The next chapter is here. Some editing has occurred removing a decision I decided may or may not come true and was stupid spoilers for the idea in the first place. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

…..

Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a bind. Though Anko Mitarashi had only known Obito Uchiha to a mild extent, she was well aware of what he looked like. While she could not say with perfect certainty that it was an adult Obito, all signs pointed to such. She said the jaw structure, the eye and eye shape, the hair and the complexion all matched her memories of Obito and his appearance also resembled Obito's father, a casualty of an A-Rank mission five years after his son's death. As the father's body had been brought back to Konoha and cremated, as was tradition, it could not be him that Anko saw. And the situation about it being the same side that Obito had been unaffected by his injuries only strengthened this belief. Essentially, until further evidence was introduced, he must admit the probability that the boy he once knew grew up to become a villain.

A great villain if his suspicions about the night of the Kyuubi assault's mysterious assailant was true.

The bind came from the fact that the most obvious insight into Obito would never believe this story and would fight the desecration of his friend's memory. Kakashi would not believe him in the least. So what was the Hokage to do?

"Are you certain about this, Hokage-sama?" Ibiki Morino, a renowned expert in all things intelligence and torture wanted to be sure of this surprising mission he was being given.

The aging Hokage nodded. "I wouldn't ask this of you if it was not essential. The scene must be reexamined, and the records must be scoured for any collaborating evidence. We must now if Anko-san was right in her assessment."

Ibiki gave pause, wondering about the obvious issue on his assignment. "And about the last Uchiha, how am I to handle him if our paths do come across during the mission." The boy was known to be eagle-eyed in regards to his clan's compound, even skilled shinobi could create small disturbances the boy would notice. Besides heading to the scene of Obito's death to Iwa shinobi, Ibiki was to reexamine the Uchiha compound to see if there were any secrets that could explain this phenomenon.

"If he brings it to anyone's attention, I will make sure to discuss it with him. I have already created an alibi for your investigation. But there is no need to say anything if Sasuke does not discover it." The Hokage told Ibiki.

After agreeing that was for the best, Ibiki was dismissed and the investigation was to begin. This left Hiruzen to focus on other important matters, mainly Naruto. He had begun studying fuinjutsu, which gave him two trains of thought. The first hoped that Naruto's lack of focus did not distract him from achieving success in this field, one that was so well linked to his heritage. The second was this was a terrible idea, because one of the first tenants of fuinjutsu was creating explosive tags because of their relative ease. And he wasn't sure how many worse ideas he had recently then to give Naruto access to a nigh unlimited access to explosions. He hoped the boy had a bit more common sense than his instincts told him.

…

Sit down in the seat Akaji. Just sit down like you do every day. No need to look at it, just sit down.

"Did someone leave their stuff on my seat?"

Damn it! Destroy the evidence. DESTROY THE EVIDENCE!

BOOM! Smoke filled the air around the location of Akaji's seat in the classroom, and those who were already seated began to cough. And while it should have been worrying that something just went kaboom in the senior class of the academy, everyone already had an inkling feeling as to who had caused it.

As the smoke cleared, Akaji was waving his head up and down, his face in a grimace. "Damn tag blew up!"

"Not fully." A keen eyed girl pointed out. She was correct. On his desk was a tattered, nearly destroyed piece of paper. It looked like it had been in a fire and rats had gotten to it, but it was clear it was an explosive tag.

A poorly made explosive tag.

"Naruto-san, you tried to kill me!" Akaji immediately accused the young blonde, who was doing his best to blend in with everyone who had been shocked.

"It wasn't strong enough to do that!" Naruto quickly defended himself, before realizing he was supposed to be giving an alibi. "I mean, it wasn't me! Why would it be me!"

"He did call your cloak hideous. And you said you would get him back for it..." Kiba pointed out casually. Naruto looked at him, exaggerating a look of total betrayal.

"Kiba, how dare you! I would never try to blow up someone just because they don't have any taste!" Naruto tried to defend himself.

"You were trying to blow up his pants, weren't you!" The girl from earlier accused him. Naruto had the decency to look embarrassed. They had figured him out.

On everyone's behalf, Shikamaru let out a long sigh. "You better hope Iruka-sensei doesn't find out, or else he's gonna make you clean the desks or something."

"I was thinking more of all the floors. It's been a while." Iruka entered the room right on time, but he had obviously been keeping an eye on the situation as it unfolded. He should have never left the room during lunch period, of course his favorite delinquent would try SOMETHING with his new talent.

While Naruto tried to hide behind the nearest person to him, an increasingly growing red Hinata Hyuga, to give him time to plan an escape route, Iruka had other plans. Not even a minute later, Naruto was hogtied in a seat next to Sasuke Uchiha with the express orders of not to try anything stupid or he would spend the rest of the day like that. Naruto was smart enough to comply, while Sasuke was able to find enough solace in the fact that his useless fangirls couldn't swarm the seat next to him that day. Even if he would have to deal with the muffled moans of Naruto.

Class went into session, with a humiliated Naruto still working on escaping his predicament. He did not want to see how he was going to be punished for his little act of revenge. He had underpowered the seal on purpose by a lot, so it would only destroy Akaji's pants. That way, when he stood up, his underwear would be showing. Or maybe even his butt if he was lucky. That was what he deserved for insulting his cloak. He could feel the glare of Sasuke coming from besides him, and from around the room from his fangirls. He didn't enjoy being put here either, which was all the more reason to escape. And in fact, he knew of a perfect way to do it. Though it would probably hurt like hell. Casually, he made sure his cloak bunched up in the back until his fingers could access his back pants pockets. It was where he kept his things...

At the end of their language lesson two hours later, it was about time for them to be dismissed for the day. His plan ready, Naruto bided for the moment.

"Please remember to finish the worksheet for tomorrow, and to bring in your shuriken if you can for tomorrow. The academy is still waiting for our next shipment, so we could run short for tomorrow's lesson if everyone needed to bring one. And if your parents for whatever reason don't believe you," Iruka's eyes lingered at a few of the boys, especially Kiba, "I have already written you an approval form signed by the director." He bent down for a minute to look through the folders on his desk, and Naruto saw his chance.

BOOM! "Ow ow ow ow ow!" An explosion came from Naruto's seat this time,one louder than threatening, and the area filled with smoke. Iruka began to direct everyone away from the minor blast so he could tend to Naruto, but a yellow blur suddenly ran out of the smoke cloud and through the door in a split second. Iruka let out a sigh, and cursed the day someone told Naruto about seals. He returned to where Naruto had sat, besides seeing a very annoyed Sasuke, nothing was clear. Until the cloud went away.

A pile of burning ropes, and a very tattered detonated explosive tag attached.

"Is Uzumaki-san mad?" Shino Abrurame audibly asked aloud, directed to anyone who could answer.

"Did he really just use an explosion to get out of being tied up?" Ino couldn't help but ask.

His earlier target, Akaji, had a good question. "Where did he get the supplies?"

"His back pocket. He was doing this for the last hour. I don't know how none of you noticed." Sasuke pointed out in an agitated tone, in part from the soot he was coverd in and in part the antics in general.

"And tell me, why did you do nothing about it Sasuke-kun?" Iruka questioned his student.

"Again, I don't know how none of you noticed, Iruka-sensei." Sasuke made sure Naruto wasn't the only burnt person that day.

Iruka flinched, knowing he had been gotten good, and let out a long sigh. He contemplated chasing Naruto, but he had a decent head start while he had a class to finish. It seemed like Naruto's punishment would occur the next day after all.

But said boy did not even think his punishment was going to carry. He wasn't even thinking of much besides outrunning the fallout of his failed prank and successful escape. And the superficial burns on his wrist that hurt pretty bad.

His first foray into seals in the field had been almost dud. Everyone knew who was learning them in the class, so it was obvious he would get blamed. And the ones he were making weren't good enough to even do the basic job he was trying to perform, and didn't even destroy themselves! He would have to put a bunch more work into studying and all that nonsense before he could really claim to win the bet with Kiba. He hadn't been working on it long, and had underestimated their difficulty at first glance. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Naruto found his way going to his apartment when he was startled by the sight of one of his saviors, Akane Sozuki, in front of his door. His mind went to what he had just done and tried his best to play it off.

"Akane-chan, what are you doing here?" He asked, trying not to be rude.

"Well, the Hokage figured you would need directions to your new apartment, so he sent me to do the job." She told him honestly.

Naruto took a minute to process this before rushing right by her. He threw the door open to his apartment and saw it was barren. He quickly charged in, followed casually by Akane, as he went out of sight from her to check his bedroom.

"Where is everything!" He yelled out loud, obviously confused. He ran out of his old room to stare accusingly at Akane. "What happened?"

She rolled her eyes. "Did you really think the Hokage would let you stay here after what happened? Hokage-sama wanted to put you in a safer residence in case something happened, and he couldn't really do it here. So he had a team bring your stuff to a new place for you to live. And he left me in charge to bring you there." While she wasn't a big fan of leading D-Rank missions, it was for a good cause and she made sure all his things got there safely.

Naruto first looked shocked and offended at what he was told, but he quickly realized that it was absolutely the right thing to do. Nobody knew what could happen to him in the future after the big secret about his former burden was revealed and it would be smarter for him to be somewhere safer. It didn't mean he wouldn't miss this old place.

"You got it really good, you know that Naruto-san? Air conditioning, two bedrooms, a little balcony, washer and dryer unit, and somebody left a really nice living room set in there. You have a pretty cool little pad for yourself now. I would love to have something this nice."

But it wasn't like he HAD to live here. And he definitely appreciated the upgrade. "Alright, alright. Take me to my new place Akane-chan." He told her, trying to suppress the grin he wanted to wear.

Naruto followed her for about twenty minutes, making sure to note all the landmarks and street signs that would tell him where he was in relation to what he knew. They were going at a slower pace for that very reason, even if he didn't fully realize it. Akane wasn't quite sure how it felt, moving to a new place seeing since she still lived with her parents for matters of convenience. But she imagined it was exciting and a bit nerve wracking based on what she read from Naruto's expressions, and she shared the sentiments. Eventually a nice apartment complex came into full view.

"Your room is going to be on the fourth floor, apartment number 407." Akane pointed out to Naruto as they turned to walk up the path to the apartment steps.

Naruto eyes narrowed onto the fourth floor as he tried to find what number was his, but it was still too small for him to read from ground level. As for where it was, it was alright. It was further from his favorite ramen stand and the academy then his old apartment was, but that was probably a good thing. Besides being a perfect excuse for being late, a new part of town meant a new start. With everything that had happened in the last few weeks, Naruto had decided to try and make this a fresh start for himself with everyone in the village. He knew it would probably be hard, but if he didn't give it a shot then how could he ever call himself Hokage?

They quickly made their way up the three flights of steps to the fourth and highest floor, and Akane pulled a key from her pocket as they walked by apartment 401 and 402. "Here you go, Naruto-san. The key to your apartment. It might be in some boxes, but all of your stuff is in their and ready for you."

She barely saw Naruto take the key and run down the hallway and turned the corner, making his way to room 407 in a flash. She stopped for a moment to giggle to herself at his exuberance, before casually walking the rest of the hallway to catch up with him.

As she went to turn the corner of the hallway, the resident in apartment 405 opened the door. "Who is making all that racket?" He stopped and looked at Akane, obviously thinking the culprit was here, before his face gained a faint blush. "Oh, are you the new resident? I guess you moving your stuff up here would be pretty loud."

Akane could help but find the young man was cute, even handsome. She tried to stop a similar blush from appearing before answering. "No, no, I'm not moving here. I wish I did, I still live with my parents. But you didn't need to know that, heh heh." A nervous chuckle escaped her throat, and the young man gave a chuckle back.

"It's okay. I can't blame you for that. So what are you doing here... I'm sorry, but what is your name? I don't want to be rude."

"Akane. Akane Sozuki. I'm sorry, but I'm just finishing a mission and helping someone move in here at Apartment 407."

"So they finally filled they place, eh? It has been empty for months, I guess Landlord-san stopped trying to gouge someone. So is the rest of your team with you Sozuki-chan, or..."

"No, I'm just escorting them to the apartment. We moved his things earlier."

The man nodded. "I see, I wasn't here, since I was at work."

Akane looked over the man, a touch confused. "Work... did you mean a mission? Excuse me for assuming, but I would swear you have the air of a shinobi... I'm sorry, actually I didn't catch your name."

The man let out a chuckle. "No I am a shinobi. It is just I work for the village as an Academy sensei. My name is..." He was cut off when an excited Naruto returned to speak to Akane. But not before being shocked at seeing a familiar face.

"Iruka-sensei?"

Akane was stunned in how quickly the handsome man's demeanor changed once Naruto came into sight. His hand snapped forward and caught Naruto around the head, and his face grew to a sinister and threatening grin.

"I caught you Naruto-kun! Did you really think you were going to escape after what you did!" Iruka told Naruto in a tone matching his face.

"I think I'm missing something." Akane said outloud, hoping to get clarification from either individual.

Iruka realized how he was acting, and quickly returned to a more normal face, still with Naruto in an iron grip. "I'm sorry about that Sozuki-chan. This here is Naruto Uzumaki, troublemaker and one of my students at the academy. He got away from me today from his punishment for trying to blow up one of my other students in class this afternoon, but he won't be getting away this time."

"It's a lie! I'm being framed! Help me Akane-chan!" Naruto tried to fib to get out of harm's way, but it wasn't working. For some reason, Akane trusted this Iruka fellow more than Naruto.

"The real question is why are you... wait a second. Is this your client Sozuki-chan?" Iruka asked her a bit surprised.

"But what are you doing here sensei? Did you really look for me all this time?" Naruto asked, still struggling to get out of his predicament.

Iruka pointed to the apartment behind him with his free hand. "I live here, Naruto-kun. And I was coming out to see what all the ruckus was, but I know realize it was just my new neighbor being himself."

It took a moment for it to sink in. But when the truth hit Naruto, his cries became desperate. "Let me go back to my old apartment! I liked it there! I can live without air conditioning! Don't make me live right next to sensei!" He begged of her, but she couldn't help but find it amusing. Something said earlier caught her attention at the moment, and cut her from her merriment.

"Wait, blow up a classmate? Naruto-san, what does he mean?"

Naruto thought about lying but fessed up. "I didn't try to blow him up. I just wanted to blow off the back of his pants! He disrespected my cloak, so it was a little payback. It wasn't gonna hurt him, I swear! I made sure the seal wasn't strong enough to do that."

Akane's eye twitched. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You deserve whatever punishment Iruka-kun here makes up for you!" She yelled at him, unable to believe the relatively sweet boy she had come to know would do such a thing.

"Which is going to involve a lot of soapy water and scrubbing." Iruka made sure to bring an authoritative tone to his warning.

"But this isn't school! You can't do this to me!" Naruto began trying to get away again.

Iruka dropped him, to Akane's confusion. "What are you doing?" She questioned.

"Technically, he is right. This isn't the academy, and I don't have any authority right now. But I can tell you to be at the Academy at sunrise, unless you want to spend all of tomorrow night scrubbing floors. And don't worry. I'll be sure to wake you up." Iruka had a smug grin that told Naruto there was no point in delaying this with another escape attempt. Iruka was gonna get his pound of flesh.

Naruto let out a loud sigh. "Fine, fine. I'll be at the stupid academy in the stupid morning."

Akane decided to try and comfort the young student. "Don't worry too much, getting up way too early is gonna be something you have to do a lot once you get a headband, "she told him as she flicked a thumb to her own. "Think of this as a little practice."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sure Akane-chan. Practice. I think I need some ramen." Naruto's mind began to wonder to his favorite stand.

"Don't you need to put your things away? And do the homework I assigned to you? Along with making sure you go to bed early so you don't fall asleep in my class?" Iruka grilled him out of his daydream.

"I haven't done that in weeks!" Naruto tried to defend himself, but it fell on deaf ears. He gave up, deciding he would just go a little later when his sensei wasn't being so pushy. "Anyway, thanks for showing me this place Akane-chan. I hope we can talk again soon." Naruto gave a resigned look towards his new neighbor and let out a sigh that spoke of half of his feelings. "See you later Iruka sensei." Naruto walked away from the two of them to his apartment, his scheming face on how to use seals to prank the man going unseen.

Akane waved him off. "Later Naruto-kun." She gave a quick look to Iruka, before easing into a smile. "I'll see you around as well, Iruka-kun. I might pop by sometime to make sure Naruto isn't getting into too much trouble. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

Iruka was a bit surprised, but ended up smiling at the kunoichi. "No problem Sozuki-chan. Or would you prefer Akane?" He asked, in a bolder move than normal. In response, she gave a grin and waved him goodbye before disappearing in a flash. Iruka couldn't help but grin to himself, for more than one reason. He was happy that the Hokage had agreed with his idea that Naruto needed people he could trust closer to him. He hoped he was up for the task.

….

Nagato sat in his chair, heavy breathing the only noise in the room until Konan entered. She saw his expression and instantly knew something was up.

"What is it, Nagato-sama?" When they were alone was the only time she would use his real name. It also showed she was serious.

He hid nothing from her. "I studied some of the Kyuubi's chakra and have learned something that is both disheartening and intriguing. The Uzumaki only holds the yang chakra of the beast. This means we hold an incomplete bjuu, and have no way of knowing if this may affect our plans to bring them together."

Konan's eyes grew wide in worry. "This is not good. We must immediately search for what happened to the yin chakra." Her mind began to race in who would be best to send.

"In due time," Nagato eased her worry, "when we are stronger and they let their guard down, we can return to Konoha. But for now, I pose to you a question. I do not know the answer, but it may prove important to our plans." He turned to look at her, his eyes showing a light of intrigue she rarely saw anymore.

"Do you think yin and yang are needed in balance to reach your full potential, or it would be better to separate them into two unique forces?