(A/N: As I write this chapter with the help of a friend, the same one who helped me in chapter 1 with the use of his OC Character Paragon, it is my birthday, or by the time I post this it would be the day after. My birthday wasn't too bad since my friend got me an Ice Cream Cake as well as Pizza. I had planned to go out, but you know with the whole COVID-19 quarantine that is not possible at the moment. I feel like a prisoner in my house sometimes, but I know I am not. I also feel like I jinxed myself sometimes since I kept saying how I wished I had more time to relax and play all the games I buy impulsively. But now I have all the time I need to do so and I don't want to since it is so very boring when I have nothing else to do.

But on a lighter note, I now at least have some company. My Step brother's wife, which would make her my sister in law, has contracted COVID-19, and so my brother has asked that I watch his 13 year old son while all this is happening. He was tested and does not have the virus, my brother made sure of that, so now he basically lives with me for the unforeseen future. He is a good kid so it's no trouble at all, plus he is a gamer just like his uncle so this makes it better since now I have someone to play games with. I would say I could play on the internet, but recently there have been multiple accounts of people screwing with Online services as well as the fact that my internet is shit right now due to all the people online at once so they had to put a limit on people. I can download things easy enough, but my connection does not remain stable enough to play online.

But enough about me, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there. Hope you enjoy this chapter!)

Naruto finished his laughter that he started over the fact of the sheer amount of shocked looks on the audience, one that echoed throughout the stands of the arena, and continued to smoke his victory cigarette. The crowd was utterly speechless as he just stood there and did so. This made him mentally chuckle since they were now no longer laughing at him nor looking at him as though he were nothing more than a weak pathetic abomination that they did all his life when he was living here when he was a child.

While the crowd who had come expecting to see the son of their Hokage win this tournament so as to cement the fact that their village was the strongest around were stumped by the fact that Menma had actually lost, in the shadows of the stands, at the back of the crowds, a figure was leaning against the wall looking at the spectacle in front of him with a smirk. The figure looked at all this and thought to himself 'who knew the kid I helped all those years ago would end up like this?' He wasn't exactly expecting the book to do this to him and it appears his worries of it were misplaced. He had found the book on his travels, which made him wonder since from what he learned about the realm he found it in, the books of those who wielded them burned up upon the deaths of their users.

How this one still remained intact was surprising, yet he took it along with him anyway since it was better with him then just staying there next to the bones of a man who had passed long ago, and judging from the fact there was many bones of others as well as the ruins of a kingdom the man died in a massive battle in an attempt to protect their home. They lost it would seem, but so had many other kingdoms in his journeys so this was nothing new. He had given the book to the kid out of a gut feeling that it would be better in his hands instead of his own collection, but he had never expected this type of power to be gifted to the young man. He wasn't going to take it away since he didn't care, but he did find this amusing to watch play out since it was a strange power from another world entirely in the hands of someone who used it well, this led to things such as this tournament's conclusion.

"Well kid, you are already putting on a show for the crowd. Now I wonder how the reactions will be now that they are aware of your true status, what path will you take? The one who avenges himself proving a point to your 'family' or the one who although let's go off the past but still holds resent? I have a feeling whatever path you choose will make history for this world." He mutters, yet why did he have a gut wrenching feeling there is a third path in the possible future? That is the problem with fate, another path is hidden from his sight which irritates him which can make the future both bleak and foggy. But those were thoughts for later as he vanished since he had come to see the boy fight and had seen what he wanted to see.

Naruto finished his smoke and flicked the butt to the ground, which he stamped out with his foot.

"It goes to show how little you care for your own child," said Naruto with a bit of a sigh since the man was not winning any sort of father of the year awards with his actions right now. "Since Menma has been laying there for about a minute and you haven't even moved to help him. Nor has anyone else for that matter."

"Medic!" shouted Minato, who the reality of the situation finally hit him full on. Medical nin appeared quickly after he said that and took Menma away to the hospital to be healed. The damage done to him was extensive, with a straight line of a scar going down his center from the damage done. Naruto knew how deadly that attack had been, and he even knew that even with his blade being sheathed still it could kill most people. But the fact that Menma had the Kyubi sealed within him, which only amplified his already inhuman healing ability due to the Uzumaki genetics that made up half his DNA. So Naruto knew he would live…

He would live with the knowledge that he had been beaten by the one he thought so little of, and he now had the scars to show it to not only him, but everyone who saw him…

"So now that this whole thing is over," said Naruto as he placed one hand in his pocket and the other he used to wave in the air a bit in an uncaring manner, "I believe that you owe Suna a crapload of money. So pay up what is owed so that we can be on our merry way."

Minato was speechless about all this. Never in a million years had he thought that such a thing was possible, but Naruto was right. He had won the tournament so he had won the cash prize and he had to pay up. It wasn't like it would hurt the village's economy in the slightest, mainly due to the cash prize being the surplus of funds after the massive increase in jobs sent their way after repelling the combined might of two invading villages. So now he had the scroll that contained the cash prize in hand and appeared before Naruto with it held out to be taken by him. Yet as Naruto went to take it, Minato did not release his grasp on the scroll.

"How did you get that power," said Minato simply as he looked the boy in the eyes to make sure he did not lie to him about it.

"Oh well," said Naruto with a chuckle, "that's quite a good story really. It started with you disowning me, and then it ended up with me saying fuck off to you directly to your face." Naruto then pulled the scroll out of Minato's hands since the shock of being talked to like that made his grip go lax for a moment. And a moment was all he needed to get what was now rightfully his.

"You will show me the respect I deserve!" stated Minato in rage that Naruto had the gall to talk to him in such a manner.

"Oh I am," said Naruto simply, "since you deserve not a lick of respect from me. So I will repeat myself and tell you to fuck off." This time Naruto flipped him the double bird before he began to walk away from the man who thought he was too much of a hassle to raise due to the inability to wield chakra like other shinobi. Minato would not have that though and grabbed Naruto on the shoulder to force him to look at him. Naruto simply growled as he grabbed ahold of Minato's hand and threw it off of him in an angry manner. He would have gone further, but he felt as his Grimoire was ripped out of his case for it he had hanging on his side.

"This is the source of your power right," said Kushina, who had used a Chakra chain she summoned up to grab it. She had noticed that the power had emanated from the book when Naruto called upon it and guessed that was the case.

"Give that back now," said Naruto simply. Yet there was a hint of anger laced in his words.

"Or else you will what," asked Kushina with a cocky smirk as well as a raised eyebrow, "without this book you are just the same weak abomination I refuse to call my child that you were before. I consider this compensation for the damage you inflicted on my son."

"Wow," said Naruto simply. There were no other words to say. These people who call themselves parents were willing to steal the very power of another to make their own child stronger. No wonder Menma grew up the way he did, with parents like these it was was obvious where he got his ego. "So you are going to rob me after I won in a legal tournament against your so-called 'prodigal son'. Man, I can't wait to tell gramps about this."

"You should feel lucky that we don't do more," said Kushina in anger. She was pissed already enough about what had happened to Naruko, but now Menma was hurt even worse so she was far more pissed than before. "So either deal with it or do something foolish and get locked away in prison. Your choice."

"Not much of a choice," said Naruto with a shrug, "but I don't understand why you want a book full of gibberish really."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kushina in confusion since that response came literally out of nowhere. She opened the book to look inside of it, and just like Naruto said, it was full of gibberish. It was full of symbols and a language that she had never seen before, and it made her question how this book was able to give anyone such power like she had seen Naruto use. What no one other than Naruto was aware of was the fact that the Grimoire was only able to be read by the rightful user. No one else could read it, and Naruto had proven that theory by having multiple people try back in the Iron Country.

"Like I said," said Naruto with a smirk as he held out his hand. The book flew out of hers and right back into his own, "full of gibberish. But I digress, and now I shall leave since even after so much time has passed, I know I am not wanted here."

"Wait," shouted someone who got Naruto's attention. It was little Naruko who wanted to say goodbye to him at least. He may be a stranger to her, but he had shown her kindness and helped her when others didn't.

"Ah," said Naruto as he patted her on the head in brotherly affection. Looking at her made him feel like an older brother, even though legally they were no longer related. She was born after all that happened, so there was no resentment between the two of them. "Little Naruko. Here to say your goodbyes, I take it?"

"Yep," said Naruko with a toothy grin. She then hugged his leg, which made him feel warm inside. "Thank you for saving me from the mean dogs."

"It was no problem," said Naruto as he pulled out a few ryo and placed them in her hand, "now go and get some more ice cream to replace the one your mean brother made you spill."

"Yay!" said Naruko, who was always happy to get more ice cream. Naruto couldn't help but smile seeing her like this since she was so innocent. He wondered if he was ever like that when he was that age, but the memories he had of that period of his life basically told him no. As he conversed with her, Minato saw the affection he had for Naruko and thought to use this to his advantage. Naruto was far more powerful than he expected him to ever become, and as he was apparently a roaming samurai, it seemed like the perfect time to bring Naruto into the employ of Konoha.

"Naruto wait!" shouted Minato as Naruto had begun to walk away once again.

"What now?" asked Naruto in frustration that every time he tried to leave someone stopped him, or in Kushina's case stole from him. She was still standing there with a shocked look on her face over the fact that he had gotten his book back the way he did. As far as she knew, no one had such power to their name.

"We would like to offer you the chance to join our family once more," said Minato. This shocked not only Kushina, but Naruko as well since she had no idea that the two of them were related. But in her own mind this was a good thing since he was nice to her while her other brother was mean. Even Gaara as well as Temari were shocked to hear this since they had arrived to stand near Naruto since they were all leaving together anyways. Naruto had never spoken about his past, and to hear that he was the son of Minato was surprising for them to hear.

Naruto stood in place, not moving nor was he looking at them. But if Minato could have seen his face, he would have seen the murderous rage that showed in them. While it was true that he had years to get over the hatred he had for his former family and for the most part he had succeeded, that one question had only fueled the dying embers of that hatred to the point it was renewed with vigor. The memories of all the neglect he suffered through came to his mind. The birthday party where he was thrown out onto the streets, told to fend for himself since he was an abomination.

Minato said he wanted Naruto to become part of their family once again, but the truth of the matter was that they never were family to begin with…

"You neglected me most of my life," said Naruto through gritted teeth as his hands clenched into a tight fist. He was fighting the urge to punch this man the same way he had punched Menma. Naruko had been there to tell people the truth of the matter, but if he punched the Hokage of the village, then all hell would break loose and he would be the one viewed at fault from all outside parties. "You made me fend for myself most of my life, never trained me to survive which I needed more than Menma since I had no chakra to use as my own. Then as a gift for my seventh birthday, you disowned me and had Menma throw me out of my own home while the party guests laughed at my misery. So exactly what part of that speaks family to you?"

"We can change Naruto," said Minato, who while saying it had no plans to do so. He was just saying what he did in the hopes that Naruto would work for the village willingly. If not, well he had some people who could capture him so that a Yamanaka could alter his mind and inject the loyalty into his mind. "Plus it would give you a chance to get to know your younger sister better."

"Let me ask you one question," said Naruto without any tone of emotion whatsoever, "if I had not shown any sort of unique power like I had to beat your son, would you have floated this offer to me? Or would you have laughed alongside all the others when I lost?"

Minato was speechless. He had not expected that sort of response from Naruto.

"That's what I thought," said Naruto as he finally turned around and began to walk towards Minato. As he did, the magical power within him began to grow to the point that the ground began to crack around him as it covered him in a purple glow. As he walked back, Kushina took a hold of Naruko for safety as Minato began to sweat a bit out of fear. "So let me make this as clear as I possibly can. My life is none of your business. I live the way I want, I go where I want. You have no control over me, nor will you ever have it. My power is something you will never understand nor will I help you understand since it is mine and mine alone. So I will say it once more to your face this time so I know you hear me as clear as day. FUCK OFF!"

Naruto then turned back around and walked out of the arena, this time with no one trying to stop him in some way. Naruko had wanted to say something, but she was a bit afraid of Naruto. But she knew that Naruto was not angry at her, but her parents, which made her wonder why. She was far too young to fully grasp what was going on, but she was going to learn one way or another.

Minato could do nothing more than glare at the brat who should have been glad that he offered him the chance to join their family once more. Many would kill to be called a Namikaze alone, but an Uzumaki as well was even better and the brat should have just agreed. But now he would have to do this the hard way and made a note to speak with Danzo immediately. Power like the one Naruto possessed could not be allowed to go to another village.

Naruto walked with Gaara and Temari, who caught on to the fact that he was angry and said nothing on the matter. They knew that he would speak with them when he was good and ready to do so, but the fact that in the few days it took them to get back to Suna, they had not heard him say one thing. This worried them since the man was a friend and to see him in such a state was troublesome.

Naruto was fighting his inner rage, and to be brutally honest he was losing against it big time. What he needed more than anything else right now was something to punch hard, but he was not going to just go out of his way and do it to people who didn't deserve it. But the old saying went 'be careful what you wish for', and this only proved that it was a true saying.

On the second night of Naruto being in the village of Suna, it came under attack from the combined might of two members of the Akatsuki. There was Deidera as well as Sasori, whose names he would learn about later. Naruto had just begun to relax a bit, but now this was happening and he felt a bit happy that he now had a target to vent his rage out towards.

"Naruto," shouted Temari as Naruto ran into the streets from the room he rented at the inn when they came back. Gaara offered up the guestroom in his own home, but he declined since he was too far into a mood of rage so he didn't want to project it towards them. "Gaara needs your help!"

"Where is he?" asked Naruto before out of the blue an explosion hit the building beside them. Naruto moved ahead of Temari and punched the slab into pieces. Temari couldn't help but blush as her crush saved her from being crushed alive, but now was not the time to ast like a horny schoolgirl, her brother's life was in danger!

"He is outside fighting against two powerful shinobi." said Temari as she pointed to where they were. Luckily for him, it was near the main entrance since otherwise he would have to run out and then circle around the walls to get where they were. Naruto quickly thanked her and then proceeded to run out the front gate.

What he saw there shocked him since Gaara was being fought to a standstill from two men in black coats with red clouds on them. Gaara was using his sand to protect him from the explosive attacks of one of them, but he was barely able to dodge the attacks of the other strange looking one. He saw Kankuro fighting alongside him, but he was pierced by the man's tail and fell over as the poison it was drenched in began to seep through his veins.

"Give up," said the blonde haired one, "for we were handpicked to counter your abilities. You have no chance of winning this fight Jinchuriki."

"You will pay for attacking my home," said Gaara simply as he launched a massive wave of sand towards the man. Yet the man conjured up a clay bird and hopped on it so as to fly high and avoid the attack. Gaara was nearly hit in the back from the same tail that stung his brother, but Naruto cut it with Gashi so that it didn't reach its target.

"So I see you are in need of more help," said Naruto with a smirk. "At this rate i should just join your village since i keep having to save you from one thing or another."

"While the thought is welcome as is the fact you saved me yet again," said Gaara, "but now is not the time for jokes. These two have come to capture me for the Biju sealed within me."

"Okay," said Naruto, "you handle the blonde and I'll take on the hunchback over there."

"Agreed," said Gaara before he summoned up a clump of sand for him to fly on to give chase to the man in the sky. This made Naruto question why the hell he didn't use that jutsu to get them to Konoha for the tournament, but he was not going to ask.

"So another has come to defend this village," said Naruto's opponent. "Well this complicates things a bit. We did not expect a samurai of your caliber to aid the beast."

"How do you know I am a samurai?" asked Naruto.

"I have been around, seen plenty of the world to know what a samurai looks like."

"Well then," said Naruto as he sheathed his sword, but kept his hand on the hilt. "Will you tell me who you are so that i can commit it to memory?"

"Certainly," said the man, "if you will return the gesture."

"Well then," said Naruto, "I am Naruto, student of the infamous samurai Mifune."

"Well isn't this a surprise," said the man, "everyone knows that Mifune never trained anybody. To hear he took an interest in you boy is nothing short of enlightening. I will be proud to claim you as one of my puppets when I'm done with you. But as for my name, it is Sasori." Sasori ended his statement by opening up his mouth to launch thousands of senbon needles he had stored away to be fired. Naruto wondered why the man opened his mouth like that and prepared to block whatever attack came his way, yet he did not expect the needles that launched his direction. Naruto felt pain as they dug themselves into his skin, and he felt as the poison they were dipped in began to seep into his pores as well. It seemed like all was lost for the boy young man, yet that would have been the case if Naruto was normal…

But Naruto was not normal in the slightest…

When he had trained in the use of his Grimoire since he turned 13, he saw that only one spell was shown to him. In time more came until he knew everything that Yami himself knew before his death. But he always felt as though there would be more to learn since there were plenty of empty pages to be revealed still. And now one of those moments had arrived it seemed…

"Dark Magic: Corruptive Purge!" shouted Naruto as his body went dark for a brief second before the senbon in his skin launched out of his body. He felt as the poison ejected itself out of his body, and he was so glad he learned this now. But he did not rest on that knowledge and pushed the attack. Sasori tried to attack him with what he guessed was a replacement tail since he knew he cut the last one off, and this time he was more prepared for it.

He charged his blade with dark magic and launched it in a waving arc both horizontal as well as vertical. Sasori dodged these attacks, mainly due to the fact that they were slow in comparison to a lot of jutsu, but what it lacked in speed it made up for in raw power. He knew that Sasori would dodge his strike, and planned on it as well.

So as Sasori dodged it, Naruto sheathed his blade once more and smirked as he channeled power into his blade.

"Dark Cloaked Iai Slash," said Naruto as he appeared before Sasori one second, and then sheathed his blade behind him the next. Sasori didn't even have the chance to question what the hell just happened before his outer shell exploded off his body. Naruto looked back and saw that Sasori was pissed that his puppet had been damaged as so.

"You foolish boy!" shouted the true form of Sasori in anger, "I will make you pay dearly for destroying my puppet!"

"I wouldn't really worry about that," said Naruto with a smirk.

"And why is that?"

Naruto didn't give him a reply, he just held up three fingers, which made Sasori look at him confused, but then cried out in pain as the container that held his heart shattered, severing the connection to the rest of the puppet body he had. Naruto had sensed his KI was emanating from one particular spot instead of the full body. It made his moves nearly impossible to read, which was why he had no idea as to the shower of senbon he sent towards Naruto as an attack. But while he sensed his KI was in one place, it wasn't until Sasori's outer shell broke that he understood why. But he had cut twice faster than Sasori was able to see with his naked eye, and it was that second cut that meant his end.

"Because I cut you twice," said Naruto as he walked over and stomped on the exposed heart. He was not sure if the thing was like a parasite or the like, but he was not going to take his chances and let it go. He looked up at that moment to see Gaara surrounding himself in a protective dome of sand, but then an explosion happened inside of the thing that caused Gaara to get knocked out and begin to fall out of the sky. Apparently whatever organization these two men were working for knew just who to send to fight Gaara. Naruto caught his friend and set him on the ground, but then the area around him exploded as the blond man began to throw clay bombs all over the place. He was trying to get Naruto to move away from Gaara so he could swoop in and take him, yet Naruto summoned up his magical power to form a Black Cocoon to protect them.

Naruto looked at Gaara and Kankuro, both who had been beaten by these men, and felt fury that his friends had been hurt like this. This fury tapped into a power that he was unsure of what exactly it was, but right now it empowered him as his dark magic once more enveloped his blade. He was unaware of the fact his eyes changed color from blue to red, and as they did he saw the chakra of those around him far stronger than their KI. He was not sure why this was happening, but those would be questions for later. Right now he saw as the man was hovering in the air, no doubt trying to figure out what to do in this case. Naruto channeled all the magical power he could spare into his legs so as to aid his jump, and once he was sure he had enough, he dispersed the Black Cocoon and leaped high up into the air.

Deidara had not expected this in the slightest, nor did he expect to see Sasori dead either. Apparently this samurai was more of a threat than they thought, and he was a second away from making his retreat before he was stabbed through the chest by Naruto's blade. Naruto saw the look of surprise on his face, all the while they began to fall to the ground from the force of the stab knocking the both of them off of the clay bird he had been on. As they fell back to the ground, Deidara felt as his chakra was sucked out of him via the blade so he was unable to strike back since his body was so weak.

Deidara was fully dead by the time they hit the ground, Gashi having sucked him dry of all his vital chakra, but Naruto… Naruto felt faint as whatever power had enhanced him as it did faded from him. And with that, his world went dark as his vision faded…

Naruto woke up with a start since he had no idea what the hell had just happened. He quickly looked around and saw that he was in the hospital. To his side was multiple get well cards along with flowers and candies of all sorts with his name on them. He was unsure as to why people had sent them to him, yet he was grateful all the same. He got out of the bed and ripped the patches placed on him to monitor his vitals off his body. He saw that his clothes had been taken off to put a patient gown on him. He saw his clothes in the chair next to his bed, and so he took off the ones he had on to put his own set on instead. Once on, he packed his bag with the treat left for him since he would eat them in time, as well as the cards.

He walked out of the room and checked himself out since he was fine. He was told by the receptionist that Gaara wanted to see him once he was awake. So now with that in mind he went to see his friend before he went on his way to continue with his adventures. As he walked towards his office, he was thanked by many people as he walked by them. He simply smiled and waved as he accepted their thanks.

He eventually made it to Gaara's office, and once outside of the doors, he opened them up and headed inside. There was Gaara, who had a few patches on his face to cover the burns he suffered when he got blasted in the face point blank by an explosion. His Biju could help heal a lot, but it didn't heal everything, so he had to patch up the burns with ointment placed on them as well to help the healing process.

"Ah Naruto," said Gaara with a smile, "my friend, please sit down."

"Okay," said Naruto as he sat down.

"I would like to thank you for your aid in repelling the duo that attacked Suna a week ago."

"A week?" asked Naruto in surprise that he had been knocked out for so long, "I was out for a full week!?"

"Yes you were," said Gaara, "and we feared the worst at first. Yet after we had multiple medical nin look at you, they all deduced you were fine, but they could not get you to wake up for some reason. We are not sure why that was, but we are happy to see you recovered and well."

"I got that from all the cards and gifts left to me in the hospital," said Naruto.

"Ah yes," said Gaara, "you see, those men, if they had gone unimpeded, would have killed so many citizens of the village and nearly double the number hurt. They used this tidbit of knowledge to their advantage since they knew I would protect the people and lashed out at them to get to me. You saved not only the life of not only myself, but countless citizens of Suna, and we are forever grateful for your help."

"Well I am always happy to help a friend when needed," said Naruto as he held out his hand to shake Gaara's, who took it and shook it.

"As am I," said Gaara, "so as far as the village is concerned, you are an honorary member of our village. So if there ever comes the moment when you yourself need help, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thanks," said Naruto, "but while I got you here, can you…"

"Say no more," said Gaara as he held up his hand to stop Naruto mid sentence. He then leaned down and picked up something he was keeping under his desk. He placed about four cartons of cigarettes on the table for him. "I knew exactly what it was that you wanted."

"Well," said Naruto with a grin as he tore them open so as to store the packs of them into his bag. It was easier that way. "You know me so very well."

"I wouldn't be much of a friend if i didn't," said Gaara. "Now I wish you safe travels my friend."

Naruto then got up and left the way he had come. Within minutes of him leaving, Kankuro as well as Temari entered themselves. Kankuro was still weak from the poison he had been injected with, but he would live. It would just take time to get better now that it was out of his system.

"Hey," asked Kankuro as he looked around, "has Naruto awoken yet."

"As a matter of fact," said Gaara, "he just left a few minutes ago."

"Ah man," said Kankuro as he slammed his open palm into his forehead. He had wanted to thank Naruto personally for saving his and Gaara's ass the way he did, but now he might not get the chance. Yet he did smirk a bit as he saw Temari fighting internally over the urge to go and meet with Naruto before he left for Kami knows how long, or to just wait and hope that she had the courage to express her feelings when he did come back. "Well at least I am able to express gratitude unlike Temari here…." Kankuro would have said more, but Temari punched him square in the gut to the point he fell to his knees in pain. She then rushed out the door to go find Naruto, and prayed she was not too late to say goodbye at least.

"You knew she would do that," said Gaara with a smirk.

"Hey," said Kankuro as he caught his breath. Temari threw a mean hook when she wanted to, "if me being an ass to her gets her to finally break out of her shell and finally tell that dense idiot her feelings, then I call it a win."

"He is pretty dense," said Gaara with a sigh. But with that being said, he returned to finish up the last of his paperwork. Just because the village had been attacked did not stop the flow of dreaded paperwork….

(Outside)

Naruto had just bought some vital supplies such as water and was making out towards the front gate when he was stopped by a man on the streets. The man introduced himself as Sandayu Asama. He had apparently gone to Konoha about a week and a half ago to hire shinobi there to aid him, but after he saw the fight between him and Menma, had decided to enlist Naruto's help instead. The reason for this was that Sandayu knew that samurai had far more honor than shinobi ever did, and it was for that reason he trusted them far more than the latter. So he had come to Suna, which he guessed Naruto had gone to since he was traveling along with the Kazekage himself, to hire him.

When he had arrived, he had heard that the young man was in the hospital after protecting the village, and at first feared for the worst, but was told that Naruto was fine. He was just in a deep sleep that no one could seem to break him out of. Sandayu had waited patiently, but over the course of the week Naruto was out, he began to think otherwise and was just about to leave the village himself to go back and get Konoha nin. He had then heard the people say that Naruto was up and walking around once again, so he hurried off to meet the young man.

He offered Naruto the job of protecting a famous movie actress by the name of Koyuki, one who Naruto himself had seen and enjoyed her movies. He was told that there had been a threat on her life so he wanted to hire extra security just on the off chance things went south fast, so he thought to hire him after his fight with Menma since he was a samurai. Naruto accepted the job, and then was handed a map and told to appear at their next shooting location, which was a bit of a trek from here, yet he had walked further before. Sandayu thanked him and then left to head back to Koyuki herself, who was still shooting out in Fire Country at the moment.

Naruto smirked as he held the map in his hands, since now he had a new destination in mind. It seemed like life kept giving him things like this, and he wondered where he would end up after all this was over with. He might be a bodyguard for an actress now, but that wasn't forever. But those thoughts were pushed back as he heard Temari call out to him from the crowd.

"Hey Temari," said Naruto with a smile, "good timing on your part. I almost missed you there."

"Yes, well," said Temari as her face began to heat up as she blushed, Once again she was suffering from being too nervous around him. What made it worse was the fact that people were surrounding the two of them like this was something to watch since many people recognized the signs of a confession. The women in the crowd were silently cheering her on while the guys all laughed at how dense Naruto was to not see Temari was crushing on him hard.

"Are you alright," asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "you are acting like you did when we traveled to Konoha together. If you don't like me that much, then I'll leave so as to be out of your hair."

"NO!" shouted Temari with a squeak as she began to break out in a cold sweat. The more mature women felt bad for her since they knew exactly what she was going through since they had seen it plenty of times in the past with plenty of other women. "I just… uh… I just…"

"Come on," said Naruto, who really wanted to get going. He had a ways to go to reach his destination, and he would like to start as soon as possible, "whatever it is you have to say, don't be afraid and just say it."

"I… I…" stammered Temari as her face only grew redder, but finally she had mustered up the courage to just come out and say it… "I LOVE YOU!" she shouted with her eyes closed. Too afraid to open them so as to see his reaction. Afraid that he would reject her. But when she did, her face lost all her color in shock that Naruto had been hit in the head by a pot of all things to the point he was seeing stars. He had not heard her since the thing had hit him and all he could hear was ringing in his ears. Temari lost it at this point and fainted full on in embarrassment that she mustered up the courage to admit her feelings, only to have some higher power screw with her to the point it meant nothing in the end. Now she would have to go through all that again in the future, and she didn't know if her heart was in it enough to go through all that again.

"What just happened," said Naruto as he shook his head to clear his mind, "Dear Kami, where the hell did that come from? Temari?" He then looked and saw her on the ground, having fainted. He picked her up so as to take her to Gaara, but she woke back up and saw the position she was in. Too many fantasies went through her mind to the point it overloaded and she passed out once more.

"We'll take her from here," said one of the women in the crowd as she took Temari out of Naruto's hands. "You just go on your way. I can't believe you would do that to this poor girl."

"Do what," asked Naruto, who was far more confused right now than he had been when he was hit with a pot out of the blue. Seriously, where the hell had it come from!?

(Two minutes earlier)

Gaara had gone home to cook himself some food. He usually had Temari make his meals since she was a good cook, but he wanted to learn to make things on his own. He had finished up the last of the paperwork for the day and was simply trying to make some stew, so he got a pot out to put all the stuff into it. Yet the issue was he had used his sand as a tendril to get it while he gathered the ingredients by hand so as to not get them all sandy. As he put all the ingredients on the counter he would need, Kankuro had thought that that would be the funniest moment to try and scare him. Problem was that Gaara didn't like that, and on instinct his sand attacked. But unfortunately, the pot had been a part of the attack and was launched alongside Kankuro through the roof of their house…

(Present)

"You are far too dense boy," said a man as the crowd began to disperse. Naruto only looked around in even more confusion since he had not a clue as to what he had done wrong here, but he was not going to go out of his way to find out since he didn't think people would tell him. And so he left the village to begin his journey to the map's location, and from what he could see, he would have to travel through Rice Country to get there…

(Meanwhile)

For years, Orochimaru had sought the perfect vessel to inhabit using his Cursed Seal. While he had gone through plenty, none had been perfect since he burned through them within three years and then had to change bodies yet again. He had a feeling that he knew just what he needed, but the means to get it were near impossible since they were so very rare…

What he needed was an Uzumaki…

Their genetics were perfect for his research into making the perfect vessel, yet as far as he knew there were only three left. He would have said four, but the last one was not worth his time since he had no chakra in his system and as such would not be of use to him in any sense of the word. Hell, even Danzo, the man who abducted children from all over for his ROOT forces didn't want him due to that fact. But things have changed in the past week…

He had infiltrated the village to try and kill Minato during the invasion he had set up with the former Kazekage of Suna, but he failed to kill the man. He had also marked Sasuke Uchiha to turn him into a future vessel since he converted the Sharingan, yet even that plan failed since Kushina somehow found a way to dispel his curse seal. But even though he had failed in his plans, he had quite a few spies still in the village and it was due to their reports that he was now changing his mind about things. He now saw Naruto as a valuable asset since he had powers unlike anyone else had ever seen before, and to make it all better, it was equal in power to what the Kyubi brat was capable of using at the time with the chance to grow even stronger.

Orochimaru salivated at the thought of getting his hands on such power, but right now he had something even better. He had a few of his most trusted spies keep watch over Minato's daughter Naruko. He learned that even though they loved her so, they spent far more time training their son due to some stupid prophesy or whatever. That was foolish in his mind and it showed since when the time came he had his men kidnap the girl. And to make it worse, no one even knew she was gone for nearly half a day. What kind of parents don't notice their child missing for so long? So now he was here in Rice Country, waiting for his men to deliver his prize, since with her genetics, he would make her into the perfect vessel in time, one that he would no longer have to change from, and maybe in time become immortal like he always dreamed about…

(Elsewhere)

It had taken about a week, but Naruto had finally made it to Rice Country. He wasn't sure why this country put him on edge like it did, but maybe it was because of something that happened here in the past that he heard about? He was unsure since for most of his life he dealt with samurai issues and stayed out of the world of shinobi. Now that he was smack dab in the center of it, it made him really wish he had read more on it before he did.

But as he walked down the road towards his destination, he felt a source of KI that he had felt once before…

It was Naruko's…

He wondered just why the hell was he sensing it here of all places, and why was she frightened like he felt. It was then that he was nearly crashed into by several shinobi who ran right by him, one of which was carrying a sack. It was from this sack that Naruto felt her KI resonating from. Naruto glared at the back of their heads and gave chase, but from a distance since he wanted to see just what the hell was going on here. He was barely able to follow them, with him nearly losing them several times, but he finally saw where they were going.

They stopped in a clearing that had the opening of a cave on the edge of it. Out of the Cave came a very pale man who looked like a snake of sorts. It was only then that he remembered who the hell this guy was since he read about him in the Bingo book years ago. It was the traitorous Sannin of Konoha Orochimaru. This made him question things even more than before, but for now he remained hidden. No one could sense him, which was perfect for him right now, but they could still hear and see him, so he kept low and still.

Orochimaru opened the sack and saw young Naruko look up at him in fear with tears in her eyes as she was bound and gagged at the moment. She tried to break free, but the ropes were too strong, and seeing her in tears only made Naruto want to kill these men more now than before. Orochimaru paid the men, who then left once paid and was just about to shove Naruko back into the sack but was stopped by his head getting cut off his body.

Naruko saw him there and was filled with joy that her now known older brother was saving her yet again. Naruto broke the ropes off of her easily, mainly due to the fact that they were used to bind a child so they were not needed to be strong, and removed her gag as well.

"Thank you big brother!" said Naruko as she hugged him in joy. She cried heavily into his shirt since she had been so scared from the moment she had been kidnapped like that. As he held her to help her relax, neither of them were aware of the body that Naruto had just killed turning to mud…

"Are you okay Naruko?" asked Naruto in concern. Naruko was only able to wipe the tears from her eyes and nod before Naruto felt powerful KI behind him. He pushed Naruko out of the way and unsheathed his blade to block the sword that was launched towards him as he held his sideways. The blade that had nearly struck him was an odd one, since it had extended from the hilt unlike a normal blade.

"Well it must be my lucky day," said Orochimaru as he appeared from the cave itself. He always used a clone for business since he always wanted to be prepared on the off chance it was an ambush of sorts. "Now I have two test subjects for my experiments."

"You leave Naruko out of this!" said Naruto in anger.

"What is this?" asked Orochimaru in a mocking tone of voice, "is the abomination of the Uzumaki family really going to protect a member of the same family that forsook you? Don't be stupid boy, you have no chance against someone of my skills."

"Well I won't know until I try now will I?" said Naruto as he parried the blade away from him and charged forward. He stabbed Orochimaru through the heart this time, and was witness to the body changing to mud. Naruto then had to dodge several more clones who tried to strike at him from multiple sides.

"Very good," said Orochimaru, "for one without chakra, you handle yourself fairly well. Plus add on the power you possess and it makes it all better for you."

"I don't care to hear your words!" shouted Naruto as he was cutting down one clone after another, but the issue was that they were not ceasing, yet increasing in number the more he put down. He would use magic, but Naruko was too close and his power would not be a good choice against a crowd of enemies like this since he might hurt Naruko if he tried. He might be a skilled samurai, but there was too much happening right now to fight effectively against Orochimaru.

"Now while I wish to test you further for my own research," said Orochimaru as his clones all at once stopped fighting, "I have a schedule to keep. So Naruko is coming with me." Naruto saw in the distance what he assumed was the real Orochimaru stretching out his neck in an attempt to bite Naruko. Naruto saw red and rushed forward to stop him, but as he did that, he fell into Orochimaru's trap. He had never meant to mark Naruko, not yet at least since as she was she would most likely die from Curse Seal, but Naruto on the other hand was a prime candidate for it in his book. So Naruto was not able to react fast enough as Orochimaru bit his neck hard, marking him with the Curse Seal.

Naruto screamed in pain as he felt his body give out, his vision fading.

"Run Naruko," was all he was able to say before he lost consciousness for the second time in the past two weeks. Naruko had tried to run, but Orochimaru stopped her before she made it out of the clearing entirely, and once more bound and gagged her. Once he had her back in the sack she was transported in the first place, he had a couple of mud clones pick up Naruto, who was fairly heavy, and went back into the cave so as to reach his secret hideout hidden deep within it…

(Naruto's Mindscape)

Naruto opened his eyes, and yet all he saw was red all around him. He didn't know where he was, but he knew this was no genjutsu of some sort since he was immune to them without chakra. He couldn't move his body, nor could he feel anything really except for a dark chill running down his spine for some reason that he was unaware of.

"Ah," said a voice behind him that made his eyes widen from the demonic tone that it said that once thing, "So my vessel has fallen prey to a corruptive source of energy. Well, lucky for me it is all I need to take control once and for all."

Naruto was not sure how he managed to do so, but he finally mustered the power to turn around and look at just what exactly was talking to him. What he saw made him lose all the color in his body, which as it did he know fully understood how Kankuro felt when he scared him. Standing there, or technically floating since there was no ground to be seen anywhere around here, was a massive creature that seemed to be made of shadows itself. It didn't really appear to have a solid form as it's skin moved around like a flame of some sort. But Naruto could do nothing at the moment as the massive creature held out his massive hands and grabbed ahold of him in a way that no light could break through. He felt weak as whatever the demon was doing was doing its job.

"Fear not," said the demon with a laugh, "Know that body will become the perfect vessel for me. And I plan to have so much fun in this world like I did in the last one."

As the demon laughed in the belief that he had won, since the Curse Seal gave him the perfect means to fully awaken and take full control, he stopped as he felt a small tap on his face.

"Excuse me." A calm voice says behind it. The demon looked to the side where he felt the tap from. Only for him to be greeted by a strong fist to the face sending it flying a good distance away while letting go of Naruto at the same time.

Naruto felt as whatever corruptive power was trying to control him simply stopped, and as it did he felt his energy returning to him once more. He still felt so weak, but at least he was alive, which going off of what that demon said, he wouldn't have been if he completed whatever he was doing. As he looked around to see just what the hell had happened to save his ass, he saw the familiar face of someone he had never expected to see again in his life.

"Hey kid, long time no see." The person said, giving a small smile as he looked at Naruto.

"Paragon," said Naruto in shock. He had traveled with a man who he assumed was some sort of either god or spirit given the powers he had shown while they traveled along with the fact he simply vanished out of the fucking air when they parted way, "you old son of a bitch. How the hell are you here? Better yet, just where the fuck are we even at!?"

"I think you should save those questions until after I deal with your inner demon." He pointed to said demon, who at this point was soaring back towards them in a fit of rage at being denied his escape from this place.

"You will not stop me from breaking free!"

Paragon merely scowls to which he grabs Naruto and pushes him into a circle he formed, to which a barrier surrounds him with two familiar swords stabbed inside it.

"Hold onto those swords with your fucking life! Do it!" He yells as he bends backwards dodging the leap the demon did. Though the demon was massive in size, Paragon had speed beyond what the demon could beat.

Naruto did as he was told, which while at first he didn't want to since he was not one for taking orders, except for his teacher's, but now was not the time to argue when you were dealing with a demon you had no way of fighting as of yet and a godlike warrior with more powers than you know. So he grabbed those swords as Paragon commanded, yet as he did he felt pain rush through him since these swords were never meant to be handled by normal men such as him. And while he considered himself abnormal to the rest of the world as he was, apparently it wasn't enough since these blades still hurt him. But as he saw, the barrier around him solidified into a more solid state, one that was darker in color.

But while the swords did cause him incredible pain unlike anything he had felt, with the Curse Seal being a clear second in lieu of this new source, it was empowering him as well. The energy that now began to course through him was only temporary, but he saw as the redness of whatever plane of existence they were on, which he assumed was his mindscape or something of the like, began to turn brighter instead of red.

Seeing this, Paragon kicks the demon away forcefully to which he lands on a solidified platform below him now that the mindscape is forming into a more calm state.

"Now that his mindscape is more stable due to my swords I can take you on seriously." He says to which he cracks his shoulders, neck and his knuckles with a small aura surrounding him to which he kicks forward and slams a brutal fist into the demons stomach making it roar in agony to which it swipes at him, only for him to grab the claw and with a yell slams him into the ground destroying the platform they are on. The demon is beyond angry that something so small can fight against him like this, since in his mind it shouldn't be possible.

Seeing the broken platform he frowns as he hears Naruto cry out in pain in the distance. He has to watch just how much power he uses in this fight, although Naruto's mindscape is becoming more stable even a weak energy attack from him can break the place like glass. He doesn't wanna make the kid brain dead.

The demon growling, leaps up at Paragon in a attempt to grab him, yet it failed when Paragon vanishes and slams a foot into the demons back making it cough up a bit of black ooze that was essentially its blood to which it spun around and swiped which again fails when Paragon grabs the hand and with a violent tug takes the arm out of it's socket with a sickening crack making it roar as it clutches it's shoulder.

"Come on, surely you must have more brains than this. I am barely sweating from this fight and I am already beating you up like yesterday's punching bag, I fought far stronger demons than you, if I knew you were this weak I would've just exorcised you.

As Paragon was fighting the demon that had somehow made Naruto's mindscape his home, Naruto was still in tremendous amounts of pain while protected by the barrier. But as he was crying out in pain, he heard a whisper in his ear, the source of which he was not sure of where it was coming from.

Hold onto something you hold dear, let it soothe your anger…

Naruto heard this and in his pained state he questioned what it was he held dear to the point it could help him here. He thought about Mifune, but even though he held the man dear, apparently it was not enough of a connection since he was still here and in pain. He thought of his few vices, but even then those were just temporary and not really something to 'hold dear' as the voice said.

It was only then that the image of Naruko popped into his mind. She was so young and innocent. She was not around when he himself was kicked out of the family, and in the few interactions he had with her he felt like he had a true family, especially when he learned the truth about their relations to one another. Hell, he had even gone out of his way to save her from being harmed when he could have just as easily done nothing since by law they were no longer family. Yet deep down, he yearned for one and Naruko was just that to him.

So with that image in mind, Naruto felt his pain begin to recede as his mind began to fix itself...

In the distance, the demon roars before it re-attaches it's arm in a painful way before slamming both arms into the platform and wave of shadow arms burst from the ground to which they angrily swipe at Paragon who flawlessly dodges all of the attacks before with a frown he reaches into his coat and unfurls some sort of L shaped item to which a series of explosions expel from it in rapid succession instantly destroying the arms and making the demon angrily roar at the pain.

"Angel Rounds, very effective against Shadow Entities like yourself." He says as he holsters the device. At that the demon growls before it opens its mouth making Paragon quirk an eyebrow before he widens his eyes when a beam of energy shoots out to which he raises his palm and effectively blocks it.

"Really? You get angry and attempt a beam of energy? I got hit harder! But I'll GLADLY hurt you more!" He shouts to which he vanishes and slams a powerful fist into the demon's stomach to which it double over in pain before Paragon slams a knee into it's head sending it flying and a series of sonic booms fill the area with Paragon hitting the demon like a ping pong ball before he slams a foot into it's back sending it flying to which he vanishes and reappears a good distance away.

"Time to do the finisher…." He mutters as he pushes his trench-coat away to which he forms a small orb in front of him to which he grabs in his right hand making a powerful energy form around it to which he spins around and when the demon is close to him he says two words.

"King Fist!" He bellows to which he slams the powerful energy enhanced fist into the demon's stomach, it's one technique he is able to use as it empowers his fist with the force of an imploding star, in short a very powerful fist.

The second it hits the demons stomach a deafening explosion is heard before the demon roars in agony as it's rocketed a great distance away into the air to which Paragon turns around his back to it and raising his hand he snaps his fingers to which a flash is seen before a deafening explosion brightens the entire mindscape as the shockwave from the explosion is felt. He saw that the mindscape was fixing itself once more, and saw that he was no longer needed since the demon was defeated for the moment.

By no account was the demon dead, since killing it would no doubt kill Naruto as well since the demon's very essence was too far entwined to the boys. Yet the amount of damage he had done was enough to keep it at bay for a while, enough time to let the boy heal and prepare to live with this curse. The Curse Mark had been essentially absorbed into the demon, so it was no longer on the boy, but now with that sort of power the demon could as well as would try to control the boy again. Only Naruto could find the means to live as well as control it, since if he did it, his methods would just be killing the boy and be done with it.

Paragon re-appeared near Naruto and took his swords to sheath them once more. "I have pushed the demon at bay for you. The beating I gave it should give you some time to try and tame it in the future, though I would suggest you avoid any further interactions with Orochimaru until you can deal with your inner demon, if I have to fight it again in the future, it may very well kill you." He says as he adjusts his trench coat.

Naruto felt as his mind went hazy for a bit, and as he began to vanish from his mindscape and back into the real world. But as he did, he still heard the echoing last words of the man who had aided him twice when he truly needed it the most…

"Master your emotions, for your emotions are key to its defeat, if you don't grasp them then you are posed to fall to its influence, take those words to heart….."

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Stay safe and healthy everyone!)