Never Again: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 27: Darker

Tsunade took a sip of her sake, cursing the amount of paperwork sitting on her desk. She quickly stamped her name on another document. She read through another piece of paper before the sound of her door opening. 

"What is it now Shizune?" She asked without even looking up. "I don't have enough time for another appointment, schedule it for next week." 

"Drinking and signing important documents that affect the welfare of the village doesn't sound very Hokage-like granny," Naruto stated nonchalantly as he peered over the Slug Sannin's shoulder. "Maybe it helps suppress your slowly advancing dementia?" 

Tsunade's head shot up, her golden-brown eyes widening as he stood up from her desk and whirled around to see Naruto grinning cheekily at her. "What's up?" 

"I oughta hit you into the Hokage monument and make whatever face print you make in the stone your statue." She deadpanned. Naruto chuckled. 

"Does that mean I'm getting the hat? I graciously accept the offer." Tsunade rolled her eyes. 

"In your dreams, brat," Tsunade said with a small smile as she embraced him in a hug. Naruto returned the hug with a smile of his own. As they disconnected, Tsunade rose an eyebrow. "Jiraiya said you gave him the slip a year back. What'd you do?" 

Naruto smirked as he plopped in the chair in front of her desk, kicking his feet up and yawning. "Ah you know, training on my own, killing bandits and four Akatsuki members, the usu." Tsunade gaped at the blond sitting across from her. She quickly took a seat and propped her elbows up on the wooden desk. 

"Explain." 

"I killed Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara. The only person actually difficult to beat was Hidan, bastard just wouldn't die but damn was it fun to stab him fifty-seven times in the head, but you can't really function without a brain so I just smashed it against the dirt. Don't worry, I already collected the bounties." 

"How strong are you now?" She asked him. Naruto pondered it for a second. 

"Hard to explain, but I guess I'm close to my previous strength if I'm not at it now. Haven't really been able to go all out yet," He suddenly grinned, but not one of happiness, but a dark and scary grin. "Now I know that I can rip apart that masked bastard and save the world from the Infinite Tsukuyomi." 

"That's good," Tsunade said eagerly. "So should I promote you to Jounin or do you want to earn it?" Naruto rolled his eyes. 

"Promote me to Kage dammit, I'm the Seventh Hokage after all." Tsunade chuckled.

"As much as I'm tempted to leave those old fools for you to deal with, I'm afraid you'll just have to work with Jounin for now." She suddenly got serious. "Tensions are on the rise, there's rumors getting out about a man claiming to be a God hunting the Tailed Beasts." Naruto sighed.

"That would be Nagato, AKA Pain and the current leader of the Hidden Rain. He has the Rinnegan and for someone who wasn't born with it, he's pretty damn good at wielding it. We're lucky he's crippled or else things would get rough." He frowned. "Then again, that masked man could have the same complex as Nagato did, he has the Rinnegan as well." 

"What can the Rinnegan do?" Tsunade asked. "I've only heard myths that have been passed down by fools older than Sarutobi-sensei was." Naruto leaned his head back. 

"An invisible force that can push, pull, or manipulate any object, summoning large animals, absorbing chakra as well as jutsu, a path that can turn their bodies into mechanical weapons, removing souls and reading minds, one that can summon the King of Hell, and finally, one that can revive the dead."