Hurricane Suite

By: Dr. Snakes MD

Fandom: naruto

Summary: Uzumaki Naruto grew up with lofty goals, guts, and determination. Instincts of a born fighter made him grow; duty to his home drove him. As the battle lines begin to blur, he must find a way to reconcile all he's ever known with the man he hopes to become. Large AU.

Fic type: Anime/Manga/Naruto

Pairings/Main char.: Naruto U.

Published: 2010-03-09

Last updated: 2021-05-05

Words count: 204,759

Chapters count: 27

Converted using www.FF2EBOOK.com
Date: 2021-10-17

1. Prologue: A Not So Normal Naruto

/~/

The sun broke the horizon, bathing the forests in golden light. The dull and repetitive sounds of fists impacting wood echoed around the clearing that encompassed Training Ground Number Nine. The training ground was entirely unremarkable; a medium sized clearing that held two tree stumps in the middle of it, and nothing else.

It held no impressive back-story; it didn't even have and unimpressive one at that. Training Ground Nine was just another training ground, one of the many that were spaced around the great village that was Konohagakure no Sato. It was small, out of the way, and used very little by the general shinobi populace.

All of that suited the ten year old Uzumaki Naruto just fine.

Being out of the way and secluded was exactly how the orphan liked it. Having grown up a neglected ward of the great ninja village, Naruto had, more often than not, been looked upon less than favorably by the general populace. He, like the rest of the orphans in the village, was a reminder that Konoha wasn't absolutely perfect. He was a stain, if one chose to look at it that way.

His existence was a blemish on the otherwise immaculate reputation that the continent's most powerful Hidden Village boasted.

The boy had a head topped with a tuft of shining golden blond hair, and two piercing blue eyes adorned his visage. He was dressed in a black short sleeve shirt with a collar that reached up towards his chin. Beige shinobi pants covered his legs and were taped at the ankle, leading into standard black shinobi sandals. The hands that pounded an innocent training log were wrapped in white bandages.

Many would ask why a boy of ten years would be training his body at the break of dawn. The answer was that this was a special day for Naruto: it was the day he graduated Konoha's ninja academy.

Again.

Naruto had entered Konoha's ninja academy four years previously, at the ripe age of six, with nothing but the clothes on his back and the name given to him by his mother, Uzumaki Kushina. From there, Naruto had been taking the steps to achieving the dream that he had had for as long as he could remember: to become a respected Konoha jonin and raise a respectable family with his name. To make the Uzumaki known once more.

Naruto was one of many orphans in Konohagakure, and thus, the idea of a family was one that had permeated his mind for many years. All that he knew about his family was that his mother was named Uzumaki Kushina, and had been one of the many ninjas who had been killed in the Kyuubi attack one year after he had been born. His father was unknown and was liable to stay that way.

Naruto had made his way through the academy doggedly and methodically, clawing and scraping the skills that were necessary to have him proclaimed as the rookie of the year, three full years before his scheduled graduation.

No one had called him a genius, and he had never considered himself to be one. His skills had taken everyone, including the Academy instructors, by surprise. He didn't take to jutsu any faster than anyone else, thrown weapons were no easier for him to handle than for any other person in his class, and he didn't absorb knowledge like a sponge. He merely had a goal to achieve and the work ethic and motivation to back it up.

When Uzumaki Naruto had his mind set to do something, one could rest assured that it would get done. That was just the way he was.

He wasn't the heir to some lost and obscure bloodline, nor was he the child of any particularly renowned shinobi or kunoichi – his mother had been a foreign chunin given asylum. His graduating position at the top had been a result of him working for hours and hours more than his peers. Nothing more and nothing less.

That had been one year ago.

One year ago he had been on top of his very own world and on the fast track to achieving his dream. He knew that it would take a lot more effort, a lot more work, but effort was never something he had a problem giving.

The feelings of elation and accomplishment had all come crashing down shortly after he had met his jonin sensei: Hatake Kakashi.

The 23 year old A-ranked shinobi prodigy had slammed the then nine year old back down to earth, and had proceeded to crush his dreams underfoot.

The bell test had proven to be a challenge that not even Naruto's work ethic and determination could overcome. Tired, hungry, and bogged down by teammates whose combined skill didn't measure up to his own, Naruto had failed the test spectacularly. The notion of teamwork hadn't dawned on him until the very end, and by then it had been far too late.

There had been no second chance at success. The trio of genin wannabes had been sent back to the academy stinging. His pride wounded, Naruto had prepared himself for a year of review and training before he would hopefully be resorted into a new team.

That had not been the case, however.

One of the lesser known programs in Konoha was the shinobi reserve program. The program took the failed graduates of the regular academy, and put them through a rigorous accelerated training regimen that was designed to turn out chunin level shinobi and kunoichi.

It had been instigated by the Nidaime Hokage once it was discovered that less than 50 percent of all of the academy graduates were actually passed by their jonin instructors, due to failings of some sort. A system that turned out fewer than 15 new shinobi per year was one that simply wasn't pragmatic; not even for the largest of ninja villages.

Naruto had taken to the accelerated training much as he had to everything else in his life, with the same dogged determination that had won him his skills. When he wasn't in class reinforcing what he already knew, he was in his clearing, drilling. The blond had entered into the program knowing that his dream of jonin rank was nearly destroyed entirely. The graduates of the reserved program could never obtain the rank of jonin – that title was reserved for the students of the elite, almost exclusively – unless they became captains of an ANBU squad, or were given a field promotion from the Hokage. Both were long reaches by any stretch of the mill.

The result was that many of Konoha's chunin ended up being just as strong as many of the jonin – just because they couldn't feasibly reach the rank by conventional means didn't mean that many of them didn't try. Beyond that, many graduates entered the ANBU Black Ops, in order to serve their village as one of the masked elite.

The realization that his dream was so far out of reach had greatly depressed the boy, for all of about five minutes, before he had thrown himself back into his training with a fervor that was nearly inhuman. He had his goal and he would reach it, no matter what it took.

Every day of the next year of his life had been spent training in some way or another. From dawn until nine in the morning, he would train his body physically and work on his taijutsu katas. He would eat a meal composed of cold cereal and a protein shake for breakfast at nine, and then make his way to class.

Class lasted until one thirty in the afternoon. It was some of the most boring time of Naruto's young life.

From then until four, he would train in weapons. Everything from shuriken to senbon and the practical application of ninja wire were drilled during that two and a half hour period. He would break for a modest lunch for one hour before going back to drill his chakra control and basic hand seals. The simple, and often overlooked, aspects of shinobi life were concentrated upon and drilled to near perfection. He was a workhorse, and a perfectionist at heart.

And he'd be damned if he was undone by something so simple. It was the small details that killed, after all.

Directly following his chakra control practices, Naruto would train and attempt to master whatever particular jutsu he happened to be working on. His mastery was more about understanding the ins and outs of the technique, rather than simply quitting after he had managed to perform it. The ability to further modify ninjutsu was something that greatly interested him, and his own perfectionist tendencies would hardly allow for him to leave a technique not fully dissected.

As a result, he was familiar with fewer ninjutsu than he might have liked. But he could say with certainty that he had mastered the few he knew.

By that time, the day was nearly over and Naruto retired to his small one bedroom and one bathroom apartment. He would eat his dinner, and would proceed to meditate and research genjutsu. Genjutsu could not be practiced by one's self, so Naruto devoted his evenings to researching the art of illusion crafting.

He trained all aspects of shinobi life equally in order to become what he felt was the epitome of shinobi, the perfect all rounder. The jack of all trades, or "the glorified generalizer," as he called it.

That brought him to his current position today, pounding his fists into a log at the crack of dawn the day of his graduation from Konoha's reserve program. The exam was scheduled to begin at nine a.m. and all of the potential graduates were supposed to meet at 8:45 at the entrance to training ground 44, known to many as the Forest of Death.

As soon as the potential graduates had been informed by their instructor as to the location of the exam, Naruto had done some immediate scouting and research. Training ground 44 was a booby trap in and of itself, and for that reason it was used for the survival part of the Chunin Selection Exams whenever they happened to be in Konoha.

The research had produced results that were decidedly unappealing. Any objective that was to be found in the Forest of Death meant that the final exam would be a survival test. It wasn't that Naruto was bad at survival tests, he wasn't bad at anything one thing in particular, he just didn't like them. And they always tested stamina, something that he had too little of to be happy with at ten years old.

Feeling his fist impact the log for the two-thousandth time that morning, Naruto stopped his punches. He carefully unwrapped the bandages that had covered his hands and wrists, and placed the white material into his back pocket, directly next to his shuriken pouch.

Making his way out of the clearing, Naruto broke into a jog. While normally he would stay and complete his taijutsu training, he didn't want to tire his body unnecessarily before his survival exam. That, and he needed time to properly digest a good breakfast.

A ninja couldn't function properly on an empty stomach now could he?

/~/

A breeze ruffled the hair and clothes of the gathered shinobi as the Forest of Death loomed ominously behind them.

Checking his watch, Naruto saw that the time was exactly 8:45 as he stepped through the gate that led to Training Ground 44. A ninja is never late, nor is he early. A ninja arrives precisely when he is supposed to, Naruto recited in his mind.

The second his foot touched the ground of Training Ground 44, Naruto was planning. His sky blue eyes scanned the crowd of shinobi hopefuls, not stopping on anyone in particular, but assessing everyone. This was a survival exercise, and that meant that anyone and everyone was a potential enemy.

The ones grouped together and tittering nervously would pose no real threat unless they attacked him all at once. They held no confidence in their skills, and even the smallest lack of confidence was exploitable. The same went for those who stood mostly alone and arrogant in their posture, but for a different reason. A confident swagger and an air of self assurance were good for a shinobi to have, it displayed confidence and could set the tone of a confrontation. But the overbearing arrogance displayed by many of the reserve students was appalling. They reminded him of the one student he had bypassed during his stint at the regular academy, Hyuuga Nezi or something.

You'd think they owned the world, Naruto wondered with amusement. The thought was sobered by the fact that he had been much the same way only one year ago, before he met Hatake Kakashi that was. While he may not like the jonin, he had to at least mentally thank him for showing him that he wasn't as good as he had thought. Everyone got their reality check at some point; he knew he would be glad that he got his early, rather than later.

Moving to stand with the rest of the hopeful, Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of one of the proctors speaking up.

"Listen up, runts!" a proctor with silver hair began. "My name is Touji Mizuki and I'm gonna be the proctor for this exam." The scowl on the man's face was designed to look intimidating. Naruto thought it laughable; the man wasn't imposing in the slightest.

"As a chunin of Konoha, you are expected to take on the majority of the missions that come through the mission office—B-ranks," the silver haired man named Mizuki continued. "A B-rank mission can be anything from guard duty to a search and destroy mission that may be vital to village security."

Naruto found himself bored with the man's speech. It didn't contain any information he didn't already know, and he just wanted to get this exam over with. He was looking forward to treating himself to a congratulatory bowl of Ichiraku Ramen afterwards. Best stuff in the world that ramen was.

"Your mission today will consist of the retrieval of a scroll from the innermost point of the forest: the central tower. Your objective is located at the topmost point of the tower and there are only 25 total scrolls. With 51 of you here today, that means that roughly 50 percent of you will pass," Mizuki said. The sound of nervous tittering from hopefuls followed.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in question. The test seemed fairly simple overall and the only way he could see it becoming harder was if there was an imposed time limit.

The man seemed read Naruto's thoughts. "Your time limit is one day and one day only," the chunin said. Shock mingled with no small amount of outrage from the general populace. Even Naruto was wary at the short amount of time. "You fail if you fail to retrieve a scroll, or are otherwise subdued. Killing is not permitted; under any circumstances!"

The last statement managed to shut the crowd up pretty fast. Killing one's comrades was looked down upon in all but the most barbaric of villages, and the thought that someone among them might kill one of them in order to pass was an uneasy thought.

"All examinees are to report to a gate in groups of three, no more, no less. I trust that you are able to divide yourselves evenly," Mizuki finished, a rather poor attempt at a sneer marring his face.

As the chunin hopefuls rapidly moved towards a gate of their choice, Naruto calmly walked forward to the first gate, the one where Mizuki had been standing. He was quickly joined by two others who had taken his example: one boy who looked decidedly nervous, and a girl who looked too confident for her own good.

The girl flipped her long red hair over her left shoulder as she sneered down at the younger, and undeniably shorter, Naruto. Naruto, for his part, merely smiled pleasantly in response as the girl opened her mouth. "Given how short you are, you must be that little phenom that everyone was talking about earlier," the unnamed girl said with the sneer still firmly etched on her face.

And that's a bad thing? the blond thought snidely. The pleasant smile didn't slip for a moment as Naruto shot back, "That's me, I guess. You seem to have me at a disadvantage though, stranger. Isn't it usually polite to introduce yourself before you jump into a conversation?"

The sneer merely deepened at Naruto's statement. The young boy decided to find a teacher to help him perfect a sneer like that. "Che. All you need to know, runt, is that I'm gonna show what a real ninja is once we get in that forest." The girl promptly turned her back on Naruto before he could make a response.

"Oh really?" Naruto asked skeptically. His smile dissolved into a fierce smirk. "Tell me, stranger, I wasn't aware that real ninja wore…white. Correct me if I'm wrong."

The girl simply leveled Naruto with a glare that could freeze the tropical waters of Sea Country, as the other boy chuckled slightly to himself.

Naruto took the ensuing silence to look over his peers once more. The girl was indeed wearing white; it was part of a form fitting dress that the girl wore that would allow for the maximum range of movement. Intermingled with red, the white dress was certainly pretty, and even functional, while it flattered the kunoichi in training's developing curves generously – not that the ten year old Naruto cared all that much. Even so, the fact that the color scheme would stick out like a sore thumb amongst the green that permeated the forest of death overruled the practicality of the dress.

Shifting his blue eyes to the boy who was now causally leaning against the wire fence, Naruto noted that the once nervous boy was now quite comfortable with his situation. Dressed in a forest green shirt and black pants, the boy sported a pragmatic look, given the situation. The look was further augmented by the slightly bulging weapons pouches that he carried on him and the black bandana that covered his hair.

At least he looks competent, Naruto mused. For all he knew the boy could be as bad as the dead-last who had been dumped on his team the year before. Incompetent retard that he was, Naruto thought uncharitably.

"How 'bout you then?" Naruto addressed the boy. "What's your name?"

"Kishimoto Akira at your service," the boy said with a fake pompousness and bow that was humorous despite the serious situation.

Naruto smiled back, he liked pleasant people. "Uzumaki Naruto, at your service. Future jonin."

Raised brows met his pronouncement. "You seem confident in yourself. You do know that the road to jonin is a real long one for a reserve grad, don't you?" Akira inquired.

The smile only got wider. "Course I do! Won't stop me, though," Naruto proclaimed confidently. "I know what I need to do and I'm no stranger to hard work."

Akira seemed to appraise the short blond once more before giving a curt nod. "Well good luck then."

Naruto nodded back in response.

"Enough chatter down there," the chunin gate guard said from his post above them. "I'm about to open the gate."

"Let the test begin!" Mizuki's voice blared over the hidden speakers at the gates.

The words had barely registered and the gate had not even fully opened before Naruto blurred into motion.

Using speed that had been gained over countless hours of training, Naruto's right hand dipped into his leg holster and withdrew a kunai. No one had time to react before Naruto viciously slammed it into the back of the unsuspecting redheaded girl's head.

As the unconscious body slumped to the forest floor, Naruto formed a single hand-seal. A second Naruto formed from the ground behind the stunned Akira and tapped the back of the boy's head.

The smile on Naruto's face was bittersweet as he watched the boy's eyes roll backwards as he too slumped to the ground in unconsciousness. "Too bad," Naruto stated to no one in particular – he supposed that he was addressing the now gaping chunin guard.

That was the way of the ninja world though. The strong prospered while the weak and hesitant stumbled and were lorded over, waiting expectantly and plotting for the day when they would become the strong. Many others were cut down before their time to shine. Akira was a prime example. At least the boy had a chance to break out of the sleep inducing genjutsu Naruto had placed on him. Perhaps he would acquit himself well by stealing a scroll from some unsuspecting wannabe.

The girl however, wasn't so lucky. Naruto sneered in distaste at the redhead. She would be lucky to wake up in anything less than ten hours. Even then she would probably still have a concussion. Bitch shouldn't've called me a runt.

Re-holstering his kunai, Naruto dispelled his Tsuchi Bunshin with a minor application of chakra. That particular technique would serve him well in the future and he was glad he had taken the time to properly master it. Being able to form the solid clone with only one seal was something that would prove to be invaluable in a sticky situation. It was something he had prided himself on, as Earth wasn't his primary chakra affinity.

Winking cheekily, the flaxen haired youth gave the still floored chunin a two fingered salute before bursting into the forest of death at breakneck speed.

/~/

Naruto cursed his lack of forethought as he blocked the swipe of a kunai. That one would have sliced open his jugular and left him all but a defenseless, bleeding, soon-to-be-corpse.

Leaping backwards to put space between himself and his attacker, Naruto unleashed a hail of shuriken. The bladed weapons didn't connect, as expected, but they managed to push his enemy off of the attack for the moment.

In hindsight, it was borderline retardation to think that there wouldn't be guards surrounding the tower where his objective laid. Naruto had made it through training ground 44 with little trouble and with nothing but a few minor altercations with some other trainees. The small skirmishes had left him with a few bruises and scratches, but nothing more. The phrase "you should see the other guy" would have been appropriate.

After reaching the tower, the ten year old blond had calmly made his way towards the tower's entrance, where he was immediately set upon by a man who he assumed to be one of the examiners; an assumption made based on the chunin vest the man wore. That had been exactly one minute and seventeen seconds ago.

Not many ninja battles made it past the one minute mark; the element of surprise made that doubly so in the field. As Naruto Kawarimi'd with a nearby log and flipped through a series of quick seals, he figured that the only reason he was still alive was the fact that the examiner wasn't trying to kill him.

A movement in the corner of his right eye alerted him to the presence of his attacker charging him, a kunai hurtling towards his position. A smirk spread across the boy's face as he felt the kunai pass by him one meter to the right. Illusion in place.

As the chunin sprinted towards him in a zigzag pattern, Naruto channeled chakra into his legs and disappeared in a Shunshin. The nameless chunin was moving quickly to cover the ground between himself and Naruto, so when Naruto's outstretched arm made contact with the genjutsu influenced man's solar plexus, it was as if the man had run headlong into a stone wall with the speed of both himself and Naruto combined.

The chunin under the influence of Naruto's small genjutsu was unconscious before the pain could register. It was a moot point, however, as he would have been unconscious anyway, the second his back made contact with a tree some five meters away. The fight had lasted exactly one minute and thirty five seconds.

As Naruto quickly checked to make sure the man was still alive, he had hit the tree quite hard, he cradled his throbbing right arm. The attack had been a spur of the moment idea of his, and had proven itself effective. He would have to make sure that he reinforced his arm properly in the future, though; he had nearly dislocated his shoulder.

Lariat, he thought with a small touch of pride, I'll have to remember to write that down. It would go right next to his first original genjutsu on his personal scroll. Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu, the genjutsu Naruto had used to trick his chunin assailant into believing he was a meter from his actual position, was a technique of his own making.

The chunin had a steady pulse, so Naruto felt comfortable leaving him where he was; another examiner would find him, no doubt.

Turning his attention to the tower, Naruto went over his knowledge of the exam. His target objective would most likely be at the top. They'll be expecting me to enter through the top windows; it would be what a shinobi would do after all. It would be best to think outside the box in that case.

Forming a single hand seal, Naruto formed a Tsuchi Bunshin in the foliage behind him. Using a quick Kawarimi, he replaced himself with it and commanded it to approach the tower from the outside. As the clone left, he cloaked himself in his Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu, and overlapped it with a Niju Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu. If anyone actually managed to spot him entering the front door, he would have sufficient cover.

Not to mention that any assailant would have to dispel two genjutsu to even find him. Not many ninja thought to look past a single genjutsu for one that may have been beneath it.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts on the failings of many shinobi, Naruto quietly moved to the front door of the tower. It would be best to simply get the test over with. While he felt that he was probably the first to the tower, arrogant as it was, he knew that it wouldn't be long until other trainees managed to catch up.

He trusted his skills though, and strode confidently into the tower that held the key to his shinobi future.

/~/

"Mind if I join you?" a smooth voice spoke up from behind Naruto.

Turning away from his steaming bowl of pork ramen, Naruto's eyes found the figure of Touji Mizuki. The silver haired proctor was visible through the white flaps that served as an entrance into the Ichiraku Ramen stand.

Behind the silver haired chunin stood a young woman with short black hair and a chunin vest. She had her arms folded under her chest and seemed to be waiting impatiently.

"Not at all. Company's always appreciated." Naruto addressed his former proctor with a smile. He seemed pleasant enough, outside the constraints of duty that was.

A smile appeared on the man's face. "Great then!" Turning to address the woman waiting outside, he continued, "Why don't you head home, Tsubaki-chan? I won't be long."

The short haired woman sighed lightly, "Alright then, but don't take too long." She leaned in and gave the man a quick peck on the cheek before leaping to the roof on the other side of the road. Mizuki looked after her fondly, but with a touch of annoyance.

"Is that anyway to say goodbye to your boyfriend? I don't think so," he mumbled. Naruto choked back a chuckle.

After she had disappeared, the silver haired chunin moved inside the stand and sat on a stool next to Naruto. "I'll have a medium miso ramen, please," he ordered to the stand owner.

"Good choice," Naruto quipped from beside him, in between bites of his own ramen. "That one's my favorite."

Mizuki nodded in agreement, "Yeah, miso is good. A friend got me into it a few years back and I haven't stopped eating it since."

"You've got a smart friend there, Touji-san." Naruto nodded his approval.

"Mizuki, please. We're coworkers now aren't we, Naruto-san?" Mizuki asked with a smile as his ramen appeared in front of him.

"Guess so," Naruto agreed. A quick glance down at his new chunin flak vest over his usual black attire brought a smile to the young chunin's face.

"Indeed. In fact, that was what I was hoping to talk to you about."

Naruto raised a blond eyebrow. "You were looking for me? What for?"

Mizuki paused in the slurping of his noodles to cast a glance at his ten year old companion. "Partly the rumors that seem to be circling you now, but mostly because I was hoping to introduce myself. Properly, I mean," he quickly amended. "The little intro I gave yesterday hardly counts."

Naruto barked a laugh. "Are you always that intimidating?"

Mizuki had the grace to blush and look sheepish. "Ah well…I guess I didn't do such a great job with the intimidation factor did I? It's not really my thing."

"Nope!" Naruto asked for his bill and pushed his bowl away before turning to his colleague. "So what do wanna know?" he inquired. "I doubt that you would come to introduce yourself if you didn't have questions."

"Well you're right about that," Mizuki began. "I guess I found myself intrigued after I heard the report from one of the gate guards about how you entered the forest." Naruto nodded with a barely noticeable smirk at the memory. He was proud of that little moment of quick thinking. "I watched the tape earlier, so I figured that I would do a little digging."

"And you came to me for some answers," Naruto finished for him. "So, how many people did you ask before you found out that I came here all the time?" He was surprised, and a little flattered, that the man was taking an interest in him. Maybe his skills were finally starting to be recognized.

If Mizuki was unsettled by the boy's perceptiveness, he didn't show it. "Just one actually, Umino Iruka. You know him, I suppose?"

Naruto nodded in recognition, the scarred chunin, an academy teacher to Naruto's knowledge, frequented Ichiraku's quite a bit. The two had crossed paths more than once. "Yes I know Iruka. So, what do you want to know?"

Mizuki appraised the boy for a few seconds before starting, "Well there are a few that I'd like to ask, but you look like you want to leave, so I'll be quick." Naruto nodded, he did want to be getting home soon. "What exactly is someone of your age and talent doing in the reserve program?" Mizuki asked, his full attention on Naruto.

Naruto scoffed lightly, he knew that the man would ask that. "Long story, but I'll give you the quick version." Mizuki nodded in agreement so Naruto continued, "I graduated at the top of my class last year, and had the misfortune of being on Hatake Kakashi's genin team."

The silver haired man winced whilst nodding. The young jonin was becoming notorious for the failing of every genin squad given to him. "Yeah, that'll do it I suppose. It still is a bit of a surprise though; it's not every day that the top rookie gets sent to the reserves."

A sagely nod met his statement. "Yeah, though it's been good for me. I was a right arrogant prick out of the academy."

Mizuki started a little at the admission. Naruto wasn't someone who he had pegged as arrogant at all, confident and self assured, but not arrogant. The boy actually seemed fairly humble, but it might have been an effect of the last year.

"Well," Naruto said, shaking Mizuki out of his thoughts, "it was nice meeting you. Maybe we'll work together on some missions in the future." The thought wasn't unappealing to the blond ten year old; Mizuki came across as someone who he could trust.

"Probably not," Mizuki replied with a small wince, "I'm starting a stint at the academy in a week. Iruka's class actually. The old assistant got promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin."

It was Naruto's turn to wince in sympathy, "Ouch. That class has Sarutobi in it." He noted that Mizuki's eyes darkened when he spoke the name of the village's resident prankster; though it was for a different reason than Naruto thought.

"Yeah," Mizuki replied grimly, "I take it you're not a fan of the boy's…art?"

Naruto scoffed in derision. "Hardly. The kid is an idiot and an insult. He has the Shinobi no Kami as his grandfather and that elite tutor Ebisu training him, and he spends his time pranking the villagers. It's no wonder that half the village seems to hate him."

Mizuki merely nodded, he couldn't trust himself to say anything about the boy without breaking the Sandaime's law. Naruto was only a year older than Konohamaru after all, skill and maturity notwithstanding.

"Well, I hope to see you around then, if we won't be on missions together." Naruto stuck out his hand with a smile.

Mizuki grasped the outstretched hand firmly, "Indeed. Have a good night, Naruto-san."

"And you."

/~/

The wind was a silent whisper in the evening atop the Hokage monument. Naruto felt it tussle his hair gently as he stood atop the head of the Yondaime. He came up here every so often in order to watch the sunset. With the monument facing northwest, it provided a spectacular view.

It was a bit of a thinking spot for him; a place where he could gather his thoughts after an interesting day. And what a day it had been.

He had made chunin, not that there had been any real doubt in his mind that he would. It was an eventuality to Naruto. Just like he knew that he would become jonin one day. Just like he knew that he would make the Uzumaki name known throughout the Elemental Nations once more.

Would you be proud of me, mother? he wondered as he turned his gaze to the east, towards the sea and the former Whirlpool Country.

The former home of the once respected Uzumaki clan, Whirlpool Country had been decimated at the tail end of the Second Secret Shinobi War. Its former inhabitants were some of the war's final casualties.

Not much was known about the once respected nation, only that it had once played host to the Uzumaki clan. A clan that had been decimated the same day Whirlpool had been wiped off of the face of the planet. There had been only two survivors. Uzumaki Kushina, his mother, was the only one who managed to make it to Fire Country and Konoha.

She had been seven years old.

From there, her shinobi career began. It was one filled with many missions and strife due to the outbreak of the Third Secret War, and Kushina had made chunin at the young age of twelve, in the short-lived peace time between conflicts. She had never made it any further.

Presumably, she had met Naruto's father somewhere along the way, and the two had had him when Kushina was twenty one. Naruto had no idea who his father was, and really had no desire to find out. The man had abandoned his mother when she needed him the most, and left Kushina to fend for herself.

It was only because of the savings that his mother had from her ninja career that she and Naruto had been able to get by for a year. What might have happened later was unknown, as Kushina had been one of the many shinobi and kunoichi cut down in the Kyuubi attack.

The only memory Naruto had of his mother was of her kissing him goodbye one night. Given the red glow that was emanating from the windows during the memory, Naruto assumed that it was the night of the Kyuubi attack. The last time he had seen her.

Ever since he had been old enough to understand his mother's sacrifice, he had thrown himself into training and research. Research about his history and his ancestors; training to become the greatest shinobi he could be and to establish the name Uzumaki once more.

It was not a dream to him, it was an eventuality. One way or another, he would make the name Uzumaki known to the world once again.

/~/

2. Knowledge is Power

/~/

Hot damn! Naruto screamed mentally as he dodged yet another hail of thrown shuriken. Back flipping toward nearby tree, the eleven year old chunin was forced to Kawarimi with a nearby log to avoid death by impaling. Four kunai embedded themselves in the wood as Naruto made it to safety.

Deftly regaining his feet after his impromptu substitution, Naruto phased into a soundless, smokeless Shunshin. He reappeared, engaging his attacker with a flurry of deft taijutsu strikes all aimed at nerve clusters specifically targeted to cause pain and numb extremities.

Unfortunately for the young blond, his assailant proved to be just as dexterous as he, as all the debilitating strokes were blocked. Moving quickly to take the advantage in the close range fight, Naruto felt the cold metal of a kunai slip into his hand in a practiced movement.

The assailant dodged a sweeping slash at the throat with almost casual ease, moving quickly to place distance between himself and Naruto. A Suiton: Suijinheki quickly sprung up from nowhere to combat Naruto's retaliatory Gokakyuu no jutsu, an impressive feat considering there was no readily available water source nearby.

Across the clearing, Naruto flipped through a series of seals as he cursed his low Katon affinity. It was a situation that irked him constantly, and came back to bite him in the most annoying ways. I would have inherited the Uzumaki Suiton nature from mom while living in Fire country. True to its host nation's name, Konoha was the world's leading village in terms of Katon natured techniques.

It was Naruto's luck that he was affiliated to the elemental opposite of fire.

His reverie was broken as a thick mist covered the area, and the blond boy scolded himself for getting lost in though. He smirked slightly, however, as he felt his chakra laden mist settle itself over the clearing and surrounding area, his jutsu had worked perfectly. Using the enhanced mist to seek the chakra signature of his attacker, Naruto moved his position discreetly for minimum acoustic amplification.

This was exactly contrary to what most practitioners of the Silent Killing technique would do. The technique required that the user be able to detect any and all presences within the mist, and acoustic amplification was one of the most popular ways of going about that.

Unfortunately for many practitioners, the technique became well documented after Kirigakure had used it to deadly effect in the Second Secret Shinobi War, and many had devised ways to combat it. Many a Kiri-nin had been killed after having their eardrums burst due to loud noises made to deliberately debilitate the would-be silent killer.

Recognizing this fatal flaw in a technique that had many uses for a ninja with Naruto's skill set, the child shinobi had worked to devise a way around it. After executing the Kirigakure no Jutsu, Naruto would then spread chakra from his body in an outward wave. Chakra, as a combination of both physical and spiritual energies, could be, and would be, absorbed by any organic matter unless otherwise acted upon. The sole exception was the human body, an entity that had so much chakra in it by nature, and one that automatically combated foreign substances attempting to enter it.

The result was that Naruto could almost immediately perceive any and all humans in range of his "wave", without the use of acoustic amplification. Ninja especially, as they're bodies had so much stored chakra they were like beacons to his senses. He was still working on a version of his mist that would automatically help him detect chakra signatures, and was unnoticeable.

Sensing his chakra rebound off of what appeared to be a human shape, Naruto burst into motion. Palming twin kunai from his holsters, Naruto silently charged through the mist before slicing the throat of his attacker with a dual bladed cross slash.

The effect was immediate, and the body of his assailant dropped lifelessly to the ground before crumbling into earth. While normally a cause for concern in a fight, Naruto was exactly the opposite as he let his mist dissipate into nothingness. Why should one be concerned after destroying one's own clone?

It was a training technique that Naruto had been using more and more lately. There truly was no better way to hone one's skills than by fighting an equal; and who was more equal than a clone? While the Tsuchi Bunshin was mostly restricted to favorable terrain – i.e. earth – there was hardly a short supply of the needed material, especially in the training grounds surrounding Konoha.

Stopping in numerous places around the slightly larger Training Ground Nine—it had been forcefully expanded due to collateral damage inflicted by Naruto himself over the years—Naruto collected his strewn weapons before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. While he could use the technique without the need of smoke, it required an intense level of focus that Naruto didn't feel the need to expend for something as mundane as speedy travel.

Reappearing in Konoha proper, Naruto immediately took to the rooftops, knowing all too well the dangers of using Shunshin in the streets. He had nearly killed himself running headlong into a merchant's stand shortly after he had learned the technique. They really should mention that in the scroll, he mused thoughtfully, a tinge of leftover embarrassment coloring his cheeks. He had caused quite the scene that day; so much so that the ANBU had had to be called to sort out the commotion.

Upon reflection, the ANBU were being called to police the village more and more, what with the absence of the former Military Police Force. Made exclusively Uchiha Clan shinobi, the Military Police Force had been a casualty of the Uchiha massacre, as well as the entire clan save one.

Naruto merely hoped that Uchiha Sasuke would prove to be an asset to the village, like he himself was. Konoha was always in need of new blood and talent, and Uchiha Sasuke was said to be promising, at least according to Mizuki, who had ended up as one of the boy's academy instructors.

Although, maybe not exceptional, Naruto mused. The boy was one year younger than Naruto himself was, and was still in training at the Konoha Ninja Academy. Naruto had already graduated by that age. Having been a member of the Konoha ninja corps for over a year, Naruto had had time to see how truly exceptional he was, at least for his age.

But, some people matured and gained strength differently and at different paces. That fact was more apparent to Naruto now more than ever.

Ever since graduating from the Reserve Program, Naruto's once large leaps of strength and prowess had regressed to baby steps. It was endlessly frustrating to the now eleven year old chunin. He had goals that he wanted, needed, to accomplish, and he couldn't do that while he was taking baby steps toward prowess and skill.

Maybe I'm just getting stronger in different directions, the flaxen haired boy reflected. While his learning of ninjutsu had tapered off recently, mostly due to his limited chakra reserves—strong for his age he may have been, but he was still only eleven—there were many different and diverse sectors of shinobi skills. And Naruto was nothing if not curious and thirsty for more knowledge that might help him.

That very thirst for knowledge is what led him to where he was now, Konoha's Grand Archive.

Three stories tall and with its girth taking up an entire street block, the Grand Archive was the second largest building in Konoha proper – second only to the Administrative Building which served as the general shinobi headquarters and housed the Hokage. The Archive was a perfect circle and had a large engraving of the leaf symbol on the side facing outward toward the walls.

Naruto shook his head fondly. He would never tire of seeing the grand building, and that was saying something, as he spent much of his free time perusing the thousands of scrolls it housed; even more so now, as he had no other way to occupy his time in between the various C-ranked missions he ran with makeshift squads, and training.

Moving forward briskly, the eleven year old chunin entered the towering oak doors that were always open, flashing his shinobi ID card to the two chunin guards stationed outside. The card was very simple, and issued to all shinobi of Konoha. It held his name, date of birth, shinobi ID number, and rank. The latter was the most important, as it gave him his clearance level.

While the Grand Archive didn't hold any ninjutsu over the rank of B, one could find a whole host of subjects covered within the great dome, ranging from standard shinobi skills to history on the very Elemental Nations. With his B-ranked chunin clearance, Naruto was allowed to peruse nearly the entirety of the library, save the A-ranked sections.

While nearly all of the sensitive information regarding some of Konoha's more covert operations, most all of them in times of war, were held either in the Administration Building or in ANBU headquarters, the Grand Archive held a small amount of declassified records. These records were reserved for those with A-rank security clearance – i.e. the jonins – and were mostly historical in nature.

Naruto didn't care so much about the semi-sensitive information that the Archive held. No, he thought as he swiftly made his way over to a section of the Archive that held detailed scrolls on human anatomy, my interest lies within shinobi skills. At least for now. The archive held everything he needed to know about being a shinobi, security clearance or no.

For that was what the Archive was, really; a grand library containing all of Konoha's amassed knowledge about the shinobi arts.

Finding his needed section, Naruto pulled out a scroll detailing medium range hand to hand combative techniques and information.

In medium-range combatives, two opponents are already within touching distance. The arsenal of possible body weapons includes short punches and strikes with elbows, knees, and hands, though bladed weapons are not excluded. Head butts are also effective; do not forget them during medium-range combat. A shinobi uses his peripheral vision to evaluate the targets presented by the opponent and choose his target. The shinobi should be aggressive and concentrate his attack on the opponent's vital points to end the fight as soon as possible. A shinobi must be cautious, however, and be mindful of his surroundings at all times…

Moving downward quickly, Naruto skimmed the introduction, as he had already read it, and moved to the section detailing the various kill points in the human body. He already knew the eight vital spots: the heart, lungs, liver, jugular vein, sub-clavicle vein, the brain, the kidneys, and the spine. They were basic facts that were necessary to know in the Reserve Academy. While the regular academy trained boys and girls to be genin, beginners in the field of the shinobi world, the reserves trained genin to be chunin level shinobi. To be killers. The difference was a significant one.

He was more interested in points that could be used to directly incapacitate an assailant, whether through the use of weapons or otherwise. It was an essential skill that all the most heavily trained, heavy combat oriented ANBU had. Given that Naruto strived to be a squad captain in the elite shinobi corps, even if only to one day secure the coveted rank of jonin, it as a skill that he thought necessary to have. When he submitted his application to join the most elite shinobi unit in Fire Country, he intended to be well ahead of the curve.

His musings and dreams of future ANBU success were abruptly cut short as he felt a soft hand ruffle his blond hair none to gently.

"Well hello there, Na-ru-to-kun!" a familiar voice spoke in a sing-song tone.

"Ugh…geroff, Mai! Will ya?" Despite his less than favorable response, a grin could easily be seen on the face to the eleven year old. "I'm trying to study here you know!"

"Ah but that makes you no fun, Naruto-kun," the girl, now identified as Mai, said in a sing-song like voice as she plopped down in a chair across from Naruto. "All you do is study, study, study! Honestly, you needa make time for other things." The voice took on a more serious, solemn note as the girl lectured.

His head now free of its momentary turmoil, Naruto raised his eyes to meet those of Mai's, and he couldn't stop a small blush from forming as he observed the older girl's form. With her auburn hair tied into a full, elegant knot at the top of her head and two long strips falling into her face, Koemi Mai looked the picture perfect teenage librarian. The effect was only accentuated by the flowing, sun colored dress she wore. Form fitting and skillfully crafted, the dress hugged the teenager's near perfect figure so as to leave little to the imagination.

In moments of reflection, Naruto would readily admit to having a crush on the sixteen year old girl. He was an orphan with unknown heritage, unwanted, unspoken to by most of the village, and, for the most part, unacknowledged for his skill. Mai had been his first real friend, not to mention the first female to ever talk to him outside shinobi training. The fact that she was undeniably beautiful only helped the matter along.

"Ne, you know that's not all I do, Mai," Naruto replied with a pout that Mai found adorable on his boyish face. "I eat, sleep, train…" he finished rather lamely, realizing that he indeed did spend the majority of his time training in one way or another. Whether it be in the Archive, on a mission, or in the training grounds, Naruto's life almost constantly revolved around his shinobi career.

Mai raised a well manicured eyebrow in question, before sighing quietly. Naruto immediately felt bad, he hated to see her unhappy, especially with him.

"That's what I mean, Naruto-kun. You need to make time for other things besides being a shinobi." She raised a hand to stall his protest. "I know all about your dreams. You've told me before, kiddo." Here she favored the young chunin with a small smile to which he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. He had told Mai of his life goals on more than one occasion, and with great relish.

The smile faded quickly as the auburn haired beauty returned to her lecture, "Being a ninja shouldn't be the only thing you care about, goals or no goals. I was the same way once you know, before…well…you know."

Indeed Naruto did know. Mai had been a kunoichi until two years ago; a very talented one at that. She had made genin at eleven and had remained so for three years. Her mission record was sterling, containing 47 completed D-ranked missions and 24 C-ranked. She was on the fast track to success as a kunoichi and would have been if not for a debacle in her final chunin exam.

Her sensei, one Rukushou Aoi, had nominated her team for the chunin exams once before, in Konoha, and they had failed the secondary part of the exam. While Aoi wasn't a man generally known for his prudence or intelligence, he had held the team back for two solid years of training and missions before nominating them for another chunin exam, this time in Sunagakure no Sato.

The team had made it all the way to the finals, a three on three team battle between squads, when Mai ended up squaring off with a kunoichi from Kumogakure no Sato. They had ended up as the final members of their respective cells, both other members had been previously eliminated, one Konoha nin dead, and fought each other for the promotion to chunin.

Mai had been soundly outmatched by her older opponent, and had been caught been caught in a chakra conductive net that was a favorite of raiton users. Not giving Mai a chance to surrender, the Kumo kunoichi had channeled her raiton chakra through the net and managed to fry the all of Mai's nerve endings almost beyond repair.

It was only thanks to the timely intervention of one of Suna's medics, an elderly woman named Chiyo, which had allowed Mai to regain some semblance of her former motor skills. The medic had managed to ensure that she would be able to lead a relatively normal civilian life, though Mai never had the option of being a ninja again.

It was a sad fact of shinobi life. Shinobi and kunoichi alike were often injured severely or cut down before their time. It was because of this that Mai often tried to get Naruto to think about life outside of being a ninja. She felt that at his age he should be more focused on having fun with his life, rather than training to be a killer. One never knew when one might be killed, after all.

Naruto eyes were cast downwards and his face set in a grimace as he recalled Mai's past. He knew why she always encouraged him to study less, and her reasoning was sound. He was intimately familiar with the perils of shinobi life, having his mother taken from him by the Kyuubi since almost before he could remember her had instilled that piece of knowledge into him at a young age. It was also because of that fact that he knew he could never, would never, give up being a shinobi; not until he was satisfied that he had made her proud or he was dead.

"Anyway," the auburn haired girl continued with a bright smile that Naruto couldn't tell was fake or not, "I think that's enough depressing shit for one day, don't you Naruto-kun?" At his nod and bright smile, her own widened, "So, what's new, kiddo?"

Naruto couldn't keep a small blush from his face as he watched the older girl smile at him. She really is pretty. The blush deepened as she raised an eyebrow at him in question and a sly smirk crossed her angular face.

"Um…" Naruto floundered, raking his brain for what she had just asked him. He had been paying too much attention to her face and not her words.

Taking pity on him while chuckling at his reaction to her, she repeated herself, "I asked, what's new, kiddo?"

"Oh right!" Naruto chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Mai had the singular ability to make him flustered. It was vexing to the nth degree for the eleven year old. He didn't quail under the harshest of glares from bandits, allied jonin, or Academy Teachers, yet a sixteen year old girl could fluster him no matter what.

Naruto blamed his emerging hormones.

"Oh, nothing much. I'm meeting with my new team today."

A well manicured raised eyebrow met his response. "Really? I thought you had a team already."

Naruto shook his head in the negative. "I did, but it was just a rotational squad. We only did a few C-ranks and patrol duty runs around the border. This one should be a more permanent squad."

The rotational squad system was a system designed to allow rookie chunins to "get their feet wet", and learn to adapt to the chunin lifestyle. Most squads didn't stay together for more than a few months, and only ran simple missions; this was a part of rookie chunins "probation period". At the end of a chunin's "probation period" they would be shuffled into an existing squad in order to take higher level missions.

Mai nodded her head in acknowledgement. "So, what are you studying? Something to help with your new team?"

Naruto shook his head again. "Not quite. Just a taijutsu manual."

Mai looked surprised. "Oh? I thought you were plenty good at taijutsu? Why aren't you looking up ninjutsu, I know that's all I did when I was your age."

Naruto smiled at the compliment towards his skill, hidden though it was. "There's no real need. I won't be able to use most of them yet. I just don't have the chakra to throw around ninjutsu all the time."

It was true. Though Naruto was gifted with a slew of natural talent, he wasn't gifted with an abnormally large chakra capacity. While it was large for his age – and that was only because of the amount of intense training he put himself through, at least in comparison to other eleven year olds – it was still too small for him to throw jutsu around like party favors.

It led him to his exploration of the other areas of ninja life, mostly genjutsu and taijutsu, and – he hoped – would help him develop into a well rounded ninja, rather than the ninjutsu oriented shinobi that were the norm.

Sneaking a peak at the scroll that Naruto had been immersed in, Mai grimaced when she caught sight of the title. "Mid-range Combatives?" Her grimace was warranted, the scroll was basically a detailed list of the quickest ways to kill someone hand to hand.

Naruto's hand found its way to the back of his head yet again. "Yeah…I figure that if I'm pretty deadly up close, it'll help me compensate for my lack of chakra, and open up space for ninjutsu when I get a little older."

The auburn haired beauty conceded the point, it made sense, as Naruto's points almost always did – ramen being the greatest food in the world aside. The feelings of bemusement remained, however, it was simply too surreal to see an eleven year old both reading and passionately expounding on the various merits of being able to kill a man sixteen different ways from within five feet.

It didn't curb her interest, however.

"Yeah, I guess it makes sense." An eyebrow was raised as she thought of something. "You can't really practice this stuff on your own, can you?"

It was true. While taijutsu katas could be practiced solo for hours on end, true proficiency couldn't be achieved unless those same katas were drilled through combat; be it sparring or actual life and death struggles.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but I've got a pretty good training partner. That and I get some free practice when I get to round up bandits on some of my missions."

"Oh? Who do you practice with?"

Aside from myself, "I practice with a guy named Mizuki. Touji Mizuki," Naruto elaborated when the name had no effect on his friend. "He's an instructor at the Academy."

Mai nodded in acceptance, though not in recognition of the name. "Ah, that makes sense. You get to practice with an older, more experienced shinobi, while he gets to keep his skills sharp."

Naruto smiled, that about covered it. "A mutually beneficial partnership," he proclaimed proudly.

Mai blinked, twice, before bursting into a fit of giggles. When it became abundantly clear that Naruto had no idea why, as evidenced by perplexed look and growing blush, she spoke, "Sorry, it's just that me and Gendo had a conversation where that phrase came up." She burst into another round of giggles before finally managing to compose herself. "It sounds like an official title for a gay relationship."

At the proclamation, Naruto's blush deepened. While young to be familiar with the concept of sexuality, Naruto was both observant and curious. It helped that he spent most of his time around people twice his age.

"Ah…" Naruto searched for a way to restart the conversation, preferably around different topics. "You and Gendo-san talk about that stuff often?" He winced at his failed attempt.

"And what stuff could you possibly mean, little man?" a voice questioned from behind Mai, as a pair of lean arms wrapped around her neck and torso.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Gendo-kun!" Mai squealed in delight, turning to plant a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek.

Naruto grimaced in disgust, whether because he found the action distasteful or because he found Kawasaki Gendo distasteful as a whole was unclear.

Kawasaki Gendo was the civilian son of a well-to-do merchant. Not overly wealthy, but well off, Gendo spent his days in relative luxury, going to Konoha's top civilian academic school, learning to run his father's business, and spending time with his girlfriend Mai.

Handsome, relatively wealthy, and Mai's boyfriend to boot, Naruto had plenty of valid reasons to hate the sixteen year old. He would have loved to as well, were it not for the fact that Gendo was a genuinely likeable person, if not the sharpest kunai in the holster.

"Mai-chan," the teen responded, while turning his girlfriend's face to plant a firm kiss on her lips. Naruto looked away at that. Likeable or not, he took no pleasure in seeing the older boy kissing his crush.

Lightly slapping her boyfriend on his shoulder, though not truly protesting his actions, Mai pulled away. "Gendo-kun, do you have to do that here?" she chided lightly, gesturing to the library itself but meaning the immediate area, in front of Naruto.

If Gendo caught her meaning, he didn't show it. "Aw, you know you like it Mai-chan, and did you forget that we had a date planned for," he paused, taking note of the time for dramatic effect. "Right now?"

Mai gasped lightly, "Oh, I completely forgot! I'm sorry!" Turning to Naruto, she addressed the lightly irritated eleven year old, "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but I've gotta run. I'll talk to you later?"

Naruto forced a smile, none too happy about having his company taken away. "Sure thing Mai, I'll see you later."

Mai planted a quick kiss to his forehead, drawing a small blush that Naruto quickly worked to conceal. "Bye Naruto-kun!"

"See ya around, kiddo," Gendo added with a smile and a wave as he left with Mai in tow.

"Bye…" Naruto said weakly, alone once more. Turning back to his scroll on taijutsu, he sighed, before rolling it up and moving to place it back on its proper shelf. He had long since memorized it anyway, today had merely been a touch up.

Glancing around the Archive, the world seeming all the more dim without Mai's presence, he swiftly moved to the section devoted to genjutsu.

Passing a pretty, dark haired woman in a dress that appeared to be half fabric-half ninja wrap, Naruto felt a small smile worm its way onto his face. Genjutsu was a subject that he could immerse himself in for hours on end. And he had little doubt that his hours would be wasted.

/~/

The light breeze tussled blond hair gently as the sun beat down upon Naruto's back. Breaking into the open space of training ground 14, blue eyes took in the empty state of the large clearing. Checking, he noted that he was exactly on time.

Given the empty state of the large training ground, the blond immediately knew something was amiss.

His danger senses flaring, Naruto was already in motion before his sensitive ears caught the tell tale whistling of a fuuma shuriken tearing through the air toward his position. Acting on instinct, adrenaline already coursing through his body, Naruto let the laws of physics go to work as he caught the center of the bladed weapon with his outstretched hand.

Allowing the momentum of the fuuma shuriken to work with him, Naruto let his body be turned around before releasing the shuriken with the force of his own throw augmenting its initial velocity. Crouching low, blue eyes took in the form of his attacker, a surprised look on his face as his weapon raced back towards him.

A fast Kawarimi saved him, however, as the giant shuriken tore into the log that replaced him, indenting itself nearly halfway.

The residual chakra from the substitution alerted Naruto to the man's position, and he pumped chakra to his legs for a Shunshin, focusing hard not to use any smoke or emit sound. Reappearing in front of his adversary, Naruto had no time to react as a kunai slashed through his neck.

The man, dressed in standard chunin garb complete with flak vest and hitai-ate, started in shock as the body of the eleven year old disappeared in a haze. Genjutsu, the shinobi thought with a grimace, as his ears picked up the sound of a single footstep, much too close to his location for his liking.

To the chunin's credit, he managed to bring up his kunai to Naruto's neck as he felt the cold edge of a knife touch his jugular vein.

"Stalemate," Naruto said clamly, feeling the kunai of his attacker press into his neck.

The chunin, who Naruto could now see had a large scar across his left cheek, smirked slightly. "Not quite," he said, as two figures, both dressed in flak vests and with their hitai-ates acting as bandanas, dropped to the branch behind the threatened chunin.

Outnumbered three to one, Naruto slowly withdrew his kunai from his attacker's neck, though he didn't replace it in his pouch, unknowingly earning a few points with the three shinobi as he kept it held loosely in his right hand. The man opposite him withdrew his own blade, surveying Naruto with visible curiosity before he stowed the knife.

The man, seemingly done with his observation, nodded slightly and cocked his head towards the clearing that made up the majority of training ground 14. As if that were the signal they were waiting for, the two men behind Naruto's attacker vanished in puffs of smoke and swirls of leaves. The two remained for a moment, before using their own Shunshins to reappear in the clearing.

Facing the three chunin, Naruto felt himself relax slightly, knowing that whatever test had been designed for him was over, at least for the moment. He had expected something of the sort, to be honest, his age having made his –hopefully – future teammates wary of his skill. It was to be expected, he was only eleven after all, though it was certainly annoying having to prove himself.

He just hoped that he had passed his test with flying colors; he had never failed a test – save for the Bell Test – and didn't wish to start now.

"Not gonna lie," the scarred chunin began, capturing Naruto's attention immediately. "When central command said that we were getting an eleven year old shifted in, I was skeptical. I see the reports about you weren't exaggerated, Uzumaki Naruto."

In spite of the professional tone they were spoken in, Naruto could detect the faint note of respect in the man's voice, and it brought a smile to his face. "Glad I don't disappoint, though you've got me at a disadvantage, chunin-san."

The man nodded with a small smile, "Namiashi Raidou, at your service."

The man to his left, who carried an ANBU grade ninjaken on his back, went next. "Gekko Hayate. A pleasure, Uzumaki-san," he said softly.

"Shiranui Genma," the last man grunted as leaned against a tree lazily. Naruto noticed that he was chewing on a large toothpick. As the sun glinted off it, he realized it was a senbon needle.

"Uzumaki Naruto, but you guys already knew that."

Raidou nodded. Naruto noted that he appeared to be the one in command of the squad, at least if this meeting was any indication. "For the most part, though your file only included your mission history and academy grades."

"You want an introduction then?" At the nods of both Raidou and Hayate – Genma didn't look to care much either way – he continued, "The name's Naruto. I like ramen, training, and hanging out with a few of my friends, I guess." Images of Mai and Mizuki came to mind. "Not too much I don't like, though I hate lazy bastards and idiot dead-lasts. My dream – my ambition – is to become a jonin, and I hope to have a small family one day."

Hayate nodded with a smile, seeming genuinely interested in what Naruto had to say, while Raidou shot an amused glance at Genma when Naruto mentioned his dislike for "lazy bastards". The senbon chewing man was trying to fall asleep while leaning against the tree.

"Well then!" Raidou began, clapping loudly, both to call attention to himself and wake Genma. "Welcome to Team Raidou. Before we start taking missions, we have to run through basic team training." At Naruto's obvious confusion, he elaborated: "General formations, battle tactics and strategy, stuff like that."

Hayate grimaced slightly, showing his displeasure at the idea, while Genma's senbon nearly dropped from his mouth as he groaned, "I hate newbs."

Naruto blushed slightly, more out of offence than any embarrassment. He wasn't too fond of being the focus of someone's distaste, especially for such a small reason. With the chunin teams being shuffled every six months to a year, unless the team showed outstanding cohesiveness and talent, basic training was a usual occurrence. It wasn't fun by any means, but Naruto felt that it shouldn't be counted as a chore, especially by an experienced shinobi like Genma. It showed a lack of professionalism.

"Quiet, Genma!" Raidou snapped, seemingly sharing Naruto's sentiments. Turning back to the team's newest member, he continued, "Don't mind him, he's just lazy. I'm going to need to see what you can do, so as to best place you in the squad and develop formations and maneuvers that suit you best."

Naruto nodded, eager to prove himself. "All right then. How do we do this?"

"Well, the best way to go about it would be to place you in a combat situation, to gauge how you react to certain things. I didn't get too much from our little tussle back there – other than the fact that you're actually competent – and I need to know what you can do best." The chunin's eyes lit up as a devilish smirk crossed his face. "Why don't you try your hand with Genma there?"

"Balls!" Genma only had time to widen his eyes as a blond blur sped toward him.

As he danced out of the way of Genma's retaliatory strike, the laughter of both Raidou and Hayate in the background, the blond chunin reflected that he would get along with Raidou just fine.

Maybe this team wouldn't be so bad.

/~/

As Naruto would later reflect, the team was far from bad. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Basic training, as it was known, lasted only a week and a half, a process that was sped up considerably by Naruto, whose growing proficiency and determination made the tedious drills fly by quickly.

Hayate and Raidou were impressed, Genma merely seemed thankful.

In the months following, Team Raidou took various C and B ranked missions, most without incident. Naruto also found, much to his pleasure, that the constant team training and sparring, not to mention the more dangerous missions, had kick started him from his plateau.

Having never been on an experienced team before, the second opinions from Hayate, Raidou, and even Genma on occasion, served to greatly increase his learning ability; it honestly surprised him. Training with the three experienced chunin also served to develop his hand to hand skills at a rate faster than he had even thought possible. Sparring with different opponents than he had been used to had forced him to develop faster reflexes, in order to counter the unpredictability, lest he get hit.

While it wasn't life or death experience, Naruto would take what he could get, especially as he wasn't particularly willing to put his life on the line simply for better reflexes.

He was ambitious, not suicidal.

The determined blond found that he was evenly matched with two thirds of his team, though Raidou remained both the strongest and most experienced of the lot. Apparently it was Team Raidou for a reason. He easily outclassed both Genma and Hayate in genjutsu, while his close range taijutsu was probably a little better than even Raidou's; at least in terms of pure effectiveness. With his constant training and sparring, Naruto was nothing if not ruthlessly efficient when it came to dispatching his opponents close range.

In turn, the three older chunin completely eclipsed his ninjutsu abilities; though Naruto was coming along quickly.

Genma, a mid-range specialist, was highly proficient with earth jutsu, and liked to use them to work his opponent into a corner where he could make an easy kill, preferably with his trademark senbon.

Raidou, having the largest reserves of the four, was a ninjutsu expert, and excelled with fire techniques and earth techniques both. Becoming proficient with two elements was a skill almost required to become jonin, and spoke well of Raidou as a shinobi. Naruto had the utmost respect for his commander, recognizing both the man's skills and his experience as a leader.

Hayate was a close range specialist with his kenjutsu, and used a creative combination of ninjutsu and taijutsu to supplement his deadly skills with a blade.

Naruto had taken an interest in kenjutsu, mostly because it was required to have some proficiency in ANBU, and had been receiving some lessons from Hayate on the side. In return, Naruto was helping the man create a new technique that involved both kenjutsu and genjutsu. It looked both promising and deadly.

With their differing skill sets and experience, Team Raidou was a reliable chunin squad. Their competency was recognized, and the four found themselves tasked with a B-ranked assassination mission.

While not uncommon for chunin squads to receive such missions, this one was special. It tasked Team Raidou with the destruction of a compound of bandits situated in the heart of River Country, the country that acted as a buffer zone between Fire Country and Wind Country. Killing bandits wasn't a difficult task, but the compound was apparently being run by B-ranked missing nin; a fairly well known jonin named Kurosuki Hideki.

The man hailed from Kumo, and had defected after a failed mission during the height of the Third Great War.

Their task was to kill him, whatever underlings he may have had, and destroy his compound that had been terrorizing the plains of River Country.

It was simple in theory, perfectly plausible on paper, and certainly doable in execution. A straightforward B-ranked assassination mission, as decreed by the Konoha missions office.

Unfortunately for Team Raidou, the powers that be never considered that someone else might have been after Kurosuki Hideki as well.

/~/

There were three signs that something was wrong when the Konoha squad reached Kurosuki's compound.

The first sign was that the wooden gates, similar but much smaller than the ones guarding Konoha, were torn completely off their hinges. The second sign was the bodies strewn throughout the small compound.

It was a bloodbath.

Kunai, shuriken, and more perforated the dozens of bodies strewn haphazardly through the streets, blood dripping from the still cooling corpses. The stench of death hung heavy in the air – Naruto had almost gagged – while the very air that Team Raidou breathed was laden with ambient chakra, an obvious sign of shinobi involvement.

The third sign was the silence.

"Am I going to be the asshole that says that it's quiet, too quiet?" Genma piped weakly, attempting to fight growing unease and nervousness with humor.

"Shut it, Genma!" Raidou hissed. He made the hand sign for immediate retreat. "Some other force is obviously at work here. We need to return to Konoha immediately and inform the ANBU, they'll be able to handle this."

"I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that."

At the sound of the voice, the Konoha squad spun abruptly, eyes taking in the forms of three shinobi, all wearing forehead protectors with the symbol for Iwagakure. The body of Kurosuki Hideki was draped roughly over the tallest man's shoulders.

A short man, with a tuft of red hair and carrying a zanbatou as large as he was tall, stepped forward. His eyes glittered malevolently as he raised his cleaver. "Well, now…I've not killed any Konoha trash in over a decade. What do you say, gents? Time for some fun?"

/~/

3. Trial by Fire

/~/

Naruto had fought many dangerous men in his short shinobi career. Some had, obviously, been more dangerous than others. He had fought bandits and wandering ronin on some of his earlier missions, and he had even killed a few small-time missing nin on some of his B-ranked missions with Team Raidou.

None of them compared to the might of the Iwa squad that had appeared from nowhere in the middle of River Country.

Originally, Naruto had thought the three man squad arrogant when they had squandered the element of surprise in favor of pointless posturing. Much to the boy's growing distress, the Iwa nin had the abilities to back up their boldness.

In spades.

Sometime in between when earthen spikes burst from the ground, forcing Team Raidou to dodge lest they be fried by the ensuing electric current, and when the red haired man with the zanbatou rushed in and delivered a debilitating strike with the flat end of his zanbatou that immediately removed Hayate from the fight, Naruto realized that he and his team were in over their heads.

Iwa formed their squads differently than Konoha, opting to pack more power in a smaller group. Standard formation dictated that each squad was made up of two chunin and one jonin. In theory, it would allow for the squad to move more quickly, while having enough power to compensate for the lack of a fourth member.

Naruto had learned all that from a history text detailing the Third Great War. He had also learned that Iwa designated certain squads as 'kill squads' that were designed to be able to eliminate high level targets efficiently and with impunity. Given the way that the three handled themselves, the carnage behind him in the formerly sprawling hamlet, and the ease with which the short man had dispatched Hayate – a seasoned chunin in his own right – led Naruto to believe that they had indeed stumbled upon a Iwagakure 'kill squad'.

All of that flashed through Naruto's head at the speed of thought, barely registering in the boy's mind before being discarded, as he scrambled to intercept the red haired shinobi who was moving to finish Hayate.

Two kunai were palmed as Naruto's focus increased to insane levels and he slipped into Shunshin.

The blond chunin immediately felt the strain on his body from the jutsu as he reappeared in front of the short Iwa nin. The twin knives were brought to bear in a hasty overhead block that halted the cleaver in its tracks. Naruto's arms shook under the weight of the man's zanbatou as he attempted to deliver the coup de grace, and the chunin gritted his teeth.

Feeling his twin kunai slipping, Naruto channeled the remaining chakra from his Shunshin to his legs, digging his heels into the ground. Feeling a rush of air behind him, he almost sighed in relief as Hayate's body was whisked away by Genma. He was out of the kill zone.

Enacting a quick Kawarimi with a nearby piece of debris, Naruto grimaced in pain; he'd be feeling the strain on his chakra coils in the morning. If I get out alive, that is.

Seeing Genma moving to engage the red haired jonin – Naruto assumed he was the jonin – Naruto's eyes shifted to where Raidou was exchanging blows with the other two Iwa nin. Seeing the scarred chunin create a small amount of space between himself and the Stone-nin, Naruto enacted a carefully orchestrated maneuver.

Naruto had trained with Team Raidou in a series of basic, simple teamwork maneuvers; maneuvers that were trained extensively so that each team member not only was ready for them at a moment's notice, but also expected them. Teams like the Densetsu no Sannin and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had become famous for their complicated, sophisticated, and deadly combos. In the case of Team Raidou, there was nothing complicated and nothing sophisticated, but it was deadly.

It was illustrated beautifully when Naruto reached out with his chakra and Kawarimi'd with a rapidly retreating Raidou.

The two approaching chunin were entirely unprepared to meet a shorter, smaller, and very offensive minded Naruto. Konoha's reputation for deadly teamwork gained credence as Naruto swiftly outmaneuvered one of the unprepared Iwa nin and worked his way behind him. The blond slammed one of his kunai into the base of the man's neck, severing the spine, with a grunt of satisfaction.

The entire altercation took less than two seconds.

Pushing the rapidly cooling corpse into the second chunin, Naruto dropped back and summoned a Tsuchi Bunshin to distract the second shinobi. Leaping into the air, the blond landed on a nearby rooftop, where he was quickly joined by Genma, the latter having been replaced by Raidou, who was engaging the Iwa jonin.

Eyes sweeping over the battlefield, Naruto addressed the chunin, who was without his customary senbon. "My clone won't hold long. What's happening?"

"Hayate's looking bad," Genma said in a rush. "Two of his ribs punctured his left lung."

Fuck. Naruto grimaced, "We'll have to do this fast then. I'll take point and you flank?"

The lazy chunin shook his head. "Negative, Raidou can't handle the jonin for long. I'm gonna drop in for support. This one's yours," he finished, gesturing to the Iwa nin who had just dispatched Naruto's Tsuchi Bunshin.

You gotta be kidding me. Naruto nodded once, curtly. "Understood." There was no time for arguments on the battlefield, especially with a comrade injured; only quick decisions and executions. The blond knew what was expected of him.

As Genma disappeared in a burst of chakra to support the beleaguered Raidou, Naruto pulled a scroll from one of the pockets on his flak vest. A short burst of chakra and a swipe of blood later, Naruto held a folding Fuuma Shuriken in his hands.

Naruto snapped the weapon into place, before hurling the bladed weapon at the now charging chunin. He immediately wove a set of seals, before leaping to the ground and moving to meet his enemy halfway.

Seeing the shuriken coming in at neck level, the Iwa chunin ducked under it. His eyes widened as he blanched and performed an impressive acrobatic corkscrew to avoid the shuriken that had been in the shadow of the first.

Noticing Naruto's charge and reacting quickly, the Iwa nin withdrew three kunai with explosive tags and chucked them at the charging blond to buy himself time.

Cursing, Naruto quickly substituted with one of his thrown shuriken, appearing behind the Iwa nin. Grimacing in pain – it was a strain to Kawarimi with a moving object – Naruto palmed six shuriken, three in each hand, and sent them racing toward the Iwa chunin.

The man, recognizing an attempt to maneuver him, withdrew a kunai and deftly deflected the inbound throwing stars. Hurling his own kunai, the man dropped to one knee, weaving hand seals before slamming his palms to the ground.

"Doton: Doryuusou!" the man intoned fiercely.

Shit! Naruto cursed. His dodging of the man's kunai had placed him in prime position for the follow-up ninjutsu. As earthen spikes burst from the ground to impale him, Naruto did the only thing available to him to avoid a painful death.

He jumped.

In the world of shinobi, jumping into the air while in a defensive position was almost always suicide. The reason being: that if a competent enemy had you on the defensive, placing yourself in a position where you couldn't completely control your body movement, i.e. the air, was simply asking to be killed.

The same held true here, as his enemy leapt to follow him.

Hastily withdrawing a kunai from his rapidly deflating weapon's pouch, Naruto deflected the Iwa nin's stabs to the best of his ability. The blond grunted in pain as he took a few shots to the chest, with only his flak vest saved him from taking any potentially mortal wounds.

Falling rapidly and with death approaching, Naruto used all of his strength to kick out at the Iwa chunin, and managed to push him off. The blond flipped through a set of hand seals as he fell away from the man, and a thick mist began to blanket the area, obscuring the Iwa nin's view of Naruto as the blond hit the ground hard.

Feeling his internal chakra fluctuate for a split second, the Iwa chunin landed in a crouch. Hands forming the ram seal, he stopped his chakra flow with a muttered "Kai!" and the mist disappeared to reveal a charging Naruto, kunai in hand.

The knives met with a resounding 'CLANG' that reverberated through the area and the two combatant's arms. Withdrawing briefly, the two chunin met once more, blades generating sparks as metal met metal.

Dropping back briefly, the Iwa shinobi allowed for Naruto to make a charge once more, before using his longer reach and superior strength to bat away the knife and get inside the boy's guard, stabbing him through the neck. His momentary triumph was short lived, however, as the body crumbled into mud.

Quick thinking saved his head, and Naruto cursed silently as his stab at the man's back was avoided by a desperate roll. The chunin had great reflexes.

Dropping back and making space to catch his breath, Naruto assessed his opponent. The man was both larger and stronger than him, and he undoubtedly had more chakra. In a battle of attrition, the Iwa nin would have him beaten soundly.

Assessing himself briefly, he noted that he had more than half of his chakra, still, and a plan began to take shape. This is gonna hurt…

One hand seal later, a charging Tsuchi Bunshin was sprinting towards the Iwa chunin. Watching dispassionately as four kunai perforated the crumbling clone, Naruto wove hand seals for one of the few ninjutsu he used regularly.

Taking a breath, Naruto expelled a high speed, compacted bullet of water at the Iwa nin. The Suiton: Teppodama wasn't the quickest ninjutsu, but it was fast enough to force Naruto's enemy to move rather than block.

Focus sharpening to a pinpoint, chakra control earned by long hours of training came into effect as Naruto slipped into Shunshin once more. Despite the pain that Naruto knew he would be feeling, the high speed technique allowed him to get close to the still dodging Iwa chunin.

Naruto's personal brand of taijutsu relied on grappling, trapping, and lightning fast strikes that were too fast to react to. It required speed to steal the initiative at close range, and speed was something Naruto had in spades.

Deftly maneuvering inside the man's guard, Naruto easily blocked a desperate punch, grabbing the offending appendage and twisting it painfully. Pressing his advantage, Naruto brought his right arm up while using his left to pull the Iwa nin's arm downward sharply. The chunin's arm snapped at the elbow with a satisfying CRACK.

The man had no time to scream in pain before Naruto had kicked his leg behind the knee, knocking him off balance, and grabbed the man's head and twisted it sharply. The corpse collapsed in a boneless heap and a thump as its neck was broken.

Fewer than four minutes had passed since Naruto engaged the Iwa shinobi solo.

Catching his breath, Naruto surveyed the battlefield. Ears picking up the sound of clashing metal, Naruto turned, somewhat surprised at how far he had moved from his teammates. He quickly backtracked.

Coming within view of the fight, Naruto noted that both Genma and Raidou looked the worse for wear, Genma especially. With identical nods, the two chunin dropped back to stand next to each other as they both started making hand seals.

Naruto stopped, recognizing the deadly combo, and decided to hang back to watch the fireworks. He couldn't help the feeling of nervousness that gathered in the pit of his stomach as the air became heavy with chakra. This had better work.

Genma finished first, and a dragon formed entirely of mud rose from the ground and charged the Iwa jonin.

In an ideal world, Hayate would have been there to lead off with a Mud River that would have unbalanced the target. Genma's Mud Dragon would have followed, before being alit with white hot flames b y Raido.

If the enemy managed to survive that, Naruto would be called in to finish the job.

The technique was golden on paper, and even better when executed properly. The world wasn't ideal, however, and Hayate's part of the combo was the most important.

Raidou never got a chance to finish the seals for the Katon: Karyuudan, as a powerful bolt of supercharged blue lightning ripped through his body, having passed through the mud dragon like it was nothing but air.

"Raiton: Gian!" the red haired jonin bit out. A snarl marred the man's features, before it twisted into a grin.

"You kill my teammates I kill you, trash. Fair trade?" the jonin mocked. A twisted satisfaction rested on his face, turning it into the visage of a monster.

For Naruto, time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched the lightning rip a hole in Raidou's chest. The scarred chunin's back arched in pain as he let out a silent scream, before collapsing to the ground. Bits of lightning still arced across his body as the man laid deathly still.

NO!

No one could survive that.

The blond chunin's mind processed two things, Raidou – his friend, his comrade, and his leader – was dead, and the Iwa jonin was responsible. In Naruto's mind, the man's life was forfeit.

Effective immediately.

Naruto channeled his anger, his hatred. The rage sharpened his focus to a pinpoint as the drumbeat of his heart blared in his ears. The only thing that mattered was that the man responsible for the death of Raidou ended up dead. A plan began to take shape in the young chunin's head.

"Genma," he snarled as the senbon chewing chunin landed next to him. "I've got an idea. I'll need you to take point. Gimme space."

Genma nodded once, the idea of questioning the blonde's order never crossing his mind. He would be ready to bail Naruto out if the whole thing went sideways.

Charging at the Iwa jonin, who had paused to regroup after his jutsu, Genma flipped through a series of seals, before suddenly spitting multiple senbon needles at the red haired shinobi.

Bringing his zanbatou to bear, the short jonin used the flat end to deflect the incoming projectiles, before spinning and using his momentum to take a deadly swing at Genma's neck.

Much to his shock, the strike missed entirely, and he was forced to let go of his sword in order to dodge backwards as the newly substituted Naruto's kunai made a stab for his heart.

The man was a jonin, however, and acquitted himself well. Reacting quickly by drawing his own kunai, the Iwa-nin blocked Naruto's second blade before it could pierce his liver. The man found purchase as he made a grab from Naruto's chest, and, using his superior strength, the jonin shoved Naruto back to make space.

Naruto complied, allowing his body to drift backwards with no resistance. The Iwa-nin faltered, losing his balance due to the unexpected lack of resistance. It was a credit to the jonin's reflexes that he managed to move his head in time to avoid Naruto's thrown kunai, but his eyes widened in shock as the snarling blond boy disappeared, only to be replaced by the very kunai he had just thrown.

The jonin tried to react, but had no time, as the Kawarimi was a near-instantaneous substitution. He felt nothing but a single moment of the cold bite of steel, as Naruto rammed the remaining knife into the back of his neck.

The blond roared his victory and his revenge as he fell with his dead enemy. His body hit the ground with a muted thump, and he couldn't stop the faintest, smallest smile of satisfaction that blossomed when he realized that he'd avenged his friend.

The smile remained until darkness claimed him.

/~/

Naruto was in pain. And he had no one but himself to blame. It was all necessary, he kept telling himself. And while the mantra was true, he couldn't help but wonder if there hadn't been another way to go about it all.

Preferably a way that hadn't left him in the hospital with his chakra coils damaged.

The Shunshin, despite common misconceptions, was not a teleportation jutsu. It was a speed technique; though that didn't make it any less simple. Many thought that the technique should be learned by all Academy students – young genin especially – as it couldn't hurt. But there were very specific reasons for why it wasn't.

Similar to the Kawarimi in nature, the Shunshin required C-rank chakra control, lest the user end up a greasy smear on the ground when the pent up chakra speeding his movement exploded outward, instead of remaining controlled. The jutsu allowed for a quick, nearly insane burst of speed over a short distance and shorter duration, due to the use of chakra to power the legs in order to move at speeds almost faster than the eye could track.

It was this build up of chakra that made the Shunshin effective as a jutsu, but very dangerous and stupid to use in most combat situations. The chakra build up had to escape somewhere, and that spot was usually from the users' body at the beginning and end of the run. The discharge made it possible for just about any competent shinobi to estimate both the direction and destination of the user.

The other glaring limitation was that the discharged chakra had to go somewhere, and this somewhere was usually the closest object that could absorb chakra – i.e. the shinobi who had just preformed the technique. This caused the escaped chakra to slam back into the shinobi's chakra coils – a process that was abnormal and could be painful if done too much.

The chakra release and absorption put a great amount of strain on the body. As the body was used to having a certain balance of chakra at all points, the heavy concentration of chakra moving in and out of the body could render serious damage to the leg muscles if used too frequently or in too quick a succession. It was for this reason that the use of the Celestial Gates was classified as forbidden, as the discharged chakra affected the users entire body, causing massive damage.

It was because of these limitations that shinobi like Shunshin no Shisui and The Yellow Flash were recognized as masters of the Shunshin; the Yondaime in particular. They had managed to create and use a modified version of the technique to make it combat effective.

Similarly, the Kawarimi used the chakra to latch onto an object and bring it towards the user, while simultaneously propelling the user to the spot that the object had previously occupied in a magnetic propulsion effect.

As the chakra could, and would mostly be concentrated on the other object, the technique required far less chakra control than the Shunshin, as the user didn't have to worry about much excess chakra being built up, discharged, and then slamming back into the user's chakra coils. But there was still some left over, and that chakra still had to go somewhere.

It was for this reason that most shinobi substituted with object of both organic material, and similar size to them. The organic matter would automatically absorb most of the chakra of the user, and the more matter there was, the less excess chakra there would be concentrated on the user, able to slam back into them.

When Naruto Kawarimi'd with his thrown kunai, he was substituting with an object both significantly smaller than himself, and made of metal. As things stood, Naruto had felt every single particle of chakra as it slammed back into his coils, and was still feeling it now.

Chakra coils took a while to recover properly if you wanted to use them in the future, and Naruto found, to his chagrin, that he needed to be in the hospital for that to happen.

Hospital food, he mused, most likely came from one gelatinous substance that was simply doctored up to look like real food. It was the only explanation that he could think of for why everything on his plate tasted exactly the same. And it didn't taste good.

At least Mizuki managed to sneak me some ramen.

Unfortunately for the bedridden chunin, the budget for an Academy Instructor wasn't all that much. Compounded by the fact that he was living with his girlfriend, creating double the living expenses, the man had very little money to spend on frivolous things such as ramen. Or at least that was the way the silver haired man put it.

Naruto didn't think that the excuse quite cut it; the man had only gotten him one extra large box, just one! That was one meal. That would only last twenty five minutes, tops. He still had a few days in this hellhole.

That was no way to treat your injured and bedridden friend, at least not in Naruto's mind.

Naruto's musings about the unfairness of it all were cut short by the voice of the aforementioned man, who was facing outwards and looking through the window that gave Naruto a good view of the Hokage monument. "It's still hard to believe, you know? I mean, I didn't run too many missions with the guy, but by all accounts he was good; damn good."

Naruto nodded solemnly from his place on the hospital bed. His emotions were still running high after Raidou's death. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He was the best of all of us."

"Shows you what can happen if you're not careful, even to the best of us."

Naruto shook his head. "No, he was careful. He had no warning, no indication that anything was coming, no time to react. He would have needed reflexes and speed like the Yondaime to get out of the way."

Naruto's gaze turned upwards, eyes losing focus as they took in the pure white ceiling of his room in Konoha's Shinobi Medical Center. "He was outmatched. We all were."

Civilian clothes rustled as Mizuki turned around to face the blond. An unreadable expression rested on the Academy teacher's face. "You killed him though, in the end."

Naruto merely shrugged, he could truly say that he didn't really care about having killed the man. One week after the battle, Naruto merely wished to forget the whole thing.

"You ever find out who he was?"

Naruto nodded, eyes coming back into focus. "Masahashi Shibito, jonin from."

Mizuki blanched at the name. "Holy shit, Naruto! Do you even know who that is?"

At Naruto's blank look, he elaborated, "He's A-ranked, was A-ranked! He fought during the Great War...!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. Genma had been the one to stop by and tell him who it was exactly that had given them so much trouble, but he hadn't mentioned this.

"…whole squad! God, Naruto, you have no idea what you did, do you?"

At Mizuki's incredulous look, Naruto allowed a small smile to slip onto his face. It was more for his friend's benefit than because of any real pride. "Apparently, I killed some A-ranked bad-ass."

At the continued incredulity – now complete with hand motions – Naruto snickered to himself, Mizuki really was too funny. He was glad to call the man his friend though, he managed to cheer him up when no one else could, or even bothered to.

"Not just him, his whole squad! Damn, Naruto…If you keep this up you'll be ANBU in no time." The silver haired chunin shook his head in disbelief. "Hell, they'll come looking for you."

Naruto shrugged, blushing slightly at the praise. "I had help. I wouldn't have been able to kill two of them if Genma and Raidou hadn't been there." His voice cracked slightly on the name of his former captain. "It was a team effort; I was just the one who got the kill shot."

Mizuki scoffed. "Whatever. Downplay it as much as you want, the fact is that you still killed them. You. Not Genma. Not Raidou." Shaking his head in bemusement, the chunin plopped down in a chair that was adjacent to Naruto's bed, taking a sip from a glass of water. "Man, I would be surprised if ANBU didn't pay you a visit in the next couple of days." He idly took another sip.

"They already did." The simple statement had the oh-so-satisfying effect of causing Mizuki to spit out his water. "A rep stopped by yesterday," Naruto finished, in between chuckles. Perfect timing.

"Oh really?" Mizuki had regained his composure, what little there had been to begin with anyway. A deadpan expression rested on his face. "What'd he say?"

"Nothing much. Just that they were interested, had looked at my file, mission records, the like. Thought I had 'potential,' he said." Naruto blew a strand of blond hair out of his eyes, it really was getting long. "You know how it is."

"No, Naruto, I most certainly do not know how it is. The guy say anything else?" Mizuki asked dryly. His incredulity was warranted. ANBU was the most secret shinobi unit in Konoha, and didn't often recruit openly. Especially with people as young as Naruto; the after effects of Uchiha Itachi's betrayal still hung heavy in the Black Ops. If Naruto followed through and became an ANBU, he would be the second youngest in over a decade.

"Just that it would probably take six months to process my application, if I decide to join that is," Naruto said straight faced. He casually buffed his nails on his hospital gown.

The blond felt a smile threaten to split his face in two as he saw Mizuki's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. "Six months! You do know that's shaving off a year of the normal processing time?"

"Yup."

Mizuki shook his head, throwing his arms skyward in frustration. "Of course you know, you cocky little bastard. You really think you're hot shit, don't you?"

Naruto smirked devilishly. "Lil' bit."

"That's it, I'm outta here! Let's see how you like not getting any ramen tomorrow." Mizuki picked up his jacket from his chair and started towards the door, shaking his head at Naruto along the way.

"Oh dear, I do hope I'm not intruding."

Naruto and Mizuki spun toward the door, eyes widening as they took in the elderly form of the Sandaime Hokage, decked out in his traditional Hokage robes and hat.

Mizuki composed himself quickly, and addressed the Shinobi no Kami respectfully, "Not at all, Hokage-sama. I was just leaving."

"Well then, my boy, don't let me keep you." The old man gave the chunin a grandfatherly smile.

As Mizuki sped out of the room – shooting Naruto wide-eyed looks the whole way – the elderly shinobi stepped fully into the room, followed closely by a middle aged blond man with a long ponytail, who sported a crisp flak vest.

"Alas, Uzumaki-kun, I'm afraid that we require a few moments of your time."

/~/

Naruto sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose in order to stave off the ensuing headache. He had expected to be debriefed, it was standard procedure after a mission like his; he just didn't expect it to be the Hokage and Konoha's First Fireblade doing the debriefing.

The First Fireblade, also known as the High Jonin, was appointed by the Hokage in order to better manage the shinobi populace – the Hokage could hardy micro-manage the whole shinobi force. The Fireblade, Yamanaka Inoichi, headed the jonin council, and ranked third on the totem pole in terms of highest ranking ninja. He was behind the ANBU Commander, a reclusive figure if there ever was one, and the Hokage himself in terms of raw political power in the village.

It was a system that had been set up by Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage, so that the village could be properly managed in times of crisis – i.e. if the sitting Hokage was unduly occupied or indisposed. It also established the chain of command if the Hokage was killed before he could appoint a successor; the First Fireblade would assume control of the Konoha military, while the advisory council would control the civilian matters, until a proper replacement could be found.

Hyuuga Hisashi, the Fireblade at the time of the Kyubi attack, had held control over the Konoha shinobi force for all of three hours before Sarutobi had been reinstated.

Given the importance of the two men sitting at the foot of his bed, Naruto could only assume that he and his team had stumbled onto something big. Mission clusterfucks like his didn't normally cause enough concern for the Hokage and his ranking jonin to get involved.

"…checks out. It's the same version of events that Shiranui told us, Hokage-sama," the High Jonin finished, wrenching the blond from his musings.

The Hokage nodded solemnly, eyes firmly locked on the Hokage Mountain out the window. He appeared to be deep in thought. Turning from the view, his eyes found the sitting form of Naruto.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun, did you notice anything…abnormal about your encounter with the Iwa shinobi?" the Sandaime asked.

Naruto took the question as permission to speak freely. "Aside from the obvious? The fact that they were there in the first place?" It was a rhetorical question, but the Hokage nodded nonetheless. "Seemed like a case of really bad luck at first. Kurosuki had money on his head; it's not out of the question to think that someone, even another village, would be after him."

The Hokage nodded, accepting the point. "But…"

"We're shinobi. There's no such thing as bad luck, only misinformation," Naruto continued, the concerns he had been stewing over for the past week finally coming to the fore. "But it still makes no sense! The money on Kurosuki shouldn't have been enough to attract Iwa's attention anyway. And even if it was, the bounty shouldn't have been enough for them to send a full kill squad into River Country, a place that is under joint jurisdiction of both Konoha and Suna."

The boy shrugged his shoulders, having expressed his concerns. The Hokage nodded with a small smile settling on his face at the young shinobi's deduction skills.

Naruto leaned back, eyes closing as he recalled every small detail of the encounter. Unbidden, the words of his almost sensei came to the fore, "A shinobi must always seek to look underneath the underneath."

Eyes flying open, dots connected in his brain as previously disjointed bits of information formed a cohesive whole. Naruto addressed the Hokage once more: "They were waiting for us!" The answer was both so obvious and so ludicrous that Naruto had overlooked it completely in his reflections.

The Sandaime, who had been having a whispered conversation with Inoichi, turned his head to Naruto. "Elaborate," Sarutobi said seriously.

"They were waiting, they had to be! There was no surprise when they found us. The village was torn apart, but looked like it had been like that for some time at least. Killing Kurosuki wouldn't have taken that long for them; they had no reason to still be there when we showed up." The follow up 'but, why?' was left unasked in the wake of the boy's rant.

The Hokage nodded, looking to Inoichi, who had a look of surprise etched upon his visage. "Indeed, Hokage-sama, the boy is perceptive." Turning to face Naruto, he continued, "That is the same conclusion that we have drawn, Uzumaki-san. The question remains, why?"

"Why would an Iwa kill squad be in River Country? Why would they be waiting to ambush at team of Konoha chunin? The answers have some disturbing implications." the Hokage said.

Blond eyebrows shot up, and Naruto's eyes widened as the dots connected. "You think this was a deliberate act of war?" The alarm was clear in his voice as a muted sort of terror gripped him.

Instead of answering, the Sandaime turned to the window once more, surveying the stone faces of his predecessors and successor. "Indeed, my boy, you must be curious as to why both Inoichi-kun and myself are here debriefing you."

The question was rhetorical, but Naruto nodded anyway. It didn't make much sense as to why such high ranking ninja were here to debrief him of all people.

"While the information that you and your team inadvertently helped us uncover is a bit above your pay grade, I have it on good authority that that may be changing soon." The Sandaime face was expressionless, not allowing Naruto to get a read on the man.

Naruto's mind immediately flashed to the offer the ANBU representative – he had said his name was Tenzou – had made him. How does he know about that? It was only yesterday! The thought only barely crossed his mind before he mentally slapped himself. ANBU was under the direct jurisdiction of the Hokage, it would have been a shock if the man didn't know.

Hell, Naruto thought, the Hokage probably approved the decision to recruit me. The question was, why?

"You'll find, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime began, shaking Naruto from his thoughts, "that I've got quite the eye for talent." His lips twitched in amusement as Naruto's eyes widened. "Call it a hunch, but I've a feeling that you may be an important asset to this village one day. I'm simply…helping the process along. It wouldn't be the first time."

As floored as he was by the Sandaime's apparent faith in his abilities, Naruto couldn't help but be skeptical. "Me? I'm nobody. Orphaned, clanless…" the boy trailed off, truly at a loss as to why the Sandaime would show so much interest in him. He was talented, he knew that, but surely there were others. Faith like the Sandaime was showing in his abilities wasn't developed simply by reading over his mission reports, no matter how impressive they might have been; and it's not like he was taking S-ranked missions either, just standard C and B-ranked jobs.

No, the kind of interest the Hokage was showing in him could only be developed over time, as if the man had been following his whole career from the day he entered the ninja academy. But that was preposterous.

"As were many exceptional shinobi" the Sandaime said simply, a truly unnerving twinkle in his eyes. Minato-kun comes to mind. And not even he showed as much talent at your age.

Naruto sat back. He was floored, that was for sure. No one had shown such faith in both his skills and his talent before.

No pressure, Naruto. Yeah, right.

"In any event, I'm always looking for fresh, new opinions; they often give perspective on certain angles that old men like me don't see. Your perspective on the matter, having been directly involved, more so than anyone else, may help us understand our precarious position a little better."

The Professor looked to Naruto expectantly, as if he honestly thought the boy might refuse to lend his opinion. At Naruto's unnecessary nod of compliance, he turned to the formerly silent member of the trio. "Inoichi, if you will?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Turning to Naruto, he began, "As you are aware, information is the backbone of a mission's success. A misinformed shinobi is a dead shinobi."

Naruto bobbed his head at the old adage; it was drilled into all Academy students.

"As you are most likely not aware, the…fiasco," he took a moment to find an adequate word, "that was your mission was not the first instance of a Konoha team being ambushed. There have been a total of three other examples of Konoha teams being caught off guard by Iwa shinobi, though none quite as blatant as yours."

"In each case, there has been at least one Konoha survivor. And in each case, the evidence was such that it was easy to believe that the Konoha teams were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Until now," Naruto finished.

The blond Yamanaka nodded. "Until now. Until this point, these small incidents have been happening on neutral ground, in Grass Country to be specific. As Grass is bordered by both Fire Country and Earth Country, it was easier to believe that squads from the both villages might encounter one another, though it was still a bit of a stretch. But for it to happen in River Country?"

"It's too convenient, too blatant," Naruto finished for him, eyes widening as comprehension dawned. "And everybody knows that there are no coincidences in this job."

"Indeed, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime agreed grimly.

"You think they're provoking us?" Naruto asked. "Hokage-sama, if I may?" The Sandaime nodded. "Iwa's never been all that subtle. They hate us. But a full kill squad in River Country after the same target as a Konoha team?" Naruto shook his head. "It a little too bold; even for them."

"Yes it does, my boy. Yes it does," the Sandaime agreed with a grim smile. It looked more like a grimace on the aged Hokage's face.

Inoichi picked up once more, "We were fully prepared to believe Iwa was provoking us into conflict, until this last maneuver. Iwa's feelings for Konoha aside, they are a shinobi village governed by shinobi ideals. The Tsuchikage would never condone such an attack unless his forces were fully mobilized for war; it defies all logic, otherwise."

Naruto's eyes widened and he suppressed a gasp as a second, far more horrifying conclusion was drawn in his head.

"You think someone is manipulating Iwa, pushing them towards conflict with us?" the question that wasn't a question drew only grim faces.

/~/

"It definitely didn't go as planned, but we should be able to make do, yeah," the spectral form of a man said. "Heh, it might turn out even better."

The man whom he was addressing stood ramrod straight, grey, ringed eyes peering intently at the rainbow colored form. "Elaborate," was his simple command.

"Shibito was a good soldier. He was an old timer; old school, and one of the Tsuchikage's favorites." The figure paused, chucking to himself. "When the news came down, I was surprised the old man didn't declare war on Konoha right then and there, yeah."

"Even in his old age, the Tsuchikage remains shrewd. He was never prone to rash decisions, it is doubtful he will begin now," the grey eyed figure stated, idly adjusting his black cloak with red clouds. The voice wasn't quite monotone, it merely lacked inflection.

It never ceased to unnerve the rainbow colored figure.

"Yeah, well, it should speed the process along a bit. The old man's getting agitated, not to mention what the rest of the shinobi think, yeah. A full kill team taken down by a few chunin, the whole corps is talking about it." The figure shook his head. "Word is some brat got all the kills. It's got'em on edge; they're anxious, yeah."

The grey eyed figure nodded. "As they should be. This turn, while unexpected, has the potential to help expedite our operations. How go the inroads in Kusagakure?"

The specter appeared caught off guard at the sudden change in topic, but composed himself quickly. "Better than expected, yeah, but it's still a long ways off." The figure shrugged. "Even then, it'll take something big to convince the hardliners to change. Konoha has been one of their best allies."

"Kusa's support of Iwa is paramount," the cloaked figure insisted. "With a village so close to Konoha supporting Iwa while on the brink of war, Konoha will be forced into early action, drawing their attention from us."

The spectral figure nodded. "Understood, yeah. It's just tough trying to work with the pro-Konohans. Getting them sworn to secrecy about the whole deal was hard enough."

"An incident will be arranged, as you seem to think it's required. Keep the pressure on Kusa for now, and off of Konoha; we don't need them asking unnecessary questions because we got too careless."

"You really think that they might deduce our existence? That seems a little farfetched, yeah…" The cloaked man couldn't see expressions on the face of his subordinate, but he assumed that the man had a questioning look on his face, at least from his response.

The grey eyed man shook his head. "The Sandaime has always been intelligent, that has not changed in his later years. He also has a knack for surrounding himself with similarly intelligent people. Provoking Konoha any further will serve no visible purpose, while making it easier for the Hokage to become aware of us."

The rainbow colored figure nodded. "Understood."

"You are dismissed." With a small hand gesture, the spectral figure disappeared from sight, and the cloaked man allowed the jutsu to end.

"The conflict with Konoha and Iwa is on schedule then?" a voice spoke up from behind the grey eyed man.

"Ahead of schedule, if Deidara is to be believed." The man turned to address a similarly cloaked figure who wore an orange mask on his face. "The unexpected turn of events may turn out to benefit us greatly. Though that one Leaf-nin, Uzumaki Naruto, bears some watching."

The masked man nodded. "The rest of that blasted clan certainly was trouble. I'll set Itachi to watch him; he's on Kyuubi duty anyway. He'll be in position to eliminate the boy if necessary."

The masked man turned to face the ringed eyed man. "What about Kusa? You said it yourself, Pein, their alliance with Iwa is crucial in starting this war. Konoha will have to act in a way that will perceived as an act of war."

Pein nodded. "And they will. I already have a plan in motion. If all goes as it should, tensions should be at the breaking point within two months."

"And war?"

"Within two years."

The masked man kept his gaze upon Pein for a moment, before nodding in acceptance of the statement. "Good, the teams should be able to start moving freely toward the biju at the same time then. You will have to assemble them soon."

"It will be done," Pein stated flatly.

"Good." Turning to the door to exit, the man paused. "I have to wonder, how exactly you intend to force Konoha into action. You said it yourself, the Sandaime is an intelligent man, with intelligent advisors; he will not act rashly, especially against an ally."

"I've long since infiltrated my old sensei's network; placing misinformation that will force Konoha to act won't be difficult."

He couldn't see behind the mask, but Pein was sure the man had raised an eyebrow in question. "Oh? And when Konoha investigates why they received false information from their most trusted source? What then?"

"Konoha doesn't know we exist. With that in mind, their attention will focus on the only other logical conclusion."

The masked man nodded with a chuckle. "Orochimaru. Hmph, I suppose that it was a good thing I convinced you not to kill him after all."

Pein nodded. "Indeed. Our old ally will make himself useful once more."

The man in the mask chuckled once more, before regaining his composure. "Very good, run with it for now. It looks like my allowing you to run this show may yield results. Hopefully, your running of Ame won't interfere with Akatsuki's plans; I would hate to have to take over for you."

For the first time that day, an emotion made its way into Pein's voice: irritation. "You know what I'm capable of, Madara. Nothing will interfere with Akatsuki."

"Let's keep it that way, shall we?" the masked man asked as he disappeared in a swirl.

Pein waited a moment, making sure that he couldn't feel the ancient Uchiha's chakra anywhere in Ame before he relaxed. Falling into a nearby chair, the Rin'negan user reflected on the shady organization's progress.

Their agents were in high ranking positions in their respective villages, their assets would soon be able to move freely without interference from the Hidden Villages, and the biju would be captured soon after. From there the Hidden Villages would be easy pickings for Akatsuki.

Even with the large progress the group made, he grew weary of the plans within plans, the circles within circles; just like his eyes, the eyes of God.

It was at times like this when he missed his old friend the most. Yahiko would have been able to cheer him up, would have reminded him that this was all necessary.

He contented himself with the knowledge that Akatsuki would soon be the power in the Elemental Nations. Things, as they were, were moving quite well, all things considered. If only he could find Hanzou's blasted Salamander Contract, his mind would be put at ease. Killing the living legend had been difficult, even for him; he didn't need any new Salamander Summoners springing up from the cracks of the Shinobi World.

Swiveling in his chair, his ringed eyes surveyed Ame's industrial skyline. Soon, Akatsuki would rule the Shinobi world. Soon, he could finally dispose of Madara.

Soon, there would be peace.

/~/

4. Welcome Home

/~/

Naruto blinked reflexively as the sun glinted off polished steel. The blond lightly traced his finger along the blade's edge, silently admiring the craftsmanship that was easily visible. The twelve year old was no blade expert, but he knew quality when he saw it. The balance was perfect, the steel flawless, and whole sword seemed to resonate efficiency; right down to the matte black hand guard and grip.

The chunin made a note to thank Hayate for his gift; again.

It wasn't the first time the blond had admired the ninjato the now Tokubetsu Jonin had given him, and didn't think it would be the last. Naruto certainly appreciated the gesture, though he would appreciate it more if the man would bother to grace Naruto with his presence. They had agreed to meet outside the Shinobi Archive at half eleven, it was now a quarter to twelve.

Thoughts involuntarily drifting towards recollections of another tardy shinobi, Naruto shifted his gaze to the Archive and shook his head with a sigh. He preferred the traditional red and white that the Archive was supposed to painted, the colors of Konoha, rather than the predominately orange look that it now sported.

It, like so many other respectable establishments, had fallen prey to a prank of Sarutobi Konohamaru. Naruto wondered what the Archive, or the people in it, had done to draw the boy's ire. It wasn't like the scarf wearing Academy student frequented the building; the boy was far too focused on childish pursuits like the one in front of him, rather than furthering his skills as a shinobi.

What a waste, the chunin thought uncharitably, a sneer now marring his features. The fact that the boy wasted his time with childish pranks rather than utilizing the numerous resources at his disposal to develop his skills was borderline disgusting. There likely wasn't a soul in the village that hadn't heard the Academy student proclaim his dream to be Hokage, and it wasn't like the boy had no shot.

Talent ran in his veins. The young Sarutobi possessed a pedigree that was nearly unmatched, being the son of a respected jonin – Sarutobi Ren had been killed in the Kyuubi attack – and the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage. On top of it all, Konohamaru had a Tokubetsu jonin following his every move, being paid to teach the brat how to become a shinobi.

Naruto could only wonder at how skilled he might be had he had the same resources at his disposal as a young child, and held the young Sarutobi in disdain at his apparent lack of skill. By Mizuki's account – one of the boy's chunin instructors – the brat was the class dobe, the dead last. It was a disgrace to both the Sandaime and Konoha as a whole that the boy was so unskilled.

Naruto at least contented himself with the knowledge that about half the village seemed to agree with him in his assessment of the boy. The brat was the victim of more than his fair share of harsh glares and sneers, though no other outward signs of distaste.

Looking back, Naruto mused that it was rather odd. A great many people, about half the village, seemed to give the young Sarutobi hard looks, a figure that made little sense given who the boy was. As the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage, one of Konoha's greatest heroes, it would make sense for the boy to receive looks of admiration and respect, not glares bordering on outright hatred.

The brat couldn't have pranked all the people who glared at him. And even if he had, the pranks, while being both childish and a waste of time, were relatively harmless. Some were even amusing.

Naruto smirked lightly as he remembered being a witness to a shopkeeper receiving a paint filled balloon to the face, sputtering in indignation as the whiskered culprit bounded off in peals of laughter. Naruto, like so many others, had found himself chuckling rather unwillingly at the hapless man's plight.

The harsh treatment from the villagers, especially as it wasn't all the villagers, only added to the mystery that was Sarutobi Konohamaru. A mystery that Naruto had no real need or want to crack. The blond twelve year old – his birthday had passed in the four months since his visit from the Sandaime – was perfectly content to allow the bratty Academy student to wallow in his own ineptitude without sparing the boy a thought.

Naruto would just focus on his own goals, as he always had.

Goals, he thought, that seem more manageable than ever. No matter how much the blond attempted to downplay his own skills, humility being an important trait in a shinobi, it was becoming more and more apparent that he was becoming a standout among Konoha's shinobi ranks – among the chunin at least. It was quite contrary to the hardworking, humble shinobi that he had always envisioned himself as being.

The longer he was in the shinobi corps, the more apparent it became that he was the departure from the norm, rather than the rule. His age was the first indicator, as he was easily the youngest chunin in the corps, but it went even further than that.

The more missions he ran with various chunin, the more it became harder to ignore the differences between himself and his fellow shinobi. Where others remained content with their own skills, he was constantly improving. Where others became lazy on simpler missions, he remained the consummate professional.

That wasn't to say that there weren't others who shared his mindset in regards to their careers, far from it in fact. He had new training partners almost weekly these days, as he met more shinobi wanting to advance their skills with someone on par with or better than them. But, even among them, he stood out.

Where they struggled, he powered through. Where they gave up, he persevered. And it showed.

More and more people seemed to both recognize and respect the young chunin these days, helped along in no small part by his rather well publicized victory over the Iwa nin. Contrary to his early days in the corps, marked by a lack of acknowledgement and respect from many, first as a failed genin and as a student of the reserve program, he was now receiving acknowledgement from more people than he could remember. People were even throwing the word 'genius' around, according to both Mizuki and Hayate.

The point was accentuated perfectly as a passing jonin nodded in Naruto's direction with a smile. The blond smiled back hesitantly, neither knowing nor recognizing the man.

It was even beginning to get a little awkward for the twelve year old, as he found himself returning greetings from random people, shinobi and civilian alike, that he didn't know. He had even seen a few girls around his age, some rather pretty, pointing and giggling in his direction. Talk about weird!

It wasn't all bad, he supposed. Hell, it wasn't even half bad! The acknowledgement would only help him in his quest for respect, and having people know his name would make finding someone to settle down with easier, right?

Naruto certainly hoped so; he was a fighter, not a lover.

The acknowledgement was serving to help him advance in the ranks as well, as illustrated by ANBU's offer to join the elite force. Becoming an ANBU would only enhance his prestige, say nothing about his skills, and he intended to make the most of his future tour of duty. Gaining the coveted position of taicho was no easy feat, but it was necessary for Naruto's goals, as becoming a captain in the Hokage's shinobi unit guaranteed him the rank of jonin upon his exit.

It was never a dream in his mind, but an eventuality. 'I don't dream, I do' were the words he lived by. It was his nindo, his ninja way.

"Naruto-kun," a voice crowed from nearby, shaking the blond from his thoughts. Turning his head, he spied Hayate making his way over, an attractive purple haired woman in tow. He noted with satisfaction that the man was indeed carrying his ninjaken, evidence that their day's sparring session was still on schedule.

"'Lo, Hayate. How're you holding up?" It was a reasonable question, as the Tokubetsu Jonin had been confined to the hospital for the better part of the last four months, due in large part to his immediate injuries suffered from the fight against the Iwagakure jonin.

The man smiled, his pleasant nature showing through. "Not too bad. Naruto, let me introduce Uzuki Yuugao, my – " he cut off abruptly as a hacking cough forced its way out of his mouth. He regained his composure quickly, not seeming perturbed by the outburst at all. "Excuse me. My girlfriend," he finished with a smile and a gesture toward the purple haired woman.

Naruto turned his attention to the woman, a kunoichi if the grace of her motions meant anything, while wincing internally. His own injuries to his chakra coils and tenketsu had been bad, requiring a week of fuuninjutsu assisted healing plus a month of recovery time, but Hayate had been far worse off.

Genma's initial assumption of Hayate's ribs had been spot on, though more severe than the man had imagined. The hammer blow Hayate had received from the Iwa jonin had shattered all the ribs on the right side of his body, the pieces puncturing his right lung. While normally not a large problem for a well trained shinobi medic, the team had had to return from River Country, and, while they did so in record time, the shattered remains of Hayate's ribs had settled in his lung. The medics had been able to both remove the pieces and rebuild the lung, both requiring extensive medical ninjutsu, but the bone shrapnel had left extensive scarring, permanently hindering Hayate's breathing. It also left him with an almost perpetual cough.

The now sickly looking man had been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin for his service in the mission, as had Genma, much to Naruto's consternation – he had made the kills, and yet he was still a chunin – but his career was now distinctly limited in scope. Proper breathing was essential for a shinobi, and Hayate's cough would give him away to even the most dimwitted genin.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Uzuki-san," Naruto said with a small bow, forcibly pulling himself from his thoughts so as to properly greet his new acquaintance.

"Well met, Uzumaki-san. I've heard much ado about your exploits." Yuugao regarded the blond with what he gathered to be detached interest, her tone polite, yet rather flat. Her emotions were well guarded, indicating emotional control beyond the normal shinobi or kunoichi.

Naruto's eyes immediately flicked to her right shoulder, exposed as it was in her black tank top, looking for the distinctive swirl present on the shoulders of all ANBU members. Seeing none, his eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze met her violet eyes once more. Her expression hadn't changed, but her eyes glimmered with what looked to be respect to the blond, the slight expression caught by his keen observation skills; a necessary trait for a genjutsu user.

Naruto nodded as his suspicions were confirmed by a slight inclination of Yuugao's head. "Have you? Nothing bad, I hope," he asked with a small, lighthearted smirk.

The pretty woman shook her head in the negative. "Nothing of the sort, though the gossips have been churning out dozens of rumors."

Naruto grimaced lightly, Konoha's gossip network was famous, infamous rather, for being able to transport a rumor from one side of the great village to the other in an hour; the "facts" of the original were sure to not match the "facts" of the finished product in the slightest.

Hayate barked a laugh, addressing Naruto after the resulting coughing fit resolved itself. "I've heard everything from you being the reincarnation of the Yondaime, to being the man's illegitimate love child."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in a sheepish gesture, masking his inner annoyance. He knew quite well that he shared a similar hairstyle to the legendary Hokage, especially as he had started to grow it out some, but his face was much less angular than Namikaze Minato's, and his eyes a lighter shade of blue. He had done extensive research into the identity of his father, and the Yondaime had come up due to their shared looks. He hadn't been able to find anything of use in regards to his father's identity, and had accepted that he probably would never know who the man was.

That was just fine in Naruto's mind, as he didn't ever want to have overlap the image of one of his greatest heroes with the simmering anger he held toward his father, whoever he was. The man had all but abandoned his mother to Naruto's knowledge, and Naruto held no wishes to tarnish the image of the great Hokage in his own mind.

Besides, simply assuming that he was the son of Namikaze Minato was more than a little presumptuous, especially as the notion was founded solely upon their shared hair style and similar eye color.

"Really now?" Naruto asked. "People actually say that?" It was annoying, and mildly embarrassing to boot.

Yuugao nodded sagely, her eyes once again belying her true emotions; she was amused. "Indeed, Naruto-san. I've even heard talk of Sandaime-sama selecting you as the Godaime."

Naruto's expression changed into one of frank disbelief. If the previous rumors had been ridiculous, that one was nothing short of downright stupid. "What, did you hear that from an Academy student or something? God knows how well informed they are," Naruto said, his expression deadpan.

His sarcasm brought about a hearty chuckle from Hayate, followed immediately by more coughs, and even Yuugao couldn't resist a small smile.

"That they are," the Special Jonin laughed. "But enough of that, shouldn't we be getting to the actual purpose behind this little rendezvous?"

The blond twelve year old raised his hands. "Don't look at me; I've been waiting for you to show up for ten minutes, now," the blond said, but with no real irritation in his voice.

"Aye, sorry about the Naruto, but we were…delayed," Hayate finished lamely, eyes flickering to his girlfriend. Yuugao either didn't notice or, more likely, didn't care about the small gesture.

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the point. Given that the purple haired ANBU member hadn't been a part of their original plans, the blond deduced that she had insisted on coming along, most likely to ensure that nothing bad happened to her boyfriend. Naruto's regard for the kunoichi increased. According to snippets from conversations before "the mission", the two had only just started dating. The fact that the kunoichi had stuck with Hayate through the entire ordeal spoke well of her character.

"Even so, we almost missed you. You blend in very well, Naruto-kun," Hayate spoke with a small snicker.

The blond looked down at himself, taking in the sight of his orange muscle shirt and black pants, before turning to look at the Archive wall he was leaning against. The shades of orange were the same.

Blushing slightly at the quip, Naruto quickly moved to retake control of the situation. "Huh, didn't notice. Shall we get this show on the road, then?"

At his companions' nods of assent, he turned on his heel and began the trek to one of the training grounds, a shinobi and kunoichi in his wake.

/~/

Naruto grunted as his arms strained to block the overhead stab from Hayate. It was both humiliating and impressive that the man could still perform such overpowering attacks so soon after he had left the tender care of Konoha's Medical Center.

The man had been out for less than a month. This was his first day back after completing the required recovery period, and he was slapping Naruto around like a redheaded step child.

The rust was showing through on the Tokubetsu Jonin, however, as showcased by the fact that Naruto had actually managed to create a few small openings in the man's guard. The blond had even nicked Hayate once, barely drawing blood on the man's shoulder.

It's absolutely ridiculous, the blond thought self deprecatingly, ducking under a neck high slash and attempting to press his advantage with a deft stab at Hayate's chest. A swift parry was all he got in return, as the expert swordsman turned away his attack with absurd ease.

The blond was spun away from the Tokubetsu jonin as the parry turned into a move that used Naruto's body weight and momentum against him. Naruto stumbled as Hayate gracefully stepped around his desperate slash, wincing as the vastly more skilled ninja tapped his right shoulder with the flat side of his ninjaken.

Dead again, was Naruto's morose thought.

Leaping back to create space, Naruto brought his ninjato to the ready position: held parallel to his body as his hands were at waist height. Shifting his weight slightly so that his weight was on his back leg, rather than being perfectly centered, the blond adjusted his grip on the blade, changing to a reverse grip and positioning his blade so that it ran parallel to his arm, almost behind him.

Without warning, Naruto sprung forward, closing the distance between Hayate and himself faster than the older man could blink. The kenjutsu master's reflexes saved him, however, and he blocked the incoming overhand strike with his ninjaken.

Having pushed the blond back, he was unprepared for Naruto to drop and attempt to sweep his legs. Hayate jumped over the sweep, but his tactical advantage was lost and Naruto pressed forward once more.

Using a series of sweeping backhanded strikes, Naruto brutally attacked the older man's guard, opting to overwhelm his superior with speed and unrelenting power, rather than his usual precision. The blond extended his blade toward Hayate's head in a sweeping slash that would have brained the man.

When it was blocked immediately, Naruto moved to strike at the kenjutsu master's ankles, but Hayate deftly hopped over the strike. The twelve year old had overextended himself with the low strike, and was unprepared to block Hayate's quick retaliatory stab.

Naruto managed to avoid being skewered by leaning back, but was forced to back flip away to regain his balance. Just as he landed, Hayate was in his face once more, and the blond was forced to bring his ninjato to bear in a fast block as Hayate struck at his exposed chest.

The older shinobi leaned back for a split second, and Naruto winced in preparation for what he knew was coming next.

Hayate closed the gap between the two shinobi in an instant, though not quite as fast as Naruto's earlier charge, and slashed low. When it was blocked hastily, he crouched down and stabbed upward. Naruto blocked sloppily, and was wholly unprepared for Hayate to knock his hands upward, disarming him of his ninjato, and place his own ninjaken at his neck.

"Fudou-ha no Mai." The dance of the floating leaf, one of Konoha's few kenjutsu dances, was actually created by the man poised to kill Naruto when he as a newly minted genin. The dance, while simple in nature, had proved itself effective in battle, and had cemented Hayate's place in the 'genius' book when it came to kenjutsu.

The dance was now necessary for all ANBU entrants to learn, having displayed its effectiveness in shinobi combat.

Pulling his blade from Naruto's neck, Hayate stepped back and took a deep breath, devolving into a small coughing fit as Naruto moved to pick up his ninjato. The blond moved to a nearby tree, and plopped down unceremoniously in the shade. He watched tiredly as Yuugao, who had been observing from above, moved to Hayate's side and gently helped him over, an arm draped over his shoulders.

"You all right?" the blond asked with concern, making room for the couple to sit beside him against the tall tree.

Hayate nodded in response, swiftly regaining his composure after his coughs had subsided. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Has it been this bad since you got out?"

The Tokubetsu Jonin's hair moved with his head as he shook it in the negative, inadvertently hitting Yuugao in the face. "No, just when I strain myself. It's usually pretty manageable."

Naruto winced slightly when he caught the underlying sadness in the man's words. The man knew that his career was going to be severely limited from here on out, if not outright ended due to medical reasons.

"Well, that's good to hear. I'd hate to have to know that I was beaten by a total cripple." Naruto's attempt to lighten the mood fell mostly flat, as Hayate managed only a weak chuckle, and Yuugao failed to react entirely.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Naruto-kun. I have years of practice and experience on you, and you get better each time we spar." Hayate smiled proudly at his "student", his former melancholy forgotten.

"Hayate-kun is correct, Naruto-san." Yuugao surprised the blond by speaking up. "Kenjutsu is an art that is both extensive and exact. It takes years of practice to become truly proficient, even more so to be considered a master. The progress you've made in under a year is staggering."

Naruto blushed at the praise, not quite sure how to handle it. "Um, thanks…I guess." Regaining his composure, he continued, "It's still frustrating, though. Kenjutsu is a requirement for ANBU, and I only have two more months before I start in the corps."

The blond shook his head ruefully. "I just hope that I'm good enough to make the grade." The fear of failing was one of the few things Naruto had never truly conquered; he merely pushed it to the back of his mind in the wake of his overwhelming determination and drive to succeed.

He was surprised to see Yuugao scoff none too politely at his statement, the expression of emotion seeming very out of place on the normally composed kunoichi. "You've no need to worry, Naruto-san. The kenjutsu requirement for ANBU is nothing short of pathetic. It is suggested that new recruits know the basics of the art upon entrance, but not truly required. In fact, most veteran ANBU never truly pursue the art, as they find it too time consuming and often unnecessary."

Hayate nodded alongside his girlfriend. "She's right, Naruto. Yuugao is the departure from the norm in ANBU, not the opposite. I'd reckon that you more than make the grade right now, not to say where you'll be in two months time, having trained with a true master like me." The sickly man puffed out his chest in mock pompousness at his last statement, earning him a chuckle from Naruto and a light slap on the arm from Yuugao.

"Thanks guys," Naruto said. His fears were assuaged for the moment. "I suppose I just feel a little pressured to get good at this stuff. You know how I get."

Hayate nodded once more. "Aye, but remember, Naruto-kun, it's not easy to be good at everything. It's why most ninja tend to branch off and specialize when they get to chunin."

It was true. Most ninja found one area of the ninja arts they were good at, and devoted almost all their time to mastering that one aspect. Not many ninja wanted to devote the time to becoming truly proficient in all the ninja arts, though some tried. The most famous example was Konoha's sitting Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The man was known throughout the Elemental Nations not simply for his mastery of all Konoha's ninjutsu, but for his total mastery of all the aspects of shinobi combat. From kenjutsu to fuuninjutsu, the Sandaime Hokage had mastered it. All of it.

The man deserved to be worshipped at shrines around the whole continent, in Naruto's estimation.

Naruto found himself attempting to emulate the man, and had undertaken the endless hours of training that it required. As a result, Naruto became a near perfectionist when it came to mastering new techniques, be they kenjutsu forms, taijutsu strikes, or illusions.

Naruto nodded as Hayate piped up again. "You've gotten faster. You almost had me with that one charge back there."

"Yeah. I've been trying to get less reliant on Shunshin by getting faster the old fashioned way. I'm not looking for a repeat hospital trip." After the damage Naruto had done to his internal chakra network, he had come to the conclusion that he had to stop relying on chakra enhanced speed, at least until he found a way to make the Shunshin less strenuous on the body.

"Good idea. It'll help you in the long run, as being faster without chakra only makes you faster with chakra." Yuugao's voice was muffled slightly due to her head's position on Hayate's shoulder. It had fallen there during the conversation, and neither party seemed to object. Hayate had even started idly playing with Yuugao's violet hair.

"Yep, that's the idea. That's all I've really been doing these past few months, along with trying to build up my reserves and guard duty." Naruto shuddered as he remembered the long hours spent atop the great wall, doing nothing but pacing back and forth while keeping a lookout for approaching threats that were nonexistent.

Naruto noticed – with some small consternation and a little bit of envy – that the couple was barely paying him any mind now, being lost in their own little world. He held in a disgusted grimace as Hayate began planting light kisses on the top of Yuugao's head.

Taking that as his cue to get the hell out of there, he made his goodbyes quickly and beat a hasty retreat to village, muttering all the while about impolite ninja who should check their romantic impulses in public.

/~/

"Heavens above, this shit is so boring," the senbon chewing Tokubetsu Jonin whined. It was pathetic, in Naruto's opinion.

"It's still not as bad as guard duty, you've got no reason to complain," Naruto retorted irritably. Genma had done nothing but gripe the whole time the two had been on border patrol, and Naruto was sick of the nonstop whining. "At least here the scenery changes a little bit."

The older man gave a noncommittal grunt, before smirking at Naruto. "That's right, you're still a chunin." The lazy man laughed. "Oh I remember Wall Duty. Man, the shit that happened up there. Did I ever tell ya about the time me and Izumo got into it? Well you see, this was a while back and both of us were trying to get with Kurenai, babe that she is…"

Naruto tuned out the older man's story, having heard a dozen similar ones in the last four months, and instead focused on keeping his footing while leaping from tree branch to tree branch. They were just inside the border between Fire Country and Grass Country, and besides the passing trees, there wasn't all that much to look at. Still better than Wall Duty.

Glancing at Genma from the corner of his eye, he felt a small smile tug at his lips at the older man's actions. Aside from the acknowledgement he was now receiving from the general populace, the changed relationship dynamic between Gemna and himself was the best thing to come from the clusterfuck of their mission to River Country.

While the two would never be the best of friends, Genma and Naruto had come to a mutual understanding and now had a tangible respect for each other. It was the respect formed between comrades in the heat of battle; the respect that comes from knowing that the other had your back, no matter what. Genma respected Naruto for his combat prowess and ability to think on the fly, while Naruto found that Genma hid a calculating and capable mind behind his lazy exterior.

The seemingly endless stories about the "good ol' days" that Genma routinely recounted were merely a quirk of his personality, one that Naruto had never seen back on Team Raidou. Naruto suspected that it was his way of coping with the harsh life of a shinobi. All shinobi had their quirks, most of them developed to help cope with the harsh reality that they lived. Hatake Kakashi was infamous for his reading of porn at all hours of the day, Genma constantly drowned himself in memories of the past, and, while he had been a shinobi for less time, Naruto buried himself in training so he wouldn't have to think.

It was an unfortunate fact of the shinobi lifestyle, but it was a necessary evil.

His senses straining, Naruto felt the telltale signs of incoming chakra presences. "Genma, on your three."

Stopping his story, Genma halted on the nearest tree branch and closed his eyes in concentration. "I got'em. Three incoming. One big, two small." While not a true sensory type ninja, Genma had a very well developed sense of chakra, to the point that he could distinguish individual figures if there weren't too many.

Naruto frowned in contemplation. "Genin team?"

The older shinobi shrugged, though Naruto could tell he was intrigued behind the uncaring action. "They'd had to have lost a member somehow, but they're not coming in fast."

"Standard procedure?"

"Yeah," Genma nodded curtly. There was no point in taking chances.

"You got warning shots?" Naruto asked.

The Tokubetsu jonin nodded. "Be in position to flank them if this goes pear shaped."

"Got it."

Moving to a position on a higher tree branch slightly adjacent to Genma, Naruto palmed a kunai. It likely was just a genin team, but a ninja who took unnecessary chances ended up dead before long. In the wake of Rive Country, neither of the two were about to get careless.

Naruto watched as Genma waited until the group of shinobi was in range before flipping through hand seals, a Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu exploding from his mouth. "Halt, in the name of the Sandaime Hokage and the Will of Fire!"

The fire dragon went wide of the group, as standard procedure dictated, and the inclement shinobi pulled to a halt, coming to a stop on a branch five meters across from Genma, directly in Naruto's firing range.

"Yosh! Team Nine returning from C-ranked mission, ID: 0984." The eccentric figure of Maito Gai, clad in a jonin vest and green spandex, gave a blinding smile and thumbs up to Genma, who was checking a scroll that detailed the possible incoming missions from across their section of the border to Kusa no Kuni.

Referencing the mission IDs, Genma nodded distractedly and gave Naruto the stand down signal. The blond replaced his drawn knife, and reappeared at Genma's side with a burst of speed.

"Yosh, Genma-kun, your partner is a shining example of the power of youth!" Naruto assumed that it was the green clad jonin's way of expressing surprise at Naruto's speed.

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service, Maito-san," Naruto introduced himself, knowing that Genma was too lazy for proper etiquette. Hearing quiet gasps from behind the renowned jonin, Naruto's eyes drifted to the three genin positioned behind Gai. Naruto barely withheld a smirk at seeing the glowering figure of Hyuuga Neji, the so-called genius of his original graduating class.

Naruto had surpassed the Branch Family Hyuuga at the tender age of seven, moving ahead two years at the Academy in a move that both stunned and embarrassed the "genius".

Meanwhile, Maito Gai's eyes had narrowed slightly in quiet contemplation as he surveyed the young chunin, no doubt matching the circulating rumors and facts to Naruto's face. He broke into a toothy grin a moment later. "Indeed, Naruto-kun! It is a pleasure to meet a shinobi so obviously in the flames of youthful fire!"

Naruto blinked, hard, at the bizarre man, not at all understanding what the man was getting at. From the corner of his eye, he spied Genma looking on blandly at the spectacle, not at all surprised by the renowned taijutsu master's…interesting speech patterns.

"Yosh, Gai-sensei!" a boisterous voice crowed from the group of genin.

Naruto had to crane his neck to see what looked to be a carbon copy of the jonin in front of him, minus the flak vest. He realized with a start that it was Rock Lee, the dead-last of his original class at the Academy. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he could sense almost no chakra from the spandex clad genin.

"Naruto-kun's flames of youth must burn most brightly if he is already a chunin! When we return to Konoha, I shall triple my training in order for my youthful fire to burn as brightly as Naruto-kun's!"

"A worthy goal indeed, Lee-kun! Come team, we must return to Konoha post-haste!" Gai exclaimed boisterously, another thumbs up directed at his squad of genin. "If we cannot return to the village by sunset, I shall climb the Hokage monument with only my hands!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Naruto assumed that his eyes were the size of small plates as he observed sensei and student. His twin blue orbs glancing at the third genin, a rather cute girl with twin buns atop her head who he didn't recognize, he did his best to convey the message "is this normal?" He wasn't sure whether his message got through, but the girl seemed to nod sadly, looking like she wanted nothing more for the ground to swallow her whole.

The young blond sympathized.

"Well," Genma began, trying to reestablish sanity and looking more than slightly nauseas at the sight of a mini-Gai. "Everything seems to be in order. The IDs check out so…you're free to go."

"Arigatou, Genma-kun, Naruto-kun. Yosh, team, let us make has-" Gai abruptly cut off.

Naruto's and Genma's eyes narrowed as they felt inbound chakra signatures, these moving far more quickly than Gai's team had and bleeding chakra like nobody's business. Naruto's eyes widened and his head snapped toward Genma as he felt more chakra enter the area, much more.

"That's a group," the blond began. "Genma, can you get a read on them?"

The senbon chewing Special Jonin was way ahead of Naruto, his eyes already closed in concentration. "No, there's too many of them. The chakra's grouped together." He shook his head curtly.

"Neji!" Gai's voice forced Naruto's attention to the group of genin once more. He noted absently that they were all standing at the ready, waiting for orders even though not fully understanding the situation. Gai had trained them well.

"Yes, sensei! Byakugan!" It was slightly impressive that the Hyuuga could activate the vaunted dojutsu without a hand seal to focus the chakra. Naruto watched impassively as the veins surrounding the all white pupils bulged, indicating that the dojutsu was active.

"The first three shinobi are Leaf-nin, ANBU," Neji stated in monotone. Naruto's, Genma's, and Gai's head all snapped to attention at this statement. What were ANBU doing in Grass Country? "I count twenty one inbound hostiles; all of them bear a Kusagakure headband."

Genma summed it up rather nicely. "Shit."

A grim sort of determination settled over the three ranking ninja. They would have to back up the ANBU. Naruto quickly had twin kunai at the ready, bouncing on his toes in anticipation and to get the blood flowing. He had to refrain from slapping himself in the face a few times, as amped as he was.

Gai was already dishing out orders, his former antics forgotten. "Neji, Lee, Tenten, return to Konoha immediately! Alert the Hokage that a team of ANBU has been attacked outside Fire Country's borders!"

"Hai, sensei!" the three genin chorused – Neji looking none too pleased at leaving a potential battle – before disappearing into the dense woodland.

There was never any contention as to whether the genin would stay or go. Just as there was no conflict about whether or not the three ranking shinobi would assist the inbound ANBU. They were Konoha-nin, and Konoha protected their own.

"Ready?" Gai asked, seeming to direct the question more toward Naruto than Genma. Naruto didn't allow himself to take offense; he was too concerned with the upcoming fight. He nodded curtly.

"Then let us burn with youthful fire!"

As the three prepared to leap into battle, the inclement ANBU came into view, armor dented and scratched with the signs of battle. "Maito-san!" One of the ANBU apparently recognized Gai.

The chunin formed a hand sign, and three Tsuchi Bunshin formed on the ground. All thoughts fled from Naruto's mind, however, as the enemy shinobi entered his line of sight. He charged wide, in an arcing pattern. He let Genma's Karyuu Endan incinerate the two unlucky bastards who broke through the foliage first before making his move.

A third Kusa-nin met his demise at the business end of Naruto's first kunai, before the blond jumped and acrobatically twisted over a stab from a wakizashi. Capitalizing, Naruto used his momentum to slice open the throat of the sword wielding shinobi on his way down. He landed in a crouch on a nearby tree branch, eyes scanning for more enemies.

Spotting one, Naruto hurled his two kunai at a charging Kusa nin. The woman ducked under them, however, before delivering a hard side-kick to Naruto's chest with a snarl.

Naruto winced at the impact, the woman kicked hard. But he had his wits about him in a moment, and flipped through a short series of hand seals. "Suiton: Zessenzan!" he exclaimed as he landed in a crouch on a nearby branch.

A sharp line of water escaped his mouth, moving too fast for the kunoichi to react, and neatly sliced her head off in a spray of blood, taking part of the tree trunk with it. Naruto watched the head fall to the forest floor with dispassion, followed shortly by the rest of the body.

The Suiton technique didn't take much chakra, requiring more control to properly sharpen the water, and it was one of the ninjutsu Naruto favored. It was fast, efficient, and deadly. The fact that his high Suiton affinity made it cost little chakra was simply a bonus.

The blonde's danger senses howled bloody murder at him, and Naruto deftly dodged a kunai slash at the back of his neck by dropping into a crouch. The Kusa shinobi pressed his advantage, however, and Naruto quickly found himself on the defensive.

Naruto lost a kunai in a hasty parry, backpedaling on the branch as the Kusa-nin pressed forward. The blond smirked, however, as his position allowed him to see what the Grass shinobi could not, and he hit the deck as a green blur bowled into the enemy ninja.

"Konoha-senpuu!" Maito Gai screamed to the heavens, his high powered roundhouse kick shattering bone and sending the Kusa shinobi into a tree trunk. The spandex clad jonin barely spared Naruto a glance before moving on.

Naruto dropped to the forest floor, quickly surveying the battle taking place in the tree tops. Genma had his hands full with two ninja, a shinobi and a kunoichi, having dispatched the third team member. Gai was dealing with four at once, and the ANBU team was taking cover on the ground to Naruto's far left, apparently too weary to fight.

One of the ANBU inclined their head sharply at him, and Naruto seamlessly Kawarimi'd with a Tsuchi Bunshin as two Kusa nin stabbed at his position. Waiting until the shinobi's blades were locked inside the mud clone, Naruto re-substituted with his crumbling clone.

Utilizing the element of surprise, Naruto swiftly swept the legs of one of the Kusa nin; keeping his leg airborne, he delivered a hard, rising kick to the ninja's chest that sent them sprawling. The blond turned quickly, neatly sidestepping a downward slash of a katana. Pinning the blade to the ground with his foot, Naruto stepped inside the man's guard and turned, delivering a backhanded punch to the man's face that sent him careening towards a tree.

One hand seal created a Tsuchi Bunshin to deal with the first enemy shinobi, and Naruto unsealed a Fuuma shuriken from within his flak vest. Arcing it toward the recovering Kusa-nin, Naruto went through a short series of hand seals before slipping into a Shunshin.

The Kusagakure shinobi managed to duck the Fuuma shuriken, but was unprepared for the second in its shadow, and the giant throwing star embedded itself in the man's leg. The man screamed in pain, but had no time for much else as Naruto's outstretched arm plowed the man into a tree trunk less than four feet behind him.

"Rariatto!"

Naruto had concentrated hard, channeling the residual chakra from his Shunshin into his outstretched arm and making the momentum fueled clothesline into a deadly hammer blow. The Kusa-nin was dead before his back hit the tree trunk.

Hearing footsteps, Naruto hastily ducked a stab that would have pierced his heart. The enemy ninja was unlucky, however, as their stab had embedded itself in their dead comrade, giving Naruto time to move.

Snapping his arm out in a palm strike, Naruto's hand slammed into the Kusagakure ninja's nose, brutally snapping the bone and coaxing out a scream of pain. Heedless of the blood spurting out and coating his hand, Naruto quickly slit the ninja's throat.

As the rapidly cooling corpse hit the forest floor, Naruto grimaced, taking in the slim figure and pretty face of the dead kunoichi. Call him a chauvinist, but he always felt bad after killing a woman. It made him feel dirty somehow.

The woman had tried to kill him though.

Glancing upward and taking in the flow of the battle, Naruto noticed that Genma was being herded into a corner by a full three man team. Forming four Tsuchi Bunshin, Naruto handed out a high yield explosive scroll to each, and dispatched them with a gesture. They knew what to do.

Leaping upwards, Naruto quickly made his way over to Genma, pulling a quick Kawarimi with a tree branch to get close fast. Pressing his immediate advantage, Naruto charged the nearest Kusagakure ninja, and exchanged a quick series of taijutsu strikes, taking him away from his teammates.

Blocking two heavy punches to the chest, Naruto ducked under a haymaker and slammed his chakra enhanced fist into the man's stomach. The dazed shinobi bent forward, reflexively, and promptly had his windpipe crushed by a blindingly fast palm strike. His head impacted a kunai blade, and his corpse fell in a boneless heap, blood flowing freely where Naruto had poked a hole in his skull.

Turning toward Genma, whose senbon had just killed one of his two Kusa-nin, Naruto sped through three hand seals.

"Genma, drop!" The senbon chewing Tokubetsu Jonin hit the deck as a Suiton: Teppodama hurtled through the space his body had just occupied. The Kusagakure ninja took the water bullet to the chest, and was sent hurtling into open air. Three accurate shuriken from Genma ended the man's existence, and the body fell to the forest floor.

Turning to Naruto, the Special Jonin nodded his head in thanks, before starting in surprise as Gai reappeared in between them, his face grim.

"We set?" Naruto asked.

"Hai, Naruto-kun."

Genma had no time to ponder the byplay, as two full teams, angry and battered, surrounded them, weapons drawn.

"Konoha scum! You'll pay dearly for crossing Kusagakure!" one shinobi yelled, his comrades snarling their approval.

Naruto scoffed audibly. "You talk too much," was all he said, before grabbing Genma, making one hand seal, and disappearing in a Leaf Shunshin with Gai a split second behind.

The Kusa ninja had no time to ponder the blonde's parting shot, as the genjutsu covering four high yield explosive scrolls collapsed, and the tags activated.

The three Konoha shinobi landed near the battered and bruised ANBU team, the one conscious member using medical jutsu to heal his comrades, as the explosive tags incinerated the Kusagakure ninjas, taking fifty square feet of forest with them.

"We miss any?" Naruto asked Gai. He watched the flaming trees topple with interest, Suiton jutsu at the ready to stop the flames from spreading.

The spandex clad jonin's face was grim. "One. A most unyouthful shinobi fled our fight. He made for the border."

Naruto grimaced. "Fantastic."

The political backlash that would be generated by the ANBU's presence in a foreign country would be bad enough, but to have an eyewitness claiming to be attacked by three non-involved Konoha ninja? It didn't matter if Naruto, Genma, and Gai were merely acting in the defense of their comrades. Kusagakure would view the incident as a direct attack upon an allied nation, violating every treaty ever signed between Konoha and Kusa.

One thing's certain, Naruto thought with a pained expression. Heads are gonna roll.

Hand seals formed at a blinding pace, and he released a torrent of water to try to extinguish the ravenous fire.

/~/

5. Forging the Sword

/~/

Naruto hated debriefings. He hated them almost as much as he hated being the one to file the mission after action report, a task he was all too familiar with, having been the newbie on Team Raidou.

Debriefings were standard procedure for many shinobi missions. As they were created so that the higher ups would have access to firsthand accounts about any departures from the norm during a mission, debriefs were often just as bad, if not more tedious than writing the after action report. The fact that they happened almost just as often merely salted the wound.

Naruto had only been to a few debriefings in his life, the major standout being when he was interviewed by the Sandaime and Yamanaka Inoichi, and was in no hurry to attend another. Unfortunately for the blond, it was well and truly out of his hands.

The meeting he was waiting outside the Hokage's office to attend was shaping up to be just as nerve wracking as his last mission debrief, given the colossal situation he, Maito Gai, and Genma had inadvertently charged into. Any mission regarding the ANBU Black Ops was automatically classified as an A-ranked village secret and, given that the mission in question had been taking place outside ANBU's designated jurisdiction – Fire Country – Naruto had no doubt that the mission was designated S-class. Or at least it was now.

That was something he wanted no part of at the moment – at least not for another two months, when he himself would enter service in the Hokage's elite shinobi force.

The presence of ANBU had caused dozens of questions to form in the head of the young chunin, not the least of which was "why were ANBU operating in Grass Country?" The question's answer was proving to be elusive to the blond, as he couldn't think of a single reason why the Hokage would send his troops into an allied nation with an allied Hidden Village. An action that could be viewed as an act of war in many circumstances, and given how the team in question was engaged in a running battle, likely would be.

It was no secret that ANBU operated outside of their jurisdiction, times of war aside, to any relatively intelligent and well informed shinobi, and Naruto qualified as both. ANBU were rarely dispatched outside Fire Country in peace times, unless the mission at hand was absolutely vital to national security, and never into an allied nation.

At the least, they usually had the good sense not to get caught.

The very act violated nearly every single treaty that Shinobi Countries and Villages made. Naruto had no doubt that that fact alone would keep him inside the Hokage's office for far longer than he would have liked.

There was also the fact that he, along with Gai and Genma, had fully engaged and killed the vast majority of the attacking Kusagakure ninja. The blond knew that that act alone would have some serious ramifications if the Hokage was put in a position where Grass needed to be appeased, Konoha's military superiority notwithstanding.

It had a happened with Kumo, why not with Kusa?

The last point had been what Naruto had been stewing over for the last day and a half, as he waited to be called for debriefing. It was similarly intriguing and suspicious that three ninja had been able to get the best of seven full squads of Kusa nin, no matter how strong the three were. Regardless of the element of surprise, he, Gai ,and Genma could have, and should have, been dispatched with a single, well coordinated assault on each of them individually.

As much as he would have liked to think that it was simply because they had been vastly superior to the Grass ninja, he knew that something larger was at work.

Just like it had been at work during his botched mission to River Country.

Glancing upwards, Naruto's eye's locked with the ANBU currently guarding the Hokage's office, or at least he thought he did – the mask made it hard to tell. He got the feeling that he was being watched intently, and stared resolutely at the eyeholes of the masked elite. Let's see how you like it.

After about a minute of silence, the Bear masked ANBU shifted his head ever so slightly, and Naruto smirked triumphantly. It was pretty damn tough to win a staring contest with someone whose eyes you couldn't see. He gave himself a mental pat on the back.

His momentary amusement spent, and in no hurry to return to his musings on the latest mystery that he was now a part of, Naruto's thoughts turned to training; where they always turned, eventually.

He was progressing well, he thought. His speed was better than ever, thanks to the endless hours of running, chakra conditioning, and limited weight training that he had been doing for the past four months. He hadn't been able to make any progress on a modified Shunshin, however, as both he and his doctor were reluctant for him to be putting such a strain on his chakra coils. The Uzumaki resiliency be damned.

Aside from the theory behind it – which, as of now, consisted of using the jutsu with much better control, and finding something to do with the excess chakra – he had made no practical progress. It was vexing to the highest degree.

He had, on the other hand, been making large strides in the area of other ninjutsu, starting with expanding his chakra reserves. Unfortunately for Naruto, the only way to expand one's chakra reserves, naturally that was, was to exercise them with chakra control exercises. As such, his days were spent performing various feats of acrobatic prowess atop a large stream, twin leaves dangling from his ears.

He looked downright ridiculous.

It had paid off some, he supposed. His reserves had been expanding, and he had spent more of his time researching various ninjutsu in the Grand Archive. He was happy to note that Konoha had a rather large collection of Suiton jutsu. It was likely due to the Nidaime Hokage, the man who had been the foremost user of Suiton techniques in the history of Konoha.

The second half of the famous Senju brothers had made himself famous both before the era of the Hidden Villages, and during the First Great War. One of the founding fathers of Konoha, Senju Tobirama was famous for his ridiculously high Suiton affinity, which he had used to deadly effect. The results of that affinity could be seen in the Suiton section of the Archive, as it was the third largest section, after Fire and Earth.

Naruto hadn't learned many of the techniques there yet, as he preferred to train jutsu to the point of mastery, rather than be only half good. Performing the jutsu wasn't enough for Naruto, he had to be able to know the ins and outs of the jutsu like the back of his hand before he considered it mastered. And even then, he usually tried to tinker with the finished product.

Attempting to make ninjutsu techniques more chakra efficient had become a hobby of his, given the fact that he didn't have particularly large chakra reserves, and he had managed to do just that with many of the ninjutsu that he knew. Sometimes it came down to sacrificing some small part of the jutsu for more efficiency, but he felt it was worth it nine times out of ten.

That of course, came back to chakra control, so Naruto still found himself on top of various bodies of water from day to day, much to his growing annoyance. Chakra control sucked.

It had paid off in one instance, however. He had finally managed to perfect his new and improved version of the Kirigakure no Jutsu. He had even added a nice little touch by making the mist black. He had gotten the idea from reading up on a genjutsu, of all things: Kokuangyou no Jutsu. By making the mist black, he fully eliminated his target's vision, while retaining even more of an advantage in that he could sense their chakra.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to use the jutsu while around allies, as their vision would be hampered just the same. The regular version would have to suffice for then.

He had taken to practicing the basics behind the jutsu at random moments, by extending his chakra through ambient water particles in the air. As of now, he had to increase the humidity in his general area to do so, an easy feat for an adept Suiton user, but hoped that he would eventually be able to use the technique without doing so. It would make him a much more potent chakra sensor.

His thoughts were interrupted as the double doors to the Hokage's office opened. Two elderly individuals, a man and a woman – Naruto estimated that they were around the Sandaime age – strode out briskly, their faces carefully blank. The man stopped suddenly, his eyes observing Naruto carefully.

The gaze, while nothing sinister, unnerved the blond. He felt like he was under a microscope.

"Homura?" the woman asked, seemingly at a loss at the loss of her walking partner. Naruto started slightly, recognizing the name as one of the Sandaime's former teammates in the First Great Shinobi War.

That makes the woman Utatane Koharu, Naruto inferred. While nowhere near as famous as their teammate Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had been well respected jonin in their day. The retired duo now served as advisors to the Sandaime and were the liaisons to the Civilian Council.

The man, Homura, kept his gaze upon Naruto for a moment longer, before giving the boy an almost imperceptible nod, and continuing on.

"The Hokage will see you now," the Bear masked ANBU spoke up, his voice lacking inflection. Naruto hoped it wasn't a requirement for ANBU to all speak the same way, at least not all the time.

He stood up, stretched his muscles quickly, he would likely be sitting for some time, and moved through the double doors, sparing the Bear masked ANBU a quick 'thank you'.

Stepping into the well furnished, circular office, Naruto stood at attention immediately, hands clasped behind his back formally. "Hokage-sama," he said as he executed a short bow.

"At ease, Uzumaki," the aged Sandaime replied, a hint of a smile crossing his features. "Please, sit down. You ought to make yourself comfortable, as this may take some time."

Naruto took a seat in one of the armchairs facing the Hokage's desk, idly noting that it was indeed quite comfortable. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He accepted the old man's follow up offer of tea with a measure of surprise. This was already much different than he had originally imagined his debriefing would be. He wondered what other surprises he would be in store for.

Given his last debrief, he assumed a great many.

"I take it you know what this meeting is about." It wasn't a question. Naruto nodded anyway. "Good, then I won't have to waste time with that."

The Hokage leaned back in his chair, hands interlocked in front of his face. "What you may be unaware of, is that the situation surrounding your last mission and this are linked; and not for the better I assure you." At this, the Sandaime sighed, looking every one of his advanced years.

"You recall that I and my advisors felt that Iwagakure was maneuvering toward war; and that our teams were being caught and killed inside Kusa's borders." Naruto nodded once more, wondering where the Hokage was taking this. Debriefs conducted by the Hokage and his ranking jonin weren't experiences easily forgotten. "Given what was happening, the natural response was to send troops to patrol the area, regardless of the feelings of the other country."

Naruto inclined his head at this. Konoha was considered one of, if not the shinobi super power in the Elemental Nations, and a super power acted in its own best interests first.

"I guess that they didn't take it too well," Naruto concluded.

The Hokage nodded, taking a sip of his rapidly cooling tea. "Indeed, they did not. Regardless, Kusagakure has been our strongest ally since the end of the Third Great War. On top of that, they act as one of our satellite states, along with Takigakure."

Naruto was more than familiar with the situation of Konoha's "satellite villages"; the villages that allied themselves to Konoha and received a small measure of support during times of peace. They were the villages that Konoha would go to war over.

Cutting the history lesson short, Naruto spoke up, "They had no choice in the matter." Normally he would keep his mouth shut in the presence of the Hokage, but the aging legend had seemed to value his opinion in their last meeting, and had showed a definite interest in the blond. The fact that they were having a private meeting instead of a group debrief with Genma and Gai spoke volumes in that vein.

"No," the Hokage replied firmly. "They did not. That fact alone managed to create much anti-Konoha sentiment within Kusagakure, and it has only increased since." Sarutobi scoffed. "It appears that three decades of cordiality and close ties can be undone in a matter of months."

Naruto nodded sagely, somewhat alarmed to note that the "close" ties between villages were much thinner than he had thought. He knew as well as anyone that alliances in their profession were worth only the paper they were printed on, but some small amount of naiveté in him still hoped that an ally would remain loyal even through hard times. "I'm guessing that this last…incident didn't help matters," he stated, a sense of dread growing.

"No, it did not." The Hokage's voice was firm. "While the circumstances surrounding the ANBU squads that were sent into Kusa no Kuni remains classified above S-rank, I can tell you that the ambush they ran into was hastily formed and very uncoordinated. It was for this reason that you and your comrades were able to so easily dispatch the group," he finished, answering one of Naruto's major questions surrounding the skirmish.

"The jonin oyabun was none too happy with the outcome of the fiasco, as you have probably reasoned, and was most upset to learn that his shinobi were "unjustly attacked" by Konoha shinobi outside of the situation."

Naruto leaned back as if struck, his sense of dread jumping a few notches to outright horror as the big picture formed in his mind.

"He wanted our heads." It wasn't a question.

"He still does," the Sandaime stated simply, his voice flat. At Naruto's rapidly paling visage, he quickly reassured the boy. "You can rest assured that he will not receive them. I am not in the habit of appeasing our neighbors simply to preserve the status quo." The old man's voice lowered a touch at his last statement, and his face had regret plastered all over it before it was quickly covered up.

"You and your comrades acted in defense of fellow Konoha shinobi, and I will not reward you by sending your head to Kusagakure." The Hokage straightened, looking as much like the Shinobi no Kami as Naruto had ever seen. The blond now saw what countless shinobi had seen over the course of the Great Wars, a man who deserved to be worshipped at shinobi shrines across the continent. His very presence gave Naruto goosebumps.

"This village did not rise to its position of power by sacrificing its own shinobi, and it will not start now."

Naruto had no response to the declaration, and simply sat still as the legend's presence receded. He let out a breath that he had been unaware he was holding.

Sarutobi clapped, shaking Naruto from his stupor and bringing him back to the situation at hand. "Now that you are aware of the situation, we can get to the heart of this meeting," the Sandaime said, switching gears seamlessly.

Naruto nodded, inwardly confused. That wasn't what this was about? he thought.

"No, we're not quite done," the Sandaime answered his unasked question with a small, knowing smile. Naruto grimaced as he realized his emotions must have been written all over his face. "This meeting has more to do with your future as a Konoha shinobi."

Naruto's surprise likely showed through, but he didn't have enough time to care as another presence was slowly making itself known to him. He had detected it before, due to his chakra lacing the more humid air in the Hokage's office, but it was slowly coming to the fore. He had assumed it was one of the Hokage's ANBU, though that, apparently, wasn't the case.

The blond locked his eyes on a spot directly over the Hokage's left shoulder, and a man materialized, seemingly out of thin air. The boy caught a small smile from the Hokage in his peripheral vision, but ignored it in favor of regarding the new, though not very new, presence.

Had Naruto met the man on the street, he would have been one of the most remarkable men he had ever laid eyes on, and not really in a good way. He was old, as old as the Sandaime, Naruto estimated. He had one arm free – his left – and one heavily bandaged and most likely useless. His face was half covered in the same white wrappings that covered his damaged arm.

"Naruto-kun, allow me to introduce you to a friend and associate of mine, Shimura Danzo." The Sandaime gestured needlessly to the bandaged man.

"A pleasure, Shimura-san."

Naruto rose and bowed, as common courtesy dictated, trying to figure out if he had ever heard of the name. Finding that he didn't, he was puzzled. Anonymity was rare in the Shinobi world, and as a direct associate of the Sandaime, Naruto was sure that his name must have been documented somewhere. If Naruto had never heard of him, and Naruto had both heard of and researched most of the village higher-ups, it meant that the man's file was classified A-rank and above.

ANBU, Naruto concluded.

Danzo silently appraised the blond, slightly impressed that the boy had been able to detect his presence before he had fully revealed himself. "An unknown sensory ability," he concluded out loud. "It seems that not all of this generation's potential is wasted."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in question; it certainly wasn't the greeting he had expected. He wasn't even quite sure if it was a compliment, given the man's tone. He kept his mouth shut, in any event.

"Indeed, Danzo, the situation is not as dire as you seem to have believed," Sarutobi said dryly. "Naruto-kun, here, is quite talented."

"Unlike so many others among his age group." The reference to Sarutobi's own grandson was apparent, even to Naruto. "He seems to feel it a month wasted if he has not accomplished some feat of prowess," Danzo countered. It seemed to hold a sneering undertone, as if he was mocking Naruto's accomplishments, though acknowledging them at the same time.

Naruto couldn't be sure, but it felt like as if he was sitting on the sidelines of an argument that had taken place many times, given the tones of the two contestants.

"Yes, and we both know that shinobi peak at different times. In much the same way as they grow at different rates." Turning to Naruto, who had been mostly ignored in favor of the small quarrel, the Sandaime addressed the blond, "But enough of that. We are here for a much different reason today."

"Naruto-kun, you know that our relationship with Kusagakure is rapidly deteriorating. You don't know that, with the rising sentiments against Konoha, a pro-Iwagakure faction has been getting louder."

Naruto leaned back in his chair heavily, as his mind quickly deduced where this was leading. If he was reading things right – and he liked to think that he was – then Konoha would be at war's doorstep much faster than anticipated.

"Iwa has always had some support in Kusa no Kuni, but they were always dwarfed and shut down by the pro-Konoha Kusagakure, the one created by nearly two decades of aid and support. Both during and after the Third Great War," Sarutobi said.

"Until now," Naruto finished.

"That's right, boy," Danzo spoke up from behind the Sandaime. "The Jonin Oyabun has begun to hear the pro-Iwa faction, and there are talks of a new alliance. One with the other nation they share a border with."

It was only the emotional control that Naruto exerted over himself that kept his head from falling into his hands. Things were fucked up, big time, and he had played a part in it, however inadvertently.

"For obvious reasons," the Sandiame picked up once more, "we cannot allow that to happen. An alliance with Kusagakure would give Iwagakure a free route into Hi no Kuni. With the shinobi nations marching toward war once more, Konoha needs all the time it can get, and we need that buffer zone."

Naruto noticed that Danzo didn't seem too happy with that last statement, and, if he was honest with himself, neither was he. The thought of Konoha being forced to rely upon having another nation as a buffer against its enemies rubbed him the wrong way.

Was Konoha not the strongest village in the world? Why was it that they simply could not make a preemptive strike, in the hopes of nipping this alliance in the bud?

The answer was just as vexing.

A publicized invasion of Kusa no Kuni would put them more at odds with Kusagakure, while accomplishing nothing more than provoking Iwagakure into a full blown war, as they would no doubt invade Grass Country in retaliation. It was a delicate situation that Naruto was ashamed to be a part of.

"So, what now?"

"Now, we move on to why you're actually here." Sarutobi stated. "As you are no doubt unaware, Danzo here heads a…special…division of the ANBU Black Ops. It is known as ANBU Root, or Ne, to some."

The Hokage allowed Danzo to take over. "During times of peace, Root serves as a division of shinobi and kunoichi who protect Konoha's interests outside of Fire Country. The men and women of Root act covertly to ensure that Konoha survives the machinations of its enemies."

"Like ANBU?" Naruto asked.

"In a way," Danzo answered, he seemed slightly displeased with the question, "but even more discreet. While ANBU carry out covert operations, the standard Black Ops operate solely within Hi no Kuni, for the most part." The last bit was aimed at Sarutobi, likely in response to the giant situation the village was presented with due to his ANBU. "Root deals with the necessary missions that take place outside of Hi no Kuni. For this reason, Root is all but unknown to the world, as the missions we take are often in direct violation of the treaties we have in place."

"The very existence of Root would be a cause for war," Naruto concluded. Danzo inclined his head to the boy.

"Indeed. It is for that reason that every Root member has their file sealed with above S-ranked clearance only. For all intents and purposes, they do not exist."

Naruto shivered as he understood Danzo's meaning. The blond lowered his head as his mind finally connected all the dots that had been steadily been revealing themselves throughout the whole meeting.

He knew what would be asked of him. He knew that his decision would likely change the whole outcome of his life, henceforth. He also knew that he would accept whatever the Hokage would ask of him.

He blue eyes locked with the Sandaime's. "What would you have me do, Hokage-sama?"

For the good of Konoha.

/~/

The world from behind a porcelain mask was not how Naruto had originally imagined. For one, the mask was actually quite comfortable, having been molded specifically to his face and head shape. It was also designed in a way that he could actually breathe without having his breath constantly hitting him in the face, its vented front allowing for the uninterrupted passage of air.

The third and most important fact, however, was that his vision wasn't limited in any way, shape, or form. He had expected his vision to be limited to what he could see through the twin eyeholes. In reality, there were no eyeholes.

Some person in the past – a rather intelligent one – felt that having covert operatives attempt to take high level missions with limited visibility was a stupid idea. In response, every single ANBU mask was lined with seals that allowed for the wearer to view the world as if they weren't actually wearing the mask. It was common sense given corporal form, and had kindled more than a passing interest in fuuninjutsu in the young blond.

The general comfort of the mask carried over to the rest of his new gear. The tight mesh top breathed well, as did the full fingered gloves that hugged his arms like a second skin. The Kevlar armor was lightweight, and his arm bracers felt as if they were an extension of himself.

The gear also had the effect of making him look like a total badass – in Naruto's humble opinion – his shark mask especially; though most of it couldn't really be seen due to the charcoal colored cloak he wore over it.

"Same, stop daydreaming. We're here."

Naruto came to a halt beside his squadron, briefly inclining his head to the bird masked ANBU to his immediate right. Surveying his surroundings, Naruto saw that his platoon was overlooking a large encampment that was situated in a large clearing.

"Not a particularly defensible position, taicho," one of the members of Beta Platoon spoke up from Naruto's left.

"Aye. Our targets are likely located in the very center of the compound, so we'll work from the inside out," the captain of Beta Platoon said. "The missing-nin are our primary objective, so we eliminate them first; any fodder that gets in the way is expendable." Turning to address the platoon fully, he continued, "The targets are four A-ranked missing-nin who have been harassing the Daimyo's samurai, so exercise caution."

"Theta Squad, run interference from the east. Draw their attention from the center of the encampment. Kappa Squad, you have the same assignment from the west. Keep their forces divided and focused on you. Eta and Zeta Squads will directly engage the targets. Epsilon, provide genjutsu cover and long range support for Eta and Zeta." Once the captain had finished issuing orders, he dismissed the independent teams with a raised hand.

ANBU platoons were organized as twenty shinobi and kunoichi, divided into five teams of four. Each individual squad had its own captain, and could act totally independently of the platoon. The five teams worked either in a fully coordinated manner, or were given separate parts of a mission that contributed to the whole, as they were now.

Swiftly moving with Epsilon, his squad, Naruto wove seals for a genjutsu. He had been a full ANBU for nearly three months, and he had learned more than he had thought possible. His genjutsu repertoire had increased dramatically, his taijutsu was climbing to new heights, and his ninjutsu and chakra levels were increasing faster than he had thought physically possible.

It was all part of his Root training. He had been inducted into the true Black Ops, and his first assignment was to act as a regular ANBU in order to maintain his status in the village; as a newly recognizable figure among the shinobi and civilian populace, he couldn't just disappear without a trace.

He was scheduled to take his first Root mission in a little under two months time; Danzo had said he needed to be whipped into proper shape to become a part of Root, as the program was apparently extremely selective. As a result, he now had his first proper sensei. A man named Yamanaka Fuu.

A nearly emotionless and harsh task master, the auburn haired man acted as Buntaicho for Beta Platoon, and was the head of Eta Squad, Beta Platoon's primary combat squad. It was under his direct tutelage that Naruto was improving his shinobi skills so much.

The first order of business was to deal with Naruto's ninjutsu, which was apparently sub-par. After weeks of chakra building exercises, Fuu had given Naruto a list of Suiton jutsu to learn on his own time, while they attempted to develop Naruto's secondary affinity: Futon.

Throughout the ninjutsu training, Fuu helped Naruto to branch out his genjutsu abilities into the realm of Demonic Illusions, a series of much more potent genjutsu. At other times, Naruto's taijutsu was being constantly broken down and reformed through nearly lethal "sparring" matches. The blond felt the Yamanaka was simply exercising his more sadistic tendencies.

The fact that he was improving by leaps and bounds was about the only thing that kept Naruto going back for more.

Finishing his seals, Naruto brought his hands together in a praying gesture, focusing intently on the ebb and flow of his chakra.

"Same?" his immediate squad captain, a large man named Suzuki Housei, asked.

"The cloaking is complete, taicho," Naruto answered his Bear masked captain. "Nehan Shouja no jutsu is in place." And indeed it was. As they moved through the encampment behind the Eta and Zeta Squads, the bandits and ronin that made up the general populace of the troupe were dropping like flies as Naruto's genjutsu took hold.

He wasn't done there, however; the Temple of Nirvana Technique was only the beginning of Naruto's carefully constructed lattice of illusions. Behind the immediate sleeping genjutsu lay two cloaking illusions. One position offsetting technique and one illusion that made the ANBU group seem like a small division of shinobi, rather than just three squads.

It was a new technique that Naruto had learned of during his training with Fuu, called layering. Using the layering technique, a sufficiently competent shinobi could create a network of illusions that were all linked. The only way to dispel the illusions was to attack them all at once, no small feat for the average shinobi.

While Naruto doubted that the illusions would hold up under the scrutiny of even one A-ranked ninja, they did the job of concealing the group's approach to the center of the compound from the troupe of ronin and bandits. They also concealed their presence from the odd missing nin that was a part of the organized compound that Beta Platoon was infiltrating. Their targets were the big guys, not the small time fodder that littered the ramshackle tents and huts.

"Illusions?"

"In place, taicho," Naruto responded stiffly, concentrated as he was on his task of maintaining the genjutsus. While the layering technique would allow for Naruto to let the illusions sustain themselves, the potency and longevity of the genjutsu would increase as he focused on maintaining the illusions.

"Good work, Same. Tori?" the captain addressed the kunoichi on Naruto's left.

"The targets are three degrees to the south of our immediate position, less than half a kilometer away. Estimated time to arrival: forty seconds," the Bird masked kunoichi responded in near monotone. Hyuuga Hikari was a Branch Family Hyuuga whose skills with the Byakugan were an invaluable asset to Epsilon Squad.

In a strange twist of fate, Epsilon Squad had been the squad that Naruto and his comrades had saved from the Kusa ninja a little over one month ago. They had been on loan to another platoon at the time, and had been the sole survivors of the ambush that had claimed the lives of Delta Platoon, as well as the last member of Epsilon Squad.

The final member, to Naruto's left back in the diamond formation they were running in, was an eighteen year old redhead named Haruno Daisuke. The Lizard masked teen was the team medic, and had been recruited into the ANBU for his seemingly prodigious skill in the medical field, having once been an apprentice to Yakushi Ryoushi, Konoha's head medical ninja.

The com-links played static as Housei relayed the information to Fuu, and Epsilon Squad slowed their pace so as to be at an adequate distance to provided support. It wasn't Naruto's favorite role as an ANBU, but it was necessary, and helped him to gain experience in the field while not always putting him in the line of fire.

He'd still rather be in the thick of things.

The point was moot, however, as Eta and Zeta Squads fell upon their four A-ranked targets. The four jonin had been awake and alert, having detected and dispelled the various genjutsu, but were unprepared to face eight combat tested and coordinated elites.

One of the four was dead and another retreating hastily by the time the group had time to fully react.

"Epsilon, give chase and eliminate!" Fuu's voice ordered from over the com. Four cries of "Hai, taicho!" met the order, and the support squad sped off.

"Attack formation three. Eki, take point!" the bear masked captain ordered as he and Daisuke switched places in the diamond formation.

"Tori, E.T.A.?" Naruto asked.

"Target four degrees northeast and moving slowly; fifteen seconds," the Branch Hyuuga intoned, voice lacking any emotion.

"Same, give us cover!"

Naruto didn't bother to respond as he sped through hand seals. The Kokoni Arazu no jutsu and Niju Kokoni Arazu no jutsu fell into place, offsetting the group's position by a few meters.

As the target, an average sized man in worn Kumogakure combat fatigues, came into view, Naruto broke off to his right in a diagonal pattern; the bird masked Hikari mirrored him on his left.

As he approached the Kumo nuke-nin, Daisuke flipped through a short series of hand seals, before his hands glowed blue as his chakra scalpels activated. A difficult technique to master, Daisuke had proven his medical genius by successfully employing the technique at various points in the past.

As a technique that focused on precision and efficiency, right down to the chakra control needed to execute the jutsu, it often became a lead in for Epsilon Squad's combat encounters, as a quick hit could kill or debilitate even the most resilient of shinobi.

It would have, should have worked, but the A-ranked nuke-nin proved his worth as he dispelled the genjutsu clouding his senses and dove to the side to avoid Daisuke's deadly strike to the heart. A short series of hand seals later, and Daisuke was forced to abort his follow up strike, lest he be fried by the ensuing electric current.

In a carefully coordinated manner, Naruto and Hikari leapt into the air, simultaneously releasing two shuriken toward their quarry. Each of the shuriken multiplied into dozens more as the captain completed the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu.

The Kumo renegade used Kawarimi to escape the deadly stars, and the captain took the initiative, charging the man with his assassin's blade poised to skewer his target.

Not one to be done in so easily, the renegade summoned a wall of water, before sending a bolt of lightning through it. The bear masked ANBU was unlucky, as his blade had just passed into the water wall as the nuke-nin electrified it.

As the former Kumo-nin moved in for the kill, the captain was saved as Naruto hijacked the water the missing nin had used for his Suijenheki, turning it against him.

"Suiton: Suigadan!" Naruto bit out from behind his shark mask. He watched in satisfaction as the renegade was forced to Kawarimi out of harm's way, drills made of water crashing through the space he had just occupied.

Taking advantage of the brief lull in combat, Daisuke quickly made his way to the captain, medical chakra at the ready. Hikari moved to their side, Byakugan activated beneath her mask. Her eyes widened and she had no time to shout a warning as the Kumo jonin's kunai entered Naruto's skull.

The man left his kunai in the dead body, preparing to move in on the unprepared group when the body of the ANBU in front of him dissolved into mist. His face showed shock as branches appeared from nowhere and bound his arms and legs, a tree trunk impacting his back.

"Mokuton?" he questioned weakly, watching as the group he had targeted dissipated in to mist as well.

"Not quite," was all he heard as three blades were thrust through his torso.

Watching dispassionately as his team members retrieved their blades from the now deceased Dansei Samoshii, one of Kumogakure's former jonin, Naruto let his genjutsu dissipate.

"Not bad, rookie. What'd ya' use on the bastard?" Daisuke spoke up as he performed a quick autopsy on the corpse.

"Jubaku Satsu," Naruto answered the teenager, tossing a sealing scroll to the captain. "Not that subtle, but it gets the job done just the same."

"Hmph. A regular cold blooded killer, eh, rookie?" Daisuke asked with a snicker. Naruto bristled at the rookie jibe; he hated his new nickname in the Black Ops.

Naruto was about to retort when Hikari's curt voice cut him off. "Enough, Daisuke! Leave the rookie alone."

Naruto let out a strangled noise, knowing that the Hyuuga had phrased it that way just to get under his skin, while still getting her point across. He could tell from the subtle body language between the two that this had been planned out. It wasn't particularly funny, in Naruto's opinion, but he supposed that being in the ANBU killed one's sense of humor.

"That's enough. From all of you," Housei said curtly, leaking a bit of killing intent to get his point across. He had sealed the body away in the scroll Naruto had passed him, radioed in the kill, and wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there. "Eki, stop antagonizing the boy. Tori, we're on a mission, I thought you had more sense than to use our real names. Be glad everyone around here is dead."

The two chastised ANBU snapped to attention, bowing quickly in a show of respect, Tori deeper than Eki, as her screw up could have been a breach of security had the situation not been what it was.

"I apologize, taicho," the two said in unison.

"Hmph, don't let it happen again. We're done here." Naruto glanced at the sun in the sky, gauging the time. The combined time for the fights had been less than three minutes. The swiftness of elite shinobi encounters still surprised him sometimes.

" Let's roll out; Buntaicho wants to be in Konoha by o' sixteen hundred hours."

The group blanched behind their masks, they were three hours from Konoha at a fast pace, and o' sixteen hundred was under two hours from now. That meant one of two things: either Fuu had found something of importance in the shithole of a compound they were in, or he was exercising his sadistic side.

Naruto sighed in resignation behind his mask. His next training session was going to be shit either way.

/~/

"The mission objectives were completed with little to no trouble, and the only complications arose after the targets had been eliminated."

"Elaborate," Sarutobi commanded, his face set in neutrality.

"An unknown quantity managed to collapse the genjutsu lattice set by Uzumaki Naruto, codenamed Same. As a result, the platoon was forced to engage the majority of the shinobi and ronin in the compound as we exited." Fuu's voice was carefully conditioned for monotone.

"Injuries?" Sarutobi asked, still neutral. Inwardly, he was slightly concerned, but nothing more. A few ronin and low ranked nuke-nin should pose no threat to a full platoon of ANBU.

"Superficial," Fuu responded immediately, with no hesitation. "The few injuries sustained were mostly from the platoon engaging the targets."

The Sandaime nodded, pleased to hear that the mission was completed with few complications. "Have you anything to add?"

Fuu shook his head.

"What of the boy, Uzumaki Naruto?" a voice inquired from behind the Sandaime's chair. The aged Hokage didn't even turn his head to look at Danzo, as interested in the answer as he was.

Fuu likewise showed no reaction to his immediate superior's presence in the room as he answered. "As well as to be expected of a rookie ANBU. His participation was minimal for the most part, preferring to observe. He showcased himself well, however, through his use of cloaking genjutsu and helped assist in the kill of Dansei Samoshii, according to his squad captain."

"And later? You mentioned complications."

"His kills were clean, precise, and efficient, as was expected of him," was the immediate reply. Sarutobi smirked inwardly, taking note of the minuscule hint of pride the nearly emotionless man had in his student's performance.

Sarutobi nodded, glancing at Danzo as if asking him if he had anything to add. When the man gave an almost unnoticeable shake of his head, the Sandaime returned his attention to Fuu. "If you've nothing more to report, you are dismissed."

The man stood from his position on one knee, and snapped a crisp salute to both the Hokage and Danzo, before disappearing in Shunshin.

"Well?" Sarutobi asked his associate.

"All good things, if both Fuu and the report are to be believed," Danzo returned, taking a seat opposite the Hokage.

"Indeed," Sarutobi returned, lighting his customary pipe. "Though it bothers me some that a boy of nearly thirteen is so well suited to the Black Ops."

"Itachi." It wasn't a question, nor did it require any clarification on the part of either shinobi.

"A genius among even the most lauded of shinobi prodigies. What a waste," Sarutobi sighed, shaking his head ruefully.

"Yes, but was it not necessary?" Danzo asked rhetorically. "You and I both know what threat that clan posed. It was either that, or a civil war that would have brought about Konoha's eventual destruction. We chose the lesser of two evils."

"It doesn't make it right."

Danzo scoffed lightly, "Perhaps not, but that is the reality of the world we live in. You always were far too soft, Sarutobi. You and I both know how some of your decisions have affected this village." The reference to the Hokage's former star pupil needed no clarification.

"Indeed, old friend, but I am just a man. And we both know how some of yours have affected the village as well." The Hokage smiled wryly. "Though I suppose that's what you're here for."

"I've been correcting your mistakes for years now, monkey," the bandaged man stated.

"And I yours."

The two old men indulged in a moment of silence, each reminiscing about years past.

"How goes the situation in Kusa?" the Sandaime asked, quickly changing topic.

The one eyed man shook his head. "Not well. The pact with Iwa is forming far faster than my informants originally thought possible."

The Hokage took a drag from his pipe, shaking his head ruefully. "Over three decades of peace and collaboration, undone in a year. Even with the fragility of shinobi pacts, that is unusually fast."

"Indeed, I thought much the same," Danzo replied. "My informants managed to stumble upon the reason." Seeing he had Sarutobi's full attention, he continued with a humorless chuckle, "Jinchuuriki."

"Surely not!" The Sandaime was shocked at the mere thought of Iwa bargaining with one of their most prized weapons. At Danzo's nod, he was forced to accept the point; his old friend would hardly joke about anything, much less something this serious. "Which one?"

"Roushi," was the simple reply.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair heavily, looking every one of his seven decades. "Heavens above," he gasped.

"My thoughts exactly," Danzo said angrily, his impeccable emotional control slipping with the weight of the moment.

As quickly as Sarutobi had deflated, he rose up once more, looking more like the Shinobi God he had been known as than Danzo had seen in years. He was forcibly reminded why this man had been made Hokage, and not him. "We must mobilize more quickly, then. How goes the establishment of the resistance?"

As a covert operation that Konoha could have no visible hand in, the overthrowing of an Iwa backed regime in Kusagakure had to look as much like a homegrown insurrection as possible, so as to avoid outright war with Iwagakure before Konoha was ready. In came the resistance movement.

"Better than originally anticipated, it appears that we had more supporters within Kusagakure's ranks than we originally thought. Not all have forgotten Iwa's acts during the last two wars, and a resistance was already forming when my men began their operation. Needless to say, they were rather excited to hear that they would have, if not our full, some serious support."

"How many do you propose we send?" Sarutobi was in full war mode now, his earlier weariness forgotten in the wake of necessity.

"As many of my Roots as logically possible. The situation requires discretion above the norm, and there are few standard shinobi that I would trust with such an operation. Your ANBU have already proved themselves incapable of acting properly outside our borders."

Sarutobi ignored the jab at his personal troops in favor of mulling the situation over. "I assume Naruto would be among them." It wasn't a question.

"We are old, Sarutobi," Danzo began. "Konoha will require someone to take over after we are both dead, and there are few with the necessary qualifications. Save Jiraiya, your students all turned out to be failures in that regard."

"Perhaps, but you would do well not to count out Tsunade just yet. You propose that we let the boy sharpen his skills in true combat? It is an awful risk Danzo, and I don't like placing all of our eggs in one basket just yet." Orochimaru had already let him down in that regard and, while Naruto was certainly nothing like that man, he was far from eager to place such a burden on one so young and untested.

"His father did much the same in the last war, did he not?" Sarutobi had to concede that point. "As for placing too much on him, we've no one else. Hatake is a shadow of his former self, and has too few qualities of a Hokage. Maito is powerful, but would command no respect from the other Kages."

Danzo stood as he ranted. "With our two top jonin out of the question, we must look to the younger generation. As much potential as your grandson has, he has neither the temperament nor the maturity to be properly molded; at least not yet. Other than Uzumaki, the Uchiha is the only standout, and he pales in comparison. Not to mention that neither you nor I would be willing to place much, if any, faith in the boy."

Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stem his oncoming headache. Danzo was correct, of course, Uzumaki Naruto was their most sensible option at the moment.

When it came to grooming a Hokage, there was a long process involved. It was one that his mentors, the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages, had put both himself and Danzo through, with Sarutobi proving himself time and again.

It was a process that Sarutobi had carefully put Orochimaru through from the moment he had first taken the boy as a student, only for Namikaze Minato to blitz through the ranks and surprise the world out of the blue. The Yondaime had proven himself superior to Orochimaru in every necessary way, and Sarutobi had been all too happy to relinquish his job to the blond man.

If only you had survived, Minato-kun, Sarutobi thought ruefully. With the legend dead at the hands of the Kyuubi, a shinobi village completely unprepared for war, and no plausible candidates in sight, Sarutobi and Danzo were forced to fall back on Uzumaki Naruto, a mostly untested twelve year old boy.

They could only hope that he would surprise them, just as his father had.

/~/

6. Sins

/~/

"So…what is it that you do, exactly?"

A tall, dark skinned man chuckled lightly, his pale blond hair moving with his head. "Logistics, my young friend." At the boy's questioning look, he elaborated. "I manage the missions, the information flow, the timing, ya get the picture. Mission orders come through me. Ya need something, ya come to me. I let the big people know what needs to get done, and it gets done."

"Ah." Naruto nodded in understanding. "They told me you were the big man 'round here, not what you did."

The large man shrugged, taking a sip of his tea. "Yer in Black Ops kid; the less anyone knows, the better it is for the rest of us, ya' feel me?"

Naruto's eyebrows rose in slight concern. "Should I be worried?" He couldn't help the shudder that passed through him. He straightened and glanced about.

"Nah, just protocol. Shit like that don't go down on simple missions like this. Just practice for the big stuff." Finishing off his tea, the black man shook his head at Naruto, having noticed the boy's eyes glancing around. "God, kid. They told me you were a newbie, but not that new. Get a fuckin' grip on yerself."

Naruto shrugged sheepishly, taking a sip of his, now cold, tea. He grimaced in distaste. "Yeah, guess you're right. Mission jitters and all that, y'know?"

The dark man snorted. "Look, kid, I ain't one for pep talks, but if yer boss was crazy enough to send ya into these parts, it means ya've got some skills. So stop yer worrying and just focus on gettin' the job done, ya feel me?"

"Is it really that bad here?"

"Look around ya, kid. Yer in motherfuckin' Kumo! Y'all tree huggers ain't too well liked 'round these parts."

Naruto nodded with a grimace, an expression that was becoming far too well used on his thirteen year old face. "Yeah, I guess. Not used to this sort of mission. More smash and bang stuff. Simpler."

"Not used to being subtle?" the logistics man asked skeptically.

"I can do subtle." Naruto argued, and gestured at the people around them. The logistics man had to give the young blond credit, his genjutsu skills were top notch, if the cloaking they were under was any indication. "Just don't know how I ended up as the assassin type. Don't really look the part…"

The logistics man – Naruto never got his name – snorted. "Do I look like the sort to be handling this type of shit, kid? Fact is, you being the way ya are makes ya perfect for this sort 'o stuff. Same with me."

Naruto had to give the man that point. Naruto had immediately pegged the large muscled man as a heavy combat specialist, far from what he actually did. Makes it easier if you don't look the part, I guess. People don't pay attention to you.

"Thanks," Naruto heard the large man grunt. His dango had finally arrived.

"So, who's the target, exactly?" Naruto asked, a forced casual note in his voice. The dark man gave him a searching stare.

"They didn't tell ya?" the logistics man asked around a mouthful of dango.

Naruto raised a pale blond eyebrow; his hair having been dyed a lighter blond to better blend in to the environment. "Should they have? Thought that was your thing?"

The large man shrugged, having finished his dango in record time. "It is. Jus' thought they'd coddle ya a little. First mission an' all, ya know?"

Naruto snorted as the man signaled for another platter. "Coddle? You've never met my boss." Naruto had a hard time using the words "coddle" and "Danzo" in the same sentence. They simply didn't belong together.

"Nope." The dark man handed a file folder to Naruto from across the table, having discreetly summoned it from a storage scroll. Ah, the wonder of seals, Naruto thought fondly, fuuninjutsu having attracted his interest of late.

He briefly perused the contents of the folder, taking a moment to appreciate the thoroughness that went in to creating the dossier. It contained everything from her mission history to her birth records, each listed out in precise detail.

"You guys don't mess around."

"Info is the backbone of every successful mission," the black man stated sagely.

Naruto didn't react to the statement outwardly, despite its obvious truthfulness. He was focused on the picture of a dark skinned woman with yellow eyes and deep red hair. He hid his grimace. I hate killing women, he thought forlornly.

"What's her day like?" Naruto asked, fighting to keep his voice level. He closed the folder quietly.

The man shrugged. "Standard for a chunin in the missions department. She gets up, walks her son to the academy, goes to the missions office, picks up her son from the academy, goes home. Ya need times? I can have a file drawn up."

Naruto shook his head; the general information should be all that he needed. He could and would find out the times on his own. His mission wasn't particularly time sensitive, he had until week's end, and that was still three days from now. He would take his time to complete the mission properly, despite his distaste for it.

If it was worth doing, it was worth doing correctly, and Danzo certainly wanted it done the right way. Regardless of the fact that his target was giving secrets to Kumo, they were limited to what she knew of Konoha's operations in this neck of the woods, operations that weren't of too much significance, as it was peace time. Creating an international incident over a small fry wasn't in his mission briefing, nor did the blond expect that it would ever be.

"She has a son?" the shorter shinobi asked.

The logistics man nodded absently, his sunglass covered eyes following the form of their rather attractive waitress. "It's in the file," he said simply.

Naruto absently blew a strand of hair out of his face, rolling his eyes as he did so; he needed a haircut. "Anything else worthy of, uh, note?" he asked the distracted man, bringing him back to attention.

"Hmm. Oh, yeah, she's tailed by two jonin at all times. Might wanna watch out for 'em." The dark man nodded simply, as if this information was no more important than anything else that had been said previous.

It made sense. The woman was acting as an informant for the Raikage by divulging what information she knew about Konoha, its inner workings, and her knowledge of its spy network. Placing her in the care two jonin was perfectly reasonable.

It also made Naruto's job that much harder.

"Fabulous." Naruto quipped sarcastically. "Anything on them?"

The large man shrugged. "Mission histories and the like, not much else. Things are a bit tense here righ' now. Don' wanna risk too much; can' be too careful." The last bit was said just as casually as everything else that had come out of the black man's mouth, but it still gave the young ANBU pause.

Naruto hid his surprise behind an emotionless façade. He could read between the lines of that statement. It was surprising that the man would reveal such information to him, hidden though it was. Spies were supposed to be discreet about their dealings, and dishing out unnecessary info wasn't exactly protocol.

It also gave Naruto a leg up over the man, having not volunteered any information about himself in their encounter thus far.

It was proof that the dark man might not have been as experienced as he had originally seemed, given that he had nearly outright told Naruto that he was the new kid on the block around these parts. It was the only explanation of why he might not be able to get full dossiers on the two jonin currently guarding Naruto's target.

It wasn't really the man's fault. Naruto assumed that Konoha's –Danzo's – whole network in these parts had been shaken up by his target's unexpected defection. While all good networks were compartmentalized and could deal with such realities, it wasn't everyday that the section chief's top informant decided to develop some loyalty toward her home village.

Naruto mentally shook his head at the situation as he skimmed the histories of the two jonin currently on guard duty, one rookie who was assigned as immediate protection while the veteran oversaw the area. He'd have to find a way to work around that.

"Good to know," the blond responded casually, passing the thin jackets back to the black man. He took a final swig of his tea. "Anything else?"

He took the man's immediate departure as a no.

/~/

To say it in a few words: Uzumaki Naruto was impressed.

From his vantage point on the side of the cliff, he had a good view of the Kumogakure Ninja Academy's training grounds. Frankly, impressed was an understatement of Naruto's feelings at the moment.

The students' accuracy was near perfect for each throw – when it wasn't, an instructor would be on them like white on rice, correcting any visible flaws – the taijutsu exercises were executed with precision and efficiency, and the ninjutsu, while not many, were well coached and drilled to the point of near mastery. It was a sight to behold, in Naruto's opinion, and was commendable. The blond couldn't help but nod appreciatively.

The atmosphere created by the instructors and students was one of intense learning and concentration at the task at hand – namely, becoming a shinobi or kunoichi. And capable ones.

It reminded Naruto of the reserve classes he had attended during his year in the program. The instructors were competent, and the students were focused and driven enough not to goof off unnecessarily. From what little he had seen in the two hours he had been scouting, Naruto could reasonably determine that the class rankings were decided within the classroom, as every student he had seen thus far had been quite competent at the practical aspects of shinobi life.

On one hand, it was an impressive sight to say the least, and the picture of what a ninja academy should be in the blonde's opinion; on the other, it said something about the differing attitudes of the two Great Shinobi Villages he had been in. Konoha's Academy had been far from demanding for Naruto, and while it managed to turn out fairly competent genin on a six month basis, the lackadaisical attitude shown by both the chunin instructors and the students was a joke compared to the sight in front of him.

Kumo's program, at a glance, looked to be designed to churn out competent and combat ready shinobi and kunoichi. He knew, after mentally comparing what he knew of the two academies, that the average Konoha graduates would be utterly annihilated by their Kumogakure counterparts.

Konoha's academy said that it used a program to churn out ninja with a solid grounding in the ninja arts that could then be built upon by their jonin instructors. From what he had managed to learn through his observations and information gathering in Kumo, not only did the students have a much firmer base in the ninja arts – as showcased by the students he was currently watching – but the program also encouraged individual competition through the use of jonin apprenticeships.

While Kumo did use the tried and true method of jonin instructors, they had a system of apprenticeships that were given out to the top twelve students in the academy. The top students were apprenticed, in teams of three, to highly competent and well known jonin in the village, almost assuring their eventual promotion to jonin themselves. The system encouraged competition for the top twelve spots, and helped the students stay highly motivated to improve their own skills, lest they be relegated to the more average squads.

Konoha's system basically told the students that they only needed the minimum amount of training in order to graduate, and that they would pretty much be guaranteed to become genin. While the reserve program managed to bring many of the failed graduates up to speed, it was still a full year of necessary instruction that could be avoided entirely, in many cases, if the students were more motivated to improve themselves in the first place.

The differences in the two systems spoke volumes about what the two villages were trying to accomplish. Given the atmosphere in Kumo's academy, it looked as if the village and the Raikage were attempting to create battle ready soldiers for war. It was almost the exact opposite of Konoha's coddling-like approach to its academy students.

He knew full well that Kumo's program was fairly new; they likely wouldn't have suffered the same losses they did in the Third Great War with a constant influx of highly competent shinobi and kunoichi graduates.

To Naruto's knowledge, Kumo certainly wasn't mobilizing. He likely would have learned of it from Danzo in his mission briefing and, even if he hadn't, he would have been able to tell after a few days in the village. He wasn't sure that the knowledge that Kumogakure wasn't, in fact, mobilizing for war was more troubling than if they were, given their training program.

In any event, the knowledge that the Raikage – a man named Ei, from what he had overheard – wanted to continue to amass military strength and power in a time of relative peace in the Elemental Nations was troubling. He would have to include it in his report when he returned home

That, however, wasn't important to the blond at the moment. No, his attention was focused on one person in particular. A red haired boy named Komaza Kitou who was currently firing blunted shuriken at his various classmates, all of whom were dodging like the wind.

Smiling slightly at the exercise, having done that himself with his clones over the years, Naruto regarded the young boy. He wasn't much younger than Naruto himself, the dossier on his mother having said he was just now twelve, and Naruto could clearly see the potential as a shinobi the boy had.

His movements were efficient and precise, his throws were made with the minimum effort required to reach their targets and they were just that little bit more accurate than his classmates'. Naruto wouldn't have been surprised to hear that Kitou was the top rookie.

Looking skyward as the students finished their practice – inwardly marveling at the lack of clouds, due to the elevation – Naruto recognized that it was late afternoon. That meant that the Academy would be letting out soon.

It was time to get this show on the road.

Focusing, Naruto channeled his chakra and slipped into a Shunshin, taking care not to leave any smoke behind as a screen. His abilities with the Body Flicker had grown immensely since he had manually increased his speed. Due to the speed increase, less chakra had to be used to achieve the same level of speed as he had before. While he was no Yondaime – he wasn't even close to the likes of Shunshin no Shisui – that little tidbit of information could go a long way toward making the Shunshin battle effective.

It was so simple it was almost a slap in the face to Naruto, who had been painstakingly researching complex forms of speed augmentation for years.

Reappearing outside the café he had eaten at the day previous, careful not to disturb any passersby, Naruto swiftly began his trek toward the Ninja Academy. It was somewhat unnecessary, given he would be out of the village within two hours if all went according to plan – the country soon after – but making sure that various people, shinobi included, saw him at some point was in the interest of his general health if he wasn't able to get out of Kumo as quickly as he would have liked.

It went against what was commonly practiced in the shinobi world, but a nameless assassin appearing from nowhere would raise questions, especially given who his target was. This operation wasn't supposed to have Konoha's name written all over it, regardless of the fact that the woman was selling secrets.

Subtlety's the name of the game.

As he turned a corner, the Academy in sight with the Kage Complex looming overhead, he wondered what Kumo's Intelligence had gained from the woman who had served as one of Danzo's top informants in Lightning Country. He didn't know what Kumo had done to sway her to their side, but he found that he honestly didn't care.

The realization was a little disturbing to Naruto, and it gave him pause.

The information she was giving was placing the lives of Konoha citizens in danger. Unacceptable, the blond thought viciously. Nothing more, nothing less.

Stopping short of the Academy, his sharp eyes found their target. The red haired woman was flanked on her left by one of her two escorts, waiting for her son to exit the Academy. Perfect.

Naruto had anticipated that one of her escorts would be directly next to her, the crowd of parents surrounding the Academy making for a perfect attack spot, after all, and he had planned accordingly. Scanning the crowd briefly, he extended his chakra into the air, causing a subtle rise in humidity that would, hopefully, go unnoticed.

Feeling the various chakra signatures present, he immediately began searching for the highest one. It wasn't a foolproof way to find the hidden jonin, but it would give him and estimation of where the man was. It wasn't a guarantee that the jonin would have the highest chakra levels, but it was likely.

His chakra rebounding off a person faster than normal alerted him to a man's presence on the roof. Blue eyes locked on to a man in standard Kumo garb overlooking the crowd. Naruto nodded in satisfaction; the predictable placement put him too far away to stop what was about to happen, but then, the people next to the woman wouldn't be able to react fast enough to prevent her death.

The young blond snapped to attention as the doors to the Academy opened and the first of the students trickled through. He was already moving as he spotted his quarry, the red haired Kitou being the first one through the door.

His short stature aided him in moving swiftly between the mass of bodies, and he brushed passed his target and her protector. Naruto knew doubt but not hesitation as he subtly brushed his fingers over his target's bare forearm.

The sound of his heartbeat drummed loudly in Naruto's ears, and the assassin let out a minute sigh of relief as he passed his quarry without incident.

The large group of Academy students parted around him, and the blond spied Kitou speeding up to reach his mother. He closed his eyes for a moment, some small part of him hoping, praying, for someone to notice and stop him from what he was about to do.

But no one noticed. No one could. He had planned it to be undetectable, and he had gone unnoticed through the crowd.

Naruto passed the rushing Kitou without a word, bile creeping up his throat at the knowledge that the boy would be without a mother. He would be like Naruto himself, though it would be the blond depriving him of that right, rather than a demon fox.

For a single, suspended second, Naruto warred with himself. The idea of turning another boy, one hardly younger than himself and an innocent, into an orphan sickened him. And yet, the image of Konoha appeared in his mind's eye. From the Hokage Monument, to all the men and women he ran missions with. It was all in danger; all because of one woman. One woman who happened to be a mother.

In Naruto's mind was a war between his conscience and his duty. It wasn't a fair fight, and the blond quelled the rush of self loathing with the image of his home once more.

I'm so sorry, he thought, watching from the corner of his eye as the red haired academy student passed him. Abruptly, his eyes went cold, and he formed a half ram seal.

The dormant genjutsu Naruto had laid on the jonin as he passed him activated with a tiny application of chakra. The boy closed his eyes as he heard the rustling of cloth and the telltale sound of a drawn blade. He tasted bile as a sickening squelch met his ears, and the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground sounded.

"Oh my God!"

Mission accomplished.

/~/

Grass parted and dirt sprung into the air as Naruto sat down heavily. Taking a deep breath to slow his rapidly beating heart, Naruto deftly spun a kunai around his right middle finger, idly tracing the inscription of his initials along the handle.

It, along with its brother, had been an idea of Epsilon's resident medic-nin. Having seen Naruto use twin kunai to deadly effect in practice, and more than a few skirmishes, he and the rest of Epsilon Squad had arranged to have a twin set of elongated knives commissioned for the blond.

With leather grips designed to fit Naruto's hands perfectly, the sixteen inch knives were more than just the average kunai. Six inches longer than the standard fare, the twin knives were crafted with the finest shinobi grade steel that money could buy. Naruto had hoped for some chakra channeling capabilities, but that would have required another, less durable metal to fashion the blades with. Steel was like the human body in that it didn't absorb chakra particularly well, and only high chakra saturated steel could channel the life essence properly. Anything less was pointless.

It also made chakra weapons, true chakra weapons, that much more expensive. The saturation process took nearly a year to complete, and, as such, the steel couldn't be stockpiled to any great extent.

Apparently, saving the team's lives, however unwittingly, didn't quite warrant the gift of a pair of custom chakra blades. Cheap bastards, Naruto thought with some amusement and no real ill will.

The dual blades were far from a cheap gift in any event, and the fact that they were designed for him specifically made them all the nicer. According to Housei, there was a second pair waiting in the wings for when he stopped growing.

Naruto had been more than a little surprised when the team had given him the twin blades a few days after he had returned from his excursion in Kumo. That surprise had only doubled when he had learned that it had been Daisuke's idea.

Contrary to the red head's attitude toward his blond comrade on missions and in team training, the teenager was surprisingly well grounded and down to earth, resulting in the two striking up an easy camaraderie outside of work. The two shared similar dreams of future success, though in different fields of shinobi life – Naruto in the application of all battle oriented techniques and Daisuke in the field of shinobi medicine.

The teenaged Haruno apparently dreamed of becoming a medic with competency rivaling Tsunade of the Sannin, known throughout the Elemental Nations as the greatest shinobi medic to ever live. It was certainly a stretch for anyone to truly rival the last remaining Senju, but Naruto felt Daisuke had more of a shot than most.

The red head was unusually talented in the field of medicine, having mastered the Chakra Scalpels to deadly effect at a very young age, and possessed a single minded determination – Hikari called it bull-headedness and Naruto was forced to agree with the Hyuuga – to excel in the study. On top of that was the fact that he had managed to prove more than competent with average, if not sub-par medical education. Both the interest and general competency in the field of shinobi medicine had left with Tsunade, and few in the village were both capable healers and competent teachers. Daisuke's talent would likely keep him well ahead of the pack for some time to come, as it was far from likely that the vaunted Slug Princess would return from her self imposed exile anytime soon.

The two youngest members of Beta Platoon would often share a drink after missions or training – Naruto usually had a drink of chilled tea combined with a western lemon drink, it was surprisingly tasty – and would sometimes train together outside of actual scheduled practice.

For Naruto, it was the first real friendship he had ever had with someone close to his own age, his librarian friend Mai aside, and it was a refreshing experience to talk to someone who could relate to him on a more emotional level. Daisuke had plenty of advice for the younger boy, having been in many positions similar to Naruto in his own formative years in the corps, and didn't hesitate to bestow his "superior experience" upon Naruto, often in the most annoying ways.

For Daisuke, it was a pleasant experience having someone younger than him on the team, as it took some of the weight off of his shoulders. He had been the team's former rookie, and had been subjected to the same forms of torment that Naruto now experienced in ANBU, constant ribbing only being a small part of his "hazing period". The eighteen year old saw the boy as a sort of younger sibling or cousin, and delighted in making him uncomfortable. His next closest relative was his cousin Saukra, the Haruno family's "darling", and an Academy Student one year younger than Naruto. It was much more difficult for the eighteen year old to relate to a twelve year old girl than to Naruto.

As it would happen, Naruto's senior teammate would likely be with him now, had it not been for his little cousin's graduation from the Academy earlier that day. The whole family, it wasn't that large, was throwing a party for the girl's graduation, much to Daisuke's chagrin. "They didn't throw me a party," the ANBU had whined.

Frankly, Naruto was lucky to be here himself. Most of the village was on high alert at the moment, as some foreign assassin had decided that the Academy's graduation was a good time to take a potshot at the Sandaime's grandson. ANBU was dispatched in record time to find the assassin, but the elite fighting force had been unlucky so far.

So far, it seemed that the shinobi was smarter than the average in his modus operandi. Many would be assassins simply ran from their pursuers in a straight line, hoping speed would carry them to safety. Laying low and blending in was a much underrated tactic, one that Naruto had employed rather well in Kumo.

At last check, the Hokage had called in the Inuzuka's talents in tracking to help find the assassin, but he had eluded his pursuers thus far.

Sighing, Naruto leaned his head against the wooden shack that was the only landmark of his current whereabouts. He was sitting in a small clearing that he and Mizuki had often used for their training sessions.

There were many reasons for someone to want Sarutobi Konohamaru dead, and nearly every motive led back to his legend of a grandfather. An avenue that he didn't even want to consider was that Kumogakure was retaliating in response to his killing of their informant.

It was unlikely that that was the case, it seemed far too bold for one of the Great Five – it risked a war once the assassin was found out – but the Yondaime Raikage was known to go against the grain in his running of his village.

In any event, it certainly wasn't a great start to the young Sarutobi's shinobi career, who had surprised many of his instructors by finishing middle of the pack in his class. Naruto shook his head in bemusement; it seemed that the boy had hidden depths that even his own instructors hadn't been able to see.

Good on him, Naruto silently applauded the prankster. Hidden depths were an important part of shinobi life, and would only help the Sandaime's grandson in the future. Maybe he would make something of himself after all.

More competent shinobi for Konoha would only be a good thing after all, and they were becoming surprisingly hard to come by these days. Not a day went by that he didn't hear either Housei or Hikari grumbling about the sad state of graduates that the Academy churned out.

While Housei complained that none of them were adequately prepared for the realities of shinobi life – Naruto was forced to agree with his captain in this regard – Hikari raged about how pathetic the kunoichi were. Honestly, Naruto had never seen so much emotion from a Hyuuga than when they had been on a regular village patrol and had passed by the Academy's training ground. The two kunoichi sparring had been nothing short of pathetic. His teammate's ire had only increased when she had seen that it was her Main Family cousin – Hinata or something – that was involved in the match.

Naruto had been forced to refute her great generalization of the kunoichi graduates. The graduates from the year previous had been somewhat competent, especially if that girl Tenten had been any indication.

Naruto had struck up a relative friendship with the bun-haired girl, who worked part time in the weapons shop he frequented, and had found that she was more than pleasant to talk to and be around. She was cute too, though Naruto would never reveal that particular thought to any living soul.

He'd have to drop by sometime.

Thoughts drifting away from the cute weapons specialist, Naruto abruptly narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He angrily blew a strand of hair from its position near his right eye – he really needed a haircut. Just can't catch a break these days, he mused.

If it wasn't botched mission specs, it was an unexpected group of missing nin or some international incident. The list went on.

His train of thought evaporated as his well trained senses picked up a presence moving towards his position. Normally he wouldn't have paid it any heed, the training grounds were open at all hours for all shinobi, but the reminder of an unknown assassin gave him pause. The blond formed three seals, disappearing in an unseen haze, and waited.

Less than a minute passed before his quarry appeared.

Shifting his position slightly, Naruto watched dispassionately as multiple golden spires penetrated the wooden shack he was leaning against, about one meter to his right. He raised an eyebrow in surprise as the thrown weapons broke down the wall of his leaning post, completely splintering the wood.

Quickly surveying the surrounding foliage, he spotted his would be assailant perched on a nearby tree branch. A second eyebrow joined the first as he noticed that the boy had six arms. That's not weird at all.

Focusing chakra and forming a Tsuchi Bunshin, Naruto noted that the weapons the boy had thrown were similar to what the would-be assassin had used to nearly kill Sarutobi Konohamaru. And here I am with no back-up, he thought with more than a sprinkling of frustration. Why is it always me?

The exposed mud clone was quickly cut down by a high velocity throw, and Naruto silently respected the boy's accuracy. It was good.

Too bad it wouldn't really matter.

Still concealed by his genjutsu, Naruto poured chakra into his legs and slipped into Shunshin, his arm outstretched. The six armed boy's eyes widened as he felt the incoming chakra, but was powerless to stop Naruto's crushing clothesline.

Naruto transferred all of his momentum and power into the strike with an almighty grunt of exertion, and watched in satisfaction as the assassin's motion was halted by a rather immovable tree. A satisfying crack accompanied both the immediate strike and the boy slamming into the tree, and Naruto dropped his cloaking genjtusu.

His blue eyes darted around the clearing in search of other threats, but situational awareness fell by the wayside as an eruption of pure chakra knocked him back.

Startled and off balance as he was, Naruto didn't notice the golden arrow tearing towards his position until it was already by him. Instinct and reflexes born of battle saved him, and the blond found himself airborn.

Landing far more gracefully than he had dodged, Naruto watched with wide eyes as the golden bolt of death tore through the tree whose branch he had just been standing on. He didn't want to think what might have happened to his body if he had been hit.

A deep, hacking laughter stole his attention. "Well, this game might be a bit harder than I thought. A higher level than anticipated, but…I guess it's more fun that way."

A monster now stood in place of the six-armed boy Naruto had blitzed, complete with red skin, horns, three eyes and long gray hair. In his arms was a classic long bow, made of the same golden substance that both his former weapons and arrow were formed by.

Sharp eyes centered on the point where Naruto had struck the monster, and the blond took in cracked gold caked with blood before he was on the move once more. He spun round and whirled, deftly avoiding another arrow that was accompanied by a group of the thrown, yellow weapons from before.

His speed got better, Naruto realized with some distress. The hell happened to him!

The crack of the tree behind him was expected, and Naruto launched a clip of shuriken at the boy-turned monster.

He hadn't expected them to do any damage, really, but was unprepared for them to be so casually blocked with the red monster's forearm, now covered in the golden substance that Naruto had begun to associate with his attacker. Grimacing and taking cover behind a tree, Naruto formed three mud clones. The first was skewered by a high velocity arrow, and Naruto hurriedly directed his remaining two to attack while the monster was forced to create and notch another arrow.

Channeling chakra to his feet, Naruto went vertical on the tree. It was more than obvious that the unnamed assassin was a long ranged specialist and, given his obvious competency and resiliency, wouldn't just let Naruto get close range with him.

Perching himself on a tree branch one level higher than his enemy, Naruto wove seals at a furious pace. Nothing happened to his eyes, but he was acutely aware of the situation playing out in his mind's eye. To the eyes – all three of them – of his assailant, his two mud clones had become two dozen charging attackers.

The boy had been close to dispelling the genjutsu, but his first Tsuchi Bunshin had made contact, forcing the monster on the immediate defensive. Naruto gave the teenager credit, despite being a long ranged specialist, he was rather competent close in. Competent and durable enough to dispel a well trained clone.

The initiative was still Naruto's, however, as a "clone" was always close enough to the monster that he couldn't conceivably dispel the genjutsu with possibly taking a debilitating hit, regardless of the fact that only one more clone in the onslaught was actually tangible. He doesn't know that, Naruto thought viciously.

"Passable my ass," he growled, remembering Fuu's less than impressed reaction to his deception.

Ah, the wonders of genjutsu, Naruto thought, a moment of fondness for his chosen art overtaking him as he watched his manipulation play out. The monster was steadily being herded towards his cover. Hands formed seals for the Suiton: Zessenzan, and it was then that two things happened at once.

The customary thin stream of chakra sharpened water burst towards his opponent at high speed.

The red skinned monster turned, arrow notched in his golden bow, and fired at nearly point blank range.

Naruto blinked as the sound of the arrow striking the tree trunk sounded in the silence. Staring down at the decapitated form of the six armed assassin, he noted with some interest that the boy's skin was turning back to its original tan color. His eyes shifted briefly to the golden arrow that was lodged in the tree trunk to his left.

He shook his head. Way too close on that one. Damn good thing I always use dual illusions.

Tucking an errant strand of hair behind his ear, Naruto leapt to the forest floor. His hands moved through seals slowly and precisely, he wasn't yet comfortable with the technique, and placed them on top of the rapidly cooling corpse. He was using a small diagnostic jutsu, courtesy of Daisuke, and would simply collect the preliminary results before he brought the body to the ANBU headquarters for a full autopsy.

It was amazing what one could learn from a ninja's corpse.

The chakra saturated air tipped him off, and having no desire to become a corpse himself, he swiftly gathered the corpse in his arms before Kawarimi'ing with a nearby log. Fucker's good at stealth. The Grand Fireball that was cooking the space he had previously occupied was less stealthy.

Extending his senses and glancing about, Naruto picked up a chakra source. It was disturbingly familiar.

As was the figure standing on the charred earth.

"Naruto…" Mizuki whispered, a conflicted expression marring his visage as he spied the blond. The silver haired chunin was armed to the teeth, two fuuma shuriken on his back and a scroll to his left.

Shock overtook the blond, even as his body moved on autopilot to deal with a new enemy. "Mizuki," Naruto whispered, his mind ablaze to comprehend the situation at hand. It was perfectly plausible that his friend had simply been in search of the assassin, and his search had led him here. That would explain why he was armed.

The sad, regretful look in his eyes that was replaced with grim determination said otherwise.

/~/

7. To Fight the Coming Darkness

/~/

Heavy, rolling mist blanketed the area as explosions rocked the forest. Intangible and untamable, it swept in and out of the combatants like a coiling snake.

A wince accompanied the collapse of Naruto's final genjutsu, and he sprung into action with his ninjato drawn. The assassin's blade sliced through its target like a hot knife through butter, and the Kusa ninja fell with nary a sound.

Naruto was moving before the body even hit the ground.

His senses pinged on his squad leader battling three ninja, and he moved to intercept. Those same senses forced him to dodge out of the way of an inclement Katon jutsu, and his eyes shifted to where he knew one more attacker to be.

The mist was of his creation, and it was nearly impenetrable to the naked eye. Thankfully, his team had trained extensively in similar conditions, and could adjust accordingly.

The attacking combination of Iwa and Kusa ninja wasn't as well prepared.

A quick step to the right put Naruto out of reach of a brace of shuriken, and he palmed and threw a kunai loaded with an explosive tag. The attacker saw the tag at the last moment, and moved to dodge left.

He was rewarded with a stab to the eye for his efforts, and the mud clone carefully caught the tag laden kunai that had never detonated. A casual toss re-added it to Naruto's stock.

An incoming Shunshin had Naruto on guard, but he relaxed as the signature turned out to be Fuu.

"Drop the mist, we need visibility," was the simple command. The auburn haired captain was gone before Naruto had time to question the order – not that he would have.

A quick focusing of his chakra made the mist disappear, and Naruto strafed to the right to avoid being skewered by a hardened rock spear that was immediately tossed his way.

The masked ANBU cursed as his bracers took an overhead blow from his attacker, and he realized he'd been suckered. He never appreciated being led into traps, no matter how often he did it to others.

Light glinted off an Iwa forehead protector as Naruto weathered the storm of blows that were laid on him. A quick step inside the man's range allowed Naruto to land a palm strike to the neck of the shinobi.

The man stumbled backwards, giving Naruto an opening for a quick finish. His victory was cut short as he felt incoming chakra push and pull on him at the same time. He relaxed, letting the sensation take over, and found himself back to back with Daisuke.

He swiftly drew his combat knives, and one found itself lodged inside a body before Naruto could even survey the situation.

A glance at his former position showed Housei deflecting a storm of shuriken, and Naruto silently thanked the captain's quick maneuver. It had saved his life from death by multiple stab wounds. Bastards probably poisoned them too.

"Not dead yet, rookie?" Daisuke asked snidely as his chakra scalpels ferociously severed the aorta of a Kusa ninja. Dead in three heartbeats, the blond mused clinically.

Naruto wondered if his captain had been right to Kawarimi with him when he did. He and Daisuke were caught in the line of fire of two four man squads. The two ANBU had to move fast to avoid being test dummies for the incoming hail of kunai.

"Not on your life!" he returned. A stray kunai was caught and returned to its thrower at twice the initial velocity. Naruto snarled slightly as he heard the muffled thump of the blade hitting its target.

"Saw Housei pull your ass out of the fire." Daisuke was a wonderful at multitasking. He proved it by ensnaring two ninja with wire and binding them to a nearby tree trunk. Two shuriken severed their jugular veins courtesy of Naruto.

The blond in question grabbed the medic nin and rapidly Shunshin'd out of the kill zone as their position was peppered with falling boulders.

"We're even now, douche bag. I did technically save all your asses with the mist," Naruto retorted as their attackers bum rushed them. So clumsy…

His combat knives were sheathed and unsheathed in record time as he split the four man squad in two with a carefully aimed shuriken barrage.

He went left while Daisuke went right, and stabbed out with his right blade. A hand snatched his forearm, and Naruto was airborne before he knew what to do with himself.

Only a quick twist saved his head, as the three thrown kunai imbedded themselves in his chest plate. The reinforced Kevlar armor held fast and Naruto only winced as he felt the dulled impacts. Those would leave some serious bruises.

The black and blue marks were the least of his worries as he hastily redirected stab at his neck. Gloved fingers met exposed skin, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as his contact to contact genjutsu washed over the sword wielding Kusa ninja.

The woman's partner moved in for the quick kill, but was blocked by his partner's katana. The stunned look on the man's face was permanently etched there as his throat was cut by Naruto's left knife. The right blade embedded itself in the woman's skull with a dull thud.

The duplicity of his illusion was obvious to Naruto. Ensconced in the heat of battle, against enemies of his village, the blond couldn't bring himself to care.

He was a shinobi.

He sheathed his knives as he channeled chakra to his earpiece. The standard issue ANBU com unit crackled to life as he spied his friend.

"Diasuke, attack pattern seven!" he ordered as he released a kunai-explosive tag combo at his partner.

The red haired medic was caught in a pincer maneuver, and a quick substitution with a nearby log allowed for Naruto's kunai to be perfectly placed between his attackers.

The high yield explosive note detonated with a crash, and the two Kusa shinobi were thrown sideways violently.

Naruto and Diasuke went left and right respectively, in a choreographed maneuver, and Naruto deftly unsheathed his ninjato.

His target was both larger and stronger than him, but the explosion had dulled the man's senses. It was a credit to the man's reflexes that he managed to raise a kunai to block Naruto's first strike, but the blond adapted accordingly. A subtle wrist turn severed the man's hand, kunai still held, and the young ANBU buried the blade to the hilt in the man's chest.

Naruto twisted the sword violently as he pulled it out, and the man screamed as his left lung was torn to shreds.

The blond blinked as the now dead man fell to the ground. Shit…A shuddering breath escaped Naruto as he flicked the blood off his assassin's blade. Shinobi or not, his own ruthlessness and viciousness surprised him sometimes.

His eyes found Daisuke, who had delicately caused severe brain hemorrhaging in his target with a skillful tap to the temple. A quick Shunshin placed him at the medic's side.

"Bit violent there, eh?" the masked redhead asked. His tone indicated that he didn't really care either way. After running missions with Naruto for nearly six months, the aspiring medic was used to the way Naruto killed. The young blond could be both precise and brutal at the same time.

His shark mask suited him.

"Eki, Same," Housei's voice crackled over the radio. "Execute attack pattern eleven."

Naruto and Daisuke glanced at each other through their masks. "Buntaicho must want this over and done with," the medic said, a little bemused at the order.

"'Bout damn time," Naruto grunted as he wove seals.

Daisuke took to the tree branches, along with the rest of the gathered members of Beta Platoon, as Naruto finished his seals and threw his arms sideways.

"Suiton: Suishouha!" he screamed in exertion as water burst forth from nowhere and everywhere.

The bursting collision waves crashed through the foliage with insane speed and pressure, ripping dirt, shrubs, and even small trees from their places. The attacking coalition of Kusagakure and Iwagakure ninja got swept up in the chaos with little exception.

Naruto landed next to his platoon wearily, and quickly ingested a soldier pill. The B-ranked Suiton jutsu was made much easier thanks to his high water affinity, but it still ate chakra like crazy. That was especially true given how large he had made the jutsu.

Fuu sped through his own set of hand seals, and great blue arcs of lightning hit the water and detonated fiercely across the small manmade lake. The ninja caught in the water were electrocuted instantaneously.

"Inu?" Fuu asked the platoon's resident sensor.

"Nineteen hostiles fleeing the area, taicho," the dog masked woman stated monotonously.

There was no outward reaction from the platoon, but the satisfaction could be felt among the members. They had been attacked by a coalition force of over fifty ninja on the border of Grass and Waterfall Country, and had obliterated the vast majority of it while sustaining only one near casualty.

The twenty man ANBU platoon had a right to be satisfied. Goddamn am I tired though, Naruto thought wearily.

"Split into standard formation squads and pursue," Fuu ordered. "Use ranged ninjutsu and weapons only. Pursue to the Kusa border and then reconvene at the edge of Fire Country. We move to Konoha from there."

A sideways hand thrown in dismissal had the five teams sprinting toward the Kusa border.

/~/

"One more round!" Daisuke called out eagerly to the bartender. The attractive brunette just smiled and nodded to the excited redhead.

"Haven't you had enough already?" Naruto asked in exasperation. Daisuke had been drinking almost non-stop since they had arrived at the bar. That had been two hours ago.

He would have been surprised at the teen's coherency, but Naruto suspected that the boy was filtering the alcohol with his medical chakra.

"There's no such thing as too much beer, Naruto," Hikari and Daisuke said in unison. Hikari was mocking in her address. Daisuke was all too serious. "I thought you'd have learned that by now," Hikari continued with an exasperated glance at their teammate.

Naruto shrugged helplessly as he sipped his sake. The rice wine was becoming a favorite of his, though he only had it in moderation. "He's had over ten already."

"Tweleve, rookie! Don't be selling me short!"

Naruto rolled his eyes in time with Hikari as the bartender brought their friend another beer. They were sharing a small booth in one of the few shinobi only bars in Konoha. The rest of Beta platoon was scattered throughout the bar, save for Fuu, of course. He was reporting to his superiors, no doubt – though he likely wouldn't have showed either way. The man had no social life.

Naruto made a mental note to never become like that, regardless of how many hours he clocked in with ANBU and Root. He had his team, and they were his friends. Having people around him helped him unwind from the stress of mission.

The life of an ANBU was strenuous like that.

Regardless of their last encounter, Naruto tried to keep Mizuki in the category of 'friend', as he had been before. He still visited the man sometimes, though mostly in an attempt at closure. Almost six months after the fact, he was still shaken by the events in the clearing that night.

"Naruto?" Hikari asked her young teammate. "You spaced out for a moment."

"Sorry," he apologized needlessly. It wasn't the first time he had spaced out in public. It wasn't just him that did it either. It was a common trait among veteran shinobi, especially ANBU.

"There's no need to apologize, Naruto," Hikari comforted. "What were you thinking about?" the Branch Hyuuga asked over the general din.

"Just the mission," Naruto lied simply. He appreciated the concern his teammate had for him, but he had no desire to talk about his old friend.

He glanced about, searching for a different avenue of conversation. Housei was sitting with a group of jonin and Tokubetsu jonin calmly discussing something or another. Daisuke had gotten up to go flirt with the pretty bartender. Neither avenue was much of a conversation starter.

"Three attacks in four weeks. It's hard to believe," Hikari was saying.

"Yeah."

Kusa and Iwa had been getting bolder with their moves for more territory in Kusa and beyond. The skirmish that Beta platoon had returned from had been one of many in and around Konoha's borders.

"They're testing the waters, looking for any cracks in the armor before they make any real moves."

Naruto just nodded along with the assessment that the Hyuuga made. He, however, was slightly more in the know about the dealings with Kusagakure.

Despite the repeated skirmishes along Kusa's borders, Naruto wasn't worried about a potential attack from their former ally. According to the latest report from one of Danzo's informants, the resistance movement was gaining ground among many of Kusa's ninja. The rebels would soon be numerous enough to keep Kusa and Iwa properly occupied.

No, Naruto was worried about his potential role in the war that would never be acknowledged. As a member of Root, and an up-and-coming name in the shinobi ranks, Naruto knew that he would be deployed to Grass Country along with other Root operatives.

The only question was when, though Naruto had a pretty good idea. The Chunin Selection Examinations were in Konoha this year, and had started earlier in the day. He probably wouldn't know the exact date – why should he – except for the fact that he was going to be one of the unlucky few tasked for guard duty of the Second Task.

In any event, Konoha needed all available ANBU to be in the village for the duration of the exam. And that included the one month break in the middle.

While normally that would mean that he and his team got a small vacation of sorts, Naruto was still going to be in extensive training with Fuu, as well as being bogged down in endless Root briefings dealing with the inevitable clash with Kusa.

All in all, it would be a painful, if sometimes boring month. He was just dreading for the call to the Forest of Death to provide security.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry," Naruto assured the suddenly nervous Hyuuga. He had to remember that she, despite being several years his senior, had no wartime experience. Everybody in the know was nervous about an impending war, and it was only Naruto's more extensive knowledge about the situation that kept his own nerves intact.

"Konoha's on top of the food chain for a reason, right? And don't forget, we smacked Iwa around in the last war too." He neglected to mention that Konoha was on the losing end of that particular war until Namikaze Minato decided to get serious.

The legend had almost single handedly decimated Iwa's battalions, leaving Konoha to claim victory.

"Yeah," Hikari conceded with a sigh and a glance at Daisuke up by the bar. "I guess you're right."

Naruto noticed the eye movement, which was a credit to his observation skills. The Byakugan had no pupil, and was difficult to track.

"You're worried about him," Naruto observed simply, though he wasn't sure what made him say it. Hikari didn't respond, but didn't refute him either. "You could just talk to him," the blond harangued.

She pinned him with a glare. "What do you know about it?" she asked harshly.

Naruto winced. In his defense, the subtleties of relationships were well beyond him. He was fairly blunt outside of his missions, and it showed.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Shouldn't've brought it up."

The look of consternation on his teammate's face melted. "I shouldn't have snapped," she said, contrite.

Naruto nodded. "It's not my place to talk about you guys."

"You're right, it's not, but that doesn't excuse my behavior."

Naruto said nothing, ending the cycle of apologies.

The most common answer to any questions regarding the odd relationship between Hikari and Daisuke was that it was complicated. It apparently stemmed from when Naruto wasn't a part of the team, and he didn't know all the facts, but he couldn't begin to understand why it was so complicated. If they liked each other, they should go for it. End of story.

To the best of his knowledge, the awkwardness came from some odd situation with their old teammate, the one who had died on the debacle of a mission that kick started the chaos with Kusa. The awkwardness wasn't helped any by Daisuke flirting with any reasonably attractive woman he laid eyes on, either.

Naruto sighed inwardly. The two managed to keep their awkwardness out of the missions – they likely had no time to think about such things – but off duty they were so very confusing to the young boy.

People are weird, he decided, and left it at that.

The rapid rising of his seat caught his attention, and he turned to see the second half of his thoughts sit down next to him.

"Number and home address!" Daisuke proclaimed loudly, displaying a napkin that he had taken the bartender's information down on.

Naruto gave the redhead a flat look, doing his best to convey the message "Are you kidding me?" through a glance.

Whether due to his inebriated state or some other reason entirely, Daisuke didn't get the message.

"She said that she wanted to take me home and eat me," he whispered conspiratorially. Apparently, there was nothing better than an attractive woman who wanted to "eat" you. "True story."

Naruto shared a glance with Hikari, and detected a small layer of hurt underneath the flat stare she gave their teammate. He winced internally. He had no idea how to diffuse this situation.

He wasn't even sure he wanted to. Get me outta here, he thought impotently.

A flicker of a reflection glinted off nearby glass, and Naruto recognized four of the most recognizable Konoha jonin enter the bar. Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai were two of the village's top jonin, and Sarutobi Asuma wasn't all that far behind the two elites in terms of skill and renown. Yuhi Kurenai, while a rookie by jonin standards, was no slouch either.

Naruto had nothing but respect for his fellow genjutsu specialist. The same went for all three others.

"Hey…" Daisuke nudged him. "…ain't that your old sensei?"

Naruto gave a curt nod in agreement. He had done his best to rationalize why Hatake Kakashi had failed him all those years ago, and had mostly succeeded. Still, there would always be some lingering resentment, no matter what Naruto did.

Daisuke snorted. "Can't believe that he passed you up, man. Bet he's regretting that right about now, eh?"

Naruto shrugged, placing whatever lingering anger he held toward the Elite jonin in the back of his mind. "Hn, probably not. He had his reasons, I guess, and it's not like it was the end of the world. I did ok for myself," he added with a small grin.

The satisfaction inherent in defying all the man's previous concerns and expectations bubbled forth, and Naruto barely held in a snarl of triumph. It hadn't mattered that Hatake had failed him, he had succeeded anyway; much more than anyone had had a right to expect.

A burning sensation on his upper right arm brought him out of his self appreciating thoughts. The burning was centered along the contours of his ANBU tattoo. The Hokage and the ANBU commander could activate it with nary a hand seal, alerting any and all ANBU of their assignments.

It was time to go.

He stood swiftly and brushed past Daisuke on his way out of the booth. "Gotta go," he said simply. The other two didn't question him, used to it.

He made his way out of the bar silently, passing the four renowned jonin without a word. He nodded to Gai briefly, having worked with the man in the past, but ignored the others to the best of his ability.

His eyes involuntarily locked with Kakashi's one, and he felt the man silently appraising him, before the Cyclops gave a nearly imperceptible nod.

Naruto was out of the bar before he could properly process and return the small sign of respect.

/~/

"That was him?" Kurenai asked the small group at large, once the boy was out of hearing range.

"Mhm," was Kakashi's lazy response.

"Indeed, Kurenai-chan, that was Uzumaki Naruto-kun. Truly he is a wonderful embodiment of youth's power. An example all our young shinobi should follow!" Gai exclaimed with a toothy grin. He shot a thumbs up toward Kakashi. "Is he not, my rival?"

The Elite jonin looked up from examining something on his sandal. "Hm, you say something Gai?"

Kurenai and Asuma just rolled their eyes at the familiar byplay. It got real old pretty quickly these days.

"Hard to believe," Sarutobi wondered around one of his infamous cigarettes. "The kid's only a year older than our students."

"Yeah," Kurenai agreed. Her thoughts turned toward her own three man squad. She had little doubt that the young looking blond could utterly decimate Team Eight in a straight fight. His mission history, what was known, said as much, but it was still hard to wrap her mind around.

She had been a bit of a standout in her younger days, but Uzumaki was being lauded as the next great prodigy, at least in some circles. And with good reason, the boy was in ANBU!

"He's the same age as your kids, right Gai?" Asuma asked.

The Elite, now calmer, answered quietly, a change from the norm. "Yes he is, Asuma-kun. I've worked with him once before, and his reputation is befitting of his skill."

That was high praise. The rumors circulating about the boy were often times outlandish, but the four jonin were rather "in the know" when it came to shinobi matters, and their information about Uzumaki Naruto painted an impressive picture.

"Weren't you supposed to be his sensei, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked curiously.

Kakashi sighed, his one visible eye closing in irritation. He had been catching a lot of heat from his colleagues for passing on the chance to train the boy, and he was downright sick of it. He had his reasons for failing the boy, and he was sticking to his guns about it.

Naruto managed to acquit himself nicely, and that showed that the lesson that Kakashi had tried to impart on the blond had sunk in. That was enough for him.

"Yes, I was," was his simple reply as the four were led to their table. And that was the end of it.

/~/

The world around him blurred into slow motion, then fast, and finally settled on normal. Naruto blinked three times as his eyes watered briefly as the tunnel vision that he had learned to associate with Shunshin disappeared.

The small group that awaited his arrival didn't react outwardly so much, but Naruto could feel their surprise through observing the slight movements of their body language. Being a genjutsu user meant observational skills were paramount, and body language could say a lot about a person without ever having them open their mouth.

His arrival had been "quiet" in terms of the regular Shunshin. He had appeared in a small burst of chakra. There had been no smoke, no leaves, and no explosion of chakra to signal his arrival. It had been pure speed and chakra control.

Their surprise was natural, most people, even experienced jonin didn't bother to perform the Shunshin with such precision. The gears were already turning in the heads of the gathered ninja, and Naruto was glad for his mask, as it covered his satisfied smirk.

He'd be lying if he said that his entrance wasn't intentional.

Some people dress to impress; I just impress, he thought with no small amount of satisfaction.

"Second Lieutenant of ANBU Operations Platoon Beta, sub-squad Epsilon, codename Same, reporting for duty." God, what a mouthful… The masked boy snapped a crisp salute to his superiors, as he finished his practiced introduction.

The other ANBU in the area saluted him, and Naruto recognized the majority of them as members of Alpha Platoon; the foremost Operation's Platoon in ANBU. So, Alpha Team's got the lead. How shocking, was the sarcastic thought.

Being the most well known Operation's team in ANBU, Alpha Team got the bulk of the well exposed missions. The members were among the most seasoned in ANBU, and maintained a stellar reputation among the ranks as being the best of the best. Hatake Kakashi was once Buntaicho of Alpha Team, and it was he who helped solidify Alpha Team into what it was today.

A woman in a striped Tiger mask nodded slightly to him, and Naruto recognized the distinctive purple hair of Uzuki Yugao. He returned the nod with an unseen smile.

"At ease Second Lieutenant," the illustrious Captain of Alpha Team ordered. "I assume that you have been briefed on your current assignment."

Naruto nodded at the question that wasn't a question.

"In that case, welcome to the Forest of Death, Second Lieutenant." The man removed his mask in a somewhat ceremonial gesture, and the rest of the gathered ANBU followed suit, Naruto included. The boy recognized a few faces from Beta Platoon.

The identities of ANBU, while not common knowledge, weren't S-ranked secrets either. Most ANBU could even recognize each other by face.

"As you can see," the nondescript captain continued, "there are representatives from all the Operations Platoons gathered here today. Our task is to secure the Forest of Death for the next five days for the Chunin Selection Exams. You will be broken off into four man squads and sent on patrols at regular intervals throughout the exam. You will report to either myself, Morino Ibiki, or his associate, Mitarashi Anko. Our base of operations will be the central tower."

Five minutes later saw Naruto leaning against a tree as his three other teammates began their introductions.

"Uzuki Yugao," the purple haired woman greeted. She spared a small smile for Naruto.

"Shin," a grey haired boy greeted with a bland looking smile. He was armed to the teeth with two Fuuma shuriken and a tanto. He reminded Naruto of Mizuki.

"Dajimu," a blank man around his mid twenties said. He carried a standard issue katana on his back.

"Uzumaki Naruto." The blond locked eyes with Shin. An unspoken greeting occurred in the eyes of the two Root members.

"Well then," Yugao began. "Our patrol begins in two hours. In the meantime, we'll head to the central tower to coordinate our operations. I'll need to know your basic skills in order to properly devise a strategy in case we encounter hostiles in the Forest."

The rest of the team needed no further prompting to move toward the base of operations.

Puzzled would be a good way to describe Naruto at the moment. He had been given little information regarding the mission, and the coordination of various ANBU Operations Platoons hadn't been something he had expected.

It didn't make much sense either. Operations Platoons made up the vast majority of ANBU, and did the heavy lifting – the two other departments that had any sort of legitimate man power were the Hunter-nin Corps and the Assassination Squads – and most Ops Platoons stayed together for large amounts of time. This resulted in high levels of coordination among the platoons and the individual squads that made them up, and they weren't ever really changed for that very reason.

Operations Platoons weren't designed to work with each other all that much, as each was its own entity. Sure, they would be able to work together in certain circumstances, they all had the same training for the most part, but they didn't take missions together all that much.

That was showcased by the fact that three Ops Squads from differing platoons had been paired together to investigate the situation in Kusagakure. The botch job that that mission turned out to be had resulted in Naruto helping to save the collective asses of Epsilon Squad on the border of Grass Country.

The only real reason that Naruto could think of for why multiple members of different Platoons all had the same mission was because of the impending conflict with Kusa. All out war would require increased cooperation among the troops, and ironing out many of the kinks in a relatively nonthreatening situation – the most powerful potential hostiles in the forest were genin – was a good idea.

But even that doesn't mesh, Naruto thought with more than a little confusion.

Given his position in Root, he was aware that Konoha was to have no open participation in the war with Kusagakure. Only Root operatives, given the fact that they didn't have any documented ties to Konoha, would be used in the war, so as to not provoke Iwa into an all out conflict.

A flicker of hands in his peripheral vision served to break his thoughts, and he turned his head to the silver haired teen named Shin.

He couldn't see the boy's expression, covered as it was by a porcelain weasel mask, but the boy flashed quickly through hand signs consistent with ANBU Battle-speak. The signs were barely recognizable from general twitches of the hands, but that was just the sign of a veteran.

'Package delivery. Tower,' Shin signed.

'Mission?' Naruto's hands twitched.

'Yes'

Fantastic, the blond thought uncharitably. The situation was already complicated enough without Danzo sending him orders through a proxy.

Not for the first time did he regret signing on to be a pawn in the machinations of wily old men.

A clang of metal on metal shook him from his musings, and the makeshift squad paused on a tree branch.

An Amegakure genin cell was fighting a cell from Takigakure. The Taki cell was losing, and badly. One member was collapsed next to a shrub, hundreds of senbon littering his body, and another looked almost as bad, though the girl was still standing.

Naruto winced as a brutal slash of a kunai cut across the girl's exposed throat. She went down choking, her hands held to the wound in a desperate attempt to save her life. It was futile.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Rain genin who had made the slash; it had been sloppy to the extreme. Whether it was intentional or not was unclear, but Rain-nin were known for their viciousness.

The remaining Taki genin glanced at his fallen comrades with horror, before the boy's face solidified into a mask of rage. Four hand signs later saw a harsh stream of water plow into the Ame-nin that had killed the Takigakure girl.

The boy moved quickly to press his advantage, and ended the unfortunate Rain-nin's life with a vicious, if not technically sound stab to the chest.

The boy's revenge was short lived, as his back was quickly peppered with shuriken, but the body dissolved into water almost immediately.

Naruto was impressed. The techniques shown by the boy weren't perfect, numerous, or particularly powerful, but the boy had a sense for misdirecting his opponents. That was the mark of a true shinobi.

Or at least one in the making.

A small burst of speed carried the remaining Taki genin inside the guard of one of his would-be killers, and he unleashed another burst of water that Naruto could now identify as the Suiton: Mizurappa. It was the precursor to the Suiton: Zessenzan, one of Naruto's favorite techniques.

The Ame genin hit the trunk of a huge tree with a thud and a crack.

The air grew heavy in the small clearing, and Naruto felt the humidity rise dramatically. A quick glance at his teammates showed that they too had noticed. It would have been shameful if they hadn't.

A quick kunai exchange between the two remaining genin found the Taki boy on the defensive, and he rolled left to avoid being sliced to pieces. His opponent was sweating and breathing heavily as he withdrew an umbrella from a storage scroll.

The trademark senbon launcher was hefted into the air to end the life of the Taki genin, but the Rain-nin stopped suddenly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, channeling chakra to them to enhance his vision slightly. The boy's lips were turning blue.

The momentary pause was all the time the Taki-nin needed, and he formed three hand seals.

All of a sudden, the Ame genin was on his knees, vomiting gallons of water violently. The boy fell face first to the forest floor, and the water pooled around his face.

He's drowning, Naruto noted detachedly, and with some interest. Somehow, the Taki genin had used the water in the Ame-nin's body against him. Gotta look into that, he mused; it held potential.

The end of the battle was sudden and brutal, and the Taki genin collapsed to the ground with a kunai buried in his skull, courtesy of the remaining Rain genin who was collapsed against a nearby tree and had gone ignored in the heat of the moment.

"Never take your eye off the ball," Naruto muttered under his breath, though he was sure that his teammates heard it over the com link. It was a fitting epitaph for the Taki genin. The boy had fought hard, and had only made one mistake, in the end.

It was that one mistake that mattered. That was all it took to kill someone.

The four man ANBU squad disappeared deeper into the forest without a word.

/~/

A soft brush of the arms in the hallway was all it took for the information to be passed.

Three quick steps to the nearest bathroom gave Naruto some privacy, and he opened the scroll with a small application of chakra and blood.

He sighed as he read through the scroll's contents. Convoluted operations and orders were part of being a Root agent, but they grew tiresome. Naruto hadn't even been in the program for seven months and he was already tired of how confusing some of his orders were.

This, though, was absurd. It took Hatake Kakashi's motto of "looking underneath the underneath" to a whole new level. A level that was asinine.

On the surface – for the standard ANBU in the Operations Division – this was a mission to promote increased cooperation between the Platoons. It was much like Naruto thought originally.

As far as everyone "in the know" in Konoha knew, they would soon be at war with Kusagakure and Iwagakure. This increased cooperation was to be expected, as it happened in all times of war, and was comforting to many newer recruits who had never experienced all out war before.

Had Naruto been a regular ANBU – what an interesting idea that is, he reflected – he was sure that such a mission would have assuaged many of his concerns about the conflict just over the horizon.

But he wasn't. And it didn't.

Below the surface of the mission, lay the secondary objective: the assimilation of more Root shinobi into the general ranks of ANBU.

It was a joint measure between Sarutobi and Danzo, and would greatly increase the number of competent Black Ops shinobi in the general ranks. Naruto was sure, though it went unsaid, that the same was happening in the reverse – much like what had happened to him – though with a far more selective eye. More Operations squads were being formed, and this was a great opportunity for them to become familiar with their comrades in a potentially dangerous situation.

The third objective was even more concealed. It was designated that, in the five days that the ANBU would be in the Forest of Death, the members of Root should all become familiar with one another.

This objective was simplistic: it would allow for the Root ANBU to establish contacts within the Operations' ranks, and make them more comfortable. While many of Danzo's shinobi were subjected to severe emotional suppressing exercises, they still felt them more often than not. They just couldn't identify them.

Comfort level was important for any shinobi, as a nervous shinobi could make mistakes, and Black Ops ninja couldn't afford to make mistakes. Mistakes meant death; and death meant failure.

Failure wasn't an option.

While establishing a comfort level with the Root shinobi was important, Naruto's mind jumped to an even greater conclusion. Many of the Root operatives in ANBU would be working together in the covert war with Kusa. This mission would give them a chance to establish a rapport with their comrades, many of whom they didn't even know existed.

Dajimu was a great example of this. Naruto had recognized Shin from a few information dossiers he had read previously, but he had had no idea that the fourth member of his makeshift squad was also Root.

The blond had little doubt that he would be working with one or both of them in the near future.

The list of names of the Root operatives being assimilated into ANBU was more extensive than he had originally thought. Two new Operations Platoons were being formed just to accommodate the influx of man power. He'd have to make contact with almost all of them in the five day span.

The scroll snapped shut and spontaneously combusted into the toilet. Naruto casually flushed the remains as he exited the bathroom, scowling all the while.

/~/

"Fifteen years in the Foundation is an impressive service record."

"Danzo-sama recognized my potential and recruited me. I have served faithfully ever since," came the bland reply.

One down side to being a member of Root was the fact that Naruto was one of a select few who knew how to express themselves. The nearly emotionless responses began to wear on him after a while. That time was becoming shorter and shorter with each passing conversation.

The short conversation was just one of many that Naruto had had over the past day. Almost all of them had turned out the same. There was no denying the efficiency that his fellow Foundation operatives worked with, but they were a grating bunch to hang around with if one knew how to add inflection to your voice.

The blond supposed that it might come in handy in the field. He hoped that there was at least one upside to the nearly emotionless soldiers. He hadn't been able to find one as of yet, at least no concrete evidence of there being one, but he held hope.

Naruto had no doubt that he would be among the groups dispatched to Grass Country once the resistance movement began to gain ground, and he needed to know that his comrades would be as useful as they were supposed to be.

It was a harsh attitude to take towards one's comrades, but Naruto was in the process of preparing for a war. Having a cavalier attitude toward life in general would likely help him once he made it to the front lines. He had a gut feeling that he would have to make some tough decisions in the near future, and he would prepare himself as best he could.

He refocused his thoughts as he pushed off another tree branch. His patrol partner was Dajimu for the moment, Yugao was teaming with Shin, and he had nearly lost the man twice now. The emotionless ANBU spared no thought for his young partner, and had no qualms about leaving him behind if he slowed down for some reason.

It was very nearly infuriating.

"Team fourteen, code in," was Yugao's command over the com link.

"Roger that, taicho. Same," was Naruto's response.

"Neko," was Dajimu's simple code in.

"Inu." Shin was the last to respond.

"Urgent activity at the western edge of the forest. Rendezvous at point four on the tactical map. We'll move from there," Yugao ordered.

"Copy that," were the three identical responses.

Naruto and Dajimu didn't speak as they turned west. They picked up the pace at some unspoken signal, and arrived at the staging area in record time. Yugao and Shin had still beaten them.

"A chunin examiner reported an urgent disturbance at the western gates and requested assistance. We'll be joined by squads one and twelve en route."

The four ANBU disappeared in bursts of speed towards their target.

Naruto was happy, and not for the first time, that he had manually increased his speed. He had no trouble keeping pace with the three ANBU, and he kept his balance perfectly as they arrived. It was no easy feat considering the distance the group had covered almost instantaneously.

"Alright, what seems to be the proble-" the cat masked leader of squad one asked as he arrived. Naruto had barely sensed his arrival. He was good. "Ah…dead people."

And so they were. Three bodies of Ame genin were piled callously on top of each other.

The cat masked captain casually nudged one with his foot and turned it over. A faceless head stared back at the gathered ANBU.

"That can't be normal." Naruto voiced the obvious thoughts of everyone in the group.

"All right, all right, make a hole! Move it!" Mitarashi Anko had arrived on scene. She roughly shoved Naruto out of the way as she moved to examine the bodies.

What the hell? he thought. The woman showed absolutely no respect for her superiors, the captains, or her comrades in her moment of self importance.

The body of the attractive Tokubetsu jonin froze as she took in the sight of the faceless bodies. Her next words shattered Naruto's world.

"Lock the forest down! Orochimaru's here!"

/~/

8. Operator

/~/

A fist whispered past his face with a burst of displaced air. A hasty dodge to the left saved him from the follow up grapple, but he was powerless to stop the incoming palm strike to his neck.

Naruto went down hard, his breath knocked out brutally. Breathless and nearly helpless, Naruto hastily pushed off the ground with his hands. The push expended even more of the boy's energy, but it bought him the precious second needed to catch his breath.

He palmed his twin kunai not a moment too soon, as he was forced to block an overhead strike from a tanto. Channeling chakra to his arms, he pushed hard against the blow and regained his footing.

An almighty shove forced his opponent backwards, and Naruto used the space to draw four standard kunai from his leg holsters. An upward throwing motion put both hands in prime position for sealing, and he sped through the signs with the speed and precision of a master.

The Fuuton: Reppushou tripled the speed of the thrown blades and the knives pierced his opponent with a sickening squelch. Naruto narrowed his eyes as the body disappeared in smoke.

Kage Bunshin, how useful. If only he had the chakra reserves to perform the technique himself.

His left arm was raised in a block before his mind caught up with the situation fully, and the Kevlar bracer stopped the incoming slash cold. Naruto shifted right to throw his center of gravity off, and used the momentum to hurl his assailant over his head.

A single hand seal sent a Water Bullet screaming toward Naruto's attacker, and the blond drew his ninjato as he sprinted at the man.

Naruto's feet screamed in protest as he ran. It wasn't the first time that day.

A forty mile run through forests, hills, cliffs, and underbrush was sure to take its toll on anyone, and Naruto was no exception. He had hiked the vast majority of it, but he last five miles had turned into a running battle between himself and his instructor for the day: a man named Torune.

Naruto had had high hopes for his endurance test, a standard part of his Root Operative training, but they had been dashed when the blond learned that the man had a sadistic streak as wide as Fuu's, and it was likely longer.

His elbow joint popped violently as he hastily snatched a rock from his path and hurled it into the path of an incoming kunai.

The blade was diverted to the left and Naruto dove after it, hoping to recover something that might help him while simultaneously avoiding a burst of shrapnel from kunai-explosive tag combo. It was a credit to how difficult the test was that Naruto hadn't detected the second strike until he was already moving away from it.

Sometimes his luck was just that good.

The blade was in sight and he reached out to grasp it, but was forced to abort at the last moment as his tormentor sent another hail of thrown weapons, shuriken this time. A hasty Kawarimi saved his skin, but a stray throw sent his quarry into a nearby stream, out of reach and out of the way.

Sometimes his luck was just that bad.

The bullet was dodged gracefully, and the swords met in the middle with a resounding clang. A rapid exchange of kenjutsu strikes saw Naruto on the defensive once more, and his sword was knocked out of his hands quickly.

The ninjato hit the ground as Naruto drew his combat knives to block a slash that would have taken his head. He swiftly used the greater mobility of the knives to his advantage as he disarmed the man of his tanto. A kick to Naruto's stomach kept him from claiming victory, however, and Naruto sped through five seals in midair, grimacing all the while.

A Fuuton: Renkudan screamed out of his lungs toward his enemy, though the man moved to avoid the jutsu even before it was fully out of Naruto's mouth. The wind bullet destroyed a nearby tree with an apathetic crash, and the splinters gave Naruto plenty of material to Kawarimi with as a ninjutsu augmented hail of shuriken bared down on him.

It had started out so simple. Just grip a blade, aim, and release.

He wasn't entirely sure when his simple accuracy exercises became an all out arms battle with his sensei.

His three pouches were rapidly depleting as he palmed shuriken after shuriken and launched them at his sensei. None of them hit, as the man had an ability to deflect Naruto's throwing stars with his own with such ease, precision, and anticipation that bordered on precognition.

Naruto's kunai had already been exhausted, and he was forced to occasionally snatch a shuriken from the metal ridden ground just to keep up with Fuu's nearly endless supply.

He flicked a star slightly slower than the rest, putting more angle into the throw so as to send it in a wider arc on its way to Fuu's position. Sometimes a little finesse in the face of undeniable force would yield results.

Fuu's casual deflection said otherwise, and Naruto refocused his efforts. Goddamn it!

So focused was he that he barely noticed when he casually deflected a shuriken that had snuck past his defenses with a flick of chakra enhanced fingers. He deftly retrieved the weapon before it could hit the ground, and sent it racing back at an incoming throwing star.

The weapons impacted with a clang as Naruto retrieved a senbon needle from his hip pouch and hurled it with a flick of his fingers. Whether by design or not, the needle passed through one of the falling shuriken's center hole on its way to its resting place in Fuu's left shoulder. Only a small twitch had saved the man from having it buried in his neck.

Two final shuriken collided in the middle of the two combatant's battle ground, the sound echoing through the clearing with such clarity that it startled the blond boy.

His sensei looked at him with appraising eyes before giving an almost imperceptible nod, his auburn hair fluttering in the calm breeze.

The brain was a magnificent organ. It processed thought at speeds unattainable for human beings, despite its resting place in the body, and could adapt to almost any situation. No example of this was any better than how many – most – ninja developed a sixth sense of sorts to imminent danger.

Nerve endings fired neurons at the speed of light along Naruto's arm, and a kunai was palmed, gripped, and launched at Fuu's location before Naruto's other five senses caught up with what was happening.

If the auburn haired man was surprised at the blade set to split his jugular vein, he didn't show it as he channeled chakra to his fingers to deflect the blade. Four quick seals and an expelled Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu was tearing toward a flat footed Naruto a moment later.

The jutsu moved far faster than Naruto had anticipated, and he hastily made a single seal. Suiton: Suijinheki! Water poured from his mouth in torrents, forming a transparent shield of water three feet thick.

The fire dragon broke upon the shield like water on rocks, and steam filled Naruto's vision. He quickly channeled chakra to the air that attached itself to the steam, allowing for him to spread his senses as he expanded the steam's presence. Fuu was a sensor type and Naruto wasn't about to let his sensei have the advantage of an extra sense.

His chakra sense found him charging from the left with a large buildup of chakra in his throat. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized the feel of the chakra and he sped through nine seals as fast as he could, ending with a modified Tori seal.

The boy had never been happier about the Uzumaki Suiton affinity as his chakra reformed his Water Wall into a roaring tsunami given tangible form. The Water Dragon crashed through the inclement Raiton technique as if it wasn't even there, inadvertently electrifying the water.

Fuu had no choice but to abort his strike and Kawarimi like the wind to avoid being both crushed and electrocuted.

Despite all appearances, and his almost emotionless mannerisms, he was quite pleased with his student's growth under his and others' tutelage.

Naruto had gone from a competent chunin to a highly proficient Black Ops Operator. He was no longer limited to just two branches of the ninja arts, as his chakra reserves had grown tremendously, and was far more versatile now that he could use ninjutsu more freely.

He was still but a thirteen year old boy, however, and his reserves were far from unlimited.

Naruto dropped to a knee as the Suiton: Suiryudan dispersed and flooded the clearing. The B-rank jutsu was the most powerful offensive jutsu he knew, and it never failed to leave him winded. The Uzumaki affinity to water could only do so much when it came to chakra cost in ninjutsu, and the Water Dragon certainly wasn't designed for ninja Naruto's age.

Hell, most ninja his age were still genin.

He had no time to catch his breath. Fuu wasn't giving his student any breathing room as he came in slashing with is blunted tanto.

Naruto drew his two combat knives – his ninjato would be quickly outmaneuvered by the smaller blade, and he wasn't so arrogant to believe himself better than his sensei in kenjutsu – and parried like the wind.

He was tired, however, and Fuu wasn't about to be denied. Naruto hissed in pain as the tanto sliced into his right arm, exposed as it was after a sloppy block. His knife hit the ground with a thump.

A quick, desperate change of footwork placed Naruto in striking position at Fuu's neck, but the auburn haired man caught the hard palm strike with a hand. Naruto grimaced as he was forced into a submissive position with Fuu's tanto held at his jugular vein.

"Fuck."

It was the second such ceremony he had attended in as many days. It wasn't shaping up to be any more interesting than the first, but Naruto couldn't deny his excitement with this one.

Even so, he just wanted to get it over with. The boy was thankful for the two who would be present, as neither of them would waste time with unnecessary fanfare.

"Rise," the voice of Sarutobi commanded.

Naruto lifted his head first, taking in the sight of the office. Not much had changed since he had been here last. There was an updated version of Icha Icha Paradise on one of the nearby shelves, though.

I've gotta drop by the bookstore later...

His eyes met those of the Sandaime, and he detected a solemn look in them, though he couldn't think of why it was there. Brown eyes appraised him from two angles and he briefly flicked his eyes to Danzo's partially hidden form.

It was nearly symbolic. Sarutobi sat perfectly centered in the room, while Danzo stood behind him, off to his right slightly and in the shadows. His right hand man.

Incessant tapping on the window reminded him of the constant downpour outside – he wondered if that was symbolic too – and his gaze focused on the uninterrupted view of Konoha. He knew without asking that none could see inside.

"Your six month incubation period is complete, Uzumaki Naruto," Sarutobi continued in a stern voice. "You have been examined by both agents sent by Danzo-san and myself to judge your capabilities, and you have passed with adequacy."

Is that what they're calling flying colors these days? he thought snidely, though he knew far better than to voice it. There was nothing wrong with having confidence in your abilities, but there were times and places where it was appropriate to express as much.

This wasn't one of them.

"From this moment on, until your tour of duty is complete, you are an official ANBU Root Operator."

The solemn look was visible in the aged legend's eyes. It was almost as if the Hokage thought he had failed Naruto in some way. The boy couldn't imagine why.

He didn't know it, but his own eyes, deep cerulean blue, took on a look of intense determination, the likes of which wasn't seen in ones so young. He had passed his tests, proven his competency, and now he had to prove himself all over again.

He had his duties. He knew what was expected of him. And he would follow them through to the very end.

For the good of Konoha.

"Congratulations."

"You are distracted."

Naruto didn't refute the statement. He just grunted. He absently rubbed his neck where the tanto had been pressed. It had broken skin.

Fuu could be a dick like that.

"Talking about it will help," the man said flatly. Naruto didn't think for a second that the tone was intentional. That was just the way Fuu spoke.

"Maybe," the boy acknowledged.

He didn't particularly want to have this conversation with anyone, let alone the nearly emotionless sadist in front of him. He had already been forced to spill his heart out to Mai. That had been awkward to the extreme.

"Distractions are deadly for shinobi," Fuu pressed, voice still flat. "A wandering mind will get you killed, Naruto."

There's the sensei I know and love. Naruto was starting to worry that the man was getting soft with him, being worried for his well being. The fact that he had an ironclad, shinobi based reason was comforting in a way. It was certainly more comfortable than discussing feelings with an emotionless killer.

He wondered what that said about him as a person.

"A friend of mine died a few days back," Naruto acquiesced. "Gekkou Hayate."

"The man found dead on the rooftop," Fuu confirmed as Naruto winced. The man was blunt to the extreme.

"Yes."

"He was your friend?"

Naruto shrugged, a part of his mind realizing that this was the longest non-ninja training related conversation he had ever had with his sensei. Ain't that a sad state of affairs… "Friend, comrade, training partner… He was a good man and a good shinobi. He didn't deserve what he got."

Naruto counted himself lucky that he wasn't a part of the patrol squad that had found the body. Epsilon had been brought in for a more detailed examination, what with Daisuke being a qualified medic, and he had nearly choked when he saw the condition his friend was in.

The body was butchered beyond the norm for any shinobi fight, with Hayate in pieces. Detachedly, Naruto recognized the Kaze no Yaiba as the attack used to kill the man, or at least to mutilate his body. It also left him with a sense of intense hatred for all the Sunagakure nin in the village.

The jutsu was classified as an A-rank Fuuton manipulation, no easy feat, and the only man in Konoha with the necessary abilities wasn't inclined to use it on Hayate. Sarutobi Asuma was a perfectly loyal shinobi.

It left more than just a bitter taste in Naruto's mouth, given that not only could he do nothing, but nobody was doing anything! The Suna ninja were all but untouchable without incontrovertible proof saying that they had committed the crime, and it didn't help that the children were all the offspring of the Yondaime Kazekage. The jonin, the likely suspect, was also a member of Suna's advisory council. Any action taken without complete proof would be seen as an act of war.

All that said, it raised some serious questions about Suna's position regarding their strongest ally. That was doubly so given the nature of the genin team that had been sent to the exams. All but the most idiotic could see that the three children of the Kazekage were too strong to have not been promoted in the past. That and the redhead was apparently a sociopath who spilt killing intent like water.

Sending such a team was either bold to the extreme or unfathomably stupid.

Naruto, given his new status as a Root Operator, had been briefed on all the necessary information that Konoha would spare him about the Suna situation.

All signs pointed toward an attack of sorts, though he was almost completely sure that this wasn't the case. He knew that Fire Country and Wind Country were economic allies – Wind had raw materials but no way to use them properly, while Fire Country had more expendable firewood than they knew what to do with – and, as such, Suna's hostility made no sense whatsoever.

Unfortunately, hostility was hostility, and all the ANBU, Root or not, had been briefed about the situation and a possible attack.

The final round of the Chunin Selection Exams was the most likely time for any attack, and security had been beefed up; subtly. Naruto himself would be working with Beta Platoon until the end of the exams, so he was mentally preparing himself for combat.

Suna had taken something from him that couldn't ever be replaced. Hayate had been a friend, a comrade, and a fellow survivor of the River Country mission gone awry. That had formed a bond between himself, Hayate, and Genma, and losing a member like that hurt more than Naruto had thought possible.

He could only imagine how Yugao felt, having lost her boyfriend.

If and when an attack came, he would show no mercy.

/~/

The now familiar burning on his upper right arm was all it took to shake Naruto from his sleep. His eyes snapped open to take in the familiar sight of his one bedroom, one bathroom apartment.

He pushed himself up gently; his mind clearing after no threat was detected. It was always that way when he woke. If there was no immediate concern, he would revert to his usual state of being in the morning. Being tired.

Despite that, Naruto considered himself a morning person. That was on most days.

Today, however, he wished that he could just stay in bed. There was something to be said for sleeping through any and all danger that might arise.

He shook his head to clear it of the notion. He was a man of action. That and it would be his luck that his apartment would be obliterated by some giant summon or jutsu.

Naruto didn't care for the idea of being killed without having a say in the matter.

He pulled on a simple pair of black shinobi pants, sandals, and his headband. A mesh t-shirt covered by his chunin flak vest completed his dress for the moment.

A quick turn of his gas stove top saw three eggs being scrambled by a Mizu Bunshin, while the real Naruto went about frying up a few sausages and making some toast. He didn't normally eat this much, but if Konoha's Intelligence Division was right – and they were, more often than not – he would be needing all of the energy he could get.

The breakfast was devoured in under five minutes. He was out his apartment door less than two after that.

A quick Shunshin placed him outside the Administrative Building, and he stepped inside confidently. He nodded once to the chunin secretary at the ground floor, before making his way to ANBU Operations Headquarters.

The door to a storage closet opened and closed in record time as Naruto stepped through it, into the central circle of the Administrative Building. The whole thing was rather symbolic in design. A full half circle, the building housed ANBU headquarters as well as the regular shinobi Operations Center. ANBU took the innermost corridors of the building, while the rest were relegated to the more open outer rim.

In a sense of symbolism, the Hokage technically conducted his business directly above the ANBU, his private troops.

Gotta wonder who came up with that bit, he mused with humor.

Measured steps carried him past various other Operatives scurrying about through the hallways, and he nodded to each of them in turn. There were no masks worn in HQ. It was supposed to promote a sense of unity. Every ANBU knew every other by face, if not by name.

He stopped and entered a door marked "B" in bold, black lettering. The decently sized lounge area for Beta Platoon met his eyes without incident.

Naruto frowned as a white towel smacked him in the face as he stepped into Epsilon's changing room.

"What the hell?"

"You're late, rookie," Hikari's voice said as she strolled past with her gear half on.

Naruto blinked as he caught sight of the pretty Hyuuga's exposed midriff – she was only wearing a sports bra up top – and couldn't help the flush that crept up his neck. The woman didn't seem to care about her state of undress.

"I'm on time," he said, checking the time.

"Everyone else was here early, rookie. That makes you late by default." Daisuke was in on the action as well. He entered the general area from the showers while fully dressed in combat garb. Naruto's mouth dropped open. Daisuke was never ready before him.

That was a matter for another time though. "Is this really the day for this?" Naruto questioned.

"Is this really the day to show up late, rookie?" Housei asked rhetorically as he too entered the room, fully dressed and map in hand.

Naruto just sputtered as he moved to his locker. He was half dressed thirty seconds later.

"What's that you're looking at, taicho?"

"Tactical map," Housei grunted as he poured over the grid mapped surface of Konoha proper and the surrounding forests with a serious expression.

"What's our assigned location?" Daisuke piped from fastening his sandals. The medic's tone was uncharacteristically serious.

They were going to war today, in all likelihood.

"Northeast quadrant." Housei raised his head to make eye contact with the rest of Epsilon Squad. "Beta Platoon has six square miles to cover."

Naruto snorted and blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Tactical's not asking much, are they? That's a bit much, even for an Operations Platoon."

"It's our assignment, and someone's got to do it. Besides, it's not like we won't have help. Chunin and jonin will be spread throughout the entire village in the event this invasion actually happens. We just have to worry about securing our assignment."

Housei's tone was both placating and brooked no argument. They had their assignment and they would do it. That's what ANBU did.

Today would be no exception.

"How are we getting there?" Hikari questioned the captain. "Having full platoons stationed around the village will arouse suspicion."

"She's right," Naruto said. "We can't just have twenty Operators hanging around, even if they're concealed. Someone will notice."

By that same token, they couldn't all rush to their designated areas once the invasion started either. The confusion would tear apart even the most well coordinated teams. A mass Shunshin would have the same effect, with the chakra output giving away their intentions far in advance to their enemies.

"Summoning contracts," was the answer from Housei. The man had smirk on his face that bordered on offensive.

"Summoning contracts?" Daisuke asked. The captain made it sound like that should have answered their questions.

"Summoning contracts," Housei confirmed. "Each platoon will be transported to their designated assignment by summoning."

Naruto nodded hesitantly as he wrapped his mind around the plan. It was sound in theory, except for one thing.

"Who has the chakra capacity to summon nineteen Operators?" he asked the captain. Even if someone did, they would no doubt be useless in any fight soon after.

"It'll have to be a squad," Hikari said, cutting Housei's response off.

The captain nodded. "She's right. Each platoon will have a recon squad concealed in their area of assignment. From there, they'll be able to summon the remaining members in an instant."

Naruto leaned back against his locker, his mask attached to his waist clip. "That could work," he murmured thoughtfully.

"It will," Housei stated as though his mere words would make it fact. It was a sound plan, in theory and on paper, but it remained to be seen whether it would hold up when the shit hit the fan.

If it didn't, parts of the village could be well and truly overrun by the time reinforcements arrived.

"Any idea when we'll be called?" Hikari asked, more for the sake of continuing the conversation.

"The matches begin in two hours. That's the most likely time for the enemy to attack, but we need to be prepped and ready in case they decided to jump the gun."

Epsilon Squad nodded as one.

"Suit up."

/~/

Sighing had become a habit of his when he had gotten married. It was the perfect way, in his mind, to describe the feelings he got when his wife went on one of her tirades.

It wasn't that he didn't love her, not at all, but she could be just so abrasive when she was aggravated. Despite his best efforts, she remained aggravated far more than he would have liked.

It was just so troublesome.

Now though, his sigh was for the beautiful feat of shinobi engineering in front of him.

Built at the height of the Third Great War, the barrier surrounding Konoha had been able to reassure many of the populace who were growing increasingly fearful of an all out push by Iwagakure to take Konoha. It had been designed to detect and track threats to Konoha's security from the outside and follow them once they penetrated the great dome laid over Konoha proper.

It had, thankfully, gone untested in the Third War, mostly due to the efforts of Namikaze Minato. The blond man had almost singlehandedly pushed Iwagakure back to its own property, cementing himself as a legend in the process.

Another sigh split the air at the reminder of his friend who had been summarily cut down in his prime.

The barrier hadn't helped Konoha then, and it wouldn't help it now.

What a waste.

Even to a person who barely understood how the barrier worked in its intricacies, the thought of the engineering marvel being rendered useless was a travesty.

Given who their enemy was, however, it was for the best. The Sannin had all been in their prime during the Third War, and each had had their hand in the creation of Konoha's barrier.

And none more so than the genius Orochimaru.

The entire project was being rendered useless against the first real threat to Konoha proper simply because of one man. There was no doubt in his mind, or the minds of his superiors, that Orochimaru was perfectly capable of circumventing the barrier, and he wouldn't have completely thrown Sunagakure under the merchant cart by not telling them how to do so as well.

It just wouldn't have made any sense.

The former Konoha ninja hated his village of origin with a passion, and would do anything to see it destroyed. The invasion plot alone proved that.

For one to have fallen so far, he lamented silently.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he thought of Suna's part in all of this. It certainly made sense from a ninja's standpoint. They were being squeezed by their Daimyo, and their response was to take out the competition.

Konoha would have done the same had the positions been reversed.

Unfortunately, the positions weren't reversed, and Konoha was the village looking to escape destruction.

The discovery of Gekkou Hayate's body had been an unwelcome surprise for multiple reasons. It had confirmed Suna's involvement, something already suspected by Konoha's higher-ups, and had simultaneously made Konoha's plight that much direr.

The Suna ninja responsible for the man's death had certainly reported the death to his superiors, as well as Konoha's discovery of the body. Orochimaru now knew that Konoha knew of Suna's involvement, and could adjust his plans to counter that very same intelligence.

The Sannin had been regarded as a genius in his tenure as a Konoha shinobi, and no one thought for a moment that his intelligence had waned in his days since his defection.

Gekkou Hayate, by simply doing his job and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, had made things a whole lot more difficult for Konoha.

The man idly scratched one of his facial scars in irritation. It wasn't an emotion that he allowed himself to feel all that often – that was far too troublesome – but the situation warranted it. In all likelihood, Konoha would be at war by day's end, and that was only if they managed to repel the invasion forces.

He was officially resigning at day's end if Konoha survived. The job wasn't worth the wrinkles, no matter how much of a pay increase he got.

"Shut it down," he ordered the head of the Barrier Corps. The man gave a crisp, if sullen nod. It wasn't a good feeling to be rendered useless at such a time.

Nara Shikaku, Second Fireblade of Konoha, combed a hand through his hair as he exited the Barrier Room to face the music. It was going to be a long day.

/~/

Being summoned was like being squeezed through a tube that was far too small.

When the order came down, he had no warning before it all went black. Before he knew it, he was being pressed excruciatingly from all directions; his breath was cut off, as though there were steel cords wrapped around his chest. A sudden pain in his head forced his eyes open and a miasma of color assaulted him while his eyeballs were stuffed deeper in his sockets and his eardrums were shoved deeper into his skull.

His danger senses screamed to, him and his arm blurred even before he realized the sensations had ended.

The nerve endings in his arms fired at an expedient rate as he let fly a previously holstered kunai. He took his first breath of air after the blade left his hand, and his left bracer stymied two incoming shuriken as he raised it on reflex.

The thrown knife neatly sliced an Oto-nin's tibia. The bone fractured harshly and the masked, camouflaged ninja went down with a scream, inadvertently avoiding a shuriken that would have split his jugular vein. Unfortunately, the lack of movement ability left him easy pickings for Hikari, who dispassionately liquefied his brain with a precise Jyuuken blow.

Naruto let two shuriken fly in a movement inhibiting pattern, and didn't bother to watch as Housei cleanly removed the target's head from his shoulders with nary a sound. He was too busy charging another with his unsheathed assassin's blade. Naruto snarled, bisecting an Oto-nin looking to flank the group with a practiced sweep of his ninjato. He casually flicked the blood off his blade as he palmed a kunai from his left holster.

Half a step of footwork had him inside a charging Oto-nin's guard and he buried the blade hilt deep in the ninja's skull with a quick turn of his torso.

A chakra enhanced leap had him joining his teammates on a nearby rooftop, and the masked blond surveyed their situation for the first time.

Naruto's eyes widened behind his shark styled mask as the scene in Konoha's Northeastern Sector played out before his eyes. The enemy was everywhere. Oto-nin descended upon their Konohan counterparts like locusts on crops. Groups of ninja fell together, some back to back, others isolated and desperate.

There was no thought. There was no mercy.

It was war, and Naruto knew true hatred for the first time in his life as he watched his comrades fall in waves.

But where is Suna? The boy wondered privately, his own thoughts barely penetrating the haze of anger. Intelligence had stated that Suna was collaborating with Oto, but yet there were no Sunagakure ninja in sight.

"Beta Platoon, code in," Fuu's voice read in loud and clear over the com link, and Naruto's doubts evaporated. They had their assignment. Worrying about Suna right bow wouldn't help anyone.

Naruto barely recognized his own voice as he grunted "Same" over the radio frequency. His fingers unknowingly danced over the hilts of his dual kunai.

A spoken command from his captain broke the spell he was under. "Sweep the sector and take no prisoners. They invaded our village; they will receive no quarter from us." Were the circumstances different, Naruto would have started at the note of abject hatred in Fuu's voice. "Do not hesitate. Show no mercy."

"Roll out!"

Naruto snarled behind his mask as he and Epsilon Squad leapt off the rooftop in a concentrated burst of chakra.

Battle hardened instincts kicked in as Epsilon approached a small core of Oto-nin harassing three chunin. One of the Konoha-nin fell with a kunai in his neck, and Naruto flickered through seals. A genjutsu flowed from his fingertips and the five invaders stopped in their tracks, paralyzed. The remaining chunin made short work of the invaders with relish.

"Restrict their movement," Housei commanded as they approached another group of invaders. Daisuke obliged with a brace of thrown shuriken to the left and right of the Oto-nin.

The weapons weren't supposed to hit, but they gave the ANBU enough time to surround the six invaders. The palpable fear emanating from the men brought a vicious sneer to Naruto's face.

He and Daisuke disappeared in Shunshin, moving to intercept another set of ninja as Hikari and Housei peppered the six invaders with shuriken.

The group was much larger than the last few, but Naruto had little doubt that he and Daisuke could make short work of them. He flashed through a quick set of battle speak telling the older medic to hang back.

The blond had some frustration to vent. Daisuke would be all too happy to help him when the time was right.

He trotted toward the ten shinobi at a slow trot. Thoughts of how incompetent the men must be to have almost no outward reaction to him flashed through his mind as he suddenly burst into a full out sprint.

Clouded by rage as his mind was, he didn't notice the killing intent spilling forth from him in waves.

Frozen from fear they might have been, but they were still trained shinobi. A deflection saved Naruto from being stabbed through the heart and the boy replied in kind. Luck didn't shine on the poor soul, and the man was gutted with a scream and a spatter of blood that settled on Naruto's mask.

Naruto ducked a swipe at his head and casually swept the feet of the offending ninja. A stomp of his foot on the man's head broke the man's spine just as Naruto drew his combat knives and buried them in the chest of a second Oto-nin.

Two Oto-nin Shunshin'd behind him, but Daisuke was suddenly there, two hands calmly placed on their chests. The invaders fell to the ground with nary a sound, their aortas severed.

The combat medic passed Naruto two throwing knives from his stash and the boy tossed the blades to a resting spot in the chests of two rapidly approaching invaders.

"That's seven." Naruto projected his voice so as to be heard by the three remaining invaders. The sound of combat crashed around their makeshift battlefield in the middle of one of Konoha's business districts, and the boy had no doubt that his voice terrified the three men.

Both he and Daisuke disappeared in standard ANBU Shunshins, no smoke, no leaves, and the three remaining ninja had no time to contemplate their fate before they were cut down by a hail of shuriken.

The youngest members of Epsilon Squad joined their teammates on top of a nearby grocery store.

"Nice shots," Daisuke commented, though with no real amusement. Now was certainly not the time.

"If you two are done dicking around, we have serious work to do and little time to get it done. I'd rather not have Konoha burn today because two of my ANBU decided to play with their enemies rather than kill them outright," Housei reprimanded. The words were harsh, but the tone was level. The commander knew just how his subordinates were feeling.

"Yes, taicho!" Naruto and Daisuke chorused. They had had their small revenge for the moment. From here on out it would be all business.

The four ANBU moved in the direction of the fighting at a blinding pace.

"Same, Tori, execute patter seven!"

Naruto and Hikari didn't bother with words as they unleashed hands full of shuriken upon an enemy grouping of twenty. The two elites didn't watch their captain multiply the shuriken as they moved to flank the soon to be smaller group.

Hikari had her katana and Naruto his knives as the two wove a delicate dance of death through the remaining Oto-nin.

Naruto put one of his blade through a man's eye as he blocked another with his opposite Kevlar bracer. A shift in position had the attacker off balance and Hikari stabbed him through the chest remorselessly. A stray kunai clipped Naruto's left shoulder, but the boy righted himself in no time to repay the offender in spades.

The man dropped with his head severed.

A tapped pattern coming through their com units told them to get the hell out of the kill zone, and their Shunshins saved them from being crushed under an enemy's Doryuu Dango.

Naruto's blinding hand seals heralded a Suiton: Zessenzan that ripped through a second incoming boulder with ease, and continued to the enemy where it pierced skin and bone. The Oto-nin collapsed in a heap, his leg severed, and Naruto got credit for the assist as Daisuke delivered the coup de grace, hands glowing with medical chakra.

That particular paradox was quickly banished from Naruto's mind as he gutted the last of the Oto-nin.

A hail of thrown shuriken peppered his former position, where a log now laid, and he wove seals for one of his favorite genjutsu. Jubaku Satsu was neither subtle nor truly powerful, but the shock value he got with it overrode the downsides.

His mind's eye had the three offending invaders pinned to trees as if they were being crucified, and kunai quickly ended their existence courtesy of his teammates.

Shit! Naruto thought with alarm, spying an invader out of the corner of his eye. A Shunshin got him out of the way as a Fire Dragon ripped through his former position, and Naruto spied Housei chasing the attacker out of nearby alley. A burst of speed put the blond at the edge of the alley and he gloried in brutally snuffing the man's life with a clothesline.

No words were exchanged between captain and subordinate as they simultaneously Kawarimi'd with Daisuke and Hikari respectively, ending up back to back in the center of a group of five Oto-nin. Housei's seals raised an earthen wall to protect the two ANBU as the invaders fired upon them with prejudice.

Naruto flashed battle speak followed by hand seals before his captain dropped the wall and the invaders were blinded by flash of light emanating from Naruto's center of mass. Naruto used the men's distraction to layer a pain giving genjutsu over his flare, and the invaders seized up.

Housei finished them with his katana.

The remaining members of Epsilon squad had joined them for only a moment before they realized their folly. Hasty seals from Naruto heralded a heavy mist falling upon the location as a full platoon of Oto-nin descended on their position from the rooftops.

Naruto's cloaking covered their swift exit, but Hikari and Daisuke were forced to cut down a few competent shinobi who had tracked their location through chakra sensing. The two were almost indistinguishable from each other in terms of taijutsu – Daisuke having based his deadly style on the Hyuuga's Jyuuken – and the four ninja were laid low by glancing blows from both ANBU.

Those two work too well together, Naruto thought. He was already preparing for the next skirmish.

Two half ram seals had a rolling mist cover a full city block where the Oto ambush had failed, and Naruto signaled his teammates. "Attack pattern fifteen," he called to his teammates through his com. A full blown smile crossed his face as they moved to obey his order.

A full scale hail of shuriken and kunai penetrated the misty cloud at velocities difficult to track. Screams filled the air as they met their marks.

It wasn't that Epsilon Squad could see or even sense the ninja in the mist, but there were just so many weapons that some were bound to hit.

Naruto winced in time with every chakra source that was snuffed out in his mist, the blond fully able to feel the deaths of every enemy within his range. Can't let myself get lost in the bloodlust, he reminded himself, his vicious killings playing out in his mind's eye. There was nothing wrong with his ferocity so long as he kept his mental faculties.

A light tap to his shoulder derailed his thoughts and a lizard mask with no expression regarded him. "Same?"

"The enemy is dead," Naruto replied, his voice monotone. He realized that he must have zoned out, for all his teammates were gazing at him. The expressionless masks made the scene downright creepy for the blond boy.

Zoning out in the middle of a full scale battle…what a joke, he chided himself. That wasn't what he did. That wasn't him. Get a hold of yourself, Uzumaki!

All thoughts of himself flew out of his mind as he reassessed the situation. Their area was clear of hostiles for the moment. Bodies littered the street he gazed upon, and the surrounding buildings hadn't fared too well in the early stages of the invasion.

Housei had his hand to his ear. "We move east," he ordered. "Eta and Zeta Squads are herding a large group of invaders toward the wall and need backup."

"What about Kappa?" The question came from Daisuke.

Housei paused, and Naruto's gut sank to his toes. "They were caught in an ambush near the northern gate. Medics found one survivor. She's critical."

Naruto clenched his fists at his sides. Kappa was Beta Platoon's recon team. They had been responsible for summoning the rest of the platoon when the invasion began.

"Move out," Housei commanded.

Naruto's peripheral vision blurred as he slipped into Shunshin beside his team. It was entirely surreal for the thirteen year old ANBU. Konoha was at war, and four of his comrades had already been killed by the enemy.

Four ANBU. Four men and women that Naruto had worked with, knew, and bled with.

The feeling of white hot rage was beginning to feel familiar. A distant, quiet part of his mind hoped he would never truly get used to it.

Naruto blinked through the tunnel vision Shunshin provided as he came to a halt one block from the Eastern Wall. His eyes adjusted to normal vision and the world seemed to slow down as he took stock of the situation.

Forty hostiles; seven friendlies outside ANBU; guerilla tactics; one enemy commander; youngish; pale; powerful. All of that was processed at the speed of thought and filed away for reference before Naruto even took a step toward the battle. His peripherals registered Epsilon Squad moving to engage.

The world kicked into high gear.

A slight shift in the wind told him he had dodged a killing blow to the head before his body caught up with him, and his instincts had already buried a kunai hilt deep inside the man's abdomen. He snatched one of the offending man's blades out of spite, twisting his own kunai for good measure, and hurled it at a charging second. It clipped the man in the throat and he went down holding it in pain, blood gushing from the wound.

A casual shuriken lob ended his suffering.

A nearby explosion sent Naruto careening through the air before he could react, and he hit the ground hard, rolling to his feet with his arms raised in a block. Blue eyes met vivid green for a moment before a bruising pain in Naruto's chest told him something was wrong as he fell to his knees.

MOTHERFUCKER!

He hacked a cough as his eyes widened at the sight of five perfectly round holes in his chest protector. He leaned forward slightly and five rounded white projectiles fell out. There was no blood on them, so Naruto felt safe that his Kevlar armor had protected him.

A quick glance about showed the pale, green eyed leader of the enemy troop had moved on – leaving him for dead – and was currently engaged with both Fuu and Housei. Naruto didn't think about what that meant, that he could simultaneously deal with the two most senior members of Beta Platoon, instead opting to take a few pot shots at the enemy ninja.

Two opportunistic idiots found their throats pierced by Naruto's shuriken and fell to their deaths from the sides of buildings overlooking the battle ground. One more inattentive fool lost his head to a Suiton: Zessenzan, preoccupied as he was with a wounded chunin.

He located Daisuke and Hikari immediately and a long tap of his com, followed by three short ones told them to stagger their chakra flows. The four enemies they were fighting froze momentarily as their bodies were peppered with imaginary kunai and shuriken.

The two members of Epsilon Squad ended them with relish and flashes of steel.

Movemovemove! Naruto Kawarimi'd like the wind in order to avoid death by frying, and he watched with harried breathing as a log was incinerated by a Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu, scorching the outer wall he had been backed up against.

Three deft flicks of his blade sent incoming shuriken back at their owners at a reduced speed as he channeled chakra for Shunshin. The man who had attempted to cook him blocked the first slash with his kunai and moved to outmaneuver Naruto with his shorter blade.

The blond was having none of it, and grabbed the outstretched arm with his left hand, brutally yanking the shoulder out of its socket with the aid of chakra. The second sword strike was blocked by the man's neck, and the ANBU paid the blood spatter across his mask and front no heed.

Naruto extended his senses over the two block battle, and his shoulders stiffened as he shifted to the right and jumped a few inches from the ground. He paid little heed to the five kunai now buried in his back protector as he Kawarimi'd with a nearby piece of debris and began running up a store's front wall to confront his new enemy.

Broken glass rained on him as he reached the ledge holding four Oto-nin. He ignored it as his kunai neatly sliced through an Achilles tendon, sending its owner screaming to the ground.

A second shimmied to Naruto and delivered a right hook toward his exposed neck. Naruto coughed and reeled from the blow, unexpected as it had been, but countered with a back fist from his left hand that connected solidly with the man's face.

A second back fist hit the man's neck before the Oto-nin managed to get his guard up, but by then it was too late. Naruto's left foot came down on his shin from a bad angle, fracturing bone and eliciting a scream of agony. A second fist to the neck crushed the man's throat against the brick wall it was pinned against and he dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

A burst of speed carried Naruto to an opposing ledge, and the Operator stared down the remaining two invaders.

Two kunai with explosive tags hurtled toward him and buried themselves into the wood beside his chest. Shitshitshit! Naruto hastily retrieved the blades from the wall and tossed them back as the tags detonated.

Only his hard earned chakra control kept him pinned to the wall as an explosion rocked the space between the three combatants. His ears rang as he was all but deafened from the explosion, and the blond blinked hard to clear his eyes.

A quick glance behind him reassured the owners of the residence were under cover as he closed the distance between him and his attackers. Naruto feinted left but went right before he slammed an open palm into the first man's solar plexus.

The man doubled over and Naruto grabbed him by the neck and thrust him into the path of his partner's stab. The boy drew a kunai from the man's leg holster and stabbed it into his face, killing the man instantly.

He kicked he dead man toward the remaining Oto-nin with a barely audible snarl, sending the man off balance. There was no mercy for the invader as Naruto slammed his head into a brick wall three times before tossing him off the ledge to the ground below.

Somewhere in the midst of his slaughter his ears had stopped ringing.

Naruto himself leapt off the edge, short blade in hand, and landed heavily on top of the slowly recovering invader. The blade pierced the Oto-nin's neck apathetically, and blood covered Naruto's gloved hands as he rolled off the dead man in a reflex.

Naruto blinked as his chakra senses almost overloaded. Time seemed to slow for but a moment to the blond boy before a massive pulse of chakra rocked the battlefield.

The size of the pulse, combined with the moisture in the air being saturated with Naruto's chakra, knocked the teenager from his feet and had his senses going haywire.

Instincts kicked in to high gear as hastily channeled chakra got Naruto out of the kill zone via Kawarimi no Jutsu. He reappeared on top of a nearby building to take stock of the situation.

Eta and Zeta Squads had the area contained for the most part, with a beleaguered Hikari and a fresher Daisuke tearing through Oto-nin like they were training dummies.

The one mishap taking place was centered around the leader of the enemy troop, who had somehow transformed. Black markings covered the formerly pale teenager, and Naruto's mind flashed back.

His vantage point in the arena gave him a perfect view of the Uchiha's fight. He was far from impressed by the boy hailed as a prodigy, but his superiors had told him that the boy was likely handicapped.

In spite of, or perhaps because of that, Naruto's opinion of the boy was lowered even further. Fighting while injured was admirable in the line of duty, but it was also extremely dangerous. An injured ninja was almost certainly a liability to any team, and continuing to fight would not only hamper team efforts to some extent, but further risk the injured party's life.

In a situation such as this, the boy's choice to fight was more stupid than anything. He hadn't questioned Hatake Kakashi's judgment in years at this point, but he couldn't help doing so now.

A burst of chakra brought Naruto back to the fight at hand, and the Uchiha positioned himself perfectly underneath Akodo Yoroi's chin. A thrust kick heralded the Leaf Shadow Dance, and Uchiha Sasuke was in prime position for a quick finish.

A small pulse of chakra caught Naruto's attention – he likely wouldn't have caught it were it not for his chakra being inlaid with the moisture in the air – and black marks suddenly spread across the Uchiha's neck and back.

Those marks were from one of Orochimaru's curse seals. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto connected the dots with the six-armed teenager who had tried to assassinate Sarutobi Konohamaru. What little he had been able to get his hands on said that the seals were designed to enhance the strength, speed, chakra potency, dexterity, and toughness of the user.

The teen had already been capable of holding off Housei and Fuu. There was no telling what he might be able to do now.

Naruto's blue eyes scanned the ground around the teenager and came to rest upon the form of a bear masked ANBU. There were five perfectly circular holes in the mask.

The shark masked ANBU blinked, the sound of his own heartbeat loud and clear to him. Rage filled the blond for the third time that day as his mind flashed to images of Raido's charred body laying spread-eagled on the plains of River Country.

The faces of Kappa Squad passed across his eyelids, obscuring the view of the battlefield as he remembered his comrades. They were dead now. The images finally came to rest on Housei, his captain lying dead in the street.

His heart beat once more in his ear, and Naruto exploded into motion.

Almost uncontrolled wind chakra traveled the length of Naruto's ninjato in the half second it took for Naruto to close the gap between him and the mysterious teenager.

A quick turn that was too fast for Naruto to track had the mark covered teen out of harm's way before Naruto could deliver the killing blow, and the blond hastily twisted to the side to avoid being skewered by a white blade that appeared from nowhere.

He reversed his grip on the ninjato in an instant and laid into the pale boy with wide, sweeping blows. Wind chakra flew off the blade with every move, and Naruto's frustration built as each of his attacks was stymied by the infuriatingly calm Oto-nin.

The teen seemed to finally have enough of Naruto. A pale blade filled Naruto's vision for a moment before he was airborne from a thrust kick to the chest. He landed heavily, only to see his shark mask in two pieces four meters in front of him. The blond reeled for a few moments, reflecting on the stupidity of his charge into the fight.

Get a grip, you idiot! he screamed at himself.

A muted thump followed by a clang snapped Naruto from his morbid thoughts. Fuu was engaged with the teenager, auburn hair flailing about the Root Operator as he struck out with his tanto.

Taking a moment to comprehend that he wasn't dead yet, Naruto regrouped at light speed. He had made a mistake, a huge one that should have meant his death, but his sensei had managed to bail him out.

His name wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto if he didn't take advantage of it.

Fuu's chakra felt weird to Naruto for a moment, and he placed it after a moment of thought. Three seals had him substituting with Fuu's Tsuchi Bunshin and he didn't even bother to duck a stab that was meant for Fuu's face. He had no need, given the height difference between his sensei and himself.

The change up momentarily threw the invader, and Naruto pressed his advantage with a textbook leg sweep. The teen went down hard but Naruto had to abort his killing blow to avoid a white projectile shot from the teen's foot of all things.

Gotta be fucking kidding me!

"Naruto," he heard over the com link. Fuu's monotone was present even now, while staring death in the face. "Give me wind."

The order had barely processed itself before Naruto sent a howling Fuuton: Daitoppa toward the elusive invader. A huge Fire Dragon joined it mid flight, and the resulting fire bomb blew out a chunk of the Eastern Wall with a crash, continuing on into the forest.

A quick scan of the environment gave no hint to the enemy's location, but Naruto expected nothing less. That was fine. At this point, the enemy was predictable.

A second pulse of chakra, this one much larger than the first, rocked the area, but Naruto was ready for it. The teen had used his first pulse to great effect before. Naruto expected the second one on some level, even if he didn't know the inner workings of the curse seal.

The incoming whip that looked to be made of the teen's spine was unexpected, however, and Naruto barely got a hand up to keep it from severing his head. The blond grimaced in pain as the whip bit into his skin through his Kevlar bracer. Goddamn that's sharp.

He paid it little heed though, as he took advantage of an untimely cough from his enemy to firmly grab the whip with his left hand. There was no pain in his mind as he channeled chakra to his arm and gave an almighty yank to the whip, pulling the Oto-nin off balance.

A quick step took him inside the teen's guard and Naruto let his rage flow forth once more as he grasped the brown monster's neck in a vice grip. His exposed face contorted into a snarl of pure loathing as he tried to suffocate the teen with his bare hands.

"'Bout time you died," Naruto bit out viciously.

"Not to trash like you," the pale teen gasped.

The boy turned monster dropped the whip in an instant and produced another strange blade from the palm of his hand. Naruto screamed bloody murder as the white blade pierced his shoulder, and let go with a snarl and a thrust kick to the green eyed teen's chest.

A wall of bone met the kick, but the body dropped lifelessly as Fuu's tanto sliced through the boy's neck with a flash of light. His sensei stood over the body for but a moment before moving to help the rest of the beleaguered ANBU fully secure the area.

Naruto had no such presence of mind as he crawled backwards from the now dead body of the Oto troop leader, inadvertently pushing himself through the hole in Konoha's wall he had helped create. His breath came in labored gasps as he tried to regain his bearings after what was the most painful fight of his life.

He had almost died – he probably should have died – but here he was. Battered, bruised, and in pain, but he was alive nonetheless.

"I gotta get a handle on myself," Naruto breathed. His rampant emotions had nearly killed him. If not that, he would need to learn how to channel his anger. Anger could be useful in a fight if properly directed. The way he had been directing it would only get him killed someday. His sensei and ANBU team wouldn't always be there to bail him out if he fucked up.

His right hand cupped his shoulder where the weird white blade had pierced him. Free flowing blood greeted the hand, and Naruto winced as the rest of his minor injuries began to add up to serious agony. Where the hell is Daisuke?

He palmed the ground to push himself upward but his hand made contact with something metallic and slipped off. A second attempt was more successful and Naruto stood to check what he had slipped on.

A glint of light on blackened metal greeted blue eyes. The symbol of Sunagakure no Sato stared back at Naruto from atop seven charred, dead bodies where the combined elemental dragon had ripped through the Eastern Wall.

An open scroll laid between the bodies, and Naruto recognized the seal matrix used with summoning. He had seen it less than an hour ago.

Naruto had done some limited research in the art of Fuuinjutsu, and the difference between human and animal summoning was one of the few things that he could get his hands on and wrap his mind around.

The seal matrix on the large scroll contained the axioms needed for an animal summoning, and a big one considering the number of bodies who had been part of the group. Sharp blue eyes caught the kanji for snake etched on the scroll as well, and Naruto knew dread.

All of a sudden, minor discrepancies in the invasion started to form a cohesive whole in Naruto's mind. Intelligence had reported that Suna was likely collaborating with Oto in their invasion attempt, but Naruto had seen no sign of Suna ninja anywhere. It hadn't mattered then, all that mattered were the ninja who needed to be killed at the moment, and Naruto doubted anyone else ever gave the lack of Suna ninja a second thought. They would have been too preoccupied.

The Oto forces had been the first wave only, created to weaken Konoha's ninja force considerably.

And now all the Konoha ninja reserves were both deployed and inside the village.

"Taicho!" he screamed.

The auburn haired captain had barely turned his head before three great explosions sounded from the North, South, and West.

Giant three headed snakes could be seen tearing through the walls with ease even from the easternmost place in the village.

Naruto blinked once, his heartbeat thundering through his eardrums as a massive wave of killing intent slammed into him. He staggered for a moment before bracing himself against the charred wall.

An almighty roar split the air in and around the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and Naruto's eyes beheld the massive sandy form of the Ichibi no Shukaku.

Konoha was under siege from a biju for the second time in twelve years.

/~/

9. Red Sun Rising

He was suffocating.

"Raiton: Gian!" the red haired jonin bit out. A snarl marred the man's features, before it twisted into a grin.

"You kill my teammates I kill you, trash. Fair trade?" the jonin mocked. A twisted satisfaction rested on his face, turning it into the visage of a monster.

For Naruto, time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched the lightning rip a hole in Raidou's chest. The scarred chunin's back arched in pain as he let out a silent scream, before collapsing to the ground. Bits of lightning still arced across his body as the man laid deathly still.

Naruto blinked once, his head spinning as he fought his stomach, stumbling toward the Eastern Wall.

Hayate closed the gap between the two shinobi in an instant, though not quite as fast as Naruto's earlier charge, and slashed low. When it was blocked hastily, he crouched down and stabbed upward. Naruto blocked sloppily, and was wholly unprepared for Hayate to knock his hands upward, disarming him of his ninjato, and place his own ninjaken at his neck.

The blond caught himself on the charred remains of the once great wall, his eyes out of focus as he fought against the inevitable.

The Kusagakure shinobi managed to duck the Fuuma shuriken, but was unprepared for the second in its shadow, and the giant throwing star embedded itself in the man's leg. The man screamed in pain, but had no time for much else as Naruto's outstretched arm plowed the man into a tree trunk less than four feet behind him.

"Rariatto!"

Naruto had concentrated hard, channeling the residual chakra from his Shunshin into his outstretched arm and making the momentum fueled clothesline into a deadly hammer blow. The Kusa-nin was dead before his back hit the tree trunk.

Naruto fell to his knees as his stomach lost the uphill battle with itself and he vomited, hard. I'm going to die, a distant, quiet part of his mind supplied. Bowled over, the teenage ANBU closed his eyes to fight off the sensation of impending death. Air came in heavy gulps that never seemed to have enough in them to quench the relentless need for oxygen he possessed.

I'm so sorry, he thought, watching from the corner of his eye as the red haired academy student passed him. Abruptly, his eyes went cold, and he formed a half ram seal.

The dormant genjutsu Naruto had laid on the jonin as he passed him activated with a tiny application of chakra. The boy closed his eyes as he heard the rustling of cloth and the telltale sound of a drawn blade. He tasted bile as a sickening squelch met his ears, and the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground sounded.

"Oh my God!"

"…ame! Same! Pull yourself together!"

Naruto shook his head sharply, his head clearing rapidly. His blue eyes rose to meet those of his captain. Fuu was displaying more emotion than Naruto had ever seen before. He was worried.

All of a sudden, the sensation of swimming in an ocean made itself known to him. A single gasp of air quenched his lung's thirst and Naruto noticed that he wasn't dying anymore.

What the fuck is happening?

He experimentally moved his arms and legs about him, noting that they felt heavier than normal. A blink and hasty reassessment told him Fuu was blanketing him, as well as many others in Beta Platoon who had been struck dumb, with chakra.

Naruto allowed a brief second to pass as he wondered at what could make his emotionless captain actually look worried, before the deluge of memories reasserted themselves with a vengeance. A swift, panicked glance to the west beheld the Ichibi no Shukaku in all its sandy glory, standing as high as the Hokage monument.

"God damn…" he breathed.

The sun beat down on the two hundred and fifty foot sand monstrosity currently making Konoha its newest plaything. A massive tail batted buildings left and right while its sandy appendages flailed about, deflecting and blocking incoming ninjutsu courtesy of the ninja at ground zero. Sand fell off the biju in rivulets, but it was replaced almost faster than the ninja on the ground could make any progress. Howls split the air that could be heard even at Naruto's distance. Goosebumps rose on Naruto's arms as the sounds of dying men mixed with the biju's maniacal laughter.

All at once, Fuu's chakra receded, and Naruto, expecting the sudden increase in hostile killing intent, swirled his own life essence about him, increasing the body's speed of circulation. The process elevated his heart rate to its former state during the battle, in order to compensate for the high amount of chakra flowing through his coils, but it was a small price to pay for being able to function without passing out.

It didn't stop the instant in between when his chakra took over for Fuu's, and Naruto's knees buckled as the chakra saturated air quite literally smacked him in the face. The feeling remained for a few moments as he stared, deaf and dumb, at the monster.

His face making contact with Fuu's hand broke him out of his staring, and he turned sharply to make eye contact with the captain. The auburn haired man nodded once, curtly, before striding back to the middle of the semi circle that was the rest of Beta Platoon.

The accelerated chakra was beginning to take effect, as Naruto could still feel the murderous intent, he doubted even the most powerful sensory genjutsu could stop him from feeling it, but he wasn't a total mess.

He was no use to anyone like that.

"Listen up! Word just came down from intelligence." How can they think about anything other than that monster? Naruto wondered. "Oto and Suna structured their invasion to be in two waves. The first wave of Oto shinobi has been dealt with. The second has just begun."

The Buntaicho of Beta Platoon paused for a moment to survey the men and women under his charge. Their armor was dented, broken in places, and the ANBU were battered and bruised.

Naruto made his way over to the circle, still feeling as if he was swimming, and stood beside Daisuke and Hikari, a pang resonating in his chest when he remembered the state of their captain at the end of the first wave.

"Our main priority is the safety of the Hokage and the village. We've lost radio contact with Operations, so we return to ground zero: The Grand Fire Arena. Any enemies we pass along the way are to be dispatched with extreme prejudice," Fuu finished in near monotone.

"Any questions?" It was rhetorical.

The captain spared a glance for every member of the platoon, his eyes softening a tad. A single nod greeted the porcelain masks.

"Move out!"

The first group they encountered was dealt with before Naruto even realized they were there. A blindingly fast hail of shuriken cut down the three Suna ninja before they had even recognized the Black Ops forces.

None of the beleaguered Operators were willing to let the invaders come anywhere near them if at all possible.

Naruto was lucky enough to get a beat on the second group before the rest of Beta Platoon, and he felt the stirrings of his rage. One shuriken was en route before Naruto overlaid it with a genjutsu making it look like twenty. The Suna nin moved on the blonde's string accordingly as they separated.

Naruto was on them like white on rice before they realized they'd been had.

The teen caught one through the chest on his ninjato, and he met the invader's eyes dispassionately as he sputtered. A snarl heralded the end of the man's life as Naruto viciously tore the blade from the Suna ninja's chest.

A glance with his peripheral vision showed two of the three invaders being handled by members of Beta Platoon before his attention was grabbed by the remaining Suna-nin.

A reflex brought out his twin kunai, but Naruto had nary a moment to react as the remaining invader, a man wielding dual short swords, asserted himself violently. The man lunged forward, twin short blades in a reverse grip, a soft ethereal glow surrounding them the only warning the ANBU received before his own blades were rent in two.

Wind chakra howled and screamed as Naruto Kawarimi'd like the wind to avoid being diced alive. The log he substituted with was nothing but a pile of splinters as he reappeared in the street, and Naruto winced at his sliced palms as blood flowed freely, pooling on the ground around his feet.

The Suna ninja didn't give the ANBU time to react as wind chakra formed a cross from where his blades slashed the air, and the boy dropped to the ground in a heap and a spatter of blood.

Despite the genjutsu clouding the man's senses, he spun fast enough to parry Naruto's killing strike at his back. Naruto wasn't about to be deterred, however. The boy feinted left but stepped right, brutally forcing himself inside the man's space and thrusting a hand into the invader's face.

Blood met the man's eyes and the blond could help but growl in satisfaction at the man's scream. Naruto used the shinobi's distraction beautifully, divesting the man of his blades with two quick strikes to his wrists and a deft use of his fingers.

A kick to the stomach brought the invader to his knees and Naruto used the man's own blades to decapitate him with relish. The head dropped to the ground with a squelch as the blood spilled out, joining Naruto's own.

"Streets are a river of blood," he murmured with a note of morbid humor. He shook himself out of it a moment later.

Naruto wrinkled his nose and fought against gagging as he retrieved his fallen ninjato. The man's bowels had released as he died and the stench was far from pleasant. A glance to the cooling body brought a scowl to the boy's unmasked face.

Three quick strides carried him to the fallen invader's body, and he swiftly removed the holsters of the twin short blades from the corpse. "You take my weapon, I take yours. Don't worry, they'll be put to good use," he assured the dead man.

It was only fair.

He strapped the sheaths to his back and readjusted his own ninjato to fall to his waist. The blades fit his hands well enough, and the ease with which the man had streamed his wind chakra down them indicated the quality of craftsmanship.

A quick Shunshin put him on a nearby rooftop, and another had him striding behind Beta Platoon toward the Great Fire Arena.

The whole fight had lasted a little over forty five seconds.

"What took you so long?" Daisuke asked. It would have been snide had the boy had any inflection in his voice. Right now, the older teen had no energy to be sarcastic. There were far more important things on his mind.

"One of them put up a bit of a fight," Naruto returned much the same way. Hikari was silent to Naruto's immediate left. The banter wasn't the same without Housei interrupting them to cut the chatter. "A little help here?" he finished, thrusting his bloody palms where the wind chakra had sliced them into the medic's face.

"You're getting sloppy," Hikari commented softly as Daisuke's medical chakra worked its magic on Naruto's hands.

"He was good…"

Naruto blinked rapidly so as to stem the tears trying to flow free. I'm not ready for this. No one is, the blond realized as he beat back memories of his captain. No training program could teach anyone the realities of life and death situations. He thought he had experienced enough death to be ready for it again – it had already happened once, on the ill fated River Country mission – but that notion had disappeared as quickly as his captain's life had been brutally snuffed out.

Now, the only thing that was keeping him going was the safety of the village and revenge.

The latter burned through his psyche and sharpened his focus as the remnants of Beta Platoon burst onto ground zero.

Chaos reigned.

His brain switched into combat mode automatically as his eyes scanned the arena. Small skirmishes between single shinobi were scattered about, ninjutsu and thrown weapons flying and killing people they weren't meant for. Blue eyes sought a ranking shinobi and found nothing. A glance to the Kage's skybox showed nothing but wood and scattered leaves. The Hokage was nowhere in sight.

Hokage-sama can take care of himself, Naruto told himself to quell the unease that flittered through his stomach.

Naruto's mind was calm, his purpose clear, and his rage icy as he spotted someone who couldn't do the same.

Chakra flowed rapidly to Naruto's legs as he exploded into Shunshin. It was as "loud" as any Shunshin had ever been in terms of chakra waste, but he wasn't trying to be subtle.

A fist covered by a fingerless glove passed through where his head used to be as Naruto wove to the side around the attack. Nimble footwork was a constant with Naruto's taijutsu, and he deftly danced around the Suna kunoichi's punches and stabs, returning fire just enough to subtly but effectively moving the woman away from a downed group of three.

A feint and a burst of speed split the woman's guard as Naruto moved in for the kill. Turning his body sideways, he rammed his right shoulder into the woman's solar plexus. The hammer blow nearly knocked the kunoichi on her back, and Naruto pressed his advantage home, righting himself and christening his new blades with the woman's blood as he slammed the two curved short swords into the invading woman's chest. The blows passed through the rib cage effortlessly, and pierced the woman's lungs. A simple maneuver of his left sword left the woman headless as the corpse twitched incoherently for a few seconds.

The telltale feeling of air being displaced alerted him to an incoming Wind jutsu. Unfortunately, Naruto was in no position to dodge, still having his blades outstretched from delivering the coup de grace, and he was thrown airborne. Shit!

The attacking ninja, a man with a cloth curtain covering the left half of his face, formed hand seals and the wind roared as a Kaze no Yaiba took shape in his hand. The jonin used Shunshin to close the gap between himself and Naruto, and rammed the Blade of Wind into Naruto.

The boy screamed as the sharpened chakra sliced his back to pieces, blood and, surprisingly, water flowed free. The body dispersed into water as the jonin wrinkled his nose at the Water Clone the ANBU had replaced himself with.

Naruto's opening salvo was dodged effortlessly, the Suna ninja moving out of the way of the roundhouse kick before Naruto was even three meters from him. The man made space with a graceful back flip, and Naruto took a defensive position in front of the three downed ninja.

Their headbands said Konoha. Their age said genin.

"Get outta here, genin! This is way over your heads," Naruto ordered, glancing back at the trio.

A blond girl, clad in purple gear and bandages, met his eyes with uncertainty. "B-but you're not any older than us!" she exclaimed as she took in his appearance. He had no time for such things at the moment.

"I'm ANBU, girl. Now leave!"

Three Water Clones formed from air moisture. Naruto carefully hid his grimace and controlled his breathing. He had really felt the last group of Mizu Bunshin.

Naruto popped a soldier pill as the three clones quickly ushered the genin out of the kill zone and into to a nearby entrance to the stadium. The blond girl gave him a worried glance from over her shoulder before joining her teammates, both of whom seemed all too eager to get the hell out of the line of fire.

"Those blades don't belong to you," the jonin said his voice carrying over the general din of the Grand Fire Arena.

Naruto surveyed his surroundings with a quick glance, a habit born of training, and his brain comprehended the images at the speed of thought. The arena was in ruins; bodies lay scattered about, some twitching, some not; smoke hovered low in the air, likely a result of an explosion that had rocked and destroyed the Western Seats, scattering the ground with debris. Naruto's eyes flickered to a downed figure in far too many pieces, and they lingered for a moment longer. The hitai-ate worn like a bandana told Naruto more than anything else who the figure was. By all accounts, Genma had met the same end as Hayate.

Naruto clenched his fists even as his nails dug into his palms through his mesh gloves, struggling to school his expression into neutrality. "They do now," he responded flatly. His voice sounded foreign to his ears, as if he was hearing himself speak from a distance.

His chakra flow sped up as he made his preparations for battle.

The ninja frowned, his one visible eye narrowing before seeming to droop in resignation.

"I suppose they do," Baki said, resigned. "I must say that I'm impressed, to be ANBU at your age is nothing short of astounding."

Naruto shrugged off the compliment. "You talk way too much," was all he said before his body dispersed into mist. Baki's eye widened as his voice spoke from behind him. "But I appreciate the compliment."

The Suna jonin tried to move, but it was far too late. Twin short blades taken from the man's dead comrade rent flesh and bone as Naruto brought them across the man's back in a deadly cross slash. The boy changed to a reverse grip in an instant and made to end the man's life as the body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kage Bunshin! he screamed mentally, his body already in the middle of a reflexive Kawarimi. It was none too soon, as the debris he substituted with was obliterated by a bullet of wind.

Naruto's hands were a blur as he tried to buy time to formulate a plan. A Suiton: Teppodama exploded forth from his mouth as he strafed to the right, a mud clone forming to strike at the man from the left. The two Narutos simultaneously drew their ninjato's from their waists as the jonin flattened under the water bullet. Smart fucker, Naruto acknowledged. The man was too experienced to be taken in by Naruto's simple maneuvering.

He moved faster than his clone for a few moments, attracting the jonin's notice, before his clone put on a burst of speed, carrying itself to the jonin far faster than Naruto himself. If Naruto expected the change-up to phase the veteran shinobi, he was disappointed. The man didn't bat an eye as he danced around the clone's first strike, and Naruto made a split second decision to abandon his initial plan.

The real blond stopped his charge as the jonin casually evaded the ninjato strikes of the clone. Without warning, the jonin took a single step forward inside the clone's guard with his right hand outstretched and open. Naruto's eyes widened as his hair got blown back by the force of a mini hurricane taking shape before him.

Baki thrust the Kaze no Yaiba into the clone's body with a small grunt of exertion, simultaneously letting the clone's ninjato lodge itself in his flak vest with casual ease that bordered on boredom. Naruto could only watch in stunned inaction as his clone was shredded to pieces by the tightly controlled and regulated wind chakra the jonin used.

Blue eyes found the form of his dead teammate, unmoved from its resting place in the shade of one of the arena's trees. The body was diced in much the same way as he had seen his clone dismembered just moments ago. So was Hayate's. The thought crossed him mind involuntarily.

The world seemed to slow for a few precious moments as formerly disconnected and disjointed pieces of information became a rough whole in Naruto's mind. There was little conclusive proof that truly implicated the jonin he was fighting, but Naruto was more than willing to believe he was the one who had killed his friends.

Naruto flexed nearly all the muscles in his body as the now familiar feeling of undiluted rage welled up inside his chest. It was only the brush of a breeze across his exposed face that stopped him from making a blind, rage fueled charge at the man who had likely killed his friends. The feeling of wind brushing against his exposed skin was an effective reminder of what had happened the last time he had attacked while blinded by hate.

He had lost his mask, and very nearly lost his life. Nothing good would come from his emotions in this battle. His mental state was already compromised and he knew it. Unfortunately, he couldn't just run from this man. All signs pointed toward him being one of Suna's top jonin, at least combat wise. Running wasn't an option, so he had to fight.

"No problems here," he muttered with a snarl of anticipation.

Every piece, every scrap of training he had received from both ANBU Operations and Root was dredged up from deep within his psyche, and Naruto took a single deep breath as he calmed himself. The rage was still there, bubbling beneath the surface, but it was under control.

It was all a matter of direction, his Root training told him. The key to Root's emotional conditioning was in suppressing the useless, and channeling the ones that mattered. An emotionally distressed shinobi was a dead one. Naruto had received the same training, though he hadn't progressed to using it in regular, everyday life. At least not yet.

That training would save his life. And not just on this day.

The world kicked into high gear with a vengeance – the jonin was fast and Naruto avoided meeting his teammates' fate by a hair's breadth. A single duck had him avoiding the Kaze no Yaiba by precious millimeters, and he dropped a hand to his hip to draw his ninjato. A jerk of the wrist freed the blade in a sweeping, slashing arc at the jonin's waistline, and the older shinobi was forced to make space.

Naruto tossed his blade into the air to free his hands, and he sped through seals at a pace almost untraceable by the human eye. Water spewed forth from his mouth in a concentrated sphere and hurtled through the air at the still recovering invader.

The man didn't have his rank for nothing, however, and a simple Kawarimi put him out of harm's way with little chakra cost.

Naruto was far from done, and he had anticipated the jonin's course of action before the man had known what he himself would do. Too predictable!

The pieces available in the arena for substitution were limited, and Naruto already knew which one would be used. One of those pieces of material was a log located at Naruto's nine o'clock, about five meters away.

Baki was wholly unprepared for a Syrup Capture Field at his feet when he came out of the rudimentary ninjutsu, and his surprise gave Naruto the opening he had planned for.

Chakra danced under Naruto's feet as he sprinted through his own water jutsu, blade held in a reverse grip. The jonin's feet were held captive in the Syrup, and Baki's visible eye widened as he was suddenly beset by a very angry and very skilled ANBU. All the Suna ninja could do was draw a kunai as Naruto viciously tore into him with powerful, rage fueled overhead strikes.

Metal met metal three times as Naruto locked blades with the jonin before the fourth strike finally dislodged the man's grip on his knife. Naruto locked gazes with the jonin and savored the fear he saw there for a single moment.

It was a moment he would come to regret for years.

Naruto was barely halfway through his killing strike when he threw himself backwards on reflex, his hyper sensitive awareness saving him from becoming a pincushion for kunai. He drew himself into a single back flip to control his movement, making extra space at the same time. Sharp eyes caught the form of a single Sand-nin locking gazes with his opponent, before disappearing in a Shunshin.

Naruto ducked low to avoid having his head removed from his neck and hastily grabbed a discarded kunai up from the ground. He brought it to bear in a hasty block that left his arm shaking and his ears ringing. His eyes barely made out the snarling face of the Sand-nin who attacked him before he was forced backward by a shove that sent him stumbling.

The jonin who had killed Genma and Hyate joined his comrade, and Naruto was beset upon by both Suna-nin before he knew what to do with himself. A kunai made its way to his right hand and he immediately used it to parry a killing blow aimed at his liver. His left arm bracer caught a slash to his neck before he dropped to his knee in a desperate attempt to throw his attackers off balance.

Fuck me! The two men were hardly affected by Naruto's tactic, and only a lightning fast substitution saved his skin as wind chakra exploded from both ninja. His chakra coils ached as he watched the piece of debris get reduced to a fine power under the onslaught, and forced arms and hands that felt like lead to make seals.

He felt a bit like a one trick pony, but it was his least chakra intensive jutsu that might actually do some damage. The Suiton: Teppodma split the air and impacted the men's previous position with a crash.

Movemovemove! Naruto cursed as a chakra enhanced leap carried him away from a Fuuton: Renkudan that crashed through his last position. He formed seals as fast as he could, and a breath of relief escaped him as mist blanketed the arena in his mind's eye.

The relief was short lived as the mist was no longer there a moment later. How could they have dispelled the genjutsu that fast? he wondered in a panic. He hadn't been able to supplement the illusion with real mist, and it had been in effect for less than a full second before the Suna ninjas had dispelled it.

A desperate plan formed in Naruto's mind as he landed in a crouch instinctively and watched dispassionately as shuriken whizzed over his head. The form of the second Sand ninja entered his peripheral vision, and Naruto launched two shuriken at the man, just above knee height. He followed it with a kunai thrown at the man's face.

"God, this is gonna hurt if I make it out alive…"

The stars flew wide of the Suna shinobi, and Naruto watched with satisfaction as the man disregard them, ducking the kunai meant for his face as he continued his charge. The blond grinned in victory as he watched the man realize his error at the last second.

But by then it was far too late.

His momentum carrying him forward, the invader was powerless to stop the wire from tripping him up. He fell face first to the arena dirt at the same moment Naruto Kawarimi'd with his thrown kunai, perfectly timed and positioned above the man's body.

The blond boy fell on the invader with a thump and a sickening squelch as twin curved blades pierced skin, muscle, and bone, Naruto brutally extinguishing the man's life with two stabs in the back and a roar of victory.

He was in the air before he realized what a short victory it was. He had time to see the ground fall away from him for two seconds before gravity took over and fell back to the earth. Instinct and training kicked in, tucking the boy into a shoulder roll that left him with scratches rather than broken bones, his back nearly against the arena wall.

He locked gazes with the Suna jonin whose death had been stolen from him as he gingerly touched his Kevlar chest armor. He winced as liquid fire ignited his nerves and he coughed in pain. Ribs… That last attack had done some serious damage.

He rose to a ready position unsteadily, drawing two kunai – his twin blades having been dropped mid flight. His eyes met the single exposed eye of the Suna jonin, silently weathering the glare the man sent him. Naruto felt nothing but vindication. The man had taken two of his friends from him, and now he had taken one of his.

Eye for an eye, Naruto thought with relish, grinning despite his pain. He couldn't help the swell of satisfaction that rushed through him as his enemy bared his teeth in anger.

He squared his shoulders as the jonin slowly approached him. He searched for any sign of high speed movement about to happen, found none, and burst into a Shunshin of his own. The blond didn't even make it a step before a vice grip on his shoulder halted him in his tracks. He spun his about, immobilized, and his eyes locked with the familiar face of Hatake Kakashi, Sharingan exposed to the world.

"Looks like you're in a bit over your head," the famous man said. His tone was light.

Naruto shrugged as much as the grip on his shoulder would allow and turned to face the Suna-nin, his anxiety shot to hell due to his former sensei's presence. "Eh, maybe a bit," he conceded. Two blunt objects struck him high up on his back, and Naruto reached back to take his twin short blades from Kakashi. "Thanks."

"Maa, don't mention it," the jonin said as Naruto stepped away from him.

"So…you want to tag team this guy?" Naruto asked, just barely keeping the excitement out of his voice. Kakashi had been one of the heroes of his youth, and the idea of fighting alongside him was tantalizing.

"Hmm? No, I don't think so." Naruto did his best to not look deflated as the man stepped around him. I'll probably just get in his way, he realized morosely. He wasn't nearly that good yet. "Your team should rendezvous with you at checkpoint seventy two."

Naruto started in surprise before composing himself, wondering at the man's contacts in the elite organization.

Still, he was a bit miffed that one of his teammates hadn't had the common courtesy to alert him themselves. Assholes could'a helped me out! A quick glance about the arena showed it to be cleared of all ANBU members save himself. The residual fighting was taking place between various standard shinobi from both Konoha and Suna.

"Thanks for the tip," he quipped. He made to leave.

"Naruto," Kakashi's voice halted him. He turned to face the jonin who broke gazes with the Suna shinobi to give him a smile that was only visible through the man's eyes. "You've grown strong."

Naruto didn't quite know how to respond as pride swelled up inside him. A quick smile spread across his lips.

He gave the man a curt nod. "Good luck," he bade farewell.

The man's parting shot reached him as he stepped into Shunshin. "I shouldn't need it."

The smirk threatened to split Naruto's face in two as he reappeared in the spectator's box for a quick pit stop. He bent down briefly, re-strapped his sandals, adjusted his armor, did a full check on his inventory, and unsheathed and re-sheathed his knew curved blades, checking for damage. Satisfied that he was in fit condition to take on any enemies that might confront him for the time being, he rose.

He had taken full stock of his surroundings when he entered the landing, so it came as quite the surprise to find himself facing down the same three genin he had saved earlier. Why the hell didn't they get out of here?

He voiced his thoughts. "Why the hell didn't you three get outta here?"

"Too difficult," the one with a ponytail grunted, sounding utterly bored with his situation. His tone was completely uncaring. Naruto took an instant disliking to the boy; he hated laziness. "There were so many shinobi running around that we would probably have been caught up in some stray jutsu."

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the point. The boy might have seemed lazy, but he at least had his head on straight. A trio of genin probably would've been slaughtered.

"Who's your jonin sensei?" he asked the group.

"Sarutobi Asuma," "Yuhi Kurenai," and "Hatake Kakashi" were the simultaneous answers he got from the blond, the fat kid, and the lazy one respectively. He started a bit at the last one. Kakashi passed a genin team?

"You've all got different senseis?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anything. The trio nodded. "Where the hell did your teams go?"

The group collectively shrugged. "We got separated from them at the beginning of the battle. It was lucky we managed to find each other."

Normally a team leaving behind one of its members was heavily frowned upon in Konoha, especially in genin teams, but he supposed that it could be overlooked given the circumstances. This was the heaviest combat any of these kids had ever seen. Hell, it was the heaviest combat he had ever seen.

He also couldn't fault them for losing their teams in the confusion; he had managed to do the same.

"Well then, you're coming with me. I'm heading to one of the nearby checkpoints, and one of the jonin there should be able to take care of you three. You're exposed up here," he finished.

The three nodded, though the lazy one seemed put out about moving from their hiding spot.

"You guys don't know the Shunshin, do you?" he asked with some apprehension. They shook their heads "no" and he deflated just a bit. That would make things more difficult. "Alright, you'll all just have to stick close and follow my orders. To the letter. Is that clear?"

Three curt nods met his proclamation and the mismatched group made their way out of the spectator's box.

They reached the ground floor without incident, and Naruto led them to the nearest exit to the streets. He held his hand up for them to stop as the sounds of combat reached his ears. He turned to the genin, noticing not for the first time that the difference in their ages couldn't be more than a year.

"Just for sanity's sake, what're your names?" he asked. Giving orders to nameless troops would make it all the more confusing if they encountered trouble.

"Yamanaka Ino," "Nara Shikamaru," and "Akimichi Chouji" were the answers he got. "Uzumaki Naruto," he gave in return. It wasn't standard protocol for ANBU to give out their names, but it was only common courtesy in this case. For all he knew, they would all end up dead before they reached the checkpoint.

He sped through hand seals faster than the genin could make out. A triple layered illusion fell over the group. The first completely obscured them from view, while the second and third offset their position by a few meters each, just in case the first illusion fell. If anyone bothered to cancel the first illusion, the second two would buy them enough time for Naruto to deal with the enemy.

"Alright, I've cloaked us pretty good, but stay sharp. Just because they can't see us doesn't mean they can't hit us. Stray weapons and jutsu'll still hurt just as much, so don't get hit," he cautioned. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio nodded in acceptance.

"Let's move."

Checkpoint seventy two lay half a mile from the Grand Fire Arena, and that half mile would come to be one of the longest of Naruto's young life.

At one point he had to pull all three of his charges to the ground to escape death by fratricide. Their genjutsu was cancelled by the ambient chakra left over from a huge Katon jutsu, and Naruto had to Shunshin the lot of them out of the kill zone before reapplying their cover. Another time had Shikamaru actually tripping over a piece of ninja wire in the street. Naruto was halfway into full blown lecture mode before his reflexes saved the group from what turned out to be an actual trap laid by enemy shinobi. Their cover had been blown for the second time and only Naruto's fancy footwork had allowed for him to outmaneuver the three Sunagakure grunts fast enough to kill them without much incident. The genin had acquitted themselves nicely though, killing a fourth chunin while watching his back.

The worst incident, however, occurred merely a block away from their destination.

The clang of metal on metal reached Naruto's ears as the group turned the second to last corner on their way to the checkpoint, and the motley crew was faced with the harrowing image of a single Konoha jonin fighting off five invaders singlehandedly, her companion, a Hyuuga by the looks of it, dead at her feet.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto had no time to react as Chouji broke cover and sprinted toward the battle, presumably to save his sensei.

"No, don't!" was all he managed to get out before the boy was out of reach and charging toward the fray without thought. He turned to the other two sharply. "Stay here," he commanded.

The blond girl looked for a moment as if she was going to disobey him, obviously unwilling to watch her friend get slaughtered, before the lazy one immobilized her with his shadow. Shikamaru ignored the girl's glare as he gave Naruto a curt nod, looking far more serious than he had the whole trip.

That was all Naruto needed as he stepped into Shunshin and made to intercept Chouji. It wasn't a moment too soon, as one of the ninja attacking his sensei broke off and made to eliminate the minor threat.

Naruto appeared in front of the large boy with an explosion of chakra. A block with his right bracer saved Chouji's head, and a quick thrust kick had the boy out of harm's way for the moment. The blond dodged a punch with a duck and stepped back, blocking a second, knife laden hand with the outside of his wrist. Deft fingers wrapped themselves around the knife wielding hand, and Naruto sent it spinning to the ground an instant before he shattered the man's forearm. The invader had no time to scream, as Naruto broke the man's tibia with a kick a split second later, and followed up with a single kunai slash across the throat that ended the man's suffering.

The sound of blades leaving their sheaths split the air a second later, and Naruto turned his blue eyed gaze toward the plight of the Konoha jonin; she was still struggling with her assailants, barely managing to keep the three men at bay with simple taijutsu. A second glance revealed a broken arm.

Damn…

A soundless, seal-less Kawarimi put Naruto in Yuhi Kurenai's place, and he didn't even bother to duck a slash from a kunai that was meant for the female jonin.

He capitalized on the momentary surprise of the Suna ninja in spectacular fashion. The first quickly found himself on the ground courtesy of Naruto's leg sweep, while a second got a shot across the face from the blunt end of one of Naruto's swords as he drew it from its holster. The man bent over in pain from the unexpected blow, and Naruto put him down with a stab to the back of the neck, severing the cervical vertebrae without a word.

A swift spin had him avoiding a stab to the chest courtesy of the third Suna ninja, and Naruto lightly brushed the man's exposed skin while simultaneously ducking under a slash aimed at his neck by the ninja who he had sent to the ground before. A single back-flip carried him away from the two invaders, and the boy watched in morbid satisfaction as his sensory genjutsu overlaid his image with one of the attacking shinobi. The man who he had brushed ended his partner's life with a knife to the neck before the other man even knew what happened.

Naruto silently tagged the entranced invader in the neck with a shuriken lob that severed the jugular vein. He went down holding his neck and screaming in pain before a second throwing star delivered the coup de grace.

The blond ANBU turned to regard the woman he had likely just saved, only to see her surrounded by the genin trio he had brought to the scene. Red eyes met blue as the two highest ranking ninja in the group silently appraised each other. Naruto took the opportunity to stare a bit. He withheld a grin as he saw the jonin's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly when she noticed.

You're the best looking thing I've seen all day and I just saved your life, he thought Think I'm entitled to a glance or two after that little show.

"Uzumaki Naruto," was all she said to him as she strode over, the genin in tow.

"Yuhi Kurenai," he returned, his blue eyes gleaming.

A grimace nearly crossed the beautiful woman's face before it was concealed. "I suppose I owe you a thank you." She certainly didn't sound too happy about it. She probably thought him some kind of pervert.

He didn't bother to disabuse her of the notion. She was hot after all.

He returned to being the consummate professional a moment later. No sense in letting her get a bad opinion of me. "No thanks necessary, Yuhi-san. Sure you would've done the same."

She nodded. Her expression softened. "Still, I likely owe you my life. My partner and I were ambushed on the way to a nearby checkpoint and there was little I could do."

"How convenient," Naruto nearly drawled. "We were headed to the same place."

Kurenai tilted her head to the side and offered him a small smile at his tone. "Shall we then?"

Naruto nodded blandly. "We shall."

The group, having added a new member, made their way to checkpoint seventy two without further incident. The genin were noticeably calmer as well. Naruto suspected it had to do with having a familiar figure among them.

No sooner had Naruto pushed back the tent flap that revealed the inside of checkpoint seventy two, now serving as a command post it seemed, he was assaulted by what at first glance appeared to be some monster trying to squeeze the life out of him.

At second glance, it was just Hikari.

"I'm ok, Hikari," he managed to grunt out as the young woman squeezed him with arm strength he didn't know the lithe Hyuuga had.

Emotionless eyeholes met his blue orbs as she bent down to his level to inspect him. "You're not too damaged, are you?" she asked, concerned. "We couldn't make contact with you at all. Our radios got shorted out by the Shukaku's chakra."

So that's what it was. It explained why none of his team had tried to contact him by radio when he got left in the arena. He hadn't even noticed.

"I'm fine, just a little bruised." Contrary to assuaging the woman's fussing, it only served to increase it. He never knew that Hikari could be such a mother hen.

He spied Daisuke a little ways off, putting his medical talents to good use. He locked gazes with the unmasked ANBU for a moment, and shared a nod. Taking stock of his teammate's situation, Daisuke had the audacity to chuckle, of all things! What a great teammate, Naruto groused inwardly. He wasn't used to being mothered, and he didn't really like it all that much. He didn't bother to stop Hikari, however, as she was far from finished, and any squirming would doubtlessly just lengthen the ordeal.

The majority of the tent's occupants were pouring over a large tactical map, and Naruto finally broke free of Hikari to move over to the group. Multiple pairs of eyes fell on his unmasked face as he approached, not the least of which belonged to Uchiha Sasuke. The boy was huddled on the outside of the group, seemingly trying to get information that wasn't really his business, and he was giving Naruto the strangest look.

The blond just shrugged it off. He had no time for such things. No sooner than he had thought that, the boy was "escorted" away from the gathered group by an ANBU in full gear. The Uchiha looked none too happy as he joined a small cluster of genin aged ninja off to the side. Naruto recognized the faces of Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji among the group, as well as a bruised looking Sarutobi Konohamaru. The boy looked no happier about his situation than Sasuke.

"Our best bets are either Area Forty Four or the abandoned Uchiha District," a scarred jonin Naruto thought was named Shikaku spoke up. "Herding the majority of the enemy into either area would leave them dangerously exposed to any attacks. The most prudent course of action for them at that point would be surrender."

"Agreed," Sarutobi Asuma said. "The problem then is how exactly do we get some hundreds of shinobi into either area? It's just not plausible."

"Sarutobi is right," Hyuuga Hiashi spoke. "The remaining invaders will be difficult to move in any particular direction of our choosing, even with all of our reserves fully mobilized."

"So we're left fighting running battles in the streets of our own village?" a random shinobi asked incredulously. "The damage done to the village would be nearly irreparable."

"Any property damage can be dealt with after the fact. Our only real hope for this ending this any time soon is a morale break," Shikaku pointed out. "Neither the Suna ninja nor the remnants of the Oto force will be willing to surrender without due cause."

"Last report said Jiraiya-sama is now engaging Orochimaru near the Administrative Building," a nameless ANBU piped form within the group.

"So the Shukaku is dealt with?" someone asked hopefully.

"It would appear that that is the case," the Hyuuga head conceded. "Even so, the Sunagakure ninja have almost no way of knowing that. Jiraiya had moved his battle to far outside the village for safety reasons…"

Naruto turned away from the group and made his way back to Hikari and Daisuke.

"Looks like we're gonna be fighting for most of the day," he said. "The big guys over there don't have too much of a plan."

Daisuke nodded, finishing up with his latest patient. "I'm not surprised," he said. "It's not like Konoha gets invaded all the time."

"It's not like we don't have procedure for that," Hikari quipped. "It's just that the two wave structure of the attack threw everybody off. Everything was going perfectly against Oto before Suna joined the fight. We've got about five hundred Suna ninja running about with the reserves already deployed and tired from earlier."

"Not good, but we outnumber them by a lot at this point. From what little I could pick up, we are winning, just not quickly," Naruto said as he shrugged. "The guys over there are hoping for morale to drop among the enemy so this thing can end fast."

"Orochimaru will have to be killed or flee for that to happen at this point," Hikari commented.

"Jiraiya-sama's fighting him right now, apparently, so there's a good chance of either," Naruto said. He wanted no part of that fight. He would probably be killed just from being in the vicinity.

"You should probably restock," Daisuke spoke. "You're gonna want to be at full capacity if we're going to be fighting for the rest of the day."

Naruto nodded. "Any spare care packages?" he asked the redhead.

The older teen smiled and produced a metal briefcase from nowhere. "I thought you might ask," he commented cheerfully, handing the carbon fiber case to his teammate.

"You're so thoughtful," Naruto drawled. He opened the briefcase with a hiss as the security seals disengaged. All Konoha "care packages" were designed to open on command from any active ANBU. Each ANBU was forced to give a small blood and chakra sample when they became part of the corps to make things easier. The seals on the inside of the case were generalized and fitted to the blood and chakra of each ANBU in the village.

Four scrolls lay inside the briefcase, each one pushed into its own compartment in black foam that lined the inside. One scroll contained a full complement of shuriken. Another had the same for kunai. The third carried senbon needles and other utilities, such as ninja wire and explosive tags. The fourth was the most important to Naruto at the moment, as he unfurled the medical scroll with a flourish and a small application of chakra. He had downed a soldier pill before anyone could so much as blink, the rush of chakra entering his system leaving him exhilarated.

"Ah, that's better." He met the smirking gazes of his teammates and a grin threatened to split his face. "We ready to get back to it?"

"Best believe it," Daisuke boasted. Epsilon Squad, despite the death of its captain not long ago, was energized and spoiling for some action. Idle was not their preferred state of inertia.

"We better get our assignment," Hikari suggested. The two males nodded.

As they made their way over to the ranking members in the command post, a thought occurred to Naruto. "Hey, do either of you have a spare mask or something? I lost mine earlier."

He didn't react in time to stop a black piece of cloth hitting him in the face, courtesy of Daisuke. It was a black half mask, very similar to Hatake Kakashi's.

Naruto shook his head as he pulled the cloth over his head and down his face. "You're funny, asshole."

Daisuke and Hikari just laughed at his expense.

Despite being down one member, Epsilon was still going strong. That was all that mattered.

/~/

"We ready?" Naruto asked his two teammates from his concealed position. He squinted slightly as the light from the sunset created a glare.

"In position," came Hikari's response over the com link.

"Roger," was Daisuke's whispered reply.

"Then let's get wild!"

The wind shifted as Naruto broke cover, shuriken speeding from his hands like bullets toward their targets. His teammates did the same, and the unsuspecting group of invaders was swiftly decimated by the throwing stars.

Naruto Shunshin'd into the fray and bisected two men before they could react. Two more fell to his blades before anyone could react, but by then Hikari and Daisuke had joined the fun.

Three seconds later, the ANBU Squad was standing amongst a pile of corpses in the street.

"Move along?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah."

The group disappeared in Shunshin, leaving nothing but death in their wake as a red sun set over Konoha.

/~/

10. Here and Now

/~/

They said that a red sun only rose when blood had been spilt that night. Blood red had been the color of the sunrise for the past week. He couldn't help but sigh at his own part in the process. While he wouldn't normally concern himself with such things, they were far too depressing to harp on about, he found himself with too much time. Far too much time.

Being in a hospital did that to you.

Chakra laced his fingertips as his arm meandered toward an empty glass by his bedside with all the grace of a trained shinobi. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be channeling the life essence, but he just didn't care at this point. The staff was fully prepared to release him later today anyway, so he didn't see what the big deal was.

His fingers moved in a circular pattern above the cup, creating a mini whirlwind of chakra. A small flex was heralded by a slight tensing of the arm, before water poured from his fingertips into the waiting glass below. A smile flitted across his face as the glass frosted over a tad. Perfect temperature, he thought with pride. The smile widened as he took his first sip, savoring the purity of flavor that only came from water born of air. Perfectly distilled; perfectly chilled.

He had all but ruined his taste for other water – more natural water. He maintained that it was quite possibly the most useful non-combat oriented manipulation of chakra anyone had ever discovered.

That was his ego talking.

His ego had been taking a back seat for the last few days, however, as he had been debriefed no less than six times concerning his part in the invasion. Proper protocol dictated that he needed to analyze and report things objectively, and he always would do his best to do so. Breaking protocol was not a habit of his.

Boring as hell though, he mused as he popped his neck. Debriefings were never fun, but these bordered on outright monotonous. Every little scrap of detail needed to be recorded for an accurate assessment of the damages, enemy casualties, and friendly casualties. No information could be missed, and the Hokage's finest would be damned if any was.

The boredom wasn't helped by the fact that none of his friends could see him. Both Hikari and Daisuke were bogged down with providing security for the village. Every non injured ANBU was on full duty during this crucial time when Konoha's defenses were suspect. It didn't make anything easier knowing that he was cooped up while his friends were actually doing something useful.

Mai hadn't been able to visit either, much to his chagrin – though he wasn't sure she would have had she been able. His hopes of receiving a visit from the pretty librarian had been dashed. ANBU members held classified information, and, as such, were kept in a special wing of the hospital guarded twenty four seven by some of the Hokage's most trusted troops. Each room had a single guard stationed outside it, and no one was let in or out without proper clearance.

A glance outside the window beheld the rebuilding effort in full swing, with all active duty genin, more than a few chunin, and capable civilians running about as they worked on their separate projects. From what little he had heard, the majority of the damaged infrastructure would be fully repaired within two months, mostly due to aid from the capital.

It was nice to know that the Fire Lord actually had some interest in Konoha. The majority of the time, the man was entirely wrapped up in his court, preferring, not illogically, to leave Konoha to its own devices. The Hokage was more than capable of running the village without help.

A sigh slipped through his lips as he finished the last of his water. He was content with the knowledge that his little Suiton manipulation had caused him no pain. It hadn't been the case when he had first been admitted. Guess minor chakra poisoning does that to a guy, Naruto lamented. Not for the first time in his stay did he curse his relatively low stamina. If not for that, he wouldn't have been forced to take no fewer than five soldier pills during the invasion.

Five!

The doctors were surprised that his minor poisoning hadn't been so much worse, what with the foreign chakra so readily flowing through him for nearly an entire day. "It's a wonder you're even conscious," they had said when he had stumbled in supported by the rest of Epsilon Squad.

They had called him a statistical anomaly. Naruto just shook his head and went along with it. Statistical anomaly was a phrase people used when they wanted to sound smarter than you were, but Naruto didn't much care. He simply chalked up his being an "anomaly" to the tried and true, patented Uzumaki resiliency. From what little had been able to find on the now extinct clan, it had once been quite the stuff of legends.

"Thanks mom," he murmured. He wondered, and not for the first time, whether Uzumaki Kushina would be proud of him. There was no telling.

Naruto's mind was far from his own good fortune, however. Being cooped up in a hospital gave him time to unwind and use the mental conditioning techniques gifted to him by Root to properly deal with the battle's aftermath.

The therapist who had been seeing him every other day had helped. The man hadn't been afraid to hit on the most sensitive of issues, and had made Naruto come to terms with them through sheer bullheadedness. The blond would be happy to never see the man again.

He was forced to open himself up to the grief of the battle's aftermath, but he knew the techniques were designed to help high strung operatives relieve the stress of their battles.

His emotions had flowed like water from a broken dam the first day he had reflected on the battle. Everything from anger, resentment, sadness, and crushing grief had poured from him as he lay in his hospital bed. Memories had flashed to Housei's demise at the hand of the Oto commander more than once in the past week, and none more so than on the first day. His only saving grace had been that he had been prepared.

Root training taught him to properly sort and ignore his emotions in the middle of a fight, but he couldn't keep it up forever. He would end up as one of the many shinobi nutcases who had kept so many things bottled up inside that they were fit to explode.

He had no desire to end up like that, so he opened himself up to his grief. He had cried more times this past week than he had in his entire pre-shinobi life, wave upon wave of grief at the many deaths of his comrades he had witnessed, but the therapist had been sympathetic, and no one else had said anything. He was rather sure that his door guard, a rather shapely chunin with dark hair, had thought he was having a mental breakdown at various times, as he would shift from tears to cheerful in moments, but the woman had offered no judgment. Naruto guessed that seeing a thirteen year old ANBU breaking down wouldn't come as much of a surprise to her. The ANBU life was stressful, and in her eyes he was just a kid.

The blond boy contented himself with the knowledge that he wasn't, in fact, crazy – not much anyway, he thought – and that his near bipolarity was a result of a release of all the pent up emotions from nearly eighteen hours of straight combat.

That was all over with now, for the most part. He had been back to his mellow self for the past day, and he was more than happy for it.

He'd be even happier when he could get out of this torture establishment that masqueraded as a hospital. The food's disgusting, the nurses are total bitches, and the doctors don't even listen to what I have to say, he silently bemoaned his situation.

"Seriously, though," he grumbled to himself. "You'd think they'd teach the nurses to have a bit more compassion for wounded soldiers," he waxed dramatically. He had become his own best companion this past week, and had gotten into the habit of talking to himself. His attempts to draw his door guard into conversation had all fallen flat. Sometimes consummate professionals were downright annoying.

The irony of that wasn't lost on him, as he started cracking up at his own private joke. I'm such a hypocrite sometimes, he told himself with amusement. He had been described as such a professional by many people more times than he bothered to count. He took quite a bit of pride in it.

The clearing of a throat nearby snapped Naruto from his thoughts, and electric blue eyes regarded the seated and smiling form of the Sandaime Hokage, though the man's brown eyes betrayed his weariness. When did he get here? Naruto thought with wonder and no small amount of embarrassment. He hadn't even sensed the man.

"Hokage-sama," he managed as he attempted to get into a properly straight position. He was mortified that the man had seen him acting more than a little bit crazy.

"At ease, Naruto-kun," the Hokage said with an audible laugh – Naruto had no way of knowing it had been the first in days. The blond stopped his struggle with the bed sheets instantly, a sheepish grin on his face.

"I am sorry that out most frequent meetings happen in hospital rooms, Naruto-kun, but such is the reality of our lives," the living legend began, somewhat somberly. Naruto nodded along with him. He had been to the hospital more times than he would have liked in his relatively short career.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Naruto agreed.

"Please, there is no need to be so formal, Naruto. Sarutobi will do for now," the Hokage said with a slight smile.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Naruto returned with a smirk that showed his comfort in the situation. The old man snickered at his cheek. Few of his shinobi were so open in his presence; it provided a nice change from the normally stilted conversation he had with the majority of his troops.

"Indeed, you shall have no reason to refer to me as such for much longer, I hope." Naruto snapped to attention at that statement.

Is he serious?

A chuckle greeted his surprise. "Don't look so shocked, Naruto-kun. It has been a long time coming, and I've been meaning to step down for some time now. This last battle with my former student has shown me the limits of my abilities are even worse than I'd initially feared," the man stated calmly, seeming for all the world to be perfectly happy with the situation. "It is time for a new Hokage to be selected."

Naruto leaned back into his bed, stunned but not entirely surprised, though he could hardly wrap his mind around the idea of serving someone other than the Third. He had heard about the Hokage's battle with Orochimaru from the various operatives who had debriefed him, but not much. The Snake Sannin, true to form, had had the aged Hokage on the ropes with some hitherto unheard of jutsu. Of course, that was only until Jiraiya had shown up and smacked his former teammate around in what had proved to be the most epic battle of what was now being called The Battle of the Chunin Exam.

The blond suspected there was much more to it than Jiraiya simply pounding Orochimaru into the ground in a poetic reversal of their old fights, but he didn't much care. The Snake had fled, in the end, and that was all that Naruto truly cared about. He certainly would have been happier if the man who was behind the death of all his friends and comrades was dead, but he was perfectly content with the result for the moment.

"I take it you have someone in mind," Naruto quipped. Of course the Sandaime had someone picked out already. My money's on Jiraiya.

The old man nodded. "There was some debate over who would be the most qualified, but my advisors and I settled on my old student Tsunade. Jiraiya's on his way to retrieve her now."

Naruto had stopped paying attention to what the Sandaime was saying after the name Tsunade entered the conversation. "Tsunade?" he asked incredulously, uncaring of his disrespectful tone in his shock.

A raised eyebrow greeted him, before being replaced with a look of comprehension. "Ah…I thought you might have that reaction." He nodded in understanding. "I must say that I'm a little surprised at the level of loyalty that many of my ANBU are showing, but it is unnecessary at this point. Both my mind and my advisors' minds are made up."

Naruto schooled his expression into neutrality as he processed the information. He knew full well that other ANBU would share his ill will toward the legendary medic. ANBU, whether intentionally or not, were a group of the most loyal shinobi in the village. Their mission was the protection of the Hokage and the village above all else and all others. Disloyalty was not tolerated; traitors were not tolerated.

Tsunade went directly against everything that an ANBU stood for. She had left the village in the gap between the Second and Third Secret Shinobi Wars, citing personal reasons. It was well circulated knowledge that the Sannin had lost both her lover and her brother in a short amount of time, and it created sympathy among many for many years. It was, however, no more than any other person in a ninja village went through if they lived long enough. Losing loved ones came with the territory; especially if those loved ones happened to be shinobi.

Compared to Uchiha Sasuke, who, despite Naruto's fairly low opinion of the boy, had suffered true tragedy, Senju Tsunade was simply a weak and childish woman who had abandoned her village because she couldn't handle the realities of shinobi life. She was little better than a missing-nin in Naruto's mind, and apparently his colleagues agreed.

"…she is the best choice," Sarutobi continued unbidden, obviously not affected by Naruto's thoughts. "Aside from Orochimaru, she was the most organized of the Sannin, and her experience in the Shinobi Wars will prove to be invaluable."

"You think she'll accept?" Naruto asked, breaking the Third's rambling. The boy had a hard time imagining that the woman who had so readily abandoned her village would so easily take up the Kage position.

A smile split the Sandaime's face as he leaned back into a relaxed position. "Not immediately, but that's why I sent Jiraiya after her. Not only is he the most qualified to track her down, but he was the most stubborn of my old team by far. He will bring her back, of that I have no doubt."

Naruto nodded a bit hesitantly; he was displeased, but knew it wasn't his place to question the decision despite the conversation's informality. "Why not Jiraiya?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean, why not ask Jiraiya to take the post?" Naruto tilted his head in thought. "Surely he's qualified."

The Sandaime stepped his hands in front of his face. "It was considered, but Jiraiya has other duties to attend to. Being Hokage would interfere with them directly, to the detriment of the village."

Naruto recognized an intentionally vague answer when he heard one. Whatever Jiraiya's duties were, they were a few cuts above his pay grade. "Ah," was all he said.

The room descended into a fairly comfortable silence, each occupant engrossed with their own thoughts. The Sandaime was contemplating his retirement from office while Naruto thought about his shinobi life under a new Hokage.

"In any event, I didn't simply drop by to have a conversation, pleasant though it was." The Sandaime focused on Naruto once more. "Among the many casualties we suffered in the battle is my old ANBU commander."

Naruto's eyes widened. He had never actually met the illustrious and mysterious man who had acted as the Hokage's Head ANBU, but the man's reputation had preceded him. He was one of Konoha's nine Elite Jonin, and reputedly the third strongest ninja in Konoha behind Jiraiya and the Hokage. For him to have been killed…

"How?"

A grim look passed over Sarutobi's face. "Orochimaru," was all that he said. It was all that needed to be said.

Naruto sighed, shaking his head in wonder. "Just how strong is he?" he whispered. The ANBU Commander had been an elite A-ranked shinobi at the very least, and very possibly borderline S-rank – Naruto knew that much from confirmed hearsay among the ANBU Operators – whose identity was known by only the Hokage, his advisors, and the Platoon Captains. Orochimaru had to have been impossibly strong to kill him with the ease that the Sandaime unconsciously suggested. It was a level of power that Naruto couldn't even begin to comprehend.

All thoughts of well deserved revenge fled Naruto's mind faster than the Fourth Hokage's famed ninjutsu.

"Stronger than you can imagine, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime cautioned gently. "In many ways, I'm exceedingly proud of how strong my students turned out to be, while at the same time I wish they were all still genin again."

Sarutobi's eyes had gained a faraway look to them as he turned his gaze to the window. "Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were three talents that come around once in a lifetime. All of them were exceedingly adept at their areas of expertise, and Orochimaru was a genius even among them. Gifted at all aspects of the shinobi lifestyle, intellectually brilliant, driven…Never was there a more tenacious and amazing combination. I thought Orochimaru would be the perfect successor." The Professor shook his head ruefully. "I was wrong."

Naruto was silent as he contemplated the insane level of power that the man possessed. "It gives perspective, y'know," he said as he turned his own gaze to the window that overlooked the western edge of Konoha – he had enjoyed many a sunset in his week. "No matter how much you train, no matter how hard you work, there's always someone stronger." There's always a bigger fish…

The Sandaime nodded. "A cynical view to be sure, but one that may serve to keep you sharp and alert down the road." A sigh escaped the man's lips even while he hid a smile from the young shinobi in front of him.

The boy had no idea how talented he was. Sarutobi had been careful to learn from the mistakes of the past, and, as a result, made sure that Naruto wasn't subjected to the insane amount of praise that almost always greeted children of his level of talent and ability through a carefully maintained secrecy of the boy's abilities – he silently bemoaned his mistake with Uchiha Sasuke. It was just Sarutobi's luck that humility had been beaten into him by Kakashi before he had the boy enter the ANBU – an organization not known for its overt praise of its members. The elite shinobi unit likely would have torn apart a similarly talented, though more cocky ninja had he been around Naruto's age. The geniuses that succeeded in ANBU were the ones who both looked to improve their skills and showed definite respect for their superiors. Sarutobi had seen many a talented ninja get shredded by the ANBU, his own son, Asuma, included.

"We have gotten far off topic, haven't we?" Naruto laughed lightly at the rhetorical question. "In any event, Naruto-kun, you needn't worry about a real change in who you report to, as I am preparing to take the reins of the ANBU corps myself."

Naruto's eyebrows shot to his hairline. So much for retiring, he thought. "Well…that's good to hear, Sarutobi-sama." He couldn't keep the pleased note out of his voice. It was nice to know that despite having a new Hokage, he would still be serving the Sandaime. He had faith that the village wouldn't fall to pieces under Tsunade's rule with Sarutobi still in a high position.

"Indeed, though I fear I have strayed into a position with even more paperwork than the Hokage, as impossible as it would seem," Sarutobi lamented with some amusement. "I was fully prepared to begin enjoying my retirement when a mutual friend of ours informed me, in no uncertain terms, that I was not to leave the ANBU out to dry in such a crucial moment."

There was little outward change in Naruto's expression, but, inside, the hidden message had struck home. Danzo had no desire to be the sole head of an organization fighting a covert war that the new Hokage would need to be briefed on. Having Sarutobi on hand would help maintain much needed stability, though Naruto doubted that Danzo couldn't handle it on his own. So he's going to have a stake in Root as well…that's interesting.

It was also comforting. Naruto just felt more comfortable serving Sarutobi as well as Danzo. The former Hokage was more approachable by far.

"Is that all he said?" Naruto asked sarcastically as a small smile blossomed on his face in a trained maneuver. He was far more used to covert messages being passed in inane conversation now than when he first entered ANBU and Root. "He's usually far more subtle."

"He is isn't he?" Sarutobi nodded. "Apparently he felt strongly about my taking the position, and I have to agree with many of his points. He'd like to see you, by the way," the now former Hokage added almost as an afterthought.

"I'll drop by. It's been a while hasn't it?" Naruto looked around in thought. "I'll be sure to check in with him after the funeral." he said.

Sarutobi smiled warmly at him. "Of course, Naruto-kun." The old man rose with grace that belied his age, and made his way to the door. "I'm afraid I must cut our meeting short, but I've business to attend to until my former student consents to relieve me of my burden. I wish you a speedy recovery."

Naruto gave a low nod in acknowledgement, for it was the closest he could come to a full bow while seated in his bed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." The old man left as silently as he had entered, his decades of experience demanding nothing less from the aged legend, even subconsciously.

The door shut with a nearly silent click, and Naruto turned his electric blue gaze to his view of western Konoha. The sun peeked through the gathering clouds desperately, though it fought a losing battle.

A storm was gathering above Konoha, and Naruto knew not what part he would have to play in it.

/~/

"You could make a bit more of an effort, you know."

"I'm nearly crippled, what do you want me to say?"

"Oh, so now you're crippled. You were just fine when you were in the hospital." A well manicured eyebrow rose.

"I haven't walked anywhere in a week, give it some damn time!"

"We are giving it time, too much time. Any more time given and we'll miss the funeral. Do you want that?"

"Nothing's stopping you guys from going on ahead, you know."

A snort. "You are, actually. What kind of teammates would we be if we let a cripple walk to a funeral on his own?"

The rustling of hair accompanied a head shake. "Ah, but you can't have it both ways. Me being a cripple works just fine when you want to annoy the ever loving shit out of me, but you can't complain about helping me at the same time."

There was silence. "Hn," was all that was offered in the face of the logic.

Naruto allowed himself a self satisfied smirk at his silent teammates. He so loved outsmarting them from time to time, Daisuke especially. Hikari was often too stoic to tease.

"Fuck you, Naruto," the aforementioned redhead offered. He winced a moment later as Hikari struck the back of his head.

"Language, Daisuke," the Hyuuga admonished. The older teen stuck his tongue out at her as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, Daisuke, watch your fucking mouth," Naruto said. He just barely ducked Hikari's slap. "Hey! You can't hit a cripple!"

"Now who's having it both ways?" the older Hyuuga asked innocently. The woman's lips twitched slightly at the pout that overtook Naruto's face at having tripped over his own smooth logic. The boy discreetly flipped Daisuke off when the teen guffawed.

"Hn," was all the blond said in response, sending Hikari into a fit of giggles at the familiar byplay.

"Still," the boy continued, "You guys are taking advantage of a teammate in ways that are very unbefitting of ANBU of our stature-" He was cut off as Daisuke thwacked the back of his head.

"Just shut up, Naruto."

"Screw you, ginger."

"I'm not a ginger!" Daisuke nearly yelled. It was one of the few things the medic actually took offense at. He had red hair, thank you very much. He most certainly was not a ginger.

Hikari let off a small burst of killing intent that got the two boys' attention. Boys will be boys, she thought with a strange mix of fondness and exasperation. "Will you two quit it? We're going to a funeral, you should show some respect."

It was said more for the benefit of those who would be around them than the team itself. The Hyuuga knew well enough that this was the way that Daisuke coped with the loss of anyone – she had been his teammate for quite a while – and Naruto was just playing along, both for Daisuke's and his own benefit. The week between the invasion and the funeral for those who had fallen had been filled with work for the two uninjured ANBU, and the loss of their captain had been shunted to the side in the face of work that needed to be done for Konoha's continued survival.

Now though, there was no such distraction. The wound was still fresh for all three of them, and they all had their own ways of coping. Daisuke's just happened to be the most immature of them all.

Cream colored eyes shifted to the form of her youngest teammate in contemplation. The blond was handling everything quite well, all things considered, as the Hyuuga knew as well as anyone that the boy had lost friends outside of ANBU as well as Housei. Naruto had always had emotional control beyond the norm, even for ANBU, but he was coping far better than the woman would have expected.

It's almost as if he's come to terms with the whole thing already, Hikari wondered, almost askance.

Naruto had always been a bit of an enigma among Epsilon Squad, and even Beta Platoon, and this only added to the boy's mystery. Hikari had been hard pressed not to notice how the boy operated. He was a cold hearted killer one moment – a very good one at that – and a joking thirteen year old boy the next. It was downright disturbing to see in someone so young.

The Hyuuga also hadn't missed the boy's maturation even in the relatively short amount of time he had been in ANBU. The young teen had certainly been competent when he had entered the corps, as qualified as any chunin could be, really, but he had grown at an almost alarming rate since. In seven months, Naruto had gone from a genjutsu and support member, sowing chaos in battle from afar, to an Operator that could bob and weave through heavy ninjutsu and taijutsu combat with the very best of them.

It spoke of training far more intense than other ANBU members went through upon their entrance to the corps, and Hikari wasn't sure where the boy was getting it from.

That mystery didn't even take into account where the blond boy disappeared to in between missions sometimes – she sometimes couldn't find him anywhere – or even the rapport Naruto seemed to have with Beta Platoon's Buntaicho, Fuu. It wasn't overt, but Hikari was a Hyuuga; she was trained to pick up on subtleties that others missed. The Buntaicho and Naruto had better rapport than many other, more senior Beta Platoon members had.

No, there was no denying how enigmatic Uzumaki Naruto was, especially that at his age he should only be a freshly minted genin, rather than an experienced ANBU Operator.

He probably would have been in this past exam. Not for the first time since learning of Naruto's history did she question just what Hatake Kakashi was thinking when he failed the blond. Had anyone bothered to pay attention to just exactly how good Naruto had been when he had been in the Academy, Hikari had little doubt that they would have found him to be a prodigy. A genius in his own right.

Her thoughts on her mysterious young teammate were smothered as the trio broke in upon the funeral procession, a parade of midnight black clad figures making the slow march toward the base of the Hokage monument, where those who had fallen in the invasion would be honored one final time.

/~/

A slow rain began to beat down on the heads of the procession, drawing more than a few tears from those mourning at the nearly symbolic weather. Naruto, however, smiled a soft smile.

Even the heavens weep, he thought poetically, fond memories of Housei, Genma, and Hayate, all of whom would be mourned this day, passing through his mind.

From Hayate's unendingly pleasant nature, to Genma's laid back attitude and nostalgia about his younger days, to Housei's nigh endless lectures about how Naruto could improve himself, each and every moment played out before the boy's eyes even as the Sandaime's voice washed over the crowd as the funeral began.

"We gather here this day, not simply to grieve for the passing of our friends, comrades, and loved ones, but to honor their sacrifice…"

Yuugao's voice was muffled slightly due to her head's position on Hayate's shoulder. It had fallen there during the conversation, and neither party seemed to object. Hayate had even started idly playing with Yuugao's violet hair.

"Yep, that's the idea. That's all I've really been doing these past few months, along with trying to build up my reserves and guard duty." Naruto shuddered as he remembered the long hours spent atop the great wall, doing nothing but pacing back and forth while keeping a lookout for approaching threats that were nonexistent.

Naruto noticed, with some small consternation and a little bit of envy, that Hayate and Yuugao were barely paying him any mind now, being lost in their own little world. He held in a disgusted grimace as Hayate began planting light kisses on the top of Yuugao's head.

"…it is our duty to remember that those who feel one week ago did so, so that we may carry on. Those who fought and died for this great village did so with the indomitable Will of Fire, and it is our place to follow in their footsteps…"

"Heavens above, this shit is so boring," the senbon chewing Tokubetsu Jonin whined. It was pathetic in Naruto's opinion.

"It's still not as bad as guard duty, you've got no reason to complain," Naruto retorted irritably. Genma had done nothing but gripe the whole time the two had been on border patrol, and Naruto was sick of the nonstop whining. "At least here the scenery changes a little bit."

The older man gave a noncommittal grunt, before smirking at Naruto. "That's right, you're still a chunin," the lazy man laughed. "Oh I remember Wall Duty. Man, the shit that happened up there. Did I ever tell ya about the time me and Izumo got into it? Well you see, this was a while back and both of us were trying to get with Kurenai, babe that she is…"

The youngest members of Epsilon Squad joined their teammates on top of a nearby grocery store.

"Nice shots," Daisuke commented, though with no real amusement. Now was certainly not the time.

"If you two are done dicking around, we have serious work to do and little time to get it done. I'd rather not have Konoha burn today because two of my ANBU decided to play with their enemies rather than kill them outright," Housei reprimanded.

The nostalgic smile remained as Naruto made his way to the opened caskets of Housei, Hayate, and Genma respectively, stopping off at various intervals to pay his last respects to fallen comrades he knew in passing. I'm gonna miss you guys, he thought sadly. The enormity of losing so many friends on one day had sunk in.

He had come to terms with the death of his friends in the past days, Hayate's death even before that, but he would certainly miss their company.

Hayate's personal effects had gone to Yuugao shortly after his passing, and Naruto had seen little of the woman since. He knew, however, that she would take care of what little the Tokubetsu jonin had kept to himself.

Naruto stopped off in front of Housei's casket, laying a white flowed on the growing pile as he did his best to ignore a sobbing woman standing next to him. She bore a striking resemblance to his fallen captain, and Naruto vaguely recognized the form of the dead man's sister he had seen glimpses of in his captain's few photos.

"He was a good man, and a good captain," was all he could offer the grieving woman as he passed her by. A sob escaped the woman's lips as Naruto moved down the line, the boy's words of comfort doing little to assuage her grief.

Genma's casket was the final one he passed, and he laid a single flower on the pile. The back of his eyes prickled, not for the first time, but mostly because he hadn't been able to avenge his friend. He had fought the man who killed Genma, but had failed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten there sooner," Naruto murmured, lingering. "I did what I could to avenge you, you know, but Kakashi probably finished the job."

If there had been one thing weighing on Naruto's mind for the past week, it had been that one failure of his. In some ways, he hoped that the jonin had survived, mostly so that Naruto could extract his revenge, both for Genma and Hayate, later. In others, he was relieved that the burden had been relieved from him by Kakashi.

"But you probably wouldn't care either way, would you, you lazy bastard?"

The thought brought a smile to his face once more, as he reached into a pocket in his black pants and retrieved a fukimi-bari.

"To think, I always thought you chewed on senbon," he offered to the dead man. He laid the mouth dart on the Special jonin's chest, idly wondering why no one had thought to do the same before him. Genma wasn't Genma without one.

His hand grasped a second dart from his pocket, and Naruto slipped the fukimi-bari into his mouth, letting it rest on the right side like he had seen Genma do countless times. It was his sole tribute to his fallen friend.

The cold metal served to wake him up a touch, and Naruto stepped away from the final casket before he started holding people up.

Three strides carried him to where Hikari and Daisuke were standing, waiting for him. Both looked sufficiently somber, but Naruto offered them a smile. Small grins broke out on each face as the blond approached, each one glad to see that Naruto was handling his first shinobi funeral well.

"You guys ready?"

"Of course, rookie."

For once, Naruto let the comment slide, simply content to stay silent.

The trio walked off in the rain, each wrapped in their own memories, but all of one state of mind.

There's work to do.

/~/

Darkness, nearly total, greeted him as he stepped into the main body of the prison. Though he was more than familiar with it by now, the sudden near blackness that took hold before his eyes could adjust unsettled Naruto more than he would like to admit. There was little he could do about it, however.

Human's naturally feared the dark.

The boy wondered if that was why this particular place had been chosen to act as the most secure prison in Konoha. The almost never ending shadows couldn't have had a good effect on the psyche's of any of those unfortunate to be locked up here.

Lodged deep within the Hokage Monument sat Konoha's maximum security prison. It had been built at the height of the Second Secret Shinobi War, as the village had need for a place to store its prisoners that had the ability to escape other, less equipped facilities. In peace times, the prison served to hold only the greatest of security threats before they were executed covertly. The whole facility was overseen by Root, whose headquarters were directly adjacent to the massive prison.

Naruto thought it symbolic that Konoha's greatest enemies were metaphorically watched over by its greatest heroes.

Electric blue eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of light in what was, essentially, a very large cave. Sharp sight beheld the central column of the prison, a hollowed out pillar of stone that ran from the highest point in the Monument to the ground. No light came from inside, the only light source currently being the torch lit hallway Naruto had just exited, but the blond knew perfectly well that the inside was well lit and furnished.

No light came from any of the other hallways, all of which led to the prison bays, seals inscribed in the walls only providing light when chakra signatures activated them passively.

The creepiness was not lost on Naruto, as he stood in an almost totally dark cavern that extended two hundred meters both up and down from where he stood in the center. A slight draft ruffled his hair as he glanced down into the abyss, knowing that the drop would kill him were he to take one more step.

His body likely wouldn't be found for weeks.

Steel girders were the only source of decoration in the massive cavern, each one perfectly placed and enhanced with fuuinjutsu so as to hold the inside of the mountain together in the event that it was directly targeted.

Naruto's palm pressed into rock directly to his right, and the grinding of stone sounded and echoed throughout the empty space as five slabs of slate flew up to form a walkway toward the center column. Naruto was unperturbed at the fact that the five slabs didn't even come close to the center column, being short about one hundred yards, as he stepped out.

The blonde's thoughts laid elsewhere as each piece of slate circled to the front of the short pathway the second Naruto's weight left it. The boy had no idea in hell how the designers of the prison had managed the effect, but he suspected it was some obscure combination of fuuinjutsu. Pretty much the shinobi way of saying "Fuck you" at physics, he mused.

The possibilities of fuuinjutsu, as Naruto knew quite well, were nigh limitless. He had been making some small strides in learning what he could about the obscure ninja art, but the going was slow. He had elected to learn what he could the hard way, by reading impossibly long tomes about the basics of the art, rather than simply learning many of the basic seals more commonly used and trying to improvise on them.

A passing wave was all he spared the bored looking Root Operators who were pulling guard duty. He recognized one of the three by face, but not the others – masks weren't worn inside Headquarters. His ID had been thoroughly vetted upon entrance to the prison, and seals on the threshold to the guard's quarters would have dispelled any techniques at work to mask his true appearance.

Danzo was a paranoid bastard, but his precautions were necessary.

Speaking of which…

"An interesting spot for a meeting, wouldn't you say?"

The old man said nothing, opting instead to keep his gaze firmly locked on the darkness of the cavernous prison.

Naruto simply waited. He knew enough about Danzo to know that he didn't particularly wish to be interrupted when in thought. The ANBU had a fairly good idea of what had captured his superior's attention, and he had no wish to broach the subject, despite the fact that it was what he was here for.

"There have been more interesting," was the delayed reply. Naruto was surprised the man had bothered to reply to the quip at all. The bandaged veteran was usually all business.

Even so, Naruto had no doubt that Danzo had held meetings in far more interesting places than a prison. He had tried to do some research on the man – it was always good to have an idea of who you worked for – but had come up with nothing but the fact that he was an advisor to the Sandaime. Even that had only been found thanks to Naruto's ANBU Clearance for everything up to and including A-ranked classified information.

Some might have been frustrated, but Naruto had learned a surprising amount from the absence of available information. Being a relative unknown in terms of readily available information spoke of an entire career in the Black Ops for Danzo, and a distinguished one at that; success was necessary to have your entire identity classified beyond Top Secret. While many shinobi, himself included at times, sought wide recognition and fame, Danzo was one of the few who truly remained anonymous to anyone outside of Konoha's jonin population.

Admirable.

Finally, the silence became unbearably for even Naruto. "You wanted to see me, Danzo-sama?" he asked, struggling to keep the impatience out of his tone. He had been called here; being ignored for the most part was downright rude.

The veteran snorted. "The value of patience is lost on you, it seems." Naruto contained his grimace, but just barely. I just got outta the hospital, old man. Indulge me. "In any event," the man continued, unperturbed by Naruto's mood. "This is to be your last briefing."

Naruto only managed to contain his surprise because he was, to a certain extent, expecting it. "So soon?"

Danzo nodded. "Aye, boy. War waits for no one. You'd do well to remember that, too."

Now it was Naruto staring into the expanse of darkness. Questions sped through his mind almost too quickly to process. He had known that the situation in Kusagakure had been heating up, but he hadn't expected for Danzo's Root Operators to be shipped out so soon. With the invasion from Suna and Oto, Naruto had thought that more shinobi were needed around Konoha itself, rather than away from the village.

He asked as much of his superior.

"Otogakure is a non issue at present," Danzo explained. "Whatever skirmishes there will be can and will be handled by the standard shinobi and Hiruzen's men." Naruto took a moment to process that he was speaking of the Hokage. "Suna, however…" here Danzo's face took on a disgusted sneer. "…is in the process of lobbying for peace." The last word was spit as if a curse.

Naruto turned suddenly sharp eyes to the Root Commander. "And we're accepting?" he asked incredulously. Danzo's attitude could only have indicated as such.

"Indeed, Uzumaki. Sunagakure claims to have been duped by Orochimaru, and their Kazekage killed and replaced."The audible sneer in Danzo's voice remained, and Naruto couldn't blame him. Suna had willingly attacked Konoha, regardless of why. Even if their Kazekage had been killed, the village had still knowingly attacked an ally, and Orochimaru couldn't have gotten so close to the Kazekage in the first place if the man hadn't been interested in what the Snake Sannin had to say.

Even without the compelling arguments against Suna's proposed "innocence", they were weak at present, having lost many quality shinobi in the invasion, and it presented a golden opportunity for Konoha to sweep in and firmly take control of what was, by all rights, a hostile village. Even if the higher ups decided against razing Sunagakure to the ground, concessions, and big ones, could be forced with much to gain for Konoha and the Land of Fire.

To see such a village begging, for that was what they had to have been doing, for a peace agreement, one that Naruto knew Konoha would likely accept, left the taste of ashes in his mouth. What had his friends and comrades died for if the village that they had died fighting lived to fight another day? And without Konoha taking concessions, as was clearly suggested by Danzo's tone?

It was infuriating.

Danzo took a moment to observe the young ANBU, inwardly pleased with the reaction. It was refreshing to see someone in the newest generation share his feelings of patriotism for Konoha. Regardless of how he would work with Sarutobi in order to preserve Konoha's future, the man made decisions that had Danzo wanting to plant a kunai in his brain. Sure, Hiruzen had made good points about a long term ally that could be had in Suna if Konoha helped the humiliated village, but Konoha needed concessions and resources now.

The village had been damaged heavily in the invasion, and had lost many of its shinobi. With a covert war ready to be set in motion, the village needed any and all shinobi and resources available to it in order to maintain its place as the strongest of the Great Five.

Danzo had no illusions about Konoha's perilous position as the top dog in the shinobi world. It was a place that had been contested in all three Shinobi Wars, and the old war hawk knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that another village would quickly usurp the position given the opportunity. He was, of course, worried about Kumogakure and its rapid militarization – information, ironically, brought to his attention by the boy standing next to him.

The strength of a Hidden Village was determined almost entirely by the amount of missions it took, and that was influenced by a number of things, not the least of which was reputation among the vultures of the world who paid for high level missions. The appearance of strength to those who paid for such high level missions was almost as important as actually having the strength to back it up. Weakness, even if only perceived, translated into fewer missions and less revenue for the village as a whole, and there was no doubt that this latest development had Konoha looking weak.

Where a swift retaliation against both Suna and Oto would have firmly established Konoha's dominance in the shinobi world, even in its weakened state, a fairly negotiated and even peace treaty accomplished exactly the opposite. It made it look like Konoha was hurting from the two pronged invasion, and was desperate for allies, even a weakened one like Suna.

Danzo had no doubt that Kumo would capitalize on that fact, quickly asserting itself as top dog. That was not something Danzo wanted to be a part of.

And it appeared that his subordinate agreed, even if not for the exact same reasons.

"Calm yourself, Uzumaki, our…situation… with Sunagakure is not your concern at present," was all the advisor offered.

Naruto visibly calmed himself, taking a single breath that left him as impassive as stone. Danzo hid a smirk, the boy had been trained well.

"When do I ship out?"

"Two days from now," Danzo replied. "You will be assigned to a bodyguard mission for a single client travelling to Waterfall Country. Obviously, that will not be the objective. You will rendezvous with the assigned division of two hundred Operators and proceed into Kusa no Kuni when the Division is fully assembled in two week's time."

Naruto nodded, the protocol for his entrance into Kusa long since memorized. "Further rendezvous at strategic outposts along the Hi and Kusa border with the established resistance. Primary mission is the return of Kusagakure to the influence of Konohagakure no Sato. All actions deemed necessary are to be taken in achieving the primary mission, and full discretion is demanded. Konohagakure cannot and will not be implicitly linked to any involvement in Kusa no Kuni," the boy recited from memory.

He knew his mission.

Danzo gave the young ANBU a curt nod. "You will, of course, not be allowed to discuss the parameters of this mission with anyone, even your ANBU squad-mates. This operation is designated S-class, and the appropriate secrecy measures must be enforced. All significant persons in contact with you will be informed of your long term absence."

Naruto turned his eyes downward at the reaffirmation of the total secrecy of this mission. He would have liked nothing more than to tell Hikari and Daisuke, and he hated being separated from his friends. Especially after the loss of their captain, Epsilon Squad didn't need to be broken up even more.

A wave of determination swept through him at the thought, however. He had his duty, and he knew that his teammates would do theirs were they in his place.

"Will that be all, Danzo-sama?" he asked, firmly reverted to his professional mode.

"Your bodyguard mission leaves from the Northern Gate in two day's time. Full details will be provided tomorrow in the Hokage's office as per standard protocol," the Root Commander said blandly, as if he were reciting from a scroll. "May the Will of Fire burn brightly with you, Operator. Dismissed."

Naruto snapped off a quick salute, before turning neatly on his heel and exiting the way he had come in. The sound of stones grinding met his ears as the walkway shifted into place, but he paid it no heed.

Darkness enveloped his form as he stepped into the abyss.

/~/

11. Hell is Other People

First ten chapters have been edited and reworked in some spots. I encourage anyone with the time to go back for a reread, as it will be vastly more enjoyable. My writing quality has jumped quite a bit.

/~/

The crowding around the Administrative building was obscene. Vendors from all of Fire Country had erected stalls with which they peddled their wares to Konoha's general populace. The usually calmer, if still bustling, center of Konoha was crawling with life as patrons, many of whom came from well outside the village walls, fluttered from vendor to vendor blowing away their money on bargain prices and souvenirs. The noise of the hundreds of crowded tourists and villagers easily reached the numerous training grounds, and filled the rest of the village proper with a tangible hum of anticipation.

Red banners hung from all sides, all the walls of buildings bordering the gaping plaza covered with Fire Country's favorite color. The emblem of the nation hung proudly from every tapestry, Konoha's "Will of Fire" motto clearly emblazoned just below.

With his chunin vest donned, his perfectly pressed navy fatigues underneath, Naruto looked the part of Konoha shinobi to a tee. His headband gleamed in the bright sunlight of the beautiful day, a sight many were attributing to the heavens smiling upon Konoha and her new Kage.

"So much fanfare," the blond boy remarked under his breath. It was an unnecessary gesture. No one would have heard him anyway; such was the level of noise. He could barely even hear himself think.

Wisely, Naruto had kept himself clear of the Administrative Building and its surrounding plaza all day. He wanted no part of the festivities that were taking place. He wouldn't have even been in his fatigues had it not been a direct order from the Hokage's office that all active duty shinobi were to be in their finest military garb.

It was days like today that truly showed just how many shinobi Konoha really had. Naruto had never truly thought about the numerical value of his village's ninja, but now that it was in his brain, the estimation was somewhere in the thousands. And the blond had no idea just how many thousand there were.

For, while many civilians flocked to the center of the village, most, if not all of the shinobi and kunoichi who weren't on guard duty stayed away. Naruto had never passed so many green flak vests in his life. How many are jonin? he wondered absently. Just how many Konoha shinobi had obtained the rank that had driven Naruto to excellence in his early years?

"I'll be one of them soon enough," he promised himself. Just gotta survive a war.

As much as his end goal still pushed him to excel, it was constantly being overshadowed by the looming specter of the Kusagakure situation. Naruto had received his orders, and shipped out in one day. He had only gotten his orders the day before, but it felt like an eternity to the young ANBU.

Originally, the thought of putting all of his affairs in order before leaving would take up every waking second of his time. But then, he had come to the rather depressing realization that he had very few affairs that needed tending to.

His bank account was being managed, and would receive regular payments even whilst he was on the front lines. The only change would be the large influx of money he would get from the sale of his apartment – he had no need for it for as long as the war was going on.

Those were the two most pressing concerns, and Naruto was forced to acknowledge that, in his mad charge through the ranks and into ANBU, he hadn't stopped along the way to make many friends. He had dozens of acquaintances, people he ran missions with from time to time, people he trained with from time to time. But few real friends. No one who would miss him enough to warrant a goodbye.

The most he had were Hikari and Daisuke. And both of them were busy with containment on the borders of Fire Country while the situation with Otogakure fizzled.

His old chunin team was all dead, and he had no one his own age with whom he could just hang out with. Mai from the Archive was his closest non-shinobi acquaintance, and Naruto was far from naïve enough to believe she saw him as anything more than a mildly cute little boy who frequented her workplace. She enjoyed teasing him, true, and was never one to say no to a conversation, but the blond was of the firm belief that it was more out of general compassion than any affection. He could consider them friends, but she was far too wrapped up in her civilian life these days to pay much attention to him.

It was a solitary life when you blazed through the ranks without stopping to appreciate everyone and everything around you, Naruto realized depressingly.

Or even anyone or anything…

A sigh slipped past his lips almost silently just as Naruto mechanically pushed the flaps to Ichiraku Ramen back and stepped in. The all-permeating smell of fresh ramen assaulted his nostrils with a vengeance, and even as melancholy as he was, the blond couldn't help but smile. "God, I love this place," he murmured, moving to take a seat at the bar. To his right, a blond girl was arguing with her pink haired friend, but he paid them no heed as he plopped himself down in his customary spot with a cry of "Teuchi-san!"

The owner of his favorite place stepped out from the back obediently, and the middle aged merchant's face split into a grin at the sight of an old customer. "Naruto! It's been a while, hasn't it? What can I do for ya?"

"You still remember my usual?" the ANBU asked cheekily.

"Tch! As if I could ever forget it, what with how many times you've ordered it," Teuchi laughed. He wrote a few words on a small slip of paper, clipped it to a pin hanging from a thin wire, and sent it flying away to the kitchen with a flick of his wrist. "Two miso ramen coming right up."

"Thanks, old man. How ya been?"

Ichiraku shrugged. "Not bad, not bad. Expansion plans pluggin' along. Business's been pretty good too."

Naruto's smile couldn't fade. "Good to hear. Wouldn't want this ol' place closing down on me."

"Ha! Back in the old days you could've kept me and Ayame afloat on your own, Naruto," Teuchi bellowed. The man's good humor had always been a source of smiles for Naruto as a child.

"And how is Ayame-chan?" the blond asked quickly, looking to avoid any uncomfortable mentions of how he hadn't been around for a while.

Old man Ichiraku chuckled. "Down at the Administrative Plaza, spending all my hard earned money no doubt. She's alright, I suppose. Not been around so much either." A disgusted look crossed the man's normally cheerful face. "Got herself a boyfriend."

Guess pops doesn't approve. Naruto couldn't help the laugh that burst past his lips. "He stealing her away?" he asked jokingly.

Teuchi nodded seriously. "Hardly ever see her when she's not working anymore. Always gone on weekends." The merchant's eyes lit up. "Say, Naruto, you're a pretty good shinobi right?"

The blond rolled his eyes as he caught on to the man's thinking, holding up a hand. "Sorry, old man, any and all assassination missions gotta be taken to the Hokage."

"Think he'd go for it?"

"Don't think so."

Teuchi shrugged helplessly, and Naruto gave the man a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, old man. Sure it'll all work out for you."

Ichiraku rolled his eyes at Naruto's fake concern. "Oh, be quiet, kiddo. I'll go check on your ramen."

Naruto just smiled innocently as he watched the old man disappear into the kitchen. He reappeared a moment later with two steaming bowls of the best food on earth. A muffled "Thank you" was all Teuchi got as Naruto tucked in with fervor.

As the blond happily slurped his noodles, he couldn't help but glance over at the two girls he had passed on his way to his spot. One eyebrow rose as he took in their arguing forms. You've gotta be kidding me.

The blonde was none other than one of the three genin Naruto had escorted from the Grand Fire Arena during the Battle of the Chunin Exams, as it was being called. Yamanaka Ino, he recalled after a moment of thought. She and her counterparts had been a handful, but far from incompetent during the battle. Save for a few missteps, they had done admirably – for genin.

His ears twitched as he overheard the blond call the girl Haruno. Tch, who would'a thought. Daisuke's little cousin sitting next to me eating lunch.

The debate as to whether to go make conversation with two girls was neatly solved as the pink haired girl – who had been facing away from Naruto – whirled and pinned him with a searching stare.

His chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth and the second eyebrow joined the first near Naruto's hairline. "Can I help you?" he deadpanned when the girl didn't turn away. The blond couldn't help his self-satisfied grin when she flushed scarlet.

She sputtered for a moment, obviously off guard at being addressed. She's staring at me. What can she expect? Naruto wondered.

"Um…well, I was wondering if you were a chunin…" the pink haired girl finished lamely. Her blond friend shook her head in exasperation as Naruto snorted indelicately.

He looked down at himself, eyes drinking in the form of his standard shinobi pants, shirt, and flak vest. A vest that was only handed out to those who obtained chunin rank. "Yes. Yes I am," he said flatly. And that's not what you were thinking about.

"But you're so young!" the girl burst out.

Naruto considered patiently explaining his situation to the girl, but a glance at the giggling Yamanaka – who clearly didn't feel like taking pity on the girl – changed his mind. "Yes I am. Thirteen, in fact," he said pompously.

"But then you're only a year older than us," she exclaimed, referencing her friend as well. "And I know you weren't in this last exam. How…"

Seriously…"Reserve grad." Do I really have to tell Daisuke you're stupid? C'mon now.

Understanding flitted across the girl's face before being replaced by dismissal. "Ah." She turned back to the Yamanaka without a word, and Naruto couldn't help the swelling of anger in his gut.

Being a graduate of the Reserve Corps carried a weight with it, a weight of lowered expectations of failed Academy Graduates. It was stigma that Naruto wasn't particularly used to, given his age, recognized talent, and position in ANBU, and the blond found that being dismissed out of hand wasn't a fun experience.

He turned back to his ramen, mood soured, only to overhear the pink haired girl muttering to her friend. "I don't know what you're thinking, Piggy. There's no way that guy can be all that tough. You heard him, he's a Reserve Graduate. That means he couldn't pass his jonin's test. Konohamaru's probably tougher than him, not to mention Neji or Sasuke-kun."

Oh she did not just – Being overlooked was something Naruto could deal with. Being dismissed as a Reserve Graduate was something he could deal with. Not happily, but he could deal with it.

Being unfavorably compared to a bunch of genin who didn't even graduate from the Academy early was not something he could deal with.

"Four," he said loudly enough for the two girls to hear. His voice was cold as ice, and the two girls' attention was grabbed.

"Excuse me?" the pink haired Haruno – Sakura, he remembered – asked.

"Four. The number of jonin I've killed in the past three years. The first was when I was eleven," Naruto bit out. "How many have you killed, Sakura-san?"

The pink haired girl blinked in abject disbelief at the number, before confusion settled over her. "What? But that's –"

"Ridiculous?" Naruto cut her off. "Asinine? Absurd? Completely unbelievable that a Reserve Graduate could manage to kill four jonin? You have a cousin name Daisuke, am I right?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "He's a reserve graduate. Do you think he's not as tough as all you're little friends?"

Sakura blinked. "But that's not – I'm not…How do you know Daisuke?" she finally settled on.

"We run missions together," he said simply. Wait for it…

"But Daisuke's an…" the girl trailed off as her eyes widened in realization.

Naruto just sneered. Suck on that one for a little while. He was tempted to pull back his sleeve, wipe off the makeup and reveal his tattoo just to deliver the coup de grace, but the idea of breaking protocol that blatantly held him back. ANBU identities weren't classified S-rank, but they were encouraged not to reveal themselves to any who weren't close family. He was already walking on thin ice by indirectly compromising himself.

"Money's on the counter, Teuchi-san," the blond called, his gaze shifting to the flaps that hid the kitchen from view. A pang of disappointment shot through him, knowing that he wouldn't be back at the homey little stand for months, if not years.

"Have a good one, Naruto!" he heard, and dropped from his stool and made his way to the exit.

He held the flaps open with one arm and turned back to the two genin kunoichi with a cold gaze. "Think before you insult someone you don't know next time," he quipped icily, taking no small amount of satisfaction in Sakura's mortified flush as she realized just what caliber of shinobi she had insulted. Her friend, the Yamanaka, looked to be caught in the middle between a similar humiliation, exasperation at her friend, and humor at the situation in general. The blond ANBU paid it no mind as he strode out of the stall with purpose.

He made it ten steps in the direction of the Administrative Plaza and its fanfare before a hand on his shoulder and a called "Wait up!" halted him in his tracks.

Naruto tensed, refraining from gripping the offending appendage and tossing its owner over his shoulder. He turned quickly, eyes widening slightly in surprise as he took in the irritated looking Yamanaka Ino before narrowing in suspicion.

"You got ears, buddy?" she asked snidely. "Been telling you to stop since you left the stand."

Naruto snorted. "Guess not. What do you want? Come to apologize for your friend?"

"Tch, hardly," Ino scoffed indelicately. "You might'a been way harsh back there, but stupid Sakura was the one who insulted you to begin with."

The ANBU gave her a flat stare, not quite believing her but letting the point slide. Some friend. "So…what do you want?" The boy had the pleasure of seeing the blond Yamanaka look uncomfortable for a second before she composed herself.

"I…I wanted to say thanks," she began. "Y'know, for saving me and my friends back during the battle. We were done for before you showed up and…well…" Ino trailed off, a blush marring her pretty face.

Naruto decided to take pity on her. "I was just doing what anyone else would'a done – Ow! The hell was that for?" he asked incredulously, grabbing his upper arm where the girl had slapped him.

"Don't gimme that platitude shit!" the blonde burst out, glaring at him as if he had offended her. "I get that crap from the Academy instructors and my jonin sensei. All that 'help your comrades' talk doesn't mean shit when there's a war going on. Three squads passed us down in that arena and didn't do anything. You got us outta there."

Naruto blinked twice, digesting the sincerity in the girl's words. It wasn't every day that he got thanked for doing his job. "Well…you're welcome I guess." Recognizing the risk of descending into an awkward silence, he continued, "Just doing my job, really."

He was rewarded by Ino's eyes snapping to his in a glare. The harsh expression melted when she saw his smirk. "I should hit you again," she threatened.

"Ha! Can't believe you actually did the first time," Naruto chuckled, shaking his head at his fellow blond.

She puffed herself up. "Yeah, well, you deserved it!"

"Did I really?"

"Oh yeah!" Ino nodded. "You mean you go around tossing out bullshit lines like that and don't expect people to call you on it?"

Since when are the ideals we hold above us bullshit lines? Naruto wondered. "I don't expect to get hit for it, I'll tell you that."

"Well you should."

"Why? You gonna be stalking me, waiting for an opportunity to slap me?" the ANBU quipped. Somewhere in the midst of their conversation, Naruto had resumed his walk towards the center of the village and Ino had fallen into step beside him.

"Maybe I will."

Naruto laughed outright. "I can be tough to find if I wanna be."

"Please, it's not that tough." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Oh?"

"I found you at the ramen stand, didn't I?" The girl's face was completely serious, prompting Naruto to roll his own eyes at her intransigence.

They fell into silence for a few moments, before Ino spoke up once more. "Seriously though, thank you. From all three of us."

Naruto shrugged in discomfort. "You're welcome, again. But like I said, it wasn't a problem."

Ino scoffed. "Yeah. Sure looked like a problem when you were tangling with those two Suna guys…"

The teenage ANBU grimaced in remembrance of the fight. "Yeah, I guess. I was a bit over my head with that one. Nearly had both of 'em though, and I got one in the end." A scowl passed over his features as he remembered his failure to kill the masked jonin who had killed both Hayate and Genma. I wonder if Kakashi dealt with him?

He noticed his companion shudder slightly out of the corner of his eye. "It was crazy," she whispered. "You were fighting that first guy, and he was a jonin, and then the second one came in…"

She's never seen that kind of high level combat, Naruto realized. "When did you graduate?"

"Huh?"

"The Academy," he clarified. "How long ago?"

The Yamanaka shrugged. "Six, seven months or so. Why?"

Naruto couldn't help his eyebrows shooting towards his hairline. Genin for six months and her instructor nominated her? That didn't happen much. "Well, you've only been a kunoichi for that long, right? You'll get used to that kind'a fighting after a while. And you've got some time before you'll have to fight jonin on your own."

"But you're barely older than me!" she exclaimed, echoing her friend from earlier. Naruto just shrugged helplessly.

"I graduated early and failed my jonin's test. I've been running missions for three years now, and that's a lot of experience."

"Tch, not that much," Ino muttered. "I know guys three years older than you who can't do what you did."

"Eh, I'm special," Naruto quipped, drawing an exasperated glare and a snort.

"Not the word I'd use."

"And what word is that?"

"Douche-bag," Ino deadpanned. Naruto couldn't help his snort.

"Please, tell me how you really feel. And you barely know me!" A look of deep offense was plastered on the boy's face.

"I know enough."

"And does that mean I know enough to call you a bitch?" the ANBU asked. He raised an eyebrow when the girl only shrugged.

"Sure, I guess."

"And that doesn't, I dunno…offend you at all?"

"I am a bitch," Ino said simply, tossing Naruto a look that told him quite clearly that he'd have to do better if he wanted to offend her.

He blinked. "Well alright then."

"Glad we cleared that up."

"Same." Naruto nodded, shaking his head a little at the turn the conversation had taken. She's weird…

A sudden increase in noise told the boy that they had reached the Administrative Plaza. The dozens of red banners flapped gently in the breeze, and Naruto shook his head for what had to be the tenth time that day.

"I've never seen all these people," Ino breathed, looking in awe at the hundreds of bodies crammed into the plaza waiting for the inauguration to begin.

"Same. No idea where the hell they all came from," Naruto said.

Ino turned to him and opened her mouth before closing it again. "Um…I gotta run. My dad's around here somewhere and I told him I'd find him."

Naruto nodded, mildly disappointed. "Gotcha."

"Will I be seeing you around?"

The blond ANBU barely contained his wince. "Yeah, probably not. I leave tomorrow on a long term mission. Outpost duty near the border of Lightning Country." That was the official cover story Root was running with in regards to the covert, S-class mission. Nobody questioned outpost duty. They just winced in sympathy and wished you luck and a speedy return.

Ino's face creased in what looked like disappointment for a moment, before it was gone behind smile. "Well whenever you get back, look me up. I'll be around."

"I'll do that."

"See you soon, douche-bag," was Ino's parting shot. She waved cheekily at him as she turned and pushed her way into the crowd and out of Naruto's sight.

"You too, bitch," he muttered.

Naruto pushed his own way into the crowd, wandering aimlessly for a few minutes and taking in the sights and sounds. Not being a tourist, there wasn't much to do other than bounce from stall to stall, and unlike all the other shinobi standing around in the plaza, he had no desire to mingle.

His desire to do much of anything was being sapped the closer he got to the inevitable. He would be at war in twenty four hours.

A sudden hush coming over the crowd derailed his train of thought, and Naruto turned his eyes upwards to the ledge that extended from the Administrative Building. His sharp eyes found the form of Sarutobi, clad in black undergarments covered by a white robe that fell to his ankles. The Hokage's hat was clasped tightly in his hands and on display for all to see.

"Citizens of Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni," the Sandaime boomed, his voice amplified to be heard all throughout the village. "It was on a day, not so very different than this one, that my master Senju Tobirama gave me the honor of being this great village's Hokage. Since then, the times and the world we live in have changed. It has been the greatest honor of my long life, to have served as the leader of Konohagakure and its people for as long as I have, but as the world changes around us, so too do we."

"It is because of this that I am here before you today, to introduce my successor."

A beautiful blond woman stepped forth from the shadows of the building and out onto the ledge. A severe expression rested on her young face as she surveyed the assembled masses before a small, almost sardonic smile spread across full lips.

Sarutobi extended his hand, the Hokage's hat outstretched. Tsunade spared it a glance as she passed her sensei by, and snatched it up with a grin before placing it on her head with a flourish.

"I introduce to you the granddaughter of the Shodai, the grandniece of the Nidaime, and my own student: Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato!"

And in the center of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, following the single most devastating direct attack the village had ever endured, amidst the start of a covert undertaking that would change the face of the Elemental Nations, the crowd roared its approval.

Naruto could only shake his head in silence. After a moment he turned his back on the crowd, on the great building, and on his new Hokage, and walked the other way.

He had a war to fight.

/~/

Low-lying mist covered the wet ground as sunlight peeked over the treetops; bright orange and yellow contrasting with the deep green of the high leaves, looking for all the world like a great fire in the distance. The play of light off the mist served to give the morning an eerie look to it, but the citizens of Northern Fire Country, Southern Waterfall Country, and Easter Grass Country were all used to it by now. Such things were the norm, and each and every one of them was looking forward to the warmth of the sun to chase away the coolness of night.

In a mist blanketed – the water vapor unusually thick – clearing miles from true civilization, Uzumaki Naruto didn't care about any of it.

He was annoyed. Very annoyed, really.

In retrospect, he shouldn't be all that surprised that Danzo would spontaneously change his plans. But then, it wasn't really a change in plans at all. It was just a change in how much Naruto knewabout the plans.

He wasn't exactly sure why he had even bothered to believe the scarred man's words about rendezvousing with the rest of the operators. As the leader of Konoha's leading covert organization, not to mention a politician, bullshit was Danzo's area of expertise. That and having some two hundred covert operatives meeting in one spot didn't make all that much sense.

It didn't stop the irritation, however.

His four man "escort team" had received coded instructions when they had checked in at the border of Waterfall country, directing them to split up and giving a set of coordinates for them to reach individually. From there, Naruto received another set of coordinates to reach, those of a dead drop point in far eastern Grass Country, and had picked up yet anotherset of coordinates.

That had been two days ago, and so far he had been directed to this clearing.

And so he waited.

Not in the clearing, of course – such a thing would be idiotic – but in one of the nearby trees, his body, already clad in forest colors, concealed by the thick branches and leaves.

Any half decent ninja looking for him would be able to find him, but then he wasn't really hiding. He had scanned the clearing five times, the last four with chakra, and had found no evidence of any drop point for further instructions. He figured, then, that whoever he was supposed to eventually meet would find him, rather than the other way around.

It could, of course, be a trap, but he didn't think so. Danzo, bullshitter extraordinaire that he was, was excessively paranoid. He had to be, and "better safe than sorry" was pretty much the motto of covert ops.

And so he waited.

He wasn't totally idle, however. The environment surrounding him gave him the perfect cover for his own brand of mist, and soon enough, chakra laden water vapor extended from him to over one hundred meters in each and every direction.

Naruto might not be explicitly hiding, but he'd be damned if he was caught off guard.

He wasn't disappointed.

Naruto felt their approach the moment they crossed into his mist. There were two of them, and he noticed with some small approval that they slowed down once they crossed the threshold of his awareness. Despite his layering and structuring of the mist to make it as natural as possible, his guests were still able to detect his chakra.

They're good. But I'm good too.

The duo broke off and moved in a standard looping pattern around the clearing they no doubt assumed he was in, so as to arrive at the same time.

Typical pincer maneuver. Simple, but effective in most situations and against most opponents, he thought clinically.

All of a sudden, he sighed, remembering his first day with Team Raido from so many years ago. Just as it was then, there was to be a test of his mettle now, just to make sure that he did, in fact, belong with highly trained covert operatives. Such a situation demanded it.

Best get it over with, Naruto thought with a combination of amusement and annoyance.

He formed a single hand seal, and appeared in the clearing below without a sound.

The sound of metal on metal – sudden though it was – was muffled through the mist, but it was heard nonetheless. Naruto, left hand firmly grasping his kunai, stood deadlocked with his attacker, a short blade that had appeared from the man's right sleeve grinding against Naruto's knife.

The man wasn't very tall, about average height, with hazel eyes and a forgettable face. Sandy blond hair topped his head, though Naruto could barely make it out through the mist and the black bandana the man wore. He was right handed, though the faint calluses on his left hand indicated trained ambidexterity. The man was well built for a shinobi, his form more muscled than many, indicating a close range combat specialist. A baggy green shirt, long sleeved and shinobi grade, likely concealing more weapons of the sharp and pointy variety lent itself to Naruto's theory.

Naruto processed the man's appearance in six tenths of a second, as long as it took to blink.

It wasn't a moment too soon, as a second concealed blade leapt from its hiding place up the man's same sleeve towards Naruto's left eye. The teen simply adjusted the grip of his kunai, redirecting his hand to intercept the weapon with the plated back of his fingered glove. The steel glanced off satisfyingly, and Naruto decided that being less than a foot from a close combat specialist wasn't in his best interests.

Lightning fast footwork had him five meters from the attacker in the blink of an eye, but the man was far from deterred. The second blade retracting from the man's right sleeve, a hand finally appeared to grasp the first, a short sword, and the nondescript shinobi charged.

He was surprisingly swift, but Naruto had been trained to expect handle surprises.

As the man entered his space, Naruto planted his right foot and used chakra to halt his backward momentum. He gritted his teeth as he pulled to an immediate stop, the tendons in his right leg screaming at him. It had the desired effect, however, as the charging man was in no position to stop his own movement, and was too close for it to have even had an effect had he been able to.

Naruto casually batted aside the desperate stab, moving inside the man's guard in a split second to press his advantage. His right hand brutally grasped the man's neck while chakra reversed the impressive speed, subjecting the attacker to a devastatingly disorienting momentum change as Naruto torqued his body to plant the man head first into the ground.

He didn't stop to admire the sight.

The distinctive whistle of a blade through the air was caught by Naruto's ears as the second attacker made his presence known with a stab to Naruto's back. Steel pierced flesh and the attacker stopped dead as the boy did nothing to stop his katana. Shock registered for a moment on the masked face – they weren't supposed to killthe boy – before it was replaced by trepidation as the body slowly crumbled to mud.

A nearly silent whistle grabbed his attention, and the emotion didn't have time to hold for long as the man hastily clapped his right hand to his left shoulder. He removed a fukimi-bari lodged in a nerve cluster. The sound of teeth grinding filled the silence as the arm drooped, the nerves deadened.

Naruto – the real one, who had never left his tree – burst from the foliage in a blur of green and brown as he moved to make quick work of the second attacker.

The man – just as nondescript as the last – pivoted quickly to bring his right arm, his good one, to bear in a decapitating cross slash. Naruto didn't let him finish.

Weighed down by the dead weight that was his left arm, the man was slower to bring the blade across, and Naruto took advantage without remorse. Naruto moved inside his guard swiftly, and the young ANBU halted the slash by stopping the man's wrist, before grabbing and twisting the offending appendage, divesting the man of his blade with a quick grab.

A simple shove had the man off balance, and Naruto palmed the stolen katana at the blade, his mesh gloved protecting his hand, and brought it across the man's temple with blinding speed. The shinobi dropped like a corpse, unconscious.

Naruto stepped back to survey the damage done to the clearing, noting with some satisfaction that there was little. The fight had been short but brutal, with the only real casualty the Tsuchi Bushin he had placed in the clearing to deal with whatever test his new allies would throw at him.

He had, no doubt, passed with flying colors.

It was a little disappointing, really. Hope these two jokers are just grunts. Don't wanna be working with guys who can get beat so easily. Naruto knew he was pretty good – brilliant for his age, even – but two trained covert operators shouldn't be taken down so easily, especially when they held a numerical advantage.

Their tactics had been simple, their attacks predictable, and Naruto had picked them apart without even breaking a sweat.

The teenage ANBU moved to sit down against a nearby tree, undoubtedly to wait for his two guests to wake up, but halted. Or rather, he found that he couldn't move. His arms and legs were all locked in position, a rather annoying one given that he was halfway sitting in midair, and he couldn't move his neck.

A quick flick of his eyes, about all he was capable of, told him that his shadow was positioned directly in front of him, the sun at his back, and that a thin strand of black led backwards from it to some unknown person.

Nara, he thought with certainty, annoyed with his capture but inwardly impressed with whoever had managed to snare him. Not only had they managed to sneak up on him, using the battle to cover their entrance ad hide from his awareness, but they had immobilized him in a weak position, where even if he somehow managed to break the hold, he would be hard pressed to make any strong attack.

This guy's good.

"A shinobi waits until the cover of darkness to strike at the enemy's weakness," a feminine voice spoke from behind Naruto. A smile broke across his face at both the code and the voice. No matter how many times he encountered it, he never expected to meet female operatives.

"Such things are easily forgotten," he replied in kind, nearly smirking at his return phrase. Whoever came up with this one got it right, he thought with satisfaction. Simple passwords were always the best, but having a convoluted start – like this one – could easily throw off an imposter, planting a seed of doubt in their mind as to whether their information was correct. In one of his many sets of instructions, his return phrase had been hidden. The notes had not explicitly told him what the start of the password was, only that it would be the first words out of his contact's mouth.

It likely would have been confusing to an imposter, and that was the whole idea.

Naruto suddenly found himself straightening from his nearly sitting position, the motion awkward, before he turned of someone else's volition. He found himself facing a tree, but a glance out of the corner of his right eye revealed a profile his captor, hands loosely held at her sides.

The woman must've been around twenty. She was attractive, he supposed, if a bit harsh in her features – certainly no fault of her own and only accentuated by her profession. Or, at least, what he knew of her profession. Weapons pouches and calloused hands indicated a weapons' specialist, a theory given credence by her relatively low levels of chakra and twin scars around her thumb and index finger. Wire trained, he mused.

Inky black hair was pulled back into an efficient knot and held together by twin senbon needles. Piercing green eyes peered out of a pale face given character through a chin that was just a tad too prominent. She was pretty in a striking way, Naruto decided, if not someone who would immediately be called beautiful.

The thirteen year old bit back a laugh as he assessed the path of his thoughts. Goddamn hormones, he mentally groused. He was barely a few days into a mission that would likely change the very fabric of the Elemental Countries' political climate, and he was checking out some kunoichi he didn't even know.

Be mindful of your thoughts, Naruto, they drive you to distraction. Concentration is central to a shinobi's success, the voice of Fuu spoke through his thoughts.

Yes, sensei, he mentally responded.

He felt his left arm rising to his right shoulder, pulling back the fabric of his green tee-shirt to reveal his purple ANBU tattoo. Abruptly, the trademark jutsu of the Nara clan receded, leaving Naruto to face his contact fully for the first time.

Emerald locked with sky blue for a moment, and Naruto fully assessed the woman.

Five foot five, one hundred pounds even, aged eighteen to twenty four; calluses firmer on left hand, trained ambidexterity; minimal scarring, long range specialist; three weapons pouches, thin scars on left and right index and thumb, weapons specialist trained with wire; concealed wakizashi in left boot, tanto hidden in hip pouch…assassin.

He blinked as he processed the information he gained by sight alone, idly wondering at the potency of an assassin who could immobilize her targets. Naruto smiled, this was someone he could work with.

"Fuka?" she asked, though it was more confirmation than question.

Naruto blinked at the name, recognizing it easily. "I take it you're my contact." Same is for Naruto and Fuka is for Same, he reminded himself. Danzo had apparently decided that having a codename close to his ANBU identity would make life easier for him.

She nodded curtly, offering nothing in return, and moved brusquely into the clearing where Naruto's two attackers still lay unconscious. The boy's eyes widened as she withdrew her wakizashi from her boot and calmly inserted it between the cervical vertebrae of Naruto's second attacker, separating the spine and killing him soundlessly.

"Wha-" Naruto started, utterly shocked by the casual brutality the woman showed towards her two comrades.

The unnamed Nara lifted her head to glance at him, registering his state as she moved to do the same to the first man. "These men were paid criminals who were contracted by Konoha at the onset of this operation. They knew the layout of Kusa no Kuni better than any intelligence that we could have come by, and were thus useful."

She offered no more as she killed the first attacker with as much emotion as she had the second, leaving Naruto to piece together the unsaid words and macabre undertones. Apparently, these two had outlived whatever usefulness they had originally possessed, and Konoha had no wish to pay them what they were owed.

A simple, brutal mindset. No longer useful, the two had fulfilled one final purpose, testing him, and were granted a quick death.

The unnamed woman finished a quick seal sequence and stuck her palms to the ground. The two corpses were swallowed by living earth in an instant, never to be seen again.

Naruto wondered with trepidation how many others had gone that way already, and how many more were still to come.

The Nara strode past him, seemingly uncaring for his state of mind. "Come." She moved into the tree line and upward into the branches, expecting him to follow.

The blond spared one final look at the new graveyard, shook his head, and did just that.

I miss standard ops, he thought morosely, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into.

/~/

AN: Lolwut? An update? Been a while, been stuck on what to write, and finally settled on this. Don't have a time frame for updates unfortunately, but hopefully I've gotten some of my writing muse back for this baby.

As always,

I'm so pro...

12. Fortune's Gate

/~/

The tranquil waters of Tea Country lapped lightly at the pink sand he sat upon; the coastal breeze gently ruffled his hair; the tangy smell of salt-water greeted his nose agreeably.

Breathe in.

Sweat beaded along his skin as he broke through the underbrush, deftly spinning away from a glint of cold steel; vicious gusts of wind battered his frame as he braced himself for impact; the metallic scent of blood hit his nose a moment after he tasted it on his tongue.

Breathe out.

Birds, nested in the palm trees, chorused in the early morning warmth; distantly, the gentle roar of the sea could be heard over his thoughts.

Breathe in.

Metal met with a clang in his periphery, but he paid it no heed; a scream pierced the near-silent darkness, silenced less than a moment later.

Breathe out.

The aged wood of the house meters behind him creaked as the coastal wind picked up.

Breathe in.

A tree shattered and melted as white hot lava screamed passed him, missing by inches.

Breathe out.

He was in Tea Country, kneeling on the beach as the sun battled with the morning clouds.

Breathe in.

He was in Grass Country, tearing through the marshes as he fought for his life.

Breathe out.

Blue eyes, crystal clear, opened leisurely to the sight he had grown accustomed to seeing every day for the past seven months. Crystal waters broke gently against the pink sand of his beach less than ten feet in front of where he kneeled. In the distance a seagull hovered over the ocean, beating its wings against the breeze as it searched for its next meal. He didn't turn, but knew that his house, a modest four room structure, sat at his back nestled amongst a copse of palm trees; his hammock, strung up between a support beam of the house and a palm tree, drifted lazily in the morning breeze.

He breathed out what could very nearly pass for a sigh of contentment. Four-hundred and ninety six days since I've last killed, he mused. "Four-ninety seven is a better number though," he muttered, nodding to himself.

He turned to move toward his house, his peace found for the morning, only to freeze in place as a presence crossed the threshold of his awareness. It was nearly a mile away, having entered the mist that locals simply wrote off as a particularly stubborn bit of fog that refused to burn off during the day. The presence was moving at good speed, clearly a shinobi, but he didn't recognize this interloper.

A hasty Shunshin carried him away from the kill zone just in time to avoid being crushed beneath a bolt of lava that carved a ten foot crater into the earth. He snarled his fury at the monster in front of him, the monster who had murdered his partner in a flash of white hot flame that had come from nowhere. His hands blurred and moisture in the air became water that bent to his will, shaping into a massive bullet that was spat at the monster almost faster than the eye could see.

He reached out with his chakra, his focus razor sharp as a crack rent the air as the bullet of water froze into ice a moment before it crashed into its target. The monster was thrown backwards, whipping through the air uncontrollably before meeting a tree hard enough to split it in two.

It would've killed any other man, any other shinobi, but he knew his work wasn't done.

He pushed the memories of his last encounter with shinobi down forcibly. Keep your mind on the here and now, where it belongs, he told himself. A baby salamander, no more than a few inches in length, scurried past him toward the small house. The tiniest of smiles split his lips, his equilibrium restored.

Naruto inhaled slowly as he brought his chakra to bear, the life force folding in on itself in a modified form of the Chakra Flex his old team leader had taught him years ago. He hadn't fought a true enemy in months – not since that day – and he didn't quite know what to expect.

He would defend himself if it came to that. Regardless of the lengths he had gone to distance himself from that life, he remembered it all too well.

Exhaling, his layered chakra bled heavily into the air. His awareness sharpened; his pupils dilated as his eyes widened almost imperceptibly in anticipation; his ear pricked, straining for any sound that may tip him off. A light mist rose from the ocean to blanket his immediate area, his awareness of all life within it sharpening to a pinpoint.

A fish leapt from the sea.

A seagull swooped to skim the ocean.

A salamander paused atop a step to the house.

A red-haired man clothed in a black cloak with red clouds appeared ten paces in front of him.

"Good morning, Naruto-san."

Despite his forewarning, the shinobi's sudden appearance was unsettling. There was no surging chakra, no killing intent. Nothing out of the ordinary. Were it not for his mist, through which his charka interacted with every living being it touched, the blond wouldn't have even felt him.

"Good morning," Naruto replied quietly as he surveyed his guest. He was average height, with a thin, angular face. Crimson red hair fell to the man's shoulders and was held back by a forehead protector for Amegakure that had a single slash through the middle. Ringed eyes the color of mercury stared at Naruto calmly, and the blond repressed a shudder at the seemingly placid dojutsu.

"…ringed-eyes that were like ripples in a pond – the Rinnegan: the most powerful dojutsu in history. He was the most powerful foe we ever encountered."

Through his mist, Naruto could clearly feel the man's chakra saturate the air– a veritable ocean comparable to the sea behind him – and staring at his Rinnegan was like being in the eye of a hurricane; time seemingly slowed to a crawl as Naruto felt the world shift according to the man's will. Animals that moments before had scurried in the open returned to their hiding places. The wind picked up as clouds were carried in from nowhere and turned the early sunlight into overcast.

The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stood up as it began to rain.

"Your genjutsu is strong," the red-haired man complimented, his calm tenor almost taking the blond by surprise. "The nuance was a pleasure to unravel." His voice was contented, as if he had genuinely enjoyed breaking down the cloaking illusion that had surrounded the home before he had arrived

Naruto blinked, realizing that, yes, the man could actually see the layers of chakra that made up the genjutsu. He fought an instinctive frown at one of his best weapons being rendered effectively useless.

"I put it there so I would be left alone," Naruto quipped as he stared down quite possibly the most powerful shinobi in the world. He repressed the urge to itch at the tattoo on his left wrist, writing off the burn of familiarity as his imagination.

The man nodded almost solemnly. "I understand. After the trials you've been through, it isn't hard to see why you would choose to remove yourself from our world." He sighed. "I apologize for disturbing your peace, but I had to meet you."

"You must've gone to a lot of trouble given that I'm a dead man."

A wry smile split the red-haired man's lips. "You're officially listed as Missing in Action, Presumed Dead, in Konoha. I was distressed when I was told, but my associates assured me that you were very much alive, if severely injured, when Yoton no Roshi was finally subdued."

Naruto reeled back as if struck, remembering swarming crows and white hot blades of flame that swooped down upon their enemy like divine wrath, searing and piercing but still not able to stop the monster's relentless assault. He shook off the memories of that day with now practiced ease, bringing his mind out of the fog of rage and despair that had nagged him since childhood and his entrance to the shinobi life.

His guest was surveying him with something like compassion, though it was hard to tell given the man's unorthodox eyes. "Itachi and Kisame were the only ones who witnessed your fight with the jinchuriki, and only informed me of your survival when I expressed my…displeasure at your apparent death."

Which limits the number of people who know I'm alive to three, Naruto's mind supplied, relaxing slightly at the unspoken fact. But that still left a lot of questions.

"'Severely injured' isn't much of a hunch to go on," he began. "For all you know I could've died shortly after your…associates left." Severely injured was far from an overstatement of his state after his last battle of the war.

The wry smile returned. "I was confident in your survival. That you were alive at the end was all that needed to be said. It takes something special to kill an Uzumaki."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "And what do you know of the Uzumaki?"

"All there is," the man replied, not missing a beat. "My name is Nagato, Uzumaki Nagato, and I've wanted to meet you for a very long time, Naruto-san."

/~/

"How much do you know about fear?"

The blond boy contained a roll of his eyes as he glanced up from reorganizing his weapons pouches to stare impassively at the older man. "As much as any shinobi, I guess," he said before turning back to his task.

A throaty chuckle escaped the older man's throat. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "Come on now, baby ANBU. That's not much of an answer."

Naruto's face creased in irritation before suppressing it – so help him but the man was persistently aggravating and took pride in it. "Would you like me to explain the chemical and neurological reactions to you?"

"Tch, I'm sure you could," the man said with a sneer that Naruto could hear. "I'm talking about creating it. Creating so much pants-shitting terror in your enemies that you've won the fight without having to draw those kunai of yours. They teach you that in your black-ops?"

Naruto sighed, irritated and resigned. "Did they teach you in yours?"

The chuckle was no less unpleasant the second time. "They didn't have to."

Do you take that much pride in your massacre? Naruto ached to ask. "Slaughtering academy students really did wonders for you, didn't it?" he snarked instead, all deadpan.

Even with bandages covering the lower half of his face, Naruto could tell the older man was grinning at getting even that much of a rise out of him.

"You have no idea," the Demon of the Mist said, almost reverently. "But that wasn't what I was talking about. I've seen that mist of yours and it's shit."

Naruto blinked and looked across the room in question to the Demon's apprentice. Haku only smiled placidly and gave him a half-shrug in response – he'd be no help, it seemed. As usual… Sighing again, Naruto asked, "This is going somewhere, I take it?"

"Tch. Your technique is imperfect, amateurish," Zabuza said. "And I'm stuck with you and that bitch of a captain of yours for the foreseeable future. I'm not about to be caught off-guard cause I've got shitty backup, which means that you're gonna have to stop sucking at being a shinobi."

The blond black ops agent paused in his musing, knowing better than to be insulted, and mulled over the nuke-nin's words. He knew an offer when it was thrown in his face and, loathe as he was to be stuck in the man's presence for months on end, there was no doubt Momochi Zabuza was a competent jonin.

"What did you have in mind?"

Zabuza's trademarked bandages visibly stretched in what must've been a wide smile. "Ever heard of Silent Killing?"

/~/

Blue eyes that had narrowed in suspicion flew open in abject shock at the proclamation. "That's not possible!" Naruto breathed.

"My thoughts were much the same when I first heard your name," Nagato said gently. "I had believed my parents were the last of my clan, for they had escaped to Rain Country shortly after the purge, and they have been dead for decades now."

The red-haired man smiled widely. "And, yet, there you were; making waves in River Country."

Naruto recoiled, memories of a deadly battle on the plains that felt like it must've been a decade ago. Has so much really happened since then? he wondered – his short days as a member of Team Raido felt like a different life to the one he now led. "You have been watching me for a long time," he said quietly, pushing the memories aside. "Why now, if you've known who I was for so long?"

The man – Nagato – nodded. "I wanted to reveal myself earlier. Unfortunately, my work these past years has been more than enough to monopolize my time. And even when I had the time you were deep in the swamps of Grass country, outside of my convenient reach."

"And what could have you so busy that you couldn't come introduce yourself to family?" Naruto quipped, not irritated with his relation in the slightest but probing for information that he already had a hunch about. You never forget how to play the game, he mused distantly.

The wry smile that was starting to become familiar resurfaced. "Among other things, running Amegakure can be a stressful endeavor. Although I expect you know a bit more about that than you let on don't you, Naruto-san?"

The blond stiffened. How can he know? he thought in a slight panic. Immediately, he chided himself. Those eyes – the Rinnegan – allowed Nagato to see chakra. There was no chance he'd fail to notice the Salamander tribe's chakra around Naruto, especially after having fought and killed Hanzo.

"I remember thinking to myself – it must've been nearly four years ago now – about how important it was for me to find the Salamander contract," Nagato continued. "Obviously, I was unsuccessful. You'll have to tell me how you met them someday."

"Someday," Naruto echoed. He snorted lightly. "You're talking like me and you are gonna be great friends, or something. You say you're Uzumaki, my family, and that you've been watching me for years."

"But I don't know you," he continued, staring into endless pools of rippling gray. "I know your name and that you killed Sanshouo no Hanzo. You've come to my home, dismantled my defenses, and haven't even told me why you're here. So…why?"

The wry smile had fled from his visitor's face, replaced by a look of calm introspection. "You're right, of course." He formed three hand seals that had Naruto tensing in anticipation before the sand under his feet reformed into a chair. The redhead took a seat and crossed his right leg over his left. "I expect Ibuse has told you some of my conflict with Hanzo over the years. I'm proud to say that I caused the man no end of trouble before I finally ended his reign. What you likely don't know about me is the organization that I lead."

The blond almost took a step back, such was the intensity in Nagato's ringed eyes when they met his. "It is called Akatsuki."

Naruto cocked his head, thrown off by the sudden admission. "The mercenary group? What does a freedom fighter in charge of Amegakure need with a group of nuke-nin?"

Nagato's lips split into a grin. "I suppose spending years around nuke-nin would allow our name to reach your ears. Your question is backwards, however. My main concern is Akatsuki; Amegakure was simply a necessary stepping stone to accomplish my larger goal."

Naruto felt the hair on his arms stand up as he was quickly reminded of the power this man had at his disposal. He toppled a regime that had stood for decades…as an incremental step? "Which is?" the blond asked.

"Peace, Naruto-san," the red-haired man returned without missing a beat. "Peace for the entire world. A goal that appeals to you, I think."

"You don't know me," Naruto said defensively.

Nagato cocked his head to the side, surveying the blond. "Don't I? Allow me to paint you a picture, if I may:"

"Across from me stands a seventeen year old boy on the sands of Tea Country. A shinobi in the service of Konoha since he was ten years old, blitzing through the ranks faster than any had thought he would. ANBU at twelve and a deep cover black ops agent less than a year later."

The legendary eyes bored into Naruto's sapphire orbs. "And then war," Nagato whispered as Naruto visibly flinched. "Over three years in the swamps and jungles of Grass Country fighting against phantom enemies alongside criminals, for reasons that were never made clear to you. Only to have your squad-mates slaughtered wholesale by a jinchurriki in the name of some other nation's–"

"Stop." Naruto whispered fiercely, blue eyes rimmed with unshed tears as his body was wracked with tremors. He pushed memories of oppressive heat and smoke and melted trees and his captain's unrecognizable corpse into the deeper recesses of his mind with herculean effort, to be meditated upon later. "You've made your point," he said. "Now what do you want from me?"

Nagato regarded him with undisguised sympathy but did not apologize for his words. "Your help, Naruto-san. Akatsuki's mission is world peace, something that none of the hidden villages are truly interested in. For that, we need shinobi who are both motivated and powerful."

The flaxen haired teen shook his head immediately. "I left that world," he said, turning his eyes to the endless sea. "Peace…it's a dream, Nagato-san. That's all it is. And I'm not going back for an unattainable ideal."

"It is hard not to think so, I know," Nagato began. "There is little evidence to the contrary. In our world motives for war are of no concern. Religion, ideology, resources, land, grudges, love, or just because…No matter how pathetic the reason, it's enough to start a war. Reasons can be thought up after the fact. Human nature, it seems, pursues strife. War will never cease to exist…unless, of course, someone makes it cease to exist."

"You?"

Nagato chuckled outright at the disbelieving syllable. "You think I'm an idealistic fool."

Try as he might, Naruto couldn't suppress the small grin that split his lips at his kin's humor. "I don't know you, but I don't have much evidence to contradict that at this point."

"Indeed," Nagato agreed with a sage-like nod. "You've left our world, you say. From what I know of your experience, you had reason to. But I would love to hear your motivations for myself."

"To satisfy your curiosity?"

The wry smile returned. "Among other things, though you certainly don't owe me anything. You're an immensely talented shinobi who's yet to even sniff his prime, and yet you've left our world when your home village would undoubtedly be singing your praises to the heavens if you returned. I've speculated on your motivations ever since I learned of your disappearance; I cannot know for sure, however, without your help."

Naruto held his silence, considering before: "'The inner workings of a man's mind is his last sanctuary,'" he said. "A friend once told me that."

"I owe you nothing, like you said. Until ten minutes ago I didn't even know we were related. And you're asking for information that is as personal to me as anything can be. My motivations are my own, and I have nothing to gain by telling them to you."

"On the contrary," Nagato countered. "You have everything to gain, Naruto-san. A reason to live, to fight. No man becomes as skilled as you without dedication, without years of training. And no man with that dedication wants his hard work to go to waste."

"My hard work has been a tool for the perpetuation of an ideal," Naruto bit out, unable to help himself. "A philosophy of superiority: that 'my village' is the best, most righteous, and that all others must be subjugated. Better to let my abilities go to waste than use them for senseless slaughter."

"I couldn't agree more," Nagato encouraged, his eyes intense as he stared down the younger blond. "You've learned the truth of our world. The very truth that the hidden villages refuse to acknowledge."

"I can show you a reason to keep fighting, Naruto, to not give up even though you've seen how truly ugly our world is," the red-haired man declared. "But I cannot do that without knowing for sure what drove you to this self-imposed exile."

"And if you find my reasons lacking?" the blond questioned. "You've declared your heritage, given me the name of your organization, and told me your goal. If I decide not to help you, what then? People have been killed for less." As I can attest to personally.

Nagato paused, seemingly surveying the teen for a long moment. "I won't kill you, Naruto-san. Your life is your own and you may live it as you see fit," he said. "Beyond that, you've shown no inclination that you hold loyalty to any nation, village, or person, and you seemingly abhor returning to the shinobi lifestyle. You were a difficult man to find, even for me, and only two others even know you're alive." His lips split into a smile that was becoming familiar to Naruto. "You're a dead man, like you said. I doubt I could find a more foolproof person to tell my secrets without fear of repercussions on the entire continent."

The blond turned away from his kin's stare towards his home, a simple wooden structure, and beheld the black salamander perched on his front step. Prudence, humility, and wisdom, Naruto thought, recalling the words of his most recent teacher. There is no wisdom without experience, and no experience without risk.

/~/

"You're a bloodline user."

"And you're an observant man." There was a smile in Haku's voice, as there always seemed to be. How the boy put up with his master's macabre personality with unending pleasantness was a mystery to the blond.

Naruto hesitated, not wanting to bring up what were likely unfriendly memories of Kirigakure, but steeled himself. Anything he says that helps me also helps him, he reasoned. "Did Zabuza teach you everything? I know kekkei genkai users were…disliked in the mist."

The now-familiar smiling visage of his comrade turned to him. "A mild way of stating it. He did, Naruto-san. And what little he could not, I taught myself."

And isn't that a scary thought, Naruto mused. Haku was a frightfully efficient shinobi in spite of his disposition. The blond knew from experience that, as knowledgeable as the Demon was, Zabuza didn't have much patience for teaching. He suspected that most of Haku's abilities were self-taught with some minor input from the former jonin.

"Your techniques, is it possible to learn them?" he pressed.

A frown passed over the androgynous boy's face that looked out of place. "I assumed you were aware of the nature of kekkei genkai users, Naruto-san–"

"Let me clarify," Naruto interrupted quickly, chastising himself. "I know I can't actually learn your exact techniques. But the thought process and mentality that goes into making them effective…you can teach me that."

"I'm sure that I can. However, I'm not sure how useful such lessons would…" Haku trailed off with wide eyes as Naruto formed a half ram seal, causing a thin stream of water to coalesce in his palm. The temperature dropped without warning, and the small pool froze over in an instant.

"I've never met another who could create ice," Haku breathed. "But you don't have the bloodline…"

Naruto shook his head and snapped his hand closed, shattering the ice held within. "I manipulate the water's temperature to its freezing point. That's as far as I've gotten, though. The ice is brittle, not fit for combat techniques; not like yours," he said, trying to contain his excitement.

Haku met his eyes and the smile returned to his face. "I expect that you and I have much to discuss, Naruto-san."

/~/

"I once caused a mother to be murdered directly in front of her son," he began tonelessly, turning to face Nagato once more. "I could've found a different way, but it was the easiest and gave me the highest chance of escape. Her son, Komaza Kitou, killed himself a month later; he was twelve."

"I once killed a woman in the arms of her husband. Retribution for betraying Konoha's interests in Grass country. He was left alive long enough to spread the message, 'don't fuck with Konoha,' and then I killed him too. Loose end," he said.

In his chair, Nagato didn't move a muscle.

"I kidnapped three children once to use as leverage in a supply deal with an arms dealer. None of them were older than ten," Naruto continued. "I obliterated a supply caravan to a man to starve an outpost. They were civilians making a routine delivery."

Naruto locked eyes with Nagato. "All four of those missions were complete successes. Konoha's interests were protected. That's thirty seven dead men, women, and a child, and that doesn't come close to including all the missions that went bad. The battles…" The blond shook his head as his eyes pricked, guilt causing his throat to close up. "Hundreds, easily."

"All for what?" Nagato interjected suddenly.

"'For the good of Konoha.' 'For the Will of Fire.' It's all meaningless," Naruto exclaimed. He shook his head ruefully, his anger long since burned out. "The war was nearly over by the time the Monkey ambushed us, and we were winning. There was nothing keeping me there after; no friends, no teammates, and I wasn't going back to Konoha to fight more. So I left."

Four-hundred and ninety six days ago. He wondered now if he'd make it to four-hundred and ninety seven.

Nagato regarded him silently for a few moments, ringed eyes unreadable. "You're a man of strong convictions," he stated finally. "Now more than ever, I know that I was right to seek you out, Naruto-san."

"You've seen the truth of our world. The infantile mindset of the strong has stalled true progress. So long as the Hidden Villages remain in power, war and suffering will be perpetuated as each tries to assert their own dominance. Many more children will be drafted into service to become just like you," Nagato declared. His Rin'negan had sharpened and began to glow an incandescent gray. "And many more will die. Over grudges held for decades. Over land disputes. Over the egos of men too old to fight their own battles anymore."

"The shinobi world isn't a kind place for revolutionaries," Naruto murmured with some trepidation.

Nagato barked a laugh so full of bitterness that Naruto nearly started. "You've no idea how right you are. And yet, here we are. One man so disillusioned with the system that he left the comfort and accolades of his home, never to return; the other on a fool's errand to reshape the world. What would our ancestors make of us, Naruto-san?"

The blond dropped to the sand, at ease for the first time since Nagato had announced his presence. "Couldn't tell you. I never knew my parents. Just my mother's name." His speculations on his lineage didn't bear mentioning, regardless of Nagato appearing to be a kindred spirit.

"It's been so long that I barely remember mine," the red-haired man said. "They told me stories of their home, of the endless sea pockmarked by whirlpools that defended their islands. Have you visited the ruins of Uzushio?"

Naruto shook his head. "By the time I learned enough of the Uzumaki's history, I was in Grass Country. I didn't know there was enough left to visit."

A rueful smile greeted him. "There is, but only if one knows where to look."

"And what did you find?" Naruto asked, unashamedly curious.

"Many, many things. Histories of the world, techniques now unseen in battle for nearly thirty years, our heritage, Naruto-san…"

Naruto shook his head. "Is this when you ask me to join your fight, Nagato-san?"

The redhead smiled. "In a way. As I said, you're a man of strong convictions. You served Konoha faithfully, and only the horrible reality of our existence turned you away. You might think me a fool for my goals, but I'd be foolish indeed if I thought I could expect your loyalty to my cause after so short an introduction. Nor would I want it, honestly."

Naruto quirked a brow in question, to which Nagato responded by rising once more and beginning to pace. "You are a powerful shinobi, yes. But I have no need for another powerful shinobi within the ranks of Akatsuki; there are many, all with their own motivations. They are tools in much the same way that my war with Hanzo was merely an incremental step in my plan. No, Naruto-san, what I need is an ally. Someone who believes as wholeheartedly in my goals as I do. Someone who is motivated by the same goals that I am."

"And you think that's me," Naruto stated more than asked. He leaned back in the sand on his elbows, surveying Nagato with calculating eyes.

"You have the potential," Nagato said with conviction. "But my goals are large. You'd be a fool to blindly follow me in them, and I'd be a fool to accept you if you did."

"We've reached an impasse, then." Naruto's lips quirked into the smallest of smirks, enthralled by the conversation in spite of himself.

"Hardly," the redhead said, not missing a beat. "Come with me, Naruto-san. Allow me to show you the history of the Uzumaki, our history, and allow me to show you my history. Why I fight. And perhaps then you will understand enough to make your decision."

"I will not kill for you," the blond returned almost instantly.

"You will do nothing 'for me,' as you say. You will never bend your knee to me as you once did for your Hokage," Nagato declared, ringed eyes locked unblinkingly with Naruto's own. He took a breath. "But perhaps that is not what you meant…"

Naruto shook his head. "I promised myself that I wouldn't kill another man, woman, or child for as long as I lived. I've broken enough promises over the years; I won't break this one."

"You won't have to. I'm the strongest shinobi in the world, Naruto-san." There was no boast in Nagato's voice, just surety. "I can show you the workings of chakra that are beyond even the five Kage. I can teach you to be so strong that you'll never be forced to resort to lethal force again."

"And if I refuse?" the blond asked, his voice a whisper on the ocean breeze.

"You return here. Live out your days however you see fit, undisturbed by me. I don't think that's what you want, though." Nagato pinned him in place, Rin'negan aglow once more. "You're a man of action. It's in your blood as surely as it's in mine. I'm offering you something worth fighting for; something worth living for."

And maybe I can find some penance on the way. The thought struck like a hammer in Naruto's mind, unbidden. He shoved it to the back of his mind in much the same way as his thoughts on the war. It didn't bear thinking about at the moment.

"When do you want my answer?" he asked instead.

"Tomorrow at sundown," Nagato said without missing a beat. "I will be at the Zukotsu temple outside of Akasango. Should you decide to accompany me, meet me there."

"The Red City…" Naruto said. He nodded once. "Regardless of your motivations, I'm…glad you sought me out," he murmured, unsure of himself once more.

Nagato smiled kindly, staring down at him as the tide lapped at his heels. "I am as well. We are family, Naruto-san. We always will be, regardless of what you choose to do. I wish you well, tonight," he said, and disappeared as suddenly as he had revealed himself.

Naruto blinked, awareness searching futilely for the enigmatic man. He idly scratched at his left wrist, itching to summon Ibuse and counsel with him. The ancient salamander had been one of his few comforts in the days following his self-imposed exile.

But first, meditation. "Definitely meditation," he muttered under his breath. Rising fluidly from his seat on the pink sands of his home, he strode confidently onto the gently flowing waters of the sea.

He had a lot to think about.

/~/

Welp...told y'all it wasn't dead.

Credit for the Zukotsu temple and Akasango go to Case13 and the story Reload. If any of you haven't read it, do so. Now.

13. Path of Decision

Still not mine. I'd be rich. I'm not rich.

/~/

Grass Country's vast and dense forests were never silent. The insects and other wildlife saw to that. By day, their chorus was joined by the simple activities of manned settlements; by night, the steady drip of gathered water on leaves took the place of men working, if it wasn't raining outright.

For those who were trying to listen, or for those unfortunate enough to be nearby, the muffled sound of screaming broke the night's peace all too frequently.

It was the sound of war, and if he had his way, there would be none of it tonight.

The steady splashing of the oars against the water's surface was a metronome by which the forest's chorus kept melody, allowing the figure who lazed inside to close his eyes to the world, and open the rest of his senses. A humid fog laid heavy around the small watercraft, obscuring sight for all but ten meters in any direction as dusk settled over the land. For the shinobi, it mattered little. He could see better in this than if it had been as clear as a morning's sky in his home village.

A loose fitting, blue-grey shirt that tied at the chest matched pants of the same color. A simple kasa rested upon his head, making him nearly identical to his only companion – the man who steered the boat to its destination in the middle of nowhere.

The man was a loyalist who opposed Iwagakure's heavy handed occupation of his homeland. A simple fisherman, he had no means with which to fight his oppressors, and had turned his efforts toward the growing rebellion that had thrown Grass Country's outer lands into chaos with a myriad of attacks upon Iwa outposts. All he had was his boat and his small home, both of which he had gladly offered up to his rebel allies. His house was now a drop point – for what, the fisherman wasn't told. His boat was his true donation, as he used it regularly to ferry rebel shinobi along the many small rivers and marshlands in his part of the country under the guise of his profession.

His wife had been taken for questioning shortly after the initial rebellion against Iwagakure's presence in the country began. He hadn't seen her in over a year. His loyalty was assured, but the small pouch of coins he would find upon his return to his home that night would not hurt his opinion of his rebel friends.

"We are here," the fisherman told the lounging shinobi. Broken from his reverie, the ninja's head lifted, and piercing blue eyes met muted brown from under the straw hat. They moved to the dusky sky a moment later, taking in the emergence of the night's crescent moon and glittering stars as the colors of the sunset faded.

"So we are," Naruto stated, removing his kasa and exposing a shock of bright blond hair. The fisherman visibly started at his appearance, and the boy – for that was what he was – tempered his amusement. "Your services are appreciated," the shinobi told him as he retrieved a black rebreather from nowhere.

"It is my pleasure to offer my assistance, shinobi-sama," the fisherman demurred, dropping his head in deference. "I am in debt to you and your comrades for the service you do for our country. May the Gods watch over you tonight."

You owe us nothing, the boy thought with a flash of irritation that was swiftly extinguished. He nodded after a moment, surveying his companion with hooded eyes. "And you as well."

The shinobi said nothing more, but stepped lightly out onto the surface of the water where the boat rested. The fisherman, despite having seen the feat more than once, looked on with wide eyes even as he reversed his rowing and began his journey home.

Naruto paid the man no heed as the boat carried the civilian into the falling night, affixing his rebreather over his nose and mouth. Two seals on the inside of the breathing apparatus flared to life with a pulse of his chakra, cutting off the intake of anything other than the filtered air that passed through the thin slots at the front. Latex goggles quickly covered his eyes.

Satisfied with his equipment, the blond used his chakra to part and reform the water at his feet and slipped in without a ripple.

Near darkness greeted him, though he could define the shapes of reeds, long grass, and passing fish in the river with a minor application of chakra to his eyes. It mattered little, as his eyes were largely unnecessary. His chakra laden fog laid like a blanket for over a mile in each direction, and a settlement to the east shone like a beacon to his senses.

Naruto turned in that direction and began his trek. Suiton natured chakra swirled, creating a mini current below the surface of the river that propelled the teenage shinobi forward. He moved quickly through the water – far faster than he would were he swimming naturally – only using his hands to shift reeds and grass out of his way if he didn't bother to avoid them outright.

The water began to get murkier with the signs of nearby human life just as ambient light from above the surface started to make things easier to see. Naruto halted his Suiton manipulation as soon as he saw it, caution taking over. It would take a prodigious sensor type to discern his simple chakra manipulation from this distance, but 'better safe than sorry' were words the Black Ops Operators – quite literally – lived by.

Gently floating to the surface, blue eyes peeked out over the mostly still water and looked towards his destination.

The settlement would qualify only as a town in Fire Country, but was considered a city here. Numachi De was the largest settlement west of Kusagakure, and was only fifty miles from the border with Rain County – the thick, jungle like forests that surrounded the town, blanketing it in constant humidity, evidence of its proximity to the floodplains to the west.

Iwa shinobi had taken up residence in nearly a third of it, multiple platoons of several dozen shinobi using it as a base of operations for police work and rooting out rebel activity in the southwest portion of the country. The blond had been there twice before, both for reconnaissance purposes only.

Tonight was different.

Swimming slowly so as to create as little water disturbance as possible, Naruto made his way to a wooden dock that extended outwards about ten meters. The way was clear, and a small application of chakra pushed him to the water's surface and onto the dock. Forming a half ram seal, the blond pushed his chakra to the surface of his body through his tenketsu. He waved his hand in front of his face and saw nothing. Satisfied that the Mesaigakure no jutsu was in place and self-sustaining, Naruto made his way up the steps from the dock and into the town.

He pressed himself bodily into a nearby wall as soon as he was within the sight of any of the general populace, and his paranoia was rewarded as a trio of Iwagakure shinobi sauntered past his position and moved down the stairs to the dock he had just left. Sloppy, he chided the lax guards, even for a place as irrelevant as this. Complaining wasn't something he was about to do, however, as he had timed his entrance in the five second window between guard shifts.

Moving as silently as he could without the consistent use of chakra to cushion him, Naruto leapt up and leveraged himself onto the roof of the building he had pressed himself against. He landed in a slight crouch, ready to spring away if any particularly aware sentry had spotted him. Five seconds passed, an eternity to the blond, before he was satisfied and stood straight.

The settlement was old, and the style in which it was built was of another age. An age before organized shinobi actively patrolled the lands; an age where bandits had harassed any towns without a military of their own to defend them, and even some that did. Numachi De had been designed to properly repel raiders with their limited militia. Closest to the moderately sized walls were the lowest buildings in the city. The roofs got progressively higher the farther one got to the center of the town, allowing for archers and other militia to maintain a semblance of high ground even if the walls were breached. It was a design that was present in many of the ancient settlements that predated shinobi, and had even been adopted by some minor Hidden Villages. Naruto knew that Kusagakure had a similar layout.

Looking around, Naruto could clearly make out the forms of Iwa sentries posted on the higher rooftops. They would be far more of a hindrance tonight than they would otherwise. He needed to get in and out of Numachi De without leaving any evidence that he was ever there; that meant no bodies could be missed, which meant no killing. Under normal circumstances, his repertoire of cloaking genjutsu would be enough to see him past all but the most attuned chakra sensors. But, tonight, Naruto couldn't risk the ambient chakra that came with genjutsu being detected by anyone. He would be relying solely on a low powered ninjutsu and his own guile and skill.

/~/

"Are you angry with me?"

A massive exhale greeted his question, stirring the gentle ocean current. "Were I angry at you, you would not be asking."

Naruto's lips quirked upward. "True," he conceded. He considered himself fortunate to have never witnessed Ibuse's temper. It was documented well enough in the annals of shinobi history, and the great salamander's son had mentioned it to him more than once. "You might be…displeased with my decision, though."

"Have you ever known me to lie?"

"No, but you have been known to keep certain thoughts to yourself that others might have wished you shared."

Another, shallower exhale. Amusement? Naruto wondered. Even after months of conversing with the great salamander, he still couldn't always pin down Ibuse's emotions – his amphibian face was unreadable, and his voice calm enough to mask most of what humans expressed so freely. "You have been speaking with Honosuke, I see."

"I speak with as many of your children as will bother to converse with me." All of them. "And you haven't answered my question."

"You asked if I was angry with you. I told you I am not."

Naruto rolled his eyes from his perch upon Ibuse's head at the summon's intransigence. Early on in their acquaintance, the blond had believed the great salamander simply didn't understand nuances of language like metaphors and implications that were inherent in how humans spoke. Honosuke had swiftly disabused him of that notion – all salamanders had their quirks of personality; Ibuse privately delighted in being excessively obtuse.

It had apparently irritated Hanzo like nothing else.

Which brings us back to the point…"You were Hanzo's partner in combat for over fifty years. It would be understandable if you were…irked by my decision to meet with the man who killed him."

Yet another deep exhale; he didn't bother trying to decipher its meaning. "Do you remember what I told you when we struck our agreement?"

Not a moment I'm likely to forget, Naruto mused. "Balance."

Ibuse's head bobbed up and down, taking Naruto with him. "My agreement with Hanzo was to protect my home from those who would have seen it destroyed. He did so, and in the process created so much pain and suffering that he engineered his own downfall."

The exhale, this time, was clearly a weary sigh. "I was old when Hanzo found me. I will be old when you pass from this world. Revenge means little to me, and I would not see you consumed by it as Hanzo so often was. There is enough hatred among men that I see no need to create more."

"Live your life as you see fit, Naruto. My home is safe. You have my support."

Naruto let go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His mind had been all but made up after his reflections once Nagato had left him the day before – his curiosity had been piqued in a way that had been absent in his life for nearly five years.

Ibuse's blessing had been the final hurdle. The salamander had been nothing but good to him since he had drifted into the marshes that comprised the tribe's homeland. He would not go against the being who had taken him in, helped him heal, and saw fit to help counsel him through battles with his personal demons.

"Have you lost your voice, child?"

The blond snorted. "You caught me by surprise. Don't think I've ever heard you say so many words so quickly."

"Take them seriously," Ibuse boomed even as his body shook. Definitely amused now. "Good luck, Naruto."

"Thank you, Ibuse," he said, bowing his head even though the great salamander couldn't see him. The summon raised his head to the sky, breathing in deeply, before dispelling in a massive cloud of smoke.

The blond let himself fall bonelessly through the smoke, grinning as he splashed into the sea. Tea Country's crystal clear waters greeted him a moment later. Warmth rapidly spread through his limbs and he rotated slowly, extending his consciousness. His smile widened as he took in the vibrancy that surrounded him. An eel brushed his leg, a small school of orange fish scattered to his left, and a reef was lit brighter than Konoha to his awareness less than a mile off the coast.

Exhaling, he powered himself to the surface where he took in a languid gulp of air. "Four-hundred and ninety six days," Naruto muttered, shaking the water out of his hair. "Four ninety seven is better, though."

With a smile on his face, he dropped back into the water, molded his chakra into a tight bubble around him, and began to swim.

/~/

The thrill of black ops work hadn't lasted long for Naruto. His first mission in Kumo had seen to that. All that was left was the weary thrum of consistently fraying nerves pounding in time with his elevated heartrate.

Hugging yet another wall, he ducked into a nearby alley – this one directly across from the town center, where the Iwa platoons were based. And here comes the tricky part.

Carefully channeling chakra to his feet, he stepped on the wall and began to walk vertically. Twenty steps saw him gingerly leveraging himself onto the roof. The single sentry had his eyes trained directly on the building in front of him.

Naruto glanced to his right: the second sentry sat relaxed on top of a building diagonally across the street, legs swinging loosely over the edge. His eyes, however, were glued to the rooftop upon which he now stood – He's watching the first man, the blond concluded, not surprised.

Cautiously surveying the rest of the settlement for watchful eyes, the blond swiftly approached the first sentry. Reaching out, he lightly tapped the back of the man's neck. His heartrate spiked momentarily as he waited for the sentry to whirl around, to no avail. Releasing a breath, he stepped back.

Less than a minute later, the sentry raised his right arm in the direction of his watcher, prompting the second man to leap to his side. "What now?" the second grunted.

"Gotta take a piss," the sentry said, all sheepishness.

The second man, who looked decidedly more senior, rolled his eyes. "Make it quick, kid."

There were only several dozen shinobi inside Numachi De's walls. While that made for the occasional lapse in security, it also meant that any given shinobi could likely recognize every one of their comrades in the settlement by face. A random man wearing Iwa fatigues would immediately be detained – an outcome Naruto wanted no part of.

The sentry hopped down from the roof, the camouflaged blond hot on his heels, and strode across the narrow street to the building that served as the de facto command post for the Iwa platoons. Naruto contained a grin of satisfaction as he slipped in the door behind the sentry. Success! The man ducked into a room to the right, and Naruto paid him no more mind as he continued down the short hallway – his subtle genjutsu would run its course in minutes, leaving the young sentry none the wiser.

The main office, Naruto knew, was conveniently located on the first floor of the building, and it was in there that the Iwa shinobi had set up their command station.

That, however, was not his destination.

Naruto ghosted into and up a stairwell, cushioning his steps with as little chakra as was need to not make the old, wooden steps creek. He reached the door at the top only for it to swing open directly in his face.

He hastily stepped back, nearly onto the staircase once more, the swing just missing catching him in the face, and had only a moment to react as a harried looking Iwa-nin bustled through. Two camouflaged, chakra laden fingers reached out on instinct and poked the enemy shinobi on the nose. The man paused briefly, blinking, and Naruto held his breath as he stared directly into the hazel eyes of his unknowing counterpart.

The Iwa-nin scratched his nose, shook himself, and Naruto slipped around him to the right into the waiting hallway before the door had a chance to close.

That was too close, he thought, containing a hysterical bubble of laughter. Not for the first time, he thanked his once limited chakra capacity for forcing him to study genjutsu to the extent he had back in Konoha. Precision was underrated – Despite Zabuza's attitude on missions, the blond mused with muted distaste before refocusing.

He strode quickly down the narrow hallway and ducked into a small, empty office on his left. The jonin who usually occupied it was currently being entertained at a local pleasure house, Naruto knew, which gave him plenty of time.

That didn't mean he planned to stick around, however.

The office was cluttered, as was to be expected of the workspace for the commander of Iwa's operations in this part of the country. Memos were strewn about so haphazardly that Naruto barely managed to withhold a cringe. Bound books and loose scrolls were piled on the floor to nearly half Naruto's height.

The blond approached the rickety desk, which had been appropriated from some town administrator or another, cautiously – disturbing even the smallest of details could make his whole mission for naught. A wicked grin split his lips as he beheld the desk:

Upon it sat a tactical map that outlined the positioning of Iwa's troops in the southwestern quarter of Grass Country. Supply lines dotted the jungle and marshes, carrying necessary provisions to the troops being besieged by rebel activity.

The map, an integral part of Iwa's strategy in the region, was normally sealed up tighter than the Hokage's personal vault. It was only through the careful coordination of rebel efforts that saw the jonin pulled away hastily enough – and kept away long enough – that the possibility of it being accessible was created.

Containing his satisfaction at an op well-planned and executed, Naruto pulled out a scroll and pen from his weapons pouch and began to copy.

/~/

Akasango was aptly named. The city was built entirely from red stone and from a distance looked more like a coral reef than a city. When first built, it was said that the buildings glowed an iridescent blood red that ship captains used to navigate to shore even in the strongest storms. The original hue had faded with time and erosion caused by the salty sea air, but the city was still more than striking.

The massive number of people seemed to agree with Naruto's assessment, as he wove his way through the crowds that packed Akasango's cobbled streets. I haven't been around this many people since Tsunade's inauguration, he realized distantly, heart pounding in his ears. Four years…Four years that felt like a lifetime.

The thinnest of mists encircled Naruto as he strode through the jammed merchant quarter of the Red City, unnoticed by the multitude of civilians that surrounded him – he doubted most shinobi would pick up on it if they weren't sensors. His chakra was interwoven with every water droplet within the mist's radius, his awareness nearly overloaded as the hundreds of people around him passed through, each one's chakra signature registering with him no matter how miniscule.

The blond took deep, steadying breaths, doing his best to immerse himself in the crowd. He could've easily dispersed his mist to relieve himself of much of the discomfort, but refrained. He had kept his mist active, and his awareness of the world around him high, for the better part of the past four years. Losing it and his heightened perception would almost be akin to losing his sight. He was also on the lookout for any potential Konoha ninja in the area; it was unlikely he'd be recognized, but paranoia was ingrained at this point.

Beyond that, it wouldn't do to be so uncomfortable in crowds of people if he was to be venturing out into the world at large – keeping his awareness sharpened to a pinpoint in such a large crowd served as an immersive training technique that would get him comfortable faster.

I'm sure Nagato would understand, either way, he mused, before banishing the thought to the deepest recesses of his mind with practiced ease. It wouldn't do to jump to conclusions about his future in regards to yesterday's visitor – Reserve judgment until you have the facts, Naruto told himself.

All the self-restraint in the world couldn't stop the thrum of excitement coursing through him, however.

Akasango's streets began to narrow as the general population around Naruto started to thin out. The merchant quarter he had passed through was home to most of the tourist attractions and wealthy patrons that graced the Red City's streets. The underbelly of the city greeted his blue eyes now.

He stepped around a child who had fallen scurrying from an alley to an alcove; tired, hungry eyes met his for a fleeting moment before the girl scrambled off into a dark corner that Naruto knew was home to three more children that looked and felt just like her.

Raucous laughter bubbled up from a basement window, the sound of coins dancing on tabletops reaching his ears through the thin walls. A black-clad man with a wakizashi that wasn't nearly as threatening as he thought it was stood in front of the door to the dingy looking building, glaring at the blond as he passed.

The once cobbled street faded to hard-packed dirt for nearly a mile as the street became so narrow that Naruto almost had to turn sideways to fit through it. He squeezed himself through a thin crack in a wall, and suddenly was outside the city proper on a partially overgrown path that led up one of the hills that framed the Red City.

Naruto turned back, staring out over the sprawling metropolis to the glittering sea beyond. The buildings were aflame, the setting sun reflected upon the ocean casting a glow upon the famed red stone. He smiled; despite Akasango's seedier side, and he had only born witness to a fraction of it, the city was truly a gorgeous sight to behold.

Turning once more, he strode confidently up the path with considerable more haste. Don't want to be late.

He threaded his way through tropical foliage for nearly five minutes at a brisk pace before it rapidly thinned, giving way to what had likely once been a grand courtyard in front of the Zukotsu temple.

Built of the same red stone as the city below, the temple was a testament to an age long since passed. Naruto walked through a red gate five times his height and stepped onto a bridge that arched over a moss-covered basin that had once been a massive reflection pool. Pillars as tall as the Hokage's mansion in Konoha loomed above him as he approached the temple itself.

Over fifty stone steps led up into the shadows of the building, and upon them lounged Nagato, clad in a burgundy cloak that nearly matched his hair.

"Impressive, isn't it?" his kin asked rhetorically, smooth tenor carrying effortlessly over the distance. Fuuton ninjutsu, Naruto deduced as he crossed the distance unhurriedly.

"It definitely makes a statement," Naruto agreed, coming to a halt before the steps. He craned his neck upwards, taking in the traditional architecture; stone slabs that were likely as thick as he was tall made up the slatted roof. Behind the temple, nearly hidden by the sheer size of the structure, stood misty cliffs covered by tropical forest.

"I'm glad you came, Naruto," Nagato said with a smile. "I'm sure the decision was not an easy one."

Whether he was referring to Naruto's personal demons or his relationship with the salamanders was left for the blond to ponder. "Did you expect me not to?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

Nagato's smile widened into a grin. "It's nice to know I can still make a compelling argument after all these years. I expected you to come, yes, but I learned a long time ago that nothing in this world is guaranteed."

And what an understatement that was.

"So…what now?" Naruto ventured. For all his words, Nagato had managed to say very little about what his actual purpose was beyond the broad stroke of changing the world.

His relative cocked his head to the side, considering him with his legendary eyes. "I suppose we'll start with myself," he said at length. "Do you know why this temple was built, originally?" Naruto shook his head at the abrupt non sequitur, and Nagato continued, "It was originally a monument to Asura, who I assume you've heard of."

Naruto nodded. "One of the old gods." People at war prayed to many names, though he had never personally partaken.

"Hmm, yes and no. Though all but lost to time, Asura's original name was Otsutsuki Asura. The son of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, better known as the Sage of the Six Paths," Nagato said. "My ancestor."

Naruto felt his eyes widen, his mind working in overdrive. The lineage wasn't entirely unexpected; the Rinnegan was the most famous and legendary dojutsu in the shinobi world, and it hadn't been seen since the time of the Sage himself. How long ago that had been exactly was subject to debate, among those who made it their business.

"You know for sure?" the blond asked quietly.

Nagato nodded. "As sure as I can be. I've researched the Sage for years now, combing the continent for information about his eyes. Most of it was hearsay; some was not."

"But I digress," he continued. "The Sage had two children: Asura and his older brother, Indra. On his deathbed, the Sage passed his power and his dream of peace for the world to Asura, in the hopes that he would complete it. Indra, however, was slighted by not being chosen, and began to wage war against his younger brother and his family."

"That feud continued for centuries, furthered by each brother's descendants. Asura's, the formidable Senju Clan; Indra's, the Uchiha Clan," Nagato explained.

Naruto blinked, momentarily stunned at the deluge of information. "Then…how did you end up with the bloodline?" he asked, processing quickly.

A wry smile greeted his query. "Konoha's history lessons seem to be a bit lacking. Hashirama Senju married an Uzumaki to form an alliance with the clan. Uzumaki Mito."

"But the Shodai's children were all accounted for," Naruto interjected. "His only living descendant is Senju Tsunade…"

"Konoha's Godaime Hokage," Nagato confirmed. "I expect, however, that one must have returned to Uzushio before their death, leading to one of my parents, which in turn led to me."

It wasn't a farfetched idea. The existence of those eyes all but confirms it, Naruto mused.

"And that means that you're…the Sage's successor?" he asked, mind working to put the pieces in front of him together.

"Try not to sound so skeptical," Nagato said with a grin. "Though I will admit the whole story is a bit much. My lineage and…status, if you will, have little to do with my motivations for peace, for I possessed those long before I knew what bloodline I hailed from. They do, though, help explain why I've had a degree of success in achieving my aims."

"The Rinnegan," Naruto stated. Ibuse had spoken at length over the months about the power the man who killed Hanzo had possessed. For all the tyrant's legendary skill, it apparently hadn't been a close contest.

"And through it, power over ninjutsu that is nearly unimaginable. I unlocked it as a child," Nagato began anew. "Two ninja broke into my family's home, eventually killing my parents. The stress awakened my eyes, and I killed the men who murdered my family."

"I eventually found friends, and together we found a teacher. Jiraiya of the Sannin, though we cared little for who he was to the rest of the world." Naruto felt his eyes widen in what was becomming a recurring theme. "He taught us for three years before returning to Konoha. It was then, during those years, that he shared with me his own dreams of peace; dreams that we would later come to adopt."

"We became the Akatsuki in order to achieve those dreams, Naruto-san," Nagato said emphatically. "Dreams I continue to work towards to this day."

All backed by the Sage's eyes, Naruto thought. Peace had been something he and his comrades – comrade, he corrected – had waxed poetic about in the jungles and marshes of Grass County. It had always been a pipe dream, however. With the Rinnegan, though…Definitely a bit more feasible.

"Where do I figure into these dreams of yours?" he asked quietly, turning his eyes to the temple grounds. "You mentioned you wanted an ally, but best I can tell you're doing pretty well on your own."

Ringed eyes pinned him in place. "I asked you to accompany me to the ruins of Uzushio. May I take your presence here as an acceptance of that invitation?" Nagato asked. Naruto nodded mutely.

Nagato sighed even as his bearing relaxed, eyes turned skyward. "You're right, of course. Beyond the fact that we're family, I've learned over the years to always have a contingency plan. One can never have enough truly trustworthy allies in this life, and those are hard to come by as I'm sure you know."

"You're worried about failing?" Naruto asked, trying to hide his incredulity. It wasn't so much that he believed in Nagato's abilities – which he did, thanks to Ibuse – but the man had struck him as being supremely confident in his skills; one didn't proclaim themselves the strongest shinobi in the world lightly.

"Not as such. My goal is a large one, but one I have total faith in my abilities to accomplish," the red-haired man declared. Again, he managed to not sound arrogant, merely assured. "While people may have worshipped my ancestors as gods, I am just a man, despite my power. I am not infallible; I am not immortal."

"I want to bring you to Uzushio for multiple reasons, but the most important one is to show you the destruction almost single-handedly wrought by one man. He is the greatest threat to the peace I hope to achieve."

The Rinnegan met Naruto's blue eyes once more. "His name is Uchiha Madara, and he destroyed our family."

/~/

Feel free to drop a review. Hope y'all enjoyed.

14. Reflections

Still own nothing.

/~/

He hadn't planned to come back to Numachi De.

What is it they say about the best laid plans? Naruto wondered distantly. He cracked his neck, doing his best to ignore the fire that had engulfed his shoulders once more. And here I had gotten used to the numbness.

The blond tilted his head upwards, bleary, blue eyes regarding his shackled hands suspended above his head from the ceiling. Blood that had long dried from his first four days – by his count – of captivity was quickly being overrun by more of the sticky, red liquid, his wounds having reopened.

The room was small, no more than a large wooden closet really, and reminded Naruto of its counterpart in his team's base of operations. He had performed more interrogations than he liked to think about, but idly felt his respect for the unfortunate souls who had suffered his team's hospitality go up. Resisting torture was no easy business.

He felt his toes brush the splintered floor beneath him and stretched his legs to their limit, face reddening in exertion. He gave up a few moments later, gasping for air. Crafty bastards, he thought with no real venom. Giving enough slack in the chains that suspended him would allow him to take some pressure off his shoulders – his captors had done an admirable job making sure that it was impossible, while still seemingly within reach.

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here," he croaked.

He thanked his lucky stars that the Iwa-nin weren't all that much better equipped than his lowly squad. The blond had long lamented the lack of interrogation supplies that would make his life easier with their prisoners, but it seemed they weren't the only ones in need of an upgrade. Chakra suppressing shackles were apparently too expensive even for Iwa to readily supply its troops with.

There were, of course, other ways to suppress a shinobi's chakra. Cause enough bodily damage or mental stress and the body's natural balance of physical and spiritual energy would be disrupted, leading to much lower chakra outputs. His captors were nothing if not talented in the 'causing bodily damage' regard, and the lack of sleep their ministrations led to did the rest of the work for them.

He wasn't without his tricks, however. Tilting his head upwards once more, he carefully drew circles above his mouth with his left index finger. Pushing his limited chakra to his hands, Naruto closed his eyes in concentration. Just a bit more…got it!

A tiny stream of water poured forth from where his finger was, directly into his mouth. He lapped the liquid up with all the desperation of a starving dog for a full thirty seconds before cutting the flow off, struggling to catch his breath. He glanced down hurriedly and nearly sighed in relief at no water having fallen to the floor. His captors would undoubtedly take steps to remove his single avenue of sanity if they knew about it – likely by removing his hands.

He thanked his lucky stars for the lack of security cameras as well.

Shaking off the satisfaction of his chakra manipulation, Naruto focused inward. Two cracked ribs, he mused, breathing deeply and containing a wince. Nothing shattered, thankfully. Tons of internal bleeding. He hissed through his teeth as his weight shifted, his right side pinching in agony. "And the stab wound…can't forget that."

He'd dealt with worse; the medic stationed with the Iwa shinobi hadn't even had to be called to make sure he lived this time. That might not be a good thing, though. They could just be getting bored of his intransigence, in which case he'd be dead soon.

Naruto cocked his head to the side as the thought rattled through his skull. The notion didn't bother him quite as much as he'd thought it would. And what the fuck does that say about my mindset?

All thoughts fled his mind instantly as the sound of heavy footsteps outside his door reached his ears. A momentary flare of panic flashed like lightning through his mind, his heartrate spiking in anticipation, before he ruthlessly quashed it with what little of his willpower he had left. They might make him bleed, they might make him scream, but they wouldn't see fear from him.

Not while he had breath in his body.

The thin, wooden door opened on hinges in dire need of oiling, revealing a man that was easily double the blonde's size – in breadth if not in height. He wore the standard muddy reds that were Iwa's signature color, a long-sleeved shirt covering mesh body-armor that was stretched thin over a muscled chest that could only be described as massive. Thick, curly hair that was an orange that was usually only found in wild, Fire Country plants covered the man's head, culminating in a scraggly goatee.

Inexplicably, Naruto was reminded of Haruno Daisuke, his old teammate who hated being called a ginger.

"Hmph. They told me you were young. I wasn't expectin some brat lookin fresh outta the academy, though," Yoton no Roshi drawled.

Naruto did his best to raise an eyebrow. "Terribly sorry to disappoint," he snarked, his water having breathed life back into his voice.

The jinchurriki snorted. "You're a talker. No wonder those boys got so pissy with ya. You know who I am, boy?"

The blond cocked his head to the side. "They call you the Monkey."

"That's right. And that means you know what I can do. Now, I've been in this shithole swamp for almost three fuckin years dealing with Konoha and its hired trash," Roshi stated. Naruto immediately affixed a puzzled look on his face at the mention of his home, causing the jonin to roll his eyes. "Don't gimme that 'I'm not Konoha' bullshit. I only seen that color hair once before, and best believe the Yellow Devil was a tree hugger. But who you and your family are ain't why I'm here."

The jinchurriki leaned in close to Naruto's face, looking him dead in the eye. Stale breath tinged with staler alcohol washed over the blond. "Between me and you, I wanna go home, get rip roarin drunk, and drown the next three years in more fuckin women than I can remember. How's that sound, boy? Pretty good, right?"

Naruto shrugged, or did his best to given his state. "I'm only fifteen. Bit young to understand where you're coming from."

Roshi's bushy, ginger eyebrows climbed his forehead. "Sucks for you. Been told I drink and fuck enough for two men, though, so don't worry."

"You're a generous man."

"Aye. Now I think we understand each other. You don't wanna be here, and I sure as shit don't wanna be here." The man sneered. "Why don't ya be a good little tree hugger and answer my questions so we can both be on our way."

"Well…considering 'being on my way' means being dead, I'm gonna have to take a hard pass on that, Monkey-san," Naruto quipped. He flashed what was undoubtedly a charming smile, but it had no effect on the jinchurriki's demeanor. Must be the bloody teeth.

Roshi just sighed, and suddenly the room was twenty degrees hotter. Muted though Naruto's senses were, he couldn't help the start at the feeling of such oppressive, heavy chakra saturating the air.

"Never been one for torture; messy, waste of time." The jinchurriki coughed into his outstretched palm, which opened to reveal a bright orange glob of magma that steamed as it rapidly cooled. Naruto suddenly found his mantra of showing no fear to be far more difficult. "But with that hair and those eyes…"

Roshi bared his teeth, eyes abruptly morphing from brown to glowing red. "I might just enjoy myself."

/~/

What the hell am I getting myself into? Naruto wondered, thoughts almost drowned out by the sound of rushing water. He was sat at the front end of a tiny, uncomfortable wooden boat that was being propelled entirely by Nagato's chakra; the small motor at the back forgotten about as they skipped along the surface of the ocean at speed.

His companion – cousin? – hadn't been wrong when he had called him a man of action. For as long as he could remember he had always been in motion, always working toward a goal of some sort. For years, the ignominy of being a clanless orphan in Konoha had driven him to be a shinobi, to make a name for himself. After failing Hatake Kakashi's bell test, the stigma of the reserve corps had pushed him to excel his way into ANBU. His duty to his Hokage and Konoha saw him into Root, and Root in turn dropped him in Grass Country to fight for Konoha's interest.

The last four-hundred and ninety eight days had presented a marked difference in the sense that his goal hadn't been anything external at all. Healing his injuries had been paramount. The physical ones at first, and then the far more insidious mental ones – he wasn't stupid enough to believe that he was anything close to mentally fit after the war. Even in the depth of his depression following that day, he had never lost his will to live. His will to fight may have been lost in the flames of revulsion and corpses, but the will to simply continue on had never disappeared.

Even then, subliminally, he had wanted to atone – to make some good of a life that had meant nothing but suffering for others.

Is this my chance? he pondered for what felt like the thousandth time in the past two days. He shook himself, chiding himself at being over dramatic. Don't get ahead of yourself, Uzumaki.

Only time would tell whether this opportunity would be anything more than the delusional ramblings of a man who had too much power at his disposal. And, regardless of Nagato's words back in Tea County, Naruto would have been dead long ago if he trusted every person who promised not to kill him. He trusted his companion to not kill him without provocation, but he couldn't be sure what provocation amounted to. Denying the man's offer of allegiance might send him over the edge – he had no illusions about the relative sanity of a person trying to overthrow the shinobi system.

At least I'm in my element if it comes to that, he thought as he cast his gaze out over the water, darkly amused.

Whirlpool country was aptly named. The boat didn't travel a hundred meters without having to navigate a new vortex, large or small, and even the still waters had tiny cyclones brewing beneath the surface no larger than water draining from a sink. The largest ones threatened to swallow boats far larger than their tiny craft whole, dragging them to an ignoble death in the blue-green depths.

Blue eyes moved back to his silent companion, meeting steely pools of mercury that had been surveying him. Nagato smiled and cast his eyes across the waters behind Naruto, allowing the not-uncomfortable silence stretch.

The blond wondered how many times his kin had been here, as the boat darted around a whirlpool that formed from nothing with aplomb. The man clearly had practice.

"Take a look, Naruto," Nagato said, interrupting his thoughts. He nodded his head, indicating for the blond to turn around.

Dozens – no – hundreds of rocky islands met his eyes, each one jutting upward from the blue-green waters below for as far as the eye could see. Rich, vibrant green covered each island, and what looked like moss at first revealed itself to actually be tropical trees and plants upon further inspection. Beaches of pure white sand had formed at the base of each island, welcoming in a way that Naruto could only relate to his own ramshackle home in Tea Country.

In the distance, a series of islands that were nearly as tall as the Hokage monument reached toward the sky, the peaks and valleys forming a veritable mountain range to those who sat at sea level.

Naruto felt himself exhale in reverence, a smile forming on his face unbidden. Regardless of the outcome of this venture, he was happy he had come. "This is spectacular," he breathed.

"Quite," Nagato said lowly, voice carrying over the constant sound of rushing water. "At Uzushio's height, these outer islands acted as outposts. A single shinobi could man them, either alerting the inner islands to an impending threat, or dispatching it themselves."

Naruto nodded absently. "The Uzumaki Suiton affinity." It had been one of the only well documented pieces of information he had been able to get his hands on back in Konoha. He could scarcely imagine the havoc he could wreak with this much water at his disposal.

As soon as the thought occurred to him, he dispatched it to the furthest reaches of his mind, images of drowning platoons of shinobi flashing through his mind. Four-hundred and ninety eight days, he reminded himself. "Four-hundred ninety nine is better, though," he murmured.

"Something you're familiar with, I take it," Nagato said, having not heard the blonde's mantra. "A single Uzushio jonin could field dozens of enemy shinobi at a time from the outposts. They played to their strengths."

The boat passed through the first set of islands unhindered. Naruto's eyes narrowed as soft, white light emanated once from the depths, and then faded. "Was that…?"

"Even decades after the Fall, the fuuinjutsu is still active," Nagato confirmed. "From what I've gathered, the arrays beneath the water were engraved on the ocean floor. White light means it recognizes our chakra as citizens."

Blue eyes widened at the sophistication of the seals. "They can tell?"

"Each person's chakra is different, but some traits are distinguishable throughout families, as you know. The Uzumaki were the foremost fuuinjutsu experts in the world. The science behind most of their work eludes me still, but it isn't a stretch to imagine the possibility of such complex seals; especially since they apparently already exist."

Naruto blinked, considering. "How much knowledge was lost when they fell?"

Nagato sighed. "Almost all of it, I'd venture. Most of the survivors fled to Konoha. Of them, you're the last. Some few moved elsewhere and some moved before the final clash that wiped them out, like my parents. I haven't managed to find any others, however, and I've been looking for over a decade now. Whatever information is left, is here."

Naruto nodded, melancholy falling across his shoulders like a blanket. "Kiri really did a number on us, huh?" he said.

"Indeed, but if it wasn't them, it would have been someone else, I suspect. Uzushio had only one ally, Konoha, and was a threat to both Kiri and Kumo by virtue of proximity."

"You mentioned Uchiha Madara playing a role." The blond turned questioning eyes back to Nagato.

"There will be much to learn about Madara and the part he still is yet to play in the coming conflict," Nagato said, almost automatically. "But yes. Following his battle with Senju Hashirama, Madara travelled the continent, exerting some level of influence over a variety of events. He was a shadowy figure in Kiri for some time and actually controlled the Yondaime Mizukage directly for a time. I do not know the full extent of his influence over the Sandaime, but he was instrumental in the destruction of Uzushio."

Naruto pondered the information for a few moments, watching the passing islands as they continued inward toward the center of the archipelago. "And you know this, how?"

"He told me himself," Nagato answered, a note of black humor in his voice. Blue eyes whipped to meet the Rin'negan in disbelief. "As I said, there is much for you to learn about Madara's part in my plans."

Clearly, Naruto thought, intrigued in spite of himself. As far removed from the Fall as he was, there was only a distant sort of anger directed at the man who had worked to obliterate his clan. He had never known his family, never had the chance to love them as anything other than an orphan yearning for a connection to something greater than himself.

He turned back to face the oncoming islands, just in time to see a grand archway the same color as Nagato's hair. They had reached the mountainous islands. "Why'd he do it?" he asked, craning his neck to see the top of the traditional gate.

The boat passed through the grand gate and entered into a massive bay that was pockmarked by dozens of islands. Faded crimson bridges that were wide enough for supply trains to use crisscrossed from island to island, undoubtedly thoroughfares from decades past. Buildings built of wood and stone still stood tall, looking utterly untouched despite the great calamity that had obliterated the people who lived here. More fuuinjutsu, Naruto realized. Only way these could still be standing after all these years.

Hundreds of boats filled the bay, many simply adrift and being carried by the various currents. More than a few were pressed up against the face of the mountainous rocks that shielded the village proper from the outside world. Most looked simple, nothing more than wood held together by nails and, likely, fuuinjutsu. He glanced down at the boat he rode in, comparing it to the others, and realized that Nagato had likely appropriated the craft from in here given the similar design.

Lost in his wonderment and musings, he almost missed his companion speak. "The same reason Madara has always done things: power. He was searching for the Kyuubi."

/~/

A prisoner's first duty was to escape.

Too bad I'm slated for execution, he thought, mind surprisingly clear through the haze of fire that he felt through every nerve ending.

Roshi was, thankfully, done with him. The Iwa filed medic had patched up the various holes the jinchuuriki had melted into him enough so that he wasn't in immediate danger of dying. But that was all he'd done.

Haku will fix you up, the blond consoled himself. He's a good medic. But you gotta get to him first.

And therein laid the problem. His team was leagues away. He was in an Iwa controlled village.

Two options, Naruto mused. Freeze the chains, break them, walk out. As far as plans went, it wasn't half bad. His chakra had been mostly beaten out of him, but Grass Country was so humid that he had enough moisture in the air to work with for a few, low level chakra manipulations. And water was always easy for him to work with, no matter how little chakra he had.

Unfortunately, as far as plans went, it wasn't half good either – he didn't have the wherewithal to fight, kill, or evade however many Iwa-nin were still in Numachi De.

Which means they have to let me out.

The door to his closet-sized accommodations squeaked open, heralding the entrance of his most frequent tormentor – a square-faced Iwa tokubetsu jonin whose name Naruto had never learned. The man chuckled lowly. "He really did a number on you, didn't he. Surprised you're still breathin," he said, slowly stepping around Naruto's chained form. "Gotta hand it to ya, kid, really thought you'd squeal when we brought him in. I'm actually kinda impressed."

The blond coughed blood, fire engulfing his lungs. "Do you feel better now?" he croaked. "Knowing that you're not just incompetent?"

A calloused hand closed around his neck in a vice, and Naruto felt victory surge through him as he circulated his chakra. "Defiant to the bloody last, ain't ya," the Iwa-nin growled. His grip tightened even further, and Naruto sputtered, gasping for air. Vision going white, the blond felt a momentary panic at his plan failing before the grip relaxed and he gulped precious oxygen.

"Not gonna break out your toys?" Naruto gasped after a few moments, when it became clear that the Iwa-nin was just watching him, rather than moving to interrogate him.

"Tch. It's your lucky day, actually. You're finally gonna get outta here. Monkey's out on patrol, but before he left he told me I could finally kill you," he said, satisfaction practically oozing from his words. "I was thinkin I'd have one last go at ya for old times' sake, but there's a difference between punks who need a little motivation to talk, and the freaks like you who'd just enjoy it."

Head down, Naruto grinned through bloody teeth, the thrill of satisfaction filling him at the knowledge that he'd finally, finally beaten his tormentor. He was a twisted man who the blond knew derived far too much pleasure from the screams he caused. To deny the man's enjoyment was as much a victory as anything. "Bummer. Think you can do me a favor and make it quick?" he snarked.

The Iwa-nin just snorted as he stuck his head out of the door, calling to two of his comrades. "Hiro, Haruka, come help me with this fucker." He turned around and faced Naruto, face set as two other Iwa shinobi shuffled in. The blond smiled graciously at them and they turned away, eyes downcast.

"Unlock him. We're gonna take him outside," his torturer ordered.

One shinobi strode over to unchain him unquestioningly, but the other hesitated. "Sir, he's to be killed, correct? Can't we just do it here?"

Naruto caught a flash of irritation cross his tormentor's face before his chains came undone, and he crashed bonelessly to the floor. So undignified, he thought with some small humor. He began to modulate his breathing, chakra beginning to circulate slowly.

"I don't remember you being able to question my orders, Hiro," the blond heard the ranking shinobi growl. "'Sides, a quick death is too good for trash like this. Pick 'im up and let's go."

Naruto closed his eyes, breathing deeply and doing his best to focus his chakra as he was grabbed under the arms by each of the Iwa-nin and was dragged out of his cell. His eyes remained closed even as daylight greeted him for the first time in what he thought was about five days. Fresh air followed a moment later, and he couldn't help the audible sigh of relief that escaped him as he tasted air that wasn't stale.

Blue eyes finally opened as he felt his feet impact familiar wooden steps – they were the same steps he had used in all of his infiltrations of Numachi De. "Heh," he breathed, wondering absently at the power of suggestion as he was unceremoniously dropped to the wet earth beside the marsh. He let his face fall flat into the murky water, weakly spitting out a mouthful of mud.

"Sir…are we…?" he heard Hiro hesitatingly ask above him.

"Don't have the stomach to drown a man?" his torturer mocked. "Leave, then. Just needed help gettin 'im here."

Naruto heard Hiro shuffle his feet but there was no sound of feet retreating back up the steps. Too bad.

His hair was grabbed and he gritted his teeth as he met the eyes of his tormentor once more. "Quick death is too good for you, tree hugger," he said, and shoved Naruto's face into the shallow water.

The suddenness of the action took the blond by surprise for a moment and he roughly exhaled a stream of bubbled beneath the surface as his arms flailed uselessly at his sides. Closing his eyes once more, he reached out with his chakra, touching his favorite element for the first time in nearly a week – it bent to his will as easily as ever.

The grip on his hair slackened after a few moments, and he gasped as his head broke the surface. He pushed his arms underneath him and, with effort, managed to leverage himself into a sitting position.

When he turned around a moment later, he met the almost comically wide eyes of his torturer. A bubble of murky water encased his head that he was futilely clawing at, a stream of air bubbles emanating from his mouth and rising above his head to the open air. He fell to his knees as his body slowly began to rebel at the lack of oxygen, his hands fumbling with less and less dexterity with each passing second.

Naruto blinked, feeling nothing at all – not even vindication – and cast his eyes to the slumped forms of Hiro and Haruka. Each laid sprawled on the wet banks of the marsh, eyes wide and uncomprehending, their throats neatly sliced open; bright red arterial blood still flowed freely from the wounds and soaked the ground anew.

He returned his gaze to his tormentor to see his panicked eyes had widened even further. The man's chest heaved as he coughed violently, the noise muted by the bubble, and he finally lost the battle with his body as he sucked in water in deep breaths. His hands stopped scraping at the water and he reached out towards Naruto as his eyes began to glaze over, unseeing. The Iwa-nin teetered on his knees for a moment before keeling over and lying still, eyes still firmly locked on Naruto's own.

The blond stared at the man who had been the bane of his existence for the past five days, waiting a thirty seconds that felt like an eternity. Finally satisfied that the man would move no more, he dispelled his water manipulation with a thought and a tiny application of chakra.

Paying the corpses no heed and saying no words, Naruto turned around and crawled forward into the marsh. Lying on his back, blue eyes greeted the sky for the first time in a week, he let himself smile. He felt his chakra extend out into the water surrounding him, gently propelling him on a self-made current, obscured from sight by the reeds.

Time to go home.

/~/

"Did he find it?"

"Oh yes," Nagato said darkly. "The Uzumaki fuuinjutsu had kept the Kyuubi contained for nigh a century. He broke it, and slaughtered as much of the clan as he could get his hands on to protect the secret."

"Avoiding scrutiny from the rest of the Five," Naruto murmured.

"Kiri's participation and the total destruction of the clan were convenient smokescreens. Konoha immediately declared war per their treaty, and any hint of Madara's motivation or involvement was lost in the ensuing bloodbath."

The blond was silent, pondering the machinations of a man he, like most others, had believed long dead. Uchiha Madara was a history lesson, the history lesson in Konoha; one of the village's legendary founders and its third most infamous missing-nin – if only because the whole village thought he was deader than the Shodai.

What was it like, he wondered, to be so assured of your own righteousness that all collateral damage could be rationalized in pursuit of a goal? For all of his sins, the lives he had taken, he had done so in defense of an ideal. Such was the way of shinobi: any and all could be forgiven so long as it was for the good of the village. To be a shinobi was to be a servant to that which was greater than oneself.

Nuke-nin were, naturally, vilified to the highest degree. It wasn't the depravity of their actions that condemned them; it was their selfishness.

His time in the jungle had opened his mind to be able to look past the idea that all missing-nin were selfish traitors who deserved only death. He thought of Zabuza as he surveyed the ruins wrought by one man's ambition. Would the Kiri ninja have slaughtered this many to liberate his home the way he dreamed?

Yes, Naruto decided, drifting behind Nagato as they made their way toward one of the larger structures. Zabuza wouldn't have hesitated if it meant he accomplished his goal – that much had always been clear to Naruto. The man's reputation and moniker were both well-earned.

But then, it wasn't thoughts and motivations that made monsters of them. Their actions did.

They entered a large building with ornate, circular doors that had been blown off their hinges long before. A small room greeted them. There was nothing else in the room besides a pile of splinters that had long been overrun by moss, hinting at a desk having been the centerpiece in the space some decades ago. The back wall was singed and burned in a variety of places, and was marked with intricately woven kanji in the shape of a spiral.

More fuuinjutsu? Naruto wondered. Seems to be a theme around these parts, he mused darkly.

Nagato didn't wait for the blond to voice any of his questions, as he strode confidently to the damaged wall, bit his thumb, and placed his palm against it. Naruto's eyes widened as his suspicions were confirmed, bright white light blinding him for a moment before unseen cogs drew the wall apart from itself perfectly in the middle.

The true size of the building, which Naruto hadn't been able to ascertain from outside, was made apparent. Shelves the same red color of the great arch they had passed through extended from the floor to the ceiling, some hundred feet over their heads, and extended for what Naruto guessed was nearly two hundred yards back.

"This was the library," Nagato stated, casting an amused glance over his shoulder at Naruto's stupefied form.

"Was," the blond repeated, getting ahold of himself as they stepped into the massive room. Upon a second glance, the majority of the shelves were barren where there had no doubt once been scrolls upon scrolls. Unbidden, he felt a pang of loss for the collective knowledge of an entire culture of people, never to be found again.

"My guess is that whatever was left of the clan after Madara's rampage burned the majority of the scrolls and tomes," Nagato said, voice low. "To keep the knowledge from falling into Kiri's hands."

"Could they have so easily gotten in?" Naruto wondered aloud, thinking about what had undoubtedly been a blood seal that Nagato had opened to get in.

"Not on their own. You're no stranger to the ruthlessness of shinobi, though."

Naruto withheld a grimace. Hold a knife to a loved one or child and peoples' resolve often crumbled – he had used the tactic often enough to be sure of its effectiveness.

"I took whatever was left back to Ame when I first found this place. Save for one room," the red-haired man said, turning down a random aisle. Naruto followed dutifully, head swiveling back and forth trying to fully take in the expanse of the library; he could scarcely imagine what it must have looked like in its prime.

He turned back in time to watch Nagato activate another seal, this one on the floor in a seemingly random spot. A flash of familiar white light heralded a quarter of the floor rising slightly before sliding smoothly away to reveal a spiral staircase that descended into a brightly lit, circular room. The shelves were made of the same wood that characterized the rest of the library, but they were filled to the brim with scrolls. A small desk accompanied by a chair sat in the center of the room.

"What is this place?" Naruto asked in a whisper, running a tentative hand along the scrolls as he slowly descended.

"These are the birth records," Nagato returned, equally quiet. Blue eyes snapped to steel, widening ever-so-slightly at the implication. Nagato nodded. "The most recent scrolls are on that shelf." He pointed at a random set of scrolls behind Naruto before, "I will be outside when you've finished," he said before retreating back up the spiral staircase.

For a few moments, Naruto was frozen, staring blankly at the pile of scrolls facing him. And then he burst into motion like a man possessed, thoughts a frenzied mess. The first scroll was swiftly tossed aside, the dates not matching what little information the blond knew about his mother – she had been twenty-three when she died, meaning she had been born roughly forty years previous.

Steady fingers belying a frantic mind closed around the appropriately dated scroll, and he let himself fall backwards into the room's single chair. The scroll opened easily, the babies born in January at the top. Blue eyes devoured the names greedily, idly noting that more than half of the names were Uzumaki even as they were discarded.

January passed in a blur, then February, March, April, May. The first creepings of anxiety were threading their way into his brain as he passed through June – what if she wasn't recorded – when he stopped dead.

July tenth. Uzumaki Kushina. Born to Uzumaki Ayako and Uzumaki Hideaki.

Fingertips gently brushed the faded ink and a tiny smile split his lips. "Hello, mother," Naruto breathed.

He didn't know how long he sat there, simply staring at the line that proclaimed his single link to the once great clan. The thoughts whirring through his head were much the same as they always had been. What was she like? Who was she, beyond the name? It was, as it always had been, an exercise in futility. He had known it when he was a child and he knew it now. And yet the simple words and numbers on the page were mesmerizing in a way he had never even imagined.

Eventually, however, Naruto reminded himself that he wasn't alone here. He carefully rerolled the scroll, a final glimpse of his mother's name searing the image into his mind, and replaced it on the shelf.

The spiral staircase seemed so much shorter on the way back up, and he was face to face with Nagato once more. The redhead was sat cross-legged on the floor of the library, eyes closed in what appeared to be meditation. Now-familiar ringed-eyes snapped open after a moment, a patient smile crossing the older man's face as he beheld the blond.

"I believe I spent nearly two hours just staring at my parents' names when I finally found them."

Naruto blinked, taken aback at the non sequitur. "How long was I in there for?" he asked hoarsely.

"Not nearly that long," Nagato assured. "I expected you to be there for longer, actually."

The blond shrugged, somewhat uncomfortable. "The only memory I have is some lingering emotion and a red haze from that night. And I might even only be imagining that…" he trailed off. "Thank you, though, for giving me the opportunity," he added somewhat hastily.

"You deserve the chance to see, just as I did, Naruto," Nagato returned, waving away the thanks.

A heavy silence fell over the two clansmen, ringed eyes regarding the blond with an intensity that almost made Naruto flinch. "Where do we go from here?" Naruto asked quietly.

"That remains up to you. I asked you to come here to see our heritage and why Madara needs to be stopped," the redhead said. "I told you before that I need another ally, someone not only strong enough to fight the coming battles with me, but someone who has seen why our world needs change and is driven to make it happen."

"And if I want to return to Tea Country?"

A small smile split Nagato's lips. "I told you before: you have nothing to fear from me by turning me down."

Naruto held his silence for a moment. Nagato's position was clear; what wasn't clear were the consequences of turning him down. He had said before that Naruto was free to make his own choice without fear of any reprisals, but could he trust that? Men like Nagato didn't rise to the heights he had by leaving loose ends unattended. I think you're a very good liar, cousin, he acknowledged. If the man was as strong as he claimed, he might very well be able to kill him without Naruto even noticing – it was doubtful, but the possibility couldn't be ignored.

But then, I don't really want to refuse, do I?

"What guarantees do you need from me?" he asked, and was answered with a smile he hadn't believed the quietly intense man was capable of.

"For now, simply that you won't attempt to run on our way to Amegakure," Nagato said, wry humor once again present in his bearing. "I have methods of keeping sensitive information secret that we will go over once we arrive."

Naruto shrugged noncommittally, somewhat taken aback by the seemingly lackadaisical attitude toward security. When you're the strongest man in the world, I suppose you can come across as blasé.

"Thank you for your faith in me, Naruto. I truly believe that together we will change this world, and I know that you'll believe it too." He extended his hand from his sitting position, and Naruto grasped his forearm to pull him to his feet.

"Welcome to Akatsuki, Uzumaki Naruto."

/~/

And the second arc is officially underway. Drop a review if you feel so inclined.

15. The Other Side of the Coin

Naruto ain't mine. All the cool ideas here are though.

/~/

He came back to life with a gasp, and then a groan as he felt the extent of his injuries. His head, which had lifted off the tatami mat with his first, deep breath, dropped back to the ground with a muted thump. "Fuuuuuuck," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Good afternoon," Haku said placidly from beside him; Naruto would've jumped had he been able. Be mindful of your surroundings, he chided himself. The thought roared through his consciousness, a hallmark of all of his training, and he latched on to it. Blue eyes strained in their sockets, trying to catalogue every inch of his environment without necessitating he raise his head.

Dark wood greeted his eyes every which way he looked, from the walls to the floor to the low table that was directly to his left. "I'm back," he breathed, allowing himself to relax and focus on the sole other occupant of the small room. "I made it."

Haku's smile was brighter than the sun, unshed tears clear in his eyes. "You floated into the marshes yesterday evening, unconscious. Zabuza-sama found you. I wasn't sure if you would make it…"

"Eh, I've been through worse."

"You had a partially lacerated liver and it looked like something had burned its way through your digestive tract. Not to mention the blunt force trauma to your chest and stress fractures in your shoulders, wrists, and elbows." The boy's voice was very nearly clinically detached, but the blond couldn't help but hear the undercurrent of anguish that colored the words.

Well…maybe I haven't through worse. "Heh, I had total faith in you," Naruto managed. He pushed himself to his elbows with effort, wincing all the while. "Where're the other two? I need to fill the captain in."

Haku's hand gently pushed him back down. "Rest, Naruto-kun. I'll fetch them." Naruto shot him a grimace that the effeminate boy managed to return with a small smile before he padded out of the room.

The blond sighed, mind racing to remember every detail of his stay. Interrogations could be a font of information for those on both sides of the proverbial table; it just wasn't every day that the one being interrogated had the opportunity to share what they learned.

And while it wasn't anything concrete, he had learned.

"Report, Same." The clipped voice of his captain nearly brought a smile to his face. Nearly. I missed you too.

He lifted his head off the ground to see the captain standing at attention one pace inside the doorway. Zabuza leaned casually against the frame just behind her, the bandages that usually covered his mouth absent; the missing-nin spared him a smirk. Haku had made his way back to Naruto's side, kneeling beside the tatami mat and gazing down at him, concerned.

The blond took a deep breath, withholding a wince – Fucking stab wound – and began, "The map was a ploy –"

"Oh was it?" Zabuza snarked.

"My ambush failed and I was captured by an Iwa kill squad that was present in lieu of a standard guard detail," he continued, ignoring the demon with practiced ease. He paused in contemplation. "I am not sure how long ago it was," Naruto admitted.

"Your ambush was six days ago. Continue," his captain ordered.

Naruto noticed Haku turn away, eyes determinedly shut, in his periphery. They had me for five days, he realized. The information was shoved to the back of his mind to be processed later as he restarted: "I was held in a detention center in Numachi De for the entirety of the interrogation. A single man was responsible for me for the first days. The Monkey took over for a few hours toward the end. No information about our position was given up."

"Konoha?" she demanded.

"No. They suspected, of course. I did not give any information supporting their suspicions." A memory occurred to him, unbidden. "The Monkey claimed to recognize the shade of my hair." He glanced at his captain for any guidance beyond ideas that had taken root in his mind long ago, and predictably received nothing. No surprise there.

"How were they equipped?" she asked.

"Minimally. They used standard physical interrogation techniques, waterboarding, and genjutsu." The waterboarding and genjutsu weren't that bad, actually, he remembered with some amusement. His interrogator had been especially angry after those had failed. "Blunt force trauma was used to reduce my chakra output along with starvation and dehydration."

"What of The Monkey?"

Not the most pleasant man I've ever met. "He made me swallow magma." Haku couldn't contain a gasp, reaching out to grab Naruto's right hand in a vice grip. Zabuza cursed under his breath in the doorway. Distantly, Naruto wondered at an interrogation technique that was beyond even the Demon of the Mist's twisted moral code.

"His manner, Same." The captain's voice was as professional as ever. Naruto nearly rolled his eyes even as Zabuza's muttering increased; he didn't need to look at his friend to know Haku was glaring murder at his superior at her callousness. He should be used to it by now.

"Frustrated. He was focused on troop movements as a whole. He didn't interrogate me for long before giving up."

The captain was silent for a few moments. "You performed well under stress. The list of your injuries is extensive, but you should be back in operational form in a week, Kōri believes. Rest up, operator." Heedless of the man behind her, the captain turned on her heel and strode from the room.

"Robotic cunt," Zabuza murmured when she was gone, not that she would've cared had she heard. "When this shitshow is over, you're welcome to travel with me and Haku, kid. Can't believe you'd wanna go back to a village that churned her out."

"They're not all like that," Naruto chuckled, brushing the demon's offer off with practiced ease. Gotta love a world where a psychopathic nuke-nin cares more about me than my superior. The thought rattled through his brain unbidden for a moment suspended in time before he banished it. "How we doing?"

He heard Zabuza shrug more than he saw it. "The reports she gets are vague as always. But the info is positive. The supply trains have been fully cut off and rebel forces are slowly harassing their way to Kusa. We're to remain in place until the transition is complete. Keep tab on any Iwa forces that may try to make a break for the eastern border into Rain country."

"Engage?" the blond asked, not sure whether to be excited or not at the prospect of more fighting.

A bloodthirsty smile split the demon's lips. "You know it." Naruto felt his heart drop for reasons unknown. Zabuza turned to leave, but paused. "I tracked your path through the marshes from Numachi De after I handed you off to Haku. You got out clean, kid."

Naruto couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face. It was gone as soon as it came, unsettling thoughts that he had shuffled to the side reemerging.

"How do you feel, Naruto?" Haku asked gently. Green chakra encircled his palms as he hovered them over the blond, running diagnostics.

"Tired," he returned immediately. He was almost startled by the truth of the statement. I've gotten used to lying.

"Exhaustion is expec–"

"No, Haku," Naruto interrupted. "I'm tired of this." Blue eyes locked with curious brown; Haku frowned a familiar frown that still managed to look out of place on his usually smiling face.

"Of what, then, Naruto-kun? I know we've talked about this before. Is it the fighting? The turmoil?"

Naruto shook his head, returning his eyes to the wooden ceiling. I just got tortured for five days. And nothing's changed; there's still more graveyards to be made. "All of it, Haku. I'm tired of all of it," he breathed.

/~/

Amegakure was huge.

"Well, what do you think?"

Wet, was the immediate thought. Relentless, unending rain poured from the heavens to drench the sprawling metropolis that was laid before Naruto's eyes. Black and gray structures did their best to touch the clouds for as far as his eyes could see, steel and concrete fused together to create buildings taller than the blond had ever seen before.

Lighted windows peppered each building in such numbers that the ambient light very nearly blotted out the stars in the late dusk. Pipes larger than Konoha's densest tree trunks lined the skyscrapers, carrying the falling water into a network of underground canals that emptied into the manmade lake that surrounded the city. Electricity was swiftly carried to all corners of the village, small generators interspersed throughout the tunnels having turned the never-ending rain into a boon for the city's populace long ago.

"Loud," Naruto finally settled on. He turned his eyes from the skyscrapers to the thoroughfares that ran like veins between them. Hundreds if not thousands of people were moving to and fro. Merchant carts littered the streets, their owners' shouts into the crowd an incomprehensible babble by the time it reached the blonde's ears, high as he was.

Distantly, the roar of the factories that made up the outermost buildings of the village could be heard over the din of the populace. Smoke curled lazily into the falling night's sky that would have left the city shrouded in a haze if not for the rain washing it away.

"Different from where you grew up, I imagine."

A smile stole its way across Naruto's face, as wry as his counterpart's usual fare. "Don't think I could think of a place much different than this."

Konoha had been carved out of Senju Hashirama's forest; its buildings primarily wood and few over four stories high. The energy that thrummed throughout it constantly was the result of its populace.

The only wood in this city were the roots of the plants that lined the gardens he could see between the occasional building. In Ame, it seemed the people took their energy from their surroundings, rather than the other way around. "It's not like any other village I've seen. Any city, even," he said. He tore his eyes from the metropolis to regard his cousin beside him.

Nagato looked upon his village with a stern eye. "It used to be a small trading post strategically placed at the convergence of two rivers. Hanzo took it over with little effort back before the First Great War and shaped it to his will. He wanted a village that would thrive regardless of the business it received from missions, and he got it."

"Smart man," Naruto mused. Two of the three great wars had been started by villages starving for revenue. It's why Suna invaded. A frown crossed his face at the thought of the invasion that had claimed so many of his comrades what felt like a lifetime ago.

"He was a genius in many ways," Nagato allowed. "Unfortunately, that genius only extended to his ambitions as a world power." Ringed eyes turned from the skyline to Naruto's questioning blue. "His first conquests were the opening salvo of the First Shinobi World War. His alliance with Iwa and Kiri helped spark the Second. And while he wanted no part of the Third, its battles spilled over into the country regularly. And while the village has stood tall through it all, the wars devastated the country and its inhabitants."

Nagato turned from the village below and strode back towards the expansive suite that the balcony they had stood on was a part of. Naruto followed dutifully, noting with surprise that the rain – somehow, miraculously – hadn't managed to land in the room at all.

The suite was easily the most comfortable accommodation Naruto had ever been lucky enough to have. The back of a plush, L-shaped couch the color of midnight stretched out in front of the open door invitingly. Smooth, pale wood floors felt almost foreign under his bare feet for their lack of splinters, covering all but the tiled area that made up the kitchen. Modern appliances that would've cost the blond a small fortune back in Konoha hummed quietly, nearly unnoticeable over the sound of the downpour. A single chair the same color of the couch was off to the side in a way that Naruto assumed was meant to be aesthetically pleasing, and upon it sat a beautiful blue haired woman that hadn't been there when he had first arrived.

She rose with all the grace of a trained shinobi, her black cloak with red clouds seeming at odds with the placid picture of domesticity she was in. "Naruto, meet Konan," Nagato said, good humor in his voice. "She is my oldest friend and partner in all that I believe in. Konan, meet Uzumaki Naruto."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Naruto-san," Konan said softly, eyes the color of burnished bronze taking him in. Her expression was closed despite her otherwise neutral tone, and she appraised the blond with a clinical detachment that reminded Naruto of his captain.

"You as well, Konan-san," he returned formally. He turned expectantly to Nagato, only to see his cousin regarding their companion with something resembling disappointment in his expression – Hard to tell with those eyes…

Unbidden, the feeling of not belonging crashed upon him like a wave. The back of his neck itched in a sensation he hadn't felt since before he'd left Konoha to go to war.

And as soon as it had come, Nagato was smiling warmly at him, dispelling the tension. "Now that we're all acquainted, we have a lot to discuss. Would you care for some tea, Naruto?"

"No, thank you."

"Well take a seat. I'll be back in a moment."

Naruto was left with the blue haired woman, whose eyes hadn't left him the entire time he had been in the room. She doesn't trust me, he realized. He berated himself a moment later: Of course she doesn't. He wouldn't trust an outsider with a plan to change the world after just meeting them either.

Suddenly more comfortable, he dropped to the couch, sinking into its comfortable depths and crossing his left leg over his right. Konan returned to her own seat a moment later, mimicking his posture, eyes still appraising him.

Naruto held her gaze easily, performing his own analysis. Five-foot-six, one-hundred-and-five pounds; even callouses; no discernable markings. He withheld a scowl; her cloak made it almost impossible to make educated guesses at her specializations – Which I suppose is the point, he allowed. He let his eyes drag down her seated form, taking her in from the piercing beneath her mouth, to her orange fingernails, to the heeled sandals she wore. Blue eyes rose to meet bronze once more without shame.

Through it all, Konan's expression didn't change.

Nagato returned with two steaming cups of tea a moment later, placing one in his friend's hands before joining Naruto on the couch. Distantly, the blond marveled at the picture the three must have painted to the outside world, utterly at odds with what was about to be discussed in the luxurious apartment.

"Why are you here, Naruto?" the redhead began suddenly, mercury eyes assessing him from behind his cup of tea. The blond couldn't contain the surprise that crossed his face, and Nagato smiled. "So far, our acquaintance has been mostly me making assumptions about what drives you. I believe those assumptions to be accurate, and you told me some of your story back in Tea Country, but in the interest of moving forward we have to understand what exactly is driving you."

"…what I need is an ally. Someone who believes as wholeheartedly in my goals as I do. Someone who is motivated by the same goals that I am."

Was it the ruins of Uzushio, a relic of an age long passed that spurred him to combat the man that had obliterated his family? The prospect of striking back at the system that had taken his friends, his family, and nearly his life in service to it?

Why am I here? Naruto allowed himself to wonder. "You called me a man of action when we first met. You were right," he began, staring at a spot on the wooden floor somewhere near Konan's right foot. "I've been a shinobi for almost longer than I can remember, and I've been good at it. All that mattered was the next mission. For the Will of Fire. For Konoha." He smiled sardonically. Things were simpler then. "War's not that simple," he murmured, smile fading.

"I had a friend. He was a Kiri nuke-nin we contracted. His name was Haku." A smile worked its way back onto his face at the warmer memories, talks of chakra theory and jokes at Zabuza's expense and trying to enjoy what little peace they could find in between the endless missions. "He had no business being a shinobi. He was too soft…" He was too good for us. "He was strong, but he rarely killed. He fought to protect."

Naruto shook his head, exhaling and bringing his eyes up to meet Nagato's and Konan's in turn. They both regarded him with neutral expressions, giving nothing away. "Fighting alongside someone like that changes you. You look at your reasons for doing what you do. After a while I couldn't remember why I was fighting anymore."

"By the end of the war, I was just so tired of it all. Somewhere along the way the strategic operations to kick Iwa out of the country had turned into a mindless slaughter. The differences between who we were and who we were fighting against didn't mean anything anymore. And the body count got so high that who we killed and why stopped mattering." He shook his head, pushing memories of viscous blood splattering and corpses being swallowed into earthen tombs to the furthest reaches of his mind.

The blond ran a steady hand through his hair. I should probably stop rambling. "I haven't killed a man in five-hundred and three days. I left so I would never have to kill again. But I know myself. And all I've ever known is being a shinobi. Maybe I'd make it a year. Maybe two. But sooner or later I can't help but think I'd get sucked back in to that world. And if it happens, I want it to be for the right reasons."

"And what are the right reasons?" Nagato suddenly asked.

"I don't want anyone else to go through what I did. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I did." Naruto met his cousin's eyes easily. "I want to fight to end the wars."

/~/

Within Ame laid an oasis that existed only to be torn apart.

"This was Hanzo's personal training area," Nagato said, directing Naruto's attention to the expansive open space. It was an entirely flat plain that was comprised of hard packed dirt and clay, surrounded on all sides by thick, concrete walls. Aside from the public gardens that were interspersed between the monolithic towers that comprised Ame's skyline, this was the only evidence of the outside world inside the concrete city.

Even here, the shadows cast by the dozens of skyscrapers gave the training ground a secluded feel. Blue eyes glanced at the largest of the concrete walls, to his left, and smiled slightly. A great reservoir laid beyond it, he knew, the cubic tons of water calling out to his senses like an old friend.

Ibuse had mentioned the area more than once in their conversations, and he itched to summon his friend to let him back in the village that had been his home away from home for decades. Maybe later, he thought. For now, he had work to do.

"It's certainly private," Naruto said lowly. The concrete walls kept any prying eyes from the nearby buildings out.

"He was a notoriously paranoid man," Nagato said, stepping out from the entrance to the training ground and into the falling rain; Naruto followed him warily. "The only ones who ever saw him train were his personal guardsmen."

Not for the first time, Naruto wondered about the quirks of power. By all accounts, Hanzo had been the most feared shinobi in the world for decades, and yet his paranoia had been higher than any of the five kage.

"You were very familiar with his tendencies."

"I was strong enough to kill Hanzo years before I actually made my move. The intervening years were spent researching everything about him and positioning our rebel forces to take the country quietly. Nothing was left to chance," the redhead declared. He turned to Naruto, now in the center of the training ground. "I assume I don't need to explain why we're here."

Naruto was silent, opting to cast his eyes around the open space once more in contemplation. He hadn't fought anyone in five-hundred and three days. He had trained, yes, and worked consistently with Ibuse's family almost every day since he had recovered from his injuries.

But he hadn't been tested the way he knew he was about to be.

"No," he finally said, eyes returning to his family member. "Anything I should know before we get started?" He felt his chakra start to circulate faster in anticipation, old habits bubbling to the surface like they'd never left.

Nagato smiled cryptically. "'A shinobi is at his fullest when fighting for his life.'" The red haired man disappeared in a shunshin, leaving Naruto on his guard immediately.

He didn't have long to wait, as six figures immediately dropped from nowhere and landed soundlessly in front of him, each sporting the now-familiar black cloak and red clouds of Akatsuki. Five of the six had orange hair the color of fresh sunlight, while one was bald with thick, black piercings protruding from his skull. Each wore an Ame forehead protector slashed through the middle in what Naruto was learning wasn't that bold of a statement in these parts. All six were pierced in more places than Naruto could count, thinner black bands littering their faces, creating a sinister appearance that gave the blond pause.

More worryingly, all six held the same ringed eyes as Nagato.

"Prepare yourself," said the man in the middle, with spiky hair not dissimilar from Naruto's own. His voice was a rich bass, a sharp contrast from Nagato's more familar baritone.

The blond felt his lips twitch and formed two lightning quick hand seals. Dog-bird. Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu!

The humidity suddenly spiked as a tidal wave of water exploded forth from the air in front of Naruto. The water quickly spiraled into a hypnotic vortex that crashed towards the bodies with all the speed and pulverizing power of a great waterfall.

Blue eyes flittered about as he held the A-ranked water manipulation, watching for his quarries, his awareness extending through a light mist that he created using the water that bled off of his jutsu. Six muted chakra presences met his senses, each distorted in a way that made him subconsciously uncomfortable. What is this jutsu? he wondered.

He felt a single presence shift in front of the other five just before his technique reached them, and suddenly his jutsu was faltering. Where it should have crushed the six shinobi and swept them away in a tsunami of concussive force, it was instead being sucked away to nothingness. It dissipated fully a moment later, and Naruto was left staring stunned at the six figures, a single, rotund man standing at the front of the team with his arms outstretched.

All six took a moment to regard him, identical smirks on each of their faces. And then the world kicked into high gear.

A long haired man charged him at speed, and Naruto tensed in anticipation, blood pumping in his ears. In his periphery, he saw the bald figure moving to flank him as his comrade made his frontal assault – They're herding me – and made a split second decision.

He burst forward in a shunshin, the world blurring to tunnel vision for a moment as he leapt into action directly at the charging man. He batted aside the man's palm strike, rotating inside his guard and threw a chakra enhanced elbow at the man's face that was promptly ducked. Naruto hopped back a step, blocking a thrust kick to his sternum and muting the blow with a precise application of chakra as he landed, and channeled chakra to his right fist.

He hopped back another step, leaning backwards to draw his opponent with him. The man lunged forward in a punch as Naruto retreated, and the blond wasted no time, rotating faster than the eye could follow into an uppercut, a gauntlet of pure ice firmly wrapped around his hand. He buried it in the unsuspecting man's sternum, feeling ribs shatter and break around the strike as the man dropped bonelessly, before spinning swiftly and throwing his right arm out, the ice gauntlet slipping from his hand and hurtling through the air at the bald man charging at his blind spot.

The bald man stopped with more agility than Naruto had expected for a man of his size, braced his right forearm with his opposite hand, and launched his own fist directly at Naruto's flying gauntlet. The two projectiles hit with a crash, Naruto's fist splintering into shards, but the blond had already seized the initiative.

A body flicker carried him inside the man's guard and he kicked out low, trying to sweep the other man's legs. The bald man hopped adroitly over the strike, and Naruto had to spin out of the way of a massive, serrated tail that tore through the man's cloak and buried itself five feet deep in the ground where he had just been crouched.

Naruto didn't pay the weird shinobi's enhancements much heed as he jumped back into close combat, turning aside a stab of the tail with a blade of ice that formed instantly in his right hand. He formed another blade in his left and stabbed out at the man's chest. Two hand burst through the ruined cloak and halted the blade before it could find purchase, however, and Naruto felt his eyes widen at the clearly augmented man. What the – was all he had time to think before reflexes had him ducking and rolling out of the way of a kick from the long-haired man he'd thought incapacitated.

He rolled to his left, twin gauntlets forming around his fists in time to punch another projectile fist away, and he was set upon by both men. Naruto managed to block two more hands that appeared from the bald man's chest, but was powerless to stop the long-haired man from slipping underneath his arms and landing an uppercut to his chin that snapped his head back.

The blond dispersed into water, and the two men had no time to react as the liquid immediately swirled outwards and swept them off their feet.

Naruto emerged from a haze, right hand in a ram seal as he watched his jutsu overwhelm the two men. He reached out with his chakra, a crack rending the air as the water began to rapidly freeze in a series of jagged waves that made to pierce and imprison his attackers. Just as the ice reached them, twin pops sounded throughout the training ground, and the men were gone.

Blue eyes widened in shock as his ice coalesced fully, the jutsu forgotten, immediately locking to the six figures standing together once more. A summoning, he realized, seeing a man with a ponytail remove his palms from the ground.

The ponytailed man stood, completing the team. They stood in an odd formation; the two men who Naruto had fought were adjacent to the man with the ponytail, while the fat man who had absorbed his Daibakufu, the spiky haired man who had spoken, and an older man with a sever face all stood one in front of the other behind the three in a line. The man with a severe face was at the far back.

One absorbs ninjutsu without taking damage; one is mechanical; at least one can summon, he thought, quickly processing his situation. One man at back, defended by others?

He formed a ram seal, blanketing the training ground with suffocating chakra in an instant. Kirigakure no jutsu.

His mist, which had already blanketed the area, immediately thickened to the point of a total white-out. Blue eyes couldn't see more than a few inches in front of his face, but then he didn't need to. The six polluted and twisted chakra forms of his opponents tensed and lowered themselves into defensive positions, their moves like a beacon to his senses.

The fat man whirled around while the spiky haired man hopped back as a mizu bunshin formed from the moisture in the air between them, leaping toward the spiky haired man. The fat man pounced on the clone a moment later, and it dispersed into water that wound itself around the man's arms and legs and froze.

Naruto didn't bother to catalogue its progress as he silently landed behind the rearmost figure, a blade of ice in his hand, and struck out in a debilitating stab at the man's stomach.

He was preparing to dash to the front of the group to deal with the summoner next when the man dove out of the way of his stab at the last moment. How? he thought, askance as he moved to engage the man. Even the Byakugan can't penetrate chakra satur– his thoughts were cut off as his whole body was slammed in a hammer blow of terrible strength that lifted him off his feet and hurled him across the training ground.

If not for the concrete wall that splintered as his body impacted it, he wasn't sure how far he'd have flown. Naruto dropped bonelessly to the ground below with a groan. He worked a hand under himself less than a moment later, however, and pushed himself to his feet only to be confronted with five jagged black poles poised to eviscerate him.

"Heh," he managed, rolling his neck as he stood straight. His mist began to disperse as he let go of his chakra in the air, the still falling rain sweeping it away ever-faster. "In my defense, I'm a bit outta practice."

"Your performance was admirable," Nagato's voice called from the center of the training ground. The six men parted like the sea to reveal him to the blond. Naruto glanced at each in turn warily before stepping through the opening, striding over to his cousin with nary a limp despite the blow he had taken. "You aren't terribly damaged, I see," the redhead said, amusement and wonder battling for dominance in his voice.

Naruto shrugged. "The Monkey hit harder. And you said it yourself: it takes something special to kill an Uzumaki."

"Indeed. What are your thoughts on the fight?"

The blond frowned, forehead creasing slightly as he went over the, admittedly short, battle. "Without knowing the full extent of their capabilities, I can't really say how I'd do with more preparation. My reflexes aren't what they once were, but I felt my tactics were sound. Especially given ninjutsu doesn't seem to do much…" he said in consternation. The analysis was a familiar exercise that he fell into; he had analyzed each of his training sessions with his old Root trainer back in Konoha similarly.

Nagato allowed himself a chuckle. "Your tactics were sound, yes. I admit that I've never encountered a shinobi that fights quite like you. Your suiton manipulation is astounding. You manipulate the water to its freezing point?"

Naruto nodded, thoughts drifting to his dead friend. "It's a little more complicated than that, but essentially."

"Fascinating," Nagato mused. "When did you begin to use the techniques?"

Ah. "Back in the war," he said. "Though the salamanders have been very helpful in broadening my horizons in terms of usage."

"Hmm, Hanzo is the only other I've encountered with a suiton affinity high enough to use ice effectively. I didn't give him much opportunity to use it, admittedly." Nagato smiled, regarding Naruto with ringed eyes. "You did well, Naruto. Better than I expected, to be honest."

That took less than two minutes…"What exactly were you expecting?" Naruto asked, amused in spite of himself. There was little shame in losing to the strongest man in the world.

"I thought you'd be more out of practice than you are." The redhead quirked a brow. "Or perhaps you're just more gifted than I originally gave you credit for."

I'm definitely out of practice, he thought, but how much longer would I have lasted even at full capacity? "Who's to say," Naruto muttered both to himself and Nagato, shrugging away the praise. "Who're they?" he asked, nodding to the six bodies who had made their way over to the two Uzumaki. "I've fought multiple opponents plenty of times, but they've never been so well coordinated." It's like they can read each other's minds…

"They are me," Nagato said, stepping to stand in front of the six men.

"And we are one," the six chorused. Naruto nearly jumped at the sound of their different voices speaking in unison.

"I see," he said, though he really didn't. Some type of puppet technique? he wondered.

Nagato smiled wryly. "All will be revealed in time, don't worry. For now, come. We have much work to do, Naruto." The redhead beckoned as the six other men disappeared in plumes of smoke, turning to walk back into the tower that was connected to the training area.

Sparing a thought for how he always managed to end up in over his head, Naruto followed.

/~/

So. We moving. Thanks per usual to the DLP crowd for their help. Feel free to drop a review if you're so inclined.

16. Renegade Cause

/~/

The echo of his footsteps was a sound he felt he'd never get used to; it didn't matter how many times he'd heard them in past few weeks. Walking silently had been a staple of his for as long as he could remember – he had moved silently long before his introduction into ANBU – and whatever minute noise couldn't be suppressed through training was easily removed with a small application of chakra.

Such was not the case in what had once been Hanzo's preferred base of operations: a massive bunker that sat upon Ame's reservoir and extended four stories into the ground beneath it. The first time he had taken a tour with Nagato, the echo of both of their steps had stopped him dead.

"The entire bunker was designed to magnify sound below ground," the redhead explained to the stunned teen. "He spent most of his days here, either researching in his library or planning some military move or another, and refused to be snuck up on."

Can't imagine why…Naruto thought, recalling mentions of Hanzo's legendary paranoia from Nagato. "Did he have a poorly attuned chakra sense?" he asked.

"Quite the opposite. He wasn't a sensor by any means, but his ability to sense chakra was better than most; much like the rest of his abilities," Nagato said wryly. "No, Hanzo simply left nothing to chance when he designed his stronghold. You'll notice that you can't properly mold chakra into anything resembling a jutsu down here either. He had the whole below-ground structure outfitted with disruption seals."

Naruto felt his eyes widen before he chuckled lowly. "I take it he was very good at taijutsu."

"That would be one way of saying it."

The blond emerged into the library, stopping to take a moment to admire the shelves that extended from the doorway to the darkness of the back wall, beyond his ability to see. He knew it didn't hold a candle to Uzushio's expansive archive, but considering this had been Hanzo's personal repository of knowledge, Naruto felt it was still pretty impressive.

He took an immediate left, strolling along the wall into the darkness that was steadily being lit one torch at a time as his chakra was registered by the fuuinjutsu carved into the concrete. The far corner was illuminated already, and he saw his quarry sat upon a chair facing the wall, three notebooks open on a table in front of him.

Nagato looked up as he approached. "Naruto. You know you don't have to come all the way down here to speak with me," he said with a small smile.

The blond read between the lines with ease, but ignored the veiled suggestion. "Thought this would be a better conversation face to face." And those paths of yours are creepy. "Is now an ok time?"

"Sure!" the redhead said, all indulgence. "The research gets a bit dry after a time, anyway. Take a seat."

Naruto sat in the only other chair as Nagato closed the three notebooks. The names Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi, and Han stared up at the ceiling. "Reading up on Iwa?" the blond asked banally.

"For today," Nagato returned. "What can I help you with, Naruto?"

Best just go for it. "Who is Pein?"

There was no hint of anything crossing the redhead's face, his small smile remaining fixed. "And how do you know that name?"

"It's difficult to spend any time walking around Ame without seeing or hearing it somewhere. I got curious one day and managed to find five different temples to 'Pein' around the city. He looks remarkably like your 'paths,'" Naruto said, making sure to keep his voice inquisitive rather than accusatory.

Nagato was silent for a beat before he chuckled. "He does, doesn't he." He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing lightly. "Do you believe in god, Naruto?"

"No."

The redhead nodded. "I thought not. Not many shinobi do; the nature of our world doesn't lend itself to many ideals greater than simply serving the village we were born into. Konoha shinobi are somewhat unique in their shared belief in the Will of Fire, something you're familiar with, I'm sure. What do you know of the idea of god?"

Naruto blinked, taken aback momentarily. "Not much, I guess. There a few temples in Fire Country to various gods; none all that close to Konoha though."

"Religion has been around since the dawn of time," Nagato began. "Gods, in whatever form they may take, have always served as ways to answer questions about humanity and the world that humans couldn't answer themselves. From simple questions like 'why does it rain' to more ultimate questions like 'why do we exist.'"

"Most shinobi shun such belief systems. Our rather unique relationship with life and death makes it rather more difficult to subscribe to the idea of divine intervention playing a part in peoples' lives."

Nagato paused, ringed eyes surveying Naruto and making the blond feel, as always, as if the older man was staring through him completely. "Gods, Naruto, are very powerful. Not in actuality, of course, but the mere idea of them has the ability to hold sway over thousands of people, for good or ill."

"Long before I killed Hanzo, I believed that my fight would be difficult, but I didn't fully understand how difficult. I was young and I was strong, but I didn't grasp the scale of what exactly I was trying to change. It took losing someone very close to me to begin to understand just how difficult my goals would be to achieve, so I changed."

"Any man, no matter how powerful, is simply a man," Nagato declared. "He can be stopped in any number of ways, death often being the most effective. I realized in order to truly accomplish my goals, revolutionary as they are, I needed to become more than just a man."

"A god, then?" Naruto asked, the ever present trepidation of working with a man as powerful and singularly driven as Nagato rising to the fore.

"That…wasn't quite my intention," the redhead allowed, sounding almost sheepish. "No. I devoted myself to an ideal, Naruto. An ideal greater than any one man could ever be. Peace. And by doing so, and because they can't stop me, I became Pein."

Naruto was silent for a minute, simply regarding his cousin with something akin to bemused wonderment. "I can understand how others could perceive your abilities as…divine, I suppose," he allowed. He had trained on and off with Nagato's paths in the past weeks and had yet to best them – or even come close, truly. "What I don't understand is why you allowed or even cultivated the concept of Pein." As potentially insane as Nagato was, he had never struck Naruto as the type to want to be worshipped.

The redhead laughed lightly. "I didn't at first. It's appalling in a few ways that I'm sure I don't need to explain to you. Once the perception was there, however, it wasn't hard to see the potential benefits."

At Naruto's skeptical eyebrow, he continued, "A large part of my goal is inspiration, Naruto. At first, I needed to inspire others to join my fight against Hanzo. As hated as he was, he was also feared. For people who were born in this country, Hanzo was Ame's past, its present, and its future. He was Amegakure. He was invincible. The idea of overthrowing him was as radical as the sun rising in the west and setting in the east. Rising against him was folly. But with the backing of a god? It became far easier to recruit and motivate people who believed that their mission was ordained by god himself, rather than a man who was as mortal and prone to mistakes as they."

"The same principle applies to my greater goal. I am a man, and one day I will die," Nagato declared. "It isn't enough to achieve peace while I'm alive, only for it to come apart at the seams when I pass on. For me to truly be successful in my plan to bring peace to the shinobi world, that peace needs to endure."

"And it's easier for that work to live on if those who perpetuate it believe they are doing a god's work," Naruto finished. It's both impressive and terrifying, he thought, unsure of how to feel.

Nagato nodded, a slight smile splitting his lips. "A select few, like yourself, will see the benefits of peace before it is achieved. But for the masses? They need something greater: something raw, something elemental. Something to inspire them from their apathy into action. And something to make them persist after I'm gone."

"Human nature pursues strife," Naruto murmured, echoing Nagato's words from the beach in Tea Country.

"Uzumaki Nagato is just a man. But Pein?" Nagato asked rhetorically, real passion coloring his words. And Naruto felt goosebumps rising along his arms for a reason he couldn't quite put into words. "Pein is immortal."

/~/

"It is always remarkable that for all that is changing in the world, so much stays the same."

Naruto was sat upon Ibuse's head, the great salamander lounging in the great reservoir with the air of one long since used to its surroundings. "It seems Nagato didn't care to change much when he took over," he murmured, more to himself than his companion. It was yet another piece in the puzzle that was his new ally – friend? he wondered, before banishing the thought.

Like everything else that surrounded the enigmatic Uzumaki survivor, Ame was merely a means to an end.

"A fascinating man at every turn, it seems," Ibuse said, naught but detached curiosity in his voice. Once again, Naruto marveled at the salamander's ability to push fifty years of partnership to the side and analyze Nagato dispassionately.

But we're all just children to him, I guess. He had no idea of Ibuse's actual age, and wasn't about to ask. The great summon was convinced he would outlive his newest partner, and Naruto was still relatively young by shinobi standards. "I've explained his motivations as best I can, Ibuse," he said in lieu of anything of real substance.

"Peace," Ibuse said, his voice reverberating through Naruto's whole body. "A worthy cause."

The blond cocked an eyebrow. "And one I thought you'd be more enthusiastic for. You've always spoken to me of balance; is this not it? An end to the wars that destroy everything in their path?"

The salamander was silent for a few minutes and Naruto, long since used to his partner's quirks, waited patiently. He closed his eyes, feeling the ever present rain fall upon his head. He reached out, senses extending, touching the dams and locking mechanisms that held the manmade lake together. He reached through the dams, pushing outward into the canals that ran through the city like streets, feeling alternatively the plants that had sprung up over time and the occasional shinobi that used the canals for transport. He touched the chakra of a fish swimming through the depths and smiled before pulling himself back, feeling the creature beneath him inhale with greater force than usual.

"There is destruction, even in nature. Floods, wildfires, droughts; all part of the natural order. It does not stop simply because we creatures wish it to be."

Naruto frowned. The old salamander wasn't being deliberately intransigent – he only did that for his own amusement, and never with topics as serious as this – which meant he, Naruto, was missing something. Always teaching… "You think war is a part of nature?"

"War is created by humans. Humans are a part of nature."

"And, part of nature or not, I think I know you well enough to know that you object to senseless death and destruction as much as I do. You've said as much before," Naruto returned, doing his utmost not to let frustration color his voice. He had gotten used to Ibuse's roundabout lessons a while ago, but that didn't couldn't always quell his impatience.

"What did we speak of when you first came to me? When you could not sleep?"

The blond held back a sigh at the memories: clashing metal, screams that split the air, the taste of blood on his tongue that would assault him at every turn, from his dreams to his waking hours. Memories that would set his heart racing and his eyes darting, looking for the threat he knew was waiting just behind him.

The threat that wasn't there anymore.

"Peace is a state of being. It can be found both within and outside of us," he repeated, the words long since drilled into his brain. And often in tandem, he thought. Ibuse had taught him to take his suiton affinity and turn it into clarity the likes of which he had never dreamed. Through the water particles in the air, he could feel everything around him. And through that feeling he could know with absolute certainty that the slaughter he had lost himself in was not, in fact, poised to skewer him when he let his guard down.

Now if I could just do it when I'm not meditating…

"You once told me that you only ever found peace in strife and conflict."

He winced, thinking back to his younger self. "That was before the end."

"You changed. Have you given thought to those who might be like you used to be?"

Those that only know peace when their life is on the line, Naruto thought. He was far from a unique case, he knew. He had encountered plenty of shinobi just like him; shinobi who knew nothing other than sprinting headfirst into the next conflict, for whatever reason. It had been his life for as long as he could remember, until the end of the war.

"They can change too. Like I did," he stated, surety in his words. If I can, so can anyone.

"Perhaps. Perhaps you're special."

"I'm not special," he denied immediately. That line of thinking had only gotten him into trouble in the past.

Ibuse's body shook with what could only be laughter. "You don't believe that. If you did you would not have chosen this course of action. Only someone special can change the world."

"I'm choosing to help someone who I believe can change the world."

"Perhaps he is special."

He is, Naruto almost said. "What lesson do you wish to teach me, Ibuse?" he asked instead, frustration now clear in his voice.

The great salamander held his silence once more, but this time Naruto didn't extend himself, instead waiting for the summon to gather his thoughts, resisting the urge to fidget all the while.

"You are a man of strong convictions. How you view the world has changed greatly from the time before I knew you."

"I've learned a lot."

Ibuse's head bobbed in affirmation. "You have; and remember that you will never be done. The clarity with which you see today may become cloudy as you learn more."

"For the first time in my life I'm trying to help people," Naruto said, trying to get the salamander to understand his newfound purpose. "For their own sake, Ibuse. For their own good."

"You have much compassion in you, Naruto. Be careful that in your drive to do good for the benefit of all, you do not lose sight of those for whom you work so tirelessly."

Naruto blinked, contemplative. "See the forest for the trees," he said, a common saying from Konoha coming to mind. "But inverted. You're telling me to see the big picture, but not lose sight of everything that creates the big picture. I understand."

"You will, with time."

"I am trying," Naruto said, wry self-deprecation apparent.

"You are still young. Do not think I disapprove of your decisions. But be mindful that you do not become blinded by zeal."

"Yes, sensei," he said, bowing his head.

"Good. I'll take my leave of you now. Thank you for summoning me here." The great salamander raised his head with one last, great intake of air before disappearing in a massive plume of smoke.

Naruto let himself fall with practiced ease into the waiting water below, feeling it surround him in a welcome embrace.

He dove downward, chakra creating a smooth current that propelled him to the bottom effortlessly. He sat upon the concrete and crossed his legs under him, contenting himself with the feeling of being utterly submerged.

"Why do you swim so much?" Haku asked him. They lazed in the shade of the wooden house that was their base, sheltering themselves from the oppressive heat and humidity.

Naruto felt a sardonic smile form on his face. He had thought about his fascination with swimming long and hard, usually on stakeouts when there was nothing else to beat back the whirlwind that was his mind these days.

"It's nice to feel a part of nature sometimes." He turned his gaze from the tree canopy and clouds above to his friend, brushing a stray, sweaty lock of flaxen hair off his forehead. The androgynous boy's eyes were fixed on his face and Naruto quelled the momentary discomfort that came from holding Haku's earnest gaze. "It makes me feel small. Insignificant."

"But you're already small, Naruto-kun," Haku teased, nothing but mischief in his eyes now. The blond scowled playfully for a moment, long since used to quips about his height.

"I'm finally taller than you now, so shut it," he allowed, knowing it would make his friend happy. A return to a time when Naruto had been the shortest of their party. A time when they were still just getting to know each other filled his mind; a time before the war had picked up in earnest and bloodshed was almost a daily reality. Things were simpler then.

"Why would you want to feel small? I'm from the mist with Zabuza-sama, but even we don't love the water as much as you."

Naruto paused, weighing his words and returning his eyes to the sky. "It's nice to feel like I don't matter sometimes. Like what I do doesn't matter. When you…don't like who you are, it's nice to feel like that."

He didn't turn, simply letting the vocalization of his feelings sit between them. He had no desire to meet Haku's eyes and have to deal with whatever emotions would be all too easy to read there.

He let himself smile slightly as he felt his friend's hand on his arm, silent in his support.

Naruto blinked his eyes open, surveying the clear depths of the reservoir. What would you think of me now, Haku? he wondered. Would you approve of what I'm trying to do? His effeminate friend was more lover than fighter by anyone's estimation, their shared distaste for the nature of the conflict that brought them together had sparked their friendship.

No sense wondering about it now, he mused. He had wallowed in the loss of his friend and teammate for many a day during his exile. Now, however, he had more than soul-searching to do.

Right on cue, he thought, his extended awareness feeling the rapidly descending form of Nagato approaching the reservoir. He took a moment to savor the feeling of being surrounded on all sides by the familiar element, then powered himself to the top.

Naruto slipped through the surface without a ripple, facing his red-haired ally as the man landed without a sound. "Did Ibuse enjoy his return visit?" Nagato asked without preamble, somehow looking remarkably dry.

"He appreciated the opportunity to see the village again," Naruto confirmed.

"I've never actually spoken with him," Akatsuki's leader said. "Is he the font of wisdom I imagine all summons to be?"

The blond snickered. "Quite. He knows it too, which can be frustrating."

Nagato's lips quirked. "There's no such thing as a perfect partner, I suppose. You could certainly do worse for contracted companions, though. His clan is formidable."

Speaking from personal experience, of course. "They've been a great help in my training," was all Naruto said.

"Both before we met til now, I'm sure. You've made great strides these past weeks." The blond merely nodded his thanks. "Which brings me to my point: you've done well with my Paths, but to fulfill the role which I've envisioned for you, you'll need something more. Something to set you apart completely."

More than S-ranked suiton manipulations and a grand summon? Naruto wondered. "And what is this role you've envisioned for me, then?" he asked wryly. He had grown used to Nagato's bold proclamations.

"A leader," Nagato declared with a smile. "We'll get into that with Konan tonight. For now I want to focus on your abilities. Tell me, what one thing would make you almost twice as dangerous as you are now?"

"Lightning," Naruto answered without hesitation.

The redhead nodded. "You've thought about this."

The blond shrugged indelicately. "The two most potent suiton users I've heard of used lightning. Konoha's Nidaime Hokage through his Rajiin; Hanzo through his own affinity."

"Mmm. Tales of Senju Tobirama's potency are secondhand, obviously, but I can say from personal experience just how dangerous Hanzo's lightning made him," Nagato mused. "You've never attempted ration manipulation?"

"Don't have an affinity. It's my worst by a long shot. Anything but the most basic, D-ranked manipulations are pretty much beyond me," Naruto said. Raiton manipulation was a natural next step given his suiton mastery. Even C-ranked ninjutsu would be devastatingly effective given his skills.

Nagato nodded. "I had wondered; now I know. Either way it doesn't matter. I had planned to teach you this regardless."

Abruptly, the rain that Amegakure was known for stopped. Naruto blinked, the hairs on the back of his neck rising in alarm.

Through his mist, Naruto could clearly feel the man's chakra saturate the air– a veritable ocean comparable to the sea behind him – and staring at his Rinnegan was like being in the eye of a hurricane; time seemingly slowed to a crawl as Naruto felt the world shift according to the man's will. Animals that moments before had scurried in the open returned to their hiding places. The wind picked up as clouds were carried in from nowhere and turned the early sunlight into overcast.

The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stood up as it began to rain.

The memory surfaced unbidden, all but confirming one of Naruto's lingering suspicions about his ally. "You can control the weather?" he asked almost breathlessly.

Nagato bared his teeth in what could only be described as triumph, and not for the first time Naruto was reminded of just who exactly he was working with. Ringed eyes that were normally unreadable shone with incandescent glee as the redhead spread his arms dramatically. "I can. And, soon, you will too."

"How?" Naruto asked. For all the control shinobi had over their environment, weather remained far out of reach. Aside from a fuuton master literally blowing away clouds – an incredible feat – he couldn't even fathom how one could exert control on such a scale.

"I can show you the workings of chakra that are beyond even the five Kage," Naruto remembered being told.

Nagato tapped the side of his head twice, indicating his eyes. "The Rinnegan is the most powerful dojutsu for a reason. With it, I mastered all five elemental chakras. It bestows an understanding, Naruto, beyond even masters of respective elements." He held out his palm as Naruto felt the humidity momentarily spike, and a perfect sphere of ice formed. Nagato tossed it to him wordlessly.

He caught it easily, marveling at its density. It's as tough as anything I make, he realized. "I've never seen you use ice before," he said.

"I have little need for it. I thought the technique died with Hanzo and the Yuki clan in Kirigakure." Naruto contained his grimace at Haku's personal tragedy. "Until you showed up, of course, giving me more opportunities to study it."

"And this helps you control the weather…how, exactly?"

The redhead smiled indulgently. "Take yourself as an example: you have a mastery over water that I haven't seen since Hanzo. Given that, do you know how clouds are formed?"

Naruto contemplated for a moment. "It's similar to mist and fog, I'd guess," he tried, not truly knowing despite his ability to create both.

"It's exactly the same, but do you know how?" The blond shook his head and Nagato nodded. "I thought not. Shinobi readily create and use the elements at their disposal without any knowledge of how they actually work."

"But how is that possible?" Naruto wondered aloud, aghast at his own lack of knowledge. He had never thought about how exactly he turned the water in the air into mist or ice or anything else. None of his sensei over the years had mentioned anything about it. Do they not know either? "Surely the information came from…" he trailed off, locking eyes with his teacher's dojutsu once more. "The Sage."

"Very good, Naruto. Long ago, the Sage taught his children and disciples how to use their chakra; how to mold it and affect their surroundings with it. His eyes gifted him the same understanding that I have and, presumably through some experimentation, ninjutsu was born."

Naruto nodded. "But that was a long time ago," he said, comprehension beginning to dawn on him.

Nagato barked a laugh. "A very long time ago. Given the passage of time, and human nature being what it is, the knowledge of how things happened was pushed to the side and, as best as I can tell, forgotten."

"That seems absurd," the blond cut in. But it's not, is it?

It was Nagato's turn to shrug. "Not really. Put yourself in the place of an elder trying to teach children how to survive against a rival clan in the middle of a war. The finer details are easily passed over when the need for pure competency outweighs the need for knowledge. It's not the fault of today's shinobi that they're ignorant. They're products of a centuries of conflict that focused on simply being able to do things, rather than how they're done."

And without the Rinnegan, how would anyone look deeper. Mastery of all five elemental chakra manipulations was unheard of – impossible even. One couldn't exactly study the relationships between them when the skills required were legendary in nature.

"So…where does this leave us?" Naruto asked, still struggling to wrap his mind around the concepts presented. Concepts that he would likely have to study in depth.

"It leaves you with quite a bit of reading," Nagato said, the air of a smug teacher about him. "I've written down my observations ever since I had enough time to make them. I'll show you where I keep them in my library."

Naruto contained a sigh. He had never been one for book study, even back in Konoha's academy.

His new sensei chuckled at his expression. "I'm sure you'll find it interesting. In the meantime, however, you'd likely benefit from actually seeing how it's done."

Naruto didn't have time to nod his head before the temperature abruptly dropped for a moment that nearly stole his breath. He felt the hairs on his arms stand as a palpable current filled the air around him and Nagato. The same trepidation that filled him when the rain had stopped rushed to the forefront of his mind once more.

The redhead raised his left arm to shoulder level with a lazy smirk and pointed it ninety degrees away from him. He didn't have time to blink before the deafening clap of thunder made him flinch and the smell of ozone greeted his nostrils, and it was only because of years of training that his eyes managed to catch the bolt of pure, white lightning that leapt from Nagato's hand to the concrete wall of the reservoir.

Belatedly, he realized his heart was a frenetic drumbeat in his chest. He turned to the now scoured wall, taking in the burn mark that hadn't been there a moment before. The concrete was singed a deep black, with what looked like veins branding out from the center.

"That…was spectacular," he breathed.

"Mmm. You'll be able to do much the same, soon," Nagato soothed, his smile no longer one of smug triumph, but of encouragement.

"How?"

The redhead chuckled at Naruto's flabbergasted exclamation. "Did you notice the temperature drop for a moment?" At the blonde's nod he said, "That's because natural lightning comes from ice. In a cloud, drops of water so small you can't even see them freeze into ice crystals that rub against each other. Create enough friction, and the result is…well…" he trailed off, turning his own eyes to look at the burn mark. "Spectacular."

Naruto nodded mutely, awed at the display of nature that was at his kin's beck and call. He had seen many a lightning ninjutsu and felt the effects of more than one, but none had left him feeling like he had witnessed something altogether greater than himself.

I'll be able to do this, he realized, the concept ringing through his skull. The familiar thrill of a new jutsu to learn almost overtook him before he pushed the feelings down. Focus on the here and now, his old sensei told him.

"How did you learn this?" he asked.

Nagato shrugged artlessly, as if he hadn't just created lightning without transmuting his chakra into the specific element. "It took a while. I spent a few months sitting in a cloud, just observing. One day, what my eyes could see started to make sense."

Naruto's gaze turned skyward, a question on the tip of his tongue. "The clouds that produce lightning are much higher than even the tallest building here," he said. "How did you sit…" Naruto trailed off, mind going to the spiky haired path that could alternatively push and pull him from a distance. "No…"

The smile of pure triumph had returned. "What can't you do?" Naruto asked, because it seemed a much more reasonable question.

"I haven't figured that out yet," Nagato told him matter-of-factly, as he gently began to float skyward. He tossed the blond a grin that told Naruto just how pleased he was with himself, and ascended back towards his tower.

/~/

Naruto walked silently through the monolithic tower from his room, the warmly lit corridors finally feeling familiar after almost eight weeks. Patterned carpet cushioned his feet as he walked, lantern shaped sconces lighting his way.

He was nearly vibrating out of his clothes, mind still awhirl from Nagato's demonstration of raw, elemental power. The redhead's promises of power enough to never have to kill had rung like a hollow sales pitch since his arrival in Ame. For as unassailable as Nagato's paths were in combat, their abilities were beyond him.

But this? Ice manipulation had become his specialty. The execution would be a challenge, yes, the chakra control required so fine that it put his already pinpoint control to shame, but the concept itself was simple. And the possibilities therein were so broad that he felt he'd barely scratched the surface of what he might one day be capable of.

A god indeed, he thought with some amusement. The preternatural awareness of the Paths finally clicked. He feels through the rain the same way I feel through my mist. The concept was staggering, and, for Naruto, presented a world without fear. Once he could do the same, never again would he be looking over his shoulder for the ghost of a threat that no longer existed.

That vision of a future blissfully free of his demons adding a spring to his step, he almost missed the hushed voices in the common area he was walking toward. He froze at the edge of the hallway, the bass tone of Nagato's Deva Path barely audible. I've never seen one in the building before.

He snuck a glance around the corner and felt his eyes widen a touch at the sight of the orange-haired Path's face being cradled in the studiously aloof Konan's hands. Unshed tears were clear in her bronze eyes, and Naruto noticed the normally ringed eyes of the Path were a blue nearly as clear as his own. He could see Konan's lips moving almost imperceptibly before she leaned forward, and he reflexively jerked his head back behind the corner, knowing he had intruded upon something that was far too personal.

He suddenly longed for the sound amplifying nature of Hanzo's old bunker. They'd have undoubtedly already heard him and saved him from witnessing whatever intimate moment he had almost walked in on. He didn't know the story behind any of Nagato's Paths; all he knew was that the Deva acted as the de facto leader of the six whenever they fought.

And that they all felt off in a way that had left him postulating as to who, or what, they were exactly.

He sighed, mind suddenly very much focused on the here and now. Just like you always said, sensei, he thought sardonically. Ideas on how to make a covert entry that managed to avoid any and all awkwardness were flying through his brain when the slightest rustling of cloth almost made him jump. He pushed himself off the wall silently in time to hear the telltale pop of the Deva Path being summoned, and felt relief wash over him. Thank goodness.

Naruto peeked around the corner once more to see Konan facing the expansive windows that looked upon Amegakure. He stepped forward. "Nagato not here yet?"

She turned to face him, not a hint of the emotion he had seen on her face present. "He's still attending to some business downstairs. Would you like some tea?"

It was hard to reconcile the aloof Akatsuki member with the clearly emotional scene he had just witnessed. "No, thank you," Naruto said, casting his mind in other directions. He had learned that "business downstairs" usually meant Nagato was dealing with some other member of Akatsuki that was physically present in the country. He'd yet to meet any of the other members since his arrival – his brief run-in with Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi was a fleeting bad memory.

He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the prospect of working with the infamous clan killer. His distaste for nuke nin had all but evaporated in Grass Country, yet the renegade Uchiha's reputation hit a bit closer to home than most. Senseless slaughter is what I'm working against, he thought, not for the first time.

"Are you sleeping better?" Konan's voice broke him from his thoughts, and he felt his face warm ever so slightly at being caught with his mind wandering.

Suppose I'm getting comfortable here. "I am, yes," he said with a small smile at the older woman's politeness. "It'll take some more time, but I'm getting there."

"It's too soft," she confirmed. "You feel like you're sinking into the ground." Her lips twitched at the blonde's surprised expression. "It took me months to get used to it," she said, recovering from her bout of hilarity quickly.

Naruto grimaced; Nagato had spoken in detail about their accommodations before they had taken Ame. "Quite the shock coming from a cave. It's lavish compared to anywhere else I've lived."

"It's too much," she said sharply, in the greatest show of emotion Naruto had seen from her other than in his voyeurism. "We pared it down as much as made sense when we took it, but it's still too much."

"Why stay?"

"I made Nagato promise that this revolution wouldn't be run from a cave. This was the next best option," she said lightly, lips twitching once more. The amusement faded as the blue haired woman sighed, and her emotions were suddenly locked away for eyes that weren't Naruto's. "This world needs us. The least we can have is a semblance of comfort."

"This world needs us."

"You really believe that, don't you?" he asked in wonderment before his mind could sensor it. He wished he could take it back a moment later at the withering glare the older woman sent his way. Good job, Naruto.

"Skill is meaningless without the drive to see the goal through to its completion. If you're planning to be the ally you claim, you have to believe. Kill your doubt and whatever past demons you have now. You'll be useless otherwise," she snapped.

The blond felt a frown cross his face as his hackles rose. He had exchanged few words with Nagato's longstanding partner, and they certainly hadn't prepared him for the outpouring of vitriol she had slapped him across the face with. He opened his mouth but halted at Konan's pained grimace and raised hand.

"Forgive me, please," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I…haven't been myself today. It's no excuse, but…"

His mind flashed back to the scene he had nearly walked in on, and the naked vulnerability written on Konan's face. "Apology accepted," Naruto rushed out, not out of any real forgiveness for the woman but a desire to kill the awkwardness. He'd never been good with apologies, either giving or accepting.

"I shouldn't have snapped," Konan conceded, strength returning to her voice. "But I meant what I said." She sighed heavily, roiling emotions on full display. "With all Nagato's praise, I forget how young you actually are."

She straightened, bronze eyes locking onto blue. "Listen, Naruto. This isn't just some mission. If you mean to join us – and you say you do – then you have to believe you're necessary. And you are. These people…" She turned to the expansive window overlooking the city, and Naruto took a few steps forward to share her view while not crowding her. "They may not act like it, but they deserve better. And there aren't many people lining up to help them get it."

"Nagato's told me your story." Three orphans wandering the floodplains ravaged by war.

"Then you know why we fight. And why we can't afford to hesitate. To doubt for even a moment."

Yahiko. I would've liked to meet him, the blond thought, unbidden. Nagato spoke in glowing tones of his fallen friend. "I do believe," he said at length, causing Konan to turn to him once more. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I got out cleanly. I wasn't planning to come back. Maybe I would've someday, but only for this. Questioning my belief in this work is an insult to the promises I've made to myself and others," he said plainly. I'm not putting myself through this for my own benefit, he thought with some residual fire from Konan's outburst.

"So you say. Then what do you doubt?"

"Myself." He almost started at the lack of hesitation in his voice. I've fallen far. It wasn't long ago that his faith in himself had been the only thing keeping him going. Five-hundred and forty days. "I've failed my friends before," he said, mind flashing to oppressive heat and cold, lifeless eyes.

"You say you wouldn't be here if you didn't believe. You also wouldn't be here if Nagato didn't believe in you. Trust me, he doesn't take decisions about Akatsuki lightly. If he believes you can be a help, then you can."

She half turned, facing the hallway he had entered from. The blond followed suit. "Let the past die," she said, and for a moment Naruto wondered if she was still talking to him. "It's the only way to accomplish what we set out to do."

"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Nagato declared. He was leaned casually against the far wall, next to the apartment's kitchen. An easy smile sat on his face as he stared at Konan and Naruto. "Glad you two are getting to know each other."

"Is there any more business to attend to before we get started?" Konan asked brusquely.

"Kakuzu has been placated, per usual," the redhead said, smile turning from open to wry. Konan spared him a nod for his good humor and took a seat.

"So, Naruto. I promised you some answers earlier. We spoke when you first came to Ame, some weeks ago, about your motivations. We've been reticent with sharing our own motivations for, well…understandable reasons," Nagato finished somewhat lamely.

It was such a contrast to his earlier, easy, almost off-putting confidence that Naruto couldn't help but wonder if the bashfulness was an act. "You didn't trust me," he said plainly. "I'm not taking it personally."

The redhead's lips quirked. "I'll save my apology, then."

Naruto piped up before he could continue, "I'm curious, though. What exactly changed? You recruited me in Tea Country, showed me Uzushio, and brought me here; all of which suggests a level of trust. What changed from then to now?"

Nagato shrugged artlessly while Konan was studiously blank. "To be honest, not much. It's not an exact science," he said with some humor. "You have your instincts in battle, right? You trust them?" Naruto nodded because of course he did. "Konan and I have been at this for years. Longer than you've been alive, even. We've learned to trust our instincts on this front."

Well that wasn't much of an answer, Naruto groused, but let it slide with a nod. He hadn't been expecting much from that to begin with. "You mentioned something about being a leader earlier…"

"I did, didn't I?" Nagato dropped to the couch and crossed his right leg over his left in what was apparently his default posture. "To put it simply, Naruto, I want you to be Hokage."

The blond blinked, mind utterly blank. To his right, he noticed Konan pinch the bridge of her nose and sigh in what could only be exasperation. "I'm sorry?" he managed after a moment.

"Could you please be serious?" Konan asked, voice pinched. "When I said you have a tendency to ramble, this wasn't the alternative I was going for."

What in the ever-living… Naruto wondered, glancing back and forth between the two old friends. Konan was glowering at Nagato, while the redhead was smirking like a cat that had caught the canary. The blond blinked, doing his best to reconcile this new facet of Nagato's ever-mercurial personality.

"My apologies, Naruto," he began, not sounding sorry in the least. "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

"That's usually the best practice," Naruto said weakly. Was he being serious?

Nagato tossed Konan a superior smirk, as if Naruto had just proven his point irrefutably, but turned back to the blond after a moment. "Akatsuki's overarching goal is world peace. There are, of course, a number of ways to attain that. We've been through a number of permutations over the years, narrowing down our approach, but what we've realized is that the shinobi system, as it is, is broken. Without outside forces influencing it, the villages will continue on in perpetuity, facilitating war after war that leaves our continent and its people devastated until there's nothing left worth fighting over. But we've been over that. The how remains."

Ringed eyes pinned Naruto in place for a moment that he shook off, more used to his ally's unsettling eyes as he now was.

"In short, we want to control the villages themselves. With our influence, they can work as they were originally intended: strongholds to shelter civilians and shinobi alike from outside forces that would see them dead."

"You actually want me to be Hokage," Naruto interrupted, mind whirling and connecting dots that Nagato had left for him. "You know why I left…" he trailed off, shaking his head askance.

"And I know why you chose to return. To accomplish actual change. You said you want to fight to end the wars; how better than by being in a position of real power?" Nagato asked. And isn't that a rhetorical question. "As Hokage, you'd be in charge of policy that would help shape the future of the continent. You could steer Konoha from war better than anyone else."

"And I'd be in charge of a village that cares only for its own dominance!" the blond burst out. He stood abruptly, beginning to pace. "The Hokage is a slave to the needs of the village. If the village needs money, we lobby the daimyo for missions. If those aren't forthcoming…" He spread his arms, shaking his head. "Suna invaded my home when I was thirteen because their daimyo was stiffing them. They needed money, and the easiest way to do that was to prove they were stronger than someone else."

Nagato nodded, an infuriating smile affixed to his face that said 'I know something you don't.' "You're right, of course. Ame operated in much the same fashion under Hanzo's rule. That changed once I came to power."

Whispers about the god Pein had made their way to his ears. "And how many had to die to make that transition smooth?" Naruto asked before he could stop himself. He almost flinched at the palpable energy that suddenly filled the space between him and Nagato. Blue eyes locked with mercury, and Naruto refused to blink. "I've been here for over six weeks," he continued, voice quiet. "People talk."

Nagato held his gaze for a moment before sighing. "More than should have had to. What's done is done, however. Is that going to be a problem for you, Naruto?"

The blond knew a loaded question when he heard one. "No," he said. "I worked for three years to destabilize a government. I know how the game works. But I made a promise to myself that I'm not willing to break."

The redhead smiled, and the tension in the room disappeared as if it had never existed. "I told you you'd never have to. Have a little faith, my friend."

Naruto sat back down, eyes briefly flickering to Konan, who was sat watching the two of them without a hint of emotion on her face. "Faith isn't much to a shinobi," he said lowly.

Nagato chuckled. "It isn't, no. That you've come this far with me is more than I could've asked of many. And it underscores why you're the man for the job." Naruto simply leaned back, one eyebrow raised in a silent question. The redhead continued, "You wouldn't be working alone. Akatsuki has agents highly placed in each of the Great Five except Konoha at the moment. When you are made Hokage, our agents will likely be in similar places in their own villages."

Naruto held up a hand to forestall any more of Nagato's apparently fully-formed plans for him. "Slow down, please. You're talking as if I've already accepted this…mission, for one. But I'll get into that. Even if I did accept, the moment I return to Konoha I'll be labeled a deserter. They were recalling all units nearly a year ago." Five-hundred and forty days ago.

The redhead scoffed and nodded toward Konan. "Our first sensei was Densetsu no Jiraiya." Naruto felt his eyes widen at the knowledge; it was yet another tidbit that both answered and raised questions about Nagato at the same time. "He trained us for three years and was welcomed back with open arms."

The blond blinked and shook his head. "Even so, he was a student of the Sandaime and one of the Sannin. Our situations are a bit different."

"You sell yourself short. As you are now, you're a more capable shinobi than he was when he trained us," Nagato said with such casual dismissiveness that Naruto found himself actually believing the words. "They will want you back just as surely as they wanted Jiraiya."

"And becoming Hokage?" the blond asked, disbelief clear in his voice. "Even if they do let me back into the corps, there's only one Hokage. You can't seriously bet on Tsunade and her council to just hand it to me."

"Can't I?" Nagato asked rhetorically. He grinned at Naruto's deadpan expression. "Did you ever wonder about your path through Konoha's ranks? About any special consideration you may have been given? Thirteen year olds aren't thrust into village ANBU lightly."

Naruto bit his tongue to hold back a bitingly sarcastic retort, considering even as he tried to discard the idea as ludicrous. He had had, after all, more personal contact with the Sandaime than most shinobi could claim, and certainly more than any around his age. His Root initiation also stood out; the covert organization had young recruits, but even the youngest he had ever interacted with had been a few years older than him.

"They were grooming you," Nagato declared. "Even talented pre-teens aren't thrust into black-ops lightly. And they certainly aren't sent off to war like you were without the utmost confidence of the powers-that-be."

"You're still making assumptions," Naruto rebutted, shaking his head faintly.

"We work almost exclusively in conjecture," Konan spoke up. The blond nearly started; he had nearly forgotten she was even in the room. "We can only work with the facts we have at our disposal, Naruto-san, but those facts paint a rather distinct picture."

"A distinguished chunin at eleven, the youngest ANBU since Uchiha Itachi at twelve, deployed to a covert war at thirteen," Nagato said, ticking the points off on his fingers. "Call it what you will, Naruto, but you weren't exactly travelling the well-worn path of a normal shinobi."

"You're remarkably well informed about my career," the blond said weakly.

"And you're deflecting," the redhead returned, the slightest irritation in his voice giving Naruto pause. "You were exceptional well before I found you in Tea Country, and I was hardly the first to recognize it."

"Thinking of myself in those terms only ever got me into trouble."

"Having a negative perspective of yourself doesn't make you objective. Accept what you are. You wouldn't be here now if you weren't every bit the exceptional shinobi you once believed yourself to be," Nagato said firmly. Naruto stared into the Rinnegan and saw only surety. "Konoha will recognize that just as I have."

Naruto ran a hand through his blond locks, exhaling hard. The argument had weight. He had always known his career was unlike most. His meteoric rise, if it could be called such, had been marked with promotion after promotion without him ever really stopping to think about the consequences of his excellence. He had simply chalked it up to working hard for his goals at the time, his early desires for rank and status providing all the motivation he had ever needed.

"Say you're right," he allowed after a moment's thought. "I become Hokage and then…what? You say you've got agents highly placed in each of the Great Five, where does this plan go from there?"

Nagato smiled. "Then the real work begins. Disagreements settled peacefully, compromises reached without the need for war. It's not that simple, of course. Troop numbers will have to be regulated, strategic maneuvers monitored, mission intake carefully distributed."

"Not exactly freedom," Naruto quipped, unbothered. It wasn't like the villages preached personal liberty; all shinobi were slaves to the will of their village.

"Far from it. But until the infantile mindset of 'might makes right' is stamped out, there will never be peace among shinobi," the redhead stated. "Our teacher believed that the only way peace would ever be achieved was through mutual understanding. We agree with him." He gestured at Konan to include her. "That understanding, however, has no chance of happening without a catalyst. As they are now, the villages will war amongst themselves until there's nothing left to fight over."

"Unless we intervene," Konan interjected. "With a stable order brought about with our agents in power, the process of the villages beginning to understand each other can be undertaken. It will take years – multiple lifetimes, most likely, as hatred cannot be extinguished quickly."

"How likely is it that your agents will take the Kage positions?" Naruto asked, enthralled in spite of himself. The same glimmer of optimism he had felt after his first conversation with Nagato sprang anew. Atonement, the word rang clear like a bell in his mind.

"One is already in place. Kirigakure has been under our control for over a year now since their civil war ended," Nagato answered. "Our men in the other villages are well regarded jonin, each of whom has the ear of their respective Kage. On their own, they'd have a good shot. It's not an eventuality we're looking to leave to chance, however…"

The blond withheld a grimace at the forever present macabre nature of their profession. Peace requires sacrifice, he told himself. "And Konoha?"

Nagato nodded, seemingly pleased with the turn the conversation had taken. "You were the last piece of the puzzle. We had no operatives within Konoha's ranks that could conceivably fill the role. It was only after Itachi and Kisame's report that I began to think of you as an option."

Which reminds me, Naruto thought, dismissing the implicit praise. "What exactly is their role in all of this? S-ranked nuke-nin doesn't exactly scream 'peace.'"

"They don't, do they?" Nagato asked Konan, the familiar wry tilt to his lips back. His friend favored him with the slightest of smiles. "Their presence is two-fold. They act as a convenient smokescreen for Akatsuki's broader ambitions, for one. High profile mercenaries aren't subtle, but they make for great distractions to keep people from 'looking underneath the underneath' as it were."

Naruto almost rolled his eyes. Should've expected nothing less from the man who toppled Hanzo as a first step.

"Their second role is as bijuu hunters," Nagato said, halting Naruto's thoughts in their tracks. The blond blinked owlishly, cocking his head to the side, askance. "The bijuu have been the source of a good deal of unrest between the villages ever since Senju Hashirama decided to distribute them back before the First Great War." The redhead sighed heavily. "His intentions were good, but the result was the weaponization of jinchuuriki as tools for their villages. Using them, Kumogakure allied with Hanzo to launch the offensives that started the First War. The Sanbi's rampages along the borders of Fire Country were instrumental in lighting the powder keg that started the Second. And Konoha's bumbling efforts to sabotage a jinchuuriki exchange between Iwa and Kumo kicked off the Third."

"Remove the bijuu, remove a major incentive for war amongst the vilalges," Konan said. "Their power can't be trusted in the hands of people who see conquest as their best option."

Naruto nodded mutely. That explains what they were doing in Grass Country, he mused. The two Akatsuki members had been hunting Roshi. That he had been saved from death was simply a happy accident.

"It's a lot to process," Nagato said, humor clear in his tone.

"You have the gift of understatement," the blond muttered. A melodious chuckle greeted his words, and he turned, surprised, to see Konan favoring him with a smile that utterly transformed her face. The studiously aloof woman was undeniably pretty, but she was a different person when she smiled. Far different from the conflicted woman who had greeted him when he first entered the room.

"It seems unbelievable, doesn't it?" she asked breathily. The blue-haired woman turned a wistful gaze to the expansive window that looked out over Ame. "As fantastical as it sounds, we've come far."

"We're close to having everything in place, Naruto," Nagato implored. "There's much work still left to be done, but peace is within our reach. With your help, we can solidify our position with the Great Five and begin the process of steering the world toward true harmony."

The blond nodded, eyes flickering to Konan once more, taking in her form as it stared out over her home. He glanced back to Nagato, ringed eyes aglow.

Naruto sighed, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders that he hadn't known was there. He nodded silently, feeling the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly.

For the first time in longer than he could remember, he allowed himself to feel hope.

/~/

Wrote the majority of this chapter about six months ago. Only just recently managed to write the last scene. Shouts to the guys at DLP for their help with all of this, as always.

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to drop a review.

17. What You Leave Behind

He breathed deeply, feeling the air around him and diving deeper. The moisture stood out to him like shining stars in the night sky, and he reached out with his chakra. The temperature bottomed out as he transmuted the latent water particles into miniscule ice crystals too small for the eye to see, and he grimaced as he worked to move them with his will.

He opened his eyes, letting the exercise fail as his mind strayed. Time flies when you're having fun. "Area needs to be smaller," he murmured, shaking his head. The thought had occurred to him as a way to expend less mental effort when creating friction between the tiny ice particles, but he had neglected to actually put in into play.

His diligence had limits, and after a full day of nothing but meditation and minimal success even he would lose focus.

Naruto rose fluidly and twisted, his back popping satisfyingly drawing a contented exhale from him. I've been sitting for too long. He craned his neck upward to the ever-falling rain of Ame, a sardonic smile leveled at the sky that was momentarily split by a bolt of lightning. "Easy for you, isn't it?" he asked the clouds. The sky said nothing, and he dropped his gaze to the skyscrapers that surrounded Hanzo's reservoir.

It had become his primary place of practice in the weeks since Nagato had informed him of his true place in Akatsuki. The kilotons of water lent him comfort, and the reservoir was secluded enough from most of Ame's day-to-day people that he wasn't bothered. No one dared approach Pein's residence without an audience.

Not all bad, he mused. He closed his eyes once more, reaching out. The temperature dropped again and his face screwed itself up in concentration. He felt the ice begin to swirl randomly, his mind channeling his chakra in every direction imaginable – up, down, right, left, back, forth – faster and faster. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead despite the temperature, and he felt the hairs on his arms suddenly stand up.

Blue eyes opened to tiny lightning bolts dancing around him, the pungent smell of ozone doing nothing to contain Naruto's almost feral grin at the sight. Seven weeks of work, he thought, satisfied. The concept, as Nagato had told him, was simple enough. The execution, less so.

Maintaining the focus necessary to manipulate the tiny water particles was something he'd mastered years ago; freezing them was much the same. But creating enough friction to induce lightning? His best time to-date was twenty-nine seconds, which was enough time for a genin to both kill and bury him twice over.

Survival could be measured in fractions of seconds, which made the skill, as it was, effectively useless.

Nagato had apparently developed a modicum of skill over the course of about a year, in the redhead's words, which meant Naruto had quite a ways to go. Thankfully, his life didn't depend on it.

A momentary burning drew his attention to his left hand, where a bone-white ring with an orange crest rested on his index finger. 'San,' it said in kanji, but Naruto had long since gotten used to the jewelry's weight. "What does he want?" he asked himself, thoughts of his could-be-cousin rising to the fore.

Naruto crouched, placing one hand on the water's surface and channeling chakra to his legs. He felt his muscles absorb the energy greedily, fibers contracting to their breaking point. The surface of the reservoir buckled with a massive splash as the blond rocketed skyward.

The skyscrapers blurred to even his trained eyes and suddenly he was above them. Slowing down, he spared a glance for the clouds that were still very much out of his reach and grinned. Soon. Feeling for the thin surface of water that always covered the balcony outside of Nagato's living room, he directed his chakra as he began to descend.

He landed with a soft thump on the balcony that overlooked a good bit of the metropolis, the smallest of frowns crossing his face at the noise. His chakra had cushioned the impact, but concrete didn't absorb chakra well, limiting the ability to fully mute the sound of his landing.

"Having fun?" Nagato queried, voice clearly amused.

"Loads," Naruto returned, quelling his momentary embarrassment. Of course he could feel the whole thing. The scope of his ally's awareness was still staggering, even if he was making stride on his own.

"Not quite as graceful as my version, but definitely effective," the redhead quipped with a wry smile. "Your chakra control is astounding."

The blond hesitated for a moment, unsure, before he banished the thought. "It's gotten better with my training here. Easier. Like there's more of it for me to use – more of it that wants to be used."

A single eyebrow rose. "Surely it makes sense for your capacity to grow with continued training. Both of your physical and spiritual essences have experienced serious upheaval since coming here. It's the same with every shinobi."

Naruto cocked his head, considering. "It feels…different," he said haltingly. "When I'm focusing on the water in the air, or when I'm meditating. More potent than how it used to." Or even than how it feels when I'm just using ninjutsu…he thought.

Nagato considered him for a moment before shrugging. "A shinobi's chakra gets more potent with age. And you're an Uzumaki." He grinned. "Our chakra is our legacy."

"I suppose," the blond allowed, letting the subject drop – Nagato clearly had other things on his mind. "You called?"

His kin's face fell into a scowl, causing Naruto to blink in surprise. Nagato could only ever be described as mercurial, but so rarely showed true signs of displeasure that they always managed to catch him off guard.

"We've a situation brewing. Come sit." The redhead fell onto the single seat cattycorner to the sofa, which Naruto dropped onto without hesitation. "Madara is on his way here."

"His name is Uchiha Madara, and he destroyed our family."

Naruto felt his stomach twist at the mention of the Uchiha patriarch. The extent of Nagato's relationship with the man still hadn't been made plain to him, but he had managed to infer that there was little trust between the two – at least on Nagato's end.

"Is this visit…expected?" he asked lamely.

"Impromptu, but not out of the ordinary for how he operates. No, what's different is his company. Itachi is with him," the redhead declared. "Which could mean a number of different things, but they're irrelevant."

Ringed eyes snapped to Naruto. "Akatsuki was Yahiko's creation, as I've told you before. Madara approached us before Yahiko's death, but it was only after that I accepted his help in pursuing peace. Through his connections, we've made much headway, but I've known for some time that our goals were not truly aligned."

"A power play, then," Naruto said.

"Possibly. He's brought Itachi with him to Ame before, so I cannot be sure, but, as I've said, Madara's aims here are irrelevant," Nagato said. "I don't know the true scope of his plans for Akatsuki, but the time has come to remove his influence."

The blond felt himself lean back, the reality of the situation made bare. Not for the first time did thoughts of his vow rush to the forefront of his mind.

"I will not kill for you," he remembered. "What are you asking of me?" he asked, voice somehow strong despite his inner misgivings.

A grim smile split Nagato's lips. "Nothing you aren't prepared to give," he assured the blond, and Naruto felt himself relax imperceptibly. "Madara is my responsibility. I leave the apprentice to you."

Uchiha Itachi. Naruto turned his gaze to Ame's skyscrapers out the window. His thoughts on the renegade Uchiha were a jumbled mess. He had been the man's spiritual successor in a way, the youngest ANBU recruit in the few years following the Massacre. Even as a nuke-nin, Itachi had cast a long shadow, both as the former prodigy as well as a terrifyingly strong boogeyman. He had held nothing but disdain for traitor, just like every other Konoha shinobi.

Things had become conflicted with the end of the war and his introduction to Akatsuki, leaving Naruto with no idea what to think of the clan-killer.

"No small task," he finally said. "You want me to keep him busy?"

Nagato nodded. "In short. Once I've dealt with Madara, I will join you. I've some small hope that he can be persuaded to our cause."

"Is that a good idea?" Naruto heard himself ask. "You think he has no loyalty to Madara?"

The redhead stepped his fingers in front of his face. "I couldn't guess at his motivations. His history with Madara and his clan is complex and not something I'm looking to dive into now. Given the chance, I'll ask him myself. He's a superb shinobi and we could use his skills."

Ringed eyes fell to Naruto once more. "It's been some time since you've engaged in true combat. I need to know you're ready, Naruto."

The blond nodded vigorously without hesitation, but Nagato only shook his head. "Your word means much to me, but you experienced enough trauma in your final confrontation with Roshi to leave our world behind. One doesn't move past that lightly."

Naruto managed to withhold a grimace, old memories rising to the fore. "What do you want me to say?" he asked, subdued.

"I want you to tell me what happened that day," Nagato said, suddenly intense. "You've made great strides in your months here, but there is still doubt in you. I suspect your battle that day is the root of much of it."

"Let the past die…It's the only way to accomplish what we set out to do." Konan's words from weeks ago rang loud in his mind, and Naruto sighed.

"The war was over. My squad was ordered to the border for a final debrief and then we'd go our separate ways…"

/~/

The world came apart around him faster than he could react. As attuned as his senses were, his chakra blanketing the air, he only had time to flatten himself to a branch to barely avoid the red meteor that tore through the air where he had just been.

His right arm came up behind him as he kept his left in contact with the branch, a spear of ice materializing in the moment it took him to survey the horror that had descended upon them.

"Quick, ain't ya?" Yoton no Roshi drawled, languidly turning his head to face him. An animalistic snarl split the man's lips even as Zabuza and Haku landed on either side of the blond. "Didn't think you'd dodge that one, but didn't think you'd escape either. Guess I'm not given ya enough credit, boy. Think I like it better this way, though." He yanked his right arm from where it was embedded in a tree trunk, letting it fall to his side. The lifeless body of Naruto's captain slid off and dropped bonelessly to the thinning marsh below, a hole the size of the jinchurriki's forearm in her chest. "Doubt she does, but I reckon she's not doing much thinking right about now."

He stared mutely at his captain's corpse, face-down, black hair flaring out like spilled ink on paper as she slowly sank into the chest-high water. Bright red blood seeped out of a gaping wound in her chest, tinting the already murky water a bloody brown. Remember your training! a faraway voice was screaming in his head. He could barely hear it, however, the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears was nearly deafening.

"So, you're The Monkey," Naruto heard Zabuza say distantly. "Thought you'd be taller." The former Kiri-nin smoothly stepped in front of Naruto, pushing him backwards as Haku laid a hand on his shoulder. A spike of chakra nearly caused the blond to jump, and his breathing quickened momentarily as the world blurred back into something resembling clarity.

"Haku…" he breathed. "Thank you."

"Focus, Naruto-kun," the older boy soothed. "We need you."

"Momochi Zabuza. Didn't think I'd find ya working with Konoha trash like this, but everyone's just full 'o surprises today." Roshi sneered, rolling his boulder-like shoulders and running a hand through his goatee that was even scragglier than Naruto remembered.

"And I don't think you want this problem," Zabuza declared. "They must not teach you northerners all that well. Squandering the element of surprise for a grand entrance." The Demon unlatched his massive cleaver with ease, resting it on his shoulders just as Naruto's heart plummeted.

"Contact rear," the blond said tonelessly, turning halfway to present a side profile to The Monkey as two more chakra presences crossed the threshold of his awareness. Two men dressed in Iwa fatigues bounded from the marsh below into the treetops a moment later. One was clearly armed to the teeth, the other wielding nothing but a ninjato that was sheathed at his hip. Jonin, Naruto realized with dread, the darker red of their uniforms matching Roshi's. "Iwa kill squad," he said for the benefit of his companions.

"That's right, boy," Roshi snarled. "We've been cleaning up Leaf trash leaving the country for three days now. Just my luck I get to see you again."

Naruto stared into the malevolent eyes of The Monkey as if looking into a mirror to the past. For a moment he was eleven years old again, caught out of his depth with Team Raido in the plains of River Country as another red-haired Iwa jonin promised them death.

"Haku, with me," Zabuza commanded under his breath. "Naruto, deal with the lackeys. You're our backup once they're dead." The Demon's usual bravado was nowhere to be found.

The Monkey boomed a laugh that wasn't human. He pounded his chest twice, boiling hot chakra suddenly saturating the air the moment his eyes bled from muddy brown to demonic red.

"Haku!" Naruto heard Zabuza scream as the nuke-nin leapt at the jinchurriki. The blond paused for the space between seconds, surveying the two jonin in front of him, exhaled, and burst into action.

He blurred forward in a body flicker to the space between the two Iwa-nin, ice spear poised to eviscerate both in the same move. He met nothing but resistance, however, his spear impacting a gauntlet of black stone that covered the hand of the heavily armed jonin. The older man snarled down at him for a moment that felt like an eternity to the blond, and then he was falling backwards off the branch.

Naruto breathed in steadily, the foliage beginning to blur as he fell towards the marsh below. His hands came together in a bird seal as he watched the jonin who had kicked him leap in pursuit, gauntlet now sharpened to a point and ready to run him through on impact.

Foolish, he heard his subconscious whisper, processing the palpable rage on the man's face as he closed the gap between them. A shinobi must never allow emotions to cloud his judgment, his old sensei's voice spoke in his mind.

The jonin's face morphed from fury to panic as a wave of water with the face of a great white shark rose behind the falling blond, twisted around him without missing a beat, and hurtled forward. Suspended in the air, the Iwa-nin had no time to form a hand seal to save his life before the shark crashed into him with enough destructive power to crush stone.

Suikōdan no Jutsu.

Naruto hit the marsh with a splash that would've knocked the air out of his lungs had he not been expecting it. I'm home, he thought, unbidden, taking a moment to let the warm, murky water surround him. He exhaled a stream of bubbles, reaching out through his mist to survey the battle.

A school of freshwater fish were darting away as fast as they could from the disturbance above.

Hummingbirds fluttered nervously near the surface of the water for a single, panicked second before following suit.

Three shinobi clashed nearby: two Demons battled for dominance with fire and steel, the third sprinted around the edges of the battle, darting in and out of cover.

Blue eyes snapped open under the water, and Naruto zeroed in on the second of Roshi's jonin, who had channeled his chakra into a hail of massive boulders that were poised to crush him beneath the water. He formed a snake seal –

Bakusui Shōha!

And the swamp surged upward with his will.

Columns of water impacted falling rock with a crash, giving way for a moment before his chakra shifted the most malleable element to ice with a crack so loud that it nearly popped his ears. Naruto wasted no time, righting himself and leaping into a vertical sprint up the now solid ice columns toward the momentarily stupefied Iwa jonin.

The shock lasted but a moment, the man threw his hands together in seals that turned his boulders into brown sludge to free them from the ice's confinement before sharpening into hardened spears poised to skewer Naruto.

How long can he keep up this barrage? he wondered, marveling at the jonin's techniques even as he kawarimi'd out of the kill zone. His own A-ranked suiton manipulations would have left most shinobi gasping for breath, yet he was barely winded – he had come a long way from the boy who had fought in the Konoha Crush.

Probably not long, he told himself, bursting into a shunshin even as the voice of his old sensei said, never underestimate an opponent. He abandoned his sprint, channeling chakra to his feet to halt his momentum and spin out of the way of another spear that would have taken him through the stomach. A shaft of sharpened ice leapt to his hand with a thought, just in time to catch a blade striking at his throat.

In the momentary pause, Naruto dissected his assailant with ease borne of years of practice. Blue eyes met green, fury tempered and contained within, and knew he'd find no easy victory in the jonin across from him. He had learned from the mistake that had cost his teammate his life.

Chakra gave him the strength to force the Iwa-nin's arms upwards, and he landed a straight kick to the man's chest that he didn't bother following up on, content to let the jonin flip backwards, making his space. His shaft of ice lengthened into a facsimile of a standard issue katana. C'mon then, he thought, willing his enemy forward.

The jonin didn't disappoint. Quick! Naruto thought as the man brought his blade down in a heavy overhanded strike clearly meant to overpower his slight frame. Their weapons met with a ringing clang as Naruto used his low center of gravity to simply redirect the blow harmlessly to the side, neatly stepping past the jonin's guard upon the wide branch.

He parried another slash at his throat to the side as he retreated, mindful of his footwork, memories of sparring with Hayate rushing to the forefront of his mind. Hayate, who had been a far better swordsman.

Naruto back-stepped to avoid a cut to his chest, and feinted forward. The jonin stepped forward, turning his momentum from the cross-slash into a savage uppercut that would've taken him from navel to shoulder had he not anticipated it. The blond parried with his own uppercut, deflecting the Iwa-nin's ninjato high above his head, and immediately pressed his advantage.

Chakra anchoring him, he pivoted hard, a second blade of ice forming in his free hand that he mercilessly drove through the jonin's exposed chest. Too easy, he realized as his blade found purchase, a shunshin carrying him to an adjacent tree in time for him to witness six kunai laden with explosive tags pepper the space he had just inhabited. They detonated with a clap like thunder, the mud clone of his assailant incinerated in the blast.

Senses extended through his mist, Naruto rolled himself out of the way of yet another earthen spear. He turned swiftly, palming a kunai to deflect a ninjato slash down and to the side, and darted inside the jonin's guard. The man parried his stab with little effort, but grunted in surprise as Naruto snatched his free arm in a vice grip.

The blond tempered his triumph as he kicked out at the Iwa-nin's ankles, knocking him off balance and shifting his momentum to bring them both tumbling toward the marsh below. He dropped his kunai without a thought, wrapping his smaller frame around the man's in a bear hug as they plummeted.

The jonin snarled in his face, frantic green eyes meeting blue once again. The man managed to work his feet up to Naruto's midsection, and he pushed with whatever force he could muster. The blond held firm, and the jonin pushed out again desperately, chakra aiding his struggle, and Naruto let himself be shoved back.

He tucked himself into a tight flip and landed lightly on the marsh's surface a half second later. His heightened awareness told him the jonin had managed to land on his feet rather than bodily in the swamp as he had intended, but he didn't care.

A thought formed three water clones that set upon the jonin with merciless zeal, weapons of ice probing his enemy's defenses in tandem.

Sparing a moment, Naruto cast his senses toward the Monkey and his friends, and breathed a sigh of relief when he could still feel them.

A cry brought him back to the present, and he turned to see the Iwa-nin neatly bisect the last of his doppelgangers. He stood upon the marsh, palpable fury in his eyes, and Naruto could clearly see dark splotches of blood soaking through his already red uniform.

Unbidden, the bone deep weariness that had dogged him in the months since his escape settled over him. "You should have just let us go," Naruto told the jonin before him, if for no other reason that he was fed up with the pointlessness of it all.

The jonin barked a laugh, one part bemused, two parts derisive. "You're an entitled fuck if there ever was one. You think you can kill us and just leave whenever the fuck you want? Maybe you shoulda thoughta the consequences when you decided to kill our men."

"We didn't make you come here."

"Ha! Maybe not you, boy. But those Konoha cunts sure made it pretty fuckin clear what would happen if we didn't. Far as I'm concerned, you take their money, you're one of 'em."

Naruto shook his head, unsure why he had even bothered trying to reason with a man trying to kill him. Maybe a last ditch effort to make himself heard; maybe one final chance to save a life rather than ending one.

Nothing for it, he realized without feeling. "The war is over," he declared.

"Tch. For you, it is," the jonin bit out. His charka suddenly blanketed the air, calling out like a beacon to Naruto's heightened awareness. A heaviness fell upon the blonde's shoulders as the man braced himself and flipped through seals.

Too slow.

"Doton: Doryuu–" his voice cut off as suddenly as it had roared, hands falling limply to his sides, the pinched expression of exertion frozen on his face as his head fell gently backwards off of his shoulders. The rest of the jonin's body pitched forward bonelessly, splashing into the marsh without ceremony, revealing a thin whip of water that dropped back into the swamp without a ripple.

"It's over for you, too," the blond told the floating corpse, something like melancholy in his voice. "Maybe I'll be joining you soon." He had become numb to the idea what felt like an eternity ago.

A piercing cry of "Zabuza-sama!" shattered his momentary reverie. He whipped around, adrenaline shocking his system, and tore off in the direction of Haku's anguished scream.

The trees blurred as he honed in on the Monkey's poisonous chakra, sharp eyes barely catching the crouched form of his friend over the prone body of the Demon before his crossed arms quaked under the weight of Roshi's hammer blow. He felt his feet grind backwards on the thick branch as he stared up into malicious black eyes, his chakra's grip on the wood unable to hold firm against the jinchuuriki's strength.

His forearms felt as if they were about to snap in half as the Monkey slowly, deliberately, leveraged his weight against Naruto. He grinned bloodily down at the blond and Naruto snarled his fury.

The blond brought his chakra to bear and shoved, pushing Roshi back mere inches, but it was enough. He spun, chakra working in overdrive, and snatched Haku's shoulder in a vice grip before performing the fastest shunshin of his life to get out of range. He felt more than saw the tree get obliterated by whatever hellish concoction the jinchuuriki had unleashed, a great wave of heat that nearly blistered his skin managing to catch him in the back despite the speed of his jutsu.

Naruto chained three shunshins together, methodically adjusting his grip on his friend with each. He paused for a moment, a thought creating six mizu bunshin from the air around them, and tore off once more through the marsh. Just gimme a few seconds, he pleaded.

"Haku," he gasped, coming out of a final body flicker over a thousand meters from the destroyed tree. "Haku, I need you to look at me."

His friend blinked up at him listlessly, eyes that were normally filled with earnest kindness were lifeless in the aftermath of his master's death. "Naruto-kun…I failed him. I couldn't save him…"

Naruto dropped to a knee and took Haku's face in his hands. "Breathe," he ordered, channeling chakra through his hands that jolted his friend momentarily. The effeminate nuke-nin jerked in his grip, sagging briefly as he heaved. "The only way we make it out of this is if we work together. I need you right now, Haku."

The former Mist-nin placed a hand on his chest gently and nodded. The blond saw with relief that life was slowly bleeding back into his friend's eyes. "Do it for me. Be strong for me please," he implored.

Haku locked watery eyes with him and nodded again. "Naruto-kun…thank you," he said shakily. "I couldn't protect Zabuza-sama. I won't fail you too."

Good enough. "Of course you won't," Naruto soothed. "What do we know about him?"

"His lava is strong enough to melt even my demonic mirrors. He's faster than both me and Zabuza-sama. Kubikiri-bocho barely slowed him down," Haku said clinically, swiftly focusing.

S-ranked, Naruto thought with dread. Roshi was fast, Roshi was strong, and Roshi had a demon in his gut. A veteran of two shinobi wars and the Tsuchikage's strongest soldier. Zabuza, a former ANBU-taicho and elite jonin, hadn't lasted three minutes against the jinchuuriki. But you're stronger than he ever was, aren't you? a niggling voice asked in the back of his head.

He felt his blood begin to pump with every beat of his heart, the familiar lure of combat threatening to drop a haze over his mind. Naruto shook it off with nary a thought, exhaling hard through his nose. "I'll engage directly. Cover my flanks. If you see an opening, take it," he ordered. Haku's skillset was ill-matched against such a heavy hitter; he'd be best served running interference and covering any openings Naruto couldn't deal with himself.

"What will you do?" his friend asked.

"Drown him. Move!" the blond exclaimed, his senses going haywire.

A hasty Shunshin carried Naruto away from the kill zone just in time to avoid being crushed beneath a bolt of lava that carved a ten foot crater into the earth. He snarled his fury at the monster in front of him, the monster who had murdered his partner in a flash of white hot flame that had come from nowhere. His hands blurred and moisture in the air became water that bent to his will, shaping into a massive bullet that was spat at the monster almost faster than the eye could see.

He reached out with his chakra, his focus razor sharp as a crack rent the air as the bullet of water froze into ice a moment before it crashed into its target. The monster was thrown backwards, whipping through the air uncontrollably before meeting a tree hard enough to split it in two.

It would've killed any other man, any other shinobi, but he knew his work wasn't done.

Blue eyes tracked Haku's movements through the marsh in time to see a lance of ice as wide as he was tall erupt from the water below them and plow into Roshi. "To the trees, Haku!" Naruto yelled, throwing his hands into a ram seal.

Dai Bakusui Shoha!

The swamp beneath his feet roiled as his chakra multiplied the particles a hundred-fold, the murky water swirling upward and carrying him into the tree canopy. Naruto rode the wave a dozen meters up before he flipped onto a nearby branch, clapping his hands together and directing his massive wave forward like a tsunami.

It fell upon the area where Roshi had been pinned with a deafening crash that tore the ancient trees from the forest floor and swept them away like a river carrying driftwood. Naruto glanced at the suddenly exposed sky in a moment of wonderment at his jutsu's strength as Haku appeared next to him.

"Is he…"

The blond shook his head. "I can still feel his chakra down there. And there's too much water for me to do anything remotely precise with now." He would've scratched the back of his head sheepishly if not for the situation.

"You've grown strong," Haku breathed, staring at the destruction in some level of shock.

Let it be enough, the blond thought. "Here he comes," he warned, a red tinge overtaking the muted brown of his manmade lake.

The Monkey exploded up from the depths like a rocket, and the duo tensed for a moment before realizing he wasn't coming directly for them. He bounded up the tree opposite Naruto and Haku in the time it took to blink, and faced them plainly from five meters away. "'Bout time I stopped underestimating you, boy," he growled. The jinchuuriki shucked his soaked red top off, revealing tightly linked chain mail that stretched dangerously over his barrel chest. "You're his kid, ain't ya? That hair don't lie."

Namikaze Minato. Naruto had speculated on the identity of his father for years to no avail. There were no links between Uzumaki Kushina and the Yondaime Hokage. There was only his hair, and the abject hatred Iwa-nin tended to show whenever they saw him.

"Don't feel like talkin'?" Roshi drawled, flickering his eyes between the two younger nin standing opposite him. He spat contemptuously at their continued silence. "Shows what I get for tryna be nice," was all the warning they got before the air temperature spiked.

Blue eyes widened in the space between seconds as Naruto blurred through hand seals and spat a thin stream of compressed water – Suiton: Suidanha – at the flaming meteor that the Monkey had blasted at them. The severing wave hit the lava with a hiss, neatly bisecting it in time for Naruto to pull Haku behind him and step sideways through the molten opening. The blond felt his skin blister at the extreme heat, but had no time to process as Roshi plowed into him.

"Naruto-kun!" he heard Haku scream as he fell away, the jinchuuriki's arm coiled around his chest. Roshi drove them downward out of the tree canopy in a piledriver that Naruto knew his water wouldn't save him from.

His right hand snapped out, latching on to Roshi's neck in a vice grip that the Monkey either didn't feel or didn't care to react to. His grip loosened after a moment, however, a choked cry falling from the jinchuuriki's lips as Naruto's sensory genjutsu momentarily overwhelmed him.

The blond wasted no time; he flipped himself up and out of the Monkey's grip and onto his back before vaulting himself off in a chakra enhanced leap that sent the jinchuuriki hurtling ever faster toward the mash below. Naruto righted himself in midair and made a half ram seal, a thin pole of ice rising to meet the falling Iwa-nin and spearing him cleanly through the chest.

Roshi hung limply on the lance, suspended and unmoving as the blond fell back to earth and landed soundlessly on the water.

Naruto exhaled heavily, keeping his distance. That was too close, he thought absently, staring at the Monkey. A heaviness pricked his awareness, and he felt his eyes widen as the temperature leapt twenty degrees.

Inhuman chakra rolled off the suspended jinchuuriki in waves that threatened to bring Naruto to his knees. The blond hopped back lightly – memories of the Shukaku's rampage through Konoha fresh in his mind – only to flinch as a boiling hot chakra cloak bubbled forth and consumed Roshi's form.

The ice that had speared the man through the chest melted away in an instant, and Naruto had no warning as the Monkey blasted toward him faster than he could possibly react. How can he be that much faster? he marveled, as if from a great distance as death hurtled toward him.

Isn't my life supposed to flash before my eyes? Naruto wondered, strangely at peace. Blue eyes closed, accepting, only to fly open as the sound of shattering glass to his front threatened to deafen him.

An ice mirror as thick as a tree trunk stood between him and Roshi, quickly melting away to water from where the Monkey's molten fist was punched through it. A single drop of blood fell from the mirror's front, and then another, and another, and Naruto felt his heart plummet to his feet.

Roshi yanked his fist back and the mirror shattered into a thousand ice particles that fell into the waiting marsh, Haku's unmoving form impaled and suspended on his forearm. The Monkey's fist had driven a hole so big that it had nearly cut the effeminate boy in half, blood and entrails superheated to the point of hissing with steam around the chasm.

The Monkey tossed the corpse to his right contemptuously, and Naruto watched numbly as his friend's lifeless body skipped once, splashed, and begin sink into the swamp below.

"You've killed plenty of my men in these swamps. Now I've taken three of yours," the Monkey growled inhumanly, forcing Naruto's shocked eyes back onto his form. A haze of orange, molten and bubbling chakra shrouded the jinchuuriki's already imposing form. A single tail waved lazily behind him, almost hypnotic in its rhythm. "Consider us even."

Naruto felt his eyes sting as helpless, livid tears welled in his eyes. He swiped at them furiously, gaining clarity for a half second long enough to slap his hands together. His chakra exploded outward in a spiraling vortex – Suiton: Suishoha – before freezing in waves as it rippled toward the Monkey.

The rapidly coalescing ice caught Roshi in the chest and flung him back with the force of a tidal wave, but Naruto didn't stick around to see whatever the Monkey cooked up in response. He sprinted backward, chakra suffusing his legs as his shunshin carried him back to where he had tried to drown the jinchuuriki. His senses reached out and touched the veritable lake he had created, and he dove in headfirst.

Mud and sediment clouded the already murky water, but Naruto didn't need his eyes to see submerged in his favorite element. His chakra encircled him and created a current that carried him to the center of his destruction, the tons of water surrounding him the only comfort to his battered mind. The image of Haku's lifeless, mutilated body was laid before his eyes, just out of reach no matter how fast he cut through the water.

"Distractions are deadly for shinobi. A wandering mind will get you killed, Naruto," Fuu's voice told him, but he couldn't listen. Not when his captain, the last vestige of Root that he felt loyal to had been run through by a monster. Not when his mentor, a demon in his own right, had been cut down without any chance for Naruto to save him. And not when his best friend, the one person who Naruto knew beyond a shadow of a doubt had hung on to a shred of humanity through all the slaughter, had sacrificed himself.

And for what? Me?

Unbidden, rage – white hot and inconsolable – made his vision black-out for a moment. He let loose a scream into the abyss he had created with nothing but a stream of bubbles to show for it. His body vibrated as years of conditioning warred with his raw desire to obliterate the monster who had, in minutes, taken everything from him.

Malevolent chakra tweaked the fringe of his awareness, drawing him back to the present like a bucket of ice being dumped on him. Almost subconsciously, water began to swirl and coalesce around him as his thoughts rapidly ordered themselves.

Naruto closed his eyes, visualizing his enemy and all his terrifying strength – and he could think of no way to beat him. His genjutsu was all but useless against someone spewing that much chakra unless he could touch them – and he harbored no illusions about trying to get close to the Monkey. His ninjutsu were both numerous and powerful, but Roshi, with his oceans of chakra, would outlast him in a battle of attrition. He had already taken three of Naruto's best shots and was still bearing down on him with a vengeance.

Naruto's resolve crystalized as his eyes opened. He had walked into the jungle three years previous, ready to die for his village. Today, he was supposed to walk out, sure only that he was willing to die for his friends.

He would kill the Monkey or die trying, and would hopefully find his peace after either way.

Suiton chakra powered him through the water like a bullet, ice crystalizing around his hands in gauntlets strong enough to dent Kubikiribocho. He rocketed toward Roshi's chakra, exploding out from his lake with a splash that reverberated throughout the marsh, right fist drawn back for a blow that would take the jinchuuriki's head off.

The Monkey reacted fast, crossing his arms and blocking Naruto's haymaker, their chakra crashing together potent enough to blow the leaves off the nearby trees. Roshi growled up at the blond from his crouched position, but Naruto was already in motion.

He leveraged himself up, pushing off the Monkey's crossed arms with chakra as the moisture in the air rapidly froze around his left foot. He spun tightly and crashed a roundhouse kick into Roshi's snarling face before the older man could react, sending him hurtling backwards and skipping across the water.

Naruto landed lightly and paused just long enough to feel the temperature spike once more before he was forced to sprint away from a red-hot meteor that would've reduced him to ash. Chakra kept him above water as he ducked between the trees of the marsh – deeper and more expansive now thanks to his jutsu – to avoid two more bolts of lava the Monkey hurled at him.

Spying Roshi through the haze the extreme heat left in its wake, his fingers formed a bird seal – Suiton: Suigadan – and water rose in four drills around the jinchuuriki, poised to crush him. The Monkey leapt skyward, demonic chakra powering him into the tree canopy. Naruto wasted no time – ox, ram, bird – and the water beneath his feet roiled and exploded skyward, the face of a dragon roaring its elemental fury.

The blond held his hands in the bird seal as Roshi fell back to earth and immediately sprinted away in a shunshin. His suiryudan followed the jinchuuriki dutifully, Naruto fully focused on the fleeing chakra signature, the dragon bullet ready to crush and sweep the monster away like the ocean's tide.

A resounding crack sounded as the Monkey came out of his sprint, the jutsu freezing instantly with Naruto's will as it bore down on Roshi. The jinchuuriki halted his motion, turned adroitly on top of the marsh, and threw his head back. A meteor wider than Naruto was tall erupted from his mouth, colliding with the frozen dragon at point blank range.

Naruto felt his eyes widen as his jutsu was blasted into a billion shards of ice, utterly wasted, and powered himself into a body flicker as the Monkey's attention fell upon him from across the newly made clearing.

He slipped out of his shunshin a moment before Roshi's all-encompassing chakra made itself known to him, and Naruto barely got an ice-covered hand up to block a lava-fist headed for his face. The Monkey switched from a fist to a grab before he could slip away, lava-covered fingers melting their way through Naruto's gauntlet.

The blond brought his other hand around in a wild haymaker but the jinchuuriki caught it easily and held firm. The Monkey leaned into Naruto, poisonous red eyes locking with panicked blue in a way that told the blond just how insignificant he was. From panic came desperation, and Naruto powered his chakra into the water beneath their feet. It rose and froze faster than Roshi's heat could melt it, wrapping around the jinchuuriki in whips that dragged him backwards with the force of Naruto's will.

Roshi roared his fury as Naruto leapt to make space, and suddenly the blond found himself hurtling bodily through the air, white-hot fire spreading through his veins from his side.

He crashed into a tree without warning, heard the tree crack and splinter behind him, and through some reflex managed to kawarimi with a downed branch in time to avoid Roshi's lethal follow up. Naruto watched the tree trunk melt into nothingness, a breathy, manic laugh slipping through his lips as he slumped chest deep into the marsh. Shaky fingers rose haltingly to the left side of his chest, and Naruto hissed as they came away singed. He looked down to see his blood steaming as it dripped out of him into the water, his ribcage visible where the Monkey's chakra had boiled away skin, sinew, and muscle alike.

I'm going into shock, he realized detachedly, his thoughts sluggish and distant. Abruptly, pain – mind numbing and breathtaking all at once – crashed into him like a wave. Blood spurted from his lips as he heaved, Roshi's poisonous chakra searing his exposed lung like a brand causing his vision to white out.

Fucking Root training, he thought virulently, wishing for the painless abyss of shock, but through pain came clarity. His hands came together in seals – Doton:Chidokaku – and he felt the earth beneath him shift as a hole was formed behind him. Spent as he was, the marsh's water was no longer enough to power his jutsu, and his manmade lake was beyond his awareness – How far did he hit me? The underground river that supplied the water to the marsh, however, was very much within reach.

The water he sat in drained rapidly into the newly formed crater, just in time for Roshi to amble into his awareness. The jinchuuriki stepped around a tree, his chakra subdued compared to the raging inferno it had been, a single tail still waving behind him as he walked. That's what did it, Naruto realized, staring at the bubbling appendage. Hard to anticipate an attack you can't imagine…

"Helluva fight, kid,"the Monkey said, halting his leisurely approach ten meters from the blond. "The 'Demon of the Mist' was disappointing as all hell, but you more than made up for him."

Naruto said nothing, could say nothing given the relative fire in his lung, and Roshi's answering chuckle rattled his bones. "Not much of a talker now, are ya? Nah, I catch up with everyone eventually, was jus' a matter o' time before I got my hands on you again."

The blond channeled chakra to his mouth and spat a globule of blood that impacted Roshi's chest without so much as a 'squelch.' The Monkey just rolled his eyes. "Shit choice of last words, boy," he growled, and the temperature rose so fast that Naruto began to sweat almost instantly.

Now! he thought, pouring the last vestiges of his strength into the waiting river below. He felt the water surge as Roshi's chakra took shape into a meteor posed to obliterate his life, sharpened waves crystalizing as they rapidly rose through the connection he had formed.

Naruto's last ditch jutsu barely had time to clear the crater before Roshi abruptly blurred backwards, his meteor forgotten as a figure materialized from nothing in front of the blond. Blue eyes widened and he cut his chakra flow, his water falling back down with nothing more harmless than a chilly splash that did nothing to alleviate the Monkey's oppressive heat.

"Yoton no Roshi," a measured tenor spoke. Naruto's eyes took in the sight of a black cloak with red clouds. "I must ask you to come with me."

The Monkey paused incredulously before he barked a laugh. "And who the hell d'ya think you are, then? Can't see that I'm in the middle o' something?"

The man turned to Naruto, and the blond gasped at the sight of blood red, sharingan eyes. "There's been enough death here today," Uchiha Itachi said quietly. He turned back to the jinchuuriki. "I won't ask again."

Roshi stood stock still for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. He shook his head mutely in disbelief, and pounded his chest twice as his chakra rippled over the marsh once more.

Naruto scrambled back toward his crater, but stopped as Itachi strafed sideways and the Monkey's meteors followed him. The renegade Uchiha blurred as he drew Roshi's fire, dodging bolt after bolt of lava that steadily melted the trees around them.

Sharingan eyes spun, and Naruto barely had the presence of mind to dispel the genjutsu that immediately settled over his mind like a fog, and was rewarded with the sight of swarming crows and white hot blades of flame that swooped down upon their enemy like divine wrath, searing and piercing but still not able to stop the monster's relentless assault.

Roshi bellowed in rage at his quarry's elusiveness, and the heat of the oceans of chakra that Naruto knew he contained struck him like a physical blow. He recoiled, vision blacking out as the pain from his chest wound momentarily blinded him. Blinking back tears, his eyes took in the sight of a blue, massive man with a bandaged blade as big as kubikiribocho pushing the Monkey back with long, hacking swipes.

A heavy slash too fast for Naruto's beleaguered eyes to track managed to catch Roshi across the chest, and the temperature dropped ten degrees. The blond didn't have time to contemplate the anomaly as the blue man leapt back with a shouted laugh.

"You know, taking down guys like you is usually a pretty good challenge!" he yelled. His hands came together from the folds of his cloak and weaved familiar seals. "But someone was nice enough to leave me with a ton of water nearby, so this'll probably go quicker than expected!"

Naruto felt his eyes widen to comical proportions as enough chakra to momentarily eclipse the Monkey rolled over him – the sound of kilotons of water rushing greeting his ears was almost expected. Dai Bakusui Shoha, he thought, as if far outside his own body. Except with more chakra and a lot more water to work with…

His version of the jutsu had converted the water in the air into a massive tidal wave. With the amount of water leftover from his efforts, and the chakra the blue man had so blatantly poured into it…

A veritable tsunami that rose above the trees tried to block out the sun. Naruto blinked, considered, and huffed a short, tight laugh that set his nerve endings aflame once more. The sound of roots being ripped from the earth and set to motion could briefly be heard over the cacophony of the crashing waves, and he cast his eyes skyward. "I'll see you soon, Haku," he breathed, feeling his wound become submerged, but he was numb to the pain once more.

The rushing water pushed him backward with force, and he felt himself become weightless as he fell into the crater that bridged the marsh to the river below. Blue sky, slightly obscured by the tree canopy, was the last thing he saw before all he knew was rushing water and darkness.

I'll see you soon.

/~/

"Itachi and Kisame never clarified your exact state. Just that you were alive. Your survival was a miracle," Nagato said quietly. He had been silent for over five minutes after Naruto had stopped speaking.

The blond shrugged indelicately, stood silhouetted in front of the window that looked out over the Ame skyline. He wiped absently at the two tears that had tracked down his face and turned back to face the Rinnegan user. "I thought you were 'confident in my survival'?" he asked, forcing some humor into his voice, remembering his and Nagato's first conversation.

The redhead's lips quirked upward wryly. "I was…The Uzumaki vitality was well documented and formidable, though it was never classified as a kekkei genkai. To survive such a wound from a jinchuuriki…" He shook his head, looking at Naruto directly. "I stopped believing in luck a long time ago, Naruto."

Naruto quirked a brow. "How do you mean?" he asked, drawn in by Nagato's conviction despite his melancholy.

"Everything happens for a reason. Tell me, how did you heal?"

The blond ran a hand through his hair – It's getting long – and sighed. "The first thing I remember is darkness and the sound of water running over rocks, the feeling of a thousand pebbles under my back. The second is one of Ibuse's children carrying me in its mouth." He smiled tightly. "Had I the strength, I likely would've found it very unsettling."

"The Salamanders healed you," Nagato said. It wasn't a question.

Naruto nodded. "From what I understand. According to Ibuse, I was unconscious for three days after Honosuke found me. Took me most of a month to build my strength back up enough to consider travelling."

"Did he say why they healed you? Why they brought you to their home?" Nagato pressed, leaning forward eagerly. "Summons don't just walk the world like we do."

A feeling of creeping discomfort at the look in his ally's eyes pricked the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck. "I was clearly injured," he said quietly. "They weren't about to let me die. They don't treat life as cavalierly as we do."

The redhead shook his head and rose, beginning to pace. "That's not what I mean. You fell into a crevice of your own making, somewhere near the borders of Grass, Waterfall, and Fire Country, and just so happened to be found by one of the Salamander Clan. I searched for them for over a year after I defeated Hanzo in that same area and found nothing. Yet you happened upon them entirely by accident. Does that not strike you as odd?"

Blue eyes narrowed. "Maybe you were looking for the wrong reasons," he said before he could stop himself, voice chilly.

Ringed eyes snapped to Naruto's, displeasure obvious in their depths, yet the blond held firm. He felt the hair on his arms stand up, the feeling of discomfort rapidly morphing into full blown antipathy at Nagato's line of questioning. He had become protective of the clan that had all but taken him in at his lowest.

The redhead held Naruto's gaze for a moment suspended before he barked a short laugh – though it sounded forced to the blonde's ears. "Perhaps you're right," Nagato allowed. "By all accounts, Hanzo searched for years to find Ibuse's clan."

"The secret paths aren't easily found," Naruto said, infusing his voice with a casual warmth, eager to move past the momentary conflict.

"Clearly. But that makes my point all the greater, don't you see, Naruto?" Nagato harangued once more. "You were found and taken in, made whole once more, and created a life for yourself with entirely different values than those that had driven you before. You've been reborn."

Naruto blinked. Not quite how I'd phrase it… "What're you getting at?" he asked plainly.

"Do you believe in destiny?" Nagato didn't miss a beat.

The blond cocked his head to the side, eyebrows rising steadily. "You've already asked me that."

The redhead laughed and there was real humor in it now. "I asked if you believed in god."

"Aren't they the same thing?" Naruto asked. "If you believe in predestination, you believe in a plan for your life. Something has to create that plan."

"And therefore there must be a god," Nagato finished. "That is one way at looking at life, yes. I prefer to think of one's life as a river; ever flowing to its final destination, but able to be directed. A rock or a dam or the very motion of the planet itself can divert the river, but it will always end up at its final destination."

"Death," the blond supplied wryly. "These obstacles of yours…"

Nagato shrugged. "Free will, happenstance, call it whatever you want. I agree with you that our choices create the reality of our lives. They shape the path the river takes. My life would've been drastically different had Yahiko not found me, and because he did, my path is what it is."

"So…what? By your reasoning, your 'destiny' would be radically different had certain things not happened."

"Indeed. But because they did happen, my destiny is what it is," the redhead declared. Naruto kept from scratching his head in confusion, mind struggling to wrap around Nagato's thought process. "My teacher, Jiraiya, once told me of a prophecy given to him by an elder toad. It spoke of a student of his with the power to save the world."

Naruto marveled at the herculean willpower he must've possessed not to let his thoughts show on his face. "And you believe this prophecy," he said, and it wasn't a question.

Nagato shrugged, a mischievous smile splitting his lips. "Jiraiya did. He thought my eyes were the key to our world's salvation, and encouraged me to pursue peace. I'm inclined to believe him."

It'd be hard not to believe in something like that, given his power, Naruto reasoned. Not for the first time did he wonder at Nagato's mindset. He, Naruto, was a simple man who, for all his talent, thought rather simply of the world. Ideas of destiny were almost antithetical to shinobi, and, regardless of how much he'd changed since his clash with Roshi, he still thought like one. More questions for Ibuse, he thought tiredly.

"And what do you think this means for me?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "My destiny is to help you achieve peace?"

"It sure looks that way." Nagato grinned. "It means, Naruto, that you can cast your doubt aside freely. Your past is just that. You've been reborn from the fiery crucible of battle and are ready to face the challenges that come from pursuing true peace."

"You are exactly where you are supposed to be."

Naruto let himself smile, the now familiar wellspring of hope alighting in him anew. He felt the warmth that came with it suffuse him, and used it to ball up that niggling, lingering presence that had sprung up in the blood soaked jungles of Grass Country. He shoved it to the fringes of his awareness, basking in the glow of moving, finally, in what seemed to be the right direction.

He ignored the creeping, gnawing presence of doubt with now practiced ease, not having the heart or not knowing how to tell Nagato that he didn't think he'd ever be truly sure of himself again.

/~/

We moving. Thanks, as always, to the DLP crew. Feedback is much appreciated.

Feel free to drop a review on your way out.

18. Equal and Opposite

Standard disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto.

/~/

"I leave the apprentice to you."

Naruto blinked his eyes open, a flash of irritation gripping him. He was still acclimating to meditation in Ame's concrete jungle, and the looming specter of Uchiha Itachi in his near future wasn't helping his concentration. Phantom burns calling him to action kept him glancing uneasily at his ring.

"Nothing for it," he murmured.

He uncrossed his legs and stood fluidly, two steps taking him to the edge of the balcony overlooking Hanzo's reservoir. He took a third step and plummeted.

Six-hundred and thiry days since I've last killed, he thought as he crashed into the water with enough force to leave his body shattered were it not for pinpoint chakra control. Am I gonna make it to three-ten? He knew as surely as he had upon Nagato's introduction that he'd fight to defend his own life. But if more was asked of him, even in defense?

Take it as it comes, Naruto told himself as his momentum took him to the concrete bottom of the reservoir. You're stronger now than you've ever been.

His eyes opened, an application of chakra long mastered keeping his eyes free of the sediment that had naturally pooled in the depths. The salamanders will help if called. Never mind everything else…

He reached out as if meditating, the volume of water encasing him in darkness so complete his eyes could have been closed. He delved into himself, imagining the sparkling decadence that was his chakra as stars in the night's sky. It was blinding and soothing all at once, he mused as he immersed himself in the veritable oceans contained within him. You're not the same boy who needed five soldier pills to make it through the Crush.

A calm settled over him as his mind floated aimlessly through his life force. Thoughts of Akatsuki, Konoha, and his inevitable confrontation with Itachi were pushed from his mind in favor of the puzzle that had presented itself to him weeks previous.

There was a heaviness lurking whenever he meditated. In the water; in the air; in the gardens threaded between Ame's towering skyscrapers. A phantom presence beyond his ken that he was struggling to interpret. Nagato had been too wrapped up in his plans within plans to pay much attention to his questions when they had last spoke, and he hadn't gotten around to asking Ibuse.

Naruto cast his senses outward, reaching in a way that he couldn't truly describe. It was like grasping in the dark, trusting, knowing that something was there but not where it was.

He felt the water surrounding him. From long experience he knew the strength hiding in its pliability. He felt the air above and within the water, forever filling gaps. He stretched and felt the sparse vegetation lying in the training ground beyond the reservoir. A picture formed in his mind as his chakra touched thin blades of grass struggling to pierce the hard packed dirt. It was if he was standing there, but staring through glass that warped his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to define the sudden image clearly.

It dissolved in his mind's eye a moment later, slipping through his fingers like a viscous liquid.

His eyes opened to cloudy water, a flash of annoyance at his inability turned his lips down for a moment before they quirked up. Puzzles can be fun, he thought, exhaling a stream of bubbles and powering himself to the surface.

He pulled himself up easily, inhaling the industrial air he'd gotten used to weeks ago. He formed a half ram seal with his right hand and infused the water clinging to his skin and hair with chakra. Equal and opposite. Haku had taught him how to manipulate the water molecules into hardened ice crystals. Going the other way should've been a simple task.

A grimace crossed his face as he concentrated, teeth grinding as his chakra pushed the water's temperature higher and higher. Blue eyes opened to waves of steam lazily rising from his skin, the air around him as hot as a Fire Country summer. "Drawbacks," he muttered, wiping his brow of the sweat that had immediately taken the water's place. "Coming along faster than lightning, at least."

Suiton remained his greatest strength, though he had made strides toward competency in other elements in the jungle. The more he trained, and the more Nagato pushed and prodded certain skills, the more he realized that being able to contend with the top tier shinobi required a level of creative thinking far beyond the norm. It wasn't enough to simply be adept at everything as he had once thought, memories of years past and trying to be like the Sandaime Hokage surfacing. Sarutobi was an aberration. Being good at everything was nigh impossible, never mind being great at everything.

Roshi hadn't been great at everything, but he had been more than Naruto and his team could handle. A heavy hitter, he had been stronger, faster, and more durable than any other shinobi they had ever fought. Genjutsu and any attempt at subtlety had been utterly wasted on the Yonbi jinchuuriki. Precision had left the Monkey suspended on a spear. Raw power had left him buried under enough kilotons of water to choke the life out of his muscles and lungs.

Any other man would've been killed twice or three times over. Instead, Naruto had lost his entire team and nearly his own life. Monstrous, he thought without heat. He'd come to terms with Roshi's part in his friends' deaths – it helped that he knew Itachi and his partner had finished the job he'd started.

"Which brings us full circle," he said. A muted chakra presence entered his awareness from above, rapidly descending. Naruto looked left in time to see Nagato's Deva path land lightly.

"Are you ready?" Pein's voice asked.

"No," Naruto answered honestly. One didn't simply 'get ready' for a clash with one of the most infamous nuke-nin in history.

The Deva's lips quirked slightly, the movement pulling taught the twin, fang shaped piercings below its mouth. "Itachi is both cunning and strong, but I would not have set you this task were you not ready."

Naruto nodded. "I know. When did they arrive?"

"Moments ago." The orange haired man held out his arm and Naruto grasped it firmly. He inhaled sharply a moment before the feeling of painful compression stole his breath. He blinked leisurely less than a second later, adjusting to the sight of Hanzo's old training ground. I could've just walked.

"Don't know if I'll ever get used to that," he told Nagato instead, who stood leaned casually against the reservoir's massive bank. The long-haired Animal path rose from its crouch next to the redhead before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. A survey of his surroundings told Naruto the Deva path had followed suit.

"What it lacks in comfort it makes up in efficiency," Nagato said with a wide grin that was entirely out of place.

He's eager today… "Where are we meeting them?"

"Konan is bringing them here now."

Naruto glanced around the flat plain critically, his training evidenced by the numerous blackened spots that pockmarked the earth. "Bit indicating, no? It's not exactly subtle."

"Madara would see through any ruse the moment your presence was revealed regardless. And cloaking your presence would simply give Itachi an opportunity to turn the tables on you." Nagato's grin turned mischievous and Naruto felt his hackles rise slightly. "This will be unlike any battle you've ever fought, Naruto."

"Apparently…" No element of surprise. No strategy. No teamwork. It would've been amateurish had Nagato not been as far beyond a professional as he was. Unease rippled through the blond. Deliberately fighting an enemy on neutral ground was a deadly exercise he hadn't bothered with outside of deliberate tests. Suppose that's what this is, then, he mused, momentarily irritated.

It evaporated as three chakra presences stepped outside the concrete walls of the nearest skyscraper and into his awareness. Konan floated regally, her paper wings marking her Pein's Angel and right hand. Behind her strode two men, one after the other, each covered from the chin down in the indicative black cloak with red clouds.

The first had close cropped, spiky hair and a face hidden behind a strikingly orange mask. A single red eye could barely be seen through the one opening. Naruto couldn't discern much from the feeling of the man's chakra, of which there was plenty, his senses not yet fully attuned.

Uchiha Itachi's familiar form stepped easily from behind his patriarch, the nuke-nin's young face a sharp contrast with the skill Naruto knew was lurking just beneath the surface. Skill he had witnessed – skill that had saved his life.

He pushed the conflict down as he met the younger Uchiha's onyx eyes. The tiniest impulse called to him from the depths of his mind and he flexed his chakra minutely. Onyx eyes dissolved to Sharingan red instantly, but Itachi didn't even blink as his subtle illusion was dispelled. A wry smile threatened to split Naruto's lips at the sight, even as he averted his gaze just slightly. So we've already started.

"Nagato," the masked man began, his voice deep and strong despite his advanced age. "Your hospitality is lacking today."

"Your visit is a surprise," Nagato returned. "But far from unwelcome."

"Hmph. So you say. Who is this?"

Naruto straightened imperceptibly as he felt the attention of everyone fall upon him. "Uzumaki Naruto," Itachi's calm tenor spoke before Nagato had the chance.

If the redhead was put out by the interruption, he didn't show it. "Thank you, Itachi," he said magnanimously. "Allow me to introduce my apprentice. I've long been jealous of you, Madara, and decided to take on a student of my own."

"The child you saved in Kusa," the Uchiha patriarch muttered, clearly to Itachi. "Today seems to be full of surprises. Is he to be a full-fledged member?"

"I am," Naruto broke in, tired of being talked about and around.

"Naruto is the last piece to my puzzle," Nagato picked up without hesitation. "His circumstances leave him uniquely suited to take over as Hokage once my plan is in full effect."

"High praise…" Madara paused and Naruto felt the air tense with anticipation. "You've grown bold, Nagato. Very bold…"

"Bold action is required of those who pursue true change. I'm sure you'd agree."

"Perhaps I should've used the word 'foolish', instead," the older man bit out. Naruto inhaled smoothly as Nagato's chakra suddenly blanketed the training area.

"Foolish would be continuing to trust you, I believe. We've accomplished much together, but your time with Akatsuki is at an end, Madara," Nagato declared.

"Strong words, but I should expect nothing less from a man playing god," Madara spat. "Itachi, deal with the upstart."

"Konan, secure the village," the redhead said, entirely at ease. The blue-haired woman wasted no time, dispersing into a thousand slips of paper and scattering with the wind.

Madara laughed darkly. "You'd leave this child to face Itachi alone? I suppose you never were a benevolent god." He twisted out of existence, disappearing from Naruto's awareness so completely that the blond almost started in surprise. Space-time ninjutsu.

"Good luck, Naruto," was all Nagato left him with before he too disappeared, a single pop of displaced air the only sign of his being summoned.

Itachi stared him down with complete and utter impassivity, his blood red eyes unmoving from Naruto's form. The blond circulated his chakra, unerringly aware of the fact the Uchiha could see its every motion in his body. But I'm not too far behind, he mused, the air's water particles gifting him an awareness more subtle. He almost flexed his chakra again, a growingly familiar impulse taking hold, but refrained. What an odd feeling, Naruto thought. All shinobi had a sixth sense for chakra, some more attuned than others. They could feel it build from outside themselves, even avoid attacks if they had good enough reflexes.

But this?

His eyes saw Uchiha Itachi standing confidently in front of him, clearly waiting for him to make the first move. His mind felt Uchiha Itachi standing confidently in front of him, having already made the first move. I'm in a genjutsu, he realized. Now, what to do about it…

"I never thanked you," he said into the stillness. "Why did you step in when you did? I wasn't part of your mission."

The renegade Uchiha blinked, nonplussed. "I meant what I said that day."

"There's been enough death here today."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Bold words from a genocidal nuke-nin. "I don't want to fight you," he said instead. "Nagato only wants to speak with you."

"No doubt to persuade me to his cause. Regardless of his motives, I doubt his convictions any more noble than Madara's; his plan, any more beneficial," Itachi said without a hint of emotion. Naruto withheld a twitch as his newest sense whispered a warning in his ear. "In which case, I choose the devil I know."

The last was spoken behind the blond, and the genjutsu dissolved in a blink of an eye as Itachi drove a kunai into the base of Naruto's spine. "I apologize. I did not wish to fight you either."

"Can't always get what we want," Naruto choked out before his body abruptly lost cohesion and liquefied. The water splashed to the ground and froze immediately, mini stalagmites of ice rising to encase Itachi's feet and shins. "But I didn't really expect you to listen to me," he finished, an ice kunai coming to rest against the Uchiha's throat.

"How singular. To react to my genjustu that quickly is impressive. However…" A second Itachi appeared from in front of the one Naruto had pinned, three kunai in his hand.

The blond hopped back, hands forming a bird seal as his mind moved one step ahead of him. Suiton: Suijinheki! The water in the air rapidly condensed into a wall in time to halt the fireball the second Itachi spewed from his lips without warning. Blue eyes widened even as his water wall held firm and billowing steam blanketed the training ground. A feint with the kunai. Either he'd prepped the jutsu before or his hand seals are just that fast…

He formed a ram seal, still shrouded behind his wall, and the steam was joined by mist thick enough to obscure the air two feet in front of him. What a lethal shinobi. If not for Nagato's training…Such a combo would have left him entirely on the back foot and scrambling before he had come to Ame, and he'd been no slouch then. As it was, his new awareness was being put to the test. Nagato's Paths were more dangerous than anything Naruto had ever encountered, but Itachi thought differently than Nagato. He was subtle where Nagato could simply overwhelm. Be ready for anything, he told himself, letting his water wall fall and strafing through the mist.

He channeled chakra to his vocal cords, remembering Zabuza. "You're taking this pretty serious for someone who doesn't want to fight," Naruto said, and his voice echoed from everywhere at once. He moved silently through the training ground, familiarity and his newfound cognizance guiding him behind where he knew Itachi stood. Too easy, he thought, spearing the Uchiha through the right side of his chest with an ice lance.

The Uchiha's body splashed to the ground, and Naruto hopped adroitly over a hand that reached up from the earth to pull him under. He landed lightly and burst forward as he felt Itachi pull himself from the ground. Twin staffs of ice materialized in his hands and he stabbed forward. A kunai deflected the first up and over Itachi's left shoulder, and the renegade caught the second by snatching Naruto's wrist in a vice grip.

Itachi pulled Naruto forward and torqued his body into a high roundhouse kick at the blonde's head. It crashed into a sheet of ice Naruto formed from the mist with enough force to shower the two with shards, and Naruto was treated to a look of momentary surprise in the Uchiha's eyes before he reversed the renegade's leverage and plowed a straight kick into Itachi's chest.

The older nuke-nin flew backward, disappearing into the mist, but Naruto wasted no time. A body flicker carried him past the flying Uchiha and ice coalesced around his right hand in time to snatch the airborne man clean out of the air and power him into the ground bodily.

Splinters of wood nicked Naruto's face as the branch Itachi had clearly substituted with was reduced to sawdust from the force of the blow. Blue eyes narrowed and he ducked the slash of a kunai that would've split his throat – fast! He dropped to his hands, rotating his legs under him and kicking out at Itachi's legs.

The Uchiha jumped over the sweep easily, twin kunai flying from his right sleeve forcing Naruto to hastily form another sheet of ice in front of his face. The blond rolled, avoiding a third kunai aimed at his stomach, sped through seals – Tiger ox tiger rat – and spat a bullet of condensed water at the still midair Itachi. The Uchiha dissolved into crows as the bullet tore through him and Naruto cursed.

He flexed his chakra to dispel the genjutsu, noting with satisfaction that his mist was still very much in place. He'd only just cast it. Heh, bit too much to hope I'd still be able to sense him doing it in the middle of a fight like that.

"You were taught the art of silent killing," Itachi's voice spoke from everywhere. Naruto nearly jumped – There's no way he copied it! he thought frantically. He relaxed a moment later, however, remembering the massive suiton manipulation and blade of the renegade's partner.

"So were you, apparently," the blond spoke, his own voice carrying easily through the mist. He formed a water clone from the saturated air and watched it disappear to his left, in the direction of Itachi's waiting form.

The sound of metal clashing elicited a smirk as he heard the Uchiha say, "You appear to be more proficient than I." A single splash heralded the demise of Naruto's clone. Three more formed with a thought, dispersing in different directions silently. "Even with my sharingan, you have the upper hand. I've underestimated you."

A surge of chakra made Naruto brace himself just in time to not get thrown bodily by the gale force winds Itachi had conjured. He watched with narrowed eyes as his mist was quite literally scattered to the wind, each of his three clones now exposed.

It took him a moment to reorient himself, his awareness snapping back into place even without the chakra saturated mist. It came back in time for him to feel his three clones each liquefy as precise kunai took them through the throats.

"No longer," Itachi declared. An impulse tickled the back of Naruto's brain, but he didn't have time to react as the world kicked into high gear. The renegade blitzed Naruto in a burst of speed, forcing him to lean left, out of the way, and pivot in time to redirect Itachi's blindingly fast stab at his liver. Naruto used his momentum to throw the Uchiha's guard wide open, a lance stabbing forward on reflex even as the blond finally flexed his chakra.

Itachi's body dispersed into sharingan-eyed crows as the genjutsu dissipated. Too late, Naruto thought with vitriol, spinning to see the renegade's hands clasped in a tiger seal. Itachi's head reared back – katon jutsu – and Naruto felt his awareness sharpen through the water in the air. The world slowed for an instant, the blonde's mind processing feelings he hadn't consciously acknowledged.

He felt two clones strafing to either side of Itachi as a titanic dragon of flame erupted from the Uchiha's mouth. Roaring reds flickered and blurred to blue an instant before turning white hot as one of Konoha's most famous ninjutsu thundered into existence. The karyuu endan's maw opened wide, hot enough to turn Naruto to ash on contact, and the blond threw his hands into a bird seal.

Naruto overloaded his chakra, fighting time and the knowledge that Itachi's clones were covering his means of escape, and thanked his mother for his obscene suiton affinity.

Suiton: Suiryuudan!

His own elemental dragon came roaring forth from the falling rain, freezing as fast as it formed. Itachi's jutsu moved to snap him up in its mouth, but Naruto's punched through the fire with a sliding crash, the temperature abruptly dropping.

The blond fell to a knee as steam blanketed the training ground once more, slamming his hands together.

Hissatsu Hyoso!

Ice spears nearly as wide as he was tall burst into existence in the blink of an eye. Itachi's twin clones were impaled as suddenly as they appeared at Naruto's flanks and he spun, snatching two kunai and hurling them in the time it took them to burst into smoke directly behind him. Large jutsu, subtle maneuvers. We think the same.

Hands blurring faster than Naruto could track, Itachi ducked the twin kunai aimed at his eyes, held two fingers to his mouth, and spat five balls of flame at the still kneeling Naruto. His seals are absurd! the blond thought as he sprinted to his right in a body flicker.

Chakra enhanced legs halted his momentum, his tendons screaming in protest, in time to duck a slash of Itachi's kunai. He felt the blade pass through a few strands of hair and he punched up, ignoring the falling blond locks as he rotated into a vicious uppercut that only managed to brush Itachi's cloak.

The Uchiha spun tightly, letting loose his knife at near point-blank range. Naruto grit his teeth as he felt the blade puncture his right hand, having instinctively intercepted the kunai to save his life. First blood.

He tore it free without fanfare, tossing it back at Itachi contemptuously and forcing the renegade back and to his left. He flashed through seals – boar dog bird monkey ram – and swiped at the blood pouring from his palm.

Kuchiyose no jutsu!

A plume of smoke exploded from the instantly formed seal, a jet black blur leaping forth. Red eyes widened as a nine foot, nearly black salamander slammed into him. Naruto rose from his crouch as the Uchiha rolled, somehow slipping out of his cloak and away, leaving a thin trail of blood in his wake as he made space. A hissing globule followed him, and the blond felt his opponent shunshin away. The acid hit nothing but hard packed earth where it bubbled and frothed, eating away.

"An Uchiha. You do find yourself in perilous situations, Naruto-sama," the salamander spoke, reappearing at Naruto's side.

"No need for formalities, Dokueki. Your help is greatly appreciated," the blond returned. He surveyed Itachi as the older nuke-nin came out of his body flicker, blood dripping freely down his now exposed left arm.

"And freely given. Shall we?" Dokueki asked rhetorically, his flat, amphibian face splitting to show rows of sharp teeth baring in what could almost be considered a grin.

Naruto brought his hands together in a ram seal – Ninpou: Kuroi Kirigakure no justu – and inky mist as black as the night's sky blanketed the field. Eliminate visibility, eliminate his advantage, neutralize.

He felt Dokueki disappear from his side, moving swiftly and silently through the darkness. Each of Ibuse's clan was distinctive in their abilities. Dokueki's skin and keen nose suited him best for stealth – the poisonous saliva was simply icing on the cake.

Immersed in the darkness, Naruto didn't even bother to close his eyes as he reached out with his awareness. He felt his partner spit another globule of bubbling saliva at Itachi, shunshin-ed into his path of escape, and channeled ice cold chakra to his fist. A gauntlet of ice formed instantly and Naruto punched out, his awareness through the mist guiding him.

Through some instinct Itachi managed to avoid the worst of it, Naruto's haymaker only barely catching his chest, but it was still enough to spin him round. The blond rotated, throwing his arm out and launching the gauntlet toward the Uchiha. He sped through seals and spat a condensed water bullet at the rapidly retreating Itachi.

Dokueki bounded from the abyss, jagged teeth tearing into the renegade's uninjured arm with a satisfying squelch. Itachi's answering grunt of pain was music to Naruto's ears – on his back foot. Keep the pressure on.

The salamander was tossed off and hit the ground with a thump, scampering away to regroup. Naruto considered for a moment, felt the water in the reservoir behind him – contain him – and formed another bird seal. It rushed upward at his will, surging into a tidal wave over the concrete walls.

He started in alarm at an immense heat building from where he knew Itachi stood, flinching bodily at the feeling of his chakra being burned so violently that it seared. His eyes widened at the phantom pain of his awareness literally being superheated, felt Dokueki reappear at his side, "I don't know this jutsu," the salamander told him.

Cracks of light broke through the blackness of the mist – It's evaporating – only to be replaced with more darkness as flames blacker than midnight advanced on him. They moved slowly, but turning his head side to side revealed a wall of them, effectively boxing him in against the reservoir's wall behind him.

Instinctually, Naruto knew his suiton manipulations would have little effect. "Dispel yourself," he commanded his partner, fighting the panic gnawing at his mind as he felt the black flames approach, eating away at his perception. "You can't fight this."

Beady eyes that matched the salamander's skin slid back and forth between the blond and the rapidly approaching ninjutsu. "Good luck, Naruto-sama," Dokueki told him before heeding his command.

Naruto heard blood rushing in his ears as the crackle of the mysterious flames surged toward him, desperation gripping him. No time, he realized, his hands moving seemingly of their own accord.

Suiro no jutsu!

The little water that had made it over the reservoir wall before he had aborted his technique swirled upward and around him in a sphere. He gulped a last breath of air, nearly coughing at the sudden dryness of it, and felt with muted relief the water prison encase him. Blue eyes closed, savoring the feeling of being encased in his favorite element, only to fly open as the black flames slowly but sure began to make the water hiss and bubble.

Naruto curled his body into a ball, a thought freezing the outer six inches of his prison. The temperature dropped momentarily, but he watched, horror mounting, as the flames simply melted it away millimeter by millimeter. What is this jutsu!? he thought, his heart beating out of his chest.

I'm trapped, he realized. If the water holds, I'll boil alive. If it evaporates, I burn – if I don't suffocate first. His mind whirled, years of training and combat utterly useless against a technique he couldn't halt.

Vertigo hit him with the force of a boulder, his center of gravity tipping for a moment. He almost gasped at the sudden feeling, but controlled himself in time, and was rewarded with the sight of the black flames being blown back by an unseen force.

Nagato dropped from nowhere into the sudden space, a body slung casually over his shoulder. He reached his hand out as the flames rushed forward once more, the blackness appearing to siphon into his palm to Naruto's eyes.

He carefully held his breath as daylight, muted as it was by Ame's rain, greeted him, the flames disappearing into whatever technique Nagato used. The blond cancelled his jutsu as the last of them disappeared, falling to a knee and gasping for breath. His eyes rose, staring past his mentor's form to the similarly crouched and heaving Itachi.

A trickle of blood flowed freely from the Uchiha's left eye, clearly visible even from a distance.

The body Nagato had carried dropped to the ground unceremoniously, nearly making Naruto jump at the sudden noise. He looked up to see the redhead grinning from ear to ear. "You boys put on quite a show. But I think that's enough violence for today."

Nagato reached a hand out which Naruto gladly took. He rose, legs surprisingly steady despite the close shave. "Thanks," Naruto murmured. "How long were you watching?"

"Long enough to see how much you've grown." There was audible pride in the redhead's voice as he smiled. "He's stronger than I thought."

Yeah that makes two of us, Naruto thought uncharitably. He surveyed the now risen Uchiha suspiciously. The older nuke-nin stared dispassionately at his fallen patriarch, utterly unreadable. "What now?" the blond asked.

"I'd like you to clarify a few things for me, Itachi-san," Nagato called across the training ground. He stepped forward, walking smoothly toward the unmoving Uchiha, Madara's corpse floating leisurely behind him. Naruto followed a step behind. "If you're amenable, of course."

Blood red eyes flickered between Nagato, Naruto, and Madara as they approached before fading to onyx. No genjutsu, Naruto felt. As good a sign as any.

"It appears we've been out-maneuvered," Itachi said, his tenor smooth and calm despite the situation.

"Through no fault of your own, I assure you. Your ally was overconfident."

"So it would seem. What questions do you have?" the Uchiha asked as the approaching trio halted at a respectable distance.

"Did he ever speak about himself to you? About his history?"

Itachi shook his head. "What I know of Madara is mostly from scrolls and Uchiha clan history. He spoke little of himself. Our conversations were about Akatsuki, our clan, and the sharingan."

Nagato chuffed a short laugh. "Then I expect you know very little about him at all. Likely because this isn't actually Uchiha Madara."

Naruto started in surprise, and was treated to the sight of Itachi's mouth falling slightly open. Probably as close to shock as he gets, he thought wryly, watching the stoic Uchiha's brows rise. His eyes dropped to the corpse as it floated forward with Nagato's will and dropped to the ground at Itachi's feet.

From his vantage point, Naruto could make out a face half caved in by some massive concussive force. Only one eye was visible; it stared upwards, vacant in death. A pinched expression of abject horror rested on the man's face, frozen at whatever technique Nagato had used to take his life.

"He told you this?" Itachi asked, and Naruto envied his outward composure.

"In a way," Nagato returned cryptically, a wry tilt to his lips. "His name was Uchiha Obito."

The muted shock returned to Itachi's face. "Obito," he breathed.

"A student of the Yondaime Hokage. He was grievously injured–"

"In an ambush during the Third Great War," Itachi finished, still staring at the corpse. "His other eye now belongs to Hatake Kakashi. He was declared killed in action." Naruto blinked at the casual mention of the man who should've been his first sensei.

Nagato nodded. "Quite so. The actual Uchiha Madara rescued him through an agent I know as Zetsu. I won't bore you with the minutia. Madara imparted Obito with knowledge of the sharingan and his Moon's Eye Plan before eventually dying. Obito assumed Madara's name after."

Itachi nodded slowly while Naruto's head spun. "I see," the Uchiha said. "Did he hate the Uchiha so much?" he asked, seemingly to himself.

"He was utterly divorced from reality by the time you approached him. All his efforts were devoted to Madara's plan, regardless of their cost. The Uchiha, or anyone else, meant nothing to him," Nagato said.

Itachi was silent and Naruto settled for staring confusedly between the two breathing shinobi near him. His heart had stopped hammering minutes ago, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't still on edge.

One didn't simply brush off imminent death.

"Where do we go from here?" Itachi asked into the stillness.

Nagato shrugged indelicately, his cloak rising and falling with his shoulders. "That depends on you." Ringed eyes turned to Naruto, amusement clear. "Knowing Naruto as I do, I'm sure he told you that we have no quarrel with you. Speaking for myself, I'd be honored to call you a member of Akatsuki and ally moving forward."

Naruto felt the skin around his eyes tighten slightly, cutting to Nagato at the immediate offer. It wasn't surprising, but while he didn't hold much ill-will for his counterpart, it still rankled him ever-so slightly. He was about to kill me, he thought uncharitably.

For his part, Itachi regarded Nagato with unreadable eyes. They flickered to Naruto's for a moment before returning to the redhead. "Bold indeed," he murmured, echoing his now-deceased ally. "You assume much about my relationship with…Obito."

The rinnegan user chuckled audibly. "I assume little, but I'd prefer to hear your side of what is quite the interesting tale."

The Uchiha's head cocked to the side slightly. Naruto didn't blame him. Nagato was mercurial and cryptic on a good day. "You have me at quite the disadvantage," Itachi finally said.

"I do, don't I?" Nagato said. He shrugged. "How impolite of me. Konan," he called. The blue haired woman materialized from the walkway that led inside, hundreds of slips of paper coalescing in an instant. She floated five feet from the ground, bronze eyes as impassive as ever. "Escort young Itachi to a room for the next few nights, please. Rest now," he told the Uchiha scion. "We will speak when you're ready."

Itachi cut his eyes between the other three Akatsuki members, and for a moment Naruto pitied him. In spite of his absurd strength, the older renegade was well and truly cornered. It couldn't have been a feeling he was used to. He spared one last glance at his fallen ally before he turned on his heel without a word, following the floating Konan back into the massive building.

Naruto sagged slightly as the feeling of Itachi's chakra disappeared from his consciousness. Nagato clapped a hand to his shoulder, jubilant. "You continue to defy all expectations, Naruto. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am. How excited I am to move forward."

"You definitely don't waste time," the blond returned.

Nagato paused. "Hesitation is the enemy of progress. I didn't expect you to hold antipathy toward Itachi. It's quite clear he's been deceived for some time."

Naruto shrugged slightly, sighing. "I don't. Not personally." He saved my life once. "It's just…jarring."

"Enemies become allies quickly, and vice-versa," the redhead lectured. "Itachi is an opportunity I cannot afford to let slip away over sentimentality."

"He damn near killed me," the blond muttered. That's sentimentality?

"Which is why I stepped in," Nagato soothed. He laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "This is our reality, Naruto. The road we walk has few travelers. We cannot alienate the few potential allies we have."

"Which isn't exactly unique to Akatsuki," Naruto said, remembering his time in the jungle. The line between friend and foe was blurry at best, depending on the day. "I understand," he allowed, at length. "Most of the people who've come close to killing me haven't been lined up around the corner to be friends the next day."

Nagato chuckled, gripping the younger man's shoulder once, firmly, before letting him go to amble through the now battle-torn training ground. "I expect not," he called, approaching the charred ground that had been left in the wake of Itachi's black flames. What little vegetation had begun to grow before could barely be considered ash. Tiny pockets of the purest white rested where the grass and plants had been before, standing starkly out from the pitch black earth surround them. The rain pounded down, washing them away slowly but surely, leaving only char in its wake. "Amaterasu," Naruto heard the redhead say over the falling droplets.

He cast his eyes around the training ground, surveying the devastation. "You're familiar with the technique?" he asked, watching idly as the warm rain melted through what was left of his ice creations. The head of his dragon had been most of the way melted, only the lower part of its jaw still intact. A fine row of teeth glittered in the daylight, bringing a slight smile to Naruto's face. Devil's in the details, he thought, mind straying back to learning the advanced suiton manipulation from Zabuza.

"I've recently become acquainted with it," Nagato said, the familiar wry tilt to his voice returning. "One of the sharingan's more esoteric abilities, unlocked by only a select few." Naruto joined him, hovering over his mentor who was crouched and running his hands through the remnants of the fire. It's still hot, the blond realized, feeling beads of sweat join the rainwater sliding down his face.

"Obito?"

"Indeed."

Naruto wiped at his brow, brushing limp strands of hair from his forehead. "He told you quite a bit." He had never bothered indulging the last words of the men and women he killed. Some tried to tell their life stories, others tried to justify their actions, and others still pleaded for mercy.

"Our battle was illuminating," Nagato allowed, rising. His voice was dark as he said, "Much that I had thought to be true was proven a lie. It means little, however." He turned, facing Naruto plainly with a smile. "You performed admirably today. The time soon approaches when I'll task you with returning to Konoha."

Naruto averted his eyes at the mention of his home village, the slightest discomfort pushed to the side to be dealt with later. "You think I'm ready, then."

Nagato barked a laugh, slinging an arm about the blonde's shoulder and steering him back toward the mouth of the building. "I'd venture to say that, of your generation, you and Itachi are utterly peerless. The Leaf will be tripping over themselves when you return to them."

"You're aware of Konoha's rather extensive vetting process, I assume," Naruto said dryly, not sharing his mentor's confidence. "The Yamanaka are kinda tough to fool."

"Ah, the mind walkers. Don't worry about them."

Naruto blinked. "They literally read minds, Nagato. There've been incidents of enemy nin with fuuinjutsu preventing them from giving up sensitive intel. The Yamanaka can bypass it. You can't hide your mind."

"You can actually–"

"Without destroying it."

The redhead grinned cheekily. "Naturally. I'm serious, though. I've developed a technique to shield memories and thoughts from mental intrusions. I have a feeling you'll be a natural."

Blond eyebrows climbed. "You kidnap one of them to practice it?" he asked, deadpan.

"Far too much trouble. Much easier to teach Konan and try to read her mind myself," Nagato said easily.

Naruto blinked as they finally came out of the rain into the skyscraper's dark tunnel, the sudden absence of it not nearly as startling as his mentor's latest revelation. He shook his head ruefully and ran a hand through his drenched hair. "One of these days I'm gonna stop being surprised by these knowledge drops you like doing," he said. Obito didn't tell him anything at all, he realized, lips quirking in a sort of hysterical humor.

He'd thought he'd had a handle on Nagato's litany of abilities, each more difficult to fathom than the last. He felt his heartbeat tick up ever so slightly, trepidation at the full scope of the rinnegan's powers pricking his mind. Not for the first time did he wonder at his mentor's mental state.

He found he wasn't quite as able to shutter it to the side even as Nagato said, "I doubt that very much indeed," and led him forward into the waiting darkness.

/~/

We moving. Going to be focusing attention here for a bit before kicking off the sequel to Patriot's Dawn.

Hope y'all enjoyed the Itachi encounter. Per usual, shouts to the DLP homies who provide great feedback. Feel free to drop a review on your way out.

The name Dokueki was taken from and inspired by Naruto of the Salamander by Snorkackle. Y'all should check it out.

19. Veritas Oracle

/~/

Fuuinjutsu wasn't new to him. He'd made small strides with it before his deployment, but had clawed toward something resembling competency in the jungle. Provisions were rarely a surplus for his unit, necessitating the acquisition of skills Naruto never thought he'd need back when he lived in Konoha. Among the many caravans he raided over the years were scrolls upon scrolls of knowledge. Unprecedented even among the closest of allies, the bartering of knowledge had been one of the defining points of alliance that had kicked Konoha out of Kusa in the first place.

Between Iwa's seal masters and Zabuza's own knowledge as a former Kiri elite, the young blond ended up with more random fuinjutsu knowledge than he knew what to do with most days. Some of it functional, most of it garbled nonsense without a true master to guide him.

It all paled in comparison to the repository of knowledge the Uzumaki had apparently possessed. Nagato had only managed to get his hands on a fraction of the clan library – ransacked as it had been – and Naruto was still left bewildered by the scope and scale of what his clan had been capable of.

Sealing bijuu.

He knew that jinchuuriki made waves wherever they went – knew it too well, if you asked him – but the concept of creating one was still foreign. His ancestors had bartered the knowledge with each of the Great Five, ensuring their independence for decades with the knowledge, all the while secretly holding the greatest of the Nine as a trump card.

For all the good it did them, Naruto thought uncharitably.

Nagato had briefed him and Konan on Madara's Moon's Eye Plan shortly after his confrontation with the imposter. That his clan had been slaughtered nearly to a man for the sake of some all-encompassing genjutsu left him with rage the likes he hadn't felt since before his capture. Impotent rage, at that. The knowledge that the Uchiha Clan patriarch was well and truly dead did little to soothe his anger.

Never mind everyone else…Madara, and later Obito, hadn't discriminated when it came to slaughtering people if it advanced their plan.

Seems to be a pattern. The thought rattled through his mind, and not for the first time since Madara's plan had been laid bare for him. His thoughts turned to Nagato, to what he had learned about his ally – friend? – in his time in Ame.

The transition of power had been smooth, from Hanzo to Nagato, if only because the wheels had been greased with blood. The blood of everyone who had ever supported the old tyrant.

"Is that going to be a problem for you, Naruto?"

He had pushed his trepidations to the side then, convinced Nagato's means had been necessary. Willing to overlook the dozens upon hundreds of corpses left in his kin's wake. Was I caught up in the moment? Or just drunk on hope?

More worrying was what it said about him. Was he simply willing to overlook the death of dozens upon hundreds if they had no personal ties to him? Or is it a matter of efficacy? he wondered. As strong as Madara had supposedly been, his plan was utterly ridiculous; tantamount to enslaving the entire continent. What good was peace if no one was coherent enough to realize it?

But Nagato's plan? A longshot. Unlikely. But feasible. Uniting the villages through likeminded leadership made sense. Conflicts avoided through communication. Missions distributed based upon need and expertise and location.

But do the ends justify the means? Could one hundred people be sacrificed if it meant the salvation of thousands? I don't know, he realized. It was undeniably slippery slope, and done he had avoided confronting since his arrival in Ame.

"May I join you?"

Itachi's voice shattered his train of thought. Naruto glanced upward, hiding his surprise at the Uchiha's seemingly effortless competence with practiced ease. "You already have. What can I do for you, Itachi-san?"

He pushed his troubling thoughts to the side, a final thread of, I need to talk to Ibuse, rattling through his brain before he shifted his focus entirely on the enigma standing before him.

Itachi stood comfortably, clothed in clean versions of the simple shirt and pants he had worn under his cloak during their fight. His eyes were onyx and, to Naruto's keen gaze, looked a trifle unfocused given what he knew of the man's vaunted strength.

Itachi dropped smoothly to the cushioned seat across from the blond, crossing his left leg over his right casually. "I've learned more than I thought possible in these last days," he began.

Naruto held his silence, choosing to observe his counterpart. A small part of him felt for the Uchiha who was, despite the outward composure, clearly out of his depth – for how could he not be? By all accounts, he'd had his world turned upside down less than a week ago; the man he'd served revealed to be nothing more than an imposter.

On the other hand, the memory of his near death at Itachi's hands was all too fresh. Coupled with his willing subservience to a man whose goal had been to enslave the world, his sympathy well wasn't terribly deep.

Apparently nonplused by Naruto's lack of response, Itachi continued, "Leader-sama's powers are greater than I had ever imagined. I had wondered how he'd inspired an entire village to worship him as a god. No longer," he finished softly.

The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stood. "How much do you know about Pein?" he heard himself ask, curious in spite of himself.

Itachi cocked his head. "Little. Only what Obito felt I needed to know. His takeover of Ame was fantastically quiet. He had personally recruited most tenured members of Akatsuki. Those considered his disciples were not numerous, but not to be trifled with nonetheless."

Naruto felt his lips quirk humorlessly as Itachi's eyes beheld him plainly. "Is that what I am? A disciple?"

"You are a mystery," the Uchiha declared without fanfare. "Obito knew almost nothing of you before our…confrontation."

"You say that as if he knew who everyone else on the continent was."

"Only those of consequence." Itachi brushed a lock of ebony hair from his face casually. It inexplicably reminded Naruto of Haku.

"You're fishing," the blond declared, suddenly fed up. "If you want something from me, Itachi-san, out with it. I have no reason to lie to you here."

"You are from Konoha," Itachi said in lieu of answering.

The blond raised an irritated brow. "Last I checked, so were you. Do my career choices offend you?"

The Uchiha's lips formed what might've been a smile on another man. "Not in the slightest. Leader-sama has offered me a place in his Akatsuki. I am attempting to form a complete picture. You seemed the best choice of conversational companion."

Who even talks like that? "Does that mean you've accepted?"

Itachi was silent for a beat before, lowly, "I wasn't aware I had a say in the matter."

Noticed that, did you? Naruto thought, mind reaching back to his own first interactions with Nagato. While his entrance to Akatsuki had been, outwardly, voluntary – he had wanted to join, after all – he wasn't foolish. He hadn't been then and he certainly wasn't now.

Nagato hadn't ever struck him as a gambling man.

He relaxed imperceptibly. "What did you want to know?" he asked plainly, if quietly.

"When I saw you last, you were a loyal Konoha shinobi on the brink of death. Ten months later, you are a rogue nin capable of pushing me to my limit."

Naruto barked a laugh. "No small feat, I'm sure," he drawled. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and casting his eyes to the window that beheld Ame's monoliths basking in the daylight. "There's a lot you don't know about me. Did they induct you into Root back in Konoha?"

Itachi blinked, which Naruto took to mean he'd managed to actually surprise the older man. "Yes," the Uchiha answered after a moment.

Naruto grimaced. He reached for an empty glass to his left and swirled his finger around the top of it, absently transmuting the air's moisture into drinking water. "Then you know how it is. What they make you give." He took a hearty swig of his water, relishing it for a moment as he submerged himself in memories better left untouched. "You left big shoes to fill."

"You were the first after me?"

"Far as I know." The blond nodded. "I've got no idea why they sent me to Kusa. They didn't explain and I didn't ask. All I know is I got way more than I bargained for."

"War," Itachi said, gaze so intense Naruto felt his Sharingan should've been active. The blond toasted him with his water glass.

"The Will of Fire loses some meaning when all you do is slaughter people."

Itachi regarded him for a few moments, no doubt putting the missing pieces together into some facsimile of the truth. "Conscience is a terrible thing for shinobi," he murmured, his own eyes darting away.

A blond eyebrow rose of its own accord. He considered, and decided he really didn't care. "When did you grow yours?"

Blood colored eyes cut to him so suddenly he'd have been taken aback had he not expected it. Naruto inhaled, the feeling of Itachi's chakra momentarily so heavy he could nearly taste it. He held the sharingan's piercing gaze without flinching, the moment elongating. He paused, ignoring his better instincts for the space between seconds and simply allowed himself to feel.

Creeping tendrils of something fluttered into the fringes of his awareness, intangible crows made of Itachi's chakra searching for purchase in his mind. Naruto felt them hovering about his chakra, impressing themselves on his senses, seeking to dive headfirst and ensnare him.

An instinct channeled chakra to the tips of his fingers.

The foreign chakra slid forward, and Naruto could almost hear the flapping of the crows. It was a deafening cacophony, a thousand wings beating in tandem. For a moment, he felt as if he was standing in the center of a rapidly compressing vortex, its phantom walls made from Itachi's will about to overwhelm his senses.

Can't have that.

Naruto snapped. The sound echoed like a gong in the stillness of the living room as his pent up chakra flexed like a trampoline. Itachi's chakra was sucked in momentarily before being expelled, and Naruto imagined the sound of glass shattering into a million particles as the crows scattered. Itachi's right cheek twitched, and Naruto blinked for the first time in what felt like minutes.

The blond allowed his eyes to drift from his counterpart's face, the slightest tightening around Itachi's eyes as telling as anything. So that's what a genjutsu feels like, he pondered. His instincts had served him well in their clash, diagnosing the prodigal Uchiha's illusions almost as soon as they were cast.

"Your genjutsu prowess is astounding," Itachi said, voice strong despite the momentary clash of wills. His eyes had faded to black once more. "I've never met a non-Uchiha who could counter my Sharingan so effectively."

Naruto shrugged, pushing past his counterpart's momentary loss of composure. "It's a specialty of mine."

The Uchiha stared him down, his eyes no longer unfocused. "A simple kai. Yet performed…just as my illusion was taking hold, preventing my chakra from fully leaving an impression upon you. How singular."

"You probably just diagnosed a few different ways to counter it, didn't you," Naruto groused under his breath, unsure whether to be irritated or enthralled. "Mind trying that again? I'd like to see if I can do it again."

Itachi's eyebrows rose as one even as his lips quirked into a smile. "You are a puzzling man."

"And you haven't answered my question."

The smile fled faster than the remnants of the genjutsu. Itachi shifted ever-so-slightly, the movement resulting in nothing more than a slight rustling of fabric. Uncomfortable, Naruto's mind supplied.

"I first noticed my conscience when I was four years old," the Uchiha finally said. "It has informed every choice I've made since."

Naruto scoffed lightly. "Do you deliberately choose your answers in order to raise more questions?"

"It's a specialty of mine."

Did he just…? The blond blinked, stunned in spite of himself. He shook his head. Walked right into that one. Get your head outta your ass, Naruto. Not like Zabuza wasn't cracking jokes all over the damn jungle…

"There is a lot you do not know of me, Naruto-san," Itachi continued, parroting the blond once more. "I ask that you do not make assumptions; I will attempt to do the same." Naruto inclined his head in assent, curious in spite of himself. "You share the leader's vision?"

The blond leaned back, slouching down into the couch and blowing an errant lock of hair from his forehead. It's getting long… "Have you ever fought in a war?"

"I've done all in my power to prevent such an eventuality."

Good for you. "Right, well, it changes you. You fight long enough and you end up having to do things to keep going. Objectives aren't important anymore. Orders stop mattering. But if you give up, you die, so you find reasons to keep going." His mind went to Zabuza's casual cruelty, his near insatiable bloodlust that had hungered for combat until the bitter end. He thought of Roshi, all vice and indifference. "Most people hate. The other guys are trying to kill you, after all. It's easy; can keep you going for a while. To make a long story short, I didn't."

Blue eyes turned away. "A world without war is a fantasy. But fighting for it is better than accepting what we have now."

Itachi stared at him intently, his eyes distantly calculating. Naruto held the gaze evenly, long since used to unsettling eyes dissecting him. "You lost someone," the renegade finally declared. "Someone who wasn't supposed to die."

Eyes narrowed. "Everyone's lost someone."

The Uchiha inclined his head in acceptance of the point, but nonetheless continued, "The one who saved your life."

Roshi yanked his fist back and the mirror shattered into a thousand ice particles that fell into the waiting marsh, Haku's unmoving form impaled and suspended on his forearm. The Monkey's fist had driven a hole so big that it had nearly cut the effeminate boy in half, blood and entrails superheated to the point of hissing with steam around the chasm.

Naruto very nearly flinched, but managed to contain it at the last moment. Of course he didn't just show up right as Roshi was about to kill you, idiot. They were waiting for an opening. A hot flash of anger spiked through his body regardless of the fact he'd done it countless times himself. It didn't change the fact Haku had died, his corpse left to rot in Kusa's swamps. "That's right," he finally bit out.

"I apologize for not stepping in sooner," Itachi said, and Naruto started at the sincerity in his voice. He nodded jerkily, unsure of how to respond.

"I find it ironic," the Uchiha continued after a moment of silence. "In the midst of war, hearts can be softened rather than hardened, as your superiors may have intended."

"Good for me, then," Naruto said, all bitterness. Memories of Zabuza's repeated chastisements of Haku's kindness were all too fresh.

"Good for the world, perhaps," Itachi mused. "Before my best friend died, he entrusted me with his final mission, believing I was worthy to carry it on in his stead. I expect, Naruto-san, that your friend would have told you the same, if given the chance. Their deaths were not in vain, as we are here to carry their legacy forward."

"There's been enough death here today."

Naruto felt his eyes narrow. "You make a lot of assumptions for someone who said they wouldn't."

"Perhaps." Itachi's face was unreadable. "My greatest may be that you and I are not as different as you believe."

And now we're getting somewhere, the blond thought. "I'm fighting to prevent wars."

"And if I told you I was doing the same?"

Blond brows leapt skyward. Bold statement from a clan killer…"I'd tell you that the death of the Uchiha clan left Konoha vulnerable barely five years after the end of the Third Great War. The fact that the Fourth didn't start immediately after was a minor miracle."

Itachi smiled, and for Naruto it was like looking into a mirror for all the bitterness it held. "And if I told you the Fourth almost certainly would have occurred had the Uchiha lived?"

Naruto's heart thumped out of time. A momentary mix of confusion and anticipation gripping him, he quietly said, "I'd ask for an explanation."

/~/

Ame's towering skyline lit the night's sky, but as Naruto faced the window overlooking it, it was his own face he saw the clearest.

"I spent a lot of time hating Konoha after I left Kusa. It was pretty easy. They sent me to hell, after all." The blond ran a hand through his too-long hair. "I can't imagine how you feel."

Itachi said nothing, electing to gaze out the expansive window from his place on the couch.

How far would you go to prevent a war? Naruto asked himself. You vowed to never kill again, but if it meant saving the lives of hundreds? He took a shuddering breath, attempting to imagine the impossible choice Itachi had been forced into. He couldn't. Not in a million years.

Your family or your village, with the lives of thousands hanging in the balance?

"It was the right choice," Itachi spoke. "My father and the elders would not have been swayed by diplomacy. The ensuing bloodshed would have left the village crippled. Even had the Uchiha prevailed, we would have been crushed beneath the weight of an onslaught. For all of our ocular prowess, we were remarkably short-sighted."

Naruto bit his tongue, fighting the urge to lash out at his old home, at the men he'd considered mentors and role models. What would you have done? he mused, thinking of Sarutobi and the future that was apparently awaiting him if everything went according to Nagato's plan.

"As Hokage, you'd be in charge of policy that would help shape the future of the continent. You could steer Konoha from war better than anyone else." Naruto sighed heavily, hindsight being less clear than he liked. Suppose I would've started by not removing the easiest option from play, he thought.

"Why did he do it?" he asked Itachi. "Danzo, I mean. From everything I know about him…he's a patriot. Killing the Uchiha, with a better option on the table…" You could call it treason if you wanted to.

Itachi's face was studiously blank. "Obito enjoyed speculating, though I tried not to. I believe he derived some malicious satisfaction from his home village falling so low. I am afraid I didn't know Danzo well enough to shed light on his motivations. I suspected him of duplicity in the aftermath, and did everything in my power to prevent him taking action against Sasuke. Perhaps he is treacherous by nature."

Perhaps he was afraid.

More disturbing was the thought that sharingan's power was too much for Danzo to resist. Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at such a power. All genjutsu users sought to influence the minds and actions of their targets. A master's ability was defined in the effectiveness of their illusions, whether through subtlety or sheer overwhelming force.

"Kotoamatsukami," Naruto tested, letting the word fall from his lips. He shuddered visibly, uncaring, mind solely on the idea of a technique that could so subtly manipulate someone that they would not, could not, notice.

He shook his head. "How strong is he?" he asked instead, turning his mind to his upcoming mission. To Konoha and the uncomfortable truths he'd no doubt have to confront.

A contemporary of Sarutobi and a veteran of all three shinobi wars, Danzo wasn't to be trifled with. And if he still had Uchiha Shisui's sharingan?

"Strength is the wrong word," Itachi said. "He is calculating and, if he is what I believe him to be, he is utterly convinced of his own righteousness and place in Konoha's future. There are few lengths he would not go to to ensure his own survival."

As far as he's concerned, his survival is Konoha's survival, Naruto thought, working to construct a clear image of the man from their combined experiences.

"I do not doubt your abilities to defeat him in combat, but it is highly unlikely he will be alone."

"ANBU guard."

Itachi nodded. "To my knowledge, Root's prime directive was to operate in a covert capacity outside Fire Country's borders. From what I gleaned at the tail end of my time in Konoha, it would appear the group acts primarily under Danzo's orders."

As did you, once, Naruto thought. He turned enough to study Itachi out of the corner of his eye. Not lost in the horrific retelling was the fact that Itachi had gone through with it. To make that choice at thirteen was staggering.

The hairs on the back of Naruto's head stood up, a thrill of fear lancing through him like a lightning bolt. Is he still in contact? He shook his head as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Nagato wasn't the type to keep people around who he didn't trust. And that whole mind reading thing, Naruto thought with a barely contained shiver.

"What changed?" he asked, genuinely curious. "You valued the lives of the villagers over your own family. Takes something to change those priorities."

"I valued the lives of many over a few," Itachi returned without missing a beat.

"That simple, huh?" Naruto murmured.

"Is it not for you?" A single eyebrow quirked in question. "Is that not why you're here?"

He's got you there… "It is."

"We all make sacrifices for what we believe in," Itachi said.

The blond flinched. "And we all have a line we're not willing to cross," he said, more forcefully than he'd intended.

Naruto turned back to the dazzling skyline as Itachi's gaze became searching. He let his thoughts drift unabated for a moment, relishing the feeling of focusing solely on the view in front of him.

"I didn't take you for a pacifist in Kusa," the Uchiha finally said.

"People change."

Blue eyes met onyx in the reflection. "They do. I fear, however," the Uchiha said, rising. "That to change as many people as you hope, death is inevitable." He padded silently to the window, coming to rest a comfortable distance from the blond. "A change like you suggest hasn't happened since the advent of the villages. It will not come easily."

"It won't," Naruto allowed. He clamped down on the urge to snap. "People don't want war and senseless death. When it comes, they'll welcome it."

"Are you willing to take responsibility for the lives lost? If all goes to plan and you depose Danzo and those like him. Prisons will not hold them."

His captain had never explicitly said she followed Danzo's directives expressly; even in her vulnerable moments – few and far between as they were – she had been far too well trained to let slip anything quite so unprofessional. He had seen her seal though, and knew what it represented. If what Itachi said was true…

"No. They won't. Death is inevitable," Naruto allowed. There was never any doubt of that. "I don't kill," he declared, turning his head to face Itachi plainly. "You can think I'm naïve, I don't care. I'm sure Nagato does as well. But I've done enough killing to last a lifetime. Whatever happens, whatever comes next, that won't change."

"I believe you," Itachi said quietly. "I merely wonder what you'll do when faced with the reality that killing is best option available to you."

"I'll find a way."

The Uchiha regarded him for a moment, and Naruto didn't flinch under his gaze. "It is rare to find a shinobi for whom the ends do not justify the means."

Naruto felt himself smile humorlessly. "How much do you know about Momochi Zabuza?"

"Only hearsay. Kisame speaks rarely of his former comrades, and never positively."

Can't say I blame him…"I spent far too much time with Zabuza in Kusa. Got his whole life story ten times over. He went rogue after trying to assassinate the Mizukage. Was doing everything he could to raise money to return to Kiri and overthrow the government." Naruto shook his head. "Deep down, he was convinced Kiri would be better off with him in charge. A noble goal, no?"

Itachi's lips twitched at some unknown irony. "From a certain point of view."

"Right…" Story of my life. "Point is, he never cared how many people he had to kill in order to get it done. And that just doesn't make a lotta sense, you know? What's the point of liberating people if you have to kill a few thousand to do it? Far as I'm concerned, that doesn't make me a whole lot better than the people doing all the killing now."

"Our world isn't kind to idealists," Itachi said. Naruto only smiled in response, continuing to stare out at Ame's night sky. When it was clear the blond wasn't going to respond, the Uchiha continued, "When did you stop believing it? That your goals weren't worth the sacrifice?"

Naruto shrugged. "Couldn't tell you for sure. First time I ever felt remorse for a mission was when I was twelve, though. Sometime after that," he said, thinking of his brief, bloody trip to Kumo. He shook himself out of the memories with practiced ease. "A man pleading for his life doesn't care why you're killing him. He just cares that he's about to die."

Itachi said nothing, electing to turn back to the outside world. Naruto's thoughts raced, his imminent return to Konoha having managed to take on a far more sinister undertone than he'd contemplated. He had always known that removing the established powers would be part of his mission – knew its necessity if actual change was ever to be accomplished.

Danzo now would be far more of an impediment than he'd expected. He hadn't ever thought of the man as moral – they were shinobi, after all – but the depths he had apparently gone to with the Uchiha spoke of someone motivated by power, rather than the village's wellbeing.

It also called Sarutobi into question. Last checked, the Sandaime was the head of ANBU under Tsunade. He had been instrumental in Naruto's Root recruitment. The ties between the two elders would need to be parsed, and delicately at that.

Never mind Root's involvement as a whole, the blond thought uncharitably. If Naruto overplayed his hand and Danzo decided to cut his losses, there was no telling how much damage could be done. What a fucking headache…

"I'm afraid it's been some time since I've had the opportunity to speak with someone interested in the ways of our world," Itachi said at length, snatching Naruto from his increasingly dark musings. The Uchiha was turned to him, the barest hint of what looked like a genuine smile on his face. "I would like to speak further before you depart."

It took Naruto a moment to realize the part was a request. "Sure," he managed around his bemusement.

"Excellent. I will retire now. You've given me much to think about, Naruto-san," Itachi declared. "Goodnight." He etched a short bow and departed on silent feet, leaving Naruto blinking in confusion.

He turned back to the night after a few seconds, returning to his thoughts. "Uchiha Itachi…what an interesting guy."

/~/

Naruto exhaled shakily, falling to a knee atop the reservoir's smoking surface. He felt his fingers begin to tingle at the leftover charge that was only now beginning to dissipate, and glanced down.

Sparks danced across his exposed arms, the pale blond hairs stood on end in response. He patted himself down, lingering for a moment on his chest to feel his racing heartbeat. Not dead. That's a good start.

"Was that full power?" he called through jittering teeth.

"Not quite. Perhaps eighty percent."

Naruto grimaced Ibuse's words. Getting there… "Has anyone ever survived full power?"

"Not yet," the grand summon boomed, settling down atop the water's surface. "I had no chance to use it in our fight against your comrade. I expect he might have found a way."

"Yeah, Nagato's like that," the blond acknowledged. A thought formed a water clone that immediately leapt away in the direction of the power box that controlled the dam. The natural flow to the city's canals had to be shut down whenever he trained – it wouldn't do to electrocute half the city, after all. While Naruto strongly objected to inconveniencing what was a massive population of people, Nagato had assured him it would hardly be noticed. The only other option was training outside the city proper, and given the massive expanse of the floodplains, there was no telling who might end up as collateral damage. At least in Ame, the only threat to people was minor irritation from time to time.

His ragged breathing firmly under control, Naruto bounded up Ibuse's back, coming to rest upon the summon's head. "It shouldn't be much longer before I can manage the full technique. I appreciate your patience with me, sensei."

A harsh breath of laughter greeted his words. "I fear I did you a disservice in speaking of Hanzo's prowess. His lightning affinity was gifted at birth. That we can use this technique at all is most impressive, Naruto. We have practiced it for nary four months."

Though the words were meant as a comfort, Naruto couldn't help the downward twitch of his lips. Seven-hundred and forty nine days since I've last killed. Not much longer now. "Suppose I'm still not used to getting things on the first try."

"You are learning the value of patience. A rare quality."

"I'll take your word for it," Naruto said.

The great salamander inhaled deeply, shaking his head. "I will consider myself finished with your tutelage when you express belief in yourself. Doubt will get you nowhere, Naruto."

"I am trying, sensei."

"Do you do what you believe is right?"

"I do now."

"Then from where does your doubt come?"

Naruto opened his mouth, then shut it once more, cocking his head to the side. Their world was one of uncertainty. Information made or broke even the most competent, and secrets were prized higher than gold.

His experience in Kusa had been one long lesson on things not being what they seemed; his time since even more so. Revelations months past rang loud in his mind.

"It's tough to trust much of anything as 'right,'" he said.

"From a certain point of view, anything can be right," Ibuse declared. "Your perspective has changed much, even in the short time I've known you. Our world is not one of absolutes. The only constants are change and balance."

Nature always corrects, the blond remembered. It was one of the first things the salamanders had taught him. Whether a flood or a fire or an earthquake, nature corrected, balance was restored, and the world kept moving. Relaxing thought when you let it be, Naruto told himself with a hint of humor.

"You are a good student, Naruto. While you have much still to learn, do not let your shortcomings cloud your judgment. You are not perfect, for you cannot be. You have made mistakes and you will continue to do so. Accept your failures, learn from them, and move on."

"Sounds simple when you put it like that," Naruto chuckled.

Ibuse huffed once more. Laughter. "It is both the simplest and most difficult thing to do. Take heart, however, as it gets easier with age, and you are yet young even by human standards."

"I'll talk to Honosuke about it."

The great salamander twitched. "Perhaps his experiences may shed some light upon your own."

"Perhaps," the blond allowed.

"I believe I should take my leave of you. We have been watched for some time now."

"She doesn't mean any harm."

"Maybe so. She has been kept waiting long enough, however."

"You may have to get used to a new village the next time I summon you," Naruto said.

"I look forward to it. Goodbye, Naruto."

"Sensei."

A massive plume of smoke heralded Ibuse's departure and, as was tradition, Naruto let himself fall without resistance to the waiting reservoir beneath him. He landed lightly, mindful not to touch the water's surface with his exposed skin.

He had noticed Konan's presence in the middle of his training session – hovering near the edge of his awareness.

It wasn't altogether surprising, considering just what he was attempting to learn – nor was it the first time Konan or Nagato had observed his training – but the feeling of eyes on him was unsettling.

What are you thinking?

He turned his blue gaze to meet unfathomable bronze as Pein's Angel descended. The graceful paper wings dissolved, moving to reform Konan's legs just in time for her to come to a rest atop the reservoir.

She stood no more than arm's length from him and Naruto quelled the urge to step back. "Ibuse thought we were being impolite," he said. "Did you want something?"

He stood a full head taller than her, and at their distance he could easily pick up the nigh imperceptible movements of her eyes as she surveyed him. The slightest haze of steam that still wafted gently from his exposed skin danced between them, and, belatedly, Naruto realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. He crossed his arms over his chest self consciously, covering up the discolored burn scar where Roshi had boiled away his flesh. Is she–

"It's a magnificent technique," Konan said, shattering his train of thought. "I had only ever heard of it before. To see it with my own eyes…what is it called?"

Naruto blinked. "I'm…not sure that it has a name," he admitted, caught off guard. He cast his eyes sideways. "I'm honestly not even sure how he does it, to be honest." He reached up to scratch the back of his head in a bemused sort of embarrassment. I've been so focused on my own work…

He turned back to find the slightest of smiles playing across Konan's lips, and a sudden surge of melancholy gripped him. Her smiles, capable of wholly transforming her normally aloof face, were a rare sight to behold, even after all of his months in Ame. She's been fighting since before I was born. She must be so tired.

Caught up in his musings, he noticed a moment late that her hand was reaching for him through the still dissipating steam. He stepped back hastily, raising his own hand to forestall any contact. "I wouldn't," he said in a rush. Konan's face closed instantly and he bulldozed through the tiny pang of regret at wiping away her smile. "I'm still a bit – ah – charged up." The blond held out his hand as sparks danced across it, their discharge adding to the haze.

Konan simply stared at him for a moment, utterly unreadable even to his well-trained eyes, before she stepped forward and snatched his hand out of the air in one motion. Naruto was so taken aback he nearly flinched away at the sudden contact, but Konan held firm, the sparking palm of his hand pinned between her thumb and forefinger.

"You're not the only one with immaculate chakra control," she said softly as she released his hand after a moment. Naruto drew it away slowly, eyes flitting between Konan's face and her hand. Her orange nail polish was untouched, and her hand appeared none the worse for wear despite the raw voltage he knew was still coursing through him.

Can transform her whole body into paper. Right. "My mistake," he murmured. He let the silence hang, completely lost, and did his best not to fidget. Face down a jinchuuriki or Uchiha Itachi no problem, but can't handle one woman who you can't get a read on, he chastised himself.

When it became clear that Konan wasn't going to speak anytime soon – apparently content to simply observe him – he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Ignoring the feeling of static pulling at him, he said, "I can never tell what you're thinking, Konan-san. I'd appreciate if you took pity on me at this point."

"You learn to hide your thoughts well when you grow up around all-seeing eyes," she said, voice expressionless. Bronze eyes softened a moment later. "I don't wish to confuse you, Naruto. Trust is…difficult for me."

A blond eyebrow quirked as irritation flooded in. "If I haven't managed it after all this time, I'm not sure how I can prove myself to you." Nagato trusts me. That's not good enough?

"Please don't take it the wrong way. I've been alone with Nagato for so long that I wondered if I'd ever meet someone else I could trust." Konan raised her chin ever-so-slightly, seemingly almost defiant for a moment. "How goes your other training?"

Naruto shrugged artlessly at the subject change. "Finished. I had no idea casting genjutsu on yourself was so difficult," he said. Despite genjutsu being his specialty, casting one on oneself was more difficult than it seemed, requiring a fairly intense bout of mental gymnastics to make it hold against the knowledge that it was an illusion. Never mind doing it at a moment's notice, under duress. "It's pretty ingenious when you get it down."

"You're confident, then?"

He nodded. "As confident as I can be. Nagato seemed pleased in our last training session. He couldn't find anything."

"He could if he wanted to. The effort would not be beneficial for you, however," Konan said, emotionless once more.

A thread of uncertainty gripped Naruto for a moment. "In what way?" he asked, almost hesitant. Whatever Nagato did when he placed his hand on his the blonde's head was far from comfortable, but he'd, perhaps foolishly, assumed that was the limit.

Konan cocked her head to the side, surveying him momentarily before, "The fullest version of his technique rips the soul from the body. The discomfort you feel is the very fabric of your existence being drawn out from you."

Naruto felt his mouth fall open in abject horror. He was familiar with some of the more esoteric powers his ally possessed, but every time he felt he'd found the limit, it was inevitably broken.

"Wh-what happens to the soul?" he asked, hearing himself from a distance.

"Erased from existence. Consigned to oblivion," she declared tonelessly.

Naruto's mind whirled. To have that kind of power… His mind flitted to the scattered temples to Pein that littered Ame proper, to the accolades that worshipped him as a god.

"Uzumaki Nagato is just a man. But Pein? Pein is immortal."

"There's no limit to what Nagato can do," Konan said and, for a moment, Naruto thought she almost sounded afraid.

Objectively, he knew Nagato was extremely dangerous. The scope of his abilities filled him with trepidation like it would any other shinobi who knew they were summarily outclassed in every way. In his darker moments, however, the only real fear that filled Naruto was Nagato's mind. The occasional thought that he was very much playing with fire by allying himself with a man so singularly driven was only ever quelled by the knowledge that they were motivated by the same goal.

Peace.

"He's changed so much from when we first set out on this path," Konan continued. "We both have."

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked weakly. If trust is so difficult for you, what the hell is this?

He managed to meet Konan's eyes through some force of will, and the emotion he saw in them was only matched by the time he'd inadvertently seen her with the Deva path. She stared at him with an unnerving intensity, something undefined burning in her bronze depths. "You remind me of him sometimes," she said at length. "Yahiko. I wonder what he'd think of us now."

Naruto started. Both Konan and Nagato only ever mentioned their fallen friend in glowing terms.

"That's quite the compliment," he said quietly. "I'm sure he'd be proud of how far you've come."

The barest of smiles touched Konan's lips. "Maybe. He was an idealist. He was no stranger to the realities of our world, but didn't let them define him. Uncompromising, but always positive. Always full of hope for what we planned to do."

"He sounds like a good man," Naruto said, trying to hide his growing discomfort under the older woman's unrelenting gaze.

"He was." She finally turned away from the blond, string at the high concrete walls that barricaded the reservoir from spilling into the village. "We lost something when he died. Something you can't get back. It would have been so different," she said, and the blond knew she wasn't really talking to him anymore.

"Let the past die," Naruto said. Konan twitched at the echo of her own words from months before. "I didn't know Yahiko, but I can tell just from your memories of him that he was a great person." He ran a hand through his hair once more, trying to formulate words that might comfort the woman in front of him. "You've done your best, Konan-san. I think the only thing we can do for the people we love is live. Not for them, for us."

"They wouldn't want us constantly living in their shadow," he finished, thinking of Haku.

The older woman turned back to him, and Naruto had no trouble holding her gaze this time as she considered him. Her lips twitched wryly. "You're more perceptive than he was. You're right, of course, but I can't help but wonder at times."

"We all do."

Konan nodded. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, but please be careful."

"I will."

"You've been taught the Gentooshin no jutsu?" At Naruto's nod, she continued, "Good. Nagato will contact you periodically to relay news and orders, but I will be your primary handler. When you need to contact me, perform the jutsu and add this seal at the end." She contorted her hands, her ring fingers crossing each other to touch her opposite index fingers, and her middle fingers crossed over them. Her index fingers, pinkies and thumbs pointed straight. "You'll be able to speak to me directly."

"Understood." He mimicked her hands, dexterous fingers figuring out the posture in moments. "I'll make contact once I've passed their screening."

Konan let her hands drop. She smiled at him, the expression reaching her eyes in a way that Naruto considered himself lucky to witness. "Good luck, Naruto."

"Heh, hopefully I won't need it," he managed with a slight grin, crossing his arms over his no-longer smoking chest.

"We all need luck, but I believe in you." With one last nod, her legs shifted to paper once more, forming into an angel's wings. She ascended, her eyes firmly settled on his own as she rose.

A lone piece of paper floated down to him as she floated away, and he caught it gently in an open palm. He stared down at it, noticing that letters had been cut out of it in lieu of using ink. Three words stared back at him.

Hashirama.

Bijuu.

Rikudo.

All three were familiar. Konoha's Shodai Hokage. The malevolent chakra monsters that were alternatively Akatsuki's tertiary goal and diversion. The shortened title of the Six Paths Sage – Nagato's ancestor.

"Guess I'll be looking into them." Naruto turned his gaze skyward as Konan disappeared between the buildings, shredding the paper in his hands with a concentrated burst of wind chakra.

He lingered upon the reservoir's surface for a few moments longer, considering the mission he was soon to undertake. After a minute's contemplation of his objective and his most recent encounter with Nagato's enigmatic partner, he turned and strode toward Pein's tower.

There was work to be done.

/~/

Ibuse's technique (which will be expanded upon later) is inspired by Howdy's Houses of the Holy. If any of you haven't read it, do so now.

Annnd we're moving! This chapter closes Arc 2. Obviously major changes afoot. In general, the response has been pretty positive from y'all which is much appreciated. The beginning of it was jarring, no doubt, but I hope I've made up for it with some original content.

Arc 3 is back to Konoha and some familiar names and faces, hopefully presented in an original way.

As always, shouts to the DLP crew for their help hammering this story into shape.

Feel free to drop a line.

20. The Best Laid Plans

/~/

The combination of slowly rotting wood, only barely masked by scented candles and perfumes, combined with the all too present aroma of human excrement barely phased him these days. It was the smell of fear, and he was more than used to causing it.

"Considering the circumstances, I thought you'd appreciate me treating you like an adult," he said absently. Blue eyes turned dispassionately toward his quarry.

Watanabe Yosuke. Kusagakure councilman and advisor to the jonin oyabun. Former Konoha loyalist turned Iwa lobbyist. Dead man walking.

"Now, this goes one of two ways," Naruto continued. "You either tell me what I need to know upfront, or I get my associate here to wake up your wife and daughters so we can ask all of you. Which would you prefer?" A nod over his right shoulder prompted Zabuza to step forward into the dim light of the sitting room, the large man's grin visible through the bandages that covered his mouth. "I know you couldn't give half a shit about your wife, but I'd ask you to think about just how your daughters might react to seeing the two of you in…well, less than favorable conditions."

Despite his visible discomfort and utter terror, Yosuke managed to summon a face full of righteous indignation. "You shinobi," he spat. "As if you won't just kill them both the second I tell you what you want anyway."

Guess I was right about the wife… "You don't trust me. That's fair." Naruto sighed, utterly fed up with this irritating little man. Getting access to him had taken far longer than it should have, cost more than it should have for some merchant mogul with delusions of grandeur. "Do you know why it's me doing the talking and not my friend here, Watanabe-san?" he asked pointedly, gesturing to Kiri's Demon.

He's used to dealing with us, he thought as the man managed a sneer around what otherwise would have been a whimper.

"Because when I say that I have no desire to kill your wife and daughters, I actually mean it." Naruto laid his palms flat on the table between him and the pitiful excuse for a human in front of him. "We decided collectively that having Zabuza here have this chat with you would be more hypocrisy than we wanted to stomach. Now I understand you may find that concept a bit difficult to understand, but if you can't trust anything else about me, trust that." His soliloquy was punctuated by a burst of killing intent that heralded the smell of fresh urine.

The young blond contained his disgust to a simple roll of the eyes as Zabuza chuckled darkly behind him. "And what is to become of me?" Watanabe stuttered and, were it not for the necessity of their mission objective, Naruto would've parked a kunai hilt deep in his skull.

"Of all the unfortunate civilians I've had to deal with in this war, you're somehow the most spineless. Congratulations," Naruto sighed. "Your life was forfeit the moment you advised the oyabun to begin listening to Iwa's offers of allegiance." His lip curled at the audible snivel. "How painlessly you die, however, is entirely up to you. You either tell me everything I need to know about your trade agreements, or things begin to get messier."

Watanabe's beady eyes flickered between the young blonde and the hulking man behind him, clearly weighing his options. Naruto couldn't be sure what exactly was flying through the merchant's mind, but he could see the exact moment he realized he wasn't going to be able to weasel his way out.

"Make a decision, sir."

Memories of darker times played in front of his eyes as the caravan trekked its way through Fire Country's dense forests. Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtlessly, careful to avoid the fukimi-bari lodged comfortably in the right side of his mouth. It had been months since he'd bothered arming himself – quite literally – to the teeth, but given the stone faces waiting for him down the road, just visible over the treetops, it felt appropriate.

"Oi! How much longer?" a deep voice called from somewhere along the caravan.

"Thirty minutes less than the last time you asked!"

"Don't get short with me, Satorou! We've been on this goddamn road for five days…"

Naruto ignored the bickering with practiced ease, long since used to it, and pulled his worn kasa further down his forehead to block out the afternoon heat. He'd hitched a ride with the caravan four days previous, partially to obscure his reentry to Konoha, partially because he certainly wasn't in a hurry to get there.

You're conflicted, he told himself, trying his utmost to assess the feeling without judgment. Can't really blame yourself now, can you?

Try as he might, he couldn't ignore the slightly elevated thrumming of his heart as he neared the village he'd called home for most of his life. You're anxious. You're scared. No matter how airtight the plan was on paper, they couldn't account for everything.

He took a deep breath as he felt a patrol, utterly invisible to the merchants he travelled with, pass them by. Bunch formation, captain at the rear; gives an extra fraction of a second for commands.

A smile crossed his face as the patrol continued along the stretch of road behind them, no doubt surveying the dozens of other carts and caravans making their way to Konoha. Patrol duty was as dull as ANBU got, reserved for new recruits and teams rehabbing from longer tours. Things were simpler then, he recalled fondly. Flashes of dark red hair and milky eyes played in his mind.

His foul mood dispelled, Naruto hopped adroitly down from the wheeled cart to the dusty road below, and began to walk. He wove his way through the throng of civilians who strode alongside the caravan, each more excited than the last to finally reach their destination.

His chakra reached out, already fully infused with the water particles in the air, searching for shinobi. His own chakra was tightly suppressed to avoid the notice of passing patrols on the off-chance they had a sensor with them, but he knew it was mostly a formality. Konoha wasn't known for creating sensor type shinobi, and the ability was rare enough to begin with. Only the Yamanaka seemed to have much of a gift with chakra sensing, but whatever the rest of the shinobi lacked, the Hyuuga managed to make up for with their all-seeing eyes.

Suppressing his chakra would at least stand up to a cursory glance from dojutsu users, which was all he was likely to be subject to. The heavy scrutiny would come once he'd already entered the village, and at that point he wouldn't truly be hiding anymore.

He had to make an impression, after all.

Naruto's stroll, relaxed as it was for him, carried him easily past the majority of the men and women walking beside the half dozen carts that made up the caravan. Most carried heavy packs on their shoulders filled with their wares. Those that didn't carried children too young to walk on their own. He passed a family of five and found himself alongside the horses who had the grave misfortune to be pulling the lead cart through the summer heat.

Konoha's great wooden gates loomed large a few thousand feet ahead. He, like all who had ever lived in the hidden village, knew that the gates and wall were mostly symbolic. They were too short to have any true defensive effect on any shinobi other than genin. It was the men and women who manned them that provided the actual protection. Beyond that, as a former ANBU, he was more than well aware of the invisible barrier that alerted the elite shinobi force of everyone who passed through it.

His lips quirked as he pondered the reception he'd receive when a team was dispatched to investigate.

"They will want you back just as surely as they wanted Jiraiya."

Suppose we'll see about that…

"Hey, blondie! Still holding up down there?"

Naruto lifted his eyes from the looming gates of his old home to regard Satorou, the leader of the merchant troupe he'd linked up with. "Much better, Satorou-san!" he called jovially. "The rest has been invaluable."

"Bah! How a boy your age wound up so weary is beyond me. Glad we found you," the slightly portly merchant said. "We was made of sterner stuff back when I was your age, I swear."

"My father always said the same," Naruto said, allowing a smile. He turned his eyes to the very front of the caravan as they approached the gate. Two Takigakure chunin stood guard, bought and paid for by the collective Satorou led. His genjutsu had taken them in as easily as it had the civilians, leaving nothing but the impression of a half-starved, exhausted young man who had bitten off more than he could chew in the Fire Country summer. They hadn't bothered interacting with him since, apparently fully convinced of his innocuousness.

Combat competent and not much else, he mused, trying to keep his disdain from becoming palpable.

He pushed it to the side as the two Taki-nin presented the Konoha gate-guards with their papers. Satorou hopped down from the cart upon which he sat and beckoned him forward.

"It's gonna take a few minutes for all my people to get their shit together, you may as well go on through," he told Naruto in a resigned sort of way that indicated years of experience.

"I'm in your debt, Satorou-san," the blond demurred with a slight bow. "If there's any way I can repay you, please let me know."

"Don't stress yourself over it, Naruto. You were better company than most of my lot, which is payment enough in my book. Just don't let me catch you wandering about alone again," the older man said, punctuating his statement with a stern finger in Naruto's chest.

The blond grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, sir. Thank you again and good luck this season."

"Won't need it if these idiots do their jobs for once…" the merchant muttered, waving him off and turning back to his troupe.

Naruto smiled at the merchant's back as the irritable man went about the business of rallying his people. He turned and stepped past the two Taki-nin without a word, calming his slightly elevated heartrate as he approached the gate guards.

Two male, one female, all bored. Chunin.

"Name?" the lone woman asked in a tone that was surprisingly alert in the face of her dead-end assignment.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he told her, looking her dead in the eye.

"Purpose of your stay?" she returned without batting an eye.

Guess I wasn't as well-known as I thought, Naruto thought with a tinge of humor. There was no harm in giving his actual name; the barrier would identify him the moment he stepped through it. "Meeting family," he said.

The woman nodded, brown eyes surveying him as she gestured for his papers. He handed them over and she passed them to a colleague without a word, continuing to stare at him. Naruto fought the urge to raise an eyebrow challengingly, opting for a lopsided smile that came out as more of a grimace.

The female chunin relented a moment later, favoring him with a grin as she looked up at him. "Just protocol," she said in a voice far more reassuring than her earlier tone.

Do I look that nervous? Naruto wondered as he nodded. His heartrate had calmed – only in part because of his old Root training – but he wasn't entirely displeased. Civilians were meant to be skittish near shinobi.

"Length of stay?" the male guard skimming his papers asked absently.

"One month," Naruto said easily, turning his eyes to the very clearly bored man.

The man nodded, handed the papers back to the blond, and turned back to his comrade.

The woman rolled her eyes but managed a smile as she said, "Welcome to Konoha, Naruto-san. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," he returned, finally managing what he considered a convincing smile. He spared one last glance at the female chunin, who was still staring at him for reasons unknown, before stepping through the great wooden gate at last.

Even to his advanced senses, the barrier was barely a tingle upon his skin as he moved through it. Not long now, he mused, casting his eyes about the village that he had called home for most of his life.

Five faces stared stoically from the Hokage Mountain, where there had been four when he'd left. Tsunade's expression was severe as she looked upon the village she had been in charge of for six years. Naruto's eyes passed over the four familiar faces, lingering a moment upon Namikaze Minato's, before dropping to the village proper.

No two villages were more different than Ame and Konoha, Naruto felt. He had grown used to the towering metal behemoths that reached for the sky. For someone who had been raised a child of the forest, however, Konoha was a sight to behold.

The main gates emerged immediately onto the main thoroughfare that bisected the village and led directly to the Hokage's Mansion in the distance. Dozens upon hundreds of civilians crowded the main street; they bustled from shop to shop, from stall to stall, an effervescent energy immediately apparent that had nothing to do with his ability to sense chakra.

There were few shadows in the mid-afternoon glow, the sun seeming to bathe even the deepest corner in warmth. The Hokage's mansion shone a brilliant Fire Country red that evoked memories of Akasango as Naruto stepped forward, buoyed by a small crowd of people moving around the gate. He turned his head left, reaching out ever-so-slightly with his mind to feel the hundreds of vibrant chakra presences that littered the Merchant Corridor. It'll be packed for lunch.

He strode down the main street, taking a moment to glance up at the traditional lanterns that would light the village come nightfall. Sidestepping a cart that was barreling in toward the outer districts that lined the walls, Naruto breathed in and closed his eyes. Shinobi hopped from roof to roof, to and from missions, carrying messages, or simply avoiding the crush of civilians below, their highly trained chakra calling out like a beacon to him. Dozens of forest green vests flittered to and fro as he opened his eyes, utterly unaware of his gaze.

Konoha was alive in a way that Ame, with all of its monolithic towers, could never be. Unbidden, he felt his lips quirk up in a genuine smile.

"Guess I missed this place after all."

His musings finished, Naruto stepped back into the throng of passing villagers. Can't waste time. Don't wanna be caught unaware.

His senses could be spread thin enough to cover the entire village, to feel everything – he had practiced it. But he wouldn't be able to distinguish individual movements, only the bigger picture. Less than optimal, he mused, pulling back his chakra from the water particles in the air. Naruto exhaled, choosing instead to sharpen his awareness of two-hundred meters in every direction around him.

He entered the leisure quarter off the main thoroughfare and suddenly inns, rather than shops, lined the road. It was noticeably less busy, though tourists and merchants still bustled back and forth. Shinobi popped in and out of his senses, striding from rooftop to rooftop, none staying for long enough to be worthy of a thought.

Naruto kept his kasa low on his head to block out the afternoon sun as he strode past the lodging reserved for dignitaries and wealthier patrons. The occasional samurai was standing guard outside a more upscale in or resort, a clear indication of someone of relative importance within. The blond picked out three shinobi within the first thousand yards of his trek. At least one jonin, not that chakra capacity is the best indica–ah…Less than six minutes. Not a bad response time.

Two well-concealed presences appeared on rooftops to his left and right. Naruto smirked, knowing that even if he looked up he wouldn't be able to spot them; ANBU were well-trained, after all.

Let's get this over with.

Naruto turned into a small, three-story, yellow-painted building on a whim. The faded sign read The Painted Leaf.

"Good afternoon, sir!" a young girl greeted cheerily from behind the worn but well-kept wooden desk. She had rich brown hair and cheeks that reminded the blond of a chipmunk. "Will you be checking in for the night?" she asked.

"I will," Naruto said around a smile. The girl was a few years younger than him at the very least, with an infectious enthusiasm that spoke of a family business. "Do you have any rooms on…" he trailed off, a chakra presence darting into his awareness in the room behind the desk. It was gone as soon as it appeared. "…the top floor?" he finished.

The girl grinned heartily, dimpling. "Let me just check one thin–"

"We don't, unfortunately," a man spoke up, entering from the back room. He smiled politely, and it reached his eyes. He's either been well-trained or has dealt with this more than once, Naruto mused with distant humor. All civilians who worked in the leisure district were coached on a set of codes shinobi might speak to them at a moment's notice. Foreign agents infiltrated Konoha every day – what the village did about them, however, varied greatly. Enough ANBU members swarming near wealthy merchants and foreign dignitaries would attract even a samurai's notice, let alone paid shinobi escorts. Image was everything, even for the strongest of the Five.

"We have a second floor room that I'd be happy to set you up with, sir," the man continued.

Limiting my escape routes. Third floor would leave me with easy roof access, ground floor would leave me with the street. Pinch procedure. Even a second of indecision or ancillary movement would be enough for an ANBU squad to capitalize on. "Fine by me," Naruto said.

"Excellent. Ai-chan, your mother needs help with housekeeping down the hall. I'll see to the gentleman." The girl pouted, no doubt at the prospect of turning down beds and scrubbing floors, but obeyed with a muted, "Yes, papa."

"And how long will you be staying with us?" the innkeeper asked.

"One week. Do I have the option to re-up if necessary?"

"Certainly, sir! Twenty-four hours' notice is all we ask if you are planning to leave early. Your name, please?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"That will be three-hundred and seventy-five yen, Uzumaki-san." Naruto withdrew the money without a thought and placed on the desk. "Thank you, sir. You will be room two-zero-seven. Would you like me to show you to it?" the innkeeper asked, handing over a worn, but clearly polished key.

"I'm sure I can find it," Naruto returned with a smile. He took the key, adjusted the small pack he carried upon his back, and stepped lightly into the hallway.

An old staircase was to his left, and he climbed it slowly. It was unlikely that a full Operations team would be waiting for him inside, rather it was probably a single member with a message. Backup would be strategically positioned outside the window, down the hall, and on the rooftop to cover his points of exit.

This is where we start improvising. Naruto arrived at the door marked '207' with a steady heart and a clear mind. Two chakra presences, one suppressed, he analyzed, sliding the key into the lock. Not quite standard procedure, then.

The door unlocked with a 'click.' He exhaled lightly. Well-oiled hinges swung soundlessly, and Naruto stepped forward.

The room was occupied by a single bed and nightstand. An open door led to the bathroom, in which stood the chakra presence that wasn't suppressed. The window to the outside world was open, the thin curtains rustling gently in the afternoon breeze.

An old man leaned casually against the wall next to it. Liver marks dotted his wizened, wrinkled face. Thinning hair topped his head, and a well-groomed goatee sat upon his chin.

"You're quite late, my boy," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, voice neutral.

For a moment, Naruto was frozen, a boy once more. In front of him stood the man he'd idolized as the pinnacle of shinobi; Sandaime Hokage, Shinobi no Kami, the Professor. A man who hadn't simply excelled at all the shinobi arts, but mastered them.

"Yes. I guess I am," his brain supplied. "I thought you would've retired by now, Sarutobi-sama."

"And I thought you were dead."

"Not quite," Naruto said instead. Not for lack of trying. He allowed himself a small smile as he removed his headwear at long last; he had finally cut his hair back before leaving Ame, but it was still long enough to frame his face when unbound. "Is this to be a debrief, sir?" he asked.

The chakra presence originally in the bathroom had migrated. Naruto shrugged his pack off of his shoulders and tossed it carelessly in the corner, forcing the concealed ANBU to move. Probably shouldn't do the same with the kasa, he thought, withholding a chuckle at the covert agent's expense. He felt the tension leave his body with a slight breath, and hoped Sarutobi's eyes were too aged to properly analyze it.

"Of a sort." The Sandaime stepped forward from the wall, and Naruto noticed for the first time how short he was. He had always been larger than life to the blond as a child – stature had meant nothing to the sheer presence Sarutobi could exude. Now, six years removed from his last interaction, the aged legend simply looked small.

"You have quite a few questions to answer, not the least of which is why it's taken nearly two years for you to return after the order to withdraw was given." Sarutobi's voice was clipped, tight with displeasure enough to have had him running for the hills in the past.

After everything he'd been through, it was a mild rebuke at best. Be respectful, Naruto told himself. His earlier awe had worn off, leaving him face to face with an old man who had sent him off to war.

The blond stepped back and pulled the hem of his shirt up level with his chest. Dispassionate blue eyes regarded Sarutobi as the old man beheld the spot where the Yonbi's poisonous chakra had boiled away his flesh. He was rewarded with a noticeable widening of the Sandaime's eyes at the sight of the ugly wound.

"How did it happen?" the old man asked, voice strong in the face of his shock.

"Yoton no Roshi isn't to be trifled with," Naruto said coolly, letting the shirt drop back down. "Or wasn't, I suppose."

The Sandaime was quiet, his eyes unfathomable as he stared at the blond. Naruto, for his part, stayed utterly still, managing to maintain a neutral expression through sheer force of will. He fought desperately against his body that was doing its best to vibrate itself out of his clothes, such was his anger.

He flexed his chakra, coiling it as tight as it could go without showing exertion, his mind a raging storm of emotion. Memories of dark, sleepless nights filled with screams and the smell of fresh blood flashed before his eyes, each more desperate than the last.

He saw Zabuza grinning amidst the rivers of blood, his captain curled in on herself with silent tears the only visible emotion, Haku dead at his feet and barely recognizable.

"It seems we have much to talk about."

Naruto blinked. The memories receded. "How am I to proceed, sir?" he asked, voice surprisingly level.

"Leave your belongings. They will be moved to an appropriate location." The Sandaime stepped back and waved his hand subtly. The cloaked ANBU appeared in Naruto's periphery. "You will accompany Sigma Team and myself to headquarters for a full debrief. Do you require anything before we go?"

The last was tacked on – not hastily but not quite an afterthought either. Naruto was forcibly reminded of the kindly old man who had pushed him further along his path as a child, when compassion had greeted him at every turn. Has he changed? Or just my perception of him? he wondered.

"No, sir. Thank you, sir."

Sarutobi gestured to the open window and Naruto wasted no time powering himself into the open air once more.

/~/

The blond faced a two-way mirror, staring blankly at his reflection.

A cold, straight-backed chair in a room that had gone from too dark to too bright in an instant. A metal table complete with chakra suppressing handcuffs. All that's missing is the grim-faced interrogator, Naruto thought.

The heavy door that led to the world outside Room 137 in the bowels of ANBU headquarters swung open on well-oiled hinges. A middle aged man dressed in standard Konoha garb and a sleeveless red haori walked in; long blond hair tied in a ponytail cascaded down his back. "Uzumaki-san. You may not remember me–"

"I do, sir," Naruto interrupted. Yamanaka Inoichi. Former First Fireblade and High Jonin. Head of ANBU Torture and Interrogation. "You and Sandaime-sama debriefed me following a mission gone awry in River Country."

"Still sharp, I see," the older man said. The smile in his voice didn't reach his eyes. "If you know who I am, you know you probably won't like me much after this, correct?"

Naruto's lips quirked. "I'll try not to take it personally."

"Much appreciated. This will be far more uncomfortable for you if you attempt to fight the jutsu. Simply go where it leads you, answer any questions I have, and this will all be over soon."

"I understand, sir."

"Excellent." Inoichi placed a thick folder that was undoubtedly Naruto's dossier on the metal table, followed shortly by a slim recording device. "Uzumaki Naruto, interview one," the Yamanaka said into the device.

Naruto watched the reflection of the jonin stepping around behind him. A firm hand was laid on his head, and he took a deep breath. He didn't spare a thought to his training as he exhaled, the probing tendrils of Inoichi's chakra feeling like snakes slithering into his skull.

The boy's eyes widened as she withdrew her wakizashi from her boot and calmly inserted it between the cervical vertebrae of Naruto's second attacker, separating the spine and killing him soundlessly.

"Wha-" Naruto started, utterly shocked by the casual brutality the woman showed towards her two comrades.

The unnamed Nara lifted her head to glance at him, registering his state as she moved to do the same to the first man. "These men were paid criminals who were contracted by Konoha at the onset of this operation. They knew the layout of Kusa no Kuni better than intelligence that we could have come by, and were thus useful."

Naruto blinked rapidly as the far-flung memory played out in front of his eyes like a movie.

"Your squad-mates," the captain declared. She turned on her heel and exited the small room the way she had entered, seemingly satisfied with the introduction.

Naruto was left alone with a massive man and teenaged girl who couldn't have been much older than him. The man was polishing a blade that could only be described as a cleaver, the girl was grinding herbs – both stared directly at him.

"When they said fresh meat was on the way, I didn't expect some greenhorn," the man growled. Beady black eyes looked Naruto up and down – the blond had no doubt they found him lacking.

"Be nice, Zabuza-sama," the girl chastised, favoring Naruto with a smile. "My name is Haku and this is Momochi Zabuza. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Blue eyes widened amidst memories of paging through bingo books. "Uzumaki Naruto," he greeted, managing to force some strength into his voice in front of the Demon of the Mist.

He twitched, fighting the urge to lash out at the memory of Zabuza and Haku before the war had escalated.

"How much do you know about fear?"

The blond boy contained a roll of his eyes as he glanced up from reorganizing his weapons pouches to stare impassively at the older man. "As much as any shinobi, I guess," he said before turning back to his task.

A throaty chuckle escaped the older man's throat. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "Come on now, baby ANBU. That's not much of an answer."

Naruto's face creased in irritation before suppressing it – so help him but the man was persistently aggravating and took pride in it. "Would you like me to explain the chemical and neurological reactions to you?"

"Tch, I'm sure you could," the man said with a sneer that Naruto could hear. "I'm talking about creating it. Creating so much pants-shitting terror in your enemies that you've won the fight without having to draw those kunai of yours. They teach you that in your black-ops?"

Naruto sighed, irritated and resigned. "Did they teach you in yours?"

The chuckle was no less unpleasant the second time. "They didn't have to."

Naruto sucked in a sharp breath, trying to ground himself against the onslaught of memories.

"I've never met another who could create ice," Haku breathed. "But you don't have the bloodline…"

Naruto shook his head and snapped his hand closed, shattering the ice held within. "I manipulate the water's temperature to its freezing point. That's as far as I've gotten, though. The ice is brittle, not fit for combat techniques; not like yours," he said, trying to contain his excitement.

Haku met his eyes and the smile returned to his face. "I expect that you and I have much to discuss, Naruto-san."

Haku's voice penetrated the haze. All of a sudden Naruto felt the sharp bite of cold steel on his wrists. Blue eyes blinked away tears at the sight of his best friend, alive and whole and happy.

"Captain!" he screamed. His heart dropped at the sight of her skewered on the end of an Iwa-nin's blade and coughing blood.

He kicked out at his assailant savagely and was rewarded with the sound of bones crunching. A ram seal channeled chakra to his mouth and a thin stream of water burst from his lips that caught the reeling shinobi at his right hip. The Suidanha tore through the man, clear water turning blood red as it bisected the hapless ninja.

The blond whirled, a kunai leaving his hand faster than the eye could track to halt the approach of another Iwa-nin. He grit his teeth in preparation to handle the rest of the squad they had ambushed when his captain suddenly leapt upon the man's back.

A length of wire almost too thin to see in the falling twilight wrapped around the man's throat, and Naruto's captain rolled herself up and over the man's shoulders with feline-like grace. She landed silently, hands held together above her head. She pulled them apart suddenly, and the gurgling Iwa-nin died with a squelch as his head was severed.

Bloody stab wound conspicuously absent, she looked Naruto up and down clinically. "Focus up, Fuka."

"Focus up," he repeated weakly. His hands gripped the table in front of him with enough strength to pop his knuckles.

Roshi just sighed, and suddenly the room was twenty degrees hotter. Muted though Naruto's senses were, he couldn't help the start at the feeling of such oppressive, heavy chakra saturating the air.

"Never been one for torture; messy, waste of time." The jinchurriki coughed into his outstretched palm, which opened to reveal a bright orange glob of magma that steamed as it rapidly cooled. Naruto suddenly found his mantra of showing no fear to be far more difficult. "But with that hair and those eyes…"

Roshi bared his teeth, eyes abruptly morphing from brown to glowing red. "I might just enjoy myself."

The rising tide of reminiscence slowed. "What was the Yonbi's purpose in Kusa?" Inoichi asked him.

Naruto blinked rapidly. His captain's voice echoing in his mind, the world sharpened into something resembling clarity. "Garbage man," Naruto croaked. "The first time we met, Konoha had already turned the tide. Iwa decided to go scorched earth once we proved the Monkey couldn't hold the country."

"You met him more than once."

"Twice."

"I see…" Inoichi trailed off. Naruto glanced up at the reflection, past his own sweaty face to behold the older man. A pensive look rested upon the Yamanaka's face, giving nothing away.

The snakes returned a moment later, without warning, and Naruto steeled himself just in time.

"I'm fine."

"You're not," Haku insisted. "You've been back for less than a week and you're preparing to hurl yourself back into the fire. You need rest, Naruto-kun."

Naruto said nothing, continuing to wrap his hands and forearms. He pulled the bandages wrapping his left arm tight, bending down to tear the fabric with his teeth. Content with the wrap, he moved to his right arm.

"Are you even listening to me?"

The blond sighed. "I always listen, Haku. But there's nothing I can do."

"Bullshit." Naruto started at the hissed curse, wide eyes rising to his friend. He's really pissed…

"Talk to the captain. Tell her you're not ready."

"You know I can't talk her out of a mission."

"She'll listen to you about this," Haku pleaded. "Your wellbeing can make or break the mission. I'll go in your place."

"I already told her I was ready."

Haku was silent. Naruto finished wrapping his right arm and forced himself to meet his friend's eyes. Haku's eyes, always so expressive, were filled to the brim with unshed tears.

Angry tears.

"You volunteered." Naruto held his silence. "You volunteered, knowing you're not ready, knowing you'll likely die…"

A stinging pain made itself known in the blonde's right cheek and he tasted blood. He brought his hand up to where Haku had slapped him and felt the smarting skin. He sighed once more, watching his friend's long black hair blow behind him as he stormed from the room, and resumed his preparations.

Naruto leaned back in his chair. He felt his heartrate increase, knowing what was coming soon.

He stared mutely at his captain's corpse, face-down, black hair flaring out like spilled ink on paper as she slowly sank into the chest-high water. Bright red blood seeped out of a gaping wound in her chest, tinting the already murky water a bloody brown. Remember your training! a faraway voice was screaming in his head. He could barely hear it, however, the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears was nearly deafening.

He twitched, the worst day of his life beginning to play out once more.

"Zabuza-sama!" shattered his momentary reverie. He whipped around, adrenaline shocking his system, and tore off in the direction of Haku's anguished scream.

The trees blurred as he honed in on the Monkey's poisonous chakra, sharp eyes barely catching the crouched form of his friend over the prone body of the Demon before his crossed arms quaked under the weight of Roshi's hammer blow. He felt his feet grind backwards on the thick branch as he stared up into malicious black eyes, his chakra's grip on the wood unable to hold firm against the jinchuuriki's strength.

"I'm sorry," he breathed.

Roshi yanked his fist back and the mirror shattered into a thousand ice particles that fell into the waiting marsh, Haku's unmoving form impaled and suspended on his forearm. The Monkey's fist had driven a hole so big that it had nearly cut the effeminate boy in half, blood and entrails superheated to the point of hissing with steam around the chasm.

The Monkey tossed the corpse to his right contemptuously, and Naruto watched numbly as his friend's lifeless body skipped once, splashed, and begin sink into the swamp below.

Distantly, Naruto felt the built up tears begin to flow freely from his eyes.

A veritable tsunami that rose above the trees tried to block out the sun. Naruto blinked, considered, and huffed a short, tight laugh that set his nerve endings aflame once more. The sound of roots being ripped from the earth and set to motion could briefly be heard over the cacophony of the crashing waves, and he cast his eyes skyward. "I'll see you soon, Haku," he breathed, feeling his wound become submerged, but he was numb to the pain once more.

The rushing water pushed him backward with force, and he felt himself become weightless as he fell into the crater that bridged the marsh to the river below. Blue sky, slightly obscured by the tree canopy, was the last thing he saw before all he knew was rushing water and darkness.

Naruto shuddered and fell forward. He yanked his hands up, pulling the cuffs tight as he reached futilely toward his own body. "You done yet?" he growled. Having to experience these memories again, knowing that Inoichi was seeing the same things, he felt naked, vulnerable.

"Not yet, Uzumaki-san." And for all the sympathy in the man's voice, Naruto still hated him. He bared his teeth at the two-way mirror, neither knowing nor caring who stood behind it, simply hoping that his rage was palpable from behind it.

The hand returned to his head as he straightened. He shook the sweat from his face. "Get on with it, then."

"You seek balance?"

"I seek redemption, Ibuse-sama," Naruto said. He was sat cross-legged on a stone in the middle of a river. Chakra tethered him to the slick surface as the tide ebbed and flowed around him. "You and your clan have been good to me, better than I deserve, but I have to leave. I have to see the world, try to make some good of what I've done."

"And how will you do so?"

"I'll bury my friends, first," he said, all honesty. They deserve that much, if anything's left of them. "I'll travel, find people who need help. Hopefully change someone's life for the better."

"A worthy goal. Not one many shinobi attempt."

"I have to try."

Ibuse was silent, the rushing river the only sound in the cavern. Naruto did his best not to fidget, knowing from experience now that the great salamander could be quiet with his thoughts for minutes at a time.

"When you venture out, you have my permission to call upon me as you see fit."

Naruto felt his eyes widen. "Thank you, Ibuse-sama, but that isn't necessary. You and your clan have done more than enough. You took me in, taught me how to heal myself, allowed me to rest…my problems aren't yours to deal with."

A fine mist nearly blew him over on the rock, and he steadied himself against Ibuse's breath. "When my son found you, you were almost lost. You have come a long way in your days with us, Naruto, but you have a long journey ahead."

"I would hate to trouble you–"

"It is no trouble. It has been too long since I and my kin have left our home. Those wounds have healed, and I sense nature is not finished with you."

Naruto allowed his head to roll lazily on his shoulders and felt his neck crack as Inoichi's grip disappeared. The jonin stepped swiftly around him, opening the dossier. A pen appeared in his hand.

Caught your interest, huh? the blond mused. "I can summon him if you'd like," he drawled, not bothering with the professional façade any longer.

Blue-green eyes snapped to him from the paper Inoichi was scribbling on, noticeable trepidation as plain as day. Is it Hanzo's old summon or the fact that Roshi didn't manage to kill me that scares you most? Naruto wondered.

"That won't be necessary," Inoichi said levelly. The older man glanced up at the two-way mirror for a moment before circling back behind Naruto. "Almost done, now."

"Of course."

The sun glinted off polished steel as it began to disappear behind the horizon. Wind buffeted him, thousands of sand particles assaulting his exposed face, but he didn't care.

Kubikiribocho was impaled halfway to the hilt in the desert sand next to two neatly arranged sets of flowers. They were the only suitable markers he could find this far from civilization.

"Are you worried someone will find this place?" a deep voice asked from behind him.

"No. The Seven kept this place to themselves. They're dead now, save one."

"And if the one comes?"

"He can have it," Naruto said, remembering Hoshigaki Kisame's tsunami. "He's not a man I intend to cross."

"A fitting tribute, then. I'm sorry for your loss, Naruto."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Honosuke. You saved my life, helped me heal, then helped me find my friends. I'm in your debt."

"We do not–"

"Believe in debts, I know. Only balance." He turned to the blood red salamander, its leathery skin gleaming in the fading daylight, and managed a smile. "I, however, do believe in debts. When I figure out how, you'll be repaid. I promise."

The massive salamander bathed him in humid air. Laughter. "I don't doubt you."

Naruto inhaled steadily, deeply. The memories were coming faster now, less distinct. He saw the beaches of Tea Country, unmolested by humans. He saw a run-down settlement, and decided it was saw the warm ocean lapping at his toes as he meditated. He saw the townspeople suspicious, then indifferent, then accepting of the reticent newcomer.

He saw a black cloak with red clouds and focused.

"Good morning, Naruto-san."

Despite his forewarning, the shinobi's sudden appearance was unsettling. There was no surging chakra, no killing intent. Nothing out of the ordinary. Were it not for his mist, through which his charka interacted with every living being it touched, the blond wouldn't have even felt him.

"Good morning," Naruto quietly replied as he surveyed his guest. He was average height, with a thin, angular face. Jet black hair fell to the man's shoulders and was held back by a forehead protector for Konoha that had a single slash through the middle. Blood red, sharingan eyes stared at Naruto calmly, and the blond repressed a shudder at the seemingly placid dojutsu.

"Your genjutsu is strong," Uchiha Itachi complimented, his calm tenor almost taking the blond by surprise. "The nuance was a pleasure to unravel." His voice was pleased, as if he had genuinely enjoyed breaking down the cloaking illusion that had surrounded the home before he had arrived

Naruto blinked, realizing that, yes, the man could actually

see the layers of chakra that made up the genjutsu. He fought a frown at one of his best weapons being rendered effectively useless.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, but I put it there so I would be left alone," Naruto quipped as he stared down one of the most powerful shinobi in the world.

The man nodded almost solemnly. "I understand. After the trials you've been through, it isn't hard to see why you would choose to remove yourself from our world." He sighed. "I apologize for disturbing your peace, but I had to speak with you."

"You must've gone to a lot of trouble given that I'm a dead man."

A wry smile split the Uchiha's lips. "You weren't dead the last time we met."

Naruto reeled back as if struck, remembering

swarming crows and white hot blades of flame that swooped down upon their enemy like divine wrath, searing and piercing but still not able to stop the monster's relentless assault. He shook off the memories of that day with now practiced ease, bringing his mind out of the fog of rage and despair that had nagged him since childhood and his entrance to the shinobi life.

"I wasn't far from it," he began. "For all you know I could've died shortly after you left." Severely injured was far from an overstatement of his state after his last battle of the war.

The wry smile returned. "I was confident in your survival. That you had survived Yoton no Roshi's onslaught at all was telling."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "And what did you want from me, then?"

"I wanted to warn you about my organization. We're called Akatsuki, and I need your help."

/~/

Intrigue! Or at least an attempt at it.

Welp, he's back. More to come as we move into Arc. 3. Lots of fun stuff on the way.

Per usual, thanks to the DLP crew for their feedback.

21. Actor's Tale

Disclaimer: Y'all know I own nothing.

/~/

There was no such thing as an easy decision for a Hokage. To wage war, or sue for peace? To send loyal shinobi into the unknown, suspecting a trap, or let a mission go to a rival?

In his decades of governing, longer than any Kage in history save one, he'd learned that savvy advisors were an integral part of any decent decision making process.

Since his appointment to jonin, Yamanaka Inoichi had been one of many such advisors. And Hiruzen highly doubted the man would begin leading him astray now.

"Your assessment, then?" he asked, weary.

Disapproving eyes the color of shallow sea water stared him down. "Given the situation he was thrust into, his age, and the complete lack of support structure, it's a miracle he hasn't experienced a psychotic break."

"Is he fit for active duty?"

The disapproval shifted from Hiruzen's face to Danzo's without missing a beat. "My professional recommendation is an extended leave to re-acclimate to a semblance of standard shinobi operations."

"That wasn't the question." It was indicative of Danzo's healthy respect for the clan head that there was no discernable irritation in his voice.

Inoichi didn't seem to care, the disapproval giving way to visible antipathy. What did you see in his mind? Sarutobi wondered. He'd received the verbal recounting, but according to every Yamanaka who had ever walked the minds of another, words could never truly do justice to the realities they witnessed. Their strength was a double edged sword; for all the insight they gleaned, they could not pick and choose what they saw in another's mind.

In effect, they lived every memory they witnessed, good, bad, or otherwise. It passed for bullheadedness among the uninitiated, but it was only through their keenly defined senses of self that the clan was able to function as an invaluable member of Konoha's shinobi corps. That, and their community. We could stand to learn a thing or two from them, Hiruzen mused, not for the first time.

There was a reason over half the shinobi psychologists Konoha employed hailed from one clan.

"Standard operations only," Inoichi said after a long moment. "Placing him back in Black Ops is out of the question."

Danzo opened his mouth to respond, but Hiruzen beat him to it. "No one was suggesting otherwise, Inoichi," he soothed. "We're simply looking to determine the best course of action given this…unique set of circumstances."

"Of course, Sandaime-sama," the Yamanaka demurred. Danzo tensed at the sarcastic tone, but a sharp movement of Sarutobi's hand shushed him. "The best course of action, again, would be an extended leave."

"Is the boy a flight risk?"

Inoichi pinched the bridge of his nose and Sarutobi refrained from doing the same. Efficiently getting to the heart of the matter can be done with tact, he thought, exasperated.

"In my opinion, no. He returned from a tour that was over double the length it should have been, ostensibly to deliver crucial information to us." Inoichi sighed. "His life after Kusa was, by all accounts, quite peaceful. From what I've gleaned, he would not have returned had he not felt it necessary."

Which is an issue all its own. Hiruzen didn't need to look at his friend to know the man was thinking far less charitable thoughts.

"Understood. Thank you for your work, Inoichi. That will be all," Hiruzen said, dismissing the clan head. The Yamanaka stood and etched a slight bow, leaving the small chamber on silent feet.

Sarutobi rose without a word and moved to the small, thin table that ran along the room's far wall. His hands, steady despite his years and experience, busied themselves preparing a small pot of tea as his mind wandered.

On its face, Uzumaki Naruto's return was a near godsend. The conflict in Kusa had been bloodier than any had anticipated, and they had assumed the worst when he and his captain had failed to report in with the remaining operatives. Of course they had known the risks sending the boy into such a perilous situation, but his apparent loss had turned an otherwise successful campaign a pyrrhic victory at best.

But every gamble had paid off before. The boy was a prodigy on the level of Itachi and Kakashi with a pedigree that outstripped both. A carefully coordinated effort to suppress his renown had taught the boy humility. Kusa had been to teach him how to adapt, to experience the true reality of their existence, and, finally, to lead.

According to every analyst's report, Naruto's sector of the country should have seen the least combat. It was remote, far from Kusagakure itself, and closer to the border of Rain Country than either Stone or Fire.

You know what they say about the best laid plans, he thought, a sardonic smile splitting his lips as he poured the steaming hot tea.

He had put his hopes for Konoha's future on the boy, perhaps foolishly so, but he had done it nonetheless; to learn he'd survived had rekindled a dying flame within him.

"Quite the mess we find ourselves in, old friend," he said as he brought two cups back to Danzo. His steps felt lighter than they had in over six years.

"Less a mess and more of a puzzle," Danzo returned, taking his tea. "Uzumaki's return should be celebrated, considering what his future was to be."

"And yet neither of us are celebrating."

"I've been told I have trust issues."

Hiruzen allowed himself a smile as he sipped his tea. It wasn't often he saw glimpses of his old friend; war was kind to no one, and Danzo had been immersed in it since childhood. "You sense something is amiss."

"I sense nothing. Therein lies the problem."

Ah. When all else failed, when information was exhausted and no longer reliable, all a shinobi had were their instincts. "The facts, then."

"The boy is nearly two years behind schedule, bringing tidings of Roshi's end and a new threat we've only heard whispers of. There is little indication he would have returned at all if not for this."

"You think Itachi lied to him."

"I do not know what to think, Hiruzen."

Itachi had proven himself the most loyal of shinobi at thirteen. Ten years removed, however, was far less of a certainty. Itachi had been presented with an impossible choice, and one he never should have had to make. That feeling of powerlessness, becoming the instrument of his family's murder to protect the greater good, Hiruzen could not imagine what ten years of that could do to a man.

Good men had turned spiteful over far less.

On the other hand was Naruto. A young man with far too much pressure on his shoulders, though he didn't know it, and far too much experience for his age. To not return, even given the severity of his injury at Roshi's hands, was an indictment, if one Hiruzen was more familiar with than he liked. He was nearly as inclined to forgive and forget as he had been with Jiraiya, but checked the urge.

He had not steered the village for decades by making snap judgments.

"He should be given a chance to prove himself," Sarutobi said at length. "If he's right…"

"Then we have an even greater enemy than Hanzo sitting atop Amegakure, only with nine other S-ranked criminals at his disposal."

Always another threat. "Tsunade will need to be briefed."

"Let the boy do it himself. She can make her own judgments." Danzo rose and hobbled to the door.

"And what will you be doing, then?"

"What I always do. Creating our contingency plans."

/~/

"Tell me their name again."

Uzumaki Naruto was a ghost.

"Akatsuki, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade had never been stupid. The Hokage had absolute power; that didn't mean the Hokage knew absolutely everything about everyone in their village. But she knew almost everything, and what little she didn't was delegated to trusted lieutenants to handle.

The young man sitting in front of her was unfamiliar to her. And that was unsettling.

Sure, she had heard whispers of the young man. An overheard conversation and one too many redacted mission files had piqued her interest not long after she'd managed to sort through the mess left over from the Crush. But that same interest had faded in the face of rebuilding the medical program from shambles, an apprentice who was too ambitious for her own good, not to mention managing the day-to-day operations of Konoha's military machine.

"The mercenary group," she confirmed absently. Tsunade studied the boy, affixing a pensive expression on her face. He must favor his mother, she mused. Minato's cheekbones had been sharper, his face more angular. He's got the hair down, though, and the eyes.

Naruto stared back at her placidly. Every inch of him was a professional soldier, from the neatly pressed fatigues to the cool dispassion in his eyes as he recounted his experiences with Uchiha Itachi. She would've bought it too, were it not for Inoichi's report.

A war veteran at nineteen with enough mental scars to rival a man three times his age. According to Inoichi, it was far from the worst mind he'd ever walked, but there was enough to give even the grizzled Yamanaka pause.

"Why did you come back?" she asked. Sarutobi-sensei hadn't been terribly happy with the almost two year sabbatical Naruto had taken, but it had been overshadowed by his palpable excitement. Danzo had been his typical dour self when she had called him to heel, though she doubted the old war hawk shared Sarutobi's understanding.

As for herself? Not like you have much of a leg to stand on, she thought amusedly.

"I'm not sure I understand your question, Hokage-sama. I felt the information I came upon was important –"

"Cut the crap, kid," Tsunade cut across him. "I've fought in a war. It's a universal language, and I know a renegade soldier when I see one." To his credit, Naruto showed no outward sign of surprise at the sudden rebuke beyond a slight tightening of his eyes. "People like us, we don't come back without a very good reason."

Said very good reason landed, utterly concealed, upon the window sill not a moment later. Naruto's eyes flickered briefly to the open window before refocusing on her. Now that's something…

The young man's face softened a moment later, an expression somewhere between resignation and understanding resting upon it. Much more honest, she mused, pleased.

"Can I be candid with you, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked, and Tsunade only raised an eyebrow in response. A small smirk played across the young man's lips. "I didn't like it when you were made Hokage." She snorted indelicately, leaning back in her chair and putting her feet up, the sardonic smile on her face inviting him to continue. "I didn't understand much besides doing my duty. To have someone who had…not done theirs was…upsetting."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, his body seemingly losing its tension. The straight-backed posture sagged a touch to something that, for a former ANBU, was far more relaxed. "You've read the report. That man, Inoichi," and here he smiled bitterly, "he saw everything. I wasn't coming back."

"So why not stay dead?" Tsunade asked. "You had a perfect way out." Better than mine. "And don't bother with that whole relevant information bullshit."

He snorted. "It's not quite as far from the truth as you think. Ten S-ranked shinobi working in tandem is unprecedented. They're as powerful as a full village and more mobile." His blue eyes met hers and Tsunade almost leaned back, such was their intensity. "There's a storm coming, Hokage-sama."

It took all of her self-control not to shudder at his words. She had been aware of Akatsuki for some time, thanks to Jiraiya. They had been troubling enough when Orochimaru had been a member. Apparently they hadn't lost any of their potency upon his departure.

"You think we need your help. Not lacking in confidence, are you?" Naruto shrugged indelicately, mirroring her raised eyebrow from minutes ago. Tsunade almost smiled. "If we're being candid, it's not a stretch to say that you're the village's foremost expert on Akatsuki given your direct interaction with the group. You'll be called to give a full briefing to the intelligence committee in two days. My apprentice will assist you with compiling the necessary dossiers."

She snapped her fingers and the office door swung open, admitting Shizune. Her first apprentice bowed low before turning and favoring the younger blond with a pleasant smile. "Shizune, meet Uzumaki Naruto. He'll need full A-ranked clearance."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

Naruto rose fluidly, his muscles visible beneath the blue fatigues he wore. He's built perfectly. Heavier than Minato was, but not so much that he'll lose much speed.

"I take it I'm being reinstated." There was a wry tilt to his voice that hadn't been there as recently as five minutes before, and Tsunade considered it a win.

"You'll be given the rank of jonin, effective immediately. Per the recommendation, you'll be on placed on administrative leave for the next two weeks. You'll submit to a psych evaluation at the completion of the two weeks and, should you pass, be placed back on active duty," she declared, sitting straight once more.

Naruto nodded and etched a short bow. "Hokage-sama." He turned to leave, Shizune on his heels.

"One last thing," Tsunade called. "You old squad-mates have been notified of your return. I expect they'll want to see you."

The blond started, visible surprise crossing his face for a moment before a small smile settled. "Thank you."

She nodded, and Naruto strode out of the room, Shizune not far behind.

The door clicked closed behind them. "Leave us," Tsunade commanded to the two ANBU cloaked in the office. They disappeared without a word, and she made a ram seal. A blue glow encased the perimeter of the room, from the door to the windows.

"He noticed you."

"Caught that, did you?" Jiraiya quipped, his cloaking technique rippling into nothingness. He hopped down from his perch on the window sill, a feathery touch sliding across her shoulders as he walked around behind her. "He's a sensor type on top of everything else."

"Sensei's drooling is starting to make some sense. What did you think of him?"

Jiraiya plopped down, stretching out languidly with a sigh that could be either contentment or unease. "I don't know what to think, hime."

"You fought Roshi. What'd you think of him?"

He huffed. "We probably would've gotten along if we weren't from different villages."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Old habits aside."

Her oldest friend cracked a smile, his eyebrows waggling suggestively. At her continued deadpan expression, he sobered. "Tough as nails. We met three times on the western front. Was pretty confident I could beat him by the end, but he'd say the same I'm sure."

"It was over twenty years ago."

"Yeah and somehow he doesn't seem like the type of guy who'd lose a step. On top of being a jinchuuriki, ya know." He sighed again. "The kid's just as tough to walk away from that alive. Can't make much more of an assessment 'til I meet him personally."

"You'll approach him, then." She hadn't been sure of her oldest friend's convictions. She knew all too well that Minato was still an open wound, even after eighteen years.

"I'd be one helluva coward if I didn't. He deserves to know."

"You can hardly blame yourself for the secrecy. Sensei only figured it out after unsealing the records," Tsunade soothed.

"Doesn't make it feel any better. Can't change the past, though," he said, the bitterness of his smile all-too-familiar.

She couldn't blame him for it, even as she hated seeing him wallow. If Shizune had done the same, don't know what I'd do. "Did you ever meet the mother?"

"In passing, and not through Minato. She was a refugee from Uzu. One of Sakumo's kids back in the day. Good kunoichi."

What a pedigree, Tsunade thought, switching gears. "You've been the expert on Akatsuki until now. Have they just been laying low? You haven't updated me on them in a while."

"Hasn't been anything to report. Other than Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame showing up after the Crush, they've been notoriously hard to track." Jiraiya ran a hand through his long white hair. "A mention of a cloak here, a whisper there. Orochimaru is easier to find."

"Ghosts."

"Takes one to know one, looks like," Jiraiya said drolly. He leaned back once more and Tsunade rose, walking behind his chair to run her fingers through his hair. "I'll be glad to let the kid take the reins, to be honest. Give me more time to check into Hanzo finally kicking the bucket."

Tsunade grimaced. "Never thought the bastard would die. Even if he is nearly as old as sensei."

"Heh. You and me both, hime. The borders have been locked down for nearly seven years now. Wonder if the kid has any insight."

"There's always more questions."

"Thought you'd be used to that by now."

She smiled slightly, letting her eyes drop to his. "I manage to delude myself every now and then. Not that you'd know anything about that."

"No idea what you're talking about."

Tsunade pulled away, walking back to her desk to retake her seat. "I'd appreciate your insight on our new enigma moving forward. You can approach him in ways that I can't. Not yet, at least."

"You always get my insight, whether you like it or not," Jiraiya said, straightening.

Too true. "You're one of the three people in this village I trust implicitly, Jiraiya. I know it's personal for you, but I really do need your help with this."

"Not everyday a Hokage candidate just shows up, eh?" he asked rhetorically. He continued at her lack of humor, "I get it. Though I doubt he's still under Danzo's thumb at this point. Extended leaves of absence aren't really Root's style. Noticed you put Shizune on him without missing a beat."

"She brings a different perspective than you."

"Understatement and a half there. Gonna read your new apprentice in on this little operation too?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows again. "Complete the trifecta?"

Tsunade snorted. "Doubt I could keep her away from him if I tried."

/~/

Naruto sat on a bench outside the Shinobi Archive and thought about rain. It had been commonplace in his mind since he'd set off for Konoha a week previous. It wasn't an out of place thought; weather as a whole was regularly on his mind given his developing skillset.

It was, however, nagging, and led him to believe he was missing something. That, combined with the mysterious ring that was currently burning a hole in his pocket, meant he had to do some internal digging; preferably in solitude.

Which brought him to his current dilemma: he was being followed.

It wasn't surprising. Despite his newfound clearance, he hadn't thought higher ups would simply let him be – he would do the same in their position.

It was, however, a tremendous annoyance given the nagging itch in the back of his brain. He had a job to do, despite his lack of knowledge of it. He had a feeling that his briefing would go far more smoothly with it done, as well, and that was a scarce twenty-four hours away.

He had gone to the archive, primarily, for a sense of familiarity and had, for the most part, found it. It was little changed from when he had last visited – almost immediately before his departure to the front lines. The peace and quiet had exacerbated the discontent in his mind, however.

His resolve to fix it crystallized as his heightened awareness cottoned on to an unfamiliar chakra presence that had followed him when he'd stepped out of the archive, and stopped with him. He didn't bother looking around for his elusive observer; if it was anyone approaching professional he wouldn't be able to find them.

So he sat, considered, and decided.

Nothing for it. Naruto rose fluidly and stepped into the bustle of Konoha's early morning foot traffic. Now…where are you? he thought. He glided through the throng of people with ease, casting his awareness out in search of his new shadow.

Twelve shinobi in the crowds, he counted. Picking trained ninja out of a pack of civilians was far simpler with a well-developed chakra sense. Chakra could be suppressed of course, but that left its own imprint if you were thorough and knew what to look for. In the middle of a hidden village, though, most shinobi weren't hiding, which made life a good deal easier.

Naruto leapt skyward without warning, and landed lightly on a nearby rooftop. He paused for a beat and smiled slightly when none of the ninja below followed suit. "At least they didn't put a rookie on me," he murmured.

He hopped to the next roof, and then the next roof after that, and was rewarded as an unknown ninja bounded from the street to an adjacent rooftop in the blink of an eye. Gotcha! Naruto kept moving across the buildings, passing multiple shinobi along the way, all the while keeping his mind focused on the person tailing him.

Slightly behind, well out of sight, probably camouflaged. He's suppressing now. The ninja's chakra was suddenly quite smaller – a good deal smaller than any of the presences he'd felt in the crowded street. Let's see how good you are. His chakra flow spiked infinitesimally, a single thread to his eyes to heighten his visual perception, and he took off in a shunshin.

Even with his chakra enhancing his sight, the world was still a blur as he powered the speed jutsu. Using the body flicker within the village proper was a bit dicey for anyone who wasn't a jonin – which I suppose I am, now – given the precise control needed to not plow directly into anyone else. Given his control, never mind his ever-growing perception of the world around him, Naruto wasn't worried.

The faded beiges and browns of the buildings blurred into vibrant greens as he entered the training grounds. He traced the well-worn path that threaded the bulk of the grounds, ignoring the immediate split to where he knew the jonin-only facilities were, to training ground thirty-nine.

Naruto reappeared a moment later without a sound, took half a moment to admire the cascading waterfall that awaited him, and proceeded to drop into the earth with a small application of chakra. His tail appeared within the denser foliage outside the training ground two seconds later.

The blond wasted no time, circling back behind his shadow in the blink of an eye. The earth parted above him and he popped up, tapping the exposed skin of the man's back as he rose.

"Two full seconds. Know I've gotten faster but you're gonna have to be better than that," Naruto told the motionless man.

The man was pale, almost deathly so, with close-cropped dark hair that matched his eyes. His face was sharp with clearly defined cheekbones and a long, pointed chin. He wore a jacket so short it didn't bother covering his stomach, its red straps contrasting drastically with how muted the rest of him was. A tanto was sheathed over his right shoulder.

"Let's see…" Naruto opened the pale man's mouth without resistance and withdrew his tongue. Three solid lines followed by two broken ones were written from back to front. His lip curled at the reminder of his captain, whose own cursed seal had given her fits right up until Roshi tore her heart out. "'Least Danzo hasn't changed much. Must think pretty highly of you."

Naruto wiped the residual saliva on the man's shoulder, uncaring that it would undoubtedly be noticed eventually, and tapped him on the back once more. The pale man disappeared in a shunshin a moment later, following whatever path the blonde's genjutsu led him on.

"Finally," he breathed. He jumped over to the large pond the waterfall was emptying into, not wasting a moment before diving in headfirst. Cool, fresh water greeted him upon his dive. He laughed a stream of bubbles as he powered himself around the tiny pond. He hadn't swum in such clear water in what felt like years.

He spent far too little time submerged before powering himself to the surface with a burst of chakra. The pond exploded in a spray as he rose into the open air, high enough to torque his body into a tight backflip and land lightly on the now rippling water's surface.

Naruto grinned as he rose to his full height, his cheeks nearly tearing. He shook his hair out and ran his hands through it languidly. An exhale superheated the water still clinging to his clothes and body, and steam momentarily rose from his skin as he rapidly dried.

"Now…" he said, dropping a hand to his left pocket where the mysterious ring resided. "…what to do about you?"

It was the color of bone – and heavy enough that Naruto thought it may well have been made from it – and a single spot of orange was enough surface area for the kanji 'San' to be written. Other than that, it was utterly unremarkable to his naked eyes, though he suspected it was more than it appeared. It itched the back of his mind much like the thoughts of rain did.

Idly, he slipped it on to his left index finger, for there was where it fit best, and sat down on the water's surface. Blue eyes fluttered shut as Naruto cast his senses about the area. The world from behind his eyelids was as black as night, but the blond could almost imagine the sights that would greet him.

The late-morning breeze caressed his face, bringing the smell of leaves crushed underfoot to his nose. He felt the trees from which they fell, a bizarre energy both within them and the earth surrounding them that he couldn't place. The observation slipped from his mind like water through his fingertips, and he instead focused momentarily on the sound of a squirrel as it scurried up the thick trunk of an oak. He imagined, for a moment, that he could feel the tiny creature's chakra as it carried a nut to its home. The impulse passed after a moment, and Naruto spared a thought to how exactly shinobi knew that all living creatures had chakra. Someone must've found out somehow.

The stray thought was pushed to the side like a cloud making its way across the sky. He turned inward a moment later, diving headfirst into the miasma light and warmth that was his own chakra. It was like jumping headfirst into a warm pool, and, unbidden, his lips turned upward.

As his senses expanded, so too had his feel for his own chakra. His control, always one of his strong suits, had steadily improved as well – seemingly regardless of the growth of his reserves. Thanks mom, he thought, the vaunted Uzumaki vitality well-known to him. It had been well-documented…

Where, exactly?

Eyes opened and lips turned down at the thought. "Where'd that come from?" he wondered aloud. A thrill of unease gripped him. The water affinity is well-known. Learned about that right here in Konoha. Who told me about the chakra?

He knew it, that was for sure. It had solved the mystery of the rapid increase in chakra capacity he'd experienced in Kusa's jungles. He'd gone from being a genjustu support specialist to having more chakra than Zabuza in less than two years. It had been a happy mystery that he'd chalked up to puberty.

Until…sometime. He ransacked his memory, but where he'd stumbled upon the knowledge of his clan's vitality was stubbornly absent.

The unease disappeared as a small smile split his lips. Getting closer. His eyes drifted shut once more, and a few moments later he was back in the miasma, mind as clear as day. Purpose brought clarity, and clarity, while not strictly necessary for meditation, certainly made life easier.

Now he had an idea of what to look for. His memories were being played with. The likely culprits were genjutsu or fuuinjutsu. Both were subtle enough to effect the mind if used properly, the question was how to find –

Ah.

An infinitesimal disruption of his chakra flow appeared. Not from nowhere, as it had been there before, but it was like a small stone breaking the surface of a raging river. The river still flowed, powerful and unrelenting, but it was, even if only for a moment, diverted around the inconsequential obstacle.

His smile widened. I cast it myself, he realized, inspecting the tiny diversion of chakra with the eyes of a master.

All illusions relied on the caster's ability to effectively control the flow of chakra in the target's body. There were two primary schools of thought as to the best way to do so, however. Either create an illusion so subtle that the target didn't realize they were being manipulated, or causing enough distress that the target wasn't able to properly disrupt their chakra flow and break free. Naruto had always preferred the former, though he knew the latter had its benefits. Area-effect genjutsu could seldom be subtle, as to be so precise with manipulating more than two or three people's chakra flows required legendary control.

All genjutsu users had habits, a thread of commonality that, usually unknowingly, acted as something of a signature. As it was, he could recognize his own handiwork in an instant.

Naruto brought his hands together, leaving his eyes closed. "Kai." The tiny impediment disappeared from his chakra flow as it was momentarily disrupted. An eyebrow rose as, instead of disappearing, the itch in the back of his mind only strengthened.

"Two steps," he muttered. "Look at you go, Naruto."

Dispelling the minor illusion hadn't unlocked a tidal wave of memories, as he had expected. Instead, he reached up to the back of his neck and channeled chakra through his fingertips. His skin burned, but he ignored the pain as the tiny bit of fuuinjutsu responded to his chakra.

With the knowledge of the tiny seal came the memory of hand seals. Snake – ram – boar – dog – tiger. Fuuinjutsu, kai!

He felt the mark pulse and shatter into oblivion a moment before a nail was driven into his skull. His eyes opened reflexively as the pain stole his breath.

Konan let her hands drop. She smiled at him, the expression reaching her eyes in a way that Naruto considered himself lucky to witness. "Good luck, Naruto."

"Heh, hopefully I won't need it," he managed with a slight grin, crossing his arms over his no-longer smoking chest.

"We all need luck, but I believe in you." With one last nod, her legs shifted to paper once more, forming into an angel's wings. She ascended, her eyes firmly settled on his own as she rose.

A lone piece of paper floated down to him as she floated away, and he caught it gently in an open palm. He stared down at it, noticing that letters had been cut out of it in lieu of using ink. Three words stared back at him.

Hashirama.

Bijuu.

Rikudo.

Itachi smiled, and for Naruto it was like looking into a mirror for all the bitterness it held. "And if I told you the Fourth almost certainly would have occurred had the Uchiha lived?"

Naruto's heart thumped out of time. A momentary mix of confusion and anticipation gripping him, he quietly said, "I'd ask for an explanation."

"Having fun?" Nagato queried, voice clearly amused.

"Loads," Naruto returned, quelling his momentary embarrassment.

Of course he could feel the whole thing. The scope of his ally's awareness was still staggering, even if he was making stride on his own.

"Not quite as graceful as my version, but definitely effective," the redhead quipped with a wry smile. "Your chakra control is astounding."

The blond hesitated for a moment, unsure, before he banished the thought. "It's gotten better with my training here. Easier. Like there's more of it for me to use – more of it that

wants to be used."

"And it's easier for that work to live on if those who perpetuate it believe they are doing a god's work," Naruto finished. It's both impressive and terrifying, he thought, unsure of how to feel.

Nagato nodded, a slight smile splitting his lips. "A select few, like yourself, will see the benefits of peace before it is achieved. But for the masses? They need something greater: something raw, something elemental. Something to

inspire them from their apathy into action. And something to make them persist after I'm gone."

"Human nature pursues strife," Naruto murmured, echoing Nagato's words from the beach in Tea Country.

"Uzumaki Nagato is just a man. But Pein?" Nagato asked rhetorically, real passion coloring his words. And Naruto felt goosebumps rising along his arms for a reason he couldn't quite put into words. "Pein is immortal."

Steady fingers belying a frantic mind closed around the appropriately dated scroll, and he let himself fall backwards into the room's single chair. The scroll opened easily, the babies born in January at the top. Blue eyes devoured the names greedily, idly noting that more than half of the names were Uzumaki even as they were discarded.

January passed in a blur, then February, March, April, May. The first creepings of anxiety were threading their way into his brain as he passed through June – what if she wasn't recorded – when he stopped dead.

July tenth. Uzumaki Kushina. Born to Uzumaki Ayako and Uzumaki Hideaki.

Fingertips gently brushed the faded ink and a tiny smile split his lips. "Hello, mother," Naruto breathed.

The wry smile returned. "I was confident in your survival. That you were alive at the end was all that needed to be said. It takes something special to kill an Uzumaki."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "And what do you know of the Uzumaki?"

"All there is," the man replied, not missing a beat. "My name is Nagato, Uzumaki Nagato, and I've wanted to meet you for a very long time, Naruto-san."

Sometime during the deluge of memories that had been locked away, his eyes had drifted shut once more. "Fucking hell," he croaked, letting his head fall forward into his waiting hands. He blinked, reached down and snatched up enough water to splash his face with, but it did little to alleviate the pounding in his skull. "Well that's one way to do things."

Memories locked away in fuuinjutsu and a concealing genjutsu so minor he had a hard time finding it in himself. He allowed himself a smile. Guess all those hours of practice weren't for nothing. He wouldn't exactly be roaming Konoha as a – somewhat – free man if the higher ups thought he was a plant.

"Step one: complete."

Naruto allowed himself a smile of satisfaction, but the undercurrent of unease had returned, and not for the same reasons. He had deceived Konoha's leadership by deceiving himself. His task was far harder now. Nothing worth doing was ever easy, he consoled himself, shaking the fatalistic musings from his mind.

His senses were cast about once more, not in reflection but for detection. Satisfied that there was no one within one-thousand meters that was likely to happen upon him in a trance-like state, he straightened. Ignoring the pounding in his skull, he methodically ran through a series of eight hand seals, contorting his fingers into a final hold.

The Gentooshin no jutsu was as singular as it was uncomfortable. There was nothing quite like being in two places at once. He was still one-hundred percent aware of his surroundings in Konoha, but when his eyes closed, he was in Ame, Konan seated before him.

"You're ahead of schedule," she said in lieu of a proper greeting. Naruto blinked – or rather he would have had his eyes not been closed – unused to seeing her so casual. Her usual cloak was discarded, leaving her clad in black leggings and a sleeveless top that hugged her lithe frame.

"The combination proved as effective as I had hoped," Naruto managed. Get it together! he told himself, tearing his eyes away from the exposed skin of her midriff. Glancing about momentarily, he realized she must've been in her sleeping quarters. Banishing the thoughts that that tidbit brought to mind, he refocused. "The screening is complete. I'll be briefing the intelligence committee about Akatsuki tomorrow morning."

Twin eyebrows rose. "That's unexpected, but not unwelcome. The Hokage trusts you already?"

"Doubtful. The threat I outlined was enough to catch her attention, though. She seems…shrewd."

"Elaborate."

Naruto shrugged. "A lot of the conversation seemed directed toward ingratiating herself with me. She deliberately looked for common ground. For whatever little it's worth, she at least seemed genuine." He wasn't above acknowledging that Tsunade's words had had some effect on him.

Konan leaned back, resting her elbows on the slim mattress that she sat against. "She likely was. Most medics are plagued by a sincere care for others." The blond fought against raising an eyebrow as his counterpart smiled at him. Was that supposed to be a joke?

He snorted, not at the joke but at its lack of humor, and only felt a little ashamed when his reaction caused Konan's smile to widen. "Regardless, it's a good start. I haven't had the chance to begin looking into what you gave me, but will do so after the briefing. What's next?"

The smile faded back into her standard, businesslike dispassion. "Considering the speed with which you're already progressing, we need to proceed with building trust. Your overreaching goal is the Hokage position. Given your disposition, killing everyone else who may be under consideration isn't a viable option." If it was supposed to be another joke, Naruto didn't bother laughing. "The good news is it appears they're happy to have you back."

He nodded. "I'll need to prove myself."

"Quite. It's fortunate, then, that Akatsuki's and Konoha's goals line up rather well in this instance."

"You're arranging things?" Naruto asked with a quirked brow.

"Orochimaru is a former associate of ours," Konan began, and Naruto's eyes almost popped open in surprise. "We severed ties with him over a decade ago, however, and whatever usefulness he once had has long since expired. We expect he kept extensive notes on the movements of the members he was aware of. Your mission is to track and find any information Orochimaru was keeping on Akatsuki and turn it over to Konoha."

Ignoring his incredulity at the mission's objective, he asked, "What's the time-frame? If he's as slippery as his reputation suggests he won't be easy to find."

"Konoha has assuredly been tracking whatever movements they can. As have we. Our information points to multiple locations across the continent. We can discuss a completion date once you've received whatever resources Konoha is willing to provide you."

Likely a reasonable amount, all things considered. "Confirmed," Naruto said, reaching for a semblance of professionalism. "The only information I'll be able to act on is Konoha's, however."

"They will be made aware of our intel soon."

That raised pressing questions, but not ones Naruto needed answers to immediately. They'd infiltrated every other village after all. "I'll make sure to turn the focus to him. Anything else?"

"When you do find his bases of operations, search for a ring. It will be very similar to your own," Konan told him. "We'll arrange for a way to have the ring returned once you have it. Additionally, start investigating a man named Zetsu. He was Obito's associate and has proved…elusive since Nagato neutralized him. His capture is extremely important."

Naruto nodded. "Noted. Will that be all?"

"Almost," she said, and here her smile returned. "It may go without saying, but Konoha is your home now. The Hokage position isn't given on combat merit alone. Take time to acclimate and make friends and allies. They'll be important for you."

His lips pulled upward. That may be the hardest part. "I'll do my best. Thank you, Konan."

"Be well, Naruto."

/~/

We're doing things. Excited for the next few installments. Have a point in mind to get to before I start up again on Patriot's Dawn's sequel.

Shouts, as always, to the DLP crew for their help. Feel free to drop a review on your way out.

22. Tomato Soup

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing audibly. Putting together the various dossiers hadn't been difficult, merely tedious, and the most trying aspect had been deciding just what to share. His information was going to shape Konoha's response to Akatsuki, and so he walked a fine line.

"Nervous?"

Naruto thanked his elevated senses. He was fairly sure that the large man had been trying to sneak up on him. There wasn't any other reasonable explanation for why someone would walk through the world with their chakra so hidden. Unless there was some technique he didn't know – possible, I guess – having your chakra so suppressed that it blended into the world around you should've been extremely uncomfortable.

"Not as much as I thought I'd be," he said. He turned to face the interloper and was greeted by a sight unlike he'd ever seen. Large didn't even begin to describe the man casually leaned against the wall behind him. A knee length red vest covered a green haori and matching pants, but that was where the traditional attire ended. Mesh armor and hand guards adorned his arms, while a wide, horned hitai-ate with the kanji for oil covered his forehead, only partially obscured by a mane of stark-white hair. This is their sensei? Naruto wondered. "Jiraiya-sama. Pleasure to meet you."

He reached out and the Sannin grasped his forearm in greeting. Good god he's strong, he thought, for the man's arm was as firm as an iron pipe. "Likewise. Popped by a bit early to properly introduce myself. Akatsuki's a slippery bunch," the legendary nin told him. "Figured I'd thank you personally for making my life easier."

Naruto quirked a smile. "Happy to help." He paused for a beat. "If you don't mind me asking, it was you who observed my meeting with Hokage-sama, right?"

"Heh, caught me in the act, did you?" Jiraiya grinned, and Naruto marveled at how such a jovial man could be such an accomplished killer. "Takes some pretty good senses to sniff me out."

"It was a close thing. Had me second guessing myself. Your cloaking technique is better than any other I've come across."

"Better than any that you know you've come across," the older man pointed out with a smirk.

Naruto half shrugged, allowing the point. "I'd appreciate comparing notes after this meeting," he said in lieu of a comeback. "According to Shizune-san, you've been Konoha's leading expert on Akatsuki until…well..." he trailed off with a slight smile.

"Tell you the truth, there won't be much to compare." Jiraiya pushed himself off the wall with a single, geta-clad foot. "Think I might be the one learning a thing or two. When I said they were slippery, I meant it. Whatever sources you have, they're better than mine."

"Think I may travel some different circles than you. I'm a bit less conspicuous."

"Oh I can blend in if I want to. My book tours aren't all for show, after all." Naruto let the large man step past him and into the greater room. He dropped himself into one of the chairs in the first row of the amphitheater-like room and kicked his feet up on the table. "But, from what Tsunade tells me, you have some friends who were a bit more involved than most folks I come across."

"Not sure I'd call Uchiha Itachi a friend," Naruto returned, only partially truthful.

"Not who I was talking about, kid. Haven't tangled with old Ibuse in a few decades, but I know someone who might wanna see him again," Jiraiya said with a grin that wasn't entirely pleasant.

The blond leaned back slightly, his lips turning down. Namikaze Minato's defeat of Hanzo in the middle of the Third War wasn't a large part of the Yondaime's legend – the almost single-handed dismantling of Iwa's military machine took center stage – but Ibuse certainly remembered it. The old salamander had never struck Naruto as a prideful creature, but he knew his sensei took no pleasure in having been driven from the battlefield. He had never told Naruto why he'd even bothered relating the story, painful as it was, but the blond had his suspicions.

"I'm not sure the ANBU would take two grand summons in the middle of the village all that well, Jiraiya-sama," he demurred.

"Heh, maybe another time. We should grab a drink after the meeting, though. Compare notes like you said. You having that contract raises a couple of questions I'd like answered." The look the Sannin levelled him with could only be described as pointed, not that Naruto couldn't take the hint otherwise.

Off the record, then. "A few may end up answered before then. But I'm happy to help."

Jiraiya nodded as the door opened and the rest of Konoha's intelligence committee filed in.

The elders, who Naruto knew to be Sarutobi's old teammates, led the way. They were followed shortly by the Sandaime himself, who favored Naruto with a proud smile that only served to make the blond uncomfortable. A middle-aged man with a short goatee and a spiky ponytail entered next, in cordial conversation with a man Naruto could only presume was Hyuuga Hiashi. Not like they'd send anyone else to sit on this committee. Danzo hobbled in next, not sparing him a glance, and Naruto managed to keep his lip from curling in distaste. Tsunade brought up the rear, shutting the door behind her.

The Godaime strode to the seats and dropped down next to Jiraiya. The Hyuuga clan head and his counterpart sat next to each other one row up. The Sandaime sat with his old teammates a row behind them. Danzo, unsurprisingly, sat a row behind them at the back of the room, keeping everyone in view. Naruto would've called him paranoid if he hadn't known the truth of the man.

"Everyone, this is Uzumaki Naruto. As you all know he's brought forward some new information regarding the mercenary group, Akatsuki," Tsunade declared. "Uzumaki Naruto, this is the intelligence committee. To my right is Jiraiya; he runs our foreign intelligence." Naruto contained his surprise to a mere blink. Book tours…right. "Behind us are Hyuuga Hiashi, who represents the clans' interest, and Nara Shikaku, the First Fireblade. Behind them are Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, two of my advisors. I won't bother introducing the other two as you're plenty acquainted with them already," she finished. Sarutobi rolled his eyes around a smile; Danzo might have been carved from stone.

Naruto marveled at how she managed to sound both authoritative and bored simultaneously. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. And thank you all for coming," he began. Distantly, he wondered at the tinge of nervousness he felt. "I expect you're all familiar with my dossier, so I won't bother with much background. My first direct experience with Akatsuki was roughly two years ago. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame inadvertently saved my life by engaging the Yonbi jinchuuriki."

"First direct experience?" Nara Shikaku asked. He had his chin resting in the palm of his hand, but his eyes belied a keen mind.

Naruto nodded, ignoring the familiarity of high cheekbones and a too-sharp chin. "Correct." He paused, eyes flickering between the Hokage, the Sandaime, and Danzo. "Apologies, but how much of the war record has been declassified?"

"Everyone here has S-ranked clearance. Whatever they don't know about Kusa can be explained," Tsunade told him.

He nodded. "Much of the effort of Konoha's forces was supplemented by contracted nuke-nin. I had a close working relationship with two that were, in effect, part of my squad for three years. We had multiple dealings with others over the course of the war."

He grabbed a stack of manila folders that rested on the lone desk at the front of the room. "The first thing to understand about Akatsuki," he said, passing two to the Sannin in the front as he passed them. "Is that they're not just an organization. They're a network. S-ranked nuke-nin make waves wherever they go. You'd be hard pressed to find any nuke-nin above C-ranked who hasn't heard of them."

"One can assume they're well-spoken of," Hiashi said.

"Quite. The average nuke-nin doesn't have much of a life. Well-paying jobs are hard to come by that don't run the risk of directly going against a hidden village. But there's a market for information." Naruto handed the final dossier to Danzo and strode back down the stairs, not eager to linger near the man. "Hidden villages won't trust their word other than circumstances far outside the norm, but Akatsuki doesn't have those reservations. A B-ranked chunin can make a decent sum informing on their former village to an Akatsuki agent. Certainly enough to float for a little while."

Nagato, through at least two proxies he knew of, paid very well.

"And what exactly does this have to do with these members you've provided information about?" Koharu asked from near the back. She flipped idly through the pages contained in the folder.

Are you being deliberately obtuse? "What exactly does an informant in Konoha's network have to do with the Hokage?" Naruto asked, teetering on the edge of impudence. Focus, Naruto. "The small cogs inform how the rest of the organization operates. Just like any of the hidden villages. When dismantling any organization you can begin from the bottom or the top. In my experience it's usually best to focus on both."

"For the sake of this meeting, at least, perhaps it would be better to begin from the top, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi interjected.

"Certainly, sir," the blond said, transitioning. You'd've thought they'd have patience by that age. The devil was always in the details, and he didn't have to spare a glance for Danzo to know the old man would've agreed with him. Fucking Root training… "If you'll open the dossiers I prepared to page one, you'll see a man by the name of Kakuzu. A Taki nuke-nin, he's disappeared from most bingo books at this point. He was accused of stealing a kinjutsu shortly after Taki's founding. Not much is known about the jutsu, but it's allowed him to survive far longer than the average shinobi. A general estimate puts his age somewhere near one-hundred."

Jiraiya whistled. "Even older than you, sensei," he called. At Sarutobi's non-reaction, the Sannin refocused. "Where does this intelligence come from, Naruto? I've heard of this guy, but not nearly as much as this. Did Itachi mention him?"

Blond locks swayed as Naruto shook his head. "Kakuzu is relatively well-known in bounty-hunting circles. One of my squad-mates in Kusa, Momochi Zabuza, frequented bounty stations after missions to finance his own goals. I tagged along more than once."

Bushy white eyebrows were practically in Jiraiya's hairline. "Momochi Zabuza you say…" He flicked a glance over his shoulder in the direction of the elders that Naruto couldn't see.

"I also did some digging after Itachi approached me. Of all of Akatsuki's main members, Kakuzu is actually the most visible. He acts as a sort of 'treasurer,' dealing with some of the group's finances in the field."

"Can we subpoena Takigakure's ambassador for any information on this man?" Homura croaked. "Surely his old village will have insight."

Tsunade shrugged. "Not a bad idea, but I doubt they'd part with much information without T-and-I's influence. Not like we go around handing out information on our dirty little secrets."

Naruto took that as his cue to continue. "Right…if you'll turn to the next page, well you won't see much. The information I have on the group's leader comes directly from two sources, neither of which had much direct interaction with him."

"I can assume Itachi is one," Tsunade said. "The other?" she asked at Naruto's nod.

"Ibuse of the Salamander Clan." The reactions didn't disappoint. Both Sannin straightened almost imperceptibly. Hanzo named them, after all. The two jonin in the middle of the room were the least effected, being the youngest, but surprise was evident even on the Hyuuga's stoic face. Sarutobi and his teammates each wore grave expressions and Danzo's single, visible eye was narrowed. "He and Hanzo encountered the leader in Ame itself, where Hanzo was killed. As a result, it's safe to assume that the leader assumed control of the village a little over six years ago."

Even though the information had undoubtedly already been covered in Yamanaka Inoichi's report – he couldn't have missed that – Naruto's proclamation still seemed to suck the air out of the room. Jiraiya and Tsunade leaned back simultaneously, exchanging a heavy look. Sarutobi glanced behind him to the ever inscrutable Danzo, and the elders leaned around him, whispering furiously. The two jonin in the middle were silent and Naruto realized that they, much like him, had likely never met the Salamander.

"This leader," Tsunade began again, silencing the room. "He killed Hanzo single-handedly?"

In a manner of speaking. "He did, Hokage-sama."

"Impressive." Her voice was neutral, though Naruto couldn't tell if it was forced or not. "You may not be privy to this information, but were his skills much dulled over time?"

"Quite the opposite. According to Ibuse, his training regimen was as intense as it was decades ago, though certainly adapted as he aged."

Tsunade nodded, emotionless. Jiraiya was much the same next to her.

"It's safe to say, then, that Akatsuki is certainly a threat worth taking seriously," Hiashi said. "You haven't addressed their aims, Naruto-san."

Blue eyes flickered to the Hokage and, at her slight nod, he straightened. "Their goals are still a bit…unclear. All I know for certain is that they center on the bijuu. Itachi and Kisame's goal in Kusa was the capture of Yoton no Roshi." That he was alive was merely a happy accident.

Sarutobi straightened as Naruto spared a glance in his direction. So it is Konohamaru. "I expect they're not planning for much good with the Nine," Shikaku said rhetorically. Naruto managed a sardonic smile around the irony.

"We can debate their motives all day. The question is what are we to do about them?" Koharu chirped.

I'm so glad you asked. "If you'll turn to the final entry. Most of you in this room have a bit more experience with him than I do…"

The Sandaime rubbed his eyes with a sigh while his students up front sported matching sneers. "This is where I start deferring to your judgment," Naruto said. "Orochimaru was reportedly a member some time ago. It's unclear when exactly he left the group."

"Safe to assume he knows more about them than we do," Jiraiya all but growled.

Naruto nodded sharply. "My thoughts exactly."

"He's just as difficult to track as the rest of them," Tsunade said, picking up the thread. "How much headway did ANBU make into Ta no Kuni after the Crush?"

"Minimal," Sarutobi confirmed. "They routed the Oto forces with little resistance, but did not find much else."

"The most recent intelligence places him anywhere from Tsuchi to Ame to Kusa. Though I think we can rule out Ame at this point…" Jiraiya trailed off, running a hand through his mane. "Whenever he pops up on the grid again, he's gone before anyone worth a damn can get to him."

Tsunade held up a hand as Naruto opened his mouth to reply. "I know what you'll say, but it doesn't matter if it's him versus an entire ANBU platoon. Don't bet against Orochimaru. Sarutobi-sensei's done a good job with the ANBU, but he'll attest to it as well." A look toward the Sandaime revealed only grim-faced resignation.

A blond brow lifted in response to the proclamation, even though he wasn't terribly surprised by it. Platoons were made up primarily of elite chunin with a few tokubetsu jonin interspersed and led by a jonin. Never mind asking for twenty shinobi to work in perfect tandem, most of the S-ranked shinobi he'd met would simply plow through half the team before much could be done. Roshi certainly would have, to say nothing of Itachi or Nagato.

"I understand," he demurred, collecting himself. "Does anyone have any questions about what I've covered?"

"Just one." The Godaime leaned back in her chair, her eyes considering. "You've interacted with Akatsuki more than anyone else, how would you proceed?"

Naruto clasped his hands behind his back, doing his best not to leap at the opportunity he'd just been presented with. "Our two most promising leads are Kakuzu and Orochimaru. I'd recommend a small, elite task force to pursue any information we have about them until newer intel becomes available. No larger than two three-man squads; small enough to deploy at a moment's notice but with enough combat ability to hold their own and hopefully capture a target."

"With yourself as team lead, I presume?"

He fought to keep his lips straight at the Hokage's sardonic tone. I like her. "The makeup of such a team is up to you, Hokage-sama."

"Quite right." Tsunade steeped her fingers in front of her face, her expression unreadable. The silence stretched for nearly thirty seconds before, "This meeting is dismissed," she declared. "Uzumaki, my office, if you please."

The committee seemed to blink collectively at the abrupt dismissal, but complied nonetheless. The Godaime rose after exchanging a long look with her teammate, and led the way out of the room. Naruto, still a bit flat footed, hastened to follow.

"Shizune, please collect the folders inside and make sure they get delivered to the ANBU records," Tsunade said as they exited the meeting room. Her apprentice, who had apparently been by the door the entire time, nodded once and swept inside without a word.

Despite being two full heads taller than the Hokage, Naruto found himself pressed to match her pace as she strode purposefully through the administrative building. They passed innumerable offices as they walked around half the circumference of the great building, and were at the Hokage's office in a flash.

"Take a seat," she offered, gesturing to the two chairs sat in front of her desk. She parked herself behind the desk and immediately leaned forward, resting her chin upon clasped hands. Naruto dropped into the chair on the right hand side, straight backed. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing," she cautioned, though without a hint of reproach.

"I've been Hokage for over six years now," she began. "The one thing I've learned, above everything else, is that I'm not Sarutobi-sensei. I'm not my grandfather, I'm not my uncle, and I'm not Namikaze Minato." Tsunade leaned back, either not noticing or ignoring Naruto's raised brow. "All that to say that I do things differently. My word is law, but I believe in transparency; both from my soldiers and, most importantly, from me."

"How good are you?" she asked suddenly.

Naruto blinked, trying to appear nonplussed by the non-sequitur and likely failing miserably. "That's a... rather subjective question, Hokage-sama."

"Extremely," she conceded, her own blond brow rising. "However, you've appeared after being thought dead for two years, brought news of a network of nuke-nin who likely have bad intentions for the entire continent, and have recommended the capture of my old teammate as our first course of action." The baring of her teeth couldn't be called a smile. "Humor me."

The younger blond snorted. Transparency indeed. "I don't think there's anyone in this village I couldn't beat."

"Bold words, if ones I'm sure every single one of my elite jonin would say too." Tsunade leaned back once more. "Difference is, I can apply context to them." Naruto felt his heart sink, knowing where this was going to turn sooner rather than later. "You've proven yourself far from stupid, so I won't bother with the bullshit. We don't have any readily available solution, and I'm loathe to send any shinobi other than Jiraiya himself to deal with Orochimaru. Anyone but the best is just a waste of lives."

Naruto contained a grimace. "And what would you have me do, Hokage-sama?" he asked, parroting him younger self years before; those same words had set him on the path to Root, and from there to Kusa.

"You'll lead the team, as I'm sure you want to." He kept his face carefully neutral, even though he felt Tsunade wouldn't hold anything more against him; she didn't seem interested in anything more than calling him on his, admittedly transparent, intentions. That she was letting him, in effect, make recommendations meant she either was far more liberal than Sarutobi had been, or felt she could control him. Bit of both, probably. "Provided, of course, that you show you're capable."

Irritation that was becoming familiar flared. He'd been tested by his first chunin squad, by Root to welcome him to the jungle, by Nagato when he first joined Akatsuki, and then finally against Itachi nearly five months previous. It had gotten old a long time ago.

"And who will I be fighting?"

Tsunade just smiled in response.

/~/

He wasn't a stranger to drinking. It had never been his vice of choice, but he'd been around it enough in his ANBU days and in Kusa that it didn't faze him.

Crowds, however, were a different story.

Naruto exhaled hard, doing his best to sink further into the booth. The Indigo was one of the few shinobi-only bars in Konoha, which naturally meant it was packed. He had dealt with crowds since his self-imposed exile had come to an abrupt end, but he'd always been walking through them. There was something unsettling about not being mobile. Sitting wasn't something he did much unless he was meditating, in which case his mind was on subjects far from the room's humidity and how loud an enclosed space could be given enough people.

His meeting with Tsunade hadn't lasted much longer after her pronouncement, though he still didn't know who was to be testing him. Which is the point, I guess. It wasn't like shinobi went into the field knowing who to expect outside of deliberate assassination missions.

It didn't make the anticipation any easier to bear, however. He'd wanted to just get it over with as soon as possible, fed up with the concept as he was, but the Godaime claimed to need a day to properly select his opponent. Not that he believed her for a second – there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Tsunade already knew who exactly he'd be fighting.

Whatever uncertainty wasn't being used to simulate a proper mission situation was undoubtedly being used as payback for his transparent intentions. Doubted she appreciated that, he thought with a grimace. He had been far from subtle, in retrospect, regardless of the favorable outcome.

At least he'd gotten what he set out to achieve. Konan couldn't doubt his results, even if his methods were heavier handed than he liked to admit. And if the only price to pay was a day of anticipation? So be it.

"Finally." A redhead that was both familiar and not dropped down across from him in the booth, sliding a green bottle of beer his way. "Forgot how much of a bitch getting drinks this time of day is. Thanks again for meeting up, man. Almost didn't believe it when Shizune-san tracked me down."

Naruto managed a smile that was mostly genuine. "Thanks yourself. It's good to see you, Daisuke."

Haruno Daisuke had aged gracefully, for all of his twenty-four years. His hair was still as ginger as ever, cropped close to his head, his face barely older than Naruto remembered it save for a smattering of stubble peppering his cheeks. Pale green eyes that nearly matched the medical chakra he had used so frequently were still as cheeky as ever, even if Naruto wasn't Epsilon's rookie anymore. He lounged in the booth with as little care as he'd had when he was eighteen.

"Ha! Good doesn't even describe it, Naruto." The momentary laughter on the young man's face vanished. "For real, man, we thought you were dead."

"Sorry to disappoint."

The ginger snorted into his beer. "Don't joke about that shit," he reprimanded in spite of the humor in his eyes. "Everyone knew something was going down – well, everyone in ANBU, I guess – but they never actually told us what was up. And with you just disappearing, well…" He shrugged artlessly, leaning back against the booth bodily.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Naruto said, for what must've been the third time since meeting his old squad-mate outside the bar. "You were on a mission, if I'm remembering right."

"Tch, probably. Me, Hikari, and the rest of Beta were cleaning up all the leftovers in Ta no Kuni. Still," and here he gestured with the top of his beer bottle. "Coulda left a note."

It was Naruto's turn to snort. "Right yeah: hey guys, sorry for the short notice, but I'm actually being shipped off to a war you won't hear about. See you if I don't die! Sure that would've gone over well."

"A simple goodbye woulda worked just fine. We were ANBU, not like we needed specifics."

Naruto withheld a grimace, averting his eyes to the table top. "Didn't realize you cared so much," he managed. He hadn't given much thought to anyone when he'd left outside of general musings on the sorry state of his social circle. That Hikari and Daisuke had been on a mission was excuse enough to not bother saying anything.

"You always did sell me short, rookie." The blond glanced up, relieved to see a genuine smile on Daisuke's face. "Honestly though? I probably didn't. Too wrapped up in my own shit. Hikari though…she was pretty pissed."

The grimace couldn't be held back a second time. The branch Hyuuga had always been a far more nurturing figure on the team, not that he'd appreciated it much at thirteen. "Where is she, by the way? You guys on…good terms?" There had always been tension between the two he hadn't bothered thinking much about back in the day.

"Good terms?" Daisuke guffawed. "Naruto, we're engaged."

Naruto blinked, momentarily stunned. Involuntarily, his mind replayed the interactions he remembered from their team days. "But you were always chirping each other. And you were, well…"

"A whore?" At the blonde's answering shrug, the redhead chuckled and took a long sip of his beer. "I was. Come to think of it, you leaving and Hikari losing her shit kinda made me realize I gave a damn about her. So thanks, I guess!"

Naruto just took a sip of his own beer in response. It wasn't bad, far from the bitter drink Zabuza had favored in his lower moments, but still far from appetizing. He shook his head. "Well congrats. Can't believe I didn't realize. Feel like a bit of an idiot, looking back."

"Eh, I didn't either and, to be fair, you were a kid." Daisuke blinked, his expression morphing into one of muted disbelief. "God damn but I forgot how young you were!" he said. "Me and Hikari were some of the youngest in the corps, and even she's got a year on me. You really were a kid, huh?"

The blond looked away again, not wanting his old friend to see the bitterness in his eyes. "You have no idea," he murmured.

He pushed creeping memories of death to the side, long since used to them. "Not sure how you all put up with me. Thought I was hot shit," Naruto said, trying to turn the conversation back to happier waters. He had forgotten how easy Daisuke was to talk to, how infectious his enthusiasm could be. As unused to extended conversation as he was – outside of Nagato and, now, Konan – he was comfortable. This was a good idea.

"Ha! Didn't we all?" The redhead shook his head. "Me and Hikari talk about the old days sometimes. Feels like a different life, ya know? Between you being there, captain too…"

The blond didn't even wince at the memory of Housei's death. Too much had happened in between; too many lives taken and friends lost. "What's Hikari up to these days? And you. You never mentioned."

Daisuke shrugged. "Clan stuff for her mostly. She's Branch," he said with distaste, "but she's got Tokubetsu status so she doesn't have to live on the compound at least. As for me…" The former ANBU took a hearty gulp of his beer, finishing it. "My jonin application is still in the works, but I'm pretty confident. Just got assigned a genin team."

Naruto leaned back, lips curling up at the audible pride in his old friend's voice. "They give genin teams to just anyone these days, huh?"

"Dick," Daisuke snorted. "Nah their sensei got put on medical leave for two months. C-rank went sideways. Figure since I'm next man up I've got a good shot at the full promotion."

The blond sipped his beer. "Makes more sense than the crap you always used to spout off. Nervous?"

"You've got no fucking idea," the redhead laughed. He ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. "I was reserve so I've got no idea how jonin sensei operate. Like, what am I supposed to do besides make sure they don't die?"

"Not sure why you're asking me. Wasn't a genin much longer than you; shorter probably."

"Yeah but you've managed to snake your way to jonin somehow. They don't give out – I dunno – handbooks or some shit like that? Pamphlets?"

Naruto snorted at the audible panic in Daisuke's voice. Until now, he'd never given any thought to being a jonin sensei. He'd coveted the rank as a child for its prestige and for what it would mean for his clan name. The particulars of what being a jonin meant hadn't much mattered. That he'd changed so much to render his promotion all but irrelevant now made him smile. I was such a kid.

"You're on your own, man," he told him before finishing off his drink. "Wanna get another? This wasn't half bad."

"Maybe one more. Gonna have to run kinda soon though. Hikari'll flip if the apartment is trashed when she gets home." Daisuke frowned. "Hyuugas, man."

Blue eyes rolled even as Naruto felt his mood drop a touch. "Somehow I can't picture you being all that tidy, but trashed?"

"Different standards of trashed. I leave a glass out and I get an earful. And she's one of the chill ones."

"Well if you gotta get going it's no problem."

"Yeah but don't wanna leave you hanging though."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, he had a big day ahead anyway, when green eyes lit up.

"Ah! Sakura-chan!" Daisuke called suddenly, waving at someone over the blonde's shoulder. Naruto turned in time to see a pretty pink-haired girl about his age approach their booth, a dimpled grin on her face. Her eyes matched Daisuke's too well for them to not be related.

"Daisuke-kun! It's been a while since you've shown your face at a bar," she teased, leaning down to give him a peck on the cheek. Her expression morphed into one of concern. "What's wrong? Hikari-san kicked you out?"

"You're hilarious," he deadpanned; the girl merely stuck her tongue out at him. A smirk replaced the flat expression a moment later, however. "Actually catching up with an old teammate. Sakura-chan, meet Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, this is my cousin. She has the honor of being one of the only genin Kakashi ever passed."

Naruto felt his brows rise involuntarily as the pinkette turned to face him, her long, plaited hair swaying with her. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-san." He remembered to stick his hand out a moment later, managing a smile. "You must've been a pretty impressive genin. He failed me."

She grasped his hand firmly, the slight blush coloring her cheeks matching her hair. "Oh, not really," she demurred. "Sasuke-kun did most of the work. And even then it was a close thing. But I'm sure you've done well. You survived being teammates with Daisuke, after all."

Whether it was in reference to Daisuke's tour in ANBU or just another dig at her cousin Naruto couldn't be sure. Probably both, he reasoned, not missing a gleam in her emerald eyes. She's smart. "I've done ok," was all he said, attempting to maintain his smile. Really? That's what you choose?

"Naruto actually just got back from an extended assignment," Daisuke picked up before it could get awkward, quoting the official story. His leave of absence had been turned into an A-rank mission, rather than the defection it had truly been. He wasn't being paid for it, obviously, but he couldn't exactly complain given the situation. "Figured we'd catch up a bit before I get wrapped up with my new team."

"Give teams to just anybody these days, huh?" Sakura asked, making Naruto snort as she unknowingly echoed him. I like her.

Daisuke just scoffed, disgusted. "And here I was gonna ask you to hang out with this guy for a bit, even buy you a drink for it, but you're apparently best friends already so I won't bother."

"Great minds and all that," Naruto said lowly, smirking at the redhead. His old teammate just rolled his eyes, very clearly fighting a smile, and rose; Naruto mirrored him.

"Still think you're hot shit, don't you?" The blond raised an eyebrow, playing along, only for Daisuke to grab him up in a hug. "For real though, Naruto, it was good to see you." He pushed back, holding the young by the shoulders. "Don't be a stranger, got it? Hikari was bummed as hell when she couldn't make it tonight."

"I'll make time," Naruto said, meaning it.

"Good." The redhead slapped him on the shoulder and turned to his cousin. "I'd say it was nice to see you, Sakura-chan, but…" he grumbled, pulling the kunoichi in for a hug as well.

She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Get home safe, Daisuke-kun."

"I always do." He gave Naruto one last nod, grabbed his vest from where it had hung on the back of the booth, and strode toward the door.

Naruto smiled at his retreating back, genuinely happy to have met up. He always was easy to get along with. I'll have to see Hikari too, he thought, smile widening a touch. He'd scarcely paid his old teammates any mind in the jungle, and even less so after. That they had managed to find each other was more than he'd ever expected, but no less than they deserved.

"He acts tough, but Daisuke-kun's always been a softie," Sakura said. Naruto turned to find her smiling at him.

"He doesn't hide it very well."

She giggled. "Not even slightly. But that's why he's my favorite cousin. Anyway," she said. "I'm with a couple friends back behind the bar. Wanna have a drink with us?"

Naruto blinked, then held up his hands. "I wouldn't wanna crash your guys' night out. You don't have to hang around just 'cause Daisuke asked."

"Don't worry about it!"

"No, seriously. I've got a thing tomorrow morning anyway. I should probably get back to my place."

"Oh, please," Sakura laughed. "It's really no problem at all. If you've been away that long you need to meet new people. Can't have you just hanging out with my old-ass cousin."

"I mean…if you're sure." Naruto stepped next to her, feeling his discomfort rise as they waded through a thickening crowd of people. Konan did say to make connections…

"Totally! You're a jonin too, which might get Kiba to shut up about how great he thinks he is, so it's a win-win for everybody, trust me." She gestured to the dark green of his vest, the identifying marker of his new status.

The blond shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his fatigues. "If you say so…"

"I do. Hey guys!" Sakura called, speeding up slightly as they approached two boys about their age, one slim, the other heavyset. "Made a new friend."

The slim one slid off his stool, a beer in hand. He had messy brown hair and twin red fang markings on his cheeks indicative of the Inuzuka clan. "And what would 'Sasuke-kun' say about you making friends with strange men, hmm?" He held out a hand that was a short step from clawed. "Inuzuka Kiba."

"Shut it, Kiba," Sakura grumbled, blushing once more.

Naruto managed to not raise an eyebrow at the byplay, instead grasping the Inuzuka by the forearm. "Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you."

"You too, dude. This is Akamichi Chouji," Kiba said, nodding to the heavyset boy still on his stool. The larger boy just waved. Given how flushed his cheeks were, Naruto assumed he was rather drunk. "You'd think he'd handle his liquor better," the Inuzuka muttered just loud enough for the blond to hear. "Never seen you around before, though. How old are you, man?"

"Nineteen." Naruto leaned a bit awkwardly against the high table the three were crowded around, hands still in his pockets. "You?"

"We're all eighteen," Sakura confirmed. "You must've been the class ahead of us."

"A jonin too." Kiba whistled, casually buffing the back of his fingers on Naruto's vest. The shorter boy smirked. "Sasuke better step his game up. Does he know you're getting ready to replace him, Sakura?"

The pinkette opened her mouth, undoubtedly to lambaste the grinning Inuzuka on behalf of – Naruto realized – Itachi's younger brother, when someone beat her to the punch.

"I leave for five minutes and you find a new boyfriend, forehead?" a new voice piped up from over Naruto's shoulder. He turned, coming face-to-face with a young woman with piercing seafoam eyes. Blonde hair was cropped practically at her shoulders, and a single, thick bang was long enough to fall to the side of her face. Her eyes widened as she beheld Naruto, lips that had been smirking falling slightly open.

Sakura almost growled. "Not likely, piggy. This is a friend of my cousin's–"

"Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde finished. She laughed breathily, her eyes lighting up like stars. "Long time no see."

Naruto blinked, taking in the new arrival from the tips of her sandals to her purple top that left her midriff exposed. She clearly knew him, but he couldn't say the same. He held out a hand, wracking his mind frantically. "Hi there…"

Her eyes dimmed, and Naruto suddenly wished he could sink into the ground. Think, Naruto! Not like you meet good-looking women all the time.

"You don't remember me," she said, and he felt like he'd kicked a puppy given the palpable disappointment in her voice. "We met during the Crush, and then again after?"

He blinked again, memories from a lifetime ago flashing before his eyes. Two Suna jonin, a beleaguered and terrified group of genin, a snippet of an enjoyable conversation during Tsunade's inauguration.

A face swam into focus, complete with platinum blond hair and matching seafoam eyes. "Well whenever you get back, look me up. I'll be around."

Familiarity finally asserting itself, he felt his eyes widen. Still partially wrapped up in the memories, he said the first thing that came to mind: "Bitch."

His mind caught up a moment later, the bar seemingly silent for a moment before the sounds of Sakura cackling and Kiba likely spitting out his drink met his ears. His eyes were locked, immobile, on Yamanaka Ino's.

"Sounds like he remembers you fine to me, Ino," Saukra crowed.

"I am so sorry," Naruto choked, half ready to sprint his way back to Tea Country. "I didn't mean–"

"Don't worry about it, douchebag," she interrupted. Her eyes glittered with some dark amusement as she waved off his stammering. "I am a bitch, after all," she finished with a lopsided grin that was too sharp for Naruto's comfort.

"And does that mean I know enough to call you a bitch?" the ANBU asked. He raised an eyebrow when the girl only shrugged.

"Sure, I guess."

"And that doesn't, I dunno…offend you at all?"

"I am a bitch," Ino said simply, tossing Naruto a look that told him quite clearly he'd have to do better if he wanted to offend her.

"Wow, man. Never met a guy who opened with that one on her," Kiba said around a final cough. Naruto's cheeks, already flaming, only got redder.

Ino rolled her eyes as Kiba and Sakura continued to chuckle. "Wanna get a drink?" she asked Naruto instead. "Think I need one."

He nodded rapidly. "Yeah…yeah that sounds like a good idea."

She spared one final quasi-glare the others – Chouji was still swaying in his chair, off in his own world – and spun on her heel toward the bar. Naruto hastened to follow.

"So…six years, huh?" Ino asked as they waded their way through various groups of shinobi. "Helluva border assignment."

Bits and pieces of their years old conversation flowing back in the wake of his gaffe, Naruto smiled at the reminder of cover story they'd run with. "Got a bit more than I bargained for."

"You're surprisingly tan, too."

"The sun's actually stronger at higher elevations."

Ino snorted. "Still running with the bullshit." She glanced up at him as they reached the bar. "Haven't changed much, have you?"

The intensity of her eyes pierced him and, unable to answer honestly, he just shrugged. She didn't seem to mind, favoring him instead with a dazzling smile that threatened to light up the bar.

"Yeah we'll get along just fine. Whatchu drinking?"

"Beer. Not sure which one."

Blonde hair nearly smacked him in the face as Ino spun to deliver the order to a leering bartender. The man's face paled a touch, the leer vanishing to rapid nods of acquiescence at whatever expression she wore. Naruto wasn't close enough to hear what she said, content with standing about with only his years of training allowing him not to fidget.

Ino took pity on him a moment later, turning around and leaning her back against the bar. "Not a bar guy?"

He smiled in spite of himself. "That obvious, huh?"

"I've seen more comfortable prisoners in T and I."

Get your shit together, Naruto. "I've heard Ibiki's getting soft in his old–"

A hand was clamped over his mouth. He raised an eyebrow at the suddenly very close blonde. "You really wanna say that where people can hear you?" she hissed. Laughing eyes belied her deathly serious expression, and Naruto found himself quelling the urge to do…something to her hand.

Don't be childish, he thought as she pulled back, the barest hint of a smile on her lips. "He's not that scary."

"Says you."

"Not like he can read minds or anything."

Her lips quirked up further. He wasn't sure if she knew Yamanaka Inoichi – they shared a strong resemblance, but clans were like that – but his quip wasn't lost on her either way.

"That is scary," she murmured, eyes glittering. Ino turned back to the bar a moment later as the bartender returned, his beer conspicuously absent.

"Here ya go!" His companion thrust a tiny glass of clear liquid into his hand.

He sniffed it, recoiling a bit at the aroma attempting to burn his nose hairs to ash. "This isn't beer," he said unnecessarily.

"Nope!" Ino chirped with a grin. At his continued blank stare she rolled her eyes. "It's coming in a minute. We're taking a shot to celebrate you coming home."

"Ah. Didn't do any of these at the border." He nearly cringed at his weak attempt at conversation. Real smooth, Uzumaki.

"Your loss. Bottom's up, douchebag!" Ino tossed the shot back like a sip of water, her expression souring for a moment before another grin took its place.

Naruto shrugged and did the same. The alcohol, whatever it was, tasted spoiled with a hint of fruit juice underneath it, and the residual burn spread from his stomach back up his throat and into his nose. He wrinkled it in response, pursing his lips a bit at the bitterness.

"Can't say it's my favorite," he said with a shrug and smile.

"Took it like a champ for someone who apparently hasn't done shots before."

I mean it wasn't lava. "It wasn't that bad." Naruto reached around her and snagged the beer that the newly skittish bartender had left behind. He pulled out a few ryo but was stopped by a feathery touch on his forearm.

"It's on me," Ino told him. As he opened his mouth to protest, she cut him off, "Consider it part of a thank you for a few years ago." Hey eyes stared up at him through her lashes, challenging.

Naruto felt his heartrate rise slightly and nodded his acquiescence. "You're welcome."

The challenge was replaced by triumph as she grinned. "No more stupid platitudes. You're learning."

"I do remember you, you know."

She laughed. "Sure you do. C'mon, let's find a table."

"We're not going back to your friends?"

"They won't miss us. Sakura'll go home soon anyway, Chouji looked drunk enough to pass out on his own, and Kiba'll be happy you're not around when he starts hitting on every girl over fifteen. He doesn't do well with guys better looking than him around."

Naruto felt an eyebrow rise of its own volition as Ino led him around the bar. It was getting late, which had the benefit of the crowd thinning a touch – most shinobi had to be active in the early morning. Myself included, his subconscious whispered traitorously. He pushed it to the side for the moment, knowing, deep down, that he wouldn't be able to ignore it.

"That's generous of you." Most Inuzuka had a fairly roughish appeal, as far as he could tell. His experience, though limited, spoke to that being something most women – and some men – liked.

"Hmm, you're right. He'll probably be hitting on every girl over fourteen." She smirked at him as she dropped onto a stool at a free high table.

Just take the compliment, he told himself, plopping down on the other stool present. "So…" he began laboriously. "Been a while. What've you been up to?" Great start, Naruto.

She smiled at him, locking eyes over the top of her drink, apparently not bothered by his inability to make small talk. "This and that. Trying to make sure I don't need someone like you to swoop in and save me from some big bad jonin again."

A grimace was suppressed at the memories of the Crush. "Was hardly your fault. Think we were all a bit in over our heads."

"Tch. Says the thirteen year old ANBU." One leg crossed over the other languidly as Ino sipped a red drink with a strawberry perched on its rim. She leaned forward suddenly, chin coming to rest in her palm "Does the fake humble guy act work on most girls?"

Blond brows shot toward Naruto's hairline at the abrupt switch in conversation. "What if it's not an act?"

Ino stared at him, a lazy, lopsided grin turning her half lidded gaze into something both inviting and predatory. "Then you're just boring instead of lying to everyone else. Either way it's not doing you any favors."

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit into his beer, incredulous. "Guess you haven't changed much either. Still trying to tell me what to do."

"I give very good advice."

"Then I'll be sure to take it under advisement."

"Oh good, you're coachable." She leaned back, cocking her head to gaze at him sideways. "And here I was about to be disappointed."

"Well we can't have that, now can we?"

Ino smirked. "It wouldn't be nearly as much fun for you. I knew you couldn't be boring though."

"And what makes you say that? I could surprise you. God knows I don't do this much," he said, gesturing around them to indicate what 'this' was.

"Going to bars doesn't make you interesting."

Naruto mirrored her pose, cocking his head to the side. "Then you've lost me completely."

Her lips peeled back lazily into a grin, seafoam eyes glittering with something Naruto wanted to call amusement. "You don't wanna be here. You put on a good show, but I can tell. You're not comfortable around people, and not just 'cause you're worried about calling some girl you haven't seen in six years a bitch. Now you're former ANBU, so being a bit awkward isn't unexpected. But most people with your type of experience don't bother coming out at all. The fact that you're here despite not wanting to be, knowing no one, that's interesting."

"Maybe I'm just trying to be more social," he quipped. It was the truth, after all.

Ino shrugged. "Sure. Still a step up from most former ANBU."

"You hang out with many of us?"

The grin returned. "One or two, when they come out of hiding. They're just as boring as everyone else, just with a better reason for it."

Naruto felt himself smirk. "So why are you here talking to me, then?"

"Aside from what I just said?" At his nod she continued, "You saved my life. Feel like it's not that weird for me to wanna see how you're doing."

"It's not," he said hastily, not wanting her to think he thought she was odd. "It's just…you don't owe me anything, you know? You never did."

"Except my life," she laughed. "I see how it is, though. You clearly don't wanna talk to me, so…" Ino's legs uncrossed and she rose abruptly, drink in hand.

"No I do!" Naruto burst out, raising his hands defensively. He felt heat rise to his cheeks as she grinned down at him. She's playing with you, dumbass. He took a healthy swig of his beer, nearly finishing it. I really need to get out more.

She leaned against the table, putting her almost empty drink back down. "You're cute when you're flustered," she told him.

"Glad you think so," he managed. "That makes one of us."

"If I could go back and take a picture of your face when you called me Bitch, I would."

He snorted, embarrassment fading away to nothingness at long last. "I'm suddenly not sure I was wrong when I said it."

"Oh, you weren't, don't worry. Still, was pretty uncool calling me out in front of my friends like that. I've got a reputation to maintain."

"Have any ideas how I can possibly make it up to you?" Naruto deadpanned. "Thought running rings around me would do the trick."

She chuckled at him. "Almost. But I've got a few ideas."

"Care to share? I've got a thing tomorrow morning and don't wanna be up all night."

"A thing? You should've told me you had something so important. I would've left you alone," she said.

Naruto snorted, casting his eyes around the bar. It was clearing out steadily, the hour growing ever later. Across the bar he could see Kiba leaned in in conversation with a raven haired girl in a chunin vest, the smile on his face two steps short of a leer. Sakura and Chouji were nowhere to be found.

"Zoning out on me?"

His lips quirked. "Not exactly patient, are you?"

"Not even slightly."

"You'd be terrible at border duty."

"You know your talent for horseshit rivals my own? I'm impressed."

He felt himself grin fully at the girl. "Had to teach us something in ANBU. And I'm still waiting on your idea on how to make it up to you."

Ino grinned as she downed the rest of her drink. "Walk a girl home? The least you could do after embarrassing me like that."

"Deal," he said without hesitating. He gulped the final two sips of his beer and rose, making for the exit as Ino laughed at him.

"Not in a hurry or anything, are you?"

"I told you I have a thing tomorrow," he told her as they exited into the warm, humid night air.

"Mind elaborating on that? I'd love to know what's making you wanna ditch me so soon," Ino said, taking the lead down Konoha's main thoroughfare. It was lit as warmly as the summer night, paper lanterns numbering in the hundreds casting an orange glow across the village.

Naruto shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's a bit hard to explain." Not like he could just up and say he was fighting some random shinobi of the Hokage's choice in order to prove himself capable enough of leading an S-ranked mission. Or maybe I could? She seems to roll with the bullshit well enough. Probably think I'm joking.

"Some jonin shit, I'm sure." She reached out and rubbed the back of her hand on his chest softly, indicating his vest.

"Something like that. What's your rank these days?" he asked, ignoring the flutter in his chest as she let her hand linger for a few moments.

"Tokubetsu specializing in ninjustu and iryo ninjutsu," Ino told him.

Naruto was surprised. Medic-nin, he thought as they turned a corner toward a more residential district. "Is iryo ninjutsu making a comeback with Tsundae-sama as Hokage?"

She shrugged. "There's more interest. Not enough if you ask me. Most of the nin old enough to see the value don't have the time or aptitude and most of the ones young enough to have time don't think it's useful."

He cast his mind back to his first tour in ANBU. He had racked up as many combat-ready techniques as he could handle. Even with his highly prized chakra control, becoming a medic-nin hadn't ever occurred to him. "Yeah I can see that."

"It is what it is. What about you? Big plans now that you're back in town?"

"Just some jonin shit." He chuckled as Ino glowered up at him. They turned down another street. "I'm not sure, really. Might put in for a team lead position."

"No genin team?" she joked.

"Oh hell no." The thought of teaching fresh out of the academy genin how to kill people very nearly made him sick. "Wouldn't know what to do with 'em."

"Hmm, I'm sure you'd be fine."

"Don't bet on it," Naruto laughed. "My sensei failed me my first day. Have no idea how to teach a genin much of anything."

"You came out just fine," Ino demurred, coming to a halt. Naruto glanced down to find her sea colored eyes locked on his. He blinked at their intensity, looking away momentarily to the building they stood in front of.

Wait a minute…They were in front of the Short-Term Barracks, where shinobi on extended-tours bunked when on leave. It was also where he was staying while the contents of his account were transferred back into his name.

"You live –"

A small hand snaking around his neck cut him off. Slim fingers threaded into his hair as Naruto found Ino's half lidded gaze once more.

"No," she said, wrapping her other arm around his neck and pulling him down. Her eyes fluttered closed as she rose to meet him, soft lips pressing against his.

Stunned, Naruto relished the feeling of her lips moving gently against his for a long moment before his mind caught up to what was happening. He shut his eyes, bringing his hands to her hips to hold her close.

Ino hummed into his mouth and her lips became more insistent. She let go of his hair and used both hands to hold him by the sides of his face, pulling them closer together. Her tongue probed his lips lightly, slipping between them as they parted in response.

Naruto started, pulling back ever-so-slightly, but Ino only let him go about an inch as she wrapped her arms about his neck again. Her eyes blinked open and she stared at him through her lashes, pupils much darker than they had been before.

"Mmm, not bad," she murmured. Naruto felt her fingers playing with the hair on the back of his head.

"Wouldn't wanna disappoint," he said hoarsely, his brain not fully caught up.

"No we wouldn't." A tiny grin split her lips as a single eyebrow quirked, managing to question everything about him. He felt his stomach swoop. "Soooo…you gonna invite me up?"

/~/

Fun times. Thanks to the DLP crew for the edits and making this chapter much better.

More to come soon.

23. What's New, Naruto?

/~/

"We should be heading back."

"The mission called for a four day trip. We've been gone three. They won't miss us."

Naruto bit back a biting retort. "We already took a detour so you could pick up some spare change. What could you possibly want to do now?"

"All money is good money, baby-ANBU. Your village ain't paying me enough to give a shit about mission deadlines," Zabuza told him. The tall man grinned down at him, his signature bandages absent. "'Sides, think you'll like what I've got planned."

They were in a tiny border village in Taki no Kuni, returning from a mission that had seen an Iwa supply caravan obliterated to a man. Among it had been a B-ranked chunin with a twelve-thousand ryo bounty on his head. The former Swordsman hadn't wasted any time finding the nearest bounty station in order to claim the money for himself.

"Somehow I doubt that," the blond grumbled. Zabuza may not haven't given a damn about his captain's orders, but he sure did. It was his ass on the line as an actual Konoha nin.

"Tch. Chin up, brat. I'm actually in a good mood for once and feeling generous. You managed to not be completely useless in spite of your substandard training."

"I seem to remember having more kills than you." How does Haku deal with this asshole? Naruto wondered, and not for the first time. The demon's apprentice managed to be one of the nicest people he'd ever met in spite of the circumstances. That he had one of the cruelest shinobi on the continent for a mentor just added to the mystery.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder, steering him toward one of the numerous dilapidated buildings that made up the miniscule village. "Exactly why I'm feeling generous."

"And here I thought you enjoyed slaughter," Naruto quipped as they approached what was apparently a tea house.

"The beauty of killing is savoring it. The fear in their eyes when they realize they're about to die. You can't rush it." For a moment the Kiri nuke-nin sounded almost wistful. The blond would've shivered if he hadn't heard it all before.

"I'll take your word for it. We're getting tea?" he asked dubiously. "Not how I pictured your post-mission celebration."

The door slid open, revealing a girl not much older than Naruto himself dressed in a pale blue kimono. She smiled brightly at them despite the ragged state of Naruto's clothes and the cleaver on Zabuza's back. "Welcome, gentlemen! Will you be joining us this afternoon?"

"Yes. No reservation," the former kiri-nin grunted. The girl's smile slipped slightly, and he continued, "The matron knows me."

The smile returned, though lacking in confidence. "Of course, sir. If you would just give me one moment, please."

A blond brow quirked. "Know the matron, huh?" What kinda tea house is this?

"I do. And you'd stop questioning me if you knew what was good for you, boy."

"Tea?"

The former swordsman whirled on him, but before he could say anything the door slid open once more.

"It's been some time, Zabuza-sama," said a woman Naruto assumed was the matron. She was tall, taller than Naruto at least, and wore a deep crimson kimono that fit loosely about her shoulders and shifted as she moved. Light makeup covered her face, highlighting high cheekbones and glimmering honey brown eyes that matched her hair. "What brings such an illustrious man back to this part of the world?"

"Business," Zabuza grunted. "I understand it's short notice–"

"It's no problem," the matron cut him off before Naruto could marvel at the noticeable contrition in Zabuza's voice. "You know you're always welcome here," she purred.

The blond felt his face heat at the blatantly suggestive tone. A glance at his counterpart revealed nothing but a tiny, razor sharp grin that could've put kubikiribocho's edge to shame. Yeah I'm definitely missing something.

"Will your companion be joining you?" The smile the older woman leveled at him was certainly welcoming even as her eyes looked him up and down. Naruto's stomach tumbled as she winked at him.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what exactly he was planning to say, when Zabuza beat him to it. "He is. That gonna be a problem?" There wasn't a hint of threat in his tone, but Naruto still felt it should've cowed a civilian – especially one who apparently knew who he was.

"Anything for you, Zabuza-sama," the matron demurred. She stepped aside, allowing them entrance.

Walking in, the shop smelled like an oasis. Taki was sparsely populated as far as nations went; nature ran wild among the waterfalls. Kusa was even worse, nothing but swamplands and marsh as far as Naruto had seen. The shop, whatever it was, was a breath of civilization amidst the wilderness, the first he'd experienced since leaving Konoha. Faint scents of lavender and eucalyptus greeted his nostrils and, unbidden, he felt some tension leave his shoulders.

"Prepare the usual," Zabuza said.

"Not in the mood for something new? It's been so long…"

"Just the usual."

The matron sighed, though Naruto could tell she was simply playing along. "We are all creatures of habit, I suppose." A snap of her fingers brought a serving girl to their side so quickly the blond suspected a body flicker. "Take Zabuza-sama upstairs. And fetch Ai-chan."

The girl bowed to the matron before turning a blinding smile on the two shinobi. "If you would please come with me, sir."

Zabuza dropped a hand to his utility pouch, rummaged, withdrew a wad of ryo, and tossed it at Naruto's face. "Here, kid. And don't say I never did anything for ya."

The blond plucked the money from the air on reflex, noting that it was from the recent bounty pickup. "Thanks…I think."

Zabuza said nothing, for the serving girl was already leading him away, leaving Naruto on his own with the matron. What the fuck am I doing here? he asked himself as his heartrate picked up involuntarily.

"What is your name?" she asked him, her voice no longer sultry, but soothing.

He hesitated a moment, considering. "Naruto," he said. If she knows Zabuza, can't be too much harm in it.

"I am Shoko, Naruto-kun." She bowed formally and he hastened to copy her. "Is this your first time?"

"Here? Yes."

Shoko smiled, her eyes twinkling, and for the first time Naruto felt she looked matronly, rather than alluring. "I know. I remember every man that walks through my door. I meant," she leaned in slightly, her tone mischievous, "is it your first time?"

Reality asserted itself, his situational awareness returning after being thoroughly bamboozled by the shop's ambiance and the matron's shifting personality – never mind Zabuza's weird behavior. His eyes flickered about the room, warmly lit as it was, taking in the sight of three men in separate corners being attended to by very attractive women. Each woman wore a kimono looser fitting than Shoko's own, the silk sliding up and down their bodies with the slightest movement. One of the men reached out, grasping the woman attending him by the chin and pulling her close as she giggled.

Oh. "…yes," Naruto managed, doing his best not to sound choked. His already elevated heartrate rose higher at the sudden implications of exactly where he was.

"Mmm, I thought so. How old are you, dear?"

For a moment, torn between horror and excitement, Naruto considered lying. "Fifteen," he said, truthfully.

"Almost a man, and no less handsome for it." Shoko's eyes moved from blue eyes to sun colored hair that he knew was a rarity anywhere in the world, let alone Taki. Her hands clapped together excitedly. "A rite of passage, how special!"

She turned suddenly, her head swiveling, clearly looking for someone. She snapped her fingers once more and Naruto felt a pulse that nearly made him jump, as jittery as he was. She used chakra!

Across the room, a willowy woman in a forest green kimono rose and hastened over. "Felt that?" Shoko asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "I was a genin in Takigakure a lifetime ago."

"What brings you all the way out here?" Naruto asked around a gulp as the summoned woman approached.

"I didn't like killing." The willowy woman stopped in front of them, bowing low. She had hair the color of midnight and, as she rose, Naruto caught eyes the color of freshly bloomed violets. "Kyoko-chan, this is Naruto."

"A pleasure, Naruto-sama," Kyoko said, bowing once more. She smiled as she rose again and Naruto felt she couldn't have been more than five years older than him. Makeup lighter than the matron's own dusted her face, not that she needed it. The blond was confident she was most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"Jus-just Naruto, please," he stammered, the honorific making him deeply uncomfortable. Kyoko's smile only widened.

"It's his first time," the matron told the younger woman. You don't have to just say it outright… "Please take care of him."

"Of course, Shoko-sama." Kyoko turned to Naruto fully, holding out her hand. "If you would please come with me, Naruto-kun."

It wasn't a question. Blue eyes glanced at the matron. She only smiled beatifically at him. Get your shit together, Naruto.

Turning back to Kyoko, he took her hand and allowed himself to be led.

/~/

Is it poor form to think about another woman at a time like this? Naruto wondered. Dawn's first rays poked their way through the thin blinds of his current residence, but he'd been awake for some time.

Ino was faced away from him, still blissfully asleep, her platinum colored hair a halo about her head in the early morning glow. He reached out, letting his fingers lightly brush the silky strands that he'd thoroughly mussed hours before.

Yeah, probably, he told himself, withdrawing from memories of Kyoko. He'd visited her a few times after Zabuza had tossed him unceremoniously into a world of women that weren't trying to kill him, but hadn't spared her a thought since the war's end. Wonder if she even remembers me.

He tossed the warm memories to the side, thoughts turning to his companion. Naruto felt himself smile. Definitely unexpected. He was utterly unused to sharing a bed with anyone else and had slept little, but couldn't bring himself to care, regardless of his upcoming test. Sleep was a luxury he had been seldom afforded in Kusa.

That said…A thought formed a water clone that immediately set about gathering his gear. He wasn't an expert, but leaving someone in bed you'd slept with seemed a bit uncouth. Wraps, senbon, fukimi-bari, shuriken, he ticked off in his head. He couldn't exactly tailor his approach, but he'd be relying on chakra most of all anyway. Anyone Tsunade bothered to throw at him wouldn't be cowed by traditional weapons anyway.

Wonder who it'll be…If not for Ino's sudden appearance, he'd no doubt have spent most of the night attempting to guess at his opponent. His knowledge of Konoha's elites was woefully out of date, but he still knew some names. Maybe Kakashi.

At one time, the thought of going toe-to-toe with his former sensei would've left him giddy with anticipation. At this point it was just one more step in the right direction.

The slightest hitch in Ino's breathing alerted him a moment before a hand brushed his leg underneath the thin sheet. Naruto turned to his left, meeting seafoam eyes that were as alert as his own. "Good morning," he said, smiling.

"'Morning, handsome," his fellow blonde greeted. Her voice was husky despite the alertness of her eyes, and Naruto felt a pleasant warmth spread through him. "Been up long?"

He shook his head. "Not very," he lied.

"Mmm, and here I thought I tired you out last night." She stretched languidly, her arms to the sky. They dropped back a moment later, a hand threading its way into Naruto's hair.

"Oh you did," he hastily assured her.

Ino only chuckled. "You really have no idea how to flirt, do you?"

"Not a clue," he confirmed, not the least bit embarrassed.

"Good thing you're cute." She pushed herself into a sitting position, uncaring of the sheet falling down and exposing her naked chest. Naruto mimicked her as his clone strode into the room, hands full of supplies for his fight. A well-manicured brow rose as she glanced to him, her lips set in a teasing smirk. "Kinky, but I thought you had a thing?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'd kill for a glass of water."

He barely withheld a smirk. He reached out with his hand facing downward before turning it toward the ceiling theatrically. The temperature dropped suddenly as the air's water particles rapidly froze. The coalesced upwards from his outstretched fingers, widening at the top into a facsimile of a glass. Water filled it with a thought, and he handed it to Ino without a word.

She blinked as she took it, staring down into the crystal clear water with a hint of wonder. She took a small sip and her lips quirked upwards. "And here it though you had no moves. How high does my water affinity need to be to learn this little trick?"

"Fairly."

"Bummer. Guess I may have to keep you around after all."

"Gotta be good at something, right?"

Ino winked at him. "Don't sell yourself short. You did pretty good."

Naruto snorted. "High praise. That bad, huh?"

She snagged the back of his neck, pulling them together. Her lips, chilled from the water, met his greedily. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, grasping it lightly with her teeth as she pulled back a moment later. It was let go with a small 'pop' and Ino grinned. "I meant what I said. Now don't get me wrong," she told him. "We've got some work to do, but you're far from hopeless."

He chuckled, tossing the sheet back and getting to his feet. "We?" he asked, popping his back gloriously. His clone tossed him a pair of underwear which he slipped into. "You volunteering for something?"

"We'll see about that." He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of movement. Dancer's legs carried Ino from the bed to the haphazard pile of her clothes, pale blonde hair gleaming in the morning sunlight contrasting sharply with her tanned skin. He took a moment and let himself stare. "See something you like?" she called.

"You're gorgeous," he said on reflex. Heat rose to his cheeks at the blunt truth.

"You're not so bad yourself." Ino pulled a bra on and turned to face him with a smile. "But thanks, douchebag."

"Got somewhere to be?" he asked.

"Mid-shift at the hospital starts in a few hours. And don't you have somewhere to be?"

Point. His clone handed him more clothes, black pants and a forest green t-shirt, which he donned quickly. "Can I ask you something?"

"I mean you just did…"

Naruto rolled his eyes again. "Why'd you…you know," he said lamely, gesturing.

"Why'd I what?" she teased. Her tongue was caught between her teeth as she grinned cheekily at him.

Who needs shame? "Have sex with me," he said, discarding his hesitance. His clone handed him a roll of bandages and dispersed into a fine mist.

"Do I need a reason?" Ino asked, cocking her head.

Naruto shrugged. "Just curious."

"Not used to women wanting to fuck you?"

He snorted. "Used to them wanting to kill me."

"Well you haven't done anything too egregious yet. And I already forgave you for calling me a bitch, so you don't have to worry about me tryna stab you any time soon."

"Can I get that in writing?"

She smiled, eyes gleaming. "Look at you learning how to talk to a woman. There's hope for you yet."

"Weren't you leaving?"

"I was, wasn't I?" Ino grabbed her sandals from where they had been unceremoniously tossed and padded toward him. "I find you compelling," she told him as she invaded his personal space.

I've been called worse, I guess. "Thanks, I think."

"Don't mention it." She pecked him on the lips, taking a second to smirk at him from a few inches away. "I had fun. Don't be a stranger. Though maybe wait until you have your own place…"

"Not a fan of the barracks?"

"I don't have much shame, but I do know a few people who rotate in and outta here. I like to keep my private life private."

He nodded, catching the serious undertone. "I'll remember that."

"Good boy." She kissed his lips lightly again before slipping past toward the door. "And good luck on your thing today. Whatever it is."

Naruto grinned. "Gotta fight an S-class ninja. Hokage's orders," he called.

"Mhm. Jonin shit. Got it." And, having tossed that over her shoulder, Ino spared him one last smile before opening the door and seeing herself out.

He stood in place for a few moments, smiling. A chuckle forced its way up from the bottom of his stomach and he was soon laughing almost uncontrollably.

"Well…" he told himself after a few seconds. "Welcome home, I guess."

Maybe being back wouldn't be so bad after all.

/~/

"Hokage-sama."

"You're early."

Naruto kept himself from shrugging. He still wasn't used to displaying decorum and habits were hard to break. "Is now a bad time?"

Tsunade apparently had no such issues with decorum as she shrugged her way out of her chair. "Not at all. Follow me."

She strode around him and tossed open the double doors he had entered through not a minute before. He hastened to follow. Well at least I won't be waiting around.

Tsunade cut a swath through the early morning bustle of the administrative building. The crowding was far from obscene, but shinobi were still everywhere. Cries of "Hokage-sama!" rang out as they passed, the Godaime either sparing a short nod, usually to jonin, a smile, to genin teams, or not acknowledging the reverence at all.

How do you get used to it? Naruto wondered, not failing to notice the looks that fell upon him as he walked in Tsunade's shadow. He'd had a small reputation before his deployment, but it had topped out at the occasional well wish from veterans. Best figure it out, he told himself. That'll be you someday. He shook off the discomfort at his mission's end goal.

They entered the main staircase and walked upward. The throng disappeared the moment they began to ascend – the Hokage's office was on the top floor and most rank and file shinobi had no use for the administrative building's roof. Fresh air greeted Naruto for the second time that morning as they emerged into the sunlight.

His lips twitched as four chakra presences immediately surrounded them. Hello, Sigma squad. They appeared on silent feet, cloaked in grey, only the carefully controlled chakra of their body flicker's giving them away before they arrived. They were the Hokage's personal guard, handpicked by the sitting Hokage themselves.

"At ease," Tsunade commanded. She turned to him, holding out her arm. "If you will."

He took her arm, doing his best not to look confused. "We'll be back within the hour," she told the ANBU. The Hokage formed a half ram seal, the rooftop glowed purple for a split second, and Naruto suddenly felt like he was being squeezed through a tube.

An iron vice gripped his ribs hard enough he could hear phantom cracks. His ears popped as his vision whited out, but just as suddenly it was over. He blinked his eyes open and was greeted by a clearing in the middle of a cavern.

"Welcome to the Hokage's training ground," Tsundae told him. "My grandfather felt that practicing out in the open training grounds would be unnecessarily destructive, so he and his brother built this."

It was a crater nearly one thousand meters in diameter. Grass as green as Konoha's leaves in summer blanketed the ground, nourished by the sun that filtered in from what was the largest natural skylight Naruto had ever seen. You could fit a meteor through that, he mused, staring upward. The walls were oddly sloped from what he could see, smoothly curved edges leading up from the clearing clearly the result of some jutsu.

"I'm honored," Naruto said, meaning it.

"If you're as good as you think you are, being away from the general shinobi populace is probably a good thing."

You're not wrong. "Are we in the mountain?"

Tsunade smiled. "Good eye. It used to be a bit more obvious, but it underwent some…renovations about eighteen years ago."

"It's a lot of space, even for a kage," he remarked. A chakra presence at the fringe of his awareness almost made him smile. Well at least this'll be fun.

"It used to be about a fifth the size. Still large enough to be spacious, but nothing crazy. Then the Yondaime sent one of the Kyuubi's chakra blasts back here…"

Naruto blinked. "Sent?"

"Some space-time jutsu of his. Kept the thing from obliterating most of the village so we can't really complain now can we?"

"Guess not," he murmured. "He can come out now, if we're ready."

Full lips that should've belonged to a younger woman turned upward. The Godaime shrugged. "Don't hold back on my account. I can take care of myself."

Naruto smirked even as he whirled in place. A fukimi-bari exploded out of his mouth faster than the eye could track, wind chakra removing all air resistance as it hurtled across the cavern. A single 'ping' heralded the end of Jiraiya's cloaking technique as the Sannin lowered his custom forehead protector to keep the needle from taking him through the neck. The force of the projectile pushed his weight back onto his heels and his eyes went wide for a moment, but Naruto was already upon him.

The blonde exited his body flicker with his arm outstretched, ice crystals materializing instantaneously across it, and slammed into the older man in a brutal clothesline. A spray of blood left the man's mouth an instant before his body detonated in an explosion that rocked the cavern's walls.

A carefully manicured blonde eyebrow rose as Naruto materialized from a haze. "Appreciate you not wasting time," Tsunade quipped before she hopped away.

Jiraiya appeared roughly twenty feet from the now lone blond, a grin firmly affixed. "Helluva sucker punch!" he complimented. He stood casually, but Naruto didn't doubt he was ready to spring at a moment's notice.

He mirrored Jiraiya's grin, real excitement pumping through his veins. "I'm a bit offended you sent a clone. You ready to take this seriously?"

"Tch. Try to keep up, kid."

The grin left Naruto's face as the Sannin blurred forward at speeds he didn't think the large man capable of. He's fast! A geta clad foot connected with his face to the sound of shattering glass. The blond let himself be spun around by the blow, the ice that had taken the brunt of the blow falling in shards from his face, and used the momentum to crash a straight kick to Jiraiya's chest.

The Sannin slid back about two feet and Naruto winced, tasting blood. Like kicking a goddamn wall. He sped through three quick seals and reached out with his chakra to ensnare the older man in a sensory genjutsu. Blue eyes widened as it simply slid off. That wasn't a genjutsu break, he thought, a seal-less kawarimi helping him avoid Jiraiya's lightning fast follow up. The log he substituted with was reduced to sawdust by the force of the Sannin's punch, and Naruto was forced to duck as his advanced senses warned him of an incoming blow with enough power to take his head off.

Ok, new strategy. He drew into himself in the space between seconds, bringing every ounce of his focus to bear. The blond reached out, snatching the still extended clone's ankle from mid-air with a hand encased in ice. He pivoted hard, chakra suffusing his muscles as he leveraged the airborne Sannin and slammed him into the ground with a grunt.

The body disappeared in a puff of smoke – Kage bunshin. Naruto spun swiftly, ice materializing at the speed of thought as he caught a roundhouse kick on his left forearm. Their eyes locked for a moment before the blond rotated and landed straight punch to the Sannin's chest that sent the older man careening into the cavern's wall.

He blasted forward, covering the distance in an instant, and drove his ice covered fist into the stone where Jiraiya's head had been a moment before. He avoided the Sannin's kidney punch by spinning to his right and turned snapped his left fist out in a brutal backhand. Jiraiya grunted as the ice encased hand caught him across the face and hopped back, but Naruto didn't give him time to make space.

Gotta stay close! He batted a counterpunch away with his left arm before using the same hand to jab Jiraiya in the right cheek. Naruto landed a heavy punch to the man's chest, ducked a wide haymaker that would've caved his skull in, and slammed his left fist into the Sannin's torso.

Naurto felt himself smile as Jiraiya disappeared in a shunshin, moving quickly to match him. The Sannin had half a head and at least forty pounds of muscle on him, but he was used to fighting bigger, stronger opponents. And while the legendary man didn't seem to be hampered by the usual speed deficit, his longer limbs still made him vulnerable if Naruto didn't let him extend.

A displacement of the air's water particles made him come out of his body flicker a split second early. He stopped, dodging a chakra laden punch to his sternum by a hair's breadth, and went to work. His left foot came up to kick at Jiraiya's still-extended left arm, but instead of kicking it away, ice crystalized outward form his foot, encasing the Sannin's hand. Naruto let his leg drop, Jiraiya's hand going with it to the ground and driving him to his knees.

He spun again, the ice gauntlet on his right hand expanding into a flat mallet that he slammed into the Sannin's face. Ice cracked and shattered as Naruto's hold on Jiraiya's arm was broken violently, the older man sent careening away with the force of the blow.

Naruto felt the air behind him become superheated just as Jiraiya's airborne form disappeared in smoke. He slapped his hands together and water exploded into existence around him. Suiton: Suijinheki!

Water and fire met with a crash, steam billowing, but Naruto didn't have a moment to turn it to his advantage. He leapt away from a sharp, white construct that cut through the ensuing haze. He strafed to his left, eyes tracking the snake-like jutsu as it changed course to follow him. Are those teeth? he wondered. He glanced to where his senses told him Jiraiya stood, tracking the odd technique back to…his hair? Interesting.

The Sannin grinned a bloody grin as Naruto landed, his hair barreling toward him. Naruto strafed left, avoiding the hair as it snapped its teeth at him, but cursed, realizing his mistake. The white hair immediately doubled back, encircling him, and he immediately substituted out of the kill zone as hundreds of needles peppered the spot he had occupied.

Must've gotten sick of taijutsu. He's maneuvering me. Naruto rolled away form a glob of oil that nearly caught him as he came out of the substitution. A thought formed a six inch thick sheet of ice in front of him to block the blast of fire that tried to cook him alive. Enough of that, he thought, but even as it crossed his mind, the Sannin blurred into his blind spot.

Four hand seals and a stomp later saw a rippling wave of earth rumbling toward him at speed. The resulting mini-quake almost cost Naruto his footing, but he regained it in time to jump out of the way as the earth rose up and a dozen spikes burst forth to impale him. That's a new one…

He darted around the Sannin, chaining two body flickers together to reach his opponent's blind spot in the blink of an eye. Snake-dragon -suiton: suidanha! The severing wave sped from Naruto's mouth at the older man's exposed back but not fast enough. The blond withheld a curse as, instead of moving, Jiraiya simply dropped to all fours to avoid the jutsu, rotating in his direction as he did.

Tiny needles exploded toward him once more as Jiraiya's hair lengthened, but Naruto paid them no heed. The air around him froze instantaneously, coating him from head to toe in a suit of armor. He didn't even blink as dozens of needles peppered him, the ice just flexible enough for him to make a bird seal.

Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu!

"Ha!" Jiraiya laughed, hopping backwards even as swirling tidal waves exploded from nothing. Naruto grinned as his eyes caught the seals. And here's where the fun begins. A plume of smoke exploded in front of the Sannin, and Naruto's suiton jutsu crashed into a massive shield the shape of a sake saucer.

His great waterfall parted around a magenta colored toad that stared down at him through mustard-yellow eyes. Naruto's jutsu, large enough to concuss and sweep away a twenty man platoon, barely reached above the towering toad's legs.

Jiraiya appeared on the summon's head and the blond bared his teeth, dodging the downward stroke of a sasumata by blasting forward in a body flicker. The spiked weapon imbedded meters deep in the cavernous rock, but Naruto paid it no heed as he reappeared underneath the toad's belly. His fingers blurred as he sped through a familiar set of seals, bit his right thumb, and slammed his palm to the ground.

Kuchiyose no jutsu!

Smoke exploded and his body rose rapidly, Honosuke's blood red form tossing Jiraiya's summon skyward. "Jiraiya of the Sannin. My father will be irritated you didn't summon him personally, Naruto."

"Figured he'd want Gamabunta or nothing."

"And you bring me out for a lesser foe?" Honosuke asked. A white hot gout of flame left his mouth not a moment later, arcing toward the still airborne toad. "I should be insulted."

Naruto smiled, even as Jiraiya's summon managed to block the worst of the jutsu. "I can apologize later. Mind helping me pin him down?"

"Let's turn up the heat."

The blonde's grin turned feral as Jiraiya and his mount leapt down toward them. Honosuke blurred away in a shunshin and reappeared a dozen meters from the magenta toad. Flames leapt form the salamander's mouth as the toad charged, met in the middle by a water bullet that cut through them with ease. Honosuke ducked, letting the jutsu pass harmlessly overhead and Naruto sped through seals.

He coopted the toad's bullet before it could splash against the cavern wall, vaporizing it into a cloud of superheated steam. Focus as sharp as a blade, Naruto's chakra shaped the steam into a shark's head big enough to engulf each of the massive summons and sent it tearing back at Jiraiya.

The toad hopped left but the Sannin went right. "Watch for a pincer."

"The man is the bigger threat," Honosuke responded, whipping his tail at the massive toad even as he turned to keep Jiraiya in sight.

"You sure about that? Down!" Naruto barked. His awareness saved them in time as the fire salamander managed to duck under the toad's shield as it sliced through the air at them, spinning like a frisbee. It careened off the ground in front of them, harmless, but Naruto grimaced as the sasumata came down heavily behind them, the long, spiked tines pinning Honosuke's tail.

The salamander roared in fury and pain. He wriggled forward violently, tail popping off his body with a sickening squelch and a spray of blood. Naruto's hands clapped and the temperature spiked as he transmuted the air's water particles into steam. Tiger-ox-dog-rabbit-snake-fuuton: daitoppa! He reared back and expelled the great breakthrough from his mouth, pushing the superheated air into the toad.

Another blast of flame left Honosuke's mouth and was immediately fanned by Naruto's wind jutsu. a wall of fire joined the steam, engulfing it for a moment before it disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Too little too late, Naruto thought less than a second later as he was forced to duck Jiraiya's hair once more. It crisscrossed and wrapped around Honosuke's body, tightening suddenly to bring the summon down to the ground with a crash. They began sinking a moment later, and Naruto spied Jiraiya behind them, hands held to the ground.

The earth beneath them transformed into a reddish brown sludge that dragged the suddenly immobile Honosuke down. "The swamp of the underworld," the fire salamander growled. "My apologies, Naruto."

The blond winced. "No worries, Honosuke. Give my best to your father."

The salamander said nothing further, simply disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Naruto ran through seals as he fell – dai bakushui shoha – and tidal waves exploded below him. He landed on a rising swell as the mud was washed away to nothingness.

Jiraiya stood casually upon the roiling waves, grinning from ear to ear. "You've got some moves, kid! I'll give ya that!" he yelled over the cacophony of crashing water.

"You're getting slow, old man!" Naruto called back. The Sannin hopped adroitly over two hands made from the water below that made for his ankles and the blond sprinted forward. He turned the water Jiraiya stood upon to ice just before he reached him, and was rewarded with a slip.

Naruto caught the older man with a flying knee to the sternum that sent him flying. Jiraiya righted himself in mid-air in time to block Naruto's follow up kick with his forearm. The Sannin turned the block into a grab, rotating backward to draw the blond toward him. An open palm smashed into Naruto's chest that sent him plunging into the depths below with the wind knocked out of him.

Regaining his equilibrium after a moment, Naruto readied his chakra for his next offensive, but paused. Distantly, his senses extended as they were, he could feel a presence building. What on earth? he thought, trying to figure out how to describe it. It was distant, yet close; powerful, yet not threatening. It was almost familiar, like an idea he'd once had that slipped through his fingers like water. It didn't feel like chakra, Naruto realized. No, it feels like when I'm meditating. Whatever the energy was, it was strangely calming.

His instincts asserted themselves a moment later. Good job wasting time, idiot, he chided himself.

The surface of his manmade lake was aflame. Must've coated it in oil. Crafty bastard. Guess the Sannin live up to their reputation.

It was a good thing he still had a couple tricks up his sleeve.

Pushing his chakra outward, he froze great swaths of water around him and sent them hurtling toward the surface. Powering himself up, he froze the water directly above his head and latched on to the bottom before sending it up.

He broke the surface a second later and shot skyward. Acrid smoke from the burning oil welcomed him as he breathed, scanning for his adversary. He found him standing upon one of the ice shafts, arms crossed, staring up at him. The blood-red lines that traced from his eyes down to his jawline had been altered, two more lines leading from underneath his eyes and intersecting the others, creating small boxes.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as his projectile fell back to earth. He leveraged himself upward so that he was on the top side as it landed atop the burning surface and faced Jiraiya plainly. The fire was slowly but surely eating through the ice upon which he stood, not that the Sannin looked concerned. He looked utterly at ease, seemingly thrilled at whatever challenge Naruto was posing.

Their eyes locked through the acrid smoke, but Jiraiya said nothing, content to observe. He's stalling for something, Naruto realized. He dropped to a knee suddenly, palms flat to the ice. Hissatsu Hyōsō!

Great spikes of ice converged on Jiraiya's position, forcing the older man up and away toward a section of water that wasn't on fire. Naruto met him there, lashing out with ice covered fists once more. His first punch was blocked easily, the Sannin content to grin at him. Blue eyes narrowed as he caught a punch in return, ice wrapping around the fist captive in his hand.

"Got any other tricks? This one's starting to get played out," Jiraiya taunted. He pulled back violently, pure strength seeing his hand freed, and he lashed out with a snap kick to Naruto's chest.

The blond flipped back to avoid the worst of it, landed, and sprang forward. The Sannin strafed to his left to avoid a dropping heel, but Naruto was one step ahead. He cast his right arm out, narrowing his eyes for a suspended moment as he focused hard. The temperature dropped just as Jiraiya's eyes widened, and the older man moved to make space.

The smell of ozone reached his nostril a split second before thunder 'boomed', his bolt of lightning arcing towards the Sannin faster than the eye could track. He reappeared half a dozen meters away, his right arm hanging limply at his side.

Naruto's lips twitched. Control's getting better, he thought as he moved to capitalize on his opportunity. Jiraiya, suddenly on the back foot, sprang backward away from him into a body flicker. The blond followed without hesitation, exiting his own shunshin a blink after the Sannin and launching an ice-enhanced haymaker at the laboring man.

Jiraiya blocked it hastily with his good arm, grimaced, and disappeared into high speed motion once more. Naruto didn't follow him, the slowdown in combat giving him a precious moment to feel the world around him. His awareness told him where the Sannin would appear, and a seal sent a rapidly freezing water bullet at the space.

The older man appeared in the jutsu's path less than a split second later, eyes wide. Naruto tensed, ready to spring, when the sound of chakra grinding upon itself met his ears. His jutsu exploded into miniscule shards that might as well have been snowflakes.

Jiraiya stood behind it, good arm outstretched, a glowing blue ball of chakra whirling in his hand. That's not a defensive jutsu…

Senses still extended, Naruto had a moment of warning as the strange energy from before returned. It's below me! he realized suddenly. He dropped to a knee, the air around his right hand freezing for a moment before crackling lightning appeared. He plunged his hand down into the water, pouring chakra into a charge that would electrocute anything beneath the surface.

The energy disappeared for a second, but Naruto's triumph lasted only a moment.

It returned a split second later and Jiraiya laughed. "Good thought, kid. But too little too late." Blue eyes widened as the Sannin's face morphed. His nose widened and flattened as his eyes narrowed, the pupils transforming into something altogether inhuman. Warts spread across his face as fingers and toes stretched and became webbed.

Naruto tensed, the strange energy now coming firmly from the man across from him. Definitely similar to what I've felt before. But what is it?

He didn't have time to contemplate further as Jiraiya leapt for him faster than ever before. Naruto dove out of the way of the glowing ball as the Sannin thrust it toward him, the sheer ambient chakra making his hair stand on end.

The blond rolled along the surface of the water, laying his palms flat. Twin tendrils of ice arose and wrapped around Jiraiya's shins, attempting to hold him in place. The older man just grinned and pulled his left leg free with sheer force. Two more tendrils rose to grab his arms before he could free the other leg, pulling them apart with the strength of Naruto's chakra.

Jiraiya bared his teeth, fighting the hold, and Naruto's eyes went wide as his ice began to crack. A straight break I can understand, but he's got no leverage! How can he be that strong?

The Sannin yelled in exertion just before the ice tendrils shattered into nothingness. His arms, both fully functioning somehow, came to rest at his side, the glowing ball of chakra still grinding away in his left hand.

Naruto brought his chakra to bear, ready to throw everything he had at the suddenly inhuman man, when a voice cut in.

"That's enough!" Tsunade boomed. She reappeared at Naruto's side and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I've seen everything I need to and then some."

Across from them, Jiraiya sagged. "Maaa, but it was just getting good, hime!" he croaked loudly, for that was what his voice sounded like. A webbed foot stomped petulantly.

"Any more and one of you is going to end up dead, and then what use are you, hmm?" the Hokage countered sternly. Her former teammate just sighed. The chakra ball disappeared with a pop of suppressed chakra and whatever jutsu he had been using began to rapidly recede from his face, leaving nothing but a pout in its wake.

"You know you shouldn't tease me like this," Jiraiya said, voice back to normal. He strode easily across the water's surface toward the blond duo.

"You'll live." Smiling slightly, the Godaime turned to Naruto. "Think it goes without saying, but the team's yours. He may be a perv but Jiraiya's as tough as it gets. I was skeptical, but I think you've got what it takes."

Naruto blinked, taken aback at the abrupt address. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I won't fail you."

"Course you won't, kid," Jiraiya told him as he came to a stop. He reached a thick forearm out and Naruto grasped it. "Damn good fight. Haven't been pushed like that in years."

Looks like all that work with Nagato and Itachi is paying off. "Thank you. Was a lot of fun."

"All understatement I see," the older man boomed. He turned to Tsunade. "You need him? Now that I think of it, the kid and I were supposed grab drinks after the committee meeting until you decided to make off with him."

Honey brown eyes rolled. "He's all yours. Naruto, report to my office tomorrow at ten a.m. sharp. We'll speak to start putting together this team of yours."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Naruto felt the rush of victory. As curious as he was to see who as the better, he had accomplished his goal.

Jiraiya grinned down at him. "Whaddya say, kid? Up for round two? It's on me."

Naruto mirrored him. "Lead the way."

/~/

"Thank you, Yoko-chan," Jiraiya said as the serving girl dropped off their drinks. A saucer of something smoking for the Sannin, a plebian beer for Naruto.

"Cheers to a great fight," the older man toasted, raising his glass.

"Cheers." They clinked drinks and took a sip.

"Ahhh, that's the good stuff. Still think you shoulda let me buy you something better than that piss water, but that's your loss."

Naruto smiled. "I'm not much of a drinker, Jiraiya-sama –"

"Just Jiraiya. Appreciate the flattery, but I prefer it from women only." He tossed Naruto a wink and a grin that left no ambiguity.

The blond snorted. "Jiraiya then."

"Much better. Last I checked they made good soju in Kusa. Didn't get your hands on any of it?"

Naruto leaned back at the sudden reference to his time at war. His back sunk into the plush cushion of that lined the corner booth they sat in, eyes darting away from his companion around the room. It was lit dimly and tinged red by the light of candles.

"It wasn't a key part of the supply chains we raided," he said at length.

"Your loss, then. You're definitely less of a robot than most of the other Root guys I've run into, but I suppose I won't bore you with small talk seeing how bad you are at it." A genuine smile cushioned the words.

"You read my file."

"I run foreign intelligence. There aren't many files I haven't read."

Naruto's lips twitched. "Well so far you're the friendliest interrogator I've run into. What did you wanna know?"

The Sannin chuckled, taking a sip of his smoking drink. "Don't take it so serious. This is more of an exchange than anything. If you're gonna be leading the team to track down my ex-teammate you'll need all the info you can get."

Point. "Mind starting there? Think I know less about Orochimaru than you do Akatsuki."

Jiraiya shrugged. "How much do you know already?"

"Not much beyond the more well-documented histories. His mission records are classified above-top secret still. Know he can summon snakes and gave Sandaime-sama a run back during the Crush," Naruto listed.

"Hmph. You could probably do with a full dossier. My knowledge of his techniques is nearly two decades outta date, but it'd be a start. I'll get it drawn up for you by day after tomorrow."

The blond nodded. "Much appreciated."

"Don't mention it, kid. He would've killed Sarutobi-sensei if I hadn't stepped in. You're good, but me and him were kicking top level shinobi around for years before you were born."

Naruto smirked. "Not exactly a ringing endorsement for my future success."

Jiraiya snorted. "I'd trust you over the rest of the jonin at this point, don't get it twisted, but taking him down – never mind alive – is a tall fucking task. Haven't met many who could do it, and I've been doing this a long time."

"Who makes the short list?"

Countenance suddenly serious, the Sannin's gaze snapped to him. He would've been taken aback were he not used to Nagato's hypnotic stares. "Hanzo and the Yondaime, off the top of my head."

Getting places. "No pressure, I guess."

"You fight like him."

It was Naruto's turn to look at his counterpart searchingly. Jiraiya, to his credit, held the gaze without flinching, not that Naruto expected anything less. Spymasters had good poker faces. "You'd know, I guess."

The older man chuckled darkly, taking a long sip of his drink. "You'd think, wouldn't you?" He averted his gaze after a moment, sighing. "Look, Naruto, you don't me all that well, but trust me when I say I'm shit at these sorts of conversations."

Naruto sunk into his seat and took a long sip. Gonna need another one… "I thought this was an intelligence meeting." His suspicions were all but confirmed – he hadn't even been looking for this information – but even as clearly uncomfortable as Jiraiya was, he wasn't in a hurry to take pity on the man.

"Guess you could call it that…" Jiraiya downed the rest of his drink and managed to put the empty saucer down gently, despite his clear agitation. "I knew your father. Trained him. Best student I ever had…"

And that's saying something, the blond thought with some dark humor, thinking of Nagato.

"I didn't…I didn't know about you, though," he continued. Raw emotion crossed the Sannin's face, not shame but actual pain that looked almost physical that made Naruto lean back. "Your records were sealed until you were presumed dead, a couple years back." A large hand combed through unruly white hair. "I –"

"Did you know my mother?" Naruto asked suddenly, unable to bear the older man's stammering. He either didn't know or is a fantastic actor…

Jiraiya started visibly, but regained a semblance of composure a moment later. "I did. In passing at least. She was a good kunoichi. A lot of heart."

Naruto smiled involuntarily, turning his eyes away from the Sannin. He basked in the warmth of imagination for a moment before drawing back to the present. His companion was staring at him with something akin to fear. "Did you know your parents?"

The white haired man blinked, thrown. "They died when I was young."

"Hmm, but you knew them. No one would ever tell me who my father was, just my mother. A single kunoichi, a refugee, who died in the Kyuubi attack." Blue eyes singled out his companion once more. "All evidence pointed to my father abandoning her, either because he didn't know or he didn't care –"

"That's not true," Jiraiya cut across him, agitated, if not at him directly. "Minato, he sealed your birth records to protect you."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure. I'm not trying to bad mouth him." He sighed, more at the situation than anything else. "He had enemies that would've tried to kill me. And it's not like I don't appreciate not being dead, but I didn't know him. I didn't know who he was. I figured out a long time ago that I wasn't going to meet him, who he was stopped mattering."

Steely eyes tried their best to hold him in place, but Naruto couldn't care less. He'd come to terms with who his father was or wasn't years ago.

"He was a good man," Jiraiya managed, eyes turning down to his empty glass, searching. "It was the angriest I've ever been with him when I found out. We've all got secrets, but…"

Naruto withheld a sigh and managed to flag down their server. "Another for both of us, please."

She scampered off, far from impervious to the mood, and the blond turned back to his companion. "When did you find out?" he asked. He clearly needs to talk about this.

The older man looked at him, eyes hooded. "'Bout two years ago. You'd been listed as KIA for maybe a month."

"No notice before that?"

Jiraiya shook his head, his shaggy white mane following him. "I'd heard of you. Just figured Kushina'd had a kid somewhere along the way."

"Tough to keep track of orphans in a ninja village, I guess." Naruto smirked as the server brought out two more drinks. "Thank you," he told her, receiving a smile in return.

"Rather." The older man took a long pull of his drink, downing half of it in a single gulp. He exhaled hard as he came up for air. "I'll be honest with you: I wanted to be the one to tell you since Minato was the closest thing I ever got to a kid. Was expecting a bit more…I dunno…"

"Emotion?" At the Sannin's answering shrug, Naruto just smiled. "Looks like some of that Root training stuck."

Jiraiya's lips twitched upward. "Got a funny way of showing it. Nah I just expected more questions."

It was Naruto's turn to shrug. "Maybe I will eventually. More curious about my mother to be honest."

"You'd be better off asking Hatake Kakashi. Think she babysat him back after Sakumo…"

Blond brows climbed skyward. "Didn't see that one coming," Naruto murmured. He's got some explaining to do… "So you don't know much of anything about her?"

"Now I didn't say that. We weren't close or anything like that, but she had a bit of a reputation." A genuine smile split the older man's lips as Naruto leaned forward. "Bit of a hothead, to be honest with you. Real temper on her. Sakumo's favorite student, and I know for a fact he wasn't one to play favorites."

The White Fang was a legend in his own right, if less so to Naruto's generation. Hearing about him so casually, as his mother's sensei no less, was mind boggling.

"Had a helluva water affinity too. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess. One hand seal for nature manipulation is pretty slick."

The blond leaned back and tried not to look terribly pleased with himself. He was proud of all of his hard earned skills, but his water manipulation had been with him the longest. "She was good, then."

The smile slipped from Jiriaya's lips. "She was."

"You weren't kidding." Naruto let his body slide down in his seat lazily. He snatched up his drink as the Sannin regarded him. "You are shit at this stuff." He took a long sip as the older man snorted.

"Saying a lot considering your training," Jiraiya murmured. "Ya know, I got myself all geared up for this on the way here."

"You know what they say about the best laid plans."

"True enough. You're not what I expected."

A blond brow rose. "Jumping to conclusions a useful skill for foreign intelligence?" he asked. It came out with more bite than he intended, but he wasn't about to apologize. He'd never known his father; that someone would assume he'd be just like him was…irksome.

Jiraiya at least had the grace to look abashed. "It'll get you killed actually," he quipped, recovering quickly. He shook himself, took a sip, and held out his hand. "Let's try this again: name's Jiraiya. You might've heard of me."

Naruto couldn't help but grin. "Once or twice. Naruto. Good to meet you," he said, taking the proffered hand.

"Fan-fucking-tastic. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

/~/

New shit. Hope you guys enjoyed the fight. More to come, hopefully soon.

Thanks, as always, to the folks at DLP for helping fine tune this piece.

24. Fictional

The following morning dawned gloomily. Overcast skies and a pleasant breeze were a relief from the stark heat that had permeated Konoha since his arrival. Naruto flitted through the crowd around the administrative building, weaving his way to the massive, open doors that led to his destination. He looked much like most every other shinobi, the standard blue long sleeved fatigues he wore were covered by a forest green flak vest; his hitai-ate rested proudly upon his forehead.

The blond contained a twitch of his hand as he stepped through the doors and made for the stairs. He wasn't used to standard issue fatigues anymore – and hadn't really worn them back when he first entered the corps anyway – and the fabric, ostensibly designed for durability and comfort, in that order, chafed. Get used to it, Naruto told himself.

His mission was an odd conundrum. Blend in but stand out. He had to be memorable for the right reasons, tenuous as the situation was. That everything had gone as close to according to plan as it had so far was a minor miracle.

It made him nervous.

He was no stranger to it, thankfully, and banished the discomfort to the recesses of his mind as he summited the stairway. Tsunade's doors were shut, per usual, and Naruto approached the beleaguered genin behind the reception desk. She wasn't here yesterday, he noted. He'd simply knocked upon arrival.

"Good morning," he said.

"All appointments with the Hokage must be pre-approved," the slightly-older woman greeted robotically, her head not rising from the mound of paperwork in front of her. "If you have an appointment, please sign in here." She gestured lazily at an open book in front of him.

Guess it is early, Naruto thought at the lacking hospitality. He grabbed the pen laying atop the book and signed his name quickly. "I'm meeting with Tsunade-sama in ten minutes."

"You can take a seat in the waiting area just over there until I call you," the receptionist said, still not looking up.

"Sensational," he muttered. The blond strolled to the seats and plopped down, mind drifting to the meeting ahead. It was unclear if he would be selecting his own team members or if they'd be assigned. He hoped for the former, obviously, but wasn't about to get his hopes up. Like everything else, it would be a fine balance. He needed competent operators as backup – he may have been confident against the likes of Orochimaru, but he wasn't stupid – but not so competent that they began to question his motives.

All shinobi were expert liars. He was no exception, but maintaining a façade the size of his was like walking on the edge of a knife. Never mind that Konoha's brass likely didn't trust him to begin with; at least of one of his teammates was sure to be a plant, if not all of them. You'll be fine, he told himself, a pleasant tingle of anticipation running through him.

Much as he maligned the shinobi lifestyle and culture, it'd been all he'd ever known before Tea Country. Part of him had missed the thrills that came a well-executed plan, of pitting his mind against another and coming out on top in a battle of wills. Don't get ahead of yourself.

The doors to Tsunade's office swung open, Shizune stepping through them and to the side. Homura and Koharu filed out, heads bent in hushed conversation with each other. Neither spared him a glance as they passed, though Naruto was sure they noticed him. Sarutobi stepped out next, turning to him and gracing the blond with a small smile. Danzo followed a moment later, expression neutral as always, regarding him with his lone visible eye.

Naruto felt his hackles rise at the old man's stare, but was careful to keep himself composed. Danzo and Sarutobi both were masters of their craft with decades more experience than him. He tensed, wanting to open his senses up to feel any thread of genjutsu the old man's hidden sharingan may have attempted to cast, but refrained. It would only raise the suspicions of the one man he couldn't afford to have working directly against him. Kotoamatsukami was beyond even his considerable genjutsu abilities, and there was no guarantee he could break it once ensnared.

"We'll be watching the progression of this mission with great interest, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said, breaking the standoff. "I have no doubt you'll exceed our expectations as always."

The blond managed a smile at the Sandaime. "Thank you, Sarutobi-sama. I won't fail you."

The former Hokage nodded and moved on with his counterpart, their robes rustling gently with their movements.

"She's ready for you." Naruto glanced back to find Shizune smiling gently at him in the still-open doorway.

He rose and strode confidently into the Hokage's office, finding the Godaime sat straight-backed behind her desk. The raven-haired apprentice backed in behind him, shutting the doors with a click.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto demurred, dropping to a knee in front of Tsunade's desk.

"At ease, Uzumaki. Take a seat," Tsunade told him, voice radiating more strength than he'd witnessed before. Business time. "We'll be going over your team today, making any necessary adjustments, as well as outlining the parameters. Shizune, please make sure the record of this meeting is given S-ranked status."

"Do I have any say in the team construction?" Naruto asked, wasting no time.

"It's open for some negotiation if your vision is completely at odds with what has already been put together, yes."

"Understood."

"Let's begin with parameters. Your mission, designated S-ranked, is to provide intelligence into the nuke-nin group Akatsuki. This is to be done, primarily, through the apprehension of either the nuke-nin Kakuzu, or the nuke-nin Orochimaru. I assume you don't have any questions on that part?" the Hokage asked rhetorically, some of the humor Naruto had gotten used to bleeding through the professionalism.

He shook his head in the negative.

"Excellent. S-ranked status also provides you with S-ranked clearance for the completion of the mission. You'll have full access to all records concerning the two potential targets. Shizune will give you the necessary paperwork to fill out. For all aspects regarding Orochimaru, I recommend liaising with Jiraiya. He'll make himself available to you over the coming weeks." Naruto nodded, having gotten the same from the man himself the day before. "For all aspects regarding Kakuzu, consult the ANBU archives. The Taki ambassador is currently in town as well. You're welcome to set a meeting with her, but it's unlikely to yield much."

The blond withheld a shrug. Missing-nin were a stain on a village's reputation, rarely acknowledged save for the hunter-nin who tracked them. He'd find more pertinent information in the general shinobi archive than he'd get from one of Taki's representatives.

"The mission has no completion date. You will, however, be providing written reports weekly to be shared with the intelligence committee. You will also be providing oral reports monthly, again to the intelligence committee."

Naturally, Naruto thought uncharitably. It was expected, but tedious nonetheless. "Understood."

Seemingly satisfied, Tsunade nodded. "Well, now that all that is out of the way, we can get down to business. You recommended a three-man team for the mission; we agree that either a three or four-man cell is best. Who are your choices?"

A blond brow quirked. "Jiraiya, first. He has the most experience in tracking Orochimaru and would be invaluable in apprehending him."

"Of course," Tsunade drawled, lips turning upward. "You know he's not available, but good answer. Next."

Naruto felt himself smile. "Hatake Kakashi. He's an adept tracker and his combat prowess is unquestionable."

"Another good answer. Not happening. He's too valuable in his current role to be switched onto a mission with no set time-frame."

The blond forced the smile from his face, not displeased in the least. As enticing a prospect working with his one-time sensei was, he didn't truly want him on the mission.

"I'm not fully up to speed on Konoha's roster, Hokage-sama. Beyond those two, I'd like an experienced mid-range combat specialist and a medic," Naruto said, trying not to shrug.

"We're of similar minds, then." She reached down to two manila folders that rested on her desk and slid one forward. "That's your mid-range."

He picked it up and opened it, feeling his eyebrows rise. They look similar. Uchiha Sasuke stared up at him, expression blank in his official photo. Tokubetsu jonin, ninjutsu and kenjutsu specializations, fully mature sharingan. Apprentice to Hatake Kakashi. What's a curse seal of heaven? "Does he know of my connection with his brother?"

"No, and he won't. All information related to your relationship with Itachi is classified S-ranked as well. Sasuke's primary objective is his brother's death. Itachi's status as a quasi-ally would likely be problematic."

Naruto blinked. "Then why is he on the team? My knowledge of Akatsuki comes from Itachi himself. I understand certain information is kept need-to-know at all times, but, with all due respect, this information could fracture the team. I can't afford to be thinking of such things."

Tsunade leaned back, smiling tightly. "You're right to have reservations. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even think about putting Sasuke on this mission. He is, however, of particular interest to Orochimaru. There was an attempt made to kidnap him about five and a half years ago."

"So he's bait." The Hokage only raised her chin slightly in response. "Is he allowed to be made aware of that?"

"Not in so many words, but he's far from stupid. You'll find him willing in that regard. He has no love for my old teammate. Regardless, my advisors and I feel he is the best choice. His mission record is impeccable, including a tour in ANBU."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. She didn't need to mention her advisors, her word was law. Does she not want him on the mission either? Admitting such basically undermined her authority by letting him know she wouldn't go against her advisor's wishes. There's a message there... He must be someone's plant, then, he reasoned. We've got Sarutobi, Danzo, and the clans all a part of the committee, but which is it? Politics…

"Is Kakashi in the village?" he asked, switching gears. He wouldn't be able to puzzle out Tsunade's meaning or Sasuke's allegiances in this meeting. "I'd like a preview of what I'm in for with Sasuke."

"He is. You may not find him terribly forthcoming, though. He's protective of all his students."

If I can't convince him I've got Sasuke's best interests at heart, I don't deserve to lead this mission. "Good for him," was all he said. "The other?"

"Your medic." Naruto picked up the other folder at Tsunade's proffering. He opened it and immediately had to quell the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose at the sudden deluge of thought.

Yamanaka Ino smirked at him from the dossier. Tokubetsu jonin, iryo ninjutsu specialization. Apprentice to Godaime Hokage Senju Tsunade. "I wasn't aware you had another apprentice," he said, finely honed control keeping his voice neutral.

"I hadn't planned to take another. Ino manages to find a way to get what she wants, I've found. I have it on good authority you two know each other."

Naruto blinked, utterly unsure of how to answer that question that wasn't really a question. "We're acquainted," he managed, decidedly uncomfortable.

Tsunade nodded. "She mentioned you saved her life during the Crush. I expect she'll look forward to the prospect of working with you."

Is she being serious? Naruto wondered. It was clear that Ino was to be Tsunade's eyes and ears on the team. What wasn't clear was whether that little side-mission had already begun.

On the one hand, it was almost too convenient not to be a setup. On the other, it made little sense for a woman who spoke of transparency to send her apprentice on a mission to seduce him, place them on the same team, and not speak of it outside a lingering implication. Hardly a way to build trust.

Not that she needed him to trust her, but nearly everything she'd said to him thus far seemed designed to get him to trust her. It didn't hurt that she knew more of his true motivations than anyone in the village besides Jiraiya.

You also didn't have the team at that point, he reasoned, thinking back to the shared evening. Was it outside the realm of possibility that Tsunade had planned to give him the team all along – or at least entertained the possibility – and had set Ino on him as a test? Certainly not. He'd created more convoluted plans personally.

Now isn't the time. He shook himself internally, resolving to be wary moving forward. It was no use tying himself in knots sitting in front of the Hokage while trying to parse the motivations of her apprentice.

"Any insight you're willing to part with?"

A genuine smile lit the Godaime's face. "We'd be here all day. She's confident and capable. Headstrong, but more self-aware than she lets on. I'll leave the rest to you."

It was more than he expected and still far less than he wanted. Gonna have to meditate on this. Between Itachi's younger brother and a woman he'd somehow fallen into bed with, this mission was suddenly shaping up to be far more complex than he'd anticipated. And that's after the S-ranked nuke-nin, he mused sardonically.

"Understood. I'll be sure to review the files before getting started. Will that be all, Hokage-sama?"

"It will. Good luck, Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded once, etched a small bow, and strode out of the office with his new teammates' dossiers under his arm.

/~/

Following his failure to become one of the Copy-Cat's students, Naruto had spent an inordinate amount of time researching his not-sensei. Only so much had been available, of course, but it had only spurred him to ask around.

His first stop after dropping the dossiers at the barracks was, therefore, an easy choice.

Naruto stepped lightly out of training ground three, finding Konoha's Memorial Stone looking as it usually did: the kunai-shaped, obsidian monument rose gracefully from a circle of brick, hundreds of names etched into its surface and visible even from a distance. Fresh flowers littered the ground, evidence of earlier mourners.

True to form, Kakashi stood silently in front, his back to the training ground Naruto had just exited. The blond approached on silent feet, coming to a halt a few meters behind the older jonin. He knew better than to disturb the man, could imagine his reaction if someone intruded on his time mourning his own lost teammates. And so he slid his hands into his pockets and prepared to wait.

Centering himself, he turned his focus inward, breathing steadily. His eyes slipped closed a moment later as his mind drifted aimlessly. The peculiar energy from his fight with Jiraiya had been on his mind since their bout but, to his displeasure, he'd neglected to ask the older man about it. It hadn't seemed like an appropriate question given the rest of their conversation.

Furthering his displeasure, he hadn't been able to sense a hint of it in his meditations since. He'd tried sitting under a waterfall for nearly an hour to no avail, succeeding only in soaking himself.

Probably trying too hard, he reasoned. His mind snatched up the thought, letting it rattle around his skull for a few seconds. He'd only ever become adept at meditation – if there truly was such a thing – when he'd stopped frantically searching for some hidden understanding. Whatever was to be found couldn't be forced. This was likely similar.

The thought disappeared with the afternoon breeze as he let go of it, refocusing on his breathing. A few moments later he let his mind drift again, this time to the small flock of sparrows hidden in the summer's greenery. Their tiny chakra presences came into focus at the same time his ears noticed their chirping, focused as it had been on his thoughts.

"You've learned patience."

Naruto's lips twitched. "Not the easiest lesson I ever learned." His eye blinked open, reverie shattered, to find Kakashi still facing the statue. "You also didn't keep me waiting long," he said, stepping forward and drawing level with the elite. Up close, the list of names seemed endless.

"I've spoken with my friends enough for today." The silver-haired man half-turned, lone visible eye regarding Naruto lazily. "Was glad to hear you made it back."

The blonde's eyes combed over the stone a moment longer, finding the name he was searching for. Uchiha Obito. No one in Konoha knew of the renegade Uchiha's status just yet, and it remained to be seen whether they would or not.

He turned to Kakashi. "Took me a bit longer than I expected, admittedly."

"The road of life isn't always an efficient route." Naruto felt himself smirk in remembrance of his former sensei's infamous tardiness. "But I'm sure you didn't come all the way out here just to say hello."

"I just got saddled with your apprentice for a mission. Would appreciate some background before introductions tomorrow."

The visible eyebrow rose. Kakashi was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his words. "Extremely gifted, with everything that comes with it."

"Arrogant."

"He's self-assured. I seem to remember you being similar."

"Did my one day as your student make such an impression on you?"

The lone eye crinkled slightly, amused. "I remember all of my students, no matter how short their tenure."

Naruto kept from rolling his eyes, if only just. "I'd have thought you'd manage to teach some humility after so many years. It only took you three hours with me."

"I expect humility is a lesson only time will teach Sasuke. Thankfully, he has the skill to back it up."

"High praise."

"Mmm, he's A-ranked by my estimation. You've seen his mission record, I assume."

Makes sense, Naruto mused as he nodded. His future squad-mate's prowess was to be expected. There'd been rumblings about his talent as far back as the last time the blond had been in the village. Given six years and a highly capable mentor in Kakashi, Sasuke would be a force to be reckoned with. He'd just have to try not to compare him to Itachi too much.

Still… "I saw he didn't qualify for jonin after his tour in ANBU, but why hasn't he been given full status?"

"He's only received one of the two necessary endorsements."

"Any particular reason? Most jonin can get over a bit of arrogance in the field."

The silver-haired man shrugged. "There are two answers to that."

"I'll take the truth, if you don't mind."

"What's the mission classification?" Kakashi asked, suddenly serious.

"S-ranked."

The older man was quiet, appraising him. Years ago, the quiet stare would've led him to fidget but, like Sarutobi, his former sensei had lost much of his mystique with time.

The older man turned back to the stone. "There's some reservations among the top brass that Sasuke's a flight risk. You've read his history with Orochimaru?" Naruto nodded. "I hadn't planned to take an apprentice, teaching isn't my forte, but once it became clear that Sasuke could even potentially be swayed by promises of power…well."

"I see…" That explains the ANBU tour; they preach loyalty like nothing else. "You know him best, is he a risk?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Aside from skill, I made sure he made deeper connections. Teammates, friends."

"His girlfriend," Naruto mused, remembering Daisuke's cousin.

The older man quirked a brow. "You've met Sakura."

"Briefly. Seemed like a decent girl."

"Mmm. She's good for him, when he lets her be. I don't think you'll have any issues with him, but the higher ups have their own ideas."

Which can breed resentment over time, too. "Much of the mission's information comes from his brother. I've been instructed not to tell him about it."

Kakashi turned back to him. "That's troublesome." He was dead serious now. "And you're telling me because you need to know how he'll react if it comes out."

"I trust you'll keep it to yourself," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow.

"He won't react well, but you already know that," Kakashi said, ignoring him. "News of Itachi is always met with aggression."

Can't say I blame him… "I'll step lightly, then."

"What did you think of Itachi?" the silver-haired man asked.

Naruto chuffed a laugh at the abrupt subject change. Always looking underneath the underneath. "He's more interesting than most of the S-ranked nin I've met."

"But not the most."

He thought of Nagato, ever mercurial, with his never ending list of esoteric abilities. "Not the most, no."

"Mmm, he was a quiet child. Reticent, not prone to speaking his mind to those he didn't trust fully."

The blond fought to keep a smile from his face. He could appreciate the Copy-nin's needling, though he was sure it could be subtler; he found he didn't mind. "He saved my life at the end of the war. I can't guess at his motives…" A lie. "…but he probably didn't have too many Konoha-nin to reach out to without fear of being attacked on sight." Not that it'd worry him.

Kakashi was silent for a moment, processing. "I suppose the Hokage has given thought to this all being an elaborate ruse."

A thread of annoyance was stamped out before it could bloom within him. He's just worried for his student. "The intelligence committee along with her. And it never would've reached them if I didn't believe it myself. Teamwork wasn't the only lesson I learned from you," Naruto said, turning a lazy smirk in the older man's direction.

Kakashi nodded. His eye crinkled once more in a smile, managing to convey genuine warmth. "You've come a long way. It's every sensei's dream to see their teachings embodied in their students. You took the lessons to heart more than I expected."

Unbidden, warmth flooded Naruto. He remembered himself at thirteen, nearly foaming at the mouth at the prospect of fighting alongside the man next to him. Following his failure, he'd always craved Kakashi's acknowledgment, he realized. "I never thanked you for saving my skin back during the Crush," he said in lieu of acknowledging the praise.

The older man shrugged. "Not necessary, but you know that. Just keep Sasuke safe as best you can."

"I'll do my best, but you know the dangers of S-ranked missions."

"Better than most. Who's your third?"

"Yamanaka Ino," Naruto said, suddenly curious. He'd not thought to ask the Copy-nin his opinion of the Hokage's apprentice.

"Hmm." The blond waited a few moments, content to leave Kakashi to whatever his thoughts were. "Definitely competent. Tsunade-sama likes assigning medics, and Ino's as good as it gets."

As good an endorsement as he was likely to get. "Anyone else I should reach out to? I'd thought to ask Sarutobi Asuma, but he's off on a mission."

"Sakura probably knows her best. They were inseparable when they were younger. Think they still keep up."

True, if the night he'd met Ino was any indication. Still, it wasn't quite the information he was looking for. Though the only ones who could tell me if she's just Tsunade's plant won't be loose-lipped about it. He shoved the minute distrust and apprehension to the corner of his mind to be dissected later.

"May take a look for her. I'm meeting them both tomorrow."

"I assume they'll get the standard team greeting." It wasn't a question, and Naruto grinned at the prospect at finally being on the other side of an infernal test. "The last Uchiha, the Godaime's apprentice, and Uzumaki Naruto. You should sell tickets."

He snorted. "I'd prefer not to have an audience, if it's all the same to you."

"Good luck with that."

The older man didn't even have to look at Naruto to convey his skepticism. The blond knew there would be watchers, Root agents at the bare minimum, but that was unavoidable. Someone was always watching in a ninja village. What mattered was who it was and what they saw.

Still need to be careful, he told himself. Given the likelihood of coming into direct conflict with Danzo, keeping his abilities mostly secret would be paramount. "We'll see. Should be fun either way."

"Try not to hurt their pride too badly." Naruto just felt his grin widen. Kakashi sighed. "Maa, suppose it may be good for them both. But I've spent too much time with the dead today. Don't be a stranger, Naruto."

The blond nodded. "Kakashi."

The Copy-nin said no more, disappearing in a body flicker and leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

/~/

Naruto found himself lounging against a tree the next morning. Directions to training ground thirty-nine would have been delivered at the crack of dawn.

A thrill of excitement that had nothing to do with his mission made him smile. He'd never run his own team. The challenge was new and welcome, regardless of the fine line he'd be forced to walk.

And speaking of challenges…His extended awareness couldn't help but notice a blur of chakra racing towards the training ground. That'll be Sasuke. He was familiar enough with Ino's chakra presence to at least recognize that this one was different.

He felt Sasuke appear in the tree above him, utterly silent and well camouflaged. He's quick. Stealthy too. Naruto likely wouldn't think anything was amiss were he not a sensor. As it was, the young Uchiha was as clear to him as the breeze upon his face.

He'll be looking for traps, Naruto mused. The Sharingan saw much, he knew from Itachi. It could see the very chakra he saturated the air with, though there was no way to tell what exactly it did. With as many shinobi ambling about as Konoha had, it wasn't even out of place.

A second figure approaching, at a far more sedate pace, grabbed his attention. That's also not Ino, Naruto thought. Unsurprisingly, the figure didn't stop to say hello, speeding deeper into the trees past Sasuke before halting a short distance away.

Quieter and better concealed than Sasuke, even. Recon specialist, but from who? The blond withheld a scowl. He wasn't naïve enough to believe his exercise wouldn't be observed, but it still rankled. Best get used to it.

A third presence entered his awareness, far slower than the other two. He blinked, then smiled slightly. She's walking. A quick check of the time showed she'd be there a full minute early if she held her current pace. Just in time to not be late.

Naruto had spent more time than he wanted to admit pouring over how best to handle Yamanaka Ino. Their night would need to be addressed, like all intimate relationships between Konoha shinobi. Though calling a one-night stand a relationship is a bit of a stretch… His nerves chafed slightly at the thought of bringing it up. Being the Hokage's apprentice, she was surely professional to the point of not letting it effect any of their team dynamic. But she was also contrarian by nature – he was confident enough in that analysis – so who was to say what she'd do?

Realizing he was tying himself in knots for no reason – again – he shook his head and emptied his mind for a moment, thinking of nothing but the rise and fall of his chest. Equilibrium restored, he ran a hand through his hair as his second charge strode confidently into the clearing.

A black, sleeveless top that tapered toward her neck was tucked practically into standard issue pants of the same color. Black gloves ran the length of her arms, stopping just above her elbows. The Konoha headband gleamed in the early morning sun from its place on her forehead, blonde hair falling gracefully around it and framing her face.

Naruto found himself smiling as he surveyed her. She really is gorgeous.

Ino paused for a moment, glanced the waterfall and pond, and smiled at him. "Good morning."

Naruto rose. "Good morning," he called back. "You're early."

A well-manicured brow lifted. "Barely. Where's our third?"

Straight to business. "Expect he'll be here shortly, unless he takes after his sensei…" Naruto trailed off as Sasuke reappeared on cue in a swirl of leaves. "Which he apparently does not. Excellent."

His two charges stared at each other for a moment, neither looking surprised by the other's presence. They both nodded and turned expectant eyes back to Naruto.

He smiled. "Since it seems like you're both acquainted, I'll just introduce myself. Name's Uzumaki Naruto. I'll be your captain for the duration of our mission."

"Which is, exactly?" Sasuke asked tonelessly. His face was studiously blank as he surveyed Naruto with onyx eyes that were oh-so-similar to his brother's.

"Classified." Naruto fought a grin as the Uchiha's face descended into a scowl. "We'll get to that once I've determined the two of you are the right fit."

"Combat test?" Ino asked, her lips turning up into something that could only be described as hungry.

Someone's excited. He nodded. "Exactly, once you've –"

His words halted as he leapt away from fireball that suddenly exploded out of Sasuke's mouth. Naruto chained two lightning fast body flickers, neatly avoiding a hail of projectiles the Uchiha had sent toward his first landing spot. He felt Sasuke's approach, the Sharingan undoubtedly telling him where Naruto would land, and he came out of the shunshin swinging.

The blonde's backfist was blocked by a wide-eyed Sasuke – good reflexes – but the Uchiha's surprise left him on the back foot. Naruto spun tightly and dropped low, sweeping the young Uchiha's legs. He planted a hand, channeled chakra to anchor him, and kicked out with both legs to Sasuke's chest hard enough to send him flying.

A knife cutting through his awareness had him whirling, a wind-chakra enhanced fukimi-bari leaving his mouth at speed. It cleaved Ino's kunai cleanly as it passed through it, forcing the other blond into a hasty substitution. Naruto turned away from the obliterated log, tracking Ino's chakra to where she crouched next to a similarly positioned Sasuke.

Whatever words were whispered between them didn't make it to Naruto's ears, but he grinned all the same. He knew it was rhetorical, but couldn't help asking anyway:

"Shall we begin?"

/~/

Short chapter. Felt like cutting it there was the right move. Next up will be the fight, but not from Naruto's POV.

Thanks to the DLP crew per usual. And thanks for reading.

25. One Small Kindness

Uzumaki Naruto hadn't impressed him. That the man hadn't noticed his approach was disappointing, if not terribly surprising. He was used to working with substandard captains in the field; Kakashi had prepared him well for that.

His plebian attempt at humor was even worse. Most jonin were fairly no-nonsense, a trait he appreciated in a squad leader. His humor could be considered sophomoric on a good day, perhaps, but Sasuke truly wasn't in the mood for games.

Impatience had ripped the gokakyu from his throat before the blond had even finished his speech. The man's anticipation did him some credit – he'd clearly studied the Sharingan in some depth to have an idea of Sasuke's ploy.

At least he's not completely worthless, the Uchiha mused as he regained his bearings. Naruto hit hard and could counter-attack in the blink of an eye, all of which meant he'd earned his rank. It was more than he could say for some of the jonin he'd worked under.

Yamanaka appeared crouched at his side a moment later, interrupting his thoughts. "He's fast up close. I'll engage in hand to hand. Once he's on the back foot, your ninjutsu can take him down."

She knew his strengths well enough, thankfully. The plan was simplistic, but then most hastily thrown together battle plans were. He had faith in her taijutsu; she'd been trained by the Godaime, after all.

"Hn."

Yamanaka took his grunt for the affirmation it was, disappearing in a shunshin. One of his eyebrows rose at the shockwave that emanated from the two blondes clashing, the ground beneath his feet rumbling slightly. He blocked? Any shinobi worth their salt could sense the latent chakra waiting to be unleashed in Yamanaka's fists. Uzumaki's chakra control must've been finely tuned to be able to absorb such a blow.

Interesting…Sasuke mused, his enhanced eyes following the furious flurry of taijutsu from a distance. Yamanaka had gotten better, her blows more precise and contained despite the power they carried. Uzumaki didn't appear phased, sliding out of the way of all but the opening salvo with relative ease.

Realizing that the rudimentary plan wouldn't work, Sasuke switched gears and blurred forward. His eyes spotted the smallest of openings – Uzumaki's back turned fully – and his ninjato was drawn in a single fluid motion that would bisect the blond.

His other hand reached toward a brace of shuriken, the Sharingan already anticipating the most likely escape paths, when his sword arm was suddenly halted. A hand belonging to another Uzumaki held him back. Sasuke felt his hackles rise at the single, taunting eyebrow on the face of the clone that had apparently formed from thin air behind him.

Irritating. He ripped his arm from its grasp with little effort and spun low, kicking out. The clone hopped adroitly over his sweep, but Sasuke had already leveraged himself. His free hand planted and stuck to the ground with chakra and he kicked up, the bastardized beginning to the Omote Renge landing solidly with the clone's chin.

The body melted on contact, covering his leg in water that froze rapidly. Red eyes widening, Sasuke palmed a kunai and stabbed at the ice formation coalescing on his outstretched limb. A brief application of raiton chakra shattered the ice and he shook it off, hastily making space.

Taijutsu is useless, he concluded. Yamanaka was still locked in a fight with him, but was giving ground now as Uzumaki went on the offensive. She managed to land a defensive kick to Uzumaki's sternum, using the momentum to push herself back and away enough to body flicker out of arms reach. Sasuke tracked her movement and followed a moment later.

"Taijutsu didn't work," Yamanaka needlessly stated around a pant. A fierce scowl marred her face, a clear sign of her frustration.

"You have a doton affinity?" Sasuke asked. She nodded. "Maneuver him to the center of the clearing. My genjutsu will leave him vulnerable and I'll finish this." It would be easy enough to do himself, but he knew that teamwork was supposed to be a part of tests like this.

Thankfully, the Yamanaka nodded and flipped through seals. Her palms slamming into the ground heralded the emergence of dragon's head that roared toward the waiting Uzumaki at speed. Improved ninjutsu as well, Sasuke noted absently as she tore off in the direction Uzumaki had dodged.

The ground erupted in fissures, a clear sign of Yamanaka's offensive, and Sasuke burst into motion. His eyes caught Uzumaki's retreating form with ease, and blue eyes met red for an instant through the dust.

Feeling his chakra take hold, Sasuke doubled around, watching as Uzumaki slashed out at an unseen enemy. All too easy, he thought, bringing his ninjato to bear once more. He moved to level it even with the blonde's neck, but felt his eyes fly wide as Uzumaki spun suddenly, grabbing him by the wrist and holding firm.

He reached down on reflex, drawing a kunai, but his other wrist was snatched as easily as the first. Clear blue eyes met his without fear as the sound of breaking glass echoed in his ears.

"You're not great at genjutsu, are you?" the blond taunted as he held Sasuke in place.

The Uchiha gritted his teeth, saying nothing. At his renewed attempted to pull away was stymied by Uzumaki's iron grip, he smirked. "Your loss."

His chakra circulated rapidly at a thought, transmuting to lightning faster than a synapse could fire in the brain. Raikiri…nagashi!

He grinned as Uzumaki's eyes went wide. Pure lightning exploded from Sasuke's tenketsu with the scream of a thousand birds. His vision went white for a moment as the chakra output momentarily overwhelmed his Sharingan.

The grin turned into a gasp as Uzumaki's grip shifted suddenly to his neck. Vision returning, he was greeted by a thoroughly unimpressed looking blond. Sasuke gasped as Uzumaki violently twisted the hand that still held the ninjato, the blade falling lamely to the ground below.

What?

"This isn't going how you planned, is it?" the blond asked.

Desperate, the Sharingan spun rapidly in Sasuke's eyes as his chakra reached out. He felt his genjutsu searching for purchase to no avail, the blond somehow slipping through his fingers like water.

"If the first one failed, what made you think trying again wouldn't be a waste of time?"

The rhetorical question was barely processed before Sauke felt the wind slammed out of him. His hands clawed impotently at Uzumaki's grip on his neck, vision starting to blacken at the edges.

Air returned to his lungs a moment later as he fell ignobly to the ground, gasping for breath. He glanced up in time to see Yamanaka descending like an avenging angel, enough pent up chakra in her fist to level the administrative building. Move, fool! he screamed at himself, but his legs weren't cooperating.

Sasuke was forced to watch as Uzumaki raised his arms in a futile cross-guard as Yamanaka brought her fist down without mercy. The resulting shockwave pulverized the ground beneath him, turning bedrock into naught but topsoil. He tumbled inelegantly to the bottom of what was surely a sizeable crater, struggling to keep the dust from his lungs.

He looked up once he'd halted enough to get his bearings. Impossible! Uzumaki stood unscathed on a thin pillar of earth that rose five meters above Sasuke, Yamanaka caught in his grip much the same way he'd been moments ago.

He channeled the chakra output through his legs, the Uchiha realized amidst his mounting disbelief. He redirected it!

Controlling his incredulity, Sasuke bounded from the crater back to the surface and faced Uzumaki plainly. His mind whirled as the blond tossed Yamanaka unceremoniously in his direction, strategies playing out and being discarded at the speed of thought.

His team member scrambled to her feet and looked at him with as much astonishment as he felt. The only person he'd fought with even a hint of the control it took to tank two such blows was Kakashi – and he knew his sensei would have at least had the good grace to get out of the way of the second.

"He just took my biggest hit."

"Hn."

"Together?"

"Hn."

Sasuke brought his hands together in a cross shaped seal and felt his chakra halve. A kage bunshin appeared in a burst of smoke in front of him. It flipped through seals, lightning leaping into its palm, and disappeared in a seamless body flicker.

"Left," the Uchiha told his partner, watching as Uzumaki dodged the speed ninjutsu with contemptible ease. "Left again. Your ten o'clock, now!" he ordered.

Yamanaka flipped through seals once more and dropped to a knee. Uzumaki dodged a downward slash of the clone's Raikiri directly into the path of a fissure Yamanaka opened in the earth. The blond leapt up just as Sasuke's clone cast its arm out, its lightning jutsu flying forward in the shape of a hawk.

Precognition leaving him wide eyed, Sasuke barked, "Doryuudan, your nine-thirty." To her credit, Yamanaka didn't hesitate as the crack of thunder heralded Uzumaki – somehow – redirecting an A-ranked raiton manipulation into the ground below him. The earth dragon roared forth once more, but Sasuke wasn't finished.

Ram – horse – snake – dragon – rat – ox – tiger – Katon: Karyuu Endan!

He reared back and expelled a white hot dragon that set Yamanaka's sludge alight. His eyes narrowed as Uzumaki landed in the path of the twin dragon jutsus, disappearing beneath them with a clap of his hands.

The memory from his clone dispersing was a waste, so he discarded it as Yamanaka panted, "Did we get him?"

Sasuke didn't dignify her with a response. That combination was worthy of the Sandaime Hokage, yet Uzumaki had already shown that high level raiton techniques were all but useless against him. Red eyes narrowed as acrid smoke filled the clearing in the wake of the combined elemental manipulation. Smoke that's spreading far too much to be normal, he realized a moment later.

"Mist," he hissed as the pitch black vapor reached them and began to blanket everything as far as the eye could see.

"Genjutsu?"

His Sharingan spun, yet the mist remained as black as the smoke they'd created. "No," Sasuke said, inwardly wishing he'd been able to copy the seals for such a technique.

It struck him, suddenly, that Uzumaki hadn't even used a jutsu up until this point. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his neck.

"Back to back," Yamanaka ordered, and such was his discomfort that Sasuke complied without thinking.

I can't see, he realized. All there was, as far as his Sharingan could see, was the blinding blue of Uzumaki's chakra. Another bead of sweat slid down his neck, and the sound of his heartbeat was suddenly deafening.

"Not bad for shinobi who haven't worked together before." Uzumaki's voice was suddenly everywhere at once. Sasuke felt Yamanaka tense behind him. "Decent teamwork, sound tactics. Your sensei would be proud, I'm sure."

Sasuke gritted his teeth – Uzumaki was openly taunting them now. Behind him, Yamanaka nearly snarled wordlessly.

"But neither of you have fought an S-ranked shinobi before."

Uzumaki's voice was suddenly between them somehow, and the two jumped apart on reflex. Fool! Sasuke chided himself, now utterly alone in the dark.

He jumped skyward, chakra suffusing his legs, knowing only that he had to escape the blackness to have a chance. The mist thinned and suddenly he burst into blue skies. Sasuke didn't waste a moment, speeding through seals. Boar – dog – bird – monkey – ram: Kuchiyose no –

"Good idea!"

Uzumaki's voice was his only warning. His head snapped to the right in time to see the blond come hurtling toward him out of the mist, fist cocked back. The punch connected with his torso and the world was suddenly dark once more before pain.

Sasuke gasped, red hot fire making his arm nearly numb. A chakra cushion to his left shoulder at the last moment saved him from shattered bones as he crashed into the ground, but the impact still nearly wrenched the joint from its socket.

"Sasuke!" Yamanaka's voice called him from less than a meter away.

"Here," he panted, and suddenly she was at his side. "Left shoulder," he managed to grunt, thrusting it impotently into her chest.

She took the hint, thankfully, and soothing medical chakra nearly stole his breath a moment later. "We're fucked down here," Yamanaka said, stating the obvious. "Don't you have a hawk summon?"

"Tried it."

His partner cursed, but he paid it no heed as he felt water on the tips of his toes. What? The sound of a river made his heart skip a beat a moment before the inky blackness disappeared all at once.

Oh.

Wide eyes flew wider as his eyes, momentarily stunned by the influx of daylight, struggled to process the spiraling vortex of water bearing down on them.

Some reflex had him grabbing Yamanaka's arm and body flickering out of the immediate kill zone. His eyes flitted around, searching for Uzumaki to no avail.

A creeping cold dropped his eyes to his feet in time to see ice crystals rapidly freezing their way up his legs. A quick nagashi shattered the ice and he leapt away, unable to spare a thought for Yamanaka who he saw trapped in his periphery.

Senses screaming, he spun in time to block part of a roundhouse kick to his chest and tucked himself into a roll across the sodden ground. He came out of the somersault swinging, the Sharingan's precognition giving him a split second of warning before Uzumaki was on him.

His leg made contact with the blonde's arm and halted. He fell off balance as the blond snatched his ankle in a vice grip and pulled him forward into his fist. Sasuke skidded through the sopping leftovers of the water vortex, tucking his body into a roll and speeding through seals.

Chakra gripping the ground, he rose to his knees, leaned back, and expelled a grand fireball in his assailant's general direction. He ducked on reflex, just in time to avoid a water bullet the size of a tree that plowed through his gokakyu.

Move!

Chakra suffused his legs enough to blast a crater in the earth as he blasted away. Make space, make spa–

An iron grip on his shoulder halted him in the middle of his second shunshin, the tendons in his knees shrieking as his momentum was halted out of nowhere. He collapsed backwards as his legs gave out from underneath him, head splashing down.

"You're pretty quick." Uzumaki's face swam into focus above him, lips quirked upward. "Got anymore tricks up your sleeve, or you about ready to pack it in?"

Sasuke considered the man for a moment. Save from some slight singeing around his hair, he was utterly unscathed, in direct contrast to the battered and bruised form the Uchiha knew he sported.

His pride stung, but there was a slight thrill of excitement underneath that took him by surprise. The last person who'd truly defied his expectations had been Kakashi, mid-way through his apprenticeship.

"Hn," he grunted, lifting his arm. Uzumaki grabbed it and pulled him up.

"Good choice."

/~/

Not bad, Naruto thought, surveying his thoroughly beaten charges. Considering what they had likely been expecting, they'd performed admirably. And their job wasn't to tackle S-ranked shinobi on their own.

Holding a ram seal, the blond felt the temperature rise steadily in the clearing as his chakra heated the water saturating the ground. It dried quickly and he plopped down in front of Ino and Sasuke unceremoniously.

"Take a seat," he offered. The Uchiha lowered himself immediately into a cross legged position. The Yamanaka hesitated, expression unreadable, before doing the same. "You both did well."

Sasuke raised a brow challengingly while Ino scoffed; she looked away a moment later, the slightest tinge of pink on her cheeks. Naruto felt himself smile. Competitive. "I wasn't taunting when I said your sensei would be proud of you both. You faced a complete unknown with only limited knowledge of each other's skills and performed well."

"We'd be dead," Ino said tonelessly. The embarrassment was gone from her face, replaced by a visage as unreadable as an ANBU mask. Naruto hated it immediately.

"Yes, well, that's why I'm here," he returned in what he hoped was a winning manner. Neither face budged and he tried not to feel a bit deflated. He cleared his throat. "Information was recently brought to the Hokage and the intelligence committee concerning the mercenary group Akatsuki. Have either of you heard of them?"

"Yes," they said simultaneously. They shared a brief glance before turning back to Naruto, both positioned more intently.

Suppose that's not surprising… "What do you know of them? Ino first, please."

The younger blonde straightened almost imperceptibly. "The earliest mention of them was during the Third Great War. There have been small links to hidden villages over the past decade and a half but nothing confirmed." She paused, as if unsure of herself, then continued, "Most recent reports are that they are comprised entirely of S-ranked nuke-nin."

Naruto nodded and turned his eyes to Sasuke.

"Uchiha Itachi is a confirmed member," the Uchiha said without inflection. From the corner of his eye, Naruto watched Ino glance at Sasuke with a hint of concern.

The older blond exhaled. "You're both correct. That's a bit more than I expected you to know, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Given the recent information provided, the Hokage has created a mission, designated S-ranked. As I'm sure you've surmised, you've both been drafted."

"With you as team lead?" Ino asked immediately.

Ah, hello conflict of interest, Naruto thought uncharitably. He managed to keep himself from flushing. That conversation was going to have to happen, and soon. "Correct. The Hokage feels my skills are best suited for the mission."

"Which is?" Sasuke asked before Ino could say anything further.

"The investigation and eventual retrieval of known members." The Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and Naruto questioned the teen's placement on this team once more. "Or former members," Naruto continued, sliding into professionalism. "The two we currently have the most intel on are a Taki nuke-nin by the name of Kakuzu and the former Konoha-nin, Orochimaru."

Naruto watched expectantly as both Ino and Sasuke tensed at the name of one of the Leaf's most hated enemies. He remembered, less vividly for all the time passed, his own hatred of the man who'd orchestrated the Crush. There was a visceral satisfaction in their mission, made all the sweeter by his knowledge that they'd almost certainly encounter the disgraced Sannin.

"Given the nature of who we're chasing, the next ten to fourteen days will be spent team building. We'll need to know each other's habits and how to cover any gaps we have. We'll also work on a few strategies to compound each other's strengths."

"The usual then," Ino drawled.

A slight nervousness clawing at him, Naruto forced his lips into a smile. "The usual. Much as I'd love to head out immediately, I wouldn't feel comfortable until I knew both of your skillsets from back to front," he said diplomatically. "And vice versa."

Both of his new teammates perked up ever so slightly at the last. The blonde's smile, this time, was fully genuine.

"Do you have any questions before we break for the day?" Two mute head-shakes greeted his words. "Meet at seven tomorrow morning, training ground thirty-nine."

Naruto rose fluidly, brushed his hands down his pants to remove any dirt, real or imagined, and glanced up at his charges. Sasuke stood stock still in front of him; Ino, having taken his dismissal quite literally, was striding purposefully from the clearing. The blond blinked. So much for having the awkward talk today.

"Sasuke," he greeted, putting Ino out of his mind for the moment.

"You've fought S-ranked shinobi before," the Uchiha said without preamble. Naruto managed to not raise an eyebrow as he nodded. "What's the difference?"

Ah. How to answer this… "Great question. Walk with me," he said. Sasuke fell into step with him as they strode through the clearing. "What jumps out to you from our fight today?"

"Speed, chakra control, durability, anticipation," Sasuke rattled off.

Naruto nodded. "All true. A good, technical answer. But you're probably faster than me, and those eyes of yours give you an edge over just about anyone in anticipation." Not me, though, the blond thought with a touch of pride.

"All of which goes to say…" the Uchiha trailed off, his even tone belying a clear displeasure at being led.

Naruto smiled slightly. "There's no one answer." He glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, noting a scowl. "All shinobi are unique, right?"

"Hn."

I'll take that as a yes. "Which means that there's going to be a different type of separation for everyone. Someone may be able to take your best shot and get back up. Others, more likely, will have techniques that your mind hasn't even thought of as possible. If you're unlucky, it'll be both."

"But how?" Sasuke asked, an edge to his tone.

Naruto stopped, and Sasuke turned to him. Blue eyes surveyed his new teammate, taking in the studiously neutral face and stance he held. His eyes burned, however, with more fire than if his Sharingan had been active. Beneath the surface, Sasuke's chakra churned to Naruto's senses.

Oh, Itachi, what did you do to him?

"What other answers have you gotten to this question?"

Sasuke blinked, and his chakra settled. He frowned a moment later. "Time," he all but growled. "Patience. That I should be satisfied with my power because I'm young and still growing. As if that means anything at all."

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Cocky in the face of an unknown, but thinks he should be stronger. What a winning combo. Pivoting, Naruto asked, "How would you say you fight?"

Sasuke paused for a moment, thinking, before, "Tactically."

"Sure. More broadly, you fight like an Uchiha." Naruto paused, cocking his head to the side. "Before we dive into this, I am assuming you're after Itachi…" Itachi had told him little in regards to Sasuke, only that he wanted to kill him.

The younger brother nodded curtly, eyes narrowed. Banishing whatever uncharitable thoughts he planned to share with the elder, Naruto refocused. "I've fought four S-ranked shinobi. Itachi was one of them."

Onyx eyes flew wide. Now that I've got your attention… "He fights like an Uchiha too, but better. He thinks ten steps ahead. He uses B-ranked fire manipulations without hand seals. His illusions vary from subtle to debilitating, and switch from one to the other faster than you can react. He's probably the most efficient shinobi I've ever fought; not a single step or hand seal is wasted. And, on top of all of that, he can conjure fire hot enough to burn water."

Naruto watched Sasuke's hands clench into white-knuckled fists as his chakra roiled in agitation.

"How do you beat someone like that?"

The younger Uchiha's glared at him. Naruto held his silence, letting the question hang. "I don't know," Sasuke finally bit out.

"The same way you beat anyone else you can't simply ambush or overpower: negate their strengths, attack their weaknesses. How did I fight you?"

"You blinded me," Sasuke returned without missing a beat.

"And what happened?"

The younger teen sighed almost imperceptibly, tension leaving his body. "Disorientation, panic."

"You had good instincts to try to summon your hawks, but the fight was basically over at that point."

"Can you teach me that jutsu? The one that blacked the clearing out."

Naruto felt his lips quirk up. "Was planning to teach it to you and Ino anyway. I wouldn't use it on Itachi though; he's already seen it."

Sasuke surveyed him for a moment. "Did it work?" he asked quietly.

The blond shrugged. "It gave me the upper hand for a few seconds."

"And that wasn't enough."

Naruto grinned. "The thing about S-ranked shinobi is that they have more than one strength. Take one away and there's another waiting to surprise you."

"You sound like you enjoy it."

That gave Naruto pause. His thoughts trailed back to his reentrance to the shinobi world and his justifications to Nagato. It had been all he'd ever known, and he'd always loved a good fight. Surviving stripped away the momentary terrors of putting your life on the line, leaving only the memories of going toe to toe with someone else; of pitting your best against theirs and seeing who won.

"I guess I do," he said quietly, after a moment. He shook himself and returned to the present. "Anyway, try to focus on developing more weapons independent of your eyes. They're powerful, but they're just one tool in your arsenal."

Sasuke nodded, his gaze suddenly distant. Probably already brainstorming.

"Thank you," the Uchiha said quietly, like it was uncomfortable to force past his lips.

"You're welcome. It's what teammates are for," Naruto declared, his own mind turning to old friends who'd helped him grow.

They turned and continued back toward the village without another word.

/~/

Yamanaka were, generally, some of the most self-aware shinobi. Walking the minds of others was only possible with a keen sense of self to keep one grounded. It was all too easy to get lost in the head of someone else, after all.

All this to say that Ino was irritated, knew she was irritated, and knew that her irritation was utterly unwarranted. Unsurprisingly, knowledge of it didn't serve to alleviate the irritation.

You need to get over yourself, she thought as she strode purposefully up the stairs to her sensei's office. Being angry with Tsunade would only serve to make Tsunade angry, and that was something Ino, spoiling for a fight or not, was not looking for.

She'd barely managed to keep her composure throughout the team meeting after the veritable beat down Naruto had drubbed Sasuke and her with. A general interest and excitement for the mission ahead had helped her keep her head, but she'd still been downright disrespectful with how quickly she'd left. Especially considering the conversation she knew she and Naruto would be forced to have.

Reaching the top, she exhaled heavily – once, twice, three times. She felt her indignation flowing over her like water over rocks in a river, but she was its master in a moment. Seafoam eyes turned to the open doors as her predecessor padded out, an ever familiar welcoming smile on Shizune's face.

"You picked a good time," Tsunade's elder apprentice told her, a knowing glint in her eyes. Shizune had been Ino's most valuable friend ever since Tsunade had taken her on nearly six years previous; the older woman a consistent balm where their master was often prickly.

Unbidden, Ino felt some of the lingering emotion slide off her shoulders. She smiled back. "I'd be more worried if I didn't know her well after all this time. How's her mood?"

"She hasn't started drinking yet."

"A good day then." I'll try not to ruin it too much for you, she silently promised. Shizune said nothing more as Ino passed her, electing to simply shut the double doors behind her.

Four quick steps brought her to the Godaime's desk where she dropped to a knee. "Shishou."

Tsunade's chair, which had been facing the village, swiveled to face her. "Take a seat, Ino."

The younger blonde did as she was bid, dropping to the always surprisingly comfortable chair on the right. She sat straight, facing her sensei, and considered her words.

They'd had this arrangement ever since Tsunade had taken her on: whenever Ino was rotated to a new team, as most shinobi chunin and above did, there was a debrief. They didn't speak about it openly, but Ino knew that she was the most consistent eyes and ears Tsunade had in the Operations Unit.

She'd never before been anything other than proud of the designation, but then she'd never given very much thought to her squad commanders before – certainly not years before the actual assignment. Ino schooled her face carefully as she felt her earlier indignation rising once more.

"You're irritated," Tsunade declared. Ino cursed herself; apparently her face was more open than she wanted to admit.

"Yes, sensei."

"Tch. Thought you'd be thanking me. He's your ghost, right?" the Godaime asked. "Didn't think you'd have a problem being on his team. Or did he not live up to your expectations?"

Oh he met them alright, she thought, doing her best not to let her teeth grind. As it was, she was at a loss for what to say exactly – her anger laid primarily with herself, not Tsunade. It was her own childish expectations that were the problem. Never mind her actions.

"Made you feel it, did he?" her sensei asked rhetorically. Naturally, she'd cottoned on to a source of Ino's frustrations without them even needing to be said.

"That would be one way of putting it," Ino allowed, her professional mask slipping as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "Thrashed, beat down, massacred – all good substitutes."

Her mentor chuckled good-naturedly as she opened a drawer. A plain white bottle of sake and two cups were placed on the desk. Benefits of having a functioning alcoholic for a sensei. Ino downed the cup pushed her way a moment later.

"And what were you expecting, exactly?"

This, Ino knew, wasn't a rhetorical question. For him to use more than two fucking jutsu, she wanted to say, banishing thoughts of her adolescent daydreams. "I thought I was better."

"So he hurt your pride? We both know you wouldn't be this pissed if it was that simple."

Distantly, Ino was glad Tsunade was in a good mood. If it'd been a worse day, there was a good chance she'd have been kicked out by now – literally. She felt herself soften slightly.

"I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him…"

"Yes, and he heroically saved your life during the Crush, leading you to throw yourself at my feet and beg me to train you." The Godaime raised her cup of sake and toasted her mockingly.

Ino rolled her eyes, fighting a chuckle in spite of herself. It didn't matter that Tsunade knew or had guessed at most of this; she wouldn't have opened up the conversation if she wasn't willing to hear Ino out. And if she had, well, too damn bad.

"I thought I was a good kunoichi before the exams. Then I drew with Sakura and realized there was a lotta work to be done. Then the Crush happened…"

The woman aborted her attack as a gray blur besieged her suddenly, and she nearly sagged in relief.

"We should move," Shikamaru grunted from next to her, more alert than she'd ever seen him.

"What if that guy needs our help?" Chouji asked worriedly, somehow forgetting just how useless the three of them had been against the woman seconds before.

Ino's eyes widened as two blades were driven through the Suna kunoichi's chest. The ANBU – his garb was telltale – relieved her of her head a moment later. "I think he's fine," she managed, awestruck at how seemingly casual the enemy's life had been snuffed out.

Panic gripped her a moment later as their savior was thrown airborne. Her heart nearly stopped as a new Suna-nin moved faster than she could see and tore the ANBU to pieces with some invisible jutsu.

Please please please don't die, she thought frantically as the ANBU, somehow not shredded, attacked the Suna jonin. The masked man, who she recognized as the terrifying Suna team's sensei, made space with contemptuous ease, and the ANBU landed adroitly in front of them.

"Get outta here, genin!" he barked. "This is way over your heads."

Oh good, you noticed, Ino thought before the ANBU turned to face them. He's barely older than us! she realized, mind stuttering to a halt. Belatedly, she realized she'd verbalized her thought.

"I'm ANBU, girl. Now leave!" he ordered before three clones appeared and grabbed each of them under their arms.

She'd realized, quite quickly after the rush of battle had left her system, that she didn't much like being saved. Whatever fantasies she'd had growing up about dashing shinobi coming to her rescue had died in the academy, replaced instead by fantasies of doing the same for them as her pride grew in tandem with her supposed skills.

Top kunoichi, chunin nominee: useless titles in the face of real strength.

All record of Uzumaki Naruto had disappeared, she'd discovered a year later when he'd failed to show his face around the time border guards were set to rotate. Knowing he was ANBU, it'd only excited her; she knew how to read between the lines, and as Tsunade's new apprentice, she had more access to information than people gave her credit for.

He was at war. Somewhere in Kusa directly in the middle of the conflict no one talked about but everyone knew about.

She'd worried for him at first, this boy who she could barely call a friend. But she'd contented herself with the knowledge that Naruto was strong – he'd be able to handle anything the war threw at him just the way he had during the Crush.

"Well whenever you get back, look me up. I'll be around."

"I'll do that."

She'd clung to that one promise harder and longer than she'd ever thought she could. It had driven her to Tsunade, all but begging the Godaime to take her as an apprentice. It had sustained her in the first months, when everything she did was wrong and she'd worried that Tsunade would realize her mistake and give her up as a lost cause. It had pushed her for over half a decade as she outstripped all but the most gifted of her peers, that singular knowledge that he'd come back some day and she'd finally, finally show him who she was.

Not some spoiled kunoichi clan heir needing to be saved, but an equal.

And now, six years later? "I guess I just thought it'd go differently," Ino said at length.

"You thought he'd come back and you'd sweep him off his feet," her sensei said rhetorically. Ino's eyes rose to Tsunade's and she was surprised to see nothing but understanding. "Reality is often disappointing."

She was reminded, all at once, of the course Tsunade's life had taken. Shame gripped her for a moment, knowing just how trivial this must've sounded to the elder blonde.

"I thought I'd give him a fight," Ino finished bitterly, the wind gone from her sails.

Tsunade stared at her, her half-lidded gaze still somehow piercing. She sighed a moment later. "You're a good shinobi, Ino. You were a talented, hot headed girl who wanted to prove herself when you came to me. Now you're a talented, hot headed young woman who I'm proud to call my apprentice," the Godaime said sardonically. Ino smiled at the compliment, warmth blanketing her. "You're still so young. And someday you'll make everything I've done look like child's play," Tsunade continued, gesticulating lazily with one of her hands. "There's no need to hurry."

It was Ino's turn to sigh. "I know you're right, shishou," she allowed. "It was just…I know I'm good. Like jonin good. And he just…"

"There's always a bigger fish." Tsunade had turned her head to face the village and her face had taken on a pensive quality that Ino knew meant she was diving into memories. "War changes people. If it doesn't manage to kill you, it's the greatest training in the world. Your mind twists in different directions to solve problems you never knew you'd confront. I don't recommend it."

The Hokage turned back to Ino, a small smile on her face. "You have a lot to be proud of. Not the least of which is this assignment. What's your take?"

"I thought hunting S-class nin was for the Hunters." Tsunade rolled her eyes and the younger blonde smirked. "I mean I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, ya know?"

"Because you're not a moron."

"Right." She combed her fingers through her hair idly, parsing the information Naruto had dropped on Sasuke and her. "If Akatsuki is the threat everyone says they are, I'm mostly surprised it's a team this small. But then I guess these are still early stages, right?"

"Mhm. Finite resources too. We packed as much punch onto this squad as possible considering they move in twos. What did you think of Naruto?"

That this would be a lot less complicated if I hadn't fucked him a few days ago… "Where to start?" she asked a bit breathily. Wresting control of herself, Ino continued, "He's unreal. Took my strongest punch and managed to channel the kinetic energy through his body and into the ground. Sasuke had him pinned at one point and tried to electrocute him and…it didn't work. Can't imagine how good his control is for that…"

Tsunade stared at her intently, her chin in her left palm at she rested an arm on her desk. "He was a genjutsu specialist before he left for Kusa. Hadn't grown into his chakra capacity yet, per the docs at the time. Seems to have served him well."

"Suiton affinity," Ino said, remembering both the massive vortex and the water he'd poured her. "A high one too. There wasn't any water in the training ground. He likes ice, too. Does he have a bloodline?"

"Nothing quite so well understood." Tsunade leaned back. "The Uzumaki were known for the strength of their chakra back before the purge. Generally had strong suiton affinities as well. His is particularly high, though. He was using only one hand seal for some A-ranked manipulations when he was tested."

The younger blonde felt her mouth fall open slightly. "And, uh…how was he tested, exactly?" she asked, askance.

The Godaime snorted lightly. "I threw Jiraiya at him a few days ago. Old perv hasn't had that much fun in years."

Ino blinked, remembering his final words to her that morning.

"Gotta fight an S-class ninja. Hokage's orders," he called.

That cheeky fucker, she thought, suddenly fighting a smile.

"How was he with you and Sasuke?" Tsunade's question brought her back to reality a moment later.

Ino felt her lips quirk up slightly. "A bit awkward at first. But he got more comfortable as we got going. I think he'll be fine for a former ANBU."

Tsunade nodded. "It's good he's opening up some. He wasn't exactly reticent when we spoke, but I can't quite pin down how genuine he is," Tsunade said. Ino knew from experience she was mostly talking to herself, and it was a mark of just how trusted she was that the Godaime let her be privy to it.

The elder blonde shrugged after a moment of silent reflection. She turned to Ino with a smirk. "He remembered you, you know. Said you were acquainted when I handed the team selection to him."

The statement, undoubtedly intended to lighten the mood and make her feel better, turned Ino's stomach to lead. "Did he?" she managed. Oh just get it over with, Ino! she yelled at herself.

"Mhm. You must've made quite the impression…"

She dropped her face to her hands for a moment, composing herself as best she could in a second. "He didn't, actually," she began, mind casting back to first seeing him standing with Sakura at the bar. She hadn't known her stomach could flip like that anymore after years of shinobi life coupled with a fair number of relationships, casual and otherwise. "I actually ran into him a few days ago. He was with Sakura at the Indigo."

Tsunade gave no indication that she felt one way or another about the information, her face a placid mask of indifference that made Ino squirm.

"We might've…gone back to his place," she declared at last. Her eyes rose from the top of the desk and met her mentor's plainly.

The Godaime said nothing for a few seconds that felt like hours to the younger blonde. Finally, she huffed a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You don't waste time, do you? Leave us." Ino started slightly before realizing the command was for the ever-present ANBU retinue. Tsunade made a ram seal a moment later and the borders of the office glowed blue.

She straightened. Ohhhh, I'm in trouble…

"I can't reprimand you for unprofessional behavior to the detriment of your team since the team didn't even exist at the time. And you also know that I don't give a shit what or who you do in your personal time." The last was punctuated with a steeply raised eyebrow as the Godaime leaned forward. "However, wittingly or not you're now much more involved with an extremely dangerous man."

Ino's eyebrows climbed skyward as Tsunade opened a drawer in her desk. "It's not like we're in a committed relationship or anything," she defended weakly.

Tsunade's glare pinned her in place so hard she nearly scooted backward in her chair. "Don't be obtuse," the Godaime spat, causing Ino to recoil. A manila file folder was tossed her way. The younger blonde caught it on reflex, eyes widening slightly at its heft. "That's his file. Take a look, why don't you?"

Opening it was slightly shaking fingers, Ino stared down at her ghost's face. He was no older than thirteen in the photo – clearly he hadn't gotten around to updating the image on file with the older version she was getting used to.

Uzumaki Naruto

Born: October 10

Mother: Uzumaki Kushina

Father: Namikaze Minato

Feeling the blood drain from her face, Ino brought her gaze back up to Tsunade. "He's…"

"All information in his file is classified above top secret," the elder blonde told her dispassionately. "The psyche report starts on page six, if you're interested. Your father did the eval."

Warily, she turned to page six and away from the mission history she'd hastily skipped to – away from the fact that his father was the strongest shinobi the village had ever produced. Sure enough, her father's personal seal was emblazoned in blood red at the top.

"How is he on active duty already?" Ino breathed, starting with the recommendation. Her father's words were crystal clear.

"Technically, he's not. Even if we got credible information on one of Orochimaru's bases tomorrow, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the village for another ten days."

The younger blonde flicked a disbelieving glance at her mentor and was rewarded with a sardonic smirk. Pick your battles, she heard in her head, one of the first lessons Tsunade had ever taught her. Her eyes turned downward once more, skimming her father's notes. Her grip on the page tightened.

Extensive untreated trauma…

…visibly repressed memories…

…subjected to S-ranked enhanced interrogation.

…clear signs of post-traumatic stress.

"Why is he cleared for active duty at all?" she questioned incredulously.

"You saw his mission history."

ANBU, then Root. "They can't make you do anything."

"No, but then it's not every day the heir to the throne comes home," Tsunade drawled. "He was picked for it when he was twelve. And considering who picked him, I'd much rather have him in standard ops than quietly rotated back in with the spooks."

Ino leaned back, the hairs on her arms standing. She was familiar with her mentor's wariness of the elders – the Sandaime and Danzo in particular – but it'd never been stated quite so plainly. It was no secret Tsunade's appointment had been divisive. Legend though she was, she had also, quite publically, left the village. Ino knew that she'd fought for the loyalty of each and every shinobi ever since she'd returned and had, for the most part, succeeded. Transparency and fairness were easy concepts to get behind, even for notoriously paranoid shinobi.

But the ANBU had needed a strong, dedicated hand to rebuild after the Crush. The Sandaime had been the natural choice, and his presence had provided a guiding hand that would have otherwise spread Tsunade far too thin early in her tenure. It just had the unfortunate side effect of distancing the Godaime from her most elite troops more than any other Hokage in history.

And that said nothing of Danzo's Root.

"What do you want from me, shishou?" Ino asked finally, shutting the dossier.

Tsunade steelped her fingers. "Just be present. Naruto doesn't seem the type to fall into any scheme of theirs. He probably trusts them less than me. But I wouldn't put anything past them. And, if they do try something, there's no guarantee he doesn't snap and kill them both. I'd rather avoid the headache."

Ino breathed deeply. She rose and placed the file back on the desk in front of her, happy to be rid of its weight. "I won't fail you."

The Godaime's face loosened. "You never have. Thank you, Ino."

The younger blonde bowed and turned for the door, mind awhirl. Tsunade's voice stopped her as she reached for the handle.

"I don't need to tell you to be careful. For your sake as well as his."

Ino looked over her shoulder at her mentor's deathly serious face. She nodded once, and opened the door.

/~/

And we have the team all set. Gonna likely have one more Konoha chapter before we leave the village.

Shouts to the folks at DLP, as always.

26. Concentric Wavelengths

/~/

"Take a seat, Uzumaki-san."

It was a marked improvement from his first trip to ANBU's Torture and Interrogation Department. He wouldn't even be here had Yamanaka Inoichi maintained an office somewhere else.

As it was, the office was simple and professional. He dropped onto a plush red couch across from a comfortable looking armchair; a simple wooden coffee table sat between them. Inoichi himself sat behind a heavy looking desk made of a matching dark wood, scribbling away at a piece of paper. The desk, like most of the office, was mostly unadorned. The only accoutrements were what looked to be picture frames, undoubtedly holding photos of family members, and a sheathed, ornamental ninjato resting on a block of wood.

Putting the finishing touches on whatever the head of ANBU T&I did, the older man rose and smiled. It reached his eyes, but Naruto could tell the clan head was tired. His chakra levels were muted and the lines around and beneath his eyes spoke of minimal sleep.

"Apologies. There's always something else to finish," Inoichi said, sitting down opposite the younger blond.

"Can't say I envy your position."

"I'd call you a fool if you did." He pulled a slim, black recording device out of one of the pockets of his vest and placed it on the table between them. "Follow up evaluation: Uzumaki Naruto." Inoichi smiled. "Try to stay relaxed, you're just speaking with me."

Just Ino's father, got it. Naruto smiled back thinly. Ino had told the Godaime about their momentary entanglement, he knew; he had no idea whether that information had made its way back to Inoichi. Unlikely since he didn't remove himself from being my evaluator, he mused. Some of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders and neck at the thought, Naruto leaned back and made himself comfortable.

"Ask away."

"It's been two weeks since you and I last spoke," the words were punctuated with a small, companionable grin, "How have you found yourself adjusting to Konoha?"

Naruto shifted his gaze away from the older man, considering. "Better than expected." When Inoichi didn't speak, he continued, "It's nice to be part of a team again. It's nice to be around people again, I guess."

"You didn't strike me as lonely, during our first session."

Shrugging, the younger blond said, "I wasn't. But there's a difference between talking with contracted summons and humans. The Salamanders are my friends and allies. They can't relate to being human. We don't think the same."

"Hmm. I've never had a summoning contract myself, but that makes sense," Inoichi allowed. "We'll get into your new team later on, but have you been making connections outside of them?"

Naruto nodded. "Reconnecting with old friends."

/~/

"I can't believe how big you are!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head bashfully as Hikari ushered him inside a modest one bedroom. "It's only been six years," he said. Remembering himself, he thrust forward the flowers in his left hand. "For you and Daisuke. Thank you for inviting me."

"Our pleasure, man," Daisuke crowed as Hikari took the flowers. He grabbed Naruto's hand firmly and pulled him into a one-armed embrace. The redhead was clad in loose-fitting, navy fatigues, a sharp contrast with Hikari's far more formal burgundy kimono. "Glad you had the time."

"Well I'm not technically allowed to leave the village just yet," Naruto said with a smile. "Couldn't avoid you for too long."

"Have you found an apartment?" Hikari asked, ignoring his poor attempt at humor. She passed him a steaming cup of fragrant tea that he took gratefully. "Daisuke said you were put up in the barracks."

"I did. Studio a few blocks off the market district. It's small but it works." In reality, the simple amenities were a nice difference from both the rugged minimalism of his house in Tea Country and the casual luxury in Ame.

"Civilian area," Daisuke grunted, slipping an arm around his fiancé – who he was now officially taller than, the blond noticed.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't mind it. Between you and me, I'm still not totally comfortable being back in a ninja village."

"We're a scary bunch." Daisuke yelped as Hikari did something unseen to him.

"Ignore him, Naruto. Come, take a seat," the Hyuuga said, taking him by the arm and leading him toward the table. "We're running a bit low on food so I had to make a last minute stop at the market, but I hope you'll like it."

"He's been living on a beach eating nothing but sand crabs for who knows how long, Hikari. And before that, it was war rations. You could serve him instant ramen and he'd be fine," the redhead snarked.

"Well excuse me for being raised with manners," Hikari sniffed. She turned a pupil-less glare on her fiancé. "Shouldn't you be offering him a drink?"

Daisuke must've seen something in her eyes that Naruto missed, because he made a beeline for the kitchen.

"The sand crabs really weren't bad," he said as Hikari turned back to him.

Her eyes rolled and her lips quirked upward. "I should hope my cooking clears the bar, then."

Moving to the table, Naruto surveyed the branch Hyuuga in his periphery, trying to marry his memories of the strong-willed, fairly no-nonsense operator with the woman before him now. She'd been a far more nurturing figure than Daisuke or Housei, but then that wasn't a high bar to clear. Now, though, she was softer, which really shouldn't be surprising. ANBU brought out the harshest side of everyone. For some, the only way to cope was by shutting certain aspects of their personality down. Others, like Daisuke, enhanced other parts.

Or maybe we all just grew up.

"Hope you're good with beer." Daisuke padded back in and handed him a green bottle identical to what they'd been drinking at the Indigo weeks ago.

"So long as it's not clear and made in the Land of Water it's fine by me." He flicked the cap off with a miniscule application of chakra and tossed it into the waste bin in the corner. "How're the genin treating you?" he asked as Hikari left to put the finishing touched on whatever wonderful smell was wafting out of the kitchen.

"They're good kids. A fifteen year old and two fourteen year olds so, ya know, they're shitheads, but good kids." The redhead plopped down across from Naruto and ran a hand through his hair. "Never thought I'd be scared of a C-ranked mission, but here we are."

Naruto nodded, remembering that their original sensei had been injured on a previous C-rank. "Takes on new meaning when you're in charge," he said.

"It's not like they're helpless; been together going on three years now. But you know how it goes…" Daisuke took a pull from his beer that Naruto copied.

"Never pegged you for the responsible type."

"Shit, you and me both, Naruto," the redhead laughed.

"I've been a good influence on him," Hikari said as she emerged from the kitchen, two steaming plates piled high with red sauce and smelling of garlic and onion. She placed one in front of Naruto and the other at the empty place setting, sitting down gracefully.

"Um, excuse me?" Daisuke harangued.

"You live here. Serve yourself."

The redhead rose, an affected expression of incredulity on his face. "This is what passes for Hyuuga manners these days? Sad!"

"Please ignore him."

"I always do. This is delicious by the way," Naruto complimented around a mouthful of chicken, mushrooms, and rice.

"Is it? I know it's nothing special…"

"Seriously, and not just because of the sand crabs."

Hikari smiled, gratified, and took a bite herself.

"Daisuke mentioned you're working for your clan these days?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," the Hyuuga said as Daisuke made his way back, plate piled high.

"What does that look like?"

She sighed. "I sit on multiple committees to…make sure Hyuuga interests are being represented is the official line. Of course, I'm Branch, so none of the committees are all that important. Those seats are reserved for Main House members."

"There's no point, is what she's saying," Daisuke chirped. Hikari didn't contradict him. "But, hey! The pay's decent."

"You're tokubetsu. Why not take missions?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"The short answer is I don't want to," Hikari said. Her pale eyes turned to Naruto and she smiled. "I had my fill of defying death in ANBU. And once Daisuke and I decided to give it a try, it just didn't make much sense anymore to be leaving for weeks at a time. I'm lucky that I have the option."

The couple's hands found each other's across the table. Naruto couldn't help his smile. ANBU was for the young and unattached. That his old teammates had done this well for themselves after leaving the corps was everything he'd ever hoped for himself after Kusa.

"Enough about us. What do they have you doing, Naruto?" Hikari asked kindly.

The blond grimaced tightly. "Classified, unfortunately."

Daisuke guffawed, and muttered, "Figures," under his breath. "Anything you can tell us?" he asked before taking a swig. "Inquiring minds wanna know."

Quirking an eyebrow and smirking at the older man's antics, Naruto said, "Only thing not classified is the team assignment. Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Ino. Can't say any more."

And the only reason that wasn't classified was because any shinobi could just happen upon them training.

Daisuke's chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth and he exchanged a look with Hikari. "With you leading?" she asked. At Naruto's answering nod, her well-manicured brows lifted. "That's…quite the team, Naruto."

"You don't do things by half, huh," Daisuke said, a wry gleam in his eyes as he finished his bite.

Naruto frowned. "Not sure what you're getting at..."

"You're leading a team with the Hokage's apprentice and the last Uchiha," the redhead said slowly. Naruto nodded – he was no stranger to his squad mates' skills. "That's a lotta firepower."

"That's a lot of star power," Hikari corrected. "I know you haven't been here for long, but Ino and Sasuke are consensus future elites."

"And you're, well, you," Daisuke finished.

Nagato's words echoed in his mind: "They will want you back just as surely as they wanted him."

Leaning back, the blond took a swig of his beer, suddenly uneasy. "I get that, but I've been gone six years. Any reputation I might've had in ANBU is long gone by now."

Scoffing, Daisuke said, "Don't think you know quite what your rep was back in the day."

"Nobody ever said much because it was ANBU. It didn't matter," Hikari said around a mouthful. "But just because they didn't say much didn't mean they didn't say anything."

"And what were they saying?" he asked, decidedly uncomfortable.

The couple exchanged another glance before Hikari shrugged delicately. "The second coming of Itachi, mostly. Hokage candidate. Things of that nature."

"I was thirteen," Naruto scoffed.

"In ANBU. Naruto, you were the first kid that young in the corps since Itachi. There hasn't been another since," Daisuke said. "That means something. And people talk."

"Surely you weren't blind to everything we're saying," Hikari said softly, an eyebrow raised. "You had to have noticed."

Naruto sighed. He'd always known he was special; had taken pride in it more than once. "You're not wrong. I just…It's not exactly comfortable hearing about it, y'know? What'd you all think of me?"

"That you were a jumped up little shit with too much dip on his chip," Daisuke fired back without missing a beat.

The blond choked a laugh around a sip of beer while Hikari swatted at the redhead. "Can't you be serious for five minutes?"

"He asked, I answered!"

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, thankful for the levity. Regardless of how right Nagato may have been, and likely was, hearing it from people who had known him was markedly different. However much his younger self may have craved recognition and rank, all he wanted now most days was to blend in.

Hikari's hand on his arm shook him from his musings. "We don't mean to make you uncomfortable. But, well, we thought you knew."

He smiled at her. "I think I did. Just different hearing you guys talk about it so plainly."

"Hey, man, at least there's no pressure, right?" Daisuke said, waggling his eyebrows as he rose.

Rolling his eyes with a smile, Naruto drained his beer. "Think I'll take another one of these. Sounds like I'll need it."

/~/

"Do you want to talk more about how others view you?" Inoichi asked.

Naruto shrugged. "What's there to say? Are you comfortable when you know people talk about you?"

"Never. By virtue of my work I'm able to maintain a more professional distance from a good part of the shinobi corps, however," the older man said. "That distance allows me to insulate myself from such things. As of now, you have no such buffer."

A blond brow ticked up; it was a more in depth answer than he'd expected. "I'm made uncomfortable by the implicit expectations that come with it," he allowed.

"Meeting them?"

"I guess. Mostly just that they're there."

"So you want to live a life free of expectations?"

Smiling thinly, Naruto asked, "Doesn't everyone?"

"Not necessarily: those who crave or seek responsibility don't. Not all expectations are bad. My wife expects me to be home in time for dinner most night of the week," Inoichi said with humor. "The village expects me to perform my job to a certain standard in order to keep people safe. Both of which I take pride in."

"Is that what gets you out of bed every day, then? Keeping people safe?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"You're very reciprocal." Naruto said nothing, and Inoichi smirked. "Yes, that's my motivation some days. Others it could be any number of things. Are you normally so inquisitive about people?"

"You've had a front row seat to everything I've ever seen or felt," the younger blond returned. Inwardly, he marveled at the discomfort roiling beneath his skin at the admission. "Maybe I want to even the playing field."

"A completely normal response," the older man reassured quickly. "The power dynamic is skewed between us. In most other circumstances, I'd have had to remove myself from your care. Given the nature of my…findings, however, the Hokage felt it prudent to include as few people as possible."

Naruto nodded, accepting the implied apology.

"Let's get back to expectations. You said you have a problem with them simply existing…"

Sighing, the blond shifted on the couch. "There's a lot of pressure on me to succeed. And I guess if I had a real problem with that I wouldn't be here," he said, entirely truthful. "When it comes to my being back in Konoha, looking back on everything, the way I grew up, I guess it just feels like I never had a choice. I wanted to be great, exceptional, sure. But I can't help but wonder how much of that was me and how much was people choosing things for me."

"People, in this case, being?"

"Did you often debrief teenagers with the Sandaime, Inoichi-san?"

"Ah." Inoichi crossed one leg over the other. "No, I suppose I didn't."

"So you can see why I'd be uncomfortable with the choices I thought I made, but retrospectively seem like they were made for me."

"Would you consider yourself resentful?"

"You already know the answer to that."

"I'd like to hear your interpretation of your feelings," Inoichi said kindly. "Speaking as a psychologist now, instead of an interrogator, what I think about your feelings is irrelevant. Your own interpretations, how you feel about them, matter far more."

Naruto let the silence hang, considering. "I don't resent Konoha as a whole," he said at length. "Sandaime-sama and Danzo sent me off to a war I couldn't have ever been prepared for. I can't exactly get those years of my life back. So yes, I'm resentful. I think you probably would be too."

"Quite possibly," the older man allowed, voice quiet and expression unreadable. Naruto wondered which of his memories he was pondering over. "Let's shift gears. We've talked about reconnecting with old friends. Outside of your team, have there been any new connections? New friends, people you enjoy spending time with?"

"One or two."

"And how would you characterize your time spent with them?"

Naruto paused. "Productive," he said with a smirk.

/~/

Naruto exhaled, a thought accelerating the ice particles in the air in criss-crossing, collision courses. Lightning erupted around his right arm a moment later, small crackles disturbing the peaceful air of the Hokage's training ground. A brief pins and needles sensation made the hairs on his outstretched arm rise; a quick flex relieved the feeling a moment later.

"That's definitely a first," Jiraiya mused. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Trial and error mostly," Naruto said. "Once I understood how it worked it was just a matter of replicating it on a much smaller scale."

"And you said the Salamanders taught you?"

Not exactly. "They've taught me more than I thought was possible," he said truthfully.

Jiraiya chuckled good naturedly as Naruto's jutsu cut off. "Think that's the nature of summons. I basically tripped and fell over backwards into the Toad contract and it's probably the luckiest I ever got." The older man cocked his head to the side and his brow furrowed. "Well, maybe second luckiest," he said with a goofy smile.

The blond sat down on the smooth stone and leaned back against the sloping cavern wall. "I'm fortunate to call them allies. I wouldn't be who I am today if not for them. I probably wouldn't even be alive."

"You've mentioned that." The older man plopped down next to him and flicked open a scroll. Two canteens popped into existence, and he passed one to Naruto who took it gratefully. It was needed after a training session with a Sannin. "How'd they manage it? I've learned a ton from the Toads but healing's not their forte. Always thought that was the slugs' wheelhouse."

"It's not medical ninjutsu," Naruto said. "It's honestly a bit tough to describe…"

"I'm something of a purveyor of the esoteric," Jiraiya harangued with a smirk. "Try me."

Now used to the older man's humor, the blond smiled. "It's a trance. My body basically drops into what they call a hibernation state and…" he trailed off, mind clicking onto something he'd forgotten to ask about a week before. Blue eyes slid over to Jiraiya, seeing a questioning eyebrow raised. "What was that technique you used at the end of our fight?"

The second eyebrow joined the first. "Thought we were talking about you?"

"Humor me, please."

Huffing, Jiraiya joined him in leaning back. "It's a Toad technique. They call it senjutsu. Long story short, you draw what's called natural energy into your body, balance it with the rest of your chakra, and it becomes part of your chakra stores. It increases durability, speed, strength…"

"Senjutsu," Naruto parroted. He shook himself back to the present, mind awhirl. "The Salamanders described the trance as letting the world heal you. You 'open yourself' to the world's energies, if that makes any sense."

"Perfect sense," Jiraiya murmured. "Can you describe the feeling?"

The blond shook his head once. "Not really. I meditated on it a lot when they first found me but didn't really get anywhere; couldn't find what they told me to look for. Ibuse ended up putting me into the trance manually enough times that my body adapted. Subconsciously, I can find it."

"So you learned backwards, basically."

"In a way. I've never been able to replicate it consciously." Unless…

A large hand combed through the older man's mane. "I've never heard of senjutsu to heal before. Tsunade says it speeds my metabolism something fierce, though, so I guess it's not outta the question." He turned to Naruto. "If you don't consciously know how it feels, why'd you ask me about my technique?"

"Because I've felt that before," Naruto declared. How many massive sources of energy can there be? He rose abruptly and began to pace. "My water affinity is high enough that I can feel the individual particles. It's how I make lightning." He saw Jiraiya nod and lean forward, interest naked on his face. "I've been able to…enhance my awareness through water particles in the air for years. I used to only be able to do it when I deliberately used the Kirigakure no jutsu. In Kusa I learned how to do it just by focusing, and it's only gotten sharper since. More recently, when I meditate there's more. A heaviness that's just out of reach. If I focus correctly, it's like I can see the world with my eyes closed."

The older man was quiet as he rested his chin in his palm. Dark eyes surveyed the blond with some emotion Naruto couldn't pin down. "What happens if you focus incorrectly?"

"It slips; I lose it."

"Can you describe what focusing correctly feels like?"

"You know those little floaters in your eyes? You can see them, but when you move your eye to look at them they move with it? It's like that," Naruto said as Jiraiya nodded. "If I'm content to just let it sit in my periphery, it stays. If I try to hone in on it…"

"It disappears," the older man finished. "Tricky bit of mental gymnastics to figure out how to hold onto it, I imagine."

"Haven't been able to pin it down."

"Hmm." Leaning back again, Jiraiya threaded his fingers together behind his head and stared up at the overcast sky. "If it is natural energy you're feeling, and I've got a feeling it is, you're going about it in a way I've never heard of. Or at least the slowest way I've ever heard of. That could be for a lotta reasons, but it sounds like the Salamanders don't have as sophisticated of methods as the Toads when it comes to training it."

"How do you mean?" Naruto asked, trying not to feel offended on behalf of his friends.

Jiraiya grinned crookedly. "Don't take it the wrong way. The Toads have been around since before the Gift of Chakra. Far as I've heard, only the snakes at Ryuuchi cave have been around as long. That's a millennium's worth of time to fine tune their chakra. You know how long the Salamanders have been around for?"

"Not that long," the blond allowed. Ibuse was their second patriarch, and he was only a couple of hundred years old as far as Naruto knew. Honosuke was younger than Jiraiya.

"Exactly. Combine that with the fact that the Toad's ancestral home is literally built on a hotbed of natural energy. Honestly, I'm more surprised the Salamanders cottoned on to natural energy at all, unless there are more hotbeds popping up," the older man trailed off, a considering look on his face. He shook himself a second later. "Anyway, the Toads developed an oil that basically throws you off a cliff into natural energy. One drop of the stuff and you're on a trip that'll put Wind Country's mushroom's to shame. That's how I learned."

"Definitely sounds faster than just meditating on it."

"Loads faster. To be honest, I'm still not all that great at it," Jiraiya said sourly. "When we fought, I used a clone to gather the energy below the water. Your lightning dispelled it and my body absorbed the latent senjutsu chakra."

"Do you think you could help me with it?" Naruto asked eagerly. The boost the nature chakra had given Jiraiya had been staggering.

The older man shrugged. "Don't see why not. Be a lotta trial and error considering I learned completely differently than you, but can't hurt. What I'd like to do is drop you at Mount Myoboku like I did with Minato." Jiraiya shook his head. "But the Toads are territorial and you're already contracted with the Salamanders so that's out."

"Could my father use senjutsu?" the blond asked, curious in spite of himself. The Yondaime's legend was still alluring despite his stated disinterest.

Jiraiya grimaced. "Not well. Turned out it was the one thing he didn't take to easily. I'm sure he could've figured it out, heavens know I'm still working on it, but it wasn't a priority for him."

He was plenty strong without it, Naruto mused.

"Anyway, no time like the present!" Jiraiya crowed, clapping his massive hands together. He beckoned Naruto closer, and the blond sat down in front of him, legs crossed. "The good news is you already know what you're looking for. The bad news is you can't focus on it without it disappearing. Am I right so far?" Naruto nodded. The older man rubbed his hands together, a childish grin overtaking his face. "So! That leaves us in the tricky space of getting you to completely grasp the idea of what you're doing, while also not paying any real attention to it, all at the exact same time."

The blond couldn't help his chuckle. "Sounds easy. Mental gymnastics indeed."

"Ahh, you're a sharp kid. Between the two of us, we'll get it figured out in no time." Jiraiya's gaze turned distant and he frowned contemplatively. "If we get stuck we could always just summon 'Bunta and Ibuse and pick their brains."

"Provided they don't try to kill each other first," Naruto muttered. Ibuse had a score to settle with the boss Toad dating back to the Third Great War.

"Eh, minor details. I'm sure we'd be fine."

/~/

"I had more meant people your own age," Inoichi said around a smile. "Not that Jiraiya-sama isn't a valuable friend."

"I wouldn't consider us friends," Naruto returned. "Not in a bad way, but we've trained together twice in the couple of weeks I've been back."

"Then what would you consider a friend?"

"Is this a question from the Hokage, or to satisfy your personal curiosity?" the younger blond tossed back. He wasn't truly annoyed, but being psychoanalyzed wasn't exactly enjoyable. It's not exactly relevant.

"It's a question of how well you can be expected to continue adjusting to Konoha," the older man said clinically.

Shrugging, Naruto said, "I've never had many friends. You've seen that. The people I've always been closest to were the ones I ran missions with; I've reconnected with the ones who are still around."

"How about this," Inoichi began. "You answer my question, and I'll answer one of yours."

"Reciprocity." Didn't think I was being that difficult, he thought.

"I apologize for not suggesting it sooner."

A blond brow rose at the unnecessary apology, but Naruto said nothing in response, choosing to ponder the question. "Someone I enjoy spending time with, of course," he said at length. "I don't know, I guess there's supposed to be some shared experiences there." He could always fall back on ANBU with Daisuke and Hikari.

"You hit on something there: shared experience. Do you think there are many people you know who have a similar set of experiences?"

"Thought we were trading questions now," Naruto said, smirking.

"Answer me this and I'll answer anything you'd like," Inoichi returned.

The younger blond pushed a strand of hair out of his face – it was growing back quickly. "No. I haven't exactly made any attempts to connect with the other operators who were in Kusa, but I expect my situation is rather unique."

"It is," the older man confirmed. "And I'm not suggesting you should look to speak with those men and women. I'm just trying to get a better picture of what your long term future in Konoha looks like."

"Thus the personal questions."

"Exactly. While there are those who are primarily concerned with your mission fitness, ensuring that you're in the best mental state to lead a healthy life is one of my main concerns. The ordeals you've been through were harrowing to say the least." Inoichi sighed. "You asked me if saving lives is what motivates me; it is, but probably not the way you think."

Naruto leaned back on the sofa, mildly interested in spite of himself.

"I fought in the Third War. It was, without a doubt, the worst experience of my life. And it's why I have this job," the older man said. "You're probably too young to remember much, it ended only a few years after you were born. By that time my wife and I had Ino. The thought of her facing what we did…" He shook his head. "There's nothing I won't do to prevent another war, prevent her from having to experience what I did."

You already failed, Naruto thought. He kept his face blank, however, in deference to the man's larger point. His daughter taking priority didn't make him a bad person. "An admirable goal," he said instead.

"One I wish more of my colleagues shared," Inoichi said at length. "Regardless: now you know something about me. How have you been adjusting to being part of a team again?"

"Saved the best for last?" Naruto asked with a smile.

The Yamanaka grinned. "I'm always interested in how others view my daughter. But, more seriously, you've been on your own for some time."

Trying not to think too hard about how he first viewed Ino, Naruto shifted to make himself more comfortable. "They've gelled faster than my last squad…"

/~/

He rolled out of the way of an earth bullet only to have the ground beneath his feet turn to sludge. A second of concentration saw him rising to the top of the muck, and he pushed off into a shunshin. He reappeared a second later in the path of Sasuke's fist.

Ice crystals formed at the speed of thought, blocking the blow, and Naruto snatched the Uchiha by the wrist, pulled him close, and crashed a palm strike into his solar plexus.

Shit. He threw his left hand skyward as Sasuke's body exploded into electricity. The current lanced through him and he redirected it up in a bolt that was strong enough to leave his hair standing on end. You'd think they're trying to kill me…

His momentary need to stand still left him wide open. A Doryuudan raced toward him, jaws open wide to crush him whole. A half ram seal – Suiton: Zessenzan – saw a thin stream of water erupt from his mouth. It impacted the approaching dragon and sliced through it vertically. The sludge parted around him in two neat waves as Naruto stepped forward.

Getting better, he thought as he dropped beneath Ino's punch, the latent chakra in her fist bleeding into the air. He kicked out at her legs but the younger blonde hopped adroitly over his sweep. Much better. Forced to abort his follow up kick as Ino's hair suddenly lengthened and sharpened into a cocoon, Naruto substituted with a nearby log.

Reappearing, he grinned. A thought encased him in ice half a foot thick as twin dragons of flame erupted from both his flanks. His palms slapped together as the worst of the heat passed a second later, twin sharks exploding from the leftover humidity. Eyes forward, he made a hand seal to lance out at two Sasuke's blurring away, but had to crouch as a bullet of sharpened ice made for his head.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, locking eyes with himself across the thoroughly ruined clearing. A sheet of ice materialized in front of him to catch another bullet. It chipped, but held firm in time for Ino to plow through it a moment later.

Grimacing as he was pelted with a few thousand bits of shrapnel, Naruto redirected a punch to his left and noticed his legs were suddenly encased in ice. Sasuke was on him before he could break out of his clone's trap, and the blond leaned forward to halt the Uchiha's descending blade by catching his wrist. He got a front row seat to Sasuke's smirk as he yanked his arm back, pulling Naruto into the path of Ino's outstretched fist.

Ow. Chakra cushioned the worst of the damage, but he was still sent hurtling through the air from the sheer kinetic force. He skidded to a halt some thirty feet away and rolled to his feet, only for a wave higher than the trees to do its best to eclipse the sky above. Show off. It broke into three parts, each with a dragon's face, and dove for him in the time it took to blink.

He swirled himself into a Suiro no jutsu as the titanic force barreled into him, precise chakra control spinning his water prison up the length of the wave as it rebounded off the ground. Naruto rode the wave up as high as the backwash allowed, then propelled himself upward with a single, chakra enhanced butterfly kick.

Sasuke's chokuto greeted him as he broke the surface. Naruto smirked and brought both his hands up as the cold steel pressed lightly into the skin above his jugular vein. "I yield."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, face betraying none of the satisfaction in the syllable. Ino landed next to him a moment later, grinning widely.

"Not bad for less than two weeks," she crowed. She nodded at the Uchiha next to her. "Nice work on the dragon pincer."

Sasuke just nodded, returning his blade to the sheath resting at the small of his back.

Naruto smiled at his charges. "That was three solid combos you managed to work through." He blinked as his clone dispelled beneath the manmade lake. Kage Bunshin was a tremendously useful technique. "Excuse me, four. I'm sure the last would've caught me if I hadn't already given up," he said sheepishly.

He shook the water out of his hair as he rose to his full height, a thought evaporating the latent moisture saturating his clothes. Both Sasuke and Ino stared at him, eyebrows raised as steam wafted off of him.

"Mind sharing the love?" Ino asked, gesturing at herself. Both she and Sasuke were thoroughly soaked as well.

"Apologies," he said. He reached out with his chakra and drew the water out of their clothes. It collected in two dense balls roughly the size of his head before dropping into the water beneath their feet. "Occupational hazard working with me, but you both know that by now. Good work! I wasn't timing it, but that felt a bit quicker than the drills from yesterday."

"Twelve seconds," Sasuke confirmed.

Almost as obsessed with minutia as Itachi. Must run in the family. "Fantastic. As far as feedback goes, that was nearly flawless. Ino, good work on anticipating your attack wouldn't force me to move. You took back the initiative by flying through that gap." The Yamanaka straightened slightly, lips turning upward a tick. "Sasuke, that lightning clone was well done. I barely sensed it in time to redirect the current."

He clapped his hands once and the ten feet of water beneath them began to drop as it was rapidly absorbed into the ground and evaporated back into the air simultaneously.

"Your teamwork is much improved with my clone," Naruto continued. "How comfortable are you both feeling with the coordination?" The majority of their maneuvers revolved around using either Sasuke's summons or his sensory abilities to pinpoint the enemy and converge upon them. Ino was a developing sensor herself, but wasn't anywhere close to his level, and as such was much better suited for violently taking advantages of any opportunities Sasuke's litany of ninjutsu created.

The two younger nin looked to each other. Ino raised an eyebrow while Sasuke shrugged. "Feeling good," Ino said for the both of them. "It's faster paced than I'm used to, working with your clone; but the openings that are created are bigger too, so it evens out."

"That's good to hear. It'll only get easier." As good as she was, Ino was the least suited to high level combat. But that wasn't saying much considering Naruto's own experience and Sasuke's eyes. She was catching on quickly.

"If we don't have anything else to address with the combos, I guess we're about done here," he declared. "Ino, stay back a minute, will you?"

A momentary look of apprehension was squashed on her face before she nodded. Sasuke spared the two of them a cursory glance before inclining his head ever-so-slightly. He disappeared in a shunshin a moment later.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair as the last of the water receded, leaving the two blondes standing in a dry, if ruined, clearing. They'd had five practices in the ten days since the team had been created, and somehow he and Ino still hadn't been alone long enough to clear the proverbial air. Sasuke had taken up some of that time with various questions, but part of it was just Naruto delaying the inevitable.

Get it over with, you twat.

"So," he began, only for Ino to quiet him with a raised hand.

"Look, I know that we've gotta have this talk considering everything. Just wanted to say that I apologize for running out on you the first day. It was unprofessional and disrespectful," she said, voice clinical.

Naruto fought from raising his eyebrows. Not what I expected, but ok. "Accepted." He paused and cocked his head. "Why did you, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ino's expression was studiously neutral. "I was embarrassed by my performance during the test."

That made some sense. She hadn't performed poorly by any stretch, but then both she and Sasuke were reasonably prideful shinobi. "Got it. Anyway, there's not a whole lot to cover. Considering that our…" he searched for the right word, "entanglement…happened before the team's construction and wouldn't be classified as a 'relationship,' there's nothing that needs to be reported officially." Unless we decide to continue.

He was far from opposed. Emotional attachments, if they existed, had a way of rearing their ugly heads regardless of sexual intimacy in his experience. But given Ino's relatively distant attitude in their team trainings – when compared to the night they met, at least – he wasn't expecting much. Probably for the best, he mused.

"I reported it to the Hokage after the initial team session," Ino said, breaking his reverie. "In the interest of transparency, I though you outta know." Naruto thought she looked a tad sheepish as she said it.

He quirked a brow and fought a smile. "In the interest of transparency, how'd she take it?"

His fellow blonde shrugged. "She's never cared what I do with my time outside of missions."

Well at least I won't have the Godaime breathing down my neck.

"She did show me your file," Ino said, pulling him up short.

His second eyebrow joined its counterpart. "Did she…I suppose I should be flattered that you didn't put in for a transfer," he murmured after a moment of consideration. He shoved his rising hackles back down; privacy was a myth in a hidden village – he'd just have to readjust.

"I'm not about to back down from a challenge," she declared, and Naruto couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him.

"Is that what I am, then?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Ino had the good grace to grimace. "…that came out wrong. This is an important mission, and one I wanna be a part of."

Naruto nodded. "I believe you. Can I ask you a personal question?" Ino nodded back. "What does Tsunade want you looking out for?"

Her face shuttered. She held her silence for about ten seconds, seafoam eyes regarding him; Naruto held her gaze with ease, his sharpened awareness trained on her in return. "Nothing in particular," she said at length.

Her heart rate was steady. His sensing wasn't a foolproof lie detector test, certainly not one for a kunoichi of Ino's caliber, but it was an added perspective. He nodded, appreciating that she didn't bother trying to bullshit. Her being Tsunade's eyes and ears was a given; lying about it would've only lowered his opinion of her. "Fair enough."

"Can I ask you a personal question?" she threw back his way.

"Shoot."

"Why're you here?" Ino asked, naked interest written on her face.

Like teacher like student, I guess, he thought with humor. "Are you asking why I didn't stay on a beach in Tea Country?"

"Something like that. And none of that platitude shit," she ordered.

Naruto laughed. "What, you don't trust my sense of duty?"

Her lips turned up in a small smile. "Don't forget who my sensei is."

Nodding, for he'd already had this conversation with the Godaime anyway, he shrugged artlessly. Distantly, he wondered at Tsunade surrounding him with people who weren't preaching loyalty of the highest order. Would be an interesting way to build trust. "This mission, Akatsuki, it's more important than anything I feel personally. How deep did you get into my psych report?"

"Deep enough to understand why shishou would want me on the team."

Point. "My qualms lie with shinobi as a whole, not specifically Konoha."

"You're a pretty good killer for someone who claims to hate it," Ino said. Her gaze lingered on him, eyes glittering a brilliant blue in the midafternoon sunlight. It was similar to how she'd looked at him at the bar, though the clear attraction had been replaced by something far more calculating.

"Is that a question?"

"Take it however you want."

Naruto snorted lightly. "Just because you've done something, doesn't mean you have to keep doing it. I'm strong enough to have the luxury of a choice when I fight. So I choose life."

At some point in the conversation, Ino had drawn closer to him. She was no more than two arm's length from him now, and she had to look up slightly to meet his eyes. "I told you you couldn't be boring," Ino told him quietly.

"We've established that disappointing you is a bad idea." Naruto rocked back on his heels slightly. "Just holding up my end of the bargain."

White teeth gleamed as Ino grinned. "Much appreciated, senpai," she said lowly.

Fighting a flush, Naruto did his best not to fidget. "I may not have a ton of experience, but I feel like most people would have some qualms about working with someone like me."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Do I look like 'most people?' And my father doesn't seem to think you're that dangerous."

Oh, I bet you enjoyed that, didn't you? he thought uncharitably, connecting the dots between his interrogator and his squad-mate. Ino's face, predictably, revealed nothing. "Well…lucky me." At her immediate grin and raised eyebrows, he rolled his eyes. "Getting back on topic, am I gonna have to file a report to the Hokage?" he asked. The conversation had turned rather unexpectedly.

Snorting, Ino said, "No. I like you, but this mission is a bit more important." And like that, whatever tension had been between them evaporated like Naruto's suiton jutsu.

Professionalism slid back into place. "Understood. Anything else to go over?" he asked.

"Think we've about covered it."

"Then I'll see you at oh-seven-hundred in two days."

She nodded once and made a half ram seal. "Naruto," she bid farewell.

"Good work today, Ino."

/~/

"She's very driven," Naruto said, withdrawing from his reminiscence.

"Very," Inoichi affirmed. "She had an altercation during the Crush that flipped a switch in her." His eyes, a darker shade than his daughter's, glittered with amusement. "I'll admit it was a bit jarring at first, but I couldn't be more proud of the woman she's becoming."

The younger blond didn't bother to hide his smile.

"Anyway, your two week evaluation period is now complete. Is there anything else you'd like to share with me?"

Naruto shook his head.

"I thought not. You're acclimating better than I'd hoped when I performed your first evaluation," Inoichi said. "I'll speak to the Hokage and let her know I'm clearing you for active service. I would, however, ask that you continue to see a psychologist moving forward. It doesn't have to be me, but I feel you'd benefit greatly."

It was an easy price to pay. "That won't be a problem."

"Very good. Our time's up for today. Good luck, Naruto-san."

/~/

27. Discordant

Not mine.

/~/

The path to training ground thirty-nine was well worn for how little it was used. It was generally out of the way, furthest from the junction that connected the jonin grounds to the regular use areas, and was comparatively small. The waterfall and resultant pond took up too much space for the training ground to be of much use to jonin without a suiton affinity.

All of it combined to make for the most privacy Naruto could realistically hope for in Konoha. His ANBU tail had disappeared sometime in the past two days since he'd officially been cleared for active duty, and he'd taken the intervening time to triple and quadruple check that his senses weren't being subverted. He was confident in his abilities, but he couldn't much afford a lapse.

Not now.

And so Naruto found himself striding into the familiar clearing, senses on high alert, at dusk. The muggy air tickled his skin, a remnant of the late afternoon storm that seemed to happen every day. The fireflies were out, the intermittent flashes briefly illuminating the shrubs they fluttered between; they'd be a hit in the village proper, he knew, with children stumbling through the streets with jars to catch them. Fading sunlight poked through the treetops as he made his way to the waterfall. Leftover clouds were cast in pink and orange that bled into the deep purple of night.

Naruto gazed upward as he reached the water's edge, cast his senses outward. His chakra touched everything in a near half-mile radius, painting a picture of the world around him even as his eyes closed.

Two jonin sparred three training grounds away, their chakra swirling frantically. There were no other humans until he reached the main training grounds, only animals either going to sleep or waking for the night. He lingered on each of the insects within reach for a split second apiece, searching for hints of chakra that wasn't their own. Aburame made for glorious spies, but even their subtlety had its limits.

Satisfied that he wasn't being surveilled, Naruto reigned in his chakra, blanketing only the air of training ground thirty-nine. He dove gracefully into the still water a second later and swam until he felt the crashing of the water above his head. He ducked behind the spray, into the space between the small cliff and the waterfall. He pushed himself to the surface and curled his legs underneath him.

Eight hand seals called the Gentooshin no jutsu, and a moment later he was face to face with Konan. "Good evening."

"Naruto. It's good to see you," Konan greeted with a small smile. She was dressed casually in a black bodysuit, cloak nowhere to be seen. Her eyes glimmered in the fading light of Ame, seeming all the more striking next to her hair.

"You as well," Naruto said, allowing himself a smile as well. She was a breath of familiarity in a village he was still trying to acclimate to. "We're a go. Jiraiya received information regarding the location of a base in Waterfall Country, in the steppes near the border with Earth."

Konan nodded. "His network is more efficient than anticipated. We leaked the information yesterday. You deploy tomorrow?"

"First thing. Supposedly a two day trek at full speed. Up to thirty days allowed for further investigation and completion."

"You'll need it. He won't be there. Our intelligence points to him being far more active in Grass County and River Country these last two years."

Naruto grimaced. Naturally, they couldn't find him immediately. It would be too convenient, even for Jiraiya's network. "New info will be provided sometime during the thirty day window?"

"Yes, though it would be best if you turned south. It's unlikely Konoha will argue with your results when you apprehend Orochimaru, however, we need this as airtight as possible."

"Understood. My teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Ino. Highly competent. If there's any trail, Sasuke should be able to follow it; he learned from Hatake Kakashi."

Konan straightened at the mention of his teammates. "They assigned Itachi's brother and the Godaime's apprentice…They either trust you a great deal or not at all."

My thoughts exactly. "I think they're seeking to build trust," he assured her.

"Or they're keeping your future assassins close."

Naruto shrugged artlessly. "Always a possibility, but I doubt it."

"Elaborate."

"Sasuke's presence is bait, more than anything. He and Orochimaru apparently had…dealings in the past. Enough that Konoha thinks Orochimaru would be tempted by his presence away from the village. Ino appears to be something of an olive branch. Conversations I've had with her are more geared toward understanding why I came back at all. Tsunade has been much the same."

Nodding, Konan hmm'd as she thought. "You've, of course, considered that this is simply a long play to tap you for information."

"I have. There's not much I can do about it, though," Naruto said. "They've seen everything we've allowed them to see in my mind. The best I can do now is to follow through on the mission and see where it leads."

"You think they believe you."

"I'm choosing to believe they do. You know how infiltrations work. If I spend all my time looking over my shoulder I'll either tip them off or go insane."

The reality of long-term infiltration missions was that the playbook went out the window very early. Paranoia, however warranted, had rapidly diminishing returns. He could cover his bases as best as possible, but to second guess everything that was said to him on all fronts would drive him mad inside six months. His reactions, his emotions, had to be genuine in the company of professional liars, and they couldn't be if he was constantly trying to parse the motivations of his new comrades.

"They don't fully trust me," Naruto said at length. "But we did a good job. The memories held. Worst case, far as I can tell, is Tsunade thinks I'm a burnout who's only back because I'm scared of something worse. I can work with that. The Elders are a bit trickier, but at least one of them wants to trust me."

"Sarutobi?"

He nodded. "The Sandaime and I go a ways back, which you know. Can't speak for Koharu or Homura, and Danzo doesn't trust anyone. But I don't need them. Jiraiya's made himself available for training and Tsunade hasn't pressed me on why I stayed away. I'd sooner throw in with them than the geriatrics," he said, lips quirking slightly.

Konan allowed a thin smile. "It's not unreasonable to think they see you as a kindred spirit."

"It's crossed my mind. I'm not counting on it, though."

"You'll have your performance to fall back on," she declared. "Good work, Naruto. As your handler I have to be sure you're considering all possibilities, but the reality is we wouldn't have sent you if we didn't think they'd accept you. Orochimaru will be a tough task, however. He's both highly unpredictable and highly dangerous."

"Jiraiya's done his best to prep me. I'm confident I'll be up to the task." Unsaid was that Jiraiya's information was woefully out of date, but he could work with it.

Konan raised her chin slightly. Her bronze eyes considered him for a moment before, "Reach out to Itachi. He'll have had the most recent dealings with him."

Naruto did his best not to let his surprise show. He'd not talked with Itachi since his departure from Ame. "Will do."

"How are you faring making connections?"

"Better than expected," Naruto said. "I've reconnected with my old ANBU squad mates and made the acquaintance of some younger shinobi." Best get it over with. Not like you knew. "The most notable was Yamanaka Ino. She and I slept together two weeks ago, after I was cleared by ANBU and before I was given charge of the team."

Konan's demeanor, rarely anything but coolly professional, closed off. "Explain."

Through some force of will he managed to not fidget. "We were introduced at a shinobi only bar through a mutual friend. Over the course of the night, it became clear she was…interested in me." Not like you realized it in real time… "Things progressed. We parted ways the next morning and I was tested by Jiraiya. With the revelation of the team, Ino and I have spoken and decided mutually not to sleep together again."

Konan looked at him for a few moments, and Naruto held her gaze no matter how much it felt like he was being dissected. "Can you speak to her motivations at all?" she asked finally.

"You mean do I think she seduced me on Tsunade's orders?" Naruto asked, somehow keeping bite from his voice. Konan's chin rose. "I don't. My psych eval had already been done and it'd be too transparent a ploy with her being on the team. Put yourself in their shoes," he said. "I'm a recently returned burnout who had enough bad experiences to leave the shinobi world behind. Would you send someone to seduce me, or think, reasonably, that that'd be a great way to destroy any trust in the system I had left?"

"A village lacking foresight isn't unheard of."

Naruto bit back a sigh. Think that's the closest to sarcasm I've heard from her. "It's too heavy handed for Tsunade. If it were anyone else but Ino, I'd consider it more." And I've already thought about it too much… "Ino and I also go back a ways. I saved her and a team of genin during the combined Suna-Oto invasion. She was…disappointed when I didn't immediately recognize her. I think she took it personally."

A thin, blue brow arched. "And decided to seduce you to prove a point? I wouldn't have expected the Godaime's apprentice to be so petty."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek to keep from retorting. Ino might even describe herself as petty – she freely called herself a bitch after all – but he felt the inexplicable urge to defend her. Sex aside, he liked her; she was competent, ambitious, and a hard worker, all things he'd once aspired to be.

"Regardless," Konan continued after a moment, "If you don't believe yourself compromised, I have to take you at your word." Her eyes drifted closed as she ran a hand through her hair.

He opened, then closed his mouth, remembering their last conversation in Ame. Everything he'd said, with the possible exception of his and Ino's intimacy, was standard fare for any infiltration. "What's bothering you, Konan?" he asked softly.

Konan's lips turned up in a tiny smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You don't have to worry about me, Naruto."

Naruto refrained from rolling his eyes. He couldn't make her trust him, and her continued reticence was beginning to wear on him, regardless of how long she'd been alone with Nagato. "And if I worry anyway? You're my handler; we're in this together."

She laughed, a bitter, choked sound that set Naruto's nerves on edge. What in the world?

"I appreciate the sentiment."

"Is Nagato around?" Naruto asked. He remembered nearly walking in on her in a moment of some sort with the Deva Path. Surely Nagato would be sensitive to his oldest friend's emotional state – he'd likely have a better handle on whatever had set Konan on edge.

"He's not," Konan said immediately, her manner closed off once more.

Traveling then, Naruto thought.

"He's been…unsettled for some time now," she suddenly volunteered. "Since before you left, truly. Around his fight with…Obito."

"Much that I had thought to be true was proven a lie."

A blond brow rose. "He learned something off-putting in that fight. No idea what it was, but I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary." Nagato being anything other than his usual, mercurial self would certainly be enough to stress Konan out.

"You wouldn't have." It wasn't delivered sharply, but Naruto still leaned back a touch at the retort. Konan's countenance softened a moment later. "I apologize. You've no doubt noticed I'm not myself today."

"Can I help?" Short of returning to Ame or trying to track Nagato down, he wasn't sure how he could assist, but he'd certainly try.

She favored him with a small smile once more, one that lit her bronze eyes from within. "Not as you are. But thank you," she said with feeling, and he couldn't help the warmth that suffused him. "He's off visiting temples in the north if that gives you anything to think on. He wasn't all that forthcoming before he left."

Nodding, Naruto wracked his brain. "We met at a temple to Asura when he was recruiting me."

Konan's eyes widened slightly. "His brother, Indra, was more worshipped in the north…"

"He says he's descended from Asura while Indra was the patriarch of the Uchiha," Naruto said. "Not sure what Obito could've told him to send him up there, but that'd be my best guess."

"He's always been obsessed with the Sage," Konan murmured. "Yes," she said mostly to herself. "That must be it."

Naruto felt himself smile at helping provide a mote of clarity. "I'm sure he'll be back soon and tell you all about it."

"Nagato keeps much to himself," she said almost absently. "But yes…he'll be back soon." A cloud had come over Konan once more, and Naruto nearly groaned in frustration.

I'm not very good at this…

Konan shook herself a moment later and favored him with a polite smile. "I have much to do to prepare for his return. Please continue to keep me updated on your progress, Naruto."

Blinking at the sudden dismissal, Naruto nodded. "Of course."

"Be safe."

"You as well, Konan."

Naruto let the connection fade and basked in the sound of the waterfall for a few moments. He was happy to have the briefing out of the way. He'd spent more time than he'd wanted parsing how exactly to speak about his experiences so far in Konoha. Konan's reaction had been better than he'd hoped for.

She was, of course, concerned for him and the sanctity of the mission. He'd expected that. That he'd gotten away without an earful about being smarter about who he slept with was a small mercy.

He cast his senses out once more and, satisfied that no one had wandered any closer during the conversation, flipped through the seals for the Gentooshin once more. He changed the final seal to Itachi's and was greeted with the older nuke-nin's face a moment later.

"Naruto."

"Itachi. I apologize for the suddenness."

"It is no trouble. Your timing is fortuitous; Kisame is away scouting," Itachi told him. He was as unreadable as ever, but Naruto had spent enough time around him in Ame to be able to parse the occasional expression.

Naruto nodded and, wanting to get things moving, started in the most logical place. "I need information on Orochimaru. Apparently, you have the most recent dealings with him."

Both of Itachi's eyebrows rose fractionally. "His departure from Akatsuki was a result of him trying to take my body nine years ago."

"I'm sorry, when he what?" Naruto burst out. He saw Itachi's lips tilt ever-so-slightly upward. I'll never understand his humor.

"It is as I said," Itachi continued, his momentary bout of hilarity concluded. "Orochimaru chases immortality. To do so, he invented a technique that can transfer his consciousness to another host body." Naruto felt his eyes widen at the implications of such a technique; he still had so much to learn. "I suspect he chose me because of my Sharingan."

That made sense given Jiraiya's claim that his former teammate wanted to master all ninjutsu.

Refocusing, Naruto asked, "How did you counter him?" He couldn't have been more than fifteen, he thought, doing the math. Itachi was a tremendous shinobi, but Orochimaru had been S-ranked before either of them had been born.

"A question I've asked more than once. I can only conclude that he is greatly weakened by the transference jutsu. My genjutsu momentarily overpowered him and gave me the advantage."

"He underestimated you."

"I understand that hubris has long plagued him," Itachi said.

Can't count on that. "Do you remember any specific techniques? I doubt he'll try the same with me…"

"Only a simple binding jutsu using his snakes," Itachi told him. "He retreated quickly once I gained the upper hand. I was too wary to pursue him further. Perhaps I should have."

Naruto kept his expression neutral in the face of the useless information. Jiraiya had been far more knowledgeable. Still, he was about as prepared as he could hope to be to face a veritable living legend.

"Have you made contact with Sasuke, by chance?"

Guilt immediately threaded through Naruto. Should've led with that… "I have," he said. "He'll be part of my team as we hunt for Orochimaru."

He didn't truly owe Itachi much of anything, but they were friendly if not exactly friends. They'd talked and trained together during the weeks Itachi had spent in Ame in the wake of Nagato's power play.

"How is he?" It didn't take a genius to interpret the nearly hungry expression on the elder nuke-nin's face.

Naruto considered his words, wondering just how honest Itachi wanted him to be. Probably brutally, he reasoned. This was the man who'd weighed the pros and cons of slaughtering his own family at thirteen.

"Troubled," he settled on at length. "He's very talented. Smart, tactical, creative. But he's obsessive." Naruto paused momentarily. "He's fixated on killing you."

The hunger retreated behind the usual inscrutable mask. Itachi was quiet for nearly thirty seconds before asking, "Do you think he could?"

Sage fucking help me. Naruto threaded fingers through his hair, lamenting it not having grown all the way back so he could yank it out. "If I answer, will you tell me why you want your little brother to murder you?"

"A fair trade," Itachi said sardonically, real emotion bleeding into his voice in a way only Sasuke could elicit. Naruto barely kept his eyes from rolling.

He sighed. "He's a good shinobi but he doesn't have a hope of beating you as he is. I picked his strategies apart when I tested him. Some of that is a matchup of our skillsets, but you would do the same without much difficulty." Itachi couldn't manipulate lightning in the same way he could, as far as Naruto knew, but he was a slippery as they came.

"Where would you place him using the lettering system?"

Naruto pulled a face. "A-ranked if you made me choose, but you know those are subjective at best." The letter system was more accurate than the classification system villages used, but it was still tough to slot a shinobi into one particular rank with complete confidence.

"Indeed." Itachi paused, contemplative. "He is strong, then, but not strong enough. I fear without the Mangekyo he never will be…" he said, sounding like he was speaking mostly to himself.

The blond gave Itachi a few moments to pour over whatever was troubling before clearing his throat lightly. He didn't have all night.

Thankfully, Itachi took the cue. "The Mangekyo is the final evolution of the Sharingan. It can only be awoken through terrible emotional trauma. The most effective is being party to the death of a loved one. Uchiha history is littered with members killing their loved ones to achieve its power." Naruto felt his eyes widen in abject horror. "Mine awoke when my best friend, Shisui, killed himself before the massacre."

That Naruto was at least familiar with. He felt the stirrings of fury at Danzo's actions once more. Shisui had been older than Itachi, but he'd died at twenty-one.

"It is the source of Amaterasu, the black flame I used in our bout," Itachi continued. "In a fight between Sharingan wielders, one with the Mangekyo will inevitably win. Its powers are far more potent and are nearly impossible to counteract without another Mangekyo."

Which means Sasuke's goal is hopeless in a true fight, Naruto mused. Even without this Mangekyo, he suspected Itachi would be more than a match for his younger brother. The elder Uchiha was as close to a perfect shinobi as he had ever met.

"So…why exactly do you want him to kill you?" he asked at length, trying to get to the heart of the matter. Esoteric Sharingan abilities interested him little.

"Would you wish to live with the things I have done?"

Naruto blinked. "Yet you're still here," he said quietly.

"Sasuke is to be our redemption," Itachi declared. "The Uchiha plotted to murder their comrades as I did to them in turn. In killing me, Sasuke would avenge them and the new Uchiha could rise with honor; free of the taint of our bloody past."

"You thought of all this before you killed them?" Naruto asked, trying his best to control his expression.

"I confess that I was not in…the best state of mind." Itachi smiled as bitterly as when he'd divulged the truth of the massacre. "I loved my family. They were wrong, and their mistake would have cost the lives of thousands, but I still loved them. The last ones I killed were my parents. My mother was distraught; she could not understand the choice I made and pleaded with me until the end. My father named me traitor as I overcame him. In the wake of their deaths, I thought only of my own."

"And you saddled Sasuke with the responsibility."

Itachi closed his eyes. "I was shortsighted in the moment, and I'm afraid my actions likely caused him irreparable harm."

Naruto forcibly reminded himself that Itachi had been thirteen at the time. Of course he hadn't been thinking straight. And now, ten years later… "You didn't think to try to correct the mistake at any point?"

"The path I set Sasuke on is not one easily left," Itachi told him. "And, while I confess it was ill thought out, I still cannot conceive a better way to atone for what I did."

"And in what way does killing you actually benefit him? Deserved or no, he'll still have killed his brother," Naruto bit out, thoroughly fed up. For as insightful and intelligent as Itachi was, his intransigence on this made no sense.

Sure, it seemed to be all Sasuke thought about when they weren't discussing mission specifics and team maneuvers, but that wasn't healthy.

"And he will be celebrated for it," Itachi declared.

"For a lie!"

"Do you believe the truth to be kinder?" Naruto was silent. There was nothing kind about this. "It would destroy him, Naruto," Itachi implored.

"Nothing good can come from this deceit," Naruto said. "What if it gets out? He'd be better served hearing it from you."

"It will not." Itachi's voice brooked no argument. "With Obito's death, the only ones who know are you, Konoha's leadership, and Nagato. Neither Nagato nor Konoha stand to gain anything from telling him. Which leaves you."

The question was left unsaid. But Naruto wouldn't even know how to begin speaking of this to Sasuke. And it was just as likely that Sasuke would think him a delusional liar even if he tried.

"He should know the truth of his brother," Naruto said after a few moment's contemplation. "For your sake as well as his."

"The true mark of a shinobi is self-sacrifice," Itachi said. "The essence of our lives is to protect from the shadows. I chose to protect peace, and I have long since accepted my place in this."

I haven't, Naruto wanted to say. He couldn't truly empathize with his counterpart, but the idea of fighting and dying for the sake of a lie tasted like ashes in his mouth. Itachi truly cared. That was a rarity that ought not be snuffed out. He shook his head. "It doesn't make it right."

The blond started as Itachi actually chuckled. "Is there such a thing as right in our world? We fight believing in our own justice."

"But so does everyone else," Naruto finished. It was the basis of his and Itachi's understanding, and they'd discussed it at length in Ame. He refocused. "You have my word I won't tell Sasuke. But consider that your death likely won't bring him the closure he's after. He's not wired that way. The truth will hurt him, yes, but do you really think he can rebuild the Uchiha without knowledge of their mistakes?"

Not that Naruto would trust Sasuke to be the patriarch of any clan at this point. He liked him, worked well with him, but rebuilding such a clan with the heavy expectations on his shoulders was nearly as tall a task as killing Itachi was.

"I will think on it," Itachi promised, and Naruto knew he would.

All I can ask for. How'd I end up here? the blond wondered. He wasn't exactly one to offer psychological advice yet compared to the Uchiha he was downright well adjusted.

"Kisame will return soon. I would appreciate more news of Sasuke whenever you have time, however," Itachi said. The hungry look in his eyes was back.

"I'll likely have time to contact you once the mission is complete," Naruto said. "Stay safe."

"You as well, Naruto."

/~/

He rose before dawn, having retired immediately after the troubling conversations with Konan and Itachi. Not for the first time did he wonder at the turn his life had taken. He plotted to overthrow the shinobi system, debated ideology with notorious nuke-nin, and would be leaving to capture one of the greatest legends on the continent all within twelve hours.

He was a long way from dreaming of jonin and rebuilding the Uzumaki clan.

The early start gave him time to brush up on his tertiary objectives, at least – which his debrief with Konan had inadvertently reminded him of.

Hashirama.

Bijuu.

Rikudou.

Or rather it would have, had the A and S-classified sections of the archive contained much information relevant to his objectives. Of the three, he could only find concrete information on bijuu in old war records and bingo books entries. Given what he knew of Akatsuki's goals, Naruto doubted Konan and Nagato needed decades old intelligence on the Gobi jinchuuriki's favored techniques.

Though they had given him some ideas regarding steam that he needed to explore.

He wandered out of the classified areas with a frown; he still had nearly two hours before needing to be at the gate for departure and little to do. For the first time, he questioned Konan's assignment. Why the subterfuge? What prevented her from simply giving him clearer instructions vocally? Why did she want him looking into the information in the first place? It wasn't like Akatsuki didn't have vast archives of their own. Hanzo had been meticulous in his documentation of anything he found worth keeping record of, which, as far as Naruto had been able to tell in Ame, was damn near everything.

There were also Naruto's counterparts in the other villages, unknown to him as they were. Was Konan tapping them for their village's knowledge too?

Shaking his head, he wandered down the stairs from the upper levels and into the general section which housed information open to academy students and civilians. There were a few people milling about in, early risers, insomniacs, and those who worked in the archive, but it was still mostly empty.

"Can I help you?" a high, feminine voice asked from over his shoulder.

Naruto turned and came face to face with an attendant; a pretty young woman, probably five or so years older than him. Auburn hair fell to her shoulders in ringlets that framed her face and made her green eyes stand out. She smiled at him and a twinge of familiarity tweaked the back of his mind.

"Mai?" he asked, eyes narrowed in thought.

She blinked and looked down, but there was no nametag on her chest. "…yes that's me," she said brightly, recovering quickly. "I'm afraid I don't…" Mai trailed off, still smiling brightly without a hint of the awkwardness that Naruto felt bubbling under his skin.

Right, haven't been in here in most of a decade. "Uzumaki Naruto," he reintroduced himself, attempting a smile. "I used to come in here –"

"Naruto? Little Naruto?" Mai burst out in a hushed whisper.

Naruto felt his eyebrows rise at both being remembered and being called little. He glanced down at himself, subconsciously mirroring Mai from a moment before. His eyes cut back to hers with an amused smirk. "Not that little anymore, I think."

Mai, who had been looking him up and down, blushed prettily. "My goodness, you've grown," she said, looking at him in something like wonder.

He shrugged. "Well, you know, eat your vegetables and all that." What are you even saying, you imbecile? But Mai laughed, and it didn't even sound forced, so Naruto pushed on. "I did need help, actually."

He pulled out a piece of paper that he'd written the mission objectives on and handed them to Mai – it wasn't like he was getting anywhere on his own. If she still works here after all these years she'll know exactly where to find them, too.

"I've checked the upper levels already," he concluded, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Mai, who'd pulled a pair of glasses that suited her face far too well out of nowhere, stared at the list. "You wouldn't've found much up there," she told him. "The upper archives are entirely verified accounts of everything. Mission reports and techniques. You're looking for legends."

Naruto blinked. Well, that explains it. He echoed his thoughts out loud, and Mai handed him the paper back with a smile.

"I could take you to the proper section if you'd like. I don't remember you spending much time on fairytales when you were shorter than me," she said with a smirk that dimpled her right cheek.

Considering his days in the archive had been spent trying to find more efficient ways to kill people? Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Lead the way."

Mai turned on her heel and led him through the stacks briskly. Soon enough, Naruto stood before a towering serious of scrolls, each with a worn, colorful binding. For kids, right, he mused. All the scrolls in the classified section of the archive were stamped in red with a numerical sorting number and nothing else.

"I can't promise you'll find everything here," Mai told him, suddenly fidgety. Her hands smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles in her pants. "But this is your best bet. Is there any more information you have that could narrow the search down?"

"Not really," Naruto said absently, eyes scanning the scrolls quickly. There were a few dozen scrolls that he could see that dealt with Senju Hashirama alone. "It's more of a personal research project, to be honest. I'm not entirely sure what I'm even looking for yet."

It sounded wishy-washy to his own ears and he cursed Konan for not giving him anything concrete to go on. His eyes fell on Mai, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, who appeared to be thinking it over as if they weren't standing in the children's section.

"Hmm," she murmured, eyes flittering between the shelves and Naruto himself. "The only way I can think of the three being linked is that the Sage, if legend is to be believed of course, created them after defeating the Ten Tails. Hashirama-sama could apparently control them, again, if legend is to be believed."

Naruto's brows reached for his hairline. "I mean, that's way more than I had to go on before," he said, chuckling. "Guess I really didn't pay attention to this kinda stuff…"

Mai giggled. "You had more important things to worry about, Naruto-kun. I could pull a selection for you?" she half asked, gesturing at the wall of scrolls. "I can cross-reference scrolls that mention the bijuu and Hashirama-sama and ones that mention the bijuu and the Sage."

Nodding, Naruto said, "Yeah let's do that!"

She beamed up at him. The smile faded a second later. "It may take a bit, though. I'd have to manually check the records and I'm sure you have more important work to be doing…"

"Nah, that'll be fine," he quickly reassured her. "I'm leaving for a mission today anyway. I should be back in a month."

"Oh, then it's no problem!" Mai said brightly, lighting up like the dawn. "I'll have a full list ready for you well before you're back."

"Thank you so much, that'd be fantastic!"

"Anything for my favorite visitor," she told him with a wink. She blushed a moment later and turned half away, back toward the main area of the archive.

"I'm surprised you're still working here," Naruto said as he started walking. "It's been, what, eight, nine years now?"

"Nine," Mai confirmed, a hint of wistfulness in her voice that reminded Naruto of days long past. Days when all he cared about was getting stronger and she'd tried to encourage him to do everything but. "It's funny, I never planned to stick around so long. But I got promoted to senior archivist a few years back and the pay is good and…I dunno," she laughed. "It just sorta happened."

"Life's like that." He smiled down at her and she returned it full force. "You still with that guy?" Naruto asked, struck by yet another memory. "What was it, Genji? Some merchant's kid."

Mai blinked up at him, brow furrowing. "Genji? Do you mean Gendo?"

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Yeah, that's the one. Nice guy."

Mai laughed breathily. "No, we're not together anymore. Wow, I don't think I've even thought about him in years. We broke up so long ago."

Suddenly embarrassed at his knowledge being so out of date, Naruto floundered. "Ah, I'm sorry…"

"No, don't be!" she quickly assured him, laying a hand on his arm as they reached the large front doors. "We were kids, nothing serious."

"Guess I was just even more of a kid, then," he said quietly, memories of what he'd been doing at sixteen resurfacing. Seven-hundred and seventy days…

A light squeeze of his arm dragged him back to the present. Mai stood close, looking up at him with a small smile that made her eyes gleam like emeralds.

"Lost you for a second," she said. "You all good up there?"

"Yeah, just, uh…thinking about the mission, you know?" Naruto managed.

"Well keep your head on straight out there," Mai ordered. "You've got a research project waiting for you when you get back."

Naruto barked a laugh. "Well, when you say it like that, how could I not be motivated to get home as soon as possible?"

"That's the spirit!" she cheered, giving his arm one last squeeze before letting go. "I'll have everything all set for you, so don't you worry."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Naruto grinned, genuinely happy to have seen her. "Good catching up with you, Mai. I'll see you when I get back."

"Stay safe, Naruto-kun."

That said, Naruto turned and strode out the door, into the waiting morning. Konoha had finally woken up. Shinobi rushed over the rooftops while civilians began opening up shop.

Striding into the main thoroughfare, Naruto let his mind wander. In the two weeks he'd been back, he'd been amazed by just how many people there were in Konoha. There was so much life in every direction he looked, from the shopkeepers to their children. Ame was bigger – from a civilian standpoint – but he'd never interacted with the general populace. Neither had Nagato and Konan, to his knowledge.

Passing a stand selling steamed pork buns, he was struck, suddenly, at how right Mai had been all those years ago. The shinobi lifestyle wasn't everything; it'd only taken him half a decade and a few hundred bodies to figure it out.

Better late than never, Naruto thought. The idea that he could still be in ANBU – or Root – was almost physically repulsive.

The face of the random agent Danzo has tasked with following him when he first arrived popped into his mind. The cursed seal on his tongue had marked him as one of Danzo's soldiers exclusively. Had he ever questioned his orders? Naruto's captain had never bothered with the same until the war had reached its pinnacle in Kusa.

He shook himself. Reminiscing helped nothing. He'd handle Danzo when the opportunity presented itself.

The gate came into view in a few short minutes, and Naruto extended his awareness. He'd been working on not always keeping it active in Konoha. It played havoc on his anxiety, but he had to get over his fears at some point. The fact he hadn't jumped when Mai had come up behind him was a step in the right direction.

The rush of chakra presences back into his awareness was like a dam breaking, but Naruto was well used to it. He turned his focus inward to blunt the sudden feeling of everyone and refocused a second later with nary a wince.

A familiar presence was cloaked half a block from the gate and Naruto took a half-step onto a side street. "Any last-minute advice?" he asked no one.

"Tch. You're too cocky with those senses of yours," Jiraiya told him, materializing from nothing.

"If you stopped trying to test them, we wouldn't have this problem," Naruto shot back.

"Ain't no fun in that, kiddo." The older man reached inside his haori and withdrew five slips of paper with intricate kanji written on them. "Parting gift. Should make your life easier once you get your hands on ol' snake face."

Naruto refrained from raising an eyebrow. Both Jiraiya and Tsunade were outwardly optimistic about the mission, but he wasn't fooled. Despite his showing against the former, Naruto wasn't convinced the loyal Sannin believed he could take Orochimaru alive. Not that I blame them, he mused, studying the tags absently. Capturing S-ranked shinobi was nigh unheard of.

"A binding?" Naruto asked, deciphering a few of the symbols quickly.

"Variation on Suna's nunoshibari. No cloth needed; just slap one these on the target and they're wrapped up tighter than a Kusa poison specialist." Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't bother commenting. The less said about Kusa's poison specialists the better. "Anyway," Jiraiya continued when Naruto didn't react, "all it takes is a quick application of chakra and you're good to go."

"Sounds easy. How long does stasis last?"

"Been tested up to three weeks. Beyond that?" The Sannin shrugged. "Your best bet is hightailing it back here."

Noted.

"Far as last-minute advice goes? Don't let him bait you. He's a master at getting people to overextend themselves," Jiraiya told him.

"I'll be careful," Naruto promised. "I've tangled with enough S-ranks at this point to know when to cut my losses."

"That'll serve you well. Much as I hate to say it, me and him were kicking around top level ninja for decades before you were born. You give him an inch…"

Naruto couldn't help his smile. "Like I said, I'll be careful," he assured the older man. He reached an arm out and hid a wince at the strength of Jiraiya's grip.

"Good luck, Naruto."

Nodding once more, Naruto stepped back into the street as Jiraiya disappeared from sight and from his awareness a second later. The gate loomed large with two familiar figures waiting for him. Sasuke stood leaned against the gate, his familiar, high-collared shirt standing out starkly against the drab wood. Ino had ditched her usual getup for a deep purple kimono and black pants tapered at the ankles.

Not a vest in sight, Naruto mused, looking down at himself. He'd defaulted back to what he'd worn most often in Kusa: grey pants that fed into split-toed tabi sandals and a loose-fitting, faded tan kimono top that tied at the waist.

"How're we feeling?" he asked as he approached.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow while Ino smirked. "Should we be feeling some type of way, senpai?" she asked.

"I'll take anything that isn't dread. Thirty day window so we'll be pushing the pace up north. Any questions?" He got two mutely shaken heads.

"Roll out."

/~/

Introspection and character interaction abound. Mission starts next chapter. Thanks to the kind folks at DLP for all their efforts as usual.