Shikaku Nara hated council meets. He knew the importance the meetings held but that did not lessen the boredom he felt during each one. But, for obvious reasons, this emergency meeting was different. The three elders of Konoha called this meeting in the wake of the attack for one simple reason: select the next Hokage.

Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzō Shimura were not only elders of Konohagakure but also served as advisors to Hokage. These three had been around since the days of the Shodaime's reign and were behind many decisions that shaped Konoha to what it was into today. Shikaku has had disagreements with these three in the past, it was his job as the Jōnin Commander and Konoha's top strategist to challenge their decisions and make them think about the ramifications, but he never thought Homura or Koharu were using their position to achieve personal goals. Danzō was a different story.

"What say you, Shikaku?"

The Nara clan leader snapped out of his inner thoughts when he heard his name. "Excuse me?"

The three elders rolled their eyes, it was just like Shikaku to space out during these meetings. Apparently, this one was no different. "Lord Daimyō asked for your assessment on our casualties." Homura stated.

The feudal lord of the Land of Fire, the political leader of the entire nation. In Shikaku's opinion, the Daimyō's position was a bit of a front, given to the richest man in the land. In reality, it was the Hokage who mended political fences with other countries. The Hokage was the one who put in the work, the Daimyō just took the credit. At least, the Land of Fire's Daimyō didn't do much. This man was indecisive and was easily swayed by outside opinions, Shikaku was certain he had never seen the Daimyō make a decision for himself during one of these meetings.

Shikaku let out a sigh. "The loss of life was unfortunate, but it was far less than what we anticipated. The amount totaled to 136 dead with over 150 wounded. We were caught off guard completely, but we recovered amazingly. The villager evacuations into the catacombs of the Hokage Mountains were executed flawlessly, only a small handful a villagers were injured or killed."

"That is good to hear." One of the advisors of the Daimyō chimed. The Daimyō's advisors took up an entire side of the table.

"Yes, it is." Another advisor agreed, this one was for financials. "With the recent attack, the Land of Fire will do anything within our capabilities to help Konoha rebuild. We will need to set up a budget and consider-"

"Rebuilding damages is the least of our concerns." The ANBU commander suddenly spoke up. His mask resembled a bear. "Excuse my interruption, but all of this can wait. With the unfortunate death of the Sandaime, we need to discuss new leadership. Everything else can be decided once we figure out the next Hokage."

The Daimyō nodded as he fanned himself. "Yes! You are most certainly right! I am open to suggestions."

"I believe it should be Jiraiya of the Sannin." Koharu said. "What say you, Jiraiya? Are you finally up for the job?"

"Yes! Splendid choice! You've been my personal favorite for quite some time!" The Daimyō cheered.

Standing off in the corner of the room was the white-haired Sannin himself. His arms were crossed, and he had a sad, yet fierce scowl on his face. "I apologize Lord Daimyō but I'm going to decline."

Frankly, no one was surprised by this. Jiraiya had been a candidate for the position for some time now. In fact, he was a front runner for the title back when they were decided who the Yondaime would be. But he bowed out of that race the second he was offered it, simply because he didn't feel like it was his position to have.

The old warhawk, Danzō, scoffed. "What's your reason for declining this time? I certainly hope it's not because of your 'research'…like it was last time."

Jiraiya's stare hardened on the man with a bandaged eye. "If you had offered me the position six years ago when I was in the village last then I probably would have said yes. But now…with everything that's happened between me and the old man…I feel like I don't deserve to be his successor. But sensei always wanted one of us three to take over for him. And since Orochimaru can't and I won't, that only leaves one."

"Ah, Tsunade Senju? She's the granddaughter of the First Hokage, is she not?"

Koharu nodded. "Yes, she is, Lord Daimyō. But she hasn't been in the village in quite some time, we are currently unaware of her whereabouts."

The ANBU commander spoke up next. "Lady Koharu, the last reported sighting of Tsunade was somewhere in the Land of Fire. That was roughly five years ago."

The Daimyō sighed. "That is unfortunate, Tsunade had a fine lineage and reputation that would've been perfect for Hokage."

"Actually, Lord Daimyō, I know where Tsunade is…for the most part."

All eyes quickly turned back to the toad Sannin in the corner of the room, the only ones who were not surprised by Jiraiya's revelation were the three elders. "Of course, you do." Danzō commented.

"Why do you say that, Lord Danzō?" One of the advisor's questioned.

"Their relationship is very well documented in their personal files. Teammates turned lovers…what a crock of shit. Those two are the very reason we do not allow teammates to engage in physical relationships. It can, and will, be too distracting and can jeopardize a mission. It's also the reason why we only have one Sannin in Konoha instead of two, if 'Princess Tsunade' had been here then Orochimaru would have certainly been dealt with."

As if the tension wasn't already high enough, that last comment made it go through the roof. Everyone waited to hear Jiraiya's rebuttal, even the ANBU commander wanted to hear this. Shikaku, however, seemed to be lost in his own mind.

An unexpected chuckle came from the Sannin. "My relationship with Tsunade had nothing to do with her leaving the village. And since when did you become so interested in what we did when we turned off the lights? Things getting a little stale in your old age, Danzō? It's only natural for someone of your age to have trouble."

"Enough Jiraiya!" Homura groaned in annoyance. "We do not need to be getting into this. Getting back to the topic at hand, you said you know where she is. Explain yourself."

Jiraiya nodded. "Right. As Konoha's spy master, it is my job to uncover possible threats and learn classified information on our nation's enemies, I also keep track of those who have the power that are equal to my own. Personal feelings aside, I've tracked Tsunade's whereabouts incase we needed her medical knowledge or superhuman strength. She's still in the Land of Fire, more than likely in the small gambling town, Tanzaku."

"That's a fair distance away from Konoha." An advisor informed.

"But not out of the question." The ANBU commander chimed in. "A team of my fastest ANBU could reach her in half the time anyone else could."

Jiraiya spoke up again. "That probably wouldn't be the smartest choice sending a team of ANBU to retrieve Tsunade. She has a bit of a temper. I will personally go to Tsunade."

"Do you approve of Tsunade becoming the Fifth Hokage, Lord Daimyō?" Koharu questioned.

The man nodded in approval. "Yes, I do believe it is a fine choice. When will you leave Jiraiya?"

"In the next day or two."

The Daimyō nodded. "Very well. Is there anything else?"

There were a few moments of silence that followed the Daimyō's question and no one responded immediately. Having reason to believe that was it, the leader of the Land of Fire was about to adjourn the meeting. That is until the Nara clan member raised his hand.

"Lord Daimyō, I do have something I would like to bring up."

"Go ahead, Shikaku."

The scarred man sighed in mild annoyance, despite being the one who asked to speak. "Though, I feel this troublesome question could be saved for after the meeting, I'm inclined to include all of you in this." Shikaku leaned forward in his chair slightly to look down at the elders. "I'm just curious as to why you didn't throw your own name into consideration for Hokage, Danzō."

The attention shifted to the man in question. The warhawk remained stoic. "Whatever do you mean, Shikaku?"

"You questioned every decision the Sandaime ever made and even tried to convince him to stay retired after the death of the Yondaime. And regarding Lord Jiraiya's personal relations with Lady Tsunade. I've read both their files and neither of the files say anything about any relationship beyond teammates. Care to explain how you know what they did in their personal time."

"It was my job as one of Hiruzen's advisors to question him, that's what he wanted from me and I delivered. And you haven't read my organization's files on them, which go into greater detail."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. "Ah, how could I forget…your own organization, ROOT…the dark ops."

Danzō turned and looked at the jōnin. "I do not appreciate the sarcasm, Nara. If it wasn't for my organization, there would a lot more threats to the village than just Orochimaru. And to answer your curiosity, I don't feel like it's my time to cement my legacy into the ranks of a Kage…not yet at least."

Shikaku, and Jiraiya for that matter, knew that Danzō was lying through his teeth. Everything Danzō did was for a reason that only benefited him. The man had a plan. He always did. Shikaku leaned back into his chair. "I've said all I wanted, Lord Daimyō."

The Daimyō nodded. "Anything else?" Silence followed. "Very well. The funeral should be beginning soon. Let us adjourn and prepare."

Within a few minutes, the meeting room had emptied. The Daimyō and his advisors were the first to leave, escorted by a team of ANBU that were waiting outside the meeting room. The three elders went on there way after bowing to the leader of the land. Shikaku was half down the hall himself before he was stopped.

"I never thought I'd see you stand up to Danzō." Jiraiya said, walking side by side with the Nara clan member.

"The things he was saying didn't add up in my mind, he may have the wool pulled over the Daimyō but you and I both know he wants to be Hokage for his own personal gain. I'm still trying to figure that out."

"You aren't the only one, Danzō is a crafty old bastard."

Shikaku nodded. "Not be rude, Lord Jiraiya, but I don't think your talking to me because I called Danzō out on his bullshit."

"Not much gets passed you, Shikaku. But yes, I do have something I need to share."

"What about?"

"The Sandaime and the shady things he's done."

-At the funeral-

The weather that came in time for the one mass funeral matched the mood of the entire village of Konoha. The rain poured like the sky, itself, was sad for the death of the Third Hokage and everyone that died in the attack. For some none of this seemed real, as if they were in a bad dream and couldn't wake up. For others they knew what they were looking at was reality.

The beloved Sandaime was gone.

The funeral was held a top of the Hokage Tower. The ones who gave their lives were honored by having a picture placed on a small pedestal, with enough room for flowers or other memorabilia could be placed, with a picture of the Third Hokage at the center. The family members of the deceased were the only ones allowed on top of the tower with the pictures, along with the family members were the elders, the Fire Daimyō, and other high-ranking members of the Konoha society.

Among the sea of black clothing that surrounded the tower were the members of Team Seven, Sakura and Sasuke stood with their jōnin sensei, Kakashi, as they waited for their turn to pay their respects to the fallen. Sakura already knew the third member of their team wasn't there, but she couldn't help glancing around every now and again to see if he had shown up.

"Naruto's really not coming…"

Managing to glance at the pink-haired girl beside him momentarily, Sasuke eye's shifted back to the grieving procession. "I don't think so…I haven't seen him since we found out."

It was still fresh in Sasuke's mind, the memory from when the three of them made it back to the village after intense battle with Gaara. They had been met by Kakashi, who was covered in blood and bandages. Kakashi tried to break the news to them as gentle as he could. Sasuke was grateful for that, he could clearly recall how Naruto had gone eerily quiet and still for well over a minute before giving a piss poor excuse and walking away without receiving medical treatment.

Sasuke thought about going against his usual nature to try and find Naruto to talk to him, to make sure he was okay. But the Uchiha had a feeling Naruto didn't want to be found, or at least found by him. The revelation about his self-made promise to protect Sakura made Sasuke think that he shouldn't be the one to find him.

"I'm worried about him…" Sakura softly spoke again.

"He came before the service started…that's what Lord Jiraiya said." Kakashi said just as softly. "But we talked about this beforehand, Sakura. The villagers wouldn't like him being here."

Sakura somehow frowned harder. "But why should that isolate him? Having…that sealed in him shouldn't mean anything…right?"

Kakashi placed his hand on the young girl's shoulder. "Does it mean anything? Now that you know his burden, does it change anything?"

Honestly, this is all that's been on Sakura's mind for the past few days. It's the reason she didn't go try and find Naruto herself, she wasn't sure what to say. Did she feel guilty? Yeah, a little bit. But guilt wasn't all she felt. She was sad that Naruto had to go through so much alone. He was always there for her and Sasuke, and near once has he expected them to do the same for him. That was about to change.

"Yeah, it does change something. Naruto's been alone for a long time. He's had to deal with everything by myself. He's not going to be anymore. I'm not going to let him be alone anymore."

Kakashi gave one of his classic eye smiles, he was glad to hear that. Even Sasuke had a small smile, silently agreeing to everything what Sakura said.

The service went on for a while longer, allowing the family members to grieve as long as they needed. Soon after the service had concluded, anyone who wanted to were allowed go up to the tower and pay their respects to the fallen shinobi. Team Seven were among the last to go up there, Team Eight had just gone before them. Sakura noted Hinata looked like she had made a full recovery from fight against Neji, she was glad to see that she and her team made it through the attack without heavy injury. Everyone from their graduating year was safe.

Once the team had finished their silent prayers for the Third, Kakashi went on his way to do whatever it was he did during his free time. Sasuke and Sakura walked aimlessly through the village. There were no conversations, no talking. It was as if all the villagers had come to an unspoken agreement to keep the silence in the fallen's honor.

"Hey Sakura…" Sasuke's words cut through the silence as he stopped in the middle of the road.

The kunoichi gave her teammate a curious look through her saddened eyes, she waited for Sasuke to say what he wanted. He normally wasn't one to begin to say something and not follow through.

"There's something I gotta tell you…about Naruto. I think you should know."

-With Naruto-

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting under this bridge, he really didn't care. He was out of the rain and alone with his thoughts. Was it a good thing Naruto was alone with his thoughts? Probably not but it's really all he could do right now. He wasn't going to the funeral, which he suspected was close to being over with, that would be a headache in of itself. It was better that he wasn't there, his presence would have taken the attention off where it needed to be. No doubt a riot would've ensued because of the 'demon' was 'disrespecting' the heroes.

A pain raced across Naruto's heart. He grimaced and his face contorted with pain as he gripped his black shirt over his heart. This pain had been a reoccurring thing since his fight with Gaara. This pain was familiar, he knew what caused it. But it wasn't possible for what happened to him when he was younger to come back. It was cured by the best.

"You're going to be great, Naruto. I have no doubt about that. You will change this world, I can't wait to see what you'll do."

His grip became tighter. Was it only a physical pain in his heart? The Sandaime was the only one there for him after Jiraiya left and it turned out the Sandaime was the one who had lied to Naruto about major things in his life. First, it was Jiraiya's mission that left him alone and stranded in Konoha. Then he never revealed his parenthood to him, not telling was the same as lying in Naruto's mind. All for what? What was the reasoning for it?

Well, now he'd never know. The Third Hokage was dead. He sacrificed his life to end the threat of Orochimaru. But he failed, Orochimaru escaped gravely injured. The sadness he felt for the death of the Hokage wasn't what he thought it would be. He had gone to pay his respects before anyone else, but he did not cry. He just stood there in the rain and looked at the picture of the old man, wondering what the point of it all.

"Naruto? You down there?"

Naruto would've drawn his kunai if he hadn't recognized the voice that had called out to him, he relaxed when he saw the person come into view. It was Sakura, she was utterly soaked from the rain.

"Sakura? What…what are you doing out in the rain?"

Sakura shook off as much as the rain as she could before she knelt on both her knees next to her teammate. "I was looking for you, silly. I wouldn't be running around in this weather without a good reason."

"Good…reason?"

Sakura smiled softly. "Yeah, that's you."

A few moments of silence passed between the two, the only sound was the patter of rain hitting the bridge that covered them. Sakura figured she might as well get to the point of her being her.

"Sasuke told me about that promise of yours…about the flower I gave you."

"…Did he now?"

Sakura could get see Naruto trying to hide his frustration and embarrassment, she took a little pride in the fact she was able to do that just by knowing about a promise he made over her giving him a flower. The entire time she had known him Naruto usually kept his emotions to himself. "I'm sorry about not remembering it. My mom just got so angry and I never liked disappointing my parents, I guess I just pushed it out of my mind. I'm really sorry Naruto…if I had known then-"

"You don't have to be sorry, Sakura. I understand, it's okay."

Sakura nodded. "But why didn't you ever say anything? Or ever try to talk to me before we became Team Seven?"

Naruto continued to hide emotions but the quiver in his voice betrayed him. Everything he had been holding in for so long was beginning to spill out. "B…Because I was scared. I…I didn't want anything to happen to you. These villagers are afraid of me because of the Kyuubi and lashed out at me every chance they get. You…being next to me wouldn't stop them. Hell, they'd probably think I was holding you hostage or something."

Sakura sat and listened intently, it broke her heart. She could feel the raw emotion and pure fear that she could be hurt for being by him. She told herself that she wouldn't let Naruto be alone anymore. Everything he did, he did alone. He lived alone. He trained alone. He grieved alone. He suffered alone.

Pushing her audacity to the limit, Sakura reached out and laid her hand on Naruto's shoulder. It was a slow movement, but she brought her teammate into a soft embrace as his head slowly descended until it was resting on her shoulder. A skipped heartbeat was barely registered as she tenderly held the sorrow filled boy.

"What can I do?" She whispered softly. Sakura wanted to let him know that he wasn't alone anymore. He had lost someone, they all had lost someone in the Third Hokage, but there were still people that cared for him, she wanted him to be able to feel secure with someone again.

"Don't…don't go." His arms slowly wrapped around her gentle frame. "I'm scared…Sakura. I don't…I don't wanna be alone anymore."

Sakura tenderly rubbed the blonde's back. "You won't be. That's my promise to you."

-Just outside Konoha's walls-

Two dark cloaked figures with red clouds whose faces were concealed by white tassels that hung from their straw hats. The taller of the two had a large sword that was wrapped in bandages strapped to his back by a brown sash. The second figure had his cloak unbuttoned to mid-chest and had his left arm resting there.

"We arrived a few days early…" The taller man waited for his partner to respond, as expected he did not. "The news about the attack seems to have spread pretty fast, Suna and Oto really did a number on this place." The retort was still absent. "It must take some sort of genius to realize that this was all Orochimaru's doing. I mean, they even found the Kazekage's decomposing corpse not too far from here."

The taller man waited yet again, waiting for his partner's comeback. But no matter how much time passed, the man remained silent. The taller man sighed and looked at his partner. "You've been really preoccupied lately. I'm not sure if I want to infiltrate Konoha while your mind is elsewhere."

"You don't have to worry." The man suddenly spoke up. "I already have several plans for infiltrating and escaping the village without an issue with our target intact."

The taller man couldn't help but snort at his partner's words. "And here I thought you were just going to say fuck it. But are you aware that the Sannin, Jiraiya, is still in the village? What should we do about him?"

"His presence in the village has been taken into consideration when I formulated the plan for the mission." The partner stated. "We will follow through with what we agreed on and adjust accordingly to accomplish our objective."

"We will be one short though, we arrived early but it seems Gaara is no longer here. Not that it really matters, the Kyuubi is our intended target." The taller man sighed. "But honestly, Itachi, couldn't have your plan included staying a night in a brothel instead out in the cold?"

"Kisame…shut up."

A sigh escaped Kisame. "You're no fun, Itachi. Anyway, I'll be fine as long as I get a front row seat to the Uchiha family reunion."

Itachi had already returned to absolute silence.

-With Sasuke-

The rain had finally let up and the sun was beginning to shine through the dissipating dark clouds. Sasuke wasn't one to stay hidden indoors so he decided to head back outside to get some fresh air before turning in for day. But the Uchiha wasn't in the mood to go to the fields and train, which was a surprise.

Sasuke was acutely aware of his massive increase in strength over the last month, it was obvious where the boost came from. The Curse Mark. He unconsciously ran his hand over the black tattoo-like mark. Orochimaru called it a 'gift'. Orochimaru said he could give him the power to kill Itachi and avenge his fallen clan.

The young Uchiha believed that sentence, Orochimaru's strength is very well documented. And he got to see that strength when he battled against him in the Forest of Death. There was no question the Sannin was holding back, he even handled Naruto's impressive onslaught from what Sakura told him. Orochimaru could very easily provide the necessary training that Sasuke needed to take down his older brother.

But Sasuke hated handouts, especially when it came to training and building himself up as a strong shinobi. He wanted to prove, not only to himself but, to everyone that knew what Itachi did by sparing only him wasn't a fluke. He wanted to prove that he was the one who was supposed to put Itachi down for good. And the only why he was ever going to prove that was by himself, using no one to further his ability.

"Oh Sasuke!"

Sasuke really didn't want to deal with her right now. He was starting to get used to not being ogled by every girl near his age every minute of every day. Largely due to Sakura toning down her fangirl nature, it was still there but not as annoying as it used to be. Yes, there were days he didn't mind the attention but, more often than not, he preferred to be on his own.

Audibly groaning, Sasuke turned around to see Ino practically bouncing her way towards him. "What can I do for you, Ino?" But there was another person that caught Sasuke's eye, Hinata was trailing behind the platinum blonde.

"Are you busy?" Ino tried to make sure herself seem as attractive as possible, her arms were at her back as she slowly swayed back and forth. She even leaned forward at the waist slightly, trying to make herself look curvier. Sasuke did have to admit that Ino was attractive, but none of that business really interested Sasuke. Besides, Ino was way too loud and prone too many outbursts for Sasuke's liking. He preferred someone a bit more reserved.

The Uchiha shrugged. "Can't say that I am. Why?"

Ino's smile shined even brighter. "Oh, nothing really! It's just a bunch of us are getting together at the barbeque place. The guys are already there, me and Hinata came to find you, Sakura, and Naruto too!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, he was having a hard time figuring out why Ino was so cheerful about this. "What's the occasion?"

"The best way I can describe it is a sort of celebration, we all made it through the attack without serious injury. It was all Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chōji's idea really."

Now that surprised Sasuke. "Lazy boy had a hand in this?"

Ino nodded. "Yeah! Kiba was the one who suggested it. And we all know Chōji won't turn down a free meal and if Shikamaru doesn't have to put much effort into it he's game for pretty much game anything. So…will you come?" There was a hint of redness to her cheeks, seemingly embarrassed and or flustered.

Sasuke wasn't sure what to do here, he had never been in this kind of situation before. He was never the one to really go out and hang out with other people, he really preferred his privacy. Ever since that night, everything Sasuke did was alone. He'd been alone for so long that he missed it when he was with others. It wasn't that he didn't want to be around his comrades, it was simply that the congregation of them all was something he wasn't used too.

Frankly, to put it simply, Sasuke was socially challenged. But he didn't see a problem with going to get something to eat and everyone from their graduating being there. He had known them all for a long time, it wouldn't be so bad.

Composing himself, and putting his pride on the line, Sasuke nodded. "Yeah sure, I'll come by for a while."

Sasuke had never seen a person smile as hard as Ino did when his answer registered in her mind. Even Hinata had a small smile adjourning her features, while practically hidden in a crowd of villagers.

"Great! Let's go!" Ino looped her arm around Sasuke's as she practically began to drag him to the restaurant. Hinata kept up to the best of her ability but she could hardly follow.

"W-What about Sakura and N-Naruto?" Hinata's question fell on deaf ears as Ino took off with Sasuke.

Already regretting his actions, Sasuke sighed as he felt like he was being dragged by a horse. He looked up to the sky to see the blue breaking through and the sun shining brightly. A black crow slowly glided through the air. Sasuke followed the bird's path for a moment, trying to remember the last time he saw a black crow.

As Ino continued to pull Sasuke like a disobedient dog, the Uchiha watched the black crow as if he was waiting for it do something. There was something about that crow that Sasuke just couldn't shake, it was too familiar that he couldn't let it go. He kept his eyes trained on it for a good couple minutes, allowing Ino to bring him wherever she wanted. Sasuke was so fixated on the crow that he didn't even register that they had arrived at the restaurant.

Ino turned back to see Hinata jogging up behind her and Sasuke. "Did you say something, Hinata?"

Hinata panted for a moment. "Y-Yes…w-what about Naruto a-and Sakura? You said we w-were going to find them too?"

Ino sighed. Yeah, she had said that, but she really wasn't going to go looking for them. She didn't want that broad forehead girl to butt in her time with Sasuke, and Naruto was just plain odd. "Do you know where they are, Sasuke?"

The black crow finally landed on a nearby pole and Sasuke was finally able to get a decent look at it. Once he saw the red tint in its eye, Sasuke's adrenaline went into overdrive and he broke out in a full sprint.

'He's here somewhere! I have to find him!'

Ino was surprised by his actions. "Sasuke!" She was confused but wasn't going let this happen, she was finally going to some time with her beloved and him getting cold feet wasn't going to stop her. The platinum blonde took off after the Uchiha heartthrob. "Wait up!"

Hinata watched the scene unfold and could only sigh, she wished she could have the confidence like Ino had. To chase after one's crush without hesitation, Hinata could only dream of that. The Hyūga girl blushed at the thought of the blonde genin and she too wanted to get him to come, building up her courage Hinata jogged after Ino once again.

-With Naruto and Sakura-

Neither of the two realized how long they stayed under the bridge until the patter of rain had stopped and the sudden warmth of the sun shined around them. They had moved out from under the bridge to stand on it and enjoy the sunshine. Not much was said between the two, there wasn't a need to speak. Naruto was content that he could just enjoy a person's presence and Sakura was glad Naruto wasn't feeling alone, that's what she promised so that's what she was going to deliver.

"Ah, young love…such a fucking waste of time."

Both Naruto and Sakura instantly jumped in alarm to the new voice, it wasn't hard to find because the person was standing directly to their left. A very tall, muscular man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and a large bandaged sword was strapped to his back by a brown sash. His face was almost shark-like and had a distinctive blue-grey color.

Naruto's senses immediately kicked in. 'How the hell did I not sense this guy?!' Sakura's train of thought was similar.

Kisame mockingly put his hand out, as if he did something wrong. "Oh, did I ruin the moment? My bad. Allow me to fix it." He reached up and gripped the gold handle.

Not a second had gone by before the portion of the bridge Naruto and Sakura were standing on had turned to dust in a sizeable explosion. Half of the bridge was now gone and Kisame stood on the end of the remaining end, he looked down to see a pair of white bracelets and a set of old chakra weights lying in the mud. The two genin had just landed a good distance away.

"Alright, you've got my attention blondie. That was some serious weight you just dropped to dodge my strike."

Naruto didn't register the compliment, he had no idea how he snapped off all four weights simultaneously while grabbing ahold of Sakura and jumping out of the way. Honestly, Naruto impressed himself. The two genin took fighting stances.

Kisame smiled wickedly in excitement as he swung the massive sword with ease. "I'm glad you see it this way, I was really looking forward to testing you Naruto."

The blonde in question tensed up when his name was uttered, Sakura just looked confused that this man knew who Naruto was. "You know me?"

Kisame's shark-like teeth shined through his smile. "I do. I'm Kisame Hoshigaki, formerly known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist. Now that we're acquainted, let's get on with this shall we?"

By the deep slash through his headband, Naruto and Sakura realized this man was a rouge shinobi from Kirigakure. "What's a rouge ninja from Kirigakure doing here in Konoha? And what do you want with Naruto? There's nothing for you here." Sakura questioned.

"Oh, there's plenty for me here, pinkie. But none of it concerns you, I suggest you run along and save yourself."

Sakura didn't even entertain the idea of running away, if Naruto was staying then she was staying too. Naruto glanced over at the pinkette and contemplated telling her to leave but decided against it, she didn't leave when he fought Orochimaru. He figured this time would be no different. Naruto steeled himself for fight.

Throwing his hands together, Naruto went through a series of hand seals in rapid succession. "Katon: Karyūdan!" A hail of fire burst out of Naruto's mouth and shot towards Kisame.

The shark man slammed his hands together. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" Ejecting large amounts of water out his mouth, Kisame created a wall of water to shield himself from the fire bullets. The two collided and created a blanket of steam.

Both Naruto and Sakura were utterly shocked by what they had just witnessed. "H-He just created his own water…" Sakura gasped.

"The amount of chakra that takes…this isn't good."

Kisame burst through the steam with his massive sword and brought it down with great force. Both Naruto and Sakura jumped out of the way, barely evading the crashing object. Now on either side of the man, the two genin charged. Keeping his eyes trained on Naruto, Kisame simply stuck out his hand to catch Sakura's kick while he swung his sword at Naruto. A second later a sickening blow made impact with Naruto's midsection, causing several cuts.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she tried to free herself from Kisame's grip.

The man resembling a shark turned his head to look at the young kunoichi. "You've got some fight in you, I like that in a woman. But you're far too young for my taste." Kisame kicked Sakura with great force and launched her into a nearby tree, the poor girl was extremely dazed and practically unconscious.

"Sakura!" Naruto screamed as he pushed his body off the ground, he could feel his blood starting to run down his body.

"Hahaha!" The laugh directed the blonde's attention back to the swordsman. Kisame brought the sword forward and removed some of the bandages. "Let me present you, Samehada!" The man announced as he revealed how the blade of his weapon was covered by large, blue scales. "This sword is meant to reduce its opponent to shreds by a single slash…" A smirk made its way back onto Kisame's face. "Though that's not all." He added before disappearing.

The Konoha genin didn't have time to do anything as the rouge shinobi appeared in front of him and Samehada came down over his body. Kisame was mildly surprised when Naruto burst into smoke, he never saw him create a clone.

"Rasengan!"

Naruto jumped out from the partially destroyed bridge with a spiraling sphere of condensed blue chakra in his hand, he thrusted it forward to end his opponent with one attack. Kisame brought Samehada up to block Naruto's jutsu. The two fought for dominance as shockwaves erupted from their clash, but all of it was short lived.

Naruto suddenly felt his jutsu lessen in strength, he pumped more chakra into it but it all was zapped away just as quick. The sphere disappeared and Naruto was left defenseless. Kisame capitalized and grabbed ahold of Naruto and threw him on the ground, he brought down Samehada on Naruto's back to hold him on the floor.

Naruto tried to push his body off the ground, but the strength Kisame was holding his sword was too much for him to move. 'My body…it feels heavy…' He tried to focus his chakra to generate more strength but, even then, he still couldn't move. 'It's like my chakra is being taken from me…'

A small scoff from Kisame caught the boy's attention and snapped him out of his thoughts. "It seems you're experiencing Samehada's other ability." The swordsman pushed his sword down with more force, driving its sharp scales deeper into Naruto's back. The genin barely held back a scream. "Samehada is awfully vicious. Apart from slaughtering its victim, it feeds on the victim's chakra…slowly eating away their supply until nothing is left. All the while growing stronger with each bite."

Kisame's smirk grew into another vicious smile. "I know your type brat…" He emphasized his point by pushing down even further, trying to get a scream out of the boy. "Since you have an abnormally large chakra supply, you tend to make up for the lack of precision by adding an extra kick of destructive power. There's nothing wrong with that, I do the same thing. But you come across someone with the ability to counter it and everything turns to shit..."

Naruto's eyes widened because of the fact he never realized that about himself. He never considered why his techniques were so strong despite being low ranking jutsus, he just figured it was the Kyuubi giving him an extra boost.

"Ever since this whole mess started, Samehada has been slowly eating away at your chakra. It's only because of your massive chakra supply that it took so long for your strength to be affected. You see, I'm the best suited to take you down! You and I, we're natural enemies! Because I have the ability to cancel out all of your strengths…jinchūriki!"

Naruto's eyes widened even further after that. His face scowling from the pain and anger. "H-How do you know about that?!"

A laugh followed the genin's question. "Because it's the reason I'm here. The group I'm apart of is hunting down and capturing all the Bijū, all of those living catastrophes that reside in you sacrifices." He chuckled before continuing. "It's honestly a shame that you got caught in this crossfire by having the strongest of the nine Bijū sealed inside of you. With all that chakra of yours, you had the potential to be something really, really powerful…oh well, shit happens."

Naruto's mind immediately went straight to Gaara. The Kyuubi had mentioned that he was the strongest out of the nine other bijū, but the beast never said anything about others having bijū sealed inside them. The only one Naruto knew about was Gaara.

Still confident he had his prey under control, Kisame continued to talk. "If I'm honest, I was convinced it was going to be a pain in the ass to get this close to you. We were certain that the old fart of a Hokage would have a twenty-four-hour surveillance on you. I was looking forward to massacring wave after wave of Konoha ANBU, but then the geezer went and died. His death left this village in the worst state it's been since the Kyuubi attacked." He practically was laughing at this point. "If that wasn't an invitation for us to come and get you, I don't know what is!"

Kisame raised Samehada up again just to slam swiftly brought it back down onto Naruto's back. The sickening impact of the blow caused the few birds remaining in the area to fly away. Naruto laid on the ground nothing short of a bloody mess. The young man was dimly aware of where he was, and it cost him a great deal of effort not to pass out right there.

Forcing himself not breakout in a fit of laughter, Kisame crouched next to the barely conscious boy. "Truth be told, this makes a little sad. I would've loved to fight a more mature and experienced you." Seeing it no longer necessary to cut up his prey, Kisame swung Samehada to his back. He grabbed the boy's leg and began to drag him away.

-Somewhere in the village-

The funeral had been over for quite some time now, there was no point in going to pay his respects where he could easily be spotted. Besides, the stone he was standing before had the names of all Konoha's heroes etched into it, it felt right to stand here once again.

The kunai-shaped structure was craved out of a black stone that had many names etched all around it, names that were forever immortalized as heroes for their sacrifice of the greater good. The Memorial Stone. A place Itachi wished he could be remembered by…a wish that could never be fulfilled.

Itachi gracefully slid his hand over the stone, feeling the names craved in. The Sandiame's name wasn't on there yet but he knew it would be on there soon, where it belonged.

"I'm sorry…"

Suddenly feeling the presence of a newcomer, Itachi swiftly pulled his hand off the stone and brought forth his persona. The elder Uchiha glance cover his shoulder to see one of the few men he held in such high regard.

"Kakashi…it's been a long time."

The silver-haired jōnin kept his guard on high, evident by his fully visible Sharingan. "Of all the times you decide to come back…and come here of all places."

Itachi turned around fully, his own Sharingan in his eyes. "I had heard he had died, I wanted to confirm."

"His name isn't on that stone yet, you of all people would know that. I'm the one who told you in the first place." Kakashi stated. "Why are you here, Itachi?"

"My organization has sent me here looking for something…the Yondaime's legacy."

Kakashi barely had to think on what that meant. He instantly put the pieces together of the things Jiraiya had told him. "So…you've fallen into more darkness and joined the Akatsuki. How fitting you've come back to the village you betrayed. What does your organization want with the Kyuubi inside of Naruto?"

Itachi was not surprised in the slightest that his former mentor knew of his membership to the secret group, he had expected it. The former Konoha shinobi had a hunch where he learned this information as well. "That is none of your concern, old friend."

"He is one of my students, any harm that comes to him will forever be my concern…just like how it used to be with you."

Itachi met Kakashi's hard gaze. "Does it still haunt you…being the one who taught me the skills to take down the Uchiha clan?"

The tightness of Kakashi's closed fist gave Itachi the answer he already knew. "I failed you, Itachi…I took you under my tutelage when you made ANBU. I saw a lot of myself in you…I wanted to you save you from the pain I live with. I'm not going to fail Naruto, I'll die before I let you capture him."

Itachi closed his eyes. "You were never an Uchiha, yet your body can handle the stress of the Sharingan. Only an Uchiha can harness the true power behind these eyes. I'll show what a true Sharingan master looks like." He began to open his left eye.

Kakashi realized what Itachi was planning and knew he was in for a world of trouble. He closed his non-Sharingan eye and focused as much chakra to his Sharingan as he could, in hopes to combat what was coming. 'I should be able to fight this off since I have the same eye as him!'

Itachi's left eye reopened fully. "I see you are trying to challenge my Mangekyō…however my Tsukuyomi can only be beaten by a pure blooded Uchiha!"

Kakashi suddenly found himself in a completely different place then he just was. He was no longer in the field that housed the Memorial Stone but in a dark place with a red sky. He tried to move but his arms and legs were bound by metal cuffs to a wooden cross. The only thing he could see were the grey silhouettes of multiple Itachis, each with a katana in hand.

"GUAHHH"

The closest Itachi silhouette stabbed Kakashi in the side, leaving it in there to draw out the pain. "This is my Tsukuyomi. All of space. All of time. All matter. Everything is under my control. For the next seventy-two-hours, I will continue cutting you with my sword."

"GUUUUAAAAHHHHH!"

Kakashi snapped back to reality and instantly fell to his knee, he was breathing as heavy as ever and quickly losing consciousness. He figured he had only seconds before everything would go black. 'Even though it felt like three days…it was instantaneous. Why didn't he just kill me?'

With blurry vision, Kakashi took one last glance at the Uchiha killer before collapsing to the ground.