The Shinobi Union

The Shinobi Union was created after the Great Fourth Shinobi War. An alliance only strong by the founding members consisting of all five major elemental nations; Land of Lightning, Land of Fire, Land of Water, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth. Their combined economic and militaristic strength ensured unity and peace in Elemental Nations for the first time in history. However, if only one country was ever to pull out from the alliance….peace would not be guaranteed.

The sun had finally begun to rise. Naruto was currently dressed in his Jonin attire. He was adjusting his flak jacket as he finished putting away the storage scroll in his pouch. Naruto glanced over at Anya who was still soundly asleep. Anya then muttered, "Ku-ra-ma."

Naruto cringed at the sound of Kurama. So, even Kurama was known in these parts of the world. Naruto then paused for a second, "Wouldn't she know about me then? She didn't seem to recognize me."

"Don't be jealous, you fool. You've got to live a couple more centuries before you can be as renowned as me."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Kurama didn't bother replying as he knew Kurama was just trying to get a rise out of him. Naruto had left out a box of cereal that Anya had picked the previous day with a note that he'd be back by noon.

Naruto walked around the room and made sure to check the powerful barrier seals that he had placed on the apartment. Naruto inspected his clone's work and was happy to see they were well made. Naruto then walked over to Anya and pulled out a necklace from his pocket. It was a thin necklace made of a special gold that was highly conductive of chakra. The iron pendant on the necklace had a spiral that was colored red. On the back was a bunch of tiny seals that contained the key to entering the barrier.

Naruto carefully placed the necklace around Anya's neck so as not to wake her from her sleep. Naruto patted the young girl's head and stood up from the bed. Naruto walked across the room. Reaching the kitchen counter he bites his thumb to draw a bit of blood. He ran through the familiar five-hand seals and placed his hand on the counter.

A toad the size of a bowl appeared in front of Naruto. The toad had orange-colored skin with black spots on its back. The toad looked rather bored at being summoned by Naruto, "What do you want, Naruto?"

"Gamamichi, can you do me a favor?" asked Naruto as he turned to the side and pointed at Anya. "Look after my daughter while I'm gone."

The toad froze at what Naruto had said.

"YOU'RE WH-"

Naruto covered the toad's mouth looking quite pissed as he glanced over his shoulder, Anya's arms swung up and she stammered, "Kurama destroy that mountain!"

"What the hell?" Naruto sweatdropped, "Did Kurama traverse these lands back in the day?"

Naruto nearly yelped as he felt Gamamichi bite his hand. Naruto let go of the toad and grabbed his left hand in pain, "Stop that, this I only have this hand left."

"Since when do you have a daughter?" questioned Gamamichi as he looked over at the girl with great curiosity. Naruto sweated a bit as he replied, "It's a long story, I'll explain it later. I'm kind of late for a meeting."

Gamamichi frowned as he knew Naruto was avoiding the answer. Gamamchi blew air out of his nose in defeat, "Whatever, just now Shima is gonna be pissed she didn't meet your daughter earlier."

Naruto felt a bit of terror run down his spine. She won't be the only one once the news begins to travel. Many females will be disappointed and a couple of them will be pissed. Naruto could imagine Sakura and Tsunade combining their punches to kill him.

"Well, I got to go, look after her, and don't let her leave the apartment."

With that, Naruto burst out of the door and began to race down the hall and onto the street. He was late for the meeting with the Shinobi Union.

Naruto gave a loud whistle as he couldn't imagine how much money was spent on this embassy. The building wasn't massive, it was only about three stories and probably only had about a few dozen offices. It was made out of ivory stone and had a second stone balcony. A large gate surrounded the building. On the entrance of the gate, a large metal sign read:

Shinobi Union Embassy

They were very serious about expanding their relationship with Ostania. Kakashi had told Naruto that it was Tsunade who had started to make relationships with the West, but it had been his father who'd come up with the idea.

Ostania and Westalis sat on a continent rich in natural resources. Iron, timber, gold, oil, and all sorts of precious metals. The Third Great Shinobi War showed Konoha the difficulty of restocking necessary material during a long and brutal war. Due to this, the Yodamine had looked west for a country outside of the reach of shinobi wars that could supply them during battle. Unfortunately, Naruto's father had died an untimely death at the hands of Obito Uchiha.

The idea was much shelved due to Sandaime's attention being refocused elsewhere after the sudden attack of the nine tails. It wasn't until Tsunade took office and recognized the threat of impending war due to the Akatsuki. She took steps to prepare the Leaf for war, and if it wasn't for her relationship with Westalis. Naruto wondered if they could have recovered as quickly as they had after the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

Naruto decided that was enough pondering and took a step toward the gate. There was a security checkpoint, where a large metallic booth was off to the side. Inside, Naruto could see a man with a headband with the shinobi emblem, indicating his neutrality. Naruto approached the man.

The man gave Naruto a look of amazement as Naruto slid him a scroll. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am here to begin my assignment at this embassy. I'm supposed to have a meeting in about 15 minutes."

"Woah." squeaked the man as he grabbed the scroll without looking away from Naruto. Taking a better look, Naruto could tell he was probably from Kumo due to his darker skin color. "Naruto Uzumaki, it's an honor to meet you, sir!"

Naruto took a step back as the man suddenly gave him a salute. Naruto brought his hands up, "There is no need to salute. I'm not your superior or anything."

"I was there that day."

Naruto paused as he felt the change in the air. The man clenched the scroll in his hands tightly, his knuckles slowly turning white. "When the ten tails had been summoned….I thought for sure we were all gonna die."

"I should have died that day, but…" The man looked up at Naruto and gave him a soft smile, "You saved me. You saved my life….but my friends." The man choked up a bit. "It should have been them you saved, but they pushed me out of the way."

Naruto watched as tears began to drip from the man's nose. A drop fell onto the scroll he was holding and it seemed to snap him out of his trance. The man's face turned red as he realized he had been crying. His neck snapped up to look at Naruto.

A handkerchief was in Naruto's extended arm. Naruto gave the man an empathic smile, "I know what you mean."

"I feel the same way. I often wondered why my friends needed to die and for me to live." Naruto paused as he felt the pain rushing back. He closed his eyes briefly and reopened them with vigor, "Even now, I suffer with the pain from that tragic day."

"However, we are shinobi. The only thing that we can keep doing is going forward. Hoping for a better tomorrow." Naruto gave the man a beaming smile, "Isn't that why we're here? To see what future we can build for our respective nations."

The man grabbed Naruto's handkerchief and quickly wiped his face, "YES SIR!"

Naruto laughed at the man's antics as he wiped his face. The man handed Naruto back the handkerchief but Naruto waved him off, "Keep it."

Naruto retrieved the scroll he had handed the man. "Just because we are shinobi doesn't mean we have to suffer alone."

"There is a hospital called Berlint General Hospital that offers therapy." Naruto pointed in the opposite direction, "There is a man there called Loid Forger, he's an excellent psychiatrist."

Before the man could protest, Naruto left him so parting words, "Ask for help not because you are weak, but because you want to remain strong."

The night before…

"So, you're this super powerful foxy with nine tails." concluded Anya with amazement as she stared into Kurama's eyes, "You were sealed into Papa by the Fourth Super Fire Ninja."

"Close enough." snickered Kurama as he was having a bit too much fun with the girl. Kurama was quite surprised by how much the girl reminded him of…well Naruto. Their demeanor was so similar. Anya looked unfazed as she had been conversing with Kurama late into the night.

"Why are you still inside of Papa if you're both friends?" questioned Anya as she looked over at Naruto, "It's kind of mean to keep you in a cage."

Kurama agreed with her last statement, "That may be true, but your Papa would die if I was extracted. Also, he keeps me away from any other fools that may wish to capture me for their own use."

"I see," noted Anya when the idea of Naruto dying did not appeal to her, "Do not leave, Papa. I wanna stay with him forever."

"Oh really?"

Anya nodded as a smile formed on her small face, "Well duh!"

"Papa is fun." Anya twirled her hair as she recalled the day, "He makes good food and he actually listens to what I have to say." Anya's smile softened a bit as she added, "He actually cares for me"

"I see…"

Kurama looked at the girl as if he was right about her being interesting. "Do not fret, Naruto will look after you. Even though this may have been more than he expected, he has a kind heart."

"I must go now." announced Kurama as the bubbles around him began to all apart, "Remember what I told you about your powers. Be smart about them. Once Naruto teaches you how to control your chakra it'll be much easier to control."

Anya nodded as she recalled Kurama's conversation. Kurama's form had nearly fallen apart leaving only one eye and a part of his mouth.

"Do not forget the mission I have given you."

Anya nodded as she put up a salute and barked, "Yes Kurama sir!"

Anya's eyes snapped open as she was suddenly awake. She looked up to the white ceiling of her living room and rubbed her eyes as she fully woke up. Anya gave a small smile as she couldn't help, but think about Kurama even after she had dreamed about him, "Kurama is so cool~."

"She woke up."

Anya froze as she heard an unfamiliar sound. Anya then sat up in her head and looked all around the room. "Where is Papa?"

She felt a chill go down her spine as he heard the voice again, "What's got her all scared?"

Anya jumped out of bed and formed Naruto's signature hand sign. Anya then yelped, "Whoever is there, don't make me blow you up with my ninja magic!"

"Croak."

Anya's eyes widened as she watched a toad jump in front of her. The toad was extremely tiny, the size of a small mouse. It looked up at Anya, "A sensor. As expected of Naruto's daughter."

"EH!" screeched Anya as the little toad turned away and started hopping towards the table. Anya was recovering from her shock as the toad hopped onto the table in an incredible leap. Anya watched as it stopped on a note taped to the cereal box.

Anya carefully walked towards the table and quickly hopped onto a chair. On Top of the chair, she eyed the toad carefully as she reached for the note. Anya snatched it quickly and sat back in the chair. She looked down and read,

Anya,

I had to go to an important meeting for my work. You were fast asleep, so I didn't want to wake you. I'll be back around noon. Eat some breakfast and watch some TV. Take the time to relax as we have some important work to do once I get back.

AND DO NOT LEAVE THE APARTMENT!

-Papa

Anya couldn't contain her smile read how Papa had signed the note. She brought the note to her chest, and grinned, "It seems Kurama's mission will go smoothly!"

"Geez, why is she hugging the note like that?"

Anya was suddenly quite annoyed by what the toad had thought. Anya stood back up on the chair and peeked over the table. Anya got really close and got into a glaring contest with the toad. "What do you want stupid frog."

A little tick mark appeared on Gamamichi's forehead and Gamamchici quadrupled in size. Anya jumped back in shock and tumbled off the chair. Before she could hit the ground, Gamamichi's tongue lashed out and caught Anya in mid-air.

"That was close."

"AHHH!" screamed Anya as she tugged at Gamamichi's tongue, "DON'T EAT ME!"

Tears began to flow down Anya's face as she struggled to fight for her life. Gamamichi sweatdropped as she put Anya down on the floor. Anya quickly crawled away and pointed a finger at Gamamichi menacingly, "I'M GONNA TELL KURAMA AND HE'LL CHEW YOU UP! SEE IF YOU LIKE IT."

"Woah!" That caught Gamamichi's attention as the sudden thought of the most powerful-tailed beast thinking of him as a tasty snack. "Let's calm down, nine tails don't need to eat anyone!"

"You can talk?" asked Anya as her fear was washed away. Anya's eyes sparkled as she completely forgot about what happened and hopped onto a different chair to get near Gamamichi. "How can you talk, Mr. Frog."

Gamamichi tried to contain his snarl, "First off I am not a frog, I am a toad." Anya could feel the animosity.

"Sorry, Mr. Toad. I didn't know there was a difference." offered Anya as she scratched the side of her head. Gamamichi huffed, "Those stupid frogs don't know anything about intelligence even if it smacked them in the face!"

Gamamichi grumbled a bit more to himself before calming down. It then adjusted its posture before looking up at Anya. "My name is Gamamichi, I am one of the summons of your father."

"Papa is so cool," muttered Anya as she rested her chin on the edge of the table. Gamamichi shrunk back down to mouse size, "He has a contract with our species and can summon us whenever he needs our aid."

"What are you doing here?" asked Anya innocently. Gamamachi hopped on top of Anya's head, but Anya was no longer afraid of him. Anya looked into the mirror that was across the room and watched as the toad rested on her head, "I'm supposed to watch you while your father is away."

"Ohh~."

Anya looked up to her head and thought for a moment. Her father's words ran through her head, "It's important to make friends."

"Gamachichi, do you want to be my friend?"

Gamamichi was about to berate the girl for mispronouncing his name, but he froze as he gazed into the mirror. Anya looked at him so innocently and in the back of her eyes, he could see her eyes filled with so much desire.

She really wanted a friend.

Gamamichi taught silently, "Damn it…"

Anya smiled.

"Samui of the Cloud." called out Naruto as he shook a familiar blond's hand. Samui Samui was a tall, fair-skinned woman with a very gracious figure. Naruto's eyes were glued to her bright blue eyes as he dared not look down. Samui gave Naruto a very formal nod, "It's nice to see you again, Naruto Uzumaki."

A large tall and brawny man stepped from the side of Samui. The man was wearing the formal dress of Ostania, but Naruto could tell the man was extraordinarily muscular. There was a bit of gray on his beard and Naruto felt a bit familiar as the man approached him, "Kitsuchi from Iwa."

"Ahh!" Naruto reached out to shake the man's head as he suddenly realized who he was, "You're Old Man Tsuchikage's son!"

"Haha, yes I am his son." laughed the man at Naruto's title of the Tsuchikage. Naruto blushed a bit, "Sorry, didn't mean any disrespect, old habits are hard to kill they say."

Kitsuchi shook his head and waved to Naruto, "Do not worry. It is not disrespectful if it is true. It's almost time for him to retire."

"So, they've already decided on a new Tsuchikage?" pondered Naruto as he began to move towards a large rectangular conference table. Kitsuchi bit his tongue as he realized he had said a bit too much.

"I suppose they will be choosing Kurotsuchi as the Fourth Tsuchikage."

"It seems like the obvious choice." agreed Samui as she walked towards the table. Kitsuchi gave a bit of a sigh as he conceded, "Unfortunately, it seems my daughter will be chosen as the next Kage."

"Come on, Kitsuchi, I think she'll do great." Naruto took a seat on the side of the table, refusing to take the seat at the top. Samui mimicked Naruto's actions and sat across from him. Kitsuchi shook his head, "She needs to learn to cool that hot head of hers."

"I believe passion is an important characteristic for a Kage." Naruto gave Samui a grin, "Look at the Raikage."

Samui's typical aloof expression seemed to break for a second as she scoffed, "He has a lot of it."

"Take a seat, Kitsuchi, we're supposed to have a small debrief before we have a call with the Daimyos." called over Naruto as he pointed at a seat. Kitsuchi nodded and made his way over. Naruto looked around at the other chairs in the room, "Where are the representatives for Kiri and Suna?"

"They are currently cycling their ambassador and are to arrive in a few weeks," replied Samui as she began to organize a bunch of documents. Naruto nodded wondering who would be sent as their representatives.

"What's this?" fumbled Anya as she began to mess with the necklace on her neck. Gamamichi looked down from the top of Anya's head, "That's the emblem of the Uzumaki clan, your clan, Anya."

"Uzumaki clan?" asked Anya as she stared at the red spiral on her neck. "Yes, it was a once famous clan that was very well known for their sealing arts."

"Seals?" pondered Anya as she looked up at Gamamichi. Gamamichi just croaked, "It's a very complicated art, ask your father about it sometime."

"Okie dokie." With that, Anya lost interest. She let the necklace fall underneath her shirt and began to look around the apartment. Anya started to fume as she was beginning to get bored. She glanced up at the clock and couldn't tell what time it was.

"Papa is late," noted Anya as she fell back onto the bed that was still in the middle of the room. "It's only five minutes past noon."

"We should go looking for him!" announced Anya as she bounced off the bed. She was about to run for the door when Gamamichi grew to his normal size. He jumped over Anya and made his way between her and the door. "Your father told me to not let you go outside."

"Papa also said he'd be here by noon and he's late." countered Anya as she tried to juke Gamamichi out. Gamamichi's tongue lashed out and slapped Anya back. Anya shrieked as she fell to her back and tried to rub his saliva off herself. Anya groaned, "Gross!"

Gamamichi gave her a shrug and Anya fumed silently. That's when a bright idea clicked in Anya's head. Gamamichi narrowed his eyes as Anya formed a hand seal, "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna summon Kurama so he can help break me out!" smirked Anya as she formed a ram seal.

"There is no way she has enough chakra to summon the nine tails, let alone have a summoning contract with him."

"Kurama gave me a summoning contract and a super secret jutsu that takes no chakra," smirked Anya as she formed some weird hand sign that probably did not exist. Gamamichi was flabbergasted at what Anya had said. "He told me only to do it when there are bad guys, but I always do it."

Anya raised her hand up in the air, "I'm sure a tasty toad will make him forgive me-"

"HOLD UP!" screeched Gamimichi as he shrank back to his mouse size and jumped on Anya's shoulder. Gamamichi let out a nervous laugh, "I thought we were friends, Anya?"

"We are?" asked Anya as she put her finger on her chin. Then a fabulous idea sparked in her mind, "You can be my friend if we go outside!"

"This manipulative little…."

"Of course! Just do not feed me to the nine tails," begged Gamimichi as he hid in Anya's collar. Anya giggled, "Why is everyone so scared of Kurama?"

"Let's go!"

Anya quickly put on her shoes and grabbed a coat. In seconds, she made it to the outside world. Gamamichi pondered silently, "Well Ostania does not have any shinobi so as long as we stay out of trouble we'll be fine."

"It'll be okay, Gamamichi," announced Anya as she made her way out of their building's door. Anya jumped out to the curb and glanced around. "There is a park nearby, Papa and I walked by yesterday. We'll just go there and back."

"We'll make it quick, your father will kill me if he knew we went out," whispered Gamamichi into Anya's ear. Anya gave a smile as she began to skip toward the direction of the park. To Gamamichi's surprise, Anya led them to a park that had a large river running through it and a large empty field.

Anya then began to explore the park alongside Gamamichi. Gamamichi couldn't help but have a good time with Anya. They were currently hiding behind a bush as Anya pretended to press on an earpiece, "This is Agent Penguin, we are close on target."

"This is Agent Toad, you are clear to engage." whispered back Gamamichi as Anya gave him a nod. Anya then burst out of the bush and ambushed a butterfly that had been resting on a flower. Anya leaped over the butterfly as it expertly danced away. Anya quickly rolled back onto her feet and chased it across the clearing. Anya pressed onto her ear, "The target is running north, but I am in hot pursuit."

"Make sure not to lose them, Agent Penguin. They have important information needed for the safety of our country!" stressed Gamamichi. Anya grinned, "ROGER!"

Out of desperation, Anya gave one final diving leap. Anya watched as the butterfly reached her fingertips when suddenly a wet tongue reached her target first. Anya watched in horror as the butterfly was ripped from her hands and straight into Gamamichi's mouth. Anya fell to the ground and landed on her face. "Congratulations, Agent Penguin, the target has been…*burp*...captured."

"THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY CAPTURE!" cried Anya as she came up to her knees. Gamamichi shrugged, "I was hungry."

Anya pouted and crossed her hands as her glory had been stolen from her fingertips. Anya then felt her stomach growl. Gamamichi chuckled, "Let's get back, your father is probably worried sick about you right now."

"You're right, hopefully, he made some yummy food when we-"

Anya stopped talking as she noticed rose petals began to fall from above. Gamamichi who had been hiding on Anya's neck felt his eyes bulge from his eye sockets, "That's impossible!"

Anya was about to ask Gamamichi what he meant when suddenly she began to feel tired. "I'm…so sleepy."

"SHIT!"

Anya felt Gamamichi hastily hide in Anya's shirt. Anya could feel her feet give out and her eyes close. The last thing she heard was,

"Someone casted a genjutsu….I need to notify Naruto."

"This one should do the trick."

"Ugh." groaned Naruto as he wanted to slam his head into the massive pile of paperwork that had formed in front of him. Samui and Kitsuchi gave Naruto some empathic glances as they knew the grind that it was. Kitsuchi came up from Naruto and gave him a pat on the back, "It's something you're gonna have to get used to. Luckily, today is probably the hardest it gets in terms of paperwork just because it is your first day."

Naruto pulled out a scroll and quickly sealed away the work he needed to get done. Naruto sighed in defeat, "I probably won't get much sleep tonight."

"How about we get some lunch, Naruto." offered Samui as she too stood up from her desk, "Allow me to introduce you to some of the shinobi working here."

Naruto shook his head as he glanced up at the clock. It was thirty minutes past noon. Naruto pointed at it, "Unfortunately, I already have some lunch plans. I am quite late." Naruto gave a slight sweatdrop at the thought of Anya. "She is probably not happy right now."

"Ooo." Kitsuchi gave Naruto a teasing smile, "New to the city and already have a hot date?"

*poof*

A pile of smoke appeared on the table which caused the three shinobi to take a step back. As the smoke cleared Naruto watched as a small messenger toad appeared. Samui and Kitsuchi glanced over at Naruto as they knew Naruto was the pupil of Jiraiya, the famous toad sage.

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat as the messenger toad looked up at Naruto. "Lord Naruto, a message from Gamamichi."

"I told them not to go outside." Naruto clenched his fist as he felt a sense of panic run through his spine. The messenger toad sweated a little bit as it cleared its throat. Not wanting to be on the end of Naruto's displeasure it quickly warned, "Gamamichi says that they have been captured by a ninja who can use genjutsu. He is currently hidden in Miss Anya's shirt and was taken to an abandoned building, but he doesn't know where."

"The Daimyos weren't wrong about the increasing presence of missing-nin," muttered Kitsuchi as he glanced over at Naruto. Samui then dared ask, "What's going on, Naruto? Who's been captured?"

Naruto said nothing as he simply closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and Kitsuchi and Samui watched as an orange pigment formed around Naruto's eyes. Before he knew it he could feel everyone around him. Carefully, he expanded his search and weaved through the countless people in the city. Normally this would take a long time, but he had left a marker on Anya.

"There"

About twenty blocks north of their home, he could sense the necklace that he had left on Anya. It emitted a special signature due to the combination of his and Kurama's chakra. Naruto reopened his eyes and was met by the patient gaze of Samui. Naruto then glanced at Kitsuchi and answered, "Children are so problematic, aren't they Kitsuchi?"

Kitsuchi turned his head looking a bit confused, but Samui could hide her eyes from widening. Naruto then sighed as he opened the window to the room, "Daughters, they just don't like to listen to their fathers, no matter how right we are."

"I'll be a couple clicks north, and I'll try to limit the destruction."

Naruto then jumped out of the window and onto a nearby roof. Kitsuchi's mouth dropped at what Naruto had said, but Samui was quick to recover. Samui cursed at what Naruto had said, "I'll gather what shinobi we have available, meanwhile you follow him."

Samui groaned as she felt a bit of deja vu run through her, "Cool another brash knucklehead to deal with."

Kitsuchi broke from his stupor and nodded as he burst out the window.

Anya felt something wet on her face. She could feel the cold and hard floor below her and her muscles gave a bit of an ache.

"They brought her here too?"

"I want my mommy."

"When can I go home?"

"Where am I?"

"Is that a frog?"

Anya slowly reopened her eyes as several thoughts bombarded her head. She blinked a few times as she tried to adjust to the dimly lit room. Anya brought her head up and slowly pushed herself off the floor.

"He's a toad!" she exclaimed drowsy as she felt Gamamichi hop onto her head. Anya froze as she realized several young children were now staring at her. Her eyes had finally adjusted she took in the sight in front of her.

She was in a poorly lit room that was empty except for the 6 children in there. The floor was made out of dirty and stained concrete, while the walls were run down and made of wood. Anya could see some holes that allowed some external light to poke through. A lone door stood at the other side of the room, but it had a frightening aura to it. That's when she noticed the six kids just staring at her. They had one collective thought.

"What a weirdo."

Anya felt like a dagger hit her heart as she fell onto her knees. "Why do they always think Anya is weird?"

"Anya, you're finally awake." croaked out Gamamichi as he stood on top of Anya's head. Anya quickly straightened herself up and jumped onto her feet. She looked up at her head, "What happened Gamamichi?"

"It seems we have been captured by a foreign ninja."

"EH!" shrieked one of the girls. Anya glanced over at the young brunette who was dressed in a yellow-tattered dress. The girl's head was a complete mess, "Is that frog talking?"

"HE'S A TOAD!" screamed back Anya, which caused Gamamichi to slap her with his tongue. "Be quiet, they're gonna-"

The door swung open and a tall skinny man stepped through."I thought I told you brats to shut the hell up!"

The man had white hair but he had a dark complexion. Anya had never seen a man with such skin color before. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt. Over his shoulder was a leather jacket and inside the jacket, Anya could make some metal hidden inside. The man looked over at Anya and his nostrils flared, "So the pink-haired brat is awake. Let's put her in her place so she doesn't cause me any trouble."

The man slowly walked over to Anya. Anya gulped a bit and couldn't help but take a step back. "We'll be leaving tomorrow once Boro's men have arrived, so I need them to be good little kids till then."

"Leave me alone." squeaked Anya as she tried to put a brave face on. She tried to stand a bit straighter and dared to look into the eyes of the man.

Anya felt a sharp pain on her side and before she realized it she hit the hard ground. Anya could feel her eyes begin to swell as she tried so hard not to cry. That's when she noticed that her necklace had fallen out. As she lay on her side she watched as it fell to the ground. The man next to her looked over at the red spiral in a bit of curiosity.

The man stepped over Anya and bent to pick it up. Then to his surprise, Anya launched herself onto the necklace and kept the man from grabbing it. The man felt fury boil through his blood, "You won't be needing that you little brat. Hand it over."

"NO IT'S MY PAPA'S, IT DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU!" shrieked Anya in defiance. The man quickly turned Anya over and ripped it out of her hands. He gave Anya another kick and sent her tumbling to her side. Anya yelped and at last, the tears began to fall down her face. The man put the necklace up to the light and examined the emblem, "This is made out of gold that can conduct chakra. This will fetch a very high prize."

"But where have I seen this symbol before?"

"My papa is gonna make you pay." cried Anya as she rubbed her left arm. She could feel a bruise begin to swell. The man continued to examine the fine piece of jewelry and scoffed, "Your father is probably some rich fat bastard who can't see his toes. I'll slice him up like the pig he is."

Anya's eyes flooded with tears, but she pursed her lips together, "No he isn't."

"MY PAPA is a shinobi," stated Anya in defiance as she glared back at the man.

The man felt a shiver go down his spine as he finally recognized the symbol in his hands. "This is the symbol of the Uzumaki cl-"

"Anya!"

Naruto's heart was beating so fast and he could feel the blood rush through his entire body. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he felt so much heat rush to his face. Not even fighting Kaguya had he felt his blood boil as it did at that moment. It was almost like someone had replaced his blood with oil and dropped a match in it.

Naruto stood in the doorway where a tall muscular white-haired man towered over Anya. The man's head snapped toward Naruto's direction.

Fear.

The man's eyes were filled with fear as he stared into Naruto's toad-like eyes. Before the man could reach into his jacket for his weapon, Naruto crossed the distance between them. A Rasengan formed in his hand and the jutsu made contact with the man's abdomen. Before anyone in the room could react to Naruto's speed, the white-haired man was sent spiraling through the wall.

All the children took a step back in awe because, from their point of view, Naruto had simply replaced the man who'd towered over them. Even Anya dropped her jaw as she sat on the floor looking up at Naruto. Anya's eyes began to pool again, and she could only mutter, "Papa?"

Naruto felt something get stuck in his throat as he looked down at Anya. A bit of dirt was in her hair, but besides that, she looked fine. However, Naruto's eyes remained fixed on the young girl's eyes. Naruto couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart as those tears continued to pour out of her eyes.

Those tears did not stop as Anya launched herself at Naruto's leg and hugged them as tightly as she could. Anya cried, "I'm so sorry Papa!"

"Naruto!" came Kitsuchi as he appeared at the doorway.

Naruto said nothing. His head shook with fury as Anya continued to cry, "I'm sorry."

Naruto pulled Anya's hands away from his leg and slowly knelt at her level. Anya looked at Naruto as her tears had finally stopped. Naruto was about to say something before Anya jumped into his arms. Naruto froze as the young girl wrapped her arms around his neck.

Naruto wondered how many people he had saved before who had given him the same reaction. Yet, something was different about Anya. Often children would hug their parents like this whenever they had been saved from danger. It was so foreign to now have a child who looked to him for that type of comfort.

The comfort that only a parent could give. For a moment, Naruto hesitated as he didn't know what to do. Then he did the only thing that seemed right.

Naruto stayed silent and he hugged her tightly, "How could I have failed so quickly?"

Again, Naruto was cut off from making any remarks to Anya, when he began to sense the man outside getting back onto his feet. Naruto pushed Anya away and looked at Kitsuchi, "Get these children out of here."

"Anya follow Mr. Kitsuchi here, he'll take you to safety." informed Naruto as he gave Anya a stern look, "I'll have to deal with the bad guy outside."

"Yes, Papa." Anya wiped her tears and did not argue. Anya looked into her father's thoughts.

"He'll be lucky if I don't kill him."

As Kitsuchi began to herd the children together to get them out, Naruto made his way toward the hole in the wall. Naruto walked through the hole and was greeted outside. Naruto's eyes flashed red as his own emotions betrayed him. Down below was the white-haired man, who looked up at Naruto with a growl of his own.

"Kurai of the Cloud." called out Naruto as glared at the missing-nin, "S-rank Missing-nin from the Land of Lightning. Wanted for killing the son of the Land of Lighting's Daimyo."

Kurai gave a nervous chuckle, "So even the fabled Naruto Uzumaki knows my name."

"Surrounder, your bounty is stated dead or alive." threatened Naruto as Kurama's chakra began to engulf his body. "You're lucky I didn't cut your head off without warning."

"FUCK YOU!" shouted Kurai as his eyes turned wild and he rapidly signed through several hand seals, "STORM RELEASE: LIGHT FANG"

"That jutsu is familiar." thought Naruto as Kurai's mouth began to expand and a bit of light began to escape his lips. Suddenly a line of light exploded from his mouth and towards Naruto's face, "Madara's version was much faster."

"What about my Papa?" asked Anya as they had been escorted out of the building and down a block. Kitsuchi had moved the children and quickly formed a large earth wall behind them. It covered the entire street, essentially blocking off any attack from behind. Fortunately, they were in an older and abandoned part of town.

Kitsuchi looked down at Anya as he carefully examined the girl. "This is the daughter of Uzumaki Naruto."

"Don't worry about your Papa, he's the strongest man I've ever met." assured Kitsuchi as she gave him a thumbs up, "But that man back there…"

Kitsuchi had taken a short glance at the man, but he recognized him right away, "What is

an S-rank missing-nin doing out here in Ostania?"

Anya's ears perked up at Kitsuchi's thoughts, "Even for Naruto that man is no joke. He is one of the few people who can use the storm release."

Then on cue, a large explosion could be heard from Naruto's direction. The children around them shrieked at the loud sound. Anya turned around and felt something drop into her stomach. Anya shouted, "NO! Papa!"

Anya was about to run in his direction when someone grabbed her by the hand. She turned around and a tall blond-haired woman stood behind her. The woman shook her head, "Not so fast, little one."

"Samui, you made it." called out Kitsuchi. Anya watched as five other men dressed in shinobi attire surrounded them. Kitsuchi let out a bit of pent-up frustration and hollered, "Finally, I can back up Naruto."

"You five men take these children and head towards the police station." ordered Kituschi and walked towards Samui, "Samui and I will go over and help Naruto capture the missing-nin."

Samui gave Kitsuchi a nod and Kitsuchi then added. "It's important that when you arrive at the police station you advise the policemen that this is a shinobi matter and we'll arrive to explain everything once it's settled."

"There's no need."

Anya's eyes widened as the familiar voice caused her chest to swell in joy. Anya whipped her head back toward the direction of Naruto. The white-haired man was tied to a wire and lying on the ground. Blood poured from his forehead and there were several shallow cuts across his body. Naruto sat on top of the man as he gave them a bored expression. Anya's eyes met Naruto, and Naruto couldn't help but give her a small grin.

"PAPA!" Anya ran as fast as her little feet could take her and launched herself into Naruto's arms. Naruto picked the girl up and just gave a sigh, "I told you to stay in the apartment."

"I'm sorry~." cried Anya as she just dug her head into Naruto's chest, then she quietly whispered, "I was so scared."

Naruto said nothing as his expression changed into one of worry and he pondered, "Is it really okay for me to be putting this girl in danger like this?"

"Please don't leave me, Papa." muttered Anya as she heard Naruto's thoughts, "I don't care if you have to rescue me a hundred times."

"I'm not gonna leave you!" scoffed Naruto as he felt himself become redden at Samui and Kitsuchi's questioning looks. Naruto groaned, "This child."

Anya's words had not been missed by either Kitsuchi or Samui. They were shinobi and they were taught to look underneath the underneath. Kitsuchi gave Naruto a look of pity, "So much power, but with power comes enemies."

Kitsuchi's eyes darted to the back of Anya's head as Naruto quietly lectured the young girl. Kitsuchi pondered, "How tragic. Having to leave their child for their safety. I wonder how long this girl has been away from her father."

Anya's head perked up as she heard Samui's final thought.

"Have the gods not had him suffer enough."