Chapter 2: News, Preparations and Actions

(Konoha, Hokage's Office, Three Days After Team 7's Battle With Naruto)

An annoyed Tsunade slammed the door to her office hard, nearly knocking them off their hinges, a sign she was angry. Behind her was her senior apprentice and assistant, (as well as the niece of her deceased lover Dan) Shizune and Kakashi Hatake, the latter with some bandages and band-aids on his body since he and his team had just got back to the village. Sitting on the windowsill was Jiraiya, whom seem pretty anxious to hear Kakashi's reports as well as some other things, which shockingly had nothing to do with his 'research'

But back to Tsunade, the reason for the Hokage's annoyance was the council meeting that had just ended a few minutes ago, the reason surrounding the events of Team 7's mission and its objective. Even in this kind of situation a council meeting would not be needed unless something that affected the village as a whole and required the meeting. Even the event of a team being sent out to bring back a former shinobi of the village, the jinchuuriki to boot, were to happen it wouldn't be necessary for a council to be summoned. The reason being that all missions are given to by the Hokage who is the only person whom can know about the mission's parameter and its results and did not need to be known to the council.

None of that mattered in this case for the reason was because that Danzo, after learning from Sai about the results of the mission, summoned a council meeting. Though the Hokage herself could only do such a thing, if the topic was, as said before, of importance/concern to the village, then another member of the council could call a meeting. In this case was the growing fear that Naruto might want to exact revenge towards the village. Danzo had hoped that by playing on their fears of Naruto, the civilian council and maybe some members of the shinobi council, would force Tsunade to label Naruto as a missing-nin or the very least making his retrieval back to the village as a primary focus, where Danzo could secretly enforce loyalty onto the boy. Kakashi was also there since as team leader it was his job to report what happened during the mission.

However that did not turn out to be the case. Naruto hadn't killed any of the members of team 7 and as such could not be labeled a missing-nin unless there was solid evidence that he had killed a shinobi of Konoha. Of course the civilian council put up a stunk about it, but after a harsh scolding (Where one member of the council was knocked straight through the walls courtesy of Tsunade when he said the word "abomination") did they stand down. And so now we find ourselves in the Hokage's office, with Tsunade already sending the ANBU away before putting up the privacy seals.

"Sometimes I wish my granduncle didn't come up with that damn council idea." Tsunade of the present groaned as she plopped back down in her seat.

"Yeah and after seeing the look on Danzo's face after hearing about Naruto's skill set, from both Kakashi and most likely Sai, the old warhawk will probably do everything in his power to get Naruto under his control, your permission or not." Jiraiya commented as he sat on his usual windowsill.

"Okay Kakashi, I know that you held back a lot of stuff that was left out during the meeting. But seeing the fact that I got a letter from the Kazekage asking why a Suna border patrol saw your team leaving, though I have a feeling that he had found out from Naruto somehow, I believe that the situation is a lot more serious then you made it out to be. Now I want the full story of what happened when your team encountered Naruto." Tsunade ordered the silver haired jonin.

Kakashi sighed before going into detailed explanation of how he and his team ran into Naruto and after failing to negotiate with him, "Apparently he holds quite the grudge towards us, specifically me and Sakura…Sai also got on his bad side by insulting him."

"Told you that sending them was a bad idea." Jiraiya added.

Tsunade gave her former teammate a brief glare before looking back at the jonin. "What about Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not fully sure about Sasuke." Kakashi said. "Naruto didn't really sound as hostile towards him as he did with the rest of the team, despite having been used as target practice for a Chidori. Though that isn't saying that Naruto doesn't hold some animosity towards Sasuke."

"So that means the next team we send has to be on good terms with Naruto the next time we get wind of him." Tsunade concluded before asking another question that she has been meaning to ask since the team got back. "Kakashi revolving around your fight with Naruto, how would you rank him skill wise?" Tsunade asked, as she was quite surprise when she read the report from Kakashi, given to her by Pakkun, about how bad Team 7's injuries were. It was rare to see one of the village's top jonin to be such a mess.

Kakashi sighed; he had expected this question to be asked and had already formed a response for it. "Well he's gotten fast that's for sure, and is equally strong too. Naruto also had some kind of advanced shunshin technique that creates an afterimage of himself. His reaction timing is at least jonin level, along with taijustu and we discovered he's a wind user."

"He must have gotten it from Minato. He did have a high affinity for both lightning and wind chakra." Jiraiya added.

Kakashi nodded in agreement before continuing. "From what I saw so far Naruto's wind techniques seem to resolve mostly around close to mid range that involve impact and piercing methods, along with having an impressive wind technique for defense and offense. Its possible that he might have wind techniques that can use the wind for other areas such as cutting." Kakashi paused for a breather before going on. "Naruto, from what my sharingan could see, has twice the amount of chakra he had six years ago, so that means his levels are almost biju levels. He also has pretty good chakra control since somehow he was able to release a small pulse of chakra to cancel out Sakura's chakra enhanced punch with ease."

That part shocked the two Sannin and Shizune. Both the fact that Naruto had discovered a way to stop the chakra enhanced strength Sakura had learned from Tsunade. Along with the fact that Kakashi calculated Naruto to have biju-level chakra and incredible control, given the fact that when he was younger, the Uzumaki had poor control due to his large reserves, it really was quite a shocker. It made Tsunade wonder where Naruto was or doing for the past six years to have gotten such strength and at the same time control. Hell if Naruto hadn't been banished then he would've been a jonin by now or even Hokage.

But Kakashi wasn't done as he continued. "That last four things to know is that Naruto can use his mother's chakra chains by the looks of it and I'm not 100% sure but I think he can use sensei's Hiraishin since he suddenly vanished at the end of the fight. Along with those two he's pretty skilled in kenjutsu as he was using the Sekirei well against Sasuke and Sai's ink lions." The jonin said.

That really floored it for the other three occupants of the room. While the idea of Naruto using Kushina's favorite chakra chains wasn't all that surprising, since there was always the chance of Naruto inheriting it, the fact that he could use Minato's Hiraishin or a variation or something related to it, showed that Naruto was no longer the same boy that left the village but still had the talent of being the most unpredictable shinobi out there.

"H-how is that possible? The Chakra Chains I could understand since its possible for it to have been passed down to him genetically from Kushina, and it is an Uzumaki Clan technique. But any notes for seal formula for the Hiraishin is either sealed deep within their estate or died with Minato. The only people who could use it is the Hokage Protection Platoon but they need to be doing it together to use it." Jiraiya said before quickly adding. "And now you're telling me that the gaki has the Sekirei, one of the famous weapons of the Uzumaki clan? The same sword Kushina brought with her and is supposed to be sealed in the estate?" The Toad Sage asked, to which his response from the jonin was a nod.

Tsunade had grabbed a bottle of sake that had been sitting on her desk and took a quick chug of sake to calm her nerves. After doing so she looked up at Kakashi. "You said there was a fourth thing. What was it?" Tsunade asked though she had a feeling that it was going to give her another headache.

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before finally replying. "During the fight Naruto used a technique that wasn't a Futon technique on Sasuke. At first I thought it was a Katon technique but Sasuke later clarified that Naruto had said Onmyoton."

The moment she heard the word Onmyoton Tsunade's mind flash back to her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, and something she had told Tsunade long ago. Meanwhile Shizune replied to Kakashi, "Onmyoton, as in the non-elemental chakra nature Onmyoton? How is that possible? Are you saying that Naruto-kun has a bloodline?" Shizune asked.

"Maybe, but whether it is or isn't we don't really know its full potential…or Naruto's to be exact." Kakashi said. "I admit that I went in unprepared, mostly hoping not to resort to force. Also because in case we did I thought he would've been the same kid that left this village six years ago. I didn't think he'd have change so much."

"That would be an understatement if what I learned is true." Jiraiya said catching everyone's attention, including Tsunade who snapped out of her thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"Remember a few days ago when I said that the mask the gaki wore sounded familiar?" Jiraiya asked. "Well I looked into it and discovered that starting from four years ago a wandering-nin had been making a name for himself. Doing things such as helping overthrowing corrupting governments or stopping coup d'etat in several countries, said countries being Moon Country, Bird Country and Vegetable Country. The man also helped Hoshigakure in overthrowing their corrupt leader and even helped the high priestess of Demon Country in defeating an ancient demon called Moryo before it could be fully resurrected. And the most notable thing of all is that the person assisted the Kiri rebels in the civil war and from what my spies have heard, was the one who defeated Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage and the Sanbi Jinchuuriki at the time, all by himself." Jiraiya paused to catch his breath before finishing it off. "And so far no one knows what the guy looks like or his real name. The only thing anyone, besides maybe higher ups in these places, had to go by so far is that the man has red hair and wears a kitsune mask similar to the one that Shino described Naruto wearing. Hence the guy was called Kodama (Fox Spirit) due to his fox mask and that he always appears and disappears on a whim."

Shizune, Tsunade and Kakashi all had wide eyes and jaws hitting the floor, the latter excluding Kakashi since he had his mask on. They had no idea that Naruto had become that strong over the past six years. But when they thought about it, Naruto was never one to give up giving his strong will and determination and it also made sense seeing how he easily he defeated his former team. Those accomplishments meant that Naruto had to be S-rank in skills, hell maybe even greater then that. But that also meant one other thing…

"That basically also means that in off chance that we have to use force and capture Naruto, which by the sounds of it is going to be hell itself, we'll have to deal with Wind, Wave, Spring, Tea, Vegetable, Bird, Moon, Demon, Water, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Takigakure, Yukigakure, Getsugakure and Hoshigakure?" Tsunade basically summed it all up. When Jiraiya nodded she groaned loudly before slammed her head on the table. Apparently she was greatly aggravated because her head butt caused the desk to split in two. Shizune immediately left to get another desk, leaving only the Hokage alone with her former teammate and Kakashi.

Finally the Copy Cat shinobi spoke. "Well political reasons aside, it might be better to let Naruto live his life. If what Jiraiya-sama said is true then he's clearly capable of defending himself at nearly anything thrown at him, including Akatsuki. And its quite clear he has no desire to come back here and continuing this might only increase his distaste towards the village. Hell it might make him join another village such as Suna or Kiri." Kakashi explained.

"Yeah but for how long?" Jiraiya asked before looking at Tsunade. "While I agree with Kakashi on this hime we also got to look at the cons too, such as the fact that Danzo won't just let Naruto wander around aimlessly or join another village. The warhawk will take action to get him back and most likely under his control. He won't risk killing him since only an Uzumaki can contain the Kyuubi unless Naruto has a kid. Then there's the fact that Naruto's actions that I've mentioned as well some others put the kid in the top ten of the Bingo Books in several villages as well as the Black Market. According to my sources the price on his head can set a person for life and there's no telling if he can take on a large group of people if they gang up on him. Also I don't think I need to explain about Akatsuki, everyone in that group is Kage-level shinobi and more experienced then Naruto. And then there's a chance of the leader of Akatuski going into the fray, there is no telling how strong that person is."

"You're right Jiraiya" Tsunade said sadly as she began writing on a scroll that had survived being crushed along with her desk. "As much as I hate to do it, it's for the brat's own good if he is returned to the village where he can be better protected. I'll take the possibility of him hating the village and me and I accept it. I'll also reveal his full heritage when he returns. Hopefully that will get the villagers and shinobi to leave him alone and maybe even convince him to stay. I'll let him live in the Senju Compound since I usually live here in the Hokage Mansion and he's technically family anyway."

She had finished her sentence at the same time she finished the scroll and handed it to Kakashi. "That is the list of those that will be part of the next retrieval team. For now since we don't know where Naruto is, the members will have to focus on preparing for the confrontation. Also I want you and your team to tell the others all of the techniques that Naruto used during the fight, at least to give them some measure of being prepared. Also inform them of Naruto's alias too."

Kakashi nodded and left a split second later with a shunshin.

"I have a funny feeling I'm on that list aren't I hime." Jiraiya said.

"Damn straight you are along with team 7, 8, 9 and 10 with their teachers minus Kurenai since either she or Asuma has to stay back to watch over their kid. She's the best choice since I don't think Genjutsu will do much against Naruto. So I'm replacing her with Yugao whose kenjutsu should be enough to match Naruto's. Along with that I'm going to send Tenzo, Anko, Iruka and Shizune too, the last two hopefully make him see reason before we have to use force. And in the off chance that things really go to hell, I'll have the Hokage Platoon on standby to use the Hiraishin and teleport me to the area."

"That's a bit extreme don't you think?" Jiraiya asked as he listened to what Tsunade said.

"Hey I don't like it either but you said it yourself that Naruto is about S-rank in terms of skills. We don't know the extent of those skills but he was clearly a match for Team 7 even if their orders were to capture him. Naruto can most likely control the Kyuubi and use its chakra and since its clear he won't return to the village willingly will most likely have to use force and it won't be easy. Sending a large group of people who are chunin to jonin level is the best chance of bringing him back in the events that negotiations fail." Tsunade replied. "Besides with Tenzo there he can use his Mokuton to bind Naruto if either your or Kakashi can get the necklace on him and the numbers should be able to take on Akatsuki in the off chance that they encounter them during the mission."

"And in the event we do use force and bring him back we'll have hell raining down on us from not just the kid but from a long line of villages and nations, not please of having their hero being forced back to his home." Jiraiya added.

"Yeah but its better then having Naruto being captured by Akatsuki, turned into a weapon by another village or Danzo or worse killed just so someone can make a profit from his corpse. The way I see it it's the lesser of two evils to have him brought back to the village so we can protect him." Tsunade replied before getting up, heading towards the door to exit her office.

"Going to get a drink hime?" Jiraiya asked as he watched his former teammate leave the room. He figured that all the shit that's happening now, the decisions she's making, he wouldn't blame for wanting to get drunk to ease her mind.

However her words to his question were different. "No to the Senju Compound, there's something of my grandmother's that I need to see to confirm a suspicion of mine. Meanwhile I want you to get your spy network working on finding Naruto's location. The faster we find it before anyone else does the better." Tsunade ordered before leaving the office, not even giving Jiraiya a chance of asking what she meant.

(Konoha, Training Ground 7, Konoha 12)

The members of the unofficial Konoha 12, minus Sai, had gathered at Team 7's former training ground in order to hear from Sasuke and Sakura about their encounter with Naruto. By the time they were finished with the story, the others all had shocked expressions on their faces. After a moment of silence it was Shino who surprisingly spoke first.

"I admit I did not expect Naruto-san to have become that powerful. Looking back I'm glad that I made the logical decisions of not engaging him when I had the chance." The Aburame said.

"I wonder where Naruto got that sword he was using? Maybe he could let me take a look at it." Tenten said thoughtfully to herself when she heard the sword Naruto wielded as described by Sasuke.

"Yosh I am happy to know that Naruto's flames of youth have not diminished over the years!" Rock Lee said before adding. "Though the mention of him not wanting to return to the village is most concerning."

"That's an understatement of the century." Shikamaru Nara said in return. "It's a good chance that the Hokage is going to send out another retrieval team and I have the troublesome feeling its going to be us."

"P-perhaps not, m-maybe Hokage-sama will just leave Naruto-kun alone if he's happier outside the village." Hinata Hyuuga said in her usual shy voice. While she was happy to know that her crush was still alive, it also saddened her that he no longer wanted to return to his home. But she knew that he would be a lot happier outside Konoha anyway.

"She might be thinking that but she knows that she won't have a choice in the matter." Sasuke said. "The risks of him being captured by Akatsuki or another village that wants to increase their strength are too great. And as Shikamaru said before it's probably a good chance that another team will be sent to retrieve him and it will most likely be us."

"You don't think she'll send all of us do you?" Choji asked his best friend Shikamaru while munching on some chips.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered. "If what Sasuke and Sakura says is true and that they along with Kakashi-sensei and Sai couldn't lay a finger on Naruto then Hokage-sama will definitely send all of us. So that we can overwhelm him or maybe that a few of us will be able to convince him to return to Konoha willingly. Also we have to find him first before anything else."

"Couldn't you just ask Temari where Naruto might be?" Ino asked her teammate.

"She already left to head back to her village and even if she was still here she wouldn't tell me anything. That troublesome woman is to damn stubborn…hell I doubt even your father mind reading, Anko-san and Ibiki-san together would be able to get the answers out of her." Shikamaru said though he was more focus on the fact how this would affect their relationship. Dating someone from another village wasn't simple you know.

"It probably won't be that bad." Kiba said suddenly. "There's no way he'll be able to stand up against all of us if we gang up on him. And I bet after the Hokage apologizes he'll became the same idiot we all know and blow this whole thing over like he always does." Kiba said positively though it didn't seem like the others shared in the Inuzuka's idea.

"Doubtful" Sasuke said in response. "But either way until we hear any word of his new location we won't be going after Naruto for awhile, especially if its in a country that our presence could cause serious problems for the village and Fire Country. Also Hokage-sama that this is an S-rank secret meaning we can't tell anyone, especially the civilians, though she said that the Ichiraku were the sole exception."

"So that means no gossip talking Ino-pig" Sakura said to her old friend, half serious and half playful.

"Hey I'm not that bad!" Ino retorted in her defense before looking towards the others for support but got only silence. "Right?"

In another place in the village, one of the shinobi's bar, a similar conversation was going on between several people.

Kakashi was talking with Asuma, Gai. Yamoto, and Iruka about the mission they were given involving Naruto. Kakashi had already told Anko and Yugao respectively and just like with the four men with him, he also filled them in on Naruto's alias. He told them that their students would be informed later on. Currently he was telling his colleagues about his team's fight with Naruto back in Wind Country a few days ago. When Kakashi finished his tale, the others had looks of surprise and amazement.

"Damn" Asuma said, being the first to break the silence. "I didn't think the kid would've gotten that strong. Though its kind of hard to believe that he's this Kodama character that I've been hearing about."

"Same for me but Jiraiya-sama seems pretty sure that they're one in the same." Kakashi replied.

"If you look at the achievements that Kodama did then it would make sense that its just Naruto's alias. They also have a thing in common: corrupt and cruel individuals. Naruto has always been the one to save people from oppression and unfairness." Iruka added.

"Still I must admit that it's hard to believe how much the kid had change from an orange loudmouth to a S-rank shinobi in just six years." Asuma said still having trouble believing it.

"Truly Naruto's flames of youth are brighter then ever if he has accomplish such feats! I look forward to seeing him again." Gai said.

"I doubt it will be a friendly reunion." Kakashi said. Everyone noticed the depress tone in his voice.

"How bad is it?" Asuma asked.

Kakashi sighed. "Well does the fact that we're bringing Iruka with us help show how bad the situation is?" He asked rhetorically before looking at Iruka. "No offense, I know your skills are good. But excluding the Ichirakus and Shizune, you're the only other person who was kind to Naruto. You might have a better chance then anyone else in the village."

Iruka nodded solemnly as he took all that in. It also wouldn't hurt to get in a bit of training just in case…guess he could go and ask Anko for some help.

"Anyway we're not moving until we know where Naruto is…and in a place where our presence won't cause any problems for the village." Kakashi said. "Jiraiya-sama and Hokage-sama decided that we'll begin preparing the retrieval team tomorrow as a whole. We'll also have to take in the chance of running into Akatsuki too."

The others nodded in agreement.

(Amegakure)

Standing on the edge of the highest tower of the metal-like village that was Amegakure, was a spiky orange haired man wearing the Akatsuki cloak. What was unique about him was that covering most of his face were multiple piercings with three on both sides of his nose, two under his lip and several on his ears. The other thing were his eyes, they were a metallic silver color with a ripple like pattern in them converging on a tiny black dot-like pupil. Currently the man was simply staring up at the sky, completely ignoring the endless rain falling down on him.

"Pain" A female voice said from behind. The man, named Pain, turned around and saw a person standing at the entrance of the tower. It was a female, who appeared to be in her thirties-forties and wore the Akatsuki cloak as well. She had blue colored hair and amber eyes, with a lighter blue paper flower in her hair on the front right side. Like Pain she also had a piercings but only had one, which was directly underneath her bottom lip. The woman also wore lavender eye shadow too. "He's here." The woman continued.

"Understood Konan" Pain said to the woman before entering the tower, spotting a third person. Just like Pain and Konan the third person, a male, also wore the Akatsuki cloak but his entire face, minus his black spiky hair, was completely hidden by an orange mask with a swirl that converged onto a single eyehole on the right side of the mask.

"I assume that Zetsu told you about the recent information he gathered on the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki…Madara" Pain asked the mask man.

Said man looked at Pein and for a brief second, a sharingan could be seen from the single eyehole on the man's mask. "Indeed and I see that I'm not the only one surprise by what Zetsu recorded?"

Zetsu had managed to record the fight between Naruto and his old team in the Land of Wind in order for the Akatsuki scout/spy to gain information on the jinchuuriki's current skill level. Needless to say the scout was shocked at said boy's skill level, as well as the rest of Akatsuki when the plant man showed the recorded battle to them the next day. Pain or Nagato being his real name, was quiet for a while after watching it before finally speaking, giving the order that for now Naruto would be left alone until he came to a decision of how to deal with the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. He told the rest of Akatsuki to continue focusing on capturing the other jinchuuriki.

"To be able to fight two sharingan users, one an S-rank shinobi, and escape unscathed is quite an impressive feat." Konan commented, joining in the conversation.

"Indeed" Madara said in agreement. "His use of kenjutsu, wind techniques and even the chakra chains that his mother could use are impressive. And the technique he used at the end look similar to the Yondaime Hokage's Hiraishin." The mask man commented. "But I believe that the real topic in mind is his sub-element, Onmyoton."

"A chakra nature that surpasses even the Shodaime Hokage's Mokuton and an element that only one who wields the Rinnegan can use." Nagato said. The truth actually was that the Rinnegan enabled to use Onmyoton by combining its two divided chakra natures, Yin Release and Yang Release, which is how the Rikudo Sennin, the original bearer of the dojutsu, could use his Banbutsu Sozo no Jutsu (Creation of All Things Technique). And despite his great powers Nagato's skills were nowhere near the Sage's and he had only been able to use the technique to the extent of controlling several bodies, like he was doing now. But Naruto's Onmyoton allowed Naruto to actually use the chakra nature, along with Yin Release and Yang Release.

"Indeed, there has only been one other person who had the Kekkei Genkai and was coincidentally also a member of the Uzumaki Clan…" Madara said.

"My grandfather, Sadahiko Uzumaki" Nagato said suddenly.

Konan seemed surprise, not that Nagato was an Uzumaki since he told her a long time ago, but that he was the grandson of the most powerful man since the Rikudo Sennin. Madara, however, wasn't surprise by either, even though he was wearing a mask covering his face. But the evidence was in his voice, which remained calm and collected, as he said, "So you know." It wasn't a question.

"I found out from my mother when I was a child." Pain said quickly, not wanting to bring up those memories of better times.

As if reading her old friend's mind, Konan changed the subject. "But that doesn't explain how the jinchuuriki has it. Even if he is from the same clan that doesn't mean he could have Sadahiko's sub-element. Neither the Shodaime's children or grandchildren inherited the Mokuton and Nagato didn't inherit Onmyoton from his grandfather so why does the boy have it?" She said.

Without hesitation Madara replied, "While you bring up a good point the best explanation is that like Nagato, Naruto is also closely related to Sadahiko, being his great-grandson from his mother's side."

Konan's eyes widened, as did Nagato's Deva Path, before the latter reverted back to his normal impassive look. "And how did you know that?" Nagato asked, with a hint of edge in his voice this time.

Unfazed by it, Madara merely said, "I kept close tabs on the last Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Kushina Uzumaki when she was alive and while doing so discovered of her being Sadahiko's granddaughter. I preferred to have tabs on anything related to that man if I could."

"But our target is the jinchuuriki, not Sadahiko." Nagato added.

"Yes but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. If the jinchuuriki has the bloodline and mastered it, even if not on the same level as Sadahiko, he could become very difficult to capture. Combined with how he managed to escape from a tracking expert of Kakashi's level, along with the fact we still don't know the full extent of his abilities, we cannot afford to be reckless." Madara rebuked.

"You seem to be quite nervous with anything revolving around Sadahiko." Konan said a little bit mockingly. She never did trust the Uchiha, due to her feelings that he was merely using Nagato and took a little bit of joy at seeing him showing signs other then calm and confident.

However Madara was far from being angry at the hidden insult. "You would too if you saw what that man was capable of." The Uchiha said. "While he is the only other person I have ever respected along with Hashirama, Sadahiko Uzumaki is the only person in the world whom I've also feared too. That man was able to take both Hashirama and myself at the same time and defeated us too. His skills with Onmyoton, as well as fuinjutsu, kenjutsu and his clan's solid chakra shape manipulation made him a fierce shinobi of unparallel levels. And don't even get me started on what happened when he was enraged."

Soon Madara turned around and began making his way towards the same edge that Pain had been standing just a few moments ago. "After six years of staying off the radar, we've finally located the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. We cannot lose him again and we cannot afford to make any mistakes, not when we're close to completing our goal." And with that the ancient Uchiha disappeared into thin air, leaving only Pain, Konan and the endless rain. But the Angel of Amegakure could tell that something was troubling her old friend judging from the way that Deva Path was staring out into the stormy sky. "Is something wrong Nagato? You've been very quiet ever since this new info on the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was given." Konan said.

At first the God of Amegakure did not respond but after a minute Nagato spoke, "Uzushio fell sometime around the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War. So why is it that my mother, an Uzumaki and furthermore the daughter of the clan leader at the time, was living in this country before Uzushio's fall?" Konan's eyes widened a little as she continued to listen to Nagato. "Until recently I haven't been really thinking about it, my mind focused on…other things. But now if the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is indeed connected to Sadahiko Uzumaki in some way, then there is also a chance he might head to Whirlpool Country. If that happens I will see to his capture personally and hopefully find an answer to my question."

(Next Day Land of Spring, Daimyo's Palace)

"I really wish I didn't have to wear this every time when I stayed here." Naruto mumbled to himself as he looked in the mirror. Since he revealed to her that he was still alive four years ago, Koyuki Kazahana, the Daimyo of Spring Country, had been kind enough to give Naruto a room in the palace whenever he stopped by. Unfortunately due to the fact he was a guest in a Daimyo's palace Naruto had to look respectable, meaning wearing a kimono instead of his usual outfit or even just a normal short sleeve shirt and pants. Hence why he was now wearing a red and black yukata, something that Naruto didn't like…he felt vulnerable in it though he was probably being paranoid. The good news was that he was allowed to have Sekirei strapped to his waist and also he had wristbands with seals on them too.

Naruto just let out a sigh as he adjusted the sash before putting on his sandals and walked out the door of his room. He gave a polite nod towards some passerby servants as he headed towards the garden, where a servant told him that Koyuki currently was with Kiko and Yujin. Naruto had a feeling that Koyuki would normally be doing something politic related but it was a good bet that Kiko "convinced" her using the infamous Puppy Dog Eye no Jutsu on the Spring Daimyo. There wasn't a single person that had met Kiko who didn't succumb to the Triple S-rank kinjutsu along with the little girl's charms. Hell even Gaara wasn't immune to it, from both Kiko and his own children.

A few minutes later Naruto had arrived to the medium size indoor-outdoor garden. Originally it was just an indoor garden including a glass dome over it. The reason is because Spring Country was still Snow Country at that time and the glass dome helped protect the flowers from being frozen to death. Of course now that it wasn't winter 24/7 Koyuki had the dome remade to allow someone to open a close it manually. And sitting on a bench at the center of the garden were Koyuki who was playing with Kiko, the little girl happily laughing as she picked out flowers. Both of them were wearing yukata, Kiko wearing a blue and red yukata while Koyuki wore a plain aqua and purple color instead of her more designed one that she wears for appearances during her duties as Daimyo. Also in the garden were several light armored samurai guards and, though not visible, four Yuki-nins (Those that had remained loyal to Koyuki and her father when her uncle took over the country) and Yujin who stood across from the guards but still had Kiko in his sights.

Yujin had a very unique appearance. He was taller then a normal human being, between 6 to 7 feet, had a dark green colored skin and he had no hair on his head either. His eyes had red sclera instead of the normal white with his eyes being completely black. He wore a simple long-sleeved brown hooded cloak that reached his ankles along with dark blue shinobi pants and shinobi black sandals. The explanation to Yujin's unique appearance was simple: He wasn't human. The Rikudou Sennin created Yujin using his Banbutsu Sozo no jutsu (Creation of All Things Technique) 1,000 years ago. This made Yujin the only being alive who was older then the Bijuus. The reason for his creation was because the Sage wanted Yujin to watch over the world after his passing, to record the history of the world and one day aid the one who would take the Sage's mantle as the Savior of the World.

During the first few years since his creation, Yujin had befriended the Uzumaki clan. He had a lot in common with them, namely their interest in history and knowledge and Yujin swore loyalty to the Uzumaki Clan for eternity. When Uzushio was being invaded, Yujin was given the task of safeguarding the underground vault that housed the clan's important scrolls and relics so to keep them out of the hands of the unworthy and to help survivors of the clan that ever came back to Whirlpool Country. That's how Naruto met him, when said boy came to the island after learning about his lineage. That was actually about two months after he left Konoha and since then Yujin has faithfully served Naruto for the past six years, along with babysitting Kiko when Naruto was busy. And if he wasn't available…well let's just say Naruto never had to worry about finding a babysitter for Kiko.

His thoughts were cut off when his daughter's voice shouted, "Daddy!" And soon said girl ran towards him. Naruto barely had enough time to grab Kiko into a hug but still managed to do it and took comfort as he felt his daughter's warmth against his body. Even though it was for a brief second, that was enough for Naruto to feel like he finally had a light in his life of dark misery and pain.

When he put her down Kiko still had the same smile Naruto always had when he was younger, another sign of their daughter-father bond. "Auntie Koyuki and I are making crowns! See?" She said as she showed Naruto a band of flowers in her hand. "This yours!" She said cutely as she put it into Naruto's hand.

Naruto smiled softly as he took it, rubbing his daughter's head. "Thank you Kiko-chan!" He said with kindness. His response was a beaming smile from Kiko who quickly ran back to another batch of flowers, now focusing on making another crown for herself and for her Aunty Koyuki. As she was doing that, with Yujin near her, Naruto sat down on the bench beside Koyuki, both of them looking at the little redhead.

After a few moments of comfortable silence Naruto spoke, "Thanks again for letting me, Kiko-chan and Yujin-san stay in your palace for a few days Koyuki-chan." The older redhead said to the Spring Daimyo.

"No problem Naruto-kun. I'm always happy to have you and Kiko-chan over. That and my movie director is very grateful to you for letting them turn your book into a movie." Koyuki said, her comment making Naruto scratch the back of his sheepishly.

Three years after his banishment and completing his Onmyoton training, Naruto began writing a book calling it. "Wandering Spirit by the Crimson Tide" the alias he used instead of his real name. The story was mostly based off of his own personal life, it told the tale of a person who was betrayed by the people he swore to protect and his life afterwards as he traveled the world, seeking to find his place in life. The story was a mixed of drama, adventure and some comedy and sexual scenes in the book too. To be honest Naruto didn't really plan on publishing it and it took some coaxing from Yujin and Sadahiko to release his ideas. By the end of the first set of six months the book had become a tremendous hit, easily being more popular then Jiraiya's icha-icha series. The money he got was greatly welcomed to help Naruto survive and now being used to help Kiko too. So after three more years Naruto had already published two more books with the series all of them tremendous hits with no one able to figure out he was the writer. Naruto had revealed to Koyuki he was the writer, with her director begging to turn the book into a movie, with Koyuki starring as the main female character of course. Naruto was sort of uncomfortable with the idea but eventually agreed, if not to see what it looks like on film and the extra money would be appreciated.

"It was no problem, just make sure that myself and the others get free tickets for it." Naruto said jokingly.

"Of course" Koyuki replied in similar joking manner with a giggle after it.

The two once more entered a moment of comfortable silence as they watched Kiko, who was still skimming for suitable flowers. But after a few minutes Naruto noticed that Koyuki looked uncomfortable, like she wanted to ask him something but was nervous to speak. "Is something wrong?" Naruto asked her.

Koyuki hesitated for a second but finally managed to speak. "Well I know that it doesn't sound like a big deal but ever since I saw you with your hair dyed red, I assumed that it was because Kiko inherited her mother's red hair and you wanted people to think she got it from you." The Daimyo said.

'Ah so that's the reason why she hesitated' Naruto thought to himself. Koyuki probably thought it would've given Naruto bad memories of mentioning Kiko-chan's physical traits; that she assumed Kiko got her hair color from her mother. But that was far from the truth.

"The Uzumaki clan, mine and my mother's clan were not just known for our long lives and mastery of fuinjutsu, but also that every member was born with red hair." Naruto said to Koyuki who was listening intently. "I dyed my hair in order to hide my identity a little bit but also to honor my clan. Kiko-chan got her red hair from me."

That surprised Koyuki a little. She had heard about the Uzumaki clan and how they lived on the now deserted Whirlpool Country. But she had still assumed that Kiko had inherited her hair color from her mother. "So Kiko-chan didn't inherit her red hair from her mother's side?" Koyuki asked.

Naruto chuckled but it was an empty chuckle. "Kiko-chan didn't inherit anything from her mother…because there was no mother" He replied dryly.

Before Koyuki could ask what he meant by that when Naruto suddenly jolted a little. "The emergency alert seal I left for Gaara at Suna just activated." Naruto said to a confuse Koyuki. "A seal I gave to Gaara in case if he ever had to contact me for something. It sends the chakra of the user to me and judging by the surge of it, it must be very important." Naruto explained as he looked at a glowing seal on his wristband. Then he looked at Koyuki, "I'm sorry to do this after I just got here but could you…"

Koyuki waved her hand. "It's fine, your friend the Kazekage might be in trouble so you should hurry." The Spring Daimyo said.

Naruto smiled gratefully before looking at Yujin. "Yujin I'm heading back to Suna for a bit. When you get the chance try and look into that thing I asked."

Yujin bowed. "Yes Naruto-sama" He said respectfully.

Naruto looked at Kiko, the girl looking at him with her innocent childlike eyes. Naruto smiled kindly at her. "Daddy needs to go and see something but I'll be right back. So be good for Aunty Koyuki sweetie." Naruto said before teleporting in a red flash towards Sunagakure through his Mikado (God's Gate) technique.

(Two Days Later, River Country)

Near the border between Wind and Rain Country, three figures could be seen moving, or flying in ones case, at a casual pace. The first two were human and wore long dark blue cloaks with red clouds along with conical straw hats with a small ornamental torques and tassels covering their faces. The first one was a male and seemed pretty normal in appearance and looked to be relatively young, somewhere in between his late teens and early twenties. An odd thing about him was that his left arm was missing, with the sleeve of said arm torn apart at the end. His companion was the more odd looking one. This person was a male but was hunched back and thus shorter then the first male. The third being wasn't a human but instead a giant white owl flying near the ground but above the two men. Wrapped securely in its tail was the unconscious form of Gaara, who was also covered in bruises.

The one-armed male spoke, "We should be near the hideout soon, yeah" The male said.

The hunchback one grunted in response. "We would've gotten there sooner if you hadn't taken so long Deidara." He said annoyed.

"Hey that's not fair Sasori-sama. It's not my fault that the jinchuuriki was so skilled with that sand of his, yeah." The one named Deidara said in his defense.

"You got cocky and didn't bring enough clay with you when you had the chance after we were done sealing the Sanbi." Sasori countered. "Now because of that you're missing an arm and I doubt Kakuzu will attach a new one for you for free."

Though his hat was covering his face, you could tell Deidara had an annoyed look on his face at the realization.

The two continued walking for several more minutes, having gone back to a comfortable silence. But it was suddenly broken when a whirling noise in the wind could be heard from behind them. The two spun around and Deidara just narrowly avoided being impaled in the face by a kunai. "Where the hell did that come from uhn?" Deidara exclaimed as he looked for the perpetrator.

"So there was someone else besides that make-up wearing kid following us." Sasori mumbled to himself as he shifted his attention from the ninjato in front of him to check the rear along with Deidara. As the two were trying to find the person who threw the kunai, neither of them paid any heed to the sky as it darkened before overhead…wait why was the sky darkening?

'What the?' Deidara asked himself as he looked above him just in time to see Naruto dive towards him with a double-bladed edge ninjato in hand. Once again Deidara was saved by just a few seconds as a silver scorpion shaped tail lunged at Naruto. The Uzumaki managed to deflect the attack and do midair backward flip away from the two Akatsuki members. "Damn" Naruto said as he resealed the ninjato. "I was hoping that I could finish you both off quickly…guess that was thoughtful thinking."

Deidara, his hat having already come off and revealing his long blonde hair along with his eye-scope narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. "Hey Sasori-sama isn't that…"

"Yeah" Sasori said as his hat also came off, revealing his three grey hair strands sticking up from his head along with his mouth being covered by a black cloth. Sticking out from the back of his cloak was the silver scorpion tail. "The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki AKA Kodama."

"Uhn, looks like I'll be taking down Itachi's target. I can't wait to see the look on his face." Deidara said with a cruel smirk forming on his face.

Naruto didn't seem affected by the declaration he merely drew Sekirei and got into a fighting stance. He was wearing a black coat with long sleeves along with a hood and red lines running all over the coat, forming a whirlpool at the back. Underneath it was a dark blue shirt and mesh shirt under it, along with long black shinobi pants and black sandals too. Naruto was also wearing his normal fingerless black gloves and red bracers over the coat's sleeves. "You guys have two choices." Naruto said in a calm but at the same time threatening voice. "Release Gaara willingly and I'll give you a painless death or…" This time Naruto's blue eyes darkened, giving off the feeling of a heartless demon and the coldest area on the planet at the same time. "I take Gaara back by force and give you both a painful death. Which one do you choose?"

And there's the second chapter! Also revolving around how Naruto discovered and mastered Onmyoton, met Yujin, got the fox summoning contract and Kiko's origin will slowly be explained later on. Also how did you like my little move with Nagato? Also information on Naruto's Space-Time Ninjutsu will be revealed later on.