Chapter 19

''You did not take long,'' Zetsu said as he appeared before Naruto. The blond only had a minute since reverse summoning himself to Dragon Land. Zetsu had been here since he left Naruto. He figured since Naruto would not stop by the hideout first, he would come here straight. He had decided to come also here.

''There was nothing holding me,'' Naruto responded walking. He had to find the Kyuubi. The beast never stayed in one place. But it was not that hard to find. Zetsu could tell him where it was.

''I thought Yugao would keep you given the events of yesterday. What I have observed about women is that after experiencing such things, they tend to become very emotional,'' Zetsu explained while he walked beside Naruto.

''Yugao is an ANBU, she has experienced traumatic events in the past. She is used to experiencing things like that. She cannot think like the women you have been observing,'' Naruto said folding his hands across his chest.

Anbu were trained to control their emotions. They had better control of their emotions that anyone. The kind of missions they did had them experience and see a lot of cruel and evil things - things that could break anyone. Their minds were programmed to handle and be able to deal with traumatic events as they usually dealt with them in their missions.

Yugao was trained as such - an Anbu. Her mind worked differently from other women. She has experienced a lot of things herself. The experiences made her different. True, deep inside she was still a woman and perhaps her heart may be fragile to emotional pain. But experiencing a small thing like being kidnapped by Danzou was not enough to break her. He had not done anything to her.

He certainly would have been surprised if she started releasing tears because of the event. If she had done that, then he would have been proven wrong about her mental capabilities. He was glad that he was proven right though. She did not act as any normal woman would react to being kidnapped.

''What about Karin? She has never been Anbu and she is not a shinobi,'' Zetsu said. The girl had never been trained to be a shinobi. She did not experience what shinobi usually came across. She did not have the mental discipline of a shinobi.

''She worked with Orochimaru,'' that was the only answer that needed to be given. Anyone who worked with Orochimaru had to be able to stand anything. The snake was capable of doing many things. Karin saw some things that would make some think twice about entering Orochimaru's hideouts.

Zetsu merely nodded. That needed no explanation. The answer was obvious. ''I wonder how you would have dealt with it, though, if one of them had become emotional...'' he said with a thoughtful expression.

He knew too well that Naruto would not be able to solve that kind of mess. He had his own experiences about pain and emotional breakdown. But he experienced them himself. That was years ago. It happened to his young fragile mind. Then he met Madara, his mind was reprogrammed again. One could say he was reborn.

Knowing Naruto, he would have simply knocked her out to avoid dealing with it. He would never hold someone and comfort them, not now at least.

Naruto merely shrugged in response. He did not even give it a thought. It did not happen, there was no need for him to dwell on it if it did not happen. He would give it his all to make sure that it never happens.

The two then walked silently towards the Kyuubi. When they finally reached the Bijuu, they found it sleeping peacefully. Well that is what it seemed like until its eyes snapped open. It merely stared at them with its huge silted blood-red eyes. If it was there, it might have had a brow raised in question of their presence.

''You are enjoying you freedom,'' Naruto said impassively looking straight at the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi would have snorted if it were in the past but it did not. It began swinging its tails slowly as it took its time to respond to Naruto's words. ''I should enjoy it since I have been given it,'' finally, the Bijuu said.

''Today is that day I make true to my promise,'' Naruto said. Zetsu kept quite watching the interaction between former container and his Bijuu.

The Kyuubi's eyes trained on Naruto intently as if it were searching for something. A few moments later, it grinned. Zetsu could not quite place whether the grin was from excitement or something. Naruto did not care what the grin meant. ''I was beginning to think you were just full of words,'' the Kyuubi said.

''I did tell you that I would make you complete again,'' Naruto said. ''...And now I have come to do that,'' it was not technically true. Minato was the one who could do that because he was the one who had the Kyuubi's half chakra and more adept to seals than him.

''How are you going to do that?'' the Kyuubi asked. It was clear that the beast was curious as to how it was going to receive its other half.

Naruto did hand seals, slowly. He normally did them in a fast pace, but here he was not battling anyone. ''Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei,'' he uttered quietly.

A single coffin sprouted out from the ground and opened revealing the Yondaime Hokage. The coffin disappeared leaving Minato standing still. He seemed to be sleeping. Naruto walked towards him and planted a Kunai with orders at the back of his head. He then held a single hand seal and Minato came alive.

''Yondaime Hokage,'' The Kyuubi spoke in barely contained anger. It was obvious that it was restricting itself from jumping on to the man and shred him to pieces.

The Kyuubi's voice caught Minato's attention and off-guard. ''Kyuubi? How are you free? Where is Naruto? What is going on here?''

''Just do what you are instructed and stop questioning things that do not concern you,'' came a voice from behind him.

Minato turned to see Naruto in all his glory. ''Naruto? What are you trying to do here?''

''Do as you are instructed,'' Naruto said removing Minato's personality to shut him up. He really did not want to hear what the man had to say before he returned what he owed to the Kyuubi.

On cue, Minato jumped next to the Kyuubi. The beast merely watched him with careful eyes. It did not know what to do but every fur its body was telling it to hit the blond haired Hokage. The problem was that the damn human was the one who had half of its chakra sealed within himself.

Minato held out his right hand and touched the Kyuubi. A seal came to exist in his stomach before stretching around his body towards the Kyuubi. The seal covered both of them. Slowly the Kyuubi's size began to increase until it reached its former glory and the seal disappeared.

As thank you to Minato, Kyuubi's right paw hit him and sent him flying away. It felt like charging a Bijuudama to turn the blond Hokage into nothing.

Naruto gave a rare smile. It was barely noticeable, ''You now deserve to be called Kurama,'' he said revealing that he knew the Bijuu's name.

Kurama stopped his mental celebrations and stared at Naruto. No human had ever used his name except for the Sage. He would have been furious if it someone else who was using his name. However, Naruto had shown to be different. He has the Sharingan that could manipulate him, but did not use it. He had freed him from his seal and kept his promise. Still he was not about to smile and say thank you.

In the end, Kurama settled for snorting. It was a different snort.

''Enjoy being whole again,'' Naruto said turning to the direction Minato had been forced to. ''I have a few matters I must discuss with Minato,'' he looked at Zetsu. ''Are you coming or will you stay behind to 'chat' with him?''

''I will stay here,'' Zetsu said. As much as he would have loved to see the conversation between Minato and Naruto, he did think that the matter was personal and Naruto should deal with it alone.

Naruto said nothing. He simply disappeared.

Minato and Naruto

Naruto found the Yondaime Hokage standing as if he was waiting for him. The man still had his personality removed. Perhaps if it had been someone else, he would have fought to break free due to the task he was instructed to do. But Naruto was not just anyone. No one could slip out of his control when using the Edo Tensei. Minato could struggle all he wanted, but he would not escape his control.

He held a single hand seal and brought back Minato's personality. The Yondaime's expression changed from being impassive to confused.

Minato looked at his son intensively trying to find words to say. The look on Naruto's face gave away nothing, it only made him nervous. The Sharingan did not do him any better, moreover. When Naruto retrieved his soul from the Shinigami, he did not allow him to speak. It made him curious as to why his son would go through that trouble to free his soul. But now he knew the answer.

If things had gone his way, then he would not have been in this position. But things did not always go your way. He had to face the consequences of doing that. He just hoped that his son was not planning to do anything evil with the Kyuubi. That would not be what he and Kushina dream for him. But then again, Naruto was his son. Nothing was going to change that. Regardless of the path he took, he would always have to be proud of him because that is what fathers did.

Naruto did a few hand seals. He created a bench under a tree. He then created another one for Minato. He wanted the man to face him as he spoke. Without any word, he sat down and looked back at Minato, ''Take a seat,'' he said.

Minato smiled nervously and took a seat. He became even more nervous when Naruto leaned back against the bench while folding his hands. His eyes seemed to scrutinize him hypnotically.

''Mother said you are the most kindest man she knew. Now, I don't care for that. But I have some unresolved issues with you that I would like to deal with. So Minato, tell me your story,'' Naruto stated in an even tone not giving the Yondaime anything to read.

Minato smiled sadly. At least his son was willing to give him an opportunity to speak. He was going to take it and use it as honestly as he could. He thanked Kushina, though, for saying some kind words about him.

''To shorten my story, I will begin when I became Hokage. Now, I know you know most of the details but allow me to tell it myself,'' Minato stated becoming slightly serious, yet keeping his smile. He waited to see if Naruto would object to it.

Naruto simply stared at the former Hokage. Conversations like this did not please him - he did not find them to be pleasant. Nevertheless, this one was necessary, just like the one with his mother. He still had time. He could as well allow him to tell his story.

Seeing that Naruto was not going to say anything, Minato braced himself to speak, ''When the Sandaime informed me that he had chosen me to become the Yondaime Hokage, I was happy. It had been your mother's and mine's dream to become Hokage. One of us had managed to achieve that dream, but both of us were happy.

It was during after the Third Shinobi World War that I was appointed as Hokage. I was still young at that time. Some people did not think I was suitable for the position and were against me. But the majority were happy with my appointment.

I knew that taking the job, I would have much more responsibilities and make sacrifices. Your mother and I were willing to make those sacrifices. I did my job as Hokage as best as I could. During that time, I was faced with a lot of responsibilities but at the same time did not have to make sacrifices many sacrifices.

When your mother became pregnant with you. I was ecstatic about it. I always wanted to be a father. We named you after a character from Jiraiya sensei's first book. I had Kakashi guard your mother secretly during the 10 months she was carrying you. She was a Jinchuriki and during that time, the seal holding the Kyuubi was not as powerful. I had Kakashi guard her to avoid anything happening to her.

For 10 months Kakashi protected your mother to his best abilities. When it was time for her to give birth, we moved her to a secluded place. It was done so in secret. Only a few of the Sandaime's most trusted Anbu knew and were to be guarding her during the time of delivering you.

During that time, because most of her chakra would be focused on giving birth, I had to be near her to hold the seal together so that the Kyuubi would not break free. I struggled to hold the seal and Kushina gave birth to you.

But then 'he' came. He had killed all the Anbu that were stationed outside. He also killed all the nurses - including the Sandaime's wife, Biwako. He separated me from you and your mother, and somehow managed to get you and plant explosive tags on you. I saved you and teleported you to a safe place.

I was not fast enough, not fast enough to take you and your mother away,'' at this Minato seemed to be cursing himself for not being fast enough. Naruto just stared at him with an impassive face.

Minato smiled sadly looking at Naruto, ''Sorry,'' he said before continuing with his story.

''When I returned to your mother, 'that' man had already extracted the Kyuubi from her. He was already manipulating it with his Sharingan. He had instructed it to kill her, but I managed to save her, just in time. I took her to our house and rested her next to you before going back to deal with the Kyuubi - as it was already destroying the village. I stopped a Bijuudama that was directed at me with space/time barrier.

''That man came to my location and tried to use his space/time jutsu on me but I was faster than him and teleported elsewhere. He followed me and we fought. He was truly strong, but I managed to severe his connection with the Kyuubi, freeing it from his control. Before he left, he told me that he would return again and the Kyuubi would be his.

I knew that I had to make a choice. I had no doubt that he would someday return. I had questions; what would happen if he were to come back again, and I am no longer able to hold him back? That would have been the end of Konoha. Even when I was fighting him, I barely managed to wound him.

I made a choice. My own son would have to protect the village should the man come back again. That is why I decided to seal the Kyuubi inside of you. Having the power of the Kyuubi with you would make you strong, it would give you the power you needed to fight the masked man should he return again. This would also make you a protector of Konoha, well that is what I had in mind anyway,'' Minato stated with a sad smile.

He had thought it would go that way. But looking at Naruto that way, things never went his way. Naruto had become far stronger than he would have thought without the Kyuubi. There was also the Uchiha part he had not known. If he had known about it, perhaps he would have chosen to do things differently.

Naruto kept silent. He was not going to say anything until Minato finished telling his story. Obito had really screwed up his life. He had been the one to cause all this. It did not matter anyway. He would kill him one day and stop his madness.

Minato continued with his story, ''When faced with the Kyuubi, with the help of Gamabunta - the toad chief - I teleported the Kyuubi outside the village. I also teleported you and your mother to its location. Your mother used her chakra chains to restrain the Kyuubi and create a barrier around us.

She was not pleased with what I wanted to do, but she understood my reasons. She wanted to have the Kyuubi sealed within herself again. However, I was thinking about the future. I knew that you were too young to hold all of the Kyuubi's power. But for yours and your mother's sake I decided to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Kyuubi's Yin chakra within myself. Using a seal like that would cost me my life. But I was willing to do it, for the sake of Konoha, for your sake and your mother's.

At that time, you were not going to lose all your parents. You were only going to lose me. Your mother was still alive and would live to take care of you. However, the Kyuubi tried to kill you to stop the sealing. Your mother and I shielded you. But at the same time sealed your mothers fate. She was not going to live after one of the Kyuubi's nail had pierced through her stomach.

My fate was already sealed by using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. I used the Eight Trigrams Seal to seal the Kyuubi within you. By using that seal, you would have access to the Kyuubi's chakra. You would use it to protect yourself and Konoha.

''I never spoke to anyone after that because I died. But not before I sealed your mother's and my chakra inside of you. I was to help should the seal weaken before time. Your mother was to have a chance to see and help you control the Kyuubi's chakra,'' Minato finished his story with a sad smile on his face.

''So when you planned on making me a Jinchuriki, you had in mind that my mother would still be around to take care of me,'' Naruto stated looking straight at Minato with his unreadable expression.

''Yes, your mother had survived the extraction of the Kyuubi. I figured you would be able to live happily even when I was not there. I would have died a hero leaving my wife and son. Surely, a better life would have come after that. Your mother would be there, Jiraiya-sensei, Sandaime-sama and Kakashi. I trusted them enough to believe that they would never allow anything to happen to you,'' Minato stated keeping his sad expression.

''Mother died along with you, Jiraiya went away to mind his own business, the Sandaime merely watched unable to do anything, while Kakashi who was willing to do something was forbidden,'' Naruto added what had happened after. His voice never betrayed the expression on his face as he spoke.

''Unfortunately, she did,'' Minato said. ''I never expected Jiraiya sensei to abandon you after I had made him your godfather. I also thought that the Sandaime would be of help. Nevertheless, I never thought that the villagers would treat you the way they did,'' Minato looked like he was about to cry.

Naruto remained quite choosing not to say anything.

''Naruto, I am sorry, I truly am,'' he was holding himself from releasing tears. He wanted to be strong in front of his son. ''I did not plan for you to be treated the way you were. It pained me watching you suffer, but there was I could do. I am truly sorry Naruto.''

Naruto eyes stare remained the same as he spoke, ''When I was told that you were my father, I was furious. I hated you. If you had been alive at that time, I would have killed you painfully. What kind of a father seals a beast of mass hatred inside his own son. To stop myself from being consumed by hatred, I simply chose to disregard you as my father,'' he paused for a moment and looked up at the heavens. ''I do know that harboring hatred does not do me any good. I learned to live without relying too much on emotions. I simply chose to discard them. But with what I have experienced, I cannot forget some things, no matter how hard I try.''

Minato nodded sadly. For Naruto, his childhood was like a scar carved inside his mind. No matter what happens, whoever experiences things that Naruto has, a mark will always be left behind. He was just happy that his son had turned out 'good' in his own way.

''Well I guess it could not be helped. Whatever happened happened,'' Naruto said standing up.

Minato stood up mimicking Naruto, ''Still, I would have wished things happened differently,'' he said.

If things had happened the way Minato wanted, Naruto might have never met Madara. He would not have been having the power he has now. There was something good gained from the way things had turned out. But still, a lot of damaged had been caused.

Naruto did not comment on Minato's words. ''I will be Hokage one day. At this time, I should become the Rokudaime,'' he said looking straight at Minato impassively.

Minato beamed at hearing that but did not say anything. His son was not going to abandon Konoha, how could he not be happy? He loved Konoha despite what it did to his son. Perhaps a part of him may resent the villagers, but he still loved his home.

''You know,'' Naruto begun. ''If I had not met mother, I would not have bothered to even talk to you. I would have simply allowed you to rot in hell in self pity,'' he paused for a moment. ''But when I release you from the Edo Tensei, you won't return to the Shinigami's stomach. You will go were mother is. I know that she will be happy to know that I talked with you.''

''Thank you Naruto. You may never call me your father, but you will always be my son. I have no right to tell you how to live your life. But as your father I will tell you this from the bottom of my heart; I love you and will always be proud you, no matter which path you take,'' He paused for a moment smiling. ''I am sure that your mother will be happy to know that you want to be Hokage. She wanted to be one herself, but she was not able to. I am sure that if her son achieves that dream, she will cry in joy,'' Minato said.

He felt like walking over to his son and give him a hug. However, he refrained from doing so. A part of him knew that Naruto would not appreciate it if he did so. Nevertheless, this conversation lifted up some weight.

Naruto did not comment. He did several hand seals releasing Minato from the Edo Tensei. He watched impassively as Minato disappeared off to the world of the dead.

A single look at the heavens, Naruto walked away towards where he had left Zetsu. He took a slow pace to get there.

''You are done already?'' Zetsu asked as Naruto appeared walking slowly.

The blond nodded, ''It did not long. I just allowed him to talk and he talked,'' he said not bothering to get into details of what actually transpired between him and Minato.

Zetsu looked at Naruto carefully; he seemed as he was before he talked to Minato. It was not that he was expecting him to be different. Things would be boring for him if things changed. He liked Naruto as was. This Naruto made things interesting for him. Because Naruto was the way he was, he had a purpose.

''Where is the Yondaime?'' Kurama asked not being able to sense the man who once sealed him and took away his Yin chakra.

''I released him,'' Naruto stated. ''Did you want to rip him to shreds like you said last time?'' he asked nonchalantly.

Kurama grinned, ''Where is he? It will give me great pleasure if I could do it. Since he is an Edo Tensei, I can do it over and over again,'' he stated with a devilish grin. The thoughts of Minato turning into pieces under his paws begun to play inside his head.

''I released him,'' Naruto stated. ''He had 'expired''' that meant he has served his purpose. Since he had done what he was called for, his presence was no longer needed, hence the release from the Edo Tensei.

''You could have allowed him to live so that I could have my fun before releasing him,'' Kurama stated in clear disappointment. He wanted to do it. He would have released some spent up energy if he was able to torture the bastard.

''What is the point of torturing something that does not feel pain?'' Naruto questioned. The Edo Tensei did not feel physical pain. Emotional? Yes. He doubted that Minato would have just sat down and allowed Kurama to do what he pleased with him. That is unless he had instructed him to do so. But since did not care for Kurama's petty vengeance, he would not have done so. He would have simply amused himself with the beast trying to hit a fly.

Moreover, he had already released Minato. There was no need for him to use the Edo Tensei again. The knowledge of the jutsu would simply lie within his head.

''I know that,'' Kurama said. ''But watching him becoming pieces would have pleased me.''

''That is if you could catch him,'' Naruto said. ''Things are in motion. I might use you more than I have been,'' the blond stated changing the subject.

''I was getting bored anyway,'' Kurama said. ''While I was inside you, I could amuse myself by watching what you did.''

Naruto did not comment on those words. ''I am also interested in seeing what you can do now that you are complete,'' he said with little interest in his voice. He then turned back to Zetsu. ''Go to the hideout and summon me from there,'' he said.

Zetsu nodded and disappeared.

''When will I get my chance to kill that masked fool who used his Sharingan on me?'' Kurama asked nicely.

''You will not,'' Naruto said without even entertaining the idea. ''There one who will kill Obito is me,'' and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kurama glared at the spot Naruto had been standing.

Council chambers

Tsunade looked around the council members and smiled; everyone was present. That was something to smile about. Even Naruto was there along with his fellow Uchiha. She wanted to get this out of the way so that she could handle other things. She cleared her throat, ''Thank you all for coming,'' she said beginning the meeting.

''Why is he still sitting there with that look on his face? He should be arrested since we all know that he was the one who attacked a council member!'' Koharu exclaimed rather loudly getting off what was inside her chest.

Everyone could only guess that it was Naruto. But the others did not have prove and they were not in the meeting Naruto had with Tsunade. So elder Koharu could be forgiven for not knowing that the blond had already discussed with the Godaime Hokage. She was also acting like that out of fear. If Naruto could get to Danzou, what was stopping him from getting to her and Homura?

The blond in question remained quite as if what the advisor was saying did not bother him. This of course annoyed the elder greatly. Naruto was just going to watch the pathetic advisor yell out what she wanted to say. But the matter had already been solved with Tsunade. He could just enjoy the show. It would get annoying sooner, but while it was not, he could enjoy it.

''Elder Koharu, Naruto is a council member and head of the Uchiha clan, he is also a member of the police Force, what gives you the right to say he is guilty of wrong doing?'' surprisingly the question was asked by none other than the head of the Military Police Force. He had kept a straight face when asking the question.

''Evidence?'' Koharu snorted. ''There is no evidence needed for confirm it was him. I know it and everyone else knows it. Look at him, he is not even denying it,'' she stated glaring at the calm looking Naruto.

''As much it amuses me to see you in this kind of position, I will intervene,'' Naruto started without fear while the other head clans looked at him to hear what he had to say. ''I am not denying the fact that I am the one who slaughtered Root and crippled Danzou because I did it,'' he said firmly his eyes straight at the elder.

There was no surprise in the head clans faces as he said so. It appeared that they too knew it was him and refrained from saying it loudly. Still, it was a surprise to see that he could actually say it in front of everyone like that. Looking at the Hokage, Shukaku assumed that the matter had already been settled with her. She was calm and simply watching the scene.

''I knew it!'' elder Koharu stated while her fellow elder merely shook his head. For his own safety, he had decided to shut and speak when requested. ''Anbu! Arrest him!''

Unfortunately for Koharu, no Anbu came to arrest Naruto. This confused her. ''Anbu!'' she yelled again. But again, her call was put on hold.

''Enough!'' Tsunade said hitting the table with her fist. This action silenced the elder. ''Koharu, whose Anbu are you calling? As far as I am concerned, Anbu are under my control and no one orders them to do anything.''

''He did just admit to a crime, I can't stand his face!'' Koharu replied glaring at Naruto.

''I will say this once advisor,'' Tsunade said with a hard glare at the elder. ''Never again attempt to order my Anbu, are we clear?'' she stated releasing a bit of her killing intent to get her message through.

Koharu merely looked away. She was not going to agree to anything. She was just going to keep quiet and see what happens.

''Since Hokage-sama is calm about the matter, I believe you have already discussed the matter with Naruto here. This would also explain Sasuke's presence here. I believe he is here as head of the Military Police Force, yes?'' Shukaku stated wanting to get the meeting under way.

''Yes, I have already spoken to Naruto about it. You are also correct, Sasuke is here as head of the Military Police Force,'' Tsunade said calmly in her formal tone. She then looked at Sasuke, ''Sasuke, will you?''

''Thank you, Hokage-sama,'' Sasuke stated as he stood up. He brought out a number of files and distributed them to the council members. ''Last night, the Police Force undertook a dangerous operation. For such an operation, I was not strong enough, so I enlisted Naruto to do it,'' Sasuke begun. ''Naruto made me aware of Danzou's activities and the treason acts he had committed - he supplied the evidence to back that up. Danzou was planning to usurp Tsunade-sama for the position of Hokage and had done many acts of treason before, but the Sandaime had allowed him to live. If you look into those files, you will see all the activities that Danzou has done.''

The council members browsed through the file and were quite shocked at the many treason acts the man had committed. They could not doubt since there was evidence about this. They were also surprised to read that the man had Sharingans implanted on himself.

''This is ridiculous,'' Koharu stated in disbelieve. Sadly, she was ignored.

''Why were the Anbu not involved in this?'' Hiashi asked curiously. While he could not disagree that Danzou had indeed committed treason many times, he was curious as to why the Anbu were not involved in the operation. Surely something like this would have suited them better.

''The Police Force acts on its own. It is a separate Military Force. Its operations are not mixed with the Anbu. Perhaps they might take joint operations, but if the Police Force does have the necessary tools to do its operations, there is no need to involve Anbu in police matters,'' Sasuke answered Hiashi's question firmly.

''Was anyone informed of this operation before it took place?'' Sasuke shook his head negatively.

''Why?''

''Danzou's Root were loyal to him to a fault, you all know that. Had the information leaked out that the police force were planning to act against Danzou, they would have done anything they could to preserve their masters life,'' Sasuke stated without missing a beat. He was speaking like he knew very well what he was talking about.

''But still to slaughter an entire army...'' Homura said looking downwards. That meant many men were lost. Men that they could have used for the sake of the village.

''Would you rather have them start a revolt inside the village? Because that is what they would have done should they have been left alive, with Danzou in a prison cell,'' Naruto said saving Sasuke from responding. ''You also cannot excuse that they were just as guilty as Danzou.''

Tsunade cleared her throat, ''Naruto is right. Root might have had its uses in the future. But they were guilty of treason, and even if kept alive they would have been a risk because they could never be fully trusted.''

''While I agree that Root had to be eliminated, I believe that The Police Force should inform someone before undertaking operations' such as this. Preferably the Hokage,'' Shukaku stated earning nods of approval from other head clans.

''That is reasonable,'' Tsunade stated looking straight at Sasuke, ''Do you have any objections?''

''No,'' Sasuke stated.

''Good,'' Tsunade said smiling. ''I have made a decision to have Danzou executed privately as soon as he wakes up. Do any of you have any objections?''

Even the two elders had no objections. Koharu knew by now it was useless to say otherwise. The clan heads were with Tsunade on this one. She also could not debate the evidence against Danzou. There was no saving the old war hawk.

''I declare this matter S-rank and all records will be sealed within the Police Force headquarters once they are complete,'' Tsunade stated.

''This way, the villagers will be kept in the dark about it. It will also avoid panic,'' Tsume concluded earning nods of approval.

''Onto another matter, I have received word from the Mizukage, she said she has already passed through the Fire country border,'' Tsunade said with a small smile.

''She is finally coming,'' Chouza said. ''It has been a number of days since we were told she would come.''

''She will be arriving soon, I have sent a squad of Anbu to accompany her as she makes her way here,'' Tsunade revealed. ''Since there is nothing else, you are all dismissed!''

Tsunade looked at Naruto. He was awfully quite. She never thought he could miss a chance to toy with the council. But this time, he was just quite. He had never been this quite during council meetings. He was always mixing things left and right.

''Naruto-san,'' Hiashi called as he walked towards Naruto with a small smile.

''What can I do for you, Hiashi-san?'' so Naruto knew formalities, that was a surprise. Even Hiashi himself was surprised at that. He had expected to be called Hiashi without a honorific.

''Can I speak with you for a moment, in private?'' Naruto nodded while keeping his expression unreadable.

Uchiha compound

Naruto was at the training ground sitting under a tree. His clones were busy with their training. There were three clones beside him studying the Hiraishin for him while he rested his mind.

The training with the variations of the Rasengan was nearly complete. In two or three days he would be having complete jutsu's. But with that, he would have to be involved in a dance to test them. Jutsu's were tested better against a person. Clones just did not do it. He needed someone who would be just a test subject for his jutsu's.

Another of his clone was at Minato's house training Karin. He had much to do today, so he had decided to send a clone to do his work. He would have loved to train her himself but he had to rest for now.

''What did Hiashi want to speak with you?'' Sasuke asked making his way towards Naruto.

Only a single eye from Naruto opened, his right which was hidden under his hair. ''He was trying to propose for one of his daughters to be married by one of us.''

Sasuke raised a brow, ''You told him no right?'' he did not want to be married to Hinata. If Naruto had said yes, he would have been the one to marry since Naruto seemed to be having something with Yugao.

''Yes,'' Sasuke sighed in relief. ''But I took his younger daughter. She is quite a 'child', she holds much potential and will be a great addition for you Military Force.''

Naruto stood up, ''Follow me,'' he said to Sasuke. ''Look closely, and don't use your Sharingan. I will only repeat this hand signs twice.''

Naruto did hand seals slowly so Sasuke could catch them. ''Uchiha Hono Shiurudo,'' he muttered releasing chakra around his body before the chakra turned into the flames. Naruto began to spin around and the flames did so around creating a dome of swirling flames. After a few seconds he stopped.

He did so again, slowly so Sasuke could see his movements. ''If you had noticed, the jutsu is like the one Neji used during the chunin exams. I created it, after seeing him do it. It is a defense jutsu but also works on both offensive and defensive. When spinning around, the flames shield you from any kind of attack. In offense, anyone who touches the flames will be burned. Also, when you have high control of the jutsu, when rotating, you can launch fire balls in all direction. Don't attempt to do that now though. I will teach you that once you have perfect control over the defense,'' Naruto stated before going back to where he was sitting. He took a scroll and threw it at Sasuke.

''I only showed you a demonstration of a finished product. That scroll has all you need to know about basics of the jutsu.''

''Thank you,'' Sasuke said with a small smile.

''Sasuke,'' Naruto said before the other Uchiha walked away to learn the jutsu. ''If you do not have a high degree control over the fire element, you might burn yourself alive and die or end up with 3rd degree burns. When performing that jutsu you have to turn your chakra into extremely hot substance when releasing it from your body through tenketsu points. It will be like boiled petrol in the form of a steam. The 'steam' can mutilate your body should you make a mistake. After releasing the 'steam' it will float around your body. You use a tiger seal to turn the steam into fire with your chakra. Should you make a mistake, the fire will burn you. I suggest you use a clone, if you have enough chakra to make one for training that is.''

Later that day

There was a smell that invaded his nose and travelled throughout his body. He had never quite felt something smell this good. Now he was not the one to be attracted by smells of food, but he could not say that the smell was not breathtaking. Sasuke could not cook something like that. He was no good cook. Despite them living together, he had only eaten the Uchiha's cooking once. After that, he preferred to eat his own prepared meals.

Naruto made his way towards the kitchen. He found Yugao humming as she cleaned the dishes she had been using for whatever she was cooking. She seemed not to notice his presence. Naruto then remembered that she had said she would see him tonight, he guessed this was what she meant by that.

''If I did not know any better, I would say you were married,'' Naruto commented startling Yugao. She was rather surprised by his comment.

''What makes you say that?'' she questioned as she turned around to face him. He was wearing his armour. She could assume that he had been with his clones all day training after the council meeting. She had not seen him wearing it in some time.

''From what I have observed and learned, what you are doing now is mostly done by women for their husbands. Or some just do it with the compulsion to please their men,'' Naruto stated as he sat down beside the kitchen table.

''You have observed and studied couples? For what purpose?'' Yugao asked surprised that he would actually do something like that.

''Not me technically, a friend of mine did that for me. My time and efforts are valuable to be spent on such things,'' Naruto said saying a rather familiar statement Yugao become used to hearing. ''As for why I would seek such knowledge; I will be married one day, so not be bothered and caused unpleasant situations by a women I had to have that knowledge.''

''Knowing something does not make it easier for you to function with it,'' Yugao stated. ''As in a matter of relationships, experience matters most than knowledge.''

''I am aware of that,'' Naruto said clearly in agreement with the female Anbu's words. ''But the knowledge has its uses.''

Yugao nodded slightly and turned back to doing her dishes, ''How was your day?''

''Pleasant,'' Naruto replied quietly. ''Where is Sasuke?''

Yugao sighed. He could have asked how her day was. And it would not have hurt at all. Why couldn't he just be normal from once? ''He went away with Kakashi-sempai.''

''I see,'' Naruto said standing up. He begun to walk away from the kitchen without another word. Yugao did not ask where he was going. She simply continued to clean her mess in silence.

She was quite happy about this night. She had decided to simply cook for him. Yes, she was aware they were not dating or boyfriend and girlfriend, but she liked him and that was all that mattered. What was so wrong in cooking for the guy she liked? She saw no wrong in it, especially if the guy was like Naruto. She would not have to worry about anything.

Naruto would interpret it as it was. He was not dense and oblivious to things around him. He was quite perceptive and was not afraid to tell what he thought. She was counting on that. She knew that the blond would be blunt about anything. He possibly did not care about what other people felt about other people's emotions. Or perhaps he just overlooked him as he appeared that nothing emotionally concerned him much.

He was quite like Root sometimes. But there was a difference between Naruto and Root. Root were trained to kill off their emotions from when they learned to speak. So from their days of being able to understand the world, they are taught to be emotionless never giving them a chance to understand other emotions. This created their personalities and some were unable to ever be capable of experiencing other emotions.

Naruto on the other hand was not always like that. She knew that. He experienced some other emotions during his troubled childhood. He felt pain, loneliness and all those sorts of things. What he experienced could have caused him to turn this way. But the fact that he was not always like this meant that he could still experience some things. But there was another negative, Naruto can simply brush aside whatever he feels and not even give a damn about it.

She knew that there were little things he cared for. Other things, not even a little. But the fact that there was something that he cared for meant that he was still 'human'. Root cared for nothing, but only knew loyalty to Danzou.

Naruto came back to the kitchen without his armour and forehead protector. She looked at his impassive expression. 'Perhaps I was wrong, he cannot care about other things because that capacity to do so was destroyed by his childhood. That seemed likely.' Yugao thought.

She watched him as he sit down. He looked back at her keeping his expression unreadable. Yugao shook her head. 'Yap, his ability to care was definitely destroyed by his childhood. No wonder he only cares for those who were good to him,' She thought sadly.

''You have become rather attached to my presence,'' Naruto said. Unlike most times when he spoke, there was some emotion in his voice. She grasped it barely, hence she could not quite define what it was.

''Is it not a good thing to have someone close by you to share a meal with you?'' the purple haired woman asked as she took a seat across the table and sat facing him.

As she was expecting, Naruto merely shrugged. Despite not being able to see what goes on his head, she had become quite familiar with his nature. Once you knew him better, it was not difficult to predict how he would react. Not that he was predictable.

''I was just stating the obvious,'' Naruto said quietly. ''Could it be that you are taking advantage of the fact that I can tolerate your presence and I find your presence somewhat pleasing?''

That was unexpected. She had certainly not predicted him saying something like that. And that was when she had thought she had actually figured him out. She stroked her chin and smiled slightly, ''Perhaps,'' she said. That sounded like something Naruto would say if he had been the one asked the question.

Yugao looked at Naruto carefully. He seemed to be amused by an imitation of his usual answers. She could tell by the small smile that had spread across his face as she spoke the words. She smiled inwardly at her success.

''Yare, you are becoming quite familiar with me,'' Naruto said. He did not seem bothered by it, though. He likely did not care, Yugao thought.

''Well you saved me twice and are the only man I can talk to knowing that you are not ogling me out,'' Yugao thought truthfully. ''That makes me enjoy your company.''

''You don't like being ogled? Well women in brothels seem to enjoy it and other playful women don't seem to bother much about it,'' Naruto said calmly as a memory of Mei Terumi flashed through his head.

''Brothel?'' Yugao gave Naruto a curious look. ''I did not think you would go to such places. What were you doing there?''

''I was conducting some experiments and taking a few lessons,'' Naruto replied. He had told Mei what he had done in a brothel. Her reaction was quite amusing.

''What kind of lessons?'' Yugao asked though she was afraid of the answer. She felt something in her heart she could not quite define. It did not give her a pleasant feeling.

''I could show you if you want,'' Naruto offered.

Still, the bad feeling did not go away. It was still there, but Yugao let her curiosity get the best of her, ''Sure,'' she was not sure how he would do so.

Naruto locked eyes with her, ''Sharingan: Genjutsu,'' he uttered trapping Yugao within an illusion.

''This is my genjutsu,'' he said as Yugao appeared beside him. Yugao simply nodded and looked at a building before her. It was no mistake a brothel.

She saw a younger version of Naruto walking into the building. When he entered, they also went inside. Naruto (Younger Version) talked to a slightly older woman. The woman was smiling at him for a moment before she slapped him. She could see the expression on his face, a slightly raised brow.

She turned to Naruto, ''What did you say to her?''

''Before going there, a source informed me that despite older women having much experience. They are quite wide and would not suite me.'' Yugao was not the least surprised by his bluntness. But she blushed slightly at his words. Now she knew what Naruto wanted to learn. She could assume how things would proceed from there. However, she felt compelled to watch Naruto.

''I was told to look for rather younger woman who is still young and had not yet seen many things. It also occurred to me that a younger woman would be better than an old worn out machine that is likely leaking oil, rusted inside and would probably give me something that would not be good for my health,'' Naruto stated carelessly.

''...''

''...''

Yugao's mouth hung open at those words. They were shocking to say the least. But she feared that he would have the same thoughts with her. While her mouth was still gaping, she saw the other Naruto get into a room with two young beautiful teens. They were really beautiful. Her mouth gaped even more and her eyes widened when the two girls did whatever they wanted with him.

She did not know how long she stood without a thought in her mind. It was not the best of decision for her to watch what she was seeing. Both girls fell unconscious at each side of Naruto. The blond got out of bed. She could see the look on his face; thoughtful as he was trying to understand what he had actually experienced.

Naruto snapped his fingers and the illusion ended. Yugao sat with her mouth gaping motionless and unblinking.

Naruto looked amused by it, but said nothing. It took several minutes for Yugao to get out of her stupor. When she did, her face flushed and she stood up, ''Excuse me,'' she said walked away, more like run away rather.

It took several minutes for her to return. When she did, she returned with the food. If it was not for the fact that she was Anbu, she would have walked away. The images she had seen where raping her mind. But being Anbu, she was holding on. She handed Naruto his meal and sat down.

''You know it is going to be rather difficult to speak with you now after seeing all that,'' she said honest. Possibly for the night only. By tomorrow, she would have gotten over it.

''Hmmm, I have already seen you naked. More importantly, I cleaned you while you were nude,'' Naruto said guessing where she was taking it. He had no difficulty in speaking to her even after that.

''Well that was months ago,'' Yugao said. Surprisingly, she was not even the slightest bothered by the fact that he had seen her naked. ''So you don't like older women, eh?'' it would explain why he never showed any interest in Mei.

While not surprised by her question, he looked amused. ''Yare, you are afraid I might think that you are an old worn out machine.'' Yugao cringed at each word, but said nothing. ''Is it fear of rejection that makes you think that?'' again, Yugao said nothing.

Comfortable silence fell as Naruto chewed his food. ''You are a rather good cook,'' he said.

''Thank you,'' Yugao smiled.

''You should have no fears, Yugao,'' Naruto said going back to the main topic. ''There is no one else that is more suitable to be my mate and be the subject of my affections if they are there,'' he paused letting the words sink in, before he continued. ''You hold the keys; you have not answered my question after all.''

Yugao felt her hopes return in full force. She smiled a pure genuine smile, but did not say anything. The comfortable silence was soothing and not ruining anything. In fact, she thought that if she were to say anything, it would ruin things.

Two days later (Oto)

From what the village used to be like, these days it has become much lively. People wore smiled as they went on about their everyday activities. The rebuilding of the village was progressing smoothly. Villagers were actually happy about it. They never stopped to help with the construction of buildings. Everyone put on his or her efforts to see the process through.

The kind of unity that was within the village had never been seen before, not when Orochimaru still led the village. People mostly lived in fear of the man. He was evil and quite scary. However, right now, the man was dead and the village was looking on forward to a brighter future.

Guren smiled looking over the village from the Crystal Palace. She was looking through the window on the highest floor of the Palace. Seeing all these made her proud to say that she had made the right decision to come here and start afresh. It was indeed a new start. She was no longer obsessed with pleasing Orochimaru, but focused on ensuring that her home was rebuilt.

Things did not always go well, but she had managed. Some people tried to asurp her, thinking that she was not worthy of the leadership of the village. Some had believed that she should not have been wasting time trying to rebuild, but rather, she should spend her efforts trying to find the killer of their former leader. She no longer cared for the man. Even if he were to miraculously come back to life, she would never go back to him. She was happy with her life now.

She had made an example of people who tried to defy her by killing them mercilessly in front of everyone. She had been told that Naruto wanted the project to be completed as quickly as possible. Also he did not appreciate anyone standing the way of his goals. It was also a personal thing for her because she was also doing this for her and Yukimaru. If someone wanted to stand in the way of her peace, she would deal with them.

Then the was that freaky plant-like figure. He often thinned up the numbers of rebels. He did not waste time with it and seemed to enjoy devouring humans. Of course, he did so in private where nobody could see him. He always stayed in the shadows where he could not be seen.

Well at least now there was no one trying to stand in the way. Everyone trying to do that had been crushed.

Guren sighed and walked back to her desk. There were a lot of reports she had do see. But she was not complaining, it was all for the best.

The hospital was nearly finished along with Anbu and Jounin Headquarters. They still had a number of shinobi, and some were coming into the village hearing that it was being rebuilt. Zetsu always told her which ones to take as he seemed to know everything. But still, she had to worry about getting medics to work for the hospital, they only had few and most of them did not have much experience in the field.

It would be pointless to build a state of the art hospital and not have the best medics and doctors to work there. She would have to speak to Zetsu about it. She did not have to worry about Anbu. She already commanded much of Orochimaru's men when he was still alive, she knew most of them. She could pick which were best suited for the black orps.

She was also happy that a few business people had come into the village and building their businesses. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses would be there. That was a good thing since villagers and visitors would find them useful. What kind of a village would Oto be if it did not have a hotel? So having business from outside was pleasing and good for the village and its economy.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Zetsu appeared in her office. She sighed, she really hated it when he did that. ''Can't you find a better way to enter? What if you had walked on me doing something private?'' Guren questioned looking straight at him.

Zetsu merely smiled. ''This way of appearing is more fun,'' he said and walked straight to the window overlooking the village.

''What brings you here? You don't come here unless you want to check up on things or have something to inform me,'' Guren said her eyes on the reports on her desk. She was not bothered by his presence nor afraid that he would stab her in the back while she was not looking.

''There will be a guest in a few minutes,'' Zetsu stated still looking over the village. It was not as big as other villages, but it was nice.

''A guest? Whose guest?'' Guren asked now turning back to face Zetsu.

''The Tsuchikage's granddaughter; she is here on a mission to get as much information she can on the village,'' Zetsu stated as he turned to face the Crystal user.

He already knew of the woman's mission. Well it was obvious as to why she would be here in the village. No one from other villages had been coming here. Perhaps other villages saw the new Oto as something that was not a threat. However, Kurotsuchi's visit was by no means an innocent visit. She just wanted information because her grandfather likes sticking his nose into things that do not concern him.

''Then we should get rid of her before she even gets a chance to gather Intel,'' Guren stated. It was the only logical way she knew how to deal with such situations. She never did like people who sniffed into her business.

Sadly Zetsu shook his head, ''No, allow her to enter and collect whatever she wants,'' he said.

''Why? Aren't you afraid she mind find something linking you and Naruto to the village?'' Guren asked curiously.

''No, there is nothing that she can find. Everything she can find will be about how the village is doing and you, nothing more. I have been covering my tracks for quite some time now. And I have never used Naruto's name,'' Zetsu paused for a moment. ''It's the same with Naruto. When he does not want you to find anything, you won't find anything, unless you are me that is,'' he said.

''If she won't find anything, then why allow her to enter the village?''

''She is already in the village as we speak,'' Zetsu stated. ''As to why; it will just be amusing to see the look of frustration on the Tsuchikage's face when his granddaughter comes back home with nothing useful.''

''You are not telling me everything,'' Guren stated staring straight into Zetsu's eyes.

''I want to see what Naruto will do when he realizes that the Tsuchikage is meddling in his business. Normally he would not care and simply just watch to see how things ends,'' Zetsu explained.

''Normally?''

''Well, Naruto is no fan of the Tsuchikage. He never talks about the village. It does not interest him. In his 'play' Iwagakure is not scripted, but if the Tsuchikage forces himself on the 'play', who knows what Naruto will do?''

Guren did not like the grin on Zetsu's face. ''You are one twisted bastard. I think you might even feed the Tsuchikage's daughter will information just to see what he would do with it. If he gets his hands on something gold, Naruto will have to act,'' she said accusingly.

Zetsu merely smiled.

''When is Naruto going to come here anyway?''

''In a few weeks or days. At the moment he was busy in Konoha,'' Zetsu answered. ''Be good to our guest. Smile at her and reveal nothing,'' he said and disappeared away from the office.

Two minutes later

''Enter,'' Guren said as she heard a knock on the door of her office.

A young man entered the office, ''Guren-sama, there is a woman outside seeking an audience with you,'' she said.

'That must be the guest,' Guren thought. ''Let her in,'' she said.

''Hai,'' the young man said before turning around to walk away.

Kurotsuchi walked inside Guren's office with a smile. It was not her mission to be looking over the structures of the village, but damn! It was hard for her not do. The designs were beautiful and this tower; it was just crystal. She certainly would not mind having one at Iwa. This village was a beauty. She could not deny that.

''I have to say, you have done wonders with this village,'' Kurotsuchi stated in all honesty.

Guren smiled. ''Thank you. I am glad, someone from outside likes our style,'' she said professionally. She chose to our as to would give one multiple conclusions as to who she meant by it.

''You are the leader...''

''Please call me Guren.''

Kurotsuchi nodded. ''Well Guren-san, I was sent by my grandfather here. He is very much interested in being aligned with the great work you have started here,'' Guren suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. ''I would like to take a tour around the village so I could report to him if he would be making a good decision to ally with Oto.''

Guren smiled, ''That is good,'' she said. ''It will certainly be good for Oto to have a strong ally such as Iwagakure. Come on, I will show you around.''

Mei has been stalling contract talks with the producers of the story. She has been complaining about her lack of screen time and low payments. But, I am happy to tell you that the matter has been resolved. The Mizukage has signed her contract and will be appearing soon.

I think that Minato explained himself well enough for Naruto to understand what actually happened the night Kurama went on his rampage. Anyone who is reasonable will understand Minato's position during that night. So I believe that Naruto is a reasonable person. He did tell Minato that it was not healthy to keep harboring hatred.

For things that Naruto told Jiraiya and Tsunade, I made no mistake on my part on that. Those things that Naruto said were of no use to him because Danzou was eliminated. If he had been still in the game, then he would have kept quiet.

Well anyway, did you know that Pain attempted to fight Naruto once? Yes, it happened. Apparently, the producers were not happy with the scene so they removed it. Here is how it all went down.

Pain's theme

All six of pain's bodies were gathered in front of naruto with Tendou standing in the middle with his impassive gaze and rinnegan shining brightly with power. Naruto merely looked at the six with his hands folded across his chest.

"Uchiha Naruto, we have come for the kyuubi!"

"To get the kyuubi you have to fight me first," Naruto stated.

"For peace then I shall," pain said getting ready for a battle.

Naruto held out his hand shaking his head. "No, I do not dance with puppets. If you want to dance with me, come at me yourself Nagato. I will be waiting for you," he said and disappeared in a swirl of flames.

"What the fuck!" All six of Pain's bodies exclaimed. "I did not even get to tell him about pain! Director, was that supposed to happen?"

"No!" the director yelled. "Damn that bastard! I am the director! This is my story! Nothing happens in this set unless I say so! Who does that bastard think he is?!"