Naruto: Genesis of the Nindo

by Bloody-Mad

Inspired by Reading the Future: Naruto's True Nindo. . . The future is not set in stone. Every action has a reaction. The people of the past have a chance to change things- hopefully, for the better. Join Team Minato, The Slug and Toad Sannin, and the parents that started it all! Hopefully, a different kind of Naruto! TEMPORARY HIATUS

26. Chapter 26

Hello, everyone! I said mid-april, but i'd like to think i got it out a little earlier than that! So, here's the first "filler" and the only filler from canon! Gotta See! Gotta Know! Kakashi's True Face! One of my favorite Naruto episodes, and something lighthearted before i start piling in the serious action and agnst, to prepare you all for the VotE battle. So without further ado . . . let's go! This was inspred by epic Naruto chapters, Evil Dead (i thought it was pretty good, though not as fantastic as the original), and summer vacation soon to come!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. Similarly, i do not own any songs english or japanese.

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Chapter Twenty-Six

The Mystery is too Good, Uzumaki Naruto!

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The new morning brings a refreshed attitude to the group from the past— although the fact that Obito and Rin cannot look at Minato without blushing and fidgeting guiltily does raise some eyebrows. They don't concern themselves with it, because it doesn't seem to be as serious as the fight between Minato and Rin the first time around.

"So, who shall read?" Minato prompts.

"Ah, if it pleases the good people." Rin volunteers herself.

"Then please do." They allow with smiles.

Subaku no Gaara had to muse about the recent strangeness of his own life. It wasn't the stares or the fear— that was standard. No, rather it was . . . the lack of something. No, that wasn't right either.

"What's Gaara doing here? And in his own . . . second person." Obito points out.

"Well, we'll never know unless we keep reading." Rin shakes the book pointedly, grinning at Obito's repentant grin.

It was the self-control he'd gained.

Any point in time before the Chuunin Exams, he would not hesitate to kill anyone who dared cross his path. Especially the assassins. And that was the other thing too . . .

They stopped sending assassins.

Well, primarily it had been his father who sent Suna nins to assassinate him. Now that the man was dead, perhaps the Council saw no need to waste what they clearly could not afford to waste. The Suna shinobi force had been rather thin as of late thanks to that invasion of Konoha. They really didn't think those tree huggers had it in them to kill off so many.

"Brat, we have fought wars before." Tsunade huffs.

That was none of Gaara's concern at the moment.

The important thing— he hadn't killed anyone in months.

"He's been clean and sober for months, everybody, give him a round of applause!" Obito whoops, clapping. Amused, the others follow his lead for a few moments before returning to the book.

Temari would, of course, say it was a good thing. Gaara supposed it was. Kankuro would say nothing, but his expression was one of both careful optimism and waiting for the others shoe to drop. Gaara couldn't blame his older brother for that. If he wanted the opinion of the populace to change about him, it was generally a good idea not to kill anything. Not even a fly, any sort of movement with his sand sent people into bouts of flinching. He was behaving.

Another interesting development . . . the letters. And the cookies.

Uzumaki Naruto, he found, was someone who kept his word. He said they would be friends— Gaara had thought that was alright, that they would just be friends and if they so happened to see each other on a rare Leaf/Sand mission, then that was acceptable.

Uzumaki Naruto would have none of that, it seemed.

He sent letters two months after the Chuunin Exams. Gaara supposed it took him that long to figure out how to make sure the letters got to him. After the first batch of letters, then tins of cookies were sent to him, with little notes written in the flowing, pretty little kanji of Kuroshio-san. He particularly enjoyed the peanut butter and macadamia nut cookies . . .

"If he were to create a spy network," Jiraiya starts out casually, emphasizing the hypothetical. "Then this would be a damn good spy network. Friends in high places, a camaraderie that makes spying seem more like idle gossip between friends. It'll be interesting to teach him the ropes."

"Can't argue with that." Minato grins, knowing full well his girlfriend could. Kushina, who had opened her mouth to argue, closed it and pouted.

Uzumaki Naruto would also mention his siblings, so Gaara thought it prudent to mention that to them. They were at first shocked, but eventually they came around to write little pieces or greetings in the letters he wrote to return to Naruto. It was only after the tenth letter, when Temari had barged into his room without knocking (or quivering in fear) while he was still reading Naruto's letter, and just wrote her greeting on the blank stationary by his side that he realized this was exactly what Naruto had intended. The prolonged contact and communication with his siblings had gone a long way to thawing their relationship.

"It'll be a joy playing shougi with him." Kakashi murmurs with a small smile.

The last letter had come two weeks before Kuroshio-san's birthday. Gaara only knew that because half the letter was about her, and Naruto's careful planning of her birthday.

Now, it was exactly three weeks after her birthday, and what came for him was not a letter, but a package. A small, rectangular box wrapped in beige paper— crinkly, like what paper bags are made out of— and simple twine. He handles it carefully, and moves to his room. On his way, Temari comes out of her room, heading to the practice fields for training.

"Hello, Gaara," Temari notices the package. "Another box of cookies? No, it's too small . . ."

"I don't know." Gaara admits softly, face and voice still blank. Temari has come to accept that however, even appreciate it— it wasn't that Gaara was without emotion, he just kept them hidden, preferring to observe your reaction.

"A very good quality for a shinobi to have." Minato agrees with a nod.

"But still quite sad for a child." Rin refutes.

"He's never really been a child." Kushina corrects calmly.

"Well, tell them I say hi!" Temari smiles at her little brother, before jogging out of the house to practice her wind jutsu.

Gaara walks into his room, sitting down at the window seat and unwrapping the package. He opens the box and tilts it, a gold cylinder falling out into his open palm. He observes it carefully, holding it up to eye level and turning it around slowly.

It is half the size of a regular scroll, and much thinner. The gold cylinder isn't fully complete, with an opening for the actual scroll parchment, which you could pull out like a napkin dispenser almost. On either end are seals inscribed, but as Gaara has no knowledge of seals he has no idea what they are for. He looks into the box for perhaps a letter or an instruction guide.

Rummaging through, he grabs hold of a notecard, and holds it up to read.

Push chakra into both seals at each end of the scroll carrier at the same time, and wait for a surprise!

. . . Is what it said. Exquisite penmanship too, he observed clinically.

Well, if that's what it took . . . it never specified how much chakra to put in, but Gaara is certain it's nothing too big or too small. He pushes in chakra, at the same time as instructed, and waits. He stares at the parchment with a detached feeling, not expecting anything too grand or obscene. But what does come, two minutes later, has his eyes pop open larger than they've ever done before.

Gaara, glad you finally got it!

Gaara blinks. Somehow, words had just appeared on the parchment that dangled form the scroll, as if a child had written him a note. In the exact same handwriting as the explanatory note, which he assumed was Naruto's but perhaps not ? But, no one had written anything, and it was blank before. How . . . ?

Minato laughs incredulously, turning to a gaping yet smiling Jiraiya. "He did it! He actually did it!"

"Remarkable." Jiraiya praises, hands gripping his knees. "That kid, do the rules of logic even apply to him? Whatever he decides, it just happens."

"Are you guys suggesting it's that difficult to do?" Obito questions, feeling very confused.

"I'm saying it's an extremely creative use of seals, and certainly something no one, in recorded history at least, has thought of before. I certainly wouldn't know where to start." Minato clarifies.

It's not that hard Gaara. Just grab a pen, or a quill or whatever, and write.

Gaara frowns. Still, he wouldn't get any answers just staring, so he grabs a pen from his nightstand and writes carefully, softly so as not to stab the scroll parchment through in his . . . not excitement. Intensity.

Yes. Intensity.

"Sure," Kushina drawls. "We're all very intense right now, in fact."

Who is this.

You sound so intimidating, even in your writing! Nice style by the way, though I expect nothing less would come from the Kazekage's son, eh?

Gaara frowns. If he sounded intimidating through his writing, then this person sounded carefree. It irked him.

Answer my question, or this device will be destroyed. Gaara had to curse himself for almost putting an ellipses after 'this' as if he were actually thinking it.

It's Uzumaki Naruto of course! Who else would create shorthand?

A what? Stupid name aside, just why should I believe you. Gaara writes back, frown deepening at the thought of someone using Naruto's identity for their own purposes.

"No really, who else would create something like that?" Tsunade points out with a laugh.

"The better question is who else could?" Minato champions his son with an unbearably smug grin, parental pride radiating from him in waves.

I can prove it. Along with a letter sent two weeks before Kurohime's birthday, she sent a tin of cookies. And at the bottom of that tin was a storage seal, true Uzumaki style, with a jade beaded bracelet for you, a blue one for Kankuro, and a purple one for Temari.

Gaara's eyebrows, if he had them, would have risen in surprise. So, this was Naruto. No one else would know about the tin's seal, and only Naruto called Kuroshio-san Kurohime.

Uzumaki Naruto. This is indeed surprising. What you have created is innovative.

Why thank you Gaara! Yes, it only took about a month and a half to make. Ero-sennin says though, that with the combined experience of the . . . many, many kage bushins I used, the actual amount of time that would have come out to is about two years!

"So much time." Rin mutters in shock.

"So much chakra." Kakashi counters.

"So many kage bushins!"Tsunade breathes, as ever more interested with research and theory.

Interesting. Would you tell me more about this?

Of course! Please keep in mind, this is only a prototype. So, this is a combination of a copy, transport, and communication seals— to be specific I screwed around with a radio com seal and a seal used by the Yamanaka to link minds— and that took ages for me to get, even the basic one they gave me, no way I was getting the actual thing. Anyway, with some tinkering, lots of research, and no small amount of help from Ero-sennin, the shorthand came to life! Though, I'm thinking of a new name . . . you were right before, shorthand is a stupid name.

Well, as I have neither any skill in creation— be it jutsu or seals— I can hardly complain about a name. The fact alone that you created this is remarkable. Gaara finds with surprise that he is enjoying this, and is writing more of his thoughts than he's ever spoken out loud in his entire life.

You're writing more than I've ever heard you speak, or even say in letters. By the way, Kyuubi says hi to Ichibi.

Oh, the irony.

What the hell? Brat, you've really impressed me with this, it'll be a remarkable asset to the shinobi forces.

Several eyebrows furrow. Who the hell is that?

Gaara's brow furrows. Who is this?

Naruto must have similar thoughts. Ok, I gave these prototypes to three other people not including myself. Who is this?

Your Hokage.

"Ah, should have realized from the context." Jiraiya mutters with a snort, smiling.

N: Ok, I've got an idea. Since there's no option for changing styles of writing or even color— though I will work on that I assure you— for now, put the initial of your name before you write, like I have done. Otherwise this is going to get very confusing, very quickly.

G: This is acceptable.

T: You gave one to Gaara? No offense to you, Gaara, but Naruto this really seems more something you keep to yourself.

"You mean to your shinobi village." Kushina corrects.

N: Well, these are just prototypes anyway. And I've spotted the first glaring hole with them.

J: You mean the fact that these things are connected to each other, and everyone who owns one can see the conversation of any other who carry it beforehand? Yeah. That can be a big problem, especially if we want to put these out in the field.

"It's Jiraiya-sama!" Rin and Obito sing.

"A big problem out on the field . . . imagine if an enemy got hold of it?" Minato muses.

N: Ero-sennin! Where are you?

J: Mizu no Kuni. Your devices have a long range brat. Field test is a success.

"Amazing, the range foes that far? Minato, our son planned this out so well!" Kushina murmurs in amazement, cuddling closer to her boyfriend.

N: Awesome. More importantly, how will I go about fixing this?

J: Did you use the same markings?

G: Markings?

Obito concurred with Gaara. "Markings?"

Minato looks to Jiraiya, and Jiraiya clears his throat. "Sometimes when creating a seal, the creator will add little markings around the seal to sort of mask it, make it just a little harder for another ninja with only some knowledge of fuuinjutsu to figure it out. Of course, the more that person knows about seals, the harder it is to hide."

"Maybe they can't understand it, but certainly they can recreate it?" Rin points out the flaw.

Minato grins, speaking up this time. "Anyone, who knows anything about seals, knows that it is not the best idea to just recreate and use a seal without at least knowing what it might do. That's asking for trouble, pain, and perhaps a good month's sleep."

N: . . .

T: Naruto, there's no need to actually put that.

N: It was to highlight just how big an idiot I am. Plus, it's more fun! We don't have to write like council members here Nade, enjoy yourself! Anyway, I got it Ero-sennin. Ok, Gaara, Nade, just throw these away if you want! I'll bring out even newer and better ones!

T: And when you do, bring them to me so I can put a patent on it and you can get your due rewards.

N: Rewards?

T: Money.

N: Oh hell yeah!

J: As an author, I have to point out that you, Naruto, use a bit too many exclamation points.

N: So I write how I talk. Big deal, it's not a report, it's casual. Ok, I'm destroying mine now. Bye!

T: Gaara, I'd like to ask if you would keep this to yourself.

G: It's fine Hokage-sama. I will not let anyone know of these. Naruto deserves to be recognized for such an achievement. Discreetly, of course. No doubt Suna will get these not too long after at his insistence, and due to our Alliance. I'll keep this as a token however. Good day.

J: Do I know how to pick them or what?

"Pick them?" Kushina repeats.

"Students." Jiraiya offers.

"Ah . . . well, since this was practically foretold in the stars you didn't pick them." Kushina sniffs, grinning at Jiraiya's deadpan stare.

T: Whatever. Just make sure you figure out what's their connection with Yondaime Mizukage.

J: Roger that.

Naruto sits high up in a tree, only azure and emerald covering him. He sees the words disappear after a while, the chakra no longer keeping them, and only his replies remain. He grins, pocketing the cylinder. It's another bug to fix, but that's okay, because he knows it is fully functional and everything else is just finicky little details.

He'd done it! He created a new way to communicate, and it was awesome. Perhaps there was a way to make this available to everyone, not just ninjas. Wouldn't civilians with extended families over the Nations enjoy this too?

"Now there is an idea." Kushina nods, eyes sparkling at the implications of such a revolutionary new technology.

It was a challenge he looked forward to.

I never wanted to say 'hi' to the crazy raccoon dog. Kyuubi points out mildly.

Oh, you did. Deep, deep . . . very deep down. Naruto asserts.

Now that you're down with this, will you finally start focusing on completing mastery of your second tail? Kami, it's been a couple months already!

Quiet down, furball! I'm nearly done with it, excuse me if I took time out to revolutionize the world. Naruto snaps.

Jumping down from the tree, he tree hops back into the village, hoping to catch a mission from Tsunade. He'd only been getting C-ranks for a while, and he wonders if it is reluctance on Tsunade's part since learning about just how far his skill with seals went. She would probably want him to redo Konoha's entire security defenses and parameters.

Naruto snorted. The last person to totally recreate the defenses around Konoha, and revolutionize them with fuuinjutsu was his father, and he was nowhere near that skill level to risk even letting his chakra touch the seals, forget tampering with them.

"Well, while I respect your pragmatism and modest manner, you're really just selling yourself short." Minato chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

Konoha is busy and bustling as always, and the traffic on the rooftops is light today, many jounin and any available chuunin still taking the long haul of missions to bring Konoha's strength back up to scratch.

He himself had been very busy with missions up until recently, when he experienced a lull in active duty and found himself actually spending weekends at home. However, the inaction and the idle C-ranks were leaving him antsy, so resolved to charm a B-rank out of the stingy Nade.

"Feeling rather reluctant because of the group that Itachi and Kisame are a part of?" Jiraiya asks.

"I assume so. Or perhaps, I've got enough adults out there running around to leave the kids be." Tsunade hypothesizes with a shrug.

"Naruto!" A shout of his name by a very familiar voice makes him stop, turning to look down to his right. Leaning against a fence with a cool and aloof expression, as ever, is Sasuke. But the one who had called him was Sakura, standing a few feet from Sasuke and waving energetically at him. He smiles and jumps down, moving to them.

"It's been a while, Sasuke, Sakura." Naruto greets them.

"You haven't been coming to visit us at Training Ground Seven!" Sakura complains. "I thought we would still do training together with sensei if you had time."

"If I had time, and for a while I didn't. Recently though, I've been very busy with a sealing project, and I've just now accomplished something with it." Naruto explains.

"My kid, immersing himself in sealing projects." Minato murmured. Words couldn't describe how proud he was right now. Looking at Kushina, who seemed to glow at the topic of her son and fuuinjutsu, he knew she felt the same.

"What sealing project?" Sasuke asks, looking askance at the blonde. Naruto sees the hidden curiosity eating up the Uchiha, but just grins mysteriously.

"When it's all said and done, Team Seven will be the first to have it." Naruto promises.

"Hn." Sasuke mutters and turns away again, but Naruto's grin widens as he sees the almost imperceptible pout on the Uchiha's face.

"Come now, Sasu, you're much too pretty to pout." Naruto teases, prancing up to the Uchiha and pulling at a cheek. Sasuke slaps his hand away with a growl and whips around to land a hit on the blonde's face, but Naruto just dances away and laughs gently.

"Knock it off Naruto, Sasuke has actually been behaving today!" Sakura scolds.

"Ah, my apologies, I didn't mean to antagonize you." It seemed like butter wouldn't melt in Naruto's mouth and Sasuke glares all the more darkly for it.

"Where were you headed?" Sakura asks.

Why does the pink ape care? Kyuubi snorts.

Rin snorts. "Ouch, so harsh Kyuubi."

Hush, she's gotten a lot better. Naruto scolds.

Naruto shrugs. "I was going to go bother Nade for a B-rank mission. I've been pretty bored just being the occasional helper for Iruka at the Academy."

"Ah!" Sakura chirps, skipping ahead of Naruto. "That's funny, because we were looking around for sensei to get us a mission too! But we can't find him anywhere. If you find him, maybe we could all do a mission together?"

"Sounds like a plan." Naruto agrees. "Ok, you guys start from the memorial stone and I'll go look for him my own way. If I find him, I'll send a clone to tell you and if he'll want to take a mission."

"You got it Naruto!" Sakura assures, dragging Sasuke firmly by his wrist— and Naruto must applaud her maturity in not trying to take advantage of the boy and grab his hand— and walking off.

"She's come a long way." Kushina nods in approval.

Naruto decided to head home first before looking to Kakashi's apartment, mainly because Katsu was home and he knew she'd enjoy annoying the man to distraction.

He did not expect Kakashi to be at his house.

Sleeping on his couch. Deeply, too. His hitai-ate lying on the coffee table, his hair unkempt and hiding what features is left visible above the mask. Naruto muses that he's never seen his brother so unguarded before. Even while sleeping on missions, there was always this air about Kakashi as if the man was just feigning sleep, just to see what you would do.

"Oh good, it's not just me then." Obito sighs in relief.

"It's a fucking crime that you two won't be able to meet in this story." Kakashi says firmly.

Quick, get a sharpie marker! Kyuubi snickers.

All this time around Uzumaki's have tainted you, Naruto snorts.

"Hime, is onii-san dead?" Naruto asks Katsu, who greets him sunnily as she steps out of the kitchen.

"No silly. He's just tired. He just got back from a mission about . . . an hour ago." Katsu corrects, slipping past him to tug the blanket around Kakashi up a little higher, the man's shifting causing it to slip.

"Aww!" The room choruses sappily, Kakashi simply snorting at their sentimentality— he fights down the twitch at the corner of his lips.

"His apartment is closer than our house though." Naruto murmurs, and he is privately amused.

Katsu feels a similar amusement. "He must have seen me in the shopping district earlier, getting ingredients for a cake. Came over as soon as he'd taken a shower, and he ever so politely demanded a piece of cake."

"Chocolate?" Naruto asks.

"Well of course, everybody likes chocolate." Katsu sniggers.

"You like chocolate cake Kakashi?" Minato asks in surprise.

Kakashi nods sheepishly. "Chocolates, fruits . . . anything with that and I'm sold."

I don't like chocolate. More of a spice person myself. Kyuubi adds.

Naruto sighs and plops down on the armchair beside the couch, stretching out his body. The Kyuubi certainly was talkative today! "I was supposed to corral him and demand a mission for the old Team Seven, but I guess I'll have to call off the chase." With a mist of smoke, a clone appears beside the chair. With a salute to Katsu and the original Naruto, the clone is bounding out the house and off to the town to find Sakura and Sasuke.

"I'll fix dinner tonight." He quietly informs Katsu, who shakes her head.

"It's fine, I can—"

"I like cooking, and I get a kick out of seeing the look of reluctant rapture on Nade's face every time she eats and knows that I cooked." Naruto interrupts with an impish grin. Katsu just shakes her head in amusement and backs off.

"To have to admit to some brat that they're good at cooking . . . gah!" Tsunade mutters, fist shaking.

Naruto decides on something rich and savory, and decides to cook curry rice and onigiri, with a fresh salad side. He prepares large amounts of food, not only because his appetite seems to grow as he does— no, honestly, Tsunade said he had to eat more to keep up with his growth and so he averages about eight plates of food a day, not including ramen—

"Whoa, he eats that much?!" Rin gasps.

"Kushina, do you ever need to eat that much? You don't . . . deny yourself do you?" Minato asks worriedly.

Kushina looks somewhat uncomfortable. "I don't! I don't have to eat as much as Naruto, since I'm a female and he's a male . . . our metabolisms are different. I only average about four to five plates a day."

but due to the fact that he gets surprise house calls from the ungrateful mooching bastards who dare to call themselves his friends.

He was going to start charging them. The grocery bill was starting to get ridiculous.

"I can imagine." Kakashi murmurs, holding back from chuckling.

"Naruto's cooking tonight?" The slightly husky voice of an awakening Kakashi catches Naruto's attention.

"Yes, Kakashi— you woke up just in time." Katsu laughs, and Naruto hears the shift of cloth and a creak from the couch, and knows Kakashi is getting up to go wash his face of any residue of tiredness so that no one would be the wiser. He knows that unexpected house guests are just the norm here.

The door bangs open, and he realizes he's getting far too comfortable with house guests if he's leaving the door unlocked.

"Then you better fix that." Kushina says sternly.

"Ooh, I smell curry!" Anko yells, heavy steps like an elephant's as she crosses over and— judging by Katsu's squeak— grabs the younger girl up in a rough hug. "Naruto's cooking tonight?"

"Yes, and the food will be done in five minutes Anko-nee." Naruto calls out, gently stirring the curry as it simmers.

"We having curry tonight?" Shikamaru's perpetually lazy tone that sounds as if it's a chore for him to speak catches Naruto slightly off guard.

"I know you have a home and a mother to cook for you Shikamaru," Naruto growls. "Get out of my house!"

"It's my house too, can't Shika stay?" Katsu whines.

"No. Go home!"

"Troublesome. My okaa-san is being a major drag about me not applying myself to my Chuunin duties, so I came here tonight." Shikamaru explains, and Naruto hers him sitting on the couch.

"Everybody needs a friend to crash at." Obito advocates.

"Why is this always your bailout spot?" Naruto asks tiredly, glancing behind him as Katsu skips in and grabs plates.

"What good is having friends with no adult guardians if you can't abuse their independence for your own gain?" Shikamaru returns pleasantly.

As Naruto grumbles, another voice comes in, a pleased laughter he knows immediately. "Well Nara, keep up that attitude and you might become a serious contender for Hokage!"

"Don't tease Nade." Naruto laughs.

"Oh, Kakashi brat is here? You just wanted the cake didn't you?! I said I'd be the first one to grab a piece." Tsunade barks.

"Oh. Too bad." Kakashi states dully, and Tsunade's splutters send Naruto into peals of laughter.

"Disrespectful brat!" Tsunade jibes, smirking at Kakashi.

"You snooze, you lose Tsunade-sama." Kakashi teases.

Morning comes, bringing with it a fresh faced Katsu who scampers off to work, and Naruto who decides to play with Sakura and Sasuke.

And they said a shinobi's life was a hard one. Pfft.

"Hey." The group shouts, affronted.

"So what shall we play today?" Naruto prompts with a smile, crouching on the fence above Sakura and Sasuke.

"I don't want to play, I want to train damn it!" Sasuke snaps, hitting the fence with his fist. Naruto grumbles as he rights his balance again, glaring at a twitching Sasuke.

"Where the hell is your brother?!" Sasuke rounds on Naruto, glaring daggers at him.

"Ah, impatient brats. Did they never consider I was training them in patience?" Kakashi sighs, flapping his hand in a careless manner.

"You're just mad no one saved a plate of curry rice for you." Naruto snorts.

"I don't care about the stupid curry!" Sasuke snaps.

"Naruto, stop teasing Sasuke— Sasuke-kun, calm down," Sakura pleads. She sighs, looking up at Naruto. "Why is sensei like this?"

Naruto shrugs. "I don't know, onii-san is just plain . . . . weird." A strange expression crosses Naruto's face.

"Naruto?" Sakura questions, looking vaguely nervous. Naruto's sudden shark-like grin scares her.

"Hey, don't you guys think it's time? I definitely want to see . . ." Naruto trails off, chuckling quietly.

"What?" Sasuke asks, annoyed by the sudden change in topic.

Naruto jumps down, standing between Sasuke and Sakura with an amused look. "Kakashi's . . . real face!"

Kakashi groans in resignation as Obito bursts into laughter. "Oh, here we go . . ." Kakashi mutters.

"I tell ya! It's like a rite of passage!" Obito whoops.

Sasuke snorts, turning his back on them. Of all the stupid things Naruto has said this is by far the most pointless one. "How stupid. I'm not interested." Scoffing, he begins to walk away.

Sakura agrees, but inwardly she thinks, Aw geez, it sounds like fun! Naruto just smirks, knowing how exactly to pin his sourpuss friend, and get him to play along.

"Maybe he has . . ."

Sasuke freezes in place, leg still outstretched to take another step.

"Cod roe lips?"

Rin drops the book as she shakes with the force of her laughter, soon to join a half cackling, half moaning Obito on the floor. Kakashi has to laugh to at the absurdity of it all.

"Oh my Kami— cod roe— oh!" Kushina howls with laughter as Minato curls in on himself with snorts of laughter.

"Pick up the book Rin, keep going." Tsunade orders, breathless giggles overtaking her.

Sasuke's whole world flips over, Naruto's words in a repeating loop as he imagines Kakashi pulling down his mask to reveal gigantic lips, almost hanging off his face from the obscene eight of them. The resulting smile is both grotesque and disturbingly fascinating.

"Oh, Kami, I've seen too much! Cannot! Unsee!" Jiraiya falls apart mirthfully.

Naruto snickers. "Or what about buckteeth?!" he entices.

"Uh, for the record, no." Kakashi sniggers, slapping a hand to his thigh at the extremely ludicrous mental image.

Sasuke goes stick straight and still, a shiver running through him. Kakashi . . . his mask pulling down to reveal a massive overbite that engulfs his chin, a thin space between the two teeth. Oh Kami, the horror . . . ! The intrigue . . . !

". . . Find Kakashi." Sasuke orders, quietly, but Naruto smiles in a decidedly vicious way (and, more disturbingly, in a very Kyuubi-like fashion) as he realizes his victory. Luckily, he knows Kakashi would be visiting the memorial stone today, and races off with his friends in tow. Finding Kakashi staring at the stone, they entreat him to come to Ichirakus with them, under the pretense that they're treating him to lunch.

Obito takes a deep breath as he rises from the floor. "Bad luck kids, I know that isn't going to work." He sighs.

Confused, but interested, Kakashi agrees. As he sits on his barstool, thanking Teuchi for the bowl of ramen that is set in front of him, he looks over at his kids. "But this is rare . . . you guys treating me. Snow might fall—" he makes a show of looking up, preparing for a drop. "You know what I mean?" he gives them a level look.

Behind Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura flinch, looking a little flustered. Naruto shoots them a dirty look, urging them to keep their cool.

"Maybe my ramen will explode . . . yeah, something like that." He shoots them another intense look, and Naruto restrains a growl when Sakura and Sasuke flinch behind him even further.

"I take personal offense to that onii-san!" Naruto protests. "I would never insult the Great Ramen— especially old man's and Ayame's— just to prank you."

"I concur." Kushina agrees seriously.

"Ah, true." Kakashi hums, thinking it over. "Then . . . is there a giant boxing glove waiting to hit me clear over to the other side of the street?"

Naruto shakes his head in disgust as Sakura and Sasuke practically cower behind him. "Don't be ridiculous nii-san. Shall I recommend to Tsunade that you lay off the A-ranks for a couple of months? Or has your time in ANBU scarred you irreparably?"

"Definitely the latter, but probably both." Kakashi admits.

"Oh Kakashi, you and your self-destructive tendencies." Minato and Rin sigh, shaking their heads.

Kakashi laughs. "Then, are you guys up to something?"

"What are you saying?" Naruto chuckles, though he realizes there's a nervous edge to it.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, we're celebrating your safe return and success from that last mission, I heard it was a difficult one!" Sakura makes up on the spot, gesturing with her hands for the man to eat. "N-Now! P-p—please eat!"

"All right, then I'll eat it without hesitation." Kakashi decides, straightening up and cracking his chopsticks apart to eat.

"Itadakimasu . . ." he murmurs, and one finger reaches up to touch the edge of the mask.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are practically straining their eyes to get a look at Kakashi's face from their peripheral vision. What would it look like? Big, plump, cod roe lips? A thin kissy face? Or perhaps . . . the dreaded buckteeth?!

Kakashi sighs. "It's just a normal face."

"I highly doubt that." Rin comments dryly.

The mask edges down his nose. They gulp, so close to their goal . . . !

Abruptly their view is destroyed by the arrival of Team Ten, Ino smashing Sasuke's face to the counter as she jumps on him.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! What a coincidence." Ino twitters.

"Yo, Naruto!" Chouji chirps, as Shikamaru just waves placidly from behind him.

"You bastard. I fed you, and this is how you repay me?!" Naruto shouts at Shikamaru as Team Seven immediately begins to tussle with Team Ten, trying to shove them out of the way. Ino isn't having it, which of course means she's forcing Chouji and Shikamaru to fight for her right to stay by Sasuke's side as well.

No! They had to see it— had to see Kakashi's face!

"I'm finished! That was good." Kakashi sighs, clapping his hands together in thanks.

"So fast!" Team Seven mutters in surprise, their tussle with the others having come to an abrupt halt. Naruto's eyes flicker over when he sees a shift in movement from the Ichiraku's and his eyes bulge in surprise. Motioning to Sasuke and Sakura, he points at the father-daughter duo.

Both had blushes on their faces and Ayame in particular had hearts in her eyes.

Kakashi just looks somewhat confused at the looks being directed to him by Ayame and Teuchi.

"Just a normal face huh?" Minato asks with amusement.

"Really! If I weren't wearing this mask, no one would think twice about it." Kakashi asserts.

"But you are, so the mystery makes it all the more interesting." Kushina titters.

"Wow! I'm really curious!" the three kids mutter heatedly.

After the lunch, they have no reason to keep Kakashi anymore, so the man goes about his business. Naruto and the others return to their spot by the fence, away from crowds to discuss their next plan— or rather, his next plan.

"I will not allow myself to be denied a glimpse of him!" Naruto vows. Ayame had many customers come through, and there were quite a few handsome men in Konoha . . . and yet, he'd never seen that look on her face before! Whatever was under Kakashi's mask . . . it had to be something!

"How are you going to see it?" Sakura asks dubiously.

Naruto rubs the back of his head. "That's . . . a work in progress. But there must surely be a way." And if all else fails, he thinks to himself, I'll have no choice but to get Katsu on the case.

"You terrible little monster." Kakashi snaps.

He was truly a terrible little brother.

Sasuke turns again, looking away. If he doesn't look at their faces, he can still make himself believe he's reluctantly doing this only to appease these idiots. He can still pretend he's above these shenanigans.

"We'll follow him completely by marking him. If we do this all day, eventually he'll take his mask off." Sasuke states.

Naruto however, looks doubtful. "Don't underestimate Kakashi, Sasuke . . . he'll definitely know we're following him, and what's more, it is highly unlikely he'll take his mask off in public again."

"That's why you'll make us chakra suppression seals!" Sakura steps in with a victorious expression. "And so, we can follow him to his apartment where he must surely have to take it off!"

Naruto considers it, and nods. "Alright, I'll start with Sasuke first then. Where do you want the seal?"

"Somewhere that isn't noticeable . . . my back, I guess." Sasuke mutters, walking over to Naruto and sitting on the ground. Naruto crouches and raises Sasuke's shirt, ink and brush already in hand. He works quickly, taking only a minute, and then does Sakura's after an awkward moment of trying to decide where to put hers. He does his on his just under the Shiki Fuuin, and tugs his shirt down into place afterwards, zipping his jacket halfway.

"Ok, let's go!" Naruto starts forth, turning to a building.

"Baka, you just sealed our chakra we can't roof hop!" Sakura chides.

"Who says you need chakra to roof hop?" Minato asks with a smile.

"Or tree hop?" Kushina continues.

"We're limited to the ground for this." Sasuke agrees, seeing no other option.

Naruto balks, gaping at the two. "Are you guys serious?! Ugh, talk about a waste of potential . . . look—"

He takes a running leap towards the nearest alley wall. He leaps off, leaps to the other wall, and then uses the resulting force and his remaining momentum to jump on to a roof.

Turning around, he laughs at the expressions on their faces. Sakura is gaping, clearly disbelieving of what she's seen. Sasuke looks annoyed that he hadn't thought of it, and that Naruto was clearly adept at it.

"You think people are helpless without chakra? I might not be able to run up walls like Lee, or fly from the force of my own kicks like Gai, but this little I can surely do! Now, hurry up!" Naruto orders, beckoning them up to his level.

Sasuke gets it on the first try, though he slips and only manages to grab onto the roof's edge where Naruto is. Sakura uses kunai as steps— ingenious in light of her lack of lower body strength, but a waste of kunai. Naruto gives them a few tips on how to make soundless and less taxing jumps from roof to roof, and then quickly starts off, leading the group.

Finally, when Sasuke is flushed from the exertion and Sakura's legs wobble, they find Kakashi. He walks down the road with a bag of groceries in one arm, other hand in his pocket. Naruto can hear him humming some nonsensical thing as he stares ahead without interest.

"Jeez, he bought a lot of groceries." Sakura mutters. Naruto thinks he knows why, and remembers the cunning smile on Katsu's face the night before when noticing Kakashi practically inhale her cake.

"That brat." Kakashi growls.

They tense in surprise when Kakashi suddenly freezes, looking into the display window of a . . . adult book store.

Tsunade and Kushina growl. "Kakashi, you utter pervert!"

Jiraiya just gives him a proud thumbs up.

He drops his groceries without a thought and quickly leaps to the window, laughing perversely as he peruses the magazine covers shown in the window.

"I'm disappointed in him." Sakura mutters tersely. Naruto is about to respond when Kakashi suddenly turns in their direction, eyes wide. They quickly drop down behind the sign of the store roof, waiting a few moments before peeking up again.

"Probably a fluke of sixth sense . . . with our chakra suppressed he can't possibly sense us." Sasuke dismisses, but even he looks a little unsure. With someone like Kakashi, it was best to never assume and always imagine every possibility.

"Can you smell them?" Rin asks.

"Probably, but I bet it's something else entirely. If the chakra suppression seals are done too well, there's this void where you should be. If one were to spread their senses, they would immediately notice this void in energy, a place where there's absolutely nothing, when naturally there's at least a subtle something. Like an absolute stillness in a normally moving world." Kakashi explains.

"Excellent Kakashi!" Minato approves with a wide grin.

"Yes, perhaps but . . . there's a breeze that starts up every now and then, and we are not downwind of it. Let's hurry and observe for a few more moments, then move on to another spot." Naruto whispers.

But then they notice that he's still looking their way only . . . lower. At the very sign they've taken refuge behind.

"Eh?! T-They made it into a movie?!" Kakashi gasps. Naruto shivers in disgust when Kakashi . . . skips away. "I'm going to go buy an advanced ticket!" he trills, still prancing away.

"Onii-san is so gross sometimes." Naruto mutters, face showing how disturbing he still found that previous scene.

"Ha . . . yes, I know Naru." Kakashi mutters sadly, head downcast at his own fall from grace.

"You skip?" Obito's voice is strangely glazed, almost shivering. Kakashi looks at him, and then narrows his eyes into a glare at Obito's trembling shoulders and flush. The bastard is actually fighting laughter.

"I like future Kakashi, he sounds like a lot of fun!" Rin supports Kakashi, patting his shoulder.

"Well enough about that, he's moving away now!" Sakura whispers heatedly, shifting to prepare for another rooftop bound. She winces at the cramping in her muscles from not properly stretching and immediately folding them into such a cramped position.

"We'll follow his tracks." Sasuke says. They jump down from the roof, making sure to tuck and roll, as without chakra to soften the fall broken ankles were an embarrassing possibility. They run around the corner Kakashi has just walked around, but blink in surprise when the silver-haired man has seemingly vanished.

"He's gone!" Sakura pouts.

"Where'd he go?" Sasuke wonders.

Apparently, right behind him with the previously forgotten groceries in his arm. "What are you guys doing?" he says abruptly as he appears behind the three.

They all startle, sounds of surprise and slight fear coming from hem. Like leaves in the wind they shiver uncontrollably.

"Do you guys have some business with me?" Kakashi continues.

"N-Not really." They stress, shaking their heads like wet dogs.

Then, quite swiftly, they ran away leaving Kakashi blinking at the dust trail blazing ahead.

"Hey . . . how the hell did he find us?" Naruto grumbles out. His chakra suppression seals were correct, he'd double-checked them.

"It's Kakashi-sensei. He's a jounin you know?" Sakura shrugs, as if the rank of jounin granted you level ups and boosts in mystical power. "And, isn't it because there are too many of us?"

"If the presence is erased numbers don't matter!" Naruto argues.

"It'll be good training to shadow him," Sasuke cuts in with an indifferent expression on his face. Finally, the day was turning out to be not such a total waste of his time. "From now on, we'll go about it individually."

So began their individual (failed) attempts to shadow Kakashi.

First is Naruto's attempt. He does away with the chakra suppression seal and instead just lowers it naturally, having finally realized that the distinct lack of presence was what made them recognizable.

"Very good Naruto!" Minato, Jiraiya, and Kakashi voice with pride.

As expected of Kakashi onii-san, Naruto figures smugly. The smugness turns to annoyance when he sees Kakashi's book— red this time, wasn't the one after the orange book green? — nearly plastered to the jounin's face as the man walks around.

What a weirdo . . . he's even mumbling some parts out loud! At least he isn't hitting anything.

Naruto follows Kakashi for a little while, until the man takes him into a crowded area, a tea shop where he stops by to talk to Asuma and Kurenai. Naruto huffs; it almost seems as if Kakashi had done this on purpose. Growling, he jumps down and takes a flying leap for Kakashi.

"Screw stealth tactics— go for broke!" Obito mimes the leap, sniggering afterwards.

"Oof!" The older man grunts when the weight of a small body lands squarely on his back. He feels feet firmly anchor themselves to his lower back and a body rearrange and pull itself up— feels hands grip his shoulders and spiky hair tickle his cheek. Naruto has put his head on his shoulder, and is looking up at him through narrowed eyes, a distinctly petulant and somehow hopeful expression on his face.

"Aniki," Naruto sings out lowly, his face moving further over his shoulder to see Kakashi's full face.

"Otouto,"Kakashi sighs out, ignoring the snickers of Kurenai and the knowing grin of Asuma.

"Can I see your face, ani?" Naruto asks, eyes immediately widening and sparkling. Kakashi looked away quickly— even though he was somewhat certain he would've resisted with the matter of his mask, the fact that he felt unsure of that outcome was unnerving. He shoots a bored look at a choking Asuma and the giggling Kurenai.

"I learned well from your mother and father." Kakashi grumbles. The two in question just grin and throw up peace signs.

"When you become Hokage Naruto."

Naruto snorted at the same time Asuma's barking laugh assaulted their senses. "I guess that's never, Naruto." Asuma teases genially.

"Seems so, oji-san." Naruto agrees petulantly. He spears Kakashi with a serious look. "You know this means war right?"

"Bring it. Now run along and tell Sasuke and Sakura to take this seriously, otherwise I'll kill you guys with training. Naruto, you have to work on suppressing your chakra, it's so volatile that it reacts to the merest flicker of your emotions, which we all know are quite prevalent. Also . . . you might want to ask Jiraiya-sama to teach you his invisibility jutsu, it'll come in handy for crowded places." Kakashi lectures.

"Hai, hai, sensei." Naruto drones. With a salute to Asuma and Kurenai, the blonde shunshins away, making Kakashi tsk in annoyance when he's covered in the left over leaves.

Naruto goes to the tea shop where Sakura and Sasuke wait. They drink a cup of tea, sighing at the refreshing taste as they pull the cups away from their lips. They pause, turning when they see Naruto coming towards them.

"Well, I lost." Naruto laughs, rubbing the back of his head.

The next day, is unfortunately Sakura's turn. It's unfortunate, because of the sudden sour weather, heavy rains and dark skies that make the pink-haired girl sigh in resignation. She observes Kakashi from the bushes, where he stands gazing at the memorial stone. He'd been at it for hours.

"You have an unhealthy . . . oh, I see." Minato realizes, sheepishly grinning at how he almost made such a foolish mistake.

"What? 'Cause the rest of us don't see it." Tsunade states bluntly.

"Gosh, what is Kakashi-sensei doing?" Sakura sighs, looking put out. "He hasn't moved for a long time."

She observes the man closely. Her eyes widen. "No way . . . !"

Running out of the bushes she dashes to Kakashi and skids to a stop right in front of him. A scarecrow?! Gah, that bastard! Sakura howls in her mind, outwardly just sagging in defeat. She has to go back and report her failure.

"Ooh, I loved the poetic justice there." Obito commented, clapping Kakashi on the shoulder.

"I just can't resist a good zinger." Kakashi murmurs.

This time they're waiting at Katsu's tea shop under the awning on the cushions set up for them, where the warm green tea is far tastier and served in larger cups. Naruto and Sasuke tip the cups back at the same time, and release them with refreshed sighs after their long sip. They pause, turning to see Sakura.

She blushes and giggles nervously, scratching bashfully at her cheek. Naruto and Sasuke just sigh despondently, heads hanging down.

The weather of the following day is far better, and calls for iced peach tea, which is what Sakura and Naruto enjoy as they await Sasuke. They pause, turning to see Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun! How'd it go?" Sakura chirps.

Sasuke just goes "hmph" and turns his head sharply to the side in supposed indifference. "No more shadowing."

All three sigh despondently, heads hanging down.

A resigned Kakashi is escorted by an amused yet firm Naruto to the Hokage Tower in the morning, the boy having put a tracking seal on the jounin in several places on his person in case he tried to run.

"Do we have to?" Kakashi sighs.

"I want to." Naruto says simply.

"How is that my problem?" Kakashi asks, restraining himself from huffing because 26 year-old men who've been ninja for eleven years do not huff.

"Ok . . . your genin want to take a mission." Naruto tries a different tactic. Indeed, he had informed Sakura and Sasuke this morning via toads to meet them at the Tower.

"Don't care. They could use some rehashing of the basics anyway; Sakura is starting to get sloppy focusing all her time on medic-nin jutsu." Kakashi (does not) pouts.

Naruto sighs heavily. So it would come to this. He takes a big step in Kakashi's way and steps in front of the older man. Kakashi freezes in surprise, Naruto's irises now a bloody scarlet and completely compelling for creepy reasons.

"I. Want. To." Naruto enunciates clearly, yet quietly so Kakashi is forced to listen closely in order for the words to be heard. The blank, yet innocent stare Naruto sends him sends shivers of foreboding down his spine.

". . . Okay. It won't be anything . . . exciting." Kakashi doesn't know if he's making a statement or trying to placate Naruto.

Abruptly Naruto's face changes, with one blink his eyes shame the sky once again and his entire expression beams like the sun. "Great!" he chirps, and walking alongside Kakashi now they make their way to the Hokage Tower.

"Kakashi you must be firm with Naruto, otherwise he's going to get too used to having his way." Minato chides humorously.

"Whether I'm firm or not, Naruto's just going to get his way regardless, because of you two. Blame yourselves for making a powerhouse of power and charisma." Kakashi argues.

Sitting down by the receptionist's desk are Sasuke and Sakura, who immediately rise when they see Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi pauses and knocks on the door, waiting for Tsunade's assent to enter. Once given, they enter her office. Shizune, like usual, is standing near Tsunade keeping an eye on the woman with her pet pig TonTon in her arms.

"Team Seven, Naruto," Tsunade greets them with a nod of her head. "Are you here for a mission?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Preferably a C-rank or perhaps higher." Kakashi requests.

Tsunade nods, and reaches for the file Shizune is already handing her. They had just such a mission on hand, luckily enough.

"Well, it is a C-rank . . ." Tsunade mumbles. "Team Seven and Naruto, your mission is to aide a farm in the village located a couple of day's walk outside our own."

"Urgh, kiddie stuff!" Rin and Obito groan.

Kakashi raises an eyebrow and glances at his team, expecting at least one complaint or groan. However, they remain silent and maintain a calm appearance. Kakashi's eye crinkles as he smiles. Perhaps they're learning to become proper shinobi? He wonders.

No such thing— in fact, the three kids are silently and diabolically planning the next phase of attack on Kakashi's mask. On this mission, they would have to see it at least! No one to block their view, no way for Kakashi to hide! All three were, unknowingly, on the same wave length.

"What persistence." Jiraiya muses.

"You can leave out as soon as you've packed." Tsunade encourages. "Dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." They intone, and with a bow, they leave.

The team meets up at the gates of Konoha, and leave out as soon as everyone is there.

Kakashi notices the intense stares they give him, and raises an eyebrow. "You guys seem energetic today."

"I'm full of energy today!" Sakura assures confidently.

"I'm ready to go, dattebayo!" Naruto cheers.

"Hn." Sasuke smirks.

"Oh, excellent!" Kakashi smiles. He leads the team down the road onto their mission.

As they walk down the road, Kyuubi gives Naruto a mental nudge to catch the boy's attention.

Yes? Naruto asks.

You do realize you're probably wasting time? I just remembered something . . . from my time with your mother. She too, along with a boy named, ooh . . . gah, I'm terrible with names. Obi-wan? No . . .

Kakashi nearly choked on his tongue as he immediately flopped to the ground, hands tenderly cradling a stomach aching with deep belly laughs as he nearly convulsed in hysteria.

Grumbling, and with a glare to impress a cobra, Obito stands up and lands three satisfying kicks to the silver-haired prodigy's ribs before Minato can separate them.

"Obi-wan . . . shit, I'll remember that forever." Kakashi wheezes, struggling up to his elbows as he pants, hysterical chuckles still slipping out every now and then.

"Be grateful he remembers you at all." Kushina advises Obito sagely.

Naruto snorts out loud, waving away the curious stares from the others with a muttered apology. You mean Obito?

There we go. They tried everything— getting Kakashi dirty, making him eat with them, pretending to trip and grab at his mask. In the end Kushina was so frustrated she just tried to force the mask off— Kakashi held his own well, I must admit. Kyuubi muses.

So what saved him? Okaa-chan wouldn't have stopped until she saw his face. Naruto asks.

"And I would have seen it too, if it weren't for a meddling gaki." Kushina growls, hitting the couch cushion in frustration.

"Gaki? I'm older than you tomato brat." Minato shoots back, and it is only the pointed throat clearing of Rin that saves everyone's ear drums from the verbal lambasting of Kushina and most likely a defensive Minato.

Well, it helped your father was on the other end of the training field . . .

Wow. Naruto deadpans. Well, it's a new day and age! I won't give up, dattebayo!

Suit yourself, Kyuubi snorts, before cutting off the connection. To himself, Kyuubi snickers briefly as he thinks about the part he didn't tell Naruto of. Kushina, even with Minato's hampering, managed to get the mask off . . .

"Ugh!" Kushina and Obito grunt. "That's right, totally forgot."

"Forgot what?" Kakashi asks knowingly, an elegant arch of his eyebrow as he smiles at their grumbling.

"I guess we better not spoil it." Obito sighs gustily. "Read on Rin!"

It is a unanimous decision to spend a night at the quaint inn (with hot springs, not that such a thing factored into their decision at all). An overly hospitable hostess greeted them, and set them up for the night with all due haste.

Upon entering the room, they were greeted with the lovely sight of little feast laid out on a low table for them.

"Incredible!" Sakura cheered, the two boys just staring at the food with due appreciation.

"How extravagant." Kakashi compliments, also eyeing the food with the appreciation of a man who's worked all day long.

Immediately they sat down around the table, and the hostess, sensing her job was done, bowed one last time. "Please take your time," she murmured pleasantly, then closed the paper door.

Naruto's ears twitched at a rather creepy chuckle, which he just filed away as one of the strange coincidences of the day. He'd ask onii-san about it later. Or maybe . . .

"Yo, Kakashi." Kakashi turns his attention away from the food to acknowledge Naruto.

"Yo."

"Are we being followed?" Naruto puts it directly.

Minato's eyebrows furrow. "There was no mention of any such thing earlier . . ."

"Unless it said to expect some sort of shinobi resistance in the mission brief, I doubt there would be." Tsunade reminds him.

Kakashi tilts his head in Naruto's direction, a faintly perplexed look on his face. "Eh?"

"Onii . . . barrel tops usually aren't covered with rocks, and the barrel suddenly appeared right as we were being greeted by the hostess. Also, hostess lady just did a supremely creepy chuckle as she closed the door." Naruto lists.

"How do you know that?" Sasuke asks.

"I've got good ears." Naruto assures him.

Kakashi sighs, giving it up. "Ah, it may be so . . . is that why you haven't touched your foods? Afraid they might have poisoned it?"

Naruto snorts. "You try it out first. If you don't drop dead, we'll eat it too."

"Naruto!" Sakura shouts, glaring at the boy.

"So mean." Kakashi pouts.

"You're the adult! You've lived a long life . . . time to let the next generation take over." Naruto teases.

"I'm on a diet." Kakashi excuses himself.

"That's the best you could come up with?" Kushina snorts.

"Wimp. Fine, then let's all just drink tea!" Naruto exclaims, throwing his hands up.

While Kakashi deliberated over this, Sakura and Sasuke nodded in commendation of Naruto's trick.

Hee hee . . . ah, my poor overworked hands. It's such a shame they're so unsteady now! Naruto thinks with gleeful wickedness.

"If that's the way it has to be." Kakashi sighs, giving a regretful glance to the food.

Smiling, Naruto picks up the tea pot with an air of carelessness and swings it around slowly to pour for Kakashi, when he acts.

"Ah! My hands— they slipped!" Naruto gasps, as the pot suddenly dangles precariously in loose fingers as it heads Kakashi's way.

What if it burns him? Kyuubi asks.

He'll live! Naruto gives the mental equivalent of a shrug.

"Naruto, how terrible!" Kushina scolds with a thunderous expression.

"But he will." Obito shrugs.

The pot doesn't so much as slip as Naruto hurls it at Kakashi. And Kakashi doesn't so much as dodge as he flips the table to cover his suddenly kneeling form the plates and food all falling under the punishing effect of gravity.

"Whoa, overkill much?" Rin asks, staring at Kakashi.

"What have you done?!" Sakura shrieks, tugging at her pink locks in frustration as both she and Sasuke glare in horror at the carnage that could have been their meal.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I unintentionally . . ." Kakashi chuckles nervously. His chuckles choke to a stop, as do Sakura's and Sasuke's outraged horror at Kakashi actions when they feel a cloying, choking, heavy presence in the air. It wasn't killing intent; no . . . it was death-is-too-good-for-you-so-I'll-slowly-torture-y ou intent.

And it's source was Naruto.

"Naru-chan throws tantrums when he's hungry?" Rin giggles.

"Ah . . . Naruto—" Kakashi tries to plead.

"Kakashi." Naruto's growl is so animalistic and thick the words are almost slurred. "How dare . . . what will we eat now?"

"I'll . . . I'll ask the hostess!" Kakashi whimpers, cold sweat coming from him in rivulets.

"Be strong Kakashi, you can't let the child get away with tantrums." Tsunade bolsters, grinning.

Naruto growls and grips the front of Kakashi's vest, bodily lifting the man and then throwing him with all of his might out of the room, the doors having been opened beforehand by his shadow clones.

"THEN GO AND DO IT, STUPID BROTHER!" Naruto roars, Kyuubi's chakra flaring from him in a swirling vortex of hell's flames.

"How are you whipped by your kid brother?" Obito wants to know, laughing.

Naruto wasn't so lost in his rage that he didn't hear the whispering of three different people from behind the next set of doors that led outside. He growled, but restrained himself from taking out his anger at those bumbling idiots. It was becoming clearer to him now, who their target was.

Naruto took three deep breaths and calmed down, a final breath blown out harshly between pursed lips. Turning to Sasuke and Sakura, he grinned guiltily at their shell shocked expressions.

"Sorry about that . . . I'm hungry." Naruto sheepishly admits, the reason sounding stupid even to him.

"Considering how much you eat I'm sure that would be enough." Sasuke says finally, composing himself again.

"Hey . . ." Sakura whispers, at first timidly, then gaining more determination as she goes. "What's the next plan?"

"Don't worry about that; I have an idea." Sasuke whispers.

"An idea?" Naruto and Sakura repeat, looking to the pale boy. Sasuke just smirks in return.

"Hot springs." He states. Sakura and Naruto smirk, catching on.

Later, after Kakashi comes back (with a waving white flag and a written promise from the hostess to come with food later), they all decide to take a dip and cleanse themselves whilst they wait. Sasuke and Naruto are the first ones to hit the springs.

Naruto comes up for air after dunking himself entirely under the water. "This is a good idea— a person would normally have to take their mask off here." He compliments, scowling as he pushes back his hair from his eyes. It was time for another haircut, and he could have sworn he'd had one done last month! Unbeknownst to him, Kyuubi snickers, whistling an innocent tune.

"Even Kyuubi must agree— he looks much better with his hair long." Kushina snickers.

"Never mind that, just be quiet." Sasuke murmurs back, brushing wet bangs out of his eyes.

Naruto opens his mouth to speak again, when a chuckle from his left side makes him still for the briefest moment, and then resume floating as if he'd heard nothing. His sharp ears pick up the sounds of talking from behind a boulder, but he doesn't peer over.

It was those three men again, the same ones from before.

"Kakashi . . ." A deep voice murmurs, his evil chuckles fading.

Naruto sighs. So it was Kakashi, as he'd thought.

"From this needle on the blowpipe arrow, covered in medicine I prepared . . . that will make you laugh uncontrollably . . . you'll die laughing." The man, well Naruto's going to assume he's sneering. The tone seems to fit.

"Like you could even hit me." Kakashi rolls his eyes.

Naruto must admit, the mental image the man's words bring up is morbidly entertaining. If nothing else, these bozos get points for poetic justice, and irony.

"Kakashi, aren't you ready yet?!" Naruto calls, impatient to see the man's face. He says it loud enough for Sakura to here, so she can try and peak as well. She doesn't know it's peaking now . . . Naruto smirks, but he'd remind her in many jokes for years and years.

"You little . . . !" Rin fumes, blushing.

"Very good, my most excellent pupil." Kakashi and Jiraiya intone in creepy unison.

"All right, I'm coming out now." Kakashi's bored voice announces.

Naruto and Sasuke straighten up, and Naruto hears the men shifting behind the boulder ready to strike. The shadowy figure of Kakashi is a darker impression in the mist from the hot springs, but the man surely comes out. Naruto and Sasuke stand, so sure they're close to their goal . . .

Closer . . .

Closer . . . !

Kakashi appears, a folded hand towel on his head and a hand towel draped around his lower face. "Thanks for waiting; I'll just take a little soak." Kakashi says, smiling at them.

Or eye-smiling really. Since they can't. See. His Face.

"Damn! And I thought that would work, I never thought about it before." Obito groans.

"Shit you are persistent." Jiraiya chuckles.

Totally bewildered, Naruto and Sasuke drop like stones back into the water.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Naruto asks, almost helplessly, as he looks up at Kakashi's . . . covered face.

"Hmm?" Kakashi mutters, blinking in confusion at Naruto.

"We've been in here too long, we're starting to get flushed!" Sasuke quickly makes pu, grabbing Naruto's arm and speeding out of there. Shrugging, Kakashi just sinks into the waters and takes a moment to relax.

Panting, Sasuke and Naruto stumble into the changing rooms.

"What the hell . . ." Naruto grinds out, shaking his head to remove any excess water.

"Oi!" Sasuke snaps, raising an arm up to deflect the droplets.

"Ah sorry, sorry . . . huh?" Naruto gently elbows Sasuke and points to three uniforms clearly meant for grown men hanging up on the same shelves used to hold their clothes.

"The guys you were talking about earlier?" Sasuke surmises.

"I shouldn't have even mentioned anything. If idiots like those are on Kakashi's trail . . . bah!" Naruto snorts, getting a deliciously mischievous idea.

When the three nins in question return, they are dejectedly change into their ninja uniforms and quickly escape from there, leaving behind no trace of their presence.

The morning finds the team under Kakashi bedraggled and zombified, while the man in question is as chipper as anything. With a spring to his step he leads his shuffling, stumbling charges down the road, off to start their mission.

At the farm, Kakashi rounds them up and gives them their orders. "Alright, each of you guys' to you own post! Let's get to work everyone!"

"It's no good, all the stress is building up in me at this point!" Naruto whispers heatedly, dragging a hand through his blonde spikes.

"I'm also at the end of my patience," Sasuke admits with a sigh.

"To tell the truth so am I." Sakura miserably concedes.

"Then there's no choice," Naruto declared firmly, hand rising in a fist. "The absolute last-ditch plan is to be set in motion.

"Last-ditch plan?" Sasuke and Sakura echo, turning curious eyes to Naruto.

"Yes. We're going to have to bring in those three ninjas that are stalking onii-san. Whilst he's busy with that fight, eventually an opportunity will arise for his unveiling!" Naruto explains briefly, a fire shining in his eyes at the thought.

"He's crossing the line between playful prodding and actual harm." Minato murmurs, eyes a grave, dark blue.

"He knows very well I am more than a match for some bumbling idiots." Kakashi defends Naruto, perhaps a tad too forcefully.

"I understand that he's had a scattered upbringing, but the fact still remains that he's being a little mean here." Minato soothes Kakashi, hiding a smile at the instinctual way Kakashi jumped to his younger brother's defense.

"Mean? I've never heard such a word in my shinobi upbringing, perhaps it's a new age idea." Tsunade muses, winking at Kakashi who grins at her added defense.

Minato sighs exasperatedly, but an amused smile plays at his lips. "You two spoil him terribly. Probably will as soon as he's born this time around."

"It's our only choice!" Sakura is quick to jump on the wagon, brimming with determination.

"How do we go about kicking the hornet's nest then?" Sasuke enquires.

Naruto smirks. "You just leave that to me."

Kakashi quietly works, occasionally checking his students by listening— their steady footsteps, occasional grumble, and perhaps the muffled curse or two from Sakura when she doesn't hit the nail on the head quite right. He himself is fixing a part of the wooden fence, nailing new boards with quick efficiency.

A noise from Naruto catches his attention. He looks over his shoulder to see his blonde student drop his load of work on the ground and walk over to some bushes.

"Naruto, what are you looking at?" Kakashi asks.

"Ah . . . nii-san, I just thought I saw something a little weird." Naruto answers back, walking over to the bushes. "Ah . . . yes, it's a barrel with rocks on top of it."

Kakashi snorts. "Naruto, leave it alone. We don't know what's in there. Rule of thumb for a ninja, never go up close and personal to strange things. Kage bushins or ninja wire, those are a nin's best friends in situations like these." However, Kakashi had expected this. Naruto was a patient kid, but he had his limits most certainly, and the fact that these guys were following them and nothing was being done had to wear on those nerves eventually.

"Not patient? I don't know, he sounds like a very patient person to me." Obito muses, muttering thoughtfully.

"Well, there was the time in Nami when he snuck out to speak to Kyuubi, his drive to learn new jutsus as quickly as possible . . ." Kushina reminds them. "Not that I can talk about patience, he got it from me after all."

Naruto sighs, and waves his hand to reassure Kakashi. As he waves however, he murmurs so quietly even the ninjas in the barrel must strain to here, "Either man up or get out of here before I play pincushion." Sauntering away, he picks up his work again and continues on.

"That's his way of handling it? Come on, any ninja, incompetent or otherwise wouldn't fall for such bait right?" Rin asks, laughing.

"Ah, how trusting you are little Rin-chan." Tsunade coos, laughing.

Kakashi watches him suspiciously, wondering why Naruto was getting so antsy now. Shrugging, he gets back to work as well.

Inside the barrel, the oldest nin growls. "Damn you Hatake. Getting your students to carry around messages for you?! That's too arrogant!"

"Aniki, what should we do?" The nin on the right asked urgently, eyes darting around as if Kakashi would suddenly pop up inside their cramped barrel.

"Shouldn't we just retreat?" The nin on the left suggested. He was given a bruised cranium for his efforts.

"Idiot! We'll do no such thing," Aniki whispered furiously. "We are gonna go out and face Hatake full on! Brute force and everything!"

"Incompetent or otherwise, you said?" Jiraiya points out.

"On the count of three . . ." he whispers, and as one their bodies tense.

"One . . . two . . . three!"

They jump out of their barrels, springing out of the bushes much to the surprise of the three kids.

"Kyaa!" Sakura shrieks, whipping around in fright.

"I can't believe that worked." Sasuke murmurs to Naruto, an almost mystified expression on his face as he contemplates the stupidity of these "ninjas."

"You know something? I can't believe that worked either." Naruto admits, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, voice shaky.

"Oh, Naru-chan, you are such a devil." Rin mutters, Obito snorting as he nods in agreement.

"Stop right there!" Aniki yelled, flipping to land on his feet. His subordinates followed, landing in crazy positions. "Hatake Kakashi, it is time to pay for your crimes Moya nin style! I'll use this medicine, that will make you weep until you die!"

"Weep until you die?" Sasuke repeats dully.

"Now that is novel." Tsunade has to agree.

"Well, the human body is about sixty percent water, so if you lose enough water you will most certainly die." Sakura explains.

"Don't ignore us!" Aniki protests, red-faced and angry. "Hatake Kakashi, today is the day you shall die!"

"Not that I mind a good fight, but what exactly was this crime I committed?" Kakashi asks, a bored expression on his face that only increased Aniki's ire.

"You don't remember?!" Aniki howled, his followers behind him shivering in disgust. "I'll tell you then, bastard . . . it all went like this!"

Flasback no Jutsu!

Spring, three years ago . . .

The two followers of Aniki are chasing after a pretty young woman in a red kimono. She runs, frightened as she cries out, "No!"

"You don't have to be that scared!" The one on the right reassures the woman as they chase, or rather, herd her to the two trees on the top of the hill.

"No!" the woman cries again.

"Our boss just as something he wants to talk to you about." The ninja on the left continues the reassurance.

The woman stops after a while, turning around with a confused expression. "Aniki? You mean, boss . . . ?"

Immediately after, there is a sound of levers cranking behind the woman, and a rope system is suddenly visible between the two trees as a swing rises up to reveal the third and final ninja, "Aniki." He holds onto the ropes as he stands on the seat, a single red rose held delicately in his mouth, sideways. Startled, the woman trips back and falls to the ground.

Smirking, Aniki pulls the rose from between his lips and presents it to the young woman, a gleam in his eye as he speaks softly. "I love you . . . please marry me!"

"Aniki is so cool!" the backup ninjas crow, blushes on their face as they take in the scene, certain the girl would agree as Aniki had so clearly chosen such a romantic set up.

The young woman did not share their sentiment. "No . . ." she muttered, looking vaguely disgusted.

"There's no need to be embarrassed. You can be honest and fly into my arms." He assured her, leaning forward to stretch out the rose. He makes the mistake of removing both hands from the ropes that steadied him, and so unbalances and lands flat on his face on the ground with a squawk.

The woman's face twists even more, and she starts to lean away. "No . . ." she mutters more forcefully.

"It's okay, even though I look like this . . . I have a tidy sum of money!" He twirls the rose and it pops in a cloud of smoke, two coins falling to the ground.

"I'm telling you no!" The woman cries, bringing up a sleeve to her mouth in a nervous gesture.

"What? You're telling me no in these surroundings?" He asks incredulously. In an even bigger stroke of bad luck, when he fell off the swing that made it swing back, so now it has swung forward to hit him in the back of the head. With a cry, he is pushed forward to half-land on the legs of the woman.

The woman cries out and kicks him away. "When I say no, I mean no!"

"Even though I brought you to such nice settings . . ." brought meaning he had her herded here by his slightly less creepy underlings. "But why?"

"I don't like what I don't like!" The woman hotly protests, fed up with the entire situation.

"Why don't you just strop right there?" A smooth, deep voice comes from the bush opposite them.

Kakashi's silver spiked head pops up, his red book held up to his face, though he's put it aside for a moment to stare at the group. "Hey the girl doesn't like it, and no matter how you look at it, you're being rejected buddy."

"Yeah." The girl affirms, happy to have somebody in her corner.

"You're pretty gutsy. Do you know who we are?" He stands up, planting his feet with a solid stomp as his underlings come to back him up, via uncomfortable and weird poses.

"Do you dare challenge us, knowing that we are the Moya Nin Threesome, fearsome enough to silence a crying child?!"

"Moya nin? Never heard of it." Kakashi dismisses them lazily.

"Don't be a fool?" The right nin yells.

"Who the hell are you then?!" the left nin demands.

"Me? It's not worthy enough to introduce, but . . ." he stands to full height and steps out the bushes, book never leaving its position from high up. "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi."

"You're introducing yourself!" The Moya Nin yell, pointing accusingly at Kakashi.

"Whatever, you're going to get it for messing with someone's romance!" Aniki declares.

"Romance? Isn't it just annoying, one-sided love?" Kakashi corrects, smiling pleasantly— well, the expression on his visible ace seems pleasant— as he lowers the book.

"You!" Aniki growled. "Get ready boys! 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1!"

"Hustle! Hustle!" Kakashi had to raise an eyebrow at the pelvic thrusts that accompanied each hustle, then bite back a smirk as they charged toward him.

A few hits was all it took.

"Please! Somebody help me! Hey, I can't stand heights!" The Moya nins were tied together in a human ball hled together by rope, swinging like a pendulum from a sturdy tree branch.

"I'll escort you home." Kakashi informs the young woman, who quickly clings to the offered arm with hearts in her eyes as they walk away and leave the Moya nins.

End Flashback no Jutsu!

"Because of you Hatake Kakashi . . . my romance was dissolved before it could even begin to grow!" Aniki sobs.

"Romance?!" Kushina snorted, all her feminine wrath coming into this. "What a pathetic bunch of losers!"

"I feel extra sorry for that poor girl. First she's bothered by those Moya idiots, then she's tricked into thinking Kakashi will actually give her any time." Rin chuckles.

"Hey we can't say that anymore Rin, not after Crescent Moon . . ." Obito leers.

"Ah . . . yeah, you guys do seem faintly familiar." Kakashi finally says, tilting his head just a little, eye squinting.

"Ah?! You should totally remember us?!" The Moya nins yell.

Kakashi ignores them and turns to his team, about to say something before the strange expressions on their face stops him. Sakura's is typical— disgust at the creepiness of the Moya trio as well as annoyed with their loud antics. But Naruto . . . and Sasuke, are giving him looks of disappointment.

"What?" he asks them.

"Kakashi . . ." Naruto sighs. "No matter how you look at it, wasn't that a cockblock?"

"Those who live by the cockblock, shall die by the cockblock." Sasuke solemnly utters.

"It is simply Bro Code . . . and you have broken it." Naruto sighs.

"He tells the truth, Kakashi. You have disappointed me, my student." Minato declares solemnly, giving him a grave stare.

"But sensei!" Kakashi yelps. "I was saving the girl!"

"Were you really? Or did you just want her for yourself?" Jiraiya asked, raising a snowy eyebrow.

Kakashi twitches, a rush of hurt to his pride making his face twist in annoyance. "First of all, Hatake Kakashi doesn't need to cockblock anyone. And furthermore, the girl didn't want it! Were you listening at all? Tell me you wouldn't be freaked out too— look at them."

"Ooh! Pretty cocky there eh, Kakashi?" Rin laughs.

Obito snorts, trying and ultimately failing to stifle splutters and snorts of laughter. Kakashi catches on and howls with laughter. The adults stifle their amusement, looking closely at a befuddled Rin.

Rin blinks in confusion. "Wha . . .?" Suddenly it clicks and she stutters, fury like iron in her mouth. Or did she bite her tongue? "U—Uchiha Obito!"

Huffing as they all keep chuckling, she continues to read.

Naruto and Sasuke do so, considering Kakashi's words. "Even if you say that . . . onii-san would never have difficulty achieving romance since he's a higher level than these guys right? It's almost like taking advantage . . ."

"Though we do take into consideration the fact that you helped out a young lady in need, still. You didn't chide them so much as you emasculated them." Sasuke adds.

"For the love of . . ." Kakashi sighs. "Fine— we can speak more about logistics of the situation after I deal with these three."

"Sure, sure." Naruto acquiesces. From the story told by the Moya nin, he is now aware that his plan would be an epic failure. So, they just watch as Kakashi repeats the performance of three years ago, and beats them soundly.

Once again they are left swinging from a rope, confused and bewildered from the speed of their downfall.

"Ah, just like three years ago!" They groan, swinging from side to side.

"Well, kids, let's get back to work and get out of here." Kakashi chirps, but the order is clear so they continue their repairs on the farm.

The sun is sinking below the horizon and the sky is stained in blood orange and red as Team Seven departs for the village. Kakashi leads the team with an oblivious cheerfulness, having obviously already forgotten about the Moya trio who now hung limply back at the farm. Naruto trails with his arms folded behind his head and a small smirk curling the corners of his lips as he lets his senses take in the relaxed air of the earth. Sasuke and Sakura shuffle behind with tired, bedraggled appearances that show just how tired they are.

As they continue on the path, Sakura sighs and sees nothing else for it. "Sensei."

"Hm?" Kakashi responds, stopping and turning his full attention to his gaunt students.

"Sensei . . . can we see what's under your mask?" Sakura pleads feebly. Sasuke and Naruto giver her matching looks of surprise, shocked that she'd be the one to ask it so boldly— for her at least. If she wasn't wailing on you, then she was as demure as she looked.

"Hmm . . . sure, why not?" Kakashi replies. Sakura and Sasuke instantly perk up, crowding close together so they don't miss a nanosecond. Naruto just stands on the side in his same position, only one eye open to glance at whatever trick Kakashi will pull. They asked to see what was under the mask . . . not his face, right?

"Aw." The room groans.

"Underneath this mask . . ." Kakashi pulls it down slowly, very slowly.

"Is another mask!" He concludes cheerfully, revealing the second mask he had hidden under the first, a cheerful scrunching of his eye like a stab in the middle to Sasuke and Sakura. Exhausted and broken, they fall down in heaps.

"Come on Kakashi, they're kids." Obito argues in a deadpan fashion.

"You're such a jerk –ttebane." Kushina sighs in aggravation.

"You're a jerk –ttebayo." Naruto sighs, leaving them behind as he walks forward.

"Oh yeah, Uzumaki style!" The room choruses, cheering for a blushing Kushina.

"I love that, no matter how many times I hear it." Minato laughs.

They arrive at Konoha two days later, just as noon breaks high in the sky. They are congratulated for the successful mission, and Naruto departs with a promise extracted by Sakura to help her— and by proxy, Sasuke— with training.

He won't go home just yet, because he knows Katsu is working today and decides to just stop for lunch at her work place later. For now, he is tantalizingly close to mastering the second tail of Kyuubi's chakra, and wants to finish it up at once. He takes to the Forest of Death, where his training with the bijuu's chakra now takes place after an unfortunate incident early on in his training involving an entire squad of ANBU and several particularly overzealous chuunin, and Jiraiya threatening to crack all the bones in their bodies.

"Oh, I can guess a pretty interesting picture just off those words." Jiraiya murmurs, sharing a look with Minato.

His respect for Jiraiya did increase a little that day though.

As he stands in a clearing, having called upon two tails worth of chakra, Kyuubi decides to offer some assistance.

What do you feel you have left to accomplish in order to master the second tail? Kyuubi asks.

"Let's see . . . the first tail was about controlling the power and my emotions. This tail focuses on my control of the chakra itself— if I can't even do kawarimi with this, then I really can't call this mastery." Naruto mumbles.

"But you can do justu with his chakra." Kushina says, confused.

But you can do jutsu with my chakra, Kyuubi reminds him.

"Yeah, but . . . there's too much chakra being wasted. I have to cut back, to conserve . . . so this tail is all about conservation. About packing the most punch with the least effort." Naruto concludes.

Yes, lessons that will be repeated with your fifth tail, but for now focus. If you want my advice, try making kage bushins with the smallest amount of chakra you can manage. Work on lowering the number until then. Since shadows take more chakra, this will be better than using regular bushins. Kyuubi instructs.

About an hour of that should do, Naruto agrees, and then I'll try the special attack we thought up.

For the next hour the sounds of popping filled the clearing AS Naruto steadily worked to streamline his control of the bijuu chakra. The first time he tried this, he couldn't get anything lower than a thousand clones, about four thousand regular bushin too. Now though, he was now more easily into the double-digit range, and he could feel his handle on the chakra getting better. It was still wild, but he could work around that wildness now, could guide it to other sources. Like he noted before, such a thing could never be controlled by man.

"The process to control his tails are each different in their own ways, and they're fascinating." Minato murmurs.

"Okay," he breathed as the last clone popped. His total had come down to a solid twenty and wouldn't go any lower. "That's as good as it's getting."

Now for the final test. Kyuubi mutters.

Naruto nods, taking a deep breath. He reaches for a scroll on his hip, unraveling it and taking a look at the seal. He pushes chakra into it, and from it come the claws, which he'd nicknamed, "Demon Claws."

"The perfect name." Kakashi agrees.

"Okay . . . ready?" Naruto asked nervously, though was he asking himself? He channeled Kyuubi's chakra through the claws, one of the special features added via seals thanks to his cloaked friend.

No sense in wasting time. If it fails, we can just try again. Kyuubi affirms. Naruto nods, taking a big breath.

They came up with this attack a few months ago, when Naruto finally took the time to analyze the seals put on the claws. They were intricate, locked in chains and not easily unseen unless they caught the light a certain way, or they were activate causing them to glow faintly. The seals were masterpieces— simply art. Though, as he'd bragged to Kyuubi, nothing his father hadn't overtaken at sixteen— or so Jiraiya told him, but he believed it.

"Aww!" The room chorused in sappy tones, laughing at Minato who tried to hide the elation that bubbled inside him. He had never been so happy to be acknowledged, this came close to beating when Kushina acknowledged him— his baby boy!

After some extensive research and plenty of help from Kakashi, he figured out most of the functions, if not all. One set of seals gave the claws had the ability to retract or extend, becoming as short as three feet and as long as twelve feet. Another seal allowed for elemental chakras to be poured through, creating blades of whatever element was being used when slashed through the air. Of course, it was up to you to have the element chakra. The seals also granted him the ability to shift the blades from over his knuckles to between his fingers.

"Here we go . . ."

Naruto took his stance, one legs behind the other, knee slightly bent and his body turned ever so slightly to the side, arms tensed at his sides with hands loose. He coils, eyes glowing scarlet as the power of the King of Bijuu flows through him.

"An important title." Obito nods.

"Crimson Blades!" He shouts the attack's names as he slashes the air with both hands, claws almost seeing to clash together as he slashes in diagonal motions. From the slashes, crimson red blades, the glowing marks of Kyuubi's chakra form slashes like sickle blades and shoot forward, not stopping until it fells five trees.

"Awesome!" Rin and Obito breathe.

"A deadly weapon indeed, but can it be converted to mid-ranged attacks, or can it only be classified as long-range?" Jiraiya wonders.

"It seems to be more effective at long-range, I would think downsizing to mid-range wouldn't be very helpful." Minato counters thoughtfully.

He straightens up, shaking the tension from his arms and cracking his neck a couple times. He observes the damages he's wrought, the trees that fall with resounding thuds that would never be heard by anyone in the village. He smiles gleefully, jumping up and down.

"Yes! Yes! Wahoo, we did it!" Naruto crows, jubilant.

"Congratulations!" They all whoop, clapping.

Yes, yes, you did a nice trick now settle down! Kyuubi snorts. Though I loathe making your head any bigger than it is, I must congratulate you on another tail mastered.

"Why thank you!" Naruto coos, gathering up his things and pocketing them. He heads home, triumph shining on his face.

Enjoy this while you can Naruto . . . Kyuubi chuckles darkly, and Naruto can practically see the killer sharp tooth grin. Because after the third tail, my fourth tail will be the hardest to master, the hurdle to the next five! And don't think you can continue taking months either, try years!

Naruto's face fell just a little at Kyuubi's dark cackles, but he bolstered his spirits again. Years? Just one year— that's all it would take, or his name isn't Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto!

"That's the spirit sochi-kun!" Kushina cheers.

"Are we ready for another chapter, or shall we go to bed?" Tsunade asks.

"I'd like to get in another chapter if that's alright? Oh, but let's pause for lunch please." Minato humbly asks.

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm thinking—" Kakashi starts, but is cut off.

"RAMEN!" Kushina screams happily, bouncing up as she bounds to the kitchen.

"Ugh. Fine, since you've gone so long without it and haven't complained once." Tsunade sighs, glaring at her distant cousin.

---

So, as always, your reviews are appreciated. Oh, and btw . . . if you wonder whether or not any chapter will be as long as the previous two-'

NO.

I don't even know how they got like that. It was like i couldn't CONTROL myself, and that hurts. Whatever though, not like my story is the longest one out there, right? For the chapters anyway.

Hope you guys had great Easters, and April Fools, so let's meet again later on!

Love,

Bloody Mad~3

P.S.: Sorry guys, i just saw the chapter and realized the shorthand conversation wasn't underlined like i did in Micro Word. My bad, hehe! (4/14/13)