Hehe, sorry for being such a lazy person, just didn't find any inspiration for my fourth chapter so took a while. Well here it is at least even if it's really short and all that but it does build up for some things later. Once again, please review, your input is what keeps me going. :D
It felt just like he had gone through the harshest training Jiraiya and Kai had given him and after that Tsunade had used him as a punching bag and he was suffering from a strong concussion. It felt like his skull had been split oven and the searing pain of someone trying to widen the wound even further. To add to that his vision was blurry and he felt rather queasy. The light within his room stung to his eyes and the light chirping of the birds outside was like a rain of kunai and shuriken against his eardrums. His mouth felt dry and he was sluggishly making his way in the direction of the kitchen to get some water for himself to drink. Upon reaching the kitchen he was forced to shield his eyes against the sunlight within the room with his arms.
"It's a real pain the first time isn't it," he heard someone comment. The volume of the voice sent another wave of pain against his head, the volume far too high according to his mind.
"Well at least now you can be considered to be a man, you should've seen Kai the first time, damn he was in a bad shape, though he had been drinking a lot more than you did, so you're not as deep of as he was."
Naruto felt something pressed into his hand by the elder man, looking up close at the object held between his fingers he noted that it was a small pill, roughly the size of a ladybug. The color of the pill was half yellow and the other half a brilliant green, "What's this sensei?" Naruto questioned, slurring slightly.
"A pill your cousin and Tsunade managed to develop, gets you back on track in no time," the elder man explained, "So do you remember anything from yesterday?"
Jiraiya watched as his student swallowed the pill, shuddering at the taste, just like he, Kai and Tsunade did every time they ate it. Apparently it was impossible to improve the flavor of it, Kai and Tsunade had tried multiple times, but everytime it tasted decently it had no effect.
"I remember going to the bar with Yamanaka-san, Nara-san and Akimichi-san and eating some dango there and drinking a bottle of sake, then it's all kinda blurry," Naruto actually felt as a feeling of freshness started to travel from the pit of his stomach and after a minute or two he felt like he usually did in the morning, though with a light headache and a little off balance. His vision had cleared and the chirping of the birds outside wasn't unbearable.
Jiraiya went out of the kitchen when he heard someone knocking on his door. Standing there was a chūnin messenger. "Hokage-sama have asked me to tell Naruto-san that he's due to meet his team at the western bridge in five minutes, could you do that for me please," the man said before he poofed out of existence using shunshin,
"Oi gaki, Sarutobi-sensei's messenger told me to tell you that you're due to meet your team at the western bridge in five minutes," Jiraiya said as he entered the kitchen. Staring back at him was a surprised Naruto, "Have you forgotten that sensei assigned team Seven to you since their leader is taken out of action? You know when you and your cousin knocked him into a coma, leading to your cousin's comatose state as well. By the way I was wondering what happened to Seiryutou?"
At first Naruto stared back at his sensei doubting, then a sudden look of realization dawned upon him, "Shit, he's gonna kill me! I gotta go sensei, see you," standing alone in the kitchen was Jiraiya holding a translucent box containing more green and yellow pills. Opening the box and popping one pill into his mouth the man just shrugged.
The members of genin team seven were all used to the tardiness of their teacher. Today, just like any other day, he was late. When they heard the telltale sound of shunshin they all turned around in the direction of the sound, Sasuke giving a glare while his female member started her usual tirade.
"You're late sensei!" Sakura yelled angrily.
"I'm sorry but I got lost way on the way here, you see there was this little miscalculation of mine that got me sent to the other side of time, I have a terrible headache and my cousin is going to kill me for not getting his weapon immediately and now it's lost,"
"You!" Sasuke and Sakura screeched upon seeing the blond standing there.
"No, don't tell me…" Naruto said upon seeing the two pink haired genin.
"You're gonna be on our team!?" "I'm gonna teach you lot!?" the three persons yelled together.
"You're replacing Kakashi-sensei Naruto-san?" the third genin asked, making his presence known.
"Yeah, at least for a while, Kakashi-san was sent on an important mission," Naruto said as he started to massage his temples. His headache had just gotten a lot worse. 'Damn you Jiraiya, those pills worked for like twenty minutes! Now it's even worse, you said they would get me back in action in no time.'
"Okay, I think some introduction is due, my name is Namikaze Naruto, I'm going to be the temporary leader for team seven during an unknown time, now cold face, pinkie one and pinkie two, tell me your names,"
"My name is Sai," the only darkhaired member of the team said.
"I'm Haruno Sakura," the girl said.
"Uchiha Sasuke," the third member said while he still glared daggers at the blond.
"I suppose you're done the tree-walking and water-walking exercises right?" Naruto questioned. To his surprise only one of them nodded, "So only Sai have done the tree-walking and water-walking exercises?"
"Kakashi-sensei has shown us the tree-walking exercise, however not the water-walking exercise," the girl said.
Naruto could do little else then sigh; apparently this was going to be a long day for the newly assigned Jōnin.
Team Gai was doing their usual training routine and was currently running their ten laps around the village walls when to their surprise they saw the genin of team seven approaching them from behind. It almost looked like the Kyuubi no Kitsune was hot on their heels deeming from their expressions. Even the seemingly stoic Sai showed fear in his eyes.
"Sakura-san!" Lee exclaimed when the three genin rushed past.
"Such flames of youth!" Gai exclaimed, "My youthful students, we cannot let their flames of youth burn brighter than our, let's catch up to them!" Lee and Gai increased their pace as did the two remaining members of the team, albeit grudgingly.
"You look exhausted," Neji commented upon seeing them up close. All of the members of team seven looked ready to fall to the ground yet they were continuing their pace. They were covered in bruises and shallow wounds as well and looked much paler than they usually did. In one word they looked like shit though the Hyuga would not resort to the usage of such words.
"Yeah, you should take a break, why don't take a stop at the creek five hundred meters ahead," Tenten proposed.
"No!" the three members of team seven replied with so much fervor that it was unbelievable, sure Sakura could be loud but Sasuke was known to be the silent type who doesn't show his emotions and Sai was seemingly incapable of expressing emotions, until now. The three were now even paler than before; making them almost as white as the whitest of sheets.
From seemingly of nowhere a kunai landed amongst their midst, the three genin of team seven abruptly increased their speed to a mad dash. A second later a hail of kunai started to rain down on the earlier positions of the three genin alongside team Gai.
From a distance Naruto chuckled, he was starting to enjoy this. Now he understood why his cousin had expanded on this training method Jiraiya had used on them, it was fun to be the instructor. Also it made the trainee understand the importance of being alert, unless he wanted to end up as a kunai-cushion. He was about to move out from his position when he found himself dodging an incoming attack, that to his horror split the tree he sat in into several smaller pieces. As soon as the first attack was over another attacker appeared that made dust of the smaller pieces when Naruto countered using the assailants own power to throw into the rubble. Next there was a rain shuriken that came down upon him that forced him to do several back-flips before it had stopped. When he landed he found himself at the end of someone's palm, pressed to his neck.
"Do you yield peacefully?" the person behind him asked.
"Yeah, guess so," Naruto said upon seeing people closing in from the corner of his eyes.
"Who are you and why were you attacking Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Sai of team seven?" the apparent leader of the guys that captured him questioned. 'Maito Gai was his name right?' Naruto asked himself.
"I wasn't attacking them, I was training them," Naruto replied.
"Throwing kunai is counted as attacking," the carbon copy of the elder Jōnin said, "What if you had hurt my beloved Sakura-san! And what else is that the sensei of team seven is none other than Gai-sensei's eternal rival, Hatake Kakashi-san!"
"I'm the replacement for that Hatake Kakashi, and if I say it is training then it's training. This is the soft version, the original is much harder."
"How can you be the sensei for them? I remember you from the Chūnin exams and you look younger than we are," the girl of the team said.
"You see this vest?" Naruto questioned and pointed to his west, "This is something only worn by the Jōnin of Konoha, and therefore it signifies me as one of them. By having the rank of Jōnin I can teach a team of genin and lead them on missions. Since Hatake Kakashi currently is unavailable I have been assigned as the temporary Jōnin-sensei of team seven." Naruto smiled smugly at the girl and then at the genin in a green jumpsuit.
"Yosh, then release the youthful Naruto-kun who have reached the rank of Jōnin already so he can continue to tutor his team, we ourselves must continue our laps, as a punishment for pausing we shall double the amount we're going to undertake, and if we can't manage to do that before the set time for the next exercise then we shall kick a log with each of our limbs a thousand times!" Gai exclaimed. Lee roared his approval while the two other members groaned loudly.
Far away Jiraiya watched as his student "tutored" his team until team Gai had come and interrupted. 'And the gaki says that my training was harsh, Kai's was harsher, yet his own is the worst of us, at least I was only occasionally throwing kunai at them,' Jiraiya almost felt sorry for the genin of team seven, almost.
"He's the worst," Sasuke said as he sat himself down by the river flowing through the western part of the village, dipping his feet into the cool water.
"I can't believe I'm actually saying this but I want Kakashi-sensei back!" Sakura wailed seating herself beside the Uchiha heir.
"For once Forehead-girl I agree with you," the final member of the team said as he seated himself against a nearby tree and took out his drawing pad and started to draw.
"Everyone shall assemble outside the Hokage tower for an important announcement!" a loud and authoritative voice said, a voice they recognized as the Sandaime's. The three members groaned, they had all just gotten a break from training and then the Sandaime asks for their presence. They slowly made their way towards the Hokage tower, when they arrived five minutes later they found the outside of the tower crowded with seemingly the entire village. The three genin was quick to spot their companions from the ninja Academy.
"So do you guys know what's happening here?" Sasuke questioned as he walked up to the other genin.
"It's far too troublesome to explain, also I'm not supposed to speak of it," a disinterested Shikamaru said as he looked at the members of team seven, "So what happened to you, or wait, I think it's far too troublesome to hear," Shikamaru didn't feel like listening to Sakura's ranting for an hour or two right now. The clouds were perfect now and here he was waiting for an announcement he already knew of, thanks to his father, instead of watching the clouds.
The rookie nine noticed that the whole area had ended all conversation and looking up at the Hokage tower they spotted the Sandaime standing on his balchony looking out over the assembled people.
"I am sure you wonder why I have called you here today," the Hokage said, "This is a matter of great importance to our village, I have found my successor to take the place as the Godaime Hokage."
The entire area had gone still. Even if someone had attacked the village they would probably not react to the assault. It was only now that the audience noticed that the Sandaime didn't wear the traditional robes nor the hat.
"My old student, Tsunade of the Sannin," as soon as the woman's name was said she stepped into view, wearing the traditional robes and hat.
"I promise I shall do my best to have this village remain the strongest village of the elemental countries," the Godaime Hokage exclaimed. At first she was only met with silence that a moment later exploded into applauses and shouts of approval.
"Tsunade-sama is our new Hokage?" Tenten asked as she came running up to the rookie nine. Apparently they had been far off doing training when the Hokage's announcement came.
"Yeah," Kiba said, "Why does a chick get to be the Hokage, it should be some cool guy! They could have chosen me," no-one saw how it happened but a second later Kiba's head could be found under Tenten's foot, grinding the ground.
"Sandaime-sama, that was mean, now I can't be Hokage for a long time, Tsunade is the best medic-nin so she won't die for a long time! I thought you was only kidding to shut the council members up back then," Naruto wailed within the Hokage's room.
The woman in question was hardpressed to smile to the audience below with the annoying brat in the background talking about her death and how far it was off and that he couldn't become the Hokage with her as the Hokage. 'As soon as I'm done here you're going to know a world of righteous retribution, now you don't have your cousin here to take the brunt of the attack, it's just you and me, consequences be damned.' Tsunade said within her mind.
"My first act as Hokage will be to announce that there has been some changes in the agreement with Sunagakure, we of Konoha have decided to withdraw one of our demands, namely the marriage of Uzumaki Naruto and the daughter of the Kazekage,"
The statement left everyone present in a state of surprise, either it was because Konoha withdrew one of their demands, the demand that was a tradition, or it was because she spoke about the Kazekage, not the Yondaime Kazekage it was a fine detail that only the most perceptive persons would notice. Everyone knew that the Yondaime Kazekage had mysteriously disappeared, his personal guards had been found murdered in the middle of the desert along with the Kazekage's bloodied clothes. For the Suna council the statement was not one surprise but it was both cases. Temari started to cry in relief over that she didn't have to marry someone from the leaf village, she got to return back to her own village.
The crowd was about to verbally respond when a man garbed in the traditional robes of the Kazekage walked out on the balcony of the Hokage tower.
"It can't be…" one of the Suna council members said.
"I am unlike the most of you think not dead, in fact I've been living within these walls for the last months under the care of one of the Sannin after the betrayal of Orochimaru who had left me for dead in the desert," the Kazekage said in a steely voice.
'I gotta get out of here while I can. Tsuchikage-sama will be glad to receive such a fine gift as this,' the girl thought as she started to make her way out of the village. The streets were deserted, it was just like a ghost town, "Well no need to hurry, I can take my time to get to home. Finally I can do some of that shopping I've been longing to do! I think it is Suna first, they have according to my sources the best coffee in the elemental countries."
"Temari," the man said in a monotone. The girl was taken out of her thoughts when she heard that voice, the voice belonging to her cold father
"Hai Otō-sama?"
"I wish for you to remain in this village, you will be the liaison between our villages in this new time of peace," the Kazekage said, his voice now held a warmth to it that puzzled Temari, it was a long time since she had heard her father speak of anything with something that resembled emotion, only in the deepest parts of her mind did she recall it, it was the time before her youngest brother had been turned into a living weapon, a time which she had a hard time to remember.
"Hai Otō-sama," Temari said downtrodden, she had hoped that she would be able to return home along with her brothers.
"That's my daughter. Now is the time for me to take my leave. I have been told that Tsunade-sama will see to all your accommodations," the Kazekage said wistfully.
Tsunade of the sannin, recently pronounced Godaime Hokage, was sitting in her new office signing paperwork while occasionally taking a swig of sake as soon as her assistant Shizune turned her gaze to the outside or towards the Chūnin entering the room. Tsunade could imagine how the Sandaime now was sitting with the perverted sannin drinking sake in the sun, enjoying their free time while she was bunked up in a stuffy office on the top floor of the Hokage tower signing papers.
"Shizune," Tsunade declared, "I'm done with the paperwork now, can I go?"
Shizune just gazed at her master not showing any emotion, the older woman just sighed before she went to the next duty of the day, assigning missions. Ever since Tsunade had gained the position of Godaime it was Tsunade that asked for permission from Shizune and not the other way around. The young woman would have yelled in glee, if the threat of Tsunade most likely punishing her if she was made aware of the control that Shizune had been given over her master hadn't loomed over her.
"Anyways, I don't see why I have to be there and assign the missions, the chūnin there knows perfectly well how to do it. I could be doing something useful like helping out at the hospital instead of sitting in the mission room," Tsunade argued as the pair walked towards the mission room. Bursting through the doors Tsunade came face to face with the young Namikaze clanhead and his team.
"Old lady, I've been going on D-rank missions for a month with these brats now, I demand a B-rank mission!" said the young clanhead heatedly.
Tsunade's bad day had just turned even worse; speaking merely on instinct she started her own tirade, "You know that I can't assign your team a B-rank! They are only genin and it's out of the question to assign over C-rank to genin, do you know what the council would do with me if I sent you along with the Uchiha prodigy on a B-rank mission?" upon seeing the blond boy standing there sheepishly shifting his feet she continued, "They would question my judgement in sending the last member of the Namikaze clan on a B-rank along with only genin to his help even if you are Jōnin you're still only thirteen years old and that isn't enough in their eyes, they want a heir to your damn clan before I send you off on potential suicide missions."
"Can we get a C-rank then at least," Naruto asked with a smile, "we're tired of weeding gardens and fetching runaway cats," to indicate his point he pointed to the claw marks on Sasuke's arms and face.
Tsunade had a hard time not to point out that Naruto did have some common sense after all, he didn't involve himself in those missions as she had hoped. She had been planning to let him do D-rank for a few months as a punishment for what he had told her in the Hokage office back when she was declared Godaime Hokage but with the council pressuring her to let the prodigal Uchiha take higher ranking missions she had to relent. "Fine, you and your team will receive a C-rank mission.