Chapter Twenty-One - Curiosity And Truths

Naruto sat in his chair and looked over the paperwork on his desk, Isane sitting on a couch to his right as she was stationed by Ginrei to act as his personal guard for a while. A lot of explanations had to be given for what happened the previous night, which Naruto gave a full public statement in the morning. While no one spoke out publicly, he could tell that hushed accusations of the Kiri rebels and Konoha escort being to blame were being shared.

Sighing, the blonde looked up at the clock to see the time nearing one in the afternoon. The meeting with Terumi and her officers will be happening soon which he hoped included Zabuza. He needed that man in there so he didn't deal with an entire room of people that expected his generosity and hospitality.

Knock knock knock

"Come in," Naruto said immediately while signing a paper asking for authorization to plow more fields for corn on a separate island.

The door opened and Ginrei stepped inside to hold the door. The first to enter after him is a woman with long rust-red hair, a beautiful blue kimono, and a very womanly body. She is also relatively tall, but is still shorter than Ginrei and Isane.

"Terumi-san and her officers have come for the meeting," Ginrei announced as two more shinobi entered before Zabuza finished the line of guests "your guards will remain outside."

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san," Naruto smiled and nodded his head to excuse the man. "Please, have a seat everyone."

Mei took the seat directly opposite his table while her officers and advisors spread out in the other chairs. "You look very young to be a village leader. I thought Zabuza-kun was lying when he described you."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Terumi-san," Naruto said with a smile as he finished signing some more papers. "Excuse me as I finish these papers, you are ten minutes earlier than expected. But while I do this, I would like to bring up some topics of discussion if that is alright with you?"

The woman nodded her head. "Before that, do you want to dismiss your guard? I'm sure this is a private discussion."

Naruto paused and glanced up at Mei before turning to look at Isane, who laid on the couch and watched them. "No, I will not dismiss her. She will stay."

That didn't sit well with the rebel officers at how easily Naruto dismissed the redhead's suggestion. While Mei seemed unbothered, just giving a nod, Naruto can see now that it is the advisors that are causing the problems. Minus Zabuza, of course, as the man just watched with a grin.

"Anyway, the first topic is something that seems to be causing my people problems which in turn is bad for me," Naruto started on, leaving no room for arguments. "It seems that your shinobi and officers do not like foreign authority, whether the reason be it is from Uzumaki or not I do not presume to know, which causes problems for my Divisions and requires the involvement of my Onmitsukido on numerous occasions."

Mei pursed her lips in distaste. "I have heard the side of those involved and have justified it as the fault of your Enforcers and shinobi. Your people instigate us because of where we come from."

"I'm sure it's more than that, and by those involved I'm sure you only heard the excuses of your own people," Naruto looked up at the woman. "I did not offer you a place for your people to cause problems. If it is an issue, I will send you back to Kirigakure."

Mei's temper seemed to flare at the obvious threat, making Naruto see a familiar clan anger. "You should be careful acting all mighty just because you command a village, one that is still recovering from decades of being destroyed. You are not a golden standard of people."

Naruto sighed and set the pen down. "I see this will be hard for you to understand so I will make it very clear to you, Terumi-san. You are on Uzumaki soil. If I find that anyone is causing problems from your group or my village I will be having them arrested and will decide punishments from there. If you or any of your group get in the way, they will be treated as a hostile enemy and will be dispatched as such. I will not be playing these games of who has a bigger stick to hit with because I warn you mine is incomparable. Are we at an understanding, Terumi-san?"

It was quiet as the woman stared back, eyes darkened with frustration and anger. Her advisors are even less composed, with the exception of Zabuza. "Understood."

"Good," Naruto sat back and look at the woman. "I do not wish to be an aggressor or as someone who seems unreasonable, but I find all this tension and issues to be ridiculous. It is these problems that has caused my people's destruction in the first place and I would rather try to make friends than enemies if it is possible. But I will also protect my people first."

"You and me both," the woman muttered under her breath but seemed to share his feelings.

Naruto let his words sink in for a second before continuing. "Secondly, I want you to submit for blood testing."

"Why?"

"To find out if you are some descendant of Uzumaki blood," Naruto answered truthfully. "There were practices early in hidden village formation that had them stealing members of strong or unique clans and raping them to create loyal bloodlines. I will not accuse you, but I hope you understand that to have my family's blood under foreign influence is a danger to security."

"How so," Mei asked with genuine curiosity, her anger and offense no longer visible.

"Uzumaki have many different secrets within our DNA," Naruto stated simply with a stare.

"Terumi-sama," the elderly man with an eyepatch leaned forward to speak to his leader. "You cannot possibly be entertaining this?"

"I find Ao-san's words true, why should I give my blood," Mei asked.

"As former ninjas of your former village, I'm sure you've learned laws to do with the Kage Summits?" Naruto asked and looked at everyone in the room. "Well, you only need to know the first Summit meeting and the international laws that were described there. As the Summit that described clan rights and international cooperation, it also allowed for protection of bloodlines."

"If you are found to have blood from the Uzumaki, which is an elder clan above the sovereignty of the Terumi, it puts you under my name. Because the Uzumaki are not loyal to any clan but their own, that means you are the product of bloodline theft."

Judging the pale face of a few advisors, he knew they understood the implications of what would happen if it was found they were guilty of such a crime. See, while the continuation of clans are welcomed at every moment in every village, the stealing of active bloodlines is seen as the greatest dishonor that could befall any village and clan. And considering some of them are old enough to have parents or grandparents in active duty during this time would bring shame to most of them.

It also helped that no one could ever possibly trust a village that actively stole bloodlines. Especially if said village is now purging all bloodlines that could have been stolen in the past.

"What would happen if you find us to share blood," Mei asked quietly but trying to show no distress.

"That would depend on how much of a problem I find you and your people," Naruto shrugged but noticed it was not a good response judging by their expressions. "Let me elaborate. The blood of Uzumaki is much more special than any clan alive and my family has monitored its spread for many years now. I have the names of many who have my blood and we have approached them and laid out the options clearly."

"First option you have is that you swear loyalty to the clan above all and you are to follow your Prince. You dedicate your life to the rebuilding of the village and our power. You will never bow to another outside power."

"And the other?"

Naruto just stared at the woman and she slowly understood. "Strays are put down before they grow to cause problems."

This was explained clearly to Honoka by Naruto himself, and he made sure that he explained as much as possible to her before getting to that point. Surprisingly, his calm and disarming tone and posture had made her more understanding of the predicament not only he was in but she as well. He did not want to threaten family, but he will do what he can to maintain peace for the clan and nation.

"You threaten the life of not only us but our leader," Ao had now spoken and narrowed his singular eye. "Why should we even stay if this is how we are to be treated?"

"I offered, I didn't force you to come here," Naruto answered the man. "You are free to leave if you wish."

"No," Mei said and sent a glare at the elderly man. "If you speak out again I will kill you."

Naruto snorted at the woman's threat of her own advisor. "Your answer?"

"I'll do it."

"Good," Naruto nodded and wrote something down on a notepad. "I'll have someone contact you about it later today. Is there anything you wanted to bring up?"

"I heard your announcement this morning. Is it true you fought and captured Kisame Hoshigaki?"

Naruto nodded his head. "He and his partner had killed a patrol when infiltrating this island and we caught him. I won't share all of the details, but he is confined in a seal prison as we try to get information from him and his partner."

"Did he have a sword with him, bandaged up most likely," the young blue-haired shinobi suddenly asked before yelping and bowing to Mei. "My apologies, Mei-sama."

Naruto glanced at the young man and then Zabuza before turning his attention to Mei. "If I did?"

"We would like it returned. It is one of the seven swords belonging to Kiri," Mei answered honestly. "Zabuza-san has Kubikiribocho and Chojuro has Hiramekarei."

"That's only three of seven, where are the others?"

Naruto knew where the Kiba are, and the woman had finally returned to Konoha and asked for him. He received the news this morning from Tallhand.

"Samehada had been stolen by Kisame and Kiba had been taken by Raiga. The rest have been lost after their first owners had been defeated in the Third Shinobi War," Zabuza answered him.

"Samehada, that's it's name," Naruto mused as he rubbed his chin. "Are the swords sentient by any chance?"

Zabuza nodded. "They choose their wielder most of the time."

Interesting. "Well, I do have it but until I find out what to do with Kisame, I will hold onto it as I don't want it falling into hands that will cause more problems. Anything else?"

"Prince-sama," the guards bowed their heads to their leader.

"I'll be interrogating the prisoner for a bit," Naruto told the men and bit his finger to activate the prison seal. "Notify me if someone comes."

Without a second glance, Naruto was pulled into the seal network developed a few hundred years ago to hold powerful prisoners. The seal would contain the prisoner and put restraints on their chakra so they would be unable to access it. This nullified most dangers while the inside of the seal would confine their body in order to keep them restrained.

The seal only failed once in it's 220 years of use and it was due to holding a Jinchuuriki. The seals aren't made to hold that amount of raw power when unleashed.

"Good morning, Itachi-san," Naruto greeted the missing-nin kunoichi.

"I thought it was still night," the woman responded from her bed without getting up. "Could have fooled me, Naruto-kun."

"Ah, I apologize. We are still working out the kinks of the time management seal," Naruto honestly apologized and excused the mistake, glancing at the darkness outside the cell window.

The room they are in is as large as a main hall, with steel and cement walls and iron bars dividing the two. A single window that had indestructible glass faced an "outside" where it showed some kind of scenery familiar to an indescribable forest and mountains. A large ceiling light hung above Naruto to light his room and exit while a smaller lamp lighted the cell. The lamp could be turned on and off by the prisoner, allowing a bit of luxury as for all the Uzumaki violent tendencies they still treated people with respect.

There was no need for fear of the prisoner killing themself and the seal maintained a safe environment that prevented any death. It is a loop, much like a sub seal of the Grand Scheme Array, that would go back in time once the possibility of death is sensed.

"I will have one of the seal masters come take a look, but until then," Naruto brought a seat forward a bit and sat a respectable distance from the cell bars with a notepad. "I want to know a few things. Why did you come here?"

"To throw a surprise birthday party," Itachi sarcastically responded, but her tone sounded as if she was telling the truth. "You were our target."

"By our, you mean you and Kisame?"

Itachi nodded her head without looking over.

"Why?"

"For the Biju inside you."

Naruto wasn't sure if it was the truth seals that were working very well but usually there was more struggle when getting answers. "Why do you need the Biju? Who hired you?"

This time it took much longer to get a response as it seemed she was fighting back. "The Akatsuki…are gathering the Jinchuuriki to…extract the Biju."

"Biju extraction?" Naruto repeated the statement softly.

It isn't the first time people have done this, but it is very difficult and any type of forceful removal of a Biju is usually detrimental to the health of the current Jinchuuriki.

"So you came to kidnap me for Kyuubi," Naruto said and he got a nod. "Where is the Akatsuki base?"

Itachi tensed and she was clutching her pillow tightly. "A…mega..kure."

"Amegakure," Naruto whispered as he thought of the sensei with a dark cloak and white clouds. A similar look to the cloak Itachi and Kisame were wearing. "How long have you worked for Akatsuki?"

"Ever since leaving Konoha."

Naruto watched the tense breathing from Itachi and he pulled his chair forward a bit. "Why did you kill your clan, Itachi-chan?"

The woman turned her head to look at him and her eyes sparkled in unshed tears as she knew she couldn't prevent herself from answering the question. "I was ordered to kill them to prevent civil war."

Naruto watched as a few tears dropped and she wiped her eyes. "Ordered by who?"

"Danzo!"

This came out as a snarl as the woman seemed to accept that she couldn't fight back the answers and she sat up in her bed. "It was Danzo and the Hokage's advisors who told me that if I didn't do it they would find someone who will. I told them I would do it so long as they spared my little brother. I murdered my family…to do my duty as a kunoichi."

Naruto quietly looked at the woman with a frown on his face. He was sad but he was also…disappointed. "You betrayed your clan…because a conniving bastard told you to do it or else. Was it authorized by the Hokage? Was the operation given by him?"

Naruto needed to know if it was a sanctioned order or not. He didn't want to believe the old man would do it but he knew how much the man loved his village. If push came to shove…

"No, he did not approve but I already made my decision," Itachi answered. "I would take the chance to kill my clan and infiltrate Akatsuki to find out how much of a problem they will be in the future."

Naruto nodded his head and looked at his notepad only to realize he didn't write anything beyond her answer to the second question. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I will see about your release so long as you do not cause problems. You will be under constant surveillance with a chakra restraint seal placed on you. I will also put aside time for you to explain everything to Sasuke."

Naruto stood up and pulled the chair back to where it originally was, and walked to the exit seal before stopping. He turned to Itachi and cracked a small smirk on his face. "One last question. Do you remember the last thing you said to me?"

Itachi's face showed confusion for a long moment before her eyes wider and a light blush dusted her cheeks.

"Do you still want to marry me, Itachi-chan?"

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto wiped the blood away from the stab wound in his leg, an injury from a foreign bastard that started drunkenly spewing nonsense about 'revenge'. He kicked the man in the balls and stomped on his face for good measure without taking the blade out before making his way to his home's backyard to take care of the stab.

"I'm fine, Crow-chan," he answered smoothly as he used the wet towel to clean more of the blood before putting gauze on the clean wound. "I'm used to cleaning these types of things, y'know."

The Anbu walked over and sat on her knees in front of him, watching his practiced movements. She is a few years to half a decade older than him, but she is already a member of the most elite shinobi force in the village and part of his personal monitoring guard. Although, with how few are willing to watch after him, really being only three - Cat, Dog, and Crow - he is left with gaps of being alone.

He understood this as due to the three being part of the main Anbu roster still and had to go out on their own missions. This is fine with him as it gives him time to hide what he is doing with Ginrei-jijisan and Retsu-baasan to make his family island liveable. Soon he can leave the village and go live there and be safe.

"I'm sorry for not coming back in time."

Naruto continued to wrap his leg with the cotton bandage but looked up into the masked face of his guard. He sighed. "It's not your fault that the village is a bunch of maniacs. I know you would protect me if you could, Crow-chan."

It was silent as Naruto finished bandaging himself before trying to stand to his feet. He winced and hissed as his leg gave out from having too much pressure placed on the wound, but as soon as he began to fall to the side he was caught by his bodyguard. He blushed as he realized his head rested on the older teen's chest and he could feel the softness even through her vest.

She rested her chin on his head and he felt himself lulled side to side while she hummed an unfamiliar tune. "In the future I will take you as my husband, that way you will be by my side all the time and I will protect you at every breathing moment."

Naruto smiled softly at the heartfelt promise and hugged the older teen. Even if it's just one or two people, he will survive to make them proud.

One Day Later

"Why are we here, Naruto-kun," Kakashi asked as he looked around the simple corridor with seals on either side.

"This place gives me the creeps," Ino muttered.

"You do not need to know what this area is, the one we need is up ahead." Naruto was not overly sharing at the moment. "Please, be quiet while we reach our destination."

"Touchy," Shikamaru muttered with an exaggerated sigh.

Naruto did not respond as he and the group arrived to a steel door with seals drawn around the frame. Two guards stood on the sides of the door, greeting the blonde with "Prince-sama" and a bow of the head.

Naruto touched a few seals in random order, to the group, before a hiss unlocked the door and he pushed it open. "Leave your weapons with the guards."

Knowing that whatever the blonde said went while the two guards watched them expectantly, the group gave all of their weapons - a few proddings from Naruto making sure they kept nothing dangerous on their body, before he walked inside. The room is well lit with a glass window on the other side of the room with seal-enforced bars preventing any escape. A large table is in the middle with about fifteen chairs, one of which is already occupied.

"Good to see the clothes fit, Itachi-chan," Naruto greeted with a smile.

Itachi smiled with a small blush as she moved a strand of hair behind her ear. She is wearing a red kimono shirt with the Uzumaki swirl on the back, black loose pants, and black sandals. This is the typical clothing design for the Uzumaki clan and their family members.

"Sasuke-otouto," Itachi greeted her younger brother even though he gave a glare.

"Why is she allowed out," Sasuke demanded from Naruto.

Naruto sighed and motioned to the open chairs. "Please sit."

Everyone did so reluctantly, watching between Itachi and Naruto, and the blonde went over to lather his blood on the locking seal. He heard the clank and nodded his head before walking to the table. "I have you here to share a few things, mostly to clear up clan drama."

By the last part, Naruto gave a stare at Sasuke and Itachi. He reopened the wound on his finger that was used to lock the door and swiped it across the table, exposing a seal network that flashed a brief purple before dying down.

"What I just activated is a special seal used for interrogation. You are not allowed to leave the chair until I end the seal, and you are unable to tell a lie." He looked around to see a few unbelieving looks and sighed. "Ino, what was your nickname in the Academy?"

"Gossip queen," Ino said before her eyes widened. "Wait, what!"

"Sasuke, until what age did you wet the bed?"

"Eleven- hey!" Sasuke glared at his blonde teammate.

"Asuma, you have a secret relationship. Who is it with?"

"Kurenai Yuuhi- sonuvabitch," the man tried to stop the answer but sighed when it was out in the open.

Naruto laughed as he killed all doubt with a few questions, getting his own blackmail and enjoyment at the same time, before nodding his head. "Now that I cleared that up, what will be discussed here is already being brought up to Hokage-jijisan. Itachi-chan is also going to be pardoned for all crimes and given the option to join back into the Konoha forces."

Naruto knew, however, that she won't join again as she wanted to retire from active forces. And he was pretty sure she will be moving into Uzushio to be with him.

"How could Hokage-sama agree to that, Itachi-!"

"Was ordered to kill her clan by an authority figure in the village," Naruto interrupted Ino before she could continue.

"What do you mean," Choji asked, confused.

"I was ordered by Danzo Shimura to kill my clan because there was growing tension between my clan and village," Itachi answered but her eyes kept looking at her little brother. "The thought of civil war was on everyone's mind, and if my clan would do it or not was not fully known to even me but some did not want to take the chance."

"Hokage-sama would never order such a thing," Sakura tried to defend her leader.

"He abhorred the order, and was going to order me to stand down but I knew that Danzo would find another way to kill the clan if I did not do it. However, I made sure that one of my family would be spared, the one I loved the most."

Sasuke was unmoving as he listened to the truth come from his sister. His hands clawed at the table and he didn't look anyone in the eyes. "I…I can't believe it."

"I told Hokage-sama that I will join a growing organization and send him updates through Jiraiya, as I would be declared a missing-nin," Itachi continued speaking with a small sigh. "We were ordered to come here to kidnap Naruto and bring him back so we can extract his Biju but I knew deep down that I would never be able to do that to him. During our return I would have done something to allow him to escape without exposing myself.

Naruto smiled as that was not shared before. "Good to know you still love me, Itachi-chan!"

"Of course," she smiled with a blush even as she made sure that was all that was shared with the rest of the table. "I hate this truth seal because it is ready to make me share more than is good for other ears."

Naruto shrugged and gave a smirk. "Try to fight it then."

Itachi shook her head before turning her attention back to Sasuke. "Please speak, otouto."

"Why did you do that to me then," he began to say before a flood of anger and sadness made it to his eyes. "Why did you torment me in the genjutsu! Why, oniisan?"

Itachi sagged in despair and regret at her little brother's shouting. "Emotional and mental anguish is what unlocks our Dojutsu. I wanted you to be powerful enough to protect yourself from those who would wish to control you. The more extreme the trauma, the more powerful the release."

She looked up this time and her eyes welled with tears. "You may not understand it, but even in the adolescent form of having two tomoe, your Dojutsu is stronger than others in that stage. Not a moment had gone by that I did not regret what I did to you. But until now, I had always planned to die by your hand to unlock the final transformation to your Sharingan."

"Good thing we don't gotta do that now," Naruto said with a pointed stare at the two Uchiha.

Judging by the look on Sasuke's face, the boy didn't want to do it either.

"What happens from here," Kakashi asked as it seemed the most of the rollercoaster of emotions was done.

"Sasuke-chan gets his sister back, and becomes less of a prick," Naruto joked and laughed when his teammate sent him a glare but it didn't have nearly the amount of animosity it had before. "Seriously, though, it just means that Itachi no longer needs to be on the run, and this allows Hokage-jijisan to finally put Danzo in the ground. That bastard had been after my family's secrets for too long."

"What kind of secrets does your village have," Asuma quickly asked, seeing a moment to get some information out of the blonde while the truth seal is in effect.

Naruto hastily cut his finger to put on the table's seals but couldn't stop a bit from coming out. "My clan knows how to recreate the- I swear to Sage that I will cut off your dick and shove it down your throat, you bearded bastard!"

That Evening

"Naruto."

The blonde turned to see Sasuke walking towards him but something was off about him. Not as in being a henged kind of off but more of a not being a broody bitch kind of off. "Yeah, what do you need, Sasuke?"

The boy stopped a bit away but he was halted at his words as he tried to figure out what he was trying to say. "I want to know what your clan knows on the formation of chakra."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean? We have learned this type of stuff in the academy."

"That's not the truth and you and I both know it," Sasuke gave a small glare at the blonde but nothing like what he used to give. "I want to know the truth. Your family has things from the Sage that no one else has. You have to know the truth."

"And if I do, why would I tell you? You're always mean and broody, you barely respect anyone around you."

Sasuke bowed his head a bit and sighed. "I know, and I apologize. But learning about Itachi being ordered to kill our clan… it made something inside me wither. I don't know what else I've been lied to about, and I thought that because you always talk about putting your clan first that you would understand."

Naruto held back from widening his eyes at his words. Who is this imposter and what did they do to the real Sasuke? "I… I guess I do understand how you could be feeling right now. How about this, I'll share with you about what my clan knows and you can form your opinion from there."

Sasuke nodded, looking very grateful. "Thanks…Naruto."

Naruto grinned and led his teammate through the streets. "I guess I can start with telling you to discard everything you've been told about the formation of chakra and clans because none of what we learned is actually true. Chakra wasn't something we slowly learned to harness and has existed for all eternity. It's not even supposed to exist."

"There are two energies existing in this world. Chakra and Chaos. Chaos is a primordial force that exists throughout all of existence. Everything on the planet survives off of this force, and we as a species has learned to harness it to create Magic, which is a type of ability that is predominantly used in Gaal. It has a wider range of uses and techniques but unless the mage is very skilled their power will be weak against the average chakra-user simply because of the density of chaos versus chakra. That is why most mages use a medium like a staff or a sword."

"Chakra, however, is not a natural energy. The true story of its creation is that there existed a Life Tree a long, long time ago. This tree would feed off of the chaos that existed in the planet, the reason being unclear to even my clan. But the Life Tree created chakra from the chaos it fed on, and while it created chakra it was stored inside a Life Fruit. The Sage is said to have eaten the fruit to gain all of the immense chakra accumulated by the Tree and split the body of the Life Tree into nine pieces. He became the first person to have chakra in his body."

"He would go on to transfer chakra to his disciples and this would start the first people that could control chakra. He did this until his death and ever since then chakra has been a big part of our continent and how we have grown as people. Mutations form through many years of breeding and we get weird Kekkei Genkai like the Nara shadow jutsu and the Yamanaka mind arts."

Sasuke had listened and followed most of what was said, but some of it could be considered so far-fetched that he had a hard time believing. But this was Naruto, the blonde wouldn't lie just to make other people's life hard. "You said he split the Life Tree into nine pieces? That means…"

Naruto just grinned and nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Why doesn't the rest of the world know this?"

"Most traditions passed on by clans had been oral, and only clans like the Uchiha, Senju and Hyuuga had any knowledge this far back. The Uzumaki had existed before the Sage and were scholars at the beginning. My clan recorded much of what they learned and kept it to themselves. They decided that untold power used by the Sage would have catastrophic consequences to the balance of the world."

Sasuke could understand that and didn't press it any further. "I appreciate you sharing this with me. I just have one more request."

Naruto already knew of this request as he had been notified by Renji of his teammate's curiosity of their unique swords. "I was already told that you wanted to craft and learn how to create your own zanpakuto. Sadly, I cannot allow that skill to be learned or used by those outside my clan. However."

Just as Sasuke felt being denied his request before he could explain himself, he felt hope burn in his chest.

"If you have something you wouldn't mind trading to be used by my people in turn, I do not mind you being shown how to craft a zanpakuto, but the knowledge to do so will be locked with a seal inside your mind so you cannot share it without my permission. Any skills will be left to you to discover on your own, however."

Sasuke thought hard on the stipulation and knew that it would be hard to bring something of equal value. To trade in clan secrets is a delicate matter and often ends in failure because one side is left unsatisfied with what is offered by the other. But he had an idea of what he could offer to his teammate since he could not fully read it without the next evolution of his Sharingan - which is only on its second tomoe currently.

"I think I have something back home. It's a stone tablet passed down in my family that is rumored to have been made by the Sage. It's unable to be fully deciphered due to a strong genjutsu that has not been undone by anyone in my family for centuries."

Naruto was intrigued by this and nodded his head. "I accept the trade. If you can go back and bring it to me, I will allow the trade. And maybe I'll see if I can decipher the tablet."

Sasuke smiled. "Thank you, Naruto. You aren't so bad when you're here."

Naruto smirked back and sent a light shove at his teammate. "And you aren't so bad when you talk to me like a human being. It's good to have the old Sasuke coming back."

I keep thinking that I will get tired of this story and that it would end but I've already got 24.5 chapters completed and I've only started reaching the end of the Chunin Exams. I have plans to travel east through Gaal where a more European world exists (a crossover world). We will also cover some movies, and then we have Shippuden stuff that will be covered. I think the biggest thing that I struggle with is trying not to gloss over fights or not do some crossover characters the justice they deserve.

I decided to have Sasuke not be an asshole this story. I don't think he would keep to a path of vengeance or being a bitch after the talk with his sister so he will be a good ally in this fanfic. I think it would be interesting to see how he will develop because I had not thought this far for him. But a member of the Enforcers, maybe a Lieutenant in the future, is where I might go with him. I don't know which Division but that's not important just yet.

I'm glad most of the people that stop by enjoys this story as much as I like continuing it. It's nice to see some people comment their ideas and their thoughts. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas or any other holidays they celebrate.

Here's to a better year!

themattman4000: Gotei13 Captain Aizen, but he will be clearly OOC because this is a different world he is in and with different ambitions. Apologies if it seems bad.

777torn777: I have plans for the future of the Uchiha clan that would have been different if I kept to early ideas. Sasuke will be what he should have been in canon here, in my opinion, with what is given as options at least.

ecoBlade: I'm gonna be honest and admit I paid very little to characters and plot during the 20 hours I played MHW so I'm sorry for not understanding the reference xD. I just liked the creature designs. I have plans to have many Beasts show up and Dalamadur was an early choice with Sam Witwer being the inspired voice actor but that has likely changed. At the end I will have a list of current Summons that I have already planned on adding.

Freddielebron: A least understood style that was what made a clan so feared that the world wanted them dead and Konoha depended on them to keep the Kyuubi sealed. Give an Uzumaki an opening and they will fuck your shit up in several hundred ways without a second thought.

PraetorXyn: All Akatsuki members are very dangerous people, but just going off of experience makes Kakuzu the most dangerous. Going off of raw power, that gives way to Kisame. Hidan was lucky through hax, while Deidara literally just filled a vacant spot. Without his Paths Nagato is very weak, Konan is experienced and dangerous but she wasn't much of a fighter. Obito is dangerous because of his Mangekyo abilities and Zetsu is just a manipulative bastard.

Naruto's Ancient Beast summons

Elder Beasts: Alatreon, Behemoth, Fatalis, Kirin, Kushala Daora, Lunastra, Namielle, Nergigante, Safi'jiiva, Teostra, Velkhana, Zorah Magdaros

Adult Beasts: Banbaro, Barioth, Beotodus, Leshen, Nargacuga, Radobaan, Uragaan

Young Beasts: Adogaron, Barroth, Bazelgeuse, Zinogre

Elder Beasts are the Beasts that pose the most danger to the world and have the highest status in the established order of the Ancient Beasts. They are by far the most powerful and are treated as such in this story.

Adult Beasts are the Beasts that are classified as "continental-level threats" as while they are not strong enough to threaten the world, they are still powerful enough to cause major damage if left unchecked.

Young Beasts are Beasts that only pose "kingdom-level threats" as their power is less than that of an adult. They are easier to control for the Uzumaki but this is also due to their younger age compared to the two higher ranks.

Ancient Beast voice actors so far:

Alatreon - Kathy Bates

Behemoth - Michael Clarke Duncan

Fatalis - Kurt Russel

Kirin - Mako Iwamatsu

Kushala Daora - Luke Evans

Lunastra - Elizabeth Debicki

Namielle - Charlize Theron

Nergigante - Jon Bernthal

Safi'jiiva - Tom Hardy

Teostra - Cillian Murphy

Velkhana - Helen McCrory

Bazelgeuse - Keith David