Chapter 27

The Iron Country trained samurai cursed missing his target. He returned to his lord, only to be admonished for not considering the boy was going to report to the Hokage. It made sense so he left the hotel immediately, his destination the Hokage Tower. He never made it, having seen the Uzumaki out and about. Deciding to do a little research, as the residents had been incredibly tight lipped about anything retarding the boy. The samurai assumed it was because he wasn't a resident and as such they didn't trust him.

He stalked the Uzumaki, watching the boy purchase various fruits from a stand. The interaction was stilted between the operator and the ninja, both appearing to tolerate each other and no more. He then watched as the boy entered a convenience store and exited with bottles of water, storing them in a scroll, along with the fruit before darting off. It was difficult to keep up without alerting the younger male but the samurai managed it. He followed the Uzumaki onto a field, a likely training area that was inhabited by a copy of the redhead and three children.

The children, two boys and a girl, were shins deep in a small pond going through hand to hand forms while the copy of the Uzumaki looked on. The one he'd followed handed the other the scroll and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The samurai hide behind a tree and watched the kids train, and complain about the exercise.

"Boss, why do we have to do this?" Konohamaru asked.

"It'll increase your speed and has none of the drawbacks of weights or resistance seals. This is how I trained when I was your age and I certainly didn't have anyone around to make me a freaking pond, ya ingrates."

"That was cool but my sandals are wet and it feels weird." Moegi chimed it.

"No one told you to wear your sandals." Naruto shot back.

"But I didn't want muddy feet!"

"I made the bottom stone!"

That was meet with a round of oh's from the academy students. Soon the children switched to weapons training before the Uzumaki called the training session to a close and gave them the fruit and water. The samurai watched as the, alleged, demon chatted and joked with the kids before sending them on their way. The Uzumaki then whistled a tune before speaking,

"You can come out now." That shocked the samurai, he thought he'd gone undetected but it was clear he was wrong. He walked purposefully, his navy blue kosode and matching hakama swaying in the wind. His katana strapped to his side, held in place by a white obi. The sword itself, very basic with a black cord wrapping, a standard tsuba and a black scabbard. He stopped just three meters shy of his target. Perfect distance for a speedy blade draw. One cut, one kill and it'd all be over.

"I am here on behalf of my lord, Kurosawa Ichiro-sama," he started and saw a flash of rage appear in the boy's eyes, the blue seeming colder now.

"He's alive? And he sent you here all the way from Ishval, told you to infiltrate a shinobi village with the goal of assassinating one of its ninja?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, I accompanied my lord here, I infiltrated nothing."

"Where is he?"

The samurai was taken aback by the clipped, demanding tone. "At the Shimmering Leaf, room 334. Not that it matters, I was ordered to cut you down and I will. Prepare yourself." Before he could even get in his stance, the samurai was violently toppled, being shoved into the ground and having a wave of chakra flood his system. He could turn his head to see a masked individual holding the Uzumaki back, single handedly. The Uzumaki, having had his blade drawn and in a perfect position to stab him in the neck, had he not been saved. The Uzumaki was pushed back and made no attempt to attack again.

The masked man buried his knee into the samurai, causing the man to grunt in discomfort. "What you did is not only illegal but very foolish, Samurai-san. Please don't think I saved you as where you're going will be much worse than the swift death you were about to receive."

"How?"

"He placed you under an illusion before you ever said a word to him."

"When I whistled. Courtesy of a fellow clansperson."

"Though it wouldn't have fooled a shinobi, Naruto-kun. It needs more work."

"Everybody's a critic. Well, what do we do now?"

"You dispel and let the original know Ichiro-san is being guarded so you won't be able to reach him."

"We'll see." the shadow clone said before dissolving into a cloud of smoke.

"I wasn't even facing the real one?" The ANBU agent didn't respond, only tying up the swordsman and preparing him for transport to T&I.

The real Naruto received the information but it almost didn't register, as he was awash in painful feelings and memories. Kyo taking the brunt of the explosion on the bridge, being dead before he hit the water. Rikku, buried to her neck, her face a vision of pain and sorrow as Raiga gloated over her corpse. Her death hurting all the more because it was Naruto's suggestion they split up for the day. Yagami barely having enough strength to drag them onto the small ship, often delirious before he made it to Tsunade and Shizune. The last he remembered of the man was a brief smile and a thanks, he slipped away while Naruto was black outed.

There was virtually no one Naruto hated. He'd been able to come to terms with his ostracization thanks to Bagheera and while he disliked the villagers, he didn't hate them and left himself open to change if they did. He hated the Old Man but that stemmed from his great sense of disappointment, betrayal, and the still nagging desire to be truly acknowledged by the one he once considered family. But Kurosawa Ichiro was a monster. He had enough and wanted more because having more than all those around him made him feel superior.

He was a beast in fancy clothes. A cruel, vain, stupid fuckup that got dozens of people killed. Naruto knew it was a high percentage of luck that allowed him to survive Ishval and it'd taken him months to deal with the guilt of being the only one to return. One source of solace having been the, assumed, death of the bastard that started it all but he wasn't dead. And for all Naruto knew, he went on to become even worse.

That thought made him push himself even harder as he ran across the rooftops in blinding speed. He didn't stop until he was a few buildings away from the hotel. It'd do him no good to just charge in, especially if the man was guarded. He stopped, taking calming breaths, his emotions were all over the place and that'd leave him open to a mistake. He'd beaten or held off superior opponents because they were sloppy and overconfident. He could never let that be him.

He looked around and couldn't pin where the protection detail may be, at least on the exterior of the building. A use of shadow clones and henges could possibly get him close but if only if he got in undetected. Tiring of the internal debate, Naruto selected his plan and was about to make his way to the hotel lobby until he felt the disturbance of an incoming shunshin and then a hand on his shoulder.

The person that stopped him had a bandana hitai-ate, a jounin vest and a senbon in his mouth. Genma Shiranui, one of the members of his father's protection detail. One trusted enough to learn a modified version of the Hiraishin. Naruto met the Special Jounin's eyes, awaiting for him to speak first. Genma, however, was slightly taken aback. He'd seen those eyes before. After Obito, after Rin. The look of determination, and the promise of a reckoning. Genma hoped the kid didn't have his mother's temper and could be reasoned with.

"Kid, I know why you're here and I understand but I can't allow you to do this. Just turn around and go about your day."

"Why is he even here? He got three of our ninja killed, he should be in a cell, not a suite."

"That is above my paygrade, I just know Sandaime-sama ordered me to protect him until instructed otherwise."

"Of fucking course." Naruto said, clenching his fist. That Old Man was running one of his games again instead of just nipping the problem in the bud.

"Give the Sandaime a break, trust me, there is more going on than we know but that guy has not been living in luxury laughing at our losses. Naruto didn't respond. Questionable leadership accounted for, the Old Man does care about most of his forces, Naruto couldn't deny that fact with a straight face.

"We ok here?" Another Jounin asked from behind.

"We're fine, Raido; right, Naruto?"

"Yea, we're fantastic."

"Good, good." Raido said in response.

"What about the package?" asked Genma.

"In his room, acting antsy."

What Raido didn't know was that Ichiro was overflowing with participation and when he heard his security detail start shifting he figured the first part of his plan had commenced. He only needed to get ready so he could confront the monster that ruined his life. He was finishing getting dressed, having managed to put a heavy vest over his kimono. It caused him great pain but it'd be worth it.

Ichiro left his room, his guards too focused on the outside threat to pay attention to him. His steps were slow, he forgoing his cane, for his showdown. He wouldn't demonstrate one ounce of weakness. He'd restore his pride and have his revenge. The thoughts of his victory dulled the pain he was feeling. Moments later he made it to the door at the lobby and took a deep breath before grasping a remote trigger connected to his vest, pressing down on a red button.

"UZUMAKI!" He yelled. "I KNOW YOU'RE HERE UZUMAKI! COME MEET ME, COWARD!" He was immediately surrounded by an ANBU team. "THIS VEST HAS ENOUGH EXPLOSIVES TO LEVEL SEVERAL BUILDINGS. IF YOU TOUCH ME I'LL RELEASE THE TRIGGER! WHERE IS UZUMAKI?" Naruto, Genma and Raido shunshin'd in front of the man, about 3 and a half meters back. Ichiro cackled in glee when he saw the red haired boy standing before him. All foot traffic in the vicinity of the man's shrieks stopped, seeing a heavily disfigured person shouting for that boy.

"I SEE THAT IDIOT SAMURAI GOT YOU HERE. DID YOU KILL HIM, DEMON?" Ichiro watched as Naruto refused to respond. "ANSWER YOUR BETTERS BOY. DID YOU KILL HIM LIKE YOU TRIED TO KILL ME? LIKE A COWARD? ANSWER ME OR I'LL LET GO OF THIS TRIGGER, I'M NOT PLAYING."

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Naruto said and all attending shinobi sweatdropped.

"AM I SOME KIND OF JOKE TO YOU, YOU LITTLE MONSTER? AM I? AM I? LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO ME? YOU DISFIGURED AND CRIPPLED ME AND ALL FOR THAT TRASH THAT DIDN'T KNOW ITS PLACE."

"You're alive, you should have been thankful for that."

"THANKFUL? YOUR HOKAGE HAS TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME, EVERYTHING MY FAMILY BUILT AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED LIKE THE REST OF THOSE FODDER NINJA LIKE I PLANNED."

Everyone felt a brief flash of killing intent, it disappearing as fast as it emerged. "Those ninja had more guts, character and worth than if you'd manage to live one hundred lifetimes."

"YOU'RE WRONG. ALL OF YOU ARE ONLY GOOD FOR FOLLOWING THE ORDERS OF YOUR BETTERS. THAT STUPID SAMURAI WAS THE SAME. JUST OBEDIENT DOGS FOR YOUR MASTERS. IF NOT FOR UPPITY NINJA I'D STILL BE WHOLE. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

All involved were starting to tire of the man and his rantings. The problem was, while the ANBU knew containment jutsu, they weren't designed to contain explosions; certainly not ones powerful enough to level several buildings. Attempts to severe the hand might cause the pressure to lighten off the button and genjutsu may be negated given the signs of agony that were seen in his body language. It's pretty clear he wants to kill Naruto and there is no way they could allow that to happen. Not only because of his Jinchuuriki status but due to the interests of each of the Sannin and the Sandaime… each of the ANBU in attendance shuttered to think what would happen if the Uzumaki died to a civilian nutjob.

Naruto, too, was aware things were escalating rapidly and something needed to be done. He was fortunate that he'd been preparing for a mad bomber and had develop a few jutsu to deal with explosions. He performed five hand seals, Dragon→Sheep→Monkey→Horse→Snake and thought [Water Style: Great Gummy Sphere]. The sphere of multi textured liquid rapidly approached Ichiro and engulfed him before he could move, the ANBU had managed to get out of the way. He was shocked to be suspended in a gel like prison and while he could move somewhat he couldn't exit out of the construct.

He stared at the Uzumaki, shocked and irate. He couldn't believe his guaranteed victory was slipping away from him. He took a look at his cage, it had roughly a 6 meter diameter. He was confident it couldn't quell the explosion and he'd likely take some of the villagers with him, even if the Uzumaki got away he'd be blamed for it. Without a second thought he released the button and died at the epicenter of the blast. If he could have somehow seen his attempt he'd have shrieked in displeasure as the gel did contain the blast and the lack of sufficient oxygen for a fire to ignite. The ANBU had taken precautions and created mud walls when they witnessed the man release the trigger and while they budged, they were not breached.

More squads of ANBU showed up with the Sandaime and Tsunade in tow. As the black ops got the villagers under control the Sandaime decided to question the Special Jounin on the scene.

"Genma, Raido, what happened?"

"A five foot loon with a deathwish, sir." Genma snarked but saw it was not received well by the aged Hokage. "Ichiro-san had an alleged massive bomb with a remote trigger, a deadman switch at that, and he threatened to use it here."

"Why?"

"Chunin Uzumaki arrived and our shifting to confront him must have alerted Ichiro. He then made his way out here and, boom."

"Why was Naruto-kun even here? How did he know to come here?"

"The samurai following Ichiro-san. Apparently, he was given orders to attack Uzumaki-san. His attacked was thwarted by an agent on the scene but the Naruto he stopped was a shadow clone. He alerted us that Uzumaki-san was headed straight here, Hokage-sama." replied Cat.

"And you two stopped him from infiltrating the hotel, leaving your charge unprotected?"

"We didn't think we had to protect him from himself, Hokage-sama. That was beyond our mandate." Raido said in Genma and his mutual defense. The Hokage reluctantly accepted the explanation.

"So, you stop Naruto-kun from getting to him. I'm assuming he didn't fight you."

"No Hokage-sama." bouth Special Jounin replied.

"But Ichiro-san emerges from the hotel, an explosive strapped to him. What did he want?"

"Payback on the kid for the impromptu makeover. Guess he didn't feel as pretty as he once did." Genma quipped.

"And how was it resolved? Clearly he triggered the explosive but what contained it? Four mud walls would not a 'massive bomb'."

"The kid had some water jutsu, well it looked like a water jutsu but I'd never seen it before. Suspended Ichiro in it and the man assumed it wouldn't be enough to prevent extensive damage. He was wrong."

The Sandaime took the information in stride, cataloguing all useful tidbits. Truthfully, Ichiro wasn't going to make it back to Ishval anyway. The delay was to cement the transfer of power before he ran into some bad luck on his way back. As such, there was no major loss as far as that goes. No property damage either.

"I'll have to count this as a failure in your missions records, I hope you realize that." The Jounin shrugged, neither minded and Hiruzen couldn't blame them. "Where is Naruto-kun?"

"I-I don't know." Raido answered and Genma shrugged again.

"Don't worry about it, I'll send someone to find him. You're both dismissed." Hiruzen said and both jounin departed without a moment's pause. Hiruzen looked to see his ANBU calming the people down. He even saw Tsunade talking to some of the villagers, something that surprised him. She wasn't all that sociable to most people. He saw her finish up her conversation and return to him. She met her sensei's eyes and picked up on the unasked question.

"I was just curious what they were saying about the incident."

"Oh, and what did they say?"

"That some mentally disturbed person essentially tried to hold them all hostage but was stopped by Naruto. Some even wondered if that's how they sounded, paranoid and cowardly, for being so scared of a twelve year old."

"That's good."

"That's a biased sample. No one who thought poorly of Naruto was going to say it to me unless they wanted to swallow their teeth."

"Good point, Tsunade-chan. Let's return to my office, paywork awaits."

"Oh joy!." she said sarcastically but followed nonetheless.

000000000000

As the day turned into the night, the uproar of near bombing had turned into quiet rumor mongering. Those brave souls in attendance with the power of hindsight and liquid courage spoke about their harrowing encounter. Naruto Uzumaki was on the lips of many but the heir of the Uzumaki clan was none the wiser as he sat in his retreat, Mageela sleeping peacefully in his lap. He was left with his thoughts and her soft snores as he stroked her back gently.

A presence made itself known as she entered his rooftop garden but she remained quiet taking a seat next to Naruto. She looked around at his collection of plants, impressed at the diversity and the overall health. It was calming, peaceful in a way not much in their world was and she understood why he'd come here to be alone. The silence was comfortable, the two at ease with each other as if they'd known each other for years. As serene as the silence was, she came here for a point and initiated speaking.

"I heard you had something of a rough day."

"You could say that."

"Want to talk about it?"

"I don't even know where to begin. Oh, I fall outside of the normal command structure during wartime so that's awesome. I may be made Chunin commander as if that's not laughable."

"Why would that be laughable?"

"I've just been promoted, Sensei. Also, I'm that kid. No one is going to want to listen to me and will think I've gotten the position through favoritism or something. Oh, and this little conflict I'd be leading people into only exists because a collection of overpowered psychos want to ripe the Kyuubi from my gut and it is guaranteed some if not many of us will die. And if that wasn't enough, that gutless tyrant had been alive this entire time and could have done god knows what in retaliation for me trying to kill him."

"You got that all out of your system?" Kurenai asked.

"I'm not throwing a temper tantrum, it's all true."

"No, you perceive it as true. Sometimes I forget you're still twelve."

"Only for a few more months." Naruto muttered but Kurenai ignored him.

"I'll concede, you being put in a leadership position given all that has happened isn't ideal and it is something the Sandaime should have considered while holding you back. No one wants war but there have been tensions between the 5 great villages since the end of the last war. But this is partially for your protection. He can't have you assigned to a foolish risk. It isn't pleasant to think about but your value is greater than almost any other single shinobi because you protect us all.

As far as the prejudice of the shinobi corps… it isn't as widespread as you think it is, at least not anymore. There was a time many of us were cautious or afraid. Some have experienced the power of a jinchuuriki, many have felt the power of the Kyuubi so leaving the control and containment to a child was not easy to accept. But eventually the fear passed and shame was left. You hadn't done anything but many avoided you anyway even knowing you provide a vital service and some continued to avoid you out of that shame. Those who didn't could see you were a very sweet boy that was dealt a bad hand. You may never get a collective apology for how we treated or allowed you to be treated but many have long come to see you as your own person and our comrade.

The Akatsuki goals are of their own choosing and they are a threat, to say you're somehow responsible is stupid and you know better so I won't waste anymore time on it. And as for this Ichiro person, I know you hate him. Even with him dead you still likely hate him but you need to let it go."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because he made the lives of his people worst for no other reason than it benefitted him. He had the power to change things and he didn't, he just watched them suffer and did nothing. People like that, I hate."

"Must have felt good to strike out at him in Ishval, huh?"

"I guess."

"And today, you foiled his plans and watched as his scheme was his undoing. That was nice, right?"

"Not really." Naruto said, shaking his head.

"Oh? Why do you think that is?"

"Because revenge is empty and doesn't change anything."

"Maybe. I've seen people lose themselves to revenge and I've seen others get it and it helped resolve their issues. If it isn't an obsession a little revenge is fine, I think. But you didn't get revenge."

"So then why did it feel empty?" Naruto asked, looking at the red eyed woman.

"I think you could slay every person like this Ichiro person in the Elemental Nations and it wouldn't matter."

"Why?"

"Because the person you're really angry at, the one you really want to hurt is the Sandaime. You see his worst qualities in people like Ichiro. Those who use their power solely for their benefit and watch their subordinates suffer. Like he did with you. I think there is a part of you so angry at him that if you hadn't suppressed it you'd be blinded with rage and hurt. But people like him, when out of missions, you can stop them. You aren't powerless nor are you subjected to their rule."

"I already know I hate the Old Man."

"Yes, but you always sound divorced from it. You know the emotion is there but you've walled it off. That's not good Naruto. It means you can never really get past everything, you'll only think you have until something taps into that latent hatred."

Naruto chuckles. "Orochimaru-shishou asked me if I could forgive him the night before we left."

"What did you say?"

"That I didn't know, if things had been different then maybe. I guess I was lying."

"No, it just means you're as complex as everyone else. I'll tell you like I told Asuma, you don't need to forgive the Sandaime to resolve things with him but as long as you carry around that hatred and that hurt it'll be an invisible weight on you."

"I'm not sure I know how to resolve things with him. I've gotten all I need from him."

"Really?" Kurenai asked, voice laced with skepticism. "Because I believe if you think really, really hard there is one question at the center of this, one answer you need you don't have." the Genjutsu Mistress finished and then departed, after ruffling Naruto's hair. The Uzumaki would spend the rest of the night in his garden, thinking about his sensei's words and so much else.