--Mindscape--
"Really..."
"And people called me a reckless fighter when I was a chunnin..."
Naruto was laying on a grassy field with Megami and Minato. Granted, there was a cage around Megami, but she enjoyed the sunshine nonetheless.
"You let that boy sever your respiratory muscles," Megami muttered, sitting up and looking down at Naruto. "Do you have any idea how close we came to dying?"
"I have a pretty good idea of that, yeah," Naruto said with a nod. "This was, what, my third real shinobi battle? I think I did pretty good."
"I have to agree," Minato said as he stared up at the sky. "I mean, he won, right? He could've done so without sustaining so many injuries, but at least he won, and didn't die. Stop talking about how he could've died..."
"Let's learn from the past, not dwell on it," Naruto said, waving Megami off, making her bristle as she grabbed the bars of the cage, glaring heatedly at the two blonds.
"Easy for you to say!" she roared, flaring her killer intent. Of course, this would have been impressive, had the two not experienced it over and over during the last three days. "You guys are not the ones who has to work on healing this damn injury-prone body! Do you have any idea how much I have to concentrate in order to heal these injuries?! I'm doing it for you, you know!"
Naruto sat up and stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "You realize that you're not fooling me, right?" he asked, a smirk appearing on his face. "You heal my body just as much for yourself as you do it for me. If there was no risk of you dying as well, you'd let me stay injured, if only to teach me a lesson." Megami huffed and crossed her arms, but didn't respond. Naruto's smirk widened. "Am I right?"
"Careful, son," Minato said as he slung an arm around Naruto's shoulders, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Remember, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Especially if said woman has the power to destroy mountains without even trying."
Naruto chuckled as he stood up. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I need to get some rest. Considering that we're still here, the battle went well. So, I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you guys later."
"Later," Minato said with a wave as Naruto vanished from the mindscape. "He'll go far, won't he?"
"I have no doubts about that," Megami said with a smile as she stared at the spot where Naruto had been. She sighed. "If only I wasn't stuck in here, I would-"
"Not this again!"
Megami grinned.
--Two days later--
"Eh..." Naruto was sitting in a bar with his team, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune, staring at the busty blond sitting across from him. "Godaime... Hokage..."
Tsunade smiled, nodding. Naruto crossed his arms, sighing.
"So, starting today, you're gonna become the Godaime Hokage, eh?"
Jiraiya glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem pleased, Naruto."
"Well, no offense to you, Baa-chan," Naruto said and looked at Jiraiya, "but compared to the Sandaime and the Yondaime, she's not exactly a good candidate for Hokage, is she? She's rough, selfish, loose with money, and easily pissed off. A Hokage is supposed to be able to stay calm in any situation regardless what's going on, and I'm just not sure she can do it."
Tsunade twitched and shot forward, grabbing Naruto's collar. "Let's take this outside, brat!"
"I rest my case," Naruto said with a smirk, making her twitch again.
"Same as last time..." Shikamaru mumbled as everyone got up and headed outside.
"I've got 100 ryou on Tsunade-sama," Kiba said, smirking. "Any takers?"
There was none.
Naruto and Tsunade stared each other down, Naruto smirking. "You're lucky I'm still recovering, Baa-chan," Naruto said, clenching his left fist. "My movements aren't what they should be, and using the Hiraishin is out of the question. I guess, like this, you'll be a good warm-up."
Tsunade twitched. "Underestimating me, brat?" she asked as she held up her hand, extending a finger. "All I need against you is just one finger."
Naruto grinned and charged forward at an impressive speed, making Tsunade's eyes widen. Naruto got ready to punch her, but suddenly went wide-eyed when his right leg froze. 'Oh, shit!'
Before he could recover, Tsunade had knocked off his hitai-ate with her finger, and came at him as if she was about to finger flick his forehead. Naruto closed his eyes, awaiting the hit, but was surprised when it didn't come. Instead, he felt something soft pressed against his forehead, and opened his eyes, to see her kissing him on the forehead, making him blush slightly.
As she pulled back, Tsunade smiled at him, taking off her necklace and tying it around Naruto's neck. "Become a good man."
Naruto blinked, but then grinned, holding out his hand and catching his hitai-ate, just as it came falling from out of the sky. "Got it," he said as he put on the hitai-ate.
Then, he realized something, and turned to Kakashi. "Oh, Kakashi-sensei! This is pretty unusual, isn't it?"
Kakashi blinked. "What are you talking about, Naruto?"
"I mean, we've been through a tough battle, and you're not bedridden."
Shikamaru and Kiba went wide-eyed in realization, and looked at their sensei. "Hey, you're right," Kiba said, scratching his head. "That's pretty unusual."
Kakashi's shoulders slumped. "Is that what you guys think of me? Right now, I'm... truly... shocked!"
"You seem to have taken one hell of a beating as well, Naruto-kun," came a voice from an alley by the bar. They all turned to see a robed figure, his whole body wrapped in bandages. "Your movements are sluggish."
"You took me for one hell of a rodeo," Naruto said, smiling. "It's only natural that I'm like this."
"Naruto," Kakashi said. "Do you know him?"
"Yeah," Naruto said, nodding, as the stranger removed his bandages, and took a pair of glasses out of his robes. "He's my spy with Orochimaru, Yakushi Kabuto."
Everyone went wide-eyed when they heard that, and saw the stranger, who was quite clearly Kabuto.
"I apologize for manhandling you all so roughly," Kabuto said, smiling. "But I had to keep up appearances around Orochimaru. Naruto knew that, which was why he didn't hold back during the fight, and decided to put me on a diet."
Naruto stared at Kabuto, sweatdropping. "That's a strange thing to call a hole in your gut."
"What the hell is this?" Jiraiya demanded.
"Kabuto here is the unofficial spy in Otogakure no Sato," Naruto explained. "If he's not written down in any of the books, there's no way he's going to get found out."
"Seems you have taken some of my lessons to heart after all," Jiraiya said, suddenly smiling. "I would never hand thought that he might've been a spy."
"As pleasant as this is, I don't have much time," Kabuto said as he put on the bandages on his face again. He reached into his robe and took out a scroll, throwing it to Naruto, who caught it. "Naruto-kun, this is all I've managed to gather on Orochimaru's immortality jutsu. The time draws nearer."
With that said, Kabuto vanished.
"What did he mean by that?" Shikamaru asked as Naruto read through the scroll.
"Apparently, Orochimaru switches bodies. Meaning, he transfers his soul to another body in order to live longer. However, he can only do this once every three years. The time for switching bodies must be drawing nearer," Naruto explained as he read through the scroll. "According to this, the only ones he can take over are..." His eyes widened. "The only ones are those with a Cursed Seal..."
"Sasuke," Shikamaru said, getting a nod from Naruto.
"We should hurry back to the village as quickly as possible," Jiraiya said, and Kakashi nodded, along with Tsunade. "We never know when Orochimaru will make his move."
--Five days later--
"Man, there's nothing better than some male bonding after battling one of the Sannin," Kiba mumbled as he, Naruto and Shikamaru were in the hot springs of Konoha, just relaxing. Naruto looked at Kiba strangely.
"When did you battle a Sannin?" he asked, scratching his head. "As far as I remember, we fought Kabuto, not Orochimaru."
"It's the same thing," Kiba said with a shrug, getting a yip of agreement from Akamaru, who was laying on his head.
"As much as I hate to admit it, it's not," Naruto said, sighing. "Had we fought Orochimaru, instead of Kimimaro and Kabuto, we would've gotten slaughtered... We need to step up our training. We have to improve our Naru-Kiba-Shika teamwork."
"But not now," Kiba said as he grinned, leaning back and closing his eyes. "Right now, we relax."
"Yeah."
The three just sat there in silence for a few minutes, before hearing voices.
"Hey, Asuma-sensei, why are we here?" It was Akimichi Chouji, who was being lead into he hot springs, along with Shino, by Asuma, who chuckled as they got in.
"It's called male bonding, Chouji. Don't try to understand it. It's something that just happens."
"Listen to him, Chouji," Shikamaru said suddenly, making his presence known. "Naruto, Kiba and I come here all the time, and somehow, we understand each other better."
"Male bonding is something that happens on a subconscious level," Shino said in his usual monotone. No one could really see him through the steam, as it was very thick, and he was sitting at the other end of the hot spring. "It's impossible to understand it."
"Just like women," Naruto said, getting a snicker from Kiba.
"Oh, Naruto, I heard you guys brought back Tsunade-sama."
"Yeah," Naruto said, grinning. "We kicked some ass, too. Orochimaru's cronies were nothing against us."
"If Orochimaru wants to kill us, he'll have to do it himself," Kiba said confidently, getting nods from his teammates.
"That's good. You guys are growing."
"I'm the son of the Yondaime," Naruto said, shrugging. "I have to grow strong, or I'll be the disappointment of the Yondaime." Naruto saw that some were about to argue, and held up his hand. "I know that's probably not true, but thinking like that keeps me motivated. I wanna make my dad proud of me."
Asuma smiled and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I'm pretty sure he is."
'I know he is,' Naruto thought with a smile, but then realized something. "Ah! The two feet rule!"
Asuma looked down, and noticed this, quickly scooting away from Naruto. "S-Sorry."
"Two feet rule?" Shino asked curiously.
"Listen well, Shino," Kiba said, holding up to fingers. "The two feet rule is a must in a all nude setting. Any male is not allowed to be within two feet of another male. That's the border between male bonding and gay."
"A rule set forth by Jiraiya-sama," Asuma said as everyone, save for Shino, put their hand on their heart.
"Amen," they spoke in unison.
True male bonding.
Suddenly, Asuma perked up, and a smirk slowly appeared on his face. "Of course, there was another reason why we came to the hot springs today," he said as voices were heard... female voices. Naruto, Shikamaru and Kiba grinned.
"Mixed bath day," they whispered together as they all quieted down. Of course, it didn't do much, since they could hardly see through the steam. Kiba, however, noticed that Naruto had activated his eye.
'Lucky bastard...'
However, Naruto was not a lucky bastard, and he quickly turned off his eye, cringing.
"Who's coming?" Asuma whispered, and Naruto shuddered.
"Anko-san, Kurenai, Hinata... and my kaa-san and imouto..." Naruto muttered, shuddering again.
An excited squeal was heard. "Nyaa~! There's nothing like a good soak in the hot springs on a day like this!" came Anko's voice through the steam. "Especially when you have dango and sake as well."
"Sake this early, Anko-sensei?" came Taki's voice, making Naruto raise an eyebrow. "Is that good?"
"It's not problem!" Anko said as the men heard people sit down in the hot springs. "We have something to celebrate, after all! We have a Godaime Hokage!"
"Kushina," came Kurenai's voice as well. "I heard Naruto's team brought her back."
"Yeah..."
Naruto didn't have to see her to know that his mother was depressed.
"That Naruto brat," Anko said, scoffing. "I hear he's getting pretty strong."
Naruto let out a triumphant laugh, making the women jump in surprise. "First, I get a kiss from Tsunade, granted, it was on the forehead, and then I become the hot springs gossip! I must be getting pretty popular."
"Kurenai-sensei," Kiba said, his tone indicating that he was grinning. "Aren't you a ninja? Shouldn't you first check to see if anyone is in here before you start talking about someone behind their back."
"T-There are men here!" Taki exclaimed in shock.
"No shit," Shikamaru muttered. "It's mixed bathing day today. Didn't you read the sign?"
"Sign?" Kurenai asked, followed by silence. Then came Anko's nervous laughter.
"I wasn't supposed to take that down?" she asked in a mischievous tone of voice.
"A-Anko-sensei!" Taki yelled, while Chouji looked at Asuma.
"Asuma-sensei, are women always this noisy in the hot springs?"
"Who knows, Chouji?" Asuma said with a shrug. "Women are hard to understand."
"Female bonding, perhaps?" Shino asked quietly.
Naruto suddenly stiffened, and he slowly turned to glare at Kiba. "Oi, Kiba... Two... feet... rule..."
Kiba looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"That's not your hand on my thigh?"
"No..."
Naruto reached under the water and nodded. "Right... That's a foot..."
"Oh!" Anko said in a fake surprised voice. "Sorry, sorry. I slipped."
"Naruto..."
Naruto looked in the direction where his mother's voice had come through the mist. "Kushina-san, keep in mind that we are both currently naked. Are you sure you want to have a conversation here?"
"Why not?" Kiba asked, never one to be embarrassed in any situation. "In here, all your secrets are exposed, in manner of speaking."
"Very well," Naruto said, leaning back as he gazed into the steam. "What do you want?"
"I want to apologize," Kushina said, only to be met by silence as Kiba and Naruto stared at each other, bursting into laughter a few seconds later. Hell, even Shikamaru snickered at that.
Once he calmed down enough, Naruto wiped the tears of mirth out of his eyes. "Thought of a good apology, did you? Cause 'Sorry' ain't gonna cut it, I'm afraid. It won't make up for abandoning me, leaving me at the mercy of the villagers."
"Hey!" Anko growled. "You're being a dick!"
"I think I have the right to be," Naruto said calmly, while Asuma scooted away from Naruto, opting to not take any sides. "Kiba, can I borrow your claws for a moment?"
"What for?"
"I want to show her just what gives me the right to be a dick, and I don't have a kunai nearby, do you?"
At this point, you could cut the tension with a knife, and the steam cleared enough so you could actually see the other side of the hot springs. Naruto was looking straight into Kushina's eyes.
"He's here, you know," Naruto said, getting confused looks from everyone. "Tou-san, I mean. During the sealing, he placed his consciousness and a piece of his soul in the seal itself. He's seen everything that's happened in my life through my eyes. Did you know that?"
At this point, Kurenai, Kushina and Taki looked like someone had stabbed them with a kunai, while everyone else just looked like someone had just slugged them in the face. Naruto turned to Kiba, hearing Megami's voice in his head.
"Never mind, Kiba, I don't need the claws," he said as he grabbed his left arm, just as the skin by his shoulder tore, and he easily ripped the skin on his arm off, getting a shriek of fright from Taki and Hinata when they saw his bionic limb, while Kurenai looked horrified. "This is what gives me the right to be a dick."
Kiba didn't really care about the talk they were having. Instead, he was just staring at the arm. "Hey, Naruto... There's not blood..."
"Nah, I decided that, even though it looks more life-like, having blood where it's not needed is a pain."
"Nii-chan," Taki whispered, getting a look from Naruto. It wasn't quite a glare, but it was enough to make her cringe.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't call me that. You two may be family, but in blood only."
"Naruto-"
"I'm out," Naruto said as he stood up suddenly, Kushina, Taki and Kurenai blushing. Hinata was so red, she looked about ready to pass out. Anko, however, had a perverted grin and blush on her face. "Kiba, Shika, training tomorrow at six, yeah?"
"Roger," Kiba said, nodding, while Shikamaru just sighed, which Naruto took as a yes.
Once Naruto had gotten his clothes back on and left the hot springs, he used a quick Shunshin no Jutsu to get to the top of the Hokage Monument, sitting down on the Sandaime's head.
"You don't think you went a little too far, Naruto?" came Minato's voice, making his eyes widen. Apparently, Minato had found a way to communicate through his thoughts as well.
'You don't approve?'
"Oh, I approve. Don't get me wrong, I love Kushina, and Taki, with all my heart, but I admit that they deserve to know the repercussions of their leaving. Of course, Taki can't be blamed too much. After all, Kushina raised her to believe that you were a demon."
"Is this spot taken?"
Naruto jumped slightly, and turned to see Kakashi standing behind him, for once not reading his Icha.
"Go right ahead," Naruto said, getting a nod from Kakashi, who sat down and looked over the village.
"Something seems to be troubling you."
"I'm that easy to read?"
"Not really. It's just that, the only times you come up here is if you want to think about something, or if something's troubling you," Kakashi said, giving Naruto an eye-smile.
Naruto smiled, then looked over the village again. "It's just that, I met my mom and Taki today, and I kinda chewed them out. Something is bothering me about it..."
"And that is?"
"Well, she's my mom, you know? All my life, I've wanted a mom, and now that I've found her, I hate her guts. All I wanna do is just call her Kaa-san, and give her a hug, but the abandonment is still there. She thought I was a demon up until a couple of weeks ago."
Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. "Things like that leaves deep wounds on a man," he said quietly as he gazed down at the village sadly. Then, he turned to Naruto and gave him another eye-smile. "But don't worry, Naruto. Time heals all wounds, as they say. Just give it time. You don't have to decide right now whether you want to forgive Kushina-nee or not. However, I think you should give Taki a chance. After all, it was just the way she was raised. Kushina-nee chose to abandon you. Taki didn't."
Naruto decided to lay down, staring up at the sky, which had been dyed orange by the setting sun. "I guess."
"Don't dwell on it too much, okay?"
"You got it, sensei," Naruto said with a smile, which Kakashi mirrored. Then, he noticed something.
"Oh, you dyed your hair?"
Naruto blinked. "Say what?"
"Your hair," Kakashi explained. "It's blond again. Only the spikes are orange now."
Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Hm, Tou-san must have pressured Megami to do it."
Kakashi blinked, copying Naruto's earlier response. "Say what?"
"Oh, right, you weren't in the hot springs when I told them," Naruto said and sat up. "Tou-san is sealed in me as well." Kakashi gaped, which made Naruto smile. "During the sealing, he placed his consciousness and a piece of his soul in the seal. He asked me to tell you that he was proud of your growth, but, and I quote, 'you're a grown man, lose the mask for Kami's sake.'"
Kakashi laughed at that. Minato had always been on his case about the mask. He said that Kakashi shouldn't be shy and hide his face. But Kakashi was not shy, damn it!
"That sounds like something sensei would say," Kakashi said as he got up. "Well, I hope you sort this whole thing out, Naruto. By the way, I recommended your for a jounin promotion. Later!"
With that, Kakashi disappeared, leaving a wide-eyed Naruto.
"Say what?!"
--The next day--
Naruto was standing in front of Sarutobi's old desk, which was now Tsunade's desk. The busty Hokage sat behind it, looking over a report.
"IQ test... Speed, strength and stamina... excellent..." Tsunade mumbled to herself as she stared down at the report. "Nin- and Taijutsu are also excellent. Average Genjutsu..." She hummed and set the paper down. "The elders all agree that you have the skills to be a jounin. However, you don't have enough experience. Before you can become a jounin, you will have to complete more A- and S-rank missions."
"Well, it's not like I'm in a rush to become a jounin," Naruto said, shrugging. "What are the odds of 12-year olds accepting the teachings of a 13-year old? I'll probably wait until I'm at least-"
The door to Tsunade's office opened, and Anko came walking in, Taki following closely. Taki's eyes widened when she spotted Naruto, who glanced back at her, making eye contact.
Anko looked between the two for a couple of seconds, remembering the meeting in the hot springs, but was broken from her thoughts by Tsunade's voice.
"Knock first, Anko. I've told you that several times now," she muttered as she rubbed her temples. "What do you want?"
"I came to request to take Taki as my official apprentice."
Tsunade nodded. "Naruto and I were almost done, anyway. Now, what were you saying, Naruto?"
Naruto broke his eye contact with Taki and looked to Tsunade again. "Like I said, I wanna wait until I'm at least 16. This way, I can train some more and get more experience. Besides, Kiba would never stop sulking if I became a jounin before he even became chunnin."
Tsunade nodded. "Jiraiya has talked about making you his official apprentice and taking you on a training trip. I think he wants some more one-on-one training with you. Now is as good a time as any, don't you think?"
Naruto nodded. "Will that be all?"
"That's all," Tsunade said with a nod, which Naruto returned, before walking off. However, he stopped when he reached his sister, glancing at her.
"Taki," he said, making her jump in surprise.
"Y-Yes?"
"Do you like dango?" Tsunade smiled at that. "Come on, I'm buying."
Taki blinked. "Uh, s-sure," she said as she looked up at Anko, who gestured for her to go.
--15 minutes later--
Taki was feeling very uncomfortable as she sat at a table outside Konoha's dango shop, sitting across from her brother, who was chewing on a dango stick, not really looking at her. They'd been sitting in silence for a while now, just eating their dango, and Taki was feeling more and more uncomfortable.
"So..." Taki started lamely, trying to think of something to say. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I've been treating you unfairly," Naruto said calmly as he looked into Taki's eyes. "I've been acting resentful to you for believing something you've no doubt been told from the moment you could understand words. That was unfair of me. Believe me, I'm happy to have a sister. I really am. It was just very hard for me to talk to someone who treated me like I was a demon," he said, making Taki wince at that. "And I'm sorry."
"I-It's no problem, really," Taki said as she played with a dango stick. "In fact, I'm the one who should be apologizing."
"It's useless to apologize to me. Unless the crimes committed against me are very severe, I don't like to dwell on the past," Naruto said with a shrug. "It comes with being the village's scapegoat." He noticed that Taki winced, and sighed. "I shouldn't have brought that up, right?"
"It's okay," Taki said as she smiled. "So... Going to be a jounin, huh?"
Naruto smiled.
The two spent the day talking, Naruto regaling her with a couple of his tales, about his mission to Wave, about breaking the record in the Forest of Death, about the invasion, and about his latest mission to bring back Tsunade, where he dealt a massive blow to Orochimaru by taking out his strongest fighter.
When asked about the gold Konoha plate on his shoulder, he explained what it was, which left Taki staring at it in awe.
Then, the conversation turned to Taki, about how she grew up. She informed him that they traveled a lot, to keep out of Konoha's sights, since Kushina hadn't wanted anything to do with that village.
When they were both done, the sun had started setting, and they were walking through the village, towards the graveyard.
"This is nice," Taki said with a smile. "You know, to have a brother, I mean."
"But it's gonna be a pain for the both of us," Naruto said, making Taki raise an eyebrow. "I mean, you're gonna start dating, and I'll have to go through the whole overprotective brother routine, and you'll get pissed when I chase away your dates with death threats of the goriest fashion."
Taki laughed at that. There were times when growing up when she actually wished for that.
"Ne, Nii-san," Taki said quietly as they walked into the cemetery. "Are you going to talk to Kaa-san?"
Naruto stayed silent for a few seconds as they walked towards the large statue at the end of the cemetery. It was a stone statue, which depicted a large flame, with a plaque below it that read, 'Hokage.'
"I don't know," Naruto said finally, sighing. "You, I had no problem talking to, since you were raised to believe what you believed. However, she knew how skilled Tou-san was at sealing, and she hardly even looked at me to see if I was a demon or not, considering that she left on the very same day that the Kyuubi was sealed in me," he said as they reached the monument. He stared at it for a few seconds, before speaking again. "She hurt me, imouto. It will take some time for those wounds to heal."
Taki sighed, but smiled anyway. "I understand, Nii-san. Well, I should probably go home before it gets dark," she said as she turned to leave. "I hope we'll see each other soon, Nii-san."
"Yeah. I'll see you around," Naruto said, waving at Taki as she walked away. He stood there for a while, staring at the monument, before tensing up. Quickly, he rushed around the monument and crouched down as two people approached it.
"-but isn't it weird, coming here to pay respect to a man who's not really dead?" came Sarutobi's voice. "I mean, he's still alive inside Naruto."
"Naruto won't even look at me if he has a choice," came the voice of none other than Kushina.
Sarutobi hummed as they reached the monument. "Well, you were, and you'll have to forgive my choice of words, a piss poor mother to him, after all."
Naruto nearly snorted at Sarutobi's lack of tact, and he could almost feel Kushina's glare.
"You don't think I'm suffering enough or something?" she asked. "You have to rub it in?"
"Well, I'm not the acting Hokage anymore, and I haven't been able to act like this for years, so yeah, I have to rub it in."
"You're a cold old man..." Kushina muttered, but Naruto could hear that she had a smile on her face.
The two stood in silence for a while, before Sarutobi spoke. "Kushina-chan, just give Naruto time."
"But I... I wanna be there for him... I want to make up for what I've done," Kushina whispered sadly. "He... He showed me just what the repercussions of my leaving him was... And I..."
Sarutobi sensed that Kushina was close to breaking down, and patted her on the shoulder, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto was leaning against the monument as he heard Kushina start sobbing, followed by a noise that indicated that she'd collapsed, wailing loudly.
'Ugh, a crying woman...' he muttered in his mind. Slowly, he got up and walked around the monument, looking down at Kushina, who was on her knees, her face buried in her hands. Naruto stared down at her, tilting his head to the side. "What are you doing?"
Kushina jerked in surprise as her head shot up. She stared up at Naruto with wide eyes. "N-Naruto..."
Naruto knelt in front of her, staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "Crying isn't going to make anything better. Trust me, I know," he said, seeing Kushina cringe. Damn, what the hell was up with Kushina and Taki, making that damn jerking motion whenever he mentioned his childhood? It was his childhood that was fucked up, not theirs.
"Naruto..." Kushina whispered, looking down at the ground. "I'm so sorry..."
"I've already forgiven you," Naruto said calmly as he turned away from her, walking away. "It's being around you that I can't stand right now. Maybe some other day." With that, he vanished, leaving a confused Kushina, who was wondering how the hell he could forgive her so quickly.
--The next day--
"Up here again?"
Naruto, sitting on the Sandaime's head, looked back, to see the Sandaime himself walk up to him, no longer wearing the Hokage robes, since he was no longer the acting Hokage. Instead, he'd settled for an outfit that looked a lot like Jiraiya's, only it was dark gray, and he didn't wear the red vest/coat.
Naruto merely grunted as he went back to looking over the village, while Sarutobi sat down next to him.
"Naruto," Sarutobi said with a smile as he puffed on his pipe. "These last few years, I've watched over you, and you've grown into a fine young man. I'm proud of the man you've become."
"But?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.
"But, Kushina is suffering right now. As much as I'd like to see her wallow in grief for what she did to you, I-"
"Save your breath, you old fart," Naruto said, grinning behind his mask. "You're way behind the times on this one. I've already forgiven her. I did it last night in the graveyard after you left."
Sarutobi blinked, surprised that he hadn't sensed the boy, but then smiled. "You're getting better, my boy. I wouldn't be surprised if Tsunade only gets a few years as a Hokage, before you kick her out of the office."
"Don't worry," Naruto said as he looked up at the sky. "I'm not gonna take the office until I'm at least 25." Sarutobi's smile widened, but it disappeared when Naruto spoke again. "Then again, I might have to take it before that. With as much as you smoke, you probably won't even be alive when I'm 25, and I'd like to take it while you're still alive."
Sarutobi huffed. "I'd like to think that I've got at least 15 more years left in me."
"Yeah," Naruto said with a calm smile on his face. "Kami know you could probably beat me into the ground still. Well, maybe you won't take me physically, but when it comes to Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, you'll probably kick my ass. Physically, you'd only beat me if you'd summon Enma."
Sarutobi chuckled and nodded. He had introduced Naruto to Enma when he showed him the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Naruto had been all over the monkey, who'd called him an annoying brat. Naruto, naturally, countered with 'Old turd of monkey crap.' Enma had pounded Naruto into the dirt.
"So, when are you going on your training trip with Jiraiya?"
"In three days," Naruto said as he yawned, stretching. He laid down and put his hands behind his head. "He wants to get as much training done as possible." Sarutobi hummed to himself as he smiled, closing his eyes. Naruto glanced at him. "What're you getting so sentimental for?"
"Oh, just recalling a young buy dressed in orange who screamed for me to buy him ramen," Sarutobi said, getting a scoff from Naruto.
"Annoying little brat, that one."
"He grew up pretty nicely, though," Sarutobi said as he laid down as well. "Wow... This rock it pretty comfortable..."
"I wouldn't take my naps on it if it wasn't."
"True."
"Gonna miss you, old man."
"I'll miss you too, Naruto. I'll have no one to beat at Shogi for three years."
At that, Naruto snapped his fingers. "Oh, by the way, I figured out what you meant," he said, remembering an event from three years ago, when the two had been playing Shogi the first time.
--Flashback--
Sarutobi sat in front of a 10-year old Naruto, who was staring down at the Shogi board in frustration.
"You're too damn good at this, old man," Naruto muttered. "I can't even get one of your pawns without walking into a trap..."
Sarutobi chuckled as he puffed on his pipe. "I'd like to think of the board as Konoha, and the pieces as its inhabitants," he explained as Naruto made his move. Sarutobi had already counted on this, since it was the only move he could make where his piece wouldn't get taken. "I plan everything out in a way that I won't sacrifice anyone, unless it's absolutely necessary."
"We think alike," Naruto said. "But you're just too damn smart for me..."
"Thinking like me, huh?" Sarutobi mumbled as he stared down at the board. "Well then, who's the King?"
Naruto paused, and looked up at Sarutobi with a smile. "That's an easy one! It's the Hokage!"
Sarutobi sighed. "No, Naruto, it's not the Hokage."
"Then who?"
"When you realize that, only then can you truly work on become the Hokage."
"Oh, come on, you old fart! You can't just leave me hanging!"
--Flashback End--
"Well then," Sarutobi said, a bright smile on his face, "who's the King?"
"At first, I always thought the King was the Hokage, but then I realized that, if it was the Hokage, it wouldn't be the one to be protected, but instead doing the protecting, right?" Naruto explained, getting a nod from Sarutobi. "Then I thought, what is it that all Konoha ninja fight to protect? I only realized it a couple of days ago. It's the unborn children, the ones who will inherit the Will of Fire when we die."
Sarutobi patted Naruto on the arm. "Now, Naruto-kun, you can truly work on becoming the Hokage." Naruto smiled, but it soon faded when Sarutobi spoke again. "You're still a terrible Shogi player, though."
"Old bastard..."
--Three days later--
"This is it, huh?" Shikamaru asked as he, Kiba, Kakashi, Tsunade and Sarutobi were standing at the gate, with Naruto and Jiraiya in front of them. "It'll be three years before we see you again?"
Naruto nodded, and looked at Kiba. "Hey, Keebs, make sure to make chunnin before I get back, yeah? I mean, it'd be an embarrassment for you if I made jounin before that."
Kiba groaned. "Don't remind me... But don't worry, though. I'll make chunnin at the next exam."
"That's good," Naruto said as he gave Kiba a man hug, with lots of powerful claps on the back, and no rubbing whatsoever. "Take care of yourself."
"You too," Kiba said as he broke the hug. Naruto moved on to Shikamaru, giving him an equally manly hug, though it was under protest.
"And Shika, stop slacking off," Naruto said as he broke the hug and patted Shikamaru on the shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah..."
Naruto didn't give Kakashi a hug, but he did shake his hand. "Take care of yourself, sensei. Don't end up in the hospital too much, okay?"
Kakashi twitched, while Kiba grinned. "Don't worry, Naruto. We'll make sure he doesn't use his pink eye too much."
"P-Pink eye?!" Kakashi exclaimed with a glare.
As she hugged Naruto, Tsunade whispered in his ear. "If you let Jiraiya corrupt you, I'll neuter you."
Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry. There's no chance of that happening, Baa-chan."
Tsunade twitched at the nickname, but kept smiling. "Take care."
"I will. And be ready to make me jounin when I come back."
"With my training, you can easily become one!" Jiraiya proclaimed as Naruto walked over to him. "Well, we should head out. I'd like to get to the next town as soon as possible."
"I wonder why..." Naruto muttered, crossing his arms. Then, he waved at Sarutobi. "Don't die while I'm gone, old man."
"Don't worry about that, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said with a smile. "You go on now, and become stronger."
They started walking away from the village, waving at Tsunade, Sarutobi and Team 7, who waved back, Kiba wailing about how he didn't have anyone to take his morning walks with, which earned him a bite from Akamaru.
Uzumaki Naruto wouldn't set foot in Konoha for three whole years.
--End--
Well, what do you think? Eh? Eh? Like it? Taking a break, just so you know! In the next chapter, Naruto comes back, gets reacquainted with everyone, goes through his jounin test, and takes a dip in the hot springs!
R&R
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