Chapter 1: Welcome Home Naruto Part 1
Five months later, Jiraiya had not returned to the village. Though he had sent word several times about their training not being complete, the Hokage could not help but feel anxious. Even in his old age and wisdom, he couldn't decipher exactly what Jiraiya was planning by keeping the boy away for two more months. Plus, he wanted Naruto to graduate from the academy. Now that he was two months late, the Hokage could say almost nothing to the civilian council that would let him through.
He hoped Jiraiya had a damn good plan, because things were going to go even further into hell than they already had. For the past few months, every council meeting had been started with shouts as to the whereabouts of the jinchuriki. While only Sarutobi and the clan heads knew of the truth, Koharu, Homura, and Danzou had gotten far too suspicious. They knew the boy wasn't dead, and that the Hokage was once again showing favoritism by hiding him from them. But all three knew not to piss the Hokage off when it came to that child, which is exactly why they didn't say anything publicly. Though whenever they got the chance to talk with him in his office, they always attempted to get even just a sliver of information.
With his firm resolve, the Hokage easily shot down every attempt. No, the real problem lied with Naruto's old classmates. The entire classes marks had risen exemplary to the point where the children were asking for harder, more hands on training. This would've been no problem, especially since they had proven that they deserved more advanced training if it weren't for the fact that the Ninja Academy was in civilian hands. Once again, Sarutobi wondered what he was thinking when he decided to give the civilians control over the academy.
"It's not fair, Hokage-sama!" Some of the students shouted out.
"We're ready for real training! All we've been doing is mock sparring and target practice. With nothing but book work, we're not going to be able to protect ourselves in a real life situation!" Ino Yamanaka shouted out from her seat in the academy. Out of all the students, Ino seemed to have changed the most notably. She no longer hung off of Sasuke wherever he went, finding more interest in actually training, much to the Uchiha's relief. At some times he found himself asking to help her train and even more surprising was turned down on several occasions. However, Sakura remained latched to him, training more with Ino but never letting go of her fangirlism.
"I understand that Ino, but if the council doesn't approve of more advanced training, there is nothing I can do." The Third responded for what felt like the thousandth time over the last few months.
It made him even more angry each and every time. More advanced training is exactly what his shinobi needed, and maybe the genin failure rate wouldn't be so high when they actually went to meet with their jonin senseis. The argument that the civilian council was using was that they didn't want their children to be hurt while learning or traumatized by something that they could see. While Sarutobi had many ways of smashing those lines of thinking into bits, he wasn't thinking straight lately.
"Hokage-sama, if I may. You are Hokage, so why can't you overrule the civilian council?" Shino Aburame asked. The Aburame boy had been opening up a bit more to his classmates, becoming close friends to Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Choiji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. While Ino had come to him on several occasions for training as well, they were purely on a mutual base since Ino still found it creepy that he fought with bugs.
Iruka shook his head at Shino. "Sorry, Shino, but it doesn't work like that. The Hokage wants to be fair to all of his charges, shinobi and civilian alike."
The Hokage flinched. Yes, that's where his weakness lied. He was being fair. Nothing about his title and authority was meant to be fair. Konohagakure was the strongest village out there, but was that gained by having a fair leader or a strong leader? These were questions that rung through his head on a daily basis, every time he needed to make a major decision, and especially right now.
"How is sending us all to our deaths being fair?" Sasuke spoke up from beside Ino. "We're supposed to be training to be shinobi, not twiddling our thumbs because some old fool can't control his village."
"Sasuke! How dare you speak-" Iruka started but was cut off as the Hokage rose his hand. The room began to quiet when the Hokage took a step forward.
"He is right." Sarutobi said remorsefully, making Iruka's eyes widen. The other teachers observing looked horrified that the Hokage had just allowed an insult by someone that wasn't even a genin yet. "Sasuke, you are right. I am an old fool who can't control this village, I admit that. My mistakes time back to over a decade ago, and there is nothing I can do to rectify them."
A glint appeared in Sarutobi's eyes as he said that. Iruka noticed and frowned. Something bad was going on here.
"I wish I were in my prime, or better yet, I wish the Yondaime were here. Even if only for the selfish reason of handing over such a tedious title as Hokage. But as an old fool, I cannot allow my village to be torn asunder from the inside. That would be the biggest mistake that one as old as me could have no hope of fixing."
Sasuke looked away, taking the statement for face value as did everyone else. Sasuke knew that he shouldn't have said what he did, but anger made him speak before thinking. He knew that there was no way he could understand what the Hokage went through by running an entire village. But Iruka himself had a glare leveled at the Hokage that could be interpreted as a death glare. Iruka was reading into everything that Hokage was revealing and not liking what it implied.
'It has something to do with Naruto...but what?' The young teacher wondered.
Sarutobi was a sly man, when need be. Of course, with very few things left to govern, he needed to take utmost care of the little remaining power he had left. It would only be a matter of time before everything fell into place.
Arriving back at his tower after the classes had been dismissed, he wasn't surprised that Iruka had shown up a mere hour later. Iruka had always been one of his wild cards. The man was spontaneous and strong willed, just like Naruto. He could surprise you in an instant and do it all again with renewed vigor the next second. It was probably one of the reasons he had taken a liking to Naruto only after a year of teaching him. Sarutobi was happy about this, and knew that Naruto would get good training under Iruka.
"Hokage-sama, I want to know what you are planning." Iruka more demanded than asked. He was showing the authority he was known for in many other groups, an authority that would make him the greatest and most feared academy teacher should he let it show during his classes.
"I understand you are worried about Naruto, Iruka-san, however I cannot reveal my hand to even my most trusted shinobi. Please just understand that the changes that will come are for the best."
Iruka wasn't stupid. He knew that Sarutobi was giving him a hint without revealing his plan to the hidden ears all around. It did upset him that the Hokage was being cryptic to this degree, and even more that he said that their would be changes. But that was to be expected honestly, something to be taken in stride with the untimely disappearance of Naruto. Iruka sighed and put a hand on his forehead.
"I'm not just worried about Naruto. I'm worried about the whole village. Whatever happens, I want your word that you are thinking of the masses over a single person."
For the fourth time in Hiruzen Sarutobi's long life, he had been taken off guard by a person he thought he knew. The first being Orochimaru's betrayal, the second Jiraiya's confession of love for Tsunade, and the third being Fugaku Uchiha's attempt at a coup, this last one had to be the most shocking of them all. To all ears present, it was as if Iruka was pulling the Hokage into his own execution. If the Hokage had made a decision that put his village in danger, then he had betrayed not just his village, but his entire country. But The Third Hokage new the meaning behind Iruka's statement.
"Trust me Iruka, I care for everyone who deserves it. You have my word."
Iruka's face took on a dark look that would put Orochimaru to shame. He now knew exactly what to expect. When Naruto returned to the village, all hell would surely break loose. And he would be one of the few who got to kick back and enjoy the fireworks.
Not long after Iruka left his office did the five presences make themselves known by appearing right in front of the Hokage's desk. Sarutobi smiled to himself as he could still feel the suppressed chakra signatures of the two shortest masked figures. Four of the figures wore raven mask, a spiral that resembled the Uzumaki symbol emblazoned on each and every one of them. The fifth figure just wore a normal black raven mask. The figures all wore black cloaks and the tallest one had his hood down, revealing long white hair.
"We have returned, Hokage-sama." The second shortest figure spoke, a male with a slightly deep voice.
The Hokage stood from his chair slowly, eying each of the figures with an eye of assessment. "You may remove your mask."
All five present removed their mask and made them vanish as if into thin air. If Sarutobi hadn't seen the small glow which indicated a seal on the palm of each of their hands, he would have sworn that they had developed a new technique. With the masks off, The Third got his first look at the group for what felt like years.
The shortest, being a caramel colored girl with green hair and ruby orange eyes smiled sweetly at him, her shoulder length hair combed neatly. "Hello Hokage-sama. I'm Fuu Uzumaki, its a pleasure to meet you."
"Uzumaki?" Sarutobi rose an eyebrow. Fuu nodded.
"I'm Naruto-kun's future wife."
At this the Third paused and almost had a nosebleed. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he turned to the next person, being the aforementioned blonde. "It's good to see you again jiji." Naruto spoke with a slow drawl now, almost as if he were a tired old man like Sarutobi himself. His eyes looked tired as well, and he was most definitely taller. Where he was only 4'6 before he left the village, now he was already 5'2, like he had been away from the village for years. His hair was longer, reaching the top of his back and was combed in the back. The front of his hair was still spiked up but looked more neat than it did at first. He honestly looked several years older than thirteen, the only deciding factor being his height.
"As well it is good to see you in good health Naruto. But may I ask, what happened to you?"
Naruto chuckled sagely. "Long story, jiji, one that I will tell you another day. Or maybe ero-sennin has time in his report."
The Hokage was going to question who ero-sennin was but when he heard Jiraiya sigh, he couldn't help but hold back a chuckle. "I see Naruto has found out about your hobby!"
"Yeah yeah!" Jiraiya waved him off. "The gaki's as chivalrous as his father was."
Once more, The Hokage had a questioning look on his face. Jiraiya nodded.
"He knows already. About everything."
"Jiraiya, do you know how dangerous that is-"
"It's alright jiji!" Naruto interrupted, a childish gleam in his eye. "I understand that there are people who would love to kill me just because of whom my father was, but I'm prepared for that. As a shinobi, my life is already in danger and if this gets out, then the people I care about will be in danger too. So I will keep this information to myself until you tell me its okay to reveal it."
Sarutobi was floored. Just how much had Naruto changed in just 5 short months? He was already impressed and he hadn't even seen what Naruto could do! Were those three really such good teachers? Sarutobi glanced at the three would be sensei's of the two younger nin.
Jiraiya of the Sannin, Yamato of the Shadow Ops force, and Itachi Uchiha...
It was then that the Hokage realized that Itachi Uchiha was unmasked and in his office. He sighed and folded his hands under his chin.
"Anbu, Itachi Uchiha is a guest and his presence here shall be hidden until I say so under penalty of death."
The three hidden ANBU that lined the room revealed themselves only to mumble a quick 'hai' before vanishing back into the shadows. The tense air that had risen because of Itachi's appearance faded. The ANBU were still uneasy and wary, none knowing the truth behind the Uchiha massacre but none spoke against the Hokage anyway.
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Itachi spoke.
"Not at all. I treat all of my loyal shinobi with the respect that they deserve."
With the pleasantries out the way, the Hokage cleared his throat, making all of the shinobi serious. They had much to discuss and much to plan for, and as much as he would have loved to just enjoy the present shinobi's company, the rapidly building problems of the village needed to be quelled as fast as possible.
"I want a full assessment of Naruto and Fuu's current skill level as well as an explanation on what you plan to do with Fuu, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya nodded in understanding. "Fuu's affinities are fire and wind. She has extremely large chakra coils around Jonin level and now special jonin level chakra control. Her speed is sannin, taijutsu is special jonin, jutsu is jonin and genjutsu is genin at best. She has control of up to 5 of the Shichibi's tails. Her suppressors put her at mid-genin for now. I plan on leaving her with Yamato under the Shadow Ops division to continue her training, and while here she will be staying with Naruto."
A blush passed both Naruto and Fuu's faces though neither showed any signs of embarrassment.
"Naruto has a wind affinity, but has pretty much completely mastered it. Even Asuma can't touch him when it comes to wind jutsu anymore. He has massive chakra coils, far above Kage level but only chunin level chakra control, a little better when he concentrates. His speed is kage level, taijutsu jonin, jutsu jonin, but non-existent genjutsu. He has control of up to 6 of the Kyubi's tails. His suppressors put him at mid-genin as well."
The Hokage's pipe almost dropped from his mouth at the assessments, especially when it came to Naruto. In 5 months, Naruto had become one of the strongest shinobi in the village! Something didn't fit right with all of this.
"How is that possible? There hasn't been enough time for such training!"
Before Jiraiya could go into his bragging mode, Itachi cleared his throat, much to the old man's chagrin. Naruto and Fuu smirked and Yamato chuckled silently. "Allow me to explain Hokage-sama."
The training Naruto and Fuu were supposed to undergo from the Hokage's knowledge was completed in one month. The second month was spent mastering certain aspects in their training and during, Itachi accidentally discovered a very peculiar training regimen. At first it was merely a bad timed jutsu, but it led to what could be the most effective training in ninja history.
"Near the end of the second month of training, Jiraiya-sama thought it wise to see how much tolerance Naruto and Fuu had against my tsukiyomi. I was against the idea at first due to neither of them being proficient with genjutsu, but they both had already shown an extremely high aptitude for dispelling it. Jiraiya-sama's intentions were to see if they could use their bijuu's chakra to dispel the tsukiyomi."
"That sounds like a very dangerous idea Jiraiya, but seeing as they are both here without any noticeable injuries I assume this went well?" Sarutobi inquired.
"Better than anticipated. I used tsukiyomi on them both at the same time to alleviate some of the power behind the jutsu, but as soon as the genjutsu was activated and their host gave them chakra to dispel it, all three of us were trapped inside of my tsukiyomi world. Or better yet, THEIR tsukiyomi world."
The Hokage's eyes widened at this revelation but he said nothing, awaiting the continuation of the explanation.
"With my tsukiyomi, one second can become 72 hours of augmented torture. However, once their demonic chakras effected my tsukiyomi we became stuck in the tsukiyomi world for 5 years, and only 2 hours in the real world. However, unlike my tsukiyomi, the rules of this tsukiyomi apparently had lasting results in the real world as you can tell by the height change. It's not as significant as 5 years in the real world, but its still an intriguing side effect. Within an hour of being trapped in tsukiyomi, I decided to train them. Once we were free, we waited an entire day before attempting to bring Jiraiya-sama and Yamato-san into the world with great success. From then on we trained almost every week in tsukiyomi for a collective time of 125 years of training. The only reason neither of them are completely kage level is because the training doesn't give them 100 percent of the physical effectiveness that it would in the real world."
This time the Hokage's pipe DID fall from his mouth. Something such as that had to be impossible, yet the results that stood before him were impossible in its self. This was all the proof he needed. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to sleep easy tonight. With the three that he chose to train Naruto, he expected him to come back at about chunin level, maybe even special jonin at best. But to hear that he was almost kage level was far above his wildest dreams. Yes, the village of Konoha would surely be experiencing a change very soon. Only now was it truly impossible to stop.
"Thank you, all of you. Yamato, Fuu, Itachi, you are all dismissed. I will have Fuu's legalization papers ready within a few days. As for now, please get her acquainted with the Shadow-ops force. It was very good to hear from you after so long Itachi. I hope we can meet again."
"Yes Hokage-sama." All three chorused before shunshining from the room.
"How are you able to suppress your power to such a degree Naruto, if your chakra control is only chunin?" Sarutobi asked.
"The suppression seals ero-sennin mentioned. I can't go full power and can only use two tails of Kurama's power until the chunin exams, under ero-sennin's orders." Naruto answered, getting a questioning gaze from the old man. "Kyubi. His name is Kurama."
With that little fun fact, Sarutobi had new questions. Even he didn't know the bijuu had actual names. "Tell me, Naruto. Is Kurama cooperating?"
"Yeah. After 25 years he told me about everything. The sage of the six paths, the separation of the Jubi etc. The bijuu aren't evil, just extremely misunderstood, especially by humans. Just because they are different we treat them like monsters. They have power beyond our comprehension and that scares people. We made them what they are, just like this village has made me what I am. But I guess that means I should thank them." Naruto's devious grin reminded Sarutobi of the prankster he had been before he left the village. It was nice, because the last time he had seen Naruto all joy had been severed from his life.
Sarutobi nodded, processing the information quickly to get through several subjects at once. He would ask Naruto what all he knew about the Sage of Six paths and the Jubi at a later date. For now, he needed to get the present situation under control.
"What is the situation in Takigakure?"
"Doesn't exist." Jiraiya and Naruto replied at the same time, both seeming emotionless.
"Excuse me?"
"There was an incident where Fuu had gotten separated from us. She was attacked by an entire squadron of high ranked Taki shinobi. Forgive me sensei, but I couldn't stop her and Naruto after she was injured."
The Third sighed but understood the situation. They were still, technically, children after all so he was sure their emotions had gotten control of them. But to think that two thirteen year old children leveled an entire village to the ground was frightening in of itself.
Naruto was worried that the Hokage thought poorly of him and Fuu because of the situation but was reassured that they weren't entirely in the wrong. With Jiraiya taking them directly into hiding afterward, and with no surviving witnesses, Fuu and Naruto's status and whereabouts were still expertly hidden.
"Alright, now that everything is in order, Naruto you will be attending the last month of the academy. I will re-enroll you myself if need be, but this last month is mandatory for you to become a legal shinobi, regardless of your abilities."
"Jiji, my status as a jinchuriki should be enough for me to be made a ninja. Keeping me a civilian is a huge hindrance to the military force of our village. I can be a great asset, and as a jinchuriki I fall directly under your jurisdiction, even as a civilian in the academy. Even the clan heads have no say in my future when status is taken into account. That is, if you say so."
Naruto was calling out Sarutobi. He knew everything it took to run a village now. His statements reminded him of Iruka not even an hours before. Naruto knew if the Hokage decided to force his will over the village, it could very well lead to a civil war or mutiny. But the question was if that was a problem or not at this point. The Hokage had given away much power, but under his rule, Konoha was not a democratic village. It was ruled under dictatorship, being the Hokage had complete and final say in all matters. In this sense, the council was just a show to appease those involved. It honestly made The Third proud. Naruto was ready. His plan would be set in motion from that moment forward.
"Congratulations Naruto. You are ready."
Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Ready for what?"
Naruto's answer was a devious smirk that sent a pleasurable chill down his spine. Something very good was about to happen...
Once dismissed, Naruto went straight home and did absolutely nothing for the first time in over 100 years. He understood that there was little time for their meeting but he expected the Hokage to want more detail than he had received from the small group. They had left thousands of holes in their story, though all that was shared was true, it wasn't even the tip of the iceberg of what Naruto and Fuu went through during their training. He heard Fuu enter some time before 11 o'clock and ten minutes later, after flopping into bed with him she was out cold as well. He smiled as he looked at the peacefully sleeping girl. They had met only 5 months ago but had spent over a life time together. He would give the world for her as he knew she would do for him. And starting the next day, they would show the world just what it meant to be shunned jinchuriki.
The next day came sooner than he hoped. He woke up to find that Fuu was once again gone, wondering just what type of training Yamato was putting her through now that had her coming home late and getting up early. He knew the man was a slave driver, but had always had their best interest in mind. Even more, his training was always effective. Ironically, it usually came down to Itachi telling Yamato to lessen the amount of work they received a day. Easily shaking away the grogginess that came with awakening early, Naruto performed his daily routine of create clones for a long day of training...until he remembered that he was back in Konoha. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly when the clones all gave him questioning gazes.
"Heh, I guess you all can just clean up and relax too. Get some studying done since I've already wasted the chakra to create you."
"Right boss!" They all yelled before slowly going about doing whatever they wanted.
After washing and eating a quick breakfast, Naruto headed outside, noticing the still darkened sky and lack of daytime traffic. He was used to getting up before sunrise, and it would probably take some time to break. Jiraiya had told him and Fuu that whenever you can sleep peacefully, you're already dead. On the field, a peaceful sleep never happened until the mission was complete and you were safely out of enemy territory. But even then, you would always be on guard.
"Well I've got a few hours before class starts. Let's see what's changed in 5 months."
Over the past 5 months, Hinata Hyuga had changed. To be specific, she seemed almost like an entirely different person, yet the same at the same time. To be able to understand such a thing, one would have to have watched the type of progression the pre-teen had made within the last 5 months first hand, and maybe even talked to her about the subtle changes that were hidden. For the most obvious of changes, her hair was now a bit longer, reaching the bottom of her neck, in which she was able to some times use chopsticks to put it into a slightly spiky ponytail.
She hadn't grown any taller, noticeably, but one would think so since she no longer slouched. She walked with her head held high and always had a warm, confident smile on her face. She no longer wore her overly large winter jacket, showing her slightly more mature figure with a black sleeveless shirt, a short sleeved fish net shirt beneath it, and black ninja pants.
Now the subtle changes that one couldn't know just by looking started first with her personality. She was still a shy girl, especially when it came to Naruto, but she no longer stuttered or became flustered at his mention. She no longer held back in spars, though she would lose on purpose most of the time to elevate other people's confidence; Giving them the feeling of a good match and overcoming a stronger opponent. In her home, she held no tolerance for disrespect from the side branch, but also no mistreatment of them from the main branch. She enforced rules on both sides, making sure that there was peace within the clan and was already to be instated as clan head as soon as she became a genin.
Finally, her confidence had changed the most, going from almost none to the most out of everyone in her class. Even Sasuke couldn't touch the girl in that aspect, and if she had been as vocal as some of the others in the class, one would think she had the legendary ego of the Hyuga that she had lacked for most of her life. But the truth was, she was confident that when she met Naruto again, he would notice her. Just like the rest of the class, they wanted to prove something to him. Whether it was good or bad, they all held a mutual bond in the fact that they were getting stronger for Naruto's return.
"Onee-sama, how did you get up there?" A voice called far below Hinata. She looked down to see her younger sister, Hanabi, looking up at her in awe. Hinata sat atop a large wooden pole that stood over 100 feet in the air, relaxing while watching clouds drift by. She usually did this to see how close she could get to the sky in hopes of reaching one of the clouds someday. Maybe even to drift away and find a way to be with Naruto. But mostly it was merely a way to calm herself before the day at the academy would start.
"I walked!" Hinata called back, knowing her sister would be confused from such an answer.
"You walked? But that's impossible! Don't be mean nee-sama!" Hanabi whined.
It had taken a little over a month for Hanabi to stop treating Hinata like dirt. They had been constantly pit against each other by the elders and in most aspects, Hinata could have easily trumped Hanabi, though she usually let her win out of pity or love. But when it had come down to hand to hand combat, Hanabi was stronger due to being more ruthless. However, once Hinata became serious about her career as a kunoichi, she swept past her younger sister in an astounding blaze. The last time they were made to spar, Hinata subdued Hanabi in two seconds flat, leaving not only her sister literally floored, but the elders as well. She realized that holding back against her little sister was only making her weaker and when she became a ninja, the enemy would not hold back. She swore to never hold back, even against family, even if just to teach them the harsh world that comes with being a shinobi. This in turn made her respect for her father grow, knowing that somewhere along the line, he had only wanted to show Hinata tough love, just as she did with her sister now.
"I'm not, little Hana!" Hanabi blushed at her sisters nick name for her. Little flower. It was more 'pretty' than 'fireworks' which she was named after. She didn't mind either one, only allowing Hinata to call her flower though. The name was a higher form of endearment between the two, one that Hanabi learned to cherish. "I used chakra on the bottom of my feet to stick to the pole and then I walked up!"
Hanabi didn't seem satisfied with the answer but her eyes would soon widen as Hinata stood and began to walk down the vertical pole, her body perfectly horizontal of the ground far below. Hanabi's eyes lit up just like her name, and she jumped up and down in an excitement only one of her age would show at such a technique.
"Nee-sama, that's awesome! Can you teach me how to do that?" Hanabi's enthusiasm at learning new things wasn't new, it was just always well hidden. Having to be stoic in front of the elders and her father taught her that quite well.
"Not now, little Hana, but when I come home from class I will, kay?"
"Promise?" The younger asked with a cute pout, gaining a giggle from her elder sister. Hinata winked at Hanabi.
"Promise." Hugging her little sister before preparing to go about the rest of the day, a warm breeze passed over Hinata. She looked up, her eyes glistening in confusion. Something felt odd about today...like something either very good or very bad was going to happen...maybe even both.
The young academy teacher went about his own daily routines with the slightly lack luster motions that he had acquired almost five months prior. Though he did feel enthusiastic about his students growth, Naruto's whereabouts constantly ate at the back of his mind. He couldn't help but wonder if the young jinchuriki was alright, if he were hungry, in trouble, or anything. Naruto was like a little brother to him, so it was only natural that he worry about him a bit.
He yawned as he slowly approached the academy entrance. It was still a bit before dawn, but he always got up early to prepare for the days classes. He opened the door and headed directly to his own class, the empty halls radiating a sadness that had fallen in the absence of the blonde. Once he entered his class, he immediately knew he wasn't alone. He dropped his material and drew a kunai, taking a defensive stance and scanning the rows of chairs and desks.
"Dammit, I hate these chakra seals! I wanted to surprise you Iruka-sensei!" A deeper, yet familiar voice echoed in the darkness of the room. Iruka's heart skipped a beat and he nearly shunshined over to the blonde sitting at the very back of the classroom.
Before Naruto could register what was happening, he found himself picked up and embraced in a bone crushing hug. Naruto himself was surprised at his old sensei's speed and strength. It felt like it far surpassed that of a normal chunin. Naruto would ask about it later, but for now he would enjoy seeing one of the only people who truly cared for him in the village.
"Naruto! Is this really you? Wow you've gotten tall! And your voice is deeper too! Where have you been? What did you do? Are you alright?"
"Geez, calm down Iruka-sensei!" Naruto chuckled as the young teacher began checking him for injuries, even after noticing that Naruto was much taller than before, only being five inches shorter than him. "Glad to see you're still in high spirits!"
Iruka flopped into the seat next to Naruto, suddenly growing weary. It had been the longest five months of his life without the exuberant shinobi there with him. Now that he was back, it was so unbelievable that he could do nothing but chuckle to himself. "Naruto...you don't know how different things are now. So much has changed since you've left."
"How so? As far as what I've seen, there isn't much different, albeit I've only been home, to the see the Hokage, and here." Naruto tried to think of what all could be different in his pseudo 100 year plus absence. He remembered Sakura, Sasuke, and all his friends. Seeing that it had only been five months, he wondered how much could have truly changed in such a short time. He was honestly surprised when Iruka began explaining and told him that his classmates had all become more serious about their lives as shinobi in his absence. What surprised him even more was the amount of people not only in his class, but around the village that claimed to miss him as well.
"A lot of people used to get annoyed by your pranks. But since they've stopped, people have gotten bored and now they see how much you actually brightened their days." Iruka wouldn't admit that he was one of them though.
"Oh man, I haven't done a prank in ye...months." Naruto sighed happily remembering the old pranks he used to do and hoped his near slip went unnoticed by Iruka. Iruka was about to ask him about the slip until another presence made itself known. The door to the room slid open and the two looked down at shining silvery eyes.
"N-Naruto-kun..."
Just as Iruka had done, this second person soared over the desk to the back and hugged Naruto with all its might. This time, the touch was delicate and light. Naruto could feel every inch of the person hugging him and could feel her trembling shoulders. She clinched his shirt as if he would fade away if she let him go.
Of course the person was Hinata Hyuga. Just like every day for over two months now, Hinata was making her way to the academy building early to help out Iruka since the man had seemed to lose his enthusiasm lately. She usually awoke two hours before the academy was open to students to train alone or with Hanabi for an hour, and then helped Iruka for the next hour. Though she had expected something different to happen today, to see the boy she had been dreaming of for so long was nothing short of astonishing.
On Naruto's part, he could only look down confused at the affection he was receiving from the younger girl and display his confusion by looking to Iruka. Iruka's answer was a knowing smile and a shrug, indicating that he couldn't help him in this situation. Naruto sighed and shook his head, mouthing that his no good sensei was still no help at all, getting a silent laugh from the teacher.
"Hi...Hinata, it's good to see you...but, uh...what are you doing?"
Hinata slowly leaned up from Naruto's chest with a bright smile and tinted cheeks. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I'm really happy to see you. I hope I didn't offend you." She began to move away but Naruto wrapped an arm around her, setting his palm in the small of her back. Hinata squeaked and blushed deeper. Naruto's cerulean eyes locked into her silvery ones, a knowing smirk finding its way onto his own face.
'How did I not see that she had a crush on me this whole time?' He wondered. It took years of teaching from everyone of his sensei's and even the Kyubi itself for the jinchuriki to learn about the clues that girls showed when they had a crush or were in love with someone. It took three months for him to figure it out about Fuu. "I'm not offended. I'm really honored that the Hyuga princess and someone as nice and pretty as you would miss me so much. Thank you Hinata-chan." Naruto pulled her into his own hug, taking the girl by surprise. Slowly, her arms snaked their way over his shoulders and pulled him closer as she straddled his hips on the small seat. Iruka scratched his cheek at the compromising position the two were in.
"Ehem...class is going to start soon. Hinata, shouldn't we get started setting up?" He tried to get their attention but the two didn't respond. Iruka smiled and shook his head, before getting up to set up himself. "I guess I'll leave you two be."
It was only after a few more minutes of being embraced that Hinata realized the position she was in. With a blush that would put the old Hinata to shame, she moved from Naruto, almost falling backwards over the elevated desk but caught herself with an expert flip. Naruto clapped at the girls display of physical fitness and coordination and the normally shy girl bowed to the applause. Naruto could see that she had changed and he was liking the new her already. He didn't have anything against the old her, but he didn't really know the old her either. They both had changed and right now was like two different people meeting for the first time.
They both made their way to the front of the class and began to help Iruka setup, the three all enjoying each others company and laughing all the while. It had been so long since Iruka and Hinata had laughed so much, and about so little. Their conversations were all on how much taller Naruto was, Hinata's new hairstyle, Iruka's zombie like trepidation, and his overall lack of order since Naruto had been gone. The young teacher blushed sheepishly as Hinata told the story of how Iruka had almost killed his students the week after Narutoj had left by having them all line up while he practiced his own kunai throwing abilities, all while moaning about how Naruto would have done it.
The short hour went by almost instantaneously as the three conversed. They sat around Iruka's desk, talking about some of the misadventures Naruto had had while out training in his five month absence when the first student arrived. All eyes fell on the student whom had frozen upon seeing the ghost of a blonde haired kid he had known a few months ago.
"Got dammit, you're back already." Kiba called as he yawned and slowly moved to his seat. Hinata and Iruka frowned but Naruto just chuckled.
"Let me guess. Aunt Tsume is pissed at you isn't she?" Naruto joked. Kiba glared at him but with a smirk none the less.
"When isn't she?" The two laughed a little before Kiba held up his fist, the thumb extended sideways. Naruto returned the gesture, one of the symbols of their friendship that symbolized 'force or nothing'. "You came back too soon, bro. I'm not where I want to be yet."
"Just because I'm back doesn't mean your training needs to stop. I'm going to work my ass off, and if you don't you'll get left behind."
Kiba scoffed. "What makes you think I haven't already left you behind?"
"I don't know. Why don't we find out later?" Naruto and Kiba's eyes met in a brotherly rivalry that had not subsided over the few months. If anything, it had grown.
"NARUTO!" Several other students of no importance shouted the blondes name as they all congregated around him. The class began to fill with some people giving awed looks at the returned blonde, strange glares, and some even confident smirks. Everyone for one reason or another acknowledged his return.
His old friends, Shino, Chouji, and Shikamaru all welcomed him back, all giving the same symbol of 'force or nothing' to him before they made their way to their seats. Naruto, Hinata and Iruka still stood at the front of the class as the last of the students were making their way in. Sasuke came in, almost not noticing the blonde jinchuriki.
"Hey Sasuke." Naruto called, a devious knowing smirk on his face.
"Hey Naruto." Sasuke spoke with his head down, seeming to be in deep thought. He continued walking to his seat and was about to sit down when realization washed over him. His head slowly turned to the person whom had spoken to him while he entered the class. The class burst into laughter at the scene and Sasuke face planted into the ground. "I hate you." He mumbled as he stood back up, a half grin on his face. Once again, the symbol of 'force or nothing' was displayed to the class.
Iruka was just about ready to address the class until the door burst open and two kunoichi fell into the room. The class grew silent as one blonde haired, purple dressed kunoichi, and pink haired, pink dressed kunoichi sheepishly rose from the ground.
"Eheh, sorry we're late Iruka-sensei, we were still doing our daily run when-" Ino paused in mid speech as her eyes laid upon Naruto. Sakura's eyes widened and both younger girls just stared at him.
"Uh...hi?" He offered.
"NARUTO!" They called, running towards him. Ino jumped right on top of him while Sakura just smiled down at the collapsed forms.
"What the hell happened to you?" Ino called, quickly getting up. She didn't quite understand her own excitement of seeing him, just that she was happy to see him for some reason. Her only thought was that she couldn't deny that she was worried about him just like the others, and somewhere deep inside, she had actually missed him.
Sakura wanted to do the same as Ino, having realized that Naruto's doting of her was extremely missed. She had always thought of it as annoying but after a while she realized that Naruto was one of the only people who ever complimented her and gave her confidence. When he left, she had no one until she made an effort to start training.
"Well as you all can see, Naruto has returned." Iruka called, earning a round of applause from most of the class. Iruka smiled, proud at the growth of his students. "I understand that you're all excited to see him, but we still need to keep on track. Just because he's back doesn't mean you all can slack off either. We only have a month left before you find out which of you will become official shinobi and kunoichi and who will not."
The class settled down and everyone moved to their assigned seats, Naruto taking a seat next Hinata with Ino sitting to the his side as well. He noticed that Sakura sat with Kiba and Shino while Chouji and Shikamaru were next to Sasuke. He didn't know how the relationships had changed, or by how much, but so far he was happy with what he saw, Iruka was right in that things really had changed.
"Since the council still won't let us take you all out on a guided mission, we'll just go out and play for a while." Iruka's smirk replayed on the many faces of the students. Naruto rose an eyebrow.
"You're going to enjoy this Naruto." Ino whispered from next to him. The class began to rise from their seats and file out of the room. A few of them jumped out of the windows and they headed to the training grounds of the academy. Once the entire class was behind the building and standing in front of Iruka, Naruto's anxiety began to rise. He could sense something coming from them all. It was almost like his own anxiety, but more excitement than anything.
"You all have one hour to retrieve one of the targets." Iruka was saying until Hinata rose her hand. "Yes, what do you need Hinata?"
"Ano, sensei, Naruto-kun doesn't know what the targets are."
"That's right! Naruto, this is a search and retrieval mission. You are to acquire one or more of the items I'm about to list. An orange book from Hatake Kakashi. A pack of cigarettes from Sarutobi Asuma. Or a stick of dango from Mitarashi Anko."
The would be genin shivered at that last one. Only one person had achieved that one, being Shikamaru, and he was scarred enough to never try it again. Naruto looked around at his classmates. He could see those who either succeeded or not, just from the looks on their faces. Hinata had her natural, warm smile on, Shikamaru was scowling, Kiba had a confident grin, and Chouji was sulking. The rest of them seemed relaxed. Naruto smiled too and shook his head. Just from the feelings he was getting from the others, he knew this would be a fun and unique experience.
"Are you all ready?" Iruka called, effectively reaching a peak in the tension. "BEGIN!"
The class vanished from Iruka's sight.
Over the fence, a kick and twirl, on the roofs, the sides of buildings, through the trees, the newest and upcoming generation of ninja soared, not breaking a single step as they all but glided through the village. This one moment, where nothing mattered but the feeling of running, of jumping, of almost flying, kept their personal emotions locked firmly inside of them as they were only set on moving forward to their objective.
Naruto had gone farthest, his initial kick from the fence launching over several buildings, earning amazed looks from his classmates. The feel of the wind as it beat across his body and through his hair was surreal. The others saw a golden flash and then as if in slow motion, Naruto's form glistened in the sun like a burning angel. And just like that, they were gone.
Naruto's feet touched the shingles of a rooftop for only a moment before he kicked off again, going straight forward. He cut through the wind as if their was no resistance. As he touched down on the next rooftop, he kicked off with his right foot, spinning in a barrel roll as switched sides of the street, landing just as gracefully on a flat rooftop of a store before running towards an elevated wall. Not missing a beat, he leaped and ran up the side of the wall, kicking off higher into the air as he reached the top.
"Naruto-kun!"
The sweet melodic voice of Hinata caught his attention as he was at the peak of his jump and looked back to see the princess soaring upwards towards him with her hand outstretched. Quickly grabbing it, he spun once and slung her forward, sending the girl into a fast dash to the next rooftop before he himself back flipped in the air and landed for only a split second before he kicked off with a force that shook the building and he caught up with her.
The smile on the Hyuga heiress' face was nothing short of amazing. It was the brightest he had ever seen her smile and the wind blazing around them as if it were attempting to knock them out of the sky made the scene one to remember. The feeling was not lost even as their aerial dash declined to put them on an open road in the middle of town. They continued to run, dashing in and out of people as they moved through the streets, never once bumping anyone.
"Naruto!" Kiba's voice rung out and from a nearby rooftop dropped the Inuzuka. The only words spoken were those of his friends name before all three only continued their mad dash through town. Coming to the canal that ran through the village and a bridge, Naruto smiled deviously. With a sharp turn, he hopped the fence, down towards the water and began to run on its surface. To his surprise and delight, Kiba and Hinata were right behind him.
"Turn it up Naruto!" Kiba yelled.
"With pleasure!"
In a burst of speed that would make Lee cry for joy, Naruto vanished once more, splitting the water in front of Hinata and Kiba. For their part, through surprised at the speed, they both easily dealt with the now half pipe like water. Hinata activated her byakugan and jumped on one wall of water, running up it until she reached the apex and used a burst of chakra to send herself out of the canal, so high that she grabbed a tree branch on her way down and used the momentum to sling herself forward, where she saw Naruto pacing himself again. Kiba let Akamaru jump out of his jacket and they both began to spin.
"Gatsuuga!" He cried and the two whirlwind like drills tore apart the walls of water as they moved through the canal, picking up speed until the drills looked like one. They spun upwards into the air and stopped, giving Kiba a birds eye view of the village.
"Show off!" Naruto yelled.
Kiba only smiled before spinning again, making a fast drilling spiral aimed straight at Naruto.
"Geez Naruto, you're first day back and you've got Kiba riled up already?"
"Sorry Shikamaru, I've got a way with getting under people's skin!"
At his comment Naruto burst away, Kiba stopping his spin as he landed right where he had just been and then dashing off after him. The newly arrived Shikamaru sighed but smiled anyway before making his shadow shrink. It formed beneath his feet, though no one would notice except for Hinata. He moved forward, but instead of running like Naruto and Kiba, he seemed to be gliding over the ground, almost as if skating. Hinata, not one to be outdone ran up the building they were next to and took the high road.
Naruto and Kiba were once again running on the open road, right next to the canal as they spanned the village. Shikamaru soared over a pile of crates and slid down a cart as he caught up, skating right next to Naruto. Hinata's shadow appeared from the shade, showing that she was right with them to their right.
"They're not the only one's who've gotten faster Naruto!" The newest arrival of Ino made Naruto's eyes widen. The girl was running on the railing next to them and between them and the canal. She was sweating, looking to be putting her all into it, but her speed increase was undeniable.
"She's been training with us. Her progress is far more than substantial." Shino didn't seem tired at all as he ran up next to Kiba.
"And why are you all following me again?" Naruto asked, having more fun than he had even expected to.
"Who said we were following you?" Ino asked before flipping from the railing and throwing several kunai at Naruto. Naruto kicked off the ground, propelling himself into a front flip. The movement only proved to slow him for a bit and he landed, still in a full sprint. Ino was a bit ahead of him now, sticking her tongue out at him. "This is a competition Naruto, get with it!"
Her words seemed to spark something in them all as they began to pick up the pace. Now turning away from the canal and heading back towards the main part of the village, they began to run by the lake where Naruto used to see Sasuke sitting alone. The left trail to the Hokage monument was just along the other side of the lake and a bit further in the direction they were headed was the clan district.
"Take your own advice Ino." Hinata said before she leaped from the last building that was in that part of the village she soared over the small group towards Ino, her arm cocked back with her palm open. Ino yelped and skipped to the left as Hinata smashed the ground where she had just been. Naruto, Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru dashed past them at this point and Hinata began to follow, leaving Ino in the dust.
"No fair!" As the small group began to leave Ino's sight, she turned to the sky. A bit ahead, she saw a bird flying in the same direction. "Now's as good a time as any." She put her hands in the symbol that indicated the mind transfer jutsu. However, her pinky fingers were down, as if making a heart shape within the diamond. "Change!" She called, and in a flash, her soul left her body, headed towards the bird. As soon as she entered, another flash occurred and in place of the bird was Ino herself. An advanced version of the substitution jutsu that only the Yamanaka could use. "Here I come!"
Now reaching the northern main street of the village, the group didn't have time to look up to see Ino as she landed right on Kiba's back, almost tripping the boy. He stumbled a bit but kept his balance. "The hell? Ino, where the hell did you come fr-"
He didn't finish as Ino pushed his hood down over his head and flipped off of him, running forward towards the group. With Kiba in the back, Ino catching up, Shikamaru and Shino behind him, and Hinata now beside him, Naruto knew they had to get out of the streets.
"The first objective is coming up Naruto-kun!" Hinata called. Naruto nodded as he saw a man with a long beard and a cigarette in his mouth. He was tucking the pack into the pocket on his Jonin vest. A woman with red eyes and wearing what appeared to be a dress made of nothing but cloth wraps was with him.
"Leave it to me." Without batting an eye, Naruto vanished and a whirlwind surrounded the two Jonin. Soon afterward a shadow crept past Hinata and attached itself to the two Jonin's. Then a buzzing sound was heard and a small cluster of bugs soared past Hinata. The whirlwind stopped to show Naruto standing next to them, drawing their attention as the small cluster of bugs lifted the pack of cigarettes from Asuma's jacket.
"H-Hey! Not again!" He yelled and moved to reach for the pack only to find he could not move due to Shikamaru's shadow possession.
Naruto jumped up towards the pack of cigarettes, but a vine snatched from the midst of the bugs before he could reach it. His gaze followed the weapon to the hand of Ino, holding a vine whip. Just before she caught the pack herself, a white blur soared by and snatched it before bounding back towards Kiba. Kiba caught Akamaru and saluted the group before taking to the rooftops of the shopping district and heading back towards the academy.
"Dammit, Kiba always gets the cigarettes!" Ino yelled
"Ino, Hinata, stop this right now!" Kurenai was starting to move, her and Asuma having very little difficulty breaking out of Shikamaru's shadow possession by now.
"Any day now Hinata!" Shikamaru called. Hinata nodded and moved in swiftly, striking several places on both adults legs, and dropping them to their knees, making it so they were unable to move.
"Got damn this! Wait until I get my hands on Iruka! I'll strangle him!" Kurenai shouted, but Asuma just seemed to be watching the group before they all sped off in search of the next target.
"Kurenai, calm down." Asuma said.
"But-"
Asuma shook his head. "They took us down in less than ten seconds this time. We didn't even see them coming. They're improving."
Kurenai's eyes widened as she realized he was right. They had been so engrossed in wondering who their genin teams would be that they weren't paying attention to the exact same students they were discussing. They were taken by surprise, especially at the sight of Naruto being back in the village. They had no time to think as they were captured and handle with expert precision. Though they were under orders not to use force against the would be genin, this time they hadn't even gotten the chance to prepare.
"This is going to be an interesting month Kurenai." Asuma said, smoking his last and only cigarette. A silence grew between them.
"...we're going to be stuck in the middle of the street for a while aren't we?"
"Yep. Get comfortable."
"Where are we headed to next?" Naruto asked as he and Hinata ran on top of the shop districts buildings. They were nearing the eastern path to the Hokage monument top, the clan districts, the road to the stadium, and the forest of death.
"If you want to go for Anko, she's in the forest of death, but you are only allowed in their with two chunin escort during this training session." Shikamaru answered from behind him. Ino and Shino were pacing themselves next to him.
"And that's why some rules are meant to be broken!" Naruto replied before he leaped to the left, entering the dense forest that would soon connect to the first of death. Hinata gasped and went in after him.
"Yep, same old Naruto. Let's go save the idiot." Shikamaru sighed and dashed behind Hinata, followed shortly by Shino and Ino.
As the forest grew thicker, Naruto could see the makings of a fence coming up. The others watched as he leaped right over the tall gate, as if it weren't there and covered in warning signs. Hinata followed just as quickly, the others stopping only for a bit.
"We can't leave them in there alone." Shino reasoned. The other two agreed, but hesitated just a bit longer before they decided to go in after them.
"I can see her ahead Naruto-kun. It's like she knows we're coming." Hinata warned him but Naruto paid it no attention. He vanished forward again and landed in the clearing with the woman. Anko stood with one hand holding a plate of dango and the other a kunai.
"Oh? The blonde gaki's back in the village. You've gotten taller." Though genuinely surprised to see the blonde back in the village, Anko was well aware of Iruka's training methods. The few times the academy brats had tried to take her dango, she had been learning more and more about their patterns. She figured today would be a day of fun and feeling the group of brats headed her way proved that notion right. But seeing the pariah of the village with them had just made things more interesting.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Anko-chan, but my adrenaline is running sky high and I don't want to lose it. If you want to hand over the dango, do so now, or I'll be forced to take it myself, and I can't promise to be gentle."
Anko rose an eyebrow but her evil smirk only grew. "Ohoho? Now this should really be fun. Alright then gaki, you want the dango, come and get it. I can't promise to be gentle either though." She licked the tip of the kunai provocatively, earning a small blush from Naruto, a red flush from Hinata, and the newly arrived Ino, Shikamari, and Shino paled.
"Don't blink." With Naruto's words, the next thing Anko felt was a powerful back draft from the area he had just been. She soon realized that the blonde wasn't just bluffing. If her reflexes had been any slower, she would have taken the hay maker that almost tore her jaw from the rest of her face. Luckily she moved three feet back just before it connected. Forming one hand sign just as the blonde touched the ground and vanished again, a small snake appeared and she dropped the plate of dango on it.
"Get that out of here, now!" Anko yelled and the snake took off into the forest with a speed that betrayed its small stature.
"Hinata! Take the rest of them and go get that food!" Naruto ordered. Hinata was startled, not knowing what was going on since it was happening so fast. "NOW!"
"Ri-right!" Hinata stuttered out before heading into the forest after the snake. Shikamaru dropped down and skated after her with Shino and Ino following. "Be careful Naruto-kun!"
"That's a bold move gaki! You better be able to keep that bravado up." Anko said before drawing another kunai.
"I just hope you can keep up Anko-chan."
Just like before, Naruto vanished, causing a powerful wind to kick up around the area. A whirlwind began to form around Anko. The Special Jonin grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes, wondering where he was going to attack from.
'What type of jutsu is this?' She wondered.
"Pay attention Anko-chan!" Naruto's voice alerted her of the imminent danger and she barely had time to dodge roll to her left as three kunai soared from the swirling vortex at her. The kunai embedded in a tree opposite her with three clean thuds. Anko rose quickly and threw her own kunai into the vortex, a bit ahead of where the kunai Naruto had thrown came from. Naruto appeared from the vortex, the kunai between his teeth. The wind slowly subsided. "Intuition or just luck?" Naruto asked as he spit the weapon out.
"I would ask you the same thing, but I take it you aren't just your average academy student. Hell, I'm willing to put money down to bet you're stronger than a genin and maybe even chunin."
"You'd be a rich woman then." Naruto unraveled a scroll and smeared a bit of blood on it. In a small 'poof', the scroll was gone and in Naruto's hands was a large black scythe.
"Not a very ninja like weapon gaki. You any good with it?" Anko's eyes set hard on Naruto and the weapon. Her fist were clinched which didn't go missed by Naruto.
"Pretty damn good if I do say so myself." Naruto turned and brought the large weapon in an upwards arch, cutting the snake that was sneaking up behind him in half. Anko cursed but didn't let the moment pass. She dashed at Naruto with a speed far greater than all of his friends. She was behind him just as the last of the snake was cleaved. She aimed to slam the blunt end of her kunai into Naruto's neck but soon stopped as she saw their new position. "Almost Anko-chan. And by the way, my name's Naruto."
Naruto never stopped his scythe swing and held the weapon over his shoulder, the blade a mere inch from Anko's collar bone. As well, in his opposite hand was a kunai pointed backwards, so that if Anko wished to take another step towards him, she would find having children difficult. She shivered at the weapons and the expertise in which he handled them.
"You're scary good gak...Naruto. Just how strong are you?"
"That's for me to know and you to never find out. But if you're willing to bare with me a little longer, you can get a...close up view."
Naruto's own flirtatious nature, born from years of being around Jiraiya and the Kyubi of all people, rose and proved to be quite the match for Anko's own. The small blush that crossed her face was testament to that and made her anger grow. Anko hadn't blushed from something a man had said in over four years.
"You're entering dangerous grounds Naruto. You won't be able to dig yourself out of that hole. You've already got to deal with the one you're in right now."
Anko's face showed a bit of pain before she suddenly disappeared just like Naruto did. Naruto was a bit caught off guard from the speed but turned in time to parry the kunai strike aimed at his back. Anko was using the sharp part of the weapon now, showing that she was taking Naruto completely seriously. Naruto cursed Jiraiya again. If he didn't have all those seals placed on him, he would have been the one running circles around Anko instead of the other way around now.
"What's wrong gaki? Not so fast anymore?" Anko's voice echoed around Naruto. He could sense malicious intent from her and finally understood what was happening.
'She's using an outside source, how about I do too?' Naruto's eyes flashed red for only a moment before he too vanished.
Anyone witnessing the fight would not be able to recount the tale. The only ones that would have been able to give a slightly correct depiction of the battle were nowhere near the area, being Hinata Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha. The forest itself would never be the same for years to come. From the first blow, with Naruto moving up behind Anko while she continued to move a speed that matched and maybe even surpassed Jonin, Naruto's strike was blocked by Anko's kunai. The force itself sent the Special Jonin hurling towards the opposite side of the clearing.
Her back hit a tree but she had no time to catch her breath as Naruto's scythe impaled where her head should have been. Anko ducked beneath the blade and pushed off the tree trunk, slamming her elbow into Naruto's midsection and then slashing with the kunai to cut him across his stomach. Naruto had already released his scythe and jumped back before she could slash, but wasn't fast enough to avoid all damage and came out with a small scratch across the naval. With his scythe now in a tree, Naruto flipped the kunai in his other hand. With a smirk, Naruto motioned for Anko to come on, his glowing red eyes scanning her neck to find the glowing symbol of the curse mark on her shoulder. It seemed that another seal was in place as well, preventing her from drawing more than what she was already drawing from it.
"The snake teme's seal seems more beneficial now than ever." Naruto spoke with a violent undertone. Jiraiya and Kyubi had told him all about Orochimaru. Naruto's disdain for the man was rivaled only by Anko and Jiraiya themselves.
"You're just full of surprises. I don't know how you know about this seal, or if you realize exactly what power you are using right now, but you know a lot more than I was informed of. I'll have to take you to the Hokage for questioning." Anko was also serious about this. Naruto was fun, but now he seemed to know things that were only for higher up ears.
"Jiji already knows about this. I don't know how much I'm allowed to tell you, but the information I have was trusted to me by the same people you want to have me questioned by. As for the Kyubi, he's just a big softy." The Kyubi growled in Naruto's mind.
"Fine, then how about we finish this now. I win, I drag you to the Hokage to find out the truth. You win, we still go see the Hokage if you're not a spy, and then I'll treat you to dinner for being wrong. Deal?"
Naruto thought about it for a second. With the Kyubi's chakra, he could match her. They were only using their speed and weapons right now anyway. Anko didn't truly believe that he was a spy. If he were, this whole thing would have been pointless, and so many other security measures would have been taken care of to subdue him far before he had made it to the Forest of Death. On the other hand, getting drug to the Hokage because Anko wanted to gloat about how she beat the Hokage's 'secret weapon' didn't sound too appealing either. Besides, who was he to turn down free food?
"Deal. Hope you have a big wallet, I don't plan on eating just a few plates of dango."
Naruto dashed forward, coming down with an overhead slash from his kunai. Anko blocked it easily and held out her opposite hand. A snake lashed out from her trench coat and sunk its fangs into Naruto's shoulder, releasing a poison at the same time. Anko smirked triumphantly, but it was only momentary as the Naruto the snake was biting on suddenly popped into a log. A log with exploding tags on it. Anko tried to retract the snake and jump away but it was a bit late. The log exploded, blowing the snake into pieces and sending Anko slamming into the same tree she had hit the first time.
For a moment she felt nothing but pain. Then realization struck her. The scythe was gone. With wide eyes, she rolled out the way as the scythe struck the ground where she had just been. She turned to see Naruto spin on the pole of his blade before flipping upwards and ripping the weapon from the ground. He kicked off of the side of the tree and soared at her, his glowing red eyes showing feral enjoyment. He extended it and held it with both hands before aiming to cleave Anko right in half. He succeeded, but did not fall for the trick. Anko's body fell into a mass of snakes and just as Naruto landed on the ground from his attack Anko was coming from above him. She attempted to impale him with her own kunai, only for Naruto to jump away. The cluster of snakes that Anko had substituted with sprang at Naruto and latched onto various parts of his body. The drawing of blood was enough to let Anko know she had gotten the real Naruto.
'Gotcha!'
With one last hand sign from Anko, the snakes began to glow before all at once exploding. Anko stood panting as she waited for the smoke to clear to show if she had won or not. When she saw a red glow within the smoke, she knew she hadn't. The smoke spun swiftly before being blown away by a powerful gale. Naruto stood with a few scratches and his clothes a bit tattered.
"Nice one." He coughed a bit, letting her know the attack had done some damage. "But not quite there though." Naruto rose his scythe and Anko grit her teeth. She couldn't do much else. The curse mark was starting to return to normal.
'Oh my Kami...' Anko thought as Naruto brought his scythe down and sent a small whirlwind at her. 'I just lost to an academy student.' Was her last thought before the gale twirled her and then slammed her against another tree, knocking her unconscious.
Naruto's red eyes faded back to blue. He dropped to a knee as well, not used to having to use the Kyubi's chakra with so many limiters on. He smiled at Anko though, seeing that she had more power than he initially gave her credit for. With the curse mark, she seemed like she could be a Jonin. She hadn't even used any other jutsu besides substitution, exploding clone, and summoning. Her kunai play was top notch too, in tandem with her snakes.
"You're going to be a big asset Anko-chan. I'm glad to have you on my side." Naruto bowed to Anko before scooping her up and heading towards the gate. He could feel Hinata and the others already waiting for him. Once he reached the exit, he saw the small group. Hinata held the plate of dango while the others sat with pensive scowls.
Ino was the first to notice his approach and she stood with an angry growl. "Naruto, if you ever make us come into this damn forest after your ass again, I'll feed you to the Inuzuka myself!"
"Who made you go anywhere? This is a competition, remember?" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Ino before hopping the fence and running off towards the village. Shikamaru and Shino watched silently while Hinata ran after him. Ino yelled and began to follow. Shikamaru and Shino stayed behind.
"You saw it too right?" Shikamaru asked. Shino nodded.
"He defeated Mitarashi-san. A special jonin."
Shikamaru stood up and dropped down to the forest floor. He began to slowly trudge back to the village. "Naruto's got a lot of tricks up his sleeves, but that may be the biggest one yet. He's holding back."
"I agree. Uzumaki-san has become a force to be reckoned with."
Pausing for only a second, Shikamaru shook his head and continued on. "Who's to say he wasn't before he left?"
Naruto and Hinata continued onwards, Ino keeping pace as best she could behind them. Hinata gave worried glances to Naruto as he carried the unconscious special jonin with them towards their next and final target. She had no clue how Naruto had managed to defeat Anko, but she knew he had indeed grown far stronger than any of them could have ever imagined. They all knew that they were genin material, having crossed that threshold months ago. Some of them were even confident enough in their abilities to say they were ready for chunin. However, none even thought about special jonin. Yet there was Naruto, cradling the unconscious form of the strongest special jonin in the leaf village.
"Ano...Naruto-kun..." Hinata tried to get his attention. Naruto's gaze went to hers and a small smile formed on his face.
"I know what you're wondering Hinata-chan. I only beat her through good planning, quick thinking and sheer luck. No matter who you face, if you can surprise them, you will always grab the upper hand, even if only for a split second."
Hinata blushed at Naruto's strong determination but smiled herself. "Actually, I was trying to tell you we're going the wrong way. Kakashi-sensei is at training ground 7." Hinata blushed more and held back her own laugh at Naruto's blanching face.
"...Well shit..."
After a change of course, the small group was headed to the village gates. Shikamaru and Shino had caught back up thanks to the minor detour. They remained silent, as Ino did as well as they observed how close Naruto and Hinata were as they ran through the village. If they had wanted to, they could have started holding hands and no one would really notice. Shino and Shikamaru smiled but Ino pouted slightly.
They remained in silence even after reaching the gates and darting past the guards. Iruka had already informed them of the days endeavors so they were prepared. Naruto paid close attention to the area they were entering, enjoying the serene melody of the wildlife that surrounded Konoha. It was much different than the urban areas of the village, and even more relaxing than the in town training grounds that all seemed to be surrounded by man placed forestland.
"Gaki, you know I'm going to beat the living shit out of you one day right?" Anko had awoken a bit ago and after realizing she was being carried and by who, relaxed and enjoyed the ride.
"Kinda figured. You're not the only person who wants to anyway." Naruto sweat dropped. It was an understatement. Besides everyone after his life, as far as he could tell, all of his friends wanted a piece of him, even Fuu.
"Get in line Anko-sensei, Naruto-kun's mine." Hinata teased, sticking her tongue out at Anko as they ran. Anko smiled and suddenly turned into a log, ditching her carriage and appearing right next to Hinata.
"Is that right? Looks like you've got a little fan club gaki. By the way, are we going to Kakashi?"
Hinata and Naruto nodded. Anko's smile turned absolutely murderous.
"Beautiful. Just freakin beautiful."
The evil chuckle that followed sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Standing in front of the memorial stone that sat near Training Ground 7's field, the cyclops ninja Kakashi Hatake stood lamenting on the past that had led to the person he was that day. His eyes gazed upon the stone, over the many names and memories, though they lingered on three of those many longer than any others. The names of Minato Namikaze, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Inuzuka held the most, the many, and the important memories for him. Be it from the happiest times in his life to the most tragic, those three names were always with him, in his mind and in his heart.
'Sensei...Obito...Rin...Naruto came back to the village. I haven't seen him yet, but all of the ninja are talking about it already. I didn't know what the big deal was at first, but apparently Master Jiraiya had taken the boy out of the village a few years ago. Sensei, I still don't know why you trapped the demon in some random boy, but if the demon influences him and Jiraiya trains him, what's to stop him from betraying and killing us all? I just don't understand what's happening anymore...why didn't you tell me anything? Obito, Rin...what would you have done in this situation? I haven't seen enough of him to actually say that he is evil. His pranks are funny and keeps the village lively, just like you Obito. And his temper, if I can recall correctly is just like yours Rin. I find it hard to hate him, even if he is responsible for your death Sensei...'
"Ne, scarecrow! Drag your ass back to the present so we can kick your ass!" Anko yelled as the group landed in the training field behind Kakashi.
"Anko-sensei, the whole point of this was supposed to be stealth, you do realize that right?" Ino asked with her face in her palm. Anko just shrugged, never taking her eyes off of Kakashi's back.
'Oh great...' Kakashi sighed and slowly turned around to face his would-be attackers. His one visible eye slightly widened as they set sight on the newly arrived Naruto. 'He's here! And he looks different...' For a moment the image of his own sensei, Minato, flashed into his mind but it was only for the briefest of moments.
"What's wrong Kakashi? Cat got your tongue? Where's my money bro?" Anko called, pointing an accusing finger at him. Everyone present sweat dropped.
"You only joined us to get money he owes you?" Naruto asked with a small tick mark on his head. Anko shrugged again.
"Business before pleasure right? And this is both. Kicking his ass and getting my money."
Naruto shook his head. "What does he even owe you for?"
"We bet that the ANBU would get lazy with you gone and he swore up and down that the elite shadow force of this village was not in shape from chasing one single academy student."
Naruto rose an eyebrow, interested that it was a bet on him. "And?"
Anko pulled out a picture. After a second of looking at it, Naruto crashed into the ground laughing his ass off. Hinata, Shino, Ino, and Shikamaru all crowded around to see the picture and were soon on the ground with Naruto, save Shino who only stood next to them chuckling and wiping tears from his eyes.
"What? What's on that picture?" Kakashi asked, one visible eye narrowed. Anko turned the picture around to reveal a room full of drunk, sleeping ANBU, all with profane words and graphic details of male and female genitals drawn all over their masks. To top it all off, Anko herself was in the picture with a marker and at the moment the picture was taken, she was positioning several of the male ANBU into...compromising positions.
Kakashi paled, dropped to his knees, and held back the urge to vomit.
"Ha, read that in one of those porn books you have."
"Seriously, what the hell have I missed?" Naruto asked through his chuckles as he stood back to his feet. Anko put the picture away and smiled evilly at Kakashi.
"Look, I'll get you your money after I deal with the kiddies." Kakashi was saying until he noticed the group walking away. "Hey...hey where are you going?"
Naruto looked back as he and his friends made their way back towards the academy. "You weren't paying attention and we stole your book. Bye."
Kakashi's eyes widened and looked down to his waist to see that the rectangular holster that usually held his porn was flatter than Sakura's chest. Thunder crashed in the area and dark clouds instantly filled the atmosphere. Naruto sweatdropped at the oppressive aura. The to be genin looked at each other and then at Anko. The special jonin smiled.
"Yep. Time to run."
