Disclaimer: There are a lot of things I would do with Naruto if I could change it, thus the reason that I do not own Naruto.

Warning: The story may get a bit gory. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Village of the Light

Chapter 1: Serenity before the Storm

The pounding of footsteps warned the forest of the incoming mercenaries. A ninja had been spotted nearby and it was their duty to wipe him out. His entry in the Bingo Book would bring them a great paycheck and with their numbers they were confident that even a S-ranked light nin would fall. What they failed to realize is that ninja's were known for stealth and with the sound they were making, they would have woken a rock from a coma. It astonished the watching ninja that they could be so foolishly stupid. With a flash of light, half of the ninja fell. By the time the rest of the mercenaries realized it, they were dead with their comrades. It was a painless death. The fox mask covering the ninja's face seemed to laugh at the stupidity of humans as a second ninja jumped down near the scene.

"Hey, Raven." The first ninja greeted brightly, only to earn a glare that would silence any non-suicidal being. The message went across and both of them took to the trees, approaching a mansion hidden away in the forest. Inside, the two knew their target waited. A rich man, in his early forties had decided to send a threat to the leader of their hidden village. In response, the leader sent two of her best jounins to kill him. Threats were dealt with extreme prejudice. The leader of the Light Village would have sent one of the four council members, the strongest ninja in the village, but decided instead to test two of her AMAZON. Like Konoha's ANBU, the AMAZON dealt with the harder missions and handled security when necessary. Fox and Raven were two of her best and the Kirakage was testing them to see if they were ready to become senseis.

Inside the mansion, the two slipped easily past security and entered the bedroom of the target bypassing ninja-for-hire. Slitting the throat of the old man, Raven gave a slight signal indicating that they would go through the window to get out. While neither was the superior on the mission, both Fox and Raven had decided early on that Fox was the better distraction and Raven was the strategist and assassin. Given the amount of missions that they were paired together, Fox and Raven worked well together. Without a glance at the body, the two AMAZON ninja jumped out of the window and headed home.

NININININININININININI

"Your mission was a success?" The blonde haired kage watched the two newcomers closely, eyes a stunning blue.

"Yes, Kirakage-sama." Raven replied, not moving from his kneeling position in front of the desk of one of the most powerful ninja alive.

"Remove your masks, Fox, Raven. I give you five days off for the successful completion of the mission that I gave you." Both ninja obeyed immediately, revealing a long-haired raven, perhaps twenty years old. Onyx eyes blinked with very little emotion. His partner, the complete opposite, had a emotion-filled face with cerulean eyes and spiked blonde hair. He grinned brightly at the woman in front of him who responded with a small smile. Though people often confused the blonde haired kage and Naruto as siblings, they were actually cousins given that their fathers had been brothers.

"Welcome home, Itachi, Naruto-kun. I'm glad your safe." Naruto and Itachi nodded, expressions once again complete opposites.

"Thanks, Serenity-chan." The girl rolled her eyes at the one person who could call her that and live a pleasant life with all body parts attached. Naruto and her had a unique relationship since the day that Serenity had found her cousin beaten and broken at the valley of the end. At the time, they had no idea of their relationship to each other. Upon returning the blonde to his hometown, Serenity waited with a pair of guards/advisors in their typical AMAZON masks. The Hokage and a few others seemed genuinely pleased to see Naruto, but the rest glared.

XXFlashbackXX

"Naruto, you have been summoned to the council chambers." Serenity's eyes narrowed at the ANBU who hd interrupted the conversation Naruto and Serenity were having over the best type of weapon for a shinobi to have. The man, like most ANBU, seemed to have no emotions but that did not surprise Serenity. She understood the concept and asked her AMAZON troops, while on a mission, to keep their emotions hidden. Despite his mask, Serenity could hear the vendictive smirk in the mans tone.

"Why?" Serenity's voice became icy and the two guards surrounding the female kage tensed at her tone. Panther and Snake stepped forward to block the ANBU's view of Naruto, who was watching in confusion.

"I don't know, Kirakage-sama. All I know is that the council wants to see Naruto." Serenity nodded once and her guards backed down. Informing the ANBU, to his displeasure, that she would be accompaning them, Serenity walked off, leaving her ninja to help Naruto stand and walk. The ANBU led the way, explaining proper etiquette to the increasing pissed Kirakage.

"I am not a fool, ANBU-san. Please stop treating me as such." The snicker from Panther earned a glare, and the Kirakage pushed open the door into the council chambers. Tsunade had tears flowing down her cheeks and many ninja seemed extremely angry, but the civilian council smirked until they saw just who had entered. The Kirakage moved to Tsunades left and her two AMAZON ninja remained by Naruto's side.

"Uzumaki Naruto, for failure to return Uchiha Sasuke to Konoha, you shall be executed." The instant the words left the councilors mouth she felt extremely srong killing-intent coming from both blonde kages. Naruto looked at the floor considering the words.

"On what charge, councilwoman?" Panther spoke first. The councilwoman looked at the AMAZON in confusion.

"Why are you speaking, ANBU? You have not been given the floor." Koharu spoke, Danzo and Himura smiled behind her.

"Kira does not have ANBU and from one councilwoman to another, what charges is Uzumaki Naruto to be executed for? And who else will be recieving the punishment?"

Danzo spoke this time."I'm afraid I fail to see your point, ANBU. Only Uzumaki Naruto had an opening and failed to bring back Uchiha Sasuke, therefore, only Uzumaki Naruto will be executed." Panther sighed and glanced at the kage who smiled and nodded. The girl muttered 'irritating' before removing her mask. Emerald eyes and pitch black hair cascaded down, past a stunning face. The shinobi side immediately grabbed weapons, preparing for an attack from the S-class ninja of light.

"Where there no other ninja on the mission, Danzo-san?" The question caught the council off-guard, few expecting the approach she was taking.

"There were. Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Chouji and Inuzuka Kiba." The man who spoke was Hyuuga Hiashi, eyes on the brilliant young woman in front of them. His eyes traveled to the other AMAZON still hidden by a mask. Given that her figure gave away her gender, he could not help but wonder if she was also a member of the only all-kunoichi council for a hidden village. The village hidden in the light had nothing against men and men could be on the council if they were one of the top four ninjas that were not the Kirakage. However, it just so happened that the ninjas that advised Serenity currently were all female and all extremely powerful.

"Why are they not being executed as well?" The girl spoke, eyes traveling to the Hyuuga head before returning to Danzo.

"They have done nothing wrong." Danzo replied coolly.

"And Naruto has? Let me hear the other four talk. If you refuse and execute Uzumaki Naruto, Kira will cut all ties with Konoha and urge the other villages to do the same. Understand Danzo, that as you speak for your Hokage, I speak for my Kirakage. If it is within the power of the civilian council to execute Naruto, then it is within my power as councilwoman to the Kirakage to cut all ties and declare war against Konoha. Convince me of your decision, Danzo, and I will remove my threat. Until then, consider us as nuetral and perhaps hostile forces." The girl stepped back to her former position behind Naruto and replaced her mask.

"Kirakage-sama! Control your ninja!" A pink-haired banshee called out, eyes on the beautiful blonde ninja who was watching the scene with calculating eyes.

"Why? I agree with every word my ninja just said and support her one-hundred percent. I will not allow an execution for such a small reason. Even Shadow, when she was young, failed missions given to her by my predecessor." The panther laughed, mask shaking softly.

"Then it seems we are at war, Kirakage-sama." Danzo said icily. "Naruto's execution has been made final." Tsunade stepped forward, eyes narrowed shrewdly.

"As Hokage, I object to creating a war for such a reason." Tsunade said, looking at the ninjas who nodded, knowing the cost of such an endeavor. Especially with one of the Light's strongest ninja in the room standing right behind the boy they wished to execute.

"I would agree completely, Hokage. If I may place an alternate solution to avoid war?" Tsunade nodded and the ninja's leaned forward to listen to the Kirakage's solution.

"Executions can easily be lessened to banishment, if I am not mistaken. Rather than execute young Naruto-kun, perhaps it would be better to banish him. At least then, Naruto would live and my Shadow would be less infuriated. She would not be entirely assuaged, but it would be better than nothing." The council in front of them began to discuss the idea and finally Nara Shikaku stood and looked around the room at the council.

"The jounin of Konoha agree with the Karikage. Banishment would be better than Execution." Naruto watched with wide eyes as he watched his dream fade away. Still, Serenity was correct in that if he were banished, he would at least be alive. He watched as the civilians contemplated the idea. Finally, Haruno Asahi spoke for the civilians.

"The civilian council agrees with this idea. At least the demon-brat will be out of the village." Serenity narrowed her eyes at the terminology and silently asked the councilwoman to explain.

"That is an S-class secret, Haruno." Tsunade snapped, angered at the pink-haired woman for threatening Naruto's life in a new village. She was secretly hoping that the reason Serenity had objected so strongly to Execution but accepted banishment was so that he could join the Kira village.

"Then by mentioning it, should she not be executed, Hokage-sama?" The raven-haired councilwoman for Kira spoke up, eyes on the pink-haired woman. Tsunade's eyes flickered with humor.

"Yes. She should be. ANBU!" The ANBU that had escorted Naruto in hesitated and Shadow sighed but at a sign from her leader, she unsheathed the sword at the hip of her comrade and moved forward swiftly, slicing Haruno's head from her shoulders with a clean single swipe from her blade.

"ANBU should not hesitate when given orders." The panther said icily. Her partner smiled at her friends show underneath her mask. The rest of the council flinched at her speed. Danzo narrowed his eyes at the scene but wisely did not speak as the Panther returned to her partner and returned the sword to its sheath. Naruto spoke up for the first time.

"You have a blade so why use hers?" Narutos voice sounded dull compared to the lively vibe it had previous to this meeting.

"Mine is only for special battles and I rarely unsheath it." Shadow replied before returning to a completely stoic state. Tsunade waited for the other ANBU to clean up the Harunos body before resuming the meeting.

"Do my advisors agree with the others?" Danzo, Himura, and Kohary glanced at each other before Danzo spoke.

"The advisors believe that Uzumaki Naruto should be executed." Panther snarled before Serenity held up a hand.

"Then we will go to war! AMAZON!" Shadow moved to attack the advisors while her partner moved to protect the blonde, but Tsunade yelled at everyone to stop. The AMAZON froze at a hand sign, remaining aware.

"I have the final say, Karikage-sama, as I an the third party and not my advisors. I say that Uzumaki Naruto should remain in the village as I said before." Serenity smiled in humor before turning to the masked councilwoman.

"Will this assuage your temper, Shadow? Or shall we still go to war?" Shadow removed her mask once again, glancing at the blonde shinobi behind Snake.

"My temper is not gone but it has lessened to an extent where I do not wish war. However, should Uzumaki Naruto be declared a nuke-nin from Konoha, or should any shinobi from the leaf attack Naruto, I will reevaluate my decision." The girl said, before returning to her previous place beside the blonde shinobi. "Serenity-sama, if I may?" The kage nodded and Shadow grinned before kneeling before the blonde and presenting a headbad in front of the entire council. "Uzumaki Naruto, former ninja of the leaf, as is my right as a councilmember underneath the Karikage Serenity, I present you a headband of Kira. If it is your will, I ask that you join the Village Hidden in the Light and follow us. If not, keep the headband and use it should you require safe passage through any hidden village."

Naruto smiled at the black-haired councilmember before him before accepting the headand and replacing the leaf headband with the new light one. The four sided star now rested on Naruto's forehead. Shinobi around the council room rose before filing out of the room. The meeting was over.

XXEnd FlashbackXX

Naruto and Itachi wove through the crowds that gathered at midday before reaching a ramen stand. While it was no where near as good as Ichiraku's, Naruto still appreciated the ramen and accepted the bowls from the stand owner. Itachi just rolled his eyes and motioned for the owner to give him his usual bowl of salt ramen.

"Yo." The word caused Naruto to jump and Itachi to turn to greet the commander of AMAZON. Shadow, holding her typical Panther mask grinned at the former-Konoha ninja's before sitting beside them and ordering Miso Ramen. "Have you two heard the news?" Itachi raised an eyebrow and Naruto shook his head. "Serenity's giving three AMAZON ninja teams." Shadow said, a grin on her face.

"I pity the team that gets you or Aura-sama." Shadow just laughed.

"I do too, but at least if I get a team then I know they will be really good."

"Or they'll be dead." Itachi added monotonously. Naruto laughed hard and Shadow glared at the raven ninja in front of her.

"You're lucky you're not dead." She replied back, a small smirk on her face. Itachi glared at her, remembering the humiliation he suffered at the councilwoman's hands. While not the strongest ninja on the council, she was definately the most influencial, given that the leader of the council was soft-spoken and gentle. Shadow had caught Itachi and Kisame trying to sneak into the borders to capture Naruto, who Shadow had taken on as an apprentice.

Kisame was dead before he could shout a warning and Itachi hadn't lasted much longer. The raven activated the sharingan only for Shadow to move faster than it could track. Instead of killing Itachi, Shadow sent him to the resident torture expert, Effine, who informed her that he had a reason for his actions. Upon learning the reason, Shadow offered him a compromise. He would become a second apprentice to her, and in return for the power she gave him, he would learn to not rely on the sharingan. Itachi agreed only for Shadow to immediately seal his eyes. Itachi was a bit pissed but understood. After the two of them together passed the test that would allow them to become a team, Shadow offered them positions in AMAZON. They agreed and excelled easily among the light shinobi.

"Shadow-hime, Serenity-sama asked me to call you, Raven and Fox to a meeting when you finished your Ramen." Shadow nodded at her friend who stood behind the eagle mask. Naruto and Itachi exchanged looks before placing the masks on and following the AMAZON to the tower they had just left. Inside, nine genin waited anxiously, eyes on the door. Shadow had placed on her Panther mask before entering per the Eagle's instructions.

"Panther, Fox, Raven, I have called you in here to introduce you to your teams." Naruto and Itachi exchanged quick looks before nodding. "Until you feel your genin are ready to know your identities, I ask you keep your masks on." All three of them nodded. "Then, without further ado, I introduce you to the nine graduates. Team Panther is Alyia, Phoenix and Katsuo. Team Raven will be Aita, Aurora and Hitari. Team Fox will be Kyo, Hatori and Haruka. I wish you twelve the best of luck.

NINININININININININININI

"Team Panther, to the cake stand!" Naruto and Itachi rolled their eyes and watched as the energetic councilmembers team followed immediately.

"Team Fox, let's go to training ground 3." The team followed Naruto out and Itachi followed, motioning for his team to accompany him. The two teams parted at the training grounds and Naruto sat in front of his team. He looked at each of them before speaking. "Tell me your names, likes, dislikes and dreams."

"Sensei, shouldn't you start?" Naruto grinned sheepishly and placed a hand behind his neck.

"My name is Fox. If you guys do good enough, I'll tell you my real name but until then, just call me Fox-sensei. My likes are Shadow-sensei, all AMAZON members and people that would sacrifice everything for the village. Dislikes? Konohagakure and advisors that extend their power too much. Dream? To become the strongest shinobu humanly possible and to protect Karikage-sama with my life. If possible, I'd like to become Karikage." The genin nodded before a hot-headed brunette with his hair tied in a braid down his back spoke up.

"I'm Hatanna Kyo. I like any animals, especially vicious ones and Karikage-sama. I dislike people who diss Karikage-sama or any of the council four. My dream is to become a council member." The milk brown eyes flicked to a girl with purple hair wearing a dark green and silver jacket and black capris.

"My name is Kuranne Haruka. I like Shadow-hime and the other council members and anyone that protects them. I dislike people that think they are better than everyone else or rely on one type of fighting style. My dream is to become a medic-nin like Destiny-sama." Haruka and Kyo glanced at the last member of the team who spoke up softly.

"My name is Watarrin Hatori. I like my female cousins and my mother. I dislike my father and most of my male cousins. My dream is to become Serenity-sama's final protection like Angel-sama." Naruto nodded at the shy girl with short platinum blonde hair. His eyes flicked to the three young children before him. All of them wished to become like one of the council four and two of them dreamed of being on said council. To become that strong, Maruto realized he'd have to train these kids hard and long. Oh well... I always did love a challenge.