Well, I lied again on the time in between updates. This time you can blame BrokenAuthor for being an annoying tit that refused to let me do my schoolwork because of a certain scene that takes place in this chapter. So I won't waste your time by talking any further about it, I'll just go straight to the responses and then onwards to the chapter.
Pillpusher (Guest): Yeah, thanks for pointing out my idiotic error. I fixed that after it.
Bunnyguest (Guest): I'll be switching to Sasuke's view for a decent portion of the next chapter as everything really catches up to him. Kurotsuchi's response won't be for a good while so I'll let you think of what is happening.
Guest December 4: Yeah, that is my one big fear and constantly haunts me when I write. Sadly, I had a gut feeling that would have been the problem in Chapter 9, the problem is I don't have a lot for Onoki so some of it was based on some things I did know about him. So I apologize here.
Black Sparrow: Yeah, I fixed that today, I feel so incredibly stupid for that oversight. My apologies.
Chapter 9
Repercussions
"Naruto."
Ocean-blue eyes slowly opened in response to the beckon as their owner slowly roused himself. Sufficiently aware and noting the fact that above him there was nothing but blue sky and clouds he forced himself up to a seated position, knowing exactly where he was.
"Kyuubi," he returned neutrally, looking at the giant fox that was laying across from him, gigantic head perched on its paws. It did not looked pleased with him.
"Stupid human," it growled, it's right eye locked upon him, "why didn't you give me control."
Knowing that he couldn't lie to the fox because of the precarious situation his father placed on him with the seal he simply sighed and plopped back down.
"How long have I been out?"
"DON'T IGNORE MY QUESTION," the fox roared now up on all fours as it now loomed over him.
Unconsciously, his eyes flitted to the massive fox's neck, seeking reassurance that the seal was in place, before closing them again.
"If I went to five tails what assurance would I have that you'd honor our agreement?"
"ARE YOU SAYING I WON'T?!"
"No. I'm merely noting that an agreement may not mean much when taken into consideration you've been a prisoner for us mortals for almost a hundred years now. If my warden let me free after so long and told me to be back by dinner because that was our agreement do you think I would honor it?"
The fox glowered for a few more moments before it turned away, repositioning itself back where it had been sitting.
"As much as I am loathe to admit it, you are right. But there were consequences for your reluctance in giving me power."
"There always are," he murmured more to himself than anything.
"You shaved four years off your lifespan with that display as we feared would happen."
"Of course," he replied bitterly, "it looks like we will be limited to three tails for the time being."
The fox snorted, "It's your father's fault for dividing me in half."
"You'll have no disagreement from me," he responded, still keeping his eyes closed. There was no point to look around, the place was his mind.
It had been one of the stipulations for their agreement had been that the sewer had to go. As a result, thanks to a lot of meditation he had been able to change it to an open prairie with a forest at the edges. A secondary seal had been positioned to be hidden inside the 'sun' where its 'rays' prevented the Kyuubi from attacking him.
"We'll need to find a way around the Stage II transformation," he responded, "I doubt my father just threw on that seal with the knowledge he had on jinchuriki to limit our potential. There has to be something we're missing."
The fox remained silent, obviously deep in his own thoughts. Sensing that the little meeting was over, he opened his eyes and stood up.
"An advanced warning Naruto, they currently have you locked up in the high security wing of the hospital."
This earned a frown and a look for explanation.
"Let's just say there are some who felt that our actions in saving them is a larger security threat than a bijuu destroying their city."
Naruto snorted, shaking his head.
"Idiots."
The fox only grinned menacingly, knowing perfectly well his container could be perfectly vengeful if he felt like it. Those pranks for a lot more than just training.
"Well, time to deal with the trash, I'll talk to you later," he stated, whipping out a kunai, "Kurama."
He them stabbed himself in the thigh, phasing out and drawing an annoyed growl from the gigantic construct.
"Impudence."
000
Now back in the physical world, he kept his condition unchanged as he instead focused on his surroundings, looking for the chakra sources he knew were there.
Sure enough there were three stationary chakra signatures situated in the room...and now two, he recognized with a frown that his awakening had not gone unnoticed. Though a guard detail shouldn't have an odd number.
Filing that info away he chose to open his eyes and lever himself up into a sitting position despite the protest of his body at the movement.
He had a clone appear beside him, surprised that no one had placed a seal to prevent him from using chakra.
"Get me a set of clothes."
The clone nodded, disappearing in a yellow flash as he collected his thoughts at the situation.
The problem facing him now was a lot trickier than anything yet, he realized upon review with a curse. Up until the attack on Konoha he had been in control of the battlespace, choosing his battles, manipulating and isolating his opponents in a way that minimized their threat value. Unfortunately, now that he had revealed almost all of his trump cards in the invasion, it placed him in a compromised position. He had to get back on the offensive soon.
Still, he had the Tsuchikage feeling out the idea of a political union, and all wasn't looking too down.
He cut out any further contemplation as the door to his room opened to reveal the Hokage. Jiji looked...just old. Like the battle had taken a lot more out of him than it should have.
"Jiji," he murmured softly, wrenching a wan smile out of his erstwhile grandfather figure as he brought up a chair beside the bed.
"How are you," he asked, grandfatherly concern etched on his face.
"I'm fine," he responded, leaving off the rest of what he wanted to say, considering I melted my skin off before changing the musculature and skeletal structure in my body for my transformation, shorting out every pain receptor in my body. Then there were the first degree burns...
The elder seemed to be operating on his wavelength judging by his expression.
"When were you going to tell me that you could control the Kyuubi."
He leaned back into the bed, taking his eyes off the Hokage as he heard the fox in question snort in derision.
This was one of those instances where he could play offense or defense...
"Naruto?"
"I no more control the Kyuubi than he controls me. It is a mutually beneficial relationship to where as long as I live, he is not inconvenienced by such things as being sealed within another prison that doesn't want to deal with him like his former two jailers did or worse."
Clever, as long as he is unaware of our agreement then we won't have to worry about him interfering.
"I...see," the old man finally answered, leaving them both in an uneasy silence because of the subject discussed.
"How long was I out," he asked, seeking to confirm what his dispelled clones had fed him while looking back up to the ceiling.
"Two days."
He nodded tersely. Two days in which his enemies could make plans, two days in which he needed to play catch up.
The problem now was almost everything he had done had been thrown away by the usage of his bijuu. Even the fact that he had taken down the Shodaime, Orochimaru, and Shukaku had been attributed to the Hokage and Jiraiya while the people he had expected to come to his defense had been silent.
"Why haven't you told anyone what I had done," he asked, letting a bit of the righteous anger he felt simmering underneath into his tone.
The Hokage, his Jiji, said nothing, which only fed his anger. Everything he was doing was being thrown away all because of this damn sentimental and doddering old fool that put too much faith in a village that was too stupid to understand what his father had done!
"Is that all you have to say to me, Jiji? Nothing?! After all I did during the invasion you're just going to throw everything I've done away!"
"I never said that, Naruto."
"No, you're just doing a damn fine job by not backing me up," he snapped, "do you even realize what the people are saying about me because they don't know what I had to go through?!"
"And do you want them to know? That you fought and defeated a revived Shodai Hokage, one of the few that could ever defeat the Kyuubi? Do you want people to know you fought and drove off Orochimaru? How about the Ichibi? The invasion didn't just happen for you Naruto."
He sighed, realizing the truth of what the Sandaime was saying, it was bad enough that he was a Namikaze, but to reveal all of that would draw a target on his back, not to mention alienate him from his peers even more. His impetuousness was getting the better of him.
"I just," he finally admitted, calming himself, "I just can't let this one incident overshadow everything I've done Jiji. I can't afford to go one step forward then two steps back because of the decisions I made to protect this village."
"And maybe you should stop thinking about yourself and start believing in the people that believe in you Naruto. I haven't forgotten what you did and I know Jiraiya hasn't. But things should be taken in deliberate action, not in a rush."
The room fell silent as he silently berated himself for being so short-sighted in believing what he did. Maybe it was the fact that everything said about him struck close to home, or it was the jealousy in the fact that others were getting the credit when he should be.
"How's Sakura," he finally asked.
Silence was the returned response, causing his stomach to plummet.
"She's alive."
It didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"But..."
The older man hesitated.
"I think she will be grateful to see you Naruto. You saved her life."
He numbly nodded, his initial fears when he had treated her seemed to be accurate. In her current state her shinobi career was over, at best, she would never be able to walk for the rest of her life, at worst.
"Am I able to go and see her," he asked.
The Hokage nodded, getting up from his chair, "I just wanted to see you when you woke up...and to thank you."
"I only did what was required of me as a shinobi of Konoha, Jiji."
For a moment, it looked as if he had a response on the tip of his tongue, but instead he simply closed his mouth and shook his head, his hand reaching and grasping Naruto's shoulder tightly. He then got to his feet and slowly sauntered out the door just as the clone appeared at the door with his clothes.
000
It took a few minutes to change, his body still tender in some places for too advanced of movements, specifically in the joints, but it was nothing compared to the transformation. However, it took almost another half an hour before he could get out of the secure wing and to his destination, security was tight and his exhibition against the Ichibi made too many people leery of his presence. Still, it was not enough to deter him as he opened the door to his destination and stepped in.
The silence was off-putting, the lack of any medical equipment hinted that she did not need them, the surgeons doing enough to maintain her life, but not enough to restore her to her previous state.
She looks so pale, a part of his mind took in, his eyes roaming over her unconscious form, before sliding down the bed and widening in surprise at the sight before him.
There, passed out at the end of her bed in a chair was Sasuke Uchiha, asleep if the steady rise and fall of his chest was any indicator.
That, surely, was a surprise. Of all the places he expected Sasuke to be, anywhere near anyone of Team 7 injured was one of the last places he would he had guessed. What had caused the change in his teammates thinking left him filing that away for later investigation. Instead, he focused upon his primary subject, walking into the room and letting the door softly close behind him.
The soft click of the door seemed to set Sasuke off, as he awoke with a startle, his body jerking in response to the outside stimuli. Reaching up to rub his eyes even as he slid the blanket off himself, looking up to him.
"Naruto."
"Sasuke," he acknowledged, arriving at the foot of the bed and grabbing the chart, looking through it with a deepening frown before placing it back.
It was even worse than he feared. While they had been able to rest the bones, the damage was so significant that at best it was a makeshift repair, they would not be able to handle any load-bearing because of all the stress fractures. Even worse was the tenketsu point damage, in several areas the tenketsu points were too far damaged for anyone in Konoha to repair.
"How long have you been here," he found himself asking as he looked to Sakura.
"Since she was admitted," the ebony-haired Uchiha responded softly, earning an arched eyebrow before filing it away.
The fact that Sasuke had not left Sakura's side since she was admitted rated as probably the largest surprise in the longest time for him. What had changed in what he always considered "Sasuke's Revenge World"?
"Where's Kakashi?"
"I haven't seen him since Sakura was admitted."
What, he thought as his eyes narrowed, looking from Sasuke to Sakura and their sorry state, he hasn't been here?!
His hands curled into balls, fingernails digging into the skin of his hands, easily drawing blood. Immediately, he summoned a sextet of clones.
"Kakashi. Here. Now."
The clones nodded before disappearing, intent on hunting down the object of their boss's fury. Unfortunately, their efforts were for not as the door to the room opened and in walked Kakashi, head deep in his Icha Icha novel.
"Sasuke, how about we go out for some fresh air and some tra-," he trailed off as Naruto whipped around, eyes narrowed in intense fury. He didn't have any warning before the door was slammed behind him by a suddenly manifested clone.
"You," Naruto, his voice now a low growl you would expect from an animal instead of a human being.
"Naruto."
"Kakashi," he bit out, his eyes glowing dangerously as he sauntered towards his former sensei, "so nice of you to join us. I was just looking for you."
"Naruto, it is good to see you up-"
"Don't patronize me, Kakashi," he snapped, before taking a breath and letting it out. He was letting his anger rule him and it would not do well in this situation. The entire aftermath had done more to him than he had thought.
"Kakashi," he continued after finding a modicum of calm that he really didn't have at the moment, "I've been silent about this since the day you became our instructor, but I no longer am required to keep it. That is why I am going to say this here and now: You are a disgrace as a sensei and my father's student."
He noted the frown and the slight flinch in expression on Kakashi's face, but he honestly did not care, he had been waiting for too long to say this and frankly, he would deal with the fallout of his immature actions of letting pettiness rule his decisions here, but it had to be said because it was already too late to prevent what had happened because of his former sensei's inability to do his job.
"First, let's start with the very beginning of this entire debacle, the jounin-sensei program first started by the Nidaime Hokage: Do you know why the program was put into place? Of course not, if you did you would not have failed us as genin. The purpose of the jounin-sensei program was to have skilled veterans take a trio of genin students in order to pass on the lessons they have learned as shinobi so the next generation is prepared for war. That's right, war. The fact that you progressed so fast should have been indicative to you that was its purpose. It's unfortunate that the Yondaime and subsequent return of the Sandaime blunted this with the shift to a more peace-oriented stance. And as a result, jounin were promoted to sensei who should not have had the opportunity to do so, case in point the current generation of jounin-sensei and the current crop of genin being promoted to Chunin in spite of their lack of fulfilling the original requirements of the program."
"Moving on, we come to the very heart of the matter that is why we are here. Why Sakura is a cripple, Sasuke is an emotional wreck in spite of his usual pompous attitude, and I am here having to lecture you as to why you suck as a sensei in spite of the fact that my father taught you and he was considered one of the finest jounin-senseis of his generation. So, let's dig in. What did you teach any of us? Water-walking? Tree-Climbing? You do realize that those were supposed to be academy lessons but because of my presence in the graduating class, all lessons were deliberately stunted to prevent me from learning too much. But you, on the other hand, just ignored that little fact and took almost a month to finally fix that issue, AFTER we had encountered Zabuza on a C-rank we should have never taken in the first place, rank regardless. You constantly harped on us about teamwork, but at the time of the acceptance of that mission we were still three individuals reluctantly working together instead of seamlessly operating as a team. But let's not stop there, shall we?"
He leaned back on Sakura's bed keeping his eyes locked onto Kakashi's with his arms crossed, it was now just them in this room as far as he was concerned.
"You failed to call reinforcements for the Wave mission, not once, but TWICE in spite of the fact we were facing an ANBU-Class S-Rank missing-nin who just so happened to be a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and an unknown nin who later turned out to be as strong as him. You could have had a Konoha hunter-nin team to Wave within four days, plenty of time to rest and prepare to engage Zabuza, instead you proceeded on ahead by giving in to a trio of GENIN. But that's not all, oh no, you proceeded to train us basics instead of using the knowledge you had on how Zabuza operated to provide us with countermeasures and prepare methods of engaging Zabuza and Haku to our advantage, instead simply throwing us at Haku, who again was unknown at the time, and expecting good results. It was only a miracle that Haku did not have a hostile bone in his body and was not aiming to kill."
"But you held back in that fight," Sasuke's voice caused him to remember he had a crowd, but Sasuke's interruption wasn't one running to Kakashi's defense, but was merely an observation.
"I held back until I had been able to ascertain the limits of Haku's skills," he retorted his voice snapping back to calm in order to not appear to be chastising the Uchiha, "the second I realized that Haku was not going for the kill and he revealed most of his bloodline I took to the offensive. No offense to you Sasuke, but there are other dynamics playing in the background that you aren't aware of yet, but if I didn't deliberately retard my skills then there would be trouble for myself. I'm sorry you got messed up for it."
"Tch, I got the Sharingan out of it, so I'll give you a pass."
"Why thanks, I'm so honored at your generosity," he returned sarcastically casting the Uchiha a sidelong glance before turning back to Kakashi.
"Then, when we come back from the Wave Mission, what do you do? You give us a handful more of D-rank missions while ignoring the glaring flaws in the team. Then you have the audacity to think our team was ready for the Chunin Exams. Let me repeat that one more time for you, the Chunin Exams. Which means the BEST of the genin teams are sent to take a crack at getting promoted. It was only lucky because of the poor quality of genin from Konoha in the Chunin exam that we even had a chance of making it to the preliminaries. But just when you couldn't do any worse, you actually outdo yourself when you make the conscious decision to train Sasuke and ONLY Sasuke when it was horribly obvious that both Sakura and I desperately needed training."
"Sasuke needed the training because Orochimaru wanted him," Kakashi returned cooly, having slipped away his Icha Icha book, if anything, he looked...agitated, "and I assigned Ebisu for your training."
"You and I both know that Ebisu is an elitist incompetent who can't even manage Konohamaru. You honestly believed that he would give me suitable training to match up to Neji Hyūga? Please, don't insult anyone's intelligence. But that's beside the point, who did you leave for Sakura? Who was training her?"
Kakashi didn't answer, because he couldn't.
"Exactly," Naruto continued, the acid dripping from his tone, "you left no one to look after Sakura, just left her to stay at her mediocre level when she so desperately needed the training probably even more than Sasuke. Did it not even occur to you that you could have used kage bunshin as training aids, three clones we couldn't touch with a ten foot pole, all with your entire knowledge base? Even splitting your chakra into thirds you would still provide enough teaching for the three of us individually. I sincerely doubt you would have been pressed too hard by any of us, or even arranging something with Kurenai-sensei to help Sakura out since she has genjutsu potential, I doubt she would have had a problem with it. Instead, no, you couldn't even do that. And to top it off you have the Grade-A balls to stroll in here and ask Sasuke who has been here since Sakura arrive to leave her and fucking train! And now look at your work."
He motioned towards Sakura.
"Are you proud? Do you feel any sense of remorse for your failures? Doesn't seem like it to me. All you have ever done since the death of your teammates and my father is bury your head in shoddy smut, shirk your duty, and dwell so hard in the past that it's a small wonder you are still even connected to the present."
Satisfied with his little rant, he settled himself back a little bit as he watched the expression of Kakashi, hoping that what he had said would get through to his former sensei. Yet, it seemed it didn't happen as the sharingan user gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Are you done now Naruto?"
That one statement was like a slap against his face as he stiffened, his face contorting into a visage of sheer rage. He knew he shouldn't have said what he did next, but the fact that the man chose to shrug him off so easily caused whatever restraint he had to snap.
"Honestly, if Obito Uchiha saw you now, I think he would be disgusted with himself for wasting his sharingan on you."
"Naruto!"
Everyone's heads snapped to the soft voice that sounded more like an explosive tag going off for all them, finding Sakura staring at all three of them, her green eyes wide open and awake.
"Sakura," he murmured, Kakashi offering the same sentiment, earning a harsh glare from him.
"It's not just Kakashi's fault," she offered softly, "it's unfair to blame him for my failings as well."
"But your failings were the result of his inability to actually do his job, Sakura. Let's face it, you wouldn't be like this if he had been a sensei."
He then sighed, knowing he had said enough, in fact, it was nice to actually get it off his chest. He had been laboring so hard being the idiot and not calling out Kakashi for everything.
"And yet. In spite of that, Kakashi, Sakura is right. I can't blame you for everything, I blame the system that should have recognized your deficiencies. You did a good job training Sasuke with the time you had in between the preliminaries and finals, if anything, I laud you for such a dramatic turnaround for Sasuke. But you should have never been tasked with training three genin. Sakura," he turned to look at her, "do you still want to be a kunoichi?"
She looked at him for a few moments, incredulous at his question.
"I can't, Naruto. Even if I wanted to. My legs," her eyes clenched tight, tears threatening to spill out of them.
"I didn't ask about if you could or could not, Sakura," he returned softly, "I'm asking if there was a chance for you to be able to walk and be a kunoichi again, would you take the opportunity?"
She looked at him for the longest time, everyone silent before bowing her head in acknowledgment.
He didn't say anything more, deciding enough had been said as he moved past Kakashi and out the door, leaving sensei and students in his wake looking at each other.
Sasuke started walking towards the door as well, but not before offering something that surprised both remaining occupants.
"Sakura, I'm sorry."
And then he was gone.
000
"Naruto, wait up."
He paused just as he was stepping off the grounds of the hospital, turning to find him face to face with Sasuke who had chased after him.
"That's the second time you've refrained from referring to me as dobe, Sasuke. What brought this on?"
"What you said to Sakura. About making her a kunoichi. How are you going to do it?"
He's definitely changed, Naruto noted.
"Walk with me, I have a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done."
He then turned and started walking, noting Sasuke had fallen in behind him.
"I believe it's possible to restore her legs and mobility," he admitted, "however, there's only one person capable of possibly doing that and she's been out of the village since before I was born."
It was now as they entered into the more populated areas that the stares began, causing him to internally curse at the fact he hadn't put up his henge. Instead now he had to deal with the looks that ran the gamut from reluctant admission to abject fear, the whispers were worse though.
"Who is it?"
"Tsunade Senju, one of the Sannin."
Sasuke's silence was enough to tell him he knew who she was. Of course, not many people in Konoha didn't know the Sannin.
He remained silent as they entered the First Konoha Bank, a grunt the only acknowledgment of confusion at what Naruto was doing as Naruto marched straight up to man at a desk who gave them a look from his book, which had a false cover as both shinobi noted.
"Get lost, kid," the man grumbled, obviously irritated that he couldn't read his Icha Icha book.
"It's not kid, Mister...Sato," he had to glance at the plate, "I am Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," he declared in a commanding tone, retrieving a scroll and placing it in front of the man, "and I'm here to make a withdrawal and an inquiry."
This immediately caused the man to take notice, obviously having heard the scuttlebutt, as the book dropped out of the man's hand and fell to the floor with a soft sound before straightening up in his chair and opening the scroll to look through it.
"Ah yes, Lord Namikaze," the man returned after looking through the scroll and placing it down and sliding it back.
This caused Sasuke to look over at Naruto in confusion. Since when had the dobe become an actual clan lord?
"Now," Naruto continued, "I want to transfer the money that was placed in the trust for Naruto Uzumaki to the Uzumaki account, I want to withdraw four percent from the Namikaze account, with point eight percent of the money in one case and the rest in the requisite cases, then I would like to request any account activity on the Senju account within the last five years."
The man didn't hesitate, instead taking notes as he then got up and walked away, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone again.
"Two clans," Sasuke asked, earning a confirming nod from the blonde.
"My mother was the last of the Uzumaki's from Uzushiogakure and my father was, of course, the Yondaime. I'm currently the head of two different clans."
"And what about the Senju?"
"The Shodaime's wife was an Uzumaki. Because of that, I do have access to the Senju accounts in the event that there are no Senju within Konoha proper. It's actually a security measure to prevent outside forces from draining the account, though it wasn't used until my identity was confirmed."
It didn't take long in the silence before the man was back with help and a quartet of cases, placing them down in front of Naruto before handing him a scroll.
"Thank you for the wait, Lord Namikaze. The details you wished for are enclosed within that scroll."
"Thank you, Mister Sato," he gently returned, two clones appearing beside him and grabbing the cases, "I'll make sure to return to discuss further refinements to the account and seek you out personally."
He then proceeded to lead Sasuke out of the bank, his head already deep in the scroll before coming to a stop, closing back the scroll and slipping it into a pocket. That done, he turned and proceeded to take the case with the smallest amount of money from the clone before handing it to Sasuke.
"What?"
"I want you to take that money to Sakura's parents," he stated solemnly, "they are going to need that money for treatment and for taking care of her."
"But it's your money."
"It doesn't matter whose money it is, Sasuke. What matters is that her parents get it. Besides, I would prefer it if I wasn't the one seen handing out the money anyways."
"I want to go with you."
This earned an arched eyebrow from Naruto.
"I'm not so sure that would be wise."
"Dobe, I'm going."
Sighing, he looked at the two clones who had switched into henge's of two unassuming civilians.
"Go take that money to the hospital, just tell them it's from an anonymous donor."
The clones nodded before sauntering off, leaving the two of them alone.
"It will be up to the Hokage," he finally admitted, "and Jiraiya, but if you can win the both of them, then I just want your promise that you will listen to me or Jiriaya no matter the circumstance."
He knew that was going to be the hardest part for Sasuke, noting the clenching of the jaw and the narrowing of the eyes that flashed dangerously as the Sharingan activated. Instead of shrinking away like many would, he simply did what he always did and returned the look unflinchingly.
And then the Sharingan was gone as the proud Uchiha sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"Fine."
"Well then, I will see you at the Hokage's office shortly," Naruto then disappeared into the Hiraishin.
000
How was he talked into this, Sasuke thought as he stood before the door to the Haruno household after having knocked on it, this wasn't his thing.
But still, this was what Naruto wanted him to do...and if really wanted to admit it, this was something he felt he had to do. What had happened to Sakura had been is fault, his pride had cost Sakura her legs.
The door opened to reveal a disheveled and exhausted Kizashi Haruno.
"Uchiha-san," he tiredly greeted, "what can I do for you?"
"Here," he then placed the case down in front of the door, "it's for Sakura."
The elder Haruno looked at the case, his eyes widening slightly before looking back to him.
"What? Why?"
"Just take it," he replied brusquely, uncomfortable with the situation that Naruto had placed him in, "I have to go out on a mission, Haruno-san."
Before the Kizashi could offer a response, he turned and quickly walked away, leaving the Harunos and intent on holding Naruto his word for placing him in this situation.
000
"So Tsunade's in Tanzaku Quarters," Jiraiya mused from his seat on the window as the Sandaime sat behind his desk as Naruto reported what he had discovered, "pretty clever tracking her transactions, you would be the only one able to do it."
The blond offered an indifferent shrug, it hadn't been that hard.
"But that still doesn't tell me why you're interested in Tsunade."
"I want to purchase her services to heal my teammate and Rock Lee."
"You do realize she might not want to return to Konoha, Naruto," Hiruzen spoke now, smoking his pipe, "she hates the village."
"I'm aware of that possibility. I have other means of bringing her back if necessary, but I would prefer it be peaceful."
"You are talking about my teammate there, gaki. I don't think you will find her easy to deal with, especially if you are considering what I think you are."
I could argue the fact that she would underestimate me at every turn because to her I am a genin at the moment. But I think you overestimate her Jiraiya, she is a shadow of her former self if all indicators are to be believed. Then there is the fact you are emotionally compromised when it comes to her.
"And what is this about Sasuke Uchiha joining this search," the Sandaime asked.
"He requested it," he offered, "he's my former teammate and honestly, I think it would be good for him to actually have his eyes opened to a few things in the process. What happened to Sakura has shaken him and it might be the necessary event to change him for the better. I would like the opportunity to make that change for him."
"Even with Orochimaru out there?"
"Orochimaru is likely out of commission for the moment, the damage to his chakra pathways should be sufficient for the time being until we can discover his base of operations and liquidate him."
This earned silence in return as the two men deliberated what he said before Hiruzen looked over to Jiraiya.
"Do you think you can handle the addition of Sasuke, Jiraiya?"
"Please, sensei, give me a bit of credit. I think I can handle two snot-nosed brats on a simple retrieval mission. But I would like to wait until tomorrow before we head out."
"That's acceptable, I have some preparations to make for myself."
The Hokage sat there, the smoke hovering overhead for a moment.
"Very well, Jiraiya, Naruto. Go and retrieve Tsunade and bring her back. I think it is high time that the Senju returnto their home roots."
000
"So, they are going to retrieve Tsunade Senju," Hiashi murmured at the crouched form of one of the ANBU who was assigned as the guard for the Hokage. In actuality he was Hyūga and served as his eyes on the Sandaime in order to have an advantage in Council meetings, "dismissed."
The ANBU disappeared, allowing Hiashi the necessary solitude of his position as the head of the Hyūga clan.
The events that had transpired in the last three days had been interesting to say the least. First the revelations of the new head of the Namikaze Clan, but then the invasion attempt by Suna had only compounded the ascendance of young Naruto as a threat to the Hyūga in spite of the Kyuubi release, which according to his sources was a controlled usage.
It also meant he had to position Hinata to take advantage of the situation. Before the Namikaze became too much to contain. That meant he had to make the move now.
Hinata should be fully recovered by now so she can make the trip.
"Hidetaka, get me Hinata," he commanded.
000
The next day was a quiet affair as Naruto and Sasuke had gathered in front of gate with Jiraiya and the Hokage going over last minute arrangements. Naruto had arranged for a method in which the bank could alert them if Tsunade had made another transaction in another location by leaving several clones in Konoha to act as relays and eyes for Naruto.
But probably the most important detail was the fact that Naruto had placed Sarutobi in charge of his affairs until he returned. Most of the night he had spent up arranging the legal contract necessary for the control of his clan in the event of death and the disbursement of the assets if it happened. Nothing would get into the hands of those he had deemed unworthy, with most of the money and equipment going to Konoha itself instead of any individuals.
And now here they were, Naruto shaking hands with the Hokage and Sasuke earning a kind nod from the highest elder of the village.
"Well then, gakis, I guess it's time for us to get going."
"Just a moment," came the voice of the Hiashi Hyūga with his daughter in tow, walking up to the gathering, "Hokage-sama, I ask that my daughter accompany the Tsunade retrieval team."
This earned a questioning look from the Hokage even as Hinata kept behind her father, attempting to keep out of Naruto's line of sight.
Internally though, Naruto was both pleased and annoyed by this development. It was obvious what Hiashi was maneuvering Hinata closer to him in order to play the marriage angle by using his daughter's feelings for him as an exploit.
Of course, what Hiashi wasn't aware of was that it played into his hands because he intended for Hinata to break the Hyūga's ways.
He looked to Jiraiya and the Hokage who looked ready to protest at the fact that it would be three future clan heads concentrated into one team.
"I'm fine with it," he declared, "Hinata's byakugan could be very helpful in tracking Tsunade if she attempts to flee."
At the same time, he had been admitting that declaration he had been lightly tapping his foot, sending in silent code to Jiraiya that Hinata would be fine and that he would take responsibility for her.
Jiraiya looked at him for a moment, obviously considering what he was saying, before looking to the Hokage.
"If it's fine with you, old man. I think Hinata might be just what we need to quickly identify Tsunade's position."
"Very well then, but if anything happens to them Jiraiya..."
"Nothing will happen old man," Jiraiya waved it off, turning around and heading towards the gate, "this should be quick and easy. We'll be back before you even know it."
If only he knew how wrong he was.
Yeah, that was pretty scathing what Naruto said to Kakashi, but I felt that it needed to be said. A lot of Kakashi's faults actually lies with himself and those faults became reflective upon his students both in canon and in this story itself. He could not be spared the silver tongue.
But, after this, there won't be so much with Kakashi, he will be allowed to grow from this and actually have the opportunity to make up for his past mistakes. It will just take time for the wounds to heal and all that nonsense.
Anyways, I will not be updating until late this month or early next year, so if its the latter, then I will wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Near Year.
Until next time.