The next day, in the Raikage's office, Ay was ballistic. He exclaimed, "What is this?!" as he scrunched the missive in his hand.

Ay's advisor, Rashii, who had been the first to read the letter, said, "It would appear to be a summons for a meeting of the Kage."

Ay rounded on Rashii as he slammed his hands on the table. He demanded, "I know that! Why is that old fool demanding a Kage Summit?!"

Rashii sighed and said, "Who knows. Given the timing, it could be that those investigators found something that they shouldn't have." He thought, 'That said, it is true that this isn't a move that Sarutobi Hiruzen would usually consider. Frankly, given his record, I would have thought it more likely that he would capitulate to Ay to prevent more unnecessary loss of life.' He sighed and said, "The moves that have been made in retaliation to your provocation aren't symptomatic of Hiruzen."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Either that he has taken a backseat in this matter, or there is more going on in Konoha than our spies have been able to gather."

The Shinobi Liaison, Dodai, asked, "Care to expand on that?"

"It could be that Ay's unnecessary demands prompted someone to challenge Hiruzen's leadership of Konoha."

"If that were truly the case, surely we would have known about it by now."

"I agree of course," Rashii sighed, "regardless, you especially, Ay, will need to attend this Summit."

"Why? It's not like these ridiculous things are mandatory…Hmmm…" Ay smirked and said, "Dodai."

Dodai said, "Sir."

"While I attend this meeting, I want you to start getting our men prepared for war."

Dodai exclaimed, "What?! Raikage-sama, if we do that now then…"

Ay said, "If those weaklings truly are trying to screw around with us and drag us into war, then we need to prepare for it too! So that we can crush them where we stand!"

Dodai sighed and said, "Yes. of course, Raikage-sama."

XXXXX

In the Kirigakure, Yagura looked at the message and sighed. He looked to Mei and asked, "This Five Kage Summit…do I need to attend?"

"Need to? Strictly speaking, no. However, it is customary for all five Kage to attend. Also, given the information that the Hokage provided to us recently, it could be that Sarutobi is calling it in order to rein in the Raikage's aggression and would like the authority of the other Kage to do so."

Yagura sighed and said, "Alright then. You can come as my Advisor. Get Chukichi & Jūzō to act as our Guards."

"Hai, Yagura-dono."

XXXXX

In Sunagakure, Rasa sighed and said, "What the hell are they thinking in Konoha? They ask us to prepare for war in secret and then they call for a summit?" He shook his head, trying to puzzle out whatever game they thought that they were playing. He shook his head and said, "Well, I suppose that it's really pointless wondering about it now. We'll be getting our answers soon enough, won't we, ol' hag?"

Chiyo grunted and said, "I'll have you know that I've barely passed sixty!"

Rasa grinned and said, "Regardless, I'll be taking you as my advisor. I'll leave it to Ebizō to choose our protection detail."

XXXXX

In Iwagakure, Ōnoki grinned and chuckled. He said, "Looks like we'll finally be able to rid ourselves of one thorn."

Kamizuru Asahina said, "I know that you'd like to think so, but the way that this missive has been worded, indicates that Konoha merely wishes to use this Summit to pressure that Unruly brat from Kumogakure. As such, it is hardly beneficial for you to attend."

"True, but I'm not going to pass up the chance on using it to see how both he and the Hokage react."

XXXXX

A few days later, all of the replies had come in and the head austringer in Konoha was standing before Hiruzen. He said, "Hokage-sama, the replies for your request for a Summit have come in."

"Oh? Thank you," Hiruzen said, and indicated his desk for the austringer to put the replies on it. When the Austringer left, Hiruzen turned to a corner of his room. He said, "Neko."

The air of one corner of Hiruzen's office distorted, revealing a purple haired teen wearing a mask with cat-like markings. She stepped froward and said, "Hai, Hiruzen-dono," and knelt in front of his desk.

Hiruzen said, "Take those to the Hokage," indicating the replies on his desk.

Neko said, "Hai," and picked them up before jumping out of the window behind him.

It didn't take her long to reach Fugaku in his office. When she was let in, she knelt before Fugaku's desk and said, "Hokage-sama."

Fugaku nodded and said, "Neko. What's happened?"

"Hiruzen-dono sent me here with the replies from the Other Kage," and placed them on his desk.

Fugaku rifled through them, seeing the seals of the other villages. He said, "Thank you." Neko nodded and was getting ready to be dismissed. She wasn't. Fugaku said, "Before I let you go back to Hiruzen, could you tell me how Naruto is doing?"

Neko said, "My mother has asked me to teach her the Shunshin no jutsu…if that answers your question, sir?"

Fugaku smiled and said, "It does indeed. Thank you. You can go now."

"Thank you…Hokage-sama," Yūgao said, confused as to why the Hokage was asking about her adoptive brother.

Fugaku thought, 'The Shunshin huh? Maybe he has more of Minato in him than his hair after all.'

He then opened the letters from the Mizukage. When he was done he thought, 'So, it's Yagura after all then? What do you know, I would have thought that he'd be overthrown after that Civil War broke out. I wonder if that says more about the man himself, or the Sanbī that he's got sealed within him. I suppose that for the purposes of this Summit, it doesn't matter either way.'

He then read through the one from Ōnoki. When he was done, he thought, 'Figures. Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki is just coming to see what happens. Well, for now anyway if what Jiraiya's spies were telling him is true and Kumo's actually preparing for war!' He quickly read through the Kazekage's reply and came to the conclusion that it would be best if they met up whilst on the road. He quickly wrote out a message and had one of his guards take the message to the austringer.

When that was done, Fugaku sighed and said, "Now, what idiocy has The Unruly decided to respond with?" Fugaku scoffed when he was done reading. He said, "Someone else must have written this up. It's far too cordial for Ay to have ever come up with." He heaved a sigh as someone knocked on his office door. He called out, "Come in," and let out a sigh of relief. "Mikoto."

"Anata, it just came in from the Kuroneko Kyōkyūsha."

"What is it?"

Mikoto came up to his desk and placed a parcel on it. she said, "It's your Kage cloak."

"Oh?" Fugaku said, with a smile. "That's the second good news I've heard all day."

"The second? What's the first?"

"That Naruto seems to be in good hands with Asahi."

"Really?" Mikoto asked, her chest feeling lighter as she let out a sigh of relief. "Wait. How do you know?"

"Hiruzen sent Yūgao over with the replies from the other Kage and I asked her how Naruto's doing."

"And?"

"Apparently Asahi needs the shunshin jutsu to keep up with him."

"Oh?" Mikoto smiled and said, "He must take after his mother then."

"Are you sure? I thought that speed was always Minato's forte."

"Oh it was, but who was the trickster of the two? That always found multiple ways to get out of whatever trouble they'd gotten themselves into. Face it, forward planning was always Minato's thing and Asahi was always being held up as an example for excellence in shinobi tactics classes when we were taking them. Adapting to changing situations, was Kushina's. If Asahi needs jutsu to keep up with a three-year-old, then I'd say that it probably has more to do with the latter."

"You'd have a better idea about that than I would. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have even less time for Sasuke than I'd had for Itachi. Speaking of which, how is he?"

"He's fine. He really looks up to Itachi, though he really does need to see you every once in a while. How's this garbage with Kumo going?"

"We just got the replies."

"And?"

"Surprisingly, they all agreed."

"All? Even The Fence-Sitter?"

"Yes."

"Hn. The Raikage must've really stuffed up if even Ōnoki is agreeing to meet. Or maybe it says more about how much they value the byakugan in Iwa."

"Who knows? Either way, it doesn't really matter, so long as they're all attending.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, back in Hiruzen's office, he was sitting across from Danzō, who was saying, "At least let me put my Zekka on them."

Hiruzen sighed and said, "No, Danzō. Even if I did still have the authority to let you do that, which, if you remember, I don't, I wouldn't. Fugaku said it himself, Bijū seals have an emotional component to them. Part of that is empathy. You can't express that if you are unable to tell people things that they need to know when they need to know them."

"You've heard the rumours, and Fugaku is blinded by his wife's affections for the demon brat's mother."

"Danzō! Since we're old friends, I'll let it fly this time. Do not refer to Naruto as a 'demon' to anyone, or that emotional aspect to the seal could cause it to weaken to the extent that the beast gets released from the seal. Without Hashirama-dono's Mokuton, or someone as skilled in fuinjutsu as Minato and Kushina in the village, the only weapon that we've got against it now, is the mangekyō sharingan. Even then, it's unknown if just any mangekyō is sufficient to accomplish such a feat, or if there are specific traits that are needed in order to do it."

"You know that even if I don't, everybody else in the village that was alive to see it, will. It is unavoidable."

Hiruzen sighed and said, "I know, Danzō, I know. However, we can only hope that the next generation don't inherit their attitudes, or Naruto surrounds himself with friends and peers that don't. irrespective of that, it should be clear to you, that our era, is over. Suna, Kumo and Kiri have all changed hands to younger shinobi, leaving You, Me and Ōnoki as the only ones that remember the times of Hashirama and Madara. Maybe that's a good thing and our distrust of the Uchiha will fade away with us."

XXXXX

Meanwhile, in Kumogakure, Konan was asking, "So, how'd you like your visit to Rikuto's?"

Hinata said, "He's…brash…loud…and very exciteable…though he seems to be eager about learning fu… fūin…fūinjutsu…I think he said."

"That's right," Konan smiled. "Fūinjutsu is like a specialty within the Uzumaki clan…though they don't really have much of a presence anymore."

"Uzu…maki…clan? I don't think I've…ever hear of…such a clan."

"No. I don't suppose you have, although they used to be a very prominent clan, they were basically absorbed by the Senju at some point…" Konan smiled. "Though I used to know some that were really rather put out by that."

"Really? Wh-who?"

Konan's eyes shifted slightly and she said, "I'd…rather not talk about that…if you don't mind."

Seeing the look in Konan's eyes, something pulled at her heart and she said, "No, if you don't want to, then it's fine."

Konan smiled and said, "Thanks."

They walk in silence for a while. Before Hinata said, "Konan…san…"

Konan looked down at Hinata and asked, "Yes?"

"If it's not any trouble…co…could you…"

Konan said, "Spit it out, girl!" in a laughing tone.

Hinata blushed as she says, "Ple-please…teach me how to use your paper jutsu!" then she said, "Uhhh…tha-that is…ya-you don't have to! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have as-…!"

Konan frowned and said, "Stop that this second!"

Hinata looked up at Konan, a scared expression on her face as tears welled up. Konan sighed and got down on one knee, so she could look at Hinata directly in her eyes as she hugged her and rubbed her back. She sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Hinata. I'm not mad." She smiled as she put her hands on Hinata's shoulders and held her back so that she could see her face as she said, "Of course I will. Actually…come to think of it, that will be the perfect way to get you back home when it comes time for it."

"Re-really?" Hinata said, astoundingly happy that she'd come up with an ideal solution for a problem.

Konan kept on smiling as she said, "Yes. But, keep in mind, it still won't be for a long time and there will be a lot of things that you need to have before I even consider teaching you the jutsu you'll need to accomplish that."

"Wh-what would I need?"

"To begin with, simply the ability to finely control your chakra. Then, use that control to produce paper out of that chakra. Then you'd need to be able to produce enough of it & to do that you'll need a lot of chakra. Far more than what you currently have available to you. Even then, you'd need the ability to control all of that paper at the same time." Konan smiled and said, "Okay?"

Hinata looked up at her and swallowed nervously before a look of determination shone on her face that Konan hadn't seen since she'd first met the young girl and had come to think she would never see on her. With the look on her face, Hinata said, "Hai."

XXXXX

At the same time, in Konoha, a blonde was standing across from his foster mother, who was brandishing a wooden spoon as he said, "Bu-but I swear! It wasn't me! Honest!"

"Oh really? Then exactly who else would it have been that ate all that chocolate, hmm?" looking at the chocolate smeared on his face.

"Ne-Nee-chan! It was her! It was Yū-nee!"

"Then how do you explain why it is that you are the only one here? And all that chocolate on your face."

"She must have done it while I was sleeping and then smeared it on my face before she left to go work with red-eyes!"

Asahi rushed at Naruto, trying to grab him by his arm…his shirt…his hair…anything she could get a hold of, but he slid under her arm and rushed past her to his room where he pushed a chair up against the door handle to make it more difficult, though not impossible to get to him. He quickly jumped onto his bed to look at his face in them mirror and thought, 'Damn! Sis' makeup really did the job, huh?' and quickly grabbed the bottle of water he'd prepared earlier to wash it off and made quick work of it. He then went over to his window and climbed out of it, holding onto the downpipe, so that he didn't fall. He slid down it to the ground as his foster mother started really slamming the door to his room. He wandered down to the creek at the bottom of their yard and pulled off his shoes and ran out into it, laughing, thinking, 'it's way too nice out here to be stuck in there all day! Besides, it's not like I want to ruin the house or anything when this actually works!' he clenched his hands in front of his mouth like he'd seen some of the shinobi he'd spied on doing while they were putting out a fire at the orphanage and said, "Swi-tongue: Whatever jut-thu!"

Spying on Naruto from behind some trees, Asahi sighed and said to herself, "Just looking at him…it almost looks like he's just any child that you'd see at the park. Not…that…that…" She sighed again as the image of a roaring nine tailed fox flashed into her mind.