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Three members of Team Seven trudged their way into the loomin gates in the distance. The clear blue skies and bright sun was not a reflection of their disposition. Downtrodden and distraught they marched on towards their home in the hidden leaf, the gates looking far more ominous than thought possible.

Kakashi couldn't help but look at his team with sadness, disappointed in himself more than anything and wondering if he would ever stop letting people down.

Four had gone on an escort mission, three had come back from a battle to decide the fate of a small insignificant nation.

His male student, Naruto, was unusually quiet throughout the entire trek back home. Tense and nervous, more than that, Kakashi could see how the death of his teammate was affecting Naruto badly.

Walking beside the blonde, Sakura looked on blankly. Her cheeks were stained by tears that had dried earlier in the day.

He couldn't tell who exactly felt the greater impact of the death of their third teammate the hardest, but he knew each would be blaming themselves.

They finally made it to the gate, and he sighed. Time to face the music.

Kakashi sat alone in one of the shadier bars around Konoha nursing a bottle of Sake. As he rubbed the tip of his index finger around the rim of the little sake cup, he contemplated just giving up. He felt cursed, as if everyone he was supposed to get close to and cared about was bound to die. His Mother, his Father, Obito, Rin, Minato and Kushina.

Now one of his students was dead, another one injured, and the last was traumatized and likely to drop out of the Shinobi Corps.

"Here you are, Kakashi," A familiar voice called out.

The silver haired Jonin raised his head and turned his one eye to greet the figure who sat next to him.

"Lord Jiraiya?" JKakashi asked with a raised eyebrow, "What brings you here?"

"Sensei asked me to get here as soon as possible," Jiraiya replied, the toad sannin frowned, "I heard about the mission, heard about what happened."

"I failed," Kakashi muttered more to himself than to his new company. He downed the cup and refilled it, "I can't seem to protect those who I'm in charge of protecting."

"Yeah," Jiraiya agreed, "I know how that feels, I've lost my fair share of students. Minato hit me the hardest… but in the end, all we can do is keep moving forward. You can't let your failures continue to define you, or it will destroy you slowly. Take it from the man who is nothing but a failure."

"As you say, Lord Jiraiya," Kakashi stared blankly as he nurtured another cup of Sake, then asked the older man, "Have you gone to see Naruto yet?"

"Don't know how to approach the boy," Jiraiya admitted, "I've been gone too long and to show up when his friend died seems rude."

"He could use the support," Kakashi replied.

The funeral of Uchiha Sasuke was a depressing affair. Many turned up to give their last farewell to the last loyal Uchiha of Konoha, Ino Yamanaka could be seen sobbing into her hands. Sakura Haruno just looked at the picture of her former teammate with hollow eyes, the rest of the rookie genin looked at the grave with grim eyes, realization and determination at the forefront of the processing of the death of a former classmate and orphan.

The sky was gray, the Sandaime Hokage noticed. As he looked around the crowd he failed to spot a certain someone. The person most affected by the tragic death of their teammate.

Naruto Uzumaki stood on a tree branch further off into the distance. Draped in black mourning clothes, forehead protector slanted, covering his left eye.

Virtually a mirror image of his own Sensei who was slightly above his student and even more hidden away.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his eulogy, and watched as one by one, civilians and shinobi alike came to leave a single flower on the grave of the last Uchiha.

Slowly people began leaving, even the Yamanaka girl left eventually. But Sakura stayed, soon after the girl was left alone. Kakashi appeared startling the girl, "Kakashi-sensei!"

"Hello, Sakura," Kakashi greeted her softly.

"Sensei… where's Naruto? I thought he would…" Sakura questioned but trailed off.

"Oh, Naruto? He's nearby. He just isn't ready to face the crow," Kakashi explained with a sigh, feeling horrible. It looks as if his horrible judgment got someone killed, again. And now his two cute little genin would have to suffer the consequences.

"Is he still blaming himself?" Sakura asked, "It's me who was so useless and got Sasuke-kun killed. Maybe if I trained a bit more, or learned medical ninjutsu… maybe he would still be alive."

"No Sakura," Kakashi stopped her, "It's my fault. I should have brought us back to the village when it stopped being a C-rank, maybe wait for reinforcements. But I got arrogant."

"Sensei…" Sakura started, "I want to be a medic… I don't want to lose Naruto or You or my parents. It hurts so much."

"We could talk to Lord Third," Kakashi suggested, "I'm sure he would be willing to accumulate."

"How are you holding up, Naruto?" Hiruzen asked his young ward. They were currently sitting on top of the fourth hokage's monument.

"I was useless, old man… I couldn't keep up with the fake hunter ninja," Naruto explained, "I don't want to be that useless ever again. I want to be fast enough, and strong enough to not be a burden to my friends."

"You know," Hiruzen stated, "You remind me a bit of Minato… the Yondaime, he lost two of his students in the war, and each time he vowed to become strong enough to protect his loved ones."

"My father… had students?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised. He probably skipped the history lesson, but then again, that was not common knowledge since it went against the myth of the infallibility of the Yondaime.

"Yes, He had a genin team, team minato, originally known as Team Seven," Hiruzen recalled with an earnest face, upon seeing the look of realization in Naruto's face he continued, "And he too once was part of a team seven as a genin. Why, the cell traces its roots to my own team under Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama."

"Wow," Naruto breathed in, "That's… a lot to live up to,"

"And you will," Hiruzen assured, "Afterall, Kakashi was a part of team seven himself, the last remaining student of the beloved yondaime."

Then the old man opened a drawer and retrieved a scroll from within, "Speaking of I believe it's time you had this."

Naruto took the scroll, removed the black ribbon and opened it to read its contents, confused he said, "This is…"

"The Schematics for Lord Second's Flying Thunder God, it's what your father used to create his own variant, but no scroll or copy exists of his," Hiruzen explained as he gave Naruto a smile, "There are three who know your father's technique… but I believe you may be able to work something out yourself. I heard from Kakashi you are quite taken to the art, even if you seem more partial to ninjutsu."

"Have you come to a decision, Sakura?" Naruto asked as he sat on the guard rails of the bridge as he waited for Kakashi.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Sakura said with her head down, refusing to look up at him, "But I decided to leave Team Seven, and the Shinobi corps."

"What?! Why?!" Naruto was shocked, he wasn't counting on Sakura leaving. He knew she loved Sasuke, he knew that she probably blamed him for his death. But he wasn't expecting her to just quit!

Not when he finally had a team, even if Sasuke died. He had spent a year after graduating at eleven pretty much by himself. His team had been solely himself and Kakashi.

He didn't want to be alone again.

"Is it because… I couldn't protect Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his body slowly started to tremble.

"No!" She shouted in denial and disbelief, "No, I don't blame you. You two did everything you could, it's just… I was so useless, all I could do was stand around doing nothing."

"Sakura…" Naruto started but he was interrupted.

"No, Naruto, I was useless," She admitted, wiping a tear from her eye as she said, "Looking back, I can't even remember why I wanted to be a ninja. I hardly trained, I cared more about my appearance than my abilities. You got hurt and Sasuke-kun died as a result. I'll just be dead weight to you, and if you got killed… or I got killed, I can't even begin to think what would happen to either of us."

"Oh," Naruto said with downcast eyes.

Sakura saw this and gave him the best smile she could, "But don't worry, I talked to Kakashi-sensei and Lord Hokage. They got me an apprenticeship at the hospital, while I won't be a shinobi anymore. I will be a doctor, so I can help heal people, and you and Kakashi when you two get hurt."

"I… understand," Naruto said, gripping his shoulder with his left hand. He watched as she left the bridge and felt a pain as if his heart had been stabbed.

But he knew she was right, he just didn't want her to leave. To walk out and for him to be alone again. He didn't know if he could face any of his former friends from the academy.

If only he could disappear or revert time, if he could've saved Sasuke somehow.

"Naruto Uzumaki has been selected for the ANBU," the third Hokage said bluntly. In the Room there were several people with varying degrees of responses.

Kakashi Hatake, the Jonin-sensei of Naruto, was the most relaxed, or at least appeared to be so, as he leaned into a nearby wall with his arms crossed

On the other end of emotional composure was Asuma Sarutobi who looked at his father as if he had just lost his damn mind.

On assume's left Maito Gai looked on grimly while on the right of the leader of team ten, Kurenai Yuhi frowned deeply.

"You have to have lost your damn mind old man," Asume spoke in protest, "The last time we allowed anyone that young into the ANBU the Uchiha Massacre happened. Now you wanna toss a kid who just lost a teammate into an organization known to break people head first into it?"

"Mah, I turned out fine didn't i? I was only a year older than my cute little genin when i joined," Kakashi said with an eye smile, then glared at the Commander of the ANBU, who's platinum mask reflected nothing, "Though I wonder how this happened, last i checked Naruto only graduated by the skin of his teeth. Not that he's dumb, but people weren't too keen on the hope that he would graduate."

"We had penned Uzumaki for recruitment since the academy," the commander replied, "He had demonstrated proficiency in the arts we seek out in the ANBU, Infiltration, Sabotage, Demolition and Assassination primarily-"

Shikaku Nara, Jonin Commander and Second in Command over the shinobi forces, frowned, "His pranks showed that he had what it takes to be Black Ops before he graduated. But he doesn't have the right temperament for it, Gai was not accepted because he was too bright. I doubt Uzumaki is any less so."

"On the contrary," The Commander of the ANBU replied, looking at Kakashi, "Anyone who is close to the boy or observant of his nature outside of his attention seeking activities would know he has a darkness, and despite it all incredible mental fortitude. The right candidate for the Black Ops."

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage," Kurenai Yuhi interrupted, "But I was under the impression that you must be at least fourteen years old to join the ANBU, isn't he getting enough special treatment as is? Early graduation was outlawed yet he was allowed to graduate last year."

"Naruto wasn't allowed to graduate early," Hiruzen denied, explaining the accusation regarding the "The Instructors broke protocol in order to get rid of him, hoping he would either get killed or at the very least be rid of him from their classrooms. I only allowed it because in the end it does more harm than good to keep him in that environment, originally he was supposed to graduate with class 3-B and be assigned onto genin team seven."

"So why the ANBU then? Sure, team seven is a teammate short. But shouldn't they have been placed on reserves or given a genin who didn't have a team?" Asuma protested, "He's a kid, barely a year out of the academy and just lost a teammate. The ANBU is not a place for him."

"Team Seven was disbanded," Kakashi said, "Sakura joined the medical corps full time with mine and Lord Hokage's blessing. She expressed no desire to continue in a frontline position. I officially took Naruto as my apprentice, which makes me question why this is genuinely being considered?"

"You could maintain the apprenticeship if you retook the mask, hound," The ANBU commander answered, "You clearly need discipline, face it Hatake. You got lazy and complacent- you were a commander yourself and yet allowed your ability to fall so far you were no longer considered S class material. Momochi Zabuza shouldn't have been an issue for you."

The temperature in the room fell several degrees, frostily the silver haired jonin replied, "How's the rising number of security leaks and record number casualties going for you?"

"Enough!" A new voice called out, as a white haired man stepped through the window.

"Jiraiya," Hiruzen called out, blowing out a call cloud of smoke, "You're late."

"What's this I hear about my godson being penned for the ANBU?" Jiraiya asked, "he's too young."

"Exceptions have been made before," The ANBU commander stated backhandedly.

"I want to do it," Naruto stated revealing his presence to the jonin who hadn't realized he was there, "I need to grow strong enough to keep my friends safe, I-I can't fail again, not like Wave."

Naruto collapsed on the bed, not the bed of his old house. But the one provided in the barracks as part of his new living space, something that still was completely alien to him. The past three months had been a whirlwind of change that had become blurry as days of repetition melded together.

Sasuke died in the mission to wave, leaving with a Sharingan to replace his destroyed eye.

Sakura had left the shinobi corps and joined the medical corps.

He had joined the ANBU and had just passed his final exam.

There was a knock at the door and then the door opened. A purple haired woman he did not recognize walked it, her lips thinned and her eyes conveyed seriousness.

Her first words cutting through the silence, "Recruit Uzumaki?"

"Yes?" He replied sitting up.

"Report to the Adjutant office within thirty minutes for reassignment," the woman said as she turned and left the room, but before she closed the door, she turned back for a moment and gave him a small smile, "Welcome to Team Ro, Kakashi-senpai has said great things about you."

Then the door clicked closed.

The whiskered blonde groaned, looking around his bare and spartan room. It's not like he ever got a chance to unpack between all the training sessions and classes and exercises.

The few things he had been allowed to bring still sealed up neatly within a scroll.

"Listen old lady," Naruto said as he stood up, palms on the table as his hair shadowed his eyes, "I don't care that you're a legendary ninja. I don't care that you're this old perverts teammate or a celebrated war hero. Insult the Hokage again, and I'll personally kill you. They gave their life for the village while you run and hide behind an illusion."

"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled, both appalled and shocked at the attitude of his godson, but another part of him knew that the blonde boy had a point.

Shizune was equally shocked at the audacity of such boy barely out of the Academy could talk to one of the legendary sannin like that. The descendant hokage no less, one known for her brute strength and foul temper.

"Is that so brat?" Tsunade questioned with a smirk on her face, one that the two people who knew her best could only interpret as cruel as the blonde woman said, "then let's take this outside and see if you can back up those words."

"Jiraiya-sama," Shizune said pleadingly as she looked at the white haired Sannin who stood with both of his arms crossed, "You have to stop this, get that boy of yours to apologize, Tsunade is going to kill him!"

"I can't," Jiraiya said grimly, "Naruto doesn't really listen to me much, there's only three people who could get him to listen and Tsunade just insulted one of them… Naruto was close to sarutobi-sensei, and saw him as a grandfather, Tsunade just insulted him, and she insulted Naruto's father."

Shizune looked at the blonde boy with confusion.

"Naruto," Jiraiya called out, "Don't kill her."

"Tsk," the blonde clicked his tongue and replied, "Whatever old man."

"See what I mean?" Jiraiya pointed out, and then turned back to the boy, "I'm serious, the village needs her,"

"So, Brat," Tsunade spoke up, "Touched a nerve did i? Why do you foolishly put your life on the line for dead men?"

"Because the Hokage were honorable people who protected the village until their death," Naruto replied, "They looked to the village as their own family and didn't hesitate to lay down their lives. They inspire many like myself, the old man looked out for me- even when I was at my lowest. To become Hokage, it was my dream."

"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that, "Why is it you gave up? Realized how foolish it is?"

"Because I couldn't even protect my friend," the boy replied, as he slowly unsheathed his chakra blade from his back, muttering low, but still loud enough to be heard, "How can I be hokage when I couldn't even protect my friend?"

The street was filled with tense silence for a moment, "One finger, that's all I need to defeat you."

"Your funeral," Naruto replied as he fell into a ready stance.

"Aren't you going to use your other eye cyclops?" The blonde haired woman asked with a raised eyebrow, noting the slanted position of his headband, "Or are you trying to copy the Copy Ninja."

"I won't need it," Naruto replied coldly.

The battle lasted less than a minute, Naruto rocketed forward but Tsunade slammed her finger against the ground causing a fissure and kicking up a lot of dust and debris that covered her field of vision.

She was quickly assaulted by three Naruto's, causing her eyes to narrow at the usage of the shadow clone jutsu. But which was the real one?

The boy was quick, she would give her that and coordinated with his clones to dodge her punches. Weaving in and out of her arm, and she immediately regretted restricting herself to only a finger.

One shadow clone lunged at her, and she grabbed it, tossing it at the other shadow clone. But she realized her mistake as the blonde came at her with the tanto coming for her.

She reacted instinctively, eyes wide as she punched the blonde. No, she punched through the blonde, as she realized her arm had gone through his chest and come out the back.

The blonde boy fell, and her eyes landed on the blood on her hand.

She could hear shizune gasp as her hands began to shake. Suddenly the hair on the back of her neck stood as what sounded like the cry of a thousand birds rang in her ears and the smell of Ozone hit her nose.

"You're dead," the real Naruto said from behind her, chakra saber crackling with Yellow Lightning.

Tsunade looked at the body on the ground and watched it dissipate into smoke, the blood on her arm disappear.

Her lips thinned, as she scowled, and purely out of spite she sent an upper right hook sending him into the other side of the street. Of course, she toned down her super strength, she was pretty, not a cold blooded murderer.

"Monkey!" Naruto cried out as he slid to his knees and grabbed his teammates shoulders, "stay with me, monkey."

Kakashi, with his hound marked masked on and their group of hastily assembled ANBU watched with Sadness as his former apprentice clutched to his closest friend, the closest thing he had to a brother.

"Wasp… it's… bigger than… any… if us" the dying monkey gasped out as he struggled through the pain, "Take the scroll… look… after my family…. Become… Hokage… for everyone…"

"We need a medic!" Wasp snarled towards the ANBU who stood around. A brown haired anbu with a frog themed mask was instantly at their side, hands glowing green as she did her best to heal Monkey.

"Stay with me Monkey," Naruto urged, his voice cracking as he tried to hold back the well of emotions, "Don't go!"

"No… it's… too late." Monkey gasp as he felt himself go cold, he grasped the glowing green hands of the cat masked ANBU, and turned back towards his younger friend "It was an… honor… to fight for… something… we chose. It was an honor… serving with you, wasp."

Quietly, Naruto picked up the scroll that Monkey sacrificed his life for, as he turned to look at his team, they all one by one began to take their masks off. Each face was equally set in mourning and regret, and as Naruto took his own mask off, he said, "We have the proof. The Commander will have to act now."

"Yugao?" Naruto said as he recognized the head of purple hair that approached him. Though the mask she wore was different, a blank mask.

She halted her approach, lowered into a stance and began to slowly unseath her weapon from the sheath in her back.

"Yugao!" Naruto called out to her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry little one," Yugao spoke up in a hollow and emotionless voice, "But, Lord Danzo is the only way forward."

The blonde jinchuuriki was shocked, he could not understand what she said, or why she said it. She was his captain, someone who had welcomed him and gave him the support he needed. Especially after the raid on Konoha. She was the first person he had developed a romantic interest in.

Suddenly she spoke up, "Please little one, I am begging you. For the future of the leaf, put your weapon down."

"Future?!" Naruto replied, his eyes narrowing, "What future? A future where we are all nothing but emotionless slaves to that madman? A future where we are destroyed because of that warhawk's warmongering tendencies?"

He also dropped into a stance, retrieving his weapon from his back. One blue eye could be seen glowing along with a red eye from his mask.

Betrayal bubbled within his chest, between losing his best friend and the betrayal of the person he held in highest regard.

But as he beheld his commander, he no longer saw the strong willed yet caring superior who led his team. All he saw was a broken woman who sold her soul to the darkness of shinobi.

He did not wish to hurt her further.

He made eye contact with her once again, and not a moment later Yugao Uzuki dropped to the floor. He walked up to her and dropped to a knee beside her head.

He pressed his index and middle fingers and searched for her pulse.

When he found none, he took a deep, shuddering breath, stood up and walked away.

Two years later, Naruto and Kakashi were on a mission when they were jumped by a man wearing an Akatsuki Cloak, and orange mask, and what unnerved them the most, was the Sharingan eye the man possessed.

He was impossible to hit, nothing he or Kakashi would do seemed to face the unknown enemy. Then he caught both of them by their wrist, and the world around them distorted and seemed to disappear, as Naruto fell unconscious.

When he woke up once again, he was with Kakashi. They were in a hotel room, and the senior copy ninja looked at his apprentice and said, "Well, Naruto, I hate to say this, but we aren't in Konoha anymore."

"What?" Naruto asked looking quite confused, "Of course we aren't in Konoha, we weren't in Konoha when we fought that akatsuki masked weirdo,"

"Well, we aren't in the elemental nations either," Kakashi proposed, as he pointed at a globe shaped atlas in a desk in front of their beds.