Well, I hope each and everyone of you had happy holidays. I'm back in school…hopefully no more of this dropping will occur. Thanks for the reviews, as always.

Mangalover248: Well, I thought I made it clear the chapter before that he does regret what he did.

Infernal Malestorm: On the first one, no matter how hot fire is, if it is submerged underwater, it will be extinguished. Fire needs oxygen. Also, Naruto's fox chakra protected him, although you do make a point about Sai.

Angels Falls8: Well, hopefully you won't have that problem again. I've done that once before, and trust me, it's not worth it.

Mrfipp: Excuse me? I don't think I quite understand. Anyway, I guess I might as well not do that again, since I'm not going to get any increase in the reviews I want. Zetsu will not be fighting for a while. I'll think of something. And merry belated Christmas to you.

Razgriz05: Yes, yes he's gone. How else could he be with Mana? Itachi, as far as I know, will be out of character. But read this chapter, and I think you'll understand why. Happy belated holidays to you as well.

Naruto stirred in his sleep. "Ah…this feels nice." He dug his head deeper into the pillow. "Waitaminute…" Naruto shot up, reaching for a kunai but found nothing. Suddenly, his back stung like mad. "AAAAHHHHH!!"

"Naruto!" Someone pinned him to the bed and put her hand over his back. The pain subsided almost immediately.

"Sakura…" His pink haired teammate was dressed in a nurse apron, and with her hair pulled back. "She looks quite cute with that." Naruto mused. "What happened?" the jinchuuriki asked.

Sakura said "You won. You beat Itachi."

"And Iori?"

"She's just fine. Well, physically. Something seems to be bothering her."

Naruto made a mental note to himself to check on her later. "How long have I been out?"

"A week. It took forever to heal the burns on your back. You're lucky that the you-know-what protected you or else there wouldn't have been a trace of you left. Sai almost got himself killed trying to save you from the flames, but he had painted some fire seals on him. Not nearly enough to completely counter Itachi's flames, but they were enough to save his life."

Naruto nodded. "I hope you didn't nearly kill yourself to make sure I was okay."

Sakura smiled slightly. "I tried, but no one would let me."

"That reminds me, how are Kakashi-sensei and Neji?"

"Kakashi has fully recovered now…but Neji…" Naruto remembered what she had told him about the Hyugga. "He's conscious, he's walking, but he still has been having seizures at least twice a day. I don't think he can ever be a ninja again."

Naruto looked downcast. "Sakura…"

"Yes?"

"Could you do me a favor? Whenever you feel like it…could you look into repairing his nervous system?"

"Naruto…"

"I don't know anything about medical ninjutsu, and I understand you can't cure everything. But I know what he must be going through. It's my fault that he wound up fighting Kenji before me."

Sakura pulled the blond in for a hug. "Naruto, it wasn't your fault. That is what he told me. He let the whole thing about the Cloud people and their seals get to him, and he took it personal. He wanted you to know he accepts full responsibility for his actions." The blonde took no comfort in this. Sakura knew it, but felt she should give the message to Naruto regardless.

"Anyway, Sakura, I know what I'm asking is a lot, but it would mean a lot to me if you could at least look into it."

Sakura smiled. "You don't have to tell me. I was planning to as soon as you recovered. Just one thing I don't understand…"

"What?"

Sakura picked up a clipboard and smashed it over Naruto's head. "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!? YOU USED THE RASENSHURIKEN AGAIN!!"

Naruto rubbed his head, and looked into Sakura's eyes, which were in kill mode. "S-S-Sakura…yes, I used it, but I threw it at him!! I wasn't holding onto it like before, I swear!! There was no way I could've been injured by my jutsu if I used it like that!!"

"IT LOOKS MORE LIKE YOU TOOK YOUR DAMN TECHNIQUE AND TRIED TO STAB YOURSELF WITH IT!!"

Naruto stood silent, and then realized something: The thing that hit him after the amateratsu was his technique. "It was like…it exploded." He needed to look more into this. So far, the Rasenshuriken was his best move…with the enemies he was facing he could not afford to simply leave it incomplete. He had to learn everything about it that he could, but he needed to learn how to use it safely. "Even if I must injure myself a hundred times over." Naruto then smiled at Sakura. "I think I know what went wrong. I'll be more careful with it next time.

"NARU"

"Sakura!! I cannot afford to limit myself to what techniques I can and cannot use!! The Akatsuki have lost 5 members now. I know they'll just get more dangerous." Sakura gave up. "So long as I don't rely on IT…I'll find a way." Something else occurred to Naruto. "Sakura, about the fox's chakra…"

"SHHH!!" Sakura hushed him. "This isn't the best place to talk about it Naruto, but yes, I'm fine. Tsunade-shishou gave me the clean bill of health. She'll explain why it's not such a hazard for me but is for Orochimaru."

Naruto nodded. Suddenly, someone familiar entered the door. Naruto blinked a couple of times, then shouted "Ero-senin!!"

Jiraya sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You never change." After Kakuzu was defeated, Jiraya returned to continue Naruto's training. He helped Naruto learn about the different ways to use summoning, and got him to manipulate other elements, some with less success than others. "Anyway, Tsunade has finished inspecting Itachi's body, and we feel that the both of you and Kakashi should come."

The two looked at him. "But Naruto is-"

"He'll deal with it. Besides, I've got a ride outside for him." The two looked out the window to see a giant toad in front of the entrance, with all of the nurses and doctors looking and pointing in fascination.

Zetsu handed the strands of hair to Kizu. "This was all I could find. There was a huge hole in the wall as well."

Kizu looked at it. "Pink…what an unusual color." Kizu turned around and looked outside. "I know of no one in Konoha with pink hair. It seems I will have to check it out myself."

"What of Itachi?" Zetsu asked.

"Most likely they will simply dispose of him. No village has seals like mine on their records. They'll give up and simply burn him."

A third voice chimed in. "Still, it was a great loss to us. Kisame had the most chakra out of all of us by far, and while he was not as powerful as I, Itachi was still a great asset to the organization."

Kizu simply replied "Master…I thought you had despised the very clan you have created."

"Hmph. Itachi was a fluke among those weaklings."

"We have to worry about his brother, keep in mind."

"That was just sympathy. It had nothing to do with his potential."

"It doesn't mean he never had any." Kizu turned around and walked. "I'm going to Konoha. All I'm going to do is to look into Uzumaki's partner and see what he's capable of. Oh, and see if we can get an old comrade back."

"What shall we do with the Gobi's host?" Zetsu asked.

"Throw it away. We have the biju, and he's of no use to anyone dead." Kizu replied as he put on his hood.

Sakura leaned Naruto on her shoulder as they walked into the morgue. Jiraya knocked on the door. When they heard Tsunade say "Enter.", they did so. The toad sage opened the door for both of them, and they walked in. Inside were Tsunade, Kakashi, and Yamato.

"Naruto." Tsunade said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been in a stampede of bulls, thrown off a cliff, and then have an avalanche of stampeding bulls fall on me. But other than that, I'm doing great."

Tsunade snorted. "Ungrateful brat…Anyway, I need you two to look at Itachi's body, and read his scroll."

Sakura went to one of the compartments, and pulled out a frozen Itachi. "It's amazing that he could fight at all in his condition." Tsunade commented.

Naruto blinked. "Condition?"

"If you look at his eyes, you'll notice that the lens is foggy. I dissected one of the eyes, and confirmed my suspicion: He was blind."

Naruto thought back to his failed sneak attack. "Darkness will not stop me from finding you." "No wonder he found me!! He couldn't see at all…"

Jiraya intervened and said "I'm guessing he used his four other senses to fight and move."

Kakashi also added "He also used the magenkyo more often than he should've, and now we know why: He already lost his eyesight, and the magenkyo's drawbacks were null."

Tsunade nodded, confirming what the two said. "Also, look at this." She pointed to the seals on Itachi. She lifted the corpse's hair, and showed some were around his head like a ring. Naruto and Sakura could only stare.

"Were they to…enhance him?" Sakura asked.

"Doubtful." Jiraya answered. "After Tsunade determined the injuries and inspected the body, we found no such thing. We were confused…until we read this." Jiraya pulled out a scroll, and handed it to the two nins. "This will be a hard read…everything we thought we knew was proven wrong. And unfortunately, it's still not enough to tell us the identity of the Akatsuki leader. And apparently, the Akatsuki works not for itself, but for one man…one we thought was dead for a long time. The location of their base…was supposed to have been a myth."

Naruto and Sakura pulled it open, and started reading…

I pray to the Gods that it is my brother, Sasuke, who reads this. However, because of the terrible things I have done, I am open to allow this scroll to fall into the hands of anyone pure of heart who manages to defeat me. To whomever that may be, I thank you for finally setting me free.

My name is Uchiha Itachi. By now, I am probably known as the one who massacred the entire Uchiha clan, save for one. I do not deny that it was I who murdered them. Most believe this is because I went mad. Though I do question my own sanity to this day, that was not the case.

It all started when I was promoted to the ANBU squad. I was given a routine mission: Track down a missing nin. It was going well. My squad finally cornered him, and I was about to land the killing blow. But before I could reach him, a kunai from behind struck him in the back of the neck. I turned around to see four figures take out my entire squad. Though 2 of them managed to surprise me, I defeated them. But when I was about to confront the leader I looked into his eyes, and for the first time I saw the Magenkyo Sharingan. Not even a minute had passed but I felt like I was tortured non-stop for a month. Too weak to fight I collapsed, and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was strapped to a table. I felt that something was different. When I heard voices, I immediately broke free, and attacked the man standing in front of me. At least, that's what I tried to do. When I was just upon him, I collapsed in pain. I looked at my body, to see that seals had been placed all around me. They were planning to use me! I almost went for a kunai to kill myself, in order to protect Konoha, but one of them, who I later learned was named Kizu, kicked it away from me. He told me he was the one who placed the seals on me. The ones around my body were to bring me pain whenever I disobeyed what they ordered. He placed more around my head as well, which would let him know when I was thinking of double-crossing him, or not trying my best when ordered to. Then he explained they were called the Akatsuki, an organization of missing nins that were trying to unite the five great shinobi lands. And they wanted me, noting that I was the strongest ninja of my generation. I flat-out refused, of course. Though Kizu tortured me, I still refused to yield. Until his master came before me. When he told me his name, I was shocked beyond belief. The master of the group was Madara Uchiha, the first of my clan and one of the founders of Konohagakure. He was the one who defeated me when I was ambushed. He was also dissatisfied with the Uchiha as of now, claiming I was the only one who had talents worth noting. Though he was so old, I could sense the power in his eyes. He gave me an ultimatum: Either kill my dearest friend to obtain the magenkyo sharingan, and kill my clan, or watch as they force Konoha to tear itself apart. If I chose the former, he said I would be allowed to spare one member of my family.

It wasn't hard to explain that my comrades died when we cornered our target, as he was an S-ranked criminal to begin with. Soon after, I murdered my best friend, Shusui, and tried to make it look like suicide. The police didn't buy it, but regardless, did not have conclusive evidence. I then hinted to everyone I had gone mad. Though I was crying on the inside, I wanted them to hate me for what I was about to do. I wanted to be hated. I did not deserve to be loved or pitied for what I would do.

Then, that night came. Though inside I was furious with rage at myself, I showed no emotion as I slaughtered my clan. It's true I did not want them to love me as I killed them, but there was another purpose: The one family member I had chosen to spare was my brother Sasuke. I wanted him to hate me, to gain power, so that he could kill me…and save me. While I know in doing so I will have sent him on an evil path, I know he is strong enough to turn back and redeem not only himself, but our entire clan. While he trained , I was ordered to hunt down the biju one by one, in order to keep Madara alive, and confined to Soragakure.

This is all I can reveal without them knowing. Though the seal has some loopholes, it is not enough for Akatsuki to be defeated. I apologize for not being able to give out more information. But it should help. Beware the Akatsuki, and once again I thank you.

And I hope Sasuke knows I love him, no matter what.

Uchiha Itachi

Neither Sakura nor Naruto said a word. They just seemed to stare endlessly into space. The only sound that was heard was Naruto dropping the scroll. "If you were in my position, you would have done the same thing!" Itachi's words ran through Naruto's mind. During the fight, he thought he was just a madman, but now he knew better. "This whole time…he was a slave…he was trying to protect his brother."

Jiraya then intervened. "So far, we have a name for the Akatsuki leader. Unfortunately, it's not enough. I'll be working with my spy network the best I can."

"Then there's Uchiha Madara." Tsunade said.

Naruto asked "Another Uchiha?" Why did that name sound so familiar…

"Madara Uchiha was one of the founders of Konoha. If you paid attention in history, you would know that." Sakura answered. "He was the result of a Hyugga having a child with someone outside the land of fire."

Tsunade continued "He was also the best friend of my grandfather, the First Hokage." She paused for a minute. "From what my grandfather told me, when he was very young, Madara's parents were killed right in front of him. The perpetrator was a fanatical Hyugga. He was all alone. My grandfather was the only real family he had. But he continued to hate the Hyugga. When Konoha was formed, and my grandfather became Hokage, Madara argued with him to expel the Hyugga. Of course, the Hokage refused. Eventually, the Hyugga who murdered his family was killed. Not by Madara, but by my Grandfather. This sent him into a rage, and he did the unthinkable."

Naruto just stared at her. "What?"

Jiraya answered for her. "He created the Biju."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened. Sakura and the other kids learned that Madara did indeed betray Konoha, but it was said to have been through politics and corruption, not something as horrid as that.

"His hatred of the Hyugga escalated to the point where he hated Konoha. Though we do not understand how, he used ancient rituals to enhance nine creatures he had selected. But they were not under his control. They decimated Konoha, and killed many people. Madara ran away, but the First pursued him. They battled at the valley of the end…and there the First Hokage lost his life."

Naruto thought back to his fight with Sasuke. "It's…it's the same as us." He thought.

"We never heard from him again. After about 5 decades, he was taken off the bingo book. We figured he would be too old to pose a threat, and he could not have come up with the money for a coup." There was silence across the room. "Also, there's this Soragakure. That's not really its official name. It's the name the five shinobi nations have given it. As it name implies, its location is said to be in the sky. Very few ninja have lived to tell about it, and from what we understand, only the very outside have been seen. We don't know whether anyone lives there. What we were told is that it looks very advanced, technologically." Jiraya finished.

Naruto, Sakura, even Kakashi and Yamato were speechless. "Our most dangerous enemy…is one of our founders." Yamato whispered. Kakashi nodded. Yamato pretty much said the same thing he was thinking. He looked at Naruto, who had his fist clenched. "Naruto…"

Naruto shot up and yelled "I will kill Madara and Kizu for what they have done to Itachi!! And I will make sure that Sasuke will not become like him!!"

Sasuke slept. Lightly, anyway. With Orochimaru's teachings, he learned that one could never be too careful. When he heard a hissing sound, everything came together. "Another training session?" he asked. He knew it was Orochimaru who snuck up on him.

"Far from it, Sasuke-kun. You and I shall become one."

Sasuke immediately leapt from the bed, kusunagi in hand.

Orochimaru simply chuckled. "I thought you said that so long as Itachi dies by your hand, I can have both your body and your soul?"

Sasuke replied emotionlessly "That was to get rid of those gnats. The reality is, I was only using you. I have become stronger, and I'll show you. Come and take this body, if you dare!!"

Orochimaru simply grinned. Then he started to become transparent…and expanded. Sasuke looked in shock. Sasuke immediately performed his hand signals and yelled "Katon!! Goukakyu no jutsu!!"

The fireball went right through the urethral Orochimaru, who just laughed and advanced on the young Uchiha. The ghost like Orochimaru attached himself to Sasuke, who yelled "Chidori Nasagi!!" The spirit was repelled, and he was forced to retreat.

Sasuke just smirked. "In that form, you're not so invincible after all. It seems you cannot withstand lightning chakra!!" Sasuke formed Chidori and lunged forward. But Orochimaru was too fast for him. Sasuke obliterated nothing but the concrete walls.

"Kukukuku. You will never reach me Sasuke-kun. Your body will be mine. Sharingan and all."

Before he could laugh some more, Sasuke formed Chidori again. Orochimaru prepared to dodge once more. But, to his surprise, the ball of lightning formed into a blade. A blade that pinned his spirit into the wall. Sasuke smirked at the sight of Orochimaru looking shocked. But that didn't last. Orochimaru's grin returned. Then, his head separated from his body and launched itself at Sasuke.

"Fool! As long as one part of my soul reaches you, you're mine!!"

The head expanded, and widened its mouth. Sasuke was caught in between. He struggled the best he could. No good. The giant head finally consumed him. Orochimaru cackled, and the giant head spun into nothingness. Soon, the cackling transferred to Sasuke. Or what used to be Sasuke.

"At last!! The sharingan is mine!! Now I-" He tried activating the Sharingan. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. Every time he transferred to a new body, the memories of how to use their jutsus and kekkei genkais came to him as if they were second nature to him. "Why!? I took his body!!"

Suddenly, a door swung open. Orochimaru's face once held rage, but then it held fright. Standing in front of him was Sasuke!! And he was transforming into his Curse Mark 2 form!!

"Surprised? You don't think that I simply learned techniques by looking at only the scrolls you gave me? It took me forever to master my chakra control to do it, but I saw Kabuto use this trick before. I had him construct a corpse to look like me, and I simply had to supply my chakra to give it life. You should have known something was up before you even started. I would have never taken you on without the Sharingan, or this form."

Orochimaru widened his eyes in surprise. "I should have known!! But I was so obsessed with getting his body, I did not notice his odd behavior!!" He was broken out of his thoughts when Sasuke's green form stepped towards him. Orochimaru's first instinct was to reason with him. But he realized that would do nothing. Sasuke already saw him try to take his body; how could Orochimaru convince him that he would not do so in another 3 years? Orochimaru had to face the truth now: It was either kill Sasuke and forsake the Sharingan in order to live…or to die. Orochimaru reluctantly chose the third. He made hand signs, but before he could complete them, Sasuke grabbed both wrists and crushed them. As Orochimaru screamed, Sasuke pulled him in closer, and activated his sharingan…

Orochimaru found himself in his original body. Well, not his original, but the last one before the switch. He noticed that all of his limbs were held by some pulsating flesh. Looking closely, he could see that his body was slowly deteriorating.

"This is how your soul is connected to bodies that were not yours, I see." Sasuke's voice said. "The flesh represents your connection. It's firm, but can be broken. It's how you escape. And escape you must." Then he held his hand to each of the tubes. Each one then transmuted into metal.

Orochimaru came back to reality, and gripped his chest. "Wh-What did you just do?"

Sasuke reverted back to his natural state. "Your soul will remain within that body. It was similar to what I did to Naruto back then, but in your case it's permanent."

A thought just occurred to Orochimaru. "But…I must transfer."

"Exactly. I prevented you from moving from body to body. But that won't stop the effects of the body switch you did just now. Within six years time, you will die."

Orochimaru could not believe it. He was one of the sanin, considered one of the wisest and most clever ninja of his time…and yet his own future container, with decades of less experience, outwitted him. Orochimaru was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a blade pressed against his chin.

"I won't kill you, Orochimaru…provided you follow one condition."

Orochimaru said nothing, but they both knew that was a yes.

"You will swear your loyalty and strength to me as my slave. Everything you own shall now be mine. You are my new sword." Sasuke retracted kusunagi. "Now kneel!" he yelled.

Orochimaru hesitated for one second, and kneeled. Orochimaru never had more hatred then he did now, but this time, there was nothing he could do. He could not switch bodies, Sasuke was stronger then him now, and he knew every one of his jutsus. For every jutsu he could master in a year, Sasuke could master a hundred. Orochimaru met his match, not only in strength, but in cunning as well. He had to face the facts: He was beaten. "I swear…all my loyalty to you…Sasuke…sama."

The Uchiha had a slight grin on his face and retracted his sword. "Back when you were in the Akatsuki, you were defeated by my own brother. Correct?"

Orochimaru simply replied "Yes."

"He only managed to take your hand, a hand you soon replaced. I on the other hand, have taken away the ability you were most proud of, and it's never coming back. Now I will do the same to Itachi. I will defeat his Magenkyo sharingan…and make him suffer through the same hell I was." Sasuke sheathed his sword and began to walk outside. "Since that body was dead to begin with, the chakra I provided with it won't last. I'll have Kabuto work on making it sustainable." Sasuke turned around, staring at the seething sanin with his sharingan. "Be grateful you can at least live as a tool. Otherwise, I'd leave you to rot."

As Sasuke walked down the corridors, he thought about Itachi dying at his hands. Then something else came to his mind, something he realized he should have thought about sooner: what would he do afterwards? His other goal…reviving the Uchiha clan. He was so hell-bent on revenge, that he pushed that in the back of his mind. He was only a child back in Konoha, and didn't think much about it much as a kid. The process crossed even HIS thoughts, but like any young boy, that was it. "Go back to Konoha? No, they'll never let me in…can't really blame them." He mused that he would probably have to go look for some random girl of child-bearing age…a bit awkward, but maybe with some work…now that he thought of it, the idea of a new Uchiha clan seemed farther away than ever. "I'm loosing my focus. I must concentrate at the task at hand."

He opened a door to the side and stepped in. "Kabuto. Have your spies found Itachi yet?"

Due to his paralysis, Kabuto was nothing more than the medicine man and the simple right-hand man. He couldn't complain though; he was lucky that Orochimaru was willing to take him back at all. "Yes." He said. "But you're not going to like what we found."

Sasuke's eyes twitched. "Your spies died giving you the information. No matter. They served their purpose, and I could have done away with them just as easily."

Kabuto stuttered "T-That's not what I meant. Sasuke-samma…Itachi is dead."

Sasuke's normally emotionless expression slowly turned to shock. "No."

"It's true. My spies found Konoha ninja carrying his body back. There-"

Sasuke couldn't take anymore and backhanded Kabuto with such force that he was knocked out of his wheelchair. "LIAR!!" Sasuke was seething, his sharingan activated and his curse mark spreading.

"Sasuke-sama!! I swear, it's the truth!!"

Sasuke walked over and put his foot over Kabuto's throat. "ITACHI'S ALIVE!! NO ONE CAN KILL HIM BUT ME!!"

Kabuto choked out "I-I'm not…lying. He was…killed…in battle."

Sasuke slowly let his foot off. He hyperventilated, and ran to the corner and collapsed. He vomited into the gutter. "This can't be…my purpose…my reason for living…all gone!!" His bearings weren't straight, but he managed to choke out "Who…who did this?"

Kabuto finished rubbing his throat, and whispered "Judging by the burns on one of them…Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke hyperventilated again, but this time he slowly stood up, his face changing from disbelief to pure rage. His skin changed back to green, and his wings broke the walls behind him. He lifted his head high, and screamed "NARUTO!!"

After everyone managed to process the truth behind Itachi's betrayal, Tsunade saw Naruto about his concerns for Sakura's health. "It's certainly bad if you do that to her constantly. But her body is young, strong, and healthy. Though it takes time, her body naturally expels the Kyuubi's chakra. She's also stronger than before, so that factors in."

Naruto then asked "But Orochimaru…he is insanely strong, and from what I heard, he would have died because of the fox's chakra had he not changed bodies."

"The fact that he changes bodies is exactly why it has such an adverse affect on him. I studied that jutsu…the effects, I would never use it for myself. Anyway, every time he claims a new body, it begins to deteriorate immediately. Slowly, but surely. About six years. It takes 3 to allow him to transfer at all. He was near his limit when he returned to Konoha…Sarutobi-sensei simply hastened the deadline. Kyuubi's chakra probably did incredible damage to his system, and he had to change again."

Naruto smiled, satisfied with her answer. He stood up and waved "Thanks again, Ba-chan! You're the best!!" He turned around, and was smacked from behind with a sake cup, nearly causing him to fall over his crutches.

"I'm not finished yet!! I need to speak to you about one of your students!!"

Naruto was about to complain, but kept his mouth shut. He knew when to be serious. "Is it Iori?"

Tsunade blinked. "No…why?"

Naruto replied "Before I forget, I've found out she is the daughter of a jinchuuriki!! Did you know that!?"

Tsunade stood up and said "N-No!! If I did, I'd have been the first to tell you!! I looked at her records, it stated she was found in the woods. Once we could not find any family members or clan, we accepted her into the academy!!" Both were silent for a while. "I need to run some tests on her…don't worry, I promise nothing bad will happen to her. But we need to see what she is capable of…this should concern especially you."

Naruto just blinked "W-why me?"

Tsunade smiled "Well, you are thinking of having children soon, aren't you?" Naruto nearly fell over again. "Anyway, we know what jinchuuriki can do, but not their offspring. Send her in tomorrow, please."

Naruto was about to get up again, but Tsunade forced him to sit down. "OOOWWWW!"

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU IT WAS NOT IORI I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT!!" Tsunade yelled. "It's Yuji." she replied.

Naruto blinked. "Yuji?"

Tsunade frowned a bit. "Her mother has put in a resignation form for him. She's not a ninja, and by law, we are obligated to fulfill the requests of such parents. Naruto…I completely understand that he was the one that lead them back when you tried to send them away. But the fact remains that your team was tricked into an S-ranked assignment. She couldn't handle it." Both ninjas remained silent. "What I'm saying is, if you want Yuji to remain on the team, you'll have to talk with her. I won't sign the form yet…I can just say I've been backed up with more important things, which is true by the way. But I can't give you much time."

Naruto nodded and said. "Understood."

Naruto walked out of the office. He thought he should swing by Iori's first. "I think I have an idea of what may be bothering her." Suddenly he bumped into someone. "Sakura! I'm sorry, I should've-"

"No, it's all right Naruto! I was completely spaced out! Not something an ANBU ninja should do, huh?" The kunoichi gave an embarrased smile.

Naruto just chuckled. "We all have our flaws." Suddenly, something came to Naruto's mind. "Hey, Sakura, um…" Naruto grimaced. This felt harder than it was. "I…I was wondering…next time we're free, and I'm recovered…"

"What, Naruto?"

"T-That we could go on a date." Naruto expected her to turn a bit red and stutter.

Instead, she just sighed and calmly said "Sure, I'm up of Ichikaru anytime."

Naruto just laughed nervously. "Um…I was thinking more of a real date…if that's okay with you."

NOW he got the response he expected. "Y-You want t-to g-g…"

"If you don't want to, I'll understand." Naruto sighed sadly. "Well, so long as we're friends"

He began to walk away when Sakura grabbed his shoulder. "Next week, 2'o clock. It should be my day off, and you should have fully recovered by then!"

Naruto was stunned. "She said yes."

Iori came out of her apartment only for grocery shopping. With the lack of missions they had, her money would only last her so long and it would only be a matter of time before she ran out of food and couldn't pay her rent…but she didn't care. "My father was a monster…I'm a monster." Everything she questioned finally made sense, and her world came crashing down on her. Suddenly, she heard a knocking on her door. She didn't respond. The knocking continued. "Go away!" she screamed.

"Iori, I have to talk with you." Naruto said from behind the door.

"Screw it!!" Iori yelled back. The knocking ceased, and for a while, she had no more distractions. But then, she heard someone jump into her room. She reacted, and grabbed a kunai under her pillow. She turned around, and saw her sensei standing before her. "H-how?"

"Your window was open, and you were so out of it you didn't hear me climb in, even with the crutches. I was standing there for a while, so I stomped on the floor to get your attention." Naruto managed to sit down on her bed, though painfully. "I really need to speak with you Iori. I know what you're going through."

Iori had her back turned to him, and she said "You don't know a thing about me. Nothing you say can make it all go away."

Naruto simply replied "Those 2 were the same ones that killed your dad, right? I bet they said something about him being a monster, and that you were one too?"

Iori said nothing for a minute, then replied "The specific words they said were that he had a monster SEALED inside of him. But I guess that's really not a difference, is it?"

"Was your dad shunned?"

"Yes."

"And you?"

"Yes."

"What about after your dad died?"

"They tried to kill me! The whole damn village tried to kill me! My father always protected the village, but they treated us like garbage!! They tried to kill me just because my father was gone!! They didn't deserve anything that he did for them!!"

Naruto was taken a back by Iori's outburst. He hoped whatever children he would have would not face the same problems as she was. "Iori, I know what you went through."

Iori just snapped back. "No you don't!! Just stop trying!! You know you can't say anything to make it all better!!"

Naruto sighed. "Iori…you do know about the Kyuubi, right?"

"A big tailed monster like the one dad had. Came to Konoha before I was even born. Killed lots of people, and the all-mighty fourth Hokage killed it and himself. Everyone knows that story." Iori grumbled.

"Yeah." Naruto replied. "Everyone knows THAT story. What if I gave you the director's cut?"

Iori turned back. "Wha?"

"The story you were told about the Kyuubi…was all a lie." He had Iori's full attention right now. "The truth is, the fourth could not kill the Kyuubi. Instead, he sacrificed his life to seal it within an infant boy. Since that day, that child has been alone for a good portion of his life. Even now, so many people think he is a monster when he is really just a person who wants to be acknowledged for all the good he's done…" Iori just scooted closer. "And that child is me."

Iori's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Naruto lifted his shirt just enough so she could see his belly button. Then, he let his chakra flow, and called the tiniest amount of Kyuubi chakra he could without raising suspicion. The spiral appeared, as did the red chakra and his animal traits. As quickly as he showed her, he changed back. "Though most of the people of my generation had no idea, the adults were scared of me. I will admit, compared to Gaara, Kenji, and your family, I've had it good. But that doesn't erase the loneliness and pain."

Iori struggled to keep her tears in check, but she was loosing it. She tackled her sensei and cried on his shirt. After a good ten minutes, she finally let go.

"Iori…" Naruto whispered. "Your heritage will be a secret between me and the Hokage. If there is anything you ever need to get off my chest, come see me. Believe me, just having another person just listen helps a lot." Iori smiled, and nodded.

Naruto headed for the door with his crutches. "See Tsunade tomorrow. She needs to run a few tests. Don't worry, it's nothing like the ones Itachi may have put you through. We just need to find out…well you know."

Naruto closed the door, before Iori could whisper "Thank you…sensei."

Naruto had one more person to see. He hardly knew her, but she was the one responsible for trying to put Yuji off the team. He looked up their address, and finally came to their house. It didn't scream that they were rich, but it was better then most other people could afford. He knocked on the door. It occurred to him that Mrs. Miyamoto could simply look out the peephole and pretend no one was home. But he looked closely, and could see there was none. Then, the door opened. He was hoping it would be Yuji, but fate never was his best friend. His mother was right there, and her look of surprise changed into a nasty glare.

"Mrs. Miyamoto." Naruto said as calmly as he could. " I'm here to talk about Yuji." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Finally, she gestured for him to come inside.

Naruto looked around. The house was a bit of a mess, but the furniture was nice. He noticed a lot of paintings inside as well. Very nice ones. He was never very interested in art before, but he couldn't help but admire them.

"My husband's." the woman said. "He loved to paint during his spare time when he wasn't out on missions."

Naruto then remembered Yuji wanted to be the great ninja his dad was. "If I can convince her to withdraw her request, I'll have to ask him about it." That's when his eyes landed on what seemed to be the family photo. The typical ones with both parents and their kids. In the center was Yuji, who must have been 6 years old. His mother was on his right. On the left, was his father, wearing a Konoha headband and jonin vest. He also seemed to have on a short cape of some sort. Those were generally considered a hazard for most ninja, but if he made jonin he must've known what he was doing. Naruto could see some family resemblances. Yuji's face and his father's looked alike, and they had the same hair and eyes. But Naruto couldn't see Yuji becoming like his dad physically. Judging from the height difference between the two parents, the father was almost 2 meters in height and had a build to match it too. When Naruto first heard Yuji call his dad a great ninja, he figured it was typical hero worship. But this guy looked like he could back up that claim.

"My husband was killed on a mission a while ago. Yuji always had trouble in school, but his father always figured out a way to help piece the lessons together for him."

Naruto turned around to see the petite woman carrying two cups of tea. Naruto thanked her, sat down, and pretended to take a sip. It wasn't likely that she was trying to poison him, nor did he believe she would have any decent poisons available. Still, judging by her attitude the last time around, he had valid reason to be concerned.

"I understand Yuji's dream to be a ninja like his father." Mrs. Miyamoto said. "I felt so long as he had a proper teacher, it would be alright. But when Ryu died, I felt he had no one. The teachers could never accommodate his needs, and the only ninja he ever truly looked up to was his father. There are no other ninjas in our family. I know he hates me right now, but this is the best for him in the end. He's blinded by the illusion that he can be like his father without help. I'm sorry…Uzumaki-san. But the one true teacher he ever had is gone, is never coming back, and can never be replaced."

Naruto just held his head down. "You know. About my secret, right?" Mrs. Miyamoto didn't say anything. "I know you don't think of me as a person. Whether I am or not is not important. When I first entered the academy, I had no family. All I had was a monthly stipend from the third so I could get my own place. A lot of the teachers…felt the same way you do about me. All they did was lecture, and when any of us had trouble, they would help out the best they could…but not me. The few times I got lucky to receive help I still didn't get it often, and I had no parents to help me make sense of any of it. Even though I was accepted early, I failed to graduate so many times that soon I became one of the youngest in my class. Just when it seemed so much farther away, I finally found teachers who accepted me and did everything to help me. While I do admit there's still room for improvement…I think I've come a long way." Naruto grabbed his crutches, and lifted himself. "Mrs. Miyamoto…no matter what the obstacles, anyone can become a great ninja. I don't know if I'm the right teacher for Yuji, but I'll do my best. If not, I will find someone better. And no matter what, I promise that I'll throw my own life away before Yuji has to give his!!" With that Naruto walked out of the house. Mrs. Miyamoto would've normally disregarded everything he said. But for some reason, she couldn't. She just couldn't.

Next chapter, some developments, and the date! Plus, Sakura has a secret!