Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters, beside the main OC. All credit for creating this amazing series goes to Mr. Kishimoto

Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading! Answer to the reviews are at the bottom.

First, this chapter became much longer than I originally intended. Also, the first half of it popped into my mind as I was writing. Anyway, this is really just a big filler. Yes, I am afraid the only true interesting part is at the end. Also, the title is quite cliché and I don't like it at all, but it was the best I could come up with. Anyway, I am letting you to the chap now, I hope you enjoy:

PS. I've to edit the thing. Sorry for any blatant mistake.

AFTERMATH: KONOHA'S GREAT FAMILY

Jiraiya's hands entered into the two revived Kage with a quite creepy sound of fire crackling, as smoke raised in the air together with the disgusting smell of burning flesh. Of course, as soon as the process started, Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) began to reform and repair the charred skin. The Sannin scowled and pushed more chakra into his attack. "Just a little more..."

The Shodai was the first to regain his bearings. "Sarutobi..." he murmured, as his gaze regained focus again.

The Nidaime was next. "Would you mind stopping that, shinobi-san? We may keep regenerating, but it still hurts."

"With pleasure." Jiraiya took his hands out. "Should I let you three have a sentimental catching up together, sensei?"

Hiruzen looked as flabbergasted as when he first saw Orochimaru summon those two. His eyes were tear-strained.

"We still have to fight you." Tobirama replied. "Our summoner wants us to destroy Konoha. I don't know how long these tongues can keep us restrained."

Jiraiya shrugged and sat crossed leg in front of them. "I can recharge the force of the bindings." he said. "You created the technique, Nidaime-sama, any insight on how to counter it?"

The second Hokage sighed. "It can be dissolved much like any Summoning techniques can, but it requires a special set of handseals." he explained. "A set that can be easily modified if one is skilled enough. Do you think this is the case with the man who called us here?"

Hiruzen and Jiraiya exchanged a look. "Definitely yes." the Sandaime eventually said. "Fūinjutsu was never his forte, but Ninjutsu..."

"This techniques appears to be the combination of both arts." Hashirama said. "Which means you can counter it with Fūinjutsu. Brother?"

"Yes, it's quite likely."

Jiraiya closed his eyes. "It may take a while. Kage Bunshin no jutsu." he created a clone, then the original sat still, in deep focus.

"So he is going to recharge the power of these tongues." Hashirama said. "I must say, this mean of imprisoning an opponent is quite unusual..."

"At least is effective." Tobirama dismissed it, always the pragmatic man. "What is your purpose, Bunshin?"

"Let me get us some privacy with this magnificent device my apprentice created and I improved." The clone produced a small piece of paper, a seal, and activate it. "I want to learn everything you can tell me about this technique, starting from the original hand-seals sequences you created and the Fūinjutsu work behind it."

The Bunshin and Jiraiya started to talk quickly, often completing each other sentence, clearly lost in their shared love for the sealing arts. Sarutobi thought it was a shame Akimi wasn't there to participate as well.

From his place, Hashirama looked quite ready to start sulking. Hiruzen remembered how jovial and ever in movement the man was. So he decided to have mercy on him.

"Want to hear about the village, Hashirama-sensei?"

The look of enthusiast in the honourable Shodai's eyes reminded him the one in a certain blonde genin when someone mentioned ramen.

"I think I am hungry." Naruto said. "I was sure to have some sealed ramen around..."

Team 7, Asuma and the two captured Suna genin were making their way back to Konoha. They had already reached the forest, having left behind the devastation created by the Jinchūriki's clash.

Seeing the kids were quite exhausted, Asuma Sarutobi had set a moderate pace, certain that no enemy would be able to ambush them, since Shino had his bugs out and Kaera was covering their backs.

Akimi asked Sabura to please escort her for a while, since she had summoned him for naught. The tiger loved the girl's company so gladly accepted. He had quietly asked to Kaera what was going on and, having received an explanation, was leisurely walking along the path, Akimi on his head. Naruto walked closely on his right, Shino on the left. Gaara and Temari were just behind them and Asuma covered the rear of the formation.

Naruto exhaled in pleasure as he unsealed a fuming bowl of ramen. "Ah, this is divine. I hope Ichiraku hasn't been destroyed."

"I hope so as well for Teuchi-san's sake" Akimi replied, tiredly. "But if not, I am sure you can send out clones to help them rebuild in no time. You still remember what Tazuna-san taught us?"

Naruto swallowed the handful of ramen he had already eaten. "That's a brilliant idea, 'mi-chan."

"Just don't send your clones all over the village, Naruto." Shino intervened. "You are going to give the villagers an heart attack otherwise."

"I will ask jiji where I can help." Naruto replied. "The old man is all right, isn't it, Asuma-sensei?"

"I believe he is." the jōnin replied. "Thanks to what Akimi did."

"Now, it wasn't that much. ANBU and Jiraiya-sensei had to do most of the job." the girl replied. "But I always like a challenge."

"And you never back up from one." Naruto smiled. "Say, how did you do it?"

"Well, I..."

"No." Shino stopped them. "You are not starting to talk that obscure sealing language of yours. I need to relax."

Akimi and Naruto looked at each other then burst into laughter.

"Geez, chill, man. I don't want you unleashing your scary butterflies on me." Naruto replied. "By the way, please tell me you used them against makeup-chan?"

"Would that be my brother?" Gaara intervened. "Should I use this nickname as well...?"

Akimi couldn't help to giggle again and Naruto joined her in a booming laughter.

"Please, Gaara, do so. Totally do so, dattebayo."

Even Shino let out a small snicker at the thought of Gaara calling Kankurō 'makeup-chan'. "He is in a cocoon right now. I want to see if ANBU can cut through it."

"Cocoon?" Temari asked.

"You don't want to know, Temari-san." Akimi answered. "Just don't ever say anything bad about butterflies when my shady teammate is around. He is protective of them."

Shino snorted. "Says the one who almost burned down a grocery shop because the owner looked badly at her boyfriend."

"I would have reacted the same way if someone had insulted you or Kaka-sensei. Maybe a little more contained." Akimi replied, a little offended.

"Ehi, we are all protective of each other, dattebayo." Naruto shouted. "Shino is just protective of his cute little butterflies as well."

"You just volunteered to be the test subject for my new butterflies techniques." Shino fixed his sunglasses. "Congratulations."

"Like you would ever dare to test them against 'mi-chan!" Naruto replied. "You are afraid of her."

"I am not. Her flaming tendencies just make me wary."

Temari and Gaara couldn't believe their ears. Were these really the same deadly shinobi who fought against them and soundly defeated them? Unbelievable.

From behind them, Asuma sighed while lighting an extra cigarette. He was going to get a terrible headache by the time they would reach Konoha. How did Kakashi keep up with all that barter?

"... a Yondaime Hokage! This is amazing. It shows how much Konoha has grown." the Shodai shouted. "You did a great job, Saru. Tell me more, please tell me more."

Sarutobi was getting sick of talking, but boy, he had missed his sensei's antics. "As you wish, Hashirama-sensei." he closed his eyes. "But not everything is good news. We were attacked again. By the Kyūbi, more than thirteen years ago."

The First's eyes got wide. "What? How? I taught that Mito-chan would..."

"And she did. But it was..."

"You know by whom?"

Even the Nidaime stopped talking with Jiraiya, as he and the Sannin were drawn to that conversation. Besides, they had finished discussing Edo Tensei few minutes ago, entering in the subject of space-time ninjutsu. Yes, even kage-level shinobi got sidetracked.

"We could only assume." Sarutobi gravely answered, sorrow in his eyes. "But who else... could control it?"

The Shodai nodded. "You need to be careful about what lurks in the shadows."

"Has it been contained again?" Tobirama asked.

"Of course. My successor gave his life to do so... and sacrificed so much more. His wife and..."

The two former leaders nodded. They knew how a Hokage thought and acted: with the best of the village always in mind. A true Fire Shadow would never ask for another's son. "What is the child up to now?" the Shodai asked next.

"He is a genin... well, chūnin if the other examiners share my opinion." Sarutobi answered. "Jiraiya's apprentice, here."

The Sannin smiled. "He is such a good gaki. Without knowing, one wouldn't suspect the burden he carries." he said. "He has probably stopped the Sand Jinchūriki from laying waste on the village by now.

"Well." The Shodai smiled back. "It's good to hear that the Will of Fire carries on."

The Nidaime looked around. "I meant to ask you, Jiraiya-san, how did you get down the barrier?"

"I didn't." Jiraiya replied, looking at his sensei. "How did Akimi get it down?"

Sarutobi shrugged. "No idea. Maybe the Commander knows..." he beaconed the white-clad man to approach. "I am sure he has more insight than us, at least."

Kakashi saw the peculiar spectacle of two revived Kage – and who would think he would ever see the Nidaime and the Shodai with his own eyes? – bounded by steel-looking toad's tongues and decided that he wasn't needed there, after all.

All around the village, fighting was cooling down. There were just a couple of minor skirmishes here and there, by nightfall, ANBU would have cleared all the perimeter and established patrol. Things were quiet, at least for the time being.

Thus, Kakashi shrugged at Gai and decided to go at the edge of the village, waiting for his students. He had to make sure they got to the hospital, after all, and doubted Asuma could so anything to convince them if they protested. Although, then again, Akimi would probably pull a mother hen act on Naruto and Shino. Still, it wasn't a scene he would want to miss, so he hurried. And he got there just in time.

An ANBU squad had surrounded the arriving team, there to take custody of two prisoners. Kakashi had expected his genin would do everything in their power to capture the Sand siblings. They understand the power of leverage (or blackmail, as you might want to call it) even too well. He gulped thinking of the photo they had of him.

"... I assure Gaara-san will not attack us anymore." Akimi explained to the captain of the squad as he arrived within haring range. "Isn't it true, Gaara-san?"

"Hai." the red-haired kid aphetically confirmed.

"And he is exhausted anyway." Naruto cheerfully continued.

The captain sighed. "I would normally not to trust two genins but..."

One masked nin whispered: "She destroyed the barrier."

"And I saw him fighting on top of Gamabunta, the Great Toad!"

"Yes, I was getting to that. Since it is you two, I make an exception."

Akimi and Naruto looked at each other with a strange expression. The boy smiled, pleased, while Akimi looked a little uneasy. Shino snickered.

"I can talk with Jiraiya-sensei and we could come up with some specific-chakra suppression seal for Shukaku." the girl intervened.

The ANBU frowned, confused. "Why didn't you do it before?"

"Because Bijū's chakra is so powerful you can't make a generic array to suppress it, but a specific detailed one. We are still trying to..." she looked at Naruto and then at the ANBU with an eloquent expression.

"Oh." the captain said, understating the were still working on a suppression seal for the fox's power. "I see."

"Maybe we can use Five Elemental Seal again." Naruto mused. "Gaara, will you let us...?"

"It was a strange feeling." Gaara murmured. "But I couldn't feel his presence so strongly anymore. It scared me then and..."

"... you decided to release it completely." Naruto finished for him.

"I will let one of you two do it."

Akimi shrugged. She still had some of the energies released from her storage seal. "My turn then?" As the blonde nodded, smiling, she opened her right palm wide, her left hand holding the wrist still, and closed her eyes.. "Metal... Wood... Water..."

As Akimi murmured each word, the correspondent symbol appeared on her fingers, clearly defined and glowing of golden light. "... Fire... Earth." Then she drew a deep breath. "Gogyō Fūin!" and she slammed her hand into Gaara's stomach.

The counterblow made him waver, but Naruto put an hand on his shoulder to keep him up. "'mi-chan is quite the fierce one, isn't she?"

Gaara held his stomach, amazed the sand hadn't reacted. It was true, he didn't want it to, but that hadn't stop it before... Was it because he was pretty sure Akimi and Naruto wouldn't kill him? they had the chance to and didn't, after all. 'Maybe it isn't him moving it, then.' he mused. "The voice is almost gone..." he murmured, in awe.

"Quite normal, but don't take any nap yet. The implant of Naruto-kun's seal was still there and I placed mine just over it, so now you have two Five Elements Seal merged together, disrupting even more greatly the power of your main seal..." Akimi tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, looking at the boy's stomach. "Which is kind of pathetic, really. Who made that? I would love to give them a piece of my m..." she stopped. "What's wrong?"

Temari, Asuma and the ANBU were looking at her with clear surprise – yes, you could discern it even though the special forces were masked and robed.

"Your golden chakra." Naruto explained, shrugging. "It must have puzzled them."

"Oh, that is just the way high levelled Fūinjutsu techniques become personal... the colour reflects something unique of the user. Gold is my clan's colour. AndOrochimaru's one was purple, Naruto-kun's one is orange and Jiraiya-sensei's is red." Akimi casually observed. "It's not quite certain why this happens but there two main hypothesis, one of which is so stupid I am not even going to mention it, while the other says..."

"No obscure sealing language, remember?" Shino warned in that moment. "Don't get started."

"She wouldn't stop." Naruto nodded seriously. "It's for the best."

Akimi smiled sweetly and her two teammates gulped. They knew her payback would come when less expected... and it would possibly be quite nasty.

The ANBU captain decided to intervene before things escalated. "Very well. We will take Sabaku no Gaara and genin Temari into custody now. Well done, genin Aburame, Katora and Uzumaki."

His men surrounded the two Sand siblings and then they all disappeared via Sunshin. Naruto sighed and patted his stomach. "I think I want to treat myself with another Ichiraku's special and then... home."

Shino nodded besides him. "Nice plan. A vegetable bowl sounds nice."

Akimi crossed her arms and looked at the two boys. "Hospital." she said, shaking her head. "No excuses"

"What? 'mi-chan, I am all right. Shino too, isn't it?"

The Aburame nodded.

"I don't recall either of you getting a medical licence, therefore your opinion is irrelevant. Hospital."

"But..."

"Akimi-chan is right." Kakashi appeared near the girl with a puff of smoke. "It's best to have you checked over."

Naruto pouted, while Shino shrugged. Asuma looked relieved the masked jōnin had arrived. Kakashi eye-smiled at him, easily noticing his frustration.

"Shall we go, then?" Kakashi asked. "I will drag you if necessary."

"No need to get extreme, sensei." Naruto sighed and started walking with his shoulders down. The boy didn't like the hospital, he had had some unpleasant experiences there in the past.

Akimi sighed. "I'll talk to him." and she ran to catch up with him. "Stupid prejudiced medics..."

Shino followed silently, leaving them space, but having care of keep them within his sight.

"Your brats are really... peculiar." Asuma said, lighting a new cigarette. "Two of them destroyed a quarter of the Northern Forest, you know?"

"Did they?" Kakashi eye-smiled."They were fighting a Bijū after all. I can't wait to hear the details, but in the meantime..." he opened his orange book then walked after his genin with his nose in the pages. "...this will do."

"I can't believe a genin managed to get down that barrier." Hashirama said. "It looked strong."

"True, but it was also kept up by ninja at the very best of high-chūnin level." Jiraiya commented. "But she was smart, turning the power of the barrier against itself... oh."

"Oh." the Nidaime exclaimed as well. "It could work, yes."

"What is it?" Sarutobi asked.

The Nidaime smiled a little. "Well, as I told your student here, I wasn't expecting Edo Tensei to have the effect of regenerating the summon when I devised it. I am quite unsure of how it happened, really..."

"... but the energy has to come from somewhere." Jiraiya continued. "It is probably a unexplainable effect of Ying-Yang release, which is at the base of all Ninjutsu, but especially of those involving space and time like summoning."

"My personal opinion is that the energy comes from a different plane, the plane we were in until that man called us." Tobirama concluded.

"The afterlife, you mean?" Hiruzen dared to ask.

Hashirama was the one to answer, chuckling. "We can't talk about that, Sarutobi, you should know it."

"Let's keep in track, shall we?" Tobirama sternly said. "When a Edo Tensei summon is hurt, their body regenerates, drawing energy from somewhere, which is quite certainly a different place. Since, it's a different place, the process doesn't start nor finish immediately."

"It's quite slow and painful actually." Hashirama observed. He was renewed for being though and with a god-like stamina, but he still felt pain. "Rather unpleasant, yes."

Hiruzen was pensive. "So you want to use an energy absorbing seal to stop this process?"

"Yup." Jiraiya nodded, with a smirk. "We probably will have to keep hitting you until it works, and it may be a long while. But, eventually, the absorbing seal will prevent the mysterious energy from regenerating your body – theoretically long enough for you to... ehm, go back."

"Die again." Tobirama said. "Don't be afraid to say it."

"Yes." Hashirama agreed. "Coming back here it's just unnatural. I will be happy when it's over... despite the pain we'll have to go through."

"Very well." Jiraiya said. "It will be a while before I finish the seal, that is if I can get it right the first time, which would be pure luck. You three should definitely keep chatting. It looks like you won't have another chance to do so..."

"Hello, Sakura." Akimi smiled, raising from the bench she was sitting on and waving at her. "You look quite busy."

Besides her, Shino Aburame just nodded, without saying anything. He had already talked way too much that day.

"Akimi!" the pink-haired girl smiled, rushing near her friend. She completely surprised her by hugging her. Akimi wasn't really used to physical contact, unless it was Naruto, but after stiffening she sort of reciprocated. Sort of. Shino fixed his sunglasses and Akimi knew he was mentally snickering. She narrowed his eyes at her teammate.

"Are you all right? Ino told me that you were..." Sakura gushed.

"Still in one peace, Sakura." Akimi replied. "Ino-san and her teammates are around then? Is Shikamaru all right?"

"I think so. He was just exhausted, but with rest he should be all right." Sakura said. "He should actually leave soon. We are trying to send home every one who isn't hurt too much, because the hospital is full already..."

"We?" Akimi asked. "Found a new job?"

"Kakashi-sensei assigned me, Kiba, Neji-san and Tenten-san to help ANBU transfer patients to the shelters." the girl explained. "Now I am helping retransfer them here since the Head Medic said I was quite good."

"Thankfully the hospital doesn't seem to have suffered much damage." Akimi observed.

"Yes, thank the Kami. I am not sure what we would do otherwise." Sakura smiled. "You know, despite everything, despite the horror of this... war; this job just seems to fit. I like it."

"Looks like you found your calling." Akimi smiled back. "I should let you..."

"Katora-san." A ninja clad in a white coat approached them. "I understand you are the only one who is able to contain Uzumaki-san's perkiness."

"Most of the times, yes. Thanks, doctor." Akimi answered, politely. "See you around, Sakura. Shino, we'll be out in few moments."

Akimi followed the medic inside the examination room, where Naruto was getting dressed again. He looked ready to bolt out of the room, actually.

Kakashi took them to this specific man, so she assumed he wasn't a prejudiced jerk. Or that he had been threatened not to be a prejudiced jerk. Either way, Naruto-kun seemed fine, so she didn't need to burn anything down.

Akimi crossed her arms. "So?"

"I am amazed." the doctor answered. "He is quite all right. There are a some cracked ribs, but somehow they are already healing. He has a lot bruises and scratches and a couple of chakra burns. He may have overpowered a couple of jutsu..."

Akimi spared a side-glance at the blonde. "He definitely may have."

"Will you two please stop to talk like I weren't here?" Naruto intervened. "I am fine, like I told you before, so what about we go?"

"Yes, Uzumaki-san is quite eager to leave. So just keep an eye on him, he should rest for at least a couple of days." the medics says. "And try not to overdo too much for a while..."

"I will try. Thank you again, doctor." Akimi bowed and followed her boyfriend out before he disappeared on her. "Come on, 'to-kun, it wasn't so bad, was it?"

Naruto stopped and let her catch him. "I suppose it wasn't. Hospital just put me on edge" he shrugged. "Shall we go, Shino?"

"Hell yes." the Aburame said. "This place is too chaotic."

"Boys..." Akimi whispered, raising her head to the sky. "You'll never change."

Team 7, Kakashi included, was having dinner at the Katora residence. The place had almost be left unscratched, possibly because of the protection seals around, or maybe because it was in the outskirts of Konoha opposite to where the main flow of the invasion had occurred.

To Naruto's utter horror Ichiraku was closed. The booth was in good condition, at least, so Akimi reassured him it would probably be open the next day. Then she revealed she had some hidden scrolls with his favourites back at home.

That caused Naruto to shout she was the best girlfriend ever, as Akimi actually lowered her eyes in embarrassment, before somehow placing a privacy seal on him to shut him up. Shino thought the seal might have actually be implanted on the boy armour – Akimi was that paranoid. Kakashi just smirked at the display. Fact was, the two kids did walk home hand in hand.

It looked like they were past their initial shyness – wait, Akimi was past it. Naruto never was shy – and didn't mind to openly show their relationship to the village.

"... and I climbed on Gamabunta's tantō so I could join the fight." Akimi said in that moment, before eating another mouthful of her steak. "... and that is when I had the idea of burning the whole forest down."

"I always said she is a pyromaniac!" Naruto exclaimed, his mouth full of his fourth bowl of ramen. Akimi elbowed him without hesitation. "It was a stressful situation. That's why. I don't go around burning random things." she smiled sweetly. "Unless it's porn."

Kakashi checked his pouch and sighed in relief. The Icha-Icha book was safe and sound. "Would you like to continue your tale, Akimi-chan?" he asked, hoping to deflect her attention from his precious book.

"Yes. So we did a combo attack." the girl shrugged. "With Gamabunta-sama's help."

Kakashi almost chocked himself with his... "NANI?" he asked. "You used your Katon/Fūton prowess together with the amount of oil that toad can spit?"

"Hai." the two kids answered together.

"Oyabun also seemed to enjoy himself, didn't he?" Naruto continued. Akimi nodded vigorously. "Although he got serious when Shukaku throw at Bijūdama at us."

"A..." Kakashi closed his eye. "Oh, kami."

"Ehi, we are still alive and kicking, so don't worry, sensei." Naruto smiled and gave a thumb up. "Besides, we ended it soon afterwards."

Akimi and Naruto concluded their tale, then it was Shino's turn. His teammates burst into laughter when he told about how he finished Kankurō off with his butterflies. Naruto was actually rolling on the ground. Kakashi looked amused as well.

"This opens the door for so many pranks on makeup-chan." Naruto said between chuckles.

"I am proud of you." Kakashi suddenly said. "You did well, both in the exam and in the true, harsh reality of war. Now, you need to rest. There are some though times ahead."

"The village is weakened." Akimi observed. "Are we in danger?"

"Possibly, yes. Orochimaru is still out there and, as you said, our defences are breached. However, we hold Suna in our hand, literally, and if we show a strong facade... then everything should be fine." Kakashi eye-smiled. "Hokage-sama has summoned a new War Council for tomorrow morning. Quite early, actually, so I'll leave now."

Shino raised too. "I should go as well. I sent word home I was fine, but I bet mother is worried."

"Give your family our best, Shino." Akimi got up to walk her guests out. "See you two tomorrow. And, sensei..."

The jōnin looked at her, even though he had already his orange book out.

"Please, don't be late for the war council... and don't read porn."

Kakashi shrugged. "Mah. Did you say something, Akimi-chan?"

Naruto burst into laughter and even Shino snickered at their sensei's antics. They may have just lived through a war, but at least they had each other to lean on.

Naruto stood in front of the door that gave to the house's small garden, watching the sky. He wore a pair of simple cargo pant and an orange shirt. It was strange to see him so pensive.

"What's wrong, 'to-kun?" Akimi, clad in her nightgown, hugged him from behind.

The boy's stance immediately relaxed because of her presence. "There is still smoke in the sky."

"The walls were pretty damaged. Jinsoro-kun said the Oro-teme summoned some pretty nasty snake. Three heads and everything."

Naruto sighed. "I didn't think it would hurt so much to see the village in this state."

"It has always been your home." Akimi answered. "A happy, safe haven. So of course seeing it destroyed has shaken you. But we will rebuild and endure."

Naruto looked determined. "I can use Kage Bunshin to help."

"First, you need to rest. No more than fifty of them for a while. Naruto, you exhausted your reserves. Your huge, massive reserves." Akimi softly reprimanded him. "I don't want you getting even more chakra burns because..."

"I will keep it down for a while. I promise." Naruto turned and hugged her properly. "It was quite a day, was it?"

"Definitely yes." she snuggled against him. "There were times I thought it would never end."

"Me too." Naruto held her tightly. "By the way, thank you for fighting a Tailed Beast alongside me."

"Don't mention it." Akimi lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. "You'll be always able to count on me."

"Likewise."

Naruto beamed at her and leaned forward, just as she raised on her heels to get nearer as well. As they kissed, the world around them disappear. Somehow, it was different now from just the day before. It may have been because, like Naruto said, they had fought Shukaku together, or because they had both risked to die again, or because Akimi had decided to basically shout their relationship to the world... Naruto didn't know why, but it was different in a good, better way, so he just smiled and enjoyed it. Of course, like all beautiful things, it was bound to end.

The two kids froze as they heard giggling. A familiar, perverted giggle. Akimi narrowed her eyes and turned to see a certain, long haired Sannin crouched on the delimitative hedge of the garden. "Please, don't mind me. Keep going!" Jiraiya cheerfully said.

"You..." Akimi hissed, pointing her finger at her. "You... Ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened comically. One thing was certain when Akimi was concerned: start worrying when she stopped being polite. The Sannin jumped down and started to waver his hands around, in a sort of frantic sign of peace. "I won't do it again!"

Akimi tilted her head, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

"At least for a while!"

Naruto chuckled a little.

"Sensei, I am too tired to even try anything. And I want to know what happened with Edo Tensei, so it wouldn't be smart of me to attack you. Not that I would be able to... yet."

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "And you won't burn... anything down, right?"

"Who knows. It would be such a shame if the stacks of certain books were destroyed in the chaotic aftermath of the invasion, would it?"

Jiraiya looked about to start crying. "I swear it was absolutely innocent. I just arrived when you stopped..."

"PERVERT!" Akimi shouted. "We could be your grandchildren."

"Absolutely. You are right. I will wait until you are older to spy on you again. I promise."

"SENSEI!" Akimi shouted again, her face becoming of a disturbing shade of red. "You..."

"Please, 'mi-chan. He still has much to teach us." Naruto intervened. "Not to mention all the Fūinjutsu he knows, having wandered around and stuff..."

Jiraiya sighed in relief as the blonde managed to easily calm down the girl. He had to remember to place his notes in a safe place, lest she found them and destroyed them. She could be devious. "So, what about some saké to..."

Akimi was still annoyed. "Forget it!"

"Fair enough." the Sannin shrugged and sat down. "Pretty good work with that seal, Akimi. The ANBU Commander was quite impressed. Everyone is also talking about the gaki summoning Gamabunta and stopping Shukaku. And several ANBU are trying to understand how the Aburame clan heir trapped the puppeteer, they had to use wind manipulation to actually cut that..."

"... silk." Akimi said. "Butterflies."

"Butterflies." Jiraiya repeated. He didn't laugh tough. "I see. In any case, you are the most popular genin in Konoha, right now. I think the Council will press Kakashi to get more students after this."

"Poor sensei." Naruto murmured. "What he wants is simply to enjoy his reading time and getting late everywhere and now they will stress him."

"We won't let them." Akimi murmured behind her teeth.

"Kakashi has never been more serene than now" Jiraiya replied. "Trust me. You are good to him."

"He is an amazing sensei." Akimi replied.

"Tell me why you disapprove so much of me. Kakashi's a pervert too! He always reads my books!"

"Yes, but he is quiet. Besides, if you hadn't written them he wouldn't be reading them. And aren't you a proud super pervert anyway?"

"Yes, but..."

"Ero-sennin, tell us what happened on that roof." Naruto stopped another screaming match between the two before it even started. "We were curious about that."

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, that is what actually wanted to do in the first place." he replied, starting to telling them the tale with exaggerate gestures and his usual goofiness. "... and I summoned two tongues to bind them."

"SUGOI. You gotta teach me that, sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"I will." Jiraiya assured. "So then I decided to destroy the control tag Orochimaru placed on them. Simple is effective, usually."

"It worked?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, they gained their personality back. Then, the Nidaime helped me to find a way to counteract the technique."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Akimi stopped him, her eyes were shining greedily . "You talked with Tobirama Senju about space/time ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu? Really?"

"Yes I did." Jiraiya stopped her before she could talk. "And yes, I will tell you about it. So, long short story we finished talking about how you took down that barrier and when the Commander explained things to us, I got this idea..."

"You turned Edo Tensei's regenerating energy against itself!" Akimi exclaimed, clapping her hands together from excitement. "But where did the energy come from...? Another plane?"

"It's the most logical answer. I think it was some kind of extremely powerful Ying/Yang Release..." he stopped, but neither Akimi or Naruto seemed puzzled by this. And of course his two thirteen years old students knew about Ying/Yang Release! "... but not even the Nidaime could say for sure. One thing is certain, it was so powerful I had to actually use Uzushiokagure's Shishō Fūin [Four Symbol Seal] to contain enough energy to stop the regenerating effect. I mean that thing is normally used to contain Tailed Beast and..." he stopped, releasing he had said aloud the name of that village. He really was out of it. "... and I didn't expect I would need such high level Fūinjutsu."

The Sannin didn't notice any strange reaction, so he mentally sighed in relief: perhaps they didn't notice his slip. Or maybe they did and would discuss it when he wasn't around. Damn it, he needed to speak with Sarutobi about this. "So, what exactly did you do for the barrier?"

Akimi shrugged. "A standard absorption seal. The second time I drew it, I actually linked it to the fireproofs seal to ensure the maximum duration possible to whole thing. That barrier wasn't nearly powerful enough to require an high level storage seal on it. Not that I would be able to draw it."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Just give it a little time and you will. One of these day, you need to show me your work. I want to see it. It must have been brilliant. But enough about this... change of topic: I actually went with ANBU to patrol the forest around Konoha and saw the site of your battle against Shikaku. What the hell did you do?"

Naruto shrugged. "Oil. Wind. Fire." he said. "Boom."

"You used Bunta's oil with..." Jiraiya's eyes gleamed. "Oh, one day you have to show me."

"Sensei, are you drunk?" Akimi asked, tilting her head to square him up and down.

"Tiny little bit." the Sannin shrugged. "Not enough to really cloud my judgement. What happened brought forth some memories..."

Akimi and Naruto looked at each other.

"I'll get the saké." the blonde said, getting up.

Akimi followed him. "And I'll get the guest room ready."

Jiraiya stood there with a stunned expression for a long while, then opened up in a sincere smile.

His sight was slowly returning.

It was good. He longed to see the world again. Besides, he would finally be able to fight decently – not like old times, but better than nothing, right? And then he could resume his plans.

Ah, that damn old man! But after all, everything the idiot had achieved was to delay him. But he was patient. He would wait, in the shadows, and strike when the right time came.

"Master." the familiar voice of his most precious – useful – servant interrupted his musing. "The new shipment has arrived."

He smirked. "Bring them in." he barked.

"As you wish, Master."

He had ordered his servants to bring... supplies more often. It would make his recovery process faster. He could afford to be a little less careful now. Only a little.

He heard the rhythmic footsteps return, together with muffled sounds. It was a mixture of helpless fight and desperate squeals. He found it to be delighting.

Then, the door opened again. "Here they are, Master." the voice said, before two bundles were thrown at his feet.

He nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent." he croaked. "One of them has a fairly big reserve of chakra, albeit not unlocked... could have been a good shinobi, I reckon."

"Mmpf."

More struggling. Good. Stubborn preys were always more fun to hunt... and kill. "But I'll start with the other..." he said. "I always enjoy a good appetizer: it makes the main course sweeter. Remove the gags. I like to hear them as well."

His servant complied at once. Good again. He liked efficiency. As soon as the gag was removed, a startled voice screamed. It was a female, he thought. Quite young as well.

He leaned forward and saw the bounded figure try to get away from him. "Come closer, sweetheart. I promise you it won't hurt... not too much at least."

The prisoner tried harder, but her restraints were too tight. "It's not use, sweetheart." he leered, before grasping her hair with an unexpected strength.

The young woman gasped, probably because she could now make out his features. "Who... Who are you?" she exhaled.

"Oh, that doesn't matter." he replied, dragging her so their faces were parallel. He put his other hand on her forehead. "It will be over soon."

And darkness took her, as her tortured screams echoed in the room.

Another voice, younger and more high pitched, gasped in fright. "Mom...!"

He turned to look at the smaller bund: the kid was too terrified to even try screaming or fighting. He smirked as he moved closer to the child. He basked in the fear and hopelessness he could read in the innocent, green eyes. Yes, that look was one of the thing he had missed most.

"Don't worry." Kuroken, butcher of the Enkounkin, croaked, flashing his cruellest smile. "You'll join her soon enough, little one." and he lifted his arm again...

"Akimi!"

Naruto shook the girl awake with gentle force. Nothing looked strange with her, were it not for the horrified expression on her face. Her mouth was opened in a silent shout. The blonde was thankful Kaera had been there to wake him up. "Wake up!"

The small tiger suddenly roared and moved her paws as if attacking an invisible enemy. Naruto shook Akimi some more and she woke up. Thank the kami.

Her gaze was completely lost and she was panting heavily, as if she had held her breath for too long. Naruto clearly saw tears forming in her eyes.

"'mi-chan...?" he softly said. "Talk to me."

The girl placed an hand on her heart. "Kami, I..." she started to say. "Was it...?"

Kaera mewled a little. "It wasn't a dream. It was true."

"But he... he didn't try anything. He didn't even turn towards me"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Kuroken again?" he asked, thinking he really needed to meet this fellow and properly kick his ass.

"I just saw... him, he was..." Akimi closed her eyes. "Oh, kami."

"What?" the blonde asked. "What did he do?"

"Why would he show me something like that...?" Akimi mused. "To scare me? But it gives me a better pictures on what he can do..."

"Akimi-chan!"

The girl seemed to finally realise Naruto was there. "'to-kun..." she whispered, looking even more lost.

Naruto took her in his arms. "Ehi, it's going to be all right."

"I just thought it was over, you know? That we could just relax for a while now. And..."

"What did you see?" Naruto asked again. "Should I go call Ero-sennin?"

Akimi shook her head. "He needs rest. Going to the war council with that hangover will be hard enough for him."

They had to actually carry the huge man in his room. "He finished all our reserves of saké." Naruto observed. "Say, how do we even have saké here? We technically can't buy it."

"Henge, 'to-kun."

"Of course." the boy nodded. The frowned. "Isn't that illegal?"

Akimi shrugged "Only if they catch you.".

He chuckled, then he got serious. "I haven't forgot about it, you know. Talk to me... unless you think it'll make things worse."

"No, no..." Akimi said, her voice hoarse. "It would help, like always, but..." she touched her throat, still looking as if she found difficult to breath.

Naruto crossed his fingers and a clone popped into existence, heading to the kitchen. Some water was in order... and the fact she didn't reprimand him for using Kage Bunshin was proof enough on how badly she was feeling.

"Take your time, 'mi-chan." Naruto rubbed her arms comfortingly. "Take deep breaths."

"He was just sitting there, in darkness. I could somehow feel he was better than last time... he... he is healing." Akimi trembled and closed her eyes. "Then someone came. Called him master."

Naruto nodded. "Bastard." he murmured. This Kuroken fellow became more despicable each time he learned more about him.

"A new shipment had arrived." Akimi absently continued her tale. "And one of them had chakra."

Naruto was taken about by this. "They were humans?"

"A mother and child. And he did something, I don't know what... he fed off them or something."

"Fed off?"

"They died." Akimi restrained a sob. "I think. Then you woke me up, thank the kami."

Naruto caressed her hair next. "All right, we'll figure it out, 'mi-chan. We'll think of something. Together."

She nodded. "We always do, don't we?"

Naruto's clone was back and the original took the water glass, handing it to Akimi. "Drink. It'll help."

Akimi did. The cool feeling of water in her burning throat did make her feel better. She smiled and wiped some tears from her eyes. "I can't get back to sleep."

"It's five o'clock." Naruto glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "We'll start this day early."

"You should rest."

"The only good thing about my tenants is that I recuperate quickly." Naruto indicated his clone. "So how about I go prepare breakfast and then lit the fire down in the sitting room? In the meantime you can shower and then we can spend the morning researching."

"Is that a Kage Bunshin?" Akimi exclaimed. "Naruto, what part of rest and relax don't you understand?"

Naruto chuckled and shut her up with a quick kiss. "The rest part." he replied, jumping down the bed. "I am fine and I won't get any chakra burn. So now let me take care of you, 'mi-chan."

That made her smile. 'He is so amazing.' She stopped him and dragged him back to her. "Breakfast and shower can wait, 'to-kun." she whispered, leaning towards his mouth. "At least we know Ero-sennin is so out of it he won't interrupt us again."

Naruto's laughter was muffled by her lips. The new day, after all, looked bright and full of hope.

The day after the fragile allegiance of the villages of Sand and Sound tried to invade the Leaf was quite unique. Many of the inhabitants of Konoha thought it was sort of... suspended, out of time and space. It was the small break shinobi and civilians needed before starting to rebuild and move on, it was the time to rejoice having survived and to mourn those who hadn't.

Above all, it was the time when the Sandaime ordered the funeral of all the brave shinobi and the few civilian that had died the day before.

The clouds high on the sky were somehow fitting, as people exited their home clad in black, elegant outfits to pay their respects. The main function, reserved for the shinobi, was held on the roof of the Hokage's tower. It would actually happen two times, to allow everyone to participate, since half of the ninja forces were now patrolling extensively the village and its immediate surroundings.

Akimi, Naruto and Shino, along with the rest of the rookies, attended to the first ceremony. Kakashi was behind them, having arrive a little late. They now knew he was at the memorial stone, like always. The jōnin smiled at them bitterly.

It was strange, after all. They knew very few of the names on the plaque the Sandaime had had ordered, but they could feel the sadness in the air as if it were tangible.

"A ninja should never show emotions." Hiruzen Sarutobi said with his deep, clear voice. "This rule was taught to you as it was taught to me when I was young. The mission comes before everything. A ninja should never show emotions."

There was silence.

"These rules are important. Don't forget them." the Hokage continued. "But never let these rules rule you. Each and every one of you is something more than what rules and codes dictate. Rules and codes were never what made this village strong. Yesterday..."

The man stopped as a thunder echoed in the air. A small, light rain started to rain.

"... yesterday we took a bowl that almost got us down. But it didn't. We endured and soon enough we will rebuild and become strong again." Sarutobi pointed at the names behind him. "These brave men and women who fought for us, for the village. We owe our lives to them and we should live our lives to honour them. Because they had the Will of Fire."

The rain poured more strongly.

"They had the Will to protect the village and everyone in it. Isn't that an emotion too? Isn't that what made them strong?" Hiruzen stopped and bowed his head. "Hard times are ahead, but as long as we are together, we will endure. Yes, to those who possess the Will of Fire, everyone is family. The desire to protect one's family builds thicker and stronger bonds between each and everyone in the village. If the Will of Fire is embraced by everyone, the village will be alright no matter what happens. So now the question is: do you have it? Do you have the Will of Fire?"

The rain stopped and a shy ray of sun hit the roof. Nobody answer that question, but it was as if the weather had done so for them: it looked like Konoha's great family would be all right, in the end.

From the shadows, a man scowled in disgust. Half of his body, included his right eye, was bandaged. 'You are the same sentimental fool as always, Hiruzen.' the man thought, turning and walking away with the help of a cane. 'I won't let you destroy this village.'

As the sun slowly set over Konoha, Hiruzen stood on top of the Hokage Tower, his hat forgotten and his robes floating behind him. The old man was pensive. 'Yes, hard times are coming... if Jiraiya is right, then...'

"I am surprised." a mocking voice said behind him. "That you would dismiss your ANBU guard and stand there, vulnerable. Aren't you worried?"

"I am in the centre of the village, I believe I am quite fine." Hiruzen replied. "Besides, I still am the most powerful ninja of Konoha, am I?"

"Are you? Is this why you had a genin save your life? What do you think this mean for the village?"

"I think..." Sarutobi turned on his heels so quickly the mysterious figure actually stepped back. "... it means Konoha has a bright future ahead, since the new generation shows such great potential. That is what I think."

"Ah, yes. The Will of Fire burns brightly, eh? You are truly a fool, Hiruzen."

"And I wonder what happened to make you so cynical, old friend." Sarutobi shook his head. "What do you want, Danzō?"

Danzō Shimura, one of the most powerful and shady shinobi of Konohakagure no Sato, smiled. "I want the good of Konoha, like always."

"Ah." Hiruzen nodded. "And how do you plan to achieve that?"

"By removing you, unless you step down." Danzō pointed his good arm at his old rival. "You have clearly become weak, Hiruzen. Moreover, you are filling our shinobi with ridiculous, idealistic nonsense!"

"Debatable." Hiruzen simply replied, without faltering. "We agreed to disagree on our political views a long time ago, old friend."

"Enough chit chat!" Danzō got even nearer to Hiruzen, looking almost threateningly. "Orochimaru almost killed you. A genin saved you. Sarutobi, you are truly weak. Your time as a Fire Shadow has ended and..."

"... and I suppose you would be the perfect substitute, wouldn't you?" a new mocking voice entered the conversation. "Although, since the Hokage is usually the strongest ninja in the village, it would be strange to have a crippled old man cover the position."

Danzō almost lost control for the first time in decades. But damn, that man irked him. He turned and narrowed his eye at Jiraiya of the Sannin. "At least I would be more suitable that an leery, goofy pervert."

"Since you are so suitable, one may wonder where were you exactly during the invasion? We could sure have used your help." Jiraiya replied. "I am sure the Fire Daymō would love to hear about that as well."

Danzō seethed. "Sarutobi, come to your senses. You can't be Hokage anymore. The Daymō will agree on that... and I already got Koharu and Homura's approval on this. I don't want to drag this in front of the Great Konoha Council and of the jōnin assembly, but if I have I..."

"How dare you?" Jiraiya shouted. "How dare you talk to your Hokage like this? Orochimaru ran with his tail behind his leg when that barrier got down. He was so afraid to fight sensei one on one he summoned two of our kage, defiling them, to do the dirty job for him!"

"The Hokage is supposed to protect and lead the village. To be the pillar everyone relies on." Danzō said, saying something Hiruzen himself had said many times. "And yet he let a genin..."

"... shouldn't it be both ways? Nobody forced Akimi to help him. But she did it and this is another prove of what a great leader Sarutobi-sensei is. He commands loyalty from every single ninja in the village. You wouldn't be able to do half the job he did."

"He is a weak fool who is going to destroy this village! He should have killed Orochimaru years ago! If he had, we wouldn't be in this position now! If he had, half of the village wouldn't be destroyed and we wouldn't have buried dozens of valid shinobi..." Danzō exclaimed. "He needs to step down."

"Say that again and you will be the one to step down, Danzō." Jiraiya hissed. "Don't provoke me or I..."

"ENOUGH!" Sarutobi shouted. "Enough both of you."

Danzō and Jiraiya stopped their verbal showdown and turned to Hiruzen who looked more serious now than ever before. His eyes shone of determination. "I will do it." he said. "I will step down as Hokage."

REVIEW ANSWERS

Red-Hot Habanero: thank you so much for your review. And you are welcome. The upgrade was long overdue and I did it as soon as I could, really. I am not saying anything, though, I could be hit by a writer block tomorrow... although I hope not.

I am glad you liked the romance scene. I always feel insecure about writing them, so it's good to see positive feedback. Don't worry about it, it is quite normal to have a strong liking for a technique (I am quite obsessed with Fūin and Rasengan myself). And I understand exams problem very well yes, so don't worry! PS: chains will be in the story. Just a little... different. I hope you liked the chapter.

NATSUxERZA 123456: thank you so much for reviewing. I am glad you liked the chap and my reasoning about power-house Naruto. I hope these chaps were good as well.

Skeleus: thank you a lot for reviewing. Yes, ninjutsu will be there. =) Fūinjutsu also. I hope I will be able to surprise you during the Tsunade arc. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

DarkNamikaze: thank you so much for your review. Some more romance in this chap, but I am still unsure about it. Do you write as well? I am glad you understand though =) I hope you liked the chapter.

pedobear412: thank you so much for reviewing. I am glad you enjoyed last chapter. The Kage scene was truly anticlimactic and it was my intention do to so. However I followed your suggestion and developed it more in this chapter. More goofy Jiraiya too... hope it was sort of in character as well.

dammyd: thank you for reviewing. First thing off, thank you for spotting a huge plot hole I didn't see before (even though it was staring right at me) I tried to patch it up, so now Gaara wasn't exactly defenceless and Naruto just chased him away from the village. I tried to explain why the suppression seal wasn't considered in the fight against Gaara. I would be happy to hear your suggestions about more interesting ways to influence Gaara. I am sorry I don't agree to the fact I am forcing the story anywhere. The story is quite going where I want it to... most of the times.

Unmei Ryu: thank you so much for tour review! Quite an incredible comment you left me. =) I am glad you enjoyed the Akimi scene, because her dilemma was quickly described but very important for me. I am always happy to hear I'm doing a good job at writing emotions so thanks. =) I hope you liked this chapter as well.

Molly Grace: thank you a lot for your review. So, I followed your suggestion and actually quoted your review in the story. Hope you don't mind. There will be some more about this mini plot in next chapter. Akimi just becomes very obsessed with any seal, so she will definitely look at Gaara's. Hope you liked the chapter.

NeitherSaneNorInsane: thank you so much for your review. I hope you enjoyed this (filler) chapter as well. What did you think of Jiraiya taking care of the kage? By the way, Naruto's parental figures all like Akimi and, in any case, they would be too scared of her burning down their porn to actually disapprove. XD

Anarchy in Dark Places: thank you so much for reviewing. I am grateful for your resolve regarding my story. Please remember it is very much appreciated. =) Thanks. I hope you liked the chapter.

pe26: thanks a lot for your review. I am happy you liked last chap and the combo attack. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Strife666: thank you so much for your review. I am happy you liked the end of the invasion so much. I hope this filler chapter didn't bore you too much.

ExecutionerKain: thank you so much for your review. This chapter on the other end wasn't action filled at all, so I hope it didn't disappoint you.

CHAPTER NOTES:

Yes, I did it. A filler chapter. I usually hate them, but it is needed to build up the next arc. I hope it wasn't too foolishly sentimental. =)

First thing, let me know what you think about the countering of Edo Tensei, was it believable? I just had to write this scene of Tobirama and Jiraiya arguing about seals because it popped into my head. I also thought to have the Kage disappear because they saw their village prosper and got emotional release, but I thought it was more cool with seals.

Also, when I learned Hashirama is actually goofy I decided to write him in a sort of Naruto-like way.

Then, Danzō: how was that scene? I am not sure how to write it, because it's quite a difficult character to understand. Maybe this move was a little too illogical for Danzō, but in the end I decided to go for it and what the hell.

IMPORTANT THING: thanks to dammyd's review I actually realised I made this huge plot hole in chap, when Naruto carried Gaara away. Why on earth didn't he use Five Elements Seal already? There is no logical explanation for it. So, I changed things, quite simply. I've EDITED CHAP 28 May the Best Ambusher Win, so Gaara actually wakes up and then Naruto runs away from him to draw him away from Konoha.

Last thing, the POLL about Akimi and Rasengan will officially close next chapter. So hurry and vote if you haven't and want to. =) Until next time

Next time up: promotions and a new mission