Alright guys, really really sorry for the late update. My big bro just returned from the UK on 3rd July and I was really busy. We have been going out non-stop and I had college, so it was really busy and shit, haha.

Anyways, here is the new chapter. Next chapter, "Tsunade, the 5th Hokage!"

CHAPTER 38: INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TEAM SEVEN

A week have already passed and with the invasion of Konoha now finally over, peace was once again restored in the great village. However, the inhabitants of the village have no time to rest as they have to continue with the reconstruction of Konoha. The first three days, the ninjas helped by carrying lumber, helped repair damages around the village and constructing the great gates of Konoha but now, the ninjas were all busy now with missions.

After all, the village gets it's income primarily from the missions that they receive from other smaller countries for help. There are so many missions that some of the lesser missions were rejected by the administrators. Now, most of the Jounin will be busy being assigned with missions and even the ANBU black opt will be receiving high rank missions with high pay. Konoha will need all that high amount of money to restore back to it's former glory.

In the Haruno household, Maki was awakened by a knock on his door. Maki groaned as he raised himself off the bed, scratching his long pink hair on the way to the door. Maki looked outside the window and he knew that it should be approximately around seven in the morning. Maki opened the door and it was Suyuki.

"What is it?" Maki asked, covering his mouth as he yawned.

"You should get up," Suyuki said, "It's already seven twenty in the morning, most unlike you. Don't you have to report to the Hokage or something?"

Maki smacked his lips, "I've been busy last night, alright? I had to repair so many stuff and I'm tired… Can't I just sleep in for the day?"

Suyuki glared angrily at Maki, "Even Sakura is already prepared for the day. She has to meet up with her team at the Hokage tower in a few minutes and you should meet up with your own team too!"

Now that caught Maki's attention. Maki rubbed his face, trying to erase the sleepiness, "She is? Sakura shouldn't have any missions. Most of the missions assigned are reserved to ANBU forces."

Suyuki shrugged and started to walk away, "Well, then go ask her. She's eating breakfast right now and will be leaving to meet up with her team soon."

Maki slammed his door shut and quickly started running around his room in search of his clothes. It is true that he has to meet up with his team in precisely ten minutes but Maki wanted to let them wait and he'll get there fifteen minutes later. It looks like it was going to be a change of plans.

Maki found his Jounin vest but could not find his regular black shirt. So instead, Maki just took a simple white tank top and wore the Jounin vest on it, thus making Maki look like he was not wearing anything but his vest. Maki packed three custom kunai's into his back pouch and then left his room to have a quick breakfast.

When Maki reached the dining room, Sakura was just about finished eating her breakfast. Sakura looked up and simply nodded to greet her uncle since her mouth was full. Maki took a bowl, poured cereal and milk and started to eat his breakfast at record speed. It could be said that Maki ate at the speed Naruto would eat his ramen when he was hungry. When Sakura was finished, Maki finished at the same time.

"You sure can eat fast, uncle Maki." Sakura commented.

Maki grinned, "What's this I hear about you going to meet up with your team?"

Sakura nodded as she reached the door, "I'm not so sure myself. Asuma-sensei just told me yesterday that the Hokage wanted to meet up with our team."

"On a mission?"

Sakura shook her head, "I don't think so. Asuma-sensei said it was nothing about a mission, something more of an announcement."

Maki stepped into his sandals and opened the door with Sakura following him out. Maki rubbed Sakura's head, "Well, you can tell me what happened later."

Sakura nodded and started making her way towards the Hokage tower while Maki started to walk to the hot springs where his team should be there. Or at least what was left of his team. Maki heard from Ino that she might stop being a ninja and become a herb specialist. Of course Maki supported her decision but what will become of team seven with only two boys? It will not be a team with just a Jounin and two Gennin. This could lead team seven to disbandment.

As Maki jumped from rooftop to rooftop, Maki saw that down below in the streets that the villagers were still busy with the repairs. Maki predicted that it will take another week or so before Konoha will be restored. Also, the walls of Konoha were badly damaged and the ninjas were in charge of repairing that. It would be so much more difficult to patrol around Konoha until the walls were repaired.

Maki finally reached his destination and he found his two students were already there but to say Maki was surprised would be an understatement. Maki had expected that by now, Sasuke and Naruto would be locked into another argument but here there they were, both peeking at the hot springs through a peep hole. Maki's jaw dropped at the sight, because the Uchiha was actually doing something that Jiraiya would have been proud of.

Naruto and Sasuke were so engrossed in what they were doing that they never sensed the Jounin's arrival. Naruto and Sasuke were blushing deep red and they were making no attempts to stop. Naruto was practically drooling and Sasuke was trembling a little. Maki popped a vein and stood right between the two, clearing his throat.

"What do you think you guys are doing?!" Maki yelled.

Both Sasuke and Naruto jumped and turned around immediately. The two Gennin's faces were flushed red and even if Maki had never caught them, it was pretty obvious that they had either thought or saw some indecent stuff. Maki looked at Naruto and then at Sasuke. Both were still blushing furiously.

"Maki-sensei, we can explain…" Naruto began.

Maki held up his hand, "No need. It's pretty obvious what you two were doing."

"Well, it's not like we're the only one's doing it," Sasuke said softly, "I mean, I heard other ninjas peep sometimes."

Maki blushed upon hearing that and unfortunately, it did not go unnoticed by his two students.

"You do too, Maki-sensei?" Sasuke questioned, smirking.

"That is not the point!" Maki said, still blushing but his words were ignored as Naruto and Sasuke burst out laughing. It was pretty hard to imagine their teacher, whom was extremely strict in these sort of matters was actually one of them. The only thing that Maki was not good at was discipline, which Naruto lacked as well.

Maki sighed, defeated, "Are you guys done laughing now?"

Naruto wiped a tear, "Ye-yeah, we are, Maki-sensei."

Sasuke was serious once again, a sudden change in attitude, "So, what are we supposed to do today, Maki-sensei?"

"And where the heck is Ino?!" Naruto asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"One at a time guys," Maki said, looking at Naruto, "To answer your question, Ino will not be attending today's meeting. As a matter of fact, she might stop being a part of team seven."

The news shocked the two boys, "What?!"

Maki nodded and continued, "She might be following her ambitions to become a herb specialist but even I'm not sure yet. We'll just have to wait for a few days maybe to have our answer."

"But," Sasuke interjected, "Wouldn't that disband team seven?"

Maki took a deep breath, "Yes, it is a possibility. If that were to happen, there are two possible scenarios. One, the two of you will be put into a different team, or maybe even wait for next year academy's batch. In the second scenario, we three will continue to go on missions as part of team seven but the chances of that are quite low."

"That sucks…" Naruto complained. Sasuke was silent but it was obvious that he did not like how things might end up.

"Look," Maki started, "Let's not worry about this for now. What say we head to the training grounds and…"

However, Maki was interrupted when a puff of smoke appeared right by Maki's side. Both Gennins were startled but did not react like a normal civilian would. Being a ninja, their senses and reactions were better. Maki was calm and looked at the ANBU kneeling next to him. The ANBU was wearing a boar's mask.

"Maki-san, you and your team are requested to go to the Hokage's tower right now."

Maki raised an eyebrow, "I was not told of this."

The ANBU ninja bowed his head, "They have just informed me to tell you this. They are waiting for your team at the Hokage's room."

"Any idea what it is regarding?"

The ANBU ninja shook his head, "I was only told to tell your team to head to the Hokage's tower."

Maki nodded and the ANBU ninja disappeared once more. It looks like something important is going down. Maki looked at his two students.

"You heard the man…"

"I'll race ya!" Naruto challenged Sasuke.

"You're on, idiot."

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It was a busy day in the Hokage's tower. Well, almost everyday was a busy day in this building but today was much more busy than usual. Villagers were rushing in and out to report about damaged buildings or buildings that were repaired. The administration staff were all busy running here and there to writing down reports.

Shizune, the assistant of the 'Slug Sannin' was also there, trying to help sort out all the different documents. Ever since following her master, Shizune has never been so busy in her life. In a way, it was sort of a relief to finally get away from dealing with those loan sharks. Whenever the loan sharks found Tsunade, Tsunade would find an excuse and if not, Tsunade would use her temper to scare them.

Inside the Hokage's room, several ninjas were present. On the seat of the Hokage was the 'Slug Sannin' herself and there were two ANBU ninja's behind her as guards, although she didn't actually need them since she was capable of taking care of herself. In front of her was the newly appointed ninja that the feudal lords saw fit to appoint to Chuunin and behind him were his team mates.

"So I'm a Chuunin now?" Shikamaru asked without a slight hint of interest.

"Yeah, and you should be a little enthusiastic about it. You were the only Gennin that was selected to be promoted." Tsunade told Shikamaru but the young Nara was obviously not paying attention.

"Chuunin?" Shikamaru repeated, "That means more responsibility right? Man, this is going to be troublesome."

Tsunade popped a vein on her forehead and was clearly trying to hold her temper, "You little brat…"

Sakura was surprised that Shikamaru had actually been promoted to Chuunin level. It's not because Shikamaru was weak but Sakura thought that with the invasion and everything, she thought the results in the Chuunin exams did not really matter as they had more important duties to fulfil. It looks like Sakura was wrong.

Asuma, noticing Tsunade's killing intent rising quickly stepped forward, "Tsunade-sama, please calm down…"

Tsunade looked at the Jounin and immediately saw a resemblance, "You… You look familiar… Do I know you?"

Asuma, surprised by the change of topic, stuttered, "Huh? I.. Erm… I don't think so."

"What is your name?"

"Asuma Sarutobi."

"Sarutobi? Are you related to the third Hokage?" Tsunade asked.

Asuma scratched his head, laughing softly, "I'm his son."

The room was silent and the feeling was a bit awkward. After all, Asuma knew that Tsunade was the third's apprentice and for her to find out that he is the son of her master makes things a little more awkward.

"You're the son?" Tsunade asked in shock, "The last time I saw his son was when he was a baby. And here you are now, smoking!"

The students of team ten watched the whole conversation with interest. Shikamaru stepped back and was now standing between Chouji and Sakura. It looks like this might take a while, seeing that Tsunade was getting acquainted with Asuma. Chouji was not paying attention however, shoving potato chips into his mouth.

However, a knock on the door stopped Tsunade and Asuma from continuing with their conversation.

"Come in!" Tsunade barked.

The door opened and team seven entered the room. Naruto and Sasuke were still arguing. It seems that the two Gennin of team seven reached the Hokage tower at the same time. Maki sighed in total defeat and was surprised to find Tsunade sitting in the office, and she was looking back at his team with cold eyes.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, surprised to find Sakura here. That ended the argument between the blonde and the Uchiha.

"Naruto-kun." Sakura greeted back warmly, smiling at the blonde despite his rude entry. Shikamaru and Chouji stared at Naruto and Sasuke. Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead from the headache. Shikamaru was already currently having a bad day being promoted to a Chuunin and now this mess.

"What are…" Naruto started.

Tsunade finally lost it and smashed her table, breaking the table into pieces. The two ANBU guards behind her showed no reaction, not even flinching. The two Jounin's present showed no surprise as they have already known about Tsunade's temper. The Gennins, were however, shocked.

"Can all you kindly shut the hell up?!" Tsunade yelled, still clenching her fist that smashed the table.

"Just who the hell are you?" Naruto asked rudely. Maki quickly covered Naruto's mouth to shut him up but it was too late.

Tsunade had several vein's popped on her forehead and in a blink of an eye, Tsunade had already grabbed Naruto by the collar and smashing him on the wall, leaving a crack. The pain never even registered into Naruto's brain as Naruto stared into Tsunade's eyes.

"Listen brat," Tsunade spat out, "I'm having a bad day right now, and you blabbering your fat mouth is not helping. So, unless you want to live, I suggest you shut the hell up."

Despite that, Naruto showed no fear and was about to speak up.

"Naruto," Maki said sternly, "You had better show respect this time! If Tsunade-sama attacks you, not even I will be able to stop her so please, just keep your mouth shut for once!"

Naruto had never seen Maki this angry before. Naruto looked back at Tsunade and she finally released Naruto. Naruto dropped on his butt, touching his collar. Naruto never even saw Tsunade move and he knew that this blonde woman must be really powerful. Sasuke pulled Naruto back up to his feet and all stood to attention.

"Now," Tsunade started once again, sitting on her chair, "I called all of you here because I have an announcement to make that concerns both team seven and team eight."

Sasuke raised his hand up, "Where's the Hokage?"

Tsunade glared at Sasuke and answered, "The Hokage is still wounded from the battle. I will be temporarily be the Hokage until the old man recovers."

"So, what'd you call us for?" Chouji asked with his mouth full.

"As you know, Shikamaru here has been promoted to Chuunin and…"

"What?!" Naruto burst out, "He's a Chuunin?"

Tsunade sighed, trying her best to hold her temper, "Yes, you brat now shut up!" Tsunade started again, "Because of Shikamaru's promotion, team ten will be imbalanced due to having a Jounin, Chuunin and two Gennin so the council have decided that one of the Gennin from team ten will be moved to team seven."

"Moved to team seven?" Sasuke inquired, "Our team is already full."

"You're wrong on that," Tsunade corrected, "Your other team mate, Yamanaka Ino, has quit team seven and is undergoing her training to become a trained herb specialist for Konoha."

"What?!" Naruto and Sasuke were shocked by the news. That explained why Ino had not been showing up for team meetings.

"Didn't your teacher tell you about this?" Tsunade questioned, and then looked at Maki.

Both Naruto and Sasuke turned to Maki, their eyes demanding an explanation. Maki sighed, "Well, I guess I didn't want to be the person to break the news to you guys but before you guys start yelling at me, this was Ino's choice. She wanted to follow her dreams and I didn't think we will be helping her if you guys pressured her to remain in the team."

Naruto could not contain his anger and was about to strike his own teacher but Sasuke stopped him, placing his right arm in front of Naruto to stop him. Naruto looked at Sasuke and the looks they shared told that what Maki said was true. Naruto looked down and bowed low, apologising.

"So," Asuma stepped in, "Who's moving to team seven?"

The ANBU ninja on Tsunade's right handed Tsunade a piece of paper. Tsunade took it and cleared her throat, "Haruno Sakura, you will be transferring from team eight to team seven."

The words took a few seconds for everyone to register into their heads and Naruto was the first one to move an inch. Naruto looked at Sakura and smiled, which turned into a wide grin. Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts, smiling. As for team ten, they just watched on. Finally, Shikamaru walked to Sakura, placing his hand on Sakura's left shoulder.

"It's been great having you as a team mate. Keep in touch." Shikamaru said and then stood next to Asuma.

Chouji also stepped forward, "I normally don't share, but here," Chouji took out a packet of potato chip and handed it to Sakura, "You're the second person that I share my food."

Sakura accepted it, hesitantly, "Right… Thanks, Chouji."

Chouji grinned and then stood next to his team. Sakura looked at her uncle and the two family members were smiling at one another. Maki's dream to have Sakura under him had finally come true. Sakura looked at the Sannin, wondering if what she heard was true. Tsunade simply shrugged but she did give a small smile.

"Team ten and seven, you're dismissed." Tsunade said, sighing.

Team ten walked out first, which was then followed by team seven. Tsunade looked down at her feet at the broken pieces of the table. Tsunade then remembered she had hidden a bottle of Sake earlier and quickly rummaged through the broken table. When she finally found it, the bottle was broken and the Sake was leaking on the floor.

Team seven could hear Tsunade's scream of anguish from where they were, which was precisely one floor below the Hokage's room. Naruto and Sakura were oblivious however, as the two chatted happily with the other. Naruto had never felt so happy in his life since he will now be in the same missions with Sakura.

"It's good to have you on our team, Sakura." Sasuke said as he walked on Sakura's left.

"Thanks," Sakura replied, "Let's all work hard together."

Naruto gave a thumb's up, "Believe it!"

Maki smirked, walking behind them now, "What say all of us head to training ground number seven to test out our team's abilities?"

All three Gennin of team seven turned back to look at their teacher. They had heard what he said and were considering it. Naruto looked at Sakura, and then at Sasuke. The two of them had the same look and Naruto smiled.

"Alright, let's go for it!"

Maki crossed his arms on his chest, "Alright then, you guys have got three minutes to get there or else…"

With that, Maki disappeared in a puff of smoke. All three Gennin were surprised, never noticing that it was actually a shadow clone. They concluded that Maki must have created a clone when he exited the Hokage's room since he was the first to walk out.

"Damn him!" Sasuke cursed as they started running down the hallway.

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Tsunade was walking through the silent corridors as she continued looking for the room that she was supposed to go to. After all, she have to check up on him every several hours to make sure that he still breathing. When finally Tsunade finally found his room, she entered and was not surprised to find a visitor there.

"Yo!" Jiraiya greeted, grinning.

"What brings you back here, pervert?" Tsunade replied tiredly as she inspected the equipment keeping the old Hokage alive.

"Is that how you greet an old team mate?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "It's because of you that I'm most likely going to be elected Hokage. I hate doing the paperwork and I can't gamble. This is such a pain in the ass."

Jiraiya chuckled, standing next to Tsunade now, "Oh come on, it's not that bad. It's better than moving from town to town gambling your life away. Now, at least you can settle down in your old village where you were raised."

"I guess you're right." Tsunade replied as she finished checking the equipment.

"How is he?" Jiraiya asked, concerned.

"He'll live," Tsunade answered, "And he can still fight but with his age, he definitely won't become Hokage again."

A moment of silence greeted them as the two Sannin watched their old teacher lying on the bed with all those tubes attached to his body. Although the poison was the one that nearly killed him, Sarutobi sustained multiple injuries throughout the fight and with his old body, it will take a much longer time to heal back completely.

"So, what brings you back here?" Tsunade asked without looking at Jiraiya.

"Have you met Naruto?"

Tsunade laughed softly, "That brat is one of the most annoying and noisiest kid I've ever met. He's definitely different from his father, who is calm…"

Jiraiya nodded, "He's got potential to be a great ninja."

"Answer my question." Tsunade insisted.

Jiraiya sighed, "It concerns the Akatsuki."

Tsunade turned to face her team mate, "You sure gather back a lot of information fast."

"Thanks for the compliment but the info I have found out is not much. It's just that a pair of them are in the fire country and I thought I should let you know to be careful."

Tsunade pursed her lips, "Will Naruto be safe with this… Maki?"

Jiraiya thought a moment before replying, "At the most, Maki can handle one member in a one-on-one situation but not two. But don't worry, if the Akatsuki are really after Naruto, Maki will summon me."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "I assume you convinced him to sign the toad contract?"

Jiraiya nodded, smiling. Tsunade shook her head. After all these years, Tsunade had never succeeded in convincing anyone to sign the slug contract with her, but then again, it was not as if she had actually bothered to do so. When Tsunade wanted to say something, she realised that Jiraiya was already gone.

"Stupid pervert." Tsunade mumbled, but smiled.

Despite her bad past in her home village, it was rather nostalgic to return here once more. A lot of things have changed the last time she was here. That had been years ago. Now, Konoha seemed to be much more bigger and Tsunade had never seen the fourth Hokage's face on the monuments. Tsunade then stared at her former sensei. He was so old and frail now, but it was a miracle that he was able to fight Orochimaru. If he was fifteen years younger, he could have easily defeated him, but now, Orochimaru was far stronger. Those were the days...

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Naruto dragged his tired body into his apartment, panting heavily as he did so. The training Maki gave today was the most intense since Naruto was part of team seven. They were all a minute late and Maki punished them by having them do chakra exercises and then after that, handing them each a scroll to continue on their training. But then again, they had actually enjoyed the training, especially Naruto. It was like spending time when Naruto and Sakura were being trained by Maki personally but Sasuke was there this time with them, which made it even more enjoyable.

But now, Naruto was dead tired and he dropped into his bed and instantly fell asleep. Naruto never even noticed Maki watching him from the outside, sitting on a rooftop. Next to the pink haired Jounin was an older man, with long white hair.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Maki asked the 'Toad Sannin.'

"Nothing important, but in precisely three days from now, Tsunade is going to be elected to be Hokage."

"Three days?" Maki asked, "But they have not even announced that to the village."

"They will tomorrow."

Maki groaned in despair, "Damn, then that means tomorrow is going to be a busy day!"