Chapter Forty Nine:

Preparations for Departure...

The Last Minute Plans.

"What the hell do you mean I'm going to be gone for three years, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto yelled at his perverted sensei as he tries to get a handle on the new mission given to him.

"What's there to explain, I'm taking you away from Konoha for three years to properly train you, idiot?" Jiraiya asked.

"Why the hell do I got to leave Konoha? I got too many things going on to leave right now." Naruto replied.

"That doesn't matter; this is your first priority Naruto," Tsunade interrupted.

"But Tsunade-nee-chan, I'm just getting to know Akina-chan, and there's Hinata-chan, and everyone else. Why the hell do I got to leave?" Naruto asked.

"Because the Akatsuki aren't after Hinata or any of the others, the Kyuubi might be gone, but that still won't stop them from pursuing you," Tsunade told the boy.

"I don't want to leave now," Naruto told the Hokage.

"At this point, it doesn't matter what you want," Jiraiya told the boy. "You must do what's best for you, for Konoha, and for everyone you care about. You can't protect anyone from the Akatsuki with the way you are now,"

"But why can't I train here?" Naruto asked almost desperately.

"That's because of your distractions. As you said you just found out you have a sister, you have a girlfriend; you have all kinds of things here to distract you. You can't get stronger this way, you're not the type of person who's good at concentration with all these things around you," Jiraiya told the boy.

"But... I don't want to leave. I don't want to go out by myself and leave everyone for that length of time. Why can't... Can't I at least take someone with me? What about Sasuke, he's has as much claim to fighting Itachi as I do," Naruto asked.

"Sasuke has his team and things he needs to do here, we can't take him with us," Jiraiya told Naruto.

"I'm willing to go. I'll train as hard as you want me to. I want to kill Itachi with my own hands," Sasuke interrupted.

"No, Sasuke, you still have to prove yourself within the village, before you can leave it again. I put you in a team because you're needed; you're a genin still and will remain that way until you pass the chuunin exam. This mission is for Naruto personally," Tsunade told the raven-haired boy.

"Well than, what about Hinata-chan, she's a medic-nin and everything, she can come with me," Naruto asked as he looked over at the girl and smiled.

"No! Hinata's got more training to do, and I need her help at the hospital." Tsunade told Naruto point blank.

"Naruto, Stop being so selfish!" Jiraiya said in a firm, hard voice that made Naruto look down at the ground. "We're leaving tomorrow and that's final,"

"No... I'm not going," Naruto said quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear. They all looked over at the blonde in shock.

"You don't have a say in the matter," Jiraiya reiterated.

"I'm not going!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, this is an order, you will go and that's final!" Tsunade yelled at the boy.

"No I'm not leaving just like that!" Naruto shouted. His face started to turn red; his eyes showed a fierce anger burning.

"Naruto... you have to go. This is for the best of everyone," Tsunade said in a calm voice, as she tried her hand at rationalizing with the boy. "But expecting you to just up and leave like this isn't fair. I'll give you the rest of the day and all of tomorrow, but after that, you must go," Tsunade told the boy. "Take that time to spend time with everyone and say your good-byes. This meeting is adjourned," Tsunade said a loud and then turned and walked away not giving Naruto a chance to reply.

"Naruto... this really is for the best. I know it's hard, but I promise you'll come back so much stronger. I'll train you the way you've always wanted to be trained. I promise," Jiraiya thought to himself and then disappeared out of sight. Many of the people attending started to leave. Naruto stood still very quiet. His body began to shake as he struggled hard to contain his tears. Hinata, Akina, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, and in the background Gaara all stayed behind. They all stayed where they were and didn't move for a while. Everyone was afraid to move in case Naruto snapped. But finally Hinata did the only thing she could; almost instinctively she hugged her love tightly as they collapsed to the ground. Naruto let out his tears and everyone in the roomed relaxed. Gaara took this time to disappear in a gust of sand; his almost looked as desperate as Naruto's was.

"Naruto-kun, it'll be alright. Three years isn't that long of a time," Hinata said trying hard to comfort him.

"I... I don't want to leave. I'm finally happy... I have everyone I could possibly want... so why now do I have to leave," Naruto said between tears.

"I understand how you feel. But I understand the Fifth and Jiraiya-sama as well," Sasuke told the boy. Neji nodded in agreement.

"That's why you have to go Naruto. You're happier than you've ever been. So to keep that happiness, you have to go and get stronger. You have to do it for everyone here, who cares about you, and who you care about," Neji told his friend.

"I understand that... but... Akina-chan's been alone for so long. I don't want to leave her. Hinata-chan and I are finally together, we're happy and I love just waking up in the morning because I know she'll be there. I got my brother back. I brought him back from the edge of hell and now he and Sakura-chan can finally be happy. I've got it all now... how can I possibly give it all up so easily..." Naruto said still shaken, overcome with emotion.

"You're not giving it up. You're protecting it. It's true I've been alone for a long time, but you've been alone far longer than I have," Akina said to her brother. "I can wait for your return. I'm patient unlike you, while you're gone I'm going to get stronger and prove my worth as a ninja of Konoha. You don't have to worry about me, because of you, I'm no longer alone. I've got a team, friends, and people I'll be able to call family just like you," Akina said giving her brother a hug as she allowed tears to fall from her face as well.

"Naruto-kun, being with you is like a dream come true. But like Akina said, you're not leaving us forever. We'll be thinking about you the whole time. We know you'll return to us. You'll be stronger and better able to protect everyone. You don't have to worry about me. I'd wait for you for three years or three hundred years. I'd wait for you to return to me forever if I had to. I love you more than anything in this world, and nothing will break that. So you go and get stronger and then come back to me, I'll be patiently awaiting that day with open arms, and a smile ready to welcome you home with," Hinata told him with a blush on her face. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Akina and Hinata slowly helped him back to his feet.

"Naruto... it's true. You brought me back from hell and you never gave up on me. When everyone else had given up on me, you and Sakura stayed true. I did terrible things but you didn't care. I tried to kill you and you still call me a brother. I owe you my life, my sanity, and all of my happiness. I'm both proud and honored to be your brother," Sasuke said with one of his rare true smiles. He shocked everyone briefly when he grabbed Naruto and hugged him. Naruto was shocked as well. "Sorry... a hand shake wouldn't have worked as well with this situation," Sasuke said now with his typical smirk. When Sasuke had finished Sakura reached over and grabbed Naruto in a hug as well. Then she kissed him on his cheek.

"You're an idiot sometimes, but you know what, I really love you," Sakura told the boy. "After all the mean things I said to you, I can't believe you could still care about me. You risked your life for me on many occasions, and even though you cared deeply about me you still promised to bring Sasuke-kun back to me, even at the cost of your own feelings. I owe you all of my happiness Naruto and I can't thank you enough," Sakura said releasing the boy from the embrace.

"You guys... thank you so much. I promise, I'll get stronger, I'll come back strong enough to protect everyone, and I will claim the title of Hokage for myself. I won't break my promises and I'll never take back my words. That's definitely my way of the ninja," Naruto said with a determined look on his face.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this... but let's go get some ramen," Sasuke said to everyone's surprise.

"Alright, but it's your treat," Naruto said.

"Hell no, I don't have that kind of money," Sasuke replied.

"Then you shouldn't have mentioned it," Naruto said almost pouting. Then group quickly exited the building and traveled towards Ichiraku.

"Naruto, Tenten and I are leaving for now, we have plans. I hope you don't mind," Neji said causing the group to stop outside of the ramen stand.

"Sure, don't worry about it. I'll catch you later and maybe we'll hang out a bit tomorrow," Naruto told his friend. "You two just go and have fun," Naruto said with a sly smile on his face. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do,"

"Don't worry, that won't be a problem," Neji said with a smirk as Tenten grabbed a hold of his arm and started to walk off.

"See you later Naruto-kun," Tenten said as she and Neji left the group. The group then entered the ramen stand, and sat down. After placing their orders and having a fun conversation throughout their meal, the group paid and left. Sasuke and Sakura decided it was their turn to leave.

"Naruto, we're going to get going. Sasuke-kun and I are going to walk around for a while and then I need to head over to the hospital as well. My training is getting a lot better and I expect to be working the hospital a lot more pretty soon," Sakura told the boy.

"Alright, see you guys later. Bye Sasuke, Sakura-chan," Naruto said waving at the two as they walked off. Naruto then turned to Hinata and Akina. "So what do you guys want to do now?" Naruto asked.

"Actually Naruto-kun, I think it'd be best if you and Akina spent the rest of the day together. I have to go to the hospital as well and check up on a few people. I may be a while. I'm sorry; I should have said something sooner," Hinata told Naruto.

"Well don't worry about it Hinata-chan. You take care of your business. We'll see you later. I think maybe tomorrow I'll take you out on one last date before my big trip, how does that sound?" Naruto asked.

"That's great, I'd love that," Hinata replied. "Well then, I must be going now," Hinata said.

"Later Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled waving at the girl as she walked off leaving the two siblings alone.

"So now what Naruto?" Akina asked. Naruto simply shrugged.

"I don't know. Is there anything you want to do?" Naruto asked.

"I wouldn't mind walking around Konoha more," Akina told her brother.

"That's sounds good to me. Hinata-chan and I do that all the time," Naruto replied as the two headed off on their walk around the village. Not too long into the walk they were stopped by the appearance of the bug using chuunin, Shino.

"What's up Shino?" Naruto asked looking at the tall bug user.

"Naruto, I just wanted to bid you good luck and farewell on your mission," Shino said extending his hand to Naruto, which the blonde gladly accepted. "I'll be away on a mission tomorrow and won't be back to see you off, so I wanted to speak to and wish you good luck while I had the chance,"

"I see, well thanks Shino," Naruto replied.

"No problem, train hard, and do Konoha proud. I wouldn't mind facing you when you return, so you might want to prepare yourself," Shino told the boy.

"You got it! I'm going to work hard and come back super strong, so I think you'll have to be the one to prepare yourself," Naruto said with a grin. Shino than gave Naruto a nod and walked away.

"Well you're definitely a lot happier than earlier aren't you?" Akina asked.

"Yes, my moods change quickly especially after I have a nice bowl or two of ramen," Naruto replied.

"Yes, a bowl or two or thirty. Seriously bro, where do you put it all?" Akina asked.

"I don't know I've been like that for as long as I could remember," Naruto said shrugging his shoulders.

"Naruto-kun, Akina-chan, wait up!" Ino shouted as she and Chouji ran up to the siblings.

"What are you guys up to Ino-chan, Chouji?" Naruto asked.

"We're on a date of course," Ino said bluntly.

"We saw you two and decided to say hello," Chouji added. "So what are you two doing?" Chouji asked.

"I'm just taking Akina-chan around the village a bit," Naruto replied to Chouji.

"So, Akina-chan, how do you like the village so far?" Ino asked.

"Why must everyone call me Akina-chan?" Akina sighed. "I like the village very much actually. It's very beautiful and much different than Hidden Cloud. I'm very happy Tsunade-sama allowed me to stay here," Akina answered.

"Akina-chan, you might want to get use to calling her Tsunade-nee-chan, because if she heard you talking so formally she'd probably start lecturing you, and that will get tiresome eventually. So just call her Tsunade-nee-chan and save yourself the trouble," Naruto told the girl.

"Right... That's going to take some time getting use to," Akina replied.

"Well anyway, we're going to go. Naruto make sure you take Hinata-chan out before you leave," Ino told her former teammate.

"You bet I am, I'm going try and give her a super cool date," Naruto said.

"Good, if you need any help planning come see me at the flower shop tomorrow," Ino told him.

"I'll do that, thanks Ino-chan," Naruto replied.

"Well see you later, bye," Ino said dragging Chouji along with her.

"Well shall we continue Akina-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Sure, let's go," Akina said following her brother around the village.

"Yo Naruto!" Kiba yelled from a distance getting the two sibling's attention as he and Rock Lee approached.

"Hello there, Naruto-kun, Akina-san," Lee said starting at Akina.

"Hey there dog boy, fuzzy brows, it's weird to see you two together, what are you guys doing?" Naruto asked.

"Well we're going to train our taijutsu, and to see whose better," Kiba told the blond. "I mean I know I'm better, but what better way too prove it than to defeat fuzzy brows," Kiba said.

"Kiba-kun, I'm afraid you will not defeat me, for my youthful spirit burns brighter and the passion flows greater than the mightiest river," Lee told the boy giving him his nice guy pose. "But more importantly, I've witness a beauty that is greater than the sunset on a cool autumn day," Lee said turning his attention to Akina. "Akina-san... Love!" Lee said immediately at that word Akina had a shiver go up and down her spine. "Akina-san, please do me the honor of going out with me. I swear I'll protect you until I die," Lee said giving her his nice guy pose. Kiba immediately interrupted by slapping the bowl haired teen on the back.

"No way fuzzy brows, you're too creepy, she'd much rather go out with a great guy like myself," Kiba said laughing.

"No..." Akina said flatly interrupting the two. "I hate dogs, and I don't like thick creepy eyebrows," Akina said harshly causing the two boy's faces to falter. Naruto stood by at first ready to vomit and now he could contain his laughter.

"Thank god she has taste. If she and fuzzy brows got together I think I'd be sick, and well Kiba is... Well he stinks," Naruto thought to himself.

"Thanks anyway, but Naruto and I must be on our way," Akina said, quickly grabbing Naruto by the arm and taking off like a bat out of hell.

"Lee... I think we were just totally rejected," Kiba said a loud.

"Indeed we were Kiba-kun..." Lee said both boys still looking depressed, as their spirits were seen leaving their bodies.

"Naruto, what the hell was that about?" Akina asked as she finally stopped running several minutes later when she was sure she was safe from the dog ninja and Konoha's green freak.

"Well... Kiba is Kiba and fuzzy brows... well... enough said," Naruto replied not quite knowing what to say.

"I think I've had enough for today," Akina said. "I might have nightmares for the rest of my life now," Akina said this comment had Naruto on the ground laughing.

"Oh that's, great, I can't wait to tease those two later," Naruto said after he finally stopped laughing, fifteen minutes later. "Well alright, let's go home. I want to get some rest so I can train and do a bunch of things tomorrow before my big date with Hinata-chan," Naruto said as the two started for home.