Ino was waiting for Sakura for over an hour in the hospital waiting room. She had something important to discuss with her best friend.
"Sorry to make you wait for me, Ino. A complication occurred during a surgery I was heading. I hope you understand".
Sakura apologized to her friend. Still, they both were mature enough to understand the problem.
"I understand Sakura. Now can we go somewhere private to talk?" Ino asked Sakura.
"What place do you suggest?" Sakura replied.
"What about your house? Uncle and Aunty should be out handling the shop". Ino told Sakura.
"Alright then, let's go".
Sakura told Ino before they headed towards her home. It took them fifteen minutes to reach Sakura's house. They went straight to Sakura's room before making themselves comfortable to have the conversation in peace.
"Tell me Sakura, does Chouji feel comfortable replacing Naruto in Team 7?" Ino asked Sakura.
"I think Chouji is even a better fit than Naruto ever was for our team Ino". Sakura informed Ino.
"I'm not asking about your or Sasuke's comfort with Chouji Sakura. I'm asking whether Chouji is comfortable being a part of Team 7". Ino told Sakura.
"What do you mean to say Ino?" Sakura questioned the blonde in an irritated tone.
"You know what I mean Sakura. Team 7 has never been functional. You guys have always leaned on your talents to complete missions without proper planning. All the times your team messed up, Kakashi-sensei was continuously there to save you guys. Your team doesn't strategize, have proper teamwork or even have proper communication. Your teacher also doesn't actively participate in teaching his students and play favourites.
While Naruto made it work, Chouji can't. He is not as stubborn as Naruto or possesses natural talent as Sasuke. He doesn't even complain over every little problem like you. I'm afraid that being in Team 7 will hinder his progress as a ninja. Also, Shikamaru and I would not always be here for him because he is now a member of ANBU and I'm a member of T&I(torture and interrogation) cell".
Ino explained Sakura about her fears. She wanted to make sure that Sakura understood her concerns.
"Team 7 was and is a functional team, Ino". Sakura retorted.
"If Team 7 was functional, then you and Sasuke should've stopped insulting Naruto after he defeated Neji in the Chunin Exams. Sasuke should've been taken out of the team after he nearly killed Naruto. You should've not forgiven Sasuke so quickly after what he had done to Naruto. Naruto would've not stopped talking to you or Sasuke".
Ino told Sakura, who by this time wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. Ino knew she was pointing at every mistake that Sakura tried to forget, making her feel very guilty, but she didn't want Chouji to suffer like Naruto.
(With Naruto)
Naruto was running towards Konoha with a sense of urgency in distress. His first mission as a hunter-nin was a great success. No one had any idea where had the Hidenori family disappeared. People didn't even have a chance to connect Naruto or Konoha to the situation because he had investigated the target under multiple disguises.
Still, he was hurrying to reach Konoha. Carrying a dead family which he killed for money was too much for him to handle. It was eating at his conscious, torturing him from the inside and he didn't know how much longer he could endure.
So he was running for the past two days towards Konoha, as fast as he could. He only stopped when he felt hungry, sleepy or had to relieve pressure. The rate at which he was travelling, he knew he could reach Konoha in the next three days, but every minute felt like an eternity to him.
(The Uchiha Compound)
Sasuke was drenched in sweat, trying to improve his hand to hand combat skills. Taijutsu was the one ninja arts except for medicine and sealing techniques, where he struggled the most. It was not that he was inadequate at taijutsu, but it was not his preferred method of fighting.
He had grown up practising the Uchiha brand of taijutsu which focused on exploiting the holes in the opponent's defence. This band of taijutsu could only display its full strength when the user could combine ninjutsu and traps to hurt the enemy. It became even stronger with the addition of Sharingan.
These reasons made Sasuke respect Lee even more. Sure the man can be defeated with ease if one can trap him into a genjutsu. Still, Sasuke would be lying to himself that Lee was an easy opponent.
He was ridiculously fast. His strength was undeniable. He also possessed the proper technique to make the best use of his talents.
He attacked his opponents so viciously that the opponent didn't even find time to think properly. His every attack felt like someone had filled rocks in a sack to the brim and then they were trying to beat you to death with it. If you could deal with his technique, then he used brute force to break your defence before dealing the decisive blow.
Lee was capable of this while wearing ridiculous amounts of weight. After he shed those weights, he transformed into a different animal altogether. Even with this if you could deal with him, then he opened his chakra gates and turned into a monster. The only negative was that the eight inner gates exerted a tremendous burden on the body.
He knew how to open the first gate, thanks to Kakashi teaching him, but even the cyclops admitted that he could only open three gates. The body conditioning required to use the technique even at the beginner level was ridiculously high. Achieving the minimum level of conditioning to open the first inner gate nearly broke his body.
The only person Sasuke knew who aside from Lee, his teacher Guy and Kakashi who could genuinely use this technique in a battle were Naruto.
"Naruto, huh". Sasuke spoke softly to himself in amusement.
The blonde was the only person his age, who understood his pain and loneliness. Though they fought each other to prove their superiority, they acknowledged each other's strengths. They used to have a unique kind of bond which he was never able to describe.
This bond forced him to try to save Naruto from Haku in the Land of Waves, awakening his Sharingan. This bond forced Naruto to save him and Sakura in the forest of death from Orochimaru.
Still, he broke this bond to gain power from Orochimaru to kill Itachi. Yet he was not able to escape Kakashi. He didn't even try to flee because Naruto defeated him. Sure he nearly killed Naruto, but he knew if the blonde didn't pull back his Rasengan at the last moment, his head would have blown off that moment.
After that, Team 7 lost its spark. Naruto distanced himself from him and Sakura for very valid reasons. Kakashi didn't let them run the team anymore. All the arguments ceased to exist as Naruto stopped competing with him and got rid of his crush on Sakura. They became a team that completed their missions with maximum efficiency with minimum effort required.
In two years, Kakashi taught them some simple and highly effective techniques. Shadow clone was the first. Basic Sealing techniques were the second. Basics of Chakra Shaping and Manipulation were the third. Lastly, Kakashi went to thrash them to the point where they all nearly died on every combat training session. He forced them to learn how to handle strong enemies who were leagues better than you by working together and run away if nothing was working.
During this time Naruto started training with Lee and Guy refusing to go on a training trip with Jiraya. This fact made him very angry. But he then learned about the pitiful existence known as Uzumaki Naruto from Kakashi, and he had just felt pity for the blonde ever since.
Konoha just saw Naruto as a tool for them to use. He had no family. He had no real friends. Nearly everyone in Konoha hated him for a calamity from which he saved them. Even Tsunade, the person Naruto respected as his mother figure was only manipulating him for his services to Konoha. He even had a mercenary group composed of only S-class ninjas including his brother hunting his kind.
Comparing his life to Naruto, Sasuke felt a lot more content. He had life goals which at least gave him a reason for living and moving forward in life. Naruto, on the other hand, lived to prove his existence mattered.
Author's Notes-
In this story, I'm not trying to bash Sasuke and Sakura though it feels like it. The story will feel rushed in the first few chapters because I want to give Naruto and the others some validated powers that I can use to enhance the story later. Also don't worry about the story not having depth. I've already got the backstories that affect this story massively and helps me in developing characters and organizations.
I'll also try to update this story after every 3 days since India is on lockdown due to coronavirus epidemic and I need to pass time. I hope that you all will take care of yourselves and remain safe.
Your ideas to improve this story will always be welcomed by me.
Thank you for reading this fanfiction.