Chapter 1 - For a moment just like this.

Real talk, stop leaving reviews, I don't read them. Send me a PM. I read those, and I get to respond.


"This was all a gigantic waste of time, teme."

Naruto Uzumaki stared down at the unconscious form of Sasuke Uchiha. They just finished their second no holds barred fight, this time at the Valley of the End.

Their fight was brutal, but Naruto stopped holding himself back briefly to render the Uchiha unconscious before he could use more than the first stage of the cursed hickey Orochimaru gave him.

Naruto unfortunately received a fist through the chest before he stopped holding back.

"The entire village is always kissing your ass and giving you everything you ask for, yet you immediately decide to leave the village the second someone outside of it offers to make you stronger. You're really a selfish jerk." Naruto ranted softly.

He gazed at the cursed seal critically. "Is this stupid thing the reason why you were trying so hard to give your ass up to a pedophile?" He mumbled to himself.

He remembered when he accidentally broke a storage scroll. All the contents in the scroll fell out. "So, what would happen if I cut the entire seal off, along with a bit of skin around it?"

He took out a kunai and proceeded to do just that. He tore off a piece of his jacket and wrapped it around the cut off seal.

"Now. Let's get this asshole back to baa-chan."

-Hokage's Office-

"ANBU! Get this traitor to a hospital bed, but keep him restrained, and keep him under watch. You should go too, Naruto." Tsunade spoke.

"I wanna give my report first. Then I can rest." Naruto refuted.

He proceeded to explain all the actions he took, then handed her the cut off seal.

"ANBU! Bring this to R ." Tsunade ordered another stationed ANBU. "Now, Naruto. You need to go to the hospital. I get that the Kyuubi's chakra heals you, but I'd rather double check."

"Yeah yeah, baa-chan, I'll go." Naruto replied as he ducked a thrown book and made a tactical retreat to the hospital.

"Damned brat! Stop calling me that!"


Naruto laid back on his hospital bed. The hospital was one of the very few places in the village where he was completely safe from the villagers and some shinobi who wanted to harm him. When he was hurt, he was treated with the same kindness and respect as any other patient. The only people who gave him any grief were the secretaries.

As he rested, he reveled in the fact that he kept his promise. He made a promise to Sakura that he'd bring Sasuke back, and he did.

He found it really shitty that she'd use his "crush" on her to manipulate him into a promise, but he kept it nonetheless.

He wondered how much longer he should keep up the ruse that he liked her more than just a fellow Konoha nin. Maybe he could attend the next Chunin Exams and finally stop hiding his strength.

His girlfriend is upset that he allows Sakura to hit and insult him constantly, but it's a necessity to keep those in the Council from doing anything drastic.

There was a knock on his door, and in came his sensei.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Thanks for visiting." Naruto greeted, until he saw serious look in Kakashi's eye.

"I'm not here for niceties. I'm here to express how disappointed I am in you. The way you treated your teammate was shameful. You are now worst than trash." Kakashi reprimanded.

Thoroughly confused, and a bit pissed, Naruto spoke up. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know he was suffering under the influence of the curse seal, yet you fought him to kill." Kakashi continued.

"The mission parameters were to bring him back by any means necessary. I could of broke his arms and legs and dragged him back by his duck ass hair, but I held back severely. By doing so, I've suffered broken bones and a fist through my fucking chest. You should know how that's possible since you killed your own teammate with the same jutsu." Naruto bit out, catching Kakashi off guard by how much venom was in his words.

Before Kakashi could even get angered by Naruto's words, a nurse who heard all the commotion came in to kick Kakashi out the hospital.

-Hours Later-

Tsunade had just finished checking up on all the shinobi who went to retrieve Sasuke when an ANBU appeared and reported that she was being summoned to the Council Room. Her, the Godaime Hokage, was being summoned.

'This has gone long enough. Sensei has gotten weak and lenient in his old age, and this has led to half the Council growing bold. No more.'

As she walked into the room, the Clan Heads stood, as customs dictates. The Civilians were still seated and speaking amongst themselves, as were the Shinobi Advisors.

"Finally, Tsunade! Now we can-" Koharu began, before she was cut off.

"Be silent." Tsunade spoke, her voice soaked in killing intent.

The room instantly hushed.

"What am I, Advisor Utatane?" Tsunade asked softly, as opposed to her usual loud and brash manner.

Confused, and a bit on edge, Koharu answered. "Tsunade Senju."

"That is my name, yes, but what. Am. I?"

Koharu swallowed. "The Godaime Hokage."

"Exactly. I am the Hokage. Your Hokage. As well as everyone's in this room. Advisor Mitokado. What type of government is Konoha under?" Tsunade asked, still in a soft spoken tone, continuing to put everyone on edge.

Homura cleared his throat a bit before speaking. "An authoritarian government. A military dictatorship."

"Good. Who is it that leads Konoha, Advisor Shimura?"

Danzo, very briefly, tightened his grip on his cane. "The Hokage, Tsunade."

Suddenly, the entire room brimmed with killing intent.

"Please repeat yourself, Advisor Shimura. Who is it that leads Konoha?"

Danzo's grip on his cane tightened again as he struggled underneath the pressure her killing intent imposed in the room. Through gritted teeth, he answered. "The Hokage does, Hokage-sama."

The pressure dissipated instantly.

"Correct. Now, why is it that I, the Godaime Hokage, have been summoned as if I were an errant genin?" Tsunade queried.

"We have an urgent matter to discuss, Hokage-sama." Koharu answered.

"You know what you're supposed to do in that case. You come to me with this matter first, then I decided whether or not the matter is important enough to discuss in a council meeting. That has already infuriated me, but the double dose of disrespect I received entering this room rose my anger to a new level."

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama? It would be treasonous to blatantly disrespect the Hokage!" Homura stated, almost sounding insulted.

Tsunade just stared at him for a moment then turned, and in a calmer tone, asked Tsume. "Inuzuka-dono. What do you believe I mean when I stated I was disrespected twice?"

Tsume almost faltered under the Alpha's anger, but she mustn't look weak under her gaze. "Only us Clan Heads stood and remained silent when you entered, as per customs. The Civilians and Advisors were still sitting and speaking."

"Good." Tsunade responded, then her eyes roamed the Civilians and the Advisors. Without preamble, they all stood. None if them wanted any part of this new level of fury Tsunade is displaying.

Now that she was shown the proper respect, she walked to her seat. Once she sat down, everyone else did.

"Now, what matter is so important that you ignore proper procedure, and gave you the audacity to summon me?" Tsunade asked, her tone returning to normal.

Seeing as Tsunade was calm again, Koharu spoke. "We of the Council felt we need to eliminate or remove a threat to Konoha."

"And what is this threat you speak of?" Tsunade asked. There are a lot of threats that Konoha faced, some more immediate than others.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki." Koharu stated.

Once again, Tsunade's voice became frigid. "I will remind you that he has a name. If you can't use the name his mother gave him, then use his last name when referring to him. What threat does arguably the most loyal Konoha shinobi possess to the Village?"

"Uzumaki has grown too volatile, and aggressive. Just look at how he brutalized the Uchiha. Our last Uchiha, need I remind you." Homura replied.

"I personally checked everyone involved in that mission. Sasuke only has several bruises, and a cut where Orochimaru's seal was, while Naruto had numerous cuts, bruises, a broken bone or two and a fist sized hole through his chest. Clearly Naruto was holding back, while Sasuke was fighting to kill. Where is the threat?" Tsunade inquired.

"The fact that he went so hard on his own teammate is the problem. Orochimaru's seal was clearly addling the Uchiha's mind, but Uzumaki didn't care! He needs to be punished, and we of the Council have already decided."

"Oh? I didn't realize that the Council has grown so powerful that they can decide on punishing shinobi that aren't under their control." Tsunade's chakra radiated a bit off of her, making everyone shift uncomfortably.

"It's in the laws, Hokage-sama. We are allowed to decide on one thing a year with the Hokage having no choice but to approve, as long as the decision doesn't harm Konoha." Koharu said, feeling a bit smug. She didn't dare show it. She wouldn't put it pass Tsunade to kill her for it.

They were holding on to that law for a long time. For a moment just like this.

Tsunade said nothing for a long time, staring at Koharu with a stoic expression. When she spoke, the same soft and cold voice was used. "And what, pray tell, did the Honorable Council decide was a suitable punishment for a shinobi who completed his mission?"

Danzo, feeling emboldened, answered as calmly as he could. "We were stuck between two options. Either we lock him up and extract as much semen is needed to get a kunoichi pregnant, then when she gives birth, we have the Kyuubi transferred to the newborn. Either that or banish him from the village all together." 'Where my ROOT can apprehend him and I can properly mold his foolish mind into the perfect weapon.'

"You have twelve hours, as is customary, to decide which punishment would be suitable, then sign off on it in front of the Council." Homura spoke next.

While Tsunade's expression didn't change, her mind was a whirlwind. 'Why is it that they hate Naruto so much? I know for a fact he hasn't done anything to them because, sensei has notebooks recording all of Naruto's pranks, no matter how small or big they were. It can't just be for the Kyuubi. Why would the Clan Heads even agree to such a ridiculous notion? None of them are idiots in the slightest. Poor Naruto-kun. He won't be able to keep his promise to become Hokage, and I know that's going to break his heart. I'll have to banish him, but I'll do it in secret. There's no way Danzo wouldn't have people waiting to kidnap Naruto if I let him go in their timeframe. I'll have Shizune and some ANBU I can trust to collect all of the things that belong to Naruto, and I'll have to let him go. Damn this hurts.'

With Tsunade's game plan set, she spoke up. "Then I will see you all here at 9:30 with my decision written up and signed. This meeting is adjourned."

Everyone stood as one, bowed to Tsunade, and departed without a sound.

As they were leaving, even the ever stoic Danzo couldn't suppress a victorious smirk on his face.