'Thoughts'

"Demon/Inner Self"

'Demon thoughts'

"Gamabunta"

"Writing"

"Speech"

"Radio"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only write to pass time, and have some fun.

Kazama Arashi = Namikaze Minato

No, I will not change the names of the characters to fit the manga. What better way to set this apart from the manga then to keep the names I've used long before it was revealed in the manga? Besides, certain names go well with what I plan on doing in the stories I write.

"Sensei Sensei I finally did it," yelled a young boy as he banged on the door before letting himself in and running into the house.

The silver haired boy had only made it to the living room when he heard someone curse and the sound of feet shuffling along the floor and the banging of bodies along with more swearing. It was only then that he paused to look around and noticed that there was another pair or sandals by the door he had just come from. Knowing he may have caught his Sensei in an awkward situation only caused the young man to smile behind his mask.

Now he started to walk slowly towards the sounds, which happened to be coming from the second floor of the house. He couldn't help but wonder whom he was going to catch the man with. Would it be Tsunade? She was powerful and still young enough to marry someone like his teacher. The two did seem to get along the few times Jiraiya wasn't around screwing things up.

Of course, there was also that Inuzuka woman as well, Tsume. The boy shivered at the thought of the feral woman and his teacher being together. Well at least he could get tips on how to raise his own nin-ken. She might not be the type of person he imagined his Sensei with but there were still some interesting and "cool" things about her.

Right as the boy was about to start up the stairs to the second floors he could hear two people heading his way.

He could see his teacher's black pants, which should have been taped, for obvious reasons he figured. The second pair of feet though caused him some confusion. They were feminine but he couldn't place them. The woman also wore pants similar to his teacher. That ruled out Tsunade, that and the fact that this woman's toenails weren't painted. Then again, they weren't wild as he imagined an Inuzuka's would be either. If anything, they were perfect. They did seem a little pale but they had no blemish with well-manicured nails.

The duo were now nearly down the stairs and he could tell that the pants of the woman just seemed to barely hang on her hips by the bulky belt she wore, showing that she seemed to be wearing something that looked like a purple leotard under the flak jacket she had paused on the steps to put on. It was only now that Kakashi could finally see whom he had caught his Sensei with.

The short purple hair and red eyes were all he needed to see to know who this was.

"What the hell is she doing here Arashi-sensei!"

Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts as he nearly bumped into the back of the person in front of him. He remembered that day in his life all too well. It was the only time he ever hated the man that became a father to him. He hated the man for daring to sleep with a woman so closely related to one of the greatest traitors in the history of Konoha.

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts out he looked to see why everyone has stopped. A quick glance to the sky told him it wasn't late enough to set up camp, but a flash of pink and blonde hair vanishing into the bushes ended up telling him all he needed to know.

'I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since we left so quickly,' thought the man as everyone waited on the road.

The revelation he had when they left Tazuna's house was still throwing him for loops. He knew this woman. If she was indeed, who he thought she was then that opened up possibilities that he really didn't want to think about. The fact that he had once walked in on her and his Sensei going at it like rabbits only served to irritate him more and cause him to look at a certain whisker marked boy.

'If she really is his mother then does that mean… No, Sensei would have told me if he was expecting a child! Then again, right after that we had the mission where we lost Obito… I stopped talking to Arashi-sensei after I found out they were together. I thought she was just trying to get into his pants and would stab him in the back the way Orochimaru did to everyone else.'

Kakashi was so caught up in his own inner turmoil that he never noticed the auburn haired woman behind him silently observing him. Even after being away from him for so long, she could still read his emotions. The subtle tensing of his shoulder, clenching of his hands, and slight shiver let her guess was going through his mind. Of course, it seemed that he had dropped several of his defenses when they left Tazuna.

Kakashi was normally a man who could mask and hide every one of his emotions. It was only once you grew accustomed to him that you would be able to notice the nuisances that marked a change in his emotions. The shock that Motoko was the mother of Naruto seemed to be a big enough shock to him that most of these had shut down while he became wrapped up in his thoughts.

"Alright we'll keep walking for a couple more hours and make camp for the night. We should be able to make it to Konoha by noon tomorrow without being tired," stated Asuma as he walked to the front of the pack of Shinobi.

It became obvious to most that at this point in time the "highest ranking Shinobi" present wasn't going to be able to take charge of the situation.

KONOHA

Yakushi Kabuto seemed to be one of the normal Shinobi you find in every village. In nearly every Shinobi village, you find that a portion of the ranks is made up of "Seasoned Genin." That term came about to distinguish a portion of the Genin ranks from the rest of the ranks. It normally meant that the Genin had been at that rank for several years. If you figured most Genin start at the tender age of 12, then your "Seasoned Genin" would be anyone around the age of 17 and older.

These Genin were often considered a joke among the ranks since they could never manage to advance to the next rank, Chunin. Some often take the test to advance several times and still don't manage to win the prestigious flak jacket worn by Chunin and higher.

Yakushi Kabuto was one of these Genin. He had no special skills listed in his file, nor did he ever display any openly hostile traits. He was just a bland individual who would likely retire as a Genin when he reached a certain age and try to find a new place in life. The fact that his file was that bland is what called attention to him as Tsunade and the Sandaime started to review the files of every Shinobi in Konoha.

For a young man who was the adopted son of the Director of the hospital, he should have shown some skills in the medical field. Yet even when the situation presented itself, he never displayed any such skills. In missions where he was exposed to combat he always seemed to hesitate for a few seconds. To the untrained eye, it might seem like uncertainty but to the eyes of Anko it looked like someone restraining himself.

She had followed Kabuto around nearly every day since she was given this mission and yet she had not found anything to warrant a deeper investigation, raiding and searching his home while he was out. It was all beginning to become frustrating for the woman who wanted nothing more then to kick skulls in and take names. He was just too clean to be anything but bad news.

Oh she had found some nice information out about his teammates. Thankfully they didn't seem to have the skill to restrain themselves the way Kabuto did. From what she could tell they had taken part in at least one experiment that her former Sensei as known for. It was the only thing that could explain how Tsurugi Misumi had gained the ability to become seemingly boneless as he used his body like a boa constrictor.

That just made things all the more interesting for her. Just the thought of being able to track down the man who used her for his sick experiments and then tossed her aside made her blood boil. Yet she still needed to try to gain some kind of information they could use on Kabuto. She was already trying to work out a deal with the Aburame to see if they could send their colonies out and see if they found the man's scent anywhere it shouldn't be.

'That is going to be rather time consuming though. Yet at the moment it's the only thing I can do to pin something to this slippery bastard,' mused Anko as chewed on a leftover stick from her one o'clock dango snack.

Konoha

It was already the following day and Jiraiya couldn't help but fidget around as he stood on the wall that surrounded Konoha. Reports had come back to him that the teams sent to Wave Country should be arriving within hours. Ever since he was given the report he had been standing on the great wall that protected Konoha. He wanted to know if his assumptions were correct. He had to know how Motoko had survived that night.

Since the teams had left Sarutobi, Tsunade, and himself had locked themselves away in the archives searching for clues as to what had happened that night. Every report they came across stated that the maternity ward had been struck by a stray jutsu while battling the Kyubi. This ended up setting off oxygen tanks and causing a massive fireball to consume that part of the hospital.

The strange thing about it was that the ward had been empty except for a single person, Kusanagi Motoko. All others had been evacuated to the shelters once Kyubi was seen coming towards Konoha. Motoko had gone into battle knowing she could possibly go into labor at any moment and had in fact done so when she was bringing some wounded back to the hospital. She was then rushed to a delivery room and worked on by one of her lover's students, Rin. This was where things started to look fishy to the three as they studied all the reports and compared it to the knowledge they had gained since Naruto took off.

The reports stated that the infant had died in the explosion along with the few nurses and Rin that were in that section of the hospital. No effort was put into trying to identify all of the bodies, since the maternity ward had been converted into a makeshift morgue to help clear up room in main part of the hospital. The only thing they had to go by was the brief notes made into a log that she had entered the hospital due to going into labor.

It didn't take someone of Tsunade's skill to know that there should have been more work done to document her situation. It didn't take being Sarutobi to know that an investigation had been done. He remembered reading the report himself as he reflected upon the lives lost that night. He remembered seeing the name of Arashi's wife on the report and dreading what would happen to Naruto. After they locked themselves away he searched for the scroll in the archives. He knew he wasn't senile and yet he could never find the document again. In its place was a scroll he didn't remember reading, with names that shouldn't have been listed.

It didn't take long for the three to decide that someone was trying to cover their tracks. Names and dates weren't matching up with their memories. People they thought had died years ago were listed as entering the hospital for treatment years after their deaths. People that Sarutobi remembered talking to were listed as M.I.A or K.I.A. during incidents he knew they couldn't have taken part in.

Then a disturbing pattern made itself known to Sarutobi. Many of those listed as killed in action were often people who had tried to defend Naruto at one point or another.

Jiraiya had to shiver as he remembered that tidbit of information. The village he had fought for had some how become so corrupt right under his nose. It hurt him knowing he had missed such things, but the pain he felt was nothing compared to that of Sarutobi. The Sandaime was devastated to realize that he had missed so much during the years.

'All of this only makes me think about what Hikari said about the Biju. They show up when people are crossing lines that shouldn't be crossed, Kami's "divine executioners". I wonder if the gods are sitting around debating on destroying Konoha for what has happened,' thought the man as he moved to sit on the wall and look out to the forest.

All he could hope for is for Naruto and the rest to return home so key pieces of the puzzle could be put into play. If Rin and Motoko were truly alive then they no doubt held information that could cause a wave of change within Konoha, a change that seemed to be long over-due.

The white-haired sage could only smile as he thought about the things that could be done. The smile increased in size as he noticed a certain golden-blond moving through the trees with his trusty spyglass.

Motoko

She could smile as they broke through the tree line and could finally see the wall of the village she had once called home. The place she had sworn to protect with her life when certain events happened in her life. Events that had forced her closer to a man that she admired for being passionate about protecting those close to him.

The only thing that kept her from being as happy as the son by her side was the memory of what had happened the last time she was in the village. The stories she had heard from Rin as they were forced to travel around the Elemental Countries running from an army hell bent on killing them.

'Army might not be the most appropriate term but I'm sure it felt like that to Rin,' mused the woman as she looked over to her friend and protector.

Years of life on the run didn't seem to have much of an affect on her but one look into her eyes would make anyone think she was older then she should be. The things she had to have seen and done while taking care of her charge would probably haunt the girl until the end of days. Even when relating the past thirteen years to Motoko she glossed over a great deal.

Yet she had also grown stronger through the ordeal. Most who knew the girl would probably only remember a petite child who could hardly look you in the eye let alone kill someone. No one would believe that she would fight off a squad of Ne by herself or stand up to a demonic child seeking to crush her and her charge in a wave of sand. No, she might look like the Rin who left Konoha on the outside but on the inside she was someone completely different.

That was something Kakashi had found out firsthand.

Flashback

It had been a long couple of hours before they finally decided it was time to set up camp. Assignments were handed out and completed as quickly as the little Genin could drop their packs and split off to their assigned tasks. In the case of Naruto gathering firewood was obscenely easy as he created ten clones and together brought back every dry piece of wood within 50 yards.

What interested Motoko though was her friend Rin who was being "discreetly" followed by the brat Kakashi. She knew the two had yet to talk about everything that had transpired in the past and over the years. She also knew that Rin wasn't all that eager to talk to the person she had once loved only to have her heart crushed by the same man. Years of anger and resentment were bottled up and waiting to be unleashed on the poor unsuspecting Hatake as he moved to cut the woman off on her trip to the river.

She knew she shouldn't pry but Rin was like a daughter to her now. She had been looked after for years by the girl and couldn't view her as anything but family. She was slowly trying to make her way to the couple when the sound of flesh striking flesh was heard by her. Seconds later there was a thud as a body hit a tree and crumpled to the forest floor. What followed next she didn't need enhanced ears to hear.

"I don't know you any more Hatake Kakashi. I thought I once knew you until Obito passed away! You changed after that and not in a good way. You started to withdraw from everyone on our team and you DARE question me about what I've been doing! The last time we talked you didn't care about me, Sensei, or Motoko-sama!"

The woman could easily be heard yelling at the scarecrow as he fought to stand up. He obviously didn't think she had grown much in strength over the years. What ever Rin had done seemed to knock him for a loop.

"Don't you even dare try to make up excuses for what happened! You think you were the only one who was hurt by Obito passing? Did you forget he confessed his feelings to me as he asked me to give you his eye? Did you have any idea what that would do to a girl? No, you only cared about yourself and trying to keep a promise to him and yet you even failed to take care of me like he asked. WHY! WHY would you promise to Obito that you would take care of me then shut me and everyone else out of your life? Why would you start acting like him so soon after his death?"

The Kusanagi woman could see Kakashi trying to say something but being where she was didn't allow her to hear. What ever was said though only served to anger the already pissed Rin.

"That's all you have to say? That you thought it would be best for me if you did that. You really are an idiot Kakashi. Did you think it was also best for Sensei that you treated him the same way, the man who saw you as a son? Oh yes, I know exactly why you started acting that way. You hated the idea of Motoko-sama being close to Sensei. You'd like everyone to think it was because of Orochimaru but he had nothing to do with the way you were acting."

Now things were getting close to home. She remembered when Kakashi had walked in on her and Arashi. She also remembered the hurt in the young-man's eyes when he saw the two together. The same pain could always been seen when Kakashi happened upon them walking down the street together or in the woods sparring with each other. She hated that she had come between her lover and his "son" and tried to break things off with the man, yet he wouldn't allow her to.

"You were jealous of her! You were angry that someone else was so close to Arashi-sensei! You felt betrayed that he would harbor such feelings for someone other then you, the boy who ignored how big of a heart his Sensei had. It didn't stop there though did it Kakashi? After the Kyubi attacked you transferred that anger and jealousy onto another person. Someone who didn't deserve any of it."

Okay now it was time to put an end to things. If Rin kept on yelling too much information would be leaked. There were ears nearby that didn't need to know the dynamics between those involved in this story.

"Rin-nee-chan," called someone from the forest before Motoko could jump over to the duo. She watched on as her son slowly walked out of the woods and towards the downed Kakashi and the fuming Rin.

"It's alright Nee-chan, you shouldn't be yelling at an old friend that was worried about you and regretted his actions," said Naruto as he moved to help a startled Kakashi to his feet.

"Everyone was hurting back then and needed something to vent on… I guess I should be angry that everyone decided to vent it on me but I think I'm a stronger person because of it. At the same time I'm glad they didn't direct their hate at others… I mean imagine how many more dysfunctional families there would have been if they couldn't vent on me," added the boy with a sad smile as he pulled the Jonin over his shoulder and started to walk back towards camp.

Rin stood there stunned as the two walked off. She wasn't the only one stunned though since Kakashi hadn't said a word to Naruto as the two shuffled away. Motoko herself couldn't believe her ears really. The boy had every right to be angry and yet he was willing to forgive someone who played a key role in making his life hell.

"He's so much like him, isn't he," asked Motoko as she landed next to Rin.

The auburn-haired girl nodded dumbly as she looked in the direction Kakashi and Naruto had gone. Both remembered how forgiving Arashi had been when Kakashi changed. They knew he was hurt by the change but he was willing to forgive him for as long as it took. He would bare the pain to try to shield others from it.

End Flashback

She knew Rin had changed and she could only guess how much others had changed over the years.

'I wonder how that little pit-viper is. From the way Naruto talks she has a wild streak in her but that seems to have changed after she and Ibiki adopted him.'

Oh she knew Anko alright. After Orochimaru had left and then they found Anko wandering the woods battered and bloodied she had stayed close to the girl to find out anything she could about the traitor. This ended up causing the two to bond since they shared a similar pain, which neither would openly admit to anyone else. While she didn't want to admit it she couldn't help but wonder if she had influenced Anko's behavior.

She already knew Ibiki had been influenced somewhat, since black trench coats were never really in fashion within Konoha. The combat sandal style wasn't exactly something most Shinobi would wear either, many feeling that they were too bulky. Therefore, Anko wearing something that was somewhat provocative and being covered up by a trench coat made her wonder. The girl had made a few changes of course but it reminded her of something she had once worn.

This of course just reminded her how much odd it was that in a village as large as Konoha three people could happen across each other and share so many connections. One of her students and a girl she had all but adopted would happen across her son and take him under their wings. Some of it she could imagine the Sandaime had played a role in, them living in her old home for example. Other facets of their connection only seemed to happen by the will of the gods.

"Welcome back Teams 7, 8, and 10, Hokage-sama will be pleased to know that all of you have returned and in good health," greeted the Chunin guarding the gates of Konoha.

Each person handed over a small wallet that served as their passport and allowed to check the identity of the owner. It seemed foolish when Shinobi could easily kill one of them and use a simple transformation jutsu, but it often worked nonetheless. Part of what allowed it to work was the paper each passport was printed on, chakra paper made from special trees. These trees were feed chakra on a daily basis that allowed the paper made from it to gain special qualities. Some paper could be used to test the elemental affinities of a person.

The papers in these passports were marked with special seals that would memorize, for lack of a better term, the chakra signature of a person. Simple and yet effective. There were more then likely other properties to this paper but those were never told to the regular forces. It was something only a select few knew within Konoha.

It was when Motoko and Rin offered their passports that things shifted from the norm. They were of course rather worn and old but that wasn't what surprised the two guards checking everyone. It was the information printed on the documents that caused heads to snap up and eyes to widen.

When you see a name like Kazama Kusanagi Motoko it's bound to get the attention of anyone. There was only one person known by Kazama and Kusanagi. One was dead and the other was the most known traitor to come from Konoha. Just the conflicting morals of the two made the pairing standout.

Both Chunin were stuttering at the proposed paper as the looked between the paper and the woman who had offered it. All of that came to an end when Jiraiya dropped down and took the wallet from the Chunin and handed it back to the purple-haired woman with a grin on his face.

"You two will forget about this, if me telling you this isn't enough then consider it an order from the Hokage. Got it?"

The man didn't wait for an answer as he stepped passed everyone and motioned for them to follow him through the gates.

Anko

She had decided to report her finding to the Hokage after managing to talk some Aburame, Aburame Shibi, into helping monitor her target. The main thing they had come across was Kabuto going into parts of the village Archives that housed a great deal of secret information. Information such as village defense plans, ANBU names, ranks, skills and identities. If it was something a Genin wasn't supposed to know he had viewed it.

She was sure that the Sandaime wouldn't be too pleased with the news and hated to be the one to give it to him.

As she was leaving the office she bumped into the last person she was expecting to see. That was the only thing that saved him from a beating as he went face first into her bountiful bosom. It was also the only reason she pulled the person into said bosom and smothered him.

"Naruto," screamed Anko as she hugged him close to her and shook him.

This caused a mixture of reactions as Team 7, 8, 10 and various others watched the scene. The female members of the teams gasped at the actions of the older woman, with Hinata being the least surprised. The male members, maybe member is a better term scowled as he wished he could be in the same situation, his little dog trying to bite his hear from the top of his head was easily missed as he imagined himself in Naruto predicament.

Asuma just turned away from the scene, well aware that Kurenai was already keeping a close eye on him. Said woman scowled for a second before smiling at the siblings and turning away to give them their moment. Kakashi only looked up for a second before quickly returning his face to his book. Rin stood there with her mouth open stunned at the scene, with Motoko trying to keep from laughing.

"Hey I thought I was the only one allowed there," pouted Iruka that caused a few more surprised squeaks and gasps, few dreamed of their former teacher ever being that open with his relationship.

It was Iruka's voice that caused Anko to pause her smothering of Naruto and turn look up at the man she had fallen for. Slowly her lip quirked up as she started to smile, he had never been so open about them being together, sure they had dates but she often said those kinds of remarks not him. Hearing him say that just made her shiver at the out of character remark. It also made it hard to be mad at him. She dropped Naruto to the floor and threw herself at Iruka who caught her and held her close.

"I missed you a lot Anko," whispered the scarred Chunin as Anko buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"Yeah thanks for nearly killing me Nee-chan," grumbled Naruto as he was helped up by Hinata.

"Well if you two want to spend some time together I suggest we hurry up and report to Sarutobi-sensei so you can be on your way," added Jiraiya as he tucked his notepad away and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

That was when Anko jumped away from Iruka and fought off the rare blush at such a public display of affection. She didn't mind teasing Iruka in public but the gentler displays of affection tended to cause her to blush. The Chunin she was holding onto just smiled at her with a quick wink and a hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter at the surprised look on his face.

"Yeah let's hurry up… I need to find a place to camp tonight since I won't get any sleep at home," chirped Naruto after he saw the wink from Iruka.

It was with that thought that everyone broke out in laughter and made their way into the Hokage's office. None of them saw the seething man that had quickly ducked around a corner, a bandaged hand with white knuckles as he squeezed his cane nearly crushing the handle.

Night had already fallen by the time Team 7, 8, and 10 had given a brief oral report to the Hokage, with orders to turn in a full detailed written report by the end of the week. With that majority of the students were dismissed and told to return home and get some well-earned rest.

Now only the Sandaime, Motoko, Rin, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Naruto stood in the office. Motoko and Rin seemed to be contempt with looking around the room, taking in the changes that had been made by Sarutobi after retaking the office. Jiraiya and Tsunade were glancing around between at the other three occupants of the room, both curious as to how things were going to play out. Naruto was showing a side seldom seen by the oldest Shinobi in the room.

"You seem to be nervous Naruto."

Naruto paused in his shifting and looked up at the Sandaime for the first time since he'd been in the office. He knew he had screwed up when he took off to Wave Country the way he did. How badly was still up in the air and he would never accept being let off with an insignificant punishment.

"I'm sorry I left like I did Jiji, I was just worried about everyone and couldn't wait around! Then finding out about…" Naruto trailed off as he looked over towards Motoko and Rin who were across from him in the little half circle they five had created.

"Ah yes, Kusanagi Motoko and Rin. The secret wife of Kazama Arashi and one of his only three students, both of whom were reported as dead during the Kyubi attack years ago. I must say I was shocked to learn that you two were still alive," added the Sandaime as he decided to cut Naruto some slack, for now.

He had leveled his gaze at the two women as if he was trying to intimidate them into cracking. As much as he would like to believe this turn of events, being a Shinobi often taught you to doubt such news.

"I can assure you Hiruzen the news of our demise was greatly exaggerated. Had it not been for Rin though the news might have been true. It was only due to her facts actions after Arashi left with Naruto that I even survived to this day, even if I spent most of it in a coma until recently."

That last piece of information seemed to perk Tsunade up, if only because of the medical implications. From what she had seen the woman didn't appear to suffer from any symptoms that would normally show from spending twelve years in a coma.

"If you would though I'd like to know more about the situation that you and Naruto found yourself in. You see one of the people who attacked you should have been locked away in prison; so of course I'm rather disturbed at the fact that not only did he escape but it was never found out," questioned Sarutobi, willing to let Tsunade and Jiraiya cover the missing years at a later time. Right now he had a leak in security that he needed to plug and fast.

"I think I can answer that for you, Hokage-sama," answered Rin quickly. "The men were from that group that Arashi-sama disbanded shortly after taking office. I only know because I've spent the last twelve years fighting them off and managed to keep a few alive long enough to gain some information about them through some rather unpleasant means," added the auburn haired woman as she quickly stood and started to pace the room.

By now Jiraiya had pulled out a notepad to document the information to pursue further after the meeting as well as just take notes on how this rather unassuming woman might have managed to crack one of the darkest secrets in Konoha's history. He wasn't disappointed.

Through the years Rin had learned a great deal about the Ne who followed Danzo. She learned of the seal that Danzo had placed on majority of his soldiers to keep them from betraying him, which was also the easiest way to spot one his special ANBU. As with all seals there are ways around them. Since Danzo was mainly worried about his people speaking of him, he had of course forgotten that there are other ways to communicate. It was during one such session that Rin had finally "talked" one of them into spilling his guts, literally and figuratively.

Danzo was after Motoko as a way to keep certain things secret, such as her relationship with the Yondaime Hokage and Uzumaki Naruto. He wanted to try to use her blood as a mean to gain entrance into the home of the Yondaime to spirit away the information locked within. Of course that wasn't all that he wanted.

Everyone sat in silence as they soaked in what Rin had told them. No one was stunned more then Naruto at the things this "Danzo" person had tried. Yet at the same time certain puzzle pieces started to fall into place for him. All the times his ANBU guard had just happened to be looking the other way. All of the break-ins that happened when he, Anko, and Ibiki first moved into their new home.

"I see. This is rather disturbing news. I've had suspicions that Danzo had started Root back up but I had never thought it was this far along. I do not doubt the validity of your claims but…"

"He has the support of a large portion of the council and the only way you could do anything is if you caught him red handed," cut in Motoko, already knowing the situation.

Sarutobi nodded his head with a scowl on his face, showing what he thought of the entire situation. Tsunade and Jiraiya both looked like they had swallowed baskets full of lemons with the sour look on their faces.

"We have majority of the Shinobi council on our side but the civilians have slowly started to take control of things with the help of Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. With my students coming back to Konoha in recent years I've managed to stall them and have worked on changing that," added the Sandaime, ensuring his dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs was known.

"Since you've showed up though we've gone into overdrive kicking over rocks to dig up more dirt on our mutual friend," added Jiraiya seeing the scowl on the woman's face. The next couple of hours were spent discussing the Council, Danzo, Konoha, and Naruto's life from the various perspectives gathered in the room.

Of course that didn't mean Naruto was privy to the conversation currently taking place. He was currently occupied with his eyes closed and gently snoring in the lap of Hikari within his mindscape.

Hinata

Homecoming for he others went as one would expect for the group after everything that had happened on their missions.

Hinata was welcomed home by her Father and Sister, both of whom were please to see she was alright, even if she had a bandage around her head and arms. Neither of them could wait until she was settled in to hear the story behind her wounds and the sudden deployment of forces to the Land of Waves. Of course Hiashi had a small idea of why ANBU, Jonin, and Chunin had been deployed after a briefing from the Hokage. That didn't mean he knew the entire story, a story that was bound to come up at the next council meeting.

Similar events went on all around Konoha as Clan Leaders and parents welcomed their children home and inquired what had happened in the land just off the coast of the Land of Fire. Shikamaru was spared talking to his mom as he was quickly pulled away into his Father's library and asked about the mission. Kiba was able to forgo a flea bath, something all Inuzuka are required to do when returning from another country, just so he could tell his mother what happened.

All of the parents were met with different results. Kiba was more then willing to boast about what happened on the trip. In doing so he let some information slip out that shouldn't have been mentioned to the general population yet. It wasn't the news of Motoko's return that would end up causing an uproar, but the story of an unknown weapon being used by Gatoh's thugs that garnered the most attention. After all such weapons would cause a revolution in the way battles were fought.

Others like Shikamaru, Shino, Hinata, Chouji, and Sakura were able to keep their lips sealed regarding information they deemed "eye's only". Maybe it was from their training, many of them having grown up with Naruto and exposed to the likes of Anko, Ibiki, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. Knowing what field each of them worked in allowed them to understand when information could be shared and when it shouldn't. Strange weapons and the secrets of their Friend and teammate was something they would guard with their life.

When she had given a brief recollection of the events Hinata was finally able to retire to her room and flop down on her bed for the first time in a long time. She couldn't help but snuggle deeper into the soft mattress as she let all the familiar feeling set in and slowly drifted off to sleep. Again similar events were happening all over Konoha as the Genin retired for the night and never the wiser to what changes their homecoming would bring to the village.

Yet perhaps that was for the best as sometimes ignorance is bliss.

A/N: Yeah yeah I know I know. No need to remind me how horrible I am at updating. I would have liked to make this longer but didn't feel like forcing things. From here it should be easy to see what the next Arc may be. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and don't feel the need to hunt me down and torture me in every painful way imaginable.