Well, this was the absolute longest wait in the history of waits. I have got to say, I'm extremely sorry about the hiatus. If something like this ever happens again, I'd better be dead because that was not fun at all… Perhaps getting back into writing these chapters will help with my depression.

In any case, again I'm sorry about the wait and I hope this knocks off any rust I've gathered, with my older mind refined my style just a bit. I'm already excited for this new decade. The unofficial title of this chapter will be Birthday Reunion. I do advise you reread the previous chapters though… which I'm forever sorry about.

Disclaimer: Naruto's long done, and I'm no closer to being the owner of Naruto… or Boruto, I guess.

Killer Instinct Chapter Nine: A Favor For What?

{Konoha Hokage Building – Two Days Later - Five PM}

The Sandaime Hokage sat in his office, a disturbed look on his withered face. As always, he was dressed in his official kage attire; his ankle length red kimono was tied shut with a white sash. His white/red haori and the white/red Kage hat would be the finishing touch to his standard ensemble.

Jiraiya stood in front of his sensei, after having just dropped a bomb of information. He was dressed in his dull green, kimono-like attire with his red vest over it. His mesh undershirt was visible through the long v-neck in his kimono and his shortened sleeves.

His modified headband proudly displayed the kanji for oil; its secondary function was helping to keep his long white bangs out of his eyes. The polished metal gleamed from the sunlight streaming through the glass panel of the nearby window.

The old man looked up at the only student he had any form of contact with, a myriad of emotions mixing in with the expression on his withered face. Jiraiya's face seemed to mirror his own as they both thought about how this could happen.

"So, let me get this straight…" Sarutobi softly began speaking, stopping mid-speech as if wrestling with the belief of his student's words. "He… he just went and took her? Like, straight from underneath their noses?" Sarutobi asked his voice heavy with disbelief, despite knowing first-hand how proficient the young Uzumaki was at infiltration and retrievals.

The white haired Sannin looked towards his aged sensei, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he gave a near reluctant nod in agreement. His arms crossed as Sarutobi went about refilling his pipe with fresh tobacco. A part of him was still in disbelief, another part was extremely impressed and sort of proud. During his tenure as a Spy Master, he's rarely heard of something like this, if ever. "Yeah, that's exactly what he did, him and a small group of talented individuals. They managed to perform this amazing and, yet terrifying feat, with what seemed like little effort. I would love to point out that it may have been their status as a minor village, but we both know that Takigakure is extremely difficult to invade, much less find half the time." Still, the team had managed to find, infiltrate, find the container, and get out and back home without Takigakure even realizing which village was behind the act.

Hell, if they hadn't figured it out months prior, they would be in the dark as well. But, they were well aware the young Uzumaki was a part of Kumo's ranks and the political backlash of this was soon going to bite them in the butts. Now, however, they couldn't really do anything about it, given just how they came in possession of him. Sure the council shot for a kidnapping mission, to match the blonde's from when he abducted four Hyuga. A mission that Hiashi was restless about, considering one of them was his very own nephew. The amount of paperwork required for that wasn't a lot, but Naruto was definitely expecting it.

Still, something in the old man's heart didn't want to re-subject the young Uzumaki to the prejudice villagers. Neither of the villages was exactly on any good terms for them to even employ any terms of extradition. Sure they were enjoying a brief time of peace, but there was always going to be some attempt to re-ignite the flames of aggressive warfare. The Sandaime was feeling entirely too old to put his village through yet another Great War, all three of them was plenty enough for him. It also didn't help that Kumo was now in possession of four Jinchuriki of immense power and any war with them would be heavily in the Cloud's favor.

That didn't change the fact that they would need to do something about it, regardless of those previous points. Though they would need it to be clever, with whatever they decided to do. Otherwise they might be considered pushovers to the other villages. When that specific time to act on that event chose to present itself, they knew it would have to be just as elaborate to succeed. Though perhaps now, they could actually go ahead with some form of retaliation, seeing as how the young Neji was on the blonde's team.

The Hokage lightly shook his head of the thoughts swimming in his mind and lit his pipe, they literally being all over the place. After a few puffs of smoke left his lips, he began voicing his response. "Yes, the little blonde has been busy since leaving the Leaf. We both knew how great his potential could be when he was born." Sarutobi released a short stream of smoke to match the sigh that left his lips. One doesn't have a choice to become special when the right blood flows through their veins. "We only have ourselves to blame for this long streak of misfortune." The Sandaime exhaled another stream of smoke, looking down towards the papers gathered upon his desk.

"I just wish there was something I could've done to prevent this from happening." Jiraiya said in a somber tone as he looked out the window. The villagers down in the streets bustled around with nary a care in the world. They knew not of the current details currently plaguing the mind of the two seasoned shinobi.

Each of the villagers: men, women and children were aware of the blonde's heritage and it varyingly weighed on them during the initial reveal. Though, because the blonde hadn't been in the news since the Hyuga incident, they hadn't thought much about the Namikaze very much. This particular mindset was only reserved for the small amount of villagers that hadn't cared about the blonde's Jinchuriki status. When it concerned the village's resident group of radical Kyuubi haters, they didn't care much of the Uzumaki's heritage, their hate of the Nine Tailed beast overshadowed any shame they had at driving the son of their hero from the village.

"As do we all…" the Sandaime spoke in a similar tone, picking his gaze up to stare at his student. "But, that's the past and there's no changing what happened. We have to do something about this current situation. Any ideas on how to solve this problem we have?"

Jiraiya looked back to his sensei with a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps… I'll continue to watch him. From what I've come to know, he's ironically a Genin and Konoha is hosting the next Chunin Exams in five to six weeks. I have no doubt that he'll be here, more to gloat than anything else." Jiraiya said before the door was rudely opened.

"Then now would be the time to prepare a little trap for our returning fox." An old voice spoke as the bandaged visage of Danzo sauntered passed the threshold, with the feigned appearance of a weak old man.

"Danzo-san, it's always a pleasure seeing you. Believe it or not, but I was waiting for your arrival." Sarcasm was dripping from the Hokage's lips, but Danzo only gave his old friend a withered smirk as he stepped fully into the room. The soft clanking of his cane was the only sound coming from the old warmonger.

"I don't think any of your traps will work on this new blonde. The old one, maybe, but this new Naruto is something you should not want as an enemy." Jiraiya spoke as he crossed his arms defensively. Jiraiya never kept it a secret that he despised the elders of the village, especially this particular individual. Danzo was an old conniving manipulator, twisting whatever narrative he was in to suit whatever ulterior motive he always seemed to have up his sleeve.

Everything was a power play to the man, trying to inch his head underneath the hat of his previous comrade. A sneer split onto the face of the Sannin for a moment, before promptly replacing it with a cold look. "Naruto has repeatedly dispatched your ROOT agents time and time again, and infiltrated multiple locations with ease. I would rather enjoy seeing the futile results of whatever trap you concoct… might even do so with a bag of popcorn. Sadly, that would result in the rest of the village suffering from the blowback of your idiotic mistake." The white haired Sannin spoke coldly to the man, walking over to the far wall of the room, not trusting himself to regain his composure while being so close to the man.

Normally, such words would have caused the man to act in a retort of his own. But now, the only thing Danzo did was shrug his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, showing how little he cared for his agents or the man that spoke to him. "Now, now Jiraiya-kun, let's settle down for the moment. There's no need for us to be bickering amongst each other in this time of need. We have problems that need solutions or I don't see Konoha remaining safe any longer." The Sandaime took a deep puff from his pipe, blowing out a moderate sized cloud from it. Though none of the other villages had shown any interest in launching an all out attack against the Leaf, the possibility of a declaration of war was stronger than ever.

Again, Danzo showed zero emotions to the happenings around him and simply stared at his old friend. "I called the council together for the meeting, like you wanted. We're waiting on you." The bandaged war hawk informed the equally old man. It might not have seemed like it, but he was mentally steaming at the insolence at which the Sannin spoke to him with. If either of the two could read the old warmonger's mind, they would see different scenarios involving the man torturing the Sannin. If Danzo wished to turn his fantasies into reality, he would have to get incredibly lucky. He wouldn't openly admit it, but he knew that a fight with the Sannin would result in his death, even with his bag of tricks.

Hiruzen nodded his head, turning his attention towards his paperwork for a moment. He still had a bit more to do, knowing the secretary was somewhere preparing another stack for him. "I understand, Danzo. I'll meet you there." He told the man while he straightened the papers on his desk, not watching as Danzo turned and left the room.

As soon as he was sure that Danzo was out of earshot, Jiraiya pushed himself from the far wall and leaned against the desk, nearly glaring daggers at his aged sensei. "Can you please explain to me again why you decided to get in bed with that devious bastard? For the life of me, I don't understand any of it."

The Sandaime released a long sigh, feeling the same as his student. "The reason escapes even me." He muttered just loud enough for the Sannin to hear as he stood to his feet. "And please, Jiraiya, stop trying to stir the hornet's nest. We don't need a Civil War in the village, okay?" He asked the man, grabbing his hat and leaving the office, leaving Jiraiya to follow behind him.

"I think that sounds kind of cool." Jiraiya responded playfully, the tone lighthearted, despite knowing it would play the perfect scenario for him to take care of their problem. After a tired groan from Hiruzen, the Sannin grew silent as they made their way into the room of the main council chambers. Both the shinobi and civilian council was surprised to see the Sannin enter the room, and wondered if he was here to participate or to just simply observe. Either way, they couldn't imagine what this meeting could be about.

"Why have you gathered us here, Hokage-sama? Did something else happen? " the voice of Inoichi Yamanaka rang through the room, breaking the silence that followed the leader's arrival.

The Yamanaka's words would be met with those of similar concerns. Hiruzen held his hand up to silence the congregation as he made his way to his seat. Jiraiya continued to follow his sensei, stopping behind his position, opting to remain standing as they both looked over the entire council.

Many of the civilian council ran the bigger businesses in the village, some were responsible for the trade and others were retired shinobi, whose opinions actually meant something, i.e the elders.

The shinobi part of the council consisted of the heads of the many clans that resided in the village. All of them were mostly concerned about the hour at which the meeting had been called at. Many were concerned when the mandatory meeting had been postponed until this point.

They didn't know whether this should be considered an emergency meeting or not, but would treat it as so.

"This meeting is about the balance between the ninja villages." The Sandaime spoke, his gaze meeting each pair of eyes in the room.

The suspense immediately faded as they thought about the main threats to their village. Naruto Uzumaki, their old Jinchuriki and their newest S-rank criminal. His danger level was up there with Itachi Uchiha and Orochimaru.

"This is about that little thief again isn't it?" Hiashi spoke in his usual calm voice, though everyone could notice the hint of anger in his voice. Even though branch members were taken, members of the Hyuga were still of the Hyuga clan. Naruto was number two of the clan head's list of hated individuals. Right below that kage of his, that caused his brother's death.

Hiashi looked as elegant as his clan had been perceived to be. He was dressed in a long white shirt, with his sleeves being a bit too long. His pants were a light gray and he wore regular ninja sandals, coloring them a dark gray instead.

Sarutobi nodded his head, as he had to admit that he had to stop treating Naruto like he could be saved. "Yes, it is." It was clearly obvious to the rest of them that the blonde was comfortable in Kumo. "Unfortunately… Jiraiya has informed me of some disturbing news."

Intrigue graced the faces of everyone in the room. What had the blonde done now that had caused the aged Hokage to look upon them with such a saddened, yet serious expression?

Nobody made a noise, not even the loud and brash Tsume Inuzuka, or either of the ignorant civilians. Tsume was dressed in her Jonin uniform, having not returned home as of yet. She had actually just returned from a mission, her companion Kuromaru was still licking the blood from around his maw.

Everyone looked to the Sannin, who just continued to stand there, much like a stoic statue. Seeing him like this was completely strange to those that knew of his silly antics, both back in the day and now.

The man remained silent, surprising even Homura and Koharu. They each began to mentally time the man on how long it would take for him to even crack one of his goofy smiles.

Sarutobi recalled everyone's attention back to him as he resumed speaking. "The news pertains as to a certain hidden village's Jinchuriki." He paused as he cleared his throat for a bit. "Some odd days ago, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze and his team launched a mission against Takigakure that was a success. Reports from our very own Jiraiya states that their goal was to steal that village's Jinchuriki, the Nanabi container. Naruto did this in a way that only those with Biju in them can achieve. A mass of shadow clones had been created that drew the attention of the shinobi from that village, successfully stalling for his team." Sarutobi told the room as Jiraiya nodded his head behind his teacher.

"I believe Naruto handled the large shinobi force this way, while a smaller group actually went inside the village to get the young girl. Sadly, my spy inside the village has died during the mission. Fortunately, the toad that was assigned to him was able to relay information. With this, we are now aware of Takigakure's location, something that has been a closely guarded secret among the nations." Jiraiya spoke once his sensei was finished.

The two of them remained quiet to let this information soak in the brains of the council. All was quiet for a few minutes. Hiruzen actually enjoyed the time when things were silent around him and wondered how long it'll last.

"Damn…" the word echoed in the room having, surprisingly, left the lips the Hyuga clan head.

{Fire Country - Same Time}

Naruto slowly made his way through the very large forest of Fire Country. His attire had been altered a bit, consisting of a long sleeved, very light gray hooded tunic with a white vest over it. Said vest could have been modified as it had sleeves that were obviously torn off around the middle of the biceps. Along his left shoulder and overlapping his frame towards the underside of his right arm, was a black belt that was strapped securely around him.

At the ends of his light gray sleeves was a pair of padded wrist guards, white in color as well. Around his young blonde's waist was another, noticeably thicker, belt that additionally held a ninja pouch on the left hip. His souba hung from the very same belt, a stronger block-sheath had been crafted that matched the material of the guard. So if the blonde wished, he'd be able to use either for defensive and offensive purposes.

For his lower attire, a pair of black cargo pants shielded his legs from direct contact with the breeze wafting through the trees. On his feet, his tape had been whitened to match his vest as always. Alright, so his attire had been completely changed.

He had been informed that the mission was in no way time sensitive, only that his presence would be expected in Sunagakure. Of course, thinking of the sand dunes of Wind country got him thinking of Gaara. He hadn't spoken to his brother container in quite a long time.

'I wonder if everything is alright over there.' The last time he had spoken to him, the young redhead had just been developing a better relationship with his siblings. That father of his was still an asshole, but what father wasn't? It was obvious his train of thought turned towards his own father.

"Are you complaining about me being sealed inside you? Keep thinking like that and I might have to eat you sooner than later." Kurama mused playfully in the blonde's mind, but the young Namikaze knew that the fox oh so wanted to eat him.

Naruto softly scratched the scar running through his whisker marks, a soft chuckle slipping through his lips. "Kurama, why do you always have to be so mean, all I do is love you?"

A booming scoff echoed in Naruto's mind. Nothing further was spoken, but the blonde clearly knew that Kurama knew that it was some form of a lie. But he wouldn't stoop so low as to call the young human on the validity of his words.

As he walked along the ground, simply enjoying the peaceful time of the moment, his senses picked up a group of chakra signatures. One of them was familiar to his senses and he peered in the direction.

He mindlessly fiddled with the hood of his tunic and took a short detour. "What do you have brewing in that mind of yours?" Kurama asked his container as he sensed the blonde actively suppress his chakra signature.

'I'm just a bit bored and I'm fixing to have a bit of fun. Plus, I'm curious as to who he's leading.' Naruto responded, much to Kurama's joy. These past two days have been utterly boring and he was glad his container felt the exact same way.

Without an explicit set time limit on his mission, though giving the distance from here to Suna, he was set to arrive around later tonight… Naruto made a mental note of the time and took to the trees with high speeds and silent movements.

{Fire Country - Team Seven}

Team seven was comprised of a group of freshly graduated Genins. Kakashi Hatake, said to have copied over a thousand techniques, was their Jonin Sensei. Dressed in his usual Jonin attire, Kakashi walked behind his group of students.

His students consisted of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha. Though these students were fresh out of the Academy, they were heirs and an heiress of their respective clan.

Shino Aburame, heir of the Aburame clan, specialized in the use of Kikaichu bugs that have nested within his own body when he was born. With the ability of sucking the chakra from their victims, Kikaichu bugs were a force to be reckoned with in the control of any user.

Hinata Hyuga, heiress of the Hyuga clan, specialized in the use of her Byakugan. Pure determination to prove herself to her father and return her cousin to her is what keeps her going. With this driving her forward, she was able to guide herself into being the top female in her class and very nearly the best student to graduate in the year.

Sasuke Uchiha, acting heir of the now destroyed Uchiha clan. Because of his brother Itachi, Sasuke has strived for power necessary for avenging his clan. Power he needed to kill his own brother. He became rather arrogant and spiteful in his personal vendetta, shunning all who would try to befriend him.

Even now, during their first C-rank mission to escort a bridge builder back to Wave Country, he was being uncooperative. This was something his Sensei was trying to trying to do help him with. Teamwork, working with your teammates was the absolute most important thing a shinobi could do. Maybe they deceived him during their Genin test?

The Jonin turned his head to glance behind him, looking at the drunken client. His name was Tazuna and he's visited Konoha and asked the village leader for their protection. His job was to finish construction of a bridge that would connect between the island country of Nami and the mainland. The protection he was in need of was from a tycoon by the name of Gato, who had completely monopolized the country for his own greedy use.

Tazuna is most of what you'd imagine an old man to be. He had gray hair, glasses and a large beard. Being from a poor town, his clothes consisted of a sleeveless v-neck shirt and an old obi. His pants and sandals looked just as ragged as his obi. He wore a towel around his shoulders and a pointed hat was atop his head.

He turned his head back towards the road and noticed a mysterious puddle of water near the tree line. 'It hasn't rained in weeks…' he thought to himself as he promptly put a plan together. Sensing the impending attack he prepared himself as two individuals began their ambush.

The two assailants attacked him straight away with a long spiked chain. A smart move, going after the strongest at the start of an ambush. Doing something like that could resort in two outcomes, either the attack works or backfires.

Seeing as how the Elite Jonin had wanted to see just how his team operated outside of a simulated attack, he allowed himself to be brutally bisected when the chain surrounded him.

Shino had been the first to notice the attack, his insects buzzing rather loudly as his eyes widened behind his dark shades. "Whoa." Sasuke muttered as he and the others noticed the shredded log between the two assailants, something they themselves hadn't noticed.

"One down Meizu." one of the men spoke, their Kiri headbands giving off a slight shine in the sunlight.

Hinata, Sasuke and Shino moved in front of Tazuna, Sasuke pulling out two kunai. "S-sensei…" the Hyuga let out a soft whisper, the veins around her eyes bulged as her Byakugan activated. Her vision immediately became black and white; the sight of the men's chakra network and their sensei became more distinct. Her eyes narrowed as she took a defensive stance in the center of her Genin team.

"Four more to go Gozu." the revealed Meizu replied. These two were missing ninja from Kirigakure, and they were called The Demon Brothers. They specialized in a tag teamed style of assassination, as they had demonstrated earlier. Both of their muscles tensed in preparation before they dashed forward, their chain trailing between them.

"Protect the client." Sasuke and Hinata seemed to say at the same time as they dashed forward. Their speed seemed to match the two brothers. Sasuke went towards the right, while Hinata dashed towards the left.

Choosing to break up the brother's teamwork, Hinata charged chakra to her palms and with practiced ease she jumped a few feet in the air.

Sasuke, having thought the same thing, chose a different way to sever their teamwork. Tightening his grip on his kunai, his single tomoe Sharingan flared to life as he threw his first kunai towards the man's right shoulder. His Sharingan anticipating the man cutting to the left, he lunged in that direction.

Sasuke grunted as he performed a mid-air flip to avoid the man's counter swipe. This left him in a position he didn't want to be in, but he used it to his advantage anyway. He threw his remaining kunai at one of the many holes in the long chain, the kunai having just a hint of chakra around it.

"Shit, a Hyuga." Meizu shouted as Hinata made her jump. He dove to his left, stretching out the chain even more.

Hinata smiled brightly, quickly changing up her strategy. Thankful her hands were coated in chakra, she targeted the kunai thrown by Sasuke. As soon as it had impacted the chain, she hit it as hard as she can. The double dose of chakra infused attacks broke the spiked chain in two.

The two brothers were taken by surprise when their chain was broken. The two Dojutsu users landed on the floor on the same time and took their respective stances, each facing off against one of the brothers.

But, before they could make their move, the two missing nins stumbled forward as if they were exhausted. A large cloud of buzzing was heard at that time as the cloud split off and surrounded them even, the Kikaichu bugs draining their chakra.

"Kakashi-sensei wasn't the only one to notice the impending ambush." Shino spoke up as he walked forward, Tazuna not too far away from his young protector.

His teammates looked over at him and nodded. They had known about his bugs latching onto the two brothers when their respective ocular bloodlines were activated. But they were learning of the sheer effectiveness at this point.

Though, even with the help of Shino's bugs, a torrent of water managed to erupt around each of the brothers. This forced each of them to jump back in slight surprise, Tazuna being sent running further away from his would-be assassins.

Meizu and Gozu stopped their techniques and stood on shaking knees, panting heavily from their lack of chakra. "We must complete the mission at all costs." Gozu heaved out, nearly going into a coughing fit.

Team seven look on in anticipation, their muscles tensed in preparation. Each of the Genin members knew the two would continue with their assault. They all were smarter than their age group and much more cunning than they should be, more so when working together.

The sibling duo didn't want the impressive team of Genin in front of them to catch them off guard another time, especially from the Aburame and his bugs. And so, the two teams flew back into action, the Genin's Dojutsu making up for any sort of disadvantage presented in the fight now that it was a focused one on one.

Sasuke did battle with Meizu, while Hinata fought against Gozu, with Shino providing further assistance to the both of them.

~KI~KI~KI~

While the trio of leaf Genin dealt with the duo of missing mist mercenaries, Kakashi watched his team from the cover of the tree line. He knew this was dangerous and considering the training those three had, potentially fruitful in the grand scheme of things.

The Jonin sensei of the village was given some rather distressing intel. For once in the past so and so years, it had nothing to do with their lost Jinchuriki. Rather, it was the up and coming Chunin Exam that would be hosted in their very village. Obviously this proved to be the opportune time for espionage for the visiting officials and what not. He wasn't a stranger to this, having done so himself in the past.

The Chunin Exam was more than a rite of promotion for potential candidates. It was the chance for home villages to show off their proficiency in counter surveillance. What this had to do with the Jonin sensei of the village was as simple as they each had a handful of their village clans' next generation, him especially with the last remaining Uchiha, a maturing Hyuga heiress and the meticulous Aburame.

It definitely could've have been much worse, he could've been stuck with a Root Agent as well. Turns out, one had been implanted in the Academy to purposely perform unimpressively to get on the team with Sasuke. If it wasn't for Kakashi's protests prevailing, he would end up having to babysit a spy. Though, now, because of his own status, he had to do so for these three children. He knew his team was considered the golden team, meant for greatness, simply by who was on it. He wouldn't think so until he saw it with his own eyes.

Unfortunately, his train of thought would be derailed by what happened in front of him. The Jonin released a groan, muffled even more by his mask.

~KI~KI~KI~

In the field, right when Gozu seemed to exploit the heiress' inexperience in a brutal encounter with a devious criminal, his clawed hand seemed to have been lopped off. In a show of gore, blood gushed from the wound, spraying over the currently crouching blonde. His souba was out and coated in a bit of blood.

A smaller chunk of the man's severed arm could also be noted among the blood. "Didn't your mother teach you not to touch royalty with your dirty claws?" He growled as he clenched the hilt of his weapon and as Gozu cried out in the sudden rush of pain, Naruto attacked as swiftly as his surprising appearance.

A rush of Nature Chakra surrounded his blade as soon as he tightened his grip around his sword, so when he swung the souba in a wide arc towards Gozu, the gore level increased tenfold.

A powerful typhoon incased the mercenary, the gathered winds having a strong hue of crimson dyed into it as said mercenary's body exploded in a spray of blood. "A ninja must embrace death to endure the harsh realities in which we live in." His voice seemed to be carried by the winds.

Everyone in the area was surprised by the appearance of the hooded Namikaze, more so by the ease and ruthlessness that accompanied him.

Unfortunately, Hinata had another reason to be surprised as the blood from the deceased man's arm covered the front of her body from her face to the bottom of her stomach. Overall, she was grossed out by all the blood covering her, since her clan's fighting style dealt with internal damage. Not that the blood wouldn't get coughed up from repeated Juken strikes, but it wouldn't be on such a level as this.

Shino had a similar style of fighting, as his was based mostly on forcing chakra depravation from far away. Blood being spilled was not a factor when Aburames did battle with someone… even if they used even more dangerous insects.

Sasuke, however, had a more conserved reaction to the bloodshed because of the whole massacre of his clan. From an early age, since that exact time, he's been steadily training as shinobi should. Though, he was still a child, so it was obvious seeing that much blood so suddenly caused him to tremble. But he was a warrior and sensed, along with the rest of his team, the power coming from the shinobi's voice as the winds began to calm down moments later.

There's no way to describe the feelings a person has from the lost of their brother. Such utter despair Meizu was experiencing from seeing his brother perishing in such a gruesome fashion, only intensified this feeling by unprecedented proportions. A guttural scream echoed from him, which was so intense it could be comparable to a banshee's shriek… without any head explosions. The surrounding individuals could only be thankful that the missing shinobi didn't have any knowledge in Ototon.

Naruto rose to his full height and looked over in the direction of the screaming brother, Kurama grinning maliciously, content from the amount of bloodshed. "Perfect entrance boy, looks like the other one wants to end up like his brother." The kitsune wasn't wrong as Meizu was abandoning all sense of shinobi training and rushing towards the hooded blonde like an enraged child.

Everything seemed to be happening faster than anybody was expecting, because as Naruto gripped his weapon and rushed forward to meet the man in the middle, they both found Kakashi between them instead.

The Hatake reached for both of their heads, attempting to hit Naruto's and Meizu's head with his fist and foot respectively. Fortunately, Kakashi was moving a tad too slow to connect with the blonde's face. Instead a severed hand took his place, luckily for the Jonin, his hand hit the back of the severed head.

It was at this moment that the other members of Team Seven began to physically react to the current events of their mission. "Kakashi-sensei, what the hell is happening?" Sasuke voiced as Hinata recovered, still a bit mentally affected by what happened in front of her eyes.

She looked over at the small opening from the side of the hood, to see the blonde hair, bright as the sun and cerulean eyes as blue as the ocean. She didn't know how to react to what she saw and looked towards her sensei.

Any response Kasashi could have given was halted by the crazed Meizu, who was still lashing out with his clawed hand. The Jonin weaved around the wild swipes and grabbed at the man's wrist and twisted it backwards until a crack was heard. With his foot, he swept the man's feet from under him, his body following his wrist's example by twisting in that direction.

The Jonin fell in the same direction, his knee falling on the Chunin's midsection, forcing the air from the man's lungs. Kakashi acted quickly and punched Meizu in his temple in an impressively strong fashion, knocking the assassin out before he had a chance to get his second wind and regain his sense of self.

"Aww, that's so boring Kakashi. Kill him and be done with it." Naruto goaded as he smirked under his hood. He jumped backwards, landing high up on a branch. "Well, well, this is your team? I was wondering who they were. Looks like an interesting crop, even Neji's dear cousin. My my, the village's trust in you is deeper than I once believed."

At this moment, Kakashi appeared in front of the bloodied Hinata. "You two guard the client. There's no telling what he's here for." Kakashi ordered sternly, keeping his gaze on the blonde. "What are you doing here Naruto, ready to face your crimes back in Konoha?" The Jonin spoke in seriousness, lifting his headband to reveal the Sharingan underneath, housed in a scarred eye.

Naruto remained silent for a moment, sheathing his souba and removing the hood from his head. "Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze? The Kyuubi Jinchuriki?" Sasuke questioned with a bit of a shaky voice. He gripped his kunai tighter, in hopes of steeling the shaking hand around the handle.

The boy was no mystery to the village, his stories being widely public, unlike the other S-Class criminals from their home village. Though it was a mystery as to how he's remained free from capture so far. "He's as bloody and crafty as the demon inside him." The words came out in a hushed whisper, Naruto smirked from these specific set of words.

The bugs inside of Shino were reacting in a manner akin to his teammate besides him. They were more than frightened at the feeling of dread coming from the blonde above them. On the outside, only his brow grew a bit sweaty from the overall events that seemed to happen in what felt like seconds and in actuality only happened in a full minute. "There's no reason to warn you on how dangerous he is. My Kikaichu are going crazy."

Hinata, however voiced her own words loud enough for all to hear. "Neji-kun? You have taken him!" She knew that this confirmation was all her clan needed to take matters into their own hands against the village of clouds. She covered her hands in her chakra and moved to jump towards the blonde, only for Kakashi to stop her. "Stop! Let go of me Kakashi-sensei! I have to kill him for what he did to my clan!" She yelled in a fashion more suited towards Sasuke.

"My my, I'm quite popular aren't I?" Naruto spoke with a hint of mockery; his very words though only seemed to infuriate the Hyuga even more so. His smile contorted in a fox-like grin, his frame crouching down on the tree branch he was on. "I'll tell you what… the Chunin Exams are coming up in your dear old village. Neji will be there and I will be there. Get stronger, all four of you." He turned his attention towards Kakashi, his Killer Intent leaking out in a tsunami of malice, the effects causing the aged Tazuna to fall backwards, not dead but clearly knocked unconscious.

The Genins had a bit more resolve than the man, but were dropped to their knees and sent into a coughing fit. Kakashi, aware of the state of his team and his client, was frozen to his spot from being a focused point to the malicious Intent from the strongest of the Tailed Beasts. "Get much stronger Kakashi, just like I have!" The demonic voice echoing from the blonde echoed in the area.

As everyone seemed frozen from his words he vanished in an explosion of wind and flames, the wind only feeding the flames. His disappearance also meant a sudden halt of his Killing Intent being forced on them.

A frantic gasp of air followed his departure, as the Jonin took a shaky step forward, it being the only thing to keep him from falling to his knees like his team did. 'I should have done something.' He thought to himself as he refrained from giving chase, choosing to only help his team recuperate and get the bridge builder back to his village. "I don't exactly know what just happened, or why, but we have to get the client home. There's no telling what Naruto's Killing Intent did to him. Is he even breathing?"

Kakashi then turned his attention towards his female student, gasping for air besides him. "How are you doing?" He was extremely worried about how his students were thinking. Would they be up to completing the mission? Should they take a break? Perhaps they should turn back and return to the village to recuperate? Multiple questions ran through his mind, and he knew that he'd have to report this to the Hokage, if they decided to head to the village. Overall, he'd have to put it to a vote.

"I'm doing better than those guys." She commented through calming coughs. Obviously she was referring to the Demon Brothers who faced a real demon and didn't stand a chance. "So that was Naruto?" There weren't any photos of him, so it was rather hard for her to picture the boy who had stolen clan property… and also sent the village into a state of chaos, but that was beside the point.

Kakashi nodded his head, looking at the branch the blonde had previously occupied. He had grown since the last time he seen him, not as much physically as it was in skill. Last time, while confident in his abilities, he hadn't pressed for any sort of conflict with him in such a way. This time, he basically challenged him, something he couldn't help but be curious about accepting. That would also have to be something to talk to the Hokage about. "Yeah that was the Fourth Hokage's son. He could've been a good kid, but he snapped before he could receive any help."

Hinata narrowed her eyes as she listened to how her sensei was talking about that cretin. Sure, she understood his position as said kage's student, but that didn't warrant for him to show an ounce of caring for his criminal son. In her eyes, he should be treated like the S-Class he was.

She wasn't entirely sure as to how the higher ups in the village viewed the boy and it wasn't her place to express her feelings to them… at the moment.

{Back With Naruto}

The blonde smirked to himself as he hoofed in through the forest, the trees appearing as blurs to him as they whooshed by him. It almost seemed as if the world was moving around him and he was standing still… in some weird running pose, but still nonetheless.

He couldn't believe how stagnant Kakashi's skill seemed compared to last time. Perhaps it was the extreme nature of just who trains him, or the fact that Kakashi had already reached his peak, but Naruto couldn't help but feel anxiety and anticipation for the sudden challenge. Honestly, he didn't know what overcame him to get involved in such a way, but Kurama seemed to be emitting a stench of pride that was affecting his current mood.

He had something to look forward to during the Chunin Exams. Not the inevitable trap they would have in place. Not the boring hate filled glances he'd receive from the hosts. Not even seeing the old man give him pained looks of regret and sorrow at failing him. It was the fight he would have with Kakashi, and he would make sure each person in the audience witness the fall of the Copycat Shinobi Kakashi. "Ripping that damn eye out is going to let forth a wave of despair that will only add fuel to the flames. Bask in the feeling, prepare yourself. Think of it as… your coming out party."

Kurama's words only caused the blonde to slip on the next branch and at the speed he was going, crash through the next three branches before impacting against a tree trunk, upside down and about a full meter above the ground. The fox's laughter rung so loud inside the blonde's mind that it seemed as if it would burst his eardrums and spill out into the forest. Of course, the blonde's crash already scared the surrounding wildlife, causing them to scamper away from the crash site.

"That's rich brat. Just when I was beginning to approve of you, you go and make a fool of yourself." Kurama berated the blonde, who let out a groan as gravity made itself known as he fell down to the ground below, face first.

'Shut it fox boy! And for your information, there aint gonna be no coming out party.' The blonde yelled in his mind, sitting up and wiping the dirt from his face.

"So you're staying in the closet?" Kurama asked, keeping up the joke for the moment, knowing that it'd only increase the blonde's frustration.

"Bitch! Fuck you furball, there's no closet. It doesn't exist! And no, I'm not gay in any way. And no I don't need to prove it… tramp." Naruto growled after a vulgar outburst of obscenities.

The fox took it all in stride, laughing even louder than before in pure amusement. Naruto only growled more and cut the link between the two, only for the echo to remain and it would remain for quite a while.

Naruto spent the next ten minutes or so in relative silence, He didn't allow the link to restore between him and his inner companion until he broke out of the forest to look upon the border town between the Fire and Wind Countries.

'It's not going to take much longer until we get to the sandy part of Wind Country.' The blonde mentally mused as he picked up his pace and went completely around the border town and continued forward.

Now that his thoughts were on the Sandy dunes in his path to the village of Suna, thoughts of his mission flooded his mind along with it. 'What do you think about the mission Kurama? Do you think it could be some sort of trap?' He asked his companion and slipped the hood back over his blonde hair.

Kurama remained silent for the time being, mulling the information he knew in his mind. "Well, that's the real question right there. I don't remember you actually meeting the Fourth Kazekage." Kurama had a gut feeling about the situation, finding it a tad fishy that they had asked of him by name, if what the Raikage said was true about the request. "Stay on your toes during this meeting." The kitsune warned his container.

'I'll make sure to always remain on my guard.' The blonde answered the kitsune's warning with assurance on the matter.

As the first grain of sand was crushed under the soles of his bandaged feet, he released a soft chuckle. "I just hope I'm not regretting bringing my team along for the ride." He thought out loud as a buffering wind surprising hit him.

His suit didn't come with a face mask or a pair of shades, so the blonde would be slightly impaired from the conditions of the desert. It wasn't so bad though, but only time would tell.

~KI~KI~KI~

Unfortunately for the blonde, he wouldn't have long to wait to test his skill in his current conditions as, after twenty minutes into the country, a band of missing shinobi of its own burst from the sand dunes.

There were around seven in total and each of them was a part of the ever growing guild of Missing Bounties. Criminals actually banding together to hunter their hunters, turning predators into preys and it seemed like they had their own set of spies, because how else would they know about the blonde's presence outside of his protective village.

"Looky here boys, we caught ourselves the Golden Fox." One of the men spoke, wearing a snake like emblem on the collar of his cloak. This must be one of the factions within the Organization.

This wasn't the first time the blonde (and his team) encountered these groups. So the blonde wasn't entirely surprised to see them and didn't feel a bit of anxiety. But each of these missing nin were displaying confident grins as they brandished their weapons: 3 katanas, 2 pair of twin daggers, 1 short sword and the last member had a pair of bow and arrows. Even without the anxiety, the blonde noticed that each weapon was coated in an acidic substance that seemed to burn the sands they dripped onto, but not the metal they were clinging onto.

The blonde released a rather exaggerated groan as his hand gripped the handle of his dual bladed weapon. "Let's make this quick. I have an appointment I need to keep."

{Sunagakure – Twenty Minutes Later}

Atop the tallest building, in the major village of Suna, resided an office belonging Kazekage, this one housing the Fourth of their kind. Said Kazakage, designated Rasa by his parents, stood in front of the large window that overlooked his village. This was obviously something all leaders did, no matter which village it was.

At this time, the village looked its best. Moments before the sun finished setting, the orange light fading from the streets and the overall heat already quelled by the desert night. Twilight had approached and every single villager loved it.

The powerful leader turned his attention from his village to look upon the only other resident in his office. The man's snake emblem was brandished quite proudly around his cloak, his hood covering his head from view and aforementioned cloak covered the rest of the person's frame.

From the emblem alone, it was rather obvious that the man was from the Snake faction of the Missing Bounties Organization. But the man under the hood of the cloak only made it obvious just how much he fits with the emblem. Under the hood was the S-Rank Criminal from Konoha and the leader of the ever growing Otogakure.

"Orochimaru, tell me how you plan to assist me in the assault on Konoha." Rasa spoke as he returned to his seat, though opting to remain standing behind it. Just because he managed to smuggle the man inside his village, didn't mean that he was all too trusting of the highly dangerous criminal.

His thoughts were in good reason as Orochimaru retained his look of malice and scorn, standing near the door. Audible hisses could be heard even before the man begun to speak. "Rasa, you needn't concern yourself with the various details of the invasion. Only know that I need your son as I have told you."

This obviously didn't sit well with the sand leader. Even with his feelings towards his son, he didn't believe he had the control necessary to hold off on his urges until the precise time to strike. His fragile mind was just that, fragile. Focusing his attacks on the leaf alone was another concern. His troops were at risk of getting caught in the crossfire of the invasion… luckily he had a trick up his sleeve.

"You shall have my son for the majority of the mission. His brother and sister will be there to keep him under wraps until it's time. But I have an idea on who could be a big help to our cause." It was no question the degree of hate the two had for Konoha; Rasa, from merely a business standpoint and of course, lingering feelings from the previous war. Orochimaru, because he was holding a grudge towards his sensei for casting him out… and because he was a dick.

The malicious snake Sannin didn't convey a single hint towards what was on his mind. Though after the Yondaime Kazekage was silent, most definitely waiting for his response, he smirked as he lifted his arms as if to motion that he didn't know, even going so far as to add a shrugging motion. "We'll see if this help is as strong as you think he is."

It was true, he was unaware of who the Kazekage had in mind. It was almost as if he didn't think they could accomplish what he had in mind. His eyes narrowed even more than they had already been, plotting on how he could eliminate the Kazekage from the picture for his insolent thinking.

"Whoever you called has to pass my own test. A rank criminals, nasty people and senseless murderers that are completely reckless, even by my standards." Orochimaru spoke with a mix of a sarcastic and sadistic tone. It was as if he was over-exaggerating the criminals' lack of morality by loosely comparing them to him, but also conveying a sense of acceptance at the brutality of their crimes.

Silence once again fell between the two of them as the Kazekage contemplated the strength of his candidate and further pondered if he should have asked for the whole team. But considering just who he asked, he knew full well what the result was going to be for this impromptu test. "That could prove detrimental to our cause. Say he passes the test, those criminals could have been used in the invasion." Rasa shook his head rather smugly, leaning against his desk, his hands flat on the wooden surface. "For a mastermind, you hadn't thought this test through." He knew provocation towards this criminal was highly dangerous, but when it came to his village and it's standing in the Elemental Nations, he was willing to do anything necessary to achieve his goals.

Of course, the disrespectful tone the Kazekage was employing was only furthering the distain the criminal Sannin was feeling towards the man. Though, the Sannin refrained from lashing out in any kind, neither physical nor verbal and he only smirked. "Interesting thesis Kazekage-san, I guess I'll just have to see this person myself."

{Naruto – Moments before the Talk}

Of the seven individuals, the Namikaze knew he had to take care of the archer first and foremost. That man was already annoying him with his long range capabilities and the fight had just started.

Naruto acted quickly, running to the sides as arrows were launched at him with rather swift succession. To make matters worse, the man's quiver seemed to resupply itself whenever it was getting too low. He sucked in his teeth as he thought of the simplest of solutions.

He stopped on a dime, gripping the handle of his blade and batted the next barrage of arrows away with the side of his parallel blades. After the seventh deflection, he tightened the grip on his weapon once again and surged nature chakra around the entirety of his arm. With the energy, came an explosion of flames that covered his arm.

"Katon: Sogi Kaso (Funeral Pyre)" The blonde spoke with a smirk as he hastily swung his arm in a wide arc, sending his flames out. Through the special function of the technique, the flames burst from the sands like geysers, the arc of the swing showed the overall spread of the bright blue fire.

Obviously the size of the attack surprised the group of criminals, but they knew better than to let the fire get anywhere near them. So, they scattered, jumping in every possible direction, other than towards the rushing flames.

"Holy hell, that's some serious fire power!" One of them yelled out, nudging his closest comrade at the joke. "Eh, get it?" He laughed lightly as the man next to him groaned.

"What did I tell you about these jokes? You've got to focus on killing people. Everyone appreciates it more when you shut up." The groaning man replied as he grabbed the joker and jumped backwards, saving them both from the blonde who appeared attempting to horizontally bisect the both of them with another swing of his sword. Like last time, flames rushed out from his sword, crystallizing more of the sand.

As the blonde landed, he tilted his head to the side and an arrow whizzed right past his head, actually managing to rip through the very edge of his hood. "Oooh, that was a close one." He mused with pure amusement in his tone. "You guys are proving quite entertaining." He smirked as he swatted the next arrow away.

It was at that moment, which two of the katana wielders rushed towards him with impressive speed and attacked in perfect coordination. The blonde saw this and yet another arrow whizzing towards him. "Mmm, yes, entertaining indeed." He muttered before he began to spin in a Kaiten like fashion, a sphere of pure wind surrounded him, deflecting the arrow and the two snake criminals. About a second after the points of contact, whilst in the motion of being swept off their feet and being launched back, they were all exploded with a spray of blood.

The blonde stopped the wind as the glass and sand was dyed red with their blood, and arrow fragments, but mostly blood. "Two down…" He smirked as his cerulean orbs shot towards one of the men, who was going through a series of hand seals. "Too slow." He muttered.

Even though he said that, the man launched his technique. "No, you're too slow. Raiiton: Genshi Arashi (Atomic Storm)" Static electricity cackled around the area, in a 40 meter wide radius.

"Oh my…" Naruto muttered again. He had planned to rush to the man and lop his head off, but now he was intrigued by the technique. He noticed that anybody that was in the radius had gotten out of dodge.

One after the other, large bolts of lightning appeared a few feet above the ground. The bolts of lightning were followed by the clapping of thunder and the blonde was caught in the middle of it. "You fools don't know anything about me." He smirked as the entire area exploded in a surge of lightning, said bolt of lightning even managed to shoot up into the sky and part the only cloud above them.

With the explosion, came a cloud of electrified sand, visible arcs of electricity could be seen just on the outskirts of the cloud. "Damn, Noboro. You didn't have to char the brat so bad." Somebody broke the pseudo silence.

The man designated as Noboro could only growl his frustrations as he pulled his twin daggers back out from behind him. "It didn't work Ginta. The brat is still alive. Ryusuke summon the Basilisk!" He ordered loudly as another clap of thunder sounded in the area.

A large bolt of electricity, golden in color shot out of the cloud and seared through the chest of the archer in the group. Unfortunately, this wasn't the aforementioned Ryusuke, nor did it halter the man from summoning a rather large 20 foot long python.

"I guess I chose wrong. It gets a bit hard to see with all this sand everywhere." The blonde's voice echoed from the cloud. It then begun to die down, showing him cackling with electricity, but not all that affected.

Well not to say that he wasn't affected, but along with the arcs of golden electricity, Kurama's cloak was surrounding him. A single tail could be visible behind him, and long ears stood up from his head. All of this vanished in the next instance, leaving the criminals a bit shaken with realization that he was able to control the Kyubi's chakra so easily.

They all knew about his status as the Kyubi container, but didn't think much of it considering his age. Trusting that notion was the biggest mistake they made, and it could very well be their last if they remained in the fight.

"Shit, we have to seal his chakra. It's our only way." Ginta growled out as he looked towards another teammate, a mere glance, but enough for them to know that it was going to be his job to look for the right opening.

"Smart choice, but a Jinchuriki will never let that happen." The blonde spoke, his voice literally moving from one area to another as he vanished and appeared behind the man that was supposed to be handling such a task. Of course his reappearance resulted in his souba being thrust through the man's back, the bloodied blades pushing out from his chest, the man's armor underneath his cloak proving useless against the lightning coated blades.

With nothing to really lose, the large Basilisk chose that moment to strike with its immense speed. It wasn't even surprising, no matter the size, snakes were going to be fast as hell.

But it was a surprise that it had actually worked. Naruto and the deceased katana wielder had been swallowed whole, along with a mouthful of sand. "HELL YEAH!" Ryusuke exclaimed from atop the snake's head.

As soon as the blonde had entered the snake, his chakra signature had begun to die down. It only made sense as the Basilisk's insides contained chakra siphoning… juices, while also being just as acidic, its own chakra quickening the digesting cycle.

So it was only obvious that the remaining members of the Snake Faction began to celebrate. "That's what I'm talking about. That brat can't survive inside Damu, nobody can." Ginta began panting a bit, finding this entire fight more exhausting than it actually should have been.

Noboro narrowed his eyes as he continued watching the snake, unsure of the actual outcome. Something didn't feel right to the pseudo leader. He was raised in Kiri, a place known for its pure unreliability. Meaning, what seemed to be, most likely wasn't. "Dispel the damn snake! Hurry!"

As soon as his words left his mouth, multiple bolts of lightning began to burst out of the snake's mid-section. The man on top let out a shriek as one of the bolts seemed to travel up the snake's back, heading directly towards him, his entire frame filled with thousands upon thousands of volts.

A sinister laughter was heard as the snake burst in a cloud of smoke, the damage done extremely extensive. Whether it was actually alive was incredibly improbable. "Yet again I tell you how entertaining you have been. Sadly, all things must come to an end. Don't worry, losing your life isn't that bad. I'll make it quick and painless… unlike that guy."

The Genin was revealed, his once ocean blue orbs replaced with pure amber. "You two are outclassed. I'm going to give you two options… Wind or Fire?" He smirked with pure sadism, unseen in the young blonde.

This behavior was even surprising to Kurama, but he wasn't exactly anxious to knock sense into the boy's head. This was the most fun he's had sense their first escaped from Konoha.

Through either courage or stupidity, the two survivors held their ground. They both displayed looks of disgust, their resolve not at all shaking. They knew they had a much higher percentage of dying. But they had to be strong enough to at least wound this beast of a boy.

Naruto allowed the two of them to converse among each other, feeling that it was going to be a decision of their little lifetime. 'This is quite fun Kurama. Now I know why you do what you do.'

Kurama chuckled sinisterly in the blonde's mind. The fox liked the way the boy was growing. He knew for a fact that it would take a lot more time to fully control the malicious intent his chakra released and the blonde would soon find the balance between warrior and monster. "Just end them already. I've tired of looking at them."

Naruto grinned, inwardly peeved the duo in front of him weren't as vocal as he would have liked. Though, Kurama had a point, he had matters to attend to and a personal curiosity inside that village. "Yeah, let me finish up real quick. Don't want to keep the Kazekage waiting any longer."

This got the duo's attention, steeling their resolve once again and charging their respective chakra for the climax of their battle. "Ginta, I know what must be done. Hold him off." Noboro whispered to his comrade, who nodded in agreement.

Ginta didn't know what the man was planning, but deep down it had to be suicidal. Whatever the case, when the time came he would implement a plan of his own.

They sheathed their dual daggers and Ginta began weaving through a series of hand seals, while Noboro followed suit. "Looks like they decided to do something after all." Naruto muttered as he began to will the nature energy around him.

When the duo ended their hand seals, they bellowed their techniques.

"Raiton: Kaminari no Eda (Branches of Lightning)" Noboro commanded his technique, which was released in a single bolt of electricity but broke off in multiple different branches, coming at Naruto from nearly every angle.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan (Flame Dragon Bomb)" Ginta released his singular flame of chakra towards the blonde, the lightning arching around it.

Naruto looked at the oncoming onslaught of techniques heading towards him and grinned, slipping into a stance. He knew it would be troubling if he used his wind technique again, while it would be effective against the lightning, it would only feed the flames.

He had an idea on what he could do and it was just in time because the techniques were upon him. As soon as it hit, the area was consumed by a powerful explosion, the most of it being natural chakra, the criminals couldn't really fathom.

So of course, it was a surprise when the blonde was seen with his left hand stretched out towards the stream of fire, bright blue flames covering his palm. His right hand was held straight up, a golden glow covering it and the twin blades of his souba as the lightning had been attracted to it, where it began to absorb into his body.

He smirked as he looked at the duo, his ashen pupils were vertically slitted, but his irises had returned to their ordinary blue. "Looks like you found the third option, LIGHTNING!" He yelled as he swung his left hand to the side, the flames pushing to the side. At the same time, he swung his right hand down, golden lightning shooting directly towards the two with the natural speed of lightning bolt. "Raiton: Arashi no Hana (Storm Blossom)"

The sheer surprise of the situation had froze them in their places, but when Noboro was hit square in the chest with the lightning bolt, it bloomed in his chest cavity and burst out in an explosion of dozens more of lightning bolts, which vaporized his body.

One of the escaping bolts managed to hit the shocked, no pun intended, Ginta through his side. It pierced through that side, and rushed out of the other, frying his insides with its high temperature.

The blonde smirked at the carnage, before combing his fingers through his hair. "That was a wonderful warm-up." He left the blood soaking into the sands, not bothering with any sort of looting either. 'In any case… what the hell was that really about?' He asked his companion, only to receive silence in return.

He released a near silent groan before he broke off into a sprint towards the village of Sunagakure, feeling that he would reach the village by the time the sun finished setting. Of course, he would have to prepare his body for the high speed trip.

Lightning cackled around his body as he sheathed his weapon and held onto his hood, vanishing in a bright flash of golden light.

{Sunagakure – Sunset}

The sun had finished setting by the time the hooded blonde reached the village. It was rather late in the day, so it wasn't surprising by the time he reached the valley like gate of the village, its sentries brandished their weapons upon his arrival.

Naruto's hands shot up as the lightning faded from around his body. "Whoa, whoa, easy there. I'm late for a meeting with the Kazekage." He answered their questions quickly before they could even ask them.

It was quite comical, because the guard's question had already been answered. So the man's mouth had been open for a bit with no sound leaving it. He closed it, but refrained from sheathing his weapon, keeping it pointed at the blonde shinobi. "What's your name and what business do you have with the Kazekage?" He asked with a low growl, doing his job but wanting more details.

Naruto gave the guard a stern look, his hands resting behind his back to keep himself from burning the man to a crisp. "Well I would find out if I could get to him. He personally asked of me by name." He lifted a hand and scratched behind his ear in irritation.

The guards tightened their grips on their individual weapons. The only one being vocal spoke up once again. "Fine, we'll let you in. But know this… we'll be watching you." He spoke through clenched teeth. He would sheathe his weapon and step to the side, looking to the top of the gate, giving an empty space a certain look. Naruto paid little mind to the ocular exchange and walked inside. 'They can watch all they want. If I decide I want to lay waste to something, I lay waste to it.' The words were uttered in his mind, Kurama not giving any kind of feedback to it. Perhaps the fur ball fell asleep.

The blonde continued to think about the possibilities of his reason here. It couldn't be good, in his opinion. Perhaps Gaara knew what the reason was. 'Should I talk to him first… he should be good… mentally.' He thought back to how he helped the red head with his problems, giving him a friend. The fact that he wasn't easily killed helped as well, so the Ichibi container didn't really have a choice in the matter.

After a moment of mental debate, he cleared the entirety of the gates and decided he should simply head to the meeting and find out from the source. If it proved to be a trap of sorts… well it would prove most entertaining.

AN: Well, I think now would be a good place to end things. I've already put too much content in the chapter, seeing how long it is. It's about the length of two chapters, but I feel it could've been longer if I went through with the meeting.

Now that this is finished and updated, I guess I can start on either Crossing Dimensions or Lost and Found or Seals of Forgotten Time. I recently reread LaF, and feel CD could use a rewrite to reflect the true ending of the series a bit. Y'all know what I mean when I say that… but I'm not really sure if I should. Y'all tell me if I should or not. SoFT… I need to reread, but I know that I like where I was going with it.

I also have more ideas on a few new stories, though two a tad more seriously than the others. If you want to see it, I'll try to make sure I draft up a few chapters worth of content, just to make sure I have the ability to update it. In the meantime, I'll try to work on my stories a lot more than before.

Sorry again, Jay!