Ninja's hero

"Alright, so what's the mission today Tsunade?" Naruto put an arm around Sakura's shoulders, Sasuke and Katsuki made mock wretch sounds behind them. Izuku sighed and he heard a twin of soft cuffs before Tsunade shook her head and leant on her table. 

"As Squad Seven the four of you are going to be going on some highly classified missions from now on, as a team of five, these are meant to be clandesine, not even your housemates, partners, family or friends can e-,"

"Lady Hokage!" A shinobi burst through the door to the office, "Pardon my intrusion but Kazekage-sama sent me urgently, he is wondering if you will come to the Summit of the Five Kage in the Land of Iron,"

"A Five Kage Summit? I haven't recieved any information on this!" Tsunade slammed her desk. "What is going on?"

Raza wasn't panicking, no, he is the Kazekage, he doesn't panic. What he does do however, is worry. Which was exactly what he was doing now, because Tsunade was yet to make an appearance in the Land of Iron, even the Samurai general Mifune had not seen her. And more worrisome a suspicious man calling himself Danzo arrived instead, claiming to be the fifth Hokage. Raza was prepared to challenge the man when several ANBU like ninja arrived in his room and warned him against moving to contest Danzo's claim and if he did then ROOT, whatever that was, would make him regret doing so. They did not say if they would attack the village or go after his children, but he did not want to risk either unless there was something much greater at risk. As it happens, to Raza, it appears the fragile peace of the Five Nations was about to crumble due to this Danzo. So he discreetly sent his fastest Shinobi on a nonstop mission to get to Konoha as soon as possible. Hopefully the marker Izuku had placed on Kankuro during his stay in Suna was still active, since Kankuro and Hinata were his guards, the Hyuuga of course in diguise, while Gaara was supposedly at Suna. In truth the redhead was actually in Raza's room, being kept from the Akatsuki in case they tried to get him again. Now, the fourth Kazekage is not too proud to admit he was not the greatest father to Gaara in his youth, far from it, but thanks to both Uzumaki boys, they, he had a chance to gain that connection, to truly be a father and bringing Gaara to the summit allowed them both time from the busy life in Suna and that Suna was one of the only villages to brink a Jinchuuriki to the table. HIs messenger had left in the early morning of yesterday going as fast as they possibly could. This meant hopefully that they would be here by sunset, when the summit was supposed to begin. A hand rested on his shoulder gently, "Psst, Uncle Rasa," Only one dared to call him such a casaul name, in fact they had done it specifically to annoy him in the beginning, until it turned into more of a reasuring phrase. Turning around showed Izuku accompanied by Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, a girl with short pink hair that must be Haruno Sakura and Senju Tsunade herself, the true fifth Hokage.

"Oh thank goodness," Rasa whispered, forgetting formality and hugging Tsunade in relief, "I thought the worst had happened,"

"Don't worry Kazekage, we will see to it that this is rectified," Izuku assured him, looking again at the three boys, they all seemed to contain rage far beyond what their young minds should be able to generate. Danzo was clearly a thorn in their side. "The summit begins in the evening doesn't it?"

"Yes,"

"Good, can we rest in your room until then?"

"Of course, follow me," They walked silently before reaching the Kazekage's room, which had been adorned with a green tag for the summit. "Did you come via Kankuro?"

"No, I also studied in this place with Katsuki Uzumaki, we placed markers around the area to improve ourselves, it was simply finding whichever was closest to you," The door clsoed silently behind them.

"Katsuki Uzumaki?" Oh sweet Kami there was a third now?!

"Adopted into the clan shortly after your departure three years ago, he is as strong as any other member," The ash blond boy stepped from behind Tsunade, a small hand raised in greeting.

"So what is the plan? I assume Danzo has threatened you in some way to not speak out against him,"

"He simply said ROOT would do something horrible if I did so at the summit," Izuku disappeared in a flash of light, returning with Gaara, Kankuro and Hinata. "Temari is currently under protection of Shisui and Itachi Uchiha, Fox, can you make sure the seal on Gaara is correct? Raven check them over for poisons or seals, Petal see if there are any injuries at all, I wouldn't be suprised if ROOT nicked them with chakra draining weapons from the shadows, Embers, you and I are going to do a sweep and neutralize as many ROOT as we can find, understood?"

"Hai Midori,"

"What?"

"Yes Captian," Rasa raised his eyebrows, codenames? Why were they all wearing such dark clothing? And when did those masks get on their faces. Izuku and Katsuki adjusted their masks before reaching for their tantos and disappeared in twin flashes of light. Naruto moved over to Gaara and began inspecting the seal on the boy's gut while Sasuke inspected Kankuro's limbs and Sakura's hands glowed green while she healed whatever damage could have been done. They were incredibly efficient, organized too. Izuku was captain of the team? They must be quite...something. Kami were these five ANBU already? They're what sixteen? Rasa had sat with Izuku at the dinner table, at one point he'd played Shogi with Naruto on his travels with Jiraiya! It did explain how the boys were able to save Gaara with such ruthless efficiency. Izuku and Katsuki appeared again both without even a speck on them.

"Twenty," Katsuki boasted, Izuku just tilted his head, a smirk on his voice,

"Thirty-five,"

"You got fifty-five of them already?"

"Just the outergates so far Lady Hokage," Both boys dropped down onto one knee, bowing their heads, "We plan on moving in slowly to not raise the alarm, I've already informed Mifune of the situation and he agrees with our method, the Samurai will help dispose of any bodies we are unable to hide," Rasa swallowed, the clinical nature in Izuku's voice sent cold shivers down his back. "Fox, is the seal alright?"

"Untouched," Naruto's voice rang out,

"Wonderful, get seals on the walls, we don't want anyone hearing anything from in here, only those inside this room are allowed to come and go,"

"I can do it,"

"Make it so," They shared a nod, "Raven, anything?"

"Kankuro is clean, Hinata is showing no signs of poisoning either, Kazekage-sama?" He was slightly startled at how close the teen had gotten to him. Slowly he stretched out his arm and Sasuke rolled up his sleeve inspecting his arm before moving along to check for anything in his clothing. "He's clean too,"

"Wonderful, for now I want you on lookout, anything with a foreign chakra comes attempts to open the door I want them on the ground before the seals go off,"

"Understood Captain," Sasuke sat crossed legged in the center of the room and began meditating,"

"Petal?"

"Hinata is unharmed Captain, there was a single wound on her ribs draining her chakra however I have undone it and healed the wound," The pinkette moved silently onto Kankuro, "Kasekage-sama?"

"You have my permission to inspect me if you feel it is necassary," He spoke levelly, she nodded in understanding before refocusing on Kankuro.

"Embers, mobilize, this time we get to the inner wall before returning,"

"Understood Captain," 

"You have your jobs, mobilize," The boys disappeared in their flashes of light.

"Should uh, should I be worried?" Kankuro eyed Sakura as she inspected his arm.

"No," Tsunade shook her head "Squad Seven is the rising star team of Konoha's ANBU, we are safe in their hands," 

"Squad Seven acts as an isolated unit, we answer to Lady Hokage directly and Captain Midori during missions, we were assigned to help regain control of the Five Kage summit from a defector of the Leaf, responsible for two great tragedies seven years apart, so long as you are an ally of Lady Hokage, you are a friend of Squad Seven," Naruto explained as he drew symbols on the wall in black ink. Rasa snapped back to Tsunade,

"You gave them more authority than the Shinobi Council and the council of elders?" He hissed, Tsunade waved a hand.

"Making Squad Seven was the first thing I did as Hokage, the Captain was promoted by Lord Third before he gave me the hat, I personally oversaw the training of their medic while two other members trained under my fellow Sannin and the fifth member trained with the Captain under the best of the best in the world," There was a small smirk "And the Captain helepd train all other members in all forms of fighting," Rasa felt his jaw drop "Besides, before they came to find me Green, Fox and Raven had a habit of spitting on the civilian council's face, they barely listened to the elders, especially after they proved the pair had aided the traitor to the Leaf," Gaara gave off a low whistle as Kankuro mumbled,

"I taught that puppetry?!" Before shaking his head and seemingly doubling his shock "I beat him in sparring?!" Hinata seemed to have gone catatonic, limply leaning on Gaara as she went pale.

"I'm so far behind, I'm so far behind, I'm so far behind," She repeated, over and over. Gaara just stretched an arm around her to rub her shoulder reassuringly. A green flash and Izuku was kneeling again.

"Lady Hokage, the Snake and the Toad have returned from the Pond, they are both currently injured and are getting treated in the hospital," Tsunade nodded,

"Thank you Midori, dismissed," The Shadow Clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Rasa huffed,

"Why do you get the stupid efficient deadly team?" Sakura lifed his arm to inspect his ribcage,

"I almost didn't," Tsunade laughed, "Word to the wise, never play blackjack against Izuku,"

"Got it," He nodded, the group worked silently. "I take it Danzo Shimura is the traitor?"

"Giving his name out in the open is he?" Tsunade bristled, "Yes, he is responsible for unleashing Kurama on the village costing Naruto his parents and the village some of the bet damn shinobi I'd ever met, he is also responsible for the Uchiha Massacre that robbed Sasuke of his clan and the three boys their teachers until just before they left on their journeys, moreover he made many false reports and even faked Third's signature on documents to slowly allow the shinobi forces that weren't ROOT crumble, including changing the academy's cirriculum so badly my kunoichi weren't even kunoichi,"

"Other reports suggest Danzo is responsible for no less than five assassination attempts on Third's life, including manipulating one Kakashi Hatake who foiled the attempt in the last moment," Naruto added. Rasa didn't fail to notice how neither boy had reacted to the news Tsunade said.

"Your team is orientated,"

"My squad," Tsunade hummed as, Sakura began inspecting Gaara for wounds

"Raven, senbon," Sasuke stood up

"Keep guard," With that the pinkette sat down while he took over looking at Gaara. "Fox did you not see the marking in the ribcage?"

"No, the seal was too intricate for me to search for something else," Naruto was painting the walls with more ink. 

"Knows how to get a mission done, they've been training since they left the academy, working harder than anyone else," She continued as if the teens hadn't spoke. "So far Raven, Fox and Raven were able to take out three Akatsuki while Fox was able to take out two more working with team ten and I haven't assigned them a mission yet," A pair of flashes and Katuski and Izuku had returned.

"Lady Hokage," Izuku knelt with a bowed head "Lord Kazekage, we have incapacitated as much of the ROOT forces as we can for the moment, once Kazekage-sama begins to make his way to the summit Embers and I will eliminate the rest, we advise you stay in this room for now Lady Hokage while Lord Kazekage acts none the wise to Danzo's plotting," Both nodded, "If Kazekage can begin to voice the false Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage will also realize that Danzo is an imposter due to the visit at the Chuunin exams three years ago, Mifune will also know as he is always aware of the identities of the Kage," Rasa furrowed his brow,

"You are thinking of outing him in front of the other Kage? Are you not concerned it will make the Leaf look weak?"

"I am aware of that risk Kazekage-sama, however I have all the pieces needed to prove Danzo intercepted a message meant for Lady Hokage, I am tryign to give the villages a common enemy, ROOT does not target just Konohagakure, in fact in the beginning of my travels with Embers, we helped bring an end to the kekki genkai war in Kirigakure, only to discover the Mizukage at the time was under a genjutsu and ROOT had been supplying weapons to both sides the entire time,"

"We also helped Iwagakure when ROOT attempted to cripple their economy by attacking travellers and suppliers," Katsuki supplemented, "They should know we aren't enemies and stand with us,"

"And what of Kumogakure?"

"If they fall they will only have their Raikage's prideful arrogance to blame," Izuku commented neutrally, "Many attempts have been made to compromise with the village, all were rejected by the Raikage for no other reason than it would mean they seem less powerful," Hinata gasped and began shaking. "Hinata, I can assure you now, nothing like that will ever occur again, on my life and those of all Kumogakure," Gaara shrugged off Sasuke and doubled his efforts to reassure the purplette.

"Alright, seals are done Captain,"

"No signs of poison in anyone Captain,"

"All wounds healed Captain,"

"All enemy forces possible eliminated Captain," The four regrouped around Izuku and all joined him on one knee.

"Mission success Lady Hokage," Izuku kept his head down, "Next mission?"

"Dismissed for now," Tsunade seemed to stand a little straighter, "Rest for the meantime, when the summit comes I want the team not the squad ," In a puff of smoke all five were back in casual clothing.

"You got it Tsunade," Izuku grinned, Rasa wasn't entirely sure he was seeing things correctly.

"I'm sorry, but did your elite direct ANBU squad, just swap places with them?" Tsunade laughed heartily, the ink around the room glowing lightly.

"Not at all Kazekage, it's like a switch with them, when the masks are on it's ANBU, when they're off, it's teenagers, granted the top five ninja in Konoha, but teens nonetheless," She shrugged. Rasa sighed and shook his head, smiling.

"Very well, if this is the very best of the Hidden Leaf, I may have a stronger ally than I previously thought,"

"You're not an ally Rasa, you're a friend," Tsunade offered a hand, Kankuro, Katsuki and Sasuke all pretended to throw up, Gaara continued reassuring Hinata while Izuku had summoned a Shadow Clone and began playing rock, paper, scissors with himself and Naruto was already animatedly talking with Sakura again. He laughed and shook her hand.

"And I'm glad to be one," They shared a smile.

The group gathered at the table. Rasa took them in, Mei Terumi; Fifth Mizukage, Onoki of Both Scales; Third Tsuchikage, A the Unruly; Fourth Raikage (Weren't the other Raikage also called A? Was he like, immortal or some shit?) and Danzo Shimura, Fake Fifth Hokage. They sat around a curved table, with Mifune stood in the center as mediator. Rasa observed him too. Mifune; Samurai general of the Land of Iron. He was easily older than Onoki and yet his body seemed in much better condition. Perhaps he should ask the Samurai of the seccret to his good health? Takign the hat off his head the Kazekage focused on the imposter opposite him. This operation was meant to be clean, quick, any ROOT agents nearby would be killed before Danzo even opened his mouth. Mifune tapped his cane on the floor and began speaking. "Before the Five Kage summit may begin, there is any issue anyone can see?" Rasa stood up, glaring at Danzo before pointing.

"That man is not the Hokage," Mifune nodded slightly,

"And what made you come to that decision Kazekage?" Danzo frowned, glaring with one eye, he not-so-subtly flared his chakra. 

"I have dealt with Lady Fifth on numerous occasions before now, and unless I am going senile, you are not a Lady,"

"I did notice that you are not in fact Tsunade Senju of Konohagakure," Mifune added, "Is there a reason you claim her mantle?"

"Great Samurai, I am here on behalf," Rasa slammed his hands on the table.

"This man does not speak for the Hidden Leaf!" He barked snarling at Danzo, "I have spoken to many shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, he is a traitorous shinobi that directly caused two tragedies to befall them!" Footsteps echoed towards the room, Danzo held the traces of a smirk as six figures burst into the room, surprising most of those in the room.

"Sorry we're late!" Naruto cried out grinning, despite the boiling hatred in his gut. Danzo stared at them in barely concealed shock. The Raikage stood up, sending his chair to the floor.

"What is this? Attempting to assassinate us on neutral grounds?!"

"Sit down A!" Izuku barked as he walked over to the Kazekage, "Don't worry they are all," Naruto watched as A charged forward, his arm coated in chakra, clotheslining the Kazekage's hat. "They are safe, the last remnants of ROOT are being disposed of now," Izuku climbed off the desk. The Raikage was behind him with a flicker, a fist raised to strike the teen from behind.

"YOU INSOLENT!" Everyone watched slack-jawed as Izuku turned around and wrapped his arm around A's, stopping with a kunai just short of the man's throat.

"You are going to sit down, you are going to listen and you are going to do it quietly, do not test me Raikage, I am faster than you," Izuku's voice was quiet and level as the Raikage tried to lean his neck away from the small blade. Mifune tapped his cane against the ground to gain attention. A silently fumed and returned to his seat almost feral with anger.

"Boy, you have minutes to explain," Izuku nodded and walked into the middle of the table.

"Mei Terumi, fifth Mizukage, three years ago Konoha recovered Kurikiribocho and had sent it as a possible olive branch to Kirikagure, did you recieve it?"

"No," She glared at him. Izuku nodded,

"Of course you didn't, because the traitor's faction of shinobi stole it in the night while out shinobi were en route, he has kept it until now, probably to give it to you in a weak attempt to prove his fake validity," Izuku pulled out a scroll, "Fortunately he does not leave things out of reach, this was on one of his agents that had been behind your banner," If Danzo was surprised he did a good job hiding it. Izuku handed the great blade to Mei.

"How do I know you recovered it? And this isn't some ploy by Tsunade and the Kazekage to ignite a war?"

"I witnessed the death of Zabuza Momochi, fought alongside him after his change of heart saved the people of the Wave, buried it with him after his death," She took the blade softly from him, "Then I killed Juzo when he attcked me in Konoha after he told me that he had robbed Zabuza's grave," She went pale and looked towards Izuku's steel face. "Although I did have assistance from my brother, Uzumaki Naruto, he's the obnoxiously yellow blond," Sakura rubbed his back as they all saw a cartoon cloud form above his head.

"How can we trust this isn't some elaborate scheme? Or that you've been put under a genjutsu,"

"Onoki, I'm hurt," Izuku put a hand to his chest, "Do you really not remember little old me?"

"Of course I remember you Izuku, but how do we know you aren't being manipulated? All this talk could just be smoke and mirrors," At this point the Kazekage spoke,

"I feel that I should mention, recently the Akatsuki member Deidara attacked and kidnapped my own son, Gaara, with the intent of extracting the One Tail from him, it was only thanks to Izuku, Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha that he was rescued, Deidara was killed in the encounter, along with a rouge from Sand,"

"Y-you killed Deidara?"

"No, those two did, I killed Sasori," Izuku jutted a thumb over his shoulder, Naruto beamed.

"The point being, I still have the seal with the body if Stone wants it, it should prove we aren't being manipulated," The scroll was passed over to Onoki, who laid it on the table and sure enough, Deidara's preserved body was laid on the table.

"Very well," Onoki resealed the body, putting the parchment in a pocket. "You have convinced me,"

"I'm yet to be truly swayed and I doubt Raikage will reach an agreement,"

"Raikage is too proud, he won't work with anyone unless he gets to be in charge like the big kid he is," Izuku waved a hand over his shoulder, as A seemed apoplectic, stood up, shaking with fury. "Mizukage, do you not recognize the two shinobi that helped you win the civil war and release your predecessor from the genjutsu cast on him?"

"Thief?" Katuski smirked as he walked forward, "Blondie?"

"The one and only," He bowed to her, "A pleasure to see you in good health again Mei,"

"Likewise," Everyone was on guard as they heard a rustle of movement.

"I KNEW THIS WAS A DISTRACTION!" A roared, "WHILE I HAVE BEEN SAT HERE YOUR SHINOBI HAVE CAPTURED MY JINCHUURIKI," 

"Okay, first of all biiiiitch!" Naruto stepped forward "They are not 'your jinchuuriki' they are people that you cursed to a lifetime of distrust, abuse and discrimination," A's eyelid twitched slightly. "Oh, getting under your skin am I?"

"Regardless of your infantile views, the fact remains that I must take my leave to go and hunt them,"

"If only," Izuku interrupted dramatically, flailing one arm around while putting the other to his forehead and gazing upwards mockingly. "Someone had a way of getting to somebody anywhere in the world instantly," His gaze moved down from the cieling with an evil smirk, "Oh, wait," He disappered in a flash of green light, leaving a single kunai to spin in the air before, reappearing seconds later with a slim blonde kunoichi and a tall, muscular shinobi wearing goggles that were too small and far too many swords strapped to his body. "Someone did," The shinobi immediately started rapping, poorly.

"Oh damn, it's Izu-man! Ready to shift if ya catch ma drift," Naruto sweatdropped, before his face morphed into horror as Izuku rapped back!

"Someone's gotta save yo ass, but since yo a brotha I'll give ya a pass,"

"So you wanna battle? Man I'll leave ya rattled!"

"Please ma dude, y'ain't that good, pick up the rhymes or get with the times,"

"If you're quite finished, let's get to business," The kunoichi interrupted, gritting her teeth at the unintentional rap. "Raikage-sama," She fell to one knee and bowed, "We were,"

"I am aware, a messenger just arrived from Kumo," His voice barely concealed his rage, "Izuku here departed seconds ago to retrieve you," The pointing hand fell, "Using the Yellow Flashes technique, are you?"

"No I'm adopted,"

"I'm not!" Naruto jumped next to Izuku, "Son of the Fourth, learned everything my old man left behind and then some,"

"And you use it to travel easily? You di-,"

Thunk

Eyes locked onto the kunai that landed in front of the Raikage.

"Pick your next words very carefull, Raikage," Naruto growled "While my father may have had difficulty in outright beating you, we won't," Sasuke, Katsuki and Sakura stood by them, "Now if you are done trying to appear like a god, we have more pressing," They turned to see an empty chair. "He's running,"

"Not this time!" Izuku growled as he tore off through the door. Tsunade quietly took her seat, shrugging the cloak off her shoulders, raising a finger as Mei was about to speak.

"Three, two, one!"

"FUCKING SHIMMUUURAAAA!!!" The Kazekage reflexivley ducked and looked around while others quickly got on guard. Izuku appeared in the room again standing calmly before making his way to Tsunade's side. "Apologies, where were we?"

"We haven't even begun," Mifune sighed. Naruto groaned with Sasuke while Sakura just sat down on the floor next to him and began meditating. "Alright now, the summit was called for by the Raikage, so he shall be the one to lead it,"

"Fellow Kage, I wanted to call this summit to bring attention to the organisation known as the Akatsuki, including the attempt that just happened they have tried to capture both of the Kumogakure Jinchuuriki, Killer B and Yugito Nii," 

"Oh? Suna and Konoha have been tracking and hunting the group for the last few years," The Kazekage rubbed a finger on his portion of the table while leaning on his hand, "Raikage did you call this meeting to tell us about foiled kidnapping attempts?"

"No, I came to declare the Akatsuki a threat we must,"

"So just because they pose a threat to Kumogakure, they are a threat to all the other villages too?" Izuku chided, "As Lord Kazekage stated, we have been tracking the group for three years, yet we did not call a summit,"

"Yugito Nii is one of Kumo's best kunoichi, even without relying on the Two Tails,"

"Matabi," Naruto interrupted, "Her name is Matabi, use it, thug,"

"And yet she was still unable to eliminate the rogues that came after her,"

"Kakuzu and Hidan, if my memory serves, Hidan had gotten hold of her keepers blood and killed him using a voodoo style jutsu," The Raikage stared in numb shock, "Oh they didn't tell you? I assisted them both when the Akatsuki attacked, I did say I was tracking them, she couldn't eliminate them because Hidan is a heretic that underwent a ritual to obtain immortality and almost unstoppable healing prowess and Kakuzu had four masks that he fed living hearts to in order to extend his lifespan," A gentle shrug, "At least until they went after Naruto,"

"I managed to figure out how to stop Hidan from healing and left him with one arm," He grinned as his breath ignited into a tiny flame for a moment, "And I killed Kakuzu, with a jutsu I created, severing his tenketsu and breaking his remaining three masks,"

"So far the only Akatsuki member we haven't killed is Kisame Hoshigaki, and that's because we let him retreat to prevent damage to the village,"

"So that is three,"

"Five," The Kazekage interrupted, "You probably didn't hear moments ago that they also killed Deidara of the Stone and Sasori of the Red Sand when they went after my son and honorary brother of theirs," He gave the Raikage a level gaze, "I hope you weren't assuming Kumo is the strongest without question,"

"As impressive as that initially sounds we don't know,"

"Twelve members," Tsunade's lips curled into a smile, "Meaning there are only seven left, not even enough to go after one Jinchuuriki each,"

"Kirigakure will stand alongside Konoha and Suna,"

"As will Iwagakure," Naruto glanced to see the Raikage balked at them. He chuckled lightly,

"Raikage, you are unhappy? Is a united front not what you wanted?"

"He expected us to rally behind Kumo, to prove it is the strongest of all and therefore the only one that should lead a united front," Izuku leant against a wall. Naruto walked into the centre of the area.

"Okay, how about this, Raikage, charge at me, fast as you can with your Lariat, if it collides with me, the villages will follow your lead, but if if does not hit me within, thirty seconds, you must lose this might makes right attitude you seem to clutch at," Tsunade lifted her thumb while the Kazekage nodded,

"I trust you," He leant back in his chair, Mei and Onoki gazed at the two Kages before seeming to understand and putting their faith in the blond silently. A stood up, his arms by his side.

"Very well," His arm glowed soft blue before he dashed at Naruto, who stood smiling. To others it would appear the Raikage was moving faster than the eye could follow, Tsunade had admitted at dinner that even Jiraiya had trouble following the ridiculous speed. But Naruto had been training his entire life, sure it didn't mean he was better than the Raikage, but the weight training, weighing himself down for weeks at a time, had made him move fast, and to move fast he needed to react fast. He watched A touch down on the floor ahead of the desk, the blond crouched and jumped upwards, spiraling. As A grew closer, he stuck his leg out, before the unruly Raikage could react, his foot lodged firmly into the man's face and sent him flying backwards. There was an almighty crunch as the body crashed through the wall. The timer continued to tick as the Raikage lay dazed on the floor. His guards seemed to just stare in shock at his body.

"Time!" Mifune called as the clock struck out. Naruto calmly walked back over to Tsunade, giving her a subtle fist bump. Izuku smirked and leant towards his brother,

"You should've gone for the chest," Naruto shook his head and his shoulders bounced silently.

"Now to discuss how the Five Nations will interact," And just like that Naruto zoned out.

Itsuka wasn't expecting him to appear again. She simply held the weapon in her hands remembering how safe he had made her feel when he had spent those minute in her company. It had been a week since then and Kage hadn't been seen since, not even rumours of him circulated. It hadn't been hard for her to realize Kage was half of the Twin Kages, he'd literally told her he was called Kage. Even so, listening out for news on the duo proved just as fruitless. Starting three years ago rumours of a green shadow had circulated every social circle and media a handful of times, because he and his everpresent partner, were only heard from for a few days at a time every month, with no real pattern to the appearances. Now though rumours had yet to make the rounds, for the second month running. People had begun to either forget them or speculate they had died. Of course Itsuka didn't believe it, she couldn't, not when Midorikage himself had saved her and carried her home. Here in her hands was undeniable proof that he was real! Clutching the weapon tightly she began thinking openly that he may never appear aga-

"You rang?" Itsuka yelped and fumbled with the blade before he reached out a hand and expertly caught it between his fingertips. She fell onto the floor in a heap with a soft thud. She stared at the black figure for several seconds.

"Itsuka, honey? You okay? We heard a yelp," The door began creaking open and Itsuka blinked as she was bathed in the warm light from the hall.

"Oh, yeah, sorry mom, just, tripped over a pile of clothes," She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "You and Ma going to bed now?"

"Yes, and you should too, you need to be up for school, tomorrow," The door began closing, "Maybe you can clean up your room tomorrow too," She stared at the door for a solid minute before hissing,

"Kage?" Silence, "Kage?" Looking around the room revealed nothing.

"Do you really scare that easily?" Itsuka jumped as he stood in front of her again, offering a hand. "Why did you summon me?"

"I didn't mean to, I just, I held the knife,"

"The kunai, it's a kunai, a throwing weapon," His head slipped into his cloak to pull the weapon out, handing it to her before returning to his side.

"Well, I just held it and thought if I'd ever see you again, I'd ask if you could answer some questions," Kage sighed tiredly before helping himself to the chair again, this time moving it silently to face her bed before sitting down and kicking his feet up to the footboard of her bed.

"You are free to ask whatever questions you wish, I shall answer how I see fit,"

"Where do you live?"

"Classified,"

"How do you get here?"

"Classified,"

"Alright, but how can you get between them so fast?"

"You saw my Sha- my clone did you not? It stayed with you while I left to continue patrols and pursuits, I can be in multiple places at once, regardless of distance," He steepled his fingers together, "Should you not be in your pajamas?" Itsuka looked down to see she was still in the tee and jeans she had changed into after getting home, both were covered in stains from messy foods and dirt from playing with her younger siblings. "I can look away if you wish?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow

"Why? You're just a male, what can you do with an eyeful?" Kage's head stopped midturn.

"I...huh?" She reached for the hem of her shirt.

"Why would you like away? I'm not showing,"

"Would you look away if I were to strip?" Her hands rose quickly, forgetting her shirt as her face flushed. "Then I will do you the same courtesy," He rotated the chair to face away from her as she began to get changed. "Do you have anymore questions?"

"You said you don't exist, that there are no records, what do you mean?" As she adjusted the tank top and shorts she felt a shiver from the open window.

"What I said, in this world I am dead, forgotten by those who knew I lived but to the larger world I was never born and never existed," She walked past him before reaching for a small lamp, that gave the room a soft golden glow. Despite facing the light Kage's face was still covered in shadow.

"How come I still can't see your face?"

"Same way my hood stays up when walking up a wall, same way I walk up the wall in fact," A hand appeared from the cloak again, "Trade secret," Itsuka huffed, "Now may I ask you a few questions?"

"I mean I guess?"

"Why were you in that alleyway?"

"Well, those guys were bad guys, they were selling drugs out to kids on my block, I couldn't let them get away with it,"

"And you decided to take justice into your own hands, without any martial arts training? Any skills is deduction, stealth or practise with your quirk?"

"That's illegal, I'd be a villain, no better than a murderer or a,"

"I've killed," The chill to the voice brought the temperature of the room down, "I've killed a lot of people, so many I've lost count, in fact I killed an extra seventy-nine today, my partner killed seventy one too," Itsuka tried to open her mouth, "I killed people that were going to murder innocent civilians, people that had done nothing wrong except be born into the wrong family, does that make me a villain?"

"I..,"

"In the place I am from, is a land, in that land was a civil war, families without special abilities wanted to kill every family member to a clan that had a unique ability, even if said member didn't have the ability, I put an end to the war, and you know how I did it? I killed every man, woman and teen that decided another should die for something they were born with," Itsuka shivered at the emotionless way his voice echoed, "For every person I killed, a whole family got to live, so am I a villain?" She stared at him, hoping to look into his eyes. "No, I'm both you see, because to those I saved I am the hero they prayed for, but to the families of those I slaughtered, to the fathers, mothers, brother, sisters, lovers, to those people I am a savage killer that should be hanged,"

"But, but you saved so many,"

"Alright, let me ask you, if a heroine, let's say,"

"All MIght?"

"Yeah, sure why not, if All Might killed your parents, without hesitation or mercy and simply told you that it was because they were going to kill everyone in the city if she didn't kill them, would she be a hero or a villain?" Itsuka thought for a second, "Exactly, to you she'd be nothing but a murderer, whereas to the city, she remains the beacon of heroism," Itsuka looked away as she climbed into the bed. Kage sighed again, (Does he ever stop doing that?) she could feel his untraceable gaze on her. "What you did was a bad idea, a horrible one really, I'm glad you haven't endangered yourself so needlessly again," She was about to argue no-one else was doing it when he held up a hand. "When I appeared stating 'you suck at sneaking around' I was addressing the entire group, I was simply waiting for them to be in a position like how you found them,"

"Can you teach me?"

"You aren't able to do the things I do, because your body has not been trained to withstand the the sheer stress and pressure, how far did you tail the criminal for?"

"Like, ten minutes, we were miles away from here,"

"And yet it took barely a word for me to get back here, less than considering you were busy feeling me up,"

"You said to cop a feel," She pouted and folded her arms,

"Yes, I suppose I did, but I was hoping you would more just touch my chest, not run your hands over it like an infant trying to colour in a picture with blunt crayons," She snorted at him,

"Was that,"

"Yes that was a joke, for you anyway," He mockingly sniffled and his cloak ruffled, indicating an arm had come up to his chest. "Anyway, I can't teach you, not for not wanting to, you've got the drive, but for inability, I could kill you with a single strike of one of my fingers if I stopped holding back,"

"Impossible, not even All Might is that strong,"

"I've walked up walls, made perfect copies of myself, covered several miles in a second and breathed fire, but you draw the line at my strength?" She hummed at him, not able to think of a good comeback, "Besides, it's not all about power," Kage stood up and walked over to her, "i'd just need a direct jab, about as strong as a punch, to this point here," A finger rested on the back of her neck, "And your whole body will seize up, muscles will tense unwillingly, your lungs will stop expanding for several seconds, a bit harder and you'll seize up for minutes," Her skin prickled under his touch, "And if I strike just a tad higher with just the tiniest bit more force, close to a ball thrown with the full power of a regular teen, that strikes directly here," His fingertip was warm but it sent shivers down her spine, "And you'd be dead before you knew I'd moved," Her eyes darted to his head, which was just next to hers, "So if I'm being honest, I could kill you with one strike of one finger even while I'm holding back," Itsuka gulped because this time, this time she didn't doubt it.

Kage's voice had been so soft as he described how he could not just kill her but leave her paralyzed with almost no effort that he couldn't be lying, even though he was a male, something regarded as subhuman in society. The way his eyes felt fixed to her face as he spoke told Itsuka, she was glass to him, she was more fragile than glass to him. "And here's another trick," She heared the smile on his face. "If I do strike this section here," His finger grazed over the bottom of her neck, where her spine connected to her shoulders, between the vertabrae, "Like so," His finger pulled away before harshly jabbing the area. Itsuka's head snapped up but even when she opened her mouth to shout in surprise, no sound came. "I can force your muscles to freeze," Her eyes darted back to his head, her chin refused to move down as her legs fought to move. Kage stood up to his full height, his chest starting just out of her eyesight as he looked down to her.

"The effect will only last a few minutes, but I can extend the period as I wish and since your lungs still work and your heart still beats, it leaves you completely at my mercy," Oh God, she was in trouble, "I'm not going to hurt you, merely displaing what I can do, Miruko demanded I show her last night when she caught me scoping out a Yakuza compound," His hand curled around the back of her head, his fingers weaving into her hair. Her eyes closed momentarily, shit was she enjoying this?! Why was she enjoying this?! "Now you know how careful I have to be, are you scared of me?" His pinkie finger pressed a point on her neck and Itsuka was able to shake her head left to right slowly, still not sure if the rest of her could move. "Good,"

"Why did you come here?" Her voice was hoarse,

"Because people cried wolf a very, very long time ago, and now it's time for them to cry it once more," His hand retreated from her neck as the door opened again, her phone appeared in her hand and she opened whatever app she pressed first.

"Itsuka? We heard voices?"

"Just my phone Ma, sorry, I couldn't find my headphones before the livestream started, I was just about to check my coat," A hum of disapproval,

"Alright, don't stay up too late watching it alright?"

"You got it Ma," The door closed again, Kage stood dead still behind it. "How did you move so fast?"

"Trade secret," That childish grin was fucking palpable. Itsuka laid down and groaned as Kage appeared by her bedside, resting the kunai on her bedside table again. "You know what to do if you need me," Again she reached out and caught his sleeve, he looked at her hand before twisting his head to her. "You want me to stay again," She nodded and shuffled in the bed. "You want me to lay down with you?" A smaller, more embarrassed nod. Kage made a copy before disappearing in a swirl of leaves again, (Did he not know how much of a pain those were to clean up?) he sat down on her bed before laying down with a quiet groan. Itsuka immediately latched onto him, the safety last week felt like a rollercoaster compared to how safe she felt now. Taking in as much as she could Itsuka closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain in her heart. No matter how hard she clung to him, how much she took in his scent, how long she listened to his heartbeat, it would end the same way.

He'd be gone in the morning.