She hadn't slept. Definitely not the most glaring of her issues, but it was up there on her list. Naruto sneaking into her room in the middle of the night was just icing on the cake at this stage. At least it showed her that he was showing some form of interest in her. Creepy and uninvited interest, but interest none the less. It almost would have been comforting if he had simply come to try and kill her. Anything that was half way normal would have been very much appreciated right about now. Of course, Temari wasn't stupid enough to expect anything normal.

The only positive she had to count on was the weather, as she laid sprawled out on a random training field, her back to the grass and the only thing between her and the warm sunlight was a gentle breeze. Such luxury didn't exist in Suna. She often found herself loathing the people of Konoha who took such things for granted. That being said, the longer she lingered, seemingly melting into the suns embrace, the more she started to think that perhaps living here wouldn't be so bad after all. It wasn't much different to her life before anyways. Exchanging a murderous brother for a crazy husband and a sweltering desert for the shinobi equivalent of a holiday village was a good deal by most people's standards. When it became someone's bright idea to stand in the way of her sun though, that was when her little daydream came crumbling down around her.

"What?" she snapped, not bothering to open her eyes.

Koharu laughed. "You seem to be enjoying yourself," she said cheerfully.

Temari practically leapt into a kneeling bow. "Lady Utatane, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you," she stammered out hastily.

"Oh, calm down, girl," the woman said. "And get up. I'm not the Hokage. No need to show such formality."

She stood up quickly and went to apologise again, a sharp look from the woman putting an abrupt stop to that. "I'm not in the way, am I?" she asked. "Were you going to use this training ground?"

"Do I look like someone who still trains?" Koharu asked, raising her hand to cut off Temari as she went to answer. "It was rhetorical, dear. I was actually looking for you."

"You should have sent for me."

"I needed the walk. Besides, the both of us could use some fresh air," she said. "Now, follow me. I have a surprise for you."

Temari blinked owlishly at the woman as she walked away, taking only a short time before taking off after her. Koharu, despite her age, was a rather brisk walker, something Temari found to be a pleasant change. The diplomats of Suna often set an infuriating snail's pace in their travels. Just one of the reasons that everyone despised protection missions.

"Where are we going?" Temari asked.

"Wouldn't be much of a surprise if I just told you," Koharu countered. "We aren't far anyway. In the meantime, you might as well take the opportunity to pick my mind for any answers you're chasing. God only knows how many questions are whirling around in that head of yours."

"I don't think that would be appropriate…"

"Fah! Appropriate went out the window when that stupid boy made a scene last night," she said.

Temari couldn't help but smile. Koharu's informality was a much-needed break from the political restraint she had been forced to conform to lately. She honestly couldn't wait for everything to be over and done with so she could get back to acting like a normal person for a change.

"I hear you gave Naruto quite the whack," Koharu said in amusement.

"…you heard about that?" Temari asked sheepishly.

"Yes. But don't fret, it isn't public knowledge," she said. "Although I'm sure there are many people who would appreciate the fact that someone tried to knock the boy down a peg or two."

"I don't think I managed anything like that," Temari said.

"Of course not. Naruto is far too head strong to let something like that get to him. But it was a nice touch none the less."

Temari chuckled nervously. "I thought you would be mad at me for risking the peace."

Koharu scoffed. "If one little hit was all it took then there wouldn't be much point in trying for peace to begin with," she said. "No, we aren't quite that stupid. Relationships are difficult things under normal circumstances, God forbid we try to enforce the same standards onto those forced into it. Such squabbles and complications are easily overlooked, expected even. As long as neither of you kill each other then it will still hold strong as a symbol of union between our villages. In some ways that's all that truly matters… to those who made such decisions that is."

Temari touched her neck, remembering the sensation of the kunai to her throat. She couldn't really tell how serious the threat to her life was at that moment, but it told her all she needed to know about where she stood in Naruto's mind. "Has there been any development?" she asked carefully. "With Naruto I mean."

"He has agreed to the marriage, if that is your question," the woman said. "Not that he had much choice in the matter."

"He wasn't given a choice?" Temari asked incredulously. "But I…"

"You are not of Konoha," Koharu said flatly. "For the sake of formality, we offered you the choice to ensure that no ill will would be born from this union. The last thing we need is someone forced into our village against their will. A recipe for disaster really. Naruto, I'm sure much to his annoyance, doesn't get as much lenience as he wishes as a serving shinobi of his village."

For what it was worth, Temari suddenly became disturbingly understanding of Naruto's contemplation in killing her. While there was pressure on her to go along with the marriage it was by no means a forced requirement. On top of already being a jinchuuriki, she couldn't even begin to comprehend the conflict the boy was going through.

"Here we are," Koharu announced, stopping randomly in front of a house.

"It's… a house?" Temari said questioningly. It wasn't anything special, but it was a nice enough place. Most noticeable was its lack of proximity to anything else, being in its own little secluded corner of the village, seemingly backing up onto a its own mini training ground of sorts.

"This is your house now," the woman said with a smile. "Well, yours and Naruto's that is. Consider it an early wedding gift."

Temari didn't know what to say as she looked at the house in awe. She knew that Konoha was going to arrange better residency, saving her from the confines of Naruto's cramped apartment, but she only expected a larger apartment at most. It wasn't very common for shinobi to have a whole house without belonging to a clan. Apartments were easier to manage with the minimalistic lifestyle they were often required to adopt and it made cleaning out their stuff much simpler.

"I… wow…" for the first time since before the failed invasion Temari found herself with a true smile. "How can Konoha afford to give us this? I don't mean to be rude, but you are still recovering from the damage we caused, aren't you?"

"Nothing we can't handle, dear," Koharu assured her. "Besides, this is a gift from me personally. The village would have taken forever to sort you into a proper place. This was a much simpler solution."

"This is your house?"

Koharu nodded. "It was, some time ago," she said. "As the years snuck up on me, I found the seclusion to be more of an annoyance than a blessing. I've since found somewhere better suited and much closer to where I am needed these days. As soon as you agreed to the marriage, I arranged for this place to be tidied up. It should have everything you need."

"I can't accept this, lady Utatane," Temari said.

"I've already had your things moved here from the hotel," she said sternly. "I'm not in the business of making rash decisions, girl. It wouldn't be smart to try and argue with me on this."

"You're right. I'm sorry, my lady. I appreciate your generosity, and I am sure Naruto will too."

Koharu gave an indifferent grunt. "Don't take this the wrong way, Temari, but you are young and annoyingly naïve," she said. "Not that that is your fault. I was no better at your age. But, as long as we have this moment, allow me to offer some wisdom from an old woman. You are as expendable to everyone here as you were to your own village when they convinced you that being married off was the most noble thing you could do to serve them, perhaps even more so. The only real value you have, is that which you make."

Temari nodded slowly as she felt she was understanding what Koharu was saying. "I don't intend on being any less useful to Konoha than I was for my home village. I will do whatever is needed to prove my worth to Konoha," she said sincerely.

"But you aren't to marry the village."

"…Naruto?" Temari asked. "I don't understand."

Koharu smiled at her and took her hold of her hand reassuringly. "This village has made its fair share of mistakes," she said. "Don't let it make one out of you." Before Temari could say anything, Koharu let go of her hand and began walking away quickly, offering a wave to the girl as she left her behind. "Enjoy the hot spring," she called out, leaving Temari alone to dwell with her own thoughts.

Temari, for her part, stood in place, a mix of confusion and unease cementing her feet to the spot for a while. In the span of a few minutes, she had been given a house, told she was worthless, warned against Konoha, and told to befriend Naruto? It was almost enough to make her quickly pulse her chakra to check for a genjutsu. With each day things were beginning to feel more and more surreal. So much was changing, yet nothing seemed to be happening. It pained her to say, but there wasn't much she wouldn't give at this point to be back on some random mission with her brothers, tiptoeing around Gaara while he murdered everyone he could. At least that type of chaos she was used to.

She let out a defeated sigh as she made her way towards the house. While the idea of accepting it as a gift still didn't sit right with her, Temari wasn't going to deny that she was in dire need of a decent sleep. A quick dip in a private hot spring also sounded splendid.

Naruto grit his teeth as the burning pain engulfed his hand. The red chakra bubbling out though his skin and forming a clawed shroud around his fingers. He grinned widely as the shroud began to stabilize, holding its form strong. The Kyuubi had already made it clear that his body couldn't handle much more than three tails worth of its chakra before it started breaking down beyond the rate of his regeneration. Attempting to train his full body chakra coat was therefor meaningless until his body had developed some more, but localised chakra moulding was still fair game.

He flattened his hand out, the singular digits of the shroud melting into one and compressing into a flat blade like structure. With a slight push he extended the chakra out past his fingertips, stretching the shroud as far as he could into a blade maybe half the length of his forearm. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Raising his arm above his head, he brought it crashing down on a large rock. His expectations of cutting the rock in two were met with sore disappointment as the chakra blade barely cut an inch deep before his hand hit stopped against it.

With an annoyed groan he let the chakra slowly recede back into his body. 'What am I doing wrong?'

'Everything,' the Kyuubi muttered. 'You have neither the control nor nature for such a construct. Do not waste your time on small gimmicks when you have my power to call upon. It is beneath us."

'I cannot rely on you at all times. My body can't handle it.'

'Then develop your own strength. You possess your own chakra, do you not?'

Naruto frowned. 'I wouldn't know where to start.'

The Kyuubi hummed, or rather growled, thoughtfully. 'Start where your chakra is most comfortable. The earth.'

'I have an earth nature?' Naruto asked in surprise. He had been curious as to his elemental affinity ever since he saw Sasuke use Kakashi's lightning jutsu.

'In part, yes,' the fox answered in a grumble. 'Not that it means anything. With my power any element of nature will learn to bend to our will. In time what you humans call jutsu will mean nothing to us. For now, it would be wise to work to your current abilities.'

Naruto nodded in understanding as he slowly made his way through the forest of death. This training ground had become a personal favourite of his since the chunin exams. While no one ever bothered him at any of the other grounds, this one was especially comforting in that no one came here to begin with, leaving him free to use the Kyuubi's chakra as much as he pleased. If it weren't for the weird snake woman showing up from time to time it would be perfect.

When the chance arose, he figured it would be best to ask Kakashi. The man wasn't the most insightful teacher at the best of times, but his arsenal of jutsu was legendary for a reason. It wouldn't hurt to try and have more than just his jinchuuriki abilities up his sleeve. The shadow clone jutsu wasn't exactly the kind of technique he could rely on at all times despite its versatility. Much to his frustration, he also had to come to terms with the fact that his training would have to take a back seat for the time being.

He had already caused enough issues when he tried to reject the marriage. The Hokage was rather clear about him not having a choice in the matter if he wanted to continue being a shinobi for the village. Naruto wasn't dense enough to think he would survive as a runaway in his current condition. Other villages would hunt him down for the Kyuubi, or worse, that Orochimaru freak would try and get to him. He shivered slightly at the thought. Thankfully the Sannin seemed rather focused on Sasuke. While being a shinobi wasn't necessarily vital, it was useful to him, so a marriage was easy enough to deal with he thought.

Temari was where the real problem was for him. He didn't know her, didn't trust her, and certainly couldn't understand her. She openly claimed to want nothing to do with the marriage and him, yet she was willingly going along with it despite being given the choice. It didn't make sense to him and really put her sanity under speculation. How could anyone be that loyal to their village. Naruto shook his head, after all, he didn't expect her to be anything more than he could handle. There was, however, one very important question still lingering in his mind.

'What are we supposed to do with Temari?' he asked. It was one thing to go along with the Hokage's little scheme and play things safe for a while, but it was still a complicated and unthought out plan as far as Naruto was concerned.

'Whatever it is you insufferable creatures do in a marriage,' the Kyuubi answered with a sickened tone.

Naruto rolled his eyes. While the Kyuubi didn't show any direct hatred towards him, it didn't hold back on letting him know the depths of its disgust with the human race as a whole. In the foxes own words, humans were poorly put together sacks of flesh barely worth digesting.

'I mean after that?'

'Make use of her,' it said. 'She has been used by her village and has no allies among Konoha, it would not be difficult to sway her in whatever way suits us. It might even be of some benefit to have her on our side.'

Naruto stopped walking and scowled. 'I don't need anyone on my side,' he growled at the fox.

'Needing something and having something are not the same, foolish child!' the Kyuubi snapped back. 'If you will not use all that is available to you then what use are you really? Do not let arrogance get in the way of your goal.'

With a huff Naruto severed his mental connection to the bijuu. He respected the beast, but that didn't mean he needed to have a voice in the back of his mind all the time. Sometimes it was easier to do things himself. He made it back to the village and began to contemplate how things would unfold in the coming days and weeks. No doubt Kakashi had already moved all his things to the new house. While he didn't like the idea of living with someone, the extra space and more private location would suit him nicely he hoped. It was going to require quite the adjustment period for him that was for sure.

The Kyuubi had a point though. He didn't have a choice in the marriage, so he was stuck with Temari one way or another. Killing her was out of the question now so it made sense to try and make the most of a bad situation. The girl had no one here to trust or rely on, especially after the invasion. She was alone in Konoha, just like him. But he could change that. He could be there for her, and in turn she could become useful to him. The only problem with his little plan was that he had more or less tried to kill her only hours ago, as such, the first step required of him was to… apologise.

He loathed the idea, but it was the easiest solution. It wasn't as if he had to be sincere anyway. As long as she bought it, that's all that mattered. The real question now was how on earth was he supposed to apologise for nearly killing her? It was of no surprise that apologies of any form were alien to him. Anyone who thought they deserved an apology from him either didn't live long enough to get it, or already knew better than to expect one. He didn't feel it was wise to try his usual tactics on Temari if he planned on getting her on his side.

Naruto soon found himself feeling sick as he started to track down someone he sorely didn't wish to deal with. He had very little options in the way of people he could talk to or ask for advice on any subject, let alone the issue of a girl. As such, only one person came to mind. Someone who knew him well enough not to mess with him based on the subject. Someone who he figured would have at least half an idea of how to apologise to Temari. Someone who feared him enough to keep quiet but not enough to run on site.

Sakura Haruno.

For the first time, his teammates obsession with the Uchiha stood to prove useful. Surely, she would have some idea's on how he could best approach Temari. Even if she didn't, it wouldn't hurt to waste some time before he inevitably had to go to his new home and confront Temari herself. The task of finding her took an interesting turn when she failed to be at any usual spot that Naruto knew her to frequent. Once he tried tracking her by scent, he wound up heading towards a training ground not far from her house. Upon arriving, he was surprised to find a set of training dummies lined up, several shuriken and kunai embedded into the wooden targets with decent accuracy but clearly very little strength behind the projectiles.

"I know you're here, Sakura," Naruto said loudly to the open area. He figured she wouldn't be keen on dealing with him but this was petty even for her.

"What do you want, Naruto?" the pink haired girl asked cautiously, slowly walking down the trunk of the tree she was hiding up. "I don't know where Sasuke is if that's what you're here for."

Naruto raised a brow at that statement. It wasn't very often that the girl wasn't somehow unnaturally always aware of the Uchiha's location in the village. "I need to ask you something," he said, watching as the girl carefully made her way towards him. There was a noticeable sheen of sweat on her skin, and she was breathing harder than usual. "You're training?" he asked in disbelief.

"You came all the way here just to ask if I was training?" Sakura retorted in annoyance.

Naruto shook his head. "No. It's just… a pleasant surprise," he said offhandedly, ignoring her brief smile before she realised again who she was talking to. "I need advice."

Sakura crossed her arms and gave the boy a strange look. "Since when do you want my advice?" she asked. "Last I checked, I was meant to shut up and stay back so as to not die."

"Obviously I am not here to ask advice on anything shinobi related," he said coldly. "But if you are so against it, I may as well go and find Ino."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait!" she said quickly, stopping Naruto in his tracks. "What kind of advice do you need if you think me or Ino could help?" She knew in her gut she was going to regret asking. If it involved Naruto, it was never going to be a good thing. But her curiosity right now was running marathons in her mind, practically bouncing off the walls of her consciousness. In all the time she had known Naruto, he had never, and she meant never ever sought out anyone his age for anything that wasn't in some way threatening or violent. This very moment she found herself in was as unheard of as it was terrifying.

Naruto internally prepared himself for what was to come. He hated that he had to stoop to such lows as to ask Sakura for help, but she was the safest option. Besides, he had to be careful around Ino. He was sure her clan had warned her against using any of her techniques on him, but he wasn't prepared to risk anything like that unless he absolutely had to. "I need help… with a girl," he said softly.

Sakura's eyes widened further before her face quickly dropped into a scowl. "Hah Hah! Very funny Ino," she said. "This is the lamest trick yet. How stupid do you think I am?"

Naruto's eye twitched. "What are talking about?"

"You know, you almost had me," Sakura said, now confidently walking up to Naruto and poking him in the chest. "Never thought someone would want to henge into Naruto of all people, but I'll give you credit for creativity. Almost bought the menacing stare too. Of course, this could just be a mind trick…" she said, pulling out a kunai and attempting to swipe at the 'mirage' only for Naruto to grab her wrist and squeeze just hard enough for her to drop it.

"Sakura…" he said in a low warning tone.

Her eyes widened enough to threaten popping out of her skull as her voice died in her throat. Even as Naruto let go of her wrist, she couldn't do more than take a step back in shock. "Naruto…" she said in a haunting whisper, as if he was a ghost standing before her. "I'm so sorry. I thought it was…"

Naruto put his hand up to stop her and took a deep breath. "I don't care. This never happened," he said, receiving an enthusiastic nod from the girl. "Good. Now, tell me what I need to know and I can leave."

"What do you need to know?" she asked quickly, wanting this interaction to be over as fast as possible.

"I need to know how to apologise for trying to kill a girl," he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Sakura internally groaned. Nothing with Naruto was ever simple. This particular scenario was at least interesting to her. "Since when do you apologise for anything?" she asked, eyeing the boy scrutinizingly.

"I need her to… like me," he struggled to get the last words out. It just didn't feel right. He didn't need people to like him. No one did before and he had proved he was fine on his own.

"Who?"

At this point Sakura's mind had stopped running marathons and had begun screaming obscenities at her, demanding she find out what was going on and why Naruto was acting almost half normal for once. Even more important was the desire to find out just who it was that could make Naruto of all people want to apologise, let alone come to Sakura for help… in fact just him talking to her like a normal person was such a rare occurrence that she could count the times on one hand.

"Temari," Naruto answered.

"The girl from Suna?" Sakura asked. "Why do you want to apologise to her? They attacked us first," she said, crossing her arms firmly.

"Just tell me how to fix it!" Naruto said sharply.

Sakura pursed her lips. "You can't just fix it, Naruto," she said. "People don't just forget when someone tries to kill them. Maybe you should just not try to kill people all the time. Why do you even care anyway?"

Naruto clenched his jaw hard enough to hurt and mumbled something through his teeth.

"What?"

"I have to marry her…" he muttered miserably.

Sakura stared at him intensely. "…what?"

"Konoha and Suna are negotiating peace again," he said. "Me and Temari are getting married as part of that."

"Oh…" Sakura stood their dumbfounded for a moment. "Uhh… congratulations, I guess."

Naruto was surprised. She was handling the news much better than he expected considering what he knew of her. He was sure marriage was a trigger word of some kind for the less than tolerable side of Sakura. "We don't have a choice, Sakura. There's nothing to congratulate."

"Right, sorry. This is just so weird," she said. "Why would they choose you to marry her if you tried to kill her before?"

"That was last night actually."

"…"

"…"

"Are you out of your mind?!" she shrieked.

Naruto groaned loudly. This was a terrible idea.

Hiruzen coughed heavily into his hand as he used his other hand to lean on his desk. He had been able to hold it off until after his nurse had left thankfully. If she saw him coughing like this, he would end up stuck in the hospital. Not something he could afford right now. Pulling a small piece of cloth from his pocket he wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth and took several deep breaths before trying to move again.

There was no mistaking it. His days were numbered. Orochimaru may not have been able to actually kill him, but dammit if he didn't give it a good shot. It took everything Hiruzen had in him to take on his former student and the reanimated forms of the first two Hokage. Many were now looking at him as a pillar of strength for being able to overcome such impossible odds, but Hiruzen knew it was nothing but dumb luck. He could have died that day… he should have died. Some part of him knew there was no way he should have survived. Whether it was Orochimaru, too arrogant and confident in his success, making too many errors; or perhaps the technique used to bring the dead Hokage' back wasn't as foolproof as first thought. All that mattered was he was alive, for now that was.

His health was declining rapidly. Age was making things difficult for sure, but this wasn't age. His injuries weren't healing properly, his chakra wasn't recovering like it normally would. He was practically running on empty. The medical teams that had checked him from head to toe assured him it was all temporary and his body would catch up when it was ready, but they weren't fooling anyone, not even themselves.

"Is this a bad time?" Danzo asked.

The Hokage smiled as he turned to face him, doing his best to hide his surprise at the man's sudden appearance. He was so out of it he hadn't noticed him even enter his office. "Of course not," he said, making his way to greet Danzo properly. "What can I do for y… agh!" Hiruzen clutched at his side in pain as he stumbled forward only being saved from a hard landing as Danzo dropped his cane and caught him.

Helping the Hokage back to his feet, Danzo carefully guided the old man to his chair and sat him down. "Your condition is getting out of hand, Sarutobi," he said, going back to collect his cane. "How long do you think you can keep up the façade?"

Hiruzen laughed bitterly. "Not much of a façade," he said. "I can barely walk anymore without feeling like I could keel over at any moment." He made a point to eye off the heavy bandages that covered much of Danzo's body. "I see your health is still holding strong despite your injuries."

"I can have my medics look at you," Danzo offered, ignoring the Hokage's jab at him.

The Hokage shook his head. "There is little point in prolonging the inevitable much longer than I already have," he said. "This was a reality we were going to have to deal with eventually."

"Perhaps it is best we don't waste time then," Danzo suggested. "You need a successor."

"Indeed," Hiruzen agreed. "Jiraiya has already declined."

Danzo grunted. "That man would turn this village into the largest brothel the elemental nations has ever seen."

Hiruzen smiled. "That could be an improvement," he said cheekily.

"This is no time for jokes."

"Always such a stick in the mud," Hiruzen chided. "Fine, fine. By all means, make some recommendations. Unless you still want this hat all to yourself?"

Danzo frowned. "No," he said. "My time for such a thing is passed. I am of better service to Konoha right where I am."

"A better position in which to guide whoever I choose to succeed me?" Hiruzen asked, giving the old hawk a knowing look.

"Someone has to guide the foolish."

Hiruzen sighed deeply. "Do you think you would do things differently? If you could go back that is?" he asked offhandedly. "All of our mistakes. The things we had to do for the village and its people, the things we have to live with. Was it all really worth it?"

"Dwelling on the past is pointless, Sarutobi," Danzo said coldly. "All that matters is Konoha's future."

"Jiraiya has found Tsunade," he said, earning a look of interest from the bandaged man. "She could prove to be the solution to several problems."

"Is she stable enough for such responsibility?" Danzo asked with scrutiny. "A drunken gambler who can barely live with the weight of what little guilt she bears."

"I don't know," Hiruzen said honestly. "But she is strong willed, and not above making the hard choices. I planned on sending Jiraiya out to try and bring her back. At the very least she could be persuaded to come back temporarily for the sake of treating those who are still in need of more dire medical treatment. Jiraiya wants to take Naruto with him."

Danzo narrowed his one good eye at the Hokage. "The jinchuuriki. You've been making some curious decisions about the boy lately. Are you sure letting Jiraiya meddle in such affairs in wise? Naruto is already more than we could have hoped."

"He isn't loyal to Konoha," Hiruzen said. "He isn't even loyal to anyone here. As soon as he is strong enough, and realises we can't stop him, he will be a loose cannon. We need to nullify that possibility."

"And you think that the Suna girl can play a part in that?"

"If we play things right," Hiruzen said. "It will be slow, and must be done with care. I could use your expertise."

The old war hawk almost smirked at his talents being recognised. "Konoha needs a loyal jinchuuriki," he said firmly. "Whatever you need of me, I will see it is done for the good of Konoha."

"I appreciate it," the Hokage said. "How is the surveillance on the Uchiha going? Any notable changes?"

"He has yet to try and access the curse seal," Danzo said. "It is clearly effecting his temperament, but as of yet nothing to concern ourselves with."

Hiruzen hummed in annoyance. "Orochimaru sure left us with a headache there," he said.

"So long as Itachi keeps his word our hands are tied."

"Only while he is loyal to Konoha," Hiruzen said. "Make sure your ANBU know to keep their distance. We only need to keep an eye on him. There's no need to get in the way of anything we could use to our advantage."

Danzo nodded. "I will let them know," he said. "Do keep me posted on Jiraiya's luck with Tsunade."

"Of course."

With that said, Danzo got up went to leave but not before giving the Hokage one last cautious glance. "Are you able from here?" he asked. "I can have my ANBU assist you. No one will ever know."

Hiruzen waved him off. "I will be fine. I just need a moment to rest."

The old Hokage watched the door close behind the old hawk before he slumped back into his chair. The pain coursing through his body was growing. If he had any hope of holding out the next few months then he was going to need Tsunade's medical skills. He just really hoped Jiraiya had what it took to convince her to come back to the village. Of all his students, she was the only one who truly understood where to draw the line in this world. Jiraiya was too foolish and honourable, unwilling to do what really needed to be done when the time called for it. Orochimaru wouldn't be an option even if he weren't rogue, his complete lack of inhibitions would tear the village apart from within. Tsunade was his last real option.

Even if she refused the mantle of Hokage, he needed her back in Konoha. Word had spread across the elemental nations. Whispers of that to come. The other villages had heard of the failed invasion. Preparations were being made, probes put out wherever possible, all in the hopes of finding a weakness, of catching Konoha off guard. He had no idea who would try first. Iwa was a likely candidate. But they had been open in their hostile actions in the past, bold and proud of all moves made against their enemies. No, it was Kumo that truly worried him. They had been far too quiet since the Hyuuga incident.

Something was brewing in the world, and Konoha was shamefully unprepared.

A/N:

Another chapter and another clear sign that I have no idea what I'm doing here. In case this wasn't obvious, I have as much a plan for this story as I do for life, meaning none. I'm throwing pasta at a wall and hoping it sticks. Thankfully you guys seem to be interested enough and I am beyond grateful for the encouragement, so thank you all. I can only hope to keep you entertained.

Now, in regards to the story. I am sort of teetering with Naruto's character in this because I'm not fully sure yet how I want him to be but I am trying to humanize him a little more than lets say Gaara. I like the idea of a much more nefarious and cunning Hiruzen so I'm giving that a try with a splash of not completely villain Danzo in the mix.
This story will really be more focused on character interaction and development because I suck at action but I'll try and provide what I can. In the meantime I apologise for the snails pace story. Also, some of you have requested Lemon scenes, which I regret to inform you I have no intention of writing. I can barely write a normal story let alone a sex scene, so let's not live through that nightmare.

As always, thank you all for your reviews. They really do mean a lot. Don't forget to leave one for this chapter even if its a rant, I could use the laugh.

Till next time, Soul out.