Author's Note: Yeah, I'm slacking on things, and I don't know why I'm posting another story when I'm having so much trouble writing. But, to all who want to know what's going on with me… Well, I moved to Japan last month! So, that's why my stories have been a bit MIA. I'll see the reaction to this one!

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Naruto

Chapter One: Perfect

Humanity is a disease… The Earth is infected by imperfect creatures; ugly creatures. There is no hope for the world as long as humanity is allowed to exist. Wars will continue to rage on Earth. Even those who wish to save it only end up causing it more pain. Those are the true fools. At least others can admit that they are only causing the world harm and suffering. But there are those who know nothing; who believe that they are only doing right by the world. Those are the ones I truly cannot stand. The only way humanity can be cured is by destroying it and starting over. I have dedicated my life to the teachings of our group. For generations, we have cultivated a single race of humans. We bred them like dogs. They are the perfect ones; without hate in them. They do not have the disease of humanity in them. They will rule the world. But, before they can, we must eliminate all the imperfect creatures of this world. Once that is done, we will own the world and we will create it in our image.

An elderly man placed the quill down after signing the journal. It would be his final entry. He looked at his shaking hands and frowned. Luckily, he had been able to write his words perfectly. The door opened slightly behind him.

"Master! You should not be up!"

The man turned to the door to face a young woman in the doorframe. "The time has come, child," he said with a smile.

The woman blinked, then nodded. "Of course, Master." She walked to a water basin and filled a cup. As she did, she added a milky substance to the drink. The man made his way to the bed and settled.

"Are they ready?" he asked.

"Of course, Master," the woman said with a nod. She handed him the drink and he took it with a slight smile. "They were, by his design, born ready."

The man nodded. "Perfect. You know what must be done now, child, right?"

"The Great War," she said quietly. "The final war."

"Yes. Make no demands and take no prisoners. No one must be left, you understand this, right?"

"It is what you have taught us," she answered. "We will not fail you, or him, Master."

"My only regret is that I cannot see the beauty myself." He drowned the drink and laid back onto the bed with a content sigh. "Once we take this country, child, the others will start putting up their defenses. Before making any drastic moves on capitols, make sure you have prepared."

"Of course, Master. It is what you have been training us for. Do not fear, for we will only do his will. Rest easy."

The man smiled and closed his eyes. "The fate of our race is now in your hands. The world is not prepared for us, and we will use that to our advantage."

The woman smiled down at the man until his labored breathing stopped. No one in their Clan died of natural causes. When the elderly became weak, they would drink and then sleep. It was a peaceful death. The woman arranged the man's body on the bed and then turned to his journal. She picked up the quill and smiled softly.

And in our image, the world will flourish. It is time we cured humanity.

Break

"Three civilian villages destroyed in the past month. No survivors in any." Naruto shook his head and looked up. Sasuke was standing before his desk looking worse for wear as he explained what had drove him to come back to Konoha before his check-in. "They were completely obliterated. Crop and farmlands were laid to waste and homes burned to the ground. Even the bodies were destroyed."

Naruto bowed his head. They had no distress calls. No one was laying siege to their villages. He looked at the map that showed the location of the three destroyed villages, but no pattern was visible. The Fire Daimyo shook her head from where she stood. "Have they made any demands?"

"None," Sasuke said quietly. "They leave no trace of who they are and no village is taking credit for the attacks. We can only assume as of now that this is a group unaffiliated with any country."

"Are we the only ones getting hit?" Naruto asked.

"That would be something you would need to ask the other Kage and Daimyo. I have gotten no word of the other villages and whether or not they are getting attacked."

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought. "Do we have an idea of where they are going to hit next?" he asked. Sasuke shrugged. "We can't afford to send a special ops team to every civilian settlement in the Land of Fire!"

"Maybe we don't need a Special Ops team," Sasuke suggested. Naruto looked up at him expectantly. "We just need to send one warm body to each village and once it is under attack, he or she will send a distress signal, and then our special ops team can move in."

"Would there be enough time?" The Daimyo asked.

"If we are swift. It takes a few hours at least to slaughter an entire village. The scars left in the settlements don't suggest an overtly powerful fighting force. We haven't had a chance to examine a body, but for the most part, it seems as if the group isn't using extremely powerful jutsu to accomplish their attacks."

Naruto sighed. It was the only option they had at the moment. "Fine. I will deploy a squad tonight." He leaned back in his chair to stare at the map. Three villages full of men, women and children were gone without a warning. What kind of people would do this? And why? He stood. "Walk with me, Sasuke," he said, nodding to the Daimyo as he did. She didn't seem to mind. This was a military operation, after all.

Once they were outside, Naruto leaned against the wall. "I think I know where they're going to hit next."

Sasuke blinked. "How would you know that, Naruto?"

"Because these locations have no strategy. They are trying to lure me out."

"Why not just attack Konoha, then?"

Naruto shook his head slowly. "Why would they go after a hornet's nest if they just want one hornet? You said yourself that they don't seem to have any major strengths. Attacking a village full of ninja would be military suicide."

"So they're just going to lure one of the strongest living ninja alive out to fight them instead? That's not a good military strategy, unless they know they can beat you. You'd be walking into a trap, Naruto."

Naruto sighed and leaned against the wall. He wasn't sure what to say to Sasuke. The theory made sense. If they were luring him out, then they had to have a way to defeat him. "They won't know what hit them, Sasuke," Naruto assured him.

"Let me go."

"If they wanted you, they would have used a different strategy," Naruto reasoned.

"Exactly!" Sasuke snapped. "They want you, Naruto! This could very well be a trap!"

"Even if it is, they won't stop until they get what they want. It's the only way to stop them before more people are killed!"

Sasuke sighed and leaned against the wall. "At least let me come with you."

Naruto shook his head slowly. "No. If something does happen to me, then I need you to be Hokage until the entire mess is cleared up."

"When did you become so mature?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment. "After what happened last year, I've been planning. I learned that I wasn't invincible and that people can come into this village, and sometimes I can't stop them. The world isn't perfect. I just wanted to make sure that if something does happen to me, the village will be prepared to move on."

"Well look at you. You do realize you weren't in any real danger, right?"

Naruto sighed. "But next time I could be. I'm going. I will take a small team with me."

"If you say so, Hokage."

"Good. After I deploy the squad tonight, then I, and a few others, will head out to an outlier village, evacuate the villagers and meet these psychos before they kill anyone else."

Break

"He's going to get himself killed," Sasuke snapped.

Kakashi looked up from the book that he was reading. They were in his home office. Sasuke was leaning over the desk and Sakura stood at the back of the room by the door. Kakashi couldn't help but think that this was a way to show that he wasn't getting out of this conversation. "Naruto is a grown man, Sasuke, and the Hokage. He will do what is best for the village."

"But he won't do what's best for him!" Sakura retorted.

"That's what it means to be Hokage," Kakashi reasoned. "I know why you two are worried, but Naruto will do what he has to do to save this country."

"We don't even know that's what they want!" Sasuke snapped. "Why would he even jump to that conclusion? We weren't even close to arriving to that! There was no evidence! His logic and reasoning wasn't even sound, but he was so sure that was the answer!"

Kakashi blinked. Sasuke was right about that. That wasn't a conclusion Naruto would jump to. He stood. "You two don't have to worry about Naruto," he assured him. "But I'll go knock some sense into his thick skull as a teacher if it'll help you two sleep tonight."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Sure."

"Alright. Then you start taking command. I'll need you ready to move. Make sure Shikamaru, at least, knows that you are acting Hokage for the next 24 hours." With that, the man left the room without another word. He kept his head down as he hurried to the Hokage's office. Naruto was acting strange and he didn't like it. The man would never suggest going alone without any evidence that it would be appropriate.

Kakashi opened the door to the office. "Are you out of your mind?"

Naruto looked up from the scroll he was reading and frowned. "Hello, Kakashi," he said calmly.

"You're going on a mission by yourself that could very well get you killed and you don't have a reason for this!"

"I told Sasuke-"

"The reason you gave Sasuke is completely idiotic! This isn't something you do on a hunch, Naruto! You are the leader of a village!"

Naruto sighed and picked up a scroll made with black parchment. "I had a reason," he muttered. "But you can't tell anyone." He tossed the scroll to Kakashi and he caught it. The characters were written in white ink. He read over the brief message and then looked up at Naruto. "When did you get this?"

"An hour after the third attack," Naruto answered. Kakashi looked down at the scroll again. It was a simple message. They wanted to meet with Naruto about the attacks and how to end them. They wanted him to come with a small party and they didn't want him telling his advisors.

"And you think this is a good idea?"

"No, I don't. That's why Sasuke is my stand in. If this goes south, I need to know the village will be in good hands."

"Who are you taking, then?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't want any of them to get hurt."

"You aren't going alone!"

"I know!" Naruto snapped. "But what do I do, Kakashi?! What can I do?"

"What's got you so spooked about this?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto shook his head slowly. "They attacked this country without making demands. They slaughtered innocent people without reason! They don't act like normal people, Kakashi! What do they want?"

"Judging by this, you," Kakashi answered, holding the scroll.

"But why? What could anyone possibly want with Kurama now?"

"What makes you think that it's Kurama they want?"

"What would they want with me, then?"

"I guess that's what we're going to find out."

"We?" Naruto repeated.

"Well, you can't expect me to let you go alone, now can you?" Kakashi asked.

"No."

"We're also going to take Boruto with us."

"No!" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto, he came last year."

"And nearly lost his arm doing it!" Naruto retorted.

"He'll be fine, and so will I, and so will you!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Fine, but I will tell Boruto and Hinata myself. I expect you at the gates in two hours."

"Pick a fourth member," Kakashi called after the man as he walked out of the room. He sighed and turned back to the black scroll. There was something odd about how the whole thing was written. It was a challenge, but it wasn't something they were experienced with. What would a group like this gain from slaughtering people? If they wanted the attention of the hidden villages, they now had it, but it didn't make any sense.

Break

"Boruto!" Naruto called from the bottom of the stairs. It was late day and the students were finished with their training for the day. The boy stepped out of his room and looked down. Naruto frowned. He was wearing a different shirt than his usual jacket. It looked like he had plans that night. His headband was off and he had civilian clothes on.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Mission," Naruto said. He winced as he noticed how Boruto's face fell. "I'm sorry. Did you have plans tonight?"

"Just dinner with Shikadai and Mitsuki," Boruto said with a shrug. "I'll give them a call and tell them I can't come. What's the mission?"

"Recon," Naruto lied smoothly. "It'll just be tonight. Reschedule for tomorrow and tell them it's my fault."

"Sure. When are we leaving?"

"Two hours, at the gate." Boruto nodded, waved and then disappeared into his room. Naruto shoved his hands into his pocket. "Where's your mother?" he called.

"I think she went shopping for stuff for dinner with Himawari!" Boruto called through his closed door. Naruto nodded and took off towards the market.

"Hinata!" he called when he spotted her. She turned and smiled.

"I wasn't expecting you to be done at the office so soon," she said. "I heard that there's some trouble in the civilian settlements."

"Yeah," Naruto said. He sighed. "That's what I'm doing tonight. It's a recon mission. Boruto's coming along. Kakashi too."

Hinata cocked her head. "Recon? That's not usually a mission for the Hokage…"

Naruto bit his lip and then looked at his daughter. He smiled and offered her a few coins. "Go get a drink," he said, shooing her away. Hinata watched with a frown. Once the child was out of earshot, Naruto looked at Hinata. "It's not a recon mission," he said. "It's a trap. At least, we're fairly certain that it's a trap."

"What?"

"The people who have been attacking the civilian villages have made some odd demands. They want me to meet with them. Kakashi and I are certain that it's a trap."

"And you're bringing Boruto?" Hinata asked.

Naruto sighed. "It was Kakashi's idea. I think he thinks that it will prevent me from doing something stupid like surrendering to save the village."

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Would you?"

"I don't know what they want."

"Then I'm coming too," she snapped.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't want you to. If it is a trap, Boruto and Himawari don't need to lose both parents in one night. Besides," he added with a smile, "they won't be able to defeat me! We're all worrying about nothing! I'll put an end to all of this!"

But she wasn't smiling. She was staring at him with narrowed eyes. "You're just bringing Kakashi and Boruto?" she asked. "Boruto's hardly a Chuunin! You need someone else."

"Someone else would just be one more person for me to keep track of. We'll be fine, Hinata!" His smile faded and he became serious. He reached up and touched her chin gently. "I promise."

"And you never go back on your word," she whispered. "When do you leave?"

"A couple hours," Naruto answered. He went to say something else, but got cut off by Himawari running back with a canned drink in her hands. "Well, I'm off! I'll see you two in the morning!" He waved with a smile and started walking away.

"Naruto!" Hinata called. He stopped. "I love you!"

Naruto smiled and threw up a thumbs up. "I love you too!" he said without looking back. His stomach was twisted, but he didn't let it show as he moved through the streets.

"What has gotten into you?"

"That's a bit of an odd statement coming from you," Naruto said. He was with the fox now.

"You seem distracted about this one."

"There was something about that scroll," Naruto confessed. He hadn't wanted to tell anyone about it in case he was wrong. "It felt… wrong. Like, there was chakra on it, but it was cold. I can't describe it. It felt almost dead. I don't know what we're dealing with here, but it's not something we've dealt with before."

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know. The scroll itself was a message, not just the words written on it."

"Something sinister?" Kurama asked.

"No," Naruto answered with a shake of his head. "Something… unfeeling. Something unnatural. I can't describe it, but whoever wrote on that scroll clearly has something about them." He shook his head. Kurama stared at him for a moment.

"What is wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"You are not acting like yourself, Naruto. Something is wrong."

Naruto sighed. "I can't explain it," he admitted. "I just feel like something is off. Like I don't feel sick or weak, I just feel… Off."

"Well, it would be good to remedy that before we head off to a potentially suicide mission, yes?"

Naruto smiled. "Sure."

Two hours later Naruto and Boruto were standing at the gates. "I knew he'd be late," Naruto grumbled. Boruto smiled. "How did they take the news?"

"They were jealous They said that since my dad's Hokage, I get all the good missions."

"You should have invited them along," Naruto said.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted that, but I thought about it."

"We don't need the backup."

Boruto looked behind Naruto and into the village. "Uncle Hatake doesn't share your logic."

Naruto turned and narrowed his eyes. Kakashi was walking towards them with Sakura and Sai trailing behind him. "Sensei!" Naruto snapped.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"What is the meaning of this?" Naruto asked, crossing him arms.

"Did you really think we'd let you go on this mission with just two people, especially since one of them is a genin?"

"Chuunin," Boruto grumbled.

"Never mind that," Sakura snapped. "The point is, Naruto, this is stupid and you know it."

Naruto looked between Sakura and Sai and then sighed. At least they could have warned him. The captain of their medical squad and ANBU were coming on this mission, along with their Hokage. Let's hope Sasuke doesn't show up or we'd be in a lot of trouble, he teased the fox.

Kurama sighed. "You are not being funny."

"I just have a feeling about this one, Kurama," Naruto thought with a shrug. He looked at their ragtag team and smiled. "Looks like Team Seven is back at it again!" he said, nodding knowingly to Sai. "Let's go!"