The next day Naruto could be seen with an excited Sasuke. He was going to face some genin in a taijutsu only spar and he was going to prove that he was the best.

He turned to the older Uchiha and spoke. "When will they arrive? I'm more than ready to wipe the floor with him." "Patience Sasuke, knowing his sensei, I presume that they are warming up by doing some ridiculous exercise" he replied.

Sasuke just huffed and went to stretch. About 5 minutes later they arrived and Sasuke was alarmed. 'Who in the hell are these weirdo's?'he thought. Naruto seeing the look on the boys face just laughed.

He patted Sasuke on the back and went over to the duo. "Gai, Lee I'd like for you to meet my student Sasuke Uchiha." Lee jumped in excitement. "Yosh Sasuke I hear that you are the strongest student in the academy.

You are said to be a genius. But I'm a firm believer in hard work beats talent!" Sasuke just nodded dumbly. Turning to Gai, he spoke.

"Now the rules are taijutsu only. Interceptor fist versus the goken. Sasuke is allowed to use the sharingan as it's a key part in the way he fights." Gai nodded.

"I made sure that Lee could fight opponents without making eye contact. His flames of youth will burn bright today!" Gai said. Naruto nodded.

Truthfully he was also excited to see just how a Sasuke matched up to someone other than himself. He had a feeling that Lee would be strong, training with Gai had its uses after all. He and Gai jumped back as the two teens squared off.

Sasuke activated his sharingan and smirked confidently. "Lee, you are about to witness first hand the true power of an Uchiha." "I will give it my best Sasuke" Lee said.

What followed next shocked Naruto to the core. Lee absolutely beat the piss out of Sasuke. Lee's speed was incredible. He would say he's easily jonin level in that department.

He kicked Sasuke up and down the training grounds. Sasuke was not far enough to react to his moments.

He was so shocked that he didn't even react when Lee was about to cripple Sasuke but Gai stepped in. Ending the spar in the process.

Lee apologized for taking it a step too far after Gai reprimanded him. But Sasuke shrugged off the friendly gesture and walked away seething with anger.

He turned to the duo and congratulated Lee on the victory. He then said his goodbyes as he went after Sasuke. He eventually found the boy sitting down by a lake. Walking up to the boy he sat down next to him.

"You know, despite what people say, I wasn't that strong of a shinobi when I was a kid" he said. Sasuke huffed. "If this is your way of trying to make me feel better then you're doing a terrible job at it" he said.

"I'm not trying to make you feel better. You got your teeth kicked in by someone who outclassed you and that's reality. You think Itachi didn't lose some of his fights? Shisui would mop the floor with him until Itachi had a fully matured sharingan.

I myself lost to The White Fang on numerous occasions." "You knew Sakumo Hatake?" asked a surprised Sasuke. "Know him? He was my teammate, along with Gai's father.

Why do you think I wasn't creeped out when the man appeared in the training grounds. I'm basically immune to his antics"he said with a chuckle. "So I guess you and him are close" he said.

"Yeah, I've known him since he was a baby. His father and I were best friends. 'Eternal rivals' as he used to say." "So where is he? I'm sure he's as strong as you and the White Fang" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked towards the lake and spoke. "He was a genin. Labeled the eternal genin by Konoha. Laughed at and teased for the same condition Gai and Lee have.

Sasuke what would you do if you were a grown man but still had the rank of genin?" Naruto asked. "I'd probably quit being a shinobi at that point" the boy replied.

Naruto smiled. "But he didn't. He trained day and night despite his condition and never let it handicap him but to answer your other question, he died during the 3rd Shinobi war.

He died protecting his son from the 7 swordsmen of the Mist." "He went against all seven at once? He had to be massacred right?" "Oh there was a massacre alright. He killed all but one member of the group."

Sasuke was shocked by the revelation. "How could he be a genin with the power to take down a group such as that?" Sasuke asked.

"I myself don't know the answer to that. But I do not ponder on it. The point I'm trying to make is that someone out there will always have one up on you. But don't let it discourage you from accomplishing your goals" Naruto spoke sagely.

"You talk as if you've been through everything that life has to offer" Sasuke muttered. Naruto smiled, a truly sad smile. "My life compared to my predecessors is nothing short of a walk in the park.

But I too have had my fair share of struggles. I once had my family taken away from me just as you did" he said. "Family? I thought Kagami-San and Shisui were your only relatives?" Sasuke asked genuinely interested.

Naruto was never one to talk about his personal life so openly. After a moment, Naruto spoke. "I had a girlfriend and while she was pregnant with my child, I was on the battlefield. It was during the 2nd shinobi war and i was a newly appointed jounin. At that time, i was around 17 and i felt like it was my duty to destroy all those who opposed The Leaf.

Due to my stupidity ,I never really got to see her as much but I tried to be there for her. But by then it was too late. She ended up leaving me and taking my son with her" Naruto said with a sad tone.

Sasuke digested the information he was given. He and Naruto were more similar than he thought. He couldn't imagine losing a wife and a child and it not even being in his control.

"I will be leaving on a mission tomorrow. I expect you to be a genin when I return" Naruto said changing the subject. "How long will you be gone?"

"Awe, is my dear Sasuke going to be lost without me?" Naruto asked with a smirk. "No, I'm just wondering how long you'll be gone and if I needed someone else to train me" he said.

"I will be gone until the mission is complete and that is at an unknown date. You will be placed on a team after you graduate, I suspect it to be with Kakashi Hatake if my hunch is correct. He will train you just fine."

"That's fine. When do you leave?" "I leave tomorrow morning. Why? Is there something you need?" Sasuke looked away from the man and mumbled"I would just like to spend some time with you before your departure." Naruto grinned. "I'd like that too."

The two were walking through the village as they saw Menma being chased by Anbu members who were covered in paint.

Naruto laughed at this. "That guy is an idiot. What he has in strength is evened out with stupidity" Sasuke said.

"He's not that bad. I like him. Even if he tends to be stubborn."

"You haven't seen him in the academy. He fails most of his tests and sleeps in class along with another lazy kid."

"And yet he is one of the top kids in the academy strength wise. You could learn something from him."

" What could I possibly learn from a dobe like him?"

Naruto stopped walking and looked in the direction in where Menma ran. "That boy has done everything in life alone. He has no parents, no teachers and lived alone for a long time.

And yet he is on your level." Seeing the look on the boys face he sighed. "I'm not teasing you or making fun of you because of that, I'm just saying it to motivate you. He's more important to this village than the Hokage" he finished.

"How? That's impossible" Sasuke said. "You'll have to ask him, I'm not at liberty to tell."

"But before I leave, I'd like to leave you with something to practice on and I expect you to have mastered it when I return" Naruto said.

Sasuke grinned. "How destructive is it?" he asked. Naruto smirked himself. He led Sasuke back to their house and went into the backyard.

He turned to the boy and spoke. "Before I show you the jutsu, you must know that you won't be able to produce the magnitude of flames i am able to even if you master the jutsu."

Seeing as Sasuke was about to reply, he held his hand up to silence him. "I told you I had multiple kekkei genkai. That fireball you saw me produce for the first time was an example of what Blaze Release was capable of. I inherited it from my father."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "So what is the name of the jutsu?" he asked.

Naruto activated his 3 tamoe sharingan and turned to the forest in front of them. "Activate your sharingan Sasuke" he said. Sasuke did so and sat in anticipation. Naruto went through a series of hand signs as Sasuke copied them down in his mind.

"Fire Style Fire Dragon Jutsu" he said as he spewed out a colossal dragon made of molten hot flames. The dragon flew towards the forest and exploded on contract.

The ground shook slightly as Sasuke had to exert force to stay in place. When the smoke cleared, he was once again in awe. There was a giant pathway where the full forest once stood. That dragon disintegrated the trees and any form of life that it came in contact with.

He turned back to the younger Uchiha and spoke. "Only practice this when you are alone. The true destructive capabilities of this jutsu should only be shown to enemies."

He then gave a sadistic grin that would've sent chills down the older generations spine. "And make sure to show them the full might of the Uchiha."

The following day, Kisame and Itachi were heading towards the Hidden Mist in a slow pace. They were in no rush because the confrontation was inevitable.

They knew they'd run into that man but they were ordered not to engage him because it would surely result in their deaths but that thought alone excited Kisame. He never fought someone of the same caliber as Naruto so if push came to shove, he'd relish the battle.

He turned to his parter. The man had said nothing since their departure. Although that wasn't saying much because Itachi was a man of few words. He was curious to see what the Uchiha thought about the possibility of facing his predecessor.

"Itachi, if we do meet Naruto Uchiha, what will you do?" he asked. The Uchiha didn't immediately respond which kind of irked the shark like man a little. He was about to comment again until Itachi spoke.

"I will do nothing. Our mission is to simply locate the chakra of the Jinchuriki if he's defeated. If Naruto chooses to fight then we will engage and eliminate him."

"And what about Nagato saying that we'd both die if we face him?" asked Kisame. "My strength may be lackluster compared to his but my eyes are far more superior" Itachi responded.

Kisame grinned. "And here i thought you were modest. If we do in fact face Naruto, i call dibs on fighting him first" he said. "Do what you please but focus on the mission first" Itachi replied monotonously.

Naruto, Mei and her personal guards were dashing back towards The Mist at a rapid pace. They would reach The Land of Water by midnight if they kept the pace up.

He dawned his shinobi armor once more. It had been years since he actually needed it. The black plates still had scratches on it from the countless battles he had over the years. But the white fur, remained white as snow, almost as if it hasn't been touched. It was something he took pride in. That meant nobody was able to sneak up behind him in battle.

Nobody really spoke since they departed, only small talk here and there but Naruto enjoyed the silence. It granted him the opportunity to think. Something he was not able to do as much when he was younger.

He thought about the battle that was going to take place. He already knew that he was fighting Yagura. They wouldn't need him otherwise. He had the best chance at defeating him due to his sharingan but no one knew the full capabilities of his eyes.

He did not have the genjutsu prowess of his nephew and his brother but he was no slouch. He could cast a powerful genjutsu on Yagura but there would be no fun in that. He'd draw the man out of hiding and make him release his beast. Then and only then would he let loose.

He was like his father more than he liked to admit. But the idea of establishing peace unsettled him. The last time he did that, he was blessed with a curse. How could he forget?

Flashback

It was a few months after the 2nd shinobi war ended and the teenage Naruto was lost. He was in a deep depression having lost his girlfriend and his child due to his negligence. He hadn't left his house since he returned from the battlefield for the final time.

He couldn't drink his sorrows away with alcohol because he hated the beverage. He refused to kill himself because that was a cowards way to go. So he decided to just slow down his life and live. He hadn't visited Dai and Gai or Sakumo and Kakashi since he got back. He didn't have the energy to socially interact with people.

He would have to visit Lord third soon and resume mission duties but he didn't look forward to it.

"You know, i thought brooding was in your clansmen's nature not yours" a voice said. Naruto didn't even turn around, having sensed the man before he even entered.

"What have i told you about entering my house unannounced?" he asked. "Hmm, something along the lines of putting me in an infinite genjutsu if i did it again" the man said nonchalantly. Naruto sighed. "What do you want Sakumo?" The man chuckled.

"Now, now Naruto, that's no way to greet your friend" he said. "As you can see, I'm not in the mood for pleasantries. How can i help you?" he asked.

"Straight to the point as always huh? Well if you really want to know, me and you have a mission to do. We're going along with a chunin by the name of Ibiki Morino to form a peace treaty with the Cloud."

"Why the hell do we have a chunin coming with us on a mission that is as important as this?"

"Beats me. Hokage-Sama said he has a way with words and can pick apart the brains of even the most intelligent shinobi" Sakumo replied.

"When do we leave" Naruto asked defeately. "Now" Sakumo said. "You knew we had a mission today and you chose to tell me at the last minute didn't you?" Naruto asked accusingly.

"Hm, must've slipped my mind" Sakumo replied. He flashed away when Naruto threw a kunai in his direction.

The mission ended up going south. They were ambushed by Kinkaku unit. The group was composed of highly skilled jounin who abandoned Kumo. They were led by the Gold and Silver brothers. Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Said to be direct descendants of the Sage of Six paths.

The group was directly responsible for the death of The 2nd Hokage, Tobirama Senju. They ambushed his squad back in the first shinobi war. A group that included Kagami and Hiruzen.

Naruto vowed to avenge the man.

But having been completely caught off guard, resulted in Ibiki being kidnapped. After coming to the collective decision to rescue their comrade rather than completing the mission, they took action. They tracked down the group of rogue shinobi and battled. Naruto ended up killing Kinkaku, with Ginkaku being fatally wounded by Sakumo.

The duo slashed through the remaining team members and found Ibiki tied up and brutally tortured. Naruto and Sakumo were relieved to know that the chunin was still alive, although barely. They headed back to the Leaf village without a second thought and dropped the teen off at the hospital. The misson details were relayed to Hiruzen and word somehow spread that the duo failed their mission to establish peace with the cloud and they were shunned for it.

Naruto in particular didn't care. He was used to people not liking him by now but the logical side of him could understand why they were upset. The villiage had just come out of the 2nd Shinobi war and thousands of family members and friends died. If there was a chance to seize all fighting and establish peace with arguably the 2nd most powerful hidden village, they had blew it.

Sakumo on the other hand didn't take it to well. For all of the good qualities the man had in life, valuing people's opinions was not one of them. But Naruto thought he'd get over it and eventually get back running. He took the criticism to heart and it destroyed him.

He remembered walking Kakashi home from the academy and walking in the living room and everything seemed to slow down in front of him. 2 things that would be ingrained in his mind forever. A note which contained a message for Kakashi, and then the lifeless body of his longtime friend. And then to have little Kakashi discover it with him at the time, made it even worse. The boy had cried over his fathers body and Naruto tried to remain strong but his eyes began to burn and he began crying.

He wiped off the red tears and-. 'Red tears?' he thought. It was blood he realized. He silently untied his forehead protector and gazed into the reflection and saw a red swirling pattern in both eyes. If he wasn't so distraught, he'd be pleased that he'd awaken the next form of the sharingan.

Flashback End

He subconsciously activated his sharingan and looked ahead. While there were blurs, he could still see somewhat. 'I guess that's what 30 years of using your eyes recklessly will do' he mused.

Sasuke was busy walking through the village when he saw an orange blur shoot past him. He knew exactly who it was. Only one person would be dumb enough to wear that monstrosity of a color. And part of him wanted to just continue his stroll through the village but the other half was curious as to where the blonde was going.

Deciding that he had nothing better to do, he followed the boy.

He ended up at a training ground and he observed the boy with a keen eye. Menma created dozens of clones and Sasuke was surprised. 'Those were solid cones! How is he not exhausted?' questioned Sasuke internally.

He watched the boy fight all of the clones at once using taijutsu only and began to feel jealousy. Menma was faster than him. 'How could someone who trains alone, be stronger than him who has help?' he thought angrily.

As the blonde dispelled the last clone, he too poofed out of existence and Sasuke was confused. "Why are you watching me?" came a voice from behind him. He jumped back and turned to see a frowning Menma.

"I-I wasn't watching you. I just heard some commotion and came to see what it was" he denied. "Yeah whatever. What do you want?" Menma asked in a tone Sasuke has never heard him use before.

"How come you're so strong?" Sasuke asked. Menma raised an eyebrow but spoke. "I obtain my strength through protecting people that are precious to me Sasuke." "Bullshit!" Sasuke retorted.

"What?"

"You can't rely on people to obtain strength!"

"So you don't rely on Naruto to train you?" Menma asked curiously. "I did for a while but that got me nowhere." Still remembering the embarrassing defeat at the hands of a certain green jumpsuit wearing boy.

"Well how about we spar. I want to see how I measure up against the heir to the Uchiha" Menma said. Sasuke smirked. "What are the rules?"

Hiruzen sat in his office along with Jiraiya, Kakashi, who was reading an orange book and a surprisingly serious looking Gai. He took a puff of his pipe and spoke. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I gathered you all here" he said. "Yeah Sensei I sure am. I was in the middle of my research. There were these busty sets of twins who walked in as you called me" Jiraiya said.

Hiruzen was slightly interested in that but chose not to voice his opinion and tarnish his image. Clearing his throat he spoke again. "You three are among the most powerful men in this village. But more importantly, you three hold ties to a hokage."

Now this seemed to get Kakashi's attention. His mind was running on a mile a minute trying to decipher what the old man was hinting at. "Uh with all do respect Hokage-Sama, I hold no ties with any Kage past or present" said Gai.

Hiruzen chuckled. "And it seems you have forgotten about the future" he said. Now the three men could see where this is going. Hiruzen was choosing a successor. Jiraiya was the first to voice his opinion.

"No can do sensei. I've rejected the hat twice already. Being locked up in an office all day isn't for me" he said. "I too would like to withdraw my name from the choices to be your successor" Kakashi said.

"Well that's a good thing because neither one of you were the candidates for the position" he replied. They sighed in relief but then quickly snapped their heads to the other jounin in the room. "N-no" Kakashi said. Gai was on the brink of tears. "Hokage-Sama, I accept the position of Hokage and I promise to continue to let my flames burn brightly and bask the village in the spring time of youth!" Gai declared.

Jiraiya thought about accepting the position now. There was no way in hell his sensei actually thought about choosing Gai. "While I think you are a worthy candidate Gai, you are not the one I've decided to pick." That seemed to deflate the jumpsuit wearing jonin, much to the other's relief.

"So it must be Naruto" Kakashi said. "Indeed it is Kakashi. You three know him the best out of the village and I'd like for you to give me your honest opinions on my decision."

Jiraiya was the first one to speak. "While I do think he's worthy enough for the position, he doesn't speak to many people outside of us, Sasuke and Menma" he said. "He never did and yet the people love him as if they forgot who his father was" Hiruzen said with a chuckle.

"I don't have a problem with it. He was getting a bit too lazy for my liking" Kakashi said with an eye smile. "Says the Jounin who does nothing but read my books all day" Jiraiya said. "It's great literature" he replied. Hiruzen rolled his eyes and turned to Gai.

"You're the closest to him. How do you think he'd react if given the position?"

"Hmm, I believe he would accept but not without some convincing." "What do you mean?" Hiruzen asked. "Well he's told me about his sight dislike for the way the village has been ran and top of him not particularly being fond of meetings and politics, he'll most likely go mad."

"Well, I don't blame him for not liking the way I've managed things these past few years but that's why I feel as if a change in power is needed. And he has the experience, the power, and the brain for it."

"Well I'll do my best to convince my youthful friend to accept the position when he returns! If I can not I will do 50 thousand laps around the village and-" was all he said as Kakashi dragged him out of the office. Leaving Jiraiya and Hiruzen in the room alone.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I've never been so sure about anything since I chose Minato for the job" Hiruzen said honestly. "You do know he's most likely going to kill Danzo right?" Jiraiya questioned. "Some things are inevitable Jiraiya. I trust that he will make far better decisions than I have."

Menma and Sasuke could be seen sprawled out on the ground panting. "You know, I never thought you'd be this good" Menma said. Sasuke scoffed. "You're not so bad yourself" he replied. Menma was the first one up and stuck his hand out to Sasuke.

"I wouldn't mind sparring with you some other time if you'd like" he said. Sasuke remained silent for a moment, then spoke. "I'll think about it." He then walked away. Menma just shook his head. And he too left to go home.

Naruto and company reached The Mist by midnight and went straight to the camps. Those who knew the legend of Naruto, were highly grateful that he was here to help and not oppose them. They would for sure crush Yagura now. He was currently in his tent reading an old looking scroll. He was so focused on it that he barely registered a new presence enter. "Now what do I owe this pleasure?" Mei chuckled at this.

"Can I not simply visit the strong man that volunteered to help purge my village from evil?" she asked. "In normal circumstances it would be acceptable but considering we have a mass murderer mere buildings away from us, I think we both know that it's not the case."

"You're no fun" she huffed. "Have you figured out a plan to bring out Yagura?" he asked. She sighed. "While it would be simple to just lure him out and have you cast a genjutsu on him, I believe that all of the damage he could still create would be too costly.

What do you suggest we do?" she asked.

"I think I should lure him to a secluded location and battle him alone" he answered confidently. She widened her eyes at that. "Are you mad? Fighting a perfect Jinchuriki alone is essentially a death wish!" Naruto laughed softly at that.

"Do you have a better option?" he asked. She remained silent at that but did not look pleased. He clapped his hands and stood up. "Very well, I'm hungry and would rather not sleep on an empty stomach. Are there any restaurants around here or will I have to hunt my own dinner?"

The restaurants are all under Yagura's control. We hunt our own food for now " she said. "Very well. I'll return shortly" he said. "There's certain parts of the village you must not enter unless you want unwanted trouble" she said.

"I'll be fine Mei. I'm not a child" he said. She nodded as he left.

The following day Naruto was introduced to Chojuro and Ao. Chojuro looked quite funny to him. He had glasses, blue hair and lacked confidence. He obviously had a thing for Mei but he wasn't going to intrude on the boys personal life.

Ao, was a tall man who also had blue hair but he had an eye patch over his right eye. Naruto knew what was behind the patch but he earned the eye in the war so there was no hard feelings.

They were going over ideas to eliminate the problem. That's when a guard entered the room panicking. "Mei-Sama, someone has infiltrated the village and he's been identified as Kisame Hoshigaki."

There were several different reactions. Mei narrowed her eyes. Kisame abandoned the village after killing the water daimyo. He was a wanted man back in Kiri but he was a dangerous man as well. Chojuro looked like he was about to piss himself. He knew who that monster was. Having been apart of the seven swordsman himself, he knew that he stood no chance against Kisame.

Ao, just snarled at the news. He was utterly humiliated by Kisame the night he left the village. He would not be defeated this time. Naruto simply took the news with interest. Kisame was said to have as much chakra as a tailed beast. He surely wasn't her to make amends with the village was he?

They quickly moved out and separated in search of the man. Naruto made his way to the outskirts of the village and stopped. "I was beginning to think that you'd never show yourself to me again" he said. A murder of crows appeared before him and out was the stone faced Itachi Uchiha.

"Some things are inevitable Naruto" he said in a monotone voice. "You've grown and most certainly changed since the last time I saw you" Naruto said.

"How's Sasuke?" he asked. Naruto's sharingan activated and stared towards the man before him. "It would be wise not to speak of him in my presence after what you put him through Itachi." The man remained silent for a moment. "Danzo killed Shisui." That simple statement changed the course of the shinobi world right then and there.

"What?"