Okay here is the next chapter. Still taking ideas for skills/affinities, also I ended up giving you two hints for my little contest, I wonder if anyone can guess. Please review and here is you're tidbit of info.
Imperial Hierarchy (based on number) (yes. In my story it goes beyond Daimyo's)
1. Emperor: The undisputed leader of the empire
2. Shogunate: The military leaders and commanders of the empires armies (3 in total)
3. Daimyo: Leader of a country.(Many countries within the empire)
3. Lord High General: Leader of a country's non-shinobi military.
4. Hidden Village Leader: leader of the shinobi forces of a given country.
4. Feudal Lord: Leader of a province within a country
5. Clan Leader: Leader of a clan within a shinobi village
5. Council member: Leader of a civilian branch within a city.
Alright there is that... anyway enjoy.
Naruto: The Runaway Chronicles
Chapter 14
"Are you sure you're gonna be alright?" Nayumi asked as her and Naruto walked quickly after Tsunade.
"Yeah... I think so." Naruto replied as he rubbed his eyes for probably the sixth time. It took Naruto about three minutes to finally stop crying. Every time he wiped the tears away more would fall. He didn't understand what in the hell was going on. For some reason... since leaving that alley, he had felt an overwhelming sadness... almost like something tragic had happened.
To be honest it had freaked him out. To just start weeping for no real reason, and being unable to stop, is a pretty scary experience. Hell not even the Fox knew what was going on, though as of now, it couldn't invest a lot of time into trying to figure out why Naruto had started crying as it was too busy trying get his subconscious to stop repeating the word 'Ami'
The Fox was busy forcing memories to replay in the clones head to get him to stop crying, and try to get 'Ami' out of his head. It was met with mixed success, as the word did dissipate, slightly, but then again it was still in his subconscious and that was what was making him feel sad.
"Hey... maybe we should just go?" Nayumi told him in a slight whisper.
"No... I think I'm good... it's just... weird." Naruto replied, with a sigh.
The two caught up to Tsunade whom was storming towards the tower, her eyes alight with anger.
"What's wrong with her?" Nayumi asked.
"The Leaf council... it consists of three sides. The elder side, the civilian side, and the shinobi side. The Elders are advisers, while the civilian side is full of elected representatives of different districts, like agriculture, infrastructure, etc. The shinobi side is led by Clan leaders, along with the Chuunin Commander, the Jonin Commander, and the ANBU first captain." Naruto began to explain, from memory, the parts of the council.
"Hm... so the Leaf council isn't very different from the Cloud still doesn't answer my question thought?" Nayumi noted as they walked.
"Yeah... the main reason she is so peeved is because... and I'm only guessing, they are still a bunch of insufferable pricks." Naruto informed Nayumi with obvious distaste. The anger, hatred and Irritation he was feeling at having to deal with the people whom were primarily responsible for his suffering, had finally driven the thoughts of 'Ami' away.
"Oh... so they're that kind of council?" Nayumi asked/muttered.
"Yeah. These guys are nothing but a bunch of ass hats, and none of them like me." Naruto said with a huff, as they made it to the tower.
"None of them like you? Really?" Nayumi asked, hard pressed to believe that. She knew Naruto's life was horrible, and that he had been hated, but to have every member of a council hate your very existence? That was something one didn't achieve without doing something awful.
"The civilian side is full of bigoted fuck nuts, who think I'm the nine tails. The shinobi side is full of lazy tools, who don't give two fucks about a child in need. And finally the Elders are split three ways. Utatane hates me, Homura is a lazy shit, and well... the last guy Danzo... all he cares about is the village. I'm sure he's already thinking of a million ways to either kill me, or capture me. Though in the end Danzo is the only one I actually trust. He's not the kind of guy to lie to anyone, and all he wants to do is see the Leaf prosper. Sure he's a zealot who will do anything it takes to see his goals accomplished, but at least I know where he stands. He's not some bigoted tool, or lazy prick." Naruto stated with shrug.
All Nayumi could do was nod at that... she understood the last part. Even if the guy wasn't his friend, at the very least, he had a reason for what he was doing. She understood that, that's why Naruto said that he trusted Danzo, because he knew that no matter what Danzo said or did... he wasn't doing it for himself, he was doing it for his village, and even Nayumi could respect that.
After a few moments Tsunade led the two into the council chamber, where she found that all of the councilors had already gathered. The moment their eyes fell on Naruto, the civilian's face's distorted in hate. Nayumi was shocked to see the sheer disgust on their faces, she had to wonder what Naruto had done in his life to warrant such hatred. He had told her about his life... about being hated, but this... this wasn't something that just happened... you had to do something... something horrible to get people to look at you like this... and in Nayumi's mind... there was no way Naruto could have ever done something that would warrant this.
The shinobi side stared at him with a mixture of surprise, delight, boredom, anger, and disinterest, while the elders looked much the same, Utatane, held a look of disgust, Homura looked bored, and Danzo, looked impassive.
"What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade bellowed as she glanced around the room.
Naruto did the same... he avoided the Civilians gaze and settled on the Shinobi side which consisted of thirty councilmen, including the Nara, Aburame, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Hyuuga, and Uchiha clan leaders. Naruto's eyes stopped when he spotted Sasuke who looked at him with a bit of surprise, before adopting an impassive look.
"My lady! We called this meaning to question, why you have allowed this thing back into our village?" One of the councilmen stated, he was a bald older man, whom looked quite well off.
"What?" Tsunade asked in reply, her eyes darkened at the mans choice of words for Naruto.
Tsunade had never truly felt the brunt of the people's hatred for Naruto. By the time she had taken office, the people were more worried about rebuilding then dealing with Naruto. It was only after Sasuke tried to defect, and Naruto disappeared that she finally got her first taste of the Leaf's hatred. It came in the form of the massive celebration that had been thrown in honor of the Uchiha being returned and the Demon being run off. Some people even assumed Sasuke had killed Naruto and had started sending Sasuke gifts.
Tsunade put a stop to that... and other then a few stuck up individuals who wanted to keep rubbing it in, most just moved on and celebrated Sasuke's return. Though Tsunade could tell things went deeper she never dealt with a situation like this one... the council was filled with such hate that it made her slightly uneasy. These were people she worked with... and yes they were annoying but they were still her villagers, and this was the Leaf village... one of the kindest hidden villages on the planet.
"Why did you allow the demon to return to our village?" One of the civilians asked.
"Watch you're mouth?/What did you say?/You'd better watch yourself." Came Jiraiya's (whom was standing in the corner of the room) Tsunade's and Sasuke's response.
Some of the shinobi glanced at Sasuke who was glaring daggers at the man who spoke up.
"See Yumi... this is why I'll never live in this village again." Naruto stated with an impassive look. Knowing that you're a shadow clone, tends to help keep your emotions in check.
"Naruto... these idiots don't speak for everyone." Jiraiya said to him with a sad look.
This was the first time Jiraiya had seen his godson in three and a half years, and to say that Naruto had changed would be an understatement. Gone was the gleeful look in his eyes, gone was the youthful ignorance of the world, all of that had been replaced by a cold, calm look, that showed that Naruto had matured enough to understand how things in the world worked.
"My lady... this demon is an affront to everything that the Fourth died for! It is nothing but a monster!" Another councilman barked.
"Assholes! How dare you call him that." Nayumi hissed her eyes alight with fury.
"You know nothing on this matter girl! This thing that stands by your side, is a demon in human flesh." Another councilman bellowed.
"Call him a demon one more time! I dare you!" Sasuke growled.
"Lord Uchiha! Why do you defend this monster? It's a demon!" A female councilwoman said.
Sasuke just glared at the woman, his Sharingan blazing. On that day three and a half years ago, Naruto and he had tested their beliefs. Naruto had said that through love, and by forming bonds, he had gained power. At the time Sasuke didn't believe him, but Naruto's victory over him more then proved that he was right. When he was brought back to the village, Jiraiya removed his curse mark, is was revealed that hidden beneath it was a unique seal that had been slowly perverting Sasuke's mind, and fueling his rage, and anger towards Itachi.
After learning about how Orochimaru had attempted to pervert Sasuke's beliefs and ideals, he immediately abandoned all attempts to join the treacherous serpent. Instead Sasuke chose to follow Naruto's path, he formed bonds, he made friends and he stood by them. Since the fateful day, Sasuke's life had turned around for the better, he found himself training more and more to protect his loved ones, rather then to kill Itachi.
In fact, hunting Itachi had become the third most important thing to him, as the second was his loved ones, like his sensei, and his teammate Sakura. The first most important thing to him, however was to find a certain blond haired boy. The boy whom had saved him all those years ago from his own darkness. Sasuke wanted to bring Naruto home yes, but more so, he wanted to thank Naruto for what he did for him in the Valley of the End. He also wanted to apologize for all those years he treated Naruto like dirt. In the end Naruto had been a true friend, and Sasuke had pushed him away.
Now Sasuke would do whatever it took to bring his friend home, and the idea that someone was manipulating him, or controlling him, made Sasuke's blood boil.
The current situation however, was leaving Sasuke more and more shocked. Just like Tsunade he had noticed a few accounts of the villager's hatred for Naruto, but he had never seen in like this before. Occasionally he would notice a glance from one of the villagers or shinobi, when he or Sakura talked about bringing Naruto home, and now he knew what those looks meant.
So now, Sasuke sat glaring at the civilian side who were moments away from breaking into an uproar, and who had the audacity to ask him why he wanted to help a friend.
"Lady Tsunade! Please, banish this creature from the Leaf, or better yet, put it to death! All it's ever done is bring misery to us all." A large fat Councilman said giving Naurto a glare.
Tsunade was positively fuming at this point, so much so that Jiraiya was standing by her side, reading himself to hold her back from murdering these idiots, all the while he himself was one the verge of lashing out at those that would dare threaten his godson.
"Settle down! All of you! Naruto Uzumaki why have you come back to the Leaf?" Homura bellowed, before things escalated.
"First off, it's Hiyoto now. Secondly I came back to check up on my wayward home." Naruto replied coolly.
"Hiyoto?" Homura replied with cocked eyebrow, as all of the councilman focused on Naruto.
"Yes... Naruto was recently married to Nayumi Hiyoto, of the Hiyoto clan." Tsunade clarified for him, her eyes still narrowed at the civillians.
"Why were we not informed of the demon's return?" Utatane growled, while glaring at Naruto.
Sasuke and Jiraiya glared openly at the woman, with as much contempt as they could muster.
"Because I did not feel it prudent. Naruto was just stopping by for a visit. And! Do not forget Utatane that I am Hokage and don't have to clear every little thing with you." Tsunade replied with a scowl.
"But my lady... letting this demon back into our village is more then just a little thing." One of the councilmen countered.
"He is not a demon!" Nayumi howled at the man, finally at her ropes end with people insulting her husband.
"Be silent girl! Tsunade, who is this brat?" Utatane asked with a bit of venom.
"I am Nayumi Hiyoto. Daughter of Daso Hiyoto." Nayumi replied. The civilians stared at her with disinterest, they didn't know that name, but the shinobi did, and most cringed at the mention of the Bloody Boar of the Lightning.
"Regardless... you have no room to speak in the council chambers. Run along and be gone from our sight." One of the younger councilwoman said with a smirk on her face.
"Lady Tsunade... if you wouldn't mind." Naruto stated, as he held Nayumi back from attacking the smug bitch.
"Nayumi Hiyoto, is the soon to be leader of the southern most provinces of the Land of Lightning. This girl, councilwoman Merugi has a greater right to speak then you do! She is soon to be a feudal lord... and by soon... I mean the second she set's foot back in her home city... she is the new leader. Idiot." Tsunade finished, while whispering that last part under her breath.
The whole council cringed at the mention of that. It was NEVER a good idea to insult a feudal lord, no matter what country they came from. Feudal lords often had the best missions, and even if they were from other countries, sometimes they would give those missions to foreign villages for one reason or another. By insulting Nayumi, this one councilwoman might have just cost them a few high paying missions down the line.
"So... you are of the Hiyoto bloodline?" Danzo questioned during the silent pause.
"So what if I am?" Nayumi replied still fuming.
"No reason. Just asking. You must be quite the young kunoichi if your father allows you so far from home?" Danzo stated his face impassive.
"This girl has a bloodline?" One of the civilian's questioned, a flash of something shot across his eyes as he spoke, and whatever it was, it made Naruto's blood boil.
"Yes... but that is neither here nor there. We are here to talk about Naruto." Danzo replied.
Naruto glared openly at the man whom had spoken of Nayumi's bloodline, he wanted so much to rush forward and end the man, but he couldn't doing so would guarantee his and Nayumi's clones destruction, and he didn't know if his real self had finished with his work yet or not. Instead Naruto decided to focus on something else, he had turned to look at Sasuke his eyes lingered on him for a few moments, something had come to light a few weeks prior, and now Naruto had a chance to verify it.
-Flashback: 'Honeymoon' two weeks prior-
Naruto sat in an open meadow, he was just thinking about things, about his mariage to Nayumi, about his training with Darui, about his meeting with the Leaf shinobi. That last part was where he was most hung up on right now. The main thing being a certain Uchiha's treatment of him during there meeting.
Naruto remembered that the Fox had said that he had pulled a prank on Sasuke, and it had caused Sasuke to drive him out of the village and then hunt him down and try to kill him. Though Sasuke still acted like a dick, he didn't act like someone who would do something like that, instead he seemed to be a lot like Kiba, angry, confused, and desperate to bring Naruto back to the Leaf. Eventually Naruto decided he needed some answers and went to question the Fox.
"Hm... what can I do for you?" The Fox bellowed as Naruto manifested before it.
Naruto just stared at it for a few moments, just wondering how to voice his question.
After a moment he finally spoke, "So fox... that Uchiha sure was acting funny, that last time we saw him?"
"Hmm... what do you mean?" The fox replied with a curious look.
"I mean, he didn't act like he wanted to kill me. He seemed much the same as Sakura and Kiba, he seemed like he just wanted me to go back to the Leaf." Naruto replied, watching the Fox closely the whole time.
"So? He was still acting like a pompous ass! What does it matter?" The Fox responded with a huff.
"Well... I was just wondering, why, if I embarrased him enough to want to kill me, why would he, or the Leaf, send him to bring me back? I mean, if what you say is true... then he would be the last guy to show his face to me." Naruto stated letting the question hang in the air.
"What are you insinuating, Naruto?" The Fox asked, not liking where this was going.
"Look... now that I'm not rationalizing what the Leaf did to me, I have more then enough reason to never go back, but I don't like being lied too. I don't care if you did or not, all I want to know is whether what you told me about Sasuke is true or not?" Naruto asked.
The Fox stared at him for a moment, it was about to fire back when it noticed the look in Naruto's eyes. He was calm, almost like a parent asking the truth of their child, sure he might be a little angry, at being lied to, but it wasn't like he did anything wrong. Naruto had learned how the Leaf truly felt about him, now he had no reason to return. There was no reason to hide the truth from him, and the look in his eyes told the fox that if it told the truth, then there relationship wouldn't suffer.
As if sensing the Beasts anxiety Naruto spoke up once more, "I can never thank you enough for getting me away from that hellhole. I don't care what the truth is... I just want you to be honest with me fox, we've been friends for years, and that wont ever change. I don't need it all now, just tell me the truth about Sasuke."
The Fox looked at him for a second more before letting out a loud sigh, "You want the truth about Sasuke? Well here it is." From there the fox began to tell him all about Sasuke. About how Sasuke had treated him like dirt after they were placed on a team together, about how he was always talking down to Naruto, about how, over time a bond began to grow between the two. The fox told him about how the two of them had shared a similar pain in there lives and that it formed a bond between the two. It told him how the two became friends and rivals. And then it told him about Sasuke's descent into darkness, and how he sought out Orochimaru. It told Naruto, how he had fought with Sasuke in the Valley of the End, to bring him home, and about how there final clash had been what gave the fox the opportunity to get Naruto away from the wretched Leaf, forever.
Naruto just listened the whole time, he had always guessed that the fox may have made up a few things to get him to leave, the leaf, and at first it made Naruto angry. But after he stopped rationalizing all of the pain he had endured, it simply became something that he didn't care about anymore. So what if the fox made stuff up to get him to leave? He already had more then enough reason to go, already, and even if the fox had lied about it all, the memories that Naruto did have were more then enough.
"One day... I hope you finally trust me enough to tell me the rest. We're friends after all." Naruto said with a smile as he turned and left, leaving the fox stunned in it's place.
About a day later the fox broke it's silence and apologized for lying, stating that if Naruto ever had any questions about him life, he would answer them honestly. Naruto accepted his friends apology and moved on from it, now he knew the truth about Sasuke, that would allow Naruto to better understand him, and deal with him when the time came.
-End Flashback-
"So Sasuke... finally took the old mans seat?" Naruto stated giving his old teammate a look.
"Huh?" Sasuke asked.
"Fugaku... I remember seeing him in here when I was younger. You know... you look a lot like him, sitting in that chair." Naruto noted. He had always liked Fugaku, and Mikoto Uchiha. He didn't remember a lot after he was kicked out of the orphanage but he did remember those two... he remembered how Fugaku always managed to look so stern and strict, but when he spoke he was kind, and caring.
"Uh... thanks." Sasuke replied, he was still new at this whole Councilman thing. Though as an Uchiha the other councilors, especially the Civilians and elders, were always complimentary towards him. Though it was rare for him to hear about his father.
"Yeah... I hope these idiots aren't causing to much trouble for the Uchiha clan." Naruto added with a smile.
"They're a bit troublesome, but nothing I can't handle." Sasuke replied as many on the council either adopted looks of anger at what Naruto said, or confusion as how sensible and casual the Uzumaki and Uchiha were being with one another.
"Well that's good to hear. Anyway, I wanted to apologize, Sasuke for how I acted towards you when we last met. The Fox ended up misconstruing some of the facts about my life, in order to ensure I left, and so I must apologize for acting so coldly to you. You did nothing to deserve it, and so I apologize." Naruto stated with a polite bow, which took most of the councilman by surprise, even Tsunade and Jiraiya stared at Naruto with a bit of surprise at how formal and kind he was acting.
"Um... thanks. I guess." Sasuke replied not knowing what to say to that.
"Look... I think a lot of things got mixed up. I would really like to get to know you... and the rest of my old team. Anytime you guys would like, I'm sure Nayumi and I would love to have you in Aski." Naruto informed them.
Nayumi stared at Naruto curiously for a few moments. She never really expected him to open himself up to anyone from the Leaf... but then again there was that Iruka guy. In the end all Nayumi could do was offer a tilt of her head and a slight nod to offer her approval.
"Naruto... you don't have to go back there. You have people here that love you, and want you to stay here." Jiraiya informed him, giving his godson a compassionate look.
"I cannot remain in the Leaf, master Jiraiya. The people here despise me. I have suffered here for far to long. I cannot return to this place, but that doesn't mean we have to be enemies. I just want to live happily, make a name for myself, maybe start a family someday. I can't do that in a city where I am hated." Naruto replied kindly as he gently took Nayumi's hand.
"But I don't think it's right to cut out the good parts of my life here in the village. So any of my old friends who wish to visit me, may do so in Aski. And as long as you are not infringing on the Hidden Cloud, my friends will always have a safe haven there." Naruto added still smiling.
"You think we would fall for that ploy Demon!" One of the civilians hissed. At hearing this Naruto's mood soured slightly, and Tsunade KI erupted as a dangerous pressure that leveled itself onto the fool who spoke.
"This boy is to be married to a feudal lord. He is extending an open hand to Leaf shinobi, and you dare call him a demon. Speak again against either of these two in such a manner again and I will kill you!" Tsunade hissed at the man, her KI causing him to evacuate his bowels and pass out from fear.
"ANBU if you wouldn't mind." Danzo stated with a look of boredom as the Hokage continued to assault the idiot with her KI.
In a swift motion a few ANBU appeared and removed the man from the room.
Tsunade glanced over at Danzo and offered a nod of thanks for getting the idiot and his waste out of the room. Danzo simply offered the slightest of nods in reply.
"Though his choice of words was uncouth, he did have a point. You are a foreign national. Why should we place any trust in you?" Danzo asked after a moment. His single eye, fixed on Naruto and Nayumi.
"You have no reason too. Other then the fact that I will openly admit to housing any Leaf shinobi my husband chooses to allow into Aski, and if anything were to happen to them under my watch, it would tarnish my reputation as a Feudal lord, as a clan leader, and as a shinobi of the Cloud. I can not promise shelter from the Cloud, but those that we choose to allow into Aski for whatever reason, are under our protection. I will do my utmost to protect any and all guests, to my village, regardless of their affiliation. Though I will keep an eye on them and I will not assist them or hide them from the Cloud should you make any move against the Cloud or the Lightning or if we are in a time of war. But if any friends of Naruto, are looking for refuge during harsh weather or are in the area and wish to visit, they will be allowed to do so, without fear of molestation, by the Cloud." Nayumi dictated in a formal and coarse tone.
"Ay... I guess that is reasonable." Danzo stated, his eyes still locked on the two.
"We of the Leaf, thank you for this kind offer. I will be sure to inform any of those who wish to visit you, to not mix business with pleasure." Tsunade replied politely, earning a smile from Nayumi and Naruto.
"Naruto... these idiots don't speak for everyone. Surely things cannot be as bad as you made them out to be. And if so, we can change them. There are plenty of people here who miss you, and want you to come home." Sasuke stated, as well a tested the waters. He still didn't know just how far the villager's hatred for Naruto went, but if the civilians reactions and outbursts were anything to go by, then things might just be unfix able.
"Lord Uchiha, please do not allow yourself to be fooled by this... by his words. He is just trying to fool you, and draw you away from the village to finish what he started, at the Valley of the end!" One of the councilman stated, earning him a few nods of agreement from the civilian side and even one or two shinobi.
"Are you idiots still hung up on that? That damn mark, that Orochimaru placed on me was screwing with my head. It was forcing me to go all out against Naruto, and if he hadn't done what he did, I would be working with that Snake bastard right now... or more then likely he'd be wearing me as a skin suit." Sasuke fired back, with a Sharingan enhanced glare.
"Sasuke is right. Naruto did what was necessary to ensure that Sasuke did not join Orochimaru. It was because of Naruto that Sasuke is still in the village." Danzo added, earning a nod from the shinobi side, along with Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Sure Danzo was a warhawk, but all he wanted was to ensure the Leaf's prosperity and survival. The old hawk was more then willing to change his plans if that's what needed to be done, and Naruto was no different. Originally he had assumed that Naruto had gone rogue, and that prompted his orders to Sai. But now that the truth had come to light, and he knew more, he could peruse other means to ensure that the threat Naruto possessed was diminished. This included everything from bribery, and blackmail, to death, and even an alliance. As long as it benefited the Leaf in the long run, Danzo would happily bow out of any grudge, fight, or squabble that was occurring, and accept that a change in plans was necessary. This meant that he would offer his full support to the Hokage in her attempts to return the Jinchuriki to the Leaf, while at the same time he was formulating plan, after plan, to use against Naruto should that fail.
"Even so. This demon could be trying to manipulate us by sparring Lord Uchiha. Now that it's back, if could be trying to put it's plans into action." Another Councilman said, though unlike the other ones this guy looked legitimately afraid of Naruto.
"I agree... we should hold the Demon here, and send Lady Hiyoto back to the Lightning, until we determine what this beast is planning!" A councilwoman suggested.
"I agree." Utatane stated her eyes locked on Naruto.
"There wouldn't be a point you dumb fucks." Shikaku barked, in a lazy tone.
"Shikaku is right. These two are just clones. The real two are hiding somewhere else." Tsume added.
Strangely this caused the civilian side to display even more fear.
"Lady Tsunade, why would you allow this demon and it's mate, to enter the council chambers using a jutsu like this?" A fat man asked with a worried look.
"I agree, Lady Hokage. They could be using the Shadow Clone Explosion Technique, or those clones could even be filled with bomb tags." Hiashi added.
"Don't start with you paranoid bullshit!" Jiraiya barked with a bit of anger.
"It isn't paranoia, master Jiraiya. You can never be too careful." Hiashi replied.
"You see, Sasuke... I can't win, and I'm not even arguing my case!" Naruto stated with a bewildered look.
"You idiots do realize that Kumo has two Jinchuriki? How long before, they approach Naruto and offer to make him a ninja? Then what? We don't have any Jinchuriki to protect us from theirs. God! You'd figure a bunch of power hungry ass hats like you all would want, a Jinchuriki around." Sasuke replied with a roll of his eyes.
"You wouldn't understand Lord Uchiha. You were just a baby when this thing destroyed our village!" Mebuki Haruno spouted.
"On that note." Naruto stated, as he pulled out his Kumo headband and held it up for them to see.
"Well shit." Sasuke muttered.
"Damn." Jiraiya hissed.
"Damn." Tsunade hissed.
"KILL HIM!" The civilian side bellowed.
"Well Shit!" The Shinobi side bellowed.
"Shut up!" Tsunade yelled at the top of her lungs, as the Civilians burst into an uproar at Naruto revealing that he was a cloud shinobi.
"My lady we cannot stand for this!" One civilian shouted.
"The Raikage will loose the demon upon our village! We must kill it!" Another shouted.
"Let us finish what the Yondaime started!" Yet another civilian bellowed, as the ANBU descended into the room.
"ENOUGH!" Sasuke yelled, flaring his KI.
Strangely his yell resonated, and the civilians shot the Uchiha prodigy a look of fear.
"Thank you, Sasuke." Tsunade stated as Jiraiya held her back from murdering the entire civilian section of the council.
"Enough!" Naruto heard echo in his mind. He felt a slight pain flood his senses as the word repeated, though the voice that was saying it wasn't his, and it wasn't Sasuke's. The voice was vaguely familiar and yet Naruto couldn't place it.
"What is happening to me Fox?" Naruto asked as he suddenly felt dizzy.
"I don't know kid." The Fox replied as it listened to the word echo again. After a moment the Fox decided to search for whatever memory was trying to surface. In the span of a few seconds it scanned through Naruto's memories and it found that at no time had Naruto ever heard that voice say that word, at that exact pitch.
"If it's not coming from his memories then where..." The fox wondered as it searched his memories again when suddenly realization hit him.
"The Memory Suppression seal!" The Fox growled as it scanned the Clones body, and found that the seal on the back of it's neck had been cracked.
"Naruto! The Memory Suppression Seal is starting to crack. I think that whatever is down there is trying to surface." The Fox informed him.
"What should I do fox?" Naruto asked, with a bit of worry. Whatever was down there was hidden for a reason, and with the feelings he was getting from just one word, he knew that it couldn't be good.
"I'm not sure... maybe... I don't know." The fox replied after a moment.
"Naruto! What's wrong?" Nayumi asked as Naruto doubled over from the dizziness he was feeling.
"Hey, Naruto, are you alright?" Jiraiya asked as he turned and noticed Naruto on the ground. Tsunade and the rest of the council noticed Naruto's state and stared at him with varied expressions, of anger, confusion, worry and curiosity.
Tsunade and Sasuke were immediately by Naruto's side, along with Nayumi and Jiraiya.
"What's the matter Naruto?" Tsunade asked, as Naruto started shaking his head back and forth.
"The Seal... on my neck, Yumi... Fox says... it's breaking..." Naruto sputtered, unable to focus.
"What seal?" Jiraiya and Tsunade asked in unison.
Nayumi quickly bent his head forward and looked at the back of his neck, she saw the seal was visible on his skin and glowing slightly to show that chakra was passing through it.
"What is that Seal, master Jiraiya?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"It's a Memory Suppression Seal, it was placed on him to lock away certain memories." Nayumi replied.
"What?!" Tsunade stated in surprise.
"What's locked away in there?" Sasuke asked.
"No clue... but whatever it is... it can't be good." Nayumi replied.
"This is bad Tsunade. I recognize these markings. The Leaf's ANBU division use them on people they want to make forget certain things." Jiraiya stated, with a look of concern.
"Captain!" Tsunade barked as she shot up and spun around glancing over at the white hooded ANBU that sat amongst the Shinobi. In an instant flash, the captain was in a kneeling position in front of her his mask was that of a tiger, and the old identifying feature other then the masks shape was the red one in the center of his forehead. This one signified that this particular ANBU was the hokage's most loyal guardian, and commander of the ANBU black ops, division.
"Yes, my lady?" The captain asked.
"There is a seal on Naruto's neck, that is blocking out his some of his memories. What is it doing there?" Tsunade asked.
"My lady... I must inform you that you are asking me about an S-ranked secret in the presence of non S-class personnel, as well as foreign shinobi. It is only by your order that I can give out this info." The Captain informed her. Tsunade was slightly taken aback. It was rare to stumble across S-class information. Most of the previous Hokage kept this info locked up, and only if the new Hokage went looking for the info, would they find it, otherwise it would remain hidden.
"What are you hiding?" Naruto growled out.
"I'm sorry. I cannot answer that question, without the Hokage's expressed permission." The ANBU Captain replied.
"How bad is this info?" Tsunade asked, not sure whether she wanted it to be revealed in front of the council, Naruto, or Nayumi for that matter.
"Bad." The Captain replied.
"Shit..." Tsunade muttered angrily.
"Enough!" Naruto heard again, though this time, the voice was accompanied by an image. It was only there for a second, and he couldn't really tell who was in the image, but he there was one unmistakable trait, those familiar red Uchiha eyes.
Naruto closed his eyes as a loud ringing started to play in his ears, suddenly he heard a loud cry of pain. The cry continued for several moments before it slipped away into deathly silence. Then almost as if it was whispered right in his ear, a different yet vaguely familiar voice said 'I'm sorry'
Naruto opened his eyes and looked around at the others, Nayumi, Jiraiya and, Sasuke all looked worried, while Tsunade looked conflicted.
Naruto looked past all of them, and finally locked eyes with Danzo, whom was watching the whole situation with a keen eye.
"Who... is Ami?" Naruto asked, and to his surprise the face of the Infinitely stoic Danzo, finally displayed an emotion, a slight widening of his eye. Surprise... that's what it was, surprise was what flashed across the warhawks face.
"Ami? The name on that little statuette?" Tsunade asked, as she turned and looked at the council. What she saw shocked her. The civilians faces were twisted in rage as they glared hatefully at Naruto. Hiashi, and Shibi, had a stoic look about them, but the rest of the Shinobi held varying looks of worry, shame, anger, and sadness. Even the normally stoic and lazy Shikaku, had lifted his head and was eying Naruto carefully.
Homura had turned his head away slightly, not making eye contact with Naruto. Utatane, cast an accusatory glare at Naruto, as if blaming him for some crime. While Danzo, simply stared back at Naruto, his one eye slightly wider then normal.
"Who is Ami?" Naruto asked again as he took a step forward.
Tsunade held a look of confusion, she looked around the room, even though they all held different emotions there was one thing they all shared, it was an uneasiness.
"What are you talking about, Naruto? Who is this girl?" Sasuke asked, slightly confused.
"What is going on here?" Tsunade asked as she stepped up next to Naruto, and leveled her eyes, onto her elders.
"My lady... this is an S-class secret." Was all the ANBU captain said as he continued to kneel next to her.
"Why does that name keep repeating in my head? Who is this person? Please, tell me?" Naruto asked, as 'Ami' once again began to resonate within his head.
"Look... does this info endanger the village?" Tsunade asked her captain, as she saw how none of the councilman looked as though they would answer.
"Yes." The Captain replied.
"Fuck... Fine. Jiraiya, please take Naruto and Nayumi out of here." Tsunade ordered. Jiraiya gave her a look before making a move to step next to Naruto.
"No!" Naruto shouted no wanting to be cast aside now, as the voice began to resonate again, and once again he found that tears were falling from his eyes. "Tell me! Who is Ami? Why is she so important? Why won't this name leave my head?"
Naruto stared at the two sides, aside from Hiashi, the shinobi wouldn't even look at him, and on the opposite side, the civilians glared hatefully at him, some of the female members even had what looked like tears building up in there eyes.
"Naruto... I will get to the bottom of this. But as Hokage I can't have you learning things that you shouldn't. This is the price of being a foreign ninja." Tsunade said sadly as Jiraiya once again made a move towards Naruto.
"No way am I leaving. Tell me who the hell Ami is, or so help me I will beat the shit out of one of you to find the answer!" Naruto exploded with anger, Nayumi and Jiraiya were at his side in a flash, both ready to pull him from the room.
"Ami, Ami, Ami, Ami, Ami. That's all the keeps replaying in my head... and it wont STOP!" Naruto yelled as he clutched his head in pain.
"Good... I hope you choke on her name DEMON!" One of the Civilians shouted.
"I hope it hurts... You deserve it for what you did!" Another shouted as he shot to his feet.
"How dare you!" Another voice bellowed though everyone was shocked to see that it was Shikaku who had said it.
"We all know what this thing did! I hope you suffer. you monster!" The man continued.
"You will shut the fuck up now, or I swear to Kami I will come over there and kick your ass!" Shikaku growled as Inoichi and Choza shot to their feet and held there friend back.
"What in the hell is going on?!" Tsunade barked.
"You wanna know about Ami? You want to finally remember Demon? Well I'll tell you about her..." The civilian growled at Naruto, but was cut off when Tsume shot to her feet, and leveled her KI at the man.
"You speak another word, and I'll cut your tongue out!" Tsume growled.
"You are acting like children, Tsume, Shikaku. If the monster wants to know about his crimes, then let him learn." Hiashi stated in a stoic voice.
"You son of a bitch. You know as well as I, that he did nothing wrong!" Tsume shouted at him.
"That child was innocent! It's because of this thing that she... she didn't deserve what happened to her!" Mebuki Haruno shouted, the woman had tears streaming down her face.
"What... did I do?" Naruto asked, with a look of shock as he watched them fight.
"Fox... what did I do?" Naruto asked within himself.
No reply came, only an eerie silence accompanied the Fox's absence.
"Naruto." Someone called his name, Naruto glanced over to see Choza looking down at him with a sad look on his face, "You did nothing wrong. You are not to blame for any of this."
"Yes he is! If this demon hadn't sunk it's claws into her..." Another man started to shout, but was cut off when Tsume bellowed.
"If Sarutobi, or god help you, Fugaku were here, they would rip you limb from limb." She yelled, anger, and hate, present in her eyes.
"My Father?" Sasuke questioned as he stood next to his friend watching the fight erupt. Jiraiya was doing his best to gauge the situation as Tsunade stood in the center of the room, arguing with Utatane and Homura about what the fuck was happening.
Nayumi stood by her husbands side, her hand laid gently on his shoulder, she could see the confusion in his eyes. For some reason she knew he felt terrible, and yet he had no clue as to why. And now these people were accusing him of something, while others were telling him it wasn't his fault... what the fuck was going on?
"If Sarutobi had put that thing to death, when it was born, then nothing would have happened to that child!" A civilian shouted across the room.
"Naruto did nothing wrong!" A shinobi fired back, they couldn't tell who it was.
"What does my father have to do with this?" Sasuke asked, more to himself then the screaming councilman.
All the while the only person who didn't break into a frenzy was Danzo. He still sat at the end of the table, staring and Naruto with his single eye. After a moment Naruto locked eyes with Danzo and the two stared at each other for what seemed like a life time.
After a moment Danzo stood and walked towards Naruto, the two never broke eyes contact as Danzo approached. The old warhawk moved like a ghost across the room, unnoticed by all except Naruto, Nayumi, and Jiraiya who had noticed Danzo's movement and was now watching him keenly.
As he walked towards them, almost completely oblivious to the shouting fest going on around him, a man dressed as an ANBU appeared by Danzo's side, he handed something to Danzo before leaving.
Danzo walked up to Naruto and stood in front of him for a moment, Nayumi, and Jiraiya eyed him carefully as he leaned forward next to Naruto's ear and whispered something to him, all the while placing something in his hand, afterwords Danzo pulled back, gave Naruto one last look before he turned to walk away.
Naruto sat there staring off into space before looking down to his hand, in it was a small folder piece of paper, that looked to be quite old. Naruto almost roboticly opened it, and audibly gasped as he viewed the papers content.
Nayumi leaned next to him to look at the paper. She saw that it was a photo. A photo of a much younger Naruto, around seven or eight at the time. He was smiling happily making the piece sign, with his arm draped over another persons shoulder. The person was a little girl, around the same age. She had brown hair and brown eyes, he skin was pale, and she looked thin, like Naruto. Thought just like him she wore a large happy smile.
Nayumi glanced at Naruto out of the corner of her eye, and almost recoiled at what she saw. Naruto's face was twisted in agony. He had tears streaming down his face, and his hands were shaky.
"Naruto?" Nayumi whispered in his ear. She suddenly heard a popping noise along with a slight breeze. He head snapped back and she noticed that the seal on his neck had vanished entirely.
Naruto just stared with a look of horror at the picture, he lifted his opposite hand up to the picture and gently touched it... after a moment he finally croaked out, "Ami!"
With that one word, Naruto's clone popped. Nayumi stood staring at where he use to be she held a look of worry. The loud popping noise drew everyones attention and they all looked to where Naruto use to be.
Nayumi glanced over at them... a look of confusion plastered on her face, after a moment she too popped.
"What! In the Hell! Is! Going! ON!" Tsunade shouted as she spun around and glared at the council.
"The truth has finally come to light." Danzo replied, as he spoke the other two elders shot him a horrfied look.
"Danzo you didn't." Homura said with shock.
"I have a feeling, deep down, that one day that boy will bring salvation to the Leaf. I cannot explain this feeling... it's just there." Danzo replied as he stood and turned to leave.
"He will hate us all forever." Shikaku stated darkly.
"Only if he allows himself to be swallowed by darkness. I believe that boy is destined for great things. And I believe that one day he will come back to us. Whether as a conqueror, or a savior, depends on what we do from this point forward, and what he does." Danzo added as he thought, 'is this the feeling that the boy gave you Hiruzen?' and with that he was gone.
"He was in so much pain." Sasuke muttered with a downcast look. He knew that look... it was a look that he too once wore. It was a look of pain, and loss. He stepped over to where Naruto was, and knelt down, there was the piece of paper, that Danzo had given him. Sasuke stared at the picture of Ami and Naruto for a moment, with only one question on his mind, who was this girl?
"Okay! They're gone! Someone explain to me in simple fucking English... what is going on!" Tsunade commanded.
"It was something that should never have happened. Not to him... not to Minato's legacy." Choza replied.
"Minato chose poorly in that boy. The fox consumed his soul! That is not a child any longer." One of the councilman growled.
"That boy is Minato's son!" Tsunade barked.
The whole of the council stared at her like she had two heads. Most didn't believe it, but a few did.
"Hahaha..." Shikaku started to laugh to himself. His laughing was the only noise in the room for a few moments before, he leveled a glare at the civilian side. "God help us all, when we meet him in the afterlife."
-Elsewhere-
The real Nayumi and Naruto were darting through alleyways, and across streets the two were quickly making for the exit.
Nayumi watched Naruto carefully as they ran he had a look of anger plastered on his the whole time, and even through the mask she could see it. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him what was wrong, but he didn't give her the chance. He was leading her out of the city, and if she didn't keep up, there was a good chance he would leave her behind.
The two moved in silence retracing there steps out of the village. Nayumi wanted to tell him to slow down but she she felt like it wouldn't do much, still it worried her how quickly they were moving, there chance of getting caught was climbing higher and higher with each passing second.
They rounded the corner and shot out of an alley trying to cross a street sadly, what Nayumi had feared happened, there standing in the middle of the street staring at them, was a frog masked Anbu, holding a bowl of ramen.
The two stared at the Frog masked Anbu, Nayumi was way to tense she knew, that this guy could see right through them.
"What's going on here?" He asked, as he slowly set his bowl onto the ground and stepped over it.
"Shit!" Nayumi hissed internally, as she thought up a plan of attack.
One was not needed however as the Anbu slowly looked up at the sky, and then shushined away.
"Thank Kami!" Nayumi said aloud.
"Let's go!" Naruto growled as he sped off. Nayumi quickly followed after him, as the two sped out of the village.
-With Frog-
Frog felt one of his special seals pulsating, it was a way for his family to signal him is they needed help. He quickly shunshined behind some buildings and then teleported to his home.
He arrived to find his wife standing in the center of the living room with a look of pure horror.
"What's wrong?" Frog asked.
"We've been robbed." His wife replied with a bit of fear.
-Back with Naruto and Nayumi-
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nayumi asked as Naruto led her right to the main gate. He had decided to just go the quick route and get the hell out of there fast.
The two quickly approached the gate, running at top speed, and to there luck the gate guards were so far into a boredom induced stupor that it was only as they flew by were they noticed. After about one hundred feet, Naruto brought his hands together to make a cross and suddenly five hundred clones flooded the field and fled in random directions. Nayumi did the same creating about thirty clones, she hand them pair off with a few Naruto's and run off with them.
The two sped out of the Leaf and into the forest, and they didn't stop running for nearly eight hours. Naruto didn't say anything as the two sped away from the Leaf at top speed, Nayumi couldn't take her eyes off of Naruto, she could feel the anguish seeping off of him... he was in pain, and yet he wouldn't talk to her, she had to do something, she had to get him to talk.
"Naruto!" She called out to him. No response.
"Naruto!" She called again, and again no response.
"Dammit... talk to me!" Nayumi hissed as she simply tackled him to the ground. The two rolled for a few moments as they had been running rather fast, and they stopped with Naruto on his back and Nayumi on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
"Talk to me, Naruto." Nayumi commanded, as she leaned closer to him.
Naruto just stared at her blankly for a few moments. He just stared at her, almost like he was looking through her. It gave Nayumi the chills just looking at the ghostly expression, frozen on his face. Then it happened, a single tear, slid out of Naruto's eye, and then another. He blinked a few times before sitting up, Nayumi fell down to his lap as he did.
He just stared at her with those sad eyes. They were filled with so much pain, after a moment Nayumi couldn't take it anymore and pulled him into the tightest hug she could muster.
"It's okay." She whispered.
"It's okay." She whispered again, as she gently stroked his hair, almost like a mother would do for her child.
She heard Naruto whisper something as he started to sob, she pulled gently stroked the back of his neck as she whispered, "What?"
"Ami... I'm sorry." Naruto replied, as the cold weight of the night air, pressed down on the two of them.
Naruto didn't speak after that... all Nayumi could do was hold him in her arms, as he gently wept. It would take her a while, but she knew that eventually he would tell her what happened, she just had to be patient. She just had to be there...
Alright theirs that! More for you guys later, I hope you enjoy, more info on my little contest, though here's another hint that I can't put in context... everyone involved in the incident, is named in this chapter. Anyway , this will be that last chapter where my 'contest/puzzle' will be going on, as the next chapter will finally reveal it. More on Naruto's 'siblings' later, I hope this chapter was long enough for you, I wrote it all in a day... well not all. I was at 2000 words when I started today and now my hand looks like some sort of deformed claw... anyway hope you enjoy!