Chapter 14

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage office

The Yondaime Tsuchikage, Ohnoki stared at a picture in front of him with wide eyes. He stared at a picture of a certain blond. The picture was placed in Otogakure's bingo book. He had gotten the latest bingo book from Otogakure. His grandchildren had made him turn on the front page to look at the man who had been making news around the Elemental Nations. The word of Naruto's adventures in Kiri were reaching all corners of the world. He had not taken it seriously when the boy had attacked Orochimaru's bases and destroyed them. He had thought that the boy was just another kid who just wanted to die soon by tempting a snake inside its burrow. But now he could no longer avoid it anymore.

After hearing what Naruto had done in Kiri, he had to take Naruto seriously. He was a threat. Anyone that was from Konoha was a threat. Also, the fact that the boy was the son of Konoha's Yellow Flash, did not please him. It was not hid from anyone that the blond was Minato's son since the Sandaime had announced it at the chunin exams. His spies had told him about the boy's power during that time. But like always, he had shrugged it off and said he was just a boy. But now he could not say it anymore. He also had to take into consideration that the boy was an Uchiha and had the Mangekyou Sharingan at his disposal. Anyone with the Mangekyou Sharingan was a threat.

It would be a pain if the blond could also use ''that'' cursed jutsu. It was good that so far no one had said he had used the jutsu. That was pleasing. But with a ninja you could never really tell. Shinobi never showed all their cards in battles. They always held something back as triumph card. He was going to believe that the blond still had another triumph card added to his already impressive strength. He doubted that even he could have brought the destruction the blond brought to Yagura's forces in Kirigakure.

The boy's power could no longer be ignored. He had to act and do something.

During Naruto's younger age, he looked like his father, but now he was different. There was no mistake about it. He no longer took after his father in looks. In fact he looked like 'him'. The thought made him study the picture carefully. He looked at Naruto's right eye. The Sharingan was activated. He looked at that uncaring eye. It was as if it was looking down at him as if he was just a mere nuisance. The armour the blond wore, reminded him of 'him' again. The way his hands were rested on his chest just reminded of 'him'. The hair style and length only made him look like Madara reborn with blond hair.

Yes, it was if he was staring at another Madara. The thought did not dwell well with him.

The bingo book from Otogakure had ranked the blond S-rank. The rank was fitting. It was just troublesome because Konoha seemed to be getting even stronger. They still had two Sannin's, Kakashi, Maito Guy. Now they had Uchiha Naruto. There was also another Uchiha. Konoha's power was rising.

''Yoh!'' a female voice spoke. ''Old man, what's wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost.''

Ohnoki looked at the young woman speaking to him. It was his grandchild. She never showed him any respect. ''It's nothing,'' he muttered.

''Gramps, you know bottling up inside is not good for you. Especially given your age.''

Ohnoki's eyes twitched. He hated being reminded of his age. He was indeed old but he did not appreciate being reminded of it. If it was not for the pressing matters he would have been retorting and yelling at his grandchild to show him some respect.

His eyes looked back at the bingo book entry. For now he would do nothing. No, he would not even place the blond in his bingo book. He would wait then act. Acting without proper assessment of what he is dealing with will never not give him positive result. Yes, for now he would watch from the shadows and gather all things needed before he can act.

With those thoughts, the old man smiled to himself.

Somewhere in the Earth country

Zetsu glanced at Naruto. They had been travelling at a rather fast pace. Naruto had said he wanted to deal with Orochimaru quickly and return to Konoha. Zetsu was not sure if that was the only reason. He had said it himself just a week or so before that he was not in a hurry to return to Konoha. So why the sudden change? It was also unlike Naruto to do things in a hurry. He always liked to do things at a comfortable pace without rushing them to avoid failure and to get the perfect results.

Perhaps he was questioning a lot. No, he was not. Zetsu told himself in thought. It began when Naruto decided to take Yugao with him to Kiri. Sure he knew the woman. But he could have taken her to some place or make a wood clone to guard her till she woke up. He could have also left her with Tazuna in the Wave country. Despite not being familiar with him, Zetsu doubted that Tazuna would have refused to cater to Yugao after what Konoha had done for his country, more specifically team 7-A team that Naruto was also part of at the time.

Zetsu shook his head clearing his thoughts. Perhaps he was being paranoid thinking things too deep.

''Zetsu,'' Naruto said getting his companion's attention. ''Do you think we should remove the clone that is attached to Danzou?'' he asked slowing down his pace.

Zetsu looked at Naruto curiously, ''Why do you ask?''

''Don't you think it gets boring when you know everything your enemies are planning. I mean there are no surprises. You are never put into a difficult position because you always know what they are going to do, thus prepared for anything.''

''It does make sense when you put it like that. And it makes things interesting,'' Zetsu responded.

''I thought as much. Obito is a little better at keeping things to himself. We only know what Akatsuki is planning but with him personally, we don't know. At least he can keep things interesting,'' Naruto stated. ''But with Danzou, I always know what he is going to do.''

Zetsu nodded, ''I guess you are right.''

''You know, you almost want to kill Danzou simply because you know everything he does. That does not make things interesting enough.''

No, he had been paranoid and wrong. There was nothing wrong with Naruto. He was just fine. The silence had not meant anything much. It was just that Naruto did not have anything he wanted to say. Only Naruto could say something like that.

''I do wonder why you are keeping him alive.''

''I can't go around killing everyone who is my enemy Zetsu. And if I were to kill that old man, things in Konoha will only be boring. Besides he has yet to do anything that warrants his death,'' Naruto explained.

Zetsu nodded with a sigh. He should have expected as much from Naruto. The council would only be annoying to him, but Danzou was different. He was ruthless cunning and manipulating. Just what Naruto needs for things to be interesting. But at the moment they were not because Danzou never surprised Naruto because he always knew what the elder was doing.

''You do know that he is a threat along with his army. And he is not the one to do things in legal grounds.''

''Yes, I am aware of that. Just because I am stronger than him does not mean that I can always outsmart him. Danzou is a threat I see him as such.''

''But there are risks in allowing him to live and stopping to spy on him.'' Zetsu countered.

Naruto turned to look at Zetsu. ''I thought you knew me well enough,'' he said. ''What is life without risks Zetsu?'' again, he did not wait for Zetsu to reply. ''Risks make us to be always on alert. When you live knowing that there are threats, you always keep your guard up, you senses in high alert. People like Danzou remind you that if you become careless, you will pay dearly''

Zetsu nodded understanding Naruto's words

''What can I expect from Orochimaru this time? After our last encounter, I doubt he will be open just like last time,'' Naruto asked about his next opponent.

''I thought you said you liked to be surprised?'' Naruto just remained quiet. Whether his words we heard or just ignored, Zetsu knew that Naruto was waiting for his answer. ''He has not done anything serious to prevent you from reaching him.''

''Excellent,'' Naruto said. ''I want to end this as quickly as possible. Karin must be going bullocks with White Zetsu's clone keeping her guard.''

''You are right about that. She almost tore him apart in one of her 'episodes'.'' Zetsu said shaking his head.

''Then she has become uncomfortable. We should be able to get to her in a week or less after dealing with Orochimaru.''

They continued to walk at a slow pace as they had already arrived at the general area of Orochimaru's hideout. Slowly but surely they finally made it. The day was still young, so within a few minutes depending on how quickly Naruto dealt with Orochimaru they would be leaving the hideout.

''The plan is the same as last time, you search for the mask while I handle Orochimaru,'' Naruto stated as they had reached the secret entrance of the hideout.

''Got it,'' Zetsu said and sunk into the ground.

Naruto calmly performed the necessary actions to get inside the hideout. He walked inside the hideout with his eyes scanning the place. Orochimaru liked dark places. His hideouts had a certain theme about them; dark and creepy. With Orochimaru, there were always traps around the halls of the hideout. Luckily, he was using his Sharingan perfectly well.

At least Zetsu had given him the directions of Orochimaru's throne room. Oddly, each hideout had a throne room for the master. This gave much about Orochimaru's personality. He saw himself as a superior being, superior to everything. Being that he had servants and his own village, and an army of experimental humans, he felt as a king. Naruto could only shake his head at the thought. Not even he thought himself as a king. Perhaps he felt superior to others in terms of power. However, that was not just for saying. He was indeed superior to many in terms of power.

Sannin's were arrogant. Because they had been named as the Legendary Shinobi, they thought they stood out to everyone. Naruto did not think that they were not powerful. They were indeed powerful, but even he could not be proud of a rank he achieved by surviving a fight with a man.

Naruto finally reached the throne room. It was hard to sense chakra from the dark passages'. But here he could sense several chakra signatures. No doubt the largest was Orochimaru.

Speaking of the man, he was on his throne, legs crossed and head resting on his right arm. He had a smirk planted on his face.

''Welcome, Naruto-kun. I was wondering when you would appear before me after your little show in Kiri,'' Orochimaru said while his servants simply kept their eyes on Naruto.

''Little show?'' Naruto said with a ghostly raised brow. ''I believe those who can call it a 'little show' are those who can actually do better than I did Orochimaru. And in your current state I doubt you could have even laid a finger on Yagura.''

Orochimaru continued smirking. He was not going to allow a little brat to overwork him.

''I wonder how you can remain calm and confident. Last time I did show you who was superior. I was thinking you would be running away knowing that I would be after you. That is what a snake does best after all.''

''Oh my. You are rather talkative today aren't you Naruto-kun?'' Orochimaru said with a grin; a creepy grin. ''Do not get overconfident boy. Things will not proceed as they did last time.''

''Let me guess. They will be different because you are a sannin, right?'' the slight frown from Orochimaru gave him the answer. Naruto shook his head disappointedly, ''and here I thought you were smart Orochimaru.''

That seemed to do the trick. Well...aside from that, Orochimaru never noticed that before when Naruto appeared his Mangekyou was activated. Or perhaps he saw but shrugged it off as it was seemingly deactivated.

Orochimaru snapped his fingers and four figures stepped forward.

''Sending your ''children'' to their deaths, are you Orochimaru?''

Orochimaru ignored Naruto's statement. ''Give our guest a proper welcome visit,'' he ordered.

''Hai Orochimaru-sama,'' the four figures replied in union.

Naruto eyes shifted towards the four figures before him. ''This is the famous sound 5...no rather 4. The leader is dead, such a pity,'' his words were not to console the sound 4. No, he knew the leader of the group Kimimaro was the strongest, perhaps even stronger than Kabuto if it were not for his illness. Someone from the Kaguya clan would have definitely given him a good dance.

''Who the fuck do you think you are?'' the red haired woman said. She was the only female in the throne room.

''Is that a rhetorical question?'' Naruto asked his eyes staring into the red haired woman's' eyes.

She was about to say curses when her teammate stopped her, ''Tayuya don't get riled up before we even fight our opponent.''

''Fuck you fatty!'' she said irritably.

This was another kind of woman that Naruto was seeing. He had never seen her kind before. Perhaps she was the way she was because she spent most of her time in the company of men, thus never gets the chance to do anything womanly.

''Are you just going to stand there, or are you gone come at me?''

That did the trick.

They charged at him. All four of them. With the way they disappeared Naruto knew it would be tricky. They were the sound 4 and the four of them were used to working as a team. This meant that they could coordinate their attacks perfectly in sync with one another. Another thing to their advantage was the cursed seal. Naruto was not going to give them a chance to use their cursed seals. If he allowed them to do so, it would prove nasty and time consuming for him.

With that Naruto activated his Eternal Mangekyou. ''Unfortunately, I have important matters to deal with Orochimaru and I am short in time. Having said that I will not take much time with you.'' Naruto stated preparing to fight the sound four.

He could see them scoff with his eyes when he had said those words. They did not believe that he could actually beat them. Such pitiful children.

Jiroubou-the fat one-was the first to charge at him. He appeared in front of Naruto and swung his left hand from downwards to upwards as attempted to punch Naruto on his chin. Naruto leaned back to avoid the powerful punch.

Just as he did that, he found himself in need to block against a flying kick that was sent sailing towards his head. He managed to duck under the powerful punch and the only female member of the Sound Four passed him and hit the ground.

Naruto narrowed his eyes to his left side as he felt someone charge at him. He saw Sakon charging towards him. He was very fast. But Naruto was also fast. The Sound nin jumped up into the air as Naruto was still in a crouched position after having to duck under a kick from Tayuya. Sakon came descending down towards Naruto with his right foot poised to connect with Naruto head. Naruto brought out his both his hands to block the attack. The power kept him grounded.

While still on the ground, Jiroubou charged at him and kicked him from behind. Luckily for Naruto the man's foot connected with his gunbai which absorbed most of the attack. Still, Naruto was sent flying in the large throne room.

Naruto landed on the ground gracefully but was forced to jump away to avoid a powerful punch from Jiroubou that left a hole on the floor. Naruto was amazed by the power of the attack. He made a point not to get hit by one of the attacks.

Naruto tilted his head to avoid a piercing golden arrow that almost pierced his head. The arrow flew past him at a rather fast speed and went to hit the wall breaking through it.

The Sound Four stood next to each other with smirks on their faces. They were smiling because they had been having Naruto on the defensive.

Foolish children.

''I don't see how this guy is said to be strong, he has not posed any difficulty,'' one said gravely underestimating Naruto.

Orochimaru just watched on with interest. The teamwork of his elite guards was above par, they worked together well despite their constant bickering. He was pleased with how things were going at the moment. But he had no mistake of underestimating Naruto. He did it last time and would not do it again. Naruto had yet to be on the offensive. Things would change as soon as soon as he started doing that.

Kabuto stood still like a statue not that Orochimaru noticed as he was too engrossed with the show.

''Interesting,'' Naruto said looking at the Sound Four. ''I guess this is my turn now. One of you will probably be dead in the next minute,'' Naruto said. Again, they merely scoffed at his words.

Naruto charged at the four with fast movements. Within seconds he was already in front of them with a single hand seal held. ''Wind Release: Wind Breakthrough,'' he muttered releasing a wave of wind that blew at the Four guards. The wind was not that powerful to cause any damage. But it was enough to make them loose their footing and act.

Sakon and Kidoumaru managed to escape from the jutsu. But Naruto did not attack the one's that were hit by the jutsu. No, he vanished from sight and appeared in front of Sakon after the Sound nin had landed down. He crouched down and attempted a led sweep at his opponent but Sakon leaped into the air in a horizontal position. Naruto reacted quickly kicked Sakon on his chest sending him flying away.

Upon landing on the ground, Naruto sidestepped a punch from Kidoumaru. Within another second, Tayuya was at him with a raised foot attempting to kick him on his temples. Naruto simply caught the Kick with both his hands.

It appeared to be what the Sound Four wanted as Jiroubou came charging at him with an intent to break a few bones. Naruto yanked Tayuya's leg and gripped it tightly before spinning around once and sending her flying towards Jiroubou. Jiroubou reacted quicker, surprisingly quicker for someone his size and caught Tayuya.

Just what Naruto wanted. He flashed behind the two before they could get hold of their bearings. Before he could pummel the back of Jiroubou, Sakon appeared in front of him to intercept him. Naruto did not waste time to act, ''Amaterasu,'' he muttered.

Sakon was engulfed by black flames that begun to consume his flesh little by little. ''Gah!'' he screamed as the black flames heat ran around his body. He fell to the ground kicking and screaming as he tried to put out the fire but nothing seemed to work.

Naruto took out his blade and walked calmly towards the fallen bodyguard. He channeled wind chakra into his blade poising to cut of Sakon's head to end his misery.

But he was stopped from going further as an arrow hit just in front of him. He looked up to see Kidoumaru holding a bow. ''One step closer to him and I will spill your guts out with the next arrow.'' he hissed.

He thought he could actually pierce Naruto's gut with his arrows. Arrogant child.

Naruto said nothing. Simply, he put back his sword on his sash and then he finally spoke, ''I wanted to end his misery quicker. But I guess you like seeing him suffer,'' he said. No way in hell was Naruto feeling pity or sorry for the poor bastard. He cared less for any of them.

Kidoumaru's response was shooting arrows towards Naruto. Naruto was forced to back flip several times to avoid being pierced by the arrows. He stopped when he hit the wall. An arrow came flying towards his chest piercing him. Before they could be any celebrations, the 'Naruto' that was hit simply disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A minute later, Sakon was already dead due to extreme pain and a part of his body had already been consumed by the black flames.

Naruto appeared behind the three left elite guards. He did not want them to use their cursed seals as it would prolong the fight-something which he did not want.

''Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon,'' Naruto muttered before the three opponents took notice of them.

They did however notice the chakra spike from behind. But before they could do anything the lightning dragon had already reached then. It hit them dead on and gave them incredible shocks throughout their bodies leaving their entire bodies paralyzed, temporarily.

Naruto knew that Orochimaru had sensed him from behind his guards. And yet the snake Sannin did not warn them. So the snake Sannin was not going to get involved even when he thought that his ''children'' were in danger. Naruto would definitely use that to use advantage.

He flashed towards the three opponents. He grabbed Kidoumaru by his neck and lifted him up before punching him on the gut. He then proceeded to knee the guard before throwing him into the air. He spun around, as he did Kidoumaru was coming back towards him. Naruto kicked Kidoumaru like a ball and sent him crashing towards the wall.

He moved fast and kicked Jiroubou away from Tayuya.

A few seconds before the paralyses wore off.

Naruto placed his hand on Tayuya's forehead. ''Sigh of The Yellow Dragon,'' he muttered and gathered large amounts of chakra. Even Orochimaru who wondered what Naruto was up to felt the chakra. Naruto delivered a huge amount of debilitating shock to Tayuya. The then generated excessively huge amount of electric chakra that made his body glow slightly and released it through his hand on Tayuya's forehead.

Orochimaru was now alarmed as he felt the electricity Naruto had generated. He could see Naruto's entire body sparkling with lightning. His curiosity got the better of him as he decided to watch the show.

The huge amount of electricity that Naruto released burned through Tayuya's body and turned it to ash. Naruto sighed, and turned around as he felt a spike of malicious chakra. The jutsu he had used required large amounts of chakra. It would probably leave a jounin level ninja drained of chakra once used.

The two remaining opponents had activated their cursed seals-something that Naruto did not want to happen.

''Well I guess it can't be helped,'' he said to himself and withdrew his sword.

Kidoumaru who was now holding a golden blade was the first to charge at him. He got closer to him and attempted a vertical slash across his chest. Naruto leaped back to avoid the attack. Kidoumaru did not stop with his attacks, he swung his blade horizontally attempting to cut Naruto's head off his body. Naruto brought out his own blade block the attack.

His opponent retrieved his blade and begun to thrust his blade towards him with fast and precise attacks. Had it not been for his Sharingan and speed, Naruto was sure he would have been cut several times. Kidoumaru was good with a sword...no, he was just exploiting the weaknesses to his kenjutsu.

Suddenly Kidoumaru crouched down. Just then, Jiroubou appeared with his large fist gunning straight to Naruto's face. Naruto immediately brought out both his hands, even the one holding his blade.

Big mistake

Jiroubou's fist crashed onto Naruto's hasty defense. The punch held so much power that it forced Naruto to drop his blade and send him crashing towards the wall. His hands were still shaking in front of him as he was now part of the wall.

Jiroubou was quick to attack Naruto again. Naruto only managed to move his head to avoid the punch Jiroubou had sent his way. The punch hit the wall and broke through it. Naruto eyes met with Jiroubou's.

''Haven't you been told that its suicide to look into the Sharingan while fighting against it?'' he said. ''Tsukuyomi.''

Locking eyes with him knowing that he could use genjutsu on him. Ignorant child.

A second later Jiroubou was falling down, but Naruto caught him. He winced though as his hand hurt from being hit by Jiroubou's earlier punch. Naruto placed two of his fingers on Jiroubou's chest where his heart was located.

''Lightning Release: False Darkness,'' he muttered and released a beam on lightning that pierced through his opponent's heart killing him instantly.

Naruto was not given another chance to breath as a wave of arrows came flying towards him. He used Jiroubou as a shield before throwing him towards Kidoumaru.

Kidoumaru saw his dead teammate flying towards him and opened his mouth. He released spider webs liquid that wrapped itself around Jiroubou's corpse.

Naruto used the distraction to his advantage by flashing behind his last opponent while he was still focused on Jiroubou's dead body.

''Lightning Beam,'' he muttered. A lighting beam shot towards Kidoumaru who tried evading the beam but it ended up piercing his right shoulder shocking him and also leaving him stunned.

Naruto did not waste a second. He flashed closer to Kidoumaru and placed his hand on his chest. ''Sigh of the Yellow Dragon.'' the results were the same when he used the jutsu on Tayuya.

Naruto walked towards his fallen sword and picked it up.

''Now Orochimaru, shall we?'' Naruto stated holding is blade. He walked towards Orochimaru's throne before stopping upon noticing that something was very wrong with Orochimaru.

''You are weakened, severely.'' Naruto stated observing Orochimaru who was still sitting comfortably on his throne. ''No wonder you did not even attempt to take advantage of my dance with your ''children'','' he finished his statement with a bit of disappointment in his voice but his face stayed impassive as always.

Orochimaru simply smirked. ''In your current state, I can't fight you seriously. You cannot give me a challenge,'' Naruto said placing his sword back to its sash. ''If it was not that I had already beaten you before and I the cause of your current condition I would be leaving you alive. Killing a weak Sannin-no, you no longer deserve to be called a Sannin in your current state-is below me.''

Orochimaru simply chuckled and stood. His chuckle was sick and demented. It would have almost unnerved Naruto if he was not...well Naruto. He remained calm looking straight at Orochimaru.

''You underestimate me Naruto-kun,'' Orochimaru said still standing. ''As I said before, things won't go the way as they did last time.''

''Yes, this time..I should end you quickly without so much trouble,'' Naruto said agreeing with the snake Sannin that things indeed will not proceed as they did last time.

Orochimaru looked at Kabuto and then raised a brow, ''Kabuto?'' he got no response from his number two. ''Kabuto?'' again, Orochimaru got no response from his number two. He poked Kabuto on his forehead and the no two hit the ground with a thud. He was unblinking, his eyes were fixed on a same spot and his body was just frozen.

Orochimaru frowned. He was not expecting Naruto to have moved onto Kabuto while he was still fighting his elite guards. This was surely the work of a genjutsu. Well it did not matter anyway. Kabuto had been useful to him. But if things were to go as he planned them to, he would no longer need Kabuto.

Orochimaru opened his mouth and a snake came out carrying the Sword of Kusanagi within its mouth. He gripped the sword with his left and before taking it with his right hand.

Naruto shook his head. Fighting Orochimaru was not in his plans if he was this weak. The fight would only be annoying to him. He hated to be forced in a fight he did not want. Orochimaru was trying his patience.

Orochimaru took a single step forward before charging towards Naruto. Despite being weakened by the damage Naruto dealt to his host, he could still master some power. He ran towards Naruto in jounin level speeds and appeared before Naruto. He swung his blade across Naruto's chest diagonally. Naruto who jumped back avoiding the sword dodged his attempt. The blond still had his EM Sharingan active.

Orochimaru charged at Naruto swinging his sword across Naruto's face. Naruto ducked under the swing. Orochimaru was expecting this kind of reaction from Naruto. He swung his left foot in an attempt to kick Naruto but Naruto blocked the attack and jumped away from him.

''Wind Release: Wind Breakthrough!'' Orochimaru yelled and released a gust of wind that sped towards Naruto who simply disappeared from his position to another. The wind travelled towards the wall after missing Naruto.

Orochimaru appeared before Naruto again with a flying kick, which Naruto blocked with both his hands. And grabbed Orochimaru's leg before throwing him away from him.

Orochimaru flipped in midair and landed down on the floor gracefully.

''You are not even trying to fight me,'' he said.

''That took you long to notice,'' Naruto stated crossing his hands on his chest. Orochimaru was not even making the mistake of looking at his eyes. He would have just used Tsukuyomi if the Snake Sannin had given him a chance.

''Like I told you Orochimaru, I would be leaving you alive if I was not the one to have caused your current condition. But because I caused it, I just have to simply kill you in the easiest way...unless you continue your futile attempts to make me fight you.''

Orochimaru did not respond, he disappeared in the fastest speed he could master in his current state. He appeared behind Naruto and held out his right hand, ''Many Hidden snakes,'' many snakes shot out of his sleeve towards Naruto.

Naruto quickly turned around. ''Amaterasu,'' he muttered setting the snakes ablaze with the black flames of Amaterasu.

Seeing that Naruto was now facing him, Orochimaru placed his hand on his mouth before blowing a purple smoke towards Naruto. The smoke hit Naruto on his face before he could escape it. Nevertheless, he jumped away from the smoke.

Orochimaru smirked seeing his success. The smirk then twisted into a devilish grin as the snake Sannin watched Naruto like a hawk.

Naruto felt that there was something beyond normal about the smoke he had breathed in, he could feel it inside his body. ''Poison?''

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, ''Yes. And it is not just any poison: It is a very deadly poison that I created after our last encounter.''

''I thought we created the baseline that poison did not work on me,'' Naruto stated not even the slightest worried by the poison he had breathed.

Orochimaru continued to chuckle darkly. ''That previous poison I used was weak, but this one is far stronger. Nothing can counter it...well expect for me.''

''You are very confident of you poison, '' Naruto said. ''You are dragging me into a fight that you cannot win. It is annoying and I refuse to amuse you further.''

With that Naruto sped towards Orochimaru. His opponent did not bother to move or try to evade as Naruto punched him in the face. Naruto then caught Orochimaru by his leg and threw him with a lot of power towards the wall. Even Naruto could tell that Orochimaru had allowed himself to be hit and thrown easily. He had not made an attempt to dodge him.

Naruto rushed towards the wall where Orochimaru had crashed. Within the debris, a dark chuckle escaped and a hideous snake appeared. Naruto was intrigued upon seeing the snake. Orochimaru had something planned.

The snake opened its mouth wide. Naruto had been flying towards the snake as he wanted to pummel Orochimaru further. He was unable to save himself from being a meal to the snake it intercepted him at a rather fast speed.

The world changed and Naruto found himself staring at the hideous snake. ''This is your true form. Second time I see it, but I still cannot get used to it. Its hideous. You have truly made yourself a monster of a snake Orochimaru,'' Naruto stated calmly not worried the slightest by the new surrounding he found himself.

''Kukukukuku,'' Orochimaru chuckled darkly ignoring Naruto's comment about his true form. ''I have you now Naruto-kun. This is my world, you cannot escape me.''

''Oh so this is what you wanted to begin with,'' Naruto stated remaining calm. ''I found it curious that you would attempt to fight me knowing that you could not win. I also found it curious when you did nothing when I battled your children.'' he paused for a moment. ''So this was your goal, my body.''

Orochimaru's snake form simply grinned in a demented way. ''How did you know it would work. This body transfer jutsu of you does not work on a Jinchuriki.''

''But you are no longer a Jinchuriki Naruto-kun,'' Orochimaru replied with a smirk.

''You knew I was no longer a jinchuriki before you even attempted to use this jutsu on me.'' Naruto stated. ''Orochimaru, you had no intentions to fight me to begin with. While I danced with your children, you were simply watching your next host for the last time before you took it. When did you become interested in taking my body?''

''Ever since I discovered the secrets to your body,'' Orochimaru replied.

''A pity you can never have my body.''

''Kukukukuku, once you came into this world you could no longer escape. This is my world, only I can control it.''

''Who said this was your world?'' Naruto questioned.

''What are you saying?''

''Genjutsu. When I saw your true form I knew you were up to something. So I placed you under an illusion that showed you what you wanted to see,'' Naruto stated as the illusion dispelled and Orochimaru found himself staring at Naruto back in his throne room.

''You have tried this jutsu before on Itachi...do you remember what he said? ''Orochimaru before my eyes all your ninjutsu is useless''. Naruto paused for a moment. Orochimaru scowled at being made to remember that embarrassing memory.

Orochimaru thought he could take over his body after he had failed to do so on Itachi's body: Arrogance.

''So I Uchiha Naruto will repeat those words again since you failed to understand them last time; ''Orochimaru before my eyes your ninjutsu is useless.''

Orochimaru charged at Naruto looking infuriated by his words. He was still wondering why Naruto had yet to weaken because of his poison. The poison was deadly he had tested that. Perhaps Naruto was just having a delayed reaction to the poison.

Naruto drew his blade and charged it with wind chakra. Orochimaru's head came lunging towards him. Naruto jumped back to avoid Orochimaru, but the snake continued to march towards him. Just as Orochimaru was about to hit him, Naruto crouched down and swung his sword across Orochimaru's snake form. The blade cut off some white snakes that seemed to be part of Orochimaru's body. In fact, his whole body, was simply compromised of hundreds of white snakes except for his head.

The snakes Naruto had cut released a deadly gas that Naruto saw and made to get away from it. Orochimaru's tail caught him before he could do anything. It hit him sideways and sent him flying away. Naruto recovered quickly and landed on the ground.

He stared at Orochimaru who was charging towards him, ''Amaterasu,'' he set Orochimaru's face ablaze with the black flames causing the snake to halt its movements towards him.

Naruto ignored Orochimaru's hisses of agony, ''Orochimaru you forced me to enter into a fight I did not want. You surprised with the attempt to steal my body. But you have tried my patience,'' he stated. ''Because of that i will put your body through agony, I will ''cook'' it and I will set it ablaze with flames that cannot be extinguished. After that I will cut it to pieces.'' He could have liked to put the snake through mental trauma at first, but now Orochimaru's eyes could not be opened because of the black flames on his face.

Orochimaru did not to listen to Naruto's words, he was busy trying to put off the flames that were slowly eating his face.

Naruto did not bother with what Orochimaru was doing, he went through hand seals, ''Lightning, Release: Lightning Dragon'' the lightning dragon hit Orochimaru causing him to scream in more agony. Naruto hit the snake with another lightning Dragon. When Orochimaru's body was flowing with electricity, Naruto fired a large Fireball at Orochimaru.

Then he took out his sword and sharpened it with wind chakra. He proceeded to chop Orochimaru into multiple pieces before setting the pieces ablaze with black flames.

Naruto did not know when Orochimaru died. After hitting him with the second lightning dragon, he had stopped struggling as his body had become engulfed with too much electricity.

Orochimaru desired immortality because he was afraid of death. He did not wish to end up like his parents. The snake Sannin did not like being mortal, his choices, research had led him to many ways as he sought immortality. He did find it, but at a cost. Because of his host being unable to handle all of his power, Orochimaru could never use his full power. He could not even use senjutsu chakra he had gone through much trouble to learn. Perhaps that was why he desired a body of an Uchiha. Perhaps he did not just need the Sharingan, he also wanted a body that could contain his spirit and allow him to use his abilities to the fullest.

Orochimaru's greatest achievement was also his curse. Because of his immortality jutsu, he could no longer use his full power. Naruto needed him to be at full to consider him a challenge. He could have at least postponed his death had it not been for his immortality jutsu.

Naruto heard a whistle from above and looked up. Zetsu was partially visible on the ceiling his head upside. ''I am I missing something?''

Zetsu shook his head, ''I found it,'' he said.

''Good, let's get out of here,'' Naruto stated walking away. He stopped suddenly when he noticed Orochimaru's blade. 'He must have dropped it when I threw him into the wall,' Naruto thought picking up the blade.

''Zetsu,'' he called. ''Keep it safe,'' he said throwing the blade towards his companion. Zetsu caught it and followed Naruto from behind.

With that, they made it out of the hideout.

Zetsu was surprised that this time, Naruto had not destroyed the hideout and was not even thinking of destroying it.

''Why is this one not being destroyed?''

''It has some valuables that I would like to collect. And it could also be useful.'' Naruto replied. ''Otogakure could be very useful, don't you think so Zetsu?''

Zetsu nodded. ''But soon it will disband since its leader is dead,'' he said.

''Perhaps. However, what if a new leader stepped up and took the village to new heights.''

Zetsu was now wondering where Naruto was taking the conversation. ''When I destroyed Orochimaru's bases a month ago, we freed hundreds of people that were going to be used for Orochimaru's experiments. Where do you think those people went?''

''They are probably wondering around the village since Orochimaru had not stepped a foot since your previous encounter with him.''

''Yes, Otogakure was not really a village, but it was just compromised of hideouts that Orochimaru used. Those hideouts had his Ninja's and innocent people to be used for his experiments. What do you think would happen if the village was to be rebuilt in a normal way with homes, schools, hospitals, hotels and other things.''

''Do you want to do that? I can set up some connections to get it underway quickly.'' Zetsu was a bit excited by the thought of creating a village...well technically reforming one.

''Not me technically. I have someone in mind.''

''Who?'' Zetsu asked curiously.

''You will see her in Oto after I have spoken to her in Orochimaru's hideout in Kusa,'' Naruto stated.

''And Karin?''

''Since we are still in Earth country, Kusa is just ahead. So we reach Kusa before the 'other hideout'. There will only be a delay of a few hours.'' Naruto stated calmly. ''I want you to go Oto and see how things are and see if you can spread news of Orochimaru's death. After that, go to Uzu and record the condition of the island.''

''Uzu?'' Naruto had never shown any interest in the ruins of his ancestors on his Uzumaki side before.

''Yes.''

Zetsu nodded, ''I will first head back to the hideout to drop off the mask and the Sword of Kusanagi,'' Zetsu said and disappeared away from Naruto.

Konoha

The group of Jiraiya, Sasuke, Kakashi and Yugao arrived in Konoha. They had made several stops while on their way back to the village. Most stops were forced by Jiraiya who wanted to visit the hot springs. Other than that they had been travelling at the leisurely pace. No one was in a hurry to get to Konoha, as everybody knew that as soon as they arrived they would have a lot of work to do. But Sasuke seemed to have been the one who had something to do upon reaching Konoha. However, he did not voice anything at the group's pace of travelling. He just walked like everybody else.

This would be the first time he returns to Konoha after almost three years of being away from the village. Ever since he left Konoha, he had been busy training with Kakashi. After all the training, he started doing missions for Konoha and other villages so that he could gain some experience in real battle.

He had been satisfied with his strength after seeing what he could do. Still he felt that something was missing. Nevertheless, he was not at the same level as he was before the training trip. He had to be proud of that. His use of the cursed seal was also far superior than anyone-Jiraiya had said so. He rarely used it though. Kakashi had advised him to use it as his ace when all else fails. He accepted that advice and the cursed seal was his ace. He could use it from level one to level two. Thus utilizing all the power of the mark Orochimaru had left on him.

Never had he thought that he was going to return to the village with his current mentality. He never thought that he could actually be caring for other people other than himself and his revenge. Well he had to thank his one-eyed sensei for the change.

The scary thought would be that since he would be smiling to people, it would attract more fan girls. He shuddered at the thought. He hated fan girls. With Sakura and Ino at the academy having to gape all over him was enough. He did not want to go through the ordeal of being chased by love-crazed fan girls again.

But the change was good. He had never felt happy ever since his traitorous brother massacred their clan. He would admit it to himself the he had been miserable ever since then. But he would not admit it to anyone-that would be damning to his pride. He still had it in him.

The group walked towards the office of the Hokage.

Tsunade was having a dull day. Miraculously today there had been little paperwork for her to do. She had finished it early before noon. She did not have to worry about the hospital since her students, Sakura and Shizune were in charge of it. They were the best medics in Konoha, but not better than her. But she was positive that Sakura would surpass her in a few more years. The girl had really come a long away with her training. Shizune had done most in terms of training Sakura medical ninjutsu.

With this day like this, she was thinking of going home to take a nap. Perhaps a drink before that.

She sighed as she heard a knock on the door, ''enter,'' she said. Just then as the door opened, she sensed something at the window.

''Hime! I'm home!'' Jiraiya said making his appearance. Tsunade glared at her former teammate for disturbing her peace. Why could not he just use the door like everyone else?

''Dammit Jiraiya! When will you learn to use the door?''

Jiraiya just grinned at Tsunade. Tsunade sighed again, and looked at the people who had entered her office through the door. She raised a brow when she saw who it was.

''Ah, Kakashi, Sasuke, you have returned,'' she said. ''Yugao?''

''Yes Hokage-sama,'' the woman responded with proper respect.

''What happened?'' she asked her tone getting serious.

''During my last mission, my team was...'' she went on to explain everything to Tsunade like she had done to Jiraiya and Kakashi. She made sure not to miss anything except for a few private things. ''So that's what happened.''

Tsunade sighed rubbing her temples. Damn! She was sighing a lot today! ''Anko and Kurenai will be relieved when they see you. They had been bugging me to go on a search for you,'' she said.

Yugao had never thought of what her friends might think when she decided to stay at Kiri with Naruto. She felt guilty for making her friends worry about her. She could hope that they would understand.

''Sasuke, Kakashi, I am happy that you have returned safely to the village. And I am happy with the results of your training,'' she said with a smile. She had seen the report on their training from Jiraiya and she was very pleased. When Konoha shinobi became strong, they made Konoha strong and her job much easier.

''Hai, Hokage-sama,'' Kakashi saluted while Sasuke remained quiet.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, ''Did you confirm everything?'' she asked in a serious tone.

''Yes. Everything is true. Yugao here witnessed the whole thing as she too participated,'' Jiraiya replied.

Tsunade eyed Yugao. ''This is going to cause me more headaches. I think the council already knows it too. They have been busy lately ever since the news came alive.''

''No doubt they are planning something,'' Jiraiya added.

''The question is what?'' Tsunade looked at the three in front of her. ''If there is nothing else you two can leave,'' she said pointing at Kakashi and Sasuke, ''you go to ANBU HQ and give your report,'' she said.

Surprisingly Sasuke spoke for the first time, ''Actually there is something, Hokage-sama,'' he said.

''Let's hear it,'' Tsunade said while the others looked at him curiously.

''I would to make a request,'' he begun. ''I want everything that was confiscated from the Uchiha compound returned.''

''I don't know anything that was taken from the Uchiha compound,'' Tsunade stated.

''That is understandable. You were not inside the village when massacre occurred. The council knows about it,'' Sasuke replied without missing a heartbeat.

''I see,'' Tsunade said and thought for a moment. ''I will speak to them I don't see anything wrong with that. Is there anything else?''

''There is one thing left but it will wait until Naruto returns,'' Sasuke stated.

The others looked at him curiously, again wondering what the other thing was that had to wait for Naruto.

''If that's all you are dismissed,'' Tsunade said.

A few minutes later

Yugao stopped hopping on the rooftops and stood still. She was on her way to ANBU HQ, but stopped when she felt that her sempai was following her from behind. Kakashi dropped next to her with his famous eye smile.

''You could told me you wanted to speak with me before I left Tsunade-sama's office,'' she looking straight at her former ANBU captain.

Kakashi gave a nonchalant shrug. ''How is he? From your personal view point,'' he asked getting straight to the point.

Yugao knew who 'he' was. ''Honestly he is fine but lonely. I don't think he has yet to realize it because he is always busy doing something,'' she said.

''Well at least he is fine for now,'' Kakashi said sighing in relief. He was really worried for the blond. He had always cared as far as he can remember.

''You know you should speak to him try and try to get closer to him,'' Yugao suggested.

''I have tried that before, but I never succeeded,'' Kakashi replied with a sad eye smile.

''You should try again when he comes back, he will talk to you,'' Naruto had basically called Kakashi someone precious to him.

''You think so?''

''Yes,'' Yugao replied with a reassuring smile. ''Naruto might be cold, indifferent and never showing sympathy. But he is a good person when you look deep inside.'' 'Well he is kind only to his friends. Other people he cares less about' Yugao finished with a thought.

Kakashi smiled. That definitely made his day.

Kusagakure

A single day was all it took for Naruto to reach Kusa since the village was just outside of the Earth countries' borders. But Naruto took his time in getting there. He had been travelling leisurely alone while he made plans for Oto. Zetsu was busy doing the assignment that had been given to him. There was nothing that would include fighting that was left for him. He just had to be speak to someone and then go to the Fire country.

Naruto walked calmly towards the hideout he had been traveling towards. It was also fairly hidden like all of Orochimaru's hideouts. But this one was just full of Orochimaru's army of experiments-human's that have been experimented in. There were a lot of them inside the hideout. Orochimaru had turned them into nothing but hideous and uncontrollable monsters-it was why he even kept them locked inside the cells unless he wanted to free them for his amusement. Orochimaru was really a mad scientist.

Naruto passed through the entrance of the hideout. It was closely guarded, but Naruto simply used genjutsu on the guards to put them to sleep to avoid fighting. He did not want to draw a fight with mindless monsters. He also did not want his target to run away upon finding out that there was an intruder in a base she was controlling.

Naruto passed through multiple cells. There were one's that had normal people that had yet to be used for experiments. But if Orochimaru was to remain alive, he would have surely come for them for one his craze experiments. He looked at them and saw the how even some children were inside the cells crying for someone to help them.

He felt something in his heart. Pity? No, he did not care for Kiri regardless of the situation it was in. And yet, here he was feeling some sort of pity for the children waiting to used for experiments. Did it remind him of his own childhood? Did it remind him of the times he used to be hopeless accepting anything that came towards him?

Naruto shook his head. Thinking like that was very wrong for him.

With a last glance, Naruto walked towards the dark pathways of the hideout.

''Hey, who ar-'' Naruto cut off the man by placing another genjutsu. He could have simply killed the man but he refrained from it. He could not just go around killing everyone. Oto would be low on shinobi if he did that. Still, he wanted to get to the main room of the Hideout without so much trouble.

This was the first time he was being silent in doing something. Usually he would have just waltzed into the place causing havoc. But he did not want to fight anyone soon-it would only be an annoyance if he was to fight anyone. He also did not want to alarm the person he was looking for.

Arriving at the large room, Naruto entered without so much as checking for anything like traps. He simply entered without a second thought like he knew around the place-like he was familiar with it.

''Who are the hell are you? And what are you doing here?'' a woman yelled at him sitting from a chair behind a desk. This was Orochimaru's study. This room had a lot of scrolls, possibly information on experiments.

''You are Guren, correct?'' Naruto said walking closer to the light blue haired woman who was now standing up staring at him.

''Yes,'' she said. ''You still have not answered my question. Answer me or you will pay with your life,'' she said threateningly.

Apparently, threats like that amused Naruto and he managed to smile slightly. It was also apparent that Guren had not been watching news lately. If she had been, she would have known who he was. Naruto had no doubt that his name was being whispered around all shades of the Elemental Nations.

''I have not come here to fight,'' Naruto said.

''What do you want? I have not seen you from the base before. How did you even get inside here?''

''I used the entrance,'' Naruto replied moving in front of Guren who looked ready to attack him any time.

Guren studied him-everything about him, from toe and head. He was certainly not some weak shinobi. Another fact, he was wearing a Konoha forehead protector. That raised all alarms in her head. Another was his Sharingan that was staring at her.

But not all that fazed her.

She moved closer to him and grabbed him by his collar, ''What is a Konoha shinobi doing in my hideout? Tell me why I should not kill you here now?''

Naruto yanked her hand and moved his hand fast and precise, and grabbed her neck tightly. His Sharingan morphed into EMS. ''Tsukuyomi,'' he said getting the woman under the most powerful genjutsu.

Guren found herself in a blood red and black world. She immediately knew that it was a genjutsu and tried to dispel it but failed miserably. She tried to do it again, but it was futile.

As soon as Naruto appeared, she attacked him. But before she could do anything, four Naruto's appeared and restrained her before she was put on a cross.

Guren glared at Naruto furiously, ''What is this?'' she yelled her calm lost.

''It matters not,'' Naruto replied watching her. ''Stop trying to resist. That will only lengthen my presence before you,'' he said.

Guren gritted her teeth, ''What do you want?''

''I want you,'' Naruto replied calmly.

He never realized just how ''wrong'' his statement sounded. Well until he saw the look of horror in Guren's face.

''Let me rephrase that,'' he said seeing that she got another meaning from his words. ''I want you to work for me, with me.''

''What? Never...no...I work for Orochimaru-sama alone.''

''Orochimaru is dead,'' Naruto stated shocking the woman.

''No. That's impossible. Orochimaru-sama cannot be killed, not by a brat like you!''

Perhaps Guren was the second to make mention of the fact that Naruto was still young. A lot of people he met never even realized that he was still young.

''Then I will show you...'' Naruto said and made the woman observe while he killed the Sound Four, ''Kabuto'' and Orochimaru himself.

''No...no...no...that's not real...it was just an illusion...Orochimaru-sama can't be dead. He could not be killed. Not like that.''

''I assure you that is reality. You being one of his most trusted must know where he was a few days ago,'' Naruto said. ''As for proposit-''

''No!'' she screamed. ''I will not work for you. If Orochimaru-sama is dead and killed by you. Then the only thing I can do is kill you.''

''You cannot do that unless I allow you to. Your ''master'' failed to do it, you cannot. Killing me is beyond you.'' Naruto said rubbishing any hope that she could actually succeed in killing him.

''Do you want to test that?''

''No,'' Naruto answered without a thought. ''If I do that I would end up killing you since I have already left many alive on my way to you.''

Guren gritted her teeth. ''I swear I will kill you the moment yo-'' she was cut off.

Naruto freed her from his genjutsu and unleashed a murderous killing intent upon the woman. The weight of the Killing intent forced her to the floor and made breathing very difficult. She almost coughed up her guts.

This was the first time Naruto had used his Killing intent to subdue someone. He never really used it. He preferred to use his hands to subdue his oppositions. However, today he was in no mood for a fight thus, using his hands was not on the cards.

''Shut up woman,'' he said in a tone full of power and authority. The power behind the voice had Guren nod vigorously as he stopped his killing intent.

''Good.'' all that power that made her want to be submissive under his will was all gone. For a second Guren thought it may have been just an illusion. She thought of attacking him, but the look on his eyes told her that she would be killed if she attacked him.

So from that moment, Guren told herself; ''never annoy him enough to become irritated''

''As I said Orochimaru is dead and I want you to work for me,'' Naruto said. ''But I see that you are very loyal to Orochimaru. Tell me, what made you loyal to Orochimaru?''

''Orochimaru-sama gave m-'' Naruto cut her off.

''Never mind. I do not want to hear it. I will tell you exactly what Orochimaru was; he was a self-serving snake that had no morals and would not think twice of sacrificing his subordinates or terminating them once he finds that he had no use for them. But you all know that, don't you?''

The look Naruto gave her dared her to say otherwise. Guren was not going to deny that. ''Regardless of that. Orochimaru-sama took me when everyone else shunned me and gave me everything I ever wanted. He accepted me.''

''Yes, that he did,'' Naruto conceded. ''But, what did you have to do for him to accept you? How many people did you kill to be accepted. How many people did have to betray just to prove your loyalty. Yes, perhaps a certain woman...''

Guren narrowed her eyes at Naruto. ''What do you know?''

''Yukimaru's mother-the woman who took care of you after you had passed out from killing many people just for Orochimaru. He ordered you to kill her-the woman who saved your life and you did. Orochimaru brings in her son, Yukimaru, and has you look after him. After knowing who his mother was, you felt guilty...you hated yourself for killing his mother. You wanted nothing more than to make up to the boy for your-''

''Please stop,'' Guren said in a low tone.

''You know that Orochimaru would have asked you to kill him once the boy was no longer useful to him. Also, what of his promise to make you his vessel? He never did make you one did he?''

That was a soft spot to her. She had been happy...no overjoyed when Orochimaru told her that she would be his next vessel. But over time, he kept picking other people before her. She felt worthless shamed because of it. She also knew that Orochimaru would have asked her to kill Yukimaru if he was of no longer use to him. If she tried to argue he would have pulled out the loyalty card.

It was why even before Naruto came, she had been confused. She had grown closer to Yukimaru and never wanted to lose the bond she shared with him. She wanted to protect him even from Orochimaru.

Naruto walked over to Guren and leaned down. He lifted her head by her chin with his right hand and stared into her eyes. ''So fierce, strong and loyal,'' he said moving his hand down her chest. His fingers poked her breasts, ''Yet so fragile.''

Guren wanted to smack him for touching her possessions. But looking at his eyes she could tell he was not interested in her breasts. That led her to the conclusion that, he was referring to her heart when he said fragile. She felt somewhat insulted by that.

Naruto stood up and walked away from her. ''If I was Orochimaru I would be saying that, work for me and I won't tell Yukimaru what you did...but I am not like that. I care less for that,'' he said. ''You can either work for me or not it's your choice. I won't kill you for refusing. I will just find someone to do the work I want you to do. But I will kill you if you try to stand in my way.''

''What is it that you really want me to do?''

''Otogakure. I want you to rebuild it into a proper village and become its leader.''

''Why and why me?''

''The question to why you, it is because of your power and the fact that everyone in Otogakure knows you,'' he paused for a moment. ''Think of it as a new start. You will be creating a new start for all the people that Orochimaru had abducted.''

Guren was quiet for a moment, ''What is it really to you. You are a Konoha shinobi after all.''

''Power,'' Naruto responded. ''As for Konoha, nobody knows I am doing this.''

Naruto removed his left glove revealing his hand to be bandaged with a tattoo on his palm. He ran his hand on the tattoo summoning something. A large scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. He threw it at Guren who caught it.

''That scroll contains all the plans I drew up while on my way to here. Everything you need for construction will be provided.'' Naruto said walking away after putting on his glove.

''I have not even said yes.''

''Well you have not said no either,'' he said turning around to look at her.

''Well...err..'' she really did not know what to say.

''I don't see anyone refusing to take up an opportunity to start a new life and better other people's life,'' Naruto stated. ''I trust that you accept my offer.''

''Yes...I don't have anything better to do anyway.'' Guren said in a low tone. 'well aside from taking care of Yukimaru'. Naruto only heard her yes.

''Good,'' he said with a smile. ''Take your most trusted men and the innocents to Otogakure. If they still have families allow them to leave. Seal everything that is valuable and destroy the hideout along with the experiments,'' he paused for a moment. ''When you reach Otogakure, my trusted friend will give you instructions and connections for the construction. And keep my name out of everything.''

That was the first time Naruto referred Zetsu as his trusted friend.

''You did not even me your name.''

''Uchiha Naruto.''