Chapter 10: When predators turn prey

Naruto entered the kitchen with Sneaky safely wound around his bicep, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I really don't understand why she likes you better than me," Anko shook her head with a smile.

"Natural charisma," Naruto grinned at his lover.

"More probably it's those grapes you are always spoiling her with. If I didn't watch you two, she would be three times as big now," Anko stated dryly. "Anyway, are you going to hospital again?"

"Yeah, the hospital still needs all the help they can get, though it is the last time I will be helping out. Also, after the work, I and Shika are going to visit our ex-teammates, so I will return later," Naruto explained.

"You mean you are going to show off your new vests," Anko teased.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Naruto shook his head in a mock confusion, while prying Sneaky from his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure," Anko snickered, then stood up. She pulled Naruto to herself and hungrily kissed him. He didn't protest, eagerly joining in, his hands automatically moving to her firm ass, squeezing it. Anko moaned and interrupted the kiss. "You better go, or you will make me late again," she growled.

"You mean that you will make us late again, right?" Naruto corrected her with a smirk and turned towards the door, then added: "See you later."

…

"Good morning Tsunade," Naruto greeted as he entered the hospital.

"That is Hokage-sama to you," the blonde ruler of the village scowled at him.

"Sure sure," Naruto waved his hand uncaringly and looked around. "What patients should I look at today? Also, it seems unusually empty here."

"That's because Suna and three other minor villages picked their people last night. And it's good thing too, because we really needed the space," Tsunade explained and motioned to him to follow her. "But back to your first question. Today you will have only two patients to take care of, but I am warning you, they are not friendly. Actually, the friendliest expression I heard from them is a tree-hugger."

"They are from Iwa?" Naruto asked automatically.

"No," Tsunade shook his head, then whispered: "They are from Uzushiogakure, from the Uzumaki clan." Naruto's eyes widened.

"They were in the prison too?"

"Yes. We have moved them to the security wing to protect their identity."

"And you want me to speak to them because I am also an Uzumaki," Naruto stated blandly.

"Precisely," Tsunade nodded, simultaneously entering a room with a guard at its door.

"What do you want again? Didn't I told you to fuck off?" a middle aged woman with a dark red hair situated in a complex, though military looking haircut, growled from one of the two beds occupying the room.

"I brought someone who will look at you," Tsunade ignored the greeting patiently. "See you later!" she smirked at Naruto and left.

"That bitch," Naruto growled internally, but looked at his patients nonetheless. While the first woman looked to be in her forties, the other looked at least fifteen years older and her hairs was mostly gray.

"So, what are your names?" Naruto asked and pulled along a chair, so he could sat down.

"Go fuck yourself, traitor!" the younger woman growled, while the older one remained completely silent.

"Hmm, I thought that the members of Uzumaki clan would have a better manners," Naruto sighed in an exaggerated manner and leaned back.

"That's rich coming from someone who couldn't even honor the alliance we have had between our villages," the woman hissed.

"Ok, since you don't want to tell me your name I will give you one, so I have something to call you," Naruto said while frowning in concentration. "Oh, what about Tiger? Your current mood seems to prefer it?" he asked sweetly, getting only a murderous stare in return.

"Why are you mocking us? Is it not enough that thanks to you our clan was annihilated?" the older woman suddenly spoke, her deep grey eyes boring into him.

"Firstly," Naruto leaned forward. "You are releasing your anger on the wrong party. Yes, Konoha betrayed the alliance between our villages, but many people, many shinobi regret that decision to this day. Besides, it wasn't their decision. No, the sole person responsible for the betrayal is Sarutobi. I wasn't alive back then, but I have lived long enough in this village to know most of our shinobi expected to help you. After all, the alliance which have bound Uzushio and Konoha was strong. We weren't just some political allies. No, we were... companions," Naruto said and let a silence settle over the room.

The older woman closed her eyes suddenly, pain twisting her face. After a moment she quietly asked: "How do you know that? You are too young to remember that time."

"It's because we know what we did. When I was ten years old we learned about it in the Shinobi Academy. The lecture was short. Nothing dramatic, just simple facts, since we were just kids. If I remember correctly, the teacher said something like: That day we betrayed the alliance, and we will never know if we could have saved Uzushiogakure or if we would have been destroyed along with it," Naruto shrugged and stood, moving towards the window.

"Is that true?" the younger Uzumaki asked with a frown marring her forehead, her eyes following him.

"You will have to see for yourself," Naruto turned with a shrug, while looking at her. "So, will you tell me your names?"

"If I remember correctly, you have lectured us about manners just a moment ago. Shouldn't you be the first to introduce yourself?" the older woman raised an eyebrow, a slight smile hiding in the wrinkles around her eyes.

"Sure, my name is Uzumaki Naruto," he said, smirking lightly. Both women gasped, their eyes widening.

"Who are your parents?" the younger woman demanded immediately after she absorbed the news.

"Oh no, you will have to introduce yourself first," Naruto shook his head.

"I am Uzumaki Serazu and this is my mother, Uzumaki Samshini," the younger women said impatiently. "Now, tell us, who are your parents?"

"My parents are dead," Naruto shook his head, obviously disappointing his newfound relatives. "But my mother was Uzumaki Kushina. My father was from Konoha and isn't all that important."

"You are Kushi's son?" Serazu gasped, her voice shaky.

"That is what I was told," Naruto nodded. "She died during my birth, the same day Kyuubi attacked."

"But that means... who holds the demon now?" Samshini asked with frown. Naruto, instead of answering, lifted his shirt and channeled a chakra into his stomach.

"Fuck me!" Serazu muttered.

"So, now when we are all friends, I have some questions for you," Naruto grinned while pulling a crumpled form from his pocket. "Let me start with: How long have you been imprisoned?"

…

"Hello Ino, how are you getting used to the mandatory genin uniform?" Naruto smirked at the blonde genin. Her second attempt in the chunin exams didn't end in success, though her performance was significantly better than the previous try.

"This is your fault! If it weren't for you and those idiotic friends of yours, Asuma wouldn't decide to work us into the ground. He even asked for pointers from that tyrant Hayate," Ino grumbled unhappily.

"Oh, since you are mentioning it, Midori told me to say hi," Naruto hummed lazily and chuckled when Ino paled.

"Hello Naruto," Choji and Shino, who joined their team after Kiba's death, greeted him.

"Hi, good to see you again," Naruto nodded. "I was just asking Ino, how she likes the new uniforms," he smirked at the blonde girl, again. Shikamaru next to him snickered.

"Naruto, Shikamaru, stop the teasing," Asuma scolded them with lazy smile and a drag from his cigarette.

"Ah, hello Asuma," Naruto greeted with a nod.

"Hi, sensei," Shikamaru added.

"So, I hear that you two were promoted," Asuma smirked at them. "Congratulation, both of you."

"What do you mean by promotion?" Ino asked, confused.

"Oh, you don't know? Naruto and Shikamaru, along with their third teammate were promoted. They are now special-jonins, which is a rank between chunin and jonin," Asuma explained.

"No way!" Ino's eyes widened comically. "They are too young for that!"

"Hokage apparently doesn't think so," Asuma smirked at his sputtering blonde student, then turned back towards them. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

"Nothing special. After we rest for a little while, we will pick another mission," Shikamaru shrugged. "Anyway, we noticed most of the genin team's training is much more intensive. What happened?"

"You happened," Asuma's rolled his eyes. "After the showing you displayed during the chunin exams, Tsunade decided to launch a little investigation. I will not go into details but suffice to say the requirements for entering the chunin exams are much more demanding now. In turn, most of the jonin-senseis had to significantly change their teaching methods."

"That's good. I mean, I don't think that a chunin necessarily needs everything Hayate taught us, but it was like... completely incomprehensible for us - I mean my team back then - when at least half of all Konoha's teams didn't even know how to water walk," Naruto commented.

"That is now a mandatory skill for entering the chunin exams," Asuma nodded.

"So, you think we could take your students from you for a few hours? To catch up?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sure, I will give you three hours," Asuma agreed.

"Thanks," Shikamaru nodded.

"Go ahead, I will catch you in a few seconds," Naruto waved at Shikamaru, his ex-teammates and Shino. Shikamaru nodded.

"So, you wanna talk about something?" Asume took another drag.

"Kind of. You heard about the prisoners which were brought to Konoha recently, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, though that's probably all. I am kind of busy with training those three brats," Asuma shrugged.

"Good. You probably know then that there were shinobi and citizens from all of elemental nations." Asuma nodded. "However, what you probably don't know, since it's pretty tightly held secret right now, is that we identified even two members from a long believed extinct clan. Or at least almost extinct," Naruto finished, holding Asuma's gaze.

"What clan do you...You don't mean..."

"That is exactly what I mean," Naruto nodded and turned to leave, while adding: "I just thought you might want to know. If you would like to visit them, they are in the high-security-wing in the hospital."

Asuma gulped.

…

"So, are we going on another mission?" Shikamaru asked during one of their usual team-trainings.

"Sure," Naruto shrugged, it was already ten days since they returned.

"Guys, could I take a rain check? I would like to spend a little more time with Rin before going away for some two-week-long mission. You could just pick something a little easier this time," Hana asked.

"Why not. I don't have a problem with that," Shikamaru shrugged.

"Yeah, though I have one condition," Naruto agreed with a smirk. "You are inviting us for a lunch when we get back."

"I should have expected that," Hana groaned, but was smiling nevertheless.

…

"Hey Naruto, I got a mission for us," Shikamaru greeted him as the blonde entered the bounty and mission selection room.

"That quickly?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we got lucky today. I got my hands on a flash mission," Shikamaru smirked.

"You mean we will be home before the evening?" Naruto verified.

"Yeah. I got here like twenty minutes ago, exactly when a shinobi from IHO brought a new batch of missions and the newest edition of bingo books. Anyway, this mission was just brought in, take a look," Shikamaru handed him the scroll.

"Hmm... this looks good. Only half a day of travel to kill or capture a missing-nin of high-chunin rank. Then back here," Naruto summed up.

"It's a little too easy, but since we are only two..."

"Yeah, why should we risk unnecessarily. Ok, good job, let's register it," Naruto said.

…

"Ah, hello Nara-san and Uzumaki-san," Mizuki greeted them.

"Mizuki-san," Shikamaru nodded, while Naruto handed him the scroll.

"Alright, everything seems in order," Mizuki nodded and returned the scroll to them. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Shimaru said and together with Naruto left the office. Then Shikamaru turned and asked, brows raised high: "Will you tell me what you have against Mizuki? You could at least greet him?"

"He sabotaged my taijutsu in the academy. He hates the fox and me, though since I become a chunin, he seems to be trying to play nice," Naruto shrugged.

"I see," Shikamaru frowned. "Maybe he finally let go of his hatred?"

"Maybe, but more probably it's just him being cautious," Naruto snorted.

…

Naruto and Shikamaru stopped at the edge of the forest, which was further spreading into a vast pasture.

"I see the cottage," Naruto pointed into the distance. "I would guess that it's three miles away."

"Probably. Let's hope our target is there, that way we could return home before the evening sets," Shikamaru said and jumped down towards the ground.

"Don't be that impatient, two days outside of village won't kill us," Naruto chuckled as he landed next to Shikamaru, both of them quickly continuing forward.

"Do you feel anything?" Shikamaru asked when they were approximately one kilometer away.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "There is one chakra signature just like the scroll described." Shikamaru nodded. Both of them slowed down and quietly sneaked in the direction of the chakra signature.

"I think I see something," Naruto said, squinting. "Let's stop for a moment," he said and pulled from one pocket a thin telescopic scope. He stretched it into its full length, and while crouching checked out the spot.

"Good, the target is here just as the scroll described," Naruto said and handed the scope to Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I see him. He is... exercising. It seems as some type of kata, though I do not recognize this particular type of taijutsu," Shikamaru noted. "Can you take him down with that long range sniper jutsu of yours?"

"No," Naruto shook his head. "We are like four or five hundred yards away and he is moving. I would probably miss."

"Then how did you took down Sasuke?" Shikamaru wondered.

"I was ten times closer," Naruto stated dryly while standing. Both of them slowly shortened the distance and when they were just a fifty yards or so away, they stopped. Naruto pulled out a kunai, preparing to take the target down.

"Ok, shoot whenever you are ready," Shikamaru signaled to him. Naruto nodded and in the next second let the kunai go.

"Ok, that would be done," Shikamaru said as he saw the target collapse, blood pooling underneath it.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed and jumped down towards the corpse so they could seal it away.

"You know that technique sure does a mess," Shikamaru turned away from the mutilated body. "Maybe you could try to find a little bit more suitable projectiles to use it with. Something as big as kunai will almost always kill. Sasuke probably survived only thank to that cursed seal he used to transform."

"I know, and I actually thought about it already, but I am kind of busy these days," Naruto said as he pulled out a sealing scroll, crouching.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Started suddenly behind them, making both Naruto and Shikamaru jump up while whirling around, kunais in their hands. Their eyes widened, horror settling over their faces as they recognized the man before them.

"Orochimaru," Naruto hollowly whispered, clearly remembering him from the bingo book. Even more worrisome was the fact he couldn't sense him. Orochimaru was standing directly before him, not even twenty yards away and his senses simply ignored the Sannin.

"Ah, so you know who I am. That makes things easier," the man with serpent-like eyes smirked at them. "Anyway, did you had to destroy the body? It took me a two whole days to prepare a functional flesh clone, though I have to admit that the suitable victim delivered my trustworthy servant. Actually, you should know him since his is from the Kaguya clan, and his descriptions of his fight with you, Naruto, was most interesting," Orochimaru finished, his tone and expression turning bloodthirsty.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked in falsely calm manner as he racked his brain. How the hell could Orochimaru know his true identity, when he wore his mask? He looked at Shikamaru momentarily, their eyes meeting for a fraction of a second.

"I want nothing from you really, except your death," Orochimaru shrugged in matter-of-fact manner. "You prevented Uchiha Sasuke from reaching me, and if there is one thing I don't like, it's those who are trying to oppose me. 'Sides Naruto, my friend, I have two more bones to pickup with you." At that Naruto frowned, but remained silent.

"Firstly," Orochimaru raised a finger. "You are guilty in aiding in capture of my faithful servant, Kabuto. And secondly, you killed Gaara during the chunin exams in Konoha."

"I don't know who Kabuto is," Naruto denied, firmly decided to deny as long as possible. "And why in the world would you care about Gaara? He was from Suna."

"Are you pretending you didn't know about the invasion, or Sarutobi just decided to keep you in the dark?" Orochimaru frowned.

"What invasion?" Naruto pressed, honestly confused.

"I suppose that when you both are going to die, I could tell you," Orochimaru smirked evilly. "Basically, I – Oto and Suna were planning to ambush you during the chunin exams. The invasion would have started when Gaara released the demon sealed inside him. Can you imagine the destruction wrought on the village if that happened?" he hissed, making Naruto's and Shikamaru's eyes to go wide.

"And before you start thinking about using a reverse summoning scrolls, you should know that the moment you entered this area, all of them were rendered useless. I have put here a barrier preventing any such attempt," Orochimaru's smile widened, then he continued: "Now that we all are on the same note, why don't you put down those mask of yours? You won't need them anymore."

Naruto ignored Orochimaru's taunting and remained silent. He and Shikamaru were dead. It was as simple as that. They would simply not defeat Orochimaru.

"Naruto, you can save yourself," Shikamaru whispered quietly, his voice grave, but Naruto only shook his head.

"You can forget about that, though I am glad Hana remained home. Can you imagine how would Tsume feel if she died so soon after Kiba?"

"Yeah, but... you realize we are dead, right?" Shikamaru asked.

"Unfortunately," Naruto grimaced. "But I sure as hell am going to give it my all, to at least scratch that bastard. Turn your radio on." Shikamaru nodded.

"I think I gave you enough time to chat. It appears as if I will have to pry those masks from your dead bodies myself," Orochimaru sighed and bit his thumb. The next moment twenty yards long and almost one yard thick serpent appeared, immediately setting after Naruto and Shikamaru.

They didn't wait and shunshined away, making between themselves and the snake good thirty yards of space. Naruto signaled to Shikamaru to retreat a little bit and stick to his usual support role.

"Are you sure?" he asked through the radio.

"Yeah, I need you to help me with Orochimaru, not tire yourself with snakes," Naruto confirmed, unsheathing his sword. The swampy-brown serpent was moving surprisingly quickly for something so large. When it was only ten yards or so away, it raised its head momentarily, then struck, maw opened and teeth barred.

Naruto gripped the sword and shunshined two yards to his left, letting the snake collide with the ground, then decapitated it with a single vertical, wind-powered slash. His gaze returned to Orochimaru.

"That was surprisingly coldblooded for someone so young," Orochimaru commented with a raised eyebrow. "Are you really this strong or are you just pretending to be tough?" he queried and without a twitch of muscle or move of a finger, released a wave of killing intent. Naruto frowned. Was this supposed to paralyze him? Yes, it was significantly stronger than the one Hayate demonstrated to him, Midori and Saburo during training. On the other hand though it wasn't even close to the oppressive aura he felt when he spoke with Kyuubi. A killing intent that instantly send him to his knees.

Orochimaru, however, didn't stop after that. He bit his thumb again and dropped to his knees, his arms spread wide. He opened his mouth, releasing a sea of snakes. Each of them was relatively small, but the amount was absolutely staggering. Naruto stabbed his sword into the ground, his fingers already moving through a sequence of seals belonging to a one particular jutsu.

Naruto exhaled, releasing the Scythe Wind Avalanche jutsu. It tore apart the top most layer of the grassy clearing before him, and in forward-rolling motion shredded the dangerously close surge of snakes, then continued towards the still crouching Orochimaru, who was forced to dodge, ending the jutsu prematurely. Suddenly Naruto could sense the S-ranked criminal as he was supposed from the start.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asked Shikamaru as the wind howled before them, the sword in his hand.

"Yeah, though the paralyzing thing wasn't very nice," he responded.

"Dodge!" Naruto snapped suddenly, instantly disappearing in a cloud of leaves, and simultaneously sending a pair of wind blades in quick succession on his previous spot. From a corner of his eye he could see Shikamaru successfully execute a barrel roll, then quickly moving away from Orochimaru, who halted his offensive just before the spot that was sliced apart with his attack.

Orochimaru's forehead marred as he looked at the deep gashes in the ground before him.

"Tell me, why would you target a lowly chunin when you could clearly hunt those with jonin skill?" he asked, his voice honestly confused. Naruto didn't react, choosing to rather spend his energy on planning. Besides, he still remembered the beatings Hayate-sensei used to dish out, whenever he got talkative or let himself to be manipulated into speaking during a sparring.

"This is getting tiresome, let's end this," Orochimaru muttered, annoyed. And sprinted at Naruto, who found himself to be instinctively backpedalling.

"Try not to be pushed onto defensive," Shikamaru voice warned in his ear, softening slightly the edges of his growing panic. He took a deep breath and stopped, simultaneously throwing a pair of shurikens at the closing Sannin. Unfortunately, he wove through them with dazzling elegance, barely slowed down.

In that moment Naruto released another wind blade, then reappearing few yards behind Orochimaru as he swapped his position with one of the shurikens. Horizontal slash and another chakra blade was released, making Orochimaru instantly turn around and with just a slight pulse of chakra in the soles of his feet, leaping into the air. The two wind blades passed each other and Orochimaru nimbly landed on his feet.

Naruto watched the happening with just a corner of his eyes. He was just in the middle of another sharp cut, aiming at Orochimaru. But just a moment before the wind blade was released, Naruto swapped his position again, using the same shuriken as before. The one that was just now missing Orochimaru's back by only a few inches. The tip of Naruto's blade traced an arc in the air while releasing a wind blade, point-blank. Orochimaru instinctively bended in waist with such a speed that only blur remained, and he would be successful in evading the attack, if a shadow suddenly didn't appeared, holding him in a positon.

Orochimaru disappeared in the familiar pulse of kawarimi. Naruto instantly turned towards Orochimaru, who was standing about twenty yards away from him, his face murderous. He was holding his right – quickly reddening – side.

Naruto moved, releasing a salve of kunais with both of his hands, then added another few shurikens just to make the dodging harder thanks to their curving trajectory. However the projectiles weren't really meant to hit, but to make Orochimaru move as much possible, effectively increasing the bleeding.

Naruto run through a sequence of seals for a very simple genjutsu that he spend a several weeks of training on. He shunshined towards Orochimaru, who meanwhile dodged or deflected all of the projectiles. Immediately after halting his movement Naruto shunshined again, leaving after himself as much leaves as possible. Simultaneously he released the genjutsu which added even more leaves. Naruto repeated this several more times, to make the situation even more confusing.

When he sensed the well-known chakra pulse of genjutsu dispelling technique he quickly reapplied the illusion. The next moment he had to shunshin away, as some king of wind jutsu blown all the leaves away. All of the non-illusion leaves, that is. The remaining ones Naruto exploited to send another six disguised shurikens, just as Orochimaru executed another genjutsu dispelling pulse.

The leaves disappeared, and Orochimaru with them.

"Shikamaru, he is moving underground towards you," Naruto warned his teammate quickly. "When he is underneath you, I need you to jump in the air. I will swap with you! Do not resist it!"

"Got it," Shikamaru said and Naruto concentrated on the movement bellow the ground.

"Now!" Naruto barked sharply. Shikamaru shot into the air with chakra powered jump. Naruto swapped himself with Shikamaru and released just then finished seal sequence. The Shredding Torrent jutsu impacted the ground with angry howl, ripping large pieces of soil, and tossing them to sides as if they were just rag dolls.

Naruto landed on the ground and moved towards Shikamaru.

"There is a movement," Shikamaru said and pointed at Orochimaru, who looked badly mangled. "We need to finish this now!"

"No! Wait! I am sensing a huge chakra spike!" Naruto warned.

"He is opening his mouth," Shikamaru frowned. "Look, something is emerging from it!"

"No fucking way," Naruto groaned in defeat. "He just shed his body! And he is unhurt! Fuck! ... Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"How much chakra did it cost him?" Shikamaru asked.

"Something between ten and fifteen percent... I think," Naruto frowned.

"That's good. It would be pretty fucked up if he could heal himself without any limit whatsoever. Anyway, while he is recovering, summon a shadow clone," Shikamaru said.

"Is that good idea?" Naruto frowned.

"Yes. You have said you have more chakra than Tsunade and Jiraiya combined. So you should still have more than Orochimaru even after that. You need to summon one clone and have him summon several more. Order them to keep a distance from Orochimaru, only to step in in the critical situations."

"I see what you are aiming for," Naruto nodded and created a clone. The clone immediately created another four. After that all of them sprinted towards the edges of the clearing, keeping about one hundred yards between themselves and the Sannin.

"I am surprised that Konoha managed to raise such talented shinobi as you two," Orochimaru spoke suddenly, slowly moving towards them, his previous anger seemingly nonexistent. "Let me commend you for your skill. Unfortunately, it is now even clearer to me, how important it is to kill you. If I let you two to grow up, you would become a way too dangerous," he said and with one fluid motion pulled a sword out of his throat.

Naruto grimaced, and squeezed the handle of his own weapon.

"Naruto, I just had a quick look inside the bingo book. You need to be careful, the sword is most probably poisoned," Shikamaru warned.

"Great," Naruto sighed, then sprinted forward. It was no use to wait for Orochimaru to attack or trying out a defensive stance. The only viable option was to kill Orochimaru or at least hurt him enough, so they would have enough time to get back to Konoha. Unfortunately in the case of Orochimaru that equaled chakra exhaustion since he could heal himself.

The swords clanged and Naruto grunted in pain as his shoulder sustained a deep gash. Naruto instinctively shunshined backwards, disbelieve etched into his face as he gazed on his cleanly halved sword.

"Oh, don't be so sad. The weapon you are holding shouldn't be blamed," Orochimaru smiled eerily. "The true culprit is the weapon I am holding. This," he raised the weapon. "Is Sword of Kusanagi, in some languages also known as the Grass-Cutter. It has very interesting properties. Firstly, the sword is able to cut diamond and secondly, it is indestructible. You could take all the lightning in the universe and you wouldn't be able to even scratch it," Orochimaru explained, his smile positively evil.

"How is that even possible?" Naruto spoke, unable to hold his voice. This fight was hard enough even without some ridiculous artefacts.

"No one knows," Orchimaru shrugged. "Now come, let's see how long you can last against this weapon, against me."

Naruto looked at the sky for a moment as he pulled out a sealing scroll with his only reserve sword. Trying to go with kunais against a weapon as dangerous as Kusanagi would be tantamount to suicide.

Orochimaru closed on Naruto, initiating with horizontal attack meant to decapitate him from left. Naruto block it again, though this time his sword was coated in thick layer of wind chakra. He fluidly leaned forward, his elbow aiming for a temple, but before he could finish, he caught a hard hit into his unprotected ride side. Naruto winced and quickly shunshined away. Luckily it was only a fist punch.

Naruto didn't even have the time to breathe. In a fraction of a second Orochimaru was already next to him with a sword strike that almost put Naruto's arms to sleep as he parried. He stepped backward shakily and hastily tried to duck under another one. He was too slow. And if it weren't for Shikamaru, who at the last moment slowed Orochimaru, he would be dead.

"Stop this bullshit and start fighting as you are used to," Shikamaru barked in his ear. Naruto cursed and with single motion threw a kunai into Orochimaru's face. He barely moved as he - with a sidestep - dodged, his sword already on the downward trajectory.

Naruto appeared behind and above Orochimaru, stabbing blindly behinds himself and immediately following with another shunshin, almost late to not be sliced apart.

Shurikens tore through the air towards Orochimaru, who however, instantly swapped himself with the last of them, lunging forward. Poor choice as Naruto in even quicker manner did the same, appearing barely three yard behind Orochimaru a wind blade seeking the back of his knees.

In burst of a motion Orochimaru moved backwards so fast that he left behind only an after image, simultaneously twisting in unnatural way and evading both, the wind blade from behind and the shuriken threatening him from the opposite direction. Additionally, his momentum allowed him to lead a vicious kick to Naruto's stomach.

Naruto shunshined away only thanks to another impossibly close save from Shikamaru. Orochimaru's eyes angrily narrowed, momentarily changing his targets, then for a split of a second let the sword go as he channeled chakra into his arms. Into the left fire, into the right lighting, letting a small, insanely bright ball grow inside his hands. He threw the ball up in the air, where it stayed, sending a waves of scalding white light on the ground below him.

"Orochimaru seems to be pissed, will this stop you from slowing him down?" Naruto whispered, but didn't register the response as Orochimaru almost skewered him. Naruto managed to deflect the thrust to his side, instantly realizing his mistake as Orochimaru used the momentum and in lighting quick display of swordsmanship executed a flawless turn. Naruto clenched his jaw and with sweat drenching him swapped himself with the air behind Orochimaru, again blindly striking back and immediately distancing himself again.

It was the detection technique that saved him the next moment as he frantically ducked under another sword strike, simultaneously executing a sweep from right to left, hoping to score a hit on the Sannin's knees.

Naruto didn't know how it was possible, but Orochimaru managed to finish a complete turn to his left, lowering his sword, block the strike, and then smashing a knee into his face.

Naruto recoiled, instinctively shunshining in random direction and summoning a few wind clones.

"Dodge!" Shikamaru cried and Naruto disappeared, then again as Orochimaru immediately closed on him, not leaving even a moment to his respite and meanwhile destroying the absolutely inadequate clones.

Naruto somehow managed to orientate himself in the blindingly bright light and blocked the next strike. He winces, almost letting the sword go, a large piece of metal chipping away.

"This is insane. He is a way to good with that sword," Naruto muttered as he again shunshinned away, quickly backpedaling from Orochimaru. Suddenly, just before Orochimaru could strike again, there was a whistle as the air Orochimaru's head occupied, was torn apart.

"That wasn't nice," Orochimaru scolded as he in a display of godly speed managed to throw his head back, just in time to avoid the projectile. Naruto gaped.

Another whistle and another dodge, or at least an attempt as a shadow gripped Orochimaru, freezing him. He dodged anyway, though the sleeve on his arm was annihilated.

Orochimaru angrily turned around, noticing a thick horizontal layer of black smoke hiding his small artificial sun, casting a long shadows on the surrounding area. Orochimaru's eyes settled on Shikamaru.

"Dodge!" Naruto cried in panic, but it was already late. Orochimaru shunshinned forward, cleanly piercing Shikamaru's stomach.

"You annoyed me long enough," Orochimaru stated with satisfaction, but frowned when Shikamaru gripped his arm. "Be gone," he growled as a sea of shadowy blades ripped through his clothes in rotating manner, effectively shredding Orochimaru's side.

There was another whistle and the heavily wounded Sannin jumped back, letting the sword still stuck in Shikamaru's stomach go.

"You will pay for this," Orochimaru uttered, already opening his jaws wide, another Orochimaru appearing.

"Finish him! You can't let him regenerate!" Shikamaru yelled, but it was unnecessary, in the next instant the body was sliced in half. Unfortunately the partially regenerated Orochimaru immediately opened his mouth again, releasing a creepy white snake. Naruto didn't hesitate and cut the snake in half. Then again and again. Simultaneously a whistling noises could be heard and the body was torn apart.

Naruto sought the still moving head and shunshinned to it, a sword held high. Orochimaru opened his maw and just before Naruto could finish him, released a thick green cloud of poison. Naruto leaped backwards, but it was too late. His eyes was already hit.

"Tell me what is happening," Naruto growled.

"Are you alright?" Shikamaru asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I can feel the fox's chakra already taking care of the poison, but I need at least a minute. I need to know what is happening," Naruto said as he quickly pulled out a canteen, pouring its content directly into his eyes.

"Your clones are stalling Orochimaru, but probably won't be able to finish him. They are keeping their distance to protect themselves from dispelling. The white snake has some ridiculously fast regeneration and his body is healing faster than they are damaging it," Shikamaru said. "Fuck, the snake is using the healing jutsu again. Orochimaru will be back in a moment!"

"My vision is almost healed," Naruto said and stood up, his face wet. "Yes, I can see again."

"We were so close," Shikamaru muttered.

"Don't give up yet, we still have a miniscule chance," Naruto smiled wryly.

"Yeah," Shikamaru chuckled, then frowned: "Ok, he is sooner or later bound to summon shadow clones just like you. He probably wanted to avoid it in case someone else, similarly strong would appear, but if we keep annoying him, he will summon them. More precisely, he will summon one, which would then split again. We absolutely cannot allow him to do that. We need to kill the single shadow clone, otherwise we can just give up," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, got it," Naruto nodded and stepped forward towards the regenerated Orochimaru, who however didn't wait. He bit his thumb and pressed his palm to the ground. Next moment, in an enormous pulse of chakra a giant snake appeared.

"Fuck! That is Manda, the boss snake! We will be flattened!" Shikamaru cursed.

"Anything is better than Orochimaru alone," Naruto refused and sprinted forward. "Clones, at my signal, try to snipe it down. Aim for its eyes!" he ordered. He shunshinned to the side, avoiding the enormous, several yards thick tail and continued forward. Another shunshin and he was just a few yards away from the middle part of the snake's body. The next moment an orb of dark blue color materialized in his hand. He tossed it forward, then immediately creating another.

Manda ignored it. Instead it spread its maw wide, obviously preparing to spit something. In that moment Naruto already had four rasengans in the air. They hit the large purple scales and continued forward, as if there wasn't any obstacle. Naruto raised his arm, sensing the orbs, then he sharply stripped them of their stability. The spinning energy exploded outwards, instantly vaporizing holes with a diameter of at least three yards. The Manda howled in paint.

"Now!" Naruto yelled, and his clones instantly released five whistling kunais from the sides of the clearing, instantly bursting the snake's eyes. The next moment it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Orochimaru landed on the ground, his face thunderous. And Naruto just in that instant knew, what he intended to do. Naruto run through a sequence of seals, instantly summoning at least hundred wind clones. Then immediately shunshinning forward, where he felt the just materialized Kagebunshin. He had to destroy it at any cost!

There, just a few yards before him was the clone, already moving through another sequence of seals while running towards the forest, probably intending to take out the clones that just seconds ago forced the snake king to disappear.

Naruto shunshinned forward, releasing a stream of chakra strings that latched onto the clone's fingers interrupting the jutsu. The clone seethed and with a kunai leapt forward, trying to reach the edge of the forest as quickly as possible, probably realizing its own mortality.

Naruto grimaced as he felt one of his own shadow clones disappear. Two of them were trying to stall the real Orochimaru along with the army of his wind clones. He needed to hurry.

Naruto send forward a swarm of shurikens, then lunched forward, blocking the clone's path with a wind blade. The clone easily dodged it along with every single shuriken. Now they were almost in the forest, where Naruto wouldn't able to destroy it. The terrain there was too uneven. Naruto clenched his jaws and with a burst of speed lunged forward. He entered the clone's personal space, easily sensing the surge of chakra in it. Probably for a kawarimi, unfortunately for it, Naruto was quicker, swapping, or more precisely attempting to swap his position with the clone. That was of course impossible. Forced kawarimi against an S-ranked shinobi was just a fairy tale. On the other hand it effectively disrupted any jutsu the clone tried to cast.

Naruto launched himself at Orochimaru, seeking a single opportunity to scratch him. The clone however easily blocked him and in return attacked on his own, driving a fist to Naruto's right side. Naruto landed on the ground, collapsing. The hit just now broke at least three of his ribs, effectively ending any chance on destroying the clone, who was just at the edge of the forest, where at least two shadow clones belonging to Naruto were hiding.

The blonde released a last, desperate salve if kunais coated in wind chakra. He, however, knew he would be unsuccessful. And as he predicted, the clone just twisted in the air and easily avoided the projectiles, when suddenly shadowy blade shot from the ground atop which he landed, stabbing it. The clone disappeared.

Naruto discarded the notion to check on Shikamaru and immediately tore his way towards the real Orochimaru, who just destroyed his third kagebunshin.

Orochimaru finished the last wind clone, dodging the relatively harmless explosion of wind blades and turned towards him.

"It seems we are finally ready to end this," Orochimaru smirked. Naruto remained silent, his face hidden behind the dark-gray mask, his thoughts whirling. He didn't have a chance with the wound he just sustained. He had to end it as fast as possible.

Orochimaru lunged forward, wowing under Naruto's defensive sword slash led from right to left. Orochimaru stepped forward, clearly aiming for the broken ribs. Naruto in desperate play bend in his waist. He continued in the circular motion of his initial parry and turned around, his back now to Orochimaru who leaned back just enough to dodge the back-kick, a cruel smile on his lips. Naruto knew the kick would miss by just a few millimeters. It was just another way which Orochimaru decided to taunt him with. He ignored it, and let his face go slack, his full concentration elsewhere.

Orochimaru leaned back, already done predicting the leg's trajectory, already seeing the killing blow he would finish this fight. Just then, when the tip of Naruto's feet was about to pass him, a deep blue orb materialized half of an inch above the sole of the standard shinobi shoe, shredding Orochimaru's intestines.

Naruto shunshinned away and fell to his knees, painful grimace twisting his face.

"We need to finish this before he heals again. We won't survive the next attempt," Shikamaru spoke in the radio, not moving from his position at the edge of the forest.

"I know," Naruto nodded. He picked up his sword and with another shunshin sliced Orochimaru's already shedding body in two, vertically. There was an earsplitting wail and the body contorted, then shrunk into a small black snake, which was quickly slithering away.

"No you don't," Naruto shook his head, releasing a cloud of chakra strings from his fingers, picking the snake in the air. It twisted and writhed, passing around the strings similarly as liquid would. Naruto frowned at the small thing that reminded him the most of chakra mixed with ink. He took the chakra strings holding it and spun them, effectively imprisoning the little snake in a hollow sphere of chakra. Then he strengthened it and shrunk it, slowly grinding away at the thing. He didn't stop until there was nothing left of the thing.

Naruto released a breath, quickly heading in direction of Shikamaru's position. His teammate was resting against a bark of a tree, slowly breathing.

"How come you are alive?" Naruto kneeled before him. "You were stabbed through."

"I used my shadow manipulation to move my internal organs away from the trajectory of the sword," Shikamaru shrugged. "I knew he would attack me sooner or later, so I planned for it," he grinned weakly. "Also, one of your clones found me and removed as much of the poison as he could, though there is still some small amount left in my blood, which he wasn't able to remove," Shikamaru explained.

"Yeah, I am still in the middle of training with it," Naruto nodded. Just then the two remaining clones appeared, one carrying a sword in his hand. The other started to heal Naruto's broken ribs.

"We picked as much of evidence as we could. We have a few scrolls with Orochimaru's shed bodies and such. I also got the sword," the clone grinned. The real Naruto nodded.

"Your right lung got pierced," the other clone informed him, then continued his healing.

"So, we just killed an S-ranked missing-nin," Shikamaru frowned. "Do we need to tell about it anyone?" he asked with hopeful expression, but Naruto's expression made him sigh.

"Oh alright, but I am telling you, it will be troublesome," the Nara muttered and Naruto chuckled.

"Ok, let's return back to Konoha. You two, he spoke to his shadow clones, go and keep an eye on our surroundings, I don't want any other surprises," Naruto tiredly ordered and helped Shikamaru on his legs. "This will be a long way home," he sighed.

…

"...so, we are about to leave, when suddenly Kurenai yells in her drunken state: I don't want gummy bears!" Anko finishes, the whole table before her dying with laughter and Kurenai completely red in face.

"Anko," she groaned and let her head drop on the table before her.

"Oh, don't be liked that Kurenai, without you we wouldn't have nearly as much fun," Yugao patted her friend's back, while leaning against Hayate. Next to them was sitting Kakashi, while opposite of them was sitting Asuma, Guy and Genma.

"Now, who will...," Anko started, when suddenly her hand shot towards her neck.

"What is it Anko?" Kurenai asked worriedly.

"Nothing probably, the seal is just acting up," the purple haired jonin waved her hand. "Now back to the important question, who is paying the next round?" she barred her teeth in a wide grin.

"Asuma," Kakashi pointed towards the bearded man, who groaned.

"All right, who wants what?" he asked, when suddenly Anko slapped her neck again, arched and let out a bloodcurdling scream, her eyes rolling back into her head.

"Fuck! Let's take her to the hospital!" Asuma jumped up.

"No! We are taking her to Tsunade. Guy, get Jiraiya as fast as possible, it's probably related to the curse seal!" Kurenai snapped already moving with Anko in her arms.

"Consider it done!" he saluted and vanished. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

…

"What happened to her?" Tsunade demanded immediately after they entered the Hokage office.

"We don't know, she just suddenly slapped her curse mark and screamed, then lost consciousness," Yugao shrugged. "Guy is already searching for Jiraiya."

"Not anymore. Let me take a look," Jiraiya said as he entered the room in hurry. He moved around the Hogake's table on which Anko laid, and bared her neck. The black, inky seal was writhing and twisting.

"How the hell did this happened? The seal is collapsing," Jiraiya muttered. "I need to remove the suppression seal. Right now it's only worsening the situation," he added and lit his fingers with blue chakra fire, then stabbed them onto the seal. The effect was instant. The twisting calmed down and the expression on Anko's face also relaxed a little.

"Go get Sasuke too, I will bet he is in the same condition," Jiraiya said with a strange expression on his face.

…

Naruto passed the Konoha gate and collapsed to his knees, Shikamaru unconscious on his back. It seemed that even the residual amount of poison still in his system was enough to threaten his life, because for the past four hours his chakra level was steadily dropping. And because Naruto didn't know how to help him, he decided to sprint the whole way back with the help of his remaining chakra.

"What in the world happened to you?" Izumo sprinted towards Naruto, who in advance removed his, and Shikamaru's masks.

"Our mission went south," Naruto responded.

"That doesn't matter, we need to get you to the hospital," Kotetsu decided.

"No, we need to get to Tsunade as fast as possible," Naruto shook his head while trying to stand up.

"Got it," Kotetsu nodded, already well aware that Naruto was his superior. He let Naruto lean on him and together with Izumo, who carried Shikamaru, they moved towards Hokage Tower.

…

"So, did anything change with the Uchiha?" Tsunade asked.

"No Tsunade-sama," Shizune shook her head. "Since we moved him inside the hospital, he is still in the same condition just like Anko here," the petite healer pointed to her right side, where provisory hospital bed was brought, so Tsunade could watch Anko without leaving her office. Anything that had anything to do with Orochimaru was a way too dangerous to be left alone. For what they knew, Anko could be undergoing some possession technique. It certainly would be like Orochimaru to do something like that.

"Ok, thanks Shizune. Also, before you retire today, please check if the number of guards in the hospital was increased," Tsunade requested.

"Yes Tsunade-sama," Shizune nodded, and then departed.

"I really hope that Jiraiya will manage to discover what is happening," Tsunade sighed and was about to lean back, when the doors to her office flew open.

"Hokage-sama, we have an emergency!" Kotetsu stated hurriedly, while practically dragging Naruto into the office. Just behind him was Izumo with unconscious Shikamaru in his arms.

"What the hell happened?" Tsunade jumped up in alarm.

"We were ambushed," Naruto said slowly, moving towards the free sofa. Kotetsu helped him. "I will explain the details later when Shikamaru isn't in danger anymore. He was stabbed through his stomach, and while none of his organs were hit, he was poisoned. I removed as much of the poison as I could, but there has to be at least a little bit of the stuff left, because Shikamaru's chakra was slowly dropping on the way back," he explained, his eyes half-closed.

"Ok, put him here," Tsunade said as she quickly emptied her desk. Izumo did as commanded, then stepped back.

"Hmm, this is some pretty intricate stuff," she murmured with a frown, her hands glowing. She worked for a few minutes, occasionally muttering to herself something.

"Whoever created this poison was a nasty little bugger. It is designed to drain the victim's chakra and somehow transfer it to someone else, most probably the attacker himself. The speed of the draining seems to be directly dependent on the amount of the poison in the system," she said in the end, her voice laced with something very close to respect. "Were you hit too?" Tsunade asked Naruto, when she made sure, nothing else was wrong with Shikamaru.

"Yes, but I think the fox took care of it already. Also, my eyes were hit with some type of acidic poison. I cleaned as much as I could with water, the rest healed the fox, again," Naruto responded.

„Ok, it seems both of you will be just fine, but I will check you too, just in case," Tsunade said in relief while moving towards Naruto. She quickly checked his whole body, then with a nod to herself, stood up. "You were right, the poisons, whatever they were, are gone. But I noticed some other minor things. Did you mended some ribs on your right side?" she asked.

"Yeah, three of them. I also fixed the punctured lung," Naruto smiled wryly, just as the door to the office flew open again. Nara Shikaku, along with Inoichi stood there.

"Is my son alright?" he demanded.

"Yes," Tsunade said and stood up. "He had a minor amount of poison in his system, which I successfully extracted. He just needs to rest now," she explained.

"I am alright, father," Shikamaru said and slowly sat up.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing?" Tsunade scowled at him.

"Freeing your desk, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said with a shrug and moved towards the sofa before anyone could stop him. He sat beside Naruto and let out a tired sigh.

"So what happened?" Shikaku asked, his forehead marred.

"Hmm… I and Shikamaru picked a mission just as usual…"

"What about Hana?" Tsunade interrupted.

"She wanted to stay with Rin a little bit longer, so we said sure, why not," Naruto shrugged. "We, of course, accounted for her absence and picked easier mission than was usual for us. Actually, here it is," Naruto pulled a scroll from his vest and threw it at Tsunade, who quickly scanned it, then passed it to Shikaku, who did the same.

"I told you this would happen," Shikaku stated to his son angrily. "If you didn't act like an idiotic brat and did as I said, this would never happen. You are not yet mature and experienced enough to be a hunter-nin."

"Shut up," Naruto snapped at the Nara head, shocking everyone. "I didn't just survive a disaster-mission to listen to your bullshit. Besides, the fact that we survived the mission is big enough proof, that we are more than ready to be hunter-nins," he said, annoyed.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, scowling at Shikaku.

"You don't understand into just how big disaster the mission turned," Naruto sighed, and pulled out another scroll, then added: "In this scroll are the remains of our opponent. I mean the one who ambushed us."

"You actually killed him?" Tsunade raised her brow.

"We believe so," Naruto nodded slowly. "When you unseal it, you will understand what I meant earlier. And just to warn you, there is a head inside."

Tsunade nodded and put the scroll on her table and unsealed it.

"What the fuck?" she gasped, frantically backpedalling from her desk, until she hit the wall with the window behind her, a hand pressed to her mouth.

"What is it Hokage-sama?" Shikaku asked in alarm, quickly moving around the table.

"It can't be!" he said hollowly, his face pale.

"Guards, get Jiraiya here, now!" Tsunade barked, her face white.

"We need to go about this logically," Shikaku muttered, his mind whirling. He turned to Naruto and his son, to ask something, but Naruto beat him.

"You will want to know that Orochimaru targeted specifically us," Naruto said, interrupting the silence. "He wanted to get revenge on us for capturing Sasuke. He also knew my true identity, he knew I was partially responsible for the capture of Kabuto. Also, he somehow knew that we would be the shinobi taking the mission."

"What is this about Orochimaru I hear?" Jiraiya growled as he entered the office the second time today. Instead of answering, Tsunade only grabbed the head on her table and turned it towards Jiraya, whose face turned stony.

"Orochimaru is dead, isn't he?" Jiraiya whispered, his voice shaky.

"How can you be so sure?" Shikaku asked. "You know better than anyone how many regenerative and healing techniques he possesses."

"Under any other circumstances I would agree with you Shikaku, but Anko and Sasuke makes me think differently. There simply isn't any other reason why the curse seals would collapse," Jiraiya said and motioned towards the bed on his right-hand side.

"Hey, what is Anko doing here?" Naruto stood up, quickly moving across the room. He had to be really tired to not notice her presence.

"Anko's and Sasuke's seals collapsed a few hours ago. It appears that their curse marks are collapsing slowly. We expect them to disappear completely in another few hours.

"Naruto, how did you came upon Orochimaru's body?" Jiraiya asked.

"We…"

"I think it would be easier to just see it for yourself," Shikamaru interrupted Naruto. "Inoichi-san could use that mind projection jutsu of his, to let you witness it yourself, right?" he suggested.

"That is a good idea," Shikaku nodded, with a neutral expression.

"Yeah, but I would really like to know, how you know about the technique. It's a family secret," Inochi scowled at the young Nara.

"Dunno, just heard about it somewhere," Shikamaru shrugged.

"I bet you did," Inoichi rolled his eyes. "So whose mind should I scan?" Naruto frowned, already preparing an excuse. There was zero chance he would let a Yamanaka to ruffle through his head.

"I think you should scan the Nara, he after all doesn't have a demon fox sealed inside him," Jiraiya suddenly said. Naruto exhaled.

"Ok," Inoichi nodded, raised his right hand in the air, then his left above Shikamaru's head. "I will touch your head, then start the jutsu, ok?" he check with Shikamaru, who simply nodded.

The technique started with a stream of rays emanating from Inoichi's right-hand fingers. At first it the rays weren't showing anything specific, creating a picture of random colors, but then the image suddenly flickered, revealing Naruto and Shikamaru, hiding between branched of some tree and preparing to snipe their target.

Naruto sighed and turned away from the scene. As happy as he was to be alive, he wasn't all that happy about revealing his true strength. They should have gone with Shikamaru's idea and not tell anyone anything. They would simply return and pretend nothing happened. There was just a two little problems with that. Shikamaru would never go along with it, even if he was the one who came up with the idea. He wouldn't betray Konoha just because he knew it would be a hassle. And Naruto agreed with him. It was simply too important of information to let it be withheld from the blonde hag who ruled this village. Besides, didn't he betray this village enough already?

Naruto closed his eyes, and with a little bit of relaxing senbon balancing waited.

…

"Could you please stop looking at us like one of us was about to drop dead?" Naruto muttered in annoyance.

"Do you even realize what you have done?" Tsunade massaged her temples.

"Yeah, we managed to not get killed," Naruto shrugged.

"You brat! I..."

"Tsunade, calm down. I am sure Naruto and Shikamaru realizes pretty thoroughly what they accomplished today," Jiraiya said in placating manner, then turned to Naruto. "Just to be straight with you Naruto, from today on you are probably the seventh strongest shinobi in this village. From the fight it was clear that you wouldn't be able to kill Orochimaru alone, which puts you somewhere around or below the level of Kakashi and Guy. Just above them is Danzo, then I and Tsunade and the top position belongs to Itachi."

"Yeah, sound about right," Inoichi nodded. "Shikamaru..."

"Don't even start! I won't let you promote me! No way! Not at least until I am sixteen years old," Shikamaru crossed his arms stubbornly, then added: "That would be a way too troublesome." Tsunade chuckled.

"You cannot be promoted without official testing anyway. The special-jonin is the highest rank a shinobi can receive by a simple promotion. And even if I had the power, I wouldn't do something like that. As you said, you are too young," Tsunade said, then turned back to Naruto.

"On the other hand, you are already fifteen, and the skill you displayed is well beyond the jonin rank. If you want, I will approve your jonin application, which will allow you to undergo the jonin test," Tsunade said.

"Ok, I will think about it," Naruto nodded.

"Now that this is done there are other pressing matters. The most pressing is the question, how Orochimaru could know you would be taking the mission," Shikaku growled.

"I actually already thought about that. There have been only three people which could tell Orochimaru. Me, Naruto and Mizuki," Shikamaru stated.

"Mizuki?" Inoichi frowned.

"That's right, he registered the mission for us," Naruto nodded.

"Guards! You heard what happened. I want Mizuki arrested and transported to T&I! Yesterday was too late. If it shows he is already on the run, ANBU squads ten to fifteen are to immediately track him down!" Inoichi barked.

"Yes, sir!" both of the ANBU guards revealed themselves and vanished. A few seconds later their places were taken by a new pair.

"Serves him right," Naruto growled. Others ignored it.

"What are we going to do with the fact that Orochimaru is dead?" Shikaku asked Tsunade. "It appears we are the only nation aware of the fact. Do we want to claim the kill, or do we stay silent?"

"I would go with the first option. We can affirm our strength, which we lack since the assassination of Sarutobi," Jiraiya mused aloud.

"I agree," Shikaku nodded.

"Ok, I will inform other countries. Shikaku, when we are done here, please inform IHA to mark Orochimaru as dead. Make sure they know we did it, but do not reveal who the killer is."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Shikaku nodded. "Now, there is the matter of the Orochimaru's sword. The Kusanagi. Shall we return it to Kusagakure?"

"Not a chance," Naruto snapped. "I and Shikamaru almost died before taking it. Besides, according to shinobi law, it belong to us. And just to be completely straight with you all, I am keeping it. In my team I am the only sword user and there is no chance I will give it to anyone."

"I gathered as much," Shikamaru snorted.

"Besides, I will sooner piss on those grass-eating worms than giving them anything. I repeat myself, the sword is mine," Naruto snapped and Shikaku scowled.

"I agree with Naruto. Every single nation is aware how dangerous the sword is. What do you think will happen if they learn that Kusanagi was returned?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "They will try to take it for themselves, which means Akatsuki will be using it against us in the end. That said, I would be interested, why you are so miffed with Kusa," the white-haired Sanin turned to Naruto.

"The reason is that they almost got Midori - his ex-teammate - killed during the chunin exams in Suna," Tsunade explained.

"Yeah that, but also: I witnessed how a three of their teams attempted to gang rape two Kumo kunoichi," Naruto shrugged and Tsunade scowled.

"Ok, that is decided then. Anything else?"

"Yeah, how should we obtain the bounty for Orochimaru? We could try to do so personally while wearing our masks, but that would be a way too troublesome..." Naruto voiced his thoughts.

"Hokage office will handle it, don't worry," Tsunade waved her hand then abruptly, along with everyone else, jumped back, as an enormous scroll landed on her table.

"That is the Serpent Summoning Contract scroll," Jiraiya gasped.

"It appeared here for Anko since she is the only other snake summoner, right?" Naruto tilted his head.

"That's right," Tsunade nodded with a slight smile. "It's good thing too, it was always pain in the ass to fight against the reptiles. I don't want to admit it really, but Manda was always the strongest summon. At least combat-wise, her poison making her especially nasty."

"And it is also the ultimate proof that Orochimaru is dead," Jiraiya pointed out with a sigh.

"What about the aforementioned Suna betrayal?" Shikamaru remained everyone.

"It's bad, but not unexpected. We all know they are continuously balancing on the edge of bankruptcy. Desert is simply too poor of a place to live in," Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I will invite their diplomat here, and confront Temari about it, but I already know what her response will be. They will probably deny everything, or in the case that they will decide to come straight, it will be simple. It was their only option how to survive."

"But that doesn't excuse them," Shikaku shook his head. "Though it will be pretty difficult to punish them for something that never happened."

"Precisely," Tsunade sighed. "Is there anything else to discuss?"

"I would like to know how Orochimaru managed to evade my detection technique, I mean before the fight even started," Naruto said.

"That's right, I forgot about that," Shikamaru nodded.

"That's actually pretty simple. From the projection I assume Orochimaru used fuinjutsu to place a short range suppression barrier around himself. Short range because, you were obviously able to sense him after he moved from his original spot, right?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"That's tr...," Naruto paused. A sudden commotion could be heard behind the door to the office. Tsunade quickly resealed the head and put the scroll in one of her drawers.

"Hokage-sama," the Sloth ANBU stationed outside her office poke his head inside. "Gekko Hayate, Uzuki Yugao and Inuzuka Hana are here. They heard about the situation and..."

"I get it," Tsunade waved her hand. "Ok, you two are free to go, but you are to take it easy for at least three days. That's an order. Got it?" she snapped towards Shikamaru and Naruto.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," both of them responded and stood up.

"Also, Naruto, come here tomorrow during morning, I have something to discuss with you," Tsunade added.

"Got it," he nodded.

"Shikamaru, com with me. You mother heard what happened, so she is probably nervous wreck right now. Besides, we need to talk," Shikaku said seriously.

"Yeah, sure, but give me a moment," Shikamaru nodded and with Naruto left the office.

"You are alright!" Hana hugged both of them the moment they were outside the door.

"Hi," Naruto smiled wryly at everyone.

"You look terrible Naruto. What happened?" Hayate asked with a frown.

"Do you remember our fifth mission? The disaster we somehow survived?"

"Yeah," Hayate nodded.

"Today we survived a similar one, only about ten times worse," Naruto shrugged tiredly.

"Bullshit, you would be dead," Hayate snorted.

"Yeah, we should be," Shikamaru murmured.

"Hey! Hey! Enough of this creepy talk! Let's go take a bite somewhere, my treat," Yugao decided.

"Sorry, you will have to go without me," Shikamaru announced and together with his father left.

…

"So, you wanted to speak with me?" Naruto asked as he made himself comfortable on the sofa in Tsunade's office.

"Yes," she nodded, then turned to her guards. "Move to your outer positions until this meeting ends," she ordered and when she and Naruto were finally alone, she stood up.

"I prepared and approved your jonin application," she picked a folder from her table and passed it to Naruto, so he could inspect it. "You only need to add few words about your combat specializations and such."

"Why?" Naruto frowned.

"I want to start including you in the high-profile missions etc. And while I could do that even with your current rank, there are those who would argue that there are better jonin candidates..."

"The problem is that I am jinchuriki," Naruto deadpanned.

"Partially," Tsunade nodded with a shrug.

"What if I don't want to be promoted?" Naruto tilted his head questioningly.

"Oh, I didn't say you have a choice," Tsunade smirked evilly. "Did you really think I wouldn't learn about your little trick scheme? That Sarutobi forbidden you to join the hunter division?" Naruto gulped.

Fuck!

"So, this is part of your punishment," Tsunade's smile widened. "On one hand you can take the test, remain a hunter and occasionally join a mission or some selected council meeting. On the other hand you can keep your current rank and be transferred to Hokage Guard Division," she smirked.

"You really are a bitch," Naruto groaned. "Fine, I will take the test," he growled.

"Good," Tsunade nodded, her expression turning smug. "And don't pretend you are upset. This is of your own doing and besides, this way you can learn about any mission that will have anything to do with Akatsuki."

"I suppose," Naruto nodded with a sigh and frowned. "Do you really think I am a jonin material? I mean I wasn't drafted to ANBU so..."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Tsunade shook her head, for some reason amused. "ANBU invites among themselves only those they need. Not those skilled enough to join them. Also, the Konoha Hunter Division is chronically understaffed because no one wants to do it. From ANBU perspective you might do more good as a hunter-nin than anywhere else," the blonde village leader explained as she leaned back against her own table.

"Another jonin requirement is some measure of versatility, which you clearly have with your melee to mid-range to ranged style of combat. Shizune also informed me that you could aspire to be a reasonably good medic-nin in near future," Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"It's just side-skill." Naruto shrugged. "With my chakra control it was a logical step to make." Tsunade nodded. "Anyway, when can I expect the test to take place?"

"One month probably? In any case, don't worry about it, I will brief you on the exact time when it gets decided."

"Ok. I suppose you won't tell me what to expect?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"And you would be right," Tsunade snorted. "The test is designed to test your ability to improvise. 'Sides, I won't be the one to decide it."

"Ok ok," Naruto rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the jonin application in his lap, then pulled a pen from his vest.

…

Naruto twisted in the air, turning his back towards the mattress below him. He landed and immediately after that the attacker straddled his waist, hungrily kissing him. Naruto joined in eagerly. His arms twitched, making him growl in frustration when he found out they were held prisoner above his head.

The kiss suddenly ended, though Naruto still managed to bit the naughty bottom lip. Just enough to bruise it slightly. His lover growled.

"What is the occasion, Anko?" Naruto inquired as he let his head fall back down on the sheets, his breath laborious.

"Tsunade told me about Orochimaru," Anko leaned towards him, her eyes heavy lidded, but still alert. "She even showed me the fight and since I know you fighting style pretty well..." she growled.

"We just tried to survive, you know," Naruto shrugged.

"I know, but it was still satisfying as hell to watch Orochimaru get his ass kicked. Besides, thank to you, I no longer have the fucking curse mark. You cannot imagine how good it is to be finally free of it," Anko whispered and kissed again. This time, however, the contact was calmer, meant to express how grateful she was.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about that. What is the difference?" Naruto asked, when the kiss ended.

"It's hard to describe," Anko shrugged. "Before, I had to always control my temper, always be in command of my emotions or the curse mark would react. Sometimes it interfered with my job in T&I, especially when I was frustrated or didn't have the required patience. Also, I was almost killed a few times thanks to it. That all is over now," she closed her eyes for a moment.

"That's good," Naruto smiled. Anko looked at him again and Naruto with surprise noticed something new in her gaze. Something very serious.

"Bond with me," Anko whispered, her eyes unflinching. Her voice, however, betrayed how nervous she was. Naruto gasped, his eyes widening. Bonding was the shinobi alternative of marriage. While marriage was a public event meant for celebration, bonding was the exact opposite. Relationships were a dangerous thing in the world of shinobi and not everyone were willing to endanger their loved ones. The only shinobi who still practiced marriage were usually the clan leaders since they were as much a public figure as they were shinobi.

Naruto sat up as Anko let his arms go, her expression increasingly nervous.

"Anko," Naruto said and pulled her into his lap, his voice heavy.

"You don't want to..."

"That's not it," Naruto shook his head. "My answer is yes..."

"But?" Anko muttered, looking away.

"But there is few things you need to know before you accept the yes. I respect you too much to enter a bond with you without telling you," Naruto explained, carefully watching Anko's expression.

"Guessing by your tone, it's something pretty serious, isn't it?" she stated, her tone not that of a question.

"Yeah. Anyway, there are two things I want to tell you. One is pretty dangerous, if it got out, my life would be in danger of never-ending assassinations, but that is all..."

"That is all?" Anko shrugged.

"Kind of?" Naruto smiled wryly. "Compared to the second it's nothing. I... There is no way around it. I have committed a treason," Naruto said and Anko froze.

"You mean against Konoha?" she whispered.

"Yes," Naruto confirmed, not looking at his lover. Anko suddenly rose and Naruto was afraid she would immediately kick him out of the apartment, but instead she started pacing.

"What kind of treason?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto frowned.

"I mean the severity. There is treason and there is treason, you know," Anko snapped.

"Then it's one of the worst possible, I suppose. If it got out I would be immediately executed. Or handed to T&I for a few months and then executed," Naruto admitted reluctantly.

"Fuck!" Anko cursed. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why everyone I know has to commit a treason," she muttered. Then her gaze snapped back towards Naruto.

"What did you do?" she growled.

"Are you sure I should tell you? You will be required to inform Hokage. And if you don't you will be committing treason too," Naruto frowned.

"That's true, but you were right. I cannot bond with you if I don't know," Anko muttered. Naruto raised a brow.

"You are still considering it?" he whispered. Anko turned her head to the side.

"I probably shouldn't, but..."

"Ok, I will tell you under one condition. You have to let me explain. I will tell you what I did and then explain what caused me to act like that..."

"Ok, sure," Anko nodded, her frown deepening even more. Naruto ran a hand through his head and sighed as he inspected the carped covering the floor.

"It was me who killed Sarutobi," he whispered. Anko stiffened. He could feel it even though he wasn't looking at her, her chakra betraying her. It took almost a minute before it started moving again. Slowly.

"Why?" Anko asked weakly, making Naruto look at her. He winced. He looked away and began with his explanation, starting at the moment when Sarutobi and Jiraiya wronged him.

…

"It's kind of similar to what happened to me. I mean Orochimaru. I am not really all that upset he betrayed Konoha. No, the true reason I am... was so furious with him was because he betrayed me. Me alone. The same way Sarutobi betrayed you."

"I suppose," Naruto nodded.

"But you are still an idiot. I am not really sure your reason warranted a treason. He was still protecting the village, even though it was pretty shitty way to do so," Anko sighed and Naruto remained silent.

"What would you do if I went to inform Tsunade about all of this?" Anko suddenly raised her head and Naruto frowned.

"Probably run off, becoming a missing-nin," Naruto shrugged. "Though I still think I would be more useful here. What is done is done and the only thing I can do now is to serve Konoha."

"What about Jiraiya?" Anko asked.

"Dunno. I mostly let it go, I think. He was a stranger when they fucked me up," Naruto shrugged.

"Ok, I will keep this all to myself. You have my word, though you can be sure I am doing it only because Orochimaru is dead, the curse mark is gone and I got the summoning scroll for snakes," Anko murmured. "Now what was the second thing you spoke about?"

"My parentage. My mother was Kushina Uzumaki and my father was Minato Namikaze," Naruto shrugged, but Anko gasped, and then suddenly giggled. In a few seconds the giggling turned into full blown laughter.

"No fucking way!" Anko gasped.

"What is so funny?" Naruto asked in annoyance.

"I don't believe this! I, Mitarashi Anko, the most fucked up shinobi in Konoha gets to corrupt the son of Yondaime Hokage! Oh, this is awesome!" she practically cried.

"So, do you want to still get bonded?" Naruto asked, smiling slightly.

"Of course, do you think I will pass a chance like this? Besides, if this gets out, you can be sure the council will never allow bonding between us," Anko pointed out as she slowly calmed down.

"Ok," Naruto rolled his eyes. "How does a bonding work anyway? I know that tattoos are used instead of ring, but that is probably all."

"It's simple really, let me explain..."

…

The view from the Hokage Monument was incredible, anyone could tell him that. And Sasuke of course knew it, after all it was a common knowledge. Simultaneously though it was only now that he acknowledged the fact. No, that was wrong. He might have come here in the past, when life was still good and easy, his clan and family still alive. Unfortunately that time was long over, the memories faded by the years passed and the mental torture his big brother Itachi inflicted upon his mind. Sasuke snorted. What a great big brother he was.

Sasuke could see everything from the monument. The streets and alleys filled with both the shinobi and the civilians. He could see the various shops and establishments and its clientele. He could see the Hokage Tower and the hospital. The academy, the trade district, the Konoha library and the clan compounds. And among them the largest one and at the same time the least inhabited one, the Uchiha clan compound, with its stone walls protecting it from the dangerous stares of local citizens.

"What a fucking joke," Sasuke muttered to himself, his voice both bitter and amused. Why would the Uchiha clan feel the need to build the wall if it was the most powerful clan in Konoha? Sasuke didn't know the answer. The same as he didn't know why he was so obsessed with killing his brother. It was obvious Itachi had some plans with him. After the whole: kill all your close friends and obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan and the torture, there had to be something more to it. Yes, it was clear to him now. Itachi had some hidden agenda and trying to exact a revenge on him would only play into his cards. Sasuke sighed and with years-long practiced stubbornness resisted the resentment trying to consume him. Instead he silently congratulated Tsunade for her master stroke. If there was one thing which would piss Itachi off, it was the punishment she inflicted upon him.

Sasuke let a slight vindictive smile grace his lips as he pulled from his pocket a small mirror that was part of the standard shinobi equipment. It served several purposes. It could be used to check space around corners, send light signals, occasionally light up a fire and even more sporadically to let a female shinobi put on make-up during a mission. Now though, it let Sasuke examine his new, green eyes. They weren't bright or dark or even of sharp green color. No, it was the most ordinary pair of green eyes anyone could imagine. Much less scary and cool than his previous pair.

"At least they have a pretty sharp vision," Sasuke sighed and pocketed the mirror, then with a sigh turned around. "What do you want Kakashi?" he asked tiredly.

"Nothing in particular," the gray-haired jonin shrugged. "How are you feeling? I mean now that the mark is gone?"

"I am all right," Sasuke shrugged neutrally. He didn't want to make the jonin angrier than he already was. On the outside Kakashi appeared to be pretty calm, but that was all. When Sasuke woke up from the forced eye transplant, Kakashi told him very clearly that he was lucky to be alive.

"What are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked.

"How should I know? What are my options anyway?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"To stay shinobi or go civilian," Kakashi shrugged.

"I don't know anything else than being shinobi so thanks but no. I will not go civilian," Sasuke shook his head with a snort.

"Maybe you could find some new hobby or discipline to train. You won't go on mission for a while, that is for sure. The fuck up you caused has to settle a little before that can happen. But if you want to be an active shinobi ever again, you should still train. Simple training could let you finally relax since your Sharingan and the curse seal Orochimaru put on you are gone."

"I..."

"Sasuke, we both know you have never really relaxed since the massacre," Kakashi shook his head with a sigh. "You blindly pursued the revenge. You have a rare chance to start over now. Two of the three reasons preventing you to do so have been dealt with. The third reason, the massacre... only you can let it go," Kakashi said and stood up, prepared to leave.

"I already did," Sasuke said suddenly, halting his ex-sensei.

"If you did it because you believe that you cannot defeat him without a Sharingan, it's the wrong reason," Kakashi warned as he pulled out his trusty orange book.

"Why is that? You are the only person with Sharingan in this village now. You know exactly how powerful the dojutsu is," Sasuke asked, but he wasn't angry, for once he was prepared to listen to the answer.

"And no one is disputing that. Would Sharingan make you noticeably stronger? Certainly. But that certainly doesn't make the revenge impossible... Say, do you know how your curse mark was removed?" Kakashi suddenly perked up a sly smile gracing his lips.

"Dunno, no one bothered to tell me, though I suspect that white-haired Sannin, Jiraiya, is responsible?" Sasuke shrugged.

"That is wrong. The curse mark collapsed by itself, without any outside help." Sasuke frowned.

"How is that possible?"

"The seal was very closely linked to Orochimaru, and since he was killed recently, it dissipated," Kakashi smirked.

"What?! Orochimaru is dead?" Sasuke jumped up.

"Yes," Kakashi nodded lazily. "And the best part is that he was defeated and killed by a team of two jonins. No kages, Sannins or S-ranked shinobi were involved in his defeat. Only two jonins."

"Who were they?" Sasuke asked eagerly.

"Don't know and even if I knew I wouldn't tell you, it's a heavily guarded information," Kakashi shook his head.

"I suppose that's logical," Sasuke nodded as he ran his fingers through his hairs. "Fuck, what would I give to see such a fight," he sighed, his expression longing.

"I had that honor thanks to a recorded memory projection, and you are right. It was a sight to behold," Kakashi tilted his head.

"But you said..."

"They had masks..."

"I see… Hey, sensei… fuck! I apologize!" Sasuke bowed immediately after he realized his mistake.

"It's alright, what did you wanted to know?" Kakashi sighed.

"Um... What let them win? What was the key-factor of their success?"

"Hmm..." Kakashi tilted his head to a side, frowning. "I would say it were mainly two things. The first was the teamwork obviously. You cannot hope to defeat an S-rank shinobi without being an S-rank yourself. The second was their skill. Both of them didn't have an extreme repertoire of techniques, disciplines or fighting styles, but those displayed were brought to a perfection or beyond it."

"I see," Sasuke nodded. It wasn't really surprising. Actually, it was the two thing teachers at academy stressed the most. Train hard, never let your teammates down and never give up, that's the will of fire.

A/N: Another chapter is here, enjoy ;). A have read all the reviews – thanks! On the other, sadder note this is the last chapter for same time. As some of you already know, there already were few very long pauses. That said, as long as I live there is chance I will add a chapter ;).