Author Note

Yeah, I have received a great number of threats…I mean reviews, in case I didn't continue this story. That being said, I have decided to delete it and publish all over again, with a twist. Before, I have decided to ski the fourth great ninja war and start a new arc. Now, I am going to bring you guys my version of the war. I will be reviewing and publishing the first eight chapters and then I shall continue after that. Therefore, for those NaruxHinata fans out there who are almost on the verge of marching towards my house, here it goes.

Chapter 1 – After the Storm

Konoha was once considered a dream for those in search of a nice place to settle down and raise their children. The many sights seemed like Kami's gift to the hidden village in the leaves as nothing but leafy trees and cerulean blue rivers surrounded the strongest hidden village of all the elemental nations. Ever since its foundation, Konoha had withstood its ground against powerful enemies simply because the ninjas that protected this village all believed in one thing called the Will of Fire. Each shinobi was born with a sense of protection that passed through their veins and it's what made Konoha's shinobi stronger than any other village.

However, despite surviving large numbers of wars and numerous armies of enemies, it took only one single individual to level the entire village using but one jutsu that allowed him control over the air's gravity. Pein, the sole barrier of the world's most powerful doujutsu the Rinnegan proved to be a god in terms of power as he managed to level an entire village with but a small percentage of his power and rage upon the very ninjas who destroyed a little boy's life a long time ago.

After leveling the entire village and killing the majority of the population, it seemed that Pein would be unstoppable. However, it took yet another individual to beat him and this individual happened to be the very one that people had cursed and loathed his entire life. Uzumaki Naruto, bearer of the monster that attacked Konoha sixteen years ago, managed to destroy all of Pein's bodies by an impressive display of control over nature chakra or senjutsu. The best part was that Naruto not only beat Pein, but his victory managed to open the man's eyes forcing him to remember their common sensei's beliefs of how the world needed to change, so that children wouldn't need to suffer any longer.

In the end, Pein used a technique that only those with the Rinnegan could that resulted in the resurrection all those who were victim to his attacks.

Although Pein managed to resurrect the entire population, his passing did mark a scar as Konoha still lay in ruins. The citizens were forced to live in tents until the village was rebuilt. One of the few sights that remained untouched was the Hokage Monument, but if those now living up there so wished, it would be destroyed along with the village as they were forced to witness the entire chaos without being able to lift a finger to help. The Monument was created so that the Hokages could watch over Konoha even after their passing. However, to those who believed in the afterlife, it seemed like not only Kami but also the previous Kages forgot about the village's protection when Pein first initiated his path of destruction.

Looking closer to the Yondaime Hokage's head, one single individual sat there as he pondered about the current events.

In little to no time, the village he adored and couldn't get enough of was destroyed, meaning he was too late to salvage it. Uzumaki Naruto was feeling strange as of late. Once he appeared after beating Pein, the crowd worshipped him as a hero for what he did, but in reality, he thought that he was indirectly responsible for Pein coming here in the first place. Granted, he managed to convince Pein into resurrecting everyone he killed but it was because of him that the village was now in ruins. Naruto felt like he disappointed his father, whose head he was seating on. Namikaze Minato appeared in the middle of the fight inside his mind. Because of the Yondaime, Kyuubi could not fully take over his body. After doing so, he explained to Naruto that he was his father and no matter what happened, he would always be proud of the man Naruto became.

Nevertheless, the blond wasn't sure his father would be proud of him at all, even though the threat was now gone and the village would raise its walls once more in a triumphant manner. No matter what happened though, Naruto's resolve was firm. He would help the village rebuild. As he got up from where he was sitting, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing his hair as a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't particularly known for his sad tendencies, as he always found a way to cheer himself up as well as others around him. It was a must in his opinion, actually. Of course, he had every right to sit alone in the shadows, while at the same time wondering to the heavens why Kami felt his suffering to be just. Seeing others around him happy while blissfully unaware of his condition as a Jinchuuriki, a demon jailer was hard for him even after all these years. However, Naruto figured out long ago that crying wouldn't solve his problems; rather displaying a cheerful demeanor and hope to capture other's hearts just like the Sandaime Hokage and Umino Iruka at the time was the best way to change his circumstances.

Within time, others joined his group of friends and today he was a better man because of it.

With his resolve, Naruto jumped from the Monument down the mountain, displaying a smile that was able to brighten even the darkest of places. In no time at all, he was at the bottom of Konoha's most important mountain as he went to meet his sensei to discuss something he now felt was of utmost importance. As he passed through the never ending number of tents, Naruto stopped by the largest one of them and in seconds, his smiley demeanor stopped completely. He remembered just who was resting inside that very tent and was almost on the verge of dying as well.

===At the Hokage's Tent===

Once inside, he saw both his teammate Sakura and his sister figure Shizune taking care of a bedridden Tsunade. The toll of the fight was too much for the Godaime, seeing as she used all her chakra just to heal the wounded during the fierce battle that took place. According to Shizune, Tsunade was in a coma and wasn't sure when she would awaken or if she ever would. Naruto remained optimistic, saying that Tsunade was too stubborn to die now, but deep inside he knew the odds were against it. Naruto was aware, to some extent, of Tsunade's chakra usage and the effects of releasing the seal on her forehead. It accelerated her healing, though it came with a deadly cost which was the degeneration of her body and her blood cells.

"Shizune-neechan how is she?"

Naruto said, alerting the two medic-nins to his arrival. The elder brunette looked at him for a while in surprise, before returning the look to Tsunade. Naruto could only see sadness and regret in Shizune's eyes. It wasn't without merit he thought. Shizune always stood by her master, helping in whatever she could to alleviate Tsunade's pain from losing both her brother and lover. Now, when she needed her the most, Shizune was at a loss as to what to do as any medical search turned out to be futile. To her, nothing could be done except wait and hope that Tsunade somehow open her eyes.

"So far, she's still the same. Her beatings are erratic, but otherwise fine. We just have to wait for her to open her eyes again, I'm afraid."

Her voice carried a great deal of pain as Naruto and Sakura flinched at her defeated tone. Sakura said nothing as she kept looking at the face of her mentor. Naruto, for his part, did the same but the only things he remembered were the times he used to enrage the woman by calling her an old hag. The fact that it infuriated her at the time was what compelled Naruto to keep calling her that, even though he never thought of it as demeaning in any sort of way. Suddenly, he approached the Hokage and kneeled next to her. He grabbed her right hand which was connected to the IV monitor. What he did next was quite a surprise to Sakura and Shizune. Closing his eyes, Naruto started a silent conversation with the Godaime, although he knew only one would do the talking.

Hokage-sama, it must be funny to hear such an addressing from me isn't it? I know that deep down you can hear me as I run my chakra through your veins. Certainly, I don't expect you to wake up as of now, after what happened. I wish I was in your position right now, drifting into some profound slumber, resting your body for when you wake up and see that Konoha is rebuilt once more, only waiting for your guidance. Rest assured Tsunade that I'll help rebuild this village to its former beauty for when you wake up. Until then, sleep well.

As Naruto remained with his eyes closed, Sakura and Shizune were looking at his face with curiosity. When they saw him smile, the IV monitor suddenly showed an increase in her heart beat. While it wasn't enough to indicate that Tsunade was out of her coma, it was certainly enough to increase Shizune's expectations of a healthy recovery in the future. When Naruto opened his eyes, he gently positioned Tsunade's arm next to her body as he placed the necklace around her neck for luck.

Getting up, he turned and he began to walk towards the tent's entrance before turning to the two medic-nins.

"I'm sure she'll be waking up in a few weeks. Please take care of her Shizune-neechan, Sakura-chan."

As Naruto turned once more, Sakura couldn't help but marvel at the majestic resolve of one Uzumaki Naruto. Despite her strength now rumoring to surpass Tsunade's, the pink-haired chunin had her fair share of insecurities, often recurring to Naruto in order to feel safe. Now, though, it was different as Naruto was over-flooding with confidence and hope that the village would rise once again from scratch. Soon a smile was visible on her face and she wondered just how Naruto could be able to do this to her, without even trying to.

Shizune saw Sakura's smile and displayed a grin of her own.

Despite all the hardships that he faced in life, not only had he managed to save the village from total annihilation, but he also managed to increase both Sakura's and her own moral as well. Maybe, he was right, she thought. Tsunade would one day wake up and the village would once again be as beautiful as it once was.

===With Naruto===

As Naruto progressed throughout the now crumbled streets of Konoha, he saw many workers bringing in the material needed for the village's reconstruction. Spring and Wave Country answered to the call of need right away. Wave supplied men for the reconstruction while Spring Country was responsible for supplying the necessary material. The Spring Country's Daimyou was happy to assist the village in its time of need, but unknown to Naruto, Kazahana Koyuki did everything for the young ninja that managed to save her entire Country by ending her uncle's tyranny for good.

As he saw a couple of construction workers talking to themselves about some plans, Naruto also saw Yamato there adding his experience with wood manipulation into the mix. Naruto wasn't considered very smart when it came to figuring stuff out, but he understood Yamato's position right now. He remembered how the jonin had a jutsu that was able to build mansions and castles with but a use of his chakra. The problem, though, was that rebuilding an entire village was even beyond his capabilities and the man wouldn't be able to do everything alone.

"Good afternoon Yamato-taichou? Helping with the construction, I see."

Naruto's sudden intrusion took Yamato's attention away from the construction workers, but unknown to them, Yamato found Naruto's intervention a welcome distraction considering the boring talk that came out of the workers' mouths.

"Yo Naruto, how are you doing? Yeah, because of my mokuton, I'll be helping with the village's reconstruction. We're planning here on rebuilding one sector per week. Hopefully, we'll be able to build the merchant district and a new hospital by the end of the week. So, what are you up to, besides goofing off?" Yamato asked, seeing a grin on Naruto's face.

"Just hanging around. I was wondering what I could do to help with the reconstruction. You know, if you need an extra hand I have what you need."

Yamato smiled as he knew what he was offering. Seeing some tasks still left to be done, he turned to Naruto and gave him some orders.

"Okay, Naruto, as we all are in attendance right now, whatever we do here will count as a mission. So there are a few D-ranked missions for you to complete. First of all, we need you to clear section #214 a couple miles north from here. There are some crumbled buildings down there that will need to be torn down. Can you do this for us?" As Naruto nodded, Yamato continued with the list. "Also, I was contacted that near the old Uchiha Compound a few constructors are experiencing delays. Since they need to do some digging before beginning some apartment building constructions, I figure that with your rasengan it will speed things up a bit."

"Anything else you need of me Yamato-taichou? I've got more energy left you know."

Yamato smiled even more and considered that with Naruto now helping, things would be done much faster.

"That's it for now, just stay put after doing these two missions. We'll need you more in the upcoming days." Naruto just nodded as he summoned a hundred shadow clones and directed them all towards the designated areas, while he remained with Yamato for a while. He had one other person to meet in order to ask him something of great importance.

As he travelled throughout the streets, Naruto's clones were being dispelled and the memory gathered told Naruto that the missions were done in record time, although one clone ended up digging more than necessary thus creating a much bigger hole than the construction workers needed. Luckily, a chunnin was in the area and happily used a minor doton jutsu to correct it, fitting the plant's requirements. The real Naruto suddenly saw the person he was looking for standing by the ruined West Gate, before he jumped towards said direction.

===Near the West Gate===

Kakashi was busy right now as he was getting some reading done.

Because of the efforts in reconstructing the hidden village in the leaves, there were no missions being performed with the exception of scouting routines performed by the Anbu forces. So the man was stuck with nothing to do but to maintain his much appreciated hobby. That was until the village's latest hero appeared right in front of him. Kakashi's opinion of Naruto was already high considering how easily Naruto managed to master wind manipulation as well as the fact that every obstacle he put his mind to, he managed to solve it better than any Kage ever could.

Also, he alone managed to beat Pein when the entire village, including the Godaime Hokage and member of the Sannin, failed to accomplish. However, even with all these accomplishments on his record, Naruto was rather predictable in Kakashi's opinion. Every time his student came looking for him it was either to get some training or some cool mission to participate in.

"Kakashi-sensei, there you are I was looking for you." Shouted Naruto as he landed in front of the lazy jonin, taking Kakashi's attention away from his novel. "Ano, Kakashi-sensei, I was hoping that you could give me some tips, you know, about how to improve on my wind manipulation. Nature chakra is strong and valuable, but I don't want to depend on it the entire time."

Kakashi put his book inside his holster, before holding his chin with his hand in a thinking position.

"Certainly, you could use a couple of techniques with your style of fighting. However, you're out of luck as I don't happen to know much about fuuton jutsus. You could maybe check inside the temporary library for any scrolls." Kakashi said, as he saw Naruto with a thinking pose as well. The blonde was considering against going to the library, though. Reading just wasn't his style not only because he rarely did it, but also because he felt it would be a waste of time that he could use training.

Nevertheless, this time no matter how much he bothered Kakashi, it wouldn't solve the issue considering that his sensei knew next to nothing about fuuton jutsus. Naruto was considering his alternatives. As of now, anyone he went to for advice in the ninjutsu department would know next to nothing about fuuton manipulation. Yamato's affinities were earth and water, while Kakashi was a lightning user who copied over 1000 jutsus, either fire, earth, water or lightning. He considered summoning Gamakichi and asking him if one of the toads happened to know about fuuton techniques, but Naruto figured it was high time he step inside a library for a change.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei for the tip. I guess it's time I enter inside that hateful place where people do nothing but sit in a chair and read all day. It's boring, but I'll sure as hell go there if it means getting some training. See ya." Naruto said as he turned his back to his sensei and ran towards the temporary library which was located at a stairway just below the Hokage Mountain. Actually, this place happened to keep a copy of the entire main library's archive. Problem was that with the entire village now reduced to rubble, the temporary library had now become the main library as it contained records from the village's creation. Certainly, Naruto would be able to find an extensive repertoire of wind jutsus to choose from.

He may even be able to learn some level of wind manipulation he was ignorant about.

While he ran towards the library, Kakashi was looking at his disappearing figure when suddenly another Jounin approached Kakashi, wearing a bandana and carrying a toothpick between his teeth. Shiranui Genma was considered a Tokubetsu Jounin, but he wore the same outfit that a full jounin. The man heard the entire conversation between student and teacher and he smiled upon reaching Kakashi.

"You know you could just tell him to come to me, right." Genma did possess a wind affinity. Kakashi though smiled, before returning to his all time favorite book.

"Naruto surpassed me a long time ago Genma, even though in rank he's just a genin. He has nature chakra at his disposal and a couple of techniques that only he can perform. Plus, it's high time he learndd how to look out for valuable information instead of always asking someone for pointers. However, if you feel like aiding him through his training, then by all means be my guest. Either way, I'm sure he'll be able to master anything he sets his mind to." Genma was already predisposed to agree with the silver haired jounin, but even though Naruto did manage to beat Pein, it was common knowledge that he could use certain improvements in the thinking department.

"Certainly, you're over-estimating your student Kakashi-sempai. Even though he managed to beat Akatsuki this is be just as difficult. Mastering wind manipulation alone is one thing, but learning wind jutsus is a feat I don't believe he's capable of." Kakashi just shrugged it off. The special jonin's doubts were of little concern of his. He started walking away.

"Well, he certainly has a large amount of time at his disposal that's for sure."

Snorting at such a vague response, Genma switched the side he was chewing his toothpick and placed both hands inside his pockets as he looked at Kakashi.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Genma asked, but now it fell on death ears, as Kakashi was now out of hearing range.

Either way, Kakashi spiked the bandana man's interest in the blonde's method of training. He just didn't have the time to worry about this though as the village needed all the help it could get to be rebuilt. Relinquishing his interest in Naruto, Genma vanished with a shunshin to where his team would soon begin a mission towards Spring Country.

Behind a nearby tree, Kakashi looked at the man's previous position, before smiling as he knew Genma was known for his never-ending curiosity and if the village wasn't in total ruins, maybe he would follow Naruto wherever he went in order to see just what the silver haired jonin meant by Naruto having a large amount of time at his disposal. Kakashi was sure that whichever jutsu Naruto learned from the library, he would manage to learn very quickly well on his own using a few dozen kage bunshins. Certainly, he would know once the blonde started practicing it. He knew he would soon start sensing a major drift in wind followed by some small typhoons as someone with Naruto's chakra could very well create a fierce hurricane and not even feel the chakra strain.

===At the village's border===

Deciding to rest a bit before entering the hidden village in the leaves were three ninjas from the Hidden village in the clouds. Samui, Omoi and Karui were called by the Raikage for a mission to Konoha regarding one single purpose. Their mission involved convincing the Hokage to dispose of Uchiha Sasuke as a missing-nin as well as get every piece of information regarding the last Uchiha for future hunting. Samui was the team leader as her presence alone exuded confidence. Blond hair and brown eyes, her short leather outfit was enough to make a man go crazy just by looking.

Omoi and Karui happened to be part of the same team since graduation and they shared the same master, the Hachibi Jinchuuriki Killer Bee.

Both of them shared the same level of skills with a katana, but the similarities ended there.

Omoi was a ladies' man and his outfit didn't strike out of the ordinary with bare black pants and a light coat, covered by Kumo's jonin vest. The man had a special hobby of getting a rise out of his teammates by stating the possibility of Konoha's female population getting too infatuated with his looks, which would force him to decide between so many beautiful ladies. Out of the two, Karui was the one that was more affected by her partner's taunts, but that could easily mean something happened in the past between the two. Karui's physical attributes tended to lack in comparison to Samui and just like Omoi, her outfit was rather normal with a bandana holding her black hair. After seeing her, one could describe her as a bit of a tomboy, but her feminine way of thinking was still present as the girl caught on Omoi's taunt of her finding a man to be with while in Konoha, which made her blush at the thought.

As the two taunted each other, the team leader Samui could only sigh as she was wasting her time with these two. Raikage-sama instructed them to meet him at the Kage Summit that would occur in Iron Country so she didn't have much time as she still had to converse with the Hokage and gather as much information as possible on Sasuke Uchiha. As the team walked a bit more, it was becoming plainly visible that something happened in Konoha. Something devastating had occurred if the destruction before them was any indication. As they walked around the debris, the team as a whole was wondering what the hell happened that managed to bring the entire village to the ground.

Seeing a Konoha shinobi, Samui asked what happened only to hear that Akatsuki tried to attack the village in search for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. The name Pein reached the beautiful woman's ears and she flinched upon hearing that he was the leader of the organization. However, what struck her as rather amazing was the fact that one individual by the name of Naruto managed to defeat this powerful opponent single-handedly.

"By the way…" –Said the Chunnin, as he looked at the ninjas' headbands."Why is Kumo here of all places?"

"We were sent by the Yondaime Raikage to relay a message to Hokage-sama personally. Could you perhaps show us where we can find the Hokage, its rather urgent."

===At Fire Country's Capitol===

A few miles away from the destroyed village, was located Fire Country's capitol city where businesses from the entire country converged. Right after the news behind Konoha's destruction reached the Fire Daimyou, the man issued an emergency meeting as he called the most important and influential minds that Konoha had at its disposal at the moment. Those were old Hiruzen Sarutobi's teammates Homura and Koharu, the ex-leader of the Anbu Black Ops and hidden leader of the Root Anbu Danzou, and Nara Shikaku as the village's major tactician and the head of the Anbu Forces.

The meeting was being held inside the Daimyou's private property as the content being discussed could not leave the room. Inside, a large table was seen as Konoha's representatives were on the right side, while the Daimyou's highest officials remained on the left side with the Fire Lord seating on his thrown, positioned in the middle.

Right now, they were discussing the funds that would be used in order to finance the village's reconstruction. Akatsuki happened to be common knowledge by now and the officials understood their power. All was going well as the matters were being dealt without much difficulty. Nara Shikaku, though, remained silent as he looked at the old war hawk Danzou with severe scrutiny. The man wasn't alien to Danzou's political skills in turning the table to his favor and as such, he was here in order to prevent Danzou from controlling the situation in the Hokage's behalf.

Shikaku knew Homura and Koharu wouldn't mind favoring Danzou in whatever issue he brought forward and he knew that Danzou was aware of said hidden advantage. It was because of this, that Shikaku widened his eyes when the war hawk brought forth an issue of nominating a Rokudaime Hokage. The Fire Lord showed reluctance to discuss said issue considering that he believed Tsunade to wake up from her coma momentarily, but both Homura and Koharu explained Tsunade's case and some medical report that showed minimal probability that the Shodaime's granddaughter would awaken soon, if ever.

He knew that whoever's name popped up first would be nominated the Rokudaime Hokage, hence why he took the liberty to give his assessment of who should be the next Hokage.

"Daimyou-sama" Shikaku said, alerting everyone's attention to what he wanted to say as well as Danzou as he slightly opened his visible eye and looked Shikaku. The old war hawk silently cursed the man for being there and attempting to ruin all his plans. As the head of the Nara clan got the room's entire attention, he spoke once more. "I for one agree with you Daimyou-sama in regards to Tsunade's recovery, however considering the issue brought forward by Danzou, I feel only one person is now adequate for the Hokage position. He fought many wars under the Sandaime and Yondaime Hokage, and was a student under the Yellow Flash of Konoha. Therefore, I propose Hatake Kakashi to be nominated as Rokudaime Hokage"

The Daimyou smiled and opened his masterly crafted fan. He used it to withstand the usual hot temperature of Fire Country, before he looked to his subordinates.

"The son of the White Fang, yes, he's become quite famous throughout the lands as Sharingan no Kakashi."

One of his advisors turned to his group and wondered if perhaps Kakashi would be too young to take the job, while another reasoned that Minato was even younger when he took the job as Yondaime. Meanwhile, Danzou was glaring daggers at the smiling Shikaku. His plan was simple, yet ingenious. He got both Koharu and Homura backing him up in every step of the way, so the only thing he needed to do was to nominate himself as Hokage and let the two vouch for him, now he would be forced to reveal the big guns in this very meeting.

"It was because of the Sandaime Hokage's foolish beliefs that the village is in ruins right now!" Danzou said, stopping the discussion as all eyes fell on him for a while. "It was his and his pupil's failures that resulted in the village's destruction. Akatsuki's leader, the man who destroyed the village, was once Jiraiya's pupil. This is the result of sympathizing with other countries and giving them power. This sort of thinking is weak! It led to Sand's betrayal and Orochimaru's plan to invade the village three years ago. It also led to Akatsuki's formation and to Uchiha Sasuke, the last remaining Uchiha leaving the village for his secret purposes. We need a Hokage that puts an end to this way of thinking and that man is me!"

As Danzou shouted his reasons, the Daimyou's advisors remained in silence as they pondered the information now revealed. It was all true in their mind; however none of these advisors were completely by Danzou's side, considering that there was a requirement for being the Daimyou's trusting advisor and that happened to be full knowledge of history, beginning at the village's constitution when Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara founded the village almost one hundred years ago. Shikaku was by this time ready to verbalize his protest by saying that such fanaticism would destroy the village in the future, but from the looks of the advisors and the Fire Lord himself, Danzou's arguments weren't that much convincing. The Fire Lord started explaining the reasons regarding his already made decision.

"Indeed, the Sannin's acts were partially responsible for the situation this village is now in, however I fail to comprehend how the vile acts of Orochimaru serve as undermining my old friend Sarutobi's rule as Hokage as well as his successor, Namikaze Minato. You do well to remember Danzou that Sarutobi was the pupil of both the Shodaime and the Nidaime Hokage as both of them felt that Hiruzen was to be the Sandaime Hokage. Under him, it's within my knowledge that the village endured itself in times of tribulation. The Two Great Ninja Wars, the Sand-Sound invasion, all of them only served to prove that Konoha needs someone to whom both the Third and Fourth Hokage entrusted their knowledge to and that happens to be the son of the White Fang, Hatake Kakashi"

The Daimyou's positioning couldn't be better in Shikaku's opinion as the Fire Lord happened to be a great friend of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Danzou, though, snarled as he took a seating once more. He could do nothing but listen as he heard the Fire Lord's final decision to nominate Hatake Kakashi for the position of Rokudaime Hokage.

Author Note

Chapter 2 is under revision.