Chapter 4

A World of Lies

I own Nothing

- Senju Residence -

The general room of the large Senju compound was eerily silent, a single drop of water could be heard with crystallized clarity as everyone in this room sat and stared at the man who had much to explain. To his left sat a little girl, no older than 8, her arms wrapped around her now labeled 'father's' arm in abject joy of his return. On his right sat a green haired individual, her legs crossed as her left foot pressed against the coffee table. She leaned her head against the man's shoulder as she gazed towards those sitting across from them, an air of pure smugness resigned from her posture - almost as if she enjoyed this attention.

Switching sides to the opposite couch sat 3 individuals, each sprouting individual emotions on their features. The middle one, Tsunade, sported a neutral stare as she gripped her wooden cup filled with freshly brewed tea to calm her nerves in this stressful situations. Next to her sat her student, Sakura, who looked to be nearly grinding her teeth to dust - trying her damnedest not to jump across the coffee table and make Naruto's body symmetrical once more. The last was Hinata, a woman with a positively broken expression, her face sunken and her head bowed, she had a rather hard time even being in the same room as this image let alone look at them. The final person in the room, the more neutral party was Kakashi who posted up in the corner reading his smut with an aura of aloofness that fit him perfectly but he would be lying if he didn't have an ear perked to the coming conversation.

Tsunade lifted her cup to her lips and sipped, allowing herself a moment to compose her thoughts before speaking. "Well," she said, taking a long look at the trio that sat before her. "Speak, Uzumaki-san" her voice was more than dry, something Naruto wasn't too excited to hear.

Fuyuko was the first to speak, grabbing hold of her father's hand as the tension in the room began to frighten her. "Tou-san, what's going on. Why is everyone so mad at you,"

"It's alright, sweetpea. It's just a bit of a misunderstanding," he said soothingly, pulling her in tight for a short lived side hug.

"Such venom; this is your so-called 'Baa-chan' you've told me about?" Fuu mocked with a smile, "I think I've gotten a far warmer welcome back in my home village,"

"Stop, I don't need you causing more trouble than you already have." Naruto retorted, aware of Fuu's propensity for joking and how easy it would be to land him into much hotter water. "I feel like this all has gotten out of hand,"

"You're right, I would have thought your friends would be overjoyed about knowing you're getting married," she whined, placing her hand onto Naruto's thigh, much to the outrage of one blue-haired Hyuuga.

"Fuu! Shut it," Naruto hissed, snatching his hand from hers.

She still held a cheeky grin, "What? Is it a crime to show my love for-"

"The truth, Fuu. Now," he spoke, staring Fuu down in an attempt for her compliance.

Fuu looked to her supposed fiance as she examined his face for any wavering conviction only to come up short in her inspection, "...You're no fun, you know that?" she sighed, straightening in her seat before addressing those before her. "I suppose our matrimonial status is a bit...hyperbolic,"

"How much?" Tsunade asked firmly, unwilling to give Fuu any room to play.

Fuu sighed as she let the truth slip from her lips, "...all of it, for now at least."

"Why on earth would you lie about something like that?!" Sakura yelled, stomping her foot heavily against the wooden flooring of the Senju estate, shaking the rafters free of their dust.

"Well, I didn't think you would let a complete stranger into your village without proper reasoning behind it. Besides, Naruto-kun and I have used that little white lie numerous times on our missions before, what's the harm in using it outside of work." She responded in kind, refusing to look meek in front of this aggressive ape of a woman.

"Then who exactly are you to Naruto?" Tsunade began, Hinata's ears perked at the coming story.

"I'll answer that," interjected the blonde Jinchuuriki. "Fuu is a close friend of mine that I met about 2 to 3 years ago during an intel mission of mine near the border of Takigakure. I found her near death floating down the river, her body was starved for food and covered in wounds. I tried my best to heal her in the coming days and during it she started to come around, that's when I learned of our shared connection."

"That being?" Kakashi asked, gaining a bit of curiosity for the coming answer.

"We're both Jinchuurikis," Fuu answered for her partner, placing a hand on her belly, flaring her chakra, before removing it to reveal a seal similar to Naruto's. "I'm the seventh tailed,"

Such a discovery left most in the room stunned, "Nanabi," Tsunade responded.

"She prefers to be called Chomei," Fuu corrected in jest.

"During our time together she informed me of her village's utter mistreatment of her and their unwillingness to come to her aid once the Akatsuki started to target her," Naruto continued.

"The Akatsuki cornered me on a B-ranked mission against a couple of low ranked Missing-nin's from our village, I had two other Chunnin's with me who turned tail and ran the second they saw those red cloud cloaks. I barely escaped with my life," the 7th Jinchuuriki said. "I collapsed on the shoreline of a local lake and I suppose, while I was out I slipped into the lake and floated down the length. That's where I met my knight in shining armor!"

"...I-I don't know if I would put it that way,"

Fuu cocked a brow to this, "oh? And why not? Before the day you found me I couldn't say that I had felt such care from someone except for maybe my earliest caretaker. You watched over me, sheltered me and even defended me against two Akatsuki members while I was still too weak to even move. If that's not a knight in shining armor I don't know what is."

"Hey, Fuu-chan! That's not fair," Fuyuko pouted, shooting the green haired vixen a child-like glare before continuing. "He's not your knight, he's ours!" the girl squealed, tightening her grip on her father's remaining arm.

"I suppose you're right, Fuyuko. He's got quite the knack for being our hero," Fuu began, leaning her body closer towards her supposed 'hero', close enough for her warm breath to tickle Naruto's earlobe.

However, Fuu's growing closeness to Naruto was short-lived as she was snapped from her daze by Tsunade clearing her throat, "if you don't mind keeping it in your pants, we still have a few things to discuss."

"Yeah, maybe like the reason you FAKED YOUR FUCKING DEATH!" Sakura screamed, jumping from her spot on the couch and rushing Naruto's seated position, preparing to grab him by his collar and wring his little neck dry for info. However, before her hand could even reach him Fuu stood between the two, snatching Sakura's wrist with a death like grip. "W-What the hell are you do- Ah!"

"I'd advise you to set down, Haruno-san," She spoke softly though you'd be a fool to think her words weren't laced with venom, something that was amplified when she allowed a light aura of Bijuu chakra to seep out from her pores, "or I'll make you."

Sakura seemed to snarl at such a demand, she's never been known to be the most level headed individual in team 7 but even this seemed a bit much for her, however, this all came to an end when Tsunade spoke, "Sakura," she began, her voice thick with authority, "sit down." With that, Fuu released Sakura's wrist before both returning to their seats, one sporting a smug smirk while the other held a sour snarl.

The tension seemed to fade to a reasonable level as time went on, giving Naruto time to come up with a proper response to Sakura's curt question, "look," he began, clearing his throat, "so much has happened in the past few years that it will take me quite some time to explain so I'll try my best to keep it short." And with that, Naruto explained what happened to him for the past 6 years, from the day he left Konohagakure to train with Jairya to the second he arrived back here three days ago. He told them of his loss at the hands of Pein and Konan, his training at Mount Myoboku, taking up the mantle of Jariya's spy network, finding Fuyuko and everything in between as the group sat there, absorbing his tales.

As he came to the end of his story the group sat in abject silence, each passing glances between one another while Naruto sat still, prepared for the questioning that he was sure to come. The first to speak up was Hinata, "Naruto-kun….I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know,"

"None of us did," Kakashi spoke up, moving from the corner of the room to the side of the couch Hinata and the rest were on.

"No, I'm sorry," Naruto said somberly, "I could have written, I could have sent a shadow clone or done a number of things to prove I was alive but I didn't."

"But why," Sakura voiced, taking the words out of the mouths of everyone in the room.

"...For the first two years, I was consumed by my anger, I trained night and day to gain the strength to one day end Pein and Konan for what they did to myself and my sensei. Then I began to latch myself onto Jiraiya's spy network that needed leadership in his absence, next came finding and then raising Fuyuko and then Fuu and then and then…..I can make all the excuses in the world but in all honesty, I found myself lost in a new world that I made for myself." Naruto explained timidly, knowing that his explanation might not be as satisfactory to those listening but meant quite a bit to him. As the years went on he felt like the life he left behind in Konoha was either not as important or secondary to what needed to be done, the destruction of the Akatsuki and keeping Jiraiya's spy network afloat seemed far more important in the moment than going back home to see his friends. That might be harsh but it was true, "I never expected you to think I was dead,"

Sakura refused to accept such a weak excuse, voicing her rage thusly, "what did you expect when you just up and vanished for years, huh?!"

"...I don't know," he was honest, there was no reason to lie to Sakura.

"That's all you can say?! That 'I don't know'!" Sakura hissed, her teeth nearly shattering at how tight she had her jaw clenched. "What excuse is that?"

"He has nothing to prove to you, Haruno-san," Fuu spoke up but felt a stern glare land on her, silencing her next statement.

"That's enough, Fuu. They have the right to be mad at me," Naruto said, his features twisting into a saddened grimace. "What I said wasn't an excuse, Sakura-chan, it's the God's honest truth. For the past few years, I have been focused on my own desires that I didn't take into account the people of Konoha nor my loved ones and for that, I apologize. All I can do is beg for forgiveness and move forward," and with that, Naruto stood from his spot and dropped to the floor in a deep bow, unflinching in this spectacle until he heard some form of forgiveness.

"Naruto-kun, p-please don't!" Hinata responded in kind, finding his display rather brash but endearing, to say the least. From her perspective, she found his story to be one of blinded ambitions, at first, he wished to train in order to become more powerful than his fallen sensei and to take care of the man who took him from the world.

Then after that, he found himself sucked into his sensei's network, making sure it was run just like Jariya did then followed by finding an orphan and becoming her surrogate father then also protecting another Jinchurriki, she understood why something like that would preoccupy someone's mind. Was she happy that he didn't inform his home village of what he was doing? No, of course not, but knowing he is alive and well took the sting off that info a bit more. "Get up, I-I forgive you"

"There's nothing to forgive," Kakashi said somberly, "I'm just happy you're alive,"

"I can't forgive you ...yet," Tsunade said with a curt smile, "but in time I think I can find it in me to,"

"You'll need to do a lot more than a bow for me to forgive you, a shopping spree or two should suffice." Shizune snickered, getting a laugh from almost everyone in the room except for one, Sakura, who has yet to respond to Naruto's display. While everyone in the room seemed to be more focused on everyone else's response to Naruto, Fuu was keeping her seafoam green eyes locked onto the pink haired harlot that seemed quite incensed by what her friend had set out.

"Take back the three years I thought I lost one of my only friends and then I'll forgive you," Sakura all but hissed, her voice held both pain and venom that stung at the heart of Naruto, just like she had hoped it would. While Hinata and Kakashi found it easy to forgive Sakura found both his sudden arrival and his weak explanation infuriating. You didn't think? You don't know? Such excuses couldn't smooth the pain she felt when she watched what was left of her friend being buried.

"Sakura," Shizune shot back only to be met with a huff and a snarl by Sakura before she made her exit, stomping her way through the Senju abroad before exiting the front door.

"Shocker," Fuu sighed, tapping her temple in seldom frustration.

"Why is she so upset with papa?" Fuyuko wondered

"She has every right to be," the Uzumaki heir sighed, raising himself as he watched Sakura storm from the Senju compound through the open window.

"That's a bit debatable," Fuu hummed though she seemed to keep her remaining thoughts to herself when she found Naruto glaring at her.

"Thank you, everyone, I appreciate your forgiveness and I hope in the future I can repay you all," he spoke somberly, a sincere smile stretching across his features. "Now then, seeing as the hostilities have finally simmered down, I would like to properly introduce to you all two of my closest individuals." He said, placing a hand on Fuu's shoulder. "Firstly, this is my partner and second in command, Fuu!"

Fuu bowed, showing a more respectful side once she saw the pinkette leave the room. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you all, I've heard a lot about you!"

"And my adopted daughter, Fuyuko Uzumaki," Naruto continued, leading his daughter from behind his thigh and producing her to the group.

"G-Greetings, I-I hope we can all be friends!" She mumbled, twiddling with the edge of her Kimono while stealing glances towards the newly introduced individuals.

"Awe, I love her so much!" Shizune responded as she scooped up the purple haired cutie in a love filled hug, but it was short lived as the little girl slipped from her grip and made her way back to her father, using his calf as cover in hopes of not being squeezed near death again.

"H-Hello, it is great to meet you two. My Name is Hinata Hyuuga," Hinata bowed as well, the word 'adopted daughter' still playing in her mind as her heart seemed to calm.

Kakashi merely shot them an eye smile and a simple wave before introducing himself. "Likewise, my name is Kakashi Hatake,"

"Ooooh! You mean the Hatake? I didn't know I would be meeting the legendary CopyCat Shinobi," Fuu marveled, taking a few steps towards Naruto's friends to get a closer look at them. "And a Hyuuga, huh? My, Naruto certainly kept good company,"

Kakashi let out a slight chuckle before addressing the young lady's title drop, "please, Kakashi will do. I really don't respond much to my data book title,"

Fuu shrugged, "I don't know, If I had a title like that I'd refuse to answer to anything but, but to each his own I suppose."

"I feel like that was enough introduction for one day, Naruto." Tsunade interjected, "now, rest up! You have quite the day tomorrow,"

"What's happening tomorrow?" The blonde hummed.

"Well, before you ran off half cocked I had planned for yesterday to be the day you were introduced back into Konoha. So I think tomorrow will be the perfect day for that," The fifth Hokage snickered before making her way towards her quarters. "So, get some good sleep. You've got a whole village to address,"

"F-Fantastic," Naruto mumbled, not too happy about what was to come for tomorrow.

"U-Ummm...N-N-Naruto-kun," Hinata murmured, grabbing his attention before they left.

"Hmm? Hey Hinat-?" But before he could truly turn to face her he felt her body collided with his and her arms wrap around his midsection in a quick and loving embrace. However, before he could respond to her affection she released him and made her way towards the exit before whispering one final 'goodbye' in her escape.

"W-What was that all about, Papa?" Fuyuko asked as she was scooped up by her father who seemed to be just as confused as his daughter was as he simply responded with "I don't know," before shrugging it off in return. However, as Fuyuko and Naruto retired to Tsunade's many guest bedrooms, Fuu could be seen gritting her teeth as she replayed Hinata's hug over and over in her mind.

"Oh~," Chomei snickered within Fuu, "looks like you might have a bit of competition for young Naruto's heart. Jealous?~,"

"Not in the slightest," biting down hard on her thumbnail Fuu spun on her heels and went to her own designated bedroom, preparing for the next time they would cross again.

The sun has set for a new day as the members of the Senju compound prepared for what was to come. Shizune, waking earlier than the others, had made a quick breakfast for herself before heading to Konoha's local hospital to oversee a few newly introduced patients. The second was Naruto who was quickly awoken by his daughter's badgering for a morning meal, quickly followed by Tsunade who had an early morning meeting with the council. She informed him that he needed to meet her at her office around 10 before making her way towards the Hokage Tower, a bitter sneer on her face at the idea of having to deal with the council this early in the morning.

Once he said his farewell, Naruto slipped into a routine he's gotten used to doing with Fuyuko for the past 3 years. He'd whip her up something for breakfast, usually an omelet or tamago Kake gohan, before cleaning his mess and getting his daughter ready to be cleaned herself. She was 8 so she didn't need his help in the cleaning department but, because this was a new area for her, he gathered some fresh towels and a new kimono for her to wear before sending her off to bathe. Once he knew she was set he summoned two clones of his own to watch over her for the day before he made his way towards the Kage tower in order to meet up with his godmother. "I don't know how you do it, but even when you're not in the building you're giving me headaches,"

"What did I do now?" Naruto asked, passing the threshold of the Kage's office with a quizzical smile.

Tsunade let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair in order to relax her tensed demeanor. "Yesterday I was supposed to have a council meeting to discuss a few things but, because of the Akatsuki attack, it was postponed for today. This morning I informed the council of your arrival and...let's just say they weren't too happy about it,"

"Hmm? And why is that," he asked though he had a good idea of why. From the information researched in Jiraiya's spy network, he found many, many notes about the halting of bureaucracy caused by the council, each side of the council adding strife to any discussion brought to their attention. At one time there was no such thing as a council, the Hokage was the sovereign ruler of Konoha and, for a time, it was seen as the proper way for a village to be run. However, once Sarutobi was granted his position as Third he believed in the idea of making a more congressional style leadership role, where half of the council would be filled with established clans while the other was given to the civilians. As an idea, it was reasonable and even down right revolutionary as a concept but in practice it turned quite sour, turning into the bane of every new Kage's existence.

"Keeping such a secret for them, even for a day, is almost like heresy to them! They're up in arms, demanding to have an audience with you the second you arrived," Tsunade's exacerbation was quite audible as she threw her hands up in a display of forfeit. She knew all too well that if the council was denied something they could and would make her life a bureaucratic hell hole.

Naruto chuckled, not at her misery but at her blatant display of frustration. "Well, with all do respect I think I'll pass. I've had my fill of listening to people yell at me for this week,"

"Don't get too comfortable," Tsunade's snickering smile returned to her as she pointed a daring finger towards the Uzumaki. "Everyone in the village believed that you have been dead for over 3 years now, there will be a lot of questions and I'm guessing most of them won't be positive,"

"I'm aware, I've kind of been up all night trying to prepare myself for this. I've never had to address a whole village before. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for what is to come," Naruto stifled a nervous chuckle before continuing. "I kinda get why Jiraiya liked hiding in the shadows so much, it's easier,"

"I think you've hidden in the shadows long enough, Naruto. It's time to shine a little light on your life," She remarked, proud of her seemingly philosophical musing but found that Naruto's attention was less on her statement and more on the window that rested over her shoulder. "Hmmm? Oi! Naruto, can you look at me when I'm talking to you, I was trying to be symboli-,"

"Crow,"

"Crow? What type of comeback is tha-," Questioned Tsunade, following Naruto's gaze only to find what exactly took his attention away from the task at hand. There, resting on the window seal of the Hokage tower was a stark black crow pecking at the window pane with a gentle yet noticeable rhythm almost as if it was trying to catch their attention for who knows how long. "What on earth?"

With a quick snap of his fingers, Naruto rushed over to the window in a seemingly giddy reminder, "right, right! I was wondering when you would get back to Konoha, Itachi!"

"Itachi?" Tsunade questioned but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as Naruto swung the window wide open to allow the crow to fly into her office...which was then followed by another and another and another until the whole room was now in a hurricane of crows. "No! No! No! Itachi, call off your damn birds! My paperwork!" And as if the gods wished to torment our aging Senju more she watches as a gust of wind caused by Itachi's swarm of crows sent her stacks of paperwork fluttering into the breeze, scattered on the floor and some even went out the open window.

Soon after her room was defiled by Itachi's display, the crows came together to form the aforementioned Itachi Uchiha, his iconic akatsuki cloak now removed for a simple mesh armour look with a T-shirt and matching blue pants as his slashed Hitai-ate hung from a white sash that rested around his waist. As the final crow flew into his form to finalize his body the prodigy Uchiha took a moment to survey the damage he caused with his typical entrance and couldn't help but respond with a simple, "Apology, Hokage-sama,"

"Apology?! An apology isn't going to clean up my office and re-sort my files! Oh god, do you know how long it's going to take Shizune to do this all over again," Tsunade freaked.

"Oi! Don't you dare try to place this on my shoulders! This is your responsibility," Shizune remarked

Her master pouted, trying her best to make her student feel some form of empathy for her. "But I had already sorted everything, I don't think it would be fair to force me to do it twice!"

"And how is it fair for me to be forced to do it?!" Shizune asked,

"Fine, fine - I suppose it was Naruto's fault for letting Itachi in, so in essence, it would be his res-," Tsunade began only for the blonde in question to interject.

"Can we please focus! I don't think Itachi flew himself all the way over here to listen to us bark about paperwork," he said, gathering the individual's attention. "We have more pressing matters to attend to,"

"I suppose you're right. It's not every day I get an Akatsuki flying through my window," the fifth Hokage remarked, eyeing up Itachi with a critical gaze.

"Former Akatsuki, remember? We spoke about this before I took off for Sunagakure," Naruto intervened.

She nodded, "I remember, but that still doesn't make me feel any less unnerved. I've read the files on you, about what Sarutobi and Danzo had you do for this village - I commend you for that, I can't imagine what it was like to have to kill your own for the sake of your homestead."

"I would be lying if I said I felt no remorse for my actions but I did what I thought was necessary," the Uchiha spoke.

Tsunade sighed, tapping her chin in thought. "Be that as it may, how am I to know that the past few years you haven't changed? Keeping company with people like the Akatsuki can change a man,"

"Baa-chan, you can't discredit all he's done for Konoha just because being near the Akatsuki might have changed him. I've been near him off and on for the last three years, I know his c-," the blonde loudmouth began only for Itachi's raised hand to silence him.

"That's enough, Naruto. I appreciate your defense but our Hokage has a right to be concerned about me," he began, "I've been gone for a long time and all I've been known for since my absence was my treachery to the village, I've allied myself with a known criminal organization and I've killed countless under the guise of their banner. Lady Hokage, whatever I must do to gain your trust I shall do."

"...Very well," Naruto remarked "But, before we do anything can we at least get Itachi the medical attention he needs?"

Tsunade seemed puzzled by his statement, "medical attention?"

"H-Hai," Itachi remarked, "since my departure from Konoha my body has begun to fail me,"

"Symptoms?" She asked as she made her way to his side, placing her hand against his chest as a light green glow enveloped her hand.

"At the beginning it was simple, shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing - I was able to subdue these side effects with some medication but that only lasted for about 2 years. Now, my body has grown quite heavy, I've been coughing up blood, I have constant chest pain and...It's getting to the point where I can barely stand let alone fight."

"Good god Itachi, I had no idea," Naruto murmured, he had no idea how much pain and suffering Itachi was going through - he never let it show which is a testament to his will to continue moving until the day he dropped dead which, if he doesn't get help, will be very, very soon.

"Some days are better than others, but those that aren't are debilitating," said Itachi, "I know my days were numbered in the Akatsuki with how my health is turning for the worst,"

"Strange," Tsunade hummed, finishing her full examination of Itachi's exterior. "At the moment I can't give a confident answer of what this is or if it can be cured. So far I've noticed issues with your organ tissue, bone density and cell regeneration. Whatever this might be, it's no simple disease,"

"Is there anything we can do?" asked the blonde Uzumaki.

Tsunade gave him one more visual once over before giving her response, "I'm not sure, the first thing I would suggest is to have him tested. I can have a full medical team run him through every test we have in order to pinpoint what is effecting him this way,"

"If you're willing to do so I'll be more than willing to cooperate," Itachi spoke seldomly. He wasn't a fool, he knew that he put this off for far too long and disease can spread like wildfire if it's not properly treated. He's not afraid of death but if he could escape it for a few more years to give back to the world he'd greatly appreciate it.

"Now that just leaves the issues with your eyes to deal with, Itachi," Naruto remarked, catching Tsunade's attention.

"His eyes?" She asked, taking another glance at his oculars to see if she had missed something.

"Naruto is referring to the ocular issue all Uchiha face once they've awakened their Mangekyou Sharingan, their vision begins to fade until they ultimately go blind." he remarked, "it's not something that can be fixed,"

Naruto slapped the stoic Uchiha on the back with a friendly yet stern hand. "Don't lie to us, Itachi. You told me there's a way,"

"And it comes with a price, a price I'm not willing to pay." Itachi rebutted,

"Stop speaking around the issue, you two!" Tsunade barked, "Itachi, what is this, "price"?"

He didn't seem to want to say it, but under Tsunade's gaze, he knew the truth would come out eventually. "...If you transplant the Mangekyou Sharingan of another blood relative, your eyes will not only be restored but you will be given a much stronger Sharingan known as the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan."

Realization began to dawn on Tsunade as the pieces of the puzzle placed before her began to form, "...and the last remaining Uchiha is...Sasuke,"

Itachi's face was stern, refusing to accept such an idea. "...I will not do that to my brother, I've put him through enough in his life."

"...So the Mangekyo transplant must be done by someone of blood relation?" the cheeky blonde asked, curious as to the answer.

The Uchiha nodded, "hai, the sacred scrolls hidden in the Uchiha Compound stated so,"

"But has anyone transplanted a Mangekyo Sharingan that wasn't blood related?" He pressed forward, a thought formulating in his mind the other two wished he'd extrapolate on.

"...I don't know," Itachi spoke honestly, simply shrugging his shoulders at the question. "The scroll merely said that 'those with strong blood ties' can transplant eyes,"

"Where are you going with this, Naruto? Even if it doesn't say blood related there's only one living Uchiha to this day." As Tsunade spoke the two traded a knowing glance, "...unless you two know something that I don't."

"Itachi has another Sharingan," Naruto spoke, thumbing towards his black haired acquaintance. "He once came to me and offered me a crow with a Mangekyou Sharingan in it that had the strongest genjutsu ability known to man. He wanted me to use it on Sasuke...but I refused,"

"And how on earth did you get another Sharingan?" Tsunade wondered quizzically, seeing that, as far as she knew, there's only two living Uchiha's who could give up another Sharingan.

"Shisui gave me it before he died,"

"See, now we just need the other one." Naruto said with his trademark optimism, "...which would be?"

"Danzo," Itachi stoic delivery gave room for pause.

"Danzo, of course." Tsunade hissed, slumping into her chair with a harsh thud. "That slime bastard has always had a sickly fascination with the eyes of the Uchiha."

"Danzo? Ohhhh, yeah - now I remember. Jiraiya had a file or two on him," Naruto remarked, recalling a summer ago where he browsed through Jiraiya's notes about the man. "Sarutobi's childhood friend, the self-proclaimed 'Darkness of the Leaf' and the creator of the later defunct ROOT organization,"

"Yeah, that's the one." Tsunade sighed, "how do you know he has it?"

"Before Shisui's death, he came to me and explained what happened. He was going to use his special genjutsu called 'Kotoamatsukami' to stop the coup on Konoha but Danzo, believing his plan to be flawed, decided to take the eyes for himself and kill Shisui. He was able to take his right eye and fatally wound him but Shisui found a way to escape in time," he explained, producing the crow in question that had Shisui's Sharingan still implanted into its socket.

"Alright, well I guess we know what our next plan of attack is," Naruto spoke matter of factly, sitting on the corner of Tsuande's desk with a flippant grin. "Find Danzo, get the eye and make him pay for what he's done,"

Tsunade's features turned a bit sour at the boy's statement, "...it's not going to be that easy, Naruto."

"Why not,"

-Konohagakure's Cemetery-

"Because we're about a year too late," Standing within the hallowed grounds of the Konohagakure Cemetery stood Tsunade, Itachi and Naruto, both covered in large cloaks to shield their identities to the world around them. Before them rested a simple tombstone that read, 'Shimura Danzo, A Man Beyond Reproach'

"...I'm sorry, itachi," Tsunade remarked, placing a somber hand on his shoulder.

"No, we were so close," Naruto's fists tightened, "how did he pass?"

"He was found dead in his bedroom, first responders say it was a heart attack," responded Tsunade, recalling the day like it was nothing.

Naruto started to ponder for a moment, "...c-could the eye still be...you know-," he began, broaching a question that he thought most would contemplate.

Tsunade, with a quick snap of her voice, refused to let him continue. "I'm going to pretend like I didn't just hear you say that,"

"What? We need this eye," he stated emphatically.

"First off, the eye has probably already decayed after a solid year and secondly, even if it hadn't, we're not desecrating a man's burial site for his eye!" She fired back, seemingly no room for debate in her words. "Danzo was a bastard when he was alive but even he deserves to have peace in death,"

Naruto sighed, "you're right, Baa-chan, it's just..."

"I know, Naruto. But we'll find another way...if there is one," with that the trio decided to head back to the Hokage tower, trying their best to keep a low profile while doing so - they didn't want to reveal Naruto's return just yet and god forbid they see Itachi before everything was hammered out - that's one good way to start a riot. "For now, I think it's best for us to focus on what he can work on other than something that isn't really set in stone. So, I think it'd be best if we get Itachi set up in a medical room so we can start running some tests while Naruto and I begin work on his return speech. Sounds good?"

While Tsunade was busy trying to lay out their next course of action Naruto and Itachi's attention seemed to be elsewhere, "you've noticed it too, haven't you?"

"Hai, there's no mistaking it," Naruto spoke, shooting a quick glance to his right, attempting to catch a fading shadow that ducked into the alleyway next to them. "We're being followed,"

"Can you spot who?" his eyes were closed in hopes of lowering suspicion of them catching on but his senses were wide open to the world around him.

"They've kept their distance so I can't get a clear image of them but I know they've been tailing us since the cemetery." The Uzumaki/Namikaze hybrid hummed, "three, maybe four in total."

The Uchiha opened his eyes, activating his Sharingan. "There's one hiding behind a silo two buildings behind us, I think I'll go after that one."

"I'll snag the stragglers," Naruto remarked sternly.

"Hai," and as the duo nodded in understanding their bodies flickered out of sight, leaving Tsunade alone in the streets - talking to herself, while they handled business.

Hidden behind a water tower stood a cloaked figure who scanned the sea of people within the village streets of Konohagakure, his targets now vanished into thin air he hoped to find them soon or his master would not be happy. As he prepared to move to another rooftop in order to hopefully have a better view he felt pressure placed against his shoulder. Quickly, the man cloaked in shadows wheeled back, pulling out a custom kunai in preparation to plunge it into the sternum of the man who snuck up on him. The sound of metal meeting concrete echoed throughout the rooftops as his knife shattered against the wall behind him, leaving him wide open and defenseless. Within a second he felt his legs being kicked out from under him before slamming into the ground below the water tower. The figure tried to compose himself but he was already set upon by his unforeseen adversary who grabbed hold of his throat and held him still against the floor. As the figure peered upwards towards his assailant he was met with two blood red eyes and then blackness.

"Where the hell did they go?" A voice spoke, frantically searching the people down below in hopes of finding their missing targets.

"How am I to know? You were the one who was supposed to be watching them!" Another fired back, mimicking his partner in the hectic hunt.

"Shut up, both of you!" A third voice said, seemingly silencing the other two, "they might have figured out we were tailing them so it's best we head back."

"Please, don't head out on our account." A fourth and final voice spoke out, causing the trio to take notice of their newly arrived guest, Uzumaki Naruto. "We were just getting started," Before the trio could respond the one armed shinobi went on the attack, delivering devastating kicks to the first two unsuspecting figures before grappling the final individual from behind, slipping his arm underneath his chin. "Now then, are you going to tell me why you were following us or does this have to get much worse? It's your choice," Naruto remarked, tightening his grip as he felt the cloaked figure try his best to wiggle from his grasp.

With no response Naruto tightened his grip only to relinquish it seconds later as a white foam began to escape the man's lips, spilling onto his cloak and the rooftop. After the limp form came crashing down onto the roof Naruto removed the hood and revealed the man's features, a simple, unassuming face with his eyes now rolled to the back of his head, and his tongue dangled from his now open mouth. A brutal death to say the very least and one not caused by Naruto's actions but that of the seal that rested on the man's tongue.

"A suicide seal," commented the Uzumaki, noticing the design of said seal and coming to such a conclusion. "Must have used it the second he was captured. Meaning the others might still be useful," with little left to do than regroup with Itachi, Naruto brought to life three clones - each ordered to take the trio to Ibiki Morino and his Torture/intergation team to see if they could be probed for more information. With little left to go on, he took off, preparing to commiserate with his colleague over what to do next in such a situation. As he hopped from one building to the next with relative ease a sight caught his eye that caused him to pause. Ducking onto a balcony he narrowly avoided detection from two masked figures, each clad in featureless brown cloaks - the same that dawned the spies Itachi and Naruto tailed.

Speaking of Itachi, as Naruto peered over the lip of the building he noticed, sprawled out on the floor, laid his comrades body - seemingly knocked unconscious by the duo. The duo stood with an unwavering calmness, their muscles loose and their stances seemingly non-existent, almost as if they were puppets on a string. While the previous spies they subdued had a more clumsy quality to them they felt trained, prepared to snap into play at any moment as a good puppet would.

"What should we do with them?" One spoke, his masked gaze falling upon his shorter partner for guidance.

"Kill them," his voice was stern and his command was swift as his partner produced a kunai from his cloak sleeve. "No one must know we were here."

With little time to decide, the blonde threw caution and proper planning to the wind, summoning a doppelganger before making his presence known. The copy cat duo was quickly set upon by the masked individuals, the one to the right drawing a tanto from his belt with a quick flick of his wrist before charging forward. The other, armed with a kunai, continued to follow the order of his partner and went to strike down Itachi with a simple slice to the throat. As his kunai connected he was greeted with a flock of crows which swiftly swarmed him, encasing him in a tornado of fowl.

Within the hurricane of birds, a flock of them began to form, revealing the visage of Itachi himself to the masked assassin. "Whoever you are, you are quite tight lipped. I hoped faking unconsciousness after your surprise attack could have gotten you to reveal who you are allied to."

"Kinoe," his partner called, burying his tanto's tip deep into another Naruto clone, quickly dispelling it. "It's time to leave,"

"Hai," the now named Kinoe nodded, his hands blurring through hand seals but before his hand could land on the final 'snake' seal it was snatched up by Itachi - leaving his little plan up in the air.

"Apology," Itachi spoke stoically, his Sharingan spinning in anticipation. "But we're not done with you two." However, as Itachi was prepared to strike he noticed another form constructed entirely of wood began to stretch from the masked individual's back. Itachi's shock was short-lived but it was enough for the figure to finally finish his string before slamming his hand against the rooftop. "Doton: Kiretsu (Earth Release: Fissure)!" As his clone's wooden hand touched the rooftop, a tremor rocked the building to it's very foundation. Fractures began to form through the building, slowly ripping this business building apart until it crumbled in on itself like a stack of cards. As the floor gave way the masked figures vanished, slipping free of their attacker's attention and darting off towards god knows where, leaving Itachi and Naruto in free fall.

It was only thanks to Naruto's quick mind and a well placed teleportation kunai that neither of them were buried under several tons of rubble. As they found themselves teleported to an adjacent building all they could do was watch as the dust settled and think, whoever these masked men were, they just indirectly attacked Konohagakure and they were going to get to pay for it dearly.

Aaaaand scene! Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my story! For those who are fans of this story, thank you all so much for sticking around even though I haven't updated in a while. I've been having issues with finding the drive to write in general so I put some of my stories on the back burner. I appreciate your patience and your continued support for this story. If you like what you've read please leave a review and PM me if you have any questions, thank you all so much! See you next time!