After Choji had been mentioned, the three of them went silent. Kiba shuffled just a little further away from Naruto, enough for Shikamaru to notice and raise an eyebrow in question. Kiba grinned nervously in response, glancing at Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto seemed oblivious of their stares, too busy in his thoughts to notice. He didn't seem to mind the awkward silence as he was lost in thought.

Of course, he was thinking about Kana. But other than her, he was listening to the faint whispers in his head.

"What will you do now, brat?" The fox snickered.

"Will you go with her?" The sinister smiling woman asked.

"Your 'friends' won't understand, they'll fear you." Added the innocent looking boy.

Naruto frowned, whispering a response under his breath.

"I don't know."

Kiba looked to Naruto, his ears barely picking up what he said.

~~~~~

The office was in uncomfortable silence. The Hokage picked up his pipe and chewed on the end, waiting for one of his two visitors to say something.

"We have something we'd like to discuss." The man spoke, settling his pointed gaze on the old man.

"Who are you?" The Hokage asked.

"I am Pein, and I'm currently in charge of Amegakure." He replied. "This is my advisor."

Konan nodded.

"I see," The Hokage hummed. "And what can I do for you?"

"I assume you already know about what happened to one of your genin, Naruto Uzumaki, during the Chunin Exams, yes?" Pein asked, watching as the Hokage tensed.

"How do you know about that?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I also have a genin in the same boat as him, Kana of Amegakure," Pein explained. "She has been the one helping him adjust as she has been like this for much longer than he has. The older boy, Kaneki, is also that way, and I was told that he was the one who informed you of his situation."

"Yes, I remember him, he was the one who explained what happened to Naruto." The Hokage hummed. "He is a missing-nin from Otogakure." 

"He was," Pein corrected. "I convinced him to become a part of an... Organization run in Amegakure."

"I see, but what does this have to do with Naruto?" The Hokage asked.

"Naruto, Kaneki, and Kana are, all the same, they would all do well together because they understand each other and have a common goal," He explained. "Orochimaru messed them all up, now they want to hunt him down."

"You want to take Naruto to Amegakure." Hummed the Hokage.

"Correct, I believe it would be a better place for him, a place where he can grow stronger, faster," Pein said. "Of course, he can visit Konoha every now and then, but he would be working as a genin in Ame."

"Does Naruto know about this?" The Hokage asked.

"Yes, all he has to do is make his decision." Pein nodded.

"I will think about it," The Hokage decided. "You may go."

Pein nodded, making his way to the door and quickly leaving the room. Konan stood and politely bowed before the Hokage.

"Thank you for your time Hokage-sama, please consider this." She said before leaving the room.

The Hokage stroked his beard, exhaling a plume of smoke with a sigh.

~~~~~

Naruto, Shikamaru and Kiba had a quick visit with Choji before heading towards Lee's room. Kiba and Shikamaru chatted back and forth, Naruto only adding to the conversation when he felt it was necessary. Naruto's nose twitched, locking onto two familiar scents, one dried blood and sand, and the other was his teammate Sakura. He opened his mouth to say something when a voice echoed down the halls.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" 

Naruto bolted, dashing down the hallway and gripped the door, swinging it open. He hadn't realized it, but his nine orange tails ripped out of his back, attempting to clamp onto Gaara. Gaara simply encased himself in his sand, only his face peeking out. Gaara's eyes widened as he gazed at Naruto, staring in wonder and awe at his eye and tails.

"Sakura, what happened?" Naruto asked, glancing at Shikamaru and Kiba as they bolted through the door.

"He tried to kill Lee!" Sakura exclaimed, standing protectively in front of Lee's wheelchair.

"Sakura bravely protected me!" Lee added, making Sakura's cheeks flush pink.

Gaara growled. "I must kill him."

"Says who?" Naruto asked.

Gaara glared at him, sand swirling around him.

"I do not like you, you make me feel... Nervous." Gaara mumbled.

His sand swirled around him once before he vanished, leaving them alone.

"That was a drag..." Shikamaru sighed.

"But you didn't even do anything!" Sakura exclaimed.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Anyway, Kiba and I should probably get going, our parents will want us home for dinner."

"Yeah, you do not want to see my mom angry." Kiba shivered.

"Okay, see you guys later." Naruto said, his orange tails fading into his back as his eye faded back to blue.

"Thanks for stopping by to see me!" Lee exclaimed. "That was so youthful of you all!"

Kiba and Shikamaru nodded before heading out, leaving Naruto, Sakura and Lee alone.

"How's your training going, Naruto?" Sakura asked, not having seen her teammate in about a week.

"Really good, I have a new sensei, although he's kind of a super pervert." Naruto sighed.

Sakura giggled. "More of a pervert than Kakashi-sensei?"

"Definitely." Naruto shivered. "He keeps trying to corrupt me!"

"How unyouthful..." Lee sighed.

"What have you been up to?" Naruto asked Sakura.

"Nothing much," She shrugged. "I've been spending most of my time at the hospital with Lee, he's helping me train."

"Sakura is improving fast!" Lee chirped. "She's amazing at taijutsu!"

Sakura blushed. "Thanks."

Lee smiled at her, his cheeks a little pink.

Naruto, being the oblivious one, narrowed his eyes in confusion.

~~~~~

"What's going on with you and Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ever since the Chunin Exams, he's had me on edge!" Kiba exclaimed. "Being near him makes me feel nervous for some reason, and the change in his scent doesn't help either."

"Change in his scent?" Shikamaru repeated in confusion.

"He doesn't smell like ramen spices anymore, and I can smell blood, not his blood either." Kiba shivered. "Akamaru pointed it out to me, but he had a drop of blood on his collar, and it didn't smell like him. Then there are those tail thingies he can use, he never had them before! It's that or he just never showed them to us."

"Good point," Shikamaru sighed. "This is all way too weird."

Kiba sighed. "Tell me about it."

A/N

I have a few questions for my readers. I would love to hear your feedback! In return, ask me any questions you want and I'll answer them when I publish the next chapter.

How are you enjoying the story?

Do you like this storyline compared to the original?

Do you like the idea of Sakura being with Lee instead of Sasuke?

Do you think Naruto should go to Amegakure with Kana?

And those are my questions! Feel free to ask any questions of your own about me! They can be questions about me, about the story, or even if you need some help or advice. I'm not a writer or anything, this is all a hobby, but I can help you out