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Tsunade smoothed out her Hokage robes, and scratched her back, “This thing is so damn itchy. I don’t know how Sensei could stand to wear it all the time. And this hat is going to mess up my hair…” she moaned.

“But I think you look beautiful, Tsunade-sama.” replied her counterpart.

Tsunade smiled sarcastically at her subordinate before asking, “Who are these people again?”

Shizune sighed and rolled her eyes, “We don’t know. All we know is that the formally requested to talk with the council; so it’s only natural to formally meet them.”

Tsunade sighed, “Oh well, at least it’s not paperwork.”

“After the meeting, you have another meeting with an outsider who wishes for asylum, and she wants to become a ninja.”

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, “Oh? Has she passed Ibiki’s exam?” Shizune nodded, “and she still wants to become a ninja?” Shizune nodded again. “Okay, but let’s do this one thing at a time.”

Shizune nodded again and glanced at the clock. “Oh no, you must hurry or else you’re going to be late! You can’t be late, not for a meeting like this!” she opened the door to the hallway pushing Tsunade out.

“Eh, I don’t want to. At least let me leave the stupid hat, what harm could it do?”

Shizune stopped pushing and stomped around in front of Tsunade, pointing a finger in the latter’s face. “What harm? You’re the Hokage, you need to put your little itching problem aside, and focus on the task at hand.” She yelled, with Tsunade start to wither under her finger.

Tsunade ‘humph-ed” indignantly and stood up straight, “Fine, but I’m going to go to a bar and unwind after this.”

To which Shizune responded with a firm “NO!” and jammed her finger closer to Tsunade’s nose.

Tsunade tramped down the hallway, calling back to Shizune, “Hmph, you’re no fun anymore.” She pushed past two people wearing black and red, “Excuse me, I have work to do” she sneered a little bit at the word.

“When will you grow up?” Shizune said to no one. Just then, she strolled back into the anterior office, noticing that Tsunade's hat had appeared on her desk. Growling, she snatched the hat and took off after her boss.

------------

This day just keeps getting better and better… Tsunade thought to herself, as the two foreign dignitaries took a seat before the council. After the initial introduction, she yielded the floor to the newcomers.

The man stood, or rather, the boy stood, as he couldn’t have been older than 20. He and his comrade wore red and black pants, with a black shirt. However you couldn’t see much of their shirt, because they wore black samurai armor with red highlights. Both sets of their armor was battered and beaten, however, the man’s was worse off by far. His armor was marred by scratches, gashes, and dents. On his right shoulder was a spider-webbing of cracks, a reminder of a blunt impact, and his left arm was slung lifelessly against his armor that coincided with a neat hole on his shoulder. Tsunade made a mental note to check that out for him later. However, his most noticeable features were the scars that festooned his bald head. They rivaled Ibiki’s, and underneath his brown eyes were burns marks. But, these burn marks were no battle injuries, they were too neat. There were four two-inch long burn marks on each cheek, much like Naruto’s whisker marks.

His female companion’s armor was in better condition, but it was still marred by dents and scratches. Tsunade’s thoughts were that she had not been in as much combat as he was, due to that fact, and the fact that the girl looked to be about two or three years younger than he was.

“Honored Council,” he started “My comrade and I have been sent here to ask for your assistance. Our beloved country has been ravaged by a plague for many years. Our country has been under almost constant attack for the past twenty-three years. We would have asked sooner, but our chieftain was too stubborn to ask for help, and he just passed in battle only recently.”

“Who is it that attacks you?” one of the council members asked.

“It is a tribe west of ours. They seem to have no form of government, except for their two rulers, which we have named, The General, and the Queen Mother. We received help seventeen years ago from a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist; however that only stalled them for a few months.”

Tsunade nodded towards one of the ANBU guards who were in the room. “Bring me Nara Shikamaru; immediately. Tell him if he doesn’t arrive within two minutes, I will personally make sure that he doesn’t get to sit down for the next two years.”

“In what condition are your forces now?” another council member asked.

He went back to the table and was handed a piece of paper by his comrade. Turning back he read off the figures. “To date, since the first recorded attack, we’ve lost 89% of our shinobi, 72% of our armed forces, and 56% of our civilian population.” Gasps ran through the audience. “That comes out to 1,271 shinobi, 64,000 military personnel, and 174,000 civilians. Our economy has been decimated, and we now control roughly 10% of our once-held lands.”

“What kind of attacks do their shinobi make?”

“That just the thing sir, they have no shinobi.” Mutters ran through the gathered elders. “Please believe me. Our shinobi were never taught to fight on such a large scale, and thus we only have limited Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. When they attacked the second time, they completely overran our force that was building a wall to keep them out and we had no warning of their attacks, which have been growing in frequency and ferociousness. The only thing stopping them is a handful of forts strategically placed in mountain passes. We also noticed that they only attack between midday and sundown.”

“So they’re religious…” a new voice said. Everyone turned to see Shikamaru stooped in the window. “Attacking during a certain time over and over would seem religious to me.”

“Can we do it Shikamaru?” Tsunade asked.

“Well, I’d need to know the details, but yes, I believe it could be done.”

“You know we could not do this for free.” One of the council members said bluntly.

“Of course not.” He smiled and went back to the table where his comrade gave him a small wrapped bundle. He strode up to Tsunade and dropped it in front of her with a distinctly heave clunk. Tsunade unraveled it and all pairs of eyes, save two, widened.

“Is that…?” one of the council members stammered.

“One-hundred percent solid gold; we have several mines in the mountains, but they were all captured during the early stages of the war. There are ninety-nine more where that came from, and that’s the last we have. We have nothing else.” He went back and gathered his papers and belongings before turning, bowing and addressing the council one last time. “Honored council, the fate of our country is in your hands.” He and his comrade bowed once more and turned to leave.

“Wait, I have one more question.” Tsunade said. He turned and looked at her. “Why us? Why didn’t you go to Stone or Sand?”

He just smiled and said, “The Mist nin that I told you about earlier…he said that Leaf was the only country to be trusted.” And he left with those words hanging in the air while he and his partner left.

“Let’s do it.” One council member said once the door closed.

“Are you kidding? It would take a massive amount of shinobi to destroy the horde. And, we can’t spare anyone, especially with Orochimaru wanting to take a bite out of us.” Stated another

“ I’m sorry, but were you here for when he put that gold brick in front of us? You know the money problem we’re having, and here comes someone with a mission who is willing to pay a ridiculous amount for it, and you’re worrying about Orochimaru?”

Tsunade rubbed her temples. “Enough. Let’s get a vote started.” And thus the debate started.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you know what to do Shikamaru?”

“Yea, yea; I guess I should be thanking you for not sending me on this mission. It’s gonna be such a drag…”

“Quit your moping. And get to work.” Tsunade said sternly. And with that, she went back into the room amidst loud shouting and arguing.

“Ugh, why me?” he whined to the ceiling. “Oh well, the sooner I get started to sooner I get this over with, and the sooner I can go relax.” He left he Hokage tower. “Two hours of arguing in there, and this is what she gives me? Ugh, it’s too much work!” he grabbed his head in frustration, and ruffled his hair furiously.

“What’s wrong?” a shy voice said from his right.

“Neh?” he looked over to see Hinata. “Oh, it’s you. Tsunade-sama gave me a really troubling assignment today.”

“Oh.” She cast her eyes to the ground. “I hope it’s not dangerous.”

“Not this time, but my decision maybe made it dangerous, and troublesome.” He added.

“Well, I hope everything turns out okay.” With that, she bowed and hurried off.

Huh? What’s the deal with her? She seemed so happy and giddy. He wondered “Women. Whatever.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled off down the street.

------------------

“Ano…your name was?” asked the girl with a slight blush.

“Nara Shikamaru,” He droned. Why meet here? Why the academy? Is it because there’s less likely to be a spy in here? “Whatever…” he said to no one.

“Oh sorry…I didn’t mean to upset you.” She said meekly.

“Neh, I was just thinking to myself. So, where’s your comrade?” he asked hoping to change the subject.

“He should be here shortly. He went to get us some food.” It was at that point in time that he decided to burst through the door, hands full of ramen containers, Kazami Itsuki

“AH! This stuff smells so good! I can’t wait to dig into it; my mouth has been watering the entire way here! I’m lucky that blonde kid was walking right by me; otherwise I would have never found the place. You know he didn’t seem very happy at first, but when I asked him where to eat, he brightened up immediately, and was chatting me up the entire way. He kept going on and on about how much Ichiraku’s ramen was so good, so I just had to try some.”

“Naruto…”

Itsuki looked at Shikamaru, finally noticing him for the first time. “Oh my, a visitor. I am so sorry for not noticing you earlier.” The boy said bowing frantically. “Do you know him?”

“Yea, he a real troublesome guy to hang around, but he’s a fellow ninja, a strong one at that…”

“Really? He didn’t seem that strong.”

“Trust me, when the shit hits the fan, I am glad I’m on his side, and not his enemy.”

“Um, if you don’t mind,” started Sayuri “may I ask why you are here to visit us?”

“Well, there’s a stalemate in the council on whether or not to help you, and the Hokage is the deciding vote. And that’s where I come in, I’m here to decide if helping you if feasible, and if it is, then I am here to come up with a plan.”

“Then, should we get started?” Sayuri asked.

“Ok then.” Shikamaru responded. And they got to work discussing the numbers and statistics of the entire war.

------------------------------------------------

After eating lunch with that new kid, and some training, Naruto was feeling much better. His head was clearer, and didn’t seem so distracted. Usually during his training, a picture of a blue-haired girl would flash through his mind, and he would lose control of his jutsu long enough for it to backfire on him. He was walking down the street, pondering why this girl kept popping up in his head, when he felt a presence behind him. Stopping, he turned around to look at the presence, and out jumped one of the ANBU.

“A message, from Hokage-sama” and he disappeared.

He opened the letter, and read it. It was a mission request. He was to meet in the council room for a mission, in 5 minutes.

---

Naruto slipped in through the door, and took two steps to his right, leaning on the wall trying to stay in the back as the murmuring quieted down a little when Tsunade stepped up onto the Dias. A lot of people here; looks like, around 60 shinobi.

“OK, people settle down.” Tsunade started as the audience quieted. “This is the first large-scale mission we’ve had in a long time, so I’ll try to be brief. The client has asked us to help stave off an invasion on their land. There will be a lot of large-scale fighting, so remember to brush up on your jutsu. You all leave tomorrow, so say your goodbyes tonight. This mission may take six day, or it may take 6 months; either way, it will be good experience for all of you. After we dismiss, look on the bulletin board across the hall with your team/city assignments. Your team leaders have already been briefed, and they will brief you tomorrow on the way.” She looked around, studying their faces. “And, although we expect no enemy ninja to be present, this mission will be classified as an A-ranked mission.” She smiled inwardly, seeing most of their faces light up. “Dismissed.”

Naruto was glad that he stood right next to the door. He slipped out first and eyeballed the list, and found his name:

Yamato (Taurina)(pack winter gear):
Hyuuga H.
Uzumaki N.
Yamanaka I.
Out of curiosity, he searched his team’s parallel:

Hatake K. (Taurina)(pack winter gear):
Aburame S.
Haruno S.
Rock Lee

A medic for each team, Kakashi-sensei’s look like it was meant for a large scale battle, whereas mine looks like support, except for me. I wonder why I’m on a support team. Oh well, looks like it’s time to go home and get some rest. …I wonder if Sasuke will survive. He smiled to himself. Even if it cost him his life, he knew that he would kill Itachi. He was kind of hoping that they would kill each other. Because he knew that if Sasuke were to kill Itachi, he would come for Naruto next.

---

Naruto threw himself on his bed, feeling physically exhausted, but knowing that he wasn’t. His entire body just felt tired. He knew what it was: mentally, he was breaking down, and his body was following. Betraying his friends like this was taking its toll. He turned his head to look at the pair of scrolls on his desk, but eyed the one with a complex set of seals on it on the right more. A feeling of dread was working its way into the core of his stomach. Someone was going to die on this mission; he could feel it in his bones. He put a hand on the storage scroll that contained Hidama. Hidama was going to spill a lot of blood soon.

But, it wasn’t the fact that he was going to kill a lot. Killing didn’t really bother him. It was who he killed. Sooner or later someone would come for Tsunade. He didn’t want her to die. He summoned up a small amount of Kyuubi’s power and opened his “Bingo Book,” the one that contained his next assignment. As he flipped to the last page, his heart stopped, and his hands started shaking slightly.

Two completely new bounties; one, he completely discarded, as it was for himself. Although he was slightly impressed that Orochimaru had enough money to put an eleven million yen bounty on him (AN, in a conversion, that’s roughly 100,000 dollars). But the other, there was no way that he could complete it. The other one wasn’t for a person, it was for her eyes; a second try to an 8 year old quest that Cloud had been trying. Although he could easily kill her and take her eyes to them, there was no way in hell he was going to do that.

Hakumei had become tainted. He knew it was just another job to them, but he didn’t like to be used in this way. He felt rage sweep up through him; he felt the need to kill, a lot. Barely restraining it, he told it, Soon. Soon you, no, we, will kill them, and many others. He felt the voice inside smile, with an evil glee at the prospect of being partially let out. Hinata-chan will not die by my hand or anyone else’s. She will die of old age, after raising many children. He smiled to himself and lay down on his bed, the feeling of dread gone, replaced by a warm fuzzy feeling. He didn’t know what the feeling was, but it seemed to come up every time he thought about or saw Hinata. He made a mental note to ask her about it on the following day.

---------------------------

“Another summons?” Naruto whined to himself looking at the note that was slipped under his door in the night. He got up, showered, and was out the door in fifteen minutes and at the Hokage’s door in another five. He entered, and showing Shizune his letter he walked in.

“You asked for me?” he asked Tsunade, who was sitting behind her desk, and noticing the other figure, who had her obviously female body turned away from him.

“Yes, Naruto; this girl wants to enter the village as a ninja.” She motioned to the girl, who turned her head to look at him. He immediately recognized her eyes; one red, one blue, underneath her jet black hair that fell straight down to the middle of her shoulder blades. Number Six. She wore a mesh undershirt that went halfway up her chest and down to her elbows and stopped above her navel, with a plain dark blue tank top. She wore black tights that went down to her knees, which was topped by a skirt that resembled Sakura’s in a way, except it was white. Her kunai pouch was on her left thing, and on her right arm was a glove that had a metal plate on the back of her hand and a piece of black armor that covered her right forearm. In his eyes she was as beautiful as Sakura, if not more. No doubt within a few weeks she would have quite a following. Not to mention a lustful Kiba sniffing around behind her.

“Well, I’m not the Hokage yet, so why do you need my seal of approval?”

“Well, I just thought that you should know she’s like you.”

“…”

“A Jinchuuriki,” Naruto sneered at the mention of the word.

“Jinchuuriki… what a stupid name; I would prefer to call us…Koufuku (blessed).” He turned to the girl, “So, whose container are you?”

“Yamata no Orochi, the Eight-tailed Snake. You?”

“And I thought the voice in my head was bad. I’m the container of Kyuubi no Yoko.” Her eyes widened at the mention of the name. He turned back to Tsunade, “So why am I here again?”

“I just thought that you should know that she’s gong to be a Leaf ninja soon. Once we run her through tests to see how strong she is, have Jiraiya take a look at her seal...”

“Tsunade-same… Jiraya’s dead remember?” Naruto clarified, looking even more depressed.

Tsunade reflected his visage as she looked at her desk. “That’s right, I completely forgot. I still can’t believe that the old pervert died.” She smiled a bit, “You know, we should have buried him next to the hot springs.”

Naruto brightened up and laughed. “Yes, he would have loved that. And he left his research completely unfinished…” he trailed off, gauging his leader’s reaction. Needless to say, judging by the way her face turned red, and veins bulged out from under her skin, he could tell she was not happy at that prospect. “I’m just saying that I’ve already published one book under his name, so I thought that I might continue his legacy as a tribute to him.” He smiled meekly.

Tsunade sighed. “Damn you brat. Fine, do whatever you want, but make sure you put a tribute page in each book, otherwise I’ll beat you into a pulp, and then let Sakura know what you’re writing.

Naruto laughed nervously, “He he, I really wouldn’t want that now. Ok fine, you got me.” he put his hands up in resignation.

“Anyways, as I was saying, I’ll have Kakashi, or one of the elders take a look at her seal, and then evaluate her mentally.”

“That’s great. We could always use another one of us here. I’m sure you’ll be quite happy.” He smiled at the girl, and then turned serious. “Just don’t mention it to the villagers that you’re the container of something. They don’t really like us.”

Her expression turned dark as well. “So, it’s the same here as it was in my old village.”

“It’s not so bad,” Tsunade answered, “I’m sure that you will find that most ninja don’t really care about Bijuu containers that much, due to Naruto here. You’ll actually find most of them quite friendly. I have one question though. You’re eyes; is that because of a bloodline, or is that because of the snake?”

She smiled a little bit. “Neither, it’s just a genetic defect. It really does seem to upset some people, but I don’t mind. Ignorant people seem to be upset by the unknown.” Naruto nodded to himself. “So, when if my first evaluation?”

“We’ll let you get settled in first and tomorrow we’ll start your physical evaluation.” Tsunade smiled.

“Ano…will Naruto be showing me my lodgings?” she asked, trying to sneak a look at him with a slight blush, which Naruto caught, of course.

Tsunade smirked “Not exactly. I just wanted him to know that there was another person like him in the village, so he wouldn’t feel so alone; maybe to have one more reason to make the village seem a little brighter. Unfortunately he has a mission which will require him for a while.”

The girl was obviously disappointed. “I guess that’s the life of a ninja.”

“So it is.” Tsunade said redundantly. “I’ll have a Chunin come for you in a minute to show you where you will be staying.”

“I have to be leaving soon anyways. So I’ll walk her out to the front door, okay?” Tsunade smiled, nodded, and they left.

----

Sighing, Tsunade got back to her paperwork. She knew Naruto could handle himself against a bunch of savages, but for the council to pressure for him to go on a suicide mission was rather evil of them. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little happier that Naruto had someone to relate to now. Maybe they would become more than friends. She would like for nothing more for that boy to find someone to share the rest of his life with. Lately, Hinata and Naruto have been getting closer; she could only hope that this new girl wouldn’t get in between them.

She sighed once more and glanced out the window and slapped herself on the forehead. This boy is going to be the death of me. She looked at the Hokage Monument once again, eyeing the words painted onto the spot to the right of her head: “This spot reserved for Rokudaime Uzumaki Naruto!” Oh well, at least he’s acting like he used to. Maybe the Naruto we once knew is coming back. But now I’m going to have to punish him on top of the Sasuke incident. I need a drink. She reached down to her emergency Sake bottle strapped under her chair, and pulled it out; only to find a scroll in her hands, with a small piece of paper hanging off the side.

Your chakra will unlock it.
~~Uzumaki N.

“Why do I get a bad feeling about this?” She funneled her chakra into the scroll. With a faint hissing sound, the seal dissipated and she opened it. The right side of the page was slightly singed. At the top right was a seal that she recognized as a storage seal, and then a few pages of crisp, clean writing, something she had never expected of the ninja:

Godaime Hokage Tsunade-sama:

First off, forgive me for removing your sake bottle, and the Monument. I knew you would reach for this once you saw what I did.

Secondly, you may have realized that I was not acting like myself lately. This was mainly due to the fact that I have been coercing with a secret organization on my own accord. After Jiraiya-sensei died, I was a wreck. I found an old man who happened to be a part of an organization called Hakumei, that seemed to parallel the Akatsuki. Now, before you freak out and go call the ANBU on me, please listen to my reasoning, and all of the information.

This man trained me. He used to be the sensei of a boy from the Village hidden in the Mist. Unfortunately, that boy was killed by Momoichi Zabuza, and my sensei forsook his village to live on an island, the very island I washed up on after a shipwreck. After training me, sometimes almost to the brink of death, he brought me to his peers. The leader, who goes by Number One, told me of the organizations goals and objectives. They parallel Akatsuki in the sense, that they want the Nine. But, at first they told me that it was only to draw out the Akatsuki in hopes to crush them. I still do not know the identity of Number One, nor do I know the Identity of Number Two, but I do know the Identities and capabilities of the other three members, excluding myself.

The first thing that I was told was that they were the ones who raised the Bijuu from the depths of the earth. From their scrolls, it seems as though, in the ancient days, wars ravaged our planet again and again, until one civilization created the biological weapon known as Shukaku, sacrificing an entire nation of people to create it. Country after country strived to make these Bijuu, until the nine were created. At the birth of Kyuubi, he decided that the human race was not worth saving, so he made a promise to destroy the human race to the last newborn…the writing changed style and became even more elegant…I wanted to destroy the human race because the only emotion they ever displayed was greed. Whether for oil, or money, they never showed the capacity for understanding, compassion, or selflessness. I thought that I had destroyed the humans, however I was wrong. I sealed myself away and waited for a new race to become dominant and hopefully it would learn from the human’s mistakes. How wrong I was. I was reawakened in hopes on the humans wanting me to become a living weapon again. So once again I deemed the human race unfit for living; until I met your Yondaime Hokage. He sacrificed himself to seal me away inside his son. Small wet spots appeared, smearing the writing somewhat. Being inside this boy for a decade and a half has taught me something; that I can’t judge everyone by the actions of the few. This body was beaten to the brink of death more times than I care to remember, but he has shown no malice towards anyone. He masks his pain in an effort to cheer up those around him. This is what humanity should be. If only your entire race were just like this boy, think of the possibilities. I will give control back to Naruto now, as he wants to finish his story. The writing changed back into Naruto’s handwriting.

I am known as Number Three, and I got that way by killing the previous Number Three upon my induction test. I, along with my teacher became the Shadow Fox, the assassin that you no doubt head of. This is the reason why he seemed to be everywhere at once. As a part of this organization I did assassinations and other types of missions, until I came to a mission that I received a few weeks ago. I received a contract to kill Sasuke, but worse, you. However, I was denied the contract to kill you because they deemed me too close to you, and figured that I wouldn’t have the heart to do it. Well, they were right. That’s one of the reasons you have this scroll in your possession right now. However, there are spies inside Konhagakure. Number Two has contacted me inside our very walls. However, that was a while ago, so organizing a search would only alert them to the fact that I tipped you off. Hakumei recently gave me another mission: To protect the container of the Eight-tailed Snake. She is known as Number Six, although she doesn’t seem like a bad person, she just wanted to be left alone. This is one mission I would rather not fail, because she IS just like me, hated and alone. I want to be there for her.

The mission with Sasuke was a long time coming. I know my mission was to kill him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I guess I figured that his life was too pitiful for me to extinguish. His burning desire for revenge, had turned his soul as black as Gamabunta’s oil, and had twisted him into more of a monster than I could ever be. So I gave him what he wanted; Itachi. After Kyuubi and I defeated Itachi’s Tsukiyomi (yes I beat it. Let’s just say that his willpower is nothing compared to Kyuubi’s), I decided not to kill him, and let him fight his brother. Best case scenario, they kill each other, for I know that, even if he were to die, Sasuke would gladly take his brother with him to hell. Worst case, for me, Sasuke kills Itachi, and comes for me to obtain his own Mangekyou Sharingan. Worst case for you and me, Itachi wins and still comes for me with reinforcements to steal Kyuubi.

Here there was different writing; newer and darker. It was apparent that he wrote this several days later.

Last night I received my final mission from the Hakumei. It was for Hinata-chan’s eyes. This was the final straw, and I finally decided to forsake them and their ways. So this brings me to my final points.

If you are receiving this then one of a few things are in motion.

1. I have died and want you to have as much information as possible, because I love you like a mother, and I want you to live as long as you can, looking as young as you do.

2. I am on my way to die. I understand the council would like nothing more than to see me fall on the battlefield. Although I don’t think that they would go so far as to send one of our own to see that an “accident” happens, but no doubt that they would not qualm at the thought of sending me on a suicide mission.

3. Finally, and most likely. I am leaving the village. I will leave on this mission and not return until I destroy Hakumei and their scrolls, so that no one may ever raise a Bijuu from the depths of the earth.

Thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you, and I always will love you. I truly hope I can come back so I can enjoy life with the family that I came to realize that I had; Mother Baa-chan, Father Jiraiya, Sandaime oji-san, Kakashi jii-san, Sakura ne-chan, the others, and Hinata. Mostly Hinata, Sorry baa-chan, but she stole all the room in my heart.

Re-reading this, I finally noticed the part that Kyuubi wrote. It breaks my heart to have him have to tell you the entire story about the first fall of humanity. But, I promise, I won’t let a second fall happen.

Goodbye (hopefully not the final one)
~~Uzumaki Naruto
Future Hokage of Konoha

She finally realized that she had been crying while she was reading. “That boy has grown up so much.” She started sobbing full out. Drawn by the noise, Shizune came in, concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“When did he grow up? And why wasn’t I there to see it? Oh, I’m so horrible!” Tsunade sobbed into her elbow.

“What?” Tsunade handed her the letter, composing herself slightly. By the time Shizune was finished, she was crying too. “He did grow up. But we should be happy, he’s grown into a fine young man.”

Tsunade smiled, “That he did.”

Shizune pouted a little bit, “How come he didn’t mention me in there?” Tsunade just wiped away her tears and started laughing.

---------------------

“So, when did you get here?”

“About three days ago.”

“How good are you? Without depending on your Bijuu for power.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never fought without using him before. I guess I’m not all that strong without him.”

“You know, a Jinchuuriki without power of his or her own, is nothing more than the beast with a different body. You aren’t the beast are you?”

“Of course not!” she shouted at him.

“Then you should learn to control its power, but keep it in check with your own. That way, you will show everyone that you control the demon, and not the other way around. By the way, I didn’t catch your name…”

She smiled at him and blushed a little, “Naganashi Yatsumi.”

“So, I finally get to me you, Naganashi Yatsumi…Number Six.” Her eyes widened, “…Not what you expected?”

“You’re nothing like I expected.”

“I hope that’s in a good way.” He smiled.

“Very good; I expected someone cold and indifferent, and older.” She said still shocked.

“Well, they don’t call me the Number One Unpredictable Ninja for nothing.” He smiled at her again. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go meet my team for my mission. I’ll see you when I get back, okay?” she nodded dumbly. “Ja ne!” and he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

“He’s amazing…”

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Yo!” Naruto waved as he appeared on top of the gate kiosk above the two gathered teams.

Ino seethed, “You know you’re late…even later than Kakashi-sensei…”

“Yea I had to go help a lady re-paint her mansion, and then some kids stole her paint, so I had to track them down…”

“Liar…that was his excuse…” Ino seethed.

“He he, you caught me. So, I’m ready to get this mission underway…” Naruto said changing the subject.

Yamato said, “Right, some of you know me, and some don’t, so I’m Yamato, and I’ll be your team leader for this mission. Now let’s get going and I’ll fill you in on the way.”

And with that, they sped off into the forest.

Description
Tsunade smoothed out her Hokage robes, and scratched her back, “This thing is so damn itchy. I don’t know how Sensei could stand to wear it all the time. And this hat is going to mess up my hair…” she moaned.

“But I think you look beautiful, Tsunade-sama.” replied her counterpart.

Tsunade smiled sarcastically at her subordinate before asking, “Who are these people again?”

Shizune sighed and rolled her eyes, “We don’t know. All we know is that the formally requested to talk with the council; so it’s only natural to formally meet them.”

Tsunade sighed, “Oh well, at least it’s not paperwork.”

“After the meeting, you have another meeting with an outsider who wishes for asylum, and she wants to become a ninja.”

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, “Oh? Has she passed Ibiki’s exam?” Shizune nodded, “and she still wants to become a ninja?” Shizune nodded again. “Okay, but let’s do this one thing at a time.”

Shizune nodded again and glanced at the clock. “Oh no, you must hurry or else you’re going to be late! You can’t be late, not for a meeting like this!” she opened the door to the hallway pushing Tsunade out.

“Eh, I don’t want to. At least let me leave the stupid hat, what harm could it do?”

Shizune stopped pushing and stomped around in front of Tsunade, pointing a finger in the latter’s face. “What harm? You’re the Hokage, you need to put your little itching problem aside, and focus on the task at hand.” She yelled, with Tsunade start to wither under her finger.

Tsunade ‘humph-ed” indignantly and stood up straight, “Fine, but I’m going to go to a bar and unwind after this.”

To which Shizune responded with a firm “NO!” and jammed her finger closer to Tsunade’s nose.

Tsunade tramped down the hallway, calling back to Shizune, “Hmph, you’re no fun anymore.” She pushed past two people wearing black and red, “Excuse me, I have work to do” she sneered a little bit at the word.

“When will you grow up?” Shizune said to no one. Just then, she strolled back into the anterior office, noticing that Tsunade's hat had appeared on her desk. Growling, she snatched the hat and took off after her boss.

------------

This day just keeps getting better and better… Tsunade thought to herself, as the two foreign dignitaries took a seat before the council. After the initial introduction, she yielded the floor to the newcomers.

The man stood, or rather, the boy stood, as he couldn’t have been older than 20. He and his comrade wore red and black pants, with a black shirt. However you couldn’t see much of their shirt, because they wore black samurai armor with red highlights. Both sets of their armor was battered and beaten, however, the man’s was worse off by far. His armor was marred by scratches, gashes, and dents. On his right shoulder was a spider-webbing of cracks, a reminder of a blunt impact, and his left arm was slung lifelessly against his armor that coincided with a neat hole on his shoulder. Tsunade made a mental note to check that out for him later. However, his most noticeable features were the scars that festooned his bald head. They rivaled Ibiki’s, and underneath his brown eyes were burns marks. But, these burn marks were no battle injuries, they were too neat. There were four two-inch long burn marks on each cheek, much like Naruto’s whisker marks.

His female companion’s armor was in better condition, but it was still marred by dents and scratches. Tsunade’s thoughts were that she had not been in as much combat as he was, due to that fact, and the fact that the girl looked to be about two or three years younger than he was.

“Honored Council,” he started “My comrade and I have been sent here to ask for your assistance. Our beloved country has been ravaged by a plague for many years. Our country has been under almost constant attack for the past twenty-three years. We would have asked sooner, but our chieftain was too stubborn to ask for help, and he just passed in battle only recently.”

“Who is it that attacks you?” one of the council members asked.

“It is a tribe west of ours. They seem to have no form of government, except for their two rulers, which we have named, The General, and the Queen Mother. We received help seventeen years ago from a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist; however that only stalled them for a few months.”

Tsunade nodded towards one of the ANBU guards who were in the room. “Bring me Nara Shikamaru; immediately. Tell him if he doesn’t arrive within two minutes, I will personally make sure that he doesn’t get to sit down for the next two years.”

“In what condition are your forces now?” another council member asked.

He went back to the table and was handed a piece of paper by his comrade. Turning back he read off the figures. “To date, since the first recorded attack, we’ve lost 89% of our shinobi, 72% of our armed forces, and 56% of our civilian population.” Gasps ran through the audience. “That comes out to 1,271 shinobi, 64,000 military personnel, and 174,000 civilians. Our economy has been decimated, and we now control roughly 10% of our once-held lands.”

“What kind of attacks do their shinobi make?”

“That just the thing sir, they have no shinobi.” Mutters ran through the gathered elders. “Please believe me. Our shinobi were never taught to fight on such a large scale, and thus we only have limited Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. When they attacked the second time, they completely overran our force that was building a wall to keep them out and we had no warning of their attacks, which have been growing in frequency and ferociousness. The only thing stopping them is a handful of forts strategically placed in mountain passes. We also noticed that they only attack between midday and sundown.”

“So they’re religious…” a new voice said. Everyone turned to see Shikamaru stooped in the window. “Attacking during a certain time over and over would seem religious to me.”

“Can we do it Shikamaru?” Tsunade asked.

“Well, I’d need to know the details, but yes, I believe it could be done.”

“You know we could not do this for free.” One of the council members said bluntly.

“Of course not.” He smiled and went back to the table where his comrade gave him a small wrapped bundle. He strode up to Tsunade and dropped it in front of her with a distinctly heave clunk. Tsunade unraveled it and all pairs of eyes, save two, widened.

“Is that…?” one of the council members stammered.

“One-hundred percent solid gold; we have several mines in the mountains, but they were all captured during the early stages of the war. There are ninety-nine more where that came from, and that’s the last we have. We have nothing else.” He went back and gathered his papers and belongings before turning, bowing and addressing the council one last time. “Honored council, the fate of our country is in your hands.” He and his comrade bowed once more and turned to leave.

“Wait, I have one more question.” Tsunade said. He turned and looked at her. “Why us? Why didn’t you go to Stone or Sand?”

He just smiled and said, “The Mist nin that I told you about earlier…he said that Leaf was the only country to be trusted.” And he left with those words hanging in the air while he and his partner left.

“Let’s do it.” One council member said once the door closed.

“Are you kidding? It would take a massive amount of shinobi to destroy the horde. And, we can’t spare anyone, especially with Orochimaru wanting to take a bite out of us.” Stated another

“ I’m sorry, but were you here for when he put that gold brick in front of us? You know the money problem we’re having, and here comes someone with a mission who is willing to pay a ridiculous amount for it, and you’re worrying about Orochimaru?”

Tsunade rubbed her temples. “Enough. Let’s get a vote started.” And thus the debate started.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you know what to do Shikamaru?”

“Yea, yea; I guess I should be thanking you for not sending me on this mission. It’s gonna be such a drag…”

“Quit your moping. And get to work.” Tsunade said sternly. And with that, she went back into the room amidst loud shouting and arguing.

“Ugh, why me?” he whined to the ceiling. “Oh well, the sooner I get started to sooner I get this over with, and the sooner I can go relax.” He left he Hokage tower. “Two hours of arguing in there, and this is what she gives me? Ugh, it’s too much work!” he grabbed his head in frustration, and ruffled his hair furiously.

“What’s wrong?” a shy voice said from his right.

“Neh?” he looked over to see Hinata. “Oh, it’s you. Tsunade-sama gave me a really troubling assignment today.”

“Oh.” She cast her eyes to the ground. “I hope it’s not dangerous.”

“Not this time, but my decision maybe made it dangerous, and troublesome.” He added.

“Well, I hope everything turns out okay.” With that, she bowed and hurried off.

Huh? What’s the deal with her? She seemed so happy and giddy. He wondered “Women. Whatever.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled off down the street.

------------------

“Ano…your name was?” asked the girl with a slight blush.

“Nara Shikamaru,” He droned. Why meet here? Why the academy? Is it because there’s less likely to be a spy in here? “Whatever…” he said to no one.

“Oh sorry…I didn’t mean to upset you.” She said meekly.

“Neh, I was just thinking to myself. So, where’s your comrade?” he asked hoping to change the subject.

“He should be here shortly. He went to get us some food.” It was at that point in time that he decided to burst through the door, hands full of ramen containers, Kazami Itsuki

“AH! This stuff smells so good! I can’t wait to dig into it; my mouth has been watering the entire way here! I’m lucky that blonde kid was walking right by me; otherwise I would have never found the place. You know he didn’t seem very happy at first, but when I asked him where to eat, he brightened up immediately, and was chatting me up the entire way. He kept going on and on about how much Ichiraku’s ramen was so good, so I just had to try some.”

“Naruto…”

Itsuki looked at Shikamaru, finally noticing him for the first time. “Oh my, a visitor. I am so sorry for not noticing you earlier.” The boy said bowing frantically. “Do you know him?”

“Yea, he a real troublesome guy to hang around, but he’s a fellow ninja, a strong one at that…”

“Really? He didn’t seem that strong.”

“Trust me, when the shit hits the fan, I am glad I’m on his side, and not his enemy.”

“Um, if you don’t mind,” started Sayuri “may I ask why you are here to visit us?”

“Well, there’s a stalemate in the council on whether or not to help you, and the Hokage is the deciding vote. And that’s where I come in, I’m here to decide if helping you if feasible, and if it is, then I am here to come up with a plan.”

“Then, should we get started?” Sayuri asked.

“Ok then.” Shikamaru responded. And they got to work discussing the numbers and statistics of the entire war.

------------------------------------------------

After eating lunch with that new kid, and some training, Naruto was feeling much better. His head was clearer, and didn’t seem so distracted. Usually during his training, a picture of a blue-haired girl would flash through his mind, and he would lose control of his jutsu long enough for it to backfire on him. He was walking down the street, pondering why this girl kept popping up in his head, when he felt a presence behind him. Stopping, he turned around to look at the presence, and out jumped one of the ANBU.

“A message, from Hokage-sama” and he disappeared.

He opened the letter, and read it. It was a mission request. He was to meet in the council room for a mission, in 5 minutes.

---

Naruto slipped in through the door, and took two steps to his right, leaning on the wall trying to stay in the back as the murmuring quieted down a little when Tsunade stepped up onto the Dias. A lot of people here; looks like, around 60 shinobi.

“OK, people settle down.” Tsunade started as the audience quieted. “This is the first large-scale mission we’ve had in a long time, so I’ll try to be brief. The client has asked us to help stave off an invasion on their land. There will be a lot of large-scale fighting, so remember to brush up on your jutsu. You all leave tomorrow, so say your goodbyes tonight. This mission may take six day, or it may take 6 months; either way, it will be good experience for all of you. After we dismiss, look on the bulletin board across the hall with your team/city assignments. Your team leaders have already been briefed, and they will brief you tomorrow on the way.” She looked around, studying their faces. “And, although we expect no enemy ninja to be present, this mission will be classified as an A-ranked mission.” She smiled inwardly, seeing most of their faces light up. “Dismissed.”

Naruto was glad that he stood right next to the door. He slipped out first and eyeballed the list, and found his name:

Yamato (Taurina)(pack winter gear):
Hyuuga H.
Uzumaki N.
Yamanaka I.
Out of curiosity, he searched his team’s parallel:

Hatake K. (Taurina)(pack winter gear):
Aburame S.
Haruno S.
Rock Lee

A medic for each team, Kakashi-sensei’s look like it was meant for a large scale battle, whereas mine looks like support, except for me. I wonder why I’m on a support team. Oh well, looks like it’s time to go home and get some rest. …I wonder if Sasuke will survive. He smiled to himself. Even if it cost him his life, he knew that he would kill Itachi. He was kind of hoping that they would kill each other. Because he knew that if Sasuke were to kill Itachi, he would come for Naruto next.

---

Naruto threw himself on his bed, feeling physically exhausted, but knowing that he wasn’t. His entire body just felt tired. He knew what it was: mentally, he was breaking down, and his body was following. Betraying his friends like this was taking its toll. He turned his head to look at the pair of scrolls on his desk, but eyed the one with a complex set of seals on it on the right more. A feeling of dread was working its way into the core of his stomach. Someone was going to die on this mission; he could feel it in his bones. He put a hand on the storage scroll that contained Hidama. Hidama was going to spill a lot of blood soon.

But, it wasn’t the fact that he was going to kill a lot. Killing didn’t really bother him. It was who he killed. Sooner or later someone would come for Tsunade. He didn’t want her to die. He summoned up a small amount of Kyuubi’s power and opened his “Bingo Book,” the one that contained his next assignment. As he flipped to the last page, his heart stopped, and his hands started shaking slightly.

Two completely new bounties; one, he completely discarded, as it was for himself. Although he was slightly impressed that Orochimaru had enough money to put an eleven million yen bounty on him (AN, in a conversion, that’s roughly 100,000 dollars). But the other, there was no way that he could complete it. The other one wasn’t for a person, it was for her eyes; a second try to an 8 year old quest that Cloud had been trying. Although he could easily kill her and take her eyes to them, there was no way in hell he was going to do that.

Hakumei had become tainted. He knew it was just another job to them, but he didn’t like to be used in this way. He felt rage sweep up through him; he felt the need to kill, a lot. Barely restraining it, he told it, Soon. Soon you, no, we, will kill them, and many others. He felt the voice inside smile, with an evil glee at the prospect of being partially let out. Hinata-chan will not die by my hand or anyone else’s. She will die of old age, after raising many children. He smiled to himself and lay down on his bed, the feeling of dread gone, replaced by a warm fuzzy feeling. He didn’t know what the feeling was, but it seemed to come up every time he thought about or saw Hinata. He made a mental note to ask her about it on the following day.

---------------------------

“Another summons?” Naruto whined to himself looking at the note that was slipped under his door in the night. He got up, showered, and was out the door in fifteen minutes and at the Hokage’s door in another five. He entered, and showing Shizune his letter he walked in.

“You asked for me?” he asked Tsunade, who was sitting behind her desk, and noticing the other figure, who had her obviously female body turned away from him.

“Yes, Naruto; this girl wants to enter the village as a ninja.” She motioned to the girl, who turned her head to look at him. He immediately recognized her eyes; one red, one blue, underneath her jet black hair that fell straight down to the middle of her shoulder blades. Number Six. She wore a mesh undershirt that went halfway up her chest and down to her elbows and stopped above her navel, with a plain dark blue tank top. She wore black tights that went down to her knees, which was topped by a skirt that resembled Sakura’s in a way, except it was white. Her kunai pouch was on her left thing, and on her right arm was a glove that had a metal plate on the back of her hand and a piece of black armor that covered her right forearm. In his eyes she was as beautiful as Sakura, if not more. No doubt within a few weeks she would have quite a following. Not to mention a lustful Kiba sniffing around behind her.

“Well, I’m not the Hokage yet, so why do you need my seal of approval?”

“Well, I just thought that you should know she’s like you.”

“…”

“A Jinchuuriki,” Naruto sneered at the mention of the word.

“Jinchuuriki… what a stupid name; I would prefer to call us…Koufuku (blessed).” He turned to the girl, “So, whose container are you?”

“Yamata no Orochi, the Eight-tailed Snake. You?”

“And I thought the voice in my head was bad. I’m the container of Kyuubi no Yoko.” Her eyes widened at the mention of the name. He turned back to Tsunade, “So why am I here again?”

“I just thought that you should know that she’s gong to be a Leaf ninja soon. Once we run her through tests to see how strong she is, have Jiraiya take a look at her seal...”

“Tsunade-same… Jiraya’s dead remember?” Naruto clarified, looking even more depressed.

Tsunade reflected his visage as she looked at her desk. “That’s right, I completely forgot. I still can’t believe that the old pervert died.” She smiled a bit, “You know, we should have buried him next to the hot springs.”

Naruto brightened up and laughed. “Yes, he would have loved that. And he left his research completely unfinished…” he trailed off, gauging his leader’s reaction. Needless to say, judging by the way her face turned red, and veins bulged out from under her skin, he could tell she was not happy at that prospect. “I’m just saying that I’ve already published one book under his name, so I thought that I might continue his legacy as a tribute to him.” He smiled meekly.

Tsunade sighed. “Damn you brat. Fine, do whatever you want, but make sure you put a tribute page in each book, otherwise I’ll beat you into a pulp, and then let Sakura know what you’re writing.

Naruto laughed nervously, “He he, I really wouldn’t want that now. Ok fine, you got me.” he put his hands up in resignation.

“Anyways, as I was saying, I’ll have Kakashi, or one of the elders take a look at her seal, and then evaluate her mentally.”

“That’s great. We could always use another one of us here. I’m sure you’ll be quite happy.” He smiled at the girl, and then turned serious. “Just don’t mention it to the villagers that you’re the container of something. They don’t really like us.”

Her expression turned dark as well. “So, it’s the same here as it was in my old village.”

“It’s not so bad,” Tsunade answered, “I’m sure that you will find that most ninja don’t really care about Bijuu containers that much, due to Naruto here. You’ll actually find most of them quite friendly. I have one question though. You’re eyes; is that because of a bloodline, or is that because of the snake?”

She smiled a little bit. “Neither, it’s just a genetic defect. It really does seem to upset some people, but I don’t mind. Ignorant people seem to be upset by the unknown.” Naruto nodded to himself. “So, when if my first evaluation?”

“We’ll let you get settled in first and tomorrow we’ll start your physical evaluation.” Tsunade smiled.

“Ano…will Naruto be showing me my lodgings?” she asked, trying to sneak a look at him with a slight blush, which Naruto caught, of course.

Tsunade smirked “Not exactly. I just wanted him to know that there was another person like him in the village, so he wouldn’t feel so alone; maybe to have one more reason to make the village seem a little brighter. Unfortunately he has a mission which will require him for a while.”

The girl was obviously disappointed. “I guess that’s the life of a ninja.”

“So it is.” Tsunade said redundantly. “I’ll have a Chunin come for you in a minute to show you where you will be staying.”

“I have to be leaving soon anyways. So I’ll walk her out to the front door, okay?” Tsunade smiled, nodded, and they left.

----

Sighing, Tsunade got back to her paperwork. She knew Naruto could handle himself against a bunch of savages, but for the council to pressure for him to go on a suicide mission was rather evil of them. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little happier that Naruto had someone to relate to now. Maybe they would become more than friends. She would like for nothing more for that boy to find someone to share the rest of his life with. Lately, Hinata and Naruto have been getting closer; she could only hope that this new girl wouldn’t get in between them.

She sighed once more and glanced out the window and slapped herself on the forehead. This boy is going to be the death of me. She looked at the Hokage Monument once again, eyeing the words painted onto the spot to the right of her head: “This spot reserved for Rokudaime Uzumaki Naruto!” Oh well, at least he’s acting like he used to. Maybe the Naruto we once knew is coming back. But now I’m going to have to punish him on top of the Sasuke incident. I need a drink. She reached down to her emergency Sake bottle strapped under her chair, and pulled it out; only to find a scroll in her hands, with a small piece of paper hanging off the side.

Your chakra will unlock it.
~~Uzumaki N.

“Why do I get a bad feeling about this?” She funneled her chakra into the scroll. With a faint hissing sound, the seal dissipated and she opened it. The right side of the page was slightly singed. At the top right was a seal that she recognized as a storage seal, and then a few pages of crisp, clean writing, something she had never expected of the ninja:

Godaime Hokage Tsunade-sama:

First off, forgive me for removing your sake bottle, and the Monument. I knew you would reach for this once you saw what I did.

Secondly, you may have realized that I was not acting like myself lately. This was mainly due to the fact that I have been coercing with a secret organization on my own accord. After Jiraiya-sensei died, I was a wreck. I found an old man who happened to be a part of an organization called Hakumei, that seemed to parallel the Akatsuki. Now, before you freak out and go call the ANBU on me, please listen to my reasoning, and all of the information.

This man trained me. He used to be the sensei of a boy from the Village hidden in the Mist. Unfortunately, that boy was killed by Momoichi Zabuza, and my sensei forsook his village to live on an island, the very island I washed up on after a shipwreck. After training me, sometimes almost to the brink of death, he brought me to his peers. The leader, who goes by Number One, told me of the organizations goals and objectives. They parallel Akatsuki in the sense, that they want the Nine. But, at first they told me that it was only to draw out the Akatsuki in hopes to crush them. I still do not know the identity of Number One, nor do I know the Identity of Number Two, but I do know the Identities and capabilities of the other three members, excluding myself.

The first thing that I was told was that they were the ones who raised the Bijuu from the depths of the earth. From their scrolls, it seems as though, in the ancient days, wars ravaged our planet again and again, until one civilization created the biological weapon known as Shukaku, sacrificing an entire nation of people to create it. Country after country strived to make these Bijuu, until the nine were created. At the birth of Kyuubi, he decided that the human race was not worth saving, so he made a promise to destroy the human race to the last newborn…the writing changed style and became even more elegant…I wanted to destroy the human race because the only emotion they ever displayed was greed. Whether for oil, or money, they never showed the capacity for understanding, compassion, or selflessness. I thought that I had destroyed the humans, however I was wrong. I sealed myself away and waited for a new race to become dominant and hopefully it would learn from the human’s mistakes. How wrong I was. I was reawakened in hopes on the humans wanting me to become a living weapon again. So once again I deemed the human race unfit for living; until I met your Yondaime Hokage. He sacrificed himself to seal me away inside his son. Small wet spots appeared, smearing the writing somewhat. Being inside this boy for a decade and a half has taught me something; that I can’t judge everyone by the actions of the few. This body was beaten to the brink of death more times than I care to remember, but he has shown no malice towards anyone. He masks his pain in an effort to cheer up those around him. This is what humanity should be. If only your entire race were just like this boy, think of the possibilities. I will give control back to Naruto now, as he wants to finish his story. The writing changed back into Naruto’s handwriting.

I am known as Number Three, and I got that way by killing the previous Number Three upon my induction test. I, along with my teacher became the Shadow Fox, the assassin that you no doubt head of. This is the reason why he seemed to be everywhere at once. As a part of this organization I did assassinations and other types of missions, until I came to a mission that I received a few weeks ago. I received a contract to kill Sasuke, but worse, you. However, I was denied the contract to kill you because they deemed me too close to you, and figured that I wouldn’t have the heart to do it. Well, they were right. That’s one of the reasons you have this scroll in your possession right now. However, there are spies inside Konhagakure. Number Two has contacted me inside our very walls. However, that was a while ago, so organizing a search would only alert them to the fact that I tipped you off. Hakumei recently gave me another mission: To protect the container of the Eight-tailed Snake. She is known as Number Six, although she doesn’t seem like a bad person, she just wanted to be left alone. This is one mission I would rather not fail, because she IS just like me, hated and alone. I want to be there for her.

The mission with Sasuke was a long time coming. I know my mission was to kill him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I guess I figured that his life was too pitiful for me to extinguish. His burning desire for revenge, had turned his soul as black as Gamabunta’s oil, and had twisted him into more of a monster than I could ever be. So I gave him what he wanted; Itachi. After Kyuubi and I defeated Itachi’s Tsukiyomi (yes I beat it. Let’s just say that his willpower is nothing compared to Kyuubi’s), I decided not to kill him, and let him fight his brother. Best case scenario, they kill each other, for I know that, even if he were to die, Sasuke would gladly take his brother with him to hell. Worst case, for me, Sasuke kills Itachi, and comes for me to obtain his own Mangekyou Sharingan. Worst case for you and me, Itachi wins and still comes for me with reinforcements to steal Kyuubi.

Here there was different writing; newer and darker. It was apparent that he wrote this several days later.

Last night I received my final mission from the Hakumei. It was for Hinata-chan’s eyes. This was the final straw, and I finally decided to forsake them and their ways. So this brings me to my final points.

If you are receiving this then one of a few things are in motion.

1. I have died and want you to have as much information as possible, because I love you like a mother, and I want you to live as long as you can, looking as young as you do.

2. I am on my way to die. I understand the council would like nothing more than to see me fall on the battlefield. Although I don’t think that they would go so far as to send one of our own to see that an “accident” happens, but no doubt that they would not qualm at the thought of sending me on a suicide mission.

3. Finally, and most likely. I am leaving the village. I will leave on this mission and not return until I destroy Hakumei and their scrolls, so that no one may ever raise a Bijuu from the depths of the earth.

Thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you, and I always will love you. I truly hope I can come back so I can enjoy life with the family that I came to realize that I had; Mother Baa-chan, Father Jiraiya, Sandaime oji-san, Kakashi jii-san, Sakura ne-chan, the others, and Hinata. Mostly Hinata, Sorry baa-chan, but she stole all the room in my heart.

Re-reading this, I finally noticed the part that Kyuubi wrote. It breaks my heart to have him have to tell you the entire story about the first fall of humanity. But, I promise, I won’t let a second fall happen.

Goodbye (hopefully not the final one)
~~Uzumaki Naruto
Future Hokage of Konoha

She finally realized that she had been crying while she was reading. “That boy has grown up so much.” She started sobbing full out. Drawn by the noise, Shizune came in, concerned.

“What’s wrong?”

“When did he grow up? And why wasn’t I there to see it? Oh, I’m so horrible!” Tsunade sobbed into her elbow.

“What?” Tsunade handed her the letter, composing herself slightly. By the time Shizune was finished, she was crying too. “He did grow up. But we should be happy, he’s grown into a fine young man.”

Tsunade smiled, “That he did.”

Shizune pouted a little bit, “How come he didn’t mention me in there?” Tsunade just wiped away her tears and started laughing.

---------------------

“So, when did you get here?”

“About three days ago.”

“How good are you? Without depending on your Bijuu for power.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never fought without using him before. I guess I’m not all that strong without him.”

“You know, a Jinchuuriki without power of his or her own, is nothing more than the beast with a different body. You aren’t the beast are you?”

“Of course not!” she shouted at him.

“Then you should learn to control its power, but keep it in check with your own. That way, you will show everyone that you control the demon, and not the other way around. By the way, I didn’t catch your name…”

She smiled at him and blushed a little, “Naganashi Yatsumi.”

“So, I finally get to me you, Naganashi Yatsumi…Number Six.” Her eyes widened, “…Not what you expected?”

“You’re nothing like I expected.”

“I hope that’s in a good way.” He smiled.

“Very good; I expected someone cold and indifferent, and older.” She said still shocked.

“Well, they don’t call me the Number One Unpredictable Ninja for nothing.” He smiled at her again. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go meet my team for my mission. I’ll see you when I get back, okay?” she nodded dumbly. “Ja ne!” and he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

“He’s amazing…”

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Yo!” Naruto waved as he appeared on top of the gate kiosk above the two gathered teams.

Ino seethed, “You know you’re late…even later than Kakashi-sensei…”

“Yea I had to go help a lady re-paint her mansion, and then some kids stole her paint, so I had to track them down…”

“Liar…that was his excuse…” Ino seethed.

“He he, you caught me. So, I’m ready to get this mission underway…” Naruto said changing the subject.

Yamato said, “Right, some of you know me, and some don’t, so I’m Yamato, and I’ll be your team leader for this mission. Now let’s get going and I’ll fill you in on the way.”

And with that, they sped off into the forest.