This Chapter is dedicated to my (Digman14) cousin Justin, and all the others who lost their lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Sorry for this super long wait with the whole virus, working on different chapters and life, we got bogged down a bit. However, we are here, and we are not done yet! Also, I am going to post the discord link to our discord. That is where we will answer your questions regarding the story, be sure to join. This link won't expire, ever: WMzzyy6

Also, I am aware of the recent "update" regarding this story. There was no update. I just deleted the Chapter 28 AU NOTE, which thought was an update and sent it out. This is being stupid, but oh well.

Be sure to use that and we'll see you there! Bye!

Chamber of Conclave, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

The Chamber of Conclave is a rarely used room within the Jedi Temple. Originally intended for the Council to address all representatives of the Jedi at the various Temples across the galaxy at once, it was instead being used for the Council to contact all Jedi across the galaxy simultaneously.

Sensing opportunity, the Separatists had launched a wave of offensives on all fronts, which further weakened the trust between the Republic and the Outer Rim worlds that were overwhelmed by the swarm of millions of battle droids. The Chancellor and the Jedi had been doing everything in their power to stop the bleeding, dispatching Clone regiments and Jedi Knights throughout the many theaters of the war.

The Order had been busy amidst the chaos and jurisdictional constipation that happened after Naruto's trial. Some in the Senate thought that the Jedi were too closely involved with General Uzumaki–that they couldn't be trusted to arrest him–and that Republic soldiers should be the ones to bring him in. But their voices were thoroughly silenced by the realization that who else but the Jedi could even attempt to arrest Naruto Uzumaki? It was a daunting task that Mace Windu himself had volunteered for. If not for the war turning south for the Republic he would've followed through with it, but it was decided that his military expertise and political experience was necessary on the front lines.

The Council had gathered all twelve of its members for the first entirely in-person session in quite some time, they had made their decision, but even though they suspected Naruto's location, he may have already left his homeworld and on the way back to known space, waiting for the right moment to strike. There were already reports of his fleet sighted gathering near Alzoc III, just a stone's throw away from the Corellian Run or the Hydian Way.

"To get this started, former Jedi Master Naruto Uzumaki has escaped and is on the run from Republic authorities." Mace Windu announced. There were a few hushed voices amongst those who were unaware, but most had heard the news already.

"However, seeing that he has left the order and the suspicions of the Senate seem to be true, it is possible, however unlikely, that he may target other Jedi, and we thought it prudent to warn you of this fact." Mundi stated as he looked around the chamber. Jedi representatives from all levels and stations were present at this meeting and it was quite rare for such a meeting to be held in the first place.

"I would advise that most of us avoid him at all cost. Naruto has not only proven to be a challenging opponent; he is also a skilled strategist and tactician. The fact that he has taken one of our most battle-hardened Clone Legions and talented officers only add to his threat-level." Windu stated. It was in his best interest to prevent the Jedi from going after Naruto, not just to spare their lives, but also to keep his plan from falling through.

"Not to mention that they have experience fighting Force sensitive beings, and it appears that he has someone with great wealth on his side if they were able to hire six Mandalorian mercenaries to extricate him from the Capital of the Republic." Plo Koon added his thoughts on the matter. He refused to believe that one of his greatest students, Naruto no less, would turn traitor.

"Indeed. With that said, anyone below the rank of Master should take care to avoid him at all cost. Do not try to engage. For now, we believe we have tracked him down and will be sending a pair of Jedi to go after him." Mundi stated once more as everyone glanced at each other. Naruto had become a bit of a minor celebrity, even amongst the Jedi, and his skills were known by most throughout the Order. Some of the younger, more starstruck Padawans thought that the pair would have to be Masters Yoda and Windu themselves in order to capture the Jedi Master turned rogue.

High Council Chambers

"Master Luminara, I advise you and your Padwan to be prepared. Naruto isn't your average foe. He's proven himself a match for Dooku and Grievous, and even traded blows with Master Yoda before fleeing the Temple." Mundi stated as he looked at Luminara and Barriss, both of whom nodded.

"I understand that perfectly, Master Mundi. We are not arrogant as to think capturing Naruto an easy mission. We will take every measure possible in-order to avoid harm and capture him." Luminara stated as the rest of the council nodded. If Naruto could not be brought in by these two, then sending any more to capture him would be a waste of time...and potentially life.

"Master Yoda, are you sure it's wise to send only two Jedi after him?" Windu questioned. He didn't want this, no, he loathed this. Naruto would be suffcient enough bait to lure out the Sith Lord in hiding in time, but Yoda and the others had made a decision that jeopardized Naruto and could lower their chances to catch the one behind this war. Plo Koon and Shaak Ti were on his side, clearly still having a soft spot for the young prodigy, but given their closeness to the situation they saw it wise to abstain from voting

"Know Master Luminara and Bariss well enough, Naruto does not. A suitable team, they are." Yoda replied and that much was true. Naruto didn't know Luminara or Barriss well enough to know their fighting style.

"Just because Naruto is unfamiliar with how they fight doesn't mean he won't best them. He's adaptable and unpredictable, and no less skilled than me." Kit Fisto expressed his concerns that Naruto was more powerful than the Council suspected, and that it would require two Jedi Masters. It was an undeniable truth that Naruto had proven time and time again to be adaptable to harsh situations. Mandalore, Naboo, Geonosis, and even Leritor Minor. Not to mention he had a reputation of doing the impossible and being unpredictable.

"But what choice do we have? Aside from a senior member like yourself or Master Yoda there's no clear answer. And if we want to keep this discreet from the Senate, none of us can be missed." Mundi responded as everyone nodded at that logic. Naruto would no doubt become stronger in the future and it wouldn't be long before he surpassed the likes of Yoda. If they wanted to bring him in quietly, this was their only chance.

"Fret not, Masters. My Padawan and I shall arrest master Uzumaki and return him to Coruscant soon enough. He is powerful, but I doubt he is a match for our combined skill." Luminara spoke up as she and Barriss quickly turned to leave. They needed to move fast or else who knows where Naruto could run off too. Windu frowned. His whole plan was going down the drain before it would even have a chance to mature.

'May the Force be with you…Naruto.' Windu wished the young blond good fortune through the Force. It would be a tragedy if Luminara and her Padawan fell to Naruto's adept blade, but hopefully there was still enough sympathy for the Jedi within him that he would only maim or disarm them to serve as an example for dissuading the Jedi from further endeavoring to capture him.

Jedi Temple Halls

"Barriss!" the young Mirialan turned around to see her friend and fellow Padwan, Ahsoka Tano, recently returned from her first official mission of rescuing Rotta the Hutt, rushing towards her with anxiety clearly present on her face. Barriss glanced at her Master, who nodded in silent approval before walking away. They would meet at the hangar to begin their pursuit. Turning her attention to Ahsoka, she knew what her fellow Jedi was going to ask.

"What's the rush? All the Council members seem to be on edge." Ahsoka questioned her. She had seen Barriss just leave the chamber, she must know something. Barriss wondered if it would be alright tot ell Ahsoka the truth. Only the Council knew about their destination, and even then both her and her master were not truly aware of where they were headed.

"Master Luminara and I are being sent to arrest and retrieve Master Naruto. The Council has branded him a traitor in line with the Senate's demands." Barriss stated the truth, not sure how Ahsoka would take it. Sure enough, the anxiety took hold of Ahsoka and gave way to silent grief.

"He isn't a traitor! Naruto would never betray the Order. He would never betray Siri, I know him! Why is the Council insisting on ignoring the opinions of the people that know him best?!" Ahsoka countered but Barriss sighed at her friend's stubborn nature.

"Ahsoka, it is precisely because you are so close to him that your protests are being rejected. You're too involved, your feelings are too personal." Barriss tried to explain, but Ahsoka had heard it all before

"Yet, it's personal. That's what I'm talking about! Barriss, how many times did our discussions as Younglings revolve around Naruto's heroics as a Padawan? You can't honestly believe he'd do something like this." Ahsoka pleaded with the older girl.

"I don't want to believe it, Ahsoka, trust me. But the way he fought through the Senate building, killing the Senate Guards–killing Jedi–during his escape. If he wasn't a traitor before, he is now. What are we all supposed to think?" Barriss tried to reason with her, but Ahsoka would not have any of it.

"He only fought because he was forced to! And that's why I'm begging you not to go. I don't want to have the same happen to you." Ahsoka's petition struck a chord with the young woman. Barriss wasn't easily intimidated, even if she was going to face down an ex-Jedi Master.

"Is that what this is about? You don't think I'm good enough to face Naruto?" Barriss narrowed her eyes, a little disappointed with the lack of esteem her younger protégé held for her.

"That's not what I said, but...yes! I'm worried about you! I'm worried about Naruto, too! This isn't going to end well for anyone!" Barriss turned away in mild anguish, slightly offended by the subtext. Clearly, she wasn't going to get through to Ahsoka anytime soon. Naruto was like a brother to Ahsoka. He could do no wrong in her eyes.

"What would you do if something like this happened to me? Would you defend me just like you're defending Naruto right now?" Barriss questioned her as she stopped and glanced over to Ahsoka, who looked shocked.

"I…I... you're my friend, Barriss. I would never harm you!" Ahsoka's abrupt exclamation made Barriss frowned slightly.

"Even if I betrayed you? Like how Naruto abandoned the Order?" Ahsoka opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out as she mulled over that thought, that outcome. How would she react?

"I would help you. You know that I would." Ahsoka asserted as Barriss looked at her, surprised. She would be willing to do that even after she had betrayed her.

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying what if I betrayed you? Because that's how I think you should feel right now about Naruto. He broke out of the Senate building in front of half the Republic, he abandoned you to save himself rather than face the music!" Barriss snapped as Ahsoka shook her head.

"I refuse to believe that the people I care about would betray me like that! Not you and not Naruto! I know that he is innocent!" Ahsoka protested stubbornly. Barriss felt the weight of guilt bearing down on her–it wasn't an emotion she enjoyed

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka, but what we think doesn't matter. If it is the will of the Council, then it shall be done. I have no choice but to do what is asked of me." Barriss gave up the fight, but Ahsoka was not going to back down.

"So that's it? We are just mindless drones only there to serve the will of the Council? Do you really believe that?" Ahsoka questioned her, to which Barriss did not respond. The two stood there for what seemed like eternity before Barriss finally spoke up.

"Why do you care so much?" Barriss questioned her taking Ahsoka by surprise with the question.

"Naruto is the closest thing I have to a family and you are my friend." Ahsoka responded. She knew how powerful Naruto was and knew that he was fully capable of taking on and defeating Barriss. She feared about how far Naruto would go in-order to defend herself, she feared for her friend's safety and for Naruto's as well.

"So?" Barriss asked unexpressively. Her words cut deeper than she might have realized.

"What if you die, Barriss?" Ahsoka responded, tears forming in her blue eyes. The sight of them caused Barriss to let go of her ego as a Jedi for a moment.

"You think I'd die so easily?" She spoke solemnly to which Ahsoka shook her head.

"I don't, Barriss, you know that–but Naruto is on a different level! You didn't see what I saw when he fought Grievous! I'm just...I'm scared…I'm scared he might..." Ahsoka tried to form the words, but all that was coming out by the end was light sobs.

"You're scared I might die?" Barriss wrapped her arms around her grieving friend, but the Togruta backed away and looked up at the young woman that had become her role model and shook her head, fighting back the tears streaming down her eyes.

"...I'm scared he actually might kill you." Ahsoka admitted and Barriss finally understood her feelings. Ahsoka wasn't afraid just for her–she was afraid that she was wrong about Naruto. If he struck down Barriss then that would make everything the Senate and the Council were saying true. Even if it was purely in self defense, that wouldn't be how the Council, the Senate, or the rest of the Republic would see it.

It didn't matter who won the battle, Ahsoka would still have lost her friend and her foster brother. Acknowledging Ahsoka's pain, Barriss' compassionate nature took over.

"If what you say about Naruto is true, and he isn't a traitor, then he wouldn't strike down a fellow Jedi if he had no other choice. And whatever happens, I'll make sure that he's given that choice." Barriss tried reassuring the young Togruta.

"I...I don't know...if I'm strong enough to go on without either of you." This whole situation was a mess and her last meeting with Naruto did not help either. He was cryptic at best and she wondered if he was a traitor.

"Have faith in me, Ahsoka. And if not me, have faith in the Force. Everything will work itself out in time." Barriss gave Ahsoka a deep hug before turning and walking with her friend down the halls towards the hangar.

Even if this meant it might be for the last time.

Alliance City Rooftops

Naruto was torn on whether or not he liked his new clothes. They were itchy and felt a little restricting, driving him to constantly pull at the fabric to try and loosen it. They didn't have the comfort or freedom of his old Jedi robes, but the only thing those stuffy prison fatigues had going for them was the color. He had considered borrowing some of Ross' clothes before departing but the man was at least ten centimeters taller than him so there was no chance they wouldn't have fit.

Regardless, Naruto had tossed the remnant of his prison uniform–which was basically only half of the pants at this point–into the trash. His new pants were dark brown slacks that were a little too tight at the hips. He had to briefly fight with Jiraiya to get black boots instead of those silly looking open-toed sandals, but that was a discourse he managed to win. One thing that drove him nuts was the ugly tan shirt. Couldn't he at least get a cool color like orange? The sand-colored cloak was pretty awesome, though. He'd requested it as a joke, but it turned out better than expected. It kinda gave him the illusion that he was wearing his old brown cloak once again.

Jiraiya had been exceptionally accommodating to Naruto despite the Alliance Council's initial objections. But legally speaking neither Sarutobi nor Jiraiya had designated Naruto as an emigrant or a missing nin, so he was technically still a citizen of Konoha, and within the Alliance the Hokage had absolute authority on Konoha civic matters. He'd even left Naruto a pouch of ninja tools, complete with wire, kunai, and shuriken. Naruto hadn't much need for them since the force turned everything in the environment into a potential projectile, but he strapped them to his belt anyway.

The godfather Hokage and his godchild Jedi had quite the conversation that lasted the rest of the day and well into the next. Jiraiya was baffled by Naruto's description of the galaxy and Naruto was still processing the truth of his parentage and Jiraiya could sense that he needed some space in that regard. He could hardly believe that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, or that his mother was the previous container of Kurama - and boy, what a shock it was for the Sage to learn that the Fox had a proper name. The two were currently sitting on the edge of the red-ceramic roof to some tenement building or something.

"I have to say, that was quite the little prank you pulled there. For a second I almost thought A was going to pop a blood vessel when you said you never learned how to use Chakra." Jiraiya chuckled a bit. He and the Raikage didn't get on very well. The man was far too hotheaded and reckless, even more so than the Toad sage in his youth.

"It was the truth, what should I have said?" Naruto said with a slight smirk.

"Now that's just a lie. I know for a fact that the Academy starts teaching Chakra exercises in the very first year, you were two years in before your disappearance." Jiraiya trapped Naruto in his own words.

"Fine...truth be told I kinda just forgot." Naruto admitted, looking away from his legal guardian in mild shame.

"You...forgot how to channel chakra...?" Jiraiya deadpanned.

"I mean there's a reason they drill it into you for so many years right? And once I learned how to use the Force I didn't have a need for it anymore, so I stopped practicing. It was actually a problem dealing with Chakra, it was messing with the Midi-chlorians within me. After not bothering for so long I forgot how to mold it altogether." Naruto responded as Naruto looked at him, a bit shocked at this news.

"Why didn't you just say so in the meeting yesterday?" Jiraiya inquired as to the reason for Naruto's deception.

"Would you ever admit to people you didn't know that you forgot something simple like channeling Chakra or most of the basic hand signs?" Naruto questioned. Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

"He really is just like his parents. Minato's drive and Kushina's rambunctiousness" Jiraiya thought as he smiled sadly. They would be proud of the man Naruto had become.

"But it looks like I shouldn't have forgotten those abilities...and I wouldn't have if I hadn't left..." Naruto stated as Jiraiya blinked at that.

"Why do you say that? You're apparently powerful enough to take on one of the strongest Shinobi in the Alliance. Even some of the top dogs in the Akatsuki know to stay clear of Kenichi of the Burning Leaf. He nearly boiled that shark freak alive last time they met. You're a bonafide S-class Shinobi now...even if you don't know a single jutsu." He questioned Naruto.

"Right...but if I was here instead of...wherever I was...then maybe gramps wouldn't have died and Konoha wouldn't be buried under a mountain of sand right now. Maybe this war could've been avoided and all the people who died would have happier lives. Maybe- ...maybe she wouldn't have." Naruto shook his head as he thought over his mistakes in life–as he thought about Siri and the old Kage–but with the still firm grip of a wrinkled hand on his shoulder, Jiraiya brought Naruto back to the present.

"It's hardly your fault. How could you have possibly known that there would be a surprise attack on Konoha by someone you didn't even know existed, or that the old man would pass away facing off against Orochimaru and the Shukaku brat? You were also a child back then. Trust me, I was there and a heck of a lot stronger than you would've been–even with the Force–and I couldn't stop it. I doubt there was much anyone could have done to save Hiruzen from Orochimaru." Jiraiya's somber words seemed to fall on stubborn deaf ears, so he tried a different approach.

"Maybe if you had a way to make him ten years younger my sensei would have won. Old age weighs heavily on Shinobi. The arthritis means your fingers don't move as fast and the cartilage in your knees begins to creak with each step. I'm not even as old as he was and I can't even compare to myself ten years ago. Don't blame yourself for things that are way out of your control, kid." Jiraiya stated. If he was honest with himself he would have liked to teach the blond, take him up as his apprentice, but that was too late now. The blond was already a young man and was far more attuned to this Force, despite containing outrageous Chakra reserves.

"The brat's obviously feeling down about something else... Maybe I can teach him a thing or two." Jiraiya thought to him. Then he thought about this Force.

"Tell me about this Force again, Naruto. It's some sort of power that you trained?" Jiraiya questioned him with a thoughtful look.

"Not quite. I mean, I did train myself to control it - but it's not something that anyone can do. The Force is…a sort of energy? It surrounds us and penetrates us. It's what binds the galaxy and everything inside of it together. It resides in all living things through the Midi-chlorians, tiny microbes that reside in our cells." Naruto tried his best to explain such a mysterious concept. To show an example he started to levitate everything in the room. Jiraiya looked shocked but composed itself. This could be a dangerous power.

"Is it here? Around us I mean?" Jiraiya questioned as Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes. It's everywhere. Even on this planet the Force exists and even you have some levels of it in you, but not enough to be Force Sensitive." Naruto answered truthfully.

"Force Sensitive?" Jiraiya questioned. What did that mean?

"Right...Well most people don't have more than a couple thousand Midi-chlorians per cell, right? But when you have them in your body in high enough quantities, you can sense the 'bio-energy' or whatever field known as the Force. People who have this many Midi-chlorians are called 'Force Sensitives' and if you have even more you can start to manipulate that field to do incredible things. The Jedi and Sith are made up of extraordinarily powerful people across the galaxy who can manipulate the Force. The more Midi-chlorians you have the greater your potential, but it still takes time to achieve that potential. Most Jedi have around eight to ten thousand of the little guys in each of their cells, but some have more."

"And you?" Jiraiya asked, a little curious, but Naruto smirked and recited one of his favorite numbers.

"Fourteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty-one. I have an extremely high count. I know it doesn't mean much to you, but that means I'm pretty awesome. No one - and I mean not even Grand Master Yoda - goes above fifteen thousand... Well, unless you're Skywalker." Naruto muttered in mild jealousy. Anakin may have more raw power from his higher count; he was no way he was anywhere near as adept at using the Force as he was.

'Well hello there, Kushina.' Jiraiya joked to himself, seeing the reflection of the mother's personality in the boy.

"Now you said there was some other group...the Sith?" Jiraiya questioned.

"The Force is divided into halves; the Light and the Dark. It's not a simple split between one side using the Light and the other using the Dark, everyone must always be mindful of their choices. Just as we're able to influence the Force, the Force can influence us back. Using the Dark side requires strong, passionate emotions. Anger, pain, and the likes." Naruto responded, further going into details about the Force, but Jiraiya was thinking about something else.

"So it's a constant war between these two sides of the Force?" Jiraiya inquired.

"Not quite. Not all Jedi stay on the path of Light but most don't become Sith, they simply twist the creed of the Jedi to serve their selfish ends. They become Dark Jedi" Naruto tried to explain something he still didn't quite comprehend. Just over a decade ago the Sith were thought to be totally extinct.

"So there are Dark side Jedi, are there Light side Sith?" the Sage's stream of questions didn't pause.

"The Sith's teachings rely on their passion for power, the Light side requires a certain sense of selflessness. They don't think of themselves when seeking power, but others." Naruto was beginning to doubt the words he spoke, the words that he had heard so many times in his childhood.

"You keep mentioning creeds and teachings. It almost sounds like these are just religions." Jiraiya connected the dots, and Naruto nodded.

"Well, they are. They're the religions of the Force. There's thousands of other religions throughout the galaxy, usually only in one species or on one planet, but the Force is just a truth that's been known for thousands of years."

"Then why can't the two groups coexist like those. You said the Jedi and Sith have been at war on and off for nearly seven thousand years? I'm not seeing why the Sith are so bad." Jiraiya was a little confused, which was a state most people found themselves in when first learning about the Force.

"That's a good question that pretty much every Padawan ever asks Master Yoda at some point...I guess I'll try to explain it in a less confusing way. So think of the Force like a big valley with a river running through it. Just past the riverbed are the plants that grow and the animals that eat them to survive. The Light side are the planets and animals, and the Dark side is the river. Usually, the Force is able to maintain itself. When it rains, the plants and animals drink more water from the river. When there's a drought, they drink less." Naruto stopped for a moment to see if Jiraiya was following before continuing on with his interpretation of Yoda's metaphor.

"But the Sith want the river to flood and the valley so that they can take in its power. So the Jedi fight them to keep the Dark side from taking over, but we can't just dry the river up. Without the river, the plants would die and the animals would starve. Jedi aren't fighting the Dark side, we're fighting the Sith that want to drown the Galaxy in it. It's why the Sith have never really won before. I mean, they've won, but they've never really won. The Force acts in some way to balance itself and the Sith find themselves out of power within a century or so." Naruto blanked for a moment, trying to think of anything else to say, but couldn't. Jiraiya waited several seconds before realizing that Naruto was done, and processing it all took him a while before he spoke.

"That...actually makes a lot of sense. At least I think it does." Jiraiya admitted, slightly impressed at Naruto's explanation. Naruto sighed in relief. It took him weeks to understand the backwards talk of Master Yoda's valley metaphor.

"He told me that he was Force sensitive and was taken in by the Order for that reason...But he said that the Force tries to maintain itself. When Naruto disappeared the Sage's prophetic visions became unclear, muddled. Was Naruto never supposed to leave? Did his leaving result in a void that this... Force has been trying to fill?" Jiraiya reasoned. There must be balance according to Naruto, but if Naruto was meant to be the balance of this world, then wouldn't something have happened to replace him?

Alliance Camp 108 — Southern Land of Lightning

Kenichi sneezed as he shivered slightly. Irritated by the cold, he turned towards the embers of what was once his fire and breathed life on it once more with a low-power Fire jutsu from his mouth. The solstice was still more than a month away, but since they were located so far up in the North the effects of winter's approach were on the horizon. He sighed as he sat down next to the campfire.

"Hard to believe that they are real, actual Clones." Kenichi said to himself. When he had first looked at the Clones without their helmets and armor, they looked similar in every way. At first, he thought one was the original and was just using a clone jutsu of sorts, that was not the case. He saw the differences in hairstyle, as well as Stoic's tattoos on his face and neck, as well as Flash's multiple ear piercings. This was no transformation jutsu, they really just looked like that. Even identical twins would have some sort of distinction between them, identical sextuplets was an even crazier notion.

"And no Chakra to boot." He added mentally. They had no Chakra that could be sensed, something considered to be impossible. They should be dead. However, this made guarding them easier as they were currently being held in a small prison, albeit unrestrained. Kenichi was just there should the Clones try anything, but their leader, who he learned was named "King", seemed pretty adamant to his men that they shouldn't dream of it.

"Yo, Kenichi. What's up?" A fellow Shinobi questioned as he landed next to him. Looking up at the Shinobi saw his feral, rugged appearance.

"Kiba...back at it already, huh? What are you doing here?" Kenichi questioned as the Shinobi chuckled and sat down next to the campfire.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why aren't you guarding the prisoners?" Kiba questioned him as Kenichi rolled his eyes.

"Those two Chunnin are watching over them, it isn't hard. I'm just keeping an eye on the perimeter so that if they do escape, I can catch up to them easier." Kenichi responded as Kiba nodded at the response, accepting it before he started to go through his stuff.

"Well, I got this scroll from Lord Jiraiya. Turns out he pardoned Sasuke." Kiba stated as Kenichi frowned and took the scroll and started to read it before he sighed.

"It also says he wants Clones to be released and brought to Alliance City, what a joke." Kenichi stated as he threw the scroll into the fire before he stood up.

"I'll have to...discuss this with the Hokage and confirm it's from him. You'll be taking my place in the meantime." Kenichi stated as Kiba nodded as Kenichi walked off, leaving Kiba at the campfire, who enjoyed it for a while.

"Should have brought Akamaru with me." Kiba thought. His best friend was currently being treated for the bruises he received in combat.

Alliance City Prison

Sasuke grunted as the shackles finally came off, allowing him to massage his bruised wrists and check the wounds and blisters from his battle with Kenichi...as well as Ibiki's interrogation techniques that were more physical in nature.

"About time you took these damn things off." Sasuke grunted out as the guards glared at him with suspicion. He was a criminal and a traitor and no one was happy that he was getting off scot free. The Hokage must have some sort of special hell in mind. One of the guards grunted as they handed Sasuke the hefty molten scraps that were once the Mandalorian armor gifted to him by the late Jango Fett.

"You should be happy that the Hokage is even setting free. Most of us can't believe you're getting away with treason, that cutie must have some serious pull if he was able to convince Lord Jiraiya to pardon you." He heard the one voice he didn't want to hear so soon after his return. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke turned to face his former teammate.

"Good to see you, Sakura." Sakura's jade green eyes kept up a fierce stare in response. She was wearing a plain red qipao with hip-hugging white trousers that accented her womanly figure. Her skin-tight pink undershirt and cloak served to keep her warm in the frigid climate of the southern Lightning country, especially with the nearing winter solstice. Her oyster pink hair had grown out to the same length as her preteen years, but rather than have it combed neat down her back, she preferred to have it messily draped over one of her shoulders–hair care was a low priority with most of the known world at war. After a few moments of terribly awkward silence, the kunoichi spoke.

"Why come back now?" Sakura demanded to know as Sasuke examined the pieces of his armor to see what was salvageable. He thought he found some hope in the gauntlets being intact, but only the grappling hook was still operational. The plating on his legs had been trashed by Kenichi's lotus attack, but the boots were sturdy enough to reuse. And although it wouldn't have any of the ablative plating to withstand blaster bolts, he could just reforge the chestpiece with technology present on Ajnin. His helmet, though, was completely FUBAR. No scanners for him, he'd have to rely on his keen senses...and his Sharingan.

"Because I was hired to bring somebody here." Sasuke had a brief tremor in his hand as he remembered Ibiki's identical line of questioning. He was startled by the loud thud of the large duffel bag Sakura was carrying being dropped to the ground. Sasuke could see that she had been tasked with delivering him winter clothing. Considering that about half of his armor and bodysuit were completely toast and that it was subzero temperatures outside, he didn't waste his opportunity to take it. Opening the bag, the ex-Shinobi sifted through his options.

"The Hokage seems to think you have no ties to Orochimaru, so who's payroll are you on now? Don't tell me it's Akatsuki after everything that happened with Itachi..." Sakura trailed off. If Sasuke

"I don't serve anyone but myself, Sakura." Sasuke dismissed, taking off his prison shirt and pulling the plain but warm black shirt and slacks out of the bag. The girl frowned at that, but couldn't help but stare at the shirtless Uchiha.

"Sure, you just showed up after ten years and attacked the Alliance Shinobi for your own selfish reasons. Wonder what those could be?" She lampooned his alibi with a sarcastic sigh.

"There's a difference between serving yourself and getting paid to work for someone else, and just like I told Ibiki and the others: that was an accident. My client just wanted to talk to the Hokage and move along without getting involved. I know I'm not the most diplomatic person, but there was an attempt to prevent hostilities." Sasuke inflated the truth, knowing that it was a rather half-assed attempt to keep the peace. The Clones were on edge in an unfamiliar land, Naruto wasn't fully aware of the world's political situation, and Kenichi was paranoid–as usual–so the truth of Naruto's identity would have fallen on deaf ears had Kakashi not stepped in.

"Whatever you say." Sakura gave up her inquisition, not wanting to admit that she didn't follow anything he had said about clients or getting paid. Sasuke changed into his new clothing.

"Tell me about that cutie you brought with you? Who was he and is he single? God damn, would he and I would make cute strawberry-blond babies." Sakura questioned as Sasuke tried to suppress a grin as best he could, failing spectacularly as he soon burst into a light laughter. Sakura scowled in response to that. "What's so funny, Uchiha? I thought you pride yourself on being a cool guy that never laughed at anything." She accused his coal black eyes..

"...You're not really that desperate, are you? That 'cutie' I entered with was Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke answered with a snort as he watched her reaction. Sakura froze for a second before the gears started to turn in her head.

"That stud was the idiot Naruto from our class?!"Sakura blurted out, not believing that she called the dead last a cutie. Sasuke was equally surprised by her choice of the word 'stud' to describe the young Jedi Master. The pinkette quickly deflated and her priceless facial expression took refuge in her hands. Sasuke laughed heartily for the first time in a long while. Then the cherry-haired Kunoichi's eyes narrowed on him into a death stare. "If you tell anybody about this, you're so dead."

"Hey, look, I don't blame you" Sasuke raised his hands in mock defense. "He's been rigorously training as a...monk, I guess you'd say, for almost twenty years. Pretty much all Jedi are toned as hell, even the ladies. And I've heard from a few people that being connected to the Force means they're all pretty good in the sack, too." Sasuke omitted wanting to profess his casual carnal congress with a tight-figured Devaronian girl that was very skilled with more than just her green lightsaber.

"He's nothing like the idiot we knew. Well, no, maybe a little. He's still an idiot, but he's an educated, well-disciplined idiot." Sasuke replied with a smirk. Naruto's exploits were known throughout the war and it was widely considered that his actions alone were turning the tide of the war. Sakura however deflated completely. Of all the people she could lust after...this one happened to be the overly-hyper loser Naruto Uzumaki.

"He was at the bottom of the class in the academy. At least Shikamaru had high academic scores. But I don't think he has half the brain cells of even someone stupid enough to leave the village like you." Sakura argued, but Sasuke just looked at her stoically.

"Yeah, and I was considered one of Konoha's best and brightest, destined to be a great asset to the village, maybe even the fifth or sixth Hokage. Just look at what happened there. People change, Sakura. Mentally and physically...especially from their adolescent years." Sasuke activated his Sharingan and jokingly gave Sakura's body a thorough visual inspection to prove his point.

"What the hell are you looking at, you pervert?" Sakura asked, instinctively covering her modest chest before realizing that his Sharingan in fact did not give the Uchiha X-ray vision.

"Darn, guess you don't have the hots for me anymore. That's a shame, I might've stuck around if you put out." the former Leaf ninja teased. Sakura saw through his ploy and resisted the urge to smack the hell out of the Uchiha. He was trying to provoke her, and if she took the bait and struck him it meant that he'd won.

"You wish you could get with me. Not gonna happen, now or ever." Sakura lied. She'd had strong feelings for him in the past and those hadn't totally gone away, but she wasn't ready to admit to him that she was still attracted to someone who abandoned his village and suddenly showed up after ten years of not being seen. Her resilience to his charms was admirable, not something he usually dealt with in the beauties of the galaxy's criminal underworld.

"You've changed a lot in ten years. You're a lot more...feisty, but at the same time so much more liberated. I like it." the Uchiha sighed with mixed relief and surrender.

"What about you 'Mister Professional Cool Guy'? When'd you get a sense of humor." Sakura poked fun at Sasuke's nearly unrecognizable personality change from brooding vengeful teen to nonchalant egotistical playboy. To that, Sasuke actually laughed.

"When I realized that stoicism is only thirty percent of being cool. The other seventy percent is having the skills, resources, and wit to back it up." Sasuke said it in jest, but these were realizations that he had about basically being a hitman for hire. "And that's Mister Professional Bounty Hunter now." he added.

"You became a bounty hunter? You chase after criminals for money?" Sakura asked, comparing his profession to the bingo books, the only similarity she would be familiar with.

"Absolute best in the galaxy if you want the job done. And I chase after whoever someone is willing to pay to have hunted down and killed." Sakura raised her hands in mock fear.

"Sasuke, really now. Why did you come back?" Sakura questioned him. She still felt something for him, even after he had all but betrayed them. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders which caused Sakura to frown. He was not the same boy she knew in the past.

"If it were up to me, I would never have come back to this backwater dumpster fire. The galaxy is a much better place for me. But it's as I told you, Naruto offered me a substantial amount of money for this mission." Sasuke responded as Sakura shook her head.

"So, you're here because of– You came back just for money?!" She questioned him, not wanting it to be true. Wanting there to be some kind of personal reason: Guilt, shame, longing, homesickness. It was none of those. He was here for a job. Much like how a simple contractor would travel to see a new building constructed.

"It's what makes the galaxy go round and supports my neverending lifestyle. Get a contract, hunt bounty, collect money, use money for equipment–and women and booze–and get another contract." Sasuke gave her a smirk as Sakura just shook her head to hide her blushing face.

"...Just what the hell happened to the old Sasuke?" She wondered. This galaxy must be one hell of a place for it to do this to the stone cold loner that was Sasuke Uchiha.

Alliance City Rooftops

"So this all begs the question. Why'd you come back now? You seemed happy enough living with the Jedi."

"Well, the galaxy's kind of in a civil war right now, and the Jedi are getting a little heated serving as frontline Generals..." Naruto

"...And?" Jiraiya knew there was more to the story. He knew Minato and Kushina well enough that their offspring wouldn't just bow out and leave others to fight the war, but Naruto didn't really have the time to explain the intricacies of the Clone Wars and his expulsion from the Order.

At least that's what he told himself. Reliving Siri's last moments wasn't in the cards for him emotionally right now.

"Look, it's not important. What is important is that I got a little heated in battle...and I think something went wrong with my seal. I can feel Kurama's chakra flowing constantly, and it's messing with my concentration on the Force. I'm worried that he might be able to break out at this rate." Jiraiya sat up and gave his full attention. Minato's seal failing?

"Let me take a look." Jiraiya demanded, but Naruto stared blankly at him doing nothing. "Well hurry up."

"Uhh...how do I show it to you? I've never actually seen it myself."

"Just channel some chakra." Jiraiya said impatiently, too familiar with Naruto's face and attitude to separate him from Minato or Kushina.

"...And just how do I do that, exactly?" the blond asked.

Jiraiya's neck gave up hope and the grey-haired sage had to catch his face with the palm of his hand before it got away from him. Well, guess it was time to start teaching another student.

"From the beginning, then. In order for you to mold Chakra, you must first understand Chakra. There's the physical component acquired from training, and from your musculature I'm sure you've got that downin spades, and then there's the spiritual component gained from meditation and experience. This is the part that you've reneged on, so we'll have to focus on that." Jiraiya stated as Naruto hummed.

"And how do I do that?" Naruto questioned as Jiraiya thought over that before nodding to himself.

"Try to get a feel for it like you do for that Force thing. Except, don't reach out to the Force, find your Chakra." Jiraiya instructed as Naruto nodded before he closed his eyes and began to get a feel for his Chakra. He knew it was there, like it was there, in the back of his head. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for. Soon the lessons from the Academy began to come back to him, and forming the rat seal he felt the famliar warm sensation flow within him.

"Is this it?" Naruto questioned Jiraiya who looked at him with shock.

"Yeah…although you're channeling a lot more Chakra than necessary..." Jiraiya stated as Naruto nodded. He knew he had a lot of Chakra, due to the fact that both the Force and Chakra seeked dominance, he had to keep them in balance.

"Now, to actually use the Chakra for more than just physical enhancement, say...to walk on water, you have to focus it under your feet. Apply the same to other aspects. This way you can tremendously strengthen parts of your body with Chakra. Now...let's take a look..." Jiraiya trailed off as the black markings appeared on Naruto's stomach. He gave the seal a good once over, something had disturbed the original formula and exponentially more Chakra was leaking into Naruto's own system than intended. That was probably what was causing him such distress.

"Well, I can say it has definitely weakened quite a bit, but it's nothing I can't fix. But I don't think things should end with me simply fixing it...I think it would be best if you learned how to fix it yourself before leaving. As much as I wouldn't mind you coming back to visit, we wouldn't want the Fox getting loose somewhere in the galaxy before you can get help back here now, would we?" Naruto nodded at that. He did not have much time on this planet, and he didn't want to have to come back every time in-order to have it fixed.

"How do you think I'm gonna be able to learn sealing jutsu? I barely know how to channel Chakra!" Naruto shouted tempestuously. He didn't have the time to learn something like that!

"Relax, kid. It's a lot simpler than most people think. I'll summon Gerotora and get a copy of the seal's key made for you. I can give you a crash course in the necessary Fuinjutsu, but we're gonna have to work on that Chakra control first otherwise you might end up ruining the seal permanently." Jiraiya warned.

"So how do I work on my Chakra control?" Naruto posed his question as Jiraiya only smirked and bit his thumb to draw the blood necessary, and motioning his hands into the necessary signs he prepared the summoning jutsu to begin his work on retightening the seal.

Alliance City, Training Ground 38 – Four Days Later

Naruto huffed as he concentrated on using his Chakra to stand on water. He had gotten tree climbing down in just three days, so that was a start, a major one by Jiraiya's expression, but this was the second step and it was significantly harder. Sweat formed on his forehead as he tried to keep himself from falling into the rapids below, however, not even ten seconds in and he had already fallen and been drenched in the late autumn waters of the river.

"Without the proper foundations in his Shinobi training, this is going to be a lot more difficult than climbing trees with a static amount of Chakra." He thought. While walking up the tree's bark provided for a predictable surface with minimal change, the flowing water was not so formulaic. Naruto closed his eyes as he retrieved a warm towel by the fire to prevent hypothermia and thought on how he could help him better his control.

"What if I used the Force to predict the small changes in the water's movements to help me out?" Naruto questioned himself. Doing that would require a great amount of control with the Force, something he didn't yet have whilst focusing on using Chakra. And it was abandoning Chakra to focus solely on the Force that got him where he was now. Chakra only, he decided. He'd work on practicing the two together in the future. He was on a schedule, and there wasn't much room to dawdle.

"General!" Naruto was broken out of his thoughts as he saw his fellow comrades, with their armor and weapons returned to them, walk out from the tree line.

"I was wondering where the six of you had been taken. Good to see you're all in one piece" Naruto stated to King as he pulled himself out of the water. The said Clone chuckled as he glanced to his side, seeing Kenichi looking at the group, intensely.

"Well, we were in a prison camp for a short while, before Kenichi brought us here. But that one is still keeping an eye on us." Storm responded as he pointed at Kenichi, who narrowed his eyes. He didn't know what he was saying.

"And he can't understand Basic as well! We can insult him all we want and he doesn't even realize." Fang pointed out with a mischievous grin as Storm nodded, sharing his brother's idea.

"And you two idiots still don't understand his language either. He could do the same thing if he were as juvenile as you." Blitz added, causing the two Clones to look at him with cheeky grins.

"Eh, you can understand some, right guys?" Naruto countered as the Clone looked at him, surprised.

"Wait, how do you know that? We only just started learning from King while in the camp." Blitz's questioned Naruto, who pointed at himself.

"Cause I've been teaching them too, It's a bit difficult to learn since it's got a different sentence structure than basic, but after the whole deal that went down on Leritor I was thinking it'd be nice to have a code language that only we can understand. So in the free time we got I've been teaching these guys while you were going around inspecting the troops and stuff." Naruto stated causing Blitz's eyes to twitch at being left out of the loop. That's actually a really good idea...why didn't he think of that?

"Yeah, the crash course I've been giving us over the past few days isn't all the time we've spent learning the General's native language, though it was harder than we've ever studied it before." King admitted. He'd even gotten better now that he held conversations with Kenichi, who could only speak in the Ajnin language, but it was a bit of a stretch to call him fluent.

"What's wrong, afraid that we are better than you at something?" Storm mocked with a cheeky grin, causing Blitz to lightly quiver before sighing.

"Not in the slightest. I'm just so proud of you, that's all." the Clones groaned at his attempt at sarcasm, though Blitz's ego was too large to admit to them that he was sincere.

"I must admit, when you said they were Clones, I almost didn't believe you. I thought one of them might have been using an advanced Clone jutsu like the First Hokage could, but they all act and even look a bit different. Looks like you spacefolk have far surpassed Orochimaru's crude DNA experiments." Jiraiya brought himself in on the conversation, drawing the group's attention. After a brief round of introductions, Naruto responded to Jiraiya's comment.

"Clones of the same person aren't the same people. They're a lot different from each other." Naruto's words were met with nods from the Clones.

"General's got that right! I could never be as stuck up and by the books as Blitz." Storm proclaimed as Blitz's glared at him.

"And I could never be as ignorant and simple-minded as you. Sorry for trying to maintain some semblance of order and discipline in our unit." Blitz stated as Storm waved him off. There was a reason why his name was storm.

"Enough, you two." King stated as Blitz's obeyed because, well, King was their superior and Storm because he didn't want to get in a fight with King. Naruto chuckled at the two.

"Well, I hate to cut this meeting short, but I'll be heading back to train. I want to be able to solve this issue if it happens again, and that means this is probably gonna take about a month to get everything down. I guess you guys can sit around and relax. I thought things would be a lot worse off but we found the Hokage quick enough and the danger is pretty minimal here." Naruto stated as the Clones nodded. They didn't have much to do on this mission other than protect the General.

"No kidding, when I heard we would be going to a planet with borderline super soldiers, I expected more action." Storm stated as he lazily watched Naruto train. They had nothing better to do.

"Well, we got some action, even though we lost." Fang countered as he tinkered on a data pad doing who knows what.

"Pfft, says you! I thrashed both of my opponents." Storm stated as Blitz rolled his eyes.

"And yet you were still unconscious when we were taken prisoner." Stoic responded. He didn't talk much but when he did, he made some good points. Storm huffed while Fang and Flash chuckled.

"I don't really mind this. It is like a vacation. A long vacation. Wonder if this place has any nice beaches like Corellia's..." Flash said just in time for a loud splash to signal that Naruto had failed again.

"Probably in the summer, but we're almost sixty degrees North and we're nearing the end of October. No way the costal waters and lakes aren't all half frozen by now." King deflated their hopes with a cold dose of reality. They all sat in silence as they watched Naruto train, but Blitz wasn't having any of it.

"Really? So, we are just going to sit here and do nothing?" Blitz questioned his brothers, who turned to him. He wasn't even looking at them, he was just starting as his reflection in the snow-capped river.

"Can't you just learn to relax for once?" Flash questioned him. Often excluded, Blitz was never one to stay put. He always wanted to do something that was productive to the whole.

"The last four days weren't anything but language tutoring to alleviate the boredom of constant relaxing. We failed to protect our General, got captured, and now we are just sitting here? Doing nothing about it? What if those Shinobi had been Dooku or Grievous? Or any one of those acolytes we all faced on Leritor? We'd be in a lot more pieces than the two of you were after that." Blitz gestured to Storm and Fang's cybernetic prostheses.

"Then what do you want us to do?" Storm huffed in annoyance as Blitz narrowed his eyes.

"I say we get to the grindstone and train, the same as the General. Drills just like me and King did as Commandos back on Kamino. What good are we if we cannot even complete an escort mission? We can't just be glorified bodyguards or dressed-up vagabonds playing private security! We're Naruto's elite, dammit! He picked us to come along because we're his top men, and it's time we started acting like we are! It's time we started fighting like we are!" Blitz attempted to rally his comrades, but it came off as if it was some sort of order. King thought he might be going overboard, but he saw the merit in Blitz's idea and agreed wholeheartedly. He quietly hated being stagnant and so far behind Naruto. He didn't want to admit it but the only reason he was able to defeat Ventress was because of the General's Battle Meditation. If it came to it, he needed to be able to hold his own against any of Dooku or Grievous' underlings without any help.

"Alright then. That settles it, grab your gear and set your weapons on mark. Three on three, fireteam drills." King questioned the group as another splash was heard in the distance.

"Ah, that's a great idea, but you might want to check in with him first." Naruto called out as he picked himself out of the river, pointing to the raven-haired Jonin that hadn't left their sight since bringing them here. Kenichi piqued up, turning to King who did his best to translate their plans to him.

"Absolutely not. If you're going to be using weapons, then I cannot let you do them without oversight." Kenichi snapped to the Clones chagrin.

"We don't take orders from you." Stoic spoke up as he looked at Kenichi with his stoic face. Naruto sighed as he stepped up.

"You're in our city, you follow our rules." Kenichi leaned forward, ready to take them to task should they refuse.

"Heh, how's the nose?" Storm butted in with an insult almost like he was trying to escalate the situation.

"Guys. It's only supervision." Naruto ordered them to calm down and they quickly fell in line. Kenichi nodded, so long as they obeyed Uzumaki's orders and the blond obeyed the Hokage, this would do.

"Alright, wait here while I find you a suitable babysitter." Kenichi commanded.

"You know, you could always just watch over them yourself, Kenichi. I don't need you here guarding me." Jiraiya offered to expedite the process.

"I'm not entirely convinced 'Uzumaki' isn't compromised yet, and no offense, Lord Hokage, but you're not exactly a spring chicken anymore."

"Don't coddle me like I'm some feeble old man, boy. Just because you're stronger than me now doesn't mean I'm helpless! I've still got enough vigor for all the fine young ladies, so I think I could hold out long enough against this brat." the old sage barked. Kenichi grumbled something about a stubborn old man before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The Clones gathered their gear quietly, making the necessary adjustments to compensate for some of the damage done to their Phase I trooper armor. After just ten minutes of waiting, Kenichi returned with a flicker of leaves, a woman around Naruto's ages with her hair in a bun was in tow.

"Why do I have to be the one doing this?" The young woman groaned as Kenichi pointed at the group.

"Because I said so. Just make sure they don't get up to anything suspicious. That's all you have to do." Kenichi stated before he disappeared once more. The young woman sighed as she looked at the group, who looked back at her. Uncomfortable with the silence between her and the soldiers, she defaulted to giving them an awkward salute...that was something soldiers did, right?

"Uh, hello there. My name's Tenten! I'm a Jonin of the Leaf Village. I'll be supervising you all today. I'll take you to a nearby training ground where you can uh, well, train to your heart's content!" She stated as the group of Clones just stared before they stood at attention and began to follow not her, but King walking beside her. During the trip, Tenten kept glancing down at his weapon, ever so curious.

"So, what are these weapons called?" Tenten questioned King, as they led the group of six Clones to the training ground. King looked at his blaster as he brought it up.

"It's a- it's...hmm..." King struggled. While his understanding of the native language was good enough, it's vocabulary didn't yet include the word blaster. There was no direct translation, so she'd have to learn the basic word "This is a 'blaster' and like all 'blasters' they are very lethal when they hit their target." King responded, hoping that it got through. Being a weapons specialist, Tenten understood concepts lethality and targeting well enough, even though she didn't know why it was called something so ridiculous sounding.

"Then why are you using them? Won't your comrades get seriously injured?" She questioned, but King looked at her, trying to slowly understand what she was saying.

"Eh, well, they can be switched to only stun others." King responded, not sure if he said that right. Tenten just looked on before realizing that it had the ability to paralyze others. She was intrigued and would have to get a closer look at one sometime.

Training Ground 86, Alliance City

"Well, this is it. Training Ground 86. It's mostly a forested area with some patches of grassland, but there's a small but deep pond somewhere in the middle if it's not frozen already. Should take care of all your non-urban training needs." Tenten pointed out as King nodded as he turned to the group.

"Fang, Flash and Storm, you're Team 1. The rest are with me. We'll go two rounds to get a baseline, and we'll switch the teams up during the second one." King stated as Storm chuckled. He was always up for a good fight and if it was against King then sign him up! The two teams quickly split and went into opposite directions to give time and space. Tenten in the meanwhile jumped into a tree to observe, unconcerned of any danger. If the Hokage said that the leader of these guys was a Konoha shinobi then she doubted they were a hostile threat.

"So, what's the plan?" Flash questioned his two teammates, who all hummed.

"I saw we rush 'em with surprise as our ally!" Storm responded as the two shook their heads. While Storm's rushdown tactics worked especially well against mindless Droid drones, against living breathing humans–trained soldiers at that–they would have no such luck.

"I'm not opposed to it as a final surprise attack, but why don't we use the element of surprise and lay an ambush before we do? We can use this forest to our advantage and when the two of us catch them off guard, Storm can drop in and overpower them." Fang pointed out as the two looked interested.

"Any idea where we can?" Flash questioned as Fang hummed, looking around before smirking and pointing up.

"We'll use the treetops. Remember our training, an enemy rarely looks up on a battlefield, especially in such an environment. Flash, you're the fastest, lure the others into our trap. We'll use blaster fire initially to try and get them out and if it doesn't work then CQC it is." Fang laid out the plan as the other's nodded.

"Then you two better get to climbing. I'll be coming in hot in no time." Flash stated before he ran out into the forest, leaving the other two to their own devices.

"Come on Storm, let's use some mud and leaves to camouflage ourselves." Fang stated as Storm nodded. Adding some foliage to their armor might even catch King by surprise. It wasn't before they heard the sound of blaster fire.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Flash thought as he ran for his life while being shot at. When he had gone into the forest to find and lead King and his team into an ambush, he didn't realize how quickly he would run into them nor how quickly he could come under fire from three different directions!

"He dispersed his team into a V formation with himself being in the center rear. Clever." Flash through as blaster fire shots went over him. It was a good tactic if you wanted to surround the enemy, but Flash was tasked with leading them back, not attacking them outright.

"If those two aren't ready then we are so screwed." Flash thought as he returned blaster fire. Eventually he finally closed the spot where his team had set the ambush. He quickly slid down under a fallen tree as he turned and leveled his blaster, firing off rounds to his right. As King's team closed in on him, Fang and Storm sprung the trap. From their vantage point they could easily spot King, Stoic, and Blitz's location.

"Open fire!" Fang shouted as he and Storm unleashed a rain of fire from above. Stoic was caught completely off guard as blaster fire from above and from below managed to knock him out. As the two Clones in the tree moved to change targets, they noticed King and Blitz rushing towards them.

"Oh no you don't!" Storm shouts as he pointed his blaster at King but was knocked out of the tree when a shot from Blitz managed to hit him dead center.

"Dammit." Flash muttered before he charged in himself, intent on taking the fight to King and Blitz. As he did so, Fang jumped from the tree and right into Blitz as he began to wrestle the Clone. But it was proving to be more difficult than he had anticipated, Blitz was one tough son of a bitch and even though he failed the course, he still had Commando training. Flash in the meantime tried to get close to King, but that was a plan in vain as their Commander managed to easily knock him on his ass before he turned to the two fighting Clones. He saw that Fang was trying to use Blitz's own blaster on him and in-order to end the match, King calmly walked up to the two and leveled his blaster at Fang.

"I'd surrender if I was you, unless you want that nice stinging sensation that comes with being stunned." King stated as Fang stiffened before he slowly raised his hands up. He was trapped and he knew it. King nodded to himself as all the Clones rallied on him.

"Time for round two, but let's switch up the teams, don't want to rely on the same strategies every time. Blitz, you've got Stoic, and Fang. I'll take Storm and Flash. Same rules. Go." King stated as the two teams dispersed. While they did so, Tenten hummed to herself as she observed their match. She took note of how team 1 used stealth to ambush their enemy, while team 2 had a more tactical formation to surround and subdue the enemy. She observed this second match a bit more as she had seen some weakness in the first round. As she did so, she saw how Fang and Stoic almost disregarded Blitz's, despite him being the brains.

"Seems like without that King guy, he isn't too confident. It's a shame, he's probably the most well-rounded soldier there." Tenten thought. After the first match, the weapon specialist had noticed that while each Clone had some sort of specialty: CQB, Stealth, Speed, or whatever, that their other areas...while not lacking, weren't exactly up to par with their basic combat skills, which Storm was uniquely lacking in.

They'd win a gold medal in their area of expertise, for sure, but that was it. King might win a couple second or third in a few areas for his remarkable reflexes, near perfect aim, and he was definitely a contender for first in CQB with Storm. But there the one Clone exempt from this trend was Blitz. He had no specialty, but he more than made up for it by being second or third best in all fields. Despite that, there was one part of basic combat that Tenten could tell he dominated over all the Clones, and from the reception he'd received by everyone but King, she doubted anyone had noticed yet: his tactics.

"And the one named Storm is way too hotheaded." She thought as she watched him charge straight into Blitz, who was already isolated due to his teammates not responding to his plan. She did take notice of Blitz's little trap, some sort of small device that sent electric shock to subdue the enemy, a trap that Flash fell right into.

"This isn't looking good." Storm muttered as he was tagteamed by Fang and Stoic, who quickly subdued him with mixed-range combat. The plan was to pick off the other team one by one, but Storm just had to get revenge on Blitz and charged right in! While it worked and he quickly overwhelmed the Commando dropout, it left himself isolated from his team and Fang and Stoic finished him off. With Flash also taken out by the shock trap, it was two on one.

"Surrender sir, you're outnumbered." Stoic stated as he and Fang never their blasters at King, who looked at the two.

"I am? You're going to need a hell of a lot more then the two of you if you want to say that!" King boasted as he charged at the two with his blades drawn. The two quickly opened fire, but King proved to be more agile then they had anticipated. Quickly closing the distance, King sent a brutal punch to Fang's gut, who hunched over and fell in pain. Stoic gulped as he discarded his blaster and opted for CQC. He threw a right hook at King, who quickly dodged before smacking his extended arm with the blunt side of his knife, disarming the Clones, and with a hefty shove pinning him by his shoulder into the ground.

"Shit." Stoic said as he tried to get up but felt cold steel at his neck. Looking down he saw King pointing his knife at him.

"Game over." King stated as Stoic sighed and nodded. King stood up and held him up as well as the group rallied on him once more, or crawled to him in Fang's case. Tenten jumped out from her overlook they finished their drill.

"Storm, was it?" She questioned as the said Clone looked at her as he nodded and crossed his arms. "I noticed that you prefer to fight at close range, using your fists. And…I can't believe I am actually saying this, but there is someone who may be able to help you improve on that." She finished with a sigh as Storm raised an eyebrow.

"Help? What?" He questioned as she pointed right.

"If you keep going straight that way, you'll hit Training Ground 42. There you will most definitely find my teammate Lee and my own sensei, Might Guy. He's a Taijutsu Master and he might be able to teach you some things. Just don't start wearing the green jumpsuit…please…" She begged that last bit to herself. Storm raised an eyebrow before slowly nodding. He could understand her a bit and he knew what she was saying.

"Taijutsu...training." He thought to himself. Of course, he asked himself what kind of name was Guy?

Like he was the one to talk.

"Oh wait...you might get lost. I'll just take you to him, shouldn't be more than a few minutes to introduce you. He and Lee are training all the time and I'm sure they wouldn't mind some company." Before the others could say anything, Storm and Tenten were already off. King sighed as he sat down under a tree. No point in him taking part of the drill as it would be unfair to Fang and Flash seeing Storm had taken off.

"You four keep training then. I'm gonna take a breather." King ordered as the rest paired off for a 2-on-2 while he climbed a tree to get a better lookout point. When Tenten returned hastily, not wanting to miss the match, she sat beside him to do the same. She had noticed something now that King was out of the drill. While she did, a few more Shinobi had dropped by to watch the drills. It seemed like word had gotten out somehow...or Kenichi had noticed and sent more Ninja to act as chaperones.

Training Ground 86 — Central Lake

"Listen, if I am right about this, then Fang is most likely going to ignore Blitz's ideas and the same goes for Blitz. They've got to be arguing about strategies, so how about we rush in and close the gap before firing on them point blank?" Flash questioned Stoic, who nodded. And as they did just that, they sweat dropped at the sight before them.

"And I'm telling you your plan is garbage!" Fang shouted loudly as Blitz groaned. Why'd he have to get paired with Fang of all people. At least Storm was smart enough to know he was stupid.

"Stealth won't work against them. Stoic knows how you operate. We need to follow my plan and use the high ground to our advantage before they get the drop on us!" Blitz countered as Fang scoffed at that. Before Fang could counter, the two were quickly hit by Flash and Stoic who walked out of the tree line, looking at the downed duo.

"That was just sad." Stoic stated as Fang and Blitz glared at him.

"True." Was all Flash said. While the group was doing their own thing, Tenten was talking to King regarding the performance of the four Clones.

"You know, the one called Blitz, I've noticed he relies too much on you to backup his decisions." She stated as King slowly nodded. He was still trying to learn the language, though his accent was thick and rife with mispronunciations.

"A problem he's had for a long time. It's a damn shame since he's probably every bit as good as me, he's just had no confidence in himself since flunking out of the program. He tends to spiral in on himself when things go south. It's the only thing holding him back." King agreed as he watched the drill.

"And the other three could become deadly assassins, with proper training. One's absurdly fast, another absurdly deadly with those knives, and it took me a while to figure out the last one was even here." She added as King thought over that. Clones were trained to be soldiers, not assassins, but given that his brothers had developed unique skills, and the fact that their gene donor was considered the bounty hunter in the galaxy, it wasn't difficult to imagine Clones specializing in that roll.

"I've got no problems training Stoic to be extra deadly with those weapons of his, but I can't help all of you. But aside from Guy-sensei, I think I know a few others that might be of some help." Tenten pondered their options for a minute.

"Really? You think your Shinobi will train us?" Fang was still a little sour at almost getting bested by a teenage girl, and was probably the least interested in getting help from Naruto's former countrymen.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to ask. The Hokage seems to have a major soft spot for your boss so we've got some leeway...Flash, you're more than fast enough, but you need to work on your fundamentals a bit more. I think I know a perfect all-rounder Shinobi to be of help for you. I hope you like kids though, cause he's current stuck teaching some of our brats." Tenten's mind briefly wandered back to her youth.

"A teacher? Can't think of any better person to teach." Blitz joked, eliciting an actual laugh from Fang for once.

"His name is Iruka Umino, he taught all of us Shinobi when we were just little tykes playing ninja back in the academy. He's a jack of all trades and he'd be perfect to help you round out your combat skills. Head back to the village and look for the large dome-shaped building with a large yard behind it and ask for Iruka. He's got a scar right across his nose. Tell him his favorite student Tenten recommended you."

"As for you Blitz, I think you've actually already met the person that I think would be perfect in bringing out your potential. He's actually the most popular choice to replace Master Jiraiya as Hokage. Your first test is finding him: he's got spiky silver hair and he always wears a blue facemask."

'Oh hell.' Blitz groaned, recognizing the apt description.

"His name is Kakashi Hatake. And the same situation goes for you Fang, but finding Asuma-sensei should be a lot easy. You should be able to find him without any trouble, just follow the stench of smoke and burly chest hair." Fang face-faulted. Did chest hair even have a smell? Either way he recognized the name Asuma as the one who was able to match King.

"Which just leaves...you, King. Sorry to say but I don't think there's anything anyone can do for you. I saw the way you held your own against those two, and I heard you defeated Samui from Kumo andheld your own against Asuma. I'm pretty sure you'd win in a straight fight with just about anyone in the Alliance that isn't Kage level. Maybe you should ask Naruto after he's done training?" Tenten questioned.

"Not really an option, least not anymore." King replied, causing her to furl her brow in confusion.

"Isn't he a swordsman?" Tenten had heard that he'd locked blades with Kenichi, an impressive enough feat to qualify him as a master of Kenjutsu.

"He is, but his bladework is dependent on a power only he has. They require the Force and developing watered down versions to teach me is challenging for him, not to mention time consuming. He's already taught me all that he could. Even if there's room for some fine tweaking it's not worth it. Besides, I get the feeling I won't have much time to train once we're out of here. I'd rather find someone else to help me out now." King replied. Naruto had indeed taught him all that he could, but those forms weren't as effective without the Force.

"Where do you think you'll be able to find a blademaster that will be able to teach you?" Tenten questioned, to which King opened his mouth to say something.

"There's that Kenichi guy, isn't there? He managed to hold off the General, that's pretty impressive. Maybe him?"

"Ah...no, there is not. Have you met the guy? He still thinks you're enemy combatants. He'd be too paranoid to hand you a rock let alone teach you his bladework." Tenten resisted the urge to laugh for another reason. If they thought Kenichi was only holding off Naruto, they might be too delusional to train.

"Not sure who I could turn to then. That Asuma guy seemed pretty good with his knives, but he's busy training Fang. Wait, there was that guy that took out everyone using a bunch of swords...what was his name Bee or something?" King proposed the Kumo jinchuuriki.

"Ehh...Bee isn't exactly the mentoring type, you know? Unless you want to learn how to rap some truly terrible bars." Tenten's voice strained as she dismissed the possibility. "Sorry, but I really can't think of anyone. We could always ask Master Jiraiya for advice...if he agrees..." She proposed.

"Fifty thousand." A voice crawled up their spines from the trees. Tenten turned to the origin of the voice but King had already locked eyes with the culprit. With most of his armor gone, Sasuke was a bit more dificult to recognize just by his face. His incinerated dark grey bodysuit had been replaced by a sleeker black one of his own creation.

Out of all his former Mandalorian cladding, only the boots and gloves remained semi-intact. The rest of his armor had been melted down and recast into the only mold readily available, an old Shinobi wartime design with four kusazuri following along the front and back of each thigh. Under his armor was a grey piece of cloth that came up and out over the top of his chestplate and draped over his shoulders, with a large collar concealing his neck and chin. His old utility belt has been reinforced with steel given that it now served to keep everything in place rather than just store his tools. He had chosen to armor only the back of his dominant sword hand, leaving his left unobstructed for mobility–and one-handed seals for jutsu. Overtop his new getup was a steel-blue cloak of wool for warmth against the Autumn months of the North.

"What was that?" Tenten inquired. Fifty thousand? Fifty thousand what? King raised an eyebrow before he stood up. He wasn't comfortable throwing around that much of Ross' money without consent so...

"Thirty-five." King countered as Tenten looked confused. Thirty-five? What were they talking about? Sasuke grinned as he pulled out his brand new blade and launched from his treetop perch towards the unprepared King. Tenten didn't have time to get her bearings and dodge, so she opted to just slide out of the tree to avoid being trisected by their colliding blades.

"Jeez, I spend my time finding tutors for his underlings and he repays me by nearly dicing me up with Sasuke's help." Tenten sighed before pulling out a weapon scroll and summoning her arsenal before turning around to face Stoic.

Training Ground 38

Naruto yelped as he lost his balance once again, and prepared himself for the icy cold waters of the river to wash over him once again. Being submerged in the wintery brook was initially cool and refreshing against the intense amount of sweat he had managed to build up in his concentration, but it quickly turned uncomfortable as the not quite frozen liquid soaked him to the bone. Rising out of the tributary and drying himself off to avoid hypothermia, Naruto gasped and sighed in frustration.

"I just can't get the right amount of Chakra. It changes so frequently " Naruto thought as he looked out over slow flowing water.

"Seems like you're still struggling." Naruto turned to find Jiraiya sitting up in a tree. Naruto sighed as he made his way out of the water.

"Maintaining the right amount of Chakra is difficult. The flow of the water is unpredictable and changes from moment to moment." Naruto complained as Jiraiya sighed and thought over the situation.

"I don't blame you for failing. You're actually doing amazingly well considering it's not even been a week, and you were basically starting from scratch. It usually takes years of Academy training to get to where you are now."

"Isn't that just because the Academy also teaches all the basic Shinobi jutsu as well?" Naruto pointed out, but Jiraiya shook his head.

"Aye, that they do. But don't get it wrong, Chakra control is still the most difficult aspect of early Shinobi training, especially for one in your particular...situation." Jiraiya said, gesturing to the newly repaired seal.

"Doesn't help that I'm freezing my ass off for five minutes after getting dunked by my awful Chakra control." Naruto elicited a chuckle from his Godfather.

"Hmmm, well, there might be another way you can get better Chakra control." Jiraiya pondered whether or not Naruto would be capable of pulling it off.

"And you're just mentioning this to me now? You liked watching me freeze and drown, didn't you?" Naruto accused him with a scoff of minor frustration.

"Not sure if it'll work fully, but we're not looking for perfect control, just enough that you'll know how to make the sealing jutsu not backfire." Jiraiya stated as Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Then why haven't you told me that method?" Naruto questioned while Jiraiya smirked as he jumped down.

"Because it'll set you back a couple weeks or so. It's overall quicker, but it's a much more difficult path. But the good news is that it's the same level of difficulty no matter what level of Shinobi you are. And with your Chakra reserves being supercharged by...Kurama, I suppose I should say its name–it could actually be a deadly weapon in your arsenal. Would definitely catch those battle droids you were talking about by surprise." Jiraiya answered, causing Naruto to frown as he weighed his options. He could learn the alternative and then master water walking on his own. He needed control over his power first, everything else was secondary.

"Alright. I like the sound of that. I'll bite." Naruto responded as Jiraiya nodded before he opened his hand and brought it in front of the ex-Jedi Master turned Shinobi-in-training.

"This technique was actually made by your father, the fourth Hokage." Jiraiya stated as a spiral of blue energy started to form in his palm, leaving Naruto mesmerized by its majestic glow.

It's unique coloring almost reminded him of hyperspace.

Land of Rain — In a Mysterious Flooded Cave

"What are we doing here? I have art to create dammit." An effeminate man with his long blond hair in a ponytail rudely introduced himself, while another rolled his eyes.

"Explosions aren't a form of art, Deidara." The figure questioned as Deidara huffed.

"And those puppets are, Sasori?" Deidara questioned as Sasori nodded. Sasori appeared to be a hunched over old man with a gruff voice, with a face mask covering half of his face.

"By preserving people and making puppets out of them, I am preserving their beauty, and that beauty is true art. There's little beauty in the fires of chaos." the hunched over form of Sasori replied. As the two debated the definition of art others looked on the two bickering in mild amusement to pass the time.

"While I care not about their debate, I care less for my time being wasted. Can we get to the reason this meeting was called already? I have other bounties to collect and this is wasting that precious time." Kakuzu questioned as Hidan grunted in argument.

"That money loving idiot is right. Why the hell am I being pulled from my rituals?!" the white-haired Hidan questioned as everyone looked at the religious fanatic. Hidan was known for his…zealous…nature when it came to fighting his opponents. He carried a large triple bladed scythe on his back to accompany him in battle. The other members too all had the same question.

"Enough. Zetsu, why have you called this meeting so urgently?" They all went silent as they turned to their leader, Pain. Everyone here knew how powerful he was and to defy him wouldn't be in their best interest. Pain's most notable feature were the small chakra rods implanted all over his body.

"It seems like the Kyuubi jinchuuriki has finally resurfaced." A plant like being, one half pale white, the other jet black, reported as it emerged from the stone floor of the cave. Before it, were nine pillars and on each other stood a figure, the founding members of the Akatsuki.

"About time. I'm wondering where they kept him hidden." The shark-like member, Kisame, stated as he grinned. Kisame truly looked like a shark and attached to his back was his Chakra-hungry sword, Samehada.

"Intriguing that he should come forward now. We could not find him all these years and now he emerges practically from nonexistence? Sounds odd to me." Sasori, the puppet master, stated. Some of the other members agreed. They had tried for years to find the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, after countless expeditions to Alliance strongholds they had begun to think that the container of the Nine Tails had been expatriated to somewhere they'd likely never find him, or that perhaps Orochimaru had gotten his hands on the Uzumaki child.

"If he's come forward now, then it's a great likelihood that he's become powerful. We should not underestimate him." the blue-haired Konan, the only female member of Akatsuki, advised her friend and confidant.

"That doesn't matter. The balance of power is still overwhelmingly in our favor. Now that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki has been located, we can finally end our recusal and move forward with our plans." Everyone turned to look at their leader, Pain, as the multitude of rims in his purple eyes shone in the dark, giving the leaders of Akatsuki an ominous, dreadful feeling.

Soon, they would strike, and whenever Akatsuki acted, there was bound to be bloodshed.

Well, there's that folks! I know that a lot of you have questions in the reviews, but the fastest way for us to respond is via discord. Join and you may find your answers!