The Last Uchiha?

*****Hey,you! Yeah,you,who just happened to start reading this!
This is a fanfiction that goes beyond the timeskip,but there is something brief I would like to explain! THIS IS IMPORTANT! I will try to explain without giving too much away.
Okay,so look. In this story,I have resurrected Itachi for reasons you will understand as the story progresses. There will be legitimate reasons that make sense,and this plot will be a little intricate,but understandable if you pay attention. Leave a review,to give me your opinions,suggestions and what you think =3 I'm always trying my best to improve.

I hope you enjoy~
*********************

A feminine figure stood atop the edge of a hill overlooking a homely town.

Konoha; she would definitely make the best of her stay.

"This is it, huh?" the woman asked,crossing her arms over her bountiful chest wrapped down to her mid-drift in black fishnet. The long sides of her navy blue coat fluttered behind her in the afternoon breeze,revealing a short,deep red skirt that hugged her curvacious hips.

Two garnet eyes moved rather reluctantly from her long,slender legs and onto the circular red and white fanned emblem on the back of her coat. "Yes.." said the voice,which belonged to the one with the same pair of eyes. A black-nailed hand moved to run his fingers through the swaying lengths of raven-black hair. Sensing even the slightest concern for his appearance in her male companion,the woman turned around,and raised two fingers in his direction.

"You look fine,sensei! Sexy as hell!" she said with a huge,gleaming white grin.

A dark chuckle came from under a rather garish looking hat on the man's head,riddled with bells and trinkets that could only hope to attract as much attention as the pair's unmasked chakra signatures. With a broad smile spreading over his full lips,the woman's male partner lifted his hand and snatched the hat,bells jingling obnoxiously as he tossed the blasted thing away in the wind. A small hoot and a whistle came from the woman,expressing her approval.

"Yea,sensei!" she exclaimed,grinning even moreso from ear to ear while doing something close to a victory dance. "Ow,owww sensei! You look hot!"

"That's enough,Nagisa," the man's voice came,rich and dark like the world's most sinfully delicious morsel of chocolate. The young woman's chipper display came to an immediate halt,dropping one arm at her side,while her left hand reached behind her head to give the back of her choppy raven hair a brief run-through. Her round,dark eyes settled on the man before her,looking up at him eagerly from under dark lashes.

The man's eyes rested on his first and only student,taking in the very essence of her right down to the very chakra points in her body. He found himself recalling countless nights of the lengthening years,where he had trained this girl to be prepared for what she was meant to do on this very day. He'd suffered through every one of her childish tantrums,pushing her along through an amount of training that,up until this very moment,had gone on for at most,nine years. Despite the lack of will of confidence in herself,he had made it clear that there had been no other person he thought capable of doing what he was so heavily set on teaching her to do. Every exercise,and every technique the middle aged man had passed onto her had greatly enhanced that minimal amount of confidence,and had even given her an apparent emotional confidence. The strong,proud woman standing so sure before him,so bright and raging with youth was not the same girl he had spared somewhere on a night of slaughter and betrayal so long ago.

And knowing this,had done so much as managing to bring a smile to Itachi Uchiha's lips.

"Sensei!" The bubbly young woman exclaimed,and immediately,the man's smile faded into a shapeless,unmoving line. "Sensei,you said that the Leaf Village has a brand new Hokage. They're calling him the Orange Ninja,right? Why does he get such a title?"

Since the start of their travel to Konohagakure,Nagisa had been eager to learn everything that she could about the village from her master,a former resident of the area himself. Her mission,however,required for her to be completely unfamiliar,and even clueless about most of the history concerning the land. Itachi told her to seek out and befriend a certain man,while keeping a steady but distant eye on another. Both of those men,he'd said,were extremely important to the Leafe Village. Any potential changes involving the future of the village,as well as the world itself,all would reflect on the actions of these two people.

The seventh Hokage,and his rivaling best friend.

Nagisa understood her reason for needing to become close to the Hokage. He was the center,and the strength of the village. Her master hadn't told her that,but she figured he'd neglected to,as it was common knowledge. As for the Hokage's best friend,Itachi had said that she would not need to know the details of his appearance. 'You'll meet him as soon as you encounter the Hokage' Itachi had said. Either that,or the man would come seeking her out,himself. It was putting it lightly,to say that Nagisa's new mission hardly made any sense to her. Whatever reason her master had for her in doing this,she expected to learn after its completion. She would start out with what she thought would be the simplest task in all of this; finding the Hokage and earning his trust.

With his eyes roaming among the various colored buildings of the Leaf Village,Itachi took only a brief moment to consider the answer to his student's question. Of course,he knew the answer. Thinking about it even replaced the previously lost smile on his lips. Hearing the faint laughter of children echoing somewhere further down into the streets of the village brought on a suprising ache of nostalgia.

"The Orange Ninja," the man said quietly,allowing the words to blend in with the sound of the whirling breeze. Hearing her master say something softly,the young woman turned to where he now stood a distance at her side.

"Huh? Sensei,did you say something?" she asked,her head tilted,her dark hues catching in the sunlight,revealing to be the deepest pools of blue.

Itachi made no insentive to move,only allowing his sense to be open to his surroundings,including one that craftily combined all of them into one. Lifting his view from the unsuspecting little village,two garnet eyes adorned with three revolving black tear drops settled on the clear blue sky. Seconds before the large white clouds could reflect onto the orbs,the image was pulled inside. Nothing could withstand the ground-shaking awe of these eyes. No one could behold their presence without becoming subdued by the mere sight of them. With a power so rare as this,Itachi would often find himself relishing the dumbstruck countenances of various opponents. With such unreflective eyes,he did not have to project the illusion of death,but instread drew them inside to witness it themselves. These inward mirages were more advance than any normal genjutsu.

The things his eyes could show to another being held the possibility of doing various things. And they were so pretty. One could only dare to take a peek,if they were curious enough to find out.

Finally deciding that her master was not going to answer,the young woman sighed,and crossed her arms over her chest again. "If you aren't going to tell me anymore,can I go now? I'm starving and I've already pinpointed every restaurant in town,"

Itachi turned his eyes slowly upon his studen with a thin brow raised. "You've done all that?" He asked. The woman nodded,pleased and taking her master's suprised tone as somewhat complimentary. Her triumphant wide grin was left to fall,as her master gave a half-smirk and turned his attention back to the sky. "Well,if you've done all that,then I can assume you've already spotted the location of the Hokage's current whereabouts," Itachi's eyes slid half closed,turning again to give a side glance to his student. "Right? Nagisa,"

Nagisa's eyes were busily roaming the various planes of her master's toned upper body,only hidden slightly by the fishnet shirt that he wore,an open black coat giving her free shots of his well-defined chest and abbs. Whether he'd seemed to notice her oogling or not,he made no attempt to properly adjust his clothing,but Nagisa oogled no longer.

"Uh...right," she said hesitantly,eyes forced away from Itachi to settle on the town. Her dark blue hues began to dim then,narrowing slightly as they scanned several large and different colored buildings. Eyes taking on a garnet color,the familiar dark tear drops revolving around the dot of her pupil turned slowly,and began their worked. Nagisa figured that simply finding the Hokage would be an easy enough task. He was the leader of the village,and therefore most likely the strongest.

"Do you see what you are looking for?" Itachi asked,slipping his hands into the pockets of his black pants. Nagisa briefly glanced his way,and did a double take,eyes windening at the large amount of blue chakra glowing within his very core. Her eyes could see his every chakra point,glowing like tiny dots among narrow,intricate paths through out his body. Trying to follow them was enough to make her head spin.

"Nagisa," her master said,snapping her out of her gaze. "Do not look at the paths,only the points on your target,"

"Right," she mumbled,feeling a little foolish for having become entranced by him once again. That was just what he did to her,even with the very fibers of his being. To the core,she thought he was beautiful. The way those onyx eyes stared across the afternoon horizon,with a gaze of unknown longing,and how even his strides and gestures seemed gentle. He had a very misleading,sinister aura about him that made it easy to understand why his opponents often trembled before him,under the weighted gaze of his charcol eyes. Sharingan or not,Nagisa saw nothing but kindness and a hint of the burdens of the past,which he carried without complaint or expressing distress. She was grateful to have such a master,who seemed to care for her unconditionally,and had never walked away from her,after the many times she had let him down. He'd said she had a special purpose. He was never giving up on her.

With such thoughts still racing around in her mind,Nagisa turned her attention back to the town ahead,teardrops revolving slowly as she studied the various tiny dots of chakra cores in the area. While some were stronger than others,this only led her to assume that these were the cores of adults and younger shinobi. None of them were large enough to rival that of a Hokage's. With a frustrated frown,she let out a small sigh. This was taking longer than she thought. She hoped Itachi wasn't disappointed.

"Look to the center of the village,in the largest building," her sensei said,and as if on cue,she saw it. The sight of it made her wonder how she handt. Its density and its size was larger than anything shed ever seen. It made her wonder how anything that dangerous could ever mean to be something protective. It glowed and burned,so alive and powerful like a roaring,orange fire. The signature,of course, was completely foreign to her,but she didn't need to understand it right now.

A glowing orange fire...the seventh Hokage.

"It's so huge..." Nagisa said,untensing her body and allowing her eyes to revert to their normal ocean of navy blue. Itachi remained unmoved and she realized that he must have still been studying it. It was only after she saw the slight,muscular frame of his body untense that she knew he'd deactivated his sharingan. He turned an onyx gaze upon her,eyes slid half open in a calm way that made the rest of his expression almost appear fatigued. Nagisa stared back at him,eyes wide as she awaited his next words.

"You may go now," he told her,and that was all. She stared at him a moment longer,longing for him to say something more. This was it? That was all? Her master wasn't one for farewells or goodbyes. Any of her previous missions would begin shortly after brief instruction and a pat on her dishelved hair. She understood the importance of this mission,as he had made it very clear that getting close and understanding the new Hokage was essential. Any other mission before this had been okay to fail,though it would leave her speechless and discouraged often for a few days after. But this mission...Itachi's demeanor had never appeared so utterly serious to her before.

Nagisa's eyes trained on Itachi,watching him uncertainly as he turned from the edge of the hill,leaving her to stand there on her own. He was going to leave. He was going to walk away as he had on every mission she'd ventured on,with the only hope being that she would return safely. It would be a while until they saw eachother,she knew. Most likely,longer than usual,considering the details of the mission.

Watching him walk passed her made something within her begin to cave in,something she could only describe as sadness. Was she sad that she wouldn't be able to see him for a little longer than usual? No,the feeling was more profound than that. It was...heartbreak. He was walking away from her without another word to say,only leaving her with the memory of that brief instant where he had gazed at her with those kind,but stern eyes of his. Why did he look at her that way? Why didn't he at least tell her where she could contact him,should she ever need him? Something was wrong...something...

"Sensei!" Nagisa turned,just in time to see Itachi disappearing into the bushes. She heard no more sound after this,but she knew that he couldn't already be gone. Abandoning the edge of the hill,she sprinted across the short distance,pushing past the leafy shrubs and ignoring the pricking of the thorns that poked holes or snagged at the tails of her coat. Her eyes had been squeezed shut through the passing of the troubling greenery,but once shed made it to the other side,they were wide and alert,garnet orbs scanning desperately into the depths of the dark forest ahead. His chakra still lingered in the air,and she savored the scent of him,still floating on the breeze. She wished he would come back,but she knew he wanted to get going already.

An uneasiness stirred inside of Nagisa,as she reluctantly hacked her way through the clingy greenery,tearing gree of any thorny branches threatening to ensnare her. Stupid branches,stupid thorns and stupid leaves.

Stupid leaves.

Yes,the very reason why,at this moment,she was not with her sensei still. Her mission,the Leaf Village and the two people she meant to betray all kept her away from the only person she knew in the world. She had done this countless times,and the result sometimes,being more rewarding than others. Each time she'd spent away from the person she loved,she returned to him,his arms open to welcome her back to his side with a smile of approval on his face.

Itachi was the only one she ever hoped to befriend. And she would never betray him. That was why the completion of this misson was so important,without even the slightest error,let alone failure.

The kunoichi stared out at the town once again,hands on her hips and a smile on her lips. The long sides of her navy coat fluttered,the emblem on her back seeming to shine under the rays of sunlight. 'This is it,' she thought,raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the large star. With a single nod to herself,the last surviving female of the Uchiha clan took a step forward,commencing her mission in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

~

"NO! No,no,NO!"

The blond spikes poking out from the top of a shaking head whipped back and forth. Cerulean blue eyes moved across the room in an anxious manner,from one familiar body to the next. Their faces smiled at him eagerly. Whether they were genuine signs of happiness or maybe just a lie,Naruto Uzumaki generally didn't like the looks that the foursome before him were giving him. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Come on,Naruto!" the soft voice of a pink haired female pleaded,green eyes tense and knowing they'd get their way. 'Oh,man...why are they all giving me those eyes...' the blond asked himself,while leaning back in his chair. He tried not to look too thoroughly into each face within the small crowd in front of them. They were all here; all of them. Their faces so much more mature,with that subtle hint of near adultness that the blond Hokage just couldn't overlook. His eyes roamed swiftly over the small trio,especially avoiding the face of his childhood crush,Sakura Haruno. Even without having looked at him once,another pair of dark eyes stared holes into Naruto,almost willing them to look in their direction.

"Naruto!"

He couldn't resist anymore. Naruto's eyes turned back to the newly formed team. Moegi on the left,still sporting giant orange pigtails,stood with her hands on her hips; a similar posture Naruto noticed that she'd adopted from her pink-haired sensei. To the right,was Udon,still tired looking and still drippy-nosed. Naruto nearly rolled his eyes as he turned his attention from the boy,to settle on the next. Seriously,after all these years,one would have thought the boy had learned the concept of a tissue by now. He was a grown boy!

Finally,almost reluctantly,the blond Hokage's blue orbs turned to rest on the dark haired male in front of him. The boy took on a scowl as their eyes met,brows knitting in apparent frustration. Naruto couldn't even remember seeing him grow up this fast. With all that had happened over the years though,he guessed it made sense. Both himself and his younger rival had been busy doing their own seperate duties. Naruto cracked a smile as he stared down at Konohamaruo,who,in turned gave a rather large grin of his own,stabbing his thumb out in Naruto's direction. From that very moment,Naruto knew he had lost the fight. The three of them would attend the C-ranked mission he had available for them,along with their medic sensei,Sakura.

And there would be no if,ands,or buts about it,from him.

Restacking the mission reports on the desk in front of him,Naruto couldn't help but think of a time where he'd taken the same role of Konohamaru. Begging and pleading the Third Hokage for better,higher ranked missions and ending up getting more than he'd bargained for. Even after the Third had passed,there was always nagging the Fifth. The Fifth,however,had not been one to tolerate his complaints.

Ah,the Fifth...Granny Tsunade. He would certainly miss--

"NARUTO!" A suddenly slam of the office door,nearly knocking it off its hinges shortly followed after the feminine growl of his name. Instinctively,the blond wiggled from behind the wooden desk,bracing himself as a pair of liquid amber eyes glared daggers from across the room.

"Y-yes,Baa-chan?" Naruto squeaked,despite the low octive of his matured,masculine voice. There she stood,cheeks flaring up in anger like Naruto hadn't recalled seeing in such a long time. Still beautiful,still ageless,though having long ago passed on her title as Hokage,Tsunade the Fifth was very much still alive. The fact that she was now seething with rage was proof to that.

"Oh,Lady Tsunade.." Sakura sighed,turning to see her former sensei in a rage. "What's wrong?"

The woman continued to glare at the blond across the room,and for the life of him,he couldn't figure out just what the hell he'd done wrong. And hello? This was his office now! Which meant from now on,every karate chopped desk,every broken window and every door ripped off its hinges would now be paid to be replaced with his own money. Sure,at one time it had been her office,but most of the damage it had taken in the past had been the result of her angry fists,and other various things she could find to throw. After having once suffered her wrath and ending up in the hospital,Naruto had taken care to avoid causing anything to flare up that storm of a temper.

So,what was it now?"

"Naruto..." the blonde woman growled between clenched teeth. The young Hokage was beginning to grow rather wary of her advance. Before the woman could come any closer,however,the pink haired kunoichi stood up,daring to throw herself before the wrath of her sensei.

"Lady Tsunade,now let's not get violent. Please calm down,and tell us what's wrong," Sakura pleaded,holding her hands up in a defensive manner. Sure,she was equally matched now with the woman who's strength was that of a hundred shinobi men,but even Sakura didn't want to risk finding herself being thrown out of the office window. One could only hope they wouldn't plummet to their death at the speed of light,after being assulted in such a way.

With the girl standing before her now,Tsunade had come to a halt,brows knit and teeth unclenched. It seemed as though she were heavily contemplating on whether shoving her former apprentice aside to give the blond a good beating,was a good idea. Just as Naruto leaned to the side to give the woman a timid wave,Sakura held her arms out.

The remains of Tsunade's furious countenance dissolved,and she regathered hersel,straightening up and crossing her arms.

"N-now,that's better. So,tell us--" Sakura began.

"This morning,I went to my pool and found a pair of binoculars sitting by the edge of the step down," the woman explained,eyes narrowing accusatiously.

So that was it,huh? Naruto's eyes lowered,ungraciously avoiding the angry eyes now of both Tsunade and Sakura. It was one thing to have the older woman looking at him so viciously. But Sakura too? Boy,did that put yet another dent in his dignity. The trembling figure the blond's eyes slowly fell onto seemed to somehow physically minimize under the his scrutinizing glare. He knew his culprit was right before him,but the difficult decision was to come out and bust him. As he recalled so long ago,Naruto had done many similar,but stupid things. And while he could completely understand the young boy's attraction to the uh--large chested? woman currently seething white hot rage,he also understood now that it was wrong.

Letting his face fall into his hands,blond fringe slipping through his fingers,the seventh Hokage knew what had to be done.

"Konohamaru..." Naruto's voice came out muffled slightly through his hand. "Did you...were you peeping at Granny Tsunade?"

"N-no.." came the corresponding,minute reply.

"Idiot!" Sakura screamed,slamming her fist down on her dark haired student's head. "Just what the hell were you thinking?!"

"I'm sorry,I'm sorry! Baa-chan,please don't throw me out the window!" Konohamaru cried,falling to his knees and clasping his hands together. "I was gonna,but I swear I didn't! It was just too embarressing!"

"Embarressing,huh?" Tsunade's left eye twitched. Konohamaru nodded quickly. "And you were gonna do it,huh?"

Again,the boy nodded.

Both Naruto,Sakura,and the sudden fraction of team Sakura could almost feel the bones aching in their own backs,as Konohamaru's body was tossed out of the office,slamming so hard into the wall of the hallway,that it left a rather impressive indention. The genin groaned,limbs slowly coming apart from the dented surface,before falling forward and landing face down on the floor. After watching him writher there for about a minute or so,the group's eyes slowly adverted when his body became still.

"L-L-Lady Tsunade.." Sakura gave a small,nervous laugh. "Sensei,you didn't...h-he's just a boy.."

Ignoring the pink haired medic and now relieved of all apparent anger,the amber eyed woman brushed past Sakura and leaned over the Hokage's desk with a charming smile. "Good afternoon,Naruto! How are things going for you?"

The seventh Hokage bit his lip in a nervous manner and scratched the back of his blond head,where sunny locks had grown considerably long. Once or twice,he thought about getting a haircut,but on a number of occasions,he'd been told that he greatly resembled his father. Overwhelmed to hear this,Naruto completely abandoned the idea. He was doing the very thing his father had succeeded in doing,as it had also been his dream.

Despite the fact that he'd known he could do it all along,he'd still felt a great amount of shock when he was told he'd become Tsunade's future replacement. He'd undergone apprenticeship status shortly after that,while Kakashi stood in temporarily. Speaking of Kakashi...where was that guy?

"Naruto," Tsunade's voice snapped the blond back into attention. His eyes rose from the stacks of paper on his desk,relieved that they hadn't been roaming anywhere else.

"Huh? Oh,everything's okay here,Grandma," Naruto assured,offering a large grin. His answer seemed to satisfy the woman,as she stood away from the desk,her eyes now on the small team in the room minus one. "Your mission will be delayed until tomorrow," she told Moegi and Udon. The boy looked up at her through a lensed gaze,attempting to wipe his nose. Tsunade sighed,reaching over to the desk and swiping up a tissue.

"B-but Lady Tsunade," Sakura's voice mumbled from across the room. "Sasuke's team has already returned. Shouldn't we leave today?"

Naruto's blond brows knift,after hearing the only word in Sakura's protest.

Sasuke; what a mess it was,getting him home.

It'd been a while since Naruto had actually seen him,in fact. Since he'd been released completely from any prohibition,the Uchiha rarely wandered the town. He'd instead remained secluded in his new home,which had graciously been given to him,soley upon the request of Naruto himself. At the raven's first reappearance in the Leaf Village,there hadn't been a soul who,despite their respect for the orange ninja,was willing to comply with Naruto's pleas.

After a lot of private meetings and discussions with the council,the town had decided to confine Sasuke to an entire two years without use of any jutsu. A place had been created,where an amount of chakra summoned from the captive in attempt to perform a jutsu,would immediately be absorbed. Without an arguement,or even one of his famous smirks,Sasuke allowed himself to be submitted to saidpunishment.

Two years seemed to go by fast in Naruto's eyes,and never once,did he have to go a day full of worry over his best friend. Much against the Uchiha's wishes,the blond had made a point to visit Sasuke every single day,up until the time of his release. A year had gone by since he had been freed,though. Naruto thought it was kind of strange that Sasuke was still isolating himself inside his house,with the exception of missions with his team.


"I'm sorry," Tsunade's voice said,interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "But Konohamaru is no longer in any condition to carry out the mission. He should be fine tomorrow,but if you think you should move forward with the mission,you should send another--"

"Baa-chan," the sunny blond cut in,folding his hands on his desk. The room became quiet,and all eyes focused then on the man behind the desk. Tsunade was the first to look away,as she realized the meaning behind the brief silence. No longer,was she in charge of dealing those kinds of orders. Whatever Naruto decided,whatever he thought was best,was what would be the final decision. With a hint of sorrow,the Fifth Hokage nodded,indicating that she understood.

"I'm sorry,Naruto. You're right,"

Naruto grinned,and let his hands unfold. "It's no problem,Baa-chan. Old habits die hard,huh?"

A smile pulled at the corners of the older woman's lips. "Yeah," she said quietly,and then turned to the doorway. "I guess they do..."

The fraction of team Konohamaru,Naruto and Sakura watched Tsunade step out into the hall,briefly disappearing around the corner after picking up the unconscious child on the floor and taking him with her. The tension in the room had finally evaporated,and the seventh Hokage let out a great sigh,smacking his head down onto his desk.

"That lady.." he whispered,half afraid she could still be around. From across the room,Sakura also sighed and looked at her remaining two team mates,unsure of what to do since the mission had been delayed. They could all still go,if that was Naruto's decision. Of course,it'd take some time for Konohamaru's injuries to heal.

Naruto contemplated the idea of sending another team. Would it make a difference? Not really,though the afternoon was getting late and he would've preferred to have sent them sooner.

Naruto picked his spikey blond head up from his desk to gain the expectant,green eyed gaze of Sakura Haruno. Sakura...so sweet,and adorable,though without a doubt still very capable of packing a mean punch. He still found her very attractive,even more so with how she'd matured into a woman over the years. However,he'd given up on the fantasy of ever hoping to be with her,and she'd given up on Sasuke just as well. Still,while he had no other person to lust after,Sakura had...

The sound of the office door opening rather slowly made Naruto perk up in his chair. He had to remember to look presentable,and attractive. Okay,well maybe not attractive. He could only hope to get by with the first one.

A familiar,pale face slowly peeked into the door way,baring a smile so huge and fake,Naruto found himself crumpling up a recent mission report in both hands. Feeling the heat of anger leave his face as he realized the stupidity of his actions,he unfolded the paper and attempted to smooth it out again. 'All better,' he told himself,and then put on a smile,just as fake for the slender,ghostly man who slipped into his office without a sound. Just like the ANBU nin he was.

And then he took the hand of the girl Naruto used to love.

'Just like the jerk he's always been!'

"Sai,you're back!" Sakura smiled,her fingers curling around the pale hand that held onto her fair one. To Naruto,the two seemed completely mismatched. When he'd found out that they'd started dating,he'd wrestled with the thought in his mind for weeks,until he'd come to the startling realization that it didn't even matter. At first glance,Sai seemed nothing more than an incredibly pale version of Sasuke. That,and questionably homosexual. What,with all of his bizarrely warm,fuzzy and overly friendly antics,there were times when Naruto just had to wonder.

But over time,Sai had suprised everyone. Slowly,he'd began to develop his own personality. It would become apparent when he expressed his likes even slightly,and his dislikes,more obviously. He'd even gone as far as to tell Naruto what he thought of his new hairstyle.

"It's ugly," he'd said with a hint of taunting emotion. Naruto had been suprised to hear."You look like a transvestite. Please seek the appropriate professionals,and correct the problem immediately".

Being the new and improved man that he was,Naruto had fought off the urge to tell him he was about to correct the arrangement of his face. Sai,had finished with a smile,using it more as a method to taunt the victims of his verbal harrassment,rather than to cover up any conflicting emotions these days. He didn't appear to have any,or as much now,as far as Naruto knew. And if he did,well..then there was always the original use of that phony smile...

"I would have been back sooner,but I sensed a strange presense on the outskirts of the village," Sai replied,his dark eyes turning to Naruto.

"A strange presense?" Sakura repeated,pink brows knitting. "What do you mean..? What was it like?"

Naruto said nothing,awaiting Sai's reply as his question had already been asked. As of late,the village had appeared to be safe and secure. In fact,there had hardly been a single threat to surface since the fourth shinobi war. Since after the catastrophe,however,there had been rumors that one of the Akatsuki members still remained alive,though currently dormant as far as associating in the ninja world. These were definitely rumors though,as Naruto had been sure to deal with the majority of the sinister group of ninja himself,and even handed some of their asses to them,himself. All of them were,without the slightest doubt,dead and gone.

Still,as the Hokage listened to his former team mate explain,he couldn't help but feel the slightest amount of discomfort.

"It was a strong chakra signature. The shinobi had been so daring,as to not even bother to hide the fact that he was there. Unfortunately,I did a lap or so around the area,but came to nothing,"

Naruto frowned,two fingers tapping thoughtfully against his lips. From what Sai had described,the threat had only appeared to be minimal. And besides that,the shinobi had already left before he could be discovered. Had he sensed Sai following his trail? They couldn't be certain,but also couldn't let even something this small be passed off as an empty threat.

"Sai," the blond sai,leaning forward at his desk. "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"No,sir," the pale boy replied. Naruto had to fight off a pleased smirk from taking form on his lips. The day that someone,even his own former team mate,would acknowledge him with a new level of authority had come sooner than he'd anticipated. Naruto tried to regain himself,not wanting to wade around in his newly found self confidence for too long. That was the old Naruto. The one before the newly aquired title Hokage had just had just been a dream...

"Alright. I'll speak to Kotetsu and Izumo about this. I'm going to ask them if they've seen anything strange,"

"B-but,Naruto.." Sakura spoke up. For the moment,he'd almost forgotten shed been there.

"It's fine," the blond assured,waving a hand at the medic. "Just send 'em my way,if you happen to see them. Okay?"

Sakura looked reluctant to agree,for whatever reason. Perhaps,it was because she didn't want the village to go into a panic over what could potentially turn out to be just a false alarm. Even so,Naruto had to be sure. As the Hokage,the safety of the village was his first priority. Everything else,including the disagreements of his friends had to be looked at,considered,but maybe not what made his decision.

"Anyway...is there anything else you two need?" Naruto was trying to veer off the unsettling topic of the Akatsuki. Sakura shook her head,shortly dismissing herself while taking Udon and Moegi along with her. Sai,however,appeared to have more to say.

A lot more.

"Naruto,I didn't want to say this in front of Sakura,because it might upset her. But there is also...something else I saw,"

The intensity of Sai's dark stare made Naruto's heart beat a little faster in his chest. Whatever Sai was about to say next,he got the feeling that it wasn't good.
*************

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