You guys are awesome!

I apologize for the wait. Between a writer's block and figuring out the timeline of events, it took awhile for me to finish this chapter.

Please check out the note at the bottom for an explanation of a few events that happen in this chapter. Please also note there will be a bit more vulgar language this chapter due to a certain character's way of communicating.

And without any more delay, here's the next chapter. Chapter 32: Rift

Cold. It was a feeling that Haku intellectually knew about, but she had actually never felt until now. Her bloodline always kept her safe from the freezing chill that she could easily produce. She had been far too young to remember anything but the fear as her father had tried to kill her all of those years before, only to be saved by Zabuza. However, Zabuza had taught her that she was nothing more than a tool, and for years believed him. Then on that bridge in Wave her world changed once again. Zabuza died and she gained a new master; she gained Naruto-Sama. She had thought she felt cold and alone when Zabuza had died. She was wrong.

The cold feeling of fear, worry, and heartstopping pain wrapped it's icy talons around her heart. Seeing all of the blood around her Naruto-Sama had almost caused her to break down. But she persevered, knowing that he would be fine as always. The ice user continued to believe even as the heart beat monitor went off, and each time it was quieted as Tsunade brought him back to life. But then, the unthinkable happened. The heart rate alarm went off for the third time, and it didn't turn back off. For ten minutes Haku had waited, listening to the shrill alarm. Tears leaked out of her eyes unnoticed, only to freeze on her cheeks. "Naruto-Sama!" She felt as if she was dying along side him.

She didn't flinch as the Kyubi's chakra exploded forth from the room, nor did she move when it receded. Then...the alarm stopped. Not daring to even hope, but still compelled to look just the same, she rose from her seated position along the wall and moved slowly towards the room where her beloved Naruto-Sama was. Some part of her absently noted that Hinata and Sakura, who had been sitting beside her, were also making their way towards the room. But the rest of her was focused on the tiny chakra bond she had always felt with Naruto. For ten minutes it had been absent, but now there was a tiny warm trickle. Reaching for the door Haku slowly pushed it open.

Her Naruto-Sama took a breath. Hot tears of relief and happiness coursed down Haku's face as the coldness left her. She took a step forward, unconsciously seeking the warmth of his presence. As she looked down at his alive and warm body, still covered in dried blood, Haku understood something. She had tasted the cold, and now, standing in the warmth of her beloved, she would do what it would take to make sure her master; her love; her Naruto-Sama survived. And if anyone tried to touch him...they would find out that it was not the fire they should fear, but the cold.

Hinata had thought she had perfected her emotionless mask. But then the unthinkable had happened. Naruto-Kun had been badly hurt by the cursed Sasuke Uchiha. Luckily Kakashi had arrived in time to save him, bringing her love back to the hospital. Hinata still didn't realize how serious the injury had been until the heart rate monitor had gone off.

From the moment on, she had activated her bloodline and watched as Tsunade had struggled to stabilize Naruto. Tears made watery trails down the Hyuga's cheeks as she watched him die twice, only to be brought back by the legendary medic ninja. Then the Last Uzumaki died for the third time, and not even all of Tsunade's skill could bring him back. Hinata watched his heart still, and felt her own heart shatter into pieces. For ten minutes she kept up her vigil, watching; waiting; praying that her love's heart would beat again.

And then a miracle happened. The blindingly bright chakra of the Kyubi exploded out of Naruto, the chakra so powerful and bright to the Byakugan that she had to turn off her bloodline, lest she go blind. The moment she felt the Nine-Tails' chakra leave, Hinata instantly reactivated her sight of her Naruto-Kun's chest moving was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. Rising up, she moved towards the room, intent on seeing him with her eyes, not just her bloodline.

Seeing Naruto laying there alive, but covered in blood, shifted something within the blue-haired kunoichi. "The world is an unforgiving place." She had once been a gentle girl, weak but kind. Slowly Naruto had brought her out of her shy and hesitant shell, birthing a confident young woman who knew her own strengths and desires.

But now, looking down at the blood-matted blonde hair of her love, she was undergoing a new transformation. Her will began to sharpen, becoming like steel. Then her training and gentleness wrapped the steel in silk. But all should take care, for they should never mistake kindness for weakness.

It was odd, Sakura distantly considered, at how calm she was. She had felt surging anger when she had first learned that Naruto had been severely injured. But after she arrived along with Haku and Hinata, she had learned how bad the injury had been. It had been bad enough that that Kakashi had temporarily burnt out his chakra points in his legs and almost exhausted all of his chakra. It had been bad enough that Kakashi had crashed through the glass door to the hospital rather than waiting for the door to open. It had been bad enough that the Chunin stationed at the hospital had instantly gotten Tsunade.

But despite all of that, even though logically she knew the severity of Naruto's wound, it still didn't register. "When I catch that Uchiha…" She had mentally ranted, "I'll rip out his precious eyes and squish them with his own skull!" Had others been looking closely, they would have perhaps observed that Sakura's chakra was a bit more...darker colored in that moment.

Then the heart rate alarm had gone off, and Sakura went comfortably numb. It was a cold sort of numb, the type when you exist but nothing truly registers. Part of her registered that the shrill alarm stopped and started twice. After the second time the alarm ceased, Sakura began to hope that it was over, that the legendary healer had healed Naruto. But then the alarm had sounded again and Sakura went numb again. She wasn't aware that she had slid slowly down the wall, nor was she aware that she had started to softly weep. Her sole focus was on the door to the Critical Care Exam Room.

Then it happened. Ten minutes and forty-three seconds after the heart rate alarm had gone off, the Kyubi's chakra exploded outwards. It had lingered for only a few seconds, before tripling in weight. The red chakra burned so bright that it blitzed past the numbness, causing her to regain focus for a moment. A moment later the awesome and overpowering chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox vanished, and Sakura pulsed out a chakra pulse by instinct, her chakra tinged with desperation. The resulting ping that came back from Naruto shattered the numbness.

Startled by feeling wetness on her face, Sakura raised a hand to touch her cheek, noting with surprise that she had been crying. Standing up, she quickly moved towards the door of the Critical Care Exam Room. Haku opened the door, and Sakura felt relief at Naruto's breathing form. Tears misted her eyes once more. Slowly approaching the bed along with Hinata and Haku, she couldn't help but feel her emotions crash down on her. "Naruto-Kun almost died." The thought was sobering.

Soon anger, different than anger she had ever felt before, bubbled up in her. Rage, white hot rage, sizzled in her chest. "How...how DARE he harm Naruto-Kun?" Clenching her fists so tightly that they almost bled, the kunoichi fought with her anger. She didn't know how long it took to push it down, to keep it from exploding out. "No." She shook her head, her green eyes bright with faint specks of glowing red, "I will not give into my anger. Not now." It was the hardest thing she had ever done.

"I will use my anger as strength, to push myself to become strong enough that this never happens again." The rage simmered, contenting itself with the outlet that would be intense training for now. Before she focused on Naruto once more, Sakura couldn't help but think, "But if I ever catch Sasuke…"

Naruto awoke abruptly, instantly becoming aware of the fact that he was laying in water. Recognizing the landscape as his mind, Naruto peered upwards at the star filled sky. The stars reminded him of long ago when he had first climbed the Hokage Mountain when he was about 5 years old. It was...peaceful. While the walls and floor was still the sewer, the ceiling had faded away to the open sky shortly after Sakura, Hinata, and Haku had happily agreed to become his girlfriends.

Finding the massive cage that held the Kyubi, the Last Uzumaki made his way to the cage.

"Naruto." Kyubi didn't hide it's the happy tone at seeing it's friend, "You are alive." Despite how the Kyubi knew that it saved Naruto's life, bringing him back from the Shinigami's cold grip, it still felt a sense of...something at seeing Naruto awake and alive. "Is this...relief?"While it had never experienced this particular emotion before, the emotion that the Nine-Tails was feeling now matched the 'relief' emotion from Naruto's memories.

"Kyubi." Naruto grinned at his friend, "I'm guessing that the injury was bad enough that you needed to actively use your chakra to heal me?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"Naruto." The Kyubi shook it's massive head, not wanting to relive the moments of heart-stopping panic that it had when it discovered that Naruto had died, "You died."

"W-What?" Naruto's eyes widened. "I'm dead?"

"I brought you back of course." The Demon Fox continued, unaware of the relief that it's words brought, "And I improved a few things while I was at it." It nodded in satisfaction as it explained what it had improved. "I was able to increase your healing rate as well as your stamina. Your heart, given that the damnable Uchiha nearly sliced it in half, was also enhanced. With the extra chakra I had left, I increased your reflexes and eyesight."

"Thanks!" Naruto gave the giant chakra demon one of his true rare smiles.

"Y-You are welcome." Being thanked was still foreign to the Kyubi, having experienced only negative emotions for so long. "But you need to recuperate still, so I'll send you back."

Naruto waved up at his friend. "See you later Kyubi."

Watching until Naruto faded from the mindscape, only then did the Kyubi allow it's tiredness to show. Letting it's six tails to once again show, six because the Kyubi had effectively used three tails worth of chakra to bring Naruto back. The Fox would regain it's chakra within a few weeks, and it had more than enough chakra to help Naruto with whatever his container needed.

"We have to do something!" The council man shouted as his face continued to grow more and more mottled with outrage. "Everyone felt the Demon's power! It's going to kill us all!" The minor clan head slammed his fist on the table. "We need to kill it first before it gets too strong again!"

"Naruto Uzumaki is a ninja of this village as well as the Uzumaki Clan Head." Shibi Aburame replied, his monotone unable to disguise the growing heat in his voice. "He has not attacked any Konoha Ninja with the intent to kill…" A pause. "Which is more than I can say for Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sasuke Uchiha is not responsible for his actions!" Another civilian council member joined in, almost raising from his chair as he addressed the council, "We know that is he is mentally unstable, given the recent events with his brother."

"Uzumaki-San died!" Inoichi Yamanaka shot back, part of him remembering the memory he had experienced of Naruto's. Ever since then, the Yamanaka Clan Head had felt nothing but respect for the blonde haired Uzumaki, given the fact that he had come out of conditions that would have utterly broken anyone else, and had instead come out with a unstoppable drive to protect the ones he cared about. "Naruto died three times!"

"That's two times too many that he was resuscitated." Still another civilian stood up, glaring at the Yamanaka and Aburame Clan Heads. "The Hokage should never have brought him back!"

"Careful now," Choza Akimichi's voice attempted to bring the two sides together, "That just sounded an awful lot like you wished a Clan Head was dead…"

"Naruto Uzumaki isn't human." One of the minor Clan Heads insisted, "So normal rules don't apply to him."

"So let us just suppose, just for a moment...," Shikaku Nara rested his head on his right hand, catching Inoichi's eye. A moment later Shikaku's right index finger minutely moved upwards on his face, and his thumb brushed his pointer finger. Inoichi blinked three times, two slow and one fast. The Yamanaka leaned back slightly, presumably to stretch slightly. However, his moment allowed him to keep all of the opposite members in view.

"...that what you say about Naruto Uzumaki is true." Shikaku leaned forward slightly, his hands coming forward in front of him to mimic a pose Hiruzen had taken countless times. Unconsciously, most of the room focused on the Nara. "Tell me this then: How exactly do you plan on stopping someone who came back from the dead?"

Most of the occupants who were steadfastly against Naruto flinched, clearly having not thought through their plan of action, letting their emotions get the best of them. However, as Inoichi surreptitiously noted, several of them didn't flinch. A moment later they reacted, but it was too calm, too practiced. It would have fooled even the most paranoid of ninja. But, Inoichi wasn't a normal ninja. He was a Yamanaka, who specialised in psychology. Not only that, but Inoichi was part of the Konoha T&I and the Intelligence Division.

Inoichi leaned forward, resting his head on his left fist. Shikaku leaned back, his real question answered by his former teammate. The Nara's brilliant mind raced through ideas and concepts, seeking the best angle and approach to assist Naruto. The Uzumaki was after all, his ally.

Then his senses prickled, the finely tuned ones that served him well during his marriage to his wife of twenty years. "And hopefully twenty more." It was the feeling of a woman in a mission, striding quickly but calmly towards them. The Nara blinked. "Now the question is: Are we going to be dealing with Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage or are we going to be dealing with Tsunade Senju, godmother to Naruto Uzumaki?"

Casually leaning back, Shikaku pushed his chair back a few inches. He wasn't too concerned that the Slug Sannin would be angry at him, but getting out of the potential line of fire was always a good idea...just in case.

Noticing several of the other married men stiffen as they too felt the oncoming storm, the Nara couldn't stop the amused quirk of his mouth as he waited for the show to start. After all, it was quite troublesome to curtail any sort of witch hunt the council had been almost debating…

With a flick of her wrist, Tsunade threw open the council door. She had watched her godson flat line twice, had resuscitated him, only to watch him die for the third and final time. For ten minutes she had struggled against the inevitable, denying what the logical medic in her knew. And just when she was about to give up, the Kyubi awoke from whatever had been occupying it before, and in one instant, accomplished a medically impossible miracle. Naruto Uzumaki had, quite literally, been brought back from the dead. After running several dozen tests, Tsunade had been astounded by the fact that Naruto suffered no issues nor degradation for being clinically dead for ten minutes.

However, rather than being able to watch over her godson as he slept - not that it was necessary, given that the Hyuga Clan stationed several guards around the hospital, saying that they took the alliance with the Uzumaki Clan very seriously - but the maternal feelings that were slowly awakening in her wanted to remain close to her godson anyway. Instead of watching her godson, she was stuck having to talk to a council that was either panicked, hateful, or calculating. "I hate this job."

Pulling out the chair, the Fifth Hokage almost glared at the assembled council. "And what exactly are we discussing?"

Perhaps, in a different universe, one more kind and reasonable, the council would have reflected on their actions, changing the future for the better. In another, maybe they would have kept silent, content to plot from the this is not those universes, and a single instant; a single heated sentence changed the future forever; sending the Land of Fire hurtling towards a new and more violent future.

"The Demon needs to die!"

And so the world changes at the hands of madmen and the fearful.

"What did you say?" Tsunade the Slug Sannin, rose from her chair. Her killing intent threatened to choke the entire room. But fear, hate, and anger gave the civilian council the courage to stand against the storm.

"The Fox will kill us all if we don't do something!" Another stood up to slam his hands on the table. "We must act first!"

"Naruto isn't the Nine-Tails!" Tsunade bellowed back, fighting the increasingly strong urge to beat them to death, "He is human." Frustration bled into her mind, causing careless words to slip out. "He's the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi."

Stunned silence.

"Shit." Tsunade wasn't one to curse, but she couldn't think of any better thing to sum up her feelings.

News of Naruto's Jinchuriki status would spread quickly, reaching even the most segregated of people within the Leaf within a few days. The knowledge would split friends, family, and coworkers. Those who believed in Naruto or his philosophy would feel vindicated, knowing that Naruto was human all along. Others would feel sickened at the actions they had done to what they knew now was an innocent boy, and would attempt to seek redemption. But others held Tsunade's reply as proof that she, and all those who believed her words, was either under the thrall of the Demon Fox or had betrayed humanity for a Demon.

It was dark when Naruto awoke. Feeling a warm hand holding each one of his hands and pressure on one of his legs, Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see something that brought a warm and content feeling to his heart. On either side of him, Sakura and Hinata were holding his hands, having fallen asleep while waiting. Just below him, Haku was resting her head on his legs, evidently have fallen asleep while waiting for him to wake up.

Glancing at the clock, Naruto was shocked to see it was shortly after midnight. While he could see in the dark before, pitch-black still had been hard to see before. Now he could see clearly, even though there wasn't any light sources in the room. "I gotta train." He paused, a fond look coming over his face as he watched them sleep. "But I also want to stay here, with them." It brought a sense of peace and a new, warm feeling he couldn't quite identify.

"Wake them then." The rumbling sound of the Kyubi's voice in Naruto's head startled him badly enough that he flinched. "We need to train up so we can go find the Sound village, kill all of the flesh bags inside, and rip out the Uchiha's heart." The Demon Fox snarled. "See how he likes it."

"Kyubi?" Naruto blinked, "Is that you?"

"Naruto?" The Nine-tails seemed equally surprised, "You can hear me?"

"Yeah." Naruto mentally replied, still in a state of slight shock. As far as he was aware, he wasn't channeling the Kyubi's chakra. So how was the Nine-Tails communicating with him?

Hearing his container's thoughts, the Kyubi threw out a theory. "Perhaps when I brought you back from the dead I had to tie my essence with yours. Maybe that caused this as a side effect?"

"That makes sense." Feeling Sakura's hand tighten reflexively around his as she awoke, Naruto instantly refocused on his three girlfriends as their chakra networks beginning to flow into a wakeful state. "Come to think of it, I wasn't even concentrating to feel their chakra networks." Mentally setting that topic aside, he gave the sleepy Sakura a warm smile. "Hello Sakura-Chan."

"Morning Naruto-Kun." Sakura stretched, only to freeze mid-stretch as her mind comprehended who had spoken. "N-Naruto-Kun!" Tears of happiness and relief threatened to emerge, but she pushed them back, remembering her conversation with Hinata and Haku…

"...I know we are angry." Sakura glanced at Haku and Hinata. She didn't stop the shaky laugh that bubbled out. "Hell, if Sasuke was here right now I would beat him to death." Pushing the murderous urge away, the pink-haired kunoichi shook her head, her shoulder-length hair shifting from side to side. "But that anger, no matter how justified, isn't going to help us right now. Right now, we need to get all of our tears and emotions out now, so when Naruto-Kun wakes up, he doesn't think that he caused us to cry."

After a moment Hinata and Haku nodded. "We will talk about how we can prepare for this in the future, so none of us are put in this position again." Tears clouded Hinata's vision. "We almost lost him."

Reaching across Naruto's bed, the three young women clasped hands and let their emotions run free, drawing strength and comfort from each other. For now they weren't lethal kunoichi, but three young women who had heard their love die three times.

"Hey." Naruto smiled, "I missed you all." It was simple, but heartfelt.

There was a brief moment of quiet before the Last Uzumaki was suddenly the center of three tight and ecstatic hugs as his girlfriends let their embraces show how grateful they were that he had awoken, alive and unhurt. Soon each of them would have to deal with the aftermath of the day's events, but right now, they were simply four people who cared for each that just been reunited.

"She's right in here." The Chunin guard pointed to the final cell in the block. Konoha had a small prison for shinobi, with a total maximum capability of two dozen cells, each designed to hold one shinobi. Like most ninja villages, enemy or traitor ninjas never stayed long. While Naruto hadn't really cared about the Sound Kunoichi Hinata had managed to incapacitate, his Hyuga girlfriend had pointed out that the Sound Kunoichi had red hair, larger than normal chakra capacity, and a rather tenacious and determined personality; all characteristics of an Uzumaki.

However, none of those things meant that the the Sound Kunoichi, Tayuya, was a Uzumaki. But given that there was a slightest chance that she was an Uzumaki, Naruto had opted to talk to the girl himself.

"Careful," Masashi warned, "There's quite the mouth on this one. Anko and the rest of T&I were most eager to ask her a few questions." He paused, considering. "Well Anko more than the other T&I." The Torture and Interrogation, more commonly known as T&I, was infamous in several ninja villages not just Konoha. Ibiki Morino was known as one of the best interrogators in all of the villages. It was said that there was none that he couldn't break. And given that Anko had learned almost all of his techniques, hated Sound, and took any attack against Naruto Uzumaki very seriously, Masashi didn't want to be anywhere close to Anko when she was in one of her moods.

Watching Naruto head off to one of the cells, Masashi couldn't help but smile. Naruto Uzumaki had inspired Masashi and his Chunin squad during the now infamous failed attack by Sand and Sound. Since that point, Masashi and his team had started training more seriously, always keeping in mind that they wanted to protect the ones they cared about. Not only that, but Masashi had started to share what had made him strong when others asked. It still astounded the Chunin how simple Naruto's philosophy was.

And now that Naruto's status as the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi had come to light, Masashi couldn't help but feel that his new path was right. If Naruto Uzumaki, who held back the Nine-Tails from destroying all of them, believed that protecting those you cared about, how could Masashi believe different? And not only that, the results spoke for themselves. He had beaten several other Chunin in sparring matches, even though just a few months prior he would have, at best, forced a draw.

However, not everyone appreciated the Last Uzumaki's philosophy. More than a few of the Chunin Masashi grew up with stopped talking to him after he announced that he believed in Naruto Uzumaki's word. It had saddened Masashi, but he wasn't going to turn from his beliefs due to peer pressure. After all, Naruto had put up with the village's hate for all those years, so how could Masashi cave from mere hurtful words?

Tayuya had been having a rather rough last three months. She had been forced to watch Sasuke Uchiha - an angsty little shit in her opinion - to see when the Last Uchiha looked like he would be open to accepting Orochimaru's offer. Then there was a blonde kid - he seem way to nice to be referred to anything but a kid, despite the fact that Tayuya was only a year older - named Naruto Uzumaki had started helping Sasuke deal with his problems.

Which was good for Tayuya's sanity, given that she was getting fed up with the Last Uchiha's angstyness, but bad for Orochimaru's plan. Luckily for the Snake Sannin, Sasuke had a terrible older brother who - in Tayuya's professional opinion - re-fucked Sasuke's brain. Spotting the opportunity, the Sound Five had capitalized on Sasuke's weakness and convinced him to abandon Konoha.

Finally free of Konoha, Tayuya was riding the emotional high of completing a successful mission when the shit hit the fan. They had been almost to the border when seven shitty leaf ninjas showed up. Naruto, who had clearly been the leader, quickly directed his subordinates to attack the Sound ninja. Tayuya had been stuck with fighting a Hyuga. It had gone terribly for the redhead.

Her genjutsu rendered useless by the Byakugan, Tayuya was left with only her attack jutsus and her Doki, giant ogres controlled by her flute sounds. Hinata had been too fast for the Sound Kunoichi's sound jutsus, and the Doki had fallen, one by one, to Hinata's refined elemental-enhanced Gentle Fist techniques. Not even the boost from the Stage Two Curse Seal helped Tayuya. Soon after it had just been Tayuya and Hinata. The redhead expected to die; to be left broken and unwanted; to end on a shitty note just like the rest of her shitty life. But then the strangest thing had happened…

"What is your last name, Sound-San?" Hinata's voice was polite, her demeanor gentle.

Tayuya wasn't buying it for a second. "What the fuck are you babbling about White-Eyes?" Tayuya wasn't going to go down without a fight. "If you think I'm going to die quietly, think again!"

"You misunderstand Sound-San." Tayuya hated how calm and composed Hinata's voice was. "If you wish to live, please answer my question."

"I don't have a fuckin' last name!" Tayuya normally would have attacked the Hyuga for forcing the redhead to remember those horrible times, so long ago, but she had seen how quick and lethal Hinata was.

"I see." Was all that Hinata had said. Then there was a blur of motion and Tayuya fell into darkness.

Tayuya had awoken a few hours later in a cell. She had heard horror stories of Konoha's T&I department, and attempted to steel herself for the terrible fate that undoubtedly awaited her. To her surprise, however, she wasn't restrained in her cell. Her wounds had been treated and her clothes had been laundered.

Inspecting herself, she found two new seals on her body. One was located directly over her chakra coils, presumably blocking the chakra coils from molding other was a fancy sort of ring around her Cursed Seal of Heaven. It was only a short time after examining herself that Tayuya heard footsteps moving her direction. Spotting a purple-haired kunoichi moving directly towards her cell, Tayuya couldn't help but feel a slight spike of fear. The kunoichi was known as Anko, and had been Orochimaru's former apprentice...

"What the fuck do you want?" Tayuya barked out, pushing her tough persona to the forefront.

Anko merely looked at the captured Sound kunoichi, seemingly looking for something. Tayuya didn't like that look. It reminded her far too much Orochimaru-Sama when he was studying someone before the Snake Sannin experimented on them. "So she thinks you're part of Naru-Kun's clan…" Anko mused, still wanting to interrogate the Sound ninja. Sadly Hinata had declared that there was a chance that the Sound girl was an Uzumaki, so T&I was holding off the interrogation until it could be proven that the redhead was or was not an Uzumaki.

"What the fuck are you looking at me like that for Snake Bitch?" Tayuya wasn't one to mince words. "Are you going to fuckin' interrigate me or just stare at me like some kinda creeper?"

Anko chuckled. "Oh...I very much want to interrogate you." Something within Anko's eyes smoldered. "You and your teammates participated in what was for all intents and purposes, the attempted murder of my younger brother, Naruto Uzumaki."

Tayuya felt another spike of fear. "Well, you are really fucked now." The thought ghosted across her mind, and the redhead found herself agreeing with her thoughts. "What the in the shit baskets do I say?" She highly doubted that saying anything would placate Anko. Staying silent seemed like the best option.

"Luckily for you," Anko continued, "Naru-Kun didn't die." Spinning of her heel, the purple haired kunoichi left the room before she lost self control and did something she might later slightly regret.

Hearing another set of footsteps, Tayuya shook her head to clear it from remembering the past two days, and pushed herself off of the bed and faced the cell door. If they had come for her, she wouldn't go down without a fight. The person entered her vision. It was Naruto Uzumaki, the one who apparently almost died. Tayuya did a quick scan of his body. For a person who had a brush with the Shinigami, he didn't seem even slightly sore.

"What the fuck do you want?" Tayuya wasn't the best at coming up with new greetings.

"Hello." Naruto smiled, seeming oblivious to her hostile tone, "I came to talk to you about something important."

The sheer niceness and obliviousness was starting to grate on her already. "And what the fuck does that mean?" Tayuya crossed her arms, hostility wafting out in almost visible waves. "What kind of sick game are you playing at, Shithead?"

"Well," Naruto ignored her vulgar words, "I would like to have have a blood test done on you for bloodline status, if that's alright with you." Tayuya's fists clenched as she heard the words 'blood test'.

"And what the fuck do you think you are going to do to me?" Tayuya took several steps back, "What kinda of sick game do you think you are playing?" Her posture became defensive. "Shit! He's looking for revenge on what happened to him! Fuckin' shit balls!"

"She gets worked up easily, doesn't she?" The Kyubi was amused by the redhead's reluctance. "You can always get more blood. Even normal humans make new blood."

"Whoa Whoa." Naruto raised his hands, "It's only a blood test. It's perhaps…" He held up two fingers and spread them about 6 centimeters apart, "...this much blood the medic nin needs to take."

Tayuya blinked. "Why the fuck do you want to know who my parents are?" She didn't trust anyone.

Naruto smiled at the redhead. "Because if Hinata-Chan's theory is true, then you could be an Uzumaki. I am the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan." There was understanding in his tone. "You didn't have the best childhood either, did you?"

Pity was the last thing Tayuya wanted from him or anyone. She didn't need anyone. "Shut the fuck up!" Emotions attempted to well up in her, but she ruthlessly shoved them down. No one cared about her. But that was fine. She could take care of herself. "I'll take the shitty test if you leave me alone!" Turning away from him, she still heard him leave the cell slowly, almost as if he didn't want to leave. "Why the fuck does he think he understands me? A pretty boy like him wouldn't have even lasted a day in Sound."

But...despite her thoughts, part of her wasn't convinced. There was too much depth in his eyes, too much understanding in his tone to be manufactured. "Fuck. Shit. Shit Fuck. Shoulda tried to escape when I could have." Tayuya didn't like to feel these emotions. It reminded her of another time, when she wasn't a 'badass bitch'.

Still, she would allow the medic nin to take a sample of her blood. "It's just so they don't torture me." Tayuya assured herself, it wasn't like she hadn't secretly dreamed of having a family for years or anything. She would take care of herself. She didn't need anyone.

"Thank-you for agreeing to meet with me, Akimichi-San." The Head of the Uzumaki inclined his head enough to show respect towards his fellow clan head but not enough to show subservience.

"It is no problem." Choza, the Akimichi Clan Head assured Naruto. "I have been wanting to meet with you for some time." The large normally gentle man gave the blonde Uzumaki a relieved smile. "I am surprised that Hokage-Sama allowed you to leave the hospital so soon. It was just two days ago that you were severely injured."

Naruto couldn't help but grimace. "Yeah…" He rubbed his head, "Hokage-San couldn't figure out any more excuses to keep me in the hospital since I beat all of the tests without issue and already stayed one night."

"I'm guessing your quick recovery was due to the…" Choza waved his hands vaguely in Naruto's direction, wanting to imply his meaning but not wanting to insult the young Uzumaki Clan Head.

Taking no offense, Naruto nodded. "Yep. Without Kyubi I would have stayed dead."

Choza did his best to minimize his reaction. Not only did Naruto, the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, refer the Demon Fox as 'Kyubi' not 'the Kyubi', Naruto had casually pointed out that he had died and had came back. "That's...good." He wasn't honestly sure what else to say.

"Good?" The Kyubi was more than slightly incredulous, "Not being dead is much better than good." It made a scoffing noise. "I'd like you to try to come back from the dead…"

"Oh." Naruto blinked, before shrugging. "Well I only died three times and I came back." Another shrug. "So it's not that big of a deal."

Choza wondered if Naruto had an inkling of how casually intimidating he could be. "Probably not." Straightening, the Akimichi Clan Head addressed his fellow clan head, "What can I do for you, Uzumaki-San?"

"As you are undoubtedly aware," The Uzumaki Clan Head's political mask was almost perfected, "I have been meeting with several of the clan heads over the last few weeks, forging alliances between their clans and the Uzumaki Clan."

"Yes." Choza nodded, "Shikaku informed me of this after you signed the agreement with him for his clan."

"I figure he would." It went without saying of course, that former teammates often told each other things. Naruto could hardly judge them because of it. "Let me start by explaining my reasoning to why I am creating alliances with clans independently of the Konoha Clan Charter." Naruto tapped a symbol on his sleeve and unsealed a slim folder that he handed to Choza.

"I'm sure you have noticed, but Konoha as a village; as a name, cares for only for itself." Naruto made a small motion with his hand, indicating the second page in the folder that Choza had open. "Granted, this doesn't mean that the village is inherently evil. But," Naruto shook his head, "A name or a place is not a person." Naruto sighed. "I wanted to like the council, to believe that the leaders of this village cared for those under them." He glanced over at Choza. "Sadly I was mistaken."

Choza couldn't find it in himself to refute Naruto's claims. The Akimichi had privately those same thoughts himself on the rare occasion, but the thought of doing something about it never seriously crossed his mind. After all, all ninja villages were the same. So what could he, a lone man, do when the entire world was the way it was? Plus, it had always been this way.

Taking Choza's lack of rebuttal as a sign to continue, Naruto motioned for the Akimichi to flip to the next page. "So I decided to do what I needed to in order to protect those I care about." Naruto's expression was earnest. "I would prefer peaceful understanding, and a change back towards what truly matters: Protecting the ones you care about." He motioned to the page in the Akimichi Clan Head's hands. "I have been creating alliances with clans and individuals who feel the same as I do. What I'm proposing to you is a protection alliance."

Choza remembered the term. It was an only term that had fallen out of use with the advent of the ninja villages. A protection alliance was an agreement between clans that if the clan was attacked unfairly, the other members of the alliance would defend them. "But why a protection alliance?" The Akimichi felt that he was getting close to understanding the Uzumaki. "Why would you feel the need to create protections from the village you are a shinobi of?"

"Would you like me to tell you the truth?"

Choza sensed that there was more to Naruto's words, that whatever Naruto revealed would change Choza's view of the blonde and perhaps the world at large. Hesitating, he wondered if perhaps it was better the way things were. There was relative safety and overall, his clan did not suffer.

But...Naruto's words resonated with him somehow, speaking to that small voice within that shouted each time he did something that was...correct, but perhaps not right. The small voice that whispered when he saw his clan members' dead bodies, having been killed on a mission that didn't involve them; dying for money. Or seeing the young children being sent off to war, the small voice that said, 'this is wrong'. Of having to tell Rei that her brother, Daiki, wasn't coming home anymore.

The Akimichi was quiet for a long moment, before speaking slowly, as if he was measuring his words. "Tell me."

"I am only a ninja of this village because those I care about live here." Choza's head snapped in Naruto's direction as the Last Uzumaki continued to explain, "The village has not endeared itself to me. But as long as it doesn't touch any of my precious people and I don't have to choose between them or the village, I'll stay."

"I still think you should just kill all of the meatbags besides the few that are your friends." The Demon Fox commented, "It would solve all of your problems."

Naruto mentally chuckled at the Kyubi's comments. "But that would cause a completely different set of issues." He mentally replied to his friend, "Plus they haven't touched my friends." Looking at Choza, Naruto stretched out his hand towards the Akimichi. "Will you join me in protecting what matters the most?"

Choza paused, unsure of how he should answer. On the one hand, not taking Naruto Uzumaki's hand meant things would stay status quo. It was predictable; it was safe. It was what he had always known. It was what a proper ninja should think. After all, it was an honor to die for the village, to spill your blood for the mission. To complete the assignment without fail; without pity; without remorse. All ninjas were weapons of their villages. It was all anyone knew.

But...the large Akimichi thought of his son, who had to take a life to stay alive. He was beyond proud of Choji, but what if...what if Choji had never been put into that situation? What if you didn't have to kill for your mission? Choza thought of all of the people he had met and laughed alongside. He thought of the people he had served in one of the Akimichi restaurants. He thought of the innocent civilians that he passed each day. And...he couldn't help but wonder...what if...someday...children didn't have to become soldiers?

The Clan Head of the Akimichi stood up and shook the Last Uzumaki's hand. "I want to protect those I care about."

"Boss!" Naruto dropped his sword stance, temporarily stopping training to pay attention to Clone Seventy-Three. Seeing it had it's full attention, the clone saluted. "We figured it out. What the final symbol means in the Cursed Seal of Heaven."

"Show me."

"As you can see," Seventy-Three pointed to the portion Uzumaki Seal tome, "This deals with something very close to what the symbol looks like."

"Orochimaru sealed part of his soul inside Anko-Chan?" Naruto tried to wrap his mind around the concept. Thinking back on what he knew of Orochimaru, he could accept that the Snake Sannin would do something like that. It would also explain a few things about his abilities. "Did you find a counter-seal?"

"Nope." Seventy-Three grinned, "We found something better. Ninety-One found out that we can move the seal."

Naruto grinned too as he realized what this meant. They could free Anko-Chan from the Cursed Seal of Heaven and keep Orochimaru unaware of the change. "We could even go one step farther…" The Last Uzumaki pulled out a blank piece of paper. "We have to do some testing, but here's my idea…"

Jiraiya hurried through the streets of Konoha. It had been little over a week since his godson had been nearly assassinated by the now declared missing ninja Sasuke Uchiha. Jiraiya couldn't help but feel worry prickle at his spine as he watched different bands of ninja glare at each other as they passed. Different groups clearly stayed on different sides of the street. Conversation, when it was unavoidable, was strained. There was a certain tenseness in the air that hadn't been there when the Spy Master had left.

"Tsunade." Jiraiya greeted, no teasing tone in his voice, "What happened?"

"I messed up." Tsunade had learned to not run away from her mistakes. "I accidently let it slip that Naruto was the jinchuriki of the Kyubi." She scowled. "It caused everyone to have to make a choice."

"Damn." Jiraiya matched his former teammate's expression. "How's Naruto taking it?"

"Well." Tsunade couldn't help but smile at the thought of her godson, "But I fear that this tenuous truce between the factions," She paused, "We have factions now by the way, three of them in fact." At Jiraiya's inquiring expression, she expanded her explanation."The first is now referred to as the 'Uzumaki Faction'. It consists of Naruto, his friends, his allies, and everyone who believes in Naruto's message: "Protect those you care about".

"The second faction is the 'Loyalists'. They are ninjas who are loyal to the village itself, and the ideals of the village, but not to any particular clan or person. Many of our ninja are still, thankfully, part of the Loyalists."

"The last faction," Tsunade couldn't help but clench her fist at the thought of them. "They call themselves 'Humanitarians'. They believe that Naruto Uzumaki is the Kyubi, and all of those who don't hate him have betrayed their fellow humans to follow a demon."

"I'll see what I can dig up." Jiraiya promised, not wanting to see the village Minato sacrificed himself for fall into chaos. Not only that, but there was a fair chance that other ninja villages would pounce on the opportunity a civil war presented. "But...just in case, I'll start looking into alternate places to live."

Sensing Tsunade had been brooding and thinking about the issue for far longer than was healthy, Jiraiya couldn't help but mumble, "It's a good then I stopped at Suna."

"Hmmm?" Tsunade made a noise of interest, but most of her focus was on how to stop what felt like an inevitability from happening.

"Naruto pointed out to me that Gaara Sabaku's seal holding back the One-Tail was really, really poor." The Seal Master shrugged his shoulders. "So I stopped by and redid his seal." Jiraiya grinned. "And I gotta say, the redhead has been doing wonders in that village. After Naruto talked to him about...something, he went back to the village and started helping them." Jiraiya shook in amazement as he remembered the Sand village. "Apparently Gaara was able to somehow convince the village that he had changed. I'm guessing that when all of Rasa's actions related to him came to light, the village realized what a shitty hand Gaara had been dealt."

"He started using his power over sand to revitalize the village, rebuilding homes and creating a road so it's easier for clients to reach the village." Jiraiya withheld a giggle at remembering how several of the girls had attempted to thank the redhead for assisting them, only to completely confuse and baffle Gaara instead. Temari would then sweep into the area, prompting the girls to quickly move away from the protective sister. Soon, the white-haired ninja suspected, Gaara would have his own fangirls. "Hmmm...perhaps a side story? Sand and Sun?"

"What exactly did you do to Gaara Sabaku's seal?" Tsunade was now slightly interested.

"I simply completed what the Suna ninja tried to do, but didn't actually know how." The Seal Master explained, "Gaara now can sleep without worrying the that One-Tail will take over." Jiraiya shrugged. "If he's knocked unconscious in battle, it still will come out though. No way around that."

Jiraiya barely kept the grin from sliding on his face as he switched topics. "But that's not the most important part of my trip to Suna."

"Hmmm?" Tsunade was already beginning to refocus on the issues in the Leaf. Jiraiya's information, while interesting, wasn't useful right now.

Undaunted by Tsunade's lack of reaction, Jiraiya forged onwards. "Suna now has several man-made oases." A giggle escaped him. "Now that they have some shade from the sun, more and more Suna women aren't hiding behind all those layers of clothing. And…" Another giggle, "You can swim in them." The super pervert suddenly pulled two long pieces of brightly colored cloth from behind his back, waving them in front of Tsunade. "I even brought you a swimsuit!"

"You…" Tsunade forgot all about her worries, all of her anger instantly focused on her perverted fellow Sannin. "...PERVERT!"

Jiraiya giggled as he ducked her swing. "Don't be like that Tsunade-Hime." He waved the two strips of cloth even more enthusiastically. "I even got it in your size." His eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "Research was...delightful."

For quite some time after that the ANBU guards could hear Tsunade's angry curses and Jiraiya's giggling as the Slug Sannin chased the super pervert around the room.

"Naruto." Jiraiya greeted his godson, "So...uh...you're not dead." The white-haired Sannin cursed in his mind at the greeting. He had no idea what to say to Naruto.

The Last Uzumaki nodded, not taking offense in the slightest. "Yep. Kyubi saved me."

"Damn straight." The Kyubi nodded to itself, proud that it could save it's friend.

Had it only been a few months prior, Jiraiya would have panicked at hearing Naruto imply that he talked to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Now the Toad Sannin only asked one question: "Do you trust it?" Naruto nodded. Considering the matter closed, Jiraiya moved on to the main issue. "I found out more about the group Itachi and Kisame are apart of." The Spy Master's voice grew grim as he set up a silencing barrier. "The group is the Atatsuki."

Double-checking that the barrier was active and blocking any sound from leaving the area, Jiraiya continued his explanation. "It was originally founded by a person named Yahiko along with his friends Nagato and Konan. Having been orphaned by the Second Shinobi World War, they wanted to bring peace to their home country of Rain." Jiraiya shook his head in regret. "But they had picked a rather poor place start their campaign for peace. Eventually Hanzo, the leader of Ame, took violent action against them."

"I thought that everyone died in the attack, but apparently some of them must have survived. The timeline gets fuzzy for a while, but then they resurfaced just about ten years ago." The Spy Master looked directly at his godson. "However, they aren't proponents of peace anymore. All of the current members, as far as I could find out, are S-Rank missing ninja. They have several goals currently. The first is to gain large sums of money for some unknown purpose. I'm still checking into that. The second is quietly stirring up conflict in different outlying areas. The third, and most worrying, is their goal to capture all of the jinchuriki. They won't be able to do that for about three years though."

"Why would that want to do that?" Naruto couldn't understand why anyone, S-Rank or not, would go to such a risk to capture a village's jinchuriki. Not only was each jinchuriki very dangerous, most, if not all, villages would fight to keep their trump card in the village. "Don't they know how dangerous that is?"

"While I don't know for certain what they are planning," Jiraiya confessed, "Any plan that needs that much power is probably very bad." It went unmentioned that given they wanted to capture Naruto due to his status, the Toad Sannin would be opposing Atatsuki regardless of their motives. The white haired man glanced over at his godson. "What do you want to do?"

"Obliterate the lot of them?" The Kyubi put in his two Ryo.

The Last Uzumaki was quiet for several long minutes as he carefully considered what to do. Eventually he spoke, his voice resolute. His tone was not harsh, but was commanding. His eyes were ageless, showing only his willingness to do whatever it took to protect the ones he cared about.

"Jiraiya." The was something in Naruto's tone that made the Spymaster stand at attention. "Find out all you can about each of the other Jinchuriki." The Spymaster nodded, accepting his orders.

"Once you find out information about each of the Jinchuriki, let me know via Toad Summons." The Last Uzumaki tapped his chin for a moment, thinking of what he would do with the information. "For now, if the Jinchuriki is liked by their village, we will make sure that they are aware of the danger and can defend themselves." The Last Uzumaki thought of all of the times he had been cursed by the village. "And if the village doesn't like them…" Unconsciously his chakra levels began to rise.

"...The Uzumaki Clan will shelter them." He would not stand idly by while anyone else suffered like he had. He would be to them as he wished someone could have been for him.

"You realize what that could cause trouble right?" Jiraiya would support his godson no matter what.

"Yes." Naruto nodded, his expression serious.

"Then I'll start right away." The Spymaster paused. "Would you like to spar once more before I head out?"

It had been little over a two weeks since Naruto had been released from the hospital and he was currently headed towards Konoha First Hospital to pick up the DNA results from Tayuya. While he knew that there was a fairly high chance that she wasn't an Uzumaki, he hoped she was. Over the past few weeks he had visited her several times, sometimes with Sakura, Hinata, or Haku, and sometimes by himself.

It had taken over a week, but eventually Tayuya had told him her story, albit with a rather extreme number of expletives. From what Naruto gathered, Tayuya's mother had died when she was about seven, give or take. From there the redhead had shipped off to her only living kin, a rather unpleasant - Tayuya's description had been much more...descriptive - aunt. The aunt, already stretched to the limit with her own children, could hardly afford another child. A passing slaver had made an offer, given that there was always a market for female ninja, and the aunt hadn't taken long to decide.

Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it - the slaver was intercepted by a Sound ninja who was interested in the slaver's cargo and not interested in paying for them. Tayuna had quickly distinguished herself as having an almost unnatural talent with music generated genjutsu as well as having above average reserve levels. She had eventually been placed on the Sound Five team after the previous members died under mysterious circumstances.

She hadn't even blinked before accepting the new position. It gave her some measure of protection from those who would have very much wanted her body, given that Orochimaru would have been very unhappy if she was unable to complete a mission due to complications.

Naruto, out of more idle curiosity than anything else, had asked if she knew anyone named 'Yasuo'. Tayuya had instantly broken into an angry, expletive filled tirade that lasted almost a full minute. Afterwards Naruto had been more than slightly disturbed to learn that Yasuo was one of the mission coordinators for Sound. He also had a habit of attempting to force young kunoichi into having sex with him. If they fought him off or were strong enough to avoid his advances, he arranged for them to be sent on missions that were far above their skill levels, resulting in the 'rebellious' kunoichi's death.

Naruto was glad that he had learned some measure of control, otherwise his angered chakra would have blasted out. As it was, it took Naruto more than five minutes to convince himself to not simply hunt down Yasuo himself.

Arriving at the hospital, Naruto nodded to the Hyuga guards before entering. Over the last two weeks the knowledge of Naruto's Jinchuriki status was slowly splitting the village. The most overt example happened when several unknown ninja had attempted to burn down Konoha First Hospital. Fortunately for the hospital, Naruto had been finishing up his final check-up with a nice doctor when the flames had started in the lobby and ground floor.

Hurling himself down the three flights of stairs, Naruto unleashed a veritable deluge of water from a water jutsu. The fires started by the angry ninja stood no chance. The hospital's troubles had not been over though, several nurses and doctors had been threatened by anonymous sources. Ironically, the threats did more to convince the doctors and nurses to stay then deter them. Not only that, but given that they were just trying to do their job, the hospital president had quickly put to vote on joining the 'Uzumaki Faction' given that Naruto had protected them from people who tried to burn the hospital down.

It had been almost unanimous. Soon after, Konoha First Hospital became the preferred hospital of the clans allied with the Uzumaki clan. The Hyuga clan had taken things a step farther, utilizing several of their branch members as guards for the hospital. As a result, other businesses had started doing the same. While as of yet, service had not been refused at any business due to faction affiliation, the more savvy people in the village knew it was an inevitability. And as such, unaligned people began considering what faction they would belong to. Soon, they knew, staying on the sidelines wouldn't be an option.

Retrieving the DNA comparison had been simple, as it was just a matter of identifying himself using the special coded password he had set up. Security been been stepped up, none of the hospital members wanting to be responsible for a breach of patient information. Luckily for Naruto, he only had to give a password and let a seal sample his chakra, given that it was impossible to mimic a Jinchuriki's chakra signature.

The report was filled with more complex medical information then Naruto could ever hope to understand, but the end of the report was what interested in him. "Uzumaki Bloodline markers within acceptable levels. Possibility of Uzumaki Bloodline confirmed."

Naruto grinned as he took to the rooftops in order to get to the holding cells faster. He couldn't wait to tell Tayuya.

"Tayuya." Naruto greeted.

"Shithead." The redhead returned, but the insult lacked the hostility it had two weeks ago.

"Here." Naruto passed the results over to her though the bars, "The page you want is the last one."

"You'd better not be wasting my fucking time with some shitty result." Tayuya, despite her resolve to not care about the results, couldn't snuff out the small part of her that hoped that she was an Uzumaki. During these last two weeks, she had gotten a glimpse of something that she hadn't known existed. Seeing Naruto interact with others and others interact with him, it brought a fierce sense of longing and homesickness, almost making her wish for back when she was a little girl in her mother's arms.

"Uzumaki Bloodine markers within acceptable levels. Possibility of Uzumaki Bloodline confirmed."

"W-what the fuck happens now?" Tayuya was at a loss. There was a slight possibility that she could have a family? Any thoughts that Naruto was tricking her had been dispelled in the last two weeks, but she knew that Konoha wouldn't let her just waltz out of the cell.

"Well," Naruto grinned, "I talked with the Fifth Hokage and worked out a deal. First thing we are going to do is remove your Cursed Seal of Heaven. Once that's done, you are going to tell Anko-Chan everything you know about Sound." His smile grew warmer. "After that, you will be moved to house arrest as you will be under probation for six month. The house will be the Uzumaki compound."

"You can remove Orochimaru-Sa…the Snake's Cursed seal?" Tayuya's voice was unbelieving. She had been told for years that it was permanent!

"Of course he can. He's Naruto Uzumaki who is my container." It was simple fact to the Kyubi.

"Yep." Naruto nodded. And somehow, despite what Tayuya knew, she couldn't help but believe him.

Tayuya muttered something under her breath. Naruto blinked. "What was that?"

"Could you stay in the room when they ask me questions?" Her voice was quiet and uncertain for a moment before returning to her brash and confident tone. "Not that I fuckin' need you to or anything."

"Sure." Naruto nodded, easily agreeing.

It baffled her, it honestly did. How could Naruto so easily agree without expecting anything in return? How did he have such old eyes without becoming bitter; becoming someone like her?

"You'd better be there." Tayuya was surprised to realize that she believed him. Somehow he had slipped past all of her defenses. And...for some reason she didn't mind. "I could have a family? Is this a fuckin' dream?" If it was, she was going to stay asleep for as long as she could.

Not that she wanted a family or anything. She could take care of herself.

So what did you guys think? Drop a review and let me know.

Originally I had planned on a bunch of more things happening with this chapter, but it kept growing and growing, so Naruto meeting the council and several other events will happen next chapter. In addition, you will be seeing in more detail how Naruto's brush with death affected his relationships with those close to him. I wanted to touch on that this chapter, but there just wasn't room.

On Tayuya: One awesome reviewer pointed out a very good point. And given that the AU train is picking up quite a bit of speed, I decided to make her an Uzumaki. Keep in mind however, that she isn't going to be interested in Naruto in any sort of romantic way.

On Sasuke: He is officially a Missing Ninja with a posted bounty. Attempted assassination of a Clan Head is taken very seriously. It's more to bring him back alive...after all, a few people in Konoha have some...grievances with him. Granted, the Uzumaki and the Loyalist factions were the ones who pushed for Sasuke to be named a missing nin...

To my reviewers' direct questions:

Bankai777: As far as my current plans go, eventually Naruto will be meeting all of the major leaders.

wolfboy2778: I have a few plans for Karin that are going to be quite different from canon and as far as timeskip/shippuden goes, not exactly sure. This chapter grew to a way bigger size than I intended, so in the end, all I can say for certain is that once a series of events happens, the timeskip will happen.

Vanishing Raptor: I'm not sure to be honest. Itachi's goal was always kinda murky, given that the two goals he set for himself quickly became counter to each other. While I'm not spoiling anything, I will say this: Itachi's goal will, when revealed, hopefully invoke "Sympathy for the Devil" from the readers. This isn't to say that his goal is good by any stretch of the meaning.

Blitzstrahl:Correct. They are two different people.

JLdark: Yes. HotE Naruto doesn't want recognition, given his issues with self worth. As such, he doesn't feel the need to become Hokage. In addition, Hiruzen giving him the only example of what a Hokage is like didn't help with that either.

JLdark: Itachi learned how the village treated Naruto because he put the ANBU Snake in Tsukuyomi and...uh...politely asked him.

JLdark: The chakra of a Biju is very powerful, but it doesn't really have any capacity to do anything but destroy. Naruto himself doesn't use it often because it reminds him of all of the times that he was called a monster by the village.