12 CHAPTER 12

Chapter 12 Kiri Part 3

Somewhere at the outskirts of Konoha

The war hawk of Konoha, Danzou Shimura sat comfortably on his throne. He was inside his Root hidden bases. His loyal ANBU were kneeling before him. They were presenting the old war hawk with the latest news on the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Ever since Naruto had made his appearance known by attacking Orochimaru, he had sent his loyal Ne to get as much information on the Kyuubi.

"Is this truly accurate?" Danzou asked in a monotone voice.

"Yes Danzou-sama," one of the men kneeling replied.

Danzou frowned. The report was not what he was expecting. Naruto had become far stronger than he had anticipated. It would make things difficult for him to make the boy one of his agents. Looking at the report from Naruto's battle in Kiri, Danzou could not help but deepen his frown. If everything was indeed true, then the blond would become difficult to control. He would only become a threat to his plans. He could not allow that.

"Get me Koharu and Homura," he ordered. Without a word, the Root agents were gone.

Danzou smiled inwardly, now was the time to begin plotting.

Kiri

Heroes are born and are men who have done good deeds for their home's. They live to protect people they call their precious. It is highly unlikely for one to become hero for another country in the shinobi world. Every man fights for himself and every village for its own interest. Only a few kind people are willing to fight for another village even if it is not their jobs to do so. Those people fall in the category of real heroes. Good deeds are done, but often not many are done because one does them willingly or so because it is in their nature to do good things. Many in the shinobi world simply do good things because it is their job. Without doing ''good'' things they don't get paid, thus can't afford a living.

Many ninja's, men and women alike, strive to become heroes. Not every weak and ordinary men can become a hero. But a strong and courageous man becomes a hero. So, many train hard, punishing their bodies so that they can be strong enough to be heroes for their villages. Heroes are admired at their homes for the good deeds that they do. Often some shinobi train for power simply to protect what is precious to them. That road also leads to one being a hero to those that one is precious to. Children and aspiring ninja's take heroes as their role models, shinobi's to surpass.

But to simply do good deeds for the fame is not a mark of a hero.

The life of hero-ship is the life of sacrifices. Real heroes sacrifice their strength, body and mind for those that are precious to them. Many live as heroes, but often than not, some die as heroes. The life of a real hero is paved with joy but most often heroes endure heavy mental problems with the choices they have to make. Heroes sacrifice many. The problem with sacrificing is when one starts to question. What to sacrifice? What not to sacrifice? Regardless, even in the face of death, heroes are always smiling because they are at peace with themselves. They know that they have lived their life to protect what is precious to them. The mark of a true hero is not to do good things for the fame it brings.

Most heroes do things in the dark. Few know the fact that they are heroes, many see them as criminals. Uchiha Itachi is a prime example of this. He massacred his own clan for the sake of Konohagakure. He killed his own clansman so that his village would not be caught in a civil war that was to surely destroy the village. With his actions he saved so many lives, yet at the same time took so many lives. The same village he sacrificed for sees him as nothing more than a criminal and a traitor. Regardless of that, his village is still standing, not suffering or recovering from a civil a war because of his sacrifice. This man is a true hero and a true shinobi. Many might not see him as such, but as long he knows it within his heart, he has no problems with how the world views him.

Many people who become powerful and are admired in their villages, tend to become corrupt seeds. When you are powerful and your village admires you, you live a famous life. A life of fame, seen as a hero. Things go your way, women throw themselves at you, simply because you are powerful and cool. Villagers respect you for your strength. People trust you because of the service you provide for your village. Whenever things go wrong you are never a suspect because people trust you. Nobody expects you to be doing wrong things. They expect you to be correcting wrong things. That is why when things go wrong your name is always far away from the suspect list. It is on the name of those to investigate the matter.

But mostly those who become corrupt are those who do good deeds for the sake of the fame. It is because their hearts were never pure to begin with. They did not save people because they needed to be saved or because they cared, it was only because they wanted to be famous. Such people are two-faced. In the dark shadows, they lurk taking advantage of women, who are unfortunate to be infatuated with them. They take advantage of the fact that people trust them. They abuse the power they have. Such corrupt seeds are not heroes. They are nothing but products of greed.

The Sandaime Raikage made a brave sacrifice during the Third Shinobi World War. He stood against 10 000 enemy shinobi. He allowed his men to runaway while blocked the path of the enemy. He knew that he would die fighting against 10 000 men. However, the safety of his people meant much to him than his own life. Thus, he let them go so that they could not be killed. He was the Raikage, defender of his people and he died that way. He fought for three days straight against 10 000 shinobi, all with the purpose of seeing his people survive. And indeed they did survive but at the cost of his own life. His men viewed him as a true leader, a hero for his noble sacrifice.

In Naruto's case, the concept of being hailed as a hero is no value to him; Even if it were the many that considered him a hero it would still mean nothing to him. What is of priority to him and would make him smile is seeing through his journey. He could never smile or feel pleased with himself if people hailed him as a hero when his journey had yet to reach its destination. Naruto did not care about fame, what he cared for was his priorities. Perhaps the reason he cared less for fame was that did not care for other people's affections. What were other people's affections good for him? Nothing. They did not make him smile. He was past the days when he strived for peoples affections. Perhaps the only affections that had more or less value before his eyes were the affections of those he considered friends. Other than that, he did not care.

The Village Hidden in Mist, one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations was in a celebratory mood. Looking at the Mist people, you could never say that just two weeks ago they had fought the last battle of the civil war that had been crippling the once great nation. The civilians and shinobi alike had become one ever since the final battle-the victory over Yagura and his mean. They were happy and rejoicing because their village was finally free from the shackles of Yagura and his evil, blood-filled reign. They were now free to live within their village in peace. Truly, everyone was in good spirit after the civil war had settled. Of course, they have not forgotten those who died during the years of the war. Those who died were still remembered for their sacrifices. They had played their part in freeing the village from the tyrant Yagura. Living in happiness was one way they could honor their sacrifices.

The village might be in good spirits, but they were still rebuilding. It had been just two weeks since the war ended. The day that followed the day of victory, the rebels matched back to their village and started to gather usable materials for rebuilding. Young and old, everyone was taking part in the rebuilding process of the village. The civil war had left the village in the brink of collapsing. The financial situation was not favorable and Kiri had lost all of its allies because of the civil war. Rebuilding the village would be difficult because of the situation. Nevertheless, everyone was more than happy to do their share of duty in ensuring that the village was rebuilt. They had to rebuild their homes, and all the facilities that would be needed. Shinobi's used the jutsu's at over time to ensure that the process of rebuilding going at a fast pace.

Mei Terumi was installed as the Godaime Mizukage. She was their leader during the civil. She was the true choice to become the Mizukage. Her men had no problems with the fact that she was a woman. Woman or not, they accepted her as she was because they knew she was a good leader and the strongest amongst them. No one was more suitable for the mantle of Mizukage than her.

Despite everything else, some of those civilians and shinobi who supported Yagura's reign were not very well pleased with Mei's appointment. They could do nothing about it though. Even some of Yagura's loyalists who were still alive could not do anything. Some had tried but were quickly dealt with. Others, who were tired of the constant bloodshed, accepted the change. It was the best option. There was a time that one reached in life when you become tired of fighting meaningless battles. Yagura had fought and lost, that fact had to be accepted. A new Mizukage was in place, a new one who did not follow Yagura's ideals. Mei had been persuading the remaining of Yagura's men who were still alive. She did not want anymore fighting internally in the village. All she wanted was to rebuild the village and ensure that everyone lived in peace. That was her goal. More fighting and killings would only weaken the village's military strength further. They had lost enough shinobi already, it was best that they not loose anyone any further. Not even one.

Of course, none of this would have been happening if it were not for Naruto. Kiri had gone on to hail him as their ''Savior'', ''Hero of Kiri''. Few have gone as to hand him the title of God for the strength he displayed during the final battle. He had showed them strength that they had never seen before. Because of him, Kiri had been freed. He basically won them the war by himself. A feat that was astonishing to say the least.

Nevertheless, calling him a god was taking the praises too far. Even Naruto himself knew he was nowhere near to be considered a god of shinobi. He still had many years to improve.

To say that Naruto was thrilled by the affection the rebels were giving him would be outright lying. To say that Naruto was grinning like a mad man because the people were practically kissing his feet would be like saying Tsunade allowed Jiraiya to give her a massage. If anything was to be said, it was that Naruto was annoyed. He had no interest in people giving him thanks for saving them. He could never even get some peace because someone would always find him and annoy him. He did not care for the attention and recognition they were giving him. All he wanted was to be left alone so he could plan his next move. True he have ''saved'' them, that did not mean they had to thank him each time they saw him.

Mei had questioned Naruto about his reasons for ''saving'' the rebel's. She wanted to know if the only reason he had joined the rebels was because he wanted to test his strength. The only answer Mei got from Naruto was a nod. Testing his strength had been his main objective of joining the rebels. True what Yagura was doing was wrong, but that did not concern Naruto. It was not his business, thus he cared less for what was going on. The only difference with the issue was that Yagura was a Jinchuriki.

Mei had reminded Naruto that he had also said he wanted to end Yagura because he was making Jinchuriki and Uchiha look bad. Naruto did not deny that being another reason for killing Yagura. He had been once a Jinchuriki and his mother was a Jinchuriki. They were Jinchuriki's of the Kyuubi and yet none of the turned out to be craze bloodthirsty monsters. His mother was kind and gentle despite having a being a container of a Bijuu of mass hatred. He was also alive and did not go around killing people simply because he felt like it. He placed his mother as a front of Jinchuriki's. She was a symbol of how Jinchuriki should turn out to be. Anything less than that was unacceptable. Yagura was making Jinchuriki look bad, he was giving people a reason to call Jinchuriki monsters. Jinchuriki already endure many hardships because of the beasts they contain. They may hold monsters, ''demons'' as people call tailed beasts, but that did not make them monsters. What Yagura was doing was making Jinchuriki look bad, he was insulting his mother's memory. That was unacceptable before his eyes. Gaara had been an exemption because he was just a lost child that needed guidance.

There had also been a rumor spreading around that a Sharingan was manipulating Yagura. That being said, it made Uchiha's look as bloodthirsty murderers because whatever action Yagura took was because an Uchiha was controlling him. Therefore, it was Uchiha's fault that Yagura was spilling blood. Naruto did not want such a rumor to be associated with the Uchiha. Itachi had massacred them to avoid something as bad, if he had not done what he did, the clan would be remembered as the once great clan that attempted a coupe d'état. Naruto wanted the Uchiha to have an image of a great, prideful and powerful clan. Yagura might have been a victim of the Sharingan, but that did not change the fact that his name was dragging the name of Uchiha down.

Killing Yagura in the middle of the war had it not been for the fact that Naruto wanted to test his strength, he would have simply had white Zetsu drain the man of his chakra then drag him to him so that he could see that he was ''taken care of''. Not assassination. No, the draining of chakra would to so be could be taken before Naruto without much trouble. Yagura was guilty for his ''crimes'' against his mother's image and the Uchiha clan. He would never deny that he had joined the rebel's because Yagura had to be dealt with.

Naruto was sitting alone just outside of Kiri. It was somewhat quiet outside the village, that is why Naruto preferred it over being at the village. Since not every building in the village was destroyed, which meant that there were houses, hotels and restaurants that were still operating. Naruto could have chosen to stay at his hotel, but many knew where he lived. If he stayed there he would have women knocking at his door during night or day. Their reasons would be to thank him in special way. While others just wanted to jump on him because he was ''cool''. Fan girls never dwelled well with Naruto. Their behavior was annoying, not the least amusing. Lately a few people ever tried to cross his path though given his attitude. He was not the one to be smiling around the village. People had become intimidated because he would simply stare back at them with his Sharingan. That put on the male population away from him. Unfortunately, that did not seem to work on the female generation. To them his attitude only made him ''cool''.

Naruto was pleased with his own strength and what he could do. With years, it would increase and he would surpass all the legends in the shinobi world. Perhaps the one he would not be able to surpass would be the Sage of Six Paths since he had no plans to collecting all the Bijuu and seal them within himself. However, with the Rinnegan and the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, he could attain a piece of the Sage's power. That was enough for him. He doubted that anyone in this age or generation would even come close to reaching the strength level Madara had. The current shinobi were a nuisance in regards to strength when compared to Hashirama and Madara. Perhaps even the Sandaime Raikage, the man did fight the Gyuki alone to a draw and suffering only one injury. He had an ultimate defense that no one could bypass; even the Gyuki's Bijuumuda could not. However, Naruto doubted that the Sandaime's shield would stand against the Kyuubi's Bijuumuda. Even in its imperfect form the Kyuubi was still the strongest of the nine-tailed beasts. The Gyuki might have been second to the Gyuki in terms of power, but it could never defeat the Kyuubi even without half of its power.

Naruto looked from beside him to see Zetsu right beside him.

''I thought you might have been interested in keeping the Sanbi for yourself,'' Zetsu said looking at Naruto. This was the first time they were speaking after the final battle. Zetsu had never appeared before Naruto.

''No, I have no interest in the three-tails. But, with the death of its Jinchuriki it will take no less than 5 years for it to reform.''

''With that much time, Akatsuki's plans will be put on hold till it reforms,'' Zetsu concluded, seeing now the reason Naruto did not extract the Sanbi from Yagura before he died.

''Yes, they have to seal the Bijuu's in order. Without the Three-tails, they won't be able to move on to the four-tails.''

Zetsu nodded, ''What do you plan on doing with them? Are you going to hunt every member down?''

''No,'' Naruto replied shaking his head. ''You will continue watching their movements and report when they make a move for Shukaku and the Two-tails.''

''You are going to allow them to take the Jinchuriki's?''

''No, I will intercept them before they do since you will be tracking their movements. If I can just stand in the way of them catching a single Bijuu, Obito will be forced to take me seriously since I have no doubt his arrogance has yet to see me as a threat,'' Naruto replied impassively.

''No doubt when he sees you as a threat he will come to you himself or send Nagato after you.''

''He will come to me all right. Fight me? No, he wouldn't do that if Nagato is still alive. The likely choice will be that he will send Nagato after me.''

Again, Zetsu nodded and smiled. ''Well things are going to be surely interesting from now on,'' he said.

''They will but mostly it will also be annoying,'' Naruto admitted. Since he was going back to Konoha, he would have to deal with the council and other things that he would rather not deal with.

''I have something interesting you may want to know,'' Zetsu stated making Naruto look at him.

''Jiraiya's spy network is really effective, he already knows that you are here and is on his way,'' Zetsu revealed. Jiraiya's spy network was indeed effective. He had more information in the Akatsuki than any other village and was able to find Naruto's location before anyone else could. Kiri had cut itself from the rest of the world, thus it was very difficult to get information from the village. Now it was a little easy since the civil war was over. Naruto was sure that people were now starting to whisper his name around the corners of the world.

''Is he coming alone?'' Naruto asked. He was not surprised that the Sannin had decided to pay him a visit. Jiraiya would never miss the chance to chat with him.

''No, he is coming with Sasuke and Kakashi,'' Zetsu replied.

''Sasuke? Has he completed his training?''

Zetsu nodded.

''I guess I will see how little Sasuke has grown,'' Naruto said not sounding like he was interested in what he was saying. ''What have Danzou and the elders been planning for me?''

''They are planning to put you and Sasuke under the clan restoration act. And some other things,'' Zetsu replied. He had no doubt Naruto would outright refuse to be placed under the act.

Naruto's face took an amused expression, ''No doubt so that we can breed more Sharingan's for the village,'' he said.

''But you do have to look for someone if you are going to restore the clan,'' Zetsu commented. Even if Naruto would refuse to put placed under the CRA, he still had to find a woman or women to help him restore the Uchiha clan. With Sasuke also there, they would restore the clan faster than it would have been if it were only one person.

''I am aware of that Zetsu,'' Naruto said. He was aware of the fact that he had to find himself a woman to help him restore the Uchiha clan. Soon he would take care of Nagato and Obito, by that he had to have already laid the foundations of restoring the Uchiha clan. It was bothersome for him.

''Have you begun looking for suitable candidates?'' Zetsu asked. He was truly interested in the subject. Naruto never talked about it, not ever.

''I was not looking for any candidate,'' Naruto replied with a shrug. ''Have you located Orochimaru?'' he asked changing the subject.

Zetsu sighed. ''Yes, he is in the Stone country. It appears that you did some damage to his body.''

''Good. We will head there after Jiraiya arrives,'' Naruto replied.

Zetsu nodded, ''I will be going back to the hideout. It will take a few days for Jiraiya to arrive here. I will return within a week maybe before he arrives.'' Zetsu stated and sunk to the ground. Naruto did not even respond when Zetsu spoke.

Naruto stayed still after Zetsu had left. There was Sasuke and then he would have to deal with Orochimaru. This time Orochimaru would not make it out alive. He wanted to have the Kyuubi complete sooner rather than later. He had assured the Bijuu that he would get his other half back. He would ensure that he got it back for the Bijuu to be complete again. It would also make him feel better. He did like perfection.

That night

Naruto lay in his bed eyes closed. He did not have much to do before he could go after Orochimaru. Relaxing for now until Jiraiya arrived would be best he could do. It would be amusing though, if Jiraiya were to try to force him back to Konoha. There was no doubt the Sannin would bring up the subject of going back to Konoha. Naruto was not interested in going to Konoha now. He wanted to set a few things straight before going back to the village.

A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. He knew exactly who was at the door.

"It's open,'' he said.

The door opened before being closed by Yugao. Naruto looked at the older woman with a ghostly raised brow. He had noticed that after the battle with Yagura, she had grown even more uncomfortable with just being alone with him. Despite her obvious uncomfort, she still went straight to his bed and sat on it.

Naruto spoke first, ''you are a very good sensor,'' he said. It had not been long since he returned and she had already found him. She was always seems to find him wherever he goes.

''What makes you say that?''

''Is it not true?'' Naruto replied with a question of his own.

Yugao nodded. It was true she was one of the best sensors in the ANBU. She could not rival the Aburame and Inuzuka, but she was one of the best.

''You seem to rather like my company,'' Naruto stated. Yugao kept quiet, wondering where he was going with his words. ''Tell me Yugao, are interested in me?'' he asked bluntly with an impassive look on his face.

Yugao felt her heart beat a bit faster than normal. She could not believe that he would ask such a question so bluntly. She knew he was straight forward, but for him to ask her that kind of question was unimaginable. What troubled her was that she could not say yes or no. Over the past weeks, she had taken a liking of him. She would be lying if she said she saw him as the same as she always did. He had grown considerably well, and was also handsome. It was also obvious that Mei had also taken a liking towards him. A fact that did not please her. The fact that she did not like it when Mei flirted with Naruto had her question what she thought of Naruto. Right now she did not know what she felt.

''When are we leaving here?'' she asked changing the topic. She couldn't answer his question. Not because she did not want to, it was because she did not know what it was that she felt about him was.

''Jiraiya will be arriving here in a few days along with Kakashi and Sasuke. You will go back to Konoha with them,'' Naruto replied. If he had asked Mei that question, she would have definitely answered him without missing a heartbeat. The woman was straightforward with what she wanted. Naruto did not see anything wrong with it. It was a good attitude to him. He was also not shy to ask what he wanted.

Yugao looked at Naruto. She was not going to ask him how he knew that Jiraiya was coming back to the village along with her sempai and Sasuke. If anything, Naruto was resourceful and seemed to know about everything. ''You are staying here?'' she asked.

''No,'' Naruto replied. ''I have some other things that I have to attend to before returning to Konoha.''

Oddly enough, Yugao felt relieved that he was not going to spend more time here in Kiri. Mei was too blunt with what she wanted and it was a matter of time before she got her hands on Naruto. That was most likely not to occur since Naruto won't be staying any longer than he should at the village. There was also the fact that Naruto never seemed interested in her or in women for that matter.

''How long will you take before you return to Konoha?''

Naruto simply looked at her, ''Why do you ask?''

Why? That question ran around her head. She could not say that she just wanted to know. There was another reason behind that. ''Nothing. Never mind,'' she said quickly avoiding answering Naruto's question.

As things were becoming a lot more uncomfortable on her, Yugao stood up, ''I will be going. I had just come here to check on you,'' she stated and walked away without waiting for Naruto to answer. She knew that he was not go say anything after her. It was always like that with him. Even if she said good night to him, he would not bother to respond.

Naruto sighed as Yugao left. Women were complicated. They placed their emotions at a higher level. He would rather not have to deal with them since they were very emotional. Naruto did like dealing with emotional wrecks. It was not that he did not have any emotions. He had them like everyone else. He just knew how to control them and never allowed them to cloud his judgment. He was very good at hiding them.

Naruto's Hotel room

Morning came rather quickly than anticipated. But no one could complain. Complaining would be just a waste of breath. Once night gave way for day, it was done, nothing could be changed. Regardless of how you may wish for day to return to its rest, once it was its shift, day will always take over. Better waking up and accept that the day had come. It was not like any hour of the day had suddenly passed without count. All the hours had been lived, the thing was that people never got enough of the time given to them. Often they just waste it, and when it is late, they start using it wisely. Once a person starts to do things like that, he or she will always complain about not having enough time. Everyone has the same time as everyone. The difference is how we use our time. Some use their time to things that will benefit them even tomorrow; Other focus on using their time on one-time experiences that will be lost as soon as the mind rests at the end of the day.

Naruto never complained about not having enough time. There was always time, whether little or enough, time was time. One just had to find a useful and beneficial way to use it. Without using the time wisely, a person will always end up making rhetorical complains.

Naruto had already taken a bath and had breakfast. He hated hotels because his room only had a bedroom and a bathroom. There was no kitchen, the hotel provided food. Having spent much of his childhood by himself, Naruto was used to eating his own cooked meals. It did not feel right eating meals cooked by other people. He was also picky with his food, he did not just eat anything. In his younger days he had always almost exclusively ate ramen only, this days he ate food that was healthy to his body. He ate food that was not only delicious, but food that was welcomed with open arms by his body.

Naruto was wearing his armour, but his gunbai was safely leaning against a wall. He liked wearing his armour, he felt comfortable wearing it. It was also useful here in Kiri as it shushed unwanted attention away from him. The armour added with his Sharingan and impassive face gave him a bit more fearsome look. Only a few would come to him in hopes of sharing a few good laughs with him. Disappointment awaited them though.

He was about to open his door and leave the room when he heard a knock. Using his senses, he searched for who it was and sighed quickly upon finding out who it was. He opened the door and Mei entered inside the room. She went straight to his bed and threw herself there carelessly. She looked worn out like she had not slept the whole night.

Naruto merely stood at the door and watched the woman. She mumbled something under her breath. Naruto did not catch it, but did not bother to ask her what she had said. Finally, Mei shifted on the bed and looked back at Naruto.

''Being Mizukage is so tiring,'' Mei all but whined. ''There is just so much paperwork to do and I have to balance the funds distributing equally so the process of building goes through smoothly. I did not even get some sleep last night.''

Naruto's expression never changed. However, he was amused by Mei's antics. She was whining like a child, but he did not show that on his face. A ghost eyebrow simply rose up.

''I would imagine it would be challenging. But I thought you knew that beforehand you accepted the mantle of Mizukage,'' Naruto stated. He was still standing at the door.

''I knew I would have too much work to do due to Yagura's actions, I just did not think it would be this too much work to do,'' Mei replied. ''I don't even have time to do anything else these days. I am always hooked up on my paperwork, council meetings. It id all too much for my mind,'' she said caressing her temples.

''You are a strong woman, I am sure you will do just fine,'' Naruto gave a rather rare comment.

Mei smiled brightly, ''Those are the first encouraging words you have ever said to me, Naruto.''

Naruto raised a brow. ''Does that surprise you?''

''Yes,'' Mei replied with an honest nod. ''I just never thought you were capable of saying those words. I have never seen you encouraging anyone ever since you came here.''

Deciding not to comment on that, Naruto spoke, ''I was on my way out. You can rest here if you please,'' he said.

''That's rude. I came here to visit you and you are just going to leave me here because you were on your way out.''

''Your visit is acknowledged,'' Naruto replied opening the door.

''Naruto, wait!'' Mei called rushing over to him.

They walked out of the hotel room and walked within the streets of Kiri. The villagers were busy with their everyday activities. Others were just minding their own business. The village was lively if one could say. Upon seeing Naruto walk with Mei by his side, they smiled brightly and waved their hands at them. Of course, Mei was the one returning the hand waves, as Naruto just walked like he was not seeing the gratitude people were giving him.

''Does it hurt to smile or wave back at them,'' Mei said. Naruto never once smiled to her people when they were greeting him or waving their hands at him. The only time he even seemed to acknowledge their actions was the day of the final battle and the day after the battle. Since then he never smiled, or seem happy to be hailed as a hero to the village.

''No, but it is not necessary since I have already done that,'' he replied with a nonchalant shrug.

''Not necessary?''

''Their reasons for being kind to me are for that I ''saved'' them. I have already acknowledged their thoughts and It would be pointless and a waste of my energy for me to walk about the village waving my hands to everyone every day.''

Mei sighed and decided not to say anything further. They continued to walk further in silence. They just walked seemingly to an unknown destination. Walking around the village, Mei had to smile at her unite her people were...Well most of them. She just hoped that they could maintain the unity even after the village recovers from the civil war. After they finish rebuilding, they would have to start taking missions. This meant that shinobi will no longer be running around the village as they would be busy doing missions. Now was the only time which the civilians and the shinobi would bond. Mei was glad that they were doing exactly that, bonding.

''It's a lovely sight, isn't it?'' Mei said with a bright smile looking around the village.

Naruto just nodded. Silence was conceived again.

Mei was the one to break the silence, ''When are you going to leave?''

''In a few days.''

Mei's smile dropped for a second. She knew he was going to leave soon, but she did not expect him to be leaving so soon. Well it had been a month since he came into the village. ''I was hoping that you would stay a bit more. You will be returning to Konoha?''

''No''

''Where are going to? Perhaps I can runaway with you.''

''Stone country''

Mei raised a brow looking at Naruto, ''What are you going to do there?''

''I'm going to take care of some business,'' Naruto replied without giving Info on what he was going to do at the Stone country. Mei decided to nod, getting that Naruto was not going to tell her anything.

The two walked in silence again. They walked towards the training grounds, west side of the now rebuild Mizukage tower. The training ground was vacant. Just what Naruto wanted. He was not going to use the ground for training. He wanted to sit down and relax away from the noisy village. Mei sat down beside him on a small rock under a tree.

''You like this place, why?''

''It's quiet and peaceful,'' Naruto replied looking at Mei for a second.

''If I had not known that before the final battle I would have been shocked by those words. The way you fought was not like of someone who enjoyed quietness and peace.''

''Are you saying that I should look for quietness and peace in the middle of a battlefield?'' Naruto asked. Like usual, the question seemed to be rhetorical as he never waited for an answer from Mei. ''The battlefield offers me a opportunity to dance a little and an environment like this gives me the chance to be in peace.''

'Dance?' Mei thought. ''So you enjoy the thrill of a battle,'' she said earning a nod from Naruto. ''Can I ask you something?''

Naruto just looked her. Mei took that as a yes, ''Have you ever thought of trying to find peace in the Elemental Nations?''

''No,'' Naruto replied. It was true. He had never thought of trying to find and bring peace in the Elemental Nations. Perhaps the thought of peace might have crossed his mind once. Surely he had shrugged it off.

''Why?''

''Peace is not the reason for my existence. Therefore, I choose not to bother about it.''

''Not everyone is not born for a certain goal. When I was born no one gave me a goal to be Mizukage or to save my village from the blood purge,'' Mei stated. ''But because we have feelings and care for our home we do things that we never thought we would. Look at me, I was forced to become a leader of the rebels going against the leader of our village. It was not a reason for my existence, but I chose to do it for my survival, for the survival of people I care about.'' She almost sounded like a priest when she spoke.

''Your reasons for saving your village and becoming its leader are that you care and for your survival. That is understandable. I would have done the same.''

Mei was now surprised, ''Really?'' Naruto did not bother to respond to her question. ''Then what about peace?''

''What about it?''

''Why won't you try to bring it to the shinobi world?'' he certainly had the power to change things. His power was astounding and yet with all that power he chooses to do nothing. Mei could not understand that.

''Tell me. What would be your reason to bring peace to the Elemental Nations?'' Naruto asked looking straight at Mei's eyes with an intensive stare. The stare unnerved her.

''Because I do not like what the Elemental Nation has become. I want a world where everyone is free. I want a world where things like what happened here in Kiri don't happen again. Another reason would be that I care about the world.''

Naruto continued staring at her. Mei stared back without flinching after answering his question. ''How noble of you,'' he said.

It sounded sarcastic, but Mei could never really tell. She was not sure if Naruto even knew the meaning of sarcasm. ''So why do you not bother to think about peace?''

''Because I do not think like you. I do not care what happens to the world. I'm not saying I do not see how corrupt it has become. It is just not of consequence to me. I do not fear evil, or the corrupt. I can always remove them at anytime I choose if they become bothersome to my cause,'' Naruto replied.

Mei looked at Naruto and sighed. ''You know so many people wish they had the power you have. Not for evil but for good intentions. Yet, you have the power but you choose to do nothing.''

Nothing more was said. Naruto knew that Madara wanted peace in his own unique way. That was the main objective of the Moon of the eye plan. The problem with it was that Madara wanted to take peoples free will doing it. He wanted to take away people's reality and put them in an illusion. When he was still little, he had believed that Madara just wanted to rule the world. Naruto could see the flaw in the plan, taking people's free will. Perhaps if Madara had instructed him to continue with the plan at his younger days he would have agreed to do it. But now, he did not know if he could. Taking people's free will was not something he found himself capable of doing. Naruto had also concluded that the reason Madara had even thought of the plan was because of his god complex. Before casting the infinite genjutsu, he would have to become the most power being, Jinchuriki of the ten-tails. With all that power, Madara had thought of casting the genjutsu as he would be superior to everyone.

Two days later

There is always a journey, a path which one has to take simply because we exist. Our existence and the impact of it is valued by the kind of life we live and the choices we make. One cannot be a great person if he does not make the choices that are to be made by a great person. Careless mistakes can lead a man to failure, humiliating failure for that matter. We make our own paths and choices. But often in the shinobi world some people are not born with that luxury to make their own choices. Some people are born and restricted to follow certain principle. Without following the laws and principle they are exposed to shame and dishonor. Some people are born to 'fate', become what they are chosen to become, whether they like it or not. Often there are always strings making us do things or influencing our choices. Some are seen, some are not.

For Naruto, you could not say it was fate that brought him to the position he currently stood. It was a choice that made him where he was. Naruto did not believe that there was such a thing as fate. He believed that if such a thing existed, it was manmade-one created his/her own fate.

Naruto stood with his armour worn and gunbai strapped on his back. Jiraiya, Sasuke and Kakashi had arrived into the village. With their arrival, it meant that Naruto could now leave the village. They had been inside the village for a few hours. Naruto figured they were sightseeing and gathering Intel. He did not wait for long to go to the three men though.

The three men stared at Naruto in wonder. He was a fearsome warrior in his gear. The Sharingan and the impassive look on his face only intensified that. Of cause, they had also heard of his adventures that were nothing short of a miracle. They could not believe that he had become so powerful and fearless. Well he was always fearless, but the power the eyewitnesses were saying he displayed was astounding. That was unless the eyewitnesses were exaggerating. But given that this was Naruto they were dealing with, one could never know. There were also his adventures at the Otogakure where he decimated Orochimaru's bases. The blond was capable of anything. For Sasuke, he felt a ting of jealousy for the other Uchiha. At the same time, he was a bit proud that there was another Uchiha that was powerful. He was part of the powerful clan.

''Someone has been busy,'' Kakashi stated, his eyes on his little Orange book. He was the first to speak after the group had met. When they arrived they first looked around the village until Naruto appeared before them.

Jiraiya was just staring at Naruto until he finally spoke. ''He does look a lot like ''him'' doesn't he Kakashi?''

''Hai,'' Kakashi replied his eyes narrowing at Naruto.

''Just imagine what would happen if he had black hair.''

''The elders would probably freak out and call for his execution,'' Kakashi commented.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha seemed different and he could tell he had improved his strength. ''Kakashi has trained you well Sasuke,'' he stated ignoring Kakashi and Jiraiya's conversation.

Sasuke just nodded. Kakashi this time had trained him with all his might unlike when he was still a genin. ''And you have become strong,'' Sasuke stated.

''Yes I have,'' Naruto replied. His eyes morphed into its EMS form. "Tsukuyomi," he muttered.

World of Tsukuyomi

Sasuke found himself in a familiar place; the same kind of place that gave him nightmares in his younger days. He looked around and saw Naruto looking at him with a calm expression of his face. It appeared that he was not going through another torture session. The thought made him sigh in relief.

"I see you remember this place," Naruto stated. "It is not so different from what Itachi did to you. But I did not put you under this illusion to harm you."

"I figured that much," Sasuke stated looking back at Naruto.

"You said it before that you and I are like family. You are correct about that. You and I are the only Uchiha's that will give birth to a new generation of Uchiha's. But for that to happen you and I must be willing to work with each other. Don't you agree?"

"I agree. That was why I even bothered to go talk you after the chunin exams," Sasuke stated.

Naruto nodded, "That is what I wanted to hear. I believe that you will be going back to Konoha when you leave here. What I want you to do when you go back is to go to Tsunade or the Council and tell them to return every Uchiha property and money that was confiscated after the massacre. Do not take no for an answer, is that clear?" Sasuke nodded with a smile. He was liking how Naruto was thinking.

"Also make sure they give you back everything. Some scrolls were taken from the library get them back. When everything is done I should be returning. Then we can begin rebuilding the compound."

"If they refuse to give me what is ours?"

"Sasuke, since when do you take no for an answer," Naruto said with a small smile. Perhaps the first time he ever smiled to Sasuke.

Sasuke smiled too and let loose of a chuckle, "Perhaps never. But you do know that they can be difficult sometimes."

"If everything is not returned when I return to Konoha, then we will just have to make them see reason now won't we?"

Sasuke nodded with a smile. With everything now said, Naruto cancelled his technique.

End world of Tsukuyomi

The change in Naruto's eyes did not go unnoticed. However, no one was willing to ask anything about it.

''Before you leave, look for Yugao. She is somewhere in the village,'' Naruto stated looking at Kakashi.

''She is here?'' Kakashi questioned.

Naruto did not respond, he turned his back on them to leave only to be stopped by Jiraiya.

''Where are you going?''

Naruto turned around and looked at Jiraiya. ''Where I wish to go,'' he replied.

''Narut-'' Jiraiya was cut off by Kakashi.

''Aren't you going back to Konoha with us?'' Kakashi asked. He knew that if that was Naruto's first answer to Jiraiya's question. It was not going to change. He had spent more time with the blond than Jiraiya. So between the two of them, he knew him best.

''No,'' Naruto responded. ''I have other business to attend to.''

''What business?'' Jiraiya asked with narrowed eyes.

''You are interrogating me Jiraiya,'' Naruto stated. ''I don't like that.''

Jiraiya snorted. ''Listen here gaki, hime and the elders gave me an order to make you return to Konoha!''

''The fact that I still wear the leaf headband should be enough to make understand that I'm still 'one of you'. As for you orders, I don't care about them. You can always tell them that you failed.''

Jiraiya was about to yell something when Yugao appeared before the group. She smiled brightly upon seeing her sempai. She went on to hug him. Kakashi returned the hug with a smile.

''What are you doing here?'' Kakashi asked.

''Long story Sempai,'' Yugao replied.

Jiraiya looked at Yugao for a moment. ''Uzuki Yugao. You have been missing from Konoha for about a month now.'' he stated. Tsunade had given him a task to look for her and her squad, which had been out on a mission but never returned. What he was able to find were bodies of her comrades, nothing about her.

''Yes that is true. I will explain about that later,'' she replied. ''I assume that you are trying to make him return to Konoha,'' she said earning a nod. ''Don't bother, he won't budge.''

''What? I am a Sannin, I will take him by force if I have to,'' Jiraiya stated confidently.

''With all due respect Jiraiya-sama. The fact that you are a Sannin means nothing to him. He does not care if you are a Sannin or not. Believe me. Again, with all due respect Jiraiya-sama, I don't think even you can force him to return to Konoha.'' Yugao said in her ANBU mode voice trying to emphasize her point to the Sannin.

Jiraiya mumbled something and looked away.

''How do you know that?'' a question came.

''I saw him fight during the civil war,'' she said. Not bothering to go into details as to what occurred during the final battle. ''I have also spent about a month with him, so I know no one can make him do what he does not want. You have also spent much time with him during his genin days, you should know that.'' Yugao stated looking at Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed and nodded. ''She is right,'' he said.

''Fine,'' Jiraiya said. His took a serious look as he stared directly at Naruto's eyes. ''What is this thing I heard about the Kyuubi?''

Naruto raised a brow. ''What about it?''

''Don't play stupid with me!''

News did travel fast. But only a select few knew of the Kyuubi's appearance during the civil war. Well it did not matter though.

''Well?''

Flashback

A year after Naruto had left Konoha to begin with his training.

Naruto walked within a familiar sewer. His water filled footsteps echoed throughout the sewer. He stopped when he had reached a large cage within the sewer. Behind the large gate that stared at Naruto was the Nine-tail beast, Kyuubi. The said Bijuu had its head resting comfortably on its paws with its eyes closed.

Naruto knew that the Kyuubi knew of his presence despite the Bijuu playing like it was sleeping. ''Hello Kyuubi,'' he said.

Slowly the large eyes of the Kyuubi opened and stared at Naruto. ''What do you want?''

It was obvious from the tone of the voice that Naruto's presence was not wanted. Naruto had the Sharingan, a doujutsu that had been used twice to control the mighty Bijuu. As such the Kyuubi hated anyone with the Sharingan, but not more than Madara. Naruto was also related to Madara.

''I want to offer you something, but in return I want something from you,'' Naruto stated resting his hands on his chest.

''What?'' it did not sound like the Bijuu was interested in what Naruto wanted to offer it. If anything the question was just asked for the sake of it.

''I told you last time that I would free you from this cage. Its degrading for a being such as yourself,'' oh, he was not being sarcastic. ''I also don't like the fact that I'm sharing my body. Perhaps if it was the Juubi I would not complain,'' he said. ''If I give you your freedom, you will come to me when I call you.''

The Kyuubi did not even think about it for a second. It snorted, ''My freedom for being manipulated again? I would rather stay in here.''

''You are letting your hatred toward men cloud your thoughts,'' Naruto said pissing off the Kyuubi. His words sounded like an insult the Bijuu. ''I never said anything about manipulating you. You are just making those assumptions on your own.''

''It's always like that with humans. They say that and do this. Your words mean nothing to me.'' The Kyuubi spat.

''You are being difficult and complex like a woman,'' Naruto stated.

''Watch your mouth brat,'' The Kyuubi said in a low dangerous tone.

''You say you can't trust my words. I get that. But the fact that I'm here speaking to you should be enough to convince you that I can be trusted. I have my Sharingan and it is very easy for me to control you with it. You live inside my body, you should know that manipulating is below me.''

The Kyuubi growled in response; it new that was the truth.

''Contrary to what Madara believes. I believe that you are not some mindless beast that needs to be controlled by those with blessed eyes,'' Naruto said keeping his voice calm. ''But right now, I am starting to question that. Perhaps all that hatred you bear has stolen your ability to think logic.''

Naruto just managed to insult the Kyuubi again. Though to him it was not an insult. He was just saying what he thought. If he was going to go anywhere with the Kyuubi being brutally honest was one way to do it. The Kyuubi rose up and glared at Naruto murderously, its tails swung menacingly behind it.

''I will not tolerate you to speak with me like that brat. If it was not for this cage I would have ripped your body apart in a matter of seconds.''

''You will not tolerate me to be honest with you?'' he did not wait for the Kyuubi to respond though. ''The only reason I even said I would need you to be available when I call was because if I had just said that I wanted to free you, you would have just tried to rid of me in your presence,'' he paused for a moment. ''Well it does no matter anyway. You will still have your freedom. I will return here in two days.'' he said and walked away from the Kyuubi.

Two days later

Naruto stood in the ancient land of the dragons with Zetsu beside him. Madara had been the one to discover the land since the man probably knew everything about the Shinobi world and things that occurred before shinobi villages were formed. Naruto understood that Madara had more knowledge about the foundations of the world than he let on. Madara only told Naruto what was necessary for him to know. But after spending so much time at the hideout, Naruto did some researches of his own.

Madara did not see this land, but he knew it existed. Perhaps it had been his busy schedule that took most of his time, therefore not giving him the time to visit the land. Zetsu did most of the research though. He also had to find a way to enter the place. White Zetsu's clones were the perfect specimen to use when testing ways to ''enter'' into the land.

Using Madara's notes he had used reverse summoning jutsu to get to the place. The place was like the fire forest but it also had active volcano's within it.

Naruto walked calmly towards the Kyuubi's cage. Today would be the day the Kyuubi gets its freedom regardless of its opinion on the matter. Naruto knew that the Bijuu wanted out. Perhaps it was just being too prideful to admit that to him. Perhaps it was the fact that he was an Uchiha, and also Madara's grandchild. Madara had been the first man to take control over the Jinchuriki with his Sharingan. The Kyuubi hated the man for it. In fact, he hated the Uchiha for it. Given the chance, the Kyuubi would not hesitate to kill an Uchiha because of its hatred.

Naruto arrived next to the Bijuu. It was just staring at him unblinking as if trying to figure his intentions.

''I came back again,'' Naruto begun. ''I am no seal master but I know how to weaken the seal. Minato's seal is quiet complex, but with force it can be broken,'' he said. The Kyuubi said nothing, but Naruto knew his message was heard.

''I will weaken the seal, Zetsu will be trying to extract you from the outside, while you force yourself out of the seal,'' Naruto stated. ''I believe that is clear enough,'' he said and lifted himself up into the air. Upon the two large gates there was a paper with a Kanji for seal. He lifted up his shirt and channel chakra to his stomach. The seal appeared. Naruto's fingers glowed with chakra and he slammed them on the seal before spinning his hand. The seal twisted a bit and Naruto winced in pain.

He looked at the Kyuubi to see the Bijuu still watching him calmly. He waited for a minute and saw the Kyuubi's chakra leaking out of the cage. The black ink of the seal on his stomach became like liquid dripping of his gut. Naruto smiled the seal was weakening.

Outside, Zetsu saw Naruto fall down to his knees. He moved quickly to let him fall easily on the ground. He lifted Naruto's shirt and saw the change on Naruto's seal. He smiled and placed his hand on the seal. He focused on the Kyuubi until he grabbed the chakra that was leaking off the seal. He pulled it out with his right hand and stepped away from Naruto. His right hand had palm open with the Kyuubi's chakra extracted from the seal kissing the palm. His left hand formed a single hand seal as he began to pull out the Kyuubi.

Had Naruto not took some time to study the seal Minato had used, he would have never found a way to weaken it. But now he had found it. Still he could feel the pain his body was experiencing because of the Kyuubi's chakra being pulled out by Zetsu. It would only get worse when he tears the paper with a Kanji for seal on it.

Sighing, Naruto placed his hand on the seal and began to rip it off. Just then a hand grabbed him stopping the process. He was pushed away from the seal.

''Yondaime,'' the Kyuubi growled with clear anger dripping from its voice. It stopped trying to break from the seal to glare at the man who had sealed it.

Naruto just stared the Yondaime with an impassive look on his face. He was surprised to see the man in front of him. He had not expected him to show up. Minato looked at Naruto oddly for a minute before speaking, ''Naruto?''

He sounded unsure whether it was Naruto or not. ''Hello Minato,'' Naruto replied keeping his calm expression.

''Yondaime, come here so can rip your body to shreds,'' the Kyuubi growled again.

Minato looked back at the Kyuubi for a moment before looking at Naruto again. He had winced when Naruto called him by his name. Looking at his son's face, he could not tell what his son was thinking seeing him. He sighed, he did not have much time to dwell on anything.

''Naruto, why are you trying to break the seal?'' he asked.

''It does not concern you,'' Naruto replied.

''I cannot let you free the Kyuubi Naruto. It's dangerous-''

Naruto cut off the Yondaime. ''As as I said it does not concern you. You are just a mere manifestation of chakra sealed within the seal when the Kyuubi was sealed in me,'' Naruto stated. ''You are dead. Your role has already been fulfilled.'' Naruto brought out his right hand placed it at the Yondaime's chest. Minato did not know what his son was trying to do. He could not really tell what his son was thinking since his words had no anger in them. ''Disappear Minato!'' Naruto said releasing a wave of chakra through his hand that was placed on Minato's chest making the chakra spirit of the Yondaime disappear into thin air.

Naruto went back to the Kyuubi's gate and ripped off the seal. He looked back at the Kyuubi, ''Leave some chakra behind to compensate for your absence. If you don't do that, it might prove nasty for me.'' Naruto stated leaving the cage. He stopped and narrowed his eyes at the Kyuubi. ''When you are free, my body will be severely weakened. I will be unable to do anything and if you try anything funny, I will make you regret it,'' he threatened dangerously and walked away.

The Kyuubi snorted at the threat and went back to focusing on trying to break free.

The seal formula stretched out around Naruto's body lifting him into the air. He was letting out a pained scream as Zetsu continued to pull out the Kyuubi from the seal. As Zetsu continued to pull the Kyuubi, Naruto's skin became pale. The process lasted for more than an hour as Zetsu did not have much chakra to forcibly pull out the Kyuubi at once.

When the Kyuubi was extracted, it appeared in all its glory. Its chakra was still visible as it had yet to fully adjust and absorb all the chakra that had been left in the atmosphere due to the extraction. It narrowed its eyes at a pale looking Naruto. He looked like he was going to die at any moment. Thoughts begun to sneak into its head as it thought of finishing the blond while he was down. But then again, Naruto had freed it from the seal and had not even manipulated it with his Sharingan. It could roam around breathing fresh air.

Damn, it missed seeing the world.

Zetsu walked towards Naruto and picked him up hurriedly before disappearing from the Kyuubi's view.

White Zetsu separated from Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu took over Naruto's body because. He knew if he did not do that, Naruto life would be at risk. His Uzumaki genes and the secrets to his body gave him a chance to live, but even with the chance of survival, anything could happen. As soon as Black Zetsu possessed Naruto's body, it felt the Kyuubi's chakra rushing around Naruto's chakra pathways. The Kyuubi must have left some of its chakra behind, he thought.

A few days later

Zetsu had left Naruto's body after seeing that his heartbeat had become stable just a day before. And now Naruto was already up. He had not fully recovered but he was all right. The chakra the Kyuubi had left inside his body had mixed with his own, giving him a higher chance to survive.

As soon as he was able to mold his chakra again, Naruto reverse summoned himself to ''Drago Land''-the place where the Kyuubi was extracted.

Naruto found the Kyuubi resting like it always did while it was still sealed in him.

''How does it feel to be free?'' Naruto asked.

''Good,'' the Kyuubi replied shortly.

''Good,'' Naruto said. ''So do you trust me?''

''No,'' The Kyuubi replied without missing a heartbeat.

Naruto did not even look dejected by the Kyuubi's response. His face just remained, as it was, Impassive. He had more or less expected the Kyuubi to give him that reply.

''But I can still work with you. Let me it clear. I will not become your pet and I will not do anything I do not like.''

''That is fine with me,'' Naruto replied.

Flashback End

Jiraiya did not need to know all that. That was between him and the Kyuubi. ''That does not concern you,'' Naruto said and disappeared without telling them anything.

''You know when I said to stop trying to force him back to Konoha, I had left the part that someone should go with him,'' Yugao stated after Naruto had disappeared.

''I don't think he would have agreed even with that,'' Sasuke said.

''Yeh...'' Kakashi said.

''You did say that he would not do anything he did not want,'' Jiraiya pointed out.

''True. If I had offered to go with him, I doubt he would have refused. He needs someone to be his side.''

Kakashi raised a brow, ''Is Yugao-chan worried about Naruto?'' he teased.

Yugao blushed slightly. ''If you saw him at the civil war, you would be worried. He is reckless and I fear he might be in trouble because of that. He does not even think when he charges against his opponents.'' 'But I think that was because he was a little excited about fighting' she finished with a thought.

''Yugao-san, you did hint that Naruto was stronger than Jiraiya-sama. So I doubt anything will happen to him.'' Sasuke stated.

''Sasuke is right. Come on guys, let's go back home,'' Jiraiya said. He was disappointed that Naruto did not even stay to chat with them for more than an hour. He only spoke for a few minutes and left.

A few minutes later

Naruto was walking calmly on his way out of the Mist village. Orochimaru was next on his agenda. He wanted to deal with the snake before going back to Konoha. Zetsu would meet him while he is still on his way. He stopped suddenly when he felt a familiar presence behind him.

''I'm so hurt that you were leaving without even saying goodbye,'' a voice of Mei spoke from behind him. ''I had to hear from my men that you were leaving,'' she said walking closer to Naruto.

Naruto managed to smile as he turned around to face the woman. ''I did not think my departure would hurt you,'' he said sounding a bit amused.

Mei walked closer to Naruto and stood an inch away from him, ''You were leaving without me giving you a goodbye kiss.''

''It seems that way,'' Naruto stated.

''When will you return?''

''I have no plans in returning here,'' Naruto replied looking straight at the woman's eyes.

Mei leaned closer to Naruto and stared at his eyes. Their lips were just a breath away from making contact. It seemed like eternity as Mei stared into Naruto's eyes. Mei closed her eyes and moved her lips towards Naruto's. They made contact. Mei was afraid that Naruto would not kiss her back. She felt relieved when Naruto got hold of her warm and soft lips for a moment before pushing her back.

Naruto smiled at Mei. Mei had never seen a smile like that from him before. It brought warmth to her heart. ''Goodbye Godaime Mizukage,'' he said and disappeared into the mist.

The end