The Yellow Flash of Kiri

Chapter Seventeen

Hey guys, it's good to be back with the next installation. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and I'm sure your unanswered questions will be answered with this chapter.

X.X.X.X

"I see; this is a compelling argument indeed!" The Daimyo responded with a nod.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, "You can't be serious? Whirlpool is a shell of its former self! The infamous seal masters that once made that country famous are long past!"

"That may be true," Danzo chuckled, "but if you recall Whirlpool Country has a strong alliance with Takigakure no Sato. While Taki may not have the most impressive shinobi force, they do possess something we don't; a Jinchuriki."

The resident's of the room turned their suspicious gazes towards Jiraiya, who merely nodded in acceptance. "It's true. I believe they possess the Nanabi."

"Troublesome…" Nara Shikaku grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, "It makes sense when you think about it. Neither Konoha, nor any of her allies are currently in the possession of a Jinchuriki, while the joint alliance between Kiri and Kumo has acquired four."

A sudden cough broke the Nara from his trance as the Anbu commander stood up, "What of Suna? Surely they will rebuild their alliance with us once they learn of Orochimaru's deceit?"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Jiraiya spoke in an unusually emotionless tone. "I have heard rumors that Suna's new Kazekage is somewhat of a wild card. Apparently she isn't overly fond of Konoha either. I'm sure you all remember the famed Chiyo?"

"Impossible," Danzo retaliated, "Chiyo would never accept the position of Kazekage."

Jiraiya merely shrugged, "Believe what you want, my sources don't lie."

"Well this is most unsettling!" The droopy faced feudal lord exclaimed. "I will hold a conference with Wind Country's Daimyo, just to be sure. In the mean time I do believe Danzo has made a compelling argument… I propose we hold a vote."

The toad sage's cold eyes narrowed as he surveyed the room, praying that the council members would realize the horrors of the situation. 'Please, you don't know what could happen if Danzo is made Hokage!'

"I vote yes." Koharu's aged eyes darkened a bit as memories of her teammate flashed through her head.

"I agree," Homura stated with an unreadable expression.

"I believe this is an unwise decision, therefore I will cast my vote against Danzo's installment." The Anbu commander had seen the results of Danzo's teachings, and he could say in all honesty that while the program was effective, it was inhumane.

"It's definitely troublesome, but I'm going to vote yes. The village could use the joint alliances of Waterfall and Whirlpool."

The daimyo's lips curled into a satisfied grin, "Then it's settled! I hereby appoint Shimura Danzo Konoha's sixth Hokage!"

Out of the corner of his eye Jiraiya was able to see Danzo scratching the bandages that covered his right eye. A single brow rose in confusion as the sannin disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

X.x.X.x.X

A single tear slid down the pale cheek of one Uzumaki Kushina. Her cloudy green eyes were locked intently on the engraved name of her deceased lover. A sense of déjà vu washed over her. She faintly remembered the feelings of remorse she had felt the last time she'd stood at the very same memorial stone. The Whirlpool village leader's eyes narrowed as her sharp ears picked up a series of barely audible footsteps. Only a ninja of at least Jonin rank could suppress their chakra levels long enough to sufficiently sneak up on Kushina, despite her clearly distracted form. Her eyes hardened as she identified the man through her peripheral vision.

"What are you doing here?" Her words were soft, barely above a whisper.

Naruto's gaze flickered past the red headed woman, before locking with the memorial stone. The young blond was summoning every bit of his will power in an attempt to control his emotions. He could almost feel his blades humming in annoyance.

Kushina scoffed as she ran a hand through her silky locks. "I asked you a question."

The Jinchuriki slowly turned as his icy blue eyes met his biological mother's own. "I believe these grounds are open to everyone." With this simple reply Naruto resumed his interrupted mourning.

Kushina blinked as a light chuckle escaped her throat. "Funny... When I left you that day I never thought I'd see you again, much less as a Kiri-nin."

"Heh," Naruto snorted, "When I heard you were alive I thought I'd be angrier when I finally met you."

"I didn't know you had emotions. Aside from malice, but that goes without saying," Kushina responded casually, as if it she were only discussing the weather.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Naruto responded as he forcefully resisted his tenant's gift of chakra.

Kushina shook her head. "I know enough."

"Then you know I'm one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist?"

A wry smirk touched the Uzumaki's lips. "It should be easy for someone like you, considering the Mist's bloody past."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as at the dual intent insult. He took a calming breath as he subconsciously tightened the cloth of his headband. "Good one."

Kushina's lips curled into triumphant smirk. "You know... We, Minato and I, were so happy when we learned we were going to be having a son. He would always go on and on about how strong you were going to be when you grew up. Of course that all changed on one quiet night - then again, why should I tell you this story? You probably know it better than anybody."

'What a fool. She doesn't understand anything... but then again, I can't really blame her, considering...' A familiar voice echoed through Naruto's head.

'Considering what?' Naruto questioned mentally. 'Kyubi? What are you talking about?' The Namikaze sighed as his mental connection with the fox was severed. The swordsman's sharp ears perked up at a sudden sound. His eyebrows momentarily scrunched in confusion before a look of understanding flashed onto his face.

"You probably shouldn't be talking about such sensitive subjects, especially in front of your daughter," Naruto commented in a sarcastically demeaning voice.

Kushina's eyes widened as her head snapped backwards. Her green eyes met her daughter's own and a sudden sense of panic flooded the Uzumaki matriarch. She hadn't even sensed her own, genin level, daughter. "Tenshi! What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd find you here," Tenshi whispered in a tone of relief. "We've been looking for you for almost an hour Kaa-san! Why would you just leave without telling the rest of us?"

The red headed woman took a deep breath as she stared into the eyes of her daughter. She narrowed her eyes, trying to will her daughter to leave, to remain oblivious to the blond figure standing to her side. "I'm sorry I worried you, I just needed to pay my final respects. Go now Tenshi, wait for me at the main gate."

Tenshi frowned, picking up on the levels of haste in her mother's words. It wasn't like her normally level-headed teacher to seem so worried. She flashed her mother a small smile and slowly turned around. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of blond. The red headed genin turned a curious gaze toward the similar aged Jonin. "Who are you, do you know my mom?"

Naruto's face remained blank, "You could say that."

A strange feeling welled up in Tenshi's stomach as she observed the boy's features. He looked very familiar. "I'm Uzumaki Tenshi, what's your name?"

"My name?" Naruto questioned as an ironic chuckle escaped his lips. "I'm Namikaze Naruto."

Tenshi's eyes widened as she immediately registered the name. "No way, so that means that you're-"

"Exactly," Naruto confirmed, cutting the girl off. "I'm the son of Konoha's Yondaime Hokage, and I'm also you're brother."

The angelically named girl frowned at the way her half brother had phrased that. She was no fool; she could tell that he had purposely excluded her mother's name, if only to spite the aforementioned woman. She could practically feel the levels of tension that seemed to surround the area as her gaze flickered back and forth between her mother and brother.

"I'm also the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko." He added as an afterthought.

At this Kushina snorted, "That's cute. Trying to convince your sister that you're not all bad?"

"I could care less if she thinks I'm the fox," Naruto replied. "I just believe everyone deserves a chance to form their own perceptions."

Tenshi frowned, "May I see the seal?"

Kushina shot her daughter a look of disapproval, "You can't honestly buy this - this thing's lies?"

Naruto silenced his biological mother with a glare, "I suppose." He quickly unzipped his flack jacket and pulled up his shirt, revealing a complicated sealing array that spiraled around his entire abdomen.

Tenshi smiled in appreciation as she turned towards her mother, "Weren't the ancient Uzumaki masters of sealing? Why wouldn't a master of seals like the Yondaime Hokage be able to seal away such a beast?"

"You don't understand. While sealing may be a powerful technique, the Kyubi no Yoko is a being of insurmountable levels of chakra. That being has only been successfully contained inside a human once, and that was in the founding mother of the Uzumaki clan. The only reason she was able to overcome the beast's power was because of her husband, the Shodai Hokage." Kushina explained.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "So you know it's been done before, yet you still believe me to be nothing but the fox reincarnated?"

"The only reason Mito was able to contain the fox was because the Shodai was able to completely suppress its power, without a wood user it would be impossible, the fox would possess the host!" The green eyed woman argued.

Naruto could have sworn he heard a snort of disbelief, but he brushed it off to being nothing more than his imagination. "Believe what you want, It really doesn't matter to me."

Tenshi's gaze danced between her two relatives, her mind was flying at a million miles a second, trying desperately to sort through her new found knowledge. A sigh of frustration escaped her throat as she looked pleadingly at the Namikaze.

A warm feeling flooded Naruto as he met his half sister's gaze. Her eyes were overflowing with uncertainty and a hint off... longing. From just a single glance Naruto could tell that the girl wanted him to be right, she wanted a brother. Above all, she looked at him like he was... human. This single stare down that lasted no more than ten seconds single handily flipped Naruto's views of Tenshi. The girl went up a few knocks in his mind.

Finally, Naruto averted his gaze. In a gust of wind he was gone, his final message echoed through the red heads' ears, "Thank you."

X.x.X.x.X

Jiraiya appeared at the training ground in a cloud of smoke. He noted with a slight extension of his eyebrow that the two red heads seemed to be in a state of shock. The toad sage coughed loudly, snapping Kushina out of her daze.

"Jiraiya?" Kushina questioned, an unfamiliar feeling spreading throughout her body as she seemingly tested the name on her voice, not quite believing her eyes.

"Kushina," Jiraiya nodded. "It's been a while."

"Not long enough if you ask me," the widowed woman whispered. She turned her attention to her daughter. "Tenshi, you need to leave. I'm not asking."

Tenshi gulped at the edge her mother's voice seemed to possess. She quickly turned around and began to scurry away, before a sense of courage sprung from within her. The young girl quickly spun around and shouted, "I believe him!" Not wanting to see her mother's reaction, she proceeded to sprint away.

Kushina sighed as she turned towards her late husband's mentor. "To what do I owe the honor?"

Jiraiya shook his head; his usual childish antics were gone. His face was the very definition of seriousness as a simple name escaped his tongue, "Danzo."

Kushina clicked her tongue in annoyance as she feigned innocence. "What of him?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Jiraiya questioned, not overly intent on finding out her answer. "Danzo was just made Hokage."

"Hmm, really? I'm surprised they replaced the old fool with a man his age. Haven't they found anyone in a younger generation?"

"Don't act like you didn't know," Jiraiya sighed as he was seriously contemplated taking up smoking, it seemed to have worked wonders for his sensei's stress. "Danzo was made Hokage because of a treaty with a foreign village, Uzushiogakure to be exact. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, being the leader of said country and all, would you?"

Kushina shrugged nonchalantly, "Possibly, what's it to you?"

"I can't believe you would ever side with that man. To think you've sunk that low..." Jiraiya commented coolly.

"Don't even go there," Kushina snarled. "Without being allied to at least one of the major villages, Uzushio would be exterminated in years. God knows Iwa still has a grudge the size of Minato's kill count."

"Danzo is just using you, you know this. You know what kind of a person he is!"

"Perhaps," Kushina agreed. "It is a risk I am willing to take for my village. Then again what do you know about patriotism? You haven't been in Konoha for a span longer than a week for ten years."

"That's not fair," Jiraiya argued. "You know that I have to keep up my spy network."

"If by spy network you mean woman's hot springs, and by keep up, you mean peep on, yes. I do know what you mean," Kushina snapped.

Jiraiya sighed. "I know I'm not perfect. So what if I'm a little lost in the past? At least I'm willing to admit my mistakes." The sanin produced a bowl from his sleeve. "What is it you see in my hand?"

"...A bowl?" Kusina questioned, not following the older man.

Jiraiya nodded and set the bowl in front of him. He then pulled out a handful of shuriken. "And here, what do you see here?"

Kushina shook her head, "You're not making any sense. What is this about?"

"Just answer me."

"Six shuriken," Kushina answered reluctantly.

"Good," the sage nodded. He dropped the dangerous weapons into the bowl, and stepped back. "Now what do you see?"

"A bowl that has six shuriken inside it? I don't understand...?" Kushina scratched her head in confusion.

"Think about it; I promise it will come to you eventually." With these words the fabled toad sanin disappeared in a blur of speed, leaving his final message to be deciphered.

X.x.X.x.X

In the distance, an unseen figure rose from the ground. The man - if you could even call it that - seemed to be encased in a large venus fly trap. The two sides separated in a trail of slime, revealing an odd looking humanoid figure. The multicolored man seemed to possess two sides, a white, more human looking side, and a black side. The white side snickered as he watched the events unfold. "Master's plan is working perfectly!"

His black, more beastly side, replied, "Of course, you expect less of Leader-sama?"

The figure shook its head, "Never. We should return to the base, he will love to hear of our progress."

X.x.X.x.X

It's been two days since Naruto's unfortunate encounter with his biological mother. Due to his tardiness, the main group from Kirigakure had decided to departure without him, with only Mei and Utakata waiting for him. A sense of nostalgia washed over Naruto as his group neared closer to the gates of Kiri. It had been an exhausting week, highlighted by a battle with Akatsuki, and his second showdown with a fully transformed Jinchuriki. All in all it was a very stressful week, and Naruto was actually excited to finally sleep in his own bed. While the hotel beds in Konoha were undoubtedly top-notch, nothing could seem to compare with the familiarity of one's own bedroom.

"Naruto? Are you listening Naruto?" Mei snapped her hand in front of her surrogate son's face, trying to snap him out of his daze.

"Huh... What?" Naruto asked, cutting himself from his thoughts.

"I was trying to ask you about the Akatsuki's power, as you are the only one who has actually fought them." Mei explained.

Naruto involuntarily shuddered at the thought of his battle with Kisame. "They... they're monsters. Kisame was toying with me the entire time, and he seemed to follow Itachi's orders, so I'm guessing that he is even stronger than Kisame! I thought I'd seen strength, but everything I've ever considered strong would only equal out to mediocre at best when compared to those freaks of nature."

Mei placed a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's okay. That's why you have us backing you up." While Mei appeared outwardly calm, inside it was an entire other story. She knew how strong Naruto was, he wasn't the youngest Jonin in Kiri history for no reason. Anyone that could completely outclass him was no doubt worrisome.

Naruto smiled in return. "I guess you're right. But what if I'm ever caught alone, or on a solo mission?"

"That's simple," Utakata answered, cutting into the conversation. "You just need to get strong enough to make sure nothing like that would ever happen."

Naruto snorted, "Easier said than done. Not all Jinchuriki can completely control their Bijuu you know! Some of us have to actually train."

A mischievous smirk touched Mei's lips. "Completely control your Bijuu you say? Hmm..."

X.x.X.x.X

Naruto sighed blissfully as he collapsed onto his bed. He took a deep breath, inhaling the smells of the room he had come to call home. Without even undressing the blond began to succumb to his lack of sleep, at least until a loud series of knocks interrupted him.

"God damn it..." Naruto growled. "Mei can you get that?" The knocking sounded again as a sudden realization occurred to Naruto. "Of course, she's working late shifts tonight..." With these words the Jinchuriki pulled himself to the front door.

Knock, knock, knock.

"I'm coming!" Naruto shouted irritably as he threw the door open. His eyes bulged from their sockets as a blue-green blur crashed into his frame, stealing the wind from his lungs. The blond was sent crashing to the door, his mysterious assailant atop him. Naruto's eyes fluttered open and his blue orbs met the gaze of a familiar pair of soft, brown eyes. "Haku-chan?"

Haku nodded eagerly as her grin threatened to split her face in two. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

Naruto smiled sheepishly at his unofficial girlfriend. "What can I say, I've been busy."

"I know, it just seems like I haven't seen you since... you know."

Naruto nodded in agreement, "I know we haven't seen each other for a while, but would you mind getting off of me? It's kind of hard to breathe..."

Haku gasped as she noticed her current position. She nodded before quickly stepping off, her pale visage tinted pink. "I'm sorry!"

"Heh, don't worry about it," Naruto chuckled as he noticed Haku's clothing. "You're still wearing your fake hunter-nin uniform?"

The ice wielder nodded, "It's not fake anymore though."

A smile touched Naruto's lips, "You made it into the Hunter Corps? That's awesome!"

Haku nodded shyly, "Mizukage-sama promoted me right before you left."

"That makes sense. With how good you are with those senbon you're a given for Hunter-nin! With your Ice Release you could capture enemies with extreme ease."

"Thank you," Haku smiled, blushing slightly at the compliments.

"So," Naruto started, "you want to get something to eat?"

X.x.X.x.X

In the depths of the desert Sabaku no Gaara sat alone atop his family estate. The serene glow of twilight illuminated his pale visage, which seemed to be twisted in frustration. He clenched his fists and stared emptily out into nothingness.

"How is it you are so strong? I live for only myself, I fight for only myself, and I should have been able to kill you!"

'You are weak, pathetic child! To lose by the hand of Kyubi's Jinchuriki no less?' A voice in his head snarled in disgust.

"So that's just it?" Gaara asked himself. "He is stronger than me? I never had a chance at all?"

'And you never will. Against a superior opponent, you will always fail. Perhaps you're father was right, you're a waste of Suna's resources!'

Gaara seemed unaffected by these words. "How is this possible? Is my whole life nothing more than a lie...?"

'You're pathetic; held back by your emotions. I wish I'd been sealed in that boy, Namikaze! At least he knows how to efficiently use his emotions to his advantage. You, on the other hand, are nothing but an insignificant whelp that will never amount to anything.' The voice of the Shukaku echoed throughout his head, mocking his very being.

"No..." Gaara whispered, his voice cracking in fear. "I will not lose, my existence will not be proven null! I will not lose to Namikaze!" At this point the Jinchuriki was clearly losing his mind, clawing at his own hair to try and appease his terror.

Suddenly the red head stood up. His usually emotionless teal eyes were seemingly overflowing with one emotion, determination. "This is entirely his fault. He did this to me, he took away my existence. I will not lose. I will grow stronger," Gaara proclaimed as he looked longingly toward his home village. "It will not be in Sunagakure, however. This village has been nothing but a nuisance to me. I will leave Suna, I will conquer the Shukaku, and I will kill Namikaze Naruto."

X.x.X.x.X

Naruto yawned as he was ushered into the Mizukage's office. He was rudely awakened by a messenger with instructions to go to the Mizukage's office. While this wasn't entirely unheard of, there was one main problem conflicting with this. He was tired as hell.

He had spent the entire past night with Haku, just talking at some twenty-four hour a day food stall. The Jinchuriki had literally only slept around an hour the previous night, and he was not afraid to show the results to anyone who annoyed him.

"Naruto, it's good to finally see you," Mei flashed him a sickly sweet smile. "You are only forty-five minutes late."

"I didn't sleep much last night, give me a break." Naruto protested as he rolled his neck.

"I know," Mei smiled warmly. "I heard you come home at about 3 a.m. This is part of your punishment."

Naruto grumbled incoherently, although the people present in the room would later attest to hearing the words 'sadistic' and 'bitch' appearing at various points during his rumblings.

Mei coughed, gaining the attention of her annoyed subordinate. "Now on to the other reason I called you here..."

"There's another reason?" Naruto questioned suspiciously.

"Yes," Mei confirmed. "Do you really think I'd just call you here during unholy hours of the morning merely to serve as a punishment?"

"Yes," Naruto answered without a single moment's hesitation.

Utakata sweat dropped, "What Mizukage-sama is trying to say, is this is about your training."

Naruto's ears perked up at this. "Training? What do you mean? I'm already training."

"Yes," Mei agreed. "I was thinking more along the lines of a training trip."

"Absolutely not," Naruto interrupted the red head's words. "Kiri needs me to be here for missions and protection."

Mei groaned and turned towards Utakata, "I told you he would say that."

"Yes you did..." Utakata grumbled as he dug into his pocket and placed a wad of bills into Mei's outstretched palm.

Mei quickly pocketed the money and turned her attention back to her surrogate son. "Naruto, you've been doing missions for Kiri nonstop since you could practically walk. You've never even had a real vacation!"

"Nope, and I don't plan to! Why would I want to leave and relax when I need to be training and doing missions?" Naruto questioned in a completely serious manner.

"He's joking, right? Who doesn't like a good vacation?" Utakata deadpanned at Mei's annoyed sigh.

"This isn't a vacation Naruto! This is a training trip. You'll be training under someone who I think you'll find perfect! He'll be able to teach you a ton of things!" The Mizukage tried to convince the boy in the nicest way possible. Granted she could always order him to do it...

"Who is that? What… is some wandering hermit going to show up out of the blue and take me on as his student?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Actually..." Mei began, "No. I've got something much better in mind. You can come in now!"

Suddenly the door exploded from its hinges, revealing an enormous, tattooed, unfortunately very familiar man. "Yo it's Killer Bee, bustin' the rhymes, how you doing there, Mr. Nine?"

Naruto groaned as he flashed a desperate look towards his leader. "I'm so sorry for staying out too late! Please don't make me go with that man! I'll do anything..."

Killer Bee looked at Naruto with a strange mix of confusion and excitement. "Don't worry there little brotha, Hachibi-sama will make you strong as a motha fucka!"

"Fine!" Naruto begrudgingly gave in as he turned towards his mother, "Where exactly are we going to train?"

"You are going to be traveling around the world, preparing for any climate possible. Of course he will be training you to the ground, and I think Raikage-dono said something about the six months to a year leftover being used to train you in mastering the Kyubi. The entire trip should take around three years." Mei explained with a hint of sympathy present in her voice. If their positions had been reversed, she wouldn't know how to deal with the rapping giant.

Naruto looked towards Bee uncertainly. "Are you sure I'm going to be safe?"

"Yes," Mei confirmed. "Well... eighty percent."

"Three whole years?" Naruto asked. He groaned as Mei nodded. "Haku-chan is going to be pissed..."

Killer Bee's lips curled into a stupid grin and he wrapped Naruto up into a single armed hug. "ROAD TRIP!"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed as he raised his hand into the air with much less enthusiasm. "Road trip..."

X.x.X.x.X

"Mmm! This is delicious!" Haku exclaimed as she took a bite out her rice ball. She was currently sitting cross legged on the ground. She turned a worried gaze to her boyfriend, "What's wrong Naruto-kun? You've barely touched your ramen."

This was true; while normally wasting ramen was considered taboo around Namikaze Naruto, today was a... special case. He flashed the ice user a smile. "I'm not really hungry."

Now Haku was genuinely suspicious. "You're... not... hungry?"

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Not really."

The former missing-nin swallowed the rest of her rice ball and squeezed Naruto's hand reassuringly. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course not! What would make you think that something is wrong?" Naruto asked defensively. He sighed as she sent him a look of clear disbelief. "Fine... Something is wrong."

"What's wrong Naruto-kun? You can tell me."

"That's sort of the problem..." Naruto admitted.

"Come again?" Haku questioned with a dangerous gleam in her eye.

Naruto sighed as he contemplated the right way to tell her. "Well... What would you do if, hypothetically speaking, I had to leave for an extended period of time?"

"How long is an extended period of time?" The ice user questioned sweetly.

"Three years..." Naruto whispered.

Haku shot Naruto a look of confusion, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I thought you had just said you were leaving for three years."

Naruto nodded solemnly. "I did."

She sighed as she leaned against her arm, a sense of depression washing over her. "You just got back..."

"I know," Naruto sighed. "Three years will go by like nothing! Before you know it I'll be back, stronger than ever. I know we've never really made this official, so here goes... Haku, will you be my girlfriend?"

Haku blinked as a smile touched her lips. "You have an extraordinarily horrid sense of timing."

Naurto's mood deflated at these words. "I know I know..." His eyes widened as he felt a soft hand wrap around his chin, before guiding his head up. Before he knew it a pleasurable sensation touched his lips. Naruto subconsciously puckered his lips as he experienced his very first kiss. Seconds seemed like hours as the two finally broke apart from their chaste kiss. "Haku-chan... I-"

"Shhh," Haku silenced him as she raised a single finger to his lips. "I understand. You need to get stronger, and this is the easiest way."

"Yeah... I'll write to you whenever I get a chance."

"Good. Don't think I'm going to let you get too far ahead of me, though! I'll be training as much as I can. Maybe I'll even be able to help you someday, Mr. Hero of the Mist." Haku giggled as she emphasized his newly acquired nickname.

'Hero of the mist, while this is the second time I've been called it.' Naruto thought as he rolled the name off his tongue. 'I like it. Who knows, perhaps one day I might be able to live up to that name...?'

X.x.X.x.X

And cut! This marks the end of the second arc of The Yellow Flash of Kiri! The next arc will be Naruto traveling with everyone's favorite rapper, and his quest for power. Please review, tell me how I did. I've never really been good at fluff, so please forgive me if it isn't quality work.

Lots of people have been asking, so I'll just go right out and tell it. This fic will be a Naruto/Fem!Haku/Yugito pairing. Also various reviewers have been asking me to implement Fuu (Jinchuriki of the Nanabi) into the mini-harem. What do you guys think? Tell me with a review or PM me, y'all know the drill. Please note that Fuu is only a possibility, and there will be no more additions to the pairings. Thanks you and review.

-Narutofan401