NARUTO IS PROPERTY OF MASASHI KISHIMOTO

"Kyuubi talking"

'Kyuubi thinking'

"Normal speech"

'Characters thinking'

Author's note:

Finally! Here you go. Happy Holidays!

Sorry for any mistakes.


"A NINJA'S LIFE"

Chapter 28

"It had to be that weird chakra." Said Sasuke, looking at his feet, a hand on his chin. He was sitting on a bench facing the Hokage tower. They were waiting for their sensei.

"Maybe it was just a new ninjutsu of his, Sasuke-kun." The pink-haired kunoichi suggested. She was standing up, facing the park.

"It was not! The nature of his energy changed entirely. It wasn't his! I know his energy. No kind of jutsu could change a person's chakra that much…" His voice lowered. He had dark rings under his eyes. His pride was still wounded from Naruto saving him.

If it weren't for Orochimaru's curse seal, he could've continued fighting or at least moving. Damn the snake. He hated the traitor but he wasn't the only person he was mad with.

He was also bothered at whatever the blond did to defeat the Shukaku. Naruto had never shown that level of strength before. And that made the raven-haired boy wonder if he had been holding back. If this was true, then Sasuke would get really pissed at his blue-eyed teammate.

'Since when had you been hiding that power, Naruto?' The boy gritted his teeth, while Sakura watched from aside.

'Sasuke-kun…'

The Uchiha was troubled, she could tell. He was even voicing out his musings. 'He used the Kyuubi's chakra again.' The girl looked beyond the Monument; where she, like most of the shinobi and a few villagers(the ones that hadn't been in the shelters), had seen the Shukaku.

She had been afraid at the monster and its chakra, but her fear reached new limits when the fox's energy appeared. Sakura immediately recalled his pointed fangs and nails, the deepened whiskers and those blood red eyes. The Haruno felt the hair of her neck stand on end at the sole thought of that memory. She still had nightmares about his slitted pupils.

Despite his appearance, Naruto hadn't act out of normal. And everything had worked out OK, both on the forest and against Shukaku. But she still felt afraid of him, and she was ashamed of that. He had saved Sasuke, he was himself. He wasn't dangerous…

'But those demon's eyes…'

"It was someone else's. But that 's impossible, isn't it?" Sasuke spoke.

"Uh huh." She said in a daze.

"Sakura!" she jumped a bit at the sound of her name. Her head turned back to Sasuke.

"sorry." She apologized, lowering her head a little, not at all unlike her Hyuuga friend. "I guess I'm still tired from yesterday's work.

Sasuke glared at her.

"That was not even remotely normal." He continued, standing up and walking closer towards her. Sakura tensed. "If you know something you must tell me, Sakura."

He looked rather desperate of knowing. 'Would he feel better if I told him? Or would that just messed everything up?' The girl looked at his beautiful onyx eyes for a brief moment. She fought the urge to swallow.

"How could I know what it was? I wasn't even there." She answered; trying not to give in to Sasuke's searching eyes. After what appeared like an eternity for the girl, Sasuke turned around and sighed.

"Don't tell him I've been wondering about this." Sasuke said, looking at Kakashi as he exited the building with a scroll on his hand.

"I won't." The genin assured as their sensei approached. The girl fought back a smile; She felt honored that Sasuke had confided his thoughts and worries to her.

"Now that the southern sector has been cleaned up you can start the construction of the new houses…" the jounin started, looking at the writings on the scroll. "You'll help with the footings, all right?"

"We need to cover four houses today..." The jounin informed.

"When is Naruto joining us?" Sakura piped up.

"As soon as he is fully healed." Responded Kakashi, smiling at Sakura's concern.

"He looked fine yesterday." The girl continued.

"It's all up to his doctor." The girl nodded.

"C'mon I'll show you your site of work." The grey-haired man said with a smile. Kakashi's assignment had been corpse retrieval along with the Inuzukas and other shinobi. Kakashi's dog summons and the Inuzukas' nin-dogs helped locating the bodies. It was a nasty job but someone had to do it before they rotted.

They'd found a couple hundred corpses already and when Kakashi thought there wouldn't be more, the dogs kept finding the scents of more dead flesh. Few were found each day, and Kakashi had the feeling that today they would find the last corpse on the entire village.

They needed to fetch them for the funeral for fallen that was to be held tomorrow.

The three Konoha shinobi began to work.


Naruto was wearing black pants and shirt, just like everyone around him. Iruka was behind him and Konohamaru was on his left. They weren't members of any clan so they stood with the villagers and other common shinobi. The family clans were nearest to the stage on neat rows.

The Akimichi clan was in between the Naras and the Yamanakas. Next to them were the Inuzukas. The Hyuugas and the Aburames listened solemnly at the speech, the only one showing any kind of emotion was Hinata, who had to wipe a tear every minute or so. At last was the Uchiha clan, where Sasuke stood, no one around him.

It must be really hard, Naruto thought, being the last member of such an influencing clan. People must expect really great things from him. No wonder he smiled so little. Anyone would be as uptight as he is if one had all the village looking at you, expecting one to do great feats and maintain the Uchiha clan's reputation impeccable… well, as impeccable as it could be after one member of the main family butchered the whole clan.

'That's a heavy load you have there, teme.' Mused the blond as he regarded the black haired boy straightening up. 'But you still need to learn to laugh sometimes.' After saying that the whiskered boy wondered if that was even possible. Sasuke's face looked like it wasn't meant to stretch; he could barely smile, he doubted he had the capability to grin. That would rip his cheeks off or something. That thought would make him laugh any other day, but at the present moment the blond couldn't make himself smile.

He took his mind off the skinny genius and led it to more important things, like the photograph standing on top of a cheap looking coffin. Behind the glass was the plump face of the fish-seller. The one Naruto had tried to save, but failed as his clone vanished, letting the wall crack his body open. The blond swallowed hard. During his time at the hospital, sleep was a tough feat since the night of the attack kept repeating on his mind. It had all happened in less than a minute. First his clone was holding the piece of concrete over his head, the guy looked like he wanted to say 'thank you' but before he could think anything, the Naruto doppelganger dispelled as a shard of wood impaled itself on the clone's head. The next thing that followed was a crunching sound; the blond knew it was the noise of bones being shattered.

Kousu had been his name, and Naruto had found the picture as soon as he stood on his spot on the street; his eyes had been drawn directly to the photograph. It was like the ghost of the man wanted him to know where he lay. He couldn't help to think the state of the body that was enclosed within the coffin. And it is my fault. Not being able to stare anymore, Naruto turned his head brusquely to the right, forcing himself away from his accidental victim… but his victim none the less.

His eyes came to rest on the biggest photograph. One of a serious looking Sarutobi. The funeral was meant for the fallen in the attack, but the late Hokage was the person which was being honored the most. Sarutobi's old teammate had said a few words and now was Jiraiya's turn to speak. He didn't look too comfortable about the idea but Tsunade gave him a light shove for him to start. Naruto thought they should have chosen another photograph, with the late Hokage smiling warmly or his mouth wide open as he shouted to someone (mainly Naruto); that would have shown the Sandaime as he knew him.

The news had taken Naruto out of guard as he never imagined the Hokage would die. Sarutobi's death left the village with no leader and left Naruto without the person he considered his grandfather. He had been the one to always scold, cheer or calm Naruto, apart from Iruka. And even after his death, the old man seemed to know exactly what Naruto was thinking. Naruto thought he could hear Sarutobi's voice talking at him while he stared at his picture.

"You can't always save everyone. The only thing you can do is do your best."

The blond felt his knees start to shake and his eyes start to water ever so slightly. 'How is it that you know always what to say, huh you geezer?' The blond shut his eyes tightly, trying to stop the water leak. He didn't want to make a scene in front of the whole village, but his emotions were getting the best of him…

Iruka turned his head as soon as he heard someone sobbing at his side. His eyes softened at the sight of Konohamaru covering his eyes with his forearm. He couldn't hold it anymore, it seemed. Heads started to turn as a loud cry escaped his throat. Iruka stretched his hand towards the kid's shoulder, but Naruto was faster. The blond placed his hand on the little boy's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

The late Hokage's grandson didn't bother to look as he continued to emit shaking sobs. Iruka smiled at the Kyuubi container. The blond had sobered up and was now looking at the ground, his hand moving as Konohamaru shook. Suddenly the kid pivoted in place and hurried to bury his face on Naruto's lower chest. Taken aback, the blond turned to Iruka for advice; the scarred teacher just smiled. Hesitantly, the blond wrap an arm around the boy. Konohamaru kept on crying, but Naruto felt his shoulders relaxing a little. The whiskered boy tightened his grip around the kid's body.

A bigger smile formed on the man's face as he muttered, "We'll be okay." He then turned his head to Sarutobi's face on the Hokage Mountain. The two boys kept mourning together.


Naruto frowned. Someone was kicking at his side. He rolled on his futon, away from the devil that wanted to wake him from his nightmare-free sleep.

"Damn kid." The blond heard the devil curse.

"Go away." The boy grunted against his pillow. The person seemed to obey, since there were steps getting away from him. Naruto sighed contently as he tried to go back to sleep. He frowned when the man stepped to him again.

"I'm not saying it again, go a- WAH!" the blond sat up in a flash, spluttering as he tried to get the cold water out of his eyes and nostrils.

"The hell?" He asked in an outraged manner. Jiraiya smirked at the boy.

"Get ready, the new Hokage is assigning you to your duties in fifteen minutes." Jiraiya turned away from the boy towards the mini fridge. 'Damn.' The blond cursed mentally as he rubbed his eyes. He had missed the coronation of the Godaime Hokage.

"Who is the new Hokage?"

"Go and find out for yourself. And hurry, I don't think the Hokage would like if you were late." The white haired man said as he grabbed a small bottle of sake. "Where are the damn cups?" The blond shrugged as he got to his feet. The war had left his apartment without a roof and two walls, but since he had saved so many neighbors they had offered to rebuild his home. Being gladly surprised the blond let them (not that he had a choice, the villagers were determined to help back the boy who had saved their lives). After leaving the hospital his home wasn't ready yet, so Jiraiya offered Naruto the chance to stay with him in his hotel room while the people finished. Naruto had no intention of living in the shelters with the people who had become homeless.

"I'm gonna get ready." The blond announced the Jiraiya who had stopped looking for the cups and was now drinking the sake directly from the bottle.

"You're late." Stated the newly appointed Hokage sitting on the center chair of the Mission Delivery Office.

"But only for half an hour. The important thing is that I'm here, right granny?"

The chuunins that were working on their paperwork stopped writing and lifted their eyes to see who had dared insult the new Konoha leader. A loud grunt was heard from Iruka, placed two seats away from Tsunade.

"Didn't I teach you anything, Naruto? I swear to Kami you are the most disrespectful person on the country." Iruka fumed. Naruto smirked, good old Iruka.

"I agree." The Godaime spoke, her lips a very thin line. "I don't have time to argue with you today, brat, so just shut your trap for a minute so I can tell you what you're going to do."

The blond didn't say anything but kept his smile. He couldn't describe how happy he was when he found out who the new Hokage was. Tsunade was all right; she could do nice things sometimes and the most important thing, she wouldn't imprison him to keep the Kyuubi in check.

"Right, so this is a D-ranked mission. You'll report to Chigaki, chief arquitect of the northern sector. This sector had the most devastation and the village is in need of your bunshins to help restore the buildings."

"How many?" wondered the boy.

"As many as it takes to complete ten houses and three buildings in three weeks time."

"That's a lot of work! Can't I have a less boring mission? I could serve as a messenger." The blond suggested. He preferred to travel than work under the sun for weeks.

"Konoha is in need of your abilities, Naruto. I have two and a half hundred homeless people, and most of them don't have the ability to rebuild their homes." Tsunade said while laying her pen down. The blond really wished he could do something more interesting, but hearing the numbers of villagers without a roof he agreed.

"Don't feel that way about the task, it's for the sake of the village after all." The Hokage nodded for a chuunin to hand the boy the scroll. Seeing the blond wasn't convinced she added.

"Plus, the pay for this mission is considerably more than the usual pay, you're building thirteen buildings after all." At this, the blond read the bottom of the scroll, where the wage was printed. His eyebrows shot up immediately.

"I'll have them done in less than three weeks." The blond said, trying to hide his smile.

Tsunade smirked as the boy turned and headed for the door. As soon as the whiskered boy was out of sight he grinned. 'I'm buying the new explosive tags I saw down at the weapon shop, and that blue sleeping… maybe some new clothes? Or I'll just keep saving for my new couch! Haha ' He was still grinning like an idiot when he got to the north section of the city.

Naruto had to squeeze between the numerous people running up and down the street. It was full of villagers and workers coming and going. Each step he took closer to the gate meant more people around him. He was entering the area that received the most damage in the confrontation. Most of the men and women had some kind of building materials under their arms, and sometimes over their heads. Tall piles of long, smooth wood flanked the streets. There were also lots and lots of steel beams positioned against the remains of the north gate. Most of them were going to be used to rebuild the gate. The whiskered ninja raised his head to look at the progress of the gate. The gaping hole Orochimaru had done was now being filled with vertical and horizontal beams of metal. Once they were all in place, the cement would fill the space. They still had a long way to go.

Naruto had to duck from an end of a wood piece. It was being carried by three bulky men that had turned brusquely from the corner Naruto was walking into. The blond wanted to yell at them but they were in such a hurry they were out of sight in a matter of seconds.

Ladies were under stands selling lunch for the workers and offering cool beverages. Naruto turned his head towards a man yelling at a boy with an orange helmet, it seemed the boy had let something drop.

"I had to take my dog out of the way, man! That stupid machine almost crushed him!" The boy roared back. Naruto realized it was Kiba with Akamaru under his arms.

"You shouldn't have brought your mutt here in the first place kid! If you had listened to me earlier we wouldn't have a broken glass on the street. Now we need to cut another one with the right dimensions and the guy that does that is on the other end of town!" countered the man, readjusting the helmet on his balding head.

"And you suppose it's me who has to go get it?" The dog master asked, incredulous.

"Either you have it here in an hour or I'll have Chigaki-san fire you." The man threatened, showing a chipped tooth as he spoke.

"You should fire the moron controlling that thing, it wasn't even my-"

"Kiba." Shino spoke from the corner of the building, carrying a wheelbarrow with bricks that threatened to fall from the sides. Naruto didn't know how the Aburame could work with his jacket on, under the hot sun. He was, also, wearing a bright orange helmet.

Kiba glanced at Shino momentarily, as Shino looked at him through his glasses. The brunette released a sigh, mixed with a curse as he walked away from the man.

"I'll get your stupid glass." He said as he started walking. Kiba put Akamaru on the ground so he could follow. The blond was surprised to say the least. With just one word had Shino made Kiba do what he was told. Naruto wondered about Shino's secret.

Kiba slowed down to a stop when he noticed him.

"Did you come to join the fun?" The brunette asked, still irritated.

"I was getting bored, so yeah." Responded the blond. "I take it you're Shino's bitch now."

"Shut up." Kiba snarled. "It's impossible to argue with logic itself. If only you knew how he is you'll understand."

"FIVE MINUTES GONE, BRAT! FIFTY FIVE MISSING!" The man yelled from his place besides the house.

"WHAT? IT'S BEEN BARELY TWO MINUTES!" Kiba boomed.

"NOW YOU'VE WASTED TEN MORE MINUTES!" replied the man.

"Fuck my life!" screamed Kiba, throwing his arms towards the sky. Akamaru let out a bark, to show he agreed. The brunette gave a wave of his hand as he parted, dog following close at his side. Naruto smirked at Kiba's situation and decided to ask the worker in charge of Kiba's team, since he heard him mention the head architect's name while arguing with the dog expert.

"This site can only be approached by authorized personnel, furthermore, anyone who comes near the construction areas must be wearing appropriate protection." Shino announced from his working spot, his head turned towards the blond. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"That's my line." Said the man Naruto was looking for. "Get away, we're working here."

"I'll do just that when you tell where Chigaki is. He's got work for me."


The Takayama Dango Shop was busier than usual.

The buildings near it had been damage to some extent by the recent attack on the village and the workers liked to stop by and buy a few sweets from the shop. Groups of workers and shinobi were sitting on the simple wooden tables the shop had inside, talking and eating happily. Despite the many villagers visiting the shop, Mitarashi Anko was occupying a whole table by herself. No one dared to disturb her while the snake master was eating what she considered to be the food of the gods. There had been a time when a man knocked one of her dumplings to the ground because he had been too careless; walking too close from her plate and accidentally knocking it down. He ended up in the hospital for multiple snake bites, some of them poisonous.

Said woman was sitting at her usual table, the one facing the street. The waiter had just placed down the plate in front of her, and hurriedly walked away to serve the rest of the customers. Anko had had a long week, having to spend the time next to Ibiki, helping him question the prisoners that survived from the attack. It had been really boring, in her opinion, since Ibiki was fond of intellectual tactics to make a person confess. Instead, Anko preferred the physical torture. You know, a little bit of maiming and a little bit of burning, but nor Ibiki nor the Hokage allowed her to do that anymore. Not since a prisoner fell in a coma, cause of one of Anko's interrogations.

The kunoichi took one of the three impaled dumplings from her plate with enthusiasm, a stupid smile plastered on her face. She salivated in anticipation. She opened her mouth wide enough to engulf the three round sweets at the same time, but when she closed it she only felt her teeth clashing against each other, her food gone.

"…the fuck?" She asked out loud, extremely confused and extremely furious. Her dango was gone, the one on her hand as well as the ones on her plate. She started to look around, frenetically. Anko resembled a rooster looking for intruders on his yard, moving his head from side to side quickly.

"Looking for this?" a voice said not so far from her. Anko turned her head rapidly, face livid.

"You." She started, getting up slowly. "What do you think you are doing?" Her voice was saturated with venom. Her voice attracted curios people turning their heads around, wanting to see what the deal was.

"Payback." Naruto grinned, rapidly taking the three sticks and shoving them in his mouth. Villagers and shinobi gasped dramatically. The Mitarashi stood rooted in place. She watched, unbelieving, as the three sticks came out of his mouth; the colored dumplings gone.

"Meh… I've had better." Said the blond, swallowing the food. The onlookers were having the same, collective thought. That boy was going to die today.

Anko was staring at him with murderous eyes. Naruto thought she was going to say something else but she just darted towards him, full speed. A shiny kunai had made its way to her right hand. The blond jumped to the closest roof and started running for his life, a nervous grin on his face. The chase had started.

"COME BACK HERE!" Villagers could hear the woman bellow as she darted across the roofs and terraces. "I'M GONNA OPEN YOUR STOMACH AND TAKE BACK MY DANGO!"

'I don't doubt it.' Naruto leapt to another porch, turning left abruptly, just in time to get out of the kunai path, courtesy from Anko. It had been aimed to his neck. The whiskered boy started thinking that what he had done had been a bad idea.

Anko appeared a few feet ahead of him in a flash, another knife making its way towards Naruto. The boy had to jump, since the knife almost got to his crotch. Really bad idea. He was in mid air now and the woman had reappeared again, this time only a few inches away from him.

"Shit." Naruto managed to say before the jounin grabbed his throat.

"I doubt you survive this." Anko said with a twisted smile. They had now landed in a building's roof. A snake escaped Anko's sleeve and coiled itself around the Kyuubi container's neck. The blond's lip started to tremble.

"This… This is kind of extreme, don't you think?" Naruto spoke, a quiver in his voice. At this the purple haired woman smiled.

"Not even close."

The snake finally bit Naruto on his jaw. Naruto didn't react; he just stood still, waiting for the poison effect to appear. Suddenly he began to shake. At this Anko released her grip around his now sore throat with a sneer on her face. The blond fell to his knees, his shakes became more violent.

"That'll teach you never to mess with me." Naruto raised his head with difficulty, a painful smile on his sweaty face. Anko frowned at this.

"Suck this you hag." Naruto managed while he flipped his middle finger. Before Anko could do anything else, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Her frustrated scream could be heard from a mile away.


"What's next?" Tsunade asked grumpily, clearly wanting to do something else apart from village-related matters. She had just dismissed Maito Gai from her office with a smile on his face. They had finally appointed a date for Lee's operation, a week from now. Tomorrow she would have to talk to the heads of the hospital to secure an operating room and the necessary equipment, along with the necessary staff. She would also have to read a few books to remember a few things she had forgotten about hand nerves and ligaments.

Shizune had begun to talk.

"The chuunin examiners are waiting outside to discuss promotions. Do I call them in?" she raised her head from the clipboard on her hands. Tsunade nodded. After the eight or so shinobi entered and placed themselves around the large office, Tsunade started.

"As you people know, we have lost quite a few shinobi which leads to a need to replenish the ranks. I have already upgraded chuunins to jounins, so that's covered. I am, however, missing chuunins on my villages. So, since you checked upon the progress of the genins, I need your opinions on who you think may be apt to be a chuunin." She paused for a moment and turned to the head examiner. "Ibiki?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." He said respectfully. "We had our eyes upon a couple of genins… Tobitake." He called a man with his upper face covered in bandages. Tsunade was surprised he could walk without tripping every time.

Tobitake Tonbo handed Ibiki a paper with something written in it. The scarred man cleared his throat.

"First we have Hyuuga Neji, user of the Byakugan as you may already know. He showed a good level of power an-"

"I refuse to promote someone that was willing to commit cold-blooded murder." The large-breasted woman interjected with a frown in her face.

"Hayate expressed the same feelings as you did." Ibiki said with a nod. There was solemn silence among the examiners for a moment. Hayate had been found dead hours before the attack.

"Who else?"

"Nara Shikamaru, due to his skill with the Kagemane technique. That boy knows how to combine it with his intelligence well. During the assault he restrained twenty men long enough so that our forces could eliminate them. I'm sure he would be a good leader." Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"There was that Gaara boy also… but since he was with the enemy forces his candidature has been eliminated." Everyone nodded at that.

"Is that it?" The Hokage asked, feeling a bit angry that Naruto hadn't been taken into account. It is difficult for a Kage to promote someone that hasn't been suggested by the examiners; it would like favoritism from the boards' point of view.

"No. We had also Uzumaki Naruto in sight. But we're still undecided about him."

"Why's that?" asked Tsunade, leaning forward.

"He's a clown." Came the response of a chuunin she did not know the name of. "And come on, he's… you know." The chuunin knew he had said the wrong thing when The Fifth glared at him.

"That has nothing to do with anything." She seethed. The chuunin apologized fervently. She turned to Ibiki again. "You were saying?"

"He still needs to take things more seriously. You remember that technique he pulled on the Rain boy, don't you?" Kotetsu and Izumo sniggered.

"A genin takes after his teacher. Remember he is Kakashi's student."

"The boy is an idiot." Anko said brusquely.

"Are you still sore about your dango?" Kotetsu asked with a smile. The Mitarashi turned to him angrily.

"It's not that. The brat doesn't have any respect for anyone."

"He reminds me of you, Mitarashi-san." Izumo chided in.

"Shut up." Spat the woman, turning her head away from them.

"According to Asuma-san he stopped a thousand kunai with his kage bunshins. And he guided fifty villagers to safety. That sounded impressive to me." Genma said, hands on his pocket.

"And there's a rumor that he alone defeated the Shukaku." Said Izumo. "I personally think it is true, since the fox's chakra was near the Shukaku that night." Kotetsu and Genma nodded at the comment.

"The boy has great skill, all right." Agreed Ibiki, finally. "Although I would like him more if he weren't such a smartass."

"Wouldn't we all?" Tsunade said with a smile. "But still, his many skills drown his flaws." There were a couple of nods from the chuunins.

Izumo broke the short silenced that followed. "So… are we gonna promote those two?"

"Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto. Shizune, I want their record in my desk by tomorrow." The First's granddaughter ordered to the young woman standing aside quietly. Shizune nodded obediently. She turned her clear, brown eyes towards the inspectors. "Thank you for your hard work. You are dismissed."

The youngest shinobi responded with a firm "Hai, Hokage-sama." And a bow before they retired. Ibiki just nodded his head, along with Anko. After everyone has left, Shizune stepped forward.

"I bet you're happy about Naruto-kun." Said the short-haired woman with a smile towards her mentor.

"Don't be silly, Shizune. I just hate that he is discriminated for his condition… He also earned his spot." The older woman turned towards the window. Her pupil giggled. "Stop that. Is there anything else?"

"The Sand ambassador isn't supposed to be here in an hour or so, since your meeting with the examiners was supposed to be longer. After that, you're free."

Tsunade sighed dramatically. "I don't know what I'm going to do with Suna. The Council does not help; those geezers never agree with anything, so it's up to me."

"Has Suna answered in any way? Did it recognize his participation in the attack?"

"They said they were tricked by Orochimaru, since he killed the Kazekage and impersonated him so he could lead the ninja army. 'Not our fault' they say; but they still caused major losses to the village." She closed her eyes and sighed. 'What would you do, sensei?' Her musings halted when a new presence appeared in her office.

"I never imagined you would have enough temper to stand politics, hime." Jiraiya's voice said. Shizune widened her eyes a bit, at his unexpected appearance, but then she recovered.

"Jiraiya-sama." She greeted respectfully.

"Hello, my dear." The old man conceded, with a grin, looking at the woman from head to toe.

"Don't." Tsunade warned. "I will not tolerate any perverted act around me."

"I didn't do anything." Jiraiya said, scratching his neck. Shizune laughed awkwardly. Tsunade awarded him a nasty smile.

"Anyways…" Jiraiya said, winking to Shizune. The young kunoichi raised an eyebrow. "I need more time with the boy."

"Last week I lowered his working hours a day so he could train with you half a day."

"It's still not enough. Naruto needs to use all his concentration on training. He always arrives tired…"

"I can't give you more time with him, and you can't have him at night. He needs to rest to continue his morning shift."

"You don't understand, Tsunade." The sennin placed his both his palms on Tsunade's desk. He locked eyes with her. "My sources tell me that they're making their move. They are looking for him right now and they are closing in. I want to prepare him so that he can take care of himself. He is a chuunin now, and that means he will have to go out there. I'm sure they will be waiting." The woman looked at him. She didn't want to think he was pleading.

"I am Hokage now, Jiraiya. I have a village to worry about." The woman stood up. Eyes still placed on Jiraiya. "And right now there are homeless people roaming down the streets. I need to give them back their homes." They remained locking eyes for what Shizune thought was almost one whole minute. Finally, Jiraiya lowered his head with a sigh.

"All right. I'll wait no more than two weeks. If the boy isn't finished by then I'll take him somewhere you can't find us." Tsunade nodded at that.


Naruto laughed, along with Sakura, Kiba and Hinata. It was fun to watch how Ino tugged on Chouji's ears painfully for eating her piece of roasted beef. The others watched with a bemused expression, Shikamaru, or no expression at all: (you guessed) Shino.

It was the first time he had been at Teishoku Grill Restaurant or any grill restaurant whatsoever. It had a little fancy sign on top of the entrance made out of wood, with the letters neatly carved in. Most of the place was also made out of wood. Since it was his first time, he didn't know how it worked. Hinata was kind enough to fill him in.

"Y-You choose what you want to eat." They had a wide selection of all kinds of meat, seafood and veggies. There were so many things Naruto was the last person to order, so he could read the entire menu. They had shrimps, octopi, squids, chicken, seaweed, tofu, ribs and all kinds of beefs. Finally the whiskered blond had decided for miso steak. Now he only had to tell the waitress marinade he wanted his order with. Since he didn't want to go back to the menu, he took Chouji's advice. So, in front of him he had a plate with his chopped stake marinated with Tare.

"Now you j-just place your portions on the grill and wait for it to c-cook." The byakugan-user had explained. Simple enough.

There was a loud clatter on their table. Sakura and Ino were arguing about something, while Shikamaru complained about women. Chouji was too focused on his grilling meat to pay attention to anything else and Hinata and Kiba were talking about their sensei, Shino seemed to be listening too.

"I saw her entering the movies with team ten's sensei. And I thought that was weird since she doesn't really like watching movies that much." His comment attracted Shikamaru's and Ino's attention.

"I think they're seeing each other." That started a rain of suppositions from the genins. Naruto raised his eyes to the wall, where a window was located. The moon was half covered by fluffy clouds. Jiraiya had released the blond earlier because he had to do something else, he didn't tell Naruto what. That left Naruto with few energy left and an aching hand. He had been trying to do the Fourth's jutsu, the Rasengan, but was still stuck with it. He had moved on from water balloons and rubber balls and was now left with just his right hand, trying to make a blue ball of chakra. He had been training for two weeks now but since he only had the afternoons to work with Jiraiya, he didn't progressed much. He would have liked to continue trying by his own but that would mean arriving exhausted to the construction site and that wouldn't help finish the buildings.

He had found Sakura and Sasuke working a few blocks away from him. The blond found himself going to visit them when he saw his clones concentrated on their work. Team eight was also near, but they were missing Hinata, since she was still off duty. But sometimes she came to check up on their teammates, and also say hello to Naruto. The girl often brought snacks for her partners and Naruto, after she discovered the blond was working close. He talked to her during his breaks and he found out that she had been given another month to recuperate her strength.

That day Sakura had told Naruto and Sasuke she had been invited by Ino to dine with her team. Ino also said they wouldn't mind Naruto and Sasuke coming. They both turn the invitation down. Naruto had to train, as did Sasuke. That left a disappointed Sakura.

The blond had caught the Uchiha looking at him from the corner of his eyes, but Naruto didn't comment on it. Was he still sore about him saving the Uchiha from Gaara? The blond was too busy to ask.

When Jiraiya left a few hours earlier, Naruto decided he would go. He found the time to take a shower first and find some clean clothes: A faded jean and a red shirt. When he got to the restaurant he found team eight as well. Kiba's team had decided to go to the same restaurant and they met with the others, so they decided to eat together.

"I wish Sasuke-kun was here." Lamented Ino, turning her shrimps on the grill. This provoked a groan from Shikamaru.

"Why do you have to always mention him? It's starting to get annoying." Shikamaru said.

"He had to train, as always." Sakura responded.

"He should get a break. I mean, even Naruto is here, and he doesn't show up for anything." Ino said, ignoring the Nara's comment and pointing at Naruto with her chopsticks. The blond raised his head from the grill and gave a half-assed salute. He immediately regretted doing that. He winced silently and grabbed his bandaged right forearm with his left hand and started massaging it. The Rasengan required chakra molding, and his arms muscles were strained by the chakra passing through it. He tried to stop his arm from shaking.

"Are you OK, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. It seemed she was the only one to notice his pain. The rest of the genin had continued the conversation. Naruto nodded.

"My arm is just a bit sore." He assured, his hand still pressing it. The raven-haired Hyuuga was about to let it go as a work injury but after taking a closer look at his left palm she noticed it was mildly burned.

"A-Aren't you pushing yourself too much?" she asked timidly, her cheeks coloring a bit. The blond looked at her, and then responded.

"You're saying that for the burnings right? Tomorrow they will be gone, don't worry about it, Hin." Naruto grinned.

The girl blushed at the nickname but still worried about the blond. Her concern grew when he said that his wounds would have healed tomorrow. On a normal person, those burns would heal in four days approximately; maybe two with proper ointment. But Naruto's wounds always seemed to heal faster than normal. She had started noticing that on the Land Of Waves. When she applied her ointment into his knuckles, the skin regenerated in moments. The Hyuuga tried to come up with an explanation but couldn't find one. Recently she was thinking that it might have something to do with the red chakra that had been coursing Naruto's system that day in the forest of death. But how could those two connect?

She observed how Naruto strived to grab his piece of meat with his chopsticks on his left hand. Since he couldn't accomplish the task he asked for a fork instead.

"You better take your beef before it burns up." Kiba called from her side, gesturing at her pieces on the grill. The girl emitted a sound and hurried to get them to her plate.

"Do you think they'll do another chuunin exam soon?" Everyone looked at Chouji, the sides of his mouth filled up with grease. "I mean, since it seems they didn't pick anybody."

"I think they'll decide from the information they gathered." Sakura said, taking a sip from her soda.

"Nuh uh. They just saw us take a written test and fight against each other. A chuunin is supposed to be a leader and they can't tell if a person is one just from that." Shikamaru added.

"But they still need chuunin don't they?" Ino asked.

"I think they'll go over the smartest." Hinata said, taking a sip from her iced-tea.

"Not the smartest. The strongest." Kiba responded rapidly.

"You strength doesn't count for anything if you're not smart." Shino replied calmly. Sakura nodded at this.

"He's right. A powerful ninja could be killed easily if he is not careful." Sakura chided in.

"Well… yeah, but if he is strong enough he shouldn't be worried about being careful." Kiba continued his argument. Akamaru placed a small paw on his masters let and Kiba gave him a piece of pork.

"Why do you keep saying 'He'? Can't a woman be strong also?" Ino said angrily. Sakura nodded, saying

"Look at Tsunade-sama. It is said she is the strongest shinobi in the whole country."

"I'm sure she is strong, I mean she is the Hokage, but she can't be the strongest." Kiba commented. At this Naruto shook his head.

"I'm positive she is the strongest. With just a single hit she could bring down the whole forest tower. Believe me." The blond jinchuriki said, raising another piece of meat to his lips. Kiba crossed his arms, disgruntled.

"What do you think, Hinata? Very strong or very smart?" the dog master asked his female teammate. Akamaru rustled at his feet. Hinata had to first chew down her food before she answered.

"Both, I believe." The girl nodded. "You can't survive without one or the other."

"You heard her, mutt. You better start training because right now you have neither." The blond replied with a smile. This provoked a round of laughs from the majority of the genins. Kiba snarled at him.

"Who do you think could be chosen?" Ino said quickly, preventing Kiba from start fighting.

"No one, because as I said earlier, they have too little information." Replied Shikamaru, leaning back on his chair; He had finished his food.

"But you know us a little better. If you had to chose between any of us, who would you choose?" Ino prodded. Shikamaru sighed but thought about it.

"Maybe Shino." Shikamaru turned to look at him. "You look smart, but I don't really know your strength. But you should be strong since you are an Aburame."

"If you are talking about who is smartest, you should nominate yourself." Shino said.

"Nah, I didn't show myself so smart in the exams. Besides, being chuunin would be very troublesome." Shikamaru placed both hands beside his head.

"What about the rest of us?" Kiba asked angrily.

"Hmmm… Naruto, too." Shikamaru responded finally.

"Why him?" the Inuzuka demanded.

"He's not half bad. And he's smart… kinda."

"Geez, thanks." Naruto answered, not sure if he should be flattered or insulted. The one that was definitively insulted was Kiba.

"What the hell is wrong with me then? I could take you!" The brunette was fuming, his ears had reddened.

"C'mon you guys. It's just his opinion, Kiba. Don't let it get to you. " Sakura tried to calm him down.

"No really! I want to know why you wouldn't choose me." Kiba prodded.

"You wanna know? Fine. You're way too hot headed, and that proves dangerous in missions." The pineapple-haired boy responded, getting annoyed at Kiba's insistence. The dog user knew it was true, that's why he didn't complain about that, but he was still irked that Naruto could be a chuunin in Shikamaru's eyes and he couldn't. Shikamaru saw that Naruto wanted to make a comment. Sensing this could get ugly, he decided to end the conversation while everyone was in good terms.

"That's your only fault Kiba, and it's not that bad. The rest of your skills are on a good level." Kiba huffed at his comment but said no more. Naruto didn't say anything after that.

"What about Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked Shikamaru indignantly. She was supported by Sakura and the boys just sighed.

They decided to leave at twenty past ten. They all had to get early to do their respective mission. Chouji asked for the bill and each pre-teen took their wallet out. He passed the bill around so everyone could confirm the price of their meal. The Akimichi was the one that had to pay the most, since he asked for three different plates. Once the paper reached the blond he took out an amount of money and put it on the table. Hinata reached her hand out to receive the bill from him but the blond ignored her and handed it to Kiba. They both looked at him questioningly.

"Did you forget? I owed you dinner." He said matter of factly. The girl looked down at the pile of coins and bills in front of the blond and realized it was covering his and her expenditures. Kiba continued to look at him strangely. "For her jacket? At the exams?" Kiba seemed to accept this.

"B-But that was over two months ago, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, feeling embarrassed at his gesture.

"So? A promise is a promise." He put in an extra bill for the tip. The girl thanked him shyly.

"It was great!" Chouji told his friend happily, once they were all outside the restaurant. "Don't you just love barbeque?"

"Yes, Chouji, but not as much as you." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "C'mon, I gotta get home before eleven or my mom's gonna kill me." Chouji smiled and sent a big grin to the genins.

"Good bye, guys. We should do this again some other time." He said eagerly.

"I'll go with you, my house is that way too." Sakura chirped quickly running up to them and waving good bye. Chouji had started to tell Shikamaru about the new dishes they were going to add to the menu.

"Kami, it's getting cold." Ino complained. "C'mon Kiba, you're coming with me."

"Why?" The dog master exclaimed, not liking her commanding voice.

"Because we live near each other and I don't want to walk alone at this time, so let's go. C'ya soon you three." She finished, granting a smile at the genin left. Kiba sighed heavily, then turned.

"I'll guess I'll see you guys tomorrow, then." He said with a last look at his team.

"Bye, Kiba-kun." Responded the only girl left. She turned to Shino. "Are you leaving too?"

"Yes. I need to sleep my usual seven hours to be in optimum conditions for tomorrow's work." The boy responded in an even voice. The blond raised both eyebrows but said nothing.

"Bye then, Shino-kun." The girl said with a smile.

"The same to you." Shino replied. He turned to the whiskered genin. "Naruto, I expect you to accompany Hinata-san to her house. It's not prudent for a lady walk alone this late at night." Hinata blushed at her teammate comment, looking away from Naruto.

"S-Shino-kun, that isn't necessa-"

"I agree with you, man. Don't worry, I'll get her home." Naruto replied giving him a lazy thumps up. He was surprised that he could express (kind of) some concern for his female comrade. Shino nodded and turned South.

"R-Really, Naruto-kun. I don't n-need t-"

"I know you don't. But I want to." The blond said, interrupting her again. He started to walk towards her house direction. "Besides, I haven't had a proper conversation with you in a long time." Hinata knew she couldn't convince him otherwise once he had made a decision, so she just caught up with him. They entered the lightened, empty streets of Konoha.

"I'm surprised you could stay this long with us." Started the blue-eyed boy. "You usually have to return home earlier." Hinata perked her head up, surprised he had paid attention to her habits that much.

"Well, my father extended my curfew a-after he knew of my fight with Neji." The girl let herself smile a bit. "He was… I w-wouldn't say pleasantly surprised, but he did notice a few improvements on me."

"That's… good." The blond said, turning his face towards her. "That's a sign he's starting to acknowledge you, right?"

"Hai. I-I'ts not much, but is a start." She said happily. "He's thinking about letting me train with him again."

"Cool. I bet he's gonna teach you kick-ass techniques." Naruto said as he turned left. They were now getting to the financial sector of Konoha. The buildings were dark and empty.

"He hasn't agreed to train m-me yet, Naruto-kun. H-He may even think it over and turn down the idea completely." She said the last part down casted.

"He'll agree to it, Hin. Don't worry about it. He's finally opened his eyes to your potential." They indigo-haired Hyuuga flushed deep red at him complementing her power. It made her smile gleefully, she just hoped it was dark enough so the blond couldn't see her blush.

"I hope so."

"If you ever need a sparring partner, you can always call me. I'd also like to see your new moves." The blond said while he placed his left hand inside his pocket. "We've never have an actual fight, right?"

"I don't think s-so." She responded, then looked up. There was movement on a balcony nearby. Naruto also raised his head. A young couple was making out; the man was gliding his hand slowly towards the woman's rear. Hinata lowered her gaze rapidly. Naruto gave a low chuckle. He continued talking,

"One of these days, then; when you are in fighting conditions again." The girl nodded and made a new goal to improve as much as she could to impress her crush on a spar between the two. She noticed that most of the times she was with the charming blond, he always made plans for them to see each other again. It didn't matter if he was doing it subconsciously, she would accept anything he proposed just to be near him.

"I'll also l-like to see your new techniques." She added shyly, motioning to Naruto's bandaged hand. The blond raised his hand slowly.

"Heh, if I ever get this jutsu right, I don't think I could use it on you. It'd be too dangerous." He touched his palm gingerly with his left hand fingers. He contorted his face slightly at the touch.

"Y-You'll get it right, Naruto-kun. You a-always do." She said, trying to sound encouraging. This earned her one of his smiles; it fell rapidly.

"I've been wanting to ask you about Neji." Naruto said, forming a small frown on his face. "How is he treating you?"

"Uhm…" the girl thought for a moment. "He's been acting o-odd, recently. He only speaks to me if it's absolutely necessary."

"There's times he j-just stares at me when he thinks I'm not looking." She said before pausing. Neji had stopped looking at her coldly, like he always did. But now it's like he's trying to measure her up.

"If he ever mistreats you show him that jutsu of yours again... Maim him a little to show him you're serious."

"Kami, no… I-I couldn't." The girl exclaimed with an horrified expression.

"Yeah I know that…" Naruto responded, sounding a little disappointed. "At least he knows what you can do with that. That'll teach him to back off."

They made their way over to a small wooden bridge, which had a small river passing underneath. A few yards west was the main entrance to the Hashirama Park; place Hinata was familiar with since she used to visit it almost every evening after she had been discharged from the hospital. The girl turned her head when she heard someone approaching from behind. The Uzumaki did the same.

"Sorry to disturb you." He was around his forties, with an unattended beard and a torn scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. He was wearing a large overcoat that didn't smell really good. "I was wondering if you had anything you could give me. Life hasn't been really fortunate to me, as you two can see." He produced a short, tired smile. Naruto could see his teeth were in very bad shape, a couple of them missing.

"Off course." Hinata said in a gentle tone. The bum placed himself near the girl. The Hyuuga gave a kind smile as she handed him a few coins. Naruto produced a few change from his pocket and gave it to the poor guy. They guy showered them with lots of 'thank you' s and 'you're so very kind'. Finally the man retreated, but not before saying one last thing to the pair of genins.

"Take care, young man." His black eyes rested on Naruto's for a moment. The blond thought there was a little mockery on his tone. He decided the man might not be right in the head. "You too, miss." He finished, directing a brief glance at the girl.

"I've never seen him before." Hinata noted, after the man had gone the opposite way. Not many homeless people roamed near the Hyuuga district, but the few that 'lived' there she recognized.

"The attack disturbed many… Most people are just disorientated." Naruto said dismissively, but he swore he had seen that man before. He had an image of the man sitting on the street, looking miserable and asking for change but couldn't quite place him. A couple of times they had crossed eyes but Naruto had ignored him. Was it over at the construction site? Or was it near Ichiraku?
While the blond searched his memory the two genins had already arrived to the main gates of the Hyuuga mansion. They stopped some feet away from the wooden doors, where Naruto bid Hinata farewell. The blond watched as the guard in front of the doors bowed briefly to the girl. Hinata greeted the man in return. With the aid of the moon's light Naruto saw the cursed seal on the man's forehead. The older man opened the door for the heir; Hinata turned, sparing Naruto a last look. The blond smiled, and the girl did too with a soft blush.

Naruto turned, but not before catching the glare the older Hyuuga was sending him. It wasn't that of hate, which the villagers sent him often (although those had diminished lately), but that of intense suspicion. The blond thought the Hyuuga had all the right. He was concerned who the future leader of his clan hanged with. It seemed Hinata was appreciated more among the branch members than among her closest relatives.

Naruto started towards his house, but twisted his head again towards the highest floor of the house. He had felt someone watching him and it wasn't the guard. The blond searched for the person responsible of catching his attention and sure enough, he found Neji regarding him coolly from the third window to the left. Naruto eyed him sharply and after a few seconds Neji retreated.


"Gah!" a strong voice exclaimed in irritation, scaring a black and white cat that was lurking nearby. "I hate when people are late."

"Keep it down, Kisame. We don't want to attract unnecessary attention." A second man talked, calmly taking a sip from his steaming tea. The music blared from within the building behind them. It was almost sun-break and the people were beginning to leave the bar and go home. The two cloaked men were sitting on chairs located outdoors; they took two tables, one for them and another for a long object, wrapped in filthy bandages.

"I know but he's one hour late!" the strange blue man, called Kisame, exclaimed again.

"Konoha must be very attentive of the people leaving the village. They're very sensitive after the attack." The ring he was wearing glistened under the moonlight as he lowered his hand and placed the cup on the table. His partner grunted as he drummed his fingers on the other table. Three men exited the bar at that moment. All of them were extremely wasted. One of them stumbled over his other comrade, making them both fall on their faces. The third man laughed freely, the other two joined him. They stood up and disappeared behind a corner.

"Ah! There he comes!" yelled once more Kisame, a grin on his fishy face. He was referring to a man that walked towards the bar.

"My deepest apologies." The newly arrived said, taking off his fake teeth and threw them away. "A pair of assholes showered me with questions about my reasons for leaving and-"

"We don't want to hear about that." The black haired man interrupted, placing both his elbows on the wooden table and joining his hands in front of his chin. "Tell us about the boy."

The older man cowered under the cloaked man's gaze. He'd heard about what those eyes could do to one's mind and it wasn't pretty. He decided to look at something else, then answered,

"H-Hai, Itachi-san."


Author's section

I LOVE Itachi! One of my favorite characters! Anyways…

Review to let me know what you think.

C'ya later

- Patty