The Prodigal Three

by Sillybomber

A five year old Naruto can only look on as the Kyūbi runs rampant and despite the best efforts of Konoha's most powerful Shinobi it looked as if their attempts to remove the threat would end in failure. The appearance of a mysterious child, however, would allow them to seal the creature into Naruto's newborn brother. AU - Minato/ Kushina survive, powerful Naruto, powerful OC

37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

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Alrighty, we are back. Apologies for the three weeks since the last chapter, I had originally intended to have this chapter out last Friday but it simply wasn't finished. Not surprising really given this is the biggest chapter yet. The previous record of 11,000 or so words has now been trumped by this one's nearly 17,000.

As for why it took so long, a few reasons. Firstly, this chapter is technically two chapters I decided to merge into one. Like Itachi, Tri and Naruto were going to get their own filler chapters before we moved onto the Wave Arc but I felt there wasn't enough content for the Naruto chapter to give you all a decent length chapter. The second reason is chapter length.

The third reason is my new method for writing these. Where I used to write out a block and then re-read/ make alterations. I now write out a block which becomes a 'first draft', I then rewrite almost every single paragraph to include greater levels of detail. I feel this method greatly improves my work, the downside is that it takes longer, much longer since I am effectively writing each chapter out twice. So, unfortunately, you may have to get used to more 2/ 3-week gaps between chapter uploads.

Also we passed 350 Followers, which is very awesome. Thank you all.

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Review Replies:

Well, there's a fair few of these so lets bash through them. So in the order in which they were posted.

Ayannmalik: Wow, there's a lot to read through there, so I'll tackle them one by one, thank you for the feedback. Firstly the Kenjutsu and Shurikenjutsu, yes both fields are strongly associated with the Uchiha clan, Shurikenjutsu especially. But that's because they were trained in it from the earliest possible age. Tri, not raised as an Uchiha child, retained the ability to choose where he invested his training hours, he chose others fields over them.

As for Tri being angry, he isn't angry at his being ignored, but instead at Naruto's being ignored. For the most part, yes, he is a calm, controlled individual but he is, occasionally, prone to bouts of extreme anger, that's the Uchiha side of his heritage surfacing.

As for why he's angry in the first place, I can kind of see where you're coming from, there are a few emotions that should probably surface before anger does so that whole section will likely get a major rework whenever I get around to re-mastering everything, the early chapters in particular need a lot of work.

Is Naruto OP? In a sense, yes. But all three of them either are or will be in the future. Is Mokuton the most powerful Kekkai Genkai? Arguably yes, but no Kekkai-Genkai is without weakness. A strong enough Katon Jutsu can burn away what is still, essentially wood, and if Katon is a campfire then Shakuton is a blast furnace. Hashirama was one of the strongest Shinobi in history, and his level of control over Mokuton was unparalleled, a level of control that Naruto may never replicate.

Really? I toned back on the amount of Tri in recent chapters because I felt there was a bit too much of him. He plays a more prominent role in the Wave arc than either Naruto and Itachi if that perks your interest, I'm not sure what else to say over your waning interest. Thank you again for your review/s.

Dragonball Shin: Each to their own my friend, some prefer pre-established canon characters, some prefer OC's. There are a few good discussions on this on r/Fanfic.

Chuck17: I wanted to do something with Mikoto, and I wanted Itachi's actions to have unforeseen consequences, but this plot point is not finished yet, it'll be one of Itachi's long-term story elements.
Thanks for spotting this. A duplicate paragraph is exactly what it is. My new method of writing means I write out a bunch then rewrite the lot, occasionally I forget to delete a redundant paragraph. I've found a way to make it easier to identify first draft paragraphs so hopefully another won't slip through.

Newbie89: Thank you friend, glad you're enjoying it.

Guest-1: As there is more than one Guest review and I don't know if they're different people or not, you shall be called Guest-1. Happy to hear you're enjoying it.

Guest-2: It always felt a bit of a risk giving Tri a Sharingan, especially since it only added to his already substantial ability. But as Tri grows older, he becomes more prone to the angry outbursts associated with the Uchiha clan, and there's no better way to display that than through, at least I think so, a Sharingan.

Mr. Guest: Happy to hear it. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Lorien Legacy: It certainly felt unique writing it compared to all the other chapters, but they're all adults now so I decided now was the time to start incorporating more adult themes.

Mozzer31: That is the aim, friend. Thank you.

Yami Mun: Glad to hear it, and wait no longer, here's the next chapter, hope you like it.

Guest-3: Um, no. Last time I checked I was indeed still alive.

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A day in the life of – Tri & Naruto

-(*)-

The day was finally here, today was the day the Natsu festival started. Preparations had been weeks in the making, workers had been busy for days raising the bunting and it was everywhere, not a street went without some decoration.

Merchants had travelled from across Hi no Kuni and from neighbouring countries. And now the villages outer limits, normally populated by open spaces and trees was for the next three days occupied by hundreds of stalls selling food and drink, gifts and trinkets and offering fairground games.

The excitement, especially in the final few days leading up to today was palpable. The people of Konoha, Shinobi and Civilian alike had whipped themselves into a state of excitement. And all across Konoha, people were readying themselves, outfits – meticulously picked out, were being put on ready for the festivals start at midday.

Given the levels of excitement, you'd think the sons of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina would be rushing around to make sure they were ready, right? No – no they were not. It was half-past ten in the morning and both were doing the opposite.

Instead, both were sat at the kitchen table, Naruto munching on a bowl of cereal while Tri skimmed through a number of scrolls.

"Naruto, what stone would you say that clearing from made from?" he asked not lifting his head for what he was reading. "Could you be more specific," he bluntly replied. "Back in Ishi," he clarified, again not looking up. Nobody else was with them so the Shinobi Secrecy Act surrounding S-Rank missions remained unbroken.

"I'm hardly an expert of rocks, my understanding of them only goes as far as breaking them. Why? What are you reading?" he questioned between mouthfuls. "When we were coming back from Iwa I remembered something I'd read in passing in one of the texts I was able to recover from Uzushiogakure. It seemed similar to what we found but I'm struggling to find the one it was written in.

"Can't remember? Is that even a thing for you?"
"While I don't forget things Naruto, I don't remember everything. Only things I find important are remembered," he again clarified, his eyes still glued to the scroll in his hands.
"I'm surprised it's peaked your interest at all, place looked as if it had been abandoned for decades."
"And I agree, it was a curious find but nothing more. It wasn't until I remembered this text wherever it is that I felt the need to look into it."

Their discussion was cut short as they were joined in the Kitchen by Kushina and Minusha, both already clad in their Yukata's. Their outfits were near identical thanks to their sharing the same vibrant red hair, Kushina's was in a bun while Minusha's was in a ponytail.

The primary colour of both was dark blue. The regular go-to colours for Uzumaki clan members were black and red. The black was out because it was summer and the red because it was already present thanks to their long hair.

Kushina had chosen a neutral green around the wrists and Fuki (Hem Guard) to complement the blue. As a mature woman, she was traditionally limited to duller, darker colours and her use of Blue and green left her with no different colours to use for her Obi so she instead used a slightly lighter shade of blue.

Despite the colour clash, the black and red of the Uzumaki swirl was still sown into the back between her shoulder blades.

Minusha on ther other hand as a young girl had a wider, brighter range of colours available to her. She had eventually chosen yellow as the secondary colour with a white Obi. In addition, yellow/ white floral patterns weaved up the material stopping at the Obi with the top half left plain.

On her back, over the right shoulder blade was the Uzumaki swirl and over her left was the Kanji for 'Namikaze'; despite being a clan Minato had never actually gotten around to making a clan symbol.

"Wow. You both look great," Naruto complimented them both. "Thank you," Kushina replied while the youngest member of the family shot forward to first give the blonde a hug then repeating so for Tri.

"And looking at you both shows me that neither of you are ready, why? You, in particular, Tri-kun," Kushina remarked looking at their appearance, both her eldest sons currently wore casual, at best, Shinobi garb.

"Ah, don't worry about that Kaa-chan, there's still plenty of ti… What do you mean, me in particular?" Tri asked, his head springing up to look at her as his mind finally caught up. He did not receive an answer from her because he figured it out himself, his head slowly turning to level an unimpressed gaze at a grinning Naruto.

"Stellar job at keeping your mouth shut Naruto, absolutely stellar," he drolled. Naruto's grin morphing into a smug, satisfied smirk.

"Yes I know all about your little 'date', and I'll be damned if you're going to be anything sort of presentable, so upstairs now."
"It's not a date," Tri mumbled under his breath, however, he knew not to argue with his adoptive mother, he'd never win. He picked up all the scrolls he had strewn across the table and trudged upstairs.

"Don't you start laughing Naruto-kun. After I'm done sorting him out, you're next," she barked as the blonde started laughing at Tri – he immediately shut up, he too, knew not to argue. With a satisfactory nod of the head, Kushina followed Tri upstairs.

As soon as she was out of sight Naruto and Minusha looked at one another, both burst into quiet giggles.

Tri dumped all the scrolls on his bed – immediately regretting so, he hadn't kept track of which scrolls he'd already read through. He sighed just as Kushina walked in.

"Hey now, no sighing. You're supposed to be having fun today."
"It's not that Kaa-chan. I didn't keep track of which scrolls I've been through."
"Ah," she remarked, realising she'd misunderstood as she pulled a white shirt for him out of a draw. "Take the shirt off," she ordered.

Forgetting about the scrolls for now, Tri turned to face his wardrobe, hanging from a coat hanger over the wardrobe door was his Yukata. Just looking at it stirred a little anxiety at the pit of his stomach.

It was custom made – at Kushina's insistence, she'd forced him to get one. Her reasoning – his bi-coloured hair and his eyes, red and black and red and green respectively, furthermore was his refusal to leave out his violet sash. Those four colours caused havoc with every Yukata she made him try on, at least two colours always clashed.

It quickly became apparent a custom design was the only way forward and after hours of discussions with some of the best tailors in Konoha, they finally nailed down a design that everyone was happy with – or at least something resembling happy in Tri's case.

Despite it being a summer outfit, the primary colour was black, the only other choice would have been white but he was both too old and the wrong gender to get away with it. His ability to mould Suiton Chakra would handle any temperature or thirst issues he had.

The secondary colour was white, as a secondary, he could get away with it if used sparingly, it was limited to just a thin band around the wrists and Fuki. Both colours contrasted well with the red and black of his hair and Sharingan as well as the green of his right eye.

To allow for the sash, they'd done away with the Obi altogether. It was substituted for a thin black cotton belt that would blend in and keep the outfit together, over the top of that would go his violet Jūnishi sash.

He complied and removed the dark grey shirt he had been wearing, "Why am I not just wearing this one?" he asked, holding the grey shirt in one hand. "Because the colour doesn't fit with the others."
"Does it matter? They aren't going to see much of it, only the top of the chest would be visible," he said.

She gave him a withering stare and held out the white shirt, he took it without another word. "That little bit more white will look better than grey," she then answered. "You can keep the loose three-quarters though," she quickly added.

As he unfolded the white shirt Kushina pulled the outfit down from the coat hanger it hung from, undoing the cotton belt she opened it out ready for him to slip an arm into the sleeve.

She watched him pull the shirt on, it was clear to see just how much time he had devoted to his physical development. Since he was a child he'd always had a slim frame but now – while still thin was wiry in the extreme.

To better utilise his heightened speed and agility he'd kept his weight to an absolute minimum by burning off every ounce of fat he could and while every muscle group was highly developed, none were developed beyond what was necessary.

Then there was the extreme detailing on his arms, the sheer amount of and intricacy of the Fūinjutsu designs he had inked onto his forearms was astounding. When his left arm had finally healed enough to manipulate chakra properly and safely he'd set about reapplying the seals he'd inadvertently destroyed during his face-down with Jiraiya. It had taken him weeks to do so.

With the fresh white shirt now on he slipped his left arm into the long sleeve, then the right. Kushina pulled it up onto his shoulders. "Kaa-chan, just because I don't like wearing them doesn't mean I don't know how to put one on," he said whilst he turned around to face her, he folding one side over the other.

She cocked an eyebrow before snorting, "Knows how to put one on he says. Are you sure about that?" she retorts with a laugh. In confusion he looked down, "Ah," he muttered noticing his mistake. He'd folded the right half over the left, a practice that was only done when you dressed a body for a funeral.

"Well at least if your date goes catastrophically wrong, you'll know how to dress for your own funeral," she chuckled. "It's not a date Kaa-chan," he muttered for the second time, only this time she heard him.

"Well if it's not a date, then what is it?" she asked. "It's because I missed her birthday a few weeks ago."
"…Yes?" she asked after a few seconds, expecting him to elaborate.
"I told her I'd be in the village for her birthday a few weeks back but Tou-san had other ideas and sent me on a mission so I missed it. After I'd returned I went to give her her present, while there I asked if there was any way I could make it up to her."
"And she asked you to take her to the Natsu festival."
"Yea – Well, more demanded but yeah, pretty much."
"That was very nice of you Tri-kun, I know you aren't overly fond of crowds."
"Well, I kinda backed myself into a corner, but I like your way of looking at it more," he said with a sheepish smile as he turned around again to face the mirror attached to his wardrobe door.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed as she watched him tie the cotton belt around his waist in the mirror. "That was a mighty big sigh Kaa-chan."

"I'm getting old Tri-kun. Already two of my children are all grown up. I swear I'll wake up tomorrow and the other two will be adults as well. I'm dreading when the first of you announce I'm going to become a grandmother."

Tri laughed, he knew full well that she loved having a baby to dote over. Whoever out of the four of them first announced they were going to become a parent would have Kushina bouncing off the walls in excitement.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better Kaa-chan. You've barely aged since the day we first met." That earned him a fierce hug, "Such a good boy. And they say Shinobi don't make good parents," she joked.

She picked up his sash from his bedside cabinet and offered it to him, receiving a small nod of thanks and he began tying it. When finished she adjusted it so the cotton belt was obscured as much as possible.

Now fully kitted out he stared at himself in the mirror, his feeling of unease rose and Kushina could tell. Tri hid his emotions very well but there were two ways that they slipped through. The look in his green right eye would change ever so slightly, if you didn't know it was there you'd likely never notice it.

The second was more noticeable, Tri fidgeted incessantly, he struggled to keep his hands still and usually he'd weave hand-seals when fidgeting. But right now he was instead running the cotton fabric between his fingers. Only when he was chilled out or content would his hands stop moving.

"Come on, on your knees," she ordered. "Why?" he asked. "Because you need to relax and I need to do your hair and because you're too tall, you need to kneel down."

Before he could do so she grabbed a cushion off the end of his bed and threw it on the floor so he could rest his knees on it and keep from dirtying his Yukata, not that dirtying it was likely, Tri's room was near spotless.

She grabbed the comb he kept on his desk, thankfully it wasn't buried under a mountain of Fūinjutsu designs inked on paper as it normally was. And for the next few minutes, she just brushed his hair.

Doing his hair and easing his nerves were one and the same. Kushina wanted to do his hair up in a neat bun, something he'd been doing more often of late. And Tri loved it when someone messed with his hair, it didn't matter whether they were brushing it or just running a hand through it.

Within the first fifteen seconds Tri's hands had released the cotton of his Yukata and settled on his thighs, neither hand had moved since.

With even the smallest of knots combed out she set about wrapping his hair into a tight ball at the back of his head. Doing so brought into view why she wanted his hair tied up in the first place. Just like her, Tri had the Uzumaki swirl between his shoulder blades. It otherwise wouldn't have been visible as his long hair would have covered it completely.

As she continued working on his hair, she put another question to him.

"Have you seen Itachi-san since he was discharged?"
"Yeah, I stopped by to see him yesterday morning."
"How's he doing?"
"He's fine. He's been out the hospital for three days now and from the looks of it, it's the laziest three days he's ever lived. He's done nowt but laze around his and Izumi's apartment. I'll be surprised if he doesn't make an appearance today though. Izumi-san loves festivals so I imagine she'll drag him along too."

"I still can't understand why he didn't go see a doctor. He's always been so sensible." Tri shrugged his shoulders, "He said it was because he had more important things to do. But I question how important it truly is if he was happy to just let himself die."

"How are you spending the afternoon Kaa-chan?" he asked, changing the subject. "Well, Minato-kun is supposed to be back soon. The opening day of the Natsu festival is one of the few occasions where he's guaranteed any time off so he sure won't be missing it. When he's back; me, him and Minusha-chan will be attending together."

"And Naruto-kun?"
"I'm not sure what he's doing yet."

It was as she spoke that they heard the opening and closing of the front door downstairs. "Oh, that'll be him now." A few moments later both laughed as they heard the delighted squeal of, "Tou-san!" from Minusha.
"Yep. Definitely him," they both said.

"Do you want me to put a senbon in the bun or anything?" she asked as she made the final few adjustments, making sure she hadn't missed a single hair.

To the eyes of a civilian a senbon in the hair would appear to be just a decoration, but for Shinobi it was so they had a weapon of some sort close at hand, you could a lot of damage with a senbon if you knew what you were doing.

"No, thank you Kaa-chan. Thanks to my seals I have my kunai close at hand," he replied drawing one from a storage seal on his arm, the weapon appearing in his hand before immediately disappearing back into it with a puff of smoke.

As they spoke they heard the footfalls of someone ascending the stairs. The sound pitch from the steps ruled out Minusha, it was too deep in pitch which meant it was someone heavy or at least fully grown. A few moments later Minato popped his head around the doorframe.

"Yo," he said in greeting to them both. "Hi," they both replied. "I wasn't expecting you back quite so early," Kushina added as he stepped into the room. "Yeah, I was able to slip away early. I was far from the one of the first to do so either. Hardly anyone left in the Hokage tower right now, so it's not as if there were many around to notice me leave."

"Good, that means we can leave a little earlier. What's that in your hand?" She asked, noticing the piece of paper he was holding.

"It's a letter that'll be of great interest to Tri-kun," he answered offering it to him. With a curious raise on an eyebrow, he took the offered letter. He read the address on the front, "But it's addressed to you Tou-san?"
"Yes, it's addressed to me, but its contents concern you."

Turning it over in his hands he immediately recognised the wax seal of the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni. He quickly withdrew the letter, the envelope forgotten as it dropped to the floor. He could recognise Daimyō-sama's handwriting as he quickly read through the single sheet of paper.

When he'd finished he picked up the envelope, calmly slid the letter back inside and returned it to Minato. "Arigatou, Hokage-sama," he said, slipping into a professional tone with closed eyes and a wide smile. "Finally," he quietly said to himself with a sense of satisfaction.

Kushina was about to inquire but a silent shake of the head from Minato after which he mouthed the word 'later' held her back. "Ok Tri-kun, I'm done with you. Could you send Naruto-kun up?"
"Sure thing, Kaa-chan. Thank you," he said as he stood and headed back down to the kitchen.

They waited until they heard him begin to descend down the stairs. "What was that about?" Kushina asked, turning to face her husband. "Remember that kidnap mission when the boys were with the Jūnishi?"
"Yes, they spent ages going after everyone responsible didn't they."
"Everyone who directly took part in the kidnapping itself, yes. But they never found who financed it. Tri-kun left the Jūnishi with an agreement with Daimyō-sama – Should they ever find out who the financier is, they'd let him know so he could go after them."

"So they found who was responsible?" He shook his head, "No, but they've finally found an evidence trail to follow. They're confident that will lead them to the financier eventually."

As the talked Naruto made his way upstairs. "My turn Kaa-chan?" he asked from the doorway. "Yep," she chirped. "Ok – Also why does Tri suddenly have a smile a mile wide?" he asked, Minato quickly brought him up to speed.

"Well I'll be, it's been so long now I figured every trail would have long since gone cold by now," the blonde remarked, "Perhaps it'll provide him with the closure I think he still needs," he added with a sigh.

"Anyway, where do you want me, Kaa-chan?" he asked, suddenly perking up. That was as much as he was able to say before she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out onto the landing. "Minato-kun, after I'm done with this one I help you, ok?" she shouted back across the landing.

"That's fine, I was going to shower first anyway," he shouted back.

Naruto's room was in many respects similar to Tri's. It too was clean and well-aired, they featured the same furniture. But both were uniquely their own, Tri's spare wall was covered in things related to Fūinjutsu, Naruto's featured two beautifully carved wooden sword racks. The rack for Kagizume placed above that of Kuchibashi.

Both swords currently hung from the wall and would remain there for the day, openly carrying weapons was frowned upon during festivals; not that it stopped Shinobi from carrying concealed weapons. But Naruto would not worry over the blades safe-keeping, he lived with multiple Fūinjutsu masters after all.

If any but the six people whose fingerprints were keyed into the seals were to attempt to lift either sword from its rack then they would be confronted by hundreds of senbon at point-blank range.

And just as it was in Tri's room, Naruto's outfit for today hung from the top of his wardrobe, at least he had been the one to place his there. It too was a custom design but he and Kushina had had a far easier time nailing down and agreeing on a final design.

She only had to contend with two colours on Naruto himself, the bright yellow blonde hair and the deep, azure-blue of his eyes and sash, he too had refused to leave it out.

The Yukata in its entirety consisted of a two-tone grey layered in a horizontal line pattern, the lighter tone of grey substituting for white.

Kushina who had continued to drag him into his room deposited him in front of his tall mirror screwed onto the wall. He watched her with amusement, she always took these occasions so seriously. No one in the family was exempt from her critical eye, just as none of them was exempt from the critical eyes of everyone else in the village.

But he, they knew it was important to her so they didn't fight her, that and it wasn't only Tri who'd daren't argue against her.

"Seems, Tri-kun's not the only one with a mile-wide grin, what's got you so chipper?" She asked pulling his shirt drawer open. "Downstairs, Tou-san told me he's close to agreeing on a date for the next diplomatic exchange with Iwa."

She stopped what she was doing to look at him, "You've really thrown yourself into this burgeoning relationship with Iwagakure, haven't you?" He nodded firmly, "I have. The stories I've read or heard from previous Shinobi wars are enough to make me realise I don't want my generation to be subject to the same."

It might seem ironic, contradictory; some might say futile, to expend effort to prevent a future Shinobi world war whilst simultaneously serving as an active Shinobi. But as previous Shinobi world war veterans could attest, the occasional scraps one might encounter on missions, fought by perhaps a dozen Shinobi paled in utter insignificance to the world wars.

Wars in which tens of thousands were mobilised and sent out, and by the end, thousands were carried home to be buried.

She gave him a warm smile before turning back to his shirt drawer. While she herself never truly experienced losing friends and family to the proverbial meat-grinders the great wars became. But she'd seen the damage it had done to Kakashi when he served under Minato.

Losing Obito had crushed him but losing Rin damn near destroyed him. The sadness she always felt when she remembered Obito re-surfaced, after all, Obito had been her favourite.

Putting those sombre feelings aside she finally found the shirt she was looking for. "Ah-ha," she said pulling out a light grey/ white shirt from under several others. "Here, put this on," she ordered shoving it into his hands.

With another amused shake of the head he did as instructed, the multi-coloured top he was currently wearing was removed, scrunched up into a ball and thrown into the hamper in the corner.

And for the second time today Kushina was able to see how strong one of her sons had become. Compared to Tri, Naruto was the near total opposite. The blonde wasn't thin in the slightest, his combat style required substantially more muscle mass and it showed.

Naruto was broad of shoulder and chest, as he pulled the shirt on the short sleeves strained around the width of his bicep/ triceps muscle group.

"Have you seen Itachi-san since he was discharged?" she asked, repeating the question she'd asked Tri not a few minutes earlier as she held his Yukata open for him. "Uh, he was released three days ago so I saw him the day before last," he answered slipping an arm into a sleeve.

"Tri-kun said he was just lazing about his and Izumi-san's apartment." That made Naruto laugh, "And he was accurate, I've never seen him so inactive."
"How longs he been living with Izumi-san now?" Naruto thought a few moments, "Must be approaching six months now."
"Then I presume he's been enjoying it then since he always struck me as the kind of person who'd prefer to live alone."
"Yeah, I can see that, he does like his privacy. But there are few people he trusts more than Izumi-san. And he enjoys her company."

Slipping his other arm into the sleeve he leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Just between us, I think they both fancy each other. But neither seems to have noticed how the other feels about them yet."

If Tri had been present to hear Naruto's words, he might have been forgiven for bursting into tears of laughter at the irony of such a statement.

"You think?" Kushina curiously asked in a quiet voice. Not even Shinobi were immune to the grasping claws of gossip. "Uh-huh," he eagerly nodded back, "Think about it, it's a small apartment, there's only one bedroom. And the sofa simply isn't big enough for Itachi to sleep on comfortably."
"Oh my!" Kushina gasped in mock-scandal.

Following a few moments of silence, they both burst into a fit of giggles.

"Well if you're right, then I'm glad he's found some happiness. The past year or so has been hard on him." Naruto could only nod as he tied a cotton belt of the same two-tone grey around his waist, his sash going over the top of it.

To have to carry the weight of killing off the majority of your own clan, your father among them. To have to deal with a sibling that despised you and a mother who is a shattered remnant of her former self. It must have been overwhelming at times, Kushina struggled to simply imagine how heavy it all must have weighed on him, both body and mind.

She made a final adjustment or two to the sash, hiding the belt underneath as best she could. "And that makes three of you done," she said with an air of satisfaction.

"At least you got the folds the right way around," she added. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Tri accidentally folded the right side of the left," she explained. Naruto looked taken aback, "Don't you do that when you're dressing a body for a funeral?"
"Yes, yes you do," she laughed, Naruto quickly joining her.

"Well, at least he'd be properly dressed if he makes a mess of things with Sakura-san today," he said through his laughter. "That's what I said!" she exclaimed, their laughter doubling as both had to lean on one another simply to remain standing.

"Did you have to point it out to him, or did he put the pieces together himself?" Naruto asked as his laughter subsided. "No, no. I inferred that he'd made a mistake, he figured out the rest himself."

"Well, that's a relief. Here I was for a moment thinking he was a completely lost cause," he said in an exaggerated voice. Kushina had to cover her mouth to stifle more snorts of laughter.

After calming down she playfully smacked him on the arm, "Be nice, he's just nervous. Anyway, what's your plan for today

"Hey, you laughed too," he pouted. "As for your question, I'm gonna stick with you and the family until around 5 pm then I'm going to go meet Suzushii-san, Shinsuke-san and Hana-chan."
"Oh good," she said, "Minusha-chan will be happy to hear that."
"How's she been holding up?" he asked, his voice immediately carrying a serious edge to it. "She's ok when any of the three of you are around," she said, referring to the girl's brothers.

"But with you and Tri-kun away on missions as often as you are and now Rezano-kun's much the same she gets lonely. Most of the time it's just me and her in the house and I'm usually busy with clan paperwork and the like. I'm hoping that her joining the Academy will alleviate that. It'll be good for her to be around kids her own age, it did wonders for you and Tri-kun." Naruto stepped forward and wrapped his mother in a hug.

Meanwhile back downstairs

(A/N: Yes, this steps back a few minutes to just before Naruto headed upstairs)

While Kushina aided Tri, Naruto and Minusha were left in the kitchen to natter the minutes away. Or to be precise it was more Minusha listing off the things she was going to do and in what order. Toffee apple appeared on the list several times.

If it wasn't clear beforehand it was clear now just how excited – no giddy, Minusha was. She struggled to stay still in her chair as she counted down the minutes.

Minusha talked non-stop, barely taking long enough to breathe. She was finally brought to a halt by the sound of the front door opening. Both briefly looked at one another before turning their eyes towards the doorway leading out into the hall. A few seconds later Minato appeared in the doorway.

"Tou-san!" Minusha squealed in delight as she climbed up in her chair and vaulted clean over the table in her efforts to give him a hug.

Naruto let out a laugh as he watched her attempt to tackle him to the ground. "Are you coming too?" she excitedly asked. "Yes, yes I'm going to the festival too. You'd never forgive me if I didn't."
"Yay!" she cheered.

"Yay Indeed. But I still need to get ready. And to do that, you need to let go," he told her, his voice starting to sound slightly strained as she held the hug. Despite her young years, she had inherited her mother's ability to squash lungs and crack bones with just a hug.

Thankfully for Minato, his words broke through her veil of excitement, "Oh. Ok, Tou-san," she said releasing him.

"Air's so underrated ain't it Tou-san," Naruto jested. "It certainly is," he replied trying to disguise his deep breaths. Minusha returned to incessantly fidgeting in her seat while Minato stayed in the doorway.

"Oh, before I forget, I received a message from the Tsuchikage this morning." That perked Naruto's ears up immediately, "Go on."
"We're close to confirming a date for the next diplomatic exchange. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it'll be for a few months at least. There are a few matters that require the Tsuchikage's attention that can't be postponed, it's a shame, but it can't be helped."
"Yeah, agreed, no harm done though. To be honest I'm amazed that it's taken until the third meeting before something has forced some sort of delay, it's all gone off without a hitch so far."

Minato nodded in agreement. Other than the attempts of hard-liner factions in both villages to either get the first meeting delayed or outright cancelled – which failed miserably, the meetings had exceeded everyone's expectations.

"But there is a silver lining though. We've already decided when the fourth meeting will take place." This came as an abrupt surprise to Naruto, "You have? When? Where?" Minato just grinned back, "The Chūnin Exams."

"Of course!" he exclaimed, his palm smacking against his forehead. "Despite the proximity time-wise, no one can complain, especially the hard-liners because the Tsuchikage will be in Konoha anyway." He reined himself in there, "Iwagakure will be taking part in the Chūnin Exams right?" Minato nodded. "Yeah, that's works out great. You don't even need to call it a diplomatic exchange."

"Exactly," Minato said. "Did the Tsuchikage not get grouchy about Konoha hosting two meetings in a row?"
"He's not highlighted anything. I intend to offer the fifth and sixth meetings be held in Iwa to balance it out." Naruto nodded his approval. "Anyway, I still need to get ready and I've news for Tri-kun too."

"Oh?" Naruto said raising an eyebrow, Minato's eyes quickly looked up at the ceiling for a brief moment. Naruto understood the subtle sign, he didn't want Minusha listening in.

With him gone Naruto and Minusha went back to idle chit-chat. They were joined a few minutes later by a Yukata clad Tri. "My turn?" Naruto asked, with a nod from Tri he departed.

Minusha watched as Tri instead of sitting down slowly paced back and forth across the kitchen. "You're going to wear the floor out," she said, bringing him to a stop. He turned to face her with a pouting glare which melted away to be replaced by a laugh. "I'm just trying to get used to walking in this," he explained.

"I still don't understand why you don't like wearing formal clothing, it's suits you surprisingly well," she said honestly. "Thank you, Minusha-chan. It's the sheer amount of material and loose fit that I don't like. It feels so unwieldy, it weights too much, despite being cotton and an array of other things I don't like about it."

"I'm sure you can manage it for a few days." He sighed, "Tri-kun, don't start sighing, you came down with a smile so don't spoil it." He looked at her in surprise before laughing, "Yes ma-am," he joked. Now it was her turn to pout at him as he finally sat down next to her.

In recent months Minusha had changed how she interacted with other members of the family. No longer did she use 'Nii-chan' when communicating with her brothers, instead choosing to use the 'kun' honorific. In a general sense, she acted more maturely.

It wasn't at the behest of others that she made this change, she had decided upon it herself. The attempts by Rezano-kun's former Academy teacher to kill the two of them had opened her eyes to the world of Shinobi. It was a cold, harsh and savage world.

"Have I really been moping that much?" he asked, referring to his single sigh. She gave him a stern look, "Yes," she bluntly replied. "It comes as a great relief to be honest. Your sudden change of mood which I presume is down to whatever Tou-san said to you means you won't be awful company for the poor girl today."
"I take it Naruto-kun told you as well?"
"He did, it was very nice of you."
"Thanks," he quietly replied.

"At first I was annoyed you wouldn't be spending any time with me but then I remembered."
"Remembered what?" She turned a vicious grin on him. "Why Tri-kun, the festival lasts several days and who do you think is taking me tomorrow."

He tried to retort but no words came. "Alright, you win this round," he quickly conceded. "Of course I do," she cockily replied.

Any further exchanging of words were briefly cut off by the sound of muffled laughter above them. "What'd you suppose they're laughing at?" he asked. "You I expect." He snorted, "Yeah, probably." She turned to face him once more. As he was currently looking up at the ceiling it meant she could see his hair.

"You have your hair tied up?" she asked out of the blue. "Did you only just notice?" he questioned, giving her a weird look. Somewhat embarrassed by her lack of perception she only nodded. "It's so the Uzumaki symbol can be seen on my back," he explained swivelling around in his chair to show her. "Ah," she chimed in realisation. "I'm surprised you've only just noticed," he said spinning back around to face her.

"Yeah… No offence Tri-kun, I love you and everything. But right now I'm wayyy more interested in how much longer I have to wait until I can have my first toffee apple of the day in my face." He laughed. "Well if that's the case, you wouldn't be of much use on missions during festival time then."

Furrowing her eyebrows, "Elaborate," she demanded. "What do you think Rezano-kun's doing right now?"
"Mission?" she presumed. "Correct, a D-Rank mission followed by training. He likely won't finish until perhaps 3 pm. He'll likely do the same most days."

Her eyes widened in realisation and Tri thought she actually looked genuinely gutted. He felt kind of bad now, while he was only poking fun at her he was completely honest.

Being a Shinobi was a full-time affair, you had to make sacrifices and your hobbies were among the first to go. The necessity of working missions to earn paychecks. Then there was the extensive training that would allow you to undertake missions of higher paygrades.

Overall, it left you little time for much else – at least until you became at minimum, an established Chūnin who partook on multi-week missions which tended to be followed by at least several days off.

Genin, in particular, had little spare time, the necessity of training them into Chūnin superseded all else.

"Don't worry about it too much Minusha-chan. It just means you'll have to enjoy this one even more," he tried to reassure her with a gentle hand on the shoulder. Thankfully it seemed to help as a smile returned to her face. "Ok," she finally responded.

"So come on then, tell me what you're going to be doing today then?" he asked, trying to perk her back up. And with another wry smile, she dived in and laid out in extreme detail exactly what she was going to get up to. Despite having told Naruto all this a little while ago she told Tri with the same level of zeal.

"That's a lot of toffee apples," Tri remarked after she'd finished. "I like toffee apples."
"I noticed, it became pretty clear after the third one, but fives a bit much isn't it?"
"They're to take home," she defended herself. "Well if it were the final day then I could understand but it's only the first day and half a day at that," he smirked.

Both were ready to playfully argue the finer points of consuming a dozen toffee apples in the span of three days but were interrupted by the return of Naruto.

With his return, all three of them playfully argued the finer points of consuming so many toffee apples. It helped them pass the time while they waited for their parents.

It was another twenty minutes until they both joined them. Both sporting wide grins while a flushed look on Minato's cheeks made Tri and Naruto give each other a brief knowing glance. Both suspected more than just dressing took place upstairs.

'Thank Kami for the wonders of Fūinjutsu soundproofing,' ran through both their minds. Tri had, without Minato and Kushina knowing, installed the seal arrays in their parents' bedroom a few months earlier.

"Tri-kun, why are you still here?" Kushina asked after briefly looking at the clock. "What are you talking about? I've still got plenty of time. It takes me like 45 seconds to get to Sakura-san's house."
"It might normally but you aren't moving like a Shinobi today."
"You don't…"
"Oh yeah," she cut in, nodding eagerly. "You will move no faster than a civilian today."

Those words made him cringe, regular running was slow to him. So to have to walk at a veritable snails pass was going to be frustratingly tedious. *Sigh*, "Fine," he groaned, dragging himself to his feet. He gave Minusha and Kushina quick hugs before bidding them all farewell.

"Have fun!" Kushina songfully called after him. "Don't worry, I'm sure I will," he dryly called back.

-(*)-

'By kami, how do people go through life walking this slowly?' he complained. A forty-five-second trip has stretched out to nearly fifteen minutes. He swore people were giving him looks of surprise simply because they could see him.

Turning the final corner brought him to the right street. He was in a more residential part of town, houses were replaced by multi-story apartment blocks. But it wasn't one of these apartment blocks that was his destination, it was a small two-story house about a third of the way down the street squeezed between two larger buildings.

A small covered flight of stairs he ascended two at a time lead up to the door he sought, he knocked and waited.

"Coming," said a muffled voice from the other side of the door, the voice had a male sound to it. 'Perhaps I can get in and out without seeing her?' Tri wondered as the door opened.

He was greeted by a man with spiky, dark pink hair and what was – still to this day, the weirdest moustache Tri had ever seen. It was the same tone of pink and somewhat resembled a handle-bar moustache but the two halves didn't meet under the nose.

Despite all that Tri had found him to be a decent man that he'd never had issues getting along with.

"Kizashi-san," he greeted him, inclining his head slightly. "Ah, Tri-san," he replied with a welcoming smile. "Please come in," he added stepping to the side.

With a curt nod of thanks, he stepped into the small, narrow entrance hallway. With the property being squeezed between two larger structures, it left little in the way of space. But while space was limited and Tri was no interior designer, he thought the Haruno family had done quite well with what they had.

After shutting the door behind him Kizashi moved to lean on the bannister that led upstairs, "Sakura-chan!" he called up. "Just a minute," was the returned call.

Turning back to face the young man, "How are you, Tri-san," he asked, looking to pass the time. "I'm very well, thank you Kizashi-san. How are you?"
"Oh, I can't complain. I finally have a few days off."
"I know that feeling," he replied which made the elder of the two of them chuckle. "Yes, Sakura-chan mentioned you seem to be away on missions rather often."
"That's putting it lightly," he somewhat bitterly replied. "Nineteen in a row," he muttered under his breath, Kizashi didn't hear him.

"Either way, I won't complain at getting some time to spend with Mebuki-chan and Sakura-chan." That made Tri wince a little, "I haven't infringed on that have I?" he cautiously asked. "No, no, no," he quickly reassured him, "The three of us will be spending tomorrow together. We already knew Sakura-chan was going to be with you today before we planned out what we were doing."
"That's a relief."

It was then that the third member of the Haruno family joined them from whatever she was doing in the Kitchen. 'So much for avoiding her,' he thought.

"Mebuki-san," is what he said, as he respectfully greeted her. Inclining his head slightly further than he did for Kizashi, not enough to be considered a bow but enough to show the appropriate levels of respect.

He was well aware that the Haruno household was a matriarchy, run by Mebuki - just like his own was run by Kushina.

Sakura's mother was a strong-willed woman with sandy blonde hair that featured a single, prominent bang that fell between her green eyes, the same eyes that Sakura had inherited. As usual, she wore one of her many Qipao dresses, today's was white with a hollow red circle both on the back and front. The hollow circle being the symbol of the Haruno family.

He could remember when Sakura used to wear them too when she was younger, he also remembered how little he thought they suited her.

"Tri-san," she replied neutrally.

'As warm a welcome as always,' he mentally sighed. She'd never really taken to him, despite having known one another for years now. And it looked like their already frosty relationship might be about to become frost-bitten as she walked right up to him.

Kizashi made an effort to stop her but a single harsh glare from Mebuki had him backing up before she turned her gaze upon the Uzumaki heir. 'Well, you can't say you didn't try Kizashi-san.'

The two of them staring one another down made for a strange sight, while Tri was hardly the tallest of Shinobi, Naruto was three inches taller, despite that Tri was still almost a third of a foot taller than her.

"What are your intentions towards my daughter?" she firmly demanded. Straightway his eyes glazed over in annoyance, his Sharingan spinning slowly. 'Well, at least she got straight to the point this time instead of dancing around it like normal. But for kami sake, when is she going to realise I'm not trying to fuck her daughter.'

"I am merely a close friend accompanying your daughter to the Natsu festival at her request," he replied, heavily emphasising 'close friend' and 'her request'.

She couldn't hold back a derisive snort. "Stories I've overheard in the standby stations suggest you're intentions might be very different."

He knew what she was referring to. Tri had slept with several Kunoichi in a one-night stand capacity and Kunoichi gossiped, so more than just those Kunoichi would know by now. But he would make no such attempts with Sakura because she broke one of his three golden rules.

The first rule, Kunoichi only, no civilian women. The second rule, he wouldn't sleep with any woman he considered a friend, he didn't feel one night of sex was worth losing a friend over. And finally the third rule, he let them make all the decisions. If the Kunoichi made it clear she wasn't interested then he left them be.

So while he could understand that Mebuki was only looking out for her daughter, he did not appreciate all her insinuations and borderline accusations. Sakura broke the second rule and as far as he was concerned, that was the end of the matter.

Meanwhile, Mebuki's mind was whirring, sixteen words were all it took for him to convey a great deal of information. Two points in particular.

Firstly, in reverse order. Tri had made it apparent he wasn't the one who invited Sakura, but that Sakura had invited him – well, strictly speaking, that wasn't true, she'd pretty much ordered him to take her, but semantics.

Secondly was his use of the words 'close friend'. When considered in tandem with the first point he'd made it pretty clear they were attending together as friends and not some sex-starved duo or an actual couple.

She considered there to be another meaning hidden under everything else, it spelt out, quite simply, "Back off."

Knowing she wouldn't be able to get anywhere without directly accusing him of something. "Fine then, if I'm to entrust my daughter's safety to you then I trust you are adequately armed?"

This time it was his turn to snort, holding up his right hand a kunai appeared in his palm before instantly disappearing again. Only to be replaced by a small blue swirling mass of chakra easily identifiable as the Yondaime's Rasengan. "I trust this meets with your satisfaction?" he asked, she gave a firm but disgruntled nod before looking away in frustration.

An awkward silence descended over the hallway. Kizashi suddenly became very interested in his fingernails, Tri looked at the artwork on the walls while Mebuki looked at the stairs, occasionally stealing glances at Tri.

They were all finally able to throw off the air of awkwardness when they all heard the sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs. The staircase in the Haruno house was, to save space, a spiral design. So none of them saw Sakura until she reached the last few steps.

And what Tri saw, in a word, left him surprised. Surprised at how good she looked, "Wow," he whispered.

Her Yukata was simple, light red in colour with no secondary colour at all, pink flower blossoms decorations were spread across the entire garment. It was finished with a light pink Obi of a similar colour to her hair while she carried white sandals in her hand.

As for her hair itself, she had done very little, the bang either side of her face remained although some of the hair at the back of her head was tied up similar to his. It was finished with a hair clip sporting a butterfly design embossed with coloured glass.

"Hi," she said, cheerfully greeting him. "Hi," he greeted her in return. "What do you think?" she asked spinning once on the spot so he could see the entire outfit. "You look fantastic," he answered. She gave him a big smile, "Thank you," she warmed replied.

"You look lovely dear, now do you have any weapons on you?" Tri rolled his eyes which Sakura saw and was barely able to suppress a laugh. "Yes, Kaa-chan," she replied lifting her sleeve to reveal a holster for senbon and a small kunai variant. "Good girl," her mother said before kissing her on the forehead.

"Are you ready Tri-kun?"
"Whenever you are."
"Ok then," she said before hurriedly giving both her parents a hug, rushing to the doorway she put on her sandals. "Be safe and have fun," Kizashi said as Sakura opened the door. "Don't worry, we will," she excitedly said before near enough yanking Tri out the door after her.

Kizashi waited a few seconds after the door had closed before turning to his wife. "You did it again," he bluntly stated. "I'm only looking out for our daughter."
"I know that and thankfully I think Tri-san knows that too. But that doesn't excuse the fact that you constantly harass him about Sakura-san."

"But, you should hear the gossip about him from some of the Kunoichi," she weakly tried to argue. "Ah, but you forget, I have heard these stories too. And you forget he's far from the only male Shinobi spoke of in such context, but answer me this. Have a single one of those Kunoichi ever spoken negatively of him?"

That brought her argument to a grinding halt, he was right, none had spoken ill of Minato and Kushina's adopted son, all that she'd overheard was positive in nature.

Seeing she'd lost the will to argue further he wrapped her in a hug. "She was never going to remain your little girl forever," he softly said in her ear. "She's a young woman now. It'll only be a few more years before she reaches the age you were when you fell pregnant with her.

"So don't worry so much Mebuki-chan. Besides, have you ever known Tri-san to be anything but completely respectful towards Sakura-chan?" After she'd shook her head he spoke again. "Come on, why don't we make an early start on lunch," he suggested, taking her hand in his and gently guiding her towards the kitchen.

Meanwhile outside

"I'm sorry about what Kaa-chan said, Tri-kun," Sakura apologised after they reached the street at the bottom of the stairs. Turning to face he replied, "You heard that?"
"Yeah."
"All of it?" she nodded and he sighed. "Don't worry about it, no harm done I guess. I know she's only being protective of you, as any mother should – even if it is misguided. But I'll admit, it's getting kinda old.

"I really don't appreciate her insinuations that I'm some sort of bogeyman out to take her daughter's virginity before running off into the sunset," he irritably added. Through his irritation he missed the colour of her cheeks change to greatly resemble that of her Yukata.

Despite her blush, she was composed enough to spot an opportunity to have a joke at his expense. "What? You mean you aren't trying to bang me?" she asked in a voice that was positively dripping in artificial disappointment.

The startled look he gave her made her crack up immediately as she burst into laughter. Seeing he'd been had, he relaxed, "Please don't do that again. I don't know what would kill me first, the heart attack, or being bludgeoned to death by your mother armed with a shovel."

She only laughed some more, so he pouted at her which only caused her to laugh even more.

After she'd finally recovered and wiped away a mirthful tear or two she spoke again, "Oh come on Uzumaki-san, you're supposed to be taking me to the Natsu Festival. I, therefore, demand you be cheerful for the rest of the day."

"As my lady, Haruno-san says, so shall it be," he formally replied with a grin as he offered her his arm, she wrapped both of hers around his and they started walking.

"Why is your street so empty?" he asked as they neared a T junction. "I'd of thought it would be crammed with people coming and going in their droves." Right now, including the two of them, there were less than a dozen people on the entire street and it was a pretty long street.

"And you'd be right they are – only they all did it several hours ago." He raised an eyebrow at her so she explained, "Most of the residents around here are merchants or shopkeeps."
"Ah!" he said. "So they all left hours ago to ready stalls and such?"
"Exactly," she smiled.

"Tri-kun."
"Hmm?" he murmured. "Thank you for going with me today."
"There's no need to thank me, it's what you wanted after all. But, you're welcome."
"I know, I know. But you've never liked being in crowds or wearing formal clothes."
"While yes that is true. I'm sure I can manage a day for the sake of one of my closest friends," he honestly replied. With another smile, she tightened her grip on his arm in place of a hug.

A little while later

Sakura was mindful of Tri's discomfort amongst crowds of people so she eased him in, so to speak. While the best stalls were right in the middle she skirted around the outside and slowly spiralled inwards. The crowds were greatly reduced along the outer fringes so he had time to acclimatise. It took nearly the entire first hour before they had to dip and duck between throngs of people.

Tri was expecting her to beeline straight to the centre and was slightly confused when she didn't. It took him a while to figure out what she was doing. But when he did he greatly appreciated her presence of mind and thoughtfulness.

The sheer number of stalls numbered into the hundreds, all covered in bright colours with signs in places of prominence where the most eyes could see them. Some of those running the stalls, particularly those with game stalls tried to persuade people to partake, their voices adding to the cacophony of noise. Children giddily ran around, their parents trying desperately to keep track of them. Some of those children were chastised for running off, within five minutes they were doing it again, their parent's word's completely forgotten.

Tri was in the midst of storing yet another cuddly teddy, this time a giant green crocodile, into a storage scroll. "I really don't get why the game stalls allow Shinobi to take part," he said storing the scroll into one of the seals on his arm. "I don't know either, but I ain't complaining. Your throwing arm is winning me a gluttony of cuddly animals," Sakura smirked.

Tri had wondered why Sakura had asked him to play the throwing games, he wondered no more, after all the top prize, which he'd won every time, was usually an obnoxiously big cuddly animal. He should have remembered Sakura already owned a rather large collection of cuddly animals, well now she had five more. In total Tri had actually won six but one of the prizes had consisted of a matching pair, one of which she'd given to Tri.

"I wonder if it's because they don't want to have to lug the remaining prizes around when the festival ends?" She suggested. "Th… Actually, you may have a point there. Perhaps we could ask one of your neighbours?" he grinned. "Perhaps," she grinned back.

Sakura was about to drag Tri to another game stall, she'd set her eyes on a giant frog teddy when a voice behind them caught there attention. "Hello you two, having fun?"

Both turned and were greeted by the sight of Tsunade and Shizune. Both women wore what they usually did from day to day. Shizune normally wore something akin to a Yukata regularly while Tsunade, being Tsunade wore her usual low-cut Kimono-style blouse with a green haori over the top with a dark blue-grey Obi, the same colour as her three-quarter length pants.

Both greeted the two women simultaneously, "Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san," they respectfully said. Tsunade said nothing for the moment while Shizune gave them a big smile and a wave.

"Do you two know how annoying you can be to find?" Tsunade asked out of the blue, her question caught them both by surprise. "I think I found every member of the Hokage family except the one I'm actually looking for."
"What do you need me for Tsunade-sama?" Tri asked. "I actually don't need you at all Tri-san, but I was informed that the person I was actually looking for was with you," she finished by looking straight at Sakura.
"Wait, you mean me?"
"Yes, you."

"Uh… How can I help you, Tsunade-sama?"
"I'm glad you asked. Monday morning, 9:00 am, my office. You can ask any of the hospital staff for directions if needed.
"Um, ok? Might I inquire as to the reason?" The Sannin grinned, 'Tri hasn't mentioned anything to her yet.'

"Why Sakura-san, I need your presence so we can work out a timetable for your medical training of course." Sakura was floored, very few people knew she even had an interest in medical Ninjutsu and she was sure Tsunade wasn't one of them, then it clicked.

"You!" she rounded on Tri who was doing his best to stop a smirk becoming a laugh. "Me?" he replied. "Yes, you. You're one of the only people who could possibly have done this." Sakura never noticed Tsunade and Shizune take their leave.

"Oh, alright I admit it. I'm responsible."
"What did you do?" she demanded. "Very little actually, all I did was suggest your name to Tsunade-sama and answer a few questions."
"Elaborate."

Seeing they were making for an amusing scene Tri took her by the elbow and lead her to a quiet corner between two stalls. "As I already said, I did very little. I just happened to know that, in your spare time you like to learn medical Ninjutsu, medical techniques, human biology, etc.

"I also knew that Tsunade-sama was looking for a new batch of recruits to train as medics. And I, knowing of your prior knowledge forwarded your name as a suggestion. She asked me a few questions relating to just how much you already knew and that's it."
"That's it?" she said sceptically. "Yep. Tsunade-sama decided of her own free will to offer you a spot, no influencing from me."

"So, I could become a Medic Nin?"
"In a sense, I would guess you'll be trained as a combat medic, you're too good a fighter to remove you from front-line duty completely."

The differences between Medical Ninja and Combat Medics while few were substantial.

The first difference was an especially big one. Medical Ninja, as per the second of Tsunade's four rules, weren't permitted to be on the front-line. Medics often found themselves the targets of attacks; kill the medic, you likely kill their patients too. Combat Medics, however, could break this rule.

Medical Ninja received a wide and comprehensive education in the art of healing and human biology. Combat Medics, on the other hand, received a more streamlined education focusing on poisons, burns, severe trauma and chakra transfer.

This streamlined medical education was so the medic could stabilize them and keep them from dying as they're being withdrawn to the rear to receive full medical treatment.

If one were to summarise, Medical Ninja were to heal them, and Combat Medics were to keep them alive.

Sakura took a few moments to digest what he'd just dropped on her. "I know it's sudden, to be honest, I expected Tsunade-sama to at least ask you if this was something you'd be interested in."
"No, it's fine, it is something I'm very interested in. Yes, it's sudden, but I want to take the course."
"Glad to hear it."

With a big, beaming smile she gave him a strong hug, "Thank you," she quietly said before releasing him. "You're welcome, but all I did was say a few words. You're the one who put all the hours into learning it in your spare time."
"No, I think you did a lot more than that. Now come on, I want that frog," she said as she dragged him to the stall in question.

-(*)-

While one brother was winning stupidly big stuffed animals, the other… was doing exactly the same; amongst other things of course. Naruto had indulged at every food stall, perused every trinket stall and of course won at every game stall he'd visited.

Up until now, the prizes had been small enough to fit in bags but not this one. Under Naruto's arm was a gigantic pink stuffed elephant, and of course, he'd forgotten to bring a sealing scroll. So now he was following his family around with a giant elephant under his arm.

It was then he noticed a little girl, no older than five, maybe six years old. She was staring at the elephant with wide eyes, he could tell she wanted the elephant. Handing a bag to Minato, he approached the girl and her parents.

He knelt down in front of her, "What's your name little one?" he asked. "Yui," the girl timidly replied after a few moments, she was nervous. "Hi, Yui-san. My names Naruto," he replied with a small wave. "Now, Yui-san. I have a problem and I was hoping you could help me solve it." The girl needed some encouragement from her mother before she nodded.

"Awesome, thank you Yui-san. Now, my problem is that I have this great big pink elephant, but I simply have nowhere to put it," he explained holding it in front of him. "And it would just be the greatest shame to have to put it in a cupboard or something where no one could see it. So I was wondering if you had anywhere you could put it?"

The girl's eyebrows furrowed, Naruto could see she didn't fully understand what he'd just said but thankfully her mother did. "Yui-chan," she said in a soft, calming voice. "You have some space in your bedroom by your cabinet, don't you. I think it would fit there perfectly."

It took a few moments more but it was enough for her to understand, her previously narrowed, timid eyes, in a shot, opened as wide as saucers. She understood now that Naruto was offering the elephant to her. She couldn't have nodded any more vigorously, it was as if her head was on a spring. "You will?" She kept nodding. "Oh, thank goodness. Thank you Yui-san."

He extended out his hands and she took the giant teddy into her own arms. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the sight, it was almost as big as she was.

"What do you say Yui-chan," her mother asked. "Thnk yuu," she replied, her voice completely muffled behind a wall of pink fluff. "You're most welcome Yui-san. Remember you need to think of a name," he said after a small chuckle. Yui managed to shuffle the elephant around enough so she could speak clearly, "Momoiro,"[1] she said. Again, Naruto laughed, "A most appropriate name, Yui-san."

"Arigatou, Naruto-sama," the girl's mother quietly said to him. But he waved her off, "Ma'am, please, there's no need for such formality and san is just fine." She seemed a little surprised at first but nodded and with a hand on the back of her daughter's neck began to lead her away. He shared a brief handshake with Yui's father.

"Bye, Yui-san," Naruto called out. The girl turned and tried to wave at him without dropping the recently christened Momoiro.

"That was very nice of you, Naruto-kun," he heard Kushina say from behind him. "I saw the look on her face and I just knew I had to give the elephant to her."

That was now almost an hour ago, and Naruto still that warm feeling inside him that you get after doing something nice for someone else. He currently wasn't with his parents or Minusha but he did have Rezano with him.

It had been decided a few days earlier that Naruto would go collect Rezano after he'd finished with his Genin team for the day. And that's just what he had done. He'd quickly rushed his younger brother home so he could shower and change and was now leading him back through the village so Rezano could join the rest of them.

It was unfortunate then that the next few minutes would very much put a dampener on Naruto's day and almost ruin Rezano's entirely.

"Oh, you should have seen it. The moment it landed in her hands it was gone. It wasn't no small one either, it was the biggest she could get." Rezano laughed, "Well, she really does love toffee apples. Would you expect anything else?"

"No, I guess not. It never gets old though," Naruto answered his younger brother as they turned a corner to walk down one of the longest roads in Konoha.

The road was mostly occupied by larger storefronts and state administrative buildings that weren't considered integral to the running of the village and thus weren't located in the village centre. The road wasn't entirely straight, it occasionally curved left or right. But it would eventually take them straight to the festival. While relatively empty at the moment, it would be rammed when everyone started heading home later on.

Right now besides them, there were only two other people in view. Leaned up against a wooden wall and clad in rudimentary Shinobi garb with no visible weapons, while they wore flak vests that meant they weren't Genin neither struck Naruto as Jōnin.

The two of them, perhaps a year or two younger than Naruto by appearances alone turned to look at them. Their faces darkened as both laid eyes on Rezano.

Thankfully Rezano seemed oblivious to them, Naruto intended it to remain that way. As the two groups of two drew closer Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly and gave them a serious glare, he was sending a very clear warning to keep their mouths shut. Whether they'd heed it remained to be seen.

With his warning given he returned to his conversation with Rezano. But now he was only partially paying attention to what he said, his ears were instead listening out for whether anyone else said anything.

A few moments later, with them both actively avoiding looking at the two brothers, Naruto and Rezano walked by. Nothing happened. Naruto was in the midst of sighing in relief when he heard it.

Sadly Rezano, who, thanks to his tenant had developed exceptional hearing, heard it too. It was barely more than a whisper, one word, "Demon." Rezano's head dropped instantly.

He placed a supportive hand on his Otouto's shoulder and brought them both to a stop. Without turning to face them and instead chose to look straight ahead he shouted back at them, "Did you say something?" he questioned in a voice packed with venom.

"Nothing," one of them arrogantly snorted, his buddy snickering under his breath. "Wait here, Rezano-kun. I'll be right back." The young Jinchuriki just nodded.

Naruto had his justification, so he disappeared from sight, despite his bulky frame Naruto retained a surprisingly high level of speed. As a result, neither Chūnin even realised, much less had time to react before Naruto was on them.

The one who'd snickered ended up on his ass several feet away following a flat-footed kick to the chest. The one who'd spoken found himself pinned to the same wooden wall he'd been leaning against, only now he was being held a foot off the ground, a strong hand wrapped around his throat.

"Are you sure?" Naruto said calmly and clearly, "Because it sounded to me like you did."
"Don't know what you're talking about," he stubbornly replied. "See, now that's just not true and nobody likes a liar," Naruto replied, his hold on his neck tightening.

The one Naruto had kicked managed to pull himself to his feet. Naruto, not taking his eyes off the one he had against the wall spoke to the second, "You so much as take a step I'll tighten my grip on your friend's neck." Any action he had planned was immediately forgotten as Naruto's words stilled him utterly, some of the colour draining from his face.

"As for you," he said. "I believe you owe someone an apology, and it better be good if you don't want to spend tonight in a hospital bed."
"Sorry," he darkly muttered/ spluttered. Naruto shook his head and lifted him a few inches higher. "It's not me you need to be apologising to, is it?" he reminded him.

"Please, let him go! He can't breathe," the second said in alarm. "Well, in that case, he'd better hurry up then hadn't he."
"I'm sorry," he tried again, he at least said it in Rezano's direction this time, the young teenager putting on a brave face but it still wasn't enough to satisfy Naruto.

"Better, but like you mean it," he demanded, his vice-like grip increasing a little further.

With his face beginning to turn blue he managed to get the words out, thankfully for his sake, they were somewhat clear and understandable. "I humbly apologise Rezano-san."
"See, now was that so hard," Naruto said before throwing him to the side where he landed on the ground in a heap, he coughed and spluttered while also drawing in great lungfuls of air. It made for some bizarre noises.

"Consider yourselves fortunate that it's me you pissed off today. Frankly, I'm being lenient, if it had been my adopted brother, make no mistake you'd both be on a one way trip to the emergency room."

He made to turn but stopped himself, "I'd recommend Chilled Honey, Lemon Water or Ginger Root Tea to combat that sore throat you're going to have." Both just stared back at him in dumbfounded shock. Naruto made a 'go away' gesture with his hands, neither moved. "Fuck off," Naruto growled.

That got through as the second helped the first to his feet before they both scurried away as fast as they could.

With a sigh he turned and walked back to Rezano's side, "You alright?" he tentatively asked, the younger boy was clearly downcast now, his positive mood utterly ruined but he nodded. "Come on then, let's go find the others," he said putting a hand behind his neck to get him moving again.

-(*)-

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, momentarily forgetting her age as Tri handed over yet another absurdly sized stuffed animal, this was now the dozenth today to join her substantial collection. Meanwhile, Tri was rather relieved he always carried several storage scrolls on him, he dreaded the thought of having to carry them all individually.

The Frog he'd inevitably won earlier had since been joined by a small bear, a several foot long snake, a second dog, a giant horned dinosaur of some sort, a parrot and now the latest edition, a giant fuzzy rabbit. Truly, a veritable animal kingdom.

Despite the copious amounts of new cuddly animals they'd been collecting, Sakura had managed to find a few small gifts for her friends and family.

"You can stop worrying now, I think I have enough new editions," Sakura declared much to Tri's relief, much longer and he thought his arm might start aching. He wasn't quite sure if she'd called it a day on the cuddly animal collecting because she wanted to save the remaining space in Tri's storage scrolls or because she'd exhausted her teddy collecting budget. He daren't ask but envisioned it was the former.

"If you're done collecting the animal kingdom, where to now?" he asked with a smirk. She gave him a playful push on the shoulder, "Uh, are you hungry at all?" she inquired after a few moments thought. "A little, but it's not pressing."
"Snack then?"
"Sure," he said with a nod. "Great," she replied before taking him by the arm and dragging him around once more.

As bizarre as it must have looked, he would have been lost on his own so he let her lead without issue.

She led him through the crowds, weaving in and around groups of civilians and Shinobi alike. With her eyes and ears guiding him he opened his to everyone around him. Of all the people he saw and all the voices he heard, there was one in particular that stood out above all the others, it was one that was familiar to him.

"Yosh!" the voice shouted, the volume overwhelming the collective conversations of everyone else. It actually brought Sakura to a halt, "Who on earth was that?" she turned to ask him, letting go of his wrist. Tri grinned, "I think I know," he replied, "Follow me."

This time it was his turn to take her by the wrist as he gently pulled her through the crowd, the same voice occasionally shouting out allowing him to home in.

Making their way around a final huddle of festival goers brought them to the target. A tall man with his back to them stood in front of a game stall, a man clad in a green jumpsuit. "Yeah I thought so," Tri said. "Do you know him, Tri-kun?" Sakura asked him a little too loudly, the man in front of them heard her.

"Tri-kun?" he said to himself, rapidly spinning 180° on the spot.

His eyes scanned the crowd around them until he located the black/ green, red/ black eye colours, "Tri-kun!" he shouted in a deafeningly loud voice, much to everyone else's annoyance. "Hello Gai-sensei," Tri managed to say before he lifted clean off the ground in a bear hug. 'Damn it, not the bear hug,' he thought as Gai's vice-like grip compressed his ribcage.

"A handshake would have sufficed," he gasped out as what air that remained in his lungs was squeezed out. Gai finally released him but neglected to put him back down first so he had to drop the six inches, Sakura managed to catch him before his stumble left him on the floor. He sent an appreciative smile her way as Gai spoke.

"Oh, no, no, no, Tri-kun. Only a firm, youthful hug is sufficient to greet a friend after so long," he beamed, before striking that 'good guy' pose of his, a thumbs up and a glisten from his teeth. Tri, used to his eccentric nature, just shook his head in amusement while Sakura looked on in bewilderment.

"Gai-sensei is one of the people who helped train me, Itachi-kun and Naruto-kun before we joined the Academy," he explained to her. "Yosh!," he again shouted, "It was thanks to Tri-kun and his youthful teammates that I was able to gather experience in training young Ninja," he added.

"But I'm being rude, who might this be Tri-kun? Is she, perhaps, your girlfriend?" he asked with a sly grin.

While Sakura blushed at Gai's question, Tri was utterly unfazed thanks to his lesser-known training while a member of the Jūnishi. "No sensei, she's a close friend, not my girlfriend. Sakura-chan, this is Gai Maito, one of the finest Taijutsu masters in the world. And Gai-sensei, this is Haruno Sakura, Chūnin and all-round talented Shinobi."

Sakura was flattered by Tri's praise but was caught off guard by Gai's next sentence. "Ah, now that is a name I have heard." The look she gave him demanded he explain, and he duly did. "Some of the other Jōnin, the ones who've worked with you at least, speak very highly of you."
"Uh, thank you, Gai-san," she replied with a prideful grin. Whether friend or stranger, every Shinobi responded well to positive comments.

"You never struck me as a festival goer Gai-sensei. What brings you here?" He was about to answer but was cut off as another, much younger voice beat him to the punch. "Sensei?" the young voice asked from behind the veteran Jōnin. "Perfect timing," Gai grinned before stepping aside.

'Oh, of course, Gai-sensei has a Genin team now and… by Kami, Gai has a mini-me! Same outfit, same leg warmers, same haircut and the eyebrows? Why does he have the same eyebrows?' Tri asked himself, his mind utterly focused on this one Genin, so much so he didn't even register the other two.

"Tri-kun, Sakura-san. Allow me to introduce my Genin team," Gai declared, the pride evident in his voice. "Firstly is Tenten," he said introducing the teams only female member. She gave them a smile and a brief wave and Tri felt he recognised her but he couldn't quite remember where from.

"Secondly, Hyūga Neji." This time there was no wave or smile, in fact, the pale-eyed boy looked at them both with barely veiled disdain. Tri thought about glaring back but decided against it.

"And finally," he said dropping a hand of his lookalikes shoulder, "This is Rock Lee," the boy grinned back.

They both spotted it immediately, it was so glaringly obvious it left each of them wondering how Gai himself hadn't noticed. It was the way he spoke when introducing his three students. It wasn't for a lack of enthusiasm, not at all. Both Tenten and Neji had been introduced with vigour but the way he introduced Lee was evidently different.

Both could barely contain their winces as they gave each other a quick glance. It seemed it wasn't just them that knew it too, it seemed Neji and Tenten both had long since noticed it. Neji's already broody expression darkened further while Tenten simultaneously rolled her eyes while looking away.

Gai had done what no Jōnin Sensei should do, he'd chosen a favourite, he likely hadn't even realised but it was so easy to spot. You were expected to treat all three of your Genin equally without question. Picking favourites bred resentment in the others.

Neji's scowl actually softened slightly in a surprising turn of events. It appeared that he had noticed that the two of them had noticed and he'd seen their reactions to it.

The worst thing to do now would be to talk to Lee first so he turned his attention back to the bun-haired Tenten, why she was familiar still pestered him. "I feel like we've met before Tenten-san but I cannot recall when or where."
"K and S's Shinobi Outfitting," she supplied and the relevant memories immediately jumped from his sub-consciousness. "Yes, that was it," he said with a click of his fingers. "Thank you for your recommendation of the sword restoration kit, it worked splendidly."
"Uh, you're welcome," she replied with a small smile.

"Team, this is Uzumaki Tri, heir to the Uzumaki clan," Gai's introduction made Neji's face darken once more. It immediately allowed Tri to identify him as a branch member, 'Resentful of the main Hyūga family. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't like that seal on my forehead.'

"And finally, his close friend, Chūnin Haruno Sakura," Gai said completing the introductions. The pink haired woman gave them all a quick wave.

"So why are you and your team here Gai-sensei? In Shinobi garb no less," Tri asked. "We're actually on a mission," he replied. "Festival Security?" Sakura guessed. Gai nodded, "Precisely."

Tri let out a small chuckle. While he himself had never undertaken this mission, it was renowned for being preposterously easy. Who in their right mind steals from a stall, or attempts to cause trouble at a festival attended by hundreds of Shinobi; you had to utterly daft to even try.

'I'll have to mention this to Minusha-chan. It may allay her 'missing the festival' fears,' he thought.

"And while easy, we were at least fulfilling the mission until someone," Tenten said glaring at Lee, "Had to go and challenge Neji to yet another challenge, this time to see who could score more points at a throwing game stall." Her voice was filled with unbridled frustration.

"That's my Lee!" Gai cheered, "Always looking for new and innovative ways to improve!"
"Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted back.
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"

They both spontaneously burst into tears of joy and hugged it out. Tenten and Neji both let out a resignated sigh as they immediately backed away. Sakura leaned closer to both of them, "Is this normal?" she asked them. "Yes," all three of them said back.

Neji and Tenten looked at Tri in surprise, "Yeah, he's always been like this," Tri said as the joyous hug continued.

Then the Genjutsu appeared, a bright shining sun rose from behind them as a thin but tall rainbow arched overhead. "Okay… That's new. Is Lee doing that?"
"No, Lee can't use Genjutsu," Neji replied blankly. "So, who or what is casting it?"
"We don't know. My Byakugan can't see anything." Tri brought his Sharingan to bare but after a few moments, "Nor can my Sharingan."

Thankfully it only lasted a few more seconds before fading. And Gai and Lee released one another, much to the relief of everyone else.

"So… who won?" Sakura asked trying to get them somewhat back on topic. "I did, of course," Neji arrogantly stated, a tone that seemed to visibly irk Tenten, judging by the dirty look she shot Neji's way. This was cause for a yet another concerned look between Tri and Sakura.

They almost missed Neji's following comment, "After all Lee, you're always going to lose to me no matter the circumstances, that is your fate."

That proved the tipping point for Sakura and Tri, both sub-consciously coming to the same decision that enough was enough and it was time to bail. With some rapid words from Tri, using the excuse that were things they wished to do before the evening set in they made their escape.

As they departed, Gai turned to his Genin. "And there you go, you've now met all three members of the Prodigal Three."

(A/N: Itachi's meeting with Team Gai will be an Omake whenever I get around to writing it.)

Neji snorted, "And out of the three of them, this one may be the most unimpressive."
"And you'll remember what I told you, Neji-kun."
"Yes, yes. That looks can be deceiving," he irritably retorted. "Yes, so while he may not carry similar muscle mass to Naruto-kun nor carry himself in the same manner as Itachi-kun he is still a very impressive Shinobi.

"All those speed exercises I have you do, he helped me design. All those Genin speed records at the Hokage Tower have his name at the top. I genuinely wonder whether he's actually quicker than I am now." That got a reaction out of the three of them.

"If you want to be the best, then it's those three whose achievements you have to surpass. In modern times, they are the standard setters for just what a Genin team can accomplish. I also wouldn't be surprised if one day, they're spoken off in a similar light to the Sannin."

"They were that good?" Tenten asked in slight disbelief, she held Tsunade above all others and found it difficult to accept there might be others who were as good as she was at the same age. Gai nodded in answer to her question. "As you know the next Chūnin Exams are only a few months away, I highly recommend you visit the library and watch the tapes of their matches in Kumogakure. That will give you a better idea of what they, at ten years old, were capable of."

Sakura cast a quick glance over her shoulder, "Okay, they can't see us anymore," she informed Tri. "You saw it too, didn't you?" she asked, "Yeah. It was hard to miss."
"How could Gai-san have let it get so bad?"
"I fear it's because he simply hasn't noticed Sakura-chan. For all his ability he is liable to miss the obvious at times. Out of all four of them, only Tenten is focused on acting as if she's a part of a team."

Sakura nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Lee-san is solely focused on proving himself against Neji-san which only antagonises the Hyūga. Gai-san is too busy trying to support Lee-san, which some may say is admirable, but they forget, it's mandatory. As their Sensei he should be supporting all of them, equally. And as for Neji-san, well, he just strikes me as utterly self-centred."

"Well analysed Sakura-chan," he commended, "But I think Neji-san has a major chip on his shoulder too," Tri added. "What do you mean?"
"He doesn't think much of clans, I spotted it as soon as Gai-sensei mentioned I was heir to the Uzumaki clan."
"Branch family?"
"I believe so, he covers his forehead and that's where the seal goes."

Tri felt no small measure of pride at how well she has picked apart the problems and their causes. But then, it shouldn't come as a surprise. Sakura knew what a good Jōnin sensei looked and acted like. She'd lucked out and been assigned to the very best in the village. Five Genin teams, fifteen Genin promoted to Chūnin within two years, a perfect record.

-(*)-

"Did you tell your parents about it?" a scandalised Hana asked. She, like the other members of Naruto's tea,m knew of Rezano's troubles with morons, but to see morons act in so brazen a fashion was truly gobsmacking. They could only shake their heads in fierce disapproval as Naruto regaled them the tale of what had happened just a few hours earlier.

They were appalled, but not surprised; not anymore.

"Yeah, I told them, Kaa-chan was livid as you might expect. Like. Properly. Ready to kill someone. Angry. I think I warned the two of them about the wrong family member. Sure, Tri-kun would put them in hospital but Kaa-chan might put them in the ground.

"It would be no one's fault but theirs. To even refer to an S-Rank secret in public is unbelievably stupid, but to earn the ire of Uzumaki Kushina by insulting one of her children is outright suicidal," Suzushii said. "I won't argue with that," Naruto sighed before leaning his head back and pouring the remains of his cup of Sake into his mouth.

"How's Rezano-san holding up?" Shinsuke asked him. "He was a little down for a while but Minusha-chan, the angel, was able to cheer him up."
"That's good to hear," Hana said. Naruto's time with the family was done for today. He would spend the rest of the evening with friends. The next few hours would be spent working their way through a few bottles of Sake between them.

Naruto didn't even really like drinking alcohol all that much, in particular, the stronger stuff but it was a festival so he loosened up a little. It wasn't so much the taste, he actually quite like the warmth the liquid provided when it travelled down his throat; he just hated being drunk.

Like, really hated it. He had been drunk once his entire and that provided sufficient experience. It was the hangover the morning after that got him, never again he'd sworn.

"They know about it now, so I expect it'll be dealt with before long," he said bringing the matter to an end as he refilled his small porcelain cup. That small cup, with no more than 15ml of Sake, would probably last him about half an hour. He sipped at it, as opposed to Tsunade's 'down in one go' approach.

"Have you seen Tri-san at all, Naruto?" Shinsuke inquired before a silence descended on them. The Blonde shook his head, "No, not since he left late this morning to collect Sakura-san. I take it then, that you have?"
"Oh, we have indeed. He and the pretty lady he's with seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly."
"I trust you left them both be?" Naruto asked, his voice carrying a firm undertone. Shinsuke raised his hands up in mock surrender, "Yes, yes. We left them be. And speaking of pretty ladies."

Naruto was about to ask what he was on about but he noticed Shinsuke's eyes looking past him. Then he felt the lithe arms snake around his neck as someone leaned heavily on his back.

'Trenchcoat? Check. Hitai-ate on the forehead? Check. Belt Buckle just above the waist? Check. Yep, that's Anko.'

"Hello Anko-chan," Naruto said in as monotone a voice as possible, his head never turning. "Oh, you're no fun. You always know it's me and stop with the chan honorific, I'm not your sister," the Tokubetsu Jōnin moped.

"It's too obvious it's you Anko," he explained. "Oh yeah, how?" she challenged, Naruto smirked. "Because Anko-chan." *She growled in his ear*, "You are the only busty Kunoichi I know who makes a habit of trying to rest her boobs as far up my back as possible."

"Oh hush, you know you like it," she retorted before turning her head slightly and whispering, "Damn."
"Well, I'd be lying if I said otherwise."

The back and forth was just another instalment in the unspoken game played between Naruto and Anko over the past two years. The general idea was Anko would attempt to make Naruto blush, by almost any means necessary. There was only one rule; words only.

So far, two years down the line, Naruto was the unquestionable leader, his unspoken of Jūnishi training meant he hadn't blushed once, much to Anko's frustration. It definitely wasn't for a lack of effort on her part, at times she'd pushed him close with comments, suggestions and descriptions that almost defied belief.

On more than one occasion she had, in excruciating detail, described all the sexual acts she'd let Naruto do to her if he'd just blush. But he'd held out, not because he wanted to win their little game but because he was concerned she'd actually drag him to her bed and have him do just that if he did, and as fun as that would be, his affections were very much focused elsewhere.

Seeing she was going to get no blush again today, she did the one thing that was guaranteed to get a reaction out of him. It might not be a blush but it was something, she lightly bit his earlobe. "Gah! I wish you'd stop doing that, Anko," he grumbled as he jerked his head to the side, out of range of her teeth.

"You only have to blush once, then I'll stop doing it," she grinned. "And that ain't going to happen because you won't be satisfied with one blush, you'll soon want a second, then a third and..." She cut him off, "…And then you'll finally give in and have your wicked way with me," she said in a mock-dreamy voice, a voice that someone only used when their imagination was running wild.

Someone did blush at that last comment, unfortunately for Anko it was Hana, even Suzushii had a light red tinge while Shinsuke just watched on with a ridiculously wide grin, he loved watching the two of them trade verbal blows.

"You are unbelievable," Naruto shook his head. "I know darling," Anko sighed, leaning on him a little more, "That's what they all say."

They collectively burst into a fit of amused chuckles.

"Why don't you join us Anko?" Naruto invited after they'd all calmed down. "Uh, sure, but only if you buy me Dango afterwards," she countered. Naruto snorted, "Alright, I'll buy you Dango later," he agreed, sliding over to one side of the small bench he was sat on.

She sat down next to him, "Thanks," she said as Suzushii offered her a filled cup. She gladly accepted it, she then raised it slightly, "Cheers," she said, the rest quickly followed suit.

-(*)-

The hours passed by and afternoon passed into early evening as the opening day of the Natsu festival began to wind down. The majority of the assembled crowds would return tomorrow, but for now were heading home, Tri and Sakura among them.

After finding somewhere to eat they'd spent the following hours wandering wherever the flow took them, partaking in anything that took their interest.

But, it eventually came time to call it a night and they were currently in the midst of returning Sakura home. The young pink-haired woman once again had her arms wrapped around his and wearily rested her head against his upper arm as they slowly strolled back through the village.

"Did you have fun?" he asked. Lifting her head from his arm she answered with a smile, "Absolutely. Thank you." She squeezed his arm again as she spoke. "Thank you seems to have become the phrase of the day," he pointed out. "I had noticed," she said with a light-hearted giggle, "But I'd say it's justified."
"I suppose you're right there."

"Did you enjoy today?" she asked in return. His apprehensiveness leading up to today meant her voice carried a tentative edge. "D'ya know, I did, I really did." The neutral expression on her face morphed into a beaming smile. "I'm glad," she quietly said, snuggling her head back into his arm as they turned the corner onto Sakura's street.

The final few moments of walking passed in silence, they soon came to a halt at the base of the stairs that lead up to the Haruno household and Sakura let go of his arm. "And that my lady, is you, safely escorted home," he joked.

"And this lady thanks you for your escort," she replied before stepping forward to give him a brief but strong hug. "I hope you don't mind if I ask you to take me to a festival again," she said stepping back.

"Not at all, actually I-I'm kinda hoping you do." The beaming smile returned. He was unsure why but Sakura quickly looked over her shoulder up the stairs. He immediately did find out though when she leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. She gave him another big grin before shooting up the steps.

She only remembered she hadn't said goodbye until she was halfway up. Coming to a halt and spinning on the spot she gave him a wave, he waved back. He waited until she had shut the door behind her before departing

"I'm home," Sakura called out across the house as she shut the door behind her. "In the dining room," she heard her father call back.

"Hi sweetie," her mother greeted her as she walked into the small dining room, like the majority of the house it was a little cramped, and while the rectangular table could seat six, the room's size meant that only four could realistically sit at the table without feeling like they're being squeezed in. Luckily for Sakura, neither of her parents had taken the seat closest to the arch that led into the room so she didn't have to squeeze past either of them.

"Hi," she greeted both parents as she pulled out the chair and sat. "Have fun?" Kizashi asked. She eagerly nodded as she took the storage scrolls Tri had kindly gifted her out from a pouch built into the inside lining of her outfit.

"Uh-huh, got lots of new additions." Her parents knew the scrolls, therefore, contained cuddly animals, they'd made it into a game when she was younger, the better she got a throwing shuriken and kunai the more cuddly animals she'd win when the festivals came round. They didn't need to know that Tri had won all of today's.

She then began to recount the events of the day.

"Sounds like you'll have nothing new to do with us tomorrow," Kizashi joked, "You've already done everything by the sounds of it."
"Tou-san!" she pouted, "I'm remembered to leave enough for tomorrow."
"Oh! I almost forgot. Tsunade-sama approached me today to invite me to a one on one meeting."
"Goodness, whatever for?" Mebuki asked. "She wants to discuss a training program for me to become a combat medic. Well, we think it's a combat medic."
"By 'we', you mean you and Tsunade-sama?" her mother asked. "No, me and Tri-kun. It's his doing to begin with. He knew I took an interest in Medical Ninjutsu and human biology so he suggested me to Tsunade-sama. The meetings on Monday."

Despite her best attempts, Mebuki was struggling to be annoyed at Tri on this, he'd only suggested her name, Tsunade had done the rest. "Well, I hope it goes well, sweetheart."
"Thank you, Kaa-chan. Have you eaten?"
"Yes, yours is in the oven, you just need to warm it up."
"Great," she chirped before darting for the kitchen.
"Are you still convinced Tri-san doesn't have her best interests at heart?" Kizashi asked somewhat smugly, she gave him a stern look but he just laughed it off.

-(*)-

Tri had reached home and after an hour or two with the family downstairs had retired to his room. He sat on the end of his bed and opened the storage scroll and withdrew the contents, a single dog teddy.

It wasn't very big and compared to some of the others he'd won earlier that day was rather simple in design. The dog was sat on its' hind legs and had a white ribbon around its neck. The one Sakura had was identical except for the medallion attached to the ribbon, each dog had half the medallion and when brought together you could clasp the two halves into one.

He stood from his bed and made room for the small dog on the end of a low hanging shelf where it would be easily noticeable. He didn't really know why she'd given it to him, but it was hers to give so had accepted it.

"Yo," a voice said from his doorway. Turning his head found Naruto leaning against the door-frame, he had a slightly flushed look to his face. "Been drinking?" Tri smirked. "A little, how else does one deal with Anko's ceaseless double entendres."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me, and calling them double entendres is an understatement."
"I guess. There was one she mentioned today that I didn't understand."

"Was it, by chance, the one with the snake, the log and the jar of honey?" Tri guessed. "Yeah… How did you know?"
"Because I made the mistake of asking her to explain it and it ranks up there as one of the gravest mistakes I've ever made. Trust me, you don't wanna know."
"If it were anyone else, I'd question how bad it could be. But given its Anko, I'll take your word for it."

Naruto cleared his throat, "Tou-san told me about the trail they found in the capital." Tri only acknowledged that he'd heard him. "How far are you willing to go over this?"
"I want them dead, Naruto. Nothing else will satisfy me."

Somewhere far away, a short weasel of a man suddenly shuddered. He didn't know why, there was no one else in the room with him so he shrugged it off and went back to counting the substantial amount of money on the table in front of him.

It was with the fortune before him that he would tighten his stranglehold around a small, often unheard of island just off the coast of Hi no Kuni.

---

End Chapter

As you may have been able to tell, the next chapter sees the start of the Wave Arc, there will be a time skip of five/ six months between now and the next chapter.

[1] – Momoiro is Japanese for pink.