"Are you three sure we can trust him?" Baki, the Sand siblings' jonin-sensei asked uneasily.

"He showed us his Jinchuriki seal…if he meant to try to take out our Jinchuriki, it would be idiotic to potentially lose himself for Konoha, since his tailed beast will definitely be stronger than Gaara's, even if he lied about which one he held. I think we can trust him," Temari reasoned out.

"I would…like to be able to sleep again," Gaara commented.

"Alright, here we go," Naruto said, opening his Rinnegan. "Tsukuyomi."

…..

Gaara's Mindscape…

"Hm, looks like I got dragged along with you Naruto," Kurama commented.

"It's really…arid in here," Naruto observed.

"Understatement of the century," the giant orange fox replied, pawing some sand from the desert they were standing in.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" a voice roared.

"Oh, we better get over there." Naruto and Kurama headed off towards the sound.

…..

"HOW DARE YOU NOT LISTEN TO MY WORDS! DIE!" a giant sand tanuki roared as it threw a fist at the stunned Gaara.

A kunai thudded on the ground in front of him. The sand fist suddenly stopped, blocked by an open palm from Naruto who had appeared in a purple and white flash. The fist crystallized into glass as fire erupted from Naruto's hand. The tanuki roared before Kurama tackled it and pinned it down with his tails.

"Sorry about that Gaara, we got put in at some random place. Hm…definitely NOT the Ichibi," Naruto commented, raising an eyebrow on the redhead.

"What do you mean? Is that not the Biju?" Gaara questioned.

"Well, it certainly looks like a Biju, but not the correct one…Hinoko told me that Shakumi, the Ichibi, was actually rather peaceful…and definitely not one that liked to whisper into your head and incite violence, if your reputation in Suna is anything to go by, Sabaku no Gaara," Naruto explained.

"Oi, Naruto get to work. Moving around is nice, but I don't feel like doing much more," Kurama said.

"Lazy-ass fox," Naruto mumbled. He vanished from sight, surprising the redhead, and suddenly appeared on top of the tanuki.

'That's much faster than a Shunshin…' Gaara noted. 'And he blocked a Biju's attack with one palm…who is this man?'

Naruto slapped his hand onto the tanuki's forehead and opened his Rinnegan. "Oh, that's why she's corrupted…" Naruto said. He ripped away, earning a pained shriek from the giant before it fell unconscious. In Naruto's hand was a spirit of what appeared to be a priest of some sorts.

"What are you doing?! Unhand me right now! Are you aware of what you're doing?! I AM SHUKAKU, I WILL NOT BE-!" the spirit shouted before silencing when Naruto spliced it into two. The blonde learned of how the spirit had somehow managed to take control of the Biju purely through its desire to murder and sow destruction upon the world. Other information on Sunagakure itself flowed into his mind, as well as some details of Gaara himself.

"Alright, we're done here…well, we still have 71 hours, 21 minutes, and 49 seconds until the Tsukuyomi ends," Naruto stated. He turned to the redhead. "Let's talk!"

…..

Moments later… Real World…

Naruto and Gaara both woke up, sitting upright from their laid down positions. "Go ahead, Naruto," Gaara said.

Naruto nodded and walked over to the redhead, inspecting the seal. He cut himself and quickly began to mark and erase portions of the seal, using his blood for whatever strokes he needed. His hands were blurs to the audience of four before eventually, a woman popped out of the seal.

The currently unconscious woman was gorgeous, with long dark blonde hair coming down to the backs of her knees to match her stunning sun-kissed tan skin. Her body was perfection, with long shapely legs, wide flared hips, a D-Cup chest, smooth stomach, toned body, and full lips. She stood at a shorter height than her two older sisters, standing at 5'8" and simply portraying beauty on a slightly shorter scale. Her almond shaped eyes opened, revealing eyes with black sclera, golden irises, and dark green pupils. Markings reminiscent of her Biju form ran all over her body. A single swishing tanuki tail stuck out from her heart-shaped butt, two tanuki ears wiggling on top of her head. Kankuro flew back with a nosebleed as testament to the fact that she happened to be naked at the moment.

Naruto quickly summoned Hinoko, handed over Shakumi, and sent them back home to give Hinoko time to talk and explain things to the tanuki woman. Naruto got back to work on Gaara, scribing a new seal onto the redhead with his own blood. He used a piece of the Ichibi's chakra as a basis for his seal that would convert Gaara's own chakra into an extra reserve of normal Biju chakra (which was basically denser and more potent chakra) up to one tail's worth. This would refill at a normal rate whenever he tapped into it. Gaara would keep his control over sand as a perk of having been influenced by the Ichibi while his automatic defense would remain, which as the duo had discovered, was due to Gaara's loving mother's will to protect her son.

The two former Jinchuriki had had a long conversation in the Tsukuyomi. Naruto explained how the majority of his power came from wanting and needing to protect his loved ones. He helped the redhead boy with many of his issues, from clearing up the lies given to him about his mother to convincing him to open up to his siblings.

Naruto wiped some sweat off his brow before sighing and sitting back. "Ok, done," he said with relief, glad that the methods he'd learned from the Uzumaki book on unsealing Biju had worked.

"Who are you?" Baki asked, awed by the breathtaking display of fuinjutsu prowess.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto…Genin of Konohagakure," Naruto said simply.

The name sounded extremely familiar to the Suna jonin before he finally put the name with the appearance. He paled. "Y-y-you're the Demonic Flash of Konoha?! I thought that was just propaganda!"

"Lying to the Bingo Book is something you don't do, jonin-san," Naruto quipped.

Gaara looked confused, while Kankuro and Temari also registered the name. The redhead didn't particularly care what Naruto was…all that mattered was that they were friends. "Thank you for everything, Naruto…is there anything I can do for you?" Gaara asked.

"Only one thing comes to mind at the moment…" Naruto mumbled, trailing off. His nonchalant expression hardened. "Do not take part in the Suna and Oto invasion of Konoha."

The Suna quartet looked shock that Naruto was aware of their plans. "H-h-how did you-?" Temari stuttered.

"Orochimaru is the leader of Otogakure. He most likely enlisted Sunagakure in order to have a higher chance of succeeding in whatever plan he has for the village. I honestly doubt he will even have provided that many troops for the attack. I imagine, being the snake he is, that he'll use less troops than the agreed upon amount. Regardless…you will not succeed in your invasion. As such, I ask that you four simply do not participate in the invasion," Naruto explained.

"But what about the rest of the Suna troops!? We can't just let them all die!" Kankuro shouted.

Naruto shook his head. "My words will not convince all of Suna to stop in the invasion. Orochimaru has somehow ensnared your Kazekage into going forward with the plan and without any proof, the attack will not be halted. It's the word of three genin, a jonin, and an enemy against the Kazekage's…I think you know who would win. All I can arrange is that you four remain safe and that we can try to reduce the amount of casualties for both ourselves and Suna." The Sand siblings and Baki looked at each other and walked away to discuss the issue as a group. Eventually, they came back and nodded to Naruto. The blonde used the Hiraishin to teleport them to the Hokage's office.

…..

"Well, the snake summons will be a non-entity with Jiraiya and us here," Naruto commented.

"Relay this update out to all jonin and chunin…when the invasion strikes, attempt to subdue the Sunagakure shinobi whenever possible…if they display cruelty or actual enjoyment in the attack, you are free to eliminate them. Naruto will create shadow clones to dismantle the summoning seals for the snakes, but any strays will be taken care of by the Sea Serpent and Salamander summons held by Unit 11 and the Toad summon held by Jiraiya. The disguised shinobi in the arena for the third stage will be handled by the genin, chunin, and jonin already within the arena," Hiruzen ordered.

"What is Orochimaru's objective, however? We still don't understand…" Naruto stated. "The invasion will not succeed and he should be aware of this…so he's after something more specific…"

Mikoto thought about it more before speaking up. "Naruto, how often can you use Kotoamatsukami?"

"Every week or so…why?" Naruto asked.

"Why don't you just use it on Kabuto to look into his memories? You don't necessarily need to be altering his memories to use the technique, so you should still be able to look inside for information," Mikoto pointed out.

Naruto blinked a couple of times before palming his face. "Right, of course…thank you Mikoto," Naruto said, kissing her affectionately. "I'll be right back…gonna go search for Kabuto, this shouldn't take too long." He disappeared in a flash.

Thirty minutes later, Naruto returned to the room. "Well, his singular goal for the invasion is to kill you, jii-san. Some sort of grudge, I suppose…well, we won't let that happen," Naruto reported calmly. "When do the Yondaime Raikage and Mei-chan arrive, jii-san?"

"They are both arriving three days from now to get settled in for the Chunin Exams. Why?" the old man asked.

"The Kazekage has been murdered and replaced by Orochimaru," Naruto said, earning a gasp from the Suna team present in the meeting. "He will attempt to abduct you during the third stage of the exams to kill you. He's brought along five bodyguards; a group named the Sound Four and a woman named Guren. The Sound Four are Kimimaro, a Kaguya, Jirobo, Kidomaru, and Sakon/Ukon. They will be disguised along with him in the Kage booth. Kabuto will cast the Temple of Nirvana Technique after the first round of matches. We should request the Yondaime Raikage's aid in protecting you, jii-san. The snake intends on using the Impure World Reincarnation to re-summon the Shodaime and Nidaime…he also wants to use my father, but that shouldn't work since he's not in the pure world anyway," Naruto explained.

"Wait, what did you mean when you said our father died?" Temari interjected before the conversation moved on.

"During a meeting between Orochimaru and the Yondaime Kazekage, the snake launched an ambush and succeeded in assassinating him. Orochimaru has been impersonating him since," Naruto stated.

The quartet sighed. The Sand Siblings weren't particularly close to their father, not with all the things he'd done to Gaara when the redhead was a child, but it was slightly saddening. "Well, we would like to formally apologize for the actions that our shinobi will take in the near future…" Kankuro stated.

"It is irksome that we will most likely not be able to reveal the deceit and prevent the rest of the Sunagakure shinobi force from attacking," Gaara commented.

"Wait, why are we even letting this happen? Can't we just attack and drive out Orochimaru?" somebody asked.

"Yes, but that would leave an open end: Orochimaru himself. His plan will place him in the center of Konohagakure, using a sealing technique that he believes is impregnable and facing off against three Kages. This is the best time to finally end the treacherous snake…we also cannot predict how the Sunagakure and Otogakure shinobi would react if the plan was blown," Naruto pointed out. "In the end, the best option is to just let the invasion go through.

"When the invasion finishes, surrender and apologize formally for Sunagakure. Konoha will happily accept the surrender and open up a new treaty," Hiruzen said, directing his words towards the Suna team. Their status as children of the Kazekage and the jonin-sensei assigned to them would allow for them to do so officially. He would prefer to just forgive Suna completely, but it would not run well with the civilians that would undoubtedly be affected and as such, reparations needed to be sought in some way. That wasn't to say Suna would gain nothing in this new treaty.

"The Golden Fox Trade Company will offer to have Sunagakure join the trade union that has been formed so far," Naruto stated.

"We can discuss terms for the treaty after the events actually unfold. I think now would be a good time for everybody to return and rest," the Sandaime noted, earning agreeing nods from the group.

Naruto left with Mikoto and Kushina to return back to the compound.

…..

"Naru-kun!" a voice shouted cheerfully, glomping the blonde as he walked into the living room. "Thanks for rescuing from the evil priest man, I was super scared!"

Kushina and Mikoto just kept walking over to the sofa, long since not being fazed by this anymore. "Do you mind letting me go, Shakumi? I'd like to sit down right now, I'm really tired," Naruto asked wearily.

Hinoko chuckled at her younger sister who was pouting at the blonde man. "Is something wrong Naruto? You seem more tired than you should be," the vixen asked.

Naruto sat down, only to have Shakumi sit down in his lap. Naruto just went with it and stroked the woman's hair and ears slowly, relaxing himself. She leaned back into the man comfortably. "Well, I get the oddest feeling that I'm about to get overloaded by something…well, I'll be back in a bit," he said, standing up.

"Where are you going sochi?" Kushina asked as the blonde plucked the Ichibi off his lap and walked to the door.

"One of Orochimaru's bodyguards, Guren…her kekkei genkai interests me and Kabuto has noted suspicious behavior of sorts in regards to a boy named Yukimaru recently. I'm going to rescue him from Orochimaru's base and see if I can't convince Guren to stay with us after I kill the snake bastard. I should be able to give him a better life than he's living right now and Guren would be a strong ally," Naruto said, putting on his boots.

"What is this Guren woman like? I'm curious as to what caught your attention," Mikoto said, boiling some water for tea.

"The first memories I ran into of her showed that she was rather sadistic and remorseless, along with being a very proud woman and extremely loyal to Orochimaru. As Kabuto learned more about her, it was revealed to me that she had been picked up and influenced by our dear snake very early on. But recently, this woman had a run-in with Yukimaru, which seemed to change her. As they spent more time together, Kabuto noted that Guren was beginning to waver and question her loyalty to Orochimaru. I think I can get her to join us and that's what I want to do," Naruto explained.

"Wait, wouldn't taking him right now alert Guren to his disappearance?" Kushina asked.

"Well, I'm not really taking him yet. I'm just gonna infiltrate Orochimaru's base and tag Yukimaru with a seal, maybe have a nice little chat with him. It should be fun," Naruto said playfully.

"Wait, do you have a plan for going in?" Mikoto asked worriedly.

"Oh, I'm just gonna wing it. I'm sure it'll be fine. See you later!" he said before vanishing.

Mikoto and Kushina palmed their faces while Hinoko and Shakumi just laughed. "You picked an interesting guy, Hinoko-nee. I guess you win the bet…you know, I think you're right," the tanuki woman commented.

"Bet? What bet?" Kushina asked.

"When Hinoko told me about everything that's happened up to now, I honestly didn't trust Naruto. It was illogical to think that onee-sama would possibly be ensnared by some sort of mind control or that I had better judgment than her, but I needed to look at him myself. I'm rather impressed by him…he'll go far, if not all the way," Shakumi stated.

Kushina puffed out her ample chest. "Of course, he's my son after all!"

"Yes he is, you naughty woman," the tanuki said with a smirk, making the redhead blush. The present company all snickered at the embarrassed woman.

…..

A/N: Yes, I did move up the timeline for Guren's change. Obviously, around this time in the anime, she was still loyal to Orochimaru and began to question herself when she interacted with Yukimaru, shown after the three year gap during the Three-Tails arc. But hey, it's my fanfic, so I can move around timelines as I wish! :D

Three days later… Konoha

"Why did they ask us to come earlier than normal? What if this is all some dramatic plot by Konoha where they'll give us tea to drink, but it's actually drugged and they hold us hostage in order to take over Kumo and then…"

"Shut up Omoi! Kami, you're so annoying!" an angry red-haired, dark skinned girl shouted.

"Guys, stop being so loud…it's not cool," an attractive blonde girl with a bob cut stated calmly.

"Yo, my cute little team, let's keep it down a little, we wouldn't wanna seem, like our teamwork is brittle!"

An older blond woman sighed in annoyance. "I swear, it gets worse the more I hear it."

"Idiots, stop being so relaxed! We're in the middle of another village and you people are drawing attention," the man at the center of the pentagon formation said.

Omoi and Karui snapped back to attention immediately, Samui sighing. "Oh, don't be so tense, we're all friends here," a voice said from inside their formation. They suddenly all went on guard, turning towards the source.

They all felt a burst of killing intent as Yugito, Killer B, and A, the Raikage himself, launched attacks at the person. The Jinchuriki of the Hachibi no Kyogyu (Eight-Tailed Giant Ox) and Raikage threw punches simultaneously at the intruder as Yugito lunged with her sword. Resounding booms rang out as each attack was stopped in its tracks, much to the surprise of their issuers. The two punches were respectively met with a palm while the sword strike was held back by the man's steel-toed boots. They registered the tanned skin and mane of blonde hair, lined proportionally with red and black. The face and features invoked a sense of familiarity with A.

'Wow, he's really hot kitten…I wonder what he looks like under those clothes,'the Nibi purred.

'Really not the time!' Yugito snapped back, blushing furiously at all the different images of a naked version of the man in front of them that the Nibi was sending through.

"Yo, yo, who are you, there's never been somebody that can withstand us two!" Killer B commented, vocalizing the Raikage's thoughts…though not in the way he would have said it.

"I just came to guide you all to the Hokage's office. Sorry for startling you," Naruto answered. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," he continued, flickering next to Yugito, "what's yours?"

'Oy, Naruto, she's…'Kurama commented.

'Nibi's container, yea. The other guy is the Hachibi's, right?' Naruto asked. Kurama confirmed Naruto's senses.

The giant fox chuckled. 'Going to add them to your group of lovers? Pretty sexy container,' Kurama commented, snickering.

'Oh shut it, ero-Kurama…' Naruto shot back. Yugito began to blush, being affected by both the close proximity of their handsome guide and the increasing amount of images from the Nibi.

'Fast…faster than me? That name…the Bingo Book wasn't lying,' the Raikage thought. "I was hoping that the Bingo Book had been lying about your existence," A said. "Are you really still a genin?"

Naruto nodded and Killer B glanced at his students. "Looks like you're out of luck with this exam, because I don't think anybody will win against this man," he said more seriously to his students.

"Didn't get your name yet," Naruto said.

"I'm Yugito, Yugito Nii," she answered.

Naruto grinned foxily, her cheeks reddening a bit more. "Nice to meet you, Yugito-chan. Come on, we have things to talk about with the Hokage," he said, quickly flickering to in front of the group.

…..

"Welcome to Konoha, Raikage-sama," Hiruzen greeted as Naruto led in the Kumo group. "I hope Naruto didn't do anything too strange to you in introducing himself."

"No, all he did was appear in the middle of our entourage without being sensed, then blocking attacks from three of the strongest shinobi in our village," A deadpanned. "We were told that there were things we needed to discuss. What are they?" the Raikage stated, getting to business.

The door opened as Mei, Ao, Chojuro, Ameyuri, and Zabuza walked in, with Mei wearing her pyramidal Kage hat. "Naruto, I'm back~!" Mei chirped. Both she and Ameyuri walked up to Naruto, kissing the blonde deeply. "It's been far too long since we've been together in person," the auburn-haired Mizukage complained. The Raikage raised an eyebrow, Killer B stood unfazed, but Samui, Omoi, and Karui went wide-eyed at the sight of the Mizukage's open display of affection.

"Oh shut it Mei, he visited in person four days ago," Ameyuri snapped, bonking her close friend over the head. The two women had gotten close in their time together, Naruto no doubt having a big effect on that.

'Oh, look kitten, he has more than one woman! We could join…oh, the fun that we could have!'the Nibi thought, throwing images of Yugito, Naruto, Mei, and Ameyuri in one large orgy into her container's mind.

As the blonde woman steamed, Hiruzen coughed to bring their attention back to focus. "Well, since Mizukage-sama has arrived, we can proceed," the old man said.

After a brief summary over the situation going on, A spoke up. "So, you want our help with the invasion? Why should we get involved with this? It unnecessarily risks the life of my shinobi."

"You could see it as a beginning to a partnership between our villages that will also be extended to Suna after the invasion is said and done. We will aid you in any major issues that may arise in Kumo and we will request the same. Trade will be aided and increased by the Golden Fox Trading Company that is based here in Konoha at the moment. If you want, you could have Yugito live here in Konoha rather than Kumo, if she's treated badly by the villagers. Naruto does not tolerate mistreatment of Jinchuriki and his presence, along with F ū, has made them understand their wrongs. It is an open offer," Hiruzen stated.

"You could just be trying to take away our Jinchuriki, lure us into a false sense of peace before trapping us," A threw out.

Danzo shook his head. "I risk sounding conceited, but I do not honestly think that we need any more firepower. Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha are back in service, in even better conditions than they have ever been. The Academy system has been boosted under recommendations from the shinobi council in order to condition our genin better. This would only benefit you, Yugito-san, and Kumo."

A glanced at the three Konoha shinobi within the room, seeing no deceit in their eyes. The Kumo contingent looked at Yugito biting her lower lip nervously, which Naruto also noticed. Of the two Kumo Jinchuriki, Killer B was the only one that was actually tolerated by the village. Yugito, on the other hand, was frequently sent on high-risk A and S-Rank mission by the council, despite A's efforts to reject them all. Her life was just as isolated as most Jinchuriki, but more dangerous due to her efforts to connect to the village. The offer was tempting to say the least.

"Hmph…we will help you in the invasion. I'll leave the decision up to you, Yugito…whatever you want. However, I would like to ask for something else," A said firmly.

Hiruzen quirked an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

"I would like to test him myself…the sight of him has roused old blood and I want to fight him," A said, pointing at Naruto.

Hiruzen opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the blonde. "Sure, let's fight. Sounds like fun!" he said enthusiastically.

…..

Training Fields…

"So, what brought this on?" Naruto asked, stretching ceremoniously across from the Raikage.

A crossed his arms, eyes closed. "Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Yellow Flash and…your father. He may have been an enemy, but I respected his achievements and strength. From the small glimpses and rumors of your abilities, it seems that you are intent on carrying his legacy above and beyond. I would like to battle you and confirm your abilities for myself!"

Naruto rubbed his nose and grinned happily. "Sounds good to me, occhan (Uncle/Familiar term for an older male)!"

"Tch, disrespectful brat."

The two combatants entered their stances.

…..

"Why the hell is he fighting Raikage-sama?" Karui asked incredulously.

"Why wouldn't he? It's a good test of his abilities," a voice said to her right.

"Yes, the first challenge he's had in a long time. I wish I could have some fun too," a voice said to her left.

"Oh, we're scheduled to have some fun later anyway, calm down."

Hinoko, Chomei, and Eika appeared around the Kumo redhead, surprising the foreign group.

"Think the shithead will be able to take him on?" Tayuya said, walking up to the small audience.

"I am confident that Naruto-kun will be able to defeat Raikage-san," Izanami stated, following behind the redhead.

"I find it hard to believe that Naruto could lose to anyone easily at this point…" F ū deadpanned.

"You know how I feel, F ū…how is he so good at using advanced natures?" Haku complained.

"Sochi is gonna kick some Kage ass!" Kushina shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

Karui looked like she was angered at the last comment, but before she could explode out, a hand placed itself on her shoulder. "My friend does not mean any disrespect, but you should understand what we mean soon enough," Mikoto said, quickly flickering to beside her best friend.

More and more Konoha shinobi began to trickle in, having received word of the fight. Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, along with their teams, soon arrived. "I think this is the first time that we've actually seen Naruto fight," Ino thought aloud.

"Tch…troublesome guy," Shikamaru said, hands in his pocket.

"Watch closely, you three…you'll need it," Asuma said seriously. Kakashi and Kurenai nodded in agreement, their teams also focusing on the fight.

Samui, Omoi, and Karui were simply getting more confused. "Excuse me but, who is he?" Samui asked. They had seen the reactions of Yugito, A, and Killer B, but still didn't know who he was. Yugito just pulled out the current edition of the Bingo Book and tossed it to the trio, marking the page.

They read through the entry in silence and returned their gaze, now wide-eyed, to Naruto and A finally settling into stances.

…..

Naruto suddenly vanished, reappearing behind A and bicycle kicking him into the ground. The Raikage grunted, but recovered quickly, crashing a knee into Naruto's opened, blocking palms. The blonde remained stunned for a moment and A took the opportunity to grab his opponent, slamming Naruto into the floor. The Raikage jumped up again, preparing himself.

"Guillotine Drop!" he shouted, an aura of lightning appearing around him as he flew towards the blonde on the floor. His downwards kick crashed into Naruto, a plume of dust erupting on the two.

…..

The Kumo quartet gasped as Killer B watched silently. "Is he going to be ok?" Yugito asked nervously.

"Hoh…a hint of worry for our man?" Hinoko asked, eliciting a blush from the woman. On the inside, Nibi hummed to herself as she looked at the woman in front of her container's eyes.

'She looks familiar…but she feels pretty normal,' the giant cat curiously thought to herself.

"I wouldn't worry about Naruto, Yugito-san," Chomei said, "Your Raikage isn't the only one that can use that technique."

The spectators returned their attention to the field.

…..

The Raikage felt his leg hit flesh…and then promptly halt. The dust cleared to show Naruto shrouded in a similar, tamer aura of chakra. Lightning crackled off of the layer around Naruto, but appeared to be unable to get past another field outside of it. The shroud on A's arm had dissipated and had multiple cuts on it.

"How did you-!" he exclaimed, jumping away from Naruto.

"Wind chakra and lightning chakra layers. Inner lightning to stimulate nervous system, like yours. Outer wind to reduce air friction, provide boosts, and shred objects. Very useful technique," Naruto stated.

A nodded in understanding before dashing forward again. Naruto once again vanished, suddenly throwing a punch at his opponent's stomach. The Raikage narrowly blocked it before launching into a deadly exchange with Naruto. He launched elbows and knees at Naruto, only to be evaded completely. "Lightning Oppression Horizontal!" Naruto snapped out a kick to counter-balance the strike.

A's chakra shroud intensified as he grabbed the blonde once again. He lifted Naruto up before smashing him headfirst into the ground. "Liger Bomb!" The ground exploded, churning as streaks of lightning flew out of the crater. A jumped away from the crater, waiting for that odd smoke that always appeared after a large attack to dissipate.

Naruto emerged from the crater. Thick pieces of rock floated around Naruto's nearly bare body, clothes also torn from the impact. "Wow, that's one powerful attack occhan! Don't think I would've survived that normally," Naruto said, taking off the remaining strips of torn clothing on his chest and releasing his control on the shield of earth.

A just sighed and slipped out of his stance. "I concede this match to you, Naruto."

Naruto tilted his head questioningly. "Aw, why? I was having fun!"

"You were fighting toe-to-toe with me with pure physical ability…and I can tell that you were holding back. Maybe some other time, but I'm satisfied for now," A grunted, patting off some dust. Naruto nodded in understanding. "Hmph…your father had potential in him, it was a shame that he died so young… At risk of sounding melodramatic, I can feel an even larger potential within you… Can I ask you for one thing, Naruto?"

The blonde tilted his head at the muscular Raikage. "Sure, what is it?"

"Take care of Yugito for me…she's taken residence in my heart as a surrogate daughter…and I've failed her enough, I don't want to make a mistake in having her stay with you," A stated, seating himself on the ground cross-legged.

"Well, this is rather sudden… How do you know she'll choose to stay?" Naruto inquired.

"Hmph, you'd need to be blind to miss her obvious infatuation with you…and I'm planning on leaving her here, regardless of her choice."

"Why would you do that when you aren't even sure of whether or not you can trust us?"

A looked directly at Naruto. "That might be true…but you give off a feeling that makes me want to trust you. Heh," he chuckled wryly, "I might even trust you more than most of my own damned council." A looked away from Naruto, anger subtly dotting his features. The man took a deep breath and composed himself as the spectators approached.

Sarutobi, Mei, their entourages, and Naruto's group came up to the two fighters to talk with them. The rest of the onlookers were already murmuring among themselves. Shikamaru scratched his head and sighed, vocalizing how the other teams were feeling at the moment. With no words to say, the other Konoha teams left with new thoughts in mind. The crowd slowly dispersed to attend to their own business.

…..

"Now that I've had a fight with you, I need to ask…why do you even need our help during the invasion? Your skills along would most likely be able to defeat anybody that Orochimaru brings along," A stated.

"It's never good to underestimate an enemy, A-san. Orochimaru is a slippery snake and I will ensure that Orochimaru fails in his plan to the greatest degree I possibly can," Naruto replied.

"Why are they even going through with the invasion if they're aware of your abilities?" Yugito asked, holding up the Bingo Book.

"While they are aware that I am definitely stronger than the average genin, they pushed off my abilities. Kabuto stated that Orochimaru was confident in his ability to kill jii-san before I could interfere, in the event that I actually was on par with my Bingo Book entry. The snake won't be messing around, but he wasn't dissuaded from his plan," Naruto answered.

"Well, I think we've discussed all we needed to about the invasion. Why don't you all enjoy Konoha while you're here?" Sarutobi asked.

The Kumo group nodded. Naruto left the room alone, hands in his pockets. Yugito followed the blonde out, interested in talking with him more. The Raikage smirked subtly, noticed only by Killer B, before they left to wander around Konoha.

…..