Hei guys, here's the new update. I apologise that I wrote in the previous chapter that this chapter would be titled "Training for the future." Unfortunately, that is reserved for the next chapter so I hope you will enjoy this chapter too. I hope you all will enjoy this and do drop a review =D
Next chapter, as I wrote, "Training for the future." The shippuden arc for this story is drawing near, yay!
CHAPTER 54: RECOVERY & DEPARTURE
It had been two days since the success of the mission on retrieving Sasuke that was abducted by the Sound four. Although Shikamaru and Naruto were one of the few that came back in good physical shape, they were still ordered to be checked up by medical ninjas. Shikamaru suffered from a broken finger in his fight but was fine in other areas. Naruto was told to remain in the hospital for another three days due to the anxious feelings from his fight with the Izaki ninja. Sasuke also was hospitalized for at least four to five days due to his injuries in his fight but it was also an excuse for the council to watch over Sasuke.
However, Sakura, Chouji and Kiba were the ones with injuries that were severe. Sakura had to be hospitalized for at least ten days due to chakra exhaustion. The pink haired girl had used too much chakra for her body to handle. Chouji would have to remain in the hospital in the same duration as Sakura due to his injuries to his head. The Inuzuka ninja however, would be forced to remain at least a month due to his severe wounds from being stabbed. Neji was also in critical condition and the Hokage's assistant, Shizune, was personally healing him with the help of several medic-nins.
Of course, the council were informed about Sasuke's kidnap and they immediately panicked, worried that their remaining Uchiha was gone. They were relieved when they were informed that he had been retrieved successfully and were surprised that the newly appointed Chuunin, Nara Shikamaru, was the leader of such a mission. They reprimanded the Hokage for sending such an inexperienced ninja to retrieve Sasuke. After a brief explanation however, they were highly impressed on how Shikamaru had done in such a short amount of time.
It was now nine in the morning of the second day since the mission. Although Maki and Kakashi were not injured in the mission, he was given a three day break for his troubles, ordered directly by the council members. It was a way the council gave thanks to them for rescuing their precious Uchiha.
On the streets of Konoha, Suyuki and Maki were on their way to the hospital to visit Sakura. Suyuki was worried sick when she heard that Sakura had gone on an emergency S-rank mission even after being assured that her uncle was with her. When they returned, Suyuki was relieved and also gave her brother-in law hell for taking her on such a high rank mission. However, deep down, she was also proud that her daughter was progressing well in her ninja career, much like how her father did.
Suyuki had to do her grocery shopping earlier and once that was done, ordered Maki to deliver it home. However, it came to no surprise that the pink haired Jounin simply created a clone to complete the task so that he could continue on their walk to the hospital.
"If you never brought her along on the mission, we wouldn't even have to go to the hospital." Suyuki said.
Maki sighed softly, "Listen, I'm sorry but it was an emergency. Besides, you can't complain the bonus we received for the mission. Not to mention the extra funds we received from the council. The money could last at least a month without me going on missions."
"That's not the point!" Suyuki scolded, "If something were to happen to Sakura…"
Maki nodded and Suyuki knew that he understood. Although he was merely an uncle to Sakura, he loved her like a father would love his daughter. He protected his niece not just because of the promise he kept to his deceased brother but because he cared for Sakura. Suyuki decided to end their discussion there.
It was five minutes later when the two reached the hospital. Suyuki was only here to visit her daughter but Maki was here to see his students but Sakura came first. They could see the nurses passing through to tend to the patient and several medic-nins caring for the injuries of ninjas. They climbed the stairs to the second floor and headed for the ward that Sakura was at. They finally arrived at the ward and Sakura was awake, sitting on the bed and looking outside the window. The ward was for six people and the other patients there were still sleeping, their friends and families sitting next to their bed.
"Morning, Sakura…" Maki greeted, which surprised the girl.
"Uncle Maki," Sakura replied, smiling and then turned towards her mother, "Mom…"
Suyuki smiled and took a sit, "How are you feeling today?"
Sakura shrugged and lay down on her pillow, "Better than yesterday I guess. I think I could leave tomorrow but the doctors still insist I stay for the remaining eight days."
Suyuki smiled at Sakura's pouting expression, "You have to be patient, sweetie. I'm sure the doctors just want to make sure you're in peak condition when you leave. After all, they know best."
"I guess…" Sakura then looked at her uncle, "Uncle Maki, anything new with what happened?"
Maki shook his head, "Nothing much really. The council is obviously shaken up about the fact that Sasuke was taken. They're relieved we retrieved him back and after the panic, are extremely impressed with all the Gennins involved in the retrieval mission."
Maki paused and then continued, "However, I believe they're going to be keeping an eye on Sasuke now. That means Sasuke will, most of the time, be kept in the village. His chances of taking missions outside the village will be restricted."
"That's not fair!" Sakura protested and was about to say some more when Maki interrupted, "Don't worry; I believe Tsunade-sama is in the process of 'convincing' the council about this matter. We should hear something soon."
The pink haired Jounin could understand why Sakura was against this decision. If Sasuke was restricted on missions, then it would definitely affect the team. Maki had explained to Sakura about this yesterday and that was why she had asked for an update. Honestly, Maki felt that the council will allow Sasuke to continue to do missions since he is the Jounin in charge and the council trusts his skills in protecting him. Not to mention that he has connection with the toad Sannin.
"Alright, you just stay here with Sakura," Maki said to Suyuki, "I have to check up on my other students."
Suyuki nodded and Maki left the ward. Suyuki continued conversing with her daughter and felt they were getting closer than last time. Mother and daughter have always been close but ever since she stopped insulting Naruto, the demon container, Sakura was much happier in the house then. She still had doubts on Naruto, but the fact that the boy had not harmed her daughter, she felt that maybe she did misjudge the boy simply because he contained the demon.
"Did you bring me the book I asked?" Sakura enquired, snapping Suyuki from her thoughts.
"Book?" It took Suyuki a moment, "Oh, right, I have it." Suyuki took out a book from the bag she brought along and handed it to Sakura. It was another one of those many romance novels Sakura had in her room. Sakura had requested it since she was bored of remaining in the hospital with nothing to do.
"Honestly, you shouldn't read so much of those books."
"But I'm so bored…" Sakura replied, "Besides, I love romance novels!
Suyuki rolled her eyes, "Those books are just fiction, Sakura. In the real world, not all love stories end happily ever after."
"But…" Sakura then had a thought struck on her, "Hei, mom… You never did tell me about how you and dad met."
Sakura had a brief idea when Maki told her about the first day her dad and mom met. He said it was on the day her father was promoted to Jounin but nothing more. Also, her uncle had mostly told stories of her father as a ninja but she wanted to know the life between her mother and father. Her uncle didn't know much about that.
Suyuki was surprised by the question. It was true though. In all her life, she never did tell Sakura much about her father. She would normally change the subject because she didn't want to be reminded of her deceased husband. But, perhaps it was time to tell her. Besides, the fact that she didn't burst into tears upon hearing Sakura saying 'father' probably meant that she was beginning to move on.
"How I and your father met…?" Suyuki repeated with humor, "Well, let's see… It was on a fine afternoon…"
Hospital corridor…
Haruno Maki was happy to leave the two alone. He felt that ever since Sakura became a ninja, she didn't spend enough time with her mother. He was now off to visit his favorite blonde student. Even though he was told to stay in the hospital for three days, Maki felt that was unnecessary. For a normal ninja, yes, but Naruto had the Kyuubi in him and his recoveries were faster than that of a normal person.
As he climbed the stairs to the third floor, he remembered how often he was sent to the hospital during his time as a Chuunin. He took up a large amount of missions, mostly B-ranks just to catch up quickly with his brother who was a Jounin. In just a year, he was promoted to Jounin and six months later, received the rank of an elite Jounin.
He found it funny that he, Kakashi and the others were given ranks of elite Jounin even though no such rank exists. The highest class was a Jounin and the class of elite Jounin was basically an unofficial rank. The rank was just to categorize the Jounins that were of higher class and skill, those that could have entered the ANBU black opts if they chose but refuse to do so.
On the third floor, he found it surprisingly quiet. Of course hospitals were always hushed but when Naruto was present, it would have been the opposite. The fact that Naruto was not causing a ruckus surprised him. The pink haired Jounin made his way to the ward Naruto was in and he finally found his student laying on his bed and being treated by a doctor.
"Oh come on," Naruto complained, "I told you I'm feeling great. Why can't I be released already?"
"Two reasons," The doctor said used his fingers to indicate the number, "One, we still have to make sure everything is okay with you. I admit that you're recovering much quicker than most people but we have to be certain. And second, we have direct orders by the Hokage to keep you in the hospital for the duration."
Before Naruto could protest once more, Maki entered Naruto's view, "Just listen to him, Naruto. The doctor knows best for you."
"Maki-sensei!" Naruto greeted in surprise with a wide grin.
"I see that you're back to your old self." Maki said with a grin of his own.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm bored of lying down here. I feel great enough to get out of here."
Maki chuckled lightly, "Well, you heard the doctor. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't want to go against whatever the Hokage had ordered me to do."
The pink haired Jounin could see the doctor shudder when he said that. He guessed that Tsunade promised hell would break lose if Naruto was released sooner. He didn't understand why the Hokage would be so insistent on this order but he was not going to go and question her. The fact that the toad Sannin himself would prefer to not go against her was proof that to not question her orders.
The doctor continued checking on Naruto for the next two minutes so the blonde haired Gennin and his teacher just stared at the doctor, waiting for him to finish his job. The doctor finally left, leaving the Jounin and his student alone.
"But I'm proud of you Naruto." Maki continued, "If you didn't intercept that Izaki ninja in the valley of the end, I have no doubt that Orochimaru would have Sasuke by now."
Naruto grinned, "Sasuke's a friend and like a brother to me. There was no way I was going to let him go."
"I'm not only proud of you for that, but also because you were able to last against a ninja that was at least a Jounin level single-handedly."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, blushing at his teacher's praise, "Well, Sasuke helped me…"
"True," Maki agreed but continued his point, "But, according to Sasuke, you held the enemy off for at least ten minutes on your own. You're just a graduate from the academy a few months ago and you're already at a Chuunin level. That's impressive Naruto so you don't have to be so modest."
Naruto nodded his thanks once more. What Maki said was true though. Naruto had just graduated a few months back along with Sasuke and Sakura, and the three had progressed quickly. Of course he had been training Naruto and his niece for the previous two years. As for Sasuke, he was already star student of his graduating year so it was no surprise that he was an equal to Naruto and not to mention that he was the brother of Uchiha Itachi, a member of Akatsuki, an S-rank criminal.
Maki then got an idea, "Since you're so bored, what about we visit Sasuke? I plan to check up on him after visiting you."
"Are we allowed to?"
"What do you mean?" Maki enquired.
"I tried to visit him yesterday but there were ANBU ninjas guarding his room. They told me no one was allowed to visit him, direct orders from the council."
Maki was not that surprised to hear that. The one thing he hated about the council was that they all overreact in times like these. He had not visited his students yesterday so he was not informed of this. But, although it may have been a huge setback for Naruto, it was no problem for him.
"Come on, let's just go ahead."
Naruto was about to voice out his thoughts but Maki stopped him, "Don't worry, I think I can get through them after talking with them."
With that, Maki made his way out of the ward and Naruto followed behind his teacher, although he was wondering how the hell Maki was going to get through the ANBU ninjas. They seemed to be quite persistent at not allowing anyone through. However, Naruto trusted his teacher and would just see what the Jounin would do.
Sasuke's room was at the far end of the third floor so it would take half a minute to get there. The blonde haired ninja was relieved to finally walk again after being repeatedly told by the doctors and nurses to remain in bed. He was hoping to visit his pink haired girlfriend after visiting the Uchiha.
Maki finally spotted Sasuke's room and just like what Naruto had said, there were two ANBU guards stationed there, standing still as if they were statues. The one on the left was wearing a boar mask while the right wore a hawk mask and had a white band wrapped around his right shoulder, indicating his rank of an ANBU captain.
Maki continued walking ahead and when he was finally at the door of Sasuke's room, the boar mask ANBU intercepted Maki's path, glaring at the Jounin eye to eye.
"I'm sorry," The boar mask ANBU began, "But no one is allowed to enter."
"He's my student and I feel I have the right to check up on his well-being."
The boar mask ANBU was not going to move though, "We have direct orders to not allow…"
"It's alright, Kaki," The hawk mask ANBU said suddenly, of course using 'kaki' as the codename of his team mate, "He can pass."
The boar mask ANBU turned towards his superior, surprise on his face although it was hidden by his mask, "But…"
"You heard the man." Maki added on.
The boar mask ANBU was reluctant for a second and then stepped back and returned to his position. Maki opened the door, gave a nod of thanks to the hawk mask ANBU and entered the room. Naruto was impressed and stuck out his tongue at the boar mask ANBU and quickly entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"I don't understand Yamato," The boar mask ANBU began, not agreeing to disobey what the council ordered him to, "Why do we let them pass? We have direct orders not to let anyone through."
Yamato, the hawk mask ANBU released a small laugh, "I take it you're new to the ANBU?"
The boar mask ANBU nodded in affirmative and Yamato continued, "And you do know who that was just now, right?"
Again, the boar mask ANBU nodded. Yamato nodded also and continued, "Then you know of his reputation in Konoha and in the ninja world. You see, in ANBU, although by right, we're of higher rank than the Jounins here, there are certain Jounins that we in ANBU respect and basically, are lower to."
"What do you mean?" The boar mask ANBU was confused.
"It means that certain requests made by these… 'Elite' Jounins should be allowed even if the council ordered us not to, as we saw earlier, let anyone in. There's no harm in doing that. The council is just paranoid about the situation and these elite Jounins, we can trust that they won't do anything."
"I must admit, that not all ANBUs think like you, senpai," The boar mask ANBU stated, "Was there an influence?"
Yamato chuckled, "Indeed. I'm sure you've heard of Hatake Kakashi…?"
"Who have not? He shares the same reputation of Maki-san."
Yamato nodded, "He was my senpai and he spoke out his thoughts of the ANBU. So, just remember that the elite Jounins, although they are lower in rank to us, they have more respect by the whole of Konoha ninjas, and that includes the ANBU black opts."
Sasuke's room…
"Maki-sensei, Naruto…" Sasuke greeted, "I'm surprised you got through the ANBU guards."
"They're friends of yours, Maki-sensei?" Naruto questioned, referring to the hawk mask ANBU.
"I don't have any connections within ANBU," Maki explained, "But they respect most of the elite Jounins of Konoha to help us." Maki stood next to Sasuke's bed, "So, how're you feeling?"
Sasuke shrugged in a cool manner, "I'm fine, but I still feel the pain from the sealing process."
Maki knew what he meant. When Sasuke had made it back safely to Konoha and treated for his injuries, Kakashi warned the council that the curse seal on Sasuke was having negative effects on Sasuke, especially on the usage of techniques and his Sharingan. The council immediately ordered Kakashi and other ninjas that were in knowledge of sealing to suppress Sasuke's cursed seal. The curse seal was now suppressed with a level four protection, which would be very difficult for the seal to break out. For now, the council would have to be content with that. The removal of the curse seal was a much more risky and complicated task that only Jiraiya had the knowledge of, but he could not be found.
It seems that because Sasuke was unconsciously rejecting the curse seal and the seal was thus forcing Sasuke to use it. It was brilliant of Orochimaru to place a seal that would tempt Sasuke but just like Kakashi and Maki had advised him, by relying on his own will power and determination, Sasuke prevailed.
"Glad to see you're doing fine, idiot." Naruto joked.
"That should be my line," Sasuke countered with a smirk, "If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead by now."
"You arrogant bastard!"
"You dobe…"
Maki sighed as the two Gennins got into one of their many numbers of quarrels but it was something that the two used to bond with one another. Despite all the insults, the two had created a bond that could be comparable to siblings. With Sasuke's loss of family and Naruto always alone, the two shared something in common. The pink haired teacher watched his students catching up with one another and he just stood there, enjoying the fact that his student was still here.
Haruno Maki was proud that Sasuke had no desire to join the Sound village. If the young Uchiha had that in mind, no doubt that even if Naruto had beaten his friend to a pulp, Sasuke would never remain in Konoha and find other ways to escape, even if it meant killing those dear to him. He was glad that Naruto, himself and anyone else involved with Sasuke were able to change his mind.
"Maki-sensei," Sasuke turned at his teacher after finally chatting up with Naruto, "Tell me what's going on."
"What do you mean?"
Naruto could tell that their teacher was avoiding the question so he pushed on, "We want to know the truth. Why are they after Sasuke? And two weeks ago, why was Itachi's brother after me? What's going on?"
Naruto had unintentionally raised his voice at the end and he realized it. He tried to control his temper but his desire for the truth was too much. Sasuke did not blink and his expression told Maki that he too demanded an explanation. He knew he would have to tell them. He planned to, so he saw no reason why not. He remembered the meeting he had with Kakashi, Jiraiya and the Hokage.
Flashback…
A day after the retrieval mission, Jiraiya had requested a meeting with those he trusted and even included his old teacher, who was now one of the senior council of Konoha. Maki delivered a message to Jiraiya through the toads regarding the actions of Orochimaru on his sights on Sasuke and also the fact that they spotted an Akatsuki member on a cliff nearby. The Akatsuki member only retreated when Kakashi and Maki arrived to retrieve Sasuke and Naruto.
Kakashi and Maki arrived at Hokage's room together. They closed the door behind them and approach the Hokage's desk. The former Hokage, Sarutobi was already there, staring out the window at the village of Konoha in the night. The current Hokage, Tsunade, nodded her head in greeting to her two elite Jounins.
"Where's Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi asked.
"Don't worry, I'm here." A voice said from the window.
The two Jounins saw that the great toad Sannin was sitting outside one of the windows, the darkness hiding his figure. Jiraiya entered the room and shut the window now that everyone was present. Sarutobi cast a barrier technique surrounding the room so that anything said within the room could not be heard from the outside.
"I'm sure you all know what this meeting is about…?" Tsunade questioned the two Jounins.
Maki and Kakashi shook their heads. They knew that the meeting was to brief them on the current situations but had no idea what they were going to be discussing about. When the toad messenger informed Maki and later Kakashi about the gathering, it only told them to arrive at this time, nothing more.
Tsunade explained, "As we all know, the threat of the Akatsuki almost capturing Naruto created an alarm among the council last week. The fact that now, Orochimaru acted to capture Sasuke is already putting the council into a state of panic."
"So, we're here to discuss about the risk of Naruto and Sasuke getting captured…?" Maki asked although it was more of a rhetorical question.
Sarutobi entered the conversation now, "Indeed. As a council member now, I understand the concerns but I also understand that being ninjas, it's not so easy. The fact that Akatsuki are comprised of S-rank criminals is a major problem. We now know that Uchiha Itachi is a member and partnered with the monster of the mist, Hoshigaki Kisame. The two combined are a threat that is not easy to be dealt with."
"Not to mention," Tsunade backed up, "That Itachi and Kisame are just comprised of one team. From what Jiraiya has gathered so far, he says…" Tsunade ended her line there, turning to Jiraiya to finish it.
"There are about ten Akatsuki members, which mean there are five teams altogether."
"So, what do you propose?" Kakashi asked after listening to the facts.
"Naruto is the main concern of the council," The former Hokage stated, "Being the host of the nine-tails, they see Naruto as a powerful weapon that cannot be lost to Akatsuki or anyone for that matter."
Sarutobi released a puff of smoke from his pipe, a habit he did not stop even after he became a council member. The four others waited for the old Hokage to continue on. Jiraiya already had a plan to make sure Naruto was not captured but he wanted to listen to everything first before he suggested his plan. Sarutobi glared at Tsunade now, the current Hokage and his glare was for him to directly speak to her, although the others were also meant to listen.
"We need to protect Naruto from getting captured by Akatsuki, which is obvious. The thing that the council does not understand is that protecting Naruto from S-rank criminals is difficult, almost impossible for ninjas in our village. They are on a whole different level to our ninjas."
After Sarutobi had finished his explanation, he remained silent. Now that he made his point clear, he wanted to see if anyone had a plan to counter this problem. Tsunade turned to glare at her team mate, gesturing for him to explain his solution to this dilemma.
"I already proposed this some time ago, but I'm thinking of doing it by the end of this week. I take Naruto with me, travel across all the lands of the five countries while training him at the same time."
Sarutobi contemplated the suggestion for a moment, releasing another puff of smoke, "And how does that protect Naruto from Akatsuki?"
"The Akatsuki have to gather information on the hosts before they can act," Jiraiya explained to his old teacher, "But if I take Naruto with me, they can never know his exact location with us moving all the time. Even if they could get me, I can take them on by myself."
"But…" Sarutobi protested but Tsunade intervened, "Jiraiya's plan is the most logical choice, old man. It is one way to protect Naruto and also get him prepared in the next two and a half years when Akatsuki would target all the hosts."
Sarutobi sighed softly and thought about it. The others remained silent, watching him to come to come to a decision. Now that he was one of the councils, it was much easier to discuss anything with him representing the council since he understood the point of view of a ninja. Finally, Sarutobi nodded, agreeing to the plan.
"What about Sasuke? I doubt Orochimaru would give up on Sasuke as a new container. The council is extremely worried about Sasuke and is even willing to forbid Sasuke to leave the village on missions."
"Sasuke remains in Konoha," Tsunade answered almost immediately, "And will be trained personally by Kakashi for most of the time. Since Naruto will be trained by Jiraiya, Sasuke will be trained by Kakashi and Maki or any other elite Jounins that have the free time to train him. In the next two years, Naruto and Sasuke will develop and should be able to take care of themselves."
"And if they can't?" Sarutobi challenged.
"They will," Maki stated clearly, "I believe in them. I've seen them develop while they're under me and I know in two years if they're going to be trained vigorously every day, they will be able to stand on their own against their threats. They have the potential to become the best ninjas that Konoha will ever produce."
Sarutobi listened to Maki and he remembered how the young blonde was when he was still in the academy. How he was able to ignore the angry stares of the villagers. It was only through strong will and determination that Naruto passed through that challenge at his age. And his attitude had greatly influenced the Uchiha.
"Yes, somehow deep inside me, I know they're strong, and Naruto… I believe he can become like the fourth." Sarutobi spoke softly.
Tsunade also spoke of her interest in training Maki's niece in the path of becoming a medic-nin. The fact that Sakura already was a genjutsu specialist, Tsunade reasoned that Sakura would become the first ever medic-ninja and genjutsu specialist. A medical ninja that would be both a support to the team and an offensive genjutsu ninja to the team.
Everyone in the room nodded. It was thus decided that Jiraiya would leave the village in a week and take Naruto with him. The training would begin to prepare for the Akatsuki in the two years. Sasuke would be trained personally by Kakashi mostly, occasionally by Maki and if the two were busy, by other elite Jounins, especially by Maito Gai in the taijutsu field.
End of flashback…
"So, what's going on?" Sasuke asked once more, his eyes demanded an explanation.
Maki sighed softly and decided to tell his students today. He explained about the Akatsuki, their target of Naruto although he did not specify why they targeted him. He continued explaining that Jiraiya would leave with Naruto to both avoid Akatsuki and train him. He then explained that because Orochimaru would still be targeting Sasuke, the Uchiha heir would be trained vigorously to prepare him also. Maki kept to himself about Sakura's training under Tsunade though.
Naruto scratched his hair, taking everything what Maki said to his head, "So, I have to leave in a week…?"
His teacher nodded. Naruto slammed his fists together in excitement, "Alright, I'm gonna train hard under that perverted Sannin and become Hokage when I return!"
Sasuke scoffed loudly, "I doubt you will be Hokage material in two years time. You're an idiot, after all."
However, Naruto took the comment seriously this time and did not get into an argument, "Yeah, being Hokage is not going to be easy. Besides, we have to deal with the Akatsuki first before I can even think of being Hokage."
Sasuke listened and nodded. He knew when Naruto was being serious and what he said was true. His skills were low compared to the other ninjas and until they surpass their teacher, Hokage was impossible. Also, he would have to defeat Orochimaru first before he could concentrate on defeating his older brother.
Sasuke and Naruto conversed with one another, discussing about the current situation and throwing friendly insults at some points. Maki watched the two of them, and was happy that he still had his team together. He looked at the clock in the room and was surprised at the time.
"I got to go," Maki said, interrupting his students planning, "There's someone I have to meet."
Before Naruto or Sasuke could stop him, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Who do you think it is?"
Naruto shrugged, "I don't know. He didn't tell me anything about meeting anybody."
"Training for the next two years, huh…?" Sasuke muttered after a couple of seconds.
Naruto remained silent. In two years, ninjas of Itachi's caliber would be after him and although his teacher had not said why, he had a feeling that they were after the monster within him. He looked at Sasuke and wondered what he and Sakura and his friends would think of him if they knew of the nine-tailed fox sealed inside of him.
Konoha's main gate…
The great gates of Konoha were almost fully repaired ever since the invasion three months prior. The right gate was replaced but the left side was only half way repaired. The giant snake summon had destroyed it completely and Konoha had to rebuilt it from scratch. A couple of villagers were busy carrying the wood needed for the repairs.
Nara Shikamaru, as the team leader of his previous mission had to see off Gaara and his team mates before they departed back to the Sand village. They had already delivered the message that the Sand council wanted to send to the leaf and now it was time they left their allied village.
Their wind element Jounin leader waited for her students close to the gates while Shikamaru conversed with them.
"Thanks for rescuing me and my friends." Shikamaru said.
Gaara was silent. Although he had changed in his morals, he still lacked the experience to be more talkative.
"It was part of the mission," Temari replied, "Although I must say, I find it surprising that you were in need of help. After all, you seem to have the brains to outwit almost anyone."
Shikamaru popped a vein at the small insult, "You little…"
"Calm down," Kankurou interjected, stepping in between Shikamaru and Temari, "She's just joking around. She likes to mess with you guys, you know?"
Shikamaru took a breath, regaining his composure, "Yeah, I guess I over-reacted. I'll take that as an advice to not be so careless in the future."
Temari gave a smirk, "You do that, Konoha Chuunin."
"Aren't you a Chuunin too?" Shikamaru asked with genuine interest.
"We all are," Temari answered proudly, "We were already Chuunins before the exams. We were in the rank of Gennin as part of the mission…"
Before the Nara or Temari could continue their conversation, Gaara already had enough and turned to leave. Kankurou followed his little brother and it took a while before Temari realized they had left. They ended their conversation quickly and Temari quickly caught up with her brothers and Shikamaru continued watching from the gates, seeing them off.
"Was she actually flirting with him?" Kankurou whispered to Gaara.
Gaara looked on ahead, "I don't really care. But if she was interested with him in that sort of way, I know he can take care of her. He defeated me once before after all."
Kankurou raised an eyebrow and continued walking. For Gaara to no longer have much killing intent was a big step but to talk to him about romantic interest was definitely still out of the question. But he had to admit that Shikamaru impressed him that he was able to defeat his little brother. Well, he sort of caught him in the shadow mimic before Gaara went crazy and almost transformed.
As the three Sand Chuunins were walking up the road, they realized that their teacher was not with them yet. They looked back and saw that she was chatting up with someone, a Konoha Jounin with long pink hair. They recognized him as the teacher of Naruto's team.
"It's good to see you again. It's been what, a month since you came to renew the alliance?" Maki said, more of a statement than a question.
Himura nodded, "And I have to leave now. Unlike Konoha, the Sand village is still quite depleted of our forces, especially with the loss of Kazekage-sama."
Maki understood completely, "Well, you keep in touch, alright?"
"And the same goes to you. Although with your reputation, I'm sure you'll be fine."
Himura stood on her toes and gave a light peck on the cheek of the replicator. With that, Himura turned around and walked towards her team. Maki watched from where he stood, feeling the spot where she kissed him. It was still warm and he smiled while watching the woman he loved leaving the village once more. The last time she left when he was merely a Chuunin, she left without a word to him or his older brother.
He watched her for some time until they finally disappeared from sight, hoping he would see her in the near future. He sighed at his unfortunate love life. Being a childhood friend of hers since the age of five, he thought she would love him too. He always thought that childhood friends would eventually grow to become lovers but instead, he remained as a friend and watched in his teens when she went into the arms of Kawada, the brilliant ninja of his year. Maki sometimes wondered if it was better he never knew her. It hurts to have known her from childhood and remaining as a friend.
"Maki-sensei," Shikamaru approached him, "You alright? You've been standing there for quite some time now."
Maki gave a sad smile at the Nara prodigy, "I'm okay."
Shikamaru nodded and then, with an awkward silence between them, he made his way back to his clan's home ground. He recognized that smile of the elite Jounin. It was the fake smile that Naruto used to give when he was hiding something.
Konoha hospital, night time…
Haruno Sakura continued reading with interest at the romance novel that her mother had brought for her to read. Although she had already finished the book before, it was much better than just laying in bed doing nothing. It was no fun to be hospitalized for ten days due to chakra exhaustion.
As she read the book, she recalled all the conversations she had with her mother earlier. Even though her mother was quite upset that she was hospitalized, at least she had finally accepted that her daughter was a ninja. Mother and daughter were gaining back the relationship that was damaged when she chose her path. Sakura smiled and flipped to the next page.
"Hei, Sakura-Chan…" Naruto whispered next to her.
"Naruto-kun?" Sakura hissed in surprise, "When did you get here? And what are you doing here?"
"I just got here," Naruto answered calmly, "And as to why I'm here, I missed you. I haven't seen you since retrieving Sasuke."
Sakura, after going through the initial shock finally smiled, "Yeah, I missed you too."
Naruto sat on the bed next to her, feeling her warmth, "I'm glad you're safe. I was worried when I left you with that two-headed freak."
"I had a number of bruises," Sakura confessed, holding Naruto's hand, "But…"
Before Sakura could even finish her sentence, Naruto closed the distance and kissed her lips. Sakura immediately responded and the two embraced one another. Although it was a ward and other patients were there, the closed curtains gave them some privacy. Some would say they're too young to be doing this, but it was common among ninjas to have gotten married in their teens since the lives of ninjas are short.
Naruto continued the kiss for a few seconds and then became more aggressive, snaking a tongue when Sakura's mouth parted open. Their tongues dueled with one another with none of them willing to give up. The two finally stopped to get some air and the two Gennins stared into the eyes of the other.
"I love you, Sakura-Chan…" Naruto spoke softly but his words were powerful.
"I love you too, Naruto-kun."
Unknown to them, outside the hospital by the windows, Haruno Maki witnessed everything, in a way. He couldn't see them directly, but he could see their shadows from the curtains and he heard what they said. He came to make sure his niece was alright but found this instead. He sighed and decided to head for home, knowing Sakura was safe with Naruto, his student. After all, he was sure they wanted the privacy. He was happy that as the uncle of Sakura, and the guardian that his brother entrusted for his daughter, that she found someone to love
He was also happy that Naruto and Sakura did not suffer the same fate as he. Childhood friends since the age of five but they had confessed their love for one another. Unlike him.
