Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other series I might use for inspiration.

The Meeting

"Hello Naruto-kun, I see you have finally woken up. My name is Yakushi Kabuto, despite how young I may look, I am a nurse employed here at the hospital."The white haired twelve year old greeted with a kind smile. He was wearing a two piece purple outfit with a sash around the waist along with blue shinobi sandals and a brown weapons pouch on his left side. His hair was tied in a pony tail and his eyes appear to be dark in colour.

"I know. I've seen you around before."Naruto said with a hoarse voice, the seven year old Uzumaki having already established that he was at the hospital, yet again, and that his near fatal injuries had already healed thanks to his fast regeneration. Things were however different this time around, which is why there was heavy military guard around his room this time around., after all, for the first time since he was born, Naruto had not only killed someone today, but had killed a whooping twelve members of the civilian populace. Eight of them were not direct kills however as they were killed by the traps that the blonde Uzumaki had set up around his apartment in anticipation of his birthday, which just so happened to also be the anniversary of the kyubi attack.

Four of the kills were however direct kills as Naruto had been forced to defend himself while attempting to flee from his pursuers, and Naruto had slit their throats with his kunai before he was hit by crossbow shots he hadn't seen coming, some of the civilians turning out to be skilled hunters so it would seem. Following that ordeal he had went on to receive the biggest beating he had yet to receive. To make matters worse he had killed a number of them, so the civilians were never going to be content with just a beating this time around, they were going to kill him and to hell with the Hokage and his decree. As far as they were concerned, Naruto had just proven what they already knew all along, that this kid was evil incarnate.

Eventually, the ANBU had found it prudent to intercede before the boy died, because even the kyubi brat could not survive any more of those spear and knife stabs, not to mention getting stoned to death as well. The Hokage had been called to the scene, but by then the civilian populace had already scattered and gone back to their homes, at least, that was the story that was being prepared for Naruto.

"Oh well that's good, and please don't worry. I know how the other nurses treat you, but I'm not like the others. I don't think you're a demon, and as far as you killing some of the civilians, I'm sure you already know, but according to Konoha law, killing in self defence is not a crime."Kabuto said with a kind smile and an even bigger mental smirk, the cogs in his brain working on overdrive as he tried to gauge the response of the young Uzumaki.

Of course, he had no intention of recruiting the young Uzumaki, as far as he was aware the kid wasn't very talented, and on top of that recruiting a jinchuuriki would just bring the wrath of Konoha upon himself, Otogakure, and his master, and they, as much as he hated to admit it, were still far from ready to take on the might of Konoha. However, he figured it wouldn't hurt to gage the mettle of the young jinchuuriki and even if he couldn't recruit him officially, there was no harm getting him to resent Konoha, perhaps the young jinchuuriki would destroy Konoha for them, or weaken it significantly enough for them to swoop in and deliver the killing blow when the time came that Oto was big enough and powerful enough to take on another hidden village.

Nevertheless, Kabuto knew that the blonde jinchuuriki right now was completely under the Sandaime's thumb, at least that was the case up until now. Right now that was a very debatable theory, after all, Naruto had just massacred some of the civilian populace, and Kabuto knew that he had to strike now before the Sandaime Hokage could get to the young Uzumaki and start mending the fractured bridge.

"It's not?"Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, an almost relieved facial expression appearing on his facial features.

"Of course not, it is your constitutional right enacted by Shodaime-sama himself. You know, you should take time to visit the civilian library Naruto-kun. Ninjutsu is all well and good, but not all battles are fought on the battlefield. Some battles are fought in the court of law or sometimes in the council room. People will exploit and manipulate you easily when you lack knowledge. Ignorance is the biggest weakness a person can have, especial one who not only aspires to become a shinobi, but to become the Hokage. Consider this experience to be a very important lesson Naruto-kun"Kabuto said with an eye smile.

"Y-you know about my dream?"Naruto asked with wide eyes.

"Everybody knows Naruto-kun. You've shouted it out loud on the streets so many times I doubt there is a single soul in Konoha who doesn't know."Kabuto said with a small chuckle.

'Ehehehehe! I guess I can't say anything when you put it like that."Naruto replied, the blonde Uzumaki rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yes you can't. In future however I wouldn't recommend it."Kabuto said with a grave undertone.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked with a confused expression, unable to comprehend why Kabuto was making such a big deal out of something that was so insignificant.

"I think you should know by now, it's not only the civilians who hate you, but also most of the shinobi populace. Imagine if one of your teachers at the academy is one of the shinobi who despise you. Don't you think they would possibly attempt to sabotage your development at the academy, especially if they thought that you were trying to attain a position that would make you their boss one day? Have you ever thought that, maybe it isn't your fault that you are the dead last at the academy? I mean, think even bigger than that, what if some of the civilians are paying academy instructors to sabotage you, I mean, if they hate you enough to try to kill you, what else are they capable of doing in their vendetta against you?" Kabuto said with a horrified and yet thoughtful expression, Naruto's own expression matching Kabuto's right at the moment, memories and flashbacks smacking into him all of a sudden. All the times he'd noticed that his script was different from the person sitting next to him, and all the times he'd realised that his taijutsu stance and katas didn't seem to match the rest of the class.

The instructors had said it was because he was special that they had taught him the supposedly advanced katas and had told him that everyone's tests were different. Were they really sabotaging him? Were the civilians really paying them to do it? Would they go that...yes, they definitely would go that far. Kabuto was right, if they could try to kill him, then there was nothing they wouldn't do to put him down.

"What am I supposed to do, how am I supposed to graduate if I'm not being taught the proper way to do things!" Naruto asked desperately.

"Well...' Kabuto trailed off with a sinister smirk as he needlessly fixed his glasses.

"What? What is it Kabuto-san?" Naruto asked anxiously, his innocent blue eyes widening as childlike curiosity and impatience took over the blonde's mind.

"I would offer to teach you but I'm nothing but a genin and I don't think someone like you would be interested in medical ninjutsu anyway. Besides, it would be illegal for me to teach you without the Hokage's consent as you are still a civilian and you and I are not clan members. The only way I could help you would be if we kept it a secret, but then again, I'm not sure how good you are at keeping secrets and I don't know if you would want to keep secrets from your jiji..."

"I'll do it! I promise Kabuto-san! I won't tell anyone!" The blonde Uzumaki pleaded.

"Hmmm...I don't know Naruto-kun. I mean, you do know that we'll both be in trouble if anyone were to find out right? And that's not all, I'll be in even more trouble than you not only because I don't have a close relationship with the Hokage like you do, but also because there is a higher burden of responsibility on me as I am a shinobi and you are, right now, just an academy student." Kabuto said in a way that made it seem as if he was unsure about what to do.

"Oh...I guess you really can't help me then. It's okay though, you've already helped me a lot already, and I don't want you to be in trouble because of me..." Naruto trailed off with a sad expression, the blonde Uzumaki squeezing tightly on his sheets as tears began to sting his eyes, though doing well to stop them from falling out.

"No actually, I may have a plan that will almost guarantee that we don't get caught..." Kabuto trailed off with a sinister smirk, unable to believe how simple and yet so ingenius a plan he had come up with. He'd discovered just how much chakra the boy had when he was performing a diagnostic jutsu on him earlier, and needless to say, the discovery had blown his mind away. That was why he knew that his plan would work perfectly. All he had to do was to teach the kid the kage bunshin technique, and with his chakra reserves, the jutsu would not take too long to master. This way, he would have the kid's shadow clone attend classes in his steed while he had the kid all to himself for the majority of the day. If he was busy on that particular day then he would send his own shadow clone to meet up with the kid.

"What is it Kabuto-san! Tell me!" Naruto almost yelled excitedly, which he would have done had he not promised Kabuto that he would hush things up about their prospective student-teacher relationship.

"Tell me Naruto-kun, how would you like it if I taught you a new jutsu..."

Five years later

"It's not like you to pay me an unexpected visit Naruto-kun. Were you perhaps hoping to catch me in the middle of concocting a sinister plot against you?" Kabuto taunted with a trademark smirk and the habitual two finger push of his glasses, the medical ninja prodigy not bothering to turn around and face the blonde Uzumaki as he simply continued to do whatever he was doing to the corpse in front of him, probably conducting one of his corpse/dna experiments, which was Kabuto's specialty and favourite part of research, something that he had admittedly passed on to Naruto himself as he seemed to like playing with corpses almost just as much as Kabuto did.

"You know you're incredibly hard to sneak up on for someone that isn't even a sensor type. Nevertheless, it is your master whom I do not trust, not you, and no, I wasn't hoping to catch you doing anything I wouldn't already expect you to be doing, I just came here to get some information about my new jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi. I was hoping you could let me take a look at what you have on your info cards about him." Naruto said as he walked right up to his sensei, standing right next to him as he curiously looked over at what Kabuto was doing to the corpse.

He was no longer wearing his orange jumpsuit, a change he had made only when he woke up this morning in order to attend the genin inauguration ceremony. He was now wearing black ninja pants with white bandages around the ankles and equally black ninja sandals along with a brown weapons pouch on his left thigh. Upstairs he was wearing a forehead protector around his head with a black cloth to wrap it around and a dark orange sweater with black stripes and an Uzumaki swirl at the back (Hokage Naruto outfit without the Hokage cloak). On his back he was carrying the fuujin no ken, which was actually a gunbai that he used as his primary weapon.

Every new graduate, along with the teachers and the Hokage himself had been shocked when they saw Naruto's new appearance, but even more shocking, for those who noticed, was the fact that he looked taller than he'd been the previous day and that there seemed to be a significantly less amount of baby fat on his facial features as was there the previous day. The first instinct for, well, everyone, was to put their hands in a ram hand seal and exclaim the word 'kai' as their chakra surged in an attempt to dispel the illusion, however when nothing happened, everyone was left completely stupefied.

Naruto for his part did well to pretend that he didn't notice everyone acting weirded out in front of him, the blonde Uzumaki content to just sit on his own and wait silently for the teams to be announced and their sensei to take them away. Even he however had not expected to spend four hours waiting for his sensei to arrive, not to mention having to spend so much time in the same room as Sasuke and Sakura, though it wasn't half as annoying as he expected it to be. Sasuke for the most part, apart from the few curious and suspicious gazes that were directed his way, kept to himself and refused to engage in any sort of conversation, not that Naruto attempted mind you. Sakura seemed to be split between staring dreamily at Sasuke and casting murderous glares at Naruto, though the blonde Uzumaki remained unfazed by such behaviour. Eventually she had cracked and yelled at him to stop trying to act like Sasuke, but Naruto had replied with a simple 'okay' and carried on minding his own business, a reaction that had stunned her enough to keep her quiet for the rest of the time they spent there.

In any case, they were supposed to have some kind of test tomorrow morning and Naruto was keen to pass the test so that he can become a shinobi, not because he wanted to serve Konoha or wanted to become Hokage mind you, but because he wanted to travel the world and see places, which he'd already been doing but under disguise and while having to not only leave a clone behind but also having to use the ANBU code to the security barrier that Kabuto had given to him so that he wouldn't alert the barrier squad of his departure. Now however he could go on missions and interact with the rest of the world freely, relatively speaking of course.

"So your jonin sensei is Hatake Kakashi huh, just as you predicted." Kabuto said as he stopped what he was doing, directing an inquisitive stare at the blonde Uzumaki.

"It was very easy to predict in all honesty. He was my father's student and he had an Uchiha teammate and friend, not to mention that Sasuke is the last Uchiha, thereby in need of a sharingan wielder to show him the ropes. We were always going to be in the same team whether I finished dead last or not." Naruto retorted.

Kabuto was of course the reason that Naruto knew about his parents. The medical ninja had noticed some discrepancies in the story that the third had told Naruto about his past, some very glaring ones too, and the more he thought about it the more he realised that there had to be more to Naruto's background than meets the eye. That's when he had decided to break into the sealed records section of the hospital and do some thorough research. He'd found out through his research that Naruto's mother was Uzumaki Kushina, who ironically enough, had also been a kyubi jinchuuriki, and then he'd found out that she was not only secretly married to the Yondaime, but that she'd also had an aunt who lived in the village and who had, once again ironically enough, been a kyubi jinchuuriki too and had been married to the Shodaime Hokage.

Kabuto had struggled for days to come to terms with what he had learned, so much so that he had decided to do background research about the Uzumaki family, only to find out that not only were they a prestigious clan rivalling the Uchiha and the Senju, but that they had actually had their own ninja village and were masters of seals and barriers. It became clear from that moment, as far as Kabuto was concerned that Naruto would become a lot more than a distraction and side project that he was working, oh no no no, he was going to be a lot more than that. Naruto would be the key to mastering both the edo tensei technique and completing and perfecting the cursed seal that he and Orochimaru-sama were working on, though Kabuto was still getting around to asking the blonde Uzumaki for his help regarding that.

In any case, Kabuto had revealed the information to the blonde Uzumaki, but had made sure he revealed it in a way that would not endear the young Uzumaki to neither the people of Konoha or his precious jiji. It had worked perfectly of course, as Naruto neither trusted nor even liked the Sandaime Hokage anymore, and he didn't seem to harbour any love for the people of Konoha at all, well, apart from the Ichirakus. Speaking of which, Kabuto had thought deeply about brutally severing that tie, perhaps to stage a situation where the villagers would end up killing the Ichirakus in order to hurt the blonde Uzumaki. However, Naruto's affinity for corpses and his growth in personality, growth meaning his likeliness to Kabuto over the time that he had mentored the blonde had made him abandon that plan, turned out it wouldn't be necessary after all.

Nevertheless, Kabuto had found out that the abode that Uzumaki Kushina and the Yondaime shared together was still intact and actually had a barrier warding it against trespassers. That's when Kabuto had convinced Naruto that he was the only one that could go in and that he should as he would learn more of the truth about his parents and maybe even inherit jutsu scrolls left behind by his parents, which is indeed what had been waiting for the blonde Uzumaki. Kabuto had of course taught Naruto the shadow clone on the day they met at the hospital so that Naruto could send his clone to school and then spend the rest of the day learning from Kabuto. However, they had discovered that Naruto was able to retain all the knowledge that his clone collected in class, and that's when Kabuto had decided to literally switch things up. Instead of sending his clone to school, they would send the real Naruto to school, and one clone would go to the Uzumaki family home and learn the fuinjutsu, barrier, and kenjutsu knowledge of the Uzumaki clan.

However, Naruto had rejected the idea, saying that he, the original, would spend his days doing the strength and endurance training of the Uzumaki clan and the speed, reflex, agility, and reaction time training program that his father had developed for close range fighting. He also said that he would separate his clones between sealing jutsu, barrier jutsu, kenjutsu and taijutsu kata, medical ninjutsu, and elemental ninjutsu, that he also needn't assign one for each task when he could make so many. A single reinforced clone would go to school every day for the rest of his academy years, and Naruto had grown by leaps and bounds in that time, mentally, physically, and ninjutsu wise.

"It seems like you already know a lot about Hatake Kakashi Naruto-kun, I'm not really sure what you need me for." Kabuto retorted.

"Just give me the damn info card sensei." Naruto said with a sigh of exasperation.

"Hn, I guess patience will never be your strongest suit." Kabuto retorted as he pulled out the info card, or rather, cards.

"Four cards just for one guy, seems like you've done a thorough job on this guy, as expected of you, Kabuto-sensei." Naruto said as he studied the information on his new sensei.

"Of course I did, information is practically useless if it is not collected in its entirety." Kabuto snorted arrogantly.

"Speaking of which, there is something of grave importance that I wish to bring to your attention when you're done." Kabuto said with a grave undertone.

'He already figured out on his own that I work for Orochimaru-sama anyway, and he still hasn't gone anywhere. Maybe he won't mind helping out here and there with some of our projects.' Kabuto thought anxiously.

The Following Day...

"Mwaaaah! Naruto no baka! Where the hell have you been! We've been waiting here for three hours already!" Sakura exclaimed furiously, wanting nothing more than to smack the living daylights out of the blonde Uzumaki but unfortunately not having the energy or the enthusiasm for it given how drowsy and hungry she was right now.

"Yeah I didn't see any reason to arrive early given how late our sensei was yesterday. I did a bit of an investigation yesterday and found out that the guy is always late, not sometimes, not most of the time, but always." Naruto emphasized the point, the blonde Uzumaki standing over his two worn out looking teammates as they sat against the tree in the cover of shade.

"T-that can't possibly be true! He's a jonin, how can someone so unprofessional have retained his position, much less get promoted in the first place!" Sakura asked with an affronted facial expression, Sasuke himself also looking at the blonde incredulously, though choosing not to voice his thoughts on the matter out loud.

"Well, it can only mean one thing..." Naruto trailed off with a grave undertone.

"What?" Sakura asked anxiously.

"He was must be so skilled, so strong, and/or so important that the Hokage is willing to overlook his deficiencies entirely in order to continue to enjoy his services to the village." Naruto said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, both Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widening in surprise as Naruto's words sank in.

"In any case, I figured you guys would be starving by now, so I brought you some food." Naruto said as he tossed two scrolls at the duo, one for each one of them.

"Naruto! Weren't you listening when Kakashi sensei ordered us not to eat anything today!" Sakura exclaimed indignantly, though the effect completely nullified by the howls of her empty stomach.

"He never ordered that we shouldn't eat, he only recommended it. Besides, if you're going to be doing any extreme or strenuous activity, then all the more reason to eat a balanced meal before activity. Kakashi-sensei was obviously playing a trick on us for suggesting that we shouldn't eat, especially considering how late he is." Naruto said matter of factly, both Sakura's and Naruto's eyes widening once again in surprise, not only at the realisation of the truth in Naruto's words but also at how smart Naruto was turning out to be.

"When did you learn to use your brain, dobe?" Sasuke said as he unsealed the avocado, cheese, and tomato sandwiches from the scroll, Sakura following in her crushes lead, albeit hesitantly, convincing herself that it had to be the right move if Sasuke was doing it.

"Not long ago." Naruto replied honestly, the jaws of his teammates smacking the ground as they stared disbelievingly at the blonde jinchuuriki, neither of them able to believe that Naruto not only didn't retaliate viciously at the object of his one sided rivalry, but that he didn't even seem to take offense at all, almost as if admitting that he had previously been incapable of using his brain.

"I'd suggest you eat up before our sensei decides to make his presence known." Naruto warned, Sasuke quickly grabbing a sandwich and stuffing it inside his mouth, or at least would have had Kakashi not decided to make his presence known just as Naruto had warned, the copy nin poofing into existence right between the genin trio.

"Sasuke! I thought I warned you about what would happen if you ate today!" Kakashi said with a relatively heavy dose of killing intent directed at the last Uchiha.

"I don't care. I've decided that your advice is garbage. Besides, you also said to arrive at five am and look what time you arrived." Sasuke retorted.

"Hmmm...as I recall, I never said that I would arrive at the same time as you did, therefore, Naruto, you automatically fail the exam for failing to follow your commander's orders!" Kakashi said as he turned and faced the blonde with even more killing intent directed at the young jinchuuriki.

"Negative. I've been here the whole time. Just because you didn't know I was here doesn't mean that I wasn't. On the contrary, you fail as a commander for failing to notice such an important detail." Naruto countered swiftly, causing Kakashi's lone visible eye to widen in surprise, Sasuke and Sakura also spotting pop eyed expressions.

"Do you have proof that you were here?" Kakashi countered.

"Do you have proof that I wasn't?" Naruto countered in return, causing Kakashi's lone visible eye to narrow dangerously at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Sakura, did you see or sense Naruto's presence before he appeared before you?" Kakashi asked authoratively.

"N-No sensei." Sakura replied nervously.

"Sasuke, did you see Naruto or sense his presence in any other way before he revealed himself to you?" Kakashi asked authoratively.

"No." Sasuke ground out irritably, the rookie of the year wondering if Naruto really was here the whole time or if he was just playing the Cyclops in order not to get disqualified, and also wondering what that meant about not only Naruto's skills but also his own lack of them if Naruto really was there the whole time and he had just not been able to detect his presence.

"So neither Sasuke, Sakura, or I were able to detect any signs of your presence, that's more than enough reason to believe that you were in fact not here." Kakashi argued.

"Sasuke, Sakura, were any of you able to detect Kakashi-sensei's presence before he revealed himself?" Naruto asked with a serious tone, totally catching the copy nin and his teammates off guard, none of them having expected that line of questioning.

"Answer the question!" Naruto ordered with a harsh tone, snapping the duo from their stupor.

"No/N-no!" The duo replied simultaneously, Sasuke spotting a confused frown as he wondered what the hell the dobe was up to.

"Nor did I." Naruto lied through his teeth, after all, he was a very accomplished sensor type shinobi, there was no way he hadn't detected the copy nin's presence, however, they didn't know that now did they.

"What's your point?" Kakashi countered.

"My point is it is that it is irrelevant whether you were able to detect my presence or not because going by your logic, you were not here to begin with if all three of us were not aware of your presence. And if you continue to insist that you were here despite the three of us not detecting your presence, then I will also insist that I was here despite the three of you failing to detect my presence." Naruto argued intelligently, once again surprising everyone with his logic.

"Then I will prove that I was here by reciting everything that Sakura did since she arrived." Kakashi countered.

'What will you do now, Naruto?' Kakashi pondered.

"And I will prove I was here by reciting everything that Sasuke did since he arrived." Naruto retorted with a triumphant smirk, Kakashi's lone eye narrowing again at the implications of what Naruto was saying, because if he really was here the whole time and Kakashi failed to detect him, then that would mean that either he had slipped badly in these times of peace, or there was a lot more to the his sensei's son than meets the eye.

It took fifteen minutes for Kakashi to recite enough of Sakura's activities since she arrived to convince everyone that he was indeed present the whole time, and it took around about the same time for Naruto to do the same for Sasuke, proving that he was in fact there the whole time, and of course, neither he nor Kakashi would admit that it was only a shadow clone of theirs that had been there whereas they, the originals, had been busy with their own thing.

"And there you have it. See, I was here the whole time."Naruto said with a triumphant smirk, acutely aware that this revelation would raise suspicion regarding his true skill level, but willing to take any hit to his cover for the sake of graduating, as he was fed up of being cooped up in the village.

To say Sakura and Sasuke were livid would amount to a massive understatement, both the two top students in the graduation class equally disturbed and angered by recent revelations, though for completely different reasons. Sakura was pissed off because in her mind, Naruto was nothing but a perverted stalker who had spent hours spying on her quality time with her beloved Sasuke-kun. Sasuke was angered mostly at himself for not only his ignorance and naivety that had led him to being tricked by Kakashi and outdone by Naruto, who had seen through Kakashi's ruse, but also because of the fact that it seemed like both Kakashi and Naruto could have killed him if they wanted to without him even knowing he was dead until he met his family in the afterlife. If the two of them, especially Naruto was capable of something like that, then just how far away was he from Itachi's level, would he ever even reach that level?

Ten minutes later

"Both of your comrades have done the smart thing and taken cover, not only to buy time to come up with a strategy to take me down, but also so that they can catch me by surprise by surprise attacking me. That is not only the smart thing to do, but it is also the shinobi thing to do. What you are doing however..."Kakashi trailed off, leaving Naruto and his two teammates, who were no doubt listening from their hiding spots, to put together the rest of the sentence.

"I wonder if reading a pornographic novel as you are about to be attacked with the intention to kill is also the shinobi thing to do."Naruto countered.

"Ma ma don't worry about me, I'll be fine."Kakashi said with an eye smile, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, that is, before his voice and expression all of a sudden turned cold and serious.

"Besides, a true shinobi should not be concerned with the wellbeing of his enemies, but only with the completion of his mission."

"Hehehehe! You will rue those words very soon, Kakashi-sensei..."Naruto trailed off as he adopted a one handed ram hand seal.

"Sexy No Jutsu: Nohara Rin!" Naruto said as he transformed into an adult version of Kakashi's deceased teammate, adult not only in age and size but also in terms of rating, as she was wearing only a blue g-string and a matching bra.

She also had far more enticing curves than Kakashi remembered and quite an incredible bust too. Her hair was longer too, reaching all the way to just below her buttocks, but she still had those brown expressive eyes and the tattoos on each of her cheeks. To complete the jutsu, Naruto would have had to say some provocative and seductive things while posing and twisting in an equally seductive manner, however, he had no idea what Rin's voice sounded like when she was alive and therefore had no idea what it would sound like as an adult. As a result, the jutsu couldn't be completed and Naruto therefore had to settle for a provocative pose, blowing a kiss at the copy nin, and using a 'come here' motion with his right index finger.

Sakura and Sasuke were not only shocked but also confused and dumbfounded by what the blonde Uzumaki was doing, so much so that Sakura was convinced that Naruto didn't belong anywhere besides a mental institution or a prison cell for the notoriously delinquent behaviour he has exhibited throughout his academy years and until now. Sasuke on the other hand was convinced that Naruto's earlier feats were just a fluke because there was no way someone could be so dumb and smart at the same time.

As for Kakashi, well...that was another story altogether. He was of course initially caught off guard by the blonde Uzumaki's strategy, if one could call it that. However, thoughts of confusion had crossed his mind, such as how Naruto even knew about Rin in the first place. And then finally...rage! Uncontrollable rage welled up in the copy nin's heart of hearts, because this...his atrocity in front of him was an insult of the highest order to him, Naruto might as well have crushed his balls and used them to make an omlet. No one was going to get away with taking a dump on her memory, of all the people, her!

"Naruto..."Kakashi trailed off dangerously, shadows hovering around his lone visible eye as the snapping sound of the copy nin closing his favourite pornographic novel reverberated around the the clearing, a terrible killing intent washing over the whole forest, enough to completely freeze Sasuke and Sakura, thoughts of suicide crossing the mind of one Uchiha Sasuke, perhaps an actual attempt might have even materialised had the killing intent been directed at him.

"Heh, I told you you would regret your words shortly Kakashi-kun."Naruto said with a tone of voice that he imagined would belong to a girl like Rin based on the information Kabuto had gathered, though of course unable to resist the addition of a seductive purr to the voice.

"You have crossed the line, and I'm afraid you are too far gone for a light punishment. Allow me to teach you a little about respect for the deceased heroes of Konoha, and to teach you about the true meaning of pai...!"Kakashi trailed off two hands popped out from under the ground, each grabbing hold of one of his ankles.

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!" Naruto's real voice sounded as Kakashi was pulled under the ground, the copy nin too surprised and too unsuspecting to mount any form of resistance or manoeuvre to either stop himself from getting pulled under or substitute himself with something else to escape the trap.

It would have been bad if that was all that happened, however, that was the least of it as 'Rin' summoned a kunai and threw it with incredible power and speed towards the copy nin's head.

"Earth Style: Earth Eruption Technique!" Kakashi exclaimed quickly as the earth beneath him shifted and rose up from under the ground, the copy ninja pulling out his own kunai and preparing to deflect the oncoming kunai, everything happening at unreadable speeds, at least, as far as Sakura and Sasuke were concerned.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Kunai Technique!" Rin muttered with a cross hand sign as the lone kunai turned into hundreds of kunai flying at the copy ninja. As if that wasn't bad enough, 'Rin' had hidden another kunai in the shadow of the one she threw, which meant that every kunai that appeared when she used the shadow clone kunai technique also had another kunai hiding in its shadow. This made things extremely difficult for the copy ninja as he tried to dodge and parry all the kunai that came his way, getting scratches and nicks here and there and even having some kunai land flush on his forearms and legs, doing everything possible to protect his torso and head to avoid damage to his vital organs.

'Kuso! I didn't even get a chance use the sharingan or perform the hand seals for an earth wall. This kid is at another level altogether. Clearly the academy records were fabricated, the only question is, is Sandaime-sama responsible for this or did he simply hide his skill from everyone on his own accord.'Kakashi pondered wearily.

"Impressive Kakashi-kun, you really have grown over the years since we last met. I don't think you would have..." 'Rin' trailed off as the sound of an extremely loud and potent explosion snuffed out her voice, the explosion, surprisingly enough, coming from Kakashi himself as it appeared as though either he suicide bombed himself, or had an explosive placed on him without his knowledge, the latter being true off course.

Once again, to say Sasuke and Sakura were shocked would amount to a massive understatement, but this time, even more surprised, and in terrible pain, was their new sensei Hatake Kakashi, who was now lying face down in a crater that had formed when his body exploded, having no clue as to how or when an explosive was placed on him, or even what kind of explosive it was. The only thing that he knew was that he was lucky to be alive, albeit, unable to move any of his limbs as he lay there on the ground, not liking at all the feeling of total helplessness and vulnerability that he was exposed to right now.

"Obito-kun! Couldn't you at least have waited for me to finish talking before you blew our sensei up!"Rin exclaimed as she directed her gaze to the ground next to her, a twelve year old dressed in a blue outfit with goggles on his head popping out from under the ground soon after Rin finished speaking.

"Ehehehehe! I'm sorry Rin-chan, but I didn't want to give him time to discover that I switched the bells with transformed exploding shadow clones when I dragged him underground."Obito said sheepishly, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura just now noticing that the twelve year old boy had two bells hanging around his own waist.

"Hnmph! I guess you do kind of have a point." Rin replied with a cute pout, Kakashi glaring murderously at the disgusting and underhanded tactics that the blonde Uzumaki was using, wanting nothing more than anything in the world right now than to torture and eliminate the abominations of his teammates that Naruto was parading in front of him.

"Hehehe! Yeah. Still, can't believe Kakashi was stupid enough not to use the sharingan he stole from me all those years ago. If he had, he might have seen the chakra in the bells and realised that they weren't the bells that he placed on his waist." Obito said mockingly, Kakashi's lone visible eye narrowing murderously at the blonde Uzu...er, black haired Uchiha standing a few metres away from him.

"What do you take me for Obito-kun, an amateur? I'm the one who made sure Kakashi's hands were too occupied for him to remove his forehead protector from his eyes, and even if he'd managed it, I made sure he was too occupied to get a chance to look down at his belt line during the battle. Mooo you always try to take credit for everything..."

"Dobe! Give me one of the bells."Sasuke demanded as he walked out from his hiding position, having confirmed that Kakashi was no longer a threat anymore. He would later interrogate the dobe, maybe even Kakashi himself now that the dobe had incapacitated him about the sharingan that Kakashi supposedly stole, maybe even forcefully take it back, but for now, he needed to pass the damn test, and for that, he needed to get the stupid bell from the stu...actually deceptively smart dobe.

"Sure."Obito said as he tossed one of the bells to the last Uchiha, Sasuke jumping far away from the bell as if it was poison or something, staring murderously at the blonde Uzumaki, Naruto having cancelled the Rin transformation, taken the second bell from 'Obito', and then dispelled Obito in that time frame.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted one of the bells."Naruto asked innocently.

"What the hell do you take me for? A dobe? How do I know that isn't one of your exploding shadow clones transformed?"Sasuke asked irritably, now starting to truly comprehend how dangerous Naruto actually was, and also starting to wonder where the hell the dobe had actually learned such a powerful and dangerous technique, not only able to manifest real clones of himself and even his weapons, but also able to make them explode even.

'Kuso! If I had awakened my sharingan this wouldn't be an issue. Not only would I be able to copy his jutsu, but I would also be able to see through his stupid clone transformations.'Sasuke thought irritably.

"Why would I try to blow you up? The mission was to get one of the bells from Kakashi-sensei, and to attack him with the intent to kill. Nothing was said about attacking you or Sakura. Besides, if I was a murderous psychopath then Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be alive right now. I would have put more chakra in the clones and made an explosion strong enough to wipe him out of existence."Naruto said as if merely talking about the weather forecast, as if defeating and eliminating an elite jonin was something any ordinary genin should have been capable of, his attempt to pacify the last Uchiha only serving to aggravate him even more than he was currently, Sasuke clenching his fists in anger and frustration, unable to understand how the dobe could possibly possess so much power and skill, having worked tirelessly for years himself and being from the Uchiha clan and yet not feeling confident that he would have defeated Kakashi so easily, if at all.

'If only two people can pass the exam, it makes sense that the dobe would give the other bell to me. Sakura is useless and although the dobe has a ridiculous fanboy syndrome for her, even he knows that I am by far the better choice for a teammate than her. Maybe he isn't trying to trick me, maybe he is making the logical choice that will benefit him in the short and long run.'Sasuke concluded, though still having doubts due to Naruto's notorious animosity and jealousy towards him at the academy and of course the notorious pranking exploits he was capable of.

'No! That dobe was obviously a cover identity, this is the real dobe. He's been hiding his true power and true self the whole time!'Sasuke thought irritably, the seeds of hatred once again starting to fester in his heart as he realised what a fool the dobe had been making of him this whole time, this whole time that he had been under the false belief that the dobe was the fool and that he had been the one making even more of a fool of the dobe every time they clashed at the academy.

"You seem hesitant. Let me make it easy on you, here, take this one as well, give it to Sakura or do whatever it is that you want to do with it. I'm not interested in serving under a captain that would turn his own subordinates against each other for his own amusement, nor one that would discard one of them because they couldn't get a stupid bell. As far as I'm concerned, Kakashi can go eat a dick for all I care."Naruto said as he threw the bell at the last Uchiha and turned on his heel and walked away, Sasuke so shocked by not only Naruto's decision but also by his reasons for making that decision, though also filled with self loathing for the feeling of admiration and inspiration that the dobe provoked from within him, though he was very quick and precise in ruthlessly snuffing out any positive feelings that might be directed towards the dobe.

"Wait dobe! Where the hell are you going?"Sasuke asked, well, not really asked, it was after all beneath him as an Uchiha to ask anything of anyone, oh no, Uchiha don't ask for anything as far as he is concerned, they only make demands.

"Back to the academy, maybe I'll be lucky enough to get a decent jonin sensei next time around."Naruto said as he stopped momentarily to address his former fake rival, or once upon a time real rival, before carrying on with his journey back to that hell hole of a place, which would be an even bigger hell as he would probably have to attend it himself now instead of sending a reinforced shadow clone like he'd done for the past five years.

Sasuke was conflicted, and Sakura was furious at Naruto. She couldn't believe how cool Naruto was trying to act, and she couldn't forgive him for trying to outshine her precious Sasuke-kun. To her, Naruto should have just backed off and allowed Sasuke to take care of Kakashi-sensei, and he had no right to steal Sasuke's style and act so cool. Of course, in her fragile little mind, and partially in Sasuke's as well, they couldn't fathom a few simple facts. One was that Kakashi hadn't gone all out, after all, which self respecting jonin would go all out on a fresh out of the academy student. Two was that even if he had done all he could have, he would have still not been fighting at full strength if he wasn't using his sharingan. Three was that he was defeated because he was caught off guard by the blonde Uzumaki's skill and intelligence, mainly because he had false intel regarding the blonde Uzumaki.

Sasuke understood the second and third reasons, after all, he'd heard Naruto's Obito clone say that Kakashi was hiding a sharingan behind the part of his forehead protector that was covering his left eye, and he himself had come to realise that any intel that he previously had on the blonde Uzumaki was either outdated or was never true to begin with. However, a combination of his Uchiha pride and the fact that he didn't believe Itachi would have lost to Naruto under the same circumstances, or any other circumstances for that matter, led him to the same conclusion anyway, that their jonin sensei was weak and incompetent. It also didn't help Kakashi's case that he had shown an unreal level of laziness and tardiness since they met him. Sakura's psyche on the other hand was rather simple to analyze, she simply believed that if Naruto could defeat Kakashi, then not only was he weak, but that also meant that Sasuke would have defeated him in an even swifter and cooler fashion than Naruto did.

"Dobe!"Sasuke exclaimed again.

"What now?"Naruto asked in exasperation, turning around to look at the last Uchiha with a little irritation pulpable in his facial features.

"Wait for me..."

20 minutes later...

A lot had happened in the short time since Sasuke made the surprising decision to follow the blonde Uzumaki back to the village. Naruto could honestly say he had been surprised by the decision Sasuke made, after all, going back to the academy was going to stall his plans for revenge by a whole year, so for him to make that decision was surprising. Naruto of course had decided to accept Sasuke's offer to go back to the academy with him, and hadn't been surprised at all when Sakura came out of her hiding spot and followed them back, or rather, followed Sasuke back to the academy. Naruto wanted to laugh when he saw the expression on Sasuke's face, easily able to tell that Sasuke had been hoping Sakura wouldn't be bold enough to make such a rebellious decision given how much of a sucker for rules she was, perhaps hoping that she would take the bells and become Kakashi's student, thereby ridding himself of a terrible burden.

Team 7's journey hadn't lasted very long however and they never made it to the academy, a cat masked, blue haired female ANBU intercepting them and delivering orders from the Hokage that Naruto report to the Hokage immediately and that Sakura and Sasuke not return to the academy and instead go back home and await further instruction. Sasuke of course had demanded to know why Naruto had to report to the Hokage but had been swiftly shut down and told to simply follow orders or face the consequences. Naruto had sensed two more presences arrive at the location where they all neglectfully left an incapacitated Kakashi and than carry him away towards the Konoha hospital. He'd had to wait for fifteen minutes for the Hokage to let him into his office, probably a stalling tactic designed to increase his anxiety levels he supposed, but anyway he was inside the office now, the Hokage taking his merry time to light up his pipe and smoke in front of the blonde Uzumaki, something he'd never done before, Naruto content to just sit there and watch the Hokage expressionlessly, as if the Hokage was nothing of consequence to him, just another random villager.

All the while Hiruzen had been watching the blonde Uzumaki with a calculating eye, in fact, he'd been watching the blonde Uzumaki since he started battling Kakashi, and he had also watched the young jinchuuriki when he made him wait for fifteen minutes outside of his office. Hiruzen had planned to make him wait much longer, however, seeing as he hadn't seemed fazed at all by the wait, he'd realised that his stalling tactic was a waste of time and decided to let him in anyway, thinking that perhaps a face to face stalling tactic would work, which it clearly wasn't, Hiruzen, despite his vast experience and keen eye, unable to read anything negative or positive from the blonde Uzumaki, though the fact he couldn't read anything was a negtative reading on its own as far as he was concerned.

"So Naruto-kun, as you well know, I always watch over the village with the keen eye of my crystal ball, as is my duty as the Hokage. However, imagine my surprise when I happened upon a scene of you and your jonin sensei fighting..."Hiruzen trailed off, waiting patiently to see how the blonde Uzumaki would respond now that he had set the premise upon which the impromptu meeting was founded upon, a barely visible hint of frustration settling in when Hiruzen realised that the blonde Uzumaki was not going to dignify his not so subtle invitation to speak.

"Did you hear what I said, Naruto-kun?"Hiruzen asked with his usual grandfatherly tone, though the intensity of his eyes and the atmosphere told Naruto exactly what he knew, that this man was the furthest thing from a grandfather to him, that this was a dangerous military dictator that is capable of anything, good or bad.

"I did, Hokage-sama."Naruto replied simply, Hiruzen's eyes narrowing slightly at the blonde Uzumaki, not only because of his brief and dismissive response, but also because the blonde Uzumaki had addressed him formerly and respectfully instead of his usually affectionate manner in which Naruto usually addressed him.

"Is there something you want to say to me Naruto-kun? You know you can tell me anything, right?" Hiruzen asked, once again using a grandfatherly tone.

"Right."Naruto retorted simply, showing neither sarcasm nor seriousness, nor doubt or belief in that statement, simply stating it as it is, nothing more, nothing less, causing Hiruzen to sigh in exasperation, showing a weary and vulnerable side of himself to the blonde Uzumaki.

"Why won't you talk to me Naruto-kun, I thought that our bond was a lot stronger than this, I thought you knew that you could always come to me if you needed anything."Hiruzen said with a hurt expression, deciding that perhaps a different tactic was required to play on the blonde Uzumaki's emotions.

"I don't even know what you want me to talk about, and by the way you sound like a neglected house wife right now, unbecoming of a person in your position don't you think?"Naruto asked rhetorically, Sarutobi's expression changing once again as he finally confirmed that this was the polar opposite of the Naruto that he knew, clearly this person in front of him, whoever he was, was not the same Naruto that he knew, if the Naruto he knew ever existed to begin with.

"Naruto, I don't want to have to do this to you, but I will do what I have to protect the village..."Hiruzen trailed off with a threatening undertone.

"To protect the village? From who? Me...? I wasn't aware that I was an enemy to the village, when did this happen, Hokage-sama?"Naruto asked with a lot of spite in his tone, Sarutobi cursing under his breath when he realised the mistake he was making, or thought he was making, as it seemed like he was the one that was turning the blonde Uzumaki into an enemy by his words and actions today, which of course was not true, because he had done that a long time ago already, he just didn't know it yet.

"Naruto-kun, you graduated dead last at the academy, yet you managed to defeat not only an elite jonin with ease today, but someone who is considered to be a legendary figure in the shinobi world, and rated amongst the best ANBU operatives the village has ever had. As if it wasn't shocking enough that you beat Kakashi in the first place, you also used jutsu that you have never shown before, jutsu that you couldn't possibly know, such as the shadow clone kunai and explosive shadow clone technique. And finally, there is the matter of fact that just yesterday you were the shortest graduate from your class, and now you are around the same height as one Uchiha Sasuke, possibly taller. Can you blame me for being concerned by these drastic changes Naruto-kun?"Hiruzen asked innocently.

"Yes."Naruto replied matter of factly, once again completely catching Sarutobi Hiruzen off guard with his response.

"Excuse me...?"Hiruzen asked disbelievingly.

"You're not my father or grandfather for that matter, and you're not my clan head or anything of the sort. There is no reason why these developments should be of concern to you, or is there something you're not telling me?"Naruto asked the question that Sarutobi dreaded, because he knew, whether Naruto intended for it to be or not, that it was in fact a trick question, because he knew that he couldn't justify what he was doing without admitting that he was singling Naruto out, and was doing so because Naruto is Konoha's military weapon. However, if he admitted that fact to Naruto, he had a feeling that there would be no going back, he will have lost control of the blonde Uzumaki completely.

Losing control of Naruto was not only bad for Konoha, but it was also bad for him and whether Naruto knew it or not, it would ultimately prove to be bad for the blonde Uzumaki too as Hiruzen would have to get Danzo involved and use his methods to control Naruto, something he didn't want to do but would ultimately do it if he had to. There was of course another way he could go about it, but that would involve getting Jiraiya and maybe even Tsunade involved in the matter. Jiraiya would co-operate, but Tsunade was a wild card and could potentially cause more harm than good with her current anti-Konoha/anti- Hidden Village mentally.

"Are you still angry about what happened two nights ago?"Hiruzen eventually asked after staring at the blonde haired Uzumaki for what seemed like an eternity.

"Listen, I don't have time for this nonsense. So let me put it to you straight. Shadow clone technique is not the only jutsu I learned from the scroll, I don't even understand how that should not have been obvious. I learned the shadow clone variations as well. As for beating Kakashi, I also fail to see how it can be that surpising considering I defeated an experienced chuunin two nights ago with overwhelming ease when he was trying to kill me. It's not like I haven't shown the potential to do what I did today with careful planning. Speaking of careful planning, I'm the guy that stole the forbidden scroll in the first place and have outwitted and eluded your ANBU personel on many occasions as a mere academy student. As for my sudden growth spurt, that should also be obvious, if you couldn't figure out by now that my sexy jutsu is actually a shape shifting technique as opposed to the normal transformation technique, then you should probably consider naming a successor."Naruto said with an intense and yet somehow calm and composed tone and aura, Sarutobi's eyes once again darkening as he stared at the blonde Uzumaki with scrutiny.

He couldn't believe it. If the implications of what Naruto was telling him were true, then did that mean that the childish, loving, innocent, and naive Uzumaki Naruto that he thought he knew had been a mask all of this time? Had he been played and manipulated the whole time by the blonde Uzumaki, him, the professor, the god of shinobi? How was that even possible, and if it was, then had he really slipped that much over the years, or was the blonde Uzumaki just that good? Was this the kyubi's doing? Had Naruto somehow made contact with it, was it in control of him? Was it manipulating him?

There were just too many questions, and Hiruzen was sure that, given how the conversation was going right now, that there was no way that he would get the answers from the blonde Uzumaki by simply asking him, and even if he could, he wouldn't be able to trust any of those answers unless he could somehow verify them. Mitarashi Anko and Morino Ibiki were not an option, at least not yet. If he used them, he would then have to move Naruto from them straight into the root program because otherwise there would be no more trust or any love left between him and the young jinchuuriki after such an ordeal. He would have no choice but to submit Naruto into root for conditioning.

There was another option of course, they could have tried to use Yamanaka Inoichi to do the interrogation. However, there was probably an even greater risk with that tactic. Hiruzen could still vividly remember the effects of the mind transfer technique on a jinchuuriki from the time that a member of the Yamanaka clan had attempted the jutsu on Uzumaki Kushina during the chuunin exams all those years ago, needless to say, the results were less than desirable, far from it. It could be attempted if Naruto's seal could be temporarily locked tight, but he'd have to get Jiraiya for that and even then, there were no guarantees as even his student had only the most basic of understanding regarding the seal's mechanics. Sometimes Hiruzen wondered if Minato hadn't used such a complicated seal intentionally, specifically to prevent everyone else from tempering with the seal.

'Nevertheless, I still have to contact Jiraiya and get him to make contact with Naruto-kun. My relationship with Naruto-kun seems to be irretrievable. I doubt I can ever fully trust Naruto-kun again, however, all that is needed is to keep him in line at least long enough for him to sire an heir, and then we can start all over again.'Hiruzen thought with a deep pain in his heart at the realisation that he might one day have to order the death of someone he once considered to be a surrogate grandson of sorts, to get rid of Minato-kun's legacy, although he would take solace in the fact that he wouldn't allow Minato's bloodline to die off as he would wait for Naruto to produce an heir, although the wait was mostly due to the need of the bloodline of his successor/predecessor's wife more than Minato's own, otherwise they would have nobody who could reliably contain the kyubi.

"Tell me Naruto-kun, how long have you been deceiving me?"Hiruzen asked as he leaked a lot of killing intent at the blonde Uzumaki, who didn't seem all that fazed at all to be honest, as if nothing had changed at all.

"Nowhere near as long as you have been deceiving me apparently, unless you actually expect me to believe that half assed story you told me about why you never told me about the kyubi."Naruto retorted in an attempt to shrink the width of Hiruzen's suspicions about him, as he wanted Hiruzen to keep on believing that the cause for the friction between the two of them was all about the events of two days ago.

"What other possible reason could I have had?"Hiruzen diverted skilfully, trying to get Naruto to tell him what his own thoughts were on the matter so that he could counter them, as he didn't want to be caught red handed in a lie by giving a response only to find out that it was a trap or a trick question.

"You tell me."Naruto retorted.

"You know I could have you arrested and interrogated if I so pleased? Surely Naruto-kun you don't expect me to believe that you also learned the Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitating Technique from the forbidden scroll of seals do you? Because I can assure you that that technique is not in that scroll."Hiruzen said with mirth in his tone and expression, not the kind of friendly and carefree mirth one would expect between grandfather to grandson, but the kind of malicious and threatening kind you would expect between two enemies.

"If you think I am afraid of measly jail time or interrogation for that matter then you are even more of a fool than I thought. I have no friends and no family, no one that is going to cry or miss me when I am gone. Do your worst, Hokage-dono."Naruto said as he put his hands together and extended his arms out.

"..."

"You can arrest me any time now."Naruto said casually, as if arrest and interrogation were nothing of consequence to him.

To say Hiruzen was dumbfounded would amount to the greatest understatement in the history of the shinobi world. He knew that the Naruto he thought he knew was unpredictable, brash and bold, but this Naruto took it to a whole other level entirely, an incomprehensible level. Everything that Naruto did and every response that the blonde Uzumaki gave was the complete opposite of what Hiruzen expected, clearly the standard methods of manipulation and intimidation were not going to work on the young jinchuuriki, and Hiruzen was finally beginning to understand that now.

'However, he is overconfident and seems to think of himself as invincible, and that will be his downfall.'Hiruzen thought with an ever more painful heart as he realised that Naruto was beginning, no, was already on the path that his former prized student Orochimaru had followed, except this time he wasn't going to make the same mistake that he made with Orochimaru, even if he had to kill him, though he held hope that it wouldn't have to come to that, at least he had caught on to the problem early enough to do something about it this time, or so he thought.

"What else did you...nevermind. You are dismissed Naruto-kun, and you are not to go back to the academy. You are to go home and await further instruction, the same instructions have been relayed to your team."Hiruzen ordered, deciding that any further questioning, unless via a thorough interrogation, was practically meaningless. It was clear that Naruto would either outright lie or avoid the question completely, he also wouldn't put it past the blonde Uzumaki to just blatantly refuse to answer the question. Playing intimidation and manipulation games and playing the grandfather figure role was no longer a viable strategy any longer, now was the time for the shinobi in him to come to the fore, it was now time for him to employ the shinobi tactics that uncovered Danzo's root program, the Uchiha coupe, and Orochimaru's treachery.

0000000000

"That was really stupid, ningen!" The deep, dark voice of the kyubi reverberated in the blonde Uzumaki's head as he read his favourite manga on the sofa.

"You think?"Naruto replied without a care in the world.

"Your arrogance will be your downfall. You really think that wrinkled old monkey will let this go without a fight? You are not a person to him, you're nothing but a potential weapon for the village, the village's main asset should war break out. He will do whatever it takes to keep hold of you, and if he realises that he can't, he will kill you." Kyubi said as if he was talking down to a child, which technically is exactly what he was doing.

"I know all of that. In fact, it is exactly what I am counting on. If I had kept my mask on, I would have risked falling to the same fate as the Uchiha clan. They were eliminated because they did not know that their enemy had already caught on to their schemes and were already making plans to get rid of them. From what I hear from Kabuto, Orochimaru almost fell to the same fate and only got lucky because the Hokage lost his balls when the moment of action came. History shows that this whole putting on a mask thing doesn't work on the Hokage, probably because he has the best mask of them all with that fake grandfather thing of his he does, and therefore knows how to identify and expose one..."Naruto trailed off so that the information could sink in to his partner by circumstance.

"By revealing myself the way I did, I have put myself in a position where I not only know my enemy and his awareness of my existence, but can also control his actions until I am ready to make my move. Also, now that he knows that I won't fall for his little games, he will no longer be inclined to call me in for questioning, he will rather try to hide in the shadows like the shinobi that he is and employ the tactics that I have already been planning for over the last five years. It also helps that I will no longer have to restrict myself on missions as much as I would have had to had I still kept on the mask. Of course I won't reveal everything I can do, but I also won't have to put myself in as much risk as I would have had to had I kept the mask of complete weakness and stupidity.'Naruto explained to his partner, not that he trusted the kyubi mind you, just that he knew that the guy literally had no one to snitch to.

"That sounds like a well thought out plan, though I can't help but think that it's all just a big ball of turd that you're using to excuse the fact that you're just plain tired of being the stupid and weak little shit that you've had to be all this time, not that there's that much of a difference between the real you and that stupid mask mind you."The kyubi said as malicious laughter reverberated around Naruto's mindscape, though it honestly could have been just amusement as far as Naruto could tell, because the furball sounded like evil incarnate no matter what mood he was supposedly in.

"Hehehe! You're full of shit you know that."

"Hn! Don't project yourself onto me you puny hairless monkey."

Knock knock knock

"Coming!"Naruto exclaimed as he closed his manga book, a curious frown etched on his facial features as he moved towards the door, sensing the last chakra signature he would have expected to show up at his doorstep.

'That's Kurenai-sensei's chakra...I wonder what she wants? Maybe she wants to talk about what happened at the graduation ceremony?' Naruto wondered as he unlocked and opened the door to his apartment, feigning surprise when he saw the red eyed beauty at his door even though he'd sensed her chakra, of course wanting to keep the secret of his chakra sensing abilities for as long as possible.

"Kurenai-sensei? What are you doing here?"Naruto asked with a very convincing act, not a surprise considering he'd had a whole five year experience of acting and sneaking around with Kabuto.

"Greetings to you too Naruto-san, and thank you for kindly inviting me into your abode so that we can have a decent conversation like two civilised people. "Kurenai greeted with an emotionless stare, Naruto immediately getting a small taste of the reason behind her reputation as the ice princess of Konoha.

"There's nothing civilised about someone who deceives, manipulates, cheats, and kills for a living. However, for you, I'll make an exception. Please come in, Kurenai-hime."Naruto said with a small bow as he moved to the side to let his godess like superior in, a small, almost invisible shade of red appearing on each of Kurenai's cheeks as her eyes widened slightly, though she was very quick to regain her bearings as she let herself in.

"Kurenai-sensei is far more acceptable, let's keep things professional shall we."Kurenai said once she was inside, not even turning around to look at the blonde Uzumaki as she looked around the blonde Uzumaki's apartment, surprised to see just how neat it was, especially for an unruly boy like her current host was supposed to be, not even single item, apart from one single manga, out of place in the apartment.

"You're right. I apologise, I didn't mean to come off as someone so shallow. However, please, make yourself comfortable, sit anywhere you like."Naruto said hospitably, Kurenai deciding not to take the couch as that would create more a friendly and intimate atmosphere as opposed to the rigid and purely professional one she would have by sitting on the stiff chair in Naruto's kitchen/dining room.

"Would you prefer water, juice, or sake?"Naruto offered.

"You drink sake?"Kurenai asked with a surprised and almost affronted facial expression, unable to believe that someone so young would already be a drinker, though now that she thought about it, it would explain how he got the guts to pull off all of the insane stunts and pranks he had pulled over the years.

"Oh no, I don't like having no control of my cognitive faculties, not even for a split second. Though having said that, I have experimented on more than one occasion and found that it doesn't affect me no matter how much I drink, probably because of...you know what..."Naruto trailed off as he looked directly into Kurenai's eyes, as if searching her soul for an item that was supposed to be hidden inside of it, something that had become a habit of his due to the animosity that he had seen in so many people in the village, even the ones that pretended to be kind to him, though finding nothing of the sort in Kurenai's eyes beyond a slight widening of the eyes in surprise, whether at the fact that he couldn't get drunk or the mention of his tenant being another matter entirely.

"That's...interesting, definitely a boon for a shinobi, though there will be times you might curse your unholy alcohol resistence."Kurenai said eventually.

"I doubt it."Naruto retorted.

"..."

"So...which is it? Water, sake, or juice...?"

"Nothing."Kurenai cut in swiftly.

"I won't be staying long, I only came here to invite you to a dinner that I am organising for tonight. It is a dinner to celebrate this year's graduation class, and naturally, also for the purpose of creating a link or bond between the different teams as there is no doubt in my mind that we will be called upon to collaborate our efforts for missions at some point in the future."Kurenai said stoicly.

"I see. Well, I'd be honoured to attend your dinner, Kurenai-sensei, but I'm afraid I won't be able to attend, you see I failed the examination test that Kakashi-sensei..."

"No you didn't."Kurenai cut in again.

"Sorry?"Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I just came from the hospital, Kakashi was barely awake, but Hokage-sama was able to get the verdict out of him before he was sedated. You passed the test Naruto, Kakashi was impressed that all three of you were willing to sacrifice your opportunity to graduate so that you can remain together. That was the whole point of the test, to see how far you would go for your comrades, to see if you would throw them under the wagon for your own self interest or risk everything for each other. Congratulations, you are now officially a genin of Konoha, though one has to wonder if you really are a genin given that you just apparently easily defeated one of our legendary shinobi."Kurenai said with an intense stare at the blonde Uzumaki.

'Perhaps I did overdo it a little, everyone will be on my ass from now on.'Naruto thought to himself.

"He let his guard down, and besides, he didn't even use his sharingan."Naruto tried to excuse.

"Indeed, however, a shinobi of his calibre shouldn't have had to have his guard up against a fresh out of the academy genin. I saw a replay of the fight in Hokage-sama's crystal ball, all of the jonin did Naruto-san. Needless to say, you have caused quite a stir in the shinobi ranks, some are calling you a genius, and others are..." Kurenai trailed off as she stopped herself uprubtly, realising that it might be a bad idea to finish off that sentence.

"Blaming the kyubi?"Naruto asked curiously, Kurenai's silence and aversion of eye contact more than enough to confirm his suspicions.

"They think you are under the influence of the beast, but I don't think so. I've always known that there was more to you then meets the eye, though that was thanks to...nevermind."

"Thanks to Hinata-dono?"Naruto asked curiously, Kurenai quite surprised by Naruto's formal and respectful manner in which he addressed his secret admirer.

"Y-you? You know about her feelings for you?"Kurenai asked with a mixture of anger and suspicion, almost like a mother hen in position to strike against a predator after her offspring, or like an older sister protecting a younger sibling.

"I am aware of her...interest in me. I wasn't quite sure that she had those kind of feelings for me, though I was curious to find out why not only a byakugan wielder but an heiress of the Hyuga main house felt the need to spy on me almost 24/7. I never imagined it would turn out to be something simple and straight forward like that, makes a whole lot of sense now though..."Naruto trailed off thoughtfully, also aware that said Hyuga heiress was in fact watching them even now from a safe distance away that was still within her visual range, and also within his sensing range.

"I see. I was under the impression that you knew, I thought that that might be the reason why you argued so passionately during the graduation ceremony that you should be switched with Kiba so that you can join my team. I thought that you felt the same way about her."Kurenai said with a somewhat down and almost disappointed tone.

"I can see that you care deeply for her, and I'm sorry if this offends you, but I don't actually know how I feel about her. I don't know her at all on a personal level and all this time I thought that she was a Hyuga spy or something, so I was actually a little scared of her. I wanted to join your team so that I can get closer to her and find out what exactly was up., though it is true what I said about wanting to learn from you to make up for my weakness in genjutsu. It's also true that I have a scent tracking ability to rival the Inuzuka clan and that I didn't want to be in the same team as Uchiha Sasuke."Naruto replied earnestly.

"I see. Well, thank you for your honesty at least. I...I know this is none of my business but, is there someone that you are interested in, besides Sakura-san of course?"Kurenai asked curiously.

"You want to determine if Hinata-dono has any rivals for my affections?"Naruto asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It's just a q...okay yes."Kurenai admitted shamefully.

"Well, I think you are the only one she might have to worry about, otherwise there's no one else that has caught my interest."Naruto replied casually, as if speaking merely about the weather forecast.

"W-what?"Kurenai stuttered.

"Don't be so surprised. You're a very beautiful woman, and as if that were not enough you're a powerful jonin and you ooze perfect combination of elegance, class, and sex appeal. You also have this mysterious aura and you seem to be, from a distance at least, a very unapproachable and intimidating figure, which only makes you all the more appealing. Hinata-dono...well, I don't know much about her, but she's also beautiful and she is royalty with a powerful bloodline, and will likely grow even more beautiful over the years and become a better kunoichi as she gains confidence and masters her bloodline. She has a good shot too, though in all honesty, both of you are out of my league so I don't even know what I'm thinking saying all of this stuff."Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Aren't you being a little too honest?"Kurenai asked, completely baffled and yet strangely endeared by the blonde Uzumaki appreciation of her, and of course his blunt honesty, as Kurenai was in fact a blunt honest person herself and therefore had an appreciation for people who returned the favour.

"Really? Huh...I guess I wouldn't really know, I don't exactly have friends or anything like that and I never had parents to teach me that kind of stuff. But thanks Kurenai-sensei, I get the feeling that you've taught me something important today."Naruto said with a genuine smile, a little of his mask slipping in as the innocent and naive boy facade slipped onto his face on its own accord, probably a result of having practised with it and used it for so long.

"It's a ummm...it's a pleasure."Kurenai trailed off with a sad look in her eyes, just now realising how sad and lonely Naruto's life must have been, and still probably is

"But there are issues of concern, like for instance, how did you know that I was known as the genjutsu mistress of Konoha? No academy student should have had access to that kind of information."Kurenai asked with a deadly glare.

'Aaah so this is what she was really after? I wonder if she came of her own accord of if the Hokage sent her? Has the cat and mouse game already begun?'Naruto thought with a weird combination of weariness and excitement.

"I stole a bingo book from a drunk jonin, this is the red light district after all, and I am the great Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo."Naruto said in a manner reminscient of his idiot mask, except without much of the idiot part.

"I see..." Kurenai trailed off suspiciously.

"You doubt my greatness?"Naruto asked with a mischievous smile.

"Do I doubt that an academy student could outwit a jonin and actually take his possessions without him or her being the wiser? Yes. But you were never an ordinary academy student were you? You are after all, the great Uzumaki Naruto who managed to defile the Hokage monument right under the noses of a military dictator and all of his soldiers and guards, stole the forbidden scroll of seals, defeated and killed your evil chuunin instructor, and hospitalised your jonin sensei without sustaining any injuries to yourself."Kurenai said almost word for word to the Hokage when he was updating them on all matters concerning Uzumaki Naruto just recently.

"Well when you put it like that...ehehehe!"Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"Hmmm...I'll be on my way then. It was nice speaking to you Naruto-san, and thank you for your hospitality. I look forward to seeing you tonight."Kurenai said as she got up to leave.

"It was nice of you to pay me a visit. I hope there will be many more of those in the future."Naruto said as he walked the ice queen of Konoha to the door.

"I'm not sure how much my boyfriend, Jonin Sarutobi Asuma would take to the idea of me regularly paying visits another man's apartment."Kurenai said as she turned to look at the blonde Uzumaki directly in the eyes when she was just outside of his apartment, exactly where she'd looked down at him when he first opened the door for her, creating almost a sense of déjà vu.

"Surely a powerful and experienced man like him, with such a rich heritage and family background, wouldn't be insecure enough to feel threatened by a no name wet behind the ear genin." Naruto retorted with an almost predatory smile, causing shivers to run up and down Kurenai's spine, though whether those were shivers of fear and disgust or of arousal and attraction, even she could not tell.

"Be that as it may, it would be inappropriate. I'll see you tonight at the dinner."Kurenai said before turning and walking away before the blonde Uzumaki could reply, wanting to get as far away from him as possible not because she didn't want to continue to talk to him, and not because she didn't enjoy his presence, but actually she enjoyed his company far too much, much more than she was comfortable with.

Naruto was blunt honest with her, told her exactly how he felt and why he felt that way. He wasn't scared of her like most potential suitors and wasn't only interested in her looks as proven by his apology for coming off as shallow when he called her a princess because of her outward appearance, and the fact that he wanted her to teach him genjutsu, which only proved that he recognised her skill as a kunoichi, something that was rare in the shinobi world, particularly amongst male ninja. The burden that he carried, the tortured soul that he was and how he handled said pain and burdens, and even his playful and trickster like personality, a contrast to hers yet evermore attractive to her as a result, all of these things about him only served to enhance his appeal as a suitor.

However, He was less than half her age and he was now considered to be a flight risk by the higher authorities. There was also the fact that he was Hinata's one true love and her almost sole ambition in life, and Kurenai herself was Hinata's sister figure and best friend, and had also made it her own goal to help Hinata snag Naruto one day. If Kurenai dated Naruto, Hinata's self confidence would suffer irreconcilable damage, and their bond would be forever shattered. Kurenai would be a traitor not only to Hinata but also to her boyfriend Asuma and then there was also the stigma attached to Naruto because of his jinchuuriki status that would become a shadow hovering over their relationship and even their children if things got that far.

Besides, Kurenai didn't think this could be anything more than a childish crush that Naruto had on her, perhaps because she was already fully developed as a woman just like the prostitutes, strippers, and skanks that Naruto was undoubtedly used to seeing given the location of his apartment, whereas his academy peers were still...well, getting an introduction to puberty. Nevertheless, she would consider teaching him all about genjutsu if the Hokage extended her mission beyond the brief inquiry that she had just had with the blonde Uzumaki, and she would find that out very soon as she was on her way to report her findings and try to give the Hokage as accurate a profile as she could conjure in the limited interactions that she'd had with young jinchuuriki.

000000000000000

"Nai-chan, you're back. So how did it go with the Naruto's profiling?"Sarutobi Asuma asked the question that was meant to be asked by his dad, though Hiruzen didn't mind as he wanted all of them to hear what she had to say anyway.

Kurenai had been chosen not only because of Naruto's vehement protests that he be transferred to her team two days ago, and not only because he had cited his weakness for genjutsu as part of the reason he wanted to join her team, information he should not have known about her mind you, but also because she in fact was employed as a profiler for the torture and interrogation unit by trade on a part time basis, which is how she and Anko became friends in the first place. Her unusual but exceptional mastery and specialisation in genjutsu made her a master of the mind and she had an exceptional ability as a result when it came to profiling. This information was also excluded from the bingo book as her profiling expertise and part time ANBU employment was virtually unknown.

"It went well. It turns out that you have a rival for my affections."Kurenai said stoicly, Asuma, Hiruzen, and Gai's jaws hitting the floor in astonishment, and Kakashi's mask slipping off momentarily so that his jaw could extent to his crotch without tearing the mask, to his crotch and not the floor of course because he was seated on his hospital bed, supported by cushions on his back, the meeting taking place in his hospital room as he couldn't exactly leave the hospital in his condition.

"W-what? Did that brat do something perver..."

"Nothing like that. He thought that Hinata follows him around because she is a Hyuga spy sent after him, he didn't know about her affections. When the topic came up, I used the opportunity to find out if Hinata-chan has any rivals for his affections, and it turns out she does."Kurenai explained, not that it helped to alleviate the shock and perplexity of the situation.

"The brat is consistently ambitious if not anything else, wants the highest honour and title in the village and to date the most beautiful woman in the village while at it. I'd be impressed if I thought he stood a chance."Asuma retorted with an amused and definitely cocky smirk.

"He believes that both Hinata and I are out of his league, and I made it clear to him that I am already taken. Nevertheless, his romantic life is not particularly the point of our investigation is it?"Kurenai retorted.

"On the contrary, all information is relevant and important, especially his romantic aspirations. It would help me sleep better if Naruto-kun were in an intimate relationship with a loyal and trusted kunoichi such as yourself."Hiruzen said as he stroked his beard.

"Hey watch it old man!"Asuma exclaimed furiously.

"I'm not suggesting that Kurenai-san should seduce Naruto-kun, nor am I suggesting she should marry him and produce an heir, she is after all already spoken for..."Sarutobi trailed off darkly, the message loud and clear to all the jonin present, that he would have already ordered it were Kurenai not in a relationship with his son, and of course, that he could still order it anyway if he so wished, Asuma gritting his teeth furiously at his dad, once again being reminded why they didn't, and would never get along again with his father.

"It would however be unwise to make an order without getting all the information, how about we start by letting Kurenai-san impart to us Naruto's profile?" Kakashi suggested, skilfully halting the father-son clash that was about to transpire, a clash he was confident that Asuma would not win anyway, whether it was verbal or physical in nature, Kurenai not waiting for confirmation from the Hokage as she also wanted the marriage and seduction talk to go as far away from her as possible.

"He is an egomaniac, very confident in himself and his abilities. He has emotional scars that make him vulnerable, but he is also the type that will readily use those vulnerabilities to manipulate others and further his own ambitions. He is not afraid of anything, and that makes him a big risk taker, but he will also only take calculated risks and will plan a few steps ahead of enemies without the appearance of doing so. In other words, he plans far ahead but his methods put him at a great risk, partially because he is an adrenaline junkie but also because he is confident in his ability to rise to the occasion. He has a lot of love and compassion, but only for those he deems worthy of it, he is likely cruel and uncompromising to his enemies, but will show mercy if he sees an opportunity to turn foe into ally, or to use said foe in some degree to further his own ambitions." Kurenai said as she took a breath, carefully watching the reactions of her audience thus far, not surprised to see the shock, confusion, and fear in their eyes, probably none of them able to comprehend the fact that this was a psychological profile of Naruto.

"His personality overall resonates with that of the mythical trickster. He loves to have fun, to prank people, to confuse people, to toy with people, and to manipulate people, and his actions, at first glance, do not seem to have a clear goal beyond causing chaos and having a good time, but there is always an agenda, in almost each and every action taken. He is neither cruel nor kind, neither good nor evil, he just is. He does however show signs of loyalty and extreme hatred for betrayal. Friends and allies will see him as a benevolent, merciful, loving, and compassionate being, enemies will see him as evil incarnate, a harbinger of destruction. That...is the Uzumaki Naruto I met today." Kurenai concluded, an expected but uncomfortable silence taking hold of the hospital room, everyone locked deep within their minds as they meditated over Kurenai's words, Hiruzen the first one to break out of his musings as he had a few questions for the genjutsu mistress.

"That was a very detailed profile considering that you spent but only a few moments with him..." Hiruzen trailed off in a purely inquiring manner, trying to understand how exactly Kurenai was able to gather enough information to produce such a detailed profile.

"You have to use all the information you have on a subject in order to compile an accurate profile. I had information about Naruto dating back to as far as he was just a little child, from what everyone in the village knows about him, from one of my students, Hyuga Hinata's interactions with him and her innocent but useful daily spy sessions on him, from the events of two days ago, and from the events of today up to and until I left his apartment. I also factored in the information that you recently shared with us about his heritage." Kurenai explained patiently, Hiruzen not knowing whether to be proud or weary of her given how brilliant she seemed to be at her job, because he didn't even want to think about what her profile of him would look like.

"I see, but speaking of his heritage, do you think that Naruto-kun has become aware of the secrets that have been kept from him?" Hiruzen asked curiously, the other jonin widening their eyes at the implications of what the Hokage was asking, because if Naruto had become aware of it on his own, or if someone had made him aware of it, and done it in a way that would paint the Hokage and the higher ups in bad taste, then it could explain a lot of things about Naruto's recent behaviour.

"Unlikely, as he considers both Hinata and I to be women that are acres above his own league. The son of the Fourth Hokage and an Uzumaki princess, who also recently defeated a legendary jonin would have a bit more self worth than that. However it is not impossible that he does know and simply has a different criteria for judging leagues in the romantic sense, especially considering his social background. It is therefore something that is unlikely but should be taken into consideration, we are dealing with a socially dysfunctional trickster after all." Kurenai answered clearly and concisely as usual.

"I apologise for speaking out of term Hokage-sama, but I have a question I wish to pose to Kurenai-sensei." Gai asked with his game face, a rare expression on the otherwise goofy and eccentric jonin, one that merited the utmost seriousness and consideration.

"You may all speak freely Gai-kun, we are in this together." Hiruzen answered.

"What do you want to know?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"Do you think it is possible that young Naruto-kun was working together with Mizuki to steal the forbidden scroll of seals? Do you think he has a secret tutor or mentor and do you think that he learned more than the shadow clone and it's variations from the forbidden scroll?" Gai asked curiously, posing questions that were really scary to consider and yet surprisingly valid, especially coming from him, everyone looking to Kurenai with bated breath to find out what she had to say on the matter.

"Based on the video footage that we saw on the crystal ball regarding the events of that day, I can't see how it is possible that he learned more than the shadow clone. We saw him practise the technique for two hours, and we saw him read the information about it and probably its variations too since it was all on the same section. However, he never extended the scroll any further nor did he make copies of the material, so it is highly improbable as far as I can tell." Kurenai said as she took another breath before continuing.

"As far as working with Mizuki is concerned, Naruto killed him so there is no further information we can get from him. It is however entirely possible that Naruto has a private tutor or mentor of sorts, but he won't reveal the identity of said person. His explanation that he spied on a jonin on the training grounds and learned the Earth Style: Double Decapitation from spying on him is quite frankly ridiculous and unbelievable." Kurenai explained.

"Do you think Danzo could be this private tutor?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Unlikely. He doesn't fit the profile of any of Danzo's associates. Danzo is an extremist and a Konoha loyalist, Naruto seems to have loyalties only to himself and those close to him. Danzo does everything he does for the sake of Konoha and his obsession with the Hokage seat, Naruto, while in the past having appeared to have an equal obsession with the seat, seems to only do everything either for the fun of it, simply because he can, or for himself and those closest to him. Naruto also doesn't display any of the characteristics of a root agent." Kurenai replied.

"If he only does things that will benefit him or those closest to him, then do you think that he would become loyal to Konoha if those people closest to him were loyal to Konoha themselves?" Hiruzen asked curiously.

"Possibly, but it would have to be at least more than three people, one or two might not be enough." Kurenai replied.

"Perhaps four then?" Hiruzen asked as he directed his gaze at the copy ninja, everybody getting exactly what he was implying, as Kakashi was now in charge of a four men cell that included the blonde Uzumaki, though that still would leave one more slot to fill for the fourth precious person for the blonde Uzumaki.

"I'll do my best. He was willing to give up his bells so that Sakura and Sasuke can graduate, and he hated that I tried to make them tear each other to shreds to get a promotion. There might be some hope still." Kakashi replied with more hope than conviction, but hope was all any of them could do right now.

"I will send a message to Jiraiya and asked him to return, maybe he can help somehow, both as a master spy and as a person who was close to his parents, and of course as the fourth close person he would have, though I do expect you and your genin teams to make an effort too, Gai-kun, Asuma, Kurenai-chan..." Hiruzen trailed off.

"That shouldn't be a problem, but I also think that Jiraiya should let him sign the toad contract, that way he wouldn't be able to defect even if he wanted to." Asuma suggested.

"That's a good idea, but it is up to Jiraiya, I can't force him or the toads to accept Naruto as a summoner." Hiruzen explained.

"What about Kakashi's dog contract then? He said he had scent sensing rivalling that of the Inuzuka right? Wouldn't a dog summon be appealing to him?" Asuma asked as he stared at the bedridden jonin inquisitively.

"I can't do that. I don't want to appear to have favouritism towards Naruto, especially now that he has already proven himself to be a cut above the others. It could screw up team dynamics badly, I'm already anticipating a tough time sorting that out already." Kakashi replied.

"Kakashi-kun is right. The situation with Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun being in the same team is already volatile enough, we don't need to make it worse. Just remember to keep a keen eye on both of those two, and do your best to get them to open up and bond with their peers. I'll call you in from time to time so that we may share intel and decide whether extra precautions are necessary or not. Until then, you are all dismissed."

End Chapter

The story may seem to be following the same pattern as some of my other stories, but there will be profound differences and a heck of a lot of surprises to come in the next chapter and after, so stay tuned.

I gave Naruto the Orange Hokage outfit, without the Hokage hat and cloak naturally, I really like that outfit compared to the orange jumpsuit and the one with the shorts that he wears after the war arc.

I'm going for Karin, Yakumo, Fuka as a pairing, but I'm also leaving a door open for other girls like Isaribi, Mei, Suzumebachi, etc etc. Kurenai is an option too, but I can't say more on that to avoid giving out any more spoilers.

I hope you all enjoyed the story so far. Next chapter I am introducing Naruto's summons, I think most of you will be pleasantly surprised.

Thank you for reading and take care.