Jashin Returns

by BloodyBlackRose13

Naruto is Jashin

I was hiding away in a cave I knew about near Kohona. I had been coming here for years, first to get away from all the hateful looks, then when I wanted somewhere I could cut in peace, and now I use it when I need some alone time as well. I had just gotten back from the worst possible mission for our group. Sasuke nearly died and I was fairly sure Sakura would be traumatized at least a bit. For me, the worst thing was I had killed someone. Though the boy didn't die right away and Kakashi tried to make sure I didn't think Haku died because of me, I was fully aware I had killed him. The thing is that wasn't what bothered me as I was oddly happy that Haku and Zabuza accepted their deaths so openly. What bothered me was the dreams that started on the way back. This man in them, Hidan, was praying to me, though I couldn't hear what name he was calling me, praising me for being the only one who knew the truth. I didn't understand what he meant, but this connection I felt to this Hidan was causing me problems I didn't expect. I'll admit, I suspected part of the problems was also connected to the weird red charka I had used when I killed Haku.

I settled onto my makeshift bed I had set up in the back of the cave, having dropped my jacket to one side. I closed my eyes and meditated, focusing on Hidan this time. I tried to find our connection and was slightly shocked when I found a black chakra line connecting me to him. I hesitated for only a moment before following it. I ended up seeing what was around him and was surprised to see he was sitting on a log next to Itachi at the moment. There was an odd man with suture marks around his arms a few times like they'd been chopped off and sown back on and a guy who looked a lot like a shark as well. I heard them talking about some job, the odd man only asking how much it paid while Hidan felt annoyed. I decided to try and talk to him.

'Hidan.' I said.

'What?' Hidan asked shocked, shooting straight up.

"What's happened?" Itachi asked.

"Hold on." Hidan said.

'You can hear me.' I said pleased.

'Yes…' Hidan said cautiously.

'I think I might need your help. I found a connection to you within myself and I need to know why.' I admitted.

'A connection?' Hidan asked, ignoring Itachi's questions.

'We are linked by black chakra.' I said.

'Black chakra…' Hidan repeated.

'I think I might be missing my memories but I saw you. I've seen you offer sinners to me. I feel your thrill when you punish yet another sinner. I don't know why I see these things but I do know you are the most precious person to me. I hope you can help me.' I explained.

'Lord Jashin?!' Hidan asked shocked.

'I don't know… I can't remember who that might have been but it feels familiar.' I said, my head hurting.

'Why do you think the people I kill are sinners?' Hidan asked hesitantly.

'They fear the truth. The only absolute truth in this world. Death is not to be feared and it is the worst sin to fear it.' I said before quickly adding, 'and I have no idea why I know that either.'

'It would seem you have lost your memories, my lord. I will help however I can.' Hidan said.

'I think it's more I've been reborn. However, my current life is not great. I do not think I wish to abandon it exactly, but maybe if I knew who I was then I could decide better.' I said.

'Can… Can I come to you?' Hidan asked.

'If you can avoid being caught, yes. I can't keep this up much longer, it hurts my head right now. I'm in the cave Itachi used to tend to fox kits with me before he left Konoha. He can guide you or tell you where it is. He'll likely know my current name too, but don't trust what he knows about me since no one here knows the truth and it's been about 5 years since he left. He won't be lying on purpose but was intentionally misinformed.' I said, my head killing me now.

'I will come as quickly as I can without being caught.' Hidan said.

'That also means no killing on your way.' I chuckled.

'I understand, my lord.' Hidan said.

"What is going on?" Itachi demanded, likely not for the first time.

"My Lord Jashin has finally contacted me. He needs my help since he's only just awakening his power after being reborn. He says I am his most faithful so he can only trust me with this and we are connected by my faith in him. Lord Jashin said you knew him and that you could guide me to where he was waiting for me." Hidan said.

"How would I know your god?" Itachi asked.

"Lord Jashin said he was waiting where you used to tend to fox kits with him and that the person you thought you knew isn't the whole picture." Hidan said.

"Just great. Kisame, Kakuzu, you two need to head to headquarters right now and tell Pain there's a major development that requires we put all of our plans on hold for now and I will explain more when I return. This takes priority over any other mission or task." Itachi said, clearly leaving no room for arguments, before gesturing for Hidan to follow him.

'If you can hear me, we are on our way, my lord.' Hidan said.

'I see that.' I smiled before dropping the connection and focusing on just meditation.

I was meditating for around an hour when I sensed Hidan and Itachi coming into the cave. I could hear Itachi explaining what he knew about me and Hidan wanted to ask questions but I felt him holding back. I smiled and stood up, realizing it was dark but I could see perfectly. I walked over to them, Itachi holding fire to light the way.

"Welcome back, Itachi. It's nice to see you in person, Hidan." I said.

"Naruto, you realize your eyes are glowing red, right?" Itachi asked.

"I was not aware of that, no. I know I can see perfectly without your light, but I didn't know they were red nor glowing." I said.

"My lord…" Hidan started.

"Please don't call me that right now. I am very much not used to it. Honestly, I'm not used to the odd way I am speaking at times either, it's just coming out like this." I said.

"Should I call you Naruto then?" Hidan asked.

"Yes. Unless I am acting as your lord, I am Naruto." I said.

"Understood." Hidan said.

"I see you added more to the place since I left." Itachi said.

"I have. I made it my safe space." I said.

"Why would you need a safe space?" Itachi asked concerned.

"I'll tell you everything once we are seated." I said before turning to walk to where I had some furs laid out.

I heard them gasp and only then did I realize I was still shirtless and they saw some of the scars from the abuse. I just kept moving and settled down on the pile waiting for them. Itachi sat across from me and after I nodded, Hidan sat right next to me. I sighed and told them how I was treated. I told them about all the abuse, physical, verbal, and emotional. I told them how I failed to pass the exams 3 times but somehow mastered Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu in 2 hours and beat the hell out of an instructor with it when they tried to kill Iruka who was protecting me then. I told them how I ended up on Sasuke's team and how Kakashi was our lead. I detailed the tedious missions we had before I put my foot down and demanded a real mission, Sasuke and Sakura having backed up my demand. I explained in great detail what happened on that mission, leaving nothing out. I made sure I mentioned how elated I was when Haku and Zabuza accepted their deaths and how good it felt to kill Haku. I told Itachi about how Sasuke almost died and would have if my odd red chakra hadn't made my flip. I was clear that I was in control, but the hesitation I might have normally felt was gone.

"Thank you for saving my brother." Itachi said.

"He's decent even with how stubborn he is so you're welcome." I smiled.

"The red chakra would be the 9-tails' chakra." Itachi explained.

"Now I see why you said our plans were to be put on hold." Hidan said.

"Exactly. If Naruto is your god, then we can't follow our plans. Having access to the 9-tails' chakra would mean you have a very large chakra core. If you didn't train your chakra control like mad then you couldn't limit your chakra to use the Jutsus taught in the academy." Itachi said.

"Chakra control?" I asked.

"You… You don't know what that is?" Itachi asked shocked.

"I've heard of it but I was never taught it." I said.

"What… just what the hell?" Itachi asked.

"Is it important?" I asked, glancing at Hidan.

"Very. Without chakra control you shouldn't be able to use Jutsu at all. You have to know how to control your chakra to properly activate Jutsu with the amount of chakra they need, no more and no less." Hidan said.

"OH, Kakashi was teaching us some of that with walking up trees. I got really good at that when Sasuke and I competed between ourselves." I said.

"Walking up trees is something you should have learned before I even left. Sasuke hadn't because I was trying to keep him under the radar." Itachi said.

"I see… You killed your clan for him, didn't you?" I asked.

"In a way, yes." Itachi said and I knew he wouldn't say more.

"I can use Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu and my self-created transformation Jutsu, that's about it. I normally only use the second one to mess with people, but it's the Jutsu I used to become the windmill shuriken. Anything else normally just would be me instinctively using my chakra, I assume." I said.

"What is Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Hidan asked.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu uses the user's chakra to create solid clones. The reason it is rare is that the user's chakra is divided evenly by the number of clones made. If Naruto made 4 clones, he and those clones would each have a 5th of his total chakra. The clones can use Jutsus and fight, taking hits without vanishing unless they are fatally wounded or their chakra source is cut off. Any unused chakra returns to the user when they are dismissed or destroyed. Since most ninja can't use a large number of advanced Jutsus consecutively, Shadow Clones are almost worthless unless they use no Jutsu at all. Most won't even try it because if a ninja loses all their chakra, they can die." Itachi said.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu makes anywhere from 1 to about 25 Shadow Clones. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu makes tens, hundreds, or even thousands of Shadow Clones." I added.

"And just how many can you make?" Itachi asked.

"I never tried my max amount but I can easily make a couple hundred and still use a lot of chakra each. If I had to guess, based on how much chakra I still had after making that many, I could make more than a thousand easily and still fight. I should probably test out my max abilities at some point…" I said.

"Naruto… No 12-year-old should have that much chakra." Itachi sighed.

"That's also not including the red or black charkas or any other chakra I might have since I won't pretend that I couldn't have more when I already have 3." I added.

"Black chakra?" Itachi asked.

"Black chakra is what I saw connecting me to Hidan. I don't know anything about it and I think I am the only one who could know about it. Honestly, it feels like it used to be something different but was tainted in some way and is now black chakra. I'd guess it's Jashin's chakra." I said.

"I see." Itachi said.

"You wanted me to tell you about my belief that follows you?" Hidan asked.

"Yes. If you don't mind that is." I said.

Hidan nodded before going into his story. He told me about his village and how he ended up my follower in the first place. He told me about what he learned and what he had done in my name and how he felt freer following my faith then he had before. He tried to explain all the requirements, covenants, and rituals that my faith claimed to require but they were too much for me at the moment and I asked him to write them down for me to look over when my memories were more stable. He mentioned that several followers only use my name to condone their killings and aren't true to the faith. I felt angry when I heard that and I saw the black chakra flicker around me, not really surprising me that it was visible like my red chakra was. Itachi was surprised to see it though and he flinched back while Hidan didn't move at all.

"What was that?" Itachi asked.

"My black chakra. Those who abuse my name need to be culled." I said coldly, the black chakra vanishing just as quickly as it came.

"Do you want me to hunt them down?" Hidan asked.

"Sadly, I need you more here than I want them dead." I sighed.

"I can hunt them while you are on missions." Hidan suggested.

"Do that." I agreed.

"So you really are a god…" Itachi sighed.

"It would seem that way, however it is also clear I can still die." I said.

"Now that you have returned, I will use my immortal life to protect you." Hidan said.

"Immortal life?" I asked.

"Your power granted me immortality." Hidan said.

"I see. I really need to regain what I lost." I said shaking my head.

"You seem tired." Itachi said.

"I wonder why? I did just get back." I rolled my eyes.

"I will go talk to Pain and let him know what we found out." Itachi said getting up.

"Sasuke is in the hospital. He did become a porcupine from Haku's needles while protecting me. He was fine when we got here but Kakashi wants to be sure. He tried the same with me, but they don't like me so I left right after Kakashi went home." I said.

"I… I will check on him first." Itachi said before leaving.

"I knew he would." I smiled.

"What do you want me to do?" Hidan asked.

"I think you'll be contacted soon." I sighed.

I felt chakra stir and knew he had been called. Hidan sat next to me and I smirked as I climbed onto his lap. When he opened the connection we were mildly surprised when I was actually included. I saw several people around a circle, only their eyes had color setting them apart from the shadows that made up the rest of their figures.

"Hidan, I see you have an extra." One guy said, his odd purple eyes bearing into me.

"I would not call my Lord Jashin an extra." Hidan said evenly.

"This is Jashin?" Someone else asked, a single red eye visible from his shadowy silhouette.

"Is that so hard to believe?" I asked coldly.

"You're a child." He pointed out.

"I was reborn. That isn't as uncommon as you might think. Most celestials reincarnate as do almost all humas." I said evenly.

"Itachi reported something interesting about you, Jashin." The purple eyed guy said.

"That I'm the keeper of the 9-tails? That would be correct. I'm also the son of Minato Namikaze the 4th Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, if that matters. Kyuubi told me even though I only know now who it was I talked to back then." I said.

"You speak to the 9-tails?" Another figure asked, having what looked like large Venus-flytrap like structures on either side of his head.

"I can. I have for years since I first tried to take my own life." I said.

"You tried what?" Itachi asked.

"I got over it. It makes no difference, since Kyuubi's chakra always heals any damage I do to myself." I shrugged.

"I see…" The flytrap man said.

"I wonder, why is it no one else seems to know you are the 4th's son?" The purple eyed man asked.

"How do you expect him to know that Pain?" Itachi asked.

"I do know actually. Kyuubi told me Sarutobi swore to protect me and raise me as his own before my parents died. Sarutobi claimed it was to repay them for failing to keep the ninja who attacked them from finding them while mother's seal was unstable during labor. He immediately betrayed that promise and tried to make it where I didn't even know I had the 9-tails inside me. I had to find out on my own about that and who my parents were. I have actually been on my own since as far back as I can remember." I said.

"Your mother would have been Kushina, correct?" Pain asked.

"Kyuubi said yes." I said after a moment.

"He talks to you while you are awake?" The flytrap man asked sounding shocked which made a few of the others look at him with mildly surprised expressions.

"It's more a feeling then words, but yes. I haven't actually seen him, though I probably could find him within myself now if I wanted to. I might now that I think about it if I remember." I said.

"Kushina was my sister." Pain said, shocking everyone.

"I wonder, how much would your nephew's life mean?" I smiled.

"It means enough that even if you weren't Hidan's god we would find another path." Pain said.

"And my happiness?" I asked.

"What is it you need?" Pain asked.

"I want Itachi to watch after us since someone is clearly targeting us. There is no way we should have faced Zabuza and Haku on our first outgoing mission. The man who commissioned that mission was clearly hiding things but no one bothered to check it before immediately assigning it to us. It barely cleared processing when we were sent out the gate." I said evenly.

"You faced who?" The one-eyed man asked.

"Kakashi killed Zabuza for the most part and I killed Haku, melting his ice mirrors with my red chakra. That's how I started to awaken as Jashin. I felt elated that I had killed him. I felt ecstatic when I knew Zabuza and Haku accepted their deaths as fact." I said.

"You killed the assassin Haku alone?" He asked.

"I snapped a bit and was surrounded by Kyuubi's red chakra. It was visible even to Haku and Kakashi said he could feel the bloodlust from outside the Kekkei Genkai we were trapped in. I was in control, but all the hesitation I would have normally felt was gone. Sasuke was dying and would die if I didn't beat Haku and the only way was to kill him. I didn't fight the chakra when I knew that. Haku didn't fear death, but he was in my way and was trying to kill us. Though, now I can see he really had no intention to kill us, he was just keeping us away from Zabuza." I said.

"How much chakra do you have…" He asked numbly.

"Would that matter?" I asked.

"To be able to control that state, you would have to have a large amount of chakra." Itachi said.

"I told you my best way to measure, so what's your thoughts?" I asked.

"Based on what you said, you would have more chakra then any of us. Maybe more than some of us teamed up. You also admitted it wasn't all of your chakra you were using as a base for that measurement." Itachi said.

"What?" Pain asked shocked.

"I also have no control over any of my chakra." I laughed while Hidan shook his head amused.

"That is terrifying." Another guy with honey eyes said, his voice emotionless.

"You don't sound terrified." I pointed out.

"He doesn't sound like anything. He's like that." The man next to him said. He had blue eyes and I could tell he wore part of his hair up.

"I see. I was never taught chakra control. Probably because everyone seems to think I'm a demon." I said.

"Itachi can train you." Pain said.

"I would also like Hidan to be with me when I'm not on missions. I want him to work for me first and he can help you when I have nothing for him to do." I said.

"That was assumed." Pain chuckled.

"I'd rather be clear then assume wrong. I've gotten in trouble for that." I said.

"I understand. Is there anything else you want to ask?" Pain asked.

"Kinda but it's not you I have a question for. Flytrap man, your name is Zetsu, isn't it?" I asked.

"Flytrap man…" The blue-eyed guy repeated before laughing.

"Not like I know your names so I call it as I see it and he looks like he's wearing a flytrap around his head." I crossed my arms.

"How is it you know my name?" Zetsu asked.

"Honestly, not a clue. Just came to me. I don't think it's from when I was Jashin, but from who I was before I became Jashin. There are some things I seem to know but I don't know how or why." I said.

"You became Jashin?" The blue-eyed guy asked.

"You know, names would be nice." I sighed.

"I'm Deidara." He said.

"Well, Deidara, yes. I know I wasn't born Jashin that life. I was born someone else and something caused me to see the world in a different way, which made me become Jashin. I'm pretty sure it was betrayal, but for me to become someone like Jashin it had to be huge. I get the feeling I was peaceful before I became Jashin, and that's hard to believe even for me." I said.

"Do the names Asura and Indra mean anything to you?" Zetsu asked.

"Asura feels familiar and Indra makes me angry, hurt, and sad, which is a very confusing combination by the way." I said.

"Asura was a celestial who preached peace and unity. He worked with the chakra of the world and nature to help people. He never harmed others." Zetsu said.

"Did Indra betray him?" I asked.

"As did the human race. Indra was his older brother. Asura was more suited to be the next head of their clan and Indra didn't accept that. Indra tried and eventually succeeded in killing Asura. The humans who Asura taught about chakra used the knowledge he gave them to create the 10-tails, whose husk we are standing on. They used the 10-tails to kill most of the celestial clan before losing control of it. The celestials had to set aside their feeling to take down the 10-tails alongside the humans. They managed to split the 10-tails into 9 different beasts, saving this world and everyone on it only for the humans to continue to kill the now exhausted celestials. Asura took it personally and vanished for a long time, only showing up every now and then, untrusting of humans." Zetsu said.

"Asura snapped and realized that trust and peace were lies. That the only thing that all people couldn't deny was death. The single absolute truth of the world." I said numbly.

"Huh. That only leaves me with more questions…" Kisame said.

"I wouldn't hurt your shark brain with something so complex." I said.

"Hey!" Kisame said.

"How did you know what he looked like?" The honey eyed guy asked.

"Well, I could see what was around Hidan when I contacted him. I assumed Kisame was the shark guy and the guy stitched together way too much was Kakuzu." I said.

"You are correct, my lord." Hidan said.

"You know, I kinda wonder how fishy Kisame smells… He kinda looks like walking sushi…" I said.

"If you were here…" Kisame started.

"You would embarrass yourself being unable to hit a 12-year-old." I interrupted.

"Wanna bet?" Kisame challenged.

"I know, so what do I get when I win?" I asked.

"What do you want?" Kisame asked, irritated.

"Teach me water breathing and how to swim." I said.

"You can't swim, my lord?" Hidan asked.

"The kids here hold me under if they even let me join them. If I know water breathing I can fake drowning." I said.

"That's cruel of them." The honey eyed guy said.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Sasori." He said.

"Thank you. I kept calling you Honey-eyes in my mind." I said.

"What do you call me?" The one-eyed guy asked.

"Weird one-eye." I said.

"Hey!" He said offended.

"You are the only one here with one eye and you are certainly weird." I said.

"I don't want to be called weird by you." He huffed.

"You know, Kyuubi said I could call you something else but you might not like it." I smirked.

"What might that be?" He asked.

"My parent's murderer." I said.

"What?" Pain asked.

"He's the one who attacked my parents and is the reason Kyuubi got free and thus why they died. Kyuubi recognizes his chakra since he did successfully steal Kyuubi for a bit before my dad beat him into the dirt." I said.

"That's way too much of a cheat…" The one-eyed guy groaned.

"Tobi…" Pain started.

"Unless he was a member 12 years ago and they knew my mom was your sister, you can't be mad at him." I interrupted him.

"Aren't you mad?" Tobi asked.

"Not at you. Kyuubi told me Sarutobi told you where they were and hired you, so I wanna make him suffer. You're just the tool he used." I said evenly.

"What?" Itachi asked.

"Sarutobi is also the one who spread the rumor that a Uchiha was the one who attacked them and that it was plotted by Uchiha's so that they would start a rebellion." I added.

"How could you know that?" Deidara asked.

"I have been pranking the ANBU in ANBU restricted areas for a couple years now. If I can do that, do you really think that, as an Uzumaki, I can't get into the Hokage's office and private files?" I asked.

"They probably wouldn't know why being an Uzumaki matters." Pain pointed out.

"Oh, right. Uzumaki's are seal masters. I can use it instinctively. Of course, that was probably obvious since I don't know chakra control." I said.

"You are one scary person." Sasori said.

"I think I'd prefer being called talented. Kisame, where do you want me to show you up?" I asked.

"I really don't like how cocky you are." Kisame said.

"No one has ever landed a blow on me if I didn't let them." I said.

"The Valley of the End tomorrow." Kisame said.

"If I get called away I'll let you know." I agreed.

"Don't run scared." Kisame said.

"Me, scared of a fishy? What kind of fox would be scared of a fish?" I asked.

"I think I like you." Sasori said.

"Oh?" I grinned before laughing when Hidan wrapped his arms around me.

"Someone's possessive…" Pain sighed.

"Hidan belongs to me, so what he does in my service is nothing you need to think about." I said evenly.

"I don't think I want to know." Deidara said.

"You might be too young." I chuckled.

"You know I'm older than you." Deidara said.

"Couldn't tell." I said.

"Aren't you the youngest of us?" Sasori asked.

"What of it?" Deidara asked defensively.

"That should show how skilled you are." I pointed out.

"Do I want to know the age difference?" Tobi asked.

"With who?" I asked.

"You and Hidan and Deidara and Sasori." Tobi said.

"Well, I'm 12." I said.

"I would be 6 years older than you." Hidan said.

"That's not bad." I smiled.

"I wouldn't have guessed you were only 3 years older than me." Deidara said.

"That means I'm double your age plus one." Sasori said.

"Should I assume that Itachi is the only other one under 20?" I asked.

"I believe that is correct." Pain said.

"Then, aside from Zetsu, I wonder who's oldest." I said.

"I would be. I'm almost 90." Kakuzu said.

"I didn't know that." Hidan said.

"How old would Zetsu be?" Deidara asked.

"He's around 1,000 or so." I said.

"And you have no idea why you know that." Zetsu added.

"Didn't figure it needed to be said anymore." I said.

"True." Zetsu agreed.

"Hang on, why's a 90-year-old immortal still so obsessed with money?" Hidan asked.

"He's immortal too?" I asked.

"I am. And I'm fairly sure it's just my nature now. I never even questioned it." Kakuzu said.

"I didn't give him immortality, I know that." I said.

"No, he was a lab rat. He was experimented on by his village and then they turned on him when they couldn't control him." Pain said.

"I see. That sounds oddly familiar. Oh, Tobi, I need to ask you a favor but you might want me to ask in person." I said.

"Why?" Tobi asked.

"Because it involves your real name." I said.

"And Kyuubi told you that?" Tobi asked.

"Not exactly. I figured it out just now by comparing what Kyuubi remembered of your scent and a scent I know." I said.

"I see. What is it that makes it important enough to bring it up now?" Tobi asked.

"Kakashi is hurting himself because of losing you and Rin and will probably end up taking his own life within the next year." I said.

"Why would Tobi know Kakashi?" Itachi asked.

I glanced at Tobi and could tell he nodded. "Tobi was originally Obito Uchiha, Kakashi's teammate. Obito supposedly died when he was around 13, I think, and Rin was killed shortly after. Kakashi has Obito's Sharingan in the eye he keeps covered. The scent on Kakashi changes to Obito's when he uses the Sharingan and that's how I figured it out."

"I see." Pain said.

"There's another Uchiha?" Itachi asked.

"There's one more." I said.

"You really cheat, you know that?" Tobi said.

"Kyuubi cheats, I just use him since he is within me. I believe you would call that making the most of your resources." I corrected.

"Who is the other Uchiha, that apparently Tobi also knows?" Pain asked.

"Madara Uchiha." I said.

"He's not dead?" Itachi asked.

"Nope. Kyuubi noticed his scent on Tobi. I knew he was still alive before now anyways, though I think that's an Asura thing. Madara is Indra, isn't he?" I asked glancing at Zetsu.

"You are good at using the memory-based instincts you have." Zetsu said.

"I'd probably be dead if I wasn't good with my instincts." I said.

"I don't want to know." Pain sighed.

"You would make the village a crater, so that's for the best." I agreed.

"Is there a reason you wouldn't want me to make the village a crater?" Pain asked.

"Logically, if Madara is Indra then as Asura, I would have been Hashirama. I feel like I would rather not let you destroy the village I literally took a lifetime to make." I said.

"That makes some sense…" Pain said.

"If it's going to burn, then I will be the one to light the fire." I said.

"That's my lord." Hidan smiled.

"I think I will enjoy that more." Pain said.

"Now that I think about it, Madara would be around your age, Kakuzu. You wouldn't have met him or Hashirama, would you?" I asked.

"Not that I can remember. I feel like I might have crossed paths with Hashirama once before I left my village, but that whole time's a blur of rage and betrayal so probably best I don't try to remember." Kakuzu said.

"Alright. It was worth asking. I probably can't stay much longer. It was late when we started this meeting and I'm sure Kakashi has checked on the hospital bed I was supposed to be in by now." I said.

"Hospital bed?" Pain asked.

"We just got back from the Haku and Zabuza mission today and Kakashi was worried since I was sliced to hell before Kyuubi's chakra healed me. That and he was worried I knew I killed Haku and how that might affect me. Kakashi tried his best to make it seem like he landed the final blow but I was fully aware that Haku died because of me and I knew he would die even before I landed my attack." I said.

"I suppose most 12-year-olds couldn't handle killing someone." Pain said.

"Probably not. Luckily for me, it awakened my connection to Hidan instead of freaking me out. That and I highly doubt Kyuubi would have let me freak out from it." I said.

"I'm not sure which idea is more concerning." Pain said.

"Should I just join anytime I'm around Hidan?" I asked.

"If you would like." Pain said.

"Tobi, will you come handle Kakashi?" I asked.

"I will. I don't want him dead." Tobi said.

"I will head back there as soon as we finish meeting as well." Itachi said.

"Thank you. I appreciate all of this." I smiled.

"Not at all. I'm honestly glad to know my sister had her son. I only knew she died and hadn't heard anything about her child so I had assumed he died that night as well." Pain said.

"Well, it's nice to unofficially meet you, uncle." I grinned.

"Oh, and Naruto asked us to not treat him like the god Jashin outside of when he's acting like it." Itachi added.

"I might have noticed that." Pain laughed.

"Talk to you all later." I said before Hidan and I returned to the cave.

"I want to test something." I said.

"What might that be?" Hidan asked.

'Can you hear me?' I asked mentally.

'I can. You wanted to see if we could connect without you meditating?' Hidan asked.

'Yes. I can't exactly meditate every time I might need you for something. I'll still need to meditate if I want to see you but at least we can talk.' I said kissing him.

'That would be inconvenient.' Hidan said returning the kiss.

'Feel free to speak your mind and ask anything you want. I can't say I can answer everything since my memories aren't all here but I am only 12 right now and am still learning. I would rather you say something unnecessary then you not speak up and I do something foolish. Besides, I would prefer you to try and treat me like a normal 12-year-old and teach me things or question me most of the time. I can only grow when I have help.' I said getting up.

'I will try.' Hidan said.

'That's all I can ask.' I said. 'You can stay here when you are in the area but since we can talk like this and Itachi will be watching over me you can cull my deifiers even when I'm here. Tell them their Lord Jashin is displeased at their misuse of my name and sent you to cull the untrue.'

'I will. I assume you want word to get around that Lord Jashin has returned and gave me the mission of cleaning up his disobedient followers?' Hidan asked.

'Yes. If people realize that Jashin doesn't approve of people using his name to kill mindlessly then maybe my faith won't be called a cult anymore.' I said leaving.

'That bothers you a lot, doesn't it?' Hidan asked.

'I did not create my following for it to be a mindless cult for murder. It was to remove those who defied the natural law of the world by fearing and running from death. Not even celestials are immune to death and only through death can we be reborn into our next lives. People who deny their deaths insult their past and future lives. Those who run from death hinder the natural law.' I said.

'You seem to remember more about yourself then when you contacted me first.' Hidan smiled.

'Being around you and talking about it helps.' I said.

'I'm glad to be of aid. I will stay here until after you are done with Kisame tomorrow. Then I will plan on cleaning up my brethren and spreading your return.' Hidan said.

'Rest well, my faithful.' I said as I entered the village.

'Rest well, my lord.' Hidan returned.

"Naruto, where were you? I was concerned when I was told you left after I did." Kakashi said coming to me the moment I was near my apartment.

"I was sent out the moment you left." I corrected.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"They hate me. I've told you that when you took me there." I said.

"Where were you then?" Kakashi asked.

"I have a safe space outside the village. I go there when I'm injured." I said.

"And I assume you won't tell me where that is." Kakashi said.

"If I do then it's not safe anymore." I said simply.

"Why do you think that?" Kakashi asked.

I sighed and unlocked my apartment. I gestured for him to enter and he did. Once I shut the door and made sure the windows were shut I pulled off my shirt and showed him the scars.

"This is how the village treats me, Kakashi. That is why I need a safe space only I know about." I said.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said numbly.

"You saw how quickly I heal now. That should tell you not only how bad these are but how old most of them are too." I said.

"I… How did I not notice?" Kakashi asked.

"The scars are mostly from before we became a team. Any new injury heals within 30 minutes with very few exceptions and I normally stay hidden until they are. Anything too deep is a scar within that time too. That's why I'm almost as late as you every time. I've seen why you're late, but I never said anything about it." I said.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

Before I answered there was a tap on my window and I recognized Tobi's scent. I held out my hand, letting Kakashi know that I was expecting them. I put on my shirt and opened the window, ignoring Kakashi's shock at Tobi's robe.

"Next time ditch the cloak first." I sighed.

"Sorry. I was focused on getting here fast after what you told me." Tobi said.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Tobi, the mask…" I said.

"Right." Tobi took off his mask and was tackled by Kakashi before he had time to think.

"Obito?!" Kakashi asked.

"Kakashi, I have sensitive ears so please keep your voice down." I groaned.

"Sorry…" Kakashi said backing off blushing.

"I knew you visited the grave site before we left on missions because of Tobi. I never said a word about it because it wasn't my place. What made me change my mind on that, however, was when I noticed the scent of your blood on your arm when we were just in the village. When I noticed it steadily got worse after we became a team I decided to act. I don't know what about our team made you worse, but I will not let you end up killing yourself if I can do anything about it. So I called in a favor." I said.

"But how…" Kakashi asked.

"Pain is my uncle. I know you won't share that with anyone, since it would also make Tobi be listed as a missing-nin, so I don't mind telling you. Them wanting to kidnap me is for my protection." I said.

"I see. And you happen to figure out Tobi is Obito?" Kakashi asked.

"Your scent changed when you used your Sharingan. I found out earlier that you got it from your old friend Obito. I had met Tobi before and I realized your scent changed to match his." I said.

"I see. That does make sense." Kakashi said.

"Naruto is fairly loud about what he wants. He told me he had a favor to ask and offered to ask it in private. However, we were talking with a Jutsu so the whole group was there and it would have taken me a while to get here normally. I asked him to just tell me since it was important enough to bring up in the meeting and when he told me his worry, I used my Jutsus to get here quickly." Tobi said.

"Thank you Naruto." Kakashi said.

"If you want to thank me then when I act out during missions, look the other way. I don't mean my pranking but if I kill an opponent then don't make any deal about it." I said.

"But…" Kakashi started.

"You can let me know when I can't kill someone, but we are ninja and killing isn't something we should be hesitant about. I have reasons I want to be able to kill and part of that is the red chakra I used against Haku." I said.

"And the other part?" Kakashi asked.

"If you betray Naruto and tell anyone what he says then I will not come back again." Tobi said earning a shocked look from Kakashi.

"I won't betray Naruto." Kakashi said shaking his head.

"I'm Jashin." I said evenly.

"What?" Kakashi asked paling.

"I'm the god that the Faith of Jashin follows. It is more like a cult right now but I have a faithful cleaning them up now that I am starting to awaken. However, most of the ninja we face defy the message I preach and so if I can kill them then I can control any darkness I might see because of the Kyuubi easily." I said.

"And you aren't just a murderer?" Kakashi asked, not sounding accusing but genuinely curious.

"No. My message as Jashin is that the only absolute truth is death. All things die and to deny and fear death is to commit the worst sin. Those who do commit that sin are to be shown the inevitable truth. Denying and fearing death insults your past and future lives. Running from death defies the natural law. That is my message and the true faith of Jashin." I said.

"That… actually makes sense… I can't see killing people who are afraid of death myself, but I don't fear it." Kakashi said.

"Neither does Sasuke or Sakura. That is why I didn't run away after awakening." I said.

"It would be hard to be on a team with someone of denied the reason you made a faith." Kakashi chuckled.

"Yes. Sasuke is certain he will die on his path to kill his brother. He isn't sure if he will succeed in killing Itachi, but he believes he won't survive either way. Sakura is just Sakura. She sees death as just a fact that will happen and sees no point in denying that. She might get scared when facing death right now, but she's also only 12. The young can be forgiven." I said.

"That's why you asked those odd questions on our way back. You were gauging them to see if you needed to leave." Kakashi said.

"Yes. I actually only just found out tonight that I am Jashin. I was only doing what I felt I needed to when I asked. Now I understand why I asked those things." I said.

"I see. Thank you for telling me and for reuniting me with Obito." Kakashi said.

"I go by Tobi now…" Tobi said.

"Good luck getting Kakashi to call you that." I laughed.

"I will let you know if our mission involves people we can't kill before we go on them. I assume if I tell you to go all out then you will not hold back?" Kakashi asked, ignoring our exchange.

"If you tell me to go all out you'll likely see either red or black chakra and our opponents will be dead one way or another. I would prefer to hide that from Sasuke and Sakura for now." I said.

"Black chakra?" Kakashi asked.

"My red chakra is Kyuubi's. My black chakra is Jashin's." I said.

"I see. Should I ask what the black chakra does?" Kakashi asked.

"I have no idea." I laughed.

"I don't know if I should be worried or not." Kakashi sighed.

"Just accept it and adapt." Tobi said.

"Like you have?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm trying." Tobi admitted.

"Honestly, it probably just kills people. We'll find out eventually, so let's just hope none of you are the ones who find out firsthand." I said.

"That would be inconvenient." Kakashi chuckled.

"You think? I couldn't imagine how to explain that. I didn't kill Kakashi, my chakra acted on its own and killed him. I wanted him alive." I laughed.

"I don't see that working well for you." Kakashi agreed.

"I'm not sure how exactly they'd respond, but I doubt your faithful would let them lock you up for long, no matter your thoughts on the matter. I also doubt your chakras would let you be killed easily, so it would probably be best if nothing happened." Tobi said.

"I can see that. He seems desperate to not lose me not that I have started to awaken." I said.

"He does seem happier. Outside of spreading your word, I've not seen him smile before but we all could tell he was smiling the whole meeting." Tobi said.

"So, what do you two plan on doing now? I'm safe and protected so you don't need to stay here." I said.

"I was actually wondering something based on what you told me. I get the feeling you might need to leave every now and then if we can't go on missions, but people would notice if you left here. My house is rather well protected, being a former ANBU Captain and all. How would you feel about moving in with me? I could use the fact that the hospital sent you out as an excuse to need to keep an eye on you personally." Kakashi said.

"And you will cover for me even if I take off without telling you why?" I asked.

"Yes. I would rather know when you are leaving for a while, but if you want to keep the why to yourself then I can understand. Knowing what I learned tonight, I can see how you might want to keep your life as a ninja separate from your faith and followers or anything else going on in your clearly complex life." Kakashi said.

"I think I would like that a lot. I would also be able to help coordinate Tobi's visits and even cover for you if someone shows up randomly. I doubt anyone would question it if I answered the door for you if you needed time for some reason." I said.

"I don't think I want to know what you assume we'll be up to." Kakashi sighed.

"You were harming yourself because of him. I only assume what that tells me." I smirked.

"What does that tell you?" Tobi asked tilting his head.

"Something you might be too young to know." I said.

"You know I'm older than you?" Tobi asked offended.

"You know I'm a reincarnated god and can talk to Kyuubi. I doubt age counts for much with me." I returned.

"You can what?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh, right. I've been able to talk to Kyuubi since I first tried to kill myself a few years back. That's why I could tell what the blood on your arm meant. It doesn't make a difference since Kyuubi's red chakra always heals my injuries so don't worry." I said.

"Naruto, I feel more worried after hearing that." Kakashi sighed.

"Oh." I blushed.

"So, want to pack tonight or tomorrow?" Kakashi asked.

"Might as well tonight." I shrugged.

"I'm still curious." Tobi said.

"That's between Kakashi and you. I won't tell." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"And you call yourself a god…" Tobi sighed.

"I am a god. I'm also an unrepentant prankster and mostly 12." I said.

"I take it these new memories won't change the pranking?" Kakashi asked.

"Not a chance. I won't prank our house so you won't need to worry about that but I won't promise to not prank you in the village because that would be too out of character." I grinned.

"I hate to say it, but you aren't wrong." Kakashi smiled.

"Oh, what color are my eyes?" I asked.

"Same blue as always…" Kakashi said confused.

"They were red when we were talking." Obito said.

"I see. Red eyes are Jashin's. Orangish-red slitted eyes are Kyuubi's. And blue are mine." I said.

"Good to know." Kakashi said.

"Figured it would be best, since there's a chance my personality might shift slightly and my chakra will definitely shift." I said.

"That makes sense." Kakashi smiled.

We packed my belongings and moved them to Kakashi's, Tobi using his Mangekyo to help and remain unseen. Once we had all my things out, Kakashi dropped off the key to my apartment with a note as to why I moved, making it quite clear for anyone who read it how unhappy he was with the way I was treated. Kakashi had a spare room in his place that we fixed up. Once my new room was arranged, we sat in the living room.

"I will be going out tomorrow for a while." I said.

"I see. Just let me know when you leave and when you make it back. If I'm not here, then try and leave a note with the time. I'll try to not pry but I'd like to be sure you're safe." Kakashi said.

"I will. I'll make sure to note if any of my outings might last longer than a day and about how many if that's the case." I said.

"I appreciate that." Kakashi smiled.

"I'll be leaving with him but I'll come back after if you don't mind." Tobi said.

"I don't mind at all." Kakashi said. "What's planned for tomorrow since you both are going?"

"Kisame, one of the other Akatsuki, challenged me. I told him he couldn't hit me and when I prove myself right, he'll teach me his water breathing." I said.

"You are impossible to hit if you don't want to be. The Haku incident was an exception likely because of the fact you never fought in such a small space while having to protect someone. If it was just you, you wouldn't have gotten hurt at all." Kakashi said.

"I warned him that but I insulted him and he got very defensive. It ended up like this." I said.

"I see." Kakashi said.

"I'm going to head to bed." I said yawning.

"Good night Naruto." Kakashi said.

"Night." Tobi said.

"Good night you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." I winked before shutting my door.

'I moved in with my team lead. He knows who I really am now and has agreed to protect me here.' I told Hidan.

'I see. Thank you for letting me know. Itachi arrived a bit ago and is going to be staying here when he's not watching over you.' Hidan said.

'That's great. Let him know I moved and Kakashi's on my side. He even said he understands my faith but can't see himself killing people for that reason.' I said.

'That's good.' Hidan said.

'If people understood, even if they couldn't follow it themselves, then things would be much easier.' I said.

'Sadly, I don't see that happening. People naturally fear what they don't understand and for most, death is incompressible. Something they wouldn't know what happens after. Not many will openly accept that we reincarnate, even if a god says so. The dark history of your name wouldn't help convince most people either.' Hidan said.

'I am aware. I'm going to try and get some sleep. If you need to sleep as well then you should. I'll come by there in the morning and we can head to the Valley of the End together.' I said.

'I will see you tomorrow then. Good night, my lord.' Hidan said.

'Good night, my faithful.' I smiled and laid down, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, I woke up a bit later than normal. I felt very well rested, which surprised me. I got a shower and once I was dressed in a black shirt and shorts, I stopped in front of a mirror and decided to test something. I closed my eyes and focused on my black charka and tried to channel it the same way I used my normal chakra. It felt weird until the black chakra finished making its way through my channels. I opened my eyes and was surprised when I saw they were once again red. What shocked me most, however, was my spiky blonde hair was now just past my shoulder blades and black, my skin had paled a bit and my whiskers were gone. I smirked, seeing my fangs, before leaving and going to the dining room.

"Morning Naru…" Kakashi started before stopping short shocked.

"Morning Kakashi, Tobi." I smiled.

"Morning Jashin." Tobi said without missing a beat.

"So this is Jashin?" Kakashi asked.

"Would seem like it. I decided to see if I could control my red eyes and this is what happened after I channeled my black chakra like I would my normal chakra." I shrugged.

'Morning, my lord.' Hidan sent.

'Morning, my faithful.' I sent back.

"Do you need a hair tie?" Kakashi asked.

"Do you mind putting it up for me?" I asked.

"I don't mind. Would you like it high?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes please." I grinned, my fangs noticeable now.

"Eat first then I'll put up your hair and you two can leave." Kakashi said.

"Thank you for the food." I said before eating.

"Obito, will you be taking Jashin to wherever he is going through your Mangekyo or…" Kakashi started.

"I'm meeting my faithful before heading there so I can leave on my own." I interrupted.

"I can take you there if you want. I was going to tell you I need to know where it is in case I need to pick him up." Tobi said.

"I suppose that makes sense, but I'm not happy about it." I sighed.

"Should I still call you Naruto even like this or would you rather I call you whichever eyes your using?" Kakashi asked.

"Basing my name on my eyes will prevent you from slipping up if we meet in public. I'm sure my red chakra form will have changed some too, so call that one Kitsune." I said.

"That works for me." Kakashi said.

"That was good. I'll let you know when I'm back or I'll send Tobi if I won't be back." I said.

"Stay safe, Jashin." Kakashi said pulling up my hair for me.

'Tobi and I are on our way.' I said.

'Itachi and I are ready.' Hidan said.

'Itachi is coming?' I asked.

'He said everyone will be there. They are just as curious about your skills as I am.' Hidan said.

'Oh, I look like Jashin now. When I look like I do now, call me Jashin. The appearance from last night will be Naruto and when I have slitted eyes, I'll be Kitsune.' I said.

'I will let Itachi know.' Hidan said.

I entered Tobi's space and followed him to the forest before we entered our realm again. I then led him to the cave where Hidan and Itachi were waiting. We all entered Tobi's space and he led us to the Valley of the End, where it seems we were the last to arrive.

"I was beginning to think you ran." Kisame said.

"Kakashi wouldn't let me leave without breakfast." I shrugged.

"Kakashi?" Pain asked.

"He's my team lead. He caught me sneaking in because I was distracted. I ended up telling him a filtered version of the truth and he's accepted me as Jashin, your nephew, and that I'll be leaving at times and killing on our missions." I explained.

"I see. It's good to hear that your team lead supports you, as odd as that is." Pain said.

"Are you ready?" Kisame asked.

"Are you really that impatient to be proven wrong?" I smirked.

"I will beat you." Kisame said.

"Try it." I stepped onto the water where he was.

Kisame charged at me and I dodged him easily. He tried to hit me, missing every single time, for a few hours. Sometimes I dodged by a hairs breath just to mess with him. When he tried to use the water to come up from under me, I pushed extra chakra into my feet and propelled myself off the surface and several feet into the air, landing gracefully away from him. Halfway through, I started to treat it like a dance and that made Kisame even madder. When Kisame was finally worn out, Pain called our match to a close, with me the clear winner.

"How the hell are you not tired?" Kisame asked, falling back on the ground.

"Not a clue. I'm using my black chakra today, so I don't know its limits. I don't even feel like we did anything." I shrugged.

"Black chakra?" Pain asked.

"Right now, I have 3 chakras. I might have more, but I don't know yet. My normal chakra is blue, Kyuubi's is red, and Jashin's is black. That's why I look different then my silhouette last night." I explained.

"The you right now is Jashin then?" Pain asked.

"Yes. I decided that I will use a different name for each appearance from my chakras. Obviously my normal self is Naruto. This is Jashin and whatever the slitted eyes will look like will be Kitsune." I said.

"Thank you for letting us know." Pain said.

"It's all good. I assume at least one form will eventually be linked to you guys and so its best you know all of them." I shrugged.

"You seem sure you'll have at least one more chakra." Zetsu said.

"I'll probably get Asura's if my crazy life is any base." I sighed.

"That will be complicated." Zetsu laughed.

"You think? Naruto doesn't care about killing. Kitsune will likely revel in it. Jashin encourages it. Asura was a peacemaker. There's no way that will be easy to handle." I said.

"3 who don't mind killing or even delight in it and one who wants peace and hugs… I don't see that ending well for Asura." Deidara laughed.

"Agreed." I smiled.

"Kakashi will start to worry soon." Tobi said.

"He worried the moment we turned to leave." I sighed.

"He used to not be that bad." Tobi said.

"He lost you and ended up killing Rin by accident. You really think he's going to be the same?" I asked.

"Point." Tobi conceded.

"We'll be heading back then. Unless Itachi is needed or wants to stay for a bit, we'll drop him at my safe space. Hidan will likely be heading out to do a job for me but if you really need him, let me know. Since Itachi and likely Tobi will be around me more often, they can pass messages until we have time to figure a better way out." I said.

"I would like to discuss some things before returning." Itachi said.

"I'll see you later then. You won't need to worry too much while I'm in the village but if I find myself in trouble, I'll use the way we used to talk." I said.

"You never told Sasuke that we were friends back then, did you?" Itachi asked.

"Hell no. He's all emo and broody. 'I don't have a dream because I will make it a reality. I will restore my clan and kill a certain someone.' If that doesn't let me know to keep our past connections a secret, I don't know what would." I laughed, imitating Sasuke while I quoted him.

"Did he really say that?" Itachi asked.

"It was his introduction when we were first meeting as a team. Mine was that I'll be the greatest Hokage. His likes and dislikes were that he doesn't particularly like anything and he hates a lot of things. That was it." I said.

"I have an emo for a brother…" Itachi sighed.

"Like you're much better?" I asked.

"I'm not emo." Itachi said.

"You are broody though. Besides, you have long hair and paint your nails black. What else should I assume?" I smirked.

"You have long hair now too, you know. Plus, I don't have fangs." Itachi countered.

"We both had eyes that can glow red though." I shrugged.

"Are we sure Jashin wasn't a Uchiha?" Deidara asked.

"He wasn't. Asura was the ancestor of the Uzumaki and Senju clans. Indra was the ancestor of the Uchiha clan. I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong Zetsu, their uncle Hamura was the ancestor of the Hyuga clan." I said.

"You are correct." Zetsu said.

"If I am remembering correctly, most of the Otsutsuki clan, which was the celestial clan, had Byakugan. Indra was one of the rare ones who had Sharingan and even rarer was Rinnegan. Asura had none of them, a very rare occurrence, but instead thrived as a natural Ninshu master." I said.

"That is also correct. It would seem you are remembering more as you speak." Zetsu said.

"I noticed the same thing with Jashin's memories. If I talk about them or act on them I remember more." I said.

"That's good to know. If you would like, I could visit at times and we could talk about your memories as Asura, since I'm the only one who knew him left. Hidan is helping with Jashin's memories and you don't have any others to work on right now." Zetsu offered.

"I think I would like that." I smiled.

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to be working for you before too much longer…" Kisame groaned.

"Maybe." I shrugged. "When do you want to start teaching me Water Breathing and how to swim?" I asked.

"Next week. I'll have to find a place close without being frequented." Kisame said.

"I'll see you then. We really should go. If we don't make him wait too long, Kakashi might treat me to ramen." I grinned before Tobi and I left.

'Be safe, my faithful.' I said.

'I don't think I need to worry, since I am immortal, but I will try for you.' Hidan laughed.

'I appreciate that.' I smiled.

"You can talk to Hidan telepathically, can't you?" Tobi asked.

"Yes, I can. I was testing to see if it worked in your space too and it does." I said.

"I see. That explains the random smiles." Tobi laughed.

"I would assume so." I grinned as we left his space in my room.

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't we training today?" Sakura's voice came from the living room.

I rolled my eyes and Tobi vanished back into his space. I heard Kakashi reply that we would be in a little while as I changed into my orange outfit and circulated my normal chakra, watching my appearance in the mirror as it turned back. I grinned my goofy grin before bounding out of my room.

"Sakura!" I called as I entered the room.

"Naruto… What are you doing here?" Sakura asked surprised.

"I live here. What brings you to my home?" I asked sitting next to Kakashi.

"I was just asking Kakashi-sensei if we were training… I didn't know you lived together." Sakura said.

"It's a rather new development. I'm sure you remember how I dropped Naruto and Sasuke off at the hospital yesterday." Sakura nodded. "Turns out, when Naruto said they hated him, he meant it in the way that had them kick Naruto out the moment I left. So, for his safety I had him move in with me." Kakashi said.

"I see. Sasuke got discharged a few minutes before I came here and neither of us knew why Naruto wasn't there this morning. Sasuke was going to get changed before coming here." Sakura said.

"We can meet him at the training field. Mind letting him know?" Kakashi asked.

"Not at all. We'll see you there." Sakura said before leaving.

"How'd it go?" Kakashi asked.

"I won easily. Turns out, my black chakra might be even more limitless than my red chakra. I wasn't even tired after dodging for hours." I said.

"I see. We'll need to work on training your other chakras as well as your normal chakra. I'll see about arranging it." Kakashi said.

"It'll be hard if you still need to work on team building. Naruto having different chakras will limit what he can learn with teamwork unless they know about them." Tobi said appearing again.

"I am aware but for now, I agree with Naruto that it's best no one from the Leaf finds out about his unique condition. They won't take it well if they learn he can use Kyuubi's chakra and even less so if they find out he's Jashin. The ANBU have orders to kill any Jashin follower on sight." Kakashi said.

"Bastards." I said.

"Who?" Tobi asked.

"Both who ever made that dumb law and the idiots who claim to be my followers just to have an excuse to murder." I said.

"I agree, but there's little we can do until word spreads that Jashin has returned and is eliminating those who use his name to justify mindless slaughter. Once it starts to spread that the real faith isn't what we think, then we can work on removing those orders." Kakashi said.

"Still, if I could, I would cull them all right now. Sadly, I don't have that power." I said.

"You might and just not have access to it." Tobi pointed out.

"True but it also looks better for me if I have a faithful cull them while spreading my true word. I doubt the fact that he's an Akatsuki will help much but it will do something. Also, it might become worthwhile to tell my peers about Kyuubi if the chance arises. It would make them understand a lot and maybe pull them more to my side when I inevitably become an enemy of the Leaf. I'll trust your judgement on when that would be though." I said.

"I agree. Are you going to eat lunch before we train or wait until dinner?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll be better off waiting until dinner. I would rather not get punched in the gut after eating and Sakura seems mad at me for some reason." I said getting up and heading for the door.

"Probably because you seem perfectly fine after killing Haku while she's still shaken and Sasuke probably is too." Kakashi said.

"That's possible. I'm honestly surprised Sasuke is so shaken. Not to sound heartless but shouldn't it affect him less after what he saw back then?" I asked, ignoring the shocked looks from Ino's team as we passed.

"Very few people can overcome the natural fear that comes from near death experiences. Even if you don't fear death, facing it and surviving can sometimes be even more painful." Kakashi said, both of us fully aware that Ino's team was now following to listen.

"I see. I'm not afraid of death and I don't really have any attachment to living either, as you found out last night. That's the biggest reason you made me move in with you after all. But I guess I can see what you mean. I wasn't afraid Haku would kill me. I was mad that Haku was trying to kill Sasuke when I should have been able to protect him." I said.

"There are few people your age who are as unconcerned about death as you are." Kakashi sighed.

"I think this might be a bad time to point out that when I was 4 I threw myself off the Hokage's faces. I was on top of the 4th, staring at the sky, then decided to fall. It didn't end how I expected and even I'm not sure how I survived." I shrugged.

"Naruto…" Kakashi stopped and stared at me.

"What? You found out about my cutting last night. Why not be honest? It's not like I can kill myself. Trust me, I've tried plenty of times." I said.

"I wonder if your fearlessness of death will become an asset or a hinderance." Kakashi shook his head.

"Hey, Kakashi…" I said softly as we started moving again.

"What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi watched me.

"Thanks for caring. I mean it. Aside from Iruka-sensei, you're the only one who does so openly here." I said.

"Of course I care. You are my precious student after all and you are very talented. You just need to get what others say out of your head and you'll easily surpass even the 4th." Kakashi said.

"I did say I'd become the greatest Hokage." I grinned.

"That you did." Kakashi smiled.

"I have questions." Ino said as we reached the training ground.

"What's up?" I asked.

"You tried to kill yourself at 4?" Ino asked, shocking Sakura and Sasuke who were near us.

"Yah. What about it?" I asked completely unconcerned.

"You talked about throwing yourself from the Hokage's faces like you were taking a walk!" Ino said.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I didn't die, unfortunately, so why care?" I asked.

"Unfortunately?" Sakura asked as they joined us.

"Meh. It's not really anything to worry about. I'm more resilient then I hoped." I shrugged.

"Naruto, that isn't something most people say." Kakashi pointed out.

"How should I know what most people say? I never had anyone care until Iruka-sensei. Besides, no one noticed the way the villagers here treated me and if they did, they didn't care. Why do you think I like that ramen place so much? They gave me food when I had no money. I know some people here saw villagers curse at me and hit me but none of them cared enough." I said evenly.

"I… I don't know what to say. You have a point and I don't like it." Kakashi sighed.

"You don't have to. It's just who I am now because of how I was forced to live. Why do you think I found out I don't die easily. Would you want to live with everyone treating you as some kind of monster from the moment you opened your eyes? Like you're a plague?" I asked.

"I don't think so, no." Kakashi admitted.

"Then why are you so surprised that you caught me cutting?" I asked.

"Because I never thought enough about it. I should have noticed." Kakashi said.

"I heal fast. I told you that last night. I made sure no one knew because I would just bother them." I shrugged.

"Naruto…" Sakura started.

"We're supposed to be training, right? So let's get started. Enough with the pointless worry." I said before turning and heading to the part of the training grounds we normally use.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura started.

"You heard right and part of it is your guys' fault. That's the real reason Naruto lives with me now." Kakashi said before going over to me.

"What else did Naruto say?" Sakura asked Ino.

"That he's fully aware he can't kill himself and that he's tried. The cutting and jumping from the Hokage's faces were the only other things about his harm. He did mention he had no fear of death nor any attachment to life." Ino said stunned.

"Naruto…" Sakura said.

"How did we not notice? I mean, we saw the incident with the mask…" Shikamaru said.

"We thought he pranked them or something, remember?" Ino said.

"Right… That was a bad call." Shikamaru sighed.

"You think he'd be upset if we told our peers so they also realize the truth?" Ino asked.

"With how open he was about it, not likely. If he does get upset, I'll take the blame. I've caused him enough harm with how I've acted, so it's only right." Sakura said.

"I'm going to talk to Neji then. He's the one who dislikes Naruto the most." Ino said before leaving.

"I'll talk to Kiba." Shikamaru said with Choji following him.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said looking at him.

"He's not able to die easily. I know that from the other day. He should have died. Haku had hit all his vital spots. But he doesn't even look like he was hurt." Sasuke said as they headed over to us.

"Is it related to that bloodthirsty aura I felt?" Sakura asked.

"Ask him." Sasuke said.

"Ask me what?" I glanced at them.

"Your healing and not dying thing. Is it related to the bloodthirsty aura I felt when you were fighting Haku?" Sakura asked.

I glanced at Kakashi who sighed before nodding, agreeing with me that it would be easier on me if they knew and we had agreed to tell them at some point. Besides, this would test them to see if I could be Jashin around them if I needed or wanted to be. "This is classified and you're not supposed to learn about it, ever." I said.

"Understood." Sakura said looking determined.

"You remember hearing about the attack 12 years ago by the 9-tails?" I asked.

"Yes. It's said the 4th Hokage lost his life killing the beast." Sakura said.

"That's a lie. The 9-tails couldn't be killed so easily. My father, the 4th Hokage, along with my mother lost their lives sealing the 9-tails inside me. That's why the villagers hate me and treat me as a monster. I have the 9-tailed Kyuubi living within me." I said.

"So many questions. First, your father?" Sakura asked.

"Also a secret that even I'm not supposed to know. Only Sarutobi knew." I said.

"Then how…" Sakura started.

"Think about this. How many times has Naruto pranked the ANBU or even the Hokage? If he can get into those areas, you think he can't access the restricted files? He did steal the Scroll of Seals to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu he uses after all." Kakashi said.

"Technically I learned Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." I said.

"Naruto…" Kakashi looked at me shocked.

"What? I know it's a forbidden technique and all but I can use it. I made like a hundred when Mizuki tried to kill Iruka-sensei and I. I beat him to a bloody pulp for attacking my sensei." I shrugged.

"What's your max number? I read about Shadow Clones so I'm curious." Sakura asked.

"I can easily make several hundred but I've never tried to find my max. Maybe we can do that later when we aren't training so close to the village." I suggested.

"Sounds like a plan for tomorrow." Kakashi said.

"Cool." I grinned.

"Did you know about the Kyuubi?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't until Mizuki told me, trying to freak me out. It didn't really bother me and when Iruka-sensei stood up for me, I wasn't afraid of it anymore. Found out recently that Kyuubi has been talking to me when I meditate and is one of the reasons my instincts are so sharp. Plus, he's helped me a lot. I knew I was talking to someone but part of me thought it was my imagination just so I wouldn't feel so alone." I said.

"I see…" Sakura said.

"And there's another reason you're telling us all this, isn't there?" Sasuke asked.

"If we need me to, I can use Kyuubi's chakra. I'll be a lot like that time, but maybe a little more in control. I didn't lose control when I killed Haku. I lost my hesitation and reservations about taking life, but I was still the one controlling the chakra and my body." I explained.

"Why did you become like that?" Sakura asked.

"I couldn't protect Sasuke when I knew I should be able to. If we weren't stuck in such a small area, neither of us would have taken a hit but I was careless. Sasuke got hurt and it was my fault. That's all." I said.

"Naruto…" Sasuke started.

"Don't try and apologize or anything like that. You weren't at fault. You became a bloody porcupine to protect me. It's only fair I become a demon to protect you." I grinned.

"I don't think that is an even trade…" Sasuke chuckled.

"Meh. I did become a porcupine too for a moment, a few times actually. I just healed instantly, forcing the needles out. Besides, the whole thing was my fault in the first place. Haku never should have made it to the bridge." I said.

"Why do you say that?" Sakura asked.

"When I was practicing in the woods, I fell asleep. I was woken up by someone I thought was a girl. They gave me medicine and then told me about how they were protecting someone. I recognized their scent but couldn't place where from. When they left, they told me their name was Haku and that they were a boy. If I could have remembered his scent then, I would have been able to realize Zabuza was still alive. I could have stopped him then." I explained.

"Haku was the one who gave you the medicine we used?" Kakashi asked shocked.

"Yes. Because Haku was like me. He had no one. Zabuza was the only one who cared about him and didn't treat him like a monster. To Haku, Zabuza was his Iruka-sensei." I said.

"If someone else had taken Iruka's place for you… I don't even want to imagine how bad that could have been." Kakashi said.

"Haku awakened his Kekkei Genkai when everyone was afraid of it. He wasn't even supposed to be able to use chakra. Like me, Haku learned it instinctively. His family tossed him out and then he saw them killed. He ran. He was just waiting to die on the streets when Zabuza approached him. Zabuza gave him a purpose, a reason to live again. Haku was wanted and needed by Zabuza, and that was all that mattered to Haku." I said.

"How…" Sakura started.

"I saw his memories just before he died. That's why I reacted so strongly when Zabuza acted like he didn't care. Because Zabuza was Haku's only reason to live." I explained.

"But how?" Sakura asked.

"That's not something I'm willing to share right now. Besides, we should be training." I said.

"Whenever Naruto feels like sharing more, he'll tell us. But for now, he's right. Let's start training." Kakashi said.

Sasuke and Sakura nodded. We trained until it was getting late before agreeing to do some field training starting tomorrow. We all headed our own ways, Kakashi going to report our planned training while I headed to our home. When I was halfway, I was stopped by a few of our peers.

"Naruto, got a minute?" Kiba asked.

"I take it Ino and the others talked to you?" I asked.

"Yes. What they said, is it true?" Kiba asked.

"I guess I'd need to know what they said." I pointed out.

"That you've tried to kill yourself starting at 4 years old. That you don't care if you live or die." Neji said.

"Yah, it's true. I also don't die easily. I'm sure they mentioned that part too. Trust me, it's much harder to kill me then you would ever believe." I shrugged.

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"Come with me." I sighed and led them to my home.

Once everyone was sitting and Kakashi had made it back, I sighed. I warned them the secrecy of what I was telling them before explaining the same thing I had to Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi confirmed when they questioned him. They asked me several questions, but most of which I refused to answer. After they seemed to have fully understood what my life was really like, they all went home to think.

The next morning, we were surprised to see all our peers waiting for us. Guy told Kakashi that, considering what they all learned last night, they had gotten approval for us 12 to do a group training. Guy had convinced Sarutobi to let us go away for several weeks if that's what it took for our teams to be able to work together, citing that there were times teams needed to change for missions. Sarutobi didn't see anything wrong with that logic and so we were set. I had acted like I forgot something and let Tobi know so he could pass on to everyone what was going on.

'We're going a distance from the Leaf for a while. The Kohona 12 members are doing long-term group training. I'll let you know when I have more info.' I said.

'Understood. I am currently near a small village just past the Hidden Waves Village. It's basically deserted but a number of your followers live here. I am currently sounding out who's true.' Hidan said.

"Hey Kakashi, where are we headed again?" I asked.

"It's a small, fairly remote village. I believe Guy said it was just past the Waves." Kakashi said.

'That's where we're going apparently.' I laughed.

'That might not be good or it may be great. I suppose we'll see when you get here. Should I be prepared to step in?' Hidan asked.

'Might be best. I honestly don't like the idea of pretending I don't know you.' I sighed.

"Why did you ask?" Shikamaru asked me.

"Just curious." I shrugged.

"Don't lie. You realize we know you're still hiding things, right?" Shikamaru crossed his arms.

"How about this. I'll tell you when we get there." I said.

"We're going to hold you to that." Ino said.

"Good." I smirked.

'Do you want me to not hide that we know each other?' Hidan asked.

'I would prefer that. There's a chance I'll end up telling everyone when we get there, since I'll be safe with you. Try to have word that I've returned out before we get there.' I said.

'I already have. They are excited to meet their Lord. I'm just trying to make sure they are all really here for you and not for murder.' Hidan said.

'Good. I'm glad I have such a good follower.' I smiled.

"What's got you smiling like that?" Kiba asked.

"You'll see." I grinned.

Kiba rolled his eyes and kept walking. For the rest of the trip the group kept trying to figure it out. I would talk to Hidan and Itachi while we walked so I made random expressions that confused them. Kakashi just brushed it off any time they asked him, reminding them I agreed to explain once we arrived. When we got there, they were confused when the villagers clearly knew we were coming even though no one had told them from our side. I just grinned again and the group turned to ask me to explain. I asked them to let us get settled first and we got situated in houses that were ready for us. I changed into my black shorts and shirt before joining them again, Hidan now with them along with a few others.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked.

"Let me show you something first." I grinned before channeling my black chakra, feeling myself shift.

"What?" Ino asked confused.

"Welcome home, Lord Jashin." Hidan said coming over to me, leaving my group speechless.

"I'll admit, I didn't expect this village to be standing after nearly 1,000 years." I said.

"We did our best to keep only the true here, my lord. We were unaware that Hidan was here on your command and I fear we may have disrespected him some." The village chief said.

"It was under my orders that he remain subtle until he knew who was true and who abused my name for murder. I ordered him to cull the untrue so that my faith would stop being a cult." I explained.

"I see. We are glad to have met his approval then. I take it these are your friends?" He asked.

"They are friends of my current life. Please show them respect but do not expect them to be my followers. I keep my Ninja life separate from my life as Jashin." I explained.

"Understood. I hope you'll agree to us at least hosting a feast for your return." He smiled.

"Of course. I won't restrain you more than not using my name cruelly and of course not fearing or running from death. When I look as I did when I arrive please call me Naruto, though." I smiled.

"We will do our best, my lord." He bowed before they dispersed.

"So?" I asked.

"That's why you wanted to know where we were going…" Shikamaru said.

"It is. I was unaware until yesterday that this was a village I created when I was still Jashin. My life now is… complicated to be polite." I said.

"I can see that. The Kyuubi and being Jashin on top of being Naruto. What else could be going on?" Ino sighed.

"Well, he's my nephew for starters." Pain said coming over to us.

"Uncle, I didn't know you were here." I grinned.

"We were passing by when I noticed Hidan. Tobi passed along that you'd be gone so I was going to figure out how to train you without your friends knowing, but since you clearly stopped hiding it from them, I figured I just ask." Kisame said.

"They found out about my suicide attempts the other day which ended up with me telling them about Kyuubi. That made Guy here want to do group training so we could learn to work with each other if needed without me having to hide my use of Kyuubi's chakra." I explained.

"That's wise. Most of us are able to pair up but there are some people we can't put with anyone else." Pain said.

"I don't see Kakuzu working with anyone but Hidan very well. From what Hidan's told me, the only reason he's still alive is that Hidan is just as immortal as Kakuzu." I laughed.

"Yes. If you hadn't given Hidan immortality, even without being aware of it at the time, then Kakuzu would likely still be solo with a still growing number of dead partners." Pain shook his head.

"I'm not that bad." Kakuzu said.

"Really? How many time would Hidan have died by now? Remember, I know that number already." I crossed my arms.

"Probably more than 1,000…" Kakuzu said.

"And you've only been partners for less than a year." I pointed out.

"Fine, I'm that bad." Kakuzu huffed.

"Jashin, you really are something." Kisame laughed.

"Shut it." Kakuzu glared at him.

"Only I can threaten shark-boy." I said.

"I… Whatever." Kisame rolled his eyes.

"Since when?" Kakuzu asked.

"Since he's under contract to train me. Once that's up you're free." I smirked.

"That's just cruel." Kisame said.

"Can you not protect yourself?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I can." Kisame defended.

"Then why worry about the protection of a 12-year-old?" I asked.

"Says the 12-year-old who I couldn't hit after hours of trying and wasn't even tired." Kisame countered.

"Not to mention you're a literal god." Kakuzu added.

"Minor details." I waved.

"For you maybe." Kakuzu shook his head.

"Most people wouldn't call that minor, Jashin." Itachi said coming from behind us.

"I was wondering if you followed us, Itachi." I smiled.

"I am under contract to protect and train you when Hidan is doing your work." Itachi pointed out.

"Right." I grinned.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"My nephew was treated horridly, as you learned. That, and no one bothered to teach him chakra control and he has 3 different chakras now. I was not about to let him go without someone to teach him." Pain said.

"You never… What the actual hell?" Asuma asked.

"I was considered a demon, remember? Who wants the demon to learn how to fight?" I asked.

"No wonder you failed the exams…" Kiba said.

"Yah… My chakra as Naruto is near the amount of chakra Kyuubi has. Add to it that Kyuubi's chakra mixed in with mine every now and then and that causes serious difficulties. Plus, Jashin's charka is even greater than Kyuubi's so there's no way I could ever use the Jutsus we learned in the academy without completely mastering chakra control." I said.

"You are somewhat terrifying." Asuma said.

"You want to know what's really terrifying?" I smirked.

"What?" Asuma asked looking worried.

"I'm Hashirama reborn." I said.

"Why is the village still around?" Asuma asked, shocking the others.

"I only just started to remember my past lives. I don't know anything about when I was Hashirama yet. Maybe I could remember if I talked with Madara, but I'd rather avoid that for now. I'm still working on remembering my lives as Jashin and the celestial Asura." I said.

"You are a god twice?" Shikamaru asked.

"Who's Asura?" Ino asked.

"Asura Otsutsuki is the younger brother of my clan's founder, Indra Otsutsuki. Asura was the founder of the Senju and Uzumaki clans as well as the only person in all of history to completely master the world's chakra." Sasuke said.

"It's called Ninshu but yah. That's why Hashirama could use Wood Release like he did as well as all the other random things that he did." I explained.

"So not only are you able to control the Kyuubi's chakra as well as being the founder of our village and the God of Shinobi, but you are also literally a god of death and a god of peace… It's painful to see how badly everyone misjudged you." Neji said.

"I didn't let people know the real me. It wasn't safe." I said.

"For us or for you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Both? I can still die, clearly. However, now Hidan will protect me and since he is immortal, I'm not worried about that." I shrugged.

"I'm curious as to why you can give immortality but wasn't immortal yourself." Guy said.

"Probably because I was Asura before I snapped and became Jashin. Asura couldn't be immortal because of Ninshu so Jashin couldn't gain immortality either." I said.

"That makes sense." Guy nodded.

"And now?" Asuma asked.

"Once I fully awaken my memories as Jashin, I'll probably be immortal. Then I'll worry about playing around with Madara." I said.

"Yes, because an immortal Hashirama will go over so well with him." Itachi sighed.

"And a mortal Hashirama will simply be killed before I can awaken enough memories to be worthwhile." I countered.

"Fair." Itachi conceded.

"I kind of want to be there when Madara finds out he can't kill Hashirama…" Kakashi said.

"He'll stab me full of holes until he gets annoyed with it." I said.

"I'm sure of that, but the shock when you don't die is what I want to see." Kakashi said.

"Well, we'll see about it. Anyways, we should start training tomorrow. I'll need to work on finding out what Jashin's chakra does as well." I said circulating my blue chakra to shift back.

"You need to learn chakra control and work on controlling all 3 chakras you have as well." Kakashi said.

"That's right." I said.

"We'll make a training plan for everyone with this new information. We'll update you all tomorrow." Asuma said.

"Thanks. Hidan, once you are sure of everyone here, you should continue your job unless you really want to stick around." I said.

"I would like to remain by your side while you are here, if that's not a problem." Hidan said.

"I'm fine with that." I smiled.

"Thank you my lord." Hidan said.

"What did I say?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you, Naruto." Hidan grinned.

"You are welcome." I said before heading to my assigned house with Hidan.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to help with the training plans. I can work in Kisame teaching Naruto as well." Itachi said.

"I don't mind. You probably would know if some of your group knows something they wouldn't mind teaching as well." Asuma said.

"We won't mind teaching them but you must realize what that means should any of you betray Naruto." Itachi said.

"We assume we'll die no matter if you train them or not." Kakashi said.

"Fair." Itachi smiled.

"You seem to have adapted to Naruto's odd situation already." Kakashi said.

"I protected him for years while I was still at the Leaf and even after I left and followed him during some of the first missions. I was away on a mission during this last mission or I would have intervened. Naruto said he's glad I didn't because he wouldn't have awakened as Jashin and Asura if I stepped in." Itachi said.

"You're his Shadow he talked about…" Shikamaru said.

"I've always been Naruto's shadow." Itachi said.

"Why?" Guy asked.

"I don't know… I just felt I had to do it." Itachi said.

"Do you like him?" Asuma asked.

"I never put thought into it." Itachi shrugged.

"If you do like him, would you do anything about it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Probably not. He has Hidan now. I can't compete with that." Itachi sighed.

"Try it. I doubt Naruto would turn you away." Sasuke said.

"What?" Itachi asked looking at him shocked.

"I know you took him to watch those fox kits back then. Even if you don't realize it, you and he were very much in love with each other. Naruto won't turn you away if you still feel for him what you did back then." Sasuke said.

"Why are you giving me advice after what I did?" Itachi asked.

"Naruto handed me this part way into our trip." Sasuke said holding up the mission scroll regarding that night.

"Of course he found it. I was sure Sarutobi would have destroyed it." Itachi smiled.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke handed him the scroll and the mentors passed it around before adding it to their growing list of concerns with the village. They then decided on a training schedule as well as agreed to share everything they had learned with the group, seeing no point in keeping the village secrets from people who would be working with me, who most of the secrets were about.

While they were busy talking, Hidan and I were discussing our relationship. I knew I wanted to keep whatever we had going, including the intimacy from the cave, but I wasn't sure if Hidan really saw me that way. I studied him while we talked, sensing if he was being truthful or not. I smiled when I realized he was completely honest and tackled him in a hug, landing on top of him. I kissed him and we made out for a while before I decided to rejoin the others. I fixed myself up before walking out, leaving a disheveled Hidan behind. I made it to the others rather quickly.

"Kakashi, I have a request." I said.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm going to channel Kyuubi's chakra like I did Jashin's and I wanted you guys to be ready in case you need to step in. I have sealing talismans just in case." I said holding them out.

"Alright." Kakashi agreed, taking them.

They made a circle around me and I sat in the center. I focused on channeling the chakra, feeling a burning sensation like I had when I used it against Haku. Once it had completely made its way through my circuit, I felt my body shift like I had with Jashin. I felt my nails get longer, I knew I had fangs again, and I could feel my hair shift but I couldn't tell how. I took a few deep breaths before opening my eyes, surprised when everyone was shocked.

"What?" I asked.

"Maybe you should just make a clone…" Kakashi said.

I did so and was surprised to see my new appearance had fox ears on top and black eyeliner and lips. I looked ferocious and feral. I walked around my clone; glad I didn't have a tail but I found it odd I didn't notice my human ears vanish. My hair was orange and a bit spikier and a few inches longer and my eyes were slitted and blood red, not the orangish-red I expected. I dismissed the clone and looked at them.

"So this is Kitsune then?" Pain asked.

"Yes." I smiled before realizing how scary that probably was.

"You could give people heart attacks just like that." Kisame laughed.

"Do you want to see if it's easier to dodge Kitsune then it was to hit Jashin?" I asked.

"Nope. I'm good man." Kisame said.

I smirked, "I thought so."

"Call me a coward if you want, but even I'm not crazy enough to go against that." Kisame said.

"I think that makes you smart." I said.

"I wonder how much chakra you have now …" Sasori said.

"Considering just Naruto's chakra is enough to make over a thousand Shadow Clones with chakra to spare and I'm sure Kitsune has more than that, I would imagine that the three chakras would total to be greater than the founders of the Leaf combine." Itachi said.

"Well, considering Tobirama maxed out at a thousand Shadow Clones himself and I am Hashirama reborn, I would assume that's correct." I said.

"Sarutobi is so screwed." Kiba said.

"I never thought I'd hear you be so casual about that." Asuma laughed.

"I never thought we'd be standing in a village of followers of Jashin with the Akatsuki, talking to Naruto about how he's the son of the 4th and a god who the 3rd decided to let people abuse, but here we are." Kiba said.

"Fair enough and decent summery." Asuma said.

"You know, I'm sure if I asked them to these people would kill everyone who hurt me. Luckily, I'm not interested in having to repopulate our village." I said.

"Just show up like that. You know how many people in the village would keel over seeing you manifest what looks like the 9-tails turned human?" Guy said.

"Again, not interested in repopulating our village. We don't have enough women and unless some other guys here are hiding that they are gay, I doubt we could make due even with my Sexy Jutsu." I said.

"Kitsune… You really have no filter." Kakashi sighed.

"You know, I'm almost curious what you'd look like with that Jutsu in this form." Deidara said.

"No." I said evenly.

"I wasn't asking. I was just saying. Anyways, you probably should see if you can use more than one type of chakra at a time once you get used to each of them." Deidara said.

"Of course. One step at a time, Dei-Dei." I grinned.

"Dork." Deidara rolled his eyes.

"You know you love it too." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Sure. I take it you know my secret too then?" Deidara asked.

"What? That your last name is Namikaze, big brother?" I asked.

"Hold on. What?" Kakashi asked.

"I have another nephew?" Pain asked.

"Jerk." Deidara glared at me.

"Why didn't you say something after Kitsune revealed himself?" Pain asked.

"I really didn't want to know if you were a protective uncle or not… Plus, it's not like I know anything about them. I was left in the village you guys found me in when I was only 3." Deidara said.

"Mom and dad died the night I was born. I wasn't even an hour old when they were killed. I don't doubt that Sarutobi knew about you but he probably made it out that you weren't wanted or something, right?" I asked.

"Yes. I actually only learned they were killed when we talked." Deidara said.

"Makes sense. Kyuubi is the one who told me about you." I said.

"I see. I was curious." Deidara smiled.

"From what I understood, they left you with a friend for your protection since the seal weakens during labor. They didn't want to risk you getting hurt. You were supposed to be brought back to the Leaf the next week, no matter what happened to them, and we were supposed to be raised together." I said.

"That didn't happen." Deidara laughed.

"No duh." I rolled my eyes.

"Kitsune, can your family be any stranger?" Shikamaru asked.

"Technically, yes. As Kitsune I could consider Kyuubi as another father which means I'm related to all the other tailed beasts." I smirked.

"Gods…" Ino breathed before laughing. "I wonder if they are protective."

"I think it's a hit and miss with that." I shrugged.

"I guess we should be glad we aren't around any other tailed beasts at the moment to find out." Asuma sighed.

"Doesn't mean we won't be around them come the Chunin Exams." I said.

"Fair enough. You'll let one of us know if you sense another jinchuriki when it comes time?" Asuma asked.

"Yes." I agreed.

"So, training. I think we've got most of it planned but if anyone has opinions when we pass out the schedules tomorrow feel free to speak up. Itachi helped make them so we have some of the Akatsuki listed as well." Kakashi said.

"We should try to keep our training outside the village, so we don't damage it." I said.

"I don't think I want to see how you'd react if we broke your village after it lasted near a thousand years." Kiba agreed.

"There's an open area nearby you can use. There's actually a few different places that would work depending on what you're training. We've already shown Kisame where the nearby river is after hearing he was to teach you water breathing and how to swim." The elder said.

"Wait, you can't swim?" Sasuke asked.

"No. Any time I joined the other kids they tried to hold me under. I figured I could learn water breathing and pretend to drown to freak them out." I smiled, channeling my blue chakra to shift back.

"That's evil. I'm in." Sasuke laughed.

"Kisame said the same thing." I smiled.

"Of course I did. Are you kidding me? That's only fair that you traumatize those jerks." Kisame smirked joining us.

"Are you going to randomly channel different chakras?" Guy asked.

"Probably. You guys should keep the seals on you just in case, but since I had no problem this time, I shouldn't have any issues." I said.

"We've set times for you to train your chakras and chakra control but since we don't have any idea what your chakras can do, we can't make a detailed plan for them yet. We'll have to make notes of what we discover when we observe your training. One of us or an Akatsuki member will watch your training at all times." Kakashi said.

"That's fine. I figured as much. I don't have any idea what I can do as Kitsune or Jashin. I really need to learn, especially since after all that I can work on Asura and Hashirama." I said.

"We set times for you to just talk with Zetsu about being Asura and for you to visit with the villagers and Hidan to help with your memories as Jashin. It is listed as your training since it very well could help you more than actual training." Kakashi said.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"We will help you with your memories as much as we can, Naruto, but we also only know what the legends say so we aren't sure we can tell you about yourself." The elder said.

"That's fine. Hidan is the same but just talking about my faith and following as well as what I feel when I'm Jashin helped a lot. I only just remembered I was Jashin a few days ago and I actually didn't even know my own name. Hidan helped me figure out I was Jashin and since then I've remembered quite a bit from just talking about it. I remembered this village a day away but before that I didn't even know I made a village." I explained.

"I see. So we don't need to be able to tell you about yourself, just be able to talk about our place as followers and let you talk and act as it comes." The elder summed.

"Exactly. I'm not really comfortable with being a god at the moment, even as Jashin, but that could be because of how I was treated as Naruto." I said.

"Is that part of the whole could kill your village if you really wanted to?" He asked.

I nodded and sighed. I asked them to sit down, asking Shikamaru to gather any of our peers that weren't here. I made the elder and other villagers who were near swear not to act on what I was about to tell them without my explicit order. Pain and the Akatsuki were made to make the same promise, Kisame gathering the others. I told them everything I had told Itachi and Hidan that night. All about how I was treated and all that was done to me and why. I left nothing out, Kakashi and the other mentors adding what secrets they knew about me and what was kept from me. It was after nightfall when we finished and I wasn't at all surprised at the various hugs I had gotten during my telling. I was surprised when my chakras shifted every now and then, making my appearance change since I wasn't suppressing my emotions like I had when I told Hidan and Itachi. I had noticed Kakashi had noted what happened and when during those times. I leaned against Hidan and nodded off just after finishing, only barely aware he picked me up before telling everyone goodnight.

The next morning we went straight into training. We all worked hard and took it seriously. I mastered water breathing pretty quickly but found out I could hardly swim. It took almost a month for me to learn how and that was with Kisame and others helping. Over the month and a half that we ended up staying for, I had unlocked almost all of my memories as Jashin and Asura as well as a few from being Hashirama. We each met almost all of our training goals when we decided we needed to head back in order to make it for the exams. The village threw another feast and we all promised to stop by again sometime. Hidan and Itachi had come to an agreement of sorts, Itachi having confessed his feelings for me two weeks in, and so Hidan headed off to continue my work while Itachi walked with us back. Deidara debated about coming with us, since he was a Namikaze and hardly anyone knew what he looked like but decided to show up dramatically before the finals.

When we made it back, everyone split off to go home, Kakashi and I headed to the Hokage's office before going home. Kakashi decided to let him know I was living with him, just in case he didn't get the memo, plus let him know we all made it back safely. When we got home neither of us were surprised when Tobi and Itachi were there. Kakashi had offered to let Itachi stay every now and then so long as Tobi was also there, since Tobi could make them vanish in a second. We all relaxed for the next few days, knowing the exams were soon. A few days later when I was walking through the village, I noticed a Sand ninja who I could instantly tell had the 1-tails. I started to go the other way when he turned and looked at me. His teammates also looked at me, curious as to why he stopped mid-sentence, so I sighed and went over to them.

"Yo. I'm Naruto." I said holding out my hand.

"Kankuro. This is Temari and Gaara." The other guy said shaking it while Gaara was glaring at me. Kankuro seemed to respond more in shock then intention.

"You can stop with the glare, Gaara. I'm sure I feel familiar and He isn't happy about it, is he?" I asked earning a shocked look from Kankuro and Temari.

"What do you know about it?" Gaara asked.

"Well, I'm like you, so I know a lot. The only difference is I'm in harmony with mine." I shrugged.

"I didn't know that was possible." Temari said.

"Might not be. I don't make sense in the first place. We all kinda gave up understanding me." I grinned.

"What do you mean?" Kankuro asked.

"You see the Hokage's faces?" I asked.

"Yah. What about them?" Kankuro glanced at them.

"I tossed myself off them when I was 4. I've tried to kill myself more times than I can count and nothing works. We don't understand it but I probably should have died, both from my hand and the treatment I get here, well over a hundred times." I said.

"What?" Temari asked.

"My friends and I just accept I'm alive and leave it at that." I said.

"You have friends being what you are? Do they not know?" Gaara asked.

"We know. Dobe made no secret about who and what he is. We don't care." Sasuke said throwing an arm over my shoulders.

"Actually, it brought us closer. Since we realized why everyone are such jerks to Naruto, we decided that we would make it right. None of us understand hating or fearing him for having the 9-tails inside him. He didn't ask for it nor is he the 9-tails itself." Shikamaru said.

"You guys do realize you're the weird ones, right? It's normal to fear people who are stronger than you and having the power of a tailed beast at my disposal should make you afraid." I laughed.

"Naruto, if you wanted to kill us we'd be dead. There's nothing any of us could do to stop you if you really wanted to, so why worry? Besides, with how compassionate you normally are if you kill someone they deserve it." Shikamaru said.

"Like Haku?" I raised an eyebrow.

"He did deserve to die. He locked us up and made us both pin cushions." Sasuke said.

"He chose the wrong person to follow." I pointed out.

"And you could have just as easily. Think about it? If Iruka hadn't helped you, who would you have turned to?" Sasuke asked.

"The 9-tails was probably my next option." I laughed.

"And how would that have ended?" Shikamaru asked.

"This place would be a crater at best." I said.

"Exactly. We're just happy you had Iruka and that we have you." Shikamaru said.

"Fair enough." I conceded.

"Is this normal for you guys?" Kankuro asked.

"The group others tend to call the Kohona 12 includes several of our peers and a group from the class above us. We are all this close after Naruto trusted us with the truth." Shikamaru said.

"You really don't mind that he is a demon?" Gaara asked.

"Dobe isn't a demon and neither are you. You both have a tailed beast inside you, sure, but that doesn't make you a demon any more than I'm an angel. Besides, the tailed beasts aren't demons in the first place." Sasuke said.

"Baka, if you were an angel you'd have black feathers." I grinned.

"Make another emo joke! I dare you." Sasuke said.

"You probably should avoid the eyeline then. At least Gaara can pull it off." I said before dodging his swing.

We started a game of tag after that while Shikamaru sighed. "Yes, this is also just as normal." He said.

"I think you are more welcoming then our village…" Kankuro said.

"You know, we'd be able to give you a place to go if you ever wanted to leave." Shikamaru said.

"We'll keep that in mind." Gaara said.

"Oh, your seal is a mess. You should stop by Sasuke's place later and let us fix that for you. There's someone Kankuro might like to meet there too." I said passing them.

"Why do you always volunteer my place?" Sasuke asked.

"Because your place is on the edge of the village and Kakashi's is a bit cramped." I said.

"Fair." Sasuke sighed, stopping the game.

"I win." I grinned.

"No one can hit you Dobe." Sasuke said.

"I know." I smiled.

"You are so casual about it…" Kankuro sighed.

"I know. I used to not be but something happened recently and everything became clear. It wasn't hard after that to be open with my friends and honestly, jinchuriki can be considered kin to each other, so why not help my family?" I asked.

"You'd want to claim us as family?" Gaara asked.

"There's no want. Now that Naruto said it, you are officially family." Shikamaru laughed.

"Don't we get a say in that?" Kankuro asked.

"Nope." I grinned.

"You know what, I think we might just stay here after all." Gaara smiled.

"Did… did you just smile?" Kankuro asked shocked.

"I did." Gaara said.

"Yah, we're definitely staying then." Kankuro said.

"Does he not normally smile?" I asked.

"The first time I've ever seen him really smile." Temari said.

"Alright then. You'll probably end up living in the Uchiha District for the time being then." I smiled.

"How will you get the 3rd to agree?" Sasuke asked.

"I can simply mention meeting Dei-Dei and he'll not argue knowing I am fully aware of my family now." I said.

"Dei-Dei?" Temari asked.

"My older brother Deidara Namikaze. He, along with our uncle, is part of the Akatsuki." I said.

"You have an odd family…" Kankuro said.

"You mean we have an odd family. Remember, you're family now too." I said.

"I'm starting to worry about your mental health…" Kankuro said.

"Would you still worry if I said I learned from Sasori and might be able to talk him into training you too?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Not at all brother. So, what all did you learn?" Kankuro said, throwing his arm over my shoulders, making Temari laugh and Gaara shake his head.

"I worry about your ability to manipulate people so easily." Ino said.

"Please. Why would I need to manipulate anyone? I'm just that lovable and connected." I grinned.

"Fair enough. Go talk to the 3rd and get this situated." Ino said.

"I'm coming with you. Maybe some of the information we have could be useful." Gaara said.

"Sasuke, do you mind showing Temari and Kankuro to your place and letting them pick out somewhere to live? I'll send some Shadow Clones to fix it up." I asked.

"Sure. Why not." Sasuke said before gesturing for them to follow.

Gaara and I headed to the Hokage's office, where there was a small meeting going on. We were invited in anyways, assuming I'd have a hell of a good reason to drag a ninja from another village in.

"Do you need something?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. Aside from him having information to share, I have something to ask you." I said.

"What is the information?" Sarutobi asked.

"Probably should make sure no one is listening in." I said glancing at the open window.

Sarutobi nodded and someone shut the window.

"The Kazekage has aligned with Orochimaru to attack the Leaf during the Exams. He is targeting Sasuke and Naruto as well as intending to kill you. I was assured by Naruto that you would not act against me if I were to inform you of this in exchange for protection." Gaara said.

"Also, I offered Gaara and his siblings to live in the Uchiha district considering he is my kin. He's the 1-tails jinchuriki and I am the 9-tails. We can be considered kin just like Dei-Dei." I said fighting a smirk when Sarutobi's eyes widened slightly at the name.

"I see. I cannot guarantee that they will be able to compete in the exams this year if it takes too long to process their new ninja profiles, but I will start the process. Do you know how they planned to attack?" Sarutobi asked.

"A Leaf ninja named Kabuto is assisting us. I do not know exactly what they plan on doing, just what my part was supposed to be. During my match in the finals, I'm supposed to release Shukaku and set it upon the village. Obviously, I have no intentions to do that now." Gaara said.

"Now? You intended to before?" One of the elders asked.

"Yes. Naruto changed my mind." Gaara said.

"How?" An ANBU asked.

"By accepting me and acting like it was normal. No one in my village sees me as anything other than a demon and a weapon. Naruto and his friends just told me that they couldn't see a point in that. That I was perfectly normal and Naruto claimed me as kin, along with my siblings. They did so like it was natural for them." Gaara said.

"It is natural, Gaara. There's no point in being afraid of you for something that you can't control nor did you ask for it." I rolled my eyes.

"You are the first." Gaara said.

"I mean, I guess I can see that. I was equally surprised when my friends accepted me after they found out." I shrugged.

"They know?" Sarutobi asked.

"I kinda snapped on that bridge builder mission, saving our lives because of it. Sasuke and I were going to die at the hands of an assassin and Kakashi was losing against Zabuza. My snapping, while not really snapping, saved our lives. Kakashi found out I was hurting myself after that and that's why I really live with him now. When we were talking about it, the others heard and that's why Guy really wanted us to train as a group." I explained.

"What do you mean you snapped without really snapping?" The ANBU asked.

"I mean I was still mostly aware of myself. I did kill the assassin, which I couldn't have done if I hadn't snapped, but I wasn't out of control. Just my hesitation vanished. It only happened because Sasuke was severely injured and could have died." I said.

"I see. And all of the Kohona 12 know about the 9-tails now?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. They accepted it as we did Gaara. They don't see anything wrong with me and have actually thanked me for saving Sasuke and Kakashi." I smiled.

"Very well. I will process Gaara and his siblings' papers as quickly as I can. We should keep this a secret for now, however, so they don't realize we know." Sarutobi said.

"My brother is named Kankuro and my sister is Temari." Gaara said, Sarutobi writing the names down.

"Please come to me if you get any more information." Sarutobi said.

"I will." Gaara said.

"What did you need to ask, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

"I want to try and arrange for Dei-Dei and his friends to be able to come and visit as long as they don't make trouble here. After all, Dei-Dei was supposed to be raised here." I said holding his eyes.

"Do you think you could really get them to agree to that?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. I know I can." I smiled.

"If you can get them to agree to such a thing, then I see no problem with it on top of everything else you've done." Sarutobi sighed.

"YAY!" I cheered.

"Naruto…" Sarutobi shook his head.

"Don't act like that. I finally get to spend time with my brother in my own village." I said before turning and leaving, Gaara right behind me.

'Are you still with the others?' I asked Hidan.

'I am not. Do you need something?' Hidan asked.

'I got Sarutobi to agree to let my brother and his friends come visit as long as they don't cause trouble.' I said.

'Would you mind if I came by then?' Hidan asked.

'I don't mind, but you do still need to do my will.' I said.

'I would like to be there for the Exams. After that, I will get back to it.' Hidan said.

'That works.' I smiled.

I showed Gaara where the Uchiha district was and let Sasuke know what happened. He shook his head but agreed to let them stay there. I left some clones before heading to Kakashi's and updating him as well, Tobi leaving right after to tell Pain and the others. Kakashi sent word to the other team leads, since I had outted that we all knew about what I and now Gaara am. Two days later I was showing Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro around when I heard someone call my name from the gates. I glanced up and saw a few of the Akatsuki, Deidara among them, being talked to by some ANBU. I apologized to Gaara before rushing off and tackling Deidara.

"Dei-Dei!" I said happily.

"What's up little brother?" Deidara asked hugging me back before I stepped back.

"Good job getting us to be able to visit." Pain said ruffling my hair with a smile, earning shocked looks from the Jonin who recognized him.

"Hey, I want my brother and uncle to be able to visit me at my own village." I huffed.

"I know. I'm impressed you managed though. It couldn't have been easy." Pain said.

"It was easier than you might think. I just sorta mentioned Dei-Dei and things went naturally after that." I shrugged.

"You mentioned you knew about him in a way that made it clear you also knew the whole Akatsuki and were likely friends with them. You really think Lord 3rd wouldn't realize how badly it could go for us if he didn't agree?" an elder from that meeting asked.

"Naruto wouldn't ask us to attack you because you didn't let us visit. Believe it or not, even with how badly you people treat my nephew, he has requested we not hurt you. Trust me, it took time for us to process that Naruto was defending the people who treated him like a beast." Pain said.

"You wouldn't have been so accepting if I didn't agree to let Itachi be my shadow and watch over me again." I said.

"No, I wouldn't have been. However, learning that Itachi was your shadow before he left here allowed me to accept that he would step in even if it meant causing problems for us. I do not want to lose any more of my family. I already lost my sister." Pain said.

"What about Itachi?" Sarutobi asked coming over.

"I assigned Itachi to watch Naruto when I learned he was my nephew. With how badly Naruto is treated here, the fact that he asked us to spare you confused us. So I had Itachi watch him as a compromise." Pain explained.

"I see." Sarutobi said.

"I already told them the truth. They have accepted me knowing that." Itachi said.

"There really isn't any point in having a spy in our ranks. We won't harm anyone Naruto wants to protect, even if we don't understand why." Pain said.

"Why go so far for a nephew?" the elder asked.

"Naruto and I are some of the last Uzumaki's. Our clan home was decimated much like the Uchiha's. However, we don't know who killed them. We know why, just not who." Pain said.

"Why would someone kill your clan?" Ino asked.

"We specialize in sealing Jutsus. Uzumaki's also have unnaturally large chakra reserves and lifeforces. Plus, some of us have talents found only in the Otsutsuki clan. On occasion, an Uzumaki can be born naturally talented in seals and such as well, mastering them as easily as a baby learns to breath." I said.

"Are you one of them?" Sarutobi asked.

"I am. I learned that I could control seals almost perfectly. That's why what I told you happened the way it did. Plus, we have the chance to awaken Rinnegan like uncle has." I said.

"I see. That makes sense then. Your clan could easily be feared." The elder said.

"Oddly, we only ever wanted to help." Pain said.

"Why would you have destroyed our village anyways?" Sarutobi asked.

"When Kushina left, I lived with our parents in Amegakure. We moved there right after sending Kushina here. The very next year when I was only 7, Konoha ninja broke in looking for food and our parents were killed when the ninja perceived us trying to escape as an attack. I awakened my Rinnegan due to that. However, I hated Konoha since, planning on taking revenge. I never considered coming to my sister, since I wasn't considered talented by our clan before. I ended up being joined by two other orphans, Yahiko and Konan, and we were eventually taught by Jiraiya-sensei. My hatred lessened a bit, until Yahiko was killed by Hanzo, under the manipulation of Danzo. Danzo claimed it was on your orders. We were only 15 when Yahiko died. This is actually Yahiko's body as mine is… damaged for lack of a better term." Pain explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was unaware Danzo was ever in Amegakure." Sarutobi said.

"Naruto assured us that you wouldn't have ever approved of his actions. The Akatsuki Yahiko ran was one that wanted peace and welcomed anyone who was kind and honest. The Akatsuki as you know it now is because of what I became after Yahiko's death. Naruto and his friends have helped me see that Yahiko's peace is still possible and that there is more to life than just pain." Pain said.

"Why is your body damaged?" An ANBU asked.

"We've recently found out my Rinnegan is not naturally mine. I don't know where it came from, but it takes a toll on me, consuming my lifeforce. I limit what I do as much as I can and Naruto is looking into finding a way to undo the damage, but currently I can't even move my arms. I don't have the strength. That's why I use Yahiko's body, which I renamed as Pain." Pain said.

"What's your real name?" Ino asked.

"Nagato Uzumaki. My real body has the trademark hair most of our clan has. I think I've only seen Naruto with anything but red hair. Deidara has the Namikaze clan name so I'm not counting him." Pain said.

"I like my blonde, but it's not like I can't have red hair if I wanted it." I smirked.

"What would you look like if you had Uzumaki traits?" Ino asked.

I remained smirking and used my transformation to take on the red hair, letting it lay flat instead of spiky and dark eyes. "This is how I would look." I said.

"You know, I think I like you blonde better." Ino laughed.

"I don't like it. You look nothing like me." Deidara said.

"Hang on, I just realized Pain said his sister was Kushina and you are his nephew. Wouldn't that mean that Naruto is the son of the late 4th Hokage?" One Jonin asked.

"Was that not known?" Pain asked.

"It wasn't." I said, dismissing the transformation.

"You look exactly like Minato but with whiskers. How was it ever a secret?" Pain asked.

"Selective ignorance." I shrugged.

"I see. You are odd. You really protect the people who couldn't care less about you and even hate you." Pain said.

"I know. But it might help that it is simply in my nature." I shrugged.

"I do not know of anyone with a nature like yours." Pain said.

"You don't want to, all things considered." I grinned.

"Fair enough." Pain conceded.

"What other things?" Sarutobi asked.

"Not anything you want to know, nor would it do me any favors." I said.

"I don't see how anyone could think poorly of you with what we just learned." An ANBU said.

"You might reconsider when you realize that the Akatsuki's connection to me is actually the least of your worries." I grinned, sensing Hidan nearby.

'Are you telling them?' Hidan asked.

'Considering it. Do you want me to?' I asked.

'Is it wrong for me to say yes? I want the world to know the true kindness of Lord Jashin. Your kind nature only is changed by one denying and fearing death.' Hidan said.

"We won't do anything to you or the Akatsuki as long as you don't attack first." Sarutobi said.

"We will hold you to that." Pain said.

"If you're sure." I said.

Sarutobi nodded just as Hidan joined us. I nodded at Hidan who came over to me and knelt. "I have culled a few more blasphemers before returning, Lord Jashin."

"What?" The elder paled.

"I am Jashin reborn. I'm also Asura, who became Jashin after humans betrayed me. I'm having my faithful, Hidan, cull those who use my name for mindless slaughter. My faith is that the fear of death is the ultimate sin and those sinners are taught the truth through experience. Children are forgiven, as it is natural for young to fear an early end, however those who run from death are taught the truth as thoroughly as possible." I explained.

"Jashin is peaceful?" Sarutobi asked.

"As peaceful as they come. Asura was a god of peace and Jashin a god of death. However, gods of death do not kill before someone's time unless they commit a severe taboo. For Jashin, that taboo is fearing death or denying it." Pain said.

"I see… I think I need to process everything." Sarutobi said before walking away.

"So, gonna show everyone what Jashin looks like then?" Ino asked.

"You knew?" The ANBU asked.

"Our whole group knows. We kind of made him tell us everything after finding out he started to try and kill himself at only 4. No way were we letting him keep anything in after that." Ino said.

"He did what?" The elder asked paling even more.

"I tossed myself off dad's face." I shrugged.

"Naruto…" Deidara sighed.

"I know. Shouldn't be so casual about it but it's not the worst thing I've done so I'm not really phased anymore. Besides, I do remember dying twice from past lives. Trying to kill myself isn't a worry." I said.

"Twice?" A Jonin asked.

"Yah. Both times I was betrayed too. The first one was my own brother who killed me as Asura, or Jashin if you want to be technical. The second time was when the elders here took advantage of my weakened state and killed me because I forgave Madara even after he betrayed us." I said.

"Are you implying you're Hashirama as well?" He asked.

"He is Hashirama. Only Hashirama would have known that, since no elder would have admitted it and Hashirama would never have shared he was weakened by his fight with me." Madara said coming over to us.

"Hey old friend." I grinned.

"You are stranger than the last time we met." Madara shook his head.

"Probably. I am Jashin after all." I smirked when Madara almost fell over at that.

"My peace-loving friend is a god of death?" Madara asked.

"As well as the god of peace, Asura. You're Indra by the way." I said.

"What the hell?" Madara asked.

"Zetsu messed up and we ended up cursed. We're good now." I said.

"Zetsu messed up how?" Madara asked.

"Convinced Indra that Asura wanted to be the next leader of the Otsutsuki when Asura only wanted to be around Indra. Zetsu got Indra to attack and eventually kill Asura. That ended up with us cursed to forever be in conflict. However, since I remember all of my life as Asura and Jashin as well as some as Hashirama, that curse is gone." I explained.

Madara just stared at me before Itachi laughed and patted his back. "Get used to this. Naruto is unexplainable in every way. Plus, he is way too forgiving."

"I don't forgive people who hurt my family." I corrected.

"We haven't had to see that luckily." Pain said.

"Yes, because my only family is all Akatsuki." I rolled my eyes.

"So don't hurt the Akatsuki unless they attack us first. Got it." The elder said.

"I mean, no way I'll defend them if they attack first." I shrugged.

"No, you'd put us in the dirt yourself." Itachi said.

"You aren't wrong." I grinned.

"Alright. I'll just assume you can handle yourselves." The elder left unable to handle it any longer.

I just smiled and we all headed to the Uchiha District.