Ch. 5: Aftermath.

The following couple of days went without a hitch. The damage to the village was minimal at most, so there were not many reparations to be made, and what needed to be taken care of was dealt with quickly. The shinobi that witnessed the battles in both gates made sure that the information about Naruto's participation was well spread through the rumor mill, which resulted in the villagers giving him a wide berth. Whether this was because of gratitude or fear was irrelevant to the blond. The third day, however, he was summoned by the council to the Hokage tower.

I guess they couldn't let me be forever. I suppose I could make them wait a couple of minutes, maybe an hour, but they are sure to be pissed off as it is. I better go now and get this over as soon as possible.—thought the blond after receiving the message from an ANBU operative.

.-._.-._.

The council of Konoha existed for the purpose of informing the Hokage of the day to day situation, and to make suggestions as to what decisions were necessary when problems arose; officially it held no power in the running of the village. It was composed of several parties who oversaw several aspects of the daily activities of the village. However, one could easily classify all the members in two big categories, shinobies and civilians.

When Naruto arrived a minute after being summoned to the tower he was led to the entrance of the meeting room, he was surprised to find Shikamaru there as well. Once there, the ANBU outside of the door went inside, presumably to inform the council of their arrival, and returned a few seconds later to send them in.

On the shinobi side there the representatives of all the major shinobi clans, the treasurer, the head of the intelligence division in charge of the research and development division as well as the torture and interrogation department, the ANBU commander was also accounted for, and the manager of the hospital. On the civilian side there was the spokesman of the merchants, a representative of the civilian education agency, and another representative of the agriculture workers, among other civilians with high administrative charges.

"Welcome, young shinobi"—said the Hokage once they were inside—"I'm sure you must be wondering why you were summoned for this meeting."—he made a slight pause for them to confirm it, though neither of them humored him—"Well, to answer your question, it has to do with the chuunin exams and your performances during the event, as well as the subsequent invasion to our village. First of all, Shikamaru Nara, this council has reviewed your performance during all the stages of the exams, and we have concluded that you have the right to rise in rank. Your skills in combat are somewhat lacking, nothing that cannot be fixed with a bit of training, but your strategic oriented intellect as well as your awareness of your own limitations makes you a prime example of what a chuunin ought to be. As such, it's my honor as your Hokage to present you with this vest"—he said just as an ANBU moved towards the Nara heir and gave him a green vest—"and the rank of chuunin of Konoha, congratulations."—there was a small round of felicitation from the council, as well as a muttered 'Troublesome' from the newly named chuunin, before the Hokage kept talking—"I'm sure you will prove to be an asset to this village, young Shikamaru. Now, you probably have lots to do and people who will want to celebrate with you so you're dismissed for now."—Shikamaru bowed and left the chamber before the council focused now on Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you're a different matter altogether."—said Hiruzen—"the history of the chuunin exams has been written with blood since the very first one. However, and this is a matter of great importance, few and sparse have been the times when any shinobi has been forced to kill an agent of their own village. You were not forced, and yet you did kill a comrade."—the man's tone was grave and accusing to say the least—"before this council can take a decision about the outcome of this tournament regarding your promotion or denial of such, we would like to hear what you have to say for yourself."

"And what, honorable council, and Hokage, would you like me to say?"—Asked Naruto with a smirk on his face—"I gave him the chance to give up once, which he refused. That's more than what Suna's Jinchuriki can say. Neji decided his own fate when he insisted on fighting when he was clearly beaten. I don't give second chances, not anymore. He might have been a comrade, a shinobi of Konoha. But that held little to no ground once we both entered that arena, he knew and accepted the consequences of participating in the exams, he also had and refused the chance to keep his life. We are shinobi, mercy is not part of our line of business."—After that the council remained silent, the present individuals sharing glances with each other.

"However crude that might be for some of you,"—said someone behind the Hokage, the person in question revealed himself to be Danzo, the Darkness of Shinobi—"the genin has a point. Hyuuga Neji was outclassed and refused to admit it. One of the reasons we promoted Nara Shikamaru is because he knows his limitations. Hyuuga Neji not only didn't know his own limitations, he refused to accept them when they were presented to him, something that more than once in the history of this village has led to failed missions and unnecessary deaths; this is no different. We are shinobi, our work is to kill our enemies. Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto were enemies once they were inside that arena, and as far as mercy goes, the young Uzumaki offered more than what was expected of him. I might go as far as to say he was the only one who demonstrated a true shinobi's nature during his fight. Not to mention that his performance is sure to have left a huge impression in future clients, many of whom might explicitly request Uzumaki for assassination missions. I don't know what you will decide Hokage-sama, but I'm all for promoting this genin."

"That might be your opinion, Danzo. But I would like to hear what the rest of the council has to say before taking a decision."—said Hiruzen through restrained anger. Naruto had to question this attitude, and it didn't take long for his accelerated intellect to come to the conclusion that the Hokage had wanted to use this to reprimand and humble him in order to put himself in a position where he could control his actions once again.

"Sigh, this is too troublesome, but I agree with Danzo. I might not like what Naruto did, but we cannot condemn him for it since it was within the rules and Neji never gave up, so we had no grounds to stop what happened. I will not suggest that you promote him, but I have no ground to stand against such a decision"—Said Shikaku Nara, father of Shikamaru.

"I stand on the same boat as Shikaku. I see no reason to stand against Uzumaki's promotion, his skills on the other hand give me reason to think he is ready to become chuunin"—said the Aburame representative.

"I agree with my peers, he has the skill. But his disregard for his comrades life worries me, I suggest a trial period under surveillance from a Jounin before taking a definite decision"—commented Chouza Akimichi.

"I stand with Chouza, though it's true that he displayed incredible skills, I don't believe it's…safe to trust Naruto with such a responsibility. I believe we should follow Chouza's suggestion, wait and see"—commented Tsume Inuzuka.

"Usually I would agree with Shikaku"—said Inoichi—"but I don't think I would trust Uzumaki with the life of other shinobi right now. A chuunin has to take responsibility for his comrades' lives during a mission. The fact that he killed Neji so easily without remorse during their fight leads me to believe he mustn't be trusted with this rank just yet. He should have to prove he can care for his peers before we can safely say he is ready."

"I oppose his promotion"—said Hiashi, obviously resentful towards the blond for killing his nephew.

"I believe we should test him before promoting him."—said the ANBU commander—"He displayed great skill and we should take advantage of it. I am not exactly in favor of making him a chuunin, but I strongly oppose to him remaining a mere genin, his potential should be put to better use."

"It's really not my place to talk. I was not present during the fight and can only base my opinion on the reports given."—said the manager of the hospital.

"I'm afraid I'm in the same situation"—commented the treasurer.

"And the civilians? What do you have to say about this?"—asked Sarutobi.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama"—interrupted Danzo before any of the civilians could talk—"but I don't think it's appropriate that the civilians should comment on a matter of shinobi nature. I mean no disrespect to the civilian members of this council of course, but it just doesn't seem like something that should be accepted. Civilians don't really know what it's like to be a shinobi, their opinion regarding a shinobi's actions should therefore hold no weight in this situation."—some of the members of the civilian councilors seemed affronted by this, other however seemed to accept the notion.

"I might dislike the boy, that's not secret. He more than once vandalized the installations of my school."—growled the representative of the civilian education agency—"But that's neither here nor there. This is a shinobi situation, and I can't say I know what being a shinobi is like. I can't and won't comment on this matter. I agreed with Danzo-dono, it's not the civilians' place to talk."—after that, more members of the civilian side of the council accepted the fact that they really should have a say in this specific matter.

"Very well, I guess you do have a point."—said Hiruzen amiably, though many detected some underlain anger in his voice—"I have heard all that you have to say, I agree with some of your views. Naruto Uzumaki certainly displayed skills worthy of a chuunin, that's without a question. But his judgement is still not up to par, not where it matters, and so I don't believe he should be made chuunin, he hasn't earned it. However what my ANBU commander said holds true, his potential should be put to better use. Naruto Uzumaki, you will not be promoted to chuunin, that's final. Instead, you will be on a trial period of six months during which you will remain a genin and observed closely while doing missions for chuunin ranked shinobi. After three months you might be promoted at any time if your assigned supervisor deems you ready. If by the end of the six months you have not been promoted, you will remain a genin unless you earn a promotion during future instances of the chuunin exams or receive a field promotion. If anyone is against this, I will hear your reasons."

"I'm against it!"—declared the Hyuuga patriarch severely—"He didn't kill just anyone, he killed a member of my clan, and he is going to get away with it? I cannot stand for this!"

"You forget, Hiashi, that even though he killed your nephew, he did it during a sanctioned event, thus he really wasn't out of line when he did what he did"—commented Shikaku.

"Hokage-sama, I call for this boy's execution for killing a member of my clan!"—growled Hiashi without paying any mind to Shikaku.

"Hiashi!"—growled Tsume Inuzuka—"I understand you're angry at Naruto for killing Neji. We all get it. But you have no grounds to demand his execution; he wasn't acting out of line. The tournament is a risk for everyone, and all the participants were aware of this! Including Neji."

"Stay out of this you bitch!"—shouted the Hyuuga—"Hokage-sama, my clan as a whole won't accept this boy being alive any longer! Let alone accept him becoming a chuunin."

"Is that a command I heard, Hiashi?"—asked Danzo smoothly—"Surely my hearing is going bad, or are you presuming you can order the Hokage around? Also remember this Hiashi, and make sure you relay this to you clan. Young Uzumaki here wasn't acting out of line when he killed Neji because it was during a sanctioned fight. If you or your clan threatens an active shinobi of Konoha, however, the same will not apply. If you seek retribution on this genin, or any other shinobi of the village, without the support of the Hokage, I'm afraid it will be taken as a betrayal towards this village and thus you and possibly your clan will suffer the consequences."

"Hiashi, he is right."—said the Hokage in a severe tone, no one ordered the Hokage what he had to do—"The only way you can seek retrivution without consequence is during a village sanctioned event. Any other time it will count as a betrayal and actions will be taken to terminate the betrayer or betrayers."

"Hokage-sama, if I might interrupt?"—asked Naruto who had remained silent so far—"Hiashi-san here demands retribution. And even if you end up denying him today, he will probably insist later on. Not to mention his clan will be a risk to the village's security if they don't receive some compensation for the perceived slight. They might end up trying a coup d'état."—the elders seemed to stiffen at that possibility—"A sanctioned fight started this; why not end it the same way? I'm willing to accept, with the approval of the Hokage and the council, any kind of event, for lack of a better word, that the Hyuuga clan proposes, along with whatever stipulations the impose, as long as it remains between the Hyuuga and I. The point being that no matter who wins, the matter will be forgotten. Is that agreeable, Hyuuga-san?"

"You're arrogant, boy. Clearly the decision to not make you chuunin was for the best. But yes, I can agree to that."—answered Hiashi.

"So, what do you say Hokage-sama?"—asked Naruto.

"I really don't know what to say to this. I'm not sure this would actually solve the problem."

"But we don't have better suggestions"—commented Homura—"We could ignore Hiashi, but what Naruto says is true, clans have revolted for less than this in other villages."—the elder didn't have to mention the Uchiha for the other elders to relate that matter to this.

"Very well, if you think it's for the best. Hiashi, I accept this…solution, so to speak. You go back to your clan and discuss it with them, come up with whatever event you decide and bring it up to me. We will fix a date then and once it's done this matter will be closed. Meanwhile, any actions taken against Naruto will be considered a betrayal on the Hyuuga's part and retaliation will be swift. Make that clear to your clan."—said Hiruzen with finality—"I believe that covers everything we were aiming to solve today, anyone want something else to be solved now?"

"I do, actually"—commented the manager of the hospital—"I read the reports on the invasion. I took particular interest in Uzumaki's displayed skills. Regardless of how gruesome his methods were to dispose of the enemy, they were unique but constant and might very well be an indicator of a new genetic strain that might develop in a new bloodline limit. I would like to make some tests before affirming anything, but I'm almost sure that it is as I say."

"I'm intrigued by this as well"—agreed Danzo—"I would like to know if the displayed skills are genetic or if they are learnable. If it's the former I would put forth a motion for Uzumaki to start a new clan with these abilities. If it's the later I would like Uzumaki to take an apprentice as soon as possible to start spreading these skills to others. Whatever the case it will surely help strengthen the village."—they would have discussed it further if not for Naruto starting to chuckle mirthfully in the middle of the room.

"It's kind of amusing. You discussing me as if I was not here, it's funny. Whatever, you don't need to do any tests at all; I can tell you right of the bat what you want to know. It's a bit of both actually; it's genetic and can also be 'taught' so to speak. I'm not sure if my descendants will have my abilities from birth, but if they don't it will be easily solved by me giving it to them. You could ask me to spread this ability, but I can assure you that it will only weaken the village. My abilities can be shared in the form of a virus, however only one in every ten individuals could be able to survive the transformation without consequences and only half of the remaining 9 could survive at all, but they would lose all rationality, reverting to a primitive and savage state of mind where they would attack anyone nearby, possibly spreading the virus even more, creating new savages that would keep attacking, in the long run we could easily overcome them, but we would still suffer many loses. It's just not worth the trouble. My descendants would be another matter, I already survived, I already controlled it, so genetically I already have what is needed to keep the virus under control, something that would pass on to my children and theirs. So while, yes, it's possible to give my bloodline to others, it's a big risk that would result in the village being weakened."

"You seem awfully sure of this, but how?"—said Danzo in an accusing manner.

"The ability I'm talking about is the only one I'm sure that can be shared or spread, however, it's not the only ability I have that could be classified as a bloodline."—Naruto said with a smirk on his face, one that showed he was getting his kicks from the situation. And with good reason, for everyone's interest was picked when he said that.

"Explain yourself"—said the Hokage. Naruto's smirk only grew wider.

"I recently gained several unique abilities that can be classified as bloodline limits. The one we have been discussing is called Blacklight and it gives me a set of particularly useful skills. For starters I can decompose organic matter into biomass and assimilate it into myself. This particular skill is the base for several others, polymorphism being the most prominent"—he said this while transforming himself into several different shinobies he had consumed during his month outside the village and during the invasion—"Basically, when I assimilate a sentient being"—A few councilmen grew greener at the thought—"I get all of their memories, and I can transform into them as well as replicate their mannerisms to the smallest detail, I can basically replace them without a problem. I can also transform my body into several forms to adapt to different situations"—he transformed his arms into claws, then into muscle mass and finally into hammerfist before going back to normal—"After assimilating certain things this skill in particular, evolves and allows me a wider variety of transformations. The most recent one being after I assimilated Suna's jinchuriki. By the way, Shukaku no longer exists. Blacklight also enhances several natural traits of my body, strength, speed, reflexes, flexibility, and resilience among others. This is what my descendants will be sure to have, one way or another."

"It seems very impressive, the sheer magnitude of your combat potential as well as infiltration make of this ability an invaluable asset for the village"—commented Koharu—"Wouldn't you agree Hokage-sama?"

"Indeed"—muttered Hiruzen, not at all happy that Naruto had such power, it could become problematic to put him down if he went against the village. It seemed that trying to control him would be more of a curse than a blessing, he better not alienate him, at least not while he wasn't sure he could be put down.

"I understand that these abilities are only from the 'Blacklight', however you said you had more?"—inquired Danzo; already thinking of strengthening the village with this. Maybe making a few experiments with his ROOT and this Blacklight.

"There is also the one called Intuitive Aptitude, this ability is what makes me be sure of everything I'm telling you. This ability is to put it simply, the ability to understand. I instinctively analyze everything to its basest form and work out how it's done, I can replicate jutsu like the sharingan does, but by a different process. The sharingan copies the process while I understand it and learn how to do it myself. I cannot predict my enemy's movements with this, unlike the sharing which is able to predict someone's movements, but the fact that I understand something to the core means that I can actually make it better, find flaws and so on. Like the chidori that Sasuke used during his match with Gaara; I found its flaws by just looking at it once. I didn't bother to make it better because I already have something that is better, weaker but more effective. Which brings me to another of my abilities, electro kinesis. If there was a sensor present during the finals and you asked them what they felt when I covered my hands in electricity during my fight with Neji, they will tell you they felt nothing. Electro kinesis essentially allows me to use lightning jutsu without chakra"

"That's impossible"—said Homura with a calm voice. Naruto's only answer was to activate his gigawatt blades, silently challenging everyone to try and feel any speck of chakra in it.

"Incredible"—muttered Koharu who was a weak sensor, but at this dinstance it should not be a problem.—"I can't feel any chakra in that technique, it's unheard of."

"Another very useful skill for an infiltrator. He would be able to attack at any time without compromising his position."—commented Danzo offhandedly.

"There is also my telekinesis"—said Naruto, placing everyone's attention back on him—"You saw me using it when I killed Neji"—he then made a movement with his hands and one of the windows of the room opened, before closing with another motion of Naruto's hand—"Any comments?"—he asked while looking at Koharu.

"It doesn't use any chakra either"—she said somewhat awed at this.

"Exactly, as a matter of fact none of my abilities uses chakra, and if you were to look deeper you would find out that I no longer have chakra in my system."—everyone grew alarmed at this, Hiashi especially started to sweat when he tried to use his Byakugan only to confirm what Neji had said during the tournament. The Byakugan could see chakra, but how do you see someone without chakra?—"That's because I now have something called Nen. It's another type of energy, present in everyone, this ability can actually be taught, but it would take years before someone can use it effectively. It's also more flexible than chakra and allows a wider variety of techniques to be performed with it. There is also the fact that it cannot be felt by anyone who doesn't know how to use it as well. Only a nen user can feel another nen user. And techniques performed with nen cannot be seen by anyone who doesn't use nen. The techniques I showed you before are not within this category because they belong to a different ability. Basically with Nen I could use invisible jutsu. For example this."—he then focused in a plant on one corner of the rom and inhaled air before exhaling like one does when using a Katon jutsu. To everyone's surprise the plant started to become ash as if it was being burned. Hiashi once again used his byakugan and once again was amazed by what he was seeing, or rather not seeing. Koharu was also amazed when she didn't feel any chakra at all.—"Also"—Naruto said making everyone look at him in awe, there was more?—"Nen can be used, just like chakra, to enhance someone's physical attributes like strength or speed. How much something is enhanced depends completely on how determined a person is, which is one of the main differences between chakra and Nen. With chakra you would need better control to do just that, with nen you only need to be stubborn. Coupled with Blacklight I could easily destroy mountains. Lastly I have an exponentially accelerated body. My movement speed only becomes higher the longer I keep running. This ability I call Quicksilver only because it sounds cool. So, any questions?"—Naruto asked while chuckling at everyone's wide eyed face.

"I have a question actually"—said Danzo after finishing daydreaming about all the power the village would gain if this new set of skills was used properly.—"How did you get these abilities?"

"Ah, now that's the million ryo question, isn't it?"—chuckled Naruto—"Well, it's quite the tale and to answer that I would need to make you a question first. How much do you know about demonic foxes?"—He only grew more amused when everyone gasped.—"I knew that would be your answer. Well, let me tell you a little tidbit you might not know about demon foxes, and the bijuu in general. Bijuu were born many millenniums ago. I'm not sure exactly how many, but I can tell you it was more than 10. Bijuu, by what Kyuubi told me, grow stronger every 1000 years, and it shows by them growing a new tail every time, until they reach their tenth tails; the first to reach 10 tails becomes the demon king by what I understand. This doesn't occur if they have been sent to makai before the 1000 years count is finished. When that happens they have to get out of makai and wait another 1000 years before they can achieve their next rise in power. To make this story short I will just tell you that as of a few weeks ago the Kyuubi became Juubi and the demons have a new king."

"You're referring to the energy wave that was felt almost a month ago, aren't you?"—asked the ANBU commander.—"So, what does that have to do with this?"

"You all are learning of this just now, I however knew of the Kyuubi's rise in power since the end of my mission in Wave country. During which I lost consciousness and got to meet the Kyuubi, who let this information slip. I threatened to send the Kyuubi to makai, as it was in my power to do, before he could become the king of demons and thus making him wait another 1000 years, unless he acceded to grant me a few requests. He is the Kyuubi so of course he wouldn't relent so easily. We struck a deal."

"You let the demon free, didn't you?"—Afirmed Danzo—"You have put us all in a great danger boy! With the Juubi free we cannot be sure it won't attack us."

"WHAT!?"—shouted the others in the room.

"Boy! Do you realize how foolish it was to free that monster? It could be on its way to attack us right now!"—shouted one civilian.

"Oh, but I'm sure he won't."—answered Naruto—"The deal consisted of two compromises for each of us. First I would let the Kyuubi become king of demons and in exchange he would summon the ten strongest souls he could find and give me the power of the ten souls. In the end he only game be six, since the other four had nothing to contribute to me other than knowledge, so, besides the six abilities I mentioned before, I got 484 years' worth of knowledge in several subjects, ranging from sciences to war strategies and combat experience. I know how to treat injuries of any kind in the middle of a battlefield without the use of chakra. I got personal infiltration and kenjutus experience from another soul and finally have a small arsenal of illusions I can use to make anyone crazy if I so wish. Since he didn't give me four of the ten souls I demanded the Juubi to seal my chakra away. With this last clause to our deal, I am now undetectable by chakra, as Hyuuga-san has proven, and I'm immune to Genjutsu as well."(1)

"Hmm, not to mention no one can put seals on you and expect them to keep working after a couple of weeks"—mentioned Homura.—"seals put on a person feed for the first few days on whatever chakra was used to create them, but after that they use the subject's chakra to keep working. A person without chakra to keep feeding the seal will only be under its effects for a couple of days before it stops working."

"What was the second part of your deal with the demon?"—Asked Danzo, trying to bring the conversation back to what's important.

"The second part was that after I received the ten souls' power I would free the Juubi. In exchange of this, the Juubi is word bound to not attack any place I call home. I want this to be clear to the civilians, and they better spread the word. I could very easily deide this is not my home and stablish myself in other village, effectively protecting that village against Juubi and leaving Konoha open to attack. The Juubi and I are not the same, and I won't tolerate anyone trying to take actions against me or those I care about. The Juubi will stay away as long as I draw breath and consider this place my home, but if they so much as look me the wrong way, I could easily decide to leave and let the Juubi have his way with all of you. Right now I'm the only thing keeping this village safe from the Juubi, it's your decision whether that stays that way for a long or a short time."

"And how can you be sure the Juubi won't break its promise?"—asked Danzo.

"I'm not, but he hasn't tried yet and it has been a month since he got his freedom back. I don't think he intends to go back on his word. Besides, if he breaks his promise I'm sure I can deal with him."

"It might not have attacked just yet, but the fact is that it hasn't attacked anywhere. It's possible the Juubi is only waiting before it strikes us."—Said Shikaku—"Troublesome, discussing this is of no use, the Juubi has been freed and there is nothing we can do about that. We must instead prepare in case it does attack."

"I agree with Shikaku. We can't do anything to revert this situation; we must instead be ready for whatever repercussions Uzumaki's actions might have."—said Shibi.

"On that note"—started Danzo—"the Juubi is not the only threat for the village right now. What are we going to do with Suna?"

"What is there to do, Danzo? We defeated them and that's that."—said Hiruzen.

"We defeated them, sure. But the fact remains that they were bold enough to attack us in the first place. We must take action against them, this was clearly and act of war."

"They were tricked by Orochimaru."—replied the Hokage—"I cannot in good conscience order an attack on Suna for that."

"And what kind of message do you think our other enemies will get? That they can attack and there won't be retaliation, that's what! We must show, not only Suna, but the other villages as well, that we won't take such attacks standing down."—many of the council seemed to agree with Danzo's words, but Hiruzen wouldn't give up.

"They are our allies, who were unfortunately manipulated by Orochimaru. It's Orochimaru we should be focusing on!"

"I'm not sure if you people will take my words into account"—said Naruto—"I'm not part of the council so you probably won't care for what I have to say. But if you will hear me. I actually agree with Danzo-dono. Suna is our ally? Please, they clearly don't think so. The fact of the matter is that they wanted to attack us for one or other reason; they just didn't have the guts, the strength or the opportunity to do it. Orochimaru just gave them the push they needed, but the seed was there from before, they wouldn't have attacked otherwise. Hokage-sama, you say we should focus on Orochimaru; I disagree. That man has been a rogue for more than a decade and we haven't been able to find him, he clearly knows how to hide well. Focusing on him would only serve to waste our resources and while we do that, others could take the same opportunity he did to embolden Suna to attack us again. Orochimaru is a problem, but so is Suna now that they have shown their true colors, and unlike Orochimaru, we know where to find them and we know they are licking their wounds. What Danzo-dono says holds true, we must show our enemies, known and unknown, that we aren't to be messed with. If we let Suna get away with attacking us, others will soon follow."

"Silence! I won't order an attack on our allies. It would only make other allies and potential allies afraid of us. This decision is final! I won't change my mind."

"You were once appraised as the God of Shinobi."—said Naruto—"I didn't know you then, but either you have gone soft, or you're overrated."

"I'm the Hokage and I stand by my decision. I will not be judged by a mere genin. This meeteing is adjourned, dismissed!"—growled the Hokage.

Soon everyone had left and only the Hokage remained in the room.

"What do you think, Jiraya?"—asked the Hokage to no one. Soon after a new person appered in front of him.

"He has become crueler, desensitized. Nothing like his parents. And too powerful."

"Too powerful indeed. What should we do? He is a wild card as it stands."

"I'm not sure, sensei. I don't know what we could do about him. Initially I would have suggested you gave him to me so that I could train him and try to mold him. But by what I observed he cannot be molded any longer, and we really shouldn't give him more power than he has."—he looked through the window only to see Danzo approaching the blond in question.—"If he is indeed the one of the prophecy, I'm afraid peace is not what awaits this world."

.-._.-._.

"Uzumaki, a word if you please."—said Danzo as he approached Naruto.

"Danzo-dono, sure. What can I do for you?"

"I'm intrigued by you, not many would support an act of war nowadays, let alone a genin. This village has been at peace for so long that the people here don't want to let it go, even when it's necessary."—Danzo gave him a calculative look—"I have a proposition for you, if you will hear me. But not here, let's find some place more private. Follow me."—Naruto nodded and both departed.

.-._.-._.

(1) Note that Naruto never mentioned the souls being from other dimensions. I can only imagine what a militaristic village would try if they knew there were other dimensions out there from which they could get unique powers.

WOOOOOOW! This has to be the longest chapter I have ever written and it was pure dialogue!

Anyway. I got free from school a couple of days before I predicted (yay!). I wrote this chapter to get back in the mood for writing. I will start working in my next updates now and publish them as soon as they are finished. Though I will also be reading a lot about Pathfinder because I'm going to start playing P&P RPG games to get rid of this boredom I have been condemned to. And my father will probably 'insist' in me going to the gym again while claiming that no one is forcing me to go…yes, he actually expects that to work.