The author says: Hello everyone! I know I said I would update this fic in the second week of January, but you have no idea how much work this chapter needed.

First of all, thanks so much to all of you for reviewing and wishing me luck for my exams! I don't have the results yet, but I should have passed nicely! I'm also sorry for not getting back to any of you! I will answer any specific questions you had in the coming week and also to all the new reviews!

Some words to this chapter! Okay, so I needed to put a lot of new information and character development into this chapter. And it turned out to have over 20k words! Over 40 pages on word. It's insane. I never intended for it to be so long. But even after deleting over four pages of emotional insight to Naruto, it's still pretty long. So I had to divide the chapter into two parts! I don't want to make you read almost 20k words in one chapter, since I myself wouldn't appreciate such a length at all.

BUT! I promised you guys that in chapter 16 Sasuke and Naruto would finally meet. So do you see my predicament? Since I split this chapter up, chapter 16 will now be the second part of this chapter... So I will have to break my promise to you. That is why I will upload the second part of chapter 15 not as the official 'Chapter 16', but as 'Chapter 15 – Part 2'! Tricky, right? ;) Well, not really. And I'm sorry that it took me so long for finishing this chapter. Just proofreading the first 11k words took me over 5 hours! And now I really can't proofread the rest of the chapter. So I will try to find the time to do it in the next week and upload part 2 of this later.

Okay, long apology, but I hope you forgive me, my faithful readers!

Also, I have yet another exam in two weeks, so I don't really have all that much time to write.

And now, please enjoy the first part of Chapter 15! And leave me a comment ;)

AN: Thanks to EDelta88 for pointing out some logical flaws at the end! I fixed the problem as fast and best as I could!

I don't own Naruto.

'He had no idea'

Chapter 15 – Part One

All alone

even when I was a child

I've always known

there was something to be frightened of

And I can see it coming from the edge of the room

creeping in the street light

holding my hand in the pale gloom

can you see it coming now

I think I'm breaking down again

I think I'm breaking down again

- 'Breaking Down' by Florence and The Machine

An eerie chuckle broke the silence and they heard Kabuto's sly voice call out, "Good morning, Naruto-chan. It's a pleasure to see you again."

Naruto growled at him for calling her Naruto-chan. "What do you want?" she yelled back, a hand already reaching upwards over her shoulder, to the hilt of her katana.

"Oh, not so fast, Naruto-chan," the missing-nin chuckled. "I just want to talk to you."

"I'm not interested in whatever you have to say," Naruto declared.

"Oh, but you should be," he called back. "Come closer, Naruto-chan. I won't hurt you."

"No," Shikamaru hissed at his captain. The blonde looked at him through the slits of her Weasel mask. "He's just trying to fool you. He will try to kill you the first chance he gets," the Nara insisted.

Naruto took her mask off. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, exasperated. "What are you doing, Naru? You can't trust him."

"Geez, Shika," Naruto said, "Of course, I don't trust him. But I'm curious. Why did he make the effort to find us? I want to know what he wants."

She tossed her mask and back pouch to Shikamaru. If it came to a fight, the pouch would hinder her and since Kabuto knew who she was, she didn't need to wear the mask. "You stay here. Don't interfere unless I give you a sign," she ordered her team and started walking towards Kabuto.

Naruto knew she was getting out of hearing range to her team mates, but they were still close enough to back her up. She wondered what Kabuto had planned. And she was sure that he indeed had a plan.

She stopped some feet away from him and studied his face. Naruto hadn't seen the man for over three years, but there were strange-looking changes on him. These weren't changes one acquired due to ageing or in a natural way.

His features looked somehow sharper, the shape of his eyes more defined and... did he have slitted pupils? Naruto immediately was reminded of Orochimaru, the resemblance to the man's former master was so great.

His skin was paler and there was a light purple colour around his eyes. "What's up with the new look? Are you playing dress up?" Naruto smirked teasingly, "Looks like you miss your master a tad too much!"

Kabuto only smiled his creepy smile and spread his arms, "Naruto-chan, still a loud-mouth, I see."

The girl snorted, letting him assume whatever he wanted. Better he underestimated her.

"But no," the former spy continued, "I'm not dressing up as you so nicely put it. In fact, let me tell you a secret." He lowered his voice as if he really was letting the girl in on some huge secret. "I absorbed my master's body cells, you see. The visible changes are not the only ones, Naruto-chan."

He cocked his head in a way that looked so much like Orochimaru that Naruto believed him instantly. But absorbing Orochimaru's cells? Did that mean that the criminal was still alive? Sort of? But Sasuke had killed him.

"I can see the questions on your face, Naruto-chan. Let me enlighten you," Kabuto offered benevolently. "Rest assured that the Orochimaru you knew was killed by our precious Sasuke-kun. But my master's cells live in me now. And I turned into the ultimate version of his techniques and my healthy body."

"So you let the snaky bastard possess you?" Naruto questioned, decidedly ignoring the jibe on Sasuke.

Kabuto chuckled. "No, Orochimaru-sama is not possessing me, but rather living on in me. He doesn't control me or my actions. I only absorbed his strength and skills."

Naruto pondered his words for a moment and came to the conclusion that she had no idea why he was telling her all this. So she asked.

"Oh, you see, Naruto-chan, I came here for a reason today. Showing you my new self was not the main intention, though."

His slick smile vanished and his face turned serious. "I'd like to make you an offer. Or rather, the man I am working with now, would like to make you an offer."

"The man you're working with? Still not a free man, Kabuto? I thought that after being Orochimaru's henchman for so long you would start being your own master. And what could you possibly offer me? You don't have anything of interest for me," Naruto answered coolly, despite becoming a bit suspicious.

The gray-haired missing-nin chuckled lowly. "I am my own master now, don't misunderstand, Naruto-chan. But sometimes you have to join forces if you're aiming for world domination."

Naruto blinked stupidly. World domination? Was that a joke? But somehow she had the sinking feeling that the man in front of her was not joking at all.

"Aren't you aiming a bit high?" she scoffed, "I mean, seriously, world domination? Isn't that what every villain is dreaming of?"

A mocking smile spread over Kabuto's lips and the way he looked at her made her feel as if he was pitying her. He seemed to be completely in earnest about his plans. And he felt sorry for her that she didn't see the great scheme.

"This is not a mere dream, Naruto-chan. It's the future."

Naruto stared, trying to keep the incredulity she felt from showing on her face.

"And we want you to be part of that future."

Naruto's eyes widened. Incredulity showing. But she must have misunderstood. They wanted her to join? Seriously? Was Kabuto after the Kyuubi, just like the Akatsuki? At least, Kabuto was asking, instead of trying to rip the demon from her core.

A mirthless laughter erupted from her throat, surprising both herself and the man in front of her.

"Why the hell would I join you?" she asked in pure disbelief, amusement plain on her features.

Kabuto's smile had vanished completely. He didn't share her obvious amusement. "Because we offer you the truth."

Her laughter stilled and she cocked her head at him. "The truth? What kind of truth should I expect from a traitor?"

He didn't react to her jibe, but kept staring at her intently. "The truth, which everyone is keeping from you; everyone you consider your precious people."

The amusement faded from her face. Her eyes narrowed. What the hell was he talking about? "I'm not interested in your lies, traitor. I won't join you, so let's end this game!"

Naruto unsheathed her katana in a fluid motion, widening her stance to be ready to attack. But the man in front of her made no move.

Kabuto sighed. "You're not making this easy for me, Naruto-chan. But since I came here to make you an offer, I feel compelled to tell you the truth. It might... change your perspective a bit." His thin lips curled up in a devious smirk.

"Frankly, Naruto-chan, I never expected you to join us, but my new... partner... suggested I should still ask you nicely. But since you so harshly refuse, I will tell you another secret. A secret that may make our offer more appealing to you."

Naruto stared at him with hard eyes. Her head told her she should just attack and not listen to the man's sly words. But what made Kabuto think that she should listen to him? And why did he think it would make her change her mind? She would never join Kabuto and this new partner.

Gripping her katana tighter, she waited for the other to go on.

Seeing the scowl on the blonde's face, Kabuto knew he had her attention. "I see you're willing to listen now. Very well, then be prepared to hear of a truth, that was kept from you since your birth."

Naruto's heart rate quickened. Her mind kept yelling at her to just attack, but she wanted to hear this. So she remained silent. A shiver of dread ran up her spine and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, as he heard the man's next words.

"Naruto-chan, have you ever wondered who your parents are?"

What kind of question was that? Of course she had. Countless times, just like probably every other orphan besides her.

Not waiting for an answer, the missing-nin went on, "What did they tell you, Naruto-chan? About your parents?"

Without meaning to, she heard herself reply, "They probably died during the Kyuubi attack, no one knows who they were."

"I say that's not the truth. Tell me, Naruto-chan, what do you think is more cruel? To seal a demon inside of an orphaned girl without parents? Or to seal it inside your own daughter?"

"What are you saying?" the blonde snapped angrily. Sealing a demon in one's daughter? The Yondaime had sealed the Kyuubi inside her. Because she had been the only new-born that day. She had been the only possible vessel. Or so the Sandaime had explained it to her after her former teacher had told her the truth about the Kyuubi being sealed insider of her.

"You're not making the connection yet. I'm saying that it was your father, who turned you into a Jinchuuriki."

Involuntarily, her blue eyes grew wider and wider, as she listened to words that she should know better than to believe. Kabuto had always had a quick tongue. Why was she believing his words now?

He talked about a father she had never known, a man considered a hero in her village. A mother, whose fiery temper she had inherited. The man didn't stop at that, but told her about the people, who had known the truth about her parentage.

Her head was swirling, logic seemed to elude her. Blonde hair, Kabuto was saying. No one else had hair that bright and yellow. Only Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage. And his daughter.

She didn't even feel the red chakra freeing itself of its confines in her mind. Her barriers were low, weakened by what she was hearing. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her team mates. Why were they looking so distressed?

But her head snapped back around, fixing the grey-haired traitor.

"You're lying!" her own voice yelled, thick with wavering conviction and raw from the Kyuubi's influence.

"I am not and you know it," Kabuto said, sounding way too pleased with himself. He spread his arms in a gesture, that should probably emphasize the truth of his words. "I am not the person that lied to you. But everyone else did."

He studied her changing appearance with great interest. He marvelled at how fast the demon's chakra was gathering around her body. Three tails had formed behind her back, swinging angrily. She had thrown away her katana; but her wide eyes told him that maybe the girl wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Join us, Naruto-chan. Because we don't keep the truth from you. Surely, you don't want to go back to a village full of people, who betrayed you."

That got a reaction from her. Betrayed. This word. How she hated it and the emotions that came with it. But truly, wasn't it just another form of betrayal? Keeping this truth from her that would have changed her life completely?

She was filled with a certainty that life would have treated her better, if the villagers had known whose daughter they were beating up and staring at with hateful eyes. No one would have dared doing all those awful things to the daughter of the Yondaime, the greatest shinobi Konoha had ever known.

By keeping that knowledge from her, they had ruined her childhood. They had influenced it as much as the Kyuubi sealed in her guts. But had they really known? Tsunade-baachan, Ero-Sennin? Kakashi? The Sandaime? Everyone she had ever trusted?

Everyone knew, a deep voice whispered in the back of her mind. But no one told you. They betrayed you. It is right to feel angry. Come, Uzumaki.

Naruto closed her eyes. The next instant, she found herself standing in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The demon's huge eyes looked down at her intently.

"Did you know?" she asked, weak, defeated.

Of course, I did. Satisfaction swung in the fox's voice, mixed with amusement about the pain on his vessel's face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked louder, fuelled by her rising anger.

You never asked, human, the fox said lazily. But now you know, and I can feel the rage in you. I can feel that you want to destroy them. Come, Uzumaki, together we will eliminate them all. They won't lie to you again!

Naruto's knees gave in and she sank down into the dirty water of her sewer-like mindscape. The fox cackled above her, looming over her like the beast he was. His eyes glowed ominously in the darkness.

His words lulled her in, with promises of killing her enemies and slaying all betrayers.

The water around her began to bubble. Her hand reached out, trying to diffuse the rising steam. But her will was too weak. She fell face-first into the water.

Pain exploded throughout her body.

The Kyuubi's roar filled the cage, triumphing. He was in control.

Kabuto stared at the girl. Something was happening to her, but he was not yet sure of what it was. She seemed too absent-minded, not reacting to his words at all. She had crouched low, on all fours. A snarl was on her face and her slitted red eyes were sparkling with rage and hatred.

Being the medic-nin he was, Kabuto smelled the blood before he saw it. Then he saw the flaking skin on her hands and face, the crimson droplets that rose into the air, mixing with the chakra around her.

He was fascinated by the sight. He had never seen anything like this. His schooled eyes took in all the small changes, storing them away for later.

"So this is the Kyuubi's power," he murmured to himself, readjusting his glasses with a push of his finger. "No wonder everyone is trying to obtain it."

The grey-haired man saw Naruto's team mates approach, but stopping in shocked awe at the sight of the girl's transformation. They looked not nearly as fascinated as him, but rather appalled and worried.

In that moment, the girl's eyes tore away from him and focused on the three boys with something akin to lucidity. She snapped out a warning, but it was too late.

Kabuto was flung away from the shock wave of Naruto's exploding power. He scrambled to his feet, unwilling to miss the smallest detail of the transformation.

But even Kabuto had not counted on what he was seeing now. In front of him, way too close for his liking now, crouched a miniature Kyuubi. Four tails of raw chakra clawed at the earth behind him. The force of his chakra had created a crater and a circle of destruction.

Far away, he saw Naruto's team mates get to their feet.

But he did not have any time to be distracted, since the demon, that had minutes before been a blonde girl, was attacking.

"Shit..." Kiba breathed, not daring to take his eyes off the scene a safe distance away. Or maybe not safe enough, since all his sharpened senses were screaming at him to get the hell out of here and not to turn around for at least several hours of running straight into the opposite direction.

"I fear to hear what Kabuto said to trigger such a reaction..." Shikamaru muttered, adding a heart-felt "Troublesome."

Neji didn't envy Kabuto right now. He even felt the slightest tad of pity for the man. But the missing-nin had brought it upon himself.

Akamaru was whimpering openly, not caring whether any of the guys was calling him a coward. But since he was a dog, his instincts were acting up as much as his master's, and he would have been glad to give in to the urge to flee from the scene.

However, the three boys plus dog didn't leave the clearing-turned-crater. Judging from the way Naruto's whole body had transformed into the mini-Kyuubi – that was still not mini enough for the guys' liking – she was probably in as much danger as Kabuto.

So far, the criminal was dealing surprisingly well for the fact that he was battling a furious demon that was at least twice his size. He dodged and jumped, swirling so quickly that even under Neji's watchful Byakugan, he was hardly a blur.

But while Kabuto at least was a blur, Naruto moved at an inhuman speed. Had Neji not known better, he would have said the girl was using some teleportation jutsu. But the ability to use any jutsus seemed to have left her entirely in her current form.

The red chakra fox attacked Kabuto relentlessly, clawing at him with elongated arms, snapping at him with pointed canines.

But even Kabuto couldn't stand this brute force for too long.

Naruto's tails swiped him off his feet and he hit the earth with a painful grunt. Naruto's chakra arms grabbed his foot, pulling the man closer to her opened jaw.

The four tails were raised high above Naruto's head. Bubbling chakra was gathering at the tips, melting together into a dense, black ball; glowing red and black. The feeling coming from it was more than chilling. Whatever the Kyuubi was doing, Kabuto had no chance of surviving this attack.

With a nod of his head, Shikamaru told the others to get moving. They raced towards their captain, counting on the fact that her beast-form was too absorbed in killing her prey, to notice their advance.

Shikamaru stopped and got down on one knee, hands clasped together in an all-familiar seal. His shadow moved, lengthened, reaching for the fox demon.

Chakra suppression sealing tags in their hands, Neji and Kiba ran at her, ready to attach the seals on her body and stop this madness.

But the Kyuubi's senses were sharper than a dog's and quicker than the Byakugan. A tail threw Kiba to the side, leaving him gasping for air. Another tail went for Neji, but as the tail connected with the Hyuuga's body, Neji's form burst into smoke and a log was left in his stead.

The real Neji advanced from the other side, throwing himself carelessly onto the demon's form. A tail struck him across his face, leaving a red mark on his cheek and the stinging smell of burning flesh.

Only then did Shikamaru manage to trap the demon in his Shadow Binding Technique. The beast stopped moving, trying to shake off the jutsu.

But the seal was successfully attached to the mini-Kyuubi's chest.

The effect was immediate. Red chakra dissolved, energy reshaping and rebuilding the shape of a human body. Skin mended over and hair grew back.

Crimson, slitted eyes returned to their too-blue colour, glazed over, feverish.

Kabuto's lifeless body fell from Naruto's arms and her head snapped around. She flinched in pain.

Everything hurt, hurt, hurt.

Naruto lifted a hand and stared in shocked awe at skin, that began re-covering the exposed muscles of her fingers.

The metallic taste of blood was on her tongue. A wave of exhaustion hit her and she felt her stomach churn.

A well-meant hand landed carefully on her shoulder, but the soft touch send hot spikes of pain racing through her body. She recoiled from the contact just to bend over and empty her stomach on the earthy ground.

The sounds of her retching filled the eerie silence hanging over the clearing.

Shikamaru and Kiba exchanged a worried glance over her head. Neji approached from the other direction, limping slightly, a slash of burnt skin on his once flawless cheek.

Shikamaru crouched next to the younger girl, but refrained from touching her this time. "Naruto?" he asked in a whisper, not yet sure whether the danger had passed.

Despite the situation, Shikamaru felt his cheeks heat up as he got closer to the girl. The transformation into a raw chakra form had completely vaporized Naruto's clothes and left behind an exposed, naked young woman.

The seal, that held the Kyuubi, was glowing reddish on her tan skin. It faded quietly, as the demon was fully suppressed.

If Naruto had already registered the fact that she was naked, she didn't show.

And indeed, she hadn't. The pain was almost overwhelming. Darkness danced around the edges of her vision and Kabuto's words tormented her. Her thoughts were a mush of betrayal and lies. Like before, logic eluded her. Too uncertain were the facts she had been handed by a man she considered her main enemy, right after the Akatsuki.

"Have you known?" she croaked through a raw throat. Paranoia rising within her.

"Known what, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked hesitantly.

The blonde head was lifted with visible effort to meet his eyes. "About my father," she said, stronger this time. New fury was boiling inside her.

Shikamaru's eyes darted to Neji, then to Kiba. Both shook their head, having no idea what their captain was asking.

"Your father?" Shikamaru prompted cautiously, inching closer to his friend on his knees.

A haunted look crossed through her blue eyes and the brunette felt a pang at the pain and insecurity he found. Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Naruto suddenly jumped to her feet, a snarl on her lips.

"Don't lie to me!" she screamed, a hint of something disturbingly close to insanity in her voice.

The savage expression on her face faded, as she swayed on her feet. Cut off from her chakra, and after what had just happened, her body was finally forcing her to rest. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell over – straight into the waiting arms of her team mate.

Neji swiftly caught his unconscious captain and rested her down on her back. Shikamaru was with him in an instant, taking off his cloak and spreading it over Naruto's body. He pulled the dark cloth up to her chin, when something caught his attention.

There, on Naruto's tanned skin, was a scar. Of course, as an active kunoichi, Naruto's body was littered with scars. Small lines from cuts and stabs, some bigger, some smaller than others. All a tad lighter than the rest of her skin.

But this scar was bigger than the rest and oddly shaped. Almost like... a star, maybe? The edges were rough and judging from his knowledge about scars, the Nara would say that it was already some years old.

But what really caught his attention, was the scar's closeness to Naruto's heart. The ugly patch of scar tissue was located over the blonde's left breast, just over the breastbone. No one would usually see this part of her body, unless Naruto was either showing some cleavage or she was completely topless. Since Naruto always wrapped her chest with bandages instead of wearing a bra – a fact one learned when being on a team together and having to spend more nights than pleasant sleeping on forest floors – he didn't find it odd that he had never seen it before.

"Judging from the scar tissue and the size of it, this wound should have been fatal," Neji's calm voice cut through the silence. "Turn her over," he said to Shikamaru. "I want to check something."

Shikamaru looked at his team mate for a moment. Deciding that Neji, being the only one of them, who had been trained as a medic-nin, seemed to have a suspicion, Shikamaru gently turned the unconscious girl onto her side.

Neji saw his suspicion confirmed as his eyes fell on an almost identical scar right under Naruto's left shoulder blade. Shikamaru gritted his teeth and turned Naruto back on her back.

Kiba blinked, shocked from their discovery. "Geez, something went straight through her chest!"

Neji nodded and said quietly, "This should have been fatal, whatever it was. It is probably thanks to her improved healing abilities that she is still alive."

"The scar on her back is a bit smaller, so the attack came from in front of her," Shikamaru provided, leaving all of them pondering what could have caused such an injury.

"B-But," Kiba stammered, "who would want to kill Naruto? She's never been in a fight to the death!"

"Do we know that for sure?" Shikamaru interjected, still studying the scar on Naruto's chest.

His genius mind was working, piecing together the information he had. He had a suspicion and thinking about what had transpired the evening before, the Nara was pretty sure he had an idea of just who Naruto had fought to the death.

And suddenly it all made sense to him. Naruto's fear of seeing Sasuke again. The hatred she claimed to feel for Sasuke for his betrayal and leaving. But this went deeper than just leaving her behind. Apparently, Sasuke had really tried to kill her. No wonder, she was acting so erratic. The increasing irritation about a promise she had made to Itachi.

What have you done, Sasuke?

Akamaru barked loudly and very suddenly, all three males became very aware of the fact that they were staring at their very female captain's very naked breasts.

They flushed simultaneously, averting their eyes, while Shikamaru hurried to pull the cloak up to Naruto's chin.

Shikamaru turned and his brown eyes fell on yet another note-worthy thing. The corpse, which was supposed to be Kabuto, wasn't Kabuto.

The body lying on the earthy floor, was not the grey-haired man Naruto had initially fought. It showed the right signs of attack; wounds, that were undoubtedly inflicted by feral claws and fangs. But the corpse's hair was not grey but a light brown, and it didn't show the snaky similarities to Orochimaru around the eyes.

"Did he get away?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"And why leave a corpse in his place?" the Nara drawled. "It seems like the real Kabuto never showed up in person. An interesting technique."

Neji studied the corpse with his Byakugan and checked it with his hands, but there was no doubt. This man had never been Kabuto. But somehow he had looked like the criminal and even Neji's skilful eyes had not detected the jutsu before.

They disposed of the dead body ANBU-style and inspected the rest of the clearing, trying to leave behind as few traces as possible. Which proved to be rather difficult, seeing how Naruto had turned the surrounding trees and grasses to dust.

Two hours later, Naruto had still not woken up, so the three decided to get moving. As it came to the question of who of them was going to dress Naruto properly in the cloak and carry the half-naked girl afterwards, they turned to the good old game rock-paper-scissors.

Neji came out as the loser. The pale-eyed teen wrapped his blonde captain in Shikamaru's cloak as decently as possible and lifted her in his arms. They didn't dare to put her on Akamaru's back, since they would be forced to secure her on the dog somehow. And they didn't know whether Naruto was still hurting.

They had been running for three hours, when Naruto finally began to stir in the Hyuuga's arms. He gave a small signal and the others stopped. He put Naruto to the ground, carefully cradling her head in the crook of his arm.

Deeming it safe now, Neji opened the dark cloak just enough to remove the sealing tag from its place under Naruto's right collarbone, where he had aimlessly placed it in the struggle before.

The shadowless blackness of unconsciousness slowly lifted. But when she opened her eyes, she found herself in front of the Kyuubi's cage.

A malicious smile was on the fox's face, clearly enjoying his vessel's anguish and confusion. The blonde shook her head to free herself of the last remnants of numbness. She remembered standing in a clearing, confronting Kabuto... And his lies... which he claimed to be true.

Some talk about her parents and betrayal of her precious people... Then the Kyuubi, offering his help to kill everything in his wake, to erase all lies and truths.

What had happened after she had fallen to her knees in front of the fox? She racked her brain for any memory, but there was none. Frightened, she looked up at the demon.

"What happened?" she croaked miserably. Too miserably, because she felt the demon's eyes light up with joy at seeing her depression, her denial.

I killed your enemy for you, Uzumaki, the demon said, almost gently, as if indeed he had helped her.

My enemy? Kabuto... "You killed Kabuto?"

No, we killed him. Together, we slew him and made him stop telling lies. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?

Kabuto was dead? Then why didn't she remember killing him? And had she wanted to kill him? Of course, she had. She couldn't deny that. I should be glad that he is dead.

Another thought came back to her. She had asked the fox whether he had known about her parents. "You knew!" she accused him, pointing an angry finger at the beast that was easily twenty times her size.

An evil but amused cackle was her answer. Foolish human, how could I forget the man, that sealed me inside of you? I will never cease to hate him.

"Why didn't you tell me? It would have changed so much!" Naruto said weakly.

The demon snorted. You are making a vital mistake, little human. For some unknown reason you assume that I have any interest in helping you. Didn't you hear my words? Your father was the one, who put me in this misery.

What was she to believe? A traitor, a demon? Naruto truly wished she wouldn't believe them, but after what they had said, it was just so... obvious...

Still, there was this tiny, oh so tiny, spark of hope left in her. That maybe Tsunade and Jiraiya had not known about her parentage... And Kakashi and the Sandaime neither...

She furiously tried to hold onto that last beacon of hope; because if her precious people had known... that would mean... another betrayal... that makes it three, she scoffed in her mind.

The Kyuubi looked at her with great interest. Oh, how he loved to see his human container so close to tears, so close to giving control over to him again. At least he was able to invade her thoughts again, now that the pale-eyed human had removed that annoying sealing tag that had suppressed his chakra.

Clinging to that small, hopeful thought, Naruto slowly returned to reality.

Her body still hurt from turning into a mini-Kyuubi. She forced her heavy eyelids open to stare at the pale eyes of her team mate. She blinked a few times to get rid of the blurry vision.

Her eyes fell on the ugly red streak on Neji's cheek. "What happened?" she whispered.

Neji avoided her eyes and just said it happened after the fight with Kabuto. She swallowed uneasily, not knowing that she had caused the older teen's injury. Neji had already healed it as best as he could, but the wound caused by the demonic chakra wasn't healing as expected.

"Kabuto is dead?" she asked, looking for confirmation of the Kyuubi's words.

"No," Shikamaru said, kneeling down next to the blonde in Neji's arms. "He used some replacement technique. You never fought the real him in the first place."

Oh. So she and the Kyuubi hadn't really killed him.

"Naru..." Shikamaru said softly. "What happened? What did Kabuto tell you?"

The girl closed her eyes as Kabuto's taunting words flashed through her mind. Kami, how much she hated that man. What had he actually achieved by telling her 'the truth' as he had called it? Had he really been trying to make her join him and his partner in their crazy goal of gaining world domination?

She would never turn her back on her precious people! Not like Sasuke!

You wouldn't? Even now that you know how they lied to you all those years? Pretending you were just one more unlucky orphan?

"Leave me alone!" she ordered the demon, trying to shut him out. The pain in her chest was making it hard to breathe. Kami, how she hated that ever-present, constricting feeling.

Can you really go back to a village full of liars and deceivers? What else didn't they tell you, human? Do they really deserve your loyalty?

"Shut up!" she forced out, gritting her teeth. She clenched her fists tightly, nails biting deeply into the palms of her hands.

Maybe you should really go with that Kabuto. At least, he was not telling you lies. And who knows, Uzumaki? Maybe your team mates knew, too. Lying, deceiving! Betrayers!

"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed shrilly, so unlike her that the three males pinned her down to the ground.

She was panting with the effort to shut the Kyuubi out of her mind. "Sealing tag!" she gasped, in a new fight for control over her body.

Even though her eyes were closed, she could tell by the slight tingling behind her eyeballs that her pupils had once again turned to slits.

A hand slammed into her forehead and her head hit the ground hard, despite Neji's protecting arm around her shoulders. But she had never welcomed the feeling of the demon's chakra being forced out of her system more than in this moment. Naruto felt the Kyuubi's power leave her, receding into the confines of her mental prison.

Sadly, the swirl of confused anger and painful betrayal stayed behind. The fox's last words were burnt into her mind, as if he was repeating them all over again. Paranoid, her eyes snapped open and landed on her team mates.

Had they known? Was the Kyuubi right? Was everyone lying to her?

She tasted her own blood on her tongue as she bit her lip in order to keep herself from lashing out at them.

They couldn't have known. Impossible, the blonde tried to convince herself. But the paranoid suspicion was there, created by sly words and devious grins.

The blonde hugged herself, only then realizing that she was only wearing a cloak and nothing underneath. Thanks to her inner turmoil, she didn't even blush, as she considered the fact that her team mates had seen her naked.

As if reading her mind, Kiba threw her back pouch onto the earth next to her. There was a storage scroll with a set of spare clothes. Her team mates walked away a bit, allowing her some privacy. Naruto dressed quickly, but threw the cloak back on. She found her ANBU Weasel mask and was glad that she had taken it off before going berserk in Jinchuuriki mode. The mask would probably have been destroyed as well.

She walked over to the guys and Kiba handed his captain her katana and the rest of her equipment. Naruto was glad for the familiar shadow the hood cast over her face. The mask was covering her scowling face and burning eyes.

With a small gesture, Naruto allowed Kiba and Akamaru to take the lead.

No one said a word.

After two straining days, ANBU Team Naruto finally arrived back in Konoha. But Neji wished they had never gotten here.

He had watched his captain the whole time since the encounter with Kabuto. He had never seen the blonde so tense and jumpy. She hadn't spoken more than absolutely necessary, refused food and slept for barely two hours a night.

He didn't need his famous eyes to tell that something was utterly wrong. First, the breakdown three evenings ago, and then, the confrontation with Kabuto. They still had no clue what had passed between the two.

But the Hyuuga dreaded the moment they sat foot into Konoha. To him, Naruto was like a volcano right now. Something was seething deep inside her, waiting for the right moment to break free. And he could just tell that they wouldn't like to witness that eruption.

Naruto had taken off the chakra suppression seal only yesterday. From time to time, they heard her mumbling to herself, in a conversation they had no part in. Neji had the suspicion that it was the Kyuubi talking to her. Remembering how she had freaked out after she had regained consciousness two days ago, Neji was sure that the fox must be telling her things she didn't want to hear.

Since the removal of the sealing tag, Naruto had become somewhat calmer, as if she had withdrawn into herself. Or maybe she was just listening to the fox?

They reached the gates and were waved through immediately. Their masks and chakra signatures were well-known to all guards by now.

Their captain headed straight for the Hokage Tower. Unsure whether they were supposed to follow, the three guys shared a look and quietly trailed behind the blonde.

Naruto meanwhile, fought an inner battle of staying in control. It had never felt so physically exhausting to hold back her inner demon. She almost laughed at that. The Kyuubi was certainly not her only inner demon.

She dreaded the coming confrontation with Tsunade. She was still clinging to the hope that no one had known about her parents, desperately talking back to the Kyuubi's more convincing whispers.

You're in denial, Uzumaki.

She ignored him. She would have her answers soon.

Like usual, Naruto ignored the fact that there was a proper entrance to the tower somewhere and came to stop in front of the window. She felt the presence of her team mates behind her, but that, too, was ignored right now.

She had to knock since the window was closed, resisting the urge to punch in the glass.

Tsunade and Jiraiya set on the office chair, obviously making out. Naruto's eye twitched at seeing them. How could they be so happy?

Tsunade jumped off Jiraiya's lap and quickly came to open the window. The blonde jumped in, landing gracefully on her feet. She pushed back her hood and mask. Underneath was another mask. Of pain and disbelief, confusion and hopeful denial.

"Gaki?" Jiraiya questioned from behind the desk. "What's wrong? You look like shit."

Naruto swallowed against the lump in her throat. Now was the time to ask. To find out if Kabuto had been right. Did she really want to know? If she didn't ask and never found out, she could go on like before, pretending that they hadn't lied to her. Would it make any difference if she knew?

"Is... is it true?" she stammered and immediately hated her voice for sounding so pathetic. "Is it true... that the Yondaime was my father?"

Tsunade's hazel eyes widened in shock. "Who told you?" she asked without thinking.

Naruto felt the last spark of hope die out. They had known. The pain in her chest rose to a consuming black hole, making her whole body shake.

Told you so.

The blonde closed her eyes against the new onslaught of blind fury. She felt the demon cackling in delight, feeding off her pain and the new certainty that her precious people had betrayed her. Yet again.

Her fine ears registered the shocked gasps of her team mates, who were huddling by the window. Jiraiya got up, pushing back the chair. Someone was walking towards her, mumbling soothing words, but she didn't want to hear them

Naruto opened her eyes and took a step back from the people in the room.

"Who told you? That is all you say now that I found out on my own?" she spat at her Hokage, not caring about the way she was talking to the leader of her village. As her Tsunade-baachan, the woman should have felt compelled to tell her about her parents.

"You have known all this time, but none of you ever told me! Why? WHY?" she blinked against the burning sensation in her eyes, knowing very well that her eyes were a bright crimson now.

Jiraiya took another slow step towards his godchild. "Naruto –" he began, but was cut off, as Naruto harshly pulled away from his touch.

"You," she snarled at her teacher, "I spent three years with you and not once did you feel like telling me about my father?"

Her voice was icy, but she didn't even flinch at the fact that the demon inside her took pleasure in seeing the distressed expressions on her friends' faces. Or maybe it was her own joy.

"Even when you taught me the Rasengan... you didn't say anything. You said how much I reminded you of a former student... WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH?" the girl screamed the last part. "YOU LIED TO ME! ALL THOSE YEARS!"

Tsunade's eyes were glistening with tears, but Naruto didn't care. They should know how much it hurt to know that they had been betraying her.

"Naruto, please," Tsunade pleaded. "We only tried to protect you!"

"Protect me? How did not knowing my parents protect me?" she yelled. "It would have made all the difference! No one would have dared to touch the Yondaime's daughter! No one would have dared to make the Yondaime's daughter's life miserable! No one would have hurt the child of their hero!"

Hot tears were running down her whiskered cheeks. She wiped at them furiously, but all thoughts on not looking weak were long forgotten.

Tsunade and Jiraiya cringed at her words. The Hokage was pressing a hand against her mouth, mumbling a mantra of "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" over and over again.

Naruto didn't want to hear their excuses. They had known. They had lied to her. They had betrayed her.

They had hurt her. Because she had trusted them, considered them family. But you told family about their own parents. Right?

Logic was once again eluding her. The fact that neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade had been in Konoha during her childhood didn't matter to her. She was furious and disappointed of the Sandaime. It should have been his job to tell her. Or Kakashi's. Kakashi had always been around. Never telling her the truth.

"I trusted you," she whispered and crimson eyes met first hazel, then the dark ones of her sensei.

Then Naruto disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

A stunned silence filled the Hokage's office. Until Tsunade began to cry softly. Jiraiya put his arms around her, gently stroking her hair.

Kiba opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, not really sure of what to say, not really sure if he should say anything.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru, lighting a cigarette, and taking a soothing drag.

Neji climbed through the open window and stood in front of the huge desk. He didn't want to disturb the Hokage, but he thought that the woman needed to know what had led to this situation.

Together with Kiba and Shikamaru, he reported first about their original mission, which had been the first failure in a serious of disastrous events. Tsunade and Jiraiya listened, their expressions grew grim when the boys came to Kabuto and Naruto's loss of control over the Kyuubi.

Together, they deduced what had transpired between the criminal and the blonde captain.

Some time during the report, Kakashi wandered into the office, his orange porn book in hand, greeting everyone with his famous eye-smile. But at hearing what was going on, his book vanished, as did his smile.

To say the grey-haired jounin felt sorry about the whole situation, would have been an understatement. Kakashi didn't dare to imagine how Naruto must be feeling right now; convinced of the fact that the knowledge about her parentage would have spared her so much pain during her childhood.

And who knew? Maybe the villagers wouldn't have hated her, had they known whose daughter they were tormenting. But the Sandaime Hokage had decided against revealing who she really was. They would never know for sure whether it would have changed Konoha's opinion of the Jinchuuriki.

"Where is she?" Kakashi asked, feeling the need to comfort his favourite student.

Shrugs were his answer, so he decided to go looking for the blonde ANBU in all her usual spots. Kakashi's search turned out fruitless. Naruto wasn't at home, nor on top of the Hokage mountain. She wasn't at the training grounds, nor at one of the restaurants.

Sad to have failed his student, Kakashi gave up his search and went home. Hoping that Naruto would seek him out if she wanted to talk to him.

Naruto had wished for a place, in which she could be alone with herself and her inner demons. Unknowingly, her shunshin had taken her to the one place, no one would ever suggest looking for her.

Her feet kicked a small pebble along the lonely streets of the deserted Uchiha district. Silence was all around her; a dead district, just right for her mood.

She hadn't been here since before Sasuke betrayed the village. And even then, she hadn't been here often. But today, it was the perfect place to hide from her precious people.

Her feet carried her through the streets, aimlessly walking from house to house. Eventually, she reached the small lake at the outskirts of the district. Trees surrounded the grassy shore. No waves moved the water. It lay as still as the rest of the abandoned area.

The blonde flopped down on the grass and was reminded of the last time she had been here. They had been seven years old, innocent and happy. Sasuke had not yet been robbed of his family and Naruto had not yet known about the Kyuubi living inside her.

They had been carefree children, almost like the rest of the students in the academy. They had been friends. And rivals.

Sasuke had been practising a fire jutsu his father had shown to him and Naruto had begged him to teach it to her. No one taught her cool jutsus like that. She had had no one, who would teach her anything willingly.

They had struggled together with their small arms and Sasuke had pushed her into the lake. Naruto snorted as she thought about how she had almost drowned, because she didn't know how to swim. Sasuke had rescued her, pulled her to the shore and then he had promised her to teach her how to swim.

It was one of her favourite memories, because it had been the first time that anyone had ever cared enough about her, to make a promise to her.

But Sasuke had never kept it. She still didn't know how to swim.

You're pathetic, Uzumaki. Stop thinking about the Uchiha! Naruto's inner demon growled. She felt the deep hatred, when he said the name 'Uchiha'.

Why? She questioned, silently wondering what reason the demon had to hate Sasuke. Don't you like him, because he tried to kill us?

A bellowing laughter was her answer. Please, human, don't flatter yourself! I don't care what that brat did to you.

Naruto mentally hit herself for assuming that the demon would actually care about her. Then why do you hate him so much?

The Kyuubi's momentary amusement was gone and replaced by deadly seriousness. I hate them all! This arrogant clan!

A cold shiver crept up Naruto's spine at the intensity of the demon's hatred.

She was about to ask him why, not really expecting an answer, when she was surprised. The fox began talking of his own volition and told her about the day he had attacked Konoha, the day of her birth and the day he had been controlled by the Sharingan of one Uchiha Madara and the day he had been freed from his former vessel, Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother.

Naruto listened, highly interested, and actually glad that the fox was guiding her away from her own painful thoughts.

So there actually is someone you hate more than me, Naruto joked cynically, after her tenant had finished his story.

Foolish human, don't mistake my words for affection. There is no one I hate more than Uchiha Madara and his damned eyes! But I still hate you for the fact that I am imprisoned in a brat like you!

Thanks so much, Naruto snorted bitterly.

Still, you are not the worst vessel so far.

Naruto paused at his words. Not the worst? Is that a compliment, Kyuubi? Don't let that Madara fellow hear you or he'll think you're going soft.

Insolent brat, the fox growled, mentally clawing at his jailer.

Naruto woke up to the sun blinding her through closed lids. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. Her whole body was stiff from falling asleep on the grassy shore of the lake. Judging from the position of the sun, it was around noon.

The blonde decided it was time to take a shower and she left in the direction of her apartment, hoping that no one was waiting for her. She was so not in the mood to see anyone.

Kami denied her her wishes, as a figure clad in a white cloak was standing in front of her door, obviously waiting for her. As the girl came closer, she saw that the person was wearing a mask, but none she had ever seen in ANBU before.

"The Council Elders request a meeting with you, Uzumaki-san," the masked person said as a greeting.

Naruto arched an eyebrow at him. "They request it, huh? When?"

"Two hours ago," the taller man answered and was gone in a whirl of leaves.

Naruto opened her door, not amused at being ordered around today. However, she knew better than to ignore a summons by the Elders. Better to get this over with as quickly as possible. She said good-bye to the idea of taking a shower and only took off her weapons; at least the visible ones.

Ten minutes later, the still dishevelled-looking Naruto stood in front of the Elder's room in the Hokage Tower. She was admitted immediately and led inside the room by a white-cloaked ANBU.

"Uzumaki-san," the only other woman, Utatane Koharu, greeted her. "Please take a seat."

Naruto hesitated for a second, but for once reason won over stubbornness, and she sat on the red sofa in front of the three Elders.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Uzumaki-san," Shimura Danzo said sweetly, while taking in her appearance with a distasteful snarl.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked bluntly, not caring if her behaviour might be considered rude.

"Straight to the point, I like that," Danzo said. Leaning back on the sofa, studying the blonde ANBU captain for a moment. "So we will be just as blunt with you, Uzumaki."

Naruto noticed the lack of the '-san' at the end of her name, and she knew that whatever was following, she wouldn't like it.

"We want you to do something for us. Consider it a mission."

Naruto narrowed her eyes. "I do missions for Konoha all the time."

"Yes, and as we hear it, you are quite successful with your team," Danzo continued. "But this mission is rather... unofficial."

The blonde scowled at him, but Danzo remained unfazed.

"Forget it," Naruto snarled, "I won't get caught up in your schemes. I am loyal to Konoha, so hand in this mission and I might do it. But I don't do 'unofficial'."

Danzo studied her levelly with his one unbandaged eye. "Your loyalty to Konoha is commendable, Uzumaki. But unfortunately, you don't have a choice in this."

"Then why ask?" Naruto spat, her carefully buried anger spiking once more.

"Oh, we didn't want to make this look like blackmail," Danzo answered sweetly and smirked, satisfied, at the girl's angry face.

"This is blackmail!" Naruto protested, but before she could say more, Danzo started talking again.

"This will be blackmail, after you hear what we will do, if you don't cooperate with us."

Naruto's scowl deepened, but she listened.

"We know what you and your ANBU team are doing, Uzumaki," Danzo declared. "And I cannot help but admit that I am indeed pleased with the fact that you are working so hard to eliminate the threat, that the Akatsuki is posing to our village. But we cannot allow you to continue your hunt."

Naruto wasn't surprised that the Elders had heard of her personal goal. But why forbid her going after the Akatsuki?

"We acknowledge your strength and talent as a ninja, Uzumaki." At seeing her eyebrows raise in surprise, he added, "This might surprise you, but you have long convinced us of your power and skills. The success rate of your missions speaks for itself and your fellow ANBU speak very highly of you."

Huh, who would have thought? Naruto grinned internally, rather pleased with herself, despite everything else. On the outside, her face remained an expressionless mask.

"Since we acknowledge your strength and... for other specific reasons... you are the only one we think will be successful with this mission." The Elder stopped for a moment, then, "So, do you accept, Uzumaki?"

Naruto waited, but nothing else followed. Therefore she said, amused, "I think I missed the blackmailing part of your speech. Boosting my ego isn't enough to make me agree."

Danzo pursed his lips. "I didn't think so." He took a deep breath, as if whatever he was going to say next, cost him a lot of energy. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, Uzumaki."

Naruto marvelled at the old man's acting skills. His whole demeanour told her that he was very pleased with himself so far.

Here it comes, Naruto thought bitterly, wondering what they were going to use to blackmail her.

"It has come to our attention that your control over the Kyuubi is waning." He didn't wait to hear Naruto's protests. "While we agree that this development is not to be underestimated in its danger, we still think that you, Uzumaki, would do everything in your power to prevent Konoha from coming to harm."

Naruto inwardly rolled her eyes at Danzo's long and complicated sentences. "Get to the point."

"As I said," he went on, ignoring the interruption, "we don't think that you are posing a danger to Konoha. But others may think so."

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked suspiciously.

"Imagine what the rest of the council – especially the civilians – would say to your fading control over the Kyuubi. What do you think they would do?"

Naruto though about it. While the council held no real love for her, the demon brat, they didn't openly despise her. Still, they would be afraid to say the least, if they knew about the Kyuubi possibly breaking free. Naruto herself didn't think that the Kyuubi was actually breaking free. She was still in control. Only when her emotions were in turmoil or when she was really exhausted, did the seal weaken.

Sure, right now she was rather agitated, emotionally, but that didn't mean that she was endangering the village. Or did it?

But what would the council do, if they heard of her latest episode with Kabuto? Naruto didn't know how Tsunade had reacted, but she was certain that her team mates had reported the incident to the Hokage. If the woman had anything to say about it, she had yet to contact her. Well, Naruto hadn't been exactly available in the last past hours.

But the council... They were always looking out to protect the village and its inhabitants. But so was she. However, if they regarded her as a danger to Konoha, they would probably try to eliminate that danger. Since Naruto was sure that they wouldn't try to eliminate her – since still no one knew for sure what would happen to the Kyuubi, if she died – they would at least try to prevent anything that might provoke Naruto to lose control over the Kyuubi.

Seeing as she mostly used the Kyuubi's power in moments of great emotional turmoil or when her own chakra was depleted, that would mean that they had to keep her from fighting and using chakra. That in consequence, meant to missions. No missions meant staying in Konoha.

Duh, shit. She concluded.

"I see you worked it out, Uzumaki," Danzo applauded with a smirk. "If the council got wind of your using the Kyuubi too much, they would simply forbid you to go on missions and keep you under strict supervision inside the village's walls."

"So if I don't cooperate, you will tell the council about the Kyuubi and they will keep me from doing missions. Is that it?" she asked, outwardly nonchalantly, but inwardly growling at the Elders with bared, pointy teeth.

"That is part of it, yes," Danzo confirmed, but apparently, there was more. "We also cannot have you doing ANBU missions for a while."

"Why not?"

"Seeing how ANBU missions are exponentially more dangerous than regular missions, the possibility of you getting harmed is exponentially higher. But we don't want you to get harmed. We need you to do this mission for us."

"So until I agree to help you, I won't be able to take ANBU missions? How will you ensure that? As an ANBU I take missions directly from the Hokage. You have no influence in this area." She shrugged it off.

Danzo narrowed his one small eye at her. This girl was getting on his nerves. "You will simply tell Tsunade that you won't take ANBU missions for a while."

"And what if I don't?" the blonde asked coolly, being as annoyed as Danzo by now.

"We tell the council about your lack of control over the Kyuubi," Danzo said. Naruto had the feeling the man was repeating himself.

She pondered her options. Either not agreeing to their blackmailing her and they told the council about the Kyuubi, or she agreed and she did that mission. And then what? Whatever this mission was, it seemed to be important to them. And besides, there was no assurance that they wouldn't try to use their knowledge against her again in the future.

And the council was bound to find out about the incident with Kabuto eventually. It would probably take some time, but eventually, they always found out.

A provocative grin spread over her face. Should they tell the council, she didn't care. "I don't give a fuck about your mission. Go tattle to the council and let's see what they do!"

The third Elder, Mitokado Homura, jumped up from the sofa with unexpected agility, outrage on his face. "You will not talk to us like that, demon!"

Naruto slowly got to her feet. As old as the man was, he still stood taller than her. She lifted her eyes up to his. "Or what?" she threatened, eyes flashing red.

They didn't know Uzumaki Naruto very well, if they thought they could scare her into obedience.

"Ne, ne," Danzo made, trying to pacify the two. He gestured to the red sofa behind Naruto. "Please sit down again, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto only stared back at him defiantly.

"Very well," he conceded and stood in front of her. The victory was short-lived.

"I think there is a misunderstanding here, girl," Danzo said; sounding more dangerous than before. Naruto suddenly had the feeling that she had been seriously underestimating the man.

"You will help us, sooner or later," he told her. "I'd prefer, if you just agree."

"I already told you I don't care about the council's decision," she said, sounding final. She was in mid-turn, when Danzo's next words made her stop dead.

"You don't seem to care much about your own fate, but maybe you care about the fate of your friends."

That got her attention. "What are you saying?" she growled lowly, not turning back to the three Elders.

"I am saying that while we might not have an influence on your missions, we still have a say in the regular missions. And wouldn't it be a pity, if your precious friends suddenly found themselves doing the most dangerous S-class missions available?"

Naruto heard the satisfaction in his voice. "Leave my friends out of this!" she snarled, trembling with fury.

"It's either do this for us, or see your friends getting injured. You choose, girl."

Naruto whirled around, moving too fast for their aged eyes to see. Her hand closed around Danzo's throat, forcing him to stand on his tiptoes. Naruto enjoyed the shortest moment of actual fear in his eyes.

Naruto was trying to think fast. With all that had happened in the last few days, it was hard to form some coherent ideas. The Elder's blackmailing her was a serious matter. But so were their threats. Did she have the option to go tell Tsunade about their approaching her? But just the idea of once again putting her trust in the Hokage, was making Naruto feel uneasy.

Tsunade and she were having some issues to sort out, but right now, Naruto didn't like the idea to ask the older woman for help one bit. Relying on her now felt wrong and the trust between them was broken.

And what if Naruto just went to the rest of the council and told them about the whole situation? But what proof did she have? No one would ever believe her over the word of the Elders. And she didn't even know what they wanted her to do. She couldn't actually tell on them and say something like 'The mean Elders want to blackmail me, but I really don't know what evil plan they have!'.

Naruto almost sweat-dropped at her inner ramblings. The Elders' mission could be something totally harmless for all she knew. And without proof there really wasn't anything she could do. It was her word against theirs, if she attempted to arrest them or anything as rash.

So deep down, Naruto knew they had her. There was not much she valued more than her friends' safety.

They knew Uzumaki Naruto very well, if they thought they could scare her into obedience by threatening her precious people.

She was trembling with fury and the by now familiar feeling behind her eyes told her they had changed from blue to red once again.

The knowing grin on Danzo's face made her sick.

"Look at that, wouldn't the council love to see you like that," he provoked her further.

But Naruto was not done yet. She knew it was unlikely, but if she just took all the S-class missions on her own, then they couldn't give them to her friends. She would just persuade Tsunade that her friends weren't assigned those missions and everything would be fine.

She wouldn't let them blackmail her.

She forced her eyes back to blue and turned to leave.

"You might think you have a choice, Uzumaki. But you don't." Danzo's words echoed behind her as she slammed the door shut.

Two minutes later, she was knocking on the door to the Hokage's office. Schooling her face into an expressionless mask, she entered.

Relief at seeing Naruto, washed over the Hokage's face. "Naruto!" she exclaimed softly, so happy to see the girl she considered her daughter.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto greeted, getting down on one knee, all business.

Tsunade immediately sensed that the girl hadn't come to talk about yesterday.

"I came to let you know that I want to take a break from ANBU for some time," she said, no emotion swinging in her words.

"Um... sure, Naruto." Tsunade would grant Naruto practically everything right now. If that meant that the girl would forgive her. "Can I ask why?"

"No," the other said, still looking at the floor.

"Um... okay. Well, I think it's a good idea that you're taking some downtime," the older woman said, trying to make polite conversation.

"I don't intend to take a break. I ask you to assign me to all the regular S-class missions."

"What!" Tsunade exclaimed. "But that's more than ten missions a day! And long-term ones at that! Apart from it being impossible, why would you want to do that, Naruto? Why not keep doing ANBU missions then?"

Shit, Naruto hadn't thought that there were so many S-class missions. Maybe she hadn't thought this one through completely.

Not answering to Tsunade's questions, she just said, "Then I'll just take the most dangerous ones. Starting today."

Tsunade shook her head in bafflement. "Today? Naruto, from the looks of it, you haven't even showered after your last mission. I won't give you another mission today."

Naruto then looked up at her, pleading her silently with hurting eyes.

Tsunade sighed, defeated. "All S-class missions for today have been assigned already. Take a shower, eat and sleep, and come back tomorrow morning to the Mission Assignment Office."

Naruto nodded and got up to leave.

Tsunade's voice held her back. "Naruto... what's going on?"

"Nothing I cannot take care of myself." With that, she left. Through the door.

Somewhere in a dark cave, far away from Konoha:

"How did it go?" the masked man asked, looking down from his position on the rock on the man to his feet.

"The reaction was as expected. The girl rejected the offer to join us and I told her about her parents," the hooded man to his feet explained.

"She really didn't know yet?" the masked asked doubtfully.

"No. But finding out the truth like this will certainly influence her."

"Very well." The masked man jumped down from his rock. "I bet this will drive a wedge between her and her village."

"I still don't think she will join us freely," the hooded man got up to his feet, standing a tad taller than the other.

"You are young, you don't know what suspicion and betrayal can do to a person's heart. One can only endure so much."

"Still, I'm afraid we are underestimating the enigma that is Uzumaki Naruto."

The hooded man glanced down, finding the sole red eye behind the orange mask.

To be continued...

Whoa, that was dark and intense and I think rather depressive... I guess a mixture of feeling pretty melancholic for no real reason and a bit of too much wine, made this chapter more angsty and intense than I had anticipated. I hope you still like it!

Oh, and the Kyuubi's chakra destroyed Naruto's clothes after the Kyuubi-fication. I always wondered how the demon was able to restore the fabric... It doesn't make sense to me at all! And also her team mates needed to see the scar on her chest! I never mention anything without a reason, keep that in mind, dear readers! ;)

Part 2 of Chapter 15 will be up next week!

Thanks for reading!

xXHaneliXx