I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in awhile. I'm betting some of you are wanting to shove a rasengan up my ass. I've been busy with life, family, and school, you know the typical things. But with the posting of this chapter, I plan on getting back into rhythm of posting regularly. So you can expect a new chapter about every two weeks. I have to say two weeks so that I will have enough time to edit it along with my other stories. If someone would like to become a Beta for this story or one of my others let me know, you will be the first one to read it besides myself and I will accept whatever creative input you have to offer to the story and I will recognize your ideas in the chapter. So if you're interesting in becoming a Beta for one or more of my stories send me a pm and then I can publish a chapter a week if I have help editing.

As many of you can see, the upcoming chapters I am writing will be taking place in Kiri during the bloodline wars. To connect with you guys more, and to help me out a bit in the creativity department, I'm wanting you guys to make your own shinobi.

HERE ARE THE RULES:

1. They have to be from Kiri but you get to decide if they are on the rebel side or part of Yagura's "StormTroopers".

2. They have to have names that make sense to the Naruto universe.

3. You can give them bloodlines if they're part of the rebel faction but the bloodlines have to make sense to Kiri.

rule, have fun with it.

So send me in your characters with a much information as you can think of, and the ones I really like I may just keep them after the war.

Now, as an apology I have written an REALLY extra long chapter. A few notices I thought I should add is that this chapter is rated M for torture. By going through these things I think it will show and open up the characters to you more. If you don't want to read those scenes then I will put a warning label and you can skip it and more onto when it's over.

~ I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did :( ~

*Recap On Chapter 7*

*Inside The Warehouse*

"It's a trap!" Ao yelled and activated his byakugan.

"Thank you Admiral Ackbar!" Naruto yelled while making several shadow clones.

"You know for ninjas you guys really don't know how to shut up." said a voice behind Naruto as the figure raised it's giant sword to his neck.

"With those loud mouths of your's it would be easy for anybody to kill you idiots." Another figure said as it placed it's bandaged sword at Ao's neck.

*End Of Chapter 6*

*Chapter 8*

Mei looked at Naruto both Ao and smiled. "Don't ruff them up too much, we need them." She said as she sat on a crate and watched.

Naruto and Ao stared at her as if she was insane.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You should have seen the looks on your faces, great idea Kisame!" The one from behind Naruto shouted. Ao immediately untensed and started laughing knowing who the two were.

"Thanks for helping out Zabuza." Kisame said while strapping his sword to his back. Naruto still confused sat on a crate close to Mei while the other sat down forming a circle.

"So, why are you guys here?" Mei asked still amused.

"Well, we came to escort you and whatever help you got back to base. But it doesn't seem like you got much." Kisame said and sighed leaning back and put his hands behind his head. Naruto just decided to ignore him and he would prove him wrong later.

"Yagura has upped the defence around the harbor on Kiri. We think word got out that we were trying to bring in reinforcements." Zabuza said in a bored expression and balanced his chin on his sword.

"So, how are we going to get there?" Ao asked looking a little depressed at how hard it was to get back home.

"Well by ship of course! We will probably just have to fight our way out of the harbor." Zabuza said standing up and putting his sword on his back. "Let's go board the ship, the sooner we get there the sooner we're back home."

*Aboard The Ship*

Naruto climbed aboard the ship and everyone else followed. It was a pretty nice sized ship. Nothing too big so it could be speedy. The ship had the storage room below, the crews quarters, and the captain's room. The crew watched the ninja board the ship and simply went back to work on hoisting the sails so they could take off in a hour after the sun had set.

"So, how long is the boat ride?" Naruto asked looking to Zabuza.

"About a day, it would take less time but we have to go the long way to avoid the patrols." Zabuza answered and headed below deck and the other ninja followed.

"Where do we sleep?" Mei asked looking to catch a nap.

"Well, there are only three empty bunks in the crew's quarters and 1 extra room. So I guess we will just take turns unless we make Ao and Zabuza double up." Kisame said with a little chuckle.

"Hey! Why do I have to when these two are fiances?!" Ao yelled pointing at Naruto and Mei. He really did not want to be forced into cuddling with Zabuza again. Kisame and Zabuza looked at Naruto and Mei and smirked.

"So they're engaged?" They said simultaneously.

Ao nodded his head to this furiously, knowing that this would get him his own bunk. "Yeah, they just found out like almost a week ago. Their fathers had set them up in an arranged marriage years ago."

Zabuza and Kisame were still grinning like mad men at Naruto and Mei. Naruto and Mei both felt extremely uncomfortable. "Well if they are going to get married anyways, then they can share a bed tonight. Just remember to save it for the wedding night." Zabuza said and shoved them into the extra room and closed the door. Kisame chuckled at the look on the kids faces.

*Naruto and Mei*

The room seemed to be filled with so much awkwardness that you could actually reach out and touch it. Naruto looked around the room and noticed the single bed, the closet, and a small desk. Naruto walked over to the desk and took off his weapons pouches and set them on the desk.

Mei was still standing there not sure what to do. She was still thinking about how Naruto had called her his 'mate'. Mei walked over to the desk and copied what Naruto did and waited around to see what he would do.

Naruto walked over to the bed and grabbed the sheet and a pillow and started setting himself up a bed in the floor. Mei looked at him confused. She thought that they would have to share the bed.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Making myself a bed in the floor. I'd rather not make things awkward, so sleeping in the floor is fine." Naruto said with a smiled and laid down on his makeshift bed. Mei smiled at this and got in her own bed trying to go to sleep.

*Few Hours Later*

Mei rolled over in the bed pulling the blanket closer to her. She couldn't sleep well, not while knowing the chaos going on back home. She got up and left the room heading up towards the deck. She walked past the crew quarters and heard the snores of the sailors and ninja and headed up on deck. Meanwhile, below deck Naruto had just got up. He heard Mei get up and wanted to see if she was alright so he followed her up to the top of the deck.

Naruto walked above deck and found himself speechless. Mei was standing against one of the sides of the ship and was looking at the water and the night sky. The moon seemed to wrap around her and make her glow, hitting the tips of her auburn hair making them shine like stars in the sky. Naruto stared at how beautiful she looked right then before slowly walking over to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked leaning against the railing next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I can't sleep well while knowing what's going on back home." She said still staring out at sea.

"I'm sure everything is fine. Long before you came to Konoha I was keeping tabs on things going on across the nations. The rebel faction has been doing very well in the civil war." Naruto said confidently.

"You never said why you want to come, why do you want to help us?" She asked now looking at Naruto.

"Because I know what it's like to be hunted and hated for something you have no control over, and I have a personal matter to settle with Yagura." He explained.

"Why were you hunted and hated? And what personal matter could you have to settle with Yagura?" Mei asked really confused.

"That's something I'd prefer to talk about once we've gotten to know each other better." Naruto said cautiously.

Mei looked at him wanting to know his secrets but thought it was best to let it go for now. "Okay, I understand. I may be your fiance but we haven't known each other for very long yet."

"Thanks." Naruto said and looked out back at the sea. They stood there for a while watching the stars until Mei started to shiver. Naruto took off his trench coat and put it on her shoulders. "You should wear warmer clothes for how cold it is here."

Mei smiled at him and pulled the trench coat around her. "Well as long as I have your coat I'll be fine."

Naruto smiled back at her and they looked back at the water. Mei's hand slowly crept over to Naruto's until they were holding hands. Both Mei and Naruto were happy at how peaceful and romantic the moment was, but a certain vixen was getting jealous at watching the scene. "Why can't me and Naruto have a moment like this?" Kyuubi thought depressingly.

"Hey, Naruto." Mei said.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"I'm sorry for acting weird lately, it's just that when you called me your mate back at Konoha everything just seemed to become so much more real then." She said looking at him worried that he thought that she was weird.

"Oh no, that was totally my fault. I didn't know how to explain it any better to the animals. And I just thought you were angry at me." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

Mei smiled at him. "No, I'm not angry at you." Naruto nodded and looked back at the ocean. 'I do want to play with that blonde hair though.' Mei thought to herself while staring at the golden blonde. Mei then started to imagine what her life with Naruto would be like. They would have to be married by his 16th birthday. And then a year after marriage she would have to be pregnant. And that thought made her start thinking about what their kids would look like, would they have his gold blonde hair or her auburn hair.

"Naruto, so you never told me how you feel about us getting married." Mei said wanting to talk to him about that before their relationship continues any further. Naruto looked really depressed at that and she thought she had said something wrong. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?" She asked.

"No, it's not that. There's something that I need to talk to you about that I was hoping could wait until later. Let's go back inside and talk." Naruto said and started heading back to their room wondering how he was going to explain Kyuubi to her.

*Back In Naruto And Mei's Room*

Naruto and Mei each sat on an end of the bed facing each other. Naruto went through some hand signs and activated a privacy jutsu. Mei was really getting confused as to what was going on.

"What I'm going to tell you is an SS class secret, but because I trust you and you are my fiance I am going to tell you." Naruto said to Mei who was now paying attention to his every word. "10 years ago, my father fought and killed the Kyuubi, or at least that is the story that everyone tells. Bijuu are made out of pure chakra and can not be killed, so my father did the next best thing and sealed it inside of a baby. That baby was me. I am the host of the Nine Tailed Fox." Naruto said looking down not wanting to see the disgust in her eyes like everyone else.

"I understand that you won't want to marry me anymore or very much be near me. Just let me help in the civil war so I can prove to everybody that Jinchuuriki aren't all bad like Yagura." Naruto said still not looking at her.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would you being a Jinchuuriki change my feelings towards you? If anything they strengthen them because I can see how strong of a person you are." Mei said looking at him.

Naruto looked up at her in shock. "But, everybody says I'm a monster, why wouldn't you agree?" Naruto wondered.

"Do you really think that after the Kekkai Genkai purge that I would blame you for something you have no control over?" She asked him. Naruto was shocked to be finally accepted by someone. Kyuubi had always been there for him but that was different. Mei had gone through the same thing as him and understood him. As a tear slowly slid down Naruto's cheek Mei leaned forward and hugged him tackling him into the bed.

"Naruto, what kind of life did you have growing up?" Mei asked wondering why he was so surprised.

"It's kinda hard to explain." Naruto said not wanting to get into that.

"Well then show me, it's better to get it out." She said not willing to let it drop. Naruto looked into her beautiful emerald green eyes and knew she would help him through it. Naruto started going through the hand signs for the memory sharing jutsu.

*Mindscape*

Mei opened her eyes to find herself with Naruto in a big forest under a starry lit sky. "Naruto, where are we?" She asked confused about how they left the ship.

"Don't worry, we never left the ship. We just entered my mind. Through the seal we are able to access my mind and see many things." Naruto said while holding her hand and leading her through the forest.

"Does that mean the Kyuubi is here?" Mei asked as she looked around terrified that a giant fox was going to come out of somewhere and hurt them.

"Yes, she is here. Don't worry though, I told her to stay away for now. After you've seen my memories you can decide if you want to meet her." Naruto said exiting the forest with Mei and walking up the the cabin.

'The Kyuubi is a girl?' Mei thought to herself as they enter the cabin and went through a hallway. The kept passing several doors until they got to the very last one. "What's in there?" Mei asked a little frightened.

"This is where all my memories are stored." Naruto said as he opened the door and walked in. Mei took a deep breath and walking in wondering what was going to happen.

*Memory Recall*

Mei found herself seeing things out of the eyes of a four year old Naruto. Today would be a memory engraved in his mind for the rest of his life, today was the first day he was tortured. Naruto was still at the orphanage, sitting in his "room" which was actually just a dog kennel.

The woman who ran the orphanage despised Naruto for being a Jinchuuriki. The day he turned two she stuck him in a dog kennel, saying that now he was able to move on his own they would have to limit how far he was allowed to go.

Naruto sat in his kennel looking out the window watching all the other children run around playing and having fun. He wanted to go out there and play with them so bad but he was locked in this cage. But he looked on the bright side of that he at least had food today.

Naruto looked to his little dog bowl that had a handful of dried dog food in it. Naruto picked up a piece and ate it. He hated the stuff but had no other food. The matron would only feed him a handful every other day but he got to watch the other children eat normal food everyday.

Naruto was getting restless in his cage. He didn't know why he was in it, all he knew was that he has spent every hour of everyday in there for as long as he could remember. Well, unless it was one of the days that Jiji was visiting.

On the days that Jiji visited the matron would wash him and dress him up. She would then tell him certain things that he was allowed to say and not say. If he did not listen then she would not feed him for two weeks, and Naruto didn't want that to happen again.

He sat there staring up at the clouds knowing that today wasn't the day that Jiji would be visiting. So he rolled over depressed until he heard someone come into the room.

The matron came into the room with a smile on her face that instantly made Naruto feel scared. She walked over to his kennel and unlocked the door. "Get out you scum." She said kicking the side of the cage.

Naruto followed the woman not sure as to what was going on. She led him through the big house out the back door into the yard. She walked over to the back fence and opened gate. "Get out of here you demon! If I ever see your face around here again I will kill you!" She said with so much hate that Naruto was immediately scared and started crying.

Seeing that he wasn't moving the matron got the other kids and she got them to start throwing stones at him. Naruto was being hit with rocks all over by everyone at the orphanage. Knowing that he was no longer allowed to stay he ran out of the gate not looking behind him as more rocks followed.

*Skip Forward Few Hours*

Naruto had been walking around Konoha for a while now and heard some people talking about the festival later tonight. He remebered that today was his birthday, which was also on the same day that they had the festival that celebrated the death of the Kyuubi.

Naruto had tried to keep track of his birthday like the other orphans had, but he soon learned it didn't matter. Nobody ever gave him presents, and the matron had said that demons like him didn't deserve to have birthdays.

Never being to a festival and not really knowing what one was he decided to go tonight. All the other kids seemed excited about it, so why shouldn't he?

*Beginning of the Festival*

Naruto had received harsh glares and was hit with heavy object as he walked through the village waiting for the festival. But he didn't care about that any longer.

Walking down the Main Street of Konoha, he saw many food carts, games, fox piñatas, and more. What he couldn't understand was how they got all the lights and streamers everywhere they did.

All of a sudden Naruto saw a figure jump from rooftop to rooftop. 'Ah! That's how they must've gotten them up there! Who knew ninja were such good decorators?' Naruto thought as he walked up to a food cart that sold cotton candy.

Naruto looked at the sticks that had different colored swirly stuff on them. "Hey mister, what is this stuff?"Naruto asked the man who ran the food cart.

The man looked down and glared at the 'Kyuubi Brat'. "What? Can the stupid little demon not read?" The man spat at Naruto venomously which Naruto took a few steps back looking upset. "That's right! Get out of here you little shit! Nobody has loved and nobody ever will!" The man yelled as he threw things at Naruto who was crying as he ran away.

As Naruto ran away he didn't realize all the attention he now had on him, or the angry mob of villagers and shinobi. Naruto's legs were on autopilot now, he didn't know where he was going but he didn't care as long he got away from the mean man.

*Near Training Ground 44*

WARNING: Torture Scene (Skip to the next bold text if you don't want to read it)

Naruto had ran and cried for as long and as far as he could before his legs gave it from underneath him. Naruto sat there wondering what to do as a large mob started to creep up on the young boy.

"Grab the demon so we can finish what the our hokage started!" A man among the mob screamed and received cheering for the death of the Kyuubi.

Naruto only took one look at the mob before he was instantly terrified. Fear powered his weak young body and Naruto was off to running again. Naruto saw some woods coming up and headed towards them to try and hide. Naruto was getting close to reaching the tree line before several kunai pierced the back of his legs making him scream out in pain and fall. But he wasn't about to give up yet. Knowing that his legs were now useless he tried to drag himself into the forest with just his arms.

Naruto had just made it to the gate fence that surrounded training ground 44 when kunai impaled his hands trapping him to the ground. He screamed out in pain only to be silenced by a lightning justu that struck his body. Naruto could literally feel his skin cooking. The pain was too much for him to even scream as his right arm began to blister and turn black.

When the lightning subsided the mob ran forward so they could have a turn on the boy. Naruto weakly looked up thinking it couldn't get much worse, he had no idea how wrong he was. The mob surrounded the boy beating him and breaking his bones. One man grabbed Naruto's hands and snapped each individual finger. Naruto felt the snap of each finger, but that was nothing compared to the next man who broke both of his legs making the bones stick out of his flesh.

"Back away from him!" A voice said. When Naruto heard this he thought he may live and more importantly may have found somebody who would love him. But all of that was shattered to a million pieces when the voice continued. "Let's cook the damn fox!" The ninja yelled holding up some big logs.

The mob cheered in agreement. They looked at the boy seeing him in a pile if his own blood, bones sticking out of his body, deep cuts all across his body, and his intestines ripped out and thrown all over the place. Satisfied with how the demon looked they started pulling the logs around him. Once that was done, a ninja went through a set of hand seals and sprayed Naruto with a giant fireball.

Naruto could only sit there crying as the flame consumed him. He couldn't move anything, they had broken every bone in his body. He screamed out in pain as his clothes and hair caught on fire. Seeing the Kyuubi burning to death the mob decided to leave before the hokage got there. They knew that even if he came out of the flames now he would still die.

WARNING: Torture Scene Over

* A Little While Later*

Sarutobi and his personal ANBU arrived at the scene to see what had become of Naruto. He was now more charcoal than flesh. His hair was entirely gone along with his clothes.

Wolf, one of the ANBU, immediately ran forward and grabbed the body of Naruto. She cried as she cradled his head in her lap. "He was just a child." She whispered as she took off her mask to look at Naruto better.

The other ANBU were about to remind her about the rules of taking off your mask when the hokage held up his hand silencing them. His heart was shattered as he watched Tsume hold the body of his grandson. 'Naruto, I am so sorry. I thought of you as my grandson, but this still happened.' The old man thought with tears going down his face.

Tsume continued to cry as she looked at Naruto's lifeless body. Tears ran down her face onto the young boy. Kakashi with his ANBU mask off tried to pick up Naruto only to get hit in the face by Tsume. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" She screamed choking everybody with the KI she had released.

Sarutobi was the first to be able to breath again. "Wolf, he's gone. You must accept this and let us take his body." He said choking on his words still not believing what happened.

Tsume simply looked up at her hokage. "I have been extremely loyal to you and the leaf, but if you try and take this boy from me I will remove your head from your shoulders." She said with a look that said 'I fucking dare you to test me'. She went back to crying on the boy and hugging his body.

Naruto started to wake from the darkest recesses of his mind. He was hanging onto life by an inch. He painfully opened his still somewhat good eye and looked at the woman holding him. "Kill me...please..." Naruto weakly forced out.

Everybody there went into shock seeing that the blond was still alive. Tsume cried harder happy that he was alive. "Hokage-sama!" She shouted. "We must get him to the hospital!"

"No...just please...kill me..." Naruto begged as a tear went from his cheek. Tsume and everybody else was frozen in disbelief of what he had asked for.

"Nar-Naruto...why would you ask for that?" Tsume asked as she cried harder for the broken blond.

"I-I hurt...nobody loves me...nobody wants me...I just want to die..." He managed to say even though his throat was extremely sore. Everybody's hearts clenched at hearing the four year old. All of them looked down upon themselves knowing that they could have helped the four year old more.

Tsume was the first one who managed to speak again. "Naruto, I love you and I will always be here for you."

Naruto looked her straight in the eyes that made her gasp. His eyes held pain, had witness things that nobody, let alone a child should ever go through. She could see that whatever childhood innocence he ever had, was destroyed. "If you love me...then please kill me..." Naruto begged her. Tsume couldn't think of anything to say it do. Naruto was now a broken shell of what he once was. Her heart broken into pieces and she didn't know what to do.

Luckily she didn't have to say a thing because Naruto broke out in a scream. Kakashi ran forward and ripped Tsume away from the boy as the Kyuubi's chakra exploded from his body.

All Naruto could do was scream as bones were pulled back into his body and the burnt skin started falling off. Underneath the skin you could see the muscles, sometimes bone depending on how bad the burn was. They all stood there, forced to watch the chakra make Naruto undergo the painful regeneration.

As the chakra died down they all looked at the boy. He had a full head of hair again and not a scratch on him(because he has entirely new skin). Naruto looked at all of them barely able to whisper a few words before he passed out. "Wolf-chan...please kill me..." Tsume ran forward and caught the unconscious Naruto. She held him to her as she cried once again.

*The Next Day*

Naruto woke up in the arms of Tsume Inuzuka who had obviously cried herself to sleep. He slowly pulled himself from her grasp and sat up. He looked out the window not realizing she was awake.

"Are you okay Naruto?" She asked. He nodded his head as he turned to her but wouldn't look her in the eye. Tsume caught that and brought her hand towards him and he flinched. She paused for a moment and then lifted his chin to look her in the eyes. "Everything will be alright Naruto." She said with a smile that made the blonde's shell crack and start crying.

Tsume wrapped her arms around him and just held him as he cried into her shoulder. When he finally stopped Tsume looked at him again. "All better?" She asked. He nodded but still wouldn't look at her.

Tsume sighed at this and grabbed Naruto's hand. "Come on, lets go to my house. There are some people I want you to meet." She said confusing the blonde. He nodded his head not really caring what happened.

*At Inuzuka Clan Estate*

As they walked up to the gate of the estate there were a few Inuzukas there standing guard. "Hello Tsume-sama." They all said with a bow.

She said hello back and continued on through the gate with Naruto.

Naruto could feel the people staring at him, but the thing that confused him was that they weren't states of hatred but curiosity. Naruto put his head down hoping that people wouldn't notice him.

Tsume frowned at Naruto's actions but thought it would be best to not say anything for now. They walked inside the biggest house so she could introduce Naruto to her children. "Hana! Kiba! Come here, I got someone for you to meet!" She yelled. Naruto could hear the two running from the upper floors down the stairs.

Hana and Kiba got there and looked at the kid with their mom. "Hey kaa-san who is that?" Hana asked.

"This is Naruto. I wanted to introduce you guys to him so you could become friends." Tsume said with a smile.

Kiba was instantly excited.

"Yes! We can go outside and play!" He yelled and grabbed Naruto's hand leading him outside.

Hana decided to stick around knowing something was up.

"What's going on kaa-san?" She asked knowing something was being left out.

Tsume cursed herself for having a smart daughter.

"Well, Naruto is an orphan. And I want to adopt him. I'm going to talk to the hokage about it tomorrow. I just wanted you guys to get to know him." She explained to her daughter.

"Ah okay, well I hope we get him. He looks cute, especially with those whiskers." She said with a giggle as she ran off to join up why Naruto and Kiba. Tsume was smiling watching them play. Naruto still wasn't talking but he did look happier. She hoped that this time she would be allowed to adopt him and give him a good home.

*Later That Night*

Tsume called them all in for dinner. Naruto, Kiba, Hana, and all the dogs immediately ran to the house as they realized they were hungry. Walking in Kiba and Hana both headed towards the table and sat down waiting. Naruto first went up to Tsume and hugged her whispering her a thank you to which she smiled at.

Tsume brought in the plates of food to not see Naruto sitting at the table. Tsume started to look around as did Kiba and Hana as they noticed what their mother was doing. Their eyes all settled on the blonde's head as he sat in the corner of the room with the dogs. "What the hell are you doing?" Kiba asked watching Naruto eat the dog food.

Naruto looked up in surprise and confusion. "Eating dinner?" He asked thinking that he had done something wrong. All the Inuzukas looked confused.

"Why would you eat dog food Naruto?" Hana asked not understanding why someone would want to eat it. Naruto looked at her utterly confused. Nobody had ever asked him this before. They would only tell him to eat his food and he did. Hell, he had no idea it was made for dogs.

"This is made for dogs? They told me it was all demons like me were allowed to eat." Naruto said confused not sure what to do.

Hana and Kiba were still both confused by this but Tsume's heart was shattered when she heard it. "Naru-Naruto, they made you eat dog food at the orphanage?" Tsume asked not knowing how harshly the orphanage had treated the child.

Naruto nodded his head at this. "I didn't know I was supposed to eat something else, sorry." He apologized looking away from them.

"Hey kaa-san, why are orphans made to eat dog food? Shouldn't we give them better food since they don't have parents?" Kiba asked unsure why his new friend was being weird and eating the dog's food.

"The orphanage has very good funding for their food program. No, it is only Naruto they made eat dog food." Tsume said which shocked her children that Naruto was singled out. Naruto looked down in shame. He just wanted to leave, and not deal with the embarrassment anymore.

"Buy why kaa-san? Why only Naruto?" Hana asked feeling bad for the blonde.

"That's something that you will have to wait until you are older to know." She said in a tone that made her two children go silent understanding that the subject was to be dropped. Tsume walked over to Naruto and grabbed his hand. He immediately flinched at the contact which did not go unnoticed by Hana and Kiba. "Come on Naruto, let's eat dinner." She said as she lead him to his seat at the table. Naruto still looked down not wanting to meet any of their gazes. Everyone started eating in an awkward silence.

Naruto looked at the food on his plate. It all looked amazing, he had never seen food like it before. There was grilled fish, rice, vegetables, and miso soup. Naruto looked up to see the Inuzukas using their forks, knives, and spoons on the foods on their plates. Naruto slowly picked up the fork. 'It feels weird in my hand. What is this thing?' Naruto asked himself as he tried to find the right way to balance it in his hand.

After a few minutes of Naruto trying to figure out how to use his fork Tsume decided to help him. 'I can't believe he was never taught how to use a fork.' She thought in disgust towards the villagers. "Here Naruto, let me help you." She said as she moved the fork right in his hand to and then guided his hand down towards the fish and scoop some up.

Naruto brought the bite of fish to his mouth. When he ate it, let's just say that dog food would never be as appealing as it was before. Naruto's eyes widened at the taste and immediately dove back in for more. Tsume watched the boy eat his food. She was happy that he was finally getting some real food, but she was also very upset because this was his first time.

When dessert rolled around and everybody got ice cream, Naruto immediately loved this too. As he ate it he couldn't help but wonder how it was so soft when it was frozen. Naruto decided that vanilla was his favorite, Kiba loved strawberry, and Hana loved chocolate, but vanilla was the best to him.

A short while later it was time for bed. Tsume said goodnight to her children and kissed them on the cheek as they started to headed to their rooms. She then looked to see where Naruto had gone. She found him in the next room talking to himself.

Naruto was looking at the Inuzuka dog kennels. "Wow, these ones are a lot bigger than mine at the orphanage." He said climbing into one. "Oh awesome, there's even a pillow thing in here!" Tsume heard the excitement in his voice but could help but cry as she watched the blonde, his next word were what really made her break down. "I can't believe Tsume-chan has been so nice to me, I'm really going to miss her when I have to leave since demons don't deserve families." Naruto said laying down on the dog pad.

Tsume broke down to the floor crying which startled the blonde. Naruto climbed out of the cage and looked at Tsume who was sitting there crying. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked not liking seeing her cry.

"You're not supposed to sleep there." Tsume said through the tears. 'It's not fair that someone his age has to gone through what he has!' she thought in her mind not noticing the hurt look on Naruto face until it was too late.

"Oh sorry, I'll go now." Naruto said quietly as he walked out the door. Tsume got up and raced after him leaving the door wide open. She grabbed Naruto from behind and hugged the blonde as he stiffened from the contact.

"I'm so sorry Naruto. That's not what I meant." She said crying tears into his back. Naruto was still confused as to what was going on and what he should do. "I had meant that you were supposed to sleep in a bed, not a kennel."

Naruto's eyes widen, this was not what he had expected. He had seen the beds of the other orphans at the orphanage but never knew much about them. He figured that they were like his kennel, but without the bars attached to the side. "What's the difference between a kennel and a bed?" Naruto asked genuinely interested.

Tsume was quite upset at the fact that Naruto hadn't experienced the simple things that everyone has such as this. She grabbed Naruto's hand and led him back to the house. "Here, I'll show you." She said.

Tsume led Naruto up the stairs into one of the guest bedrooms. She walked over and sat on the bed and patted for Naruto to sit down with her. "This is where you will be sleeping." She said with a smile on her face but it disappeared when she saw the small frown on Naruto's face.

"Thank you Tsume-chan." Naruto said hugging her. Tsume wanted to ask him what was wrong but Naruto rolled over in the bed and got underneath the blankets. She sighed as she got up and turned off the light, shut the door, and went to her own room.

Tsume entered her room and was just about ready to pass out in bed from this emotionally stressful day. But the second her head hit the pillow she could hear some sniffling coming from the next room. Naruto's room. She immediately got up and ran to his room to see what was wrong.

She entered the room to see Naruto in a ball crying on the bed. Tsume climbed in the bed with him and held the crying blonde. Naruto was surprised when he felt her arms wrap around him, but gladly accepted it as he felt much better. Tsume just kept holding him until he fell asleep and then she herself fell asleep with him still in her arms.

*The Next Day*

Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting in his office just turning the page to his favorite chapter of Icha Icha Paradise when there was a knock on the door. These were the times he hated being hokage. He put his book away and said, "Enter." in a very disappointed tone.

Tsume Inuzuka walked in and took a seat in front of the hokage. Now he was anxious to hear from the woman watching over his favorite blonde. "How is Naruto? Does he have any of the mental damage that Inoichi said he would?' The old man asked worried.

Tsume slowly nodded to her hokage wondering how the hell she would be able to explain everything calmly. "Yes, he is very quiet. He doesn't like to speak and he won't look anyone in the eye, he apologizes for things that are not his fault in any way, and he flinches whenever somebody tries to touch him." She reported to the hokage. The man was very upset, this was what he feared after Inoichi had told him what would most likely happen. "But that's not the worst of it." She said shocking the hokage.

"What do you mean it's not the worst of it?" The hokage asked slightly afraid for what the blonde had gone through.

Tsume closed her eyes for a second and recollected herself so she wouldn't burst out in anger for the treatment towards Naruto. "Last night was the first time Naruto had ever eaten food or slept in a bed." She said in a very cold tone.

Hiruzen and the ANBU in the room were utterly confused by this. "What do you mean it was the first time he ate food or slept in a bed?" The old man asked as his heart clenched in pain for his blonde grandson.

"At the orphanage, Naruto was only ever allowed to eat dog food and sleep in a dog kennel. Until I taught him last night, he had no idea how to use a fork." Tsume said shocking the hokage and ANBU and certain white haired ANBU walked out of the shadows.

"Hokage-sama, I am going to go have a talk with the Orphanage Matron." ANBU Dog said as he tried to control the KI he was flooding the room with. Hiruzen didn't even have enough time to nod as Kakashi disappeared from the room.

Tsume decided to change the topic in another direction. "Hokage-sama, I wanted to talk to you about allowing me to adopt Naruto." She said to which the hokage's face darkened and he set down his pipe.

"I'm afraid you can not adopt him, you're not the only one who has tried. I have no control over if he gets adopted or not because he is a civilian. Being as this is a matter that is up to the civilian council, he will never be adopted." Hiruzen said looking down in shame at his desk.

Tsume was shocked at this. She thought it would be a lot easier than this. She planned on having to sign a bunch of papers and then being able to make the blonde an official member of the Inuzuka clan.

Tsume then remembered Naruto's words of last night when he said he would never be able to have a family, it was then that she started to cry. "He said last night that he would never be able to have a family because he is a demon." She said which the old hokage opened his eyes to with shock. "I was hoping to surprise him and make him happy."

The old man couldn't look her in the eye as he knew it was his fault for giving the council too much power in his old age. "I-I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it now." He said with a tear of his own going down his face. "I myself have tried to adopt Naruto several times, just for it to be turned down by the council."

Tsume nodded and got up to leave. "How much longer is he allowed to stay at my house?" She asked the old man.

"He has to be gone by nightfall, in his new apartment. Bring him here around 8 tonight and I will show him his apartment." He said looking out the window very depressed. Tsume wanted to say something about forcing the blonde to live on his own, but when she saw the look of defeat and displeasure on her hokage's face then she knew there was nothing left to do.

*At The Inuzuka Estate*

Tsume walked back to her house to hear Naruto and Kiba talking. "Hey Naruto, do you think my mom would adopt you since you're an orphan? Then we could be brothers!" Kiba asked the blonde excitedly. Naruto thought for a few minutes.

"That would be awesome Kiba, but I doubt she will want to adopt me." Naruto said thinking about it more.

"Why wouldn't she want to adopt you?" Kiba asked with a frown. "I bet she loves you just as much as me and Hana!" He added in because he really wanted a brother.

"Well, if anybody wanted me or loved me, don't you think I would have been adopted before?" Naruto asked Kiba.

Kiba is four, even then you could tell that he wasn't the sharpest kunai in the holster. He didn't get some things or didn't know what exactly to say at the right time, but you can't blame him really he is just a four year old. "Well I guess that's true." Kiba said agreeing with Naruto logic. "I guess we'll just have to wait and ask mom when she gets here."

Tsume was now freaking out as what to do. She wanted to adopt Naruto and couldn't, and then Kiba had to open his mouth and say that whether or not she adopts him determines if anybody loves him. Tsume took a deep breath and walked into the room preparing herself for the oncoming questions.

Kiba saw his mother walk in the room and decided to settle the matter now. "Mom are you going to adopt Naruto?" Kiba asked with excitement thinking he would get to prove Naruto wrong.

Tsume sighed and looked at Kiba's eager face and then at Naruto's face filled with hope. It wasn't fair that she had to be the one to break the blonde's heart. "I'm sorry Kiba but no. I'm not allowed to. He has to move into his new apartment tonight." She said as she watched the light in Naruto's eyes instantly die out. She expected to deal with a crying blonde, but what she got was much worse. Naruto didn't say a word, he didn't cry he didn't look at her. He simply sealed himself back into the safety of his shell.

"Oh... sorry Naruto..." Kiba said guiltily as he slowly walked out of the room depressed at the thought that Naruto wouldn't be getting a family.

Tsume watched Kiba leave the room and then tried to fix whatever she could with Naruto.

"Naruto, I'm so sorry. I'm just not allowed to adopt you, I wish I could but I can't." She said as a tear went down her face.

Naruto looked at the woman and his heart clenched to see the her so upset. He walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and simply wiped the tear from her eye. "It's okay Tsume-chan, I understand." The woman blushed at then and then was surprised at herself, she knew he would be able to get any woman when he was older. "Besides, I don't want a mother." He finished and she looked up at him in surprise.

"Why wouldn't you want a mother Naruto?" She asked him.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and gave his honest answer. "If you were my mother then you would abandon me just like my real mother, and I don't want to lose you." The blonde said to her which made her open her eyes wide with shock.

"Naruto, I'm sure your mother didn't just abandon you." Tsume said with another tear going down her cheek. She was usually a strong willed woman who would never shed a tear, but seeing this blonde's life, he manage to slip through her wall. "I'm sure she loved you very much. But if you don't need a mother then I will be here for you in any other way I can."

Naruto wiped off the next tear rolling down her cheek. "If she had loved me, if she hadn't abandoned me, then she would still be here or somebody would at least know who she was or what happened to her." Naruto said to the woman which Tsume knew she had nothing she could retort that with. "But I thank you Tsume-chan, you showed me what it was like to have a family even if it was just for a little while." The blonde future hokage said as he walked out of the room to go spend some time with Kiba and Hana before he had to go.

Naruto, Kiba, and Hana were all outside playing, but pretty quietly. Kiba had informed Hana of what had happened and she was pretty upset. She didn't want Naruto to leave as much as Kiba. But they all figured they could have fun with each other for the rest of the day.

They were all sneaking out of the Inuzuka compound to play in the forest. Kiba and Hana had done this many times, but whenever they were caught they got in a lot of trouble. They dodged the patrol around the estate to and made into the surrounding woods.

*Few Hours Later*

They climbed trees, threw rocks, chased each other through small creeks for a few hours time just having fun. It had just gotten dark and Tsume was out looking for the kids. They were supposed to be back quite a while ago but never returned. She picked up their scents heading to the forest, but she didn't know that some others were already on their way.

Further out in the forest was a mob of civilians and a few ninjas who had heard that the Kyuubi brat had survived their attack and was hiding out near the Inuzuka compound. They decided to take matters into their own hands and save the Inuzukas from the Kyuubi monster.

The mob had picked up the trail of the blonde and were following it closely. The ninja among them were able to tell that there are two other children with the blonde and informed the rest of them of this. Hearing this angered the mob and everybody moved at impressive speeds being that most of them were civilians.

*With Naruto, Hana, and Kiba*

Hana had just thrown a ball over to Kiba when her nose had picked up a scent. She could tell there were a lot of people heading their way. Seeing the look on her face Naruto walked away from Kiba and over to Hana. "Is something wrong?" He asked her.

She looked to him not entirely sure. "I don't know, they're are some people heading this way but something doesn't feel right." She explained to the blonde while still looking around. Now Naruto was frightening thinking that the other night would happen again. He was just about to suggest that they make it back to the compound when a bunch of people surrounded them. "What do you want?" Hana asked while Naruto backed away slowly.

One of the shinobi stepped forward to address the girl. "Step away from that demon, we are here to take care of it." The man said pointing a kunai at Naruto. Hana widened her eyes in shock. Kiba immediately ran forward screaming that he wouldn't allow them to hurt his brother. He was quickly smacked across the cheek and sent into a tree. "Well, if you both are going to help him then we shall treat you the same way we will him." The man said as he started throwing kunai at Hana.

Luckily she had already started at the academy a while ago, and could dodge them with some ease. Naruto, however, was standing directly behind her and took the hit from each one. Hana looked at Naruto guiltily feeling like it was her fault. "Don't worry Hana-chan, I've had worse than this." Naruto said with a smile that made Hana feel saddened.

Suddenly, a ninja appeared behind Hana holding a kunai to her neck and one tying up the unconscious Kiba. The mob started to approach Naruto with their weapons out as Tsume landed right in the clearing. "What the fuck is going on here?" Tsume growled at the crowd.

People started to back away until the man holding Kiba spoke up. "Back away bitch or I will gut your son. We are going to kill the demon and sell the girl to the slave traders and there is nothing you can do about it unless you want your son dead." The man said holding a katana to the unconscious Kiba's stomach. Tsume immediately had fear written across her face which earned the mob victorious grins as they walked toward the blonde.

Naruto looked at the man holding the kunai to Hana's neck and got an idea. "Hey you! Yeah you!" Naruto yelled at the man. The man glared at the demon brat.

"What?" He growled at him.

"You know I remember you." Naruto said to the man.

"Yeah, I was in the last mob. We obviously didn't do a good enough job, but I will get revenge for my wife now!" The man snarled at him.

Naruto smiled at this, it was all going according to plan. "No, that's not where I remember you from." The blonde said confusing the man.

"I remember you from when I ate your wife, hearing her scream your name as I squished her into jelly with my paws." Naruto said with a smile on his face. This made the man drop his weapon as he began to shake in rage. All of the other members of the mob started heading towards Naruto. Seeing that he had to move fast he decided to quickly finish his plan. "I remember eating all of your family members, oh my were they delicious!" He said to the crowd which outraged all of them.

The two men guarding Hana and Kiba dropped them and followed Naruto and the rest of the mob into the forest. Tsume was crying at what Naruto had done. He had lied, and acted like he was the demon just to make sure her family was okay. Tsume quickly made two shadow clones, one to take Kiba and Hana home and the other to notify the hokage of what was happening.

*With Naruto*

Naruto was running through the forest as fast as he could. His plan had worked, he used the mobs anger at him to get Hana and Kiba free. That was all he really cared about, he couldn't let them get hurt because of him. He kept running along and jumping over a few logs knowing that he would soon be caught. And his thoughts were proven correct when he felt some kunai become embedded in the back of his leg.

He fell down to the ground with a cry of pain as the mob caught up with him. Naruto knew what was coming this time as was already prepared for it. He was soon being beaten and stabbed all over his body. But he didn't scream out once, he didn't want to give them that satisfaction. He merely clenched his mouth shut and closed his eyes to the pain that wracked his entire body.

The civilians were breaking his bones again before the ninjas ordered them away to use their ninjutsu arsenals. Naruto could already feel that a majority of his bones were broken. He heard the ninjas preparing their jutsus and could only hope that Tsume was able to get his Jiji there in time. One of the ninjas used his lightning jutsu to start frying Naruto. He could feel the electrical jolts race through his body.

Naruto resisted the urge to scream out again, much to the ninjas displeasure. As they all prepared the Fire Release: Giant Fireball Jutsu Naruto could only watch them in fear. That was, until he saw a sword appear through the head of the lead ninja. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he saw ANBU Dog step from behind the man. Several other ANBU arrived to the scene along with the Hokage. Seeing that his Jiji was there, Naruto passed out no longer worrying about dying.

*The Next Day*

Naruto woke up in the hospital to see his Jiji, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in a chair next to his bed reading a little red book with a man chasing a woman on the front of it. Naruto slowly sat up, still confused as to what the book was. Sarutobi quickly hid his book out of view and moved over closer to Naruto.

"Hey Jiji." Naruto said looking down at the bed.

The old man's eyes softened at this, he was still quite upset at what had happened to the boy. "I'm sorry they did this to you Naruto."

Naruto shook his head and replied, "It doesn't matter anymore, is Kiba and Hana okay?" The Hokage simply looked to the boy and nodded his head to which Naruto slightly smiled at. "And what about Tsume-chan?" The boy asked now realizing that she wasn't in the room like last time.

"She is fine, I sent her home a couple of hours ago to check on Kiba and Hana." Sarutobi replied to the boy which Naruto smiled a bit. "She should be coming back soon to see you." He added to which Naruto's smile dropped immediately. Sarutobi caught this and wasn't sure what's wrong. "Naruto? Is something wrong with that?" He asked.

The blonde looked out the window and stared at the building of the city for a minute before answering. "Kind of, it just means I will have to do something I would rather not." After that was said the blonde rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. The Hokage wanted to ask what was wrong but could see Naruto was already hurting enough, so he decided to go back to reading his book and would help the blonde when he was ready.

*An Hour Later*

Tsume was back at the hospital and had just walked into Naruto's room. The Hokage had already put his book away when he felt her chakra signature in the hallway. Naruto sat up and looked at the woman. "Hey Naruto, how are you doing?" She asked as she sat at the end of his bed.

"I'm doing fine." Naruto said to her before turning to the Hokage. "Hey Jiji, do you think you could give us a minute to talk?" Naruto asked the man which confused both Tsume and the old Sarutobi. He simply nodded and walked out of the room. He stood against the wall outside and transferred chakra to his ears.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Tsume asked worried about the blonde.

Naruto saw that she was worried for him, and that made what he was about to do much harder. "I want you to leave." He told her with a serious look on his face.

Tsume just sat there confused at what he was saying. "What are you talking about Naruto?"

"I want you to leave me alone." Naruto said to her again. "I want you to leave and never come back. I don't love you, and I don't want you for a mother. I have no need for a mother, and no need for you." He told her glaring at her straight in the eyes.

Tsume's heart had clenched at this. She had only known the blonde for a short while, but he had already stolen a piece of her heart away. Tsume let a single tear go down her cheek. "Naruto you don't mean that." She said to him almost begging.

Naruto turned his head away, he couldn't bear to see her like that. "No Tsume, I am very serious. I do not love you, and never will." He said to her trying to keep his weakening determination strong.

"But Naruto I love you, I can take care of you." She said to him as she let the tears pour down her face. Naruto looked at the woman and let out a glare that made her shiver.

"If you had loved me, you would have saved me from that mob. If you had loved me, you would have adopted me from that horrible orphanage." With each word he said she could feel her heart tighten more. "But most of all, if you loved me, you would have killed me when I begged you to." He said which sent the woman crying out of the room who collapsed into her Hokage in the hallway.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, for the first time in his life, was speechless. He had heard every word of the blonde and couldn't fathom why he would feel the way he did. He looked down to Tsume, the woman was always strong, the kunoichi of the leaf always took pride in being so strong. But here she was now, broken down and crying. The only other time he had seen her like this was the night Naruto was first attacked.

Hiruzen moved Tsume closer to the wall, and walked into the room to see Naruto sitting there silently crying. This sight further confused the man.

"Naruto, why would you say those things to her?" He asked the boy. Naruto looked at the man with pure rage and hatred which made the Hokage flinch.

"YOU THINK I WANTED TO DO THAT?!" Naruto screamed at the man. The old man walked over to Naruto and hugged him. Tsume, still out in the hall crying, applied chakra to her ears without noticing after she heard Naruto yell. She was interested in what he had to say, but she was still too upset over what he had said earlier.

"Naruto, explain it to me." The old Hokage said gently, slowly calming the boy back down. Naruto looked to the man and nodded.

"I said those things to her, so she would never want to be around me again." Naruto said looking down at his feet in disgust.

"But why, Naruto?" The old man pressed.

"

Because her, Kiba, and Hana almost got hurt because of me. I love them all too much to see them get hurt because of me. As long as I am around them, they will be a target by the mobs just like I am." Naruto said looking at the Hokage with a fire burning in his eyes. "I love them too much to let that happen. Kiba is like my brother, and Hana is like my older sister."

"And what about Tsume?" Sarutobi asked knowing that the woman was outside listening.

"I-I thought she could be a mother to me." The man nodded to this thinking the same thing. "But I was wrong." This then shocked Tsume and the old Sarutobi. "I thought she could be a mother to me, but I realized that I don't want, or need a mother. I do love Tsume-chan, but she could never be a mother to me."

"Why Naruto? You know she would love you." He told him.

"I know, but my mother gave me up and left. I was abandoned, I survived without a mother, and for me to do that I had to feel hatred towards her. What kind of mother leaves her child?" Naruto asked the man with hatred in his eyes. The old man could only look at Naruto, he couldn't tell him the truth about his parents, not yet. "I wouldn't want to project those feeling on to Tsume-chan and end up hurting her." Naruto finished looking down at the bed.

Hiruzen sat there thinking, he didn't have much left he could say. "Naruto, I have no idea how you became so mature and intelligent. Usually it is a gift, but I can see it has robbed you of your childhood."

Naruto simply nodded to this. "Yes, and I was forced to mature and become smart. I had nobody to talk to, all I ever had was to think about things. When you're only ever thinking, you tend to get smarter." He explained to his Jiji whose face darkened at the thought of how lonely Naruto has been these past four years.

'A four year old child shouldn't be thinking like this. They should start having more intelligent thoughts, but not to this degree.' The old man thought to himself. "Naruto, I need to go get some things ready for you apartment and then I will come pick you up later." Naruto nodded to this and watched the old man leave.

*The Hallway*

Hiruzen stepped out of the hall to see and shocked Tsume. "Tsume, are you alright?"

Tsume looked up to her Hokage as she kept crying. "He said all of those things out of love towards me and to protect my family?" She asked the Hokage still unbelieving.

"Yes, it seems that the blonde loves you very much. Just not in the mother sense." He explained to her.

Tsume wasn't as saddened by this as she thought she would be. "Then what should I do? I love him, but now I'm not sure what exactly I feel for him." After what had happend the day before, the way he talked to her and wiped the tear from her eye. She knew she loved the blonde, she just wasn't sure how yet. Of course she thought she was horrible for thinking that way about him, but she knew that someday he would become an amazing man.

The old Hokage looked down at the woman, he wasn't entirely sure how to handle this situation. "Be there in whatever way you can, if you can't love him as a mother then love him another way." He explained to her. Tsume brighten to this and started thinking of how she could help Naruto. "Just give him a bit of time, he will let you back in." The old man said walking off.

Tsume sat there pondering what her feeling for Naruto really were. She knew that he wouldn't really need a mother, and she knew that she didn't feel the same way about him that she did Kiba or Hana. She was now confused about this, and didn't now how much this would actually affect her in the future.

*End Flashback*

Naruto and Mei opened their eyes and stared at each other before Mei broke down crying. She had only seen a few days out of Naruto's life and her heart was already breaking for the blonde. Naruto felt bad seeing her cry, he hadn't even shown her the worst things or that every time he woke up in the hospital he would always see Tsume there taking care of him. Naruto knew for a fact he loved that woman, he just wasn't sure how.

Mei grabbed Naruto and pulled him into a tight hug and cried her eyes out into his shoulder. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "Everything is going to be alright Mei-chan." Mei just seemed to cry harder into him.

'How does he remain so strong after all that? And why am I the one crying, when I should be taking care of him?' Mei asked herself and looked up at Naruto. "I'm sorry Naruto." She said as she continued to cry for her blonde fiance.

"Mei-chan, you have nothing to be sorry for. Everything is okay, just go to sleep." Naruto said as he eased himself and the girl backwards on the bed laying down comfortably. Mei looked at Naruto and was truly happy she was marrying him. She could tell that he was strong, and that he would always take care of her, and whatever children they have.

Mei slightly blushed at the thought of them having children and leaned up and captured Naruto's lips in a kiss. Naruto was shocked by this, but he quickly returned the kiss. He loved the flavor of mango that he could taste from her lips. He was sort of sad when they broke this kiss, but he loved the adorable look on her face as she fell asleep resting her head on his chest.

*END OF CHAPTER 8*

Whew! That was a long one! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Obviously this chapter was made to introduce Zabuza and Kisame, but equally important it started introducing his relationship to Tsume, one of his future wives. I know that was quite a long flashback, but I think it introduced Tsume quite well, and it built on Naruto and Mei's relationship.

Please Review and let me know what you guys think.

Don't forget to send in your own personalized ninja for the Kiri Civil War!

Harem Members: (Never Changing It)

Female Kyuubi

Anko

Mei

Kurenai

Yugito

Yugao

Mikoto

Tsume

Ayame

Tenten

Ino

Temari

Samui

Tayuya