11 A Flash

"Loniles is not when you are alone, but when you're surrounded by people that make you feel alone."

Naruto

Ashura stood in front of him, his eyes looking at him warmly, a splendid smile on his face. Ashura kneeled in front of Naruto.

"What can I do for you, young Senju?" Ashura asked kindly.

"Ashura, I wanted to ask what your advice on what to do with how Hidden Villages are with each other is? Hashirama told me that he and Madara united the clans and created Hidden Leaf Village, but there's no peace; this is just a temporary peace, a war hidden in the shadows waiting to explode. What should I do?" Naruto asked, feeling anger; the Raikage had ordered the Shinobi to kidnap a Hyuga if he could kidnap a Hyuga child.

Naruto knew this, but he wasn't sure how the whole memory of him saving Hinata was almost clouded but not the memories of the dead Jonin and Naruto wasn't sure why.

The blonde had thought to tell The Hokage, but right now, he wasn't sure if the Hokage was trustworthy anymore; telling him about the memories of the dead Jonin would force him to ask how he knew?

Therefore Naruto had thought that saying nothing would be better rather than just opening new problems.

"I'm not sure young Uzumaki; my father told me to spread the knowledge of Chakra; I followed my father's footsteps, sure that was the way towards peace. The conflicts between each other started soon after the birth of my third child. My children took responsibility for my actions, and people did not come together when chakra knowledge was spread; wars didn't end. They stayed the same," Ashura said with a heavy heart; he could remember when he was first forced to execute a member of their group.

He had been caught using Chakra to kill people for fun, and he had been caught red-handed in his basement, body parts everywhere hanging around the wall. In his personal room, he had found him there smiling eagerly.

Jars filled with blood in the table behind him, bodies of men, women and children hanging around the walls like decorations, their guts hanging from their sliced open stomachs, a corpse hanging behind him had four arms attached around his back.

Saiko Himei had started laughing before him, saying that he would find every little secret that Chakra was hiding from him; the experiments were needed to discover just how strong a person can get.

Ashura had killed him on the spot, the bodies were buried, but the body of Saiko was thrown into the wilderness and let him rot, without a place where people could remember him.

The second time had been after many years in Juyi town, his children had discovered people forcing the town to give them money in return for healing them, but the worst part was they were the ones causing the sickness.

"I don't have any easy answers, young Senju; even my father didn't know how to bring peace, my grandmother tried to enslave the whole world, and my father believed spreading the Chakra would bring people together. My advice to you, young Senju, is to unite the people of this world, under one symbol, under one village. Like how Hashirama and Madara created the Hidden Leaf Village, I believe you can create a new one, one that belongs to everyone," Ashura advised.

Naruto said nothing as the figure of Ashura started disappearing until it was gone.

The young blonde found himself in the apartment again, his hands rubbing his back.

Naruto understood what he meant; at least he hoped he did; his thoughts were on his Uchiha family. Would it be safer for them? What would they think?

Naruto looked down at his palms, at the moon and sun symbol; why did he have so much responsibility? It wasn't enough that he was an orphan, but the people of his home hated his guts.

"Kurama, what do you think is the difference between right and wrong? Is there any difference, or is the line between right and wrong just is an illusion we create for ourselves?" Naruto asked quietly as his eyes kept looking at his palms.

Kurama stayed quiet for some time; he wasn't sure of the answer.

"I'm not sure Naruto, in my life those people that tried to capture me and use my Chakra for their own gain were wrong, but what if those people were desperate people that needed to protect their loved ones, at that point in life, the line between right and wrong slowly gets thinner when it comes to helping the ones we love, because without them. We are nothing," Kurama said.

Naruto listened to his words, and his mind returned to his nii-san; he remembered Shisui, Mikoto-chan, and Kurama. His best friend.

Naruto said nothing as his body lied on the floor, his hands together in front of his face, his head feeling the carpet below his head, a red carpet.

"What is the cost of Peace?"

After One Week

The following week, Naruto kept practising, his clones had him surrendered, they had formed a circle around him. Itachi and Shisui were looking closely at Naruto since he told them he wanted to show something to them.

Each clone grabbed a kunai from their pouches and immediately threw them at Naruto.

The blonde activated his Sharingan and saw the kunai moving slower snd slower; he grabbed a single kunai and threw at one closest to him, causing it to change the direction that hit another kunai and another one.

Itachi and Shisui gasped that every single kunai had fallen in the ground and hadn't reached Naruto; a proud smile erupted on both of their faces, seeing him, but next thing surprised them and put them on guard immediately, each clone suddenly showed right in front of Naruto, each one had Sharingan's on their eyes.

Shisui was about to intervene when Naruto threw himself up in the air doing hand signs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Form Jutsu"; A dragon came out of his mouth and obliterated every clone in the ground; Itachi and Shisui jumped away from the unbearable heat coming from the red flames that burned down the whole grass in the entire Training field.

Itachi noticed that leaves around the trees had turned dark from the heat; he hadn't known about the existence of Red Fire. He had known of Amaterasu, the dark flames that never extinguished.

The Uchiha duo moved over to Naruto, who was lying in the middle of the field breathing heavily, the whole area had turned dark and smoke around the ground, his chest rising up and down like that would be his last breath. He was trying to breathe as much as possible.

"That was awesome, Naruto; you sure have many secrets", Shisui stated, helping him up and slapping his back.

"That was indeed incredible Naruto-kun, didn't know there was red fire", Itachi commented, as his eyes noticed that the moon symbol on Naruto's palm looked slightly darker, or maybe that was just him.

"I didn't know about crimson red flames myself, though indeed does look awesome, and they are way stronger than normal flames", Naruto replied.

Itachi had already figured out the last part and wondered if he should teach him his explosive clone jutsu and Fire Style: Star Fire.

Itachi decided to teach him that as a birthday gift for his seventh birthday.

It had been a week since Hinata Hyuga had been saved from Naruto, the word had spread like Wildfire, the clans were happy to hear that Naruto had saved Hyuga's heiress, but the civil part was more sceptical; some stayed neutral while some would say that the demon was getting strong or some dumb shit like that.

Itachi had invited Naruto to his house six days ago to eat Dinner with them, but Naruto had respectfully declined his offer.

Itachi, of course, knew about how his last visit ended; he still remembered his little brother calling Naruto 'Parentless'.

The Uchiha prodigy hasn't told anyone, but he was half convinced to tell his kaa-chan, she would know what to say to Sasuke.

"Hello, Itachi, You there?" Itachi escaped his thoughts when he saw Shisui knocking on his forehead, almost like he was knocking on a door and waiting to open it.

"What?" Itachi asked, not knowing what the problem was.

"Raikage will come today, Hokage told me two days ago to be prepared if my help is needed" only now has Itachi noticed that Naruto wasn't here anymore; his eyes roamed around the field but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Naruto went to his house, and he said he wanted to deal with something", Shisui informed him, and they soon both left towards the Uchiha Compound.

Apartment

Naruto was sitting in a cross position, a blank letter in front of him lying on a table, a brush and black paint. The clones had started reading Fuinjutsu, but Naruto soon realised that reading Fuinjutsu would almost be pointless without practising it.

Therefore Naruto took it upon himself to train his Fuinjutsu, and if a seal could hold the likes of Kurama inside his tummy, his mind wondered what could he do by advancing it even more.

As he was writing a Level I seal, his senses detected a huge chakra level was suddenly showing up in the village.

Hiashi Hyuga

"O!" he heard his daughter squeak when he entered the room.

"Hinata," Hiashi smiled. Though it was technically not proper behaviour, he could understand the child's tears. She did go through quite an ordeal. "Are you all right, Hinata?"

The girl nodded and quickly tried to wipe away her tears, knowing her father disapproved of such lack of composure. Not that she had much success, as new tears appeared just as fast. "Naruto-kun saved us. But.. But.."

"Naruto-kun is fine," a female voice spoke from behind Hiashi. Not that he was shocked, as his wife at times seemed to be aware of everything. Hiashi knew very well that if he were to be regarded as the best juken practitioner of the clan, Hyuga Hitomi would be the one with the best eyesight.

"Hitomi.."

"Hiashi," the woman smiled. "Hinata is uninjured, despite the kidnapper's crude methods."

"Okay, can I.." Hinata looked up to her mother. "C-Can I see him? Where is he?"

"He is in his home," she said gently. Hinata's face turned down, and her disappointment was evident to her parents. "But the clan owes Naruto-kun if he had not stopped the kidnapper...," Hitomi added.

"Can we help him?" Hinata begged.

Hiashi looked at his wife, who was busy correcting a deviant strand of her daughter's dark blue hair. His wife took a strange pride in that their eldest daughter had the same hair colour as she had.

"We will. And should," Hitomi assured her daughter, looking up at her husband's frown. "If it weren't for Naruto, we wouldn't have our daughter here, and it is only appropriate we reward him, perhaps giving him shelter."

"Naruto can stay with us?" Hinata said hopefully.

Hiashi nodded. "That would be... proper. For now. I will ask Hokage-sama for formal approval."

He emphasised the last word, making clear to his wife that the case of Uzumaki Naruto was a special one. Not that he needed to tell her. Hitomi often paid more attention to affairs outside of the clan than he did. She knew very well who and what Uzumaki Naruto was.

Hokage Tower

"Hokage-sama"

"Hiashi..." the Hokage answered with a tired voice. Meeting the elders of the council had been a very bothersome half hour.

"Any developments regarding the kidnapper? Did Kumogakure respond?"

The Hokage sighed. "We can't tell, but Shukaku suspects he was sent here with a mission to kidnap a suitable female Hyuga so that Kumo could gain access to the byakugan."

Hiruzen saw Hiashi's eyes narrow as he considered the implication of what was said. No father would like to hear his daughter was targeted for the children she could bear. It wasn't like this didn't anger Hiruzen, but he lived too long to know that he couldn't make decisions based on emotions. But he was not in control of the Hyuga clan. And if the Hyuga would demand retribution, with the substantial influence within the village, this demand could lead to War. 'It all boils down to what Hiashi decided..'

"Fortunately, things did not turn out that way," Hiruzen added with his weary voice.

"Now that the peace treaty is formalised, and we have quickly spread that piece of news across the borders, Kumo knows that their position is unfavourable. They cannot make any demands without revealing that they breached the treaty themselves first. Kumo will not be able to try something like this again, not without damaging the diplomatic position it has with other nations as well. If this got out, no one would trust them again. I believe Kumogakure would choose an uneasy peace over an international scandal which could potentially lead to a war between them and a coalition of hidden villages."

Hiashi nodded. Through alliances and treaties were not respected as much as many would like, there was a consensus between the nations that those who broke a treaty within the same year should be considered honourless and could therefore be attacked by any government without consequences to international relations. Even though the military prowess of Kumogakure was great, perhaps even being the strongest nation in the world, it would not withstand a combined attack from the other countries.

"Hokage-sama, the Hyuga will not officially blame Kumo, neither for the attempt to kidnap my daughter nor the damage they have caused at our estate. We were fortunate that there were no grave injuries and that Hinata is Safe." Hiashi took a short breath before he made his request, knowing the subject's sensitivity for Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was rumoured to have an attachment to the boy.

And even beyond that attachment, the village's jinchuriki was deemed to be a creature outside of the control of a single clan. Else, the Sarutobi would have adopted him the day he was orphaned. But the potential power which a jinchuriki represented was a thing that every clan coveted. And as such, it would not allow another clan to have. But if the voices of the most powerful clan, the Hyuga, and the most influential person, the Hokage, aligned... even if it was done to repay a debt, Hiashi was intelligent enough to ensure that his clan would benefit.

"Hokage-dono, though I will not blame anyone, I would like to acknowledge the debt our clan owes."

"Your debt?" Sarutobi answered wonderingly.

"Without Uzumaki Naruto, my daughter and heir would be on her way to Kumo. I want to repay him, at least by sheltering him for a while."

Hiruzen's eyes went wide with surprise at the request, and he dropped back into his chair. For a few moments, he stayed silent, considering the possibilities. "...Hiashi, you know very well that this child cannot be attached to any clan."

Hiashi was about to speak again when Hiruzen raised his hand. "I have already received multiple requests from Shukaku, Mikoto Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Inoichi Yamanaka, Inuzuka clan. I want to adopt Naruto but can't. I'm afraid if you like to do something for him, you can perhaps help him in other ways," Hiruzen stated with a painful heart.

Hiashi said nothing, his facial expression didn't change, not even in the slightest, but inside he couldn't help but feel that his daughter would be disappointed.

Hiruzen

He stood close to his desk, smoking his pipe, his mind on what Hiashi offered. Did I do something wrong? What about the other clans? Hiruzen asked himself, feeling a headache coming.

He hoped Jiraiya, this time, would decide to come and stop wasting time.

Just as he finished that thought, the window opened immediately. He didn't bother to check who it was.

"Door just was never an option," Hiruzen said as he heard his student laugh.

"Doors are just a waste of time, nothing else", Jiraiya stated before his face turned serious and the temperature around the room decreased by a few degrees.

"What has Kumo done?" Jiraiya asked, wanting more details about what had happened. Kakashi had sent him a brief recap, but he needed more information.

Hiruzen sighed and told him everything, even Naruto's involvement in all of this.

When Jiraiya heard that Naruto defeated a Jonin, he froze as he thought one thing. He's just like you, Minato, Jiraiya thought with sadness, his student...

"Jiraiya, Raikage will arrive today; I need you to be prepared for everything, and if possible, summon chief toad here", Hiruzen suggested knowing they needed to show strength.

Jiraiya had been deep in thought that he heard barely anything his sensei told him.

"JIRAIYA" Sannin escaped his thoughts when he heard his sensei shout his name.

"What?"

Hiruzen said nothing but just sighed before turning his head towards the open window.

"Naruto is in apartment seven near Nara compound if you want to visit him", Hiruzen suggested with a smile.

Jiraiya remembered the blonde baby crying, his blue eyes; he nodded his head and jumped outside the window with a sigh.

Jiraiya

Jiraiya stood at the top of a building, using a camouflage jutsu, looking through Naruto's window. The blonde was drawing something on paper; Jiraiya suspected it must be something about Fuinjutsu.

His back was turned at Jiraiya, the Sannin felt his heart almost stop at his blonde hair, he felt trapped, the vision of Minato was right in front of him. He felt shivers around his whole body, the image of Minato still fresh in his mind.

At that moment, Naruto turned his head to look at the window; Jiraiya stiffened, almost thinking that Naruto had detected him but saw his eyes weren't focused on him, instead of to a bluebird drinking water from a fountain.

Jiraiya saw Minato all over again, and his son was a mini version of him, almost uncanny. Jiraiya bit his lower lip tightly to move his body again. He didn't know why he felt he couldn't move.

His eyes went to the window again and saw Naruto had returned to drawing in the scroll.

Jiraiya felt hot tears in his eyes, and a tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

With that, he disappeared from the view.

Naruto

He felt Jiraiya had left; he closed his eyes tightly, so tightly that it was hurting, his eyes started burning like fire. His chest tightened, he tried to fill his lungs with air, but he couldn't, his chest kept tightening like a trap, his heartbeat slowly getting slower, his hand holding his chest, as he felt everything getting covered in darkness and despair.

Naruto heard Kurama calling to him, his head hit the floor, his whole body lying on the floor as hot tears streamed down his cheek.

Naruto had only one thought on his head as darkness greeted him like an old friend.

If Love is just a word, why does it hurt so much when you understand that it isn't there...

Killer Bee

He, his brother and Darui reached the Hidden Leaf Village.

Beside them stood 25 members of the Lightning Team of Kumo. The team members were High Jonin Level up to Low-S Rank Level.

They had just reached the gate, and from there, Bee saw the giant toad standing right beside Hokage tower.

Bee knew what that meant, Jiraiya of the Sannin was here, and he had summoned his toad, a clear indication of power.

Bee couldn't help but wonder if Tsunade Senju was in the village as well.

His brother's eye narrowed at the sight of the giant toad; Jiraiya wasn't a Sannin for nothing. Not mentioning he knew how to use Sage Chakra, something only he is known to be able to use, the last person who used Sage Chakra was Hashirama Senju himself.

Soon they reached the Hokage Tower, the giant toad was smoking from his pipe, but at the sight of them, his hand went to the handle of his sword.

Walking inside the Hokage Office, Bee had to give credit for their artwork, and it looked beautiful.

Inside the room stood the Hokage; beside him was a man glaring at them with white eyes. A Hyuga, Bee thought, his eyes found Jiraiya of The Sannin standing near a window, his body leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.

At the left side of the Hokage stood who could only be Kakashi Hatake, his Sharingan was covered, and close to Hokage was seated a man with a scar and pineapple hair.

"Raikage-sama, I hope your journey was good," The Hokage said respectfully, much to Bee's surprise.

"It was good, now let's not waste time with this. I want to know why my Shinobi was killed without any provocation," Ay spat angrily.

The Hyuga narrowed his eyes, and Bee was sure he would attack; the old kage didn't say anything or react to the accusations.

"Your Shinobi sneaked inside Hyuga Compound during the night and tried to kidnap Hinata Hyuga", The Old kage retorted, still with a calm tone.

"Where's your proof? All I see here is accusations, you killed my Shinobi, and I want whoever did this in front of me or the only answer is War," Ay shouted, raising on his feet looking down at the old kage.

The Hyuga tried to stand up, but the Kage raised his hand; Bee only now noticed that the Sannin was behind them.

When did he move? Bee asked himself as sweat rolled down his face.

"I have unmistakable proof, and the one who killed your Shinobi is only a child", The Hokage stated, causing the Kumo team to freeze.

While Bee was thinking, The children here are already strong enough to beat our Jonins, and my brother wants to fight against grown-ass man; good idea, Brother.

"Impossible, who did then?" Ay screamed, looking at the Hokage.

"You can come inside."

The door opened behind them and revealed a blonde kid with blue eyes that made Bee almost say 'Minato'.

His similarity to the Fourth Hokage was like the difference between two drops of rain.

But his Bijuu was thinking something else entirely. His focus was on the palm of the kid. The Moon and Sun symbols were unmistakable.

Tou-san! He's the One