a massive snake that was now eating it's own tail in it's hunger. Sasuke watched this until Fenrix spoke later to him in a very serious manner.

"That is hatred, it will consume your mind and soul, it grants you power and you do grow stronger, but it will also burn away your soul, your humanity, you very being, you become so consumed by hatred that you are willing to take any path, willing to pay any price, sacrifice anything and even anyone for power. But the hunger given by hatred will grow deeper and stronger, it becomes like an addiction, until it turns on you and consumes you….trapping you in a cycle forever. That is the danger of hatred Sasuke Uchiha."

As the snake faded away, Fenrix faced Sasuke and looked at him as the young man remained silent until he looked at him and spoke.

"Is that the truth?"

"For once…yes it is, hatred breeds only more hatred and it in turn never ends, it is like a chain that no matter how many times you try to remove it, it comes back to you in the end. It is a cycle that binds you from the very moment hatred grips your mind, soul, and heart in it's talons and once there it is nearly impossible to escape, but you can break free of it, it will be hard, but it can be done."

"Tell me something important Sasuke, if you do kill your brother and avenge your family, what is your next path?"

"Why do you even ask that question of me? I want to revive my clan!"

"And no doubt you will, but the acts you commit with hatred in your mind will come back to haunt you, those who you have made into enemies will never stop until they avenge themselves either, that is what hatred can do to you, if you killed someone to gain their power for example, do you think that those who survive will forget what you have done? No, they won't do that at all, they will remember that action you made and will hate you for it, and in turn, they will hate your clan and your descendants, yes you can fight back, but those who survive will hate you and your clan forever, the same could be said if you did the same thing to others as well, those who are related to them in some way will want retribution and they too will hate you and your clan as well. In the end…all that there will be is the chain of hatred that binds you all."

"So what the heck should I do then?! Give it up?!"

"That is your decision Sasuke, I am not going to force you to decide how you defeat your brother, I told you this to know what hatred will do to you at some point in your life if you let it drive you for the rest of your life. If you want to be free of the dangers of hatred, you will need to let it go, but replace it with something stronger to guide you, something that will not one day destroy you in the end….what that will be is entirely up to you."

"And there is another thing I have noticed in you as well, you have grown to seeing the people here as hindrances to your growth. You feel that your bonds here in Konoha are meaningless. But are they really meaningless?"

Sasuke glared and replied.

"All my bonds, those to my family were cut Fenrix, all that bonds have ever done had hurt me, we are only hurt from those bonds…"

"Is that what you believe?"

Sasuke said and did nothing but that was more than enough of an answer for Fenrix as he continued.

"I knew of another man like you Sasuke….in his case it was the same to a degree. Long ago he too had a family; he had faith in many things and a bond to many things in life. But long ago he and many others fought in a war that determined their freedom from oppression. One battle finally broke him you know….three days of none stop fighting. But after the fighting, the wounded and dying on both sides remained in that blood soaked valley for weeks and could not be taken as there was no way for them to have supplies and aid. That man watched as those he commanded and those he fought against were dying slowly and painfully for days as there was no aid in sight."

"In the end it came, but it was too late….that man watched as thousands of people on either side died in the most horrific ways possible, and in the end, he was broken, he broke his bonds with all things. But do you what he did? He took a ship, named it after the battle area to remind him of the people who died in that same battle field and gained a crew, who became family to him in some way. The woman officer who followed him into that hellish became the one who reminded him of his honour, sense of duty, and the one he trusts the most. In the husband of that same female friend, he was reminded for his love of life and the joys of being alive. In the mercenary who fights with them, he is reminded of his own greed, sense of self importance, and his occasional desire to go out swinging as one would say. In the young cheerful female engineer in his ship, he is reminded of the family he had left behind, and in doing so sees her as a little sister who he would fight to the death to protect. In the holy man who followed them, he saw the faith and belief in God that he abandoned so long ago in that war, as well as being able to trust in something higher than himself, and his ability to do good in the world. In the young man who is the brother of another young woman with great powers and is the healer of their crew, he sees the willingness to risk everything to save someone and keep them safe. And in the sister of that same young healer, he sees someone who is like a child to protect and teach…or even a daughter of sorts."

"Like you Sasuke, this man lost all the bonds, but unlike you, he made new ones, strong ones, those people remind him of the past and why he must stay alive, they are his family and he will willingly fight to defend them, and even die. And you know what? He did die once but came back to life, and even from the brink of death….all because of those bonds and his past. That is a strong man with a strong heart. Bonds can be broken, that is true, but they can be repaired, and if not, then new bonds can form and become stronger than ever. And for that reason, severing your bonds will one day destroy you."

Fenrix then began to walk away but not before speaking to Sasuke.

"If you want to defeat your brother, then choose your own path to follow, take your own course and decide your own fate, be stronger in your own way. And never lose sight of what you have gained while you are alive, treasure what had in the past and what you have now, because they will keep you from falling into the blackness. For while the blackness does give power, in the end you will never see anything else until you die."

Sasuke then spoke to the leaving form of the Ascendant.

"Decide on my own? Is that so easy?"

Fenrix replied to that.

"No, it is the hardest thing one can do in his or her life Sasuke Uchiha, but if you want to take your own path, then do so, if you want power, then find it in your own way, because you have free will, that is the greatest power in the world, the ability to decide your own path and live with the consequences of your decisions. Remember this, I told you these things not to force you away from doing what you think is right. Avenging the murder of your family is you're right, there is no denying that. It is deciding how it should be carried out that is your decision, I merely gave you information, whether you use it or discard it is entirely up to you."

Fenrix finally left, taking the direction to the Uzumaki Clan Fortress, leaving Sasuke alone to decide how he would act as the night came to a close.

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A day later...

Fenrix was busy training himself outside of the mansion fortress with Naruto by teaching him some important matters on politics while Hinata, Temari and Hana were currently taking some time to relax after the long and hectic gala party that they had attended the night before. At the moment, the three had eaten breakfast and were taking the time to relax, with Hana tending to her medical books, Hinata with her desire to grow flowers, and Temari with her own books. This allowed Naruto and Fenrix to enjoy the quiet day as the senior Dragon Ascendant taught his student about the ins and outs of laws along with politics that he will need to deal with now that his clan was officially recognized by the Feudal Lords.

As they chatted, they turned when they spotted none other than a raven haired Sasuke Uchiha who seemed intent on speaking to Fenrix, both Ascendants looked at Sasuke and Naruto wondered just what the heck was Sasuke doing here in his home, he was supposed to be on leave for the moment as there was no mission for his team to speak of as they were all on hiatus until the time was up for him to be out of any mission.

He got his answer as Sasuke looked at Fenrix and spoke.

"I want to ask you to train me."

Fenrix looked at Sasuke seriously and Sasuke looked back at him, the pair looked at one another for a bit longer while Naruto waited to see what was going to be the outcome of this situation before him. The stare-down between Fenrix and Sasuke lasted for a bit longer and then Fenrix spoke.

"You want me, to train you? In what fashion is that Sasuke?"

Sasuke replied.

"You have the power that predates the Sharingan, I want you to train me to use the power left inside me."

"Even if it is no longer the power it was once? You have quite a request of me then."

"You said to me once that I should follow my own path, make my own choices in life, to decide my destiny. You were right in that regard, that is why I am here to ask for your training and teachings."

"I have to ask, is it to kill your brother and avenge the deaths of your family alone, or do you want to know the truth and decide for yourself what to do with it?"

"I want to avenge my family, and to know the truth, if there is more to that night, I will find it, but...."

"But?"

Sasuke then did something that he had never done before in his life, he bowed his head to a stranger, a sign of respect that he had never shown anyone else in his life as he spoke.

"I can't find it without the right training, so I ask you....can you teach me?"

Naruto was looking at this with a very curious eye and wondered what Fenrix was going to say to Sasuke at this moment, he knew that this was something that he had never known Sasuke to do in his whole life, it was actually kind of refreshing to see this in his mind. The blonde Genin looked at the two and waited for his sensei's decision.

He didn't have to wait long as Fenrix spoke seriously.

"How long have you trained with Kakashi?"

"What?"

"How long Sasuke?"

"Several months, he taught me the Chidori."

"Good, then finish your training with him for as long as possible, once you have learned enough, then you can come train with me and Naruto-sama."

Sasuke looked up at Fenrix as the senior Ascendant placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and stared at him intensely, making the Uchiha feel a portion of the power buried in Naruto's teacher in the ways of the Ascendants.

"Make no mistake of this Sasuke Uchiha, I will train you hard, I will push you to dig deeply into your own inner self and beyond, you will feel as if you are going to face all the natural disasters in this world all at once, to learn how to truly use your power, you must be ready to do whatever you can and use all you have learned, because if you do not, then you will not succeed. Never forget what I will teach you not only in using your power, but also how to use your power wisely and for the right reasons. What you will do with the training I will give you is of your free will, remember that."

Sasuke felt elated and vowed to learn as much as he could from Kakashi and hope that he was ready for this, he bowed again, and as he left, Fenrix spoke once more.

"And one more thing Sasuke....don't be late. Your Jonin-sensei might have the time to go somewhere and do things to make him late, but I do not. I expect you to be here early and on time."

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To be continued...

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Author's notes:

Well now, this is unexpected isn't it, not only does Sasuke get a serious talking to and being told the dangers of hatred, but he then decides to TRAIN with Fenrix and Naruto to become stronger! How is that for a surprise, exactly how will Sasuke's future change if he is training with Fenrix than with Orochimaru for this moment? That will be yet to be seen in the coming chapters.

Now if anyone's curious as to who were the cases pointed out by Fenrix to Sasuke, here are a few hints, the first is from a Greek mythological tragedy story and the other person in question is from a TV series started by the creator of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. If you know the guy who started the series, then I have no doubt you can guess who the character is, and if you're a mythology student or you read mythology, then you can guess who the other person is.

Anyway, have fun and if you enjoyed this chapter, please send the comments and reviews, if not or you have seen some errors, feel free to send the comments my way, but keep them civil and constructive, the very second they become insulting, I am throwing them out.

By the way...here's something for you all to think over soon.

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Fenrix growled as he raised his left hand and then pressed both his thumb, fore and middle fingers together while glaring at Danzo and in that moment the bandaged Elder of Konoha cried out in pain, startling his chosen ANBU and both Homura and Koharu. The senior Ascendant then lifted his left hand up slightly and to the shock of them all, Danzo was lifted into the air as the Ascendant growled once more and spoke.

"You have a lot of gall to threaten me and the clan you pathetic little whelp."

Danzo felt great pain and it grew even more as Fenrix pressed his fingers together tighter, it felt like his eye was about to be ripped out of his body as blood flowed from the bandaged side of his face. Fenrix then moved his right hand into a claw style form and began to close it, making Danzo cry out in greater pain.

Fenrix lifted his hands higher, making Danzo rise higher and then Fenrix slammed Danzo into the ground hard, the man coughed as Fenrix replied.

"You are a fool to think that your....secret weapons are hidden from me. Know that as long as you have them with you, I can make you suffer even more pain that you have ever imagined, of that you can be assured. I can kill you easily without a care in the world....so if you plan anything like that again, make no mistake that I will take your life, and neither you or any of your soldiers can stop me. This....meeting is over."

He turned to Koharu and Homura and replied.

"Out of respect for your former team-mate's memory I will not kill or injure you both....but what I did to Danzo is already a warning. I have no intention of starting a war, but if you continue to try to enforce your own will in matters that are not yet your concern, then I will step in, and like I said before....this meeting is over."

With that, Fenrix left.

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See you all later...