The face of the forth. It was always the face he paid the most attention to, the Hokage he dreamed to surpass more than any other. It was the Fourth that drove him, that damned him and shadowed him. While Naruto may have been overlooked and disregarded due to the Kyuubi, it was the Fourth Hokage that loomed as the largest obstacle to him. That's why before he departed from the village for three years he wanted to take a good look at it, at the symbol that man became. Naruto swore when he returned he'd be so much closer to the Fourth's level then he'd save Sasuke, defeat the Akatsuki and start his campaign to become the next Hokage. Three years and he couldn't wait-

It was the shadow of someone that caught his eye, first. Naruto immediately looked up and saw someone standing there in an ANBU style mask but no animal pattern. The man had on a blue shirt and pants combination with a black haori over it. He was wearing a bandana so his hair couldn't be seen and he appeared to be staring directly at Naruto. His suspicions were confirmed when the man waved for him to come meet him.

"Naruto, hurry up we're leaving." Jiraiya said

"Wait, Pervy Sage, there's a guy atop the Hokage Monument and he's waving for me to meet him."

Jiraiya turned to see what his apprentice was talking about and was surprised to see the gaki was right. Jiraiya thought he should meet the man, if for no other reason than intelligence gathering. Besides with him there, this stranger wouldn't be too much of a threat. Jiraiya quickly grabbed Naruto, telling him not to talk unless he, Jiraiya, ok'd it first and then shunshin'd to the Hokage Monument.

"Who are you? You don't look like ANBU. A fan, maybe?" Jiraiya questioned, trying to keep things light.

"I have words for your apprentice, no more and no less. Once my message is delivered I will depart." The man said, emotionlessly.

"For me? Why would you have a message for me?" Naruto ask, completely forgetting Jiraiya ordered him not to speak.

"Yes." the man responded and then performed five hand signs before slapping his hand on the ground and thirteen caskets emerged. Without having to wait for even a second, the casket doors opened to show not only every known member of the Akatsuki but some Jiraiya hadn't known about, including his two former students Nagato and Konan. Those were upsetting to Jiraiya but the body that most upset Naruto was the casket furthest from him, it contained Sasuke.

Jiraiya could feel the rage and sorrow within his apprentice and godson but knew giving in to the Kyuubi now would only cause harm. So he tried, to calm Naruto before he made a mistake by grabbing his shoulder firmly.

"Naruto, if those bodies are real then this man is to powerful to charge at I know it's hard and I know it hurts but you have to stay calm." Jiraiya spoke and he could see the boy trying to heed the advice but not succeeding. If anyone could understand how he felt, it was Jiraiya as he, too, had long hoped to save his friend before finally giving up. And while Orochimaru had done terrible, unforgivable things, seeing his body along with his assistant gave Jiraiya no pleasure.

"Why?" Naruto asked, his tone reflecting how broken he must have felt.

"He was a distraction, they all were. Now, that will not be the cause."

"He wasn't a distraction, HE WAS MY FRIEND!" Naruto yelled, his eyes turning red.

"And now, he is dead. You only have yourself to blame, had you not pulled your final attack you may have been able to save him."

"I WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM!" Naruto said, desperately wanting to fight JIraiya's firm grip but the Sannin wouldn't budge.

"There are a lot of ways to save someone. When I arrived to end Orochimaru, Sasuke was there so he had to die with the rest. Not that it mattered, his brother had been dead for days. Sasuke leaving was pointless."

"You said you had a message now get to the point."

"On the day of your seventeenth birthday, Naruto Uzumaki, you and I will war. If you fail to defeat me I will kill everyone you know and love. And I do mean everyone, Naruto. Not just those who reside on Konoha. That family in Wave? The Princess in Spring? The Jinchuuriki and his siblings in Suna. They will all die and just like Sasuke, it'll be your fault."

That was too much, Naruto lost his the rest of his self control and attacked the man that killed his friend and threatened his precious people, slipping into the one tail cloak as he did. His dash toward the man was fast and feral but the man proved up to the challenge as he struck Naruto in the stomach and quickly turned his hand. In the next moment Naruto was screaming loud enough for the entire village to hear. Jiraiya decided to enter the fray to attack the man, moving much faster than his student with a rasengan at the ready. The man effortlessly dodged, grabbing the Sannin's wrist and breaking it in one fluid motion before kicking him in the ribs while releasing his hand.

"The seal I placed on him is timed, he won't be able to draw on the Kyuubi's chakra again until the set time has elapsed. Tell him, Toad Sage, the only path is ahead of him. To move backward is to die, to hesitate is to be defeated. I'll see him in four years." The man said and vanished an instance before the ANBU and other Leaf nin arrived on the scene. Upon seeing both Jiraiya and Naruto injured, they rushed them to the hospital while one made haste to the Hokage's office, as she'd want to know.

Tsunade received the report of the attack on Naruto and Jiraiya; along with the bodies of the Akatsuki and etc…, on display. She made haste to the hospital but was slowed by the massive headache she was combatting, one that was in no way aided by the brightness of the sun nor the existence of sounds louder than a pin drop. Even her advance medical knowledge didn't allow her to combat this, she'd just have to suffer through it.

On arrival she saw that Jiraiya was conscious but Naruto wasn't. She was trying to clear the room when her new apprentice was set of being of use. Unfortunately, Tsunade didn't have time to humor the girl, she wasn't at a level to help yet, among other things, so Tsunade was a little more blunt than she'd normally be.

"You're in the way, Sakura, GET OUT!". Sufficiently cowed, the genin did just that. Shizune started healing Jiraiya's wrist as she worked on Naruto. All signs were stable, he would hopefully wake up soon, so she turned to Jiraiya to explain what in the hell happened. She heard his report but could hear the distress in his voice. Whoever this new threat was, that they wanted Naruto for some unknown reason put her former teammate on edge and she couldn't blame him.

"I need to go collect some intel, we need to know more about them." Jiraiya said.

"You're staying put, Jiraiya. Once you heal, we can talk about intelligence gathering but none of that will matter if you get yourself killed. Naruto is going to need you."

"I know, I'm going to have to change things up if that seal really does stop him from accessing the Kyuubi's chakra. That was going to be the primary focus of our training."

"You never said that'd be your central focus, Jiraiya."

"I didn't nor did I have to. How I train my student is my business and the Kyuubi's power is too great to not be used. Now that it might not be an option I have to rethink things."

"You do that and get some rest." Tsunade then turned to Shizune, "I'll be in my office. Do not disturb me until Naruto awakens."

Outside the village, four ninja meet in a nearby forest, all dress similarly to the man that attacked Naruto and Jiraiya. The man difference is that his companions are clearly females and are wearing hooded jackets to further hide their hair color.

"Did everyone accomplish their missions?" he asked and got a trio of head nods.

"The Godaime was reluctant to believe but given some time to digest everything she'll do what's needed." one figure spoke and received a nod of acknowledgement in return.

"Same with my target. It may take some time but she's on the right path now, I have no doubt." She received a similar nod and the man turned to the last member of the group.

"Danzo will not die well." Is all she said and the other three realized they'd get no more information from her. With a brief confirmation from the group, the squad made haste back to their headquarters, back to Ame.

It hurt to see Naruto so dejected and she'd do almost anything to get her gaki back smiling again, even if this newly acquired information was still disturbing her. She knew what he was likely thinking but him bottling things up would only cause more problems in the future.

"Naruto, lay back down, I need to check you over." Tsunade said. If he were surprised by her presence he didn't show it nor did he demand to be released. He just laid down and let her run a diagnostic jutsu. Physically he was fine. Whatever the additional seal did, it didn't stop the small trickle of Kyuubi chakra that flowed in Naruto's system, meaning it only stopped the intentional drawing of it's, his?, chakra.

"You seem fine, Naruto but I can tell something is bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's my fault, Baachan." Naruto said simply. "I could have stopped Sasuke, I held back afraid I was going to seriously hurt or kill him so I pulled my jutsu and believed he'd do the same. Because I held back, he was there when that man came and got killed because of it." He said, tears streaming down his face. "And if that's not enough, the man killed him and all those other people as a message to me. How am I supposed to fight someone that could kill all those people when I couldn't beat a Genin without the Kyuubi? Why does he want to kill me anyway? There isn't anything special about me so why target me? Why not just bring Sasuke back? Why threatened everyone if he just wants to fight me?"

"Would knowing change anything?" she asked, dodging the question.

"I don't know, maybe. If it's just the Kyuubi then that'd make sense, it's the only thing that makes sense."

"Naruto the Kyuubi isn't the only nor the most special thing about you." Tsunade said but could see the complete disbelief in his face.

"Without it I'm just a screw up orphan no one liked. Now, I'll be the screw up that gets everyone killed."

"Naruto, we have time. You can't give up, that isn't the Naruto I know. It's ok to be scared, it's not ok to quit. I know from experience." She said, cupping his cheeks. "We'll get through this."

"Thanks Baachan."

"You're welcome, brat, now get some rest and I'll get you released a little later." Tsunade said and exited the room. When she returned to her office she saw her advisors waiting on her return and really wanted to roll her eyes. They weren't bad, per se, but they could be trying and she didn't have the temperment to deal with trying people regularly. She ushered them into her office knowing they likely had information they shouldn't.

"Is it true?" Homura said and Tsunade just quirked her brow. What kind of question is that? Seeing she wasn't going to answer and appeared to find the question stupid, Koharu made another attempt.

"Is it true that someone delivered the bodies of multiple S-rank nin and Sasuke Uchiha before disabling Jiraiya and Naruto?"

"Yes."

"What did he want?" Koharu continued.

"Nothing now and I'll be making preparations to handle what may come."

"Tsunade-hime, we can't advise you if you don't share information." Koharu finished.

"You already have information you shouldn't, which means there are ANBU more loyal to you than to me, same with medical staff. As long as that holds to be true, I see no reason to trust you with anything more than what you come with."

"You can't expect us to walk around ignorant, Hiruzen-"

"I'm not him. My tits are way bigger. And however permissive sensei was of you, I won't continue it. It encourages you to take liberties, to see yourselves as something more than advisors. Or need I remind you about what your other teammate gets up to and how it resulted in the extermination of an entire clan?"

Both advisors appeared shocked she knew about that, assuming HIruzen would never leave information on the massacre. The aged advisors could only nod at her point and excuse themselves. Thankful they left, Tsunade tried to continue to process what happened today. How was she to believe the impossible enough to simply make it the improbable? If it were true, any of it true, she needed a drink. A lot of drinks and then get back to serious training. She also needed to remind herself the Gaki was alright and was still here.

"Seems your plans changed, Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi said as he approached the man atop the hospital. Day was starting to turn into night and Kakashi just returned from an impromptu missions to be given the details of the day. Naruto attacked, Sasuke, Orochimaru and the entire Akatsuki killed. It was almost unbelievable but his sources wouldn't lie about something like this.

"In more ways than one. Whoever put on that show today did something to Naruto's seal. Advance stuff, Mito Uzumaki advanced which means about two lifetimes and several IQ points beyond me. It does more than the man said but it has cut off access to the Kyuubi chakra outside of what little filters out."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Kakashi asked.

"Could be, the training trip was meant to get him to perfect using it. I figured it was the best way to get him even close to the Akatsuki but with this new threat, which may be even more powerful I no longer have that option."

"So, are you still taking him out of the village?"

"No. The Akatsuki might have been intimidated by me, I likely could have killed any of the pairs they'd send but this new threat is wholly unknown and wouldn't see me as a deterrent. If he wanted Naruto dead today or the Kyuubi extracted he could have done so. It'll be safer to keep Naruto here and I'll train him between intelligence gathering runs." Jiraiya answered.

"Poor kid, can't catch a break."

"Tell me about it but I have four years to get him where he'll need to be."

"You know, given his ability with shadow clones he could probably learn a lot more at an accelerated rate than you could imagine." Kakashi said and he saw Jiraiya run through a series of thoughts before his eyes lit up.

"Why haven't you been training him like this? I never even considered it, I don't use the damn things."

"Without it I was able to close the gap between Naruto and Sasuke in a matter of months. He may not be a fan of my training or feel I favored Sasuke but just by focusing on his basics he could compete with Sasuke."

"So? That doesn't explain why you didn't utilize this or suggest it to Sensei."

"Part of the reason Sasuke defected was Naruto's increase in power and skill. If Naruto eclipsed him entirely in a few months that would have guaranteed Sasuke would turn traitor. One of the ways to get my team to function was to make sure they stayed about even with each other."

"You hold one back to placate another?" Jiraiya asked, clearly angered.

"At the time, I didn't know people were after him and Sasuke did present as the biggest cause for concern. Keeping things how I did allowed Naruto to become friends with his teammates, something he's desperately needed for years."

"If the choice was investing in his progress or having a relationship with his teammates he clearly was on the wrong team. God, your team work over everything bullshit strikes again. Kakashi, things can exist in moderation and as a Jounin sensei you should have been pushing them to fulfill their potential. You know Naruto's dream, you could have been of more help. Instead, you allow Minato's boy to be second to the Uchiha as to not upset the brat."

"And you were going to treat him as a Jinchuuriki and nothing else, Jiraiya-sama. Besides, where have you been for the past thirteen years? Naruto told me how he had to convince you to train him, throwing him off cliffs and half explaining things."

"As opposed to you who hasn't increased his jutsu arsenal at all?"

"I would not have taught Sasuke the Chidori for years had he not been facing Gaara."

"Bullshit, Kakashi. It was an exhibition match, not an A rank mission. He could have forfeited, he could have used genjutsu. There were half a dozen other choices to be made but you chose the flashy one. The one that would get Sasuke promoted while leaving Naruto with someone that had little to no respect for him."

"I didn't know Ebisu was biased against Naruto, only that he was a good tutor to sure up the basics."

"Basics you claimed you had already seen to."

"Naruto wasn't ready to be Chunin, Sasuke wasn't either but he was closer."

"Yea, nothing says team leader like betrayal. You're hardly better than the traitor's fangirls. Sasuke was dark, that didn't make him more suited or ready for responsibility. I read the reports, jealous and irrational."

"Look, I had a delicate balance to see to and I won't claim to have not made mistakes but I wasn't favoring Sasuke."

"You held Naruto back for Sasuke's sake."

"I wasn't intentionally favoriting Sasuke."

"Naruto didn't have to be on your team. Sensei told me both Genma and Raido wanted the kid. Why was it so important he be on your team if you weren't interested in making him the best he could possibly be?"

"I owed it to Minato Sensei."

"What did you owe him, Kakashi? Because none of this makes sense. You say you worked on Naruto's basics but you need a tutor to spend a month doing so. You say you wanted to be his sensei for Minato and then hold him back for the sake of another. Why bother? Why not let him be with someone that actually wanted to teach him how to be a shinobi?"

"Genma and Raido would have taught Naruto the wrong lessons. He may have become obsessed with his own abilities, believing power alone could fix his problems. Similar to Sasuke."

"The one you gave an A-rank jutsu to."

"I made mistakes."

"We both have but now I know what I need to do. So, while I'm training Naruto you'll be staying away from him."

"You can't-"

"I can. Focus on the girl. I'll take your idea and put it to good use as you were right, I was treating Naruto like a Jinchuuriki but that changes now."

In the highest tower of Ame a man stares out a window, apparently taking in the constant rain showers Ame is famous for. He is out of his mission attire, selecting a simple black pants and blue shirt combo.

"I don't know why you stare out that window so much, it's only rain. Always rain, freaking Ame." a woman said which caused the target of the statement to smile.

"I don't really see what's right in front of me, just more lost in thought."

"About anything in particular?" she asked but knew the answer.

"He's alive. I almost hesitated when I saw him today but the updates to the seal will make things so much better for him. And he's alive."

"I wish I could have been there."

"I understand but you'll see him soon enough." He said before sighing. "I hated hurting him like that but-"

"We couldn't let the Uchiha live and this will give him focus. If Jiraiya doesn't pull his head out of his ass and train him properly then Tsunade has the tools and guides. It won't be like last time."

"It can't be, He may come to hate me, despise my very being but I'll prepare him for lies ahead this time. I'll make sure he gets his happy ending. He should not have died at seventeen." The man finished with a clenched fist.

"And he won't. Zetsu is dead, Madara's body is burned beyond use. Obito and the rest of the Akatsuki are dead. When Toneri, Momoshiki and Kinshiki comes he'll be more than ready. Minato, you won't have to see him die again." she said, embracing the blond.

"You're right, Kushina."

"I generally am, dattebane!"