Empty

by zzzgnas

There is nothing worse in the world than the feeling of complete and utter helplessness. That empty feeling you get when you've lost everything and you know there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Uzumaki Naruto was four when he experienced this feeling for the first time. And from then on... nothing had gone right... Strong! Naruto. Third Ninja War Timeline.

5. Chapter 5 - The Silent Dispatch

Chapter-5

The Silent Dispatch

"I will one day be given the honor of being Hokage, because… because being Hokage is my dream."

Border between the Land of Fire and Grass, Kiriniku Village, 9 days later

Naruto looked at his sensei suspiciously. Yesterday, after training was done, he told them that they were going on a mission and told them to pack for a week. Having done no missions at all till then, it came as quite a surprise to them that the first mission was going to be so long. After pressing him for some more details, he told them that this mission was the reason that they hadn't done any missions before and why they had spent the last two weeks training to exhaustion.

When Naruto reached home (at least that's what he had come to call Akira Senju's house), Shinzo and Shizuka told him that they had a mission the next day as well and that they had also been told to pack for a week. Surprised at the highly unlikely coincidence, they asked Akira if he knew something about it to which Akira replied quite adamantly that he had absolutely no idea. Not wanting to pester the older ninja, they let it go. They decided that it was probably some sort of emergency mission and it required two teams instead of just the usual one.

They would find out the next day that their conclusion could not be further from the truth. When they arrived at the Konoha gates before dawn, they were met with more shinobi than they'd ever seen in one place. Whatever the mission was, it was not meant for two teams. It was meant for an army. It didn't take them long to meet up with their teams. Yuna and Nawaki were also as much out of the dark as the rest of them. Whatever it was, the Hokage had not bothered to inform his only daughter of it, so it was quite possible that it wasn't that important. However, Naruto could see from the expressions and mannerisms of their instructors that what they were about to undergo was dangerous. Soon, their instructors arrived but they told them nothing.

Then, an old shinobi with a X-shaped scar on his chin stepped up to address them. Yuna identified him as Shimura Danzo, one of the Hokage's advisors. All 3 orphans were immediately on guard, something that didn't escape the notice of one Minato Namikaze.

Danzo seemed to be the one in charge of this mission because he started barking out orders. Weird orders that made no sense to Naruto. Henge into older shinobi? What shinobi worth the name would fall for such a useless tactic?

His next order was aimed at the jonin instructors asking them to separate from their team and break all contact. And so they did. After a very tiresome and confusing couple of days, they arrived at their destination. The border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire. There, the jonin instructors had regrouped with them. Orochimaru showed up later than the others and, when he finally did show up, he did not tell them anything.

So, Naruto stared at his sensei suspiciously. They were confused, tired and annoyed about what was happening. And when their sensei joined them, he was telling them nothing.

"What's going on, sensei? Why aren't you telling us anything?" Naruto finally gave in to his curiosity.

Orochimaru looked at him in… worry? "You'll know tomorrow. Be ready at dawn. I can't say anything more."

The three genin said nothing to that. What could they say? If Orochimaru wasn't telling them anything, they had no one else to ask. They had asked all of their friends and they had no idea like them. Yuna had even asked her older brother, Asuma, who was a genin two years senior to them. Naruto was there for their interaction and could plainly see that their relationship was somewhat strained. He filed it away in his mind. Now was not the time for prying.

Anko was the one to break the silence. "Can you tell us if whatever it is, is dangerous?"

Orochimaru frowned at the question but stayed silent.

"Can you tell us why you can't answer?" Naruto asked. Orochimaru remained silent. "Orders?".

"Bull. Shit." Naruto and Anko stared in surprise at Yuna, who was now on her feet. "On the day of team selection, you told us that if it has the smallest chance of helping your comrades, you shouldn't listen to orders. You chewed Naruto out for obeying your orders and endangering us. And now, you turn around and do the same thing?"

Orochimaru looked conflicted before he finally gave in. "This exercise is to check if you are ready for the life of a ninja and this is the reason why you haven't done any missions in the past two weeks. I was trying to prepare you for this." He paused and saw their surprised faces. "To answer your question, Anko, it is dangerous." With that, he stood up and started to walk away before he was forced to reveal more.

Naruto was the first to get over his surprise and stood up. "Any advice?"

Orochimaru stopped but didn't turn around. "Don't hesitate." He started walking. "Just don't hesitate when the time comes."

Naruto went back to his place on the ground. But as soon as he sat down, Yuna stood up. "Come on. We'll go see if the others had any luck with their senseis."

With eyes narrowed at Yuna, he stood back up. "You knowingly waited till I sat down, didn't you?" he said accusingly.

Yuna's face revealed nothing as she started walking away from them. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Laughing at him, Anko dragged him along as she followed Yuna. The teams were spread out over the countryside so that a potential ambush wouldn't catch them all together. Team 13 was the only team near them with people they knew. Naruto made sure to commit the path they took to memory. It was getting dark. The last thing they wanted was to get lost in the dense forest.

A few minutes later, they made it to Team 13's camp. To their surprise, Mikoto was still with them. When Orochimaru left them, they had assumed that he was supposed to leave. Apparently not.

As soon as Shizuka noticed her friends approaching, she stood up to greet them. "Hey guys! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I think we managed to get some info-", Anko tried to say but was interrupted by Yuna.

"Nothing. We finished setting up camp and wanted to see if you guys needed help.", Yuna said, nervously glancing at Mikoto who seemed to not notice.

Shizuka tried to ask what Anko was trying to say, but Shinzo had taken the hint and prevented it. They sat around and made small talk for some time. A few minutes later, Mikoto left them, saying that she would be right back.

"So, did you manage to get anything from your sensei?" Shizuka excitedly asked.

"Yeah, but not much. He told us to be ready at dawn and that whatever it is, is dangerous." Naruto said.

Nawaki scoffed. "We knew that already." He had been trying very hard to listen to his sister. To be more polite and to get along with his team and if circumstances demanded it, to get along with even him, the one who had humiliated him. But they were here stating the obvious like it was some big discovery.

Naruto chose to ignore his taunt however and stayed silent which only served to annoy him more.

"Did Mikoto-sensei tell you anything?" Yuna queried.

"Nope, nothing of note anyway." Shinzo said thoughtfully. "This all seems very strange to me. I get that there are some things that we can't be privy to, but it almost seems like it's their mission that we don't know anything."

"You might be right, Shinzo-san." Yuna held her chin in concentration. "Ever since my brother became a genin, my father has always discussed the mission at the dinner table before he left. He was very evasive about this one though." Yuna had already asked her brother about it. He had laughed at her saying that the only thing different about this mission, was that she was on the mission as well. Yuna didn't want to believe it but the facts said otherwise. But still, this was her very first mission. It was also the first time that their father failed to discuss a mission. It wasn't difficult to see why… She would always be second best.

Asuma had been personally trained by their father from the age of 4, even with the war going on. Yuna however, was ignored for the better part of her childhood. Most of what she learned was either self-taught or taught by her other older brother, Sasuke Sarutobi. This was why she hated it when people attributed her strength to the fact that she was the Hokage's daughter. He had nothing to do with it other than sparring with her sometimes and telling her she wasn't as strong as her brothers. Yeah, no shit.

That was also why her team was a refreshing change of pace. Initially, when she heard that Orochimaru was going to be her sensei, she was disappointed. She had heard it said on many occasions. Orochimaru was her father's favorite student. Yuna had had some bad experiences with her father's favorite people. She was prepared to be held to higher than usual expectations and to be verbally abused for not living up to it. Like she had been her whole life. She never even imagined that, with the help of her teammates, she would actually reach those expectations. So, she was thankful for the team she got.

It also helped that they didn't seem to care that she was the Hokage's daughter. The first spar she had with Naruto proved that much. In the academy, her spars were ridiculously easy with most people afraid to actually hit her. Anko was one of the few exceptions who weren't afraid. This made Anko her first ever friend. She was glad that she was placed in the same team as her. But then, her other teammate turned out to be someone she had never met and who had graduated the academy early, like her brother. She didn't try to be mean to him, but it had happened unconsciously. Then, he started proving himself.

She knew for a fact that Orochimaru was supposed to fail them. She had overheard her father tell him to do so. It hurt her that her own father would do something like that, but she knew that it was for the village. Her sensei could contribute much more to the war effort on his own than when he is held back by a team of genin. She had gone to the genin exam, knowing that they wouldn't be allowed to pass. But she was not a quitter. She would still give it her all. Then the test took place. Naruto was the one who changed his mind. Single-handedly, he made Orochimaru want to go against his Hokage's strict orders.

Naruto was the reason she was here among the genin. She was thankful for that. As she watched him joke around with his fellow orphans with Anko chiming in from time to time, she just hoped that she would someday reach that level of familiarity with him. Something about him was just so uplifting.

"We aren't supposed to make so much noise, you know?" Nawaki said quietly. He had been sitting away from the rest of them and no one had invited him. Yuna grinned. He probably got tired of waiting for an invitation.

"It's fine, Nawaki. We are surrounded by allies." Shizuka turned back to the other team. "But it is getting late. You should probably head back. Orochimaru didn't tell you anything else?"

Naruto shrugged. "He told us not to hesitate when the time comes… Whatever that means."

The others shared the sentiment. Sometimes, Orochimaru was far too cryptic for them to understand. As they said their goodbyes and left the camp, Naruto called out. "Good luck tomorrow. Shizuka. Shinzo."

Nawaki didn't notice that he wasn't included in their goodbyes. 'Don't hesitate… When the time comes…' The advice made sense. His right hand went to the necklace hanging on his neck. The one his sister gave him.

*Flashback*

3 Days Before

"Why were you crying, Oneechan? You've been avoiding the question for long enough." Nawaki yelled at his sister, who looked down at the ground in shame. They were on the balcony of her office at the hospital and she hoped no one was eavesdropping.

"Nawaki…" Tsunade said in a helpless tone, one which only enraged him more.

"Nee-chan, tell me. Who made you cry?" No reply came from his sister. "Was it Akira-ojiisan? Did he do something?"

Tsunade slightly chuckled at his question. "No, he didn't do anything. I did something bad, Nawaki-chan. As punishment, the Hokage had to strip me of my clan head status. You know how hard I worked for that and it made me a bit sad. So, I ended up crying."

Nawaki was not pleased. "So, it was the Hokage that made you cry.", he stated. "Damn it, he's not supposed to do that. A Hokage wouldn't do that."

Tsunade could see that her little brother was angry. "He had to do it, Nawaki-chan. It's his job."

"No. That's not his job. His job is the same as grandpa's and grandpa would never make you cry."

Tsunade sighed sadly. "That's not true, Nawaki. He made me cry a lot. When he died, I cried for days."

Nawaki went silent for a long time. "When I'm Hokage, you'll never cry again."

Tsunade stood there, stunned at his declaration. "Nawaki… Is that… Is that what you want?"

Nawaki blushed. He had never expressed his dream to his sister before. "Yeah. I want to be like grandpa someday. I will one day be given the honor of being Hokage, because… because being Hokage is my dream."

Tsunade smiled, even as tears formed in her eyes. "That's great, Nawaki-chan. I will help in any way I can." Her hands moved to her neck. She removed the First Hokage's necklace and held it out to her brother.

"You can't give it to me. Grandpa left it for you." Nawaki said in surprise.

"And I'm giving it to you. This is not just a necklace. It is grandpa's treasure. It symbolizes the village and all its people. So, it belongs with someone who wants to protect it more than anything." Tsunade said, her eyes filling with tears.

Nawaki took the necklace and wore it over his shirt. "Arigato, nee-chan."

Tsunade wrapped him in a hug. But Nawaki knew something was wrong immediately. She was tense. She started whispering in his ear. "Nawaki, you are going to go on a mission tomorrow. It is not actually a mission. It is a test. It is going to be very dangerous. You will be faced with a lot of bandits, and you will have to kill them in order to pass."

Nawaki's eyes were wide with surprise. "Nee-chan?"

"Tell no one. Not even your teammates. It will get me in trouble." Tsunade let go of him and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Be careful, ok? Come back to me safe."

Nawaki dumbly nodded. They were going to have another test. One with possible fatal outcomes and he couldn't tell his teammates. He might not like them much, but they were still a part of his team. And every Konoha shinobi knows that teamwork is the base on which their village was built. But if he told them and it came out, his sister would be in trouble.

Tsunade, however, failed to realize the dilemma he was facing as she led him through the village to his favorite restaurant.

*Flashback End*

Nawaki felt as if the necklace was burning through his neck. What he was doing went against everything his grandfather stood for. But then he heard Orochimaru's advice in his head. "Don't hesitate when the time comes."

He wouldn't. For his sister's sake. He would survive, even at the other's expense. He had a promise to keep after all.

---

The Next Day

Naruto awoke to Yuna staring grimly at him. When they got back to camp the previous day, Orochimaru was nowhere to be found. They waited for a few hours, discussing the mission that had even their sensei worried. It soon became clear that Orochimaru wasn't coming back to the camp. So, they did as they were taught to do in the situation. They were in a possibly hostile environment and they couldn't sleep without keeping guard. Anko took the first watch, Naruto the second and Yuna the third. Orochimaru never showed up.

As Yuna went to wake Anko, Naruto saw the dim light from the rising sun start to fill the sky. He went to the ground and took 10 rapid push-ups, letting his body know that he had woken up. 'Be ready at dawn.' That was all Orochimaru told them.

Anko also got up. Her face was red and her hair was all messed up. She was not used to sleeping without a bed. Looking at Yuna who was holding her back in pain, she wasn't either. The only person who wasn't fazed by the uncomfortable night they spent was Naruto. Anko was about to comment on it, but then realized that the young orphan would obviously be used to sleeping like this.

A few minutes later, they were all ready and waiting. "What are we supposed to do now?" Yuna asked, worried that their sensei had not showed up yet.

Orochimaru chose that moment to enter the clearing. "Good. You're ready. Follow me." He turned around and started walking, not needing to check if they were following. Silently, they moved through the forest until they arrived at a small clearing. Their sharp eyes caught an inscription on a tree at the far end of the clearing. "12", it said.

Orochimaru continued to walk until they reached the tree, at which point he turned around to look at them.

"Team 12. Sarutobi Yuna, Mitarashi Anko and… Naruto. You are now operating under Konoha's Silent Dispatch. Under the will of the Fire Daimyo and with authorization from the Third Hokage, you are given temporary access to the Land of Grass and a license to kill anyone you encounter, be it man, woman or child, civilian or shinobi, to preserve the safety and integrity of the Land of Fire."

Their faces were confused at the beginning of the statement and slowly paled toward the end. That's why the instructors were all so quiet during the journey here. The past two weeks of constant training, the lack of missions... It all made sense now.

"Past this small forest in front of you is a small village. Population used to be 300. They have been overrun by unknown parties, mostly bandits, thus preventing efficient contact with one of our key allies in the coming war. Be warned that some Iwagakure shinobi will use this opportunity to sneak into the Land of Fire. You are instructed to kill. If you return before the liberation of the village, it will result in immediate failure and debarment from Konoha's Shinobi Forces. You have 8 hours to complete the mission."

"You're joking, right?" Yuna's voice broke.

"I'm instructed to not answer any questions. You have 2 minutes to enter the forest or you automatically fail th-."

"Sensei?!", Naruto yelled, catching his attention for a few moments. "At least tell us what we're walking into.", he pleaded.

Orochimaru gulped as he looked away from his students. "I… can't." Their eyes went wide when they heard the emotion in his voice. "You have 1 minute and 37 seconds."

Konoha, Inuzuka Compound

Mogaku Inuzuka was a terrifying individual to anyone who met him for the first time. One would assume that his feral features were the reason for that. But no. His features were no more feral than his clansmen.

His unwavering gaze was the reason people feared him. Many people who sought an audience with him were not able to sit through the meeting while constantly under his piercing gaze.

It was wrong of him, however, to think he could get out of this meeting with intimidation. After all, Akira Senju seldom felt intimidated. His famous terrifying gaze, Akira met effortlessly. Akira didn't even talk, wanting Mogaku to invite him to do so. Akira calmly went about making tea for the both of them. His tea was known to be the best in the village and Mogaku knew it was an honor that he was sharing it with him just for a meeting. So, he invited him to speak.

"Akira-sama. It truly is a pleasure to have you in my home. It must be difficult to make time for us during these troubled times."

"Quite right, Mogaku-dono. I only just returned from an S-rank mission to Kumo last week. I shouldn't take such a long break between missions, but I am getting old."

They both chuckled. "Very true, Akira-sama. Us old people need our rest." They quietly sipped their tea for a few minutes, enjoying the silence.

But the silence was not to last, however. "Akira-ojiisan. My tea is too hot."

"So what, brat?"

Yugao pouted. "Blow on it so it gets cold faster."

"Blow on it yourself." Akira said, trying to remain calm.

Yugao went silent as she tried to cool it down. But as soon as she brought her face close, the heat got to her and she let out a yelp. "Ojiisan! It's too hot."

So, there he sat, blowing on a cup of tea with a 4-year-old sitting on his lap, trying hard not to meet the amused gaze of Mogaku Inuzuka. From the way the corner of his mouth tightened, Akira could see that Mogaku was trying hard not to laugh at him. He decided that a distraction was needed. "So, Mogaku-san, what is Tsume-san up to nowadays?"

It served his purpose of being a distraction, but the frown that formed on Mogaku's face made it clear that he did not wish to talk about it. "You know how it is, Akira-sama. She's reaching the marrying age and I've been trying to get her to marry someone soon. With the war coming, I need an heir. But now that kunoichi are allowed to become clan head, she has it in her head that she has no need to marry. At least, not now."

Akira sighed sadly. Tsunade had changed the law regarding clan heads by putting it to a majority vote. The motion had won out with a good 70% votes, but it still left 30% shinobi who resented it. Now that Tsunade had messed up by abusing her position, it would put the motion under review and it was quite possible that it would be revoked.

Yugao tried to understand what was being said in the beginning, but she quickly lost interest. She was now watching the cup of tea intently, puzzled at the ripples that formed on the surface whenever Akira blew on it. Now, it seemed Akira had stopped blowing on it, so she decided to try. She closed her eyes as she blew on it and when she opened them, the ripples had died out. It was puzzling.

"If I may, Akira-sama, who is she?" Mogaku inquired. "I don't recall you having children."

Akira sighed once again. "She was an orphan living on the streets. I took her in for one day and now, I don't have the heart to take her to an orphanage."

Mogaku smirked. "Senju Akira. Konoha's Golden Flame. The man who single-handedly held back Iwa's forces for two entire days at the Taki border until reinforcements arrived." He paused to see if Akira would say something but he never did. "Soft."

A tic-mark appeared on his forehead which made Mogaku's smirk even wider. If you can't scare them, annoy them. That was his motto.

Making sure that he would remember this particular jibe later on, Akira decided that it was time to get to the point of this visit. "Mogaku-san, the reason I'm here today is to ask about one of your clan members."

Mogaku's smile disappeared as soon as it appeared. It was time for business now. "Tsume! Get in here.", he yelled out.

A few moments passed and a busty brunette kunoichi in standard jounin attire, walked into the room. "Hai, Otousama.", she spoke shyly.

Mogaku didn't acknowledge her presence. "Take this girl and entertain her for a bit. Akira-sama and I have business to discuss."

Tsume was visibly saddened by that. She thought that he had finally decided to let her be part of a meeting. But she thought wrong. She was now tasked with babysitting some random kid while her father kept her in the dark once again. Shooting her father a dirty look, she took Yugao in her arms and quickly exited the room, ignoring Yugao's protests. "Oneechan, it was finally cold. Let me down."

Akira looked at the Inuzuka clan head with raised eyebrows, but chose not to comment. They made small talk for a few minutes as they continued to sip the beverage.

"What do you want to know, Senju-sama?" Mogaku asked, setting the empty cup down.

Akira looked at his own empty cup in disappointment. Shrugging internally, he took Yugao's cup and took a sip. She was right. It was cooled down to the perfect temperature. "Inuzuka Sanae. Do you know where she is? I have some questions for her."

Mogaku didn't show any outward reaction. "Why do you want to know?"

"Never mind about that." Akira said dismissively. Mogaku didn't say anything in reply and Akira soon realized that he was still waiting for an answer to his question. "It's for personal reasons."

Mogaku nodded. "It is interesting that you mention personal matters here, Senju-sama. I also have a personal matter that I would like your help with."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "What might that be?"

Mogaku couldn't help but smirk at him. "With Tsunade out of the clan head position, the recent modification to the law will be brought under review which will no doubt lead to another vote." Understanding dawned on Akira's face. "You will most likely be the acting clan head at the time. I'll gladly help you out with your 'personal' issue, if you vote for the removal of the modification made on the law."

Akira always thought that the Inuzuka clan were a bunch of dunderheads. But here their clan head was, making demands of one of the most senior Konoha shinobi. He didn't imagine this level of stupidity from the man. Not that it mattered anyway. He was asking too much.

"Let me get this cleared up. You are asking me to undermine the decade-long efforts of my niece and deny her and other kunoichi like her, their dreams and aspirations?" Akira sharply spoke. "In exchange for one shinobi's location? Something I can get from the mission assignment desk just as easily?"

Mogaku paled a bit but nevertheless nodded. "You said it was personal, which means you don't want many people knowing about your sudden interest in Inuzuka Sanae."

Akira nodded. "I see." Suddenly, he stood up. "Yugao-chan! We're leaving."

Mogaku's eyes went wide. He had crossed a line with the older shinobi. And he doubted that he could fix it easily.

Tsume walked in with Yugao in her arms. "She fell asleep, Akira-sama. Should I wake her up?"

Akira smiled at her. "I'd appreciate that… Tsume, right?"

Tsume smiled at him. It was not everyday that someone this high up in the Konoha hierarchy addressed her by her first name. "Yeah, that's right." Then, she gently woke the young girl up.

"Tsume. I'll remember the name. You're a newly-made jonin right?" She nodded. "I look forward to working with you in the future."

Tsume beamed at him. It was obvious that her achievements weren't fully appreciated at home. "Thank you, Akira-sama. I look forward to the same."

Akira smiled at her. Then, he looked down at Yugao. "Come on, Yugao-chan. It's time to go."

Yugao nodded and turned around. "Bye Tsume-chan. Bye scary ojiichan."

Not wanting to hear Mogaku's retaliation, Akira led Yugao out of the house but paused at the door and turned around. "Say Tsume-san, do you know anyone named Inuzuka Sanae?"

Mogaku suddenly became aware of what was happening but before he could say anything, Tsume let out a laugh. "Inuzuka Sanae. Now there's a laugh. All Inuzuka clan members are named after dog related things like Kiba, Tsume, Akita. Tou-sama here is an exception, but if there's one thing I'm sure of, there is no Inuzuka with a name meaning 'flower'. You must have misheard the name or something… um, sir."

"Figured as much." Akira muttered before smiling at her again. "Thank you, Tsume-san. You'll make a wonderful clan head one day."

Then he turned around and walked out of the house, leaving behind a surprised, but happy Tsume and a fuming Mogaku. Akira chuckled. 'An honest day's work.'

"What's so funny, Akira-ojiichan?" Yugao asked curiously.

Akira chuckled again before picking her up. "Nothing, Yugao-chan. I'll tell you when you're older. Now, what do you want to eat?"

He didn't realize how much the girl was starting to grow on him. He should've expected it because some of the best memories he had were taking care of a young Tsunade and later, a young Kushina. Now it was Yugao who was much younger than the other two were, but hey, she was potty-trained and much cuter than them.

"Ice-cream!" she yelled.

Akira nodded seriously. "Ice-cream it is then."

With Team 12, 2 Hours Later

Naruto grimaced in pain when his shoulder got caught in a thorny plant. The greenery was not the same as back in Konoha, so they had to be extra careful as they made their way through the forest. The sun was fully up now, but the thick forest didn't allow much light to reach them.

They had been navigating the forest for the past 2 hours taking only a few water-breaks in between. It wasn't tiring them out, but the unfamiliarity of the situation was getting on their nerves. They had close to 6 hours left to make it back, which meant 4 hours to complete the mission. And they still had no idea how much farther the forest extended. The pain from the thorns was not helping anything.

Noticing her teammate in pain, Yuna decided to call a break. They stopped at a nearby clearing and took out their water containers. Quickly taking a sip, they made sure to wet the entire mouth. Survival 101. Never drink more than what's necessary. Naruto swallowed some of the water to wet his throat and spat the rest onto his shoulder, wincing a little.

"We are not covering enough ground this way. We haven't encountered a single bandit or even an ally team." Anko stated. She didn't want to sound pessimistic; she was just stating facts. This wasn't going well at all.

"Not encountering the bandits is not a bad thing." Yuna said, trying to lighten the situation.

"No. That's the bad part." Naruto quietly spoke. "It's too quiet. If bandits had taken over the village, fires would be set to all the houses, all the men would be killed or enslaved and all the women would be kept… for their entertainment. We should be able to see some signs of life by now. Some smoke, or at least some screaming."

Yuna and Anko shivered at the thought of being enslaved for someone's entertainment. It was every kunoichi's worst nightmare. It was why the shinobi forces had a male majority. Very few girls applied to the academy because of the horrible risks and most kunoichi, subjected to those horrors, dropped out of active service. That and very few kunoichi returned to service after giving birth.

"Hang on, didn't they take the village 3 weeks ago or something? We wouldn't see any smoke now…" Yuna suddenly asked.

Naruto grimly nodded. "Yes. But traces of the smoke will stay in the air for far longer than that."

Both Yuna and Anko ignored the unspoken question facing them. 'How does he know that?' They knew the answer to it. They were sure that Naruto himself doesn't know it. His past self knows it. The fact that a kid younger than 6 would know such things didn't make them feel any better.

"So, what do we do now? Do we split up?" Anko asked.

"No. No need to split up. I sent those clones ahead, right? They serve the same purpose." Naruto said slowly. "This is safer als-".

Naruto was suddenly on his feet looking towards their left. Memories from a dispelled clone flooded his mind. The clone had found some enemies and instead of engaging them, he had gotten far enough away and dispelled himself to warn his creator.

Orochimaru had explained to him all the benefits of using shadow clones for scouting and espionage. When they entered the forest, Naruto immediately remembered the information gathering capability of shadow clones and created 3 clones to go ahead, searching for traps and clearing the way of any dangerous animals. With how much he'd used the technique in the past week, he had even increased his limit to 4 now.

Now one of them had dispelled having found some enemies in the thick jungle. Naruto turned around to his teammates. "Come on. We have our first targets."

With Team 7

Kakashi glared at the other team members. They were being too loud. In this mission, stealth was paramount. In any mission, actually. A shinobi works from the shadows, only revealing himself when absolutely necessary. The rules clearly stated that. Why then was this pathetic excuse of a shinobi spouting off at the top of his lungs about 'youth'. Even Obito wasn't this bad.

They had encountered the team about 1 hour into the mission. They identified themselves as Team 4 consisting of Might Guy, Shiranui Genma and Ebisu. Together, they decided to stick together to ensure the best chance of survival. Considering that most bandits were just thugs with swords, Kakashi thought that teaming up was overkill. But the rules clearly stated that in a hostile situation, it is best to team up with as many shinobi as possible as it would make their enemies more wary of attacking them. He would not go against the rules, even when the others were blatantly ignoring them.

The group suddenly came to a stop when their scout, Ebisu, held up his hand. There was something up ahead. As planned, the long-range attackers Kakashi, Genma and Obito stepped forward. They jumped up to different trees so that they could attack simultaneously from different angles.

In a moment, Kakashi took on the enemy. They were about 40 feet away, sitting and talking with each other. They hadn't noticed their presence. Nodding to himself, his eyes found Genma and Obito waiting for his direction. He started doing hand-seals and they did the same. Seeing they were ready, Kakashi gave a small nod, signaling them.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball."

"Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm."

Obito's jutsu created a giant fireball that flew through the air at the unaware ninja while Genma's jutsu modified the earth they were standing on which made escaping very difficult. The orbs made of lightning made by Kakashi sailed through the air, masked by Obito's larger jutsu.

The resulting explosion rocked the trees. Ebisu's sensor technique was activated, trying to keep track of the situation.

"What do you see, Ebisu?" Guy asked seriously.

No movement, no screams, no reaction. He channeled more chakra to his eyes. No bodies… 'Genjutsu'. "Guys, get away. It's a trap."

Kakashi, Obito and Genma jumped away just in time to see kunai hit the place they had just been on. Genma wasn't quite fast enough and a kunai scraped his knee, drawing blood.

"Well, well, well… This is insulting. Konoha sent children to do the dirty work for them. I don't think they took us seriously."

The voice came from all around them, distorted and sinister. The killing intent that accompanied the voice made them shiver slightly. The situation was worsening by the second. Kakashi came to a quick realization when the first enemy, disguised as part of a tree, dropped his camouflage and the gleam of his katana reached his eyes. They weren't facing bandits of any kind. They were facing ninja.

With Team 13

"Come on. They're just sitting there. We have to move now." Nawaki said urgently.

"And I told you. They're supposed to be bandits. They would be making a lot more noise if they were relaxed. They are obviously on guard and we have to make a plan before we do anything." Shizuka said, sounding equally urgent.

Shinzo didn't say anything. He looked out at the bandit camp. There were three of them. One for each of them. If they were indeed bandits, it would be easy for them. Everyone knew that bandits were nothing but thugs with swords. But that wasn't the question he was asking. Would he really be able to kill them?

He was 4 years old when he first witnessed life being extinguished slowly. It was unfortunate that it had been his dad that died and his brother that killed him. But ever since that day, he had an aversion to blood, not strong enough to stop him from becoming a ninja but strong enough to affect him. He knew that someday he would have to kill and watch as the light disappeared from their eyes. He just didn't know if he was ready.

With all this on his mind, he didn't pay much attention to what was being said. But he knew the essentials of both sides. Nawaki wanted to charge in and kill everyone. They were just bandits and Nawaki was a very strong genin and it was well within his capabilities. But his brother had once told him that the first kill was the most difficult one and that he had frozen up immediately after. That was also a possibility for Nawaki. So, whatever they ended up doing, they had to do it together.

On the other hand, Shizuka wanted to wait. As she said, the bandits sure didn't seem like bandits. They were far too quiet. Shizuka was saying that it's better to wait until one of them went to get firewood or hunt for food. It was a cold morning and it was definitely a possibility. But they were on the clock. Every minute mattered. They hadn't even reached the village yet. These bandits were probably just part of a larger group that was acting as a lookout. They couldn't just wait around. It was better to sneak around them than risk alerting the larger group to their presence.

Their mission was to liberate the village, not clear the forest separating it from the Land of Fire.

Shinzo made up his mind and signaled his teammates to listen to him. "I agree with Shizuka in her assessment. Something's wrong here. But we can't simply wait around. We have a mission. I think it's best if we go around them."

Shizuka nodded, signaling her agreement. However, Nawaki stared at them angrily. "Of course, you agree with her. You were both out for me the moment we were made a team. What we need to do here is obvious. So obvious. But because I was the one who said it, you both refuse to do it."

Shinzo frowned. "Why is it so obvious?"

"'Don't hesitate, when the time comes.' That was the advice Orochimaru gave. Our mission is to kill some bandits, not a difficult task. That means we will probably be evaluated based on how many we kill." Nawaki said heatedly.

Shizuka and Shinzo flinched. They hadn't thought of it like that and they'd dismissed his opinion almost casually.

Shinzo stepped forward. "That doesn't change anything. If it's possible to avoid confrontation, we should try."

But it was already too late. Nawaki had stopped listening. Jumping down from the tree they were hiding in, he started sprinting to the bandit camp. Shinzo cursed out loud before dragging Shizuka and following him. Nawaki was much faster than them and so, he was already halfway there. That's when Shinzo noticed it. The bandits hadn't reacted to Nawaki's presence. Even the bandit facing their way hadn't reacted. 'Genjutsu.'

Shizuka was running as hard as she could when suddenly she was pulled to a stop by Shinzo.

"NAWAKI! STOOPP!"

With Team 12.

"There they are." Naruto quietly said, pointing to the three bandits sitting around the clearing.

"Should we engage them? It's not our mission to clear the forest. We could just sneak around them." Yuna was crouched near him on the wide branch they were resting on.

"But that would leave our back open." Anko chimed in.

"I think it's best if we sneak around them. Something's not right about them." Yuna said, sticking to her idea.

"I agree. Come on, let's…" Naruto's peripheral vision detected movement and his attention went back to the clearing. "Is that Nawaki? What is he doing?"

Anko's eyes followed the running figure, equally confused. "I think it is." She couldn't say anything more because the sound of someone yelling reached their ears.

"NAWAKI! STOOPP!"

In a blink of the eye, it was over. There was a tall shadow behind Nawaki, holding both his arms behind him with one hand and a kunai in the other. Nobody had time to move an inch before the kunai hand moved towards his neck and blood sprayed out. A scream echoed through the clearing as the blood started to gush out.

Yuna gasped as tears filled her eyes. He was dead. Nawaki was dead. Her tears started to fall down her face as the sound of Nawaki's dying gurgles reached her. The tall ninja quietly let go of his arms and his body fell to the ground with a thud.

Naruto's eyes found Shizuka as the source of the scream. Beside her, Shinzo stood frozen, staring at the dead body of their teammate. Time seemed to slow down for Naruto as he saw two figures drop their camouflage and emerge from the trees they were hiding in. Unconsciously he started moving toward them. His friends were in trouble. They needed him.

But suddenly, he felt a weight on him and he fell back on the branch. A hand reached around his neck and closed around his mouth to prevent him from making noise. Someone else found his hands and held them apart to prevent using hand-seals to substitute with them.

Because they knew. Anko and Yuna knew he would not sit still and watch it happen. And he was forced to watch it happen. In slow motion.

He watched as the two shinobi reached his closest friends in the world and grabbed them by their hair. Shinzo was still frozen, staring at Nawaki's dead body in disbelief. Shizuka tried to struggle and flailed around helplessly. It made no difference.

The kunais went through their necks without resistance. Blood flowed freely from their bodies onto the grassy terrain. The ninja holding Shinzo let go of his hair, letting him fall to the ground choking on his own blood. The other one was not so merciful, as he lifted Shizuka up by her hair. He yanked the kunai out of her throat, making blood gush out of her, and then stabbed it through her stomach. And then, again. And again. And again, until she stopped responding. She was dead. They were all dead.

And he watched it all happen. In slow motion. He did not know why it happened like that but he would later find out that whatever enabled him to see it all in slow motion would also give him a photographic memory.

Meaning that the death of his two closest friends were now committed to his memory. He went limp under his two teammates. He wanted to be mad at them for stopping him. He defeated Orochimaru's giant snake single handedly. He could handle three jonin. But he knew why they did it. If they had let him go, he could have died.

'Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.' He couldn't prevent that thought from coming up in his mind. But if he had jumped into action and failed to stop them, the jonin would suspect that he had teammates hidden in the trees and they would die as well.

So, he went limp. He did nothing. He did nothing even as the gurgles died down from Shinzo and his eyes went blank. He did nothing when the first jonin, and the tallest of the three, kicked Nawaki's body and he landed in a heap near his two teammates, covered in his own blood.

"This is insulting. I know we said bandits, but I didn't think they'd send fresh genin into this." The one who killed Shinzo was the one who spoke.

"Stupid child!" The tall one yelled and he kicked Nawaki's body again. "You could've spared the girl, Akihiro. I wouldn't have minded having a go at her."

Akihiro, now named, grinned back at the tall jonin. "She's still warm. You're welcome to try your luck with her, but we both know even a dead girl will find some way to reject you."

"You'd like to see that, wouldn't you, you filthy shit?" The tall ninja went through a few hand seals and used an earth jutsu to bury the three bodies. "Come on. There should be other clueless bastards in this forest. Next time, don't kill the girls so fast."

Akihiro just smirked at him. "You're the boss."

Naruto watched as the three of them left the clearing. Akihiro… Black hair, close to 6 feet tall, average build, green eyes. He wasn't going to forget him, not the other two either. They would get what was coming to them. He would make sure of it. He would get revenge. For Shinzo. For Shizuka. He would kill them. And he would make them suffer before he did.

Anko remained on top of him for a good 5 minutes after the older shinobi left. Finally, she let him go. She collapsed near him. They were dead. An entire team of genin, killed in 8 seconds. They stood no chance. She had seen Naruto's body start to move moments before she tackled him to the ground. She wouldn't let him rush to his death. She just couldn't let that happen. Yuna also snapped out of her shock to properly restrain his hands because after all, the only thing stopping him from using the substitution jutsu, was a hand-seal.

Yuna also collapsed near him. They stood no chance. In the real world, 8 seconds was what a team of genin was worth. They weren't ready for this. She didn't care that returning without completing the mission would result in debarment from the shinobi forces. She just wanted to go home. Asuma was right. She wasn't ready for this.

They were dead. And he could do nothing. His mind went to the people who knew them. Irene, Akira and Yugao. And of these three, he doubted whether the first two would lose a wink of sleep over what had happened. Naruto had no time to dwell on it however. The ninja who killed team 13 were jonin or higher. Naruto knew that this was a possibility. His sensei made sure they all knew the political situation in the elemental nations. From what he knew, he was half-expecting an Iwa-nin or two using the situation in Kiriniku Village like Orochimaru said they might.

But these shinobi were not from Iwagakure. They belonged to Kusagakure. Which meant that this whole mission was a set up and they had fallen right into their hands.

Naruto stood up slowly drawing the eyes of his teammates. They stared wide-eyed at him.

"Naruto… Your eyes…", Yuna said, her voice faint.

"What about them?" he asked softly, rubbing his tears away. He registered a coppery smell entering his nose. Naruto had not looked up from the spot where they had been buried. Now, he looked at his hands. It was red. He was crying blood. But that wasn't the odd part. He could see the chakra flowing through his hands.

"It's the sharingan." Anko stated, not believing her words. Naruto took out a kunai and stared at his eyes in the reflection. He saw red eyes, 3 slowly spinning tomoe in each, staring back at him.

Naruto pushed away every thought about the Sharingan that entered his mind. He couldn't place it but he was sure he'd felt this way before. He was sure this had happened to him before. He was … furious. Nothing mattered to him in that moment and he felt something fundamental shift inside him.

…

…

He would never be the same again.

Much to his teammates' alarm, he clenched his fists so hard that his nails drew blood. Slowly, in his mind, everything around him disappeared. The forest was gone. His teammates were gone. His dead friends were gone. Only five things remained. Him, the three jonin and the word that connected them.

Revenge.

With Team 7

"I thought Kusagakure sent for us." Might Guy yelled out to his allies, as he dove in and out of the enemy's reach.

When the shinobi first revealed themselves, they had felt very threatened. But they were all chunin-level and they were barely able to hold their own against them because they outnumbered the Kusa ninja. When Rin healed Genma's knee, he was able to join the fight. With the added support of Genma, they were pushing them back.

"Shut up and die already, you freak." The kusa ninja that Guy was fighting yelled back.

"He is right, you know?" Kakashi calmly stated. "We are supposed to be allies. What are you doing?" He effortlessly held his white blade against the enemy's sword.

"That's none of your business, brat.", the chunin yelled as he tried desperately to overpower the younger ninja.

"So be it." Kakashi said under his breath. He suddenly weakened his grip on the sword just for a moment which left the chunin unbalanced and he fell forward. With his free hand, Kakashi drew a kunai and jammed it through his back before the chunin could recover.

The chunin screamed, turning everyone's attention to Kakashi. Calmly, Kakashi turned him around and held his sword to the chunin's neck. "Get lost.", he said looking at the two remaining chunin. One of them was fighting Guy and Genma and the other one was fighting Obito, Ebisu and Rin. If he joined the fight they were as good as dead. And he hoped they realized it too. He didn't particularly enjoy killing. "This stopped being our mission the moment you revealed your trickery. The rules dictate that we abandon the mission. If you agree to come with us peacefully, I won't have to kill him."

The chunin growled at the white-haired shinobi that had bested them. They were about to lay down their weapons when their captured ally spoke up. "Don't worry about me. Just kill them before they get word to-". He got no further as the blade at his neck pierced through his skin. He fell to the ground, choking on his own blood.

The other chunin got the message. It wasn't their choice. The genin were leaving regardless of their acceptance. Whether they were alive or dead when they did leave, was entirely up to the young man who had just taken a life effortlessly. They made their decision quickly and laid down their weapons.

"Good. Tie them up." Kakashi yelled at the others, who were staring at him with wide eyes. "We're going back and we're taking them with us."

With Team 12

Naruto stared into the hole dug out by Yuna's earth manipulation.

Nawaki Senju, 12 years old.

Shinzo Aburame, 13 years old.

Shizuka... 13 years old.

Their eyes were still open.

"Naruto… It's ok if you need a minute." Yuna spoke gently.

"Why? We're still in hostile territory." Naruto replied mechanically, earning a worried look from both his teammates.

Naruto's hand went to the storage seal on his wrist and retrieved a body scroll. Then, before either of his teammates could say anything, he jumped down into the hole. First, he sealed Nawaki inside. One clean slit from ear to ear. Then, he sealed Shinzo inside. One kunai through the neck. Finally, Shizuka. One kunai through the neck, and stabbed… 13 times in the stomach. They would pay. They would pay with their lives.

Naruto jumped out of the hole.

"Naruto…" Anko tried to say something.

"I'm fine." Naruto snapped. "I know what to do now. Can you make a hole big enough for all of us?" He asked Yuna.

Yuna hesitated before nodding. "What are you thinking?"

Naruto closed his eyes. He remembered how he felt when he woke up at the hospital all those years ago. How lost and alone he felt. He remembered how he'd felt that way right up until he met Shinzo and Shizuka... And they changed everything for him.

"When you find those select few people that connect you to this world, you become someone different... Someone better..." Naruto's eyes snapped open and his teammates took a step back noticing the dark look in his eyes. "When those people are taken from you... What do you become then?"

Naruto's Sharingan eyes began to spin in their sockets. "I'm gonna burn them all."

With Orochimaru

Danzo was monitoring all the jonin strictly. He even brought ANBU with him to make sure that none of the jonin revealed more than what was necessary to the genin. That was why he told his team nothing. But looking back on it, he should have told them. He should've told them about the Silent Dispatch the moment he took them on as a team, when ANBU weren't around, when they could get enough time to mentally prepare themselves.

Now, he felt hopeless. He realized that he'd abandoned his team. Just like his parents abandoned him. He'd been mad at his parents for so long after they'd died. It was out of their control just like this was to him. "Doesn't mean that they won't hate me… If they even survive."

And that was the question, wasn't it? Would they survive? He had given them the best advice he could think of. People had a tendency to hesitate before their first kill. Even lowly bandits need only a small window of opportunity to strike. 'Don't hesitate.' He'd told them.

He was with his fellow instructors. They all seemed equally worried. Minato was actually silent. Ever since his white-haired teammate had taken him on as an apprentice, Orochimaru had grown accustomed to his bright smile and never-ending questions. Seeing him silent was unnerving.

Suddenly, there was activity in the camp. Orochimaru ran towards the medic tent with Minato following closely. From what he could hear from the conversation among the jonin, a team had returned. They burst into the medic tent revealing Danzo already there.

"Who is it?"

"Who came back?" The two of them said simultaneously.

"Team 10. Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi and Yashiro Uchiha." Danzo calmly replied.

Orochimaru frowned. "Why?" he asked, puzzled. Asuma was one of the strongest genin he had ever come across. Why would he do something that would result in debarment?

"I don't know. They were too soft for the shinobi business, I suppose." Danzo replied.

A cough prevented Orochimaru from responding. Asuma Sarutobi had woken up. "We *cough* weren't soft. You sent us *cough*… You sent us in to fight against jonin-level ninja. We had no chance. *cough* from the beginning."

Orochimaru's heart sank. Ninja? Jonin-level ninja? This was bad.

Almost in reply to his thoughts, he felt a huge chakra surge and he rushed outside quickly followed by his colleagues. In the distance, a huge fireball was visible in the sky. The chakra was familiar to Orochimaru. So, he didn't bother to wait for his superior to give him orders. He rushed into the forest leaving his fellow jonin behind.

Danzo shook his head at Orochimaru. A team had made even the most promising scientific and logical mind in Konoha act illogically. He was suddenly thankful once again that he had never taken a team. He turned around to address the shinobi gathered in front of the medic tent. "Attention, all shinobi. A signal has been given, indicating that something has gone wrong. I want 10 of you to remain here and the rest of you are to enter the forest and bring the teams of genin back here. If the signal was a false alarm, the team that fired it will fail immediately."

Orochimaru shook his head at the words of Danzo that his snake-like senses picked up even from quite a distance away. He paused whenever he saw signs of battle. There was a lot of blood but no bodies to be seen. That was a problem for the future.

For now, he needed to find his students. Nothing else mattered.

With Team 12.

"That should do it…" Yuna said as she panted slightly. Creating a huge gap in the earth was not something she was very comfortable with.

"This works." Naruto said. He had been drawing the barrier seals he planned to use. He rolled the scroll up once he finished. He then held up his hand in a strange finger gesture. Suddenly the clones he had created earlier appeared on the trees. He'd sent a mental command to them to fall back to his position. What he was about to do would be visible for miles. He hoped that the instructors would see it and would be fast enough because otherwise he was basically committing suicide and killing his teammates along with him.

Naruto and his clones drew a seal and slammed it on the ground.

Horse. Tiger. Serpent. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger.

"Explosion Seal Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

When Orochimaru started them on elemental techniques, Naruto had been a little disappointed. Sure, he had a few water techniques, but both his teammates had two affinities and were already performing basic techniques and intermediate manipulation exercises. His second affinity was apparently the rarest one in Konoha. To the point that Orochimaru could name only two. This led him to the private library of one Akira Senju where he and his clones spent a lot of time researching ways to use fuinjutsu to perform fire techniques. This technique was the result. But it was by no means the only thing he'd picked up from Akira Senju's house. And it was not the only thing he planned to use before the day was over.

A stream of fire erupted from the seal of each clone and rose upwards as they continued to push chakra into the technique. The four different streams of fire collided in the middle directly above them and exploded into a great fire producing a big flash. They had to shield themselves from the intense heat it gave off.

The original Naruto turned to Yuna. "The explosives… Are you done?"

Yuna nodded hesitantly. She had done as he asked and placed the explosive tags underground. "But how would you know when to set it off? Allies and enemies alike will make their way here. This is too risky."

Naruto waved her off. "I'll have the clones on the outside."

"Naruto…".

"This is a bad idea." Anko expressed what Yuna was trying to say.

"I don't care." Naruto replied angrily while pointing at the hole in the earth. "Get in." he said harshly before jumping in himself.

They looked at each other worriedly. Then Anko shrugged and did as he asked and Yuna followed. She hoped their sensei had seen the signal. They were sitting ducks here. The fire was a double-edged sword. Enemies would have seen it too. The jonin shinobi from earlier wouldn't have gotten far, which surely meant that they would be the first to reach them.

With Kusa Jonin Akihiro

"Is that all you tree-huggers can do?", Akihiro yelled as he dug his foot into the genin. His teammates were standing back letting him enjoy himself. This was the fourth team they were going to take out. It was admittedly better than they'd hoped but it was getting boring. The higher-ups were expecting at least chunin-level ninja to be sent on this 'mission'. Soon, the scouts realized that the shinobi that entered the forest were genin. That too, without their jonin instructors.

Overkill would best describe what followed. They were in a foreign environment while the Kusa ninja had grown up fighting in these dense thorny forests which barely allowed any light to enter. None of them had even managed to put up more than a minute of resistance. Most of them didn't register the presence of an enemy before a kunai was deposited through their body. This was a disappointment.

He was brought out of his thoughts when the boy under his foot made a noise. "Enough… Please. Enough."

Akihiro smirked. "Now, there's a smart boy. You know when to give up, don't you?"

Tears flowed down the boy's cheek. "Kill me. Kill me please. Kill me-".

The rest of what he said couldn't be heard because of a loud explosion, accompanied by an intense wave of heat. Seeing the Kusa jonin distracted by the explosion, the boy managed to escape from under him.

Akihiro glared at him in contempt. "I was wrong. You don't know when to give up." He turned around to look at his teammates. "You two go and check that out. I'll finish up here." They grinned at him, signaling their agreement.

"Now, what's your name, boy? We are going to have some fun." He said as he slowly walked forward.

With Orochimaru

"HEELLPP!"

This was the second time Orochimaru heard the faint cry for help. Focused on reaching his team as fast as possible, he ignored it the first time. But this was louder and sounded much more urgent than the first time.

He carefully made his way into the clearing, immediately noticing the three Kusa shinobi in hiding. The cries were coming from under the ground. These shinobi had buried a genin alive so that his cries would draw in more unsuspecting shinobi. 'Clever.' Orochimaru commented. 'Almost predatory.'

He ignored the three enemy shinobi completely and channeled his chakra into an earth jutsu, bringing the boy above ground. He immediately sensed the enemy shinobi on the move, no doubt, to take advantage of his 'distracted state'.

The genin was a male, about 16 years old. He was incredibly tall, well over 6 feet. He was a well-known genin among the higher-ups. He was currently in his third team, him being the only survivor of his previous two teams.

"Orochimaru-sama." The boy said, stunned at who his savior was. "Look out." He yelled when he saw the ninja approaching from behind Orochimaru.

There was no need however. Snakes came out of Orochimaru's attire, striking all three shinobi down effortlessly. They struggled a little but the snakes made quick work of them.

"Morino Ibiki, right?" he asked, while undoing the restraints placed on the boy.

Ibiki nodded dumbly.

"Your sensei is Yamanaka Kosuke, am I correct?" The boy nodded once again. "Do you have any means of getting in touch with him?"

"Yes, sir." Ibiki said immediately, unsealing a radio device from a scroll. "Do you want to give him a message, Orochimaru-sama?"

"You're perceptive." Orochimaru smiled at him. "Tell him to broadcast the following message. 'The Kusa shinobi are using camouflage to hide at the base of oak trees. They are burying people alive so that their cries for help will draw in more prey.'"

Ibiki relayed the message immediately. "Orochimaru-sama. I know it's not my place to say, but I think the dead are also buried. If we want to retrieve their bodies, we should tell everyone.", he said pointing at a slightly disturbed piece of earth in the clearing.

Orochimaru nodded his agreement. "Quite perceptive again, Morino-san. Please proceed. Why are you still a genin?"

Ibiki relayed the rest of the message before answering. "I don't do well in a team, Orochimaru-sama.", he said, clearly embarrassed at the way this conversation was going.

"I see. I think I have a place for you in mind, where your skills at observation would be put to good use." Orochimaru told him, making him smile. "But for now, I have a job to do. You can either come with-"

Orochimaru felt a huge chakra surge again and looked up. His mouth fell open at what he saw. "Impossible."

Ibiki turned around as well to see a huge violet triangular barrier rise from the ground. "What is that?", he asked bewildered.

"That's a high-level Konoha kinjutsu."

Ibiki whirled around in surprise to see that Orochimaru had already left. He would ask Orochimaru later about what he meant about having a place for him in mind. For now, he needed to follow him.

With Naruto

Naruto watched as his clone entered the makeshift underground hiding place with his teammates. He didn't particularly like lying to them but there was no way they were going to let him do this on his own. So, he lied. He needed to do this. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. They wouldn't understand. He wasn't even sure if he did.

He tore his gaze away and looked at his clone and waited. A couple of minutes later, two jonin entered the clearing which threw him off for a moment. Where was the other one?

"Lookie here, Akiba-san. It's just another kid." The short one said, chuckling slightly.

The tall ninja didn't reply. Instead staring at the boy in front of him. Something wasn't right.

"Where's the other one?", Naruto calmly asked.

Akiba smirked at his companion as he understood what was happening. "I understand. You were friends with someone we killed."

Naruto grit his teeth.

"Did you watch it happen? How cowardly.", the short one joined in and they both laughed aloud. They failed to notice the dangerous glint in the genin's eyes.

"I guess you'll do. For now." He muttered under his breath as he held up the ram seal, sending a mental command to his clones to do the same.

"Ninja Art Sealing Technique: Three Violet Flames Formation!"

The smiles fell from the two jounin's faces as a violet transparent barrier was erected, separating the boy from them. This was not a technique they'd seen before. In fact, this was a technique even Naruto had never seen in action. He'd found it in Akira Senju's security seals. If someone managed to get inside without permission, this barrier would form all around the house and trap whoever was inside. When Naruto and his friends broke in for the second time after disabling the security seals, he'd committed the seal to memory thinking it would come in handy sooner or later.

Naruto once again thanked Orochimaru for teaching him the shadow clone jutsu. He had also taught him the shuriken shadow clone jutsu which enabled him to multiply objects as well. The resulting objects were very flimsy which was a definite con, but it was still amazing for someone who knew how to use it well. Someone who knows fuinjutsu.

The beauty of fuinjutsu is that the only limitation placed on it is imagination. You can do anything with the correct combination of Kanji and enough chakra. Some seals had other constraints as well, but mostly it was chakra and its nature. The Violet Flames Formation was a very powerful barrier sealing technique. Using it alone by forming clones as the corners was usually feasible only for kage-level shinobi. It had many variations primarily dependent on the number of such shinobi participating. Naruto had 2 clones and himself which gave the barrier a triangular shape. With three clones, Naruto didn't have nearly enough chakra for even one corner of the barrier.

That was where the Chakra Gatherer Seal, the one he found at Akira Senju's place, came in. It powered the entire seal matrix with many complex security seals all over the house. It filtered the wild chakra into usable form. Naruto had copied it to study in the future and this was what enabled him to perform the high level fuinjutsu technique. Once he completed both seals, the rest was easy. He used the same concept as the shuriken shadow clone technique to create two copies of the seals and handed it to his clones.

Now, he stood face to face with two of the people who were responsible for taking away from him the people he loved most.

"You fucking shit. What is this?" Akiba snarled at him. His companion however didn't have his patience. He rushed forward to try and punch his way out of the barrier. As soon as his fist touched the barrier, it caught violet-colored fire. Screaming, he jumped back trying to put the fire out but only succeeding in spreading it further.

Akiba looked at his fellow jonin, petrified at what was happening. He rolled around on the ground in agony, trying to put out the fire. "What… what did you do to him?" He asked, turning around to see Naruto's vicious smirk.

"Touch the barrier and find out for yourself."

Akiba was getting angrier by the minute. "Are you enjoying watching a man burn to death? You little shit."

"Didn't you enjoy watching Shizuka die? Didn't you say that she should have suffered more? You said you wanted a go at her before killing her." Naruto snarled back, not letting go of the hand-seal.

Akiba snapped back in surprise at the intensity of his words. His companion finally stopped flailing about. Death had claimed him. Akiba chuckled darkly. "Alright brat… You got your revenge… On him. But what's the big plan now. I'm not stupid enough to touch that barrier. Sooner or later, you'll have to let go of that hand-seal. I suspect that the moment you do, this barrier will fall. Then… It will be my turn again. You will have no chance."

Naruto looked down at the ground which Akiba mistook for submission. However, Naruto started chuckling. "You idiot. You call yourself a jonin? I didn't plan for one of you to be stupid enough to actually touch the barrier. I'm glad it happened though. Seeing him burn was fucking satisfying."

Akiba took a step back. Where was the attack going to come from? This boy was dangerous. He started to get as far back as possible. But it was already too late. As soon as he turned around, he saw him. A clone. Hands held in the ram seal; red eyes filled with burning hatred, three tomoe spinning slowly. "KATSU."

"NARUTOOOOO!"

The last thing Akiba ever saw was the victorious smirk on the clone's face before the bright flash of the explosion enveloped him.

"BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!"

Meanwhile, With Yuna and Anko

Yuna stared worriedly at Naruto. She expected some tears or at least some visible reaction from him. Instead he just sat with his legs held to his chest, looking at the ground. She was not very good friends with Shizuka and Shinzo, but she knew Naruto had grown up with them. She did know Nawaki though. Her being the Hokage's daughter and him being his student's brother, they met each other a lot outside the academy. It was impossible to not have a working relationship with him with all the time they spent together.

But Yuna never considered him anything more than an acquaintance because every time they came together, he along with Asuma would essentially bully her into tears. But Yuna never held it against him. She held it against Asuma. Asuma had a talent for getting people to hate her. It wasn't Nawaki's fault.

However, she didn't forgive him enough to consider him a friend either. He was just Nawaki. An acquaintance. His death had shaken her to the core. In one moment, she realized that everything she had come to believe about herself was false. When push came to shove, she wasn't strong. She was a coward… Hiding in the bushes and preventing another person from helping out. The sensible part of her brain knew that she had done the right thing. But she couldn't help but feel this way.

She could only imagine what Naruto was feeling. He had just lost everything. She remembered what he said a few days ago when she asked him why he wouldn't let her pay for his lunch. From his worried expression, it was clear to her that the young orphan wasn't well off. She'd understood that and offered to pay for his meal. He'd refused adamantly.

'Pride is all we have… That and each other.' Each other… They were all he had and they had died as he watched helplessly from the bushes. If she felt like a coward, what was Naruto feeling?

"Naruto?" Anko asked. Naruto looked at her, slightly lifting his face. "It'll be okay… I promise."

Naruto stared at her for a few long moments but then gave a slight nod. "I know."

His quiet voice made them both release a breath they didn't realize they were holding, relieved at the fact that he had finally spoken. Not as a mindless shinobi like earlier, but as Naruto.

They spent the next few minutes in silence, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly Anko looked up and held her hand up. They knew what it meant. Killing intent.

"Lookie here, Akiba-san. It's just another kid."

Anko and Yuna tensed. That was the voice of the jonin that killed Shinzo.

"Where's the other one?"

Yuna's eyes snapped to Naruto. "I thought you said there would be no confrontations. What are you doing?", she asked urgently.

"Ninja Art Sealing Technique: Three Violet Flames Formation!"

Suddenly the whole area trembled as they all felt a massive surge of chakra. Yuna grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "What's happening outside? Naruto tell us-"

Yuna went silent when a blood curdling scream pierced the air.

"You fucking shit. What is this?"

"What… what did you do to him?"

"Touch the barrier and find out for yourself."

"Are you enjoying watching a man burn to death? You little shit."

Anko's eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

"Didn't you enjoy watching Shizuka die? Didn't you say that she should have suffered more? You said you wanted a go at her before killing her."

She drew her fist back and punched Naruto in the face. Yuna flinched back in surprise at Anko's actions. But then Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Alright brat… You got your revenge… On him. But what's the big plan now. I'm not stupid enough to touch that barrier. Sooner or later, you'll have to let go of that hand-seal. I suspect that the moment you do, this barrier will fall. Then… It will be my turn again. You will have no chance."

Yuna realized what had just happened and angrily ran through some hand-seals, preparing to get them to the surface.

"You idiot. You call yourself a jonin. I didn't plan for one of you to be stupid enough to actually touch the barrier. I'm glad it happened though. Seeing him burn was fucking satisfying."

Both girls were alarmed at the dark tone of Naruto's voice. Grunting, Yuna manipulated enough earth to allow their exit. Anko jumped out and Yuna followed.

"KATSU."

Yuna watched as the ground below the jonin started glowing. "NARUTOOOOO!", she yelled trying to get him to withdraw, but it was too late.

"BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!"

The barrier expanded outward trying to contain the explosion. Trees were sent flying through the air, some even hitting the barrier and catching fire before falling to the ground. Soon, the entire region inside the barrier was burning.

Meanwhile

Akihiro was jumping from branch to branch trying to catch up to his teammates. Suddenly he felt a huge surge of chakra which made him stop and it was a good thing too because a couple of trees down, a barrier formed. Akihiro was about to try and overcome the barrier but stopped himself when he caught sight of it.

The barrier had formed through a tree, cutting it in two and setting it on fire. A strange fire with a violet color. The tree started its descent on either side of the barrier which suddenly made his situation abundantly clear for him. Running through some hand-seals, he quickly performed the C-rank Water Style: Wild Water Wave. No effect on the flames on the tree nor on the barrier.

Akihiro gulped nervously. There were only so many ways this could turn out… And only one way he would survive. A forest fire was not something having a water affinity helped against. Especially when the water had no effect on the fire.

He turned around and ran as fast as he could back into his country. The mission had failed. Their involvement in this conflict was now known to Konoha. It wouldn't go unnoticed now that someone had signalled for reinforcements. He sincerely hoped that Iwagakure would back them up as needed. Because if genin in Konoha were capable of this, he didn't want to see what the jonin were capable of.

With Orochimaru

The barrier required advanced knowledge of seals and only one genin he knew could possibly use seals like this. What bothered him even more was that it was a Konoha kinjutsu, allowed only to those jonin who showed enough experience and skill in using fuinjutsu. He would have to ask Naruto where he got it from. And possibly kill him if it turned out that he'd acquired the kinjutsu illegally.

He was almost to the barrier when a faint glow reached him through the trees.

"BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!"

Orochimaru shielded his face from the bright flash of light and the wave of air that accompanied it. Taking only a moment to recover, he continued forward mentally preparing for the worst-case scenario.

He burst into the clearing, his eyes taking note of everything. Yuna was in tears, looking at the barrier. Anko also looked shaken and worried. And Naruto…

Naruto was right in front of the barrier, staring forward with a manic grin and spinning red eyes on his face. He had done it. If the third jonin wasn't caught in the explosion, he would surely perish in the fire that showed no signs of stopping. He had accomplished his goal. … … But this feeling. His rage, his fury, his despair… It was all still there. And underneath it all was the same feeling of emptiness that he felt in that moment when he watched his closest friends die.

Unconsciously he let out a laugh. Nothing had changed. Shinzo was still dead. Shizuka was still dead.

His eyes turned back to its normal purple color and he fell forward. Unable to concentrate enough on the technique, he let go of the seal and the barrier immediately flickered out.

He laughed again. Shinzo was dead… Shizuka was dead… But he was alive… Why was he… alive?

Orochimaru, Yuna and Anko stared as the barrier fell apart and a laughing Naruto collapsed on the floor. He didn't stop laughing. Orochimaru walked forward and kneeled by his side. The fire was slowly creeping towards him.

Orochimaru looked at the raging inferno of violet flames and immediately realized that containment would be impossible. All that's left was to escape while retrieving as many bodies as possible or there would be nothing left to bring back home.

Suddenly, he was on high alert. Someone was coming from behind them. He quietly signaled his two conscious students to get behind him. They obeyed without question. He doubted they even realized they moved.

As Minato and Ibiki burst through the clearing, Orochimaru relaxed even though he was surprised inside. He had run at full speed not waiting for Danzo's instructions. The fact that Minato had caught up with him so soon was surprising. It was good though. He needed Ibiki to get in touch with the others.

"What happened?" Minato asked sharply.

"No time." Orochimaru stated. "Ibiki-san. Get in touch with Kosuke-san again. Tell him to instruct the shinobi back at the camp to dig a trench as long as the forest line. Tell everyone inside to fall back as fast as possible. This fire can't be put out now without an entire platoon of earth and water element users."

"You two." Orochimaru addressed Yuna and Anko. "Are you hurt? Are you ok?"

They both nodded numbly.

"Good. Ibiki. You will carry him." Orochimaru pointed at Naruto. "The three of you get out of here as fast as you can once you're done relaying the message."

"What are you going to do?" Yuna asked, wiping her tears.

"We're going to try and slow down the fire. We can't contain it, so we might as well slow it down." He replied.

Orochimaru waited with Minato until they had left. "Minato-san. Do you know any water jutsu?"

Minato shook his head. "No, but I do have some storage scrolls full of water."

Orochimaru nodded. That was good. "Earth Release: Deep Diving Trench!"

Minato took the hint and unsealed a water scroll filling the trench with water. "Make 3 shadow clones. We'll spread out as far as we can."

Orochimaru nodded at the suggestion. The next few hours were going to be long and tiresome.

Konoha, Hot Springs.

Kushina Uzumaki loved the hot springs. It was something she didn't have for the first 11 years of her life back in Uzushiogakure. She suspected that no one in the village had ever seen a hot spring before. If they had, it would no doubt have been emulated using seals.

"Tch, what are you doing here?"

Kushina didn't need to look up to see who it was. Only one person had that annoying voice. Hitomi Hyuga. Why was she here? "This is what normal people do after a stressful mission, Hitomi, not that you'd know anything about normal."

"Normal? Are you saying you are normal? Tell that to your hair, you freak."

Kushina growled. "Oi. We agreed that you'll stay away from my hair and I won't talk shit about your eyes… you blind bitch."

Yoshino chose to intervene there. "Yes and we're here to relax, so shut it. Both of you."

Reluctantly, they both backed off each other and they soon settled into a comfortable silence.

"It's been a long time since we've done anything like this, ne?" Yoshino spoke cheerfully.

Kushina smiled at her friend. "It's to be expected now that some of us are adults."

"Hey, I turn 18 in a week. You're only a month older than me." Hitomi snapped at her.

"And don't you forget it."

"Now, play nice, both of you. You know I have dirt on both of you that you wouldn't want each other to know." Yoshino smirked when they both went pale. "Shut up or I'll ruin you both."

They spent the next few moments making small talk while adamantly not meeting Yoshino's eyes.

"Shikaku has finally asked me out." Yoshino said happily. "You have no idea how many hints I had to drop. That man is dumb as a brick."

"Troublesome. It seems I'm the only one without anyone." Hitomi wondered aloud.

Comments about the reason for it was her being a hateful shrew went through Kushina's mind, but she forced it down. "You'll meet someone, Hitomi. Don't worry."

"She's right, Hitomi." Yoshino came forward to support her. "I have it under good authority that Hizashi likes you."

Kushina turned around in surprise. "No way. He's the hottest Hyuga in the village."

Hitomi blushed. Hizashi was indeed very good looking.

"You forget that he has a twin, Kushina-chan. At best, he's tied for the top spot." Yoshino giggled.

"Nope. Attitude matters as well, y'know?" Kushina replied, making a sour face.

"You're right, Kushina-chan." Yoshino accepted, giggling at the face she made. "I wonder where the others are though."

Kushina held her chin in thought. "Rumia is in Torture and Interrogation now. I think it'll be a long time before we see her relaxing like this."

Hitomi nodded in agreement. Her mind drifted toward the Yamanaka clan member. T&I was the busiest shinobi division in times of war. She was going to have a tough time. Then she spoke up about another of their friends. "Tsume is at home but she said she couldn't come out today."

Yoshino nodded. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask. Where's Mikoto? It's been some time since I've heard from her."

Kushina grinned. "She has a genin team now. She's off babysitting some half-assed brats."

Hitomi frowned. "Don't think it's not important, Kushina. It's an honor to be chosen as a jounin-sensei at this age."

Kushina just struck her tongue out at her, making Yoshino smile and Hitomi to roll her eyes.

After a few moments, Yoshino pinched her chin in thought. "That's right. I saw this genin at the hospital two weeks ago. He had red hair like you, Kushina-chan."

Kushina's eyes went wide. 'Red hair… Like me…'

"That's not important though. What's important was the boy's sensei."

'Boy…' Kushina's mind went blank and she missed what Yoshino said next.

"Orochimaru finally took on a genin team?! It's about time." Hitomi exclaimed.

Kushina gulped. "Yoshino, what was his name?" she asked quietly.

"That's a funny story as well. He signed Menma on the registration form, but that's just ridiculous. Who names their kid after something you put in ramen?" Yoshino laughed.

Kushina's mind went into overdrive and her heart started beating faster. She didn't notice Hitomi coming up next to her.

"Kushina? What's wrong?"

Her heart was pounding in her chest. 'Red haired boy… Menma… named after something in ramen… … … Naruto?'

"KUSHINAA!", Yoshino yelled as Kushina fell back onto Hitomi, unconscious.

"What happened?" Hitomi yelled frantically as her friend ran some diagnostic techniques after dragging her out of the hot spring.

Yoshino rubbed the sweat from her brow after a few minutes of intense concentration. "It's nothing serious. It was just a panic attack triggered by remembering some past trauma."

Hitomi glanced worriedly at her longtime friend and rival. This hadn't happened in years. Just what had set it off again.

"Let's get her dressed. We need to take her to the hospital." Yoshino spoke urgently, springing Hitomi into motion.

5 Hours Later, Konoha Camp

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, his nose immediately identifying the smell of smoke. The sun was high up in the sky but the smoke made it possible to look directly at it. He sat up slowly. There was no one around. He looked around and saw the green colored medic tent a few feet away. He assumed it was full, probably why there were so many stretchers with bodies, outside the tent as well.

Naruto walked toward the medic tent, noting the state of each dead genin. Kunai through the throat… Kunai through the throat… Throat sliced open… Kunai through the throat…

Did they find this type of death amusing? The way they gurgled and choked as their lungs filled up with their own blood. Did they want to watch it happen? They didn't even fight. It all happened so quickly. Stabbed through the neck from behind. No chance of retaliation. They were cowards. A voice inside him spoke up angrily, making him chuckle. 'They weren't cowards. They were shinobi.'

As Naruto approached the tent, he heard someone talking inside. "… all except one of the 59 teams have been accounted for. The expected 15% loss was exceeded… By far. Only 7 entire teams have reached back. That accounts for 21 of the 48 that survived. The remaining are part of teams that have one or two genin dead. In the sweep of the forest to find the genin, 13 jonin have also met an unexpected end. The fire has claimed the entire forest but we have prevented its spread into the Land of Fire. We are safe for now. I just hope that something happened back at the village. If this didn't make the scattered enemy shinobi act, they all died for nothing…"

Naruto stepped away. '15% loss? Did they know about all this before sending them in?' Naruto angrily walked away from the tent, heading for the place he felt the numerous chakra sources coming from. He tried hard to stomp down on his anger but he simply couldn't. '59 teams… 177 genin facing an unknown number of Kusagakure jonin in their territory. And they thought of it as some sort of business transaction. Expected 15% loss... Don't make me laugh.'

"Naruto?"

He turned around angrily to see Rin, the medic-nin from team 7, staring back at him.

"Are you ok?"

Now there was a question. Was he ok? Nothing bad had happened to him in the exam except maybe some chakra exhaustion from overusing his clones. Was he ok? Frankly, it didn't matter to him if he was okay. What mattered was that others weren't. But he didn't say that.

Instead he looked away from her and spoke. "I'm fine. Have you seen Yuna and Anko?"

Rin hesitated. "Naruto… They told me… what happened, they told me… So, are you ok?" She asked with more force this time.

Naruto scoffed. "How can I ever be 'ok' again?" Naruto turned around and walked away from her, heading for the small hill which would hopefully let him spot his teammates.

Rin started to follow but stopped herself. She had seen this happen many times at the hospital. 'Maybe it's best if I give him some space.'

Naruto was almost to the top of the hill when he realized someone was already there. He didn't want to talk to anyone other than his teammates. But he decided to press on, and ignore whoever was up there.

To his surprise, it was Kakashi, lying on the ground, and staring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Ohayo."

Naruto didn't say anything. He just turned away from the boy and stared out over the camp. 'Now, where were they…'

Kakashi sat up on the ground. "You know, it won't get any better."

Naruto frowned as he turned back around. "Tch. Did my teammates tell everyone?"

Kakashi smiled. "No. Only a few made it back. It doesn't take a genius to know what happened to the others."

Naruto said nothing.

"I meant what I said. You should find a way to cope with the loss. It'll eat you out otherwise."

Naruto was getting angry. "What do you know about my 'loss'? Don't pretend like you understand."

Kakashi finally got up on his feet. "But I do understand, Naruto-san. Why do you think I wear the mask?" he asked softly as he brushed past a momentarily stunned Naruto. He only managed to walk a few more steps when Naruto stopped him.

"Why the sudden interest in me?" Naruto asked angrily.

Kakashi stopped and turned around. "Because you're strong." At that, a confused expression emerged on Naruto's face, surprising Kakashi as well. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Naruto snapped in annoyance.

Kakashi chuckled as he walked past Naruto again to the other side of the hill. "Take a look at what you've done, Naruto-san." Naruto followed the chunin to find out what he meant. "Take a good look."

...

...

Naruto's mouth fell open in shock.

The forest was gone. In its place was a desolate pitch-black region with fires still burning here and there. A deep trench filled with water separated the region from affecting the grass on their side. Kiriniku Forest was gone.

Kakashi smirked at him, meeting his eyes.

"And be proud."

---

Hii! My song of the day? Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish.

AN0: That was one long ass chapter. I have to admit... Shinzo and Shizuka were always going to die. Pain makes you grow stronger and all that jazz. *Insert Pain quote here*. I tweaked the death of Nawaki just a bit so it isn't just him running into an explosion. In this delicate setting, I feel the Kusa shinobi could never be stupid enough to use explosions and give anything away.

AN1: Yes, Naruto has the Sharingan. How he has it, how he has it when Kushina doesn't have it, etc, etc, Everything will eventually be revealed. I think Sharingan is an amazing Kekkei Genkai and it pisses me off that canon Naruto doesn't have it when nearly every other major character that I've come to love does (Itachi, Obito, Madara, Kakashi ... ... not much of a fan of Sasuke).
That said, as of now, I firmly think this will be the only Kekkei Genkai he'll ever get. I hope I don't eventually end up giving him Rinnegan, Mokuton or any of that other stuff, because Rinnegan's chakra absorption alone would be too good an ability to have in my opinion. Then there's that Shinra Tensei that can basically counter any move your enemy makes *sigh*. Nope. Only the Sharingan. Nothing else.

AN2: Kushina's friends all know about Uzushio but only a select few know all the details about her brother. Both Hitomi and Yoshino knows about her brother but neither has any idea that he's named Naruto.

AN3: The line Naruto says about "the people who connect you to this world"... I really wish I could claim credit for coming up with that... But that line is the very first thing you hear when you watch Person of Interest Ep1 and I've blatantly copied it because I thought it was too awesome not to.

AN4: I kinda feel like the story is too Naruto-focused right now and the next couple of chapters will also be mostly Naruto-centric. I really don't want him to get too strong too fast as well. So if anyone has any ideas for a story arc where the other characters are explored more, please feel free to PM me any suggestions you have.

AN5: I'm having way too much fun writing Akira and Yugao. I think their talk with that Inuzuka dude was my favorite part of this chapter :)

AN6: I really like Ibiki in canon and I've always felt like he should have a bigger role. I mean, all he does in canon is stand in the corner and look menacing. This is someone who is over 10 years younger than Inoichi Yamanaka and yet, somehow, heads the T&I division which (lets face it) is a job tailor made for Yamanaka. There has to be more badass stuff in there somewhere right? The only problem is I didn't really like his brother Idate's story arc. Thought that was stupid af. So if I can make Idate more interesting, I think I'll be giving Ibiki quite a few things to do.

See you next time :P.