Chapter 10

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"Hah…" Ken sighed as he got home. "I'm home," he called out in a low voice in case Naruto was sleeping. The sound coming from the kitchen was evidence that he wasn't.

"Nii-san! Welcome home! Dinner's ready!" Naruto shouted out.

"Yeah, I'll be there soon as I change," Ken said and went to their bedroom to change. He came out in a loose tank top (that he had made on his own since this world didn't have any) and shorts. "Yo," he said as he took a seat on the dining table. "What's cooking?"

"Pasta," came the simple yet cheerful reply.

"Noice."

A moment of silence passed between them before Naruto finally spoke. "Wassup?"

Ken looked up in surprise and saw Naruto's worried face. "Whaddya mean 'wassup'?" he said. "Wassup with you?"

"Bro, I can tell there's something bothering you. Don't try to hide it," Naruto said, slightly irritated that Ken didn't trust him enough.

"It's alright, Naruto," Ken said resignedly. "I'm good."

"Clearly, you aren't. Talk to me, Ken," Naruto said. Ken had taught Naruto to not refer to him as 'Nii-san' as often since someone with a grudge against one could use the other as a hostage against the other in dangerous situations.

Ken sighed once again and look at Naruto. "Remember that bastard Mizuki?" he asked.

"The asshole academy sensei? Yeah. What about him?" asked Naruto, wondering what Mizuki had to do with Ken being in a bad mood.

"He turned traitor and tried to steal the Scroll of Sealing. That's what this mission was about. We had to catch him," said Ken.

"Okay, first of all, isn't classified information? Shouldn't you be not telling me that?"

"Nah, we can tell it to our family or the people we trust implicitly, so it's aii."

"Oh… okay. Secondly, what are you so worried about?"

"I'm worried that this village is going easy on the security, Naruto. Mizuki stole the Scroll of Sealing. First of all, Mizuki – a fucking Chunin – shouldn't even have knowledge of such a powerful weapon. Second, he shouldn't even know the location of such a thing. Third, why the hell was it located in the Hokage's office, and fourth, how the hell could a low-class Chunin possibly have the skills to dupe the ANBU guarding it. Either Konoha shinobi are incompetent as fuck, or there is a conspiracy involved," Ken finished his rant.

"Feel better?" asked Naruto with a smile.

"Yeah," Ken half-smiled. "Thanks, bro." As they ate their meal, Ken spoke again. "How was your day?"

"Our sensei arrived two hours late to pick us up," said Naruto with a scowl.

"Wha… Who the fuck is your sensei?" Ken asked, bewildered at who in the Konoha Forces could possibly have such punctuality issues.

"The prodigy of the village, son of the White Fang, student of the Yondaime, the one and only, Kakashi fucking Hatake," Naruto provided a grandiose explanation. Ken nearly spit his water out as he laughed hard at how annoyed his poor brother was.

"Oh, that's the best thing I've heard today," Ken said as he wiped his mouth with the napkin. "And your team? Who's on it?" he asked.

"Sakura-chan, and Sasuke," Naruto answered.

"Oh sick, I guess Jiji followed my advice and grouped the teams by specialty this year instead of ranking," Ken remarked, earning a confused look from Naruto.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"I mean, earlier this year, I looked at the Konoha Forces structure and how we organize our army. It basically depended all on talent – which is horseshit, by the way. There is the Academy program, and there is the Reserves program. What we graduated from was the Academy program. All the kids go in there first. They get three tries to pass. If they pass, then the teams are made using rankings. Top one with the bottom one. Usually, the Rookie of the Year and the Kunoichi of the Year are together with the Dead Last of the Year. I suggested to Jiji that he should instead look at the abilities of all the students and make teams based on that. It looks like he followed that advice this year," Ken said, finishing his explanation.

"Huh…" Naruto was silent for a moment as he contemplated the teams this year and realized Ken was right. Suddenly another thing struck his mind. "Wait, so what's the Reserves program and what happens to those don't pass the Academy in three tries?" he asked curiously.

Without missing a beat, Ken answered, "Those who don't pass the Academy in three years are then allowed a choice. Become a civilian or join the reserves. Those who are pussies become a civilian, while those who really love their country – sorry, village – do whatever it takes and enroll in the Reserves. It'd take too long to explain so I guess you can say that the Reserves is the dark side of Konoha. Those who go in there usually get trained in seduction and assassination missions and the really, really useless ones get trained for specific suicide missions."

"I… I see," said Naruto despondently. "Well, I guess if I was useless then they'd train me to be a weapon of mass destruction, right?"

"Yep. Because of the Kyuubi," Ken said. He had already told Naruto the truth about it the same night that he had told him about his past life. "Anyway, moving on, how did you do in the second test?" Ken asked.

"Huh!?" Naruto shouted, surprised. "You knew about it!?"

"Of course, I knew about it."

"Then why didn't you tell me!?" Ken reached over and flicked Naruto in the forehead. "Ow!"

"Cuz I'm not supposed to, dumbass. It's a test," Ken said amusedly. Naruto pouted but then sighed.

"Yeah, fine."

"Now tell me how it went," Ken demanded.

Naruto scowled once more and began to speak, but before he could, he was flicked once more by Ken. "Nii-san!" Naruto shouted. "The hell was that for!?" he asked indignantly.

"School your expressions. Your face shouldn't betray your mind. Neutral expression all the time," Ken explained calmly.

Naruto nodded once and put on an emotionless mask as he began to explain. "We passed the test. As it started, I immediately realized it was a test of teamwork. I informed Sakura-chan and Sasuke about it. Sakura-chan agreed immediately after hearing my reasoning, but Sasuke didn't feel the same way. We pushed Wasteman-sensei for a bit but as expected of an elite Jonin, we were badly humiliated. After that, he tied Sasuke up to a wooden post and left after giving Sakura-chan and me some lunch and strict orders to not feed Sasuke whatsoever. After he left, I sensed that he was still nearby watching us but still offered some of my lunch Sasuke. He refused at first but after Sakura-chan reasoned with him, he agreed. As he took the first bite, sensei appeared before us and told us that we pass. I believe a quote he used was, 'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum'."

As Naruto finished his explanation, Ken raised an eyebrow. "Okay, first, what's up with 'Wasteman-sensei'?" he asked.

"The man came in two hours late. That's the least he deserves," said Naruto. His face twitched as he wanted to scowl once again but kept his discipline.

"Okay, understandable," Ken said. He was silent for a moment but then laughed out loud. "Man, this is hilarious though," Ken said.

"What's so funny, Nii-san" asked Naruto innocently.

"The Yondaime's student was Kakashi, and now Kakashi himself is teaching a mini-Yondaime," Ken chuckled and then went quiet. "Wait a fucking minute," he said as his head snapped to Naruto so quick, the blond could've sworn he heard a crack. A short moment of silence stretched out between them until Ken finally spoke with wide eyes. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"

"N-Nii-san?" asked Naruto with trepidation. "What happened?"

"I'm a fucking idiot, and so is every other shinobi in this village, is what happened. Now, get the history textbook, Naruto," Ken said with a shaky voice.

"Umm… O-Okay…" Naruto replied and left to find it.

I'm the biggest fucking dumbass on this continent. How did I miss this shit? It all makes sense now. The hair, eyes, Kyuubi, and the extra ANBU protection detail, Ken thought with his head in his hands.

"Nii-san?" came a voice from beside him and Ken jumped.

"Oh, shit," he said, trying to calm himself down. "Sorry, Naruto. Ah... Do something: open the Hokage chapter and flip the pages to where they have the Yondaime's information." Naruto obeyed immediately and did as told and handed over the book to Ken. Ken took it from him and found a picture of the Yondaime. "Bring me a pencil," he ordered. Again, Naruto promptly delivered. Ken took the pencil and got to work on the picture. First, he scratched out the long bangs the framed the Yondaime's handsome face. Then he drew three whiskers on each cheek similar to Naruto's. Ken finished and held up the book for Naruto to see. "Recognize someone?"

"Huh?" said Naruto intelligently. "Isn't that… No… N-Nii-san…" he said slowly. "This is a joke, right? You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not, Naruto," Ken said. "I think your father is the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze."

"B-But… that's not possible!" said Naruto, his emotions all over the place. "If that was true, then… then..." Naruto looked down and clenched his jaw. "Then why do they all hate us? This isn't true, goddammit! It can't be!"

"Most likely," Ken answered, "because no one knows this fact. Maybe a select few trustworthy individuals…" Ken trailed off as he started making a list in his head. Kakashi, Jiji, the clan heads… maybe Danzo?

"But then why… Why didn't Jiji tell us!?" Naruto shouted desperately.

Ken moved closer to his brother and comfortingly wrapped his arms around him. He rubbed circles on Naruto's back to calm him down and spoke slowly as the sobs that wracked his whole body subsided. "My best guess: either to protect you or to keep you humble."

"How?" questioned Naruto immediately.

"I'm sure more than fifty percent of the world hates the Yondaime. He probably had a lot of enemies. They'd send assassins after you. Get it?" Ken explained.

Naruto nodded into Ken's chest and spoke once again with a subdued voice. "What about the humble part?"

"Tell me if this sounds familiar," Ken started with a mirthful voice. "A kid knows what it's like to be lonely. The kid comes from a prestigious background. The kid is hailed as a genius for every little thing. The kid becomes arrogant."

"Sasuke," Naruto said without missing a beat.

"Exactly," Ken said, proud at Naruto for figuring it out so quickly. "There was a huge chance that that's how you'd have become if Jiji had released your parentage."

"But then why didn't he at least tell me?" asked Naruto again, this time more calmly as he understood the situation.

"Who would possibly trust a kid with secrets that huge? But other than that, you do understand why he sealed the Kyuubi into you, right?"

"Hmm," Naruto hummed in understanding before squeezing Ken even tighter. "Because being Hokage means you need to make sacrifices for your village. Even if it's your own family," he said solemnly to which Ken nodded in agreement. Ken was extremely proud that Naruto understood the need for sacrifice from such a young age. The brothers silently stayed in each other's embrace for a long time before Naruto finally calmed down enough to speak properly. "But I still don't like it," he said as he used his special attack: Chibi Pout.

Ken merely sighed and tussled Naruto's hair. "Alright then," he said. "I guess I'll make it up to you by letting you see me test my newest inventions," Ken said and mentally smirked as he saw stars form in Naruto's eyes. His smirk grew evil as he thought of a prank. He grinned widely and said, "that way I can also have a test subject!"

"Eh?" came a sound out of Naruto before the statement fully sunk in. "Fuck no!" he shouted and tried to wriggle out of Ken's grasp but failed.

"Chill bro! Issa joke!" said Ken as he laughed. "I'd never do that."

"Promise?" asked Naruto as he looked at Ken with squinted eyes and a pout.

Ken chuckled, "Haha, nah, I probably would though, styll!" he said as he dragged his squirming little brother back to his chair to finish their dinner.

...

Ken was walking down the street towards the ROOT secret entrance after making sure Naruto was asleep. As he reached his destination, Ken pressed his hand against the door and injected some chakra into it. An intricate seal flashed green and the door swung open. Immediately, he was greeted by the sight of two ROOT agents on either side of the hallway, kneeling to him. "Welcome, Ken-sama," they said in unison.

"OI!" Ken shouted as he took a step back. "Can please stop fucking kneeling!? That shit feels weird as fuck!" Ken said angrily.

"Ken-sama," one of the agents said. "It is our duty to kneel."

"No, it isn't, dumbass! Both of you stand the fuck up!" he ordered, and the agents followed the orders instantly.

"Never will you ever refer to me as 'Ken-sama'," he spat the word like venom, "and never will you kneel before me. If you have to, call me 'sir' and stand at attention. That's all I ask. Spread the word."

Ken finished his reprimanding and walked into the base, intent on checking up on his personal squad.

...

As Ken neared the barracks of his own soldiers, he heard a regular ROOT agent shout "ROOM!" He smiled faintly as he walked into the room and saw every one of his soldiers standing at attention. The timeline for their training had been pushed up by a lot and in the end, out of twenty, only six had made it through.

"Well… I see everyone is having a productive evening!" Ken said faking enthusiasm. He continued to walk around the room looking each one in the face. "You know, it gives me a swell of pride, knowing soldiers of your calibre will be leading the village someday." Ken's eyes fell on a bed and he smirked knowingly. "Tip of the spear," he said slowly, looking at the captain of J-Squad. "Edge of the knife," he said as he advanced towards the bed. "Crack of my… ass," he finished as he flipped open the cover to reveal a deck of cards and some money. [1]

"Ugh…" the soldiers groaned collectively.

"Chunin Yurika, what is my view of gambling in the barracks?" Ken asked as he picked up a deck of cards.

"You dislike it, sir," the young chestnut-haired kunoichi answered promptly. Ken nodded with a slight smile. And held out the deck of cards on his palm.

"Inaho, what do I dislike it?" Ken asked again.

"Because it entails the notion that our fate is in hands other than our own," the young man said.

"And what is my definitive position on the concept of fate, Okyou?" he asked the other kunoichi. All the J-Squad operatives walked towards Ken and picked one card from the deck, as they spoke at once.

"Through readiness and discipline, we are masters of our own fate," they finished and tore half of the card they were holding and put it into their mouths, chewing and swallowing it.

Ken smiled and looked at his squad. "At ease," he said, and they relaxed a little. Ken turned around to face the doorway and grinned. "How about that, Danzo? Like it?"

"I must say, I am impressed at how your soldiers can be so disciplined and undisciplined at the same time," Danzo said as he walked through the door with two guards flanking him.

"And yet, these six people working as a team can fuck up your entire ROOT force with the training they've gotten," Ken said with absolute confidence.

"And that is precisely why I'm asking you to do this," Danzo said as he mirrored Ken's smirk.

Ken turned back around and faced his soldiers. "J-Squad!" he bellowed.

"SIR!" they snapped to attention.

"Your first mission is to train the rest of the ROOT operatives in the 'Way of the Soldier'. Elder Danzo and I are putting our full trust into you six. You will break them down, physically and mentally, and then build them back up into true soldiers. Is that understood?" Ken explained. Danzo watched him with wide eyes. No matter how many times he saw this, Ken's commanding aura always had him incredibly surprised.

"Sir, yes, sir!" J-Squad shouted in unison.

"Danzo, did you make the platoons that I asked you to?" Ken asked.

"Yes. Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword, and Paris. Very peculiar names you gave me," Danzo replied as he eyed Ken questioningly. [2]

"Don't worry about it," Ken waved Danzo's concern off. "Yurika takes Utah. Inaho takes Omaha. Okyou takes Gold. Taji takes Juno. Ashi takes Sword. Hayase takes Paris. You will make sure the entirety of ROOT is combat ready by the next Chunin exams. Your main focus will be tactics, namely CQB. More details will be given tomorrow at 0500. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Questions?"

"Sir, no, sir!"

"Dismissed," Ken finished simply and walked out of their barracks with Danzo right on his heels.

Once they were finally out of earshot, he finally asked. "CQB?"

Ken answered, knowing exactly what the old man was asking. "Close Quarters Battle. There are three main points of CQB. Stealth, surprise, and violence of action. I honestly don't have the energy to explain everything at the moment. If you wanna know more, go ask one of the soldiers. For now, we have more important things to discuss. Let's go to your office."

Danzo nodded and followed. As they entered, Danzo took his seat behind his desk, and Ken took his across from him. Ken started before Danzo could speak. "You had ROOT agents watching Mizuki. Why?"

"Excuse me?" Danzo said, on edge that Ken had so easily found out.

"Why did you have agents watching Mizuki? It wasn't a bad choice, but you knew somehow that some shit was about to go down. How? Why? I want details," Ken commanded.

Danzo and Ken were silent for a whole minute, staring into each other's eyes before Danzo finally spoke. "I believe that is classified information. I cannot tell-," he tried to say but was quickly interrupted by Ken slamming his hand on the desk.

"Stop fucking with me, you bastard," Ken growled out. "One of the most powerful weapons almost got into the hands of a fucking traitor. You think I'm going to take 'classified information' as an excuse? You fucking put Konoha's military strength into jeopardy," he said calmly. If there was one thing everyone knew about Ken, it was that the angrier he got, the quieter he got.

Danzo scowled as he argued back. "And who do you think notified the Sandaime about the theft? I would never do anything that puts Konoha into danger!" He exclaimed.

"The point of having a military is to stop shit before it happens. Not take action after it happens. You should've had your ROOT agents take that bastard in as soon as he touched the scroll."

"That would reveal my forces to the Hokage. I couldn't do it."

"You think Hokage-sama doesn't already know about ROOT? Are you fucking stupid? Or are you just that deluded by your own fantasies. The Hokage, Shikaku, Kakashi, the ANBU Commander, and most of the experienced ANBU already know that ROOT still exists. Yet, they let you keep going since you haven't made any huge blunders. In fact, I'm sure they even know about me associating with you."

Danzo was speechless. That… That can't possibly be true, right? He thought.

"Danzo," Ken spoke, bringing the old Warhawk out of his musing. "Tell me everything about Mizuki."

Danzo nodded once and started to relay all the information he had about the traitor. "The main reason I've been keeping an eye on him is because of a mission gone wrong. He was assigned to a Secret Document Recovery Mission. While on the mission, a teammate of his got injured. It was a serious injury but nothing he couldn't recover from. Officially, the teammate died from his injuries, but my personal ROOT investigation found that Mizuki strangled the guy to death so that he wouldn't slow him down."

"And you didn't think of reporting this to the Hokage?" Ken asked with a serious face.

"If I did, then I would have risked the exposure of ROOT," Danzo said guiltily.

Again, Ken was silent for a long moment as he just emotionlessly stared into the lone eye of the Warhawk. Finally, he spoke. "So, what good does ROOT do to Konoha in the first place, Danzo?"

Danzo narrowed his eye in anger as he spoke. "ROOT protects Konoha from the shadows!"

"And yet, you never take action when shit hits the fan…"

Danzo opened his mouth to refute… but couldn't say anything. He realized, Ken was correct. Even when ROOT discovered something important, they couldn't do anything other than just sit back and watch, in fear of being discovered.

"Danzo," Ken said as he stood up and walked away. "I suggest you either change your MO… or transfer all ROOT authority to me. I'll give you a month to decide." [4]

Ken Uzumaki had just given Danzo an ultimatum.

...

It had been about two weeks since Ken had talked to Danzo. He hadn't received an answer yet – which was surprising since Danzo was a someone who liked to act in advance, but it looked like he was biding his time.

"Ken~," sang a familiar voice.

"Huh?" he looked up to see two beautiful turquoise eyes staring into his own violet orbs.

"Did you decide what flowers you want to buy?" asked Ino as she smiled at him with a light blush on her face.

"Ah… no, not yet. Um… could you help me choose, please?" Ken asked as he remembered what he was doing.

"Sure!" Ino exclaimed cheerfully, happy to be able to spend time with her crush.

Truthfully, Ken didn't need help choosing flowers at all. He had enough experience and knowledge to be able to name every single flower in this shop, and then some. This was all just an act to seduce Ino even more. Yeah, he told himself. That was it. He didn't like her that way at all. Nope. She was attractive, but he didn't want to love her, or to hold her like she was his, or to have her true smiles for himself only… Ken stopped in his thoughts as he gazed her. The way her long blonde hair bounced, and her glossy lips shined. The way she would shoot him those sly smirks from time to time.

"Beautiful," he whispered quietly. But not quite quiet enough apparently, as Ino abruptly stopped talking and blushed a dark red.

"W-What?" she stammered out.

Ken smiled a bit more. "The flowers," he said quickly. "It really shows how much they've been cared for."

"Oh… right," she said downtrodden as the blush faded a little bit and her grin faltered.

"But you know," Ken said as he stepped towards her and closed the distance until their faces were less than an inch apart. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "I feel like the flower I'm looking at right now is in a completely different realm."

"K-Ken…" Ino said as she also brought her arms up to hold onto Ken's shoulders. Their faces came closer until their noses were touching. Her blush was now in full force, making an interesting contrast between her face and her hair. "My parents are home," she whispered out as she just remembered and tried to wriggle out of Ken's grasp.

"Then about a date sometime?" he asked as he held on tight. Damn, this girl had just recently hit puberty and she already had all the right curves in all the right places. Ken could just barely imagine what she'd be like when she got older.

"Yeah, sure! Now let go before they see us!" she whined, trying to sound commanding and failing miserably. After all, it's is pretty difficult to order someone when you've got a massive blush on your face, combined with a cute little shy smile.

Ken chuckled and loosened his grip. Ino quickly took a step back and turned around to hide from the embarrassment. Dammit! She thought to herself. I'm supposed to be the seductive one. I'm supposed to make others stutter and blush.

"W-Well," Ino said as she composed herself a little bit and turned around again, only to see Ken's smug face. Immediately a tick mark formed on her forehead. "The hell are you smiling at?" she asked heatedly.

Ken chuckled once more. "Sorry, sorry, you're just extremely cute when you're flustered, y'know."

"Hmpf," Ino looked to the side to hide her blush. "So… when's the date?" she asked, trying to hide her excitement.

"Hah…" Ken sighed. "To be honest, I don't think anytime soon. I've got so much on my plate at the moment, I don't even have time for food sometimes."

Ino pouted, feeling like he was making excuses. "Then who're the flowers for?" she asked challengingly.

"Naruto and Sakura have a date tonight. Just doin' my lil' bro a favour," he said with a wry smile.

"Wha… HOW?" !?" Ino practically shouted as her eyes went as wide as ramen bowls.

"I honestly have no idea. They've been spending so much time together. Even for training. And them being on the same team helps things along as well I guess," Ken said, shrugging his shoulders as he paid for the flowers and accepted the bag from Ino. "I'll see you later!" Ken waved over his shoulder as he exited the store.

...

Naruto smiled as Ken fixed his attire up. "Thanks a lot, Nii-san!" he said excitedly.

"You don't need to thank me, Naruto. This is what a brother does. Now, repeat to me what you're going to be doing on the date," Ken said as he finished styling Naruto's hair.

"I'll take the flowers with me and get Sakura-chan from her home. Then we'll go to Chouji's uncle's restaurant to have something to eat-,"

"Something which is not ramen," Ken interjected.

"Fine," Naruto pouted. "Then I'll take her to the Yondaime's head to watch the sunset."

"Good. After that?" Ken asked.

"Huh? I thought that was it."

"Didn't I tell you…" Ken trailed off confusedly. "Oh, wait. No, I didn't. Ugh, damn Kage Bunshin," he said as he groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Kage Bunshin? Why did you make Kage Bunshin, Nii-san?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't make any. I just always have about a hundred alive at all times, working on my newest inventions. A bunch of them just popped a while ago and my brain just got fucked up. Anyway, after you watch sunset walk her home and when you drop her off, tell her what a great time you had. Compliment something specific about her. And then… well I guess you'll see her the next day anyway, so I guess that's it," Ken said. "Understood?"

"Uh… yeeeah… I think," Naruto said, scrunching his brow in concentration.

Ken smiled and squeezed his little brother's shoulder. "You'll do fine. Now get out there and make a woman happy," he said as he wished Naruto good luck.

...

"NII-SAN!" shouted Naruto as he cannonballed on a sleeping Ken.

"Oof!" Ken woke to the sight of Naruto sitting on him with a huge grin plastered on. "What is it, Naruto? You never wake up this early." It had been about a week since Naruto's date and it seemed like it went extremely well since Sakura had kissed him goodnight when he had dropped her off.

"It's your testing day!" Naruto exclaimed.

"My what now?"

"Your testing day. You know, when you test your pew-pew-things," Naruto explained.

"Oh… yeah… that's today, isn't it?" Ken said as he closed his eyes once more. "HOLY SHIT I'M LATE!" he shot out of bed as Naruto got out of the way just in time. Ken immediately made ten Kage Bunshin to go get things ready for the demonstration of the new assault rifles and the car prototype he had invented.

"So, Naruto, how's it going with Sakura lately?" Ken asked as he got ready.

"Awesome! I've been training every day with both Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"Both?" asked Ken with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep!"

"And… they're fine with it?"

"Umm… yeah. Why wouldn't they be?" Naruto asked confusedly.

Ken stopped making his breakfast to look Naruto in the eye and have a serious conversation. "Naruto. Do you like Sakura or Hinata?" Ken asked him.

"Umm… both, I guess," Naruto answered as he scratched his head.

"You like them both as a friend, but who do you like as a romantic partner?" Ken asked again.

"Well… I'd again say both… or none. Sakura-chan is fine as hell and she's hella strong too, but she cares about her looks too much. And Hinata-chan is actually pretty as fuck and super strong – she can even fuck me up sometimes – but she's very shy most of the times," Naruto explained. He paused for a while and then continued again. "But… I like them both very much!"

Ken blinked. "O… kay…" he said as he tried to process it. Naruto was in love with two different women at the same time. "Naruto… how do Sakura and Hinata behave with each other when you're not around?"

Naruto looked at Ken as if he was stupid. "How the hell am I supposed to know how they behave if I'm not around?"

Ken paused. "Oh shit, facts," he said as he laughed out loud. "Damn, I'm stupid as hell. Well, whatever bro. You can handle your own ladies, I guess. Just know that if you're in any trouble, I'm always here."

"Yes, I know that already. Now hurry up!" Naruto said, practically bouncing in place. "I wanna see the new weapons!"

"Alright, chill. Lemme finish my breakfast," Ken said as he started eating quickly.

...

"Good morning, Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san, Shikaku-san, Commander," Ken greeted as he walked into the testing field in the afternoon.

"Heya Jiji! Oh, and… NO WAY!" Naruto said out loud from his position beside Ken. "Wasteman-sensei is actually on time!"

"Good morning, Ken, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen greeted back with a smile.

"Yo," Kakashi said lazily, not looking up from his orange book and Shikaku merely nodded his head in greeting.

"Neo," the ANBU Commander said in greeting.

"Huh?" said Naruto. "Who's Neo?"

"That's my ANBU codename. Now let's get to it, shall we?" Ken asked, getting a nod from all the adults. Naruto quickly ran over to them so that he was a safe distance away from Ken. "Now, let me give you an overview of what I'll be presenting today. I call these guns 'assault rifles', and they are basically just like the Uzu-19, except that it shoots farther, faster and much more accurately," he explained in the most basic terms.

Ken walked over to where his Kage Bunshin had laid out all the new weapons and materials to test and picked up the first assault rifle. An incredibly simple but just as reliable rifle whose design was based on the Russian AK-101. "Mag," he said and instantly a clone of him obeyed, giving him a magazine. Ken took it and inserted it into the rifle. A very useful modification he had made to this rifle was that it could be cocked from either side. Ken cocked it and pointed it at the target.

As a clone of his saw this, it said, "Testing. AK-101. 200 meters. Standing by, advise, ready to fire."

"Neo, ready to fire," Ken said as he flicked the safety off.

"Roger, 3… 2… 1… fire at will."

Ken squeezed the trigger and let the bullets fly. Within seconds, the magazine was empty and the poor tree that had been used as target practice was blown to smithereens.

"End of test," the clone called out. "Clear?"

"Clear," Ken replied as he cocked the bolt back to make sure there was nothing in the chamber. After he made sure, he flicked the safety back on. "Well," he turned to his audience. "How was that?"

"AWESOME!" Naruto shouted out loud.

"Agreed," said Kakashi and the ANBU Commander in unison.

Hiruzen looked at the weapon and then the target with calculating eyes. "Shikaku. What do you think?" he asked with a smile.

Shikaku opened and closed his mouth a few times with wide eyes. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama," he finally said. "I cannot provide a full analysis without seeing its battle capabilities."

"Well then," Hiruzen said with a smirk. "Good thing I have something prepared."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Excuse me?"

Everyone standing there – other than Ken – turned wide-eyed at the Hokage who merely chuckled and waved his hand. "Nothing so drastic as live subjects or anything, of course. Ken, you informed me of this something called 'rubber bullets' the other day, correct?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Ken answered.

Hiruzen smiled as he rolled open a storage scroll and unsealed a huge box. "I had some made," he said simply.

Ken smiled deviously as he looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi-san. You wouldn't mind, would you?" he asked as Kakashi started sweating bullets.

"Uh… I would?" Kakashi tried.

"Too bad," the Hokage said. "This is punishment for being late all the time."

Kakashi took up his position a hundred meters away from Ken and unveiled his Sharingan as he took out a pair of kunai.

"Ready?" a clone of Ken asked them both.

"Ready," Kakashi said, resignation evident in his voice.

"Ready. Mag," Ken said as a clone handed him the magazine filled with rubber bullets. He loaded the gun and pointed it at the Copy Ninja.

"Testing. FN F-2000. Standing by, advise, ready to fire."

"Neo, ready to fire," Ken said, flicking the safety off.

"Roger. 3… 2… 1… fire at will," the clone said and Kakashi tensed.

Ken pressed the trigger, and 30 rounds fired in less than 2.12 seconds. Kakashi didn't even TRY to deflect any. Right before Ken pressed the trigger, Kakashi ran through the hand-seals: Tiger Hare Boar Dog and shouted out "Doton: Doryuheki". Immediately an earth wall, just large enough to hide Kakashi popped up and the 30 rounds embedded themselves into it.

"End of test," the clone said. "Clear?"

Ken cleared the rifle. "Clear. That was amazingly quick thinking, Kakashi," Ken said, truly impressed.

"Thanks Ken, fuck you too," Kakashi said, dusting himself off.

Ken laughed out loud. "Oh, chill out bro. The most that would've happened is that it might've broken a few bones. That's it!"

Kakashi looked at Ken with half-lidded eyes. "That's it?" he said.

"Yep! Anyway, what did you guys think?" Ken said, turning to the audience.

"Those were only rubber bullets. I reckon this weapon in actual battle, or in a war would dominate," Shikaku said, providing his analysis.

"My thoughts exactly. And not the pleasurable kind of dominates, either," The ANBU Commander said, getting weird looks from everyone except Naruto. "What? To each their own, right?" he asked indignantly.

"Riiiight…" the Hokage said. "Anything else, Ken?"

"Yes. The last one, I call a sniper rifle," Ken said as he walked over to another clone and picked it up. There is still something wrong with this, but I can't figure out what," he said before starting to mutter to himself. "It's probably the damn scope but… or maybe the rifling?" He quickly shook his head and started explaining aloud again. "Basically, this gun will allow you to shoot a target from more than… well… it'll allow you to shoot a target that you can't even see with your naked eye. I'm even working on trying to make it so that you can control the trajectory of the bullet mid-air."

"Interesting," the Hokage said as he rubbed his stubble. "We will be returning to my office to discuss further matters. Till then, you're dismissed."

Ken snapped to attention and saluted as everyone save Ken and Naruto sunshined away. As Ken packed up everything using his clones, Naruto called out to him.

"Nii-san! What about that 'car' thing you were talking about?" he asked eagerly.

"I'll show you in a minute. Lemme just pack all this up and we'll be on our way," Ken said.

"Okay!"

...

Ken and Naruto walked into a clearing in a forest and Naruto's eyes went wide as he looked at the hulking metal beast in front of him. "Whoa! What is that!?" he asked.

"This," Ken replied as he walked over and slapped the roof of the vehicle. "Is what I call a 'Humvee'."

"What does it do?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.

"Eliminate the need for running from country to country," Ken said with a chuckle. "Sadly, I'm still not done making it so that everyone can drive it. Only people with lightning nature can for now."

Parked behind Ken was what you'd call a typical US Army Humvee. The steering wheel of the Humvee was made of metal which could conduct electricity from the person driving it and transfer through wires to the four wheels. Ken was currently in the process of making something like a battery which could store electricity so that people with non-lightning natured chakra could also make use of the sure to be a revolutionary invention.

"Why?"

"Because the electricity makes the wheels roll."

"How?"

"The steering wheel – which is this thing, by the way – takes lightning natured chakra from the driver – which is what you call the person operating or driving the Humvee – uses it like electricity and gives it to the wheels which have special motors which make them roll."

"Umm…" Naruto said as smoke started coming out of his brain.

"Hah…" Ken sighed and said, "maybe it'd be better to just show you. Get in! We're taking it for a spin."

Ken got in as Naruto rode shotgun. He placed his thumb over a circle and channelled some chakra into the invisible seal to unlock the wheels. He then placed his hands on the steering wheels and fed it some lightning-natured chakra. The Humvee roared to life and took off.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" came a scream from the shotgun seat.

"SSSSHIIIIIITTTTTT!" came another one from the driver seat.

BOOM. The Humvee ran right into a big oak tree and literally folded into itself.

Ken and Naruto both jumped out of the vehicle – or at least what was left of it – and surveyed the damage.

"My life just flashed before my eyes," Naruto said as he tried to calm his breathing. "It was pretty damn boring."

"Hmm…" Ken hummed as he tried to think of what went wrong. "I guess… too much power and not enough handling.

"Nii-san," Naruto screamed as he punched Ken on the shoulder. "You almost killed us!"

"Oh calm down you big blond baby," Ken said as he rubbed his shoulder and realized just how strong Naruto was becoming. Damn, I've gotta up my training. "I had it under control."

"If that's what you call 'under control', I don't want to see your 'out of control'," Naruto whispered as he shivered.

Ken mad some more Kage Bunshin to survey the damage and troubleshoot the problems as Ken and Naruto headed off to Ichiraku's. I bet Ino would love to see my 'out of control', he secretly thought.

...

Neo shunshined into the Hokage's office. "Neo?" the Hokage prompted.

"Mission complete, Hokage-sama," he said to Hiruzen.

The Hokage nodded. "If I remember correctly, next week is a cover week," he said, to which Neo replied.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Cover weeks were when SAT-9 acted as a normal Genin team, doing normal D and C rank missions. It was tedious, monotonous, and boring but it had to be done for the sake of their cover.

"Very well," said Hiruzen. "I'll be assigning you a joint mission with Team 7 to the land of waves."

"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?" Neo asked.

"Granted."

"Wouldn't this be a waste of money and resources for Konoha?" He had a point. Sending a rookie ANBU team and an experienced Genin team on a mere C-rank was ludicrous.

"Normally, yes. But this time, I have reason to believe that the client is lying, and it could be a possible A-rank. Of course, this is merely a hunch of mine, but…" the Hokage trailed off.

"Understood. Hunches and instincts have worked a lot for me too in the past," Neo said.

"I'd also like you to use this mission as an opportunity to test out your latest machines," said Hiruzen.

"Are you sure?" Neo asked. "Remember, we don't want secret info like this falling into enemy hands," he said warningly.

The Hokage internally questioned himself at why he felt like a subordinate giving advice to his superior when indeed he was the superior here. Then quickly realized that it was probably because the young man in front of him had been through way more than him and was probably way more qualified at leading the village than anyone in the whole village. Maybe… he thought but quickly filed that line of thought away for later. "I don't think we have to worry about that. Kakashi and multiple ANBU have already taken the Uzu 19 out on different missions and someone has probably already seen it," the Hokage said reassuringly.

"Hmm… I guess this also lowkey helps us stay strong since rumours of badass weapons would make our enemies afraid," Neo spoke and once again Hiruzen felt like he was being praised as a worker instead of a boss. "Alright then. I'll take… Hmm…" He went quiet for a few seconds and rubbed his chin before nodding standing at attention again. "I'll take the P-90," he said. "It'll be much better since most combat will probably be close combat and the rate of fire is the highest out of all the others."

"That would be perfect," the Hokage said and Neo waited to be dismissed. He raised an eyebrow behind his mask.

"Is… there anything else, Hokage-sama?" Neo asked politely.

The Hokage sighed as he rubbed his temples. "I… Take off your mask, Neo," he ordered.

The Uzumaki narrowed his eyebrows. Why would the Hokage say that? Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but usually, when the Hokage told an ANBU operative to take off their mask in the office, it's either because they are being dismissed, or because they are needed for a super special mission that only they can accomplish. Nonetheless, the young ANBU complied and took off his mask. Gone was the prodigious ANBU, Neo, and in his place stood Ken, a simple genin of Konoha. "Jiji?" Ken asked.

"Ken… I don't want to ask this of you, but I think rather than wasting time trying to find someone else to do it, it might just be better for you to take a look at this situation," Hiruzen said cryptically.

"Jiji, can we please get to the point?" Ken asked, annoyed at the old man.

The Hokage chuckled a bit. "Of course. I know how to love efficiency so much. In short, our IE department has been unsuccessful in getting Mizuki to spout any useful information so far. I just need you to give them ideas. I'm sure you have a lot of experience in this, correct?" Hiruzen requested.

Ken blinked. That's it? That's all the Hokage wanted? "Bet. Let's go, right now! I'll make him talk in like 2 hours, tops," Ken said, brimming with energy.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a bit too excited for this?"

"Eh…" Ken smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head just like Naruto did when he got caught planning a prank. "Hahaha, my bad. I just haven't gotten to… uh… help Konoha enough so I'm happy to get the chance to serve my country," he explained on the fly.

The Hokage deadpanned. "Uh-huh… and just who do you think you're trying to fool?"

"Ah… That easily, huh? Well, it was definitely worth a shot," Ken grinned cheekily to which Hiruzen merely shook his head.

...

The Hokage walked through the creepy hallways of Konoha's IE department at a sedate pace, followed by an excited Ken in his ANBU uniform, sans mask.

"So… uh… can I get an overview first, before I go play?" Ken asked.

"Ibiki – the head of the interrogation department has tried all the psychological torture methods to no avail. Mizuki believes that whoever he is working for will get him out of here for sure and has not given in yet. Anko – our best physical torture agent has tried everything short of killing or maiming, again, to no avail," Hiruzen explained as they walked.

"Hmm…" Ken hummed in thought as he spoke again. "Alright. Firstly, never give the prisoner the satisfaction of being acknowledged. Always refer to it as the filthiest garbage you can think of," Ken lectured as he continued. "Secondly, how… alive… do you need the worm to be?" he asked nonchalantly.

Hiruzen stayed silent in thought for a while before he finally spoke. "Keep its brains intact. If all else fails, we'll get a Yamanaka to force their way into it," he answered.

"Got it~," Ken said chipperly before looking at the Hokage with confusion. "Wait, why couldn't we just get a Yamanaka to take a look in the first place?"

"There is a seal on him which destroys his brain if a Yamanaka tries to force their way in," Hiruzen calmly explained.

"Huh… That's oddly specific," Ken said suspiciously.

"Yes, I believe so too. From that, we can deduce that whoever orchestrated this theft probably has a good understanding of the inner workings of Konoha. Our suspicions mainly fall on either Suna, Iwa, Kumo, Orochimaru, or… Akatsuki," the Hokage said. The fact that this was all highly classified information went unsaid.

"Who's Akatsuki?" Ken asked.

"A group of S-ranked missing-nin that have formed a mercenary group," Hiruzen said with a heavy tone that did not go unnoticed by Ken.

"Why would they attack Konoha?" Ken asked once more. The Hokage stayed silently. "Right… Classified information. Have they attacked us before?" Once again, the Hokage didn't answer. "Okay, so I'm guessing you don't really expect it to be them."

Hiruzen looked a Ken with an impressed look. "You really do have some fine deduction skills."

"Please, don't," Ken said with authority that bordered on insubordination and would've if Hiruzen hadn't known beforehand about how uncomfortable Ken got when complimented.

"Of course. My apologies," the Hokage said as they finally arrived in front of a door.

The Hokage opened the door and the four shinobi inside the room stopped at once to turn and bow to their leader. Ken's façade stayed perfectly intact despite his disapproval at the shinobi's easygoing natures. Hiruzen nodded his head in acknowledgement as his eyes scanned the room once.

"Hokage-sama," came the gruff voice from a man in a black trench coat as he walked towards the village leader.

"Ah, Ibiki. How goes the interrogation?" the Hokage asked kindly.

"Sorry, sir. No progress. The prisoner still believes whoever he is working for is much more powerful than anyone in this village. He believes he will be free eventually," Ibiki said with a frown.

Ken looked over the man. This was the head of the IE department, huh? Well… he certainly looked the part.

"I'm tellin' ya! Lemme cut a couple of limbs off! That'll get him talking!" came a cheerful/exasperated voice from the back. Ken looked over to where the voice came from and saw a woman also wearing a trench coat, just like Ibiki, but brown. He noticed that she showed almost no skin but was wearing skintight clothing. Ken smirked. This was a very, very effective technique for infiltration missions… in the short term. On a long-term mission, eventually, the target would get tired of the same eye-candy and move onto another woman.

"We've been over this, Anko," Ibiki said, facepalming while the Hokage merely laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied. "Negotiation tactics with the enemy and whatnot. Buncha diplomatic shit." She turned away and pouted before finally noticing Ken. "Who's the shrimp?"

Ken chuckled. "I like her," he said amusedly.

The Hokage quickly intervened before any dangerous business could get started here. "Anko, Ibiki," he said, getting both their attention. "This here is Ken Uzumaki. He's a rookie ANBU who I'm letting take a crack at the prisoner."

"Hokage-sama, is it really okay…" Ken began but was waved off by the Hokage.

"It's alright, Ken. Both, Anko, and Ibiki are two of my most trusted shinobi," Hiruzen said with a smile. "I'm sure they'd love to help you out with whatever you have planned for our prisoner here."

"Alright, then," Ken stated as he looked back towards the two.

Ibiki merely nodded once, not one for introductions, while Anko, on the other hand, quickly hugged him, pushing his face in her breasts. "Hey, kid! Anko Mitarashi! The sexiest kunoichi in Konoha! Nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully.

Ken smiled mirthfully as she finally let him go. "Ken Uzumaki. Likewise," he answered professionally. "Let's go see the prisoner, shall we?"

"Hmm…" Anko said as she smirked at the redhead. "Completely unfazed by that, huh? You're a tough one."

Ken mirrored Anko's smirk. "What? Did you think a pair of boobs would make me blush?"

Anko's smirk grew to maniacal proportions. "Y'know kid. I have a feeling we're gonna get along really well."

"Funny. I feel the same way."

"Ahem," the Hokage once again interrupted before things could escalate. "Let's go try out whatever you wanted to, Ken."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

...

Ibiki, Hiruzen, Ken, and Anko stood side-by-side in that order as the looked at the hunched over form of Mizuki on the other side of the one-way mirror. He was sitting on a metal chair with his hands cuffed. The cuffs were connected to a table in front of him. His hair had been cut. He was missing teeth, fingernails, and toenails and there were cuts and bruises all over his body. Hell, he was even missing some fingers and toes, now that Ken looked closely. There were even burn marks over some places and

"Well, he's in a good shape," Ken said, breaking the silence.

"Hah," Anko laughed out. "I like your sense of humour."

"No, I'm serious," Ken said again. "He's in great shape compared to what I had been imagining."

Anko and Ibiki raised an eyebrow as they looked the 13-year-old completely unfazed by the scene while the Hokage merely shook his head. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days.

"Whenever you're ready, Ken," Hiruzen stated.

"Alright." He nodded.

Ken quickly made a shadow clone. "Head of Lima Squad. You'll be 'Prime'," he commanded the clone.

"Understood," Lima-Prime said as he exited the room at made his way to the room next door.

Meanwhile, Ibiki and Anko's eyes were wide as saucers as they looked at the display of professionalism. As the clone exited, as one, they turned their eyes towards the Hokage. Hiruzen carefully avoided eye-contact as he didn't want to go through explaining everything. Eventually, their attention was diverted towards the other room as Lima-Prime entered.

Mizuki's head rose as he looked at the person who entered. As soon as he recognized the head of red hair, he scowled deeply. "You fucker!" he spoke with a voice laced in venom. The clone merely ignored him and sat down on a chair opposite to him. "What the fuck are you here for!?" he said a bit louder this time. Lima-Prime's expression stayed blank as a slate as he just looked at Mizuki as if he was a pitiful existence.

...

In the other room, Ibiki, Anko, and Hiruzen watched carefully.

...

"STOP IGNORING ME! What the hell do you want!?" Mizuki's shouts got louder. Finally, as the clone deemed it enough, he spoke.

"Pathetic." Mizuki's eyes narrowed dangerously as he growled like a wild animal. "Just end your pitiful behaviour and tell me who you're working for."

"Your mother! Or wait, maybe your sister! It's so hard to tell them apart. They both moan my name in the same way, after all," Mizuki said grinning.

"Cute." Lima-prime spoke and the grin dropped off of Mizuki's face. "But seriously though," he said as he pulled out a dagger and a cloth out of seemingly nowhere and started polishing it. "What was that fuckhead thinking, attacking the strongest hidden village? Did he really think he'd get somewhere? HAH! What a dumbfuck!"

...

"You've got some colourful vocabulary, kid. Mind if I use some of those words?" Anko asked Ken in the other room.

Kem smiled genuinely at Anko. "It'd be my pleasure!" he said, truly happy that someone liked it.

...

"But again," Lima-Prime continued before Mizuki had a chance to say anything. "You were probably just a little test of the village security. Congratulations!" The clone leaned in a smile that would make Anko shiver. "You failed, you pathetic fucking waste of space. You were just used and discarded. Utter trash. Swine. Useless little maggot. Filthy insect. You are what is produced when a brick of shit has hate-sex with the rotting body of a rat carrying herpes."

"SHUT UP!" Mizuki shouted with crazed eyes. "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME! FUCK YOU! YOU'LL SEE! MY MASTER WILL BE BACK FOR ME! HE WILL COME BACK AND BURN THIS FUCKING VILL-," Mizuki's rant was cut off, courtesy of Ken boot in his face. His head drooped as he was out cold.

...

"W-Wow…" Anko said, speechless. "That was…"

Her expression was mirrored by both, Ibiki, and Hiruzen. Ken finally spoke. "Did you notice? He called his superior 'master'. This way, we can rule out any of the hidden villages as no shinobi calls their leader 'master'. Secondly, not many people outside Konoha – other than high ranking or very powerful individuals – know about the Scroll of Seals. AS such, I am like 95% sure this guy's 'master' is Orochimaru," he concluded.

All the others looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Damn. You're good at this," Anko said again.

Ken immediately averted his eyes and looked away uncomfortably. "Permission to continue, Hokage-sama?" Ken asked quickly.

"Continue," the Hokage said. Truthfully, they didn't need much more information, but he wanted to see what other methods Ken would use. Ken nodded gratefully and quickly created and dispelled a clone.

...

In the room, Lima-Prime gained memories of the conversation and permission to continue. He got up and detached the cuffs from the table and uncuffed Mizuki. He carried the traitor and put him down on the floor and moved the table and chair away. Then, Lima-Prime quickly went through a few hand seals and slammed his palms on the floor. "Doton: Tsuka no Tsuchi Souzou." Immediately, a block of rock rose from the floor and stopped at about waist height. The clone then picked up the unconscious Mizuki and laid him out on the block of rock. Again, the clone ran through the same hand seals, but this time, putting much less chakra into the technique. "Doton: Tsuka no Tsuchi Souzou," he said, and the rock shifted around Mizuki's still form until he was completely bound to it. It looked like he was completely trapped in the rock. Only his face and ears were visible.

...

In the room, Ken quickly made another clone and handed it his Battle Sealing Kit. "Lima-Two," Ken commanded concisely. The clone bowed and left to go to the other room.

"What's that for?" Anko questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Water drop torture," Ken said with a smile to which she scoffed.

"Too bad, kid. We already tried it," Anko said, insulted that he would think they wouldn't already try something like this.

"With whiteness and radio static?" he asked with a smirk.

"Huh?" Anko asked but Ibiki's and Hiruzen's eyebrows rose at the revelation. "Wait," Anko said as she also saw this. "What do you mean?"

"Watch," Ken said simply as he turned back to the other room.

...

Lima-Prime turned his head as he heard the door open. "Boomer," he prompted as the second Ken clone entered.

"Breakthrough; Lima-Two," Lima-Two answered, completing the verification process. Every morning, Ken made a clone and decided on a verification phrase. Then he dismissed it, which spread the memory of the phrase to all other active clones. Every time clones that were made separately came into contact, they'd verify each other by making sure it wasn't a random person in a henge. It wasn't the best way, but the chances of that happening in the first place were slim to none. As such, Ken didn't want to make it overly complicated.

Quickly, without another word, the clones got to work. Lima-Prime once again did the same jutsu and created a large bowl in the corner of the room. Meanwhile, Lima-Two made a tiny chakra restriction seal and stuck it on Mizuki forehead. This way, his whole chakra network would be too useless to do anything. Then he made a few genjutsu seals. These seals were made so that whatever they were stuck to, they'd make the surface of that thing look white.

As Lima-Two went around sticking seals all over the place, Lima-Prime took the Battle Sealing Kit and made two seals. One sucked in a minuscule amount of water and transferred it into another dimension, and the other one took that water from that dimension and let it out. He stuck the first seal at the bottom of the large bowl, then did another justu and filled it up with water. He then climbed up to the ceiling and stuck the second seal right above Mizuki's forehead.

As the two clones finished with their duties, they received another order from Ken. "Come get the radio." Lima-Two retrieved a radio from the other room and placed it in the corner as he turned it on. He tuned it so that there was only white noise coming through and then nodded to Lima-Prime and dispelled himself. Lima-Prime channelled a little bit of his chakra into the second seal and dispelled himself. Immediately drops of water slowly started dropping out of the seal.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Mizuki woke up finally and desperately tried to look around… only to find that he couldn't move at all.

Drip.

He flinched as the water drop hit his forehead. He looked up – the only place he could look at – and saw white.

Drip.

He blinked rapidly to get rid of whatever daze he was in. Nothing changed.

Drip.

"HEY!" he screamed. He heard his own voice, but that wasn't all. There was also another sound.

Drip.

Once again, he tried to move. Once again, he failed.

Drip.

"HEEELP!" he screamed, only to the hear radio static in return.

Drip.

…

In the next room, Anko, Ibiki, and Hiruzen, all looked on with wide eyes at the scene in front of them. They saw as Mizuki slowly lost whatever composure he had and started breaking. Tears streamed from his eyes as he called out helplessly.

A satisfied sigh sounded through the room and they turned their heads to look at the only redhead in the room. "I hope that teaches him his lesson," Ken said with a genuine smile.

"And what lesson would that be, Ken?" the Hokage asked and watched as Ken's smile turned extremely scary.

"Don't fuck with my village," he said in a voice that didn't go with his handsome face.

The Hokage smiled serenely as heard Ken words and reassured himself that he was making the correct decision. "How long will it take him to break?"

"Not more than 3 days," Ken said confidently. "I'd suggest you ask him questions at intervals of three hours. Each time he answers correctly, stop the drops for about thirty seconds," he advised. Anko and Ibiki nodded.

"Thank you very much, Uzumaki-san," Ibiki said professionally. "If you're ever considering joining the IE department of Konoha, you'll be welcomed with open arms." He finished with a genuine smile.

"Please, Ibiki-san, just call me Ken. And of course, I probably won't be joining, but I'd love to drop by sometimes, y'know," Ken said.

"And Onee-sama here would also love to have you visit!" Anko chirped up as she hugged Ken, smashing his face into her boobs.

"I'll be here every day if you promise to hug me like this every time I come," came Ken's muffled voice.

Anko threw her head back and guffawed. "Hell yeah, I will!"

"Bet!"

"Alright," Hiruzen said, getting everyone's attention. "Let's get going shall we, Ken?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Ken said as Anko let go.

...

Ken and Hiruzen walked down the hallway as the old man spoke up once again. "You did a very good job, Ken."

"Hokage-sama…" Ken said uncomfortably.

"I know, I know," Hiruzen waved him off. "You don't like to be praised, but regardless, I was impressed. You have a very wide array of knowledge."

"T-Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You also have that confidence that is needed to lead, and also the experience of a leader."

Ken stayed silent, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Not only that, but you've earned the respect of all the ANBU operatives and even many of the regular shinobi. You also have the skill to back it up."

Once again, Ken stayed silent, hoping that the Hokage would just get to the point.

"I'm getting old, Ken," Hiruzen said, finally giving up on getting a reaction from Ken. "The village will need a new ruler in a couple of years."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," Ken said, finally speaking up. "It's not happening."

Hiruzen sighed, knowing this was coming. "Ken, I truly believe that Konoha would prosper under your rule."

"Not happening."

"You could make Konoha the strongest among the five villages."

"Don't want to."

"You could find out Naruto's and your heritage."

"Not interested."

Hiruzen sighed again. "Ken…"

"Jiji! I'm not going to steal Naruto's dream like that!" Ken said, a little disappointed that Hiruzen would offer something like this.

"You wouldn't be stealing it. You would only be holding the position until he becomes ready to take it. In fact, you could even prepare him for it."

"I… don't want him to think I betrayed him…" Ken spoke softly in a rare show of emotion.

"Ken," Hiruzen began softly, only just now noticing that they weren't walking anymore and had stopped in the middle of the hallway. "I may not have as much experience as you do in reading people's ulterior motives or emotions, but I know for a fact that Naruto would never ever think of you as anything but the greatest brother on the planet."

"I… I'll consider it," Ken said softly as they started walking again.

"Thank you… but until you tell me your answer, I'm naming you as the acting-Hokage in case anything happens to me early," Hiruzen said and Ken just knew he wasn't asking.

"Understood, Hokage-sama."