I don't own Naruto or the league of shadows and those connected to it.

It has been 6 years since the Kyuubi attack. Two figures walked down the streets of Konoha. Both men whore black cloaks over their shoulders concealing their body. Both were 6ft tall with broad shoulders.

One was a middle age man who was bald with black eyes and the other was a man with sideburns that went down to almost his chin and went up to form a small mustache.

The bald man ask "So this is where he lives master."

The man with the sideburns said "Yes Goshi. This is where he is a resident of but he does not live here, he merely survives here."

Goshi said "I understand master. When will we make our presence known."

The leader of the two said "Soon.....soon this village will learn not to mess with Ra's Al Ghul and those under his protection." as he continued down the street with his companion.

The third Hokage was in his office when there was an explosion on the west side of the village and the third jumped out of his chair and looked where the fireball was coming from and thought "No....that near where Naruto lives." as he jumped out the window and began to race toward the scene of the fire along with several other ninja. As he was running a man appeared in front of him with a bald head and a black cloak and threw a kunai at the third before the man went up in smoke.

The third who saw this was shocked that he was just attacked like that and as he grabbed the kunai out of the air. He looked around when an ANBU landed near him in a dog mask and said "Sir, it appears that someone has destroyed Naruto apartment building and we have found a body in the rubble sir and it appears to be Naruto but we can't be sure. The only thing left is the bones sir and even then they were heavily destroyed by the explosion sir."

The third frowned as he looked down and thought quickly and said "INU.....I am not sure that is Naruto body. When I was on my way here a figure appeared on the edge of the building over there and he attacked me with a single kunai before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Use your summons to search for his scent and track the man down and bring him in alive. Do not tell anyone else about this though. I believe that someone may have kidnapped Naruto."

Inu stiffened and said "Right away sir. I hope your right and wrong at the same time." as he summoned several dogs who began to sniff the area where the third indicated and one of the dogs said "Kakashi, there was someone here because I can smell Naruto scent on him but the man himself has no scent and I can't trace it."

The third asked "Can you track Naruto scent then."

The dog shook his head and said "No, the buildings around us have here have several patches of his blood and that of an actual fox blood so tracking him is impossible."

The third sighed and said "I see....Inu, take your summons outside the village walls and have them search for Naruto scent. If they find anything report back to me immediately and I will order a search."

Inu asked "Why are you not ordering the search already sir."

The third bit his lip and said "I noticed something about the kunai that was thrown at me earlier. I have only seen one other kunai like it in my entire life but I am sworn to secrecy about it. If I am right about what it is then the people behind this attack maybe more dangerous then Iwa and Kyuubi put together."

Inu flinched and said "I see sir. I will carry out my orders then." as he began to leap away with the summons following him.

The Sandaime returned to his office and said "ANBU." and 4 figures who are always on standby nearby in a room appeared and he said "Get me Nara Shikaku."

The 4 disappeared in a swirl of leaves and around 20 minutes later they appeared again with Shikaku who said "You wish to see me sir."

The third said "Leave us." and the 4 ANBU quickly left by shushin. Once they were gone the third said "Earlier today the apartment building of Naruto Uzumaki was destroyed."

Shikaku said "I already discovered that myself. It appears that he was at home when it happens as a body of similar size was pulled from the rubble."

The third was silent a moment and said "I am not for sure that all is as it appears Shikaku. On my way to the scene of the explosion I was briefly attacked. The person who attacked me only threw a kunai at me and left before it ever actually got close to me. The reason I called you is because of the kunai itself." as he set the kunai on the desk.

Shikaku took one look at it and his eyes got wide and said "It can't be."

The third said "I know you were here with your father when he was telling me about your clan when I allowed them to join Konoha so I know besides myself you are the only other person who has ever seen one like this."

Shikaku motioned toward the kunai and said "May I."

The third nods and Shikaku picked it up and looked at it and notice the seal engraved in the handle. A skull with daggers sticking out of the mouth with swords behind the skull.

Shikaku took in every detail and said "It's real sir. It has the indentions for the secret message as well."

The third asked "What secret message.

Shikaku looked around and grabbed a blank piece of paper and the thirds pipe that was unlit and he dumped the ashes on the seal and pressed the paper against it and pulled back and when he did the words circling the skull and swords read Kill 1 to save 1000.

The third was wide eyed and he said "So it would appear as if the man who attacked me was working for the League of Shadows then."

Shikaku said "Yes and it appears that they were the ones who killed Naruto."

The third said "Or took him. As Danzo has stated before he would make an excellent weapon but I did not want that life for him."

Shikaku said "If he is alive sir we may never know."

The third closed his eyes and said "Very well. If Inu does not discover any other traces of Naruto or the assassin only the 3 of us will ever know about this. Officially Naruto Uzumaki is now dead. We will give him an honorable funeral. No one else is to know about any of this understood."

Shikaku nods and said "But what if the League returns sir."

The third said "We will deal with it then. I can only pray that Naruto is happy where ever he may be. Your dismissed."

Shikaku nods and leaves and the third looked at the picture of the Yondaime and said "I failed you Minato." as he reset his pipe and began to smoke it.

Time skip 8 years later.

3 figures were seen approaching the gates of Konoha. The figure on the left was 5'7 and you could tell that she was a female by the curves that could be seen through the cloths she was wearing and was dressed in black with blue pants with streaks of blue going through them A black shirt with built in body armor and and a blue sash going around the waist. with blue gloves that went up past her elbow and a black hooded mask that only showed her brown eyes and blue under her nose to her chin.

The figure on the right was male and about 5'8 and dressed in similar closed to the previous person but instead of blue had gold was and had black eyes.

The person in the middle was 5'10 and and had a similar face mask to the girls but you could not see anything other then his eyes which were ice blue. He wore a black cloak that covered his body except for his head.

As they got to the gates the 2 guards stood in front of them and asked "Who are you and why are you here." looking at the 3.

The figure in the middle said "I am Maelstrom, the one on my left in blue here is Subzero and the one on my right in gold is Scorpion. We are here to see the Hokage to ask permission to enter the Chunnin exams. We have papers from the Diamyo of Wave who is sponsoring us. May we be escorted to see the Hokage."

The two guards looked at each other and one with bandages across his nose asked "What village do you represent."

Maelstrom said "We are currently independent. We are hoping to show our skills at the Exams and be offered to join a village."

The other guard signaled to a nearby building and a team of 4 ANBU appeared and he the guard said "These 3 would like to see the Hokage about entering the exams."

The ANBU looked at the 3 and one in a dragon mask said "Follow us." as he turned and began to lead the 3 while the other 3 ANBU formed a diamond around the 3.

As they walked through town several people looked at them in fear and curiosity and Scorpion said in a language nobody understood but his companions "They fear what they don't understand. Imagine what they would do if they knew."

Maelstrom said in the same language "I've seen first hand what they can do and I am not impressed."

Subzero said "But now the tables are turned and we will bring order to chaos." in the same language.

All 3 nod and the ANBU looked at them strangely as they walked up the stairs to the 5th floor before walking toward the Hokage office. When they got outside the door the ANBU who spoke before knocked and the Sandaime voice said "Enter."

The ANBU opened the door and the group walked inside and the third looked up at those who walked in and he asked "Yes, can I help you."

Maelstrom said "Yes, my name is Maelstrom, this is Subzero and Scorpion. We are here to request permission to enter the Chunnin exams. The Daimyo of Wave has offered to back us if you would except and I have a Certificate of Authenticity to prove my claim. We are currently 3 independent nomads who are hoping to gain an invite from one of the villages to join after the exam."

The third said "I see....If I may ask who trained you because the exams are extremely dangerous and I don't want to take the chance of entering you in them unless I believe you are able to take care of yourself."

Maelstrom said "I understand. Subzero, intro." as he stepped back

Subzero stepped forward and said "I am Subzero, former resident of the land of mist. I was apprenticed under Zabuza Momochi for 3 years, Uchiha Itachi for 1 year, Tsunade Senju for 2 years as well as another sensei for 2 years." as she stepped back.

The third and all 4 ANBU were wide eyed and the third asked "Do you have any proof."

Subzero said "I can Summon a slug to show Tsunade trained me but the other teachers I only can show my skills. Nothing that I can show as proof."

The third frowned a moment and thought "Tsunade, what the hell are you doing." and he said "Very well, show me your summon."

Subzero nods and summoned a small slug who looked around before it was released.

The third said "Very well. I can see you are trained by Tsunade but I ask why were you trained by Zabuza and Itachi."

Subzero said "Zabuza rescued me from the land of mist because I have a bloodline and he thought I might be useful until he was offered a way to stop being hunted by missing nins. After that he and I went our separate ways. Itachi taught all 3 of us Taijutsu and a few offensive and defensive jutsu for me removing a poison that had been given to him. After 1 year where he ranked us equivalent of Chunnin in Taijutsu he dismissed us and went his own way."

The third said "I see.....what about the other 2 of you."

Scorpion looked at Maelstrom who nods and said "My name is Scorpion. I am a former resident of the land of Wind. I was trained by Akasuna no Sasori as well as Uchiha Itachi and another sensei." as he stepped back.

The third was wide eyed again and asked "Do you have any proof."

Scorpion looked around the room and saw a training dummy in the corner and said "May I demonstrate with the dummy in the corner."

The third nods and Scorpion took a stance and raised his left and and a kunai slid out of the end of it and Scorpion said "Get over here." as the kunai launched at the target going through it before spikes shot out the side of the kunai that was connected to a chain and the target was yanked out of the corner toward Scorpion before it explodes.

As this happened the third as well as the ANBU were shocked and impressed and Scorpion said "Like Sasori, I am a master of human puppetry as well as poisons and a few other skills I rather not mention." as the chain and kunai reentered his hand and the skin covered over so you couldn't even tell it was there.

The third thought "That is a lethal attack and I have no doubt that he has other attacks like that in his body." and looked at Maelstrom and said "And you."

Maelstrom said "My allies strength should me more then enough to show that we are good enough to take the Chunnin exams with out putting ourselves into to much danger. After all you can see that I am obviously the leader here and as both can testify I am strong enough to defeat both at the same time. I prefer to let my skills remain a secret for the actual exams so that way Konoha won't have an unfair advantage over other countries to try and employ us."

The third blinked and said "You mean join right."

Maelstrom said "No sir. Employ. Unlike my allies here I am originally from fire country and I have seen Konoha handy work first hand when I seen villagers and ninja of this village attack and try to kill a child over 8 years ago. For that Konoha will never have me as a ninja of their village. I will work under contract for you but I would not join without certain incentives."

The third frowned and said "I see......I take it that these views are shared with your allies."

Maelstrom said "Yes." getting a nod from both Scorpion and Subzero.

The third asked "If I may ask, what is your opinion of Sasuke Uchiha."

Maelstrom snorts and said "If your trying to find out if we are sent here to kill him then you need to remember the real reason he is still alive to begin with and yes, Itachi was nice enough to show us certain........insurance policy but we have no care for Sasuke. We are here for our own reason."

The third paled as he looked at them a moment and asked "What are those reasons."

Maelstrom eyes locked on the thirds and he said "That is what negotiations are for. If you want to know then you will simply have to be interested enough to open negotiations after the exams."

The third saw the coldness in Maelstroms eyes and said "Very well. ANBU, take these 3 to the Rose tree inn and have a room set up for them. The exams are tomorrow at 1 pm at the academy room 301."

The ANBU nod and one said "Follow us." as they lead them out of the office.

Once they were gone the third said "ANBU."

4 new ANBU appeared and the third said "I want those 3 followed. Do not let them meet team 7 until the exams" with a serious look on his face.

All 4 bowed and left in a swirl of leaves.

The third looked at the window and thought "something is not right here. First Tsunade lets someone sign her summoning contract and that some person was trained by Itachi and knows the truth about the Uchiha massacre and that could destroy the leaf."

Once the 3 were given a hotel room and the room was checked and privacy jutsu were put up Maelstrom turned and said "Well."

Subzero said "There was a shadow following us after we passed the third street on our way to the tower."

Scorpion said "One of my contacts in Orochimaru operations has been compromised. I sent the signal the moment we entered the village and he never showed showing his programing has been removed. One of my other contacts have him in the exams so he has to be in the village."

Maelstrom said "Alright Scorpion, If he's been compromised when the chance appears eliminate him and any witnesses."

Scorpion said "Yes sir."

Naruto looked at the room and saw there was 2 bedrooms and he looked at Sub-zero and grabbed her by the hand and began to drag her toward one of the bedrooms and Scorpion said "Please remember the privacy jutsu this time Naruto."

Maelstrom turned to Scorpion and said "Blow me Sasori." earning a laugh from Scorpion.

Subzero said "I thought that was my job Naruto-kun." in a sultry voice

Scorpion said "Make sure you use protection Haku, you don't know where all that has been."

Subzero said "Oh I know, but I know where it's going." as the door slammed close.

Scorpion turned and sat down on a couch and thought "hmm.....it's been 5 years has it Naruto since that day."

Flashback

Sasori stood with with the remains of all his puppets destroyed and nearly completely out of chakra as his original body was severely damage and he asked "So you have nearly defeated me so tell me before we see how this plays out why have you attacked me." trying to get time to get some chakra back.

The figure who stood across from him on the sand dune said "I have come here to offer you a job. I am called Maelstrom and my master has sent me to test you and see if you are worthy of the job I am offering."

Sasori asked "And what is this job."

Maelstrom said "To join the league of shadows, also known as the league of assassins. If you agree you will be given access to long forbidden and forgotten puppetry and poison knowledge as well as a new body that will protect the only part of you that is still human even better.....yes I know about your heart being your weakness. My master had me research you and puppetry as much as I could before coming to see you. I must say that even though you are quite skilled as a puppet user your still limiting yourself with the basics compared to what we are offering."

Sasori who was shocked hearing the person he had fought for the last hour knew all along how to kill him and he asked "And what proof do you have that you know more then me."

Maelstrom said "The fact this entire time the body that you have been fighting and that has defeated you has been a puppet to look like me while I have been sitting comfortably a mile east of here in the oasis that you were heading toward before my puppet here attacked you.......So.....are you interested Sasori. If you decide to join then you will join for life. If you ever think about leaving or betraying us we will destroy you. My master is a very wise man and all you have to do is accept the deal."

Sasori was looking at the body in shock and finally felt a small chakra trace leading to the oasis as the puppet said and he said "And if I refuse."

Maelstrom body said "You will discover when you decide."

Sasori was quite for several moments and said "Very well. I accept"

End flashback

Scorpion thought "And I would never have imagined what I learned while training under the league of shadows.......or what I have done as well." as he closed his eyes to rest.

Later that night Naruto looked as the girl who lay on his shoulder in silence and she asked "So tomorrow the League of Shadows shall begin its return."

Naruto said "Yes Haku. Tomorrow we begin the process to take control of the elemental nations. My grandfather has tasked me with bringing this region of the world under control and I plan to succeed."

Haku said "I will follow you my lord, no matter what." as she kissed him.

Naruto smiled a small real smile and said "I know Haku. I know. Rest. You need your strength for what is to come."

Haku looked into his eyes and said "As do you. Your not immortal Naruto."

Naruto kissed her before he pulled her close and closed his eyes and said "Kill one to save 1000, kill a city to save a country, destroy a country to save a nation, and destroy a nation to save the world. That is our purpose. We are the league of shadows." as he let sleep claim him.