TSUNADE
Naruto you are being charged with blatantly disobeying my direct orders at times how do you plea
NARUTO
guilty
TSUNADE
you are also being charged with saving the village countless times at great personal risk what do you say to that
NARUTO
it is as you say
TSUNADE
than there can only be one punishment for this
NARUTO
I am ready to accept any punishment you deem necessary
TSUNADE
Naruto Uzumaki I hereby promote you to the rank of Jounin
NARUTO
what
TSUNADE
you originally got the promotion posthumously when Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba,Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Lee and Ten-Ten got their promotions for handling the Akatsuki
NARUTO
thanks so who's my squad since I know Jounin don't always have the same squad
TSUNADE
actually for the Konoha 12 you do stay in your same squads and sometimes they've actually worked together as one team
NARUTO
the most recent reason because of the Iwa right
TSUNADE
yes but also a few years ago Gaara needed our help with the Akatsuki so we sent the Konoha 11 at the time of the mission and they did well now than I believe you have a squad to get back to
and so Naruto goes back to the meeting spot and he gets congratulated on the promotion Iruka the proudest of the group and while Naruto thought it unfair to get a promotion and not Iruka he understood that Iruka would never accept the promotion though he might be on more missions and most definitely would be accepted by any Jounin on the team well those that hadn't taught the Konoha 12 at least because those three had accepted Iruka long ago even if it didn't always seem like it well an hour later an ANBU came and with the speed they were still going at it was urgent
ANBU
Wolf you and the Konoha 12 are needed at ANBU HQ immediately
KAKASHI
Raven what's wrong
RAVEN
Ibiki's gone suicidal again we're only just keeping him from killing himself
IRUKA
let's go
REST
hai
on the way to ANBU HQ
KAKASHI
what set him off this time
RAVEN
the anniversary of Dolphins death plus Naruto's you know how he is on this day
KAKASHI
yea I remember if I recall correctly he was only just taken off suicidal watch last year at the two year mark
RAVEN
yea well he was in an interrogation session and the creep brought up Dolphin and Naruto and how they were tortured to death by Akatsuki and one thing led to the next and now...
IRUKA
he wasn't at the announcement was he Raven
RAVEN
no Dolphin he wasn't in fact almost all of us are either on missions or at HQ only a few were there for the announcement we tried telling Ibiki but it didn't work heck none of us that weren't there believes it I only believe it now because I'm seeing the two of you very much alive
SAKURA
plan alpha 12
RAVEN
sorry Sakura but he's gone ballistic this time he needs the other plan
SASUKE
do the others know this
RAVEN
they've been trying to set it up but last I heard it wasn't going well
IRUKA
forgive me for not knowing anything but what's the other plan
RAVEN
we basically surround him and force him to surrender before we "kill" him which what we really do is knock him out with senbon at points in the neck that fake death kinda like what squad 7 went through with Zabuza am I right
KAKASHI
yes though he'll only be out for a few minutes but it's enough to bind him until he listens to reason
IRUKA
wait let me try and talk to him first he might listen to me
RAVEN
Wolf what do you think
KAKASHI
it might work but make sure that the other plan is ready should Dolphin fail
they get there and Iruka throws a kunai just barely in time
IRUKA
Ibiki-san don't kill yourself
IBIKI
impostor
he attacks Iruka and they start fighting when Iruka gets hurt it makes Ibiki pause for a few minutes but not for very long and then the fight was back on so it was time for plan b but only on Iruka's signal
IRUKA
now would be a good time guys
and so they "kill" him for a few minutes and once he's woken up he finds he can't move
IRUKA
Ibiki-san it's us we are indeed alive
IBIKI
that's a bunch of lies and you ANBU know it
NARUTO
hey the old lady confirmed it was us before she made the announcement that you missed besides I have yet to become Hokage and I never go back on my word
IBIKI
didn't you say that when you were taking the Chunnin exams for the first time well Naruto Uzumaki it sure has been awhile so you are alive which means if this guy is telling the truth than you are Dolphin and very much alive
IRUKA
yes Ibiki-san it's me I am indeed alive I'll tell you later once you've recovered some for now I think you need to get out of HQ and just relax
IBIKI
very well give me an hour and I'll be ready I have a few things to do first
ANBU
oh no you don't you're leaving now and that's final you can't take this kind of work if not for the fact that we're not going to report this incident to the Hokage you'd be put back on suicide watch and not allowed to be with us for six months like last time
IBIKI
fine give me five minutes to get my things in order and than we're going out to dinner to talk Dolphin
IRUKA
works for me what about you guys you want to come as well
KAKASHI
why not it's been a while and I'm sure you need to be told a lot more than what you were told at the hospital if the Hokage even did that
IRUKA
oh I know about everything that's happened to the village since our "death"
KAKASHI
OK about time she did something but there's more to it than just reports so you need to hear about things she wouldn't of known about
five minutes later they were at a restaurant that served food other than ramen and there was a lot of talking, laughing and some shouting involved in that nights dinner and those that knew him actually saw Ibiki relax for the first time in three years plus they could see him healing just a little bit well after dinner they continued to talk about what Iruka and Naruto went through for the past three years and Naruto got an update on how Gaara was doing and found out more about the mission there six months after his "death"
SAKURA
what's really weird is that he was almost expecting you to be there as well even though we informed him of your death and while he didn't personally attend the funeral because he himself was busy he sent his condolences but he just wouldn't stop looking for you
NARUTO
yea there's a reason why they knew I wasn't dead because of this necklace
he shows them a necklace and explains what it's for
NARUTO
apparently all ANBU members are required to wear it so when you were there they knew I wasn't dead but they probably knew I had been hurt either that or they found out after you guys left
suddenly the necklace glowed fiery red and it was hot to the touch and since Naruto was still holding it in his hand he knew it was glowing he let it go and they too saw it glowing
SASUKE
why is it glowing like that
NARUTO
it's glowing red which means...Gaara is in trouble we have to tell Tsunade before...
suddenly the crystal just broke into a million pieces and that startles them because he didn't tell them what happened if the crystal broke only if it glowed the same color as that persons necklace and when it cracked they saw Naruto do something no one had ever seen him do before he just ran off without explaining himself and he looked mad enough that Kyubbi should come out but it didn't the group followed him to the memorial stone and they heard him crying and tracing the names of those that had died when Kyubbi attacked but mainly the Yondaime no one dared approach him initially but than Ibiki decided that he might as well try and get through to Naruto after all he had just come back to them with Iruka Ibiki knew he had to do something before he lost it as well
IBIKI
Naruto what's wrong why did the necklace just break like that
NARUTO
because Gaara...Gaara is...Gaara died
that shocked everybody to the core no one had expected that answer so Naruto fully explained the crystal and what everything means if it glows and if it breaks and how a new necklace would be given to him at the funeral should he attend or if not by bird messenger and a note that explains what each color meant this time
NARUTO
we'll probably be getting a messenger bird from sand soon and knowing Tsunade she'll be mad about what it says since we're allies but I don't think she'll know what to do Ibiki once she gets the message if she doesn't call for anyone could you get me because I can possibly help her out with her next move since I know the most right now
IBIKI
I'll do that well we'd best be getting home now it's been a long day
two days later Ibiki didn't have to get Naruto because an ANBU just dropped where he was with his squad and while he didn't say anything they knew what he was going to say
KAKASHI
Tsunade wants all of the Konoha 12 and their sensei's come on guys lets get to the tower
they reach the tower and what Kakashi said is confirmed all members of the Konoha 12 and their Jounin sensei's were there and she had a somber look on her face
TSUNADE
I have some news you need to hear
NARUTO
we already know Gaara is dead
TSUNADE
not just Gaara Naruto but Kankurou and Temari are dead as well they died a few hours after Gaara did due to injuries they got in the same fight that killed Gaara the sand siblings are no more but how did you know Gaara was dead in the first place unless this necklace is for you but I don't know what it's for
NARUTO
it's to let me know who's hurt and who's dead that's how I knew about Gaara they had a necklace like mine and they're all connected to each other the crystal cracked two days ago after glowing Gaara's color I got it before the invasion that "killed" me they always knew I was alive they just didn't know where I was and they also knew I was hurt but they had no idea if Iruka-sensei was alive or not since I was the one with the crystal and he wasn't so they had no way of knowing about Iruka-sensei and the reason they didn't tell you about me being alive is because they had no idea if I would stay alive so yea that's what the necklace is for requesting permission to go to Sand to help them out since they are most likely lost and confused plus the ANBU will need to know that they still have allies within Konoha and that they have not been abandoned because of their leaders death
TSUNADE
permission granted in fact all of Konoha 12 are to go to Sand and assist them in anyway possible
GROUP
hai
the Konoha 12 quickly gathered their supplies and left after only half an hour which surprised many people but than again most of the village had yet to find out about what happened in Sand so once they found out later that day they wouldn't be as surprised three days later they arrived at Sand and were immediately attacked by ANBU (what they had had an intense week everyone was on edge at the moment)
NARUTO
hey calm down we're Konoha shinobi
this goes on for several more minutes before one of the guards finally stops long enough to look at the symbol of the hitaiate and recognized the Leaf symbol so he stopped fight Kakashi and others followed as they also recognized their allies once inside they got full detail and than a surprise showed up Temari and Kankurou were alive what the Sand had brought home were clones designed by the sand siblings just in case something were to ever happen to them but only the sand siblings could recognize the jutsu so if they were ever brought in for identification the healers would have to be told of the jutsu but Gaara was indeed dead Temari and Kankurou had looked for his killers but couldn't find anything and once they saw Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 12 they knew that things were going to get done it was only a matter of time of course before they got down to serious business Naruto got bashed in the head by the two of them for making them worry about him often and so he explained everything in a five minute report stating that they would get more details at a later date and then they started talking about what to do for the good of the village well time passes and the sand village starts to recover from it's loss it takes a while but they manage however they soon get a surprise Gaara was alive the enemy had somehow faked his death and once all that was cleared up things went back to normal in the villages well as normal as any shinobi village is that is