Chapter 43 - The Real Hunter

## Previously ##

"They will not be coming" Everyone flinched at the new voice. All Akatsuki members shifted their attention from Zetsu and towards the new comer who was standing in the place of Kakuzu.

The new holographic image had long blonde, waist length, spiky hair with fangs that framed his face and partially covered his right eye. He also had three distinctive whiskers marks on each cheek. On his back he had a wide fan with three blood red tomoes on each side; it had a long handle with bandages wrapped around the base. The main part of the weapon was light brown with the edges being black.

"Let's talk" Naruto said smirking with his sharingan glowing and looking at the shocked faces of every Akatsuki member.

## Now ##

Naruto was standing in front of his supposed hunters. Everyone looked shocked at the presence of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, although the stoic Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but manage a small smile. They were all holograms with the exception of Tobi and some plant like creature.

"Welcome…Naruto-kun" Itachi said quietly chuckling. So quiet that if it weren't from the petrified faces of everyone, no one would have heard it.

"I've gotta say" Naruto started carefully looking at every single member of the Akatsuki, keeping in mind to remember every detail he could. He looked around and saw that every single person adorned the traditional Akatsuki cloak, black cloak with red clouds.

Beginning at this right he spotted someone who was arched down. Naruto couldn't see much of him as he had his face covered with a facemask, similar to Kakashi in fact. Behind his body he had a tail menacingly waving. It was a long mechanical, scorpion-like tail.

Next to him was a blond man. He had slanted blue eyes and very long blond hair which he wore drawn into a half ponytail with the rest hanging down freely. The bang hanging over his left eye. He also had mouths in each of the palms of his hands that seemed to freak Naruto. Naruto quickly realized who this was from his appearance. He was Deidara the bomber, S-rank Nukenin from Iwa.

Standing next to Deidara was a person Naruto new all too well. Said person was Tobi, whose only visible sharingan eye was narrowing at Naruto. Naruto could feel his hatred for the blonde and Tobi was watching him very carefully. Tobi only shivered as he looked at the smirking face of Naruto. Everything about him screamed Uchiha Madara. His posture, his appearance, and the way he fought. If it weren't for their different personalities they could pass for twins.

Naruto continued looking around and near Tobi was…something. He had two large venus fly-trap like extensions that envelop his head and upper body, giving him a plant-like appearance. Said extensions were slightly opened at the top reveling what seemed to be a head of a person. Although this head was half black and half white, split perfectly in the middle. He had short green hair and yellow eyes.

Naruto repressed a shiver after seeing the weird things Akatsuki had but continued. Naruto looked towards the remaining members standing in front of him. There were two members that he already fought and knew well. Hoshigaki Kisame, Nukenin of the mist village, wielder of the Samehada and Uchiha Itachi, Nukenin from the Leaf Village and master of the Sharingan bloodline.

Nothing new there so Naruto turned his attention to the last two members. He was surprised to see a female in such group but observed her as well. This woman had blue hair, amber colored eyes, lavender eye shadow, and a labret piercing. Although everyone seemed shocked to see Naruto appearing in the middle of the cave she had a neutral face.

Naruto shifted his attention to the last member of the group. The last member stood in the middle of the cave. He had spiky orange hair and bore six piercings, a metal bar through each ear, three studs through the side of its upper nose, and one spike stud on each end of the bottom lip. He also wore a metal head band with the scratched symbol of Ame. The thing the caught Naruto's attention was his eyes, silver eyes with several concentric rings around his pupil.

"The Rinnegan" Naruto thought to himself, narrowing his eyes at what he inferred to be the leader of the group.

"This is bad…Naruto" Kurama called the attention to his partner. Naruto made a mental acknowledgment "Look carefully to where you are standing" Kurama said and Naruto raised an eyebrow but looked down all the same.

He and everyone else of the Akatsuki were standing on top of big fingers. Naruto carefully observed where these finger were connected and saw that it were hands. Naruto jumped down from the finger and stood in the middle of the cave, facing every member and getting a good look at this statue.

It was some kind of earthen-colored humanoid entity with most of its body looking decayed. It had nine eyes, although the eyes were all closed for some reason. Its back also has a number of spike-like protrusions. The statue hands were also chained together.

"Is t-this…the gedo mazo?" Naruto asked shocked that this statue was summoned. But Naruto wasn't wrong. He could feel the statue, something that only someone with the Rinnegan could do. "This is bad…very bad" Naruto thought pondering what to do with the things he learned.

"What do you plan to do?" Kurama asked also concerned. There was only one reason to summon the gedo mazo from its resting place in the moon. And that reason was to awaken the ten tails.

"Let's take things slow. I planned on getting as much information as I could but I never expected a Rinnegan user and the gedo mazo. Let's see how things work out" Naruto thought before gathering his thoughts. He couldn't look surprised or worried about the events, he had to be seen as someone strong and undisturbed by the revelations.

"This is a nice setup" Naruto said out loud breaking the stupor of every member. "The rings allows anyone to shift the consciousness onto the destination and even give these…illusions the ability to channel chakra to some degree" Naruto said looking intently at Pein's eyes. Sharingan boring into the Rinnegan.

"Where are Kakuzu and Hidan?" Pein asked narrowing his eyes at his prey.

"I don't know where Kakuzu went but I believe I saw a few ashes of Hidan flying around" Naruto said chuckling while Pein's anger exploded.

"You will pay for that Kyuubi" Pein stated but Naruto didn't seem much affected by it.

"You've got some balls brat" Kisame said chuckling.

"Why, thank you…but I don't swing that way" Naruto said smiling making Kisame scowl. "So I take it you are the leader of the Akatsuki…having the Rinnegan and all" Naruto said making Tobi narrow his eyes at him.

"Very well…I shall indulge you. I'm the leader of the Akatsuki, I'm Pein" Pein stated.

"So you're a masochist?" Naruto asked as Pein's eyes twitched and Kisame bursted out laughing. Leave it to Naruto to make fun of S-ranked shinobi after him. "I wonder what Konan-chan would say?" Naruto innocently asked turning to the purple woman who flinched at the name.

"So I was right" Naruto thought to himself when he saw Konan flinch. He almost missed it but his sharingan caught it.

"How did you know?" Kurama asked curious about his conclusion.

"The Rinnegan doesn't simply drop from the sky. You remember ero-sennin told me about the Rinnegan and the Ame orphans. There aren't many people who fit the description of Yahiko and Konan, and for two of them to be in the same room, and with one of them having the Rinnegan…I took a shot" Naruto explained and Kurama chuckled. The brat was clever.

"So I was right about you being Konan" Naruto said as Konan narrowed her eyes at him. "Jiraiya said that you died along with your friends" Naruto said.

"Jiraiya-sensei knows nothing" Konan neutrally replied but Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"And you" Naruto said turning to Pein "You are disgusting. To think you would drop so low to use your own friends as paths…Nagato" Naruto said and Nagato's eyes widened.

"This is bad" Tobi thought to himself. Nagato should have dropped the meeting the moment the Kyuubi brat appeared as to keep secret everyone's identities but now was too late.

"Behind that goofy attitude of yours lies a very bright mind. You are much smarter than you let on" Pein stated getting a smirk in return.

"Deception is the way of ninja after all, although you seem to have the wrong thoughts." Naruto started "You think that this is a story where the bad guys are all powerful and know everything while the hero knows nothing and struggles to victory" Naruto said laughing.

"No" Naruto said in just above a whisper "In this story…I'm the villain" Naruto said laughing as his sharingan glowed a menacing red. "Your plan will never work…from the moment you left me alone to train you cemented your defeat" Naruto said smirking and releasing killing intent.

"No one can stand to the power of a god" Pein stoically said.

"Was I like this?...Going on about being god almighty?" Naruto thought to himself as Kurama only nodded.

"Even gods die Nagato" Naruto said. "Although I'm curious about what your plans. Why do you want the bijuu for?" Naruto asked playing the ignorant role.

"With the power of the bijuu I'll create a weapon that would destroy every nation. With it, no one would ever dare to attack one another. With this weapon, under my rule, there will be peace. A never ending peace with no bloodshed, no wars and no hate" Pein said and Naruto was surprised to see that he wanted peace.

"Peace through fear is nothing more than an illusion" Naruto seriously said, his goofy attitude gone. After all, the Rikudou did ask for any descendant to try and achieve peace and Naruto would do his best.

"Through fear and pain this peace will last" Pein said with confidence.

"No it won't. You will cage people and eventually their animal side will come out" Naruto explained. "It doesn't matter in the end as you will never be able to finish this weapon" Naruto said.

"Once you experience true pain you will understand why this world is doomed without a god to watch over it" Pein said and Naruto turned him off.

"You will understand it so-" Naruto was saying but quickly shut up and turned to the plant like thing on the room. "This chakra…that thing has two completely separate chakra signatures" Naruto said focusing his sharingan at Zetsu. Tobi watched silently as Naruto observed Zetsu. Tobi could see Naruto's eyes glowing and he concentrated on the plant like creature.

"Your chakra feels familiar" Naruto said towards Zetsu who remained silent "Both of them" Naruto said and Zetsu was a surprised. "Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm the White Zetsu and I'm the Black Zetsu" Zetsu replied and Tobi turned surprised towards his pet.

"Why did you answer him?" Tobi curiously asked.

"I find myself in a pickle" the white zetsu started "Madara-sama created me and, as such, I'm obligated to answer to him and his blood. On the other hand, he told me to obey you so…can you understand my situation?" the White Zetsu asked completely unaware of the different reactions he got.

"Konan was right…he isn't Madara" Pein thought to himself narrowing his eyes at Tobi.

"Interesting" Naruto said as Tobi narrowed his eyes towards Naruto. "I know now why you feel so familiar. Your black half, your chakra is very similar to mine. If I had to guess…I would say that you are some clone of Uchiha Madara himself" Naruto stated and Tobi had his eyes widened. Sensors were a real pain in the ass.

"Yes I-" Zetsu as was replying but didn't get to finish as Tobi used his Kamui and warped him away into his dimension.

"I look forward to talking to him again" Naruto replied and Tobi was furious. Zetsu was supposed to be his most loyal pet and now he found out that Zetsu was primarily allied to Madara. It looked like that Madara and any descendant's orders took priority over Tobi's.

"Another thorn on my end…I might have to call him back sooner than I thought" Tobi thought to himself.

"Is it not strange?" Naruto asked but Tobi got confused "How easily loyalties can change" Naruto said chuckling.

"Tobi…where are you hiding Sasuke?" Naruto asked and Itachi's head snapped towards Tobi that he almost broke his neck. Itachi still thought that Sasuke was behind bars at Konoha. It appears that the hokage kept things hidden better than he thought.

"Eyes like his are rare but…what is it you expect to achieve here?" Tobi asked.

"Nothing much" Naruto said shrugging his shoulders "Just too show you that no matter how much you try, how harder you try…you will fail" Naruto said smirking.

"Big words for a seventeen brat" Tobi asked.

"You forget that I just decimated two of your members besides…I'm not alone" Naruto said.

"Ahhh yes…Hyuuga Hinata" Tobi said and Naruto narrowed his eyes at his tone "It would be a shame if something were to happen to her" Tobi playfully said.

"Don't let him get under your skin" Kurama said and Naruto nodded knowing it was very true.

"You won't do anything to her" Naruto simply said and Tobi raised an eyebrow "And I know this because you are a coward Tobi. You would never dare to face me and you know it very well. You hide behind that mask of yours, telling the world you're my grandfather Uchiha Madara when you clearly don't have the power to back it up" Naruto said and everyone member turned to Tobi.

"You are just some Uchiha with a mangekyou and delusions of grandeur. Take those eyes away and what are you?" Naruto rhetorically asked. "Some loser who couldn't handle it back in the leaf and wants to prove the world he's something" Naruto stated to the fuming Tobi.

"You had to resort to controlling the Kyuubi to attack Konoha and even then, my father managed to seal the Kyuubi and defeat you. Not even with the power of the strongest of the tailed beasts did you manage to defeat my father" Naruto said and he could feel Tobi's anger and chakra just coming out of every pore.

"What happened?" Naruto rhetorically asked "Did you want to be Hokage but my father beat you to it?...Was that it?" Naruto asked and Tobi was already thinking of swirling away towards Konoha and start a massacre.

"Or you couldn't get it up in the bedroom and needed a boost of morale?" Naruto asked and Kisame bit back a laugh as he thought it wouldn't be good to him if he laughed at his true leader.

"I will find who you are eventually and when that day comes…you will end at the tip of my blade" Naruto said as his sharingan swirled into his mangekyou.

"You don't know who you are messing with…Naruto" Tobi stated, saying his name with as much venom as he could. "I'm going to enjoy making Hinata my personal slave when I'm done with you" Tobi said chuckling evilly.

"LET ME AT HIM…I'LL SLAUGTHER HIM FOR INSULTING YOUR MATE" Kurama yelled from inside Naruto.

"What did you say about not letting him get into our skin…relax" Naruto said as his whiskers returned to normal from the sudden chakra surge.

"Who said I'll be waiting for you" Naruto quickly replied with a smile throwing Tobi off for a moment. "Anyone else would just wait and train until the moment this group chose to come after them but you're wrong" Naruto said looking Tobi dead in the eyes.

"In this story…I'm the Hunter and you are simply my prey" Naruto said with a twisted smile that sent shivers to everyone. "And like any good Hunter…I enjoy a good chase. I'm going to hunt the Akatsuki down, one by one, and when I'm finished with everyone else, I'll be coming for you…Tobi" Naruto said smirking.

"You shouldn't underestimate us" Nagato said. The rest of the group was rather quiet and could only watch as their target threatened them with death.

"You may call it arrogance but I'm not underestimating anyone of you" Naruto said before he started pointing and going through each member of the group. "Sasori of the Red Sands, destroy his puppets and he becomes nothing more than a jounin. Deidara from Iwa, low S-class Nukenin, known for using clay explosives as long range attacks. My Kamui makes him useless against someone like me." Naruto started as he turned to the remaining members.

"Kisame the tailless bijuu, take away your Samehada and your power decreases exponentially" Naruto said and Kisame scoffed.

"Uchiha Itachi, prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, very skilled in genjutsu and fire ninjutsu. However…almost blind from overusing the mangekyou" Naruto said but Itachi remained silent.

"From Zetsu I got the feeling that he wasn't really the fighting type" Naruto said and continued on.

"Tobi…take your Kamui away and you're pathetic" Naruto said.

"Konan. According to Jiraiya you have some control over paper and origami techniques. Simple paper will melt before my fire techniques" Naruto said but Konan remained silent.

"And finally Nagato, wielder of the Rinnegan. You are a coward just like Tobi. While he hides behind his mask, you choose to hide behind your paths. Too scared to come into the battlefield yourself?" Naruto asked but Nagato remained silent.

"You see when I say that I'm not overconfident or arrogant. I know everything about you while you know nothing about my true power or abilities." Naruto said and turned to Tobi. "I know you saw what I did back in Kiri, I could feel your presence the moment I entered the village. I could feel you watching me from the Mizukage Tower. If you think that was all I could do…you are sorely mistaken. That wasn't even half of my true power" Naruto said but Tobi remained silent.

"I'm stronger than Hashirama and even Madara were back in their primes" Naruto explained. "Why don't I give you a preview?" Naruto rhetorically asked smirking while everyone tensed.

"If you are coming after me you should know the difference" Naruto said as his chakra flared and he was surrounded by a small silver layer of chakra. Even inside the small cave a small breeze flew by. Small rocks started levitating around Naruto as his hair also started to levitate ever so slightly. (1)

"What's this pressure?" Tobi wondered as he felt Naruto's chakra starting to increase.

"Know now…the gap between us"

Naruto's chakra suddenly spiked and a small shockwave was felt. The ground cracked and shook as Naruto released more chakra to the point that the air was rustling fiercely. His body was covered in a powerful and bright silver aura. So bright that the Akatsuki couldn't see much but for his eyes who seemed to glow a dark red.

The ground started shaking and the cave started crumbling. His chakra flared even more and chunks of the cave started falling down exposing what was once a beautiful and sunny day. Suddenly the weather started becoming darker as massive clouds started forming in the sky.

The Akatsuki members watched with wonder the amount of chakra being released. Even Kisame who had the biggest pool of chakra in the Akatsuki never felt so much chakra being released. Kisame suddenly felt like a small drop of water in a large ocean.

## Konoha ##

Hinata was patching up a gennin who sprained his ankle while training with his team. "Just keep your weight off this foot for a couple days and you will fine" Hinata replied and gennin thanked her.

Hinata was filling the report when she felt an ominous presence wash over her. "This chakra" Hinata muttered to herself. "It's Naruto-kun's chakra…but it isn't coming from the Academy" Hinata said to herself and was about to drop her coat when an ANBU suddenly appeared.

"Hinata-san…Hokage-sama has summoned the Dragons" the ANBU said and Hinata instantly shunshined to the Hokage's office, ready to deploy.

## Back with Akatsuki ##

Naruto took one step forward and the ground cracked. The sky sparkled with thunders upon thunders that lit up the darkened cave. The whole cave started shaking even more and forced every Akatsuki member to drop from the statue.

"ARRGHHHHHH" The statue screamed as it brought his hands to his head. The gedo mazo suddenly got up into his feet and howled into the sky.

"This is bad…very bad" Nagato thought to himself wondering what kind of monster had they awakened.

"This is not possible…the gedo mazo is reacting to his chakra" Tobi thought worried. If the statue should ever slip from their grasp it would be over before it even began.

Naruto flared his chakra even more. Trees and chunks of rock were blasted away from the ground due the wind. Naruto's eyes glowed a menacing red as he looked towards the sky. The clouds suddenly shifted ever so slightly revealing a small glimpse of the moon.

"ARGGHHHH" The statue screamed and nature itself seemed to be scared. Everything started withering away and even the moon started gaining a small red hue with black markings.

"ENOUGH…NAGATO SHUT HIM DOWN" Tobi yelled for Nagato to sever the connection of the rings. If things continued on the gedo mazo could sync with Naruto which would put a wrench in their plans even further.

Nagato did just that and closed Kakuzu's ring. Naruto's illusion suddenly disappeared but it didn't go alone. The sudden end caused a chakra backslash. A massive shockwave destroyed everything. The trees were uprooted, huge chunks of rock were blasted black and even the gedo mazo was sent tumbling through the ground.

"What am I going to do with him?" Tobi muttered to himself as he warped away and every one of the Akatsuki was gone from the meeting knowing full well that they were nothing more than prey…with a hunter on their trail.

## Back in Taki ##

Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was back on the battlefield back in Taki. Naruto sighed to everything he learned. He raised his right hand into the air and watched as Kakuzu's ring slowly started disintegrating into dust until there was nothing left.

"What do you plan to do now?" Kurama asked. They learned very useful things about the Akatsuki. They knew their plan, their members, their strengths and even weakness.

"We have to tread carefully…I can't afford to make a wrong move. How long do you think it would take to seal a bijuu inside the statue?" Naruto asked.

"Hard to say…it would depend on Nagato's mastery of the Rinnegan" Kurama replied. "Though I have a question…how do you know that Pein is a Path and not simply Yahiko using Nagato's eyes?" Kurama asked wondering if Naruto made a good call.

"He had piercings of the chakra metal that can only be created with the Rinnegan" Naruto replied and Kurama nodded in understanding.

"He can use the outer path if he's using dead bodies" Naruto stated and Kurama nodded. "He might be using bodies for every other path. And it doesn't matter how many paths we destroy unless we find the real one" Naruto mused in thought considering what to do about the leader of the Akatsuki.

Naruto was surprised when he turned around only to on the receiving end of a slap. "Urg" Naruto groaned as he fell into the ground.

"What were you thinking?" Hinata asked yelling at her boyfriend.

"Sorry" Naruto could only reply.

"Kakashi was next to you…why didn't you bring him with you?" Hinata asked fuming as her careless boyfriend. "You took on two Akatsuki members alone and without backup. What if you were injured and unable to escape?" Hinata said with her eyes watering.

"I'm sorry if worried you" Naruto said getting up and hugging Hinata. "It happened so fast that I didn't think about taking Kakashi with me" Naruto quickly replied.

"Fine…I'll let you off the hook this time. But next time you'll be sleeping on the couch. Do you hear me mister?" Hinata warned.

"Yes dear" Naruto replied with his head down.

"(cough) whipped (cough)" Minato said making Naruto narrow his eyes at him.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he looked towards the dragons with the exception of Tobirama who was still in Kiri.

"After you left, Kakashi-kun went to explain what happened to Tsunade and she sent us as backup. I teleported everyone to your mark" Minato replied and Naruto nodded.

"I could feel your chakra all the way in Konoha" Hinata said but Naruto just shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just giving a preview of my power to Tobi and the Akatsuki's leader" Naruto replied and everyone was shocked.

"You met him?" Mito asked and Naruto nodded.

"You won't believe this but he's Nagato. The wielder of the Rinnegan that Jiraiya trained and thought was dead" Naruto replied and everyone was shocked. A wielder of a Rinnegan was behind the most powerful organization around. This could spell trouble. "I'll tell you everything later on. Right now I need to check up on Fuu and Shibuki" Naruto explained and the dragons got ready to leave as they weren't needed after all.

"Who did you fight"? Hashirama asked curious. The battlefield was a mess with craters everywhere.

"Hidan the immortal and Kakuzu of the five hearts" Naruto explained as Hashirama had his eyes widened.

"So Kakuzu was still alive and kicking?" Hashirama asked and Naruto nodded.

"You better make it up for worrying me" Hinata huffed and Naruto chuckled.

"I will" Naruto replied pecking her cheek as everyone disappeared in a flash leaving Naruto alone in the battlefield.

## Takikage's Tower ##

"So that's it uhm?" Fuu asked Shibuki who held his head down in shame. "The moment I become more trouble than I'm worth they just get rid of me?" Fuu asked saddened by the fact that today would be her last day on the village.

"I'm sorry Fuu-chan. You know that I love you like a daughter but there is nothing I can do to overrule our council. I don't have the same power as the other Kages do with their villages" Shibuki reasoned but Fuu huffed.

*Knock Knock*

"Come in" Shibuki said and in entered Naruto who had returned from his meeting with the Akatsuki. The moment Naruto came inside he felt the tension floating around.

"Am I interrupting?" Naruto slowly asked. Fuu looked pissed and Naruto didn't want to deal with another pissed off female, especially if she was a jinchuuriki.

"Not at all" Shibuki replied, motioning Naruto to come in. "Let me thank you again for saving Fuu and our village" Shibuki said with a small bow.

"Not at all. I would do anything for my sister" Naruto replied looking at Fuu who had her eyes widened.

"S-Sister?" Fuu softly asked.

"Of course. I think of the jinchuurikis as my brothers and sisters. Very few people tolerate our kind and even fewer actually like us" Naruto explained rubbing the back of his head.

*Uff*

Naruto groaned as Fuu tackled him with a hug. "Thank you" Fuu whispered hugging Naruto tightly. "For everything" Fuu said letting go and wiping her moist eyes.

"I will always be there for you" Naruto said with a smile. "Fuu-nee-chan" Naruto jokingly said making Fuu playfully hit him in the arm.

"Actually I have another favor I wanted to ask you Naruto-sama" Shibuki replied making Naruto look at him funny. "I know that you don't like honorifics but you deserve it. Even kages like me show respect to some" Shibuki said and Naruto shook his head chuckling.

"What do you need?" Naruto asked making Fuu tense.

"The council has banished Fuu from the village" Shibuki replied and quickly squirmed in his chair.

"WHAT?" Naruto screamed in outrage flaring his chakra. The Anbu would have tried to jump in but they were frozen in place.

"I can't do anything" Shibuki quickly replied. "In the mist of the battle, they assumed I died battling that immortal fellow" Shibuki replied and Fuu flinched at the mention of his death. "Very few people in this village like Fuu. In fact, if it wasn't for me…she would have been long gone by now" Shibuki sadly said.

"In my absence the council…banished Fuu from the village" Shibuki said making Naruto fume. "They don't think having a jinchuuriki is worth it…not with them being hunted down" Shibuki said.

"So you are just throwing her at the wolves?" Naruto angrily asked.

"You have to understand the council's point of view. They only care for the village's best interest" Shibuki started explaining. "We don't have the military force of one of the great nations. A single member of the Akatsuki killed almost ten percent of our military force. We don't have the resources to fight the group should they ever send anyone else" Shibuki explained.

"Even so…she's one of you" Naruto replied.

"That is why I ask you for this favor" Shibuki said looking at Fuu. "She won't stand a chance against this group. And now alone and without the support of a village" Shibuki said looking Naruto dead in the eyes. "I want Konoha to take Fuu in and make her a leaf shinobi" Shibuki said and Fuu's eyes widened.

"You are a crafty old man, I give you that" Naruto replied chuckling.

"I try my best thank you" Shibuki playfully replied.

"Hello" Fuu said waving her hands "Can someone fill me in…you keep talking as if I'm not even here" Fuu replied.

"Since you were banished, Taki has given up "ownership" of Choumei. As such, you are able to join any village you wish without any repercussion, either be it economical or military" Naruto explained and Fuu was shocked. "To put it simply. You can do what you want" Naruto explained.

"Maybe this won't be so bad. At least I won't have to deal with these ignorant" Fuu thought happily for the first time today.

"This is where I come in" Naruto said breaking Fuu from her thoughts. "If you wish, you can join Konoha and become a leaf shinobi" Naruto explained.

"Are you sure?" Fuu asked a little bit worried. "Won't they hate me? And what about the Akatsuki?" Fuu quickly asked but Naruto waved her off.

"For starters they won't hate you. I already took care of that. Besides, no one will know your burden" Naruto said and Fuu happily nodded. "Your concern about the Akatsuki in unnecessary. Konoha already has two jinchuurikis, me and Gaara. They will make their move on us eventually. And finally…you have friends there. You have me, Hinata-chan, Gaara and I believe you remember Shino" Naruto said taping his chin and Fuu quickly nodded.

"So…will you come with me" Naruto asked.

"Just like that. Don't you have to ask your Hokage?" Fuu asked concerned about the politics.

"One thing at the time. I'll take you to live with me at the Senju Compound" Naruto asked and Fuu nodded. "Unless of course…you prefer the Aburame Compound?" Naruto teased.

"I-idiot" Fuu said smacking his head and quickly turning away to hide her blush.

"It's settled" Shibuki said rising from his chair. "I know you will be happy in Konoha and I'm sorry for this" Shibuki said kissing her forehead. "Promise to keep in touch alright?" Shibuki asked and Fuu nodded.

"Goodbye" Fuu asked as Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and both of them disappeared in a swirl.

## Hokage's Office ##

"Hey baa-chan" Naruto said as he suddenly appeared in the middle of her office. Tsunade looked up from her paperwork to see Naruto waving and some green haired girl next to him.

"OOO-RAHHH"

"Shiiiiit" Naruto thought as his partial Susanoo flared into existence. Fuu quickly hid behind Naruto as the Hokage charged her fist.

*Crack*

Naruto's partial Susanoo cracked as Tsunade's fist smashed into it. "What are you doing you crazy woman?" Naruto yelled.

"What were you thinking fighting two Akatsuki members alone?" Tsunade said angry. Naruto groaned as he already had this talk before. At least Hinata didn't empower her slap with chakra.

"Hinata already said that me. I'm sorry about going alone" Naruto said and Tsunade nodded sitting back down.

Oh…welcome to Konoha. Who are you again?" Tsunade sweetly asked towards Fuu whose eyes were bulging out.

"Crazy old woman" Naruto thought to himself dropping his shield.

"I'm Fuu" Fuu slowly said not wanting to be on the receiving end of that punch.

"She's the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi" Naruto explained and Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Taki decided to banish her as they didn't want to be on the Akatsuki's radar. I offered her the choice of coming to live here in Konoha" Naruto said.

"You can't just offer things like that without consulting me first" Tsunade said sighing and Fuu became nervous. "You aren't hokage yet" Tsunade said chuckling. "This is a sensitive matter so I'll take this up with the council" Tsunade explained and Naruto nodded.

"I'll drop her off at the Senju Compound while you summon the council" Naruto said and Tsunade nodded summoning an ANBU.

## Council Room – One Hour Later ##

"What are we waiting for?" Hiashi asked as he was tired of sitting down waiting for something to happen.

"This is a sensitive matter for we must wait for the whole council to be gathered. Naru-chan should be arriving soon" Tsunade said and speak of the devil, Naruto swirled into existence.

"Sorry I'm late" Naruto said as he sat down at the Senju Clan chair.

"Now that we are all here the meeting may begin" Tsunade said as everyone focused on her. "We are here today to decide if we should allow Fuu, the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi to become a Konoha Shinobi" Tsunade said and got many reactions. Some were indifferent, others suspicious and some shocked.

"I believe that the Nanabi belongs to Takigakure" Shikaku said with his eyes wide open.

"As of today that is no longer true" Tsunade said and Shikaku raised an eyebrow. "Taki has decided to banish Fuu from their village due the Akatsuki hunting them down" Tsunade explained and motioned Naruto to explain.

"Two members of the Akatsuki tried to capture Fuu today. Hidan the immortal and Kakuzu of the five hearts. Since Fuu had my hirashin kunai she called for my help and I was able to kill them both" Naruto said and Shikaku's jaw dropped.

"You took on two S-rank shinobi and won?" Shikaku asked in disbelief. Naruto simply nodded. "Troublesome" Shikaku muttered beneath his breath.

"The council decided that having a jinchuuriki was more trouble than worth and simply discarded her" Tsunade stated.

"By being banished, Taki has forfeited the ownership of the Nanabi leaving her free…so to speak" Homura said and Naruto gritted his teeth. He never liked when they talked as if they owned the bijuus like pets.

"Is she trustworthy?" Koharu asked suspicious of said girl.

"She suffered the same treatment as any other jinchuuriki. She was never liked in her village. I believe this is place where she can create roots" Naruto explained getting a few nods in return.

"All in favor in Fuu joining our ranks?" Tsunade asked and the response was unanimous. "Then this settles it. Fuu is now a proud jounin of Konoha" Tsunade said and Naruto smile. Naruto was about to swirl away when all of the council heard a chuckle.

Danzo was chuckling. The heaven must be falling for that bastard to laugh. "I've got to say" Danzou started opening his single visible eye. "I may not agree with your methods or ideals but I cannot refute your results…Naruto" Danzou said looking straight towards Naruto.

"What's that supposed to mean Danzou?" Naruto asked narrowing his eyes at the old bandaged man.

"Exactly that. Since you showed yourself to the world you brought Konoha to new heights that it never had been since the founding of Konoha" Danzou started gathering the attention of the whole council. "You placed the sand in their place when you alone killed a fifth of their army including their Kazekage. The result was a completely loyal Ichibi Jinchuuriki" Danzou said.

"You know very well that I only meant to protect Konoha" Naruto coldly said.

"Be that as it may, I cannot argue with the results" Danzou said chuckling once again "Then came the mist were you alone slaughtered almost two thousand shinobi and defeated Yagura, the Sanbi jinchuuriki. That allowed us a complete alliance with Kiri to the point that even if this alliance was to end, they would never think of striking Konoha…not with you still around" Danzou explained and Naruto gritted his teeth.

"You make it sound as if they are our allies out of fear" Naruto replied. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Fear is the ultimate weapon" Danzou said a bit louder. "Something you use very well to the point you do it almost unconsciously. I felt your chakra all the way from Taki. I know just how strong you really are…Naruto" Danzou stated but Naruto remained silent.

"And finally, you took on two S-ranked shinobi and defeated them on your own. You gave a crippling strike to the Akatsuki but above all, this has gained us something more. As yet again, you got us another loyal and trained Jinchuuriki" Danzou said.

"You make it so that I'm conquering the world piece by piece" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"You may not want to believe it but when the Akatsuki is gone…is word will be absolute" Danzou said smirking.

"I don't want to rule the world…all I want is peace" Naruto replied get raised eyebrows from everyone.

"Peace?" Danzou said in disbelief "What foolish ideals you have. There can be no peace. Not in this shinobi world unless…there is someone to rule them all" Danzou calmly said.

"Are you trying to persuade me to conquer the world?" Naruto asked shaking his head in disbelief.

"And why not?" Danzou rhetorically asked. "You certainly have the power and mind to do it. With the power the tailed beasts behind you and in your control the world could be ours and I-" Danzou was saying but was interrupted.

"Ours?" Naruto asked and Danzou quieted down instantly "That is what this is all about isn't it?" Naruto rhetorically asked. "You don't want peace…you want a throne" Naruto said and Danzou returned back to his stoic self. "To think the teachings of Hashirama and Tobirama were wasted on someone like you" Naruto said with a sneer.

"You are mistaken. I don't wish for the world" Danzou quickly replied. "I only wish for the longevity of Konoha…nothing more, nothing less" Danzou explained and Naruto raised an eyebrow. That sure wasn't what Naruto got from that.

"You follow the same foolish ideals of the third" Danzou started "The Hi no Ishi (Will of Fire) is nothing more than petty words. The only thing that matters in this world is power. That gives someone meaning, purpose and the means to achieve what they want" Danzou said.

"Which is a throne in your case right?" Naruto asked and Danzou remained silent.

"My ancestor wanted peace. Not peace through strength or fear but through love and understanding. Something that you will never understand. This meeting is over" Naruto said and swirled away. Danzou got up and hit his cane on the ground, disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"Did Naruto-san really do all those things?" Choza asked curious. Shikaku was looking at the ceiling after the whole conversation. Something about both of them was a bit off, Naruto was very focused on achieving this peace while Danzou wanted Naruto on his side…for some reason.

"Yes he did. This meetings is adjourned" Tsunade said and watched everyone leave. "Dammit Naruto…you are making too many enemies" Tsunade thought to herself biting her lip.

## Senju Compound – Later that Day ##

"And here we are" Naruto said opening the wooden door and showing Fuu her room. The room itself was simple and pretty much empty. It had a bed, closet, a table and a nightstand with a few drawers. "You are next to Temari" Naruto said.

"It's great Naruto-kun" Fuu said hugging him "Thank you for everything you did for me" Fuu said and Naruto nodded.

"There is a problem though" Naruto said with a glint in his eyes.

"What is it?" Fuu asked confused.

"I don't think that this bed is big enough for you and Shino" Naruto said with a straight face.

"GET OUT" Fuu yelled and pushed Naruto out of her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Naruto chuckled and made his way towards his room.

*Squeak*

Naruto was broken from his thoughts when he heard a small squeak. He turned around and blinked, and blinked again. In front of him was Shikamaru, all naked with the exception of his boxers. He was carrying his clothes and sandals but the thing that caught Naruto's attention was a small black belt on his neck…a leash.

"YOU…SAW…NOTHING" Shikamaru said glaring at Naruto.

"Kinky" Naruto said with an amused smile as he watched Shikamaru shunshin away from his compound.

"Naruto-kun"

Naruto heard Hinata's voice and turned around only for his jaw do drop. Hinata was standing by their bedroom door with only a white medical garb. The garb ended just below her waist showing off her long and firm legs. The garb was slightly opened in her chest area reveling her cleavage.

"You coming?" Hinata asked in her best bedroom voice. She bit her finger as she repressed a blush. They had never engaged in role playing before.

"Oh I'm coming"