Konoha : Naruto's playground

Last time, before the evil cliff-hanger thingy:

"The next attack will be my last."

Naruto shivered at the amount of venom in the Kage's words. It seemed he would be caught.

Again, he had no time to prepare. Given the ability of his enemy, it was surprising he had managed as much as he had. The Snake Sannin simply disappeared, Naruto's vision turned white and he collapsed to the floor.

His last thought before he lost consciousness filtered lazily through his mind.

'I really need to learn some Taijutsu...'

ZZZZZZZZZ

Orochimaru of the Sannin was furious. His entire being quivered in rage as he glared down at the unconscious form of the source of all of his ire for the past few days. How could one, 9 year old boy cause an entire village such uproar? Why was it the blond, bumbling idiots that always managed to push his buttons?

"Loyalty must be earned, Uzumaki-kun. If you want to learn from me, prove to me that you are worth it. Prove to me that you have what it takes to learn what I could teach."

He remembered now, his first meeting with the brat. His words seemed to have stimulated such arrogant behaviour in the child; maybe he had humiliated him too badly?

No, it had absolutely nothing to do with that. The scale and nature of the atrocities he had been pulling were far too extravagant for it to be entirely based on their encounter. No sane person would go to such lengths to seek vengeance from something like that. But then again, the Uzumaki heir may not be entirely sane himself.

A cruel grin stretched across the man's face, his purple eye-shadow stretching as his sickly-yellow eyes bore into the back of the incapacitated Konoha Jinchuuriki.

It seems young Uzumaki had had a hard childhood. Orochimaru was not called a genius for nothing; the blond pariah had acted like someone with an ego to prove, someone with a grudge against the world. No other explanation would fit with the indiscriminate amount of effort heaped into his so called 'pranks'. But his life was only going to get harder now that he had angered the Otokage.

Before he killed him.

Orochimaru chuckled mirthlessly. Oh he'd pay for that, he'd pay ten times as much as the damage he had inflicted on the Village of Sound.

And then the Snake Sannin would kill him and feed him to his summons.

XXXXXXXXXX

Being a legendary Shinobi wasn't all it cracked up to be for one Jiraiya, the Gama-Sennin. Sure, the prestige and power that came with it were all good and dandy, yet the things that had to be done...

Jiraiya didn't know if it was worth it. The red and green clad spy-master had been trained by a Hokage, not only that but he had also trained a Hokage himself. And that Hokage turned out to be the strongest Shinobi bar none. Jiraiya was no stranger to strength and it showed in everything he did. Many may call him a fool, a lecher and one who didn't take life seriously, yet it was he who gave Konoha all its information. It was he who protected the Village from the outside.

Crouching on a tree limb, the toad-summoner stared critically at the area he was situated in. There had been a battle here not too long ago. Maybe just before the last time he had been this way. Dropping lightly to the ground, the Shinobi examined the area.

Burnt leaves lay concentrated in the foliage to the north side of the clearing, definitely a sign of either a fire or lightning Jutsu. There were indentations and crevices in a few of the trees, and it was safe to say from the leg-shaped depression in the medium-sized stump, that there had been a vicious Taijutsu fight in the area. However, something else caused the legendary nin to recoil in shock.

A long, thin trench was knifed into the ground, about a metre and a half in length. What shocked the Shinobi though, was that the cut was so thin and precise that he had no doubt in his mind of the identity of one of the attackers.

It stank of Orochimaru.

Who he had been fighting, his ex-teammate had no clue, but he dearly hoped that Naruto wasn't caught up in all this. Otogakure had been on high alert for almost three whole days. The Gama-Sennin had been forced to dodge and hide from every patrol that was sent out, and he couldn't locate the entrance to the Village.

Where were they all coming from?

He tracked one three man squad west, almost to the border with Taki. The team had looped around and simply headed on their way, almost as if the military presence was a pre-planned action. But none of it made any sense. The only reason for a Village to be in such disarray was if they were expecting an attack, but hardly anyone even knew that there was a Hidden Village here. Even Jiraiya had only just found out recently. Oh, he'd had his suspicions, but he'd never had any substantial proof to back it up. It was a testament to his ex-teammate's skill that his ability for deceit and misdirection hadn't waned in the slightest.

Jiraiya was faced with two options. Either he sat tight and observed the situation for a while longer, or he actively went about trying to find the Village. The former seemed like a much better idea. He didn't want to tip Orochimaru off that Konoha had discovered his whereabouts and at least some of his intentions, and he wasn't entirely sure if he would be able to evade the wily snake for that long.

No, the first option was far better. In that way he could ascertain if the son of his student had anything to do with this mess before making a move. For some reason, the white-haired Shinobi had a sinking feeling in his gut and it was making him feel uneasy.

And just why the hell did every Sound ninja seem to have a perpetual itch?!

XXXXXXXX

Screams rent the air in the Hidden Village of Sound. Anyone who approached the control room was sickened by the intense shouts of pain that echoed around the stretching hallways. It had been going on for hours and it didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. To the Shinobi population who had the misfortune of having to patrol near the room with some regularity, they wondered who could last that long from such prolonged torture, for there was no doubt in their mind that the perpetrator of all the chaos for the last few days had been caught.

Naruto blearily forced his eyes open. His mouth was gaping; he didn't think he had closed it in about an hour or so.

'An hour?' He didn't know how much time had passed. His world was a torrent of pain and fire, his mind clouded and withdrawn in an attempt to preserve his sanity. Yet he was close to his breaking point. No human could do this to a child, and Orochimaru was doing a good job proving it.

Raising his head, he glared weakly at his captor. The Snake Sannin grinned cruelly at the pitiful expression spread across the 9 year old's face. He held a shining silver double-edged sword in his right hand, a tongue of blazing-orange fire dancing along the edge.

"Amazing, isn't it Uzumaki-kun? The things a Jinchuuriki is granted by its Bijuu..."

Using what little strength he had, the blond Konoha Civilian spat a glob of blood and spit at his enemy's face. The vile mixture splattered on the Missing-nin's right cheekbone, dribbling down the crevice in his facial features before dripping from his chin. Orochimaru's face contorted in fury, and once again the flaming sword was slammed into the Jinchuuriki's torso.

Naruto's spine arched in pain. Liquid fire raced along his chest; he couldn't breathe or move. His eyes bulged as another scream tore from his mouth, his muscles contracting trying something, anything, to reduce the pain. The ex-Konoha Shinobi ripped the weapon from his body, fragments of muscle, skin and bone dislodging from the wound as it was pulled with the weapon. There was a large puddle of blood underneath the blonde's suspended body and it was only growing larger.

The pale-faced legendary Shinobi took a step back, his expression morphing into one of vindictive fascination. Crimson Chakra sparked along the newest wound inflicted on the child's body, the structure knitting together neatly as the skin warped and re-grew over the hole. The regenerative abilities granted to Uzumaki Naruto were astounding, far outmatching those of his trusted spy Kabuto. If he was able to extract the secret from the body of the child, it would be a massive breakthrough for the ex-Konoha-nin.

Oh, he would keep him alive for now, long enough to repay the humiliation he had wrought on his Village.

Slowly, Orochimaru stepped away, laying his Kusanagi blade on the seat of a small chair at the back of the room. The impromptu torture session was situated in the control room of the Village. Orochimaru had had the blonde's body brought here so that he could dish out the child's recompense whilst monitoring the restoration of his domain. He would not have his underlings slack off at this critical moment; Oto was weak and in a state of confusion, he would not allow word of his hidden movements to filter through to the outside world. His old comrades were a wily bunch and they would find him if he made the slightest mistake.

For Naruto, his mind was a haze of painful-red for a further five minutes. When the pain dulled to an agonising throb, he struggled to raise his head and understand what was going on. The room was dimly-lit, like most of the rooms in this cursed place, yet there was some kind of computer stretching along the far side of the room. From his shackled, elevated position, the 9 year old could just make out the flashing lights from the screen. It was lucky that he wasn't any closer; he was sure the bright flashes would only serve to worsen the pain in his head.

Slowly, his strength began to return to him. It seemed that the Kyuubi's Chakra didn't only fix his body, but was also a fail-safe for when he ran out of his own.

"Why do you think I wanted to learn ninja techniques? To make myself forget about this..."

"We all have to die kid. Whether in battle or laying down 80 years from now. Do we survive to protect ourselves, or do we starve and let our enemies kill us?"

Shisui's words filtered slowly through his head, it seemed so long ago that he'd had that discussion with the upbeat Uchiha survivor. What he wouldn't give to be with the friendly Sharingan user...

"You're one hell of a fighter kid, I know you're not a Shinobi, but you can sure as hell fight like one."

"I waited here for you all this time you know? I was so worried when they told me you were in the hospital and I came to see you straight away! What's so important that you can't trust me with it?! You know how we've lived; we can't survive without trusting each other! It's why I left that Orphanage in the first place!"

Images of his time together with the three Jounin, Ero-Sennin, the Sandaime and even the Ichirakus flashed in front of his mind's eye. How many times did he wallow in nostalgia, seeking an escape into his memories, into the few pleasant recollections embedded in his mind?

The image of TenTen's smiling face swam before his eyes. Was she waiting for him even now? Would she be waiting for him when he got back?

If he ever got back.

"I wanted to forget this feeling. This...this...loneliness and sadness. I didn't want to be sad anymore. I didn't want to wake up in the morning with the picture of people shouting at me, or throwing things at me in my head over and over again..."

His words came back to him as he gazed unseeingly in front of him. His way of life was threatened once again and he was beginning to realise that it wasn't the world that needed to change.

No, it was him.

Images flashed in front of him, images of a dead man, a blade poking from his chest. Images of bodies; strewn around a street like litter from a festival. Images of two Villages; one covered in paint and the other flashing by as he raced away. The world was a dangerous place, Shinobi up to their teeth in every country. Villages were strained against each other, building their forces for a time when war would once again break out. And within all this, he was just an insignificant speck, a bystander, looking onwards as the Shinobi forged ahead.

How many times had he thought on his choices? How many times in the past had he re-affirmed his reasons for living? His mind was a whirl of emotion as he remembered his short, yet brutally eventful 9 years. And once again his darkest fear sprang to the forefront of his mind.

"And that is all the proof you require. If you resist me, then grow strong, strong enough to fight me. You have tasted but a particle's worth of my strength so know what you are up against. But know this; I will be back, and when I return it is either your death or mine, Uzumaki Naruto."

Uchiha Madara. The man that would kill him. Something primal, animalistic, bubbled up within the blond 9 year-old's being. He knew this feeling; he had felt it in Iwa when he and Anko were surrounded, and in a brief moment of realisation he recognised it for what it was.

He would survive.

And if it meant ruining the hell out of other people's lives, then so be it. He was no longer the small 4 year old who just wanted security. No, he had graduated from that now, and his battles with Orochimaru had shown him his place in the world. Madara was far stronger than the Snake-Sannin, and if he couldn't hold a candle to the man's strength, then he really needed to get a move on.

And making the ex-Konoha Shinobi's life suffer at the same time would only be an added bonus.

Stretching his wrists in their chains, he tested the mobility of his body. Everything seemed to be working fine, so it was time to make a break. Naruto knew he had only one advantage in this situation; the legendary ninja hadn't seemed to realise that he was a wind user. It would be his only chance to escape. As he went over his plan one more time, a red-flashing light next to a lever caught the corner of his eye. The blond grinned through his tears.

Orochimaru watched with glinting golden eyes as his minions went about fixing up the damage to all the rooms in the underground Village. That dratted paint was proving to be a very troublesome decoration; it had resisted all efforts to be scrubbed from the walls. It would be a very effective medium for seal inscription though, especially permanent ones, if the resilience was anything to go by.

Turning from the monitors at the low knock that reverberated from the solid oak room door, the Snake-Sannin gave his permission for Kimimaro to enter.

"Orochimaru-Sama, the clean-up is going to plan. Almost eighty percent of the Village has been restored, but the paint is proving difficult to remove."

Orochimaru hummed in thought. Having made up his mind he opened his mouth to give new orders to his most loyal subject. He was stopped at the sight of a wide-eyed Kaguya, staring at something behind the white-skinned Otokage.

A feeling of dread washed through the Missing-nin's body. As his head turned slowly, the first thing that caught his eye were the manacles used to suspend his blond-haired prisoner to the wall.

They were sliced cleanly through, laying neatly side-by-side on the floor. There was no sight of the 9 year old. Orochimaru's head whipped around. So he could use Wind Chakra? His mind was jolted at the memory of an especially powerful kick that he had been forced to dodge. He should have seen it; it was clear that Wind Chakra had been used to augment that move.

The blond was sitting calmly in-front of the computer regulating the innards of the Village. The Snake-Sannin's eyes widened as he saw the child reach for the power lever to the generator room that fed the entire Village. Not only did it keep all the electronics working, it was also the source for the many experiments the Missing-nin was currently working on. One of which, was a new explosive seal array large enough to devastate an entire town.

"Oi, Hebi-chan! What's this thing do?"

It was such an innocent question, and Orochimaru reached his hand out attempting to reach the brat before he did anything.

"STOP!"

The two sound-nin could only watch in growing horror as the captive pushed the power output to the top of its range. The effect was instantaneous.

The massive screen grew so bright that the candlelight was drowned out, the room illuminated in the flashing warning signals popping up all over its surface. With a shocking 'BANG!' the screen exploded and Naruto had to duck quickly to avoid the fractured glass from striking him as sharp-edged pieces were thrown outwards. The room was once again plunged into dimly-lit shadows as the light from the screen went out.

The blond Uzumaki shivered as he turned to face the low hissing sound emanating from behind him.

"You...YOU TOTAL IMBECILE! YOU IDIOTIC BUFFOON! HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!"

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nope!" He answered brightly.

And then the world exploded.

XXXXXXXX

Jiraiya had no words to describe what he was feeling at the moment. One minute all had been quiet, even the scouting squads had been reduced and things were returning to what he would consider normal.

But then there was a massive explosion, obviously having been triggered from underground as suddenly large portions of earth began to cave inwards. It was then that the Gama-Sennin realised his mistake. The Sound Village wasn't a traditional place; Orochimaru had situated it under the ground!

Genius indeed.

But that was the least of his worries at the moment. Alarm sounds began blaring somewhere in the breached Village, they were so loud that even outsiders could hear them from the surface. A large mushroom-cloud of smoke billowed up from above the trees and Jiraiya could only stare in morbid interest as it floated away, borne by the winds of the sky.

Shinobi began pouring out of the ground. Jiraiya now realised what he had once believed to be potholes were actually entrances. Acting swiftly, the legendary Shinobi activated his invisibility Jutsu and leapt away from the commotion. He could not be caught in the situation. It would be the worst possible time for anyone to find out he was here.

Crouching in a bush, he suddenly became aware of a rush of foul Chakra, permeating the air like a poisonous gas, inducing fear and paranoia in all who felt it.

It was Naruto!

What the hell was going on down there?! At least he had definite proof that the 9 year old was here now. He could no longer sit back and witness the events. Naruto was down there and that changed everything.

He had to go in, there was no way he would not after gaining the information he had been seeking. Couple that with the apparent pandemonium gripping the Village of Sound and you had a potentially volatile situation. He had to get his blond godson out of there before he got hurt. Steeling himself, he bolted out of his hiding place, running as fast as he could to one of the entrances, a roughly hewn porthole that led to a stone staircase. He needn't have worried, at the speed he was moving, not one of the escapees could even so much as see him.

Speeding down the steps, he released his Jutsu, phasing back into view as he reached the bottom of his descent. He had a very good idea of the blonde's position; he could feel the tumult of the Kyuubi's Chakra, unrelenting as it was emitted from the brat. Explosions rocked the underground halls as Jiraiya made good time to the centre of the source of monstrous power weighing down all the air around him.

Was it an attack? He couldn't be sure, but it seemed like it had come from underground. Either Sound's enemy was already in the Village, or there was another explanation. He didn't have time to consider all the possibilities; at the present moment, Naruto's safety took precedence.

He pounded down the candle-lit corridor, not stopping to consider why the walls were covered in paint. He would later realise that the Snake-Sannin had instigated the blond prank-master's ire, but for the moment he could only think of reaching his quasi-protégé.

Suddenly, something slammed into his gut, knocking him backwards. In an instant, he was up, hackles raised in expectation of a fight.

"Ero-Sennin?! Ehhhh?! What you doin' here?!"

The Gama-Sennin could only stare bug-eyed at the 9 year old who looked beaten and bloody, large tears and holes decorating his upper-clothing, yet not a blemish to be seen on the smooth, tanned skin underneath.

"Naruto...What the hell did you do now?"

The young blond looked askance at the question.

"Who me?! Nothing!"

Jiraiya's already sunk gut, plummeted some more.

"Nothing...really..."

The red and green clad Shinobi shot forward, shoving his impromptu cargo to the side as a HUGE tongue of angry flame roared down the corridor.

"Oops! I think he caught me!" Jiraiya didn't spare a glance to the owner of the voice. He was too busy regarding the incensed pale-faced Otokage approaching with measured steps.

And he was not happy, not at all.

"Ehehe...Oro-chan. Umm, nice weather today huh?"

There were no words as both Shinobi shot forward, a blur of red and black. In those brief seconds Naruto came to realise the real gap in strength between him and the two fighting ninja.

Jiraiya's fist zipped outwards, a devastating haymaker aimed at the chin of his adversary. The blow clipped the Snake-like Otokage, yet he rolled backwards with the blow, reducing the force of the punch as he went. Jiraiya was forced to leap sideways as another fireball raced towards him, singeing the edge of his red cape as it blew down the hallway.

"Naruto! Get out of here! I'll handle this! Don't wait up, I'll catch up later!"

The blond shot a sceptical look at his protector before jogging down the hallway towards his Chakra seal he had left at the main entrance. Just as he moved out of view, he looked backwards to catch a glimpse of the battle.

It was unbelievably intense, far above anything he himself could manage. A stream of snakes slithered quickly down the missing-nin's right arm, snapping and biting at the Gama-Sennin. Jiraiya jumped back, a Kunai slicing at the summons as a small swamp formed under his opponent. Jumping like a panther, Orochimaru stuck to the ceiling, a brace of Shuriken flying forth from his outstretched hands, missing Jiraiya by a hair's-breadth as he returned fire with his Kunai.

Naruto turned and ran as fast as he could. He didn't encounter anyone and his bewilderment grew as further earthquakes rocked the underground complex. Where the heck was everyone?! At the imminent bedlam, Villagers should be pouring out of every escape alley available, and yet the halls were as silent as a grave.

He pounded up the steps as fast as he could, reaching the small building that held the exit to the surface. Sprinting, he cleared the doorway, only to stop fast in his tracks.

It seemed his question had been answered.

He was surrounded by a large number of Shinobi, all armed to the teeth and grinning like a bunch of hyenas on feeding day. Grimly, the young blond readied himself for a fight; he wouldn't kill unnecessarily, but he had made up his mind down there. If they forced his hand, he was pulling no punches.

But then, in a flash of inspiration, he realised that he could get out of this situation without a fight. All he had to do was get away right?

Bringing his hands up, he released the final form of the Chakra Beacon technique, one that was unique to him. A surge of demonic red Chakra burst forth from his body, the heavy aura slamming down on the unsuspecting Sound Shinobi. The weaker ones fell to their knees under the malevolent pressure, whilst the Jounin stood frozen, sweat beading their foreheads.

Naruto didn't waste any time. Jumping forward, Chakra brimming around the soles of his feet, a wave spread out from his heels in a sonic-boom as his small body was thrust into the air. As he reached the edge of the clearing his glanced back.

'Don't die Ero-Sennin.'

And with that, he swung off a tree limb and continued on his way.

ZZZZZZZZZ

AND CUT! OK, Chapter 20, (OMG twenty chapters! NO WAY!) all wrapped up and finished! Naruto is free from the clutched of the evil Snake-guy and he's heading to who knows where! And in celebration of the end of my exams...

ZZZZZZZZ

OMAKE: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE KAZE NO YAIBA?!

XXXXXXXX

A five-man platoon of Sound ninja moved out towards Konoha, their destination and mission set in mind. They had to go in and infiltrate the Village for the Chuunin exams, in doing so, ready themselves for the invasion Orochimaru-Sama had planned for the Hidden Leaf.

As they reached the bottom of the Valley of the End, one red-headed Kunoichi stopped at the bank of the river leading up to the great waterfall.

"Huh? What the hell is that?"

Her teammates turned to gaze in the direction her finger was pointing. A lone scroll covered in swirly blue clouds, lay covered in mud at the edge of the bank. The colour of the parchment was faded, and the metal roll used at its centre was browny-orange with rust.

Approaching cautiously, the fiery red-head picked the scroll up carefully, brushing her hand along the opening of the roll, a glob of mud smearing along the length of the appendage.

"Yuck! Who the *beep* *beepin'* *beep*'s like that?!"

"Tayuya, girl's shouldn't swear. It's unbecoming of them."

"Oh, go *beep* yourself, you *beepin'* mother*beep*."

Her teammates' eyebrows rose at her crass language. Did she even know how to speak without uttering obscenities in every sentence? Maybe she was retarded or hadn't learnt the language properly?

Ignoring the incredulous looks sent her way; the red-head opened the scroll fully, staring down at the washed-out words of the scroll that had obviously spent too long in the water. Who would throw a Jutsu scroll down a waterfall?

Trying to discern anything from the paper in her hands, the girl saw a small seal inscribed at the bottom in thick black ink. It was obviously unaffected by the cohesive effect of the water, maybe the scroll's maker was far cleverer than she thought?

Channel Chakra here, for Super, Awesome Technique.

Well that was self-explanatory! Tayuya daintily placed her hand on the seal and did as the scroll instructed.

"H-Hey Tayuya! W-Wai-"

In a great puff of smoke, the Kunoichi's form was enveloped as the seal was released. Her teammates waited with baited breath for the smoke to clear.

Sakon snickered.

The red-head stood stock-still, her entire form bathed in rainbow-coloured Omni-paint. Not a single millimetre of skin or clothing was spared.

"O-oi...didn't that Uzumaki kid use that kinda stuff?"

The group shuddered. If they ever mentioned his name in front of Orochimaru-Sama, their lives would be forfeit.

Jiroubo's belly wobbled.

Kimimaro chewed a bone.

And Kidoumaro was busy building his latest web.

Tayuya glared furiously at the scroll in her hands, coincidentally totally clean. A new message had appeared in flashing Kanji.

HOPE YOU LIKE THE NEW PAINT JOB! REMEMBER TO WASH WITH CORN-FLOUR!

YOURS-HILARIOUSLY

UZUMAKI NARUTO

Drawn underneath, was a silly caricature of an animated boy with a victory sign holding a massive paint brush, a rainbow decorated behind him.

What followed cannot be described here due to the occasional presence of a young reader. It heavily entailed the use of a flute, three big monsters and a LOT of swearing.

Naruto would wonder why he woke up with a very bad cold in the morning.

ZZZZZZZZZ