Author's note: This is actually the Second chapter of a series i originally started during the Akuta arc. Events prior to this chapter focused on how that arc developed and eventually ended, however, so as to not have the series fall under the "Alternate universe" Category and keep it as close to the canon material as possible i have refrained from including those chapters. It's worth noting that my version of the story ended up not being far from what the original series' writers had in mind, therefore there should not be much confusion especially as all of these chapters were written to be independent from that arc to begin with. There are only three notes I'd like to mention about my version of the story to avoid confusion regarding the beginning of this chapter:
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
1. Ohnoki did not die at the end of the Akuta arc and was instead detained by the hidden stone village.
2. Kurotsuchi returned to the hidden leaf village with Naruto in order to explain recent events to the land of fire's higher-ups.
3. Mitsuki did not return to the village and disappeared amidst the chaos.
Side note: I write all of these for myself so publishing them depends on your feedback alone! Whether you loved this chapter, hated it, or didn't think much about it please let me know by writing a review!
Chapter I
Mentor and pupil
"Finally, we're home.", Said a weary Naruto. "You should go to your parents, they'll be relieved to see you.", he told the children.
And with that each of the battered group slugged his way home, tired and beaten from the trip. "Nanadaime!", Sarada called out as Naruto and Kurotsuchi headed to the kage hall.
"Huh?", Naruto turned.
"Please, let me wash your mantle and return it to you.", she said.
"Oh, it's alright Sarada, don't worry about it.", said Naruto.
"Please. I'll return it to you tomorrow better than new."
Naruto looked over at Kurotsuchi. She shrugged. He took off his cloak and handed it to Sarada. "Thanks.", he said awkwardly.
"Thank you, Naruto-sama!", Sarada replied joyfully, running off.
"...Naruto-sama?" Naruto whispered to himself in amusement.
"She wants to play hokage, I imagine." Kurotsuchi said, cracking a smile.
"Well, anyway, let's be off. We've got a lot to do." Naruto replied.
And so they made their way to the hokage's hall. On the way everyone dropped what they were doing and looked at them, bowing and whispering among themselves. "It's Naruto-sama! And Lady Tsuchikage is with him too! I wonder what it's about." , "Oh two kage in one day! That's not something you see often!" , "Show Naruto-sama respect boy. Bow!" were among the remarks. They quickened their pace. As soon as they entered the hall they could hear Shikamaru scolding his son. "Do you have any idea how much your mother has nagged at me all this time, saying you've taken after me? And you almost started a war. Go apologize to your mother, right now. We'll talk about the rest later."
They continued to the hokage's room where the elders were waiting. They entered the room and Kakashi and Tsunade were there aswell. "You're back, Naruto.", Tsunade said. "And it seems you brought the children with you.", Kakashi continued.
"And the lady Tsuchikage aswell.", Naruto said, as Kurotsuchi entered the room. Everyone gave her a polite greeting.
"I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I should have acted sooner before it escalated.", She said.
"Kurotsuchi-sama, Jonin have died, children have been kidnapped, including the hokage's own son. Wars have been waged over much less. What is the meaning of this?", asked one of the elders.
"The late Tsuchikage wanted to create soldiers from the earth for the alliance. He called them Akuta. But when he first demonstrated them to me, he could not control them and they..", the Tsuchikage continued and explained everything to them, sparing no details.
"I see.", one of the elders replied. "Ohnoki, where is he now?", the other asked.
"He's been detained and is under our custody. He will answer to our people for what he's done; then, if you wish, to yours.", Kurotschi replied.
"This turned out to be quite a problem.", Said Tsunade.
" So what will we do now?", asked Kakashi. Naruto remained silent and looked at the elders.
"We'd like Ohnoki to be brought to the hidden leaf village at earnest. Is that possible, Lady Tsuchikage?", Asked one of the elders.
"Very well, I'll see to it as soon as he is ready to make the trip.", she replied.
"That will be all then, thank you, lady Tsuchikage. If it's alright, we would like to have a word with Naruto.", Said another of the elders.
"I'll escort you.", said Kakashi, standing up and leading Kurotschi outside. "Be careful." He subtly whispered in Naruto's ear as they left.
"Naruto, the shinobi who died were sent to the land of earth by your orders. And all of this started with this Mitsuki, this Orochimaru's brat that you let inside of the village. What do you have to say for yourself?", Demanded one of the elders.
"My, my, here we go again.", Tsunade thought to herself.
Naruto was irritated that this conversation was being brought up again. He thought it was already settled. "Did you expect me to let some wierdos steal our children? Mine, Sakura's, Sasuke's ... Everyone's child was missing! How could i sit and do nothing about it?", he said aggressively.
"Our shinobi had no right to be there in the first place. You threatened this peace as much as Ohnoki did. And as far as i recall the Tsuchikage told you not to send any shinobi to their lands and yet you not only sent a group of Jonin, but also one to infiltrate their village! Along with your son! Do you have any idea how dire an offense that is?"
"Konohamaru saved the Tsuchikage's life and with it the village. I don't think she minds. What's your problem anyway? It's not my fault Ohnoki wanted to create a mud army, and i personally went over and put a stop to it. The children are fine and the peace is intact. Can you get off my back already?", Naruto said, venting his rage.
"Poor kid.", Tsunade thought to herself. "Naruto! You're responsible for everyone in the village. An entire group of elite ninja you sent didn't come back. You need to show some responsibility for them."
"I am! But what could i have done? We didn't know the extent of Ohnoki's project and the power of his puppets until then. That's why i sent Jonin, to make sure they would all come back alive. But those puppets surpassed even my expectations... .", Naruto explained.
"Or maybe our shinobi have become weaker." , Said one of the elders.
"And what about Orochimaru's kid? Did you find him?", Said the other.
"No, i could not sense his chakra ever since i entered the land of earth. I'll tell captain Yamato to keep an eye out for him.", Replied Naruto.
"Alright my boy, that's enough. You can leave.", Said one of the elders.
Naruto walked out surprised, steaming, and tired. Shikamaru saw him in the hallway and called out to him. "Hey, Naruto, thanks for bringing Shikadai back. I appreciate it.", He said. "Glad we made it in time," , he replied with a forced smile and continued, " I'm going home. Take care of things for me today too, will you?" "Sure.", Shikamaru replied, noticing Naruto's irritated tone. As Naruto was walking home, he could hear Hinata's voice shouting at Boruto from the street. He opened the door and went inside. "I'm home.", he said, tired. No one heard him. With a slouched back he went to his room and fell asleep then and there and didn't wake up until the next morning.
"Breakfast is ready!" Naruto was woken by Hinata's voice, calling everyone for breakfast. He crawled out of his bed and made his way downstairs, where the others were sitting.
"Goodmorning.", He said. "Good morning!", said Himawari.
"You were really tired when you came back so i didn't want to bother you, Naruto-kun.", said Hinata. Boruto was silent.
"Yeah, thanks!", replied Naruto, energized from being around his family. They sat down and began eating breakfast.
"Aaah it's good to finally be back. I missed your cooking, Hinata!", Naruto said. "I made some extra today since i figured you two would be hungry.", she said with a smile.
"Oooh, you're the best!", Naruto replied, bringing a blush to Hinata's cheek.
Himawari was eating joyfully and Naruto as if he hadn't eaten for days but Boruto was just playing with his food. Naruto noticed and could relate to him perhaps better than anyone. "We'll find Mitsuki, Boruto. I promise.", He said.
"How're we going to do that from here?", Boruto replied with an upset tone.
"Mitsuki is sure to return somewhere he knows, I've contacted everyone watching over all of Orochimaru's bases. He won't slip by them. And I'll even contact the other kage and ask them to inform us if someone enters their village, they're sure to notice if he enters any. We'll know where he is soon but to bring him back, that's between you and Mitsuki and your wills.", he replied. Boruto wasn't sure what to think. "But know this, the elders will cause us problems if he returns to the village, so be ready for that. I doubt he'd receive a warm welcome from them.", Naruto added.
"To hell with the elders. Why don't those geezers just die already?", Boruto replied. Naruto laughed at his response and said, "You're not the first to have wondered!"
The mood was somewhat lightened when Hinata asked, "By the way, where's your mantle, Naruto-kun?"
"Oh! I forgot! Sarada insisted on borrowing it from me and said she'd wash it and return it today. I should drop by Sakura's house and pick it up.", he replied.
"Huh, why would she want to do that?", Boruto wondered.
"Who knows. Anyways, i should get going now. Shikamaru will be waiting for me and I'm already late.", Naruto said as he finished the rest of his breakfast as quickly as he could and took off, bidding everyone farewell.
"Hey, Naruto, you've got work to do.", Shikamaru greeted Naruto by dropping a pile of papers on his desk. And you should visit the families of those jonin too if you find the time. Kurotschi visited them, they'll be expecting you too."
Naruto sighed. "To think so many jonin would fall... Do you think we're getting weaker, Shikamaru?"
"It's to be expected. When there's no war there are few fights. We've been assigning jonin C-ranked missions regularly for a while. Training just isn't the same as fighting for your life, it's a slow evolution.", he replied.
"We have more ninja now than we ever did in the war but fewer jobs. It won't be long before we have fewer shinobi aswell, and those that we do have will be weak...", Naruto said.
"Don't let it get to you too much. We're still around. We'll think of something about it. For now, just get the work done.", Shikamaru said before walking off.
Naruto finished as much of the paperwork as he could, reading through them more. Reports of completed missions, payments received, deliveries. He paid special attention to mission reports. "C-rank,C-rank,D-rank,D-rank,D-rank,D-rank,C-rank...", He sighed as he read through them. One report read, "Cat was stuck on tree. Successfully rescued and returned to owner. No injuries. Rio-Jonin."
"A jonin...sent to recover a cat? We wouldn't even give this mission to gennin. Ugh all of this is making my head spin. I need to take a break.", He looked at his clock, it was 10AM. He thought now would be a good time to pay Sakura and Sarada a visit. "I'm going out for lunch. Look after things for me for a bit, Shikamaru."
As Naruto walked through the streets, smiling at those who politely bowed for him, the thought of the future of shinobi crossed his mind and that without them, the village was left unprotected. He reached Sakura's house and knocked on the door. "Sarada, go open the door, I'm busy.", He could hear Sakura's voice come from inside. "Okay, mom.". She smiled gleefully while opening the door, expecting Naruto. "Welcome, Lord Seventh!", She said. "Hey Sarada. I've come to pick up my cloak.", Naruto replied with a smile. "Ofcourse, lord seventh! I'll go pick it up right away.", she replied as she went inside to fetch the mantle. "Naruto? Is that you? Come inside already!", Sakura called out. "Uh, sure, thanks!", Naruto walked in and closed the door behind him. "Sorry to bother you with the mantle, but Sarada insisted-",
"Don't worry about it, Sarada had a lot of fun wearing it. Thanks for lending it to her." , Sakura interrupted.
"Mom!", Sarada called out from another room in protest. Naruto and Sakura both let out a heartfelt giggle.
"Lunch is almost ready. Do you want to eat with us, Naruto?", Sakura offered out of politeness rather than sincerity.
"Sure!", Naruto replied eagerly, sitting down at the table.
"Geez, you never change, do you?", Sakura pouted. Naruto let out a laugh
As Sarada walked in the dining room with the mantle neatly folded and cleaned. She presented it to Naruto with a bow and said, "Here you are, lord seventh!", "Thanks, you guys.", Naruto replied, donning the mantle and patting Sarada. "Is lord seventh eating lunch with us today, ma?", She asked. "Looks like it.", Sakura replied, jokingly mocking Naruto. Naruto smiled ear to ear and sat at the table like a child. "Ooh, awesome!", Sarada said excitedly as she jumped on the seat next to Naruto's. "You haven't forgotten your promise, have you, lord seventh?", she asked, looking at him eagerly. "Oh, that's right!", replied Naruto in realization. "I'll treat you to ramen tomorrow if i have the time." , He said while nodding. "No, that's not what i-", "I know, i know. I don't break my promises, y'know?", he interrupted, laughing. Sarada was confused. "You remember you promised to tell me about-", "I said i know, y'know?", Naruto tried to laugh it off but Sakura saw through it. Suddenly she froze where she stood for a moment and Naruto noticed and so did Sarada. "Now you've done it.", whispered Naruto to Sarada. Sakura carried on but was obviously upset. She tried to imagine she had filled the role of both parents but whenever Sarada inquired about her father that illusion was broken and Sakura felt like she was not doing all she should. Naruto sighed. "It's natural that she'll want to know about Sasuke, y'know?", he said to Sakura while resting a hand on Sarada's head. Sakura tried to ignore it but it bothered her too much. After a few seconds she dropped the knife she was using and looked over to Sarada and said, "Are you feeling like you're not cared for, Sarada? Do you feel like you need your dad to be here?", with an aggressive tone. Sarada tried to play it off but she was too irritated that she was the one being put on an interrogation seat and barked back, "You know what? Yeah! Yeah i do! You got a problem with that?"
Naruto sat on the side sweating nervously. One Sakura was intimidating enough but two was more than he could handle. "Any minute now they'll snap and jump at me. this is bad!", he thought to himself.
"You know what, this is your fault for always bringing it up, Naruto!", Sakura yelled
"There it is!", He thought to himself, staying silent.
"Yeah! Why don't you give dad a break? He's not your slave, you know?", Yelled Sarada
"Sarada too!", Naruto thought. "I need to get out of here!". He balled himself up in his seat, ready to take a monstrous punch any moment now.
"Well?! lost your tongue? Out with it!", continued Sarada, Shaking Naruto.
"They're venting on me! I shouldn't have stayed with these two!", Naruto was thinking to himself while being shaken violently by Sarada as Sakura looked in anger from the kitchen.
"Well?! TALK!", Sarada said angrily as she took a hand off Naruto's jacket and punched him in the face, throwing him off the chair and on the floor. It was then that her rage faded and she started to remember she was talking to the seventh hokage. "Uh... i think you took it a bit far, Sarada.", Said Sakura. Naruto stayed on the ground, not daring to get back up. Sarada took a deep breath and looked down at Naruto, and her eyes widened in realization at what she had done. "Lord Seventh! I'm sorry! Are you alright?", she panicked, getting down and swiping away Naruto's hand on where she had punched, examining his face. "You're a lot like Sakura. A bit too much, actually." Naruto said jokingly as he stood back on his feet. Sarada rubbed the mark she had left while helping naruto back up and on his seat. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to, it's j-just i got carried awa-"
"It's alright, I'm used to it." , Naruto replied with appearant emotional trauma, gently swiping away Sarada's hand.
"I'll go get some ice. Stay right here.", Said Sarada worryingly as she ran off to the kitchen.
"It's alright...Really." Naruto mumbled under his breath.
"Alright, lunch is ready! Sarada, help me with this.", Sakura called out
"Yes, mom!", Sarada said. She ran and handed Naruto a packet of ice, placing it on his cheek then ran back to the kitchen and helped Sakura serve the food.
Naruto looked at them setting up the table while holding the ice on his cheek. Sarada looked over to him and said, again, "I'm really, really sorry, Lord seventh.", "You can drop the titles, you know? We're all like family.", Naruto said in pain. Sarada found strange comfort in those words. With a slight smile, she replied, "Okay, Naruto-sama!". She continued to see Naruto as the father figure she was missing.
"Thanks for the meal!", Naruto and Sarada said and dug in. Sakura looked at them both. She had realized how much like Naruto Sarada was ever since she was a child and how comfortable she was whenever she was around him. "Naruto would make a good role model for her.", she thought to herself before smiling and eating with the rest of them.
"Wow, this tastes great, Sakura!", Naruto said with his mouth full.
"Geez, close your mouth when you're eating, idiot.", Sakura replied, pouting. Sarada laughed. It felt like a family lunch, one she had rarely had before and was enjoying now more than anything else in the world.
"Say, now that we're talking about Sasuke, maybe i should tell you something really important about him.", Naruto said. Sarada and Sakura both looked at him with curiosity. "What?", asked Sarada. "Do you know... Who his first kiss was?", Naruto asked mischeviously. "Naruto!", Sakura exclaimed, blushing. Sarada thought it was obvious, looking at her mom. "It was mom, obviously.", She replied, feeling insulted that they thought she couldn't guess such a thing. Naruto shook his head with the smile still frozen on his lips. Sarada's eyes widened in surprise. "It...it wasn't mom? Then... who?", she asked. Naruto gazed at Sarada and put down his chopsticks, freeing his hand. Sarada's gaze fixated on his hand. "Is he going to point at something?", she thought to herself. Then Naruto brought his hand up... and pointed it at himself! Sakura sighed, a hand on her face. It took Sarada a few seconds to process what Naruto meant. He kept looking at his finger to see where he was pointing, then she eventually realized he was pointing at himself. With a big smile on his face! An awkward silence fell over... "... ... eh?"
"Sasuke's first kiss was me!", Naruto said. Sarada thought it was a joke at first, but looked over at Sakura and could tell by her expression that she knew and that was when Sarada realized he was telling the truth. Her face grew red all over and she froze in place, dropping her chopsticks. "WHAAA-", she shouted out. Her voice could be heard in the street and must have turned a few heads. Naruto dropped his smile and picked his chopsticks back up, continuing to eat casually while Sarada was still frozen and blushing crimson red. "It was an accident ofcourse.", he said casually while continuing to eat. Sarada shook her head but still couldn't imagine how such an accident could occur. That was when Naruto asked, "But his second kiss..." , "...Was mom, right?", Said Sarada with a twitching brow. "Nope. Still me.", Naruto said with a childish glee. Sarada laughed slowly and awkwardly, thinking this time it must have been a joke, then she looked over to Sakura and saw she knew about that too. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!", she snapped, "JUST WHAT IS GOING ON BETWEEN YOU AND MY DAD?!" Naruto grew a bit uneasy this time, slightly intimidated like a child who was taking a prank too far but he decided to push it one last time, "C-can ... you guess the third?" At that point Sarada was convinced that those two had had some sort of affair at some point. She had already guessed that the third must have been Naruto aswell. "Let me guess, that was you too?!", she said, hoping it was someone else this time. "Yep.", replied Naruto. Sarada looked over at Sakura and it seemed like even she was surprised. Sarada had lost her appetite and instead felt like she was going through an identity crisis. "You should ask Sasuke about it. It's a funny story actually, if he tells you. But i doubt he will. And you should keep it to yourself too, y'know.", Naruto said. "So you two didn't actually...", Sarada tried to ask. "No no we're not like that.", replied Naruto shaking his hands, embarrassed by the notion. "These things happen sometimes, y'know?", he added. Sarada was still trying to wrap her head around how those accidents could have happened when Naruto asked, "So is your team taking on any missions today?", Sarada was too lost in thought to hear him. "Sarada?", Naruto called out. "Huh? Oh, yes?", Sarada collected herself. "Are you doing any missions today?", Naruto repeated. "Oh, no. Our team is still disoriented after all that's happened, and there aren't that many jobs anyways.", she replied. "Oh, i see. Yeah, Boruto won't be getting over it any time soon. Keep an eye on him for me, will you? Don't let him do anything rash, like last time. You were lucky, you might not be again, y'know.", He said. "Oh, sure.", Sarada nodded. "Geez, that jester.", Sakura was thinking to herself while finishing her food. "Well, i need to return to the hospital. Can you clean up, Sarada?", "Yes, ma.", she replied. "I need to get back to work too. It was great sitting with you two. Thanks for the meal, Sakura, Sarada.", Naruto said as he got up. They both smiled and nodded back. "Please visit us again, Naruto-sama!", Sarada said. Sakura nodded aswell. She thought it wouldn't be too bad either, She had rarely seen Sarada so happy before. Naruto was heartwarmed by the invitation. "I'll try!", He said. "See ya, Sarada!", Naruto and Sakura said unanimously then looked at eachother in confusion. "Goodbye!", Said Sarada, overjoyed. She watched them leave with Naruto laughing and Sakura ignoring him and silently walking along. She felt like she had a whole family again.
"She really looks up to you, you know.", Sakura said, on the way.
"I want to do my best to look after her, y'know. I'm to blame that she can't see Sasuke as often as she'd like.", Naruto replied.
"It's not your fault, he's doing it because he wants to and you know it.", Sakura said.
"Yeah, you're right. Still, that doesn't change the fact that she feels his absence.", He said.
"It looks like it.", Sakura sighed. "I do my best for her but it's still not enough.", she continued.
"You're as great a mother as anyone could ask for, y'know. It's just that a father is something else.", he replied.
"She's so happy when you're around though. Try to visit her often.", she replied.
"I will."
-II-
