Return of the Akasha

by Eyefantasy

While escorting two, revered clients, things take a turn for the worst for Naruto and his team when the mission goes south. Finding themselves in a new world besieged by war, it will take all their efforts and strength to fight the Fire Nation's conquest for power. However, a looming threat long forgotten from world is on the rise and seeks to bring this world down to its knees.

AN: This took longer than I expected. Update: I revamped this and created a new title. Something was going wrong with the plot, and I had come up with some new ideas. Many of this is still the same, but there are some noticeable differences. Did y'all watch the new live action Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1? For what it was, I enjoyed it, but the pacing (considering how many episodes it had) and omissions were very noticeable. Did I like it? Yes, but it needed more breathing room. Too much exposition (kind of like this chapter hahaha).

Chapter 1: Finally! A New Mission at Last!

The morning's light blue yawn gradually unfolded from the east of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure, flushing the previous dark blues of the long night into the ether. As the waning stars retreated with the dark blues, the burgeoning and brilliant sunlight, rising from the horizon, cut through the sky. It was a blinding light that swept all in golden red and yellow hues, a dazzling incandescent brilliance that flashed briefly like fire. The light was warm in its golden embrace of the village as it grew in the sky, brightening windowpanes and roofs, sparkling off teardrop dew that clung and fell from leaves, and evaporating the morning mist with a warm gentle kiss.

Further to the north, on a distant plateau that towered above the village, was the rugged mountain monument. It was striking in size, an absolute behemoth of a rock formation. The behemoth stretched across the north of the village; its rocky wall fenced evergreen trees of sugi and cedar in the wild forest. Atop the monument, facing the village, bearing the engraved four faces of Konoha's venerated four leaders of the past, were the Hokage.

Sunlight glided up the peak of the mountain monument and splashed over their faces a striking golden brown. Their weathered, beaten faces were eroded by recurring seasonal gales that whipped and battered, but remained aglow in triumphant endurance of time. They bore through time and lasted despite the cracks war had carved into them.

The carved faces appeared statuesque, holding a stoic silence of quiet dignity. Mouths and eyes detailed fierce determination. They were the village's protectors. Their pupilless eyes, shining in courage, held vigil over the sleepy village in stony, guarded silence.

Underneath the rock monument sat the Hokage Tower, a three-storied, administrative building. It was humble in appearance, stout at the bottom like a rounded bowl but thinning pencil-like toward the top, with red painted walls and orange eaves that glistened fire underneath the sun.

The village's early morning quietness was broken by the sound of awakening songbirds, where melodious chirps competed against the sound of a sleeping fourteen-year-old boy, whose uncouth snoring rivaled the cheeriest songbird's chirps. From his open window, inside an old, tiered, apartment complex in Konohagakure's residential downtown sector, the boy's snores rattled the walls and punctured the air in deep, noisy heaves.

The sleeping boy, Naruto Uzumaki, was splayed across his messy bedding, his eyes closed in blissful slumber, and his hands stretched out and moving upward, like climbing an invisible wall. His dream was one of adventure. Naruto's round face was in motion as his open mouth stopped expelling snores and curved into a sleepy smile. On his pillow lay a crown golden-blond spiky hair poking out of his frog nightcap. Three canine-like whiskers marked his cheeks and stretched with the goofy grin on his lips.

Exposed chest and abdominal muscles, toned and taut, bulged like small, chiseled marble, gleaming under the warm rays of sunlight from his open window. Frog-patterned, loose pajama pants clung to his hips. A slight wind blew from the window, and he turned, dragging his bedsheets and blanket. They were twisted and turned as portions of the fabric pooled on his brown wooden floor.

His bedding was not the only thing in disarray.

In fact, Naruto's room was a walking disaster, filled with treacherous danger if one stepped uncarefully. Homemade boobytraps of shuriken and kunai spotted the floor, their metallic steel bodies glinting dangerously from the sunlight. Clothes – trousers and boxers, a lone green spandex suit, chainmail shirts and socks, soiled and clean – all were haphazardly piled like small mounds made by possums. Old ramen chopsticks and bowls added to the chaos, while scrolls upon scrolls were unfurled, blanketing what little wood they could. Books like Elemental Affinities: A Shinobi's Guide to Nature Transformation, Chakra Control Volume I-VII, An Anthology, and Shinobi Tactics for Dummies, that had been piled high to his dresser, had teetered over, spilling across the floor.

Another gentle breeze glided into the room with the swell of leaves. A curious leaf drifted in the air, the wind carrying its momentum, twirling, and spinning, fluttering up and down, up and down, until it found its new home on Naruto's nose. The boy breathed in and out, and then felt the slight tickle of the leaf. The tickle grew and grew, incessant in its desire to be scratched. To stop it, he brought his hand to his face, fingers stretched and palm out to swat the irritant.

"Ow!" he shouted.

He bolted up like a mouse trap in action. His hands grabbed his stinging nose, and he scrunched face as he curled over his stomach. Sleepily, he opened his ocean blue eyes on the thing that had been tickling his nose. A small green leaf was clutched in his right hand, its surface smooth and rubbery on his fingertips. He then stared at his wall, his eyes becoming lidded and sleepy.

Naruto gave an audible sigh. "I washavinganawesome dream," he managed sleepily, words slurred by the heaviness and lethargy in his voice. He yawned again, wide and loud, mouth stretching to the ceiling and floor.

A thought rolled in his mind from the remnants of his dream. His slacked face transformed into one of excitement as he felt his cheeks heat up, red dusting them, growing bolder by the second. "I was so close to rescuing Sakura! Just one more second and…!"

He squealed as he fell back on his bed, falling into peals of laughter. In his dream, he traversed perilous dangers to rescue Sakura. He showed how cool he was, displayed his talented ninjutsu as he embarrassed Sasuke, his greatest rival. Sakura had been waiting for him from her captured cell above the bluff, guarded by enemy shinobi who thirsted for battle!

Naruto met them with his fists, smashing them with heavy blows that could crack bricks. In a show of strength and Shadow Clones, one by one, he defeated them in a spectacular dance of flying fists and thundering kicks. He had just beaten the last enemy shinobi to a pulp and opened Sakura's cell when that stupid leaf interrupted the moment where she had swung her arms around his neck and her enticing and puckered lips a breath away from his ultimate fantasy, a dream he had of many, a wonderous kiss from his crush.

He held the leaf to his face, a frown marring his features and a biting glare accompanied to intimidate the insignificant thing. It was all its fault! He grabbed the tip of the leaf with his other hand, prepared to rip it in shreds, but he paused as he looked at it. He gave an irritable and frustrated sigh, feeling his muscles slump in defeat.

It would not do any good. It was just a dream; they were not reality until acted upon, and he deeply craved to act on it despite, notwithstanding, the high possibilities of rejection. Naruto was not one to let a simple rejection befall him. He was determined to fight for his love.

Put out, Naruto let the leaf go and watched it fall on his sheets, wishing his dream were real and to sink back into its imaginative depths and continue his momentous rescue once more. Maybe then he could imagine what it felt like to have Sakura in his arms and her lips on his.

"I know Ichiraku Ramen's opens at ten. Sakura will probably be with Grandma Tsunade training at the hospital. I'll invite her to lunch!" Naruto decided eagerly, nodding his head.

He was sure she'd be hungry by then, and Ichiraku was the perfect place for intimate encounters. He had seen how Asuma had invited Kuranai for a "date." Sometimes, Naruto could be denser than a bowl of rocks, but his intelligence in love and romance was as vast as the Land of Wind's deserts. When Asuma had faked a yawn, his outstretched hand falling, gliding discretely down Kuranai's red-mesh-blouse back down to her ass – and Kuranai's narrowed, red eyes when she felt his hand – and left it there for a moment, an epiphany struck Naruto.

Naruto had put two and two together after a few seconds. For starters, she did not hit him when he put his hand on her ass. If he had done that to Sakura – or any girl for that matter – the pain emanating from his face would be a solid reminder to never try that again. Second, besides the red-eyed warning, she did not rebuke the gesture. He had seen Kuranai once before throwing genjutsus at unwelcome attention a few months back when a couple of drunk guys had overstayed their welcome, harassing her.

Naruto had almost asked them about the nature of their relationship before Asuma turned to him, his knee sweeping his legs off the stool. Naruto had tried to grab his ramen bowl for balance, cupping and gripping the edge, but losing his grip as he fell, the bowl tumbling over his head, splashing warm broth and noodles down his head and slithering down his back. Naruto absolutely loved the smell of pork ramen, its saltiness a delectable treat, but when it stained his clothes and dyed his hair, he had abstained from eating pork ramen for over a week.

Asuma had offered an apology, saying it was an accident, but Naruto read his eyes, seeing through the lie. It was no accident. It was a warning. His black eyes had hardened to shiny, sharp stones. There was an edge to them that glinted.

Understanding Asuma's need for privacy, Naruto had redirected his anger into loud and boisterous complaints and complaints, raising hell at the couple until the man had bought him another bowl.

Now, cupping his chin between his index and thumb, how should he ask her out?

As he pondered different ways he could ask Sakura for a date, the sound of a throat clearing broke his thoughts. He turned his head to the side, seeing something that made him shriek backwards in surprise. In a rush to stand, Naruto's legs twisted in his white sheets. His right foot skated off the mattress, and he tumbled over his bed to the floor, smacking the surface hard. Thump!

He groaned miserably on the floor, rolling off his side to his back. The impact to his face and right side of his body smarted, his muscles thumping underneath his skin like heartbeats. An uncomfortable and awkward beat passed while Naruto tried to regather his bearings. His anonymous visitor watched him silently, making no further move to speak nor engage. Naruto's cheeks and face burned red, imagining the person must have found the scene extremely funny or embarrassing.

Then, ignoring his passing thoughts, Naruto exploded out of his covers and pointed a stricken finger at the intruder and shouted, "What are you doing here?"

The figure crouched quietly on his windowsill. The figure's white porcelain bear mask tilted with their head. If they were anymore still, they would have made a very good statue. A plate of black hair fell on their gray flak jacket, and their armguards flashed golden from the sun while her black pants and gloves dimmed in shadow. Exposed arms, back of the legs, and neck revealed lithe yet firm muscle.

A female Anbu operative, Naruto thought curiously.

Her mask's black and creepy eyeholes drilled into Naruto, revealing nothing in their depths. She was silent for a moment, observing the energetic blond's behavior, like a curious cat atop a branch. The way she was crouched, Naruto felt she could spring at any moment and be at his throat, a kunai ready to sever his arteries.

The Anbu Black Operators were known for their speed and tracking, a silent omnipresent, amorphous shadow that melded to darkness. Their skills were bred for versatility and adaptation in all environments. They only emerged from the shadows, at the beckoning of the Hokage, when they were ready to capture or slay their target.

Unlike right now, who Naruto presumed this person was sent on a task. He touched his neck. Indeed, his blood was still inside him and not spouting across his floor. Sometimes, the Hokages used these operators to ferry errands. They almost seemed like secretaries or messengers. Deadly messengers.

"Genin Naruto Uzumaki," she spoke softly, her voice slightly muffled by her mask. "Lady Tsunade requests your presence at the Hokage Tower within thirty minutes. You are to pack for an extended mission and then head to the Hokage Administration Tower for briefing."

In a swirl of leaves, the Anbu vanished into air. Naruto stared at the empty spot for a moment, his mind a daze of whirling, crisscrossing thoughts. As his thoughts slowed, organizing themselves into a queue for the picking, he re-centered. The first thought he picked flooded him with such elation, it coursed its way through his blood until, finally, it erupted in him.

Naruto exploded in cheer and excitement! He leaped and punched the air with full-blooded enthusiasm that would have knocked out a grown man. He had been waiting for this opportune moment for over a year, and it had finally arrived!

"Yeah! Finally! About time! I get to leave the village!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down, his cheers ringing in the air until a false misstep on one of his pink underwear caused his momentum to fall back.

He landed on his back, his head thumping against his wooden floor. "Ouch!" he screamed, grabbing the back of his head, and gritting his teeth.

Through the beating pain that knocked behind his eyes, his eyes found the ceiling. He was starting to see stars, and they orbited his field of vision in dizziness like the solar system. When the stars lessened to a few, he did a kip up and landed solidly on the soles of his feet, knees slightly bent for balance.

He looked around, feeling his stomach sink as his eyes widened at the disarray in front of him. His room was a disaster zone, worst it had been in a while. Usually, Naruto had his room well-cleaned and organized, nothing out of place except a dust particle. He had found, long ago, coming back to a clean house from an extended mission was more palatable than the disaster left. It made him feel welcomed in an empty home, like someone was waiting for him.

Now, Naruto had no living parents or relatives. He was pretty sure he was the only Uzumaki left of his clan, and those that were alive, somehow, were scattered across the world. He was an orphan and had been on his own from the moment he was born. He had been raised in an orphanage with other orphaned youth from the previous shinobi wars when, until he was five, the owners had kicked him out. They said it was his unruly behavior, they had justified with contempt and cruel smiles, that he could not be controlled or disciplined, that his innocent pranks were terrorizing others.

Naruto thought it was partly true and more exaggeration based on their dislike of him. He had been overzealous in his pranks on the other kids and adults, but they were practically harmless, for the most part! The last prank he had played was his revenge, and the one that got him kicked out the orphanage. When he had dyed the owner's hair green after the man spanked him, Naruto thought it was justified. Plus, green looked better on his boring face!

The man was brutal with his hands. Each spank felt like a fist to his ass cheek. Naruto had to smile and chuckle at the memory of his revenge. After a few years, the man could not remove the patches of dye from his scalp. Naruto had remembered once he had shaved it off thinking he could regrow his hair without the green. It turned out it was even more permanent than Naruto and the owner had thought.

Naruto had only wanted their attention. He wanted someone, anyone, to see him, and he was angry at the treatment of the other children compared to him. They were doted, given presents, and other good things. When they kicked him out was when the Third Hokage had intervened. He had never seen the old man so angry, his black eyes swirling storms of fury.

The Third did not yell or scream like the owners. His mere presence cowed them to shrieking, cowardly rats. He spoke softly, so softly Naruto could not hear. Whatever he had said, the owners had looked stricken, shrinking in pure terror, and he had turned to Naruto, anger gone, and they looked for new homes. The Hokage had placed him in the downtown Konoha district, in a single-bedroom apartment on the third floor.

It was at this point was when Naruto had asked about his parentage. How come he was alone? How come no one wanted him? Why were the villagers always angry at him? Most importantly, who were his parents? Everyone had parents, so who and where were his?

The Third had remained quiet for a long, long time, staring at the sky. Naruto had shuddered, his stomach a tightened ball of knots. Naruto was afraid he would not answer the question. He had redirected him many times before.

When he responded, his tone soft and old at the same time, he had said, "Naruto, you do have parents. Splendid Konoha shinobi, they were. They were heroes! Let no one say they were not. They died protecting this village from the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-Tailed Fox. One day, you'll be as splendid as them. A person inheriting the Will of Fire."

The day Naruto finally became a shinobi was the day he realized why no one wanted him, why they looked at him with disdain and fear, shared furtive glances, and had rage written all over their faces. Inside him was the Kyuubi. Before his death, the Fourth Hokage had sealed the monstrous fox inside his stomach, jailing it into a human container. He was the fox's prison.

Naruto had learned the truth from the Konoha chunin instructor-turned-traitor, Mizuki, who had lured him into stealing the Forbidden Scroll hidden in the Hokage's office in exchange for becoming a genin. Naruto could not understand why he was the one chosen to be the monster fox's container and yet everything had made sense: the lingering scowls that scorched his heart raw that followed him in his dreams; the leers and disdainful whispers that colluded in antipathy; and the thinly veiled hatred bubbling to the surface, spewing out of strangers' mouths.

The Third had told him he was to be seen as a hero, but misery and hatred, when married together, made terrible companions. Seen as a hero? Naruto had scoffed at that explanation many times, shaking his head and rolling his tear-filled eyes. The villagers hated what was inside him, and in relation, him.

Naruto was not a demon. This was an indubitable fact. He was a person! However, the villagers were could not distinguish the two, which overly complicated Naruto's young life.

It was then Naruto made a commitment, an oath to himself. He would become the Hokage. All the villagers respected the Hokage, loved and honored him. Then, one day, they'll have to look at him – respect him – as a person! It was not until he had his first real missions did Naruto realize why people loved the Hokage.

The Hokage served as the village's protector, and they protected the things dearest to them.

Learning from the fallen shinobi Haku in the Land of Waves, Naruto had to take on the responsibility of protecting his loved ones. His current sensei, Hatake Kakashi and Iruka-sensei, his academy instructor, believed in him. His new friends from his adventures had changed their mind about him. He had changed how they looked at him, and now he had friends he needed to protect, precious friends who meant the world to him. They, like his dreams, were his fire!

Coming back to the present, glancing around the disarray of his room, Naruto sighed. He let his fingers ruffle his blond spikes on his crown. He groaned loudly. He should have paid better attention to his room. He knew a string of late nights of studying and carelessness had caused him to fall into a routine of laziness and disorder.

Naruto blamed his inattentiveness to studying two new ninjutsu techniques he had received from Jiraiya of the Sannin. The techniques were an apology for delaying their training trip by a year. Naruto had found the scrolls on his balcony a month ago with a short note from Jiraiya, or, his more appropriate title, Pervy Sage, attached. He had first thought it was a trick from Konohamaru as who would leave him a gift? Konohamaru was known to be a big prankster, second to him, the master.

However, when he had read the letter attached to the scroll, Naruto had found his previous train of thought wrong.

Hey Brat,

Thanks for the work and your patience! If it was not for an emergency in my spy network, I would have taken you immediately. I know your time stuck in Konoha has been hard on you. You don't need me telling you that.

Naruto blew out a hard snort. Hard? Hard! It was hell being trapped in this village, only going on missions inside the village while watching his friends leave for missions outside. Naruto understood the reason well, but it did not mean he liked it. He felt like a caged animal in a zoo.

The Akatsuki were preparing to make their moves, and he knew, despite who he was paired under, they would not be enough to fight them off. He had to be ready. He had to become stronger, much stronger than his current self.

He read on, withholding his annoyance.

Now, getting to these scrolls. If you still want to become Hokage, you need versatility. A man's strength is not known for just his physical power, but how he adapts and uses new knowledge to his advantage. Don't be a knucklehead! Use that brain between your ears, brat! Here's my token of gratitude – two ninjutsu techniques. When I come back, I will test you to see how far you've grown. You need to step up your training. Learn these and become closer to your goal.

See you soon,

Jiraiya the Gallant

Naruto had been more than ecstatic. He had practically squealed and shouted for joy for minutes, yelling into his empty apartment, ignoring the pounding raps on his walls and floors from his neighbors, and frightening wandering and perching animals. His joy had permeated for days: Naruto would wake up excited from reading Jiraiya's note, and have it sleeping next to him, hands tightly clenched around the letter, just for him to reread it when he started his day. He was being acknowledged for his strength and awesomeness by a high-ranking shinobi! To Naruto, these gifts weren't just ordinary or dead useful.

They were acceptance, and acceptance was a phenomenal treasure he had striven for his whole life.

The two ninjutsu techniques were derivatives of a technique he had already known: The Shadow Clone Jutsu. Apparently, conversing with Kakashi-sensei, Naruto found out they were A-rank techniques, and Naruto was positively delighted to add them into his shinobi repertoire.

The first A-rank offensive technique was the Shadow Clone Explosion. The technique had a 0-5-meter blast radius when activated. Naruto had had to be careful and had chosen to work at Training Ground 7 most of the time under Kakashi-sensei or Guy's supervision in Training Ground Guy. The jutsu involved manipulating and shaping chakra, by super charging it into a combustible element. The difficulty was not in making the clone but shaping and supercharging the chakra by increasing its potency and strength.

Naruto knew he carried an excess of chakra compared to his peers and the fox's foul chakra, that was sealed inside him, intermixed, only added to his humongous chakra reserves. Increasing his chakra was not hard. Like a swollen, rushing river during a flood, he could summon enormous amounts of chakra. Controlling the swollen flood waters was difficult. And by that very nature, Naruto had one of the worst chakra controls of his class and of his three-man genin team.

He figured if he tried practicing in his household, he'd blow the whole residential complex to smithereens. Naruto did not think Gama-chan, his frog wallet, could afford to pay for the damages. He even doubted Grandma Tsunade would pay for the damage. He could see her yelling at him for being so reckless with ninjutsu.

Naruto came to find that by doing chakra control exercises had done wonders to manipulating the explosion. By that extension, using Shadow Clones increased his control, which were supplemented by meditation and mind concentration exercises. At first, he had found these exercises difficult but the more he practiced, the more his results bore fruit. Almost blowing himself up at one point in his training and having half his hair fall out was worth the effort produced.

Naruto sighed tiredly as he reminisced about that thought. He let his hand flow through his flowing golden locks. He was thankful it had all grown back. He had been the butt of many jokes from his friends to the point of ridicule and laughter. It was a nightmare! To his chagrin, even the Tokubetsu Jonin Ibiki had given him advice about going bald, including styling bandanas. (Truthfully, Naruto loved the style, but he would never tell Ibiki that!)

Uruka-sensei and that pervert Ebisu had suggested multiple leaves to use as focal points for chakra control exercises during a night out at Ichiraku's Ramen stand, Iruka's treat of course, much to Naruto's and Ebisu's rapacious appetite. One leaf, usually, helped with concentration on a focal point and translated into greater focus and accuracy. It was an academy skill used for molding and directing chakra. Using multiple leaves with multiple Shadow Clones helped refine the technique and equally distribute chakra to different focal points – whether stabilizing, increasing, or decreasing power.

The second technique had him head over heels. The Shuriken Clone Jutsu, a short to midrange offensive technique created by the deceased Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Professor and the Third Hokage. To be learning such a technique from a person that acknowledged him, that was now gone, nearly made him cry; and for Jiraiya to acknowledge it, made Naruto fiercely devoted to mastering it. He had made it more than a mere goal to control this jutsu. It had become a personal investment for growth.

He would inherit the old man's will.

The Shuriken Clone technique involved making multiple copies of an inanimate object, which was supposed to be difficult in theory. Memorization of the shape and size of the weapons, its sharpness, was instrumental to producing the desired effect. For most shinobi, it was a struggle. It was even a struggle to produce more than five Shadow Clones.

However, Naruto breezed through it easily like wind through windchimes. Through previous training and the creation of multiple Shadow Clones with multiple inanimate objects, Naruto came to master it quickly, much to Kakashi-sensei's surprise. He added the technique as another step towards his path of Hokage.

He could not wait to try them out on an adversary in combat instead of Shadow Clones or his training partners. It would be a test on how to best utilize and counter his jutsus against well-trained and different shinobi in actual and fierce combat.

Breaking out of his reverie, Naruto brought his hands together to make the clone seal by making a cross with his index and middle fingers. He molded his chakra. There was a warm feeling gathering in his belly. It coursed through his body as he visualized, and, in a puff of smoke, produced three solid clones. The three were identical in every way, including his lack of clothing.

"Okay!" he rallied the clones like a commander to his cadets. "Let's get this place cleaned!"

They yelled in affirmation and in a whirl of noise and movement, they launched into the chaos! One clone ran to the mess of clothes, another quickly gathered the prone shuriken and kunai and garbage, and the last one started furling rolls of scrolls. Together, they organized his room, packed his backpack, stored important items and weapons into seals. He had to at one point break up two of his clones up as they were about to escalate a fight over what type of underwear he should bring. One wanted the frog-patterned ones while the other chose a turquoise pair. Their fists were about to meet when Naruto declared they could take both, solving the crisis.

Naruto sighed exasperatedly. "Sometimes arguing with himself is exhausting," he muttered with a frown. He then took a few steps to his blue dresser.

Naruto came upon a green spandex jumpsuit hanging down his dresser like a limp towel on a counter, and he grinned from ear to ear. Training in taijutsu with Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten, and Guy-sensei for over a year had been abundantly helpful in developing his own taijutsu prowess. To say Guy-sensei was overjoyed when he had asked was an understatement.

The man had erupted in springtime youth – whatever that was, it was clearly explosive. There was fire in his dark eyes that could outshine the sun. Naruto could have sworn he saw waves crash against a rocky shore when Guy-sensei agreed to train him with Kakashi and Jiraiya's permission. He was not the only one: Jiraiya had arranged several tutors for him, ranging from Ebisu (whom he disliked but grudgingly respected) in chakra control to Guy in taijutsu and weapons training to, lastly, Kakashi and teamwork building and ninjutsu training.

There was a caveat, though, for Guy. Guy would only train him if he wore his awesome green jumpsuit to training. It was an alluring offer. How could he refuse?

So, without hesitation or doubt – Naruto couldn't think of anything against it – he accepted. The outfit, although outrageous, was simply amazing in his eyes. The way it felt and conformed to his body was like magic. It was smoothed to the touch, and it snugged against his skin like a second layer. He felt lighter and freer in his flexibility, every motion and strike unhindered, fluid like spouting and falling water. He had never wanted to take it off despite Kakashi-sensei's humorous disapproval, saying he did not need to see Guy's spirit following him: he does that almost every day.

In the early morning hours before the break of dawn, Guy had him and Lee train like fanatics in their green jumpsuits. The physicality of the training was relentless as well as the uncanny way Guy instructed. Innumerable runs, countless pushups and sit-ups that fatigued the muscles into constant cramps, squats that burned the legs until they were numb, finger pushups that clamped the hands shut into stones, weighted training that anchored and dragged the body down, bag training that ripped skin raw and bruised knuckles blue and black, swimming exercises that had him saved from drowning more times than he could remember when his muscles spasmed and cramped and he sank beneath the river; sparring matches that had Naruto lose more times than he could count against Neji and Rock Lee; and wooden dummy training for reflexes that left his arms aching afterwards. All of it was to a fast-paced tempo of the spirit and effervescence of youth Guy had exclaimed while coaching them.

Weapons training was even harder. He was used to fighting with kunai and shuriken. He did not find swords as appealing as to his fists. Who needed a sword, really? But when he saw Sasuke started carrying a sword, he knew his hands were not enough, and he had to find ways in counteracting sword strikes with his kunai.

It was a brutal, year-long program, but Naruto persevered, grumbling, and groaning all the way like any good shinobi. All good ninjas groaned and bemoaned at high-intensity training, even Sasuke was not above it, and that kid trained like crazy.

There were exceptions.

Rock Lee and Might Guy were the two exceptions: they were workout fanatics! They thrived in high intensity workouts. Even by shinobi standards, they were freaks of nature, willing to take on any task, beat it to ground, and then ask for more. One would think they were machoistic for pain with how much they took pleasure in their sore muscles and fatigued bodies.

At least, they made motivation tangible.

Even if motivation wanted to run away from them as they tended to abuse it generously.

Naruto had found it funny that Guy-sensei demanded more from him than Kakashi. When Naruto had carelessly brought that up, Guy had simply smirked and said, "Kakashi, my eternal rival, has his own methods of training. He specializes in team dynamics to fulfill missions, but, judging from your performances in the Chunin Exam – and I don't mean to sound harsh, Naruto – your teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, reminds me of a young Kakashi. Talent in all the right places. Kakashi must have noticed their similarities and attempted to reach him through this. Thus, you're taijutsu failed to meet expectations, especially against Neji from what I've heard despite your win.

"As such, the taijutsu gap between you and Sasuke widened considerably. Luckily," – and Guy-sensei laughed loudly and smiled brightly with a thumbs up – "you sought me! The beautiful green beast of youth to further your martial arts! With the fires of youth inside me, I, Might Guy, will enflame your inner youth into a firestorm of passion! Nice!"

Naruto had been starry-eyed by the speech. He had hung on to every word like each word was a prize meant to be celebrated and worshipped. Someone as strong as Kakashi was willing to train him?

His excitement had grown until he could no longer contain it anymore and boisterously called for Guy to "Bring it!" Guy, nodding at his passion, gifted him the green jumpsuit and without a second thought, knowing this was another path to Hokage, Naruto had dived into it.

Naruto was not disappointed with the training. He found working with Guy, and Lee through extension of his rehabilitation, more than worth it. Sasuke preferred to train alone or with Kakashi and would seldomly spar with him, which became more brutal with each session they fought when he had agreed to fight. Infrequent bouts had made Naruto irritable.

Sasuke had taken on more missions that left Naruto and Sakura to be grouped with other Konoha genin, and even some chunin. For Sakura, she had explained she had far better things to do, and he usually found her in the wings of Grandma Tsunade and Shizune, with Ino, or fruitlessly trying to attract Sasuke.

It was isolating for Naruto. He had been on a three-man team, which he considered as close as family, for a while, and it seemed everyone was busy doing something else these days. No one seemed to have time for him or be with him. But Guy and Lee found time despite their priorities to their own team, and, occasionally, Kakashi, and he was forever grateful for them.

The techniques he had gained and the knowledge as a fighter, instead of recklessly throwing a punch against an opponent, was as invaluable as any teamwork exercise. Guy set him straight, and with Lee's encouragement, they vigorously worked towards their goals. Scrap after scrap, from one bloody knuckle to another, Naruto pushed past his limits. He kept pushing – there were goals he needed to make reality.

Jumping back to the present, he looked around his newly organized and clean room. Nodding to himself at a work well done, he dispelled the clones into a puff of smoke. A strange feeling overcame Naruto, and he closed his eyes as memories from the clones transferred to him. His thoughts froze as information burrowed into every crevice of his mind. His frozen thoughts eased, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

The feeling of memories and thoughts racing into his head was uncomfortable. It was a strange feeling he would never fully get used to. He had in the past never paid much attention; his mind more focused on what was at hand than the new thoughts percolating at the corners of his mind.

He would have wished Jiraiya or Kakashi told him about it first; it would have saved him time from embarrassing himself. Kakashi had told him this was the Shadow Clone Jutsu's true purpose, besides supplementing forces, was to gather intelligence about enemy shinobi's movements, techniques, and formulate counter measures. Or, when ambushed, overcoming shinobi with the strength of numbers, a perfect distraction for quick retreats when the caster had vital information.

Naruto had just nodded mechanically at Kakashi's explanation as words like "supplement" flew past him. He intuitively got the idea for the use of Shadow Clones, but big words were never his forte. He was a practical fighter and gauging the limits, if there were any, came from application in training and against an enemy fighter.

Next, Naruto zoomed to the bathroom to brush his teeth, took a quick and shockingly cold shower, and dressed himself in his most beloved, new jumpsuit, bestowed to him by Jiraiya before he left on his year trip. His clothes never ceased to amaze him on how they stood out in a world where these types of occupations prized natural colors to blend into an environment. It further emphasized how awesome he was towards other shinobi. He grinned at that. He was a large, conspicuous target that could evade notice at moment's glance.

He wore a black uniformed jacket with a high collar and bright orange zipper over his chainmail shirt. Konoha's red whirlpool symbol claimed the center of his back. The sleeves were rolled up to his toned biceps. Orange pants ran down his legs and black booted sandals dressed his feet. White bands wrapped around his left thigh where a shuriken holster sat, snootily tucked against his side. Sitting behind his lower back, touching his butt, were two shuriken and kunai pouches.

Comparatively, it was a lot different than his orange jumpsuit. The feel, the way it moved, but Naruto found reasons to adore it. He still stood out, just not like orange paint in a natural-colored room. He could say, really, he looked like a professional shinobi, a person ready to actualize his dreams. He liked the way he looked, and people looked at him differently because of it.

The villagers, although growing slightly warmer to him after the Chunin Exams, watched him with confused looks. They would scratch their heads, mutter his name aloud when they saw him. Some villagers wore perplexed expressions: their eyes and tensed faces at war between two battles of thought: what they thought of him previously and their current train of thoughts now.

Perhaps, for a long time, they thought him a joke of a shinobi, wearing bright colors to stand out (and this was true for Naruto) and attributed that to his less than stellar skills. However, Naruto in his new shinobi wear looked less loud. There was a warmth radiating from him, blossoming from his newfound confidence that made them spellbound. His confidence shook their faith in their preconceived conceptions.

Naruto moved to his dresser where his Konohagakure shinobi forehead protector lay. Glinting in the sunlight, he looked at it in open reverence. He still could not believe how his life had changed when Iruka had given him his Konoha forehead protector, the symbolic initiation of becoming a ranked shinobi of Konoha's forces. Naruto's finger glided across Iruka's metal plate, feeling the cool touch of the cold metal, the engraved triskele leaf contouring to his index finger as it trailed through it.

Taking the black cloth in both hands, he strapped it to his forehead, covering his swinging bangs. Seeing his resolute reflection, he gave a large, cocky grin, bent down to take his backpack, dashed out the door, locked it, and then took to the roofs with a mighty jump.

The warm sun beat against his skin as he moved from rooftop to rooftop, feeling the cool, fall wind blast his face and burrow into his clothes, touching exposed skin. His speed cut through the air as he ran and jumped, feeling air rush through his spritely mess of hair. A rambunctious smile hung on his on his lips, his bright cerulean eyes glowed, thrumming alive with energy, pushing his excitement to the edge. It felt freeing to finally leave the village.

It had been a while, too. Most of Naruto's missions, although necessary and honorable, were D-ranked, and it stunk! He needed a challenge! He wanted to fill the thrill of a battle again!

Since the invasion, construction contractors needed extra labor to rebuild the village. He had been handed mission after mission that involved construction and repair and needed labor around Konoha proper. So much had been damaged during the invasion that all shinobi were activated and contracted on extended missions outside the village, especially chunin and jonin ninja. He was grateful that Guy and his other teachers had trained him during the year, otherwise he would have died from boredom.

In no time, he reached the age-old tiered Hokage Tower. He landed at the entrance in a sharp squat, then rose until he stood tall. He looked up at the tower. It nestled below the Hokages' solemn faces, its red eaves glinting under the morning light. It had been there long before he was born. It would probably be there after he was the Hokage with his head next to Grandma Tsunade's.

Smiling to himself, Naruto ran inside, passing ambling administrators in his haste, who dove to the sides and clung to the white walls as he swept past them in a blur of speed. He climbed the winding stairs until he reached the Hokage's office doors. The sugi tree doors stood tall and varnished, gleaming under the lighting from the ceiling.

Two Anbu guarded lurked by both sides of the large door, standing motionless as statues. Naruto ignored them as he neared the door. Quietly, he pressed the palms of his hand and his ear to the door. He heard muffled voices through the wood.

Excitement welled in him like a rising wave. His heartbeat eagerly pounded against his chest. He braced his hands on the door, inhaled loudly, and then with an offensive yell, he barged in!

"Naruto Uzumaki has arrived!"

The doors blasted open with a momentous bang! With hands on his hips, a grin that could rival the length of the Hokage Rock, he stared at the occupants, waiting for their applause and attention. The main actor had arrived, and it was his duty after all to bring the surprise, to rouse them to their feet. The number one, knuckled-headed ninja had taken the stage!

And Naruto certainly received their attention: a stunned silence interceded what he thought would be high respect and praise. The silence went on for moments. Eight pairs of eyes stared at him; each a mixture of emotions that ranged from elation to embarrassed annoyance.

"Oh my gosh," a female voice sighed, instantly catching Naruto's attention.

His ears twitched at her voice, and his eyes found her immediately besides the Hokage's desk. He felt his cheeks burn and ears grow hot. He swallowed thickly as he drank in the person of the voice. He could still remember her, her warmth, from his dream.

Sakura Haruno was as beautiful as ever. She was a goddess in Naruto's eyes, a glowing pink goddess. Her cherry blossom hair cascaded and danced down her neck to her shoulders and was held tight by a red clothed forehead protector. Her hair was a deep pink that illuminated her peach skin.

Her curtain bangs fell past her neck, framing the sides of her face, her pert nose, and pink full lips. Large pools of mint green eyes, enclosed by a forest of long pink lashes, framed her heart-shaped face. She wore a red cheongsam top with white piping that ran down the middle and ended at black shorts underneath a short grey apron skirt. Two pouches sat on her waist. Her shoulders were bear, toned, and a sea of smoothness that ended at an island of grey that were her elbow protectors. Black gloves dressed her hands as low-heel, knee-high boots fell short of her kneecaps.

"Sakura!" Naruto called out excitedly.

Naruto was so excited see her he had missed how she had initially rolled her eyes at his entrance and chose pointedly to ignore how her black gloved hand covered her face. Just seeing her there amplified the wonder in the room. When she removed her hand, a small smile had curved at the edge of her lips. They twitched, lips opened to say something when another, more boisterous and louder voice interrupted.

"Naruto! I can see the fires of youth rage inside you this morning. Yosh! I can feel your spirit burn brightly!" declared the familiar and boisterous voice of Rock Lee.

Naruto's eyes shot to him. Lee gave him a brilliant white smile and a thumbs up. His shiny black bowl cut swayed with his outstretched hands. Naruto could have sworn he saw his white teeth sparkle like a winking star.

Rock Lee's spirited camaraderie only bolstered Naruto's boldness as his determined countenance turned into a splitting grin. Naruto at times called him Fuzzy Eyebrows because his black brows were so thick and large and fuzzy. The way they bounced reminded him of scrunching black caterpillars as they connected in thought. They wiggled like they had a life of their own.

Lee sported a dark green jumpsuit with his red Leaf forehead protector wrapped around his waist like a belt. A beige weapons pouch attached to his waist. Orange leg warmers hid heavy ankle weights for training and conditioning. On his right leg were white bindings and a kunai holster. White bindings on his arms covered long and crisscrossed scars Naruto knew came from his tenacious training regimen. A red backpack was strapped to his shoulders.

Gazing at Lee, Naruto could not help but feel slightly confused about his appearance. His lack of crutches or braces gave Naruto pause, and then Naruto shouted, "You're here, Fuzzy Brows? Are you sure you are healed up? I know it's only been a year but still…"

Rock Lee nodded vigorously, and his dark eyes brightened, perhaps too brightly, like they were alight with brilliant fire. "Yes! That is correct, Naruto. I am feeling much better now that I have received my final medical check from Lady Tsunade a few months ago. The flames of youth have awash over me, and I feel reinvigorated to continue my shinobi duties," he proclaimed proudly.

Happiness enveloped Naruto. He grinned at Lee, cheeks stretching like an elastic band until they were taut and full. He knew how hard it was after Gaara of the Desert's crushing blow to Lee during the Chunin Exam. The boy was left with no hope, his shinobi dreams shattered into millions of pieces, his life destined to live in a wheelchair permanently. Watching how a strong shinobi fell, and to a person Naruto considered a friend, in his bout against Gaara's bloodlust, was heart-wrenching. But nothing was impossible with Grandma Tsunade's help and in the aftermath, as Naruto gazed at Lee's healed body, he could not hide his joy he felt for the boy.

"That's right, Naruto," Sakura added with a cute nod. "Lady Tsunade and I were there when she gave him permission. He's good to go!"

"Really, Sakura? Ha! That is so awesome!" Naruto remarked, and Lee gave a matching smile. They fist bumped each other and laughed. "This mission is gonna be great!"

Naruto's face then took on a deep frown, his joy vanishing into the air. Next to Lee and Sakura was his teammate and fierce rival, Sasuke Uchiha, whose normally apathetic face was down, his dark eyes closed, his head turned away, and his hands loose at his sides. There was a grimace on his pale features, one Naruto had seen multiple times whenever Naruto had become too animated. The young teen had black as night hair that spiked up in the back like wild black fire and framed the sides of his face, hanging past his jaw. His bangs were pushed back by his blue forehead protector.

He wore a black high collar jumpsuit with the Uchiha red-and-white fan emblem tailored to the back and ended at the knees, flaring out in shorts, black arm warmers, and blue-booted sandals. The standard kunai pouch sat on his waist. Unlike Naruto, white bands were wrapped to his left thigh where his kunai holster was strapped. Black bands slithered around his legs and ended at his blue booted sandals. A large chokuto (straight sword) was strapped to his waist in a black sheath; its onyx scabbard was as dark as Sasuke's eyes.

Naruto's eyes trailed down to Sasuke's last clothing accessory, lingering. His stomach tightened. Indignation and adoration warred inside his belly. One of them was going to win, and Naruto had a feeling, despite adoration having indignation in a chokehold, that indignation would not be cowed or surrender.

The most horrible thing on Sasuke, that made Naruto want to pull out his eyes, something he could barely stop his ever-growing frustration, was a chunin flak jacket over his black jumpsuit. Sasuke seemed smug in it, a picture of arrogance, like he was the most important person in the office. Naruto felt it was undeserved. He was the one who should have been wearing it.

Sasuke had gotten it after the Chunin Exam, a promotion guaranteed by the deceased Third Hokage and the Konoha jonin watching the event, Kakashi had said. Well, it was part of the reason. He had said there was a mission Sasuke partook in that was successfully handled four months after the Chunin Exam. An A-ranked mission under the direction of Tsunade. Naruto remembered Sasuke had been injured then and spent some quality time in the hospital. It came to be, later, he was promoted to the rank of chunin.

It was unfair! Completely unfair! How did Sasuke qualify for an A-ranked mission, and he did not? He was capable too, right? Naruto had grumbled for over a week about it, fuming and whining.

It was the physical difference now between Naruto and Sasuke on the shinobi road, and Naruto couldn't help but see the chasm. He was going to catch up no matter what. Sasuke better believe he was coming for that ass. No chasm was long enough nor deep enough to stop him from getting to the other side.

I'll get there in no time, Sasuke! Believe it! he declared to himself.

It was a promise he was counting on fulfilling since his training with his teachers. He would become stronger, he had to, to catch up to him. Naruto forced his eyes away and onto the next person.

The last teen, slouching besides Tsunade's desk behind Sakura, was Shikamaru Nara. He wore a small smile on his usually bored face. He had an ovular face and black hair tied into a ponytail that resembled a pineapple. His beady black eyes stared at Naruto, limp and muted in energy. He almost looked like he had just awakened from a nap.

Shikamaru, too, wore a chunin green flak jacket over a short-sleeved grey jacket with green-edged sleeves and the rudimentary Nara clan symbol on the back, under a green-lined mesh armor T-shirt. Brown pants dressed his legs, a pair of his clan's traditional silver hoop earrings gleamed, and a blue forehead protector fastened around his left arm. On his right leg were white bindings with a kunai holster and a weapons pouch attached to his waist.

Inwardly, Naruto seethed. He was jealous of Shikamaru's Chunin status, too – happy of course for his friend – but jealously was the ugly monster that reared its head and growled in his belly. The green flak jacket made Shikamaru seem more important than his nonchalant self, just like Sasuke, although his bored look and slouching shoulders ruined the appeal. He looked like he would rather be somewhere else, perhaps, as Naruto knew, doing something lazy like staring at amorphous clouds and taking long naps.

As he looked over at his fellow shinobi, there was one thing lingering on his mind. One thing that he could not stay silent at, and he had to let him know. Naruto gave Sasuke a withering glare and, feeling the heat of the glare, Sasuke's black eyes moved to him, his face expressionless but eyes annoyed. The sight of him made Naruto's belly stir in protest and annoyance.

Naruto let the stare continue for a moment before exploding, "Why is he here? I'm more than enough for this mission!"

"Ah, not again, Naruto! Just when we finally have a mission together," Sakura groaned loudly, patting her head.

Naruto pointed a finger at Sasuke accusingly. Sasuke's expression became a frown and then a pronounced smirk as he turned his head away to the windows, saying, "You're right, dead last. But Lady Hokage feared you were more brawn than brain and needed those with brains and brawn to point you in the right direction. Those that could lead you."

Sasuke then trailed a finger down his flak jacket as emphasis. Naruto got the message immediately and his insides burned at the slight. He was going to show Sasuke who's boss soon enough.

Naruto smirked. "Oh yeah, Sasuke! We'll see!" challenged Naruto, placing his hands on his hips.

The two teens stared challenging each other, lightning flashing between their eyes. The pent-up indignation vanished in Naruto's belly, supplanted by warmth and friendship. Honestly, it felt good to let out some steam for Naruto, and it looked like Sasuke was enjoying it as well, his smirk softening somewhat. They had not had a good team mission together in a while.

Naruto chuckled. "You're right, Sakura. It'll be a good team mission. Team Seven back again, baby, ready to take on the world!"

Sakura smiled while Shikamaru chipped in, "Hey, now, don't forget about us. It'll be troublesome to be left out on the team. We're not here to be mere statues."

"Shikamaru is right! We are not just here for support, but assets to the mission. Don't forget about us!" chimed Rock Lee, fire dancing in his eyes. "This beautiful green beast of Konoha is a whirlwind of passion!"

Naruto was about to eject another comment when a slam thundered in the room. Naruto and his fellow ninja flinched at the noise and turned to its origin. A glaring Grandma Tsunade sat behind the Hokage's desk, her open hand palming the desk and the other balled. Naruto swallowed at the balled fist; the old woman could hit insanely hard.

"Hey brat!" shouted Lady Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, her face a mixture of anger and annoyance as her blonde side bangs swayed. "Shut up and get your ass in here! You're late! If you came any later, I would have cancelled you from the mission. Too bad you're recommended for it."

Naruto recoiled a bit, feeling beads of sweat line his forehead. The old woman could be downright awful in her anger. Despite Tsunade's striking beauty – Naruto was sure it had to be chakra enhanced, because how did a fifty-year-old woman look twenty-five? – her famous anger made her most frightening. Other than the power she held in her fists, a single digit of her fingertips could quake and rupture the earth into two fissures. She could turn mountains into hills with her fists.

"I was sure I wasn't that late," Naruto muttered under the withering glare of Tsunade.

Shizune, her assistant, who flanked Tsunade's right at her desk, tried to calm her while she held her pink pig Pom-Pom, who curled in her arms, shaking from Tsunade's loud voice, and oinking in agitation.

"Lady Tsunade, he wasn't that late," she reasoned, laying gentle brown eyes on their leader. "He was only a minute off."

Naruto gave a grateful smile to Shizune but soon wiped it off his face when Tsunade growled at him and hit her desk. There was a loud crack, the desk trembled, the floor shook and rumbled underneath his feet, and Naruto looked at the small crater and spiderweb cracks surrounding her fist with increasing fear to Body Flicker out of the building. He gulped slowly and felt the room heat up as his neck and ears became uncomfortably hot.

"Now, now, Little Tsunade, there's no need for that kind of coarse language," came an old, gravelly voice. "You are the Hokage. Be more professional in dealing with the youth. You're a role model, after all. Act like it. They certainly look up to you and not just your power and titles."

Another voice snorted; thinly veiled contempt swam in its undertone. Naruto shuddered at its tone. He knew that type of voice well. It was a voice worn by some of the villagers regarding Naruto as scum and lower than dirt.

He brought his eyes to the man as he said, "Titles are important as is the power that is derived from them. They provide hierarchy and structure, act as systems of authority. Is this what has come of the Leaf and the children of the greats? Children who cannot differentiate who their superiors are?"

"Relax, Vara, he is merely a boy," said the old voice. Naruto switched back his gaze. "He'll grow with time and learn, as do all teenagers do. As all shinobi are destined to do."

"Inevitably, time will tell. This era has made these ninjas soft as fragile snowflakes and as weak as sedimentary rock. Perhaps, the will of fire burns in him, too, like his heritage." A pause. "Or he's just another wilting flame in the long line of shinobi regression, a grain of sand in the enormity to the desert of their predecessors."

Naruto looked to the right and saw two old men, one lounging in a chair and the other standing tall as a mountain beside him. They looked to be over a hundred years old by how age defined their faces, like time had cut and chiseled every age line and crease. The old man lounging in the chair had long, snow-white hair tied in a triangular-shaped knot and a sea of white coming from the shore of his pale face, ending at his chest. A grizzly scar of pink skin ran down his wizened face. The most particular feature on the man were his amber eyes. They shined like fire.

He was dressed in a spectacular robe made of crimson and gold silk that pooled at the floor, trimmed in gold and ebony. It looked unbelievably expensive and refined, something a noble or a daimyo would wear for important ceremonies. Its beauty was conspicuous. A simple black cane sat across his lap. He turned his amber eyes on Naruto, and he swiftly gulped.

There was something powerful in that stare. It was potent and piercing. It made him uncomfortable for a moment, like he was evaluating his soul. A chill crawled down his spine and settled in his stomach, churning it. The stare creeped Naruto.

The other old man contrasted sharply with his ornate, crimson-robed colleague. He was by far darker in complexion and clothing. Naruto had never seen skin so golden brown, filled with waves of wrinkles clashing against a blooming white facial beard that was sharply trimmed, the edges sharp as the tip of a kunai. Two thick whiskers curled above his lip, hiding razor-thin lips. His white hair cascaded down his neck and lay on his black-clothed shoulders like newly powdered snow on black soil.

His clothes… they, too, did not look like a shinobi. They seemed unnatural, different. Decadent. They had an air of a noblemen, an aristocrat from the court of the daimyo.

A midnight black coat, sleek and shiny, adorned with silver pipping around the collars and folds, enveloped his body, fitting tightly to his chest and then fluttering out into a skirt that cutoff at the knees. Stitched in the middle of the coat's chest, in silver pipping, was a circle with a closed, counterclockwise spiral triskele that looked like Konohagakure's leaf symbol and below it a broken lemniscate that closed at the ends like cut ribbon.

When Naruto looked into his eyes, violet shards of ice stared back, pronounced. They were harsh and cold, searing and wintry. War looked back at Naruto. A war of ages, a chasm of battles and hardships, a life of tumult were locked behind those violet shards. Naruto swallowed deeply again. His fingers fidgeted at the hem of his pants.

His freaky eyes are freaking me out! They're so cold, so demanding. It feels like he wants the world to bend to him, to his will. There's so much anger and pain lurking in there. It makes my skin crawl.

Using this to his advantage and pushing the fear away to the back of his mind, Naruto took a few steps toward them, summoned his courage from his ocean of bravery, pointed an accusing finger at the two old men and barked to Tsunade, "Who are these old men?"

Silence came first, shocked and stunned. Then, followed closely after was a chorus of sighs and groans at the heels of silence. The sound twitched Naruto's ears, and he could not find the reasoning in it. Why were they so upset? The violet-eyed old man closed his eyes, hung and shook his head, and murmured, "Ridiculous."

"Naruto," Sakura sighed once. "You really don't know?"

The old man with amber eyes crinkled his wrinkly lips into a smile and laughed thunderously. It was the kind of laugh that could be felt and was, somehow, utterly contagious. Naruto, who had been squinting suspiciously at the two men, looked sheepishly at the amber-eyed man. His laughter had caught him off-guard.

"Little Tsunade, he's just as impudent as you were at his age," the old man said. "Like Jiraiya. A hotman if I ever did see one. A lot of fire in that one, I'm sure. My word, how times have changed and remained the same. The fires of youth will always kindle. Hashirama and Minato would have been proud of you, boy."

"Subjective," Vera said, violet shards lingering on Naruto, their tips keeping him on edge.

Tsunade blushed and muttered something behind her green sleeve. Naruto blinked. He blinked again, registering what the old man had said. It was revealing, and he could not believe it.

"You knew the First and Fourth Hokage?" he exclaimed excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

The old man laughed louder. When his laugh subsided into chuckles, he said, "We did. Yes, we did."

The old man gave Vara a fond look. Vera did not return it, eyes still targeting Naruto, narrowed. There was something in that look Naruto did not like. It was like he was seeing through him.

"Hashirama, Tobirama, Vara, and I were boys back in the day," the old man continued, nodding to himself, "during the Warring States Period. It was tough times, an era of constant warfare for supremacy, and even then, it did not abate conflict. We clawed our way from battle after battle, life always hanging on the line of death."

"The First nor the Second were reluctant to talk about this period," Tsunade added, clasping her hands and resting them on her small nose, "despite the long history written about this era. I could always see it in grandpa and uncle's eyes. How it made them hard men, the pillars of our village."

Vara's eyes seemed to grow a shade darker. "The Warring States Period. A bloody era of clashing clans and rising villages. Might was strength, and strength was everything. It was the birth of the Hidden Villages, and we shaped and forged our purpose to form Konoha."

"Mhm, mhm," repeated the amber-eyed old man with a nod of his head. "It's where we got our start, escaping one bloody era to the next, but that's all in the past. Let's hope, despite the invasion from the Sand and Sound villages, we let peace speak than keep its mouth closed. All it takes is one voice of light to reach out to those buried in the darkness."

"Amazing! You must be ancient!" Naruto interjected, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the two men.

Naruto had been following the conversation closely. However, he had tuned some of the things out. History had never been a strong point for the young shinobi. Books were important, only in so far as making him a rounder shinobi to fight. What was more appealing were the people who had experienced that history and seeing them in person, and how aged had crept in with time and danced its fingers over their bodies, but not their souls. They were shinobi of a heroic era.

"Naruto, this is really uncouth," Rock Lee managed tightly, dark eyes looking between the astonished old men, the tightening face of Tsunade, who's hazel eyes had morphed into volcanoes, and Naruto's awed expression.

Sasuke put his hand on his face and released a small grumble that sounded like idiot. Shikamaru sighed and slouched a bit more, his shoulders nearly dropping to the floor. Sakura looked crossed between wanting to swat Naruto on the back of the head and dissolving in embarrassment by how red her face had taken. It was Shikamaru's loud, open sigh that caused Naruto to look at him.

"Naruto, you know who they are, right?" Shikamaru asked expectantly, and quite patiently. Naruto looked at Shikamaru, crossing his arms and shaking his head. How was he supposed to know some old nobles that he had never met?

"So, who are they?" Naruto questioned, much to the disgruntlement of his audience.

"Jeez, Naruto. Were you not paying attention to Iruka-sensei's lectures?" asked Sakura. Her hair danced on her shoulders as she shook her head in disapproval.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly again feeling his ears burn. "A little," he managed in a small voice.

"Foolish," chastised Vara, looking at the amber-eyed man. The amber-eyed man merely grinned.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said, placing his hands on his hips, slouching his shoulders and shaking his head, dismay etched on his face. Naruto knew Shikamaru rarely liked describing and explaining things. He had often found it too troublesome.

"Someone important, judging by their clothes. With a lot of money," Naruto guessed thoughtfully, cupping his hand to his chin. The old man seemed please by his answer, his smile broadening. "If they know Grandma Tsunade and the First and Second Hokages, then they must have been former shinobi during the that, um, the Warring States Period that happened like over a hundred years ago."

"Not bad," said Sasuke, smirking. "I guess you do have some brains, idiot."

Blue eyes darting to Sasuke, Naruto scowled at him. "Hey! I know some things!"

If it was not for Kakashi-sensei forcing me to read, read, and read, I'd be a dumb as a rock. Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei did state that Hokages were more than their strength. Intelligence was another trait.

Shikamaru snorted good-naturedly. "I agree with the Uchiha. Not a bad answer at all," said Shikamaru, a slight curl of his lips. "But there's more, much more to the story."

Tsunade flashed a scowl at Naruto. Chills ran down his back. The volcanoes in her eyes were erupting as she barked, "Naruto, show some damn respect for Lord Kuzon, Konoha's Flame Tempest and Lord Varahamihira, Konoha's Cosmic Shinobi! They, along with Tobirama and Hashirama Senju, Uchiha Madara, are the co-founders of the village. It is because Lord Varahamihira that you wear that leaf triskele engraved in your headband!"

Naruto's hand rocketed up to his head band. His callused fingers ran through the engravement, the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village. No wonder it was familiar! he thought excitedly, seeing the similar symbol on Lord Varahamhira's clothing. The two symbols were one of the same, and for a village to attach Lord Varahamhira's symbol meant something significant to Naruto.

"What!" Naruto shouted at the old men, taken aback. His eyes went wide. "You're co-founders of Konoha? How come I've never seen or heard about you before?"

"Naruto," Lee spoke up, "he was in our history books. You remember reading them, right?"

"Of course, he doesn't, Lee," Sakura added, and Naruto's shoulders slumped to the floors. "Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation."

Naruto felt his cheeks heat up. He chuckled, trying to hide the squirming feeling that rolled in his belly.

"Oh, yeah, I remember!" he lied quickly. "I just forgot, that's it."

The look on Sakura's face made him redden even further as his fellow genin and chunin looked on disbelievingly. History lessons taught by Iruka and the rest of his teachers were boring for Naruto. In the academy, he had spent long hours as Iruka droned on and on about useless Konoha history, something that never seemed to spark interest for Naruto as he did not retain any information. He could barely remember much of Konoha's history as he found sleeping preferable or ditching class, or both. The lessons went in one ear and out the other.

It was not like remembering history mattered, right?

Lord Varahamihira looked at the scene dispassionately, choosing to focus on Tsunade. Lord Kuzon gave Naruto a friendly nod and turned his attention to Tsunade. "Let's start, little Tsunade. History lessons can wait."

Tsunade, ignoring Naruto embarrassment, comported herself and gave the teens a measuring look, her hazel eyes solidifying into steel. "I've called you five here for an escorting mission. Your mission is to escort Lord Kuzon and Lord Varahamihira back to their home. They have specifically requested you five for this mission with one more foreign ninja joining you along the way."

"Foreign shinobi?" Naruto muttered under his breath. He wondered, out of the hidden villages, who would be tasked in accompanying them?

"This," Tsunade said carefully, "is an A-ranked mission. With the sums of money they're paying, this could be transformed into an S-rank. Although, I'm not expecting much danger with where you're going. Chunin Shikamaru Nara will head the mission, with Sasuke Uchiha as deputy. You will defer to Shikamaru and his instruction."

Hearing this, Naruto pushed his chest out, Sasuke stood up straighter, Lee gave a boisterous "Yosh!", Sakura gave a determined nod as she pulled her glove, and Shikamaru imperceptibly tilted his head to the side, dark eyes narrowing at the old men. To Naruto, the old men must have heard about his past accomplishments, to specifically request him made him feel proud. He was finally getting the recognition he deserved.

"An A-to S-rank mission!" Naruto gasped in delight at the news. This news was a magnificent! "I knew you would recognize my talent! I guess that Hokage hat will be sitting on my head soon, grandma! Don't be getting too comfortable in that seat – I'll be in it in no time."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but a small smile belied a warmness as she lifted her blonde eyebrow at Naruto. Spotting this, Naruto smiled even harder. He beat his chest with his fist, feeling Tsunade's necklace against his chainmail shirt, a token of her acceptance of him. It was only a matter of time before he sat behind that desk, leading the village in a new era.

Naruto laughed merrily and then asked, "Will there be shinobi to fight, or maybe bandits? Will there be danger?"

Lord Kuzon shook his head, a smile adorning his face. "Nothing of the sort, Mr. Uzumaki. You six shinobi will be escorting us to our homeland where we might live our last days in peace."

Lord Kuzon lowered his eyes to his knees. A tired, rough sigh escaped his lips. Lord Varahamihara placed a hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes. The gesture made Naruto think that there was something more that was unspoken, a trust between friends. Lord Kuzon raised his eyes up, looking at the people gathered in the room. They flickered with emotion, glimmering, and then darkening, and finally, back to a dim warmth.

"I have done my best here," Lord Kuzon continued, "and I see the seeds, spectacular seeds Hashirama, Madara, Varahamihira, Tobirama, and I have planted, nourished by love and community, sprout, unearthing from the soft soil and meeting the sun fearlessly into beautiful, evergreen trees."

Slowly, his hand rose from his knees, his pointer finger sweeping the young boys, and falling still on Naruto. "The Will of Fire continues in you. Burns in you. You all hold the hotman spirit!"

The enthusiasm drained from the room like turning off a light switch. Naruto's prideful countenance dimmed at the admission.

He wants to die? Naruto thought worriedly, looking at the man, really looking at him.

Lord Kuzon did indeed look frail inside his beautiful robe and tired as if he endured countless hardships. There seemed to be a heaviness in his eyes that Naruto had skipped on first observation. Suddenly, and it with great force, he felt sad for the man and his burdens. Even Lord Varahamihira's closed eyes had crinkled, tightening, like his grip on his Lord Kuzon's shoulder.

"The only danger I can foresee is the one not known," said Lord Kuzon softly, chuckling. "And the one not known is the worst-case scenario. The dangers we see with our eyes never tells the true or full story, which is why we must remain vigilant and guard our hearts from those willing to deceive them."

Guard our hearts from those willing to deceive them, Naruto pondered thoughtfully.

Naruto had remembered he had opened his heart multiple times to people, only for them to stomp and spit on it. He remembered Mizuki's cruel eyes and snarl after he had betrayed Naruto. Naruto tightened his fists into stones.

A small silence descended, but, surprisingly, it was Shikamaru who broke it. "There's always instances where what we see may not tell the whole story. Keeping a cautious eye and an open mind can make sense of complicated problems and situations. We should have noticed this when the Hidden Village in the Sand and Sound invaded, that something was afoot."

"Aptly said, boy," Lord Varahamhira' commended, eyes still closed, nodding his head towards Shikamaru.

Kuzon clapped his hands appreciatively. "Rightly so, Vara. Very well said, son of Shukaku. I see your intelligence rivals your father's. Hopefully, not his lazy disposition, too. Although, to his credit, he was able to outgrow it. War can change a shinobi as did the Third Shinobi War changed him and many others.

"But I digress. A shinobi should always be mindful of the dangers they face, for disaster is one step away. A shinobi is always at the edge of peace and war, and the thorns of wars are always sharp and waiting to pierce the body of peace if they grow too complacent."

Shikamaru smiled lazily, but there was a hint of pride sparkling in his dark eyes. "Unfortunately, it does."

Kuzon smiled back and then turned his eyes to Tsunade. Tsunade nodded at him and continued, "Lord Kuzon and Varahamihira's home are outside the village, southwest of Konohagakure, past the Shodai's Forest. I hope you're prepared because you leave now."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, startled by the expedience. He stumbled backwards, aghast. "Isn't that too soon?"

"Mr. Uzumaki," Lord Kuzon replied, beating Tsunade as her lips moved to respond, "I do not have long. Vara and I have been here long enough. Too long. We have seen so much. Time, regrettably, has not favored me, which is why we hasten our journey."

"Oh, right, sorry," Naruto said hurriedly.

He watched Lord Kuzon stand, back slumping forward a bit, heavily leaning on his cane, his veins bulging on his wrinkled hand, and walked towards Tsunade. He wondered if Lord Kuzon would make this trip alive by how tightly he held his cane. Lord Kuzon's steps fell silent as he stopped in front of Tsunade.

Tsunade and Lord Kuzon gave each other a long look, eyes clouding, faces holding emotion that looked like it was about to burst. It happened in an instant. Tsunade had swung her arms around Kuzon's frame and Kuzon pulled her into him. Naruto watched Tsunade's strong image partially fold as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. Naruto turned his head away, knowing that this would be the last moment they shared together, feeling like he was intruding on something personal.

In silence, they set down the stairs, heels clicking off the wood surface, like a marching army during a funeral procession, following behind the billowing tails of Lords Kuzon and Varahamihara's robes. Naruto eyes trailed the ground, his teeth chewing his bottom lip gently.

I thought this mission would be exciting! I-I don't wanna take these old men to their graves. What kind of mission is that?

Blue eyes rose from the ground and found the solid backs of the two lords. Despite the suffocating gloom that had accompanied them in the Hokage's office, the two lords towered above the young shinobi, their backs erect and proud. The gloom had evaded them for they seemed impenetrable.

Naruto sighed and moved forward of the group, next to Sasuke and Sakura. The boy did not seem to notice him, eyes glued to the two lords and the vast ocean blue sky despite Sakura trying and failing to engage him conversation.

"Say, Sasuke? Can you believe it? We're on a mission leading to their deaths. I thought this mission would be more exciting, you know? Not this."

Sasuke did not say anything for a moment. "It's a mission," Sasuke's deep voice rumbled. "We have to fulfill all missions to the best of our ability, and it's not like we can reject it. We were chosen for this mission, but I'm unsure of the reason."

Sasuke's black eyes hovered over Lord Kuzon's back. "Why us?"

Naruto felt the same way. He was unsure of their selections, but who was he to say? They must have looked at his combat records, too, and found them most pleasing. Pride swelled within him as a smiled stretched his lips. He was getting to be a top shinobi after all.

"Hey, we must be awesome shinobi. They probably wanted us –"

"Use your head, Naruto," Sasuke whispered intently, narrowing his eyes. "For the amount they're paying, for such a low-risk mission, something's not right. It's just…" Sasuke paused suddenly.

"It's just –" Naruto continued, only for Sasuke to elbow him gently.

He was about to retort harshly when he saw that they had stopped. The Konoha's main gate loomed over them, towering above and as high as the trees. The village gate guards, Kotestu and Izumo flank the gates.

Kotetsu waved his hand lazily at their approach, a smile dancing on his bandaged face while Izuma merely smiled. Reserved cheer lighted their faces. They did not look like their usual enthusiastic selves. In fact, Naruto had never seen them like this at all. Their brown eyes were dim, and their smiles restrained.

"Lord Kuzon and Varahimhara, where are you headed off to now?" asked Izumo. His eyes did an obvious sweep of their group. "And with five, notable shinobi no less?"

"Another morning stroll around the village, eh? Are you sure you should be going anywhere? You might hurt yourselves," joked Kotetsu lightly.

Lord Varahimhara harumphed. "The insolence."

"These wonderful shinobi are helping us head back home," Lord Kuzon said, emphasizing the teens with his hand. Naruto and his teammates nodded at the acknowledgement.

There was a chorus of "ohs" from the two guards. "Y'all, I hope you treat these two right! They're our national treasure," Kotetsu said proudly. "Best of luck."

The two then genuflected to the two lords as the gates groaned open. The shinobi contingent walked through the large gates. For some reason, as he passed by these gates one too many times, this time, they seemed to be moving heavily, as if they were carrying a great weight. As they made way past the doors, Naruto looked back, watching the doors close with an emphatic bang, trembling his ears. Tree leaves shook at the tops as birds scattered into the sky, scared off from the sound.

They left into the forested path. Innumerable trees thrived in the Land of Fire. Compared to most places Naruto had been in, the Land of Fire was the one he knew had robust foliage decorating her land.

A grand wall of green, red, orange, and yellow splendor of trees were the group's companions, their branches lush with autumn leaves. Summer had come and gone, and autumn had taken its place with a shocking array of color. Naruto's eyes were briefly captivated by how colorful leaves slowly peeled off their branches when a slight brush of wind came and were swept in its cool current, floating beyond he could see. The scent of pine, maple, and soil drifted in his nose and the flourish of the soft wind relaxed him.

After an hour-long walk, they reached a fork in the path; one leading to the west and another to the east.

"Our destination is towards the west, young shinobi," Kuzon said, pointing to the right.

Lord Kuzon had said their journey would be quick and Naruto had grumbled a little at that. He wished for more adventure. He wanted more freedom to travel the Land of Fire.

He looked side to side, listening to the sounds of the forest, checking for anything unusual that may hint at enemy ninjas or bandits. Any sign of damaged leaves or branches, footprints off the trail in the grass or unusual puddles. Naruto had remembered in his first mission to Wave Country, large puddles indicated enemy shinobi if the weather had not rained for a while.

Naruto's lips curved upward into a smile. That had been his second real battle. He had been naïve then, remarkably so that he became a burden than a benefit on the mission. The Demon Brothers, chunin-leveled shinobi under the order of Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, had exploded from the puddle to ambush their client and kill Kakashi. Naruto had been so frightened that all his shinobi training, all those years in the academy, had disappeared in seconds.

I was scared out my mind.

He was petrified, frozen in terror that he might die. He had stood there while Sasuke had acted faster than he could react, where Sakura had moved, placing herself between one of the Demon Brothers and the client. Naruto had failed to protect the client, had failed to live up to his ninja duties.

The shinobi world had become real. Danger was inescapable to the life of a shinobi; and life never more precious, never more futile, since it could be erased in an instant. He had vowed never again would he freeze up. That was his ninja way: to push through his fear, through anything any obstacle that would stand in his way. It was a vow, an oath, made and committed in blood. And so, he stayed committed to that oath, taking the lead in their formation.

They were in line formation: Naruto was first defense because of his Shadow Clones. Sasuke trailed behind him as a midrange defense, Shikamaru next, taking stock of the situation, Sakura protected the front of Lord Kuzon and Varahamhira while Rock Lee took the rear.

Naruto had been psyched since he held an important role. The first line of defense saw fighting first and everything depended on him to not let enemies through. Naruto would valiantly fight whoever stood in their way. They would fall to the legendary might of his Shadow Clones and his fists! If enemies breached his line of defense, then Sasuke would follow in second, providing mid-range attacks to keep the enemies out of reach.

However, what he had expected of this mission, soon became a bore.

Three hours had passed in relative silence. Besides random passersby of traders and travelers, merchants and their families, who waved respectively at them, nothing out of sort happened. There were no preying shinobi, no bandits or thieves hiding in the trees laying in wait to pounce. The only form of conflict, or rather, entertainment, was two squirrels wrestling over a nut. They stopped for lunch along the road and then continued until the sky was blotted by orange and purple with the creeping dark blue of night bleeding through.

Going off the edge of the road, the group settled in a small clearing huddled by a gathering of vibrant yellow and red leaved trees. Shikamaru ordered Naruto to collect kindling for a fire, Sasuke to produce the basic traps in case of enemy shinobi then proceed to ground lookout, Sakura to take aerial lookout in a tree, and for Lee to hunt.

"No need for hunting," said Lord Kuzon, a hand staying their movement.

He took his bag and pulled out a scroll. Pushing chakra into the scroll, thick cuts of raw beef, a bag of rice, and a variety of vegetables – large onions, bulbous beets, fresh carrots, and leaks. Pulling out a kunai from his robe, Lord Kuzon's hand blurred, his slices silent as the chopped cuts fell softly on the scroll.

The food hovered in Naruto's mind as he walked through the forest, finding spare branches on the ground and breaking off thin, skeletal branches from smaller trees and bushes. His mouth watered and he swallowed, feeling his belly growl at the thought of cooked food. It gave another angry growl, kicking his stomach, and Naruto hurried to finish his task, dashing this way and that to find good kindling.

A worthwhile trip brought Naruto back with arms full of kindling. He could barely see from how high it was piled up. He eagerly deposited them into the center of the firepit and prepared to light the fire when Lord Kuzon stopped him, a pale hand raised firm.

"Allow me, Naruto," and a swift punch to the wood caused fire to leap from his fist to swallow the wood. The fire crackled and burned merrily, licking the air as its flaming tongues danced. The shinobi settled around the fire as the meat and vegetables jostled in the pots, staring in awe at Lord Kuzon. Sakura and Sasuke had come down, finding a seat in their circle.

"Whoa!" Naruto said, jumping up. "How did you do that, old man? You didn't use a hand seal!"

"Yes! What an astounding technique!" Lee added, his eyes burning. "As Naruto says, the lack of hand seals must show your absolute control of your chakra."

Sakura nodded along, green eyes shining. "Usually, refinement in art and power reduces hand signs. That's what Lady Tsunade had mentioned while training me."

"The Fifth Hokage is correct. You don't need hand signs the more you grow in power and mastery, brats," said Lord Varahamhira, sitting cross-legged next to Kuzon. The light of the fire flickered and danced across his face and violet eyes.

"When you've become more experienced as a ninja, kneading chakra and molding it to your will becomes infinitely easier to control. Hand signs become redundant, unnecessary, especially when battle is upon you. One's native elemental affinity also increases and enhances your control."

Mastery, thought Naruto curiously. Will my power look like that when I have become stronger?

It was one of the most spectacular things he had seen yet. The old man did not use hand seals, just his fist. Even Sasuke had a look of mild intrigue than his usual reserved expression, which spoke more of the old man's talent could hold his interest. By how the fire danced in his dark eyes, he looked expectantly at Lord Kuzon. Shikamaru looked on curiously at the fire and then on Mr. Kuzon. He could not wait for dinner. Sakura sat crossed legged, hugging her knees, but her head moved forward, interest along with fleck of gold from the fire, gleaming in her eyes.

"A kekeki genkai?" Sakura asked curiously.

Lord Kuzon chuckled as he watched the teens while Lord Varahamhira smirked. When Lord Kuzon had their attention, he held his hand out, palm up, outstretched to the fire. He did not touch the fire but had it a senbon needle away. A small flame flickered in his hand, bright and radiating like a small light.

"Indeed, Ms. Haruno. The power that I have does come from blood, but there are others, who are not kin, who have this ability. Young ones, I have come from a village far away. Where I lived, there were many who have this talent, to birth fire into existence, to stoke it into fury. They have powers born from nature – fire, earth, water, air, and energy – the five natural cycles. A harmonic convergence of nature separated into distinct people and forms."

Lord Varahamhira raised a white eyebrow. "My friend, you forgot another element."

Lord Kuzon jolted up in his seat. "You are right, Vara. My mistake. Oh yes, how could I forget space."

Lord Varahamhira nodded at this. "Now, going back to the topic," Lord Kuzon continued. "This," displaying the fire in his palm, "is called firebending."

The small flame continued to flicker and dance in his palm. Naruto watched in wonder, simply mesmerized. The generation of flame reminded him of forming the Rasengan by gathering chakra to his hand. The way Kuzon held the flame and how loose it was in his hands, made Naruto realize the level of control between him and the old man was astronomical.

"Contrary to popular belief," Kuzon began, "firebending does not rely solely on strength and hatred to generate the flame, but a strong will, one's inner courage or flame" – he chuckled – "brings the energy out from our chi, creating new energy. The flame represents us, our nature, and our fortitude to live by our own destinies. No one flame is ever the same, like any individual.

"Fire is the element of power. Firebenders channel fire through will and desire. Very similar in using chakra though, for chakra, it requires the user to start early and slowly build it."

Those words triggered something in Naruto in Naruto. A strong feeling of nostalgia barreled into him, of the old man Hokage and his encouraging words on the village's axiom, founded by the first Hokages. The Will of Fire, Konoha's oath of integrity, to protect those they cherished, the village and her people, and for Naruto, his promises. Fire was their strength and their courage.

Fire was life. Fire destroyed. Fire smoldered until extinguished. When gone, fire rebirthed like new leaves in spring.

"Chi?" Lee said puzzledly, the campfire's light flickering over his face, alighting his spellbound eyes. "Guy- sensei had once said using chi was difficult as it required a different sort of effort or energy to tap into than harnessing chakra like shinobi do."

A slow smile spread across Kuzon's features. The glow of the fire made his amber eyes shine. "The land where we come from chakra and chi are similar metaphysical energy inside people. However, they are utilized differently. Shinobi and samurai use chakra, the physical and spiritual, yin-yang, to create ninjutsu and increase their power, whether it be speed, stamina, or physical strength. Chakra is more malleable than chi when connecting with nature and enhances a shinobi's physical and spiritual attributes. Chi does the same, but it is broad and lacks the… the theatricality shinobi use when creating techniques."

"There is also the fact that sea of chi never runs out. It can grow over time and consistent practice, but it can be inhibited," Lord Varaharahira added, "through fatigue, stress, pain, sleep deprivation, lack of motivation, and disconnection with the world. Unlike chi, people are born with predetermined chakra reserves.

"Large reserves give shinobi more variety while smaller reserves build on refinement and reservation or storage of chakra. Think of shinobi, especially in your team, who has large and small chakra reserves and what they can and cannot do."

Naruto turned inward, thinking, then his eyes landed on Sakura. Come on, remember! What did Kakashi-sensei say in the Land of Waves? What did he say? Oh, yeah! He said I have large chakra reserves and Sasuke has a decent size compared to Sakura! But out of all three of us, Sakura had better control.

It was in the Land of Waves, where a recovering Kakashi Sensei was teaching them tree-walking exercises, did Naruto realize how much chakra he fully had. Walking up vertical trees had been extremely difficult in comparison to Sakura, who had infinitely smaller reserves, but better control and refinement. Every time Naruto would mold chakra and coat his feet, he would only get so far. He had to learn to manage how much power he was expelling and control it.

"What in the world?" Sasuke muttered, breaking Naruto from thoughts, and re-centering his attention to the conversation.

Naruto turned to him, finding crimson, glowing eyes in place of dark ones! Sasuke's eyes were narrowed, centered on Lord Kuzon. Lord Kuzon carefully brought his eyes on to the Sasuke, a soft smile on his wizened face.

"An Uchiha's eyes are the gateway to many things supernatural," Lord Varaharamhira stated, narrowing his eyes on Sasuke, "as is the Byakugan."

Sasuke squinted, red eyes lingering on the statement, and on Lord Varaharamhira's face. He said nothing in return, though, Naruto could see he probably had something on his mind. When Sasuke's gaze lingers, complexity and questions wrestle in his mind. It was Sasuke's form of silent engagement.

"What do you see, boy?" Lord Kuzon asked, his tone curious, towards Sasuke.

"It is…" Sasuke remarked. "It's something rather different. I have never seen someone with this type of color..."

Lord Kuzon looked satisfied with that answer as he waited for Sasuke to continue. Deactivating his Sharingan, his fierce crimson eyes dimmed to black. Sasuke said, "Most shinobi have a blue-colored base chakra network, but…"

Sasuke seemed to hesitate as if in a daze. Lord Kuzon's smile encouraged him, and he continued, "It is different. Inside the stomach, where we mold unrefined chakra, is the key to our power. Lord Kuzon has two distinct chakra network systems, all centered within the sea of chakra, the stomach. One red and one blue."

Sasuke's eyes shifted over to Naruto for a second before refocusing on Lord Kuzon as the man nodded. Naruto tensed. He laid a hand on his stomach, gripping the fabric and his flesh. He felt distinctly uncomfortable, and he was again reminded of his burden.

"Firebenders inherit a red colored chi," Lord Kuzon spoke. "Red is the color of passion and heat, a means of success and good fortune. My chakra system, naturally, is blue. When mixed with my chi as one, it becomes purple.

"Naturally, when chi and chakra combine, two rivers of energy form into one grand confluence, thus increasing a shinobi's natural elemental affinity dramatically."

Mr. Kuzon brought his hand holding the dancing flame of above his head to the sky. The tiny flame grew large and surged upward. It howled triumphantly when the flame touched the sky. The heat from the flame's intensity pressed against Naruto's skin. His clothes became an oven, droplets of sweat gather at his forehead and wetted his cheeks. The heat was rising, and his face stung. The enraged torrent climbed higher into the heavens as it speared upward.

A few moments passed and Lord Kuzon lessened the flame until it was extinguished into hundreds of burning red embers that vanished before meeting the ground. Naruto had to smile at display. It was an impressive demonstration of power and control.

Kuzon gazed at them, moving his head slowly to each boy. "Yes, fire is a bringer of life, a natural occurrence in the world. My chi does not run out or reach low and deadly levels like chakra. It simply grows with age, experience, and practice. It is a well that always replenishes and energy that is always available when I need to draw upon it. Yet, humans are fragile things, capable of creating the phenomenal and falling when endurance has reached its peak."

A long, wrinkly, warm smile enveloped Kuzon's face in contrast to the closed and impassive face of his partner's. "Now, hurry up and eat and then sleep," ushered Lord Kuzon to the food. "We still have a way ahead of us."

As Naruto lay in his sleeping bag, eyes on the ocean of stars and nebulae, appetite satiated, he pondered over Lord Kuzon's words. As the man told his story, there was a wistfulness not lost on Naruto for the past. The man seemed to have a distant look when he talked about his people and their unique powers. Even that old goat of an old man, Lord Varaharamhira's, sharp eyes had softened to blunt daggers.

This chi he talked about sounded amazing. A power that never ran out… Naruto wondered what it would be like to use it, to wield it like Kuzon. Naruto envisioned himself shrouded by flames, a vortex of flame in one hand and his Rasengan in the other. He looked like the definition of cool, and he couldn't stop the smile from settling and spreading on his lips.

Naruto also wondered what Kuzon's people were like. What did his land look like? He had no awareness of the outside villages and countries past those he traveled on missions – the Land of Waves, the Land of Snow, the Land of Tea, and many villages within the Land of Fire. Were they shinobi too? Did they have villages and dreams like him?

Naruto turned on his side, eyes facing the dying pit of the fire. Threads of smoke were illuminated by blinking red embers. Warmth remained despite the tingling in his cheeks from fall's cool kiss. He closed his eyes.

He wondered if he would meet people like Lord Kuzon, who controlled the elements in different and diverse ways than chakra. He wondered and wondered until his eyes fell shut and sleep quietly drifted him to dreams of bending the elements and a land filled with odd spirits.

When darkness had come for Naruto was when a cold, crimson, elliptical eye opened, and a deep chuckle rumbled before falling to silence.