A/N - Okay, I figured I'd update this because people were anxious to see what would become of Tsunami. Well, here it is! lol

Anyways, a few important things happen in this chapter, including a confrontation with Danzo, as you can probably tell from the title of the chapter. lol

Not sure what else to say, sooo...enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5 - Kirigakure & Danzo

"I refuse. I don't care what you do to me, I won't tell you where Naruto is!" Tsunami exclaimed. "You're one of those that's out to hurt him. Did you really think I'd help you hurt him?"

Kabuto smirked as he pulled out a kunai and pressed it against her throat. "You must really want to die then. I suppose I could carve some answers out of you. However…" Looking into the woman's eyes, he found himself grinning. "I have another idea. If I take you with me, Naruto would have no choice but to come to us to rescue you. And to top it off, you'll make an excellent test subject."

Tsunami's eyes widened in horror. "I won't let you hurt him! I'd rather die first!" she exclaimed before she went to bite her tongue off, but Kabuto punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain and cough up some saliva onto the floor.

Before she could react any further, Kabuto knocked her out and flung her over his shoulder. "Now how to get a message to Naruto-kun I wonder? Perhaps Orochimaru-sama will have an idea." he pondered as he exited the house. When he saw Tazuna and Inari returning to the house with some groceries, he smirked at them. "You two, I have a 'request'. You must know where Naruto-kun has gone. I suggest you tell him to come and find Orochimaru-sama and me, Kabuto Yakushi, if he wants to save your dear Tsunami." And with that, Kabuto vanished in a Body Flicker, taking the blue-haired woman with him.

"Mom! No!" Inari exclaimed before turning to look up at his grandfather. "Grandpa, what do we do?!"

Tazuna frowned and shook his head. "As much as I hate to say it...we need to contact Naruto-kun. We need his help if we want to get your mother back, Inari-kun. I know we'll be sending him right into a trap, but there's not much choice."

Inari frowned. "How do we get in contact with Naruto-niisan?"

The carpenter sighed. "We follow him to Kirigakure and talk to him face-to-face. I don't see any other options available to us right now."

Nodding his head in understanding, Inari said, "Well then, let's pack up and get going! I don't want Mom to suffer anymore than she already is!"

Tazuna nodded in agreement before following his grandson inside to pack their things. I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but if I have to weigh your life against my daughter's, well...she comes first.

Konoha - Midday

What remained of the Konoha 12 were currently gathered together in Yakiniku Q, each of them eating something different for lunch. Their main focus, though, was to discuss the goings-on in the village and the situation with Naruto.

"I still can't believe he's the son of the Yondaime. I mean, if you compared him to a picture of the Yondaime, it becomes pretty obvious. How did we not see that?" Kiba questioned before shoveling more food into his mouth.

Sakura scoffed at this. "I don't care who his parents are. Naruto still killed Sasuke-kun! I'm going to hunt him down and kill him for what he's done!"

Ino nodded in agreement. "Naruto deserves to pay for killing Sasuke-kun. I can't believe he was so jealous of Sasuke-kun that he'd go and do something so horrible!"

"You really still believe that Ino?" Shikamaru questioned. "I was leading the team. I instructed Naruto to go on ahead to recover him. But our orders were to retrieve him by any means necessary. If he resisted, and he did, we were given permission to kill him and drag his carcass back here. Our main goal was to prevent him from reaching Orochimaru. Naruto did just that. Even though doing so means that he now has Orochimaru hunting him down for revenge. And to make matters worse, you two, who should be acting in support of Naruto, are out for his life now as well. I'm disappointed in the both of you."

"I don't care if you're disappointed, you lazy jerk. Sasuke-kun's mind was being corrupted by that stupid curse mark! He would never have joined Orochimaru otherwise!" Sakura exclaimed in defense of her beloved Sasuke-kun.

"He left of his own free will. You told Hokage-sama that much, if you remember, Sakura. His curse mark was not affecting his mind in any way. Sasuke always wanted power so he could one day kill his brother. Orochimaru promised him that with the curse mark just being a small taste of what he could offer. Sasuke was a deranged individual who had both an inferiority and a superiority complex. He didn't feel that he was gaining the kind of power he needed here, so of course he left the village to get to Orochimaru." Shikamaru explained. "Why can't you two see that?"

Ino scowled at Shikamaru and exclaimed, "Because Sasuke-kun was perfect! There's no way he'd ever abandon the village if he was able to think straight! Besides, he was going to restore his clan with me as his darling wife. It's what we both wanted!"

Kiba blinked and looked at the others that were eating at the table. "Umm, guys? Where's she getting this from? Is she really that delusional?"

Tenten sighed and nodded her head. "They're both fangirls. I don't even pretend to understand how their minds work. It's a shame too. They had the potential to become great kunoichi."

Shikamaru sighed. "Technically they still can, but we'd need to find some way to snap them from their fangirl state. I'm not sure how we'd go about doing that, however. It's so damn troublesome."

"I think it's a little too late for them." Tenten said. "They're so lost in their fantasy world that I'm not sure anyone could get through to them."

Lee frowned as he looked at both fangirls. "The Springtime of Youth has passed them by. They have become so unyouthful! Talking about killing Naruto because he did his job is wrong."

"Shut up Lee!" Sakura exclaimed angrily. "Sasuke-kun loved me and Naruto tore us apart! Sasuke-kun was my one true love. We were destined for each other! I don't care what you bastards say or how you feel, Naruto was the one that should have died!"

"You would have liked that, wouldn't you? I'm ashamed to even be associated with the likes of you." Shikamaru said. "Troublesome bitch."

Sakura growled and would have leapt over the table to attack Shikamaru, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from doing so. Looking up, she saw Kurenai glaring down at her. "Let go of me you bitch! I need to-"

The crimson-eyed beauty slapped Sakura hard. "What you need is an attitude adjustment! You and Ino are coming with us." Kurenai said as she yanked Sakura out of her seat and began dragging her off, leaving her boyfriend, Asuma, to drag Ino.

Once they were gone, Kiba breathed a sigh of relief. "Not sure what they're going to do with those two, but I'm glad they're gone. Crazy bitches, the both of them."

Otogakure - Temari & Kankuro

"So this is it, huh? Looks like he was definitely here. This entire place is a mess." Kankuro said as they looked at the collapsed entrance into the underground base.

"I just wish there was a clue here to tell us where he's gone. But I'm not seeing anything that could help us." Temari said with a frown.

Kankuro hummed in thought for a moment before he shrugged and looked at his sister. "We could always try Nami no Kuni. It might take us a day or two to get there, but it's better than just wandering around aimlessly."

The beautiful blonde kunoichi frowned for a moment before releasing a sigh. "I just don't understand what would lead him back into Hi no Kuni. It's dangerous to venture back through that country to get to Nami. But he is unpredictable, so he might have gone there. I just hope he didn't run into any trouble along the way."

The black-clad shinobi shrugged his shoulders. "Only one way to find out. Ready to go Sis?"

Temari nodded slowly before turning around and walking south once again towards Hi no Kuni. Kankuro fell into step beside her, both losing themselves to their thoughts.

After some time, as they ventured ever closer to the border, they came across a rather unusual sight. A three man team from Kumogakure stood in their path. Looking them over, Kankuro couldn't help but grin a bit at the large breasts on the blonde woman.

Temari sighed and thwacked her brother in the back of the head to make him stop drooling over the gorgeous blonde. Looking at them, Temari found herself frowning. "What is a team from Kumogakure doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question. A two person team from Suna, wandering a foreign country like this? What brings you two here?" Samui questioned. "But if you must know, we're searching for someone and we tracked him here. I doubt he's still here, but this was our best chance of finding him."

Kankuro and Temari looked into each other's eyes before looking back at Team Samui. "You wouldn't happen to be looking for Naruto Uzumaki, would you?" Temari questioned.

Team Samui's eyes widened fractionally at that before Karui said, "Yes, we're looking for him. Raikage-sama wanted us to find him and offer him a place in our village. What do you want with him?"

"We simply want to offer him our help. He's probably on his own without anyone to help him. Naruto needs help. We can't offer him a place in Suna, but we'll still do all we can for him. We owe him that much for what he's done for our family." Temari explained.

"I see. I would assume you've already searched this country then?" Receiving a nod from the both of them, Samui sighed. "So he's not here. Where were you headed next? Perhaps we could accompany you."

"Our next destination was Nami no Kuni. Naruto was definitely here, but there's no clues to tell us where he's gone. Nami no Kuni, despite being a really obvious location, is still a good place to check, just in case he visited for some reason or another. If we're lucky, someone there will be able to tell us where he's gone." Temari explained.

Omoi frowned at this and looked around nervously for a moment. "If he's gone to Nami, what if somebody found him? He might be captured, or killed, or something worse! Then we'd never find him and-"

Karui smacked Omoi upside the head before releasing a sigh. "Stop it Omoi. If he's resourceful, he should be fine until we can catch up to him. I just hope his enemies haven't caught up to him yet. Then there's Konoha's forces we have to worry about. They'll attempt to capture him, no doubt. Or maybe kill him, which wouldn't be good for anybody."

Temari frowned. "We really need to find him quickly. But he's unpredictable, which means he could end up going pretty much anywhere. We might never catch up to him."

Kankuro frowned at this and shook his head. "We can't think like that Sis. We have to stay positive and believe that we'll find him. Who knows? He might have made some allies during his time on the run. If he has, then that's great. If he's on his own...well, we'd best hurry just in case."

Everyone nodded in agreement before they all turned and began to make their way southward. As they walked, Samui gained a tiny smirk as she looked at Temari. "So, what is your relationship with Naruto?"

The blonde Suna nin blushed a tiny bit. "I owe him a lot. He saved our little brother from continuing down a dark path. Gaara's become such a great person thanks to what Naruto did and said to him. I just want to repay him in any way that I can."

"You mean you'd even go so far as to give yourself to him?" Omoi asked tactlessly. "If so, you might end up pregnant, which would mean you'd have to get married. And then-"

Karui sighed as she whacked Omoi again. "You're really annoying sometimes Omoi. And show some tact, would you? You don't go saying things like that to a woman."

Temari was blushing an atomic red as images flooded her brain. As images of a family with Naruto flooded her brain, she began to giggle. Seeing this, Kankuro began to worry for his sister's sanity. "Um, Sis? You're scaring me."

Blinking out of her daydreams, Temari looked at her brother. "Huh? What's that now?"

Kankuro sighed and shook his head. "Let's just go." he muttered as he increased his pace slightly until he was at the head of the group.

Samui couldn't help but quirk a brow as she glanced at Temari. I wonder...does she have feelings for Naruto?

Two Hours Later - Naruto & Company

Naruto sat on the deck of the ship, looking at the two letters in his hands. The Fuma clan members were elsewhere at the moment, each of them doing their own thing. Glancing around, he spotted Ao and his team looking around for any sign of pirates or anything else that might prove a threat to them.

Looking back down at the letters, he placed Shizune's on his lap before he opened Tsunade's letter.

"Dear Naruto-kun,

By now, you know the extent of my feelings for you. I had hoped Jiraiya would have stayed to gauge your reaction for me, but he left you too early to do so. I dearly wish to know how you feel about me. So, if you would write me back, I'd be most grateful. I also want to know how you're doing and where you've gone, but you don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable with doing so.

We're busy here trying to hunt down Danzo so he can pay for his crimes. I'm sorry to say this, but he's responsible for a few crimes involving you, Naruto-kun. He is responsible for what happened to your clan. On top of that, he's the one that made sure word about your status as a jinchuriki was released to the public. I promise you now that we'll find him and make him pay for what he's done.

I'm going to cut this short. I have a lot to do, unfortunately. I miss you.

~Love you, Tsunade"

Naruto couldn't help but sigh. "Tsunade-chan...I wonder if I'll get to see you again?" he wondered aloud. "I sure hope so."

Shrugging his shoulders, he opened Shizune's letter next and began to read.

"Dear Naruto-kun,

Hi Naruto-kun! How are you? I know Tsunade-sama wrote you before, and I know how she feels about you. I'm sure that must have come as a real shock to you. Well, I have another shocker for you.

Naruto-kun, I miss you a lot. I love you as well, and not as a younger brother figure. I'd kiss you senseless if I could. I want you to be safe, but I can't help but worry about you. I want you to promise that you'll keep me updated on your journey and, if you settle down somewhere, please tell me where you are. I'll come running to you so we can be together. I don't care if I'm Tsunade-sama's assistant. My heart belongs to you and I'm eager to be with you again.

I've imagined what it would be like to be married and have a family. I can just imagine what our kids would be like in appearance and personality. Of course, I've also imagined what our sex life would be like, and I have to admit I'm eager to try some of my ideas with you. I can only imagine how much you're blushing now, but I couldn't resist telling you that. Sorry Naruto-kun.

I'll end my letter here. I hope you're doing well and that you write me back soon.

~Love, Shizune"

True to Shizune's expectations, Naruto was blushing badly. Shizune-chan, what the hell?! You don't go saying things like that in a letter! Or...or ever! That's...holy crap that's hot to think about. No, snap out of it Naruto! You...you can't think about that. Oh Kami, I can't stop imagining what it would be like to have sex with Shizune-chan! Naruto felt as if steam was coming out of his ears, he was that red.

"Naruto-kun?" he heard. Looking to see who had called his name, he saw Sasame walking towards him. "Why are you so red?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head to try and clear it of the impure thoughts running through his brain. When he got his blush under control, he spoke up. "Shizune-chan, Tsunade-sama's assistant, sent me a letter. She admitted that she's in love with me too. She...also said some other things that really got me blushing. I just need a moment to calm down."

"I see." Sasame said quietly. "You really are popular, aren't you Naruto-kun?"

"I didn't think so when I left. But...it sure does seem that way now, doesn't it? Still, those are the only two that have admitted to having feelings from me out of everyone I knew in Konoha. I'm...honestly not sure what to say." Naruto admitted.

"Well, you need to figure out something to say back to them. Even if it's a rejection, they deserve to know how you feel." the orange-haired girl said. "I have to admit though, I'm a bit jealous."

Naruto quirked a brow as he looked at his girlfriend. "Why are you jealous? You and I are together now. You don't need to worry so much."

Sasame pouted at him before sitting next to him. Hugging him tight, and kissed his cheek. "They're probably prettier than me, aren't they? I understand that they love you and want to be with you, but I can't help feeling jealous of them. It's a girl thing Naruto-kun."

The whiskered blonde chuckled a bit as he hugged her close. "I suppose I'm just not meant to understand then, huh?" he joked. "I really care about you Sasame-chan. I'm happy to have you as my girlfriend. Besides, it's not like I'll be seeing those two anytime soon. I am on the run from Konoha, after all."

"I know that. I dunno how to explain it Naruto-kun." Sasame sighed before leaning in and kissing her boyfriend. When he returned her kiss, she was happy as can be. "Mmm, I needed that." she said teasingly.

Blushing, Naruto nodded slowly before leaning in and kissing her again. When they separated this time, he offered her a warm smile. "I care about you a lot Sasame-chan. I don't want to ever lose you."

Before Sasame could reply, they heard Kagero say something to them. "Isn't that sweet?" she teased. "I wanted to let you know that we'll be arriving soon. So go get your things and meet Kotohime and me back here."

Nodding in understanding, the couple stood up and proceeded to go back inside the ship to collect their things. As they left, Kagero looked in the direction of Mizu no Kuni and sighed. I just hope they don't try to keep us in Kirigakure. I doubt Naruto will want to stay.

Konoha - Jiraiya

Jiraiya stood still, staring at the entrance to Danzo's underground base. Frowning, he looked around at the Anbu that were with him, Tsunade, and a select group of Jonin. "Alright people, if we're lucky, Danzo will be down there. We need to strike fast and hit them hard. I refuse to let Danzo get away from us."

Everyone nodded in understanding before Asuma said, "What if he's not down there? What if he's already fled the village?"

The white-haired Sannin frowned. "While that's always a possibility, his dream is to take over as Hokage. I highly doubt he'll have left when he still has a chance to remove Tsunade-hime from power and take over the village for himself. There are enough people that would support him in his goal that it's a very real possibility. So I truly believe he's here."

Once again, everyone nodded in understanding. Afterwards, Jiraiya yanked open the hidden entrance into Danzo's base. Quickly, he disappeared down into the base with his team following him.

As they descended, they came under attack from a group of Root ninja. Jiraiya immediately barked orders to his team. "They're going to try and buy time for Danzo to escape! Hiashi, Tsume, Tsunade-hime, you're with me. We're going to forge on ahead and take the fight right to Danzo. The rest of you, clear out all Root soldiers you see!"

With that being said, the group of four pushed their way on through and journeyed deeper into the base. After searching for a while, the group entered a rather large room and saw, much to their surprise, Danzo and a number of Root soldiers waiting for them. "Waiting for us? I thought for sure a coward such as yourself would run at the first sign of trouble." Tsunade said. "You must be feeling pretty confident to wait here for us."

Danzo frowned and said, "There is no reason to fear the likes of you. I have the advantage here. You entered my domain and you will suffer for it."

As Danzo ripped off his bandages to reveal what laid underneath, the team of four looked on in disgust. "You're an abomination! How dare you desecrate their remains?!" Tsunade exclaimed, clearly furious because of what she was seeing.

"Everything I do, I do it for Konoha. I'm a true patriot and will do anything to keep Konoha on top! If I need to rob a few graves and steal the Sharingan for myself in order to do what's right for Konoha, then I will! Root! Kill these intruders!"

"Hiashi, Tsume, we'll leave the soldiers to you. Tsunade-hime, let's kill that son-of-a-bitch." Jiraiya said before he performed the Summoning Technique to call forth Fukasaku and Shima. "You two know what to do. Sage Mode, now. It's time to put an end to this monster."

While Jiraiya and the toads were activating Sage Mode, Tsunade rushed forward and threw a punch straight at Danzo's face. He quickly dodged to the side and began flipping through a series of hand seals. Before he could unleash his attack though, the Godaime was upon him, slamming her fist into his gut and sending him flying through the wall. She was shocked, however, when Danzo emerged without a scratch on him. Upon closer inspection, she saw that one of his Sharingan had closed. I wonder…

As Tsunade pondered how Danzo's regenerative ability worked, Jiraiya appeared in front of Danzo and slammed a rather large Rasengan into his stomach before the man could react. They watched as Danzo screamed out in pain before flying back into the nearby wall. When he pried himself out of the wall, another of his Sharingan eyes closed and he looked as good as new, once again.

I thought so. He's using those implanted Sharingan in his arm to save himself from death. Can't help but wonder what he's capable of if we give him the chance to fight back. Tsunade thought. Looking at Jiraiya, she whispered to him. "Jiraiya, we need to sever that arm from his body. If we leave that thing attached, he's just going to keep using those Sharingan to heal himself before we can kill him. You have any ideas?"

Jiraiya nodded slowly and whispered back. "Think if we can get you close enough that you can just rip it off using that strength of yours? If not, I'll try and destroy all the Sharingan at once."

Tsunade nodded and was about to charge in to attack, but Tsume and Hiashi stepped up beside them. Hiashi said, "We'll help however we can. If it means getting rid of this pest, we'll gladly do anything."

Danzo chuckled darkly as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. "I'm afraid you won't be doing anything. Tsukuyomi!" he declared as he trapped Hiashi in an unbreakable genjutsu. Moments later, when Hiashi collapsed to the ground screaming in agony, Danzo laughed uproariously. "One down, three to go."

Before they could stop him, Danzo went through a series of hand seals before shouting out, "Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!" Spinning around at a high speed, he sent out a large, horizontal blade of wind that shot towards the team of four.

Cursing under his breath, Jiraiya flipped through a series of hand seals and shouted out, "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" before spitting out fire like a flamethrower. This technique beat Danzo's Vacuum Wave and proceeded to burn the man alive.

Once the technique had ended, Jiraiya cursed as he saw Danzo standing there unscathed again. "That's getting really annoying." he said irritably.

Tsume glanced at Tsunade and Hiashi as the Godaime was healing the poor Hyuga. Returning her attention to Danzo, she scowled. "Kuromaru, you ready to tear this bastard to shreds?" Seeing her ninken nod, Tsume rushed forward before leaping into the air and spinning towards him with Kuromaru following her lead. The two of them spun forward as a couple of damaging twisters. "Fang Passing Fang!"

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!" Danzo called out as he used his mastery over wind to send a series of wind blades flying forward, slicing into Tsume and Kuromaru and causing them to crash to the ground in agony. "Is this really all you are capable of? I expected more from you." Danzo taunted.

Before Danzo could react, several needles suddenly punctured each of the Sharingan on his arm, destroying them. Screaming out in pain, Danzo glared at Jiraiya. "You bastard! How dare you?!"

Jiraiya smirked at his opponent. "That should keep you from healing yourself anymore. You're mine Danzo!" Dashing forward, Jiraiya threw a powerful punch that narrowly missed his opponent when he weaved out of the way. Unfortunately for Danzo, an unseen force slammed into his face and sent him flying. Kami I love Sage Mode. Jiraiya thought with a grin.

Danzo groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. Stumbling a bit, he glared at Jiraiya. "Fine. You want to play rough? Amaterasu!" he shouted out as he unleashed an unquenchable black flame at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya quickly moved to get out of the way, but his left arm was hit and became engulfed in the black fire. Wincing in pain, he quickly pulled out a kunai and cut off his left arm so the fire wouldn't spread. Afterwards, he used a Fire Release technique to engulf his kunai in flames. Bringing it up to the stump that used to be his arm, he pressed the flaming kunai against his wound and gritted his teeth in pain as the fire cauterized his wound.

Seeing what happened, Tsunade scowled. She had just finished healing Tsume when Jiraiya was attacked. Narrowing her eyes at Danzo, she stood up and rushed forward towards him. When it appeared as if he was going to attack again, she leapt into the air and crashed down with a drop kick.

Danzo quickly leapt backwards to avoid her attack. However, he didn't expect for Jiraiya to be there. Without giving Danzo a chance to escape, he severed Danzo's head from his body, watching as his head and body dropped to the floor. Immediately afterwards, Jiraiya fell to his knees and clutched at his wound. "Damn it. This hurts worse than I thought it would."

"Are you going to be alright Jiraiya?" Fukasaku asked worriedly.

Tsunade walked over and said, "I'll take care of him. You two should probably return to Mt. Myoboku now." Kneeling down beside Jiraiya, she began to use her medical techniques to heal him. She couldn't reattach his arm as it was still burning, and would be until it turned to ashes. However, that didn't mean she couldn't heal his stump so it wouldn't bother him anymore.

The two toads nodded before they separated from Jiraiya and vanished in twin puffs of smoke. Left alone with Tsunade and the two unconscious Jonin, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the corpse of Danzo. "He's finally dead. That should remove one threat to Naruto from the picture. He's still got Orochimaru and the Akatsuki to worry about though."

Tsunade frowned and shook her head. "We can't worry about that right now. All we can do is believe that Naruto will be okay. Right now, we should be satisfied with our victory, though the cost you had to pay is just too much. I'm sorry about your arm."

The white-haired Sannin shook his head and smiled at her. "Don't worry about it Hime. You can just give me a prosthetic or something, couldn't you?"

The Godaime looked back at Danzo's corpse and frowned as she lost herself to her thoughts. After a time, she looked back at Jiraiya and smirked. "I think I have a better idea. I'm going to give you something better than a prosthetic. If he could make an arm like that using my grandfather's cells, I should be able to do something similar for you."

Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding. "I see. That does sound like it would be mighty useful." he said before he walked over to Hiashi and slung him over his shoulder. "We should get out of here. I don't want to stay down here any longer than we have to."

Nodding in agreement, Tsunade picked up Tsume and Kuromaru before following after Jiraiya. As they neared the entrance they came in from, the Anbu they had brought with them appeared at her side. Looking them over, the Godaime Hokage gave them a new order. "Search this base and collect all the information you can. I want you to do a thorough scan of this base and bring back everything you can, even if the information doesn't seem all that important. I want to know everything about what he's been up to." And just like that, the Anbu departed to explore the base.

Upon leaving the base, Tsunade looked at Hiashi for a moment before adjusting Tsume and Kuromaru on her shoulders. "We should get these three to the hospital. They need a proper examination and some rest. Then I need to do some research and see if I can figure out a way to give you a replacement arm."

Jiraiya nodded and began moving in the direction of the hospital with Tsunade following him. This should keep Root off his back. But Orochimaru's bound to be pissed off at you Naruto-kun. Having him chasing after you isn't good at all. Please be careful…

Kirigakure - 2 ½ Hours Later

Naruto and company arrived in the village of Kirigakure about ten minutes ago. Now they were standing in the Mizukage's office. Ao had moved to her side while Naruto and the Fuma clan members stood in the center of the room, simply staring into her eyes.

"I see you've come to visit Naruto-kun. It's very nice to meet you. My name is Mei Terumi and I am the Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure." Mei introduced herself.

Naruto frowned in thought for a moment before he bowed his head to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Godaime-sama. However, there's something that's been bugging me." Seeing her quizzical look, he sighed and said, "You seem to know who I am. Why did you send people to retrieve me, of all people? I don't get it."

Mei smiled at him and held up a letter for him to see. "Konoha sent me a message requesting that we look after you should we find you. Their goal is to collect you and return you to the village of Konohagakure. Of course, I have no intention of giving you over to them or even informing them that you're here." she explained with a smirk.

"You are an Uzumaki, correct?" Seeing Naruto nod in the affirmative, Mei smiled at him. "Good. My clan, the Terumi's, were friends with the Uzumaki clan. I simply wanted to meet you and offer you a place in my village as one of my shinobi. I assure you that you would be treated well and I'd be willing to train you personally if you want."

Naruto frowned in thought before something she said registered in his brain. "Wait, I remember Kagero saying something about this before, but...i have a clan? Er, had a clan? Why wasn't I informed about this before?"

Mei frowned as she heard this. "That's strange. Konoha and Uzushio were allies. Shouldn't they have taught you about the Uzumaki in the academy?"

The whiskered blonde shook his head. "They never did. I don't know why, but I can't help but wonder if they just didn't want me to know about my clan. They hated me in Konoha and wanted me to be miserable for as long as possible. So I'm not surprised." he said with a sigh.

"Well, here's an impromptu history lesson then." Mei started. "The Uzumaki's were renowned for their prowess in the art of fuinjutsu. They were also well known for their longevity and enormous chakra reserves. They were feared by the other villages, and were wiped out in a joint assault by three other villages, Kirigakure included. And for that, you have my apology. I would never have allowed such a thing to happen if I was able to at the time."

The blonde shook his head. "It's okay. Well, not really, but there's no point in dwelling on the past. I'd rather we be friends than hate you for some stupid reason like that." he replied. "Anyways...I can't stay. I still have things to do, and I do have Orochimaru and the Akatsuki hunting for me. I'd rather not put your village in any danger if I can help it. After all, you just got through a civil war, didn't you? I remember hearing something about that back before I left Konoha…"

"We could protect you. We have some powerful shinobi here that could keep you safe. That and you'd receive training to become stronger than ever. Strong enough to defend yourself against the likes of those bastards. I'd rather not lose you to those monsters." Mei said.

Naruto sighed again and shrugged his shoulders. "I can stay for a week or two I suppose, but afterwards I need to go. I want to explore the world some more, as well as keep on the move so my enemies don't find me."

Mei sighed before giving the blonde a gentle smile. "I suppose that's the most I can ask then. I promise I'll assign the best shinobi in my village to train you and your friends while you're here." Looking at Ao, she said, "Take Naruto-kun and his friends to our finest inn and tell them that I want them to give these four the best rooms available. I'll personally pay for their stay there."

Ao nodded slowly and motioned for Naruto and his friends to follow him. Following him out of the room, they started following him out of the building and towards the inn.

Left alone in her office, the auburn-haired beauty frowned thoughtfully. You will be safe here Naruto-kun. I won't let anything happen to you and I won't hand you over to Konoha. Now, who to ask to train you?

Konoha - The Next Day

Ino was sitting on the couch across from her parents. Staring at them with a scowl, she asked, "Why are you defending Naruto? It doesn't make sense! You should be on my side here! You should be supportive of me! But no, you prefer to take the side of a traitor!"

Setsuna, Ino's mother, sighed as she looked at her daughter. "Naruto is no traitor. Sasuke, however, was a traitor. Sasuke was going to join one of this village's biggest traitors of his own free will. And Ino, you can't live in this delusion of yours any longer. Sasuke was never in love with you. He had absolutely no intention of rebuilding his clan with you. He was a selfish boy that only cared about one thing: power. He desired power so he could kill his brother. That's all he cared about. And if you need proof, look at all of his fangirls, yourself included. He never once paid any attention to any of you. He was a deranged, horrible, wicked little boy that attempted to kill Naruto at the Valley of the End. On top of that, Kakashi should never have taught him the Chidori. He was too unstable to use that technique properly. That little bastard would have killed anyone that tried to stop him from his goals with that technique."

Ino immediately went to protest these statements, but her father slapped her hard enough to stun her. "Don't deny it Ino-chan! You were never going to help him restore his clan. You haven't even trained seriously enough to register your presence in his mind. All you are is a blind fool who's tricking herself into believing a lie! Well I won't tolerate it anymore! You will throw aside this foolish notion of killing Naruto for performing his duty to the village! If you refuse, I'm talking to Hokage-sama to have you removed from the ninja forces of this village. If you can't snap out of this fangirl behavior of yours, then you don't deserve to be a ninja any longer. Do you understand me Ino-chan?"

Ino looked shocked at what she just heard. "B-but...that's not fair! Sasuke-kun loved me! This...this doesn't make any sense! Why are you siding with Naruto when he was in the wrong?!"

Inoichi sighed and shook his head sadly. "I see. You've chosen to remain in that delusion of yours. Then I have no other choice. I'm going to see Hokage-sama. Setsuna, will you watch over Ino-chan while I'm gone?"

Setsuna nodded. "I'll make sure she doesn't go anywhere sweetheart. You just go and talk to Hokage-sama about this."

As Ino went to protest, her father glared down at her and said, "You brought this on yourself Ino-chan. I don't want to hear anymore from you. If need be, I'll recommend that Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama seal your chakra so you can't access it for any reason. You'd be like the average citizen." he said before he left the house.

Ino could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "But...why?" she asked.

"As your father said, you brought this on yourself Ino. We gave you plenty of chances to stop obsessing over that boy, and you never did. We just now gave you a chance to stop your plot for revenge, and you threw it in our faces. You're beyond help. So, no matter how much you may hate us for this, you're going to have your chakra sealed and you'll never be able to 'avenge your Sasuke-kun'. And if you're expecting me to apologize to you for this, you won't get it." Setsuna said, watching as her daughter broke down and began to cry.

"But...but it's not fair! I don't understand why you're doing this! I loved him! Sasuke-kun and I belonged together! Why are you doing this?!"

Sighing sadly, Setsuna shook her head. "No, Ino, you had a crush on him. You were never in love. The fact that you can't see the difference is disappointing. What your father and I feel for each other is love. Sasuke would never have treated you right. But go ahead and cry if you're so set in your belief that he was your one and only love. I'm not apologizing to you for doing what must be done."

All Ino could do was sit there and sob. I'm sorry Sasuke-kun. It looks like I won't be able to avenge you after all.

Hokage's Office

Inoichi took a deep breath in and then released it. He stood before the Godaime and Jiraiya and he was feeling just a tad nervous. Staring straight into Tsunade's eyes, he said, "Hokage-sama...there's an issue that needs to be addressed concerning a couple of young kunoichi. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, my daughter, have both vowed vengeance upon Naruto Uzumaki. They are both of the belief that Sasuke Uchiha loved them and wanted to start a family with them. They're delusional and, if left alone to their own devices, could one day prove dangerous to Naruto and his friends and allies. It is my recommendation that you seal their chakra and remove them from the ninja corp. As much as I hate to say that, I truly believe that it's for the best."

Tsunade frowned. "Have you tried talking with them?"

"I've talked with my daughter and she's too far gone. As for Sakura Haruno, I haven't yet talked with her, but if she's anything like my daughter, then she is equally delusional and dangerous."

The Godaime sighed and shook her head sadly. "Cat, can you please go fetch Sakura Haruno and bring her here? We need to talk with her about Sasuke and Naruto." When Cat disappeared in a Body Flicker, Tsunade looked back at Inoichi. "I'm truly sorry about your daughter, Inoichi. We'll do what needs to be done, I assure you. There's a chance she will resent you for the rest of her life, however. Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Inoichi nodded. "Yes, I am. I refuse to let her threaten Naruto simply because he did his duty to the village. I don't want her to leave the village in an attempt to hunt him down either. She doesn't understand the kind of dangers that are out there."

Before either Sannin could respond, Cat reappeared in the room with Sakura. "Here she is, Hokage-sama." the Anbu said before disappearing.

Tsunade nodded and looked Sakura in the eyes. "Sakura Haruno, you have been brought before me to discuss your feelings regarding Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. We want to understand your point of view. So tell us honestly how you feel."

Sakura scowled and clenched her fists tight. "Sasuke-kun and I were meant to be together! We were truly in love! He was so kind and wonderful. But Naruto took all of that away! He was always being a nuisance, trying to come between Sasuke-kun and me. And then he went and killed Sasuke-kun for no reason! He's a monster and he needs to die for what he's done!"

The Hokage sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "That's where you're wrong. First of all, you had a crush on Sasuke. He never returned your feelings, nor did he care about you at all. As for Naruto-kun, I gave the retrieval team orders to do whatever it took to keep Sasuke from getting to Orochimaru. That included killing Sasuke if he fought back. And from what was seen at the Valley of the End, I'd say Sasuke put up a fight. I wouldn't be surprised if he attempted to kill Naruto-kun during their fight. Naruto-kun did as he was instructed. The mere fact that you and your friend Ino refuse to understand that is highly disappointing."

Glaring at the Hokage, Sakura said, "My feelings for Sasuke-kun were genuine! And you didn't know him! Sasuke-kun was truly in love with me! He was seduced by that curse mark into leaving. If he didn't have that, he would never have left! And I'm glad he tried to kill Naruto! Naruto's evil incarnate! He deserves to die the most horrible death imaginable!"

Tsunade sighed again. "Jiraiya...seal her chakra." Looking at Sakura, the Hokage frowned at her. "As of this moment, you are no longer a ninja of Konohagakure. Please hand over your headband."

The pink-haired girl went wide-eyed and slack jawed at hearing this. "B-but...you can't! How will I avenge Sasuke-kun's death if you do that?!"

"There is nothing to avenge girl. Now do as she said and hand over your headband." Jiraiya said angrily as he walked over to her. "And hold still. I'm going to apply the seal to seal away your chakra."

Sakura slowly took off her headband and threw it at the Hokage's face. "Fine! Take that stupid thing! And don't touch me you pervert!" she exclaimed as she glared at Jiraiya.

Catching the headband thrown at her, Tsunade glared at the girl before slamming the headband on the desk. "How dare you, you little bitch! Anbu! Hold her down so Jiraiya can perform the sealing!"

The Anbu appeared seconds later and pinned Sakura to the floor. She was attempting to struggle against them, but she just wasn't strong enough to throw them off. The pinkette began to cry as she realized that she would never be able to avenge her precious Sasuke-kun now.

When Jiraiya finished drawing the seal on the back of Sakura's neck, he held up his hand and performed a one-handed seal. "Chakra Restriction Seal: Release!"

As the seal activated and became a small dot on the back of her neck, Sakura began to sob. "No...this isn't right…"

Jiraiya scowled and shook his head in disappointment. "Release her. Inoichi, could you take her home? Then bring Ino here. I'll seal her chakra as well. I'm sorry we have to do this, but it's necessary to protect Naruto from a couple of insane fangirls."

Inoichi nodded slowly before grabbing Sakura and began to half-pull, half-drag her along. Once they were gone, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade and shook his head sadly. "Such a shame. They had the potential to become great kunoichi, but they became obsessed with a rotten little shit of a boy."

Kirigakure

Naruto was currently on a date with Sasame. The two of them had already gone out to lunch together and were now just spending time taking a walk through the village so they could explore and learn everything they could about Kirigakure.

"Sasame-chan, what do you think so far? Do you want to stay here?" Naruto questioned with a frown.

"No. I'd rather stay with you, Naruto-kun. And if you don't want to stay, then I'm going with you." she replied with a smile. "Besides, I'm not really interested in staying in this village. It's nice and the people are friendly, but it's just not for me. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah. I do. But if they're willing to train us for a time, I'll accept their help. Staying here for the time being seems like a good idea to me."

Nodding her head in agreement, Sasame was about to say something in response, but they were stopped by a woman's voice. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki, student of Jiraiya?"

Looking at the woman that had spoken to them, they were shocked to see a girl about their age, maybe a couple of years older. She had long, black hair and green eyes and was just a bit taller than the two of them. She had a headband on that was hidden beneath her bangs, so they couldn't tell what village she was from. Looking her over, they decided that she was a beautiful young woman.

"Yes, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. As for being the student of Jiraiya, he did teach me a few things, but I don't know if you could call me his student." he admitted.

"I see. In that case, you are, indeed, the one I've been seeking. I challenge you to a duel, Naruto Uzumaki. If I win, I shall take your life. If you win...then we shall be wed."

Eyes widening, Naruto and Sasame couldn't quite believe what they had just heard. "How the hell is that fair?!" Sasame shouted. "Either way, no matter what happens, he loses! Besides, you don't even know each other. How can you just marry him when you don't know anything about him?!"

Shizuka frowned at them both. "It is a tradition of my village, and as the leader of Nadeshiko, it is my duty to uphold the laws and traditions of my village. Now, will you accept Naruto Uzumaki, or do I have to kill you here and now?"

"Before I agree to this, would you mind telling me what you're doing here in Kirigakure? How did you even know I was here?"

The Nadeshiko kunoichi said, "It was merely a coincidence that we ended up visiting this village at the same time. I was trying to procure an alliance between villages when I heard about your presence here. I honestly had no idea that you would come here."

Nodding in understanding, Naruto soon released a sigh. "I'll accept the terms you've presented to me. However, I think it's stupid that you're forcing this issue. If I win, you and I would have to be wed. You deserve to fall in love with someone and be with them. As the leader of your village, you can change the rules if you so wished it. People deserve to meet someone special and fall in love. I think you deserve that chance as well, Shizuka."

Shizuka sighed and shook her head. "That may be so, but my village's traditions must be upheld. Now, let's go to one of the training grounds so we can have our duel. And I assure you that it will be a quick one. You don't look like you'll be a tough opponent." she said in disgust.

Naruto sighed and looked into Sasame's eyes. "Sorry our date got interrupted like this Sasame-chan. Let's just go and get this over with." he said before following after Shizuka.

Sasame sighed as well. "I don't like this one bit."

Orochimaru

Orochimaru was currently seated in a throne-like chair in his Kaze no Kuni. He was still getting acclimated to his new body and he was feeling just a tad exhausted. Damn it all! Sasuke-kun was to be my new body, not this weakling! I swear to Kami, Naruto Uzumaki, that I will kill you!

It was at this point that a snake appeared in front of him. Furrowing his brow, he looked a bit closer and saw that it had a letter in its mouth. Taking the item from the snake, he dismissed it before he began reading the contents of the letter.

By the time he was finished, he was scowling. "So he captured the bridge builder's daughter, did he? I suppose that would work to lure Naruto-kun to us, but the problem becomes: how do we get into contact with him?"

Rubbing his chin as he sat in contemplation, he soon shrugged his shoulders before he looked at the snake that had delivered the message. "It's obvious that Naruto-kun has been to Nami no Kuni. If he was there, then chances are that his next destination would be Mizu no Kuni. Start your search there. I'd also recommend searching Kirigakure, as they may have taken him in for the time being." Orochimaru said.

"Naruto-kun has spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his face. He should be easy enough to spot, if you can find him. If and when you find him, I want you to deliver a message to him. Tell him that we have Tsunami in our clutches. If he wants to save her, he should follow you to my base in eastern Hi no Kuni. Tell him that if he doesn't come to us, we will kill the woman and leave her child without any parents. He will have no choice but to follow you."

"As you wish Orochimaru-sama." the snake said before it vanished in a puff of smoke.

Kabuto should be more than enough to handle you, Naruto-kun. But just in case, I'll instruct him to prepare some of our special test subjects to combat you. One can never be too careful, after all. The Snake Sannin thought with a grin.

Konoha

Shikamaru sighed tiredly as he laid on the grass, staring up at the clouds passing by. The members of Teams 8 - 10 were sitting there with him. Sakura and Ino weren't with them, however. He had learned earlier that morning that their chakra had been sealed and they were no longer members of the ninja corp. So troublesome…

Choji, who was being allowed to spend time with his friends, so long as he didn't push himself too hard, munched on a few more chips before he looked down at Shikamaru, who was laying on the ground right next to him. "So...what are we going to do Shika? We don't have a fourth member on the team anymore."

The lazy Nara teenager sighed and shook his head. "I don't know Choji. I've heard that there's a girl named Yakumo Kurama that once had the potential to become a kunoichi of the village, but I'm not sure if she's still interested in giving that a shot. I think she's supposed to be a genjutsu specialist or something like that. I think we should talk to Hokage-sama about her."

Nodding his head in understanding, Choji finished chewing the chips he had just deposited in his mouth before swallowing them. Looking his friend in the eyes, he smiled. "I wonder if she'll be willing to join our team? She'd probably be better than Ino was. I just hope she's nice."

Tenten frowned before saying, "I'm sorry about your teammate. She and Sakura were crazy though. I wonder if they'll ever get over what happened with Sasuke. But, and I hate to say this, we're better off without those two. They were embarrassments to the reputation of kunoichi everywhere. I, personally, couldn't stand them. They were obnoxious, rude, and annoying."

Neji, who was also being allowed to spend some time with his friends, sighed and shook his head. "I have to agree. I was embarrassed to be associated with either of them. You and Hinata-sama are the only competent kunoichi of our age group. If those two fangirls weren't so lost in their delusions, they might have made good friends and allies. But...it just wasn't meant to be."

Lee sighed sadly and looked down at the ground. "I had hoped Sakura-chan could be redeemed. I wanted to be with her...but after her unyouthful behavior...my crush on her disappeared. I knew she would never want me and my youthful self."

"Talking about Sakura and Ino, are you?" Tsume asked as she walked up to the group. "They got what they deserved. They wanted to exact revenge upon Naruto for the dumbest reason ever." Shrugging her shoulders, Tsume continued by saying, "Anyways, Kiba! You and Akamaru are to come with me immediately. It's time to train you hard for the next Chunin Exam taking place in Kumogakure."

"Alright Mom. Guys, I've gotta go. See ya!" Kiba said before leaving with his mother.

Shikamaru looked at Choji as he sat up. "Let's go get Asuma-sensei and talk to Hokage-sama about Yakumo. If we're lucky, she'll become our new teammate." he said before standing up and helping his friend up as well. Soon enough they were gone.

Neji slowly got to his feet and said, "I'm going to return to the hospital. I need some more rest." he said before waving goodbye to his teammates and friends.

Left alone with Lee, Hinata, and the ever silent Shino Aburame, Tenten released a sigh. "Hopefully things cool down in the village soon. I'm tired of dealing with all the assholes that want Naruto's blood." she said before standing up. "Anyways, any of you up for some training?"

Kirigakure

Naruto stood, staring intently at his opponent. She was looking at him with a frown on her face. "I hope you're prepared Naruto, as I won't be holding back."

"I'm fine with that. I just hope you're prepared to lose, because I refuse to let you kill me." he replied. "Now, let's do this."

A/N - Okey dokey, that's the end of the chapter. It's a bit shorter than my usual chapter, but I was having a hard time thinking up scenes for this chapter, unfortunately.

As you can see, a lot of different things happened in this chapter. I'm also sure some of you will be upset with me for what I did to Sakura and Ino, but it just kinda turned out that way as I was writing the chapter.

Anyways, can't think of much else to say. I'll be working on a chapter for Three Spheres of Chaos next, so hope you're looking forward to that. Also, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter!