Ch 4

In a moderately sized room located in the Hokage tower, a council meeting began. The clan heads and civilian representatives sat were both present and waited until three final members arrived. Somber mood could be felt in the room, its occupants still saddened by the loss of their leader. Soon the door opened and three figures entered.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were the first to enter. Both were old veterans, serving with Sarutobi during the war. Their features were schooled and their postures commanding. Having been the main contributors to many village matters, they considered themselves very important assets of the village. Only the civilian side of the council showed them respect, however, since the clan heads often found their actions unreasonable and unnecessary.

Behind them, Danzo entered. He carried himself proudly, no emotion shown on his aged face. There was begrudging respect from the clan heads for the man as he was very powerful and held Konoha's safety above anything else. That's where the respect ended because many were against his methods and especially the Root program.

The three took their seats and looked over the room's occupants. Seeing that every council member was present, Mitokado Homura stood up.

"Let us begin the meeting," he began, shuffling papers in his hands. "There will only be one topic today. We are going to choose the Godaime."

Everyone stiffened but no one said anything. Not everyone wanted to go through with this so fast after Sarutobi's passing, yet they knew that it was necessary. Having a village without a leader at a crucial time like this could lead the village to its doom.

"We have already asked Jiraiya but he declined and set out to find any rumors of an attack from our enemies," Homura continued. "Jiraiya, however, nominated Tsunade for the position."

Nara Shikaku nodded from his seat. "That would be an acceptable choice. Tsunade-sama is a powerful and respected kunoichi trained by Sarutobi-sama himself."

There were several more nods of agreement but a strong, commanding voice decided to interrupt.

"I disagree with that decision," Danzo began from his seat. "Tsunade hasn't been seen for over fifteen years and she spends her days drinking and gambling her inheritance away. If anything, she should be marked as a nukenin. She is not suitable to lead the village."

Clan heads frowned, wondering where he was going with this. Their frowns deepened as they saw several civilians nod in agreement. Homura and Koharu also looked like they agreed with the man.

"Who would you suggest then, Danzo-sama?" a civilian asked.

Danzo stood up. "I nominate myself for the position of the Godaime Hokage."

No one seemed surprised at that. It was a common knowledge to anyone who knew Danzo that the man wanted the Hokage position for years. After the Kyubi attack, he failed in his endeavor because Sarutobi was alive but now there was no one to prevent him. The civilians, along with Homuta and Koharu, were all in favor of the idea and the clan heads couldn't do much. Even if they rebelled against the decision, it would only endanger the village in the long run.

"Very well then," Homura said with finality. "As of today, the Godaime Hokage is Shimura Danzo."

Danzo stood up, barely concealing his smirk and bowed slightly to the others in the room. The civilians read it as a sign of thanks but the clan heads knew what he meant. He was finally in charge.

Straightening himself, Danzo addressed the room. "The meeting is adjourned. Tomorrow morning we will meet again to discuss further problems."

People began to file out of the room silently, some nodding to Danzo while some ignored him. Now left alone with the two elderly council members, Danzo motioned to follow him to his new office. The two walked behind him quietly and they reached the office within minutes. Sitting himself in the Hokage's chair with a smug expression on his face, Danzo looked at the two members.

"Send someone to collect the genin who participated in the exams," he said.

The two nodded and left in a hurry, leaving Danzo alone to revel in his victory. His victorious smirk didn't leave his face for hours.

Xxxx

Naruto awoke with a groan hearing the louder than normal knocks on his door. Tiredly, he sat up and swung his legs off the bed before shaking his head, his long hair flaying wildly. He stopped and yawned before standing up and slowly walked to the door. Opening it, he came face-to-face with a cute brown haired girl wearing a standard Konoha uniform with a chunin flak jacket who blushed brightly the moment she saw him.

He looked at her in confusion before he realized he was only wearing boxers and he chuckled lightly. "Hey um what can I do for you?" he asked, scratching his cheek.

Regaining her composure the girl gave him a small smile. "Hokage-sama has requested your presence."

"Hokage? Is this some kind of joke?" he asked with an angry frown.

The kunoichi shook her head. "It is not a joke, Uzumaki-san. Shimura Danzo was elected as the Godaime this morning. They announced it to the village two hours ago."

Still frowning he realized that he slept in pretty late to miss the announcement. Nodding to the kunoichi, she smiled and left while he closed the door and went to get dressed. As he put his clothes on, he mulled over the information he received. Danzo as the Hokage? Sarutobi was probably turning in his grave.

Finally dressed, he looked himself over. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a facemask attached, black pants and black knee high shinobi sandals. A pair of Anbu style fingerless gloves donned his hands a dark red sash was wrapped around his waist. His forehead protector was wrapped around his forehead and he tied his hair into a ponytail leaving two bangs to frame his face. Strapping his pouches, he nodded to himself and walked out of his apartment.

As he jumped over the rooftops, he glanced down at the streets. When he left the hospital to buy himself some new clothes, he received many looks of respect from the general populace. He was greatly surprised when the shopkeeper greeted him warmly and even helped him pick out his new clothes. Apparently saving the village from a giant demon would change their opinions of you.

It didn't take him long to reach the Hokage Tower and he swiftly walked the steps to the office. Knocking on the sturdy door, he waited until he heard the call and entered. Inside, he found several more people other than the newly appointed Hokage. Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai and Asuma stood with Sasuke, Shino, Neji and Shikamaru in front of them. He had a general idea of why he was here so he took a spot next to Sasuke, who shot him a hateful glare, and waited.

Danzo looked over each genin before nodding. "First off, congratulations for reaching the third exam," he said with a fake voice of praise. "My advisors and I have evaluated your performances and decided on the promotions," five genin stood on attention, waiting for the results. "Only two of you were found worthy of the promotion. Nara Shikamaru, congratulations on the promotion."

The genin in question looked shocked for a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," normally, he would complain but Danzo scared the hell out of him. He walked to the desk where Danzo sat and bowed before moving back before his sensei.

Danzo's eyes scrutinized the other four genin before locking on one of them. "Next, Uzumaki Naruto. Congratulations on your promotion."

If Naruto was surprised, he didn't show it. He walked up to the desk and bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," looking at back at Danzo's face, he saw a strange glint in the man's eyes, but he ignored it for now and moved back to stand in front of Kakashi, ignoring Sasuke's fuming expression.

Danzo looked once more at all of them. "Dissmissed," he said in a commanding tone and with small bows, the shinobi left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Sasuke bolted away, leaving them all behind. Kakashi sighed at his student's behavior before looking at the others with his usual smile. "Wanna grab a bite to eat to celebrate the promotions of our two new chunin?"

"Wouldn't you want to do that with your team?" Kurenai asked with a confused expression.

"Well, you've seen Sasuke," he motioned at the empty hallway where the boy was only a few moments ago. "I can ask Sakura to come though. Still, the more the merrier," he finished with a smile.

Asuma nodded. "Sure, I'll grab Choji and Ino and we can go," he said smiling.

"Excellent," Kakashi said happily before looking at the two other jonin. "What about you guys?"

"Some other time, Kakashi," Gai replied. "Neji and I are going to visit Lee in the hospital."

Kakashi nodded and looked at Kurenai, who shrugged.

"I don't see why not. I'll find Kiba and Hinata and see if they want to go as well," she said with a small smile.

"Excellent!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Let's meet at that new barbeque place in half an hour then," the other jonin nodded and they all began to leave.

As they watched them leave, Naruto and Shikamaru though stood silently in their place.

"They didn't even ask our opinion," Naruto flatly pointed out.

Shikamaru sighed in reply. "Troublesome."

Xxxx

Thirty minutes later, six genin, two chunin and three jonin occupied a private booth at the restaurant. They placed their orders and sat down, two newly promoted chunin being the center of attention. Shikamaru grabbed himself a chunin flak jacket on the way out of the tower while Naruto choose not to wear it. He simply didn't need it.

"I can't believe you two of all people became chunin," Ino said in disbelief as she rested her head in her palm.

"Not like we asked them to promote us," Shikamaru grumbled in reply. "It's going to be even more troublesome from now on."

Asuma laughed next to his student and patted his shoulder before lighting a cigarette. "Come on, it's not that different from being a genin. Just make sure you don't slack off or you'll end up guarding the gate."

"For a lazy ass like him it would be a perfect job," Naruto said with a snort and, much to everyone's surprise, lit his own cigarette. Exhaling the first satisfying smoke, he looked at the stunned people around him and put his pack of cigarettes back in his pouch. "What?"

"Naruto, you smoke?" Kakashi asked, his voice full of surprise. At Narutos's nod, he blinked. "Since when?"

"Since I was seven," Naruto replied matter-of-factly. "Why?

"Seven? Why didn't I know about it?" Kakashi asked, still shocked.

"Because I never smoked in front of you," Naruto replied with a shrug. "Why would I even tell you? You'd just take away my cigarettes."

"And I can't take them away now?" Kakashi asked with a raised brow.

"You can try," the blond replied with a smirk.

The next moment saw Kakashi tossing Naruto's pack in the air with one hand, smiling victoriously. As he looked at Naruto expecting a look of shock, he didn't expect the boy to hold a copy of Icha Icha: Paradise in his hand. Mouth open in shock, Kakashi simply pointed at the book making Naruto smirk.

"Remember, you didn't take away my lighter," the blond said in a sing song voice. Kakashi's eyes widened at the implication and he quickly tossed the pack back to Naruto who laughed and put the pack in his pouch but didn't return the book.

"My book?" Kakashi said edgily while extending his hand.

"Hang on," the blond said as he opened the first page of the book. "I want to see what's so special about this book."

Then he began to read. And didn't stop.

Others gaped at the sight of Uzumaki Naruto reading a book. His eyes darted left and right along the pages so fast that the Uchihas would be stunned. His cigarette was burning out in his hand as he was fully immersed in the book. Finally stopping after he read the entire first chapter in mere minutes, Naruto looked at Kakashi with a strange glint in his eyes.

"This… is amazing," he breathed out dreamily. "The plot, the characters, the smut… they feel so real."

Kakashi had the same glint in his eyes as he locked eyes with his student. "It is, isn't it? Many don't see the perfection that is Icha Icha."

"They're idiots," Naruto replied. "This… is gold"

"Perverts," Kurenai said while pinching the bridge of her nose. The two turned to look at her.

"All men are perverts, Kurenai-sensei," Naruto said.

"Some are just too afraid to show it," Kakashi finished.

The red eyed beauty looked at them blankly.

Their food then arrived and the conversation topic changed. They chatted about this and that, joked around. The girls talked to Hinata mostly after she woke up from passing out after hearing that her Naruto-kun was no longer innocent. Several hours passed in a flash and soon they began to leave as the sun began to set. With final goodbyes, everyone went their own way.

Xxxx

Next morning saw Naruto standing before Danzo. He was quite surprised when an Anbu member woke him up saying the Hokage requested his presence. He didn't know what Danzo had in store for him so he quietly stood under scrutiny of Danzo's only visible eye.

"Uzumaki, I have a mission for you," Danzo said in a commanding voice.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "A solo mission?" he asked in confusion. "But I'm only a fresh chunin. Wouldn't I have to take missions with a team?"

"Normally, that would be the correct procedure," Daanzo began as he clasped his hands together. "But this is a delicate mission for only one man and I have full trust in you to complete it."

Naruto didn't believe Danzo's praising tone for a moment but he didn't really have a choice. "Very well, what is the mission?"

"We have received information that group of enemy shinobi made camp few miles north of Konoha. Your mission is to scout the area and, if you feel you can, take out the enemy," Danzo relayed to the blond. "The primary mission is simple scouting and a team would only slow you down if you needed to run. If you need more information, read this scroll," he finished and tossed a scroll at the bond who deftly caught it.

Naruto opened the scroll which contained the location of the possible enemy camp and skimmed through the contents before rolling it up and placing it in his pouch. "I'll leave immediately then."

Danzo nodded stiffly. "Dismissed."

With that, the blond turned around and left the office. No sooner than he left, a single figure dropped from the shadows, getting on one knee in front of the desk.

"Are you sure this will work, Danzo-sama?" the man asked without emotion.

"No," Danzo replied. "I can only hope it will. Fu, take Torune and prepare for plan B, just in case it does fail."

"As you wish, Danzo-sama," the now revealed fu said before disappearing again.

Danzo was left alone again, hoping his plan would bear fruit.

Xxxx

Naruto jumped through the trees as he traveled towards the possible enemy location. The map pointed at an old monk temple that was abandoned a long time ago and was left to rot. Barely anyone knew it even existed so it was a perfect spot for an enemy camp to spawn.

Slowing his jumps as he neared the temple, Naruto stealthily dropped to the ground and skulked through the last line of trees. Peeking out, he spotted the temple, or what remained of it. It was more of a ruin than a temple, as many parts were caved in and the surrounding trees began to cover the still standing walls. What bothered him, though, was that it was strangely quiet. He expected at least some signs of enemy activity but nothing showed. It looked like no one was here in decades.

Sneaking around, he spotted an opening in the side of the temple and moved towards it. Getting directly beneath it, he jumped and latched onto the ledge before pulling himself up. Peeking out carefully, he looked around the moderately sized chamber.

Whatever beauty of monks' creations was there before, laid in ruins now. Once beautiful statues, now were broken and scattered around, filling the room as debris. Apart from that it was empty. No signs of activity whatsoever. Was Danzo's information wrong?

Jumping down in the chamber, he quietly walked around, trying to spot anything. He didn't see anything, however, and stood up with a sigh. Turning around, he took a first step towards the broken doors of the temple but a slow clapping froze him in place. Turning around a split second later with a kunai in his hand, his eyes landed on a familiar man with silver hair and a pair of round glasses on his face.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," the man said with a smile. "I'm glad to see you again. You certainly look different."

"Kabuto," Naruto snarled in response, his grip on the kunai tightening. "I certainly didn't expect to see your traitorous face any time soon."

The man only laughed. "Me neither, trust me. But an interesting request came to my master and we didn't have heart to reject it," he finished with a cold smirk.

"What request?" Naruto asked edgily. He didn't think for a second that Kabuto was here alone but he dreaded of who was accompanied him.

"Oh I would love to tell you," Kabuto smirked. "But I think my master would love to be the one to do it."

Naruto's blood run cold as another familiar figure began to rise from the ground. Black hair, white skin and yellow slitted eyes that belonged to only one man. No, to a monster. Orochimaru stood in his full, disgusting glory, smirking down ant the blond. Even with his arms looking dead, he was still as terrifying as he was back in the Forest of Death. Naruto gulped and raised his kunai slightly, feeling that his chances of escape were practically nonexistent.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru began with a sinister chuckle. "It warms me to see you again."

Naruto said nothing as he stared at the bigger threat of the two. He knew he couldn't defeat him even in his weakened state. The man was simply too powerful for him to do anything. And with Kabuto here, Naruto was sure he wouldn't be leaving this place alive.

"Ku ku ku," orochimaru chuckled. "Staying quiet I see. No matter, I'm here to speak anyway," he said in a mocking tone. "I'm sure you're wondering why we're here. Well, our old friend Danzo wanted us to pay you a visit."

Naruto's eyes widened but before jumping to conclusions, he fished for more information. "Explain," he said with a threatening voice which only made Orochimaru chuckle more.

"I don't know if you were aware, but Danzo was after you from the moment the Kyubi was sealed inside you. He always wanted you under his thumb, a perfect weapon at his disposal," Orochimaru began, smirking at the unease in Naruto's eyes. "However, Sarutobi-sensei made sure that his old fingers never wrap around you. But with him dead, Danzo wants you. And that's where we come in."

Naruto was now feeling even more uneasy. Danzo was behind this? And he wanted him, as a weapon? "What is your purpose then? Danzo is the Hokage now so I'm under his command by default."

"But old Danzo wants his weapons emotionless, without free will and ready to follow any order be it moral or immoral," Orochimaru replied with an evil smirk. "And we both know you wouldn't kill kids, even if you were ordered to. So we are here to wipe your mind clean and bring you back to him so he could mold you to his whishes."

Naruto was growing more uneasy with each word that came from Orochimaru's mouth. "You know I'm not going down without a fight?" he asked trying to sound stronger than he felt but his tone betrayed him.

"Oh I know," Orochimaru replied with a smirk. "That's why Kabuto is here. I decided to let him have some fun with you before he brings you to me," the blond's eyes widened slightly which the snake man noticed. "You didn't think I would be interested in you enough to stay here? Ku ku ku I'll see you in a bit, Naruto-kun."

With a final round of menacing chuckles, Orochimaru sunk into the ground, disappearing from the scene. Two remaining ninja watched each other, one with a calculating look, other with a condescending smirk.

"Shall we begin?" Kabuto asked.

Without a word, Naruto charged at the man, his kunai ready. Kabuto smirked and pushed the glasses up his nose and pulled out his own kunai before charging as well. The two met in the middle of the chamber, their blades clashing.

Naruto glared at the man with a new found resolution. Now that Orochimaru was out of the picture, he had a much bigger chance to leave this place alive. He had to give it his all and go in with the intent to kill. Without wasting a moment, he pushed the Kabuto's kunai and swung his left fist towards his stomach. Kabuto easily blocked it but he was unprepared when Naruto suddenly spun around and threw a kick at him. Raising his arms, Kabuto blocked the kick with his forearms but was still knocked back by the strength of the kick.

"You have gotten stronger, Naruto-kun," Kabuto said as he flexed his arm muscles. The kick was strong and it even hurt slightly. "But it won't be enough."

"We'll see about that," Naruto growled and charged again.

Kunai met with a clang and the two continued their deadly fight. With each punch that hit home, a kick was the answer. They seemed equal in power and skill as neither could gain edge on the other. Kabuto was smirking all the way, like he was only playing with the blond. As Naruto threw a kick, Kabuto's smirk widened and his hand swiped Naruto's thigh. The blond winced in pain and jumped back holding his thigh.

"What the hell?!" he asked as he watched Kabuto's now glowing hand. He could already feel the injury in his leg heal but seeing no sign of damage on his leg worried him.

"Chakura no Mesu," Kabuto answered. "With this technique, I can cut up your insides with ease. I wonder how your advanced healing will respond to this."

Naruto growled and jumped back, already going through hand seals. "Raiton: Gian!" a beam of lightning flew out of his mouth, heading towards Kabuto, but the man avoided it and charged at the blond again. Naruto quickly leaned back, enough to avoid Kabuto's chakra scalpel going for his neck. If that hit, he would most likely lose because even the Kyubi couldn't heal a cut windpipe fast enough.

Kabuto was fighting fiercely, sending Naruto on the defensive. The blond didn't have any means to defend himself from the scalpels other than dodging and any counterattack was rendered useless. Each time he tried to fight back, Kabuto would swing his other hand towards Naruto's vital spot this sending him back on defense.

With that strategy, Kabuto managed to land several blows on Naruto. The blond was lucky that only his arms and legs were cut because those were the easiest to heal. Several times, he had to let his arms or legs be cut so he could defend a vital spot but the attacks were wearing him out.

Kabuto feigned a swipe towards Naruto's head and the blond raised his arms to block. Kabuto smirked as the blond fell for the trap and kicked him hard in the stomach. Naruto staggered back with an arm on his stomach. Kabuto didn't let him recover as he charged and cut along Naruto's left forearm. The blond grunted in pain and jumped back to gain some distance. Kabuto let him.

"You are still too weak, Naruto-kun," the bespectacled man goaded. "Why not surrender and come peacefully hmm?"

"Never!" Naruto growled. He had to finish this fast or he would lose. Kabuto could use his chakra scalpels to slowly cut him up and wear him down. A plan was forming in his head, risky but doable.

Naruto charged again as he began going through hand seals. Kabuto smirked and charged as well, his glowing hands prepared. They met in the middle and Kabuto's hand sliced along Naruto's stomach, cutting up his insides. The blond spat blood but didn't stop and raised his wind encased hand, slamming it straight through Kabuto's neck.

Kabuto's eyes widened and his mouth opened in a soundless scream as he felt unimaginable pain. His arms fell limply to his sides as his body practically hanged on Naruto's arm. He gazed at the blond with disbelief, realizing now that the opening was intentional. If he could, he would curse but he could do nothing but watch as life slowly drained from his eyes.

Naruto lowered his arm, letting now dead Kabuto slide off it. The body hit the ground with a thud and the blond staggered back. With the rush of the battle over, he could fully feel the pain in his body. He didn't know the extent of the damage Kabuto dealt him but he was sure it wouldn't heal any time soon. Gathering the last ounce of his strength, Naruto ran out of the temple, moving as fast as he could. He had to escape while he had the chance.

Xxxx

Danzo frowned as he read the small note that a snake brought him. Kabuto has failed and Naruto probably knew that he was behind this. He had to act fast if he ever hoped to have the blond under his thumb. He waved his hand and an Anbu appeared before him.

"Gather the jonin for a meeting," he commanded and the Anbu ninja disappeared to send a signal for the jonin. Waving again, another Anbu appeared. Danzo nodded silently and the ninja disappeared with a bow. Standing up, he began walking towards the meeting room. It was time for Plan B.

Few minutes later he opened the door of the meeting room and entered. Standing before every jonin in Konoha, Danzo cleared his throat and began.

"We have recently found evidence that Orochimaru had one more inside man in Konoha," he began and the jonin stiffened. They all knew that Kabuto was a traitor but no one thought there was another. "The traitor is Uzumaki Naruto."

Whole room gasped in shock. Angry shouting began the next moment as those who still doubted the blond started to call for his execution. Danzo yelled for them to shut up and they did, albeit reluctantly.

"A-are you sure about that, Hokage-sama?" a shocked Kakashi asked. He couldn't believe that his student was a traitor. He wouldn't believe it. Naruto was always loyal to the village and his friends. He could never betray them.

"We have been suspicious for a while," Danzo began. "I sent Anbu to search his apartment and they found several scrolls signifying Uzumaki's connection to Orochimaru. There were also notes on Konoha's defenses and patrol routes as well as a note of a meeting taking place today. Uzumaki left on a mission this morning, probably as a cover to meet with Orochimaru."

Kakashi stood silent in shock as he processed this information. Several other jonin also couldn't believe what they were hearing. They all looked at Danzo, hoping it was a joke but they knew the man enough to know that he never joked.

"You are to leave at once and find him. Bring him alive," Danzo finished.

Seconds later, the room emptied as the jonin began their assignment. Danzo was left smirking to himself. This plan would surely work.

Xxxx

Naruto finally stopped after running for several hours. He was weak and tired and dropped on the ground as soon as he stopped. His insides still didn't heal completely and the pain was still there. Wheezing slightly, he looked around to see if he had anyone on his trail but could spot no one.

Sighing in relief, he let his head drop. He had no idea what he should do now or where he should go. He was sure Danzo would do something to him as soon as he returned to the village and in his weakened state, he couldn't do anything to prevent it. He had to rest and heal before he could do anything.

He was sure he would pass out any moment now. He cursed as he knew how risky it would be and how anyone could find him here but he could do nothing as his eyes began to drop. A ruffle of leaves grabbed his attention and he heard someone the moment before he passed out.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"