Okay here it is the final chapter, I know you might have been expecting more but I planned to end it at this point all along. I pretty much skipped to Naruto in the hospital as I can't top the action in the last chapter and I think nothing more needed to be put into action given the last several chapters.

So enjoy the final chapter and after a break I'll get to writing down ideas. Plus I seriously need a break after two years writing this.

Naruto Hatake

Chapter 63: Aftermath

The first thing that Naruto noticed was the white ceiling. It was kind of odd as he felt he should know it, it was kind of familiar. As his mind started to clear up he noticed other things, like he was in a bed now and he was no longer in the arena. He sat up as he looked around to see where he was. He was in the hospital that was why it seemed familiar. He hadn't been here in a long time, he also noticed that he wasn't alone. There laying on his bed was Hinata, she was fast asleep while sitting on a chair but her head was resting close to his leg. He had to smile seeing her there, for a moment he was wondering what happened.

"She's been there the entire time you know," Kakashi's voice was heard and Naruto looked to his left to see his father sitting against the wall and he could tell the man was smiling at the scene. "Good to see you finally up."

"What happened?" Naruto asked him. "The last thing I remember was blowing up part of the arena."

"Yeah, next time try to find a less expensive way to deal with a barrier," Kakashi said scratching the back of his head. The stadium would take months to fix up, kind of like certain other parts of the village. "I'm not sure about everything but here's what I do know. When you brought down the building the barrier went with it. The ANBU were able to help fight with the Hokage."

"So the old man is okay?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Kakashi paused a moment, "Well he's alive, he took a nasty sword wound to his chest Naruto. He was about to do something drastic when you brought the place down. In a way you did save his life as the ANBU were able to help and drove off Orochimaru. I heard that Sakura was helping to keep the Hokage stable long enough for the medics to get to him. Sasuke was helping deal with one of Orochimaru's four guards with the ANBU."

"Hinata stayed by your side when the medics took you. After you were put into recovery she's been here ever since." Kakashi chuckled at that. Her father had come to check up on her from time to time as well. In fact everyone came to check on Naruto so far.

Naruto smiled down at Hinata sleeping there and then he frowned. "Dad...something happened in the arena while I was fighting Gaara."

"Yeah I heard," Kakashi sighed. "Looks like you'll have to come clean or lie to everyone."

"I don't want to lie..."

"Well that settles that then," Kakashi shrugged, there was really nothing more you could do in this kind of situation. It was Naruto's secret to tell and he would have to tell them at some point. Although given Naruto's friends, Kakashi had a feeling that things would be okay. They had known Naruto for years after all and accepted him as he was. He just wished that he and Gai could have caught Kabuto. With all the chaos of the invasion, the young man had managed to slip away.

So far Kabuto's place had been turned upside down, and his adopted father's death was being looked into again. The man had died a few years back by what was originally thought as a complicated heart attack. They would have to take another look at the body at this point. But Kakashi knew they wouldn't find anything, the boy had been a mole for Orochimaru for who knew how long. He had lived here and no one even suspected him. He knew a few people in security that would be sour over that oversight for awhile now. That was the only thing odd that had happened either.

The Mist team had vanished, they were looking for the bodies but there were a few dead chunin that had been looking after evacuating those injured. Maybe the genin had been taken by Oto as hostages but so far nothing was turning up. Suna of course after realizing that they had been manipulated by Orochimaru weren't happy. There was a total cease fire while everyone tried to make sense of things. Only a few hours ago word had come that the body of their leader had been found in the desert, and he had been dead for some time it would seem.

"So how is everyone?" Naruto asked his father.

"Everyone came out fine," Kakashi assured him. "There were a few deaths, injuries and other things. A few places would need to be rebuilt but everyone you know seemed to come out okay."

Naruto nodded happy to hear that, he figured some people would die in this battle but he was glad that it was no one he knew. It was kind of selfish but he didn't want to lose anyone close to him. He looked down at Hinata's sleeping face and she looked so peaceful. "What about Gaara and the others?"

"They're currently being held for the time being," Kakashi said to him. "Although they were acting under orders they still were involved in a plot to destroy the village. At the most they will be returned soon."

"Dad, could I talk with Gaara before he leaves?" Naruto wanted to make sure that he got through to Gaara. Looking at the boy in that battle had shown Naruto how he could have become in life if things had been different.

Kakashi looked surprised at the boy, "That's odd, he's been wanting to see you too. Well when you're okay I'll take you to him, but I think you have something to take care of first." He pointed to his bed.

Naruto looked down and saw that Hinata was stirring a bit. Kakashi got up to excuse himself, they would want their alone time anyway. He left the room and made sure the door was nice and closed. He turned to face Sakura, Sasuke and all of Naruto's friends. He blinked seeing all their faces. "Uh...yes?"

"So is the idiot awake yet?" Sasuke demanded but people could tell that he was asking if he was okay. He just didn't want to show concern was all.

"Oh that, yeah he's awake but give him a few minutes," Kakashi explained to them all. "He needs a little alone time with Hinata."

"What?" This came from Neji who looked at the wall. He was contemplating looking through it to keep an eye on them. Hinata he trusted, but Naruto, this was the boy that grew up around a porn reading father and flirted a lot before dating his cousin. Plus he had already heard the rumours of Hinata's father chasing the boy out of the compound a month ago.

"Don't even think about it," Tenten nudged him with an elbow reading his mind. He looked like he was about to say something but the look in her eyes, told him it would be too troubling to even try to argue with her at the moment. He just crossed his arms and would keep an ear out, just in case. If Naruto did do anything inappropriate with his younger cousin, then he would feel the boy's wrath. It was the duty of the branch family to defend the main branch after all.

"So will we finally know what the hell happened to him back there?" Ino demanded to know. "I mean we were all told not to talk about it but it was really freaky."

"You will all learn, he just wants to tell Hinata first," Kakashi explained as he moved aside. He wondered down the hall a bit and leaned against a wall to look at the kids. So far he could tell they were curious. Anyone who hadn't been there, had most likely heard the story of how Naruto had defeated Gaara. In fact that news as well as how Naruto took down the barrier were already circulating. Thankfully, the part about Naruto using the Kyuubi's power wasn't common knowledge. It had been years since a certain group had tried to harm him, most likely given up.

That had always bothered Kakashi, they never did find all the people responsible for those 'accidents' and the hired missing ninja that attacked him once as a child. How they even got into the village was never fully brought to light. Oddly enough, after the Uchiha clan killings it dropped off. Had one or more of that clan been a part of it? It was a question he had been thinking about for years. Well at least he was certain that Naruto wouldn't have to worry about his secret with his friends.

It was then that he noticed her, she had come up on his blind side again, a little game of hers. He hadn't heard her but he could feel her presence, that and her scent was unmistakable. "Yo, how are you Anko?" He asked and then turned to face her.

She had on a slightly annoyed look on her face, just once she wanted to sneak up and surprise him. Her face softened a bit looking at all the genin down the hall. "So the brat is up I take it."

Kakashi nodded, "He's going to have some explaining to do but I'm not worried."

"Good so no reason to stick around," Anko smirked as Kakashi looked at her confused. She put on a sweet and innocent face. "It's just the strangest thing, I found this little thing all alone and thought I would borrow it." She pulled open her jacket and Kakashi saw a pink uniform there and not just any uniform. A nurse's uniform.

"It's just my size too and I wanted to play with it," Anko pouted. "I always wanted to play doctor as a nurse, you know of anyway you can help?" She asked him in an innocent tone, but her eyes said all that she had planned. After all, it had been a long month since the two of them had had any 'fun' together. Both were kind of feeling the need to get some kind release soon.

Kakashi thought about it, Naruto would be still in here for a couple of days for observation. That meant they had his place all to themselves and since he was in a house and not in an apartment like Anko, they didn't have to worry about the neighbours banging on the walls for them to keep things down.

"You know I think I can help with that," Kakashi grinned as her as she smirked seeing a similar look in his eye that she had. The two quickly and quietly slipped away.

In Naruto's room, Hinata was finally coming around. Naruto grinned down at her, "Hey there Hime-chan."

"N-Naruto-kun!" She lunched herself at him wrapping her arms around him.

Naruto could only grin as she hugged him, he couldn't pass this up so he wrapped his own arms around her. Man he missed this, the sensation of holding his girl, the smell of her hair. Although he could feel the hair on his cheek, which was odd, he was used to wearing the mask. Maybe he could have someone run home for a spare, he felt a bit naked without it. It was too bad he remembered his being destroyed in the fight with Gaara.

"Sorry if I worried you," He said gently to her.

"I-it's okay, I'm just glad that you're okay now," Hinata smiled at him she was just happy that he was awake and he seemed okay. "Naruto-kun, what happened back there? I was so worried with what happened."

He sighed knowing this was coming. "I got a lot to tell you. You remember when we got tricked to getting that scroll?" She nodded her head. "Well when he knocked you out he told me something, I didn't want to believe it at first but my dad told me everything."

He went on to explain how the Fourth had sealed the Kyuubi inside of him as a baby, that it was the only way to stop the demon beast. Then he told her how he was adopted and that Kakashi had taken him in on that day. He wasn't sure what her reaction would be, it was a lot to take in of course. But he really needed to tell her of all people, she needed to know the truth.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Naruto said looking at his hands holding the sheets. "I just didn't know how to tell you. I mean I'm still sort of dealing with this and also...I wasn't sure if this would work against me with your clan. I mean I want to prove to them that you and me are great together. I also didn't want to worry you about this. I mean it's my problem and I just didn't want to drag you into it, I mean things were going so well and…well…"

Hinata looked at him as she tried to read his face, he couldn't have thought that she would reject him for this could he have? It didn't change anything for her, in fact she felt so much respect for his burden. He was protecting the entire village and most people didn't even know it.

"Naruto-kun, I would never let something like this get between us," she told him softly. "I think you're amazing. You keep the entire village safe at the cost of the danger of keeping him inside of you. I know that you will protect this village and me, so I could never be afraid when you're near. You've helped me to be a stronger person, helped me when I was sad and alone, when my mother died, you've always been there for me."

"I promise that I will always be there for you as well." She told him holding him tight.

Naruto was at a lose for words, he felt his heart melt at her words and it just felt so nice to know that she would always be there for him. It felt great to tell her and that she accepted it all. He felt like he was the luckiest guy in the world in that moment.

He smiled at her as he gently ran a hand over her pale cheek. She blushed a bit as she leaned into the contact slightly. He gently started to pull her towards him, she didn't fight, in fact she leaned in eager to kiss him again. She felt his lips touch hers and she felt great at just the contact, they started to slowly kiss but her arms and side got tired in holding herself in this awkward position. Naruto noticed and surprised her by pulling her onto the bed. She squealed lightly but this was far more comfortable. She snuggled up against him, happy that he had trusted her to let her in on this secret. She could tell that it had weighed heavily on him and she would help him carry his burden from now on if she could.

It was at that moment the door to the room caved in and in fell several genins.

"Damn it, Ino-pig I told you that you were pressing too hard!" Sakura yelled at her friend who was laying on top of the pinkette.

"I was not!" Ino shouted out back. "Someone kept pushing me out of my spot to listen."

"Sorry but I wanted to know what was going on," Choji said as he was on the left of the door. "But you were the one that was on top of me."

"There was no other room left," Ino defended herself.

"Don't be too worried," Tenten said as she was one of the few that hadn't been listening in. Although that didn't mean she hadn't tried but there had been no decent place left. "Besides I think it was when Lee got excited nearly rammed the door like he had."

Lee bowed, "I am sorry everyone, I was just so excited. I wanted to see my eternal rival and wanted to make a grand entrance for Naruto-kun!"

When everyone had been listening in, or trying to, Lee had been trying to be patience for Naruto to finish with Hinata. Unfortunately, patience was something that Lee never had. When Neji had commented out loud to himself, that "Naruto was taking too long and better not plan on spending the whole day alone with Hinata", well that broke something in Lee. He couldn't take the waiting and had tried to listen in as well. Too bad he had ran right at the door and instead of slowing down he rammed himself into it. All the weight and the impact had caused the door hinges to give out.

Everyone picked themselves off as they entered the room. Shino and Kiba tried to put the door back, or at least make it look like it was back. They hopefully would be far away by the time someone noticed the door was broken.

"Hey you still don't have your mask on!" Ino said pointing at him. "I wish I had a camera."

Naruto scowled at the girl as he brought a bed sheet up to cover his lower face. He really wished he had a mask now. Hinata when the door caved in and jumped in her seat and had grabbed Naruto. She was still in that place and looking at everyone and in the position she was in, well her entire face went red in embarrassment. Here she was in an intimate position with her boyfriend.

"Comfortable Hinata?" Sakura grinned at her.

She couldn't even say anything and the look on Neji's face, well he looked ready to say something to Naruto. But he held his tongue back, he would let it slide but he might have to have a word to him later about how close he was with her.

"So…how much did you guys hear?" Naruto asked.

"Not much," Sasuke said, "They were repeating what they could hear but I think we got the gist of things."

Naruto sighed as he went through it all again, exactly as he told Hinata just to make sure that everyone was on the same page. When he found out what was locked up inside of him, how Kakashi had told him that he was adopted, everything, it kind of felt good getting it all out of the way honestly. So he waited for the reactions.

"So why didn't you tell us this until now?" Sakura asked annoyed he would keep this to himself. "We're your friends you know." Although on the inside it was kind of freaky to know that Naruto Hatake held the most powerful demon beast in all history inside of him.

"You know I've always wondered why the history never said how the Fourth managed to defeat the Kyuubi," Shikamaru shrugged. "It always bugged me but I never really thought to look into it. I figured either no one really knew or it was some kind of secret."

"And being adopted makes sense," Kiba said thinking about it all. "You don't smell like Kakashi."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked at that.

"Everyone smells a bit like their relatives," Kiba explained to him. He and Akamaru had known for years that Naruto and Kakashi didn't share any family scents. But he never mentioned it, he might have been wrong about it plus it was considered rude to his clan to mention scents to those not inside of the clan.

"That also explains why my insects were always cautious around Naruto," Shino spoke up next. "They must have been sensing that other chakra you have in your system."

"Naruto-kun!" Lee suddenly shouted out making everyone jump up. "You have the greatest flames of youth ever! With your flames you have been keeping this secret and have been holding on to one of the greatest responsibilities ever in keeping the village safe. I can only hope to one day match your glorious and youthful task!"

Lee gave Naruto as bright smile and giving him a thumbs up, leaving Naruto sweat dropping at that point. Sometimes Lee really went overboard. Naruto was considering to do a 'hip and cool' Hatake style blow off but decided to pass, just this once. It just felt nice to be accepted by everyone, there had been some part of him worried.

"So you're not freaked out?" Naruto asked.

"Well maybe a little," Ino admitted as she had seen what he was really capable of. "But it's not like you're not in control and besides we all know you well enough to know the kind of guy you are. Although I always thought you just took after your mother in looks, at least being adopted explains why you and your dad don't look alike."

"Oh yeah," Tenten said thinking about it. "I thought that as well. Did you ever find out who your biological parents were?"

"Uh...yeah," Naruto said slightly embarrassed. "But you can't tell anyone."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked. Although he was silently dealing with the revelation and he would think on it later, it made sense how Naruto could have so much chakra and heal up like he did. So it would seem that Naruto was 'special' after all, although not of his choosing. Seeing the power he had used in that fight, Sasuke did admit that he felt a bit jealous that Naruto had such power. But seeing how much it was affecting the blonde, maybe there were downsides to it. He would ask him some other time.

"It's sort of a secret," Naruto said to them. "Apparently my father had lots of enemies and if they found out he had a son then they might go after me. So I was asked to keep it quiet because I'm not ready to face them on my own just yet. So you can't tell anyone this, not until I'm ready for the world to know, okay?"

He looked around as everyone eventually nodded, he took a deep breath. It was still odd to think on this, all his life Kakashi had been his dad, and the man always will be, he didn't even have any memories of his father and mother. But he still felt something towards them, they have given him life after all.

"Well my mother was Kushina Uzumaki, I only know a bit of her. From the picture of them I keep in my room, she was really pretty with long red hair. My father's name was, well, Minato Namikaze."

"Minato Namikaze?" Sakura asked as she felt she knew that name. "Why does that-wait a minute! As in THE Minato Namikaze? As in the Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage!?"

"What? No way!" Kiba shouted out in surprise as the entire room was filled with surprised reactions.

"Guys keep it down!" Naruto said looking towards the door. Just in case anyone might overhear all the commotion.

"Sorry," Sakura said. "But you have to admit, that you're the secret son of...that man...is amazing. I don't think there was any mention of him even being involved with a woman in the history books."

"I think we know why now," Sasuke said thinking on it. "Since he's such a major figure to the village they wouldn't want people to know he had a family. Given the last war, there were a lot of people that he pissed off. They would like nothing more than to see him or his family dead for revenge."

"Man you can never do anything simple huh?" Shikamaru smirked at the blonde boy.

"Hey you know me, I'm just full of surprises," Naruto grinned.

-Near the Boarder of Fire Country-

The two Mist ninja had been travelling nonstop since their escape from Konoha. It was the perfect time to slip away after all. Both had made sure to cover their tracks just in case, but with all the Suna and Oto ninja running all over the place, it would be hard to track them. They had needed a way to slip out of the village anyway they didn't need to stick around with a war going on. Plus they could report this any weakness in a village was good news. They quickly managed to make it to the coast line to their appointed meeting place. They were currently on a cliff overlooking a fishing village where they would get transport to Water country.

They heard someone coming up behind them and quickly turned but relaxed seeing the familiar figure. He was tall with long dark hair and a sword carried on his back. He wore loose white clothing with a black vest.

"Where is the third member of your team?" He asked them.

"I'm sorry Saizou-sensei but he was killed in the exam," Ami said as she bowed her head a little.

"By who?"

"A Suna genin by the name of Gaara," she supplied.

He nodded his head, he knew of the name the boy was a rising star in the ninja world. It was important to keep their eyes on it. Well at any rate, losing one man wasn't pleasant but it happened. He shouldn't feel too bad, as the genin in question was quite skilled. He walked to a nearby tree and threw two chunin jackets to them.

"You'll need these back," Saizou said to them as they put back on their vests.

"I can't believe that we had to pretend to be a genin team," Ami said out loud. "We had to hide our full skills and even lost because of it. If only there had been a genin team ready for the exams at this time."

"You know as well as I do that there wasn't a team ready for this," Gendo said finishing putting on his jacket. "The mission was to infiltrate the village to confirm the death of Zabuza, gain all intelligence on the team responsible, find any useful information on the village of Konoha and its defences. Putting on a show to show off Kiri ninja skills to those there was just a bonus."

"That's right," Saizou said nodding, "Since you two were granted chunin status by special order for missions like this, you were allowed to compete. Did you find the information you were asked?"

Ami pulled out a scroll, "Detailed layout of the village, with the patrols I managed to see, defences and anything special I saw from memory. You'd think that having foreign ninja in the village for a full month they would keep an eye on us. Although I bet they thought I was just seeing the sights."

"I think they had bigger issues with Suna and that new village Oto," Gendo commented as he pulled out his own reports. It was a good thing they had the scrolls hidden with their belongings and picked them up on the way out. The hotel they had been in, had taken a fire jutsu and most likely would be burned down by now."From what I gathered it is believed that Team 7 under Kakashi Hatake killed Zabuza."

"You don't sound totally convinced," Saizou asked hearing the tone of his former student. He had raised this team from their genin days, although they were no longer genins, they still called him sensei. It was a sad moment that one student didn't return, but that was life. He still remembered the days when his country would hunt down and purge bloodlines and kill a friend for the genin tests. But those days had long since been fading and he wasn't looking forward to telling them of the new development.

"It's just a feeling," Gendo said to himself. "I feel we should at least send someone to exam the area where he had died to be sure. If Konoha is keeping a missing ninja from our village under protection, it could start a war with them. Not that I wouldn't mind that, in their current state if they survived the attack they would be weak enough to attack."

"Unfortunately that may not happen," Saizou sighed, it would have been glorioud to take down one of the great ninja nations. Water country could have expanded into the mainland and used Konoha's location to build a fortress. "It turns out we have a new kage."

"Who?" Ami asked.

"Mei Terumi," He nearly spat out the name.

"That twice cursed bloodline user!?" Gendo shouted out as he stood up. "How in the hell did she gain the Kage title of our village?"

What wasn't known to many outside of the Water country, was that after the bloodline purges things had slowly changed. With so many other ninja nations having more and more bloodlines, Kiri had started to take them in to train as weapons. It was an idea that many of the older generation didn't like. Saizou himself had taught his students the old hatred for bloodline users. Unfortunately, Mei's skills and abilities had slowly been winning over the younger generations over the past few years.

She finally had enough people backing her, that to prevent a civil war, the council and bowed down and made her the new Fifth Mizukage. It was a bitter sweet moment, to the younger generations they had a new leader they would look up to, one that promised change from the old ways of the Blood Mist Village had been. To those like Saizou, it was like drinking acid that slowly ate away at his insides. But the fact was that she was just too powerful, any that had challenged her openly had been mercilessly killed. He had seen her in action and knew that he could never beat her, not with those two bloodlines she had.

"I can't believe this," Ami said softly in anger.

"I know but we must bare with it, we may not like her but she is our leader," Saizou said as he started to walk to the small village on the shore. "Come, we have a long journey and I want to hear your reports in detail."

They walked off all except Gendo who looked back in the direction of Konoha. He may have been on a mission, but one thing was for sure. He would be back one day, he would avenge the slight on his honor by the hands of Naruto Hatake. That would be a name he would burn into his soul and make sure that masked blonde would wish he had finished Gendo off when he could have.

"One day Naruto Hatake," Gendo swore to himself. "One day we will meet again, and the next time, will not be like the last."

-Konoha Hospital, Hokage's room-

Sarutobi had felt better than he had at the moment, given the talented medical ninja they had thanks to the breakthroughs from Tsunade, he was still alive. Although his old body couldn't take the strain of such a battle again he was told. The damage to his body was just too much to handle. He had been pierce through his spine as well, which was why he couldn't feel his toes on one foot and could hardly move that same leg. He was told that he would have to walk with a cane from now on. It was hard to breath sometimes and he also had these nasty coughs now and again, he was alive but just barely.

If he had been a young man he could recover, but with his age it was just harder to heal his body. Although at least he could watch his grandson grow up. Plus the Hyuga had already given his family a request for a possible marriage between Konohamaru and Hanabi. He knew the two were friends so it was an interesting idea. But that would have to wait with time. Maybe now he'd also get the chance to see his other son Asuma actually settle down himself. The Hokage had already had his family visit him, and he tried to put on a brave face. Asuma could see through it though, but he said nothing of course.

Sarutobi tried not to sigh, it hurt too much, as he thought about the future. He couldn't be Hokage anymore, it was a younger person's game and he should never have gotten out of retirement. But no one else was up to the task, he had hoped to find a suitable replacement but the only two he could think of, well, they were somewhat problematic. Jiraiya was busy with his spy network and he had never bothered to train a new student. Plus he supposed that Jiraiya was still looking for 'that person' to train, if he hadn't given up that was.

That only left Tsunade, she had problems but it was time for her to come home. He had allowed her to run off for far too long. He had kept up hope that she would return on her own but year after year she never did. He supposed that made sense, she always was the stubborn child. But it was time for her to come home and accept the office of Hokage. He had thought about it, as he had nothing else to do but think, and she was the only choice. He certainly didn't want someone like Danzo to use this moment to try and take the position. That old war hawk had been trying to get the title of Hokage for as long as he had known the man.

No, he wouldn't allow that man to take the office. He had already sent a message for Jiraiya to come and see him. Since his old student was still here, helping to clean up. It was then that he heard the window of his room slowly open. The old man looked and smiled seeing his student slip into the room.

"You really should break that habit," Sarutobi grinned. "It will land you into trouble one day."

"Trouble is what I live for," Jiraiya smirked at him and then grew serious seeing the wounds. "How bad?"

"Enough to force me out of office again," The old Hokage sighed as he rested in his bed. "I'm just not as young as I used to be, should have given this to a younger person instead of taking it up again. Oh well, that's why I need you."

"Whoa there," Jiraiya said holding up his hands, "I'm not taking the office. You'd know I'd be bad at it, I can't do paper work, hell I haven't even filed a proper mission report in two years. I'm busy with me rese-I mean, my spy network too."

The Hokage chuckled but it soon turned into a coughing fit as Jiraiya went over quickly to see if he could help. After a moment the Hokage managed to relax a bit as his breathing got better. "That's not why I needed you here, there is a scroll on the table over there," he pointed. "I need you to find her, it's time for her to come home."

Jiraiya knew who he was talking about.

"You think she'll just come back, just like that?" He asked knowing full well how stubborn Tsunade was.

"She might not have a choice in the matter," The old man said sadly. "Try anything you can think of, I want her here by her own choice but in the end...well read the scroll."

Jiraiya picked it up and scanned it, he didn't like the wording in there and he could read between the lines. "You serious about this?"

"If I don't then who will lead?" The Hokage asked him. "Besides, if someone like Danzo gets in charge he might just declare Tsunade a missing ninja just because of what she represents and could be a threat to his power in the future. Even if she plans on dying never seeing these walls again, I know how the man thinks, he wouldn't take that kind of chance."

Jiraiya had to nod, he had meetings with Danzo a few times and each time he got a worse and worse feeling about the man. He was loyal to the village, that wasn't in question, but the man's methods and goals were suspect. Jiraiya put the scroll away, "I'll leave in a few days. I'll need to hunt down some leads on where to start. Plus I need you to authorised to send a certain genin with me."

"Is this someone I think we both know?" The Hokage asked him.

Jiraiya nodded, "I heard he did well, got you out alive at least. I think the boy could use some more training and it's about time I spent more time with my god son. I left him in Kakashi's care and the man raised him well. Now it's time to see what kind of tree and grown from the seed that had been planted.

Jiraiya was eager to see just what Naruto could do.

The End....

...For Now.

There finally done, after two years! Man I didn't expect this to go this far, well I left it open like this for the sequel to kick off at this point. But seriously I need a break from this story and this seemed like a good idea to stop. So keep an eye out for when I'll post the sequel. I guess you could consider this Part I. Too bad too, I nearly got three thousand reviews, oh well. I also don't think the sequel will be as long as this as this had a lot of set up with the younger years.

In the meantime I'm working on a new story. "Bleached Vampire", a crossover story for Bleach and Rosario+Vampire. I liked both fandoms and decided to try my hand at it.