Naruto and Akimi arrived with the small group that was progressing to the finals as they stood in front of the Hokage.
"Congratulations all of you on making it to the finals. They will be held in one months time to give you all, time to prepare. Please step forward one at a time and draw a number" the Hokage said as Anko walked forward with a box that rattled with what sounded like ping pong balls.
Kiba who was highly eager to get his number rushed to the front of the cue. "Five!" he called out raising the small ball over his head.
Up on the screen a table that looked like it was designed for a knock out tournament appeared and on the fifth line down the name of Kiba Inuzuka appeared.
Up next was Neji who drew the number one and Haku who pulled number three. "Looks like we're up next" Naruto said helping Akimi approach the snake mistress who had a strange look of envy for the young kunoichi who was supported by Naruto.
"Ladies first" Naruto said offering the box to the exhausted kunoichi. Who drew the number two, making the first match of the finals Neji Hyuuga, versus Akimi Hayaku. "Alright here's hoping for an early fight" Naruto said as he put his hand into the box and felt around for a ball that he hoped had a number in the early fights.
"Number 10!" Naruto said in disappointment as he realized that he would be fighting last.
Temari went next and drew the number eight. Followed by Gaara who's eyes lit up with excitement when the he got a nine. Shikamaru drew a seven and Shino a six which left Sasuke with number four.
"There we have it. The fights for the first round of the finals will be as follows. "Neji Hyuuga Vs Akimi Hayaku, Haku Momoichi Vs Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka Vs Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara Vs Temari Subaku, and the final match of the first round Gaara Subaku Vs Naruto Uzumaki" Hayate said.
Naruto and Gaara looked at each other both seemed confident but Gaara seemed to be thrilled with the pairing, he had a murderous look in his eye and a very demonic looking smile to add to the unnerving appearance of the short red haired jinchuuriki.
"Heh knew you guys would all make it through" Jiraiya said once they made their way back out to the village via a tunnel that ran underneath the forest of death.
Naruto who was still supporting his dark haired teammate, who was struggling to keep her eyes open from chakra exhaustion rolled his eyes at this. "Well I'm glad you had faith in us Jiraiya sensei, I mean we have all had experience in fighting against jounin so a couple of genin shouldn't have been that hard" Naruto said.
"You say that but look at what happened to her" Jiraiya said pointing to Akimi who was dragging her feet as she walked.
"Well, she just got a very motivated opponent. But I think I should get her back to the hotel" Naruto said, and without even asking he readjusted Akimi so he was carrying her bridal style to allow him to move at faster speeds.
Akimi was too tired to argue or fight back at being held that way and just decided to cling on and hope Naruto as he jumped from building to building over rooftops. "You drop me and you're dead! Got it" she said seriously. It was a rather uneasy experience for Akimi to be completely helpless while someone else carried her and that feeling of not having any power forced her to cling onto Naruto with all of her remaining strength every time he took another large jump.
Before she knew it however Naruto was placing her down. Not knowing what he was doing she refused to let go until she felt the soft bed beneath her. "There you go. I bet you will be asleep for days with the amount of chakra you have burned" Naruto said before turning to leave.
"You still owe me lunch at the dango hut. Twice!" Akimi called out weakly before Naruto could leave the room.
Naruto was about to reply with a comeback saying that carrying her across town was worth far more than two lunches but he stopped when he heard her lightly snoring 'Oh well, I will tell her later' He thought before leaving her room for his own.
(Hokage Tower)
Hiruzen had so far had an enjoyable day, he had been able to witness some good bits of skill from his up and coming ninja and saw that Jiraiya had been teaching Naruto his fathers jutsu if not telling him about the truth that the Yondaime was indeed Naruto's father. His good mood was extinguished the moment he entered the room however as he found not only a massive stack of paperwork but the one thing that could make his life just as miserable, the village elders and Danzo.
"Ah Hiruzen, how were the preliminary rounds" Danzo asked.
"I am sure you were watching, they are shown in all of the jounin bars and ninja only areas of the village" Hiruzen said.
"Yes I did see, and I would like to know why it is you kept the fact that Naruto Uzumaki has returned to the village a secret" Danzo replied.
"Mostly to avoid this exact conversation" the Hokage said, showing that he was still rather quick witted in his old age.
"He is a military asset to this village and therefore must be brought under our control. With my emotional conditioning and training he will become a great asset to this village" Danzo said.
"He is not a shinobi of this village. And I will not permit you to turn him into a drone. But don't take me for a fool, you don't just want him because of the Kyuubi. You know as well as I do the power Naruto holds in his eyes. You want them for yourself" Hiruzen said.
Danzo didn't reply and kept a calm expressionless exterior appearance.
"Then don't give Danzo the boy, but he must be returned to the village. We have called a counsel meeting to discuss what is to be done" Koharu said.
"Oh please tell me you didn't. We all know how these things turn out" the Hokage sighed.
"I am afraid it is too late. The prospect of the village regaining the Kyuubi and also a ninja who possesses the Rinnegan is too great to ignore. I am sorry Hiruzen but this has to be done. We will be expecting you in the counsel chambers tomorrow afternoon" Homura said leaving the room along with Danzo and Koharu.
'I knew this would happen once they discovered Naruto was not only in the village but far stronger than they could have imagined' Hiruzen thought as he collapsed in his seat knowing he was in for hell.
"I will advise you not to let the council have there way. Naruto does not take well to being forced to do something. Also if you do attempt to capture him by fore I hope you have a lot of body bags in waiting" Jiraiya said as he seemed to grow out from the wall.
"I was wondering when you would show yourself. You may be stronger than me now Jiraiya-kun but I am not known as the God of Shinobi for nothing" Hiruzen said, stating that he knew Jiraiya was in the room the entire time.
"I will get you one of these days old man" Jiraiya joked before taking a seat.
"So what do you suggest I do about Naruto?" Hiruzen asked.
"Nothing! They will bitch and moan but at the end of the day, you are the Hokage and have final say of everything that happens in the village. And if someone try's something without your knowledge they will be dealt with by Naruto however he sees fit" Jiraiya said.
"So you suggest I just let Naruto kill any who attack him?" the aged Hokage asked.
"I don't see, why not. If you make it clear that Naruto is not to be touched under any circumstances, and let them know that he will defend himself if necessary Jiraiya answered.
"It may be the best course of action. After all I am sure you will not hesitate to rescue Naruto should he be taken" Hiruzen Surmised.
"You can bet your life on it. Minato trusted me to look after the kid and I plan on doing it" Jiraiya said firmly.
"Then I will take your warning to the meeting, I think they might be a little less likely to target Naruto if he is defended by a member of the sannin" Hiruzen said.
"Two actually. If Tsunade-Hime finds out he was captured she would burn the place to the ground to get him back. She treats him like he is her little brother or even son" Jiraiya said.
"Well then the warning will hold even more weight behind it. Now was there a reason you came here to see me?" the Hokage said deciding to change the topic.
"Oh yes, I have the a scroll with detailed information that Naruto was able to collect from the genin team from Oto" Jiraiya said, tossing over the scroll. He waited for Hiruzen to start reading before he continued. "There mission was to kill Sasuke Uchiha. But this was nothing but a ploy to test Sasuke's ability with the curse seal. Naruto was able to discover that Orochimaru does indeed plan to attack Konoha sometime soon but they were not sure of the time frame we are looking at" Jiraiya said.
"I see this is indeed disturbing news. Is there anything else?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yeah. Naruto believes but cannot prove as of yet that Suna is helping Orochimaru with the attack. As the Oto genin were given specific instructions to not get in the way of the teams from Suna" Jiraiya said.
"Thank you Jiraiya, this is extremely valuable information. I will have my best men look into this deeper" Hiruzen said.
"We will of course all still be on the lookout for any more leads that may help" Jiraiya said.
"Yet again you have my thanks. Now I should probably get ready for this accursed council meeting" Hiruzen said with a sigh.
"Alright, good luck with that. I am glad I don't have to go to them anymore. They were always the worst part of returning to the village" Jiraiya said, and he stood up and left via an open window.
"The years pass but you still stay the same, Jiraiya-kun" the Hokage said to himself fondly before the depressing reality of an upcoming council meeting struck again.
(Council Chambers, One Day Later)
Hiruzen entered the large oval room that was split down the middle by two large desks on either side. At the closest point there was the desk where the Hokage would sit and two empty seats reserved for Tsunade and Jiraiya. At the far end and at the point of two large banks of chairs to either side that made up a semicircle sat the elders and Danzo. To one half of the semicircle sat the Clan heads and top ranking jounin that cared enough to show up. And on the other side there was the civilian council who were already in full swing yelling demands at the Old Hokage even before he sat down.
"What's this we hear about that thing being allowed back in the village!" one loud banshee with bright pink hair screeched over the top of all the other civilians. She was so loud even Shikaku Nara was woken from his slumber.
"Troublesome" he muttered before lowering his head back onto the desk.
He was not able to return to his sleep however. Because Hiruzen decided to put an end to the civilian councilors inaudible demands. "Silence!" he roared with great authority that caused even the stoic Danzo to recoil slightly. "Good now as it was the elders who called for this meeting I believe they should explain exactly why we are here" Hiruzen said.
"Very well. We are here because of this" Danzo said and two large screens descended from the ceiling on either side of the room. One hung above the Hokage's head and the other above the elders. One the screen there was footage of a certain match in the chunin exam Preliminaries.
"Oh look it's my daughters match!" Mrs Haruno yelled at the top of her lungs causing those around her to wince. Then she saw who it was Sakura was fighting. "Those whisker marks and that blond hair... you let my daughter fight that monster!" she yelled incredulously.
"Please council woman Haruno, quiet and watch" Koharu said pointing to the screen as the match started.
While the shinobi were all watching with wide eyes, stunned and intrigued by what ever Naruto was using to prevent any of Sakura's attacks from coming close. The civilians were cheering the fact that they thought it was Sakura who was on top. Then came the defining moment when Sakura bad mouthed Naruto and his parents earning roars of approving laughter from the civilians and angry glares from the shinobi. Particularly those that knew just who Naruto's parents were.
Sakura's mother was just about to yell out how proud she was of her daughter for putting the 'Demon' in it's place when the match ended. A rasengan to the stomach is a definitive match winner. "I want him executed for what he did, he attacked my daughter!" Mrs Haruno demanded shrilly.
"What for? It was part of the chunin exams. All he did was win his match" Inoichi said, bewildered by the Banshee's statement.
"Killing this child is out of the question" came the voice of Danzo. "You are all ignorant to what this boy truly is" he added.
"What do you mean? He is nothing but a vile creature that should have been exterminated long before he got this powerful" a short and fat civilian said.
"Fool! Look at this!" Danzo said. And pointing to the screen it moved into a close up of Naruto's face, more importantly his eyes.
"So what, his eyes have changed since he was a child, big deal. That just proved the Kyuubi has more influence on him than before" a balding man yelled.
"It doesn't surprise me that nobody recognizes those eyes. But maybe this will help" Danzo continued and put up a picture of a silhouette of a man with what appeared to be horns and hair that spiked off to one side. The only color that remained in the photo and was the six red magatama around his neck and and purple ripping eyes that perfectly matched Naruto's own.
Several members of the shinobi counsel gasped in shock realization hitting them in the face like a super powered Tsunade punch. But most of the room were even more confused.
"What is that supposed to be. All I see is a person with those same disgusting looking eyes" the balding civilian scoffed.
"That. Is the only known picture of the Sage of Six Paths. Although many believed it to be nothing but a hoax. And those eyes are better known as the Rinnegan, the most powerful Dojutsu in the ninja world" Koharu said.
"It is also a very distinct possibility that Naruto may be a distant relative of the Rikudou Sennin. Or even the reincarnation" Homura added.
"This is why the boy must not be harmed permanently. However since he has left the village he has no attachments to it. He needs to be captured and brought back under the control of Konoha. He would be the ultimate weapon for this village. A jinchuuriki who possesses the eyes of the Rikudou Sennin" Danzo said.
"You say that as though you think it would be easy to capture him. We know nothing about the boys full talents and you assume to capture him and that will make him join the village. That will more likely drive him to despise Konoha" Shikaku said.
"That is why we will put him through emotional training. He will be a perfect weapon for this village" Danzo said.
"He will be a perfect weapon for you!" Hiashi Hyuuga said.
"We should try and tempt Naruto to stay of his own free will not by force. And if that fails, an alliance of friendship and understanding, would be the best option" Shikaku added.
"I agree, however I find the chances of convincing the boy to stay are slim, considering the way he had been treated in this village as a child" Shibi Aburame said.
"He is our jinchuuriki, and a vital part of Konoha's military! We cant just let him leave the village!" Koharu demanded.
"Enough!" Hiruzen said loudly to get everyone's attention. "We will not take any action to keep Naruto in this village. I have been warned against it and the warning has the backing of both Jiraiya and Tsunade. Any action against Naruto would be seen as an attack against both of the two members of the the sannin. Now with that said this is a warning to anyone who thinks it would still be a wise idea to try and capture Naruto, delivered to me by Jiraiya himself. 'If you are planning to attack Naruto... you better have a lot of body bag's'" Hiruzen said changing the warning just slightly and directing it at Danzo who he knew would not let the issue rest.
The civilians seemed to be neither here nor there. On the one hand they wanted Naruto dead because they thought he was being controlled by the Kyuubi. And on the other hand there was a possibility that Naruto was related to the man who was once considered a god and worshiped to the point that he became a myth.
And even though Naruto didn't know it for the first time in his life the entire civilian counsel did not want him dead. Although those that didn't want him dead, agreed with Danzo that the he should be stripped of any freedom and locked away to be used as a weapon.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be bullied by a couple of ninja, it doesn't matter who they are. Allowing Naruto to leave this village will be a sign of weakness that the other villages will see and try to take advantage of!" Koharu said.
"She is right, the boy must be kept in this village" Danzo demanded.
"You know. I really don't enjoy being called 'The Boy' came the voice of Naruto. Several people were looking around for the jinchuuriki but he was nowhere to be found.
"Where are you Demon!" a civilian who hadn't been swayed in his thoughts yelled.
"Oh you know, here and there. It's rather easy to hide a chakra signature when you have near perfect chakra control. Something that Jiraiya sensei still lacks" Naruto said as he seemed to grow out of the wall.
'He hid himself perfectly, not even Jiraiya is that good with his chameleon jutsu. Perfect chakra control indeed' Hiruzen thought as Naruto casually walked into the center of the room.
"Hey Jiji! Jiraiya sensei told me you were having a counsel meeting to discuss me and well... I couldn't help myself" Naruto said with a friendly smile.
"This is a private meeting! It is not something an outsider is allowed to hear!" a civilian counselor said.
"He's right. The demon just broke Konoha law! Arrest him!" another civilian yelled.
"Didn't you just break a law of Konoha? And I have every right to be here as this meeting is directly affecting me" Naruto said.
"You have some nerve preaching to us boy!" Mrs Haruno screeched.
"You use labels like, Demon, Thing, and on the far nicer occasions Boy, to make you all feel superior to me because you are scared of my burden. I can assure you I am none of those things and my name is Naruto! But if you so wish to see or feel the power of the Kyuubi, then I guess that can be arranged" Naruto said.
"Are you threatening us?" Danzo said narrowing his eyes.
"Not at all, simply stating fact that there is a big difference to between me and Kyuubi" Naruto said.
"Then why are you here?" Danzo asked.
"Oh I just wanted to find out what this village really thought of me, and what they decided to attempt to do about me now that you have found out, that I am not only alive but unattached to any village" Naruto said calmly.
"And what have you found?" Danzo asked.
"Well the civilians have shown me that I will never be welcomed in this village completely by them. But the shinobi, well at least the clan heads seem to not only be reasonable but trustworthy. Something that could not be said about you" Naruto said.
Danzo didn't respond to the direct attack on his person and simply narrowed his eyes.
"So over all, how do you feel about the village?" Homura asked.
"This village is not my home. My home is with my friends and comrades. If I was to live here I would not be happy and as such even the thought of me joining the ranks of the Konoha shinobi is laughable" Naruto said.
"Then why not all of you stay? The inclusion of two new bloodlines along with your own would reaffirm Konoha's place as the strongest of the hidden villages" Homura said.
"While I do appreciate the offer, I am afraid I have to decline. That would be worse than before because while I may be slightly happier in Konoha with them here, they would be given the same treatment that I received. I will not make their lives difficult just for my sake" Naruto said.
"There must be something you want, that we can offer you?" Koharu asked.
"Sorry, but there isn't anything that I want from this village" Naruto answered.
"I see, and is that your final decision?" Danzo asked.
"Yes it is. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go buy quite a lot of dango to repay a lost bet, before those civilian assholes spread the word about who I am in the village. And I get banned from all the stores" Naruto said before he puffed out of existence.
'He was a shadow clone! This can't be over, that boy needs to be returned to this village! One way or another!' Danzo thought.
(With Naruto)
Naruto had been meditating, his entire consciousness focused on his clone. But once it dispelled he picked himself up and true to his word he went out to buy enough dango for several lunches just in case Akimi wasn't satisfied with what he would have brought her when she woke up from her power nap which had now lasted well over twenty four hours. After all Naruto knew from experience, waking up after suffering from chakra exhaustion made you hungry.
He ran into Haku on the way out of the Hotel. "Hey Haku wanna come with I am going to go get Akimi about a weeks supply of dango to pay off the bet's I lost" Naruto said.
"Well I would, but if you do that then I should probably wait until she has finished what you get her before I buy some more. That way we can make sure none of it goes off" Haku said.
"Suit yourself. Wanna come anyway? It has gotta be better than just hanging around the hotel all afternoon" Naruto asked.
"Sure why not, I mean it is something to do" Haku replied and the pair left.
They walked through the village peacefully. The sun was starting to set on the afternoon and Konoha was covered in a yellow glow. "I don't think we will be staying in Konoha for the full month" Naruto said breaking the silence. It wasn't an awkward silence but more of a comfortable one. Haku was still not that familiar with Naruto and her stoic nature meant that she very rarely was the one to start conversations with the blond.
"Why not? Will we be returning to the hide out?" Haku questioned I would say that is most likely where we will go. As for why... You will probably find out by the time Akimi wakes up. The civilian counsel found out who I am so I expect we will all start to be given some rather unfair treatment. It would be safer for us all to just leave the village. Sorry I know you must have been enjoying being the hospitality and freedom that you may not have had while working with Zabuza" Naruto said.
"It's alright, I understand completely. I do have one question though" Haku said a small smile starting to form on her face.
"Oh really, whats that?" Naruto asked casually.
"Where are we going? The dango hut is in the other direction" Haku chuckled.
"Well in truth I had no idea where it was so I was just wandering around. So why don't you lead the way?" Naruto suggested.
Haku agreed and they turned around. With Haku now leading the way they found the dango hut in no time at all and Naruto proceeded to pick up one of the largest orders of dango they had ever been given. Naruto basically got multiple sticks of every flavor they had. He wanted to be sure that there was enough that not even Akimi, who always tried to get the most out of every situation could complain.
They left the dango hut carrying an almost humorous amount of food that Naruto was carrying in a large bag. When Naruto and Haku were about a block away from making it back to the hotel however Naruto froze. "Haku can you take take this inside, there is something I have to do" He said, handing the large rather full bag of sweets over to Haku, who reluctantly accepted to take it the rest of thew way.
Haku watched wondering what was going on as Naruto jumped off in the opposite direction. The blond kept his speed constant as he jumped from building to building and didn't stop when he made it to the closest training ground he kept up his speed until he was far away from any possible disturbances.
He landed in a clearing and sat in a meditative position in complete silence until he felt a presence. "I was wondering when you would show up. But I really didn't expect it to happen so soon"
End Chapter!