The Burning Leaves

by ajd09

Naruto has saved his friend and lead to the destruction of Madara. The nations have prospered. However, twenty peaceful years pass and still someone lurks, waiting to take his mark. Will this new generation get caught in the middle of a rising threat? A long fic, recommended for readers who like the focus on future generation OC . Mostly from canon predictions. Now is Alternate TL.

2. Burning Leaves

-Authors note (A/N) for the curious-

As a writer, (thanks to this story) I tend to write shorter first chapters. This story as a whole averages over 7,000 words per chapter, but you won't see that bulk until around the sixth chapter.

(Chapter 2: The Burning Leaves)

Just as soon as all hope was crushed, Yuuki's body vanished in a cloud of white smoke. A blanket of confusion swept over them both, but Takeshi managed to shake his thoughts and grab for his last Kunai. His mind jarred slightly as he felt its familiar engravings. The assassin stood, still taken back by the surprise. "What? Was I misinformed? This brat must have been genin at least." Before the man could regain his composer, his left lung was pierced by a kunai.

The assassin persevered through the pain to face his attacker. "What the hell?" He observed Takeshi, whose glowing eyes beamed a blood red. "An Uchiha? They should have given me better information!" The man pulled out the kunai, not even flinching in pain. "Still, to think two genin did this to me. You can have this back now, you piece of trash!" The kunai was bolted straight at Takeshi's face. Takeshi could see it plainly, but his body just wouldn't move. Shit, is this how I'm going to die? As it closed into a couple feet away, it vanished. The assassins eyes widened, befuddled. "What the?!"

"Consider this a return, you trash." The assassin's body froze completely. "And now's when you shut the hell up and not even consider moving a muscle." A kunai already stained with the assassin's blood threatened to draw more from his neck on a whim. "Yuuki, grab Takeshi and find somewhere safe. I'll handle this."

Yuuki broke out of the forest line and helped Takeshi up. She looked her savior over. His black flamed cloak drifted in the wind as he nodded his head, signaling her to leave. "I found a cave; it seems like a good place to wait this out. My dad can finish this up in a couple minutes." Takeshi couldn't stop staring at her, still semi-dazed. She laughed as she started hulling him away using his good arm. "Come on, I know I'm gorgeous, but now's not a good time."

Takeshi smiled as he looked away. "As if…just consider that a sympathetic courtesy."

Yuuki laughed a little heartier now as they made it a fairly safe distance away. "Still an ass, I see."

Yuuki's dad made sure they got away safely. He noted the engravings on the kunai he held. His hostage began laughing. "Of all the people who could have shown up, it was the Sixth Hokage himself, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Are you deaf?" Naruto pressed the kunai deeper into the assassin's throat, drawing blood now.

"You won't kill me, will you?" The Hokage said nothing. "Even if you were the killing type, you're wondering why I've done what I did." The assassin smirked. "I'm just a pawn in a greater scheme. He told me you'd come, regardless if I got my mark or not. I will have the glory of taking the king with me! I can already see it: the great assassin takes out the Hokage!" With a subtle tug on his sleeve, the jacket he wore tore off. As it did, the friction ignited a fuse leading to his shirt that was made entirely of explosive tags. The man began to laugh like a maniac.

Naruto finally spoke. "You do realize I'm using a shadow clone right now, don't you?" The great assassin's eyes shrank. Even with the hiss of the fuse, the awkward silence between them sustained itself for longer than expected.

"God damn you, Uzumaki Naruto!" He grabbed his last explosive kunai and launched it into the air. "You will see! Hell's Phoenix will burn this forest! Long live-!"

A massive blast ended the great assassin's legacy in irony. However, as his explosive kunai burst high in the air, flames arose in several areas of the forest. The true Naruto bore witness to the mayhem high in a tree. The Hokage threw up his famous hand sign, slightly annoyed. "Tsk. One of those days, huh? Where the hell is he? It's not like him to miss this kind of action."

OoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, in the secluded cave, Takeshi and Yuuki were trying to outlast the conflict. "Gah, Shit!" The sound alone of his shoulder being reset made Yuuki a little queasy. The cave howled a low tone with the wind.

He's beat all to hell. All I can really do is try to distract him from the pain. "It looks so painful…" She immediately face-palmed as he gave her a 'no shit' look. Really, what can I say? I'm surprised he's still conscious. "Sorry, I'm supposed to be making you feel better."

He chuckled under the pain. "This much I can handle, considering I could be dead." Takeshi looked to her now. "The pain was ten times worse seeing you get killed. In the end, I wasn't strong enough to even keep us alive." A faint smile showed on his face. "Your father: he saved us both in an instant without even breaking a sweat. I wish I had even a fraction of his power."

"Come on, don't beat yourself up. Considering your condition, it'll be the death of you." Takeshi smiled, but he still seemed down. Yuuki smiled. "For one, don't compare yourself to my dad, he's ridiculously strong. And two, don't give him that much credit. It'll go to his head." The mood was lightening a little now. "Besides, that was my shadow clone, not his."

Her statement made his eyes widen. "Since when did you know a jutsu? Wait, since when did you have the time to use it?" He scrunched his face trying to recall any signs. "What the hell?"

She laughed, "Remember when you were completely ignoring me while I was screaming at you?" he seemed to jolt a bit. "You guessed it."

"That's a relief. I just thought you were being extra bit-"

"Before I literally kill you, yes, I had my clone follow you while I waited to ambush you. Right when I was about to strike…it all happened."

"You are definitely the most unpredictable person I know, but thanks. Given their nature, that was one hell of a clone you made." She seemed confused, but all along, the 'menacing threat' Takeshi felt had been her. Still, to think she executed the jutsu so well. Pretty impressive, Yuuki. "Oh, and it gets better! I unlocked my byakugan!" Takeshi laughed, having already noticed when she helped him up. That was part of the reason he was so shocked. She frowned at him though. "Hey, come on! This is a big deal to me!" She scoffed. "But of course, the minute I take the lead, you went and unlocked your stupid sharingan." He looked at her with a dumb face, as an awkward silence ensued. "Did you really not know by now? Are all Uchiha your level of genius?" After he gave her a strong glare, the genius rehashed the fight. Hmm…fast things being easy to see…time feeling slower…how didn't I notice?

He laughed, putting on a nonchalant face. "It's kind of funny…" Yuuki was all ears. "You actually believed you were a step ahead of me. How arrogant of you." He invoked a blind fury. She instantly raised her fist, which shook in rage. "Hey, remember, I'm injured here!" She nearly punched through his left arm, quickly reminding him of the pain. "Shit! That was excessive!"

Yuuki combed her hair out of her face, "Your ego is excessive, ass!" He seemed normal, but she could tell he was still bothered. Both of them were troubled. What they witnessed first-hand was very disturbing. As she ignored him cursing under his breath, she noticed a flickering light. She looked out of the cave and her jaw dropped. "What? The forest is on fire! What the hell is dad doing?"

OoOoOoOo

"Why…did I ever believe…that man?" The man was defeated not even a minute after the signal was given to burn Konoha. "The leaf…is invincible." He forced his head up to see the eyes of a sage fixed on him. "You already got all fifteen of us, didn't you?"

Naruto disregarded him and instead formed two shadow clones. "Was this what you really hoped to accomplish? Was this your plan?" A swirling blue chakra began to glow in his hand.

The man coughed up blood before responding. "Wasn't my idea, killing me solves nothing." He smirked. "That man's ambition…it's simply magnetic. I don't remember seeing anyone as stubborn as he is about his beliefs."

The jutsu reached its climax and he appeared to hold a massive glowing shuriken. Naruto faced away from the man. "Luckily for you, killing isn't in my nature. At least until I see a reason to kill you directly." Naruto stood firmly and looked up.

The man was shocked. "Uzumaki, I know that jutsu. Wind is going to guarantee the entire forest is ablaze. I implore you to stop!" Wait...why is it that I even care? The Sixth Hokage ignored his words and launched his rasengan into the center of the fires. There it exploded into a massive torrent of water and a powerful wind overcast the area. What? Water? Naruto faced the man again.

"Your plans have failed at every turn. Did your leader really expect me to make no progress for all these years?"

The injured man laughed, which inadvertently made him cringe in pain. "You are truly an admirable Hokage, Uzumaki. But I wonder…how good of a father are you? That man's...not quite done yet." Why is my resolve...failing? In a yellow flash, the man was suspended in the air only a couple inches from Naruto.

"Bastard! You don't know shit about me! You just gave me that direct reason to kill your sorry ass!"

"Please, I know I've lost!" Naruto began reaching for a kunai. "Believe me, my leader has some very dishonorable qualities. I was giving you a hint! As we speak, he is likely killing the two youths personally!"

Naruto's proud eyes narrowed. "No…" In a single blink, the man was left momentarily airborne before falling to the floor. The bleeding man smirked. I remember now; A man whose vision was true and second to none. The One for All...However, I really am a fool…to think I could get away with threatening the legendary Sixth Hokage. The nameless assassin drifted out of consciousness.

OoOoOoOo

Yuuki and Takeshi remained in the cave. "Where the hell did this storm come from?" Takeshi was still in awe at the situation himself. As the massive downpour came to a halt, an orange sun began piercing through the cave's opening. She was frustrated by the weather. "Why does this nightmare keep getting stranger and worse every minute?"

Takeshi inhaled sharply and exhaled soothingly. "It would appear as though everything is still going our way somehow. Try to just relax, Yuuki. At this point I'm sure the whole village is aware of what's happened. Back up teams won't be too far away now."

She smiled now. "Hey, you're right! Yeah, this terrible situation will hopefully come to an end soon!" Now, the sunlight that peaked through became blocked by the shadow of a man. They both shot a look of horror, knowing that wasn't their savior.

"From your skeptical faces, may I assume this isn't the end you two were counting on?" He formed a couple hand signs and the cave exit was completely sealed. "Weak ass lackeys, but it appears everything ended up according to plan."

"Shit!" Yuuki jumped up just before Takeshi did. An added adrenaline burst came when her byakugan activated on command. "He used an Earth Jutsu! Takeshi, we're going to have to fight!"

"I know!" Takeshi took a stand in front of Yuuki with his sharingan already active. Yuuki tossed him a kunai and they held a defensive stance.

"How unfair, you both can see just fine. I hadn't counted on those bloodlines activating. What an annoying miscalculation." The man busted out with a heinous laugh. "NOT! I can hear you, dumbasses!" He began to unload a flurry of kunai and ninja stars at the source of the heavy breathing. Takeshi could only catch glimpses of the man's movement, but his right arm naturally shifted to counter all of the weapons that threatened them. The man, who obviously couldn't see well, quickly grew frustrated. He soon ceased fire to open a faint light source in the cave. "Don't get arrogant, brats. I'm losing patience with your petty survival games." He slipped out a scroll and summoned a massive amount of ninja tools. "Let's get started, shall we?"

With the added light, Takeshi could almost laugh at the mass amounts of weapons being hurled at him. Yuuki slowly stepped into the darker area behind them and waited for a chance to strike. The man became more maniacal, throwing larger weapons at Takeshi. He could hardly dodge the massive things, let alone deflect them. When the leader reached for the fifth massive weapon, Yuuki scooped up some of his tools and threw them at him. The man was forced to defend the quick onslaught. "Nice work Yuuki!" Takeshi began helping.

"You've angered me, brats!" He formed a wall to shield himself from the attacks. After the weapons stopped pelting it, he jump out from behind the wall and began forming hand signs. Takeshi noticed the jutsu immediately. "Shit, a fire jutsu also?" Takeshi wildly threw out six hand signs himself and both performed the jutsu simultaneously. "Katon: Gokyou no jutsu!"

The cave became engulfed in bright flames. Their jutsus met midway and stalemated. Yuuki watched as either side attempted to outlast each other. The intense heat dried her skin. She saw Takeshi slightly twitch his eyes at her. Right, there's no way he'll be able to keep up with that monster. It's now or never! She thrust a kunai as hard as she could at the man, but before it could reach, Takeshi's jutsu engulfed him. Yuuki looked back to Takeshi. "Whoa, way to go!"

Takeshi was exhausted. He released his sharingan, too tired to use it any longer. "Yeah, but did that actually finish him?" The hole in the roof closed again and Yuuki vigorously scanned for him. "Where's he at, Yuuki?" Takeshi's voice was both hasty and nervous.

"I don't know, he's not in the cave!"

After a moment of silence, the thug's voice echoed again. "It would appear you have no chakra left, boy."

"What the?" Yuuki questioned as she found the source of the voice was a hole.

"It was cute of you two to play ninja, but I must kill you now. I'd gladly kill you leaf scum anyways, but given your heritage, this will be all the more sweet. Fuuton: Shinkhua no jutsu!"

Yuuki panicked. "Takeshi, hold your breath as long as you can!" They both inhaled as they attempted to think up a plan. The rate the air was leaving the cave was fast, but wasn't strong enough to carry a weapon by itself. What little air remained was quickly beginning to vanish. Takeshi knew he couldn't form another jutsu. It was all up to Yuuki. Takeshi was collapsing.

She pulled out her kunai. I'm not going to last much longer! She noticed the shredded piece of Takeshi's sleeve and pulled it off. Her ears burst from the huge pressure drop. I…have to…this…has...to… As she finished fastening the cloth to the kunai, she collapsed. Fortunately, she dropped it right into the hole and it quickly sucked it through.

The assassin leader began to consider stopping. It was getting tough to vacuum any more air out of the cave. Before he could form a thought, an odd kunai launched out butt first. The hell? It lodged itself in his throat before he even realized what was happening. He cancelled the jutsu before it did more damage. Pissed off didn't even scratch the surface of his mood. Who would come up with this shit? And what's worse, it freaking worked! He punched himself in the gut, causing him to vomit out the kunai. Just as he composed himself, his plans were completely thwarted.

"Rasengan!" The cave imploded slightly as Naruto arrived on scene. He wiped his mouth off, smirking.

"So you finally figured it out, Hokage?" He was blown off as Naruto checked each child's vitals. "It would appear I didn't plan carefully enough for this mission to succeed. Of course, next time you won't be so lucky. That's right! Not even you will stop me!"

"You guys talk too much." Naruto again stared the man down. His hair was a darker shade of red, long and rather messy. His build was rather muscular, standing around six feet tall. He donned a complicated get up, the under parts consisting of leather, the middle layer showing a black and red designed cloth, and finally, sturdy shoulder, arm, and leg guards. His piercing amber gaze showed confidence as he picked at his short, wild beard.

"Oh? You gonna do something about it, Great Hokage?" The man smirked.

Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Nope." He said it as blandly as possible.

The man struggled at first to find words. "Biton was right, you are a true dumbass. Don't think you can charm your way into my heart. I will kill-"

A blade of lighting pierced through the man and electricity overwhelmed his body. Naruto picked up the kids and focused back on the man. "I'm not about to let you live, but you also miscalculated everyone you'd piss off. Some of us prefer actions over words, right Sasuke."

He scoffed. "Cut the cool guy act, Naruto. We're done for now, but there's a lot of shit to sort through."

The seemingly dying man struggled to laugh. "Yes…ponder. Remember my name well. Guden: the tamer of Hell's Phoenix!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Shut the hell up already." He lifted to cut the man in half, but he exploded into magma making them back up. Sasuke's eyes widened a little. "A magma clone? That's a nasty jutsu there." Naruto began snickering. "Anyways, this complicates things. This guy will be back." Naruto was now laughing. "Alright, what's so damn funny?"

"You're not hurt are you, scaredy cat?" Naruto nearly dropped the kids laughing so hard.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. "I hate you…"

The Hokage regained his composure. "Well, we need some humor. We have fifteen people to interrogate."

Sasuke face-palmed. "You could have just killed the weakest five or so."

Naruto countered his argument. "Leave it to you to think about the shortcuts in life...except to the battlefield tonight."

The Uchiha crossed his arms. "Excuse me for not stalking my teenage boy every ten minutes."

Naruto got a lot more defensive now. "And look where that got Takeshi!"

"You're right; I guess the Hokage could have done a better job watching them!" Sasuke's annoyance was clearly showing.

Naruto backed off and looked away, both pissed off and upset. He made fifteen clones and recovered the bodies. "I did everything I could. At least they're still alive." He looked back to Sasuke. "After all of these years, who could have predicted this?"

Sasuke relaxed some more. "We still would have been too late, though. If it wasn't for that ridiculous kunai, they'd be dead. I'm sure you know what I would have done then."

Naruto grew somber. "Yeah, I know." The serious mood grew into an awkward silence. As Naruto walked forward, he kicked a battered kunai. He looked down and noted the familiar engravings. "They were impressive, weren't they?" Sasuke noticed what Naruto saw. He picked up the two kunai for him. "Hey at least we know my daughter is stronger than your son!" Naruto smirked as Sasuke began bickering about how wrong Naruto was. They traded verbal blows back and forth the whole return to the village.

OoOoOoOo

As they got back into the gates, Naruto gave the children to Sasuke. "I have to get these guys to Ibiki. He still knows better than everyone else when it comes to interrogation. Please get them to the hospital ASAP. I had a clone get Sakura ready to meet you there."

Sasuke's eyes expanded even greater than before. "Oh, come on! Don't just dump this on me!" Naruto laughed as he returned to the office. Sasuke looked at the children. "How the hell am I going to give her a satisfying explanation? That bastard!"

Sasuke neared the hospital and couldn't help seeing a certain pink haired ninja. Her arms were crossed and face was clearly not amused. Sasuke tried to brighten her mood as he approached. "Hey Sakura! It's really not as bad as it sounds!" She stepped right through his smile with a kick, catching the children. He flew back a good thirty feet. "I said it's NOT as bad as it sounds!"

She became irked. "Oh really? Look at our son, you asshole! What about it doesn't look bad? What the hell were you and Naruto even doing?" Sasuke sighed in shame. She gripped Takeshi a little closer as a few tears came out. "God only knows what he witnessed tonight. How can you be fine with that?" Sasuke said nothing and stoically walked away. "Where do you think you're going?"

He stopped. "Is that not obvious?" He turned his head to her with a face that could paralyze the Kyuubi itself. "To kill the man who did this." Sakura's face was swept by shock and excitement. He continued to walk towards the Hokage's office. Sakura could only watch as he walked away.

She looked to the kids then swiftly ran inside. "That room had better be ready!" Every personnel hugged the wall for safety as she dashed the kids through. She wasted no time tending to Yuuki, but her inspection showed that there weren't any major physical injuries. She then moved on to her son, choking up at the thoughts of what he went through. She noted the burnt left arm that was obviously dislocated at one point. His whole body had lacerations covering it. Sakura also noticed that he expended the majority of his chakra. "What the hell was Naruto doing? How did things go this far?" She quietly began healing her son, alone.

OoOoOoOo

Naruto slammed his hands on the desk. "Do these guys know anything? Why the hell are they even working for this Guden creep?"

"Calm down, Naruto! We're only eight people in. Just give me time to run through what this Guden guy said." Shikamaru thoughts raced through the information in his head. Hell's phoenix. Obviously he has a past resentment towards Naruto. He targeted Yuuki, so he's looking to anger Naruto and likely to get Naruto out of the village. Overall, the man's plan was a failure solely due to Yuuki and Takeshi. This whole thing didn't seem to have a solid strategy, indicating it was formulated quickly.

"So what are you thinking, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "This Guden guy is out to get you, and he'll surely be back."

Naruto just narrowed his eyes. "No shit." Shikamaru sighed, feeling a loss of pride.

"Anyways, he won't be back for a long time. This wasn't his original plan. I'm sure someone noticed the children had bad habits and informed him. Obviously, he wants you to blindly search for him so he can take you out. I wager only one man in the group you brought was well informed. However, he's not going to be a man who takes chances, so what information we can get is limited."

Naruto widened his eyes. "No shit?" Shikamaru felt satisfied with his response. "I guess we'll just let Ibiki handle the weeding out part."

Shikamaru yawned. "That's easy for you to say." Naruto got a jolt of refreshment. "You've got those shadow clones to get the rest you need. It's not easy for anyone else to pull these late night shifts. Right, Temari?" He nudged her to wake her up.

"Give me a break! You don't do half the work I do! You're just as lazy as when I first met you!" She passed back out as he held an annoyed face.

"All these years and she's still this troublesome." He sighed again. The door slammed open at that point as Sasuke entered. All eyes were on him.

"Where is this bastard, Naruto?" He was clearly not amused. When all Naruto had as a response was a saddened turn away, Sasuke went straight to the interrogation room.

"Wait, Sasuke. Ibiki can handle that!" Those words fell on deaf ears as swung open the door.

Ibiki turned to him. "What is it, Uchiha Sasuke?" The man being interrogated already quivered in fear. Sasuke ignored Ibiki and unsheathed his sword.

"Where is your leader, Guden?" The man sweated frantically.

"I…I don't know! We just saw the pay and signed without question!" The man's eyes twitched slightly.

Sasuke instantly cut the man's arm cleanly off. He screamed at the blistering pain as blood came pouring out. "That's bullshit! You knew who your mark was. You asked questions to the man and I demand his answers. If you won't tell me, there's fourteen more where you came from. I will kill you!" Just as Ibiki stepped in to intervene, the man began talking.

"It's Hell's Phoenix. Our forces were meant to attack the village in t-" The man stuttered slightly. "four years, but then the kids came into play! We were on a more expendable skill level, that's why he sent us! He's going to need time to execute the original plan!" The man felt his face beginning to pale. "Fix my arm!"

Sasuke pointed his sword directly at the man's eye. "If you won't tell me where, then I'll have the Yamanakas just dive into your head and figure it out anyways. It's obvious you were the second in command." The man's demeanor changed as he stared in defiance. With a smirk, he rammed his head forward, pushing the Uchiha's sword cleanly through and to the brain. Sasuke himself was taken back along with everyone else. Ibiki stood and casually wiped the blood off his face.

"Amateur." He calmly said as he went to get the next assassin. The group was speechless at what they had just witnessed. Sasuke whipped the blood off his sword and slowly walked out.

He stopped next to Naruto and looked back. "This is clearly more serious than we thought."