AN: It's been a long time since I last added a chapter. Around half a year... sorry! I've been busy with a lot of stuff recently, and I don't expect that to change. However, I will still try to make new chapters every once in a while.
Also, unlike what I said in the last chapter, this one won't be about a character in the sand village; this chapter will describe various happenings around the Leaf Village.
Naruto looked at Sakura, Satsuki, Katsuri, and Kiba, and they eyed him on the battlefield.
Not too long after, Jiraiya said, "Begin!"
Naruto quickly took action by creating a Rasengan in his right hand. Kiba was surprised, but his three partners were unfazed as they ran forward, weaving hand seals. Naruto increased the size of the Rasengan until it was as large as his head, after which he shoved it at the ground directly in front of him. Dirt sprayed from the ground, blocking Naruto from view.
He quickly weaving several hand seals and breathed out an intense gale of wind. Satsuki and Katsuri, the closest opponents, flew in the air and landed with a thud on the tree trunks surrounding the battlefield. Naruto smirked as Jiraiya announced that they were out of the battle. He focused on Sakura, who was glaring at him, and Kiba, who was running at him with bared teeth.
Naruto focused on the more immediate threat; Kiba. He breathed out another gale of wind, blasting Kiba backward, but Kiba managed to stay in the battlefield. Naruto kept an eye on Sakura as she ran at him, yelling the whole way. She threw a wide punch, which Naruto easily dodged.
'That was easy,' Naruto commented.
'That may be so, but there's something missing. Didn't that boy have a dog?' Kurama pointed out.
Naruto stilled as he realized Kurama was right. He swiftly turned around to see a small white dog leaping at his face. Naruto jumped back in surprise, quickly creating a shadow clone in front of him. The dog tore through the shadow clone, stalling it enough for the real Naruto to escape. Sakura had readied another punch for him, however, which Naruto narrowly dodged, cursing. However, he fell right into Kiba, who held a kunai at his neck.
"Naruto loses!" Jiraiya announced from within the surrounding trees.
Naruto was aghast. "But... they just used simple taijutsu! There's no way I just lost!"
Jiraiya had a hearty laugh. "Try to understand what lesson I was trying to teach you. Everyone, let's go back to the academy."
"What happened to our fight! I wanna beat that Tsukasa kid!" Sokudo Ranna exclaimed. He had dusty brown hair and a slight tan.
Jiraiya sighed. "Tsukasa doesn't actually have any lessons to learn. At least, from a battle like the ones we just did. Now follow me."
Jiraiya quickly jumped through the tree branches, prompting the young academy students to hastily follow behind. Naruto stayed in the back, pondering what had just happened.
'I just got dissed by the principal in front of everyone, didn't I' Naruto thought to Kurama.
Kurama didn't respond.
Meanwhile...
Hiruzen Sarutobi was outraged. Naruto, who he had vowed to protect, went missing for years on end, then decided to come back and completely ignore him. He decided that even if Naruto didn't want to see him, he would ensure Naruto was safe. He jumped across the rooftops in the Leaf Village until he reached the Hokage's building. He made his way into the men's bathroom on the first floor. As usual, it was pristine; after all, foreign dignitaries visited the building often. It was important to show that the Leaf was a village of vast wealth.
Hiruzen glanced around the bathroom. There was someone humming in the very stall that led to his secret base. The former Hokage walked over to face the stall's closed door.
The man in the stall starting emitting fart noises to a rhythmic beat. This sound combined with the psssssss sound of what Hiruzen presumed to be pissing. The two different sounds melded into a single harmony.
Suddenly, the farting noises stopped. "It is I, the protector of integrity and peace," Hiruzen said.
The man in the stall opened the stall's door. Hiruzen looked over the guard of his secret base. He wore an Anbu mask fashioned to represent a dragon. His name was Dragon.
Dragon bowed to Hiruzen before leaving the bathroom with a swift teleportation jutsu. Hiruzen walked into the stall and pressed the level that would flush a normal toilet. He wasn't dealing with a normal toilet, however.
The tile Hiruzen was standing on slowly lowered beneath the ground, leading him to a subterranean encampment. It was Hiruzen's secret base, where he worked with the few Anbu members still loyal to him.
The base's walls were an earthen brown, made from Earth Release jutsu. It was covered with sealing tags that hid its presence from even the strongest sensory ninja. Within the base were many white-coated scientists milling around various equipment, conducting research of various kinds.
"Ah! My lord!" One of the scientists said when she noticed Hiruzen. Her brown hair was tied in a bun, and her spectacles gleamed under the artificial light that had been created by a special Jutsu. "What brings you here?"
Hiruzen smiled. "Since Naruto is back, could you assign Karada to be his bodyguard? I need to make sure he stays safe."
The scientist nodded. "At once," she said before scurrying off.
Hiruzen sighed, once again feeling the pang of regret for not being able to take care of Naruto properly.
Meanwhile...
The Sound Four finally reached the barrier that surrounded the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was a marvelous sight to behold.
"Finally! I'm so tired," Jugo complained, stretching.
Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Fatso, you really need to get in shape."
"Shut up you two," Sakon barked. "Now listen. We first need to locate Naruto. Then we have to lure him out of the village. We can't deal with an entire village ourselves. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good," Sakon said. "Orochimaru told us Naruto would be enrolling in the Academy. Let's go there first."
AN: Please let me know what you think of this story, in terms of prose, characters, plot, worldbuilding, or anything else. Reviews are the main factor in motivating me to continue writing! I know I have a lot to improve on, so reviews will help me give you guys a better story!
Also, just to clarify, the bathrooms in the Naruto world (at least the good ones) are comparable to the public bathrooms we have in the real world. Sewage systems are of a comparable level of technology.
Finally, just wanted to say that this chapter is short because I wanted to get a chapter out as soon as possible so people won't think I'm dead. Again, sorry for the long break. I hope I don't do anything like this again.
