Naruto 1. The Legendary Byakko

Disclaimer: A man came to me one day and said "You cannot own, what is not your creation" Surprisingly that man was Kishimoto. (Me no owny Naru-chan)

This was inspired by the fic 'The Golden Fox' It is REALLY good, I'm trying to get this that good aswell.

**This was meant to be this short! The next chps. Will be longer!!!**

Now, this is my 2nd fic, Last Order. It focuses around the failure of the Sasuke retrieval and Konoha-Oto war.

Without further adieu, May I present…

I OWN THE JUUSAN ONI YAIBA AND THE TECHNIQUES WITH THEM!

The Last Order

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Sea Country

Sitting down in a rocking chair on the self-made porch of his house, a blonde began humming a favorite tune of his. Hearing the door creak open, he heard footsteps and then a weight on his lap.

"Ne, saiai (Love), daijoubu?" said the clearly feminine voice before a chaste kiss was given to him

"Hmm? Oh yes I'm fi-" he didn't get to finish before three shuriken embedded them selves into the chair just be fore he grabbed the woman in his lap and setting her down on the other side of the porch before disappearing once again.

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In the trees above the house, seven ANBU stood shocked at the speed he showed. One with the mask of a boar spoke up before the others.

"How did he move that fas-" she stopped when she felt the cold metal of a kunai against her neck. Through the corners of her eyes holes, she saw the very person she threw the shuriken at.

"Ino-san, you should know not to attack a civilian of another country, for it might cause more trouble for Konoha. It doesn't need to have Taki, Ame, and the Sea militia, on it's rear."

"Matte, you should know that Konoha can also attack Sea country."

"Yes but that would be considered a sign of war on us to Taki and Ame. They're allied with us…Shikamaru."

Stepping out of the shadows of the trees, Konoha's premiere shadow user took of his deer mask, showing his ever lazy eyes, though it didn't look right on his serious face.

"So, what's with the reunion may I ask? And why did you bring Ino, Neji, Shino, and Kiba? And who are these other two?"

Hiding the shock on his face, he didn't answer. Instead, he brought up a completely untouched subject between them.

"Konoha needs your help Naruto. We're fighting a losing war. The council thinks that finding the blades of the Juusan Oni we can win. Intelligence says that the last to have one, or any information on one of them, was you. The Kazama clan hid them away before they could be taken. So the council sent us out to try and 'retrieve the blade', but Tsunade got them to try and bring you back with us, so they can attempt to get more info, but we all know she wants you back in Konoha"

Jumping out of the tree, Naruto walked back to the home he had built, and pulling out the shuriken in the chair, he sat down in it with a sigh. Rubbing his forehead, he looked over to the ANBU and began talking.

"So the old farts want to use the power of the Juusan Oni Yaiba, huh? And they know that I have two of them. Let me tell you something. The Kazama Clan hid them for a reason. As long as the other eight stay hidden, you're not going to find them. The Juusan Oni Sandaime Saiban technique is forbidden for a reason. The other two, the Zuiichi, and Nidaime Saiban, you need mastery over. I do not care if Konoha falls." And with that, he waited for their response when a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Saiai, you won't help your friends? You once told me that you would protect your precious people no matter what."

Looking over to the voice, he saw his wife, Sayuri walking towards when one of the ANBU that he didn't know slipped behind her a held and kunai to her neck, already drawing a trickle of blood.

"Gomen, Uzumaki-san, but we have been given orders directly from the council to bring you and the swords, since you said you have them, back with us."

Shocked, he looked over at Shikamaru who had a look that said sorry, while the other members had looks of pleading forgiveness. Growling, he weighed his options. He could try to rescue Sayuri, but leave his rear open. Or he could go with them and protect her.

Need less to say, he gave into the latter.

"Fine, just let her go! I'll go with you. But don't expect me just hand over the swords. I'm a mercenary. I only work for money. Let Sayuri go, and I'll go with you."

"Domo, Naruto. Konoha needs the Byakko. We cannot win this war alone. Pack yours and her bags. She will be safe inside Konoha from Oto." said Kiba to his friend, as he went inside to help him pack.

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Cabin: Master Bedroom

Entering the bedroom, Naruto began pulling out to Suitcases when he felt Kiba's chakra presence behind him. Setting the bags on the bed, he looked over at his friend.

"What do you want?"

"You know we don't want to do this. Everybody from the last mission still thinks it's unfair how you were treated. I mean, sure Sasuke escaped…but to blame you for our injuries, him turning over to Orochimaru, and losing the Sharingan? But to banish you from Konoha, and welcome him back with open arms?!"

Hanging his head, Naruto went back to packing as he went through all the drawers before he began talking.

"Kiba…what do the people of Konoha think of me?"

Looking over at his old friend, Kiba felt a pang of guilt in his heart before he answered.

"The majority of the civilian populace still hates you, but the younger generation still loves you, even though the secret of Kyuubi is out. The Rookie 9 and Gai's team accept you. Though nin populace has, begrudgingly, (I love using big words) recognized your power."

Finished packing the last shirt, Naruto walked over to his closet before opening it. Reaching in it, he pulled out three scrolls and a robe. The robe was pure white and had black designs on it at random places (Think the last battle from KH2 against Xemnas.)

"So THAT'S the legendary cloak of the Byakko. Sweet, but what's with the scrolls?"

"One holds 10 of my personal arsenal, while another is a document for Tsunade. The last however…I shall not tell you. Are you ready Kiba? If you are, can you grab one of the bags?"

Reaching over, the Inuzuka took one of the bags and walked out of the cabin, leaving Naruto to gather whatever else he wanted.

With a sigh, Naruto took one last look at the house he had built with his own sweat, blood, and sore thumbs, he walked back outside.

"Good, now that you're ready, we can get going." said Shikamaru when he saw the blonde leave the house.

"Matte, Shikamaru. If I'm going with you, Sayuri will stay next to me. I can just as easily rebel and attack. I'm didn't get the name Byakko for nothing. I'll go with you, but Sayuri stays with me."

Looking back at his friend, Shikamaru held the look of sadness. Silently, he nodded his head and took of into a full sprint in the direction of Konoha. Taking off after his friend, Naruto picked up Sayuri who let out a small 'eep' and took off after him. Behind were all of the ANBU but two.

With a grumble, Neji lifted up the bags before he took of after them "Why do I always have to carry everything.

Standing in the clearing where the cabin was, a burning flame erupted. Checking their work, one of the ANBU took out a radio and began talking.

"Phase 1 completed Orochimaru-sama" waiting for a reply, she heard the currgh sound of the waiting part before hearing the raspy voice of her master.

"Good…proceed with phase 2 as planned."

Replying with a quick yes, she took of in the direction of her so called 'comrades'.

Konohagakure no Sato: Hokage's Office

Opening the doors to Tsunade's office, she stepped inside. "Tsunade-sama, Shikamaru and his team have come back from Sea country with Naruto!"

Standing up, she ordered Shizune to ready a meeting with the council before she stepped outside to meet Shikamaru's team sitting on some benches.

Looking over the heads, she stopped when she saw familiar sunny blonde spikes. Under that, she saw long black hair. Smiling when she saw that he had found some one she spoke up.

"Naruto…how have you been?"

Opening one of his closed eyes, he looked at her with a half lidded one. "Considering what I've been through, great Tsunade."

Feeling a pang in her heart when he didn't say 'baa-chan' she walked over to him. Looking at the face of the one who stole her little brother's heart, she saw angelic features. Her bangs framed her face perfectly, falling down to her shoulders and her eyes were closed. She saw soft cheeks and ruby red lips.

"You got a good catch Naruto. I'm happy for you."

Entering the hall through Tsunade's office, Shizune came out to tell them, "Tsunade-sama, the council is ready."

Nodding her head, she turned to Naruto. "Time to go."

A/N: This is my second fic's first chapter. This is ment to be short, okay! This is EXCLUSIVE to mediaminer. Meaning it won't be anywhere else!

Taki- Waterfall (Hidden village)

Ame- Rain (Hidden Village)

Daijoubu- Are you alright?

Gomen- Sorry.

Byakko- White Fox

Zuiichi- First

Nidaime Saiban- Second Trial

Juusan Oni Sandaime Saiban- Thirteen Demons Third Trial


	2. Grude Match! The Never Ending Rivalry!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own the Juusan Oni Yaiba and the personal technique of the Byakko.

This chapter goes out to The Fifth Rider of Armageddon, who has recently lost one of his dear friends. I salute you.

I don't have much to say…JUST **REVIEW!!!!!!!!**

I NEED you all to READ the AUTHOR'S NOTE at the end, because it is VERY important.

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Konohagakure no Sato: Council Chamber

The council chamber was…peculiar to say the least. Rows of desks stacked higher and higher until you reached a seventh story. The higher up you are, the more important you are. The lower five just had minor clans and civilian representatives while the sixth and seventh were the same rank…just that there weren't enough chairs.

Leaning back in a chair, Naruto was wearing the robe of the Byakko to signify who he was. Sitting in front of him were Hyuuga, Akamichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Aburame, Haruno, Uchiha (Sasuke), Sarutobi, Koharu, Hatane, and Tsunade on the sixth and seventh rows. The other rows were only filled up during times when things considered the civilian populace.

Deciding to get this under way, Tsunade stood and addressed Naruto to the rest of the council.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Age: 23 Height: 6'2 Weight: 213 pounds Hair Color: Blonde Eyes: Blue Notable features: Three whisker marks on each cheek, resembling that of a fox. You have been brought before the council of Konoha due to Intel that you have two of the Juusan Oni Yaiba. Is this true?

Looking over to the person who was like his older sister, he stopped leaning back to give a proper reply. "Hell yeah, but I won't hand them over."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"Cause Konoha finally realized that when they banished me, they gave up their trump card, and now they need me, who they banished for no reason, to save their sorry asses. And they also want to take something from me."

This is where Koharu spoke up. "Oh, I think we know something that you would hand them over for."

With his curiosity perked, he turned his attention to the thirds former teammate. "Go on, out with it."

Hatane answered for him when she answered with the sentence of "To become a ANBU of Konoha. You would be placed under Danzo an-" here she was interrupted with a cough from the legendary Byakko in front of her when he started talking.

"Let me get this straight. You want me (Points to himself) to give you (Points to the council) the Juusan Oni Yaiba I have in my possession (Points to himself again) to you (Points to them) and I get to become an ANBU under old Cyclops here (Points his thumb Danzo)?"

Nodding her head proudly (Not noticing the seething Danzo), the rest of the council looked at the blonde, waiting for him to fall into their (Not including Tsunade) trap.

Leaning back once more, Naruto put on the mask of making it look like he was mulling it around in his head. Did they really think that he would fall for that? They were hoping to get four birds with one stone. They hoped to get the Juusan Oni Yaiba from him, find the locations of the others from him, end the war, and kill himself while doing it. Pretty tempting, right?

Deciding to play along, he told them a lie. "Alright, I'll think about it. I'll come back within the next day to give you my answer." Getting up to leave, he noticed that a majority of the council were pissed that he had escaped their plan, and that a few others, including Tsunade, had a soft smile on their own features.

Leaving the chamber behind him, he stopped at the door and told them "I am a mercenary. You might forget to pay me." Thus, leaving bewildered council members behind him, Naruto set off.

Of everyone there, only Tsunade and Sasuke caught the hidden meaning behind that.

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Outside Hokage's Office

Bored. That's the only thing that could describe the wife of Uzumaki Naruto. She had been told that he had gone to a council meeting, so she had gone out shopping. Swinging by the bank, she pulled out a couple of yen notes, mainly because she used all the ones she had on her, to go rent a hotel room for them both, leaving the bags there.

Now, she was currently waiting for her husband outside of the Hokage's office when she saw him leave the council chambers, and walk towards her.

"Naruto-kun! What took so long? I was able to go shopping, go by the bank, and even rent a hotel room!"

Looking down at the black haired beauty in his arms, he placed a kiss on her head before he told her "The old farts tried to trick me into doing something, but I lured them into a trap of my own.

Smiling softly, she leaned into his embrace as his arms circled around her.

"Well, how about I show around the placed I once called home?" Leading Sayuri out of the tower, he walked along the streets, pointing out the places that held good memories. The park where he first met Sarutobi, the sandbox where he met Kiba and Chouji, the rooftop that he and Shikamaru first met and the Academy.

'_Maybe I should pay Iruka-sensei a visit…It has been a while I've seen him'_

Noticing the far off look in her lover's eyes, Sayuri broke him from his thoughts. "Naruto-kun? Daijoubu??

"Hmm? Oh yeah I'm fine. Say, you wanna meet one of my old teachers?"

Giving a slow nod, she walked with him over to the academy. Sayuri knew about the Kyuubi and how he was treated. She also knew that some people saw past the beast he held and gave him respect for holding it. She hoped this Iruka was one of them.

Working on where to assign Academy students for new Genin teams, Iruka was working through papers when he heard the door open, moving his attention to the door, his jaw dropped.

"N-N-Naruto!? Is that you?!"

Smiling his goofy smile, he gave a wave to his former teacher. "Yo!"

Going into mother hen mode, he began checking the boy all over "Are you hurt? Are you okay, why didn't you visit? Oh yeah, you were banished…You have been taking care of yourself right? You haven't been overeating? Oh! And who is this pretty lady?"

Giving a soft blush, Sayuri introduced herself to the man was asking a question a mile a minute. "Sayuri, sir. I'm Naruto-kun's wife. Nice to meet you." She said, shaking his hand.

"I'm glad he's finally found someone. So why are you here Naruto?"

"You know, I'm here for two reasons. 1) To visit you. 2) To ask why you gave away my location. You were the only person I told that I was settling down in Sea country."

Looking away from his former student, Iruka moved his attention to the window. "You have to understand Naruto. Konoha is taking heavy casualties. The council knew that the Byakko was strong, and a mercenary, they just didn't know where to find you. The story of the Juusan Oni Yaiba also gave hope to us, making us think that if we had both on our side, we could pull through this. Then the rumor that you had a couple of them spread and that you were Naruto, the council said 'All the better. We can bring our most loyal shinobi back and bring more power with him.' The Konoha 11 saw through that, knowing all they wanted was power. I had no choice. I don't want to be responsible for Konoha's down fall."

Looking at the turned back of his sensei, Naruto replied with a smile. "If that's the case, I'm glad you brought me back. I wouldn't want that burden to fall on your shoulders. You'd probably go insane from the strain, start pulling out your hair, and shrug the duty off to Kakashi and let him put it off for three hours."

Sweat dropping at the reply and grin, Iruka gave a drawn out sigh. "Well, it's good to have you back, what rank has the council given you?"

"Rank? I don't have a rank. I'm a mercenary."

Shocked, Iruka looked to Sayuri (Bet you forgot about her!) to confirm this, and when she nodded, he sat back down.

"I thought they would reinstate you tonight. Why didn't they?"

"They were hoping to get four birds with one stone. They think they can fool me. Well, if they think they can fool Uzumaki Naruto, I'll show them why I was called Konoha's most surprising ninja!"

Giving a soft smile up to her husband, Sayuri gave a small yes you will to him. Iruka got up and put a hand on the taller man's shoulder and said, "Well, thank you for visiting me, Konoha's gotten a lot quieter since you left. Now, if you would excuse me, I have to find out where to place newly graduated students and get sensei for them by tomorrow."

Leaving the academy, Naruto and Sayuri left Naruto's former sensei to deal with the horror known as paperwork. Walking down the street, he and Sayuri had a meal of Ramen at Naruto's favorite restaurant, Icharaku. Teuchi and Ayame were surprised to see him, but were immensely glad.

Currently, Naruto was walking towards the hotel after saying hi to some old friends. Sayuri had gone back after eating, saying she wanted to get her beauty sleep.

"Naruto-nii-san? Is that you? It is! It is!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, he dodged a tackle from the ground by a flying ball of brown known as Sarutobi Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru? Daijoubu?"

Turning his beaming face from the concrete, he smiled up at his idol, who held a look, indicating that he was sweat dropping. Rebounding, he hugged the person he hadn't seen in ten years.

"Naruto-nii-san! You're back!"

Giving a chuckle, he ruffled the Sarutobi's hair before he started down the road again. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the young Saru wasn't following him. "You coming? There's a café around the corner."

Arriving at the café, they talked about what had happened since he left. He also told what members of the Rookie nine were married and one other piece of information.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Believe me, I REALLY don't want to be the one to tell you this, but I feel you should know."

Looking at Konohamaru, he started to wonder what he was going to tell him. _'Teuchi's retiring/ No that can't be it…Ebisu died? Nah. Tsunade gave up sake? Maybe that's it…'_

"The council, not Tsunade, has elected Sasuke as the Rokudaime."

Blue eyes widened then narrowed when the words the young Sarutobi told him sunk in. Why was it that Sasuke always got what Naruto worked so hard to achieve? Naruto was hated and Sasuke was loved just because of his name. All he to do was say he wanted something, and boom. There it is on a silver platter. And, just for trying to bring him back, they exile him, where as Sasuke BETRAYED the village to it's greatest ENEMY, and was welcomed back with opened arms.

Abruptly standing up, Naruto called out into the shadows, with the eyes of everyone in the café on him. "Sasuke! I know you've been following me! Just waiting there for me to find out, weren't you!"

Stepping out of the doorway, the last 'true' Uchiha smirked at the blonde, daring him to do something.

Emitting growl from within his throat, Naruto's deep blue eyes, glazed over with a cold edge, flashed a red of anger for a brief moment. This didn't go unnoticed by the Uchiha though.

"Mad dobe? You wouldn't have gotten the title anyways. You had to be on the council, an ANBU, or a former Jonin Instructor, unless you were chosen by the Hokage. You also have to be strong. And smart. You lack both."

Faster than the naked eye could see, Naruto was behind Sasuke, standing in the street.

"Training Ground 14."

"See you there dobe."

Everyone in the café heard what they were talking about and rushed over to the field.

Ninja that were going home or someplace else, also saw the crowd and joined it. Basically, there was one huge ass crowd going to a place that had become a monument to all the people that had trained there.

The training ground that belonged to team Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Arashi, Team Seven, and Team Ebisu.

Standing off on both sides, Naruto and Sasuke locked each other's gaze. Pulling out a scroll, Sasuke bit his thumb and wiped it across the seal on it. In a poof of smoke was an elegant blade.

The blade itself was amazingly elegant, with the hilt in the design of a black rose with vines curling around, and then climbing onto the purple steel the hilt held. It appeared to be a kind of katana, even though it had 'fangs' on the side that pointed to himself.

"Shocked? I wouldn't be surprised. After all, you're not the only one with one of the Juusan Oni Yaiba. This one is-"

He was cut off by laughter coming from the blonde in front of him as it evolved into hysteric cackling. "Oh God! It's been so long since I've had a good fight! Exactly 6 years I do believe since I've fought another with one of the Yaiba!"

'_This can't be Naruto! He never got an insane look in his eye! It's like he's pulled a Gaara…'_

"I wonder if you know the story behind Juusan Oni Yaiba…probably not. Then allow me to tell you."

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE strained to hear the Blonde's tale. The council members, Tsunade (Who, along with the council, felt the blade be unsealed and came.), Jiraiya (Who was interrupted from creating the greatest book ever), and multitudes of other shinobi and civilians alike where wanting to listen to the story behind one of the greatest mysteries of all the shinobi nations.

"The Juusan Oni Yaiba, have earned that name. During they're forging, six demons and fallen angels and six celestial beings were sealed into them while the iron was hot. Every single one morphed the blade to fit their personality. Afterwards, they were given to thirteen samurai, who strangely all belonged to the Kazama Clan. The Saibans were created in that clan, and used them to their full extent. However, what they didn't know was that some of the sealed beings didn't like this, and slowly, without raising suspicion, drove them to brinks of insanity. Eventually, after several generations of passing down the blades, the Kazama Clan Elders decided to forever seal away the swords for all eternity. It didn't go as planned. The seals were broken and the blades robed from their sanctuaries as they were used for deeds that shouldn't have been done. Only eight of the original thirteen are stilled sealed today. Now, each of the blades is hidden in a place corresponding to their name. Isamashii no Bengosha **(Defender of the Valiant)**, Neikan no Rusuban **(Caretaker of the Wicked)**, Deddo Kaika Hana **(Dead Blooming Flower)** is the one you have teme, Seisoku Deddo Ibara **(Living Dead Thorn)**, Noumin no Ouja **(King of Peasants)**, Ouja no Touzoku **(Thief of Kings)**, Tenpi no Kyoujaku **(Strength of the Sun)**, Getsuei no Nanten **(Weakness of the Moon)**, Waizu no Kyoujin **(Madman of the Wise)**, Kichigai no Tetsujin **(Wise Man of the Mad)** is one of the two I have (Fitting isn't?), Bure-ka Naraku **(Hell Breaker) **is the other one I have as well (It's fitting!), Oozora no Shini **(Death of Heaven)**, and last, but not least, Kyuusei **Disutorakuta ****(Salvation Destructor)****. I know where each and every one is now, thanks to you teme, and I can make sure they're not ALL completely unsealed. Oh! And on a side note, did you know that if you are defeated and you have some of the Juusan Oni Yaiba, you have to hand over each and every one to the person who defeated you?" **

**Silence infected the crowd as they thought of the creation of the blades they thought would place them on top's secret. The fact that some of them drew you to insanity sometimes?**

**"So you're saying that if I defeat you, I'll have not only the Deddo Kaika Hana, but the two you have?"**

**"Yep, but believe me, if you're gonna try to beat me, you'll have to do a fuck load of work."**

**"Then I better guess I start now."**

**Lunging at the blonde, he swung for a horizontal slice, before Naruto jumped over it and planted a solid kick to the Uchiha's face.**

**"Now, Now, let's not get to hasty."**

**Growling, Sasuke implanted his blade in the ground and started doing hand seals.**

**"_Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!"_**

**Standing in front of a giant fireball that is flying towards you, it's smart to keep moving. Dashing to the side, the Byakko countered the Uchiha with a jutsu of his own.**

**"_Suiton: Hahonryuu no jutsu!"_**

**Smothering the fireball with a current of water that turned into steam the blonde dashed across waning surface of the liquid on the ground and held his hand in front of him.**

**"Bure-ka Naraku!"**

**The hell Breaker earned that name for sure. The hilt in the design of a raging flame, held a black and red iron, with a single white line down the sides of it. Small etchings of demons were on the bottom parts of the hilt while the blade was decorated with seals. Double edged, you could see that it was a destructive force.**

**Noticing the blonde had drawn his blade, the Sasuke pulled the Kaika (that's what I'm calling it) out of the ground and charged into the mist.**

**"Damnit, I can't see them!"**

**"Where are they?"**

**"What happened?"**

**"They are currently exchanging strikes, but Naruto seems to have the upper hand." All eyes turned to Hyuuga Neji, as he began commentary to the fight in the steam.**

**"Naruto just tried a vertical upper slice and Sasuke countered by using the flat side of his blade as a shield. Oh shouldn't have done that, now Naruto can use that to his advantage."**

Questioning looks jumped onto the faces of the people before they got their answer when a black blur was sent flying out of the steam as it finally dissipated.

Sasuke coughed up a bit of blood when he pulled himself out of the crater the blonde kicked him. Staring up to the blonde his onyx eyes faded to reveal…

The Mangekyou Sharingan.

"How did you get the Mangekyou teme?"

Grinning, Sasuke began to elaborate. "When I went over to Orochimaru, I had made myself another best friend and killed him instead. I was rewarded with this. You should feel lucky dobe. Not many people get to see my Sharingan."

Charging a chidori, Sasuke began running at Naruto who was playing the situation over in his head.

'_Hmm…If I match that then…after that I could…yeah, yeah. That's what I'll do.'_

Then, the crowd began noticing a bunch of the air around the Uzumaki become distorted as a spiraling blue sphere appeared in his hand.

Meeting the chidori in Sasuke's hand, Naruto thrusted the rasengan forward. An explosion occurred in the training ground as the two were blown back.

Jiraiya began frowning at the amount of power the blonde put into the rasengan he used and wondered why he chose that much, and thus, he voiced his opinion. "Oi! Naruto! Why didn't you put more power behind that?"

The crowd shocked into silence from what the toad hermit said, began spluttering in their heads, and their mouths made them look like fish. Naruto STILL wasn't going all out?

Pulled from the thoughts in their heads, they turned their attention to the people who were slowly picking themselves up from the craters in the ground. Standing up first, Sasuke noticed that both of their swords were gone and knew that he could just call it back so he wasn't worried.

Then, he smirked as he sped toward Naruto, who was still pulling himself out of the crater (It was much bigger). Crouching down, he delivered a kick to the man's chin, sending him flying into the air.

Cheers erupted from the crowd as they saw their precious 'Sasuke-sama' kick the demon into the air. Then, he delivered a back hand, just like how a lion sweeps it's paw at it's prey.

Now above the blonde, he sent him barreling towards the ground, just before he delivered a rib shattering heel kick to his stomach. The result he got was Naruto coughing up blood onto his robe.

"SHI-SHI RENDAN!"

Standing up, Sasuke smirked at the blonde

"Heh. The demon stood no chance!"

"Sasuke-sama defeated the Byakko! The Juusan Oni Yaiba are his!"

"No one can beat him!"

"Three Cheers for Sasuke-sama!"

"(CHEER)"

"(CHEER)"

"(CHE-)"

They were suddenly cut off when five spinning blade, resembling the Bure-ka Naraku, shot out of the ground and sliced straight through parts Sasuke's right side. Jiraiya's eyes widened as everyone gasped at the sight.

His leg had a nasty gash in it, while his ribs were bleeding profusely. A deep wound on the shoulder was matched by a slice in the muscle. Add impalement somewhere in there and you have the right side of Sasuke's body.

"Juusan Oni Zuiichi Saiban: Kaimetsu **(Thirteen Demons First Trial: Devastation). **The first of three techniques belonging to the Juusan Oni." Explained Naruto as he balanced himself against a tree behind him, feeling the after effects of the Shi-Shi Rendan. His forehead had a nasty gash on it, and one of his rib bones was sticking out of his skin. He had given Kyuubi orders not to heal him in this fight.

"The Zuiichi and Nidaime saiban require at least ten swords to work. That's why the Kazama Clan gave each of the swords the ability to split into at least 5 copies of the original. The Inuzuka Clan's Tsuga and Gatsuuga techniques were ripped off from copying the spin. While the Kazama Clan adopted the puppetry technique, they didn't create it, to become fairly decent at long range combat, using spinning blades as weapons that could carve through your opponent. This became the Zuiichi saiban. The Nidaime constantly impaled your opponent into the air, surrounded them with the blades, then impaled them from all sides. I however, will not show you any more than the Zuiichi."

The crowd silent from hearing the blonde could use such a technique that caused so much bodily harm, was currently deciding to if they should stop the fight or not, force the Uzumaki to show Sasuke the move so he could copy it, and stop placing bets.

Covering the wounds as best as he could, Sasuke was on his last legs. The blonde infront of him held so much knowledge of some of the most dangerous moves out there! Not only that, but he looked down right intimidating with ten floating swords behind.

Fed up with waiting Naruto swung his arm broad, sending copies of the Kitsugai no Tetsujin soaring at his opponent.

The Ketsugai no Tetsujin, looked like a heavenly blade. The hilt was silver and forged into the design over a gray cloud, with lighting designs crawling down it. Gray steel with a midnight line down it entered the hilt, making the Wise Man of the Mad.

Barely dodging the blades coming at him, Sasuke sidestepped to the left and began doing hand seals.

"_Katon: Karyuuendan!"_

He aimed the giant fire dragon towards the spiraling blades that had missed him previously just before Naruto pulled them back.

Cursing, Naruto turned three of the Hell Breakers around the blades on fire to put them out, while sending the others after the dark haired male.

Seeing what the blonde was about to do, he activated one of the Mangekyou (Bet you forgot he had it on!) main techniques.

"_AMATERASU!"_

Black flames erupted from the red eyes as they hurtled towards the Byakko, who had just put out the flames. Seeing the black fire coming at him, he sent the swords underground, and wrap around a root of a tree and pull him under.

Waiting with baited breath, the onlookers watched the high jonin-kage battle. Sasuke was in line to be the Hokage, and he was on par with the Godaime, yet, theis blonde was throwing him around like a rag doll!

Pulling himself out of the ground, Naruto decided. "Sasuke! I held back in the Valley of the End, but now…my promise to Sakura is null and void. I'm going all out."

Sakura winced when he didn't add the –chan suffix at the end of her name, it clearly ment that he had cut most ties to Konoha when they exiled him. Some people around her wondered what that had to do with anything.

Tsunade voiced her confusion when she asked "What promise?"

Kiba answered with a sneer when he said "The day you sent us out to retrieve Sasuke, Sakura made Naruto promise to return Sasuke to Konoha. Though I really don't get. The council blames Naruto for our injuries that we got from fighting the sound four alone. Naruto had nothing to do with them, but they exile him."

Shikamaru also answered after Kiba finished. "If anyone was to blame, it would have been me. I led that mission, and made each one of us stay behind and fight one of the elite sound. But there was no other way. If we all stayed behind and all fought, we wouldn't have enough energy to face off against all of them, and lost Sasuke much faster. And the way I see it, Naruto saves all your ugly mugs just by being alive. Do you remember Gaara? He went insane because of people like you. By showing him hatred, beating him, it's a wonder that Naruto didn't join Gaara in insanity."

This is where Jiraiya broke into an earsplitting grin. His number one pupil was going to show them what hard work could really do! "Naruto! If you're gonna pull out all the stops, show them the reason you're called the Byakko!"

Smirking, Naruto cancelled the Zuiichi Saiban and returned the blades back into the seals in his cloak, before he threw it off to reveal a black chest piece, navy blue baggy pant with his kunai holster on his right leg with his shuriken pouch on his left. His ninja tool pouch was where it always was, ever since his genin days. On his left ass cheek.

Calming himself, blue chakra flickered around him as gasps went through the crowd. Chakra can't be seen unless you accumulated a bunch of it! Not only that, the chakra levels were still increasing so much, that Hinata and Neji's byakugans were turning on and off because of it.

When the chakra finally reached it's peak, it looked like a massive blue flame. Claping his hands together (Like, the palms were flat against each other), the chakra forced itself into the ground before a pit of white liquid appeared behind the blonde.

Suddenly, a claw shot itself out of the pit as a giant snout poked out. Further picking itself up, the being shot out another claw before it fully climbed out.

Behind the blonde, stood a pure white fox, with nine tails swinging behind it.

People started yelling, bracing themselves for what they thought was the second coming of Kyuubi. After about 30 seconds of not being crushed and getting over the shock, they quickly paid full attention to the beast in front of them.

"Hijutsu: San Yajuu Kamigami: Byakko no Kanki. **(Secret Technique: Three Beast Gods: Awakening of the White Fox)**"

Turning his cold gaze to Sasuke, who's Mangakyou faded out of existence after he saw what the blonde did, he told him what this technique did to him.

"Teme, this is the reason I'm called the Byakko. If you thought I picked up that name for kicks, you're dead wrong."

Jiraiya began to smirk as he noticed Sasuke began feeling something he hadn't felt in ages.

Fear.

Uchiha Sasuke was experiencing fear as he stared at the huge kitsune standing on all fours behind the blonde in front of him. He knew that Naruto had gotten strong, but not THIS strong! He had surpassed him. The dead last of the Academy had outdone him.

Jiraiya, seeing that Sasuke was being stubborn, offered him some advice. "Uchiha, give up. Naruto's pulled out all the stops this time. That jutsu is meant to kill. Unless you give up, Konoha is going to end up a wasteland."

Grunting, rage filled Sasuke's eyes. He had turned on the Sharingan in hopes to copy the blondes jutsu, but he couldn't. Knowing what the blonde would do if he didn't surrender, he slowly got up.

"Fine. I give up." And with that, Naruto dispelled the fox and stood still, as if waiting for something.

Then, a purple light erupted from the blonde's hand as the Kaika was grasped in a firm grip. "The Kaika is mine Sasuke. I told you that during a fight, the Juusan Oni Yaiba chose to have themselves wielded by the victor."

Walking over to his discarded cloak, the blonde pulled it open as he bit his thumb to draw a blood seal onto the cloak. Finishing the seal, he placed the Kaika inside it.

Silence befell the crowd as they finally realized their beloved 'Sasuke-sama' had lost. Shock drew themselves upon their faces as they watch the blonde walk over to the Uchiha.

"Sasuke…there is one thing I don't get about you. You were loved by all the villagers and shinobi in the village, but you betrayed all of us to go to Orochimaru, when you could have just asked for help from people around you. If you had stayed with Orochimaru and killed Itachi (He's NOT dead…he's too cool), what would you do? You shouldn't be allowed in Konoha, but they welcome you back with open arms, when they banish me for just trying to bring you back. What you saw in our fight was all me. No bloodline, no alternative power source, just all me. You're loved by the villagers as I am hated. Every body just ignores me. Kakashi focused on you and Sakura as I was left there to find a new teacher."

"Naruto is right. He defeated Gaara during the Sand-Sound invasion, brought Tsunade-hime back as the Godaime Hokage, and even tried to bring back your precious Uchiha. Kakashi, you focused all your time and energy on Sasuke and Sakura and didn't teach Naruto a thing. Arashi would be ashamed." said Jiraiya as he walked up behind the biy and placed a hand on his shoulders.

"Jiraiya-sama, that's not true! He taught Sasuke-sama Chidori and Raikiri and helped Sakura-sama with genjutsu!" yelled an ANBU from behind their mask as Jiraiya sneered.

"Yet, you have failed to say what he has taught Naruto. The only thing useful he taught mister sunshine here was tree walking. He learned techniques he has today from other sensei, including myself. You scum talk about never leaving a comrade behind, yet you do everything you can to put Naruto down."

"Ero-sennin, stop. Just tell them to go home so I can get back to Sayuri."

Giving a grin to the boy, he told them all to leave as he poofed out of existence.

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Hotel Room: Naruto and Sayuri's room

Upon getting into the room, Naruto noticed something wasn't right. He knew he had come to the right place, because she had rented a suite, but he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling in his gut as he searched for his wife.

He had searched everywhere but the bedroom. She was nowhere to be seen, and she had told him she wasn't going out anymore for tonight. Extending a quivering hand to the door knob, he pushed open the door.

Naruto was greeted with a masked individual holding a kunai to Sayuri's neck.

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A/N:…….This is the longest chapter to anything I have written…whoa…

Who is this masked person? This is why I wanted you to read the Authors note.

I'm holding a poll to see how I will right this story. Now, I hope you paid attention to the chapter because each side has perks.

Is the masked person a Konoha nin?

Or a Sound Spy?

Translations:

Saiban- Trial

Daijoubu- Are you alright

Shi-Shi Rendan- Lion's Combo

Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu- Fire Style: Grand Fireball

Suiton: Hahonryuu no jutsu- Water Style: Destructive Current

Katon: Karyuuendan no Jutsu- Fire Style: Fire Dragon Missle

Amaterasu- Goddess of the Sun

Original Stuff

The Juusan Oni Yaiba

The Saibans

The Hijutsu: San Yajuu Kamigami: Byakko no Kanki


	3. The Past Reincarnated

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Anon: I didn't intentionally mean to have some parts resemble The Golden Fox, kay?

**Review!!!**

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Hotel Suite: Master Bedroom

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Sweat ran down the side of Naruto's head as he quickly began processing the information. A person was holding a kunai to his wife's neck, while standing next to the window. Due to the bed in the center of the room, he was on the other side.

Deciding to get information first, he asked the person a question. "How did you know we were here? The only ones that were supposed to know are Tsunade-baba, Iruka-sensei, and…the…ANBU…team…"

Smirking beneath the mask, the figure began speaking to the inner-panicked man in front them. "Finally realized it, eh? You seriously didn't think that ALL of Konoha accepts you, did you?"

Taking a step towards the black clad figure holding Sayuri, he quickly stopped when he noticed the masked one apply more pressure to the kunai at her neck.

"Ah, Ah, Ah. One bad move on your part, Mr. Byakko, and her throat gets slit. If you don't want that to happen, you'll give in to my demands." They said, waving a finger from the kunai, mockingly.

Cursing in his mind, Naruto couldn't believe himself. Of course not all of Konoha recognized him. They only knew about his strength. He knew he was in a predicament. He could listen to what the demands were and try to find an opening!

"Fine, but Sayuri stays over here with me!"

Once again, the masked one waved a figure at him. "Now if I did that, I would lose my bargaining chip."

Noticing the blonde wasn't trying anything, the masked figure began explaining their demands. "I have 3 demands. 1) Obtain the Forbidden Scroll 2) Hand over the Juusan Oni Yaiba and their locations 3) You kidnap Uchiha Sasuke. If you do all those, I'll give you back your precious wife."

Naruto was no fool. At the instant they said kidnap Sasuke, he knew this was no Konoha ANBU.

This was a Sound Spy.

But Naruto knew he could do nothing. If he didn't agree, Sayuri would die. If he did agree, Sayuri could get killed, and he would actually begin to get hunted by hunter-nins. He didn't want that. So he came up with one logical conclusion.

Try or die trying.

Jumping over the bed, Naruto began pushing all the chakra into his legs as they could handle. He wasn't fast enough.

The person had jumped out the window with Sayuri in tow. Using one of his now free arms, they began pulling of their mask.

The person had feminine features, as she held no baby fat on her face. Pink lips, purple eyes, and dark black hair decorated her body. (There will be NO romance between Naruto and this OC.) During the fall, she had loosened the amour to, not only lower the restricting on her breathing, but unknowingly show a bit of her development.

Turning their heads to the sky when they heard the sound of breaking glass, civilians started screaming and scattering when they saw a body fall towards them.

Jumping out of the window after the woman, Naruto put his arms against his sides and went into a nosedive. Quickly catching up to the woman, Naruto realized what she was going to do.

He wouldn't be able to reach them in time.

A smirk passed over the dark haired woman's face as she did the one thing she knew the blonde didn't want to happen.

Thrusting the kunai that was in her hand towards the body in her arms, blood spewed everywhere.

Sayuri was dead. From a kunai lodged in the throat.

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Time Skip: 5 days later

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Thunder clouds floated in the sky, as Naruto stood in Konoha's graveyard. The grave he was standing at belonged to his recently late wife. Her killer had escaped, using multiple stealth jutsus. He could have sworn he heard her say that the plan didn't go accordingly. The only people that showed up at her funeral were members of the Rookie nine, that didn't see him as Kyuubi. Kiba had lied in hopes to make him feel better.

He had visited her grave every day. Sometimes he would stay there all night. There was a tear in his heart when he saw the blood that belonged to her.

Tsunade had begun checking up on him, making sure he didn't do anything drastic. Iruka did as well. Hell, even the counsil said he could give them his answer when he was ready.

Standing up, Naruto poofed to Hokage-tower. Arriving in the middle of an empty hallway, he walked towards Tsunade's office. He paused briefly to look at recent wanted posters, when two caught his eye.

"Seishi Gekido the 'Aka Shi-Shi'. 100,000,000 yen (I have NO idea how much this is in America…so I just picked a big number.). Uzumaki Naruto the 'Byakko'. 100,000,000 yen" A small smile graced his lips as he folded the wanted posters and placed them inside his robe as he continued his trek towards the council chambers, where he could hear Tsunade yelling.

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Council Chambers

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"I'm telling you! We shouldn't have to put him through this!"

"The more strong shinobi we have the better Tsunade. The council can over rule your decision." Stated Homura at the furious blonde.

Sitting back in her chair, Tsunade let out a heavy sigh that was interrupted when a cough echoed through the room. Looking over at the one who coughed, Tsunade blinked.

"What about me?" said Naruto as he looked over at the smug looking council. He could tell that they just won over a decision of Tsunade's.

Deciding to explaing, Tsunade let out a sigh. "They want you to…"

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Suna: Some random Pub

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Looking up from his drink, Kankuro thought he heard Naruto screaming in terror.

Shrugging it off, he went back to getting himself smashed after once again being put down on a date.

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Council Chambers

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"No."

"Please recon-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No. I'm not teaching snot nosed little brats."

Letting an exasperated sigh, Hiashi nodded towards a chuunin guard.

Returning a few minutes later, the chuunin set a briefcase on the table and opened it. Inside were many a yen note.

Smirking at the notice that the blondes eyes had turned into yen symbols, Hiashi let him know how much was in there. "300,000,000 yen exact. This shall cover your stay in Konoha, food expenses, your pay as mercenary, a bribe to get you to teach some academy students, and a little pocket change."

Turning back to the pale-eyed man, Naruto eyes were still yen symbols. "Hai! Hiashi-nii-san!"

Stifled giggles went around the council chamber as they saw Hiashi twitch. And again. And once more maestro.

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Academy: Iruka's Classroom

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Iruka beamed brightly as he looked at his batch of students that were graduating today. It had been pushed back for some reason by the council, for a reason that Iruka didn't know until he relieved a letter in the mail. "Let me tell you all something. This group of students has been one of the greatest I've ever had. But it's nothing like 10 years ago. Some of you are like exact replica's of them. Or at least your personalities."

Waiting just outside with other jonin, Naruto began chuckling lightly. He was happy he liked the Rookie nine more than this lot.

"Yosh. Let's you all sorted. Team 1 will be…"

"Team 7 shall be: Shigure Eidatsu (**Rain Recognition**), Kyuukai Meimei (**Divine** **Long-Cherished Hope**) and Kuroda Chiba **(Black Field Thousand Feathers)**. Your sensei shall be Uzumaki Naruto. One of my former students."

Walking through the door, the three said students looked to see their new sensei as he walked through the door. He wasn't wearing the standard Konoha flak jacket, so they didn't know what rank he was.

Turning to the desks, all students had a cold sweat run down their face.

"Meet me on the roof."

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Rooftop: 10 minutes later

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Leaning against the rail, Naruto heard his students come through the door. Turing his gaze to them, he jerked his toward the stairs to sit on.

Taking a seat on the stairs, the three waited for further instruction.

5 minutes passed before anyone said anything. "Gah!!! I can't take it anymore! What do you want us to do?!" shouted an orange haired boy.

Opening his eyes to the boy, Naruto looked him over. He wore simple blue shorts with a one sleeved yukata. He had hazel eyes and short, spiky orange hair. He was short, but no that short. Wearing his Konoha hi'ate on his leg, the yukata he was wearing had an engraving on a nintailed fox on it for some reason…

Deciding to toy with them, Naruto began smirking. "Patience is a virtue. Never make the first move. Tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, dream, and favorite animal."

"Ne, sensei. Can you show us what you mean?" asked the girl innocently.

Sighing, Naruto began his introduction, including the name part. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, the color orange, my late wife, my family figures, and Sea Country. I dislike the Akatsuki, Sound, Orochimaru, Uchiha Sasuke, the fact my late wife is dead, People who look down on others while placing them selves too high, Konoha, and those who only look for power. My dream is to protect the locations of the last Juusan Oni Yaiba, and show Konoha that I'm not what they think. My favorite animal is the fox."

Pointing to the orange one, he began speaking, Naruto told him to go.

"My name is Shigure Eidatsu! I like the color orange, pie, foxes, and fireworks. I dislike those who look down on others just because they're different, and people who don't give others a chance! My hobbies include training, running, and art! My dream is to become stronger than the Byakko and then become Hokage! I like toads!"

"That's a mighty hard goal, gozu. Think you can make it?" Naruto said, raising his eyebrows at his introduction. Pointing to the female of the squad, He told her to start. "My name is Kyuukai Meimei. I like (Looks at other male) I dislike Eidatsu! My hobbies are (Turns to other male) and my dream is to (Turns to other male and squeals) My favorite animal is the panda!" said Meimei. She wore a small skirt with female nin shorts beneath it (Like Sakura after the time-skip) along with a tank top. Her hair was cut shoulder length and was a light purple. Her legs were a fair length and she had a bit of cleavage for her age. She wore her headband in her hair like a bow.

'_Great. A fangirl. Was Sakura always like this?'_

"Oi. Mr. Bubbly. You're up."

"Hn. My name is Kuroda Chiba. I like training, pocky, tea, and my onii-san. I dislike fangirls, annoying people, and weak people. My hobbies are coming up with ideas for jutsu, training, coming up with new strategies, and challenging my onii-san. My dream is more of a goal. I want to find and master my families long forgotten Hijutsu, kill a traitor of the clan, and track down all the members of the Akatsuki and kill them." Said Chiba. He was decked out in long black pants with blue lines running down them. His shirt was an undershirt, and he wore his headband on his arm. His hair was black, went down to his shoulders, and he had hazel eyes.

'_Greeeaaattt…Another me, and hormone obsessed fangirl, and a Sasuke wanna be.'_

"Well, since you told me your names anyway, I might as well tell you what we are doing tomorrow. We will be taking a test. Two tests to be exact." Naruto said as smirked slightly, planning on adding a hidden test in there.

"Nani?! We just graduated! Why do we have to do more tests?!"

"The Academy Test was just to see if you had the abilities to be Shinobi, and not just some boulder in the road. My tests have a 33 failure possibility. That's less that half the odds I had on my test." Said Naruto wit his eyes closed, half tempted to go to sleep.

"Be at training ground 14 at seven o' clock sharp."

And then he poofed away.

"So he's our new sensei? Looks kinda weak." Said Eidatsu to his teammates.

"Urusei. I don't feel like dealing with you. Ja." Chiba said as he walked away from the group.

"Chiba-kun! Matte! Do you wanna go on a date?" begged Meimei as she followed him like an obedient lap dog.

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Chiba's house

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Walking through the door to his house, Chiba noticed his mother cooking and father reading the newspaper. Closing the door, he set his bag on the couch and started to climb the stairs.

Hearing the door close, Mrs. Kuroda turned toward her son. "Chi-chan! How was team selection day?"

Stopping from his flight up the stairs, the dark haired male groaned inwardly at the nick name. Going back down the stairs, he sat on the couch. "Fine. I was put on team 7."

Mr. Kuroda tensed when he heard that team. Nearly all of Sasuke-sama's generation, some below it, and many of the older, had heard of the team seven and their fates. The fist team seven had it's member killed off by Orochimaru 11 years ago, Jiriya trained Anko, Minato, and Josuke. Anko was taken by Orochimaru, Minato, later killed by sealing Kyuubi, and Josuke gone missing, led to Minato's team of Kakashi, Rin, and Uchiha Obito, later lost two members, one through disappearance, and another through death. Kakashi leading Sasuke-sama's team seven had the last Uchiha betray the village and Naruto banished.

His wife noticed this, and decided to change the subject before her son noticed. "Sou ka…yosh, who are your teammates?"

Not noticing his father tensing, he answered. "Shigure Eidatsu, Kyuukai Meimei, and our sensei is Uzumaki Naruto."

Silence filled the house hold as sizzling and jaws dropping to the floor from the two parents were the only sounds that could be heard.

"_**NNNNNNAAAAANNNNNIIIIIII??????!!!!!!**_

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Kyuukai House Hold

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Humming a merry tune, Kyuukai skipped into her home, when she immediately smelt burning. Knowing what it was, she walked over to a shelf to her left and pulled out a fire extinguisher. Hurrying into the kitchen, the girl pulled out the ring and shot the oncoming foam at the oven.

"Tou-san, what have I told you about using the oven?"

Scratching behind his head, Meimei's only living parent gave a nervous chuckle. "Gomen, Mei-chan, but I wanted to do something special for your team selection."

Giving a small thanks, Meimei returned the extinguisher to it's normal place, and went to go help clean the kitchen from her beloved fathers burnt cooking-gone-flame.

"So, Mei-chan, how was school?"

Chuckling at the childish question, the daughter of the man answered. "I have Chiba-kun, Eidatsu-baka, and my sensei is Uzumaki Naruto!"

Widening his eyes, Mr. Kyuukai looked at his daughter who had yet to notice. Smiling, he spoke up. "You lucked out."

"Whaddya mean?"

"I saw Uzumaki Nauto fight at his first Chuunin Exams. Made it all the way to the finals he did. He's the only one to beat the Godaime Kazekage in battle besides Deidara of Iwa, who's a member of Akatsuki. His Chuunin Exams was the first one he was ever offered, and it was also the one where Orochimaru launched his attack on Konoha and killed Sandaime-sama."

Meimei looked at her father in awe as he continued to clean up. Nearly everyone in Konoha knew of Gaara's strength and this Uzumaki had defeated him? The young lady had begun to see the man in a whole new light as she rolled this information around in her head.

"Don't tell Eidatsu, but your sensei is the Byakko, Mei-chan.

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Eidatsu's Apartment

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With a sigh, Eidatsu walked in his small apartment. He knew someone else lived in it before. There was spoiled milk, scrolls on ninjutsu and chakra control, and words scratched into the wood outside the door, long before he moved in.

Walking over to the fridge, Eidatsu pulled out a bottle a of water and headed off towards the bed room.

Now, Eidatsu knew this place almost inside out. He knew where he put stuff, and he knew when someone else moved it. However, he didn't know there was a loose floar board on the way to his room.

When he heard a squeaking, he looked down and he saw it. I slight shine beneath the floor!

Getting on his knees, the orange haired boy picked up the board and reached in. What he pulled out was not what he expected.

It was a broken picture frame. Taking out the picture and blowing the dust off of it, he looked at it.

There were three genins in it. A pink haired one, a black haired one, a blonde haired one, and a grey haired one. Eidatsu immediately recognized everyone but the blonde.

"This is a picture of Sasuke-sama, Sakura-sama, and Kakashi-sama…"

Pocketing the picture, Eidatsu told himself to take it to the meeting in the morning.

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Training Ground 14: 7 o'clock

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Arriving at the grounds, Eidatsu noticed Chiba leaning up against a tree in his mormal attire as was Meimei, both seemed lost in thought.

"Ohayo, teme, Meimei-chan."

Breaking out of their musing, both previously mentioned genin looked up to see their third teammate. About to slip back into musing after saying hello, that were once again distracted when the orange haired male started ruffling through his backpack.

"Oi, orangutan, what are you doing?"

"Ah, ha! I found it! Guys, get over here, I have something I want to show you."

Eidatsu held the photo of the former team seven (Not that they knew) in front of them.

"That's Sasuke-sama! And Sakura-sama! And Kakashi-sama too! He taught both of them?!"

Looking over to Meimei, Eidatsu shook his head. "I know that, it's the other person. Who do you think he is?"

Unknown to them, Kakashi had walked by when he heard them say his name and decided to poof in front of them after the question was asked.

"What's going on?" said the copy-nin as he shoved his head between the three.

"Ah! Kakashi-sama! Ano…who is this?"

Taking a look at the photo, Kakashi's one visible eye widened, This didn't go unnoticed by the three.

Lifting up his head band, Kakashi checked to see if it was a genjutsu or not, and then looked at Eidatsu.

"Where did you get this?"

Sweating, he answered shakily with, "I-I foun-n-d-d it i-in my apartment…"

The group waited for the older ninja's reply, but it never came.

He disappeared and only left a single piece of paper where he last was.

_Ask Naruto…_

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Training Ground 14: 9 o'clock

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"Where the hell Is he?!" shouted the purple haired female of team seven as she looked around for their blonde haired sensei. "It's been two fucking hours! Where the hell is he?! Did that fucker over sleep or some kinda shit?! That mother fucking bastard better hsve a fucking good reason for this!"

"Mou, Meimei-chan, do you always get like this when you're mad?" said Eidatsu in a quivering voice.

"Shut up, dobe fucker! I don't like people who are late! I got here at seven fucking in the morning asshole! He better get here before a fuck up his face!"

And through all this shouting, Chiba was sleeping like a baby.

"Yo!" said Naruto to the group, scaring the crap out of Eidatsu and Meimei and waking Chiba up in the process.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"Gomen! I was out buying supplies when I walked past a river. Then I saw a fish drowning, so I had to give it CPR, but I didn't know how. So I went to rent 'Learn CPR In 1 Hour or Less' movie and walk back to my hotel room to watch it. When it was done, I went back to the river to find that the fish was gone! So I had to find and then give it CPR!" Naruto said to the group, giving a very Kakashi-like excuse.

"LIAR!"

Ignoring the enraged students, he motioned them to walk over to the three stumps. "I've hidden 5 objects around Konoha. Each one has the name Uzumaki on it. You have one hour to find them, and then find me in 30 more minutes after you've found the objects. After that, I'll give you the test my sensei gave me."

"Matte, Naruto-sensei! Do you know who this is?" asked Eidatsu as he pulled out the old photo.

Widening his eyes, he decided to give them a bit of motivation. "I'll tell you if you pass my tests."

Blurring out of existence, Naruto went to the Konoha graveyard.

"…Where'd he go?"

"Baka! How the hell am I supposed to know!"

"Urusei! I'm going to find those objects. If you have any techniques that can help us find them, use them!"

"Hai! Chiba-kun!" said Meimei as she followed the black haired male, just before the unexpected happened.

She fell in a hole.

Filled with bugs.

Stink bugs to be exact.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! I HATE BUGS!!!" she yelled as Eidatsu and Chiba plugged their hears from the screaming banshee.

Then, Naruto's voice rang out from inside the entire clearing. "This is a recording. If this had been triggered, one of you has fallen into my bug genjutsu trap. There will many more traps awaiting you as you progress. Ja…"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Time Skip: 59 minutes after hole incident

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Some of them sported burn marks while others were trying to get goop out of their hair. Cuts decorated their bodies as Chiba was covered in flour and Meimei in mud. Eidatsu had a bunch of twigs in his standing-on-end hair from being on the receiving end of a raiton jutsu after getting one of the items. Had crispy white hair from a Katon jutsu, and the goop seemed to harden if wet for Meiemi.

All of them were pissed and ready to kill if they saw the blonde again. How dare they do that to them! Sure, Chiba was the Rookie of the Year and Eidatsu was the dead-last, but they at least tried, and what do they get?

Two Katon jutsu in the shape of rabid ducks chasing them for thirty minutes.

Then, a poof of smoke appeared in front of the three as they all tensed. After an agonizingly long moment, it revealed…a orange and yellow toad.

"Ohayo. Naruto told me, since you three most likely pissed at him, to go look for him since you found the items. Ja…" and then the toad poofed away to wherever summons go when they go poof.

Silence befell upon the three as they stared at the spot where the toad previously occupied.

"Was that a talking frog?"

"I think it was a toad…"

"Oh…"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! GROSS, GROSS, GROSS! SLIMY TOAD!"

Turning their attention to the third member rof their team, Eidatsu and Chiba just sweatdropped. Why the hell was Meimei screaming about a toad that was gone?

"Meimei, snap out of it! Now, we have 30 minutes to find Naruto-sensei, or we fail. Where could he be?"

Thinking back to everything they knew about him, one sentence flew through Chiba's mind.

…_my late wife is dead…_

"THAT'S IT!"

Shocked by the normally quiet boy's out burst, Meimei and Eidatsu both asked what he was talking about.

"At the introduction yesterday! He said his wife was dead! He might be at the graveyard!"

And that's where they rushed to.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Konoha Graveyard

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

If team seven thought they could sneak up on Naruto, they had another thing coming. He could feel their chakra signatures from a mile away.

There they saw him. Just standing at a grave with his hair blowing in the wind. Then they saw him turn around and just smile. "Well, guys, I guess you found me. So I guess…you're gonna…have to take the bell test…"he said evilly as he walked towards the three in a sway.

Team Seven knew something bad was going to happen as they clung to each other.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Some random bar in Konoha

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Ah, that was some good sake." Said Mitarashi Anko as she set the bottle down. Oh, she had heard the funny rumor going around town, and decided to have a drink.

Uzumaki Naruto, the Byakko? Taking on a genin team?

Heh, that was a laugh. The purple head began pondering about what had made pick up a team. He was a mercenary, so did they pay him to do it? Probably.

"Ohayo, Anko-chan!" said Kurenai as she plopped down next to her friend.

"Hmm? Oh, Ohayo, Kurenai-chan…" Anko replied as she went back into her musing.

Noticing her friend was going back into thinking, she asked"Oro? Daijoubu ka, Anko-chan?", and then she thought, "Oh! It's a boy isn't?"

Now that fully caught Anko's attention. Spitting out the sake she had in her mouth, she looked horrorstruck at Kurenai's smirking face.

"It is! It is! I knew it!" exclaimed the Genjutsu Mistress as she hopped up and down.

"Iie, that's not it. Did you know that Uzumaki Naruto may have taken up a genin team, Kure-chan?"

Catching the full attention of the bar, liquor was being spat everywhere as several voices shouted.

"The Byakko is taking on a team?!"

"The demon is taking on a team?!"

"The dobe is taking on a team?"

Sasuke was in the bar trying to drown himself in sake to attempt to forget his defeat at the blonde's hands, along with the loss of the Deddo Kaika Hana. How had the boy gotten so strong?! To suppress him into fear in only one technique, was just amazing! Then, he over heard what Anko was talking about and decided to ask the last said question above.

Turning her head to the last Uchiha, Anko smirked "Yep, I bet you the council is paying him to do it. I heard he has Shigure Eidatsu, Kyuukai Meimei, and Kuroda Chiba" with a nod, "Yep, I think that's right"

Sasuke only had one thing fly threw his head at that time.

'_The dobe has beaten me at something again…'_

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Training Ground 14

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The team seven genin candidates arrived back at the training ground to see their possible sensei. Looking up at the oncoming group, Naruto began smirking "Do you know why my test has a 33 failure rate?" after seeing the shaking of their small heads, he began started explaing.

"I don't believe in specialized teams, like the former team 8, which was an recon team, or the constant Ino-Shika-Cho trios, or even the combat specialized teams, like the one I was in. The first test was to see if you could be a recon team, the finding of me was your information gathering and processing skills, which you could reach if you didn't have the intel I gave you. The third test is in combat. Whether you pass or fail this one, your still going to be team seven. You need to pass two of my three tests in order to pass. But, if you want to know who that kid in the picture is, you have to pass this."

Pulling out two bells and fastening to his belt, he quickly pushed the button on the down on the timer, he shouted "You three have to get the se bells from me before 3 hours is up…BEGIN!"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A/N: Hahaha! The bell test begins! And who is Seishi Gekido? Friend or Foe?

Also, I'm taking a vote for where their C-class mission should go. Just review, and I'll pick the one said most.

R&R


	4. A Price Once Paid, Cannot Be Returned

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but any OC's, techniques or anything else that hasn't shown up in the manga or anime is mine!"

Roughrider70: Isn't that the name of a condom company? And, last I checked, the real meaning of Byakko isn't white tiger, it is a white, spiritual fox. And Byakko White tiger is CHINESE I'm talking JAPANESE

CAN PEOPLE GET IT THROUGH THEIR HEADS SAYURI WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE ALIVE TO BEGIN WITH! IT HELPS WITH A FUCKING PLOT TWIST I'M GONNA DO!

To those of you who have better art skills than me. (Mine are amazingly low.) If you want to make an art piece of one of my fics, you are welcomed to do so. I got an e-mail asking if someone could do that, and I said yes. Just give me the link after you post it, and I'll put it on an update, and in my profile (Giving credit for the drawing to you of course)

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

All three teammates jumped into the surrounding brush, or at least two of them did.  
Apparently Chiba had improvised. He took out a small bamboo pole, about the size  
of a straw and jumped into the river, using the bamboo to breath.

Meimei was to his left, preparing to hurl shuriken at him while Eidatsu had jumped  
out of the brush and slid into a fighting position.

"Hmm? You're not going to use stealth?"

Hardening his stare, Eidatsu did something none expected him to do.

He used logic.

"You most likely knew where we were. You're a ninja, and you said that ninja shouldn't be specialized in something, and thus, you must have decent recon and tracking abilities."

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto thought back to the files he read. 'According to the records, he was the dead last. Hmm…I won't underestimate him.'

"You're most likely going to hold back on us, since we are only genin, and so we stand no real chance against you."

Smiling at the orange haired boy's insight, Naruto wondered, "I can feel Chiba radiating anger, probably from Eidatsu saying he can't beat me. Meimei is in heat…and wondering why I'm hiding and my strength…I've got a good bunch…'

Suddenly, droplets of water rained down from the sky as Chiba descended upon Naruo with a kunai in hand. Grabbing the young man's wrist, Naruto flung him towards a tree where Meimei jumped out of the brush and started using hand signs."Atohen no Shinkirou (Mirage of the Past)"

Naruto widened his eyes when he heard the girl say the b-rank genjutsu. Thinking on his feet, he countered with a genjutsu of his own design.

"Ninpou: Oni no Badi! (Ninja Art: Body of the Demon)" yelled Naruto, easily using an A-rank self made genjutsu. Then, in the eyes of his students, his body exploded into bats before it materialized behind Meimei. But this didn't mean he escaped Meimei's genjutsu.

When the young girl turned around, to Naruo it was like seeing a ghost.

The Atohen no Shinkirou, based on your efficiency with it, pulled someone that you cared for from your memories, and morphs the users body in the victim's eyes, to resemble the person.

Judging by her report, Meimei could only go back within 1 or 2 weeks at most, so when she turned around, Naruto thought he was seeing Sayuri.

Suddenly, Naruto remembered the day he first met her.

Flashback no Jutsu

An 18-year-old Naruto was walking down a plain old dirt road. He had recently obtained his second Juusan Oni Blade. Apparently, it was called the Wise Man of the Mad. He figured out that it was in the Forbidden City, trapped inside one of the pillars of the Rashamon gates. It was one hell of a bitch to get out. Now, he was traveling as a mercenary, wielding two seeable blades while the Oni blades were sealed inside his cloak.

Seeing a house in the distance, he picked up his pace. Maybe this was an inn, he was tired. But upon closer inspection, he found out, that while it was am inn, it was on fire, and a number of figures were standing outside it.

Shushining closer, he hid in a tree and watched an exchange.

"Alright you bitch, hand it over. We told you this would happen if you didn't give the sword to us!" yelled a giant man, who was wearing amour plates around his body. He seemed fat, and many residents that escaped with their lives were watching with fearful eyes.

"No! This blade belongs to my aniki! He told me to watch it while he was out!" shouted a petit woman as she held the sword closer to her body.

Angry at her stubbornness, the giant backhanded her, sending the lady flying across the field. The members of his gang, which stood behind him, all laughed when she tried to stand up.

Drawing his sword from his waist, the bandit, to Naruto's eyes, was preparing to kill her.

"Well, if you won't give it to me, I guess I'll just have to kill you for it…"

Bringing it down in an arch, the closed her eyes, awaiting death. When she heard gasps escape from the mouths of the former residents, she opened them to see a blond haired man blocking the giant's sword with the back of his hand.

"Your blade is screaming in pain. It doesn't want top be used like this, that it doesn't." (Add Kenshin SAVE THE DAY Music)

"And you are you little runt?!" bringing his blade up once again, he prepared to smash the blonde.

"Break free of your chains white angel, and spread your pale white wings. Bestow you blessing as a curse upon this pitiful mortal as he blood is sent to Rashamon. First Dance: Dance of the Moon!" yelled the black and white cloaked yellow man as he cut his palm, spreaded the blood on the back of his blade, and lined it up against his elbow.

Whispering to the girl, he said, "You'd best move."

Jumping at the giant, who was just now bringing his blade down, it looked as if Naruto passed right through him! Dust flew everywhere as the giant smashed barren ground.

"Ha! It didn't even hurt the boss!" yelled the gang grunts, before they noticed blood spewing from the humanoid giant as he fell to the ground.

"The Dance of the Moon delivers four slices in less than 5 moments. Only two types of steel can survive using it. He was dead before he knew it." said Naruto as the blade he used, shattered into a million pieces.

Dropping the hilt, Naruto walked over to the girl who was clutching the blade, staring wide at him. The grunts had run away at the realizing the death of their boss, and residents went back to salvaging what could be salvaged.

Smiling at her, Naruto asked, "Hello, what's your name?"

Hesitantly, she answered.

"Seishi…Seishi Sayuri…"

That was love at first sight…

End Flashback no Jutsu

He later found out the bandits heard that Sayuri's aniki owned one of the Juusan Oni Yaiba, and the bandits had wanted to take it. Her brother later came back, and left his sister to him. But they had made a promise, a promise to meet each other again…

He narrowed his eyes when the genjutsu finally wavered, and Naruto quickly dispelled it. But, he knew something was wrong when he didn't see any of his students. Closing his eyes, he searched for them as he felt them on the edge of his senses. No, they couldn't escape the Byakko.

Eidatsu was keeping watch as Meimei caught her breath. That jutsu took a lot out of her. Chiba had rushed off, saying he didn't need help, but the day Eidatsu abandoned Meimei, was the day Kami-sama was proven real. He felt a chakra presence enter the clearing, and expecting it to be Chiba with his head held low, he lowered his guard.

"I told you, you wouldn't stand a chance against him alone.", said the midget, "But you never listen, do you?"

"Now, I have no idea who you're talking about Eidatsu." rang a voice from the shadows.

Shock entered all of the young man's senses, for he knew Chiba never called him by his name. Panicing, he jumped back to Meimei, who was readying herself for combat.

Stepping out of the shadows, Naruto smirked. 'Well, looks like Eidatsu understands without knowing it. And so does Meimei…'

Taking a step forward, he noticed a kunai flying at him. Letting it graze his cheek, he wiped some of the drawn blood onto his palm and summoned the Kichigai no Tetsujin (wise man of the mad).

Wiping the blood on the blunt side of the blade, he recited the poem, while drastically holding back his strength. "Break free of your chains white angel, and spread your pale white wings. Bestow you blessing as a curse upon this pitiful mortal as he blood is sent to Rashamon. First Dance: Dance of the Moon!"

Charging at the thrower of the kunai, which was Chiba making a distraction for his teammates to get away, clenched his eyes, waiting for the worse. He knew that what he just did betrayed all his clan's beliefs of keeping yourself alive, no matter what the cost. At first, he thought his teammates lives meant nothing, but he had no idea what made his change of heart. He knew he would never be able to fulfill his dreams now, he only hoped his teammates wouldn't be stupid enough not to continue challenging this man. He was just too good!

Chiba held only one regret though…he'd never be able to kill that man. The one who took everything from him…

However, when he heard the clashing of metal the black haired boy opened one eye slowly.

"Remember what I said to you the first time we met Chiba-teme. I'll never admit loss to you. Not until I die first." said Eidatsu as he held his kunai in front of the heavenly blade strugglingly.

"Naze, dobe?! I gave you the perfect chance to escape!"

"I remember the saying that was etched into the wood of my apartment by the prvious inhabitant. 'Those who disobey orders are trash, but those who throw away their comrades are lower that trash'. I won't leave you behind Chiba, even if you leave us behind. Now Meimei-chan!"

As quick as she could, the young girl charged at Naruto who realized their plan. Reaching for the bells, she barely missed them when Naruto jumped back.

Sending the Tetsujin back into the cloak, he smiled at the panting group. "I'm surprised guys and girl. I thought you'd never under stand the meaning of this test. My team nearly failed it. Does any one here understand the meaning of it?"

"Teamwork, Naruto, teamwork."

Arching a brow, Naruto saw Kakashi step out from behind a tree.

"I was wondering who was there. I never bothered to check once I got here. So Kakashi-san, daijoubu-ka?"

Pulling his nose out of his newest book, Icha Icha Assassins, the cycloptic nin asked, "Hm? You say something Naruto?"

Sighing, Naruto turned back to the confused team seven. "Well, Kakashi is right. This was about teamwork. There was now way you could, alone, get even a single bell. If I was going all out, Chiba would be dead, and Eidatsu would find himself without his head." He explained.

Closing his eyes, Naruto walked over to a tree and leaned against it as Kakashi put his book in his pocket. "Those words you said Eidatsu, were the words of Konoha's 4th Hokage, Namikaze Minato." Looking up towards the fourth's face, Naruto gave a small smile with sad eyes. "But I know people who don't listen to that…Kakashi, your father was the Konoha no Shiro Kiba (White Fang of Konoha), correct?"

Wincing slightly, Kakashi gave a small nod. "Un…he saved his comrades instead of completing a mission."

Completely closing his eyes, Naruto said, "If it weren't for Kakashi's father, Konoha would still be sending out ninja left and right, not caring if they fell, and would thus still be under a dictatorship by the lord of the Fire Country."

"But enough with the negative stuff, team seven starts taking on missions tomorrow!" said Naruto to the wide eyed team, beaming his bright smile.

Cheers echoed through the training ground as Meimei and Eidatsu jumped for joy, while Chiba just gave a small happy smile, before laughing with his teammates.

After the recently made team seven, only Naruto and Kakashi remained on the field.

"Would you like to go to the graveyard, Naruto?" said Naruto to his former student.

"Un…but…I just wish I knew why…why did she have to die…Sayuri…" said Naruto, barely above a whisper as a tear ran down his scarred face.

Kakashi could only look at his mourning as he put his book away. Such a thing didn't need to be out during a moment.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto's hotel room

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Laying down in the rented bed, Naruto couldn't help but notice the missing warmth the was next to him. All he felt was cold. Nothing was there, not anymore…

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto's mindscape: Juusan Oni Yaiba's Chambers

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Opening his eyes, Naruto took in his surroundings. He was in his mindscape, but it was the door of the Juusan Oni Yaiba instead of Kyuubi's water ways.

Standing up, He saw three figures looking at him.

One had angel wings, a black tanktop and pants, gold bracers, and a swan around his shoulders looking at him intently as the chain around it's neck led to the angel's left arm. His hair was short and brown, and his right eye was gray while another was black

Another was a shinigami look alike (Look up his image)

And another was a plant like woman, with emerald green eyes and nails like thorns. An elegant dress covered her features, as she looked at him with a apathetic look.

"May I ask, why the entities of the Juusan Oni Yaiba have called me here?"

The angel, spoke first. "We have called you here to explain our price, as you most well know."

"Now, now, Syaoran-san, don't spoil all the fun." Called the entity of the Kaika.

The one known as Syaoran, who was the entity of the Tetsujin, glared at the plant like woman. "You want him to commit suicide? Really, I thought you had more compassion, Flora."

"Enough of your petty bickering. Just explain it to the boy so I may sleep." Said the ghost like entity of the Bure-ka Naraku, Yamikaze.

"Hn, very well Yamikaze. Naruto-san, as you know, for each of the Juusan Oni Yaiba you collect, you must pay a price." explained Syaoran, "You've paid mine and Yamikaze's prices, so all that left was Flora's. Now, she wanted Sayuri, to add to her garden of souls that power her blade. So don't go killing yourself, just because you think you're parted from your dear wife. All you have to do is learn the secrets of the Deddo Kaika Hana. I've nothing more to say."

Feeling the pull of being thrown from his mindscape, Naruto let tears of semi-happiness run down his face.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
**Unknown Location: Same time as the traing ground sad moment  
**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A figure sat on a rock as he flipped through the Konoha news when a certain article caught his attention.

"Uzumaki Sayuri, married to Uzumaki Naruto, is murdered 5 days ago…" murmured the person as their fist clenched the paper.

Throwing it to the ground, the man stood up before grabbing a wrapped package, and setting off towards Konoha.

"I trusted you with her, Naruto…"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
**Konoha: Two weeks after forming of team seven  
**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Black Rose is in position…"

"Fox-lover-that-loves-pie is in position…"

"Why the hell did we let Eidatsu come up with the code names again?"

"Just say yours!"

"Fine…Boy-with-stick-up-ass-that-is-emo is in position…"

"Alright…when I give the signal, we attack…" said 'Black Rose' as she pulled out a kunai.

"1…2…3!"

"HHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!"

"Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow! Get it off!" shouted Eidatsu as Naruto appeared in the clearing they chased the target to.

"D-rank mission: Capture old Tora, complete with minor injuries…"said Naruto as he sweat dropped at Eidatsu claw scratched face.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
**Mission Office  
**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
**  
As team seven walked through the door, a bitg fa lady came and took the cat, she took the cat, it wailed like a bat. A big fat lady came and took the cat, she took the cat, it wailed like a bat. (This is a form of an old nursery ryme my father old me when I was little...)

"OHHHH! YOUR TOO OLD TO BE WANDERING OFF LIKE THAT, MY PRECIOUS TORA!" said the gry haired wife of the fire lord as she strangle-huggeed the cat, while it futily tried to escape.

"You know, I'm beginging to see why the cat ran away...and I sympathize for it..." said Meimei as she stared at the odd scene. (I felt that belonged somewhere else...)

"3...2...1..." As soon as Naruto finished counting down, that cat keeled over dead.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"NO!!!! MY PRECIOUS TORA! SHE IS DEAD!!!!" wailed the fat old lady as she dropped the cat to cover her crying eyes.

As soon as Tora was dropped and landed on the ground, she used her 29th life to try and escape again. (Author-sama is being nice to the cat.)

After looking for the cat again, they found in Iwa by using a tracking device...Tora. And Iwa didn't let Konoha nin inside...oh, well.

Flipping through a list of D-Rank Missions, Tsunade called them out. "Now, we have weeding Mrs. Fubuki's garden…Fixing Mrs. Fubuki's roof…cleaning the village river…Walking the Inuzuka dogs..-"

"NO! Give us a real mission Tsunade-baba!"

Dodging a punch from the steaming blonde, Naruto talked again, "I'm tired of these baby missions! Academy students could do these and increase village funds while genin went on C-rank Missions! So, gimme a mission worthy of my team's awesome skill!"

"Fine! Gozu, I'm giving you a C-Rank Mission to Kirigakure! They're still in their civil war, and the Mizukage has requested protection! Apparently, an assassin has been hired to bring him down."

Taking up the mission before she could change it, the Byakko pulled his team out of the office and hurried to their homes.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Konoha East Gate

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

After making Kage Bushins to make them pack at lightning speeds, Team seven found themselves at the East gate, heading off towards Kiri, when unknown to them, a man with a giant package strapped to his back entered from the west.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Konoha Central Plaza

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A man in a black and red cargo pants and a black tanktop along with a red overcoat stood in the center of the plaza of Konoha. Standing next to him, his balanced a package in the shape of a cross on the ground, while asking if someone had seen Uzumaki Naruto.

"Uh…yeah! I saw him and his genin team leaving through the east gate about an hour ago.

Thanking him, the man took his package, hefted it onto his back, and set off to the east.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Kirigakure no Sato: Mizukage's Office -3 days later

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Team Seven stood infront of a fat man wearing the light blue Mizukage robes as they sat down with their packs next to them.

"Ah! It is good to see you, bodyguards! While I am not sure of the genin's abilities, I'm sure the Byakko can handle it!" laughed the fat man, before a sweating jonin can bursting through the door.

"Mi-mi-mizukage-sama! There's been an attack at the gates!" he yelled as he panted.

Standing up, team seven and the Mizukage started for the gates.

-20 minutes later-

Fire was everywhere as a lone man stood in the center of the wreckage. Bodies laid around like a pool as their blood dyed the earth red. Next to him was a bloody bandaged package, impaled in the ground as a daichi lay in its pure white sheath.

His eyes were closed, covered by shaggy brown hair, before he snapped his up at the sound of foot steps approaching. A small glare graced his onyx eyes.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Four people had to hold in their lunch as they looked on at the carnage in front of them as they arrived at the gates of Kiri. Bodies laid scattered, some intact, some not. Naruto had his attention focused on the one person beginning to stand up as they pushed themselves off the cross behind them. A three symbol necklace jangled with each movement, as a figure of Buddha, the Christian cross, and the Celtic cross knocked against one another.

Steeling themselves, the genin, Chiba, Meimei, and Eidatsu, all started to pull out kunai, just before Naruto held his black and white cloaked arm infront of them.

"Guard the Mizukage. You stand no chance against this foe." He said before he started the Zuiichi Saiban.

"Uzumaki Naruto…I've been looking for you…today is the day I make you pay."

Turning to their sensei, the members of team seven only saw a look of sadness enter Naruto's ocean blue eyes.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Seishi…Gekido."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A/N: Dun, Dun, Dunnnnnn. Looks like Sayuri's older brother has entered the picture!!!

So, I took in all the votes, e-mails, and now they're in Kiri! Don't worry, the mission is far from done.

Also, the 30th reviewer gets to add something in the next chapter!!!

**Next Chapter: Crime & Punishment- Battle of Brothers**


	5. Battle of Brothers: Crime and Punishment

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own everything that won't show up in the manga or Anime, forever!

Read, just Read…AND QUIT THE CHAIN FLAMING!

Byakugan789: If you can read this, quit thinking you know everything I'm going to do, I hate that. AND If I'm not mistaken, you haven't done a single fucking on this entire site but lurk and review. Hell, your Biography if fucking empty!

I will block people who **chain** flame, for three chapters, I won't make it permanent, but if you blow your second chance, you're permanently blocked. Flames based on something that is actually **rational and an ACTUAL **problem,shall be accepted with grace.

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Gekido looked on at Naruto as he set down the Red Cross of Efreet, and he lifted up his blade.

"It's been a while since I've seen the sheath of the Tenpi no Kyoujaku." Said Naruto as he braced himself for what was about to come.

Gekido looked at the sky as he thought back in his past to all the good times he had with the blonde in front of him, "Ironic, isn't it? You're the last person I would have wanted to kill…" he said before snapping his gaze back to the Yaiba wielder infront of him. "But someone must pay, and it'll be you. You failed to protect her like I asked."

The three genins were wondering what they were talking about before the Mizukage said, "This is a battle of brothers, don't interfere."

Gekido drew the Tenpi as he tossed the sheath next to the cross. And then he charged.

Not one to miss a beat, Naruto quickly sent the Zuiichi flying at the speeding brunette, who fainted left before rolling towards Naruto.

"_Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu! __**(Fire Style: Grand Fireball)"**_ yelled Naruto as he sent the flying ball of fire at the rolling death.

"Damnit!" yelled Gekido as he launched himself up into the air as his onyx eyes looked down at the ground, before he heard one of the genin gasp.

"Naruto-sensei!" shouted Meimei. "That man, he's blind!"

Naruto widened his azure eyes as he looked at the landing man. "What?...Don't tell me he…"

Throwing his hair back, Gekido looked on in eternal darkness, "I told when you saved my sister, I would find the Red Cross of Efreet that belonged to my family, and find out how to survive it's effects, this was the price."

Naruto grunted as he eyed the bandaged cross. He had a feeling that was it. However, he didn't have much time to think before a pain scraped his senses and blood flew everywhere.

Gekido smirked as he felt the Tenpi pierce the flesh of Naruto as he pivoted to follow threw with a slash to the blonde's back.

Naruto canceled the Zuiichi as fast as he could and quickly placed the Bure-ka between him and the oncoming devil blade.

"Tch…"

Naruto panted as he looked at the blade that injured him. It was a grayish steel with a midnight line running down to a yellow handle. Unlike the other Juusan Oni Yaiba, this was shaped more like a katana than the others. It's hilt was a sun that conjured fire as the guard, and it held the face of the Goddess Amaterasu in it's handle.

Then, much to the surprise of everyone, Naruto pulled out the Kaika in conjunction with the Bure-ka and Tetsujin, putting two of them in one hand and the other in his right. (Two of the swords are pointing opposite directions and the other is in normal position.)

'_So he's go three now…I can feel their power…'_

Gekido didn't waste any time rushing at the blonde, who rushed to meet him as well.

"Herufaia! (Hellfire!)" shouted Gekido as the flames of hell danced across his blade as he charged at Naruto before jumping up.

"Gekkou Denka! (Moonlight Charge)" called Naruto as he readied the blades for impact against the burning blade, leaving a trail of moonlight from his swords as he jumped to meet the Seishi heir.

"Majinrengazan! (Demonic Chaos)" came the ringing voice of Gekido as a wave of energy erupted from his body, sending Naruto hurtling towards the ground, and him continuing his deadly fall.

Naruto back flipped in mid-air before he crashed, to look up and see Gekido falling towards him with his blade raised. Naruto knew one thing now.

Gekido may be blind, but he made you hell of an opponent.

"Damn you…Hitenshouku (Rising falcon) Naruto said as he jumped back into the air, waiting for Gekido to get closer to the ground.

Gekido landed on the ground with a small tap, and then heard air being displaced. Widening his blind eyes, He quickly turned around and shouted, "Gurenken (Hell Pyre!)"

Naruto began spinning the Bure-ka Naraku around when he saw Gekido launch a ball of condensed fire at him. When the fireball came in contact with the blade, it exploded, knocking Naruto slightly off course, and giving him a nasty burn in the process.

The burn that he received wasn't what was bothering Naruto, nor the gash in his ribs. It was the fact that his brother-in-law had done something so dark, so sinister, just to find a family heirloom. He knew that the Red Cross cannot be stopped after three times using it!

Yet, Naruto felt oddly proud to know this man, who was a pure samurai with semi-ninja abilities, would go this far.

"Don't get sidetracked Naruto! Tensa! (Heavenly Chains)"

Suddenly, Naruto found himself being pulled to the ground as Gekido held a half tora seal. The gasps from his genin team and the worried grunt from the Mizukage confirmed his suspicions…

Gekido was planning on using one of his killing techniques this early, or so he thought.

"_Mashiro Tenshi: _**_Shikkyaku Inai Munashii Omoide… (_****_Pure White Angel: Falling Within Empty Memories)" _****said the red and black overcoated heir as he held his blade to his side, as it took the form of an angel.**

**"The power to bring forth the entity that resides in the blade…so he's succeeded…"murmured Naruto as he looked on at the pale skinned goddess.**

** Gekido swung the blade in a sideways arc as the pale angel took on a burning silhouette as it flew at the chained down Naruto.**

**Naruto's blue eyes widened as a bead of sweat ran down his cheek. He began placing a chakra barrier in his chest area, just before the chains around him shattered, just before the angel hit him.**

Naruto wasn't quick enough to jump out of harm's way, but all the angel did was enter him! Thinking the technique failed, Naruto summoned the gleaming Tetsujin into his hand as he prepared one of the moves the brunette taught him.

"_Yon Togatte Konpasu: Yon Kaze Oni: Hibiware Kaze no Gunryo (__**Four Pointed Compass: Four Wind Demons: Soldiers of the Cracking Wind)" **_Naruto said as he held the Tetsujin in front of him, blade facing the sky, as it duplicated into four, separate blades. Attaching chakra strings to them, Naruto hurled them at the brunette, who's eyes were closed.

Gekido felt the blades coming ever closer. The hurricanes that were starting to form around them distorted the air violently as he sighed in his head. Did Naruto really think he didn't have a counter technique for that? It was his second strongest attack with an Oni Yaiba!

(Some of you might recognize the next tech. name…) Looking at the blades that were flying towards him, Gekido pointed the Tenpi at the oncoming blades that had mini-hurricanes brewing around them, as he closed his eyes. Opening his blind eyes, he murmured, "Kengai Douji (**Sword-Wielding Child **_**Shaman King)**_"

Naruto narrowed his azure eyes as he saw the brunette close his eyes, open them, and then murmur something. Quickly changing his gaze to the swords, that had mini-hurricanes around them, he noticed cracks forming on the wind and he smirked.

The blades flew ever closer as the wind around them exploded, revealing four figures, one carrying two chakrams, another with two axes, one with a scythe, and one with many…many a kunai and shuriken. Before they could get even close to Gekido, a dark flash of dark light erupted in front of both of the people, before taking the shape of a small child.

The child was wearing a white mask with black slits for eye holes and had a sword sheath at his waist. The sword that was missing was currently positioned so all the wind warriors weapons were blocked.

"**You summoned me?" **came a soft voice from the child as he moved his slightly to face Gekido.

Gekido stared at the ground as he nodded softly to the voice. He knew the end was coming soon. His technique would soon take effect, then, he would reveal the trump card to end it all.

Turning his gaze back to the wind men, the child smirked beneath his mask.** "Though you may just be chakra, today's your…"** he said before disappearing and reappearing behind the axe-man. **"Rather Unlucky Day." ** The boy said before he took his nodaichi and sliced through the axe-man, turning him into air.

Quickly turning around, the scythe man swung the blade at the place the child _was_ before he sidestepped a downward slice from the child.

Hefting is right leg into the air; the child did a spin kicked that knocked away everyone else. When he slowed down, the boy noticed a couple things.

One thing was that the other three remaining wind people were taking defense position outside the blue gates of Kirigakure.

Another thing was that his necklace was jingling.

And the last was that the genins' mouths were on the ground as the Mizukage examined Gekido with a critical eye.

Suddenly, he sidestepped as a chakram flew by him and he sped toward the chakram man. Bringing his blade in an arc, he prepared to slice threw him before the (Let's call them Scix (Scythe) Chars (Chakram) and Shogon (Kunai)) Shogon hurled a handful of shuriken at him.

Scix quickly took a run at (Jazen (Child)) Jazen while he dodged the shuriken and turned his attention to Shogon. Lifting his scythe into the air, he impaled it into the ground before pulling back, making a small fissure in the ground. Then, out of the fissure, came a number of white and black flames that swarmed around Jazen as they rammed into his back.

With a grunt from being hit it the by the flames, Jazen sported not many injuries, besides the fact his back was fire. Taking off his mask, which oddly was sharp on the edges, he threw it at Scix as the man was the man was to slow to bring the scythe to block, and was then dissipated into air.

Standing up shakily, you could see what he looked at underneath his mask. Onyx eyes that had seen the falls of many friends and deaths of many were cold underneath elegant black eyebrows. A mop of shaggy black hair covered most of his forehead, but you could see an 'X' shaped scar on the upper right part of it. Baby fat was on his cheeks, but there was little of it.

Turning to Chars, he faced a flying chakram coming at his face, but he quickly pulled up his blade to block, sending it clattering to the ground. Slipping into a run, he began running at the inwardly cursing Chars.

Jumping into the air, Jazen Placed the edge of his blade in front of him, facing Chars, who was beginning to spin the other double-edged chakram in his hand, and was about to jump into the air.

Chars jumped into the air to meet Jazen in the in a clash where one of them would be dissipated. Spinning the chakram faster in his hand, Chars placed it where Jazen's blade and it would meet when they clashed, and he jumped into the air.

Shogon pulled out six shuriken, and placed them in between his fingers, as he took of at where Jazen would clash with Chars, and blurred out of existence, waiting for the right moment to attack…

Chars and Jazen clashed in air, sets of eyes watching as energy, their life force, rolled off them in waves as Jazen began winning the battle, pushing Chars' double-edged chakram into him, dissipating him into air.

Shogon, now deciding this was a good time to strike, appeared behind Jazen, and thrusted the six shuriken into the entity, before onyx eye narrowed and and a hand reached up and brushed across a necklace.

Shogon's eyes widened in pain, as he gave a choked cough from being impaled by three giant blades. **"San Hagane Oni Boshi: Kujo** (Three Steel Demon Stars: Destruction)" came the raggedy voice of Jazen as he disappeared into a dark mist, signifying that his battle with the wind peoples battle was over.

Gekido and Naruto were now locked in a stare-blind stare competition before Naruto clutched his head, and fell panting to the ground, resting on one knee.

'_Wha-what the?! Everything's spinning…Gekido, what d'you do to me?!' _Naruto raged in his mind.

Gekido smirked as he stared on in eternal darkness. "My techniques finally kicked in. Did you think that I'd create a technique that did nothing, but was just for show? No, of course not." he said. "The Pure White Angel doesn't affect the body, it affects the mind." he said, pointing a finger at his own head for effect.

Eidatsu, Meimei, and Chiba stared at their kneeling sensei, fear and worry clearly evident in their faces

"Aka Shi-shi no Gekido (Red Lion Gekido). I finally remember where I've seen him. The man who decimated Iwa all over a simple heirloom of the Tsuchikage, which he claimed belonged to him."

Chiba had a bead of cold sweat run down the side of his face when he heard that. "The Iwa Decimation…the leveling of the Shengou rock…"

"Exactly."

Everything was spinning as Naruto stood up, attempting to level his vision. He could clearly see that Gekido was walking towards him, except that there was a LOT of him.

Balancing himself on the Tetsujin, he attempted to resist any bodily harm by pushing chakra into the parts of his body that had little skin resistance, such as his face, legs, stomach.

"You know that won't help you, Naruto. This next technique will…END IT ALL!" he shouted, drawing amazing stores of chakra out of his body, and pushing it into the Tenpi.

Naruto widened his eyes as he braced himself, knowing well that Gekido didn't bluff.

"Mujin Kasai Oni Daitoppa: Kakashi Sakurifaisu (**Great Fire Demon Breakthrough: Scarecrows Sacrifice**_ I CLAIM ALL RIGHTS_)" Gekido shouted, using on of his arguably best moves to attack the dizzy Naruto.

"Zuiichi: Gun Daitoppa: Heki Hinode **(First: Force Breakthrough: False Sunrise**_ I CLAIM)"_ rang the voice of the Red Lion as he charged at the waiting Naruto, blade poised to slice.

Swinging the blade upwards, as if attempting to cut him in half from the bottom up, Gekido cut the air in front of Naruto, an inch away from Naruto's nose as Gekido threw himself into the air before flipping in air, and delivering a downward slice on Naruto's shoulder.

A pained grunt escaped Naruto as he refused to scream. He wouldn't give him the pleasure of knowing that Gekido succeeded in hurting him. Besides, Naruto knew that all he had to do was take a couple more blows, and he could launch a counter attack…

If he lasted that long.

Gekido smirked as his feet touched the ground infront of the bleeding man. He could feel Naruto's scream fighting against the strains, but he would not bow to the pained howl. Yes, Naruto had grown from that naïve boy that showed up on their burned down inn. Yet, he still failed.

Sadly.

"You know that I could have killed you there Naruto. But I'm not ready for you to die yet. Sad that you locked away Kyuubi. You could use his healing powers right about now. Nidaime: San Saishi Sakurifaisu: Chouin no Buddha! **(Second: Three Priest's Sacrifice: Sealing of the Buddha" **rang Gekido's voice, as he hefted the Tenpi onto his shoulder, and jumping away from Naruto.

The Tenpi then took on a glowing light as Gekido placed it front of him, pointing upwards, as it made two copies of itself, producing from the hilt, making an upside down 'Y' shape star.

Spinning it infront of himself, Gekido charged at the panting-bleeding-dizzy Naruto, and placed the 'star' on the blonde's chest, and seemingly passed through him.

But that thought was dismissed when blood erupted from Naruto.

"I'm not done!" shouted Gekido as he appeared next to the cross. "Sandaime: Ni Se-" Gekido never finished his sentence.

All because of a white claw sticking out of his stomach.

"Y-you know…that y-you ne-never leave you-your back open….Gekido. You know…I'm no-not one to just take crap and not d-do anything. Hijutsu: San Yajuu Kamigami: Byakko no Kanki Kai. (**Secret Technique: Three Beast Gods: Awakening of the White Fox Release.)**" Finished Naruto as the raging white fox behind disappeared and the Tenpi fell from Gekido's hands.

_Flashback no Jutsu_

_Gekido arrived at the burned down inn that was going under repairs. His bag dropped as he ran over to his sister, who was talking to a blonde man who was on the roof._

_He was told the story of how the man Naruto saved his sister._

"_Thank You, Naruto."_

_End Flashback no Jutsu_

"Gekido…you always were a drunkard…"

_Flashback no Jutsu_

_All the lights were turned on in the newly rebuilt inn as the music blasted and people shouted._

_Sayuri giggled as she saw her brother and Naruto, arms draped over each other's shoulder, laughing drunk, Gekido more so than Naruto._

"_Sayuri! Whazza ya doin!? Thiss iz az party! Have zum fun!" Gekido shouted, clearly more drunk._

_Sayuri just laughed._

_End flashback no Jutsu_

"But now…You can protect Sayuri yourself."

_Flashback no Jutsu_

_Gekido pulled Naruto away from talking to his little sister, saying that he wanted to talk to him._

_They were standing outside of the Inn, and it was past 9 o'clock._

"_Naruto, I'm leaving soon…so I have one request." Gekido said as he turned to Naruto. "Keep her safe, Naruto, or else I'll kill you…or the other way around."_

_End Flashback no Jutsu_

Gekido's body hit the ground.

The Tenpi appeared in Naruto's hand.

Then Naruto's world went black.

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Mizukage's residence

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The light entered his sight on the edge of his vision as he opened his eyes to stare at the face of Meimei.

"Naruto-sensei! Guys, Naruto-sensei is awake" shouted Meimei as Eidatsu and Chiba slid into the room, the Mizukage calmly walking behind them.

The Mizukage took a puff from his pipe as he looked at a heavily bandaged Naruto, who fighting to push himself up, against the wishes of an arguing Meimei. "So, Naruto-san…mind telling us how you know Aka Shi-shi no Gekido?"

Blond locks of hair fell over azure eyes as they shadowed fling tears. "I'd rather not talk about it." Naruto said before wiping his eyes. "Anyways, where is Gekido."

"Ah, right…about that…after you passed out, we took you here. When I went to retrieve Gekido's body, it was gone. And so was the cross." The Mizukage said, taking another puff from his pipe. "There was a trail of blood, so I think that he's still alive…or that someone came and took his body, along with the cross."

A hitched breath came from Naruto as he stared wide eyed at the blue robed Mizukage. There were only three people in the shinobi nations that even had the slightest interest in Gekido, that was further than his bounty.

"Regal…Orochimaru…or Juhdda…" Naruto murmured under his breath.

Deciding to change the subject, the Mizukage said, "I do believe we haven't been properly introduced. My name is Kezokou Jenai, Mizukage of Kiri."

Naruto wiped away some more tears and looked up at the smiling face of the slightly older man. "Uzumaki Naruto, former shinobi of Konoha, genin sensei of Eidatsu, Chiba, and Meimei." Naruto said, raising his hand to shake the other's.

Oh yes, Naruto had just made another ally.

"So Eidatsu, you wanna know who that kid in the picture was?"

A look of remembrance came over Eidatsu's face as he scrambled over to his bag, and pulled out the picture and brought it over to Naruto.

Taking the picture from his student, Naruto pointed to everyone in the photo. "Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei…and me." Naruto said as he pointed to his younger, smiling self before giving a small grin at his genin's reactions.

Eidatsu's mouth was on the ground,

Chiba's eyes were wide,

And Meimei had a small look of interest in her face.

Naruto broke out in laughter.

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Unknownlocation

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"Regal-sama, welcome back!"

"Ohayo, Regal-sama!"

"Regal-sama!"

A brown haired man in a pair of jeans and a cargo jacket walked down the street as he waved to everyone, a smile on his face. When he reached the end of the road and came to his house, he opened the door and quickly walked over to the wall, and went through it.

"Ohayo, Regal-sama. The patient's status has been stabilized and we are currently working on bringing him back to consciousness." Said Huhari, the head medic, to her master, who's warm hyuuga eyes turned to cold, pale, lavender, hyuuga eyes.

Taking off his jacket, Regal revealed a ripped body as he watched the operation on Gekido's body commence as he sat in his chair. "Soon…yes very soon, Gekido…"

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Konohagakure no Sato

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Team Seven was dismissed after the debriefing. The mission went without conflict, mainly because the Mizukage revealed that there was no assassin, he just wanted to meet Naruto.

Right now, Naruto was sitting in bar, sake in his hand, and his forehead on the countertop.

"Uzumaki Naruto, is that you?" came female voice from the entrance, turning all, well, since Naruto was the only one in the bar, heads towards her.

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto groggily said, "Whaddya want Anko?" he said as he scooted over, making room on the bench for her.

Taking a seat next to the blonde, Anko just grinned. "What? A lady can't say hello to her little gozu?"

"I'm not little! And I'm not yours!"

"You were, and yes you are."

The two friends sat ins silence as time clicked by. It was broken by Naruto when he asked, "Ne, Anko…do you think you would've gone with me if I asked?"

Anko widened her eyes as she looked at the blonde. She knew this was a hard question for him to ask. A small smile graced her lips as she replied, "Let's not talk about the past and 'what ifs'. You know you shouldn't dwell on the past Naruto."

Getting up to leave, Anko took one last drink and started for the door when Naruto murmured , "Arigatou, Anko."

"Anytime Gozu, and yes, I would've gone."

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Training Ground 14

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"Yo!"

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"Gomen, but I kinda got a hangover…"

Sweatdrops graced the back of the heads of team seven as they stared at their sensei. It was a plausible excuse, but what kind of ninja got hangovers!?

"And thus, training is dismissed for toady, Ja!" and then 'poof' went Naruto.

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Regal's residence

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Gekido's opened his eyes to be met by a very bright light, shining down on his face.

"Regal-sama, the patient is awake. Orders?"

The Red Lion waited to hear the rest of the conversation as he strained the little chakra he had into his ears. He heard the fabric of a chair return to it's normal position as the man spoke, "Let me gat my jacket Huhari, then I'll talk to him myself."

"Hai."

Gekido pulled the chakra out of his ears and waited, then the man known as 'Regal' came into the room, whose walls were a transparent white, and introduced himself. "Seishi Gekido, A-rank wanted nin who has a bounty equal to that of Uzumaki Naruto, the Byakko. I am Hyuuga Regal, S-rank Thought KIA nin of Konoha…pleased to meet your acquaintance.

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A/N: At last! It is complete! I got over my writer's block earlier than expected, so be happy!

So who is Regal, and what does he want with Gekido? And is there some kind of romance brewing in between Anko and Naruto?


	6. Prelude to the Start

Disclimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own all OCs, original jutsu, and the juusan oni yaiba.

Well, it's been awhile. I've gotten a couple new video games, gotten my homework (somewhat) under control, and those are the causes for my lack of updating.

I now that PDM would be easiest to update right now, but I'm still working the chapter through in my head, so…yeah.

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Gekido stared blindly with an apathetic look at the supposedly dead Hyuuga male before him. S-rank AND thought KIA, so that he didn't have to deal with bounty hunters, or hunter nins?

Lucky bastard.

"…And what can I help you with?" said Gekido, glaring at the man who he knew had ordered him strapped to the examination table.

"You have the Red Cross of Efreet, which hold the locations of the other crosses. When all of the crosses are brought together, as you know, they form the twin crosses, Maxwell and Origin." Said Regal with his eyes closed,

"And you want me to give you their locations, right?"

Shaking his head with a sigh, Regal told Huhari to get him some tea. "I wonder," Regal said as Huhari returned, "Why does everyone assume that I just want those? No, I want something else. But I'm going to need man power." Regal said as he set down his cup of tea. "That's why I come offering you a choice…"

Opening his eyes, which had oddly been closed on this time, Regal looked at Gekido's blind, onyx orbs and asked, "Will you join me? And in return…"

Gekido waited in baited breath

"I'll give you the power to kill the Uzumaki."

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Naruto sighed again as Chiba threatened Eidatsu in attempt to talk to them. He had been quiet ever since they came back from Kiri. Meimei was just looking at her sensei. He had recently taught them the tree walking, and they were now working on water walking.

She sighed too, but on the inside. How long was Eidatsu planning on staying quiet?She was growing worried about. He hadn't been focusing as well on missions anymore had hadn't been eating much anymore.

Said oranged haired boy was currently staring at the polished wooden floor of the Hokage's office as his mind was amuck. Why hadn't his sensei told them that he was the Byakko? He knew that only one person could use the technique Naruto used to beat Gekido.

Tsunade looked at the group of four with silent confusion in her eyes. What had happened in the mist? She could the chakra of more seals on Naruto, so she guessed something big went down…

Ah, she could ask later.

"AHEM! Might I ask what you want?" she said with a tick above her brow.

Naruto turned his gaze to Tsunade's and sent the silent message, why am I keeping with this again?

She grinned on the inside and sent the message, Because I asked you to.

"Obaa-chan, I'd like to take my team on a training mission before the you-know-whats come 'round." asked Naruto.

It was here that Tsunade asked the genin to leave the room, saying that she needed to talk to Naruto alone. When the genin had left, she turned to the window and asked, "What are you planning on doing?"

"I plan on taking them to the other countries, break a few rules, see a couple of old friends, call in a couple of favors, and pick up a little something." Naruto said as he stood next to her, looking over the roofs of Konoha.

"The war is coming Tsunade…and I want no part of it, and nor do I want them to be in it. I've only stayed as long as I have because of those three. The story of Uzumaki Naruto, man who'd defend Konoha till the bitter end, finished it's final chapter a long time ago."

Tsunade sighed as she heard him. "Alright, but I'll only allow this on two conditions Naruto." she said as she sat back down at her desk, shuffling through some papers. "You have to search for Orochimaru, and return any information you find to me, and…tell me how much longer you plan to help us."

With a sigh of resignation, Naruto murmured, "Three months."

"Right after the exams then? ….all right. Uzumaki Naruto, I hereby give you permission to take your students on training trip. You will have to inform their parents, and return before the Chuunin Exams." Tsunade said as she filled out a piece of paper and handed it to the younger blonde. "Be careful."

Silence.

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In the bar…well, since it's the only bar Konoha HAD thanks to Sarutobi (who shut most of them down incase Tsunade returned to the village) sat Anko, who's chin rested on her empty palm, just staring at the rain pouring down outside. It had been raining for a while. Her saki had gone cold, meaning she was there for a while.

The bar was empty, excluding the bartender, Rejuho the elderly man who owned it, who was cleaning glasses when the door opened and the bell jingled slightly. Looking up, Rejuho smiled softly, and titled his head towards Anko, who was still gazing at the rain.

Pulling up a chair next to her, which she hadn't heard because she was so zoned out, Naruto said, "The rain always calmed me down, did you know that?" he said, alerting her of his presence.

Snapping her head towards him, Anko gave a soft smiled when she saw who it was before looking back to the window. "No, I didn't know that. So, who can I help you with, Naru-kun?"

With a sigh, Naruto said, "I'll be leaving the village in three months, right after the chuunin exams."

"What?! Why!?"

"I've only stayed this log for a couple of people. I'm taking my team on a training mission for a month and a half. So, I thought I might spend the last couple of my days here with my most important people."

"But why are you leaving?!" Anko shouted at him.

"Gomen, demo…I cannot tell you…" and with that, Naruto got up and left, picking up her saki, drinking it, and getting up, leaving Anko there, sitting in her chair.

She was just staring at the door which just jingled, signifying that Naruto left the bar, before she noticed the note in her saki cup. Picking it up, she opened it.

It held five words.

_Thank you for everything, Anko_

"I've seen those types of goodbyes before. Never understood why the person they give it to just breaks down crying." Said Rejuho, putting up a glass. "Go after him, Anko. This ones on the house." He said, smiling at her.

He didn't need to say anything else. She was already out the door running down the pouring street. Young people are so naïve…

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto was getting drenched, and his heart was hurting. Back when he married Sayuri and developed feelings for her, he still held feelings for the purple haired jonin he just left at the bar. He still had those feelings…

After, it is possible to be in love with two people at once.

His hair was being matted against his forehead, his shoes were making small splashing sounds and his clothes were weighing him down, when something grabbed the material of soaked jacket.

Anko had caught up with him, her hair wet against her back, her pressing herself against his, holding two fistfuls of the jacket. He had stopped moving, and she was staring at the ground.

"Please," she murmured, just loud enough for Naruto to hear her. "Don't go…" Anko was glad that the streets were practically empty and it was late. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she needed the blonde haired man in front of her.

Naruto had stopped, and could feel her body pressing against his. His back was feeling warmer now, and the rain was getting both of them soaked. There were people running down the streets rushing to get out the rain that was coming down.

"Please! Don't go…not now…"

"Anko…" Naruto said as he turned around and pulled her into his toned torso.

The streets of Konoha were empty now, leaving them thee, Anko's purple hair cascading down her back and Naruto's falling every which direction. They were looking up at each other now, her hands pressing flat against his muscular build, his arms wrapped around her back.

Ocean blue met abyss purple.

Gold melted with violet.

Breaths mingled with each other.

'_Anko…you said you'd go with me if I asked…thank you.'_

"Not for a while…" Naruto said, closing the distance between them, leaning down and capturing her lips in a soft, but passionate kiss.

-----

Jiraiya smiled as he saw his student and Anko. He noticed that they were both enjoying it, wanting the moment never to break. Both their eyes were closed, and their arms were pulling the other closer in an attempt to deepen the kiss.

He wouldn't sully this moment by putting it in Icha Icha.

(that was my first attempt at fluff…)

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Bored.

That's the only word that could describe how Gekido was feeling after staring at the roof for 29 hours.

Oh! Irritated was another word that could describe how Gekido was feeling.

The one they had called Regal had made only one appearance, the time that he offered him the power to kill Naruto.

He felt another presence enter the room. He recognized it as Huhari, the head nurse and the one he thought was the lover of Regal. No doubt she was carrying another tray of that damned hospital food.

How he hated it.

"Gekido-san," Huhari said in her ever monotone voice. "Your body is well enough for you to move, and thus Regal-sama wishes you to come to his office." She said as she undid the straps. "He knows you won't run. Your clothes are on a chair to your right from the door. Talk to anyone of the nurses for them o take you to Regal-sama.

She left, leaving the hospital food on his lap.

Knocking it aside with a clatter as it hit the ground, he felt for the door, found his clothes and threw them on.

No doubt Regal had his cross.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Konoha: Day of the Chuunin Exams

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Glad you could make it." Said Naruto, sensei of team seven as he stood infront of his genin at the door to the first exam. He had given each of them the slips for the exam, saying that they didn't all have to go, just like his sensei, as a final test. "If any one of you hadn't come, I couldn't let you through."

The genin smirked, knowing that after what their sensei put them through, they were ready.

Eidatsu, coming to peace knowing that his sensei was the Byakko, sported a new look, wearing a gauntlet over his left arm that was littered with seals and getting both his ears pierced with silver. He wore a cloak like Naruto's, except it didn't have the black and white designs and stopped at the knee. He wore no under shirt, showing off some scars from unknown causes, some from the training he had been put through. He wore baggy navy blue nin pants and traditional sandals of the samurai.

Chiba had grown out his hair to his mid back and kept it out of his face with his headband. He wore a sleeveless black muscle shirt and black gloves, and particularly long one on his right. Black baggy pants and black nin sandals were his outfit.

Meimei had opted for a crimson mini-skirt and tight tank top overlaid by a maroon jacket. The back of the jacket held the kanji for 'Sunlight' and she had on blue nin sandals. Her nin pouch didn't have any kunai or shuriken, just scrolls and tags.

"Good luck you guys." Said Naruto as he opened the door for them. He didn't change one bit…not including the small change in hair length.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"So the rejects finally show up!" came a brutish voice from the left of team seven.

"Akamichi Tsugo. Team Four. Teammates include Akamichi Granza and Inuzuka Shiri. Jonin Sensei, Nagi Tsume." Said Chiba, walking past the now gathered team.

"So you guys made it too, huh?"

"Nara Shinzo. Team Nine. Teammates include Yamanaka Yozu and Hyuuga Kri. Jonin Sensei is the ever hot Shirigono Kuzakumaru." Said Meimei as she walked with a gentle sway of her hips past the team on their right.

"Well, well, fresh genin right out of the academy. Bet the ones that just gave info are the recon and info gathering team." Said a group of rain nin in front of all of them.

"Amu Triji, Kazunaku Ginji, and Renzu Shuza of Ame, Jonin sensei is ranked B-rank in Konoha's bingo book and his name is Juja Lokramaru." Said Eidatsu, walking past them, to meet the glares of the rest of the chuunin hopefuls. "I've got message for you all…" he stopped with a feral grin on his face as his orange hair covered his eyes.

"If you don't wanna die,"

"We suggest," said Meimei as she walked next to Eidatsu.

"You completely avoid Team Seven." finished Chiba as he walked next to Eidatsu's left.

Laughter broke out from behind and in some in front of them, before a voice broke through it all.

"ALL RIGHT CUNT SUCKERS! SIT YOUR ASSES DOWN AND SHUT UP! THIS IS THE START OF THE FIRST EXAM! WELCOME TO HELL!"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Wow. Never thought the proctor would be her…" mumbled Naruto as he walked down the hall.

He had no doubt in his teams abilities, after putting them through what he had.

He made them learn their chakra nature.

Learn to summon. (by throwing them off a cliff…die or succeed)

And have them survive five minutes against him not holding back. (lets just say that Chiba nearly got turned to sushi…emo-sushi anyone?)

Yep, no doubt.

"You seem pretty sure of your team, Naru-kun." said a sultry voice from around the corner before he was locked in a tongue battle with Anko.

"Anko-chan?"

"Ha-" she didn't finish before he words were muffled by Naruto's mouth.

30 seconds later: Anko's back was against the wall and they were slowly sliding down the wall.

"Well, this is interesting." came another voice, breaking the couple apart, but not out of each other's arms.

They didn't care who knew about them THAT much.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

After the proctor had finished writing down the rules and everyone got seated, the proctor properly introduced themselves.

"Due to past events in the Chuunin Exams, we have three proctors per round! To my left is Inuzuka Kiba! My right, Yamanaka Ino!"

'_Three? Why do we need three proctors? Does it have to do with the Konoha-Oto invasion?'_ thought Chiba as he narrowed his eyes at the rules._'That's understandable…but what's with these rules? According to Naruto-sensei, these are the same rules he dealt with. But normally, if you're caught cheating even once you're stopped and kicked out…and the minus two thing…that means we can only cheat five times…wait a minute! The message here isn't NOT to cheat, it is to cheat! Then…that means we have to cheat very, well. And those proctors come from clans that specialize in intelligence gathering and recon…they're going to catch us anyway, so we only have to pass their standards. Meimei can probably figure it out, but what about dobe?...' _ finished Chiba, leaning back in his chair.

'_So one of the demon's brats have figured it out…' _thought Ino as she glared at Chiba, though making it look like she was glaring at the room.

"You'll be given the test individually, as they will be passed out to you. Now, I'll go over the rules…"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"My ex-apprentice and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki…well, well, well…" said the snake-like voice.

Jumping out of each other's arms, the two ninja faced the one that was talking to them.

"Orochimaru…may I ask what your business here is?" asked Naruto with a slight edge to his voice as he reached for a kunai.

Orochimaru, who was in yet another false disguise, Naruto only recognized him through chakra feel, said, "Please boy, I haven't come to restart my war…yet. I'm looking for potential candidates for my army. The Eidatsu boy was showing some unusual chakra in his legs…"

Orochimaru didn't have time to finish his taunting sentence before a kunai was pressed against his neck. "You will not touch him…" said Naruto in the snake sannin's ear with an icy chill attached.

"My, my, boy. You do realize that while we are both suppressing our chakra signatures, and you know what I can cause here. As for the silent question, how did I get here? I was born and raised here, and thus I know the village inside and out, much like you."

"I know what damage you can cause! But be warned Orochimaru, one little flare of my chakra and three jonin in the exam room will know something's goin' down. And you have information I want."

"Nani? Naru-kun, what are you talking about? What could that Snake bastard have?" asked Anko, walking up behind Naruto, taking her own kunai and readying it.

"Information on a murderer. So, Orochimaru, I'll make you a deal."

"Naruto! You can't be serious!"

"Oh? A deal? What might it be Naruto-kun?" asked Orochimaru, curiosity clearly evident in his voice.

"You let me see info on every one of your subordinates, oh and don't worry, I won't copy them, and you leave here alive."

Naruto got no reply, because the Orochimaru in front of him had turned into a pile of mud at his feet.

He wouldn't notice the letter in his pocket till later.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Now, Gekido normally wasn't curious. What people did didn't bother him unless they did something to people close to him. THEN he got started to snooping around.

Now when he asked a nurse to lead him to Regal, he wasn't expecting to see his best friend leaning against the wall of Regal's office.

"Gira? Yokozuna Gira!" shouted Gekido as he recognized the chakra signature and ran at the person to give them a hug.

The figure, now known as Gira, looked at the running brunette. Lifting up his leg, he slammed it point blank into Gekido's face.

"You two now each other?" asked Regal from his desk, turning his narrowed Hyuuga eyes from Gira to Gekido.

"Once upon a time." said Gira in an apathetic tone.

Gira was a unique character. His hair was black and put into a small pony tail, leaving two long bags to end at his chin, perfectly framing his face. Two brown eyes looked on behind a pair of glasses, as a sword was strapped to his waist. He had broad shoulders, and a slim build. He wore a red haori with a pair of navy hakama, a black obi around the waist. The haori was decorated with the design of a black tree on the back, its branches extending to the front. A pair of wooden getas was on his feet, adding a good 2 inches making him 5'8.

"Once upon a time? Man, that's cold, Gira." Pouted Gekido as he rubbed his face.

Leaning back in his chair, which was made of fine leather, regal said, "Well, since you two already know each other, we can skip name formalities. Gekido, Gira here is my right hand man. Now, down to business, most people believe that it is unwise to have two right hands, for it will cause them to fight over who is the true right hand." Regal paused as he took out a cigarette and put it to his lips, lighting it a second later. "But I'm not like most people. And Gira here knows that, and that's why he's agreed to my second right hand…you."

Gekido turned to the voice, and gave a mock glare, "Eh? Second right hand? What's that mean? Do I get to do what I want?"

Sweat-dropping, Regal sighed, "Mostly, yes. You just have to do what I ask. Unless I give you order of free-reign, you have to do what I ask, when I ask it."

"And what do I get out of this?"

Smirking, Regal cracked open an eye and looked at he waiting Gekido, "Power, freedom…and your cross back."

"Deal." Was the only word said by Gekido in the next half-a-second.

Regal grinned.

Gira nodded.

"So when do we start?"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Now that the tests have been passed out and you bastards have been seated, it's time to begin the first exam." said Kiba as he leaned against a nearby wall.

"We wish you luck." commented Ino.

"And welcome to your one way ticket to hell," third proctor of the first exam stated. "Courtesy of Hyuuga Hinata." finished Hinata.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N:** I'M BACK BABY!

For those who couldn't tell, I modeled Gira's body after Jin from Samurai Champloo, with a few moderations here and there.

…But how many of you seriously thought Hina was going to be a proctor?


	7. Eight Dead, One Remaining

Disclaimer: I own all my original jutsu and OCs , the plot, and all original props. I don't own Naruto though.

Hey there! Hope you guys are having a happy Christmas or whatever you celebrate during this season!

Guess where I am? No, I'm not staying up late in my bed typing in Kansas City. I'm in NORTH CAROLINA! My home state.

Enough of my talking. You didn't come here to hear my ranting, you came for the chapter!

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Hinata looked at her watch, then to the clock on the wall. "Alright maggots, pencils down!" she shouted, making sure that there pencils were down before Kiba and Ino started collecting the papers. "It's 45 minutes into the exam, meaning that the tenth question, described on the board since I don't feel like explaining, is about to be released."

Hinata's eyes scanned over the hopefuls, a glare in her gaze as she looked for any doubt or fear.

There were bucket loads.

102 teams (306 genin) had been eliminated out of 200 teams. (600 genin)

The rookies were in a cold sweat, and were tensing.

The rain nin just wore an apathetic look and were tensed.

And all the others were afraid, doubt raging in their minds, like a feeding fire.

But yet, Naruto's genin team just didn't care.

Eidatsu was asleep.

Meimei was messing with her pencil, leaning on her desk.

And Chiba was asleep to.

Pulling out three kunai, she threw them at the three mentioned genin.

Shock was the only thing that could be said.

All the genin watched as the kunai raced at their targets, their eyes wide.

Meimei just threw her pencil-packed-with-chakra at the oncoming kunai, tearing it apart.

Eidatsu woke the second it got within a foot of him and grabbed it with his right hand, before moving faster than most eyes could see and stabbing it in the chalk board, right behind Hinata.

Chiba just caught it between his fingers…right in front of his forehead.

Hinata just stared at the three with an apathetic look, before saying, "Don't joke around in here or you'll find yourself without your life. Now," she said. "As you know, the tenth question was to be released 45 minutes into the exam. This is a rather simple question, but there's a catch…you miss it, you lose your chance to make chuunin, and you're pulled from the ninja life…forever."

"What?! That's crazy!" shouted some random kusa genin.

"Well then, let me ask you this. You're given a mission where you must infiltrate an enemy outpost and steal a document describing war plans. Ninja are everywhere and the survival rate is less than 5. Do you take it or not? Do you take it and make the possibility of coming out alive, or leave it, making the possibility of your comrades dying?"

Hinata received no answer.

"Of course you do!" she yelled at them with an edge to her voice. "There is no choice! You were given that mission because they believe you could survive it! You're expected to come back alive with the document and not know anything in it. Another situation. You know information about the weak point in a battle formation, and you've been captured by enemy ninja. You're tortured into giving information to them. Do you tell them or not?"

Still no answer.

"You don't! You either survive, or take it down to the grave with you! That fact alone that you have the information means you're expected to protect with your very life!" Hinata shouted, turning around and lifting up the back of her shirt, revealing burns, scars, places of impalement, and whip lashes.

Meimei instantly recognized this person now. "The Sunny Immortal…Hyuuga Hinata…So she still lives…"she murmured quietly.

However, the chuunin and higher heard her, but said nothing.

"So I ask, are you ready for this responsibility? Are you ready for that burden? If you feel like you're not, you are welcome to quit, now, but bear in mind that if you quit here, you bring everyone down. If you quit, you're welcome to try again in six months."

Needles to say, 47 more teams bit the dust. (141 genin)

Hinata's eyes scanned the genin one last time, searching for any fear. All of the rookies had made it by. And so had the rain genin that had been talking to them survived. Now, all that was left was to tell them…

"Congratulations are now in order. Everyone of you that has remained has earned the rite to take the second exam." Kiba said, breaking out in a smile, revealing wolfish canines.

And with that, two people walked into the room.

"Damn, Hinata. 49 teams. Better than I did on yours…" muttered same, bald, scarred in gruesome fashions Ibiki, and beside him stood non other than…

Rock Lee.

"YOSH! ANY REMAINING TEAMS PLEASE FOLLOW US WITH YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH! TO THE FOREST OF DEATH!" shouted Lee, putting one foot on a nearby desk and pointing at the sky.

Lee hadn't changed much. His bushy eyebrows still remained, and so did the green spandex (After all, he wouldn't be Lee without it.). He wore a jonin jacket over the spandex, and orange leg warmers covered weights. He wore black finger less gloves with spikes on the knuckles, making his punches do more damage, and had his left ear pierced.

And a gold ring on his right ring finger.

"Lee, for Kami's sake shut up!" yelled Hinata at the green flea on soldier pills.

"Gomen Hinata, but these genin have flames of youth that shine brightly!"

With a sigh, Ino smacked her forehead. "Honestly, I don't know how Hitomi can deal with you…"

"Oh yeah, well what about Shino and Hinata? They're a pretty unique couple." Kiba said, plopping down in a chair, clearly bored…or tired…or maybe both.

"What was that Kiba?!" shouted Hinata.

cough "I hate to break this…interesting topic, but Lee, we have to take these guys to the forest." said Ibiki.

"ALRIGHT! ALL REMAINING GENIN, WE LEAVE NOW!" Lee shouted before poofing to the forest, waiting for Ibiki with the other Proctor.

Ibiki put on his sadistic smile, which properly creeped out the genin, before he led them to the forest…that would lead many of them to their deaths.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto sat on the steps of the academy, his head in his hands. Anko had worrying about, persistent to get Naruto to tell her what he really wanted from the snake. She had been called by Tsunade for Kami-knows-what, and now here he was…

sigh "Life is to troublesome…" Naruto murmured, staring at the clouds. "Great, now I'm becoming like Shikamaru…" Standing up, he started walking towards the graveyard. He felt like he had to move on. "It's like that old saying…Time can't be reversed, only moved forward…" lifting up a hand, he ran his fingers through his golden locks. Then, he placed his hands in his pockets, and felt something.

Lifting it up, he realized it was a note. Opening it up, he stopped walking when he read it.

It fell deafly to the floor, as Naruto took off towards the Forest of Death.

_I'll meet you where the Snake delivered Heaven._

Orochimaru would meet Naruto where he bit Sasuke.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Ibiki arrived at the entrance to the forest with the genin in tow. After the genin all arrived, he took his place next to the other proctors where a certain silver haired masked man took the stage.

"Yo, You guy are late. Anyways, congrats on making it this far. The place you see behind me is known as training area 44, known to the chuunin and higher as the Forest of Death. It's divided up into 6 parts, each part corresponding to a certain mission difficulty. Hope that you pick the easy part. If not…well then good luck. Now, Lee, if you would?" finished Kakashi, stepping back.

Kakashi didn't change…at all. The end.

"YOSH! BECAUSE THIS IS MOST LIKELY THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE EXAM, YOU MUST SIGN THESE CONSENT FORMS BEFORE ENTERING TH FOREST WITH YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Lee yelled as he passed out the consent forms.

"Consent forms? That means people are gonna die…" Eidatsu said, barely above a whisper. "How many can we kill? 3? 9? 30?!" Eidatsu murmured, a gleeful smile on his face, a crazed look in his eyes.

Lee returned back to the line the proctors stood in, and put on a fierce glare…all for effect. Kakashi, once again, took the stage. "Yes, people will die. These are so Konoha…in the basic sense can't get sued for your deaths…if you die. If you decide to sign them, you'll be allowed to continue. If you don't, try again in six months."

Needles to say, all the consent forms were signed.

"Alright," said Ibiki, deciding to take over. "Now that you all have signed, you are to go over to that booth, where you will receive either a Earth or Heaven Scroll. Which ever one you get, you want to get the other. Meaning, by the time you reach the tower I the center of the forest, which is your goal, you're to have both scrolls, all three of your teammates in a recoverable condition. Now, get moving!" he shouted at them, which got the genin to move.

"Alright, now that you have a scroll, pick a gate, and wait for the bell. You have five days to make it to the tower with the scrolls and your teammates and you can't leave before the exam is over. Oh, one more thing. If you open the scrolls before reaching the tower, you're disqualified." Kakashi finished, leaning against a tree as he pulled out crack for ninjas…

Porn.

All the teams had started picking a gate, except for Team seven (Naru's team if you can't remember), who were discussing what their plan was.

"I say we just go straight. It's a direct path to the tower, meaning we can't go wrong." Said Eidatsu, sitting down on a nearby rock.

"We should just follow the river. The tower needs a source of water, and that'd be it." suggested Meimei.

"I agree with Meimei. Eidatsu, can you hear the river?" asked Chiba, looking at the orange haired teen.

"Tch, fine." mumbled Eidatsu, entering a meditation pose, and listened for the river.

Multitudes of sounds assaulted his ears as he listened for the river…

A bluebird's song…

A lion's roar…

The falling of a leaf…

The slither of a snake…

The snapping jaws of a fox…

The rushing of water…

"Gate 32." Eidatsu said, snapping his eyes open and walking to the gate with his teammates in tow.

"I still don't know how he does it…" mumbled Meimei, picking up a scroll she had been writing on.

"It's Eidatsu. Whatever training Naruto-sensei put him through paid off. Look where it's brought us." Ciba said, catching a kunai he was throwing in the air and placing it in his pouch.

They arrived at the gate.

5 minutes later, the bell rang.

They ran into the forest.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto jumped form branch to branch as he followed the path that he and his team took during their exam. It seemed that the place where Sasuke stabbed the rain genin was still bloodstained.

He landed softly on the branch where Sasuke had been bitten. Ironically, he was standing where the Uchiha did.

And there was Orochimaru. He had abandoned his disguise, and was now wearing a black hoari and purple yukata. The signature purple bow was around his waist. Yellow eyes and long black hair with earnings were his face.

"Same old Orochimaru. Pale complexion and all…" murmured Naruto, not lifting his gaze from the sannin.

"Naruto-kun, I see you came." Orochimaru said, smirking.

They started walking towards each other, until they right in front of one another, Orochimaru looking down slightly at the shorter male.

"May I ask what you want, hebi?" Naruto asked, glare adorning his features.

Orochimaru just held that evil smile on his face as he pulled out some papers. Holding them in front of his face, he said, "These are what you're looking for, right Naruto-kun?"

The papers appeared to be information papers, stating everything about the people.

And the most peculiar thing about them was that they were about Orochiamaru's ninja.

Naruto reached out for them, but the snake sannin pulled them back. Glaring, Naruto asked, "Whaddya want?"

"Oh, absolutely nothing. Except the reason why."

"My late wife's death may concern a ninja of yours…"

"Ah…I see. Very well boy. I'll give you the papers. At least until you find what you needed." Orochimaru said, handing Naruto the papers. "But, in this, you owe me a debt, Uzumaki Naruto." And with that, he jumped higher into the trees, leaving the papers with Naruto on the branch…

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

It was dark in the forest, even though it was bright as day outside it. The giant trees surrounded them, obscuring the light, adding the feel of a holy place as team seven sat at the foot of a tree that had sunlight shining on it.

"Eidatsu, are you sure that people are coming this way?" Meimei asked, putting her chin in her hands, clearly bored as she sat on a root.

"Yes, I don't doubt you're sensing skills since sensei trained you to specialize mainly in that field, but why would they follow us?" asked Chiba, leaning against the tree.

"Our little presentation in the first exam made us public enemy number one, making us prime targets. That makes them think that we're weak and over estimating our skills." Said Eidatsu, who was sitting down, leaning against the tree, one leg raised as a arm rest for his gauntlet covered arm. "They're here…" he said as he stood and faced forward, staring in front of the group.

A group of Taki nin bursted from the brush, smirking at them, feeling triumphant for whatever reason.

"Well, well! Look what we have here fellas! A group of fresh rookies, right out of the academy!" shouted Taki-nin #1

"Meimei-chan. Tsugo and his team are off to the side, watching us. Let them be. Alright?" Eidatsu whispered to his purple haired teammate, who relayed it to Chiba, who nodded in understanding. "Also…leave these guys to me." He said, but loud enough for every one to hear him.

Tsugo, Granza, and Shiri watched on in interest as they watched their fellow rookie about to take on three seasoned genin, alone for that matter.

"Tch…looks like your precious crush is going to die, Shiri." Tsugo said, snickering.

"Nii-san, don't say things like that…"scolded Granza, a disappointed tone in his voice.

Shiri just ignored them. She may have been an Inuzuka, but she, or her dog, Renka, were going to stand for his death.

She was about to jump out there when the Taki nin just laughed.

"You think you can beat us alone, kid?" laughed Taki-nin #2

"A snowball has a better chance of surviving in hell!" said Taki-nin #3.

"Oh, I don't intend to beat you…" said Eidatsu, before he blurred out of existence, and reappeared behind Taki-nin 2 and 3.

"I intend to kill you." And with that, he pulled out two kunai, and jammed them into their throats, killing the stunned Taki-nin instantly.

And yet, his teammates weren't shocked at what he did.

But Tsugo and company were.

"W-what the hell?! Did the dobe just use JONIN speed?! Let alone kill?!" shouted Tsugo, backing away from the scene as blood began decorating the forest.

"This isn't the same Eidatsu…" murmured Granza, holding his throat.

Shiri, was just standing there, shocked at what he did. Eidatsu would never so this! And his teammates weren't even stopping him! "Eidatsu-kun…"

With Eidatsu and the remaining Taki-nin, who was now backing away in fear, Eidatsu was walking towards the man.

"S-stay b-b-back! I-I'll kill you i-if you d-don't!" he hysterically shouted, before his words were muffled by a gauntlet covered hand.

"You're annoying…"Eidatsu sighed, before clenching his left hand, driving the claws of his gauntlet into the man's skull, killing his brutally.

Searching the bodies, he eventually found an Earth Scroll, and asked, "Chiba, what scroll do we have?"

"Earth…"

"Ah…Well, Tsugo! If you need this one, you can have it!" Eidatsu shouted, throwing the scroll over his shoulder. "And make sure Shiri-chan makes it through okay!"

And with that, he walked away from the bloody scene…

The tainted holy place…

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.

He had double checked them, checked for everything from genjutsu to stickers covering faces…

And he couldn't find her.

He couldn't find Sayuri's killer!

"Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted, jumping into the trees, leaving the papers on the branch, and grabbing the hebi-sannin by his shirt. "Are you fucking with me!? ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME!?" he shouted, ramming Orochimaru's back against the tree. "IS THAT ALL!? IS THAT ALL OF THEM!?"

"All of what boy!?" glared Orochimaru at the Byakko.

"IS THAT ALL OF THEM!? IS THAT ALL OF YOUR NIN!? TELL ME DAMNIT!" Naruto shouted, shaking the sannin in a grip.

"THAT'S ALL OF THEM! THAT'S EVERY SINGLE ONE! NOW, RELEASE ME UZUMAKI!" Orochimaru shouted back.

Letting go of the hebi, Naruto jumped back down to the branch below going through the papers yet again.

She wasn't there!

Following the blonde below, Orochimaru glared at him and said angrily, 'Just who were you looking for!?"

He received no answer. The papers were shoved in his hand, and he received a word of thanks, before Naruto jumped down to the ground, and raced to the exit.

He needed to talk to Tsunade.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

'_Night at last…we can begin.' _Thought Gira, as he stood in front of squad of nin under Regal's command. They were standing on top of hill in the pitch black of night, and not a single bit of moonlight shone. A village stood at the bottom of the hill, lights and smoke, rising out of chimneys.

Gira led the squad to the gates of the village, and then, the gatekeeper stepped out of his hut, and held up a lantern to see their faces. He saw 10 figures, all wearing cloaks, and straw hats, keeping him from seeing their faces very well. There was also a constant 'clak clak' with every step their leader took.

"Who goes there?!" shouted the old gatekeeper, looking at the approaching figures. He received no answer. "I said who goes there?!"

The front figure, whose red haori you could see beneath his cloak, reached inside his cloak.

Then all of hell broke loose.

Gira saw a light being held up as the gatekeeper stepped out of his hut. The man shouted at he and his squad as they approached ever closer. He heard the man shout a second time, before he reached inside his cloak, and pulled out the Kuro Renge (Black Lotus).

Then all of hell broke loose.

(change in POV)

The gatekeeper widened his eyes in fear as he saw the black blade glint in the light of the lantern. He saw the nine men behind the man reach inside their cloaks and pull out swords as well.

The old man turned around and started running for the gate.

He never made it.

A sickening sound of a blade being pulled from flesh resounded before nine figures darted into the village, and screams ripped through the night.

Gira watched as fires started climbing into the air, roaring, burning, destroying things in the dark foggy night as he looked down at the old man's dead body.

Reaching down, Gira closed the man's eyes, and stood up again.

The blood red moon would rise at dawn…

(Time Change)

Gira looked at the destruction and death that had happened during the night. He sighed. He really didn't like killing innocents.

Scratch that. He didn't like killing people at ALL.

He was given an order to attack this village, it was a key point to Konoha's resources. It supplied food and water, even emergency ninja, even if they weren't that good.

Regal had told him to take it out, and to leave no survivors, they couldn't let his plan reach ears yet.

His men were looking through the remains of the village for survivors and were killing them.

A baby's cry rang through the dawn as Gira looked to his right, and the remains of a still burning house.

Pushing some scorched wood out of the way, Gira came across came across two survivors.

A baby and his mother.

The mother's eyes were wide with fear, and she was holding her baby close. She was trying to back away from him, trying to get away. He set down his blade, and looked her over.

Gira just stared at her. She was very beautiful, had flowing brown hair, and soft caring features that shouldn't have been racked with fear. He couldn't tell because she was sitting down, but she appeared to be about 5'4, and was…very well 'equipped'. Her eyes were a sparkling hazel, and she held a caring, but cautious air about her. Her clothes were torn in some places, and she curled up into a ball, bringing her legs close, and holding her child to her chest.

His men would be here soon, no doubt hearing the baby's cry…

The women spoke with a trembling voice, but kept her words straight.

"What are you going to do to us?"

Gira picked up his set down blade…

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Tsunade sighed as she sat her desk. There were reports of a mysterious activities near Iwa, but weren't related to Iwa itself. There had been villages that hadn't been sending reports anymore, and there weren't as many people entering Konoha from the west gate anymore.

Also, Suna had been sending in reports of villages being destroyed, leaving no survivors. But the thing was…

They were all key villages in war.

"I'm too old for this shit…" she mumbled, rubbing her temples.

"Funny, Sarutobi-sensei always said the same thing too." chuckled Jiraiya, as he sat on the railing of the balcony. "So, what's going on?" he asked, after jumping through the window.

"A number of villages have been wiped out. And the thing is that they're key villages in war." said the Godaime, opening a drawer in her desk and pulling out a sake bottle. "And there have been no survivors either." she finished before taking a swig of the alcoholic drink.

Jiraiya sighed as he plopped down on the coach of the couch in her office. Debating inwardly if he should tell her or not, she asked, "What have Akatsuki been up to?"

Looking up at her, he said, "…Naruto's the last one left."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A/N: Ah, I think this is a good place to end it for today.

And if you couldn't tell…no, I won't tell. Hope you enjoyed your Christmas gift.

And for my Christmas gift from you all, can you give me reviews?


	8. Revenge is Sweetest When it's Red

Disclaimer:…haven't we gone over this? I own what's mine. Naruto is not mine.

Alright, I think you all have noticed I'm focusing more on LO at the moment…that's mainly because it's easier to write right now.

I'll try to update PDM soon, but no promises. STMB will have to wait. That's not gonna be more than 25 chaps I promise ya on that.

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Naruto dashed through the forest, his eyes set in an angered glare. How dare they do this?! Sayuri was not a tool for them to use to lure them to their side. She was his late wife, supposedly killed by an Oto NOTE, Oto's form of ANBU.

But no, she was killed by a Konoha ANBU.

He was already half way to the tower. The forest was on the south east end, but knowing how fast he could run…

It was the same as 30yds.

"Naruto! What's the rush?" came a cheery voice as Naruto came to a halt.

"Jiraiya?"

The white haired sannin was beginning to show signs of aging. Wrinkles were beginning to form and his hairline was just barely starting to recede. He was smiling at Naruto kindly, his eyes showing no betrayal that Naruto could detect.

And Naruto was REALLY good at detecting emotions.

"Where you heading?"

"…Hokage Tower."

"Going to see Tsunade, huh?"

"Yeah…"

Noticing a sadness in his pupils voice, Jiraiya placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Naruto, is something wrong? Anything you want to tell me?"

"No nothing…"

Worry passed through Jiraiya's eyes as he said, "Alright, but know you can always talk to me if you need something, or just need to talk to someone. You're like a grandson to me kid…"

A pang hit Naruto's heart as he made a silent wish as he watched Jiraiya remove his hand and jump off towards some location…

Probably the hot springs,

That his theory was wrong. But if it was right…

He hoped to whatever Kami was listening, they would get him out of Konoha.

And so he continued on his way to Hokage tower.

Up in heaven, a certain green-skinned alien smiled down at Naruto as he yelled, "Mr. Popo! Send one of the angels to keep an eye on Jiraiya."

The short, pure black man nodded before fetching a spirit in a bottle, and letting it loose.

(A/N: sorry, just had to add that. Been having tat ace in me sleeve since yah last saw kate.) (Means last Tuesday that does.)

Naruto appeared in front of Hokage tower as he knocked out the chuunin guards before they even realized what happened and then zoomed up the stairs. He knocked the two ANBU guards at the front of Tsunade's door before bursting it open, and glaaring at Tsunade, who was calmly sitting in front of him, hands folded.

"Alright Tsunade, cards on the table. Who was that person who killed Sayuri?!" he yelled at her, his chakra flailing, scorching the room.

"Naruto, you're choked up over Sayuri's death, so why don't you just sit down and-"

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!"

"…Naruto calm down-"

"SHUT YOUR GOB OR START TALKING! WHO WAS THAT BIMBO THAT KILLED MY WIFE!" Naruto yelled at the Hokage, arms reaching across the desk, grabbing fistfuls of her shirt, and lifting her into the air. Growling, he whispered in her ear, "She wasn't one of Orochimaru's, I know that. I've met up with him and he showed me his NOTE members. So tell me Tsunade…" had trailed off as he pulled her closer, growling in her ear.

"Why did you and the council find the need to kill Sayuri in order to get me on your side?"

Tsunade's eyes widened in panic as she punched Naruto in the chest, forcing him to release his hold on her.

"How did you find out?!"

Naruto, who had been blown back into the wall from the impact, stood up slowly, wood falling off him as he glared at her. "Orochimaru's here, He showed me his NOTE members Tsunade…"

"Damn…there goes 20 years of hard work down the drain…" Tsunade, mumbled, pulling out a sake bottle, downing it in one gulp, and letting it crash on the floor. "I guess your gonna make Konoha pay, right?"

Naruto wasn't listening to her. His chakra was flaring madly, burning the room, starting fires in separate places. It would spread soon. His bangs were covering his eyes, and he was mumbling so low, she could barely hear him. Tsunade could feel the ANBU and some jonin running to their location, already seeing the flames that had started.

"Her death was meaningless…"

"She had to die!"

"What did she ever do?"

"She was keeping you out of Konoha's grasp!"

"Now she's dead…"

"And you've trained one of the best to kill."

"Someone has to pay…"

"Then Orochimaru will suffice!"

"Konoha…yes…Konoha…will…BURN!" shouted Naruto, his chakra flaring, fluxating from blue to red to black to blue.

Civilians, who were just minding their own business, screamed in shock and terror as Hokage Tower, symbol of their power, bursted into flames, and Tsunade come flying out of it.

A crater formed were Tsunade landed, skidding along the concrete making a trench that carried on for a good couple of yards. Setting herself right back up, she watched as Naruto appeared in front of her, full battle gear on.

Words were no longer needed between them.

It was clear that one of them would die here.

Or both together.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Jiraiya, who had been at the tower in the Forest of Death, snapped his head towards Hokage Tower as he felt two spikes in chakra.

Naruto and Tsunade.

Jumping up from the couch he was sitting on, he rushed to the door, mind racing, heart pulse quickening. Something bad was going to happen.

He could feel it.

Yet, when he reached the door, he paused, hand on the knob. There was a force in his head, nagging him not to go.

He didn't listen.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto blocked Tsunade's fist as she appeared behind, trying to take him from behind. Grabbing it, he flipped her over his shoulder, and threw her into the ground, when she promptly transformed into a piece of wood.

"Kawarimi…" Naruto muttered under his breath, his bangs falling over his eyes, as they scanned the area. The civilians had longed since ran away, only the bold staying to watch, but from safe distances.

Naruto barely had anytime to duck before a slab of concrete flew over his head.

"…what is with that woman and her strength?!" mumbled Naruto under his breath, reaching inside his chestplate and pulling out a scroll. Biting his finger to draw blood, he opened the scroll and swiped it across a single seal.

And then one big as hell zanza appeared.

Impaling the over-gigantic sword in the ground, Naruto put the scroll back, picked it up again, and swung it at a building about 15 ft away.

It cut right through it.

"Good. 17 ft of pure titanium is still as sharp as ever…" muttered Naruto under his breath, heaving the blade onto his shoulder, and glaring at Tsunade.

Now, Tsunade was hard to shock. You could through Jiraiya and Orochimaru making out in front of her face and she'd just blink and continue on her merry way. But when a blonde haired jinchuuriki uses a 17 ft long sword with ease…

Well…she was a fish out of water.

But that didn't stop from charging head on at him.

The Byakko saw the Godaime Hokage running at him like a freight train, shoulder aimed to ram him. Taking the zanza off his shoulder, he swung it horizontally, noticing the woman jump on it, her path not straying.

Cursing, Naruto instantly hefted the blade vertically, shaking off the Hokage in the process, and slammed it into the ground.

"One weakness of zanza's Naruto. They're heavy as hell and you can only swing them two ways."

Naruto just smirked.

Pressing a button on the bottom of the hilt, both of the sides of the zanza opened up, and a machine held up two broadswords.

Each about 5"8.

Smirking, Naruto ran at Tsunade, who had been doing a series of handseals while he was running the 17 ft and grabbing the broadswords. Holding her fingers in front of her, she pointed them at Naruto, broadswords dragging behind him, and shouted, "Katon: Karyuu Endan! (Fire Style: Flame Dragon Jutsu)"

Swinging one of the blades in an upward slice, Naruto threw himself into the air, cutting the dragon's head in half. Spinning around in the air, Naruto hurled himself downward, the other broad sword poised to craterize. (A/N: is that even a word?)

ANBU then appeared suddenly as Naruto impacted on the ground creating a small crater, all drawing there blades, and surrounding him.

Flames were dancing around Konoha's south end. The building that Naruto had cut through had smashed into another, and Tsunade's madding punches had left craters in them.

Naruto stood up slowly, mockingly, as he balanced himself on the broad swords. He din't see the need to bring out the Yaiba, he could just as easily kill them with these.

The ANBU launched into action, swords being pulled behind them as they ran at Naruto.

Pulling up a broadsword, Naruto blocked a strike, cutting open the ANBU's chest with the other, before ducking and delivering a solid kick into another, who was pushed back onto another ANBU's sword. Spinning the blades, he placed one behind him, stopping a katana that was aiming for his neck before running the other broadsword through the ANBU to his right.

Tsunade watched the dance of death that Naruto was creating as she grunted in annoyance. It wasn't supposed to work out this way! He was supposed to be their puppet, one they would send on suicide missions and take on wars single handedly!

Naruto stood up and chopped off the head of the last remaining ANBU before turning his attention back to Tsunade, who was glaring at him. Going over her specialties in his head, Naruto thought, '_Tsunade's main specialties are medic-ninjutsu, taijutsu, and mediocre ninjutsu…kenjutsu is my specialty and so is high-ninjtsu…alright, enough of this…'_

Jumping into action, Naruto jumped back to the zanza, landing on the sharp edge of the blade, and placed the broadswords back inside it, and then the swords were pulled back inside it, and were covered with the steel.

"I've decided I don't need the broadswords to beat you."

"You're going to need them gozu."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Gira walked into the hideout, his soldiers following behind him. Sending them away, he looked back behind them all at the woman he had saved. She was still holding her child close, and was jumping at every sound. She locked her gaze with him, and only tensed more.

"W-what are you g-going to do w-with me?"

Gira just looked at her, before turning around and walking away. When he noticed she wasn't following, he called back to her, "Unless you'd rather sleep on stone, I suggest you follow me."

The brown haired lady stared at the back of the one who led the attack on her village before slowly nodding and following, keeping her sleeping baby close to her chest.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

They were blurs to the untrained eye.

Naruto continuously dodged Tsunade maddening punches, as she did to his. He ducked under a left hook, before attempting to deliver an uppercut to her jaw. Grabbing his fist, Tsunade spun around and hurled him into a building.

"Katon: Aka Nenshou Tenshi! **(Fire Style: Red Burning Angel!)" **came Naruto's voice from underneath her, as he launched the entity formed on his fist flying at her.

Smirking, Naruto mumbled, "Boom…"

A huge explosion lit up Konoha as flames landed on building, setting the aflame and sending some toppling over.

Tsunade was flying backwards, her body burning. Naruto didn't give her anytime. He launched another and another at her, scorching her and turning Konoha into a burning hell ground.

Tsunade slowly stood up, steam coming off her body in waves, and was panting heavily. She was just staring at the ground. No way he was this strong…that thing felt like a freight train! Everything was bruning. Buildings were collapsing on themselves.

Looking at the sky, which had turned red for some reason, she said barely above a whisper, "Is this redemption for everything Konoha has done? Sarutobi-sensei…it hurts so much…You'd hate me for this, wouldn't you? Minato…this is our punishment from you…"

Standing up fully, Tsunade glared at Naruto, and said, "But…THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE'LL ACCEPT IT!"

Placing her hands in a sign, the diamond on her forehead began to glow as all the burns and impacts started to heal at an amazing rate.

Noticing the seal on her forehead, Naruto let loose all his chakra, creating a circle of wind around his feet. His hair was flapping wildly, and his eyes, cold.

They were blurs once more.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Gekido was snoring peacefully in his room when he felt Gira enter it. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What took you so long?"

Gira just stayed quiet, before asking, "How can you tell if you in love, or if it's a whim?"

Now THAT caught Gekido off guard.

"Wha-what?!" 

Gira repeated his question.

"…Well, how do you feel around her?"

"I get a warm fuzzy feeling, yet I can't shake the feeling I'm gonna regret it."

"…Well, good luck!"

"…"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto was sent flying back into a burning building by Tsunade's right hook, as attempted to land a shot on her stomach. Tsunade wasn't letting him gain any ground. Standing up, he focused on Tsunade, and shushined behind her, and struck her with his fingers numerous times, before she reached around him and hurled him away.

Doing a mid-air flip, Naruto jumped off a building, and showed his palms to her, "Raiton: Akarai no Jutsu! **(Lightning Style: Red Lightning!" **Naruto shouted.

As the name stated, red lightning raced towards Tsunade, who grabbed a slab of a destroyed building as a shield.

Slamming his palms into the ground, canceling out the previous technique, Naruto muttered the next part of the technique, "Raiton: Akarai Nagashi no jutsu…**(Lightning Style: Red Lightning Current…)"**

The earth beneath Tsunade's feet suddenly crumbled into pieces, as an ominous red lightning traveled through the ground towards her. Jumping back, she began launching herself off the slabs of rock that had been blown into the air. Just when she was about to reach the male blonde, his rang out, "RAITON: AKARAI SHINI NO JUTSU! **(LIGHTNING STYLE: RED LIGHTNING DEATH!)"**

Tsunade cried out in pain as the electricity ran through her body. The rocks had been carrying the electricity from the previous two attacks and had been laying low inside her after entering the nervous system.

Putting his hands into a half seal, Naruto shouted once more, "KAI: AKA KIBABAKUSOUCHI! **(RELESE: RED DETONATOR!)"**

Tsunade cried out once more as she felt the chakra bombs Naruto placed inside her explode, sending blood and tissue everywhere. She felt another explosive pain as Naruto sent another angel fist at her, burning her once again. A kick was then delivered to her temple as Naruto sent her flying into a building.

Naruto barely had any time to jump when the ground spilt beneath his feet. However, he wasn't expecting slugs to start popping out of the trench Tsunade's fist had created.

He did a flip in mid-air to face the slugs, before inhaling a large amount of air, and shouting, "FUUTON: TOONAKARI NO JUTSU! **(WIND STYLE: DISTANT RED ROAR!)"**

The slugs were suddenly blown back as a red wave rammed into them, sending hurtling back to the ground.

Naruto landed back on the ground rubbing his throat. That jutsu really tore it up.

He didn't have anymore time to think when Katsuyu took the field.

Damn it, he didn't need this. The only reason he wasn't as wounded as he should be was because of Kyuubi, and his chakra was beginning to suffer.

Raising his hands, he pushed them together a started flaring his chakra to its limits. An al to recognizable pool of white liquid appeared behind Naruto as a claw came out of it, pulling along with it the body of a white fox, nine tails swinging behind it.

"Hijutsu: San Yajuu Kamigami: Byakko no Kanki. **(Secret Technique: Three Beast Gods: Awakening of the White Fox.)"**

"Tsunade, may I ask what that thing is?" asked Katsuyu, facing the snarling fox, Naruto standing in front of it. "Is it a summon?"

"No. It's a separate technique. That thing is completely formed of chakra, yet taken physical form."

"Ah…"

"Be careful though…it's deadly."

Katsuyu then spat some acid at the form of the fox, who quickly jumped out of the way before leaping towards the giant slug, who promptly separated into tons of mini-Katsuyus.

With a roar, the whit fox started crushing all of the small slimy things like bugs, before reeling back in pain from a haymaker, courtesy of Tsunade.

Snarling again, he dove his jaws towards the Hokage, only to have to jump away from more acid as Katsuyu reformed, notably smaller than before.

The fox was clearly getting irritated at his prey. Bounding faster than Tsunade had seen it go, it bit into Katsuyu, forcing a scream from her throat.

Blood began seeping out from the wound the fox gave her as Tsunade stared wide-eyed at the blood and slug. This couldn't be happening….

Fires were roaring everywhere, burning.

Buildings collapsing, crushing.

Death, reeking.

She saw Naruto walking calmly towards her, letting the fox hold off Katsuyu.

Tsunade was beaten. Naruto could see that. She was out of chakra, her fear of bloodwas acting up, and she was morally dead. She was already dying anyways. Her body was a reck, from all the angels he sent at her as well as from the bombs he placed. Pulling out a kunai, he walked toward her.

She crumpled to her knees as she looked up at the red sky. Storm clouds were on their way, she could see them. People were screaming, some watching their battle. Her body felt numb…

'_So…this really was our punishment…Sarutobi-sensei…I'm sorry…I treated the boy who has given so much to Konoha like a pawn…Minato…your son has grown strong. You should feel proud, no matter what he's done. Jiraiya…you've raised another prodigy…I'm so sorry…Naruto…'_

Blood spurted forth as Naruto fazed behind Tsunade, holding a bloody kunai, from Tsunade's cut throat. Katsuyu had disappeared, her contractor dead, so Naruto felt no need to keep Byakko around.

With a sigh, Naruto surveyed the battle ground that was Konoha.

The leaf was burning, the tree dead.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Jiraiya appeared at the battle, which had been finished, as he took notice of Tsunade's body, Naruto standing behind it.

His eyes widened in disbelief, as he stumbled over to her dead body. He collapsed to his knees, and slowly reached for her. He clutched her close, tears running down his face.

"No…Tsunade…No…d-don't leave…please. Tsunade, no! Come back…" the toad sannin looked at her face once again, strands of blonde hair covering her face, her eyes closed, tears on her cheeks. He pushed the strands behind her ear. He knew she was dead…but…he just couldn't accept it. She had always seemed so strong…a pillar of might and hope… "Tsunade…"

Picking her up, he moved her away before looking at Naruto, who was staring at him from the corner of his eye.

"Naruto…"

"Words are no longer needed, ero-sennin…"

They became blurs…

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A/N: You guys have no idea how many urges I had to write a knew fic I had when I was writing this.

I've launched a one-shot titled 'Curious' for Eyeshield 21.

There's a poll on my profile I'd appreciate you guys to take. It'll help decide who to kill off next. (or who to make you guys like more)

Enough of my babbling. Be happy I've written this. I had tears coming to my eyes when I wrote this.

The jutsus that aren't mine in this are:

Gokakyuu no jutsu

Summoning technique

Fire Dragon jutsu

Tsunade's super power-heal-thingawhatsit jutsu (You know what I mean)

Every other jutsu is mine


	9. Horizons

Disclaimer: I own what's mine and what I create. Naruto is not mine.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

It was kinda hard for me to write this chapter, since I was half tempted to do an awesome fight, or a big plot twist.

I recently finished watching Samurai Champloo and Shingetsugan Tsukihime, both amazing. Episode 11 for Tsukihime was simply amazing…but the finale…wow. Samurai Champloo's ending was okay by my standards.

Which one I did, you'll have to read and find out.

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Or they would have been blurs had not an ANBU jumped down next to the white haired sannin.

"Jiraiya-sama! The village is burning! People are injured and the Hokage dead! What are your orders?!"

The white haired sannin continued to stare at Naruto, who's hair was matted to his forehead, as was his. Tsunade's body laid unmoving behind him, and lightning was beginning to light up the sky.

"Pull out."

"What? Sir, the Hokage…"

"PULL OUT! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Jiraiya said, his eyes not moving from Naruto.

"Right…"

Half lidded azure eyes stared at Jiraiya's form as the white haired man slowly walked toward him. Naruto didn't do anything to stop him as the elder man picked up Tsunade's body bridal body before walking back to his previous position.

Picking up his cloak, Naruto threw it on before pausing to hear Jiraiya's words.

"…You are no longer my student. The next time you and I fight, one of us will die."

Naruto continued on his way.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Confusion. That one word could describe what was going on in Konoha. The entire city was on fire, and people were dead. Jonin and chuunin were running through the streets, looking for survivors and the attacker. The genin were evacuating civilians into the nearby forest, leaving Naruto calmly walking toward the exit.

"My, my, boy. You've certainly done a number on the once great Leaf."

Stopping his stride, Naruto looked at Orochimaru ,who was calmly leaning against the gate in his disguise. "Orochimaru…"

Smirking, he calmly walked over to the blonde before saying, "You know they did this…"

"I do."

"Because anyone who joins me, stays with me."

"Exactly."

"What will you do?"

Silence was the snake sannin's answer as Naruto walked right past him and into the forest.

The rain was coming down harder, while Orochimaru looked up. "I really didn't see this coming…" he said, before poofing away to Oto.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"Regal-sama! We've just received word an attack from inside was launched in Konoha!" came the voice of a grunt as he bursted into the meeting room.

Gekido immediately jumped to his feet, looking where he thought the noise was coming from, and shouted, "What?! Konoha has been attacked from the inside?!"

Reaching for his cross, which he failed to do, because of Gira pulling him back into his seat. "Gekido, we must look at this from a logical point. Who would have the power to attack Konoha?"

Regal kept his pale eyes closed, his fingers intertwined in front of him as they suddenly reached for a kunai and threw it at the wall.

The black steeled weapon whizzed through the air before imbedding itself in the wall, and a trail of blood began to leak down as a seal became visible. "Gira, if you would…"

Nodding, the young glasses wearing man walked over to the wall before pulling out Kuro Renge and stabbing the wall, revealing a doorway underground. "Gentlemen…"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The chuunin hopefuls of the chuunin exams were all standing outside in the forest of Konoha, watching their burning home. The flames couldn't be put out by jutsu, only the natural rain.

"Eidatsu…" Chiba said, his eyes narrowed at the burning scene.

"Un…I know."

"What will we do?" asked Meimei, entering the conversation.

Their answer came for them when a Jonin shouted, "Konoha has been attacked by a surprise party! The enemy is unknown or how many there are! If You have any information, please report to the nearest jonin or chuunin! I repeat, if you have any information, please report to the nearest jonin or chuunin!"

"Eidatsu?"

The orange haired boy just kept his eyes closed before heading over to a tree and sitting down, his back to the trunk, one knee up, and gauntlet hand draped over it. "They will get their answer soon. No need for us to tell them."

Eidatsu sighed within his head. There hadn't been many deaths. A couple were civilians, a couple others from the Inuzuka, and a little from the Yamanaka. The rookie nine had survived, that meant Tsugo, his brother Granza, Shiri and Renka, Shinzo, Yozu, and Kri, along with them. He saw the rain team that he had met in the first portion of the exam on the other side, talking between them selves, when something caught his ear.

"Weeping?" he murmured, opening his gaze towards the infirmary portion of the little camp they had set up.

Shiri was bawling, her body covering a covered one while Renka was howling. Many other were also crying at the loss, but right now, she stood out.

"Chiba…"

"Hmm?"

"How do you approach a weeping person?"

"…you're asking the wrong person."

"But your family was murdered, shouldn't you know how it feels?"

"I was mad. But remember, I got placed with foster parents."

It was here that Meimei butted in on their little conversation. "Why do you want to know how to approach them?"

"Look towards the dead."

"Shiri? What happened…oh no…"

"Exactly." Eidatsu said, rising to his feet and walking over to the crying Inuzuka girl.

Inuzuka Shiri was the first in her family to become a ninja. While her mother had breed dogs, and her father been a merchant, she had wanted to become a ninja. Her parents didn't stop her, in fact, they were supportive. They had always been there, giving her support, helping her. Then she met Eidatsu and her little crush started. She always wondered, 'How? He has no support from anyone yet he still gets right back up?'. But know…

Her parents were dead, their bodies covered.

Her mother was in the house when it caught fire, brining it down on her when her father covered her with his body. They had both burned to death, her father suffering more injury than her mother.

'_Why?! Why did they have to die?!' _Shiri raged in her mind, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Shiri-chan…it'll be alright. Their deaths were nobody's fault." _'I know that because according to the burn marks of the compound, it caught fire from another building.' _Said/thought Eidatsu.

"Eidatsu-kun…" Shiri mumbled, looking up, her eyes puffy and red. She didn't hold herself back, standing up and burying her face in his chest, the tears coming out again.

Eidatsu was stood there, letting her bawl her eyes out, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to do in these situations! He was unsure of what to do until he started acting on instinct. He slowly began wrapping his arms around her lower back, her mid section, keeping her close.

Her body froze, tense in his hold, before relaxing and drifting off, too tired to continue on from today's events.

From across the clearing, Chiba and Meimei simply watched in silence, small smiles on their faces while Tsugo turned away.

Picking her up bridal style, Eidatsu laid her down on a cot for her team, taking in her features. She was a little shorter than him, about 5'7". Her eyes, when he looked in them, had a deep brown color that reflected her hair which was brought into a pony tail that went just past her shoulders. She was pale, and the tribal marks of the Inuzuka were on her cheeks. She was well 'developed' from what he could see, not overly so, but to little, and looked like an angel when she was asleep.

Eidatsu heard a whimper to his left as he looked at her burgundy puppy, Renka, who had just walked over. Scratching behind her ears, Eidatsu got back up before walking back over to his group.

When Eidatsu got back to 'their' part of the clearing, Chiba just watched his friend from the corner of his eye, a small smile on his face. Meimei joined him in that aspect.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

He was walking calmly on the forest floor, a light 'tap' of his sandals hitting the ground. Naruto just kept looking forward, never looking back at what he caused. He knew that his team would eventually come after him, along with several of Konoha's hunter nin and ANBU.

He let out a sigh as he came to the place he was heading, the Valley of the End. It was still in ruins from ten years ago. Craters decorated it and the statue of the Shodai and the other man stood still, trapped in time as he jumped the gap between Konoha's first Hokage and the other statue.

The Byakko paused when he felt another presence enter the clearing. He did not need to turn around, he already knew who it was.

"Teme…to whom do I owe this honor?"

Uchiha Sasuke glared at the blonde with his onyx eyes. He had watched the entire fight between the blondes, yet didn't copy a move. He didn't want to use a move that the blonde created.

"Naruto…"

This time, the blonde turned around. Sasuke was standing there, in standard Jonin attire, on the statue of the Shodai, Tsunade's grandfather.

"Ironic, isn't teme? Just ten years ago I was there and you, here."

"We both left alive that time. This time one of us will die."

"I think not."

Naruto immediately jumped back and started flashing through hand seals. Sasuke did the same.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu! (If you don't know what this is, you're very sad.)" yelled both voices as the fireballs both rammed into each other.

Sasuke didn't miss a beat after launching his fireball and quickly pulled out two kunai, throwing them through the flames at Naruto before preparing Chidori.

Naruto immediately jumped into the air when he heard the light clinging of steel through the flames, and narrowly avoiding two flaming kunai that whizzed passed him.

When the flames dispersed and Sasuke could see again, he started looking for the blonde, only to find a note that said.

_Teme, _

_This is a prepared note. I know that you are currently looking for me, but by the time you read this, I will have already fled. My chakra is most likely low and I'm insanely tired._

_-Naruto_

_P.S. No need to hide the fact you're gay, teme._

"NAAARRUUUTOOOO!"

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Flames were catching houses on fire as villagers began running. Some had already been killed, and their bodies littered the ground. Men, women, and children…

"Kill them all!" shouted a large man, as he held a blade and torch high.

"Hisaka! Hurry!" shouted a boy who looked no older than fifteen, pulling a girl by her wrist. "They're catching up!"

The girl began panting as they ran through the snowy village, along with everyone else, attempting to escape the bandits. "Nii-san…I can't…"

"Hisaka!" the boy immediately went back and picked her, hefting her on to his back piggy back style as he took off in a run again. "Hisaka, don't fall asleep! We'll be okay!"

Screams could be heard from all around them as snow turned crimson. "Zato-nii…"

The boy named Zato cursed under his breath as he saw the bandits getting closer. Why did they attack?! Was it because the offering was done?! He didn't have time to think, ducking to avoid an arrow that went flying over his head.

"Zato-kun! Here, give me Hisaka-chan!" cam a voice to his left. Looking over, Zato saw an elderly man on horse back, holding out his hand to the boy. "There's only room for one more…"

Zato only nodded before coming to a stop to put Hisaka on the back with the old man, and gave her a couple comforting words. "Hisaka, listen to me. Go with Kurioko-jiji, alright? I'll be right there…If I don't come in 3 days, Kurioko-jiji, go to Konoha, would you?"

Kurioko just nodded before turning the horse around and bolting off, Hisaka crying out for her older brother by two years.

Facing the bandits, which were still coming at him, he mumbled, "God I hate doing this…"

"Oh? So the boy remains…Oh well, kill him!" shouted a bandit, rushing at him.

Holding up his left arm, bones sprouted from it as they twisted into a drill and he thrusted them into dirty person.

"Shit! This kid has a kekkei genkai!"

"heh…I have the shikotsumyako (Dead Bone Pulse) Now, may all of you die! Samarabi no Mai! (Dance of Seedling Ferns!)" shouted Zato as he pushed his arms into the ground, sprouting bones to impale the bandits.

Twisted screams came from their throats as the bones retreated with a sickening sound, letting their bodies fall limply to the ground. Zato looked over his work, before turning around.

To be met with a face full of club.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Naruto had arrived in a small village, one he recognized as one outside of Oto, then went to look for a room in an inn he could use. It was around mid day, and he was sitting in the hotel room he had rented, and was looking out the window. He was surprised he hadn't seen any Oto shinobi yet. That was, until he saw a woman being chased by some thugs.

Opening the window, he put his foot on it, prepared to jump down, but hesitated when he saw two figures step up to the thugs.

(P.O.V. Change)

"Come on lady, lets have some fun!" said a man who had been chasing the woman.

"Yeah, we'll have a good time…" said another, sneering.

"Come on…" said the last one.

This is what two figures that had been walking down the road heard. One was tall, had tall, blonde, spiky hair and was muscular, walking around shirtless with a sleeveless jacket, with baggy, army green pants. He was wearing navy blue nin sandals, had brown eyes, and a scar from his right eyebrow to his nose. A headband with the symbol of Oto was on his right arm.

The shorter of the two was wearing a blue jacket hoody, the hood up, and burgundy pants along with a grey wife beater. He wasn't wearing any shoes, and carried a purple and red guitar on his back.

"Akaba…do we really have to step into this?" complained the taller one, turning slightly to face his friend.

"Hiruma, you know I can't stand people like that." Said the shorter one, fazing in front of the woman, his back to her.

From the side lines, the named Hiruma just sighed, and decided to watch.

Now, when the thugs see a boy who looked no older than seventeen appear out of nowhere in front of the person they intended to have 'fun' with, they get pissed.

"Kid, get out of the way!"

"Yeah!"

"If you don't wanna get hurt…"

The last one didn't finish his sentence before the boy grabbed his guitar and slammed it into the man's head like a club. Needles to say, the dude didn't get up.

"Wha-what the?!" said another one, before the guitar was jammed in his face, like a spear to the head. The teen then put his feet on the man's chest before pushing off and spinning, thrusting the instrument into the last one's gut.

In the midst of the fighting, the boys hood came off, revealing short dark, red hair and a left ear pierced in two places. He wore sun glasses with an orange tint to them, and like his friend, also had a scar on his face, on the upper left part of his forehead.

"Th-thank you…" the woman said, before continuing on her way.

"Akaba…was that really necessary?" asked Hiruma, as he poked one the thugs with his foot.

"Hai." Akaba said, pulling his hood up, before pausing and looking up, meeting eyes with a blonde haired, blue eyed man, foot on the ledge, as if he was going to help the woman he just did.

They locked stares, before the blonde man went back inside and Akaba continued on his way.

(P.O.V. change)

Naruto had watched the exchange between the teen and the thugs, silently and shocked. He thought Oto shinobi didn't care about anything…but if they actually had morals…

This was interesting…

Time Skip: Two Days

Naruto was sitting in his hotel room again, reading the newspaper. Apparently, the news that he had attacked Konoha and killed Tsunade had gotten out and his bounty had increased dramatically. There were also rumors that small villages that were key points in wars were being destroyed, survivors next rare, and even then, they didn't know who attacked them.

HE let out a sigh as he set the paper down. He was glad that he had checked into the room with a henge, or else he'd be on the run again. He only let it down when he was in the room. Reaching for a cup of tea he had prepared, Naruto immediately ducked for cover as the wall exploded.

"What the?!" he yelled, looking out the hole as he saw swordsmen swarming the village he was in.

Summoning the Bure-ka Naraku, he jumped down into the mayhem.

Gira was watching the slaughter begin, as people began running away from the swordsmen he had brought with him. Gekido was leaning against a house, blood on his face and shirt, bored. Regal was standing on a roof watching, as if waiting for someone.

He et out a sigh as he looked down at the man he had killed. Bending down, he did the same thing to this man as he did to the gatekeeper of the previous village.

Then, a gruesome scream reached his ears.

Looking up, Gira saw a blade being pulled out of one of his men as the person wielding it spun around and slashed through another one of his men, before doing a backflip and charging forward again, impaling another.

Naruto pulled the Naraku out of the third swordsmen as he surveyed his surroundings. There were fires, and civilians laid dead. The most curious thing was this though…

A samurai was looking at him, his black blade shining.

Quickly, with speed of a kage, Naruto kawarimied behind a swordsmen that had hoped to get him from behind, and skewered him.

This was when the black haired, glasses wearing man decided to rise completely, but had yet to make a move.

"Gira!" shouted a man as he jumped down to the field, making a small crater as he landed. "Let me settle this…"

Looking to the new opponent, Naruto eyes widened. "Regal?!"

"Uzumaki…or should I say Namikaze now?" said the Hyuuga, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looked at the jinchuuriki. "How have you been? As you can see, I've been building up my forces…"

Rage began filling Naruto as he glared at the lavender eyed man in front of him. So these were his men! These men, the ones that were killing innocents, belonged to him. _'Naruto, keep your cool…keep your cool…ah screw it!'_

Regal smirked as he saw Naruto charging at him, screaming a battle cry.

It all happened so fast.

Regal moved his right palm inside Naruto's defense, pushing the blade away, and grabbing his throat with his left.

"Naruto…you know that's not what you're supposed to do in battle…" Regal said mockingly.

Naruto struggled for breath, cracking one eye open. "Well…I'm never did listen very well…did I?"

Regal smirked before throwing Naruto to the ground, letting him slide a couple yards before appearing behind him, sticking his foot under him, and throwing him into the air via foot.

The Namikaze heir could feel the wind against his face as he soared upward, only to see the Hyuuga appear above him, put his hands together, and slam them into his face, hurtling him towards the ground again.

When they both landed, Regal simply stared at Naruto with disappointed eyes. "Tsk, tsk, tsk Naruto. I thought you'd offer more of a challenge. Oh well, I'll show pity. You're nowhere near my level as you are now. Live, heal, grow. I'll be waiting, my student." And with that, the Bure-ka Naraku fazed into Regal's hand, and Naruto felt his world go black.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

When Shiri woke up again, it was night. The past two days had been busy. People had been sorting through the wreckage of their homes, burying the dead, and rebuilding. The most damaged thing of all was the area around Hokage Tower. The rookies were doing missions to bring in income, and word that Team Seven's sensei was the one that caused all this had gotten out. People didn't exactly treat them differently, but were more wary of them.

Eidatsu had been hanging around with her more often, not that she was complaining. Meimei and Chiba were helping with the rebuilding, Tsugo and his brother helping to, but Tsugo had grown more distant. Shinzo and Kri were helping out with the make-shift hospital, and Yozu was on guard duty. The other teams that didn't belong to the village all headed home, barely saying a word.

She sighed again, the people were on edge. He cousin Kiba was drawing a kunai on everything he didn't recognize, the proctors from the exams she had met were all doing recon, information gathering, and killing. Kri's mother, Hinata, was also helping out at the hospital along with Sakura-sama and Kakashi-sama had returned with a steaming Sasuke about three days ago.

"Shiri. Would you come here for a second?" called her sensei, Shirigono Kuzakakaru.

Kuzakamaru had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and sparkling hazel eyes. He had long eyelashes and wore standard jonin attire. He had dignified features, and lean shoulders and a broad build. He had strong arms and was fairly tall, standing at 6'2".

"Hai, sensei?"

His eyebrows furred together as his face became worried. "How are you? It's settling, right?"

Shiri could tell he was talking about her parent's death, she could only nod.

Kuzakamaru didn't fully believe, so he decided to give her some support. "Alright, but if you ever want to talk, I'm all ears, and I think that Eidatsu won't turn you down either, okay?"

She just nodded.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

When Naruto came too, he woke to the smell of cooked fish and soothing sounds of music playing, before stopping and the sound of ruffling following it.

Then, he felt cold steel against his throat.

"If you move, you're dead." said Akaba, looming over him, kunai on his throat.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A/N: I'MMMM BAAAACKKKK!!!!!!!

Yep, I'm really back. I found out that my laptop will cost around $460 bucks to fix, ain't life grand?

I have two polls in my profile I'd like you guys to take, if it's not too much trouble. Thanks.


	10. Leaders And Followers

Disclaimer: I own what I own. Naruto isn't mine. So do I own it? No…

Wow…it's been awhile.

I'm glad to say, that this is the closing of Volume 1 of 'The Last Order'.

So, may the heads roll…

"One move and you're dead." said Akaba, pressing the kunai to Naruto's throat.

Naruto stared at the orange glasses wearing, dark red haired kid before saying, "I like to think I'm smart enough not to try anything when I don't' understand the situation."

"So now you're trying to be a smartass? You're not funny. Now tell me, what happened at the village!"

"Akaba, he's more likely not to tell us if you force him. Let him stand." Asked a giant that walked in the room of the cottage.

Akaba got up, letting out a something that sounded like an insult, and walked outside.

"Forgive him. He grew up in that village. So, mind telling us what happened?" asked Hiruma.

Standing up and dusting himself off, he looked apathetically at the giant with blonde hair. "…Hyuuga Regal, thought KIA missing-nin of Konoha attacked the village looking for me, since his troops pulled out after he struck me down."

Hiruma sighed, before leaning against the wall. "Akaba was raised in that village, before setting off for Oto to become a ninja. It held many of his better memories. He's seen friends die because of Oto."

Watching Hiruma, Naruto asked, "How long has Oto stood?"

That question caught him by surprise. "How long has Oto stood? We've had two kages. Dekuware Mishimaru, and Orochimaru. That puts us about…the time of Konoha's Sandaime Hokage coming to power. We've stayed hidden until about a decade ago."

Naruto sat down on a nearby chair and let the information run through his head. Oto was made during Jiji's time? That was shocking. That would mean they held a couple jutsu that were lost to the world, possibly had a couple clans for themselves, aswell as an actual village, rather what Orochimaru called 'Oto'.

"Does that mean Orochimaru's moving bases aren't Oto at all?" asked Naruto.

Hiruma let out a fake laugh. "That snake's portable bases as Oto? Hell no. After the failed Oto-Suna invasion, we booted him from position of Otokage because it was his decision to launch the attack and we lost some good ninja because of that. Yuta, Inomasu, and Kilimaru, three of Oto's 9 elites, died in that invasion. So, as of now we only have four remaining elites."

"9 elites?"

Holding up his hands, Hiruma started counting downward. " Elite 9, in charge of civilian security and protection. Elite 8, in charge of village protection. Elite 7, in charge of village income, export, and anything concerning economic welfare. Elite 6, In charge of Missions taken and handed out to ninja. Elite 5, in charge of surveillance of enemy villages. Elite 4, in charge of the hospital and medical things. Elite 3, in charge of war strategies and battle. Elite 2, is supposed to be able to do anything, and be well rounded. Elite 1, in charge of running the village and making sure that the other elites don't step out of their boundaries, in other words the Otokage. Yuta was the former fourth elite, Kilimaru was the sixth, and Inomasu was the fifth. The position of the Elites changes based on the Otokage's decision. Orochimaru's second was Kabuto. I'm the third elite, and Akaba is the seventh."

Naruto ran the information through his head, and then asked his next question, wanting to get as much information through his head. "Everyone thought that the Oto nin were ruthless, but Akaba saved that woman. Why?"

"We are ruthless, but only on the battle field. We're raised not to let our emotions show on the battle field, political or physical. We show our emotions we aren't required not to do so."

"Wait, this has been on my mind, but if you guys are from Oto and Orochimaru's people say they're from Oto, which side is lying?"

Hiruma chuckled, before answering the fellow blonde's question. "The people that follow Orochimaru are exiles of Oto and missing nin. After the failed invasion, he booted him from the position of Otokage, and anyone who wanted to follow him and went with him, were exiled. But a village without a kage or an Oyabin Jounin is basically at its weakess, but Orochimaru is the only one that knows where we are, and even then, we moved the village to a new location, so he knows the location of the previous village settlement."

"And why are you telling me this? For all you know I could be a spy."

Here, Akaba came back in, and began packing up the few things they had strewn around. Hiruma just smirked. "That's because you're never going to see another village if you don't follow us, Uzumaki Naruto, the Byakko. Your strength still hasn't returned to full, which means even one of us can crush you. Now, if you would come with us…"

"But before that, put on this blind fold, you can't know where Oto is." ordered Akaba.

Naruto simply cursed.

That was just a political battle, and Hiruma had tricked him.

Regal's forces, or what remained of them, marched back towards their base in the village near Iwa, Gira and Gekido walking on his left and right side, and about 14 men walking behind them.

"Ano, Regal-san, this has been bothering me for a while, but back in the village, you called Naruto your student. Is that true?" asked Gekido, putting his elbow on Regal's shoulder.

The Hyuuga man's stride stopped before smirking. "Yes, Naruto-kun was once my student. But when he learned of my intentions, he left and abandoned my teachings. Seven years of both our lives never to be recovered…" he stated, before his eyes seemed to go back to events in the past.

"Regal-san?"

Gekido's voice broke the Hyuuga man out of his trance, making him continue his stride, causing the march to start again.

'_Seven years…seven choices made.' _Regal thought.

Jiraiya sat in the Hokage's office as he looked over the reconstruction of the village. How could one man, without so much as an army, do something like this?

"Naruto…" Jiraiya's voiced trailed off, remembering the cold eyes of his student as they last parted.

What could drive him to kill a woman like Tsunade?

But that would have to wait for later; the village was still in shambles. Some of the scorch marks wouldn't leave the street, and a good portion of he village had been burned to the ground.

Naruto…Jiraiya glared outside over the horizon.

He would pay, with either his life or something close to it.

Hiruma and Akaba led a blindfolded Naruto to a village surrounded by walls, hidden deep in the forest. They had been traveling about 3 hours, and could see a man in the distance.

Hiruma immediately smiled when he saw the old man. "Iroh-jiji!"

The old man moved his gaze away from his Pai Sho game to see Hiruma waving at him. he mearly smiled, standing up, allowing the white cape on his back to follow behind him as he walked to meet them.

Akaba saw the old man walking towards them, and gave a bow of respect to he man, before moving to take off the blind fold around Naruto's eyes.

"Hiruma-kun, Akaba-kun, welcome back. What took you so long?" asked the short man.

Iroh was an old man, but looked like he was in his early sixties. His hair was in a bun at the top of his head, and a beard was on his chin. He was short, and a little chubby, but stood about 5'6. He wore a deep red obi around a black shirt that you're supposed to wear to a funeral. He wore gray, baggy, ninja pants and the white cloak he wore, that had no right sleeve, bore the kanji for '9' on it.

"You're not wearing your cloak? Why?"

At this point, Naruto's blindfold came off and he came to the sight of a giant village behind a short man. The walls stood, intimidating and strong, holding behind a village of towers and platforms, on which Naruto could make shadows out to be houses. But the thing that stood out the most was the giant, purple, tower that was shaped like a spike, giving the vision that it was piercing the sky.

When Naruto turned to face the three men, he saw Akaba and Hiruma putting on two white cloaks similar to the old man's one, except they both had both sleeves and Hiruma's had the kanji for '3' and Akaba's '7'.

"So, I take it all the elites have cloaks like that?" asked Naruto, pointing at them.

Akaba gave a curt nod, before walking into the village, signaling Naruto to follow, while Hiruma sat down with Iroh and began playing their favorite game.

Akaba led Naruto down the streets, receiving bows and 'Good morning, Akaba-dono'. All the while, Naruto noticed he didn't like all the attention.

"Is this why you don't wear the cloak outside of Oto? You don't like people bowing to you?" asked Naruto, taking glances of the villagers out o the corner of his eye.

"I've always served under another person, so I'm not used to being above another." Explained Akaba, continuing his stride towards Otokage tower.

Naruto let out a sigh, now knowing he wasn't going to get much more out of the maroon haired man. Keeping up with the elite's stride, they approached the looming spire…

Zato slowly got up, shaking th pain from his head as he took in his surroundings.

From what he could tell, he was in some kind cell, judging from the smell and dampness. Stones were around him and bars in the front of the cell

"So, you're awake, are you?" asked a raspy voice from the corner of the cell.

Snapping is head in the direction of the voice, Zato replied, "Obviously. Where are we?"

From what he could see, the figure let out a Cheshire cat grin, revealing pointed teeth as he said one word.

"Iwa."

"Iwa?"

"Un…they got me from a slave dealer who hired mercenaries to bring down a village I was staying in, near Kumo territory. Had to poison and paralyze me to bring me down about a week ago. You?"

"Kiri. The village Desutaka."

Here, an eye opened, revealing a yellow and black iris. "Oh? Desutaka? I'm surprised. Judging by your appearance, I thought you would have been killed."

"Huh?"

Pointing to his forehead, the man said another one word. "Dots."

Zato's eyes widened before asking, "They're visible?"

"Very. So, now what would a Kaguya, a thought extinct clan, member be doing alive, right under Kiri's nose?" he asked, opening his other eye.

Zato quieted, before turning away, ignoring the man's question.

If possible, the man's grin expanded. "Don't feel like talking, eh? Well, I know when not to pry. So, what's your name kid?"

"Zato."

Smirking, the man simply stated, "Aburame Shino"

Hinata sighed as she lay down in her bed in the Aburame compound. Once again, the familiar warmth and scent was absent, other than a fleeting, remaining scent on the sheets.

"Shino…where are you?" Hinata said, barely above a whisper. Shino had been sent on a mission 3 weeks ago, and was only supposed to last 2 weeks. But, he had sent a letter to the Hokage and told her he'd be another week, the target had changed their position. Then, one week later, he didn't report in.

Where was he?

It was difficult to bring Shino down. He hit hard, had a tactical mind, and thought two steps ahead of you. So, what could've brought him down?

She rolled onto her side, resting her head on her arm.

The village was rebuilding, and they needed every shinobi they could. A third of their forces were guarding the village, and the other two thirds being sent on missions to increase income.

But, in all that time, Shino had yet to report in.

Some were beginning to consider him AWOL, others, KIA.

But, Hinata, Kiba, Kurenai, and many others considered him alive.

But one question remained.

"Shino-kun, where are you? I need you, Konoha needs you…" Hinata whispered, going to sleep on Shino's 'side' of the bed.

"Aburame Shino? Of the Aburame clan of Konoha?" questioned Zato.

"Obviously."

"Aren't you a shinobi? Can't you use chakra? You can, so bust us out of here!"

Sighing, Shino held up his arm before pulling up the sleeve, revealing some kind of seal. "It's a chakra sealing tag. Can't be removed other than by the person who put it on me. That guy, the person who got me from the dealer, knew I could use chakra and threw this on me."

"So you can't use it with that thing on?"

"Nope, because if I could, my bugs would've busted me out of here a long time ago and I'd be where I'm wanted, home."

Zato sighed, going over to a wall and leaning against it, sitting down crossed legged. "So, do we have any hope of getting out of here?"

Putting on a stotic façade, Shino asked if he could use chakra.

"Yeah, why?"

"You don't have a seal on you."

"And?"

The Aburame refused the urge to smack his head. It should be plain and simple! "Use your kekkei genkai to break us out of here gozu!"

"Oh yeah…"

Pushing chakra into his arms, bones began sprouting out of his arm and formed into a drill, much like they did when he was going to kill the bandits.

Breaking down the bars, Shino walked out and took in his surroundings. They took his equipment away, so he had no idea where it was which meant his only weapon was taijutsu. "Zato-san, as of right now, my only weapon is taijutsu and I doubt you know anything other than the dances for the shikotsumayaku, am I correct?"

"I only know the dance of the clematis and the dance of seedling ferns, just so you know."

"Good enough. Come on, we need o get back to Konoha." Shino said, walking ahead, cautiously.

Naruto and Akaba walked in the giant spire that was Otokage tower as they passed the guards, who stood there with lances and shields in arms, unlike normal shinobi guards.

If Naruto could be anymore shocked, that would be an understatement. While the inside of the village was amazing and beautiful, the inside of the Otokage tower despite its outside appearance was very amazing. A garden filled with flowers was the greetment when you walked inside, and reception desks were scattered around the cicular floor, and people were bustling, and the staircase wound up the tower like a snake. Waiting benches and doors with numbers on the top had people walking in and out of them, as those that were waiting sat down. But what caught his eye the most was in the center of the garden.

Two statues were standing back to back, a hand in a simple seal sign and carved to be wearing the robes of the Otokage.

"This is amazing…Ne, Akaba, what are those doors for?" asked Naruto, taking in the sight.

"The doors lead to training rooms and the desks handle problems without the village, be it complaints or requesting a mission. The statues are our previous kages, Mishimaru-sama and Orochimaru." Akaba stated, not catching the smirk on Naruto's limps at the lack of an honorific at Orochimaru's name.

"I see…" Naruto said, before noticing the design on the underside of the stairs.

"A dragon and snake?" he asked, while looking at the intertwined beasts as they climbed the underside of the stairs.

"The dragon symbolizes power and loyalty to the people while the snake represents cunning and wisdom to lead. We add the animal that the current Otokage can summon to the design and then look at their best traits, making the summon symbolize that."

"So does that mean the Mishimaru guy could summon dragons?"

"Exactly, though the contract was long since lost." Akaba finished, and began climbing the stairs.

When they reached the next floor, Akaba told him that it was the hospital, then the floor above that were all-ready-to-go fully prepared knapsacks for ninja going on missions outside the village that were more than five days long. Then, the fourth floor was the interrogation and torture chamber, which was fortunately sound proof.

The fifth floor was an eyebrow raiser. An entire floor devoted for ninja that weren't on missions, completely equipped with pool tables, a bar, tv's, video games, and separate, sound proof rooms for…karaoke and 'other' activities, which had black tinted windows making it impossible to see through.

On the sixth floor were doors that led to sky corridors that connected the platforms to the tower, while the seventh floor was the TONE headquarters, which Akaba had to explain.

"As you know, major villages and some minor ones have special forces. Konoha, ANBU, Kiri, MIST, Kumo, BOLT, Iwa, LAND, Suna, DUNE, Orochimaru, NOTE, Kusa, LIFE, Taki, FLOW, Ame, DROP. The TONE forces are our form of the ANBU per say." Akaba said, maintaining his march up the stairs.

On the eighth floor were the Eilte's apartments, and the ninth floor was the kage's office and dynamo's office.

"This is our stop." said Akaba, walking towards the dynamo's office.

"Well since this is the top floor I'd think so." mumbled Naruto under his breath.

Knocking on the door, they heard a come in, before opening the door.

Shino crashed his fist into another grunt's face before delivering a spin kick to another's temple. Zato had run his enemy through, and pulled out an arm bone and was cutting people up. They had been wandering around the halls for hours, before they stumbled upon a couple of guards playing around with Shino's equipment. Let's just say, they didn't know kunai were so dangerous.

Now, they stood before a frightend little man, who had sent his hired mercenaries to bring down Shino and the young Kaguya, but they were brought down quickly. Now, he was balled up in the corne, whimpering like some kind of sad cockroach.

Lifting up the sleeve that was covering the seal, Shino pointed to it and said, "Remove it. Now."

The Aburame never knew people that were scared shitless could move so fast with their fingers.

"Zato-san! Go ahead for the exit, I'll finish up here." Shino said, pulling out a couple of explosive notes that he had left and attached them to the walls, before walking out of the base towards Zato, who was standing on a nearby hill as the base erupted in a ball of flame, making a cool scene behind the approaching Shino.

The man knew how to make an entrance.

Jiraiya sighed again for the umpteenth time that day. They still had no word on the Aburame heir and no one seemed to get any word on Naruto, despite his increased bounty.

Naruto. That one name brought rage to the frontlines of his mind as he thought about the things he had done. Tsunade was dead because of him and he had no idea why the blond would do it.

His train of thought was interrupted when Eidatsu and his teammates entered the room, bowing before asking the question,

"Have you figured out his motives yet, Jiraiya-sama?"

The white haired sannin looked at the kids. They had a loyalty that was hard to find anymore to Naruto, and he was surprised that they didn't run off to join him.

"None."

"You still believe that he killed her out of rage, don't you?" asked Chiba, taking a seat on the couch infront of the desk. Chakra burns were still on the walls and the whole was boarded up.

Jiraiya looked at the black haired boy before reaching into the desk and pulling out a sake bottle, leaving the question unanswered.

"Look at it form a logical stand point. Why would Naruto-sensei kill a person he saw as a mother?" suggested Meimei, looking out the window at the reconstruction of the village. It was progressing fairly smoothly, since they didn't loose any shinobi so income wasn't a problem.

"I've already tried that. I can't come up with anything." Jiraiya said, taking a swig of the alcoholic drink. "I still can't finds the reason."

This was where Eidatsu jumped into the conversation. "Look at it carefully. Tsunade-sama would have had to do something very bad to anger Naruto-sensei so badly as to lead her to her death and destruction of part of the village. From what Naruto-sensei told us, he was very protective of his friends and if any of them died and it turned out that someone was controlling their death from behind the scenes, he said he would track them to the ends of the earth and make them pay. Sayuri-san, Naruto-sensei's late wife, was killed by a supposedly Oto nin. But what if it wasn't an Oto nin." Eidatsu said, opening his eyes, which had oddly been closed during his speech. "Since she was the only one keeping him out of anyone's grasp, since all she waned to do was lead a simple life without the shinobi world haunting Naruto-sensei, they stayed in Sea country. But, in the end, we dragged him back against his will, and she ended up dying soon after. So, since Orochimaru isn't an idiot and realizes that Naruto-sensei can kill him, he would want Naruto-sensei out of the war, which means that he wanted Sayuri-san ALIVE. But Konoha needed him in the war so they could win, and Sayuri-san was preventing that. So, here is my theory." Eidatsu paused, reaching in his jacket pocket but stopped, pulling his hand back.

"A Konoha nin that was under orders killed Sayuri-san, because if it was an Oto-nin, and then tried to switch, they would be killed on the spot because of Orochimaru, who would kill them even if my theory was wrong." Eidatsu finished, folding his arms.

"You really thought that out, didn't you Eidatsu-kun?" said Meimei, taking a seat next to Chiba.

"You were once the dead last, but know your smart…what in the world did sensei do to you?" teased Chiba.

"And I remember when you were an ass and couldn't make heads or tails of a joke." Eidatsu countered.

"Touché."

Their little banter was interrupted when Jiraiya took he last swig he could from the sake bottle before chucking it in the trash. Looking at the orange haired boy, he said, "You believe Tsunade sent an assassin after Sayuri-san?" Eidatsu nodded in reply, before walking towards the door.

"Think carefully beofer you make any action, Jiraiya-dono. We would hate to see you make suck a mistake." Said Eidatsu as he walked out the door, standing o the side as to let in a taller figure followed by another.

When team seven left, the loyal sannin looked at the newcomers before shouting at the secretary to go get Hinata. "So…mind telling us where you've been, Shino?"

"Mind telling me what the hell happened?" the heir countered.

"Mind telling me if a girl named Hisaka and an old man named Kurioko came by?" asked Zato.

Blinking at the kid, Jiraiya turned back to Shino and asked, "Who's the brat?"

"Ah, Akaba-kun! Welcome! Who's our guest?" asked a man who sat behind a mahogany desk, that had papers littered on it.

"Ryuusei-sama, " Akaba bowed deeply. "This is Uzumaki-"

"Namikaze, if you would, Akaba?"

"Namikaze Naruto, a.k.a the Byakko. We, as in Hiruma and I, found him at my home village, which was in ruins. He was unconscious, and thus we brought him to a small cottage. He explained what happened to Hiruma, who in turn told him about the village. Now, we've brought him here, since we can't let others that are simple wanted men to know about our village run free. What are your orders?"

The man known as Ryuusei stroked his grey beard, laughing cheerfully as he said, "Well, well! You've caused quite the dilemma, Naruto-kun!"

"Huh?"

Smiling, Ryuusei elaborated the situation. "We are currently in a state of political collapse. Without a kage and the other four, excluding the kage position, elite positions empty, we are having problems maintaining the village!" his eyes got a gleam in them as he looked directly at Naruto. "But…your coming here might also be a blessing. You can't leave here since you know about the real Oto, and we are in need to fill the five elite positions."

An expression of understanding dawned on Naruto's face, before a glare was sent towards the elder man, who was reclining in his chair. "No! I won't become your damn kage!"

"eh? I never said that, Naruto-kun." Ryuusei said, smiling once again. "You can't leave, and Hiruma-kun and Akaba-kun together can no doubt match your power. If Iroh were to jump in as well, you'd be easily over powered, even with the Kyuubi's help. No, you won't join our ranks. Instead, you will be put under surveillance and then, once we prove to you that you can trust us and we can trust you, we'll remove the surveillance and you'll be free, except that we can't let you leave the village without an escort."

Naruto worked this through his head, before smirking in it. They forgot, he could just bust out of this village.

"And don't even think of trying to escape. I put a chakra seal on you when we recovered you from the village. Until you prove you can be trusted, the seal won't be removed." said Akaba, leading Naruto towards the door. "You'll be staying with Iroh."

"Naruto-kun, wait." Ryuusei called. Smiling, he walked over o him and placed his hand on the taller man's shoulder. "You have the traits to lead, Naruto-kun. If you chose to stay, we would be happy to let you. We aren't doing this because we hate you or anything, we are doing this as a security measure."

Walking back to his chair, he glanced at the closing door, before thinking, _'That kid would make a great kage…'_

Now, he had to deal with the horror known as paper work.

"Shino-kun!"

"Hinata-chan."

Hinata ran to embrace her husband, grabbing him in a fierce hug, and quietly began crying in his hold.

Even after so long to change, a bit of her that cried still remained.

"Hina…"

Jiraiya smiled as the two left his office, leaving Zato there, him watching their backs.

"You said something about refuges from a village near Kiri, right?"asked Jiraiya, grabbing a folder.

"Huh? Oh yeah. My little sister, Kaguya Hisaka and an old man, Irigono Kurioko."

"Ah, we do have two refugees going by those names. They're staying at the hospital."

"I see, thank you, jiji!"

"Jiji? I'm not that old…" mumbled Jiraiya, watching as Zato ran to the hospital.

Regal sat in his office, watching the village that his base of operations was centered in.

'_Soon…soon, I will be ready to put the last piece into effect…'_ he thought, as his fingers absent mindedly played with a locket, opening and closing it.

Gira sat befre the women he had saved from the attack he had led, watching as she played with her child.

Gathering his courage, he asked, "What is your name?"

Looking up at him with hazel eyes, she smiled, saying, "Ninomiya Yura."

He gave a soft smile.

Naruto walked into the apartment on the eighth floor of Otokage tower that belonged to Iroh. Giving a sigh, he walked over to the couch and flopped down, grabbing he remote and turning on the tv.

Looking over at the calendar, he gave a sigh, before saying. "Happy birthday to me…"

Shiri turned away from the stove as she heard the door open to see Eidatsu and his team, walk in. "Hey, dinners almost ready. Could you guys set the table?" she asked, turning back to her work.

Eidatsu watched her from the corner of his eye as he and Chiba set to work, Meimei going to help the Inuzuka. He and his team were staying at his apartment, he had requested a new one that could house five people, since Shiri was also staying with them.

With a sigh, he set to work, since whenever he looked at her, he got a weird feeling in his stomach. Grabbing a couple dishes, he set them on the table.

Life was confusing.

Jiraiya turned and looked out he window at the shadowed village. He was geing a sinking feeling, and couple help but look at the setting sun.

"Leaders and their followers…Konoha follows Hokage, Oto follows Orochimaru…"

Turning around, he looked at the papers on his desk, the words glaring menacingly up at him.

**Position for Hokage**

**Status: Open**

**Nominees for Position: Sannin no Jiraiya**

**Signature: x**

Grabbing a pen, he siged it, before taking a stamp and glaring at the last paper.

**Wanted: Namikaze Naruto**

**Bounty: 300,000,000,000 yen**

**Reason Wanted: Wanted for death of Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato; Death of te Jonin Oyabun of Kusagakure no Sato; Destroying Kumogakurr no Sato slave camp; Killing a brigade of Iwa nin; Hiding whereabouts of five wanted missing-nin**

**Orders: Flee on sight**

**Wanted Dead**

Grabbing the stamp firmly, he pressed down on the paper.

**APPROVED**

****

A/N:

Well, there you go. The ending chapter to **Volume 1: The Legendary Byakko** of LO.

I'll be working on updating PDM soon, so just wait. I'm thinking of rewriting PDM, is that okay?


	11. VOL 2: WarTorn

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I own all the things I made.

Sorry I'm late, but things have finally started cooling down as summer vacation approaches. Hope you guys aren't too mad at me.

Please Note, I added a _**TIME SKIP OF THREE YEARS! A TIME SKIP HAS OCCURRED, OKAY?**_

**Aitou**

_They say that death smiles on all men. And that all we can do is simply smile back._

_Some believe it takes us back to the happiest of out memories, so we may rest peacefully after our time on this earth has come to an end. _

_Others think that once we die, that's it, and we reach the end of all that we can, like the last page of a book._

_But do we ever die completely? Do we ever remain to see what happens to those we love?_

_Maybe._

_Though out my life, no matter how rocky it may have been, these questions have plagued my mind. And now, as I lay in my bed, I wonder…_

_Death…what are you truly?_

- Otogakure no Sato Sandaime Otokage Personal Journals, Page 65, October 27

Akaba closed the Otokage's personal journals as he looked at the shrouded man before him. Giving him a hard stare, the maroon haired man said, "You know, you'd make a great philosopher."

"If you had said that three years ago, I would have slapped you." said the Otokage, not looking up from the papers piling on his desk, as he sat there organizing them. "Mind telling me the status of the nations Akaba? You're number 2 of the 9 elites. You should know what's going on."

Sighing, Akaba pulled up a chair and sat down. After three years since meeting Naruto, he wasn't as cold anymore. "Let me think…that Jenai guy, the Mizukage, is having to deal with bolder rebels, Iwa has gone quiet, Kumo is restless, Konoha is having trouble fending off attacks from Orochimaru, all though I hear they've taken down a couple of his bases, and we're finally getting back on our feet again."

"You said that Jenai has to deal with bolder rebels. What do you mean?"

"Well, they recently attacked an outpost near the capitol, trying to gain more ground. The attack succeeded and now, the loyalists are being pushed farther in, and their supplies, food, resources, and ninja are dwindling. If they don't act fast and finish that civil war, they'll be in some deep shit."

Stamping some papers, he told Akaba without looking up, "Send them a message that Oto will come to the loyalists aid. I don't want any information of this slipping out though, that Oto will go to their aid. We need to remain hidden until the time is right."

"Right then. I'll let Hiruma know. What are you going to do in the meantime?"

Chuckling, the Otokage simply said, "Keep an eye on what needs to be looked over…"

"Right..."

**Aitou**

Jiraiya sighed again as he sat down in the Hokage's chair in his office. Attacks from Oto were becoming more vicious, and quicker. He had recently lost Genma to an attack, and Shizune nearly died, but was saved thanks to Eidatsu's quick reaction.

Standing up, he walked over to the window, looking over the reconstructed village. " Chiba , come on out. I know you're there. You too Eidatsu."

The two figures fazed into sight as they looked at the gray haired man. "Man, and here I was thinking I could sneak up on you." Said the taller of the two.

"Eidatsu, unless you have the skills of a kage, you have no chance on sneaking up on me. Now, what do you want?" asked Jiraiya, still over looking the village.

This time, Chiba answered. "Kiri's loyalists are losing their civil war. If we move to act, they would owe us. And we are in need of assistance in these times."

"We don't have the ninja to spare, Chiba. Unless you could give me more reason to help them, I'm afraid I can't," Jiraiya said, walking back to his desk.

Pulling up a chair, Eidatsu turned it around and sat on it, resting his arms on the head board. "If we don't act, Oto will. Which would mean Kiri would be in debited to Orochimaru, and he would have stronger forces. Konoha's nin, in an army of only the best, are enough to hold 1/2 of his forces, while with the other half, we can hold of 1/4. making a grand total of holding 3/4 of an entire military force. But, we still take damage. And with another village backing him politically and militarily, we would only be able to hold about 1/4 of all their forces, while taking heavier loses."

The Hokage stared at the boy, wondering when he became that smart. "Honestly...Fine. Eidatsu! Chiba! Gather 5 more people and march to Kiri. Your group will consist of 7 people max. If you find anything strange, let me know."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

**--lll--**

Shiri turned around as she heard the door open and saw Eidatsu walk in. "Hello Eidatsu-kun. Chiba-san." she said before turning around back to the counter to finish making lunch. The young Inuzuka had retired early from the life of a ninja, and stayed in the apartment shared by her, and team seven. It was originally Eidatsu's, but he had become lonely by himself. He and Chiba shared a room while she did with Meimei.

She wore simple civilian attire, composed of jeans and a brown spaghetti strap, while she continued to wear nin-sandals that belonged to Eidatsu.

Taking a look around, the orange haired teen said, "Meimei ain't home, is she?"

Smiling, Shiri smiled as she confirmed it.

Eidatsu didn't really change all that much over the three years that his sensei abandoned the village. His orange hair was at his shoulders, while he stood at a tall standing of 6'5", making him the tallest of their graduating class despite being the shortest to begin with. The gauntlet that had all those seals was still on his left arm, and he had a sword strapped to the left side of his hip. His once hazel eyes had turned grey about two years ago.

Chiba still looked the same...didn't that boy know the meaning of change?

"Shiri-chan, do you know if your uncle is free of missions today?" asked Eidatsu.

"Uncle Kiba? Yeah, I went over this morning to say hello on Aunt Hitomi. Why?"

Taking a seat, Chiba explained the situation. "We're going to Kiri as back-up for the loyalists. A 7 man team is being dispatched. Me and Eidatsu are the only confirmed people going so far. We're hoping to bring your uncle, Zato, Hinata-sama, Shino-sama, and Meimei."

"Well, Meimei said she had a mission today, so you can cross her out. Uncle Kiba is free, and so is Shino and Zato. I'm not sure about Hinata-sama...how about Shinzo-san? He's free."

"Nara Shinzo? Maybe...but that all depends. Well, thanks for the info Shiri-chan. I'll hopefully be back in a week. See ya then." said Eidatsu, giving her a quick hug, then grabbing Chiba and walking out the door.

"I'm still not used to that..." she muttered under breath, softly smiling.

**Aitou**

Sakura knocked on the door of Kurenai's apartment to check on the elder woman. Asuma had died on a mission just about two weeks ago, and thus the pink-haired medic had started checking on the woman regularly until she knew she was stable.

When the red-eyed woman answered the door, Sakura greeted her with, "Ohayo, Kurenai-san!"

"Ohayo, Sakura. Come on in."

Stepping inside the apartment, Sakura immediately took notice of the thirteen year-old Ganju, eight year-old Suki, and 16 month Asuma Jr.

"Ohayo, Ganju-chan, Suki-chan. And a big good morning to you Asuma! My, Kurenai. He's gotten so big...has he learned to walk yet?" asked the medic as she began playing with the clapping baby.

Smiling, the retired kunoichi shook her head as she retreated into the kitchen to get some food.

"Ne, Ganju-chan, have you been helping your little brother learn to speak? He's saying random words."

"A little..."

"And young Suki! I can tell you've been trying to help him learn to walk. I'm proud of you both."

When Kurenai returned to the room and placed the food on the coffee table, she beckoned Sakura to follow her to the kitchen, indicating she wanted to talk in private.

When Kurenai was sure they were out of hearing range of her children, she asked Sakura, "How is she?"

A tense silence came between the two.

"Anko?"

"And her…you know."

"They're fine. You'd be surprised how much they look alike."

"I already know. But Anko…how has she been faring?"

"She's alright, and is acting the way she should be towards him. It's odd though. I never imagined something like that would come from those two."

"Yes, I know what you mean Sakura. Little Suki and Asuma have already taken a liking to him." Kurenai said, grabbing a bottle of water.

Looking at the floor, Sakura looked at the woman before saying, "Well, I just wanted to check up on you, and see how you're doing. I'll be on my way then."

Walking her to the door, Kurenai let Sakura out, before turning to the some of the closest things in her heart.

**--lll--**

Anko looked at the grave of Sayuri with sad eyes. "You had him for the best of his years." she said, before giving a small smile, "I envy you for that, Sayuri-san. I wonder…what would he say if he knew I retired? I bet he would just stare at me and wonder, 'What the heck is wrong with her?'…He still hasn't come back, no that he can anyway. He's just disappeared…where do you think he would go?"

The purple haired woman received no answer, not like she was expecting one, and began speaking again. "He killed Tsunade-sama. I'm not mad at him, if you're thinking that. No, I just want to know why….He loved you a lot. Maybe they used Tsunade in a way that could be linked back to you…Tell me…if you can see him now, would you tell me if he's changed?"

Anko received no answer but the wind blowing through her hair as the silence was broken by the cry of, "Mommy!"

Looking over her shoulder, Anko saw a little three year-old running towards her, his blonde hair, with a tint of purple, bouncing slightly with each small step he took. His ocean blue eyes shined with happiness when he saw her. He was wearing simple children's jeans and a shirt that said, 'Hero' on it.

"Mommy, I'm tiward…" he said as he hugged the purple haired, retired, jonin. "When can we go home?"

Anko let out another small smile as she picked up the child in her arms and let him use her shoulder as a pillow. "We can go home now Obana-chan (**Little Flower**)."

"Okay Mommy…"

Taking a step forward, Chiba fazed in front of her, his black hair settling around him. "Anko-san, can I ask you a favor? Me and Eidatsu are going on a mission and need seven people. So far, we've got Me and him, Zato, Shino-sama and Shinzo, and Kiba-san. We need one more person. There's not going to be much fighting, in fact, the other six of us can do that. But you have political experience, so can you help us? Obana-kun can come too, and you need the pay. It's an A-rank mission with double the pay."

It was true, Anko had political experience. She needed to learn when she had to face the elders of the council when they had to decide what to do with her when she had come back to the village after being found, after Orochimaru had his sick, little fun with her. She learned two things during that little part of her life.

Politics, and that the council members, excluding a few, were all stuck up asses.

Then she thought back to the amount of money she had left. She got a check from Jiraiya every month for child support, and considering that she was one of his former students before going over to Orochimaru as his apprentice, he still loved her like a daughter.

But now, funds were running short with food expenses during war times, clothing, rent, debts, and people raising the price of things just because of her past.

Then she thought of Obana. Her son was still too young to know the horrors of the world yet…Looking into Chiba's dark eyes, she nodded and asked when too show up.

"Noon, east gate." And with that, the jonin fazed away as Anko walked home with Obana sleeping away peacefully sucking on his thumb.

**Aitou**

Iroh, Akaba, and Hiruma all stood in front of the Otokage, Ready to receive orders for their upcoming mission to Kiri. "You are to go to Kiri, hand deliver this message to the Mizukage, then if he accepts, you, Akaba that is, is to message me back. If he declines, help from the shadows. But I have received news…Konoha-nin are trying to do the same thing we are. If you encounter them, there are five I want you to be on the look out for."

Rummaging through his drawers, he took out five photos.

"From left to right, they are Aburame Shino, Shigure Eidatsu, Kyuukai Meimei, Kuroda Chiba, and Mitarashi Anko." He then pulled out five slips of paper, folded with a blood seal on them, placing specific ones under certain pictures after writing their names on them. "If you encounter any of them, give them the corresponding letter Iroh. If either Meimei, Chiba, or Eidatsu don't show, give it whoever's there. By that, I mean if Chiba and Meimei aren't there, give theirs to Eidatsu. Got it? Good."

This confused the three, but they said nothing. Simply bowing, they took off in three clouds of smoke while the Otokage turned around in his chair.

Looking over the village, he noticed night fell upon it, and the moon stood high in the sky, like a guardian over the sound. Sighing, the robed man took off his hat, revealing blonde locks that fell to his shoulders and bangs that somewhat covered his eyes. Standing up, he pulled his personal journal out of his desk and left for his bed chamber.

**Aitou**

Outrage. Madness. Fury. Three words to describe one Uchiha Sasuke at that moment. HE was supposed to be named the Rokudaime Hokage! Not that old man! He deserved it!

He was in hiss room in the Uchiha district, storming around, throwing items to the ground, and breaking fine china.

Letting out a furious growl, he threw a kunai at the wall, sticking it deep. Sighing, he replayed the meeting with the council in his head again.

_Flashack _

In front of him sat the entire council, civilian parts and all. At the top, sitting where Tsunade once sat, was Jiraiya, clad in Hokage robes.

"I still don't get it! Why is he the Hokage!? That position was mine!" shouted Sasuke. "Before that hag died, you all proclaimed me as the Rokudaime!"

"Calm down you damn prick! Sometimes things that you want get taken away from you and you just gotta deal with it! Life isn't kind to people!" shouted Inuzuka Hana, Kiba's older sister who had taken the place of her mother Tsume as clan head.

"Shut up you bitch! You don't know what it's like to have something taken away from you!"

"Uchiha Sasuke, unless you shut up, sit down, and listen the fuck up, I'll have you banished for past true accusations that were wrongfully overlooked!" shouted Jiraiya, promptly quieting the rebellious Uchiha and gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"Unlike Tsunade, I don't care about the damn council and it's opinions. Because of you, we ran the risk of losing five of the greatest heirs this village has ever seen. Kiba, Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, and one other…"

Smirking, Sasuke said, "And me."

Smirking right back, Jiraiya countered, "I couldn't care less if you died, in fact, and be breaking out the sake bottles and be partying a week with the Kyuubi. That demon gave you your clan's eyes, and realized he had made a mistake in doing so. No, I was talking about-…no, I won't say. And, you should've been executed the second you stepped into the village. And if Tsunade had completely read the laws, it would have been within _all_ of their rights to do so. So just listen."

Pulling out a book as sasuke sat grumpily down, Jiraiya opened to a certain page and then read, "During times of war, the council's decision on the next in line for Hokage may be overruled by the previous' will." Closing the book, he then pulled out a sheet of paper. "And by Tsunade's will, I was named to be Hokage if she perished. The sign up papers are just a formality to go down on records. So deal with it."

_Flashback End_

He flipped his bed over, before panting heavily, staring at the ground. "…Looks like I was wrong in coming back."

**Aitou**

Orochimaru sat on his throne in darkness, as Kabuto explained the full scale of what had happened recently. "We have yet to find Oto's new location, but we feel like we are getting close to its location. Kiri is locked in war, and their loyalists have lost ground, while our strikes at Konoha are beginning to take a much more visible toll. The Namikaze has yet to appear, and Regal has disappeared along with Iwa going quiet. Kumo is mobilizing its forces, as if preparing to fend off something."

The snake sannin's eye gleamed eerily in the dark throne room as he rested his head on his knuckles, allowing his neck to lean slightly to the right. "Sou ka…it would seem that Jiraiya has holding the position of Hokage well…what is the status of Akatsuki?"

Orochimaru was met with momentary silence, before the white haired medic spoke up. "…Well…they've just upped and fell off the planet. Several jinchuuriki have disappeared, but that was roughly 7 years ago. That's the latest info on them."

Snarling, Orochimaru swung his hand, knocking over a vase that was on a nearby table next to he throne. "Damn it! What in the world are those bastards up to?! Kabuto! Triple the intel effort! I want info on their activities NOW!"

Bowing, Kabuto gave a simply, 'Hai' before setting off and relaying the orders.

Flopping back into his throne, Orochimaru thought, _'Things are progressing oddly. Konoha should have recovered from Naruto's rampage by now…where are their funds being directed? Then there's the Akatsuki problem…things aren't going my way…'_

**Aitou**

The Otokage let out a sigh as he slipped into his pajamas. Fine satin silk, which on the cuffs held the symbol for Otokage, then above that, the one for kage. It Chinese in design, and the collar a couple of centimeters from being level with his jaw. The sleeves fell to about half of his palm, while the pant legs stopped at about half his heel. The upper part of the pajamas, ended at about half thigh, covering the waistband of the pants.

Slipping beneath the covers, he put pillows behind him to support his back as he slipped on some glasses over his azure eyes. Pulling out a pen, he began writing.

_Here I lay once again, in my bed, wondering how my life has ended this way. From rags to riches as the saying goes I believe. I was once the dobe, but now I'm a kage…_

_I'm currently worrying about Akaba's upcoming mission…tensions will be extremely high if they encounter any Konoha-nin. Iroh will keep a level head, I'm certain of that, but Hiruma tends to go all out, even on tiny things…_

_But it's Akaba that has me worried. He's quick to anger when someone insults, degrades, or even says something negative about me. Not that I'm unhappy about that, rather I'm flattered, but he needs to know when to let his emotions get a head of him, and when not to._

_I suddenly remember something that belongs completely out of place here, but if I don't write it now, I'll forget. It's a saying I once heard._

_Draw courage from friendship._

_Draw pride from love._

_Draw strength from emotion._

_And turn it all to power._

…_The perfect way to describe Oto…_

- Otogakure No Sato Sandaime Otokage Personal Journals, Page 74, November 4

Looking out the window that over looked the entire village, he watched three figures run off into the night.

"Good luck, Akaba, Iroh, Hiruma…"

**--lll--**

Sasuke looked up at the black sky, with the full, pale, moon hanging silently, mockingly up in it.

Looking down from atop the hill, he looked at the Konoha nightlife before making a shadow clone to go to his house, giving him ample time for what he was about to do.

Heaving his bag onto his shoulder, he ran off into the forest, towards the Leaf-Rice border.

**Aitou**

When the group of 7, well, 9 if you include Akamaru and Obana, arrived in the battle scarred capital of Kiri.

Taking in the site, Eidatsu and Chiba both stood quiet as Chiba said, "The last time we were here, it never looked this worn…what do you think happened, Eidatsu?"

His answer was a simple one word. "War."

The group of nin walked through the streets, looking at the boarded up homes and stores, and bleeding nin that were being nursed laid in the streets. The fountains that Kiri once prided itself on we destroyed, while garbage and body bags lined the streets. The looming Mizukage tower stood not far from the gate, but far enough that it was out of harm's way.

Walking inside, they found that it was worse. Bleeding and dying men and women laid every where, with medics running around everywhere. It was obvious there weren't enough of them…which meant that some of the nin wouldn't last an our. Climbing up a staircase, they came to the Mizukage's room before entering it, only to find there were three extra people…

**--lll--**

The three elites that had been sent out by the Otokage the night before now sat in front of the Jenai, who's eyebrows were furrowed as he read the letter from the Otokage. "Well now…so my old friend decides to send me three of his best…His 2nd in command, advisor, and troop commander…well, I most certainly feel the love." Rolling the scroll back up, he looked at the three and started, "Well, tell him that I'll-"

Here, the seven Konoha nin walked in.

"accept his offer for aid."

Akaba looked back at the seven Konoha nin through his orange sun glasses and maroon locks. "Can I help you?"

Eidatsu gawked at the three Oto nin that sat in the man's office. Oto had gotten there ahead of them?! Inching for his sword, he saw Chiba out of the corner of his eye shift his weight, Kiba and the giant Akamaru ready to pounce, Zato readying his bones, Shinzo reaching for a kunai, and Shino calling out his bugs, they were already buzzing silently around him.

Chiba watched as the oldest looking man, who had a gray beard that reached just a little past his sternum, and was short and plump. He was bald on his head, but had gray hair coming from the back of it. The man came walking over to the group, before smiling up at them. "You all must be from Konoha. I can see it from your headbands." He then pulled out some pictures, then held them like one would a hand of cards. "Ah yes…it seems only one of you is missing. That would Meimei-san…" Putting away the pictures, he pulled out five letters. "Eidatsu-san, here is yours, Chiba-san, here is yours and Meimei-san's, Shino-san…" The elder man stopped when he came to Anko. "…Ah…Anko-sama…I'm glad you are here…Otokage-sama will be extremely happy to know you're doing well. Oh! And how is this little man?" he asked kindly, smiling at Obana.

"Obana is Obana!" answered the little ball sunshine.

"Oh, little flower…that's quite the wonderful name you've given him. He looks like his father…"

Anko gasped as she held Obana closer to her, looking at the elderly man. "How do you know Naruto?"

Iroh simply smiled as he pulled out one more letter, holding it in front of her. "This is for you from Otokage-sama. In fact, all of them are from Otokage-sama. It will appear blank to anyone who was not meant to read it, and can be opened only by you. It can't be destroyed until fully read. I suggest you read them. He only made five, and since Meimei-san isn't, four of them have arrived to their destinations. It was a pleasure meeting all of you."

"We'll be staying in a hotel, Mizukage-sama, if you have any questions. I send one of my summons to give you the information later." stated Akaba, standing. Straightening out his white elite's cloak that held the kanji for '2' on it, he led Hiruma and Iroh out of the tower.

Turning to face the Konoha-nin, Jenai asked, "What business do you have?"

"Konoha comes offering 7 of its best to aid Kiri. We come here asking if you if wish for the aid." said Chiba, releasing the tension from his combat stance.

Smiling, Jenai said, "Kiri would greatly appreciate it. We need all the aid we can get in this time. Those three that just left, they are the Otokage's 2nd in command, which was the maroon head, personal advisor, who was the elderly man that gave you the letters, and troop commander, who was the tall blonde. I have accepted their aid as well. Thank you, and excuse for being rude, but I have a lot of paperwork to get done."

"We understand Mizukage-sama. We will take our leave now." said Eidatsu, anxious to catch up with the three Oto-nin.

Jenai watched beneath his hat the retreating forms of Eidatsu, Chiba, and Anko. Mumbling, he said, "This time round, the shinobi wars are in for a big rumble."

**--lll--**

Akaba, Iroh, and Hiruma all strolled down the street towards a hotel when the Konoha-team of seven appeared in front of them.

Glaring at them, Eidatsu reached for his blade, when a shockwave resounded in the area.

In between the two groups, a crater had been formed, with two people in the middle of it. Chiba and Hiruma, one fist down by their waist, the other against the enemies'. (**Put your fists together. That's kind of what it's like) **

Looking through his blonde locks, Hiruma's elite cape settled back to a still form as he said, "Might wanna keep a level head kid. Since our Otokage took command, our strength can match your old sensei's at his best. Believe me though, it takes around 6 or 7 of the elites now to beat him. And, there are 8 elites that aren't him out of 9."

Shino watched the two as they pulled apart and spoke audibly, "Chiba is the taijutsu master of his generation. Not many can stand a blow from him. You should feel proud."

"Aburame Shino-san, you might want to take a closer look at your friend's bones." Hiruma suggested.

Glancing down at Chiba, he saw hwo he was clutching his hand, and you could tell the bones were shattered. "My god…Zato, can you fix him up?"

"I'm the medic here. Of course I can." Said the Kaguya, getting to work on fixing his friend's hand.

A silence came over the group as they realized Iroh was watching Akaba and Eidatsu, the gaze between the orange and maroon haired man never breaking. "Akaba…" Iroh started, deciding to get his friends out of trouble, "Don't forget that we still have to send Mizukage-sama's answer to Otokage-sama…Hiruma, you acted based on what you saw, you moved to intercept. Good. Can we leave? You two know I abhor fighting…"

"But in the end…we fight anyways…Hiruma, let's go." Akaba said, walking away from the Konoha nin. Pausing, he said, not even turning around, "Our kage will be coming here shortly. I'm going against orders telling you this, but three-no, four of you have the right to know, as he has directly influenced your lives." And with that, the group of three walked off towards the hotel.

**Aitou**

The group of seven sat in the boy's room as they were going over what they should do.

…Except that no one was doing that. Chiba was flipping through the channels on the TV, Kiba and Akamaru was sleeping, Zato and Shinzo were reading, Shino polishing his kunai, Anko was playing with Obana, and Eidatsu was pacing.

The silence between them was stopped when Eidatsu said, "We should kill him."

"I think I'm going to put Obana-chan to bed. I'll be back soon." Anko said hastily, wanting to get her child out of the room.

Eidatsu nodded understandingly, and then when he felt questioning gazes on him, he said, "What?"

Deciding to spare his comrade, the Nara spoke. "I think that Eidatsu means the Otokage. Akaba told us he would be arriving here tomorrow. I think that what Eidatsu is planning is that if we kill the Otokage, who is Orochimaru, our war will have ended. But Kiri wouldn't trust us again because the Otokage is coming to fight on the front lines to help. We're basically saving our village, but half damning it."

"Well isn't that a nice way to look at it?" said Chiba, getting up to start doing his routine workout.

Twitching, the Nara simply stated, "That IS what it is though. Would you like a different way of looking at it?"

"I don't really care. Shino-sama, what do you think?"

The quiet Aburame didn't look up from the sharpening of his kunai. Then, he simply set down the stone he was using and said, "I'm not the leader on this mission. Eidatsu is. However…killing the Otokage would hopefully break Oto's moral, ending our war, allowing us to regain our strength for the possible attack from Iwa or Kumo. Or possibly both. It's happened before. Suna could send aid, meaning that even if we kill the Otokage, we can still send aid here while Suna covers the amount of nin that are gone."

"So all-in-all you think…?" asked Zato.

Grinning maliciously beneath his collar, he began sharpening his kunai again. "I say we kill him."

Zato could easily see the smile. Of everyone in the room, Kiba was probably the only person closer to him than Zato. But Hinata was above them both.

Anko walked into the room and noticed people were going back to their normal activites. Looking at Eidatsu, she watched him as he walked over to the window, opened it, sat on the sill, and pulled out a cigarette, and then lit it.

Blowing the smoke out of his nose, he said, without even turning to Anko, "We're going to kill the Otokage come morning."

She didn't say a word.

Taking another drag, Eidatsu asked, "Has anyone looked at their letters?"

No one said anything.

"Guess I'm not the only one then…"

**Aitou**

The village of Kirigakure was quiet as people stood out of the way of the main gate, as they awaited the sight of the Otokage. In front of the gate, stood Akaba, Iroh, and Hiruma, all standing at attention as three figures approached the war-torn village.

People stood with baited breath as the figures came into sight. A tall man, wearing purple and white robes, signifying that he was the Otokage, wore the hat with a mask, covering his face. His hands were clasped behind him, and he walked with his back straight, along with an imposing stride.

Flanking him were two people, a man and woman, both wearing a white cloak, much like Akaba's, Iroh's, and Hiruma's. The woman was wearing an all black haori and hakama, contrasting with her cloak. Her eyes were a dull grey, as was her hair. It fell loosely to her shoulders. She was old as well, but probably a bit younger than Iroh.

The second was a man that couldn't be older than twenty. He wore a red haori with black sakura flowers on it at random places. He had a sword on the right side of his hip, and his left sleeve was empty, signifying that there was no arm there. His eyes were blackish gold, and he wore small, rectangular glasses. His short, black hair came to his ears before stopping.

When the group of three finally entered the village, any whispers became silent as they approached the other three that were already waiting.

The Otokage and Akaba stood right in front of each other, giving one another a good long stare, before clasping hands and giving the other a hug.

"Good to see you made it." said Akaba, looking at his friend. "Why did you bring Yuki and Madam Hisana?"

"Thought I might as well bring some back up incase things get out of hand." Said the Otokage, while looking around at the area, as if waiting for something.

Looking down at the man's hand, Akaba noticed a message in the elite's code, and began secretly reaying it to the others. "So…" Akaba said, attempting to draw attention to the conversation. "How was the journey?"

"It was fin-" the Otokage stopped his sentence as he lifted his right hand to stop the oncoming claw that belonged to Eidatsu. Curling his fingers around it, he applied an overload of chakra to his hands, creating the effect that would happen if you applied to much chakra while tree climbing.

Eidatsu grunted in pain as his hand was broken by the invisible shockwave sent out by the man. Not looking up at him, he winced at his and he felt the bones scraping against each other.

Eidatsu looked up at the man, and widened both his eyes as he saw sun kissed blonde hair, a smug smirk, deep azure eyes, and familiar whisker marks.

"Tsk, tsk…attacking your own sensei, Eidatsu-chan? Didn't you read my letter?"

"Naruto-sensei…"

**Aitou**

**A/N: **…Sorry? I know, I practically disappeared off the face of the earth, then update, but I had to deal with writer's block. I'm sorry.

Well, here's the first chapter of 'Last Order: VOLUME 2: War-Torn'

Hope you guys are satisfied.


	12. The Burning Monarch

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or the Kubo Tite's works.

I've come up with a new technique for my stories that helps a lot more with the updating.

The Entity will be updated next, followed by STMB. But that's if I don't get any request for **Bleach Drabbles**.

By the way…I'm pulling the very used trick of 'borrowing' characters from different anime and manga and use them as Ocs for visual effect…of course, that means that I have to give credit where credit is due.

**Sumanai**

Silence over came every one, as they all stared at the blonde in disbelief.

"So, Eidatsu. Are you going to calm down?" asked Naruto, easing his grip on his student's shattered hand.

When the orange haired boy pulled back his arm, stood straight up, and saluted him with his well hand. Then, Chiba, Shino, Shinzo, Kiba, Akamaru, Zato, and Anko all stepped out of the shadows, all staring at Naruto, unbelieving.

Naruto let them take it all in, before scanning over everyone present.

Eidatsu was being formal, but he could tell the boy was glad to see his sensei.

Chiba was the same as Eidatsu.

The Nara was on guard, simply because he didn't know who he was.

Zato was the same as Shinzo.

Kiba was glaring at him, hard. Naruto could understand why. He had killed Tsunade.

Shino was watching him from behind his glasses, but Naruto couldn't feel any malice intent, rather, he felt relief.

Then his eyes fell on Anko, whose hands were clasped in front of her chest, looking at him with those purple eyes of hers.

Naruto moved, walking towards her, while people began getting on guard. When he let his arms rise from the sides of his body, he pulled her close to him, hugging her while burying his face into her neck, taking in her scent after three long years.

"Anko…" he said into her neck, while she used his chest a pillow, crying silently in his hold. "I missed you…so damn much…"

When a cough broke them out of their little moment, they didn't let go of each other, but Naruto looked at the man who broke it, who was dressed clad in Mizukage robes. "Jenai, how have you been?"

"I've been having headaches every three hours, I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks, my back feels like it's about to snap in two, and my wife is pregnant again. Better than I thought I'd be all-in-all." Said, watching as Naruto broke his hold over Anko and shook his hand. "You and I have much to talk about."

**Sumanai**

As the total group of 15, including Akamaru, entered the Mizukage's office, they all took a seat, Naruto sacrificing his so Anko could have it.

It was quiet for a moment, before Jenai spoke up. "We're losing. Badly. The rebels have cut off out resource routes and are pushing us back little by little. My nin are dying left and right by the hand of nuke-nin, my medics aren't in great quantities, and now, we're losing almost all income and great potential due to ambushes on genin teams."

It was quiet again, before Naruto spoke, keeping his arm wrapped around Anko. "I can supply resources while my men fight on the front lines. All of the one's I've brought are part of Oto's elites. No one is above them in power besides the second elite, Akaba, whom I'm stronger than."

Chuckling, Iroh said, "As Hiruma said before, It takes 6 or 7 of the elites to beat Naruto-sama. It takes about 5 or 6 to bring down Akaba, but Naruto-sama can beat us all single-handedly."

Jenai nodded, before he looked at the group. "So, Oto will supply resources, while the elites fight on the front lines. What will Konoha be doing?"

Since Eidatsu was the unofficial leader in this mission, he spoke. "We'll be fighting, and supplying relief in the form of medics. We have more than enough to spare, even with Tsunade-sama's death."

Naruto winced when Eidatsu mentioned Tsunade, remembering his fight with her that ended her time. It didn't go unnoticed by Anko, who became worried at her found lover, but hid it, waiting to talk to him about it later.

Jenai nodded slowly, before saying, "Well, that's good enough. If we can beat them back down, Kiri will be able to take over its lands again…Yes…this might work. I'll call for you if there are anymore questions that needed to be asked. Now, as usual, Kiri has a lot of paper work. I must get to it I'm afraid."

"I completely understand, Mizukage-dono." Naruto said lightly, chuckling.

**Sumanai**

Naruto sat in the living room of his suite when a knocking came from the door. "Come on in." Naruto shouted. "Door's open."

After Naruto said that, he looked up from the tea he was drinking, and saw Eidatsu and Chiba standing in front of him. "Glad to see you finally read my letter." Naruto said, smirking at the sheepishness they showed. "Well? Sit, sit!"

Taking a seat on the cushions the Otokage had placed, Chiba and Eidatsu poured themselves some sake and tea respectively. "So, how have the two of you been?"

"Well…" Eidatsu began, setting down his cup, "Konoha has really changed. Right after you left, Jiraiya-sama became Hokage, and you were placed as an S-Rank nin with orders to apprehend or kill on sight. That, and flee. It's become more industrialized…"

"That's not what I meant…" Naruto said, a sweat drop forming on the back of his head.

"Huh? Oh…well, Meimei, Chiba, and I are all jonin, Shiri dropped out of the forces, and is living with us. I got kinda of a huge flat, the Akamichi brothers, Tsugo and Granza, joined the town guard for the training regime. Shinzo made it to chuunin, and I heard that he was seeing Kri…"

"Hyuuga?"

"Yeah. Yozu went MIA about a year back, a couple months after his promotion to chuunin. Hinata-sama and Shino-sama both got married about two years ago. Kurenai-san retired so she could spend more time with her children, Sakura-san took over the hospital and Sasuke-san finally took a captain's position in ANBU. Kiba is raising dogs, now that Akamaru is getting on in years, but that dog is still kicking. Shikamaru-sama is leading the ANBU, due to his strategy skills and how to bring down 20 men with 1. Choji-dono is leading the town guard and Ino-san is running the flower shop in her spare time. Lee-dono took on an apprentice, like Gai did with him, Neji-sama became Head of the Hyuuga clan after Hinata-sama married into the Aburame and is currently trying to abolish the branch family and combine the two branches. Tenten-san took over her father's forge…" Eidatsu began thinking deeply. "Um…Asuma-sensei passed away, died on a mission and ran into some nuke-nin, Kakashi-sama retired and took up a seat on the council. Gai retired and founded a dojo…" Eidatsu finished, taking another sip of his tea.

"The village kind of went down in the dumps after you did what you did. Several civilians were harmed, some killed, during your fight with Tsunade." Chiba continued. "Many wanted your blood. Of course, Jiraiya-sama immediately crushed those hopes. He knows that only some of the strongest people in the world can take you down. So, all those Genin seeking glory and those Chuunin can't come after you…of course, he Oinin and ANBU are avoiding anything that deals with you like mad so…"

"Self explanatory, huh?" Naruto said, smiling slightly.

The three talked a while more, before Eidatsu finally asked the question that had been plaguing everyone of Konoha's inhabitants mind's.

"Sensei…why did you do it?"

Naruto closed his eyes, before taking a sip of his tea. "Eidatsu, do you remember the training I gave you? The mental training? I taught you how to find the means behind almost anything. So tell me…why do you think I did it?"

Eidatsu pulled up his leg, so that his gauntlet was resting on it. He began swirling his tea around inside his cup, his orange haired locks falling over his grey eyes. "You didn't want to be part of the war, did you? Neither did Sayuri-san. Orochimaru knew that if you stepped into the war, the side that had you would win. Thus, he wanted you either on his side, or out of it completely." Eidatsu downed the tea before placing the cup on the small table. "Konoha wanted you in the war so that they could win. Sayuri-san was the key. As long as she was alive, you weren't going to fight. If she was out of the picture, you'd fight those that removed her. The council saw that logic, and thus, they disguised one of their best ANBu as a NOTE, and killed her. You thought it was Orochimaru, and thus you fought for Konoha."

Naruto smiled at Eidatsu. "Sharp as ever. You saw the truth right away didn't you?"

Eidatsu merely pulled out his smokes and lit one.

Of course, Naruto grabbed it and crushed it. "Now I'm disappointed. When did you pick this up, Eidatsu?"

The orange haired man stayed quiet.

"Chiba?"

Chiba was torn between lying for his best friend, or telling his sensei the truth. "Sorry man…he picked it up around the time you left."

"I see…well, Eidatsu try to quit. Chiba, go find a dictionary and look up the word 'change' seriously. The only thing about that has _remotely _changed is your height…" Naruto said, smirking.

They mimicked his smirk and talked a bit more, before finally excusing themselves for the night.

When the two jonin left, Akaba made his appearance. "Well that was…enlightening."

Chuckling, the Otokage replied, "Those two have grown strong. I they get lucky, the two of them might be able to drag you down!"

"Of course, I'd be kicking and screaming death threats and trying to bash off their heads with Richter **1, **but I highly doubt they can beat me…" Akaba said, his eye twitching slightly at his leader.

"How goes the fight planning?"

"Well," Akaba sat down on one of the pillows, "it seems to be going rather well. Madam Hisana is planning to stay in the village and help out with the wounded, Hiruma is obviously going to war with the front lines, where Iroh plans to join him, I'll go where you say, Yuki wants to simply go home and sleep."

'_Figures…'_ Naruto thought, taking another sip of his tea. '_as usual most of them are being lazy asses. Hiruma is actually trying something, and Iroh is making sure he doesn't do something stupid…Hisana-baba just wants the easy job, Yuki being pissy because he's away from Ran, and Akaba is just bored…'_

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"I don't really know," confessed the Otokage. "I'll probably let you guys do what you want, then I'll get bored and jump in and see what happens. From there, how's about we just roll with the punches?"

"You do know they're going to tell the council and the Hokage about you, right?" Akaba asked, looking at Naruto with intense amber eyes.

Here, Naruto stood up, and made his way over to the balcony, looking up at the clear night. The stars were twinkling brightly, the moon like an ever present guardian over them. "Yes…I know…"

**Sumanai**

It was late, and Naruto's mind barely registered the fact. It was time for his meeting with Anko, and he was dead scared. He hadn't really talked to the woman in three years, so he didn't really know what to say.

A soft knocking on the door brought him out of his musings, and he stood, walking over to the door to let Anko in. He knew it was her, as his Elite knew not to normally bother him this late, and they didn't trust the Konoha-nin enough to really let them see him in person.

He gave orders to let Anko through.

And thus, when he opened the door, he was somewhat shocked to see a smiling Anko holding a blonde boy with big blue eyes that were filled with curiosity towards him.

"Anko…I know you, but who is this little guy?"

Obana answered in the same way he did with Iroh. "Obana is Obana!"

"He most definitely is." Naruto chuckled. Naruto moved out of the way, allowing Anko and her son to enter. "Would you like some tea, Anko?" he offered.

"Yes, thank you." She said softly, her purple eyes meeting his. "Do you have anyone that can put Obana to sleep? I need to talk to you."

"And I, you. Yes, I'll have Akaba do it. Akaba!" Naruto shouted, and a figure appeared behind him. "Put Obana to bed, would you?"

Akaba just stared at Naruto blankly and asked, "You're kidding, right?"

"Come on Akaba! Just tell him one of your battle stories! He'll fall right asleep!" Naruto joked.

"Sleep with one eye open, Namikaze."

When the 2nd Elite had taken Obana out of the room and into one of the many bedrooms, Naruto moved the table so that only a space was between his and Anko's mats. "Anko…what do you want to talk about?"

She just broke down crying, the toll of three years of pent up sorrow and sadness gushing forth from the very depth of her heart.

"Why?! Why in hell did you do it?! Why didn't you take me with you at least?!" she cried, eyes squeezed shut and hands clasped over her heart.

Naruto's heart was breaking at this sight. He had caused this, he had made her cry. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and waited for her to continue.

"You just up and left, right after killing Tsunade-sama! What did she do?! Not a single word to anybody! Not a single word to me! I love you dammit and you couldn't even say goodbye?!"

At this point, she had opened her eyes and was glaring at the apathetic blonde. "You destroyed some many people's moral, you crushed my heart, you left your son! Did you even care about me, or was I just some whore for you're bloodline to continue on with?!"

At this point, Naruto pulled her body to his, his bigger form making her feel small, fitting perfectly in it. "Anko…don't you ever say that you're a whore. Don't ever say I don't love you. Don't ever say I don't care about you!"

His robes were becoming wet with her tears, she herself not trying to hold it in anymore. Her hair fell down across her back, lying on his chest with her. Pulling up her chin, Naruto's solemn blue eyes locked with her abyss purple ones. "Anko…where has that shinobi that was so strong gone? Where has she disappeared to?" and then, he claimed her lips, massaging them gently with his own.

"Damn it, Naruto…you just left without a single word…J-Just tell me why…why."

Anko's form was still shaking slightly as Naruto told her everything calmly, rocking her in his embrace. The council's orders, his past with Sayuri, how she was the key to getting him in the war, everything.

She was still crying by the end of his little explanation, at which she looked up at him with a small smile. "You're mind hasn't even registered the fact that you have a son, has it?"

Naruto stopped moving and promptly fainted.

Anko broke out in giggles.

**Sumanai**

"Really now, what's the point of such a blade?" Regal said, examining the Bure-ka Naraku. "You cares if it has a demon sealed inside it. In the end, it's useless for my plans…"

Gira leaned against the wall, his arms in his sleeves as he listened to his employer drag on. He didn't really want to be here at the moment. He'd much rather be talking to Yura at the moment, but he knew what would happen if he decided to just leave with Yura and her son.

Regal would hunt him down to make sure that no information was leaked of what he was doing.

"Gekido," Regal spoke addressing the blind swordsman, "how goes your search for the crosses?"

"Well, I've located Volt and Gnome but that's all really…"

Pulling out some papers, Regal signed them before handing them to Gira. "Take these to Huhari. She'll organize a couple of the men to go and get the crosses." He then pulled out a smoke and lit it. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on!"

With Gira going to give the papers to Huhari, that left Regal and Gekido in the office. "Gekido…It would seem that my former apprentice has severely underestimated my information network. He is now the Otokage, interesting, no?"

"But I thought Orochimaru was the Otokage…?" Gekido said, confusion in his words.

"There are two Otos. Orochimaru's Oto, made up of exiles and missing-nin, and Naruto's Oto, the real Oto. What do you make of this?"

"Does this mean that we're going after him?"

"Oh, if I knew his location, I'd let you go ahead and hunt him down. But Oto is over secretive. So I evidently don't know the location."

"So no hunting?"

"No hunting yet."

**Sumanai**

When Naruto returned to the world of the awake, the first thing he noticed was Anko laying on top of him. Her face hovered above his, half-lidded purple eyes staring him. A small smile graced her lips as she looked at him. "Wakie Wakie Naru-kun."

Quirking an eyebrow, he asked, "I believe that we weren't in this position to begin with, am I correct in my theory?"

"Yes, you are."

Then, he flipped them over, pinning Anko's wrists above her head, with a single hand, the other being used to steady himself from falling on her and crushing her with his weight. "Now, you said something about my 'son'…"

Her eyes went from playful to somewhat sad. She avoided his gaze.

"Anko…"

She clenched her eyes shut, trying to block out his hurt tone.

"…please…"

"Obana is what happened between you and I. He's your son. The blonde hair is a rarity in Konoha, remember? And his eyes are the same shade, only a bit darker…" Anko grew quiet.

Which was why she wasn't expecting what he did next.

His lips parted from her's and said the simple words she had been wanting to hear. "I won't leave again Anko, and I'm not mad at you not telling me until now."

Ocean Blue met Abyss Purple

Gold melted with Violet

Breaths mingled with each other

(Time Change)

Naruto jolted up from his bed, his brain sending alerts of a sound. Anko was still asleep, the sheets covering her nude form. There it was again!

This time, Anko stirred. "Obana…I'm coming…" she said as she prepared to roll out of the bed, before Naruto pulled her back down.

"I'll handle it Anko. You get some rest."

She fell asleep instantly, and Naruto slipped on the Otokage bath robe. Why there was an Otokage bath robe he did not know, but there was one.

Walked past Akaba's, Madam Hisana's, Yuki's and all the other Elite's rooms that were here with him until he came to one with a plate that said 'Obana' on it.

Quietly opening the door, the Otokage looked around. It was a rather simple room. Just a bed and window. On the bed sat his son, Obana, tears in his eyes holding a stuffed Kyuubi. "Where's mama?"

Smiling, Naruto walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Mama's asleep silly. It's late, and she's tired."

"But I had a bad dream…"

Naruto looked at his son, so young and innocent, a soul that had yet to see the horrors of war. "You know, your mama and I often get bad dreams."

"Mama has bad dreams?"

The man smiled down at Obana and give him a smile. "Yep, everyone gets them. It is a part of our life…But they make us stronger. Tell me Obana, are you strong?"

"Yeah! Mama says I'm the second strongest person she's ever met!"

"Second?"

"Un! Mama says Papa is the first, but I've never met him…"

Naruto began chuckling at this, before he locked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Well, Boss, it's getting late. What does your Mama normally do to get you to get back to sleep?"

"Ano…she sings."

That caught Naruto off guard, before he asked if Obana would like he would like him to sing to the boy.

"Ok…"

Naruto looked up at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before breaking out into a melodic tune.

"_The ocean is singing_

_Its oh so precious lullaby_

_Can you hear it?_

_Hush, hush, its calling to us_

_The waves loll us gently into sleep_

_Petals begin to fall like droplets of rain _

_The abyss stands welcoming_

_Those purple depths are so warm_

_She greets us with a kind smile_

_The ocean breeze blows_

_It has joined the ocean in its concert_

_Flowers slowly drift across the glassy surface_

_The moon is drawing lazy circles_

_There is joy in the air_

_The flowers are picked up by the wind_

_The reeds sing in the wind's passing_

_Their lullaby lulls the flowers _

_The whirlpool and wave wind stand guard_

_Over that warm abyss and little flower"_

Naruto's song ended with a small smile tugging at his lips, which broke out when he saw Obana curled asleep sucking his thumb, the Kyuubi plushie curled up with him.

"I take it we're taking them with us then?" a voice came from the doorway.

Turning, Naruto saw Yuki standing there without his shirt and only in his pajama pants. His arm pushing him up from leaning against the sill.

"Yes…we will be…"

The Elite simply stared at his leader.

**Sumanai**

It was morning, and the two groups were once again in the Mizukage's office.

"The rebels have a pattern. They attack in an obvious zigzag. They always attack diagonal from where they did last time. They also like to mess with us by telling us where they are going to attack." Jenai said as he unrolled a map of Kiri on his desk in front of the Konoha and Oto nin.

"What do you mean by that?" Zato asked.

Eidatsu answered, his eyes scanning the map. "They most likely send a messenger hawk or something along those lines that tell where they are going to attack and when they're going to as well. Am I right?"

Jenai nodded in confirmation. "Yes, they do. They always end it around this time."

And no later then when the Mizukage finished that sentence, a hark flew through the window. Grabbing the letter, Chiba read it aloud.

_Dear Asswipe(s),_

_The attack is going to be at noon on the north east forest. Just try and stop us._

_-Rebels_

"The north east forest has highly flammable gas, correct?" Naruto asked, examining the map.

"Yes, that is correct. The mist there isn't mist, just gas." Jenai said. "But what has that got to do with anything? None of us would try to light it, it'd kill everyone!"

Here, Naruto smirked. "Not everyone…Iroh, you already know we're I'm going with this, so would you care if I did?"

"Not really. I've been bored, playing Pai Cho with the Nara has been most unfulfilling. I though he would be better, at least near the same level as Madam Hisana…" said Iroh, his voice sad.

"Very well. Mizukage-san, would it be alright if Iroh led the attack?"

"Uh, yeah. Fine by me. I'll send a garrison of 60-"

"20. All we'll need is 20 nin."

Shinzo stepped forward. "As a representative of Konoha, I request that I be placed on this mission as well. I do not trust the Oto nin and their Kage do to matter concerning our village, but would that be acceptable?"

Iroh took the reigns. "Oh, yes that's fine by me. But if I say stop, drop, and roll, do it. Let's be going then…"

"Iroh…" Hiruma said, placing his hand on the old man's shoulder. "Don't push it…"

"I won't Hiruma…I won't…"

**Sumanai**

Iroh lead the 21 troops through the north east forest, the gas thick. The Kiri-nin were scared of this place. There were many a story of a lost monster who lived in these woods, and thus everyone in Kiri avoided it.

It was also were Momochi Zabuza slaughtered 5 Oinin teams, but that was something entirely different, since he painted the treetops and trunks with their blood.

When the sound of one of the Kiri-nin screaming erupted through the forest, the battle started

Iroh stood in the middle of it all, simply side stepping any attempt on his life.

Then, Iroh noticed how few loyal Kiri-nin were left alive, and gave out a sigh, before he took off his Elite jacket and folded it, removed his sandals, and slipped off his haori, so that it fell to his waist (Like Yama-ji from _Bleach_).

Instead of fat, there was just pure muscle and a lot of scars.

"Do you want to know why a simple old man was chosen to lead this mission, Nara-san?"

Shinzo just stared as the air around them began getting hotter.

"My full name is Shigekuni Iroh-Kansei. I'm the younger brother of Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryuusai, head of the Shigekuni clan of Iwa." Iroh said, and took three steps, flames erupting from his body. Shinzo noticed how they had yet to reach the gas. "The reason Naruto-sama chose me is because we…"

Iroh looked up into the main Rebel's eyes, his brown orbs now a flame.

"Control flame on the level of Gods."

The fire shot out from his body, and began running across the ground, twisting and swerving, burning the rebels but avoiding the loyalists. He then slowly lowered his hands, before shouting, "KATON HIJUTSU: NENSHOU OOKABAMADARA! **(Fire Style Secret Jutsu: Burning Monarch)"**

A pillar of fire shot forth from the ground, the screams of the rebels growing stronger and stronger as explosion racked the forest, Iroh's beard and hair flapping in the wind the flame was causing.

When Iroh cancelled the technique, he asked Shinzo without turning around, "Do you see why I am an Elite?"

**Sumanai**

An old man sat in the treetops of the now burnt North East forest of Kiri. His cane was lying on his lap as he looked down at the forest floor.

It had been scorched in such a way that the image of a Monarch butterfly remained.

"So, ototou…you continue to wreck your body by not using a medium…"

And with that, Yamamoto shushin'd away…

**Sumanai**

AND IT IS DONE! FINALLY! I'm over that damn writer's block for now! Wooh!

Anyway, I'm really sorry for the long wait. I just couldn't figure out how to make the chapter go.

Anyways, a cookie goes to whoever figures out the name of the old dude. I'm gonna go make a ton of batches…


End file.

Naruto, Adventure, Romance