ch 5

Jiraiya landed on his ass, face aghast at the ride he had just taken. To his left he spied Guerrera and his daughter, their faces in awe of their surroundings. Jiraiya himself was taken aback by what he saw. They were literally perched atop a huge, solid cloud. Ahead of them lay an island with trees swaying in the wind. A few birds flew past them, Jiraiya never would call himself an expert on animal life, but he was fairly sure that he had never seen birds that colour before.

Naruto bounded over full of energy. "Come on, let me show you guys my island!"

Jiraiya smiled - his mind racing. This place was impossible to find, extremely easy to defend. It's the perfect location for a hidden village. His apprentice was indeed the #1 most unpredictable ninja indeed.

He followed Naruto and laughed. Those fools in Konoha don't know what they've lost in the young ninja.

Senjii sat legs folded on the white beach of 'heaven' as Naruto called this place. A cooling breeze brushed his hair away from his face. A small contended smile was all that gave away his thoughts. His trust in Naruto was well founded.

At first he did not believe in this place, but to actually sit here, on a cloud in the sky, Senjii began to believe that anything was possible in this world.

He frowned slightly. His leader and friend Naruto was training to become stronger. Surely he too needed to work harder in order to be worthy to be Naruto's protector, his shield. His eyes closed as he gave serious thought on how he could improve his swordsmanship.

That night they sat in the initial camp Naruto had built months ago, a wild boar Guerrera had caught roasting over an open fire.

Jiraiya and Tenchi looked at their apprentice. He had put some surprising thought into this.

"I've been thinking about it since I left here. We need a supply of water, and electricity. This place is made from wind and there will never be a lack of it. Couldn't we use those windmill things to make electricity? And there is a lake not far from here with rainwater. It's fairly large. I don't know much about it, but I think it could last us?"

Tenchi nodded. "Yes Naruto, some wind turbines would certainly be a very smart way to generate the power we would need. I know a city where I can order those"

Naruto grinned at that, the first person to say anything he suggested was smart. Truth is he HAD indeed been thinking about this a lot.

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "The water could be a problem. We don't know how often it rains up here. We're not so high that other clouds can't fly over us, but at the same time, we don't know how often it happens. I'll do some monitoring. We could probably work something else out - I saw the ocean far below us on the far side of the island. Perhaps a displacement Seal to transfer some water to our lake. I'll work on that."

Guerrera watched his baby girl sleep in the little cot that Jiraiya had fashioned for him out of branches and leaves. He cleared his throat. "You have taken me and my daughter in with you, accepted us without questions of the past. This I appreciate. I will start over here with you; help build the village you dream of. There are many rocks I can mould to useful size. I would stay here with my daughter and raise her, if you will allow it."

Naruto sprang to his feet, "Of course! Tengoku accepts all who need somewhere to start over! Ninja, warrior and citizen alike!"

Everyone gathered around the fire grinned wildly at Naruto's outburst. His energy was contagious.

"What should we start on tomorrow?" Naruto asked, eyes burning with what his old friend Lee would have called the fires of youth.

Jiraiya stood up and walked over to Naruto. With a softness that was hardly becoming of a Sannin he pushed Naruto to the ground. "Sit down Naruto." He laughed.

"We need to see what funds we have available to start buying the wind turbines, plus a lot of other small things we will need to survive. Tools, storage bins for food. This is not something that can be rushed into without planning."

Senjii threw a large bag of gold coins to the ground. "Here are the earnings from the past months jobs. It should buy some of the items we need."

Naruto frowned slightly then grinned. He bounded back to his feet and ran into the darkness of the forest, away from the fire and everyone. Five minutes later he was back clutching a much larger bag of bills and coins.

"I found this the last time I was here. It came with the wind. Will this be enough to get started too?" He asked excitedly.

Tenchi opened the bag and briefly glanced at its contents. He smiled at everyone. "Looks like we have a village to start building."

"So when you said we," Naruto grunted as he lifted another rock onto his shoulders, "what you really meant was ME!"

The field they had chosen to build the village was close to the entry point, a rainfall lake sat right next to it, and large trees as old as time itself grew throughout. Naruto had thought it was beautiful until Tenchi had informed him he would be leveling the field himself

"We need to build your core physical strength and your use of the various Jutsu you've learned."

Naruto grunted and stared at the end of the field. He had placed a seal marker there. With a grunt he flashed himself to the seal with Hiraishin, Boulder cradled on his shoulder. He then walked an extra few feet and lifted the boulder over his head, chakra infused arms and legs giving him a small boost so that he could heft the big stone. He threw it in the pile that had begun to grow then jogged back to the starting point for another big rock.

Jiraiya and Guerrera stared down at the paper in front of them. They were beginning to map out the shape of the city.

"The first thing we should look at is layout. A protective wall of course, but that can come last. A few houses for us to live in. A central building for administration." Guerrera spoke lowly.

Jiraiya drew a circle in the dead center of the map. "Let's start with our main tower here. We can have lodgings in this tower, and then expand outwards. I think it best if we focus on building one thing really well first and then expand outwards."

Guerrera frowned thoughtfully then nodded. "Yes. I agree. Now the wind turbines should run along the northern side of the boundary. That's where the wind is the strongest. We can set up a wind farm there, and build our main electricity building here," drew a box on the map.

Jiraiya nodded this time. "Agreed. I'd like the water plant to be on the Eastern side closest to the lake. From there we can feed in pipes to the central building and anywhere else."

Guerrera looked up at Jiraiya. "There are a couple things we need to consider. I am a mason, and blacksmith. But I know nothing of the electricity grid or water plant. We'd need someone else to build those. All I can build is the shell building, but even that I'd need advice on."

Jiraiya sighed. "Yes, we need two engineers for this. When Tenchi and I go looking for the turbines we will see who we can find." He grinned. "But who wouldn't want to work in Heaven?"

Guerrera smiled and laughed loudly. "I have an idea for the style of buildings considering the name of this city and its location."

Jiraiya smirked. "I leave that up to you."

Senjii fell in behind Naruto, having been drafted to help with the clearing of the large field. He too picked up a large boulder and used his own Body Flicker technique to teleport himself at high speed to the far end of the field. The sweat rolled down his shirtless back a he puffed hard and turned back to jog and get another one.

"Hey Naruto," He called out to his friend as they jogged in unison. "Why don't you use those clones you made before and let's get this done faster?"

His sentence finished as they get back in front of Tenchi, who promptly rapped him on his head with a fan.

"Fool. You would look for a shortcut to hard work?" Senjii grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Naruto has been told no Bunshins. This is as much a mental experience as it is a physical endurance one. There will be no shortcuts."

Naruto nodded wordlessly. A smile spread on his face. "Senjii, you afraid you can't keep it up? I bet I can clear this half of the field before you clear that half."

A look of shock and then a feral grin split Senjii's face. "Oh you're on Naruto. I'll take that bet. Loser cooks for a month!"

Naruto grinned. "Deal!"

The two of them raced with renewed vigor to grab another boulder.

Konoha

Shikamaru fiddled with the piece of straw in his mouth as he looked up at the clouds. Troublesome, he thought.

"Hey Shika!" Chouji hailed him out as he approached. Next to him was team 10, Neji, Lee and Ten Ten.

Shikamaru looked over at them and waved them over. The hill he was on was perfect for cloud watching. Also perfect for talking with friends inconspicuously and discretely as anyone who approached could be seen.

"Hey guys. We're just waiting for the others now. " They sat down and within a few minutes, the 'others' showed up. Ino approached bringing with her Hinata, Kiba and Shino. With a nod they all sat down and looked at the clouds.

Shikamaru spoke up. "Ok guys, I asked you to come so we could talk about something important."

Lee, subdued for once, nodded. "Naruto."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, but more than that, the state of Konoha. The new Hokage is a warmonger. He seeks to ignite the flames of war with Suna and Iwa. The balls are already in motion on this one. " Shikamaru being the only Chunnin in the group so far had access to much more information than the others. Information that disturbed him.

"What the council did to Naruto was deplorable, he did nothing but fail to bring back that traitor Sasuke." The faces of all gathered clouded over with anger. "Who are we fighting to protect? Are we on the side of right and justice anymore?"

Neji spoke up. "It is more complicated than just that. Our clans have thrown their support, for the most part, behind Danzo. We cannot go against the clans."

Hinata pressed her fingers together and nodded. "Father himself hates Danzo, but believes we must follow his orders if we are to maintain order in Konoha."

"Hai!" lee stood up and shouted. "It is true the older generation does not have the will of fire needed to fix this problem! But out youthful flames burn brightly!"

"Sit down lee." Shikamaru scowled. "What I'm asking here is, what would you guys be willing to do? How far would we go to protect this our home? I myself thought of leaving, maybe wandering the world, see if I could even maybe meet Naruto again. But this, Konoha, is my home. I cannot leave it just because some fool currently runs it."

Kib nodded. "This is our lair. My pack will not leave."

Shino agreed. "Our colonies cannot be raised in any other area without much damage to them. The Aburame clan cannot relocate."

Shikamaru sighed. "Well then we must deal with the situation on our own, and efficiently. When you have an unwelcome growth, you must remove it."

Ten Ten gasped. "Are you proposing we assassinate the Hokage?"

Shikamaro choked. "No! *cough*. That would be suicide. We are a bunch of Gennins and Chunnin level ninja. We cannot go up against ANBU and Jounin level guards. No what I propose is a systematic attack on his credibility. Frustrating the leaders of this village while we build our support base. A base we could use eventually to overthrow Danzo and reclaim our village."

Everyone looked at Shikamaru closely. What he was proposing was treason to Konoha. But what was their alternative? Sit quietly by and watch their village die? The very morals they grew up believing washed away by blood thirst?

"How do we frustrate the leaders?" Kiba asked.

"Guerrilla tactics." Shikamaru replied. "We interfere with essential services, not in a serious way initially. We paint slogans, raise awareness."

Kiba frowned then a grin broke his face and he laughed. "Like how Naruto used to do pranks on the village?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Maybe not so simply but yes. We 'prank' them, escalating the seriousness until things come to a head."

Lee grinned wildly "Yes! Naruto's youthful spirit will live on in us! His friends! His army!"

Ino laughed, never in a million years she would be contemplating doing what she was about to with her friends. "So we're Naruto's army and we are going to terrorize our own village! Sounds great what shall we do first!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Are we all ok with this plan? Anyone who doesn't want to participate can leave now. I trust everyone here with my life, so I know the secret will be safe."

Neji stood up. "Naruto's army. It has a nice ring to it. I've already decided to forge my own destiny. This is a path I believe is righteous and should be walked down."

Hinata stood up as well. "I too will join. We must save the village…a...and Naruto too!" She added shyly.

Kiba laughed and bounded to his feet."Hell yeah lets make some noise!"

Lee jumped high and landed in his famous nice guy pose. "We will succeed in the revolution of our youth! The fires burn brightly in us!"

Shino stood and nodded.

Ten Ten shook her head and stood up. "I'm with you my friends. Things are not right the way they are."

Chouji nodded to his best friend Shikamaru, no words necessary, of course he would side with him.

Shikamaru sighed. "So troublesome. Naruto's army is officially formed. Now, here is my first plan."

Hidden Village of the Sand

"Gaara!" Temari's voice echoed in the halls of the Kazekage's tower. Her footsteps made no noise as she ran, paper clutched in her hand. Just days earlier had seen Gaara elected to be the newest Kazekage of Suna. Of course this was all tainted when Gaara found out his friend Naruto had been banished from his own village. They had sent out ANBU to look for him offer him citizenship in Suna. But Naruto had been nowhere to be found. Until now.

She slammed open the doors to Gaara's office and saw him sitting behind the desk talking to their brother Kankaru.

"News! I have news of Naruto!" Temari said breathlessly.

Gaara's eyes widened as he stood to his feet, palms on the desk.

"What do you know Temari?" Kankaru asked.

"He was seen in a seaside city in a country far from here. The name is the same. They're describing him as a city killer. He apparently destroyed the town as it was being pillaged by pirates. The entire city in one blast. I'm trying to find out more details now, but it's sketchy." Temari spilled her words out as fast as she could. "What we do know is that someone who matches the description of Jiraiya of the Sannin was seen with him."

Gaara nodded then sat back down. "Good." He rubbed his temples. "At least we know he is alive. And with Jiraiya he'll be ok."

Kankaru sighed. His brother had been very worried about his friend. "Well Gaara, I guess we should focus now on this letter from Konoha's newest Hokage requesting a meeting."

Gaara's eyes grew cold. "Yes, I think I'd like to meet the people responsible for banishing Naruto."

Tengoku

Naruto and Senjii pay panting in the grass. The giant field had been cleared completely of rocks and boulders. It had taken them three days and nights of nonstop work, but they did it. It was considered a tie as they both passed out at the same time.

Tenchi finished mapping out exactly what he needed as he watched their progress. The bond between the two had grown during this exercise. Plus, he hoped it would give them a huge appreciation for the work that goes into building a village.

He leaped off the ten foot tall boulder he was sitting on and was about to walk away when he turned back. Damn, forgot this rock needs to move over there too. With a quick glance downfield he swung his leg and kicked at the boulder. It shuddered and then flew across the ground and right into the pile of rocks.

Tenchi nodded then proceeded back to camp to see what Jiraiya and Guerrera had gotten up to.

That night, a recovered Naruto and Senjii stood amongst everyone else in their little group.

Jiraiya hefted the separate bags of money he had placed out.

"This bag has enough for the turbines. Our biggest but most necessary expense." He handed it to Tenchi.

"This bag is for tools we'll need to build and maintain the buildings as well as food supplies and storage bins." He handed it to Guerrera.

"This bag I'll keep is for the water plant."

Naruto nodded. "While you guys are doing that, Senjii and I will continue to prepare the land and area. Jiraiya has given us plans for trenches we need to dig for the water pipes when they come. Also we are to dig the foundation cellar for the tower we'll be building first. Right?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Good. Tomorrow we go our own ways and meet back in one month's time. Naruto I expect you to continue training in that time."

Tenchi chimed in "I want to see one new wind based attack by the time I get back. And you better impress me." Turning to Senjii he added. "I'll be notifying my daughter of my whereabouts Senjii. Would you like me to mention anything to her about you?"

Senjii stiffened then shook his head. He turned quietly and walked away from the fire. Tenchi sighed and looked back to Naruto.

"Please look after Senjii Naruto. He can be a bit impulsive and stubborn."

Jiraiya almost choked. Didn't Tenchi know who he was talking to? That was like asking a wolf to guard another wolf.

Tomorrow their individual errands would begin, and Naruto and Senjii would be alone to build and train.

One week later - Konoha

"Ahh! My water is running orange!" A woman's voice split the early morning.

"Mine too!" Another voice, and another joined the rising cacophony. Every tap that was opened gushed forth bright orange water. Those brave enough to try it, realized it was just colored, had no taste and was in fact normal water. With the unfortunate side effect of painting whatever it touched a bright orange colour.

An explosion rocked the village and Danzo looked out over his balcony at the orange fountains, the orange drains where the water ran, and the words that suddenly appeared in the sky above Konoha.

"Naruto's Army strikes back! Down with the dictator Danzo!"

His fists clenched, Danzo bit back a curse as he ordered his ANBU to investigate.