A/N: I understand you all are curious to know how powerful Naruto really is. Well you get a decent idea this chapter, enjoy.

'Thoughts'

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING"

"JUTSU being cast"

"Demon speech"

Chapter Six

An Introduction to Power

I am the rage and the vile and the voracity. I am the Sin and the fear and darkness. I shall never die. The thought of me is forever, in the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsecrate and lust. Nothing shall ever destroy me. Nothing!

Small boy found in a backwater alley in Mizu – thirty six seconds pre-death.

Naruto, Son of the Forth Hokage, apprentice of Rockiza Zero, Mantle of the Fox, wore white on the day he was to kill a king. The white clothing was an Iwa tradition, foreign to him. But he was playing the role of his first mentor; it was vengeance for both of their sakes after all. Kizzaro and Genzuka wouldn't survive the night. That much was certain. If everything went to plan then he would be accepted into Konoha by dawn.

Naruto sat crouched in a corner of an ally way, awaiting the arrival of his targets. Finding, Kizzaro's chakra signature in the slums had been child's play. Kizzaro would meet Genzuka and his bodyguard every third day to discuss their plans and coordinate. Apparently the rivalry wasn't as heated as his old mentor had believed, or at least lead him to believe.

It would be this alleyway, just on the outskirts of Konoha where Naruto would make his move. Naruto stood in the middle of the ally awaiting their coming. There was no need to be stealthy from what he could sense of their chakra signatures. Ved's was so small as to be neigh unnoticeable.

He didn't have to wait long. Genzuka, his bodyguard, and Kizzaro approached the corner five minutes after Naruto had taken his place in the ally. Pulling out a two inch nail from his white vest, Naruto slid out from his hiding place. He would do this with only the skills he had gained from Zero and maybe one or two he had picked up while on vacation with Orochimaru. It certainly wouldn't take much effort to kill the fools. Indeed, the hardest part would be drawing them Kizzaro out of the village after killing Genzuka and making Kizzaro think he was winning. Just as the duo rounded the corner, Naruto flicked the nail straight and true. It drove straight through Genzuka's eye and out the back of his head, flawless victory.

"Well Ved, it appears we have ourselves a little angel come to smite us." Kizzaro sneered, ignoring the corpse of his partner hitting the ground with practiced ease.

"Hur yea, lucky me I guess." Ved said stupidly, probably having not realized he was now unemployed.

'I can see why Genzuka ran the fool. He probably doesn't have the intelligence to watch his own back.' Naruto sneered internally.

"I hardly came here to chat. I've come to indulge myself in some petty revenge." Naruto said evenly, walking straight for them.

"Indeed?" Kizzaro asked, seemingly finding Naruto's entrance amusing. "You're chakra signature is quite pathetic, you were far stronger before you left than you are now. To think that I was so threatened by you that I had you shipped out to Orochimaru. Under what delusion do you think you can take the both of us?" Kizzaro spat the last part of the sentence out, finding no mirth in the boy's insolence.

Naruto grinned serenely and answered by shooting forward towards the duo, "Because I know something you don't." He whispered in Kizzaro's ear.

Kizzaro didn't get the chance to ask what. He was far too busy blocking Naruto's first strike. His fist came like a thunder bolt, smashing into half drawn weapon, locking it there. Staring at the fist he barely stopped, Kizzaro mentally screamed. 'Damn it, the kid has so little chakra now that I can hardly detect him. Yet, his speed is greater than my own?'

"Boring, here I was thinking to play it soft and let you think you were winning and draw you out of the village to kill you both. It seems you are far weaker than I remember and even planned for."

Kizzaro looked up from his shaking weapon only to see Naruto now standing across the ally way holding Ved's head in his hand idly by his side.

Flicking some of his wild blond-red from his eyes with his free, right hand, Naruto looked down at the head dangling daintily in his grasp.

"I mean, his head came off so easily and he moved so slow that you'd swear he didn't want to keep it." Naruto said while lifting Ved's head up to give Kizzaro a good look at the dripping head before dropping it to the ground with a sickly thud.

Stepping forward, Naruto continued, "And now it's time to get you out of the village. I can't have the Hokage arriving before I'm ready now can I? Dealing with him if I have to will require a bit of preparation. Doubtless he's far above my level but I should still be able to escape if necessary baring too many high level ninja there to back him up."

"H-how," Kizzaro stuttered, trying to put voice to any of his many question before Naruto cut him by placing one finger in front of his lips and saying. "Shhhh, no need to speak, it won't make a difference to you any way."

Naruto then disappeared in a blur of speed only to reappear directly in front of Kizzaro.

"To think, I once thought you were fast." Naruto muttered before reaching out and grabbing Kizzaro's face, launching off the ground and over the buildings towards the wall.

"Stop your struggling." Naruto said irately while punching Kizzaro in the stomach to get him to stop squirming while they coasted through the air. "We're almost there."

It was luck, really, that they were so close to the wall to begin with. While he knew there were no ANBU or chakra detectors in the area. He couldn't be certain if he was seen by a civilian or a night crawler that would report to the Hokage. Time was now ticking.

A few minutes later he arrived on the outskirts of Konoha, just inside the forest of death. A most perfect place for an execution.

Placing the still gasping Kizzaro on the ground, Naruto stared down apathetically at him.

"You know." Naruto said conversationally, "I imagined this moment so many times in my head, all the different ways that I'd kill you, all the different ways that I could die. Throughout all my imaginings, I didn't think you'd be so weak. You've truly wrecked the ranking system I had in place. I don't know where I stand in the ranking system but if you are what it takes to be Chunnin then I'm diffidently at least Jounin, not that it really matters to you anyway. I just have to pick which method for you to die that seems most appropriate. Your friend got decapitation and I'm far too pressed for time to flay you. So I guess I'll just keep it simple and call the Hokage while ending you, two birds with one stone."

Naruto stood there waiting for Kizzaro to recover enough of his senses to pull himself to his knees. When he finally did, Naruto reached out and placed his hand on his head in an almost friendly way and began flooding his body with Chakra.

"Limit release restriction one." Naruto spoke softly, almost sweetly, enjoying the look of horror on Kizzaro's face as he released a fraction of his Chakra.

"I'll give you a small explanation of my chakra limiters before you die." Naruto said ruffling Kizzaro's hair in a friendly manner before kicking him in the chest and into a tree, cracking the bark from the force of his impact. Naruto waited a moment watching Kizzaro slump in front of the tree, blood leaking from between his lips.

"Broken ribs, maybe a punctured lung, you aren't long for this world anymore. So fragile, just try and stay awake till I'm done with you." Letting a bit more of his Nine Tails chakra flood his system, Naruto continued.

"You see, I invented limiters with the help of a mentor of mine because we realized that when I finally get out of prison, my body wouldn't be able to handle my own increased chakra. It also has the added bonus of slowing down a certain furry companion of mine, but I digress. Using this method, I can repress my chakra in stages and kind of seal it away so as I don't…implode. It takes a moment or two to access it, but once it's free. It is quite overwhelming. A shame really, I can't hold out for long. By mixing chakras it increases the potency of both and creates a cascading effect. It takes quite a bit of concentration maintain an internal balance. The loss of control has very….negative effects. It's a give and take relationship you see, but you don't need to know anything about that. All you need to know is that you never stood a chance. All of your carefully honed skills that you let decay in your arrogance, your precious techniques that withered, they were all completely useless. You haven't trained your body in a long time, focusing completely on chakra increases. Sure, you have a decent enough supply compared to your average ninja but you let your body decay and lost your homeostasis, your balance. It was pitiful watching you try to keep up with me.

Ah, I let myself get distracted, an unfortunate habit I've gained with my freedom. Where was I? Ah, yes, limiters. My zero stage is the basic level. A low amount of chakra but I can control it far more easily than I can any other stage. Second stage is where my chakra takes a huge increase. Third stage, well you don't really need to know about that. I've only released this stage just to give you an idea and call the Hokage. He's most assuredly picked up on the taint in my chakra and recognized it. He should be here momentarily." A brief surge of Chakra confirmed Naruto's expectations. "Ah, yes, there he is. He's bringing friends as well. Sorry, but your time has run out." With that said Naruto drive his hand through Kizzaro's chest and into the tree behind.

"Goodnight." Naruto said to the bleeding corpse in final farewells.

Sarutobi was sitting in his office enjoying a nice smoke. It wasn't often that he got a little relaxation time. As Hokage it was his job to give up his time and life's energy to his people. A entirely thank-less job. It was evening and he felt completely justified in ignoring his paperwork, and therefore the nagging populace, in its entirety. His grandson wasn't attempting one of his foolish assassination attempts and his bones were being oddly compliant. It was a wonderful evening. Everything was how it should be.

It was just as Sarutobi's eyelids were drooping, the beginnings of what promised to be a pleasant nap, when an extremely familiar and malicious wave of chakra hit the Hokage's Tower.

'It's not possible!' The aged Hokage thought jolting to his feet. A wave nausea swept over him as a second wave of power tickled his sense.

'The Kyuubi was defeated over fifteen years ago. It couldn't have possibly reformed this quickly, never mind getting here without anyone noticing.'

Three ANBU appeared next to him.

"My Lord, what do we do?" A badger masked ANBU asked.

"Two of you will be accompanying me." Sarutobi ordered, "Cat, you go and activate platoons one through twelve and get Kakashi, he knows what to do. Send a message to Jiraiya as quickly as you can. He should be in the area."

"Will we be able to hold out that long my lord?" Bear asked.

"Hopefully we can redirect it." Sarutobi said grimly, believing none of his own words. The Kyuubi was here for revenge. Blood would run the streets before they could even gain the great beasts attention.

Nodding in understanding of his orders, cat vanished in a Shushin.

"Sir!" A flamingo masked ANBU exclaimed coming into office, "The Chakra signature is coming from beyond the southeast wall, just inside the forest of death." He reported.

"Then let us go there and head it off before it gets inside." Sarutobi said while flipping through a few hand signs and vanishing in a whirlwind of leaves.

Having suppressed himself back down to stage zero, Naruto was sitting tranquilly beside Kizzaro's corpse while waiting for the Hokage to arrive. No doubt the Hokage's constant flickering through Konoha was because the he was gathering people to face what he perceived to the Kyuubi.

'Aren't they going to be in for a surprise when the find little old me sitting here instead of the big, bad fox.' Naruto mused to himself.

A short while later the Hokage's chakra signature stopped among a group of seven other powerful signatures. They remained in the same location, just outside of the wall he was by, and seemingly waiting for him to arrive. Naruto had already saturated the area with his own chakra in preparation for their arrival. Logically this would be the best place for him to have an encounter with, undoubtedly, seven of the strongest ninja within the village. Naruto, however, was impatient and wanted to get something to eat. He was approaching his last legs of strength this period. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten properly. Chakra could sustain him in desperate times but it wasn't healthy. How Lock survived so long, Naruto could scarcely begin to speculate.

Standing up, Naruto prepared to make his way to where he was expected to arrive. He'd have to play his cards perfectly if he was to survive to see dawn. Sure, he could probably go to another village, another country even, but that wouldn't be home. As sad as it was, Naruto still had a connection to this collection of ideas.

"I'm too young to deal with this." Naruto muttered as he began walking towards the wall too meet with either his future fellow warriors or his executioners. Just before Naruto left the clearing, he turned back and addressed the bloody stain on the ground, formally named Kizzaro.

Snorting in disgust, Naruto said as he left the clearing throwing over his shoulder, "I may have more in common with you than I'd like within the next hour than what makes me entirely comfortable. At least my death, should it come to it, will be far more spectacular than yours was." And with that, Naruto was gone.

"It comes." The wolf, masked ANBU said, addressing his Hokage.

"It will be here in a moment." The Hokage said, nodding in agreement. His brown eyes, shinning within the night with the strength of his predecessors, portrayed nothing of the age his battle clad frame did.

"Why can't we see it yet?" The cat masked ANBU asked. "Wasn't the Kyuubi larger than the trees last time?"

"It must have picked up on a few new tricks in the years it's been reforming." A boar mask ANBU guessed, fidgeting slightly from where he was perched on the roof.

"There is something off about the chakra. It feels like it has human elements to it." The wolf masked ANBU supplied. Wolf seemed completely at ease from where he leaned against the battlements, resigned to his fate, whatever it may be, while reading an orange covered book. Wolf was a veteran in the second great-war, though his age would indicate otherwise. He was young now, a child then. But then again, youth were always expected to fight. Wolf had fought well and had the shattered heart and pained memories to prove it.

"I noticed that as well. There is no help for it but to wait." The Hokage confirmed, "Have you set up the suppression barriers?" The Hokage asked, directing his question to Boar.

"Yes, my lord. It has been erected to the best of my ability." The Boar masked ANBU responded quickly. "It won't last forever though, despite the fact that the fox seems to be suppressing his power."

The Boar masked ANBU had been there during the first time the Demon Fox had attacked. It had been over whelming, the sheer power that the fox could emanate had been enough to stop the hearts of the Gennin, freeze the Chuunin where they stood, and make the Jounin feel as though they were fighting in mud. Such power shouldn't have been possible by anything other than a god. No god that the Boar ANBU knew of would take such joy that the fox did in slaughtering everything in its path. He'd watched his comrade's flesh be stripped off them by the force of its scream. He'd seen the blaze of the infernos the fox was capable of generating that hadn't even left ashes in its passing. The nightmares would never go away and yet here he stood, ready to watch it all happen again. The fox's flair of chakra earlier had been nothing spectacular compared to what he had felt that day and it had shrunk yet again earlier to barely above civilian levels. What the fox was playing at, Boar could only guess at.

"I understand." The Hokage said wearily. Similar memories going through his head that Boar was immersed in. Suddenly, the Hokage sharpened his pose, years cast from his frame by will and need, his attention as sharp as a kunai as he noticed a human figure coming from the tree line. The figure didn't seem to be afraid or otherwise emotionally distressed enough that would indicate that he was running from a terror of mankind which could only mean one thing. The Kyuubi had arrived and apparently figured out how to take a human form.

Naruto entered the clearing, just before the wall, and looked up to observe the seven shadowed figures waiting for him like grim specters of death. How they were shadowed from his sharp eyes. A chakra barrier was the most obvious conclusion. His enhanced eyes never lied and his Demon's eye never could, but Naruto had no desire to bring that out. Such a feat would require Stage Two to be brought to bear. Naruto had no desire to intertwine himself with the Kyuubi to that extent unless absolutely necessary. Plastering a happy grin on his face, Naruto greeted his judges.

"Hello, there! Do you know where the nearest grocery station is?" Naruto called out cheerily.

"Brass humor is hardly appropriate, don't you think, Kyuubi? At least you're able to speak this time. Last time you were here, the only thing you had on your mind was our citizens." One of the shadows called out. His voice was gravely in an unnatural way, probably from having his larynx crushed more than once. Naruto suppressed the Kyuubi's desire in him to do it again. The effort cost him.

"You're only half right," Naruto responded without missing a step, "I am the Kyuubi, but not the one you know and I've done my best throughout my life to avoid cannibalism despite the many opportunities within your walls."

Naruto had decided the better part of honesty with this group would probably be wise. He had already shown part of his hand by exposing the Kyuubi's chakra as bait. Hopefully it would give him some bargaining ground.

"Explain yourself." Came a familiar voice, the Hokage.

"Of course," Naruto said taking a sweeping and grandiose bow. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, Son of Minato Namikaze and the warden of the great and terrible Nine-tails."

Naruto felt and smelled it this time, the ripple of unease and surprise. The barrier was obviously lost effect over time. Exploitable holes would be appearing soon. Still though, they were quite skilled to have hidden their emotions from him for as long as they had.

'Of course, they are supposedly the elite of the village.' The Kyuubi finally chimed in.

'Shh, mommy is talking.' Naruto responded to the disembodied mass of hatred.

'I'm going to enjoy ripping your tongue from your head for your insolence when the time comes.' The Kyuubi responded as he retreated further into Naruto's mind.

"Quite the claim you have there, even more so since the fourth didn't have a child." A new figure called out. He was a relaxed and easy going voice. Probably either at his ease with the unknown, or just didn't care for the situation one way or the other.

"I would say it's simple enough to prove with a DNA test but I'm afraid that would be inconclusive as I have several genetic structures within me, courtesy of my previous home's owner. You may be able to isolate my fathers but I'd have to be one hell of a medic to do so." Naruto explained; his speech well prepared. "But I don't come here as the son of a father I never knew. I come here as myself to enlist as a part time Gennin in your military and to run a small shop, if I can. I wish to call this place home once again."

"Pretty words and fancy gestures will get no nowhere, demon." The roughhewn voice came again.

'Someone has a chip on their shoulder.' Naruto groused to himself.

"I have done nothing to any of you. If you would not have me here, then I'll take my leave and find my fortunes elsewhere." Naruto said and took a single step back to emphasize his point.

"Wait." The Hokage called after him. There was the unmistakable scent of desperation. Konoha couldn't afford another potential enemy. Not after losing one of the Sannin all those years ago.

Naruto had to repress a grin. He had them.

"Will you give me your word that you aren't here to bring ruin? I want your word as a demon." The Hokage said, his voice deathly serious, eyes speaking of the consequences if the wrong answer was given.

'Careful boy, while I still haven't destroyed you. I'm still entwined enough with you that you are bound by certain rules. Bad things happen to those who break their word as cliché as it sounds.'

'It doesn't matter. I don't actually intend to harm any of them. I also don't really intend to protect any of them but that wouldn't be breaking my word, now would it."

'You walk a fine line, brat. Be careful you don't cross it.' The Kyuubi warned.

"You have my word." Naruto replied to the Hokage.

"Then you may enter. Lower the Barrier and let the boy in, Bear."

"Sir!" Naruto heard, what he assumed this Bear character exclaim, "You can't be considering this."

"It's done and you will obey." The Hokage commanded. He may be old, but he would not tolerate insubordination in front of a potential enemy. The appearance of a united front was required.

"Yes sir. I'll lower the barrier." Bear said, obviously not pleased.

"No need, I let myself in." Naruto said from where he stood right beside the Bear masked ANBU causing him to flinch back and draw a kunai in preparation.

"Hello, nice to meet you all." Naruto greeted the assembled ninjas cheerily, allowing a goofy grin to splay across his face.

"Be at my office this evening, now, back down you go." The Hokage said grumpily and punted Naruto off the wall and into the village perimeter. The boy made no motion to stop the aged leader, obviously he was expecting such a petty act of revenge.

"You do realize you just let the Kyuubi into the village, despite how much he looks like my old mentor, right my Lord?" the wolf masked ANBU asked, moving into step behind the Hokage. Wolf was a trained professional. The casual booting of a demon was to be taken in stride.

"I am well aware of what I've done, Kakashi." Sarutobi said while pulling out his pipe and lighting it with a small fire jutsu, "But I have its word, and for now that'll have to do. At least till I figure out what to do with it. We have the upper hand as it is and I intend to make use of it. What I sense from it currently can't even be compared to what it's displayed back then. It worries me. I no longer know what we are dealing with. We need information. The risk is worth the gain."

"Hmm." Kakashi said in ascent. "I just hope we made the right decision."

"As do I," The Hokage sighed, ignoring the familiar way his subordinate spoke to him. Then in a quieter tone he repeated to himself, "As do I."

He was getting old.

Naruto was having the time of his life. Not difficult consider he'd spent the last few years of his life doing his best to simply survive. He'd discarded the white robes after tearing off a strip to wrap around his eyes until he could find a better substitute. The rising sun burned his enhanced eyes. The time spent underground had claimed much of his day-vision, eyes too used to straining. While the cloth didn't completely obscure his vision it damped the light to tolerable levels. The strip also had the added bonus of covering his corrupted eye from the public. It wasn't that he was afraid to show his eyes. No, he had his seal on display, the difference being that the seal required knowledge of its creator and therefore was hardly public knowledge. Many ninjas had seals; they wouldn't assume much from seeing a new one. A black and red eye, all that required was a vivid imagination to draw conclusions.

His eyes would adjust to the sun eventually; it'd just take some time. While strolling through the market district, Naruto had picked up a black tank top shirt and orange pants from a day-dreaming, clothing merchant, the tank top proudly displaying the cursed seal that remained on his right shoulder. The irony was too much to pass up. The seal was different from the other experiments seals, although, it still had many similarities. It bore the standard concentric tomoe with the striating marks encircling the core. The adaptations Kabuto made were the three circling lines outside the tomoe. Within the Tomoe, there was the Kanji for Sin written.

Now that he was as presentable as he was going to get, he just had to find some food. Simple pocket change would be simple in procuring. Naruto had long ago lost his morals concerning property. Spotting his target, a well-dressed, middle aged, portly gentleman with a rich, black flowing beard, Naruto flared a bit of chakra and stepped past the man faster than he could register.

As Naruto sauntered around the corner behind his victim, he tossed his ill-gotten gains skyward, waited a moment, and snatched them from the air then set the extremely important task of finding some food. Sugar, He'd decided. He wanted something that held the promise of shutting down his system. He'd never had any form of sweets before, and he had heard from Lock that they were quite fattening. Naruto figured he could use an extra calorie or two at the moment. Sampling a bit of the air, Naruto sniffed, trying to find the sweetest delight he could.

Following his nose, Naruto arrived at a slightly run down shop named Dango Emporium. Despite the sketch and run down state of the building, the door was moldy and most of the tiles were missing from the roof, and the unassuming title, Naruto's nose was informing him that this place contained quite possibly the sweetest food in town.

The inside of the shop was as run down and seedy as the outside. Stepping inside, Naruto surveyed the cliental with an uninterested eye. Six civilians and one ninja, Jounin or high Chuunin if the chakra signature was anything to go by, sat at the table munching on their respective meals or sweets. Taking a seat, Naruto signaled that he was ready to be served. He was only forced to wait a moment or two before a female arrived to take his order.

"I'll have the most of whatever this will get me." Naruto said and placed approximately half the coins he had gained from the merchant on the table. The waitress eyed the money for a moment, obviously unused to being paid up front.

"Any preferences?" The waitress asked in a clipped tone, obviously just going through the motions despite the unorthodox payment method.

"Sugar," was Naruto's simple reply.

"We can do that." The waitress replied with a dry and clearly fake smile. She did the expression justice. It conveyed her purpose. To serve food, not entertain the guest.

Not ten minutes later, his food arrived. Two bowls of steaming, unidentifiable soup and a few sticks of what appeared to be pure sugar. Just what the doctor ordered.

Picking up his spoon, Naruto set about dissecting his soup. He wasn't five minutes into it before the ninja in the room apparently decided to take issue with him. He hadn't provoked her in any way that he could imagine.

"Hey, you!" She called out to him and apparently standing up, if the sound of an overturning of the table behind him was anything to go by.

'Maybe if I ignore my problems, they'll go away.' Naruto wished.

They didn't. They never did. He still didn't know why he bothered.

A hand roughly seized him by the back of his shirt and ripped him out of the seat. Bracing himself for impact, Naruto hit the floor and had a short weapon shove in front of his face. He'd seen this type of weapon in Orochimaru's pits quite often. It was large and clunky. The sound it made cutting through the air was quite distinctive and easily predictable. Naruto disliked the weapon, nails were far superior.

"Think it's funny don't you? Getting a tattoo like that and coming around here. You think it's funny to mock me? I'm a ninja! I'll have you know and am more than willing to kill you, you snot nosed-brat." The angry lady spat in his face, almost frothing at the mouth. Ignoring the blade point just under his covered left eye, Naruto focused on the girl assaulting him. The weapon wasn't the problem.

She was older than him by some six or seven years. Her purple hair was done up in some strange tuft behind her head while letting her bangs hang wild. She wore a tan trench coat with fish netting as her underclothing. A strange choice in clothing, but who was he to judge? This had to be Orochimaru's first pet project, Anko. He'd hear quite a bit of her from the scientist and guards. She was the butt of quite a few rude jokes. Apparently, Orochimaru had used her, his apprentice, and then discarded her as a failed experiment.

"I was enjoying that." Naruto said looking into her hazel eyes evenly, obviously unimpressed with the danger she considered him to be in.

"Like I give a shit!" She hissed through clenched teeth. "You think you're all tough for a civilian, coming in here with that brand on your shoulder thinking that your little friends will be impressed? We'll see how impressed they are when I hang your arm from the nearest flag pole. The rest of your body won't be required."

"My tolerance of the situation is dwindling." Naruto said, finally looking down at the kunai with distaste. Her squabbles with him were obvious. It would figure he would walk into the one building with one of the few people in this village who could identify the marking on his shoulder. Was it a Tuesday?

"You don't seem to understand the situation, do you brat?"

"I understand it well enough, Anko. I just don't care. I am still very hungry and you are between me and my meal. Now that I'm finally free of that pestilent snake of which I believe you are familiar, I intend to enjoy my meal and hopefully the Hokage will provide me with a temporary place to reside." Naruto said coldly, all the while slowly prepping his chakra for a quick exchange with a chair. He figured Kawarimi would work with just about anything. He hoped he was right.

"The Hokage let you in?" the girl asked shocked, struggling with the idea.

"Of course he did. I made my presence and a basic idea of my situation known and he accepted me. I have a meeting with him fairly soon, if you'd like you can accompany me to the meeting you may. Truth be told, this concerns you as well. I am going to finish my meal and then make my way to the tower. Now, if you would get off me, I'd like to return to my meal."

Anko, still stunned, moved off of Naruto as if in a daze.

"Now then, to business." Naruto declared, eyeing the remainder of his meal while reaching into his pocket, rubbing the money he'd pilfered from Anko.

Location: Cave

"So Hamartia's finally flown the coop? What a disobedient son to the Creator." A sultry female voice came from the shadowy corner of the room.

"I can't say that it surprises me. He seemed like such a rebellious sibling. I do hope he doesn't prove to be as much of a pain as Wrath has. It seems we made a grave error in trying to kill two birds with one stone. Our creator's soul and body do not mix well. " A lazy male voice added from another corner of the room.

"We won't repeat the mistake again," Said a new youthful voice. A voice used to command.

"It was a mistake the first time, foolishness a second. Hamartia proved more inept as his emergence than I would have thought. Either that or he's already betrayed us. We will proceed with our plans as if he were with us. His role was always minimal."

"What of your charge? Orochimaru has been making inquaries in Kumo. I think he suspects you." The feminine voice inquired of her leader.

"Orochimaru will over extend himself soon and I will be in position to capitalize. I don't expect too much resistance from him on that front. If all else fails we can always use her against him. I've already planted the idea of using the Uchiha. I've also seen to it that Hamartia has overheard certain bits of information. He will do as I expect. The question is why didn't Hamartia even try and assert himself. I will have to question him when next I see him, it shouldn't long now. Our meeting is inevitable." The voice finished with a slight chuckle.

"Getting sentimental, Bode?" The lazy voice asked.

"No, Sloth. One of the few things I have yet gained is sentiment. It'll be mine one day, Creator will see to it." Bode said, pressing on the bridge of his nose.

"Then this meeting is dismissed. We will meet when another has joined our ranks. Until then keep at your separate tasks. You especially Lust."
"I have never failed before. I'll be in place within Kumo by the end of the month. Akatsuki is already moving. They have caught wind that the Nine Tails' container escaped from their raid of Oto and fled to Konoha."

"That miserable band of fools is of little concern to us so long as we can keep our existence quite for a bit longer. Should they discover us they might prove a problem, those damn eyes of their leader sees far too much for their own good." Bode said vehemently. "We aren't close to being complete and as a consequence our powers are greatly diminished. Regardless, we each have something that we need to be attending to. This meeting has been carrying on for far too long, dismissed."

End of chapter six.

A/N: I place this out there as a peace offering for the chapter that I had to remove. The holidays are now over and school is starting again. I'll post when I have something new. At least Naruto's shown a bit of what he can do now.