Oh boy. Do I have a pair of doozy chapter for you guys. We're getting closer to the Chunin exams, and things are getting ready to heat up! I do plan to double update, so make sure you read this chapter first. Also, let it be known that I completed this around four in the morning, so the next chapter or two may be a bit... yeah.

Naruto is finally addressing his girl issue. Well, his Hinata issue. I wonder what painfully awkward yet somehow amusing ways I'll have that play out... not like I have any PERSONAL experiences to go off of hah ha ha somebodylovemepls

I own nothing

Back in Konoha Naruto placed his first potted plant on his bedroom windowsill. It was the first thing he did when he got back. He had stopped by Ino's shop, chatted for a few minutes, grabbed the plant, and headed home to drop off his supplies. He was to meet Team 7 at the Hokage Administration Building in ten minutes.

Naruto sat on a kitchen chair to simply think over the past few weeks. After Zabuza and Haku left, Naruto confirmed with Kakashi that he would be able to protect them once he claimed his birthright. After that, the villagers had celebrated the death of Gato with a night-long party, and dozens of volunteers showed up to help with the bridge the next day.

With the help of a hundred or so clones and the extra volunteers, the bridge was finished within two weeks. The story of Naruto's feats had spread during their stay there, and Tazuna held a vote to name the bridge after the blond Jinchuriki.

Speaking of, Kakashi was slightly upset that Zabuza and Haku knew of the fox. On the other hand, Zabuza seemed to really take to Naruto and his last name, so hopefully they would keep quiet.

Naruto stood, stretched, and prodded his mind at Kurama to see if the lazy bastard was still asleep. He was. Walking in silence, Naruto started toward the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi, just to clarify what you said, You believe that the mission was a high A-Rank? Are you sure?" the Hokage held his head in his hands.

"You see, sir, the whole thing started out with an encounter with a pair of chunin missing-nin. After that we requested the assistance of a support genin," Kakashi started.

"Two chunin? You encountered shinobi of that caliber and continued regardless of your team's inexperience?" Hiruzen was shocked at Kakashi's decision.

"Well, yes, but also no. We waited for Naruto here," Kakashi pointed at the blond who smiled innocently. Besides, two chunin to Kakashi was more of a joke than anything.

"Continue," the Third's voice was muffled since his head was laying against his desk.

"We continued on and eventually encountered Zabuza Momochi, one of Kiri's rogue Seven Swordsman."

There was a loud, drawn-out groan from the old Sarutobi.

"After his defeat, we were deceived by one of his allies, a presumably mid-chunin level ninja who was posing as one of Kiri's Hunter-Nin."

The Hokage did not lift his face from his desk, and there were mumbled words that went along the lines of sending more backup.

"Naruto then took temporary command and trained his peers while I took a week to recover from chakra exhaustion. Eventually, we had a rematch with Zabuza and his friend. Kaito suffered semi-serious wounds that Sakura managed to heal with basic knowledge of the Mystical Palm technique. Naruto arrived in time to finish the battle with the masked ninja and capture her."

Kakashi paused to breathe and gauge the reaction of his superior. Kakashi could actually be in deep shit for making such a decision. The fact that everyone was alive was the only reason Kakashi wasn't getting suspended already.

"Gato then arrived on the scene to betray Zabuza, ending our hostilities with the ninja. Naruto then decimated Gato's mob of roughly thirty bandits and allowed Zabuza to kill Gato to show good faith. After action proceedings went smoothly, with no additional hostilities. The bridge was named after Naruto."

This made the old man actually laugh. It was a short, barking laugh, but it was still a good sign. The Hokage stamped a few sheets of paper, the mission upgrade papers, and handed one to each of the team members.

"I don't even want to get into details right now. Team 7 you are dismissed. Naruto, I need to speak with you."

Naruto stood with his hands behind his back, watching curiously as the Hokage rubbed his aging face in frustration. "I don't know why I allowed this position of Support Genin to open up. You're getting requests even before you finish the missions you go on."

Naruto beamed at the information. Looked like he'd never be short of work.

"However, I am enforcing a two week rest period on you. You need to learn and grow more than go on ragtag missions. Did Kakashi teach you anything while you two had the chance?"

"We discussed a few points of village politics and some history. I had planned on just kinda having a bunch of clones read through books for me."

Hiruzen gave a slight frown at that. "Don't rely too heavily on your clones, Naruto. Make sure you learn some things yourself."

"I know, Old Man. Ero-sensei made sure I always did my own training when I had my clones working on stuff."

The Hokage gave a small smile to his student's name. He always did when Naruto brought it up. "Good. In that case, do you think you'll need a tutor?"

"Nah, but it would be nice to talk to someone about that kind of stuff every now and then you know?"

"How about we start getting Ichiraku's Friday nights again, like when you were little?" Hiruzen gave the suggestion with a small smirk, knowing the answer already.

"WELL. I mean, it's not the healthiest. But, I guess I can't say no to the Hokage right?" Naruto's broken up response showed how excited he really was.

"Good. I'll see you this Friday then, and you can tell me how much you enjoyed being in charge for a week! Now get out of here, and make use of your two-week break.

"Your cut of the five-hundred thousand payout of the mission comes out to a hundred grand. After your basic tax cut, here is a banknote for sixty thousand Ryo!"

Naruto left the administration building grumbling. He should have gotten half of Kakashi's cut, he did his job for most of the mission. Naruto wasn't really concerned with the money side of things. He never really spent any except for mission supplies and had a pretty decent amount in his account.

Naruto left the bank with ten thousand Ryo in his pocket and over a hundred grand in the bank. Not bad for a little over twelve-year-old kid. Naruto knew what he wanted to spend his money on this time, and he went straight to Ino's flower shop.

"Naruto! You're back already? Did you already let your plant die?" Ino teased from behind the counter.

Naruto still felt a little stiff around her, but his time simply being with Team 7 made him feel a bit more at ease. "Nah, some of us don't suck the life out of everything."

That was a very Kaito-like joke. Naruto found it funny, and he knew Kaito would as well. However, if Ino was like Sakura… that may have been a mistake.

"Oh, stuff it!" Ino giggled instead of screamed. Not bad, Naruto. "What is it you wanted then?"

"Actually, I came here to blow about two hundred Ryo on a bouquet of flowers."

Ino leaned over the counter and batted her eyelashes at Naruto. "Oh, Naruto! You aren't supposed to let me know you're buying me flowers! You have to get them from somewhere else, silly!"

Oh. OH. Oh no.

"No, uh, Ino! You've got the wrong idea! See, I'm actually. Like. um," Why was talking so much harder when girls made it about liking each other? It was pretty easy up until that point.

"Naruto, you're a regular gigolo. Your sensei would be proud."

"Please, PLEASE help me out of this one."

To Naruto's surprise, Ino only giggled again. "I was just kidding, you dummy! Everyone knows you and Hinata are a thing!"

Naruto sighed extremely loudly and walked in small, fast circles as Kurama laughed at his plight. "How did everyone hear about that before me?"

"We aren't blind. Now! Flowers!" Ino vaulted the counter in an overly provocative manner. "What's the occasion? First date? Gonna ask her to get serious? Surprise gift? I know it's not her birthday. Do you know her favorite flower?"

The questions were rapid-fire and Naruto had no time to answer a single one. Eventually, Naruto interrupted, "Actually, I'm going to try and apologize…"

Ino stopped dead in her tracks. She spun on Naruto and pointed an accusing finger at his chin. "What did you do to that sweet friend of mine, huh?"

Naruto spluttered for an answer at first. "Well, you see, I'm not really all that good at talking to girls yet—"

"Trust me I know."

"— And I might have accidentally told her I only wanted to be friends so I didn't make her life harder."

Ino sighed to herself, walked to the door, and flipped the open sign to closed. "Sit down Naruto. We're gonna practice until you are at least respectable in speaking to girls. Come on."

Naruto gulped as Kurama snorted.

"We're gonna be here a while. Wake me when she starts to strip or something."

"I need you to literally never say that again," and Naruto cut the link.

"It'll be easy. I'll pretend to be Hinata, and you just hit on me as a normal person would okay?"

"Oh, Naruto, you're so strong!" Ino clung to Naruto's arm in the middle of the flower shop.

"Uh, thank you! I am strong to… impress you! Because I find you attractive!" Naruto responded stiffly.

Ino groaned and cut her act. "What are you doing? That's horrible."

"Sakura told me to say what I think of girls and that should work fine."

"Sure, if you can say it romantically. You gotta say it with passion! Tell me how you really feel! Let's try again."

They had been at it for nearly half an hour, and Naruto felt like he was making actual progress.

"Naruto, do you like me?" Ino asked, sitting plainly in her foldable chair avoiding his gaze.

Naruto thought back to all the advice he had ever received. 'Be honest and talk about how you really feel' 'try to convey your emotions through the tone of your words, not simply through their choice. Sometimes, a heartfelt simple speech works better than a methodically crafted one.' 'Don't stare at her chest too long unless you want to get slapped. It's a fine line, but oh boy is it fun to walk!'

"I… I don't think I just like you," Naruto started. He also avoided Ino's stare and fixated his eyes to the floor. "When I think of people that make me the happiest, you come to mind right after the people I consider my family. When I imagine the reasons I am getting strong, protecting you is near the top of my list. If I had to choose someone to spend time with, I think it would be you. But, I don't know how this is supposed to feel or if anyone ever feels like this about anyone, and I'm… scared."

Naruto paused for a shaky breath before continuing. "I've spent so long being so… absolutely sure of everything… that as soon as something as wonderful, as new, and as scary as the way I feel about you comes up, I lose everything I've worked for. All the confidence, all the strength. I feel small and vulnerable. But at the same time, I feel like it's okay because I trust you and I really think I like you and it might be normal to feel like this. I… I don't know if this is what liking someone is supposed to feel like. But if you can forgive me for before, I know that I want to find out with you."

Naruto took another shaky breath before he looked up at Ino. She was staring straight at him, mouth agape and teary eyes wide. "Naruto…"

"Did I do good?" Naruto asked nervously.

Ino wiped the underside of her eyes. "If even half of what you said is true, then you two should get married tomorrow! That was the cutest, sweetest, most thoughtful—"

"I got it Ino."

"Just here!" Ino grabbed a bouquet of red roses and thrust it into Naruto's hands. "Go, go tell her that!"

Naruto smiled, dropped an extra hundred Ryo on the counter for Ino's help, and hugged his fellow blond. Ino melted into the hug, and Naruto swore he felt her arms tighten just before she let go.

"Thank you for everything, Ino!" Naruto told her as he ran out the door.

Ino sat back down after waving goodbye. She fanned her wet eyes one more time as she mumbled to herself, "Stupid, lucky Hinata…"

Naruto stood at the Hyuuga gates still dressed in his traveling clothes. He couldn't risk taking the time to change or his newfound ability might disappear. There was a pair of Hyuuga at the gates, their blank eyes boring into him as the one to Naruto's left spoke up.

"What's your business here?"

"I'm, uh, I'm here to see Hinata," Naruto managed to say.

The guard on the right saw the flowers and smiled. "Another hopeless suitor eh? Might as well go give it a shot kid. She'll be in the gardens to the right of this main path here."

Naruto walked through the fancy walkway and saw the opening to the gardens. He hid the roses behind his back and stepped into the soft light. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the direct sunlight since he just came from under a stone arch, and when they finished adjusting he couldn't breathe.

Hinata sat on her knees next to a pond. She was tending the flowers that lined the water, and there was a small fountain in the middle of the pond that bubbled softly. She wasn't wearing her bulky coat at the moment, and the smooth fabric of her kimono almost shone in the sunlight.

Add in a few butterflies and a unicorn and Naruto might even suspect genjutsu.

His palms suddenly unreasonably clammy and his breath shaking as it left his lungs, Naruto took a step forward. The link he shared with Kurama was already shut off, so Naruto was truly alone in this instance. Naruto only made it halfway to her before she noticed him. She stood and brushed her knees as she waited for him to get closer.

"Come to visit friends, Naruto? Where's everyone else?" Hinata's voice retained its gentle elegance, but it was devoid of the nerves that plagued her for years.

"Uh, actually… I came to uh. You know. Hey, your stutter is gone?"

Damnit Naruto. You're better than this. You practiced for this, come on.

Hinata didn't notice Naruto's internal grimace, or at least she pretended not to. "Yes, when you refused to have me I realized that there was nothing left to be nervous about."

This time Naruto reacted visually, his face scrunching up like he had taken a physical blow.

"Yeah, I was pretty stupid. I'm still pretty stupid, and I don't want to be anymore," why was this so much harder with Hinata? That was NOT what he wanted to say. At least, not the way he wanted to say it.

Hinata kept an impassive face and turned back to her flowers. "Look, Naruto. If you wish to 'hang out', then you will have to wait until tomorrow like the rest of our friends. Today is reserved for my Clan to conduct meetings, and every member not on a mission must remain on the grounds."

"Hinata wait!" Naruto took another step forward as he bit his lip.

She turned her face back to him.

"I'm trying… I'm trying to apologize," he slowly revealed the flowers in his hand. "You just surprised me, and I've never really had to deal with anything like that before, and I DO like you, and you were right and I think we should try whatever it is you said because no one else makes me stupid like this and I think I like this feeling as much as I think I like you!"

Naruto ended his profession with his eyes closed and roses outstretched. He was trying to get his breath back because he had poured out his thoughts in one long exhale.

Naruto felt the bouquet pulled from his grasp, and he opened his eyes. Hanaita stood in front of him, the flowers pulled close as she smelled their aroma. She was hiding a small smile behind the petals, one that peeked through only in a handful of places.

"I accept."

And then her eyes went wide in fear, and her gaze traveled above Naruto's head. Naruto stood impossibly straight and tried to shift his eyes to his left without moving his head. Someone was behind him. Someone tall.

"I believe it's time that the three of us had a small chat, daughter."

Fuck.

"What do you offer that would make me consider allowing you to court my daughter?" Hiashi had brought the two genin into a small room and sat Naruto across from him and his daughter interrogation style. His hard, pale eyes bored into Naruto, and he definitely had the protective father bit down.

"Uh, I'll protect her. And, um, give her nice things. And I'll be Hokage one day so—"

"Hinata is the Hyuuga Heiress. She will never lack anything she desires and will have an entire compound to live in. Also, do not offer things that are not yet set in stone, for I have no way to enforce your claims and I can't take your word."

Naruto made the split second decision to be totally open with Hiashi and Hinata. She deserved to know anyways. "Can I get your word that nothing I say leaves this room? I'm about to disclose highly sensitive information to you both… and Hinata will be free to change her mind when I'm finished…" that last part was a real possibility and it pained Naruto to think about.

"You have our word," Hiashi looked at his daughter as he said so.

"May I place silencing seals around this room?" Naruto pushed further. Hinata looked confused but her father merely nodded. Naruto did so and sat back down.

"By the Third's law, I am the only person allowed to disclose this information. If anyone is caught doing so they will be executed."

Hinata looked a bit worried, but Naruto figured her father knew what was coming already.

"The Yondaime couldn't kill the Kyuubi. He could only seal it away so it couldn't come back. To do so, he had to make a jinchuriki, a human sacrifice, of a baby. A baby would be the only living being who would grow to adapt enough to chakra that immense and powerful. So he chose me."

Naruto stood, raised the belly of his shirt, and activated the one-tail cloak. Hinata gasped audibly, but Hiashi remained impassive.

"I have since then learned a few things about both the Yondaime and the Kyuubi. Hiashi, you surely knew that the Yondaime was a selfless but powerful Hokage," Naruto got a nod in confirmation, "but you did not know a few things. Firstly, that the Kyuubi was controlled by someone to attack the village and wasn't in his right mind. Kyuubi's original purpose was to protect the Land of Fire."

Hishi furrowed his brow in thought at that, but Hinata was still holding a shell-shocked face from the initial reveal.

"That doesn't help my case of dating your daughter though. The thing is, since the Yondaime was so selfless, he couldn't ask someone to do something he wouldn't do himself. Like, sacrifice their firstborn son to be a jinchuriki."

This got Hiashi to look startlingly at Naruto. And Hinata started to sway as if lightheaded.

"I am the legitimate son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I am set to inherit the Uzumaki Memorial Compound and the Namikaze estate attached to its side. I do not believe that there is a substantial amount of money hidden away for me, but I will make my fortune myself, and I would be honored if you allowed me to try and convince Hinata to share in it with me."

Naruto had dropped every bomb he had, and he used every lesson in clan politics Kakashi had taught him (Not a lot actually) to persuade the Hyuga elder. Naruto sat in an uneasy silence as Hinata rested her forehead against the table and Hiashi rubbed his temples.

"Naruto, I was more than prepared to allow you to date my daughter. You're all she's thought of since she was a little girl. I simply had to put on a show to keep up appearances within the clan. But now…"

Naruto didn't drop the smile he had, but he slammed his own forehead to the wood of the table. Hard.

"I am grateful that you placed silencing seals on the room, for now, I can speak candidly. Hinata has made it very clear to me that being the head of the clan would make her miserable. She is also not the most… adept fighter in the clan, and her younger sister is showing great amounts of promise. I've been devising a way to get her out of the clan without wrecking her name or getting her stuck with the Caged seal…"

Naruto knew about the seal. It was basically a glorified slave seal and was the biggest blight on the Hyuga name, even if it had saved the bloodline on more than one occasion.

"I could learn to remove it."

The room went still.

"What?" Hiashi's voice was lower than it had been before Naruto suggested the act.

"If I could study it I could probably learn to remove it."

"Father, if he could then we could…" Hinata trailed off as her father stood and walked over to a random shelf. He stood with his arms crossed in contemplation, and his eyebrows nearly met with how hard he was scrunching them.

"The Elders would throw a fit. Possibly remove me from Clan head. If you did this, Naruto, it would have to remain a secret. But it does open up a few new avenues…"

Naruto sat in uncomfortable silence as Hiashi stood in deep thought. "So, uh, does that mean you approve?"

"Personally, yes. But the council of Elders will never stand for it until you bring to light what you've told me. That being said, I have to ask you to either keep this under the radar or hold off altogether."

"Naruto, how long will you keep this a secret again?" Hinata asked quietly. Her blush was starting to return at the prospect of finally getting Naruto's attention, but her stutter thankfully didn't return.

"The Chunin exams. In the final round I'll drop a few bombs, and hopefully, I won't get killed by a mob."

Hiashi snorted from his position near the shelf. "You're more likely to get smothered by suitors. I have a plan of action now. You two are to wait to begin anything, even outside of public eyes, until I give you the word. Understood?"

A pair of yes' were his response.

"Good. Naruto, thank you for your offer and company, but I can't allow you to date the Hyuga Heiress. Please leave the compound quietly," Hiashi asked in a different tone. Naruto jumped at the sentence and then realized that he was supposed to tell everyone that was his response if they asked.

Before Naruto could leave the silenced room, however, Hinata hugged him fiercely and whispered, "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto spent two weeks doing light training, heavy studying, and spending time with his 'friends'. He still used the term loosely since he only felt a real connection with Team 7, but he was making an effort with everyone he worked with. Ino was moving up the ranks in his friend's list (if that was even a thing) since she often offered him advice on how to have a secret romance with Hinata.

Everyone figured that Naruto was denied the right to pursue Hinata, and the only ones who talked about it were Ino and Team 7. Kaito was trying to hook Naruto up with a few different civilian girls, Sakura was offering her ear if Naruto wanted to gripe about the unfairness of life, Ino was trying to convince Naruto that love couldn't be denied or something along those lines, and Sasuke said: "That sucks." Naruto played it off as best he could, but he also was no longer training with Kurenai's team since the woman thought there was bad blood.

Training wise Naruto had started meditating while in Kurama's cloak. Kurama figured it would help stretch his chakra coils and increase reserves of both kinds chakra. Naruto would follow it up by sparring clones and practicing jutsu. The Hokage had given him the scroll to an extremely useful offensive wind jutsu, Pressure Damage, and Naruto was determined to learn it without his clones at the Third's request. It was extremely difficult, old, and few people knew of it, so it would be a good trump card at mid-range.

Naruto had met with the old Sarutobi a handful of times. Once for a social call at the Old Man's office, both Fridays during his two week break period, and just recently when Naruto was cleared for missions again.

Naruto did use his clones to study. He found studying a lot harder than training and welcomed the extra help. Sometimes Kakashi would come over and help him remember parts of history, but usually, he sat alone reading about politics and how it can completely mess with his ninja career. Turns out the Hokage is just a crazy strong politician.

The morning after Naruto was cleared for missions he found himself in the Mission Lounge. He didn't recognize anyone from his first visit to the room, so he didn't have to worry about getting noticed. After looking over the D-Ranks he did actually notice that they were real missions now. 'Rampant wild boars near the outskirts of Konoha' 'lost hunting hounds tracking a wolf, assistance requested' 'Pair of civilian families raising arms against one another, mediator needed, possible conflict'. Yeah, no more team bonding missions.

The C-Rank board was empty, likely because it was later in the morning.

Naruto didn't really see anything that caught his attention though. It wasn't like he was tight on cash, so maybe he'd spend another week training. It would be nice to go back to that barbeque place too. And more ramen… usually, he'd go to get BBQ when he was invited to eat with a team or with others, but when it was his choice he picked Ichiraku's.

Naruto walked out of the administrations building with his hands in his pockets. He kept his eyes down, he knew he'd see spiteful ones staring back if he caught any civilian's gaze.

"Naruto!" Naruto looked up to the familiar sounding voice. It was Choji, waving him down.

"Hey Choji, I was just thinking about you," Naruto smiled as the boy approached.

"Uh," the Akimich munched a chip, "don't say that. That was weird."

Naruto didn't drop his smile but gave Choji an odd look. It was of little consequence in the end.

"So listen, Naruto, we're getting ready to head out on a C-Rank mission and Sensei said you just got cleared for missions again. Wanna come?"

Naruto perked up at this. "What's the mission?"

"We don't know yet, Asuma-sensei is going to tell us over barbecue. You should come with me!"

"Choji you're not going to like this, but I was actually just thinking about getting barbecue with you."

Choji simply started walking away. "Come on man, that isn't cool. We both like girls, so stop saying that kind of stuff."

Naruto was starting to pick up on how friends teased each other lightly, and he thought he was doing a pretty good job.

Naruto sat with a piece of charred pork in his mouth, savoring the taste as he slowly chewed. He made small talk with Choji and Ino as Shikamaru dozed off against the window. Asuma was due to show up any minute, and Naruto was honestly getting excited.

The door's bell rang, and the three kids looked to see who entered. Shikamaru slept on.

Asuma smiled as he held up a mission scroll and walked to the table. "Hey guys, just had to run back to the house for the mission. How's the barbecue today?"

Choji spoke for the meat, with copious amounts in it still in his mouth. "It's great, like always!"

Ino smacked his head and scolded him as Asuma slid into the booth next to Shikamaru. Was that the common thing for the girls to do? Whack their teammates to keep them in line?

"Anyways, it's a pretty simple mission. We're just playing bodyguard during a shipment transaction in a town a day's travel away. Naruto, I know you're more into trouble-seeking, but I got you approved for this mission if you want to come."

Ino giggled as Naruto said, "I don't go looking for trouble, it just sorta happens! And I would love a nice, normal mission for once."

"Good, then we leave at first light. We leave early, finish the mission, stay the night, and then leave in the morning," Asuma rolled the paper up and then started eating his share of the meat.

Naruto silently vowed to grab a serving of Ramen before he left, since this mission could very well turn as sour as the last ones have. He had a talent for that kind of thing.

Naruto laid down the next day on the couch of his living room fat and happy. A serving of ramen for him could mean anywhere between five and twenty-five bowls. He had his travel pack ready to go next to him, and it was fitted for any standard C-Rank mission although this one would be much shorter. It was prepacked when he was preparing scrolls at the beginning of his two-week layoff, and he wasn't going to dig through to change anything.

In one scroll he had his personal items. Food, water, bedroll, tent, and extra clothes. In another scroll were his extra weapons; shuriken, kunai, and a few extra yards of ninja wire. The next scroll held his sealing equipment, and it was full of ink, blank paper tags, and premade bomb-tags. These three scrolls were sealed into a triple-layered sealing array scroll of his own making. Ero-sensei said true masters could make them have dozens upon dozens of individually activating layers, but Naruto could work with his maximum of three.

That scroll sat in a pocket on his left thigh, strapped in for the ride. The other pocket had a similar triple sealing scroll, but it was filled with items in the case that there was someone that needed rescuing. Extra food and clothes in one scroll, the extra mattress and tent Naruto brought with him to wave, and the third spot held an empty scroll Naruto could fill with extra belongings.

Now it was time to meet Asuma and his genin at the main gate, and hope to Kami that this mission wouldn't go haywire as every other C-Rank Naruto did…

Update, normal C-ranks suck. Team 10 got back to Konoha two days ago, and Naruto was back in the Mission board room looking for C-Ranks that could get crazy because there was no way he was putting up with the tame ones anymore. It was literally just hours and hours of standing around and training in his off time. Granted, Naruto was happy that he had time to socialize with the team and start perfecting his new ideas on a few seals, but it got boring pretty quickly.

Naruto knew Ino felt nearly the same way and had hoped that the mission would have been affected by Naruto's luck to become more interesting. Now though, he stood in front of the C-Ranked missions and took the only one that seemed to hold any semblance of danger; border patrol along the border of Land of Hot Springs. He might even run into Ero-sensei…

It would be about a month long at the least, and Naruto knew that he'd have plenty of time to train in more destructive techniques while he was out. Pressure damage, here we come. During the last mission Naruto had managed to change his presence into a calming aura for extended periods of time, and now he also wanted to experiment with extending his range along with mixing in Kurama's chakra.

"Will we get to fight on this mission?" damn fox must've heard the thoughts about him.

"Honestly, I hope so. I know it's not right to hope for conflict, but it's pretty boring otherwise."

"You're telling me."

Not wasting any more time, Naruto went home to pack. He wouldn't have to worry too much about food supplies since there was an off-duty station he would stay at every few days or something like that. All he really needed was clothes, weapons, sealing supplies, and maybe something to read while he wasn't on duty or training.

Naruto walked into Higurashi's looking to pick up a few extra sets of throwables. He had two and they would suffice for the actual mission, but he still wanted to practice on his off days. Naruto saw that it was Tenten at the desk this time, and he gave her a smile as he automatically moved to the shelves of shuriken and kunai.

Naruto picked up another pair of each set, and he walked over to a waiting Tenten. "How come every time I come in here it seems dead?" he asked.

Tenten shrugged. "Most people come in at the beginning of the month and buy everything they need. The rest of the month we only have about half a dozen customers a day."

"Huh, weird. Hey, do you have anything I can read through in some off time? I picked up a patrol mission to the North."

Tenten's face brightened as she pointed to the back of the store. "Behind that door on the left is a room of scrolls and books that are essential to ninja. I think you'll find something you like."

Naruto thanked her and made his way the back room. He stepped inside and his eyes widened, mimicking his mouth. The walls were lined with scrolls, sections cut out for the different ranks of ninja in the village. The back wall had actual books, likely on tactics and such.

Naruto obviously went to the genin section first. As he thought, there was nothing that he either didn't already know or had no interest in. Moving to the next block of scrolls, the chunin section, Naruto was surprised to see much of the same. Naruto saw a sign above the jounin section that noted that he would have to prove his rank to purchase them, so he looked through the harder end of the chunin scrolls.

There. Elemental Manipulation. That's something he wanted to learn. Naruto picked up the scroll and noted that it was a bit pricier than the others in the section. Not paying too much mind to it since he knew he could cover it, Naruto nodded to himself as he walked back to Tenten.

"Elemental manipulation?" Tenten asked as she tallied everything up. "That's some pretty heavy stuff. Sensei hasn't even broached that subject yet."

Naruto shot her a large grin, "It's something to work towards you know?"

Naruto paid for his weapons and the scroll, said goodbye, and walked happily out the door. He finally had something that might add to his arsenal instead of refining it. Naruto put his new toys and the scroll away, and used a quick shunshin to get to the North Gate and left.

"You will travel for two days along the border before turning around. Once you get back, you will have twelve hours to rest up before doing the same except in the opposite direction. Upon your return, you will get three days of some off time that you may spend however you like before repeating the process. We have about a dozen shinobi on staff at all times, and half as many samurai to handle escorting low priority captures. Aside from myself, there are currently two jonin on duty followed by eight chunin with a pair of shadowing genin. Do you have any questions so far?" the grizzled outpost commander, Hotoki Akimichi, asked as he led Naruto through the base.

"Do you know Choji?"

The large man had the look of both Choji and his father, so Naruto had to ask. Commander Hotoki gave him a slight frown. "I meant about your duties for the next couple of months, but yes, I do. His father is my clan head and third cousin."

Naruto smiled and continued to follow the man.

"This is the main dining hall," Naruto took quick note of its location. "Four-day rations will be provided. As far as possible combat goes, don't expect too much. It's usually a small group of bandits if anything, and foreign ninja typically go through designated checkpoints to enter the country for missions. We don't get too many visitors from Iwa and Kumo, though, so if you do see any ninja from either village be on your guard. We aren't on the best terms."

Naruto remained silent as the man continued on. The information was nice since it was his first time, but he hoped that it wouldn't happen every time he took this kind of mission.

"Those twins there are Kira and Mira Suzuki, and as soon as the last pair of chunin get in from Tanzaku Gai they will be the chunin team you tag along with," a pair of chunin were lounging in a room on a couch. They seemed to be in their late teens and were idly talking.

Naruto interrupted him there. "Excuse me, sir, but I don't have too much need for an actual team. I am proficient in the Shadow Clone Jutsu and specialize in fighting outnumbered."

"You still need to shadow experienced ninja and get the experience. It's rare for a solo genin to get the clearance to do this kind of thing, so I can't allow you to be too reckless. And Shadow clones aren't reliable enough in number to make any sort of actual fighting force. You know that."

Naruto was careful with his next words since he didn't want to upset his commanding officer. "I can always talk to the twins for tips I might need, and I can create upwards of a thousand clones before I start to feel winded."

The jonin Akimichi looked at Naruto with doubt evident in his gaze.

"I know you're old enough to know personally about my… tenant. I can do all of that without his 'cooperation'" Naruto used air quotes around the word, "and I am fully capable of taking down jonin if I utilize all of my 'options' the Yondaime forced on me."

Naruto hated dancing around the subject, but it was something that had to be done.

"I do know of your 'tenant', as you put it. And I am going to allow your solo excursions simply because it sounds like you are able to utilize its destructive nature."

"If only he knew the half of it."

"Hush he's saying yes."

"Go talk to the Suzuki twins. Learn what you can until the rest of their team gets here, and leave when they do. You'll be a buffer force headed West as they run East."

The commander turned and made his way to the food court as Naruto smiled at his victory.

"So far so good I'd say!"

Naruto walked into the lounge as he responded, "Yup, I wouldn't be able to use your chakra if I was with a team. I don't plan to tell anyone here the specifics of our partnership."

"Hi, guys!" Naruto smiled as he sat across from Kira and Mira.

"You the genin we have shadowing us? I'm Mira, and this is my sister Kira," Mira said.

"Actually, I guess our bosses decided my skills work better solo. I'm just here to see if you girls can give me any tips," Naruto made a show of rubbing the back of his head as he spoke.

"What? Jonin are the only ones to go solo! How'd you convince them of that?" Kira asked, sitting up and moving her dark hair out of her face.

"Well, I'm pretty much a one-man army with my shadow clones, and I'm better at fighting when I'm outnumbered."

Kira nodded in acceptance. "Must be the collateral damage of your jutsu then. Oh well, I guess we could help you out, kid."

Mira was still a bit shocked, though. "Unbelievable. It seems pretty reckless to send a kid out alone. Not my place I guess. What did you need to know?"

Naruto sat in thought for a moment. "Well, what do I do if I run into people I shouldn't?"

Kira laughed, "The only people you should run into is other border teams. Other than that you interrogate and kill. Or capture, if they're important enough." Both girls looked closely at Naruto, waiting for his reaction to the news.

"Probably kill, then. Commander Akimichi said we don't get too many high profile names this close to Kumo and Iwa."

The twins gave each other a look and had an entire conversation using their eyes and faces. Damn twin speak.

"Don't cover too much ground in a day. You should only travel about fifteen or twenty miles in an hour if you aren't a sensor type, and try to sleep only a few hours a night. Don't expect a real rest until you get back, people sneaking in will come at any hour."

Naruto took note of this, and several other things as he waited for the time to leave.