Once again in Unsealing Legacy! Hello dear readers, this is the next chapter you've been waiting for and it thanks to Garrorar for helping me to bring it for you in better quality!
At any rate this is some sort of intermission chapter, since as some reviewers commented is one heavy and packed with action chapter. The fight in last chapter is one of the best I ever wrote... but it's also long and tedious to write. I am sure my readers also bored and skip lots of it... ;_; I need practice to organize fighting scene in better arrangement. Even I who wrote it, keep falling asleep and bored...

So here is a breather for you! More funny but also serious!

"Danzou, you alone are not Konoha."
Hakurei to Danzou, a message from Uzumaki Naruto

12th Legacy: Whirling Chronicle

Shin had to admit their somewhat desperate decision to accept Uzumaki Naruto's help was probably the best thing he ever did for his little brother. The moment he said yes, Uzumaki asked them to show the tracking seal Danzou put on them. He even ignored his teammates' protests that he needed to recover before attempting anything chakra related. Naruto pointed out that they had to do it now or risk their safety if Danzou found out Shin and Sai were alive. It only took the blond a few minutes scrutinizing the tracking seal on their collar bone, a slight pain from chakra burns, and just like that the tracking seal was gone. Naruto claimed the seal was indeed a high level one but the design was based on a standard tracking seal, and that anyone from the tower could crack it in record time. Fortunately due to Tower's isolated nature, Danzou was pretty much out of touch with the recent seal developments in the tower so he had no idea that his seal was already outdated.

Maybe for Uzumaki Naruto, what he did was as significant as slapping away a mosquito. But to the shinobi of Ne, the Ne Himo no Fuuin (Seal of Root Leash) was the shackle that becomes thicker and stronger like a growing root throughout their life. Shin and Sai knew they were not completely safe from their former master yet, but freedom from that seal felt like a burden on their shoulders was lifted. Shin hadn't even managed to say a thank you when Uchiha Shisui grabbed Naruto who seemed ready to keel over and carried the young seal master on his back, screaming about brats who don't know their own limits.

Uchiha Itachi asked them to follow, the ANBU subtly slowing his pace so he walked right behind them. The Uchiha heir's attitude of being vigilant around them did not offend Shin, since just a while ago they were trying their best to kill his friend after all. Sai and Shin were really surprised to see that Tou and Rui were captured. They were not as strong as their cousins Torune and Fuu, but they were still a part of Ne's elites. Sai calmly noted that Tou and Rui were unconscious and being the observant brat he was, Sai was puzzled as to why their condition was similar to the paralyzed state that the Iwazaru no Fuuin causes.

Shisui had a shit-eating grin on his face in response, "Of course it looks like that, they're really paralyzed because of the seal Danzou put on your tongue."

Itachi narrowed his eyes at them, and even without activating his Sharingan Shin could honestly say that the Uchiha heir didn't need them to be intimidating. "I am sure Danzou informed you that The Tower of Seals is off limits for you, do you know why?"

Sai shook his head, "We were only told that the consequences would be dire for us and Ne."

It seemed that Danzou really loved playing the cryptic bastard, Shisui thought. Then again Danzou was too proud to tell his subordinates about one of his greatest mishaps. Shisui pointed at the seal grafted bandage that bound the two elites of Ne, "See this seal? This is the reason why you Ne-folks are banned from The Tower." Shisui grinned, "This seal is a nasty trap for anyone who has the Iwazaru no Fuuin on their body, it forcefully activates your seal even if you're mute. I heard Danzou had the shame of a life time when Hakurei-dono sent him back his crippled agents who tried to spy on the Tower." Sai and Shin blanched at that, all of them were given a taste of the pain the seal could inflict after it was grafted on them. They didn't doubt it at all that continuous activation would cripple even the strongest Shinobi.

Sai swallowed while Shin paled at the memory, the pain he experienced when he almost slipped his agreement about Sai with Danzou was immense. And judging from constant spasms that ran through the elite's bodies, Shin knew they had to be feeling the pain continuously. And from the look the Uchiha cousins gave them, Shin and Sai weren't stupid to be oblivious of the implied threat. If they dare to betray Naruto, they would face the same fate as Tou and Rui.

"Don't worry, we kept the effect to a minimum to keep them unconscious. They're in no danger of dying." Itachi stated. "This is the seal called Kannon no Ōkanno Fuuin- Kannon's crown seal... "Itachi continued, "A fitting name, don't you think?"

A testament of how the Tower, especially the Shiomitsu clan loved to slight those who dared to make an enemy out of them. Danzou in particular was their favorite target. This ward type seal was named after the mythological crown Goddess Kannon used on Son Goku to control him, basically a crown to control an arrogant monkey like Danzou as Hakurei put it. That was one rare moment where he and Shisui were thoroughly scared out of their wits by Hakurei who was five times older than they were. The old seal master had a borderline psychotic smile as he regaled the tale of how red Danzou was when he and his twin brother told the old war hawk that the tower was off limits and Danzou was welcomed to try. Also, because Danzou keyed in his chakra to the Iwazaru no Fuuin, which requires him to have a control seal engraved on his body, the ward would affect the old war hawk too. Danzou of course never tried his luck. The old cripple tried to get around the seal for years but so far he never succeeded. Danzou was proficient in the sealing arts, but he was no match to Hakurei. Sarutobi was thoroughly confused as to why the twins kept asking him to extend an invitation to Danzou for tea ever since, or why his rival fumed whenever he gave the message. Of course it didn't take long for the Sandaime to find out, and the old kage wisely kept it to himself.

Konoha, Hokage's Tower

"This is unreasonable." Hiruzen gritted out to his old friend and comrade, though after everything they had gone through the Sandaime didn't know if he could still call Hakurei as such and vice versa.

Hakurei, being the old manipulative bastard he was didn't back down even when the Sandaime started leaking killing intent. "It's reasonable." Hakurei retorted, "Naruto-sama doesn't need distractions."

"You just want to keep him attached to The Tower and your people, cutting his ties with Konoha!" The Sandaime spat in anger, "You have no right! Kakashi and Jiraiya have the right be in his life, Kakashi was like a surrogate son to Minato and Jiraiya is his godfather!"

The seal master snorted, "Cutting his ties with Konoha? You think so lowly of me now, Hiruzen?" He shook his head, "I have not forbidden him to be a Shinobi of Konoha, or become a friend of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. Don't you forget Hiruzen; my clan is a vassal of the Uzumaki. I have no right to dictate his life! If Naruto-sama wants to protect this ungrateful village, then so be it. I doubt I could convince him to do otherwise… in spite of everything, this place is his home."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed at that, "And yet you requested me to withhold information about Naruto from Kakashi and Jiraiya… to tell them nothing other than that he was safe and sound in Konoha."

Hakurei crossed his arms, "What's the difference from what you've told them? I know they never tried to inquire more than you told him of his life!" Sarutobi flinched at that, "They fear the guilt that would consume them if they know… that they abandoned him to hateful villagers that couldn't differentiate between the prison and prisoner!"

"I told them to stay away! How easy did you think it would be to put two and two together if they're involved with a blond blue eyed child?!" The Sandaime gritted out. "It would put Naruto-kun in danger!"

"Of course!" Hakurei agreed in sardonic tone, "The villagers of Konoha are much dumber than our enemies that they couldn't see that! Ha!" He barked a laugh that eerily reminded Sarutobi of Hashirama-sama when he was drunk.

Sarutobi gritted his teeth, "You couldn't compare them, and the villagers couldn't even bear to look at Naruto's face to…"

Hakurei slammed his fist on his desk, "There you say it! Did that Hatake brat and Jiraiya ever told you how much it pains them to see Naruto-sama? I bet they couldn't! I don't know them, I admit… but their absence from Naruto-sama's life tells me that much! You order them to stay away? Since when… did you think that two of the most brilliant shinobi in Konoha couldn't get around of that simple restriction? They probably didn't even put up a fight when you asked them!"

The Sandaime ran his fingers through his wrinkled face, ashamed that he couldn't defend Jiraiya and Kakashi. Though to be fair, there's nothing to defend. "Hakurei… while it's understandable you don't want them to be anywhere near Naruto-kun, the decision is still Naruto-kun's… if one day…"

Hakurei snorted, "Of course that's if that one day ever comes, I wouldn't prevent them… however… if they want to be in his life they have to earn that right and not just take it for granted because of who they were to Naruto-sama's parents."

"They're…"The Sandaime trailed off.

"Nobodies who had done nothing for Naruto-sama." Hakurei cut the old kage off, "Their relationship with Minato-kun and Kushina-sama is meaningless to me the moment they chose to live in bliss of ignorance of Naruto-sama's suffering."

Sarutobi clenched his fist, he knew that but whenever someone tells him to his face it was still painful to accept. Kakashi was still grieving, and even when he was barely able to hold himself together Sarutobi couldn't imagine how Kakashi could bear to look at the splitting image of his sensei and Kushina. Jiraiya… was faring better than Kakashi, but the sannin was still wallowing in guilt for not being there when Minato died. Both of them saw Naruto as a reminder of their loss.

"Very well…" He conceded reluctantly, "I will do as you say Hakurei, as long as you do the same."

Hakurei nodded, "Of course, unlike your villagers… I know of my obligations."

Sarutobi sighed wearily, "It seems you've taking a liking in guilt-tripping me, Hakurei…"

He snorted, "I don't… but unfortunately everything concerning my brother..." Sarutobi flinched, "And Naruto-sama… are things that give you guilt. Guilt that you won't overcome anytime soon." He shook his head, "You have made a lot of mistakes Sarutobi and I don't know if I could ever forgive you, but you have to know one thing…"

"… What is it?"

"I will never betray Naruto-sama, and in extension Konoha. I won't betray Konoha, for his sake." He stated solemnly, "Be grateful to Naruto-sama for that."

"I owe Naruto-kun too much already… I guess I will start to pay the debt in mine and Konoha's behalf."

Hakurei snorted, "About time."

Koishi no Kuni (Country of Pebbles)

They took a detour to a small village, renting a room to rest for the night. Shin and Sai were tasked to carry Rui and Tou to their room Shinobi style-via a window so they wouldn't need to waste chakra to disguise their captives. They rented one big room enough for five people, Tou and Rui didn't count since Shisui made sure they wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Shin was really glad he and Sai weren't in their position now, since on top of the Kannon no Ōkanno Fuuin- Kannon's crown seal, Uchiha Shisui placed a chakra suppression seal, a tracking seal, and any number of seals you could name to be placed on prisoners. Shinobi could never be too careful, but they were really going overboard with their paranoia especially if the concerned captives were out cold. Shin was sure that even if Tou and Rui could wake up now, it was next to impossible for them to escape.

The Uchiha cousins were really dangerous people, Shin thought. He quickly amended that when Shisui placed the stack of seals back into one of Naruto's storage seals, wondering out loud if they had used up all the types of seals that Naruto prepared in case of having captives. Sai and Shin at the same time looked at the sleeping Uzumaki Naruto in disbelief. He never struck them as someone who was paranoid enough to be this crazily prepared, especially with how reckless he fought and how he lectured his enemies in the heat of battle. On top of that, he easily offered help to someone who just tried to kill him, going as far as providing asylum even.

Then again, you couldn't judge Shinobi from their cover.

The said Uzumaki Naruto was pretty much out of commission though. It seemed in spite of being a jinchuuriki and an Uzumaki the blond was not infallible. The fight was really taking a toll on the Uzumaki's heir, his superficial wounds were healing nicely but the stress his chakra coils suffered have caused a fever and immense pain. Sai and Shin were worried but they didn't dare come close because the Uchihas looked ready to kill them if they ever did. The Uchiha cousins fussed over the blond in a subtle but creepily mother-hen-ish manner. In spite of everything they were sure Uzumaki Naruto was not in danger of dying, so they watched in thorough bemusement at the scene.

Uchiha Itachi especially – and there's really only one word for it – hovered. Uchiha Shisui at least while being worried gave the Uzumaki his space, Shisui eventually chose to tend to their captives to make sure the seals were working properly, and not in danger of dying. Uchiha Itachi in the other hand was close to hysterics in spite of the Uchiha's signature stoic face. The Uchiha sat beside Naruto's futon, a slight crease in his brow as he all but catered to Naruto's needs without the blond ever opening his mouth to request anything, a change of clothes, a wet cloth for compress, wiping sweat, drinks and so on.

"Itachi…" Naruto opened his eyes slowly, one of his eyes closed as Itachi wiped the sweat near his eyebrow. "It's getting late… you need to rest too..."

The Uchiha heir frowned, "I would be fine." His voice was even, but Naruto could tell Itachi was being stubborn.

Naruto sighed wearily at that, "Itachi… don't be stubborn, you're even weaker than Shisui in terms of stamina… if you force yourself you'll not be in top condition for travel." Naruto could hear Shin's breath hitch even though he was sitting in far corner with Sai, the white haired boy probably found it funny Naruto chided the Uchiha Itachi so bluntly like that.

Itachi opened his mouth to protest but Shisui entered the room with two trays of food, "It's a bit late for dinner but I think we need to fill our stomachs with something before we sleep." He said as he put one tray near Itachi and Naruto, the other was placed near the surrogate brothers. "You guys should eat too, it's just porridge, hot spring boiled eggs and pickled radish though."

Shin beamed as he bowed to Shisui in gratitude followed by Sai, "Thanks!"

In another corner of the room Naruto scowled, "Itachi." He began, glaring at the spoon that shoved in front of his mouth by Itachi. "I can eat by myself."

"Your arm is fractured, remember?" Itachi pointed out.

"It's not my dominant arm!" Naruto retorted with a huff.

"Don't be stubborn." Itachi said, echoing Naruto's words from before. "Just eat."

Naruto flushed a deep red, "Look who's talking!" He pointed an accused finger at the Uchiha, and Itachi took his chance to shove the spoon on Naruto's mouth. "Hmph!"

In the end after arguing and failing to snatch the spoon from Itachi's hand for five minutes, Naruto gave in and let Itachi feed him... He never got sick before so he never had the chance, and even though his vassals catered to his needs whenever he asked–which was once in a blue moon–it was not the same. It was embarrassing but Naruto couldn't help but feel happy to be spoiled once in a while.

In spite of the indignant look he had on his face, Itachi was glad that Naruto allowed himself to be spoiled for once. Naruto had always tried to be independent when it comes to his needs. Even though he had everyone in the tower willing to cater his needs, Itachi knew that Naruto rarely asked for anything. He cooks, cleans, washes on his own, just like he had always done since the Hokage allowed him to live by himself. Itachi himself was rarely spoiled by his parents, and he grew up so fast that he became an adult by Shinobi standards the moment he became genin. Naruto on the other hand was simply never used to being spoiled by anyone, and was unfortunate enough to mature before he ever had the chance.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the faint smile on Itachi's face, a silent query of what he was smiling for. Itachi just chuckled softly as he gave Naruto another spoonful of porridge, and Naruto understood Itachi was happier than he was for this situation. Itachi was so weird sometimes, not that he disagreed. It felt… nice.

Hi No Kuni's border, 2 hours journey from Konoha

"So… Naruto, we got two ex-Ne brats and two lackeys with us." Shisui said to Naruto who was hitching a ride on Itachi's back.

After a lot of arguments on their part, Naruto gave in and let Itachi help him on the way back since he was not in a prime condition to travel. Naruto had recovered from his wounds but he still had a fever and would often get slightly dizzy, unfortunately they couldn't afford another day to rest on the road. There are still problems ahead concerning their captives though.

"What's our plan?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the genjutsu expert, "We have a plan?"

"We do?" Itachi chimed in.

Shisui's left eye twitched at the deadpan response from his teammates; sometimes they were so alike that it was annoying. "We should! Why bring those four if we don't? How the hell do we explain them to the Shinobi doing gate duty?!"

The blond rolled his eyes, "Logically we'd use a backdoor and use kage-bunshin to walk through the front gate to avoid suspicion."

Shisui blinked owlishly at that, "I thought you didn't have a plan?!" He asked in an incredulous tone.

"Shisui… that's not really a plan as much as it's just the logical thing to do when you have extra baggage and don't want to explain the circumstances of how you got it." Itachi pointed out in solemn tone.

The curly haired Uchiha scowled, "Not everyone can be you and Naruto." He mumbled under his breath, "Aah… at least that's one problem out of the way." He deadpanned.

Shin who was walking with Sai a few steps ahead from them rolled his eyes, "So now we're extra baggage." He grumbled in annoyed tone, man… Rui is heavy!

Sai who had Tou on his back nodded in agreement, "We are."

Two hours later after their kage bunshin greeted the sleepy guards, Naruto and his team used one of Shiomitsu's secret passages to reach the tower. Tokusa and Shion caught up with them mid-way to check on their condition. The Shiomitsus were enraged upon knowing Naruto's condition and would have gotten in on another argument with the Uchihas but Naruto chided them before they could. They had more pressing concerns in hand now. Shion in particular was hysteric that their master wanted to bring Ne members to the Tower. Tokusa was not sure it was a good idea either, but it was their young master's wish.

"We owe Uzumaki-san our life." Shin stated calmly, "I understand that you can't trust us, but we have nowhere to go and we're already dead to that man."

Sai nodded hesitantly. "Nii-san is right."

Shion frowned at them, "As if we can just…" He trailed off.

"Besides!" Shin cut him off, "We're damn weaker than you all! I am sure anyone here can kill us even in their sleep! Not to mention Uchiha Shisui confiscated our weapons, so we're really helpless now!" He declared proudly.

"…" Sai stared at his surrogate brother and wondered if Shin was losing his sanity.

"You know…" Shisui began, "There's nothing to be so proud about your current condition."

"I am not!" Shin agreed. "I am just telling the truth!"

Tokusa's left eye twitched, "You don't sounds like someone helpless for sure."

Shion rubbed his head. "So there's someone like this in that man's organization… "

Tokusa stared at Shin in amazement, "Why are you not brain dead yet in Ne?" He wondered out loud.

"Because I'm awesome?" Shin guessed.

At moment all of them sans Naruto and the ex-Ne thought, no wonder Danzou wanted him dead.

"At any rate..." Naruto trailed off, "Shion, we need you to place a barrier on them. If not they won't be able to enter the tower."

Shion hesitated but as a Shiomitsu, he was a vassal of the Uzumaki and would obey their commands. "As you wish... young master." Shion was a blacksmith seal master like other Shiomitsu clan members, and he was the first disciple of Hakurei. While he was a formidable combat seal master himself, he was a seal master that specialized in creating barriers, which are called Kekkaishi.

Shion ordered Sai and Shin to show him their backs, which made the two stiffen. Shinobi don't expose their backs so easily, and it was hard to fight their ingrained instincts as Shion's brush painted a seal on their backs. "Please relax." Shion instructed coolly, "The next procedure would be slightly unpleasant." The seal master formed four hand seals, Ox-Tori-Snake-Dragon!

"Kesshō shōheki no Fuuin-Crystal Barrier Seal!"

Shin and Sai gasped when Shion slammed his chakra-coated hands on their backs and they were sent sprawling to the ground. Shisui couldn't help but burst to a fit of laughter when he saw the two had their faces comically planted on the ground. "Ha ha ha ha ha!"

The brothers groaned in pain as they stood up, their eyebrows twitched when they saw particles of chakra glimmering above their skin. "What the hell is this?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Shisui laughed louder, tears pooling on the corner of his onyx eyes. "You gave them bishie sparkles!"

Shion turned at Shisui with murderous look on his face, "I beg your pardon?" He snarled.

The curly haired Uchiha snorted, "My sides hurt! Seriously Shion! I didn't know there's a seal to give someone bishie sparkles! And here I thought it's only a privilege of bishies like Itachi!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "Since when have I ever sparkled?" He wondered out loud.

"Shion-niisan is the best kekkaishi of the tower!" Tokusa roared at his rival, "How dare you insult our barrier technique!"

"Geez! Can't you take a joke! I swear sometimes you're worse than the majority of my clan, have you no sense of humor?" Shisui asked cheerfully.

Naruto sighed, and decided to interrupt before they got into another argument. "Your bickering makes my headache worse, can you please speak softer?" The Shiomitsu clamped their mouths shut, horrified that they made their master even more uncomfortable. Shisui quieted down but snickered at the Shiomitsu's horrified face. "Shion... do the same to the other two. We can't have them crippled because of our ward..." Naruto motioned to Tou and Rui, "Make sure the other suppressant seals are still in place... we don't need them waking up anytime soon."

"Hai! Naruto-sama!" Tokusa and Shion chorused.

The Tower of Sealing (Fuuin no Tou)

It took Naruto less than half an hour to explain the situation and how he predicted Danzou could react, which would trouble both The Tower and Uchiha clan if they acted recklessly. The Uchiha cousins watched with a sense of trepidation when Naruto mischievously leaned in and whispered something to Hakurei's ear conspiratorially, earning a smirk from the aged seal master.

"I don't see why not?" Hakurei said with a voice that was far too calm for someone who just received shocking news of how his master was attacked and brought back two defected Ne kids and two captives to boot. Shin and Sai gaped at the old seal master, he granted their request for asylum so easily! They thought the tower hated Ne with passion and yet they were off of the hook just like that?

Hakurei sighed wearily, "Of course... we're going to be putting a tracking seal and other standard seals for captives under probation... we also can't let you out of our tower for at least..." He trailed off, "A year or so? It depends on how you behave of course."

Naruto who insisted to be present in Hakurei's office smiled at his oldest vassal, "Thank you Hakurei..."

The old seal master crossed his arms, "Well... I can see your reason to give asylum to Sai-kun, young master..."

"That's not my only reason you know..." Naruto murmured with a sigh. "He and his brother need it, and I couldn't let them be discarded on Danzou's whim..."

Hakurei cleared his throat, and then looked at the puzzled ex-Ne children. "First of all... you should know that you received asylum in our tower because of Naruto-sama's generosity." He stated firmly.

Naruto groaned, "Hakurei... can we please just get on with it."

"Of course young master." Hakurei replied with a smile, "That's the first reason, second... it's because of Sai's unique skill... " The painter shinobi blinked owlishly at that, "I am sure that Danzou told you, animating ink is unique to you alone." Sai nodded hesitantly at that, "That's a lie, there's used to be a small clan in Uzushiogakure, seal masters who specialize in animating ink... the Sanseki clan. They're a small clan but close to the Uzumaki and Shiomitsu clans... when the village fell... they left together with another half of my clan that was supposed to arrive a few years after mine to Konoha… but they were attacked and separated." He shook his head sadly, "You're probably one of the last of them..."

Sai's eyes went wide at that, "I have a clan?"

Naruto smiled at the pale skinned boy, "Yes of course... you do."

Shion who stood beside Hakurei's chair blanched, "Shishou... you don't mean that Danzou, he..."

The blond sighed, "I suspected as much when I saw Sai for the first time..."

Itachi and Shisui looked at each other, frowning at the implication. Hakurei nodded, "Danzou has been poaching children since forever, but I thought he is smart enough to limit himself to war orphans... " He gritted his teeth, "I wouldn't put it past him since if he dared to poach from the Aburame and Yamanaka, he won't hesitate to steal Sai from survivors of Uzushiogakure..." Of course he didn't dismiss the possibility that Danzou was involved in the attack that separated his clan from the Sanseki. He recalled the rivalry between Danzou and Hiruzen was at its peak when Uzushio fell.

"So my parents are..." Sai murmured hesitantly.

Hakurei sighed wearily, "Danzou likes his recruits to be as young as possible, easy to mold to his liking..." One thing he shared with Hiruzen's traitorous student. "The Sanseki clan is relatively unknown outside of Uzushio..." And they were meant to be that way since they mostly work in reconnaissance missions, "If they had gone to hiding like the rest of Uzushio's survivors, it is likely that Danzou wouldn't hesitate to eliminate the adults so the trace of missing children is perfectly erased."

Shin hugged Sai comfortingly, he was glad Sai could find his origins but it was sad to know their former master killed their parents to get them. Sai didn't cry but Shin could tell the younger boy was shaken to the core by the revelation.

"Your name is Shin right?" Hakurei inquired.

Shin nodded, his arms still encircled around his brother protectively. "Yes... let me guess, my hair color is a common trait of a certain clan in Kiri or something?" He wondered out loud, at Hakurei's nod he sighed. "I have been told the color is unusual in Fire Country." His bluish grey hair was not common in Hi no Kuni but in Mizu no Kuni. It was likely that he wasn't from this country either, and considering Kiri's state of civil war... It's very likely his history was not so different from Sai's.

"I see..." Hakurei sighed, "Yes, I agree that you probably hailed from Kiri. Danzou has no bounds when it comes to recruiting for his foundation." He shook his head exasperatedly. "Considering Kiri's state... and other factors, I suggest you to not try to look for your clan. An unusual hair color usually meant a bloodline limit, and the Mizukage has recently gone mad and decided to slaughter all clans with bloodlines..."

Shin shook his head frantically, "Of course not, I will always be with Sai. Even though it's a bit sad that I probably would never meet my biological family, I have decided to be Sai's brother!"

"Nii-san..." Sai murmured, "Are you sure?"

"Of course! Do you think I have a heart to leave my beloved little brother for unknown family I have in bloody mist?" He asked in incredulous tone, "Not in thousand years!"

Hakurei watched Shin fussed over his surrogate brother, reminding him of his late brother Sangetsu. These children were so lucky they got a chance to start a new life after what Danzou had done to them, looking at the Yamanaka and Aburame they captured however, Hakurei was not sure if those two could ever live a normal life.

He cleared his throat, "Naruto-sama, what would you like me to do?" Hakurei asked in solemn tone.

His young master was still weak from the ordeal he had been put through yesterday, but he could see determination in those blue eyes. A sharp mind and a benevolent heart that made his clan fall in love with their young master. "Do your best Hakurei." He said with knowing smile.

The old seal master flashed a somewhat childish grin in response, "As you wish young master… I presume we will approach Yamanaka Inoichi and Aburame Shibi after I am done with a certain someone?"

Naruto laughed softly at that, "Ha ha ha… of course."

"Naruto-kun?" Itachi called, "You're not thinking to ask Hakurei-dono to…"

Hakurei grabbed the broad sword he hung on the wall of his office, the sword's length rivaled Tenrou with a thicker handle and a wider one edged blade. Shisui whistled when Hakurei took his arms off of his kimono sleeve, revealing a muscled and scarred body beneath. Shion stuttered at his teacher, "Shishou! You can't possibly be thinking of…"

"Remember your age!" Tokusa chimed in.

"Shut up brats!" Hakurei roared, hoisting his heavy blade against his shoulder. "You think I can stay idle after what that old cripple did to our master! I gotta go take him down a peg or two!" In his daily dealings Hakurei was a calm and composed sealing division's leader, but in private he was temperamental, boisterous and could swear like a sailor.

Shisui blinked owlishly, "Eh… in case you've forgotten, you're the same age as…hmph!" Itachi covered Shisui's mouth just in time before his cousin could mouth off the temperamental seal master. Hakurei bowed to his young master who was still a bit red on the face because of his fever and then went out of his office with triumphant look.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed then turned to Sai and Shin, "Tokusa, please show them a room to rest… and Shion, make a preparation to undo their Iwazaru no Fuuin." He shot the two an apologetic look, "The preparation will take the whole day, and until then… we have to keep you confined in a warded room. Shion's barrier will run out soon and it takes a lot of chakra…" It would be a long wait for them, and Naruto felt guilty he had to treat them like prisoners but they had no choice. They couldn't afford to deactivate the Kannon no Ōkanno Fuuin- Kannon's crown seal, and if they were exposed for even a moment to the wards, Shin and Sai would be in a lot of pain.

Sai shook his head, "Uzumaki-san, you have already helped us a lot, waiting for one more day is no trouble for us…"

Shin bobbed his head up and down, "Yeah! We've already been locked for three days without food and water to develop our resistance! This would be a piece of cake! Waiting for one more…" He trailed off then clamped his mouth shut.

All the Shinobi in the room unconsciously emitted killing intent at the story Shin unintentionally blurted out. Shinobi or not, that kind of training was simply inhuman for children as young as they were. Shin didn't say anything as he and his brother were led by Tokusa to their room to rest, but all of them knew there must have been children that didn't survive Danzou's harsh training. Children died all the time in the Shinobi world, especially during war. However in case of Ne's children, they had no say in their life at all and died for an ideal that's not theirs. It was sad that in a way Ne exists because Konoha needed them, and in the process their village gave a great deal of leeway in their dealings, quite possibly far too much leeway.

Hokage's Tower

Hatake Kakashi was tired of living sometimes. It was a sick blessing that his father's suicide prevented him from doing the same. Kakashi didn't want to choose that easy way out of his misery. He had lost so many people in his life to a point that he was so tired of it, the reason he joined ANBU was to save his comrades in the most dangerous missions available to Konoha ANBUs. To prove that Kakashi Hatake who had failed to save his teammates and sensei was still capable of protecting his comrades.

He just wanted a reason to keep living after so many mistakes that cost him their lives, Obito, Rin and Minato-sensei. Obito and Rin were dead because of his arrogance and carelessness. You would think after Obito's death, Kakashi would have learned that a mission could easily go south and beyond. He had to fuck up again in a simple reconnaissance mission and Kiri Shinobi captured Rin. He managed to save Rin from Kiri's clutches a few days later, or so he thought but when he found out from Rin what they had done to her, he knew he had once again failed to protect his teammate.

Kiri had made her a jinchuuriki, one with a timer seal that would fail the moment they reached Konoha's border. Rin pleaded that she was just their pawn now, so he should kill her to protect Konoha. How could she ask him to break his promise to Obito? Even if it's for Konoha's sake?
In the end he killed Rin, or rather she made him do it. Kakashi would be lying if a part of him wasn't relieved by her choice. Sometimes to Shinobi, death was just a better option than living, and this was one of those moments. Rin accepted his killing blow, and he even saw her nod in gratitude.

Everything went black after that. Kakashi expected him to be killed there but at least he and Rin would be dead to suffer whatever the pissed off Kiri nins were going to put them through. He regretted that he didn't have enough chakra left to destroy Obito's sharingan though, but Obito would have chosen to save Rin rather than ensuring his eyes didn't fall to enemy hands. He would apologize to Obito later in the afterlife.

Miraculously after he lost consciousness from shock and chakra exhaustion, Rin's body was still there and the Kiri team was dead, mauled by something beyond recognition. Kakashi brought Rin's body with him to Konoha, puzzling over miracle that left him alive.

He thought he was cursed, the Kyuubi had killed Minato-sensei and Kushina-neesan, why did everyone have to die while he was left alive? Did someone above hate him so much that they let him live in this world to keep failing to protect those he held dear?

Kakashi decided to avoid his sensei's legacy, fearing the curse would follow and the baby would die on him too. It was an excuse of course; he knew but he couldn't help it. When Naruto was four, he braced himself to at least go to take a look at him in the orphanage. It was painful to see the boy; he looked so much like his parents, and he had bubbly and cheerful personality like Obito and Kushina. It was as if the boy existed to torture him. It was not Naruto's fault to be born the way he was, but Kakashi feared for his sanity if he was too close and lost Naruto too. He was still too weak, too pitiful to enter Naruto's life. The Hokage as if knowing of his dilemma forbid him to be in direct contact with Naruto, fearing someone would make the connection between Yondaime's legacy and his last surviving student. Kakashi didn't know if he hated the Sandaime or was grateful to him for it.

Today was the first time he returned to Konoha after six months, a rare long term ANBU mission that required him to be in Hi no Kuni's borders. As usual whenever he reported to the Hokage he asked about Naruto's whereabouts, nothing detailed, as long as he knew his sensei's son was alive and breathing he could live with that. He didn't want to know what kind of shitty childhood Naruto had to go through because of his jinchuuriki status; he didn't want to hope to be there for Naruto, and risk failing to protect his precious person again.

However since the last year the Hokage started to act a little weird whenever he asked, usually the Sandaime tried to go add little details about Naruto's life, which he mostly tried to tune out. Such as the boy's latest prank, how much ramen he could inhale in one go, or how bad he was doing in class and so on. However since last year the old kage just answered his query curtly, Naruto was fine and well cared for, no more details. The last time he heard of Naruto, the boy started to take his education seriously and became a history buff for some unexplainable reason.

As far as Kakashi concerned that was a sign Naruto was doing well in life, and he didn't need Kakashi to be there for him. Good for both of them then.

While one of his best Shinobi was in the bliss of ignorance after leaving his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. He was feeling old and tired more than ever, hopefully there's no more trouble coming their way for a long while. He was not sure if he could survive the next conflict with his sanity intact.

Unfortunately for Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had no idea what's going to happen between his two old comrades.

Ne's Headquarters

Danzou scowled when he received the intel about his subordinate's confrontation with Uzumaki Naruto and his Uchiha teammates. He didn't mind that none of the Ne trainees he sent survived the confrontation, but the blasted Uchihas killed his fully pledged Shinobi and left only three to return to him. Unfortunately the three were assigned to separate the jinchuuriki away from the Uchiha, so they had no idea of what happened in confrontation between the failures he sent and the jinchuuriki.

As if that's not bad enough he lost Aburame Tou and Yamanaka Rui. Contrary to what Sarutobi believed, he never stole children from the Aburame and Yamanaka clans. Both clans were prominent in Konoha, and considered as nobility in their village while the other was vassal of a noble clan. However there are members of both clans who believed in his vision of Konoha. They're loyal to him and ideal Konoha he strived for, and he used them for the greater good of Konoha. They were as frustrated as he was with the softhearted Sarutobi, and that their clan heads were loyal to someone like him.

He was snapped out of his musings when the door of his office was torn open by a familiar broad sword, and he was greeted by the maniacal grin of his old enemy. "Shiomitsu… Hakurei." The jinchuuriki made it back to the tower it seemed, and his lapdog was pissed.

"Yo… Danzou! It's been a long while since the last time I saw your ugly face." The Shiomitsu said as one of his legs stepped on Danzou's desk.

Danzou sighed as he could see the body trail Hakurei made on the way from the destroyed door. He wondered how a crude man like Hakurei managed to get here without triggering a single alarm. Then again this man was someone he considered his and Hiruzen's equal. He was also a formidable combat seal master, Danzou was sure Hakurei could give him or Hiruzen the run for their money.

"I see you have come because my boys roughed up your precious prince a little?" Danzou asked in saccharine tone.

Hakurei snorted at that, the way Danzou called his puppets sounded like they were precious enough for the war hawk to care for their fates. "Oh please… do you have any idea who are you dealing with?" He asked testily as he brought down his sword on Danzou.

"I can say the same to you…" Danzou returned, blocking Hakurei's broadsword with his kunai. Danzou scowled at the heavy blow that almost sent him sprawling on the ground but before Hakurei cut him in two, Danzou jumped away from the seal master. His eyes narrowed, his precious mahogany table was being crushed under Hakurei's foot by each passing second. "A brute as always Hakurei… one couldn't tell what kind of Shinobi you are judging from how you engrossed yourselves in servitude to Uzumaki clan and the Tower."

"Heh! Long ago… when you still have a good head on your shoulders…" Hakurei droned, "I remember I was sent frequently by Mito-sama to support your team in the front lines." He said in a nostalgic tone, his eyes never leaving Danzou, "I still remember Kagami's stupid jokes, his son has the same terrible sense of humor by the way… "

Danzou frowned at the name of his deceased teammate, "If you're here just to talk about old days, just leave…"

Hakurei laughed softly, "Hit a nerve, didn't I? You're always a jealous one… especially of Hiruzen and Kagami, Tobirama-sama was always fond of those two…" Looking at Danzou's growing ire Hakurei dropped the issue, "But hey! I am not here to poke on your unresolved inferiority complex… I am here about two Ne boys you sent after my young master."

"Which one?" Danzou asked, although he had a feeling he knew which of them Hakurei was talking about.

"The pale skinned boy code named Sai and his brother Shin." Hakurei said as Danzou's desk was eventually crushed beyond repair under the pressure of his foot, and Danzou knew then that Hakurei was furious. "You dare to poach from us, you should be ashamed as a Konoha-nin to steal from Uzushio." Hakurei roared furiously.

The Tower of Sealing (Fuuin no Tou)

"You just set Hakurei-dono on Danzou." Shisui muttered in disbelief for the fifth time since Hakurei left the tower. "Who are you, and what have you done to our sweet and fluffy Naruto?" He asked the blond accusingly.

Naruto scowled at that, since when he was he ever sweet and fluffy? He was not cotton candy! "For your information Shisui, regardless of what I say… Hakurei is close to blowing up as is, so I let him to confront Danzou on his own. The Shiomitsu may be my clan's vassals, but they can be as stubborn as the people of my clan." He huffed, "Besides, it's Hakurei! I trust him, there's nothing to worry about if it's him!" He chewed on a bunny shaped apple Yuzuriha cut thoughtfully for him. "If he and Danzou fought, you should worry about Danzou, not Hakurei."

Shisui rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well… I have to admit he is pretty cut out for an old guy." Man! He would love to have that kind of musculature!" Uchiha men unfortunately seemed to be incapable of developing that kind of build, even though most of them have fit bodies they seem to be built towards lean muscles instead of manly bulkiness that old man Hakurei has.

"Is that all you see? Muscle?" Naruto sweat-dropped at dreamy look Shisui had. "At any rate… Hakurei has dealt with Danzou for so long, if there's anyone who knows how to deal with that war hawk… it's either him or Hokage-sama." Though the Sandaime was too lenient most of the time when it comes to Danzou.

Itachi nodded in agreement, Out of all Shiomitsus, Hakurei was undoubtedly the oldest but also the most dangerous by miles. The first time Itachi met Hakurei, his instincts flared and he knew instantly that this was not the feeble old man he seems to be. He had also seen how the Sandaime interacts with Hakurei, and he knew the old Kage respects Hakurei as an old comrade and an equal. Age in the Shinobi world meant strength since you're good enough to survive for so long, especially in the case of the Sandaime's generation that had gone through not one but two world wars.

The Uchiha heir turned to his cousin, "By the way Shisui… how about that one Shinobi you put under your genjutsu?"

Shisui flashed him a victory sign, and tossed a scroll to Itachi. "Danzou probably never considered a prospecting someone might put his puppet under a strong genjutsu and force them to write down everything they know about their foundation."

Naruto shrugged at that, adjusting the compress on his forehead. "It's a good thing you keep that ability confidential to your clan and select few… if Danzou ever finds out, you're going to be in big trouble and I won't put it past him to try to steal your eyes…"

Shisui winced, "Oi oi… don't scare me Naruto."

"It's true." Itachi agreed, "You should be careful Shisui…" The Uchiha's scion joined in, "Not to mention his grudge against your father..."

Shisui looked a bit green at the prospect, "You know... I am more worried of the prospect of what someone like Danzou would do with my eyes rather than the stealing bit."

Okay... they might be going overboard with scaring Shisui, but it was a legitimate concern. "Shisui calm down... I will think of something for you alright?" Naruto assured the genjutsu expert, and then he frowned as something relevant crossed his mind. A certain clan who prided their seal for protecting their bloodline. "Which reminds me... the Hyuuga clan's request came in recently to renew the wards in their compound."

The Hyuuga had been pretty stubborn with their all-seeing eyes saying that they didn't need security seals, which backfired spectacularly when their heiress was almost kidnapped five years ago. The agreement the Hyuuga clan made was with the previous division leader, so Hyuuga Hiashi deemed it prudent that the Tower had to renew the wards the traitor designed for them. In fact the tower had been flooded with the same requests ever since the news of Aizen's betrayal was leaked to public. So far they managed to keep all the clan heads in line for the tower to work on a new seal design. It didn't help that each clan have different preferences and needs. The Inuzuka wanted no disruptions to their sense of smell and the barrier shouldn't make their canine partners feels caged. The Aburame wanted the same for their kikaichuu, and noted that the seals should not bring harm to their insects. The Hyuuga wanted the barrier to be easy on their eyes since for them the amount chakra emitted by conventionally strong barrier seals was irritating for their eyes to look at.

Naruto had his clones helping left and right whenever he could, and his missions usually consisted of warding noble houses for most of the time because everyone in Tower was occupied with the Konoha's clans' demand. Fortunately they were recruiting more people now from the regular shinobi force, and in a few years the number of seal masters both combat and non-combat effective would increase. Hopefully they would survive this busy period intact, and that Danzou would leave them alone for now or else.

"Hyuuga?!" Shisui squeaked. "Don't they have that seal, which could seal their byakugan upon death?"

The blond jinchuuriki nodded, "I am reminded of them because the Hyuuga claim it's to protect their doujutsu." He shook his head at that, "What a load of bullshit, since the main house members are still a fair game if our enemy wants to steal their eyes, and what is stopping someone from subduing, then sedating the branch house members? Allowing their enemies to take their eyes when they're still alive?" He wondered out loud, shaking his head in dismay.

Shisui blinked owlishly at that, Itachi just stared at Naruto. The former was pretty obvious but the latter... "Why did they never think of that?" They chorused in amazement, half-shouting.

Naruto sweat-dropped at them, "Don't tell me you also never realized this blatant loophole before?" He asked in incredulous tone.

Both Uchihas flushed, it was not like they were stupid but as part of a prestigious clan it had been ingrained in them to not criticize another clan's traditions. Not to mention the Hyuuga clan was pretty touchy when it comes to the Uchiha, some of them still believed that the sharingan originated from their byakugan, and that the Uchiha was beneath them. The Uchiha clan on the other hand couldn't care less of what Hyuuga thought of their doujutsu, especially since both the Senju and Uchiha were without a doubt descended from the Rikudo Sennin. Prodigies of the Uchiha clan like Itachi and Shisui if anything solidified the superiority of the Sharingan in the public's eyes. It wasn't like there are no prodigies in the Hyuuga clan but they were no match for Itachi and Shisui.

"We never really thought about it." Itachi confessed with an embarrassed face, "Our relationship with the Hyuuga is already as shaky as it is."

Naruto sighed at that, "Well... I definitely won't bring this up, especially if the purpose of this seal is to avoid family disputes... not to mention it will come out as an insult to their intelligence."

"But still..." Shisui said with dumbfounded voice, "Now you've said it, what they're doing really seems stupid."

Itachi shook his head, "The Hyuuga are not fools Shisui... the main house especially, as Naruto said... want to avoid family disputes. The other reason would be that the use of the seal on their own family is already a tradition they couldn't live without at this point... though branch house members undoubtedly bear a grudge against the main house."

Shisui huffed, "Our clan is probably not one big happy family, but hey! At least we have no blatant grudge on each other like Hyuuga! ha ha ha..."

Neither Naruto nor Itachi laughed at Shisui's attempt to joke to brighten up the mood because their topic was too depressing. Itachi thought that even though they didn't enslave their own family, they had a blood traitor that almost destroyed their village. Naruto on the other hand didn't laugh because of Itachi, and he knew the younger Uchiha was thinking about the Uchiha who orphaned him at birth.

"On a happier note, I now know what to research on for my next promotion..." Naruto beamed.

Shisui looked at him curiously, "A seal to protect bloodlines?"

"That's still too difficult for me... maybe in few years..." Naruto said with a sigh, "Besides... if I want to be promoted to 5th Dan before the end of this year I need something simpler!"

"You just got promoted to 3rd Dan two months ago!" Shisui pointed out in disbelief.

Naruto scoffed, "I want to get to 9th Dan before my tenth birthday!" He declared in an indignant tone, somehow his voice came out as a childish whine and Naruto flushed a deep red as he covered his mouth.

Itachi looked amused by his rare childish behavior but didn't call it out. "Why you're so in hurry to get your 9th Dan?"

"Well..." Naruto trailed off, embarrassed to explain his motive. "You know that unofficially I am the leader of the tower right?" At their nod he continued, "It's just... even though it's unofficial, they respected me as such and yet... I am just 3rd Dan seal master... it doesn't matter if I want the position or not but the respect they give me, I don't feel like I deserve it." He confessed and he yelped when Shisui suddenly hugged him from behind.

"Thanks goodness! You're not completely beyond help!" Shisui wailed.

Naruto blinked owlishly, then cringed when he saw Shisui's nose start running. "Eew! Shisui! Get off me!" He pushed the Uchiha away. "And what do you mean beyond help?! You talk as if I am a mental case!"

"No you aren't!" Shisui denied vehemently, "It's just sometimes I think you've invented a different version of the Uchiha's stoic and smug mask whenever you put on your public face... you know... the 'I am polite, innocent, and I can't even kill a bug!' kind of mask."

Naruto clapped suddenly, catching a stray mosquito on his hands. "There, I killed one. No remorse for cutting its one week life span." He deadpanned. "I am cruel enough to make its already short life shorter."

Shisui sighed at Naruto's sarcastic retort, "Sometimes... you act like an Uchiha more than me." He leaned in conspiratorially, "Are you sure you're not actually our fourth cousin twice removed or something?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Considering that the Uzumaki is closely related to both the Senju and Uchiha, maybe..." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Itachi snorted at that, "Our family relations aside, I think you should work on your rank on your own pace Naruto..."

"Says someone who became ANBU at eleven." Naruto said jokingly, "And graduated earlier than me."

"You were promoted to Chuunin earlier than I was, and a field promotion to boot. And I didn't graduate earlier than you..." Itachi returned, "Technically we graduated at the same age even though you got your headband five months later."

Shisui groaned, "If you're done one upping one another... can we please move on to the moving speech Itachi was attempting earlier? Naruto, you ruined his speech."

"Really?" Naruto faked an innocent clueless face, "Did I?" He asked Itachi with the innocent curiosity of the eight year old that he was.

Itachi shrugged, "I don't know Naruto-kun, Shisui is being his usual theatrical self again."

Unknown to the three laughing Shinobis, a seal master stood frozen in front of the door to Naruto's room. They would have noticed Shion if he was a hostile presence, but he wasn't and Shion forgot to breath the moment Shisui jokingly mentioned the probability that he was related to them. And while normally, a conversation in Naruto's living room wasn't loud enough to be heard outside, the Shiomitsu always had a keen sense of touch and hearing due to their blacksmith background.

The seal master continued his stride as if nothing was amiss, even though childhood memories of when he was four came back to haunt his mind. It was a memory of Namikaze Muramasa holding his one year old son, and his dark haired wife who was wearing a kimono with small uchiwa pattern. The kimono's pattern was not that shocking as much as how when his wife went to speak with Shion's mother, out of earshot, the eccentric Muramasa-ojiisan jokingly mentioned that: had his brother in laws lived three months longer he would have married into the Uchiha clan, the Namikaze line would have ended, and Minato would have been Uchiha Minato and be the first blond Uchiha ever.

Shion wondered if his master remembered that Namikaze Mayumi was an Uchiha, and then he recalled that Mayumi was one of few Uchiha that was considered 'the odd one out' that sometimes popped up in the clan. So far there had been four cases like that, Mayumi, Minato's student, Shisui's father and Shisui himself. Considering he himself forgot that Mayumi was an Uchiha until just now even though he was old enough to remember her, it was very likely his master had also forgotten.

Then again a majority of the tower population who were old enough to know Muramasa and his wife tends to forget their eccentric side, and eventually painted him as a kind and skilled blacksmith and seal master. It was not like they couldn't respect Muramasa's eccentricities, they simply couldn't afford to not forget the trauma. They also forgot most things about his wife because Mayumi was an airheaded wife who always supported her husband's dreams no matter what. Muramasa in spite of all the saintly qualities he had sometimes defied logic and common sense when he puts his mind on something, and Mayumi would follow him to the end of the world to accomplish it. Like that time when he was ten and innocent, Muramasa-ojiisan wanted to figure out how to store rain clouds in storage scrolls and then... he had to...

On second thought, he shouldn't try to recall that incident EVER.

Thankfully Naruto-sama and Minato-kun didn't inherit Muramasa's eccentrics, and as for revealing that Naruto-sama was indeed related to the Uchiha: third cousin to Itachi and third cousin twice removed to Shisui from his paternal grandmother to be exact.

"...I guess none of us could stomach recalling so many things... "He murmured in a daze, "I'll suggest to Master Hakurei to ask Uchiha-dono to tell Naruto-sama... he is not as scarred as we are about..." Shion stopped then recalled the incident in which he and Fugaku had to save little Minato from Muramasa's cooking experiment that took residence in their fridge, and there's that one time Fugaku was almost killed when Muramasa allowed Minato to play with Tenrou. Which was ironic considering that sword was Itachi's now and it seems that Fugaku conveniently forgot the sword that almost made him die young.

Nah... Fugaku could handle it! As long as no one reminded him that the long pretty sword little Minato swung around was in his son's possession...

Ne's Headquarter

Danzou gritted his teeth, how dare Hakurei tell him to be ashamed for what he had done for Konoha's greater good. Uzushio was no more, and it was in a Shinobi's nature to betray their allies for their village. "I found Sai in abandoned house somewhere near Swamp Country… I saved that child." He lied smoothly.

"Is that so? Should I thank you for rescuing that boy and training him to be your emotionless puppet? Or for you to send him to a suicide mission because Shin couldn't throw his emotions away?" Hakurei asked in an incredulous tone, "Do you have any idea how long my clan has tried to find any member of the Sanseki clan that was separated from us? How many nights of sleep Kushina-sama lost because her childhood friend's clan was gone?" He shook his head, "Then again there's no use telling you this, someone as hollow as you won't give a damn!"

"So you've come for revenge?" Danzou asked calmly.

"Revenge?" Hakurei echoed, "Is your death going to bring the Sanseki clan back? Or ease Naruto-sama's pain for putting your pitiful puppets out of their misery?! No! As much as I want to rid this world of you, I know you're not someone I can just remove of because I want to." Just imagine the political nightmare that would follow, and how much damage the shit Danzou accumulated for years would deal when exposed to the public. "All I want is for you to leave those two alone, and I will not kill or rat you out to Sarutobi."

Danzou snorted, "You speak as if killing me is a walk in the park."

Hakurei narrowed his dark green eyes at the scarred Shinobi, "The old you won't be a walk in the park, but the current you?" The old war hawk stiffened at that, "I am a chakra sensor Danzou, one of the best in my clan… I can tell that you've recently been messing with your body and right now you're still adapting with the changes, aren't you?" Hakurei sighed, "Why you can't just age gracefully like the rest of us is beyond me… "

"Not all of us have Uzushio's secret for longevity." Danzou retorted.

"You think there's such a secret?" Hakurei asked in an incredulous tone, "Aah… then again I stopped caring for your opinions the moment you stole Iwazaru no Fuuin from us."

The war hawk narrowed his eyes, "As you have been integrated to Konoha's force you should have used all resources you have for Konoha's sake, and yet… you keep it for yourselves and guard it jealously. We have avenged the fallen Uzushio in the second and third war… giving Iwa, Kiri and Kusa a devastating defeat and yet…"

Hakurei sighed at that, "Danzou… to you power is neither evil nor good, power is just power! In our long history as seal masters we have learned to draw line between good and bad, because failing to do so would just destroy us… the Iwazaru no Fuuin is just one of the many achievements we'd like to bury forever." He drawled in a sad voice, "If the life expectancy in your foundation wasn't so low, you would have notice it. The consequences of Iwazaru no Fuuin."

Danzou frowned, "What do you mean? There's no consequence whatsoever written on the scroll…"

"Because your agent stole only the application procedure and never bothered to read the research journal... it's on a separated section so you can't really blame that recklessness." Hakurei pointed out testily, "Do you really think that a seal so deeply rooted to the chakra coils and affects brain signals is without risk? Have any of your marked ops reach… say… their thirties? Or forties? Depending on how long they have the seal on them, slowly but steadily they would start to lose muscle function and eventually be permanently paralyzed."

If the revelation disturbed Danzou, the war hawk didn't show it. "… I see…"

"I guess it's a good thing that the life expectancy of your foundation is so low. Death is preferable to what they'd suffer as a side-effect of the Iwazaru no Fuuin." Hakurei intoned with a sigh, "Then again I can't imagine the present you to care…" He shook his head at that, "So do we have a deal about those two?"

Danzou contemplated his choice; while he did send those two to their deaths he still saw them as an asset. However their worth was just that much, Shin and Sai knew so little about their foundation at this point so there shouldn't be too much damage if he let Hakurei to have them. "Very well… they're yours."

Hakurei grinned at that, "Good and keep your word Danzou or…"

"Or…" Danzou echoed mockingly.

"I recall that you lost a boar and a bug recently…" Hakurei sang amusedly as he saw a sliver of shock on Danzou's lone eye. "I am sure you want them back, rest assured… we keep them healthy and well rested." The old seal master assured the leader of Ne, how he loved watching Danzou squirming like a worm under the sun. "But you see… there's no way I can just return them to you, in fact I am thinking of sending them back to their compound! Where they belong!"

"You dare?" Danzou snarled.

Hakurei snorted, "Nah… don't worry, I think we can work on a deal that will benefit us both." Danzou's frown seemed to add more wrinkles on his aged face as Hakurei droned on his so called deal. "Not really going to benefit you much, but hey! This deal will probably save you from the worse brunt of the combined wrath of the Yamanaka and Aburame."

"You realize there's a possibility Yamanaka Inoichi and Aburame Shibi won't agree to this deal you spoke of?" Danzou inquired, he was in disadvantage but he had to agree that what Hakurei offered would save Ne. He had no delusions that Hakurei wanted to help him at all, but the conflict that would result from his mishap with two prominent clans of Konoha would bring danger upon their village.

Hakurei scowled as he rested the tip of his sword against the ground, "Do you think I was born yesterday? I've been aware for a while that some peoples seem to love your ideals, and they're willing to betray their own clans for you." He spat venomously. "I am sure you're also aware that both Inoichi and Shibi aren't blind, heck-the former is the head of T&I division for god's sake! They probably know but could do nothing since you can't just pin the members of your clan down to see if they have a seal on their tongue!"

"Oh?" Danzou murmured, "So you think you can get them to agree on this?"

He nodded at that, "You owe me." Well Danzou owes his young master to be precise, but Danzou didn't need to know that.

Or that they would pocket a favor from both the Yamanaka and Aburame, which Danzou didn't need to know either. Shibi and Inoichi were aware of Ne's claw on their clan for quite some time, but unfortunately had no evidence or idea as to which of their clan members belonged to the foundation. It didn't help that former's clan members were generally stoic and unemotional (on the surface, that is) that Ne's members easily mingled in. Yamanakas on the other hand were all mind art experts but unlike most clans in Konoha had no compound but lived separately, so it was next to impossible for Inoichi to keep an eye on all of them even if he was not already busy enough in T&I division. The Tower was giving them help to get rid of rotten roots from their clans; it's a win-win situation.

"Very well…" Danzou caved in.

Hakurei turned around, but Danzou had no delusions that the seal master dropped his guard at all. "Oh, and one more thing.." Hakurei said as he was one step out of Danzou's office, "Someone asked me to remind you this." The old seal master uttered in tired voice.

"Danzou, you alone are not Konoha."

Danzou frowned at that, "If this is another sermon that Hiruzen is…"

"Since when have I ever been his messenger boy?" Hakurei cut him off in droning tone. "It doesn't matter if you have any idea of what that's supposed to mean…" Hakurei's voice echoed through the hallway as the seal master walked away from the room, "At this point, you're beyond help in my book!" He shouted with vigor, which made Danzou cringe. There's a reason why he hated the Uzu's refugees, they tend to lose control of their volume when their emotions get the better of them.

The war hawk sat back to his chair that was thankfully left intact, and for a moment contemplated what that line was supposed to remind him of. That all Shinobi and civilians were part of Konoha? Or maybe his foundation that the Hokage had no authority of wasn't part of Konoha? How foolish, why should he be bothered by what Hakurei said? His ideal is for Konoha's greater good, that's all there is to it.

OMAKE

Naruto had taken a number of C rank missions for the last few months and frankly it was getting on his nerves. The first five missions were nothing more than glorified seal warding. In which he was paired with either the Uchiha cousins or Shiomitsu siblings, sometimes both. Apparently with the latest boost in the sealing arts of Konoha, the village deemed it prudent to widen their field of service, which resulted in warding nobles' residences. It paid much better than a normal C rank because the clients were rich pompous nobles, however as far as Naruto was concerned it was just a slightly better D rank mission.

This mission was another warding job, which required him, Tokusa, Itachi and Shisui to travel to a province called Owari in Land of Butterflies. Their client was a noble couple of the Oda clan, one of the richest noble clients of Konoha. Dealing with nobles was a chore most shinobi would refrain from doing if they could, especially with all the pleasantries and shit they had to spout to please the client. But this particular job was another level of annoying, and they would have throttled the client if not for the good pay. However, 30% higher pay rate be damned if that lady keeps looking at them like a dog in heat. It was not even funny that some noble like Lady Oda Nou had a taste for beautiful boys, which according to Shisui fit him and Itachi perfectly. For heaven's sake, Itachi was twelve! He was eight! And here he thought no one could be creepier than infamous Orochimaru and his experiments.

It was getting increasingly difficult to subtly dodge that lady's affectionate hands during their short stay of warding her husband's residence. Naruto was glad her husband was around when he was drawing the ward seal array, because he won't appreciate distractions when he was doing his task and he wouldn't be able to stop Tokusa from throttling that lady if she dared to molest him. The next task of applying the point seal that marked the warded area was a bitch, because Lady Oda kept trying to invite them for tea breaks with her, which they politely declined. It didn't stop her from 'accidentally' running into them at least ten times in the three hours it took wandering around the manor to mark the area.

When the mission ended even Itachi looked ready to bolt from their seats after the lord of the manor inspected their handy work. Naruto appreciated the lord's compliments very much but he couldn't bear Tamamo's lusting gaze any longer, especially when she started drooling. How the hell Lord Oda didn't notice his wife's depravity, he didn't want to know. After they walked past the gate of the manor, they did what their instincts have been telling them since the mission started, and they ran like hell. After a few miles away from the Oda Manor they slowed down and decided to continue their two day journey back to Konoha in a slower pace.

"I think rather than being teammates, you guys are tasked to be my bodyguards." Naruto grumbled under his breath.

Shisui shrugged at that, "You can't blame Hokage-sama... you're one of the best seal masters we have and Konoha is flooded with warding requests from nobles now." Which had to be renewed every five years, meaning a steady income for Konoha, "You're inexperienced but to fulfill the client's demand we have to send you to foreign countries."

"It's unpleasant, but please bear with it Naruto-kun." Itachi drawled stoically, "The last thing we want is for other hidden villages to try and poach you from Konoha when you're out of Fire Country."

Tokusa nodded in agreement, I concur, Naruto-sama."

The blond sighed at that, it was ironic that for someone who had been ostracized for most of his life, he had to come to terms with the fact that he was vital for the continuity of the power balance in the shinobi world. At least he was not alone in that position, there were another eight poor souls in the same shoes. "I understand that but that doesn't mean I am going to like it." He said looking at a group of men with tattered armor and rusty looking weapons who blocked the path twenty meters ahead. "By the way, what do they want?" He asked in nonchalant tone, the way the group was eyeing them was anything but good.

"Rob us?" Shisui guessed which was the most likely.

"Maybe they're lost and wanted to ask for directions?" Tokusa tried to stay positive but he knew that was unlikely.

After they got within five feet from the ominous group, the team waited the group to give way to them. As expected the group they presumed to be ronin didn't, Naruto wondered what they could possibly want. "Uhm excuse me, could you please not block the way? We need to walk past." He asked politely.

One of the ronin with a large scar on his left arm grinned at them, "Hello brats, mind giving us some cash for a drink?" He asked cockily, waving his sword threateningly.

Shisui raised an eyebrow, on second thought these guys were probably thugs dressed like ronin. Anyone with a samurai background won't be using such crude words and manners even if they become bandits as far as Shisui knew. "Well... hello to you too, please make way for us before someone gets hurt."

Tokusa had to agree, "You see this?" He tapped his headband protector, "Don't look for trouble with us, and get lost." He waved at them dismissively.

One of the armed men snickered, "Nah... as if we're afraid of a genin team."

"We have beaten a team of jounin from Moyagakure few days ago! The Moya triad!" He boasted proudly.

They gave a collective nod at that accomplishment, "We could take you on! Genin." The other added.

They were greeted by blank stares at the statement they made. It seemed these thugs thought they were genin because of their age. since this place was pretty far from any major hidden village the group probably rarely encounter ninjas. Especially if they were so proud about beating a team from Moyagakure (Hidden Village of Haze) of all places.

"Eh... Didn't you know? Moyagakure is like..." Tokusa trailed off with bored tone.

"…The weakest hidden village ever known in history?" Shisui informed them helpfully.

Naruto nodded at that, "They're pretty famous for their stupidity and ridiculous poisons."

Itachi frowned, "I am not sure they're even qualified as a hidden village... "The Uchiha scion added his two cents.

Other hidden villages even pretend they've never exist in the first place, since Moyagakure was such a sorry excuse of a hidden village in their eyes. The only reason Naruto and his team knew of the village was because in their last mission they ran to a team from that village. In which for some unknown reason, the stray team from Moyagakure attempted to shoot Shisui with a dart laced with laughing poison. Naruto was expecting some action but it turned out they were as strong as fourth year Konoha academy students as they possessed virtually no ninja skills. Shisui was sure Itachi's brother who was still in the academy could have beaten them easily. They could hardly feel sorry for the Moyagakure team when the infamous morons almost accidentally killed themselves with their own poison coated weapons. It was pretty weird to see someone almost die of laughing, hiccuping, crying and other ridiculous causes. They didn't even know you could die from those, but apparently it was possible.

"Eh... so they're weak?" The scarred thug asked.

Shisui sorted, "Calling them weak shinobi would be a compliment, they're not even qualified to call themselves shinobi." What kind of ninja couldn't even manage a henge? Or use chakra at all?

"Oh." The group of armed men looked pretty pale that the Moyagakure ninjas they ganged up on before were just a little more than civilians armed with ninja weapons.

Itachi crossed his arms, "Now, if you please... make way for us. Our patience is thinning." He and Naruto in particular, since Lady Oda was really interested in them. All he and Naruto wanted was to go back to Konoha and flush that memory out with a good sleep.

"Exactly." Naruto piped in.

The scarred man looked hesitant but quickly regained his wits, "You're still kids, there's no way we will back down from snotty brats. Besides... the two pretty boys over there..." He pointed at Naruto and Itachi who raised an eyebrow at him, "…would fetch a pretty good price." He licked his lips greedily.

Silence fell heavily in the air as Itachi and Naruto looked at each other then back to the bandit leader, "Excuse me?" Tokusa squeaked as the two targets gaped at the idea that someone might want to purchase them; he ignored Shisui who was trying really hard to stop himself from laughing.

"You're not... haha... going to rob us, but… hehe... kidnap and then sell them?!" Shisui asked incredulously in between muffled laughs, he knew Itachi and Naruto are pretty but this was the first time a stranger said it out loud and to their faces to boot.

Tokusa on the other hand couldn't comprehend the thought that someone would kidnap his young master and Itachi, not for their status but because they were pretty. "Are you mad?!" This man was going to get killed!

"Do you have any idea how expensive those pervert nobles would pay for them?" The scarred man asked back.

Shisui shook his head in amusement, "No, but I have an idea how you will spend the night today."

"Swimming in cash?" He sneered.

"Nope, in pain~" Shisui sang cheerfully as he cracked his knuckles.

"Lots of pain..." Naruto growled.

Five minutes later the shinobi team left the half dead bandits on the side of the road. Shisui was feeling a bit guilty that the fuming Naruto and Itachi looked ready to kill the next idiot who tried to block their path. They should have just ignored the idiot bandits, but from his experience they're sometimes stupid enough to run after a team of shinobi which ended up in beating them up anyway. But these missions were still a good break for Naruto and Itachi from politics at home, though this one was not so much relaxing as much as it was traumatizing in Shisui's book.

As for Naruto? If he gets another mission like this in less than one week he was going to riot, he almost missed holing up in the tower to craft seals. Almost was the key word, he was still outdoor type of person. As for Itachi? A stop to a nice traditional cafe that served green tea and delicious Monaka was enough to improve his mood. Naruto rolled his eyes at Itachi who took a sip of his green tea with bliss on his face. "Itachi... I am really worried about your blood sugar."

"Hn." Naruto had been in his case since the blond noticed Itachi had been bringing sweets for two months straight to their sparring session for snacks. Everyone needed a hobby, and apparently visiting cafes and eating sweets was his. At the rate Itachi was going though, the first topic Naruto will bring up when the blond met his parents was going to be his sugar level and the risks of diabetes.

"And I am worried that you're worrying about such things like an old man when you're still eight." Shisui quipped from his left then turned to Itachi. "And him, drinking tea and visiting every quaint roadside cafe... a geezer's hobby."

Itachi and Naruto sighed at that, "We're not old men." They chorused.

"No." Shisui agreed, "You only act like one." He said jokingly.

This omake suppose to be part of chapter 10, but it's getting too long so I cut it out :)

I am planning to get Sasuke in this chapter but it's getting too long and not right timing for him to be in...
By the way I am sure some of you are disappointed that Danzou didn't get his just desert, or not bad enough... When I am all with the idea of kicking Danzou to hell and back simply for his crimes against children... -.-' He in Konoha is not someone you can just kick out because you didn't like him 'at this point' as he has too much shit to cover.

One of my reviewers suggested I need to bring out Naruto's childish side once in a while so I did! Fangirls! Melt at the picture of Itachi feeding Naruto porridge!