2

UCHIHA CLAN ENCLAVE,

FUGAKU UCHIHA'S HOME,

"As expected of my son," Fugaku spoke proudly as he eyed Itachi who knelt in front of him, "You have been accepted into the ANBU, and that too as a member of the squad of the ANBU Commander himself," the Uchiha clan head spoke as he eyed his eldest son as if he was a prized commodity.

Meanwhile, young Sasuke Uchiha, the second son of the Uchiha clan head was trying futilely to gain the attention of his father but was failing miserably. If Fugaku noticed those attempts, he paid no heed to it.

"Itachi, as a clan head, I am privy to what this mission is, and I need not impress upon you the importance of this mission. It is your luck that for your evaluation mission, you have landed a mission which many ANBU would give an arm and a leg to be assigned to. I have no doubts that the success of this mission will go a long way in helping our clan integrating with the rest of the village, which is why I have decided to ask Hokage-sama to permit me to accompany you along as well," his father spoke in a soft tone as Itachi nodded softly.

"Furthermore, this is a great opportunity for you to make an impression on the person you are escorting. Do you understand?" Fugaku spoke in a quiet tone as his eyes morphed to reveal the Sharingan.

"I do," Itachi spoke softly, "But, I am afraid that I will have to refuse this mission," he spoke with a soft smile as he looked at his father who almost stumbled in shock.

"Are you out of your mind?" Fugaku nearly screamed, his jowls quivering with anger as his eyes flashed red, "Itachi, do you not understand the significance of this mission? You are the pipe connecting the village to the clan, did you forget?" he spoke softly as Itachi nodded.

"I do, however, tomorrow is an important day for me as well. Tomorrow Sasuke begins at the academy and it is the most important day of his life, and it is necessary for someone from the family to be with him. And if you are also going to be on the mission, then he will be left alone, therefore, I will request the Hokage to let you go in my stead. Surely, even you too must have received the notification from the academy, after all, isn't that so, father?" Itachi spoke softly as Fugaku stiffened.

Itachi continued in the same light tone, "After all, missions will always arise, but I have only one brother, and this day will come in his life only once," Itachi spoke as the young boy looked at him in gratitude.

"Very well, I will go to the academy, you concentrate on the mission," Fugaku spoke softly as Sasuke's face lit up in happiness.

"Thank you, Nii-san," Sasuke spoke as soon as their father left, "thank you very much," the boy spoke again, but Itachi could detect the faint resentment in the boy's mind, that their father favored him more.

"Father can be difficult, Sasuke, but that doesn't mean that he ignores you, you see, the reason why he is so interested in this mission is because it is going to change the entire village, that is why" Itachi spoke softly as the boy's eyes widened.

"Wow, what mission is that?" Sasuke asked in wonder as his eyes widened.

"You know I can't tell you, Sasuke," Itachi spoke with a sigh as his brother pouted.

"Fine," the elder Uchiha sighed as he saw his brother's pouting face, "It will soon be public anyway, however, you must keep it a secret until I return," Itachi warned as the eager young boy nodded quickly.

"I am going with my team to bring the Godaime Hokage back to Konoha; in five days, the Sandaime will retire and the village will have a new Hokage. I am going with my ANBU team to escort the new Hokage back to the village," Itachi spoke softly as the boy's eyes widened. His already sycophantic adoration of his elder brother shot to hitherto unseen levels as he heard the kind of mission his brother would be going on.

TWO DAYS LATER, NEAR OTAFUKU GAI,

Near Otafuku Gai, Kakashi and his team, dressed as normal civilians, were sitting quietly in a bar with Jiraiya, who had met up with them there.

It was the first time that Itachi had met up with a Sannin, but as he analyzed the man who sat in front of him, the youngster realized that the stories did not do the man true Justice. His chakra was so potent that for a second, his Sharingan had been blinded, and the only other persons with whom that had occurred were the Hokage and his father, but even they paled in comparison to Jiraiya.

"All right, Gaki's," Jiraiya began with a thin smile as he noticed the ANBU squad looking at him with disguised awe, while Kakashi lazed around, reading his book. He and Kakashi went back a long time; it came with tradition after all, he had trained Minato, Minato had trained Kakashi, and as such Kakashi was inner circle, besides, he was Sakumo's kid, and that counted as well.

"The terrain we are going into is very rough, and although I would have preferred to do this alone, I too agree with Sarutobi-sensei that having you around would be useful. Kumo-nin are getting too frisky in these areas. So, know this, you are here to play escort that is all, and I warn you before hand, keep your mouths shut. If you shout your mouth off in front of Tsunade-hime, that will be the last thing you will ever do. Keep your mouths shut, and your ears open, and everything will go smoothly," Jiraiya finished as the members of the ANBU squad nodded gingerly.

"How far do we need to go, Jiraiya-sama?" Yuugao asked quietly. She was all raring up to go and meet the woman who was known worldwide as the greatest Kunoichi to be ever born.

"It is about thirty miles to the west, in the canyons of the mountains bordering the land of Iron, near the three gorges hill, a very remote and very inhospitable area, and very deadly," Jiraiya spoke softly. The eyes of the others widened.

"The Land of Iron? Isn't that the Samurai Land?" Kakashi asked quietly as the others fell silent.

"Samurai Land?" Itachi asked in confusion after seeing everybody else fall silent, unaware of the significance of that statement unlike everybody else.

"The Land of Iron," Jiraiya began as he looked at Itachi, "is a land that is formed by the three mountains area, and it is a neutral nation with a strong military on par with the five nations. They have no ninjas of their own, and the ninjas of the elemental lands avoid that nation as well. Their lands are guarded zealously by Samurai, who are numerous and strong," Jiraiya spoke softly.

"Then why did Tsunade-sama choose such an inhospitable and inaccessible land to live in?" Itachi asked quietly.

"You will know when we reach the area," Jiraiya spoke enigmatically and that was that.

Soon, their party left for the Land of Iron, with Jiraiya regaling them all along the way through anecdotes of the past, including him and Tsunade, as well as stories about him and the Yondaime, when he was his student. Needless to say, the journey progressed in a much jollier mood than they had expected.

NINE HOURS LATER,

The journey had been arduous, and the path was extremely difficult. Narrowly winding, strewn with jagged rocks and deep crevices, and many dangerous plants lying about, it was clear that this was a very remote area. And a very inhospitable one, as well, which raised the question as to why a ninja of Tsunade's caliber and pedigree would deign to live in such an inhospitable area in the minds of the ANBU members.

Meanwhile, the shrubs at the end of the path rustled, and instantly the hands of all the ANBU members went to their weapons as they took guard. Suddenly, a person stumbled out of the shrubs.

It was a woman in her late twenties, wearing a chain-mail shirt and a black kimono. She had brunette hair, and her gait gave away the evidence of her shinobi training. She was, they all noted, rather plain looking, but attractive in her own way.

"Ah, Shizune, good to see you again," Jiraiya spoke in a warm tone, at which the ANBU released the hold on their weapons by a fraction.

"Who…Jiraiya-sama, is that you?" the woman spoke in surprise as she recognized the toad Sannin. "And…is that…Kakashi?" she asked in wonder as she eyed his subordinates. Her cheeks took a rosy tint as she looked at Kakashi, who waved haphazardly in his usual manner.

"Everyone," Jiraiya spoke for the benefit of the ANBU who were still eyeing the brunette with disguised caution, "This is Shizune, the apprentice of Tsunade. She has been staying with her for more than twenty years now. You can all relax now, we are here," Jiraiya spoke as the ANBU nodded and slowly bowed to the medic.

"Shizune, I presume that you know why we are here?" Jiraiya asked the young woman who nodded with a smile.

"Hai, Enma-dono brought the message two days back, we have been busy preparing for it, but…" she stopped as hesitation entered her voice and looked at the Sannin.

"What is wrong, Shizune?" Jiraiya asked quietly as the young woman began to fidget.

"Shizune…" Jiraiya glared and she wilted under his stare, "Well, ano, you see...for the last few weeks, we have been having some problems with a group of bandits," Shizune spoke softly as the eyes of the ninja hardened.

"Well, you see, they are all Ronin, and they have become quite a nuisance in these areas. However, they made the terrible mistake of offending Tsunade-sama, who killed their leader and sent his head to them as a message and warning," she spoke with a quiet tone as the eyes of the ANBU widened.

"However, because of that, those bandits have become incensed, and as such, they…," she paused as she looked down and clawed the ground with her feet.

Jiraiya cleared his throat, at which the girl gulped and continued hastily, "Well, because of that, they waited for a time when we were not at home, and razed our house to the ground, and Tsunade-sama is rather angry at that…," she spoke quietly as the eyes of everyone widened.

"Shizune-san, where are these bandits?" Itachi asked softly as she looked at the young shinobi in surprise.

"These bandits have dared to attack the home of the Godaime Hokage, and for that crime, their life is forfeit. Where are they located?" Yuugao asked softly as Shizune fidgeted even more.

Suddenly, the atmosphere was disturbed as a loud crack of thunder was heard. Jiraiya's eyes instantly widened.

"He has gone after them, hasn't he?" he asked Shizune in a soft tone as the woman nodded.

"I was trying to find him, before he reached those Ronin, but it seems that I have failed," Shizune spoke softly.

"Let us get to him first, we will go to Tsunade-hime later, or is she with him as well?" Jiraiya asked quickly as he dropped his jolly façade and became serious.

"No, she is at the campsite, we were preparing to leave to Konoha anyways, he however decided to deal with those Ronin before we left. He was away on a training trip you see, so he did not know anything about this, but when he learned of this, well, things just spiraled out of control," she spoke when suddenly another loud crack of lightning was heard.

"Let us go…," Jiraiya spoke without preamble and made for the area where the sounds of lightning had come from. Kakashi and the others along with Shizune followed him without a word.

As they neared the area, Jiraiya signaled them to halt and they all stopped and took positions, with Kunai and swords drawn, and on guard as they observed the field.

In the clearing which was visible, a battle was taking place, or rather, was about to take place.

Around seventy rogue samurai, with swords drawn and enhanced by Chakra were surrounding an individual at whose feet two smoking corpses were seen lying around. It was now clear as to why they had heard the sounds of lightning from this area.

The Samurai were all wearing identical body armor and helmets with masks, which covered their faces, and they had surrounded the individual by encircling him completely.

The individual on the other hand, they noticed, was standing still without a trace of fear in his eyes. He was a young man, around twenty years of age, and he had white hair, which was tied in a long ponytail which reached up to the middle of his back. He was wearing a chain-mail shirt covered by a white Hakama and white pants along with wooden sandals. His forehead as well as forearms were covered by strips of white clothes as though they were bandages. His ensemble was finally completed by a thin sword which hung around his back and a shuriken holster which was strapped on his left shoulder.

"Shit, we are too late, there is no stopping him now," Jiraiya muttered as he took in the scene.

"Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi began when the Sannin raised his hands.

"Be silent, Kakashi, and watch. You are about to see a show unlike any other," Jiraiya spoke softly as he looked at the scene. The others, if they found the conversation strange, remained silent and did not comment. Shizune, they noticed, did not seem worried, but was looking rather peeved.

Meanwhile, in the clearing, the assembled Ronin gave a yell and charged at the white haired individual. It was over in seconds, as the young man moved, and before the observers could gather themselves, they saw that all the attackers were lying on the ground, dead, with bodies and limbs scattered around,covering the land with a wet slick of blood while perversely leaving the young man's white clothes spotless and in pristine condition as he stood still and observed the carnage with a detached look on his face.

The ANBU were shocked beyond comprehension at the level of skill displayed by the young man as they watched the scene with their jaws wide open.

"Fast, very fast, even with the Sharingan, I could not see when he withdrew the sword, and I could count only half of the strikes that he dealt," Kakashi spoke softly.

One look at Itachi made it clear that the Uchiha prodigy too had fared similarly and had been unable to follow the battle completely. Tenzo and Yuugao on the other hand had not been able to even sense as much as they had, but it looked like Shizune and Jiraiya had been able to follow the battle.

"Oh, twenty seconds to deal with seventy men, it seems that he has finally reached a decent level," Jiraiya admitted softly as he looked at the young man with something akin to pride in his eyes.

Decent? This was a decent level to the Sannin? …the others thought incredulously as they eyed the Sannin, and the approaching young man with new found respect.

This is the level I must reach, if I am to succeed in my mission, Itachi thought stiffly as he looked at the young man in the clearing with calculating eyes.

"Who is that young man, Jiraiya-sama?" Yuugao asked in a somber tone as she eyed the youngster who was making his way towards them with respect in her eyes.

"His name is Raiha, Senju Raiha, the grandson of Tsunade-hime and the direct descendent of the Nidaime Hokage, as well as the last living heir of the legendary Senju clan of the Forest," Jiraiya spoke softly, as the eyes of the visitors widened comically as they gaped at the youngster who was approaching them with morbid fascination.

P.S. 1. As I made clear in the last chapter's post script, Sarutobi believes that the Naruto who is alive is actually the one who perished, and does not realize that this Naruto is actually a dimension traveler, and yes, the Naruto who perished knew that the Kyuubi was sealed in him, hence the casual manner in which Sarutobi dealt with the new Naruto when he woke up, being under the assumption that he was the old one.

P.S. 2. As of now, Naruto will henceforth be called Raiha in the coming chapters, but in his own self assessments, he will refer to himself as Naruto.

P.S. 3. Jiraiya already knows of Raiha, and has even trained him for some time, much of it will be made clear in the chapters to come.

P.S. 4. Some others raised the doubts that even a modified and genetically engineered Naruto would not have helped Orochimaru in escaping an attack launched by the entire Akatsuki roster and I agree. What you must realize is that Orochimaru planned to use that boy as a distraction allowing him to escape. While averse to handing over the Jinchuuriki to them, faced with his own survival, he would not hesitate to sacrifice even his most prized experiment.

P.S. 5. As for Naruto or Raiha as of now, he is currently 18 years old, bordering on 19, and just to remind you once again, the dimension traveling Naruto was already 13 years old when he arrived in this dimension, and it is already five years after his arrival by this chapter, meaning which, he is around 18 years old biologically, but with Orochimaru's modifications, his body has matured faster, and he looks older than he actually is. Tsunade and Sarutobi believe that he aged by six years when the Kyuubi left his body, and they have not been able to solve that phenomenon yet, not to mention that they have not even realized that he is not the Naruto that they believe him to be. They think that he is a seven year old boy who aged by six years when his demon left him, and they have looked after him ever since.

P.S. 6. By now, he has gained a complete mastery over the abilities he has been given. As of now, his power matches if not nearly exceeds Kakashi's, and once he gains the Summons and masters them, he will probably reach the level of the White Fang, Kakashi's father. As for complaints about over powering, come on people, Pein used a single technique to nuke an entire village, compared to that, I don't see how anything I do can stack up, and that is if we ignore characters like Hashirama and Madara who play with Bijuu as if they were their pets. As for Jiraiya stating that killing seventy men under twenty seconds is a decent level, you must remember that for the past five years, along with his enhanced abilities, Raiha has been trained personally by Tsunade and Jiraiya, and therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the Sannin judge him by far different standards than applicable to normal shinobi. As it is, that fight would have been over in six to seven seconds if it had been one of the Sannin fighting it.

P.S. 7. As for Itachi, well, he has mastered his Sharingan, but he has not gained the Mangekyo Sharingan as he has not met Madara yet, and yes, therefore his skills are far lower than Raiha's, for the moment. The Hyuuga incident will occur next followed by the Uchiha clan debacle, after which we move to the main arcs of the story.