-AN-

No three year time skip here. We're going deep into what happens when Naruto decides he's a one man army. Heh. Orochimaru better be wearing his brown pants. Also, I started writing this chapter and honestly did not expect to finish it so soon. But like I've said, all of your support really is motivating, so it's easier to keep it going. Welp, enough of my chatter, onward. Still gotta change my pen name too, gotta leave the high school name behind eventually.

-Story Start-

It had been a chaotic night of winding down, explaining the situation and finally crashing where ever they could for the Naruto group. But now with morning upon them and the sun beginning to peek through the windows, Naruto was up first and somewhat ready for a new day. Trudging his way through the halls of the mansion, it took him a bit to find his way around and reach a common area on the second floor. The room was rather massive as far as he was concerned and would have probably fit his entire apartment. A long table on his left coming through the door, several chairs and couches in the center with smaller tables in front of the 3 longer couches, and to the right was a fireplace and a large open space. That would be perfect for studying seals later on when they had downtime. Looking around the space and finding Koyuki already there, hair messy and wrapped in a robe, he made sure to knock on the door frame to announce his presence. Seeing her jump a little made him feel a little guilty but he wiped the thought away. He was a ninja after all, walking silent was second nature.

"Mornin' Koyuki."

"Mornin' Naruto. The servants will be coming with breakfast soon, don't worry about making anything." Seating herself on a couch the boy did the same, sitting on a long couch across from her.

"What got you up so early?"

Koyuki pointed at several stacks of papers on the table in front of her, "Beyond Daimyo duties I am still determined to continue my actress career. That somehow means lots of paperwork I have to keep up with, never mind now this mess with Konoha." Seeing him about to protest she held up a hand, "No, don't worry about it and don't offer to deal with it yourself. This is what I want to do, so just relax and focus on your own plans."

"Fine fine. Well I gotta wait for the others to get up before we can start planning. I have a lot I want to get to now that we're out of Konoha."

Leaning back with a sigh the older girl nodded, "I can only imagine. Gonna clue me in about what you want to do with my trains soon?"

"Yeah that'll probably come up today. Got some time?"

"For you? All the time in the world." While she had her own designs for the future, she could focus on being a Daimyo for now. Soon though…

Hearing coughing they both looked up to see Tayuya and Karin walking through the door, Karin in the lead and having used her sensing ability to find Naruto. Since they had left so quickly they had been short of clothes. Naruto however had his own clothes sealed away on his person and loaned everyone sleepwear. Both girls were in baggy black sweatpants while Karin was in a white t-shirt that was big on her. Tayuya just opted for a sports bra, less laundry that way. Tayuya was already grinning, "Morning whiskers."

"Mornin'. You seen Hinata or Ino yet?"

Karin nodded as both girls sat together on a smaller couch, "They're on the way, I can sense them moving about."

"Good, I wanna get to working on upcoming plans."

Tayuya groaned, "You're just a regular worker bee aren't you?"

Chuckling the boy thought about his clones, "I sure can make a bunch of me." Hearing shuffling he looked up again to see Hinata using her byakugan to find them and a tired Ino shuffling after her. More loaned clothes, Ino in sweats and another white t-shirt while Hinata was just in a old hoodie of his he had forgotten about that covered her to her thighs. Was he really that much taller than her already? Both girls mumbling greetings, they dropped down on either side of Naruto, Ino looking ready to fall back asleep. "Well that's everyone. I know it's early, but I wanna start planning things out and setting the tone for what we're hoping for."

Koyuki nodded, "Rebuilding Uzu is on your list correct?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking we can head there first, start the rebuilding process now since it'll probably take the most time."

Koyuki thought about it, where Uzushio used to be was much further south, possibly a prime space for farmland. "Cultivating farmland would probably be for the best at first."

"That yeah, but I want Whirlpool and Spring to be allies, which means we should give something back. So I was thinking, maybe we could become a secret manufacturing hub for you."

That caught Koyuki off guard, "That's why you want to connect with rail then? It would allow for faster shipping of heavy materials."

"And people."

Karin was following along while she thought quietly. She had an idea herself, "If the train is already going to be far enough underground to be travelling under the shallow ocean waters, security would be less of a factor. One of the problems with Uzu was that in order for ships to reach the village the seals maintaining the whirlpools had to be redirected or shut down to allow passage. An underground rail means no ships are needed and the whirlpools can be active all the time."

Naruto was grinning, "That was my idea. But, we'll need to make a stop on the way there."

"A stop?" Karin was leaning forward as she asked her question.

"Yeah, there's this bridge builder in the land of Wave. Tazuna. He's a good man, been through a lot. My team's first major mission was protecting him and things went sideways fast. I want to see if maybe we could convince him to come on board helping us rebuild the village." Tazuna was a fantastic designer after all. Naruto could provide nearly limitless manpower but he didn't necessarily know what to do with it.

Koyuki liked the idea so far, "How about Uzu becomes Spring's ninja village?" Naruto looked up in surprise and the Daimyo hurried to explain. "We still have snow ninja sure, but our numbers are much smaller. But for the public we'll keep them and foster a small force. However Uzu can be our actual main force, kept in the dark and in the shadows. We don't want the rest of the world learning about Uzushio until it's ready after all."

Naruto leaned back with a hand to his chin as he considered that, "You would be relying on us for your countries defense. That's a lot of trust Koyuki."

Koyuki shrugged, "It's you, I have no reason not to trust you. I know you'll do right by us. We can start the tunnel construction right away as well as a show of good faith."

"Huh." Pausing and reminding himself that right now he was currently surrounded by people that he could actually trust, he agreed to her idea, "Okay. So rebuild Uzu, join the two nations, try to get assistance from Tazuna in wave."

Tayuya held up a hand, "You know, as much as clones can speed up the process, you're going to need actual live people. No reason to rebuild a nation with no one living there."

Karin chimed in as well, "We know the location of several Sound bases that hold prisoners, we could free them."

Naruto met her gaze, "We'll need to give them the choice however. Join Spring or Uzu, or go about their own devices. I don't want to force anyone to come with us."

Tayuya just smirked, "Trust me, most if not all of them will come with us. You don't know how Sound treats people. Plus, there are lots of war torn places in the nations. Give the people a chance to rebuild in a quiet place where there's no chance of conflict and they'll flock to you."

Hinata tapped Naruto on the shoulder, gaining his attention. "While I don't know a lot about seals, I do remember what I've seen about the leaf village's wall. My team was on the wall reconstruction a few times. There are tons of seals that deal with concealment, chakra negation, and environmental control, we should think about doing the same for the Uzu islands."

"That'd be smart, we could probably build fortress islands as well around the main island as buffers." Karin bounced the idea off of Hinata who agreed with her.

Naruto brought the conversation back to labor, "Okay, so I'm thinking we don't relax just yet. Full steam ahead. We can pack up and head for Wave, skirting the border between the Land of Fire and Hotsprings for most of the trip. If we get Tazuna to agree to help I'll place a hiraishin tag in Wave so we can quickly move back and forth between here and there. We can start the rebuilding process first while I supplement with clones, and when labor issues start popping up we can make plans to start raiding Orochimaru."

Tayuya didn't want to be anywhere near the snake but if it meant getting back at the bastard she was all for it. "I'm down."

Karin unsealed her bag of Uzumaki scrolls, "We'll need to make time to go through these as well. I'd…I'd like to learn as well."

Naruto nodded, thinking of his own storage scroll with what few Uzumaki records he had been able to obtain, "I'll help you out, let's leave that stuff here just in case. This is gonna be our home base for a while."

Koyuki waved a hand, "Stay here as long as you need, there's no shortage of space." Looking back she saw her staff laying out breakfast. "Hey let's eat, and then you lot can plan or head out" The sun was only a little higher now but the group was hopeful that something new was coming to fruition before them.

-b-

A new day in Konoha meant new problems. Though life moved on and the civilian population had no clue to the issues facing the village, a good portion of the ninja population was in a panic. In the Hokage tower Tsunade herself was at her seat at the head of the council chambers, sleep deprived and angry. Just behind her was a visibly angry Jiraiya who had his arms crossed over his broad chest. Assembled around her were the heads of the ninja clans, along with the civilian side of the council and the elders. Also today in attendance were teams 7/8/10 and team Gai. Currently there was scattered chatter as Tsunade rubbed her temples. This was not how she wanted to start her day.

One of the civilian members, a stout man in his 40s with dark hair slammed a hand on the table, "We knew that boy was going to cause trouble. And here we are, several sites around the village destroyed, an apartment complex nearly burned to the ground, a historical sight destroyed and apparently reports that the Uzumaki temple might have been ransacked? All because we pushed back his promotion."

Jiraiya however leaned forward to put an end to that argument. "Actually, it was someone else who torched Naruto's apartment last night. I only got a flash of a non-leaf headband before the attacker disappeared down into the catacombs. Can only imagine where they are now."

Danzo sighs, "That labyrinth will be near impossible to search to completion, and there are more than a few exits that leave the village itself. Something I had been pleading with the council to work on putting stronger restrictions on." The man was inside seething. Someone had undone years worth of work and effort and put the Leaf village in a precarious position. That would not be allowed to stand for long. Danzo was not above making heads roll, publicly, if needed.

It was Tsume who leaned forward now, gaining everyone's attention. While her anger was usually legendary, everyone was put off by the cold rage on her face. "So we lose one of our own, a possible future clan head if the boy was allowed to grow up some, and we have no clue where he is? That's unnacceptable." She and the rest of the council was unaware of the two new Uzumaki that had been found.

Tsunade however decided it was best to get that knowledge out in the open. Though she wouldn't voice Naruto's threat since she was certain she could make sure it would not come to pass. "There's actually a problem there as well. The Uzumaki clan has sought asylum elsewhere, out of fear for their lives." Seeing everyone around her mutter she pressed on, "Apparently some of Naruto's clan mates had come to the village to find him. He actually would have been made a full clan head in light of that discovery if he had been allowed to stay." Watching everyone's reactions, she didn't miss several of the civilian members flinch. Interesting.

One woman of the civilian council, dressed in a fine kimono and smelling of roses raised a hand. "Be that as it may, he was a leaf ninja was he not. Why would he not trust the leaf to protect him? Shouldn't you list him as a missing nin and force him to return?"

It was the ever watchful Hiashi that raised his voice, coughing to gain everyone's attention first, "The Uzumaki clan is an elder clan within the leaf. Naruto's status as clan head would trump his status as a ninja. As such, if as clan head he decided it was best to leave the leaf for the betterment of his clan then he was free to do so. All of the clans agreed to such measures at the formation of the leaf." While the clans knew forming villages was for the good of everyone in the long run, sometimes things changed and legal means to leave were needed to avoid war.

The first man of the civilian council frowned as he looked back at the assemble teams sitting behind the ninja council, their numbers were off he noticed, "Seems to me the Uzumaki brat took more than just his clan. Seems kidnapping is on his list of misdeeds last night."

Thankful the bigoted man opened his mouth, Hiashi continued on, "While this was not voiced out loud, as clan heir my daughter was given express permission to pursue a relationship by any means necessary in an effort to foster a future union of our clans. This however is a clan affair, not under the supervision of the council."

Tsunade sighed, "Hinata however is still just a leaf-nin, even if she is the favored heir to the Hyuuga."

"Clan matters always come first Lady Hokage, you know that. Did you not travel for years for your own clan duties?" He owed this woman no favors and she had not gained his trust in the slightest yet. He was willing to throw her under the proverbial Akimichi as it were. Though Hiashi was stretching the truth a bit about Hinata still being heir, no one but him and her knew that. Her sensei might have had an inkling about it but no hard proof. Hiding a smirk, he knew he had leverage.

Seeing eyes turning to himself, Inoichi crossed his arms, "Don't. The Yamanaka foster strong independent values early on in all of our members. If my daughter, and also a clan heir, has decided taking sides with the Uzumaki is in her best interest then I support that. Unless I receive a letter of ransom or resignation I will continue to assume my daughter is a proud kunoichi of the leaf on official clan business." While he had no machinations like the Hyuuga, he would do or say whatever necessary to keep Ino out of the line of fire. He was worried sick about her but he knew she could handle herself.

In the stands above where they were waiting most likely to be questioned, the assembled teams talked among themselves. Everyone was questioning team 7 about Naruto and what might have driven him to leave. Had he been acting different? Were things really so bad for him? Sakura and Sasuke both knew that yes, things had not been great for the boy but they couldn't exactly come out and say why. How could they? Hey our friend was actually used as a sacrifice to imprison an ancient demon of immeasurable power since he was a baby and he's been treated like dirt ever since for it? Yeah, sure. That'd go over well.

Kiba was furious that it seemed like Naruto took Hinata away, though he wouldn't say why. Yes she was his teammate but there was more there. Shino quietly admitted that he was sure Hinata was the one that convinced Naruto to take her with him. The quiet boy had been watching Hinata a bit more closely that anyone else had realized. Both boys agreed however, one reluctantly, that if Naruto was protecting them then they were at least in good hands. They'd all know via a massive explosion somewhere after all if something happened.

Through all the talk Kakashi was quiet, a troubled look on his face. He has his own thoughts on the matter but he wasn't going to be voicing them, allowing the genin to get it out of their systems. Gai is watching Kakashi but makes no move to bring it up with Asuma and Kurenai. His rival was thinking hard about something, and it was itching his brain that he recognized the look on the cyclop's face. He'd corner the other jounin later and ask him about it.

For now the sensei's quieted down the group, reminding them that soon the council would be calling them down one by one to be interviewed. They all knew one of their missing friends in some capacity after all, any information might help future meetings or concerns. All of them settled in for what was looking like a long day.

-b-

Two weeks after their first night in Snow Naruto and his group were just making their way into Wave. The journey had been relatively easy, keeping to the hotspring side of the border they had an easy time avoiding patrols from the leaf. Now however as the group were putting away their headbands and walking on the road towards a truly massive bridge, Naruto was grinning. "It's still crazy to see."

Ino was looking up in wonder, "This is the bridge you guys helped defend? This builder guy really knows his stuff."

"You know it. He calls himself a super builder for a reason." Laughing and walking, Naruto pausing as his eyes land on a statue built in the middle of the road. It was team 7, with a plaque on the bottom facing them. Reading it's contents he went from curious to majorly touched with moments. That old bastard, he'd have words with him when he found him.

Hinata however leaned over his shoulder, "The great Naruto Bridge, where our country had our hopes and dreams returned to us by a kind but determined man. We thank Team 7 for helping us in our time of need." Turning wide eyes to the boy, she smiled gently at the raw emotion on his face, "I'm guessing you didn't know, Naruto?"

"Hell no. Old drunk." Muttering and turning away the boy walked along while scrubbing his eyes.

Ino and Tayuya both remained silent while Karin walked next to Hinata, "Seems he has a habit of helping people."

Hinata nodded, "That's Naruto."

As they followed the boy and looked around the bustling town, they made it further and further away from the main roads. Eventually coming across a quiet home tucked away on the outskirts of town. They all watched as Naruto knocked on the door and waited. Door opening and being greeted by a very beautiful dark haired woman, she was all smiles as she recognized Naruto instantly.

"Naruto! Welcome back! Come in, who are your friends? Where's your team?"

Naruto chuckled as he let the girls go in first before following himself, "That's a long story I only wanna tell once. Is Tazuna here?"

Tsunami bustled to the living room, instructing everyone to sit while she prepared refreshments, "Yes, just a moment." Disappearing into the kitchen she raised her voice, "Father! Naruto has returned!"

Hearing a thump from upstairs, all of the assembled ninja were soon greeted by the sight of a bespectacled older man who was grinning brightly, "Naruto my boy! Welcome back." Coming forward he pulled the boy into a hug that was returned easily. Pulling away after a moment, Tsunami coming in and offering everyone tea, the elder looked around and frowned, "This isn't the team you were here with last. Do you ninja normally switch teams like this? Lotta cute girls too."

Blushing Naruto shook his head, "No uh. Might as well have a seat, a lot has happened since you last saw me." Watching Tazuna and Tsunami doing just that, Naruto began talking about the last half year. From the crazy chunin exams, the secrets surrounding his clan and his village's council. He left out anything involving strictly ninja matters, he didn't want them in to much trouble if leaf came calling after all. But as he laid out the story and was wrapping up he could tell both seemed much more angry than he thought they would be. As he finished, Tazuna was already pacing the floor.

"Those ingrates. To think we've been sending all of our mission requests through them. Sure they were minor, but we supported them because of you. I've even referred other people. Oh just they wait. I'll find another village to deal with from here on."

Naruto grinned, "That's kind of actually why we're here." Seeing Tazuna pause his pacing and look at the boy. "You see, I'm here to rebuild Uzushio, Wave is the closest island after all to assemble. I was hoping to gain the help of a really awesome designer and builder that I know."

Tazuna flexed an arm with a smile, "Well look no further, I'll help ya no matter what. We've been doing well since you got rid of Gato, and I've got the man power."

Naruto shook his head, "I'm planning on rebuilding a nation, I think you're going to need a lot more help than you have here. So I'm going to be back and forth providing lots and lots of clones."

Tazuna nodded, "It's going to be hard to transport people over water to the other island…" He thought hard about that one.

Karin finally raised a hand, "We actually have a suggestion about that." Seeing the elder turn to her the girl spread her hands, "We're actually tunneling from another nation to Uzu. We could do the same thing here."

Tazuna nodded, "Underwater tunnel wouldn't be a bad idea. It's concealable and can be quickly sealed in emergencies. You said you can provide massive amounts of manpower?" Naruto nodded, "Then you should stay here for a while, we can draw up plans and get to work by tomorrow if we're industrious. The tunnel will be the easy part, the real work starts once we get to the main island of Uzushio. I'll have to spend some real time designing something."

Naruto nodded, "There are two main islands and about 7 minor islands. I want to use the main island closest to Wave as a more open civilian sector, while the second main island will be more ninja oriented."

Tazuna's mind was already planning and building away, "So a civilian city and a ninja fortress. Okay. You got a timeline kid?"

"Nope. But I plan on bringing in people as soon as we can. I can pay for the construction to start." Naruto unsealed a scroll given to him from Koyuki to give to Tazuna if he agreed. Which he tried to give to the old man.

Tazuna waved the kid away, "Don't you worry about payment. Instead, how about Uzu accepts Wave as a subordinate state once it's rebuilt."

Everyone's eyes went wide, Hinata who understood the further ramifications of that stood, "Do you know what you'd be doing?"

Tazuna waved her away as well, "Don't you worry your cute head girly, Wave wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this kid. Say, if it makes you feel better, we'll start making all of our mission requests through you starting now. Consider that you paying off your debt for the reconstruction." Tazuna was holding out a hand to the boy, who took a moment but eventually took it and shook firmly.

"You got a deal gramps." Reaching into a pocket and unsealing what he needed, Naruto hands Tazuna two hiraishin tags. "These are seals that allow me to travel back and forth between places almost instantly. Place one in a secure room no one will bother, and the other I'd say somewhere safe in the village. Maybe at the bridge, just in case."

Tazuna nodded, "Got it. Welp, you look like you want to get to it right away, but we have some design work to do first." Motioning to everyone to follow him, Tazuna started leading them to the basement, "I want everyone's input. This is going to be your home after all. You should have a say. Tsunami dear? Let Inari know when he get's in I'm working, this might turn into an all nighter."

"No worries father, I'll bring dinner down for you all later." Tsunami knew once he got started he wouldn't stop until he either passed out or finished. It was looking to be a busy time again for Wave. She'd go and start warning some of his usual crew to assemble the next morning. Mind set, she was out the door to make some stops and shop for extra food supplies.

As the day progressed, Naruto having to make a trip with the older man back to Spring in order for him to get specifications on Spring's trains and their rail requirements, they were soon back in Wave and working through the night with the rest of the group. The initial plan was two parts. Not far from the main road coming into Wave they would excavate a large space to eventually build a train station. Starting there they would begin digging and building the tunnel to Uzu. Looking at a map, Tazuna realized the first leg of the journey was less that 50 kilometers. That was however a massive amount of resources for a rail line. Never mind the apparently 650ish kilometers between Uzu and Spring. Finally looking at the letter Koyuki sent, Tazuna noted that Spring would be reimbursing any investment of local metals and equipment used for construction. Along with massive funds for the project. First part secured, Tazuna then pointed out the second part with Karin's help.

The Uzu islands were still somewhat protected by both the whirlpools themselves but also some active seals. That meant once the first half of the tunnel was underway, Naruto and Karin would have to go with Tazuna to the southern island personally to mark the exit site and start digging from there to insure no seals would interfere. Naruto promised to learn what he could so that he could begin that portion of the project himself. As long as Tazuna did his math correctly, both tunnels would build from each end and meet up underground. Once that was complete they would begin the civilian city designs and break ground. From there Naruto and the group would begin their next plan, raiding Orochimaru facilities. Because from there they could funnel the people they save towards the reconstruction project. Tazuna now on board with the plan everyone turned in for the night as they realized it was possibly going to be the last real day of rest they were going to get.

The next day, true to their thoughts, Naruto and Tazuna were the first up and already out of the house. Sun barely rising above the horizon, Tazuna and an assembled group of his best construction team got ready to work. At the end of town opposite of the bridge they stood looking at a wooded area. However there was nothing man made between them and the shoreline from here. Tazuna and his men had already begun to set up work tables and benches while tools and equipment were being unloaded from wagons.

"So here's the deal men, we're going to be clearing a 200 meter by 100 meter square here. Length wise heading toward the shoreline at this angle." As he talked he pointed at a blueprint attached to a stand. He then motioned to the water, "From there the tunnel construction will begin. Blasting will almost exclusively be performed by the resident knucklehead here though we should be drilling the blast holes ourselves at first until he learns how it works. He will also be supplementing our manual labor with one of his ninja skills. Each of you will be getting a team of blonde ninja, so don't freak out. We should also clear a 50 meter and 50 meter square just to the right of the main space for materials and concrete mixing. Our main focus is the tunnel first, then the station. Got it?" Getting a chorus of agreements Naruto paced away from the group before making a family cross seal.

"Kagebushin no jutsu!" Smoke filling the morning air, a thousand clones all stood waiting orders.

Tazuna sighed as several of his workers twitched, "That might be to many right away Naruto."

One of the nearest Naruto's shrugged, "The more the merrier we say!"

Taking a deep breath, Tazuna turned to his own crew, "Well what are you waiting for, you all know your specialties, let's get to work! Grab some ninja and start giving orders!" Turning away the older man walked back towards the dumbstruck men at the wagon. They were going to need a lot more tools. Already Naruto's were in and out of one of the 6 assembled wagons, distributing tools and emptying it completely within moments. Leaning up to the wagon crews he pointed back to town, "Get every shovel, pickage, regular ax, everything you can find, this man is dead set on making progress." Getting salutes, the first wagon was manned and already headed back to town. Turning back to the work site Naruto's were already being directed. Some were working as logging teams to cut down trees using liberal amounts of wind chakra while others were working as ground prep teams, digging and turning earth with massive efficiency.

One clone was running up to Tazuna already, "Do we have a space to dump dirt and rocks?"

Tazuna shook his head, not thinking they'd even get close to digging anything today. He should have known better. "Clear a space next to the other smaller clear zone, use that for dirt dumping and rocks. Make sure to separate them properly as some of the rock, or most of it, will be needed for the concrete."

The clone saluted and ran away, "On it!" already several trees were falling and being hauled to the first smaller clear zone that was itself being cleared of trees and greenery to be processed into usable wood. This progress was really insane if he thought about it. Only this inconceivable kid could do something like this. Seeing another two wagons leaving the sight to procure more tools, Tazuna began walking among the crews. They seemed to be working out from the road. Clearing large trees first, then smaller bushes and shrubs, followed lastly by digging and turning the dirt. This process normally took several days of hard work, but these ninja were going to complete this first step in what looked like an hour, maybe less. Deciding to head straight for where he knew the tunnel construction would be, he noticed there still where many many more Naruto's with nothing to do. Walking up to an idle group of a dozen he grinned and motioned for them to follow him.

"Who wants to blow something up?" Their eyes lighting up, they followed him without question. Coming to the end of the square he had mapped out mentally, he found the clearing crews already here working on the trees in whatever way they could. Having mentally kept the distance counting in his head, He pointed to his left and his right. "One of you go 50 meters that way and 50 meters the other, You're gonna be our markers for now." Two clones saluted and ran away to do as they were told." Tazuna turned to another one, "Where's the actual Naruto? I need him too." One clone saluted and dispelled. Within a moment another Naruto was at his side.

"Yo what's up Tazuna."

"You still using those crazy explosives?"

"Oh yeah."

"Do you have a way of directing the blast in specific directions? Or shaping it?"

Naruto nodded, "Sure can. I can even making the tags inject the blast into rock itself to break it apart. What do you need?"

"Perfect. Something uniform we can use over and over. Say, a charge that blasts straight in the direction you point it with the force of like, 1 stick of dynamite. It does need to be able to penetrate bedrock."

Naruto nodded again and pulled out a scroll along with sealing ink and a brush. Clones lining up behind him, he began sealing away. Each completed tag was ripped free and handed to a clone who put it on the ground where Tazuna directed them. As around them the space was being cleared as well, their view of the road already free of trees by the time Naruto had finished twenty of the tags, Tazuna asked him to pause.

"Okay, how much time do you need to set off the tags?"

"It's instant."

"Okay." Raising his voice Tazuna looked at all of the clones around them. "Clear the area, blasting is going to start." It was still somewhat early but he hoped the townspeople would understand. Once the area was clear Tazuna gave the go ahead to Naruto. Making a single handseal, the ground erupted across the space they were in. Two lines extending twenty meters ahead of them were excavated in an instant, the dirt and rock loosened up and ready to be removed. Tazuna turned to the assembled Naruto's. "Time to clear out the loose dirt and rock and we'll blast the next section once you're done!" Watching as the Naruto's listened instantly, many using even just their hands and jackets as they lacked tools, a line of Narutos began moving along the field, taking dirt and rock and depositing it into the other cleared section to be sorted and used later. Nodding, Tazuna made a note that it looked like that cleared the earth down to about two meters. Just about perfect to start. "We're going to make some good progress here kid."

Naruto nodded and firmed his resolve. His skills may have been originally meant for killing. But if he could turn it into something to build a future? He'd make that trade no problem. Behind him he felt actual chakra and turned to see the rest of his group finally awake. "Ah, done sleeping?"

Tayuya frowned, "Not all of us need to be up at the crack of dawn."

Naruto sighed and scratched his head as Ino and Karin looked at the slowly growing mound of dirt and rock not far away. "You okay?"

Ino had a thought about training her earth affinity, she hadn't gotten the chance before leaving. This would be the perfect time to do so. "Actually, I figure you'll need bricks or rock slabs right? I can make them as a form of training." It'd be something she could do to help as well.

Karin nodded, "I was thinking the same thing, my earth affinity is weaker but I can still use the time to train."

Tazuna nodded and motioned with his hands, "Can you make uniform bricks about this big?"

Ino looked and mimed his hands with her own, "Sure, I can do that."

Tazuna pointed at the ever growing mound, "Then have at it, I was only planning on using the rock, but if you can change the dirt into strong bricks I'll welcome it." Both girls nodding, they ran off in the company of two Naruto clones.

Tayuya however had a different idea, and turned to who she hoped was the real Naruto, "Hey uh…I hate to be a downer, but I don't have a real use here, and we kinda brainstormed something while we were on the way here."

Naruto looked up at her from where he was beginning to draw more seals, seeing that the line they made was about to be cleared up. "What's up?"

"Well, I should head back and act as a guard for you know who. Just in case the Leaf tries something."

Hinata chimed in, "We all figured at least one of us should be with her at all times."

Naruto thought it over, and also considered that Tayuya still wanted to be as far from the leaf and Orochimaru as possible. So he nodded and motioned for a clone to grab the older red head. "Now that we have a tag here we can come and go pretty easy. Let Koyuki know we'll be making progress and we will update her as often as possible."

Tayuya nodded as the clone grabbed her shoulder, "Sure thing, and make sure to come get me when we start raiding the snake bastard." Receiving an agreement, Tayuya and the clone disappeared.

Left alone among the Naruto clones and Naruto himself, Hinata looked over his shoulder as he drew seals. She had been curious about seals herself, but never had given any time to learning them. She had nothing but time now. "Can I learn seals as well?"

Naruto looked up in surprise before nodding, "Hell yeah, I'll explain as I go. It's like learning a new language really as you get going." Setting about explaining how me made this current exploding tag, he unsealed a basic sealing book and handed it to the girl, glad that someone outside of the clan was interested in the techniques as well. Idly ripping free tags and handing them to clones, he mentally prepared for the days to come. It was going to be slow going at first, but he was ready to start their future. Another warning followed by blowing apart another section of field, a grin stretched across his face. Yeah, this was good. Freedom was good.

-AN-

So we get some insight in how the Leaf is handly things, while Naruto and the gang begin their plans. Massive subways and a new and improved Uzu? Bet anything Naruto plans on making it happen asap. And a Koyuki and Tayuya team up? What could go wrong.

-OMAKE-

Konan considered herself a very patient woman. Watching over the real body of Nagato while also making public appearances within Rain and wrangling their ninja and the Akatsuki. Yes she considered herself very patient. But it was more than that. She also knew that especially in an organization that prided itself on only having the best of the best, she was more than a match for any of her peers. That said of late she was, irked, to say the least.

Because she was surrounded by horndog virgins.

Hidan and Kakuzu didn't count in her mind, one was a religious zealot and the other was only focused on money and nothing else. Women were the last thing either of those two thought of, even if Hidan liked the female form well enough. His words. Sasori was more puppet than man and she had enough toys thank you very much.

Kisame might be interesting, he was tall, fit and handsome in a vicious carnivore sort of way. But apparently he liked overflowing melons to tidy apples. Unfortunate, but some just couldn't understand the real justice of petite women. Not that she knew. She was well equipped, and if anyone said otherwise they were a liar and a coward.

She wasn't upset that Diedara apparently spanked it to her. No, as a powerful Kunoichi that still prided herself not just on her strength and skill, but she was still somewhat vain. Having other's admire her was ego boosting. So knowing some of the world's most powerful ninja lusted after her? That's was a heady mix of ego boost she couldn't get anywhere else. And Itachi apparently did as well? Oh yes, she secretly jumped for joy for that particular heartthrob. There was however one small, ever so important detail, that was upsetting her.

You would think these powerful ninja, men that could send armies running for their lives, would actually come forward and ask her out on a date at least once.

Sure Deidara she could understand. He had no experience with women at all. She was willing to teach, willing to lead him by the hand into the joys of manhood! But nooo. He'd rather enjoy his picture and lust from afar. Weak.

And what about Itachi? Sure she could go for the cold and mysterious, but surely he didn't expect her to ask him out instead? He had to have some experience with women by now, so surely he could catch the hint? The locked gazes, an idle show of skin, and yet nothing! Was he ace? Gay? She needed answers damnit!

Next to her Nagato just sighed, he wouldn't bring up the fact that through his chakra he could feel the various emotions running through the woman. Again met full force with her mix of annoyance, lust, happiness and anger. One day he'd have to either take the woman out to get laid or maybe take a different body and do it himself. She was his friend and didn't necessarily feel that way about her, but he'd make sure a friend was cared for. It was what friends were for.