A/N - Okay, I decided to work on a chapter for this story this time. I wanted to get to what would transpire after Sasuke's death in the last chapter, and so, yeah. Here it is!

A bunch of different things happen in this chapter, and you get to see the way politics tend to play out in stories like this. Sooo...yay? lol

Anyways, I'm rather tired and haven't been sleeping so well, probably because of this damn headache that just will NOT go away, so I'll just end this note here and let you read. Enjoy!

Chapter 5 - Repercussions

Naruto and his family were not pleased. They had been summoned to the Council chambers shortly after they had arrived at their shared home. Now, here Naruto was, standing beside his sister, Satsuki, Jubei, and Yakumo, staring up into Minato's eyes as he glared down at him. His mother had taken her place as part of the Shinobi Council while Mikoto stood behind her, watching the proceedings. Naruto also noticed Fugaku glaring at him, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say Fugaku was trying to set Naruto aflame with his eyes alone. Then again, if he had the Mangekyou Sharingan, he probably could do that.

Once everyone had settled in, Minato decided to get the meeting started. "I'm sure you're all wondering why you've been summoned. A fresh Genin, young Naruto Uzumaki there, has murdered a fellow graduate, one Sasuke Uchiha. On top of that, he attacked a superior, a Jonin sensei by the name of Kakashi Hatake in his effort to get at Sasuke. These are serious charges brought against you, Naruto Uzumaki. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Before Naruto could so much as get a word in, Fugaku damn near exploded in rage. "That little monster killed my heir, my son! He has robbed me of the chance to pass on my teachings to my son, to raise him so he would be a shining example of what an Uchiha should be. I demand that he be put to death immediately!"

Minato scowled at Fugaku and unleashed his massive killing intent, forcing Fugaku's head to crash against the table, the pressure not letting up even a bit as he struggled just to stay in his seat. "You do not get to make demands of me, Fugaku. Nor do you get to decide on a person's punishment by yourself. Your grievances are understood and duly noted." Looking back to Naruto, he repeated himself. "What do you have to say for yourself, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto glared hard at his 'father' and began to explain himself. "You made a mistake, Hokage-sama, placing Naruko-chan on a team with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. A team like that was destined for failure, but you knew that, didn't you?"

Seeing Minato's scowl deepen, Naruto couldn't help but smirk, knowing he was only just starting to push the Hokage's buttons. "After the team meeting with my team, the four of us went back to the academy to check on Naruko-chan, as we knew that Kakashi was likely to be late, considering his past behavior. It turns out our assumption was correct, but what we saw upon entering the classroom was horrible. Sasuke was attempting to rape Naruko-chan while one Sakura Haruno attempted to help him in holding her down. After all, she would do absolutely anything for her precious Uchiha."

"Those are bold-faced LIES! You can't be believing this, Hokage-sama?!" Fugaku questioned angrily.

Kakashi stepped up, apparently having been hidden in the shadows the entire time. "There were plenty of witnesses that could testify on their behalf. Sasuke was attempting to rape Naruko-chan. I should have acted sooner, but…" Here, he looked into Minato's eyes. The moment he did, Minato shook his head no, telling him not to speak another word about that particular subject. Seeing this, Kakashi grimaced and looked away, unable to face his Hokage any longer. He knew what would happen if he spoke out against the Hokage, and it wouldn't be anything good. "Let's just say I should have acted, but...I couldn't. Please let's leave it at that."

Kushina and numerous other members of the shinobi council caught the looks shared between Minato and his student. It was hard not to. The hidden message was clear, Minato had something to do with Kakashi not being allowed to act to protect his student. Deciding not to dwell on it at the moment, Tsume spoke up, asking a question that had slipped some of their minds. "Kakashi, Hokage-sama said that you were attacked by Naruto. Is this true?"

Before Kakashi could say anything, Naruto looked into Tsume's eyes and nodded his head. "At the time, I viewed Kakashi as an enemy that was trying to prevent me from protecting my sister. I believe in the Uzumaki creed quite strongly: family above all else. I view not just my mother and sister as my family, but Satsuki-chan, Yakumo-chan, Jubei-chan, Itachi, and Mikoto-chan as well. If anyone were to try and hurt any of them, then they are to be viewed as an enemy and dealt with appropriately. Kakashi was likely acting under orders from Hokage-sama himself at the time, and nothing has been said to refute such a thing so far. But, the point stands: Kakashi attempted to protect a rapist and was therefore my enemy in that moment. I did what I had to in order to ensure that Sasuke would not live to attempt such a thing ever again. Should I apologize? No, I shouldn't have to. Will I?" Here, he looked at Kakashi and sighed. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, that you were put in that situation. I'm sorry if I worried you. I am not sorry for attacking, however. I'm just sorry that I had to."

Kakashi sighed, but nodded his head in understanding. "I understand, Naruto-kun. I'm not happy about it, but I understand where you're coming from."

Minato scowled and said, "You dare to accuse me of ordering such a thing?! You are walking on thin ice, Naruto Uzumaki. First of all, you have no proof of such a thing, only your 'gut feeling'. Second, why would I dare do such a thing? There was no reason to do so. If Kakashi wasn't acting, that's on him."

The cycloptic jonin frowned at this and shot a look at his old sensei. Throwing me under the bus, Hokage-sama? Why am I not surprised?

Hiashi spoke up at this point, a deep frown on his face. "Those are some serious accusations you're throwing about, Naruto Uzumaki. While I understand your anger and frustration with Kakashi's failings, you shouldn't go accusing Hokage-sama of such a thing. Especially not without any kind of proof. The only one that knows the full truth of the situation here is Kakashi. So, Kakashi…" Turning to the silver-haired Jonin, Hiashi narrowed his eyes on him. "Were you ordered to allow such a thing to happen? Answer honestly."

Kakashi shot a quick glance at Minato to see him glaring down at him and shaking his head slightly at him. Staying silent, Kakashi simply lowered his gaze to the floor and remained quiet.

Catching this, Kushina looked at Minato for a moment before glancing around at the others. "Minato, stop intimidating your student. Allow him to speak honestly rather than trying to keep him silent." she said.

Before the Hokage could respond, Inoichi spoke up. "If need be, I can perform a mind dive and extract the truth that way. So Kakashi, will you tell us the truth or do I need to invade your privacy?"

Minato scowled at Inoichi and shouted, "There is no reason to go that far! Why would I ever order such a thing?!"

Jubei stepped closer to Naruto and said, "If you had nothing to do with Kakashi refusing to act, you should have no problem allowing this. It sounds to me like you've got something to hide, Minato Namikaze. Allow your student to speak."

The other members of the council each nodded in agreement with this statement. Minato was acting highly suspicious, after all. "Hokage-sama, if you had something to do with this, then you should tell us now. The truth will get out, one way or another." Tsume said. "If it does turn out that you had something to do with this…"

As Tsume left the sentence hanging, Minato picked up on what she was saying. Scowling at this, he looked at Kakashi and said, "Fine then. Speak, Kakashi. Did I order you to do such a thing? Answer honestly."

Kakashi knew his sensei was still trying to intimidate him into lying, but he decided to be truly honest. "Hokage-sama...Minato...ordered me to allow whatever tragedy would befall Naruko Uzumaki to happen. Yes, I would have intervened if things went too far, as I couldn't just blindly follow that order. Minato wanted Naruto Uzumaki to know that he was in control and he could easily get to those that he cares about. If I had to fathom a guess as to why, he wants to control Naruto-kun and, by extension, Jubei Yagyu. After all, the two of them make the perfect weapons and, considering the abuse Naruto-kun has suffered, they're not exactly loyal to the village or to him. They're a flight risk and he wanted to ensure that they remained in the village, even if it was against their own will. Am I right, Hokage-sama?"

Minato scowled and was about to shout his protests, but Inoichi spoke up at this point. "I see. If that's the case, then I call for a vote of no confidence in our Hokage."

Kushina spoke up before anyone else could. "I second that motion. And if you need further evidence against him, Minato and Jiraiya created a seal and applied it on Naruko-chan and myself, against our will, that made us neglect Naruto-kun. On top of that, these seals were used as a loyalty seal of sorts that ensured we remained loyal to him. And if that part of the seal were to fail for any reason, Minato could use said seals to restrain us and make us incapable of standing against him."

Shikaku sighed and said, "Troublesome." before sitting up straighter and looking around the room. "Let's put it to a vote. All those in favor of removing Minato as our Hokage, raise your hands. Personally, I say he's gone too far and should be exiled for his crimes against the Uzumaki family. What say the rest of you?"

It was a unanimous decision as every member of the council raised their hands, including Fugaku, though his reason for doing such a thing was unclear. Probably has his own agenda that involves overthrowing Minato… Shikaku thought to himself silently as he narrowed his eyes on the Uchiha clan head.

Once the vote had been passed, Kushina looked at Minato and said, "My vote's for exile as well, but I'm glad to see that you've all voted to remove him as Hokage, at the very least. I can't bring myself to ever trust him again."

One of the civilian council members nodded his head in agreement. "For all of his crimes, I say exile as well. He's no longer welcome here if he's willing to allow something like the rape of a poor, young girl to occur for his own selfish reasons."

Soon enough, everyone agreed on exiling Minato from the village of Konoha. Once the outcry against him had calmed, Minato rose from his chair and looked around at everyone before finally setting his eyes on Naruto. "You're all going to regret this. Mark my words." he said before leaving the room to go and pack his things.

Once he was gone, Danzo stepped forward and said, "We need to speak with the daimyo about assigning a new Hokage to lead us. Any suggestions for such a position? We'd need someone trustworthy. Someone that won't make the same 'mistakes' Minato did."

Kushina frowned as she looked at Danzo. "I'm surprised you aren't just nominating yourself for the position."

Danzo looked at Kushina and shook his head. "While I would love to be Hokage, I am old and am no longer at my prime. That, and my ideas are too radical to be accepted wholeheartedly by the people of the village. So I'll admit I'm not the best choice for the position of Hokage. Which is why I'm open to ideas to suggest to the daimyo."

Fugaku spoke up at this point with a smug grin on his face. "Then I'm clearly the best choice for the title of Fifth Hokage. I can do what's right for the village as a whole and I already know exactly where I'm going to start."

Inoichi was quick to shoot down that idea. "No, Fugaku, you would only bring ruin and chaos to the village. No, I think the best person for the title of Hokage is either Tsunade Senju or Kushina Uzumaki. What do the rest of you say?"

"After everything she's lost? I highly doubt Tsunade would accept such a position. However, I do agree that Kushina would make an excellent Hokage. All in favor?" Homura questioned as he looked around the room.

The majority of people in the room raised their hands to signify they agreed with such a decision. Kushina and Fugaku were the only ones not to raise their hands. Kushina, because she didn't feel she deserved the position, and Fugaku because, well, he's a selfish scumbag that doesn't like it when he doesn't get his way.

Kushina looked around at everyone and asked, "W-Why me? I don't deserve the position Yes, I used to want the position for myself, but…"

Koharu smiled kindly at Kushina and said, "Not only are you powerful enough to hold the position in your own right, you're intelligent, kind, and not afraid to do what's right, even if it bothers somebody else. As for the politics side of things, we can easily teach you everything you could ever need to know. We have full faith in you and your ability to do the job well. So do not doubt yourself, Kushina-chan. You are the perfect person for the job."

Fugaku scowled and said, "If you make her Hokage, you'll regret it, I promise you that."

Danzo scowled at the Uchiha head and said, "It sounds like you're making threats now, Fugaku. Be careful what you say, and mind what you do. Should you try anything in the coming days, you won't like what happens."

The grumpy clan head scoffed at this and decided to change the subject "Whatever. That doesn't solve the problem that we were originally called here for. Naruto Uzumaki killed my son and attacked a superior officer. Something needs to be done about him as punishment for what he's done."

Tsume offered her two cents, "For killing Sasuke, there should be no punishment. He was protecting his sister from an attempted rapist. As for attacking a superior officer in order to kill Sasuke, I agree that a punishment is in order. However, Sakura Haruno should also be punished for her part in the crime of attempted rape."

Homura nodded at that and ordered an Anbu to go and retrieve the pinkette. Once the masked individual had returned with her, he returned to his original position. Staring down at the young woman, Homura said, "Sakura Haruno, it has been reported to us that you attempted to help Sasuke Uchiha in his effort to rape one Naruko Uzumaki. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Sakura scowled at this and pointed at Naruto. "He wanted to make sure Naruto-baka suffered, and he figured he could get to Naruto through his sister. Besides, she should have been grateful that Sasuke-kun even wanted to touch her, let alone do that with her."

Koharu scowled at this and said, "A fangirl to the end. You helped Sasuke in his attempt to rape a fellow kunoichi and you feel no shame for such an act. You are a pathetic excuse for a kunoichi! Sakura Haruno, from this point forth, you are no longer a kunoichi of Konohagakure. I also want you to seek therapy to hopefully snap you out of this mindset of yours. Now, turn over your headband and begone."

Nobody offered up any kind of protest to this decision, which bothered Sakura a great deal. However, despite her wishes otherwise, she removed her headband and handed it over to Koharu. Without a word to anyone, Sakura left the room. Once she was gone, the council members turned to Naruto and remained silent as they tried to think of what kind of punishment would be best.

Kakashi spoke up before they could so much as deliberate on a possible punishment. "While he did attack me, I do not hold it against him. I am not angry, nor am I upset at what transpired. So if I may offer up a suggestion?" Danzo nodded his head and waved his hand to signal Kakashi to speak. "Perhaps confining him to the village for a time and only allowing him to take on D-rank missions would be alright? If that's not enough, perhaps suspending his ninja license for a time would be sufficient?"

Fugaku was furious at this. "No! The little shit should be executed for his crimes! Don't you assholes dare let him get away with this!"

Kushina's hair began flailing as she sent a crushing amount of killing intent at Fugaku, causing him to feel as if death was coming for him as he struggled to stay upright. "Sasuke got what was coming to him. My son will not be executed for protecting his sister! I'll agree that he should be punished in some way, but Kakashi has admitted himself that he holds no hard feelings for what Naruto-kun did. I agree with the sentence of having his ninja license suspended, and I recommend at least a month. However, he should be allowed to train and meet with his team during that time frame. It wouldn't do to have their teamwork hampered because Naruto-kun screwed up."

Danzo looked around at the other members of the council before nodding his head. "I think most of us are in agreement then. Naruto Uzumaki, you cannot partake in any missions of any kind and may only continue to train and spend time with your teammates to keep your skills from stagnating. After one month of this, we will determine then if you are fit to rejoin your team for missions, starting simple with some D-ranks in the village. If we determine that you're a risk to your teammates at that time, we will have no choice but to revoke your ninja license and make you live out the rest of your life as a civilian Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded. "I understand. I can promise you this though: I'll never be a threat to my friends and family. I'll behave myself and refrain from doing something like this again. However, I retain the right to fight to protect my friends and family. Is that permissible?"

Homura nodded in acceptance of that. "Of course, Naruto. One should always strive to keep their loved ones safe from harm. However, for now, I would like you to turn in your headband. We'll keep it safe until it is time to return it to you."

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto removed his headband and gave it to Homura, who nodded in thanks. "For what it's worth, I don't mean any harm to the people of Konoha. Not really. I...admit that I can get a bit carried away when it comes to my loved ones, but I really don't mean any harm to anyone here."

Koharu smiled kindly at him and said, "We understand, Naruto. At least most of us here do, I'm sure. Anyways, you and your loved ones are free to leave. Naruko," Koharu looked at Naruko for a moment as she pondered what to do about her team situation. "Give us some time and we should be able to get you a new team. Unless…" Frowning in thought for a moment, she decided to simply pose a question to everyone. "Perhaps we should add Naruko-chan to another team as a fourth member?"

"If you decide to take that course of action, can I ask that I be placed on Naru-kun's team? I can trust them more than anybody else, and I truly believe we could make a well-balanced team. Plus, until Naruto-kun is able to take missions again and be a truly active shinobi, they could use a third Genin for D-rank missions. Would that be okay?" Naruko asked, sounding hopeful.

Danzo eyed the members of Team 11 for a moment before looking into Naruko's eyes. "I think that would be acceptable. Think of it as a trial run. Normally there are only three Genin per team, but having a fourth might prove beneficial, in a sense. We'll see how things have progressed in the same time frame that Naruto is on probation. If it turns out that you and the other members of Team 11 mesh well and work well together, you'll be permitted to remain on as a member of said team."

Naruko pumped her fist into the air cheered. "Woot! Thanks a bunch!"

The majority of people in the room chuckled at her exuberance and couldn't help but smile, despite the severity of the situation hanging over them. After a moment, Homura spoke up once more. "Alright, Naruto, you and your friends are free to leave. We've got some things to discuss that should remain private, only privy to the individuals on this council. Do take care of yourselves. And Naruto?" Seeing that he had the young teen's attention, Homura said, "Do try to keep from attacking anyone else, okay?"

Naruto nodded and offered Homura a smile before he left the room, followed by his girlfriends and fellow members of Team 11. Once they were gone from the room, Homura turned to Fugaku and said, "You've been pushing it lately, Fugaku. And earlier, it sounded as if you were making threats. We know you and your fellow Uchihas have a strained relationship with the village right now, but I had hoped we could settle things between us peacefully. Your words today have led me to believe that maybe you aren't fit to be leading the Uchiha clan any longer. I know we cannot interfere in clan matters, and that means we can't assign someone else as the head of your clan, but if you continue to push things in the way you have, you will be dealt with appropriately. Is that understood?"

Fugaku scowled and said, "The Uchiha clan helped found this village. We deserve respect! And yet, despite everything we've done for this village, there has yet to be an Uchiha elected Kage of the village. Why is that? Are you truly that afraid of us that you'd refuse us such a position in the village? I think it's high time an Uchiha was made Hokage of this village, and I say that Hokage should be ME! So yes, I'm making threats. We've been denied our rights in this village and treated as outcasts for far too long. What would you do if you were in my position?!"

"Those are dangerous words, Fugaku. You're bordering on treason right now. It sounds to me like you're planning a coup just so you can be made the new Hokage. How many of your fellow Uchiha's feel this way, Fugaku? How many have you managed to coerce into working with you in an attempt to become Hokage of this village?" Danzo questioned, sounding highly suspicious of Fugaku.

Before Fugaku could speak, the Namikaze clan head, Jinro, made his voice heard. "If you need proof that Fugaku and the Uchiha's are planning a coup, then I have it right here with me. A friend of mine in the Uchiha clan confided in me exactly what Fugaku and his fellow clansmen have been planning. I will not reveal my source, nor will I reveal how she knows this information, just in case Fugaku is allowed to leave this meeting to rejoin his fellow Uchiha's. But yes, if you need proof that Fugaku and his fellow clansmen are planning a coup, then you're welcome to have a look at these." Jinro said, holding up some documents for everyone to see.

When Fugaku moved to form some hand seals, most likely in an attempt to burn the evidence, Shikaku restrained him with his shadow. "I do believe we'd be quite interested in seeing your evidence, Jinro-san. And Fugaku, if you keep trying to struggle against my technique, I'll use other methods to keep you restrained. I recommend you just sit there and deal with it."

As the documents were passed around and the various members of the council went over the information contained within, Fugaku began to snarl angrily. If looks could kill, or at the very least, set things aflame, the documents would have been torched hundreds of times over by now.

Once everyone had been given the chance to look over the documented evidence, Danzo looked at Fugaku and said, "It would seem we need to do some 'cleaning'. With the number of co-conspirators in this plan of yours, we cannot allow this to go unpunished. Anbu, take Fugaku into custody! Then I want you to go and arrest the named individuals in these documents." When the Anbu revealed themselves, Danzo handed their leader the documents and watched as he and his fellow Anbu went to do as instructed.

After Fugaku was taken away, Homura sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "First the situation with Minato, then Fugaku, and on top of that, we've got a dead clan heir and one of our Jonin being attacked by a Genin… I swear, what else could go wrong?"

"Please don't jinx it, Homura-san." Kushina said. "Whenever somebody says that, things tend to get worse."

Homura chuckled and nodded his head in understanding. "True enough. Anyways, while we've got you all here, let's discuss an appropriate punishment for Fugaku and his co-conspirators. Afterwards, I think we'll all be free to go home for the night." Receiving nods in agreement, he continued saying, "Alright. Well…"

Naruto

"You know, I think you got off with a pretty light punishment, all things considered." Naruko told her brother as they waited at home with the other members of Team 11 and Jubei for their mother and Mikoto to return from the meeting. "You did attempt to kill Kakashi too once he got in your way."

Naruto shook his head in the negative. "Actually, I wasn't aiming for a killing blow on Kakashi. I chose a spot that wasn't vital to him when I aimed through him for Sasuke. Kakashi would have likely needed some stitches and a bit of medical attention, but he wasn't in any real danger. I think Kakashi knows that too."

Satsuki frowned at this and asked, "Then why didn't he just come out and say that? What's the point in letting everyone think you were going to kill him too?"

Jubei sighed and decided to explain. "Because it was necessary for him to get the point across to Naruto-kun that he can't just attack a superior officer whenever he feels like it. He doesn't know Naruto-kun as well as some people do, so he's not sure if Naruto-kun is a flight risk or not. After all, what Naruto-kun did threw his loyalty to the village into question."

Naruto sighed and nodded his head. "That's the gist of it. After everything I've been through in this village, and with my actions in that classroom, my loyalty to the village is like a razor-thin wire. It could snap at any point, and just like that I might abandon the village to go find a life elsewhere. What they don't realize is that, so long as I have precious people here, I'll stay to protect them from everything that might threaten them. But again, they don't understand me because they don't know me. Not one of them has ever tried to get to know me on a personal level, otherwise my loyalty would never have been thrown into question like this."

Naruko looked upset by this and asked, "Then why don't we just tell them that?! Surely they'd understand and you'd be a ninja again easily! Right?!"

Jubei shook her head and said, "Sadly, no. They can't just take our word for it, especially now that they've made their decision. If they were to reverse such a decision simply because we vouch for him, it would paint them in a bad light. It would show people that they had made a clear mistake and the people's faith in them would waver. So no, now that the decision has been made, they can't reverse it. It's as simple as that."

Satsuki and the other two that happened to be in love with Naruto looked dejected at hearing this. They were clearly very upset, but Naruto quickly began to pet their hair gently. "Jubei-chan's got the right of it. There's nothing that we can do to fix this now that it's been done. I knew my actions were going to cost me, and I'm willing to accept the punishment. I got off easy compared to what could have happened. They could have ordered my execution for doing what I did, especially if they decided to punish me for killing Sasuke. What I did carried with it a high risk, but I'd say it was worth it. That gets rid of one threat to the village and to you ladies. And considering Minato is now exiled, we should, hopefully be safe from him for a long while. So like I said, my gamble paid off in the end."

"That's true! I almost forgot about that!" Satsuki exclaimed. "I guess I got so caught up in everything that was happening and then your punishment that it completely slipped my mind."

"Do you think he'll come back and try to do something in the future?" Naruko questioned unsurely. "I don't want him to hurt us again…"

Naruto shook his head and said, "I doubt he'll return anytime soon. Knowing him, he'll try to find some like-minded people and try to form some kind of resistance faction that will assist him in retaking 'his' village. It could take years before he finds enough people to help him, especially if he needs to take the time to train them up until they're strong enough to put up a fight against the large number of people here in the village. Though…"

Jubei frowned and looked at her love. "You're worried he might join with that guy claiming to be Madara Uchiha, aren't you? After all, he's still a threat, and he's certainly strong enough to help Minato in the long run. They'd just be using each other for their own agendas, but that wouldn't matter to the both of them."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Yes. If Minato is approached by that fake Madara, I wouldn't put it past that bastard to join forces with him and whoever else 'Madara' has on his side. It wouldn't be good for any of us should that happen. We'd all have to be more careful than ever when we're out on missions. On top of that, we'd have to work with mom to strengthen the barrier seals around not just our home, but the village as a whole. We need to make sure the barrier can withstand even a Tailed Beast Ball."

Jubei frowned in thought for a moment before saying, "I think I know what that Madara wannabe wants. I'm not 100% sure, but...I think he wants to unseal the Juubi, my sister, and use her for his own twisted purposes. I don't know exactly what he's hoping to accomplish, however. My sister wouldn't listen to him, and she's far more difficult to control with some stupid Sharingan too. Gisei is likely to just murder him on the spot rather than help him. So...I really don't know what he's planning, but considering how powerful the Juubi is, it might just be too tempting a possibility for him to ignore."

Itachi frowned at this as he looked at Jubei. "If that's the case, could he be after your sister wives as well? The other bijuu, I mean."

"Possibly. So long as they keep their guard up, they shouldn't fall prey to his Sharingan. I would have been fine, but I was caught off guard both times it happened to me. Something like that twisted eye of theirs shouldn't be able to control us normally, but if we're caught off guard, it can happen." Sighing, Jubei massaged the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "We just have to believe that they'll be fine."

Naruko piped up with a question she had been wondering about. "Hey Jubei-chan, I was wondering. You know how your Yin and Yang chakra were split up and sealed between us? Well, don't you want your Yang chakra returned to you?"

Jubei shook her head and said, "It wasn't just my Yin and Yang chakra that were separated. When Hiruzen split me in two like that, he removed half of my personality, my kinder side. You have half of me sealed inside of you right now, Naruko-chan, in the truest sense of the term. So...yes, I'd love to have that part of me returned. But...I don't want to harm you just to get what I want."

The young redhead frowned and said, "Can't I just willingly give it to you? I don't think that would cause me any harm if I just gave it to you."

The golden-eyed woman nodded slowly before placing her hand over Naruko's seal. "Will your demonic chakra out of you, through the seal, and into me. I'll help the process along on my end as well. Ready?" Seeing Naruko nod, Jubei focused on reclaiming her power from Naruko and watched as her chakra began to flow from Naruko's seal into her once more.

Later, when it came time for the transfer of Naruko's half of Jubei's soul into her, they both turned to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, you might want to alter her seal a bit to allow the transfer of my other self's soul. Right now, it's likely that the process of extracting that fragment of my soul will kill Naruko. I don't think any of us want that."

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto proceeded to get his sealing kit and proceeded to look over Naruko's seal. Seeing what he was looking for, he quickly went about altering that part of the seal. When he was finished, he double and even triple-checked his work before nodding at the two of them. "Alright, that should do it. As soon as the soul has been extracted, the seal will simply disappear. What I've done is I've tricked the seal into believing that there's more than one soul sealed inside of her. So once the seal number decreases from 2 to 1, basically, the seal will destroy itself, leaving Naruko-chan unmarked. No more seal."

"Good. Ready Naruko-chan?" Jubei questioned as she prepared to free her other half from captivity. When Naruko nodded in the affirmative, the beautiful redhead made a pulling motion with her hand and yanked her other self free. Accepting it back into herself, Jubei closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of being whole once again. Opening her eyes, it was revealed that her eyes had changed from the golden hue they usually were to a shade of blue. "This feels sooo much better."

"Why'd your eyes change colors like that, Jubei-chan?" Naruto questioned curiously.

The Kyuubi giggled a bit and said, "What you've seen before now is my 'active' state, in a sense. When I've got gold eyes, that means I'm more serious and most likely about to enter combat. What you see now is my 'resting' state. My eyes don't have a slit pupil and they're a bright, blue color. In this state, I don't draw on any of your power, which is good, because if I drew on too much of your power, you would be held down by a bunch of spiritual chains. Before now, I was drawing on the tiniest portion of your power so I'd be able to sustain myself while keeping you from being weighed down by those infernal chains. They can be a real problem until you're strong enough to break them."

Naruto blinked a couple of times and slowly nodded in understanding. "I...see. That could have been bad."

"Indeed." Jubei said with a small smirk forming on her face. "Though, it might be fun to take advantage of you when you're chained down like that…" she teased.

Blushing badly, Naruto found it very hard to look at her in that moment. "M-Maybe so, but...but…"

Jubei giggled and patted him on the head gently. "I'm only teasing. Or am I?" she winked at him and began to giggle even more at the look on his face. "Relax sweetheart. I wouldn't do that to you."

Satsuki grinned and shouted out, "I totally would!"

Yakumo nodded in agreement. "Same here."

Naruto blushed even worse and quickly stood up, rushing out of the room away from the perverts. Once he was out of sight, the girls couldn't help but giggle while Itachi chuckled in amusement. "Usually I hear about my fellow men being perverts. I didn't expect to find women that can be just as perverted."

"Oh hush, Itachi-nii." Satsuki chided. "We're allowed to be a bit perverted from time to time. Nothing wrong with that. Men can be perverted too to a certain extent. Some just tend to take it way too far, like Jiraiya."

"I'll concede that point to you." Itachi said. "But! I don't want to hear anything further about your sexual exploits with Naruto-kun. I understand that you enjoy being with him and I'm sure you'd love to do that with him, but I don't need to hear about it. Okay?"

"Sure thing Itachi-nii." Satsuki said. "I'll keep that kinda stuff to myself...though I retain the right to speak with my fellow girls about such a thing. So if you don't want to hear us talking about that kind of thing, just excuse yourself from the room."

Itachi released a sigh before nodding and leaving the room, just in case. And people think men are bad. Obviously they've never met those four.

Two Months Later

It had been two months since Naruto's suspension and Sasuke's death. During that time, the daimyo had agreed with the council's choice of who the Hokage should be, and Kushina was made Hokage just one week after she was first nominated. At first, the people were confused because, as far as they knew, Minato was the acting Hokage and hadn't died or anything. However, when everything Minato had done wrong was laid bare to them, a great number of the civilians began to sweat in fear. They had played a large part in Naruto's suffering and they were worried about what Kushina might do to try and remedy that situation.

After her inauguration, the punishment for the Uchiha was carried out. All those in on the conspiracy were executed publicly to send a message to everyone that nobody was above the law and any threat to the village and its people would be dealt with. Afterwards, Kushina and Mikoto did what they could to help the remaining Uchiha elect an appropriate clan head, one that wouldn't go down the same path as so many before him/her. Eventually, they managed to find the perfect person for the job, a female Uchiha by the name of Izana that hadn't even heard about the coup until Kushina and Mikoto brought it up. On top of that, she was a kind woman that genuinely seemed to want the best for her clan, but not in the way Fugaku and the others did. So, with Izana officially made the clan head of the Uchiha clan, things seemed to settle down quite a bit in that regard.

Then came the day that Naruto's suspension was finally over. He had been excited about finally getting to go on missions with his team and really work with them as a fellow Genin, as an equal. Yes, he and his team were stuck doing D-ranks for a while, but he had confidence that the Hokage and the council would deem him fit for going on higher rank missions soon enough. So, for a while he contented himself with D-rank missions and training with his team. Aside from that, he enjoyed spending time with his girlfriends, doing whatever they could together ranging from enjoying some ice cream to going to see the movies together and more. Now, however, Naruto stood before the council again and was currently waiting to hear what they had decided about his fate.

"Naruto Uzumaki. After your suspension was lifted little more than a month ago, you've been performing well with your team in all of the D-rank missions your team took. From what we've seen, you have given training your all and you've done everything asked of you admirably. We've kept an eye on you during this past month, and I must say that, despite how some of the villagers continue to treat you, you've kept calm and brushed it off. So, I'm happy to say that we are going to officially reinstate you as a valued member of the shinobi corps alongside the other members of Team 11. You may begin taking C-rank missions until your team has been deemed ready for anything harder. Congratulations." Kushina said with a kind smile on her face. "As both your Hokage and your mother, I am proud of you."

Naruto smiled in response to this and nodded his head in thanks. "Thank you Hokage-sama. I appreciate this opportunity and I'm looking forward to seeing where my career takes me from here."

"Good to hear. You're dismissed now, Naruto-kun. Your team will be informed shortly that you may begin taking C-rank missions. I expect that they'll be more than eager to take on as soon as they get the news." Kushina said with a chuckle. "Take care, Naruto-kun."

"Of course. See you later, Hokage-sama." he said before leaving the room. As he walked away from the council chambers, making his way outside, he couldn't help but frown. That Danzo guy is always eyeing me like a piece of meat. Gives me the creeps.

Making his way to his team's training ground, he greeted his team, who had been practicing on their own while Naruto was busy. "Hey girls, Itachi-sensei. How's it goin'?"

Itachi smiled at Naruto and asked, "So, what did they have to say?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm officially one of you guys now. We're authorized to begin taking C-rank missions now too, in case you all wanted to take one and get out of the village for a while."

Satsuki and Naruko cheered at hearing this before high-fiving one another. "Yes!" Looking at Itachi, they gave him the puppy dog eyes and asked, "Can we please take a C-rank mission, Itachi-sensei? Pretty pleaaaase?"

Itachi looked at them for a while, seemingly unflinching, but as a smirk began to form on his face, the girls ratcheted it up. When Itachi began to chuckle nervously, Naruto couldn't help but grin at him. "Just say yes, Itachi-sensei. Otherwise they're going to get really cute and you'll probably die of cuteness overload." he teased.

The usually unflappable Uchiha finally buckled under the cuteness and said, "Fine. We can take a C-rank mission. Just stop that!"

Satsuki and Naruko began to giggle conspiratorially before looking at Itachi once again. "Maybe if you buy us some ice cream, we'll stop tormenting you. Sound good, Itachi-sensei?"

When Itachi looked about ready to decline, they hit him with the cuteness again and he caved in, saying that he'd get the whole team ice cream before they took a C-rank mission.

Yakumo giggled and said, "You should never have tried to resist, Itachi-sensei. This was the inevitable outcome."

"So I saw. Oh well, let's get going. Ice cream actually sounds pretty good right now." Damn girls, always pulling things like that in order to get their way.

Later

"So let me get this straight…" Satsuki began as she looked at a drunken man wearing a straw hat nearby, "You want us to protect this drunk jerk while he builds a bridge? I thought for sure we'd be going on a bandit extermination mission or something similar to get through the experience of our first kills. Y'know, so we don't freeze up or something when we finally do get our first kills. I know it'll be rough, but…"

Kushina frowned at this and nodded her head in understanding. "While I had considered giving you a mission like that, this mission should be a good way to familiarize yourself with what it's like out there in the rest of the world. I trust you to keep Tazuna-san safe from anything and anyone seeking to harm him."

The four Genin of Team 11 frowned as they looked at Tazuna with narrowed eyes. "If he keeps insulting us and our senses with that damn alcohol of his, someone will probably have to protect him from us." Naruto said grumpily.

Kushina sighed and shook her head before looking at Tazuna. "You really haven't made a good first impression on the team that's going to be protecting you. I'd recommend that you stop drinking and apologize to them for your earlier comments. And Naruto-kun?" Seeing she had his attention, she said, "Don't go threatening clients. I don't want to have to reprimand you or suspend you again."

Naruto flinched at this and began to rub at the back of his head and chuckle nervously. "Um, yeah, sorry Hokage-sama. I'll try to remember that for the future."

"Good. Now, Itachi-kun, what do you say? Will your team accept this mission?"

Itachi looked over the information they had and frowned. "Of course, Hokage-sama. Team, I want you to go and pack for a month. You should already know what to pack, so I shouldn't need to guide you through this step. Now get going."

The four Genin of Team 11 nodded before quickly leaving the office. Once they were gone, Kushina turned to Tazuna and said, "Tazuna, if you can please leave my office, Itachi and I have some things to discuss. And remember, for your own safety, don't go insulting my Genin and bringing their abilities into question."

Tazuna quickly nodded and left the Hokage's office. Once they were alone, Kushina looked at Itachi with a deep frown on her face. "He's lying." she said simply.

Itachi nodded and said, "This mission is far more dangerous than he's letting on. There's something big he's not telling us. What do you want me to do?"

"Warn your Genin to be prepared for absolutely anything. Explain to them that this mission is far more than it appears to be. Then, I want you to extract all the information that you can from Tazuna. Once you've ascertained exactly what this mission entails, I want you to hold your position and contact me. I'll look over the information you've given me at that point and relay to you my orders. However, if I deem that the mission is too dangerous, I'll be recalling your team. This man will not put my Genin in more danger than they can handle. Explain to your Genin that, no matter what kind of sob story this man comes up with, they are not to fall for it. If I order your team to abandon him to his fate, then that is what I expect you to do. Lying about the difficulty of a mission and willingly putting my shinobi in dangerous situations will not be tolerated by anyone."

Itachi nodded in understanding and said, "It will be done, Hokage-sama. I'd hate to abandon someone in need, but we must think about our own people first and foremost. I have a feeling this mission will be far more than what we expected. I've got a really bad feeling about it."

"As do I, Itachi-kun. I recommend you get going. The sooner we understand the situation, the better. I just hope it doesn't prove to be more trouble than it's worth." Kushina said.

"Alright, Hokage-sama. Take care." Itachi said before leaving the room. Seeing Tazuna sitting outside, drinking more of the alcohol he had with him, the honorary Uzumaki scowled at him. "I thought you were told to stop drinking. Did you think it was merely a suggestion?"

Tazuna scowled and said, "What's the big deal? I'm allowed to do as I please."

Before the drunkard could react, Itachi snatched his bottle away from him and said, "You'd best do as we say, Tazuna-san. It's going to be our job to protect you, even if it has to be from yourself. Now, are you going to behave, or do I need to destroy this in front of you to get the message across to you?"

The elderly gentleman, if you can call him that, went wide-eyed and quickly shook his hands in front of him. "No! No, no, I get it! Please don't do that! I'd still like to drink that, y'know? Just...not in front of your team, I suppose."

Handing the man his alcoholic beverage back, Itachi nodded and motioned for Tazuna to follow him. "Come on, we'd best get going. I'll escort you to the gate. I have a feeling my team is already waiting there for us."

"Alright. Let's go then!" Tazuna exclaimed as he followed Itachi towards their destination.

Gates of Konoha

Upon arriving at the gates of Konoha, Itachi took his Genin aside and began to inform them of the situation, away from Tazuna's prying ears. "Alright team, here's the situation. Our client has lied about the details of the mission. In truth, this mission could be ranked as either a B- or A-ranked mission, depending on what we find out. We need to ascertain Tazuna's true intentions and exactly what this mission entails."

"Now, I warn you that, should this mission prove to be too much, and more than we can handle, Hokage-sama reserves the right to recall our team and leave Tazuna to fend for himself. You mustn't let his sob story, if he feeds us one, affect your judgment. If Hokage-sama advises us to return home, we're going to do exactly that. Do you understand?"

Each of the Genin nodded in understanding. "Alright, Itachi-sensei. It bothers me to leave someone like that, but if that's what Mom decides, we'll abide by that decision." Naruto said.

"Good. Now, let's begin. I want you to keep a sharp eye on not just your surroundings, but on Tazuna as well. I want you to strike up a casual conversation with him so we can try to determine what he's hiding from us. If we can catch him in a lie, then we can truly interrogate him at that point. Otherwise, we'll wait for our foes to attack and force the truth out of him then. Understand?" Receiving nods in return, he smiled at them and said, "Then let's move out."

Shortly after leaving the village, Yakumo struck up a conversation with Tazuna and began asking him small things about the Land of Waves and the people there. When Tazuna was unable to look her in the eyes during his response, the members of Team 11 each frowned at him before coming to a stop. "Stop lying, Tazuna-san." Naruto said. "What aren't you telling us?"

However, before he could reply, two men leapt out of a nearby puddle, which was odd considering it hadn't rained in well over a week. They dashed right for Itachi, preparing to take him down first. Naruto and Satsuki quickly threw a handful of kunai and shuriken respectively to pin their chain weapon to the ground.

As soon as they disconnected from one another, Yakumo was quick to paint a picture of the first one's head being pierced by a rather sharp bone and watched as her genjutsu activated as soon as he looked her way. When it was over and he laid dead on the ground, blood pooling underneath him, Yakumo looked sick and began to hyperventilate. Naruto was quick to begin soothing her while Satsuki and Naruko double-teamed the other brother, disabling him by rendering his legs and arms useless.

Once the second assailant was tied up, Itachi went about interrogating the man, using a series of horrifying genjutsu to essentially break his mind just enough to get him to talk. Once he had all the information he needed, he proceeded to remove his head and then proceeded to remove the other man's head before sealing them into a scroll.

With that dealt with, Itachi looked at Yakumo supportively before walking up to Tazuna and staring hard into his eyes, his Sharingan active. "You lied to us, Tazuna-san. You never informed us that Gato was draining your country dry. Nor did you inform us about the real level of difficulty of this mission. Finally, you underpaid us and risked the lives of four of our Genin. Come clean right now, or I swear we'll turn around and leave you to the wolves."

And with that, Tazuna began to explain the real situation that Wave faced. When he pulled out the ol' waterworks to gain their sympathy, the members of Team 11 just stared at him apathetically. Itachi looked to his Genin and said, "I'm writing back to Hokage-sama to inform her of the situation. We'll see what she decides to do. I want you to keep an eye on our client and on our surroundings. Don't let any threats come close to us."

The Genin of Team 11 each nodded and proceeded to surround Tazuna, keeping watch for anything he might try and pull and to see if anymore threats would show up. Meanwhile, Itachi finished writing his letter and summoned a raven to carry it off back to Konoha. Only time would tell what Kushina would decide to do...

A/N - Okay, that's the end of the chapter. Yay! lol. As you can no doubt see, the chapter's a bit shorter than my usual chapter, but I think it turned out pretty well.

Anywho, you got to see a bunch of different things play out in this chapter. Minato being exiled, Kushina becoming the Fifth Hokage, Naruko being added to Team 11, Naruto's punishment for attacking a superior officer, etc. A lot happened! lol

As usual, I dunno what I'll work on next, but we'll see! Hopefully you're all looking forward to whatever's coming next! Stay cool peoples!