Naruto: Nine And Seven

Chapter 7

At a camp in the land of fire, a few miles away from Konoha, Naruto began to stir from slumber. As he awakened, the first thing he noticed was the warmth of another body next to him. Lying on his side, the blond opened his eyes and smiled as he was greeted by the face his girlfriend, still sleeping peacefully at his side with some of her green hair draped over her features.

The two began sleeping together one month into their training with their fourth tails. Whenever they went that far during their training, they would be forced to enter their version 2 forms and it would damage their bodies to the point their skin would burn off and it would leave them drained and sore. They slept together to comfort each other after this harsh training and found that they'd never had a more restful and pleasant slumber than when they had the other by their side. Mastery meant they could enter the four tailed state and not uncontrollably enter version 2 of their chakra cloaks. Using the version 1 form was fine, they could call and dismiss the chakra with little repercussions, version 2 however was still very damaging and taxing to use, but it wasn't as bad and though inadvisable they would still be able to fight fairly well afterwards. Their five tailed states were still uncontrollable and they would still automatically enter version 2 if they went that far.

Over the last four months, the two had improved all their skills greatly thanks to their clones. Fu had learned a few earth jutsu to be used in conjunction with lightning jutsu to create fields and barriers. Naruto, after reading up on sensors and keeping in mind what he had learned about Sage Techniques, particularly their ability to sense others, had come up with a perception jutsu that allowed him to infuse his chakra into the wind. It took him two months of focusing one hundred clones on it but he had completed it. The technique, which he named 'Wind Dragon's Vigilance', allowed him to sense everyone in an eight kilometer radius, from their location to their chakra levels. By focusing on an individual, he could even sense their movements and read their chakra to the point where he could tell if they were under a genjutsu(or he could focus on himself). Fu had also come up with something fairly unique, though it was actually an incomplete version of another more famous technique. She could channel lightning through her nervous system and enhance her reflexes, reaction times and speed. It took a lot of concentration at the moment and was only possible due to her mastery of lightning thanks to Jiraiya's training with the five pronged seal, but she was sure that, with her shadow clones working on it, she would soon complete the technique and using it would become second nature to her. Jiraiya's chakra control training also allowed them to learn and create several techniques that relied on shape manipulation.

They had high jonin to low kage level skill with genjutsu and were experts at sealing, though not masters of the art yet. Speaking of seals, they had also found ways of combining it with their Biju's chakra for some devastating results. The Biju decided to allow it because the results of the combination intrigued them, particularly the effect it had on their enemies. Naruto's skill in space-time jutsu had also improved and by combining it with sealing jutsu, he had created seals that were applied on his and Fu's wrists that stored their swords and allowed them to call the swords to their hands instantly if separated from them, insuring they couldn't lose them or have the blades used against them. They had also learned the truth about the Rasengan and had made some progress in completing it, though nothing useable had come of it yet.

To further increase their experience with real combat and with leadership, they went on a few more bounty missions. One was against a gang of ten chunin level missing nin led by a mid jonin with hostages which net them 34 million. Their performance on that mission also proved to Jiraiya they had learned what it meant to lead missions. Jiraiya had sent a messenger toad ahead to tell Tsunade what they had done and his recommendation, though he left out their skills in case the message was intercepted.

While they traveled through the land of fire, Jiraiya had decided to travel to the Fire Temple and stay for two weeks during the last month. There, the pair met Chiriku, a member of the Twelve Ninja Guardians of the Land of Fire who they both came to respect, and a boy named Sora. The boy was rude, mocked them and generally acted like a jerk, even to the other monks. Naruto and Fu didn't get along with him at first to the point where Naruto got into several fights with him, until they noticed he was this way because he was treated almost the same way they were in their villages by the other monks. The only one who treated him differently was Chiriku. They asked the man why Sora was shunned like that and he only told them it was something his father did and because of unique powers he had. After this, the two made it a mission to befriend the boy and, although he rejected their attempts at first, they eventually told him of their pasts. After this, he decided to give them a chance and they eventually became friends. It also helped that they could sympathize with the fact that Sora lost his father when he was too young to remember him. He even taught Naruto one of two unique, powerful wind jutsu he created, in exchange for some techniques Naruto knew.

The pair of Jinchuriki had also grown closer over this time, though the amount of time they spent training had limited their time together. Two and a half years had passed since Naruto left with Jiraiya, today was the day for their return to Konoha. Naruto was anxious to see his old home. Fu was excited though there was slight apprehension. There was part of her that was afraid she would be treated like she was back in Taki, despite Naruto's reassurances.

Naruto sat up and heard a light moan beside him, turning his head, he saw Fu's orange eyes looking up at him.

"Morning already?" Fu asked drowsily as she sat up and stretched.

"Yeah, today's the day we finally get back to Konoha. Ready Fu?"

"I guess." Fu replied.

"You're not still worried are you?"

"Sorry... it's just... after all this time; I don't want to go back to what it was like in Taki."

"Hey, we talked about this, didn't we? It won't be the same as Taki, because no matter what they think, I'll be with you." Naruto said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, who smiled and returned the hug.

"Thank you, Naruto. For everything."

"Hey, you two." Jiraiya said, interrupting the pair. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's about time we head out, get ready."

"You got it, Pervy Sage." Naruto said as he and Fu got up. Jiraiya sighed.

"Are you two ever going to stop calling me those names?"

"Only if you stop peeking on women, Ero-sensei." Fu said with a smirk.

"Tch, whatever, get yourselves ready."

It was a beautiful day in Konoha, the sun shining down on the village as the trio walked through the front gates. Naruto now stood at 5'5 and Fu at 5'4. In addition to the black and orange tracksuit, Naruto now wore a black forehead protector and a red, short sleeved coat with black flame designs that had been a gift from Jiraiya (A/N Same coat from when he fought Pain. What can I say, I thought it was badass and decided I would make it a permanent part of his outfit).

"So, this is Konoha? You were right, the Hokage monument's something else." Fu noted as she looked around, to be honest, she liked the look of Taki better, but Konoha still seemed like a nice place to live.

"You nervous, Fu?"

"A little... it's my first day in my new home."

"Don't be, everything will be fine." Naruto said as he looked around. "I can't believe it's been two and a half years ." the blond said before jumping up and running up the side of a power pole to the top, he spread his arms wide as he stood on the pole and took in the sight of his home for the first time in almost three years. "I missed this place. It hasn't changed a bit."

Fu smiled as she watched her boyfriend. "He sure is excited, isn't he?" She asked the sage standing beside her.

"Heh, tell me about it." Jiraiya replied with a smirk.

"Just shows how much he loves this village." Fu said.

"Eh?" the blond noticed Tsunade's face on the Hokage monument. "So, they added Tsunade's ugly mug to the mountain." he chuckled.

"You've grown a lot, haven't you, Naruto?" a calm voice asked. Naruto, Fu and Jiraiya looked to a nearby building to see Kakashi Hatake sitting on a nearby roof, reading his favorite book as usual.

"Yo." the silver haired man waved to his student. Naruto was slightly resentful of him. He had realized how little he had taught him and Sakura over the years, but he was willing to give him a second chance.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you haven't changed a bit." Naruto said, jumping down to Kakashi's spot. "Oh, yeah. Hey! I have a present for you." Kakashi looked at him curiously.

"Sakura." A woman's voice said as she walked into a room. She was the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

"Yes?" Replied a pink haired teenager, Sakura Haruno, as she turned her head to face her.

"It seems Naruto's returned." Tsunade said with a smile.

"What! Ho-How... This is...." Kakashi said, his visible eye wide and trembling as he held Naruto's present. The newest book of the Icha-Icha series, Icha-Icha Tactics.

"Yeah, the latest in the Icha-Icha series, Jiraiya gave it to me, but I don't really like that kind of thing, so you can have it."

"Thank you, Naruto." Kakashi said, holding the book like a holy relic.

"So, you're Naruto's sensei when he was on Team 7?" Fu asked, jumping to the roof herself.

"That's right." Kakashi said, calming down. "You must be Fu, Tsunade told me about you. I look forward to seeing what you and Naruto have learned under Jiraiya. Oh, and welcome to Konoha."

"You know about..." Fu began nervously.

"Your tenant? Yes, I know. The shinobi were all briefed on it. Thanks to Naruto, most have changed their views on Jinchuriki. You'll be welcomed here." Kakashi assured her, much to her relief.

"Me?" Naruto asked.

"Of course, after you saved the village from Gaara, everyone started seeing you for the hero you were. I don't think I told you, but I'm proud to be your sensei, taking on a fully transformed Jinchuiki isn't easy, especially for a genin." Kakashi said with his patented eye smile.

"But... I couldn't stop Sasuke." Naruto said sadly, a pang of pain in his heart as he remembered his failure to his teammates. Fu took his hand in hers to comfort him, something Kakashi didn't miss.

"Naruto..." Kakashi stood and took a step forward, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder and making him meet him his eyes. "Sasuke chose his path. As his friend and comrade, your job was to help him, but you couldn't make his choices for him. You could only try to help him make the right ones. Don't blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't you're fault."

"Thanks, I guess you're right." Naruto said before smiling a bit. In truth Kakashi's words meant a lot to him, since he always thought he let his team down with his failure. Giving his old sensei a second chance proved to be the right decision. He dropped his smile and looked at the jonin seriously. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?"

"Can you tell me... what it was like training under my old man?" Naruto asked and Kakashi's eye widened.

"Jiraiya told you?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Yeah... there's a story behind that... I'll tell you when I tell Tsunade." Naruto answered, knowing he should wait until they are in a secure location with Tsunade before talking about Madara and the events of the night of his birth.

"Hmm... well, I'm interested to hear it, and I'll be happy to tell you what it was like training under your father later." Kakashi said, eye smiling again.

"Great. Hey, Fu, how about I show you Ichiraku's?" Naruto said as he turned to Fu.

"Sure, I want to see if it lives up to everything you've said about it." Fu replied.

"You'll see, it's the best ramen in the Elemental Nations!" Naruto replied taking her hand.

"Hey, hang on." Kakashi said, causing the two to stop just as they started to jump off the roof. "Are you two..." He trails off, the two blush in response and nod. "Huh, so you've given up on Sakura huh?"

"Yeah. What I felt with Sakura... it was just a crush compared to what I have with Fu." Naruto said, wrapping an arm around Fu's waist and pulling her close, causing her to turn to him and give him a smile, which he returned.

"Well, I'm glad for you, I know you've both had more than you're share of pain."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smiled at him.

"Oh, by the way, could you help me with the lightning element later? I've heard a lot about your Chidori." Fu asked the copy ninja.

"Huh? You're a lightning element too, huh?"

"Lightning and water actually."

"Well, what do you know? Though lightning is my affinity, I happen to be good with water jutsu too. I'll help with both anyway I can, just ask."

"Thanks, see you later, Mr. Hatake." Fu replied.

"No need for that. Kakashi or Kakashi-sensei is fine." the copy ninja waved her off, making the mint-haired girl smile.

"Thanks, Kakashi." the girl replied before the two Jinchuriki were on their way.

Jiraiya looked after them, slightly annoyed Naruto had given away his book as the copy ninja jumped down and landed beside him.

"So, how good are they?" Kakashi asked the Sannin.

"Well, Naruto figured out how the shadow clones worked... and he taught it to Fu." Jiraiya said with a smirk and Kakashi turned to him, eye slightly widened. "I'd say they're strong enough to take on most of the Akatsuki and they have a wide variety of jutsu. But their still perfecting their own jutsu and they have a bit more to learn. There's always room to improve, and they're going to need it." Jiraiya said, turning grim. "Akatsuki's beginning to move. According to my intel, they may already have one of the Biju. Like I said, I'm confident they could take most of them, but neither is ready to face the likes of Itachi Uchiha alone yet." Jiraiya said before they heard a yell. Down the street, Naruto and Fu had stopped as Naruto ran into a pair of familiar faces - Sakura and Tsunade. Sakura turned to the Jinchuriki.

Naruto was visibly surprised to run into his old teammate in the middle of a street. "Sakura?"

"Eh? Naruto?" Sakura was no less stunned at seeing the blond. She could tell he'd changed a lot from the day she'd last laid eyes on him. She briefly observed the changes in his appearance before she noticed the green haired girl beside him. The chunin could hardly hide her surprise when she noticed how he was holding the girl's hand with their fingers intertwined. She wondered who the new girl was before she was snapped out of her thoughts by the blond's voice.

"It is you. Long time no see, Sakura. How've you been?" Naruto greeted with a smile.

Sakura returned the smile as she turned her attention back to the blond. "Good, Lady Tsunade's taught me a lot over the years." She said before she turned back to the green haired girl. "So, who's your new friend?"

Naruto grinned. "Glad you asked. Sakura, meet my girlfriend."

Sakura's eyes widened, shock overcoming her features as her gaze darted back and forth between the young couple. "Wh- what?"

Both Jinchuriki smirked from the look of complete bewilderment on the pink haired kunoichi's face before Fu took a step forward, offering her hand. "I'm Fu, formerly of Taki. It's nice to meet you. Naruto's said a lot about you and the rest of your graduating class."

Sakura recovered and took her hand, still a little stunned. "Fu?... Right, you're the one Lady Tsunade told us about. It's nice to meet you, too. So, are you two really...?" Fu smiled and nodded. The medic-nin could feel a slight pang of jealousy towards the two. Fu because she apparently now held the blond's heart and Naruto because he'd found someone while the one she longed for was gone, but overall, she was happy for them. Knowing Naruto cared for her helped her out sometimes when Sasuke turned her down, but, though she had grown closer to him, she had come to care for Naruto more as a sibling and didn't think she could ever think of him the way he had wished she did. She was glad he'd moved on and found someone he'd hopefully find happiness with. She smiled as she continued. "Well, I'm happy for you." She turned back to Naruto. "I guess you've grown up in more ways than one, huh Naruto?"

Naruto grinned and chuckled. "Yep. Wait till you see how much I've learned. I'm well on my way to becoming the next Hokage."

"I'll be the judge of that, brat." Tsunade spoke up and stepped forward, deciding that she had let them meet and catch up for long enough.

Naruto smiled at his grandmother figure. "I was wondering when you were going to speak up. Good to see you, Grandma Tsunade."

Tsunade's eye twitched. "Since this is your first time back in the village in almost three years, I'm going to let that slide." She then turned to the Nanabi Jinchuriki. "So, you're Fu. I've gotta say, I'm surprised to hear you are together with this knucklehead. He certainly needs someone to keep him in check." She smirked at the indignant look on the blond's face, but continued before he could protest. "I trust Jiraiya trained you well and the two of you were able to keep the pervert in line."

"Yes, Lady Hokage. And let me say it's an honor to meet one of the most renowned kunoichi in the elemental nations. I've looked up to you for a long time." Fu said with a slight bow.

"Well, it's nice to see you know how to show some respect unlike the brat." Tsunade said with a smile. "Ah, here's you're forehead protector, you're already registered as a shinobi of the Leaf." Tsunade reached into her robe, pulled out a forehead protector and handed it to Fu.

"Hey, why do you show her respect and not me? I'm the one who trained you for the past two and a half years." Jiraiya asked as the green haired Jinchuriki took the forehead protector.

"Because she's the Hokage while you're a dirty old man who peeks on girls in hot springs and often acts like a child." Fu deadpanned and Jiraiya crossed his arms and grumbled about disrespectful brats. "You're really not helping yourself by acting like that, Ero-sensei." Fu said and everyone present except Jiraiya and Kakashi chuckled.

"Yo, Boss!" a young voice called out, the group turned to see Konohamaru, who stood in the middle of the road. The boy made a hand sign, in a poof of smoke, the boy is replaced by a buxom woman, her breasts and crotch barely hidden with smoke. "Sexy Jutsu!"

Jiraiya reacts to this as one would expect, he yells out in joy with a perverted grin on his face as his nose bled. Tsunade and Fu's faces took on looks of annoyance, Sakura looked shocked and offended, Naruto looked at his younger brother figure calmly and Kakashi seemed to ignore the whole thing while he read his new book.

"How was that? Not too bad, huh?" Konohamaru asked excited, Naruto just chuckled.

"Sorry Konohamaru, but I'm not a kid anymore, and you shouldn't be using jutsu like that either." Naruto said and Konohamaru looked dejectedly to the ground as Sakura and Fu smiled at the blond, thinking of how much he had grown. Naruto went to Konohomaru and put a hand over his shoulder "Don't worry, I'll teach you a really cool jutsu later, OK? And maybe even an improved version of the other one." the last part was said in whisper followed by a wink from the blond, which clearly said 'this stays between the two of us or no jutsu'.

Konohamaru gave a brief mischievous grin before he schooled his features and smiled. "Really? Thanks, Boss." A moment later, Fu turned to Jiraiya with a slightly evil smirk.

"You know, Ero-sensei, the entire time you were looking at that 'girl', you were actually ogling a twelve year old boy?" she asked, causing Jiraiya to jerk, a disgusted look crossing his face as it turned green.

The Hokage grinned in amusement at her teammate's discomfort. "I think we're going to get along just fine, Fu."

"Must you always spoil my fun?" the super pervert sobbed.

"Of course not." Fu replied sweetly. "So long as A) it's not perverted and B) you're not using our money, I'll be happy to leave you to your fun."

"Wait, he used your money? Doesn't he make enough from his books?" Kakashi asked. He thought his favorite series were works of literary art, so how could the author be poor enough to have to mooch off a couple of kids. Similar thoughts (though not about the quality of the books) were going through everyone else's heads and Jiraiya shrunk back as Tsunade and Sakura glared at him.

"He does. He's rich, we've seen his checkbook. But he's also stingy." Fu said, slightly annoyed as she recalled how Jiraiya had spent her money.

"We caught him paying for women and sake with our money and charged him with shadow clones, he avoided most of our attacks... until one of my clones got behind him and used '1000 Years of Death'. He never tried again after that." Naruto smirked and began to laugh at the memory and everyone present, all of whom knew of the joke technique, laughed at the thought of it being used on the Sannin, even Kakashi chuckled this time.

'Damn brats.' Jiraiya thought slightly panicked. 'I'm losing face here, gotta change the subject.' "So, Tsunade, what have you taught Sakura?"

"Trying to change the subject to save face, huh?" Tsunade noted with a smirk. "Anyway, it is about time to get serious. My original plan was for Kakashi face the three of you in a bell test, but if what Jiraiya wrote to me is true, that's probably a bad idea. Naruto, you'll be going one on one against Kakashi and Fu, you'll be taking on another jonin of Konoha, Asuma Sarutobi."

"Asuma Sarutobi? Of the Twelve Guardian Ninja?" Fu asked, surprised.

"Ah, you've heard of him? Yes, the same, Asuma and his team are waiting at the Third Training Ground. You're performance will determine your future status."

Naruto, Fu, Sakura and Kakashi walked to the Third Training Ground, the trio of teens sharing a few stories of their time under the Sannin, when they arrived, they found Asuma, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji waiting for them. Secretly, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune were watching from the nearby forest.

"Hey, Naruto, long time no see." Ino said happily.

"Hey, Ino, good to see you." Naruto replied with a smile.

"Glad you're back." Choji said.

"Just got here today huh?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, less than an hour ago."

"So, have you grown up any, got any smarter?" Shikamaru asked.

"Surprisingly, yes, he has." Sakura said with a smile of her own.

"Really, well isn't that a surprise?" Shikamaru smirked, causing Naruto to look slightly dejected and Fu to giggle.

"That's good, no offence, Naruto. So, who's the new girl?" Ino asked.

"This is my girlfriend, Fu from Taki." Naruto introduced the green haired girl as he hugged her waist slightly. This came as a surprise to team 10, while Fu couldn't help but blush and feel extremely happy at Naruto's declaration.

"What, seriously?" Choji asked, overcoming the shock first. "Congratulations you guys."

"Yeah, congrats man. Guess you really did grow up since you left the village." Shikamaru added.

Ino nodded. "Good for you guys... Though I can't believe you're the first one of us in a relationship." She said the last part quietly before turning to the green haired Jinchuriki. "So, you're Fu, huh? I hope you feel at home in our village."

"Thanks, I think I'm going to like it here. So far, no one's been bothering me about..." She stopped and trailed off.

"Yeah, I always noticed Naruto was treated differently, never figured out why until we were told about his tenant, sorry I wasn't there for you more man." Shikamaru said and the other chunin nodded. Once the rest of the Konoha 11 found out the truth about Naruto, they had all connected the dots on his mistreatment and kicked themselves for not helping him more, not so much Tenten, who didn't really know him, but still she did too after the effect he had on Neji. In addition, Neji now understood that Naruto had his life seemingly ruined by a seal too, but overcame it, increasing his respect for the blond.

"Ah, that's alright, I didn't want pity anyway, you know." Naruto said.

"Glad to hear that, now Choji won't beat himself up over it anymore. Told you he wouldn't have wanted pity." Ino commented, smirking at her overweight teammate. "Looks like we're going to have to step up our game and find someone for ourselves, huh, Sakura? Can't let ourselves lose out in love, can we? So, what's it like, having a boyfriend and being a student of the infamous pervert of the Sannin?" She turned to Fu at the end. As the two girls began to talk, Shikamaru turned to the male Jinchuriki.

"Hey, Naruto." The lazy chunin beckoned, pulling Naruto off to the side. "This girl of yours, she troublesome in anyway? Hope you're not whipped like my old man."

Naruto snorted. "No. She's my partner as well as my girlfriend, things are pretty even between us."

Shikamaru raised a brow. "That so? Most of the girls I've met tend to boss people around, like Sakura and Ino."

Naruto chuckled, thinking of all the times Ino often motivated Shikamaru, in other words pretty much forced him to do something, and had to remind Choji to curb his snacking habits. "Actually, she doesn't boss me, but rather... We talk a lot, you know. And she has made me realize a lot of things I've been doing wrong and helped me out with them quite a bit. Like always rushing into battle for example..." Naruto explained. "Anyway, how about you? Got you're eye on anyone? Maybe a certain blonde?" he smirked at the end, gesturing to the Yamanaka heiress.

"What?" Shikamaru was taken aback.

Before the Nara heir could speak further, Ino called out, "Hey, what are you guys talking about over there?"

The two looked over and rejoined the group. "Nothing, just catching up on old times." Naruto said.

"Well, good to see you guys are getting along already." Asuma said, stepping forward. "Nice to meet you, Fu. And welcome back, Naruto. I'm looking forward to seeing how you've grown since you left the village."

"Hey, Asuma-sensei, how's Kurenai?" Naruto replied with his toothy smile. Asuma sighed.

"Was it that obvious? Did everyone know?" Asuma asked and everyone laughed. He knew that Naruto had just gotten back and chances are no one had told him about him and Kurenai. If even he, the most oblivious and naïve person out there, knew before he left, when they were trying to keep it a secret, everyone probably did.

"Ah... this place sure brings back memories; this was where our genin exam took place." Naruto said with a smile as he reminisced.

"Yeah... and back then..." Sakura said.

"That's right... back then... Sasuke was around too..." Kakashi stated. Suddenly, all the warmth was sucked out of the air as the group's minds turned to the wayward Uchiha. Naruto seemed slightly depressed by the memory of his friend, who he failed to help. Fu comforted her boyfriend as Shikamaru and Choji did the same for their blond teammate, who stared at the ground with a pained expression. However, none took it as bad as Sakura, who curled up in a ball with a cloud of gloom over her head and muttered "Sasuke..." 'Sasuke's a taboo subject for Sakura huh?' Kakashi asked himself.

"Anyway, it's about time we got started." Kakashi said, walking forward. "Naruto and I will go first, then Fu and Asuma, we can all catch up more later." the copy ninja said as he walked into the clearing away from the others.

"Alright." Naruto said, walking over and standing across from Kakashi. "You gonna start off reading that book this time, Kakashi-sensei?"

" Oh, I think I should save the pleasure of memorizing it for later." Kakashi said, uncovering his Sharingan. "I think I better take this seriously, considering Lady Hokage wanted you to fight me one on one." Naruto smirked in response as both tensed and prepared themselves. "Shikamaru, will you do the honors?"

"Sure, it's not too troublesome." Shikamaru stepped forward and stood for a moment. "Okay, start!" Naruto poofed into smoke, much to the surprise of almost everyone there.

"A clone? When did he...?" Kakashi said before he sensed something. He turned to see Naruto beside a tree throw a shuriken. He was curious what this was for until he saw Naruto quickly run through hand signs, the speed of said signs impressing him.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out and the one shuriken became about a hundred, before they were even half way to Kakashi, Naruto had already finished another technique. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" a powerful gust of wind slammed into the shuriken, speeding them up and increasing their power, just as they reached Kakashi, he was suddenly replaced with a log which is torn to pieces in seconds.

"Huh, a wind user, who'd have thought?" Asuma said absent mindedly.

"Wow that was a pretty good combination." Ino noted.

Kakashi appeared behind Naruto, a kunai at his throat. "Well, that was unexpected, but I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that." he said before Naruto smirked. Suddenly, the blond exploded, sending Kakashi flying... until he poofed into smoke.

"A Shadow Clone Explosion huh? Interesting." Asuma said, remembering seeing the attack from Itachi as the other spectators looked on.

'You really have grown, Naruto... I really will have to take this seriously.' Kakashi thought as he hid behind a tree.

Naruto decided then to activate his Wind Dragon's Vigilance Technique and made the necessary hand sign. Kakashi's eyes widened as his Sharingan saw chakra saturating the air. Not enough to obscure his vision but it was there. 'What is this? This chakra is-' he thought before dodging as his senses, honed by years of experience, warned him of impending danger, a kunai with an explosive note dug into the tree where he had just been hiding and he jumped back as it exploded.

Naruto appeared behind Kakashi and threw a punch but Kakashi blocked the attack and jumped back to avoid a follow up kick.

"Ok, you have ninjutsu down... let's see your taijutsu." Kakashi said as he got ready.

"Just like last time, right Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto charged forward and engaged the jonin in a taijutsu fight. Kakashi was shocked, he could barely keep up with Naruto, even with the Sharingan, he found himself on the defensive. Naruto ducked under a kick and attempted a leg sweep, which Kakashi jumped over, Naruto then launched himself towards Kakashi and with a punch aimed at his face. Kakashi blocked with both arms but was kneed in the stomach and then kicked by the blond, sending him through the air and into a tree, the bark cracking at the impact.

"Wow, he nailed him." Sakura said.

"What did you expect? You know what we're going to have to deal with." Fu noted, causing them to remember the pair had been training to fight the Akatsuki.

"True... but I wonder how he found Kakashi so fast." Shikamaru said.

"It's a technique that uses the wind to mimic the abilities of sensors. He calls it the Wind Dragon's Vigilance." Fu explained.

"That's incredible." Asuma noted. "It was thought possible to do something like that but it's been pure theory for years. What's his range?"

"Eight kilometers." Fu replied to the groups shock.

Despite the fact that he was almost on the other side of the training ground, Naruto was able to cross the distance between them in an instant and the copy ninja barely avoided a kick that almost knocked the tree down. Kakashi used the body flicker to increase the distance between them but was shocked when Naruto proved faster with the jutsu and was forced to block a kick.

Naruto jumped high into the air to avoid a sweeping kick and attempted an axe-kick but Kakashi rolled out of the way, the ground fractured on impact. Kakashi went to counter but Naruto jumped back and Kakashi ran through hand signs himself.

"OK, that's taijutsu, time for next lesson, genjutsu." Kakashi said before he vanished.

"Naruto." a voice growled. Naruto turned to see Sasuke standing there in his level two form, glaring at him menacingly.

"Heh, you're going to have to better than that, Kakashi-sensei, release!" Naruto said and the illusion shattered. "Let's see how you like it." Naruto said before he cast an illusion of his own and suddenly a tree grew out of the ground behind him and the bark wrapped itself around him.

"Huh, Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, huh? I'm surprised you can use genjutsu Naruto, but you're going to have to do better too. Release!" Kakashi said before the illusion broke, only for him to suddenly feel the wind get knocked out of him. Another illusion shattered and he saw Naruto before him, his fist buried in his gut. 'This is... Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings? I underestimated him.' Kakashi thought, he was helpless as Naruto punched him three times before kicking him half way across the battlefield. Naruto created a single clone before holding out his hand and in a slight, visible flare of chakra, his sword; Hisho Taichi appeared in his hand.

"Huh? Where'd he get that sword?" Choji asked.

"It's called Hisho Taichi, it's a sword made for him in Takumi Village." Fu said. Asuma whistled.

"You got a sword made from the village of artisans? That's lucky, those are the finest weapons in the continents." Asuma noted.

"You have no idea." Fu smirked.

Naruto sweeps his blade sideways and called out "Tempest Wind!" and a powerful whirlwind was unleashed from the blade as his clone ran through hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" the clone breathed out a stream of fire which combined with the wind to create a firestorm of white hot flame. Kakashi cursed as he quickly Body Flickered out of the way.

"Woah, he's really not kidding around is he?" Shikamaru stated.

"Naruto..." Sakura said dumbfounded, she couldn't believe he was this far ahead of her.

Naruto looked around for Kakashi before he was suddenly pulled underground. Kakashi then popped of the ground and threw a kunai at the clone at near point blank, destroying it. Kakashi hadn't heard Fu's explanation of Naruto's sensing jutsu and so didn't know Naruto knew where he was all along.

"Looks like I got you, Naruto." Kakashi noted, before he was surprised as Naruto turned out to be a clone.

Two Naruto's then jumped into the air one used Wind Style: Great Breakthrough while the other used Fire Style: Phoenix flower, raining enhanced fireballs on Kakashi, who dodged them all, but all this was just a distraction as one of Naruto's clones prepared to cast another genjutsu, the other clones were for Replacement in case things went wrong, but Naruto was confident it was over.

Kakashi dodged another fireball, he would have used Water Wall, but against a fire and wind combination, that was useless. He managed to get to the nearby lake and ran through hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" a giant water dragon rose from the lake and flew towards the clones, destroying them. Kakashi only had a moment to breathe before he suddenly ducked to dodge a fast moving crescent of wind that cut down several trees behind him. He looked in the direction of the attack to see Naruto charging forward, slashing his sword and releasing more blades of wind. Kakashi charged and dodged them all, drawing a kunai and focusing chakra into the blade as he saw Naruto's sword was charged with wind chakra. The two clashed blades, exchanging blows and quickly, Kakashi found himself outclassed again, bringing out a second kunai to attempt to even the odds. While still on the defensive, he managed to block every attack. He blocked a powerful downward slash from Naruto with both his kunai when suddenly, Naruto disappeared, his body distorting and fading from the feet up until he was gone. Realizing he was caught in another illusion, he quickly broke it... to find he was surrounded. Naruto had his sword at his throat and three of his clones held kunai at three different vital spots.

"Looks like I win, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smirked.

"Yeah... you've grown, Naruto. You may have already surpassed me." Kakashi said as Naruto removed his blades and dispelled his clones before sealing his sword away again. "We'll talk about your performance after Fu's test. Come on, let's join the spectators huh?" he said as he got his book out again.

"I can hardly believe that's the same boy I met three years ago." Shizune said, shocked Kakashi lost.

"So, what do you think, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well... if you have one positive trait, it's that you're a good teacher." Tsunade stated. 'His last move... he won using a weak genjutsu with perfect timing... and he had clones hidden just in case things went wrong. Also helps that he didn't just swarm him with shadow clones like he used to.' "I'll tell you my opinion when all's said and done... now, let's see what the girl can do." she finished as Naruto and Kakashi made it back to the group.

"Wow... I can't believe you actually won. Nice going." Shikamaru said, as the others congratulated him and Fu gave him a hug, Sakura gave a quiet congratulation then looked away and to the ground. She knew she wouldn't be able to take on their sensei yet. Naruto, and probably Sasuke too, were still beyond her. Even after all her work, she was still behind.

"That was an impressive sword, Fu said it was called Hisho Taichi. I'm guessing it helps you channel wind chakra." Asuma noted.

"Yeah, it lets me manipulate the wind and cast wind jutsu without hand signs with as little chakra as possible." Naruto replied.

"Huh, even by their standards that's impressive. You must have made quite the impression on someone for them to have made that for you." Asuma said.

"Yeah, this old guy, Seimei, he's a grumpy old man but he's alright." the blond replied before Asuma walked onto the field.

"So, I guess it's our turn next." Asuma said, taking his place.

"I'm honored to face one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja." Fu said as she stood across from him.

"Well, I'll try not to disappoint you, Shikamaru, whenever you're ready." Asuma said as he got out his trench knives and began channeling chakra through them.

"Alright... begin!" Shikamaru said.

Asuma and Fu charged at each other and Fu swept her hands back, in her right hand, she summoned her own blade, Okibi no Yaiba and in her left a water sword formed and she channeled raw chakra into both, strengthening them and causing Okibi no Yaiba to erupt in flames, much to the spectators shock. 'So, she's got one too.' Asuma noted as the two clashed. Asuma quickly found himself overwhelmed. Fu's dual blade style relied not only on precision but also overwhelming speed, which combined with the flames quickly put Asuma on the defensive, barely able to protect himself.

Asuma parried a slash from Fu's water sword and leaned back to avoid a sweeping kick from Fu, Asuma thought he saw an opening and slashed but Fu skipped back and threw her water blade. Asuma dodged to the side and charged as Fu dismissed her sword and began running through hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" Fu blew out a massive amount of water from her mouth which rose to form a protective wall and Asuma found himself caught in the wall of water as Fu quickly ran through more hand signs. 'Lightning Style: Earth Flash!' Fu thought, unable to speak because of the water, and released a massive wave of electricity from her hands which traveled through the water and electrocuted Asuma.

'Damn!' Asuma cursed in his mind as he grit his teeth in pain as the lightning coursed through his body. He channeled wind chakra to nullify the lightning as best he could. After a few moments, Fu released her jutsu and Asuma jumped back out of the collapsing wall, twitching slightly. Fu then made the snake hand sign. 'Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave!' Fu spit out an enormous wave of water which crashed towards Asuma before it too was electrocuted.

Asuma's eyes widened and he quickly jumped into the trees and through the branches, trying to stay above the lightning infused water as it followed him, knocking down several trees along the way. Soon, the water level had fallen beneath the braches and in moments there were only puddles on the ground, but Fu had vanished.

"Whoa... you two didn't waste any time over the past two years, did you?" Choji asked as he stared at the destruction caused by the attack and Naruto just chuckled in response.

"Great... she's this good at water jutsu and now the ground's covered... as Shikamaru would say, troublesome." Asuma smirked at his own predicament. A moment later, a wave of fire rushed at him and he was forced to jump out of the tree. The moment he landed, three water clones of Fu emerged from nearby puddles and attacked with taijutsu. The clones, only being at 1/10 of the real Fu's power only lasted for a short time, though they did show impressive taijutsu skill before being destroyed.

As the final clones dispersed, a swarm of insects suddenly burst from the ground, Asuma cried out in shock before he was suddenly replaced with a log. The swarm abandoned the hunk of wood and shot across the field towards Asuma's hiding place. Turning to the swarm, he tossed his trench knives off his hands into the air and made four hand signs, catching the blades when he was done before breathing out a cloud of gun-powder which the insects flew into. Asuma created a spark using a piece of flint in his mouth and the swarm was killed in the explosion.

"She can use insects like the Aburame?" Ino asked, slightly creeped out.

"Yeah, it's the ability she gets for being the Jinchuriki of the Seven Tailed Rhinoceros Beetle." Naruto said.

"Hn... interesting... so that's how she finds him so easily." Shikamaru noted.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Choji asked.

"She must have tagged him with some insects while she was fighting him at close range... that's probably how she always knows where he is." Shikamaru explained.

As the cloud cleared, Asuma saw Fu rushing towards him with her sword, he threw one of his trench knives at her but she ducked underneath it as she summoned three shuriken and threw them as she continued to move towards Asuma.

Asuma dodged the shuriken and Fu as she attempted to run him through, after a brief exchange, he managed to get the upper hand and slashed Fu across the stomach, only for her to turn into lightning, electrocuting Asuma. At this moment, the real Fu, hidden in the forest, finished a jutsu "Earth Style: Spears of Stone!" three spears of rock shot out of the ground and were quickly grabbed by two clones of the green-haired kunoichi, who jumped high into the air and threw them all at once at Asuma, surrounding him in a triangle formation while the real Fu finished weaving another set of hand signs.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Bind!" Fu called out and the javelins were connected by walls of electricity, trapping Asuma inside.

"Huh... been a long time since I've seen this technique." Asuma noted inside the barrier.

"You knew someone else who knew this jutsu?" Fu asked, slightly surprised as she walked towards the barrier.

"Yeah... a buddy of mine from the Ninja Guardians... Kitane." Asuma said smirking before he made a hand sign.

Fu was surprised; she knew the jutsu couldn't be broken from the inside when she sensed something from behind her. She dodged slightly to the side and her eyes widened as she saw Asuma's thrown trench knife speeding towards her barrier, propelled and charged by Asuma's wind chakra. She could only watch as the knife collided with the barrier, causing it to crackle with lightning for a few moments before breaking.

Once the barrier fell, Asuma charged at the Jinchuriki who summoned a pair of water swords blocked his attack, the two once more exchanged blows before Asuma managed to disarm her of one of her water swords and seemed to catch her.

"Heh... guess that's it." Asuma smirked, only for his smirk to fall as Fu smirked and a moment later exploded. She had created an exploding shadow clone just in case that didn't work and substituted with it the moment her barrier fell. Asuma was sent flying into a tree by the explosion. The real Fu suddenly appeared, rising from the ground as if it were water and, focusing her chakra to her hand, called her sword back to her and placed it on Asuma's neck as insects surrounded the pair.

"You were saying?" the green haired kunoichi asked and Asuma chuckled.

"Alright, you got me." Asuma said, in good humor despite his loss and Fu dismissed her sword and helped him up. "Huh... you two are pretty good."

"Thanks... and you live up to your reputation." she said as they walked back to the group.

"Way to go Fu!" Naruto said with his fox like smile.

"I can't believe you two actually managed to beat both of our sensei." Shikamaru said, shaking his head with a grin.

"Well... the new generation always surpasses the previous one. It's only a matter of time." Kakashi said.

"Heh, speak for yourself." Jiraiya said as he, Tsunade and Shizune joined them.

"Hey, Pervy Sage, did you guys see the whole thing?" Naruto asked, Jiraiya sighed at being called that again.

"Of course we watched brat. Good job, you two. I told you good teachers beget good students."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and pat yourself on the back." Fu said, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, thanks for teaching us, Jiraiya-sensei."

"Oh, finally showing me the respect I deserve?"

"Don't get used to it." Fu smirked.

"Ok, I've gotta admit, you two did pretty well." Tsunade said. "You not only won, you showed good planning and always kept a few aces ready in case things got bad. I think you're ready for the rank of special jonin, thanks to Jiraiya's recommendations, until you have enough experience leading missions to make jonin." Provided the promotion was endorsed by a powerful and respected shinobi of the village, like Jiraiya, or the Hokage, there were documented examples of why the promotion was deserved and the ninja in question proved themselves, a ninja could be promoted up to special jonin without going through exams.

Those present congratulated the two as Sakura remained quiet. Knowing now that, not only was Naruto stronger than her, but the new girl was too made her feel useless. She knew that when it came to fighting, she wouldn't be able to help when it came time to face Sasuke or the Akatsuki.

Back when they were first made a team, she had believed that Naruto was useless and that she and Sasuke would have to carry the team. Soon she had a wake-up call and realized she was the inadequate one. Naruto and Sasuke were growing stronger every day, and she was just a burden, a worthless fan girl. It took Sasuke leaving for her to change. Now, after two and a half years of training, she still wasn't as strong as her teachers, and Naruto was stronger than Kakashi and still growing stronger. She was almost sure Sasuke would have similar power. Even after all this time, all her hard work, she was still being left behind.

"What's the matter Sakura?" Naruto asked, noticing the pink haired girl seemed down.

"Oh, nothing... come on, let's celebrate, how about your favorite, Ichiraku ramen?" Sakura asked, trying to change the subject. Fu walked over to Naruto.

"Yeah, I've wanted to try that place for some time after all the praise you give it." she said before whispering. "We'll talk to her about it later." Naruto nodded.

"Alright, come on, let's head to Ichiraku's, my treat!" Naruto said, excited to finally have a taste of what was in his opinion the best food in the elemental natuons.

"Hold on, Naruto, we still need to find a place for Fu to stay."

"She can stay with me... besides; I was planning to find a bigger place tomorrow." Naruto said.

"Huh? How are you going to afford that?" Tsunade asked.

'Oh boy, here we go...' Jiraiya thought to himself as he took one from his student's handbook and replaced himself with a clone he set up. He feared, rightfully, that after Tsunade was pried off of Naruto she would probably vent on him.

Moments later, Naruto had explained how much money he had... and how he had gotten it. While the bounty hunting wasn't too surprising, everyone present was shocked by his luck at gambling, but Tsunade's face quickly took on a furious expression.

A loud "WHAT!" could be heard halfway across the village.

After Tsunade had been pried off of Naruto, who she had tried to throttle upon hearing about his luck, he, Fu, Sakura and team 10 were all sitting at Ichiraku's. Kakashi had paperwork to do. Along the way they ran into Iruka who joined them. Iruka sat on the end on one side of Naruto, Fu was on the other side, then Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Asuma. Naruto was on his sixth bowl, as was Choji. Fu was on her third and everyone else was on their first.

Naruto put down his now empty bowl. "Ah, now the hit's the spot. See, what'd I tell you Fu?"

"You were right, this is delicious, we'll have to come here more often." Fu said, Teuchi heard this and began thinking of how much money he would make off the two of them. While she only seemed to eat half as much as Naruto, that was still several times the amount of most others.

"I can't believe you actually managed to beat Kakashi, you've really grown a lot under Jiraiya's tutelage." Iruka said.

"Yeah, I'm stronger than you now, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said and Iruka laughed.

"I hate to admit but, your right, I couldn't take on Kakashi even without his Sharingan... congratulations on your promotion, by the way." the academy teacher said.

"Thanks, so, who else was promoted?" Naruto asked

"You kidding? Everyone else is a chunin now." Shikamaru said. "That's nothing though, Neji made jonin. Remember Gaara? Well his siblings made jonin too. Actually, Temari's here in Konoha right now."

"Really? I'll have to congratulate her, even if it's a little late. So, what about Gaara?" Naruto asked and everyone became quiet, not sure how he'd take it. "What?"

"Gaara's... the new Kazekage." Iruka said, shocking Naruto and Fu. Naruto smiled even though his eyes looked a little sad.

"Gaara was named Kazekage, huh?" Naruto said, Fu looked at him, a little worried about how Naruto would react. "That's great. He sure had changed a lot, the last time I saw him. I'm sure he makes a great Kazekage. But I'm not gonna be outdone by him. I'll be Hokage someday." Naruto really was happy for Gaara, considering how he was when he first met him. He was also jealous though, Gaara was basically living his dream.

"So... how long have you two been together?" Ino asked, curious about it and trying to change the subject and wanting to get some good gossip.

"About six months." Fu answered before she, after more of Ino's prodding, told them how they met, got together, and their first date.

"Wow, Naruto, didn't think you had it in you." Iruka said, chuckling. The boys shared similar thoughts while Ino was jealous but also happy to get her hands on some gossip and Sakura remained quiet.

"Heh, well, what can I say. So, how has everyone been?" afterward, they began to talk about everything they had been through. Fu shocked them with the story of how she got the chameleon contract. Other than that, it was largely just talking about how everyone improved. When the sun was beginning to set, Naruto and Fu stood up.

"Sorry guys, we have to talk to Grandma Tsunade about something. Hey, old man, thanks or the meal, what's the charge?"

"No problem, Naruto, great to have you back." he said, handing Naruto his bill, Naruto looked shocked for a moment, suddenly getting why no one liked paying for him, and he promptly paid with a check. "Be sure to bring that girl of yours back, ok?"

"Sure, see you later, old man."

"Nice meeting you all. Oh, hey Sakura, can we talk later?" Fu said.

"Huh? Oh, sure thing. Bye." Sakura replied before Naruto and Fu vanished, Naruto in a poof of smoke and Fu in a spark of lightning.

The two entered Tsunade's office to find Jiraiya, Shizune and Kakashi with the woman, who was sitting at her desk Sizune stood by the desk. Jiraiya leaned against a nearby wall and Kakashi was standing to the right side of the room, reading his new book.

"Hey, Grandma Tsunade, nice to see you working instead of gambling your money away." Naruto said as he entered, earning a glare. He then remembered he shouldn't talk about gambling in front of her now that she knew he had made what was now over 100 million ryo gambling.

"Yeah, yeah. So, Jiraiya said you two have something important to tell me, and it has something to do with your tenants."

"Speaking of which, you didn't use their powers when we sparred. How good's your control?" Kakashi asked. Naruto and Fu both looked down, thinking about what that power did to them.

"We can summon at will and control up to four tails." Fu stated. "At that point, we can enter a second version of our chakra cloaks where the chakra forms a solid shell around us and we basically become miniature versions of our Biju." Fu said.

"But going that far takes a lot out of us, not to mention it burns our skin off... going to that state is a last resort. We can't use five tails at will, but if we do go that far, we start to lose control... and at six tails we would completely lose it." Naruto added.

"Four tails... that's pretty impressive." Kakashi said.

"Well... it helps that they're actually helping us." Naruto said. Kakashi, Tsunade and Shizune were shocked to hear that.

"They're helping you? You mean you've worked out some kind of deal with them?" Kakashi asked, his visible eye widened slightly.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "I'm surprised. I didn't think they'd be willing to help you unless your lives, and their's by extension, were at stake." She said, remembering what she'd heard from her grandmother, Konoha's first Kyuubi Jinchuriki: Mito Uzumaki, about her dealings with the fox. The demon had always been hostile towards her, fighting her for control at every opportunity. Though she did gain significant control, the Kyuubi had never been willing to lend her aid, not without trying to influence her. Mito had actually pitied the Kyuubi for being so consumed with hatred and rage, though according to her, the beast didn't believe that was sincere and it seemed to anger him even more. "You think they're trustworthy?"

Jiraiya nodded, crossing his arms as he began to explain. "I was a little worried they were trying to deceive us at first, but I think they can be trusted, for now at least. They have a good reason to help us and a lot to lose if they betrayed us."

Tsunade quirked a brow. "What do you mean? What exactly is the agreement?"

"... the reason their helping is because of who's responsible for the Kyuubi's attack, fifteen years ago." Jiraiya said, surprising everyone again. "It's someone they can't fight on their own... and he's probably the Akatsuki leader."

"Wait... someone caused the Kyuubi attack?" Kakashi asked, shocked upon finding out someone was responsible for that tragedy and the death of two people who had become parental figures to him, Naruto's own parents.

"Kakashi... you didn't know this... but Naruto's mother, Kushina was the previous Kyuubi Jinchuriki." Jiraiya said, shocking Kakashi and Shizune, who also didn't know.

"Jiraiya... does Naruto..." Tsunade began.

"Yes, he knows who his parents were." Jiraiya answered.

"I see... Naruto..." Tsunade began sadly.

"It's alright, Grandma Tsunade, I understand why you didn't tell me." Naruto answered with a smile. "I was upset at first, but I got over it."

"So... you're saying someone attacked Minato-sensei when Naruto was born and broke Kushina's seal?" Kakashi asked, seething at the thought someone purposely caused that tragedy and killed two people he saw as family in the process.

"Yes... Naruto's birth weakened the seal and someone used him as a hostage to get Minato away from Kushina... by the time Naruto was safe and he returned, the seal was already broken and the Kyuubi was under his control." Jiraiya explained.

"Wait, control?" Tsunade asked, she knew someone must have broken the seal, but that they had controlled the Kyuubi...

"That's right, Tsunade... you know there's only one person who would have been capable of all that..."

"Jiraiya... you can't seriously mean..." Tsunade said, eyes wide.

"That's right... the one responsible was Madara... Madara Uchiha... and he's most likely the mastermind behind the Akatsuki." Jiraiya said, shocking everyone except Naruto and Fu. "I had always believed he was the only one who could have pulled it off... the Kyuubi just confirmed my suspicions."

"No way..." Shizune said.

"I can't believe it... he's actually still alive..." Kakashi said.

"Yeah... even if he's not affiliated with the Akatsuki, he's out there... after digging around a bit, I managed to confirm he was alive, though not much else." Jiraiya said.

"This... this is a disaster..." Tsunade said, as she rubbed her temple, nursing the beginnings of a head ache.

"Tell me about it... Jiraiya said grimly. "Anyway, that's why the Biju are helping, they know they can't defend themselves against Madara's Sharingan."

Tsunade thought about just how dangerous things were if Madara was alive, Kakashi thought about Minato and Kushina and about what Madara could possibly be planning.

"What do we know about him?" Fu asked.

"Unfortunately, not much." Tsunade sighed. "After his betrayal and supposed death, he was pretty much erased from our records. He was skilled in space-time jutsu, genjutsu and the fire element, obviously he was a master of the Sharingan, and was skilled with several different weapons and fighting styles... he's considered one of the most gifted and skilled ninja in history... that's pretty much all we know." everyone there silently let all this sink in.

"Well, I haven't been home in over two years and we've got to talk to Sakura so we should get going." Naruto said.

"Hang on, Naruto." Tsunade said. "Before you go, there's something for you." she said as she stood up and walked to the portraits of the previous Hokage. "Your father left this for you, we were waiting until you learned the truth about your parentage." she said as she reached for the picture of Minato to reveal a complex blood red seal.

"That's... a blood seal." Naruto said as he and Fu stared wide eyed at it. It was meant to protect family secrets. It required the fresh blood and chakra of a close relative to break the seal. Kakashi's visible eye and Shizune's eyes widened slightly, neither had known about the seal. Tsunade learned of it from a note from the Third Hokage, addressed to his successor, and told Jiraiya.

"Yes. You know what to do, I hope?" Tsunade asked and Naruto nodded, slightly dumbfounded, as he walked to the seal and after a moment of staring at it, he bit his thumb and placed his hand on the seal before focusing his chakra on it. In a poof of smoke, four scrolls, one red, two yellow and one white appeared. The white one had his name on it. After a moment of silence, he opened the scroll to find a message.

Naruto.

If you're reading this, then I'm dead. Of course, I don't know how this happened as I'm writing this, but I always prepare for everything. I can only hope your mother; Kushina is still there with you, if not, I'm sorry I failed to protect her. Know that I, and she if she's not there with you, love you very much. I was never happier than the day Kushina told me we were going to be parents. I hope that, one day, you find a woman who will make you as happy as she did me.

In the yellow scrolls are my own jutsu. The Rasengan and the Hiraishin, as well as one of the special kunai for the jutsu and information on the space-time barrier. Jiraiya, your godfather, can help you with the Rasengan, and if you need help with the Hiraishin, then look up the Hokage's elite guards: Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi and Akiyo Takashi. To aid them in their duty to protect the Hokage, I shared the secrets of the technique with them, though as of now, they can only use it as a group. The Rasengan is based on the tailed Beast Ball, the ultimate attack of the Biju. As powerful as it is, the Rasengan is still incomplete. I intended to add elemental manipulation to it, but never managed it. I believe that you can succeed where I failed. After all, parents always believe in their kids, don't they? In the red scroll is everything your mother taught me about the Uzumaki sealing jutsu. As you may know, your mother's clan were the leaders of the now destroyed Uzushiogakure and were distant relatives of the Senju clan of Konoha. They were famous for their longevity and their sealing jutsu, which were without rival. It was fear of their sealing prowess that led to their destruction during the wars.

This is the way the world is. People wage war and destroy that which they don't understand, or that which they believe will threaten their loved ones. That leads to pain, which leads to hatred and a never ending cycle of revenge. I, as well as Jiraiya-sensei, believe that one day, this cycle will be broken and there will be true peace. I never found the answer, but I think you can. Finding this answer will be difficult, but Naruto... never forget your parents love you and believe in you.

Your Father

Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.

Luckily for Jiraiya, he had told him he was his godfather. This led to a brief falling out between the two but Naruto eventually forgave him... after he taught him a few tricks he wasn't planning to as compensation. He knew he was lucky the boy was so forgiving. Still, suffice to say he may not have been as forgiving if this was the first he had heard of this.

Naruto read the scroll over twice with an unreadable expression, not knowing whether to feel joy or sorrow after doing so.

"Naruto... are you ok?" Fu asked concerned.

"I'll be fine, Fu." Naruto said. "Let's get going, we have to meet Sakura later, right? I need to show you around a bit and show you my apartment."

"Yeah, let's go." Fu said and the two of them walked towards the door. The adults watched them leave in silence before thinking on everything they ha learned and began to discuss what they knew and what to do about Madara and the Akatsuki.

Half an hour later, the sun was just about set as Naruto and Fu reached the blond's apartment. They walked through the building to his door and Naruto unlocked and opened the door. He looked around for a moment and sighed. Everything was covered in dust, and he knew a lot of the food was long since spoiled.

"This is going to take a while..." Naruto sighed.

Fu took a few steps forward, sweeping her gaze across the small apartment. It only featured three rooms, the main room, which contained the kitchen, a small table with four chairs and a couch across from a small TV, the bathroom a bedroom. "Well, at least we have shadow clones to help. Besides, we'll only be living here a few days tops, right?" Fu asked.

"Yeah. Sakura should be waiting for us, let's leave some shadow clones behind to take care of this while we go." Naruto replied. As they both made cross shaped hand signs. Both created five clones that proceeded to begin cleaning the small apartment.

"I think she's probably worried she's still behind you. You told me that she used to be a fan girl. You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."

In an unknown area of Konoha served as ROOT's headquarters, Danzo stood in the center of the room. Before him, kneeling on his knee, was one of his operatives.

"Report, what is the status of the Jinchuriki?"

"They both fought well, Lord Danzo, The Kyuubi host was able to defeat Kakashi Hatake and the Nanabi host defeated Asuma Sarutobi." the ROOT operative then gave a detailed account of the battle and their interactions.

"I see... continue to observe the two Jinchuriki." Danzo said.

"Yes, Lord Danzo." the agent vanished as Danzo thought on the two weapons. Though, as he believed ninja should be prepared to sacrifice anything and these two, and most of Konoha, was weak under the ways of the Senju, he did admit there were some impressive ninja in the recent generations. It would seem at the least these two would be effective weapons for the village. He still wanted to keep a close eye on them, especially the Nanabi Jinchuriki, and already had plans to place one of his own operatives on their team.

Night had fallen as the two walked the town. They walked to the park and found Sakura standing with her back against a tree.

"Hey Sakura." Naruto said.

"Naruto, Fu, good to see you."

"So, Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about? I told you it was nothing." Sakura answered.

"Sakura, I just met you today and I can already tell something's wrong." Fu said.

"Sakura, you're my friend and I just want to help, tell me what's going on." Naruto added.

"... Fine... it's just, when we were a team, you, me, and Sasuke, I was useless, just a burden. Remember, I promised, when you came back, that I'd be stronger and that we would bring Sasuke back together. But I know I couldn't take on Kakashi-sensei and win and you... you and Fu are so much stronger than me... Sasuke probably is too. Even after all this time... I'm still behind you, still useless."

"That's not true, you've been training under Grandma Tsunade, I'm sure you've learned a lot while I was gone." Naruto said.

"And we'll help you anyway we can. I am a member of Team 7 and if you're a friend of Naruto's, I'd like to be friends too." Fu said with a smile.

"Fu..." Sakura said.

"Fu's right, you're not alone Sakura, never think you have to deal with these kind of stuff on your own."

"... Thanks, you two." Sakura said.

"So, what did Tsunade teach you?" Fu asked and Sakura gave them a rundown of her new skills.

"Wow, she taught you her super strength huh?" Naruto asked, slightly nervous. 'Good thing I learned from Fu not to use or talk about perverted jutsu around girls...'

"Yeah, she also taught me to read my opponents movements."

"By fighting you and beating you into the ground, right?" Fu asked with a smirk.

"Jiraiya too, huh?" Sakura smirked back.

"How about genjutsu? If your chakra controls that good, it should be easy for you and you could use the illusions to distract your opponents and leave them open. With that strength, you only need one good hit on most enemies, but it probably takes a lot of chakra, if you mastered genjutsu, you wouldn't have to waste so much chakra missing fast opponents." Naruto noted.

"Jiraiya had us read tons of books on herbs, antidotes and poisons. If Lady Tsunade taught you to make antidotes, you must know how to make powerful and hard to detect poisons too. Why not add those to your attacks?" Fu asked.

"That sounds good... you really have matured haven't you Naruto... you're a lot smarter than you used to be." Sakura said and Naruto rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner.

"Only because Jiraiya forced him to every step of the way." Fu teased with a smirk.

"I'll bet, he'd never have grown like this by choice." Sakura added with a smirk of her own.

"Aw, come on, Fu, Sakura, don't say things like that." Naruto sulked as the two girls chuckled at him.

"Anyway, I didn't have time to learn genjutsu. I had to focus on what Lady Tsunade was teaching me."

"Well, we can help you with that and Kakashi-sensei probably can too." Naruto said.

"Yeah... and Shizune knows a lot about poisons and poison techniques." Sakura said, remembering hearing about her poison fog technique.

"Sounds good, but it's getting late, we should head home." Fu said. They then said their goodbyes before they began to head home.

The pair of Jinchuriki returned to Naruto's apartment after they had finished talking to Sakura. The clones had cleaned up the apartment and restocked the fridge with enough food to last a few days.

"I'm gonna take a shower, ok?" Fu said.

"Yeah, I'll make something to eat, should be ready when you're out." Naruto replied.

"Thanks, hope it's not ramen."

"I know, I know, 'don't eat it all the time.'" Naruto rolled his eyes with a smirk. He had learned from the many books Jiraiya forced his clones to read and re-read that Fu was right about that.

"Good." Fu replied.

Half an hour later, Fu came out of the shower and Naruto had finished cooking, he wasn't a master chef or anything but they had both learned to cook decent meals. Fu came out to find he had made Nikujaga with a bowl of white rice and miso soup.

Fu smiled as she approached the table, the aroma of their dinner reaching her as she placed her hand on the chair. "Mmmm... looks good." She said as they both sat down.

"Thanks, let's dig in."

"Itadakimasu." both said before they began to eat.

"So, what do you think of Konoha, Fu?"

"Great, you were right, guess I didn't have much to worry about after all. I was afraid I wouldn't get along with Sakura."

"See, just like I told you."

"Yeah... and as always, it was fun teasing Jiraiya in front of everyone." Fu said and both laughed. "So, tomorrow is our first mission, what do you think it'll be?" Fu asked.

"I don't know... but, I'm sure it'll be something boring. I hope our first mission is something big and exciting." Naruto said.

"Naruto, they say you should be careful what you wish for." Fu replied. "At least we won't be stuck on D-ranks anymore. Besides, based on what you've told me, you have terrible luck with missions, we'll probably get stuck fighting someone disproportionately strong, like when you ran into Zabuza, or when you came to Taki." Fu stated.

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto said. "You know... someday, we'll be the sensei's teaching the next generation?"

"Yeah... hard to imagine, isn't it?" Fu said, looking down at her almost empty plate with a smile. "But you've already been teaching that Konohamaru kid right? The one you said was like a little brother? What are you planning to teach him anyway?"

"The Rasengan." Naruto answered simply.

"What, Seriously? At his level he'd have to use shadow clones to get it."

"I know, but we're a lot alike, we both dream of being Hokage and acknowledgement. Besides, I got it in a few weeks." Naruto said boastfully.

"Yeah, and I got it in few days." Fu said with a smirk.

"Aw come on, Fu. That was after Pervy Sage's chakra control training, my control was awful back then. I couldn't even use a basic clone and besides, you used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to learn it faster." Naruto complained and Fu giggled at her boyfriend.

An hour later, the pair had finished their meals. Since Naruto had cooked, Fu was the one that had to do the dishes so the blond took the opportunity to take a shower. When he got out he found his girlfriend sitting on the coach and reading a book.

"Wow, you finished the dishes fast!" the blond was surprised. "Did you use clones?" he asked as he sat next to her and pulled her to his chest.

"Nah, there weren't that many. It's not so bad to do the chores by ourselves from time to time. Otherwise one day they might revolt." Fu joked, without lifting her head from her book. "Besides, you took awhile in the bath. I was starting to think someone kidnapped you, a little more and I would have come to search for you."

"Yeah right, you were just looking for an excuse to see me naked. And you say I'm the perverted one." Naruto chuckled as he was elbowed. "Ouch... All right, all right, maybe I did take my time. I can't help it, after a long tiring day the feel of the warm water is just too good." The blond smirked, "Heh, maybe next time you should come with me so I can show you. And you wouldn't get worried either." He joked suggestively as he lightly nuzzled her neck.

"Mm... pervert."

"So what are you reading?"

Fu showed him the cover briefly, before she went back to reading.

"History of Konoha? Booooring. I would always fall asleep during those classes in the Academy."

"That's actually a surprising thing to hear." Fu looked at him for a moment.

"How come?"

"Well, Konoha's history is filled of battles of valiant and strong shinobi. I would imagine you of all people would love to hear stories of cool jutsu, epic struggles and heroic ninja." Fu waved her hands with and exaggerated tone in her voice.

"Ha-ha... Well, when you put it that way, it does sound interesting actually. Maybe the teachers at the academy should take some advice from you. Especially Iruka-sensei, his boring monotone would be able to put even the Kyuubi to sleep."

The couple laughed as Fu put down the book and snuggled into Naruto's chest, embracing his waist with her arms. The blond moved his hand and gently started stroking her hair. The two sat in a comfortable silence like that. Or at least, that's how it looked on the surface.

Fu's mind was anything but calm. In the past couple of months since their relationship had started, her feelings for her boyfriend had not only grown, but also intensified. Despite her awful life in Taki, things had turned for the better ever since she met the blond. She wondered what her life would have been like otherwise? Maybe a future similar to Gaara's, where her loneliness would only turn into a world of hate. The feeling of complete solitude was maddening. But then came Naruto with his goofy smile and perverted sensei and they gave her a chance. A chance in gaining friendship, acceptance, relationships. And for the past few months, a chance in love. Now if she could only voice this.

Naruto wasn't far off from similar thoughts. At this moment, Haku's words rang strongly in his mind. Of course, he had understood what the boy had meant in the past and had even experienced such strength when he was fighting against Gaara. But the strength of his feelings back then could not even compare to the ones he had right now, for the girl he was holding in his arms. So this was love. Now he realized why Haku gave his life away like that. Of course, Naruto had put himself on the line many times for the people he cared for in the past, but would he have been able to discard his life so easily? He fought and struggled in the past because he believed there was a chance for victory, but when he was thoroughly defeated, would he have jumped so readily in front of a killing blow for the one he loved? Now he knew.

"You know..." they both started. "Oh, sorry... No, you can..." They looked at each other and laughed.

"Ladies first." Naruto winked.

Fu let out a sigh and tried to calm down her racing heart, to no avail. She cuddled in his chest again, hoping that listening to his heartbeat would calm her as usual. Surprisingly, she found out his was pacing fast as well. Taking in a deep breath, she began.

"Sometimes, I think I'm dreaming." Fu didn't look up to see his surprised expression "From time to time I keep remembering my time in Taki and my current life seems so much like a dream. I have a new village that accepts me, people I can call friends, a sensei that has taught me so much and a wonderful boyfriend, whom I have the opportunity to live with. Three years ago I would fantasize for such things and if I was told that I would get them, I would laugh in your face."

"The truth is I had lost hope. I had started to think and believe that I was a demon destined to die alone. That someone like me didn't deserve acceptance or companionship. Every night I would cry and question the Gods what did I do to deserve such a life. I asked and begged that I would find happiness, but deep down I had relented." Fu felt Naruto squeeze her tightly which actually made the tears from the horrible memories go away. She couldn't help but smile. "And then I met you and got to spend the happiest two years of my life. Now, I find myself begging and hoping these moments never stop. Even though I've had a hard life, do I deserve so much happiness? I can't help but think sometimes that there will be a price for all this joy, that I will have to pay something for you. I am afraid that all this will disappear."

Fu stood up a bit and faced Naruto, placing a hand on his cheek. "I will pay it though. Whatever the price is, whatever the hardships, I will do it. Because you will be with me and your promise and presence has given me strength for the past months. I will fight for my happiness, for my life with you, because... I love you, Naruto."

"Fu... I..." to say the blond was shocked would be the understatement of the century. But his surprise was mixed in with tremendous joy. After all, he had been about to say the same thing and to find out she felt the same way... As if pushed by an invisible force, Naruto leaned in and captured Fu's mouth in a fierce kiss. He pressed her body to his, aching for the closeness and licked her lips with his tongue, asking, begging for hers.

Fu let out a small moan and greeted him in her mouth, wrapping and swirling her tongue around his. She felt one of his hands entangled in her hair, while the other was slowly going down her back, sending shivers through her spine. Not wanting him to have the upper hand she pressed and ground her body against his, pushing him into the couch.

The kiss intensified and Fu felt his arm reaching her buttocks and squeezing her left cheek. Letting out another moan, she broke away as they both gasped for air. They looked into each other's eyes and both saw the intense storm of emotions and desires.

"You know" Naruto began "I can't believe how much in tune we are." Fu's gaze warped into a questioning one as the blond continued "I was just about to tell you the same thing." He cupped her cheek and stroke it gently "I love you, Fu." He pulled her down and the two engaged into another heated kiss. Naruto's arms kept massaging and going over Fu's body, with an occasional squeeze in all the right places, prompting a moan from the mint-haired girl, while her hands were gently stroking the blond's chest and abs. They could feel their bodies heating up, desiring more and more from each other, until Fu reluctantly broke the kiss.

"It's getting late, we should go to sleep. Tomorrow is our first day as jonin, we wouldn't want to be late." Disappointment was evident in her voice. Maybe she should have gone to look for the blond in the bath after all.

Said blond didn't plan on relenting without a fight though, "Oh, come on, Kakashi-sensei is probably going to be late anyway."

"Do you really want to be late on your first day? You might get demoted to genin, you know."

"I wouldn't mind that, as long as I'm placed in your squad. You would make me do whatever you want then." Naruto grinned evilly, giving Fu's ass another squeeze.

"Mmm..." the mint-haired girl leaned in. "I think I like that idea..." She kissed him briefly, before standing up. "Come on, let's go to bed."

Naruto groaned as he stood up "If Kakashi-sensei is late tomorrow, I'm going to castrate him."

Fu grinned wickedly "Oh and I'll help. We will even burn his collection in front of him while we're at it."

Kakashi turned a page of the new edition of his beloved book, "Icha Icha tactics" when he felt an eerie feeling settle in his gut. He couldn't help but feel a bit scared for his babies. Something was telling him horrible things would befall them if he was late for tomorrow's team meeting. Obito would have to forgive him, he wouldn't stay for too long in front of the memorial stone tomorrow. He was sure his old friend would understand.

As the lights into the bedroom went off and the couple went to sleep, a lone figure outside the window kept scribbling furiously in a notebook. Jiraiya's eyes had turned into a pair of ryo as he muttered to himself "Brilliant! Gold! No, this is better. This is diamonds!" Of course, he would need to spice up the ending a bit. He couldn't believe they didn't do it after something like that. It doesn't matter though, those scenes he was already good at.

With the tremendous success that was his most recent book, Jiraiya had almost kicked himself, when he realized he should have made the two Jinchuriki date sooner. Oh, the profits he would have made then. Still, from what he had 'accidentally' observed tonight, the perverted sage was certain the sequel would be an even greater hit.