A/N – Hello everybody, I bet you've all forgotten about this story. To be perfectly honest, I hadn't completely intended on ever writing anything new on it but I had a sudden flash of inspiration and here this is. It has also just struck me how OP I made Naruto and I must apologise to anyone that has really bothered. To counteract this, I've implemented something that I had always planned on doing. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter of The Strength of the Heart.

Chapter 6 - Two Contrasting Plans

Sudden knocking shocked the Third Hokage from a state of intense concentration. Pushing his paperwork aside, he called out. "Come in." The door opened slowly revealing his secretary with an awestruck expression on her dark features. Hiruzen's bushy white eyebrows drew together as he waited for her to speak. "Uh, uh Lady Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin is here to see you, Hokage-sama." She stammered as she drew herself into a jerky little bow.

"Let her in please," he said kindly, sniggering internally at her stunned demeanour. She turned to follow his orders.

"Oh, Nanase? I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone of this." He called after her, bringing her to a halt. She nodded vigorously, brown hair flying from its tight bun.

"Of course, sir. Absolute discretion as normal." Nanase smiled politely at him before retreating to fetch Tsunade. 'I'm loyal to my Hokage,' she thought to herself although she couldn't honestly see the issue with people knowing Tsunade was back as everyone was already gossiping about it, but she would not betray the Hokage by revealing confidential information as previous secretaries had. Hiruzen smiled gently at the door, hiring Nanase had been the best decision he'd made since giving Naruto to Jiraiya. She'd saved him from a good few of Danzou's plots; people never suspected the secretary to be listening to their conversations. He was sure they must all have forgotten that Nanase was also a Chunin who had been considered for ANBU status until she'd been injured on a mission and deemed unable to go back into the field.

The door slammed open and Tsunade charged into the room, blonde pigtails flapping behind her. She threw herself into one of the green armchairs in front of his desk with all the grace of a raging bull and Hiruzen smiled brightly at his former student. The slug Sannin raised an eyebrow at him in askance and spoke with her usual brash tone. "Greetings sensei. Why did you summon me here?" The arrival of a dog-masked anbu with a summons from Sarutobi was an unanticipated and unwelcome interruption on time that she had intended on spending in a better way...spying on Naruto's team selection. Tsunade loved her sensei, but she would prefer to stay as far away from Konoha politics (and therefore the Hokage Tower) as possible. Now, she would hear what he had to say and then leave at the earliest opportunity. "I wanted to talk to you about Naruto." Tsunade tensed and a vicious scowl crept across her features before smoothing into an indifferent expression.

"What about Naruto?" The defiant tilt of Tsunade's head amused her old sensei who was warmed at her obvious motherly instincts.

"I have heard from Jiraiya about her...abilities and her associations. I wondered if you could confirm his information and possibly answer some questions."

"You have our mandatory mission report from over the years," the distaste was clear in her voice. "And what makes you think I can tell you anything more than Jiraiya has?" Hiruzen scoffed internally at his stubborn student and shook his head.

"I have plenty of information yes, but I would prefer to have your take of it Tsunade." Now it was Tsunade's turn to scoff, but she humoured him anyway. "Please read this," he continued and passed her the report Jiraiya had given him only the day before. The Senju heiress raised an eyebrow at him and glanced between him and the thick folder several times. "Sensei, this is about as thick as my arm. I hope you don't expect me to read all this now."

"No Tsunade, I want you to read one section in particular." Reaching across he flicked the report to the pages detailing Naruto's abilities. Tsunade pulled the folder back and settled into her chair to read.

After a while she looked back up at him and began to laugh although her face remained painted with a slightly confused expression. "I'm going to kill Jiraiya." Hiruzen had not expected her to say this and recoiled in mild fear. Everyone was scared of Tsunade's temper. "He's right about her potential ability, but there's nothing in here at all about the temple ritual."

"Temple ritual?" Hiruzen asked, confused.

"Under the guidance of the Great Toad Sage, Naruto undergoes a secret ritual in one of the many ninja temples upon her birthday each year that binds the majority of the power she would gain in the next year to the land the temple stands on. According to the Sage's prophecy, without this ritual she would have all of the power specified in this report, but the ritual prevents that. She has a fraction of this ability and we have been assured by the Great Sage that she could only bear her full intended power for a short time before it killed her. The ritual is within her best interests." Sarutobi shook his head slightly trying to process the new information.

"What are her current abilities then?" He asked.

"I'd place her at about Chunin-Jounin level currently. It's true she holds a bond with all nine of the Bijuu, although I'm not prepared to comment any further on that." She said sharply, Sarutobi's mouth clicked close. "Her IQ is nowhere near that high, probably about that of a Nara at a guess. All of her skills are far below specified expect Kunoichi skills which she fails in miserably. Her Doujutsu exists, but her control over it is very poor and that's really all I can say on the matter." Tsunade's tone was dismissive and the Third Hokage sensed that he would get no more out of her.

"Thank you for being so forthcoming on the subject Tsunade, I appreciate your honesty."

"I would get nothing from lying to you Sensei. Besides, I don't do this for you. The sooner I tell you the truth, the sooner I can leave. The sooner she is safe. I want that report destroyed." She finished abruptly and stared at her old sensei with an unflinching intensity.

"Tsunade, please. I cannot destroy the report that is the summation of a thirteen year long mission. The council would have my head." He pleaded, leaning forward. Her scowl tightened and her teeth grinded together.

"She is our daughter, not some mission you can pay us for and file away. You will destroy that report. I will not have her in danger from the council or anyone else for it!" Tsunade threw herself to her feet and her chair fell to the ground behind her with a resounding crash.

"She is in no danger from the council Tsunade. Naruto is protected by my law and will be touched by no one from my council or from my village." Tsunade roared and slammed her fist into his desk, shattering it.

"Your words mean nothing to me, Hokage-sama. Destroy it now! If I have to ask you again, you will not like what happens." With those final words, she charged towards the door making it slam violently against the wall. Hiruzen watched her leave with tired eyes.

"Nanase," he called. The bubbly secretary poked her head through the door, eyes widening at the state of his office. "Please get me a new desk."

The sound of dripping filled the dark room, bringing sound to silence, as a bandaged man paced. His single visible eye scanned the darkness critically and he slowed occasionally...waiting and watching. From the darkness came a small figure perfectly camouflaged except for a pale painted mask hiding their face. "You're late," the bandaged man barked as the figure bowed deeply.

"My apologies my lord Danzou," the figure begged, voice decidedly masculine. "There was a meeting at the tower that I was unable to avoid." The air went cold and he flinched instinctively, inching back slightly.

"And what was this meeting about?" Danzou asked, silky voice caressing the air with a vicious sharpness.

"Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki sir," He hedged, uncertain in the reception his information would receive. Danzou lunged at him in a berserker rage, sending him flying across the room with his wooden cane. A sudden fire jutsu exploded from his mouth sending the masked man into a fit of fear. He scrambled further away from Danzou who sneered at his quaking body. "Why was that not the first thing you said when you arrived?" He roared. The man began to ramble apologies rapidly, but Danzou would not hear him. "Enough!" The man's stutters stopped suddenly. "What information can you give me?" He stepped cautiously closer to Danzou once more before bowing rapidly several times.

"The Namikaze girl has returned to the village under the care of two of the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya and Tsunade. Tsunade's assistant accompanies them and they have moved into the old Namikaze estate although no one can find it." Danzou scowled in irritation.

"I want agents following her around the clock." He grumbled. The shadows flickered slightly, painted mask catching the light. "Why did they call a meeting about that?"

"The Hokage wished to reaffirm that she is under his protection and is now a loyal shinobi of Konoha (having passed the genin exam). He also said that Tsunade and Jiraiya are not to be troubled and we aren't to spread news of their return; let people find out naturally he said." Danzou was silent for a moment and returned to pacing the length of the room.

"If I could assume something my lord Danzou, the Hokage must be worried or else why would he have held such a meeting at this time?" Danzou stopped abruptly and stared intently at him.

"This is why you are merely one of my informants and not a true member of Root. You are too quick to assume things, too emotive. You would have broken under my training and what use would you be to me then hmm?" The shadows flickered and the man found himself on his knees, prostrated before Danzou. A large crack formed in the white mask hiding his features and it began to splinter into tiny china fractures. It fell in a wave to the stone beneath his knees, leaving small bloody scratches upon his sallow skin. Rat-like features turned to look at Danzou and small dark eyes narrowed. Although he had tried to dress inconspicuously, he had failed. His brightly coloured finely-made clothes screamed merchant and Danzou despised him for that and his cowardly whimpering. Danzou swept across the floor to his informant and loomed over him. "Remember your place. You were only given that mask to ensure that I wouldn't lose my foothold in the council if you were seen coming here. Hiruzen is not stupid after all and he would know immediately what you are doing for me. You are my little spy, my sheep who bleats secrets into my ear, but that will not protect you. If you fail me again, you will lose your head and no one will ever know I was involved."

The informant now revealed to be a merchant raised his head slightly. He seemed to brace himself for a moment, opening and closing his mouth like a fish before finally deciding to speak. "I apologise for my impertinence my lord, but I don't understand how I have failed you." Rage flashed across the bandaged man's face before he went carefully blank once more.

"You have told me nothing that I do not already know. Anyone in the village could tell me that the Kyuubi girl is back in the village. Is there any other information from that meeting or has this been a waste of my time?" The man stuttered, scared witless.

"I'm sorry sir, there's nothing else...except perhaps speculation on the team Namikaze will end up on." Danzou stared coldly at him.

"And what team do your fellow merchants believe she will be on then, hmm?" He mused disinterestedly, but humouring him.

"Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang. The speculation is that with such high-profile children as the Uchiha and Namikaze heirs in their class, they'll be assigned to the most high-profile sensei." He said eagerly, misreading Danzou. He hoped that he could finally prove himself worthy with this information. Danzou just looked at him for a moment before a snake-like smirk spread across his face. "Now, we can't allow that, can we? If my little fox ends up on his team, she will never become a perfect weapon at my disposal. It seems I shall have to visit the Hokage along with my fellow elders and 'enquire' about the team placements this year." The man sighed in relief, but it was short-lived. Danzou pulled him up by his robe and held their faces close together.

"Return to your post and pretend this did not happen." The man scrambled away from him back into the darkness and Danzou was left to watch his retreat with a menacing smirk on his face and only the flickering shadows for company.

A/N – I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'd love it if you'd review to tell me what you think of it and of my angle on Naruto. I do intend on continuing this now and so keep your eyes peeled for another new chapter.

HighFlyer0603,

Over and Out