Chapter 6

(Timeskip Three Years)

Konohagakure no sato

Hokage Tower

Hokage Office

Tsunade was sitting in her office going through paperwork and had black rings under her eyes from the lack of sleep she had from the stress that had accumulated on her over the years. She was the one who was hit the hardest with Naruto's banishment in the whole village. She had resorted to sake as her relief but that too only temporarily resolved her pain. she had turned vicious towards the council especially the esteemed elders or the mummies as she liked to call them. She had tried to change the opinion of the council but they were firm on their opinion along with the fire daimyo's support only the feudal lord had the power to overturn the decision for Naruto but she knew he wouldn't get his hands into such a trivial matter.

She was broken out of her musings as Shizune came in saying the council was called. She grit her teeth knowing that those dead weights on the face of the earth would do or say something to completely destroy her already stressed situation.

Hokage Tower

Council Chambers

The Konoha council was called as the clan heads sat to the right side of the table with the civilian council to the left and the clan elders at the front. They were all murmuring on trivial things as Tsunade entered and took her seat at the head of the table with a stern expression on her face.

"Alright who has called this meeting and why? And trust me, there better be a good reason for this or else I won't be really happy." She said in a cold tone as both sides of the council gulped from her tone and glanced at each other to see who had called the meeting.

"We have called the meeting Tsunade." Said Koharu and Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the old coot.

"It's Hokage-sama to you esteemed elder Koharu, remember that or Anko will remind you to know how to address your superiors personally. Now may I know the reason for this urgent meeting that you have called us here for." She stated coldly and the council was silent as everyone knew how vicious she had turned after the banishment of the demon brat. Koharu sweated at her tone and threat and nodded.

"My apologies Hokage-sama, but we have some important information and some situations we would like to address with you." Said Koharu and Tsunade nodded motioning her to continue on as she spoke up.

"As you know Hokage-sama since the last year our alliances with the wave and spring countries have been in turmoil for the past two years; and now they have finally broken all alliances, as the three-year trade alliances with them came for renewal they completely rejected them and have allied themselves to Suna now completely; and they have said to have gained an even better alliance contract than us." Said Koharu as Tsunade raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Oh how so?" asked Tsunade curiously and Homura spoke up this time.

"Earlier in our alliances we were allied only for mutual trade contracts. It was a give take sort of a relationship. They supplied us with their resources and we compliantly to the contract supplied them with the native resources of the Land of Fire." He said and Tsunade nodded already knowing it as he continued.

"But their alliance for Suna is completely different. Since Suna isn't as rich in the native plantations that we possess they have decided to give their own resources in return." He said and Tsunade looked at him confused.

"And what is the problem with that?" she asked and Koharu replied.

"Since Suna is mainly rich only in metals or precious stones they have put in the alliance to give those to them at a lesser price getting their resources in return for the reconciliation." Said Koharu and Tsunade understood everything. Suna gained resources and even managed to sell them their own while the leaf only exchanged them at the exchange price laid down in the alliance which gave Suna the deal in which they could manage their own prices, which meant Suna had complete control. Homura however continued.

"Moreover Spring and Wave have put a term in the alliance that Suna will provide them with the military might they need making them the only village that gets their contracts for missions as well as the other employers who they work with. The Daimyo is pretty angry at losing such precious alliances with us and after hearing the benefits of the alliance that he could have gotten and is demanding answers." Homura finished and Tsunade had to say that it was quite a great deal. Suna must have had a good negotiator to pull off such a great deal.

"Well that is bad news that we have lost such great allies for trade alliances but it's nice that they haven't been lost towards one of our enemy villages. Any idea on why they would have decided to end an alliance with the leaf?" she asked as the elders glanced at each other for a moment before shaking their heads and Tsunade had her eyes narrowed. They knew something but weren't telling her so she decided to ask about dismissing the council when much to her ire her least favourite person on the council spoke up.

"Actually Tsunade-sama there is one more issue we would like to discuss." Said Danzo and she motioned for him to continue on.

"We have come across some information about the new security system employed by the sand village." He said and her eyes narrowed.

"And how exactly would you have come across some top secret information about a village's internal security system?" she asked and he cursed under his breath. He had slipped up and now she was on to him.

"That's not important, the issue at hand is." He said and she motioned for him to continue as he had dodged a bullet but she kept it in her mind to look into the matter later.

"They have erected a new barrier system that is in many ways similar to our own." He said and the clan heads protested that they must have stolen it from the leaf but Tsunade told them to calm down and listen to the man as Danzo continued.

"It couldn't have been stolen from us since it is a much better system than us." He said and the room became deathly silent. Their internal security system was the best and the leaf prided themselves in it. If Suna had created an even better security system, then that was news to the world about the might of the village.

"Our system only tells us if a shinobi has entered the village or not, but their system allows them to instantly become alert in case of a breach and locate the intruder since the whole village's people's chakra signature has been added to the system making it almost impossible to breach Suna. They have made their village into a fortress, they can see the world but the world can't see what going on inside their village. Their system is unbreachable." He said and the whole council was at a loss for words. It was truly a remarkable system to have for the village making it impossible for any spies to get in.

"Moreover, in the previous few years their quality of sealing equipment has increased dramatically. Their exploding tags are much more powerful than before at almost thrice the strength of our own. And their other sealing equipments too have increased in their complexity much more dramatically." He finished shocking the council once more.

"Looks like this is all the work of someone who possesses excessive knowledge of fuinjutsu." Said Shikaku and everyone nodded in agreement.

"But how Suna was never known for its Sealing Arts. Lady Chiyo was their last seal master and she doesn't even hold a candle to Master Jiraiya in sealing and he is just a level 8 seal master. Plus, where did they gain the knowledge of such high level fuinjutsu to train such a great seal master?" Said Hiashi and everyone nodded again. To make that much of a difference in so much in such little time was unexpected and the work of a true seal master.

"But how could it be. Our seals were handed down to us by Shodaime-sama himself." Said Shikaku and Tsunade snorted as everyone looked at her curiously.

"Please my grandfather wasn't a seal master at the level to create such high quality seals that have been handed down to us." She said and everyone was confused and Tsunade continued.

"All of our complex seals were handed down to us by my grandmother Mito Senju formerly known as Mito Uzumaki of the once great Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure no sato. The barrier system was a gift from the elders of the Uzumaki clan as a tribute to the alliance formed between Konoha and Uzu through the marriage of my grandparents when the two royal families joined together. The symbol of a spiral we wear on our backs is the clan symbol of the Uzumaki clan to honour the alliance formed at the foundation of Konohagakure no sato. It has all been recorded and kept safe in the Senju history archives." She finished and everyone was stunned that what they all believed all this time was wrong.

"Wait then why don't we know about all of this?" asked an angered Hiashi and Tsunade smiled sadly.

"During the start of the Second Great Shinobi War Uzu was attacked and destroyed by a joint effort of Kiri, Kumo and Iwa due to the fear of the Uzumaki clan and their prowess in fuinjutsu. They sent for help to Konoha but we didn't have forces to spare and until the time help reached Uzu was already in ruins. The whole village was wiped out. My grandfather and granduncle feeling the shame at not being able to save their family were so guilty that they removed all records of the clan to forget the shame that Konoha felt at the time. I know it since the Senju and Uzumaki were cousin clans tied through blood and all records are kept in the Senju Family archives." She finished and all of them sat silent taking in the information as not even Danzo knew the truth that the Uzumaki and Senju were that closely related.

"Hey wasn't Naruto an Uzumaki? Was he related to the clan?" asked Shikaku as he remembered another Uzumaki before him. Kushina was her name if he remembered right, he thought and Tsunade shook her head.

"His heritage was known only to the Sandaime and he took it with him to the grave. Only Naruto himself knows of it because the Sandaime left him a sealed wooden box telling him about it, which I handed over to him at the time of his banishment. It could just have been a way for the Sandaime to honour the once great clan or something else, we shall never know." She said sadly as the memories of him returned to her and her heart ached, she missed her idiotic blonde and his ever present smile. Shikaku was remembering the tomboyish red haired girl and remembered who she was always around with. His eyes widened suddenly; blonde hair, cerulean blue eyes no one else had those exotic features. So that's why he chose him to seal the Kyuubi, he was his own son. Tsunade saw the expression of realization, shock and horror on his face and was curious as to what had a Nara so worked up.

"What's the matter Shikaku, you have something to say?" she said and Shikaku stared at her for a few moments before he sighed and shook his head.

"No Tsunade-sama just remembered something about my wife." He said as several clan heads snickered and Tsunade knew he was lying through his teeth immediately. Shikaku knew that anything about it now was a waste of time, the boy was most probably dead by now since there had been no news of him in the past three years and the way of his banishment left very little chance for his survival. They had driven away the prince of the village with such royal blood without even realizing it. He decided to drop the moot point since it was too troublesome for now.

"So Tsunade-sama what are we going to do about it?" asked Homura and she looked at him confused.

"Do about what?" she asked curiously as the elders were shocked.

"About Suna of course, something must be done about them." Said Koharu and she was even more curious now.

"I'm sorry I don't really follow you." Said Tsunade and now they were flabbergasted.

"What do you mean they are getting too powerful, we must do something!" said Danzo in outrage and now Tsunade was enraged.

"We will do nothing of the sort, they are the only major village which is completely neutral to Konoha and the Kazekage is coming in a few days to make the final negotiations of the alliance propositions with us that the Suna council has been delaying for the past two years. Now that I know their strength and the alliances they hold, I want to make this work even more." She said calmly and the whole council nodded as all of them except Tsunade were thinking of ways to get their hands on the power that Suna now held and to forge an alliance with them that was solid enough to last and get them something in return.

"I have an idea for the alliance to work and last long Tsunade-sama." Said Danzo and she grimaced inwardly already knowing it to be something ugly which would make her throw a fit though urged for him to go on.

"Why not forge an alliance the same way your grandfather did with Uzushiogakure no sato?" he asked and she rose an eyebrow at that.

"A political marriage?" she asked and he nodded. "But for that to even be considered both parties must have important figures of their village to be married. Who do you have in mind?" she asked though she already had an idea who it would probably be from the leaf. Danzo smirked as he answered.

"Why not propose a marriage between Sasuke Uchiha; the last Uchiha and Sharingan holder to the leaf, and Temari no Sabaku the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage and the sister to the Fifth. It should hold the alliance firm and we benefit with a strong kunoichi from the sand with royal blood and she would be a perfect bride for Sasuke as he too desires a strong and powerful wife to rebuild his clan." He said and she nodded though Mebuki Haruno was seething at the idea of someone other than her daughter marrying the last Uchiha and losing her chance at gaining respect in the village.

"But why would they even consider sending her to our village what do they gain in return?" she asked and Danzo answered.

"They get a strong alliance and the support of the leaf, the loyalty of the Uchiha clan as well as the hand of the Uchiha heir in marriage. That should definitely be enough for them to be convinced and we even say that she gets dual citizenship to both villages so that she could go back to her village anytime she pleases, and imagine if any of her children manage to get the power of the Jiton kekkei genkai that runs in the blood of her family we might get the kekkei genkai that three of their Kazekage's are feared for. And that coupled with the Sharingan will make the Uchiha clan even stronger than before." He said and the whole council agreed seeing the advantages they would gain as well as the kekkei genkai they might get. Tsunade though scowled at the idea of breeding children for kekkei genkai though knew that it was a political matter and her own opinion didn't matter.

"Alright I'll talk to the Kazekage on this matter along with the rest of the matters concerning the alliance and we'll see what comes out of it." She said though she inwardly wanted to castrate that cripple for even suggesting such a disgusting thing.

"Alright then is there anything else you wish to discuss?" she asked and they shook their heads.

"Then the council is dismissed." Said Tsunade and they all left. Tsunade walked into her office and plopped down in her chair and poured herself some sake.

"Tsunade-sama what do you think would happen with the sand village?" asked Shizune as she knew why Tsunade was drinking sake at this time. The issue of Naruto that was picked up at the council was always a difficult thing for her.

"I don't know Shizune, I haven't met Gaara at all in the past few years. Their village was always sending a delegation in his place and ever since Temari quit being the Konoha-Suna official ambassador, the talks for the alliance have been pretty much at a stall but with this meeting the issue will be made clear once and for all. Plus, the upcoming chunin exams are being co-hosted by the leaf and the sand. The first two phases will be in the leaf with the third part being hosted by the sand. This will give us the time to complete the talks." She said and Shizune nodded as she went about to get the work of the office done.

Tsunade wondered where her blonde little gaki was, or if he was even alive. She had sent several ANBU over the years on his trail but all had returned without a trace saying he was now most probably dead or captured by some enemy village and most probably have his beast extracted and his body experimented upon. She wasn't ready to believe that her Naruto could be dead and a tear rolled down her eye at the guilt she felt at not being able to do anything for him.

Konohagakure no sato

Barbeque Place

The rookie eleven were gathered at the barbeque place along with their friends and were sitting there but there was only one person missing from the group - Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had gotten even more of a loner ever since he was brought back by Naruto and had his curse seal removed by Jiraiya even after many of his protests. Shikamaru was sitting there with a thoughtful expression on his face and Ino decided to question it.

"What's the matter with you Shikamaru?" she asked and he looked at her surprised not even noticing that he had spaced out and sighed.

"Nothing just thinking about the delegation that is about to come from the Sand. This year Leaf and Sand are co-hosting the chunin exams with the first two parts here while the third part is in the sand. Just wondering who will be in charge of it from their village." he said lazily and she smirked.

"Why want that Sand Princess Temari to be the one?" she asked in a sly tone and he threw her a glare. It was a touching point for him and everyone knew he liked her though she hadn't responded to any of his advances at all and that confused him to no end.

"You know that she doesn't want anything to do with me Ino, she made it pretty clear the last time we met a couple of years ago." He said somberly and she nodded sadly remembering how he was burnt off when he tried to ask her the reason for her rejection and she had all but given him the cold shoulder. She decided to change the topic and turned to her friend Sakura who was just quietly playing with her own food.

"So Sakura has Tsunade-sama agreed at taking you on as an apprentice?" she asked and Sakura frowned.

"No she has told me that she won't take any apprentice from the leaf village since she doesn't find anyone worthy enough in her eyes and told me to continue working at the hospital on my own." She said and Ino nodded. Everything she spoke was getting everyone in a bad mood she mused.

"Hey have you heard about the broken alliance of the Wave and the Spring villages?" asked Neji and they all nodded as Sakura grimaced and put her spoon down as Hinata looked at her confused.

"S-Sakura-chan is s-something wrong?" she asked with her usual stutter and Sakura looked down at her plate.

"Yes it is most probably due to Naruto." She said in a low voice and everyone was saddened at the way they had treated him all those years ago. None of them other than Sasuke and Sakura had wanted the boy to get banishment for his mistakes. Everyone knew how much Sakura missed the blonde especially after her last encounter with Sasuke. No one knew the details of what had happened but Sakura had lost her crush and had been depressed about Naruto leaving and had regretted her words to him that she spoke at the time of his leaving. She missed the blonde and his cheerful attitude as he always tried to cheer her up when she was down by asking her for a date and then would even take her lashing just to make her feel better.

She despised her own fan girl attitude that she held all those years ago and when she came off her high from Sasuke and her fantasy world he was long gone and missing from her life. Hinata too missed the blonde and wished she had the courage to go against her father and at least meet him one last time before he had left to confess her feelings for the blonde. Everyone else too regretted their last words to the blonde boy and wanted him to come back though knew there wasn't even a chance of that since he was most probably dead now. Sakura had asked Tsunade if she could go and find him but had gotten a serious lashing being asked if she hadn't already done enough and now she couldn't leave him in peace even after he was gone. She had cried and ran to her home and had kept herself locked up for two days before returning to duty. Shikamaru regretted his last words to his childhood friend and thought of how stupid he was to take out his frustration on him even though he brought Sasuke back.

Sasuke had all but cut off from the group saying they only tied him down and had a foul mouth and an even more arrogant attitude since the villagers treated him like a prince to keep him loyal to the village and had Kakashi now as his personal trainer. He had been promoted to jounin himself giving him even more arrogance than before as the council wished him to be as loyal as he could and give him the facilities he needed with the rank of jounin.

Sunagakure no sato

It was a bright and usually hot day in the sand village as Temari walked through the village in her usual attire. She was wearing her purple battle kimono and dark purple skirt slit from both sides showing her toned thighs one of which had fishnet covering it with her other calf doing the same and was wearing an ANBU armour over it with a scarlet sash on her waist (See story icon for reference). She was walking to the weapons shop to get her battle fan back from maintenance when she felt two arms wrap around her waist and a pair of lips on her neck as she moaned and melted into the loving embrace of the man she loved so much.

"So where are you going hime?" asked a husky voice nibbling her ear and shivers ran down her spine as she turned around and gazed into those loving cerulean pools that she loved so much. She wrapped her arms around his neck and softly pressed her lips against his not caring the least about the people watching her as she broke the gentle kiss off rubbing his whiskers with her hand softly as he leaned into her hand making her smile.

Naruto stood there at six feet, taller than her by four inches and a lean athletic build with his hair shadowing his eyes giving him a mystifying look. He was wearing a light grey cut sleeves shirt and a white full sleeves jacket open in the front with blue ANBU pants and fingerless gloves with metal back plates and matching sandals to go with them. He wore his beige hip pouch and white kunai holster in the usual way and the Suna metal plate stitched on the jacket on his right arm under the Namikaze symbol and the Uzumaki swirl on the other arm. The most striking feature were the blue flames at the bottom of his jacket that accentuated his clothes. Temari traced her hands on his firm chest and put her head on it as he wrapped her up in his arms and she melted in the embrace and he disappeared in a Water Shunshin. He came back up to the top of the highest tower nearby and sat her down on his lap in the shade and she snuggled in his arms.

"Miss me hime?" he asked softly brushing her hair as he opened them of their bindings to let them flow freely and ran his fingers in them and she nodded hugging him.

"You were supposed to come back last night and here you are coming half a day late." She said in a mock angry tone and he smiled and kissed the top of her head softly.

"I'm sorry hime but there was a problem in the barrier and I had to go check it up. Some idiot tried to improve it but instead ruined the stability of the seals. As soon as I left I came to you without reporting the success to Gaara." He said softly making her smile as she looked up and pecked him happily.

"Well you did the right thing, I have to go to Gaara too, so let's go together." She said and he smiled and nodded as he kissed her neck and pulled her kimono sideways licking her collarbone that she was so sensitive to and she moaned softly running her fingers through his hair.

"Naru-kun." She moaned and he smiled and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips and fitted her kimono properly smiling at the pretty pink blush she had on her face. She started to tie her hair again as he caught her wrist and she looked at him confused.

"Let them flow in the wind hime, you look pretty that way." He said softly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear making her blush intensify as both stood up. He wrapped her up in a hug and both disappeared in a swirl of water going to the Kazekage Tower after heading to the weapons shop and having some lunch at his house with his hime and have some alone time.

Kazekage Tower

Kazekage Office

Gaara was going through the paperwork and was frustrated to no end. Ever since some idiot tried to show his sealing prowess with modifications to the sealing barrier and had disabled it. The council was in an uproar and every ten minutes some official would come and ask him about it and it was now getting frustrating. He had sent Naruto to deal with it, since he was the one who designed it from the ground up and he was supposed to report to him two hours ago but there was no sign of him and he wasn't with the barrier team either and he was dealing with those idiot councillors and paperwork and was almost considering killing the whining fool in front him with his sand.

"I'll send a message as soon as Naruto is done with the barrier repairs." He said calmly hiding his frustrations and the man smiled and left after thanking him and another knock came to the door and his eye twitched. If it was another man who was here to whine about the barrier who had nothing to do with the damn thing, then there will be blood.

"Come in." he said stoically and in walked Naruto and Temari as he saw his sister's hair opened and flowing and her lips were a bit swollen and turned to Naruto who apparently had some pink lipstick on his neck that he hadn't noticed but put it aside knowing what the two had been up to.

"Uzumaki you were supposed to report to me two hours ago after you left the barrier team. I have sent three ANBU teams for you but there has been no news…" he was cut off as the ANBU teams appeared in the office and bowed to him.

"Kazekage-sama looks like Naruto Uzumaki has left the village we couldn't find him anywhere." The leader said and his eye twitched as he pointed to the man standing in front of him who had an amused smile on his face while Temari was giggling. The ANBU smartly vanished the office as sand had appeared where they were a moment ago and he turned to Naruto who still had that infuriating smile on his face that made him restless.

"Where were you Uzumaki? I have been answering those damn council fools about it for the past two hours who apparently had nothing to do with this matter and you have apparently left the barrier team on time but are coming two hours late. So I ask again where were you?" he asked annoyed and Naruto put his finger on his chin in a thinking pose.

"Well let's see I was coming to you when I met hime and we caught up with each other since I had not been able to meet her last night…" he said calmly pointing to Temari making his eye twitch. " Then we went to get her fan from the weapons shop, then we got hungry and I made us some lunch and we ate and then… well we had some alone time." He finished making Temari blush as she traced her finger on her lip thinking of the make out session they had. Gaara's eye was twitching dangerously as he listened to his lame excuses for coming this late for a report.

"So you were doing all those things while you had to make an important report to me am I right?" he asked and Naruto nodded. "You do know that reporting to the Kage of the village after a mission is mandatory." He asked sarcastically making Naruto smile.

"So I've heard." He said non-chalantly making Gaara's fingers twitch and he had to control the urge to punch him with a sand fist but knew he would never catch him in time and he sighed pinching his nose in frustration as Temari giggled.

"Uzumaki I swear you'll be the death of me some day, so I assume the problem was fixed?" he asked hopefully and Naruto nodded with a smile making him sigh in relief as he turned to Temari for the important matter he had to discuss with her.

"Temari I'm sorry but there is a mission of negotiation I have that you won't like." He said and she looked at him confused.

"You will be coming with me to Konoha for the final negotiations on our peace treaty. You are the best negotiator we have and your knowledge in politics is unparalleled as shown in the previous two alliances." He said and her eyes widened as she turned furious and was about to retort when Naruto put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile and shook his head.

"Hime don't let your personal feelings come in between. What's in the past is done, plus it is only a one time deal right?" he asked Gaara who didn't answer making him raise an eyebrow and Temari's anger to rise.

"Well she has also been appointed as the liaison between Suna and Konoha for the upcoming joint chunin exams." He said and she looked at him incredulously.

"You can't be serious!" she shouted and he nodded sowing his firm resolve.

"It is the order of the council and your Kage, you cannot refuse this mission." He said and her eyes widened as she stormed off the office slamming the door behind her making him wince knowing he would pay for playing the rank card later and turned to Naruto who was looking at him with confusion.

"Gaara you shouldn't have forced her like that we could have convinced her peacefully." He said and Gaara shook his head.

"No, it was the only way. Any ways I wanted to take you as my personal bodyguard but we couldn't let you come to Konoha and at least one of us must stay in the village as we don't want it to appear too weak, though I trust you with my life the most my friend. So I'll be taking Kankuro instead and I hand over my military powers to you while the diplomatic powers are handed to the council. The whole council has agreed to my decision as well." He said and Naruto's eyes widened. To give him military control of a shinobi village was essentially naming him a temporary Kage and the whole council trusted him enough? Gaara saw his face and smiled a bit as he stood up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Uzumaki we both know you have always been the stronger of the two of us and you have gained a lot of influence and resect in the council over the years with your contributions to the village by giving us your clan's seals and helping us forge alliances and your loyalty to me still remains unquestionable. Let's see how you do as a temporary Kazekage in my absence. I couldn't find a better person to hand the power of the village in my absence, you are my right hand and my brother in all but blood." He said and Naruto was stunned at the trust and acceptance the village and Gaara showed him and couldn't find the words for the situation that had arisen now. He couldn't comprehend the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders and his mind was spinning. Gaara squeezed his shoulder making him look at him and gave him a curt nod.

"Don't worry Uzumaki you are only in charge of the shinobi and the rest of the affairs will be handled by the council. It is only for a few days; I know you'll do fine. You have never disappointed me and I know you won't this time too. Now go and check on Temari I am worried about her." He said and Naruto nodded immediately forgetting all about the situation as his thoughts turned to his love and he rushed out of the office to find his hime.

"He forgets all about the pressure of being a temporary Kage because Temari is troubled. That idiot never ceases to amaze me." he thought returning to the bane of his life – paperwork.

Author's notes : This was just a brief intro to what went on in Konoha in the time skip and will be explained further in future flashbacks. As for the end part about the council trusting Naruto and what skills he gained and his relationship will also be explained in the future chapters. This is just a bridge and an important point in the story.