(A/N) Here's chapter 5 for everyone :D Just a little interlude showing how Hiei joined Konoha. The rest of the guys will get their own in between a few chapters. A few of you may have noticed but these first few chapters have been not as in depth/action-y. This is because I'm mostly setting up the backbone of this AU. The real fic will begin when Naruto is old enough to interact more so it'll take a few chapters to get to that point :\

Still, hope you enjoy the fic so far :D

Read and review please!

INTERLUDE 1: Hiei

There hadn't been much traffic coming into Konoha recently. Neither had there been much traffic leaving - the village's citizens were mostly a loyal bunch and their Will of Fire wouldn't give them any other option than to stay and rebuild. But the lack of new blood was leaving the village in a precarious position population-wise after the Kyuubi's widespread massacre

A normal civilian village not under martial law may have lessened immigration laws and checks to boost shattered population levels, but Konoha being a shinobi dwelling meant that the paranoia intensities were too high for those shenanigans.

This meant that when the few travelers did make it to Konoha they were given incredibly suspicious stares and promptly escorted to secure areas outside the border wall for paper inspections.

Hiei arrived and, after handing over his papers (expertly forged by the outer lands own officials under a mind control courtesy of one expertly wielded Jagan), waited out the utterly dull process of having veritable children try to intimidate suspected treachery out of him.

Of course, he was technically treacherous if only for being what he was. But the humans didn't need to know that.

He knew he really shouldn't consider the humans children; they might get offended if he accidentally slipped and started treating them as such. And honestly, Yusuke was proof enough that even thousands of years of aging weren't enough to instill maturity in some individuals.

"It says here you're from the outer lands. What business do you have in Konoha?"

The voice reminded him he should probably pay attention to the dangerous people with pointy weapons.

"I came to this village to offer my services to it's military forces," Hiei said in as respectful a tone as he could manage, "I'd like to become a permanent resident."

At the startled and immediately hostile expressions on the shinobi faces, Hiei sighed and added, "I am willing to undergo whatever initiation and interrogation necessary until you can be sure I am not an enemy of the Leaf."

The shinobi's sharp brown eyes narrowed further, "You realize your timing is terrible, right?"

When Hiei nodded shortly, he continued, "You will have to go through all levels of interrogation to join the Leaf Corps and even then if you make it you will be under supervision for an even greater amount of time."

Hiei had to resist rolling his eyes, he'd just told them he didn't care if they threw their whole damn military at him, he was joining and that was final. After all, the only other option was to join up with Sand and neither he nor Kurama much liked that place (not nearly enough greenery for Kurama to play with and Hiei simply preferred trees to no trees).

"I understand." The demon's stare booked no further argument and the wearied shinobi gestured plainly over to a ramshackle wooden desk set up a few feet away, "Alright, residency desk is over there. They'll take you through the steps necessary to apply."

Hiei took his papers back and walked off without another word. He stepped up to the desk and dropped the papers in front of another shinobi, this one with a noticeable injury. The wounded arm did nothing to hinder the man's intelligence and the wrinkles his face bore, along with various scars, told of his ability. Anyone who could survive the wars at his age was clearly not unskilled. Hiei concluded it was only the still healing injury keeping the man at desk duty.

He stared blankly back at the scrutinizing gaze the man bore until finally the other broke and handed over a stack of forms.

"Sign these waivers and basic information," The shinobi ordered briskly, "Chairs are over there." He went back to looking over the forms on his desk in clear dismissal leaving Hiei to join the few other people also looking to live in Konoha. He sat as far away from them as possible.

The fire-youkai looked at the first page and grunted in irritation. Paperwork was the bane of his existence. He could distinctly remember times when he'd lived on his own and had never even so much as held a pen. Good times, good times. Killing things was so much easier than filing reports.

'If things weren't so dull in the Makai I'd never have put up with the damn fox's plan.'

He glared at the first page as if it was the one at fault while continuing his stream of inward cursing, and set to work.

An hour later and the large sheaf of papers were tossed unceremoniously on to the wooden desk. Hiei set the pen down neatly, and with a solid clack, right in front of the papers before settling his hand back at his side.

The shinobi raised a brow and pulled the papers closer, sliding them into a brown envelope and dumping it in a filing cabinet off to the right.

The shinobi focused back on Hiei, "Do you have any more possessions you arrived with other than what is on you currently?"

Hiei shook his head.

"Then we can begin." A handsign later and another shinobi in a green vest appeared next to them, "You will be going with our chuunin to begin questioning."

The chuunin reached out and- invaded Hiei's personal space- grabbed the demon's arm, making another handsign simultaneously. Hiei felt the world warp and had to resist breaking the humans hand to get away (Honestly! You didn't just didn't do that in the Makai, unless you were particularly suicidal or strong enough that it didn't matter. Humans had no common courtesy).

On the other hand, that teleportation ability was incredibly interesting. Hiei wondered how far the range was and if he could incorporate it into his skill set.

The world refocused and they were now in what could only be labeled the Interrogation Room. Hiei stared impassively. Damn Kurama and damn his boredom.

And damn Yusuke too for the hell of it, because he was feeling vindictive after signing all that paperwork just now.

"Sit in that chair, the questioner will be here shortly," The chuunin said, who then headed over to the wall nearest the door and stood at attention.

Hiei eyed the chair as he drew closer. It looked incredibly uncomfortable and he frowned when he realized he'd likely be sitting in it for a while. He was too old for this shit. He sat down anyways, deciding he had already gotten this far so he might as well continue.

He ended up waiting for half an hour, possibly meant to put a real spy on edge but Hiei had more than enough patience to last him a human lifetime. Especially after dealing with all that he had in his long existence thus far (Mukuro's court, Kurama's nosiness, Yusuke, and Kuwabara's idiocy, to name just a few).

A click and he heard the sound of a lock being turned. The door opened and revealed a tall and rather imposing man wearing the vest of a jounin. Trailing behind him was a lanky teen with a long scar across the right side of his face. The boy's chuunin vest meant that, despite his age, he had some purpose in the room.

The teen went to the side of the door opposite the chuunin while what was most likely the head interrogator walked over to the desk where Hiei sat.

"You realize that by coming here not just to become a resident of Konoha, but to also apply as a shinobi that we must be very thorough with our questioning?" The jounin's dark eyes drifted up and down Hiei's person, examining him for signs of an enemy nin.

Hiei nodded and the interrogation began in earnest.

It started as questions, rapid fire and all hinting at second meanings.

"Why did you leave the outer lands?"

"Why did you decide to move to Konoha?"

"Where did you get your training from?"

"It says here on the forms you filled out that-"

And on it continued until finally, after two hours, Hiei was led to another room, this one a cell, and he'd been blindfolded.

He sighed and resigned himself to a few good rounds of torture. Again, damn Yusuke and Kurama. The both of them were only entering the village as civilians and wouldn't have to deal with nearly this level of annoyance- and they wouldn't be followed around by "sneaky" shinobi until their loyalties were judged to be entirely for Konoha.

He sighed inwardly- no need to make the shinobi think their scare tactic was boring- and strolled comfortably along. Though the hands on him were making him twitchy, but at least they had the excuse of torture to be touching him this time.

They stopped outside a door and Hiei was shoved forward until his legs hit a chair and he was sat down again. Then someone's hands were on his forehead and he felt the first probes of a foreign mind in his headspace.

The Jagan didn't like this and Hiei was forced to make a hasty intervention before it telepathically fried the other mind. The demon fought a smirk down before allowing the intruder to think he'd successfully invaded his target. He sent the images and history he'd been mentally constructing for the past few weeks at the shinobi. It included a whole life with all the details one would expect to see.

It also included his "kekkei-genkai" the Jagan itself. He had to show them this or the bandanna on his forehead would eventually create unwanted questions, especially if he was forced to use it in combat and it was seen. If not that, then the wards inlaid in it and power they subdued would be noticed before long as well.

He only showed the Jagan's abilities to telepathically communicate and mind read. He hid its blocking and memory fabrication abilities.

It was interesting, he mused, that humans had become so spiritually powerful that a whole clan of them had developed the ability to read minds. If he hadn't been a master of his own mind and had the Jagan as added defense, it was very likely they'd have broken past his barriers entirely too easily.

The mind scouring lasted only thirty minutes before Hiei felt the presence lessen and then leave entirely.

He sensed the one who'd been in his head exit the room and then felt hands untying the blindfold.

The demon blinked once as his gaze refocused. He turned his gaze to the interrogator and stared passively.

The jounin stared back just as impassively before following the other out. Hiei was left with just the two chuunin as guards.

Thus began the staring contest from hell.

Hiei wondered who would break first.

Both chuunin had to have some skill to have earned their vests. The first chuunin was much older, which might have given him an edge if Hiei hadn't been thousands of years his senior. The younger chuunin seemed to be a natural and, judging by his power levels and appearance, was actually the more skilled of the two.

Hiei entertained himself this way for two hours, successfully ignoring the aches setting in from the uncomfortable chair and blinking far less often than the two chuunin.

Then he had to work very hard to not shove his fist through the human who had just appeared behind him.

He heard a sudden intake of air from the woman and smelt a mix of awe and fear that began rolling in waves off her.

She made hurried, silent handsigns, only noticeable to Hiei because he sensed the movement in air currents, to the two chuunin who made their first expression since entering the room. Disbelieving stares pinned Hiei.

More handsigns and the older chuunin left the room in a rush.

Hiei smirked. It was about time one of the shinobi had thought to check his power levels. He'd felt when the shinobi had scanned him, though the method they'd used wasn't any he knew of.

"What are you?" The human asked in a breathless whisper.

He shrugged, "It's not unheard of to have large chakra holding capacities, you know."

She realized her mistake- no talking on the job- and fell silent again.

The chuunin burst back into the room with the jounin trailing behind, both wearing grave expressions.

"I'll ask again, why did you come to Konoha? And this time, explain why someone of your power level would leave the outer lands- your people- to join us."

Hiei snorted and leaned back in his chair.

"I told you, Konoha holds far more promise for me than anywhere in the outer lands or any of the other hidden villages." He held their gazes, confident in his superiority.

They kept their fear at bay, but knowing that the person in front of them was at the very least on par with their own Sannin set fear into the backs of their minds.

'Hm. I suppose I should tone it down. I am going to be working with them in the future.'

Hiei relaxed and his body language became less threatening. He watched the humans hesitate when they observed the change and the suspicion grow in their eyes.

The shinobi behind him moved around to join the others and he raised a brow when he noted their strange appearance. The white, pupil-less eyes were odd to say the least and the veins that stood out near the corners were mildly disturbing.

She watched him without expression for a moment then said to the jounin, "I cannot see behind his headband. It is acting as a ward."

The jounin grunted, "Our Yamanaka said he believes it's a kekkei-genkai behind there. He saw a third eye apparently."

The white-eyed shinobi gave a non-committal hum and went back to staring.

Finally, the jounin gestured to the chuunin, "Bring in the wards, we were going to put the regular ones on but I believe we'll need the strongest in this case."

He looked at Hiei, "When you signed those waivers you agreed to being warded for the time it takes to determine your loyalties. They will be used to restrict your chakra level by 50 percent and will include a tracking ward as well."

Hiei nodded and the room fell back into silence while they waited. Though, really, the blank staring was getting really annoying.

The chuunin returned carrying a large scroll that he gave to the jounin who then bit into his thumb and swiped a streak of blood to release the items sealed within.

It was a very interesting application of energy and Hiei silently marveled at all the possibilities it presented. He had no problem carrying heavy objects but it would be incredibly convenient to shove everything into a single scroll than to tie it all together on his back or at his side.

Paper slips and strips of cloth were laid out and scribbled on with a mixture of ink and blood. Hiei could practically feel the static energy buzzing hotly in the air and through his senses.

He blinked as if coming out of a stupor as he was instructed to remove his shirt and lay on his back in the center of the room. The demon frowned but complied. He just wanted to get the whole damn process over and done with.

They were lucky he'd had years restraining his demonic nature or the sealing wouldn't have been so easy to accomplish. Lying on his back with his belly to people he didn't trust and who hadn't proven themselves stronger was making the fire-demon's instincts practically scream for him to get back on his feet to rectify the situation.

Hiei could feel the wards draining off pieces of his youkai bit by bit as the shockingly cold paintbrush was used to retrace the paper wards onto his skin.

He might have protested Kurama's idea to join the shinobi ranks if he'd known they'd be stripping his youkai from him but when they said only 50 percent was being taken he stopped caring. He'd been alive so long that that amount was nothing. It would still place him comfortably at the stronger end of the power spectrum and besides, he liked a challenge every once in awhile. It had been so long since he'd fought anyone outside Yusuke's little collection of acquaintances that to have to struggle to attain victory would be satisfying.

The whole process lasted only a short time before he was allowed to stand. After a short dizzy spell as Hiei's body readjusted to the power drain they once again blindfolded him and led him out. He was re-deposited back on the outskirts of Konoha and allowed to begin finding a place to live.

Hiei smirked once the shinobi disappeared, immensely pleased with himself. 'And the damn fox said I wouldn't be able to accomplish that without bloodshed.' He frowned, 'Unless he counts them purposely shedding blood for the seals?'

He continued walking, 'Nonsense.'

Over the course of the next month Hiei managed to get his own apartment, avoid his neighbors like the plague, get accosted by suspicious shinobi, and begin to wonder if boredom was truly worth being around so many humans for so long. He'd forgotten how terrible they smelled.

He returned a twitchy glare at a passing Uchiha as their eyes met across the street. Hiei had been out getting groceries and never failed to run into the high-strung bastards, as he hadn't realized they lived so close to his place before he'd moved in.

It had come to his attention, as well as the rest of the people living near him, that he looked irritatingly similar to the Uchiha clan members.

Hiei scowled internally, 'I know that there is at least one other person with red eyes and black hair living in this village who also isn't a part of that clan. Why aren't they being obsessed over?'

He made his way back to the apartment, darting over rooftops and feeling glad that this form of transportation was the norm now. He arrived at the place and scowled outwardly when he sensed a presence waiting for him inside.

This happened every so often since he'd moved in. A random shinobi would arrive and he'd be taken to a room for questioning and a round of psychological torture. He'd had so many Yamanaka mind readers scan him he was getting to think they didn't trust their own people's abilities if the first few times didn't reveal anything.

'I thought these people just got through a war. Aren't they too busy to spend this much manpower on one individual?'

He dropped down in front of his door and walked in, utterly ignoring the person standing in his living room to go put the groceries away. Hey, he'd just spent hard earned (stolen, actually. From people before they'd arrived in the village. Also they may have dabbled in gambling a bit more than was wise) money on the stuff and unlike Kurama couldn't grow his own vegetables in seconds.

Besides that he enjoyed pissing off the shinobi retrievers sent to get him.

He felt the person shift slightly behind him and finally turned around, "Hn. Tell me they've planned a new interrogation for me, the others are getting repetitive."

The boy, a newly appointed ANBU with shockingly grey hair for his age, shot him a narrowed look and folded his arms. "You're to come with me to see the Hokage today."

Hiei shrugged and nodded. Though the word 'Finally' came to mind.

They approached the tower and Hiei was lead past the watchful eyes of the chuunin until they reached the stairs leading up to the Hokage's office.

The spiraling stairs ended and a short hallway appeared with a large door leading to what could only be their destination. Hiei continued walking calmly and absently acknowledged the two shinobi standing guard. They opened the door and Hiei was given his first in-person meeting with Leaf's leader.

A wizened face, tanned and roughed with time spent fighting outside, greeted the youkai. Neutral brown eyes appraised him before he was beckoned closer with a casual wave of a calloused hand.

"My shinobi have told me you have passed their interrogations and are ready to begin integration into Konoha's forces."

Hiei tilted his head to the side, expression staying even, "Your shinobi don't run this village."

The Hokage Sarutobi chuckled, leaning back in his chair and motioning to one of the shinobi carrying a black lacquered box to step forward, "This is true. The final decision is up to me whether you join us or not. Be that as it may, I trust my people to act always for the benefit of Konoha and if they tell me you are worthy of joining then I will believe that they have decided correctly."

The box was placed on the desk and the Hokage pushed it towards Hiei gently, "Just as I will trust you to join your will of fire to the villages' own. Welcome to Konoha."

Hiei bowed his head, newly adorned with the Leaf headband, "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

At the entrance to Konoha a young man with vibrant red hair and piercing emerald eyes walked up to the gates with his identification papers.

(A/N) Le Fin' (or whatever the French words for "the end" are ;D ).