Chapter 18 Alliance Part Two

-Inside Room Number Thirty-Three-

Currently looking out of his room window, the infamous Shinobi no Yami (Darkness of the Shinobi) Shimura Danzo looked out at the vast site that was New Kumo.

As he looked out, he could sense the watchful eyes of Naruto's SHOCK teams on him, although he could not see or sense them, he could feel their eyes on him from the shadows.

As he continued to look out his window, he suddenly heard a knock on his room door.

After hearing the knock the old Shinobi slowly turned around, away from the window and answered with an "Enter."

When Danzo answered, the door opened and his fellow elder Utatane Koharu entered his room.

"Koharu-san, I've been expecting you" the elder man replied, where he then offered the female elder a sit.

Not surprised that Danzo was expecting her, Koharu took the seat Danzo offered her. Who then took the other remaining seat in front of her.

"I assume that you know why I am here?" Koharu asked.

"Of course, like myself you're concerned at the level of power New Kumo has, which has proven much greater than we feared."

"Yes" replied Koharu "With the knowledge of Library of Benzaiten alone, New Kumo has an overwhelming advantage over all the other nations. Even if Uzumaki says he is sharing the knowledge, he is the one who controls how much is shared and has unlimited access to it and as long as New Kumo controls the Library, they are the driving force behind the alliance."

"Agreed and now thanks to that foolish girl Tsunade we are under that boy's thumb" Danzo said with a frown. "No doubt the boy is purposely slowing down our recovery time by making us pay these concessions of his so that he can consolidate his power base now that Suna and Kiri are allied with the Heavenly Alliance."

"I concur" said Koharu "It makes sense, I don't believe he doing this to Konoha, simply because we banished him, he much smarter than he used to be. By having us send shinobi to help protect the smaller villages boarders and improving their shinobi, he's limiting our manpower, insuring that we are reliant on the Alliance protection and at the same time improving the fighting ability of his allies."

"Yes" answered Danzo, "And at the rate things are going it will be at least a decade before Konoha is back to full strength, although something tells me that will change once Tsunade retires as Hokage."

"What do you mean?" Koharu asked.

"Think about it, once Tsunade retires as Hokage who are the most likely candidates."

"Konohamaru and Sasuke" Koharu replied as she began to realize what Danzo was getting at.

"Correct, no doubt Uzumaki wants Konohamaru to become Hokage given their strong relationship. Once Konoahamaru is Hokage, Konoha will no doubt receive a new surge of support from the Alliance, which will greatly improve things in the village, where naturally the people will credit to Konohamaru's efforts as Hokage. But in reality it is because of Uzumaki, who would be using this to solidifying Konohamaru's position as Hokage and he will then use his relationship with the boy to manipulate him into doing what he wants, making Konohamaru nothing more than a puppet ruler."

"Yes I believe you are correct Danzo, which is why we must stop him" Koharu said. "Our best option is to get Uchiha Sasuke to become Hokage."

"That could be more of a problem than a solution" a frowning Danzo replied. "Ever since Uzumaki made his reappearance, Sasuke has not been as compliant as he once was. If Sasuke was to become Hokage, I'm fairly certain Uzumaki would make things worse for Konoha and make it look like Sasuke's fault, which would not very hard to do, since all the boy really cares about his killing Itachi. But that's if we can help him become Hokage, since given recent events such as his attack on Uzumaki, many people who once supported Sasuke's claim as Hokage, are starting to have their doubts that he is the right choice, including the Fire Daimyo."

"Do you think that is what Uzumaki was really hoping for when he goaded Sasuke into attacking him?" Koharu asked.

"That is very possible; in fact, I would not be surprised if that was one of his goals. Especially given how he manipulated the entire war to maneuver New Kumo into becoming the strongest of the five Shinobi nations and to eliminate or weaken all his major rivals."

"So what do you suggest?"

"For now, we must focus on limiting as much as Uzumaki's influence on Konoha as we can. At the same time I will also have my agents try and monitor New Kumo's movements as much as possible, since we have to find something that will weaken Uzaumki's hold over the Alliance."

"What of Sasuke?" Koharu asked.

"I will try and get Sasuke to fall in line with things, but if that fails we may have to finish what we started all those years ago and then try and find a way to get Konohamaru to see that Uzumaki is only using him."

"That will not be easy; the boy has idolized Uzumaki ever since he was very young, as has my Granddaughter Moegi and Homura's Grandson Udon. Even if we tell them, they will not believe us; in fact Moegi has barely spoken to me since Uzumaki was banished."

"What of Homura and his grandson?"

"Although Homura relationship with his grandson has improved in the past few years, I fear he will not be of any help. Recently he has been falling more into Hiruzen's line of thinking and will side against us on this."

"Yes I believe you may be right about that Koharu" Danzo said, since he had notice the slow change in Homura as well, where he began to have second thoughts over past events. He was even sure of this, given how Homura supported Tsunade's decision to become a protectorate of the Heavenly Alliance, stating that it was in the best interests of Konoha.

"It seems that the fate of Konoha is in our hands Danzo."

"Yes and for the sake of Konoha and all the sacrifices that have been made over the years, we must prevail at any cost" Danzo replied.

-The Next Day Alliance Meeting Hall-

Following their tour of the Library of Benzaiten, the visiting representatives were brought to the Raikage tower/mountain and to the Alliance Meeting Hall.

The Alliance Meeting Hall was a large round underground room underneath the Raikage tower/mountain. The room was filled with seats and tables in a circular pattern facing a large table where the heads of the Alliance would sit.

In the centre of the room was a small podium for someone to speak from and a small table in front of it, which held the different treaties for the various visiting nations. Above the dignitaries were the stands for the observers, which included the dignitaries escorts, the Samurai leader Mifune and Temujin leader and representative of the Oushu League and other observers who were there to witness the signing of the treaties. (11)

The Oushu League was similar to the Heavenly Alliance, where it was a coalition of nations from a foreign continent working together. The League was located on a continuant south of the elemental continuant and had recently become an ally of the Alliance. The Oushu League was built by an old friend of Naruto named Temujin, whom he had befriended during his travel before becoming Raikage.

Once the hall was filled and everyone had arrived, the large doors to the room closed and Naruto. Who was dressed in his official Kage robes and hat and was seated at the head table next to his wife Kicho (the Daimyo of Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country)), stood up and walked down to podium and began to speak.

"Today we mark a historic occasion for this Alliance, today; we mark the expansion of the Heavenly Alliance and welcome new allies and friends who share our dream of building a land free of war and conflict. A land where our children can grow up not knowing the horrors we have seen during our lifetime, a land, where people from different nations can live in peace and work together and build something worthwhile."

Once Naruto had finished his speech, the room filled with the sound of applause from everyone in the room. After Naruto returned to his seat at the Alliance head table, Zhuge Liang moved from his seat at the Alliance head table and walked over to the podium. There he then called over Kokimi (Iwa Representative) to sign the peace treaty between Iwa and New Kumo.

After Kokimi signed the treaty, a loud applause erupted in the room again.

For the next hour Zhuge Liang called out each of the visiting representatives to sign the treaties that would make them either a member of the Alliance or an ally (or in Konoha's case a protectorate). When a representative signed the treaty that involved them, the room would be filled with the sounds of clapping people.

Once everyone had signed the treaties, Naruto walked back down to the podium and took out a small sheet of paper from his robes and spoke. "Before we officially end the signing of the treaties, I would like to read to all of you a small speech that I have prepared to mark this special event which embodies my belief of what this alliance represents."

"This World we live in speaks in many languages, but only in one voice,

The language is not of any great Nation of this Continent or any distant far off land.

It speaks in the language of hope,

It speaks in the language of trust,

It speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion.

It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul.

But always, it is in the same voice,

It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us and the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born.

It is the small, still voice that says,

We are one.

No matter the Blood, No matter the Skin,

No matter the Nation, No matter the Religion,

We are one.

No matter the Pain, No matter the Darkness,

No matter the Loss, No matter the Fear,

We are one.

Here, gathered together in common cause,

We agree to recognize this singular truth,,

And this singular rule.

That we must be kind to one another,

Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us

And each voice lost diminishes us.

We are the voice of this Great Land,

The soul of creation,

The fire that will light the way to a better future,

We are one."

As soon as Naruto had finished his speech the entire room erupted into a thunderous applauds, as most were moved by Naruto's words.

After a few minutes of clapping and cheering from the majority of the people in the room, the room quieted down, where Lady Kicho officially ended the treaty signing. After which the doors to the hall opened allowing everyone to leave.

-Later in a Private Room-

Not long after the treaties were sighed, the shinobi leaders of the various visiting villages were called to a meeting with Naruto and his advisors Anisu and Zhuge Liang.

"Thank you all for coming" Naruto said respectfully, once he saw that everyone had arrived. "Now I know many of you were looking forward to enjoying the celebrations, but I'm afraid the matter of which I have to speak to you about could not wait."

"What is it that you wished to talk to us about Raikage-sama?" the curious Mizukage asked.

"First off I would like you to open the small boxes that are in front of you."

"What are they?" Tsunade asked, when she saw the small glass orbs and looked at them.

"They are called Projection Balls; I created them by using my knowledge of Sealing and a certain technique I learned about. They work as a two way communication link between all of us. All you have to do is place the ball in your hand and think of the person you want to speak to. The person will know that you want to speak to them when they see their ball glowing or feel it heating up. Once they pick up the ball, an astral projection of you will appear in front of them, as will a projection of them appear in front of you. It also has an added security measure, where I added a Blood seal, all you have to do is spread you blood on the ball and it will work only for you."

"Ah yes, I remember Saito telling me about this" the Mizukage said as she looked at the small ball.

"Impressive" Tsunade remarked, as she quite impressed with Naruto Fuinjutsu.

Jiraiya, (who surprisingly had been invited to the meeting as well) was equally impressed with Naruto's skill and was unsure if even Minato could have done something like this.

"As impressive as this is, Raikage-sama, I'm sure there is more to this meeting than to simply give us these projection balls" Gaara said.

"Yes your right Kazekage-sama" Naruto said with a nod, "Now that the treaties between the Alliance your respected villages have been signed. I believe that I should share with you some important details that involve everyone."

"What sort of details?" asked Hanzaki (Head of the Fuma Clan in Ta no Kuni (Rice-Field Country) and leader of New Otogakure)

"Details involving both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki" answered Anisu in a serious tone.

At the mention of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru, everyone stiffened.

"One week ago before any of you arrived here the Heavenly Alliance launched a multiple simultaneous attack on Orochimaru's network of bases across the elemental continent, severely crippling his organization" Zhuge Liang said, surprising everyone in the room.

"I'm guessing that Intel you got from the Shoton (Chrystal Release) user helped you do this?" Jiraiya said, since Guren was one of Orochimaru's chief lieutenants and would know a lot about his organization.

"Correct" said Anisu, "Although unfortunately both Orochimaru and Kabuto were able to escape our forces when they attacked. We believe that he has at least a dozen hidden bases that even Guren was unaware of, which is why we are sharing our information on Orochimaru and the Akatsuki with you."

"You're hoping that by pulling all our combine resources we can improve our chances in finding them" Tsunade said.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama intelligence network is especially valuable to us, as he has been following Orochimaru's movements for several decades and could yield some possibilities that we have not thought up of" Zhuge Liang replied.

At this Jiraiya just nodded and agreed to share whatever he had with Alliance on Orochimaru.

With everyone filled in on the attack on Orochimaru's bases, Zhuge then decided to move on to the other half and most important part of the matter.

"Now as some of you may be aware of, several months ago New Kumo learned that the members of the Nuke-nin group, who called themselves the Akatsuki were gathering together in one of their hidden bases in Mori no Kuni (Forest Country)."

"Acting on the news" continued Zhuge Liang "…New Kumo launched a strategic attack on their base and although we were unable to capture or eliminate any of them. We were able to force them to retreat without suffering any fatal casualties."

After hearing this all the Shinobi leaders just nodded, they had all heard about the attack, since it would be difficult for a clash between New Kumo and the Akatsuki to be kept quiet.

"Were you at least able to gain any information that could be of use?" Shizuka asked (Leader of Nadeshiko no Sato (Nadeshiko Village) and one of Naruto's fiancés).

"Yes we were, in fact the information we gathered from both the attack and what we were able to gain from our own intelligence is in the folders in front of you."

When the Shinobi leaders opened their folders they were surprised to find detailed reports on each other the members of the Akatsuki, mentioning their abilities, skill levels, weaknesses, what type of Jutsu they normal use and what effective ways to counter them.

Naturally the Shinobi leaders were highly impressed, since they knew how valuable this information would be when faced with members from the group.

As they looked through the folder, Gaara suddenly asked, "Pardon me Raikage-sama, but could you perhaps elaborate more on the two newest members of the Akatsuki?"

"I believe I can answer for one of them Kazekage-sama" the Mizukage said suddenly gaining everyone's attention.

"The blonde haired man is named Senchi Rēsā of the Senchi Clan, and he is formally of my village. During the great Bloodline Purge of the Yondaime Mizukage's reign, he abandoned his Clan and fled Kiri. He is a deadly Shinobi who is skilled in assassination; swordsmanship and he also possesses the Senchi Clan's Jinton (Swift Release) Bloodline limit."

"A dangerous enemy" commented the leader of Benisu-tō(Crimson Sandbank Island).

"Indeed, but what concerns me is his partner Saikyo, who is a member of the Amako Clan" the leader of Getsugakure no Sato (Village Hidden under the Moon) said. "Would I be correct in assuming that he possesses his Clan Bloodline limit, the Kuraingusandāparusu (Crying Thunder Pulse).

"Yes, he does" Naruto replied. "Saikyo is one of the few missing-nins from my village and is classified an S-class threat. In fact we believe he is the one responsible for not only the Yondaime Raikage's death. But also was part of the group that assassinated the previous Lightning Daimyo and his family, with the exception of Kicho-chan."

"What else can you tell us about the man?" Tsunade asked.

"With the exception of fighting and becoming stronger, Saikyo cares for very little. Even when the civil War started he forsook his Clan and decided to go rogue, stating that he was tired of his Clan's tireless pursuit in trying to dominate Kumo. In many ways he is like Kumo's version of Kisame, he is extremely bloodthirsty and a real fighting manic, and gets his trills out of fighting strong opponents. He also likes to play cruel and sadistic games with people weaker than him, to satisfy his narcissistic nature and enjoys challenging himself through forced fights."

"Sounds like a real peach" Jiraiya remarked as he looked at the man's profile and picture.

"Trust me, he is not a someone that can be easily dealt with, before the Yondaime Raikage's death, Saikyo was regarded as one of Kumo's strongest Shinobi and was one of the few people who could stand up to the Yondaime Raikage in a fight" Naruto said. After which a somber look appeared on the Shinobi leader's faces, since the Yondaime Raikage reputation as a powerful Shinobi was well known by them.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about him?" Gaara asked.

"He's also the elder brother of the late Godaime Raikage Amako Zankuro and is stronger than he was."

Upon hearing this, the Shinobi leaders frowned, since this just made them more concerned with the man, as the Godaime Raikage was no weakling either.

As Naruto and the other leaders discussed the two newest members of the Akatsuki, Jiraiya continued to read the information Naruto and his people had gathered on the Akatsuki.

Eventually he came to stop at the profile of the female member of the Akatsuki, whom he recognized instantly.

Seeing the surprise look on the Toad Sennin's face, Zhuge Liang spoke, "Is there something the matter Jiraiya-sama?"

"I know her"

"Tsk yea right, where did you see her at some bar or red district place?" Naruto said not believing the elder man.

"No I'm serious, her name is Konan and I'm the one who trained her" Jiraiya replied.

"What?!" said Naruto in surprise and joined by Anisu and Zhuge Liang, who were just as surprise.

"Jiraiya what are you talking about?" Tsunade asked as she turned to her former team-mate.

"Look at her profile Tsunade, don't you remember her?" Jiraiya said as he had the female Kage turn to the page he was on.

When Tsunade looked at the woman's face, like Jiraiya she recognized the woman, despite the fact that the last time she saw her was when she was a young girl.

"Her partner…did one of them have short spiky orange hair or did he have red hair and strange eyes?" Jiraiya asked, knowing that Akatsuki travelled in pairs and knew that Konan would never go anywhere without either Yahiko or Nagato.

"You are referring to the Rinnegan?" Naruto asked, surprising Jiraiya and everyone else.

"The Rinnegan?" Shizuka asked.

"But I thought that Doujutsu was just a myth?" the Mizukage said in surprise and confusion.

"I can assure Mizukage-sama, the Rinnegan does exist, I have seen it with my own two eyes, the one who possesses it calls himself Pain and he is the leader of the Akatsuki" Zhuge Liang replied.

Upon hearing this, the other Shinobi leaders frowned in concern as they had all heard of the legendary Doujutsu, which was used by the Rikudō Sennin. The original Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi) who founded the Shinobi arts and was said to have saved the world.

"Jiraiya why didn't you ever mention finding someone who had the Rinnegan?" asked Tsunade, who was rather angry at only learning this now.

Before the Toad Sage could respond to Tsunade's question, Naruto suddenly interceded, "More than likely he did it to keep the one who possessed the Rinnegan safe. He was probably afraid that if he told anyone, people like Danzo might learn of it and go after the person and kill him, before he could become a threat to them. He also probably did it because he believed that the person was the child of prophecy."

"You know about that?" Jiraiya said in surprise.

"Of course, Shima-sama and Fukasaku-sama both told me of the prophecy when I started my Toad Sage training, they even told me that at one time you thought Namikaze was the Child of Prophecy."

"Pardon my intrusion, but what is this prophecy you're speaking of?" Gaara asked who like everyone else was curious about what Naruto and Jiraiya were talking about.

"Back when I was young and was in the middle of my training in the Sage arts at Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage foretold that one day I would have a student that would bring a great revolution to the world of the Shinobi. This person would be the Child of the Prophecy and that my actions would determine if this revolution would be for the world's salvation or the world's destruction. At the time I believed the one who possessed the Rinnegan was this child, but after I thought he died and later started training Minato I began to believe he was the one. But now…"

"But now you think I am that child, like the toads do now" Naruto said interrupting his godfather and surprising many people.

After Naruto said this Jiraiya just nodded, since given everything that Naruto had done in recent years and given his new found Bloodline which was a transcended a Bloodline like the Rinnegan. He believed that Naruto may be the only person alive who could stand up to Nagato and defeat him.

At the same time Jiraiya also began to wonder what could have happened to Konan and Nagato to have them turn out like this and what happened to Yahiko.

When Jiraiya turned to the next page, which had Pain's profile, he was surprised to see not one picture but six, five of whom he recognized who were people he met or fought against long ago. Their appearance had changed slightly, where they all had black spikes in their bodies, orange hair. But what confused him even more was that they all had the Rinnegan, including Yahiko, which surprised him even more.

"What they hell is going on here?" Jiraiya thought, "Why does Yahiko and all these other people have the Rinnegan and where the hell is Nagato?"

"Jiraiya-sama, if you know something about this Pain person and his partner Konan, I ask you to please tell us. Any information you can give us could be very important" Zhuge Liang said.

At this Jiraiya let out a tired sigh before eventually speaking, "Forty years ago, after Hanzo defeated us and gave us the title of Sannin, Tsunade, Orochimaru and I came across some orphan kids. After seeing they had no-one to care for them, I decided to stay behind and spent the next three years teaching them the Shinobi arts, giving them a chance to survive. During that time the two boys Nagato and Yahiko were attacked by an Iwa Shinobi, but when I arrived to help them, the Shinobi was already dead. He had been killed by Nagato, who awakened the Rinnegan."

"So this Nagato person is Pain?" the leader of Getsugakure asked.

"No, the person here is Yahiko and the other people with him are people who I fought years later."

"Wait! Are you saying that six more people have the Rinnegan as well?" the leader of Benisu-tō asked with concern at the possibility.

"No, none of them had the Rinnegan when I fought them and given the change in their appearance I would guess that either Yahiko or Nagato did something to them."

"I believe we can answer how this is possible" Naruto said gaining everyone's attention.

"How?" asked Jiraiya.

"For the past few years, the head of my CIND (Central Intelligence Network Division) unit Masato has been gathering information on the Akatsuki. During our investigation, one of my agents came across a nuke-nin who was formerly of Hanzo's guard. He had somehow managed to escape the slaughter of Hanzo supporters after he was killed…" Naruto said but before he could finish he was interrupted by Tsunade

"Wait! Are you saying that the Akatsuki were the ones who killed Hanzo and took over Ame?"

"To be exact, Pain was the one who killed him, along with all his followers and their families" Anisu answered.

Upon hearing this, the mood in the room became ever serious. Since for many years the identity of the new ruler of Amegakure (Hidden Rain) had been a curious subject for many people, especially since he was the one who killed the legendary Sanshōuo no Hanzō (Hanzo the Salamander).

"You knew this and yet you wait until now to tell us?" Tsunade said with some anger in her voice.

"Konoha was not an ally and in case you have forgotten Hokage-sama you had a spy in your own council. Also after I revealed my identity, several of your Shinobi and people tried to have me imprisoned or killed, so you will excuse me if I didn't feel like sharing that information with you" Naruto replied in a cold yet authoritative tone.

After being rebuked by Naruto, Tsunade had the decency to look ashamed, as she realized she let her emotions get the better of her for a moment. Since she couldn't believe that the Akatsuki base of operation had been at striking distance from Konoha and they never even knew about it until now. Naturally after realizing her fault she apologized, which Naruto thankfully accepted, after which Naruto continued with his explanation.

"When our agent found the Ame-nin, he was able to extract some information from him, where he explained that six individual's each with unique powers and the same eyes had defeated Hanzo and conquered Ame. After getting him to describe the eyes the agent returned to New Kumo, where I had researchers look for any Doujutsu that matched his description in the great Library" Naruto explained where he then continued.

"After much research we discovered that it was the Rinnegan and after the spies I sent to Ame confirmed what the man told the agent. I had our researchers find everything we could about the Rinnegan and its abilities."

"What did you learn?" Mei asked.

"Not much I afraid, as details on the Rinnegan and its abilities are extremely limited, even in the great Library. But we did discover after several months of heavy research that the Doujutsu gives the person the ability to completely master all five basic nature transformations that form the basis of Ninjutsu. Meaning that wielder has all five nature affinities as well as the sixth paths."

"What are these Paths?" asked Gaara

"They are special techniques that can be used by those who wield the Rinnegan" Zhuge Liang replied.

"What exactly can they do?" Hanzaki asked, which Zhuge Liang answered.

"The first path is called the Deva Path and is arguably the most powerful of the six paths. It gives Pain the ability to manipulate attractive and repulsive forces, not unlike a magnet. Allowing him to repel any attack or to bring a person or object to him. The second path is called Asura Path, which is seemly a person who has been modified artificially, allowing him to use mechanizes weapons that are inserted into his body. The third path is called the Human Path, our knowledge on its full ability is unknown but from what we could gather, it is mainly used for hand to hand combat and from what we've learned from old documents in the library, it has the ability to remove souls. The fourth path is called the Animal Path, which allows Pain to summon various creatures, which also have the Rinnegan. The fifth path is called the Preta Path; it gives Pain the ability to absorb an infinite amount of chakra in any form, making it the perfect tool to block Chakra based attack. The sixth and final path is called the Naraka Path our knowledge is very limited I'm afraid, all we really know is that it has the ability to summon a humanoid being that has the Rinnegan as well."

"So are you saying that all these peoples have these abilities?" Shizuka asked in concern.

"No" replied Anisu, "During the interrogation the Ame-nin said that the group did not act normal and spoke together as one, as if they were of the same mind. After much research Zhuge Liang-sensei theorizes that given their numbers and how they acted, the group was not six people, but one single individual."

"How is that possible, is it through some kind of possession technique?" Tsunade asked.

"No, the people are in fact reanimated corpses, which Pain controls; each body uses one of the sixth paths, allowing him to use all the abilities at once" Zhuge Liang replied. "This means that this Nagato person Jiraiya-sama mentioned is in fact Pain"

"Hmm, that makes senses, but how is he able to control them?" the Mizukage asked.

"He is able to control them by implanting rather unusually rods in their bodies, which allow him to transmit his chakra into the bodies and control them remotely, as if they were his own body, similar in some ways to puppetry" Naruto answered. "We also learned after our attack on the Akatsuki that Pain has six separate fields of vision at the same time. Essentially working as shared vision for the Paths, this allows Pain to coordinate their attacks and to provide defense for them without a blind spot. He is also able do the same thing with his summons which have the same rods implanted into them, where he can fill in any blind spots he has with them."

"That would make it very difficult to fight him especially alone" commented Shizuka.

"Yes I believe that is why he created the paths in the first place" Zhuge Liang replied. "He can use them to fight strong opponents without risking harm to himself and uses the paths numbers to make coordinated attacks to overwhelm his enemies. That is why it is best to face him in a group of at least six or more and try and separate the paths from one another."

"What I don't understand is where did he get these strange rods?" the leader of Benisu-tō asked when he looked at a picture of the rods, since he never heard of such things.

"I'm afraid we do not know, even our Research and Development Department has been unable to figure out where they come from. All we know is that they get hot whenever chakra is being transmitted into them and that they are incredibly durable, where it takes a great deal of force to break them" Naruto replied.

"How do you know so much about them and how Pain controls the bodies?" Tsunade asked.

"During our attack on the Akatsuki, we were able to capture one of the paths and brought it back here for examination" Anisu answered.

"How did you do that?" Jiraiya asked.

"When Zhuge Liang-sensei came up with theory that the paths were reanimated corpses, and that they were being controlled by the rods in their bodies. He suggested that best way to defeat the paths was to sever their connection from Pain, by sealing the bodies" Anisu explained.

"Smart" muttered Jiraiya.

"If I may Raikage-sama, I am curious, if you know where the Akatsuki main base is, why have you not attacked them?" Gaara asked, joining the conversation.

"For several reasons, the first is that at the time that we first learned about it, we did not have the capability to make a direct attack on the main base and were still recovering from the civil war. Another reason was that we hoped to gain as much information on their movements and other bases as we could by monitoring activities from Ame" Naruto replied.

"But you have the capability now, why don't you attack like you did earlier?" Tsunade asked.

"Unlike the last time we had surprise on our side, if we were to move on the Akatsuki in Ame, one of several things could happened" Naruto answered.

"The first being that unlike our last attack, we would have to gather a large invasion force, since the forces of Ame are fanatically loyal to Pain, to the point where most people consider him a god and Pain himself claims to be one according to Zhuge Liang-sensei. If we were to attack it would be a bitter and bloody battle, which could result in a massive body count on both sides. Another reason is that the Akatsuki may be prepared for our attack, especially since they now know that we are targeting them, resulting in many lives being lost. Since unlike our battle in the base, they'll be out in the open where they can use their fully abilities. There's also the possibility that they may simply abandon Ame and we lose our only solid connection to them."

Hearing this, the Shinobi all frowned, as Naruto made several valid points, all nine members of the Akatsuki were very powerful and were not people that should underestimated.

"You being unusually cautious Raikage-sama" Tsunade commented.

"I have to be; right now the whole continent is still unstable from the sudden shift in power in the last war. If I were to attack Ame and it turned into a disaster, Iwa may try to take advantage of it and attack, drawing other nations and causing utter chaos, which the Akatsuki or Orochimaru would use to further their own gains."

"So your plan is to let them make the next move" Jiraiya surmised "That's risky."

"That may be true Jiraiya-sama" Zhuge Liang replied, "But for now it's the best move, right now we cannot afford to focus all our attention solely on the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. We will of course closely monitor their movements and follow any leads that may help us capture or eliminate them. Since we know that whatever they are planning, they require the Biju. So we know that sooner or later they will come after the Raikage-sama, the Kazekage-sama and the others and by knowing this, we know where they will strike and can make preparations for when they do. For now, we must focus on the painful process of rebuilding."

"Do the Akatsuki know that you are aware that you know that their main base is in Ame?" the leader of Getsugakure asked.

"We are unsure, but would we be surprised if they do by now?" Anisu replied.

"Then what's the point of monitoring it?" asked leader of Benisu-tō.

"Because there is still the possibility that we may learn something more about the Akatsuki, since only recently we learned that they have links in Kiri" Naruto said.

"How so?" asked Shizuka, who was curious, since this was the first she heard of this.

Before Naruto could respond, Mei spoke up and began to explain.

"After the death of the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura, it became rumored that the Mizukage was not acting of his own accord. Some of the more senior Shinobi even stated that there were times when the Yondaime Mizukage would act confused when they came with reports from orders he had given, and acted as if he didn't know what they were talking about. But later he would then return to normal and pretend it never happened."

"After his death, and given the strange events involving him, many people began to question if the Yondaime Mizukage was even in control of himself, given his odd behavior. But before a detailed investigation could be done, Shiro became the new Mizukage and pushed the investigation aside so that he could further his goal to eliminate the Bloodline limit holding clans. But it was noted that on the night of the Yondaime Mizukage's death, a few Shinobi notice a hooded figure wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it, leaving the village."

"So you saying that the Akatsuki were somehow controlling the Yondaime Mizukage and are responsible for the Bloodline purges in Kiri, using the turmoil caused by it as a way to maintain control" Jiraiya said.

"It is a likely theory, but we're still unsure on how they were able to control the Yondaime Mizukage and who was the person controlling him. It is possible that this Pain or Nagato person was the one controlling him using the Rinnegan, since as the Raikage said, it's full abilities are unknown to us" Mei replied.

"That is conceivable" Naruto said, "Originally we had heard rumors that the Akatsuki were formed in Kiri. But given what Jiraiya said about Pain or Nagato to be exact, I am willing to bet that they were originally formed in Ame, since that is where Nagato and the woman named Konan are from. It possible at some point they were forced to leave Ame, where somehow they were able to enter Kiri and secretly took control of the village by controlling the Yondaime Mizukage where they then used the village's resources to form the Akatsuki. Later after the Yondaime Mizukage's death they returned to Ame and took control of it, making it their main base of operations."

"That is indeed very possible Raikage-sama" Gaara remarked, since it seemed to fit with what they knew.

"If I may" Hanzaki said, gaining everyone's attention. "But why is the representative of Iwa not here? As the Akatsuki are as much a threat to them as they are to the rest of us, surely regardless of the past hostility they would see that it would be in everyone's best interest to work together."

"Normally you would be correct, but the fact is Iwa has a strong link to the Akatsuki as well" Naruto replied.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"From what our intelligence has told us, shortly after Ryoku became the Yondaime Tsuchikage. He began to frequently hire the Akatsuki to secretly fight for him during any quarrels his village would encounter, allowing Iwa to rebuild it forces without appearing weak. Even after the Akatsuki captured one of their jinchūriki, they refused to act against them and ignored the issue" Anisu explained. "The fact is we simply cannot trust them, where they could leak the information to the Akatsuki, hoping that we would either destroy one another or be weakened enough for them to finish us off later.

"Also" added Naruto, "Unlike you Hanzaki-sama and the Mizukage-sama, Berugu has good reason to hate me. I was the one who killed his father, which only adds fuel to the fire that is burning inside him, since I'm certain that Ryoku has passed on his hatred for my family unto his son. The only reason he has even agreed to this peace treaty is because he knows that in a direct conflict, he cannot beat us."

"But what of his sister?" leader of Benisu-tō asked. "She seems reasonable enough; perhaps if you spoke to her she could convince her brother to see that it would benefit everyone to work together."

"Maybe, but to be honest I trust her even less than her brother and I do not entirely know what she would do with such information. From what I heard Kokimi, has earned a rather infamous reputation in the Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country) royal court. Rumors say that she controls everything that happens there from the shadows and she was the one responsible for the previous Earth Daimyo's untimely death. She then framed his son with his murder and had him imprisoned, while at the same time maneuvered the late Daimyo's weak willed nephew to become the new Daimyo. Making him nothing more than a puppet ruler, allowing Ryoku to do whatever he wanted without issue."

"Do you have any proof of this?" Shizuka asked, since by law, Shinobi villages were forbidden from doing such things in their own country. If caught the other Shinobi villages would be obligated by international Shinobi law to destroy said village. Since if this was allowed, other Daimyo's would fear their own Shinobi villages and would be forced to destroy them or risk being overthrown as well.

"Unfortunately we do not, all we have is rumors and speculation, Kokimi-san is much too clever and careful to leave such evidence" Zhuge Liang replied. Who knew that if they had proof they could justify any invasion they made on Iwa and Tsuchi no Kuni or could use it to cause unrest in both nations and possibly remove both Berugu and his puppet Daimyo, without having to send their military.

After hearing this, the Shinobi leaders all frowned, since things had certainly become a lot more complicated, even with the war now over.

After another hour of talking and discussing what to do, the meeting came to an end. By the end of the meeting, all the visiting Shinobi leaders agreed to pull the recourses and work together in dealing with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru.

-Later that Night—

That night after the treaties had been officially signed; all of New Kumo was alive with celebrations, the night sky was alive with fireworks. The streets were filled with people, both Shinobi and non-shinobi, who were eating, drinking, dancing, laughing and cheering.

The Lightning Daimyo's Palace was no different, as it was filled with hundreds of people, who were celebrating the expansion of the Heavenly Alliance.

The palace was rectangular in shape with a large wall surrounding it and a large courtyard and gardens. It had two main entrances from the front and rear and several narrow connecting moats inside the courtyard and a larger one around the palace itself. Connected on opposite sides to palace by small bridges were the guards and servant quarters, which were also surrounded by small moats. So that in the event of an attack the palace could be easily defended on all sides. (12)

The inside of the Palace was very grand, it had nearly a hundred rooms, the hallways, floors and walls were made of white marble, and were lavishly decorated for tonight's festivities. It had both an indoor and outdoor training area, a large dining room for state dinners and private study rooms for both Naruto and Kicho, when they were working.

The Grand hall of the palace had also been done up especially for the celebration, where lanterns hung from the ceiling, and decorations hung on the walls and pillars.

The hall was also filled with large long tables and chairs for the visiting dignitaries, where the tables were lined with food.

In front of the tables was a large stage platform with a long table where Naruto, his family and the all high ranking members of New Kumo sat and ate. (13)

Once everyone had finished eating, musicians were brought in to play some music, while at the same time, drinks and snacks where being served to the guests who began to move around and converse with one another.

Not long after the musicians started play, Killer Bee stepped up and had the musicians play a rapping theme, while he entertained everyone with his "stylish" rhymes.

For the first few minutes most of the guest found Killer Bee's style a rapping humorous, where some quietly laughed or smiled.

But eventually Killer's Bee rapping came to an abrupt halt after he said "Dreams, dreams, dreams, dream, lots' o' dreams! My Dream is a middle aged Blonde woman's chest!"

Needless to say, the female Hokage did not take Bee's verse towards her breasts too well, where the Hachibi jinchūriki was sent crashing through several walls, resulting in the repair damage being added to Konoha's debt.

A few hours later, (after Killer Bee was taken to the hospital for his injuries), Naruto excused himself from the party and made his ways to his daughter's room, which was at the other end of the palace.

When he entered the girl's room, he found that they were all fast asleep in their beds.

Also sleeping in the room was Iruka and Anko's daughter Aiko, who had become fast friends with his three daughters, much to the joy of their parents. For much of the past few weeks Aiko was usually found playing with Naruto's daughters. Nene and Yoshiko had even started to refer to Aiko as their cousin, as well as their partner in crime, where the three of them could often be found playing pranks on people.

After kissing his sleeping daughters good night on the foreheads, Naruto made his way to his private study, where he then sat at his desk and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying some alone time.

Eventually he opened them again, where his eyes then drifted over to a picture of his parents, which he had recovered from his family home.

As he picked it up, he looked at his mother, where a small smile appeared on his face, but when he glanced at his father, who had his arm wrapped around her and was smiling, his eyes narrowed.

No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't hate the man anymore, even after spending ten years hating him. He could no longer hate the man after he fought him at Konoha, and it bothered him. For years he had dreamed on beating the man who had been the cause of all his misery, but when he finally did, it was not as satisfying as he thought it would be.

Eventually Naruto was brought from his musing when he suddenly heard a voice from behind him.

"Reevaluating previous beliefs Naruto?"

After hearing the voice, a Kunai suddenly appeared out of Naruto's sleeve and into his hand, where he then spun around in his chair to face the person.

When he turned around he was surprised to see that it was his former sensei Zhuge Liang.

"Sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked in surprise, while at the same time wondering if his former teacher was taking lessons in stealth from Masato (head of Naruto's CIND unit).

"Your absence was noticed in the Grand hall, so I decided to look for you" the Sleeping Dragon replied as he walked around Naruto and took the seat in front of Naruto's desk.

"I just needed to take a break from talking to all the representatives, since there is only so much I can take. Besides Kicho-chan and the others are much better at it than I am and they can cover for me for a while."

"Perhaps but that still does not change the fact that people will notice that you are gone, for in case you have forgotten you are the founder of the Heavenly Alliance and a symbol to many people."

"How could I forget" Naruto said dryly since Zhuge Liang never missed a chance to remind Naruto of how important he was to the Alliance. "It's just that I need a break now and again, that's all, and to be honest there are times that I missed being a Genin, where things were much more simple."

"Things often seem simpler when we are young, but as time moves on, things become more difficult and perspectives change."

"If you don't mind sensei I prefer if you get to the point, since to be honest I'm not in the mood for one of your mind games" Naruto said.

"Very well, to put it simply I was curious as to your feelings toward your father the Yondaime Hokage."

"He's my father in name only…he doesn't have the right for me to regard him in any other way" Naruto replied with a frown.

"I see" Zhuge Liang replied, with a blank look, so that Naruto couldn't guess what he was thinking.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because regardless of your status as Raikage, you were still once my student and I am concerned for your well-being. It does not do well to dwell too much in the past, especially if they bring nothing but pain and sorrow."

"I have moved past that, as far as I'm concerned my life in Konoha is in the past, I moved on."

"Have you?" Zhuge Liang.

"The fact that I haven't destroyed Konoha or left it to the mercy of the other smaller nations should prove that."

"Really, and the fact that publicly humiliating Konoha, with your life story and making it pay concessions and making it a protectorate, meant nothing?" the elder man asked. "Naruto you and I both know that what it is that you wanted to do was humiliate and shame Konoha for everything it did to you."

"You and the others never voiced a problem with my plans when I told you them."

"Because from a tactical point of view, you plan assured that New Kumo and the Heavenly Alliance would become the dominate power on this continent. The problem is that I am concerned that you may have forgotten why we first formed the Heavenly Alliance, which was built on nations setting aside their differences and as you so poetically said in your closing speech…become one."

"I have not forgotten anything" Naruto said, where he then narrowed his eyes. "The fact is Sensei you forgotten that there are still dangerous elements inside Konoha, elements like Danzo and Sasuke. Who would try to take advantage of any generosity I show and use it against me, seeing it as a sign of weakness. For now I need to keep Konoha under my thumb, at least until I'm certain it is no longer a threat to the Alliance."

"Perhaps, but don't forget Naruto you still have friends in Konoha, people who you know well and who have defended you in the past and they will share whatever you have planned for Konoha. Also if you are too harsh on the village then the later generation of Konoha will resent you as much as the older generation and the cycle of hatred and anger will continue on"

"I have not forgotten that either Sensei" Naruto answered, "So you need not worry. All I ask you is to trust me a little longer, as I know what I must do regarding Konoha."

After hearing this Zhuge Liang nodded slowly and said he would. After which he then turned to the next matter he was concerned about.

"And what of your father, what are you feelings regarding him?"

"I don't hate him if that is what you're asking?" Naruto replied calmly. "As how can I hate him after he said that he was proud of me and that he still loved me, despite everything I said and did to him?"

"But you haven't forgiven him have you?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"No, I may no longer hate him but, that doesn't mean I have forgiven him, he knew what would happen to me and yet he still did it" Naruto said. "Forgiveness should be earned not given and that man has not done anything to earn my forgiveness."

"Perhaps, but still the Yondaime Hokage was faced with an impossible choice when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. As leader of Konoha he was sworn to protect it, just as you are sworn to protect New Kumo. By sealing the Kyuubi into you, he not only prevented Konoha from being destroyed, but he entrusted, its great power to the one person he knew would not abuse it and could trust it with…you."

"Tsk, he only did it because of the tradition involving jinchūriki, hoping that I would remain loyal to Konoha, even when they shunned me."

"Naruto you do not believe that any more than I do. Your father was not the type of man who would do something like that, just for the sake of an old tradition." Zhuge Liang retorted.

"How would you know? It's not like you knew him?"

"Actually I did"

"Huh?"

"Many years ago when the flames of the Third Great Shinobi World War were beginning to erupt, I met your father when he was on a mission for Konoha. At the time he was sent on a mission to retrieve a dangerous artifact, an artifact that I was also seeking, which was how our paths crossed. When we both found it, naturally neither of us wished to give it up, but before a battle between the two of us could erupt, a group of Missing-nins attacked us. We escaped with the artifact and hid in a nearby town, but were followed, where we were force to work together to defeat them, while at the same time protect the artifact and the village."

"I'm guessing that the two of you defeated the Missing-nins" Naruto said.

"Yes, although during that battle one of the Missing-nins was able to steal the artifact from us. He then sent a Kunai with an exploding note tied to it towards a nearby building where some villagers were hiding, hoping that we would be too distracted with the explosion to chase after him. But instead of going after the missing-nin, your father told me to go after him while he saved the villagers, something that greatly surprised me at the time" Zhuge Liang said. "After your father saved the villagers and I retrieved the artifact from the missing-nin, we began to talk with one another. When I asked him why he risked his life from the villagers and why he trusted me to return with the artifact, where I could easily have fled with it. Do you know what he said?"

"What?" Naruto asked.

"He said that it was the right thing to do and that he could tell that he could trust me" the elder man replied with an amused smile. "A trait you share Naruto, and regardless of what happened to you when you were growing up in Konoha. What your father did to you was not just place a heavy burden on you, but also help you become what you are today. You have faced many harsh trials in your young life and they have helped make you stronger and the Kyuubi's power has helped save you and others on many occasions."

At this comment Naruto frowned and looked away, he knew his former teacher had a point, since on several occasions; the Kyuubi's power had helped save his life. But still it didn't make up from all the abuse he went through.

"Why did you never tell me that you knew him?"

"You never asked?" the Sleeping Dragon replied with a smile, which annoyed the Blonde Raikage.

"Whether you want to admit it or not, in many ways Naruto, you are more like your father than you want to admit" Zhuge Liang continued. "Not only are you both great Shinobi, but you also have a caring heart and would do whatever it took to protect those you care about."

"So you're saying that I should forgive him for sealing the Kyuubi in me despite knowing what would happen to me?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Forgiving him is entirely up to you, all I am asking you is to understand things from his point of view. If you were face with the same situation that he did on that night, would you not do the same thing, to save New Kumo, to save thousands of lives?"

"Even if I was in such a situation and I was forced to seal a Biju into Yami, Nene or Yoshiko. I would never leave them in a place where they would knowingly be abused, like Namikaze did, I would make sure than they were raised somewhere where they would be happy and safe."

"Perhaps, but you would still do it, which is why I think you should just let your bitterness regarding your father go." Zhuge Liang replied. "I'm not asking you to forgive him, I'm just asking you to move past it, that's all. As I said earlier, you are like your father in many ways, but you are still your own man. The Yondaime and Sandaime Hokage may have been too idealistic when it came to people's feelings towards jinchūriki. But I believe that what you and the other jinchūriki went through when growing up, was not in vain, because thanks to all of you. Any future jinchūriki in New Kumo and Suna will not have to go through what you went through when growing up and eventually jinchūriki will be respected by all Shinobi nations."

"How can you be so certain?" Naruto asked.

"Let us just say I have faith" Zhuge Liang replied with s knowing smile, causing the young Raikage to shake his head in amusement, since Zhuge Liang would rarely give a straight answer when it came to certain things.

Seeing that Naruto had much to think about, the famed Sleeping Dragon excused himself and left the room.

As soon as Zhuge Liang left the room, Naruto once again picked up the picture of his parents and stared at it for a few minutes, before letting out a tired sigh and placing the picture back on his desk.

Not long after, Naruto heard a knock on the door and after responding with an "Enter" he was surprised to see Tsunade enter the room.

"Hokage-sama, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Naruto replied with neutral tone and expression. "Also if you don't mind, could you tell me how did you know where to find my private study?"

"Zhuge Liang told me where to find you after he saw that I was looking for you" the blonde Hokage replied. This then caused Naruto to sigh again and mutter to himself, about having a word with his former teacher about sticking his nose in his private business.

"I see, well then please have a seat" Naruto said where he then indicated to one of the two empty chairs in front of his desk.

After Tsunade took one of the seat, Naruto then spoke, "So Hokage-sama, what is it you wish to talk to me about."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry" the elder woman replied.

"Excuse me?" Naruto said who was surprised by what Tsunade just said.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry" the blonde woman repeated, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to stop the council from banishing you. I'm sorry that I tried to deny you your inheritance when you asked for it and more importantly, I'm sorry for lying to you about not knowing who your parents were. At the time I thought you would be in even more danger than you already were if you knew who your parents were, given the number of enemies your father had. I know that isn't much of an excuse, but at the time it seemed like the right decision and I hope that you can one day forgive me."

When Tsunade finished, Naruto was naturally surprised, since he had half expected Tsunade to try and use their past relationship to lessen the penalties he had placed on Konoha previously before the Alliance Gathering. But instead she had come to apologize to him and he could tell that she meant it, since he could hear the remorse in her voice and see the regret on her face.

After taking a moment to get over his surprise, Naruto then spoke. "You didn't need to apologize, I had long since forgiven you for hiding my parent's identity from me. But I appreciate you saying it, and as for refusing my heritance at the beginning, that is all water under the bridge…Baa-Chan."

Now under most circumstances if a person called Tsunade Baa-Chan, then that person would be sent into orbit. But Naruto was one of only two people Tsunade would allow to get away with (the other being Konohamaru). But what would surprise most people even more was that Tsunade was ecstatic that Naruto called her that, since it meant that Naruto really had forgiven her and she could hear the warmth in his voice when he said it.

"Thank you Raik-"

"When we are in private you can call me Naruto" Naruto said with a kind smile as he interrupted the female Hokage.

Nodding at this Tsunade smiled back and said "Thank you Naruto, I wasn't sure if you would forgive me and that you would hold me in the same regard that you hold Jiraiya."

At the mention of the Toad Sage, a large frown appeared on Naruto face.

"As far as I am concerned that Toad is beyond redemption, he doesn't even deserve the title of being called my Godfather."

"Naruto, I know you're angry for what Jiraiya didn't do, but he regrets his decision for not raising you or even visiting you. When we thought the Akatsuki had captured you, Jiraiya used every single contact he had to try and find you; the both of us were even ready to kill Danzo and Koharu when we learned of their plan."

"Huh, Well I'm afraid that is too little too late, that ship has long since sailed, he had over twelve years to step up, but as always he shook away his responsibilities. Caring or even visiting his godson was just too much of an unconvinced for him" Naruto replied in a cold tone. Since as much he disliked his father for what he did to him, Naruto detested Jiraiya, he knew everything and yet he lied right to Naruto's face and hide his parent's identity from him. He even knew how Naruto would most likely be treated in Konoha and yet he never he went to check up on him once.

Naruto might had even forgiven the Sannin had he told him the truth after they first met, but he didn't, which was why he could never forgive the Toad Sage.

When Naruto finished, Tsunade let out a sad sigh and closed her eyes, as she knew how much Naruto's words would have hurt her former team-mate had he heard them.

Tsunade knew a lot about trying to run away from your problems, since she had spent several years doing that. Trying to find answers to questions she would never get answered, from the bottom of a Sake bottle and allowing depression to rule her.

Although Jiraiya did not go the same path she did, his was not far from it. He had spent years following Orochimaru's movements after he left Konoha, since he had never forgiven himself for not stopping their former team-mate when he had the chance. He also never forgave himself for not seeing that path Orochimaru was heading sooner, believing that he could have done something to prevent it. Jiraiya also blamed himself for Minato dying, (who had been like a son to him), believing he could have done something had he been there, which was why he became so obsessed with writing his books, since they allowed him to forget his pain for a while.

But now it seemed that all his mistakes had come into fruition in regards to Naruto.

After a few more minutes Tsunade and Naruto eventually left the room and headed back to the party.

Not long after Naruto re-joined the party, the former head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi suddenly walked up to him.

"Excuse me Raikage-sama, but if it is not too much trouble, could I talk to you in private?"

Having an idea of what the former Hyuga Clan head wanted to talk to him about, Naruto just nodded and led Hiashi to a nearby empty room.

"So Hiashi-san, what is it you wish to talk to me about?" Naruto asked when they entered the room, "If it is about apologizing, you needn't bother?"

"No, Raikage-sama it is not about that, as I know that you have every right to hate me, since I was the deciding vote that had you banished and I have no right to ask for your forgiveness" Hiashi replied with shame.

"Actually that isn't what I meant, I mean I don't hate you" the blonde Kage replied, which greatly surprised the former Hyuga head.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I don't hate you" the blonde repeated, "Sure for the first couple of years I hated you and blamed you for having me banished. But later I realized that being banished from Konoha was the best thing to happen to me. If I hadn't been banished I would never have met Mitsuhide-sensei, Saiyuri-sensei, Anisu, Zhuge Liang-sensei or any of the others in Kumo. I also would never have become the Raikage, form the Heavenly Alliance and become as strong as I am now, so in some strange way I owe you."

When Naruto finished, Hiashi left stunned, he expected Naruto to yell at him and say how he despised him for forcing him out of his home and away from his friends. He had even half expected Naruto to hit him a few times out of anger, but instead Naruto was thanking him and was in some way grateful for being banished.

After a few minutes Hiashi got over his surprise, and even though Naruto said he no longer hated him. Hiashi could not help but feel a deep sense of shame, since he had still betrayed the Yondaime Hokage, who had been once a good friend of his in the past. Also if he had voted to have Naruto stay, certain things could have been prevented.

"So Hiashi-san if it is not to apologize for banishing me from Konoha, then what is it you wish to talk to me about?"

"I want to talk to you about Hinata."

"What about her?" Naruto asked with some concern in his voice at the mention of his female friend.

"She is in love with you."

A/N

Well that's it everyone for another Chapter, sorry about the long wait, but life after college does not leave you with much free time, especially in this economy. Also sorry about the cliffy, but this was the best way I could think of to end the Chapter.

Now that pretty much raps things up for the Alliance Gathering. The next Chapter will of course deal with the aftermath of this conversation and you will of course find out Naruto's reaction to the news that Hinata is in love with him in the next Chapter, so you needn't worry.

Also in the next Chapter we will deal with Naruto forming his own Genin team, which I am sure will excite all of you.

With that now said, I would also like to tell all of you the next coming Chapters will be a bit shorter than earlier ones. Also I will be doing some refurbishing on the earlier Chapters, where I will be making some improvements and fix some mistakes that I have made when creating this story, nothing major will be changed, as the plot will remain the same. I just plan to remove some things that I realize weren't needed and fix some other things.

Also please enjoy the two Omake after the Author's Note section.

As always please read and review as I like to hear all your opinions on the Chapter or on the story in general. Please note that I will answer all your reviews since I believe that authors should reply to their reviewers. Also note that any suggestions for the story are welcome and will be listened to and I will tell you what I think of them.

Now as for my grammar and spelling mistakes, although they may be a problem for people, I now have a beta reader who is helping me with all future chapters and fixing spelling mistakes and grammar.

Another thing to note is that flames are not welcome here, as I force no-one to read my stories and if you don't like them then don't read them. Also please note that all flames will be ignored or the flamers will be flamed back.

Beta'd by Mohamad Rabee Al-Zawahreh "Proud to be able to help"

Author's Note:

(1). for an image of Anisu, please go to my profile for the address to the image number 60

(2) For an image of Ayane, please go to my profile for the address to the image it will be number 41.

(3). for an image of the Demonic image over Unohana please go to my profile for the address to the image number 61

(4) Go to Naruto wiki for more info on this device

(5). for an image of Cai Wengi, please go to my profile for the address to the image number 4

(6). for an image of Zhuge Liang, please go to my profile for the address to the image will be number 62

(7). Go to my profile page for image of Kotonkor and his human form, it will be number 63.

(8). Go to my profile for an image of this scene, it will be number 64.

(9). Go to my profile for the map of the Naruto world, which includes other continents, it will be number 65.

(10). Go to my profile for an image of the Astrology chamber, it will be number 66

(11) Go to profile for an image of what the Alliance Meeting room looks like, it will be number 67

(12). Go to my profile for an image of the Palace, it will be number 68.

(13). Go to my profile for an image of the Grand hall, it will be number 69.

Omake #1

After being knocked out by Unohana assistants, the famed Toad Sage of the Sannin Jiraiya found himself strapped to an operation table and looking up at the ceiling.

"Wh-Wh-Where the hell am I?" Jiraiya asked out loud, and he began to look around.

"Ah Jiraiya-sama I'm glad to see that you're awake" spoke a familiar female voice.

When Jiraiya looked up he saw much too his horror Unohana Retsu with her usual smile, which to Jiraiya was more frightening than facing off with the Kyuubi.

"Where am I?" Jiraiya asked again as he looked around the room for anyone else only to find that he and Retsu were the only people in the room.

You're in my private treatment room, where I personally treat unique individuals such as yourself Jiraiya-sama.

At this Jiraiya gulped not liking the sound of that.

"W-Wh-What do you plan to do to me?"

"Do not worry Jiraiya-sama your wellbeing is my top priority" Unohana replied with a kind smile that seemed almost devilish like to Jiraiya.

"Now before we begin your treatment, we will have to wait for someone who has shown interest in my methods.

"Wh-Who?" Jiraiya asked where he became even more nervous.

Before Unohana could answer Jiraiya the doors to the room hoped and much Jiraiya horror, entered one Umino Mitarashi Anko, former Student of his former team-mate Orochimaru. Who was also a former lieutenant of the Interrogation division and one of the most feared women in all of Konoha, second only to his former team-mate Tsunade and Hyuga Hinata the Hyuga Shikyo no Megami (Hyuga's Goddess of Death).

When Jiraiya saw the purpled hair woman, he almost wet himself in fear. Since he was very familiar with Anko's reputation in the Interrogation division and was almost as sadistic as the head of the Interrogation division Morino Ibiki, a trait she inherited from her former sensei Orochimaru.

"I'm very pleased that you could join me Anko-sama" Unohana greeted with a friendly smile.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss this for the world" replied Anko with an evil looking grin, as during her stay in New Kumo she had heard of Unohana infamous reputation in New Kumo, where no-one dared cross the woman, not even Naruto.

Naturally after hearing all the stories, Anko couldn't wait to talk to the woman in private and see her in action, knowing she had so much to learn from the elder female medic.

"Now that you're here, shall we begin?"

"Of course" Anko replied with glee, as she couldn't wait to get started, where she then saw Unohana flip a small switch on the wall, which then activated a large machine that hung above Jiraiya.

When the two Konoha Shinobi looked up, they saw a large machine with a dozen or so long metal arms, not unlike a spider's leg. Each with a different type of tool attached to it, like a knife, saw scalpel, buzz saw and needles the size of Jiraiya's arm.

Upon seeing the device, the two Konoha Shinobi reacted different, to Jiraiya it looked like some kind of torture machine from some horror movie. But to Anko it like the greatest creation ever made.

"What is it?" Anko asked excitedly, where her eyes lit up like it was Christmas, "And where can I get one?"

"It's my own invention; I haven't exactly come up with a name yet. But I'm sure it will come to me sooner or later" Unohana replied with smile that seemed almost too sweet.

"No, No, No…please…I'll never peek again I swear!" Jiraiya begged, as he tried vainly to break out of his restraints, while at the same time watching as Unohana's machine came down closer towards him.

"Do not worry Jiraiya-sama, as I said your wellbeing is my top priority…although you may feel some discomfort when my machine starts working, as I have yet to work out all the kinks. So please feel free to yell, as this room is soundproof...so no-one will hear you" Unohana said, with a kind smile and dark evil looking aura her.

Soon after, the room was filled with the screams of a fearful Jiraiya and the manic laughter of one Umino Mitarashi Anko.