36 Uprooting

A new chapter is here and it has a couple special things in it, most notably the later part.

Question on the story pacing: I prefer fleshing things out and taking my time, but I'm not sure if it is being somewhat of an impediment to the plot progression. If need be, I can try to streamline some things to get there quicker, (Chunin exams, specifically the beginning where Naruto meets a certain red haired Jinchuriki, happens in one or two chapters from now.) Should I quicken the pace, or do the slow and steady route. (Slow and steady will mean the story will probably be close to 1mil before it's done, if not longer.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything I make reference to. This is a work of fanfiction that I make no money off of.

Anyway, here's the chapter.

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Naruto POV:

The last week had been an absolute pain, or as Shikamaru would put it, troublesome.

Nearly all my time was being focused on getting accustomed to the speed boost I'd get when I opened the first Gate, something that required Gai giving me help with personally.

And I was getting thrashed handily.

"Your balance is still off, Naruto!" Gai shouted, his posture still at the ready despite me laying on the ground.

I groaned audibly and forced myself up, my eyes narrowed from me feeling the Gate in my head throbbing with my pulse.

Kurama couldn't hear or see anything when I opened a Gate because it caused my chakra to overwhelm the trickle of his that enabled him to see. Maybe I could fix that later, but it wasn't important now.

It also regressed my chakra control some because of the chaotic nature of it.

I clenched my fists and shot towards Gai, hearing Rin cheer me one.

Sasuke refused to help me with anymore D-ranks, which was understandable. So he, Rin, and Hinata were doing a little bit of squad sparring against Gai's team on the other side of the training ground that Gai and I were tearing up.

My chakra pumped through my tenketsu and my fist struck towards his face, his forearm rising up to stop it. The storm of kicks and punches I delivered would've overwhelmed most Shinobi in Konoha, but Gai definitely wasn't most.

He blocked every single one, not moving from where he stood except to stop a kick at his legs.

A growl escaped me as I failed to land a hit.

A kunai appeared in my hand after I pulsed chakra into the seal in my sleeve and I stabbed forward, coating it in lightning.

Gai simply ducked his head down to avoid the screeching steel and flipped forward, catching my arm between his legs. With a twist of his body, I was thrown several feet from him, my elbow and shoulder screaming their protest.

The spandex wearing jonin didn't seem to give me a moment as I felt his foot strike the side of my head as I spun up to face him, my ears ringing.

I staggered and let myself fall, throwing my hands out to catch myself as I was on all fours.

Gai walked up to me and stood there for a moment.

"Are you certain you can keep this pace, Naruto?" Gai knelt down towards me with concern, "You have not rested as often as Lee did."

No offense meant to Lee, but he was a civilian born Shinobi. My pedigree was as much a blessing as a curse. My body simply refused to comply with conventional measures of exhaustion.

"The fox takes care of exhaustion." I said, hissing as the gash on my head from the kick closed shut. "I'm good."

Gai stood back up and helped pull me to my feet, patting my shoulder roughly.

"Rest anyway," He instructed, his eyes on his genin team.

I wanted to protest, but Gai was the expert concerning using a Gate. I wasn't going to be stupid and hurt myself by overdoing it. An aneurysm doesn't sound fun.

So, I just watched as Rin systematically tore through Tenten's attacks, while Sasuke and Neji were going at it.

Lee kept trying to link up with Neji to bring Sasuke down, but Hinata and several of Rin's clones had him tied down.

The fight shifted in Team 7's favour when Tenten was struck by a wind jutsu from Rin that sent her tumbling to the ground roughly and my sister spun to face Neji, shouting at Sasuke.

The Uchiha pulled back and Shunshined away, staggering a bit as he had just started using it.

I let him copy it with his Sharingan after the D-rank. I felt bad about the whole mess and gave him two jutsu instead of one.

Right as the wind jutsu got near Neji, who looked at it apathetically, like he knew it wouldn't be a problem to counter, Sasuke went through hand seals and shot a fire jutsu, aiming at the wind.

'They worked on this.' I realized, blinking to make sure I saw that correctly.

When did they get this good at working together? I knew they had started to be more positive in their interactions, mostly from Sasuke beginning to chill out some, but this was different.

Neji's eyes widened and he dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding it. His hair was smoldering and his clothes were scorched, his breathing also ragged.

Sasuke took advantage of the opening and shot forward, striking at Neji's face.

The Hyuga diverted the hit, but I sensed Sasuke's chakra stain his a different colour, meaning he used a Genjutsu.

The momentary distraction had Sasuke kicking Neji in the face, knocking the boy to the ground.

Before Sasuke could finish it, Gai called out for them to stop.

"Spar over!" He walked towards them, while I just stayed back to drink some water.

Gai started talking with his genin team after Sasuke helped Neji up, him, Rin, and Hinata coming towards me.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Hinata asked me, her Byakugan activated, "You still have the Gate open."

I was keeping it open for now so I could extend the time I could, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm just keeping it open to see how long I can do it safely." I explained, glancing towards Gai's team.

"Your teamwork is great," I complemented them, not keeping the pride out of my voice when I looked at Rin, "That was an impressive combo jutsu."

Rin smiled, bumping Sasuke's shoulder. "He can be useful sometimes."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but I could tell he found at least a little amusing.

We just stood there for a little while to go over some of the training plans, as well as the likelihood of them being nominated for the Chunin exams.

"You probably need a new shirt." Rin said after we had talked a bit, pointing at my torn sleeve.

This was one of the last shirts I had left. Most didn't fit me now and I needed new ones.

"I need to head to the clothes store anyway." I said, pulling the sleeve the rest of the way off.

Rin scowled at what did, tapping her foot against the ground.

"You know you could've just stitched that up, right?" She said, staring at the sleeve.

The orphanage wouldn't accept torn up clothes like that, and this was probably going to be the last time I donated.

"Doesn't matter," I waved it off, walking up and pulling Rin into a hug, "I'll see you later."

Rin tried to squirm out of my grip, groaning in disgust at how sweaty I was.

"Get off," She grumbled, finally prying me away from her, "Take a shower, you stink."

"Love you too." I smiled, not caring that she was giving me a stinkeye.

I turned to leave, but Hinata walked beside me.

"I need to buy a new jacket." Hinata said, looking at me hopefully, "Can I come along?"

"Sure," I shrugged, focusing my chakra to close the Gate, "Oh god that feels weird."

Talk about an energy drop.

Hinata and I left the training ground, while Rin and Sasuke left to talk with Kakashi about something, the man strangely absent.

'I wonder what he's up to, it's not like stuff's going on.'

Unless they were preparing for the invasion, then okay.

I turned to Hinata and gave her a genuine smile.

"I need to get into some clean clothes and grab some stuff," I said, glancing at her own scuffed and grass stained jacket, "Meet me at my apartment?"

Hinata nodded, giving a smile and wave goodbye.

I lightly jogged back home and stripped down completely the moment I got into the front room, basking in the beauty of my natural form.

"Gaze upon the majesty of the Lord's sculpted creation." I threw my arms out, snickering at how ludicrous it was.

I wasn't an exhibitionist, but this was my home and Rin wasn't here. I'm a man, damnit! And men do men things, like prance around naked like it's nobody's business.

I balled up the dirty clothes and tossed them in the clothes bin, while my chest plate got thrown into my room to be polished and oiled.

The bathroom door was pushed open and I hopped into the shower, turning the water on. Once it got nice and hot, I stood under it and started washing myself, singing all the stupid, but catchy, songs I couldn't sing normally because Rin understood English.

//////////////////////

Hinata knocked on the door again, frowning when Naruto didn't answer.

She'd finished cleaning up and immediately went to Naruto and Rin's apartment, but he didn't answer.

Sure, he said she was welcome, but she considered it polite to knock first.

Sighing, she activated her Byakugan to see where he was. He wasn't in his room or the front room.

Hinata quietly opened the door, walking inside.

'Where is he?'

Seriously hoping she didn't see anything embarrassing, Hinata focused her sight on the bathroom.

'Please be wearing a towel.' She prayed, seeing inside.

What she saw was stranger than anything she ever thought possible.

Naruto was standing in front of the mirror, towel wrapped around his waist, and was whipping his hair around while he was moving his fingers like he was playing an instrument.

She could hear him through the doorway, he was that loud.

The only words she could make out from him singing so quickly was 'bar room blitz', whatever that meant.

Naruto then walked out the bathroom, still singing and jumping around, whipping his neck length and damp hair around violently.

He didn't see her until he seemed to hit the climax of the song, his whole body freezing and eyes bugging out in shock.

"I, uh," He stuttered, his face reddening almost as much as his hair. Naruto didn't even bother speaking, fleeing into his room.

Hinata lost the battle with maintaining a straight face and was consumed by a fit of giggles, covering her mouth as she hunched over.

That was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen. Naruto, who always was the one to joke around or be serious at times, was embarrassed by someone seeing him sing.

He eventually came out a few minutes later, a clean set of clothes on and a box of old things in his hands.

"Uh," He was still looking uncomfortable, trying to hide the colouring of his cheeks, "How long were you standing there?"

"A few minutes." She giggled, not hiding how funny she found it.

Naruto groaned, shifting the box.

"I want to die." He mumbled, walking towards the door.

"But you have such an amazing singing voice, Naruto," Hinata walked right beside him, the two leaving the building, "Don't be embarrassed."

Naruto looked away from her, talking to himself.

"It's weird. I have the house to myself, so I cut loose and have fun."

Hinata didn't exactly know how to compare. Privacy was a somewhat foreign concept when walls could be seen through.

Even with the children's rooms, her father's, and the elders having their walls insulated with chakra conductive wire with chakra storage seals connected to them to make the view more opaque, it was still an uncomfortable thought that she normally tried to ignore.

"So," She wanted to distract herself from that, "What is the box for?"

Naruto smiled and patted it reassuringly. "Donations."

The path they were going was less familiar to Hinata, but she looked at Naruto curiously when he shifted his grip on the box and made a half seal with his hand, Henging as a random person.

The disguise made him look around twenty or so, with dark hair and greyish blue eyes. His whisker marks and practically every distinguishing feature about him was gone.

Hinata realized why he did that when they reached the orphanage, an elderly matron at the gate.

"Hello," She seemed to recognize Naruto, or at least the disguise, "You have more?" She looked at the box, clear gratitude in her tone. "And you brought a friend." She focused on Hinata's eyes, looking surprised.

"A few old toys I fixed up and a few sets of clothes," He smiled, handing the box to her, "but they're a bit worn. And I'm a friend of Hinata-sama's father." he added.

Hinata gave Naruto a flat look, noticing the minute twitch of his lips at calling her that.

"Oh pshh," The lady waved it off, "Funding has been a bit difficult lately. Anything helps us and we truly appreciate it."

Hinata kept looking between Naruto and the lady, wondering why Naruto would help them out.

Rin told horror stories about the matrons, but this one seemed sweet.

"May you have a lovely day, Haori-san." Naruto bowed, turning to leave with her.

"And you too." Hinata heard the matron say as they got out of earshot.

Once they got out of sight, Naruto dropped the Henge and he turned to a different street, the same street where the main clothes store was.

"Why did you donate those things?" Hinata asked him, "Those toys must mean something, don't they?"

Naruto shook his head, Henging to make his hair blond and his whiskers vanish.

"Those toys were ones that were broke and I found in the dumpster," He explained, turning his head to look at a rooftop and throwing up a code sign, "ANBU says hello." Naruto winked at her.

Naruto then cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know Rin talked to you about the orphanage," He looked distinctly uncomfortable, "But that particular matron was nice. Several of the ones who worked there got fired after Rin and I moved out."

Hinata could tell it was bothering him. He wasn't smiling, his voice sounded off, and his right hand was moving in a specific rhythmic pattern like it did when he was agitated.

"I donated some of my old clothes and the toys I fixed up because it helps her and the village. Less tax funding going to clothes and toys means they can probably get better food. Heck, if the Nara weren't so stingy with their deer, I'd whip up a pot of stew every now and then."

"But why?" Hinata wanted to know why the orphanage that hurt her two friends were worthy of Naruto's forgiveness.

They reached the clothes store and Naruto abruptly stopped, looking straight at her.

"I don't like how easy it is for me to hate people," He muttered, shaking his head, "You saw what happened in Nami, and I should've handled it better."

Hinata put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Don't be like that. You wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto if you didn't care so deeply."

Whatever Naruto experienced was for him to share. She wouldn't press for it.

Naruto didn't look convinced, but he put his own hand on hers.

"I decided to help the orphanage because I asked myself what you'd do in my situation."

Hinata gave the red haired boy a reassuring smile.

"Friends help friends. Is that what you said to me?"

Naruto's face broke into a smile, a chuckle escaping him.

"Yeah, I did. Can you help me with finding a few cool shirts too?" He asked, slowly pulling her hand off of him.

Hinata nodded and kept ahold of his hand, pulling him into the store.

"You look weird with blond hair." She added.

A barklike laugh clued her in to how funny Naruto found that.

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Ino couldn't believe how strange Naruto looked with blond hair and no whisker marks. She assumed he did it after the last time he was here turned out badly.

She decided to just listen to Hinata and Naruto talk for now, even if the boy's lack of knowledge concerning anything related to fashion had her fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

Once Naruto grabbed a armful of clothes and disappeared into the changing room, Ino approached Hinata.

"How's it going?" She asked the girl, who was sitting in one of the chairs.

"Oh, Ino," Hinata blinked at her presence, "I didn't know you were here."

"I'm here to pick up a jacket that's in stock now," She explained, sitting next to the Hyuga heiress, "But colour me surprised when I see you holding hands with a blond boy I'd never seen before."

Hinata's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink, but she didn't say anything.

"I never thought Naruto would look so weird with blond hair." Ino hummed, feeling Naruto's chakra signature through the door.

Hinata let out a muffled laugh.

"That's exactly what I told him."

"I mean, he almost looks like the Yondaime." Ino commented, thinking of the pictures she'd seen.

But Ino was curious about her friend being here.

"Naruto's buying clothes?" Ino asked Hinata, who nodded in response.

"He tore his shirt in training. Gai-sensei was sparring with him."

Ino cringed at the reminder of Maito Gai. The man had no concept of tiredness, and Lee was him, but shorter.

"Has Naruto said anymore about Nami?" She lowered her voice, gazing at Hinata's pale eyes.

Hinata's expression stayed neutral. "It still bothers him," She said awkwardly, "But he's doing better, much better."

Ino sighed in relief at that. Naruto hadn't been pretending that he was fine around her. If neither she or Hinata could find a problem, then there likely wasn't one.

"That's a relief." She said happily, turning her head when she heard the door open.

Naruto came out in a green shirt and dark pants, looking pretty pleased with himself. He also had on a grey jacket that wasn't zipped up.

"How does this loo-" He paused when he saw her, "Oh, hey Ino. Fancy seeing you here."

Ino felt a vein throb in her head as she looked Naruto up and down, her lip curling into a frown.

"Youuuu, uh, okay there?" Naruto asked uncomfortably.

"Take it off." She said flatly, glaring at the abomination of fashion that Naruto was wearing.

"Noo." Naruto backed away a bit, looking apprehensive, "Don't look at me like that, it's scary."

"You look ugly," She crossed her arms, jumping up and trying to pull the jacket off, "Those colours clash with your hair and each other, and I will not tolerate it." She grabbed his hair and pulled.

Naruto squawked and pulled the jacket over his head, trying to remove her fingers from his hair.

"Alright alright," He protested, tossing the jacket at her, "Troublesome woman." He grumbled.

Ino flicked his ear, making him frown at her. "And don't you forget it, mister."

Naruto grumbled under his breath, turning around to grab the stack of clothes.

"I defer to your judgement on the best clothes for me, Ino-chan." He said her name smoothly, giving her that normal mischievous smile of his.

Ino gave him a deadpan look, before taking the clothes from him to systematically go through them.

"Bad," She chucked one shirt aside, "Bad." She threw another. "How can you choose these? They're awful!"

Naruto didn't like being insulted, so he voiced his opinion.

"I'm not that bad about clothes. I only care if they don't smell and aren't torn," He looked at a still sitting Hinata, "I'm not that bad, right?"

Ino could feel the nervousness from Hinata, a deer in headlights look in her eyes.

"Um," Hinata grimaced uncomfortably, "I think... Ino, uh, might be right." She mumbled quietly.

Whatever resistance Naruto had collapsed and he groaned in depression.

"Okay," He looked downcast, gazing at Ino, "What do I think I should wear?"

That lit a fire in Ino. Anything that made Naruto look good was at her discretion. He was cute in a roguish way and she knew exactly how to accent that.

Naruto might enjoy training because it made him feel strong and a creator in some ways, but Ino fancied herself as a sculptor or painter, with clothes as paint and the canvas being the redhead in front of her.

"Follow me." She instructed, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

She got to one clothes rack and started sifting through shirts, holding them up to Naruto for comparison.

"This one," She gave him a dark shirt to hold, "And these three." She pushed more into his hands.

Naruto groaned at that, but she ignored it.

She then moved onto some more stuff, including pants and sandals.

The constant bellyaching from Naruto throughout all this had her laughing.

Was he really this temperamental about clothes?

She finally picked out enough stuff for him to try and she sat back down next to Hinata, looking at a weighed down Naruto.

"Just start trying them on and come out." She said, pointing at the changing room excitedly.

It would be fun to see how Naruto looked in the different outfits she chose.

So, Ino and Hinata watched as Naruto would come out in different outfits, turn in a circle and walk around so they could see him, then decide whether it was a yes or a no.

"Why can't I just wear black and red?" He asked after the eighth set of clothes and nearly an hour later, "I prefer those and they don't clash with my oh so problematic crimson locks." He flicked his hair to imitate Ino when she did it.

"It's not long enough to do that," She snickered, making him roll his eyes, "And those are the colours you wear on missions. You need outfits for when you're relaxing that aren't unflattering like that abominable grey hoody. I bet you found it in the trash."

The look Naruto had almost made her growl.

"You did fish that out of the trash!"

Hinata was right next to her, stifling her giggling throughout the ordeal and at how Naruto slumped his shoulders and looked like a scolded dog.

"It's comfy." He mumbled, "And cheap."

"Hinata," Ino turned to the other girl, genuinely curious, "What do you think about his current outfit?"

The shirt was navy blue, with the pants being black and having a line of blue on the outside.

"It looks good," Hinata complimented, tilting her head for a moment, "I think you should keep it."

'Yes!' Ino thought triumphantly. This one was probably her favourite. Like Sasuke, Naruto looked good in blue. She was not going to point that out because Naruto would burn the shirt and pants out of whatever weird dislike he had for being compared to Sasuke.

"Okay," Naruto relented, hopping on the balls of his feet, "It does feel comfortable. We done now?"

"This is just one outfit." Ino commented.

"Noooo!" Naruto shook his head, pulling the shirt off and tossing it aside, "It's been over an hour. I have better stuff to do." He then stomped into the changing room, closing it shut.

Ino giggled along with Hinata at Naruto being a drama queen about it.

"He's so adorable when he's angry."

"I heard that." Naruto's voice came through the door.

"You were supposed to." Ino responded, snickering when he went silent.

Since Naruto was acting like a child, Ino decided she was going to help Hinata out with a jacket.

"You said you were wanting a new jacket?" Ino asked the other girl. They'd gotten distracted by the entertaining display of Naruto having to pose in different shirts and clothes.

"Yes," Hinata held up the one she picked out, showing to Ino, "I like this one."

Ino frowned slightly at it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Hinata could so much better.

"I think I can find one that's better," Ino said seriously, "Want me to?"

Hinata pursed her lips, glancing at her jacket, then to Naruto's blue shirt and his original.

Ino could practically read her mind.

"A jacket can bring out the colour of your eyes and hair," Ino grabbed her attention, "It can make your looks stand out."

Hinata blushed slightly, looking away from her.

"Okay," Hinata stood up, walking towards the door that Naruto was behind, "Ino and I are going to look at some jackets. Will you be alright?"

"I'm hiding." Naruto said, "And I will escape once you two leave."

Hinata laughed and shifted her chakra around by making a hand seal.

"Hide and Seek doesn't work on a Hyuga, Naruto-kun," She leaned against the door, tapping her nails against the wood, "Do I need to tell Rin you're misbehaving."

Ino could practically feel Naruto through the door.

"This is extortion and a hostage situation." He grumbled irritably, "I didn't sign up for this."

"You accepted my company, Naruto. Don't pretend otherwise." Hinata admonishing him lightly, smiling at the willful defiance from him.

Naruto went silent, a faint rustling from the behind the door.

"Can you hand me the blue shirt?" He asked, opening the door some and reaching his hand out.

Hinata grabbed it and handed it to him, the door closing shut.

Ino and Hinata both went to the jacket section, laughing at Naruto's reaction.

"He really doesn't like shopping." Ino snickered, looking at the jacket size for Hinata.

"That's why I asked to come with him," Hinata flicked through jackets halfheartedly, "He can be both picky and uncaring about how he looks."

He was vain about his, but didn't care how disgusting his clothes looked.

Truly a mystery.

"These jackets will suit you better," Ino pointed towards the lighter ones, "The darker ones would contrast well with your eyes, but everything about you screams gentleness and light colours."

Ino's eyes caught a purple one that wasn't half bad looking and pressed it against herself for an example.

"Purple goes well with my hair and I love purple," She then pushed it against Hinata, making her flinch in surprise, "I think lavender would look better on you." Ino tilted her head, visualizing that.

"Ooooh, a lavender dress would be amazing," She said excitedly, already imagining the different dress designs she read up on.

"Ino," Hinata's voice cut through her imagination, "No dresses. I don't need one, only a jacket."

"Fine," Ino relented, "Be a buzzkill." The only jacket with lavender on it was a white one with lavender on the outer edges of it.

"Here," She handed it to Hinata, "Try this on."

Hinata removed her current jacket and put the new one on, closing it like she usually did.

Ino looked at the girl up and down, impressed by how correct she was.

"That looks spectacular on you, Hinata. It really makes you stand out."

That jacket definitely suited Hinata, more than that bulky kind she insisted on wearing.

"Y-you think so?" She asked, her voice quiet.

Ino didn't miss Hinata's eyes flicking towards the room Naruto was sitting in, probably trying different clothes on.

That was when Ino realized she didn't feel Naruto's chakra.

'Did he seriously run off? Big baby.'

"Is Naruto still in there?" She asked Hinata, who wasn't doing anything, "Use your eyes."

Hinata's face turned suspiciously pink, shaking her head.

"I'm not going to spy on him," She fidgeted, looking extremely embarrassed, "It's wrong."

The way she said it confused Ino, but she shrugged it off.

"It's just a quick peak." Ino said, "He'd probably pretend he isn't there, and it's not like I'm asking you to tell me what he looks like naked."

Hinata's face went beet red at that, the Hyuga trying to shrink away.

"N-never." She squeaked. "I'd never do that."

"You're telling me you've never been curious and spied on Naruto?" Ino asked incredulously, "Your clan has super eyes. I know I would've used them."

Sasuke would've had no privacy at all a year ago if any girl other than Hinata or Rin had those eyes.

"My clan aren't... aren't perverts!" Hinata managed to say, glaring at Ino.

That set off an alarm bell in Ino's head, a smile appearing on her face.

"Sheesh, you'd almost think I struck a nerve." Ino laughed, realizing Hinata's weak point of embarrassment. "Come on, what's the big deal? I know you want to."

Hinata's face looked absolutely adorable from how it was scrunched up, her face flushed.

Still staring straight at Ino, Hinata activated her Byakugan and checked the room.

"He's suppressing his chakra to mess with us." She said, deactivating her eyes.

The way Hinata was looking at her worried her.

"You know I was just teasing, right?" Ino said, giving her friend a sympathetic look, "It's only because I know Naruto's your friend that I said that stuff. I didn't mean anything by it."

Hinata hummed, still wearing the new jacket.

"I know, but Anko already teases me about my eyes and I don't like it."

Ino grimaced at that, remembering how crazy Anko acted when doing stealth training to avoid her.

"Like?" She queried.

"Exactly what you said," Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, "But worse."

Ino dropped it, knowing Hinata wouldn't appreciate her digging.

"Are you happy with the jacket?" Ino changed the subject, starting to walk towards Naruto, "Or do you want a second opinion?"

Hinata thought for a moment. "I'll ask Naruto."

Before she could call for Naruto, Ino flicked a tag over the door, triggering it.

A loud crack like a firecracker went off and Naruto started swearing, something hitting the door.

"That landed on my head." He ground out, pushing the door open.

"Hinata needs a second opinion about her jacket, Fishcake," Ino grinned as she noticed the tips of his hair smoldering, "Quit sulking and look at her."

"I don't sulk, I brood." He countered, but looked at Hinata.

After a few seconds, he smiled. "That looks great. It looks really good."

Ino thought Hinata looked fairly pretty with the jacket on, and the girl practically glowed from the praise.

Naruto then grabbed the clothes and went to take them to the counter to pay, but Ino cleared her throat.

"You've only gotten one set," Ino huffed, grabbing the clothes, "Try on some more."

The wail of despair Naruto let out would've been amusing if it wasn't the hundredth time.

"I'm never going shopping with you again."

//////////////////////////

This day marked where Hiruzen wanted to speak with me about something, something that necessitated him telling me to not train for the day.

I was on my way to the Hokage tower to speak with him, when I ran into Ino, who seemed to be relaxing from an off day, given that she was wearing regular clothes.

"Hey, Naruto," She said with a wide smile on her face, "What's up?"

"Heading to talk with the Hokage," I shrugged, hands in my pockets, "I could use some company, if you're not busy."

Ino shook her head no.

"I'm in no hurry. Daddy won't mind me keeping him waiting at the shop for a little bit."

I gave her a quick grin and continued onward, the blonde girl sticking right next to me.

"Thanks for helping me out with the clothes," I looked at her, "I appreciate the help."

"It didn't sound like it at the time." Ino bumped my hip, causing me to stumble.

I maturely responded by shoving her a bit, sticking my hand to her arm to stop her from falling.

"It took away three hours of my life I'm never getting back." I grumbled, ignoring how comfy the shirt I was wearing felt because it was one Ino picked out for me.

"A small price to pay to be fashionable." Ino turned up her nose, but her smile betrayed her joking manner.

"You're not wrong." I admitted, but I still promised myself I wasn't going to do it again.

Sure, it was fun and I got to relax with two of my friends, but my goodness was it worse than any shopping spree I've ever experienced.

At least Black Friday had bootleg bloodsports in a Walmart over a flat screen.

Or any Walmart in the Midwest on a weekend.

A happy silence stayed between us as we walked through the streets.

We took our time as we walked there, heading through the main streets of the village.

Ino broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Do you ever use your sensing just to feel people?" She asked, turning her head to look at me.

I noticed someone give me a glare, which I ignored, and turned towards Ino, not breaking my stride.

"All the time," I answered truthfully, "It's something I've always done since I started using my sensory ability."

"How long has that been?" She asked.

"Six, almost seven, years." I said quietly, my tone hinting at when.

Ino's eyes widened slightly at my change of tone.

"Oh," She looked down, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up."

"It's not an issue," I said, waving it off, "I'm passed it now."

"But Rin isn't." Ino grumbled, still not on the best of terms with my sister.

Sighing, I looked forward and kept walking.

"Rin is hotheaded on things, especially when it concerns proof of her usually untouchable and invincible brother having a sign of weakness," I said simply, "You probably have noticed that, knowing who your dad is, and Hinata would agree with me on that."

Rin, even when she tried to hide it, hated any reminders of that night, Ino's mind jump being one of those.

We eventually got to the tower and Ino turned to leave.

"Thanks for the company." I said, watching her back as she left.

Ino turned for a moment and smiled, before taking off to go to her family's store.

I made my way to Hiruzen's office and knocked on the door, sparing a glance towards the guards.

I heard a muffled "Enter" and I opened the door, seeing Hiruzen at his desk, simply staring at me, no papers being attended to.

'That's odd.' I thought to myself, trying to spot anything else.

"Ah, Naruto, thank you coming on such short notice," He began, getting up from his chair, "Would you mind walking with me, just to indulge an old man?"

I tilted my head slightly in confusion, but nodded anyway.

"Good," Hiruzen smiled, "follow me." He left out the door of the room with me following him.

We left the tower and made our way to somewhere I didn't recognize, a secluded area near a waterfall outside of the village somewhat.

"What is this place?" I asked curiously, looking at the old man.

"This," Hiruzen pointed towards the area hidden underneath the waterfall, "Was where the Nidaime did his personal training and where I do as well."

My eyes widened in surprise, not expecting him to have brought me somewhere like this.

"Kakashi and Gai have spoken of your progress, of how another type of training could be helpful to you," He looked towards me with a smirk, "Something like sparring with me."

My head jerked to his in shock.

"You?" I asked, trying to run my mind through what was said.

"It will do nothing but good for you to know what it's like to fight a Kage level Shinobi, even if I'm a rather old one." He chuckled.

'Thank God I'm wearing all my gear already.' I thought, feeling my heart rate quicken at the prospect of fighting a Kage.

"Okay," I said brightly, my entire mood much better now, "When do you want to?"

"Now, actually." Hiruzen stated, walking towards the waterfall.

I followed him and noticed him stop at where there was an entrance to an opening underneath the waterfall.

The old man stepped towards a part of the stone and pressed his hand to it, pulsing some of his chakra.

Once that happened, I felt several seals deactivated, the air shifting marginally.

Hiruzen stepped into what looked to be a wide area that had pockmarks of previous training exercises, some of the ground looking like it had been glassed from extreme heat some time prior.

"You can stop gawking now." He chuckled, noticing my look of shock.

I just walked slowly into the training area, still trying to digest how personal this area must be for Hiruzen, and how much trust he was putting into me by showing me.

Hiruzen walked to the other side of the training ground and pulled off his robes and sealed them into a scroll, rolling it up, and throwing it to the side.

He had his armour on underneath, already prepared.

I prepared myself for a difficult fight, speeding up my mind with lightning chakra.

"Begin." Hiruzen said firmly, his hands up and knees bent.

I shot towards him at full speed, driving my fist towards his face.

He blocked the punch, the follow up flurry of punches and kicks were stopped as well.

He countered with a sweeping kick, which I jumped up and over him to avoid, my sword coming out as I was flipping over him and swung towards his head, him ducking under it no problem.

A kunai was flicked into his hand and he charged at me, preventing me from using a jutsu.

The fact that a 70 year old man was moving at this speed had me wondering how fast he was when he was in his prime. He was still showing signs of the grace and balance he had in his youth when he was trying to break through my guard with a simple kunai.

He seemed to weave through his movements, the kunai screeching against my blade. I felt his chakra shift barely, the kunai being covered by his signature.

I twisted my blade and pivoted, ducking to avoid a blade of wind going through my shoulder as he pulsed chakra through the kunai.

Hiruzen charged again, seeming to predict my pattern of defense as he wrapped earth chakra around his hand and grabbed my blade barehanded, driving a fist into my face.

My ears rang from the hit and I staggered, but I held onto my sword. He jerked me towards him by my sword and stabbed at my chest, focusing wind through it again.

It didn't pierce the armour, but it definitely gashed it.

"You have a lightning affinity, do you not?" Hiruzen asked, kicking at my legs to knock me down, 'Use it against earth!" His hand on my sword letting go and he formed a half seal, a spike of earth striking me in the back from behind.

My vision went all over the place as I fell face first into the ground from the hit, swinging blindly to ward him off.

Hiruzen slashed downward at me, but I rolled to the side and flipped myself up, deflecting a rapid series of slashes that were alternating between being lightning coated and wind coated.

I finally got a reprieve when I switched with a chunk of rock on the ground, getting around 15 meters away from him.

Hiruzen, without missing a beat, made one hand seal and shot a massive fireball at me.

In the course of thirty seconds, he had used Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Fire against me.

I countered with a Teppodama, the ball of water I sent out of my mouth clashing with his fireball, a massive explosion of steam being the result.

I went to manipulate the water vapour to expand it, but I didn't expect the 50 plus kunai to come through it.

I dropped to the ground and felt them fly over me, one of them clipping my shoulder.

Hissing in pain, I jumped back up and barely caught the flash of movement that was Hiruzen sprinting through the steam, his staff out and crashing down towards my head.

I barely raised up my sword to stop it, the strength behind the hit jolting my arms.

"Good," Hiruzen said, backing up for a moment, "But not good enough. You rely on speed and cover, but that won't work against me, Naruto."

I didn't have time to respond because he began to attack me, each end of his staff being used as a weapon.

Even with the Kenjutsu I use being geared towards defense and weathering attacks, I was barely preventing myself from getting struck by him, and I knew he was holding back.

His speed moved up a notch and I nearly saw stars when the end of his staff smashed into my head, the man continuing to sneak in a hit here and there.

Bruises were appearing faster than they were healing, my breath quickening in fear. I couldn't match him, not even close.

Forcing his staff downward with enough force to make my arms burn, I twisted my fingers on my sword's hilt into a seal, shooting a water senbon at Hiruzen's face.

He ducked his head down some and let his helmet take the hit, a small dent appearing in it.

'What the hell is that made of?' I thought right before the crown of said protection smashed into my face, causing me to fall backwards.

A point blank gust of wind blasted me backwards, my back hit the ground several times as I bounced.

Not wanting to be hit, I blindly Shunshined a short distance, making several shadow clones.

They all started chaining together Shunshins and tried to attack Hiruzen, who was fighting them off with ease.

Cracking open a storage seal of water, I blurred through hand seals as fast as I could, forcing the water to respond to my will.

Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu.

The water formed into a massive dragon and shot towards Hiruzen, who was killing my clones easily.

Without missing a beat, Hiruzen twisted his body and gripped the staff between his feet as he spun in a circle, holding off my clones while he freed his hands to form hand seals.

The earth responded to his command and formed a large shell, taking the hit with ease.

Before I could use a Chidori or another Raiton jutsu to pierce it, Hiruzen's own lightning jutsu shot from it, shattering the earth.

I Shunshined out of the way, my eyes wide at how close it was to hitting me.

My hair was standing on end from the static.

Several of my exploding tags were flung by me towards the cracked shell as I ran in a circle, not remaining still.

Hiruzen evidently sank into the earth after he used the Raiton jutsu because he suddenly appeared in front of me.

Without hesitation, I stabbed at him with my sword, hitting his elbow.

Uh oh.

It was an exploding clone and I got a face full of superheated chakra that blasted straight into me, my vision going white.

Groaning, I barely caught a flash of movement from Hiruzen, who started relentlessly attacking me, my joints creaking from the power behind them.

'Was this the strength of an S-rank? Zabuza is nothing to this.'

I kept backing away, trying to think of something to do. I eventually stopped and felt my foot scrape against something metal.

The kunai that Hiruzen cloned.

I used chakra to stick it to the bottom of my foot, letting Hiruzen's attacks break my guard.

I let the one hit towards my gut get through, falling backwards from the hit.

My legs kicked up and I let go of the kunai, flinging it at around his midsection.

Hiruzen, in a display of quick reflexes, avoided the kunai hitting a vital area, but the kunai still opened up a cut on his left wrist, his sleeve beginning to darken.

Hiruzen winced and backed away from me, glancing at his wrist and my foot.

"Excellent," He said happily, "Even something learned as a young Shinobi may very well save your life. That little trick was something that would have gotten lesser Shinobi."

He seemed to be in a good enough mood to let me get up, grabbing a bandage from a scroll and wrapping it around his wrist.

'I can't keep up with him.' I thought. 'Anything I use has a counter from him. He's not called 'The Professor' for nothing.'

I needed more speed. The mind enhancement portion of the Lightning Cloak didn't speed up my body, only my speed of thought. There was something that I had available to speed myself up, but I didn't know if I could get it to work.

'Screw it. No time like crunch time.' I thought, dropping the lightning chakra from my brain and shifting regular chakra towards the tenketsu needed to open the first Gate.

Gate of Opening: Kai!

I forced chakra into it and felt the Gate open.

Hiruzen had his staff ready for what I was going to do, but he still had a look of slight surprise when I seemed to blur towards him, stabbing towards his shoulder.

My balance was somewhat off, still not completely accustomed to the inhibitors on my muscles being shut off.

But Hiruzen wasn't as able to take advantage of that because my attacks were coming extremely fast as he was on the back foot from holding me off.

I realized the staff he was using wasn't Enma when I used my Bloodline to add to my chakra conductive blade, making it sharper and with a little more length.

The staff broke and Hiruzen, not hesitating at all, ducked under my downward swing and kicked at my lower ribs, something cracking in the process.

I staggered and swung blindly at him, the man ducking again and driving several punches into my ribs, gut, and finally my face, sending me to the ground.

I tried to get up, but Hiruzen raised his hand and shook his head.

"That's enough for now," He said kindly, breathing a little heavily, "I can tell I hurt something."

"I'm fine," I said tightly, closing the Gate forcefully and trying to hide the wince when I grabbed at my ribs, "Just give me a few minutes."

Hiruzen scoffed and waited patiently as I stood up slowly, still nursing my healing ribs.

"You're extremely fast for one your age, Naruto, and very strong. It's not common for a 13 year old to be capable of sparring with me."

"Itachi was one," I pointed out, seeing Hiruzen's face twitch slightly, "He was an S-rank at my age."

"And you fight like an A-rank," Hiruzen said flatly, "You can learn a great deal about someone by fighting them, especially someone who fights like my Sensei did with me."

I just realized why Hiruzen wanted to spar with me, my mind not made up on whether I should be aggravated.

"You wanted to see how I fight against someone I have no hope of beating," I said slowly, not breaking eye contact, "You didn't want to rely on what Kakashi said on my ability."

Hiruzen chuckled and winked.

"Guilty as charged."

"Perverted old man." I grumbled, scowling at the look on his face.

"I wasn't the one beaten by several kunoichi." Hiruzen pointed out, grinning slightly at my irritation.

"What even is in the water here?" I asked, gesturing at the general area, "They didn't just beat me, they stomped on my balls more than once."

Hiruzen cringed at what I said.

"Jiraiya said that civilian women never did that."

"So it means kunoichi are insane." I stated, still not happy about it, even after some time.

Looking back, it was funny, but me supposedly peaking on them shouldn't have warranted several kicks to the balls. Getting punched several times in the face? Sure. But not hits to the balls.

Hiruzen's face then shifted to an odd look, his posture shifting slightly.

"Naruto," He started softly, "Has there been anything said by the Kyuubi?"

I'd mentioned to Hiruzen and Rin about my little talk with Kurama, leaving out the comment he made about Rin.

"About?" I asked, not sure what he was getting at.

"Who unleashed the Kyuubi." Hiruzen said quietly.

"Only that it was someone with a Sharingan," I replied, "He kept saying that it was Uchiha Madara, but he's obviously wrong since he's been dead for awhile."

Hiruzen had a contemplative look on his face.

"What all can you think of that might point to who did it?"

Sighing, I gave what information I could without aiming it towards Obito.

"His chakra felt...wrong," I eventually said, "Almost like he himself was bad enough to stain his signature."

Hiruzen remained quiet, listening to me with rapt attention.

"He definitely had a Sharingan, it felt like how Sasuke or Kakashi feel."

"And he felt like the Jonin Kakashi brought to training last week."

Hiruzen sighed and seemed to be resigned to something, covering it up with a soft smile.

"I think it's time for some ramen, don't you think?" He asked, trying to change the topic to a more light-hearted one.

I decided to agree and let this day be a relaxing one. The Chunin exams were in a week and I needed to think of something aside from hurrying things along.

"Sure, Jiji," I grinned, "But you're buying."

Hiruzen scoffed but gave a small smile, the two of us leaving the training ground.

/////////////////

"So, how was your day?" Kurama asked in a bored tone, "Your sister doesn't wish to speak at all."

It was nighttime and I was doing a new tradition of mine, speaking with Kurama each night before I went to sleep.

"You really bored enough to want to listen to the random crap I did for training?" I asked, sitting down and lounging on the ground.

There wasn't much I could do about the cramped nature of the cage, the tightenings still being there.

"Nothing to do in here." Kurama said simply.

"Let me use your chakra without screwing with my head and you'll be able to see through my eyes most of the time I'm awake." I offered again, knowing he was on the fence about it.

He snorted and readjusted how he was curled up laying down.

"I'll think about it."

I sat there for a minute, thinking on whether I should ask him.

Sure, I'll do it. I thought.

"Do you have a name?" I asked.

Kurama turned slightly and looked at me, his eyes almost glowing.

"Why ask that?"

"I doubt your name is 'Kyuubi'," I shrugged, "I'm a human, but my name is Naruto. I doubt you only had a name when humans saw fit to give you a title."

"Again," Kurama stated, "Why ask?"

"All but the first hour of my life will involve you being with me and Rin," I replied, not impressed with his short responses, "We might as well be civil towards each other and a name is more personable."

Kurama didn't answer, simply laying his head back down.

"Tell me the story you wanted to say before," Kurama said, "The one about the two brothers."

Shrugging at his evading of the question, I started speaking of a story that at first glance, had a couple of similarities with another set of brothers that Kurama would be familiar with.

///////////////

Danzo POV:

Hiruzen wished to speak with him, privately, in his office.

Danzo wasn't sure what his old teammate wished to speak with him about, but he was prepared in case he needed to convince Hiruzen to not kill him like he suspected he was going to do after Itachi wiped out the Uchiha.

A discreet use of Kotoamatsukami ensured that Hiruzen would think about the ways Danzo could destroy the reputation of the clan heads.

But he had no such dirt. Bluffing was almost as important as actually having evidence. Anything he had would have incriminated himself more than any of the clan heads. He had a noted disdain for the Uchiha, and the destruction of his arm during the Kyuubi attack gave motive.

He made sure to not have his bodyguards with him, not wanting to tip Hiruzen off to his plan to turn the tables on him. He was certain he wouldn't need them, even if it left him feeling slightly vulnerable.

He made his way to the tower, using the skills of acting he had honed by walking slowly through the village like any other disabled old man, noticing the small number of people out at night.

His thoughts were interrupted by a man walking out of an alley, reeking of alcohol.

His face curling in disgust, he tried to ignore the man.

But the drunkard thought different and started drunkenly staggering towards him.

"Whas up witthhh thu wrapsss?" The man slurred, cackling at the wrappings on his arm and head to cover the concealed Sharingan, "You llloook liiike a mummy."

Danzo kept walking, trying to ignore the idiot.

"Wait!" The man yelled, lunging towards him and grabbing him for a moment, "You look liiike someone I know." He stilled slurred, almost falling over.

Danzo wheeled around and pushed him away with his good arm, staggering from the lack of cane balancing him.

"Stay away from me, fool." He hissed, noticing the man's eyes widening.

"Sorry." The man whispered, his head tilting back and he began snoring, passed out in the street.

Danzo scowled and left the drunkard where he lay, quickening his pace to get to the tower.

Being the cautious Shinobi he was, Danzo flared his chakra just enough to disrupt a seal if it were placed on him.

Feeling nothing, he assumed the man was one of many drunks created by the Kyuubi attack.

He eventually reached the tower and made his way in, spotting the door and the two guards at the front.

He walked slowly to the door, leaning on his cane heavily.

He approached the ANBU guards at the front door and cleared his throat.

"The Hokage is expecting me." He said with a gravelly tone, still keeping his weight on the cane convincingly.

The two guards let him in, his equally as old former teammate sitting at his desk, his left hand bandaged.

At his raised brow and glance towards the limb, Hiruzen spoke.

"I had a rather enlightening spar with Uzumaki Naruto," He said smoothly, "Our resident prodigy isn't lacking in creativity."

"But where are my manners," Hiruzen continued, "How have you been?"

Danzo knew that Hiruzen wasn't the sort to dance around a subject, so he spoke up.

"Shall we dispense with the pleasantries and get on with what you are wishing to speak with me about?" Danzo asked, "You have shackled my abilities to aid the village due to your kindness and you called for a reason."

"If you call what you have done 'aid', I question your judgement of the word."

"I have broken my body for Konoha," Danzo said tightly, "An eye, the use of my leg, and an arm. Do not question my devotion to helping Konoha."

"You undoubtedly love the village," Hiruzen replied, "But your tactics have robbed us of strength."

"Get on with what you are wanting from me, Hiruzen," Danzo almost exclaimed, "Unless you just want to condemn me as you always have, which is a waste of time now that those actions are in the past."

Hiruzen's face hardened and he leaned forward in his chair.

"The spar with Naruto today woke me up to something," He stated flatly, "He is too much of a child."

Danzo was shocked that Hiruzen would complain about something like that.

"You undoubtedly know about the increased effort the clan heads have been dedicating to training, as well as the group training for the rookie Genin."

Danzo nodded, knowing it was probably linked to Orochimaru.

Danzo had fed some information about Konoha's defenses to Orochimaru in preparation for the attack, mostly less than vital things that would increase the number of civilian casualties, but leave the Shinobi forces and clans less damaged.

Better to have the body count be padded with civilians instead of Shinobi. Konoha needed to be galvanized to take a more martial inclination, something that had Kumo nipping at their heels on the power and influence level.

"I can only theorize why that is the case," Danzo lied easily, "But it still doesn't answer why the Jinchuriki is important in this conversation."

Something that had him concerned was how Hiruzen discovered that Orochimaru was planning to attack, something that was unforseen.

He didn't inform Orochimaru of it, not seeing a reason to stick his neck out for the man, only seeing him as a way to trim the diseased branches of the tree that was Konoha.

"A show of force is needed to show that Konoha has recovered from the Kyuubi attack," Hiruzen said firmly, his eyes alight with the fire that had him be made Hokage, "Naruto must have the ruthlessness to fight for Konoha, no matter the cost."

Danzo couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're wanting me," Danzo tried to say, still trying to wrap his mind around the request.

"To begin teaching Naruto the way the Shinobi world works," Hiruzen finished for him, "He disobeyed orders twice on an active A-rank because innocent people were at risk. Could you imagine the backlash of what would have happened if word got out of two teams with Kakashi, my son, and 5 clan heirs failing a mission?"

'He thought about this for some time.' Danzo thought, quietly thanking the naivety of the elder Jinchuriki.

The clan heirs were supposed to be the strongest in their clan. A critical mission failure by the two Genin teams would have reflected terribly on Konoha's strength, specifically its clans.

"You obviously understand what that will entail." Danzo said flatly, a leading tone present.

"You will train him how to look underneath the underneath, just as Sensei taught us."

Danzo nodded wistfully at the memory of Senju Tobirama, the pragmatism of the man was a welcome reprieve from all the talks about the naive outlook the Shodai had.

"But don't think this is me forgetting what happened, Danzo," Hiruzen said fiercely, "You will report everything that you teach him and all of it must be approved by me."

Danzo felt the ghost of a grin on his face, realizing what could be done.

Kotoamatsukami worked even better when the order wasn't completely contrary to the opinion of the target. If Hiruzen already was willing to let Uzumaki Naruto, the more gifted of the two Jinchuriki, be trained by him to build him up into a ruthless pragmatist like Tobirama, the need to turn Konoha to a more militaristic mindset wouldn't require the body count of hundreds of civilians.

Orochimaru, you have no idea what awaits you. He thought smugly, pleased that he'd be rid of the traitor.

He had his uses, especially when information that was useful to Konoha was a part of the agreement, but his use was coming to an end now.

"Thankfully, Hiruzen," He shifted the bandage around his right eye to loosen it, disguising it as scratching an itch, "I think I can convince you to let me have a more free approach in training the boy." He let the bandage fall free, opening his right eye lid.

Kotoamatsukami.

The Genjutsu struck Hiruzen, Danzo's smile widened into a broad one as Hiruzen seemed to still.

What happened next caused his thoughts to grind to a halt.

'Hiruzen' disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing behind.

Before he could comprehend what just happened, he heard the sound of rushing behind him, a searing pain shooting up his shoulder.

A Hyuga disguised as an ANBU jabbed him several times in the right shoulder, the artificially grown limb going completely slack.

He shouted in pain as another hit struck the side of his temple, the chakra for Shisui's eye being cut off.

But the sound of birds chirping was the worst part.

He felt a fist tear through his left shoulder and saw it protruding elbow deep in front of him.

He tried to yell, but the pain was so great that he could barely breath.

He collapsed to the ground, the two men being the only reason he wasn't flat on his stomach.

Hiruzen appeared at one point, he couldn't tell when, and had a look of disappointment on his face.

"I really wanted to think better of you, Danzo," Hiruzen said, staring at his right eye "I really wanted to be wrong, but it seems I wasn't."

Danzo started coughing up blood, one of the juken strikes hitting a lung.

"How?" He choked, his strength leaving him.

How could Hiruzen have known about his arm and eye? Not even Orochimaru knew about Shisui's eye.

"You will never know," Hiruzen growled sharply, striking him across the face, "You killed a loyal Shinobi for his eye and you took Biwako from me."

Danzo tried to speak, but was shocked by what Hiruzen had said.

"What do you mean?" Danzo coughed, trying to keep his breathing from sounding like a death rattle.

"Even in your final moments, you still lie," Hiruzen growled, drawing a kunai, "Out of respect for our Sensei, I'll make it quick." He then signaled to the two men, one obviously being Kakashi, to let him go.

They let Danzo stagger forward without them supporting his weight, the last thing he saw being the inferno dancing in Hiruzen's eyes as the kunai was driven into his temple.

Everything faded to black as the elder Shinobi fell to the ground, both eyes gazing sightlessly.

Shimura Danzo died moments later, still wondering where the hell he slipped up.

////////////

Danzo's body crumbled to the floor, not getting back up.

"Remove his shirt." Hiruzen instructed, looking at Kakashi.

Kakashi stooped down and tore off the shirt, all three of the men repulsed by what they saw.

The artificial limb mentioned was extremely pale, the eyes imbedded in the flesh still twitching slightly.

"Thank you for your assistance, Hiashi." Hiruzen said softly, gazing at the look of hatred on Hiashi's face.

"Barbaric," He spat, looking down at Danzo's corpse with contempt, "To think this creature did such a thing."

Hiruzen gazed at the body of his former teammate, wondering how it could have come to this.

"What should be done about the eyes?" Kakashi asked, his own uncovered Sharingan visible.

"That will be for another time," Hiruzen said, "For now, they will be preserved until a decision is made. Hiashi, you are dismissed."

"Hokage-sama." Hiashi nodded, walking away and clenching his hand like he'd touched something foul.

After Hiashi left, Kakashi looked at Hiruzen.

"Should Sasuke be told about this?" He gestured towards the corpse, specifically the arm, "Naruto and Rin, as well?"

Hiruzen looked down at Danzo's body, thinking.

"Naruto should know," Hiruzen said softly, "Danzo was the one he felt and I'll ask him if he thinks Sasuke should know. Sasuke seems to open up to him and Rin more so."

Naruto would be able to talk to Sasuke about this. Itachi didn't want Sasuke to know the truth, but it felt wrong to keep out the fact that Danzo committed Bloodline theft against the Uchiha by desecrating their bodies.

Hiruzen looked a little closer towards Danzo's body and noticed something.

There was a letter poking out of his pocket.

Glancing at Kakashi, who backed away, he made a Kage bunshin and had it pick up the letter, just in case it was a trap.

The bunshin inspected it, then looked at him and said one word.

"Hurin."

Ordering the bunshin to pop, Hiruzen grabbed the letter, seeing it addressed to him in Hurin's hand writing.

He pushed his chakra into the lock on the seal that kept the letter closed, revealing the contents.

The contents filled him with fury.

'Danzo wasn't the one that unleashed the Kyuubi.

The fact that the perpetrator has the Mokuton, Black hair, and a Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye socket is a coincidence.

The fact that you filled in the blanks in such a way is not my fault.

Danzo should have been killed after the stunt he pulled stealing a Sharingan from Shisui.

Thank you for killing the bastard anyway. It makes things easier for the future.

As an apology for not giving you the name of who actually did it, here's an olive branch.

Hanzo has been dead for years. The man you, Jiraiya, or Orochimaru is incapable of killing is the new leader of Ame. DO. NOT. Let Jiraiya try and investigate on his own, only death awaits him. He couldn't kill Hanzo with the backing of Tsunade and Orochimaru. His hopes of killing the one who killed Hanzo is next to none.

Tell Jiraiya I would love to speak with him when he gets back.

Burn this.

Hurin.'

Hiruzen spiked fire chakra into the paper and burned it to ash.

At Kakashi's look of question, Hiruzen explained what it said.

Kakashi also looked angry, but calmed himself and sighed at the state of things.

"Danzo was a traitor," Kakashi said, "Do you think he could have aided Orochimaru with his experiments? That arm is one of them." He pointed at the body.

Hiruzen now knew that the things Danzo did, not even counting it turning out he wasn't the one who unleashed the Kyuubi, carried a death sentence.

The fact that he used Shisui's eye on his bunshin meant that he held no qualms about manipulating him without his knowledge, making Hiruzen double guess what his choices were following the Uchiha massacre.

"Help me clean this up." Hiruzen said simply, making 3 Kage bunshin.

Kakashi nodded and made a few of his own, the group beginning the process of disposing of Danzo's remains, save for the Sharingan until it was decided what to do with them.

////////////////

End Chapter:

This chapter is shorter than the others, given that this is more of a conclusion one.

After rereading what I've written, I've started to wonder whether I've been putting too much stuff in the story, bloating it.

I'm at 300k words and the Chunin exams are just about to come up. Much of it was to build up on how the presence of an insert influences the people around him, but I'm just thinking over whether it makes the story unwieldy for new readers. Not that I'm complaining about how other stories with less words have more followers, that's just foolish for any Author to do.

Don't compare yourself to others, compare yourself to what you were in the past.

Anyway, it's probably just me being overdramatic about how I'm 300k words in and I'm not even through part one.

Here's a new chapter and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Raging.