Naruto: Uchiha no Densetsu

Chapter 18: The Fall of Takigakure (Part 3)

Naruto gingerly stared at the ground as an uneasy silence reigned around the members of team Ro-Han. He didn't know what to do as the image of Mikasa getting stabbed by that sword kept flashing before his eyes. He could hear Kakashi call out to him and he wanted to respond but could not find it in himself to speak. He shut his eyes closed in desperation, in an effort to make the images of Mikasa's death stop. Alas, even the darkness surrounding his eyes did not help.

He suddenly looked up as he felt Kakashi shake him by the shoulders and the team Ro-Han's captain saw an ocean of sadness dwelling in those eyes. Even though as shinobi they were prepared to handle death, the reality always finds its way to clutch on to the cruelest path. Naruto's gaze then shifted towards Sai who just landed beside them with a young girl on his shoulder. He placed her on the ground and Naruto realized that the girl was Fu, the Nanabi jinchuriki. The blond could still feel her life force and was relatively content that at least she was alive. His eye widened at that thought as he turned back at once and moved towards Itachi. Considering Itachi's deteriorating health and the wound received by the Sandaime Hokage, Itachi was immensely lucky to be alive. Still, Naruto flinched a little on seeing the large stab wound on his shoulder.

Closing his eyes, he calmed his breathing and allowed the nature energy to flow into himself. Naruto had never tried healing someone through senjutsu chakra before and to him, this was still a concept. When he gathered senjutsu chakra within himself, he balanced that amount with his own spiritual and physical energy, so none would overpower the other. So, if he focused on the yang half of the nature energy and focused it within Itachi while also balancing the nature chakra with Itachi's spiritual and physical energy, he should be able to heal Itachi in not time at all. At least, theoretically. Nature energy generally contained a lot of life force and healing properties that should do the trick. Naruto then placed the palms of his hand atop Itachi's wound as a soothing green colored chakra surrounded his hands. A bit of sweat formed on Naruto's face as he concentrated and a few minutes later, he stopped once he noticed that the wound that healed up quite well.

"How do you feel?" Naruto questioned, trying to sound as normal as he could. Itachi gradually opened his eyes to see the worried faces of Kakashi and Sai standing beside Naruto. He grazed his hand over his wound and was surprised to feel that the hole in his shoulder had been healed. He was certain he was going to die, but still sighed in relief. He turned towards the young blond with a small smile on his face but stopped when he noticed Naruto's expression.

"Where's Mikasa?" Itachi asked immediately. Upon seeing the look of despair on Kakashi's face, Itachi knew something was amiss. "How did it happen?" Kakashi and Naruto remained quiet, unable to recall the painful event again.

"While you were down, Orochimaru was about to kill you when Usagi-senpai placed herself in front of you and got stabbed through her heart in the process." Sai gave a brief detail. Yet again, everyone fell silent. Mikasa was an excellent shinobi and more so, a wonderful person, whom Itachi was glad to have known. He would be eternally grateful to her for such an action and Itachi knew that she wouldn't want her team to fall astray without her.

"Get yourself together, Naruto. This is no time to be mopping around." Itachi stated firmly, as he got up. Naruto stared at the Uchiha with shock in his eyes. "She died a proud shinobi of Konoha and that too while fighting the village's enemy."

"But, who will remember her, Itachi? We are Anbu! Her death won't be mourned in the village! There won't be a burial for her! She fought for the village for over two decades in the shadows, without any fame or glory…" Naruto began ranting in his anger but stopped when he heard Itachi's next words.

"That is what it means to be a shinobi. A true ninja is one who fights and dies in the shadows. We don't seek fame, nor do we seek attention. Our path is one filled struggles. But, we endure. We do it so that the innocents can have a life of peace." Itachi stated softly lowering his gaze to where Mikasa lay. Everyday, he struggled to deal with his guilt about his clan and everyday he endured it for the village. And he would continue to do so, until his last breath. Kakashi placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder as the blond turned to look towards his sensei.

"Don't let her death be in vain. She sacrificed herself, so that Itachi may live. Its true, at one point everyone dies. But, if you mean something to someone, help someone or love someone, if even a single person remembers you… then maybe you never really die at all." Kakashi then poked Naruto, just above his heart and leaned close to his ears. "She'll be right there… in your heart. Never forget what she meant to you." Kakashi whispered. Naruto nodded as tears slowly cascaded down his face and his turbulent mind became a little clam. He got up and wiped his face clean and looked up at the sky. Maybe, she was at a better place and at peace. It would still take a considerable time for him to get used to her absence, but he would try. Because, he may have done with same thing had it been him in Mikasa's place.

A few minutes later, Kakashi proceeded to burn Mikasa's body as per Anbu protocols and their team scattered to look for Senji and Shibuki. About fifteen minutes later once they had recovered the bodies, they were about to leave the place when they all heard another voice.

"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no jutsu" Everyone looked up to see a white light hit against the large meteor floating above and disintegrate a part of it, allowing Han and Roshi's body to fall towards the sky. The two unconscious bodies fell on the ground unceremoniously, but Naruto was certain the two would survive nonetheless.

All the members of team Ro-Han narrowed their when they spotted a short, old man levitate high up in the air. "Tsuchikage." Kakashi stated, as he clenched his fists. They were further surprised on seeing an army of at least a hundred Iwagakure shinobi now marching towards their location. Naruto glared at the man levitating in the air. The person responsible for Mikasa's death. He clenched his fists in anger and once again he could feel the darkness rise within him. Telling him to destroy the thing that caused him pain, to erase it off the face of this world. And for a mere second, the nine tomoes in his rinnegan spun indolently as he savored in the thought of slaying them.

"Naruto, don't do anything stupid. We are not in a position to have a drawn-out fight." Kakashi said, guessing Naruto's intentions. Naruto nodded, keeping a blank face. But, the Tsuchikage shouldn't have come here. Wasn't the death of thousands of innocents enough? Did he have to come out himself, wishing for more death? His heart sank a little as he could truly see the world for what it was- a living hell. He looked towards his team and realized that none of them were in a position to fight, but that was not the case with him.

"You guys should leave, I will take care of things here." Replied Naruto, surprising the others with his calmness. "Don't be foolish, Naruto. All of us just got out of a big fight and we're all tired. Moreover, the Tsuchikage himself is here. The best option would be to retreat. We don't want to start an all-out war between two nations." Kakashi argued. If something happened to Naruto, he wouldn't be able to show his face in front of Minato-sensei. And he had very little doubt that Iwagakure would live to see another day, if something like that did happen.

"Kakashi is correct, Naruto. We have completed the mission that was assigned to us. There is no point for us stay here any longer. And you don't have to try doing everything by yourself." Itachi confessed. But their words simply fell on deaf ears as Naruto shook his head.

"This isn't about me. It's true none of you guys are in a state to fight but I'm still capable of stalling the enemy long enough for all of you to get far enough. I highly doubt he'd just let us leave. And, I just need to stall them until I know you guys have entered the borders of Hi no Kuni. The Tsuchikage wouldn't willingly enter the borders of Hi no Kuni to kill us. If it was an all-out war the Tsuchikage desired, he would have sneaked into Hi no Kuni and then advanced his troops towards Konoha." Naruto reasoned logically. Well, he was being partially truthful, but the other didn't need to know the entire truth. Naruto and Kakashi stared at each other for a good minute until the white haired Anbu sighed.

"We'll wait for you by the border of Hi no Kuni. Don't take too long, okay?" Itachi finally said. It would be pointless to get into an argument at this point. And, Naruto did have some valid points, but on some level, he wasn't too sure if Naruto's motives were purely for the good of the village or for revenge. Whatever the case, he was certain the blonde would make it back. Kakashi and Sai nodded too, but Naruto could still sense their reluctance. To everyone's surprise Sai stepped towards Naruto and placed his hand before him. Naruto stared at the pale-skinned boy for moment before shaking it and the nodded to each other. They did not speak much but understood each other on a fundamental level. Without further ado, rest of team Ro-Han turned around and quickly made their way out of Takigakure and towards the border.

Once, Naruto felt his team's chakra signature exit the village, he glanced towards the oncoming army of Iwa shinobi and the Tsuchikage who still levitated in the air. A smile appeared on his face, one that would send a cold shiver through anyone who glimpsed at it. If Iwagakure enjoyed dealing death to others so much, it would be only normal that he returned the courtesy to them. This would be his justice for Mikasa.

"You can't fool me, Naruto…you know what you're going to do right? There's no coming back from this." Kurama warned within Naruto's mind. He could understand why Naruto wanted to do it alone. Even though Naruto had made his peace with the villagers viewing him as a monster, he just didn't want the people close to him to view him as such too. Because, this place would soon turn into a massacre. Even so, Kurama was a little concerned about Naruto. Having the innate ability to sense hatred in others, Kurama could clearly sense the darkness that was in Naruto's heart. He didn't wish for his friend to step into a plane from where he could not return morally. Then again, morality has always been a subjective term among the humanity. Whatever the case, he had sworn to stick by Naruto until the end and he would certainly keep his word.

'I know, Kurama. But this world becomes a more hellish place to live every passing day. All of this could have been avoided had the Tsuchikage chose to. Now, it's time the Tsuchikage learns the same pain the people of Takigakure went through… the same pain that I pain through.' Naruto replied to his oldest friend. This world has showed him nothing but pain and misery. The death of his mother, the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, Mikasa's death… he wasn't the one that was wrong, this world was what's wrong.

A few minutes later, Naruto steeled his nerves as he now stood across hundreds of Iwa shinobi and the Tsuchikage. His face turned blank as he sensed the hatred in the heart of all these people. All they desired for was war and the Tsuchikage was no exception. He was further disgusted when the Tsuchikage lowered himself on the ground and walked past Han and Roshi without sparing them a glance.

"You must have some nerves, boy. To be standing alone before us. Do you really think you can escape?" Ohnoki asked, rather proudly. The old man was surprised when instead of a reply, he saw the young boy laugh loudly. Naruto stopped laughing shortly and spoke two words which Ohnoki had once heard years ago.

"Let's dance…"

"Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku" Naruto said as he performed the horse hand seal. Converting the kneaded chakra inside his body into fire, Naruto breathed a large wall of fire from his mouth which covered a wide range. To the shinobi standing across, it appeared to be a literal sea of flames. Reacting quickly, several shinobi jumped in front of Ohnoki and performed hand seals in unison.

"Doton: Doryuu Heki" Several large mud walls suddenly rose from the ground as a protective barrier against the katon jutsu. But, to their surprise, the force of jutsu was so strong that the walls seemed to be cracking slightly. Meanwhile, Ohnoki rose high in the air once again, to get a better look at Naruto.

"This will be your end, Namikaze!" shouted Ohnoki, preparing his jutsu. "Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no jutsu" Ohnoki said ominously as his jutsu rushed towards the still standing Naruto. To his surprise, the blond simply raised one hand towards upward and his jutsu suddenly disappeared followed by him getting thrown back forcefully. Naruto then pointed both his hands towards the large wall which was protecting the Iwa shinobi. Focusing large amounts of chakra, a tremendous force of gravity broke through the wall, making all the Iwa shinobi fly back roughly along with large pieces of rock from their own jutsu hitting them in the process.

"Today, you shall experience what these people here felt, Tsuchikage!" Naruto said out loud, as he pointed all around himself. Picking up a random sword from the ground, Naruto adjusted his grip and ran straight towards the fallen Iwa shinobi who were groaning in pain. He had every intention to slaughter them and make them feel the pain.

However, he was stopped mid-way when Ohnoki landed before him. Encasing his right hand with rock, Ohnoki had now formed a large fist and then covered the distance to Naruto a lot faster than the normal eyes could follow. Naruto side stepped the punch aimed at him and blocked it with his left elbow. A small scream escaped his lips upon feeling the limpness in his arm and skidded back due to the force. He was sure he heard his bone crack but kept his cool. Ohnoki smirked when he made a single hand seal with his other hand. Before Naruto could make a move, he was suddenly pushed down on his knees to the ground as he felt his own body get immensely heavy. He cursed as he found himself unable to move.

'Is he altering the force of the wind around us? No, if that was the case, he'd under the same effects as me… Then again, its also possible that he's using the force of the air around my body to push me down.' Naruto thought quickly. Once again, Ohnoki aimed that giant fist covered with rocks at him, knowing this time the blonde had no way to dodge. As Ohnoki's arm came in striking distance of Naruto's face, the blonde's entire body got engulfed in dense chakra and a silver colored skeletal figure now surrounded Naruto. The skeletal figure was completely immersed in silver chakra and its eyes were completely black. But the terrifying part was the scythe that the figure was holding in his right hand.

"Susanoo…" whispered Naruto. He rarely ever used his Susanoo against anyone. And he had to give credit to Ohnoki to force him into using it. Enraged by Naruto's maneuver, Ohnoki exerted more chakra into his jutsu and lunged towards Naruto, but the susanoo did not budge at all. He suddenly found himself staring into that strange white eye of the boy and he was once again flung back through several rocks. His body finally hit the ground a few seconds later, and he was now sprouting several cuts all over his body as well as bleeding in several parts of his body.

"Tsuchikage-sama! You should stand back. Maybe, we can overwhelm him with numbers." Stated a shinobi beside him.

"Why do you fight? Why do you wish for death to befall upon the innocents?" Naruto asked, as he walked towards the group, still surrounded by his susanoo. Large number of Iwa shinobi were still down after taking the hit from Naruto's previous jutsu, but some of them willed themselves to stand up beside their kage.

"The people of Takigakure had done nothing against you. Konohagakure had done nothing against you. Yet, you had these people killed and are now advancing towards Hi no Kuni." Several enraged Iwa shinobi jumped at Naruto, but his susanoo swung the scythe and cut through all of them effortlessly in a single swing.

"It's futile to resist against me." Naruto stated with a blank face.

"Konoha has taken much more from Iwagakure than you can imagine. Minato Namikaze killed thousands of my shinobi mercilessly in the previous war and before him, it was your damn grandfather, Madara Uchiha who forced us to submit to Konoha's will. The hatred between our villages run far too deep, boy. It cannot be quenched by mere talks. This is how the shinobi world works. The strong devour the weak." Ohnoki sneered as he got up from the ground. To Naruto's surprise, the Tsuchikage truly believed what he was saying which angered him further.

"I see. Konoha extended the offer of friendship many times after the war ended. We wanted to look past the events of the war and hope for a better world. But, every time it was you who refused to partake in it. Have you forgotten about that shinobi sent to Konoha to assassinate me years ago? I suppose in a way my grandfather was correct. Peasants like you should indeed submit to Konoha's will." Naruto replied coldly as his susanoo developed even further, gaining an armor over the skeletal ribcage and a visor around its head which only showcased the susanoo's glowing black eyes.

"What the hell is that monster?" came several shouts from among the Iwa shinobi as they saw the ethereal figure around Naruto develop further. Most of them took a step back in fear and stumbled to the ground. This wasn't what they were expecting when they arrived here. Most couldn't even believe a kid could accomplish the feats they were witnessing. Ohnoki gained a look of defiance on his face as he quickly performed more hand seals.

"Doton: Goremu no jutsu" Ohnoki muttered as he created a large humanoid creature composed of the surrounding rock. The golem was about the same height as Naruto's susanoo. Naruto raised an eyebrow in fascination of the jutsu. Ohnoki rode atop his golem and with a war cry lunged towards the boy. Naruto's susanoo blocked the golem's two hands with his own and stopped it in its tracks. Ohnoki made another hand seal and several spiked pillars rose up from the ground aimed right at Naruto's Susanoo. To Ohnoki's surprise, two more hands grew from Susanoo's back carrying a scythe in each one and effortlessly cut through all the sharp pillars aimed at him. An irritated look appeared on Ohnoki's face as none of his attacks seemed to work on the boy.

"Now, let me show you my power, Tsuchikage." Naruto said as he closed his eyes. The scythe in one of the susanoo's arms disappeared and a large ball of dense chakra started forming in it. To everyone's surprise the sphere kept growing bigger until it was almost as big as the susanoo. Ohnoki's eyes widened in horror when the susanoo aimed the jutsu right at his shinobi and threw it.

"Odama Rasengan" whispered Naruto. The Iwa shinobi fired several of their own jutsu in retaliation, but the large Rasengan simply kept propelling towards them. Seeing that their jutsu had no effect, most of them began running to save themselves. However, about twenty shinobi were caught in its range when the jutsu hit the ground and caused a large explosion. Ohnoki had to quickly jump off from his golem as Naruto suddenly jumped at him with his hand sparkling with electricity. As Naruto's hand contacted the rock golem, the electricity caused the large golem to disintegrate into dust in a matter of few seconds. Not stopping there, Naruto made another hand seal and gazed at the disarrayed Iwa shinobi with his rinnegan.

"Amaterasu" And this time no one was spared. All the Iwa shinobi apart from the Tsuchikage was engulfed in the black flames. They cried and pleaded for the pain to stop. Some even tried suiton jutsu to quench the hot flames, but nothing helped. Eventually the shinobi succumbed to the intense pain and fell dead on the ground. Naruto then shifted his gaze towards the Tsuchikage, who had a look of pure terror on his face. Deciding to finish him off, Naruto began walking towards the defeated man but stopped suddenly when he heard his friend's sad voice.

"Stop, Naruto… This is enough. There is no point in killing any further."

'But…' Naruto said. "It's okay, Naruto. I know you're hurting. But, you must stop. Leave. Go home and rest. This isn't like you. Look around yourself. You have killed enough people." Kurama insisted and Naruto could almost sense his friend pleading. Kurama didn't wish for his friend to fall into the darkness and if Naruto continued what he was doing, he may very well. Naruto's hands limply fell beside him as Kurama's words hit him. He was so cloaked by his rage that he ended up doing the very thing he despised. He suddenly turned back and ran towards his team with a grief-stricken heart. He didn't know what had taken over him. All of these conflicting thoughts in his mind were driving him crazy and he just desperately wished to lie in the comfort of his bed.

As Naruto quickly made his way out of Takigakure, two men suddenly emerged out of thin air on the south-west walls of the village. One of them was a tall man with light blue-colored skin, a shark like appearance and a large sword wrapped in bandages strapped to his back. While the other one was slightly shorter white-haired man with red eyes.

"Man, that was some show huh… that kid's powers are unreal. Who would have thought he had the same visual prowess as Leader-sama. I'm itching to have a fight with him now." Stated the taller one with a mischievous glint in his eyes. As his gaze lingered at the destruction all over the village, he couldn't help but smirk at the hauntingly beautiful sight before him.

"Yes. This is certainly an interesting development, Kisame. Pain-sama hadn't told us about the Kyubi jinchuriki's abilities. Then again, having been trained under the guidance of Jiraiya, Kakashi and Minato, I shouldn't be surprised. The rinnegan and the mangekyo sharingan definitely make him a dangerous opponent to face in a battle." said the shorter person as his red eyes were firmly placed over the Sandaime Tsuchikage, who was on his knees with a defeated look on his face.

"Heh, I don't really care about all that. I suppose I should be glad that it was us who were tasked to hunt the Kyubi. Based on his age right now, his strength is only bound to grow in the years to come. Anyhow, I think we should get the two jinchurikis before the Tsuchikage gets wind of us, Hiruko." Kisame replied with a chuckle. His sword, Sameha wriggled on his back, when it had felt Naruto's chakra. The boy had outrageously strong and large amounts of chakra. It excited even him.

"Be that as it may, we can't be too careless. We'll need too eliminate quite a few people before we get to him. And I don't think taking down Jiraiya and Minato will be as easy as you think." Hiruko stated in his quiet voice. The Yondaime Hokage was currently regarded as the strongest shinobi in the world and even their leader was weary of him, choosing to keep the Kyubi for the end. An even more vicious smirk appeared on Kisame's face on thinking of that. The future would certainly unfold an interesting set of events. As the two cased the village from atop the walls, the two ran around to the back of the village on the north-east and jumped inside, moving closer to the two unconscious jinchuriki.

With team Ro-Han, four miles south of Takigakure and Hi no Kuni border

Kakashi, Itachi and Sai rested under a tree as they waited for their teammate to return. Despite being healed of his wounds, Itachi still felt extremely depleted of stamina and chakra. The others were also in the same boat as the Uchiha. About an hour had passed since the group of three had left Takigakure and entered into the lands of Hi no Kuni.

"Are you still worried about him, Kakashi?" Itachi asked on seeing the worried look on his captain's face.

"I can't help it… He's always been so reckless and just jumps into fights without any thought. There is no denying that he's extremely strong but that overconfidence of his worries me." Kakashi replied tiredly. He clutched his left eye lightly, as his vision blurred a bit. It happened quite often, especially whenever he overused the sharingan.

"You still underestimate him. His eyes are the most powerful doujutsu that exists in this world. The mangekyo sharingan doesn't even compare to the full extent of the rinnegan's abilities. Moreover, Naruto doesn't realize it himself. I don't think Naruto has learned all he can do with the rinnegan. There's an old saying that the rinnegan is born in this world during times of great chaos and the bearer of those eyes would either bring untold destruction or an era of peace in the world." Itachi revealed. Kakashi and Sai were surprised on hearing those words. They both were aware of the fact that the last person to wield the rinnegan was the Sage of Six Paths, believed to be a myth by some even to this day.

"How od you know so much about the rinnegan?" It was Sai who raised the question and Itachi could sense the skepticism in the boy's voice.

"Not a lot of people are aware of this. No, it's better to say that the history has been forgotten over the course of time. But, the Senju and Uchiha Clan are both descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. I don't know all the details, but I read a few journals in the Uchiha Clan's library. It was the two sons of Rikudo Sennin that were the progenitor of the Uchiha and Senju Clan…" As Itachi continued his tale, Sai's eyes momentarily widened in disbelief as he understood a little of what Danzo was trying to do when he was still in Konoha. Danzo had been obsessed with the Shodai Hokage's cells and Shisui's eyes, both regarded as the strongest of their clan during their own time. There was even a time when some of the Root Anbu were sent to look for Madara Uchiha's corpse, but to Danzo's dismay it was nowhere to be found. Sai wondered if his former leader was trying to recreate the power of the Sage of Six Paths by mixing the two DNA but shook his head as that would be just absurd. The Rikudo Sennin existed over a thousand years ago and one couldn't just replicate his powers by such rudimentary methods. Sai composed himself soon enough, as he did not wish to reveal this knowledge as of yet. He would need to talk to Naruto first about the possibilities of Danzo's experiments before he revealed it to the higher ups. By the time Itachi was done recalling his knowledge about the Rikudo Sennin, Kakashi was floored with the fact that he barely knew any of what Itachi had narrated. He doubted anyone else knew this too.

"That's a lot to take in…" commented Kakashi. "But, I'm still worried how Mikasa's death is going to affect Naruto. He doesn't have many close friends and he is essentially an Uchiha…" Itachi clearly understood what Kakashi was insinuating and sighed. Naruto's life hasn't been normal up to this point. And considering everything the blonde has experienced, it wouldn't be wrong to think that Naruto may also fall to the Uchiha's curse of hatred. It made him wonder how his brother was doing. It had been some time since he spoke to Sasuke or trained with him. His life in Anbu had been so swamped, he barely got time for anything else.

"Maybe once Naruto's batch graduates from the academy, Naruto could be moved to one of the teams… You are planning to leave the Anbu anyway, right? You could take him in your team. Maybe that way he could experience some normalcy." Itachi suggested. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at that suggestion. He hadn't really thought about it, but it did seem like good idea. The council were kind of hard pressing him into being the jounin sensei for Sasuke's team after the graduation.

"Hmm… that actually doesn't seem like a bad idea. What do you say, Sai?" Kakashi asked, stroking his chin. Sai became a little confused on being put at the spotlight. He didn't really know how to answer that question. He was saved the trouble, when everyone heard the sound of footsteps and turned behind to see Naruto approach. But, Kakashi and Itachi could clearly see the dead look in Naruto's eyes. Kakashi knew that look very well. Having been in the Anbu for almost a decade, he had done some missions that often left him hollow inside and it pained him to see Naruto in such a state.

"Let's go home…" Naruto said in a tired voice.

Few years later

Two years had passed since the fall of Takigakure and a lot had changed in the Elemental Nations since then. The news that a single shinobi from Konoha had humiliated the Tsuchikage and hundreds of Iwagakure shinobi had spread like a wildfire across all the nations. Since then, Iwagakure had shut off any and all business with even Konoha's allies, namely Sunagakure no Sato. The Tsuchi no Kuni had become a hostile land for anyone travelling from Hi no Kuni or Kaze no Kuni. Moreover, the Tsuchikage had set a military camp in the ruins of Taki and Kusagakure, keeping a close watch on the movements of Konoha shinobi. To Minato's relief, Ohnoki had not made any attempt to retaliate against Konohagakure since his defeat two years ago but it also made him slightly suspicious. Even Jiraiya tried getting across the borders of Taki and Kusagakure, but the extremely heavy security had prevented him from doing so.

However, the toad sage was able to gather some useful information concerning Iwa and a group called Akatsuki which had recently became active. Han and Roshi, the jinchuriki of four and five tail had gone missing about two years ago and he believed Akatsuki to be behind that incident. The fact that Ohnoki had even hired Akatsuki for minor missions in Iwagakure and some it's surrounding lands, showed how dirty the Tsuchikage was willing to get his hands. It was either that or Ohnoki wasn't aware of that yet. Yet, what surprised him most was the fact that Akatsuki was entirely composed of S-Rank shinobis. But, he couldn't gather any relevant information regarding the group's hideout or their leader.

The civil war that was waged by Yagura in Mizu no Kuni had finally ended after years of turmoil and the resistance side that was led by a kunoichi named Mei Terumi had come out on top. A news such as the death of kage is a significant matter and as such the other nations had learned of this within a few days after the war ended. Being the person who led the resistance group to victory, Mei Terumi was unanimously chosen as the Godaime Mizukage. Even though Mizu no Kuni was under way to reconstruct the damaged parts of its land, Kirigakure had already opened the village for business with the other nations. The effect that the civil war had on the economy was on a large scale and a lot of the major clans in Kirigakure were greatly depleted of their resources. Despite all the hindrances, Kirigakure was finally stepping out the shadow of their bloody past.

The most consequential news surrounding in Konoha however, was the chatter of a shinobi who was said to be on par with the Yondaime Hokage. The name Shiroi Shinigami was practically known by every shinobi and civilian within Konoha. Initially, it had come as a great shock to the civilian populace that the shinobi was none other than Naruto Namikaze, the son of their beloved Yondaime Hokage. Still, there was a small fraction of shinobi who feared Naruto's growing power so much that it scared them of the consequences if he ever decided to turn on the village. It wasn't out of the realms of possibilities considering his lineage.

Today was an important day in the village as a new batch of genins had graduated from the Konoha academy. The village had high expectations from this batch especially, since this was the first time in Konoha academy's history that a batch was given an extra two years of training. Some of the populace even considered this batch to be the strongest one since the end of third shinobi war, considering the number of clan heirs that were there. A surprise addition to this batch was Fu, who was now integrated into the village as a Konoha shinobi. However, unlike in Naruto's case, her status as the Nanabi jinchuriki was kept tight lipped.

Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura were currently making their way towards training ground seven from the academy, where they were asked to meet their sensei. Over the course of years, the three of them grown tremendously in strength along with their looks.

Hinata had grown her hair to waist-length and wore her Konoha headband across her forehead. Her attire consisted of light lavender, sleeveless kimono-style blouse with vertical lines, tied with a dark purple obi around her waist. She also wore a pair of short dark navy shorts with thigh-high stockings along with regular ninja sandals. Overall, her attire was noticeably more form-fitting and less conservative than what she wore during the academy. With all the taijutsu training she was put through, she had also grown to a good height of five feet and four inches.

Unlike Hinata, Sakura had chosen to keep her hair short and kept it neck length. She looked considerably fitter than before and some may even say among the most beautiful girls in Konoha, judging by her well proportioned figure. She wore a sleeveless red qipao dress that reached her upper thighs, with white trimmings and a white circular design on the back along with a black obi around her waist, similar to the Hyuga heiress. Her attire also consisted of black shorts underneath the dress along with grey elbow and knee protectors. She also wore regular shinobi sandals and had grown to a height of five feet and three inches.

However, the one who had changed the most was Sasuke Uchiha. Considered by most kunoichis as one of the most good-looking man, Sasuke had grown to a good height of five feet and six inches. Sasuke now wore a black high-collared shirt with the Uchiha Clan symbol at the back along with simple light blue pants. He had bandages wrapped around his ankles and wore his shinobi headband over his forehead. Sasuke's hair had also grown longer as the left side of his face was partly covered by his bangs. He also carried a katana with him, in a black sheath, as he had started investing himself in kenjutsu, about three years ago.

"This is so exciting! We're finally shinobi!" Sakura squealed lightly, showing her excitement.

"…only genins though…" Sasuke commented idly. Still, he wouldn't say that he was any less excited than his pink-haired teammate. He wanted to surpass his brother as a shinobi and even him. He had grown considerably strong over the course of years, but still hadn't been able to mature his sharingan fully. For him to accomplish his goals, he had to get even stronger. And for that matter, he was willing to do anything possible.

"Sasuke-kun, give her some rest. The six long years of academy are finally over. We can go on real missions now, instead of the D-Ranks we were made to do during the sixth year." Hinata chipped in. She had a slight idea as to who their sensei would be, considering they had two doujutsu users in team seven. Then again, she could never be too sure. Anyhow, she couldn't wait to start doing missions. Maybe… maybe then he would take notice of her. Her anger towards Naruto had subsided a lot in the last couple of years. Ever since she heard the news of his feats in the battle of Takigakure, she had been shocked yet more sad about it. It had been ages since she had laid eyes on him. She didn't even know how he looked now.

As the three finally reached training ground seven, they found a silver haired man to be sitting under the shade of a tree with a book in his hands. But, Hinata also noticed the long strands of blond hair that was partially covered by the taller person's body. Sasuke and Sakura were yet to notice the smaller guy as he was barely visible from their position.

"It couldn't be…" Hinata whispered with a startled look on her face. She could feel her heart flutter as she unknowingly moved quicker. And unseen by Sasuke or Sakura, her eyes became slightly moist when her gaze fell upon his serene sleeping form.

Author Notes: Well, that concludes Naruto's Anbu arc. I must say that quite a long one, but from here on out, I'll assure the story will be more entertaining to read as it will involve the Naruto's friends (his batch mates essentially). The way Naruto has changed over these two years will be showcased in the coming chapters. Naruto and Hinata finally meet after about five years and it will be a touching re union. I don't want to essentially make Sakura a part of Naruto's love interest but the two will be really close friends. Sasuke will have a rivalry with Naruto and will become a brotherly figure to him. Sasuke will also play an important part later on in the story.

As the story unfolds, there will come a time, when Naruto will be forced to make a tough decision. One that will remind him of the warning that was given to him by Takeshi Otsutsuki. He hasn't looked into the Otsutsuki Clan much but he knows the rinnegan is his only key to finding more about that ancient clan. So, he'll also start focusing on his rinnegan more. Up until the time Naruto was in Anbu, he only focused on mastering the powers he knew. And the gravity manipulation and forming black chakra rods, that the rinnegan allows him to do. Some of the missions that the genin teams will go on will be similar to the canon with the addition of some new ones. Also, I believe, the chunin arc will begin after 3-4 chapters.

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Until next time!