Challenge by: pain17ification

Bestia Carmesí de Konoha: Crimson Beast of Konoha

Chapter 7

Their journey back to Iwa thankfully didn't bring them across any trouble making their transport of Roshi a safe one. Once in view of Iwa they were quickly met with medics to take and check over Roshi and Onoki who looked at them with a grateful smile.

"I am glad my request didn't end up with any of you being hurt and I am even gladder that you returned with Roshi. You have Iwa's many thanks and I will give you my approval of this alliance and treaty so you can deliver it to Kiri immediately" Onoki said as Tier nodded and bowed slightly to the Kage.

"That is of course after the coming storm subsides. Please feel free to stay at one of our inns for today so you can leave in the morning. You may also send a hawk to your Kage to notify her if you wish" Onoki said as the others noticed the looming dark clouds rumbling above them.

"That might be for the best as traveling in this weather is never good. Kukaku can join us as well since the storm is going to keep her from returning home as well" Yoruichi said while Onoki nodded, understanding and having no problem with it as they all had saved their jinchuriki.

"We'll make a decision on our travels back to Kiri in the morning, for now an inn sounds great" Tayuya voiced as the others nodded along and, with a motion from Onoki, followed the Kage towards a rather nice looking inn that was closer toward the Kage's office.

Though, given the amount of people in their group, they decided on using the room commonly used for parties. Naru was quickly excited about the large room and was enjoying himself as he ran around the room with Yachiru.

"Whoa, easy there little guy. You can't be running around all night since we have to leave early" Kukaku said as she quickly scooped up a giggling Naru who was smiling up at her.

"She's right Naru you need to lay down and get ready for bed. You've had a busy day and need to rest. Now let us go get changed for bed" Karin said as she accepted Naru from Kukaku who, as much as she found herself liking the little boy, knew his sisters were in charge with him.

"What are you talking about busy? He stayed back with us and didn't see any combat which I'm still annoyed at" Suigetsu grumbled out while they left as he had wanted a chance to face off against Kisame but had lost his chance due to Kenpachi.

"You think you could have lasted against an S-Rank shinobi? You would have been dead before it began" Sui-Feng commented, ignoring the glare from him while Kenpachi chuckled.

"She has a point, you have some skill kid but Kisame is on another level. Don't worry though as there are other swordsmen out there to give you a challenge" Kenpachi said making Suigetsu glare at the floor before Tayuya gave him a hard pat on the back.

"Stop sulking, our job was to keep Naru safe and get Roshi back and we succeeded. Plus with Kisame dead you can possibly try your hand at Samehada without a challenge. For now let's relax and rest so we can head home" she said while he nodded and saw her point. "Good now that you are done sulking go help Karin by getting the beds out for her" she added before Suigetsu face faulted and walked off to help with a grumble.

"So what is the plan with you all? Are you all heading back to your villages?" Kenpachi asked Yoruichi, Sui-Feng, and Kukaku as he held his own energetic child over his shoulder who was squirming and giggling while attempting to escape.

"I already talked with A about it and I intend to ask the Mizukage to be Kumo's ambassador. I want to as not only do I owe Naru for saving me and Yugito but I want to help look after he little guy. He is very interesting and I want to see how he develops" Yoruichi said as after personally watching Naru transform like that and fight she definitely wanted to see more.

"With Yoruichi-sama being my sensei and the head of the clan my clan serves I must follow where she goes. If she wishes to follow then I must follow" Sui-Feng said before Yoruichi pulled the smaller woman close to her with a smirk.

"Those are old and forgotten mandates and you know it. You just want to be a cute student and follow your sensei don't you?" she teased while Sui-Feng squirmed in her hold with a blush on her cheeks.

"What about you Kukaku?" Yoruichi asked, still holding onto Sui-Feng as she tried to wiggle out of her grasp.

"Personally I'd like to see Kiri as being in the Land of Stone – even being as far away from Iwa as I am – brings up too many bad memories that Onoki will understand" she said, slightly moving her lone arm over the bandaged stump left of her other arm. "Doesn't mean I'm not loyal towards my village but I think the new scenery will help" she added as the others nodded

"I am more than sure that Mei will accept you all into Kiri given what all that you have done to keep Naru safe" Tier said as they all have helped keep the small boy safe in their journeys.

"Plus how can I possibly leave such an adorable little kid like Naru? I mean look at him!" she added while she pointed towards the little boy, who had just been guided out by Karin. Even Yoruichi couldn't help but 'aww' as Naru was now in a rather cute set of blue pajamas with dark blue turtles on it with a little night cap over his mask to finish it off.

"Aww Naru you look adorable" Yoruichi said, letting go of Sui-Feng and quickly opening her arms towards the somewhat tired looking boy.

"I felt with how things have been in terms of how hectic is has been and whatnot might as well let Naru calm down a bit with a comfy night's rest with his new pajamas" Karin said, smiling down at the now tired little brother of hers. "Do you like the pajamas your aunt got you?" she asked as Mei had insisted to pack them with his stuff.

At first it had surprised them how much of a doting aunt Mei was but as they spent time around her they quickly got used to it.

"Yeah, Naru likes Naru's turtles that Auntie got him" he sleepily said with a yawn before a few of them in the room chuckled at how cute he was.

"We'll see you in the morning so sleep well little guy" Kenpachi said as he had gotten Yachiru to tire herself out and fall asleep over his shoulder.

"Night night everybody" Naru drowsily said, waving at everyone with his free hand before Karin slowly lead him over to the bed Suigetsu had put out in the middle of all the adult's beds.

"We better not stay up that much later honestly as we will have a long journey over water and land tomorrow to reach Kiri. That and I still need to let Mei know of our success and safety" Tier said as the others nodded since they knew the only real way back to Kiri, besides taking a tour through Fire Country, was to go back to the Land of Lightning via boat and then another boat taking them to the Land of Water.

"You all get ready for bed, I will be back shortly as I have to send a hawk to Mei to alert her and to help her prepare for our return" Tier said as with the journey back home ahead of them they needed to get things ready rather fast.

"I'll come with you since I need to send a letter to A as well. He could probably help a bit as well since if we are rushing to Kiri we will need a boat ready for us on the other side of the Land of Lightning" Yoruichi added as she stood up and started to follow Tier out of the room to help her get their ride home ready.

-Akatsuki-

Nagato, as he heard of Itachi's urgent report of how he had lost the Yonbi at the hands of three powerful kunoichi and lost Kisame to Kenpachi Zaraki of all people, was incredibly angry at the turn of event. "You weren't able to retrieve Kisame's ring at all?" he asked before Itachi shook his head.

Kakuzu had barely been able to retrieve Hidan's ring before retreating so while only being down one ring, besides the one Orochimaru still had on him, it was still a hefty blow since they had ended up losing two members.

"Kiri is being too troublesome, though so is Kumo and now Iwa. They have stopped us twice, we should do something about them" Deidara said with a glare before Nagato shook his head.

"No, causing a war by going after three major villages wouldn't go well for us. For now we must regroup and continue our plan. Though we must be careful, for now we need to lay low and not attract attention. We must regroup and recover from this unforeseen annoyances" Nagato said as they all nodded.

"I'll keep our funds strong and keep an eye out for missing nin that could fill our missing ranks" Kakuzu said before Nagato nodded and cut off the hologram meeting.

"Madara I want you to find Orochimaru and do whatever needed to get him to return to us. Despite having attacked Itachi his power is needed and from what you have mentioned he has another budding Uchiha under his wing" Nagato said as he looked over his shoulder to see the orange masked Uchiha appear from a swirl of space.

"You must be really desperate to ask him for help. I'll do it for the Akatsuki but remember I don't take orders from you" Obito said while Nagato glared at him but in the end nodded, making Obito smirk under his mask before he disappeared again.

"Are you sure we can trust Orochimaru enough to let him back in?" Konan asked as Nagato could only sigh and nod.

"We have to, we are down two strong members and any attempt we have made to capture any jinchuriki have failed. I trust Madara enough that he will make sure Orochimaru knows he cannot attack our members again. That and the snake is in debt to us since we didn't outright attacking him for kidnapping, endangering the Kyuubi jinchuriki, and being the cause behind all this new trouble" he said while Konan could only trust his judgement and hope it ended well.

-Next Day – Afternoon-

Tier continued to watch the waves roll by as they moved along on their boat that was quickly taking them to Kiri. They, so far, had been on one boat after another. The first took them to the Land of Lighting where they had quickly made across to the other side where the next, the one they were on currently, was taking them to Kiri.

Thankfully everything was going smoothly so far as Onoki sent them off with a message to Mei and allowed Kukaku to leave as well as a boat to the Land of Lightning. When they did eventually arrived in the Land of Lightning's docks a message from A to Mei was waiting for them and another boat on the other side.

Naru though didn't seem to mind the boat rides as much as they thought he would. He definitely was more excited to see his 'Auntie' than anything else.

"Naru please sit down, moving around too much will make you seasick" Tier said as she picked up the hyper boy who stopped squirming once on her lap.

"But Tier-chan Naru is really excited to see Auntie again and show her Naru's new friends" he said making her smile softly and pet his head gently.

"And she is excited to see you again and meet our new friends. She'll be extra happy that you are safe most of all but you will still have to have a checkup with Unohana" she said as he nodded with a happy smile.

"We honestly shouldn't be that much longer since I can see a coastline from here" Yoruichi said as she walked from the front of the boat with a thankful sigh from the prospect of finally getting off this all day boat ride with a slight walk in between it all.

"She's right, we will be reaching the Land of Water's docks in a few minutes. Start getting your things together" the captain said as everyone nodded and Tier set Naru down so she could get up.

"Naru go grab your stuff and get ready okay?" Tier said before Naru nodded and rushed over to Karin to help get stuff ready.

As the boat quickly pulled into the docks Naru nearly bolted from the boat, only to get caught by Kenpachi, as Mei, Ao, and Chojuro were waiting for them. "Whoa easy there little guy, don't go running and falling off the boat like that" Kenpachi said with a smirk as he stepped out of the boat and held a squirming Naru towards Mei who quickly accepted him.

"Auntie! Naru missed you!" Naru said excitedly as he hugged Mei who hugged him back with a warm smile.

"I missed you too my sweet little Naru, I'm so glad you are safe" Mei said while she nuzzled her cheek against his, smiling happily as the little boy giggled happily in her arms. "And I'm glad you all are safe as well, please let us make our way back to Kiri so you all can settle down and relax after your mission" she added before setting Naru down but kept ahold of one of his hands.

"Mizukage, it is a pleasure to meet you" Yoruichi said as she bowed slightly with Sui-Feng bowing deeper beside her.

"Please call me Mei, Tier told me how you looked out for Naru and kept him safe, same for you as well Kukaku Shiba" Mei said, looking at the two Kumo natives before turning her attention to the Iwa women who stepped off the boat.

"Honestly Naru saved me as well so me looking after the adorable little guy isn't anything" Yoruichi said as she pinched the little boy's cheek, making him giggle which in turn made Mei smile at before Kukaku stepped towards them and ruffled Naru's hair.

"As for me the kid is too cute not to feel a want to keep him safe. I don't know all what happened in Kumo but the little guy is special my gut tells me, which is something I tend to trust after so many years as a kunoichi" Kukaku said while Mei nodded and looked back at the others.

"Well we can talk more later for sure, right now let us return to Kiri as I am sure you all have been exhausted from the journey here" Mei said as everyone nodded and she began to lead them all to Kiri.

"So how did you like Kumo and Iwa?" Mei asked as she looked down at Naru who happily walked alongside her.

"Kumo was fun! Naru met Yoru-chan there and helped Yu-chan and Matatabi?" he said, unsure if he got the name right before looking to Yoruichi who nodded with a smile. "Yeah Matatabi. Then in Iwa Naru got make friends with Ku-chan and even though there was a scary skeleton she and the others protected Naru" he said excited while Mei chuckled at the little boy's excitement before looking over to Tier.

"Well that certainly sounds exciting and I'm sure while you are getting a checkup with Unohana I will be filled in on everything" Mei said before Tier nodded, understanding that Mei wanted a full report when they got there. "Karin can take you to Unohana and after your checkup we can spend time together, how does that sound? Mei asked as she turned attention back towards the little boy beside her.

"Naru likes it, Naru is excited to see Re-chan also" he said before Ao looked over his shoulder.

"Do be careful though, she recently accepted a student from the Land of Fire. The girl was student of Tsunade that she sent over to Unohana after the girl reached a certain level of her training" Ao said before Tayuya and Karin both quickly became worried.

"Wait what!?Why did you allow someone from the Land of Fire into Kiri?!" Tayuya yelled, confused about why and somewhat worried Naru's affiliation with Konoha might be found out.

"Do not worry Tsunade has been away from Konoha for many years. Her student may be a kunoichi from Konoha but the girl has agreed not to reveal or tell Konoha of her time here. To Konoha the girl is still with Tsunade for all they know" Mei said, sending a glare towards Ao for revealing Unohana's student ahead of when she wanted to tell them about it.

"If you say so but still I don't quite like this" Tayuya grumbled out as she trusted Mei despite how her fears were nibbling at her insides.

The rest of the trip back to Kiri went by rather fast, thankfully, and the group found themselves standing at the gate of Kiri with most of them happy to be home.

"Feels good to be back home and not running around on errands don't it" Suigetsu said before Karin slapped his arm while rolling her eyes.

"It wasn't an errand, it was a very important mission that for now is over" she said before Mei nodded along.

"She is right Suigetsu, about it being an important mission and being over for now. I want to ensure Naru's safety before sending you off to Suna and eventually Konoha. Konoha though might be a much later trip without Naru alongside" she said before picking up the little boy and handing him to Karin.

"For now how about you three go to Unohana, the rest please follow me to my office" Mei added before Yoruichi and Kukaku stepped up pet Naru's head again.

"We'll see you after little guy" Yoruichi said with a smirk while Kukaku nodded.

"Shouldn't be too long and after that we can get a tour around with the little guy along with us" Kukaku said making Naru nod happily with a large smile.

"Yeah! Naru will show you around Naru's home! You will really like it here, it's really cool and fun" Naru said making the two women chuckle before they waved him off Karin started to walk off with him towards the main hospital of Kiri and Mei started to lead the rest of them towards her office.

"Now Naru when you get to Unohana be a good boy around this Konoha person okay?" Karin said, hoping that the person from Konoha wouldn't even notice them while Unohana did his checkup.

"Naru will be extra good Karin-neechan" Naru said but Karin couldn't help but still feel nervous as they entered the hospital and headed in towards Unohana's office.

"Ah good to see you all made it back safely," Unohana said from behind her desk, smiling up at them before she set down the folder she was reading over "Mei told me she was going to send Naru over to me for a checkup" she added with a smile.

"How has my favorite patient been recently? I heard you all went to Kumo and Iwa" Unohana said, motioning them to follow her as she guided them to her checkup room that was attached to her office.

"Naru has been good. Naru had fun in Kumo and Iwa, Naru even made new friends Re-chan" Naru said happily, making Unohana chuckle at the boy's nickname for her.

"Can you check to see how his crack is? Something happened in Kumo that I'm sure Mei will fill you in on later but it involved it and we need to see if it has gotten smaller" Karin said, making sure to mention the main worry of hers first and foremost since Unohana would hopefully see something she didn't.

"Of course as that is also what Mei wanted me to check first" Unohana said with a smile before they heard the door to her office open.

"Unohana-sensei? Are you here?" a girl's voice spoke out, making Karin tense up as she figured this was the voice of the Konoha girl.

"Yes I'm in the checkup room come on in" Unohana said before the girl walked in and Karin looked her over.

The girl was easily Naruto's age, before the experiments changed everything, with rather bright pink hair and soft green eyes. She wore a sleeveless red qipao dress that went down to her upper thighs with white trimmings and a black obi around her waist to keep it closed. She also noticed the black shorts underneath and black sandals while she wore a white doctor's coat to finish off her outfit.

"Oh hi there, my name is-Sakura-chan!" Sakura started to say before Naru leapt at her, causing her to catch him as he crashed into her.

"Sakura-chan! Naru has missed you so much" Naru said as he nuzzled his head against her chest with his childlike innocence while the girl was frozen in shock from looking down at him.

"N-Naruto?" she asked as she collapsed to her knees, tears now pouring down her cheeks as she held the boy a bit away from her to get a clear look at him. "W-What happened to you? Why are you a kid and look different?" Sakura asked as her voice cracked before she hugged him close and looked over to the redheaded girl.

"You," she hissed out, clinging on to Naruto tighter "why do you have him? Why is he like this?" Sakura asked but before Karin could respond an intense pressure weighed down on them for a fraction of a second, just enough to make them shut up.

"Sakura please do not freak out dear and let Karin explain herself. I know this is a shock but Tsunade warned me about your reasoning to get stronger so you could find and save Naruto here so I knew this would happen. I'm sure if you listen things will make sense" Unohana said with a warm smile while Karin looked at her in shock.

"You knew she was looking for Naru and let her into Kiri anyways?" Karin asked as Unohana nodded and walked over to Sakura to pick up the confused boy from her arms.

"Yes as Tsunade mentioned Sakura's drive and said to keep her from driving herself into the ground. Of course she didn't know of him being in Kiri so to have her come here felt like it was needed" Unohana mentioned as she began her check up on the boy. "Now how about you explain to Sakura as she deserves to know as Naruto was her teammate and one of her friends" Unohana said, sending Karin a look that told her it was okay while Sakura was wiping her tears from her eyes.

"Look before you say anything we weren't the ones who took him, it was Orochimaru" Karin said before Sakura nodded.

"Yeah Konoha knows that but how did he end up in Kiri, with you, as the size of a kid with a mask on his head" Sakura said making Karin frown a bit and rub her arm nervously.

"This is all going to sound weird but I promise this is how it all happened" Karin said before pulling Sakura back into Unohana's office and started to tell her how Naruto became Naru and they ended up in Kiri. By the end of it Sakura looked like she had calmed down a bit but her eyes were stuck on the door to the checkup room.

"So he forgot nearly everything about Konoha?" she asked as Karin shrugged her shoulders.

"He remembers a bit of his old life like some bridge connected to the Land of Waves and a grave that had Kubikiribocho as a marker and apparently you but everything else seems to be blank to him. We decided to pose and be his sisters because we felt terrible for not learning he was family sooner" Karin guiltily mentioned before Sakura chuckled softly.

"I'm just glad he remembers me and has family now" Sakura said before turning towards Karin. "Look I don't know why but a lot of people didn't like him in Konoha, they looked at him with a mix of disgust and hate. But he seemed cheerful despite it, willing to prove everyone wrong" she recalled with a frown before shaking it off.

"It's probably because he was, and still kind of is in a sense, a jinchuriki" Karin muttered making Sakura frown.

Sakura of course knew the phrase as she had learned all about it in school and as simply as that it all made sense. The village told her that the Kyuubi was 'killed' on October 10th, Naruto's birthday, despite the fact it was nigh impossible to kill one. She honestly didn't know what it took her so long to put two and two together but the looks she saw towards Naruto made sense, despite her still not liking them.

"How has he been with you so far? Has he been happy with you and this Tayuya girl as his sisters?" Sakura asked as Karin smiled softly.

"So far he's all smiles with us. I don't know if you plan to tell Konoha about Naru yet but please, I beg of you not to. Naru is all the family Tayuya and I have plus with the Mizukage as his aunt of sorts he's safe and loved here" Karin pleaded as the last thing she wanted was for Naru to be taken away.

"I-I'm not going to tell anyone" Sakura muttered, shocking Karin before the pink haired girl looked over at her. "My sensei Tsunade once told me to do everything I can, once I found him, to keep Naruto safe. She said how sometimes it's better not to go back and now I understand" she said with a small smile.

"All I wanted to do was to find him and make sure he was safe and I have done both but I don't want to leave" Sakura said as she clenched her fists. "Do you think your Kage will let me stay and be around him?" she asked as Karin weighed it over.

Honestly Sakura wasn't a threat towards Naru staying with them and if anything she seemed more to want to stay around him than anything.

"We can talk to her as we are supposed to go and meet her after this. You can come with us and explain everything to her. I'm sure she'll be fine with you" Karin said making Sakura smile and nod before the checkup room's door opened and Naru leapt at Sakura again with Unohana walking in after him.

"Sakura, please give these notes from the checkup Mei and then take the day off. I feel you'll need it after everything" Unohana said with a warm and caring smile as she handed a folder to Sakura who accepted it with her free hand that wasn't busy holding onto Naru.

"Thank you Unohana-sensei" she said before she adjusted Naru in her arm, a bit not use to his smaller size or his clinginess, but decided to get used to it if this was how he would be from now on.

"Don't mention it dearie now best be off as the sooner you meet with her the sooner you can catch up with little Naru here" Unohana said as she gave the little boy's cheek a soft pinch that made him giggle.

"Of course, thank you again" Sakura said as she and Karin started to leave.

"Bye Re-chan!" Naru said as he waved over Sakura's shoulder, making the woman smile and wave back.

As the door closed Retsu couldn't help but smile softly to herself, thankful that this went better than she or Tsunade thought it would go. They both thought it would have gone worse when they had discussed it before Sakura first arrived in Kiri.

She had lied a bit to them as Tsunade did know but said nothing to no one as the last Senju had also been the boy's god mother and decided him being in Kiri was for the best. Tsunade, even being out of the village as long as she has, knew the village hadn't treated her godson all that kindly. To her, Naruto being with the distant family of fellow Uzumaki, was better than Konoha and she figured Sakura would only get stronger after finding him.

For now Unohana could only hope they were right about it as Tsunade, and now herself, could see the potential in Sakura and they both wanted to help her rise and grow.

-Mizukage Office-

Mei honestly did not like what she had just heard from Yoruichi, Kukaku, and Tier. From the Akatsuki attacks on jinchuriki to Naru's new transformation it was all very worrying especially given the Akatsuki knowing about Naru.

The only upside was the death of two of their members, one from Naruto – Naru's transformed self – and the other from Kenpachi.

"Personally I don't think the Akatsuki will try anything for a while given that two of their members are dead" Tier said as Mei nodded.

"Yes but still, their activity worries me and makes me afraid I made the wrong choice sending him along with you if it got them to notice him" she said before Yoruichi cleared her throat.

"If I may?" she asked before Mei motioned for her to go on. "Personally I think you made the right choice sending him with Tier and the others cause if you hadn't Yugito for sure would have been captured and that would have started the ball rolling towards something very dangerous. He saved Yugito and brought the Akatsuki to the eyes of three of the five major hidden villages" Yoruichi said, making Mei nod in agreement with a sigh.

"Plus the kid helped make allies with the villages as I know A and Onoki enjoyed little Naru so he makes for a natural diplomate" she teased making the Mizukage chuckle a bit.

"I know the feeling as he quickly makes a place in your heart with how sweet he is" Mei said before sending a slight glare over towards Kenpachi as he had started to chuckle a bit.

"Oh relax I agree with you as he reminds me of Yachiru" the scarred swordsmen said before Mei nodded.

"I am once again thankful for everything you did for him from looking out for him and protecting him to even befriending him. He's had a rough life and it is always good to hear good things happening to him" she said as Kukaku and Yoruichi smiled and waved her off.

"You can't help but want to look out for the little guy so don't mention it" Kukaku said before Tayuya cleared her throat a bit.

"Not to be rude but what is our next move exactly? I mean we came back due to the danger of the Akatsuki but with them most likely going back underground what are we going to do next?" Tayuya asked as Mei frowned a bit and let out a sigh.

"For now I want you all to stay here and continue training for at least a year. Over that year I will solidify relationships with Iwa and Kumo as well as get things ready for Suna and Konoha. Over this year I want to try and see if Naru can transform again or use some of his powers that he mentioned to Yoruichi that he can use in his child form. The sooner Naru isn't defenseless the safer I personally will fell about sending you all out again" Mei said as to everyone that sounded like a solid plan.

"Kenpachi I want you to help train Suigetsu a bit as well as Naru although Naru's training will be very light, like how you train your daughter" she quickly added as despite Kenpachi's fearsome appearance he was very gentle with children, his daughter especially.

"Should I get the other swordsmen to help out a bit? I'm sure they'd like to meet the kid" Kenpachi said before Mei nodded with a smile.

"I already called them back so they will be arriving within the coming days" Mei said before a knock came at her door.

"Mei? It's me, Naru, and someone else. Can we come in?" Karin asked from the other side of the door.

"Of course, how did the checkup with Naru go?" Mei asked as they watched Karin walk in with a pink haired girl who was holding Naru.

"It went okay, we have the notes but….it turns out the kunoichi from Konoha was Naru's old teammate" Karin said as Mei frowned a bit but the look in the girl's eyes showed she wasn't about to run off with him.

Mei listened to the recollection of Karin and Sakura's talks as she looked over Unohana's notes which showed promise as Naru's crack had gotten a tiny bit smaller.

"So Sakura I am glad you don't wish to alert Konoha of Naru's presence here and honestly you are more than welcome to stay here. Though I don't know for how long considering from what you said Konoha thinks you are training with Tsunade and I'm not sure how much longer you can keep that lie up" Mei said before offering a hand towards Sakura. "Though I am willing to work with Tsunade to help keep you here as long as you want. Plus having someone who knows Naru best might help with his training" she added as Sakura smiled happily and shook her hand.

"Anything to help plus if I can help Naruto or Naru then I'm more than happy to" Sakura said before Mei gently took Naru from her arms.

There was a lot to plan for over the coming year but Mei was determined to make sure they were prepared and was pulling out all the stops. The only worry was Naru but she had faith that Sakura as well as the others he had befriended while out on the mission would be able to help with him.

She just hoped a year was enough time.

-Chapter End-

Important: I have a poll out on my profile that I need your opinion on so please vote if you have the time ^^

Finally! I am so sorry for taking so long to update, seriously I hate delaying things but everything kept getting in the way from family to doctor's appointments to just feeling like crap. My kidneys, according to the tests, are getting worse but not up to dangerous levels just the fact they are getting worse in the tests is a worry to them and me so that mainly delayed me as I have had to go to several Dr appointments in a row for them

Now before anyone asks Sakura is not in the pairing, only Bleach girls are options and as you will see below I removed Sui-Feng and added in Rangiku. I am still deciding but honestly I'm leaning more towards Harem if anything but we'll see as I am waiting to decide until I introduce everyone.

I want to make Naru's progression of being able to transform something that he has to work up to. He won't have full control of when he transforms but he will be able to transform when its needed (like with how it was with Yoruichi) and eventually be able to stay in his Naruto form for longer periods of time as the crack in his mask heals.

Girls in the running as Naruto's protector/pairing:

Yoruichi Shihoin – Kumo jonin and pseudo-sister/teacher of Killer Bee

Kukaku Shiba – Iwa jonin bomb expert and inventor

Tier Harribel – Kiri jonin new member of the 7 swordsmen with a new set of 7 swords

Nanao Ise – Suna chunin and member of Suna's Intelligence Division

Nemu Kurotsuchi – Ex-Root member that escaped

Rangiku Masumoto – Suna jonin and friend of Nanao

I hope you all liked it

Until Next Time

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Buh-Bye!