Naruto 1. Past & Future

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me

_Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. This is purely a work of Fan fiction, no profits gained. Support the official releases. _

_If you haven't seen some of the latest volumes of the Manga and don't want to know what happens, please don't read, I really don't want to spoil anything. May possible contain mature themes befitting Shinobi life? Please enjoy._

_Cavaet Lector _

* * *

_Prologue. Along came a Spider_

A man leaned lightly against the wall absently watching a lone candle struggle to provide illumination for the hall. His innocuous features highlighted in the dim candlelight. The uniform that he wore identified him as a Shinobi of the village Konoha.

He shivered and began rubbing his arms trying to warm them up. It was cold atop the Hokage Mountain at night; the cold nightly winds that seemed to spare the village blew through the aged building. The hall was a remnant of the regions history, prior to the foundation of the hidden leaf.

"Cold Tenzou" a voice spoke drifting along the wind.

"No Sir" the man replied searching for the source of the voice.

"There is no need to lie" dry voice responded from the darkness "I apologise for being late, I had to make sure that the parasites hiding in my roof were occupied"

"Have they not let up Sir?" the man asked.

"They haven't" the man responded curtly "I did not call you here to discuss that however. There is something more important we need to discuss."

The man waited expectantly. He had been in the old hall for several hours and wanted to know what was important enough to be summoned so late.

"It concerns your squad…." the voice paused mid sentence,

"Leader-sama"

"I would like to know how they are progressing "

Tenzou analysed the question, the darkness of the room helped him concentrate on his thoughts. He had a good idea of what he was truly being asked.

"The subject is reacting much like I expected he would" Tenzou finally replied after a short delay.

"Any reason for the pause" the voice asked piercingly.

"I was fully digesting the question Sir and trying to give you the most accurate answer," the man paused "I was also considering what my answer to your next question would be"

"Oh, and what will my next question be" the voice responded again, the man could detect the amusement in his superiors tone.

"Will we be able to use the subject?" the man replied promptly

He heard his leader chuckle silently.

"Very good Tenzou"

"Thankyou sir"

"And your answer"

"I think the subject could prove useful to our cause, however…." the man paused hesitating over his next words; He had to phrase them correctly.

"Continue" the voice drifted from the darkness once more.

"I have reviewed the situation and have come to the conclusion that we should attempt to convince the subject to join us"

"Please explain your reasons" the amusement was instantly gone replaced with cold detachment.

"Yes sir" Tenzou took another moment to order his thoughts.

"As we have discussed before I think there is little doubt that the subject's abilities would be eminently useful to our cause"

"That is undeniable"

"Taking that fact for granted the true question would appear to be _how_ we can make use of the subject. I have concluded that there are two main options. The first option involves indirect manipulation; we make him serve our own ends without his knowledge. The main benefits of this options are, that should we be able to manipulate him effectively we would not have to risk our security being breached."

"I agree"

"The second option however is the option that I have come to believe is what we should follow. This option entails that we convince him to join our side"

"And'

"And I have come to the conclusion that we will be able to convince him to do so" Tenzou answered limply.

"I would like more than that Tenzou, please elaborate on why this option is preferable" the leaders words were polite however Tenzou knew better then to be fooled by such superficial artifices.

"I believe that, if we consider recent events, it is possible that we will be able to exploit the subjects current state and convince him to join us."

"Would this not suggest that we manipulate him? If he is confused as you suggest, it would seem the most logical response?"

"It is true that by manipulating him that _way_ has its merits, however I think there are inherent flaws with the line of thinking."

"Yes"

"The subject has two chief assets that are of interest to us. Firstly he holds a position of some influence amongst the younger generation of Shinobi. Not to mention his links to some the senior members of the village itself, the Hokage being the most evident example. His second main asset is his ever-increasing physical prowess and his status as a Jinchuuriki"

"We have already agreed upon that Tenzou," the voice impatiently reminded him"

"Yes sir, however I do not see how these abilities can be exploited to their greatest extent if we attempt to manipulate him from the shadows. The best we could hope for are small objectives that are not too far out of his worldview. This is a tremendous waste of his potential. If we only need him to do such minor things I don't see why we need _Him_ at all."

"And your reasons for making him an ally." The voice was still without warmth.

"If we manage to enlist him as an ally we would be able to make use of all his talents." Tenzou paused waiting for his leader to interject. The silence gave him confidence to continue.

"Simply if we have little or no direct links to the subject, his effectiveness to our cause will be low as a result, begging the question, why we even need him in particular? On the other hand if we increase our links to the subject, his effectiveness will be much greater. The weakness of this option is that the closer the subject is to us the greater damage he could possibly inflict if he isn't loyal."

Tenzou paused again; there were no interruptions so he continued.

"Having reviewed the options I came to the conclusion that the first option would make our efforts not worth the time. The second, despite its risks, could benefit our cause immensely and it is my belief that it is achievable."

"What about his opinions on me personally" the man interjected

"Sir?"

"I have other sources of information Tenzou, I am aware that he holds me in contempt. I find it hard to believe that he would either join us, or stay loyal"

"Yes sir it is undeniably true that the subject was resentful after you ordered the assassination of the Uchiha. Since the attempted assassination I have discreetly worked on the resentment and managed to at the least reduce it to suspicion. This suspicion as you would imagine is the key impediment to our progress. Taking into account what has happened recently I am confident that his suspicion can be overcome."

"I did not believe that he was not so close to the copy-nin, that his opinions would be changed so diametrically due to his death"

"The subject was informed about the death on the Sannin Jiraiya shortly after the death of Kakashi contributing to his distress. Also we must take into account the action of the Uchiha in Kakashi's death. The subject's resentment towards you is primarily derived from the attempted assassination of the Uchiha, however in light of recent events, the subject is more understanding of the logic behind why we attempted to eliminate him."

The other speaker had now moved close enough to be seen in the dim candlelight. Half of his face was covered with Bandages with a few tuffs of hair sticking out the top. With his one visible eye he firmly looked upon his subordinate. He gestured with his hand to continue.

"I think that the death of his two mentors coupled with the guilt that he is feeling about the fate of the Uchiha has led to him to re-evaluate his opinions on the world. He now no longer has either Kakashi or Jiraiya to guide him along the path of the _first_. I am the closet thing he to a mentor and it goes without saying that I will use my influence to guide him along the _correct_ path."

The old man moved to the wall and lit another candle

"With all the determining factors taken into account I believe that this is probably the greatest opportunity we will ever have to gain access to such a valuable asset. If we are to approach him we must move soon however" Tenzou exhaled, he wiped his forehead after his impromptu speech. He was surprised to find that he was sweating.

The old man did not respond immediately, his eyes staring into the candles flame. The hall was silent, the only sounds that could be heard was the howling of the wind through the building.

"Very good Tenzou I am impressed with your analysis," the man finally stated breaking the stillness.

Tenzou was relieved however he tried to show no emotion, he had let his anxiety prey upon him for a few moments.

"Your reasoning was convincing." The man looked back at his subordinate. "Should I agree to your proposal, how do you suggest we continue from here"?

"I think it is necessary that _I_ should be the one to broach the subject to him, I have known him for a while now and he trusts me."

"I Agree"

"I don't think the problem shall be convincing him to at the very least consider the idea. I think the true problem that we will face is the limits of his resolve. It is critical not to test him too early. He is still in most respects the person he always was, if we allocate him any assignments that raise too many moral dilemmas, we would lose him. It will be necessary to start slow, however if done correctly this will lead to greater things."

"Speed is critical to a Shinobi" the man recited one of the tenants of Shinobi conduct

"If we push him too far too quickly I cannot gauge how he would react, it would be counterproductive. Speed without caution is the path to a _quick_ death" Tenzou halted abruptly as he realized he had rudely contradicted his superior "I am sorry for my impudence Leader-sama" he knelt on the ground his head lowered.

"It is quite all right Tenzou, I appreciate your judgement" Tenzou heard traces of amusement in his leaders voice.

"Another Test" he asked.

"Life is a test Tenzou" the man replied sagely. His subordinate raised himself from the ground relieved that his leader wasn't angry.

"Do you think he should come before me"?

"I think it is necessary, he knows about your connections with the former Root division. If I introduced him to a masked ANBU he would suspect our faithfulness. His loyalty shall initially depend upon his suspicions being alleviated. If we give him reason to be suspicious at the beginning the whole process will be ruined." Tenzou paused "However he doesn't need to be introduced to the _others_, he has no idea of their existence and there is no practical benefit introducing him to them. All that would be accomplished from such an act would be a greater risk of exposure of our movement should he divulge information to the Hokage."

"I agree" the leaders voice lapsed into dead seriousness "I have one last question and this one is the most Important. Should he prove unwilling to accept our invitation, or should he turn out to be traitorous…"

"I will eliminate him," Tenzou answered before his leader had finished speaking.

"Very good" the voice was warm again " I am very impressed with our efforts Tenzou. I know the last few months must have been trying for you, however you have fulfilled your mission admirably."

"Thankyou leader-sama" Tenzou replied.

"We are not in an official meeting Tenzou, you can address me by my name."

"Danzou-sama"

"I am convinced; bring him before me here in four days time. We could meet earlier however I do not want Tsunade to suspect that I have agents within the units she has spying upon me"

"Are things escalating"? Tenzou asked.

"No. It is not yet the time to take any major action. Any overt action against the misrule of the Hokage's is, for the moment, unfeasible. We shall continue to support our village from the shadows." Tenzou noticed a slight trace of weariness in the old mans voice

"Besides there are still potent forces dedicated to destroying Konoha, if we make any provocative movements before they are defeated they will exploit the turmoil. Our objectives shall continue to be eliminating any external threats to the future of Konoha."

Tenzou nodded, he knew of some of the main Threats, the leader of Akatsuki leader was alive and at large. Any one who could take down one of the Sannin was to be feared.

"Despite this Tenzou, I want you to always be prepared for the unexpected. If we manage to beat the enemies away from the gates, we will them move to combat the greatest threat to our village, that which resides within the walls."

"Yes Danzou-sama, I shall always be prepared"

"Good, we will meet again in four days time" Danzou extinguished the candle with his fingers.

"Understood" Tenzou bowed waiting for his superior to leave. When he raised his head the old man had left, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floor.

Once he was sure his superior had left the man returned to his contemplation of the lone candle.

"Things were certainly going to be different" He chuckled to himself as he extinguished it, engulfing the room in darkness.

* * *

Past & Future

* * *

It was nearly midday in Konohagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the leaves. The streets were crowded with ninja and civilians alike.

Uzamaki Naruto stood leaning on the rails of his balcony, disinterestedly watched the hubbub of activity in the city streets. Normally he was comforted by the sounds of the urban sprawl, the ceaseless murmur of activity conveyed a sense of life and vibrancy that he found relaxing. Yet at the moment the young mans mind was swimming in the multitude of thoughts, which had threatened to overwhelm him since his meeting with Danzou.

Danzou himself was not physically intimidating; quite simply he was old. His many visible wounds bespoke the sacrifices that he had made for his village; he had only one arm and one eye (Naruto assumed he had one eye as the right eye was covered in bandages). Danzou talked about his desire to protect the village and Naruto sensed that this desire was genuine. His problems with Root had nothing to do with the substance of theirs beliefs; rather it was Danzou's methods that he was concerned about. When Naruto queried him about this Danzou had responded.

"_The village has lost its way; I created Root in order to protect the village Potential threats to the villages security have been allowed to survive and grow. These potential enemies encouraged by our feebleness eventually become actual threats. In the last two decades we have seen the results of what happens if our enemies are left in peace"._

_Naruto did not understand what the man was talking about. Danzou judging by the bemused expression on Naruto face clarified for him._

"_You only need to review the last twenty years of our history to realize the problem. The village has lost two Hokage's; both killed within the very walls of the village, one of them killed by his own student no less. The war with Iwa, The Suna-Oto invasion and now our recent conflicts with Akatsuki have all taken their toll upon the village. We are trying desperately to maintain the façade_ _of strength but the simple fact is Konoha is growing weak whilst our enemies grow stronger. Two of the three Sannin, the most gifted in their generation are now dead. Kakashi Hatake your captain was _the last surviving member of his squad…"

Naruto had interrupted the old man, he did not appreciate that Danzou was using Jiraiya and Kakashi deaths to help convince him to join his cause.

"_I am not going to treat you like a child and avoid mentioning your recently departed mentors."_ Danzou had replied evenly _"The simple fact is that, besides the personal tragedy of their passing, their deaths also represent a downward trend in the village. It is possible that our village may be able to endure several more decades, however with each passing year the village will grow weaker until finally when the village finally collapses it shall be a mere shadow of its former self. What is more, the number of Shinobi who sacrifice their lives for their village will increase as well, just so we can try to keep the allusion of strength. Tell me would you be willing to sacrifice your friends needlessly?" _

Naruto had not answered, the words however struck at his very soul. Little though he wanted to admit it what Danzou was saying actually made a little bit of sense. Naruto had never really looked at the deaths of his fellow ninja in such a way. Kakashi, Jiraiya, the Sandiame Hokage, Asuma among many others, to him their deaths were personal tragedies; he had not really considered how their deaths impacted upon the village in a wider sense. He had felt uneasy, not wanting to admit the validity of what Danzou had said he changed the subject.

"_They died for their beliefs, the third sacrificed his life for his village. And yet you still dislike him and corrupt his legacy."_

Danzou had surprisingly nodded his head at this comment.

"_It is true I did not like the Sandiame Hokage. He became far to enthralled with his vision of balance among the nations, so much so that he lost his objectivity. His reign witnessed the decline of our village. You must remember that Orochimaru was the thirds pupil. Sarutobi had the opportunity to eliminate his_ _erstwhile student however he let him escape."_

"_He was a hero like the forth, he died defending the village" _Naruto had insisted.

Danzou nodded once again _"And that is the reason I do not hate him. My dislike of him came from our disagreements over the means however we both wanted to save the people of Konoha. He was a worthy if misguided Shinobi. In regards to the forth Hokage, he was a true Hero and had his reign been longer I am sure he would have steered the village along the right path."_

"_Your path, you mean"_ Naruto grumbled.

"_The Path of a Shinobi" _Danzou declared vehemently, Naruto was taken aback by the outburst. When Danzou spoke again his voice was again controlled. _"I am under no illusions. The ideology espoused by the Hokage's is far more attractive than what I am telling you. The philosophy of balance is very enticing, that is its greatest strength and weakness. The truth is that no matter how much it is pursued it can never be brought into fruition. The goal of the philosophy is the creation and preservation of peace, however the idea that Shinobi, who would have no place in such a world, could actually create a peaceful world is ludicrous. All it has given us, besides a pleasant daydream, is a circle of enemies around the village waiting for the right moment to finish us off. The great tree that is Konoha has grown corrupt. It surpassed all its competitors in the struggle for light; however once it became aware of its pre-eminence, it forgot its painful struggle for survival and instead tried to enforce an unrealistic ideology of peace on a world that is built on war."_

Naruto did not respond to Danzou, instead he looked towards his captain. He had initially been relieved that Yamato was present at the interview however as it continued he felt uncomfortable with his captain's presence. He had stood behind Danzou throughout the interview and he had not moved an inch the entire time. His stillness was unnerving.

"_I understand, this is a lot to take in, please take some time to consider our offer" _Danzou had said.

A year ago he would have dismissed Danzou's offer out of hand, indeed he would have done so even a few months ago. And yet now he was actually entertaining the notion of accepting Danzou's offer. It was disconcerting how much things could change in so short a time. Naruto was forced to admit to himself that Danzou's promise to use his influence to put him back on the roster of active Shinobi was a major enticement. Besides Danzou was not asking him to do anything immoral, he just wanted him to keep an eye out during his missions.

Naruto dismissed the thoughts bubbling in his mind. What Danzou, and his Root cronies represented was against his Nindo, his ninja way. He wanted to protect his village and his friends however he wanted to do so without breaking his word. He had seen what happened to those who had become lost, their words had become twisted, a tool for justifying their own heinous actions. He had no desire to follow in their iniquitous footsteps.

"But you have already broken your word" a voice whispered in his mind. Naruto recognised the voice it was that of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He channelled his chakra through his body to halt the flow of the Kyuubi's chakra, a trick that he was becoming more proficient with. To his shock he discovered no resistance, the demons energy was still firmly held at bay buy the seal placed on his stomach. Naruto shook his head; he must have imagined the voice.

Naruto groaned in frustration, it was true though. No matter how much he may struggle to explain his way out of it, the simple fact is that he had broken his word. He had made a promise of a lifetime to Sakura, to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, due to his actions he could never fulfil that promise.

_Naruto closed his eyes ignoring the world around him. He let his thoughts drift back to that moment where he had failed; perhaps it could help him come to a decision. _

_He had, along with the retrieval team, rushed to the complex where Sasuke was supposed to be. He was hoping for another opportunity to recover his friend. The comment made by the strange Akatsuki member (Sakura had said his name was Zetsu) that Sasuke was fading fast had worried him. Itachi was near unstoppable, if Sasuke had somehow managed to defeat him he could only imagine the state he would be in. _

_The complex was a wreck; it could hardly be classified, as a building so great was the damage. The retrieval squad could not find the bodies of either Uchiha brother amongst the rubble; The Akatsuki had apparently reached them first. For a brief moment he had_ _despaired that the mission had ended the way of the last attempt, they had come so close only to have Sasuke taken away from them. _

When Kiba and Kakashi's nin-dogs managed to pick up traces of the Uchiha's sent he had felt hope again. The problem was that the scents were emanating from three different areas. The squad split up, Kiba and Shino followed one trail. Sakura and Hinata accompanied by most of Kakashi's hounds followed another. He and Kakashi had followed the final trail with the help of Pakkun, Kakashi's ninja pug-dog.

Naruto paused from his recollection and reflected on what might have happened had they arrived earlier, or not at all. If they had only arrived earlier, the masked man might have never had the opportunity to mess with his friends mind. If they hadn't arrived at all perhaps Sasuke would have had time to calm down and realize the situation he was in. Either way things would have almost had to turn out better then they did. Naruto dismissed these thoughts; it would do him no good thinking what might have happened. The simple fact was that they had encountered Sasuke, no amount of wishing it had been different would change that fact.

_Following Sasuke's scent the found they entered a cave in the mountains near the battleground. There were various side passages however with Pakkun's help they managed to follow the path that led to a large antechamber. _

_Inside they had found Sasuke leaning against the cave wall, tears streaming down his face. His chest was wrapped up in bandages and the numerous scrapes, cuts and bruises on his body were evidence of the battle with his brother. Standing next to him was the masked ninja they had encountered in the forest._

"_Senju-ninja, I am impressed that you found us, I suppose you aren't as bad as I thought" the man with the swirled mask taunted them. _

_Sasuke raised his head. Naruto had noticed the difference in his friend immediately; he could the strange starlike pattern of his eyes even at a distance. _

"_Naruto" Sasuke had whispered his voice and mannerisms were strange. _

"_Naruto watch out," Kakashi had shouted but it was too late he had not expected the attack._

_**Chidori. **_

_Kakashi threw himself in front of his student to shield him from the blow; he had taken it full force of it himself. _

_With one hand stuck in Kakashi's bleeding chest Sasuke reached out with the other and in one horrifying motion ripped the Sharingan out of his former teachers head. It was all done so fast, with such clinical precision. The dark-haired boy jumped back from his former teacher to stand alongside the masked man._

"_What have you done?" he yelled when he finally regained the ability to speak. The speed and the complete lack of hesitation in the attack had stunned him. He thought that Sasuke had only just emerged from a fierce battle with Itachi, how could he even launch such an attack. _

"_He was abomination, he was not worthy of such a gift" the dark haired boy spoke silently as Kakashi limply fell to the ground._

"_What"_

"_He was a dog of the Senju, a conspirator in their treachery. He was unworthy of such a gift. I merely took back what didn't belong to him" Sasuke responded._

Naruto hadn't understood what Sasuke was saying; he couldn't actually believe that Sasuke had struck like that. He wasn't sure why, he just did not expect Sasuke to attempt to kill him. Sasuke had spared his life at the Valley of the End, and although it appeared that he had attempted to kill him at Orochimaru's hideout, Naruto was sure that Sasuke was only trying to scare him off.

He had never expected such a deliberate and clinical attack. On reflection he knew his actions were childish, but at the time he just couldn't comprehend.

"_You have become stronger Sasuke"_ Kakashi had spoken, feebly struggling to his knees, a bleeding crevice where his left eye used to be. His arms cradling the massive wound in his chest _" I tried to warn you that pursuing revenge at all costs would cause you pain"_

"_I need no lectures from you" _Naruto remembered his friends voice; it was without any warmth, without any trace of the Sasuke who had acknowledged him as a child. There was not even any trace of _the boy who had called him his best friend at the valley of the end. Sasuke had always been proud of his Uchiha heritage however in that cave his eyes dominated him, cruel and unyielding. Sasuke stared at his former friends with the unblinking ferocity of a bird of prey._

"_I am sorry I couldn't help you" Kakashi had continued before coughing up blood upon the ground. _

"_Sensei" Naruto gasped._

_Kakashi pulled himself back off the ground; he pulled a scroll from his vest and handed it him "Take this, you might need it"_

"_Naruto whatever happens here, don't let it stop you from following your own path. I know you will continue to be a worthy son of his " Naruto would remember the look in his sensei's eyes until his dying day. He had seen many things from looking into people eyes, hate, anger, love, pain, however the sadness that radiated from his sensei was almost tangible._

The dying Jonin turned to face the masked man next to Sasuke "Obito" he rasped.

The masked laughed sickenly. It was filled with pure, almost childlike, enjoyment. _"Such a fool you are Kakashi Hatake. I am Madara, Obito Uchiha is long dead"_

The silver haired Jonin ignored the man _"Obito I am sorry, I couldn't protect Rin like I promised"_ Kakashi was obviously hallucinating, lost in the ghosts of his past.

Naruto touched his face; tears were falling down across his cheeks. He wiped them away furiously. He didn't want to cry, he didn't want to dwell in self-pity he was remembering so he could reach a decision. Kakashi's final moments would be forever etched on his memory, he wondered if it was a symptom of being a Shinobi that one regretted the decisions they had made in their life. Zabuza had done so all those years ago, so did Kakashi. With death a very real possibility Naruto had expected that life would be lived without regrets. However the reverse was probably true, one would always be drawn to what was done wrong rather than what was done right.

"_Enough of this" he had heard Sasuke shout as charged at the kneeling Jonin drawing the sword at his waist. _

_He remembered attempting to move to intercept his friend however the masked ninja had teleported behind him and grabbed his arms. The masked mans grip was vice like, inescapable. _

_He had watched helplessly as the lightning enhanced sword cut through the kneeling man without resistance. He heard the dull thud as the body slumped to the ground. He was half-expecting his sensei's body to turn into a tree or rock like he had done so many times over the years. However Kakashi had not preformed the body switch technique, he had simply died._

When he realized that what he was witnessing was not a Genjutsu or one of Kakashi's trips he had closed his eyes. A foolish response in the situation, but he had not what to face the reality of what he was seeing.

"_Are you okay, you coward"_ Naruto remembered the taunting voice of the Uchiha. The words were remarkably similar to those he had spoken on the mission to the land of waves. The Sasuke who had murdered Kakashi, the Sasuke who was his friend, the faces of the two overlapped their actions becoming merging together in his mind into a grisly collage.

"_Coward" Sasuke repeated with contempt " if you really desire to be the Hokage, the head of your village. Then you are a prime example of the corruption of the Senju. Those who attack us when we are supposedly allied, who deliberately and callously planned the murder of my clan, those who corrupted my brother. All of them are cowards and all shall be held accountable just as they held my entire family accountable." Naruto remembered the rant; he had his eyes closed at the time however the words had burned themselves onto his memory. _

From this point on his recollection of events was cloudy, He remembered only fragments of what occurred? Pakkun Kakashi-nin dog was dismissed with Kakashi's death. Konoha later managed to renew the contract with Kakashi's hounds and Pakkun had confirmed what Naruto had remembered.

He knew why he couldn't remember, it had happened before. Whenever the demon fox took over his mind, he remembered nothing about what happened in his possessed state. But something was different this time; he had a rough recollection of images and sounds.

Naruto sat down leaning against the rails of his veranda and closed his eyes, he no longer concentrated on his memories but rather he tried to let his thoughts take him there.

He began to hear fragments of conversation, he couldn't remember any images. The words swirled through his mind in the dark

"_I shouldn't have come after you," a voice stated he recognised it to be his own but there was different, he was speaking quietly almost unnaturally so. _

"_I told you that already" another voice answered scornfully, the voice belonged to Sasuke. _

"_You are no better than your brother" it was his voice once again. Slowly he began to see blurry images of the cave. _

"My brother was a far greater man then you could ever imagine" Sasuke had responded. Sasuke's eyes slowly came into focus they were no longer calculating, instead the vibrated with anger on the verge of madness.

"_You will not destroy the leaf village, I cannot let you"_ Naruto could not comprehend how he was talking; his voice was low and even, emotionless, lifeless_._ Maybe that is what he sounded like when controlled by the demon fox.

"What can you do, I am an Uchiha I wield the Mangekyou Sharingan, A power born of a sacrifice that you could never hope to imagine. The man restraining you is Madara Uchiha. He saw the people of Konoha for what the truly were and dedicated his life into stoping the Senju. What are you compared to us, nothing, at best Senju scum."

"_Uchiha Madara, a hero you say_" the words were far different now. No longer were the soft nor did they have the same inflections. Something moved in his peripheral vision, the image moved slightly. The masked man was lying scrawled on the cave floor the remnants of his mask were rested on the ground. One of his own arms appeared in the image obscuring the mans face, Naruto watched as some as the skin slowly pealed away from his arm, there was a red haze over the limb.

The image changed once again to Sasuke his sword raised. "My eyes can see you for what you are, a mere beast. I have already shown you that I can dismiss you at any time."

"_Proud of your eyes aren't you boy" Naruto remembered the awful voice. Momentarily he feared that the fox was in his head once again, for no longer was the voice from his remembrance belonging to him. _

"_Only one of your clan has ever truly manipulated me, and that will never happen again"._ Naruto was concerned, the line between his memories and the present were becoming harder to distinguish, he was no longer sure if the Kyuubi's voice belonged to the past. He considered stoping, he did not want to allow the creature access to him, however the knowledge of what happened next was alluring. He steadied his breath and let the memories wash over him.

He was moving towards the Uchiha. He could see Sasuke trying to react however he didn't seem to be moving quickly enough. He could see the fear in the boy's eyes as he struck him across the face, his hand clawed and engulfed in red chakra.

The image of Sasuke was lost for a few moments replaced with a swirling view of the cave. The image gained focus Sasuke was on the ground standing next to him was Madara. Naruto guessed from the perspective that he must have been on the other side of the room. For a few brief moments he saw the face of the man beneath the mask, somehow he recognised Madara's face immediately, although it belonged to someone he had never seen. Madara kneeled next to the thrashing form of Sasuke and preformed a few Kata's and gently touched his face.

Sasuke rose from the ground slowly, into a sitting position. From his perspective he could see the damage done to once handsome Uchiha. The left half of his face was untouched however the right was unrecognisable. Sasuke right eye had been consumed by the Kyuubi's burning Chakra; the area around it could only barely be described as a human face, a horrible mess of uneven charred flesh There was no skin nor hair on the right side of his face and the sinews and bone breath were visible to the world. It was strange however that there was no look of agony on what was left of his face. He could detect fear; he smelt it in the air. He saw Sasuke's lips moving but could hear no sound; he could see the sinews on the left side of his face as he moved his mouth.

His perspective was coming closer, he was moving towards the Uchiha. The elders mans face was shrouded by the lighting in the cave, only the three Tomoe in his Sharingan were visible. The image faded into darkness

"**Uchiha Madara, such an arrogant human."** Naruto heard the Kyuubi's voice. "I think we repaid him for trying to tame me" the demon sneered.

The darkness receded only to be replaced with an all to familiar sewer. It was a strange world, without any tactile sensation. Momentarily panicking the blond ninja looked around wildly, he hadn't intended to let things get this far.

Naruto looked through the bars into the monsters cell, red claws reached out towards him. Naruto cursed viciously, he focused his chakra through his body. The Kyuubi's arms cautiously receded back into the cell.

"_I_ will allow you to have this day boy, after all _you_ _let_ me have mine," the Kyuubi's laughter echoed in the empty recesses of its confinement.

The sewer gradually receded, the bars that imprisoned the Kyuubi's shrunk and became the railings of his veranda. The dingy sewer slowly dissolved into the reality that was Naruto's apartment.

Somehow he had managed to fall over as he was now lying on his back on the balcony. He raised an arm to stop the glare of the midday sun, the other slowly stroking his eyes. He pulled himself over to the railings and slumped against them, His head lolling back onto his shoulders once he found a comfortable niche against the metal.

He took a few deep breaths to steady himself, he felt weary like he had been engaged in a prolonged struggle. Naruto's neck soon began to ache from the uncomfortable angle; he switched shoulders only then to be confronted with a grim faced Yamato.

"**Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh!**" he screamed swiping at the wood ninja before him.

Yamato deftly jumped backwards to avoid the panicked blows.

"Are you all right?" he asked lightly once Naruto calmed down.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!"? Naruto intoned the words slowly stressing every syllable, his heart was racing from encountering the demon fox, he hadn't really needed the wood-nin to scare the hell out of him as well.

"I detected the Kyuubi's chakra, I though you might need some help. I didn't need to act though, it had dissipated by the time I arrived."

"And you decided to scare me for the fun of it, I suppose " Naruto accused

"I had to make sure you were all right" Yamato replied defensively.

"You couldn't have smiled or something, first I see the demon then I see your snarling face. I'm not really sure which one I prefer" Naruto answered.

Yamato did not smirk, his eyes narrowed. "What is wrong, you were close to loosing control, I could feel the creatures chakra from half a village away and I am sure most of the other Shinobi noticed as well."

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking and it caught me unawares" Naruto lied. Naruto looked at his captain, his expression unreadable.

"Don't be sorry, just make sure it never happens again" Yamato finally spoke.

"Thankyou. If anyone asks can you tell them we were just training, I don't want to worry anybody"

"I don't know" Yamato answered vaguely. He smiled slightly and his expression contorted into a look of worried concern "I really should inform the Hokage, unless of course you could _convince_ me otherwise"

"What do you want" Naruto asked wearily he knew what _convince_ meant.

"After our next training session, I think you will pay for the meals"

Naruto nodded glumly, he wasn't sure when it had started however people had now began to bribe one another. He considered it a horrible practice since he usually was the one who had to pay up.

"Were you thinking about Danzou's offer"?

"Yes" Naruto replied, he paused for a few moments before asking what was on his mind. "Yamato-taicho if you were in my position what would you do?"

Naruto watched the wood-nins face hoping for some clue to help him reach a decision. Yamato expression once again became unreadable. Sometimes it annoyed Naruto that his captain was able to keep such control over his own features.

"If I was you, I would accept " Yamato finally responded.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak however Yamato gestured that he was going to continue "I am not you however, this decision has to be yours alone. At some point everybody has to make decisions for themselves. A core component of Root's philosophy is that its members should be able to accept, understand and interpret the realities of any given situation. My suggestion to you is that you think about what it is that you want and to what lengths you are willing to protect it"

"By accepting Danzou's offer do I have to go through the same kind of training as Sai"? Naruto asked remembering his emotionally handicapped friend.

"No, you are probably too old for that anyway. Working with Danzou does not mean that you become an emotionless killing machine. I will make no promises that what you might be called on to do will be easy. You will however have the satisfaction of knowing that you are working towards something greater than yourself."

Naruto considered the words before replying "Yamato-Taicho, how did you get involved in this?"

"That is the story for another time, for now I will leave you to think" Yamato turned and walked towards the door. "Remember though, you owe me a meal"

--xxxxxxxxxx--

The brief distraction of the wood-nins appearance soon faded after he departed and Naruto returned to his thoughts. His little foray down memory lane had been illuminating if not dangerous. He came to the conclusion that the Kyuubi was responsible for allowing for the disturbing manner in which he almost relived the cave incident. Various aspects of the recollection were hazy however other aspects seemed real, as if what was appearing to him was actually happening. Despite learning details of what happened in the cave Naruto was still not ready to make a decision about Danzou's offer.

He had failed his friend and his mentor; he could never escape the guilt. The rational aspect of his mind realized that it wasn't only his fault, however he couldn't help but feel that if he had just tried harder or thought clearer their deaths could have been averted. He didn't remember Sasuke's death; the Kyuubi had interrupted before he could see it. In one way he was glad that he didn't have to remember the image. From the battle in the cave to waking up in the hospital over a month later he remembered nothing. He only later learnt from being debriefed that he had killed Sasuke & Madara Uchiha. It was fortunate that the rest of the retrieval team were not in the immediate vicinity, apparently Yamato had stoped them from approaching the area. He had recognised the transformation had reached an unprecedented level. The reports from the retrieval team suggested that the Kyuubi defeated both of the clansmen and then proceeded to destroy the entire mountain range for the fun of it. Eventually his body gave way under the stress of the demons Chakra and he collapsed. After a short search his body was recovered by Yamato and Sakura amongst the debris and brought back to Konoha for treatment.

All this he knew from the debriefing only, one entire month of his life was missing.

Naruto smiled sadly remembering his first memories having woken up.

_The sun was shining radiantly through the hospital windows onto his eyes. He remembered turning away from the sunlight blinking. Sakura was sitting at his bedside she was dozing slightly in the chair. _

"_Sakura-Chan" he mumbled his mouth feeling ungainly. _

_The pink-haired Kunoichi awoke, her green eyes focusing upon him. "Your awake"_

"_Yep" Naruto replied sardonically._

_Sakura sat with her head down for a few moments "Sorry, I'm just glad you're awake. I have been worried you been out for a while"_

"_How long" he had asked._

"_A little over a month, you have been waking up the last week but you weren't very coherent"_

_Naruto tried pulling himself up into a sitting position but it was more difficult than he had expected. Sakura helped him._

"_Your been in bed for nearly a month Naruto, your muscles aren't used to your activity. There are also some lingering affects of your last fight" Sakura had spoken the last words with a brittle note to her voice that he had only recognised in reflection. At the time his wits were scattered however from his rest._

"_What happened?" he had asked groggily holding his head._

_Sakura didn't answer immediately; she was looking out the window of his room. _

"_We will talk about it later" she finally had answered "For now you should rest, I'll go find your doctor. I haven't slept for a little while so I not much help at the moment" _

With that Sakura left the room. At the time he had not thought anything more about it. However now he could see how she must have felt, he had killed Sasuke. He had broken his promise of a lifetime. Instead of saving him, he had been the instrument of his death. He had broken team seven irreparably; no matter how much they would try nothing could bring the old days back now. And yet she hadn't berated him, or yelled at him, she visited him everyday with a smile but he knew what she must have been feeling, he had failed her. Her visits were always of a strained nature; something had irreparably changed between them.

He had other well wishers Team 8 came to visit him and Hinata left him flowers each time she visited with her team-mates they adorned his dresser table and filled the room with a beautiful fragrance. Team Shikamaru had also visited; Shikamaru had become the new team captain following the deaths of Asuma and of their interim captain Kakashi. Team Gai had also visited and much to Naruto's surprise so had old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame. They had said that they were worried about their most loyal customer.

He had politely listened to the words of support, part of him was thankful for their thinking of him and yet another part didn't want to hear their words. He had lost both his teacher and he had killed his friend. No matter how articulate their words of comfort were, it didn't dispel his guilt.

The hospital had forced him to have sessions with a councillor. They believed that he was having problems coping with the death of his mentors and they claimed that it was okay for him to feel fear concerning his own mortality. Listening to them talk about dealing with his own mortality Naruto recognised where their sudden preoccupation had originated.

_One morning during his stay at the hospital Tsunade herself visited him, he distinctly remembered that she was looking very pale. He soon determined the cause of her unusual complexion when she had hesitantly informed him of the findings of the test they had been preforming upon him._

"_The damage that the Kyuubi did to your body was more extreme they we originally had imagined. Using an average rate of cellular reproduction we believe that the incident has taken approximately ten years from your expected life expectancy."_

He hadn't answered immediately; it was not the kind of statement that called for an immediate response.

"_I want you to remember that the number ten years is conjecture, we have know way of measuring the damage accurately nor do we know how long you will live. Also our knowledge regarding the Kyuubi's effects on the body is minimal at best. Knowledge concerning Jinchuuriki is rare and often inaccurate"_

"_Please don't use that word," he had reproached her quietly. _

"_I'm sorry" Tsunade answered to the quiet correction "at any rate the damage was extreme. Ten years is may be too high a figure, but I thought it best that you recognise the possibility." _

"_Thankyou Hokage-sama, I appreciate your honesty" he replied_ _smiling._

_Tsunade looked taken aback at his response, he didn't know how she expected him to react. Did she think he would wave his arms above his head and go into a blind panic. He knew the effects the demon had on him up to the four-tailed state; he had already concluded that the damage done by whatever state he had reached would probably be far greater. _

"_Naruto will you be all right, if you need to talk…" Tsunade had begun._

"_Thanks for your concern, but honestly I am fine." Naruto interrupted before she could finish speaking. _

Tsunade had the left the room unconvinced, leaving the offer open that if he needed to talk he need only approach her. Not long after his doctor had informed him that he would soon start counselling sections. They were unnecessary, Naruto knew what he was feeling and why he considered a few years taken off his life as poor exchange for the debt he had incurred. Two lives ended in that cave that could have been saved had he only thought clearly.

He spent far too many hours for his liking in those sessions, when his councillor was called outside for a conversation he stealthily moved to look at their notebook.

_The patient appears to be suffering from survivor guilt; he focus obsessively on his perceived failure to act and blames himself for the deaths of both Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha. _Naruto was unable to read more as the councillor re-entered the room.

After that chance discovery he made sure that he carefully worded he responses, if they thought he had an illness there was a very good likelihood that they would keep uncomfortably close tabs on him.

Eventually his councillor had come to the conclusion that it would be in his best interests to leave the hospital, Naruto had told them this many times they simply hadn't believed him. Once his rather extensive physical rehabilitation was complete he had been released back into the city.

He was put on the off-duty roster "for a well deserved break' as Iruka had termed it when he had requested an assignment. He had protested to Tsunade however she informed him that it was her decision. He hadn't even bothered to argue with her and accepted the ruling tamely; arguing about it would only lead to the vacation being extended.

He needed something to do though; his long stay in the hospital had tested his patience. He was not altogether used to being indisposed for long periods, the demon foxes influence usually saw to it that his injuries healed quickly. He had become slightly short tempered; it had taken a great deal of concentration not to berate his visitors. Only having a further inactive period only depressed him, if he wasn't doing something his thoughts would dwell on the cave.

He tried to keep himself busy training. He soon learned that if he exhausted himself with training he didn't have the energy to contemplate his actions. However at night he couldn't escape his dreams.

During his _well-deserved break he _adhered to a strict training regimen. Eating sleeping, and training each activity following the other at the scheduled hour.

He tried to keep abreast of event outside the village; he reasoned that the Hokage was not informing him of Akatsuki movements, to shield him in his _venerable_ state. Not many of his acquaintances were willing to divulge information concerning the state of the world; the conversations seemed to usually centre on inoffensive topics such as the weather. Yamato was the only one he seemed willing to answer his questions.

To his surprise there was very little news about the Akatsuki. After learning of Jiraiya's death, Tsunade sent agents into the hidden rain with strict orders to avoid combat situations. The Rain nation had a well known and well deserved reputation, if rumours were true, of being a difficult country to enter. The Konoha agents however encountered little difficulty crossing the border.

The village had exploded into a full-scale civil war; the Shinobi deserted the border crossings to contend for power back in the village itself. Apparently the war had being going on for a long time, however recently one of the factions was thrown into confusion with the loss of their leader. The other took the opportunity to recapture the city for themselves. Naruto had waited patiently as Yamato had talked about what he had gathered, he cared little for the internal politics of the village, he wanted to know the whereabouts of Akatsuki's leader, he also had a debt to make sure that the old perverts death would not go unavenged. Much to his disappointment the agents had found no trace of the Akatsuki leader; he had apparently disappeared shortly after murdering Jiraiya.

Yamato was one of the few people that Naruto felt comfortable around. He answered his questions and whenever he had free time would join Naruto in his training sessions. With Yamato around, Naruto felt safe to increase the intensity of his training. If worst came to worst Yamato could make sure that the tailed demon would not emerge once more.

Naruto and the Kyuubi enjoyed an even less than cordial relationship. Due to the nature of the seal placed on his stomach, he could unconsciously draw upon the creatures Chakra. But now Naruto wanted nothing to do with the Fox.

Whatever state he had reached in the cave, weakened his seal. The demon fox occasionally made assaults upon his mind attempting to gain control, he had learnt that if he channelled his Chakra although his body he could suppress the foxes malign influence. There had never been an amicable relationship between himself and the demon, indeed sometimes when he was feeling venerable he blamed the demon for him being ostracized by the villagers when he was younger. Predominantly however they existed in a mutual truce, if he needed a little extra help he asked the Kyuubi to provide the muscle. The demon did so not out of love or even respect but simply out of boredom and self-preservation.

But now Naruto felt befouled by the fox's presence, it had caused Sasuke's death. Normally if he suffered an injury the fox's influence would speed up his healing but now Naruto wanted nothing from the demon, he had found that if he concentrated he could prevent even these usually unconscious uses of the Fox Chakra.

His acquaintances seemed to be keeping an eye on him. Not a few times he found himself in the company of Sakura, Hinata, Kiba or Shikamaru even Neji stoped in from time to time. The latter of these visitors was a source of some guilty humour; for Neji was painfully obvious in his attempts to keep a watch upon him. Naruto found that whenever he linked the term henpecking with the reserved Hyuuga, he would burst out in laughter.

Sakura was by far the hardest to deal with. They didn't even argue anymore, she would just smile and talk about little things. Naruto could feel the oppressive weight of his own actions whenever he looked at her, no matter how polite she acted he couldn't shake the suspicion that she was just hiding her anger and her pain.

Not only could he no longer talk to Sakura, he now also felt uncomfortable around his first sensei. Iruka by nature was kind and understanding and he had visited him frequently. One part of Naruto was happy that his sensei was trying to be helpful and he could tell that the teacher was genuine in his concern. But he couldn't refuse to accept responsibility for his actions as Iruka had suggested. Iruka had tried to convince him that the deaths were not his fault, but this was simply a denial. If he denied his responsibility than he would be no better than Orochimaru, it might be more difficult to face the reality but to retreat behind the excuses was even worse.

Sasuke, Kakashi or Jiraiya were never mentioned as a topic for conversation. Naruto knew why, they didn't want to upset him. Their presence however was only more conspicuous in their absence.

The official funerals for Kakashi and Jiraiya had large turnouts, and the general feeling in the village was similar to when the Sandiame had died. The bodies of neither ninja had been recovered. Kakashi's body was probably destroyed in the Kyuubi's rampage; Jiraiya's was lost to the lake outside the hidden Rain.

The remembrance ceremonies were well attended Jiraiya was a Sannin, a legendary ninja known to all. And Kakashi was considered a Hokage in the making. The names of the two were added to the ever-growing list of names on the memorial stone. Kakashi in some way was finally united with his teammates once again.

He had taken the time to learn about Kakashi's past as his sensei's last words had annoyed him for some time; he had wanted to know what the copy-nin was referring to. In order to find the answers he sought, he began to visit the library, a facility almost unknown to him before. Kakashi had never spoken much about his personal life. One of his few clues came from Kakashi's comment during the bell test all those years ago, that the names of his closest friend were engraved in the memorial stone.

Kakashi's father turned out to be a famous ninja, known as the white fang of Konoha. He skills had been ranked alongside those of the Sannin, however he came to a bad end. Having botched up a mission to rescue his comrades he was shunned by his peers, eventually committing suicide in disgrace. Obito who Kakashi had spoken off whilst losing consciousness turned out to be an Uchiha. Obito had belonged to the same three-man cell as Kakashi when his sensei was young. Naruto learnt that it was from a dying Obito that Kakashi acquired his Sharingan. Obito was reported as having been killed on assignment during the third great ninja war. It was during this war Naruto discovered that a Kakashi and his teammates were led by a Jonin by the name of Minato Namikaze.

The Name of Kakashi's teacher skirted on the edge of his understanding, he was sure that he had heard it before. In order to placate his irritation he researched a little about the man. To his surprise Minato Namikaze eventually assumed the role of Hokage and became known to history as the legendary forth Hokage. Naruto shrugged once discovering this fact and returned to the files concerning Kakashi's teammates. He reasoned that he probably was taught the name in the academy and he had simply forgotten about it.

Kakashi final teammate was a girl by the name of Rin; there was very little information in the records about the girl, noticeably the absence of a death certificate. And yet from Kakashi's statements he had inferred that she had died, indeed he had even seen her name on the memorial stone.

He presumed that she must have died in an assignment that was classified and thus records concerning the manner of her death were not displayed in the village library. Naruto pieced together that she had survived Obito at any rate as she was recorded as to having attended a service in his honour.

Kakashi had never divulged much about his personal life to those around him, other than of course his infamous love of Icha Icha series. Naruto had left a copy of the novel at the Hatake family grave. The gesture seemed strangely appropriate.

Naruto remained sitting on his balcony well into the night his mind swirling with the events of the past few months. So much had changed; so many people who had formed integral parts of his life were gone. For the last three years his chief ambition had been to fulfil his promise and bring Sasuke back to Konoha. The promise had been the bonds that held the increasingly fragmented members of team 7 together.

But now that bond had been destroyed, and Naruto felt rudderless without purpose. He had broken his promise; he had never done that before. With Akatsuki no longer active the major threat to himself and Konoha had diminished, he could not define his purpose in opposition to them.

Danzou words floated to the top of his mind

"_It is in times of perceived peace that the strong grow indolent. Peace is a fallacy in the ninja world there will always be conflict; the nature of our world dictates it. There may be lulls but the conflict itself can never end. The danger that threatens Konoha is that the village is following an ideology born of the respite whilst the world is rapidly rekindling the fires of war."_

Perhaps Danzou was right, the world may indeed be becoming unstable. However from what he could tell, there was no optimism in Danzou's worldview. He viewed everything as conflict and the only goal was survival. Survival could not be the only thing that mattered, progress, happiness, Love, something else had to matter as well.

Naruto laughed feebly, his internal debate was leading him in circles. He seemed to continuously end up in the place he started. The young ninja thoughts were interrupted by an ominous rumbling from his midsection, he had not eaten breakfast or lunch. Perhaps a short break would do him some good; it was a fact that the body did not work as well on an empty stomach.

He grabbed his wallet from his dresser table and went in search of his favourite food.

--XXXXXXXX--

"Naruto-Oniisan" a voice screamed from behind the quietly eating ninja. Naruto recognised the voice as belonging to Konohamaru the grandson of the third Hokage.

"What's up Konohamaru?" he asked

"Guess what, I'm going on my first C-class mission."

Naruto remembered how exited he was originally over his first C-class mission, he had reckoned that he would do something more exhilarating than the manual labour of D-class assignments. "Where is it"? He inquired.

Konohamaru expression became dumbstruck. "Well you see, umm, its, its…."

"You've forgotten" Naruto surmised.

"No I intrusted the information to our team strategist and wiped the knowledge from my mind so that, even if I was tortured, we would maintain secrecy"

"Sure you did"

"Moegi tell Naruto where we are going" Konohamaru demanded pompously.

The female member of the Konohamaru corps shrugged her shoulders "The land of Waves"

"Yeah, the land of waves. Pretty cool huh" Konohamaru added.

"Not bad" Naruto acknowledged, "My first c-class was there"

"What's it like?" asked the so far quiet member of the adolescent squad, Udon.

"It was poor then, but I imagine that it has become a little more prosperous" Naruto slurped up some more of his noodles. "So what are you doing"?

"We are going to fight brigands and missing-nin" Konohamaru answered proudly.

"**What, we are!"** Udon asked in alarm.

"No, Konohamaru is exaggerating" Moegi calmed down her teammate "the Hokage's exact words were _to provide support for the main attack team as they engage dissident elements in the area. _The attack team does most of the fighting, we just back them up"

"You know Konohamaru without your strategist I think you would be lost" Naruto observed. Moegi blushed, Konohamaru ignored the statement.

" I still think we will get to fight" Konohamaru insisted.

"I wish you good luck either way, all of you. Remember to look out for each other, if you cannot count on your team-mates who can you count upon"

"We will" the young Genin answered.

"Say Naruto, why aren't you back on duty yet, you look fit. Are you slacking off"? Konohamaru asked.

"Something like that" Naruto mumbled.

"Don't worry about it boss, you'll be back in no time."

"Thanks" Naruto answered half-heartedly.

"Well we have to go, we were on our way to pick up supplies when I saw you. So see ya"

Naruto watched as the young Genin squad ran down the street.

"You know Konohamaru was only trying to cheer you up" Naruto turned to face the person talking to him.

Sakura was holding up one of the shade screens of the shop.

"I was walking by and I heard the conversation," she explained taking a seat next to Naruto. "He has been worried about you, he wasn't trying to be mean"

"I know, I wasn't angry." Naruto replied, "It was just seeing him all exited about going on a mission kinda made me feel jealous."

"You know he is right to a certain respect. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will allow you to take missions again any day now. And then I'm sure you complain about how boring they are"

"Perhaps" Naruto answered, "Would you like something to eat, I'll pay?"

"I'm sorry I have to hand in a report about my last mission, I only just got back"

"Oh, okay" Naruto accepted her answer hesitantly.

"Well I have to go, I will see you around"

"Yeah, have fun filling in the report."

Sakura smiled and departed.

Naruto glanced at his nearly empty bowl, a few stray strands of noodles floated across the surface. The conversations were brief and uncomfortable, like normal. He couldn't seem to muster the will to finish the meal, a first for him. He left a few coins on the counter of the stand and departed quickly.

--xxxxxxxxxx--

Naruto lay on his bead staring blankly at the ceiling. He hadn't trained that day and so wasn't tired, although considering all he had to think about, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

The world seemed to be passing him by, his friends were continuing to grow and change in his absence, whilst he was forced into an imposed exile within the walls of the village. It was a very strange concept, he knew that they were only desiring to protect him, however keeping him inside the city would mean that he would never have an opportunity to move on. Nothing would ever change if he never had the opportunity to redeem himself for his mistakes. He picked up his photo of team seven from his nightstand. He and Sasuke were standing on opposite ends of the photo looking murderous; Sakura and Kakashi were smiling (Naruto assumed his sensei was smiling, his ever present mask however prevented an accurate determination.). He didn't want the guilt; he had never really been one to stew upon his own problems.

He could deal with painful situations, he had learnt early in his life that crying had rarely helped him; instead he just continued moving on trying to improve his situation. He wondered where that drive had disappeared; true he was being forced into inactivity however that would not have stopped him in the past. Maybe it was the nature of the pain he was feeling, external problems were easy to deal with, he need only try to remedy the situation, change the world and make it better. However he could not ever find a way to overcome his current predicament, It was his desire to make things better that had led him into the mess he found himself. He had broken his word and he had been responsible for the deaths of two people close to him.

Failure, it was a title that he always strove to overcome. But he had failed and that was the simple truth, looking at his photo of the old team seven only cemented the notion in his mind.

Two of the faces in the photo belonged to the dead. Two had died and he was left to live with the shame of his failure.

What was worse was that Team seven didn't only consist of Sasuke, Kakashi and himself, there was one final original member left alive. The deaths of Sasuke and Kakashi must have affected Sakura as much as they had affected him.

If he allowed himself to be defeated then he would render the deaths of his friend as his mentor as meaningless; the worst fate for a Shinobi is a death without meaning. If he learnt to overcome his failings that led to their deaths, then, and only then could their deaths have meaning? He had to protect his important people, his friends, his village and most importantly Sakura. She was a skilled Shinobi however a Shinobi had to be able to rely upon their teammates, as he was, he could not help her.

Whilst he and Sakura still lived, he had not failed completely. If he let the death of his mentor and his friend be in vain, then he would have truly failed.

He would protect those who were important to him, maybe he had failed Kakashi, but he could still protect Sakura. Perhaps he may not have saved Sasuke, but he could attempt to make sure that a man like Itachi Uchiha would never again wreck havoc.

Yamato was right, he had to recognise the people he wanted to protect and what he was willing to do to ensure their safety. He had lost friends because he hadn't been willing to do what was necessary, he would not make that mistake again, and he would never again be unprepared.

Kakashi had told him not to give up his path. He wanted to be the Hokage, the living embodiment of the village. He had not struggled hard enough to follow Kakashi's advice, How could he ever hope to become the Hokage by sitting on the sidelines whilst his friends fought?

The many broken threads in his life all led to a single possible recourse.

If his only path back to active duty was by accepting Danzou's offer then his course was set. He would not fail again; he would make sure that he carried on the legacy of his lost teammates and protect those who were left.

Danzou's offer presented an opportunity to redeem his mistakes and move into the future. Tomorrow he would contact Yamato and inform him of his decision; if he was lucky he might even be back into action within the week.

The weight on his shoulders somewhat relieved, Naruto drifted off into his first peaceful sleep in months.

* * *

AN: I have placed the prologue together with chapter one, I think it works better this way.

Feedback, criticism, general feelings, it would all be appreciated.


	2. First Mission

_Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. This is purely a work of Fan fiction, no profits gained. Support the official releases._

_If you haven't seen some of the latest volumes of the Manga and don't want to know what happens, please don't read, I really don't want to spoil anything. May possibly contain mature themes befitting Shinobi life? Please enjoy._

AN: I changed Rating from M to T because there shouldn't be much M material for the time being (maybe later though)

* * *

Tsunade's footsteps echoed in the empty corridors in the Hokage Tower. It was good news and yet she didn't feel cheerful. Her bi-weekly meeting with the village advisors had ended and she had managed to convince the elders Homura and Koharu to allow Naruto to return to active duty. After Naruto was released from hospital they had voiced strenuous objections against being allowed to leave the village, they had recommended that he be kept under close scrutiny in case he lost control again. In the wake of the reports the council received concerning the scale of the damage Naruto had caused, Tsunade had no choice but to acceded to their recommendations.

She had attempted to reopen the subject for debate however the advisors had always responded with the same objections. She could choose to ignore their objections however such a course of action would only strengthen Danzou's influence over them.

Going into her most recent meeting Tsunade had been so sure that they would disagree with her once again, and she had entered the room with a due sense of resignation. Much to her surprise neither Homura nor Koharu had voiced any objections. This dramatic change of heart after months of rather strenuous objections was disconcerting.

Logically she knew that she should feel happy, she had been against keeping Naruto under watch from the very beginning. It was a victory for all intents and purposes, but something did not feel right. Her intelligence network suggested that Danzou had been the driving force behind keeping Naruto in the village and that was what worried her.

Their change of heart could mean either two things, if Danzou was involved. The first possibility entailed that they had simply ignored the old war hawk, the other option would entail that Danzou had simply given up. Tsunade genuinely hoped it was the former of the two options, Koharu and Utane sided with Danzou on many issues but by no means were they his pawns, perhaps they had simply become tired of his prattling on the issue.

The idea that Danzou had simply given up was incomprehensible. Tsunade had known the man for a long time and she had never known him to give up so easily. She had first met him when she was very young; it was dislike at first sight. He had possessed a personal magnetism similar to her grandfather, the legendary first Hokage.

However Where as her grandfather inspired loyalty and comradeship amongst his peers the young Danzou had inspired a fearful awe. What irked Tsunade particularly was that she came to realize that he deliberately cultivated his natural ability to make people uneasy for his own ends. This was of course long before he had suffered the wounds that had forced him to quick being an active Shinobi. Before his injury he had been an extremely powerful Shinobi considered a match for even her own sensei Sarutobi at the height of his prowess.

His physical strength was not at issue however at the moment it was his other noticeable trait; his utter resolve to do what he thought was right. His determination in dangerous conjunction the inability to comprehend that the opinions of others had any validity was the cause of the Hokage's current predicament. Such a man simply could not give up so easily; it was not in his nature.

Tsunade was eminently thankful that Danzou had not informed the Daimyo that Naruto had caused the damage, things would have been very tense should he had done so. Danzou probably didn't want the lord involved in something that he probably considered a village affair.

Tsunade shrugged her shoulders wearily attempting to dismiss her thoughts, there was little use imagining defeats in victory. If Danzou had indeed been behind keeping Naruto in Konoha, he may have simply come to the conclusion that it would be better off if Naruto were not in the village should he happen to lose control again.

Tsunade reluctantly had to admit there was a certain amount of logic to that assessment. Whatever happened in the cave should never be repeated particularly near a populated area. She had personally surveyed the damage; the entire mountain range had been obliterated. She had originally dismissed the notion that the Kyuubi was able to destroy mountains with the swish of its tail as an exaggeration, however after seeing the devastation first hand, she reconsidered her judgement.

It all came down to a question of trust; She trusted Naruto, he would not allow himself to lose control again. He had faced something terrible in that cave but he had survived through it; she had no doubt that he would only emerge the stronger because of it. He was Naruto, a force of nature in his own right. She had seen it many times in her short tenure as Hokage, no matter what obstacles he was faced with he always managed to overcome them. If he saw that others were having problems with their own hurdles he would help them, whether they wanted his help or not. And now she had the opportunity to help him, he had become a dazed. She only needed to point him in the right direction and he would continue his path.

Tsunade smiled it was probably just the shock of victory that was leading her to such thoughts. It had taken months but now she could finally be content that she had fulfilled another aspect of her role as Hokage, Sarutobi-sensei would have been proud of her.

Naruto would be allowed to undertake missions with the rest of team seven and Tsunade knew the perfect assignment for the reconstituted team

Perhaps she would allow Iruka to give him the good news, the academy teacher had been worried about his former student and it seemed fitting that he should be the one to bear the good news.

Tsunade continued the walk back to her office, in a far greater mood than she had left it.

--xxxxxxxx--

Else-ware in the village two ninja were engaged in fierce combat.

One of the shinobi clad in the standard Konoha uniform blended in with the trees in which he was engaged. His opponent clad in orange was pursuing him, not allowing his opponent to escape.

The green Shinobi parried a vicious overhand strike from his opponent whilst trying to withdraw to a safer range. His opponent however kept up the momentum forcing him on to the other foot. He guarded against another strike, his arm jolting from the force of the blow. A fallen tree branch interrupted his backward movements; he tripped slightly inviting his opponent to the attack. He dove to his left to avoid a flying kick and then, using his hand as a pivot, tried to connect with adversaries unprotected back with a spin kick. The move was ineffective, as his opponent allowed used his momentum to escape the counterattack.

The green clad man stood up and ruffled his Shinobi vest; it had slipped slightly from his improvised kick.

"What's the matter Yamato-Taicho, is it too much for you?" His adversary shouted from across the small clearing, a smile very evident upon his face.

"No talk Naruto, continue" Yamato responded putting his hands together.

Naruto obliged and charged towards his sparing partner. A column of wood emerged from the ground in between the two combatants. Naruto cursed, He shouldn't have moved so far away from his captain, he had given him the space to preform his jutsu. It didn't matter though he had a surprise for his captain, Since Yamato had formed a barrier between them, he would not be able to see what he was doing. Naruto preformed the shadow clone jutsu to gain his assistant. Together Naruto and his clone moulded chakra into the swirling vortex.

"Rasengan"! Naruto shouted just before he reached the wooden barricade.

The wood was not an effective barrier to the attack. The Rasengan, with the right hand and ninja attached, burrowed through with considerable ease. Small wood chips flew back from the attack and embedded themselves into his legs. They were not a issue however as the angle of the Rasengan made it unlikely that any debris would hit him around the face and they had little force behind them in any case, at worst they would be as bad as splinters.

Naruto broke through the stockade and saw Yamato standing unguarded; he was evidently surprised judging from the look upon his face. Naruto smirked expecting his captain to concede defeat, it was only a sparing session after all and they didn't want to injure one another. Yamato however continued to look on in surprise; Naruto then felt a hand engulf his right wrist in a strong grip.

He panicked and looked to see who had grabbed him.

Yamato stood half formed from the ground, his legs merging with the soil.

Naruto then looked again towards the ninja supposedly ahead of him. Yamato was there as well; he no longer looked surprised rather he was moving to attack.

Naruto tried to guard himself however the Yamato in the ground still had a tight grasp on his right wrist, stopping him from using the formed Rasengan. The half emerged Shinobi had also grasped his shoulder making it difficult for Naruto to move his other arm. He watched, almost in slow motion, as the oncoming Yamato dove his Knee into his unguarded sternum.

The Yamato clone released his hold on Naruto once he had been hit by the attack. Naruto dropped to the ground clutching his chest, his breath having been driven out of him.

It took Naruto to recover from the blow; he rolled over onto his back and cast an accusing glare at the closer of his two assailants. The sun glinted of Yamato's forehead protector making him appear hazy.

"I won" the man stated simply.

"Don't you think that was a bit too much" Naruto asked.

"You asked for more intense training sessions" Yamato reminded him "Besides I am quite sure that was the Rasengan that you were going to use"

"I wasn't actually going to hit you with it" Naruto replied feigning petulance.

"A weapons value is determined by your willingness to use it. If you were unwilling to follow through with the technique you should have chosen something different"

Yamato's walked towards him and bent down to talk to him more directly. "What do we take out of this fight?" he asked.

"I think I didn't do to badly, for most of the fight I prevented you from having the time to preform any Mokuton abilities" Naruto answered rubbing his still sore chest.

"And" Yamato hinted.

"And I should have paid more attention to Jutsu selection. Although I still think you are on shaky ground on that one Yamato-Taicho" Naruto answered.

"That's one thing" Yamato answered standing; he suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke before Naruto's eyes, drawing a startled exclamation from the young ninja.

"However you should also take into account your enemies knowledge of you and your Jutsu arsenal. Since I know you, I expected that you would use the Rasengan and I lured you into a trap. If your enemy has knowledge about you and your techniques then it is best to adopt a defensive posture until you can ascertain the depths of their knowledge and devise appropriate countermeasures"

Yamato was standing next to the shredded remains of his wooden barrier

Naruto blinked wildly, Yamato's Bunshin's were surprisingly realistic he hadn't even realized that he was talking to a clone. "I'd imagine it would be pretty rare to find an opponent who knew so much about you"

"Perhaps, but closing your mind to the possibility is dangerous".

"So Yamato-Taicho, it's been over a week when am I going to be allowed to take missions," Naruto asked.

"These things take time" the wood-nin replied wearily.

It had nearly been a week since Naruto had accepted their offer. Yamato was glad that his student had accepted, it would have been difficult had he refused. One thing that he did not appreciate however was Naruto's constant badgering about when he would be back on missions.

Yamato soon found that, even though he prided himself on his ability to keep his cool, Naruto's constant questioning was beginning to grate upon his nerves.

"Patience"

Naruto shot a sour glance at his captain.

"Glaring at me isn't going to make you return to duty faster. Besides we still have a lot of work to continue with here, certainly more than enough to keep you occupied."

Naruto grunted in acknowledgement.

"I think that today we shall begin a new type of training."

"It's not Kage Bunshin training again is it"?

"No it is not Kage Bunshin training" Yamato replied trying desperately to keep the irritation out of his voice "In fact this training regime I created myself and it has yet to be tested, I suppose you could be called a pioneer "

Naruto's eyes lit up, Yamato smirked at his own cleverness and withdrew the item from the pouch and handed it to his now eager subordinate.

Naruto looked at the utensil for a few moments carefully weighing it in his hands before speaking "Yamato-Taicho this is kinda lame"

"What" Yamato responded testily, his feathers most definitely ruffled?

"Its just wire, you made out like it was some big deal and then hand me some wire. What reaction were you expecting"?

"Something more respectful" Yamato grumbled

"Did you say something?" Naruto asked. Yamato shook his head, there was no use trying to change some aspects of the boy it was hopeless.

"For your information this is something more than just normal wire. Do you remember Asuma-sensei's trench knives"?

"Do you mean those blades that could pierce through stone"?

"Yes those…"Yamato nodded "as you know they were made of a special material that was chakra conductive. You were able to channel your chakra through the metal to increase its piercing potential among other things"

"I remember"

"Well this wire is made out of a similar material."

"So your saying that with this wire I can do what Asuma-sensei did"

"Not exactly, whilst eventually you may be able to integrate this technique into your arsenal for the moment their chief use will be in their training value. There is a fairly substantial difference between the two items. Asuma's trench knives were not very long, at max about thirty-centimetres or so, where as that wire I have given you is about ten-metres long."

"I don't see where this is going"

"Be patient and listen then, these wires are far more difficult to use then the trench knives, the distance between the point of Chakra emanation and the limit of the weapon is great. The nature of the wire also makes it difficult to control, for example you could hold a Kunai horizontal with no problems however holding the wire perpendicular to you arm hight is impossible by physical means alone. In order to do it you need precise Chakra control…."?

"And that's the point of this training, it's to work on my chakra control. Is that it?" Naruto realized where Yamato was going with his lecture "I would much rather you teach me a super powerful technique or something, like the Rasen Shuriken"

Yamato's features changed, something about the way they became set made Naruto realize that his captain was becoming more serious.

"I realize that I am not the same type of teacher as Kakashi-sensei. The simple fact is that many Shinobi go through their careers mastering one particular technique and then letting their other skills slip. Your weakness is your Chakra control, from what Kakashi told me before he died it has always been your weakness."

Naruto attempted to respond but Yamato continued talking and he eventually quietened.

"I'll admit that you are much better than you were a few years ago however you can always become better. Indolence is death for a Shinobi, never forget that." Yamato carefully studied Naruto's face, his words had had the right effect, the boy was solemn now.

"Separate from the Kyuubi's influence you have a unique chakra range; it is far greater and more resilient than any Shinobi that I have ever met. If you were able to master your Chakra you would be the far better for it than if I teach you some flashy technique. The more precise your Chakra control the more damage you will be able to inflict to your opponents and the less chakra you will need to use to accomplish the task."

"All right, what do you want me to do" Naruto asked

"Unroll the wire and lay it upon the ground"

Naruto did as asked, "Now concentrate your Chakra into the wire"

"Should I try to incorporate my wind nature manipulation"?

"Not yet, we don't want to make this more difficult than it has to be"

Naruto nodded and complied with his instructions. The ten metre long piece of conductive wire began to glow blue as the chakra flowed through it.

"This is easy now what?"

"Now lift the wire up from the ground"

Naruto jolted his arm upwards the wire rippled in response to his movement.

"Stop." Yamato shouted "I want you to hold the wire in the air through sheer chakra pressure. Don't move your arm."

Naruto stopped moving his arm, the wire pulsed again as he poured chakra into it.

"Now lift it using your chakra" Yamato instructed.

The wire slowly began to lift itself off the ground, it jerked wildly as the Chakra was channelled through it.

Yamato was mildly surprised; he hadn't really expected that Naruto would be able to lift the wire from the ground on his first attempt. It made sense however considering his sheer amount of Chakra. "Now I want you to bring the wire up to a level perpendicular with you shoulders and once you have done that try to hold the wire perfectly strait"

Naruto attempted to comply, he managed to raise the wire to shoulder height but he was completely unable to keep the wire level. It rippled in reply to is uneven chakra control. He looked hopefully towards Yamato for some pointers.

"Concentrate on the wire, imagine the ripples levelling out" Yamato instructed.

Naruto tried however the rippling effect continued unabated.

"Just keep at it, eventually you should be able to get at least one wire. At that point we will try two, one in each hand and continue so on until your hands are full.

"What, I cannot even control one"

"You will, eventually you may even be able to extend your chakra flow outside your body without the aide of the wires."

"For what purpose" Naruto asked whilst still trying to concentrate on the wire training.

"What do you think Genjutsu entails, fine control of your Chakra outside your body working on the mind of your opponent"

Naruto let the wire drop in surprise "your trying to teach me genjutsu, the pervy-sage said I didn't have the natural talent for it"

"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't have the basic understanding of at least some minor Genjutsu. Trust me it is going to be far more painful for me to teach you than it will for you to learn Genjutsu. This is all pending, of course, on your fine tuning of your Chakra flow."

Naruto picked up the wire again, it might be boring but if it achieved results he would give it a go.

--xxxxxxxx--

"Hey Naruto"

Naruto recognised the voice, sure enough when he turned around he found his old teacher leaning against a tree. The large horizontal scar across his face was crinkled by the large smile across his face.

"Iruka-san" Yamato acknowledged politely.

"Yamato-san" Iruka returned the greeting.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked gracelessly. His efforts to control the wire had not met with much success and he was a little out of sorts.

"I have some good news for you" Iruka answered cheerfully. I have just seen the Hokage and she told me herself"

Naruto ruffled his hair, Iruka was far too happy for his own good at the moment.

"You are now officially back on duty"

Naruto made sure that he looked surprised. He cast a surreptitious glace at Yamato. Yamato was looking very smug "Patience" he mouthed.

Naruto grinned, that was it, he was back. "Thanks Iruka-sensei"

"No problem" Iruka replied back to his normal self "you have looked down recently I though that you needed some good news" Iruka placed a hand on his cheek "although I was expecting you to be a little more exited"

"I'm just surprised is all, I became a little used to living in the village" Naruto lied, apparently it was convincing as Iruka seemed to buy it.

"Well it's a good thing you didn't become too comfortable. How about we go for celebratory Ramen"

"Are you buying" Naruto asked mischievously.

"Yes, I suppose I will have to wont I, I guess you left your wallet at home"

"Yep, you know me to well." Both Naruto and Iruka knew that his wallet was not a home but rather was resting in his pocket. Naruto motivated by his desire for free food conveniently forget it was there, and Iruka was in a good mood and didn't really care overmuch if he had to pay.

"Will you join us Yamato-san" Iruka asked

"Sorry I'm afraid I must decline, I have other matters that I must attend to" Yamato answered. "Congratulations and remember I was right, patience. I also want you to continue that training whenever you get the opportunity; you don't really need me to oversee it."

"Yeah"

Yamato disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Patience " Iruka asked.

"I have been bothering him about going on missions, he always says patience."

"Oh, well we had better head to the ramen stand. If we leave now we can still get lunchtime prices."

The short walk back to the village was silent. Iruka understood that his student just needed a little time to digest the new information. Naruto's presence had dimmed somewhat during his prolonged stay inside the village walls. He just needed time to readjust.

What Naruto was thinking was far different than what his old teacher had imagined. His surprise was nearly genuine when he learnt that he was back on duty. He had expected that it would take a few weeks for Danzou to get him back on the active roster, he had pestered Yamato about it simply for his own amusement. Having him back on active duty in less than one week was both impressive and surprising, Danzou's influence was apparently far greater then he had realized.

He had to be very careful; he was treading a very thin line between the Hokage on one hand and Danzou on the other. If Root truly desired to protect Konoha he was willing to do what Danzou asked of him, if however Danzou had ulterior motives he would change the organization form the inside if possible, destroy it if necessary.

He was still unsure about where Root fitted upon his worldview. For the time being it was a means to an end. Since Danzou had fulfilled his part of the agreement, Naruto felt obligated to give his views a test.

When Danzou had explained what his duties would entail he was slightly surprised. He had expected Danzou to give him a Bingo book and tell him to go eliminate all the targets therein. Instead he was told that he would be reporting directly to Yamato and all he was expected to do was follow Yamato's instructions. He wasn't surprised at Danzou's insistence that he keep his new affiliations a secret, for it was no secret that they're friction between him and the Hokage. Although it was surprising to learn that Sai was also to be kept in the dark. When he had discovered that Yamato was a member of Root he had logically assumed that he and Sai were working together, apparently Sai had no idea that Yamato was also a member of the ANBU splinter group. The organization of the secretive division was apparently very complex.

Naruto had concerns about his ability to keep his affiliation a secret. He was accustomed to saying whatever came to mind; this attitude was not the best if one had to conceal anything about oneself. He wondered what might happen if he accidentally let something slip, the results could be disastrous; however if he was overly cautious the people close to him might become suspicious. He was fortunate for the moment as nobody was expecting him to act completely normal however such a state could not last forever. He needed to be able to separate Root from the rest of his life so that he didn't risk revealing anything. It would be difficult but he had to make the attempt.

"Hey Iruka-sensei"

"Hmm" Iruka answered.

"I just wanted to say thankyou for helping me"

Iruka looked embarrassed he shruged his shoulders self-effacingly. "You don't need to thank me, I just wanted to help"

"Thanks though, I know I haven't been myself. I appreciate you trying to cheer me up"

"Your more than welcome." Iruka laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I think what I need right now is a nice long mission to clear my head?"

"Don't worry your next mission will more than make up for your stay in the village"

"You know what it is don't you Iruka-sensei"

"I might" Iruka answered evasively.

"That's not nice Iruka-sensei, give me a few hints then try to be all mysterious, it's not going to work. Tell me"

"No, the Hokage will tell you tomorrow"

"Come on, please"

"No"

--xxxxxxxx--

"I have just heard Danzou-sama, that Naruto has been re-entered into the roster of active Shinobi"

"Yes the meeting took place earlier today"

"Were the councillors easy to convince"

"They didn't pose a major obstacle"

"That's good, I think your offer to help with hat situation was one of the main reasons that he decided to join."

Danzou simply nodded looking out the the window of the room.

"Officially Tenzou you are now the sensei for team seven instead of the interim team captain."

"Though Naruto is the only official Genin still on the team" Yamato added.

"It gives you a legitimate reason to continue to observe him. It would be best if you keep a close on him in the next mission, it shall be his first mission as a member of Root."

"Yes, sir"

"In regards to your mission, it is all detailed in the dossiers I have provided for you. You have the discretion to use whatever means you feel appropriate to carry out your mission, however continue to keep in mind the normal constraints"

"Don't reveal my identity, don't draw too much attention. Yes sir I understand"

"Good, Your name shall continue to be Yamato for the duration of your role as Naruto's controller"

"Yes' sir"

--xxxxxxxx--

"An A-class assignment" Naruto stated incredulously.

"You have a problem" Tsunade demanded her voice like thunder as she pushed herself up from her chair. The nearby Shizune cowered from the tone of the Hokage's voice.

Iruka slammed his head against his desk rubbing his hands through his hair in near despair. Did Naruto never change, just last night at the ramen shop he had railed no stop about how eager he was to have another mission, and now he was going to complain about it.

Yamato stood with his hands in his pockets looking very much like the proverbial schoolchild being brought before the headmaster. Kakashi could hide behind his mask in such situations; Yamato was not quite so lucky.

Sai looked on in interest, Naruto's exclamation seemed to be some sort of social ritual considering how many people were affected by it.

Sakura stood with her hands on her hips, she shock her head. "What's wrong, Naruto"

"It's nothing I was expecting a C-class mission or something boring like that instead we actually get a good assignment"

"All assignments are good ones but yes this one is particularly so" Tsunade answered smugly as she sat back down.

Shizune visibly calmed down, she knew how hard Tsunade had worked to find the perfect mission for the team, and Tsunade hated clerical duty. If Naruto had complained about it somebody probably would have needed to restrain the Hokage from beating him within an inch of his life, and that somebody would have been her. Shizune, like Sakura, had an immense respect for how scary the Hokage could be when she was angry.

Tsunade continued, " Your assignment is in the land of swamp"

"Maybe the mission won't be any good after all" Naruto remarked.

Tsunade either didn't hear or she ignored the comment as she continued, "Your mission shall be to protect the Daimyo of the country, His name is Kiyoshi."

"Hokage-sama since this is an A-class mission that means that we can expect to encounter enemy Shinobi. Whom might we have to face"? Sakura asked.

"All missions that concern guarding Daimyo have the possibility of combat with enemy ninja however in this case there is a more direct threat. Over the last few months there have been some extremely worrying reports emerging from the land of Water. As far as we can verify it would appear that the village hidden in the mist is currently in the midst of a civil war."

"Isn't that their national pastime" Naruto joked.

"Perhaps however this time it seems more serious. From what we can tell it appears that the Mizukage suddenly vanished. Some of the upper echelons tried to continue the administration of the village concealing the disappearance of the Mizukage. Eventually their ploy was seen through and other members of the village felt that those responsible for concealing the disappearance were trying to seize power for themselves. The land of Water has had a troubled history and it was only through the strength of the Mizukage that these resentments have been _relatively_ minor, a few attempted coups but very little success. Without the strong leadership of the Mizukage the old antagonisms in the village are flaring up once again."

Tsunade regarded the squad before her, they were young and probably wouldn't understand exactly what she was talking about but they did need to know what they might have to face.

"Now the land of swamp is on the northern end of the peninsular to the south of the land of Fire. It has strong trade ties with the land of water and other islands in the archipelago. The civil war in the hidden mist village is causing two rather opposite effects. Many Mist ninja on assignment outside the village are returning to the village to join the fighting, this doesn't concern us that much. However many ninja are also fleeing the village to journey to lands along its borders in a kind of centrifugal effect.

With the absence of any strong authority coming from the centre a large number of mist ninja are falling prey to adventurism and are taking advantage of the countries nearby. With the strong trade and travel between the land of water and the land of swamp we suspect that some of these rogue mist ninja may start to operate in the region."

"Is there an indigenous ninja village in the land of swamp"? Sai asked.

"No, the land of Swamp has a long history of cooperation with the land of fire and its ninja forces were disbanded in favour of Konoha shinobi."

"How long are we to protect the daimyo" It was Sakura who spoke this time "I mean 't seems like such a mission could last quite a long time"

"We have a longstanding relationship with the Daimyo he usually has a constant guard from Konoha. You will be replacing his previous guards and will remain guards for abut six-weeks until you are replaced in turn"

"Six weeks" Naruto complained, "of guarding some old geezer"

"Six weeks, living in the daimyo's palace, guarding some old Geyser" Tsunade corrected smirking, se watched as Naruto's mouth dropped.

"We have a Shinobi on long-term assignment advising the daimyo, he will fill you in on the details of the assignment. You have six-days to reach the capital of the land of swamp. You should be able to make that easily. All I have left to say to you all is good luck"

* * *

AN: alas I am back at school which means updates will probably be slower. The Olympics shall also slow my update time since it will take up more of my free time (watching). I hope Australia comes in the top ten in the medal count, top five would be awesome.

In regards to the almost lack of Sakura so far, basically that is because this story is naruto-centic and at the moment Naruto is slightly wary/confused/cautious around her. There will be more Sakura as the story progresses however. I honestly don't mind if you have any criticism (particularly regarding the fight scene)

Peace.


	3. Surface Tension

Same old story, don't own, no money made.

Oh yes perhaps tragedy is not the most appropriate label. Some people have died and some people _may_ as well, thats why it is under tragedy. I'm thinking about changing that, your opinions would be most welcome.

* * *

It was about midday judging from the position of the sun in the sky; almost half a day had been wasted in their leisurely stroll through boring countryside. Perhaps boring was too much; she always had things to occupy her mind. Reciting the names of medicinal herbs if worst come to worst. The short journey may have been without much external commotion however she had many things to consider in the silence of her mind, many of them regarding the Shinobi trailing at the rear of the group.

As she anticipated a whine of complaint punctuated the crisp county air.

"Why exactly do I have to carry all of the gear"?

She turned slightly to face him; he seemed to be having difficulty holding the mass of gear on his back.

"Because it is your turn" Yamato replied airily from up ahead.

The teenager grumbled something inaudibly, but seemed to accept Yamato's answer.

It had been about fifteen minutes since he had complained last; Naruto was nothing if not single-minded. So this was the grand adventure of the new team seven. It was strange seeing Naruto outside the village, she had almost become used to seeing him within the walls of the village and nothing else. He had noticeably brightened as soon as the village walls disappeared over the horizon.

She felt uneasy however, the last time they had left the city walls together she had returned with the news that her teacher was dead, her former team-mate was dead and her other team-mate was on the brink of death. It had been horrible, what training in the academy could possibly prepare you for that type of situation.

Never in her entire life had she felt so afraid. The awful roar of the Kyuubi had echoed for hours, accompanying the noises of destruction it left in its wake. The knowledge that her precious people were in the midst of the destruction and the helplessness that accompanied the knowledge that she could do nothing to help was unbearable. She now had some understanding of how the villagers felt when the fox attacked fifteen odd years ago.

At the time she hadn't thought about it much, she had more pressing issues dictating her attention. It had taken a few hours after the rampage to recover Naruto from the rubble. To say he was a mess was an understatement; he was only barely hanging on to life. She had a vague recollection of the look on Hinata's face as the carried him away; she was horrified at the state he was in. Yamato had, rather prudently, sent her along with the rest of team Kurenai ahead to report what had happened and request immediate medical assistance.

She used every technique that she knew off to try to heal him, but nothing had seemed to work. They had no choice but to move him back to Konoha.

It had been extraordinarily difficult trying to treat him on the run. Yamato carried Naruto on his back whilst she had tried her best to heal whatever damage she could and prevent him from suffering further injuries on the journey.

They had managed to get him back to the village in approximately the same shape that they had found him, that was the best she could have hoped for in the circumstances. For days he had been locked up in the intensive care department, even Tsunade hadn't been able to heal him properly. Instead they had tried everything they could to keep him alive long enough so until the Kyuubi's chakra started working again. It had apparently been sealed after its short rampage, probably the work of the forth hokages seal. But in those few days they had needed that power to take effect and heal him. For days she had been apart of the constant stream of medical ninja caring for him, she had slept in the hallway in snatches whenever she could. It took about a week of ceaseless effort until his wounds finally started to heal and his condition had stabilized. Knowing that the Kyuubi was finally doing something useful she had retreated to her house and wept. A week of mental and physical exhaustion had taken its toll and she had cried to release the strain.

It was only then that she had time to grieve. Naruto's immediate condition had driven the knowledge from her mind, but it had simply been lying dormant and had unleashed itself full force once that distraction had passed.

The investigation unit that Tsunade had sent out had only confirmed their preliminary findings. They had been unable to retrieve any full bodies from the ruins however they had managed to find an forearm with a ring with the character for king. It must have belonged to that strange man they had met in the forest. Both Kakashi and Sasuke must have been lost in the inferno.

The wanton destruction, she sheer oppressive force of the Kyuubi's bloodlust. It had destroyed those close to her in rage of destruction. What was worse was that in those few days after Naruto's condition had stabilized, she had trouble separating the demons face from that of her teammate. She had felt horrible for thinking it, she knew Naruto wouldn't have done it on purpose, but that knowledge didn't change the fact that the Kyuubi had been released. The next day she had returned to the hospital to check upon him, only to be blocked by a very haggard looking Tsunade. The hokages eyes still retained the hollow look that had emerged when she had first seen his mangled body.

Sakura couldn't blame her; Tsunade had lost her brother and her lover to war. Sakura imagined that having to face broken and bloody body of the person, who had convinced her to have faith in the world, was not a pleasant experience. She was ordered to return home to rest; the Hokage assured her that she could visit another day.

Eventually Tsunade had managed to contact Kakashi's nindogs. She then learnt about what happened, it wasn't the Kyuubi that had killed kakashi, but rather it was Sasuke. If anything this new knowledge had only thrown her feelings into an even more jumbled mess.

When she had time to calm down she recognised that the only thing that she could be sure of was that whatever else she learnt, she knew Naruto. He had made a promise of a lifetime to her to bring Sasuke back; she knew had seriously he took such promises. If he had any way, possible or impossible, to prevent what had happened he would have done so. That thought had helped her cope.

When he awoke she wanted to reach out to him and apologise for having entertained the thought that he was responsible, but she had yet to find the opportunity. The time never seemed quite right; she didn't want to bring up painful memories that he was obviously trying to deal with.

"You know I didn't actually see your name of that roster Yamato-Taicho," the young ninja grumbled dropping the packs upon the ground.

Sai stopped ahead of her, too caught up in her thoughts she walked into him. She murmured an embarrassed apology to the silent member of their team and focused on the short debate going on between Naruto and Yamato.

"Besides do we really need all this stuff anyway" Naruto whined.

"You know the energy you are wasting complaining would be better used carrying the bags," she berated him, immediately cursing her careless tongue. She wanted to repair their relationship not further estrange it.

"Come on Sakura-chan you know he is abusing us" Naruto replied trying to look as helpless as possible. She was not immune to the puppy dog eyes, besides she now felt bad for letting the game go this far anyway.

"Perhaps but he will be providing our accommodation" the kunoichi smiled evilly at the team captain "won't you Yamato-taicho"

Yamato's posture straightened and scratched his head, "I suppose I _can_."

"Yes, yes you will. And I think we should share the load around a bit don't you think"

Yamato wasn't given a chance to respond, "Yes I'm sure you agree"

"Okay, okay, I give up" Yamato conceded, "I am very disappointed in you Sakura, this is his first mission for a while we could have made him do all the grunt work if you had kept quiet" Yamato graced his students with a feral smile smiled "yes your right Naruto does need help, Sai help Naruto carry the bags"

"That's not what I meant," Sakura shouted but it was too late, Yamato had casually retreated over the course of the conversation and was now in the process of escaping down the road.

"So you're telling me that that whole roster business was a lie," Naruto asked of his remaining squad mates.

"Lie is such a strong word, we made it up when you returned to your house to pick up those wires"

"And you let me carry all those bags all this way" Naruto asked incrudously.

"Don't be such a baby it wasn't that far, and besides I called an end to it didn't I" She replied flippantly.

She knew that she didn't have a leg to stand upon in this argument, she was hoping for a distraction. This was fortunately for her delivered in the form of Sai who had, like normal stood back and watched the entire conversation. "At least we managed to weasal some good accommodations out of Yamato-taicho. It's not that bad"

"Yes your absolutely right Sai, well I'm going to catch up with Yamato. Have fun with the bags" Sakura laughed as she took the opportunity top escape.

Naruto and Sai stood dumbstruck as Sakura sprinted down the road.

"You know" Naruto began earnestly "I think she is just as manipulative as Yamato"

Sai started blankly at the retreating from of the Kunoichi He hadn't just been drawn into a trap, had he?

--xxxxxxxx--

"Tsunade-hime, may I please have a word"

Tsunade took her attention of the report in front of her, her eyes drifting over the paper and looking at the figure standing at the door, Danzou.

"Please, come in" she answered in the most polite tone she could muster, Danzou's talks were never fun.

The old man walked inside the room, his cane hitting the floor with rhythmic precision. "I have a few issues that I wish to discuss with you, they are perhaps small but worth the Hokage's attention"

Tsunade blew a stray strand of hair away from her face, why did it not surprise her that Danzou had 'issues' to discuss, the man seemed to take 'issues' with everything she did.

"I think you'll be pleased to hear that Uzamaki Naruto is no longer in the village"

"Yes, a necessary outcome. We cannot risk him loosing control in the village now can we Tsunade-hime" Danzou mouth had slightly thin, in the approximation of a smile.

Tsunade ground her teeth together to bite back a retort. Absently filling down the response in the depths of her mind; his decision to allow Naruto to leave had indeed been based upon risk-assessment. "What is it that you wish to discuss Danzou"?

"It concerns the twenty-squads"

Tsunade's eyebrows raised, she hadn't exactly expected this. She gesturered for Danzou to continue.

"I wished to enquire why they are quartered in the village, instead of scouring the country for the Akatsuki. As I understand it, they haven't received any orders concerning the Akatsuki for the last month."

"Are you suggesting that I have given up"? Tsunade inquired, her voice rising slightly.

"Not at all, simply I wonder why they have yet to move"

"I still have a number of ANBU searching the fire country for the Akatsuki, and we now have several operatives within the hidden rain looking for the Akatsuki leader. The search for the Akatsuki is far from over"

"An enemy that you can see is dangerous, but surely an enemy that you cannot see is even more so. Akatsuki is Konoha's enemy and we now have no idea as to their activities, should we not use all our resources available to at least identify where they are."

"The akatsuki leader killed my team-mate, I have not and will not ever forget the danger they pose. However the current instability in both the hidden Rain and the hidden Mist pose possible risks to our security. Should events escalate on either end of our borders, having an established and centralized force on hand would be most beneficial. The twenty teams are fulfilling such a function"

"Perhaps you may be right" Danzou conceded, "The other issue that I wanted to bring to your attention actually coincides with what you have just said. Both the hidden Rain and the hidden Mist are now occupied in their own internal wars, is this not the time when we should be exploiting their weakness. I am sure that the daimyo would be most interested in controlling the long contested region along our borders with the rain country."

Tsunade shook her head, leave it to Danzou to suggest going to war simply because one of their neighbours happened to be weakened.

"I would like to make this clear Danzou, Konoha will not involve itself in a major conflict unless it is in our best interests to do so. We have had a long history of alliance with the rain country since Hanzou's time. We will offer support to the faction that opposed the former leader, who was the Akatsuki leader, however we shall not involve ourselves in an unnecessary conflict. Besides if the land of fire started annexing parts of the Rain, it would make Iwa very nervous, perhaps even provoking them into intervention. What was once a plan to control a few crossing points on the border could quickly escalate into another great ninja war."

"And the hidden mist"

"Their internal problems are their own business. We will of course try to identify exactly what is going on; but we shall not become involved."

Danzou seemed unconvinced; he began to make another objection.

"What's more their lack of cohesion has also led to an increased number of job offerings in the region. That is good for the village is it not Danzou" That was the way to get to Danzou, give him an answer they he couldn't object to in practical terms.

"Very well, you are the Hokage and the decision is yours" Danzou stood stiffly. Tsunade did not let the smile she was feeling show upon her face. How much it must irk the man to be forced to comply.

"I thank you for bringing these issues to my attention, your wisdom has always been an asset to the village."

It was clear to both combatants that the meeting was now over.

"Thankyou for your time Tsunade-hime " Danzou spoke stiffly and walked slowly out of the room.

Shizune, who like always stood to the side of her mentor, breathed a sigh of relief. Why was it that whenever her sensei and Danzou were in the same room she actually expected the world to come to an end. "Was that wise Tsunade-san?" she asked keeping a close gip on ton-ton "Danzou holds a lot of influence in the village".

Tsunade dismissed her apprentice's words. "Danzou will always be opposed to me, so it makes no difference whether I am amiable to him or not. Besides he forgets whom the Hokage is. His sacrifices for our village are appreciated however that does not give him leave to act according to his wishes. It was my wish that Naruto be allowed to rejoin his teammates, it was what was best for him. But Danzou thought he could dictate policy, inflicting further suffering upon a boy who has suffered more than enough. Rubbing his nose into reality that I am the Hokage and he is not is fair recompense."

"Did you really believe those things you were saying" Shizune inquired.

"More or less" Tsunade answered, "Danzou always wants to use more force than necessary. We will keep an eye upon our neighbours and expand our influence eastwards however there shall be no war and no conquests just for conquests sake"

Danzou who was slowly shuffling down the corridor from the Hokage's office was actually pleased with the result of the meeting. Yamato had informed him that Tsunade had some reservations about why he allowed Utane and Koharu to change their position; he had dropped enough hints to confirm in her mind what he wanted her to think. He had simply changed his mind; he had decided that it was in the village best interests that he allowed Naruto to leave. This to a certain extent was true but not how he had indicated, the boy had to be isolated in order to increase their chances of enlisting him, once accomplished he needed to be out of the village away from any influences that might make his opinions swing back to the path of the _first_. If his predictions turned out to be accurate, The land of Swamp was almost the perfect place to send the boy. Not all was about Naruto however, he also needed to lay down the foundations for some of his future plans, it was necessary that he be the one to raise the issue of the civil wars on the countries borders.

"Poor Tsunade" Danzou thought, "you actually think you won. Little though you know you have cost your cause far more than you can possibly imagine."

--xxxxxxxx--

"What was so important that I had to get out early?" Naruto asked. Both he and Sakura had mercilessly reminded Yamato that he had promised to pay for good accommodations. As a result they managed to get an overnight stay at a local inn, complete with hot springs.

Suffice it to say, he wasn't entirely pleased when Yamato gestured for him to meet him inside.

"I have to give you your orders from Danzou-sama"

Naruto nodded, he knew roughly what his role was. Yamato was his controller; he was supposed to follow his orders.

"Danzou-sama has asked us to evaluate the political situation within the swamp country."

Naruto waited for further information, it was not forthcoming. Apparently Yamato was unwilling or unable to elaborate further.

You orders are as follows, tomorrow; I want you to work separate from the group. I'll tell Sai and Sakura that you are going out to scout the area. To a certain extent this is right. I want you to head to the provincial capital and try to get a feel of popular opinion in the city. I want the civilians attitude towards the government, if possible I want your opinion on the military loyalty. Any pertinent information that you can pick up"

"That is rather vague Yamato-taicho, and besides I don't think there is that much that I could discover in a day or two" Naruto responded scratching his ear.

"I'm not expecting a detailed report, just winnow through the city and try to get a feel for popular opinion"

"Are we planning anything, if we are, I could be more helpful if I knew I had to look for certain things."

"It is not your business, your assignment simply requires that you follow my orders" Yamato reproached him.

Naruto straightened in response to the censure. He had to be careful; Yamato could seem very casual however he had to remember whom he was working for and how successfully he had managed to conceal his true affiliations. A ninja must see through deception, if he made a mistake in evaluating Yamato he could be in a great deal of trouble.

"Of course. Where shall we recombine?"

"There is an inn run by the _Onagawa _family in the eastern end of the city near the main gate_,_ we will meet you there at the end of the week."

"Right, do you want me to leave tonight"?

"Tomorrow will be fine, we don't want to raise any unnecessary suspicion." Yamato smiled looking casual once again " besides since you forced me to pay for the stay, I expect you to enjoy it"

"Yes, sir" Naruto replied formally, ignoring Yamato's smile.

Yamato's face fell slightly; when he spoke again his voice was without mirth "You may go " Yamato dismissed him curtly.

* * *

A/N I'm sorry about the lateness of my update, watching the Olympics has thrown out my schedule, I didn't do much work for two weeks. As a result my updates shall be slow, so don't expect one anytime soon.

Also I am considering getting a beta-reader, this chapter annoyed me slightly. Also chapter size consistancy doesn't seem to be good. Oh well.


	4. Land of Swamp

**_Land of Swamp._**

If anybody is confused about the constantly changing categories I apologise, you have every right to be confused. This story i have planned a little of everything, Romance may be one of the main themes however it might not be entirely how you might expect it. Tragedy depends on your point of view, however there may be some unpleasantness later. First part of the story is relatively "t rated" this may change as the story progresses.

* * *

Naruto left early the next morning wearing a hooded travellers cloak, he told Sakura and Sai that he would go ahead of them the same night as he had received his orders. Fortunately neither had pressed him why he needed to scout ahead, he had created a story but he wasn't so sure he could stand up to any vigorous questioning.

He arrived at a small fishing village on the coast latter the same day since he didn't have any particular reason to stop along the way. He managed to convince one of the fishermen to ferry him across the gulf in exchange for a small fee. He had brought a map along with him being unfamiliar with the regions geography. The Capital city of the land of swamp was on the landward side of the peninsular country reflecting the countries close ties with the land of fire. The fisherman were taking him to a small hamlet just south of the capital, they told him that he would easily be able to reach the city from there.

The trip on the boat was relativity short and uneventful. It was so boring in fact that He decided to make use of the trip to have a short nap.

"Hey you wake up, we're there," the fisherman uttered in his guttural voice nudging him slightly in the ribs.

Naruto rose from the deck and looked to the shore; sure enough the small trawler was anchored just outside a fishing village. Unlike the fire country village across the gulf the shoreline here was interspersed with mangroves.

"Thanks very much for the ride" Naruto shouted to the back of the retreating sailor.

The man paused and turned around. "Truth be told we were actually going to the village to sell our catch anyway so it wasn't really out of our way"

"But you said back at the village that you weren't…"

"Yeah well I though I'd make myself a little bit of money out of it as well, I guessed that you would pay more if you though we were going out of our way."

The man laughed hoarsely.

"Oh well thanks anyway" Naruto grumbled.

"Its good to see your being a good sport about it, I piece of advice boy I'd watch out I was going to the city"

"Why" Naruto asked intrigued

"Many reasons, big cities can usually be rather rough. But its more dangerous at the moment, the capital needs to import food due to its size you see"

"Yeah so, lots of the big cities do that"

"But the thing is at the moment with trade from the east being as uncertain as it is these days and the problems in the south of the country have interrupted the food supply. Food is still getting through but it's pricey, it's in time like these that life in the big city can get very interesting."

"Thanks for the warning"

"Thanks for the money," the fisherman replied "with the prices these days I am making a small fortune"

Naruto jumped aver the side of the boat.

He landed with a small splash; instinctively he channelled his chakra into his feet. He didn't really feel the need to disguise the fact he was a ninja to the fisherman, besides he couldn't help showing off.

"Well I wish you luck swindling your next weary traveller" Naruto grinned.

"A ninja eh" was the only response he received from the fisherman. Naruto was hoping for something more all things considered, but ninja were not all that uncommon after all.

He reached the village quickly there were only a few houses interspersed with small family gardens. He estimated that the population would only just reach triple figures judging from the overall size of the settlement. There was a fair crowd of people waiting at the small jetty abutting the village. The gathering seemed disproportionately large considering the village's size.

The presence of numerous carts around the gathering probably indicated that they were there to trade with the fisherman.

Naruto asked one of the throng for directions. The crowd ignored him their attention much more fixed upon the catch being unloaded from the trawler. Naruto knew how to deal with situations like these; he pestered the nearest merchant until he revealed the information he wanted to know.

"See that path," the man pointed to a dirt road at the other end of the village, his face reddening "it leads strait to the capital"

"Thankyou for your help" Naruto answered politely.

"Just stop bothering me," the harassed merchants attention returned back to the unloading of the cargo. The captain was sure taking his time unloading it. Perhaps his lethargy was deliberate because the crowd was becoming increasingly irritable. The captain sure tried every trick in the book to get the best possible bargain.

It took a few hours to reach the capitol running at full speed. It was a large city it sat astride a small river meandering back towards the coast. Like many of the other cities that he had seen in his life, the capitol of the land of Swamp was walled. Not quite the same height as Konoha's walls but just as impressive, what they lacked in height they made up in breadth. They in-closed the large city in a rough rectangular pattern. From his vantage point on a low promontory outside the city, Naruto noticed a large building built upon a hill around the centre of the city, judging from its size and its commanding position in the cityscape Naruto had little doubt that it belonged to the daimyo. The swamp country daimyo unlike most of the other feudal lords did not reside in a castle but rather lived in a palace in the chief city in the domain, at least that it what he learnt from the reports he had read.

Once out of the village Naruto decided that it would probably be best if he didn't poke around the city using his real identity. There was probably little chance that there would be anybody who could recognise him but it didn't hurt to take extra precautions.

"Henge no Jutsu"

He had chosen to transform into the captain. His face was more angular and was graced with two-day-old stubble; his normally blue eyes had become brown. The clothes were a problem; a sleeveless vest and rope-tied pants were perhaps not the most innocuous garments.

"Henge no Jutsu"

That was better; he had replaced the work clothes of the fisherman with more everyday attire

Wrapping his travellers cloak around him, Naruto descended to the nearest gate. There were armed sentries standing at even intervals however they made no move to hassle the journey of any entering or leaving the city.

The main street was wide however very little of the surface could be seen, covered as it was by the sheer mass of Humanity.

Naruto veered down one of the side street abutting the crowded main road. People busily scurried down the narrow streets. The city was squalid, the streets littered with trash and shopfronts were dirty. Naruto wrinkled his nose at the noxious swell; he was by no means squeamish but being raised in Konoha were the citizenry placed pride in their appearance and the appearance of their city, it was always confronting entering places such as this.

Naruto had wandered around the streets of Konoha for most of his life. He had received cold glares that he had many of the villagers however apart from that the village was vibrant and people went about their daily business confidently. But this city had none of that vibrancy; people scurried to and fro there eyes fearfully watching their compatriots.

He walked down the crowed streets listening to any snippets of conversation that he could. Generally all he heard was simple small talk but even small talk revealed something. Generally conversations drifted over prices of food and availability of resources. Apparently there indeed was a great deal of concern about the access to food stocks. He also heard a few snippets of conversation about an event of some sort. In general though the streets were remarkably quiet considering how crowded they were.

Naruto managed to push his way through a crowded bazaar onto a main road heading towards the Daimyo's palace, perpendicular to the main road he had entered from. He was immediately confronted by a startling contrast. The main road was wide and beautifully paved. The buildings with their sides facing the road were whitewashed, Hiding all the dirt and squalor within. Crowds were arranged along the sides of the road apparently waiting for something. Naruto sensed a nervous energy amongst the crowds lining the sides of the pristine streets. . His interest piqued Naruto took a place amongst the multitude. Trumpets burst into sound silencing the conversation.

Naruto looked down the very strait road; he could see a large body of people approaching from one end. Mounted riders raced ahead of the body, each carrying flags bearing the symbol for the swamp country. Following behind them were massed columns of infantry decked in ceremonial red armour. The crowd remained deathly silent as the ranks of soldiers passed. The soldiers halted as the reached a raised podium further along the road. The infantry parted and a small detachment of riders passed through the middle. At the head of the detachment was a heavily built man sitting astride a horse. He seemed to hold some place of prominence in the army, for he was surrounded protectivly by horsemen wearning finely tailored uniforms. Naruto peered through the heads of the people standing in front of him; amongst the Red blazoned soldiers he saw a flash of green. Following only slightly to the right was a figure wearing a flak jacket and a _Hitae-ate_, Naruto stared more intensely trying to make out the symbol. Konoha, it was a Shinobi from Konoha.

The heavily set man and the ninja dismounted at the dais and walked up to the peak of the podium. Naruto looked up, standing at the top of the podium was an ancient looking man surrounded by plump courtiers in finely flowing silk.

The ninja stood respectfully aside as the two men greeted each other, the younger bowing to the older man before turning to the crowds lining the streets.

"Lord Masaru son of our lord Kiyoshi"

Naruto heard a voice mumble next to him. The big man was the Daimyo's son; the old man was probably his father the Daimyo.

Naruto was not close enough to hear the man speak; he had to rely upon the closest herald.

"I have returned in victory from our campaign to subjugate the rebels in the south" the herald spoke obviously repeating verbatim.

"Coward" Naruto heard a voice next to him speak.

"Those traitors who cut off the food supply to the capital and threatened their lord have paid dearly for their crimes"

"Resisting the your requisitions, you mean" the voice continued softly in running commentary with the man.

"Therefore we have returned to the capital and inform our noble father of our success"

"To reassert your authority over him" the voice continued cynically. Another voice silenced it

"Daisuke, be quiet. He may have agents in the audience"

"Bah, he is still caught up in his victory. He wouldn't have bothered." The voice responded sneeringly.

Naruto ignored the herald; this conversation was far more interesting. He turned his head slightly to try to see who exactly was talking. The conversation seemed to be between a elderly man and another man, much younger with oddly disconcerting eyes.

"Quiet, we should leave. It not safe to stay outside, especially if you're in this type of mood" the old man reproached

"I'm not saying anything that is surprising anybody." The young mans voice was rich with disdain.

"Come, we must go" the old man ignored his compatriot coxing him down into one of the myriad of alleys leading out from the main street.

Naruto followed, the parade was interesting enough however he was sure that Yamato would be able to track down information on it considering its size, this chance encounter however could was too good to pass up.

--xxxxxxxx--

Naruto followed the pair into the crowded side streets; eventually they entered a small tavern. Naruto took this opportunity to approach them.

"May I please sit here?" Naruto asked.

The young man grunted.

Naruto took the indelicate sound as a Yes and took a seat.

"I am very glad I have seen you today, I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time" Naruto asked

A waiter moved over to the table "How can I serve you honoured Sirs?" he asked.

Naruto waited for Daisuke to order, the young man however did not.

"I would like a tea, would you care for one" Naruto asked politely.

"No" Daisuke answered harshly looking around the small tavern.

"Just the one tea then" Naruto confirmed passing a few coins to the tavern master.

The group sat at a table at the back of the inn away from the main body of the customers. Naruto quickly glanced at the old man who had so far not spoken since they met.

"My name is Daisuke, now what is it that you want with me" the young man had a hard edge to his voice

"My name is Nobaru" Naruto responded quickly adopting a pseudonym " To be honest I am not satisfied with the governance of Lord Masaru, when I overheard you at the parade I thought I found somebody who shares my opinions". The young man watched him suspiciously so Naruto made an intuitive leap "If I was mistaken in my assessment, I shall of course leave"

"Wait" the young man asked. Naruto paused his slow preparations to leave and looked back at the man, working hard to suppress a smirk.

"I am sorry for being rude, please continue my friend" the young mans voice had become disquieting friendly.

Naruto had always been able to tell a lot about a person from their face, when he was young he could tell that a decent proportion of the villagers hated him. Although he admitted to himself it honestly would not take a genius to figure that out. Yamato had instructed him in some of the finer points of the art. He surveyed the young man. His clothes were of much higher quality than most of the people that Naruto had seen so far. He was probably once connected to wealth, and therefore power. This assessment was confirmed by the small symbol on the mans shirt, a geometric pattern of triangles. Naruto recognised it as a noble family crest. From the way that the man was sitting Naruto detected that he was extremely self-confidant bordering on arrogant. This was not such a bad thing; it was a common trait, almost a required one amongst the nobility.

Naruto recognised a few facial weaknesses, they were tell tale signs of one who enjoyed excess, in this mans case it was probably alcohol though he couldn't be sure.

The slight jowls that hung down from his cheeks seemed oddly out of place compared with his angular features.

Daisuke's most prominent feature was of course his eyes. At close observation Naruto realized what it was that made them look so unsettling. They bulged out of his head giving him a look of manic intensity. His eyes were also alert suggesting a quick intelligence however they also seemed to lack any warmth or compassion. Naruto had no doubt that if anything became an impediment to his desires, Daisuke would feel no qualms about eliminating it. He had to be careful.

"It's not often that we see somebody have the courage to talk about lord Masaru like you did today. I thought here is a man of conviction and bravery" Naruto used fawning language, if his judgement of his character was correct, it should help to get him to talk.

To Naruto relief Daisuke smiled slightly stroking his goatee.

"Indeed my friend I have no fear of a coward like Masaru" he stated pompously.

"Of course" Naruto said relaxing slightly "did you see, how he had that ninja remain close to him"

Daisuke scoffed contemptuously "True he has never left his side, he has been here for years and I have yet to see him outside our lords company" the stress that Daisuke placed upon the word lord left no doubt of his opinions on him.

"Master Daisuke please" the old man seated to the left pleaded, "it is not safe to speak in a place like this, please watch your words"

Naruto glanced at the old man. Since Daisuke had not given the old man an opportunity to speak previously Naruto had not paid much attention to him. His face was lined with age and like his young companion he eyes bespoke a quick intelligence. However unlike his companion, Naruto detected humility and more importantly loyalty.

Daisuke snorted, "This is my adviser _Daichi_" he gestured his wide hands towards the old man.

"My honour to meet you" Naruto spoke politely.

The old man returned his greeting politely however he remained wary.

"Your adviser may be right my lord, stooping to paid informants seems like something lord Masaru would do. Maybe we should talk in a more secluded area"

"Yes your right, I would like to invite you to dine at my house to celebrate the meeting of like minded people" Daisuke offered, although his bearing magnanimous Naruto still could not detect any warmth in his eyes "perhaps in three days time I'm afraid that the commotion caused by our lords triumphant arrival shall take up my time in the next few days"

"I am honoured more than I can say" Naruto bowed.

"I will send one of my Families retainers meet you at the southern gate. He will take you to our home. Until then my friend." Daisuke bowed stiffly and exited the room; his adviser remained for a few moments.

"Thankyou for your tact" the old man bowed however his eyes were still guarded.

"Of course" Naruto replied.

Naruto watched as the old man shuffled out of the shop. Judging from what he could see of the relationship between Daisuke and Daichi, he judged that Daisuke was probably the son of one of the countries nobility and Daichi was probably sent to look after his young charge.

A waiter brought over the cup of tea that he had purchased earlier. Naruto thanked the waiter absently, thinking about the short interview.

Although the conversation was short, it was very enlightening. Although Daisuke appeared to be from a noble family he did not conduct himself with the manners of a noble and seemed well enough at ease in a common tavern. Also if Daisuke opinions were characteristic of the nobility, it would suggest that there was a decent amount of restlessness amongst the elite regarding the ruling government.

When Yamato arrived later in the week he would at least have some interesting things to report. He slowly drained the dregs of the tea from his cup and stood up.

Now he had an almost more difficult problem he had to find the inn that he was supposed to meet his team.

* * *

AN: thanks for reading I appreciate it, yep thats about it.


	5. Ambiguous assignment

Hello...i've got nothing.

The young man sat in the small room waiting, his fingers drumming impatiently against the surface of the small wooden table. His team were supposed to be arriving sometime today, but Yamato had conveniently not given a specific time for their arrival. Due to that slight slip he had no choice but to await their arrival. Using the time he had on hand, Naruto probed his thoughts trying to come up with an adequate report to give to Yamato.

After his meeting with the Daisuke, Naruto had searched the city for the inn Yamato had mentioned. It didn't take too long to find, it was nestled just inside the main gate on the eastern end of the city. The proprietor a certain Mr Onagawa had a seedy look about him, a view that solidified in Naruto mind when he saw the evening rush of customers. Naruto noticed that a few of the partons had small Aikuchi knives strapped at their waists; he also noticed that a fair number of these patrons also sported large full body tattoos, most of them being large black dragons. Using the inn as a base of operations he winnowed his way through the city listening to snippets of conversation and engaging in conversation wherever possible. Unfortunately much of the population was quite tight-lipped about discussing anything other than their day-to-day business, Naruto thanked whatever gods might be listening that he had been lucky enough to find Daisuke on his first day in the city.

Still he had managed to pick up some information. He learnt a little more about the business the daimyo's son had in the south of the country. Apparently the official line was that bandits were plaguing the roads on the outskirts of the domain, and that the Daimyo's son had taken the army out to clear the problem. The unofficial word was slightly different, according to this tradition it wasn't a bandit problem that called for the armies intervention but rather a series of small scale revolts by the towns people themselves in response to heavy taxation. Naruto wasn't entirely sure what tradition to believe, official sources usually tended to down play threats and paint the rulers in a good light, where as the unofficial reports tended to exaggerate the scale of government oppression.

He also learnt a little about the army, apparently the daimyo's son Masaru was more militaristically inclined than his father. In the last couple of years he had expanded and professionalised the domains standing army.

In general the feeling he felt from winnowing through the city was fear. It was as if the populace were expecting something bad to happen. Naruto knew that there had to be a reason for the fear, either real or imagined, it didn't matter, what mattered was that the general populace seemed to be living in a climate of fear.

He vaguely wondered what exactly Danzou wanted to know about the country, surly the village would be aware of most of the coming and goings, particularly if they had a Shinobi on long term assignment for the Daimyo. Perhaps it was simply a test, they wanted to see what he could do, test his information gathering abilities or something like that. Perhaps Danzou wanted too see how well he could follow orders and keep his new affiliation a secret, after all this was a fairly long assignment living in close quarters with his squad. There was both Sai and Yamato to worry about as well, he wasn't sure if Sai knew about him, he was told not to tell Sai, but that didn't necessarily mean that Sai didn't know. It was hard to tell from the brief time they had been together so far; he would have to be cautious either way.

Naruto growled, he didn't particularly like the way he was thinking. He did not enjoy the formless feelings his thoughts were leading. It would all be so much simpler if he knew exactly what was going on and what was required of him. At least with Sakura he had a rough idea of where he stood, he felt reasonably confident that she was in no way affiliated with Danzou, and despite the fact that he wasn't allowed to let her know about his affiliation, he felt somewhat secure in the knowledge that she wouldn't be watching him to report back to some unseen watcher at a later date.

Naruto ceased the rhythmic drumming of his fingers upon the table and stood. "Well I might as well have something to eat while I'm waiting," he mumbled leaving the inn for the open tavern across the road.

He had become bored and decided to buy himself something nice to eat. He purchased two Dorayaki and sat down to eat them. He wasn't exactly sure why he had chosen Dorayaki off all things but he felt like something sweet. As he took his first bite he felt a small hand grip his shoulder.

Naruto quickly flipped his Kunai holster.

"So this is what you've been doing, eating sweets" a voice accused.

Naruto relaxed, he recognised that voice. He turned around and sure enough it was Sakura accompanied by Sai.

"When did you guys get here" he asked indicating for his team-mates to take a seat.

"Just a minute or so ago, we shall you leave the inn" Sakura replied.

"Where is Yamato?" he asked first noticing that his captain was missing.

Sakura giggled, and Naruto detected a trace of a smile of Sai's face.

"What happened" Naruto asked, their reactions only made him want to know.

"Oh he'll be fine, he'll meet us here in a minute or so" Sakura giggled.

Naruto was hoping for a better explanation. Sai helpfully explained.

"On the outskirts of the city, we encountered an woman.

She approached Yamato saying that she had finally found her long lost husband."

"And" Naruto asked.

"The woman was about sixty or so" Sakura answered "Yamato tried to politely tell her that she was mistaken but he wasn't having much luck. She was absolutely convinced that Yamato was her husband"

"And let me guess, Yamato is probably still there trying to convince a crazy old lady that he is not" Naruto suppressed a snort.

"Probably" Sakura laughed, Naruto joined her.

"What is that your eating" Sai inquired after the brief laugh.

"What you don't know?" Sakura asked quizzically.

"No" Sai responded seriously.

"It's called Dorayuki, they sell them at Konoha. I've had them since I was a child." Sakura replied " Naruto break one open, so he can see what's inside"

Naruto complied breaking one in half. Sometimes he forgot about Sai's unfamiliarity with even some everyday things.

"You see inside it's filled with red-bean paste, its sweet and really quite good, you should try some"

"May I" Sai asked

"Sure" Naruto pushed over the plate with the broken piece.

He and Sakura watched as Sai took a tentative bite out off the sweet. He chewed it with deliberate slowness.

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked.

"It's good" Sai responded finally.

"I can't believe you never had it" Sakura stated.

Sai shrugged "I usually don't eat sweet food"

"You know I'm hungry as well, we didn't have breakfast, I might order something too" Sakura said looking towards the attendant.

"Shouldn't we wait for Yamato" Sai inquired.

"Wait for what" another familiar voice inquired.

Sakura didn't even turn around. "So you got past that old lady, did you"?

Yamato cast a disapproving glance at her as he took a seat along side his team.

"Lunch, does sound good" he commented.

The rest of team Yamato ordered something to eat, leaving Naruto with what remained of his Dorayuki.

"Okay I need to explain a few things before we meet the daimyo" Yamato stated to his squad mid way through their lunch. "Our relationship with swamp country is very important, they hold a critical position on our southern border and a many assignments for our village come from this country. We need to ensure that our relationship remains cordial, Our employer Lord Masaru holds a lot of sway in the country."

Sakura and Sai nodded, Naruto didn't bother he had found this out already.

"Because Lord Masaru is the Daimyo's son, isn't he" Naruto asked knowing full well the answer.

"Indeed he is," Yamato responded, "Therefore I am expecting that you will all conduct yourselves as representatives of the Hidden leaf" Yamato stared directly at his Genin pupil "Particularly you Naruto"

"Why the focus on me" Naruto demanded "What did I do, I reckon you should keep your attention on this guy here" Naruto pointed at Sai.

"Me" Sai responded mildly.

"No offence but yes you, if you let slip one of your apt characterizations we could end up in jail or worse"

"Naruto, Sai is getting better and besides he doesn't have a problem with impulse control you do" Sakura stated

"But…." Naruto whimpered trying to respond, however as soon as he saw Sakura massage her wrists he thought better of it.

Yamato watched his team's reactions with interest, so far so good. The teams reaction were slowly returning too normal. Still he had to keep an eye on them just in case, Naruto in particular. It would be interesting to see how Naruto developed; the boy had changed in the last few months. If he could guide the boy's growth along the right lines, then he could be an invaluable asset for Danzou-sama.

"That was good" Yamato smiled contentedly patting his stomach after he finished the last morsel of his meal, he looked at his team they had finished as well.

Yamato noticed a waiter approaching the table bill in hand. He cautiously began preparations to leave.

"No you don't Captain" Naruto stated quite clearly to the half risen Yamato. The young man must have sensed the waiters approach.

Yamato sighed and reached for his money pouch with a great deal of reluctance. Suddenly a brilliant idea flooded through his awareness. "Ahh Naruto out of all my subordinates your one of they few that I recognise, but if you insist that I pay then…."

"Wait" Naruto spoke looking down at the bill in his hands; Yamato looked on greedily perhaps Kakashi-senpai method of avoiding the bill would work. As soon as Naruto lifted his head however Yamato knew that his stratagem had not worked. "You are not Kakashi Yamato, and I am not you, I'm afraid you cannot get away with it that easy.

"Well we will leave you two with the bill and well pay you back later," Sakura said as she stood up "coming Sai"

"…. Yes of course" Sai responded following after the pink haired Kunoichi.

Yamato ruffled his hair as he watched the two exit, why was it that things never seemed to go his way. There was always somebody around to prevent things from running smoothly.

Naruto noticed Yamato's distress "we get our money back anyway's" Naruto replied dismissively.

"If you meant that you could have paid for mine as well," Yamato demanded

"I wanted to speak to you without them overhearing" Naruto gestured towards the door with his head as he counted change in his hands. "I will pay for Sakura as well, that leaves you to pay for Sai, and yourself of course."

"Fine " Yamato rummaged through his vest to find his cash. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I have had a very interesting run in with a member of the local aristocracy" Naruto placed some coins on the table and Yamato huddled closer to listen.

"Oh".

"He had some rather vehement opinions about our employer. He has invited me to dinner tomorrow night to continue our discussion"

"Be careful Naruto, our reports say that lord Masaru has a sophisticated intelligence network. This could be an attempt to eliminate dissent" Yamato made sure that his voice wasn't carrying; the Onagawa family was a client of Danzou's but that still didn't preclude the possibility that there were unfriendly elements around, it also did not hurt to take precautions just in case.

"Perhaps but I don't think so. And besides I won't appear as myself so they shouldn't be able to trace it back to me. Besides we want information on the stability of the government, this family from what I can tell is one of the major families in the country" Naruto felt awkward, he was talking in a manner normally unfamiliar to him "Hey you have forgotten to pay for the Sashimi" he said pointing accusingly at the few paper notes that Yamato had placed on the table.

--XXXXXXXX--

They approached the palace guard at the main gate; amongst the finely tailored soldiers was the same Shinobi that Naruto had seen in the Parade.

The Shinobi was of medium build, not substantially much taller than Naruto himself. Naruto felt uncomfortably reminded of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu, as the mans face was covered in much the same way. He didn't even speak to them as they approached the gate; instead he walked over to the palace guard.

Apparently he had a position of some authority, as the guard swung the large ornamental gate open with some degree of Haste.

Team Yamato passed through the gate and followed after the man. Once the reached him he finally spoke "You are here earlier than expected"

"Yes" Yamato replied apparently unfazed by the father rude way the man had greeted them. "We didn't want to waste time unnecessarily"

"How did you know we were here?" Naruto asked.

"The gate guards reported that a small group of Travellers wearing the Konoha symbol had arrived a few hours ago" the man replied.

Naruto remained silent; evidently it was a good idea that he had changed his appearance before entering a few days ago.

The man led them past what could best be described as a main hall, then down a series of Labyrinthine passages.

"Our employer is busy at the moment so your interview will be brief" the ninja stated stoping opening a sliding door.

"Welcome Shinobi of Konoha" a large man within shouted. "Please take a seat," he gestured towards a series of mats before him. Naruto regarded the man as he sat down, He had a militaristic physique, broad shoulders and thick arms, his waist however suggested he was turning slightly to seed.

"Thankyou for your welcome, Lord Masaru" Yamato replied. "I am the team leader Yamato, these are my subordinates Sakura, Sai and Naruto"

"Hello" Sakura bowed politely

"Thank you for your welcome" Sai bowed

"How's it going" Naruto asked before being elbowed in the stomach by Sakura.

The large man seemed unperturbed by the ninja's antics, however the ninja sitting on his right muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" Naruto asked threateningly before being silenced by Yamato "I have heard my lord that you have only just returned to the city yourself"

"Yes, I had to take care of some unfortunate business in the south"

"I hope that it wasn't too troubling my lord"

"Mere bandits" the lord responded dismissively "I wanted to show the people of my country that I am working for their benefit.

"Of course" Yamato replied urbanely.

"Now moving on to your assignment, I want you to…."

"We are to be bodyguards right" Naruto interrupted

"Naruto be quiet, your being impolite" Sakura murmured darkly, Naruto felt the evil energy radiating from the Kunoichi so he promptly fell silent.

The big noble chuckled "I am fortunate enough to be guarded by your compatriot over here" he waved a hand towards the masked ninja sitting to his side "I want you to guard something more important my father, lord Kiyoshi"

"Very well " Yamato answered for his team casting a glance back at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. It was good that Naruto was still acting the same in some respects however he had hoped that the boy's antics would have toned down slightly.

The large man continued "My father is the daimyo however he is elderly and these are troubled times. I have tried to shoulder some of the responsibilities of government in my fathers stead to protect his frail health. However I confess I feel anxious for his safety and it distracts me from my duties"

"Are there any threats to your father" Yamato asked

"Like I said these are troubled times. There are those whose dark designs include the death of my father, rebels and bandits. I feel myself unable to fulfil my responsibilities as I am worrying about my father health, therefore for the last few years I have hired shinobi to protect him, putting my mind at ease."

"Your filial piety is inspiring" Yamato responded, Naruto thought for a few moments that he heard traces of latent sarcasm in his captains speech, however if this was indeed so it was soon superseded by his normal professionalism "we will protect your father to the best of our ability" Yamato finished confidently.

"Very good I am glad to here it" the large man smiled. Naruto recognised that the gesture was meant to inspire warmth. He however looked predatorily with his large teeth and the smile looked like a prelude to a biting attack.

To the left one screen door opened revealing a kneeled courtier "My lord your guests have arrived"

"Very good." The lord rumbled " Thank you for accepting this assignment. I'm afraid that I have a prior engagement that merits my full attention. I have left the details of your assignment with your comrade here so if you have any queries please address them to him. Please excuse me" the large man lifted himself up with apparent ease and walked quietly out of the room, his ninja bodyguard remained

The ninja sat was a stillness that evidenced a fair degree of self-control. His cold grey fixed upon Yamato.

"Your assignment over the next month is relatively simple" the ninja's voice was low and raspy "you are to make sure nobody unauthorised meets with the daimyo"

"I thought that we were protecting him?" Naruto asked.

The man turned slightly, his eyes fixing themselves unto the source of the disruption. Naruto recognised the look he was receiving strait away, it was the same cold look that he had experienced from some of the villagers o Konoha. "Your assignment is what I tell you it is," he spoke softly.

Naruto glared at the ninja who had returned his attention to Yamato.

"As I was saying, you are to make sure nobody comes into contact with Kiyoshi without our employers consent"

"So we are actually prison guards" Naruto interrupted. The ninja didn't bother to look at the source of the outburst and continued as if Naruto had not spoken

"Our employer as you may have noticed is the true power in this country, the daimyo however wants to regain his own position. We are impartial to these disputes our loyalty is to our employer. Lord Masaru fears that if he uses local guards to keep watch over his father there is the chance that they could switch their allegiance to him. It is imperative that Lord Kiyosu must be kept under strict supervision"

"Yes" Yamato responded.

"Here is lord Kiyosu's schedule as well as a few other pertinent details, I shall leave the rostering up to you as you know your squad the best" The ninja looked towards Naruto again "I want reports every second day" the ninja handed over a few files to Yamato. "Since you're here early your assignment will start tomorrow at midday. Until then I would strongly suggest that you retire to the quarters that we have provided for you, there is a functionary outside who will lead you to them." The tone in the ninja's voice was obviously a dismissal.

"Who do you think you are" Naruto demanded "by the way your talking its as if you think you're the Hokage or something when all you are is a big fish in a small pond."

"Perhaps" the man responded evenly "However, for as long as you remain in this country I am god compared to you, boy. You would do well to remember that"

Naruto made a move to respond, however Yamato interrupted before he had the opportunity "We thankyou very much for your assistance"

The rest of Team Yamato also thanked the man, albeit one of them did so with great reluctance and a needed certain choice threats to be motivated. Upon exiting the small room they were greeted by a functionary clothed in fine silk.

"I am Katsuo and I shall be your attendant for the duration of your stay." The courtier's voice was delicate and his skin was so pale that Naruto suspected that he rarely ventured into direct sunlight. "If you will please follow me I shall lead you to your accommodations" the man walked off along the corridor, team Yamato following him.

"Your rooms shall be close to Lord Kiyosu's for security reasons"

"Gaolers cannot be too far from their charges" Naruto muttered.

"I'm sorry" Katsuo asked from up ahead.

"I was commenting on the beauty of the palace" Naruto lied however it was true that the rooms they had passed were elegant.

"Lord Kiyosu and Lord Masaru have fine taste, this palace is a testament to their artistic refinement," the courtier responded from up ahead. Naruto had to bite his tongue to not comment on the fact that many people living in the city below were not living in such splendour.

They reached their rooms as it was termed. In reality the guest apartments were easily as big as a good-sized house. There was a central room leading to a series of separate bedrooms. "I hope you will be comfortable, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask, I shall be sleeping in the room near the door."

Naruto looked around, it was certainly quite a nice place.

"I'm sure you will want some time to familiarize yourself with your surroundings." the attendant excused himself and left.

"This is really nice" Sakura spoke looking around 'I kinda feel like royalty"

"I suppose" Naruto replied to her dubiously.

Sai meanwhile had sat down at one of the low tables and placidly started drawing.

"What are you drawing" Sakura asked looking over his shoulder.

"I saw the Daimyo's garden as we walked in, it was impressive. Since we don't have anything to do for the moment I thought I would draw it."

"Why" Naruto asked, "it was a nice garden I suppose but a gardens a garden, you know"

A slight red crept into Sai's face, he looked down at the paper while responding. "I decided that I would like to begin a new book. One with the more pleasant images from our missions so we could look back at the good times we had."

"That's a great idea Sai" Sakura gushed

"Doesn't look like a garden to me" Naruto chimed in looking over Sai's shoulder as well "looks like a bunch of lines"

"That's because he just started" Sakura answered for Sai " I think it is a great idea" she added.

"Have a look at this you three" Yamato asked from the other side of the table. The team took the places around the captain.

"I have been looking at the daimyo's schedule, it would appear that we have to keep him under twenty four hour protection. He has only two public outings planed in which we will provide full protection apart from that His quarters have only one entrance so I think that we will roster guard duty on six-hour shifts. If that isn't appropriate to our employer we may need to post two guards instead of one and that would make the shifts twelve hours."

"Let's hope that one guard is enough" Naruto said

"I will draw up a basic roster and pass it along to our supervisor to see if it meets with his approval. Any questions?" Yamato asked

"Are we allowed to leave the palace?" Sai asked

"Yes but we must carry permits signed by Katsuo the day that they are used. If we leave we are supposed to follow a very specific path" Yamato pulled out a map from the files with a path highlighted in red.

"Cautious aren't they" Naruto added his hands behind his head.

"It makes sense I suppose, they don't want us wandering around" Sakura.

"Anything else" Yamato asked nobody responded "For the time being then, you are free to do as you want."

"I am going to pick a room," Sakura said as she stalked off in the direction of the bedrooms. Sai went back to his drawing of the daimyo's garden.

"Yamato-Taicho, I request that you do not roster me for guard duty tomorrow night" Naruto spoke cautiously just in case there were people listening in.

Yamato looked up from the papers. "I'll see what I can do, is there any particular time that you do not want to be on duty." He asked

"Dusk to midnight will probably be enough" Naruto replied.

"All right" Yamato scribbled down a note on one of the documents. "I hope that your dining conversation will prove enlightening"

* * *

AN: I still have assignments, please read my profile for the future of this story and other information that's related to it if interested. Oh yes eat Dorayuki, come on you know you want too.


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Naruto, Adventure, Romance