A/N: Hello my faithful followers and readers. Yes i know it has been a while since I have posted anything but life happened to make a long story short. This little story i'm working on is a rewrite of the first ever fic I wrote on this site called the Pain Aftermath. This will be a tragic story so if you are not into that dont read. That being said however there will be plenty of heartwarming moments and battles like always I mean come on its Naruto. Anyway I hope you all enjoy and please leave a review and fave and follow if you enjoy!

I do not own Naruto this is merely a hobby)

x-x

Chapter 1: Homecoming

A strong feeling of nostalgia welled up inside Naruto Uzumaki as he rushed towards the open gates of Konohagakure. It had been so long since he and his master, Jiraiya of the Sannin, left their home, and while the journey Jiraiya took him on was amazing, he was looking forward to this day for a long time. And was pleasantly surprised when he learned that it was happening sooner than planned.

"Alright! We're finally here!" Naruto yelled with joy.

"Has it really been two years?" Jiraiya asked. He was not immune to feeling nostalgic either.

"It sure has! I thought that training would never end, y'know!" Naruto couldn't stop the groan that escaped his lips at some of the memories of Jiraiya's intensive training sessions.

"Didn't I tell you it would be hard, kid?"

"You weren't kidding. I feel so much stronger now!"

But did he, really? Or more accurately, did he feel strong enough? Naruto fell eerily silent as his thoughts wandered back to the reason why he and Jiraiya left Konoha in the first place. He remembered having first thought when that day happened that his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, was kidnapped by the traitor Orochimaru, that despite everything that was going wrong, Sasuke wouldn't just leave willingly. Even now, Naruto thought it was largely due to that Cursed Seal on his neck that he had chosen to abandon his comrades. Why else would Sasuke have tried to kill him not once, but three times in their fight at the Valley of the End? Naruto hadn't been strong enough to make Sasuke see reason then. And the memories of that day made him doubt that he was strong enough now.

"Is there something wrong, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, pulling Naruto out of his painful reverie.

Naruto shook his head. "It's nothing. Anyway, I can't wait for Tsunade-bā-chan to give me a mission so I can show everyone how much better I am!" Jiraiya sighed in exasperation, wondering just where it was that his protégé was getting all his energy.

The blond jumped on top of the nearest pole and squatted, placing his right hand over his brow as he surveyed the village. To his satisfaction, Konoha looked mostly the same as it had when he left. There were some obvious changes to the village, like the face of Tsunade being added to the Hokage Rock and Ramen Ichiraku being larger than it was two years ago, but for the most part, everything in his home village was still familiar to him. The breeze was still warm and gentle, carrying the occasional fallen leaf along with the faint aroma of Ichiraku's divine meals. Yep, this was still the same Konoha. And Naruto couldn't wait to catch up with everyone he left behind.

He wouldn't have to wait much longer, either.

"No way…" a familiar voice whispered. "Is that really you, Naruto?" Naruto jumped down onto the street to find his teammate, close friend, and long-time crush: Sakura Haruno.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! It's been a long time!"

"So it is you, Naruto! Well, it doesn't look like you've changed much."

"Ha ha ha. Just wait, I'll show you how much stronger I am now!"

Sakura frowned, put her finger on her chin and walked closer to Naruto, looking at him like she was performing a medical examination. She moved back after a few moments, giving him a nod. "Well, the aura around you is different. So I guess you did grow up after all."

Naruto grinned. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

"As much as I'd hate to interrupt your reunion, Naruto and I need to go see Tsunade," Jiraiya cut in.

"I was actually heading back that way myself. We should go together," Sakura proposed. Jiraiya gave her an approving nod and started walking, with the pink-haired girl and her blond teammate following close behind.

"So, what happened here since I left?" Naruto asked, almost too quickly to be understood. Sakura sighed, knowing this story wouldn't be easy to tell.

"About a year after you left, everyone else from the Konoha Eleven retook the Chūnin Exams in Sunagakure and passed."

"What? So everyone else is a chūnin now?"

"Well, Neji's actually a jōnin now, but yeah, you're the only genin left in our group Naruto. So that means you're going to take the exams next month, right?"

"Um, what about Gaara and his siblings?"

The question left Sakura to make an abrupt stop halfway towards their destination. Jiraiya took notice and stopped as well. "Is there a problem, Sakura?" the Toad Sage asked her.

"Kinda." Sakura sighed. "This might be a little hard for Naruto to hear. I think it would be best if we let Tsunade-sama explain it to him."

"Come on, Sakura-chan. Don't leave me hanging like this, y'know!"

Sakura sighed again and shook her head as she turned back to face Naruto. "Naruto…Gaara is the Kazekage."

With how still all three of them grew after those words, time might as well have stopped. The only thing that registered to any of them was a strange flicker in Naruto's eyes, barely caught by Jiraiya. For the briefest moment, Naruto's eyes were no longer their normal blue color; they turned red, but not the same red as when he accessed the Kyūbi's chakra. Jiraiya had no idea what that reaction meant, and that just made it all the more concerning.

"So Gaara's…the Kazekage now?" Naruto asked slowly. Sakura and Jiraiya both gave him worried looks, but nodded. Their concern did not lessen any when he broke into a wide grin. "That's fantastic! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous, but seriously, it's about time Gaara got the acknowledgment he deserves! And that means I'll have to work even harder from now on!"

'That's the Naruto I know,' Jiraiya thought to himself as the trio resumed walking. 'Still, that look in his eyes…maybe I'm thinking too hard on it, but there is something going on there that needs to be addressed.' "Well, kid, the sooner we see Tsunade, the sooner you can get to work, right?"

"Right! Let's get moving!" Naruto shouted and was already dashing ahead of his companions before he finished.

"Naruto, wait up!" Sakura yelled at him. When he predictably didn't listen, she moaned and rubbed her knees. "Where does that dummy get his energy from?"

"I wonder…" Jiraiya commented as they ran to catch up with that dummy.

x-x

It took Naruto less than a minute to arrive at the Administrative Division of the Academy and when he arrived, he wasted no time in bursting through the door to Tsunade's office, yelling "Tsunade-bā-chan, I'm back!" He came to a stop, however, when he saw that Tsunade was busy with someone else, and took his time to observe the people with whom the Fifth Hokage was meeting. His first thought was that they were the strangest trio of individuals he had ever laid eyes upon.

In the center of the office stood a white-haired teenager who looked to be about the same age as Naruto, dressed in a white high-collared kimono with a strange emblem emblazoned on the back, and his remaining garments were all black aside from a green sash around his waist. He was keeping his eyes shut and remained perfectly still while Naruto examined him, and Naruto found his body language to be really creepy. The other two, who Naruto assumed were his bodyguards or something like that, defied all of his attempts at description. All he could say if he was asked to describe them is that he couldn't feel anything from them, as though they weren't even alive.

Seeing that Naruto was up to his usual antics and had crashed the meeting, Tsunade sighed and smiled at him. "So you're back, huh? I knew today was going to be different." She then turned her gaze back towards the white-haired teen and said, "Forgive me, Toneri-san, but I have a more urgent matter to tend to. Might we continue this at a later date?"

The white-haired teen, now identified to Naruto as Toneri, smiled and nodded, eyes still closed. "Of course, Hokage-sama. Thank you for taking the time to see me today. With your permission, I would remain in Konohagakure no Sato for a while longer, so please do not hesitate to contact me when you are ready to resume our discussion."

As Toneri and his bodyguards turned to leave, Naruto tried to get one last good look at him so he could figure out what was really going on here. But it was a futile effort. Naruto wasn't able to discern who he really was or what he was after. All he could feel was an icy cold stare that left him shivering for several seconds after Toneri exited the office.

"Okay, Bā-chan, who the hell was that creep?" Naruto growled.

Tsunade sighed and folded her hands, briefly contemplating how best to explain it that wouldn't set off his temper and in turn, cause him to set off hers. "Well, Naruto, he certainly is a strange individual. Toneri didn't tell us his family name, saying it was irrelevant given his profession. He claims to be a merchant. Furthermore, he claims he has business to discuss with Hyūga Hiashi of all people."

"Then what was he doing here in the first place?"

"We were about to get to that before you barged in, Naruto-kun," Shizune scolded him.

Naruto laughed nervously. "Oops. Sorry about that, Shizune-nē-chan."

"Never mind that for now," Tsunade said. "I'll be keeping a close eye on Toneri during his stay here. But in the meantime, Naruto, it's a little hard to believe it's been two years since you left. You've really grown during that time."

"Hehe. You really think so?" Naruto asked, grinning as he put his hands behind his head.

"That figures. I lose sight of you for just one minute and you go and cause Tsunade-sama trouble," Sakura grumbled as she stomped her way inside.

"What took you so long, Sakura-chan?"

"Not many people have your level of stamina, Naruto," Jiraiya pointed out as he walked into the office behind Sakura.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Guess I let my excitement get the better of me, huh?"

Sakura threw her arms up. "Well, at least you're honest about it…"

"In any case, welcome back, Naruto-kun," Shizune broke apart the argument. "It really has been a long time."

"Yep! So Bā-chan, got any missions for me?"

"You just got back to the village. Shouldn't you go to Ichiraku's instead and then go home and rest?" Tsunade asked.

"No way! Everyone else is way ahead of me so I gotta catch up! Come on, Bā-chan! I don't even care if it's a lousy D-rank, just give me something to do!"

Tsunade let out a deep sigh. "Well, I can see you won't let this go easily, so let me see if there's anything here I can give you." She then opened one of the drawers to pull out a small stack of mission requests that had not been handed off to the receptionists at the Mission Assignment Desk. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay with just anything? I would remind you that D-ranks are very boring."

"Then give me all of them at once!"

"Hold your horses, Naruto. You're not taking all of them, not even with your Shadow Clones. Sakura, why don't you pick one out for him?"

"Why me?" Sakura asked.

"Just help Naruto out before he gives us all a headache…"

Sakura sighed and took the stack of papers from the desk, quickly looking through them until one caught her eye. The one that stood out to her wasn't even supposed to be in that stack, but when she saw who had posted the request, she gained a wicked glint in her eyes. "Here's a good one. It isn't exactly a mission, but there's three chūnin who are in need of a sparring partner."

"Great! Who are they?" Naruto asked.

"They requested their identities be kept anonymous on the request form, but they want you to meet them at one of the training grounds," Sakura lied.

"Then let's go!" Naruto went to jump out the open window, then paused when he saw that Sakura wasn't budging. "You're not coming with me, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shook her head. "I need to get back to the hospital after I'm done here. Besides, if you're as strong as you say you are, then you shouldn't even break a sweat."

"No arguments there! Haha. They're at the training grounds, right?"

"That's right, they're at the—" but before Sakura could tell him which specific training ground it was, Naruto had jumped out the window and dashed off towards the forest.

"Jeez…that kid needs to unwind," Tsunade muttered.

"That's just how he is," Sakura said. "Well, Tsunade-sama, if you'll excuse me, I should get back to the hospital now."

"That's fine. Keep up the good work." Sakura bowed to Tsunade and walked out through the door, leaving Tsunade with Jiraiya and Shizune.

"That went pretty well, all things considered," Jiraiya spoke up a few seconds after Sakura's departure.

"And why is that, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya's expression turned deadly serious. "Something happened while Naruto and I were on our journey that you need to know about…"

x-x

Naruto was in high spirits as he kept dashing towards the training grounds, seeking out the people who posted that request for a spar. He almost regretted not stopping at Ichiraku's first to catch up with them, but he had told Tsunade that he needed to be doing something, and he wasn't about to go back on his word now. Out of habit, he stopped to check the Third Training Ground first, only to find the last person he expected to see.

'No way…is that Hinata?' Naruto asked himself. She had grown quite a lot, but was still wearing similar clothing to what she'd worn two years ago. She'd also let her hair grow out during that time; it now reached her lower back. But she was still unmistakably Hinata. Naruto couldn't hold back the warm smile that grew on his face as he quietly approached her, being careful not to alert her too soon that he was here. Naruto wanted to surprise Hinata before he found out how much stronger she had become while he was gone.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto said eagerly from right behind her. Hinata, startled, spun around to face him and just froze. Her heart stopped for several seconds as she saw her personal hero standing right there after two years. She hadn't been able to summon the courage to see him off when she left, settling for a silent promise to grow stronger, and now here he was, right in front of her…

It was too much for her to process. She fell backwards in a dead faint.

"Hinata? Oh, crap!" Naruto shouted, scrambling to catch her before she hit the ground. He carried her to one of the three posts in the main clearing and carefully propped her up against it, while gently shaking her shoulders until she recovered.

"Ngh…" Hinata groaned. Her eyes slowly opened to find that Naruto was still there in front of her. She scrambled to get away from him, jumping two meters to her left. Her entire face was still red, and she knew her blush would start spreading lower if she didn't manage to calm herself down soon.

"Jeez, Hinata. Are you really that surprised to see me?" Naruto asked her, still grinning.

"We-well, of course I am!" Hinata stammered. "It's been over two years since we last saw each other, Naruto-kun! I-I honestly didn't know you were back, or that you saw that request my team posted! I would have been better prepared if—"

"Alright, alright! Easy there, Hinata. Calm down," Naruto said, his voice shifting to a more soothing tone mid-speech. Hinata obeyed and took several deep breaths, and as she did her blush slowly faded. "But I guess I did surprise you, huh?"

Hinata nodded. "It was a surprise, but…" she paused to look up at Naruto, who froze when he saw her give him a big smile, "it was the nicest surprise I have ever had."

Naruto's heart was alternating between skipping beats and stopping. He suddenly gripped his tracksuit, clutching at his chest. 'What is this intense feeling?' he wondered. He had never felt anything like this before and he couldn't decide whether it was a bad feeling.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, worried. "Do I need to take you to the hospital?" But the intense feeling Naruto had quickly subsided and he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine. I must have used up more energy than I thought," he lied. Hinata saw through it, but chose not to call him out on it.

"You ran all the way here from the Academy, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that's nothing for people like us, right?"

"I suppose that's true…" Hinata's voice trailed off and she sighed. Naruto gave her a concerned look, but before he could say anything, she asked, "Might I ask you about what you are doing out here?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Tsunade-bā-chan sent me out here to look for three chūnin who wanted someone to spar with. Do you know where they are, Hinata?"

Hinata fell into her common nervous habit of twiddling her fingers. "Um…about that…"

What followed was one of the more excruciating moments in Hinata's recent memory. She hated seeing Naruto get down like this, but there was no avoiding it this time. Hinata explained that she and her teammates posted that request at Kurenai's behest, since their last few missions had exposed flaws in their tactics that needed to be addressed. She had thought that someone else would have shown up by now, particularly Team Guy, whose members had a habit of seeking out friendly spars with anyone and everyone whenever the opportunity arose. But Kiba and Shino bailed out a few hours ago, and so Hinata was left waiting here by herself, stuck with the unenviable duty of informing the first ninja who showed up that there would not be any sparring taking place today.

"That's so lame," Naruto muttered after Hinata finished her explanation. "I oughta give 'em a piece of my mind next time I see 'em."

"Please don't cause any problems for Kiba-kun and Shino-kun," Hinata begged. "I am sure they had a good reason for not being here right now."

"Grr…" Naruto crossed his arms in disapproval. He still wanted to run off and find them so he could yell at them. "Fine, but only 'cause you asked nicely, Hinata," he relented.

Hinata sighed and gave Naruto an apologetic look. "I am really sorry about this, Naruto-kun. But, um, if I might ask, why is it that the first thing you want to do after you return home is work?"

"Oh, well…" Naruto found himself having some difficulty answering Hinata's question, which was unusual considering he'd been able to answer it easily when Tsunade asked. It took a little effort for him to remind himself that Hinata probably wouldn't care what he gave her as an answer. "No reason, really. I was just hoping to show off."

To both his surprise and hers, Hinata giggled. "You really haven't changed, Naruto-kun."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you are always working so hard. I told you once before that I really admire that about you," Hinata clarified, smiling at Naruto afterward.

Now it was Naruto's turn to display an embarrassed blush. "Nah. Like I said, I just wanted to show off to Sakura-chan and Tsunade-bā-chan." Then, as an afterthought, "And to you as well."

Hinata blushed slightly again before shaking her head. "Wanting to be praised is a natural feeling," she said. Then she lowered her head and whispered, too softly for Naruto to hear, "I know the feeling all too well…"

"What was that, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Please don't worry about it," Hinata quickly replied.

"If you say so." Naruto turned away briefly and was about to walk away to sulk before he remembered what he had been planning to do and quickly grew excited again. "Hey! Since we don't have to do anything today, wanna go get some ramen with me, Hinata?"

The question sent the blood shooting right back up to Hinata's head. 'E-eating ramen alone with Na-Naruto-kun? Wouldn't that be a…d-date?!' she thought frantically.

Naruto didn't understand Hinata's reaction, but he also didn't want to wait for an answer either so he did what he did best and acted. "Come on, Hinata! I'm starving and I haven't had any ramen in years!" Naruto said grabbing her hand.

Hinata felt herself being roughly pulled, both back to reality and along the path back to the village. She was about to protest but when she felt Naruto's strong hand locked with her own and his smiling face as he happily pulled her along, it warmed Hinata's heart in a way she had not felt in long time. And so she was content to just let Naruto continue to lead her along.

x-x

"Throughout my entire life, I've only come close to dying twice," Jiraiya explained. "The first was when you caught me doing research at an onsen, Tsunade. You broke six of my ribs, both arms, and ruptured a handful of internal organs. You beat me like a drum that day. The second time…" he paused for dramatic effect as he took off his green kimono shirt and mesh armor to reveal a massive scar in the middle of his chest, "happened two and a half months ago, while Naruto was training to control the Kyūbi no Yōko's power." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Jiraiya and Shizune covered her mouth with her hands to stifle a gasp. "Naruto had demonstrated that he could keep control of himself while wrapped inside the Kyūbi's cloak after it reached three tails, so I loosened the seal to allow him access to more chakra. That's when things went wrong. The instant he tried to call on more chakra, the Kyūbi took complete control."

"And why did you not think it fit to tell me about this the moment it happened? In fact, why didn't you bring Naruto back immediately?" the Hokage asked the Toad Sage in a scolding voice.

Jiraiya groaned and scratched the back of his head. "Well, that's the problem. The Akatsuki have started to make their move. They've already captured two jinchūriki, so my highest priority after healing enough to move again was making sure they couldn't track our movements and ambush us while we were vulnerable."

"Damn it, Jiraiya!" Tsunade cursed. "You put yourself and Naruto in far too much danger trying a stunt like that."

"I have to agree with Tsunade-sama. That was reckless, Jiraiya-sama," Shizune added.

"Putting aside the fact you tried to help Naruto control the Kyūbi by yourself, which I will say again was an incredibly stupid act in and of itself, you mentioned something else that was bothering you more than this?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya scratched the scar left behind from Naruto's attack before he said in a morbid tone, "I sensed something else inside Naruto right before he attacked me…something with far more malice then the Kyūbi."

Both Tsunade and Shizune looked at each other, not sure what Jiraiya was saying. "Jiraiya-sama, that is vague at best and unhelpful at worst. What do you mean you sensed something more malicious than the fox?" Shizune asked.

"That could have just been the will of the Kyūbi, I mean you did say Naruto lost control right?" Tsunade commented.

Jirayia lowered his shirt and shook his head. "I hope to God you're right, Tsunade, but if it was just the Kyūbi manifesting its hate, it would have been obvious to anyone. No, this was something else…something darker. What's worse…I feel it was something stronger."

"Still not helpful, Jiraiya," Tsunade muttered.

Jirayia sighed and shook his head. "Maybe I'm just thinking too hard on it. But whatever that feeling was, there was a lot of it built up so maybe it was just the Kyūbi. Still, I would recommend keeping a close eye on Naruto for now."

"How close of an eye would that be? You know that kid is just dying to go out on missions again," Shizune said.

"Plus, the Konoha Council has been hounding me constantly over letting Naruto leave the village ever since you two left. Still, Kakashi should be able to handle anything for now should the need arise," Tsunade agreed.

Jiraiya looked hesitant for a moment before nodding in approval and putting his shirts back on. "Alright. I'll stop to see Kakashi and give him some suppressing tags and other countermeasures to use in case Naruto loses control on a mission. After that, I'll be leaving the village again for a few days."

"Oh already?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah. I've picked up another lead on the Akatsuki's movements that needs to be followed up on. It shouldn't take more than a few days."

"Alright then. Be careful, Jiraiya," Tsunade said.

"Oh, so now you're worrying about me? That's hilarious!" Jiraiya said laughing his way out the door.

When he had gone Shizune looked at Tsunade with skeptical eyes, "What do you think Jiraiya-sama meant? Do you know anything about what he sensed?"

Tsunade folded her hands and leaned back in her chair, reaching for a sake bottle. "I don't know, Shizune. But anything that scares him is enough to terrify me."

x-x

Unfortunately for the two Sannin, there were more people who already knew about Naruto's homecoming than they would have liked. In particular, the news had reached the eyes and ears of Danzō Shimura, disgraced village elder and former member of the Konoha Council, even before Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at Tsunade's office. While Naruto was blissfully ignorant of Donzō's existence, the war hawk had found the blond troublemaker to be a rather large thorn in his side, and not because of his behavior. That could have been corrected easily enough, had the late Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to his counsel. But Danzō had been forced to stay out of Naruto's childhood. He had left the boy alone…as had just about everyone else with the ability to influence his growth.

Danzō, being Hiruzen's rival, was more often than not his greatest critic. Hiruzen may have enjoyed the longest tenure as Hokage, but the Third was far too naïve to deserve the job. Hiruzen's handling of matters involving Naruto grated on Danzō's nerves. Danzō had tried, only once, to sway Hiruzen and the other elders to allow Naruto to receive specialized training and make the boy into the weapon he should have been, but the Hokage and the rest of the Konoha Council were unanimously against him. They argued that Naruto should be allowed to have a normal childhood. Danzō had pointed out the hypocrisy in Hiruzen's arguments, stating that it was Hiruzen's own fault Naruto would not be capable of having a normal childhood. Seriously, what kind of Kage is stupid enough to publicly advertise the identity of his shinobi village's jinchūriki? Hiruzen may have later admitted that was a mistake, but otherwise stood firm on having Naruto pretend to be a normal child instead of a living weapon. That was twice a mistake from the Third Hokage. If Hiruzen had allowed Naruto to receive proper training, the boy would have already fully realized his potential and his purpose. Furthermore, that training would have allowed Danzō to harness the Kyūbi's chakra and use it to further the development of advanced weapons that would elevate Konoha to its rightful place as the strongest shinobi village and the ultimate power among the nations.

There were other contingencies in place. If it came down to the worst-case scenario, Danzō would have to write Naruto off as a lost cause and have the Kyūbi extracted from him, sealing it inside another suitable container. But Danzō did not wish to take that step unless he felt there were no other viable alternatives.

Things had changed to Danzō's benefit since Orochimaru's attack on Konoha claimed Hiruzen's life and forced Tsunade to return and take Hiruzen's place. The Slug Sannin was much easier for him to manipulate than his late rival. However, Naruto himself had started to become a wrench in his plans that he failed to foresee. Naruto had actually started to win over the population of Konoha since becoming a registered ninja, with two high-profile events in particular contributing to their changing opinions of the boy: Team Seven's first "C-rank" mission to the Land of Waves, where Naruto saved that nation, and Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, where Naruto managed to defeat Sunagakure's jinchūriki almost entirely by himself. The two years Naruto spent away from Konoha had done little to restore the prior status quo. Public opinion in Konoha was swinging in Naruto's favor. He would have to act soon to reverse all the damage that had been done to his plans for Naruto and for the rest of Konoha.

"Danzō-sama," two voices spoke simultaneously, disrupting the war hawk's solitude. They belonged to Torune Aburame and Fū Yamanaka, two of the youngest but most skilled members of his elite faction of Anbu known as Root.

"I am already aware of the Container's return to our village, Torune, Fū," Danzō addressed the pair of Root operatives. "What else have you to report?"

"Sir, as we observed Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraiya, we noticed that for a split second, Naruto's eyes changed color from blue to red, with no pupils and black sclerae," the orange-haired Fū said. "Based off all prior accounts of a Kyūbi jinchūriki accessing his or her bijū's chakra, that change in this jinchūriki's eyes is not normal even for him."

"As for Jiraiya, from what I overheard during my infiltration of the Hokage's office, there was an incident during the jinchūriki's training that caused them to return ahead of schedule," Torune added. "Jiraiya made certain adjustments to the seal on Naruto that caused him to lose control of the Kyūbi, nearly resulting in Jiraiya's death."

Donzō was contemplating whether this was the worst-case scenario he had prepared for. "Speaking of Jiraiya, what are his present affairs?" he asked Torune.

"The spymaster has already left the village to resume his primary mission."

"How fortuitous for us." Danzō allowed himself a smile.

"What exactly is the plan, Danzō-sama?" Fū asked.

"If the Container has already lost control once, it is only a matter of time before he does so again. Without Jiraiya around to protect him, it will be much simpler to bring him to heel. Go to the Research and Development division and have them prepare the sample."

"That sample, sir?"

"Yes, that one."

"With all due respect, sir, are you sure that's necessary?" Torune asked. "If the Hokage discovers this, a death sentence for treason will be the least of your concerns."

"It is a temporary measure, but in light of recent events it is indeed necessary, Torune. When all is said and done, Tsunade-hime will be neutralized, and the Container will be under our control." Danzo said turning his gaze back towards his window.

"As you command sir." Torune said and in the next moment he vanished.

Danzo chuckled to himself, "Now then how will handle this Tsunade? My pieces are in place are yours?"