The last chapter got so many reviews and they really inspired me to continue writing! To show you my gratitude I made this chapter longer than usual, hope you like it.

Here are some Japanese terms. I try not to use them much unless it sounds weird when writing the same in English.

Shinobi = Ninja

Kunoichi=Female Ninja

Saindaime=Third Hokage

Dattebayo= has no literal meaning and cannot be translated, but carries the connotations of the speaker being uncultured, brusque, and seeming tougher than they really are.

Nindo=Ninja Way

Ne=Sentence-final particle indicating a "tag question", a question inviting the listener to indicate agreement.

Answers to reviews:

TheHiddenAngel: Will use these names on the future, thank you :3

warrof: Yup, I know but maybe I didn't put it clearly in the chapter o.o And about Kushina, you will see.

lalola (guest): This chapter should answer your last question XP

Pabu (Guest): No harem in this story. So no worries.

And now to the Chapter.


"I'm done"

"Already?"

"I'm a fast learner dattebayo!" Naruto grinned and gave the paper he was working on to his sister Tsunami. The young woman smiled and took it, her eyes quickly going over its content.

"You are really weird Naruto" She said without malice, getting a sheepish smile from the blond. She hummed in thought and leaned over Naruto who was still seated at his desk "You made a mistake here"

Naruto groaned but eyed the letters critically, and fixed his mistake carefully "Yes! I am a step closer to fulfilling my dream!"

Tsunami giggled and played with the soft blond hair of the eight year old child "Why do you want to have such good penmanship?"

"Because it will let me do really cool things later on" Naruto rubbed his hands together, now if he could only get his hands on a sealing scroll.

Tsunami huffed but let Naruto keep his secrets "Go out and play for a while, I need to prepare dinner" Naruto nodded and was running down the stairs before she could say anything else.

"Be back in an hour!" Tsunami yelled after him, crossing her arms over her chest when Naruto waved to let her know he heard her "How much you have grown Naruto"


"I never thought I would say this, but I really miss you Kurama"

Naruto lost track of time as he stared up at the darkening sky, his hand aching after writing so much. His head turned to the side, taking in the small clearing he was resting in. He met Haku in this same spot, a kind boy who only wanted to be useful to his precious person and who inspired Naruto's nindo. Hopefully Naruto could change enough things to avoid his death.

Somehow the blond needed to go back to Konoha, unfortunately without his chakra he simply couldn't travel such a long distance by himself, he tried and failed, worrying his new family to death when they found his exhausted form not that far away from the soon to be bridge. Naruto knew they still wondered how he made it to the other side.

"Who do you miss?" Lost in thought he didn't notice the person standing at the edge of the clearing until they spoke, startling Naruto, he quickly sat up and looked in direction of the voice with wide eyes, relaxing when he recognized Tsunami. She was family and he trusted her, sadly there were things he simply could not tell her.

"A…friend of mine" Naruto mumbled with a fond smile, oblivious to the worried look his sister was giving him.

Tsunami sighed and took a seat besides Naruto, looking up as starts appeared one by one "I got worried when you didn't come back home"

"Is time for dinner already?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking down guiltily "I'm sorry, I lost track of time…"

"Don't worry" She was quick to reassure. Tsunami bit her lip trying to figure out what was going on behind those pained blue eyes that didn't belong in such a young face. She turned his face gently to stare at Naruto whom avoided her gaze "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Tsunami somehow knew that Naruto was aware of where he came from, even if logically he was too young at the time to notice what was happening. His eyes and the way he carried himself gave him away, he walked as if he had the weight of the world on his frail shoulders. But every time any of them asked, be Tazuna, Kaiza or her, he would keep silent or change the topic.

Instead of pushing she was always there, offering comfort and a willing ear in the off-chance he finally wanted to tell what was on his mind. She really cared for Naruto and only wanted his happiness

"I…" It was easy to see that Naruto was conflicted. He worried his bottom lip, trying to come up with something to say.

"Is okay, you don't have to say anything if you are not ready" Tsunami said, giggling a bit at Naruto's astonished expression "I know you are keeping things from us"

"Big sis…"

Tsunami raised her hand to stop Naruto "Just know that I will always be here for you, ne?"

Naruto would always be part of her family, a younger brother. When they took him in she wasn't ready to call him her son and now that she was a proper mother, she couldn't bring herself to change things. There was something about Naruto that said that he had seen far too many things in his short life to be considered a normal child. Even if he acted immature practically all the time, there just was something in his gaze that separated him from the rest, even herself.

"Thank you" If Naruto's eyes glazed over with tears, neither of them commented on it.

Tsunami pinched Naruto's nose, getting a startled laugh in response "Come now, dinner is ready. I'm sure you don't want to miss Kaiza going on and on about that bridge he is building, don't you?"

Naruto laughed and took her hand when she offered it, walking back home with a smile on his face. They arrived at Tazuna's house to find both Kaiza and Inari dripping wet, next to Naruto, Tsunami was trying hard to keep her giggles to herself at their state.

"What happened?" Naruto asked with wide eyes.

"It was his fault!" Both men and child said at the same time, pointing to each other, even if the latter had more difficulty in pronouncing the words. While they bickered Naruto thought back to what Inari from his original time said long ago. This moment changed the life of the small family. After rescuing Inari from drowning, Kaiza became a father to Inari and eventually Tsunami and Kaiza married.

The shocked gasp from Tsunami brought him back from the memories to the present. His blue eyes followed the woman's gaze to Kaiza's kneeling position. Inari looked on with confusion.

"Well..um..Tsunami…Would you marry me?"

There was a tense second of silence before Tsunami sobbed and threw herself at Kaiza's arms "Of course! Yes, yes! I would love that!"

"Kaiza dad now?" Inari asked innocently, leaving the strong Kaiza as a blubbering mess. Naruto grinned and messed with the young child's hair "Yes. Kaiza is just too happy to form words"

Naruto stared at the happy couple for a moment, his presence already changed a few things, and if he had anything to say about it all of the changes would be for the better "Come on Inari, you need a warm shower"

"'kay big bro!"


"How is the bridge coming along?" Tsunami asked later that night, resting her head on Kaiza's shoulder. Both were on a bench outside the house, watching the stars.

"There were some weird people observing us working today, but they didn't approach. Aside from that everything went alright" he commented with an absentminded smile "Why do you ask?"

"I'm worried about Naruto"

"You always are…"

"Don't tease me" She said with a pout, pausing for a moment "This is serious"

She played with the ring that now adorned her hand "Something is bothering him and I know that he will get restless if he doesn't have something to do"

Kaiza scratched the back of his head with his free arm. Like Tsunami, he treated Naruto as a younger brother or even a close cousin but it was in cases like this, when Naruto showed a maturity far beyond his age that Kaiza felt helpless. No matter how much he pestered, Naruto wouldn't tell him what was wrong.

"So what do you want to do?"

"I was thinking he could go with you tomorrow and help around. You know how much he likes that" she said with a fond smile, thinking of the helpful blond that won over the heart of their small village with his cheerful nature.

"Sure, sounds like a plan" Kaiza said with smile, relaxing back on the bench.

"So why don't you tell me what you did with Inari today?"

"Well…"

Naruto in the meantime was calmly staring at the ceiling of his and Inari's room. His focus inward, trying to feel the Kyuubi again, but he barely felt the presence of the Nine tails.

-Kurama did say it would take him lots of years to recuperate- He thought with disappointment.

The last few years had been kind to the blond. He got the opportunity to go through a normal childhood, without all that resentment and hatred from the majority of his own village. People in the Wave were wary of him at first, of the 'doll child' as he used to be called. Not like Naruto could help it when he spaced out, the incidents were getting shorter and shorter and the blond hoped that soon they would be gone forever. He knew his body needed time to catch up with his mind but it didn't mean he had to like it.

It was frustrating at first, not being able to do the simplest things. Even feeling his chakra was impossible. At least he now knew why he couldn't, the strain of using the Kyuubi's chakra at such a young age burned all his pathways, he simply couldn't use it. And he had to consider himself lucky, just a bit more and he could have ended as a civilian.

Naruto turned to lay on his side, his eyes hidden by blond bangs. He didn't really want to leave the Wave country behind, but Konoha needed him, he had enjoyed enough. The question was how he would get there.

He didn't know how long he rested there with his eyes open but unseeing, his mind on his memories. Naruto obviously fell asleep at some point because he was rudely awakened the next morning.

"Kaiza? Why are you here so early? I wanna sleep" Naurto grumbled, trying to burrow further in his bed. Said man was unfazed and dragged Naruto out anyway by the back of his pajama, easily ignoring the pout Naruto was throwing at him.

"Tsunami thought it would be nice if you accompanied me to the soon to be awesome Kaiza Bridge, what do you say?" Kaiza asked with a smug smile, setting Naruto back on the ground. He knew the blond couldn't resist an offer like that, and he was right.

"Yeah! Why didn't you say that sooner! I need to get outside more dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, for once acting his age and running around the room getting his things ready. Ignoring Inari's annoyed mumbling

"I will wait for you downstairs, don't take too long blondie" Kaiza said with an amused grin, messing Naruto and Inari's hair before leaving.


"I'm starving!"

Kaiza who was about to make good use of his hammer looked at Naruto who was sprawled on the ground next to him. The older man sighed and rubbed his own stomach when it voiced it's complain. They have been working all morning on the other half of the bridge, the one connected to the fire country.

"You are not the only one squirt" Kaiza commented, leaving the hammer on the ground and raising his hands over his head to stretch the muscles of his back. Making sure that the old man Tazuna wasn't near to scold him.

"We should totally…" Naruto trailed off at the feeling on eyes on him. With a frown he stood up and looked at the nearby road, oblivious to the worried look Kaiza was sending him.

At first glance there only seem to be wave workers around him, but unusual movement at the corner of his eyes made him turn his head just in time to see a shadow moving in the trees. Naruto squinted his eyes trying to spot it again but the natural mist of the place didn't let him see much.

"Naruto?" Kaiza curiously, trying to spot what caught the young boy's attention, but he didn't spot anything out of the usual, only trees. He turned his eyes back to Naruto to spot the worried frown on the blond's face.

"Something is not right" Naruto said absentmindedly tugging at his hair "We are not alone…"

Kaiza's eyes widened, if that was true he needed to tell the rest, they couldn't afford Gatou finding what they were doing.

"You sure?" His only answer was a sharp nod from Naruto who was busy looking around trying to get a weapon to defend himself with "Okay, wait right he-"

But before Kaiza could finish his sentence a scream filled the construction site, making everyone stand up in alert and start speaking at each other trying to figure what was going out. Kaiza cursed, the worst thing they could do was panic.

"Old man Tazuna!" He yelled over the other men, trying to be heard over the frightened men. An answering yell had him sprinting to the source, moving quickly through the mass of bodies. In no time he was standing next to the crouched form of Tazuna who was checking over someone.

"Tazuna what?" The old man raised his hand, getting silence from people around.

"Tozuo was attacked" Tazuna said, gesturing to the pained man on the ground. The one who screamed in the first place, on his shoulder was buried a ninja weapon. The injury was bleeding heavily. Kaiza gulped and looked around but he couldn't spot who could have thrown the weapon, people around where doing the same, holding a variety of tools close.

Before they could panic further a chuckle was heard in the silence.

"If you had killed him in time we wouldn't have been spotted" Came from the figures that slowly started to come out from the heavy mist. Kaiza tensed, clenching his fist when he recognized the figure at the head of the group. It was none other than Gatou.

"What do you want?!" Tazuna asked enraged. He had stood up after ordering the others to take care of the downed man.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gatou asked with a dark smirk, full of confidence. Behind him were a bunch of men he hired for this job, he even got hold of two ninjas "Is not in my best interest to have this bridge, but you refused to stop building when I came the other time"

Kaiza hadn't known that, it probably was on one of his free days. He clenched his fist and took a step forward "Well the answer is the same! We need this bridge! Is for the good of the people, we won't let you do as you please anymore!"

Gatou frowned when the wave men started to murmur and nod in agreement, taking whatever tool they could use as a weapon to defend themselves. He only had seven people with him and while two of them had some ninja training, they weren't that strong. He didn't expect much of a fight after all. "Kill that man, we will make an example out of him" he whispered to one of the ninjas, his eyes never leaving Kaiza's form.

"For once you said something intelligent" Tazuna said with a smirk, but it was quickly replaced by a frown "Where is Naruto?"

Kaiza felt his blood freeze, he had left the child by himself, and he could only pray Naruto would stay out of the fight. Before he could answer Gatou's men were charging at them, swords ready to spill blood. After that Kaiza had to use all his concentration to keep himself alive, but it was no use, before long two thugs had him between them, holding his arms behind him.

"Kaiza!" He heard his name yelled by some of his friends, but they were kept back by the remaining thugs, so far no one had died at least.

"I will show you know what happened to those who defy me!" Gatou said, standing before Kaiza. The younger man growled and tried in vain to get free.

Tazuna watched in fear as one of the thugs offered Gatou a sword, the fat man accepted it with glee and pointed it at Kaiza, who stilled when the tip cut his cheek.

"Let's start by your arms shall we?" Gatou said raising the sword above his head.

Kaiza's eyes widened, his heart was beating a mile a minute. –I'm going to die- He thought despondently, watching as if in slow motion the sword going down –Naruto, Inari - A sardonic smile appeared on his face as he closed his eyes and resigned to his fate –Tsunami, I'm sorry"

"Naruto!" Tazuna screamed. Kaiza's eyes snapped open and his jaw almost hit the ground at what he saw. Gatou was clutching the side of his face, a bloodied rock near him on the ground. But the focus of his astonishment was the young boy he considered family. Naruto had his arm still stretched out, his blue eyes showing his determination.

Before anyone could react Naruto was rushing to the sword Gatou had dropped in his haste to grave the side of his head that was heavily bleeding after being hit by the rock. Kaiza watched with disbelieving eyes as Naruto expertly used the weapon and made to cut the people holding him, they quickly let go to avoid being hurt.

"I won't let you hurt my precious family dattebayo!" Naruto yelled, pointing the sword to the still moaning Gatou who fell to his knees, not used to being harmed in any way. The two men who had been holding Kaiza moved to stand behind the fat man, eyeing the sword on Naruto's hands nervously. If the situation wasn't so grave Kaiza would have laughed.

Gatou took his hands away from his head, barely noticing that his dark glasses were broken, his attention was on the blood that now stained his hands, his blood.

"You will pay for this!" he screeched at Naruto "Get him!"


Outside he looked more or less calm, but inside his thoughts were racing. Naruto barely managed to avoid his hands from shaking, he dared to look behind him, Kaiza was still on his knees looking at him as if he had grown another head. "Don't worry, I won't let him harm you"

Naruto bit his lip, he was almost too late to save Kaiza and that thought scared him. He mentally cursed his young body and lack of chakra.

"I will like to see you try!" And with that both sides started to fight again.

They were at a stalemate. While they had the number advantage Gatou had more experienced fighter and proper weapons. So far they had managed to avoid death but Naruto knew It wouldn't stay that way for long. A startled yell caught his attention and he turned just in time to see Tazuna fall to a wound to his shoulder, men around him in similar state or worst and the ninja responsible had a kunai in hand ready to stab the old man.

"No you don't" Naruto mumbled, quickly dodging the three men that were trying to get a hold of him. Naruto threw his sword as hard as he could at Gatou's ninja. A relieved smile appeared on his face when the sword hit true and the ninja went down with a scream but his relief was short-lived, the other ninja seeing that his companion was down threw himself at Naruto with renewed vengeance.

Naruto had trained and he had the memories but it wasn't enough to go against four men, one of them being a ninja, a weak one but a ninja nonetheless. Without a weapon the Konoha Shinobi had no chance and a hard punch to his stomach had him in the ground trying to regain his breath.

"Naruto!" He heard Kaiza scream as someone lifted him by a handful of his hair. He opened on eye to stare at the smug bloodied face of Gatou, his young hands still gripping his bruised mid-section as his feet dangled from the ground.

"You got hold of quite a kid Tazuna" The old man clenched his fist and refused to rise to the taunt, trying to kill Gatou with his glare alone.

Gatou laughed and signaled his man to let go of the young blond. Naruto fell painfully and weakly tried to get his knees and arms underneath him. But before he could someone put their foot on his back, not letting him get up.

"Let him go!" Kaiza said trying to get free from the two constructors holding him back from rushing head first against the armed men.

"This is your fault" Gatou said, still holding Naruto down, putting more weight on Naruto, making the young boy yelp.

"Don't listen to him Kaiza" One of the men holding him back hissed in his ear.

"None of this would have happened if you agreed to my terms" Kaiza put his head down in shame and clenched his eyes shut in guilt. He got himself out of the now slack grip, looking at the pained grimace on his little brother's face.

"We will do as you say" Kaiza said resignedly. People around him weren't happy but they couldn't bring themselves to sacrifice a small child, especially one who bought so much joy to their lives with his sunny personality and easy smile.

"At least one of you is clever" Gatou commented as he took in the defeated postures of people in front of him "I think I will keep the boy" he drawled, letting one of his minion tie the boy up. He enjoyed the look of surprise and helplessness "You know, as an assurance that this won't be built behind my back once I am gone"

"Let me go you sick bastard! One of the countries will know about this and send ninja to kick your ass!"

Sharp pain in his cheek made Naruto stop talking, he glared up at Gatou who just slapped him "They only help those with money, and this village does not have any, I have been making sure of that. Just give up boy" he commented.

"Damnit!" Kaiza hissed, with Naruto in their hands they couldn't do anything. He could see it in the other's eyes. They didn't want the small boy be harmed because of them.

"Take me instead then" Tazuna said suddenly, with a frown "If you need assurance then let the boy go" Kaiza gaped at the words and looked at Tazuna in a new light. He knew that the old man had it in him. Ignoring the protest around him he took a step forward "No, take me"

As if something had been broken, people all around started offer their own selves instead of Naruto. The Kyuubi holder had to fight to keep the tears back. But the moment was interrupted when Gatou put a knife to his throat, silence was instantaneous.

"No, I'm taking the boy, don't think I have forgotten what he did to my beautiful face. So if you want him to continue living you will do as I say!"

Gatou could feel blood and sweat run down his temple, his men were tired and if the constructors all rallied again against them again, they would lose. Fortunately he still had the upper hand with the child in his grasp. He nodded to the thug holding the kid and they slowly began to retreat. Unfortunately for him he wasn't dealing with a normal brat but with one special Naruto Uzumaki.

"Don't listen to him Kaiza!" Naruto yelled uncaring of the knife at his throat "I will get free of them and come back. And I expect the bridge to be finished by then dattebayo!"

"Gag him!"

"Is a promise!" Naruto shouted, evading as he could the hands that tried to silence him "And I never go back in my word! That's my –mghb" Naruto glared hatefully at the people who didn't let him finish. He managed to give the hopeless looking Kaiza a last encouraging look before a hit on the back of his head made him black out. At least Naruto found happiness in the knowledge that he avoided Kaiza's death.


Naruto woke up later when his sore stomach was jarred painfully against the bony shoulder that carried him. He opened his eyes blearily but something was obstructing his vision, a blindfold most likely. At least he didn't have a gag anymore. His arms were tied behind him as well. Unfortunately his consciousness was noticed by his captors and before he knew it, Naruto was thrown painfully to the ground. A small exclamation of pain escaped him, much to his captors' entertainment.

They were probably taking Naruto to one of Gatou's bases even if he couldn't feel the man's presence anymore. With care he started to reach a small knife he still had strapped to his right arm. They would soon see what happens when they underestimate him.


Asuma sighed and wished he could take out one of his cigarettes. He glanced at the pair of Chuunin he got stuck on for this mission. Kurenai would kill him if he stated smoking in her presence. At least right now she was too busy bickering with Aoba.

"I can't wait to be a Jounin, that way we won't take any more boring C missions from these old geezers!" Aoba commented with a yawn, he put his hands behind his brown spiky hair, it looked so much like Kakashi's but instead of a mask the young man had dark lenses.

"It's part of being a shinobi" Kurenai said reproachful, giving Aoba one of her glares. She easily ignoring the part of her that wanted to become a Jounin as well "And you shouldn't be disrespectful to our client, is unbecoming"

Asuma wondered if he should tell them that the Hokage wanted to promote them already, hearing Aoba antagonize Kurenai again made him thought against it. Kurenai was mature enough to hear the news but Aoba wasn't ready yet and would end up ruining the whole thing.

They were on their way back to Konoha after being bodyguards to a small caravan that was going to the Wind country. It had been tedious and their clients annoying but they paid enough for this to be considered a B mission.

Something in the atmosphere made him stop, immediately the two ninjas that were behind him stopped as well, waiting for him to inform them of the situation. Asuma unnecessary raised a hand to hold their questions, as both shinobi were waiting patiently.

Asuma could hear a group of people approaching them. A few hand signs later had the three shinobi hidden around the main road, patiently waiting for the possible threat.

Kurenai leaned against the tree, worrying her bottom lip as she prepared herself for the worst case scenario, enemy shinobi. Fortunately a few minutes later a small group of bandits appeared in her visions, she relaxed slightly and waited for Asuma to give a signal.

"Our guest is awake" one of them said. Kurenai narrowed her eyes when said bandit threw the thing he had over his shoulder onto the flour, her eyes widened when she realized it was a person "Should I knock him out again?"

"You are too much of a coward to fight me! I will kick your ass when I get out of this rope!" They were harming a child, the thought made Kurenai's blood boil. The blond couldn't be older than nine or ten years old. Her hand went to the pouch strapped to her leg, quietly taking out her shuriken.

"Shut up brat!" The man shouted, backhanding the kid back to the ground "The boss only wants you alive not unharmed so if I were you I would be careful with that mouth"

"Good thing you are not me then! I wouldn't want to be so stupid!" Naruto said back, ignoring the ache of his cheek and standing up again, it was difficult because he couldn't use his arms but he was stubborn enough to keep trying.

"You little-"The man raised his hand to hit the child again, but before the fist could connect a form appeared between them "That's enough!" To Kurenai's surprise Aoba got in between the man's raised fist and the child's form. She heard Asuma curse from her side as the bandits quickly got over their surprise and attacked Aoba. Both of them got into the fight to back up their teammate. Unfortunately one of the bandits was quick enough to take hold of Naruto and put a sword to his throat.

"Cowards" Aoba hissed, retreating when the man threatened to harm the child.

"They are Konoha shinobi! We need to get out of here!" One of them stated, fear in his voice "Stop acting like a girl, we have the advantage here" said the man with a smirk, harshly moving Naruto to have a better hold of him, knife positioned at his throat. Naruto tried to escape but the sword nipped his throat, letting a thin line of blood drip down to his collar bone.

"This child was taken from Konoha" The man bluffed, relaxing a bit when the Leaf shinobi stiffened, they had believed him "From what I know, your village treasures their children" the man drawled on, making his opponents more furious "Shall we test the veracity of that?!"

"Let the boy go and your punishment won't be so severe" The red eyed Kunoishi said. The man laughed in response "Are you joking?" He asked before suddenly turning serious, they couldn't fight and hope to win, not when the ninjas they used to have on the group went with Gatou, well the remaining one seeing as the blond in his hands injured the other one.

Naruto's eyes widened when he felt the killing intent of the man, as if in slow motion he saw the blade get closer and closer to his vulnerable flesh. As if on autopilot he felt the rope tying him up give, without wasting time he elbowed the man. Sharp pain in his throat let him know he wasn't fast enough even If he avoided the worst of the man as he tried to slit Naruto's throat.

Absentmindedly the blond heard yells around him but he was more focused on putting both hands on his throat to avoid bleeding out to death. Without hesitation he threw himself to the side and reached for the chakra Kyuubi had put aside for his use. This was definitely an emergency.

The group of bandits was now without a hostage and that was all the group of shinobi in front of them needed. In a flash the battle started again, Naruto did his best to stay out of the way.


Asuma was surprised. The kid had not given up even in his situation, if what the man said was true, the kid would be a good addition to Konoha ranks. He dared a glance at said kid, noticing with a sense of urgency that he was bleeding way too much.

-He didn't get out of that hold unscathed- He thought. They needed to give him medical attention fast, with that he renewed his efforts to subdue the group of bandits. But his distraction cost him, before he knew it a Kunai was going the kid's way. While it wouldn't hurt any of them physically, it would be a hard blow to their morale, something that could give them the chance to escape.

But to his astonishment the kid used a small knife to deflect the weapon. –Probably what he used to cut the ropes-

"That kid..." He mumbled, using his enemy's own distraction to end the fight quickly with his wind enchanted blade. His gaze traveled to the kid who was slumped against the tree. The blond had gotten paler and from his position he could see that the small child was trembling as he tried to stop the blood. This was bad.

"Kurenai!" He yelled, the genjutsu mistress nodded and quickly dispatched her opponent before running to knelt besides the injured boy, her hands shook slightly at the amount of blood. She cursed herself for her weakness. If only she knew at least some medical jutsu she would be able to help the young boy.

Quickly she took out bandages from her pouch and with care replaced that to place pressure on the wound. "Don't worry, everything will be alright" She tried to reassure, doing her best to stop the tears from escaping her eyes. It just wasn't fair. Absentmindedly she heard her two teammates finish up and come to her side, kneeling at both sides of her.

"Is he…"Aoba started hesitantly, raising a hand to take the blindfold off the kid, revealing pained blue eyes. Asuma's own widened when they finally had a good view of the boy's face, it was familiar. He was one of the few who knew of the Yondaime's lost son, and this kid resembled the man too much to be coincidence.

The kid give each of them a long look before his eyes started to close, going limp as his body shut down.

"Kid! Come one little guy, don't go to sleep-" Asuma stopped Aoba from continuing, his gaze firmly in the boy's still moving chest.

"Impossible" Kurenai breathed, coming to the same realization as Asuma "He is still breathing, he just fell asleep, the wound is not killing him"

"What? But that cut should be fatal!" Aoba exclaimed, looking at the kid with astonishment.

Asuma hummed in thought before standing up "Bandage that Kurenai, we will take him with us for medical attention"

The red eyed kunoichi nodded and took care of the wound, with Asuma's help they got the kid on Aoba's back "Be careful Aoba, slow movements"

"Don't worry Kurenai, I won't let anything else harm the kid on my watch!" Aoba said and started a careful pace back to the Konoha leaving his two pleasantly surprised teammates behind.

"He matured?" Kurenai asked herself, she shook her head and followed Aoba, leaving Asuma to take care of the bandits. The son of the Sandaime sighed and looked back at the mess "That kid is special all right" he mumbled to himself, without doing much the young boy managed to change the three of them, and for the best. It seems Aoba really was ready to be a Jounin.

"Oh well, time to clean up"


Hope I didn't miss any question from the reviews. Thanks again everyone for the support and I hope you liked the chapter.