Chapter 31

With the conclusion of the summit meeting, Naruto parted ways with Mei and Gaara and returned home with Tsunade, Jiraiya, Yugito, Konan, Koyuki, Kakashi, and Gai. While Kakashi remained as unflappable as ever, Gai had been incredibly disappointed upon realizing that he had missed out on such an intense battle. Apparently, he and Kakashi had been attacked by White Zetsu clones as well, which had kept them from coming to the aid of everyone else.

They stepped up to the gates of Konoha. As Jiraiya dealt with Izumo and Kotetsu, Naruto looked at the village. Despite having only been gone for a few days, it felt more like months. Nothing seemed to have changed about the village—nothing on the outside, at least. However…

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like there's more damage to the village rather than less. What happened to the repairs?

Kakashi stepped up beside him, also looking at the village with a calm yet sharp gaze in his lazy eyes. He noticed Naruto looking his way and eye-smiled. "That was some adventure, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed as Yugito, Konan, and Koyuki stepped up to stand beside him as well. "It was a pretty messed up adventure."

"Hokage-sama," Izumo said suddenly, drawing Naruto's attention away from the village. "The elders have said they would like to speak with you when you came back."

Tsunade frowned, as did just about everyone else. There was something not quite right in Izumo's words. It created an ominous stirring within Naruto's chest, though he couldn't figure out why.

"Oh? So they want to talk to me, do they?" Tsunade said, dark shadows appearing over her eyes, while a large vein throbbed on her forehead. "I see. So they think they can just call me whenever they want. Do they really think they can give the Hokage orders?"

"Uh…" Kotetsu looked like he wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure how to say it. Naruto thought he was probably just scared of invoking Tsunade's legendary anger.

"Well, whatever." Tsunade waved her hand airily as though warding off a bug. "I'll go and see them now. Brat, you and everyone else should head home. You've gone through a lot, so I want you to get some rest."

"If it's an order from my Hokage, then I have no choice but to obey," Naruto said with a theatrical sigh.

"Oh, shut up, brat," Tsunade shot back, a good-natured smile on her lips.

"Since you all have something to be doing, I think I'm going to take a dip in the hot springs," Jiraiya said.

"If I hear that you've been peeping…" Tsunade began in a warning tone.

"Hahaha! Do you really think I would peep like some lecherous old man?"

The deadpan expression on Tsunade's face, on all of the women's faces, told Naruto everything he needed to know.

"Do I really have to answer that question?"

"So harsh, Tsunade."

They split up after entering the village. While Tsunade made a bee-line for the Hokage tower and Jiraiya leaped onto the nearest roof and rushed in the direction of the hot springs, Naruto, Koyuki, and Yugito went home. Naruto didn't know where Kakashi and Gai were going. Gai had screamed out something about youth and ran off, while Kakashi had taken out his book and walked away at a leisurely pace.

They journeyed through Konoha toward the Namikaze estate, and as they did, Naruto looked more closely at the village. A sense of despair hung over everyone. The people seemed ill at ease. A woman walked alongside her child, head hung low, face epitomizing despair as she clutched the young boy's hand. Meters to his left, an old man sat on the ground, eyes glossy and dull, as though he were a corpse. Many people around them had similar expressions.

Likewise, the village seemed to have taken a lot more damage since they had left for the summit meeting. The damage wasn't extensive, but he did notice that some of the buildings, which had been repaired previously were now in ruins. Glass fragments littered the street and inside of stores, walls were decimated, and numerous buildings had either scorch marks, claw marks, or both marking what parts of their structure remained.

"It looks like something happened here," Konan murmured.

"Do you think it was an attack?" asked Koyuki.

She and Konan walked side by side, their shoulders close enough to almost touch. Naruto was glad that he had introduced them to each other. It seems as if they had formed a close bond with each other. How Koyuki had gotten Konan to open up in so little time, when it had taken Naruto himself several weeks just to convince her that they shouldn't be enemies, was beyond him. That said, he couldn't complain about the results. He was just glad they had become friends.

"It doesn't look like a serious attack," Yugito murmured. "These markings and the amount of destruction tells me that a smaller task force attacked Konoha, but I can't imagine anyone who would be stupid enough to attack a powerful village like Konoha with less than at least ten thousand ninjas."

"This damage also doesn't look like the kind that ninja usually inflict," Naruto added. "I see some marks that were clearly done by ninjutsu, but most of the damage appears to have been done by an animal or something."

"Do you think it could have been summoning beasts?" asked Konan.

"I don't know." Naruto shrugged. "There's no way to tell that without having been here when it happened, but I don't think so."

They arrived home moments later. Naruto frowned upon reaching the front door. There were no signs of the seals he had placed there, but there were signs that told him someone had attempted to tamper with the seals. He could see the scorch marks, which someone had tried to cover up with another, fake seal. It was a decent impersonation. However, Naruto was a seal master, and the seal he had created on this door was more complex than most.

The seal had been layered in two parts, an inner and outer layer. The outer layer, the part that was being displayed here, was simply a genjutsu seal. It hid the inner layer, which was the defense seal that killed any intruder trying to break in. Whoever had attempted to create this seal had only remade the outer layer and neglected the inner layer.

"Is something wrong, Naruto?" asked Konan.

"No." He shook his head. "Nothing is wrong."

They entered the estate and walked into the main living room. No one seemed to be home, but then Naruto heard humming from the kitchen. When he entered, he discovered the source, Yugao, the Anbu operative known as Usagi, a woman who had protected him when he was younger, and another of his girlfriends. She stood in front of the stove. A loud sizzling accompanied the gentle melody that issued from her lips.

"Yugao-chan," Naruto said, beaming as he wrapped the woman in a hug from squeaked and nearly dropped the spatula that she was holding.

"N-Naruto!" she shouted in surprise. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn't sneak up on you," he said. "I was being pretty loud you know. Didn't you hear the door open?"

At his admonishment, Yugao could only blush. "I-I didn't hear it. I guess I was too caught up in what I was doing."

"Speaking of what you were doing…" Koyuki began as she walked into the kitchen with Yugito and Konan. "It looks like your food is burning."

"What?" Yugao said, blinking before a thick cloud of smoke wafted in front of her face. She looked down at the pan that she had been cooking on. Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no! My grilled cheese sandwich!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade was none too pleased when she entered the Hokage Tower and discovered who was inside of her office. It wasn't just the two elders, Koharu and Homura. Danzo was also there, and judging from how the other two were standing on either side of him, he was currently calling the shots.

I have a bad feeling now.

"Danzo, what makes you think you can call the Hokage as if I was your personal summon? I hope you have a good explanation for this."

"I do actually," Danzo said, tapping his cane on the ground once. "But first, there is something important that I would like to tell you."

"Oh, yeah? And what is that?"

Tsunade hadn't noticed it before, but Danzo didn't have those bandages around his head, revealing the ugly scar tissue surrounding his eye. The bad feeling that she had increased severalfold.

"Just this." He opened his eye to reveal a perfect Sharingan situated within his socket. "Kotoamatsukami."

XXXXXXXXXX

In the end, Yugao's sandwich could not be saved. While Konan, Yugito, and Koyuki tried to console the crying woman, Naruto made them all ham sandwiches, along with several other types that he cut up into finger food and served on a platter.

"Here you go! Eat up!"

"Thanks for making this," Koyuki said as she grabbed a chicken salad sandwich. "I'm starving. I feel like it's been days since I've eaten."

"That's because you've been walking so much. You probably aren't used to it," Yugito said as she, too, plucked a sandwich from the platter.

They weren't sitting at the table, which Koyuki had said was too formal for their family, so instead, they had elected to sit in the living room. All of them were piled on the couch. There was very little room. Naruto was shoulder and thigh to Konan and Yugao as he sat between them. They were practically on his lap, which he didn't necessarily mind, but it made eating difficult because he couldn't move his arms very well.

"I'll have you know that I am in great physical shape," Koyuki interjected. "I might not have the might of a ninja-like you, but that doesn't mean I've slacked off on my exercise."

"Maybe, but walking for several days and exercising an hour each day are two different things," Konan interjected.

"She's right," Yugao said. "Walking across long distances with varied terrain requires a different sort of fitness than most actresses have."

"Ugh, whatever. Stop killing my delusions." Koyuki pouted as she picked up another sandwich, ham this time, and began munching on it.

Naruto idly picked up a sandwich himself and began eating. Yet he couldn't taste much of it, which might have been caused by being sandwiched between four gorgeous women. It was quite distracting. All he could focus on was the scent of their hair, the feel of their bosoms against his arm, of the way their thighs pressed into him. Perhaps it was because of what happened between him, Yugito, and Mei, or maybe it was just because several days had passed since the summit, but Naruto was, well, kinda horny.

"By the way, Naruto," Yugao began, and Naruto stiffened at the feel of her delicate hand passing over his crotch. Was she doing that on purpose? "I've really missed you. I was so busy with my Anbu work and you with your missions that we haven't had much time together."

"You're being unusually bold," Naruto commented.

"I'm feeling unusually hot as well." Yugao leaned in to whisper in his ear. "There's a fire burning inside of me that only you can quench."

That was the breaking point for Naruto, who had already been feeling pretty bothered himself. He tackled Yugao onto the couch, which meant that everyone else sitting with them also went down. None of them complained, however, and squeals and moans of delight and ecstasy soon filled the Namikaze Estate.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto stirred and opened his eyes. Moonlight shone in through a window to his right, but it was not enough to light up the area around him. Even so, he recognized the familiar furnishings, the dresser to his right, the nightstand to his left, and the closet less than a meter away. The familiar feel of the bed on his back also helped him realize where he was.

This is… my room.

After giving in to Yugao's not-so-subtle advances, the five of them, him, Koyuki, Konan, Yugito, and Yugao, took their actions to his bedroom. What had followed was an orgy of incredible passion. Even now Naruto could taste their essence on his tongue, could feel their lips around his cock, and the breasts against his hand.

It took him several seconds, but Naruto soon realized the reason he still felt these sensations. Koyuki was lying on top of him. His still erect dick was buried inside of her, which explained the feeling of lips around him. Her warm insides were tight but soft, a velvet vice that lovingly wrapped around him, milking him of his essence.

She wasn't the only reason he felt this way. Yugao and Yugito were on either side of him, holding his hands to their chests. He felt their soft nipples against his palm. Naruto was tempted to fondle their breasts since this was the perfect opportunity, but he held back. There was no way he could disrupt their slumber, not with how peaceful they looked while sleeping.

Naruto closed his eyes, about to try and get some more sleep as well. Tomorrow would be a busy day. They needed to begin transporting the Kumo refugees, and he would probably be one of the people in charge of helping since he had a closer relationship with the people of Kumo than anyone else in Konoha. Yugito would also be helping. That was just another reason to aid them.

"Good morning, Naruto," a voice said before he could go to sleep.

Blue eyes and a smiling face swam into his vision. Koyuki Kazehana looked at him with a sleepy, half-lidded smile that was somehow more seductive than her normal smile. Naruto would've chalked it up to his own delusional mind. However, Koyuki chose that moment to move around, which caused them both to moan with pleasure.

"So, this is the reason Konan likes to wake up in this position." Koyuki moaned again as she shifted, causing him to slide in and out of her. "I definitely like her style. I could get used to waking up like this."

"Yuki…" Naruto mumbled. "Did I wake you?"

Koyuki sighed as she moved again, caressing him with her inner walls. "I've been awake for a while."

"Is something on your mind?"

Placing her head back on his chest, Koyuki hummed. "I'm going to be leaving tomorrow. Since the meeting is over and our plans have been made, I will have to return to the Land of Spring and begin preparations to receive the refugees."

Nodding, Naruto said, "that's only natural."

"I'm going to miss you."

Warmth suffused his heart, as did a gentle ache. It was a familiar feeling. He knew that, due to their circumstances, he and the women who had carved out a life with him and each other could not always remain together. Duty kept them apart. Everyone had accepted this, but that didn't necessarily mean they had to like it.

"Tomorrow," Naruto began, "before you leave, why don't you and I spend some time alone?"

"Can we really?" asked Koyuki, looking back at him, her eyes shining like a pair of snowflakes glistening in the morning sun.

"Yes. It'll be a date just between you and me."

Koyuki didn't say anything more. She leaned up and placed a passionate kiss against his mouth. Naruto didn't stop her when she pushed her tongue into his mouth, and indeed, he pushed back, hooking his tongue with hers as she rocked her hips back and forth, sending delicious friction through them both.

As they made love, neither of them noticed the eyes that were watching them from up close.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Naruto and Koyuki left the sanctity of their bed, which was large enough to hold seven people, got dressed, and left the Namikaze estate together. This day is planned to be a busy one. To that end, their plan was to eat breakfast at a nice restaurant, just the two of them, and then maybe do a small bit of shopping before they had to work. Naruto thought it was only fair since Yugito, Konan, and Yugao would be staying with him.

"Where should we go?" asked Koyuki as they walked arm in arm down one of Konoha's many streets.

"There's a small restaurant that serves great traditional breakfasts," Naruto said. "It's a family restaurant owned by the Akimichi clan."

The restaurant in question was called Aki-Gohans. As he and Koyuki came upon the small building, with its lintel posts, ornate paper walls, and slanted roof, Naruto couldn't help but wonder how this building, out of all the other ones, remained standing. It looked so flimsy. He looked at the building left of Aki-Gohans, and then at the one on the right. Both were naught but piles of rubble.

He shook his head.

They entered the small restaurant and were greeted by the hostess, a slightly older woman who wore white makeup and dark red lipstick. "Good morning, Namikaze-sama, Kazehana Koyuki-dono. We're honored to have you in our humble restaurant."

"Thank you for the warm reception," Koyuki said with a disarming smile.

"Of course. Please, come right this way." The hostess gestured for them to follow her.

Unlike most restaurants, Aki-Gohans was completely traditional. There were no booths, and the tables where people sat down to eat were low tables, meaning they were supposed to sit in seiza whilst eating.

The table that he and Koyuki were shown to was a small one located in the restaurant's center. There were only a few other people present, and everyone stared as they sat down. Naruto assumed that was the purpose of putting them here. They wanted to present him and Koyuki, a well-known actress/daimyo and the Namikaze clan head, as if to say that two people of high standing ate at their restaurant.

There were only a few other people aside from them. A small family of four, two older gentlemen, and a young woman wearing a Konoha headband. After the shock of seeing him and Koyuki dining in such a casual restaurant wore off, the people returned to their meals, though the two children belonging to the family continued staring.

"Please wait here for one moment," the woman said. "Our waiter will come to take your orders."

"Thank you," Naruto said.

"Take your time," Koyuki added. "We're in no hurry."

Just then, a chime sounded, and three people wearing brown cloaks entered the restaurant. The woman noticed them. She graced him and Koyuki with one last smile before heading over to the front. Naruto could hear her greeting of, "welcome to Aki-Gohans…" from where he sat.

"It's going to be tough," Koyuki said suddenly. When he looked at her, she elucidated her words by saying, "being away from you, I mean. I've become so used to having you constantly by my side these past few weeks that not seeing you every day will be hard."

The people in large brown cloaks walked past their table. Naruto frowned at them, but he put the trio out of his mind and took Koyuki's hands within his own. "I don't really like it either, but you know, so long as you carry my kunai, you can call me to your side anytime." He paused. A wry smile appeared on his lips. "Unless I'm otherwise preoccupied with something else. Also, do you remember how to use your chakra?"

"Yes." Koyuki nodded. "I remember everything you taught me."

"Good. In the event that you are in danger, be sure to apply chakra to that seal on the bottom of the kunai's handle."

"I know."

A waiter came to take their orders. Meals at Aki-Gohans were specialized. There was only one real meal, a traditional breakfast with white rice, miso soup, and fermented soybeans. Customers were allowed to choose their main dish, which could either be grilled fish, rolled omelet, chicken, or tofu. While Naruto chose the grilled fish, Koyuki chose the tofu.

"I'll be back with your order shortly," the waiter said before wandering off to take more orders.

Naruto and Koyuki allowed themselves to relax. They spoke of inconsequential issues such as what movie Koyuki was working on, gossip about her fellow actors and actresses, and what kind of seals Naruto was making.

It was pleasant, being able to talk about such simple matters. Naruto had been dealing with one crisis after another for so long that he had almost forgotten what it was like to speak about things that had nothing to do with death, war, or politics. He wished they could have stayed like this forever.

Sadly, the world waited for no one. Their meals came several minutes later, and he and Koyuki ate in relative silence. They left soon after, as did the trio in cloaked individuals who had gotten their food only a short while after he and Koyuki had.

"We have a little bit of time left," Koyuki said. "What should we do?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment. They could go shopping, but that seemed so cliched. They also had different tastes in stores (Naruto liked shopping for ninja goods, while Koyuki liked clothing), which meant that unless they both wanted to be bored, they would have to do something else.

"Why don't I take you to one of my secret spots?" he suggested.

"One of your secret spots?" Koyuki parroted. "You have something like that?"

"Of course. The place I want to show you holds particular importance to me."

"In that case, I will gladly go with you," she said before pausing again. "By the way, what should we do about our tagalongs?"

"We'll let them tag along. It's not like they're hurting anyone." Naruto pulled Koyuki into an embrace and grinned. "Now, let's go."

Smiling at each other, Naruto and Koyuki disappeared within a swirl of leaves.

XXXXXXXXXX

Konan, Yugito, and Yugao watched as Naruto and Koyuki disappeared within a shunshin. Since ninja disappearing in this manner wasn't rare in Konoha, no one batted an eyelash, though a few people did look surprised by who had pulled the disappearing act. While several people began talking about the Namikaze heir, the trio of cloaked and not-so-subtly hiding their identities ninja put their heads together.

"Naruto disappeared," Konan state the obvious.

"He also mentioned a secret spot," Yugito added.

Yugao, being the most knowledgeable about all things Naruto, patiently explained. "When Naruto was younger, he was often bullied by the other children, so he tended to go off on his own a lot. During his explorations of the village, he found several places that became the spots he would visit whenever he was feeling depressed."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. It was easy to forget that Naruto didn't have the best past. He wasn't like Yugito, who had been revered thanks to Kirabi's efforts. Naruto had needed to climb his way up from the bottom, on hands and knees, scraping up any and every victory he could. Only Yugao, who had been his chunin watcher and only twelve years old at the time (Naruto had been nine), truly understood what he had gone through.

"Do you know which secret spot he might have headed to?" asked Konan.

Yugao nodded. "If Naruto is going to show someone important to him one of his secrets spots, then it can only be the spot up on the Hokage monument."

XXXXXXXXXX

When Naruto and Koyuki reappeared, it was not in a crowded street, or even on a rooftop. Their feet touched upon heavy granite. Beside them were several spiky protrusions that stuck up from the rock. They were long and smooth, these spikes, which meant they weren't natural, but rather, man-made. As Koyuki looked around, Naruto took her hand and tugged it to show her the view.

"Take a look, Yuki."

"Oh, wow."

It was always a pleasant sight to see Koyuki breathless. Her eyes were lit up in wonderment, sparkling like gemstones of the highest quality. The delighted smile that played on her lips enhanced her lustrous features as she stared out at Konoha from one of the highest points in the village.

"Where are we?"

"On top of my old man's head."

"Fweh?"

As Koyuki stared at him like he had just told her a really bad joke, Naruto chuckled. "We're on top of the Hokage Monument. To be more precise, we are standing on the Yondaime Hokage's head." He wrapped his knuckles against the nearest spike. "These spikes you see are his hair."

"Oh…" Koyuki blinked, seemingly unable to form words properly.

Naruto tugged Koyuki to him. She squealed in surprise when he pulled her to the ground, but all Naruto did was sit with his back against his father's hair, while spreading his legs and letting Koyuki rest in between them. With her back to his chest, Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and let his chin rest on her shoulder.

"When I was younger, I used to get depressed a lot," Naruto said. "This was my favorite spot, where I would come after something bad happened. Of course, I didn't know the Yondaime was my old man back then. However, he was the shinobi I looked up to the most, so I guess this was my way of reminding myself about what I was striving for whenever my situation looked dire."

"I see." Koyuki leaned back, relaxing into his embrace. "I never really knew much about your past, though you've shared a bit of it with me before. Heh, it looks like I learned something interesting about my fiance again. By the way…"

"Yes, yes. I know." Naruto sighed before, in a louder voice, shouting, "are you three going to stand over there in the bushes all day? Get over here and sit down."

A moment of silence was followed by a soft rustling, which was followed once again by three familiar figures in brown cloaks walking out of the bushes. All three of them were covered in twigs and leaves. They wore hoods that hid their faces, but even so, it was impossible to not know who they were.

"Do you three like spying so much that you had to follow us like that?" asked Naruto.

"How did you know we were following you?" asked the woman on the left as she pulled her hood down, revealing the long blond hair of Yugito.

"Please," Koyuki said, "you three were way too conspicuous. Brown cloaks with hoods? Maybe if it was just one or two people, but when all three of you appeared, Naruto and I had already guessed who you were."

The other two hoods were pulled back. Yugito, Yugao, and Konan all blushed at being seen through so easily. It was almost sad, really. They were ninja, so they technically should have specialized in stealth. Then again, it wasn't like they were trying all that hard not to be spotted.

Chuckling, Naruto patted the spot beside him. "Since you three are here, why don't you join us? We have at least an hour before everyone needs to get back to their duties."

The three kunoichis didn't even hesitate, and Naruto, suddenly trapped in the middle of four beautiful women, wondered if this sort of position made him a Naruto sandwich.

Probably. But he couldn't complain.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was time. The refugees were being boarded onto the zeppelins that would take them to one of three destinations: Sand, Mist, or Spring. They were being loaded based on their preferences. Since they were being forced to move yet again, Naruto had come up with the idea that they should be allowed to choose where they wanted to live. Samui and Yugito were overseeing the boarding process.

"So, you're leaving too, Konan?"

"Yes. I figured I could be more useful by becoming Koyuki's bodyguard than staying here."

Naruto stood with Koyuki and Konan, who faced him side by side. It had been a surprise when Konan told them that she wanted to go with Koyuki. At the same time, Naruto couldn't fault the logic. Out of all of them, Koyuki was by far the weakest link. As the only one with no ninja training, she was the most vulnerable, and though she had an entire army at her beck and call, they wouldn't be able to win against an S-ranked ninja.

"It'll be nice to have a woman as my bodyguard." Koyuki, with a coy smile on her face, wrapped her arms around Konan's left arm. "Plus, since it's Konan, it means I get to have someone with me twenty-four seven."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Naruto agreed, though he was sure a part of the reason Koyuki wanted Konan with her was so she could have someone to sleep with. She was rather cuddly.

"We're going to miss you," Konan said.

"And I'll miss both of you."

Since it would be a while since they saw each other again, Naruto made sure that the kisses he gave Koyuki and Konan were longer than normal. Sadly, his kiss with Koyuki was interrupted when the daimyo to the Land of Spring pinched his butt. He glared at her, but all she did was smile and wave before she and Konan boarded the zeppelin.

Yugito walked up to Naruto as the zeppelin ascended. It, along with the other four currently docked in Konoha, ascended into the sky and began moving through the air. He and his fellow Jinchurikki watched side by side as the zeppelins became smaller and smaller until they were nothing more than tiny dots in the distance.

"It looks like things will settle down now that Konan and Koyuki aren't here," Yugito said.

"Yeah," Naruto said, reaching out and grabbing Yugito's hand. "It's just you, me, and Yugao now."

It was going to be strange not having Koyuki and Konan around anymore. They had been such an intricate part of his life for the past few weeks, and now that they were gone, it felt like a small hole had opened inside of him. Of course, it wasn't painful. They would see each other again. However, he was going to miss them.

"At least there's one good thing to come from all this."

Naruto turned to look at Yugito. "What's that?"

Grinning like a cat that had finally caught a canary, Yugito said, "with only Yugao and I here, it means I can have you all to myself whenever Yugao is on a mission."

As always, Yugito's logic was infallible.

XXXXXXXXXX

Because of her position as the leader of the Kumo refugees in Konoha, Yugito needed to stay with her people. Lodgings had been set up for her. They were temporary. Just like how Konoha planned to build housing units inside of the village for Kumo's displaced people, Yugito would eventually move in with him once everyone was fully integrated. For now, however, it was just him and Yugao.

"It's been a long time since it was just the two of us, hasn't it?" asked Yugao from where she sat at the dining room table. She wasn't in her Anbu armor. Instead, she wore a pair of lacey red panties and one of his orange T-shirts. Naruto thought the way the shirt stretched across her bust flattered her figure well.

Naruto was in the kitchen. A pan sat on the stove in front of him, and the sizzling sounds of chicken being cooked in oil filled the air. He still wasn't much of a cook, but he could at least cook the basics well, thanks in no small part to Jiraiya, who had been a stickler for healthy eating during their training.

The dish he made was seared in oil, a simple but delicious meal, especially since he had added lemon rinds to the chicken. He had also prepared a salad. Well, his clone had prepared the salad, but it amounted to the same thing. When the food was finished cooking, he set the chicken onto two plates, grabbed the bowls containing the salad, and wandered into the dining room.

"Here we are," he said as he set down Yugao's plate and salad bowl in front of her. "One lemon seared chicken with a side salad."

"Thank you for cooking this," Yugao said as Naruto sat across from her.

"It's no trouble." Naruto grinned. "I'm happy to cook for you!"

Yugao's blushing smile was simply adorable. He really didn't understand how a fully grown woman could blush and act so demure, especially one who was capable of slaughtering an entire squadron of chunin level ninja by herself. It was one of life's great mysteries.

As they were eating and chatting, something soft brushed up against Naruto's leg. He frowned, looked under the table, and, not spotting anything other than Yugao's feet set firmly against the tiled floor, looked back up and began talking again.

It was while he was telling Yugao about the finer points of sealing that he felt something brush against him once more. The feeling of soft skin against his calf made him pause. He looked under the table again. Again, there was nothing but Yugao's feet and legs.

"Is something wrong, Naruto?" asked Yugao.

"No." Naruto looked back up. "Nothing is wrong."

Yugao smiled with an innocence that he now realized was feigned. He frowned. If that was how she wanted to play it, then two could play at this game.

Channeling chakra to the souls of his feet, Naruto felt the vibrations running through the ground. He was aware of when Yugao lifted her foot. He also let his sensitivity to shifts in the air, a result of having wind and lightning natured affinities, tell him when her foot was close. He raised his foot and met hers before she could stroke his leg again.

Yugao blinked.

"Something wrong, Yugao?" Naruto asked, smiling.

Yugao frowned at him as she moved her foot back, and then came in at a different angle. He blocked her again.

"No." Yugao returned his smile. She tried again, this time using her other foot. Naruto blocked it. "Nothing's wrong."

"Really? You're looking a little peeved." Naruto blocked another foot attack, then another and another.

Yugao kept trying to come in from different angles to no avail; Naruto blocked her at every opportunity. Yet still, she continued, even while she spoke. "Not at all. I was just thinking about how strong you've become."

"Is that so? I'm glad you think so highly of me."

He and Yugao kept up their war underneath the table, competitive grins spreading across their faces. Naruto thought he was doing pretty well at deflecting her feet. However, just as he was beginning to feel confident, something zapped him and both his legs became paralyzed.

"What the—"

"How is that?" asked Yugao, who, now that she had Naruto at her mercy, placed her feet against his legs and began moving them up and down. "I just used some minor lightning chakra to immobilize you."

Naruto clicked his tongue. "You do know that I can just use lightning chakra to fix this, right?"

"Can you?" asked Yugao. Her feet moved up further. "I know you're powerful, but do you have the kind of fine-tuned control needed to properly negate my paralysis technique?"

Naruto knew how to undo her paralysis. She was using lightning chakra to disrupt the communication signals that were sent from the brain to his legs. All he had to do was regulate the flow of his chakra to disrupt hers. It was a simple matter.

Sadly, when Naruto tried to regulate lightning chakra through his body, he was disrupted by Yugao zapping him again. Her feet also moved higher. They were now resting against his knees. Naruto tried again, but she once more disrupted his ability to regulate lightning chakra through his body, even as she spread his legs apart.

"Come on," she goaded, her voice teasing. "Let's see you disrupt my technique."

Naruto would have scowled at her, but before the thought could really take hold, Yugao had placed one of her feet against his crotch. He stiffened under her touch as she gently rubbed her toes against him. The act was strangely stimulating. All the blood in his body quickly flowed to a single point, causing him to swell.

"Does that feel good?" asked Yugao as she ran the sole of her foot along his now erect member.

"I-it does." Naruto took a shaky breath. "W-why…?"

"If you're asking me why it feels good, I'm afraid I can't answer that." Yugao nimbly caught his zipper between her toes, and the sound of his pants being unzipped echoed from underneath the table. "I just know that there are some men who like this kind of thing. Even men who don't like this can fall prey to such acts since it's so different."

"You… have you…?"

Yugao shook her head. "No, I haven't, but I have friends in the Anbu who have done stuff like this to seduce targets."

"O-oh…" Naruto's vision grew slightly hazy when Yugao's feet slipped into his boxers. Her warm soles pressed against his engorged member felt oddly arousing, and he groaned when she ran her feet from the bottom all the way to the tip, which she then rubbing with her toes.

"It seems this works better on you than it does other people," Yugao commented.

"That's not…" Naruto paused as cold air hit his crotch before it was engulfed by warmth. "I-it's just because you're the one doing it…"

"So, you're saying I'm special?" Yugao asked for clarification as she stimulated him with both of her feet, rubbing them up and down his entire length.

Naruto nodded. He couldn't say anything more than that, as the sensation from her warm feet running along his erection had driven out his ability to speak. Her actions sent shivers through his groin. He was tempted to buck his hips against her feet to increase this feeling. Every second that passed made his mind feel even hazier, made his body feel even hotter. With one final groan, Naruto slumped against the table as he released everything he had onto Yugao's feet.

"That was oddly satisfying," Yugao murmured as she retracted her feet. "I've never done that before, but I've wanted to try it out."

Recovering from her strangely erotic actions, Naruto looked up and grinned. "I'm glad I could help, but now that you've done this, I believe that means it's my turn to return the favor."

Yugao didn't get a chance to inquire about his meaning before he slipped underneath the table. He could see that he had really unloaded a lot on Yugao. Her feet and ankles were covered in a white, sticky substance. Naruto ignored that for a moment as he crawled over to Yugao, placed his hands on her legs, and slowly spread her thighs apart.

The first thing Naruto did was place a kiss on Yugao's knee. He used it as a starting point to create a trail of kisses, moving from her knee to her inner thigh. Yugao's legs were muscular, with not an ounce of fat on them, so it was easy to make out which parts of her were more sensitive. Every time he kissed a spot that was sensitive, her muscles would quiver and she would release a soft moan.

"N-Naruto… f-further."

Naruto did as she asked, moving further and further in. He would occasionally pause when she reacted strongly, but it was only to suck on that particular spot. By the time he reached her panties, they were already quite damp, and the fabric was getting caught between her folds.

"It seems you're already quite wet."

"Eh? D-don't say that. It's embarrassing."

"Heh… after everything you've done to me, you have the guts to call this embarrassing." Naruto grinned even though he knew she couldn't see it. "You're so cute."

Lifting her legs, Naruto placed Yugao's thighs on his shoulders. This allowed him to pull her forward. He then leaned in, taking in Yugao's scent before he placed his mouth over her panty-covered crotch.

"N-nnggg! Ahn!"

Two delicate hands covered in calluses grabbed onto his head. Naruto moved deeper into Yugao, licking her through her clothing and rubbing against her with his nose. He could taste the tanginess of her as it mixed with the flavor of lace. Her juices were beginning to flow. Deciding to help her along, he added a small bit of lightning chakra onto his tongue.

The results were immediate and impressive.

Yugao cried out, her loud voice echoing across the room. Her love juices suddenly flowed out of her enough to completely soak through her panties and splash against her thighs. Naruto didn't let a single drop escape him. He licked her thighs, even as she slumped in her seat.

Naruto came out from underneath the table to find Yugao slumped forward, her head resting against the table, eyes glassy and cheeks flushed. She had barely missed faceplanting into her food. He grinned as he moved next to her. Reaching out, he first moved her plate out of the way, and then placed his hands underneath her armpits and lifted her up. Yugao blinked as he pushed her chair away and laid her face forward on the table.

"Naruto? What are you…?"

"Just relax," Naruto said as he pulled her panties down her slender legs. "I'm going to make you feel good."

Yugao moaned as Naruto filled her. He started off with a slow, steady pace, before mixing it up with short bursts of speed. Yugao tried to move her hips, but with how weak she was at that moment, she couldn't do much more than wiggling her bum.

"F-faster," she murmured.

"Faster it is."

Naruto placed his hands on either side of her hips and increased his speed. Yugao cried out. Her back arched off the table. Naruto used this chance. He leaned forward, placed one hand on the table, and used the other to wrap around her waist. Now with her back against his chest, Naruto was free to tease her some more by nibbling on her ear, much to Yugao's delight.

"F-fuck, Naruto. Yo-you've gotten a lot… better—Ahn!"

"I aim. To. Please."

Naruto grunted between thrusts. The hand that was wrapped around Yugao's waist slipped underneath her shirt and cupped her left breast. Yugao's pleasure-filled moans grew louder as he teased her nipple. This act, combined with her ear in his mouth and his increasingly heavy thrusts, was too much. Letting out a final cry, Yugao grew impossibly tight as she came. Engulfed with such warm, wet tightness, Naruto was unable to hold on any longer and also released his load inside of her.

Yugao would have slumped forward again, but Naruto kept her flush against his back as he sat down in the chair that Yugao had been eating at. She leaned back against him. Her breathing was heavy, and since she wasn't wearing a bra, Naruto could see the way her bosoms bounced as she tried to regain her breath.

"I love you, Yugao," Naruto said suddenly.

Still breathing as though she had run a marathon, Yugao turned her head and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you too, Naruto."

There was a moment's pause before…

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"Can we continue this in the bedroom? It's been so long since I've had you to myself."

Grinning, Naruto scooped Yugao into his arms as he stood up. "Of course we can. You don't think I'm going to be satisfied with just this, do you? Who do you think I am?"

Yugao smiled as he carried her up to his room. "You're Konoha's number one knuckleheaded ninja."

"Damn straight."

XXXXXXXXXX

Yugao woke up in the middle of the night. Moonlight from the window partially illuminated the bed that she and Naruto were lying on. She was snuggled within his arm, warm, content, with her head on his broad shoulder. She wanted to stay there forever.

For some reason, she didn't. She stood up, made her way over to the dresser, and pulled a kunai from a hidden compartment from underneath her underwear drawer. Kunai in hand, Yugao crawled onto the bed and straddled Naruto's waist. She didn't question why she was doing this, because what she was doing seemed so natural. That was why she raised the kunai above her head without complaint, preparing to plunge the kunai into his throat.

Naruto's eyes opened seconds before she could. His hand shot out and snatched her wrist before it could take that final plunge. Without preamble, he flipped her onto her back, and, using his superior strength, knocked the kunai out of Yugao's hand before pinning her to the bed.

"What are you doing, Yugao?"

She didn't answer him with words. Kicking him in the stomach, she forced Naruto to let go of her and slid out from underneath him. Her kunai had fallen to the floor. She lunged for it, but Naruto was too fast. He kicked the kunai further away and tried to place her in a submission hold.

Yugao was having none of it.

She slipped away from him with her superior agility, spun around, and threw a heel kick into his crossed arms. Her foot shook as Naruto went skidding across the floor. She didn't wait for him to recover. Launching herself forward, she began a coordinated assault, throwing a combination of powerful kicks and punches that many others would have been hardpressed to slip through.

"Yugao! Why are you doing this?!" Naruto asked as he backed away, weaving between her attacks.

Why was she doing this? That was a good question. She didn't really know why she was doing this. Wasn't it just something that she had to do? She needed to do this, even if she didn't know why.

She wished she had a sword. This would have been a lot easier if she did. However, her sword was not with her. Yugao had not thought about it at the time, since she and Naruto were having sex and the idea just never crossed her mind. That was probably a mistake on her part.

Naruto didn't attack back, despite how she had him on the ropes. He backed away, constantly retreating to give himself more room, though he had to know that he was being backed into a corner. Yugao kept up the pressure. One. Two. One. Two. Kick. She moved in accordance with her Anbu training. Naruto admirably blocked or dodged all of her attacks. However, he was unable to keep it up for long, as she had finally backed him against the wall. This was her chance.

Yugao attacked with all of her speed and might. She needed to end this before Naruto could turn the situation around. Right as she was about to make contact with Naruto, he vanished before her eyes. Shocked, Yugao didn't even have the time to so much as blink before something pricked the back of her neck and darkness engulfed her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yugito woke up with a start, jumping into a sitting position as though someone had shocked her body with a lightning jutsu. She looked around. Nothing was out of place. Her plain room with its single dresser, nightstand, and bed looked the same as it did when she had gone to sleep. She also couldn't feel any killing intent, which meant that no forthcoming attack had woken her from slumber. So, then, what had—

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Reaching underneath her pillow, Yugito grabbed the kunai that she always hid there. She stood up and slowly walked to the front door. Pausing for a second, Yugito cracked the door open to see who was on the other side.

She was shocked.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry for coming so late, but something just happened and I couldn't think of who else I could turn to," Naruto said. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, please come in."

"Thank you."

Yugito stepped aside and opened the door for Naruto. She blinked when she realized that he was carrying Yugao in his arms. The woman's legs swung back and forth, her feet poking out of the blanket he had draped over her. Yugito caught a whiff of the air as they passed. The smell of sex was strong on them both.

"Is there anywhere I can set her?" he asked.

"The bed," Yugito replied, absently point toward the only bed there.

Her house, like all of the Kumo refugee houses, was just a single-story building with the bare minimum furnishings. There was no kitchen, just a small bathroom with no shower. It didn't even have carpet, just wood tiles.

Naruto walked over to the bed and set Yugao down. Yugito stood behind him. She watched curiously for a moment and then decided to sate her curiosity.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Naruto said. "Yugao just tried to kill me. I knocked her unconscious, but I didn't know what to do so I brought her here."

"Yugao tried to kill you?"

Yugito needed a moment to let that sink in. Yugao had been Naruto's bodyguard ever since he was little. She had protected him from danger more than anyone else. One could even say that she was the reason he hadn't been killed when he was younger. What's more, they were now in a relationship. For her to try and assassinate him…

"Why would she try to kill you? That makes no sense," she said out loud.

"I know." Naruto gave her a mirthless smile. "Kyuubi says he senses foreign chakra inside of her that's a close match for an Uchiha. I can only guess that Danzo is the one behind this. I know he has a Sharingan implanted into his eye, but I'm still not sure how he could cast such a powerful genjutsu over Yugao."

"What do you plan on doing?" asked Yugito.

"I'm going to visit Tsunade. She should be able to help me confront Danzo and get this situation resolved. Can I ask you to look after Yugao while I'm gone?"

Yugito didn't even need to think twice. "Of course. Yugao is a friend and part of our family. You can count on me."

"Thank you." Naruto offered her a smile before disappearing within a Hiraishin.

With nothing better to do, Yugito sat down on the bed and, putting a hand on Yugao's head, began to tenderly run her hands through the woman's hair. Yet even as she sat there, a chill ran down her spine. She didn't know why, but her stomach had twisted itself into knots. She could only hope that Naruto would stay safe.

XXXXXXXXXX

The first place Naruto went to was the Hokage tower. Tsunade often pulled all-nighters, so she would usually sleep on the couch in the Hokage's office. In fact, from what he knew, she rarely ever went home, probably because there was nothing waiting for her at home.

When arrived, Tsunade was indeed present, just as he had suspected. No one else seemed to be around, but Naruto could detect several chakra signatures. They were well-hidden, so he couldn't tell where they were or how many. He assumed they were her Anbu guards.

"Granny," Naruto said as he walked into the room. "We have a problem."

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork. Upon seeing Naruto, she straightened up and nodded. "You're right. We do have a problem." She snapped her fingers and three things happened: the door closed, several Anbu appeared out of thin air, and all of them pointed their weapons at Naruto. "Namikaze Naruto, you are under arrest for betraying Konoha."

What?

Gazing at all of the people around him, at the Anbu in their masks and dark cloaks, and at Tsunade who still sat behind her desk, Naruto realized that his suspicion that Danzo was somehow controlling Yugao was likely more accurate than he had realized. He didn't know how. However, if he had a powerful Sharingan, then controlling a ninja, or even several ninja, was possible. That said, he never expected Tsunade to fall under Danzo's control.

"Is this some kind of joke?" asked Naruto.

"Why would I joke about something like this?" Tsunade answered his question with one of her own.

Naruto could have argued with her. He could have tried to make her see reason, could have told her that she was being controlled. He didn't. There was no point. If Tsunade was being controlled to the point where she would arrest him, then it wouldn't matter what he said to her; she wouldn't listen. In which case…

"Sorry, Granny, but I can't let you arrest me until I've taken care of a pesky weed."

Without waiting for a reply, Naruto immediately hiraishined back home. The Hokage's office disappeared, and he was suddenly standing in the room located deep beneath his estate. The gray walls with numerous bookshelves pressed against them, the tables that had scrolls spread out across them, all of it was familiar. It had been a surprisingly long time since he had come down here.

Sitting down at a table, Naruto crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair, losing his mind to thought. Danzo was somehow controlling people—at least, he assumed it was Danzo. He had no proof, but only a powerful Sharingan could control someone to this extent, and the only person with a Sharingan in Konoha was Danzo.

Of course, it could have been Madara, who had the ability to warp anywhere. However, Naruto didn't think that was the case. That man had his own issues to deal with. Plus, Naruto had dealt him a harsh blow by killing Sasuke. He likely couldn't afford to come to Konoha right now, and even if he did, Naruto didn't think he had the ability to control someone like this.

Either way, Naruto needed to gather allies who weren't under Danzo's control. The first person he could think of was Jiraiya. Unlike Tsunade, Jiraiya had no reason to meet with Danzo. Focusing on the hiraishin kunai that he knew Jiraiya always carried, Naruto channeled his chakra and instantly appeared at the location with the seal.

Naruto looked around the room. It was small, about the size of a luxury suite hotel room. He only realized it was a hotel room when he caught sight of the king-sized bed and saw two people lying on it. One of them was Jiraiya, whose spiky white hair was easy to recognize. The other was a woman that he didn't know. Neither of them were wearing clothes.

Wrinkling his nose, Naruto walked up to the foot of the bed and stared at his perverted teacher. "Are you awake?" He got no response. Fine then. "Tsunade is being controlled by Danzo."

Jiraiya's eyes snapped open, and he sat up. The expression that he wore was not the kind that one normally saw on the old toad hermit's face. It was deathly serious, a grave demeanor carved from stone.

"I see that got your attention."

"I hope you're lying brat."

"Why would I lie about this? Tsunade's not the only person who's being controlled. Yugao just tried to kill me, and I'm sure there are a lot of other people who've been subjected to Danzo's mind control."

Jiraiya sighed and rubbed his head. He stood up, revealing that he was, indeed, completely in the buff. Then he walked over to the chair where his clothing was folded in a surprisingly neat pile. "All right. Let me get dressed and we can go. I take it you have a plan?"

"Sort of," Naruto said as Jiraiya put on his pants. "I want to see Gai and Kakashi. They're the only ones we can trust right now since I doubt either of them have met with Danzo. Kakashi also has a Sharingan, which should negate the effect of Danzo's genjutsu."

"Right." Jiraiya put on his shirt, grabbed his scroll, and slung it over his back. "In that case, you get Kakashi while I get Gai. We'll then meet back up at your place."

"Sounds good."

Naruto didn't know where Maito Gai lived, but he knew where Kakashi lived, having been there several times when he was a genin. The only issue he had was getting there. Kakashi did not have one of his Hiraishin kunai—a serious oversight on his part. That meant he needed to get there through stealth.

The Anbu were out looking for him. As he moved through the streets, he caught sight of several masked ninjas in cloaks jumping across rooftops. They were just the distraction. The real threat wouldn't be the ones on the roof, but the ninja hiding in back alleys and shops. Yugao had once told him that it was an old Anbu tactic.

Naruto watched as four Anbu leaped from one rooftop to another, and then turned his attention toward the street. He reached out, channeling wind chakra through the street and shops. The wind acted as a sonar. Like a spider who could feel when something had become tangled within its threads, Naruto could "see" people and objects within his mind, regardless of how much they tried to hide.

There were three Anbu on this street. One of them was in the store on his left, another was in an alley across the street, and the last one was hiding underneath a camouflage net two meters to his right.

This way was too dangerous. Naruto backtracked.

It took backtracking several times to reach Kakashi's house, which was just a simple one-story building that looked the same as every other house. He walked closer to the front door and then paused. A ninja was already standing in front of the door, speaking with Kakashi, who looked like he was barely awake.

"Namikaze Naruto is wanted for questioning," the ninja was saying.

"Is that so?" asked Kakashi. "May I ask what he's done?"

"He's wanted because we suspect him of betraying Konoha."

"Well, now. That's a pretty strong accusation."

As the other ninja spoke, Naruto stepped out of the alley, making eye contact with Kakashi. When he was sure he had the man's attention, he tapped his right temple. Kakashi nodded once and then opened his closed eye.

"I apologize, but I don't know where Naruto is. Perhaps you would be better served questioning someone else," Kakashi said.

"Yes… I'll do that."

Naruto waited several seconds after the ninja walked off before heading over to Kakashi's. His sensei stepped aside and allowed Naruto to walk in, then closed and locked the door behind him. Leaning against the doorframe, Kakashi eyed Naruto.

"I'm guessing something has happened?"

Naruto nodded. "Danzo is controlling the ninja of Konoha with the Sharingan in his right eye, though I have no idea how. He's even managed to place Tsunade and Yugao under his control."

"I can see how that would be a problem," Kakashi said, closing his eyes. "Have you already spoken with Jiraiya?"

"Yes. He's going to pick up Maito Gai. We're meeting back at my place."

Kakashi nodded and moved away from the wall. "That sounds like as good a plan as any. Let's go."

"Right."

Naruto placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, and together, they disappeared within a Hiraishin.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gai and Jiraiya arrived at the Namikaze Estate half an hour after Kakashi and Naruto. Since they were the only ones Naruto knew who weren't potentially under Danzo's influence, they did not bother trying to find anyone else. The risks were too great. Instead, they all sat around Naruto's table in his fuinjutsu study and discussed the problem.

"It's getting really crazy out there," Jiraiya said. His arms were crossed, and though his expression seemed light-hearted, Naruto knew that he must have been frustrated. After all, even now, he was still in love with Tsunade. "There are shinobi everywhere, and all of them are searching for you. Gai and I were stopped several times by shinobi asking if we knew where you were. I'm kind of surprised they didn't try breaking into here."

"I've created several powerful seals that have enveloped this estate in a barrier," Naruto told him. "The only reason you, Gai, and Kakashi made it through is that I let you through. Anyone else will be instantly repelled."

It was a barrier seal known as the Rokuten Togatta Fuin or the Six Heavens Pointed Seal. It created a chakra barrier by using six points as anchors. To destroy it required intense knowledge of fuinjutsu. It couldn't just be destroyed outright. There were security seals put in place. So, the only way they could get inside was if they had someone whose knowledge in seals was equal to that of Jiraiya—and no one was better at sealing than Jiraiya.

Except for Naruto, of course.

"This situation is most unyouthful," Gai said with crossed arms. "If everyone is being controlled, then it means even my beloved Lee is… oh, Lee! Your sensei has failed you!"

Everyone watched Gai as he cried inconsolably, though they only stared at him for a few more seconds before turning back to each other. They could deal with Gai's antics later. Right now, they had far more important things to worry about.

"We need to find Danzo," Jiraiya said at last. "That's the only way we'll be able to get everyone back to normal."

Genjutsu induced via the Sharingan could be dispelled in two ways. The first way was the natural way, either by causing pain or by using the dispelling technique. The second way was by killing the caster and using fuinjutsu to reverse the genjutsu's effects. If Danzo truly was controlling these people via the Sharingan embedded into his left eye, then just killing him wouldn't be enough to dispel it. Fortunately, Naruto was already thinking up a seal that would work. There was just one problem…

"Do any of you know where he is?"

Kakashi and Gai shook their heads, indicating the neither of them knew where he was. On the other hand, Jiraiya stroked his chin as though deep in thought and hummed.

"I've never been able to locate his base," Jiraiya began, "but I have my theories about that. Do you have a map of Konoha?"

"Yeah. Hold on a second while I get it."

Naruto stood up and went over to a desk sitting on the corner. After rummaging around through one of the drawers, he pulled out a scroll, which he took back to the table. Laying the scroll on the table and unfurling it revealed that it was a large map of Konoha.

"This isn't bad," Jiraiya remarked. "Though the cartography is slightly off. Anyway, beneath Konoha there are a series of underground bunkers." Unseal a brush and some ink, Jiraiya quickly circled several areas of Konoha. "These bunkers were created by the Nidaime Hokage in the event that Konoha was ever invaded. They were supposed to protect the civilians while giving the shinobi ambush points from which to attack."

"But that changed once Old Man Sarutobi made those bunkers inside of the Hokage Monument, right?" Naruto said.

"Right." Jiraiya nodded. "I had always assumed the Root forces were located in one of these bunkers, but I could never find them." He paused. "However, what if I was thinking too small? What if Danzo expanded and connected all of the subterranean bunkers together? Root is a small force consisting of no more than two hundred ninja. They could easily move from one bunker to the next and we would never catch wind of it. At least, that's my theory."

It made a certain amount of sense, and if that was the case, it would certainly explain how Root had existed for so long. However, there was one thing that bothered him. Jiraiya's explanation seemed incomplete.

"If they combined every bunker together, then it would be a lot easier for us to explore as well," Kakashi pointed out, coming to the same conclusion that Naruto had. "I think some of the bunkers are still separated. If they are, then it would mean that we would have to explore them one at a time. That would give Danzo and his Root ninja plenty of time to leave their current location, especially if they have a means of alerting them to intruders."

"Then we'd have to search the bunkers individually," Gai said.

"No." Naruto shook his head. "I'll send some clones, have them search each bunker, and place several hiraishin seals inside. Once that's done, Kakashi and I will go there and take all of the Root Anbu, along with Danzo, out."

"And Gai and I will create a distraction for the regular ninja," Jiraiya added. "We'll make sure the people who were trapped by Danzo's genjutsu don't bother you."

"While I certainly don't mind going with you, wouldn't it be better if Jiraiya went instead?" asked Kakashi.

Shaking his head once more, Naruto said, "no. Jiraiya is strong, and he has a lot of experience, but he doesn't have a Sharingan. Tsunade and Jiraiya are both kage level ninja, yet even Tsunade has been ensnared. That means his jutsu, whatever is, is so powerful that not even a kage can withstand it. That's why I need you to come with me. Your Sharingan is probably the only thing that can counteract Danzo's jutsu."

"That makes sense," Kakashi said. "I can see you've thought this through."

"What kind of distraction should Lord Jiraiya and I perform?" asked Gai.

"You two are going to cause a ruckus and force everyone's attention onto you," Naruto said. "It doesn't matter what method you choose, so long as you can guarantee none of our regular forces will follow us."

"Yosh!" Gai saluted. "Just leave this to Lord Jiraiya and me. We will definitely provide an adequate distraction, and if we cannot, then I shall run around Konoha on my hands for ten days without rest!"

"I'm sure," Naruto said, a trickle of sweat trailing down his face.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto sent out several shadow clones, had them all henge into Anbu, and then made them go to each of the underground bunkers. While they did that, Jiraiya and Gai went off on their own. Their plan was to split up and cause a ruckus. Naruto didn't know what that ruckus was, but since it seemed like they had a plan, he decided not to question them.

It didn't take his clones long to discover the Root hideout. He was an expert at stealth. That was the reason he'd been able to evade all of the Anbu attempting to capture him up to this point.

It looks like Danzo has several seals set up to ensure he's not discovered, and to alert him in the event that he does somehow manage to get discovered. Crafty. However, the seals are basic. So long as someone knows what to look for, something like that will never work.

Naruto didn't discount the idea that there were other seals hidden there that he missed. Even so, he was positive that wasn't the case. Hiding seals within seals, hiding seals underneath illusions, these were techniques only masters of Jiraiya and his caliber could do. There was no one else like that in Konoha. In all likelihood, there was no one who could do that outside of him and Jiraiya in the entire Elemental Nations.

"This place is pretty decrepit, isn't it?" Kakashi asked as he and Naruto descended down a flight of metal stairs. Their footsteps were silent.

"It looks like these bunkers are in disrepair," Naruto said. "They probably never fixed them since there wasn't much point, and Root can't afford to spend money on something so frivolous."

Kakashi nodded. "By the way, this technique of yours is quite ingenious. I never thought to send chakra into my feet to act as a cushion. My ears are better than most, and even I can't hear our footsteps."

"It was something I learned when I was younger," Naruto said. "How do you think I kept evading chunin and jonin after my pranks for all these years."

"Good point."

They reached the bottom and looked around. Naruto sent chakra into his eyes, enhancing his ability to see in the dark. The room they stood in was pretty large, with towering pillars disappearing into the ceiling, and several passages that were too dark for even him to see through. Their footsteps remained soft, unheard as they slowly walked toward one of the passages.

There was no more talking after this point; not only would words be useless, but they might be heard. Naruto and Kakashi moved along the walls. Since he had better eyesight than Kakashi, along with the ability to spot seals, he was in the lead. Meanwhile, Kakashi, with a better sense of smell, stuck close behind him.

As they continued on, a small pit sank into his stomach. He couldn't explain why, but he felt like they were being led into a trap. It was probably paranoia. Danzo was a cunning old fox, yet even so, Naruto didn't believe he could have predicted that they would go straight for his jugular.

Then again, I can't leave out that possibility.

"Kakashi," Naruto whispered. "Could you please stick to the shadows from here on out? I'll bring all of their attention to me. If something happens, I'd like you to attack while remaining hidden."

"All right. Good luck."

Naruto felt Kakashi's presence disappear behind him. A shiver ran down his back. He had never thought about it before, but Kakashi was the ninja who had become a jonin level Anbu at the age of nine. This talent, which he had cultivated through years of hard-earned experience, was something that Naruto still lacked.

He took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to think about that.

Knowing that Root probably had at least one sensor, Naruto knew that he would need to act quickly. Once his presence was known, there was a chance Danzo would try to escape. He couldn't let that happen.

Activating the seal on his stomach, Naruto felt Kurama's chakra rush through him like an electric current, fueling his own power and covering him in a magnificent golden aura. Naruto still wasn't used to this power, which he had acquired after defeating Kurama in single combat, but it was the best ability to accomplish his goals.

He didn't waste a second after that. He burst into a sprint that caused everything to blur past him. He was like a streak of lightning darting between clouds.

Several Root ninja appeared out of hidden lateral passages, but Naruto didn't waste time with them. He cut them down like wheat before a scythe. His wind blades sliced through their flesh before they even had time to register what had happened.

With his chakra cloak activated, Naruto could sense the negative intent of others. There was a lot of killing intent all around him, which meant that Root really had been waiting for him. That was fine. Naruto blew past everyone, traveling deeper and deeper, to the place where he felt only a few presences. Danzo would be there.

"He's moving."

"I know that."

"He'll getaway if you don't hurry up."

"Shut up and let me concentrate!"

Annoyed at Kurama for his bigass mouth or not, Naruto knew that the fox was right. If he didn't reach Danzo soon, the man would probably escape, which meant he couldn't afford to move in a linear path. He needed to think outside of the box.

If Danzo is below me, then all I need to do is go down.

"Here we go!" Grinning, Naruto formed a Rasengan in his left hand, added wind chakra, and then slammed his hand into the ground. "Fuuton: Rasengan! Mother fucker!"

The ground beneath him exploded into a thousand shards, and Namikaze Naruto dropped like a boulder tossed into a lake.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jiraiya split off from Gai, who said that he was going to cause a ruckus and keep the regular ninja off Naruto's back. He didn't know what Gai had planned. Knowing the eccentric jonin as he did, it was either going to be brilliantly stupid or just plain brilliant. In either event, since Gai was dealing with the rank and file, Jiraiya had decided to go after the big guns.

In other words, he was going after Tsunade.

Upon reaching the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya scaled the walls with chakra. The window was already open despite how chilly it was outside. He had no trouble hopping onto the window sill and peering into the room.

It didn't take long to find Tsunade. She was lying facedown on the couch, several bottles of sake scattered around her. One of her legs had fallen off the couch along with an arm, but the other leg was resting against the armrest. Jiraiya couldn't see her face. All he saw outside of her legs was her plump ass.

Her ass is just as amazing as I remembered.

On any other occasion, Jiraiya would have used this moment to pretend like he was going to sneak a peek. He didn't do that. Instead, he climbed down from the window sill and walked over to Tsunade. Cute little snores issued from her lips. Her face was turned away from the headrest, so he could see her closed eyes, small nose, and pink lips. Flushed cheeks let him know that she was drunk. Not that he needed confirmation, given the number of sake bottles scattered around the floor.

Crouching down, Jiraiya reached out and placed his hand on Tsunade's head. He ran his fingers through her hair, and said, "Hey, Tsunade. You awake?"

Tsunade groaned. Stirring, she opened her eyes and fluttered them several times. "Jiraiya…? What are you…?"

"I came to check up on you. It looks like you've gotten yourself drunk while on the job," Jiraiya teased. "What kind of example are you trying to set for your ninja?"

"Oh, shut up, Jiraiya," Tsunade said with a groan as she sat up. She held a hand to her head and closed her eyes as though trying to block off a migraine. "So, what did you want? Come here to make fun of my drinking habits?"

"You know I'd never do that," Jiraiya said. The grin he wore soon left, replaced by a somber expression. "Is it true that you've placed a warrant out for Naruto's arrest?"

"that's right." Tsunade glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I know that he's your pupil, but Naruto has betrayed Konoha. My hands are tied."

"What has he done?"

Tsunade sighed as though exhausted and said, "while all of us were at the summit, the inmates at Konoha's Correctional Facility escaped and attacked the village. We've learned from eyewitness accounts that the people attacking were able to transform into strange beasts. I studied one of the cadavers, Jiraiya. The transformation is created using a variation of the Ten no Juin."

The Ten no Juin was the Cursed Seal created by Orochimaru. It wasn't a complex seal. In fact, recreating the seal was very easy. Only the fact that activating the seal required injecting a unique form of nature chakra found only in certain humans made it impossible to entirely recreate. That said, creating a variation that didn't rely on the unique chakra was certainly possible.

Everything now made sense to Jiraiya. Tsunade had been fooled into thinking that Naruto was the person who created this seal, which also meant she believed that Naruto was the person responsible for helping the prisoners break out. Of course, the genjutsu that she had been placed under made it impossible for her to believe otherwise. Thanks to that, it was doubtful that she even questioned her own actions right now.

"We suspect that Naruto has been planning this for some time," Tsunade continued. "Even for a skilled seal master like him, creating this seal couldn't have been easy. He had probably been planning to use the prisoners in an attempt to take over Konoha, or maybe even destroy it, while we were all at the summit."

"Do you really believe that, Tsunade?"

"I don't want to believe it, but what other choice do I have? There's too much evidence against him for me to believe otherwise."

Jiraiya nearly bit his lip. This was definitely the result of a genjutsu and a powerful one at that. Tsunade had always expressed her belief in Naruto. She would always say that he was the kind of person you couldn't help but want to believe in. For Jiraiya, this meant that even if there was evidence against Naruto, strong evidence that could hardly be refuted, Tsunade would never believe it even if Naruto confessed to her. Right now all she had was conjecture. Even so, she still believed that Naruto was responsible for the prison break.

Just as he was about to probe her for information, a powerful explosion rocked the whole of Konoha. Following this, a massive shockwave of power rippled through the village. While it was different from back then, Jiraiya easily recognized this chakra signature.

"That's the Kyuubi!" Tsunade stood up. She went over to her desk, grabbed her cloak, and put it on. "Sorry, Jiraiya. I'd love to talk more, but it looks like I need to subdue Naruto."

But Jiraiya wouldn't have that. He appeared before Tsunade, blocking her way.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade, but the only way you're getting to Naruto is if you go through me."

"You would stand in my way?" Tsunade asked through narrowed eyes.

"I would when you're not thinking straight," Jiraiya answered.

Tsunade grimaced, as though experience discomfort, but then she shifted into a stance and hardened her face. "I don't want to hurt you, Jiraiya. However, if you don't move out of the way, I'm going to force you out of the way."

Realizing that words alone would not get through to her, Jiraiya also set himself in a fighting stance. "Then come and force me out of the way, because I'm not letting you get past me when you're in this state."

Gritting her teeth, Tsunade's face hardened into that of granite. She peeled her lips back, revealing grit teeth, as though frustrated by Jiraiya's sudden and incomprehensible actions.

"Fine."

Tsunade threw a punch at him that literally caused the air to explode in front of his face. His hair was blown back by a fierce gust of wind. Jiraiya knew better than to let her hit him. He was strong, but physically, she was much stronger. He evaded, leaping backward as he went through a number of one-handed hand seals.

"Ranjishigami no Jutsu!"

His hair grew longer and hardened. It whipped around his head as though it had a mind of its own and traveled straight for Tsunade, who didn't even bother to dodge. She reared her fist back and punched it—tried to punch it. The hair avoided her attack and wrapped around her arm. Tsunade didn't let that bother her. She yanked her arm back, which caused Jiraiya to be lifted off his feet. As he sailed over to her, she slammed her fist into his face.

He disappeared and a log replaced him.

"Do you really think something like a simple replacement will work on me, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked as she turned around and threw another punch. She didn't hit anything. However, the air in front of her exploded with power. Like an extension of her fist, a fierce bullet of compressed air struck the wall. Jiraiya, who had been hiding there, was forced to move out of the way.

"You're going to make the Hokage Tower collapse if you keep fighting like that," Jiraiya commented.

"The only thing that's going to collapse here is you," Tsunade said before she attacked him again. Jiraiya did his best to dodge, but it was difficult. Tsunade's punches rent the air. Her kicks had enough power that a single tap could demolish a person's face. It took everything he had to stay ahead of the game.

I hope you hurry up and defeat Danzo soon, Jiraiya thought with gritted teeth. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up.

XXXXXXXXXX

Danzo grimaced as he moved swiftly down the hall—as swiftly as he could, at any rate. He should have known that using Kotoamatsukami so much was a bad idea. It was a technique that could only be used once a day, and it took a lot of chakra. He had used it twice in the past week, once to control several dozen jonin and clan heads, and then recently to put Tsunade under his control. The first one had pushed him to the brink, but casting it on Tsunade had essentially depleted his reserves and forced him to rest.

Now he was beginning to regret that.

Explosions rang out from above, the ceiling overhead cracked, and dirt rained down on his head. A massive source of chakra was above him. The Kyuubi. Even if the malevolence was gone, Danzo would recognize that chakra source anywhere.

Naruto was coming for him.

I don't think I'll be able to escape in time.

Reaching into his kimono, Danzo pulled out a box of chakra pills and ate several. His reserves were already about half full, so the pills boosted them back to normal. He had been trying to avoid using them since chakra pills took their toll on the user's body, but it sounded like he didn't have a choice anymore.

More cracks appeared in the ceiling. Large chunks of concrete fell down, denting the stone floor. Then, just as Danzo wondered if the ceiling would collapse, the area in front of him exploded as a figure crashed straight through the ceiling like a falling meteor.

Naruto was before him, crouched down low with one hand on the ground, blocking Danzo from moving forward. The blond shinobi stood up. His orange and black haori rustled as he drew his father's famous tri-pronged kunai.

"I'm glad I caught up with you," Naruto said. "Now then, Danzo, you've become a serious problem, so it's time for you to die."

Danzo knew there was no escape now. He had miscalculated Naruto's strength, and also how far the man would go when pushed into a corner. Knowing this, that battle was inevitable, he unsheathed his wakizashi from his cane and faced Naruto.

"It is not me who will die today," Danzo said. "What I'm doing is for the good of Konoha, and I still have a lot to do. You are hindering my plans to make Konoha great again, to make it feared, and for that, I will kill you."

Naruto clicked his tongue. "It seems talking isn't going to get through to you. Fine, then. Let's have our fists do the talking."

"Hmph. Your brash and impulsive attitude is going to get you killed."

"We'll see about that."

Danzo went through a series of hand seals and took a deep breath. "Fuuton: Shinkuha!"

Spinning around, Danzo released the breath that he had been holding. The air around him shimmered as a large blade of wind spread outward. The walls, ceiling, and ground was sliced straight through the wind blade. However, Namikaze Naruto was not. He raised his hand and sliced it downward, creating an even stronger wind blade that cut through Danzo's like it was made of paper.

"Fuuton: Kaze Shasen!"

After completing several more hand seals, Danzo waved his hand and created multiple wind blades. Each blade of wind slammed into the other, combining to create a giant wind blade, which slammed into the one that Naruto had created. The two attacks exploded. Air burst out like a paper bomb detonating, creating a shockwave that shook the walls and made both Naruto and Danzo skid backward.

Naruto was the first one to recover. He stopped moving backward by applying chakra to his feet. Then he went through a few hand seals of his own.

"Ranton: Sutōmukattā!"

Making a slashing motion with his left hand, Naruto sent a massive beam of compressed light at Danzo. The beam, a condensed combination of wind, water, and lightning, streaked through the air. The ground was slashed apart. The walls were cut. The air shrieked, howling as if it was being burnt by the powerful jutsu.

Danze remained calm and went through several hand seals.

"Fuuton: Shinkūjin!"

After performing the necessary hand seals, Danzo channeled chakra through his mouth and blew on his wakizashi. A greenish aura emitted from the blade as it was encased in wind chakra. Sliding his feet apart, Danzo entered a wide stance and, waiting until the storm jutsu was just about to hit him, sliced straight through it. The storm jutsu split in half. The two sides moved in opposite directions, cutting through the wall some more and causing the bunker to shake again.

So, this is Namikaze Naruto's power.

It was such a waste that power like this had gone to someone like Naruto. This boy was just like Hiruzen, just like Minato. Naive. He couldn't see that Konoha was becoming weak. He didn't understand that in order to protect the village, they needed to be strong, that they needed to destroy their enemies. He would rather get along with everyone and risk being stabbed in the back. It was sickening.

Leaping backward, Danzo went through another round of hand seals.

"Fuuton: Shinku Renpa!"

Danzo molded chakra in his chest, inhaled, and then spat out several sharp vacuum blades at Naruto. As he expected, none of them hit. Naruto avoided all of them by zigzagging across the ground as he ran forward.

A kunai flew into Danzo's vision. It nearly gouged his eye out, but Danzo leaned backward and avoided it. Of course, it was a hiraishin kunai. Knowing this, Danzo spun around to intercept Naruto's next attack.

Naruto never appeared.

"Hrrkkk!"

A sharp pain jabbed Danzo in the back as a hand burst through his chest. Blood dripped from the hand, which was coated in wind chakra. Turning his head, Danzo looked behind him, into the blue eyes of his opponent.

"I don't always need to use hiraishin for those kunai to be useful," Naruto said.

"So it would seem."

"This battle is over, Danzo."

"No. This battle is far from over."

Danzo molded his chakra again, but this time all of it went into his right arm. The skin around one of the several Sharingan's that he had implanted there closed, and Danzo vanished like a ghost, only to reappear several feet away. It was, in fact, the same place where he had been standing at the start of this fight.

Naruto frowned. "That's an interesting ninjutsu."

"Izanagi is one of the most powerful jutsu in my arsenal," Danzo informed him. "With it, I can blur the lines between reality and illusion. It allows me to control my own existence. This jutsu can revert even death."

"A jutsu like that must have a limit, though," Naruto analyzed. "I bet you can only use it a certain amount of times, which means I just need to keep on killing you."

"In this limited space, there isn't much that you can do," Danzo taunted. "You can't use your more powerful ninjutsu unless you want to bury yourself in here with me. What's more, destroying this bunker would cause the village above us to collapse. You'd kill thousands of innocent people."

"I don't need powerful jutsu to kill you." Naruto scoffed as he sped through a series of hand seals. "Don't get too full of yourself. Hyoton: Aisusupia!"

Just as the name suggested, a large spear of ice appeared in front of Naruto, gleaming brightly in the low lighting. Another burst of chakra sent the spear flying.

Danzo dodged it, of course. It wasn't like the spear was hard to avoid. Yet the moment Danzo moved to the left, Naruto appeared right in front of him and drilled him in the chest with a Rasengan. Danzo screamed as the jutsu ground into his chest, creating a large cavity, blood shooting everywhere.

And then Danzo disappeared.

He reappeared in the same spot that he had been standing on at the start of this battle.

Naruto went through more hand seals.

"Ranton: Arashi no Tatsumaki!"

Chakra gathered in Naruto's hand. Lightning coruscated across his arm, visible blue tendrils trailed over his skin and gathered around his fist. A swirling distortion of condensed wind caused the lightning to turn a greenish-yellow, and then water gathered, shifting the color once more to a bright white. He launched a straight jab at Danzo. A bright beam of energy flew from his fist.

"Fuuton: Shinku Renpa!"

Several more vacuum blades flew from Danzo's mouth, striking the beam of chakra dead on. Naruto's attack was clearly stronger. However, it was also unstable because so many different types of chakra were combined into it. When the blades struck the beam, the beam detonated with the force of a tempest.

The unleashed shockwave caused the entire hallway they were standing in to collapse. The walls crumbled, the ceiling cracked, and several dozen tons of rubble came down on their heads.

Danzo survived with Izanagi. Just as he was dying, he used the jutsu again. This time, he reappeared on top of the rubble. Staring at the destruction caused by Naruto's technique, Danzo soon pulled off the bandages around his arm. Three of the six eyes were closed.

I can only use Izanagi three more times.

He wasn't so foolish as to believe that Naruto was dead. The Kyuubi Jinchurikki was a powerful ninja. An attack of this level wouldn't kill him. That meant Naruto was either waiting until Danzo let his guard down to strike, or when he was unconscious.

As if to prove his point, the ground underneath his feet exploded, and Naruto burst out. Danzo leaped into the air before a Rasengan could pulverize his legs. He did several hand seals, inhaled, and then released the air of molded chakra.

"Fuuton: Shinkūjin!"

Once his blade was properly coated in wind chakra again, Danzo slashed at the incoming wind blades from Naruto. Each blade was cut apart. This didn't stop Naruto, who had already leaped from the ground and was coming toward him.

"Eat this! Fuuton: Rasengan!"

Danzo tried to block the wind-enhanced Rasengan, but the difference in power was simply too great. Naruto's Rasengan, created by rotating his chakra in hundreds of directions and enhanced by the cutting power of wind, sliced through Danzo's wakizashi. It then cut into his chest.

He disappeared and reappeared, once again, on top of the rubble.

The fourth eye closed.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Naruto appeared from above—two of them. One of them had a Rasengan hovering over their hand, while the other fed it with chakra. The rasengan expanded. It soon became the same shape as a beach ball. Then it grew twice that size. Three times that size. As the clone helping feed it chakra dispelled, Naruto thrust out his fist and fell toward Danzo like an avenging angel.

"Oodoma Rasengan!"

Danzo leaped back as Naruto slammed into the ground. The mountain of rubble exploded, fragments flying everywhere. Danzo coated a kunai with wind chakra and cut through the debris that tried to pummel him. He continued to move backward to gain some distance—

"Hyoton: Aisusupia!"

"Urk!"

He was speared from behind. Danzo looked down at the ice spear jutting from his chest. Then he fell backward with a thump, his eyes growing glassy.

He disappeared again. The fifth eye closed.

"I see how your jutsu works now," Naruto said as he stared at the newly reincarnated Danzo. "That Izanagi technique is just a powerful genjutsu that allows you to change reality to suit your whims. However, it requires you to sacrifice one of your eyes. You only have two left now."

"As expected of a Namikaze. You're ability to analyze my jutsu is remarkable." He went through several more hand seals. "However, do not think that I'll be beaten just because you know how my jutsu works."

"You're the one who's underestimating me," Naruto said from behind Danzo, who barely had a second to respond before a sword composed entirely of wind pierced his heart. He disappeared and reappeared again. The sixth eye closed. "You might be cunning, but I'm a lot more powerful than you are. You can't defeat me."

"It's when someone is confident enough to say something so stupid that they lose," Danzo said. Despite this, he knew that he was in a bad situation. All of his eyes except Shisui's had been destroyed, he was running low on chakra, and Naruto still seemed to have plenty of power left. He was at a complete disadvantage.

What happened to all my ninja? Surely even Naruto could not have killed them all.

That was a question that he would not get an answer to. Naruto created another blade of wind chakra and sent it flying toward him. Danzo cut it in half with his wind-coated kunai. He then sent a vacuum blade at Naruto, but it was avoided when Naruto suddenly disappeared and reappeared directly in front of him.

There was a Rasengan in his hand.

"Did you really think I was going to let this fight continue for any longer? This is the end, Danzo. Rasengan!"

Danzo knew that he didn't have time to dodge. He could have used Shisui's Sharingan for the Izanagi, but that would have made him even more powerless. He would have lost no matter what. This boy was simply too powerful.

Danzo sighed as the jutsu struck him. Since he had clearly lost, Danzo, in perhaps his only act of compassion, deactivated the Kotoamatsuki that he had cast on the ninja of this village.

Perhaps this boy truly could protect Konoha. He hoped so.

XXXXXXXXXX

The mind-controlling genjutsu seemed to dispel itself with Danzo's death. Naruto didn't know how that worked, since he had been under the impression that more work would be required, but the people who had been under its influence returned to normal. That said, Tsunade hadn't been pleased when she came to and discovered the mess that had been made of her office. Naruto heard that Jiraiya had received a severe beating for his part in that.

After apologizing to him, Tsunade dropped the charges. They had been made under false pretenses anyway. It wasn't like that mattered in the end. The real problem was Yugao.

She had been avoiding him since the genjutsu was dispelled. Whenever he searched for her, she wouldn't be anywhere. Naruto had even asked Tsunade, but the Hokage merely told him that Yugao had accepted a mission and wouldn't be coming back for some time. He was sure that the mission had been taken as an excuse to not be near him.

Naruto sat on the Hokage Monument, in the same spot that he always did, and looked at the village far beneath him. The many buildings interspersed with trees that swayed and rocked created a peaceful atmosphere. From so high up, Naruto could catch a glimpse of the people, not small enough to be considered specs, as they went about their business. Children played in the streets. Mothers watched them. Some old men were sitting around a table playing shogi. Naruto observed all this and sighed.

The village had become relatively peaceful again, but that peace was a lie. War was on the horizon. Pein had created an army from the displeased minor villages who wanted to climb in power. To top it off, Marada Uchiha was out there somewhere. Naruto didn't know if they were working together anymore. Tsunade had told him that Madara had even tried to convince them to work with him to kill Pein.

Things are moving in a way that I can't even begin to predict.

Naruto had always been the type of person who liked to go with the flow. If he thought too hard, it would just give him a headache. After training with Jiraiya, he had learned the benefit of thinking several moves in advance, but at heart, he preferred relying on his intuition and instincts. This new situation, while it didn't suit him, he felt like it would be easier to deal with than what he'd dealt with so far.

"I thought I would find you up here," Yugito said as she leaped down from the ledge above him.

"Hey, Yugi," Naruto greeted as she sat down beside him, hands going behind her as she leaned back. "Something up?"

Yugito shook her head. "Not really. I just wanted to see you. You weren't at your house, so I figured you would be here."

"You know me too well."

Naruto turned back to the scene of Konoha. However, a warm hand landed on his, slightly rough and with callouses from using kunai. Yugito's hand was probably not what a regular man would consider feminine… but he'd never given two squats about that.

"I heard Yugao's gone on a mission," Yugito said.

Naruto's shoulders involuntarily slumped. "Yeah…"

"She felt pretty awful about what happened, you know, about how she tried to kill you."

"I could imagine."

"What are you going to do?" asked Yugito.

"What am I going to do?" Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "The moment she gets back, I'm going to ambush her, take her back home, and screw her brains out until she realizes that I never once blamed her for what happened."

Yugito snorted and blushed at the same time. She covered her face with a hand, as though doing so would mask the redness of her cheeks. He thought he heard giggling but couldn't be sure.

"That sounds like something you would do."

Yugito scooted closer so she could lean her head against his shoulder. As Naruto wrapped an arm around her to keep them both stable, he wondered what the coming months would have in store for him.

It was probably going to suck.