Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Hello everybody and welcome back to a new chapter of this story. First of all I liked to thank each of you. Why? Because this week this story passed its 300K hit and almost its 1000th review. I can't believe this story would get such numbers but I'm not complaining lol. When I started this story I never thought it would become such a hobby of mine, I really enjoy writing this story even though my life is really hectic right now.
Thursday I'm leaving for London where I'll follow an intense training program for my job (that's right I graduated and already found a job). This training will take 3 months so I'm really nervous and curious to see how it will go. Unfortunately, this reduces my time to write and work on my chapters this week and maybe even the week after that. I'll try to write as much as possible but this training is crucial from my future job so I can't fool around too much either.
No worries however this story will continue until the very end. I'm still working on some ideas so I can leave the original storyline. It's proving to be much harder that I thought so any ideas you might have let me know okay?
Anyway enough with the talking let's read the chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 26: Time for a change
For the guards at the front gate of Konoha time seemed to pass much slower than usual, to them morning couldn't come fast enough. Guarding the gate during night and early morning was a boring job since they almost never saw anyone or nothing happened that could give them some excitement. Guard duty during the day was an entirely different matter, they had to check the papers of people coming through, investigate and check cargo so nothing harmful could make it into the village, this at least made time go by fast.
"Man, I really hate the nightshifts. There's nothing to do."
"Stop it already. You've been at it for hours already, I don't like it anymore than you do but it's our duty."
Izumo and Kotetsu were midlevel Chuunin who had been friends ever since they started at the Academy together. They had about the same dreams, the same hobbies and even liked the same women (which could lead to trouble sometimes) and were the perfect team. They liked working together and had been doing so for years. During the invasion they had shown some remarkable skills so they would likely be taking the Jounin exams next year or so. This was something they both had dreaming about so they worked hard to reach their goal. But for now they were Chuunin and it was their job to guard the gate.
"What time is it?"
"Five minutes later than the last time you asked me."
"I'm bored."
"For the love of God, stop your whining."
"……"
"Thank you."
"Hey Kotetsu?"
"Yeah?"
"I really am bored, you know?"
"ARGH!"
Kotetsu was about to hit his long time friend on the head for his constant nagging but just then he noticed something moving at the horizon. Izumo who had been teasing his friend (to pass time and because he liked it) was ready to defend himself but stopped in his tracks as well when he saw his friend looking away from him. Turning his head he saw something as well but because of the distance he wasn't sure what it was. Straining his eyes he thought he could make out four people but he was unable to recognize them. Whoever they might be they were travelling at high speed and would be there in a few seconds.
"Get ready, we haven't heard about any shinobi coming back from missions at this time."
They nodded and prepared themselves for any possible problems. They had their hands on a kunai, ready to intercept the possible hostile travelers. When the four stopped right in front of them they were flabbergasted. Their stood two of the three Sannin, the Yondaime's son and Tsunade's apprentice waiting to get permission to enter the village.
"Yo, can we go in? or do you need to see our papers."
"O-off course not, Jiraiya-sama. Please excuse us."
"Yeesh Ero-sennin, no need to scare them like that. Don't worry guys, it's just us. We went to get Baa-chan here so she could be the Godaime Hokage."
Kotetsu and Izumo almost lost it when Naruto called one of the Sannin a pervert but when they heard him call Tsunade an old lady they were sure that things would get ugly. To their surprise Tsunade just bonked him on the head and yelled at him for calling her that. Soon Jiraiya joined in and yelled at Naruto that he needed to show him some respect while Shizune tried her best to calm everyone down. Seeing the argument taking place both Izumo and Kotetsu couldn't hold in their laughter anymore and just started laughing loudly.
"Well, it seems that things will get interesting again now that you're back Naruto."
"Yeah, things have been way to calm around here. We need another of your pranks, Naruto."
Naruto just gave a wicked smile making Tsunade groan loudly. She could really do without all the pranks Naruto could come up with. Naruto reassured her that he wouldn't pull any pranks anytime soon since he would be too busy training but that she shouldn't let her guard down. He could find some spare time if he really wanted. After talking for a few minutes they left Kotetsu and Izumo and entered the village. Naruto immediately left the others saying he wanted to surprise Anko as he was sure she was still sleeping at this early hour. Tsunade ordered him to come and see her later that day as she wanted to discuss several things with him. He just nodded and waved goodbye before using 'Shunshin no Jutsu' disappearing.
Naruto made his way over to Anko's place after getting something for breakfast. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend with a nice breakfast in bed knowing she would be happy to have him back. He quietly opened the door and put his belongings in the hallway before sneaking into the living room. Passing the kitchen he took the necessary items like a cup, a knife and a plate before slowly continuing his way to the bedroom. Peeking inside he saw the woman he loved sleeping soundly with the covers wrapped around her and her arms were holding his pillow against her body. He looked at her for a moment and smiled, he wished he had a camera right now as she looked absolutely adorable. He made his way over to the bed and sat down next to her, gently he grabbed a lock of hair and put it behind her ear. He bend down and gave her a little kiss on the cheek and smiled when she seemed to enjoy it. He started whispering in her ear so she would wake up.
"Hmm, Naruto-kun five more minutes." He chuckled when he heard her protest and continued his whispering. Anko was enjoying her sleep so she didn't want to wake up so early so when her Naruto-kun started to wake her up she was a little cranky. Just then she realized that Naruto had been away on a mission for some time now and that if he was here whispering in her ear that meant he was back. Faster than ever she opened her eyes and turned her head. When she looked into the soft blue eyes of her lover she jumped up and grabbed him in a fierce hug.
"Naruto-kun you're back. I missed you so much." Anko exclaimed before she started to kiss him.
For the next minutes no words were spoken and the world could have exploded there and then but neither Anko nor Naruto would have noticed as they were kissing and hugging like their lives depended on it. After they had confirmed how much they had missed each other Naruto just held her in his arms while Anko started talking about the things that had happened in the time he was gone. She enjoyed being in his arms again and wasn't about to leave the comfortable warmth she had missed so much. Naruto listened quietly enjoying the sound of her voice and the feeling of having her near him. When she was finished talking she asked him about his journey with Jiraiya and if he was successful in finding Tsunade-sama.
"Things went great, I learned some new techniques and Baa-chan agreed to become the Godaime Hokage."
"….Baa-chan?"
"Yeah you know Tsunade-Baachan. I call her that because she's old and I know it irritates her." He said while grinning.
"Only you would call one of the legendary Sannin 'Baa-chan' Naruto-kun."
"If you say so, but you know? She's a great person even though she's a little moody sometimes."
Anko laughed at Naruto's face when he said that, she was sure that the two of them had already bonded on a certain level. Naruto had the ability to influence people like that and once they saw the real Naruto they would have trouble not liking him. They stayed in bed for another hour talking and enjoying each other's presence before they got up so they could get ready for the day. Anko had been helping out with Team 8's training and she had to be at the training grounds in half an hour. Off course Naruto would join her as he wanted to see his friends as well, when he heard just how much they had trained he was anxious to see the results. They walked through the village chatting away and before they knew they had arrived at the training grounds, it seemed that they still had some time left as they were the first there. Naruto sat down against a tree and Anko installed her between his leg leaning against his chest.
Kurenai was hurrying to the training grounds, she had woken up a bit later than usual so she had to hurry to make it on time. She did find it strange that Anko hadn't passed by to come and get her like she usually did but thought nothing of it. Maybe she had a mission or something like that. When she finally reached the grounds she smiled brightly at the sight before her. Now she knew why Anko hadn't stopped by her house. Seeing the two of them sitting there, looking content and happy she felt somewhat jealous of Anko. Oh she wasn't interested in Naruto but rather she wished that her own love live would be like that. All she had was flirting with Asuma but neither of them made any move to go beyond that, maybe it was time to be more aggressive like Anko said. If Asuma didn't have the balls to make the first move then she will do it for him. Approaching them she greeted Naruto with a 'welcome back' and a 'we missed you' before she started to ask how things went. She wasn't really surprised to hear that he had succeeded in his mission as he had a knack for doing what others deemed impossible. A little bark interrupted her next question and she turned around only to see the rest of her team arrive as well.
"Naruto, when did you get back?"
"Just this morning Kiba. How have things been while I was away?"
"Things went great. We did several C-ranked missions and we all got a lot stronger. I can't let you get too much ahead of me, you know?"
"You all look a lot stronger that's for sure. Then again, I got stronger as well."
"Hello Naruto-kun, welcome back. We missed you, the team wasn't the same without you."
"Thanks Hinata-chan, I'm glad to be back too. Travelling with a Sannin isn't that much fun. Sure the training is great but living with a pervert like Ero-sennin day after day isn't that great. Don't even get me started on Tsunade-Baachan."
"You call one of the legendary Sannin Ero-sennin and the other Tsunade-Baachan? Man, you have some big ones." Kiba said jokingly.
"Big ones?"
"Never mind that Naruto, what kind of training did you do?" Kurenai said while glaring at Kiba for his use of words.
Naruto told them how he sparred every day with a Kage Bunshin of Jiraiya and how he got his ass handed to him every single time. He also told about the new technique he was creating although he refused to give any details. He didn't tell about the things he and Tsunade discussed but did tell them the general story so they would know what happened. He was about to tell them about the encounter with Orochimaru and Kabuto when a Chuunin appeared.
"Namikaze Naruto, the Hokage requires your presence and that of your team." And with that he disappeared again.
"Ah man, what is it now? Well, guess there's no helping it. Let's go."
When the Hokage tower came into view Team 8 saw that they weren't the only ones to be summoned as Team 10, Team 7 (at the moment only Sakura) and Team Gai were arriving as well. The secretary told them to go right in and Naruto opened the door. He had missed the old man as well and couldn't wait to tell him about the mission. Stepping right into the office he wasted no time and greeted the man he considered his grandfather.
"Ji-chan, what's up?" Making everyone smile at the familiarity between the two.
"Welcome back Naruto and if you sit down we'll get right to business." The elderly Hokage said while putting his pipe on his desk. Everybody just sat down and waited for the Hokage to start. "We'll start in a moment as we aren't fully complete yet."
A few seconds later and the door the office opened again making all those present turn their heads. They all sighed when they saw it was only Jiraiya and when he noticed the reactions he let out a tirade about showing a little more respect. It was the next person who earned the most stares and jaws falling to the ground. Tsunade had walked in right after Jiraiya and when she noticed the stares (especially from the males) she felt a little uncomfortable. Fortunately she could count on Naruto to lighten the atmosphere.
"Baa-chan, Shizune-neechan how did you like the village?" Naruto asked them.
Absolute silence. Then several things happened all at once. Jiraiya started wailing that Tsunade was shown more respect that him, Shizune greeted everyone, Kakashi looked back down and continued reading in his book, TenTen was about to let out a freakish fan-girl scream at seeing her idol and the rest was staring at Naruto for his blatant disrespect for Tsunade while said one shot forward intent on bonking Naruto on the head once more. Naruto grinned when he saw Tsunade's right fist coming straight at him and at the last moment he ducked right under it causing her to hit nothing but air.
"Ha, you missARGH" While she had missed with her right nothing stopped her from using a follow up punch with her left, right? So when she saw Naruto duck and grin she just used her left arm to punch him straight in the gut. Naruto fell down like a sack of potatoes and started coughing. When he regained he breath he stood up and started glaring at Tsunade.
"What the hell is wrong with you Baa-chan? You could have killed me with that punch?"
"Yeah I know, too bad it didn't work. Anyway that'll teach you to think you can outsmart a Sannin at your level. You're nothing but a brat."
"I may be a brat now but I promise you that one day I'll make you eat those words Baa-chan."
Both of them were glaring at each other unaware that the others in the room where staring in disbelief at the two of them. Here was one of the legendary Sannin arguing with a rookie Chuunin like they had known each other their whole lives. The Sandaime was sporting a million watt smile when he saw his former student act like that, he knew he had made the right decision when he send Naruto to get her. Just like so many people before her Naruto had succeeded in breaking through the wall she had built around her heart after the death of Dan and Nawaki. Seeing her acting freely and happy with Naruto warmed his heart like the sun on a hot summer day.
"Euh Naruto-kun, how about you introduce everybody?" Sandaime said trying to get back some order in his office though he did enjoy the chaos at the moment. It was such a difference with the usual atmosphere.
"Good idea Ji-chan. Alright everyone this is Shizune-neechan, she is a great medic-nin and is the apprentice of Tsunade-Baachan here." Tsunade glared at him for calling her old again. "who's one of the legendary Sannin together with Ero-sennin and Snake-face."
Naruto then introduced the other to them and let them tell something about themselves as well. Finally he came to the last person, Anko.
"This is Anko-chan, she's my Sensei, my best friend and my future wife." Naruto said looking at her with loving eyes. Tsunade looked at Anko and stepped forward before she grasped Anko's hands and gave them a big squeeze.
"So, you're the Anko I heard so much about?" she asked earning a nod in reply. Tsunade then surprised her when she gave her a big hug that lasted a few seconds. "Thank you. Naruto told me that if it wasn't for your training and help he would still be the loud and attention seeking brat he used to be. Seeing how annoying he is now I can only imagine what that must have been like." Anko could only give a small 'it was nothing' in reply too shocked to say anything else. The others in the room just laughed loudly at Tsunade's comment.
"What the hell Baa-chan? What is that supposed to mean." Naruto yelled loudly.
"Call me old one more time Gaki and I swear you and your team will be doing D-rank mission for the rest of the year."
This made Kiba, Shino and Hinata look at each other before they nodded and jumped Naruto trying to stop him from calling her old again. They grabbed him and told him that there would be hell to pay if they were forced to do D-rank missions again because of him. Naruto didn't want his teammates to be mad at him so he refrained from answering calming Team 8 down.
"All right everyone let's get back on track here. First of all Naruto, congratulations on completing your first S-ranked mission. I heard about how Orochimaru and Kabuto showed up, well done." Sandaime said praising Naruto for a job well done. The rest of the genin and Sensei's were congratulating Naruto as well except one person. She grabbed Naruto by the collar and glared at him.
"Naruto, you didn't say anything about fighting Orochimaru. When where you going to tell me?" Anko said in a voice that made everyone back up a little. Naruto gulped and tried to calm her down.
"Anko-chan, I was going to tell you I swear but then that Chuunin arrived telling us that we needed to come here. Besides I didn't fight Orochimaru this time, Ero-sennin did."
"You better not be lying to me Naruto-kun." She said softly more afraid of what could happen if he fought Orochimaru again.
"Relax Anko, he's telling the truth. I fought Orochimaru while he and Shizune took care of that Kabuto guy." Jiraiya said trying to calm her down.
Anko nodded before she grabbed Naruto in a fierce hug whispering that she was sorry for overreacting. Naruto happily returned the hug before he sat back down knowing that the Sandaime wanted to get this meeting back on track.
"Now that everyone has calmed down again let me explain why you are here." Sandaime said looking at them from behind his desk. Everyone knew that the time of playing around was over, this was the leader of the village sitting there and not the friendly old man of a few minutes ago.
"As you all have noticed your Jounin Sensei's have been giving you a much harder training schedule than before. This was done on my orders, I have decided that the twelve of you will be a special unit trained to deal with a huge threat to our village and maybe even the whole shinobi world. What I'm about to tell you is a S-ranked secret that will result in your death if you tell anyone about it, is that absolutely clear?" The tone of his voice told them all that there would be no exception to this rule and they all nodded their understanding.
"Very good. Now let me tell you about the reason for this special unit. Just after the invasion Jiraiya told me about an organization called 'Akatsuki'. This organization consist out of nine S-ranked Shinobi, one of which is none other than Uchiha Itachi. I'm sure you all realize the danger such an organization represents. We don't know their precise goal or purpose but what we do know is that they are strong and dangerous. Yes Sakura, do you have a question?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt Hokage-sama but I wanted to know how Sasuke is doing?"
"Tsunade assured me that Sasuke would be fine when she had a look at him this morning. He should wake up in a few hours but I want to warn you all. Sasuke has suffered a huge mental trauma and will likely need some time to recuperate."
"What happened to Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"Ah yes, you don't know about that incident yet. A few weeks after you left Uchiha Itachi showed up in the village for an unknown reason. When Sasuke found out that his brother was here he immediately attacked him. Like you can imagine Sasuke lost and suffered a mental attack from his brother putting him in a coma until Tsunade healed him this morning." Sandaime explained.
"While I understand that he wants to defeat his brother, attacking him like that is pure idiocy. There's no way he could defeat a S-ranked Nukenin at his level. I hope he's learned his lesson and that maybe he will change his attitude a bit." Naruto sighed.
"Naruto, correct me if I'm wrong but it sounded like you were worried about Sasuke? I don't understand why you would care about him, Sasuke isn't a good friend of us. As a matter of fact he considers us below him and doesn't hesitate to insult us whenever he can." Chouji said. While he didn't hate Sasuke he didn't like him either.
"That may be true Chouji but you have to understand where I'm coming from. Unlike you all Sasuke and I grew up having no parents or family, nobody to say 'good morning' to or asking how your day was when you got home from school. When you come home day after day with nobody waiting for you things get very lonely very fast. It's something that you can't really understand if you haven't been in that situation yourself. It hurts and it consumes you if you're not careful, if I didn't have Ji-chan when I was younger I don't know if I would still be alive right now." Naruto said solemnly.
"Naruto is right, Sasuke has many faults but some of them are caused by the fact that he suffered a trauma the night his whole clan was slaughtered by his brother. I'm not excusing his behavior towards others but an event like that leaves a mark on a young child." Sandaime finished. The rest of the genin nodded understanding that this was a subject that would have to be discussed another time. "We keep getting off track so no more question until I'm finished. To deal with Akatsuki we need shinobi specially trained as there are not many who can go against those kind of enemies and get out alive. So I'm assigning you all a S-rank mission that will last until Akatsuki is defeated, this means that the number of normal missions that you do will go down a bit and that you'll focus on training and getting stronger."
It took another hour before the meeting was over and basically it had been decided that the group would focus on training either in group or individual just like they had been doing all along. After that everyone was dismissed except Naruto and Anko. Naruto and the rest agreed to meet up later and get some dinner or if they were still allowed maybe they would visit Sasuke who would have to spend a few days for observation in the hospital. When the group had left Sandaime took his pipe and puffed a few time enjoying the feel of the tobacco in his lungs. He knew it was bad for his health but he was an old man so he was allowed some pleasure he mused.
"So, according to Tsunade here you have some interesting ideas for Konoha. She didn't want to tell me anymore without you around so please Naruto, would you explain them to me?" Sandaime asked interested. He was always open to new ideas and besides he wouldn't be Hokage much longer now that Tsunade was here.
"Before I explain them, I have a question as well. When will Baa-chan take over?" Naruto asked pointing at Tsunade.
"We talked about it this morning and decided that I will resign at the end of the month. In other words in about eight days, we'll announce it to the council tomorrow and to the village the day after tomorrow." Sandaime said while leaning back in his chair.
"Do you expect any problems?" Naruto asked curious.
"I foresee no problems with the council as Tsunade is a highly respected kunoichi and she has proven her worth several time over during the war. Same for the village, a lot of people owe their life or the life of a loved one to Tsunade be it directly or indirectly." Sandaime said after thinking a second. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious I guess." Naruto shrugged. "Alright about my ideas, like I said to Tsunade-Baa-chan and Ero-sennin before, I came up with them some time ago so some of them might be impossible or just plain stupid so let me know."
Naruto started to explain his ideas for the academy and the future students and genin as well. Sandaime listened carefully and had to admit that some of the things Naruto said made sense. Teaching the young academy students teamwork while being at the academy would allow the Jounin Sensei to focus on training later on. The idea of making them work together on the D-rank missions had merit too since those were made especially to encourage teamwork.
"So you're saying that if we make them work together as academy students, we would be able to see who works well with who making it easier to form the teams later on." Sandaime asked even though he had understood the concept straight away. He did wanted to hear how Naruto would sell his idea to him, after all this was something he would have bring in front of the council as well. He may be the Hokage but even he didn't have the power to just change everything if he felt like it.
"Exactly, let me give you an example. In the current system, the last of the class and the rookie of the year are usually put together to balance out the teams right?" earning a nod from the Sandaime he continued. "Imagine for a second that I had been put on Team 7 with Sasuke, what would have happened in your opinion?"
"Well, the teamwork would have been awful that's for sure. Sasuke seems to have a dislike of you as you were classified as a weakling, he would have thought you would slow him down and he probably would have ignored or taunted you. And you wouldn't be able to endure his taunting and would have risen to his provocations all the time making it even harder to work together. Perhaps in time the two of you would learn to work together but it would take a lot more time." Sandaime said after being silent for a minute.
"That's what I thought as well. We would be so focused on our differences that teamwork would be next to impossible except on life-threatening moments. Not only would we suffer from this but also our third teammate as well. Take a look at Team 8, their teamwork is some of the best I've seen, they train together and help each other get stronger and better. That's because they're not only teammates but also friends who want to help the other reach their dreams." Naruto finished his explanations.
"Okay I'm with you so far Naruto. What you propose is possible but it would take some time to see the results of this new system and that's the problem. What if we change everything and then it turns out it doesn't work? We would have lost a lot of time and resources." Sandaime said. He liked the idea but he had to be realistic as well, the council was bound to bring up that argument as well. Naruto nodded knowing that time and money always were a major pain in the behind. Surprisingly it was Tsunade who came up with the solution.
"But what if we introduce the system over several years? What if we let the last year of the academy form teams and let them do a set number of D-rank missions a week? For example 3 missions a week for each team, that way we can monitor the change from close by and we don't have to change everything all at once." She said explaining her solution.
"That's not a bad idea, Tsunade. That might be possible, yes I believe that's the best course of action. We'll explain it to the council after you've been appointed as Hokage." Sandaime said happy that they had found some sort of solution to the problem. "what else did you have in mind, Naruto?"
"Okay, my next idea is about the council itself. The problem is that I don't really know how the council works and what its limitations are." Naruto said.
"Well the council is made up out of two parts. One is the Shinobi council whose job is to help the Hokage run the shinobi part of the village. This means that they have a say in what happens and that they have a certain rights and that those in the council have several privileges as well. Before the council had less power than now but when I came out of retirement after the Kyuubi attack I had some much work that I allowed to council more power and say in the village. Unfortunately when things calmed down again they were unwilling to return to their previous level of power and I was unable to force them. The Shinobi council exits out of the major clan heads and my advisors, and while it pains me greatly to say this some of them are more focused on their own power instead on the good of the village." Sandaime said while smoking his pipe.
"What about the other part of the council?" Naruto asked interested. This was an unique chance to learn about how the village worked so he listened closely. Anko too was listening after all she would be the wife of the Hokage one day so best if she knew how things worked as well.
"The other part is the village council and they are sometimes a bigger pain in the butt than the Shinobi council. The village council is responsible for all things that are not related to shinobi matters. For example they take care of complaints or problems with housing, shops and stuff like that. Again they seemed to think that they have a right to stick their noses into things that don't relate to them and try to get more power so they can influence things in the village. The biggest problem is that the Hokage has to deal with every problem no matter how small or insignificant. This takes a lot of paperwork so I lose precious time that I could be using otherwise." Sandaime said smiling a bit at Tsunade's face which showed that she regretted coming back to the village to become the Hokage.
"Gaki, your idea better work because there's no way I'm dealing with all this." Tsunade said glaring at Naruto.
"That depends on what the answer will be to my next question." Naruto said calmly. "Ji-chan, when Baa-chan here becomes Hokage can she change things or is everything set in stone, about the council I mean?"
"Well, she can't disband the council if that's what you're asking but she can make some changes yes. Off course that will depend on how big and what kind of changes." He answered.
"Could she appoint a head of each council, someone who's in charge and who only answers to the Hokage?" Naruto asked?
"I think that might be possible if you can get the councils agreement, which would be very difficult I'm afraid." Sandaime answered after thinking for several minutes. "It would have to be someone they all trust and whose strong enough not to get influenced by them."
"So if Tsunade-Baa-chan asked you to be head of the Shinobi part and the council agreed would you accept?" Naruto asked innocently.
Tsunade grinned, if Sarutobi-Sensei was there to help her than she could deal with those councils. Sarutobi was a respected shinobi and had great knowledge about anything shinobi related after years of being Hokage. He wouldn't be swayed or influenced by pushy members of either council and she knew that he would always had the good of the village in mind. If he accepted that would mean one less thing to worry about.
Sarutobi however was a bit lost, on one hand he looked forward to his retirement after years of politics and the paperwork that came with it but on the other he did want to help out Tsunade and help her run the village. He looked at the innocent look on Naruto and frowned, the little jerk had managed to push him into a corner with his ideas. He sighed as he made the decision even when it was obvious that he didn't need to think about it.
"Naruto, you should go into politics with that poker face of yours. You pushed me into a corner knowing what my answer would be without me realizing it." Sandaime said glaring at his adoptive grandson."Just when I thought I was free of all that you come up with something like this."
"Who, me? Nonsense Ji-chan, it was just a question. I don't want you to feel obligated to accept this position." Naruto said smirking at him and winked at Tsunade who grinned back.
"Yeah right."Sandaime snorted. "but fine, yes I believe I would accept such a position. I was going to offer my expertise and knowledge to Tsunade anyway."
Naruto than explained how he wanted Hideki as the head of the civilian part of the council knowing that the man was well liked and respected by the villagers. Sandaime agreed that Hideki would do an excellent job if they could convince him to accept the position. Naruto said that it would be their job to convince them as he was an old friend of Sandaime. They decided that these ideas were enough for the time being as this would take a lot of time and effort to make this happen. Any other ideas were put on hold and Naruto and Anko were dismissed from the Hokage's office. When Sandaime looked out the window he saw them laughing and joking and a smile grew on his face.
"He's an amazing person isn't he Sarutobi-Sensei?" Tsunade asked seeing the smile on his face.
"Indeed. I remember Minato saying that his child was destined for great things and not once have I doubted his words." Sandaime said looking at the portrait of the Yondaime.
"Well, guess I'm off to the hospital as well, there's this Lee kid who need to be looked at." Tsunade said sighing.
"Ah yes Lee-kun, he got severely hurt when he fought during the preliminary's of the Chuunin exam. If there is anyone who can heal him it's you Tsunade." Sandaime said recalling the vicious fight between Lee and Gaara.
Anko and Naruto joined the rest of the gang at the usual place to have dinner and talk about their past few weeks. Naruto was especially interested in hearing the fight between Sasuke and his brother but was a bit disappointed when he heard the details from Kakashi-Sensei. He had hoped to find out more about Itachi seeing as he was a target of him and the organization called Akatsuki. Kakashi did tell him a bit about Itachi from when they worked together in Anbu but even then he didn't found out much. Suddenly Gai dropped in with Lee, both smiling like Christmas would come twice in a year and when they asked what was going on Gai told him that Tsunade had examined Lee and that she was fairly confident that she could cure him. Naruto and the rest were very glad for their friend knowing that being a shinobi meant everything to him and told him that they would support him all the way. Off course this made Lee and Gai yell out about the youthfulness of their friends earning glares from the other customers in the restaurant.
"Kurenai-Sensei, what do you have planned for the new training schedule?" Hinata asked. She had been working very hard on her Taijutsu and her medical skills ever since the invasion but she still needed to get stronger and still had so much to learn.
"Well, the five of us have decided that we'll do group training from time to time as well as individual training. For example, I'll take care of Genjutsu training while Kakashi will do Jutsu training, Gai will take care of Taijutsu. That leaves Anko and Asuma, who will be available for individual training or questions you might have." Kurenai said smiling at how every genin listened closely.
"Ah Hinata-chan that reminds me. You're learning medical jutsu right?" Naruto asked to which Hinata simply nodded. "Well, while we were heading to Konoha, Tsunade-Baa-chan told me that she wanted to start a program to train Medic-nin. I don't know any of the details but if you're interested you should ask her about it."
Hinata immediately looked at Sakura and Ino who nodded as well saying that they would go first thing in the morning. The three of them were very interested in becoming Medic-Nin though Ino just wanted to learn enough to be able to help her team. Sakura and Hinata however wanted to become full pledged Medic-Nin if that was possible so being taught by Tsunade herself was a dream for them. Naruto grinned when he saw the determination on their faces knowing that Tsunade would have her hands full with the three of them. He was glad the girls had found a way to realize their goals and in the end it would help them all out if they had several people who could heal them if they got injured. It seemed the future would be filled with training and battles but he knew that he had his friends at his side so he was sure that things would be alright as long as they fought together.
Well that's it for this chapter. Not a lot of action but these chapters are necessary to explain the changes Konoha will be having when Tsunade becomes the Godaime Hokage. I'll try to put in some action packed missions in the following chapters to compensate. Like I said above Thursday I'm leaving for London so I don't have time to work on a chapter for next week. So I decided to put the release for next week on hold until I can be sure to have the chapter completely ready.
I don't want to make empty promises and then disappoint everybody by not releasing the chapter. So NO CHAPTER NEXT WEEK but in two weeks.
NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE RELEASED ON SUNDAY 10TH OF AUGUST. See you guys then.