Chapter 25
Tsunade stood up as Kushina entered her office.
She wanted to show some respect to the woman; she didn't want to come up as someone trying to force things because she knew that the Uzumaki would not like that at all.
She had to work things out a bit delicately at this time because she came out forceful, she would meet a hard rock that grow arms and hit her back if she tried to bully it.
Kushina wasn't the one to be bullied.
She has learned that these women with connections with Naruto needed to be handled with care or else she would not get anything from them. Even Mikoto hadn't let a damn thing slip, even though she had asked some good questions that would confuse a normal person.
"Thanks for coming, Kushina." Tsunade said with a smile. "Please make yourself comfortable."
Kushina didn't sit down; she stared at the blonde Senju for a long minute.
"Thanks, but why did you call for me, Hokage-sama?"
When Kushina was calling her so respectfully, they were not speaking as people who had known each other since the redhead was younger. The woman normally, called her by name. This was just a warning shot, and she had to be careful with how she responded or else the woman would turn back and leave.
She could not force her to stay.
Tsunade breathed in, calming her thoughts before she settled down.
"I want to talk about Naruto." She said in a firm but a not forceful tone–just to signify that it was a serious matter, but she wasn't being forceful about it.
"We have already had this discussion and what did I say about it?" Kushina asked calmly.
"We are never to discuss Naruto when he isn't present if there is something I want to know." Tsunade repeated the damn words Kushina had made her say the last time they had a discussion about Naruto – to say discussion was a bit misleading; she had actually been interrogating the Uzumaki.
A naïve mistake on her part.
"It seems you remember." Kushina said. "Then there is no need for me to stay here. Good day, Tsunade…"
"Kushina." Tsunade started in a pleading tone. "I'm sorry about how I came up to you last time. I was just a bit frustrated. Can you please sit? I just want to talk as someone who wants to understand the situation better, if you don't like how I am talking, you can leave and I will never bother you again; you have my word."
Kushina smiled, "I'm still under no obligation to answer your questions." she said as she sat down.
Oh, she knew the woman wanted to ask questions about Naruto. last time out she hadn't answered anything because the woman had been demanding things from her and calling her son by names.
She had not appreciated it.
"Thank you." Tsunade said.
She didn't get to it because she still had to sort out how she was going to go about it. this was the moment she could strike a friendship with Kushina or they could be enemies. she was potentially going to make a deal with Naruto soon, depending on how things went here, she would be making a deal with the devil, but if things went okay, she would still be in bed with his mother.
That would make things safe.
As if Kushina was reading her thoughts, she spoke words that just shattered her thoughts.
"Just in case you're having ideas; Naruto does not like people who try to come up to him through me."
Tsunade didn't say anything that would incriminate her: she just smiled, "Thanks for the warning; I will walk carefully. Listen, Kushina; Last time I may have come as trying to find information from you that would make me turn on your son, but that wasn't the idea. I have spoken to Naruto, and he has it made it clear that he doesn't want any trouble with me; we don't have to be friends, but as long as we have a good working relationship, he is fine."
Kushina tilted her head to the side. "If he has come to you with that, what more do you need?" the Uzumaki asked. "I know my son wouldn't lie about something like that. He almost never lies, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't mix things up."
"I know he wasn't lying; Shikaku agrees with me as well. Well, actually he is the first person to suggest to more straightforward and frank relationship with your son." Tsunade said honestly.
"My problem is that I don't understand him, and my lack of understanding makes it difficult for me to deal with him. I know he doesn't hold any love for Konoha, but it has been pointed out to me that he doesn't despise the villagers for everything that they put your family through. Of course, that raises questions because as far as I have been told, Naruto doesn't forgive anyone who harms his mother…I am concerned about that."
"Oh." Kushina mouthed before falling silent for a couple of seconds. "What do you expect from a child, Tsunade? Do you expect a child to get things right?"
"Of course not, you expect them to mess things up and sometimes infuriate you to the point where you just want to beat them up…Regardless, a child is a child, you cannot hate them for what they do, unless they know it's wrong and they are doing it purposefully…" Tsunade responded. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Maybe at first Naruto felt contempt for the villagers but he was controlled about it…He didn't lash out. I was the one who lashed out. My son felt that as long as I was angry, there was no need to be angry as well. My anger was enough for both of us. That only solved the part of his lack of action towards the villagers but not contempt. At some point he stopped seeing them as people, to something less, not human. Maybe they were just vile creatures or uncivilised monkeys who could not discriminate between right and wrong. Therefore, for them, what they did was natural for them. As you said, you cannot hate a child for messing up; that is normal for them, right?"
That was just a complex and twisted way of accepting things; it was just wrong. Naruto had diminished their value as humans to something more like trash in order to 'tolerate' their existence.
It wasn't right for someone to do something like that, yet it showed just how much Naruto was willing to go just so he could not dilute himself with hate.
If he had learned to hate, the results would have been disastrous.
Should she be thankful that he had lived that way? There was a lot that had happened, so many things the Sandaime Hokage had witnessed being done to the Uzumaki.
"Did you accept it?"
"It was not whether I accepted his way or not, but even if I did not accept it there was nothing I could do at that time. It wouldn't have helped if I had tried to make him see things different if the moment I say something someone comes up and curses his existence and I get mad to the point where he has to hold me back from ripping them apart."
Tsunade wasn't surprised; there were records of such events.
It did say something though; had he felt that they were not worth his mother's anger? She doubted that he had held back his mother because he realized if she did something it would only worsen the situation.
It must have been difficult though.
Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage, and yet the villagers had resented him; they had accused him of killing their beloved Hokage. That man they cried for was Naruto's father, so in a sense, they were accusing the blond of killing his own father.
They might not have known, but it didn't change anything.
What they did was sickening. To accuse a mere child being a demon, the Kyubi incarnate. People did some crazy things in their anger, and grief. She would know better because in her madness, she had left this village had blamed it for killing her loved ones. But that wasn't the truth, was it?
She had resented Konoha for what had happened, and they had resented Naruto for what happened.
Minato had died wishing that they could see his son as a hero, because in truth, it was because of Naruto that the Kyubi had been stopped. She could not take away anything from Minato; for having the heart to sacrifice his own son for the sake of the village–that was something that made him a great Hokage.
Instead of seeing his son as a hero, the villagers had looked at him with unmasked contempt; they had spat on the wish of the very man they called their hero.
How had her sensei been so kind enough to lead such people?
She should not be the one saying, should she?
Tsunade looked at Kushina and asked. "What about now… how does he view them?"
"Things have changed, Naruto is changing." Kushina said. "People don't always remain the same…Even if it is a little, people do change. There are so many things happening in this world that happen around us. You cannot force true change; that is something I have learned with Naruto. My son isn't some evil person. I'm in no way saying that he is a saint… he does some things, bad. and I will not justify it by saying that it is because of what the villagers did to us. Ultimately, we all choose how to live our lives, my son has chosen his way. As his mother, I'm there to give him guidance, ensure that he doesn't fall into a dark pit. Just because I am his mother, doesn't mean that I must choose for him.
Even so, no matter what, Naruto is my son and nothing he will do will change that. I will always love him, and will not betray my feelings as a mother to anyone, not to this village, not to you. Minato already chose Konoha, I can't choose Konoha as well over him. It would be betrayal, and I know my son, it would break him…"
Tsunade could understand; she was not a mother, but a mother's first instinct was to protect their children, regardless.
At least she knew that even though Konoha was unfair to the pair, Kushina still did love this village, if not, she would have taken Naruto away from here to somewhere else. The reason the two were still here because the Uzumaki did hold this village to heart and the sacrifice her husband made, wasn't something she was willing to turn her back on, even though Konoha did so.
"How does Naruto view the villagers now?"
"I don't know; but as I have said, things have changed. They don't resent him, but do not come to him. Most just try to ignore him. They have gone around the idea that he is the son of the former Hokage and maybe what they did was wrong. Sasuke had a mission when he came back here; it was to decide whether this village was worth protecting and fighting for. If it was filled by just trash, then it would not be worth it."
Tsunade frowned.
That was the first time she was learning of something like that.
"What did he discover?"
"Well, he is still a shinobi of this village, isn't he?" Kushina asked with a smile. "Mikoto told me, but whatever you do, you will not be able to break apart those two. Neither is willing to admit, but they have come through a long way together, and they are friends. They are each other's one and only trusted friend."
Tsunade nodded; she had been coming this the wrong way, coming in with hostility. These people did not mean any harm to anyone, they just wanted to live their lives the way they wanted but there were some things that needed to be kept in check. She simply could not allow them to do as they pleased.
She was the Godaime Hokage.
"Thank you for sharing this with me, Kushina." Tsunade said in an honest tone.
"Your son has been somewhat open with me in what he wants. Of course, I still think there are some things that he doesn't say, but I should have never doubted sensei's work. In his report, he did say that unless Konoha did something to you, Naruto would remain here. I was just worried as a leader with what happened to Danzo. If Naruto thought I was out to get him, what would stop him from trying the same thing he did with that man to me? As a leader, I had to consider such a thing, because really, it was a possibility."
"Naruto isn't driven by paranoia." Kushina said in a firm tone. "Danzo's thought was proven and the fact that he was willing to reach it to you, to try to make things smooth should have given you enough reason to think such an outcome would not come."
"I know." Tsunade said. "But, thank you."
Training Ground 7
A panting Neji settled down out of weariness.
He had been in the training ground doing rounds with Naruto; the Uzumaki wasn't forgiving and brutal. He was learning what it meant to train hard. It wasn't to say that he hadn't trained hard before. Everything that he has learned so far has been something that he had learned himself without the help of anyone, not the Hyuga clan, no one had helped him.
Still, he had believed that he was skilled, that was why he was good at what he does. Everyone had looked at his skills and have been awed. He was hailed as a prodigy of the Hyuga clan, and yet before Uzumaki Naruto it all meant nothing.
The Uzumaki was surely far more skilled than him, and better just as Hinata had said. He hadn't been willing to come to the blond, but she had insisted saying that he would be helped and that with Naruto's training, he would grow stronger than he was already.
She had kept saying he needed to be stronger for the future, what kind of future, she did not say.
"I must admit." Naruto started looking at Neji. "Despite your arrogance, you are skilled and everything you have learned so far is nothing to scoff at. It is even much more impressive knowing that you didn't have anyone to help you in your training; you've had to learn through your body.
"I'm not a prodigy, but I have bettered those called geniuses because of dedication to training. It isn't just skill that makes you strong, it is also the ability to learn. You must have also the mind to calculate and think; if you cannot think, even the smallest things will take you down."
Hinata smiled as he got into the picture: Naruto might have said she should stay away, but if he was going to be in Neji's presence, then there was no need for that to happen. Besides, she was pushing for a meeting with the blond and her father to clean out the tension between them.
They have not met, but she knew her father wasn't fond of the blond.
As someone who trained and bettered her, Hinata couldn't have her father hating on him.
"I think people don't call you a genius because of your attitude." Hinata said with a smile. "By all accounts, you are a prodigy; you have the skill and wit to make use of everything you know."
For a moment, Naruto thought of comparing himself with Orochimaru, but the idea repulsed him so much that he quickly erased the thoughts inside his head.
Orochimaru had been called a genius despite his twisted personality, so Hinata's reason didn't carry much weight.
"I have never been concerned with what people call me." Naruto responded calmly. "What is your goal, Neji?"
The Hyuga stood up and looked up into the heavens; what was he that he was fighting for really?
For now, he was Hinata's protector, her guard. He was her cousin, but she was from the main branch and he was following the fate that has fallen everyone from the branch family.
This was his life but he wanted to change it.
Hinata often said that he was free to be himself, but honestly, he was not free. As long as the caged bird seal was still on his forehead, he could never be free. They might not be visible, but Neji felt that there were shackles that were holding him down, depriving him of his freedom.
He could not deny that things have changed, starting with Hiashi opening up to him and treating him kindly. He was an important member of the clan, but the chains on him were not loose. He was still a caged bird.
Hinata spoke about changing things when she does become clan head, but for that to happen, she had to remain pure, and inside the clan; if not, she would not make her dream come true. She still has everything, strength was needed to fight future battles, as she has acknowledged, it would not be simple changing generations of tradition.
"Freedom." Neji managed to say.
He wanted freedom from his fate.
"You must understand what freedom means before you try to find it. But one thing I can tell you is that; people can chain your movements, dreams but there is no one who can chain your mind. For some people, it isn't other people who have chained them, but they are restricted by their own ideals, beliefs. If you free yourself from your own beliefs, mind-set, it will be easy to get loose from the chains. Think about those words, Neji. Because that Caged-Bird Seal isn't what is holding you back, but your own ideal. When you hold twisted beliefs, you will become a slave to it, and I tell you, once you become a slave to your beliefs, getting out of it is difficult, though not impossible if you try."
Neji stared at the Uzumaki for a long minute before simply nodding; he didn't comment on what Naruto had said.
It was something that no one had told him before, and his not so stupid mind could weigh the words as having sense in them. It wasn't just some nonsense a parent told a kid to calm them down; the words were true and could not be understood by a simple person.
It even took a kind of a person to utter them.
"That should be enough for today." Naruto said before turning to Hinata. "I will send you further instructions on how to go about his training. Things are going to get busy from now on…So I may only have time to see how far things are going."
He was going to engage the Akatsuki soon, and he had to make a visit to Kirigakure; the visit was important to his plans, it was important for tomorrow. The engagements would be happening outside the Hidden Leaf, so he will not be having the time to play sensei to eager students, Ino included.
He wasn't most worried about the Yamanaka though.
Once Sai settles down, he would teach her what she needed to learn.
"That is fine." Hinata said. "Neji is smart; I'm sure he will be fine by himself. Well, I will also be around anyway. Since I have been active as the clan heiress, father has limited my involvement as a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf."
It wasn't surprising; not the least.
Hiashi made sure that his daughter was only exposed to minimum danger to ensure that her safety was secured. It was in such times that clan heads prioritise their clans over the good of the village. The Hyuga was the biggest clan now, so Hinata had to be given more responsibilities.
"Does that mean that your younger sister will carry the torch of the clan along with Neji within Konoha's forces?" Naruto asked.
Hinata nodded.
"Regrettably, yes. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he refused to change his mind. This is actually the reason I am still active as a kunoichi for Konoha. If Hanabi was safe, I would no longer be wearing Konoha's headband. You will meet her someday and she will also become your student."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the statement from Hinata; she wasn't asking him to take her younger sister as a student, she was telling him that Hanabi would become his student soon.
Since when did things become like that?
With Neji, she had asked him, but not on this one.
Was it because she knew that if he captured both the Hyuga girls, he would have the Hyuga clan in his 'hands'?
Naruto smiled, amused by the thought. He didn't put it past the girl to have something like that in mind. She was tempting him, giving him things he liked just to see what he would do with them.
"You're growing, Hinata." Naruto said calmly. "But there is no need for me to extend myself that far. I have you; there is nothing else I need."
"That is unexpected." Hinata said but there was no disappointment in her tone.
"I will try another day." She said. "Let us go, Neji; it appears Naruto-kun has some guests."
"Uninvited guests." Naruto said.
"But guests nonetheless." Hinata responded as she walked away.
Neji followed her quickly.
After those two disappeared, two men flashed on each side of Naruto; the other attacked by lifting up his right foot, aiming at Naruto's left shoulder; the other drove a right punch towards the side of his head. Both attacks were going towards the blond simultaneously.
Naruto responded by ducking under both attacks.
As soon as his hands touched down, the ground burst through, a kunai heading out first followed by a gloved hand; the attack was aimed straight towards his face. The man on his left hand drove his heel down towards the top of his head, whilst the other man jumped away.
Naruto burst into a murder of crows to avoid both attacks before landing a distance away, whilst his eyes watched the third man, who was doing hand seals.
The man landed on the ground before slamming his right hand down.
"Doton: Mud Wall!" He shouted before a wall burst forth from the ground in front of Naruto, blocking his front view.
The blond didn't move his feet after hearing a sound of birds chirping from behind: Kakashi was dashing towards him with a Chidori lighting up his right hand. The Jonin was upon him in a second driving the jutsu towards his back.
Naruto response was swift; the blond sidestepped the jutsu whilst twisting around to face the other way, turning his back on the mud wall. His left hand found its way at the back of Kakashi's neck, but he was put on alert when the Jonin brightened up.
'Lightning Bunshi-'
"Doton: Earth Prison!"
The ground shook slightly as walls sprouted from the ground quickly before the blond could move away. The walls closed on him in a dome like shape before 'Kakashi' burst into lightning.
The mud wall also exploded in fiery flames as if they had been imbedded with explosive tags.
The three attackers stood side by side as they looked on at the raging flames.
"You think that got him?"
Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows?"
"I find that kind of nonchalance with regards to my life offensive, Kakashi." Naruto suddenly said, standing behind the three men. The blond's cloak was burnt but he was fine. "If I was paranoid, I would have thought you were trying to kill me, and would have succeeded if not for the Nidaime's invention."
The three quickly turned around, before the middle man spoke.
"Well, he didn't escape without a scratch..." he said.
"If there had been scratch, we would have been summoned by his mother." Another said before they all burst into laughter.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, but before he could respond something came to mind; it was a statement that was said. Who would heal him at home? He didn't have a recognized medic in his little circle; that was just plain dangerous. What was he thinking doing something like that?
He had to correct that soon.
The blond Uzumaki shook his head and turned his focus on the three men in front of him. "Tiger, Panther, it has been some time. Is this how you greet me? We are no longer in initiation at Anbu…"
Panther responded. "You left still a trainee, you never graduated to become a full-fledged Anbu despite the number of dangerous missions we did."
Naruto blinked; that was true.
He shrugged; it was of little concern. It mean didn't mean anything.
"I'm still in Anbu records, everything else follows." Naruto said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Hanging with those kind, are you returning to Anbu, Kakashi?"
"Hey, what do you mean those kind?" Tiger demanded from the blond.
"I think young Naruto has forgotten how fun Anbu is and the joys we had together; he seems to have reverted to the usual thought about Anbu." Panther said.
"Maybe we should teach him what it means to be Anbu once again…"
Naruto stared at the two.
What were these two to him exactly? They were former comrades and people who have been invited to his home to have a chat with his mother. He had trusted his back with these two in dangerous missions and they had always protected it with everyone, because as they would say, 'we are a team.' Apparently, team members looked out for each other.
The result was a team result; there were no individual glory in the team.
It was something, wasn't it? That little time had taught him most about teamwork and what it meant to look out for someone. He had learned to be human from Team Yugao, and that was truly something else considering that Anbu were often accused of being killing machines that had no emotions.
Those two were not his pieces; he didn't benefit himself from talking to them in friendly manner. He could have said that their time together was the past, but he didn't and they still talked.
And people accused him of not making acquaintances.
The blond shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I doubt you came out here just to test me…"
"We were coming in to invite you and surprised we were upon finding you in your sensei gear. I didn't know you were a good teacher." Panther said. "Kakashi-senpai had said something about it, but I never quite believed it. Well, it is no wonder the 'above' are thinking of making you the trainer of the secret Anbu academy…"
"What?" Naruto asked with a stare.
Tiger hit Panther on the shoulder before clearing his thoughts.
"Anyway."
He didn't clear Naruto's confusion.
"Join us later and we will discuss about when you were planning on telling us that you're sleeping in the same bed as the captain…"
"What?" Once again, Naruto asked with stare.
"What?" Tiger responded. "The only reason an independent woman like the captain would leave her house and move into yours would be to follow you. It appears that boyfriend play you did in that mission became a real-life story, well, we would like to hear more about it later…" The man said before he and Panther disappeared into nothing.
Naruto stared at Kakashi; it had to be the man filling them with nonsense.
Seeing Naruto's stare, Kakashi was quick to speak.
"Nice weather, today, don't you think?"
Naruto stared; that was lame. Even Kakashi had to think it was.
Couldn't the man think of something better to say that would take away his focus from what he was going to ask? He was still going to ask about what those two had said about Yugao, this little thing would not distract him.
"Really?"
Kakashi shrugged. "I wanted to say, 'is that a black cat behind you? But I thought you wouldn't fall for that." the Jonin said calmly. "You're doing a rather good job in teaching. I'm certain you will raise many more skilled shinobi. You are better suited for being a sensei, than I am."
"Is that why you tell your fellow Jonins that I was the sensei of Team 7?" Naruto asked.
"Yea." Kakashi said. "You get along with those two? Well, they are not bad people."
"I wasn't aware you were familiar with them." Naruto said. "But it shouldn't be a surprise, you worked with Yugao. Still, what have you been saying to them?"
Kakashi eye smiled. "You don't look angry."
"Why should I be?" It was just words, a rumour that wouldn't harm him in any way. His mother would probably laugh about it and it would take the attention off Mikoto. No one would think something like that.
For a moment, he considered the idea of going with the flow.
"Who knows?" Kakashi shrugged. "So, what have you been busy with?"
Naruto just stared.
Kakashi shook his head; well, that didn't go well. It wasn't because Naruto didn't like the question, it was because it was obvious. Trying to start a conversation with the blond was becoming slightly difficult for him, but it was never the case before, was it? Perhaps it was difficult because they no longer spent much time together as they used to.
They had been close then, even though Naruto would not admit it.
"I miss the days we used to spend together. Those days your mother would stick out her head from the window promising me pain if I was telling you anything 'corrupting'" The Jonin said, in a slightly serious tone.
Naruto looked up for a moment as he went through his memories; he was not trying to remind himself of the days he had spent with Kakashi. He had spent some good days with the former Anbu, very good days if he were to say. For Kakashi, it was never about anything, no hidden agendas, just a close relationship.
The man had seen him as family and he guessed with how his mother welcomed the man, she saw him as family as well. He could never forget that the man watched over his mother the months she carried him. He had watched her day and night and been there for them after his father had sacrificed himself for the sake of the village.
He hadn't come with anything hidden, just an honest smile.
The thoughts came back again.
And everyone thought he didn't make friends.
Well, he couldn't say he had made friends with Kakashi, the man had marched his way into his life. As far as he could remember, the man has always been there with his eye smile and little book and never trying to force his opinion on him, but always honest.
"I guess it has been long." Naruto finally spoke in a quiet tone. "There has been a lot recently, and we have changed… I guess things started changing after the Sandaime made you my sensei. You tried not to get close as not to try to create the impression that you had a favourite. But of course, I ended up taking over Team 7 and you just decided that you were given an easy job and became a lazy good for nothing sensei."
"I could say that I saw that you were doing a good job being a sensei that I just decided to watch over it." Kakashi tried to defend his actions in a weak tone.
"Yeah, right." It was Naruto's flat response.
Before the Jonin could respond, an Anbu dropped by Naruto's side and whispered something into his left ear before vanishing into thin air.
The blond looked at Kakashi. "Looks like I have been summoned by the Godaime. Come on, walk with me back to the village. Tsunade can wait for a couple of minutes…You do make her wait, right?"
Kakashi eye smiled.
"Occasionally." He said as he walked up to Naruto.
Minutes later (Hokage Office)
Tsunade stared at the boy who introduced himself as Sai; judging by the mask on his face, there was no doubt he was a product of Danzo's brutal training. The damned war hawk trained his puppets to be emotionally dead and to have fanatic love for Konoha as he did. It was no wonder her sensei had despised his methods, well, she didn't like them either and was glad that she didn't have to deal with him.
Still, it was something that he had managed to become Hokage, wasn't it?
He had sat behind the desk and smiled in content, thinking; I have finally made my dream a reality, but bang came Naruto. The blond had other thoughts. He could not have someone who only saw him as a weapon controlling the village. If he had just escaped, the man would not have rested until he captured his precious Jinchuriki.
"Tell me, Sai." Tsunade started in a slow tone. "What was Danzo's plan after becoming Hokage?"
Jiraiya quickly interjected before Sai could respond. "Is there really a need to bring up that dark chapter of the village, hime?" The Toad Sage asked, sitting at his usual place.
He called it a dark place because it was a day that many shinobi had gathered in displeasure at the choice of the new Hokage; it had never happened before. For certain, those who were familiar with the man knew how he had ascended to the office and what he would have brought if he managed to get everything under his control.
That man would have removed everyone he saw as a threat, and many shinobi had known this, which was why they were not happy. But there was nothing that anyone could do about it, lest they risk a civil war because there were those who supported the war hawk.
They had to thank Naruto. His actions had saved the future of this village even though no one was willing to say it publicly.
"I just want to understand things, Jiraiya. Unlike you, I didn't have many interactions with him over the past years." the Godaime Hokage responded calmly.
"So?" She said to Sai.
"The plan was to make Konoha the dominate force. In his view, the Hidden Leaf was the strongest village and should be the leader of other nations." Sai responded before falling silent.
Naruto appeared in the room just then; he looked at Sai for a moment before going to take a seat beside the teen.
Once he was settled, Sai continued talking.
"If it had been him, he would not have taken the same measure the Shodai took to try to unite the Elemental Nations and retain a balance of power with the Bijuu. He would have taken them for himself and used them to force other nations to submit to his will. Of course, those who refused would face annihilation."
"And you would have supported the madness…" Tsunade said.
Sai nodded. "It was our job to do so," he simply said.
Tsunade shook her head. It was surprising that he was willing to admit that with a straight face. He wasn't ashamed of it. this was a subject she wasn't going to talk about with Naruto. The Uzumaki had yet to explicitly admit to her that he had indeed killed Danzo and whom he had done it with.
Well, she knew that and his mother had admitted it.
"Nice of you to finally join us." Tsunade said, finally taking notice of the blond Uzumaki.
In response, Naruto just stared at the woman.
Tsunade shook her head, having expected some response from him, but nothing came. It was a little disappointing. Maybe she was bored today and was looking for someone to give her a smart response that would make her mad. It has been long since she snapped, hasn't it?
"Since Naruto is here, can you tell us what you know about the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya said in a serious tone.
The man meant business. Well, the Akatsuki was a serious matter.
Sai didn't even look at Naruto before he responded. He didn't need the permission to speak. The fact that he was here meant he had to speak, to both Tsunade and the Toad Sage. But of course, there were some things that he would not speak about–they didn't have to know everything.
The pale-skinned teen went on to share his information.
"I had heard some rumours that Hanzo was no longer alive and that the new leader of the of the Hidden Rain was the leader of the Akatsuki, but there has been no way to prove this because getting into the village. Even if you manage to get in, there is no getting out." Jiraiya said.
That was the usual theme around everyone who entered the Hidden Rain. His contacts have been treating it as a no entry zone, lest you wished to disappear as everyone has once entering the village. They wanted to gather more Intel first before going because it was apparent that they did not know what they were dealing with in that village.
The Toad Sage didn't look at Sai as he prodded, he looked at Naruto. "How sure are you that the leader is based in Ame?"
"Positively." Naruto responded calmly. "There is no doubt."
Itachi had worked in the organisation and he had been able to ascertain that the leader was staying in Amegakure. He had never met the man in person, as he hadn't been the one to invite him over. The Uchiha who was the cause of his pain was the one who invited him, but the appearances of the 'leader' has always been a hologram.
Nevertheless, there was one thing that Itachi didn't seem to doubt, and that was that the man was incredibly powerful.
He did wield the legendary Rinnegan after all.
Even with all he knew, Naruto didn't know much about the Rinnegan. Well, to be specific, he didn't know anything worthwhile. Even Itachi hadn't known anything valuable about the doujutsu, which proved to be a problem. The doujutsu was filled with mysteries and most people didn't even know it even existed.
"How?" Tsunade demanded.
Naruto gave the woman a look. "We are being civil here and under no obligation to share this with you, yet we are doing so because we want cooperation in eliminating the problem we both face. You don't have to use such a tone with us…It tempts me to hide things just for the fun of it."
Tsunade frowned; he could do that.
"As you might know, Jiraiya, Danzo had dealings with Hanzo. They kept contact until well, the man assumed the Hidden Rain's leader was dead when communication stopped. Of course, being curious, the man did try to send someone to look into it, but they never returned." Naruto said.
"Have you considered going into Ame?" Tsunade asked.
Naruto shook his head calmly. "I'm not suicidal. And for the moment, I have not, but I will visit it soon once everything is well set. I just need a way of escaping that won't be a problem because I can do that in the blink of an eye…" He turned to Jiraiya.
"You might have had thoughts of going, but since I represent a chance of coming out alive, don't you think it would be best if I go? But if you think I will hide things from you, you can do whatever you want."
For a moment, he had thought the blond was concerned about his wellbeing, but the thought was quickly shot down. They might have developed a good relationship during their time away from the Hidden Leaf after the Uchiha incident, but Naruto was still Naruto, towards him at least.
This attitude naturally brought death to any thought of getting along with the blond as he did with Minato. No, the dream has died long ago when he didn't show up, when he chose to stay away. If he had stayed, if he had stuck around like Kakashi, maybe things would have been different.
"I think you would tell me what you found." Jiraiya said just to clear the air.
He didn't think the blond would tell what he would actually say to the person he does find. There was no doubt that Naruto could not get along with the Akatsuki because they were after him and as an Uzumaki, he knew if the Kyubi was extracted from him, he was possibly going to die. "But I would prefer it if you go with me. I can provide a way in the village and you will provide a way out if things get difficult."
Naruto appeared to think for a moment before shrugging. "Fine."
"When do we go?" Jiraiya asked, a bit excited at the idea of going out on a mission with Naruto.
"Not now." Naruto said in a firm tone. "I have other things to take care of…They have not been making a move now anyway, so it would be best to just keep watch. But we still don't know what they truly hope to achieve. Even so, their threat is something we agree on." The blond said.
Tsunade nodded. "They are S-rank shinobi, how confident are you in fighting them?"
"Problem is they fight in pairs, but if I'm paired with Sasuke, I can do it. I don't have any fears in facing them, but I would rather not do anything suicidal." Naruto responded calmly.
Tsunade snorted. "Says the brat who was involved in the killing of an active Hokage and faced Orochimaru on his own."
Naruto just shook his head; those were different situations. He had to kill Danzo. There was no way out of the situation for him. With Orochimaru, the snake wasn't the one for a quick kill, he preferred to fool around with his prey before biting, so that put him on the safe side. Besides, with his limitations, the Sannin didn't scare him the least.
Fighting a group of criminals was a different matter because the group was after him, and they would not rest until they got him. For now, he was fine because he knew that he wasn't going to be on the target list soon.
According to Itachi, they had planned on moving from the first to the last.
"Circumstances differ. If something new comes up, we will talk about it. for now, I am concerned about discovering their real agenda: what is it that they hope to achieve by collecting all Bijuu?" Naruto asked in thought. "Since I am here, how are things going with the agency?"
"You're free to do whatever you want." Tsunade said in a careless manner.
"However, Jiraiya...?" Naruto added with his eyes looking straight at the woman, waiting for her to confirm what he thought was going to happen.
Tsunade blinked and turned towards Jiraiya. "Looks like you were right." She said.
"Jiraiya is going to maintain a supervisory role and you will have some Anbu coming to you requesting information about certain things. In addition, you will be given jobs to search for Intelligence. That will be your only role; gathering Intel. You will not be doing anything that Danzo was doing and I hear word of anything contrary to my instructions, I will disband it and mark every member of the agency as rogue shinobi, are we clear?"
"You're the Hokage." Naruto said calmly. "Is there anything else?"
"I want personal details of everyone." Tsunade said.
Naruto gave the woman a flat look, but Tsunade did not waver. In the end, Naruto shrugged. "I cannot vouch for its legitimacy, but what you will be given will be what I know. You only get to read it but don't get to keep it or make copies…"
"Fine." Tsunade said.
Naruto smiled. "Well, this went rather well." The blond said standing up.
"Come on, Sai…"
Once the two teens were out of the office, Tsunade drew in a long breath. "Talking to him can be so taxing. You have to be on guard, always."
Naruto was the kind of person you didn't want to get into your hand, and letting slip of something was certainly suicide.
"It must make you wonder how sensei was able to keep at it." Jiraiya said. "Well at that time, he was still young, and learning…"
Uchiha Compound
"Nothing will pop out if you just keep staring at me like that." Mikoto said to Sasuke.
Her beloved son had just been staring her with a curious and questioning look. She thought that he would brave himself and ask the questions he needed answered, but he did not–he just kept staring.
She was only speaking now because it stopped being fun a few moments ago, and it was slightly problematic.
She didn't want to use the word annoying.
Mikoto turned to face her son as she spoke again. "Are you perhaps trying to use your mother as a test subject for your newly invented mind reading jutsu?"
There was no such, she was just teasing.
Sasuke had to bite his tongue from saying; don't be ridiculous. That was something that should be left for Naruto or someone else but not his mother. He wasn't going to speak to his mother in such a way.
The young Uchiha walked towards his mother and sat beside her–she was sitting at the back of their house, enjoying the breath of the garden. "It is surprising seeing you alone without Naruto when you're not busy with clan matters."
Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think that you noticed that I spent some of my time with him." She said calmly.
"You spend more time with him and with his mother." Sasuke was quick to say.
Mikoto was not alarmed, not the least. Even if Sasuke thought something was up, she wasn't going to say anything and he would certainly be in denial of it to believe it. She knew her son. But of course, she didn't think he would have those kinds of thoughts.
Maybe he might think something is up, but nothing in the nature of what she had in mind.
"Are you jealous?"
Sasuke was silent for a moment before nodding.
"A little." He said in a whisper.
Mikoto giggled, amused. She could just imagine the look on Sasuke's face. The thought reminded her of the good old Sasuke who was cute when he was growing up. she missed that child of hers, but she understood that people had to grow up.
At least her son wasn't as bad as Naruto.
The Uzumaki was something else, but at least he was trying to change himself for the best. Maybe she was enjoying it too much, but she was seeing the results of her work so far. She was doing something that not even Kushina could do, and it was for best.
That at least made her feel good with what she was doing with him.
"Cute Sasu-chan." Mikoto said with a smile.
For a moment, Sasuke smiled, but it lasted for just seconds. He quickly hid the smile away–it would be unlike him. but he had just thought of the good old days he used to have so much being the younger brother of Uchiha Itachi and the youngest son of his mother. he had been loved, he had everything back then.
He lost things, but not everything.
The fact that he had to thank Naruto made him frown. If it wasn't because of the blond, Itachi would have killed everyone, leaving just him, but his mother had been spared, the children were alive along with their mothers. Some did have fathers because they hadn't been involved in shinobi matters, the loss was still great nevertheless.
"Is it because of what he did?" Sasuke asked his mother. "I don't think much about it and have never said anything about it to him, but I know. Itachi told me that it was only because of Naruto that he spared you and the younger generation. We still have a clan because of him, and I still have a mother because of him, is this because of it?"
Mikoto didn't offer an immediate response; she first thought about a few things before responding.
"I do have a lot to be thankful for him; you say you still have a mother because of him, for me, I still have my beloved son because of him and instead of just being a housewife, I now get to act, and be the woman who ushered a new generation of Uchihas within the Hidden Leaf. I am really grateful even though I know he didn't do it because of his love for us. Even so, we must not be blind, Sasuke. We are friends to them; we have been friends with them before everything else. However, before anything else, you are my son and I am your mother. We are not Uzumaki but Uchiha. You must realize what that means.
"We have our own future, and we cannot allow anyone to shape our future for us, not unless we see it as good and permit it. You and I know what Naruto values the most and at any day if he feels that what he values the most, he will do everything and anything to protect it."
Sasuke knew that already. He knew that what was important to Naruto's life above everything else was his mother, it has always been.
"I know mother." Sasuke said. "We must do things ourselves and not allow anyone to shift them for us. But, I also know that as long as his mother is alive, and even if it means protecting her, there are some lines that Naruto will not cross."
"I guess we can thank his mind for that; Naruto doesn't just take an action without thinking for the consequences. He understands it better than anyone that for every action, there is a reaction. For him, the reaction is from his mother, and how she responds will spell out his mood."
"You've gotten a good grasp of him." Mikoto said with a smile. "Well, you have always been with him, and Itachi must have told you everything about him."
"When you stick around for long enough, you learn things." Sasuke said. Besides, his brother had taught him so many things about the blond.
The only difference now was that he was a different person from Itachi; he would not handle things in a manner his brother would. He would do them his way.
"You still have no answered my question?" Sasuke said to his mother.
"Your brother valued Naruto's words, didn't he? He convinced him about the Uchiha, with Danzo and telling you everything. He has the ability to make people listen to him, not because he is manipulative, but because he says things that make sense when you look at them. When he puts his mind into it, he brings forth things close to perfection.
"He is flawed and has many problems as a person, but that mind of his is what sets him apart. He isn't a bad person to be and I think if things were different, he would make a great leader one day…" Mikoto paused for a moment as she breathed in.
"Sasuke, I love you and will always love you, no matter what. As your mother, it is my duty to protect you, to make sure that no one and I mean anyone makes you a puppet. You must have your own dreams."
She smiled a bit playful. "Of course, I must have fun and enjoy myself along the way."
Sasuke looked confused. "I don't understand mother," the raven-haired teen said.
"You don't have to understand it." Mikoto said calmly. "But know that my association with Naruto is for both his and your sake and of course a bit of me as well."
Later that Day
It had been so long since Naruto saw his mother excited, but she had been excited earlier and nearly burst.
He had simply told her that he was going out, and she had demanded to know where as it was late. He was usually home around that time, so he told her he was going to hang out with his former colleagues at an underground bar just for shinobi.
He would not lie to her over something like that.
He was surprised when she smiled happily and said, 'Oh, you should have just said you were going to hang out with friends'. And since he was going to a bar, she had said she was giving him permission to drink, but he wasn't to get drunk.
She didn't want him doing anything stupid.
She had reasoned that he could not enjoy himself with the others if he did not partake in the sake. For sure, those guys were going to be drinking, and he simply could not have water in a bar. It would be pathetic, but Naruto would not have minded, he would have had the water and some juice along the night and then he would have had to carry the drunkards back to their places.
Did it mean so much to her that he was doing something normal?
Naruto shook his head.
Was he being rhetorical on purpose?
He should know better than anyone that his mother would be happy if he did normal things other teenagers did. She would be thrilled by things like that. To be honest, it had made him happy seeing his mother smile like that.
Well, he was here in a loud place, sitting alone waiting for late people to show up…Even so, he could be normal for once?
The blond shook his head.
He would just act as he would. There was no need to go out of script. Or he could just play by the script and make sure those people get drunk enough for him to say things that happened on this night did not happen.
"You're in early." Panther said as he tapped Naruto's shoulder–the blond was sitting on a stool next to the bar counter. "Come on, we have our little corner reserved." The man said as he turned away.
Naruto got up and followed the man to the second floor; it was dark and had a couple of booths for privacy, he presumed. In some booths, he could not hear what they were saying because of silencing seals. But in this world, that was useless. Shinobi could read lips.
He had learned that in his Anbu days.
When they arrived at their corner, everyone else had already arrived and the drinks were on the table. Naruto looked at the amount of sake and shook his head. Yes, they were prepared to get drunk. Well, Anbu didn't get a chance to do something like this every now and then.
Missions were always at large and some things were just too much, at least for some.
Nothing serious was being said, it was strange for Naruto. The strange being how nothing of importance was being said. He could not say it was normal because the normal for him was talking about plans and other important things that concerned plans.
It was strange, he didn't do this with everyone, perhaps with his mother it was normal, but with other people it was strange.
They were laughing as they shared stories, making jokes as they didn't carry masks most of their lives living with just a codename. Anbu could be like that. It was something else; Naruto hadn't been in this kind of situation before. Was it always like this for other people?
Back then, they had said he was too young to go with them.
"You're awfully, quiet." Kakashi said, looking at the blond Uzumaki. "I don't know you for being too silent…"
He was the one usually doing most of the talking in conversation. He wasn't a loud person, he talked a lot. It was interesting since most of the things made sense.
Naruto looked at the Jonin through barely opened eyes. "It usually depends on the subject being discussed." He responded.
Panther smiled. "I know what will get you interested." The man said in a suggestive tone.
There might be some alcohol doing rounds inside his body, but Naruto wasn't close to being drunk, to miss something like that. He was learning on each day, and he was picking up on those things.
Even though he did not notice, he did not ask what the man was suggesting.
Tiger nodded with a grin. "So, how are things with the captain?"
"No one has been able to get close to her since her former lover was killed…According to trusted sources, in her moment of weakness, a certain Uzumaki was with her and even invited her to a fortress he calls a home." Panther said. "Ever since, the captain has recovered, quit Anbu and has even moved into the certain Uzumaki's house."
"Basically, we want to know if something is happening between you two…"
Kakashi's eyes perked up as he waited for a response from the blond. It would be interesting if something was happening between the two. Yugao had blushed when he had asked something was happening or if something had occurred.
There might not be a relationship, but there was something that happened.
"Nothing is happening." Naruto said. "You should know better than to assume something is."
"You mean there haven't been accidental bumps from the shower? No sleep walking into her room? You are at that age and even if you are Naruto, you're still human." Tiger pressed.
"You're being ridiculous." Naruto said in a flat tone. "I have far more control of myself than to be a slave to hormones."
"Ah, disappointing, I though-"
Kakashi was cut off by Yugao–who spoke as she settled between her former colleagues.
"Don't be fooled by that expressionless mask of his…"She said. "He isn't as innocent as he would like you to believe. Trust me, I should know, I live with him after all."
There was no reaction from Naruto.
"Tell us more." Both Panther and Tiger said at the same time.
"Well." Yugao started in a deliberately slow tone as her eyes went towards Naruto. There was no reaction from the blond: not even a slight twitch on his face. "Senpai has to take off his mouth for me to say, and I assure you, it is worth it."
"Not a fair deal!" Panther exclaimed. "You know he won't do that."
"We are Anbu, we will find out if we try. Anbu are always watching over things day and night, I'm sure we can talk to some people to get to the bottom of things," Tiger said with a grin.
Yugao bit her lip, but no one saw it. It would not be good for Naruto if they went that far. The blond would certainly not be pleased with her. She could even see it in his eyes that he was going to say something as soon as they got back home.
"Promise me that you won't tell, anyone." Yugao said in a warning tone.
"Well..." She started with an awkward smile, her eyes firmly on Naruto. "He is in a relationship with me, that's why I moved into his house. His mother apparently likes me as well…"
Panther spat out his mouthful of sake right on Naruto's face, but he didn't pay it too much attention as he turned his focus on Yugao.
"We were only teasing him." The man said. "I don't believe it…"
Yugao shrugged.
"Prove it." Tiger said. "We are all adults here…"
The last mean didn't come out as I imagined, but that is how it is. I think it may be a little weird, but I couldn't draw it in any other way.
I've responded to almost everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to those who didn't get a response, thanks for the review.
In terms of how far we are in the story, I cannot say for sure, because even if we do handle the issues arising now, Naruto will always be his mother's knight. That being said, I might fail to provide a proper conclusion to the story – not that I have done any better in my other stories anyway.
I don't plan on going past chapter 35. So, for the next week, I will draw up how the chapters will be to make sure I don't go past that. Once I get close to 300k in words, I really start to run out of steam, so much that it feels like I no longer have a story to tell.
And big thanks to Freestyle 763 for editing this one.
The Omnipresent Sage