Author's Notes: Okay...so, this chapter is just a bit shorter than the others but that doesn't make it any less important. It's just the end of the story's first arc. Next chapter, things are going to get better. Well, better for you guys, not our heroes. They're gonna have to deal with more shit from now on... Anyway, let me know your thoughts and as always...enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Naruto stormed through the Hidden Leaf Gates and made it to the Chunin Exam Arena as fast as he could. The Invasion would be over soon. Most Sound-nins remaining were either Chunin or low level Jonin and the few skilled Sand-nins that were in the village were outnumbered and would soon be defeated.

He would find Kakashi-sensei and help take care of everything else. He didn't know where the rest of his team was though. He guessed Sakura was getting Medical attention and Sasuke was helping out. But that didn't matter right now.

Naruto ran over the Stadium's wall and landed in the middle of the Arena. There was a pile of dead bodies on the side of the Arena. Sound-nins. Good.

Upon further inspection, one could see their dismembered bodies, disfigured faces. Several burns. The result of Fire Jutsus the Leaf was famous for. The horrors of war.

Naruto's eyes widened and he felt sick. A genin should never have to see this. He guessed it was his fault though for coming back here.

"N-Naruto?"

At the mention of his name, Naruto turned to look at the direction the sound came from. He saw Kakashi and a few other Jonin patching themselves up.

Kakashi's injuries were minor at best. The other Jonin took more time tending to their injuries. Naruto guessed it was expirience.

"Hi Kakashi-sensei." Naruto called out.

Kakashi walked towards him and soon stood over him, studying him carefully.

"What's your favourite food?" Kakashi asked quickly.

"Huh?"

"I need you to answer as fast as you can. Now, what's your favourite food?"

Naruto mentally sweatdropped. Did his sensei really think he was an imposter or a spy? He would play along.

"Ramen."

"What's your favourite hobby?"

"Training and gardening."

"What do you wear when you go to sleep?"

"Grey pj's and an animal cap." Naruto answered with embaressment.

"Where do you go when you want to be alone?"

"On the Hokage Monument." Naruto answered carefully. It somewhat bothered him that his sensei knew so much about him. When did he find all of that out?

"Who are your parents?" Kakashi asked with a hidden smirk. It was a trick question. The real Naruto wouldn't know and an imposter would say something false. He did not expect the following answer.

"Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto answered with a glare.

Kakashi's smirk fell and he glared at Naruto with his one visible eye.

"Alright impostor. Where did you get this intel?" Kakashi inquired as he entered a taijutsu stance.

Naruto decided his sensei deserved to be toyed with. He smirked.

"Nowhere. You just told me."

Kakashi's eye widened and he dropped his stance.

"N-Naruto?" he asked.

"I mean, I had my suspicions, but to think my own sensei knew all along and didn't tell me..." Naruto continued.

"Naruto... I-I'm..."

"And...not only you, I guess most high-level shinobi in the Leaf knew. So let me ask you a question."

Kakashi didn't respond so Naruto kept going.

"Why the FUCK did all of you think it was a good idea to hide all this from me?!"

"We did it t-to protect you..." Kakashi answered lowly.

"To protect me..." Naruto repeated and Kakashi nodded. "Ever thought of what that would entail? I could have ended up despising the village or the Hokage if I ever found out..."

"Do you?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto paused before shaking his head.

"No. No I don't 'hate' the village or the Hokage. I'm just angry and..."

"And what?"

Naruto looked at him straight in the eye.

"Hurt. I mean, why would you think I'd be in danger?"

Kakashi quickly responded. "If word got out, by either you or anyone in the village then you'd be in trouble. Sensei wouldn't want that..."

"Is that how low you thought of me then? That I'd shout about it all over the place? If I knew about it from the beginning then I wouldn't have felt so alone..."

"I don't think things would be that much diffirent..." Kakashi said honestly.

"I grew up alone and hated. That wouldn't change, sure. But I would know who my parents were. I'd know that I wasn't an outcast and that I was loved by people ever since I was born. This mask..." he said smiling a huge smile "wouldn't have to be so fake..." he spat out the last part.

Kakashi looked down. Honestly, he thought everything Naruto said was true. Maybe he should have told him. Maybe...

"Maybe... I can make it up to him..."

"Naruto, I'm really, really sorry about what you've been through. I've known loneliness too..." Kakashi spoke softly and leaned down to Naruto's height.

"What do you say I treat you to some Ramen after all this is over? My treat." he asked with an eye smile.

"Will you tell me about them?" Naruto asked, looking at Kakashi in the eye.

"Of course." Kakashi nodded and Naruto grinned.

"But for now, let's get going. There's still some fighting to be done. I trust you to keep up, with 'that' justu in your arsenal after all..." Kakashi said as he stood up and Naruto nodded. He gave a signal to the other Jonin behind him and they scattered.

"Let's go Naruto."

"Right!" Naruto smiled and bumped fists with his sensei.

XXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Sakura exited the Hospital side by side. With Sakura's wound completely healed, they quickly left. Other shinobi needed immidiate treatment and they were in the way.

"Does it hurt?' Sasuke asked, glancing at Sakura's side.

"Not anymore, no..."

Sasuke seemed to struggle with choosing his words before exhaling a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Sakura, will you..."

"Hm?"

"Uhm... will you... uh go out to dinner with me?" he finally got out.

"What, right now?" Sakura asked with a grin and Sasuke blushed.

"N-no, what I meant to say was uh... after all this is over... you know..."

"Do I now?" Sakura chuckled and Sasuke blushed more.

Before Sasuke could respond, a couple of Sound-nins landed in front of them and attacked with shuriken.

Sasuke quickly took action and used a sunshin to body flicker behind the enemy shinobi as Sakura deflected the projectiles. Before they even realized what happened, Sasuke took hold of both their heads and slammed them together. They fell on the ground, unmoving.

Sasuke looked at Sakura and noticed she had pulled out a kunai to attack but before she could move it was already over. Currently, she just stood there, holding a kunai, looking at Sasuke. He smirked.

"Old habits die hard, eh?"

Sakura's mouth widened and she bopped him on the head, her eyes filled with a Maiden's fiery Rage.

"Fuck you..." she said and scowled. Sasuke rubbed at his sore head and smirked.

"I was joking. You've come a long way Sakura-chan." Sasuke told her, not realizing that the -chan suffix slipped out. Sakura's eyes widened and she blushed.

"You called me Sakura-chan..."

Sasuke opened his eyes to look at her.

"I did?"

"Yes, you did."

"Oh, must heve slipped, Sakura-chan..." he said, grinning.

Sakura smiled again. Feeling bold, she quickly kissed him on the cheek and before he could realise what happened, she ran off.

Sasuke put his hand on his cheek, feeling the lingering sensation as he stared at her back, wide-eyed. He spoke lowly to himself.

"She didn't even say yes or no to the date..."

XXXXXXXX

Two ANBU moved through the shadows, making their way towards their destination, completely ignoring the fighting all around them.

Finally stopping in a back-alley, one of the ANBU removed a brick from a wall and pulled a hidden lever from behind the stone surface. The wall opened in half and a flight of stairs was revealed.

The two ANBU looked at each other before heading downwards.

"You think Danzo-sama will be pleased?" one asked.

"I can't say he'll be 'pleased' with this intel... but the Invasion is almost over. We are to report back anything of interest and 'that' is one of many." the other answered.

"Danzo-sama has been hiding here ever since the Third Round of the exams began. You think his past connections with Orochimaru had anything to do with it?"

"I woudn't question Danzo-sama's actions if I were you. The Hokage is dead now and Danzo-sama will be the leader of our village. His rule will lead us to prosperity."

They soon reached the end of the stairs and knocked on a plain-looking, wooden door.

"Enter." a voice called from the other side.

The two ANBU did as told and entered the room. Behind a desk, seated on a big chair, was Danzo Shimura. Founder of the 'disbanded' ROOT division.

"Danzo-sama, the Invasion should be over by now. We have intel that require your attention." one ANBU said holding out a folder signed CLASSIFIED.

Danzo took the folder with his good hand and removed the seal. He opened it and his eyes wondered over the information. Minute by minute, his scowl deepened until he reached a certain piece of intel...

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Danzo shouted in rage as he threw the folder at the opposite wall.

"Danzo-sama, we assure you that everything mentioned on that folder is confirmed fact." one ANBU informed.

"So you're telling me... that, that BRAT, the brat that was meant to be MY weapon has 'these' jutsus?" Danzo inquired, glaring at the ANBU.

"Naruto Uzumaki used Rasengan and the Flying Raijin Jutsu in open display during the Exam and the Invasion. He was seen by multiple agents fighting back Sound and Sand Shinobi using these techniques."

Danzo growled. Now that the Jinchuriki was an active Shinobi he was beyond his grasp. However...

"Is the Uchiha showing progress?" he asked, turning back to the ANBU.

"Yes. We believe he has gotten some kenjutsu training. We also know for a fact, Sasuke Uchiha has shown mastery of the Chidori and Lightning Chakra in general. His taijutsu has improved vastly and he's been level-headed in all of his battles." the ANBU informed.

"A fine shinobi indeed..." Danzo nodded. "What about Orochimaru's Curse Mark?"

The ANBU gulped.

"H-He has not shown any use of the Curse Mark. One can believe it's been sealed or removed, sir."

"That's... unfortunate. Is that all?" Danzo asked and the ANBU nodded.

"Very well... you may leave."

The two ANBU nodded again and quickly left the room.

Danzo sat back down on his chair and closed his fist tightly in rage.

"Orochimaru may have killed Hiruzen but he ultimately failed. There are way too many loose ends for me to become Hokage. All I can do... is wait."

XXXXXXXX

Two robed figures walked towards the Gates of the Hidden Leaf. They wore straw hats that mostly concealed their faces. One had a large object bandaged on his back and the other walked slowly and calmly, their black robes fluttering in the wind. The robes had red clouds on them, standing out from the black fabric around them.

They jumped on top of the wall and stared out at the Hidden Leaf Village. Some buildings were ruined and fires were raging at certain locations. But in the end, The Leaf had won...

"Hey... we don't need to destroy what's already suffered a lot of damage... what do you think?" The taller one asked.

"The Leaf is at the end of it's prosperity. We shouldn't feel sorry for it." the other one responded.

"He is no longer here..."

"It is of no importance."

"Eh Itachi..."

Itachi Uchiha turned his glowing-red eyes to look at his partner with a raised eyebrow.

"Even after all this time... you still miss your village, don't you?"

Itachi turned to look over his village again before shaking his head.

"No... Not at all..."

I hope you liked the chapter :)

And as always...

Andrew... out!