A/N: I was really surprised by how much widespread hate the Uchiha Elders received. Well, I guess I'm good at making OC antagonists! Lol…

Many of you have been commenting on how I messed up some of the ages - which I probably did. Age isn't a top priority when I'm thinking about how to make the plot more exciting. I will do my best to stick to the canon, but I will forget things here and there. I generally keep in mind how old the characters are in relation to each other. So I'm sorry if I screw up the ages with some characters (i.e. Inari)...

Q&A Section:

Q: Why is Naruto teaching Rasengan to the little children when they probably won't learn how to do it?

A: This scene was used for multiple things. First, we see Naruto connection with the children is heavily influenced by Obito. So despite Naruto being "in control" of the body, Obito also has some degree of autonomy. Thus, Naruto has an emotional attachment with the children when he normally wouldn't. Second, Naruto has a skewed perception of how long mundane shinobis take to learn and master a jutsu. Naruto took a week and Konohamaru learned it "quickly" with vague instructions from Naruto. So, Naruto believed that the children would learn it faster than Konohamaru since he gave them the clear step by step instructions to do so. Even if they don't learn it, they will work on improving their chakra control - one of Naruto's main weaknesses he suffered from. Another plot point is that Obito shouldn't know how to do the Rasengan…and there are a couple more you can conjugate on your own!

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 9: My Resolve Given Form

When Naruto stealthily entered his house, he was greeted with the soothing humming from his tenant upstairs. Realizing he didn't have much time to prepare, he placed the documents pertaining to his finance on the dinner table before quickly making his way upstairs. He would rather leave the folder in his Kamui Dimension… but he didn't know if something as delicate as paper would survive the trip.

He went into his bathroom and got a white towel to wash his face. Then, he dabbed some light brown cream onto his palm. The Uchiha sat in front of his bathroom mirror as he gently hid the various creases and tiny stress marks "his face" accumulated. Working silently yet swiftly, he used his Sharingan to effortlessly find and cover any imperfections on his face.

Of course, had any of the traditionally-minded Uchiha realized that Naruto was using their mighty Sharingan to do something as trivial and mundane as putting on makeup, they probably would have died from a heart attack.

Its pretty funny if I think about it. The ex-Uzumaki shinobi mused to himself humorously as he beautified himself. I never thought that I would ever be willing to wear makeup at any point of my life. Maybe Ino-chan was onto something back then at the Academy when she said a girl had to look her best to the teme… Shutting the dojutsu off, he check his face one last time at the mirror to make sure he didn't put too much cream to make his skin look off colored. After redoing a couple of imperfections, Naruto was satisfied with his appearance.

Walking back to his bedroom, the time traveler crouched down to open the bottom drawer of the cabinet filled yukatas and kimonos in various colors. It used to be filled with Obito's old clothes, but they couldn't fit - and they also seemed kinda tacky to Naruto - so he magnanimously decided to donate them to the nearby orphanage. Rummaging through his recently bought collection of expensive shinobi grade-A silk clothing that dried up some of the rest of the funds Obito stored, he decided on a dark purple yukata with black maple leaf outlines. He figured that sooner or later, he would be able to take higher rank missions so he would be earning a lot more ryo.

Looking at the yukata he picked out, he wondered why he didn't buy these awesome, comfortable, stylish, and epic clothing earlier. Maybe the teme did learn something useful abandoning Konoha for the snake bastard besides helping me affirm that the teme did have an attraction to guys. Naruto snickered at the thought. But I needed to get back on track. Stay focused Naruto! He inspected the yukata to make sure no loose strands were free before looking through his silk collection to pull out a dark blue obi and belt. Yep! This combo looks good! Yuugao-chan and the teme would approve.

Smoothly putting on the yukata like a pro and wrapping the obi and belt around his body, Naruto looked at his reflection one more time which painted a disheartening picture.

A face that bore no resemblance to his Uzumaki origins stared straight back. What was yellow short hair that he proudly inherited from his father was now long banal black with some strands of grey intermixed in and tied neatly together into a short ponytail. Moreover, the whiskers that showed proof to the world that he proudly was the Jinchuriki and friend of Kurama was now gone.

His past, his future, his world as Uzumaki Naruto disappeared into dust. None of his friends wouldn't be born for another ten plus years - assuming they will be born. What Naruto was left with in this new alien world was the persona of Uchiha Obito, his knowledge, and his own personal selfish goal.

Nothing else existed anymore.

Tears started to aggregate in his eyes as an inundate of emotions rammed into him with the weight of one of Lee's Supa Dainamikku Entori (Super Dynamic Entry). Emotions he tried to bury so hard ever since he came here started to aggregate into a large, overwhelming wave of sadness, anguish, and anger that threatened to engulf him in their darkness.

Can I be even called Uzumaki Naruto anymore? My identity, my very soul, is changing. Everything I worked so hard for is now gone… and I am once again all alone. Should… should I try again? Or can I just give up and die now? What seemed to be an easy question for any person given a second chance proved to be difficult for Naruto to answer.

The precious bonds he made, not just in Konoha, but all over the Elemental Nations ceased to exist when he was reborn as Obito. His nindo (ninja way) he gained from talking to Haku so long ago is dissolving under the crushing weight of Madara's wisdom and the harshness of reality itself. His own "Naruto" personality, that was recently heavily influenced by Sasuke's sacrifice and the Fifth Shinobi World War, was slowly being adulterated with Obito's naive personality. The time traveling shinobi truly believed that in a couple of years, he couldn't truly call himself "Uzumaki Naruto" anymore.

But what was more distressing to the Uzu-turned-Uchiha was what the future had in store for him.

Was it guaranteed that the new bonds he would make in this new dimension would stay with him till he died permanently? For all he know, he could end up getting another chance of living in a whole other dimension after he died in this world by this world's Rikudo Sennin or be resurrected with Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). He could be cursed as an immortal dimensional traveler - forever burdened by the mountain of corpses made of his past friends and lovers that only he could see.

That was what scared him more than the limitless power Madara brought with him on the battlefield.

His close bond with Tsunami gave him a sense of stability and purpose and filled the crushing loneliness in his empty cavity he called a heart. The civilian he lived with provided a beautiful future to Naruto, enticing him with their soothing songs of companionship, happiness, and peace. That is why Naruto couldn't believe he would ever be the same if Tsunami suddenly died.

His budding love with Hanabi was abruptly destroyed when she died and he still hasn't recovered from his loss.

So what would happen if he fell deeply in love with the ex-farmer only to see her die as well? Moreover, what would happen if he would be forced to experience the delicate bond of love be violently shattered over and over again for eternity?

Naruto didn't have any answers.

But what he did know was that he could not contend with his demons today - despite knowing it wasn't healthy to bury his emotions.

Activating his red eyes, he felt all the emotions evaporate as his eyes sucked out his expressive feelings and left only a desolate land of blackness as he perceived the world in slow motion. He took what felt like hours, but was actually minutes, to calm down and bury his insecurities away under lock and key.

When he focused back on the mirror, what used to be blue eyes filled with happiness only showed red eyes of the Sharingan stare stoically back at him.

Getting a tissue, he dabbed away the lucid tears that were the remains of the emotions that threatened to engulf him in their sinful embrace. Channelling his Uchiha persona modelled after his dear friend and rival, he forced himself to be in control of his emotions. Making one last check on his person, he made sure he looked the best he could be for Tsunami. Appearance. Check. Emotions. Under control. Let's go!

Hopping out of the window like all good ninjas do, he stood patiently in the front of his house for his other half.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

After waiting a couple of minutes outside, Naruto realized he was facing a conundrum. Should I tell Tsunami-chan I now have a fiance? On one hand, being honest is key in any relationship and having a relationship with another woman isn't going to help one bit. But on the other hand, I don't want to ruin what is supposed to be a relaxing night out for both of us. Gah! Why the hell did the elders decide to hitch me with someone now? They always ignored me before, unless they rewarded me whenever I pranked the Hyuga. So why now? I don't have a special lineage and I'm pretty sure the Mangekyo Sharingan abilities isn't genetically transferred. Sigh… And I still haven't got the chance to talk to Saeko-san about our situation… why is my life so god damn troublesome…

Lost in his worries, Naruto was startled when the door loudly open with a kreen. He was greeted by a wonderful sight that made all of his previous worries evaporate seamlessly.

The figure that walked up to him wasn't a goddess by any means. That spot was reserved solely for Hanabi with her exotic eyes and lithe figure. But, there was a surge of primal desire flowing through Naruto as he greedily took in the sight of the woman he saved a month ago.

Tsunami was clothed in a light pink yukata decorated with cherry blossoms that beautifully contrasted her pale skin while showing off her alluring figure. He could already see the blank check he gave to Tsunami in regards to food definitely made her a lot healthier; not just on her bountiful figure but also the healthy red flush that dotted her cheeks. Or it could be her embarrassment... The shinobi thought to himself. She is just like Hinata-chan in so many ways, yet isn't in so many ways as well... Her beautiful blue hair now had a entrancing shine to it and her black eyes was filled to the brim with happiness. In short, she was breath-taking.

The ex-Uzumaki had a brief surge of manly pride for being the very lucky individual of catching the attention of a woman who was beautiful both outside and inside.

Walking with a confident gait to his companion, he gave a disarming smile that belied the numerous butterflies he felt flying in his stomach. "You look very beautiful Tsunami-chan." He said calmly with a hint of raw desire seeping into his tone.

The confident demeanor of his date quickly shattered in front of Naruto from the weight of his praise. A visible blush painted her whole face red and she looked to the ground embarrassedly. There was an uncomfortable ambience of silence that filled the air as they both were awkwardly standing in front of the house.

While our socially ignorant protagonist was mentally reviewing through his notes to hopefully figure out what went wrong, Tsunami was frozen as she vividly remembered Obito's face that clearly ogled her. She already knew she was beautiful - based on the sizeable following of civilians and even some shinobis whenever she went outside the Uchiha District to buy groceries. But unlike the disgusting feeling she felt whenever drunk men blatantly leered at her - since it brought back terrible memories with the bandits - she rather felt excited and empowered that she had the power to elicit the undivided attention of her savior so easily.

She didn't know if she should feel proud or scared by how much power she had over Obito. He was a well-known member in the Konohan community for his altruism and compassion with the young and elderly. Furthermore, he was also a powerful and handsome shinobi; if the gossip she heard going around from the ladies at the fish market was true.

But what she did know is that she was going to make sure she captured his heart. She was going to make sure whomever hugged Obito was not going to have another chance of entering their lives. Their perfect future that was awaiting ahead for them, if she had anything to say about it.

If her Dad, Suzuki Tazuna, was here, she knew he would critically comment on how fast she was moving her relationship with Obito. But she justified it as making her claim well known to all the other harpies who were clearly interested in Obito.

Feeling suddenly emboldened, she broke the awkward stalemate by tightly hugging Obito. She took a moment to enjoy his comforting scent of maple trees as she did her best to ignore the attention the pair received.

When she looked up to stare at Obito's face, she saw the questioning glance in his eyes and stuttered. "Y-you...look v-very h-han-handsome." With her piece said, she buried her face back into his muscled chest lightly in embarrassment. How am I supposed to tell him I love him if I can't even compliment him without stuttering? All those romance novels and fairy tails make it look so easy. Tsunami bemoaned to herself.

Naruto simply gave a rare "Naruto" grin at the complement.

"Ready?" He whispered to her.

She nodded her head in his chest and took a step back as she failed to look back in his eyes. Naruto grabbed Tsunami's right hand delicately and the duo slowly walked towards their destination Ramen Ichiraku as they enjoyed the warm weather while the sun was setting.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Walking hand-in-hand with Tsunami was interesting experience. He was receiving a lot of blatant stares of disbelief by the passerbys as they did a double take at the rare sight of an Uchiha holding hands with someone in public who wasn't an Uchiha.

Naruto slightly frowned at all the unwanted attention. While it wasn't oppressive by any means, it was very annoying to receive all this attention - especially on their first date. He was very tempted to shunshin to the ramen stall, but he didn't know how would Tsunami, or any civilian for that matter, would react to a rapid sudden change of acceleration.

His left arm was suddenly enveloped by a very comfortable feeling that was very familiar. Looking to the ex-farmer, he saw her walk closer to him to demurely hug his arm to her chest as she stared at the road. Naruto visibly frowned, realizing that Tsunami also seemed uncomfortable with all the attention. He was trying to help her recover from the traumatic event and this attention was definitely not helping.

Thus, he left with using his Sharingan to glare at the gawking people. With a small tilt of the head, strap on an emotionless frown, and ample use the inherited Uchiha arrogance, he mimicked Sasuke's patented glare that sent people running in fear.

As it should be. His mind boasted rightfully before he realized what he just thought. Why did I just think of that? Is it from the susceptibility of having the Senjutsu passive ability? I thought it was because I was absorbing the nearby negative feelings from the elders and my dislike for Danzo that I was thinking way too darkly. The people aren't giving off negative emotions so I shouldn't have a problem anymore. Haaahhh… where is Ero-sennin? I really need to find him soon.

"Thank you." The woman on his arm whispered gently, bringing Naruto back to reality. For scaring all those harpies away. She added to herself.

"Hn." Naruto absently muttered as they navigated his way through the thinning crowd to find the stall.

A minute later, the pair arrived at a clearing that held the beloved Ramen Ichiraku. Smiling at the thought of filling his stomach with the heavenly food, Naruto quickly pulled the flap and gestured for Tsunami to choose one of the two remaining seats that were fortunately next to each other.

Following behind her, he was engulfed by a wave of noglista. The stall was just exactly how he remembered it before Nagato destroyed Konoha. The simple and peaceful restaurant that was dedicated to having their customers enjoy their cheap yet delicious food. Sitting down at the wooden stool, he quietly inhaled the delicious aroma of his beloved noodles.

"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku! What can I get for you today?" A man with black hair dressed in a white chef outfit stood behind the counter and greeted the pair joyfully while handling some noodles adroitly.

"I'll take a shoyu ramen (soy sauce ramen) with extra chashu (sliced barbecued pork)." Naruto said as he observed the younger Teuchi. Feelings of happiness washed over him as he saw the youthful man who supported him through the tough times of being a shinobi in his last life didn't seem so different in this new dimension. Just more… youthful. He unconsciously shivered at the thought.

Teuchi nodded before looking at his companion. "And what will you have miss?"

"A miso ramen." She said to Teuchi but was busy reaching under the table to find Naruto's hand. Feeling the hand dancing near him, he engulfed the smaller, yet dainty appendage. They both enjoyed the physical comfort and warmth their companion provided.

"Gotcha. A shoyu with chashu and a miso coming right up for the lovely couple!"

Setting off another blush on Tsunami's face, Naruto turned his head to fully absorb the details of the familiar dainty stall. The old wooden boards, the black stain above the stove, the red counter top - everything was just like he remembered it. A smile formed on his face as he looked around to see the various customers sitting at the table top quietly enjoying their food.

The moment was perfect. All he needed is to taste of the Food of the Gods with someone he really cared about. At the moment, he could care less about all the problems and drama he was currently facing.

It was when his eyes made direct eye contact with the individual sitting on the left of him that the world suddenly froze before the whole world greyscaled into bland shades of grey.

Do I ever get a break? Naruto absently wondered as he discreetly arming himself with a hidden kunai and placing himself between the stranger and Tsunami. He reflexively activated the dojutsu to warily to face to the only other person who wasn't a shade of gray - the man who he continued locked eyes with.

"Impressive, no? My sensei told me the concept but it took two years to replicate the effects and another three to it into a viable jutsu. But your clan can easily unlock this jutsu and use it devastatingly at its inception. I believe your clan calls this genjutsu Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader)."

"Who… are you?" Naruto said as he continued to eye the sitting figure warily.

The man's image shifted softly from a common civilian into a familiar black shinobi outfit. "I am the leader of the Elite Spec Ops ANBU Branch Hokkadio for the duration of this war - in charge of overseeing wetwork and intelligence operations. You most likely know the group by its epithet, Root."

"You are… Shimura Danzo." He addressed cautiously.

"Correct boy. Congratulations on being accepted to Root. Come, sit down. I won't take too much of your time."

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

The Konoha Elder stared emotionless at the Uchiha who he knew who was caught off guard despite his stoic demeanor. And that was the type of prey the Konoha Elder liked to catch.

Uchiha Obito, identification number 010886. Both parents died in the Second Shinobi War and his Grandmother who served as his guardian died four months ago in her sleep. Despite graduating at the age of 9 as the lowest ranking student of his graduating class, he is the first in his generation to be considered A-rank - furthermore by Hiruzen himself - surpassing Hatake Kakashi's prodigious advancement. Hobbies observed include playing pranks that display unparalleled cunning and ingenuity for someone his age yet paradoxically follow his female teammate, Rin Nohara, like a love sick puppy and fails miserably in his attempts to woo her.

But he frowned mentally when he observed the boy himself. The individual in front of him was nothing like his files suggested by his academic and team instructors. The most blatant indication the reports on this Uchiha was incorrect was the boy's drastic persona he had with the Suzuki Tsunami. Rather than acting like a bumbling and socially inept fool, he played the part of a mature gentleman - a far cry from the way he acted with his female teammate.

Furthermore, there was a drastic change in personality after unlocking the Mangekyo Sharingan. While Danzo expected the emotional baggage, he was not expecting the drastic increase in abilities the boy displayed: practicing D and C-rank elemental jutsus from all five elements, a rapid shift from the traditional Uchiha taijutsu to a mixture of taijutsu styles that contains elements of all the Great Village's standard taijutsu, and crafting an unknown weapon of some sort (if the intellegence's observations are to be believed).

It was as if another more experienced and well traveled shinobi wore Obito's body. But the idea was ludicrous. Only the Yamanaka could do so and there were under strict regulations for their mind-bending techniques and they haven't had a prodigy in generations.

Danzo instantly came up with various theories but narrowed it to the most reasonable conclusion: the boy was a hidden gem among gems. A boy who displayed unparalleled maturity by hiding his true self under the persona of a bumbling and incompetent boy. What reason he did this, the elder had no definite concrete ideas, but Danzo could appreciate the level of intellect and ingenuity the boy displayed. He was a shinobi in mind before the rest of his generation, he just needed time for his body to fully develop the muscles and chakra coils.

The Uchiha was an interesting intrinsic puzzle Danzo wanted to solve, but alas he didn't have the time to play with his food and pick it apart piece by piece.

Of course, he was still very suspicious and waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the boy could not fake the blatant emotions of love and raw desire he had for that immigrant civilian so he had a clear weakness. But if the boy proved his loyalty, then he wouldn't make unnecessary waves. Konoha was already facing several possible insurrection movements from internal dissents who weren't happy with the current regime. His suspicions of Obito were very low on the list of properties.

As Tobirama-sensei always said, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. And I will definitely keep an eye on you Uchiha.

But Danzo never let any of his thoughts visibly appear. He pulled out a wrapped scroll and softly placed it on the table. "Here is the mission details for your first mission. Our ANBU branch is currently suffering from logistical deficiencies and a lack of manpower so the handling and receiving of mission details will be very different from what you are used to until we can fix it. All the details are in the scroll."

"Do I need to do it now?" Naruto asked politely, but held a tone of anger, as he sat down.

"No. You are expected to leave unnoticed tomorrow night at 23:10 by the exit located in Quadrant 5 Section 3. Any questions?" The elder said monotonically.

"No sir." Naruto said calmly as he tried to analyze the man who wasn't what the ex-Uzumaki expected him to be. The time traveler was tempted to use Senjutsu to figure out the elder's angle was but he really did not want to screw up his fractured personality anymore. Life was doing a great job doing that for him.

"Then I will take my leave." The man said as he placed some ryo by his bowl for the meal. "Enjoy your date." The man walked out quietly to find the next accepted applicant.

Obito, however, acts very differently from the standard Uchiha modus operandi… No major signs of arrogance nor offense for blatantly showing a poor mimicry of one of the Mangekyo Sharingan's jutsus. Yes, I will definitely keep an eye on you Uchiha. You are an anomaly, an undocumented irregular. But, you do have potential to be so much more… for Konoha.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

To Naruto who observed Danzo walk out of the stall, the the world suddenly unfroze again and color returned.

So that's the man who wants my students, well then… Lets dance, Shinobi no Yami (The Darkness of Shinobi)... If you prove to be a troublesome dance partner, I can always bury you in a ditch somewhere. Naruto smirked before he flinched when he felt a sharp migraine digging in his skull for a moment. Bringing his hand to rub his head, he attracted his companion's loving attention.

"Are you alright?" She muttered softly in concern, embarrassment forgotten.

"It's alright. I just had a small headache." Naruto said sheepishly, making the ex-farmer frown in concern. "I'm fine now. I think I'm just hungry. So tell me about your family..."

"Well, my Otou-san, Tazuna, is a construction worker who dreams about building beautiful wooden monuments and…" Tsunami chattered happily.

Naruto smiled at the woman chattering happily but he internally frowned. He really wanted to enjoy the date and tried to stay as attentive as possible to Tsunami, but his mind always somehow looped back to Danzo. Even with the Food of the Gods delivering their delicious yet explosive flavors in his mouth, he really couldn't focus on taking the time to savoring each bite. Am I this pissed off at Danzo poaching my students? Obito's original personality can't have this much of an influence over my thoughts. There could be no possible way he has more influence over the Yin aspects of our chakra considering I lived longer and had greater chakra over him. It's impossible yet… I have been more emotional since I came here. Maybe an Uchiha trait I inherited?

Despite his mind wandering, he did the best he could to be an attentive companion. While many men would roll their eyes at the thought of listening to a woman yammer all day, Naruto found her voice to be rather soothing. It made him feel human again…and made him realize how much he missed real human contact without worrying about the small chance of being blown up by artillery fire or stray jutsus. And it seemed that Tsunami was happy as well, so that was a plus in his book.

Time flew by quickly as Naruto juggled between listening to Tsunami talk about her life in Ame and discretely observing the possible hidden Root operatives. He wouldn't put it past the elder to somehow have ears all over Konoha and somehow use something in this conversation as leverage in the future.

"It's delicious." Naruto said when he finished drinking the delicious broth from his third bowl. He used to eat a lot more in his childhood, but living in the trenches made him adapt to eating a low calorie diet. "Thank you for the meal."

"Thank you." Tsunami echoed softly in agreement.

"Your welcome." Tenchi said as he gave a familiar grin to the pair - that Naruto learned was the how the cook was proud to satisfy another customer(s).

Naruto placed some ryo (with a generous tip) on the table and the pair quietly walked home together, hand in hand. With less people walking in the night, the pair was able to return to the Uchiha Compound without any trouble.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

Naruto opened the door for Tsunami and silently gestured to enter first. Holding the door open, his eyes then saw a familiar folder sitting innocently on the table where he left it. He stood dumbfounded as he stared at the papers given by the elders. He soon snapped out of it when just realized that he didn't tell Tsunami about his finance. He turned around and opened his mouth to say-.

His mind screeched to a halt when he felt a familiar pair of smooth, velvety lips lock with his own. Unlike last time, however, he abruptly jerked away from the kiss - no matter how intoxicating it was to indulge in their sinful embrace.

He saw something flash through Tsunami's eyes but it was too quick for Naruto to understand what is was. Embarrassed, ashamed, and most of all appalled for forgetting, his eyes were magnetized to the folder on the table. "I-I'm sorry Tsunami. I-I… I c-can't." He whispered as his eyes never once left the folder. I cannot disobey the clan...

Ignorant of the turbulent emotions flooding through Tsunami, he elaborated acrimoniously, "I-I was assigned a… f-finance… by the clan today. I… can't continue this relationship anymore…"

Somehow using all the willpower he could command, he slowly made his turn to look at his companion. Instead of the joy and happiness he in her eyes saw minutes earlier, it was all replaced black orbs filled empty hollowness. Before he could say something else, she immediately dashed upstairs.

"Fuck." Naruto cursed to himself. He really wanted to follow her, but something stopped him. It wasn't his fault he hitched with a finance when he knew he had something with Tsunami, but there were plenty of ways he could break the news easier. And what I did was the worst possible way.

Sitting down on the stony gravel, his mind raced through the various ideas on what he could do to fix this relationship. It would have been easy to come up with a few ways, except he hampered by a huge migraine.

As a shinobi, Naruto was no stranger to pain. But the pain felt different; as if someone was randomly drill tunnels in his head. It didn't help that he was physically tired from training and mentally exhausted from burying his inner demons.

In the end, all he created was feelings of frustration - cursing his own incompetence.

Broken and enervated, Naruto simply created twelve Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones) to make sure Tsunami doesn't try to commit suicide.

He walked towards his room, intent on catching up some much needed sleep after today's events. He looked further down the hallway to Tsunami's room and saw the door closed shut. He somehow willed himself to take a couple steps to her door and raised a hand to knock. But before he was able to, he froze when he heard the barely audible sounds of crying.

Naruto's eyes widely stared at the wooden door for minutes as if he could directly see the sad being inside mourning. His hand went limp as continue to hear the sounds of sobbing. I am Uchiha Naruto Obito… the man who would stop Madara, the man who will bring the world peace, the man who Sasuke would be proud of…, the teme would sacrifice himself for the clan - just like his brother… So I must do the same as an Uchiha...everything for the Uchiha...

He quietly walked back and closed his own door. Then, he angrily threw a kunai at the potted plant sitting in the corner and relished the delicious sound of vase shattering. Heh, who am I kidding, I will always be Uzumaki Naruto - the dobe, a failure at being a shinobi and now a failure at relationships. I never can be like Sasuke…

Slowly slipping into his futon, he let the sweet embrace of sleep take him away from the cruel reality of disappointment.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

In the next room, tears poured down Tsunami's eyes as they hollowly gazed at a picture with both of them smiling at the dinner table.

She didn't hate Obito, she never could. He saved her life, gave her a wonderful place to stay, did his best to take care of her every need, and so much more. She knew that she could never repay the shinobi for everything he did to make her feel better. That was why she was willing to do anything to keep him happy.

Her body and soul was his and only his.

While some may argue that she was just using him to keep herself safe, Tsunami instead believed that her love was much deeper than most. Their relationship would stand strong through the test of time while others would break and crumble. She wasn't wrong, the world was.

And now, her love was in danger.

She mustered all of her sneaking skills to quietly walk downstairs without disturbing Obito. There, she saw the folder; the catalyst that Obito stared before telling her everything. Curious of its contents, she opened it and was greeted with a picture of a kunoichi.

Uchiha Saeko...eh...So this might be the bitch hugging my man yesterday… A twisted smile briefly appeared on her face as she stared at a beautiful woman smiling gracefully in the picture. She continued to quickly read through the biography of the Uchiha. The report painted a horrible picture - a powerful and elegant shinobi on the battlefield and an ideal yamato nadeshiko in the household. She was the perfect wife for any shinobi. I think I need to step up my game…

The only thing Tsunami knew she beat the woman was her physical assets and the very, very close bond she had with Obito.

If any other civilian was in her situation, they would quickly relent under the weight of a prestigious and influential clan. But she wasn't any normal civilian. She was a farmer who willingly smuggled herself out of Ame and walked through blood stained fields to find a better life. She was no stranger to hardship when she was born. Surrounded by depressing weather of non stop raining and an oppressive ruler, she built her whole life out of the muddy dirt.

And now when the sun was finally shining and the future was looking up, was she going to give up when she was so close to her goal?

Hell no.

She wasn't going to lose him without a fight.

It's on… bitch.

~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~ o ~ X ~

A/N:

I am so sorry for this chapter coming out way later than I planned. Schooling and family took up a lot of my time and while I would like to daydream and write this fanfic everyday, writing stories isn't a top priority. So, once again, I'm sorry. Hopefully, once everything in my life gets sorted out, I can start producing a chapter monthly.

Anyway, this is how far the Naruto x Tsunami relationship will develop for the moment. It may seem their relationship is moving way too fast, but you need to take into account both individuals aren't mentally sound and there is a war currently going on. So, what seems like a hasty relationship actually does has some merit (at least in my eyes :D). Now, I can move on to other females that you guys have suggested and start nurturing those juicy relationships.