Chapter 10
One day after the battle…
"Hokage-sama." A chunin burst into his office with a scroll in his hand.
"Chunin? What is the meaning of this?" Minato's stern eyes landed on the boy who bowed his head.
"F-forgive me Hokage-sama, a message from Kiri that you were waiting for." The chunin placed the scroll on the desk.
"You can go," Minato said without taking his eyes from the scroll. The feeling of dread entering his heart. His heartbeat quickened as he picked the scroll. With his shaky hands, Minato started opening the scroll. Many thoughts entering into his mind. He had an idea what the message would be about. What if Naruto…No, he can't think like that. He wouldn't fail.
"Open it already." Minato jumped from his seat when someone barked from behind. He turned around and saw Jiraiya standing there looking at him with a frown. "What? Have you seen a ghost?"
"Don't give me a heart attack Jiraiya sensei." Minato sighed and tried to calm his thumping heart. Jiraiya rolled his eyes and snatched the scroll from Minato's hand before opening it. Jiraiya read the message and looked at Minato and shook his head with a somber look on his face.
Minato's eyes widened. No, it can't be, Naruto wouldn't…
"He did it kid." Jiraiya's face broke into a grin as he showed the message to Minato.
"Oh thank God." Minato smiled. A proud smile appeared on his face. He dropped in his seat and turned towards his teacher.
"At least we got good news from somewhere." Minato's smile disappeared.
"The squad that you sent towards the newly constructed Kannabi Bridge…no one survived…everyone died by the Iwa shinobi." Minato placed his hand under his chin as he tried to control his anger.
"To think that a whole squad wasn't enough…" Jiraiya sighed. His eyes turned towards the village. The sun was shining in the sky. "Think rationally Minato. What's done, done. Don't repeat the same mistake again. Don't send another squad of Jounin there. We need to send someone else."
"Were you able to find anything about the Akatsuki?"
"Nothing. I'll be going tomorrow. A contact of mine from Amegakure have some information on this organization. I'll send you the info as soon as possible." Minato nodded his head and handed the scroll to Jiraiya.
"Be careful Jiraiya-sensei, we don't know what you will be against. It's an unknown territory."
"Don't worry about it kid. I can take care of myself." Jiraiya casually.
"A message from Kazekage. He wants the assistance of a seal master. You know why." Jiraiya shook his head and burned the scroll with the Katon jutsu.
"I wouldn't be able to assist him in this matter. I think Naruto will do it without a problem. He was at an intermediate level when he was here and I'm sure he'd be on an advanced level now." Jiraiya jumped from the window and landed on the rooftop.
"I knew you'd say that." Minato glanced at Jiraiya before throwing another scroll towards him.
"It would be a good opportunity for him to meet with the Kazekage kids." Minato nodded his head and wrote a quick message on a scroll.
"Send this scroll to Kiri." Jiraiya caught the scroll and sunshined away.
"I hope you guys are ready for this," Minato muttered under his breath.
Naruto woke up and groaned when his eyes hit with the sun rays.
"Where the hell this light is coming from?" He groaned again.
"From the sun, don't you know?" He heard the familiar voice.
"Thanks for sharing oh so forbidden knowledge with me," Naruto replied sarcastically as he leaned back in his bed. Looking around, he comes to know he was in a hospital. He turned towards Zabuza and sighed.
"Congratulations kid, for being still alive." Naruto just nodded his head without making eye contact with Zabuza. He examined his right hand, closed his eyes and concentrated on his body. He sighed in relief when he felt no pain.
"You fought well. I thank you for saving my country. You have my eternal gratitude."
"I did what I was ordered to do. You don't have to thank me." Naruto glanced at Zabuza from the corner of his eye. He really was feeling uncomfortable by hearing praises from a stranger, especially like Zabuza, one of the seven swordsmen of the Mist.
"How you ended up as his prisoner anyway?" Naruto questioned. It would be great if Zabuza wouldn't talk about his winning against Yagura. He doesn't want to talk about that guy right now.
"That's a long story. Maybe another time. I'll go inform Mei-sama that you are in the living world now." With that said, Zabuza exited his room leaving Naruto alone.
Naruto changed into his clothes and exited the tent he was sleeping in. There were people working and going on their ways but when they noticed his presence they stopped and stared at him. Then much to his shock, they all smiled at him.
"Naruto-sama?"
"Are you alright?"
"Thank you for saving our lives." And so on and on. He just stood there slightly surprised by their behavior. He wasn't accustomed to this kind of behavior from the crowd. The praises and admiration, the gratitude. Everything that he desired when he was in Konoha was in front of him. At that time, he wanted people to notice him, to admire him and smile at him. But now, after so many years of hard work he was able to gain what he desired the most…but he still felt empty.
'What I need?' Naruto questioned to himself. He sighed and gave them a small smile before walking away from them. A forced smile, a smile which was empty. His thoughts changing every second.
Naruto was sitting on top of the hill looking towards the villagers who were busy in rebuilding their village. He felt at ease, he could feel freedom in the air. He could feel himself relaxing after so long. Now that the loyalists had been defeated, his job as a spy has been finished. His shoulders relaxed as if a burden had been lifted from them.
'So much destruction.' He looked around the ruins of the buildings. He could still smell the heat of the battle. Naruto's thoughts traveled back in time, the four years that he'd spent in this village as a spy. He'd succeeded, he'd won. But he wasn't feeling any happiness. He doesn't know how to describe this feeling. For the past four years, his life was in danger for every second. What he'd do now? What had he accomplished after killing so many shinobi?
Peace?
He'd never thought about peace before. Could it be? Everything that he'd done was because he wanted to achieve peace, no. He'd done it because he wanted to become strong. A voice in his mind whispered. He did it because he wanted to run away from Konoha.
Naruto saw a group of children playing football. They were laughing, their eyes were filled with happiness, the energy that he'd never seen before in their eyes. He saw elders doing work, they looked tired, but their faces were covered with smiles. They were talking and laughing, free in their own world.
Maybe everything that he'd endured in the last four years was because of this, was because he wanted to see this. He'd doubt it. His intentions were different. Naruto averted his eyes from people and stared at the sky. The birds were flying and going for hunting.
Speaking of birds…Naruto came out of thoughts when he felt Mei sat down on his left side. His eyes never left the birds.
'I'll have to contact him soon.' Naruto thought.
"How are you feeling?" The concern was obvious in her voice. Of course she looked fine.
"Fine."
"I searched for you everywhere in the village." Naruto didn't respond, he hadn't asked her to search for him everywhere in the village. He snorted and shook his head slightly.
'It would be great to have it in my arsenal. They will come in handy. I hope you'd find their location soon Kira.'
"You were great." Naruto remained silent, lost in his thought.
'What's taking you so long Kira?'
"NARUTO." Naruto cringed and rubbed his left ear. "I'm talking to you, you deaf."
"Sorry. I was lost in thought." Naruto glanced at Mei who was looking at him with concern until her face split into a grin.
"Oh, so you were lost in thought? Were you thinking about someone? A girl maybe? Was it me? You were thinking about me, don't you Naruto?" Mei leaned towards Naruto. She wrapped her hands around him, closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Don't worry Naruto-kun, I won't leave you." She whispered and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder when she felt something odd.
She opened her eyes to look at Naruto when she saw herself hugging a log.
"Huh?" Mei looked surprised and dumbfounded. She looked around until her eyes landed on Naruto who was walking away from her with his hands in his pocket. A tick mark appeared on her forehead.
'He substituted with this stupid log?'
"NARUTO! YOU JERK." Mei stood up with a murderous look on her face and rushed towards Naruto with lava covering her hands. When she was about to grab him with her hands, he disappeared and reappeared behind her.
"My mission here has been completed, please let me go." Mei turned around to face Naruto. She was looking at him with the same irritating expression until her eyes connected with his. She saw him looking at her with an empty expression. Those violet eyes were empty. She had seen that same look before. When she had seen him for the first time. She doesn't know why but she had felt uncomfortable at that time and now looking at it now, it was like he was judging her worth, it was like he was asking her to dare to disagree with him.
Lava disappeared from her hands. She broke eye contact and took out a scroll from her pouch. The playfulness in her tone gone, it was replaced by a professional tune. Her eyes only making connection with for a few seconds.
How could she look at him direct in his eyes, the look that he'd in his eyes, it was frightening, cold and dark. Yet she felt comfortable around him. Maybe because he saved their lives by killing Yagura.
"It's not like you're my shinobi or anything. You're a Konoha shinobi now. You can go anywhere but…" Mei threw the scroll towards Naruto.
"A message from Hokage." Naruto opened the scroll and read the message before burning it.
"Some shinobi from Konoha will be coming. I'm ordered to wait for them." Naruto saw Mei's expressions brightened slightly.
"So this means you're not going anywhere right?" She asked in a hopeful voice. She saw him giving her a glare.
"That's right, but I'll have to go tomorrow somewhere." Mei clapped her hands excitedly before grabbing Naruto's hand. Defeater of Yagura or not he was still that same Uzumaki Naruto who had given her the courage to win the battle.
"Then let's go."
"Where are we going Mei-sama? You're a kage now, shouldn't you be in your office working."
"Oh come on, it's just a little break. I'm feeling hungry and I know you're hungry too and stop calling me that, only Mei is fine." Mei squeezed Naruto's hand and glared at him.
"Ouch, careful woman, it's my hand, a hand of an injured man." Mei scoffed and gave another squeezed. She could see his attitude changing, that colder look had disappeared from his eyes.
"It's a woman's touch Naruto-kun, if you don't want it THEN STOP COMPLAINING AND FOLLOW ME."
"Alright, alright. No need to shout, I can hear you clearly." Naruto sighed.
"Troublesome woman." He muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" She sent a glare from his left side.
"Jeez, I wonder what got you so riled up. We're in a village now, among your people, at least show some Kage level manners to them." Naruto smirked slightly when he saw Mei murderous expression.
"Don't give me a reason to kill you Naruto-kun." Her playful smile and her lone eye looked at him upside down. Naruto was about to reply when they arrived at the newly constructed restaurant.
"Welcome Mei-sama, Naruto-sama." Naruto's eyes twitched when Mei burst out laughing.
"Yes, welcome Naruto-sama." She grinned at him before dragging him towards their table. The food arrived and Naruto started eating. At least that Naruto hadn't disappeared. It was still in there somewhere.
"Where you will be going tomorrow." Naruto stopped eating and looked at her in the eyes. There was something that he was unable to comprehend. She was staring at her meal. She glanced at him. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw her eyes watered.
"Mei?" His voice was barely audible. Her expressions were soft but at the same time, they were filled with sadness and longing.
"I don't want you to go." She wiped her eyes slightly before she resumed her meal.
"Is that all? Don't worry, I'll leave my shadow clone here." Mei chuckled at Naruto's joke before shaking her head.
"Just forget it." Naruto remained silent and ate his meal. It was delicious.
They were walking in the village streets together side by side.
"They look so happy, I've never seen them so happy before and it's all thanks to you Naruto-kun."
"Please Mei, don't embarrass me. I was not the only one who fought in that war." He replied with kindness, although he was blushing slightly.
"Thank you for everything Naruto-sama and you too Mei-sama." Naruto nodded his head towards the old woman and walked past her. The young ones, the elders, and even the children were thanking him as he was walking in the streets of Kiri.
"Kiri will always remember your name. Your name will be on everyone's lips; your name will be in the textbooks." Naruto sighed and looked at Mei with a frown.
"What's up with you anyway? Stop saying those lame things. I did what I thought was best, that's all Mei." Naruto frown deepened as he stared up ahead.
"Don't forget that the war is still going on. Konoha is in danger, everyday many Konoha shinobi are dying, and that's why I've to go. I've to save them." Naruto turned towards Mei who smiled at him sadly.
"I understand. That's why I won't stop you." Mei came closer and glared at him, "And if you ever forget about me…" She showed her lava covered fist to him.
Naruto smiled and placed both of his hands on her shoulders and gave a light squeeze.
"Don't worry. You're my friend and I don't abandon my friends." She smiled and hugged him. She had seen many sides of Naruto in the short time they had been together. She knew his different kind of personalities but the soft and kind hearted side that he'd shown her now, she liked that side of Naruto the most.
THE NEXT DAY
"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?" Naruto was standing at the village entrance gate. He was wearing black pants with light blue half sleeve shirt. A black cloak that was covering his form with black sandals.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Naruto glanced at Haku who was standing with her master.
"When will you come back?" She asked. It was like she wanted to say something but the presence of Zabuza was making her difficult to say it.
"In three days. If the Konoha shinobi arrived before me then told them to wait for me." Zabuza nodded his head. Naruto glanced at them the last time before disappearing from their sight.
"Are you sure he will be fine, Zabuza-sama." Haku was concerned. The war was going on and every part of elemental nations were filled with ninjas and enemies. It was not wise for Naruto to go alone. But they can't stop him, because he was not a Kiri shinobi.
"He is strong Haku. He can take care of himself." Zabuza stared at the Mist outside of the gate where Naruto had disappeared and narrowed his eyes.
'What are you hiding Naruto?' He was concerned about him as well. It not like he doesn't trust Naruto, it was just unsettling for him to see him to go away from the village as soon as he was recovered.
It was early in the morning when Naruto had left the village. He could see the sun shining on the sky as he traveled towards his destination. His eyes filled with worry as he jumped from one branch to another.
The message that he'd received from the Hokage was really disturbing. Thank God Mei hadn't opened the scroll. But why the Hokage want him to go to Suna? What Kazekage want from him? So lost was he in his thoughts that he barely dodged the kunai.
"Always be on guard when you're traveling alone." Naruto sighed in relief when he heard the familiar voice and landed on the ground.
"What are you doing here? I told you I'll come to Kiri myself." Naruto stared at the man with the light blonde hair and blue eyes.
"I thought it'd be best to meet you here, alone. Kira." Naruto narrowed his eyes at him when the older man bowed slightly.
"I'm honored to meet the hero of Kiri."
"Cut the crap already, don't give me a mocking bow. What happened at the Kannabi Bridge? Is she okay?" Naruto's voice was calm and calculated but it was filled with worry and dread.
"Don't worry, Kushina-sama was sent to another mission at the last moment. She is fine." The man demeanor changed as a starter walking deep in the forest. Naruto followed him.
"The question is how the whole squad of Jounin killed in this mission. In the third ninja war, that bridge was destroyed by team Minato but Iwa and Kumo build it again and we were unable to stop them. The Hokage sent the whole squad of Jounin to destroy not only the bridge but their post as well that is located there." Kira took out a pack of cigarette and offered one to Naruto who shook his head. He shrugged his shoulder and light the cigarette.
"You need a hobby kid, a habit to lighten the load from your brain." He chuckled before continued.
"Anyway, I don't know if they were helped by someone but the thing is not even a single Jounin was able to escape. That post is one of the enemy's strongest post, that's why the Hokage has assigned you to destroy that post as well and that bridge by whatever means necessary." The man glanced at the boy with calculating eyes.
'That mission won't be easy. The question is, are you ready to see the deaths of your comrades? Because in this mission, someone will surely die. This mission is to test your resolve Naruto.'
"Who will be accompanying me on this mission?"
"The zero squad." Naruto's eyes widened.
"Zero squad?"
"Astonishing isn't it? I was surprised too when I heard from Jiraiya-sama." The zero squad was also known as the strongest squad in Midnight, the members of that squad were those who have been through a war or hold rank S under their belt.
"That's why you won't be leading this mission. Someone from the zero squads will lead this mission. That being said, there are some missions that the Hokage has assigned you.
Your first mission is to go to Suna. The Kazekage knows you will be coming; he will tell you what to do. The second mission is in the Wind country, it is an easy mission, a low B-rank." Naruto listened attentively before sighed.
"The second squad will be with me in these missions I presume?"
"Yes of course."
"But why the easy missions? Why the Hokage is not sending me in the front lines?" Naruto shared his thoughts with the blonde spy. Kira could feel frustration in Naruto's voice, although he hadn't shown in his body language.
"Be patient Naruto. The second squad needs experience, your squad needs experience, and you know what I mean." Naruto understood and nodded his head in agreement.
"I guess you're right." He couldn't help it. The Hokage has assigned him the second squad, it's his duty to lead his soldiers, it was his duty to make sure they gain experience and become powerful.
"Were you able to find out their village?"
"Of course. Don't underestimate my skills. I'm a spy and a good one." Kira threw the remains of the cigarette on the ground before releasing the smoke from his nostrils, he turned to Naruto and waved his hand lazily. His eyes narrowed in thought as he spoke.
"Always be on alert Naruto, from what I heard there are some people that are after you. When the news get out about you defeating Yagura, they will surely come for your head." A warning, that's the only thing that can give him.
"I know. You don't have to worry about that." Kira sighed when he heard his response.
"Where are you going? You are not going there are you?"
"Of course, I don't think I'll have free time in the future for this. And besides, summons comes in handy. Thanks for this Kira. I owe you one. I've been waiting for this for so long." Naruto's grip around the scroll tightened.
"Consider it a present from me for your victory." The older man winked at Naruto.
Naruto rolled his eyes before disappearing from his sight.
"Well, at least he knows how to remove his presence." Kira chuckled slightly before he disappeared into nothingness.
For the next five hours, Naruto traveled at top speed towards the border of the water country, towards the seashore to be precise. When he was outside of the water country he took some rest before started running on the water. He could see a small island not too far away from the seashore.
About two years ago, when Naruto graduated from the Mist Academy and became a genin, they took a simple escort mission. In that mission, they were attacked by bandits and pirates. Naruto was ordered to eliminate the pirates and their ship. Because he was the only one in his team aside from his sensei who knew how to walk on water. So he took out the pirates and their ship when his eyes landed on the small island. He inquired about that island to his sensei who shrugged it off saying that there's nothing important about that island.
"This should do it. I don't think anyone will be able to sense my chakra here. This place is perfect for my training." Naruto jumped from the water surface and landed on his island. It was covered with grass, shrubs, and bamboo trees. The atmosphere was colder. The ground was covered with thick mud. The sound of crickets was everywhere.
Naruto started walking deeper into the island until he stopped in front of the wooden door. He bit his thumb to draw blood before writing his name on the door. The door glowed as seals appeared on it and with a click it opened.
The torches switched on as he started walking until he reached a large room. There was a person sitting in a chair with his legs on the table sleeping.
"It seems my time is over, Boss." The person turned his head towards Naruto.
"It's not like you're going to die. You are me. You are my clone." Naruto took off his cloak and sat in the chair. He placed the scroll on the table.
"It's time I dispel you. You've done well looking after this place and making this hideout." Naruto praised his clone.
"It's weird you know, seeing you praising your clone." Naruto chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
"Man, I feel tired and hungry. Could you please go and fetch some food for me from the kitchen?" The clone huffed before standing up left.
After finding out about the island, Naruto came up with the idea. He created a blood clone and instructed him what to do. Unlike the shadow clones, blood clones have the strength and power to put up a good fight. They have the ability to replenish their chakra because they possessed blood circulatory system.
The clone came here and made this island secure by placing barrier seals around it. By using Doton jutsu, the clone was able to build a decent hideout. In the past two years, the blood clone of Naruto stocked everything that a shinobi need in their lives in this hideout.
A training area, a hospital, a kitchen, several rooms with attached bathrooms, a room completely filled with weapons and much more. It took two years to complete it but in the end, it was worth it.
Naruto came out of his thoughts when he smelled food. He looked down and saw the whole round table was filled with several kinds of dishes.
"Now that's what I call a meal." He rubbed his hands excitedly before he tucked in.
The next day
"Boss, Boss? BOSS…?" Naruto groggily opened his eyes and yawned.
"What's up? What do you want?" Naruto buried his face in his pillow and waved his hand.
"Boss? You said you want to train and do something about summons." The clone said in his confused voice.
"I'm not going to sleep. Just go and prepare breakfast." Naruto yawned again and looked at his clone sleepily.
"Well, as you wish."
Two hours later
"No holding back. You have as much strength as me. I want to see how much I've improved." Naruto ordered his clone.
"You got it, boss. Don't expect me to go easy on you." The clone and Naruto shoot from the ground towards each other. Their right forearms collided with each other with a bang. They grinned at each other before flipping back several times.
Naruto appeared at his clone's right side and sent a punch towards his face. The clone stepped back avoiding the punch whilst he sent his own towards Naruto's stomach. Naruto blocked the punch with his left hand and sent his right kick towards his clone's left side. The clone's right hand was still in the grasp of Naruto's left hand, to avoid the kick, he jumped in the air and forced all of the weight at his right hand. Naruto released the clone's right hand. The clone flipped in the air and aimed his right foot towards the back of Naruto's head.
The clone was expecting his foot to be connected with Naruto's head but at the last second Naruto turned around sharply and grabbed his clone's right foot. He smashed his clone on the ground.
"Hehe, do you really think I wouldn't be able to keep up with your speed huh?" Naruto rushed forward faster than before when he saw his clone stood up from the ground and shouted. "Do not take me lightly my clone." Naruto grinned when he saw his clone waiting for him to come closer. When Naruto came closer, he disappeared and reappeared behind his clone and sent his right fist towards his clone's back.
The clone instead of turning around to block his fist, bend forward and placed his hands on the ground whilst he sent both of his foots towards Naruto who was standing behind him. Naruto, just in time was able to bring forward both of his arms in X position to block both of the kicks, but the power behind the kicks pushed Naruto several meters back.
The clone turned around when he saw Naruto sliding backward and went through hand seals.
"Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer flame)." The clone released the intense flames of fire that headed towards Naruto at great speed.
'He won't be able to avoid that flames, the only option he has is to counter them with opposite element.' And Naruto's clone was right when he heard Naruto shouted.
"Suiton: Daikaisuidan (Water Style: great water mass)." The clone's eyes widened when one large water ball formed out of thin air and collided with the flames.
"I-impossible. He took water from thin air." The clone said in astonishing voice. He had to admit, his boss has gotten stronger than he was two years ago. The fire died down and Mist erupted that covered the whole area around them.
There was complete silence except for the sound of hiss that was coming from the mist. The clone took out a kunai, masked his chakra and sharpened his senses.
Several shurikens headed his way from behind. He turned around with his Sharingan activated and blocked the shurikens with his kunai that produced sound.
'Shit. I should have avoided them. Now he knows where I'm.' Then the kunais with explosives notes came. The clone jumped high in the air and escaped from the mist to avoid explosive notes. He looked up and saw Naruto standing there with a smirk on his face. Naruto smashed his right foot on his clone's head, sending him on the ground.
The clone was lying in a small crater with his face in the dirt.
"You know; I don't like seeing myself eating dirt in a fight. Get up." Naruto smirked when his clone glared at him and stood up panting heavily.
"You have gotten stronger, boss."
"Of course I've become stronger than last time we fought two years ago. But it's still not enough." Naruto's smiled dropped, a frown appeared on his face as he remembered his battle with Yagura.
"I need to become stronger if I've to survive in this world." Naruto glanced at his clone. His red hair covering his right eye as he stared at him with the left one.
"I'm not going to dispel you. It's thanks to you and my shadow clones that I was able to become this strong. You're my clone and you know me better than anyone else, you know my techniques and fighting style. I don't think I'll find a better fighting partner than you." The clone smiled and nodded his head in agreement.
"But you created me two years ago…"
"I know what you mean." Naruto interrupted his clone, "That's why I'll update you." Naruto walked forward to his clone. He took out a kunai and sliced his palm. The clone did the same thing. They both shook their hands whilst Naruto sent his chakra to his clone.
The process took almost ten minutes. It took almost all of Naruto's chakra. As Naruto stepped backward, seals started glowing all over the clone's body before disappearing. The same clone was standing there but this time he was exactly like the Naruto who was standing not too far away from him with the same strength.
"Now I believe it's time for me to sign the contract." Naruto took out the scroll that Kira had given him yesterday and opened it. A large black scroll dropped on the ground.
"It seems you will be their first summoner, Boss." Naruto's clone was standing behind him rubbing his aching head.
"Yes, I thought Kira would their first summoner because he was the one who got the scroll from them." Naruto wrote his name with his blood.
He went through the hand seals before slamming his hand on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning jutsu)." The puff of smoke cleared and Naruto saw three feet large completely white eagle with golden hair around its neck. It has blue eyes and a black beak. It stared at Naruto with narrowed eyes.
"Who summoned me?" It spoke with a stern voice as its eyes looked back and forth between Naruto and his clone.
"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm the one who summoned you."
"From where you got our summoning scroll child?" Naruto gulped slightly as he saw electricity surged around the eagle's body.
"From Kira. He is my friend." The eagle's eyes narrowed further as it stepped forward towards Naruto. Naruto stood there with a nervous smile on his face. The mysterious Eagle's stared at Naruto with a hardened gaze. It looked and looked until its eyes blinked several times. The eagle looked at Naruto up and down before extending its right feather and spoke.
"You signed our summoning contract, this means you want to become our summoner, for that to happen, I need to test your blood."
"What?"
"Just give me a drop of your blood, foolish child." The eagle barked as it clicked its sharp beak. Naruto gulped before biting his thumb and extended it towards the eagle. The eagle took Naruto's thumb in its mouth and sucked his blood.
"Hmm…" it swallowed and blinked its eyes several times. The eagle flipped its feathers and screeched as if it was laughing.
"Not bad, not bad at all." The eagle's eyes met with Naruto's as it nodded its head.
"My name is Shiro Furasshu Washi. I'm the daughter of the eagle clan head, Kuro Kishi Washi. For your final and last part of your test Uzumaki Naruto, you must meet my father, the clan head of the eagle clan. If he permits, then you will be allowed to be our first summoner." Naruto stayed silent for a while before he nodded his head.
"What should I do?"
"Place your hand on my back. I'll take us to the world of eagles, also known as Su no Hoshoku." Naruto did what he was told. They both disappeared from the human world.
Su no Hoshoku
Naruto and Shiro appeared in a large widespread forest with large and wide trees covering the whole area. He looked around and found himself staring at the largest trees that he'd ever seen in his lives.
"They are so tall; I can't even see their top." Naruto was amazed.
"Of course, the smallest tree in our world is five hundred meters tall." Naruto looked at Shiro as if she was kidding. He looked up and saw eagles everywhere flying on the blue sky.
"Let's go. Father will be waiting for us." She started walking towards the clearing. Naruto saw small eagles staring at him as he passed them by. There were houses made of wood around him. There were large buildings with different shapes as well, all made of wood. There was large mountain up ahead with a large castle made of stones.
"You see that large castle on the top of the mountain, this is where the higher ups, as well as strongest fighters in our clan, lives. This is where we're going." Shiro flipped her wings and took a flight.
"And who are they?" Naruto pointed towards the small eagles with different shades of colors and patterns.
"They are civilians, workers, and their children." Naruto nodded his head and tried his best not glare at any of them. They were all staring at him. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. It was like he'd been brought back in Konoha.
"Ignore them. They have never seen a human in their lives." Naruto understood the meaning behind Shiro's words and nodded his head.
They stopped when they were out of the town. There were stairs carved in the mountain which were leading towards the castle.
"You want me to climb all those stairs? You got to be kidding me." Shiro looked at Naruto with an odd look.
"Of course. They are only five thousand stairs, not much. You can climb them easily." Naruto looked at as if she was crazy.
"You're going to climb them as well aren't you?" Shiro's face palmed and shook her white head.
"You're an idiot. I'm a bird, I can fly. I don't need to climb stairs. But if you want me to…" Shiro flipped her wings and took off from the ground and landed on Naruto's head.
"See? In this way when you climb the stairs I'll climb them too." Naruto gave her a side glare. She gave him an eye smile before biting his ear.
"OUCH…"
"Don't 'Ouch' me and get going." Naruto huffed before he started climbing the stairs.
Unknown location
"The Yondaime Mizukage has been defeated by Uzumaki Naruto, a twelve-year-old shinobi from Konoha." The leader of Akatsuki Pein spoke.
"A twelve-year-old?" The hologram figure of Kakuzu said, doubt in his voice.
"Yes, it is confirmed by Zetsu himself."
"It seems the Mizukage was all talk, after all, defeated by a child." Kisame chuckled.
"Do not underestimate him Kisame Hoshigaki. It would be your downfall if you did. That child possesses the power to control all five elements with great control. He is a master in kenjutsu and funinjutsu. Zetsu here has been able to record the whole battle between them…Zetsu play the video." The Rinnegan wielder turned his eyes towards Zetsu.
The video played and everyone watched the battle between the two foes.
'Astonishing! To think that you'd be able to progress this quickly. Naruto-kun, you will become a threat to my plans in the future if I allowed you to live any longer.' Danzo Shimura's eyes landed on the Rinnegan and his eyes twitched.
"I don't get it, how the hell this kid survived Biju dama. No one can, hun." Deidara's question was answered by Zetsu.
"The kid is a Kyuubi's pseudo Jinchuuriki. By using its power, he was able to save himself from the blast. Although he still got several injuries in the blast."
"Wow! This kid is strong. I don't think your art will work on that kid Deidara-senpai." Tobi's childish voice echoed in the dark cave.
"Shut up. My art is a blast. I'll tear him apart with my art, hun."
"Your art is nothing but explosives. Art is something that can capture the beauty and preserve it for eternity. You're hopeless." Sasori said.
"That's my line."
"Enough," Pein spoke before Sasori.
"No one is going after him. Concentrate on our current objectives. Locate all the Jinchuurikis and raise funds for the Akatsuki. We still have three more years before we move forward. Everyone dismissed."
Naruto and Shiro entered castle. It was the tallest and the widest thing that Naruto had ever seen. There was an eagle standing outside of the castle entrance. When his eyes landed on Shiro, he opened the door and bowed.
Naruto saw Kuro Kishi Washi was sitting on his throne. He was the tallest Eagle that he'd ever seen. He was as tall as a Biju. His yellow eyes stared at him as he entered the large room. There were several other eagles standing on both right and left side. The floor was covered with red carpet. There were torches all around the room, illuminating everything and every corner. Two eagles were standing behind Kuro Kishi Washi as bodyguards.
Just like in the town, everyone was staring at him. There was an aura of power that he never felt before. It was amazing. It was cold yet warm at the same time. It was dark yet light at the same time.
Shiro took off from his head and went to her father and sat in his lap.
"Welcome Uzumaki Naruto. I've been waiting for you to show up ever since Kira told me about you."
"You were expecting me?" Naruto bowed before standing straight. His eyes glanced left and right where the strongest Eagles were standing, the warriors of the eagle clan.
"Yes of course. There are only three eyes superior to ours." Naruto eyes wavered. Could it be? Was he saying that he knows about his eyes? He remained silent. Better stay silent than giving him any kind of information.
"What are you talking about?" The leader of the clan head laughed, amused by Naruto's answer. His yellow beak slightly parted as he stared at him with amused eyes. His daughter looked at him with the same expression, like she was looking at a two-year-old child and was amused by his antics. He could hear snickering from his left and right. Naruto turned his eyes towards them and looked at them with emotionless eyes.
"The ability of our eyes are strongest in this world, in our world. It's because of the atmosphere. I can see your whole past just by looking into your eyes young Naruto. I can see who you really are. This is my ability. This is the power of my eyes." The leader of the Eagle clan paused and took a deep breath. He moved his body and moved his head closer towards Naruto. His voice was deep and filled with understanding.
"I understand why you want to keep this a secret. But for how long? Sooner or later someone will find out or you will be forced to reveal it."
"So, this means that you accept me as your first summoner?" Naruto didn't answer the questioned because there was no need to. He knew sooner or later it'd happen.
The giant eagle smiled and nodded his head. Shiro flew from her father's lap and landed in front of Naruto. Naruto smiled when he was at eye level.
"I'll be your partner because you summoned me first."
"I knew it. I'm glad a beautiful eagle like you is my partner."
"I'm flattered. Keep up the good work and I might fall in love with you." Shiro smirked when she Naruto blushed slightly. "I'll meet you when you will summon me again. You've to go now." Naruto nodded his head and turned toward Kuro and bowed his head in gratitude.
"Thank you for allowing me to be the first summoner of your clan Washi-sama. I'll do my best to be a good summoner." Naruto disappeared from the world of Eagles, Su no Hoshoku.
"So?" Naruto glanced at his clone before heading towards their hideout.
"All went well. I never thought the Eagles would be this strong. According to my estimation, they are even stronger than the toad and snake clan." Naruto sat in the chair and sighed.
"Would I be able to summon them or not?" Naruto looked at his clone thoughtfully before shrugging his shoulders.
"Don't know? Maybe you can? After all, you are my clone. But I don't think you will face circumstances in which you would be forced to use them to save you." Naruto stretched his legs before yawing.
"Wake me up after you will prepare our dinner. I've to go back to Kiri as soon as I can." Naruto stood up and went to his bedroom.
Back in Kiri
"I don't know what he is up to. Why did he want to leave Kiri for three days?" Ao said to Godaime Mizukage suspiciously. He'd never completely trusted that kid. It doesn't matter if he'd saved their village or not. Ao clenched his fists when the memories of the battle between him and Yagura came back in his mind.
"You're just being paranoid Ao. I completely trust Naruto-kun. He will never betray us." Chojuro looked nervously between Ao and Mei.
"Mizukage-sama is right Ao. N-Naruto-kun is not like that. I'm sure he just wanted to take a break from all of this and rest for a while. Or maybe he was sent to a mission by Hokage-sama." Chojuro adjusted his glasses and gulped when Ao glared at him.
"Exactly! For a mission. What kind of mission? What is he planning? He should have acquired permission from Mei-sama before going to this so called mission." He was almost shouting as his eyes met with Mei as if he was sure that she would agree with him in this matter.
Ao swallowed when he saw Mei's calm expression. She was looking at him with a sternly.
"Ao, I'll not hear anything against Naruto-kun. He saved our country. You don't like him for your personal reasons. I'm ashamed of you." Mei's final remarks were cut deep down in his heart. He looked down and nodded his head. He bowed before exiting the newly constructed Mizukage building.
Memories of his past swirled in his mind as he started walking in the streets of his village. When he'd vowed to kill Yagura with his own hands. He'd have succeeded if it wouldn't have been for that brat. He stole his revenge.
"I can't believe that you're acting like an insolent child Ao." Ao stopped and glanced at the rooftop of the building and saw Zabuza standing there with his arms crossed around his chest.
"Zabuza? What do you know? You wanted to kill Yagura as much as I wanted to." Zabuza raised his hand to stop Ao from speaking further. He landed in front of him and started walking. Ao trailing behind him.
"What happened, happened. We can't change anything now. Tell me Ao! Would you have been able to kill Yagura on your own?" When Ao remained silent he continued.
"I don't think even I'd have been able to kill him. I wanted revenge but I was not obsessed with revenge as much you were. You should thank Naruto for what he'd done. You should thank Naruto for risking his life." Zabuza glanced at Ao who was walking without any expression on his face.
"To people of Kiri, Naruto is their hero. You know very well what they will do to you if they find out that you hate their hero." Having said that Zabuza disappeared from Ao's sight. He needed to get in shape. He knew Mei will be sending him on missions soon.
Not too far away from Mist village…
A group of Konoha's Midnight anbu division could be seen heading towards the Mist village. All of them were eleven and twelve years old. They were wearing black uniforms with anbu masks on their faces. The one with the long brown hair was leading the group. He had his white eyes focused in front of him, his name, Neji Hyuuga. On his left was a boy with spiky black hair and black eyes, Sasuke Uchiha. On Neji's right side was a boy with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, Nawaki Senju. In the middle of Nawaki and Sasuke was a girl with pink hair and green eyes, Sakura Haruno. Hinata Hyuuga, a girl with long blue hair and white eyes was stationed behind Sakura.
They have been traveling for two days without taking any break. Everyone looked tired and exhausted. Although no one was complaining. Everyone was waiting for Kiri's gate to show up so that they could sigh in relief. It's their first time, it's their first mission. They lack experience, because of that everyone was on high alert.
Neji Hyuuga was one of the strongest Hyuuga in the Hyuuga clan. His eyes were trained to catch even the slightest movement. So far his eyes hadn't detected any enemy in their way. He dropped his guard slightly when their group reached near the outskirts of Kiri. And it was a mistake, from the corner of his eye he saw two shadows heading towards Kiri, their movements were fast. Neji looked at Sasuke who nodded his head and stopped. Everyone took cover and hide their presences in thick bushes. They masked their chakra. Soon enough they saw two figures landed on the trees where they were standing before.
"What is it, cat?" A male voice questioned.
"I swear I saw someone here." A female voice answered.
"Oh come on, it's nothing to worry about. You're a bit too paranoid ever since we left Kumo for this mission." The female remained silent. Neji looked at Sakura Haruno and gave her orders in anbu signals.
"At least the Akatsuki was able to destroy the Konoha base with ease. Now I wonder where Killer B is."
"C! Shut up, I heard some rustling." The girl stared at the spot as if she was expecting to be attacked by someone hidden behind the bushes. She turned around, glanced back again suspiciously before leaving.
"Phew! That was close." Nawaki sighed.
"We let our guard down for a second and look what happened," Sakura said. She turned her irritation towards Nawaki.
"And what were you thinking? Can't you just stay still for an even a minute? She was looking at the spot where you were hiding."
"I can't help it. You know I can't mask my chakra fully for more than a minute." Nawaki glared at her heatedly.
"Slug you know very well why Toad can't hide his presence for too long," Neji spoke, ending the argument before turning to Nawaki.
"Although if you practice it more often, it will become easy for you." He then turned to Hinata.
"Would you like to share anything with us?" The blue haired girl nodded her head.
"They both are Jounin level ninjas from Kumo. The girl might be a Jinchuuriki, I'm sure you had noticed blue chakra in her chakra network. It was just like Toad's." Neji glanced at Toad (Nawaki).
"Yes, that's correct. But what they are doing here near Kiri?"
"I'm sure Snake (Sasuke) will find something about them," Sakura assured them as she looked at the spot where he was hiding.
"Don't worry about him Slug (Sakura), he will be fine." Toad replied as he patted her back. Sakura nodded her head before they resumed their journey towards Kiri.
Back in Kiri
"Naruto-sama? You came back!" The guards at the gate looked at him with awed expression.
"Hello, guards. Are the shinobis from Konoha have arrived?" The guards shook their heads.
"No Naruto-sama. They haven't arrived yet." Naruto nodded his head before heading towards Mei's office. He opened the door and found Mei sitting behind the desk doing paperwork.
"Mizukage-sama?" Mei looked at Naruto before motioning him to sit.
"You came back early." She said without looking away from paperwork.
"Yes. I want you to come with me." Naruto said.
"I'm busy Naruto…"
"We have company. When I was coming here I sensed powerful chakra signatures heading towards the village. I asked guards if the shinobi from Konoha have arrived and they said no. That means whoever they are…" Naruto trailed off. Mei stood up from her seat and sighed.
"Our village has weakened because of the war. The last thing we want is an invasion." She muttered under breath before signaling to anbus.
"Tightened the security around the borders. Inform Jounin and chunin level ninjas to gather at the village gate." She glanced at Naruto before exiting the office.
"You don't have to ask Mei. I'll help you to defend our village." Mei smiled at him with gratitude. She squeezed Naruto's hands before sprinting towards the village gates.
With Kumo shinobis…
"Killer B?" C called out to him when he saw the hero of Kumo sitting under the tree. The Raikage was standing there looking towards their direction.
"Change in plans. We have been informed that the Yondaime Mizukage has been killed. This means our mission is a failure. We were too late." The Raikage punched the tree with frustration before turning around. His face twitching as he snarled.
"That damn yellow flash! Always one step ahead of me." He turned to C whose eyes were staring at Raikage with shock.
"The Konoha base has been annihilated. The Akatsuki did a wonderful job."
"Raikage-sama! Why not we attack Kiri on our own. I mean we have you, Killer B and Yugito." A looked at C as if he was crazy.
"Do not underestimate our enemy C. We cannot afford to attack them now and besides; we can't leave Kumo alone for too long."
"Brother is right! We can't fight! We need to go home! Can't leave Kumo alone for too long!" Killer B gave peace sign to his fellow Jinchuuriki who nodded her head emotionlessly. Yugito stared at the back of Raikage as they left.
As expected, he hadn't even acknowledged him. Several emotions passed through her face as a lone tear slipped from her eye and lost to the wind of Kiri.
At the village gates…
"They are leaving. Mei-sama? Should we send some trackers after them?"
"There is no need to send them," Naruto spoke, his eyes were staring at the mist that was covering the whole forest.
"Mei-sama?" Ao spoke again, ignoring Naruto's answer.
Mei looked at Ao with annoyance. "Ao, your heard Naruto's kun. There is no need to send them. It'd be suicidal to send them after them." Well, Mei has a good reason but it was different from Naruto's reasons. He can't just let them go without finding out who had dared to come this close to Kiri.
Mei ordered chunins and Jounins to go back to their work when they saw several figures coming towards the village gates. They appeared from the mist.
"Don't worry about them. They are Konoha shinobi." Naruto assured Mei when he saw her taking a defensive stance as everyone around her took out kunais and prepared themselves for an attack. The Konoha shinobi showed their identities to the guards before heading towards Mei.
"Mizukage-sama." The boy who was no older than twelve stepped forward and bowed in greeting before standing straight. Mei saw four other young children were standing behind him. She could see how tense and exhausted they look. But as they spoke to introduce themselves, there was no emotion in their voices.
She saw a girl with pink hair was staring at Naruto. A boy with blonde hair was looking back and forth between her and Naruto. She greeted all of them as they followed her to their office.
"Welcome to Kirigakure. The Hokage has informed me that I should expect a team of Konoha shinobi. But he didn't mention the reason. Now that you're here, you might tell me what brought you here." Naruto looked at Mei with an annoyed expression. She knew very well about their purpose.
Mei glanced at Naruto and tried to hide her smile when she saw him glaring at her.
"The Hokage has assigned a mission to my team. Since Uzumaki Naruto is a member of our team, we were ordered to come here to take him with us on our mission." Neji stepped forward and handed the scroll to Mizukage.
"Well, it seems that the Hokage want his precious Naruto-kun back." Mei's smile widened when she saw Naruto face palmed and sighed.
"Konoha is our alley. They helped us to gain our freedom. As a Konoha shinobi, you are allowed to stay for as long as you want. I'm sure you guys need rest after a long journey."
"You bet." Mei chuckled when she heard a boy with blonde hair muttered under his breath.
"A chunin will escort you to your accommodation."
"Thank you Mizukage-sama for your hospitality." The brown haired anbu bowed before looking towards Naruto.
"Go ahead. I'll meet you there." He nodded as they left the office.
"That pink haired girl, what is she to you?" Naruto looked at Mei with a frown on his face.
"A friend, nothing else."
"Oh really? She was staring at you the whole time." Naruto stood up from his seat and sighed.
"Mei, you can't tease me like that. She is just a friend."
"I'm glad to hear that." Mei smiled cheekily at Naruto.
"Troublesome woman." He muttered before dogging the scroll.
Sakura was lost in her own world as she ate her meal. She hadn't expected Naruto to change so much.
'He is completely different now.' His looks, his personality…everything. It's like he'd transformed. But the thing that surprised the most was how Naruto reacted to their presences. She saw him looking at her when they arrived, he'd nodded his head, acknowledged her presence. But other than that nothing else. She had expected him to come to her and hug her and tell her how much he'd missed her.
She came out of her thoughts when she saw Sasuke and Neji coming towards her.
"You came early?" She looked concerned. Sasuke was about to answer when another voice spoke from behind them.
"Well, it was to be expected from an Uchiha. Everything went well I hope." Naruto was standing behind Neji and Sasuke with a tiny smile on his face as he looked at Sasuke's and Neji's surprised faces. They had been trained to sense chakra signatures, and Sasuke and Neji were considered to be the best at sensing and locating their enemies.
And to think Naruto was able to sneak upon them both at the same time without even letting them know, Sakura looked at Naruto with amazement.
'How did he?' Sasuke stared at Naruto's back as he walked into the room and settled his eyes on Sakura.
"Sakura-chan, aren't you going to give your big brother a hug." Sakura looked at Naruto with her mouth open, a confused expression on her face as she stared at Naruto until her eyes blinked when his words registered in her brain.
"Big brother." She jumped from her seat hugged him tightly. Her face covered with the biggest grin, her eyes closed as she buried her face in his chest. She felt his strong arms encircling her as she felt the familiar sense of warmth and protection.
She parted enough to take a look at his face, he was smiling at her. His long red hair covering his forehead, his violet eyes filled with warmth.
"I missed you." She felt her eyes watered when she heard his words.
"You don't know how much I missed you." She choked, she tried her best to stop her sob and closed her eyes.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere." He patted her back separating himself from her. He then turned to Nawaki who was grinning with watery eyes while rubbing his head.
"I'm not going to hug you," Nawaki said grinning. Naruto slapped Nawaki behind his back.
"It's good to see you too Nawaki."
"Hey? What was that for?" Nawaki yelled while pointing his finger at Naruto. Naruto didn't reply and turned to Sasuke.
"You have gotten stronger Naruto." The Uchiha stared at Naruto. Their eyes met and looked at each other as if they were judging each other's strength.
"So have you and Nawaki." Sasuke glanced at Nawaki, a frown mirroring his features before his face turned serious.
"I see." He replied. He leaned against the wall, crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"I'm Neji Hyuuga." Neji stepped forward and shook Naruto's hand. His eyes turned to Hinata who was looking everywhere but him. She looked nervous, she was trying to act as confident as she could. Naruto frowned, her behavior would be a problem in the battlefield. He looked at Sakura who nodded her head with understanding in her eyes.
"I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga." Finally, her eyes met with Naruto's, a small blush covering her cheeks. Naruto chuckled and shook Hinata's hand. She tried to separate her hand from his but Naruto gripped it tightly, forcing her to look at her in the eyes. Her blush increased.
"Adorable." He muttered.
"Naruto!" Sakura's annoyed voice reached his ears, he looked back and saw her looking at him irritably. He turned around and sat on one of the available chairs before looking at Neji.
"So, everything went well? You haven't faced any problems coming here do you?"
"We saw two Kumo shinobi coming towards Kiri. They were able to sense our presence." Neji began and everyone told their part of stories until it was Sasuke's turn.
"My specialties lie in assassination and stealth. I followed those two, they met with Raikage and Killer B." Naruto's eyes widened slightly.
"Are you sure the other with the Raikage was Killer B."
"I'm positive. They were talking and mentioned each other's names. That killer B guy was talking in raps. There was a girl with blonde hair, her name was Yugito. She stayed silent, didn't say anything. They were talking about the Akatsuki members who were ordered to destroy a Konoha's base." Naruto listened to Sasuke attentively.
"This is not good," Naruto muttered under his breath.
"What do you mean?" Nawaki said curiously. Sakura was looking worried.
"Killer B is the second most powerful shinobi of Kumo. He is a Jinchuuriki, just like you Nawaki. He is a Jinchuuriki of Hachibi." Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Nawaki placed his hand on his stomach, a worry echoed on his face.
"He is the strongest Jinchuuriki. The question is, what the Raikage, Killer B, and those other two shinobi were doing so close to Kiri. Even I felt their presence. The information that Sasuke have given us, it seems they were here to meet with the Mizukage. But this current Mizukage is allied with Konoha, with their enemy."
In the land of Sound
It had been two years since they were assigned for this mission. Their mission objectives were to locate Orochimaru's bases in the land of Sound formerly known as the Land of Rice Fields. In two years they had come to know many things related to Orochimaru. They had encountered his subordinates and his soldiers-shinobi with cursed seals.
Orochimaru, as they had predicted had always been one step ahead of them. He was a snake alright and knew how to run away from his enemies. Kabuto had been another matter altogether. He was not arrogant like Orochimaru and he knew not to underestimate Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha.
"He is not even here," Shisui said to Itachi as they searched the third hideout.
"It was Orochimaru's hideout no doubt about it. Those abnormal humans that we killed were evidence that he'd done experiments here." Itachi tried to open the door of the last remaining room but found it locked with seals.
"Just destroy it," Shisui suggested from behind. With two Doton jutsu, they destroyed the door as well as surrounding walls. They went inside, Itachi's and Shisui'ss Sharingan glowing in the darkness as they looked around the room for any traps.
"As I predicted, no traps in this room. He thought no one would be able to come this close to this room. He is too arrogant." Shisui said as he started going through the documents that were scattered in the room.
"Having confidence in your abilities is a good thing but having overconfidence in your abilities will lead you to become arrogant, and this arrogance will be your downfall one day." Itachi's eyes roamed around the room as it captured documents about different bloodlines and jutsus. He was about to give up when his eyes landed on a black scroll that was labeled as Uzumaki.
Curious, he picked the scroll and looked at the name closely. "Uzumaki…Naruto?"
"Hmm? What about him?" Shisui questioned without looking away from the scroll he was reading.
"Why Orochimaru have the scroll on Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Open it and you will find out why?" Shisui said before turning around sharply towards Itachi. "Wait, what?" He abandoned everything and snatched scroll from Itachi's hand. He saw with his own eyes the name of his friend.
Shisui looked at Itachi who nodded his head. A sense of dread filling their heart. Shisui's hand trembled slightly as he unlocked the scroll. With one glance at Itachi, he opened it.
Their worlds turned upside down when they read the first words written in the scroll.
'THE PARENTAGE OF UZUMAKI NARUTO.'