11 2/4

In the end, it was just a horribly mismatched fight for our older comrade. She wielded her weapons with grace, elegance, and deadly precision. Doesn't do much good though when none of them could come within 10ft of our opponent. As Tenten was carted off to the infirmary, Sakura finally joined the rest of us. Her emotions back in control.

"Sorry for crying everyone. I was just so frustrated. I trained so hard and thought I'd win that." She saw our looks and barreled on. "Don't give me empty words or reassurance. I know I've gotten stronger. I'm not giving up. It doesn't make it any less frustrating."

We all nodded at her words. Naruto stepped forward looking unsure. "Sakura? Can I at least give you a hug? You still look like you need one." He asked timidly, fearing her reaction.

Sakura smiled and nodded "Sure Naruto."

Naruto's face lit up and he barreled into the girl, lifting her up and spinning her around in a bear hug. Sakura laughed delightedly. "Better?" Naruto asked, smiling bright.

She giggled once more. "Better. Thanks Naruto."

He gave her mock salute and returned to his original spot.

"So, still got a crush on Sakura?" I asked, my turn to waggle my eyebrows.

Naruto snorted. "Nah. I still think she's pretty, but we're just friends. I think we'd kill each other at some point. We're too similar."

I nodded in agreement "Yeah, you probably would." I sent a wink to the blue haired girl that had slowly been drifting our way. Hinata blushed deeply but sent me a grateful smile.

The shuffling noises could be heard and we all looked up at the screen.

"HELL YES! FINALLY!" Naruto cheered wildly.

I looked at the two names that had appeared and let out a dramatic sigh.

"Ooooohhh. But I wanted to be the one to beat him to within an inch of his life!" I whined.

Naruto, who was perched on the railing ready to jump down turned around and grinned at me "I'll dedicate one of the bruises I give him to you!"

"Deal!" Fú laughed at our antics. She looked up at me and winked. By now Naruto was waiting impatiently in the arena and Hinata had taken his place, worry marring her doll-like features.

I leaned down and whispered to Hinata. "Don't worry, you and I both know Naruto is strong. He's going to make the beating Sasuke gave look like a love tap." I gave her a hip bump to drive the point home.

She smiled and nodded but her eyes never left her blonde crush. I turned back to Fú. "At this rate we might be facing each other. Hopefully you'll stay to watch me take the crown." I playfully joked. She puffed up to her full height of a whopping 4'10".

"If we do fight, you'll be the one being carted off on a stretch I'll have you know." I grinned at her bravdo and pulled her up next to me. She seemed to relax into my side. Definetely the perfect fit. I glanced up once more at the names on the screen and sighed once more. I really did want to beat his ass.

Naruto V Misumi

**************************************HH********************************************

"Naruto, are you ready?"

"HELL YEAH!"

"Traitor, I don't care. Begin!"

Naruto barreled forward and closed the distance rapidly, fist cocked back. Now in striking distance, he opened the match with a straight jab, Misumi put up his guard to block the attack, but his eyes widened in shock as Naruto stopped mid-punch and dropped to the ground. Sliding between the taller man's legs, he shot up and in an instant delivered a strong open palm strike to the middle of the traitors back. Misumi was sent stumbling forward from the force behind the attack.

I grinned, knowing exactly what Naruto was planning. I leaned down so both girls could hear me "You two are in for a treat. You'll get to see why Naruto is quickly becoming one of the most feared Genin in the last decade." Both girls looked at me in surprise. Fú turned back to watch and cheer, Hinata did the same but with a look of excitement now.

"Ha! You suck, dude. You're what, like 40? Think you'd be able to handle a 12 year old. Oh well, looks like scary scar head won't be going easy on you." Naruto's carefree smile turned into a savage smirk.

Misumi fell for Naruto's taunting and charged forward without a plan. Naruto tensed, ready to counter. Misumi unleashed a barrage of sloppy punches and kicks that Naruto was easily able to block, counter or dodge. He yawned loudly.

"You really suck! I'm bored. Guess I'll end this." Misumi's eyes narrowed dangerously as Naruto charged. Naruto feinted a right hook and using the forward momentum brought his leg whipping around at an incredible rate, aiming right for Misumi's exposed ribs. If that connected, he'd have a couple fractures at minimum. Surprisingly he was able to get his guard up in time. He locked Naruto's leg in a vice grip, and what happened next I could only describe as unnatural.

Misumi's arms and legs begin winding around Naruto's legs and torso. The presumably boneless man had Naruto in a precarious position. He'd managed to wrap his way up Naruto's torso, and around his neck. He had one of Naruto's arms trapped and the other struggled fruitlessly to pry the rubber man away from his neck.

"I know who this kid is and what he means to you, Sarutobi! Let me go with a promise that you'll let me escape. Do it, or I'll snap his neck right here and now!" The desperation in the man's voice was clear as spittle was flying from his mouth. He was breathing like a cornered wild animal as his eyes darted around the room. Dozens of Jonin level shinobi were tensing, ready to move on their leader's order. The sound of groaning metal reached my ears and I looked down in shock. Sweet little Hinata had such a death grip on the railing that it was being crushed. Solid Steel! I put my hand on top of the heiresses and leaned down.

"Have faith" I whispered. "Naruto is 100% in control of this fight. I promise you." I leaned back and sent her a reassuring smile. Her grip eased slightly but worry still pinched her face.

"Well! Promise me! Promise me now or the boy dies! I swear I'll do it!" He was now only speaking to Lord Third who looked on the scene impassively. Gasps erupted from the room at Lord Third's next works.

"No."

A weird gurgling sound could be heard and we all looked at Naruto who was laughing in the man's chokehold. He said something but no one could understand it. Misumi must have loosened his grip just slightly.

"What did you say, brat?!"

"I said," Naruto took a deep breathe "KONOHA DOESN'T NEGOTIATE WITH TRAITORS, IDIOT!"

Naruto made a one handed hand seal and Misumi froze. Naruto grinned in triumph.

"What. Did. You. Do?!" The strained question forcefully asked by the traitor.

"Paralysis seal. When I gave you that love tap on the back I wrote it." Naruto was cackling like a mad man, I was grinning from ear to ear, especially at his next move. I absolutely loved this kid's pranks. They always got the best reactions.

Naruto lifted up his shirt for the entire room to see. Stuck to his skin were 6, high grade explosive tags. A single one of those tags had enough force to easily collapse a large building if placed in the right part. Cries of disbelief and pleas to not do what he planned fell on deaf ears.

"Bye-Bye, traitor. Catch ya later!" Naruto continued his mad cackling as the tags simultaneously began to glow. Screams became more frantic.

"NARUTO!" The tormented shriek tore from Hinata's throat. Her voice sounding raw. A flash of light and the room erupted in heat and smoke. Hinata's cries of anguish were COMPLETELY killing my mood. She was kind, sweet, and gentle. But when it came to Naruto, I guess not too bright. I gentle laid my hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me. Eyes full of sorrow for her lost love she never got to confess to. I smiled warmly at her and pointed to her eyes, then to the floor. She didn't seem to understand.

"Activate your eyes and look down." I grinned at her once more. The look of disbelief vanished as her eyes activated and her gaze dropped to the floor. A choked laugh came from the girl followed by a look of wonderment. She looked at me as if her eyes were lying to her.

"And he called me a drama queen." I said with a wink. Her laughter of disbelief turned to relief sobs. I rolled me eyes and turned to Fú. She looked pale but otherwise fine. "You OK?" I asked her.

She jumped, not expecting to hear my voice so close. She turned to me and nodded. "I thought… I thought he actually did it. Chomei told me though she can still sense her brother and he's whole. Had Naruto actually died, the Kyubi's chakra would have already started to dissipate and scatter. Slowly reforming over the next 9 years."

"9 years?!" I asked in mild shock. "It takes that long."

Fú's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment before she replied. "More or less she says. The number of tails indicate the strength of the beast. For each tail it takes about a year to reform give or take."

I nodded at her explanation before I felt the spike of chakra. My smile was back in place. "Don't blink or you'll miss his grand finale."

Not even a second later, Naruto popped out of the ground, not a hair out of place. "TA-DA!" He shouted to the spectators. "Thank you, thank you, and thank you." A bow accompanied each thank you. The realization that Naruto did not, in fact, blow himself sky high. Shouts of outrage and curses were thrown at the blonde. Someone, and if the flash of shaggy white hair was any indication, had mysteriously known to bring fruits and vegetables to throw and had strategically placed them near the angriest spectators. The outrage continued for another minute before people died down. Naruto was laughing the whole time, as was I.

His final bow was to Lord Third. "Well, Old man? What did you think of that performance? Pretty neat, huh?!" Naruto excitedly asked his surrogate Grandfather.

Lord Third, the man who was rumored to have mastered every non-clan technique that existed in the Leaf sighed deeply before pinning Naruto with a glare.

"Naruto, you idiot! I specifically told you NOT to kill that traitor! We can't question corpses!" Lord Third shouted in exasperation.

Naruto's laughter only increased. "That's the best part! Give me a second!" He turned to the slowly smoking remains of Misumi. Naruto flashed through a few hand seals.

"Wind Release: Breakthrough!" Naruto exhaled a strong gust of wind, the smoke quickly dissipating to reveal a very NOT dead Misumi. Instead, the traitor was kept safe, yet trapped inside a glowing red barrier. Naruto whipped back around. "TA DA!"

Lord Third was not impressed. "You go through all that, just to fake a death to scare half your friends to death, and the man you're supposed to be softening up for Ibiki barely has a scratch on him. Well done, Naruto. Well done." Sarcasm oozed from every pour of Lord Third.

"No worries, Old Man! Calm down! You'll have a heart attack." Naruto turned around, missing Lord Third flash through hand seals only to be stopped by Lord Jiraiya. I snickered at their antics.

Naruto stared down at the man trapped in the cube inside the giant crater he had made. Finally, he began a rhythmic paced sequence of hand seals.

"Pervy Sage gave me a scroll that hadn't been opened since the 2nd shinobi war." Naruto's voice was oddly void of any emotion. He continued to stare down at the traitor. A creeping sense of dread was slowly filling the room. "It was locked with a blood seal. A special blood seal that could only be opened by an Uzumaki of the royal line. He found it on a trip to my ancestral homeland. He described the destruction to me. My entire clan, gone. A few survivors scattered to the four corners of the continent."

His rhythmic sealing never speeding up or slowing down, I stopped counting after 34.

"In the scroll was all that remained of my clan. A clan descended directly from the sage of six paths. All our techniques, our history, our lives, sealed away for over 40 years. Over the years, people began to forget about the Uzumaki. Today, we aren't even mentioned in new editions of notable clans through history."

Seal, pause. Seal, pause. Seal, pause.

"I asked every one of my classmates what the symbol emblazoned on every Chunin and Jonin's jacket. Do you know how many of them knew? One. My best friend. The one who told me first of my heritage. The one who pushed me into learning the sealing arts. Just one. The symbol that none of them knew. Was sewn onto every flak vest the day that Hashirama Senju married my great-great-Aunt, Mito Uzumaki, the most powerful seal mistress to ever exist. It was to show the promise made to a small island nation. That Konoha would always stand by her ally with all our might. It was the sign of unity and solidarity between cousin clans. Two of the most powerful clans to ever exist. Two clans that could quite possibly be down to its last member. On every flak vest in this village, emblazoned in red so Konoha will always know her shame, that the blood of all Uzumaki will forever be on their hands, the clan symbol of Uzumaki stands!"

Gasps from mostly the younger Shinobi rang in the silence following Naruto's declaration. The dread that had been creeping in slowly was slowly being felt by everyone now. Naruto's story, his soft rhythmic sealing, his emotionless voice were painting a wonderfully frightening picture.

"In all the history books ever published since the fall of Uzushio, the facts differ from author to author. How many troops. How many villages were involved. Who gave the order. None of them can agree, for all those involved gladly take the credit. It was their village. They sent the most troops. The only fact that is consistent among all the texts is how quickly Uzu fell. 3 days and 3 nights. Not enough time for Konoha to help. The perfect storm."

"Until the day I unlocked this scroll I believed everything those historians wrote. It is their sacred duty to do their research, find the truth, and report facts. I believed them. Until the day I opened a diary that I found among the 1000s of documents sealed. In this diary, the truth was revealed to me."

The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. The truth? What did Naruto mean? I knew Jiraiya had given him this scroll. He was so excited to be learning Uzumaki specific sealing. It's all he talked about for weeks! I glanced at Lord Third. He was hiding it well, but there was just enough apprehension in his eyes for me to read. Does Lord Third know the truth and he's debating stopping Naruto? Is this his first time hearing it and he's afraid of knowing?

"My ancestors developed a seal 120 year ago. My great-grandmother, in fact. This seal was written on a stone table which rested on the intersection of four ley lines. This was a very powerful seal, you see. Even our vast reserves we have as Uzumaki wouldn't be enough to power it for more than 10 seconds. So great-grandmother utilized her knowledge of mother earth, build the table, and used nature itself to help power this seal when it was needed."

Icy fingers gripped my chest. This wasn't a gut feeling I was having. I was genuinely afraid of my best friend right now.

"The seal, when activated, allowed the Clan Head, Village Leader, Uzukage, My direct ancestors, to divine the future and find threats to Uzushio well before they could cause us harm. My great-great grandmother was the first Uzukage. Her reign was peaceful. My great-grandmother was the second. My grandmother was the third. My mother… would have been the fourth. But she was called away to fulfil an oath to our greatest allies. My mother was chosen to be sacrificed so that the pathetic villagers of Konoha could sleep safely in their beds! Mito Uzumaki was the first sacrifice this required! When Madara Uchiha controlled the kyubi it was NOT Hashirama who saved this pathetic village from destruction at his hands. It was Mito! She willingly took the Kyubi into her body and sealed it away. For years she kept the Kyubi at bay, ensuring that children could continue to laugh and play. That the pathetic civilians who spit on every sacrifice us shinobi make every single day could live in the illusion that they were safe!"

The icy fingers were now a fist, slowly constricting my heart. Each breathe a little harder to take than the last. I forced myself out of the trance that Naruto had placed me in and looked at Lord Third. He was speaking rapidly with Lord Jiraiya. Jiraiya's eye's hardened and he started to approach Naruto. Naruto's chakra spiked to new levels and a second, larger barrier covered himself as well as the traitor trapped in the first barrier. Lord Jiraiya jumped back in surprise. He recovered quickly and attempted to smash the barrier. It didn't even crack, but the slight smoking on his hands was telling enough. No one was getting through that thing. Not even a Sannin. Naruto continued, still mechanically signing as his story unraveled. He turned and faced his second teacher, the anger that had twisted Naruto's boyish charms into something wild and feral. His face softened just a bit as he spoke to Lord Jiraiya.

"I'm sorry, Pervy Sage. But I have to tell my story. People deserve to know. My ancestors DEMAND that people know the real truth. I promise I'm in control. This is 100% me. This is my darkness. My anger. My hatred. I turned down the strength of the outer barrier as I knew you'd ty to break it. It's going to full strength now. If anyone touches it, even you, Pervert, you will die. I need to finish my story."

As Naruto turned back to face his captive, I saw it. The flash of green in the cerulean eyes. Something was going on with Naruto. Before I could say anything his story continued.

"When Mito Uzumaki grew old, and her crimson locks faded to white, Konoha demanded another sacrifice. Uzushio, as loyal and faithful a village as you would ever hope to find, kept her promise as agreed upon. The Uzumaki clan is a clan full of love, life, and laughter. We celebrate life every day. We value loyalty above any other trait. The meanest hermit that is loyal as any is welcomed with open arms in Uzushio. The friendliest man in the entire world, that would spill your secrets as soon as your back was turned was cast away. This was the motto our clan lived by. Our Loyalty was not just towards family, it extended beyond our borders. Our loyalty to Konoha was unlike any other. To prove our appreciation of our oldest friends, we sent you the sacrifice you demanded. We didn't just send any Uzumaki either, oh no. For the blood of the Uzumaki is a natural medium for the sealing arts, so any would do! But we couldn't risk our friendship and trust with our closest ally, so we sent the best! My grandmother kissed her daughter goodbye for the last time when she was just 8 years old, and off to Konoha she was sent to live out the rest of her days. Cut off from her entire family, her home, her life. For that is the greatest sacrifice that Konoha demanded of our clan. For an Uzumaki without family is but a shell of their truest self."

"We begged, pleaded, cried, but it all fell on deaf ears. We asked for Mito to finally be allowed to come home and live out her days with her family. We would lock the Kyubi away in our Princess, and keep his hatred and malice. We would gladly and gratefully accept the duty of being the watchers of the strongest tailed beast! It would no longer be a sacrifice, for our family would be with us. A sealed kunai is a danger to no one! They could live their days with their family, wearing their badge of pride with honor. For living in a village that does not understand seals is dooming them to a life of loneliness, isolation, and without love."

The hand gripping my heart loosened as the sorrow from Naruto rolled off in waves. Tears could be found in every pair of eyes in the room. No one was immune to the earth shattering sorrow now saturating the air. Naruto wasn't finished. And soon the anger returned 10 fold.

"But no. The living sacrifice was now a weapon for Konoha to threaten her enemies with. She was no longer a human in your eyes, and our princess was to be raised as the next spear. A tool to be thrown at your enemies. Raised being feared, hated, and rejected. You spit on our sacrifice and yet we still stood by you. Our hearts ached for our princess while she cried herself to sleep at night."

"We didn't realize until it was too late. The corruption, warmongering, fear, and greed had been saturating the soil under the great tree for too many years. The saturation was so thick it reached all the way down to the deepest roots."

Naruto finally stopped sealing. His hands were pushing together parallel to his body. He turned around to face Lord Third, and we all gasped. Gone were Naruto's blue eyes, they were replaced by piercing violet orbs. The normal warmth that Naruto's gaze held usually held was gone. In its place the violet eyes than pinned lord third were full of rage and hatred. When Naruto spoke his voice was high pitched and feminine. Lord Third looked like he'd seen a ghost, actually that's probably what we were all witnessing if I was being honest.

"Young Monkey. You're looking decidedly old and frail. Retirement didn't agree with you?" 'Naruto' spoke in a cold and condescending voice to Lord Third.

"L-Lady Korinna? Is that you?" Lord Third's voice barely above a whisper. Shock and disbelief marring his face.

"How astute of you. Yes, it's me. Have you liked my tale so far?"

Lord Third was at a loss for words, so Lord Jiraiya stepped in.

"Lady Korinna, why are you here? How are you here?" He asked, suspicious eyes narrowed.

'Lady Korinna' turned amethyst eyes on Lord Jirayia. "I would strike you down now for your impudence and disrespect, Toad Boy! Learn how to talk to those well above your station. However, your life remains yours as my grandson would be upset if I were to kill you. Consider yourself lucky, welp."

Lord Jiraiya gulped and bowed low. "I apologize for my tone, Lady Korinna. But you must understand how suspicious this all is. You've been… gone for almost 50 years now. And now you're here, possessing the body of your grandson. I care for the boy, Lady Korinna, and I will die before I let you do any harm to him."

'Lady Korinnas' critical eye searched Jiraiya's face for minutes. Finally, she seemed to find what she was looking for. Her eyes softened, just by the tiniest amount, but it was something.

"I know you do, Toad Sage. And you have my eternal gratitude for the impact you've made on my grandson's life. I will answer your questions, quickly, as my thanks. Your first was why am I here? To tell my story, the TRUTH about what happened the day Uzushio fell. As to HOW I'm here, how do you think?"

"Some type of seal I'd presume, but that's kind of a cop out answer." Lord Jiraiya grumbled.

'Lady Korinna' laughed derisively at his answer. "And THAT, Jiraiya, is why you'll never achieve true mastery over the sealing arts as we Uzumaki have. Your mind isn't open enough. It won't leave the box it's trapped in. It wasn't just "A" seal, it was an entire sealing array. The diary that Naruto found, my diary, is a sealing array. Yes, yes I know it's impressive. I have much to do and time is running short. Just know this, I would not have been summoned had Naruto been truly well taken care of. There were multiple factors that attributed to my summoning. To rub salt in your wounds, Monkey's wounds, and anyone else who claimed to care about my grandson, the final "key" to activating my sealing array was DEEP emotional scaring. Let that sink in."

Everyone in the room looked down in shame. Lord Third looked as if his entire world was crumbling around him.

'Lady Korinna' opened her mouth to say something else before locking eyes with my dad. "You, Yamanka. The only people who I can positively say have zero blame in this is you, your wife, your daughter, and obviously your caring son. Please continue to love my grandson like your own. Your family is the only thing keeping him grounded at this point. He's slowly recovering as he's accepted more, but he's still on a dangerous precipice."

She turned those cold, knowing amethyst eyes on me and for the first time the anger, hatred and sorrow that had been permeating the air vanished. In its place was gratitude and love. I opened my eyes in wonder and saw the first real smile from the Uzumaki ancestor since this whole ordeal started. Those eyes lingered only for a few more seconds before locking eyes with Lord Third once more.

"Now, the conclusion. The truth told to the masses. The most powerful men and women in the leaf village. Your influence stretches far and wide. Hear my tale, and choose your course of action."

Lady Korinna walked Naruto's body to the center of the room. It was there he knelt down and faced Lord Third for final time.

"My time is short so I must be brief. Do not interrupt. If you have questions, my diary will answer them. Understood?" She didn't wait for a confirmation. "Good."

"I woke up the morning of April 5th with a sense of dread in my stomach. I prayed to The Sage for guidance and the tablet of my mother called to me. I knelt before the stone alter and activated the sealing array my mother spent her life developing and perfecting. What I saw left me weeping on the floor for hours. My sister found me hours later. I told her what I saw and wept on my sister's shoulder once more. I wept for the dead. I wept for the survivors. I wept for the loss of our history. I wept for it all. And I especially wept for the betrayal of our greatest ally. Our friend for over a century. I wept for the Betrayal of Konoha."