It should be noted that this is a crossover of Naruto and Metroanime's Pokegirl Universe. I don't own Naruto or the Pokegirl Concept. All other characters and this particular version of the PG Universe are my own. Enjoy.

The Will of Fire

Prologue

For as long as he could remember, the stares were cold. The hatred conveyed through their eyes cut him to the core. It had always been like this. Whispered mutters cursing his very existence followed him throughout the village as he walked toward the center. His destination was the Hokage Tower where all administration was done and the village's shinobi were assigned missions, gave their debriefings for missions completed, and the Hokage herself presided over the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The figure slumped down the path with his head lowered to avoid the stares that pierced him and condemned his very presence. The villagers parted in front of him out of a mixture of malice and fear toward the blonde haired shinobi. They scurried away as if he carried a horrible disease that could be spread by his touch. He could feel their malevolent auras suffocating him as he dutifully stared at his feet. He reflected back to his childhood, remembering that he preferred their silent condemnation more than the violent beatings and the trashed apartments.

When he was four, the orphanage had kicked him out saying that he would corrupt the other children and would taint their very souls. He didn't understand why they called him a demon and beat him for every infraction, but he did understand that crying only made them hit harder. Then they left him at the front gate and closed the door. He sat there stunned, wondering what he did, and how he could make sure to never do it again. The tears started to come and he couldn't stop them, so he hid his head in his arms and cried as silently as possibly so as to not incur the wraith of passers-by. He had learned quickly that nobody wanted to help him. It was far better to be diligently ignored than to bring attention toward him. His bruises from the first time he asked for help had faded long ago, but the lesson remained.

After a while, he noticed someone standing above him, and, as he fearfully raised his blue eyes, his gaze met an imposing figure. The man before him was old and he frowned down on the boy. His body was clothed in numerous white robes trimmed in red and he wore a wide brimmed tri-pointed hat that shaded his wizened face from the sun. Despite the man's considerable age, he radiated with power. The boy knew that if the man wanted to hurt him, nothing could prevent it.

The old man kneeled in front of the child and spoke in a gentle tone. "Why are you crying, Naruto?" Naruto shrank further into himself and whimpered as the man extended his hand to him. The blonde closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain. Instead of the usual slaps, Naruto felt arms wrap around him and lift him up. Confused, the boy slowly opened his eyes and looked into the old man's dark brown ones. He didn't see any of the usual coldness or hate. He ventured a question of his own. "Are you gunna hit me?" he murmured. The elder raised an eyebrow, obviously not expecting that question.

"Why would I do that?" he asked. Naruto lowered his gaze to the man's chest and mumbled, "That's what everyone does." The old man was surprised to hear that, but didn't show it for long.

"No, Naruto, I am not going to hit you. My job is to protect everyone in this village. I won't ever hit you," he stated, smiling down at the small child in his arms. Upon hearing this, the child burst into tears again and wrapped his arms around the man as much as his short arms would allow. The old man held the boy in his arms and made soothing noises as he slowly rubbed gentle circles on the child's back. After a few minutes of sobbing, Naruto raised his head and asked, "Who are you? Why are you nice to me? Why do they hit me? What did I do? I promise I'll stop. I mean it, I'll be good. Really, I wi-" The old man interrupted Naruto with a finger over the boy's mouth. "I am the Hokage of this village, and you deserve having people be nice to you. The other villagers hit you because they don't understand. You haven't done anything wrong. You are a good boy. Do you understand, Naruto?" The boy nodded slowly.

"Unfortunately, the orphanage can't take care of you, and there isn't anyone who can take you in," the Hokage said solemnly. The truth was that no one wanted to take the boy in, not that they couldn't. He bent down and grabbed Naruto's scant belongings consisting of a few sets of cloths in the most obnoxious orange he had ever seen, and began to walk down the path. "Because you can't be without a place to live, I have arranged an apartment for you. Would you like that?" Naruto smiled so wide his eyes shut. With the three tattoo-like whisker marks on both cheeks, and the blonde spikes of hair the boy looked remarkably like a cross between a grinning fox and a blonde sea urchin. "I would love that, Ojisan!"

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at an old rundown apartment complex. The Hokage carried the boy upstairs to the third floor and stopped in front of the door furthest down the walkway near the rear of the complex. He set Naruto down and removed a key from his pocket, inserted it into the knob, and unlocked the door. He opened the door and ushered Naruto in side. Naruto immediately, ran around and looked at everything inside. It was a small apartment consisting of a living room/kitchen combination painted in a faded olive green that presumably continued throughout the small space. Along the west wall stood a refrigerator, countertop with a drawer and cabinet, stove, and a washing machine. In the center of the room were a small square table and two plain but sturdy wooden chairs that matched the table. On the wall opposite the front door was a small window that viewed the path beside the complex. To the right a door stood open and Naruto could see the bed in the far right corner of the room. He ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed and sighed. It was much more comfortable that the cot he was assigned at the orphanage. On the left wall, Naruto could see a through a doorway that led into a small bathroom boasting a toilet, sink, and shower stall. Next to the bathroom door stood small chest of drawers the same color as the kitchen table and chairs.

The blond boy jumped up off the bed and ran back into the common room and stood before the Elder. "Is this all mine?" Naruto asked, his eyes shining with hope. The Hokage couldn't help but smile as he nodded. Naruto jumped around happily until his stomach grumbled loudly, announcing his hunger to the world. The foxy blonde grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Let's get something to eat," the old man suggested. He turned and walked out the door with Naruto hot on his heels. The Hokage locked the apartment and gave the key to Naruto, who slipped it into a pocket. The Elder held out his hand to Naruto, and the boy beamed as he took the proffered hand and walked beside the older man. Along the way, Naruto noticed that the villages blatantly ignore him, and he was fine with that, but they bowed reverently as the Hokage passed. He wondered at the respectful gazes aimed at the old man. He craned his neck up toward the figure walking beside him, staring openly as he tried to figure out why the villagers looked at him with such praise. He didn't feel jealous because being in the old man's presence kept the others from looking at him with cold eyes, but he wanted to know why they acknowledged him so highly. Noticing the youngster's stare, the Hokage looked down at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. The blonde quickly averted his gaze to the ground, and felt embarrassed at being caught gaping.

"What is it, Naruto?"

Looking back into the elder's eyes, the boy asked, "Why do they look at you like that?" The old Hokage looked puzzled as he looked around. Noticing the people the duo passed giving him respectful bows and reverent greetings, his age wrinkled face brightened as he realized what the young orphan meant.

"I am the Hokage, the leader of this village." he said at length. The blonde seemed thoughtful for a moment and then, "How do you be a Hokage?"

"You must be the strongest ninja in the village and must know over 1000 ninja techniques. You must also carry the hopes and dreams of everyone in the village, and want to help all of them become a reality. The will of fire must be firmly imbedded into you, so that you may pass it to everyone in the village," the Hokage replied. Naruto faced scrunched up in disbelief as he shouted, "You're the strongest in the village!" The old man chuckled at the blonde's response and simply nodded.

They continued walking in silence until the Hokage led the youth toward a small ramen stand. Naruto looked at the stands size and frowned. The stand was about ten feet wide, containing a counter with eight stools bolted into a hardwood dais. The dais extended just passed the roof of the little shop, which had a plastic flap hanging down to give the customers a little privacy from the path it was situated in the middle of. The Hokage ducked under the flap and took a stool in the center of the shop and guided Naruto to the stool next to him. The old man greeted the middle aged chef behind the counter and ordered two miso ramens for himself and Naruto. As they waited for there food, both remained silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"I am going to be Hokage!" The Hokage started at this quiet declaration and turned to face his young companion.

"Why do you want to be Hokage?" Naruto was silent for a moment as the old man looked on patiently. Naruto face him and stated quietly, "I want everyone to acknowledge me, and if I'm the Hokage, they'll have to recognize my strength. I'm going to be Hokage and then everyone'll have to acknowledge me." The elder stared into the boy eyes intensely, and saw a burning determination that shone brightly. The Hokage then nodded, facing the bowl of noodles set in front of him.

"Becoming Hokage is a long and dangerous road. It will be difficult and very trying. Are you sure that's what you want?" the village leader asked at length. The young boy grinned wickedly and stated, "Yes. I don't care how hard it is. I will become the strongest Hokage ever." The elder returned the grin and declared, "Then I guess I have no choice but to enroll you into the Ninja Academy. Don't disappoint me. I'd like to retire sometime." The boy's grin suddenly disappeared being replace by solemn expression.

"I don't take back my words."

The old man noted the seriousness of the situation and replied just as solemnly, "I know." The Hokage quickly finish his food, paid for their meals and turned to leave, regarding Naruto a final time. "I have to leave now. Someone will be by to deliver the money you need for groceries and teach you how to shop on your own. After that, they will leave the money in an envelope on your table every week. Do you have any questions, Naruto?" The young blonde shook his head and the elder man nodded and left. Naruto finish his meal slowly, and returned to his apartment and waited for the person showing him how to shop to arrive.

Naruto chuckled sadly at the memory, earning a few glares from the people he passed. The old Hokage died eight years later in an epic battle with his traitorous student, Orochimaru. The blonde missed the kind old man terribly. He had been the first to acknowledge his existence, and he treated Naruto like a grandson. The whiskered shinobi wished the elder had had more time to spend with him, but it couldn't be helped.

An old woman spat on the pathway in front of Naruto's sandaled feet. The blonde stopped and looked up. The elderly woman looked at him with such contempt that, if looks could kill, he would have liquefied on the spot. Naruto simply smiled his fox smile and continued on his way, ignoring the comment of, "Damned demon child! I hope they execute you."

Naruto always smiled through these comments. Despite how much it hurt, he wouldn't let it show. Besides, he had been through much, much worse. After he moved into his apartment, the beatings became less frequent, but they never stopped. Sometimes, some of the villagers got a little too drunk and followed him home. Those times weren't pleasant as he was hit, kicked and thrown around his tiny apartment until he lost consciousness. However, he would wake up the next day and the bruises and cuts would be gone, the only reminder being the lingering soreness for a few hours after waking.

He wondered why he healed so much faster than the other children until he turned twelve. He had just failed the Genin exam at the Academy for the third time, and he was depressed that he hadn't become a ninja. While he was sitting on his favorite swing in front of the Academy watching the other children celebrate with their families for graduating, he stared enviously at there forehead protectors proving they were now Genin, the beginning rank for the village's ninjas.

He noticed movement next to him and turned his head up to see one of his Academy teachers standing on the branch his swing hung from. Mizuki-sensei had always treated Naruto fairly kindly, so the blonde merely regarded the silver haired Chuunin inquisitively. Mizuki kept his gaze on the new Genins and spoke softly, "Let go somewhere and talk, okay?" Naruto nodded mutely as they left the Academy and took to the roofs. They traveled the rooftops for a few minutes until Mizuki stopped them on top of a building that gave a fantastic view of the sunset as it sank behind the walls of the village. Oranges, reds, and pinks danced a beautiful waltz around the shining yellow orb in the epicenter of the grand performance. They sat in silence for a while, watching the sun slowly disappear.

Naruto didn't remember much of the conversation that took place, but he did remember when Mizuki told him that if he took a specific scroll from the Hokage's Tower and learned the techniques inside he could pass the Genin exam and become a ninja. The blonde had been so excited about getting another chance to be a ninja, he didn't think twice. He snuck in, took the scroll, and ran to meet Mizuki at the place in the woods outside the village the chuunin had given him directions to. He thought back to how he only learned one technique from the scroll before his other Academy teacher, Iruka-sensei showed up demanding to know why he took the scroll. After that, things moved too fast for Naruto to recall correctly. Iruka pushed him out of the way as several kunai pierce the teacher in his arms, legs, and shoulders. Naruto look to where the projectiles came from to see Mizuki standing haughtily atop a tree branch.

That was when Naruto found out why the villagers hated him. Mizuki casually ignored Iruka's protests and told Naruto about the Kyuubi, the Nine-tailed Demon Fox that attacked Hidden Leaf Village and decimated it, killing most of the shinobi that tried to defend their home. He told him that even the Fourth Hokage everyone hailed as a hero for defeating the demon couldn't really kill it. It was far too powerful to be defeated by a mere human. So, instead, the Fourth gave his life to seal it inside a newborn baby boy. A law was passed to never talk about the sealing, especially to the container of the Demon Fox. But, most importantly, no one was allowed to tell him that he was the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Naruto didn't understand, and it showed. Mizuki laughed hard for a moment.

"Don't you get it? No one is allowed to tell you that you are the Kyuubi, Naruto. But now, I'll kill you and take the scroll. With the techniques inside, I will be able to do whatever I want. Now give me the scroll!" Naruto hugged the scroll tightly to his chest and looked on as Mizuki pulled one of two large Fuuma shurikens from the holster on his back, and with a powerful throw, it hurtled toward the demon vessel. The blonde was too stunned to move and he watched as the weapon loomed closer. He was suddenly tackled to the ground as he heard metal slam against flesh. Shocked, he looked up into Iruka's eyes. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "You must have been so alone," he said through his quiet sobs, "I'm so sorry, Naruto. If I had been a better person, you wouldn't have had to suffer the loneliness of being an orphan. I know what it's like. I'm so sorry…"

Confused and scared, Naruto bolted from underneath him to hide further in the forest, knowing Mizuki was following him. He ducked behind a tree and stifled his breathes in an effort to not reveal his hiding spot. After a moment he heard the sound of a fight nearby and Iruka landed roughly against the other side of the tree. As he cowered behind the tree, he overheard his two senseis talking. Mizuki claimed that the demon brat and he were alike. He told Iruka that fox demon would use the scroll and attack the village. Naruto's heart sank hearing Iruka's reply, "Your right, the Kyuubi would use the scroll." Naruto began to cry. Iruka thought he was a demon too.

"But Naruto isn't the damn Fox. He's one of my excellent students. He is Naruto Uzumaki, and not the Demon he houses. He is a hero for containing the Demon. He's not like you, traitor!" The silver haired chuunin laughed loudly, mocking Iruka. He stopped abruptly, removing the last Fuuma Shuriken from his back holster and began spinning it in preparation to attack, and spoke, "Then… I guess I'll kill you and then the brat and take the scroll."

On the other side of the tree, Iruka's words finally sank in. He looked around the tree to see Mizuki charge toward the helpless Chuunin teacher slumped against the trunk of Naruto's hiding place. Naruto burst from behind the tree, running full speed toward Mizuki and kneed the unsuspecting ninja in the chin. The shuriken flew from the Chuunin's grasp and flew harmlessly into the surrounding trees. Naruto landed and watched as the traitor slowly stood up. Looking at his attacker, Mizuki regarded the demon vessel's angry scowl with a bemused expression.

"Don't touch Iruka-sensei. If you do, I'll kill you," Naruto growled out. Mizuki frowned and spoke, with an edge in his voice, "What do you think you can do? I'm an elite Chuunin. Brats like you are easy for me to kill."

"Try it, trash. I'll return the pain a thousand fold!" Naruto wove his hand through the newly learned seals for the jutsu he learns moments before Iruka found him. As his hand stopped on the final hand seal, he cried out, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" A huge amount of smoke filled the surrounding forest as several hundred clones of Naruto appeared. Mizuki looked around fearfully as all around him were Narutos. In the trees, in front of him, behind, to sides, everywhere he looked, there were Narutos all grinning menacingly or taunting him. The young boy wasted no time as he commanded all his clones to attack. The forest was soon filled with the sound of Mizuki's pained screams and the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

After Naruto dispelled his clones with a loud pop, Iruka presented him with his own forehead protector, telling Naruto that he graduated. Anbu collected the badly injured traitor, and Naruto and Iruka left the clearing to return the pilfered scroll.

Shaking his head, the blonde brought his thoughts back to the present. It had been seven years since he graduated the Academy. He tugged absently at the Jounin vest he now wore. He had trained hard, rising through the ranks, from Genin to Chuunin, then to elite Jounin. During his service to the village, he had achieved some amazing things and gained acknowledgement from a few of his peers in the village. However, he had long ago realized that his dream to become Hokage would never be a reality. While he had gained some recognition for his strength and unwavering determination, he knew the villagers as a whole would never accept him. Regardless, he kept training, kept getting stronger, kept trying to prove that he wasn't the demon he held at bay. He continued to protect the village with everything he had, and more. Naruto had even put and end to the war with the Hidden Village of Sound, single handedly, by confronting and destroying their leader, the infamous and powerful, Leaf Village S-class traitor-nin, Orochimaru and his subordinate, Yakushi Kabuto.

Instead of returning a hero, he was damned as a risk to the village. If he could defeat Orochimaru, who would be able to stop him if he attacked the village? Naruto snorted at the implication. He had given his word that he would always remain loyal to Hidden Leaf, and Naruto Uzumaki does not take back his word. Period.

The Village Counsel was apparently unconvinced. Naruto silenced his thought and continued toward the Tower. Today the Counsel would make their final decision to his fate. The blonde shinobi sighed and kept walking; the cold stares following his every move.

0o0o0o0o0

Tsunade never wanted to be Hokage. When the buxom female left Hidden Leaf Village twenty years ago, she just wanted to sip a little sake, relax, and gamble, and that's exactly what she did, until Naruto Uzumaki walked into her life. Her first impressions of the blonde ninja, seven years ago, were not good. He was loud, annoying, brash, and rather dim. Her fellow teammate Jaraiya had brought him along to find her and tell her of old man Hokage's death at the hands of their ex-teammate, Orochimaru. Now the village needed a new Hokage badly, with the threat of war with Hidden Sound Village looming overhead, and Tsunade was the only person strong and intelligent enough to fill the position.

She refused.

Naruto had listened for all of two minutes before he loudly proclaimed his dream to be Hokage, and boasted that Hidden Leaf didn't need some "drunken old hag with a gambling addiction to warm the chair for him in the meantime." Tsunade didn't take that sitting down. She slammed her hands down on the table they sat at, yelling, "Alright, brat! Let's take this outside!"

Tsunade chuckled lightly at the memory. She remembered how Naruto surprised her, watching him form chakra into an imperfect version of the Fourth's legendary jutsu, the Rasengan, and charged. Tsunade smirked as she dodged the sphere of swirling blue chakra the Genin thrust at her and used only her index finger to knock him back twenty feet removing his forehead protector in the process. As the fox boy got up and prepared to charge again, Tsunade yelled, "Wait!" she grinned evilly as continued on, "Let's make a wager. If you can master that technique in one week, I'll not only return to the village and be Hokage, I'll give you this necklace." She removed the pendant from around her neck and lifted it for Naruto and Jaraiya to see. It was a small light green gem stone a half an inch long, and a quarter inch wide and deep. A slim leather rope ran through the top of the gem, and it gleam with a dull malevolence. It had been given to her by the founder of their village, the Shodaime, her grandfather. The small pendant was worth enough to buy a small country.

The boy grinned, "You're on! Be prepared to lose that necklace." Naruto retrieve his forehead protector, then turned to the white-haired Sannen, Jaraiya, and yelled, "I need a place to train! I've got a bet to win, and Naruto Uzumaki doesn't take back his words!" Naruto dragged the older man off as Tsunade smirked.

The golden haired Hokage laughed softly to herself as she looked around her office. Naruto had won the bet alright. The day Naruto was supposed to meet Tsunade, Orochimaru and his apprentice, Kabuto, attacked them. The whiskered ninja proved that he mastered the move using the swirling chakra sphere glowing in his hand to knock Kabuto spinning back forty feet into a boulder. If anyone else had been on the receiving end of the deadly Spiral Bullet, nothing would have been left to identify.

Immediately following that, Naruto had selflessly jumped in front of Orochimaru's sword to protect Tsunade. That provided enough of an opening for the Legendary Medical Ninja to attack leaf traitor and drive him off. She quickly ran to Naruto's prone form, activated a healing jutsu, and proceeded to heal his wounds. When she finished, Tsunade slumped. Exhausted of nearly all her chakra, she slowly lifted Naruto's head and placed the pendant around his neck. She no longer just saw him as a "young brat tagging along with her perverted teammate"; he was the spitting image of her deceased younger brother. After picking themselves up and returning to the nearby town, they rested until they could travel back to Hidden Leaf and instate Tsunade as the Godaime Hokage.

So here she sat, awaiting the door to be slammed open for the last time, and for the blonde teen to yell, "Hiya, Obaachan," at the top of his lungs. She had to fight back the tears that threatened to spill, knowing she was losing another precious person. Just like her brother and fiancé, Naruto was going to be taken from her. The only two consolations she had were, at least this time, she could say goodbye, and he had a chance to find happiness somewhere else.

A soft knock interrupted her dark thoughts. Quickly composing herself, she sat up and calmly called, "Enter." The door opened slowly, revealing Naruto as he quietly entered and closed the door behind him. As he approached her desk, Tsunade observed the changes seven years had wrought upon Naruto. He was no longer the short boy she had encountered all those years ago, standing a couple inches over six feet. His shoulders were broad and his bare arms rippled with lean muscle gained from the near fanatical devotion to his training. His blonde hair fell in long slender spikes just below neckline, framing his chiseled features and giving him a look of carefree nobility which the whisker-like birthmarks only seemed to enhance. The dark orange collar of his sleeveless shirt disappeared into the green Jounin flak vest, and was complimented by the dark orange strips going down the outsides of the loose black pants he wore. Black ninja sandals adorned his feet, and, all in all, the simple look suited him. The only out of place was the grim expression on his face.

"So, the Council has decided?" Although a question, Naruto seemed to give the impression he already knew the answer. Judging by the way he entered, and his unusually somber attitude, he probably did.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes. The Counsel," she spat the word, "has come to the conclusion that you are too much of a risk to the village." She hated every word she just spoke. It burned her throat like acid and tasted bitterer than any sake.

Naruto just nodded. After a long, tense silence, he ventured, "So what happens now? I doubt they'll let me leave the village. Will I be executed?" Though stated calmly, the Hokage could easily see the fear in his eyes. She hastened to reassure him.

"No! I would never allow that! Ever!" she yelled. Naruto raised an eyebrow and asked, "So then what are they going to do to me?" Tsunade got up and rounded her desk, leaning against the front of it as she crossed her arms. "There is a jutsu that can open a rift in reality. Theoretically, one could enter that rift and travel to another world similar to ours. Mind you that it is theoretical. But it was the only option I would agree to. This is the only way I see for you to be free and have a chance at happiness. I won't execute you. I can't release you from the village, but I won't seal you away like some evil creature."

Naruto gave her a rueful smile, whispering, "Thanks, Baachan…" That did it. Tsunade couldn't hold the tears back anymore as she was wracked with sobs. The spiky-haired ninja quick crossed the empty space between them and wrapped her in a protective embrace.

"I tried, Naruto, I really did. But they wouldn't…. I couldn't…. They won't listen…. Why? Why can't they see you… just you…?" As the Hokage's rant descended into incoherency, Naruto said quietly, "It's okay. I'll be alright. I'll do it, and then no one will have to worry. This village has been through enough, without having to worry about the Kyuubi coming back. If doing this will make them feel safe, then it's worth it." The sobbing woman surprised him when she violently pushed him away and started to scream violently at him.

"GODDAMMIT, Naruto. Why can't you, just this once, be selfish? You knew something like this would happen! Why couldn't you just run away? How can you stand there and be okay when them just throwing you away like an old toy! Why do you have to be so fucking loyal? Are you that stubborn? Just leave right now! I'll make sure you can get away safely. I'll fight them all off myself if I half to… just… please... just go…" she pleaded, voice hoarse for crying and yelling. Her eyes begged that he go.

"I can't. You know I can't. But more than that, I won't. I refuse to prove them right." Her heart sank at Naruto's solemn words. Knowing that was exactly what he would say didn't make them any easier to hear. She lowered her head, and stared at the floor between them. The fox teen just looked on as the sobs quieted. Tsunade gradually collected herself and slowly stood. When she raised her head, her eyes where bloodshot and puffy. She stared into Naruto's eyes, and, after a moment nodded. Smiling slightly, he returned the nod.

"Thanks for caring, Tsunade-hime," he said. Naruto walked over and embraced her tightly, she returned the embrace, whispering, "You are like a son to me, and I love you. Thank you for saving me. I am so, so proud of you." She could feel tears on her neck and knew he was crying. Her grip tightened when she heard him say, "I love you, too, Kaasan."

They stayed like that for several long moments, steeling themselves for what was to come. Wiping her face, Tsunade walk to the door and turned to face her son, "Are you ready?" Clearing his own face of tears, Naruto smiled wryly, "As I'll ever be!" Together they left the office and proceeded down the hallway until they reached a set of double doors. After a swift nod from Naruto, the Hokage quickly open the doors and led him inside.

The fox shinobi took a second to let his eyes adjust to the dim light and observed his surrounding. Twelve figures were kneeling in a circle about fifteen feet in diameter. Their hands were forming a hand seal unknown to him as they channeled chakra into a complex circular seal on the floor. However, his attention was held by the glowing blue sphere in the middle of the ring. The seven foot tall orb floated about six inches off the floor, and it seemed to flicker slightly.

Not wanting to drag the situation out any longer, Naruto walked up to the sphere. He turned to the woman he regarded as a mother and grinned his trademark foxy grin, saying, "Goodbye, Kaasan. Thanks for everything." Tsunade smiled weakly, "Goodbye son. I hope you find what you couldn't have here." He nodded, still grinning that infernal grin, turned and walked into the sphere. As soon as he faded, the figures released the jutsu.

As she watched the sphere dissipate, Tsunade couldn't help but think that Hidden Leaf just lost its "will of fire" to the crippling pressure of hate.