Chapter 17-Vanquishing Evil

Naruto felt himself awakening in his family home in Konoha. Quite a few days since the events in Iron Country, the failure of the Akatsuki in pulling out a decisive victory over the newly made Shinobi Alliance, and bringing the Shinobi Way down upon itself to bring about their version of peace. Since that time, Naruto had been treated by Tsunade for the poisonous spores that Zetsu had unleashed at his face, and the hallucinogenic properties it entailed. When asked about what he saw by Tsunade, the Uzumaki had just told her they were just old ghosts, and demons of the past. Naruto had assured her that none of these things had no real power over his mind because he would have lashed out at them before unleashing his rage at Zetsu.

After that, Tsunade told Naruto he needed to take some time off to let his mind recover from what happened to him with Zetsu. Naruto didn't mind. He did want to relax for a few days while the Hokage coordinated plans with the other Kages to take down Obito and his slowly growing army of White Zetsu Clones. There was no word from Pein or Konan, meaning the two were in this fight to the end, or quite possibly...Obito took them both out with the Rinnegan now in the Uchiha's hands.

Neither possibility looking good regardless of how you sliced it.

"You're thinking too hard. I could sense it in my sleep," murmured Ayane, as she looked at him, and smirked at how he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Since when could you read my mind?" asked Naruto with amusement in his voice.

"I wasn't reading your mind. I was reading your face. Or rather your eyes. You have that intense look in your eyes when something serious is on your mind," explained Ayane while Naruto sighed and let out a chuckle.

"Nothing gets by you does it Ayane?" asked Naruto with Ayane smiling at him.

"I wouldn't be much of a ninja if it did, right?" countered Ayane with Naruto nodding.

"True," replied Naruto while Ayane moved closer.

"So what is the problem?" asked Ayane while Naruto's smile left him and became serious again.

"Pein and Konan," answered Naruto with Ayane frowning.

"From the Akatsuki?" asked Ayane with Naruto nodding.

"The very same. I have a feeling that they are either dead or I was unable to convince the two of them to abandon the Akatsuki's purpose," said Naruto sadly while Ayane nodded.

Their thoughts on the matter were ended when a knock at the bedroom made their heads turn and see it open slightly to see Karin put her head through. She saw them in bed and blushed since could only imagine what they did last night while feeling a bit of envy since she wanted a piece of Naruto. Sadly, she had to play the waiting game a little while longer since Ayane was the one who knew Naruto the longest.

"Hey uh just so you guys know, the Haku girl representing the Mizukage is here, and so is that crazy Anko chick. The two look like they are ready to fight each other so you may want to get them to stop before they get violent," said Karin while Naruto groaned and so did Ayane.

"We will be right down Karin. Thank you," replied Naruto while Karin nodded before her eyes lingered on his body a bit before retracting her head and shutting the door.

"So many women. First Haku, then that Anko lady, followed by Inuzuka Hana, Guren, Fu, your cousin Karin, and the Hyuuga girl you rescued from some bullies well over a decade ago. Hinata was it? And that is what has happened so far since we both came to the Elemental Countries. Oh how will you or rather I handle so many competitive women trying to lay claim to such a wonderful man?" remarked Ayane while she heard Naruto groan again since he was no doubt feeling this was karma for teasing Ryu about his own women problems.

"We will handle this together Ayane. I wouldn't be much of a Clan Head if I just let my future wife do all the work, would I?" asked Naruto with Ayane smiling since the news of her being his future wife wasn't new to her in the slightest.

He had asked her to marry him when they were alone in Iron Country and had some time to themselves away from everyone else. Of course Ayane said yes, leaped into his arms, kissed Naruto passionately, and was clearly overjoyed in being his wife. Of course, the woman expressed her concerns regarding the other women in Naruto's life, and the CRA he was under due to the Elemental Countries International Shinobi Laws to help keep any near extinct clans from dying out. Naruto however, made sure she knew that any such women in his life married him for him, and not simply for the wealth or power his clan had on either side of his family.

"Good. I know the women falling for you now are doing it for all the right reasons, but I still worry about other Shinobi villages like Kumo, or even Iwa since they have...history with your family that is far from positive," replied Ayane since she had heard about what Kumo tried twice already with rare or exotic bloodlines and Iwa would probably desire to see the Yondaime Hokage's son die without an Heir to his name.

"The price of freedom and happiness is eternal vigilance Ayane. We will just have to be careful in protecting our home and stay strong," said Naruto while Ayane nodded before she slowly got out of bed and headed for the shower.

"Care to join me?" asked Ayane with Naruto smirking and got off the bed too.

"Naturally," replied Naruto with the two entering the large bathroom and large shower to clean themselves off.

After getting slightly dirtier of course.

(With Anko and Haku)

"Look here little Miss Prim and Proper, Naruto-kun is going with me on a date today. I called it before he left Konoha to escort Hokage-sama to the Kage Summit. So you will just have to wait your turn just like every other girl! Got it?!" said Anko while poking the slightly shorter woman in the shoulder as Karin, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Guren watching.

"Should we do something?" asked Jugo while seeing Haku smiling that ever innocent smile that seemed like she was completely calm despite Anko's actions.

"Are you shitting me? I've seen that look before on a few women back in Kiri. The new Mizukage is one of them. That's the kind of woman you don't fuck with!" whispered Suigetsu while seeing Haku have that smile on her face while slowly reaching up and grabbing the finger Anko was using to poke her shoulder.

Before squeezing and twisting it.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" exclaimed Anko like a child while Haku kept that smile on her face.

"Oh I got it Anko-san. But you will find that I have wait for MY time with Naruto-kun for quite some time now. If anything, you will have to wait for your date like the other girls waiting in line. Do you understand Anko-san?" countered Haku in a sweet tone while Anko was hopping on one foot due to her being off balance with her finger being twisted along with her arm.

"I'm getting the distinct impression this is going to be happening...a lot!" stated Naruto while Haku smiled at him before throwing Anko over her shoulder like it was the most natural thing to do.

"You see my point? Don't get between a woman like that and what she wants," whispered Suigetsu to Jugo.

"I'm sorry, did you say something Suigetsu-san?" asked Haku in a sweet tone that would make Terumi Mei proud.

"What? Me?! No. No! NO! I uh...I was just leaving! Yes, leaving to uh...to uh do...stuff! Yeah! Do some stuff. Bye!" exclaimed Suigetsu before running out of the room while the others sweat dropped.

"What a strange man. He reminds me of Ao when speaking to the Mizukage about certain mattes. I wonder why?" remarked Haku offhandedly while the sweat drops on everyone else grew bigger.

"So you want to go on a date with Naruto-kun," said Ayane while Haku turned to look at Ayane and held back the powerful urge to shove several senbon needles into the violet haired ninja's neck.

"Yes. I know it may seem strange to ask such a thing given how long its been since we saw each other in a rare peaceful moment in time, but the boy I met all those years ago stole a piece of my heart, and has made my heart grow fonder. It grew fonder despite the fact you said to me that the odds of you returning to the Elemental Countries was slim to none. When you returned, my heart fluttered with happiness because you were back, and I wanted to pursue a possible relationship. I know you are in a relationship with Ayane-san here, but I was hoping you could open your heart to me as well," replied Haku while approaching Naruto and saw his eyes were a kind blue shade now when in contrast to the hard blue ones she had seen when in combat.

When he had moved to strike down Zetsu.

"I will admit, I have thought about you during the three years I was away Haku. I would often remember your smile, the kind gentle aura you gave off, and your belief in fighting for those previous to you. From what I have seen since our first encounter three years ago, you have not only grown stronger, but are smarter, and become more beautiful in your own way that makes you unique," replied Naruto with Haku now finding herself blushing heavily at his words.

'Damn he's a smooth talker. The girl looks about 5 seconds away from jumping him and kissing his face off,' thought Anko while she watched everything play out.

"So to answer the question that has no doubt plagued your heart for quite some time...yes, I would be honored to go out on a date with you," answered Naruto with Haku looking like ready to explode with joy.

"Called it! Pay up," whispered Karin to Guren, who grumbled about Uzumakis being lucky, and how them gambling should be made illegal.

She clearly never met Tsunade.

"Since its a bit early for our date, we can have it later this afternoon. I have business at the Hokage Tower at the T&I Department that cannot be avoided," added Naruto with Haku nodding in understanding.

"Yes! I can escort you there since that place is where I work!" exclaimed Anko from her sitting position with a grin that told everyone there just how happy she truly was for this opportune moment to be with the blonde Uzumaki.

'I wonder if I can kill her and make it look like an accident?' thought Haku while trying to think up various ways to kill Anko yet make sure it wasn't traced back to her.

"Don't worry Haku. Anko has to be a professional kunoichi while going with Naruto-kun to the Hokage Tower. Which means she has to wait for her date after your own," said Ayane, as she saw Anko deflate at this news while Haku seemed to have calmed down on a mental level...if only slightly.

She would still be finding ways to kill the older woman and wait for an excuse to use one of them.

(Hokage Tower-T&I Department)

Hatake Kakashi was bound with chakra draining shackles, his chakra temporarily sealed, and his headband covering his Sharingan Eye was removed. However, the headband was replaced by a metal plate locked in place, and had seals on it for good measure to ensure the eye didn't work in case Kakashi tried anything. He was dressed in the clothing of a ninja prisoner and the only thing he got to keep that was officially his was the mask he usually wore.

"I have nothing left to say to any of you. Your wasting my time," whispered Kakashi with his head down in front of the Hokage, Ibiki, Anko, Inoichi, and Naruto currently in the room with Neko along with her ANBU unit.

"You're not here to talk Kakashi. Just to listen," said Tsunade before glancing at Naruto and gave him a nod.

"Uchiha Obito is alive," stated Naruto, which made Kakashi's look up at him in shock, and disbelief.

"What? That's impossible! I saw Obito die with my own eyes. So did Rin. It was in our report when we told Minato-sensei when the mission was over!" replied Kakashi while he saw Naruto shake his head.

"A member of the Akatsuki verified it. Obito is the masked man who attacked my Father that night and caused a certain Biju to go on a rampage," countered Naruto with Kakashi looking like he had been stabbed in the gut by one of Kyuubi's claws while Inoichi did a projection of the memory the Hokage had of the confession made by Zetsu.

"How? Why didn't he come back to Konoha? Why betray Minato-sensei like that?" asked Kakashi, but it was more to himself, and it was clear to the others in the room this news was overwhelming his mind.

"We don't know. But we want to find out and I'm betting you do to, right Kakashi?" said Naruto with Kakashi since he did want to know why Obito had done this.

"As things stand Kakashi, I should lock you away in our prison in a place so deep, even Uchiha Madara, or Obito won't be able to set you free. However, it is because Obito is a threat to us, and the world as a whole with his plans that we need everyone capable of fighting this threat on the front lines. Meaning you will be given a chance to redeem yourself and the fact you tried to kill Minato's only child. Given what Inoichi learned, it is clear you were on the fence before knowing he was your sensei's son, and MY former sensei gave you the needed push to hate Naruto for what he held," said Tsunade with the man nodding since it had been the case when talking to the former Sandaime Hokage in the hospital when the old man was alive.

"I need to be out there. I need to find Obito. To get him to explain himself. I need to know what happened to cause him to betray everything we believed in," said Kakashi with Tsunade looking him right in the eye before she nodded to Ibiki to remove his shackles.

"Know this Kakashi, you get this one chance at redemption. You betray me or Naruto in anyway, and you will be wishing it was you who got their body crushed by that boulder all those years ago," replied Tsunade with Kakashi nodding.

"Since you are the only other person left with a Sharingan outside of Obito, we need to know just what your eye can do. Chances are whatever yours can do, Obito can do as well, and more if he has had time to practice honing his skills," said Naruto with the man nodding since he had no problem with that.

As good as he was with the Sharingan, Kakashi knew Obito will have no doubt learned how to use his own in a way that made the silver haired ninja's skills seem like that of a novice by comparison.

"I won't betray you Hokage-sama. Not when the chance to set things right is within my grasp," said Kakashi with Tsunade narrowing her eyes at him before she glanced over at Naruto, who nodded in agreement, and would trust the man.

For now.

"Go to your home and get dressed. We will be coordinating with the other Kages soon and I need to find a way to add you to the plan to take Obito down," ordered Tsunade with the Jounin nodding once the seals were disabled and the Jounin was gone.

"Can we trust him?" asked Anko while Inoichi and Naruto frowned.

"Maybe. Kakashi's mind was troubled with what we just told him. It was too jumbled to read properly," said Inoichi while Naruto was deep in thought before turning his attention to them.

"It doesn't matter if we can trust him or not. What matters is he is part of the plan in a way that he can't turn on us when confronting Uchiha Obito," replied Naruto with the others in the room agreeing.

"And if he tries just for the Hell of it? Or if his mind snaps and Obito convinces him to join the Akatsuki's cause?" asked Anko since she was only saying the one thing everyone was thinking.

"Then the man will be killed...by me," answered Naruto darkly before leaving the room and leaving the other ninja in the room to think over what he just told them.

(Days Later)

The next few days flew by rather quickly for most of Konoha, the news of the entire ninja populace ranked Chuunin, Jounin, or higher gearing up for a major conflict. All Chuunin level ninja were told to prepare a defensive position within Konoha and using the Genin to help defend the village while the more veteran ninja were going on the offensive in the soon to be conflict. Also, since Konoha was in need of an active Hokage to run things in the village until her return, Tsunade appointed Asuma as temporary Hokage, much to the surprise of many ninja due to the fact the man's Father had been revealed to be less then honorable. However, Tsunade was willing to give Asuma a chance to redeem his family name, and give Konohamaru a new Sarutobi to look up to.

As for Naruto, he went on a date with Haku, who spent the entire day she had with him, and got to know each other better. They talked and talked and talked some more the whole time when walking around Konoha or eating at a nearby restaurant. Haku would talk when she wasn't listening to everything Naruto told her about the world beyond the Elemental Countries. As strong as their side of the world was, the other sections of the world were far more advanced in many ways. The use of chakra was the only real edge the Elemental Countries as a whole had in terms of repelling any kind of possible outside interference to their known way of life. Haku was actually enthralled by what Naruto had done when fighting in the Underworld where according to him was a place where Fiends and even certain ninja have been sent for their...less honorable actions.

As for Haku, she told him about the war in Kiri to overthrow Yagura, and later finding out the man was in fact a puppet used by what they now realized was Uchiha Obito. When Naruto asked how they discovered Yagura was a pawn in a grander scheme made by the Uchiha to weaken Kiri internally, Haku explained how they found a journal left by Yagura. How the Genjutsu created by the Sharingan that Obito used appeared to weaken every so often, and it gave Yagura just enough time to write things down. It had been a tad strange for the Rebels of Kiri to come to terms with what was discovered since they had always assumed Yagura was a twisted heartless monster, but was in fact made like that by an even bigger one.

Naruto could understand that. It wasn't easy to hate someone and then find out the hatred you felt was misplaced due to other outside forces. For a time, Naruto did hate his parents for a short time for sealing the fox inside of his body, and even the Biju himself despite the rampage being influenced by the Sharingan. But over time, Naruto made peace with them since his parents died saving him, and Kurama being used multiple times by others when not sealed away inside a human vessel.

Such hatred for them and what they did was pointless to hold onto in his mind.

After their date, Haku wanted to have another one soon. Sometime before they had to go on what could be the final mission of their lives. Naruto agreed and made plans for that. Of course, no sooner had they done that did the other girls in his life starting fighting, and quite literally too over who got the next date. Naruto sighed at their antics, as he didn't want things to blow too far out of proportion, and decided to take matters into his own hands.

And chose to take Hinata out on a date, to the shock of the others. When they asked why, Naruto told them that out of all the girls currently fighting over him like dogs fighting for meat on a bone, Hinata had basically decided to not participate in their struggle. It made all the women in his life seeking a romantic relationship with him to suddenly deflate in shame at how fan girl like they had become.

They promised not to be that way when in front of him and that they would try to get along with each other.

As for Hinata, she was excited to have her date with Naruto, and the woman got to know more about the blonde Uzumaki while on their date. The entire time they were near each other, the Hyuuga woman couldn't stop blushing, and tried hard not to stutter around him. Naruto thought it was cute and told her to calm down at one point since he didn't want the woman to trip over herself in anything she said to him. Of course, the entire time they were on said date, Neji was watching them from the roof with hawk like eyes, and being a protective cousin making sure nothing bad happened to Hinata.

Not that Neji actually believed Naruto would do anything to Hinata, but Hiashi had gone into "overprotective Father" mode regardless of this, and commanded the young ninja to observe from a distance. So far, Hinata was enjoying Naruto's company, and Naruto was enjoying hers despite his presence making the young kunoichi into a stuttering mess at times. It was clear Hinata was becoming smitten by Naruto an was trying to make a good impression upon him despite the shyness she was showing.

All in all, Neji could tell from his observations that the two were happy about being on this date with the other, and wanted to do it again. His report to Hiashi made Neji see the older man was contemplating this idea since everyone now knew of Naruto's heritage and such a marriage would make the Hyuuga Clan's influence stronger because of it. Not that Hiashi planned to use such a union for such purposes, but he would be blind to not see just what was implied by such an outcome that the Hyuuga Elders were no doubt thinking about, and drooling over in the shadows.

Whether or not Naruto stayed in Konoha once this ordeal with the Akatsuki ended was still in the air, as the village had not been kind to the blonde Uzumaki in the past. Hiashi knew all too well from his own experiences that the past has a way of biting people in the ass when they least expect it and knows no rank or clan status. It happened to the Uchiha Clan, it happened to the Sandaime, the civilians, the Shinobi, and everyone else here in the Leaf who had screwed Naruto over.

'Minato, you once told me never to make assumptions about people at first glance. To try keeping an open mind, but also prepare for possible repercussions. To see things from a narrow point of view was to risk going blind regardless of our bloodline. It is because of you I was able to marry my wife and have two lovely daughters in the process,' thought Hiashi, as he just hoped Konoha's actions, and his inactions in protecting Naruto when he was a child didn't hurt his daughter's own chance at happiness.

(Hokage Tower-Four Days Later)

"How is she?" asked Naruto while seeing the slumped female figure currently lying on the ground, covered in blood, and gripping a jar filled with preservation liquid that was keeping a pair of eyes from decaying.

"Alive, but just barely. Whoever hurt her was holding back to get his hands on what is in her hands," answered Tsunade while she and Shizune were using their skills to heal the woman to the point where death wouldn't have a chance at claiming her.

The woman in question?

Konan of the Akatsuki.

"He...killed...Nagato," whispered Konan despite the pain she was in from three broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, and a bruise covering half of her face.

"For the Rinnegan Eyes," said Naruto since he recognized the eyes easily in the jar she was clutching.

"Yes," whispered Konan, as she recalled the conversation Nagato had with Obito, and how the two fought while she escaped.

Or what Obito thought was an escape.

(Flashback)

"So you are abandoning the Akatsuki. Just like that? After everything I have done for you and the organization? After everything we have done together?" asked Obito after the two founders of the organization called him out on his identity even after revealing his scarred face to them.

"The Akatsuki is no longer what it once was Obito. It has become a perversity of its former self. We can no longer support its reasons or purpose for existing," said Konan with Obito glancing at her before focusing on Pein.

"And you are in agreement with this?" asked Obito before he saw the other Paths to Pein surrounding him.

"I do. Naruto made a lot of sense to me. I have nearly betrayed myself because of you. I was walking a path of your choosing. To fulfill your desires. Your ambitions. You never intended to bring everlasting peace. Whatever your plans are, they do not involve the end of war," replied Pein with Obito smirking at him in a mocking looking way.

"Your right. I never intended to bring about your so called 'peace' and ending war with the statue. The plan I mentioned in using the statue as a Super Weapon to bring every single person in line to stop fighting in pointless wars was a lie. My plan does involve ending wars and bringing about peace, but on MY terms, and in MY world which I feel I must admit to you that neither of your souls has any room in it," said Obito before giving the two an explanation into what his real plan for the statue holding all but three Biju once it was filled.

"You're insane. Robbing people of their freewill in a world wide Genjutsu and being what you want them to be all for one dead person as you remember them is an abomination," said Konan while Obito scoffed.

"As if your way was any better. Oppressing them through fear and force is hardly an end to war and brining about true peace. Granted, I put that idea in your heads, but you still went along with it. Besides, I know if you were in my position, you would use such a plan to bring your previous Yahiko back to life," countered Obito before he was violently sent flying by Pein's Shinra Tensei into a wall.

"No. We wouldn't," said Pein while Obito got off the ground, wiping the blood off the side of his mouth, and kept smirking at them.

"And you know this...how?" asked Obito since he knew these two very well during his time interacting with them.

"Because we know Yahiko. We know what HE would want and what we stood for when forming the Akatsuki. He gave his life so we could live to bring about a better tomorrow. A better tomorrow does not involving turning the world into an illusion where nothing is real and everyone is robbed of their own individual identities," said Pein while Obito just snarled at them.

"So you wish to honor your dead comrade. Fine! You have your own way of honoring the dead and I have mine. The only difference is mine will be forever while you two won't even exist and neither will your precious Yahiko!" exclaimed Obito while Pein narrowed his eyes at him before glancing at Konan, who looked at him, and a silent communication went on between them before the woman vanished in a swirl of paper.

"One way or another, you will not succeed in your plans," replied Pein with Obito now scoffing at him.

"I already have succeeded. For the most part. All I need are your eyes. Or at least one of your eyes to bring about the next stage of the plan. As for Konan, she won't make it out of Ame alive. Though I will be sure to give her a proper goodbye for you Pein. It is the very least I could do for her after so many years of loyal service to the Akatsuki," replied Obito with Pein narrowing his eyes at him.

"My name Obito is Uzumaki Nagato! A proud member of the Uzumaki Clan!" countered Nagato while Obito snarled at him.

"So the Uzumaki in you has finally made itself known. How nice of it to do so," mocked Obito with his Sharingan Eye active.

"My only regret is I didn't bring it out sooner," countered Nagato while Paths got ready for a fight.

"You cannot win Nagato. For all your supposed strength and mastery over the Rinnegan, you are nothing compared to me," said Obito while Nagato actually surprised him by just smirking through Yahiko's body.

"And for all of your subtle manipulations, plans, and schemes you clearly underestimate the mind of an Uzumaki," said Nagato in a knowing tone while Obito frowned in thought before his eyes widened and used Kamui to go to the real Nagato.

(End Flashback)

"Nagato gave you the eyes? But...wouldn't that cut off his connection to the other Paths he uses?" asked Shizune with Konan nodding weakly.

"Yes. But by the time Obito got to me, I had just finished removing the Rinnegan from Nagato, and fled with them. If not for the emergency barrier we designed to protect him should all the other Paths fail, the Uchiha would have gotten to me, and I would be dead right now. He caught up to me later as I fled and nearly got me if not for the swarm of paper bombs I was able to unleash at the last moment. He didn't expect me to use it so close to myself and I managed to catch him in a rare moment of surprise at the cost of my current condition," explained Konan while she handed the jar to Naruto, who took it, and examined the eyes in front of him.

The Rinnegan. The eyes of the Sage of Sixth Paths. Said eyes that were used by Nagato. Uchiha Madara's eyes in the body of an Uzumaki no less.

"How long will it take for her injuries to heal?" asked Naruto with Tsunade looking at him in surprise though only for a second.

"You intend for her to fight beside us in this conflict," concluded Tsunade with Naruto nodding.

"If its possible for her to fight then yes. We do need every single ninja available to us to fight Obito. Who better to help in this conflict then one of the former members of the Akatsuki?" replied Naruto with Tsunade not looking so sure.

"But she could be a spy," countered Shizune while Naruto shook his head no.

"There was no lying in Konan when she told us this story of her escape. She was able to get us the Rinnegan, which Obito needs right now. He needs these eyes to be implanted in him to bring back Uchiha Madara. Since we know the Edo Tensei is out of his reach, these eyes are the key to the man's return. The only question now is...do we destroy these eyes? Or do we possibly preserve them for future study and understanding?" said Naruto while Konan looked sad since she knew those eyes had been apart of Nagato for so long and the idea of destroying them would ultimately destroy what was left of the Uzumaki she had known since childhood.

"Destroy them," said Tsunade while Konan winced at how she sounded when it came to those eyes.

"Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune in surprise since the Rinnegan was a Dojutsu of legend and was rumored to be the eyes of the Sage himself.

"She's right Shizune. While I'm sure Tsunade would like nothing more then to study these exceedingly rare and mythical eyes...such things are far too great to be left in the hands of those who don't understand a fraction of its power. Uchiha Madara first had these before implanting them into Nagato. Uchiha Obito wants them to bring about further darkness to the world in order get what he wants. Whoever wields the Rinnegan will wield the power of the Sage of Six Paths. So far, three people have wielded this Dojutsu, and sadly two of them have done too much damage to this world," said Naruto with Konan nodding since she knew Madara was one and Nagato under the alias Pein was the other.

"Give them to me," Tsunade ordered and took the jar into her hands before crushing the eyes and the jar in her hands.

"I know you feel sad in losing these eyes Konan. Given who they once belonged to when you were in the Akatsuki. But its better then having Obito somehow infiltrate Konoha and somehow take them from us. The Rinnegan was not meant for mortals," said Naruto, as he saw Konan nod slowly while shedding tears over the last piece of Nagato, and knew it was for the best.

"I will help you in anyway possible. Whatever it is you ask of me," said Konan knowing her help would increase the Shinobi Alliances chances of victory of going up.

"Welcome aboard," replied Naruto, as he extended his hand to Konan, and she took it before standing with a little help from Shizune to ensure she didn't fall over.

"You have much to answer for Konan-san. When this war is over, make no mistake that I will see to it that you answer for everything," warned Tsunade with Konan nodding.

"I know and I will pay what I owe. Until then, I need to recover in order to help you, and the Shinobi Alliance win against this Uchiha," replied Konan while Naruto easily made a Shadow Clone to escort the woman to his home, which would be a safe place for her to recover, and maybe have Karin use her own powers to accelerate the healing process.

"Keep an eye on her Naruto. I won't have our plan to take down the Akatsuki jeopardized due to a sleeper agent or spy for Obito," said Tsunade with Naruto nodding since there was always a distinct possibility of such a thing happening.

"I know. Don't worry," said Naruto before he left to handle other things.

Like some training for the upcoming fight with Uchiha Obito.

(Weeks Later)

The village of Ame was once a proud village. While considered minor by the rest of the Elemental Countries, it had been ruled by the ninja warlord Hanzo the Salamander. Only to be replace by his successor (via use of force) known to all only as Pein. Ame was able to thrive under both Hanzo and Pein with many assuming they would one day become a major Shinobi village in a few years if given enough time.

And they probably would have too...if not for one simple problem.

Uchiha Obito had decided to wipe out Ame with his White Zetsu Clone army and blow up the entire village afterwards. It was not his village so he had no need for it to be even standing and given how the populace loved Pein along with Konan to a fanatical, they would no doubt side with the latter once they learned of the former's death by his hands.

Obito couldn't have that. Not in the slightest.

Even now, his army marched under his command, the statue of Juubi being the only thing from Ame still intact, and the waiting to be summoned once he had all three remaining Jinchuriki brought down. It would take a long time for him to extract each Biju from each body using just himself to start the transfer, but once his enemies were dead, or almost all of them dead...he would have all the time in the world.

And then? And then Rin would be returned to him.

As his massive White Zetsu Clone army marched toward his intended destination that was the Shinobi Alliance's gathered army, Obito knew he had to take down the heavy hitters first. Break the Shinobi Alliance's moral by crushing their Kages and all those roughly on par with them so the weaker ninja would run away in absolute fear. Not that he would let them get too far, as his army would cut them down like grass, and build a mountain from their corpses with him at the top. He would use the Moon Eye Plan to make the world his own since reviving Madara was now out of the question to make it work by using the chakra of the Biju to stimulate his Sharingan Eyes into the Rinnegan. Once done, Obito would begin his version of the Moon Eye Plan, and rule the world with Rin by his side as he knew her.

And nothing on this Earth was going to stop him from making his dream a reality.

"Summoning Jutsu!" exclaimed Naruto, as he summoned Gamabunta into battle from a nearby cliff, and the massive toad leaped from his position to land hard to flatten a good portion of the White Zetsu Clones there.

'What?! How is Minato's brat here? The Shinobi Alliance wasn't suppose to be this close!' thought Obito before he found his army being attacked from all sides by ninja and their animal summons.

"Charka Shockwave Slash!" exclaimed Mifune, as he was cutting down White Zetsu Clones at every turn, and his fellow samurai doing the same.

"Ōkamaitachi!' exclaimed Temari, as she unleashed a massive Wind Jutsu with her fan that was cutting through every single target in her path.

"Doton: Doryūsō!" exclaimed Kurotsuchi, as she launched spikes of solid stone at her targets, and saw them killing multiple Zetsu Clones with each spike.

'How annoying,' thought Obito, as he saw the Shinobi Alliance was unleashing quite a few heavy hitters into his army, and it was clear someone had provided the group with the needed Intel to prepare for this ambush.

And there was only one person left outside of himself who could.

"Paper Chakram!" exclaimed Konan, as she launched the circular weapon made of paper at Obito, who used his power over Space Time Manipulation, and let it go right through him.

"You disappoint me Konan. I expected better from you. At least know when you die, the other pitiful souls Yahiko, and Nagato you love so much will be there waiting for you...in HELL!" exclaimed Obito angrily before unsheathing his or rather what had been Uchiha Madara's own sword and charged at the woman.

Only to see her turn into a Paper Clone when he slashed her in half along the waist.

"Paper Ocean Technique!" exclaimed Konan from behind Obito, who turned around to see a massive wave of paper to his left and right side of him, and scowled at her for using such a move that he could easily get away from using his Sharingan.

'Stupid woman. Even with all that paper, I can easily get out of it in an instant,' thought Obito before narrowed his eyes at the paper, only to go wide in horror at seeing what was on the paper.

Explosive tags. Approximately six billion explosive tags to be precise.

Not only that, but the move Konan used denied Obito, and his Zetsu army caught in there with him no foothold to escape the seemingly endless chasm underneath him. It was at this point in time, Obito realized this move was designed to last long after a few seconds, but rather several minutes, and to the Uchiha it meant the woman was trying to counter his five minute intangibility.

And she had him dead to rights.

"Damn! That is one powerful move!" stated Anko, as she was on top of a giant snake, and saw the damage the woman was doing.

"Yosh! Konan-san has the Flames of Youth burning brightly in her! I will do my best to match it!" exclaimed Gai while Lee looked just as fired up and they probably would have hugged.

If not for the enemy in front of them and Tenten yelling at them to not hug while in the middle of a large scale battle. Honestly, those two Konoha Shinobi needed to prioritize their hugging moments, and give people warnings.

As for Ayane, she was slicing through her enemy with ease using the two Fuma Kodachis in her hands, and those she didn't slice apart had their neck's broken via a sharp kick to the head. Several White Zetsu Clones were destroyed via kunai with an explosive tags on them. Beside her, Fu was mowing down the White Zetsu Clones with a frenzy few could match, and she was coated in the chakra of her seven-tailed Biju.

Nearby, A along with Bee were tearing up the army around them using their specialty in tagged team coordination, and watching each other's backs. Their combined might added to the teamwork enabled them to cause maximum damage to the enemy. Samui, Karui, and Omoi were also working in the same manner in a triple team formation to cut through the seemingly infinite number of White Zetsus around them.

The Mizukage Terumi Mei was melting her enemies with her bloodlines while Zabuza was having the time of his life cutting up the Zetsu army into tiny pieces. The day before, the two had a nice loooong talk about their future once this was over, and by the time it was over Mei had convinced (forced/threatened) Zabuza to marry her. She wanted to be married, have a man at her side, a child if not children to call her own, and by Kami's big fat tits Terumi Mei was going to make sure that happened!

Haku and Hinata were currently working together in surprising fashion, as both women were back to back in combat stances, and looking at the enemy that surrounded them. The two looked at each other for a moment before nodding and sprang into action in taking down one White Zetsu Clone after another. The two had come to an understanding regarding Naruto, as they knew the blonde did not want any of his possible future wives to fight over him like a piece of meat on a bone, and decided to do what they needed to do in order to prove their worth to him.

And boy did it pay off. The only thing that they did in secret when this battle started was make a secret bet between them on who would sleep with Naruto first after this was over. They basically bet the other that the one with the most White Zetsu Clones killed would have that special honor between them.

"You have lost Obito," said Konan after the five minutes was up and her technique had ended with the Uchiha nowhere to be found.

"Have I?" asked Obito behind a surprised Konan before she turned and saw his one of his two Sharingan Eyes simply die out like the fire from a candle snuffed out.

"How did you survive my attack? I know your Space Time Manipulation using your eyes last for five minutes and my technique lasted longer then that," said Konan before she was grabbed by the throat and saw Obito was not amused.

"You forget, I have Senju blood in me that when mixed with my Uchiha bloodline allows me to us moves forbidden even by the Uchiha Clan. The one I just used was the Izanagi, which is a Genjutsu I used on myself to control my state of existence. I will admit, if I had not used that move, your Paper Ocean Technique would have worked, and I would be dead. It may have cost me one of my Sharingan Eyes, but it was worth it to snap your pretty neck," remarked Obito before dodging a sword strike made by Naruto, but used his intangibility when the Uzumaki followed up with a kick aimed at his head.

But in becoming intangible to avoid the hit, Konan was able to get free from his grip, and Obito now suspected that was the plan when Naruto attacked him.

"I wonder what my Father would say if he saw you now?" remarked Naruto while Obito frowned at him.

"You can ask him yourself in the afterlife...when I kill you!" exclaimed Obito before he clashed his sword against Naruto's own two swords.

"Obito!" exclaimed Kakashi at the sight of his former comrade fighting his late sensei's son.

"Oh good! You're here too Kakashi. I'm so thrilled! I've been wanting to rip your guts out for quite some time!" exclaimed Obito, who mentally cursed since he was half blind due to his one eye being sacrificed to perform the Izanagi.

While he could easily become transparent again, it was not really something he wanted to use unless necessary, and given how Konan knew of his time limit...he couldn't afford to use the Izanagi again. The last thing Obito wanted to be right now in this fight with the Shinobi Alliance was blind over being dead.

"Why Obito? Why did you betray Konoha? Betray Minato-sensei? Betray Rin? Betray me?" asked Kakashi while Obito pushed Naruto away and glared at Kakashi.

"Betrayed? You want to talk about being betrayed? I was betrayed first! By you of all people Kakashi!" said Obito while Kakashi looked shocked.

"But...how did I betray you? I would never betray you!" protested Kakashi before he was forced to jump back or risk being cut in half.

"But you did! You betrayed me by breaking your promise!" countered Obito before he had to block Naruto's swing and kicked Kakashi in the ribs.

"What?! What are you talking about? What promise?!" asked Kakashi while trying to understand what the man was referring to.

"I'm talking about the promise you made to me when I was about to die! I'm talking about the promise you made to me about protecting Rin!" Obito shot back at Kakashi with the silver haired masked man looking shocked.

"What do you mean? I protected Rin long after we thought you died," countered Kakashi with Obito repelling Naruto yet again and moved to kill his former teammate.

"Liar! You filthy liar! I saw you that day Kakashi. I saw you the day Rin died! I SAW HOW YOU USED YOUR FAMOUS LIGHTNING JUTSU AND STABBED RIN-CHAN RIGHT THROUGH THE HEART!" yelled Obito angrily while trying to kill the shocked Leaf Jounin with Madara's giant fan shaped sword.

"You saw that?!" whispered Kakashi, as he just barely dodged the attack, and saw Obito was getting even more pissed off.

"Oh I saw it Kakashi. I saw it and my Sharingan Eyes recorded it. Every second of every moment leading up to her death by your hands was burned into my brain. YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE!" exclaimed Obito with Kakashi looking like someone had just run him over with a train from Spring Country.

"You don't understand. I had no choice. Kiri had turned Rin into a temporary Jinchuriki of the three-tailed Biju and intended for the demon to be released upon her return to the village so it could destroy us. I had no choice. I didn't want to kill her!" protested Kakashi while Obito scoffed at his excuse.

"Such a lame excuse. Minato-sensei was one of the best Seal Masters Konoha has ever had. Not to mention Jiraiya and Kushina were Seal Masters too. They could have done something to strengthen her seal or made sure it didn't kill her once the Biju was removed to someone else! You chose the easy way out Kakashi! You always chose the easy way out when making choices! You never took the hard road because you never had the drive or desire to take it! To take the risks! That is why you will always be weak!" exclaimed Obito with Kakashi wincing since that was partially true in him taking the easy way out of situations.

"And what does that make you regarding Rin?" questioned Naruto using the Biju Sword to knock Obito's sword away for a clean shot and then attempted to cut into him using the Blade of the Archfiend.

While the sword itself didn't hurt Obito when he went transparent, the energy behind it did actually shock the man, and brought him out of the intangible state he was in. As he staggered back, Obito was shocked to find his intangibility wavering, and yet it still held despite flickers at times of him solidifying. Eyeing the two swords in Naruto's hands, the Uchiha knew these weapons were special, and thus had special properties capable of hurting even him despite the power of his remaining Sharingan Eye.

"What do you mean?" asked Obito with Naruto watching him carefully.

"I mean what does your actions pertaining to bringing back Rin? You are taking the easy way out by wanting her back the way you knew her. Wouldn't it have been easier to just figure out how to do the Edo Tensei from Orochimaru when he was still alive? You had a Sharingan capable of manipulating others via eye contact. Why not learn it from him and use it to bring Rin back from the dead? Why not just bring her back in a way that does not involve so much pointless death?" challenged Naruto with Obito frowning angrily.

"I didn't want to risk Orochimaru fighting me and tipping my hand early," answered Obito before he swung his sword around and smacked Kakashi away from him.

"Now who is making excuses? Perhaps deep down, you knew that she would hate you, or be disgusted by you for using such a Jutsu. Just as you also knew the real Rin would be disgusted by you if she saw what you have become now. That's why you want to make the world under a Genjutsu where everything is to your liking. Where the Rin you can make and control is there. Where the Rin you make isn't judging you. Isn't fighting you. The Rin you make will be a puppet. Will be a girl who nods her head, agrees with just about everything you say, and won't have freewill in any sense in the world. A perfect puppet if there ever was one. If Sasori of the Red Sands were still alive, he would truly be envious of you if he learned of this," countered Naruto with Obito looking enraged beyond measure.

"Silence! Rin would be herself. Rin would be as I knew her to be when we were growing up!" exclaimed Obito while resuming his fighting with Naruto using their swords.

"And what if that Rin you make tried to tell you that living in a fantasy world is not a world worth living in? That she didn't want to live in such a world? Wouldn't the Rin as you knew her asked you such a thing?" challenged Naruto while the Uchiha in front of him snarled angrily.

"What do you know? If you were in my shoes, you would jump at the chance to bring your loved ones back to life, and be with them!" Obito shot back while Naruto's Sword of the Archfiend clashed with the Uchiha's fan like sword.

"What makes you think I'm not? What makes you think I don't wish for my parents to be alive? To see them, hold them, touch them, and hear their voice when talking to me? Do you honestly believe you are the only one here fighting with a pain in their heart that is greater than everyone else's? Tsunade misses her little brother and her lover. Hyuuga Neji misses his Father. Sabaku no Gaara misses his Mother and even the Uncle who tried to kill him years ago. What makes your suffering so profound in a way that it would dwarf everyone else's and thus make your wish the only one worth granting by the Gods high above?" challenged Naruto while Obito looked enraged that his pain and loss were being compared to others who had also lost those close to them.

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" replied Obito before swinging his sword and was blocked by the Blade of the Archfiend while Naruto brought the Biju Sword down on the man's face.

Obito moved away instinctively, as he didn't want to risk his intangibility being useless against such an unknown yet still mystical sword. Which was actually the smart move on his part, as the Biju Sword's ethereal energy surrounding the blade actually allowed it to cut into him despite him phasing out of the physical realm, and what was worse the blade cut through his face where his remaining Sharingan Eye had been.

And made Uchiha Obito blind to the world around him.

"I figured that the Biju Sword could cut through your transparency when it nearly killed Jiraiya when he reversed summoned himself. Such an act transfers your body out of the physical realm in order to take you to your destination. Your intangibility is the midpoint between entering one place and entering another, but you have some form of control in where that location is, and how long you hold it. Now you are without a Sharingan Eye and powerless to stop us from killing off your army," stated Naruto while Obito swung his sword around wildly.

"Damn you!" exclaimed Obito while swinging his weapon around and Naruto easily dodged it.

"I never thought I would see Obito this way," said Kakashi while Obito seemed to slow his movements while clutching the wound Naruto inflicted on him.

"I'm sure Obito never thought he would be unable to see either," said Naruto while the Uchiha paused in his angry swinging all together and was now grinning madly.

"Oh but I can see Kyuubi brat. I see there is at least one Sharingan Eye available to me to use. And ironically enough...that one Sharingan Eye rightfully belongs...TO ME!" stated Obito before he focused his attention on Kakashi from where he heard the man's voice and rushed forward while throwing his sword at Naruto to prevent the blonde from trying to interfere.

"What?!" questioned Kakashi, as he was caught off guard by Obito's actions, and felt the Uchiha's hand on his face where the Sharingan Eye was located.

Before it was violently ripped out of his socket.

"With this eye, with MY Sharingan Eye, and my power along with the Senju blood in my veins, I will do only what only Uchiha Madara was able to do," said Obito while putting the eye in the place of his recently lost one and could see again.

Only this time, the eye was no longer the Sharingan that had been used by Kakashi since he was a young ninja under the tutelage of the future Yondaime Hokage.

'Shit!' thought Naruto when he saw the man turn to face him.

"I now possess the Rinnegan! And with this power I will bring about the end of this war and bring about my dream of peace with Rin returned to me!" exclaimed Obito with the madness showing in his face in the now Rinnegan Eye.

'Why am I not surprised. Kakashi has been using that eye since he had it, plus Obito's own power, mixed with the Senju blood in him would trigger the Rinnegan to awaken,' thought Naruto with a scowl on his face

"Time to die! You and your fellow Jinchuriki will have your Biju extracted and all of the ninja here will die! 'Kuchiyose: Gedō Mazō!'" exclaimed Obito, as he now had a means to bringing the Moon Eye Plan to fruition without Madara being resurrected to aid him in it.

Beneath their feet, the ground shook violently, and soon the Gedō Mazō erupted from the ground stood towering over everyone now staring at it. Man Shinobi looked at it in fear, the sensor based ninja remarked how they felt the chakra of the various Biju within the statue, and were basically trapped within it. Even the Biju within their respected vessels were warning them of what this statue was and what they suspected it entailed should they be caught.

"Not the way I would have liked things to go, but it worked nonetheless. I must thank you Obito for providing me with the means to remove this problem up close and personally with my own two hands," whispered Naruto to the deranged and laughing man, who had stopped laughing when he heard the thanks aimed in his direction.

"What do you mean? I just summoned the very thing that will give me ultimate victory in this war!" stated Obito with Naruto smirking at him.

"Did you now? Or perhaps you did the very thing I was hoping you would do when I cut your face?" questioned Naruto with Obito looking shocked and curious as to what he was talking about.

"You wanted him to summon that thing? Why?!" demanded Kakashi while Naruto just looked at him for a moment before focusing on the statue.

"Why else? To cut open the statue and set all of the Biju in it free!" answered Naruto to the shock of the two ninja near him before he rushed toward the statue.

"NO! YOU WILL NOT CHEAT ME OF MY DESIRES! YOU WILL NOT CHEAT ME OF SEEING RIN AGAIN!" yelled Obito angrily at the blonde Uzumaki, as he moved to grab his sword, and rushed after Naruto with Kakashi trying to follow them both.

The three ninja were now upon the massive statue. One was seeking to destroy the large thing to set the six Biju within the structure free, the second to stop the first in order for his own plans to become reality, and the third? The third was following to see who would come out on top and if his own actions might shape the outcome of the fight.

The Uzumaki and the Uchiha were fighting it out heavily around the statue. Their blades clashing violently, missing their intended targets by mere inches, and clearly fighting for the future they so wanted to make for themselves. The only question now was which future would prevail in this one on one fight between Naruto and Obito. Both connected to the other by the Yondaime Hokage himself. One was the man's student. The other was his son. Both skilled in the ninja arts. Both determined to win. Both fighting for a purpose they believed in with all their hearts.

The only real difference? One was fighting for a purpose greater then himself. The other? Fighting for something that wasn't even real. Just an illusion that would be "made real" in a sense through the power of his mind.

"You will see Rin again. Of that I have no doubt. But what you fail to realize Obito, is the moment in time Rin appears before you isn't because of a world wide Genjutsu creating a false version of her. It is because you are dead and she is waiting to kick your ass in the afterlife for your stupidity!" exclaimed Naruto, as he batted Obito's sword away, and had quickly braced for the Shinra Tensei that the Uchiha launched at him with an outstretched hand.

Flying back, Naruto dug one of his swords into the statue to decrease the distance, never taking his eyes off of Obito, who moved to close the distance between them, and bring the giant fan shaped sword down on the blonde Uzumaki. Naruto quickly dodged to the left, disarmed Obito of the sword by taking the hand holding it off at the wrist, and was met with the Uchiha's hand to his face while feeling the man trying to rip out his soul.

"You will not live past today. I will win! I will make the world in my own image where I am its ruler! Its God! I will bring Rin back, I will even bring Minato-sensei, and Kushina back with my Genjutsu. But what I will NOT do, is bring YOU back Uzumaki Naruto! I will make it so your life is snuffed out at childbirth. That Kushina grieved with Minato-sensei and I was there to comfort them in their time of grief! I will become the son they always wanted. I will have them as parents, I will have Rin as my wife, and I will not be stopped by some brat who is not worthy of calling himself a Shinobi!" exclaimed Obito while trying to rip Naruto's soul out, but the blonde let go of the Biju Sword, and grabbed the hand on his face at the wrist before breaking it.

"I'm not worthy of calling myself a Shinobi? Ha! Says the man trying to recreate the dead girl he loved via a Genjutsu and his memory of her. You are the disgrace. You caused so much needless death all to bring about your ambition. You brought about the Civil War in Kiri, you ripped Kurama out of my Mother, and set him on Konoha. You made sure that my parents died knowing Konoha would treat me the way they did and you expected my strength to be a shadow of what I have become outside of their walls. You poisoned an organization when joining it in order to capture each Jinchuriki for their Biju and kill them once the extraction was over. So much needless death for your selfish reasons. Do you not find it foolish? Do you not see that Rin would not want this? That you will only drive her away when you die and face her in the afterlife?!" challenged Naruto while Obito snarled at him in anger.

"When I cast the Genjutsu on the entire world, no one will die, and I will be at the center of it all. I will be the new God of this world where there is peace, prosperity, and all will love me for it. Including Rin! All I have to do is remove a few unworthy people when I cast the Genjutsu and no one will be the wiser," replied Obito with Naruto shaking his head before kicking the Uchiha away.

"No one is Immortal and no one here can become a true God. Besides, removing people you don't like isn't the act of a God. It is the act of a mere mortal man who is afraid of other mortals with the ability and power to oppose what they feel is wrong. To oppose a tyrant! To oppose you!" Naruto shot back before rushing the injured Uchiha with the Blade of the Archfiend currently angled so the sword was cutting into the statue when running toward Obito.

"I am the new God of this world and a God has no need for such blasphemy!" exclaimed Obito, as he moved to create another Shinra Tensei, and send Naruto back.

Only to be hit surprisingly from behind by Kakashi with a Rakiri piercing his heart while at the same time, Naruto had moved in for the kill, and ran his sword through both ninja.

"I'm sorry Obito, but I also knew Rin, and I know she wouldn't want you to do this," said Kakashi, as he had known this would be tricky to do given his Sharingan Eye was lost to him, but his target wasn't that small, and wasn't moving at the moment he rushed the man.

"Why am I not surprised. Hatake Kakashi...the slayer of his teammates," grunted Obito in anger while Kakashi winced at him.

"I didn't want to kill Rin back then Obito. I hated myself for it every single day following the event. I also know I've made some pretty damn huge mistakes in my life surrounding my ninja career in ignoring sensei's son and hating him for what he is despite everything. I blamed him for sensei's death. For Kushina-san's death. I blamed him for the destruction of Konoha because he held the fox in him. But in truth, the blame does not fall on Kyuubi or Naruto for what happened. The blame falls on you Obito," explained Kakashi with the Uchiha in front of him coughing up more blood while life slowly left the Uchiha.

"Perhaps it is my fault Kakashi. But we both know you had a hand in it too. Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push to make one fall into it. You gave me that push when Rin was killed by your hand Kakashi. Killed by you using this very Jutsu no less. Ironic isn't it? We talked of friendship and being comrades in arms back in the day, but when push comes to shove...it meant little to nothing. Two of your teammates from the infamous Genin team 7 of Konoha killed by its third and possibly most prodigal member of us all that is you Kakashi. You could almost say Genin team 7 formations are cursed in a sense. First, the Sandaime Hokage's Genin team, our own falling apart, and finally your own squad meeting its end in a violent fashion. One student is dead, another is a mindless drone of a tool formerly of Root unable to think for himself, and one not even half a man much less a ninja anymore formerly from my own clan," said Obito while Kakashi was unable to refute that since it was true.

"Perhaps Genin team 7's legacy is a cursed one, but that doesn't mean we can't find a way to stop it from being cursed. Sadly, I don't think either of us will live to see that day," said Kakashi sadly since he believed the ending of such a cursed legacy for team 7 would be long after his time in this world was over.

Considering how the two former teammates had been run through with a sword it wasn't surprising in the slightest.

"I think you're right Kakashi. Maybe...just maybe...do you think will Rin forgive us? For what we've done in the past? In the present? For all of the crimes that we did to those we cared about?" asked Obito while feeling his body getting weaker and wished he could use the Izanagi, but was unable to that since he would have to revert the Rinnegan back to the Sharingan, which would have resulted in him losing the eye anyway.

Obito was screwed no matter what he did.

"Rin was always a very forgiving person. Especially to us. She tolerated our actions when we were kids under Minato-sensei. I would like to think...I would like to think that Rin would forgive us...at least for most of the things we've done. I will understand if the rest is unforgivable in her eyes. There is only so much she can forgive from the two of us," said Kakashi, as he too was feeling weak, and his body's strength was leaving him.

"Agreed. See you on the other side Kakashi. I'll save a spot next to me when Rin kicks our ass," whispered Obito before the Uchiha slumped forward dead onto Naruto's sword.

"I know Obito. And I have a feeling that Rin won't be the only one waiting for us on the other side. We both have a lot to answer for from those we love," whispered Kakashi, as his body fell back off of Naruto's sword, and fell to the base of the statue.

As for Naruto himself, he saw the Rinnegan in Obito's eye socket slowly die out, and the legendary Dojutsu along with the Uchiha Clan was now no more. The eyes once used by the Sage of Six Paths, as well as one of three clans descended from him was now extinct, and possessed no more offspring to continue the Sage's lineage on that side of it.

The Curse of Hatred spawned by the Uchiha Clan was destroyed.

"Now to make this truly the end," remarked Naruto to himself before flicking Obito's body off of his sword and walked over to the Biju Sword to take it out of the statue.

Moving quickly around the statue, Naruto sliced through the giants hands of the structure, followed by the arms, the head, and finally the very waist of the body once he descended to the bottom. Piece by piece the statue fell, the six Biju leaving the structure before they manifested themselves in all their glory before the Shinobi Alliance, and the remaining White Zetsu army now looking lost without Obito to lead them since the Uchiha had been connected to the army via his own body.

"I'm free. Finally! I was getting a cramp in there! Its bad enough I was sealed inside so many cramped human minds and a tea kettle, but I draw the line at this thing here! I think I've got back problems!" complained Shukaku, as he narrowed his eyes at the sight of so many humans, and growled at them.

"Calm down Shukaku. Its because of them that we are now free from our imprisoned state. Especially this one with the scent of the dragon on him," said Son Goku, as the giant red aped Biju looked down, and saw the form of Uzumaki Naruto sheathing his swords before giving the massive Biju a bow of respect.

"Even still, the question now is what happens to us? I would rather not be sealed again and have my power used by humans for their future wars," stated Kokuo with the horse like Biju keeping an eye on the large number of humans putting down the remains of the White Zetsu Clone Army.

"I say we give them a chance this time around. If anything, this one here saved us all and should be trusted to do what is right," said Saiken while seeing Naruto was not like the other humans they had always encountered.

"I agree with Saiken. Let's see what this Uzumaki with dragon's blood in his veins has to say about this," said Matatabi while Naruto focused on what he could do given this situation.

The most basic as well as most selfish reason easily came to his mind in sealing up each Biju into something or someone. But that wasn't him. That was the way things had been done years ago and look what happened? War after war being waged with the Biju in front of him being sealed into Jinchuriki and said Jinchuriki becoming the pointy tip of the sword in each one. At the same time, the Biju were entities of power, and destruction respectfully given their level of power. While Naruto knew the Biju wouldn't attack any single individual or village unless provoked, human nature showed him such an event would most likely happen, and result in the Biju provoked into a fight being sealed away into a Jinchuriki.

As things currently stood, the Biju needed a home they could all live in, and not have to worry about being sealed away much less attacked by humans seeking their power. But even if he did that, Kurama, and the other two Biju in their respective Jinchurikis would be denied their desire to enter that home. Even if Naruto were able to do it for Fu's and Bee's Biju, Kurama himself would be cut out of it unless a way to open such a doorway was made upon his own death, but that risked such a thing from falling into the wrong hands, and a human using such knowledge to invade with the intention of sealing them or controlling them again.

In the end, no matter what Naruto did to change the outcome of the fate of the Biju now standing before him, or sealed around him...there would always some kind of threat to their existence. To them living.

"I need time to figure out how to protect all of you from further harm or manipulation. Until I can figure it out, the six of you should head for the ruins of Whirlpool, and stay there until I arrive to do further research on the matter," said Naruto with the six Biju looking at each other to consider this option.

"And what research do you plan on performing young one?" asked Matatabi curiously since she felt they deserved to know what this young blonde ninja planned for them.

"To find a way to protect you from the life of being sealed away into Jinchuriki. To find a way to give you a home without worry or fear of being used by others ever again. To give you true freedom," replied Naruto with the Biju and the other Shinobi around him now looking shocked by this.

"You can't do that! We need the Biju!" exclaimed the Tsuchikage angrily at Naruto.

"Hardly. The world has enough weapons of war. You don't need the Biju to be sealed into people to make things that kill people. The nine Biju have been used by humanity for our personal gain long enough. The time has come to change things...for the better," replied Naruto with the Biju smiling at him since they sensed he was not some power hungry human wishing to control them or use them to bring about "peace" to other humans areas of the world.

"If that were true, then you would free your Biju from its prison right now, and die for your convictions!" exclaimed the Tsuchikage with Naruto glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

"True. Such an event will be fall me should I set Kurama free. And one day...I will. After the research on how to make sure all of the Biju can live free without being used by us. If I were to do it now and die...who would start? The answer is no one. No one would. The cycle of abusing the Biju and the Jinchuriki they are sealed into would continue without end. That time is over. That cycle in the Elemental Countries will now be broken," said Naruto with the Tsuchikage looking livid, as did several Shinobi from different villages, who had long since believed Jinchuriki were a necessary evil to balance the Shinobi way among the five Shinobi villages.

Only to be told by this young punk for a ninja that such a way was going to be taken out of the equation because it was considered to be "wrong" in the eyes of one who was a Jinchuriki.

"I won't allow it! The Biju are the property of their villages. I claim the four and five-tailed Biju in the name of Iwa. I will not have my village's power taken away because of some naive brat who wishes to change the world by taking away what is not his to take!" exclaimed the Tsuchikage while Naruto saw the Biju in front of him narrow their eyes at the old man.

"The Biju here were never yours to have in the first place Tsuchikage-san. All nine of the Biju have their own identities, names, and freewill given to them by the Sage of Sixth Paths himself. The fact you would use them in such a manner for your village's personal gain is an insult to the Sage and I will not allow anyone to use any of them like weapons ever again," stated Naruto while seeing the Tsuchikage looking livid at hearing this.

"Kill him! We must stop the Yondaime's son before he has a chance to carry out this blasphemy!" ordered the Tsuchikage to his forces, who moved to attack Naruto in the belief his fight with Obito had weakened him, and was an easy target.

"Anyone who tries to harm this ninja must go through us!" declared Son Goku before slamming his two massive fists into the ground and causing the entire area to shake with enough force to throw almost everyone off balance.

"I'm with the Biju on this. Minato's boy has the right idea. It's high time for a change around here!" added Gamabunta while brandishing his sword at the offending ninja around him so they knew that Naruto and the six Biju were not alone.

"Hokage-sama you must control the boy! Command him to stand down!" exclaimed the Tsuchikage in a panic while Tsunade looked at Naruto and saw the boy shake his head no.

"I'm sorry Tsuchikage-sama, but Naruto is not under my command. Remember? He is has only been aiding the Shinobi Alliance in defeating Obito and his army. Now that such an event is over, Naruto is strictly freelance of sorts once again, and can do whatever he now wishes to do," said Tsunade while seeing Naruto nod.

"And what I wish to do is set all the Biju free. As for Fu and Bee, I have no intention of ripping out their Biju from them. At least not in a way that will kill them. I would only do it if all parties involved wanted do things that way," said Naruto in order to defuse the ever growing worry the Raikage feeling about losing Bee if the Biju was extracted from his body.

"Not if we stop you first!" declared the Tsuchikage, who moved to strike out against the blonde Uzumaki, but was stopped when Ayane attacked from behind, and landed a harsh kick to the old man's back.

"Know your limitations old man," taunted Ayane while the Tsuchikage rolled around and complained about his back.

"Grandfather!" exclaimed Kurotsuchi angrily before she moved to attack Ayane, but was blocked by quite a few ninja in her path.

Namely Naruto's group.

"Just try it girly. I'll give you the hair cut and shave of a lifetime," remarked Suigetsu, as he could Kusanagi, or Samehada against the woman.

"You should go Naruto-sama. Head to Whirlpool where it is safe and you can work in peace. We will come when we can," said Jugo knowing that what Naruto was doing was for the true betterment of the world.

"I understand. Thank you. Gamabunta, I'm going with the Biju to Whirlpool. When I am at a safe enough distance, get everyone here I trust to safety, and away from here," said Naruto with the Toad Boss nodding.

"You got it Naruto. You can count on me!" said Gamabunta since he had been given a short yet significant list of every person Naruto could trust days before this battle had begun in the event this did happen.

"Let's go Fu! You too Bee! I need to study your seals for the future," commanded Naruto with both of his fellow Jinchuriki nodding and leaping after him.

"Sorry Bro. I have to go. Don't worry though. Number nine-o has a good heart and strong mind. I know we'll all be just fine!" rapped Bee while A looked on with some worry.

With that being said, Naruto, Bee, and Fu leaped onto the head of Son Goku, who didn't mind this at all since he would need to be on one of the Biju when traveling. The boy had been very respectful since meeting them. Which in a way was surprising given how this one in particular was the Jinchuriki of Kurama and the other Biju knew that their fellow Biju was always a bit...arrogant if not a bit pompous due to the fact he had more tails and therefore declared himself the strongest.

Granted Kurama was the strongest of the nine, but that was beside the point. The point was, the fox was always a bit boastful, and thought it would rub off on his container in the same manner.

Only to find a humble, yet strong vessel of Kurama, and one who didn't treat them as a means to an end.

Fancy that.

"How could you let him get away Hokage-sama?! He will upset the balance of power!" exclaimed the angry Tsuchikage while Tsunade shook her head while Gamabunta took the group with Naruto and put them on top of himself before taking off.

"The balance of power was upset long before Naruto was born. The Elemental Counties has been plagued by three Shinobi Wars and this one against a delusional mad man. Is it so wrong for him to take away the one thing that gives each Shinobi village an edge in a war? None of the five Shinobi villages will have an advantage over the other with the Biju gone. We would be relying more on our own Shinobi forces rather then that of the Jinchuriki we would use as weapons. It was wrong to take control of the Biju and it was wrong to make Jinchuriki in the process. The only way to bring balance from this is to take away the Biju and the means to create Jinchuriki," said Tsunade with the Tsuchikage looking pissed off by this stand she was taking.

"She's right. For too long, the Biju, and the Jinchuriki who hold them have been abused for the benefit of others for too long. I and Suna will support Uzumaki Naruto's actions in ensuring all of the Biju are free to be happy in their own domain away from our desires for greater power we wield like a child's favorite toy," said Gaara since he had first hand experience with how people treated Jinchuriki and while the people within the walls of Suna had improved in terms of their relationship with him...he didn't want it to possibly happen to another.

"All Iwa Shinobi pull back and head for home. Now!" commanded Onoki, as he would need to counter this situation in some manner before Naruto could get started on his work in removing two if not ALL the Biju from his grasp.

(Whirlpool-Sometime Later)

"So what is the plan gaki? Because I'm NOT going back to being sealed into a human or another tea kettle," said Shukaku while giving Naruto a small glare.

"Don't worry Shukaku-san. I have no intention of sealing you or your kin into people or inanimate objects. What I wish to do...is open a dimensional portal of sorts, which will be your home to mold as you see fit, and allow you to live there in peace," replied Naruto with the Biju looking surprised by this.

"You mean a dimension like where summoning animals reside. A place we can call our own and reside in without human interaction unless we choose it," stated Matatabi with Naruto nodding at the giant two tailed Biju's assumption of what his plan was for them.

"But that means a human could enter our realm since it would have to follow the same rules as the summoning animals. What if one finds a way to our realm and tries to seal us away or use our power? Granted the Uchiha Clan is no more and the Senju Clan are nearly extinct, but some of us can be sealed into objects, and into people without any real requirements. Who is to say a Seal Master won't rise up to enslave one if not all of us again? Despite what is being offered to us, the gaki here won't live forever," said Isobu, as he didn't want to be sealed into a human, and have his life made miserable in another host like his had been with Yagura.

"If the dimension we reside in follows the same rules as the one summoning animals use, we can have it where only humans we approve of can enter, and they follow the rules we have in place. Remember, humans who find summoning animals are bound to various rules to ensure few humans can enter the summoning realm, and take it over. We can have it where humans who enter our domain have a limited amount of time in our domain until told otherwise and only IF we allow it of our own freewill," said Son Goku since he had some knowledge about the summoning dimension and felt similar rules should apply to their own.

"Number eight-o says he likes the idea too. Though he says there should be some kind of detection system in place so no one unwanted there appears to say 'boo!'" rapped Bee with Matatabi smacking himself with his paw.

"I'm starting to see why my vessel hates his rapping so much," said Matatabi with Bee face planting himself on the ground.

"No respect," mumbled Bee with Naruto shaking his head.

"Do you like the idea Fu? I can look at your seal to find a way for you to let Chomei out and keep the risk of you dying to a minimum," asked Naruto with Fu nodding.

"Yes. Chomei likes the idea too. Though she doesn't want to part with me right now since we've been through so much together," said Fu with Naruto nodding since he knew that both Fu and Bee were among the rare few in the history of all Jinchuriki to bond naturally with their Biju.

Parting would be such sweet sorrow for them.

"I understand Fu. All the same, I will need to study the seal on you and Bee in order to have something on standby in the event I am unable to perform the necessary means of extracting them without killing either of you," said Naruto before he looked saddened for a second and looked down in realization.

"What is wrong gaki? You look like someone just killed your cat?" asked Son Goku with Matatabi glaring at him.

"Hey!" exclaimed Matatabi with Son Goku looking sheepish.

"Kurama just told me that due to the nature of the seal binding us together and what my Father did...there is no way to set him free. When I die...he will die with me," whispered Naruto sadly with everyone looking at him in shock.

"WHAT?!" yelled all the Biju at once.

"Yeah. My Father split Kurama in half and sealed one part away with his soul into the Shinigami's stomach. Kurama needs his other half in order to properly reform again in nine years following his 'death' or whatever you call it once outside of my body. But without it...he is as good as gone," whispered Naruto sadly while in his mind he stared at the fox and could see the sorrow in Kurama's eyes.

"Oh shit! I always hated Kurama for being a jerk to us over the fact he had more tails then the rest of us, but...I would never want that to happen to him," said Shukaku while realizing that he was lucky no one tried that with him.

Maybe being sealed in a tea kettle wasn't so bad after all.

"Is there anyway to fix this? Surely there is a way to reverse it?" asked Matatabi, as he had never provoked Kurama, or hated him despite it probably being well deserved at one point in their long lives.

"Maybe. I don't know yet. I need to study the seal further and anything possibly related to the Shinigami. But for now, all I can tell you is until I know for certain there is a way to give Kurama his other half, the dimensional home I help you find will only be for eight of you. Not nine," answered Naruto while looking and walking away with a heavy blow to his heart since Kurama had been with him since the beginning while helping along the way.

To deny the fox his freedom and right to live in that dimension free of being sealed or controlled by others was unfair! But deep in Naruto's heart and mind, he knew there was a way to find a means to bringing Kurama's other half back to him.

"Matatabi does have a point. If there is a way to split me in half, there is a way to make me whole again," said Kurama while Naruto nodded while staring at the Uzumaki Clan building that was at the center of the island where his Uzumaki Clan resided.

'I believe you are right Kurama. And I swear to you now on my very blood not only as an Uzumaki, but as a Dragon Ninja with the blood of the Dragon Gods themselves in my veins...you WILL be made whole again!' thought Naruto with Kurama nodding and was proud to have a vessel like him.

They had work to do.

(Epilogue-Years Later)

Whirlpool Country was thriving. It took countless years, struggle, and hard work to the point of collapse...but it was thriving. Naruto had turned the ruins of Whirlpool into the next great Shinobi village of the Elemental Countries. It had not been easy given how Iwa was causing problems for him, as well as some of the minor villages, and their "Kages". The minor villages felt it was unfair that Whirlpool was rising to the level equal to that of the other five major Shinobi villages and accused Naruto of using the Biju he had there.

Which couldn't have been more further from the truth.

The truth was that after several long years of studying all the information in front of him regarding dimensional homes for summoning animals, Naruto was finally able to create one such place for the Biju. All nine of the Biju were able to create it for them to live in and not have to worry about humans entering it with the purpose of sealing them up into objects or people to create Jinchuriki. The key to the success of this project came from the Toads, as they had provided Naruto with all the knowledge pertaining to the subject, and the rules surrounding the summoning realm in order for the Biju to have their own rules.

Another good thing that came from doing such intense research was a means to find a way to extract Chomei and Gyuki from Fu and Bee without killing them. Unlike Naruto's seal, theirs was not tied to the Shinigami so creating a special seal that slowly leaked the Biju out of their hosts within a span of at least a week until the Biju were out of the seal all together to manifest into their own forms. Naruto believed that the reason Jinchuriki died when having it extracted in the past was due to the sudden rush when they were ripped out, overloading the chakra pathways, the internal organs of the vessel, and thus killed the Jinchuriki. Since the Akatsuki wanted things done quickly, as well as not caring for the host of the Biju, they never developed a way to remove the Biju safely, or at the very least did it slowly to see if the Jinchuriki would at least survive the process.

Not surprising since the Akatsuki wasn't exactly known for their compassion.

Speaking of the Akatsuki, its last former member Konan had taken up residents within Whirlpool when the fighting with Obito was over. She managed to escape capture from basically every major Shinobi village and made her way to Naruto to make amend for her past actions by serving under him. The Biju around him didn't like that idea since Konan had been a member of the Akatsuki and helped in sealing them into the statue along with killing their hosts in the process. However, Naruto pointed out that if it was not for Konan defecting from the Akatsuki, things could have gone worse, as she had helped the Shinobi Alliance by getting the Rinnegan Eyes out of Obito's grasp, and preventing the return of Uchiha Madara.

It seemed to pacify them. For the most part.

And true to her word, Konan served Naruto loyally since coming to Whirlpool. She even prevented several assassination attempts made on Naruto's life by Iwa and a few of the minor Shinobi villages. Naruto acknowledge her contributions by putting Konan as his personal bodyguard and sometimes Advisor on matters in running a village since she had the experience with Ame.

As for Naruto's own problem, it seemed at one point that Kurama would not be able to join his kin in the new dimensional realm due to the Shinigami's Seal on the boy's body. Something that had put the fox in a funk for a time and angry too at the injustice of it all for something that was not his fault in the first place. Sure he had no love for Konoha, but you wouldn't either if one of its former Shinobi enslaved you with their Dojutsu, only to be sealed away twice, then ripped out, enslaved again, and then sealed into a third vessel with the said vessel being abused in order to be used in some grand scheme to become a submissive weapon.

And yet, Naruto told Kurama not to give up hope. To trust in him to find a way. That if there was a way to do what the Yondaime did, there was a way to reverse it. While the fox was skeptical after the years went by without success, Kurama had to give his vessel credit for trying, and knew his vessel wasn't dragging his feet.

Fortunately, the answer came to Naruto thanks to Tsunade, who had told him about an old Uzumaki Shrine near Konoha, and suggested it might hold the key to his answers. So naturally, Naruto went there to investigate, and indeed found what he was looking for in the way to set Kurama's other half free. From the information Tsunade was able to gather from her Senju Clan home about the shrine left by Uzumaki Mito, the shrine held a mask said to connect you to the Shinigami, and could make the wearer summon and even take control of the deity to free someone bound to Shinigami's Seal.

Seeing this as a way to free Kurama's other half from the Shinigami and make the fox whole again, Naruto used the mask in question to bring forth the means to help his Biju. At the same time, Naruto made a side note about how Konoha left the Uzumaki Shrine to fall almost to pieces from neglect.

And sure enough...the plan worked. No sooner did Naruto use the mask to free Kurama's other half from the belly of the Shinigami did the mass of chakra enter his body. The two halves of Kurama merged, causing a massive influx of chakra that brought Naruto to his knees. In fact, it damn well near killed him if not for his Uzumaki endurance, and a little help from Tsunade along with Karin there to be safe. He had to spend the next few days recovering in secret within Konoha, which made him heavily on guard since there were still a few people in Konoha who still hated his guts, and wouldn't be opposed to ripping them out.

Fortunately, nothing like that happened to Naruto, and was able to return safely back to Whirlpool with the good news to the others about his success. The only tricky part now was altering the seal enough to do what he had done with Fu and Bee, who each got a special contract with their Biju in order to visit them in their new dimensional home as well as be summoned there too. Of course, Chomei as well as Gyuki had stated to both that while this contract would allow them to be summoned by their former vessels, it was only to be done in dire emergencies, and for something extremely important. Both Fu and Bee accepted this condition without question since the last thing they wanted to do was summon the Biju for every little thing.

When Bee returned to Kumo, which he told Naruto was his duty, and to convince A that he was not being manipulated, the Raikage was somewhat happy with the news. Granted, A would have preferred Bee had the power to summon Gyuki to fight for him whenever he wanted, but the man wasn't about to throw too much of a fuss over the matter. He had his little brother back alive, healthy, and while the loss of eight-tailed Biju didn't stop Bee from rapping...it still mattered to him that his little brother was back in Kumo.

And it wasn't like Bee was weak without his Biju anyway so while it was somewhat of a loss, it wasn't a total loss unto itself. Plus, because of Bee they now had somewhat of an ally with the newly revived Uzumaki Clan, and A had learned long ago to not challenge someone like Naruto.

As for Naruto himself, the man had kept Kurama from his new home long enough, and the man was able to get the fox out of him before sending the Biju home. An act, which had drained Naruto considerably since the Biju in him was more...connected to his chakra coils then Fu, even Bee for that matter. No doubt a precaution done by his Father in the event someone tried to do something stupid in extracting Kurama to place into another vessel.

Even still, it had left him bedridden for roughly two weeks, and in those two weeks the seemingly unthinkable had happened.

Someone had come to kill him. Someone...from Konoha!

Who?

(Flashback-1 Week after successful removal)

"So you've come to kill me. Why am I not surprised?" commented Naruto, as it was in the middle of the day, and everyone was out doing something.

"I've come to end it. To end you Naruto. What you did to my clan...what you did to my Father...what you did as a whole to Konoha took years to fix. Is still going to take years to fix," said the assassin walking up to the bed ridden Shinobi.

"Your Father deserved his death. You know that. Don't try deluding yourself in believing otherwise Sarutobi Asuma," said Naruto with the man frowning at him while revealing his headband had a scratch through it.

Meaning he was a Missing Nin now.

"I had to become a Missing Nin for this. To prevent my clan from being shamed further. From Konoha being shamed further. So Konohamaru can have a clean slate when he tries to one day become Hokage and redeem the family name. Even after everything, you are the one who inspires him to become great. Not me. Not my Father. You! Do you know how angry it makes me to know that someone outside of the clan has a greater influence over my nephew and his dreams to become a great ninja? It's insulting! Not only that, but you have the majority of Konoha on your side now. Everyone who wronged you is either dead by your hands or has been shamed for years to come! The only thing left I can do to counter your influence...is to end your life," said Asuma with Naruto looking at him calmly without fear.

"Then get on with it," replied Naruto while Asuma got closer to him.

"Don't think for one moment I don't know what you're thinking. That even with your own death by my hands, the Kyuubi is out Konoha's reach. That he and the other Biju are out of our reach. They won't be once we have the necessary information you've written down in your library. I will bring it to Konoha to redeem myself in the eyes of the village and if they won't accept me...maybe Iwa will," said Asuma while Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.

"Only an Uzumaki can hold Kurama and even then it requires a Seal Master to perform the work. One Iwa does not have. One that Konoha will never have outside of myself or those of my family. You will not get such a high caliber Seal Master for a long time if not ever," countered Naruto with Asuma smirking at him.

"Not unless we simply split the fox into multiple pieces and put each section into a child to create a small army of Jinchuriki," Asuma shot back while Naruto narrowed his eyes further.

"That information is known to but a small handful of people. None of them would have told you that. Meaning...you have been planning this ever since Tsunade made you the temporary Sixth Hokage when we went to fight Obito," concluded Naruto while Asuma nodded.

"She was foolish to trust me with such a position. I gained access to the Yondaime's notes and his plan for the Kyuubi if it got too out of control without an Uzumaki around to stop it," said Asuma with a hint of pride in his voice.

"And judging by how you mentioned Iwa, the Tsuchikage has been told this information as well in the hopes of tempting him with the idea of bringing you into the fold once your personal vendetta against me is complete. You provide the written information for him as proof, he let's you stay, form your own Sarutobi Clan in Iwa, and be made the village's hero in the process," surmised Naruto with Asuma frowning since that was exactly how it was suppose to happen and didn't like how the Uzumaki figured it all out.

"I am going to enjoy ripping all of your guts out brat," whispered Asuma while his trench knives were in his hands now.

"Just make sure your first strike doesn't miss Asuma. Otherwise...you won't get a second chance," said Naruto, as he saw Asuma gritting his teeth, and quickly moved to strike the blonde Uzumaki center in the chest.

Only to find that Naruto had turned into hundreds of papers and a pair of Fuma Kodachis now piercing through his chest.

"You really didn't think it would be that easy to get here without us knowing...did you?" asked Ayane while twisting the blades of her weapons and saw Konan manifest herself using her papers.

"You played me," gasped Asuma with Konan shaking her head.

"You simply underestimate our spy network. We've known of your plan since the secret communiqué was sent to the Tsuchikage about what you learned about how Naruto's Father split the Kyuubi in half. When you arrived on our shores, both Hinata and Karin learned of your presence almost immediately, and took Naruto somewhere safe until we give the all clear," replied Konan while Asuma felt the life leaving his body.

"Not only that, but Suigetsu just came back from his mission to assassinate the Sandaime Tsuchikage for agreeing to help you gain asylum in Iwa. From what he reported to us, the old man was a bit disappointed since the Tsuchikage was apparently not as sharp as he was years ago. Still, I think his successor in the form of his Granddaughter will get the message to not follow in his footsteps. Don't you agree?" added Ayane while Asuma muttered something neither kunoichi could understand before slumping over dead.

"Let's dispose of the body and report back to Naruto. He will want to hear the news of Asuma's death," said Konan with Ayane nodding.

"That and he needs to inform Tsunade of this after we deliver our report," added Ayane before sheathing her weapons of choice.

"How are the twins? Are Genshin and Hayate keeping you up at night?" asked Konan with Ayane shrugging since her time with Naruto had resulted in getting pregnant with two healthy baby boys.

One named after the former leader of the Black Spider Clan and the other after the Head of the Mugen Tenshin Clan. Yet both had shown signs of becoming strong ninjas and were already doing training under the watchful eyes of their parents helping their kids grow and develop so no one would be the wiser.

"No more then your two boys Yahiko and Nagato," countered Ayane since Konan had developed feelings for Naruto in the recent years.

The two had married and just like Ayane had give been blessed with two boys. Though unlike with Ayane the boys were not twins with Yahiko being the eldest and Nagato being the youngest.

"I still can't believe Hinata gave birth to triplets. It must be something in her genetics or something else," remarked Ayane while Konan put Asuma's body in the scroll so they could dispose of the corpse somewhere else.

"It must be the 'something else' because Haku also gave birth to triplets. Remember? The woman had that competitive look in her eyes when Hinata was in the room. I swear to Kami, ever since the two met, and learned of their shared feelings for Naruto, they have been trying to one up the other," replied Konan knowing those two had an...interesting competitive streak like no other.

"Oh yeah. Poor Naruto-kun. So many children around and he's bedridden for another week before he can move around without problems. Anko and Hana's children are just as wild as you would expect from them given how those two act when it comes to Naruto-kun. He's lucky Shadow Clones can do paperwork or he would never be able to handle so many children in his ever growing family," remarked Ayane since she knew her husband had been trying to balance all of his work, missions, and family with the only option available being Shadow Clones to pick up the slack.

"Is it true Tsunade tried to strangle him in her office when Naruto told her that he would tell the woman the secret to defeating paperwork if she promised to never ever gamble or drink sake ever again?" asked Konan with Ayane nodding and giggling at the same time.

"Yes. Tsunade failed though when Naruto dispelled to reveal himself to be a Shadow Clone too," answered Ayane while Konan shook her head.

"That's our husband," remarked Konan with Ayane nodding in agreement.

He was truly something else.

(End Flashback)

The news of Sarutobi Asuma's death in Whirlpool had been a somewhat of a black eye for Konoha, but Naruto had told Tsunade that he did not hold it against her. The man had been assigned a mission outside of Konoha around the time of his incapacitation and used the opportunity to become a Missing Nin. The fact Konan and Ayane backed this up had made things easier on Tsunade though it had been an emotional blow to Konohamaru due to the young ninja trying to become great without the stain of shame caused by the now previous two generations of the Sarutobi Clan. Naruto had sent the boy a letter saying he still had faith in Konohamaru become a great ninja of the Sarutobi Clan and one day be the next Hokage to succeed Tsunade.

As for Sasuke, the young former Uchiha had lived a life of solitude, liquidating what he could of the Uchiha District, selling it to the village for a nice hefty sum, and left Konoha to live a life of traveling through the Elemental Countries. He wasn't a threat to anyone or had any real value to any of the Shinobi villages so no one would come after him. As far as anyone knew, the boy now young man was spending his time living Spring Country with the permission of the Spring Daimyo, and currently taking up writing a variety of different books while living a peaceful life without any real concern in the world.

As for the Shinobi villages, while the Biju maybe gone, there would always be some kind of tension between them, and war would one day break out again. But for now, there was peace, for now everyone was happy, and as long as there was a single person from the Uzumaki Clan with the blood of the Dragon Gods in their veins...there would always be someone capable of fighting the evils of the world.

-Fin

(A/N: YAY! An update and an end to a good fic. I hope you all enjoyed this one. Sorry this ending took me so long to finish. I have been busy with so much crap you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Anyway, now that this is done I will be focusing on my other works. Also, some of you have been sending me challenges that I might be interested in, and while I'm thankful you guys think of me when offering such challenges...I cannot do them at this time or in the near future. I am backed up with so much stuff with my fics and in real life. I can only do so much. Sorry you guys. Until next time...PEACE!)